#the gay fe girl arena

[airlock]

man this one's been a real rollercoaster, huh? minpalla's technically winning right now, but with a margin this close, I've still got to pull out the BIG guns

the BIG guns: if minpalla sweeps I will finish the final chapter of Building Trust before hell freezes over

Quarterfinals, Match 1

[agoddamn]

Finally got into the Engage groove. Sat down and went from 10 to 15.

Something about MC's "I can't do this without you!" at the Emblems is really funny. Big waifufag energy.

Again, another point where I wish the Emblems were original characters. You could actually do something interesting with Alear having some kinda mildly codependent relationship with the Emblems in spite of them not being truly alive if they weren't cool iconic FE characters that need to be objectively good and admirable at all times.

Heck, you could address the unsettling idea of the Emblems not being truly alive in the first place! They identify themselves as Emblem Name, which means even they see themselves as a derivative. Are they trapped in a hell of undeath, watching everyone around them age and die? Do they still feel the human need for interaction? They get used as weapons against their consent-- isn't that an awful existence? Why would they want to become an Emblem in the first place? They're like the cookies from Black Mirror...nightmarish.

Interesting characterization glimmer from Alcryst. His boss convo with his dad has him saying that he wants to be the one to kill dad in order to spare Diamant having to do it. Damn, son

The sad piano music on the retreat chapter is nice.

I don't get why localization did that with the shitenno names...they're supposed to be colors. Mauvier and Griss are recognizably colors, but the girls are weird. Zephia = Sepia, Marni = Maroon (or maybe Marron, the French version).

Fogado feels like the character the fandom wanted Claude to be lmao

Also not sure why they renamed his sister? She's Misteria in Japanese, the siblings are fog and mist, that's the joke.

...dragon badguy kinda sexy. Forehead clit is a turnoff though

I like how Hortensia wigs out thinking Ivy is dead and everyone just chooses not to correct her

Kingdom 1's name theme is French, 2 is rocks, 3 is flowers, and 4 is...not sure, actually. Jp had the fog/mist thing, but English...

MERRIN IS MY WIFE

Oh, the gay bandits again. Wait...do they both call one another little brother in their death lines??

Solm palace is very pretty. Easily the nicest-looking castle interior

RIP to whatever localizer got handed Fogado's fratboy retainer lmao there are plenty of things I'll drag the localization on, but the party peep lingo is so bizarre to translate. I won't even touch it. They did their best with that shit

Kagetsu has gotten str level after str level. He's terrifying. Complete animal.

Kagetsu and Zelkov feel like weird AU cousins of Odin and Zero...Koyasu voicing Kagetsu only hammers this vibe home even harder

Starting to suffer on supports. As of chapter 15, MC doesn't have one B support. They took away support-building on the enemy phase and two-space supporting, which makes it a massive pain in the ass to get support points. I've been doing arena and cafe after every battle, too! Squeezing as many support points as possible outta this, but it still ain't much

Reclassing ends up being kind of an odd beast thanks to how Emblem-dependant it is. Losing your initial batch of Emblems takes away your ability to spread weapon proficiencies around, which hobbles your ability to reclass for several chapters. Compounding that, it's a good while before you can buy Second Seals, and money is very tight. If you have a unit who starts off in a class not suited to their growths (Jean, Clanne) they're kinda just fucked. What's the point of designing a system with so much flexibility only to take away your ability to use it for most of the game? I would have preferred the system be more stripped-down and actually usable.

Goddamn, do I feel the money crunch. Buying gifts? In THIS economy?

[vanilla-inkwell]

Expansive (Non-Comprehensive) List of Playable LGBTQ+ Characters in Video Games

Now edited, polished, and added upon! 

My rules/criteria are below the cut, along with individual notes/explanations; if a character has an asterisk+number next to them, they have a note down below. 

(All characters in the first two sections are explicitly queer, at least by way of word of god confirmation. All characters in the second section are, by the nature of that section, expressed to be queer in-game. The third section is for characters whose queerness is interpretive, but implied at least semi-overtly, and who I feel are notable enough in that regard to warrant mention.)

     Canon

Ellie – The Last of Us: Left Behind, The Last of Us: Part II

     lesbian (in-game)

Rivet – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

     trans woman, lesbian *0

Aloy – Horizon: Zero Dawn, Horizon II: Forbidden West, Genshin Impact

     bi woman (in-game)

Billie Lurk – Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

     bi woman (in-game)

Zagreus – Hades

    bi man (in-game)

Bloodhound – Apex Legends

    non-binary (in-game)

Makoa Gibraltar – Apex Legends

     gay (in-game)

Bangalore | Anita Williams – Apex Legends

     wlw (in-game)

Loba Andrade – Apex Legends

     bi woman (in-game)

Fuse | Walter Fitzroy – Apex Legends

     pan man (in-game)

Valkyrie | Kairi Imahara – Apex Legends

     lesbian (in-game)

Seer | Obi Edolasim – Apex Legends

     pan man

Catalyst | Tressa Smith – Apex Legends

     trans woman (in-game)

Alter | YingLing Lui – Apex Legends

     ace woman

Max Caulfield – Life is Strange, Life is Strange: Double Exposure

     bi girl (in-game)

Chloe Price – Life is Strange: Before the Storm

     wlw (in-game)

Sean Diaz – Life is Strange 2

     bi boy (in-game)

Alex Chen – Life is Strange: True Colors

     bi woman (in-game)

Tracer | Lena Oxton – Overwatch

      lesbian (in-game)

Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison – Overwatch

     gay (in-game)

Pharah |  Fareeha Amari – Overwatch

     lesbian (in-game)

Baptiste | Jean-Baptiste Augustin – Overwatch

     bi man (in-game)

Lifeweaver | Niran Pruksamanee – Overwatch

      pan man (in-game)

Venture | Sloan Cameron – Overwatch

      non-binary

Axton – Borderlands 2

     bi man (in-game)

Maya – Borderlands 2

     ace woman *1

Zer0 – Borderlands 2

     non-binary [agender] *2

Athena – Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

     lesbian (in-game) *3

FL4K – Borderlands 3

     non-binary, omni (in-game)

Zane – Borderlands 3

     pan man

Madeline – Celeste

     trans woman (in-game) *4

(Protagonist) – Undertale

    non-binary (in-game) *5

Kris – Deltarune

    non-binary (in-game) *6

The Knight – Hollow Knight

     non-binary [agender] (in-game)

Tyler Ronan – Tell Me Why

    trans man, mlm (in-game)

Birdo – Mario Kart (series), Mario Party (series), Mario Sports (series)

     trans woman (in-game)

Venom – Guilty Gear (series)

     gay man (in-game)

Testament – Guilty Gear (series)

     non-binary [agender] (in-game)

Bridget – Guilty Gear (series)

     trans girl (in-game)

Harry Du Bois – Disco Elysium

    bi man (in-game)

The Lamb – Cult of the Lamb

     non-binary

The Goat – Cult of the Lamb

     non-binary

Grace – Stray Gods

     wlw (in-game)

Jala  – Thirsty Suitors

     wlw (in-game)

Ryuji Sakamoto | Skull – Persona 5 (series)

     mlm (semi-explicit) *7.2

Aigis – Persona 3 -FES-, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 4: Arena, Persona 4: Arena -Ultimax-

     bi girl (in-game)

Elizabeth – Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 4: Arena, Persona 4: Arena -Ultimax-

     bi woman (in-game)

Kanji Tatsumi – Persona 4 (series)

     mlm (in-game)

Barry the Quokka – The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

     non-binary (in-game) 

Osa | Anja Janković – Rainbow Six: Siege

    trans woman (in-game)

Sens | Néon Ngoma Mutombo – Rainbow Six: Siege

    non-binary (in-game)

Flores | Santiago Lucero – Rainbow Six: Siege

    gay man (in-game)

Tubarão | Isaac Nunes Oliveira – Rainbow Six: Siege

    trans man (in-game)

Sundance | Emma Rosier  – Battlefield 2042

     non-binary (in-game)

Vi – League of Legends (series)

    wlw

Caitlyn Kiramman  – League of Legends (series)

     wlw

Malcolm Graves – League of Legends (series)

     gay (in-game)

Twisted Fate | Tobias Felix – League of Legends (series)

     omni man (in-game)

Diana – League of Legends (series)

     lesbian

Leona – League of Legends (series)

     wlw

Rell – League of Legends (series)

     bi girl

K’Sante – League of Legends (series)

     gay

Neeko  – League of Legends (series)

     lesbian (in-game)

Kung Jin – Mortal Kombat X

     gay (in-game)

Mileena – Mortal Kombat (series)

     wlw

Tanya – Mortal Kombat (series)

     wlw

Mae Borowski – Night in the Woods

     pan girl (in-game)

David King – Dead By Daylight

     gay (in-game)

Eden – The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

     non-binary

Niles – Fire Emblem Warriors

    bi man (in-game) *8

Yuri, Linhardt, Jeritza – Fire Emblem: Three Houses

    bi men (in-game) *9

Edelgard, Dorothea, Petra, Mercedes, Shamir, Catherine – Fire Emblem: Three Houses

    bi women (in-game) *9

Ladiva – Granblue Fantasy Versus

     trans woman (in-game)

Jacob Frye – Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

     bi man 

Oz – Monster Prom (series)

     non-binary boy, pan (in-game)

Sawyer, Abby – Monster Camp

    non-binary, pan (in-game)

Zoe – Monster Camp, Monster Prom: REVERSE

    trans girl, pan (in-game)

Riona – Monster Camp

    genderfluid, pan (in-game)

Amira, Vicky, Dahlia, Isis, Susanne, Modeus – Monster Prom (series)

     pan girls (in-game)

Brian, Damien, Calculester, Abdu, Jun-Seo, Noodles – Monster Prom (series)

     pan boys (in-game)

Alma – Unsighted

     lesbian (in-game)

Ann – ANNO: Mutationem

     wlw (in-game)

ELSTER – SIGNALIS

    wlw (in-game)

Cherry – Cookie Cutter

   wlw (in-game)

Catbat – Crash Team Rumble

    non-binary

Bolt – Crypt of the Necrodancer

     genderqueer 

Clementine – The Walking Dead: Season 2, The Walking Dead: The Final Season

     bi girl (in-game)

Javier Garcia – The Walking Dead: Season Three

     bi man (in-game)

Poison – Street Fighter (series), Final Fight Revenge

   trans woman

Marisa – Street Fighter 6

   bi woman (in-game)

Sharon – Street Fighter EX (series), Fighting EX Layer

    lesbian (in-game)

Raze | Tayane Alves – Valorant

     wlw

Killjoy | Klara Böhringer – Valorant

     wlw

Clove – Valorant

     non-binary

Wrastor – Rivals of Aether, Rivals 2

     mlm

Mollo – Rivals of Aether

     trans man

Astarion, Gale, Wyll – Baldur’s Gate III

     bi/pan men

Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Karlach – Baldur’s Gate III

     bi/pan women

The Bard – Wandersong

     non-binary

Caspian – Paladins

     pan man

Saati – Paladins

     lesbian

Fernando – Paladins

     gay

Sam – Last Year

     bi girl 

Nick – Last Year

     gay

El Bastardo – Bleeding Edge

     trans man (in-game, semi-explicit) *10

Morgan Yu (Female) – Prey ('17)

     lesbian (in-game) *11

Leo Kliesen – Tekken (series)

     transmasc non-binary *12

Jill – VA-11 HALL-A

     bi woman (in-game)

Nights – Nights into Dreams, Nights: Journey of Dreams

     non-binary, genderfluid

April Angelle, Deedee Dawkins, Maegan Mann – 60 Parsecs!

     wlw (in-game)

Emmet Ellis, Baby Bronco, Tom Thomson – 60 Parsecs!

     mlm (in-game)

(The Entire Roster) – Rolled Out!

     trans and/or non-binary *13

(Protagonist) – Dream Daddy

     potentially trans; gay or bi/pan man (player-directed, in-game) *14

     Player-Determined Canon

Ren Amamiya | Joker – Persona 5 (series), Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

     gay or bi/pan boy *7.1

Tatsuya Suou - Persona 2: Innocent Sin

     gay or bi/pan boy

Kotone Shiomi – Persona 3 -Portable-, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

     lesbian or bi/pan girl

Ciri – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

     lesbian or bi/pan woman

The Hunter – Bloodborne

     lesbian *15

The Tarnished – Elden Ring

      trans/genderfluid; lesbian *15

Corrin – Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem Warriors, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Byleth – Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Alear – Fire Emblem: Engage

      gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Kassandra – Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

     lesbian or bi/pan woman

Eivor – Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

      lesbian or bi/pan woman

Philip (Protagonist) – Eternights

     gay or bi/pan boy

Sol – I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

      non-binary; gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

(Protagonist) – Pyre

     non-binary

Alys (Protagonist) – 2064: Read Only Memories

    non-binary

Warrior of Light – Final Fantasy XIV

    gay, lesbian, or bi/pan; trans/genderfluid *16

Tav – Baldur’s Gate III

    gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Alain – Unicorn Overlord

    gay or bi/pan boy

(Protagonist) – Boyfriend Dungeon

     non-binary; gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Dovahkiin/Dragonborn – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

The Warden – Dragon Age: Origins

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Garret Hawke or Marian Hawke – Dragon Age II

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan 

The Inquisitor – Dragon Age: Inquisition

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Courier – Fallout: New Vegas

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Sole Survivor Nate – Fallout 4

     bi/pan man

Sole Survivor Nora – Fallout 4

     bi/pan woman

John Shepard or Jane Shepard – Mass Effect (series)

     gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Sara Ryder – Mass Effect: Andromeda

     lesbian or bi/pan woman

Scott Ryder – Mass Effect: Andromeda

     gay or bi/pan man

The Spacefarer – Starfield

      non-binary; gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Ares – Langrisser: Re:Incarnation Tensei

    gay or bi/pan man

(Protagonist) – Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

     mlm or wlw; non-binary

De Sardet – Greedfall

    gay, lesbian, or bi/pan

Jimmy Hopkins – Bully

     bi/pan boy

(Protagonist) – Temtem

     non-binary

(Protagonist) – BattleTech

      non-binary

     Ambiguously Canon

Alucard – Castlevania (series)

     bi man (arguably canon, explicit) *17

Ekko – League of Legends (series)

     bi boy (deliberately implicit canon?) *18

Ezreal – League of Legends (series)

     bi boy (deliberately implicit canon?) *18

Chloe Price – Life is Strange: Before the Storm

     genderfluid (unconfirmed canon, explicit) *19

Ike – Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Super Smash Bros. (series)

     gay (evidently canon, in-game, semi-explicit) *20

Wolf O'Donnell – Star Fox (series), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

     gay (evidently canon, in-game) *21

Eagle – Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper/MAX, Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

     gay (evidently canon, in-game, semi-explicit) *22

Byleth – Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

     non-binary man or non-binary woman (unintentionally canon, in-game, explicit) *23

The Glaive – Final Fantasy XV: Comrades

      non-binary man or non-binary woman (unintentionally canon, in-game, explicit) *24

Aether – Genshin Impact

     non-binary boy (unintentionally canon, in-game, explicit) *25

Lumine – Genshin Impact

    non-binary girl (unintentionally canon, in-game, explicit) *25

Specter Knight – Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Shovel Knight Showdown, Brawlhalla

    gay (seemingly canon, in-game, semi-explicit) *26

Kat – Gravity Rush, Gravity Rush 2, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale

     bi woman (interpretively canon, in-game) *27

Raven – Gravity Rush 2 [Another Story: The Ark of Time - Raven's Choice]

     lesbian (interpretively canon, in-game) *27

     Noteworthy Non-Canon

Shovel Knight – Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope

     gay/lesbian and/or trans and/or non-binary (in-game, explicit) *28

Alexios – Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

     gay or bi/pan man (in-game, explicit) *29

Eivor (Male) – Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

     gay or bi/pan man (in-game, explicit) *30

     Rules/Criteria

- I’m including directly playable characters only (for RPGs and strategy games, I'm only counting the player-character, not party members who can just be commanded in battle; Three Houses’ characters are sort of an exception). Also, the games listed for each are only the games in which the character is playable, but many appear in other games in non-playable, though still important, capacities. Another thing worth noting is that there may well be other queer characters in any of these games that aren’t playable.

- I’m not counting licensed characters (i.e., Deadpool is pan, and has his own game, but it's a licensed property, so I'm not including it. Clementine and Javier are technically an exception, but that’s due to them being original to the games, as far as I know; obviously Ciri is too, but the Witcher games have such a distinct identity I felt it was fine).

- Sections are arranged by degree of canonicity, but within each list, the order of characters is totally arbitrary.

- “In-game” indicates the queerness is expressed within the game itself, rather than by just word of god. “Explicit” is being counted as the queerness being clear and undeniable (word of god counts, so long as the statement is unambiguous).

- As mentioned up top, an * means there's a note below clarifying something about that inclusion or classification.

- “Series” indicates the character in question has appeared in three or more games under the same brand; worth noting is that these may not necessarily be the games in which the character’s queerness is expressed, even implicitly, but rather the games they are directly playable in.

- I'm separating “trans” and “non-binary” for classification purposes, but it goes without saying that non-binary people are fully valid in identifying as trans; in the context of this list, “trans” refers to binary-gendered trans folks.

- While very nearly any character can be headcanoned as bi, pan, or omni, I'm only classifying a character as potentially bi/pan if the game allows for them to romance more than one gender.

- The difference here between “mlm” and “gay or bi/pan” is that I’m using “mlm” for characters’ whose attraction to other men is certain, but whose specific identity is not, and “gay or bi/pan” for characters who can be unambiguously played as one of those specific identities; the same goes for “wlw” vs “lesbian or bi/pan”.

- Emphasis has been given to mainstream/AAA games for two reasons: because these are the games with the most profile and renown (and thus it is most significant for them to feature playable queer characters), and because these are the genres I'm personally most interested in (I'm well aware there are countless visual novels, dating sims, and various less conventional indie games that all have a plethora of queer characters, and those are certainly valued and appreciated, but save for a couple high-profile exceptions and direct requests, I'm not covering those).

- Send me an ask if you want further details on the confirmation/nature of certain characters' queerness (or if I got one wrong in some way).

     Notes/Clarifications/Explanations/Disclaimers

0* - That Rivet is canonically a lesbian was confirmed by one of the lead writers who worked on her; that she’s trans is a little more complicated, but still technically explicit. Way back when the second R&C game, Going Commando, came out, it featured a female Lombax (the same species as Ratchet himself) named Angela Cross, who notably lacked a tail. After seeing tons of theorizing and discourse on various forums and fielding tons of questions on the matter, the devs at Insomniac explained it simply as “female Lombaxes don’t have tails.” It was a word-of-god statement on a seemingly-inconsequential matter, but it was also a *whole thing.* Fast-forward twenty years or so, and we’re introduced to Rivet, the first female Lombax we’ve seen since Angela, and she has a tail. Apparently, the same writer who confirmed Rivet is a lesbian wasn’t aware of the tail’s implications, but she’s also not been with Insomniac that long, and welcomes the interpretation. And even besides the fact that trans/non-binary folks are known to have worked heavily on Rivet’s character, and in the wake of the original trailer, some devs engaged with fans in a way that strongly implied Rivet was intended to be trans, there’s also the simple fact that someone at Insomniac would have remembered the whole tail issue from years ago; someone would have known what the presence of a tail implied, and to my knowledge no acknowledgement of the tail is given in-game. Because it waws specifically established years ago that only AMAB Lombaxes have tails, Rivet having one is essentially both explicit and implicit confirmation of her being trans. (Also, this note is labeled as 0 because it was added well after the fact and I was too lazy to go through and change every one of the note numbers.)

1* - The lead writer of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel has stated that he headcanons Maya as asexual. This particular phrasing adds a slight degree of uncertainty, but there is writing in the game to support it, and of all the people to have a say in the matter, he would be the one who could confirm Maya's orientation.

2* - Zer0 has been repeatedly stated by Borderlands’s writers, albeit outside the games, to be agender and to use they/them pronouns; in-game, though, Zer0 is consistently referred to as he/him, which the lead writer has confirmed is (or, at least, was, at one point) an error and the fault of himself and the other writers for defaulting to cisnormative pronouns. As far as I’m aware, Borderlands 3 continues to have Zer0 referred to with he/him, while current official material outside the game uses they/them or avoids pronouns. I would argue Zer0 could be interpreted as either a) using they/them pronouns exclusively, but for whatever reason not communicating this to others or correcting others when misgendered, or b) that Zer0 simply uses both they/them and he/him (this is the one I prefer). This isn’t a caveat to the character’s canon queer status, it’s just a note I thought relevant.

3* - Although she is not playable in Tales From the Borderlands, Athena is shown even more explicitly to be a lesbian, and in a relationship with another female character, in that game; however, her attraction to women is still unambiguously, if much less prominently, conveyed in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

4* - The final chapter of Celeste shows that Madeline has two pride flags sitting on her personal desk, a rainbow gay pride flag (which, of course, also serves as a broader, more general queer pride flag) and a trans pride flag (the colors of which also form the palette of the Summit self-acceptance transitional cutscenes). Additionally, the photo of her on her nightstand shows her at a much younger age, with drastically shorter hair and seemingly boyish look, which aligns with canonical images showing her as being flat-chested in earlier pictures and not in later. Combined with the game’s themes of identity and self-acceptance, and the fact that the game’s creator is trans and non-binary, and the composer is trans, and the devs have liked tweets referring to Madeline as canonically trans, it’s more than safe to say that Celeste’s protagonist is a trans woman. EDIT: I forgot to add this to this post, but yeah, it’s long since explicitly confirmed that Madeline is trans.

5* - Alongside [redacted], Undertale's protagonist is only ever referred to with they/them pronouns and gender-neutral nicknames. While [redacted] being non-binary is more concrete (since [redacted]'s own brother, who knew them best of all, only uses they/them in reference to them), the protagonist being non-binary is sometimes considered slightly more contentious, as some interpret the character as simply androgynous and free for the player to project a gender. However, this has never been stated to be Toby Fox's intent, and a close friend of his has stated that the protagonist is, at least, not a girl; beyond this, they/them pronouns are specifically associated with non-binary gender identity, and thus the protagonist as non-binary is not only valid, but the simplest and most plausible explanation. (Also, regarding the names... yes, I know, I'm very aware. But for the sake of anyone who hasn't played Undertale, I'm simply referring to them here as “the protagonist” and [redacted]; for those who haven't played Undertale, if you want to go without spoilers, I cannot stress enough how important it is to not look up anything, especially not the names of these characters, and when you do play it, just name the fallen human Chara).

6* - Kris is, like Undertale’s protagonist, only referred to with they/them pronouns and gender-neutral terms, including by their family, close friends, and teacher. In addition, given that Undertale's protagonist (and, more importantly, [redacted]) is evidently non-binary, it stands to reason that Deltarune's is as well (this isn’t merely banking on an arbitrary pattern; there’s an in-universe plot point that backs this up, but it’s a slight spoiler). However, I would say the exclusive and increasingly-frequent use of they/them is explicit enough on its own, especially paired with Toby Fox casually, but pointedly, correcting the usage of he/him for Kris to they/them during the Fangamer Undertale 6th Anniversary stream.

7.1* - While negotiating with certain Shadows, Ren may be asked what kinds of girls he likes; among the options is “I like men.” This is non-binding and narratively unacknowledged, and the player can never act on the homosexuality this indicates, but it is nonetheless an explicit, in-game indication of same-gender attraction. Additionally, the dialogue throughout the game never forces the player to have Ren indicate heterosexuality, always giving just enough, and just the right, dialogue options as to skirt around expressing attraction to women (and even, now and then, allowing the player to implicitly indicate attraction to men). On top of this, the anime adaptation, Persona 5: The Animation, features an OVA specifically for the events of Valentine's Day within the story, comprised of 11 different scenarios. One of these (and, arguably, the most viably canon, for several reasons) is the scenario where Ren romances no one, and ends up spending the evening with his best friend, Ryuji. While the vanilla game leaves the full details of the evening unspoken (and Persona 5 Royal features an alternate version that plays out differently, albeit with some teasing), the anime reveals that the two decide to hang out in Ren's room all night, leading to them clearly kissing.

7.2* - The above-mentioned scene in the anime confirms both Ren and Ryuji’s same-gender attraction. As mentioned, it is the most viably canon scenario (in both the game and the anime, for numerous reasons), but technically it’s only canon if the player makes it so by choosing to spend Valentine’s Day evening with Ryuji. However, Ryuji’s orientation is unaffected by how Ren is played; even if the scenario where Ryuji kisses Ren doesn’t occur, that he would is still true either way, and so Ryuji is firmly mlm. Additionally, much of the themes and dialogue of his arc fall heavily in-line with this. (Whether he’s gay, bi, pan, or omni is up to interpretation; personally, I hold him to be gay, because if he is actually attracted to women, that means his more... unsavory behavior is genuine and not just the overexaggerated, performative heterosexuality of a closeted gay boy trying to convince everyone, including himself, that he’s totally straight).

8* - Niles’ bisexuality is evident in Fire Emblem: Fates, but, to my understanding, not in Warriors.

9* - These characters technically meet my criteria of being directly playable (in battle, you can directly control them, even run around as them), but I grouped them together so as to not oversell their “playable character” status, since Byleth is still the only real player-character. Pretty much the same applies to the characters from 60 Parsecs!, who I’m mentioning here instead of in their own note because I’m lazy and adding a new note means renumbering all the subsequent notes.

10* - As you can see here, El Bastardo seems to have top surgery scars. I can’t for the life of me find any other mention of discussion of this, let alone confirmation, but fuck it, I’m counting it ‘cause those are clearly top surgery scars and we are hard-up for trans rep in games.

11* - There is a player-determined element to Morgan's queerness, but it’s merely the gender of the character, chosen at the start of the game. Morgan is only queer if the player plays as the female version.

12* - Similar note to Zer0′s: Leo evidently uses both he/him and they/them pronouns, by which I mean that, due to unclear intent and localization complicating things, it’s not totally apparent what Leo’s specific identity is meant to be, beyond having a gender identity that is queer in some way. However, it is fairly clear he is transmasc to some extent, and I believe the most viable interpretation is that he’s, as I’ve listed him, a transmasc non-binary man.

13* - Rolled Out! is a spiritual successor to Super Monkey Ball, and all eight of its main characters (all adorable semi-anthropomorphic animals rolling around in translucent spheres) are non-binary and use they/them pronouns. There are going to be binary-gendered characters who can be unlocked, all of which are going to be trans. This is bold and powerful as all goddamn get out, and god I wish that type of gameplay was appealing to me (it still looks totally great, even if it’s not my genre).

14* - The Dream Daddy protagonist's queerness is labeled as “player-directed” only because the player has the choice of the nature of his queerness; it should be noted, whatever approach the player takes, the protagonist is a man attracted to men. 

15* - For those unaware, there is a Key Item in Bloodborne, obtainable only in Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice Dungeons, called the Ring of Betrothal. It is functionally useless (though it provides what is, potentially, extremely significant lore), except that it allows the Hunter to propose to Queen Annalise. She will reject the Hunter no matter what, but the option and interaction are the same regardless of the Hunter's gender. Similarly, Elden Ring allows the player to become consort to Ranni. Additionally, Elden Ring also has a fully diegetic means of re-editing one’s character, with all NPCs still regarding your character as the same individual; as such, changing from a female Tarnished to a male one, for instance, means your Tarnished is explicitly a trans man. 

16* - FFXIV has no NPC romance options, but players can marry other players, as well as separate and remarry. This isn’t limited by gender. Additionally, players can change their WoL’s gender at any time via a Phial of Phantasia, a diegetic item which allows full re-customization of your character. Like Elden Ring, NPCs will continue to regard and acknowledge your WoL as the same person, regardless of any new gender, making it functionally explicit that your WoL is trans in such a scenario.

17* - Alucard is explicitly bisexual in the (phenomenal) Castlevania animated series on Netflix. However, that series does not share continuity with the games, leaving it unspecified if he is bi in the games as well. That said, there’s no reason to believe he isn’t, and it’s more than viable to interpret that Alucard being bi is the case in all continuities.

18* - League of Legends features a number of skin lines depicting alternate universes, most of which are fully unconnected to the canon. The Pulsefire universe, however, was conceived as an alternate timeline branching from the main continuity (meaning its versions of these characters are, ostensibly, just extensions of the canon versions), and within this universe, it is very overtly implied something non-platonic developed between Ekko and Ezreal. The writer of the story where this occurred then posted a thread about the difficulty of writing overtly queer stories for a global IP, ending it by linking to Ekko and Ezreal’s Pulsefire story and saying “Anyway, completely unrelated, please enjoy this story about Ezreal and Ekko.” He later further hinted at this when teased about the story’s homoromantic tension.

19* - I’ve put this aspect of Chloe’s identity here instead of the Canon section not because I think it’s particularly likely to be non-canon, but because it’s only been indicated through word-of-god (specifically, this interview with Chloe’s VA, Ashly Burch), and it never comes up in the games or comics. I don’t want to give anyone who sees this and hasn’t played LiS false hope that a main character is explicitly genderfluid.

20* - Ike's relationship with Soren is widely interpreted to be romantic. The pair have an emotionally intimate scene together in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn that is officially referred to as “the moment when their two hearts become one,” as well as an ending in the same game that sees the two set off together with the assertion that their only place is beside each other. Beyond that, their bond possesses a repeatedly emphasized and mutual closeness throughout the Radiance duology, which is, for each character, exclusive to the other. Neither character shows any interest in women, and Japanese-only media has (depending on translation) described Ike as either unaware of or actively uninterested in the affections of women, as well as having love for Soren. Despite all this, however, Ike's queerness is not technically explicit. The most overt evidence relies on translating Japanese text in certain ways; within the games, it's up to interpretation, and while the most viable and sensible interpretation is that he's gay and in love with Soren, it's still not entirely concrete. In other words, Ike is evidently gay, and clearly intentionally so, but not indisputably so.

21* - Wolf is very overtly written and designed to fit the traditional Japanese stereotype of gay men, referred to as Hard Gay: a starkly masculine, muscular, showoff-y, domineering, macho figure. That Wolf is a mildly sadistic, eyeliner-wearing, tsundere leatherboy only adds to the heavy gay-coding (his Super Smash Bros. Brawl look must be mentioned for its unbelievably heavy gay-coding). Much of his dialogue, mainly towards Fox and particularly in Star Fox: Assault, is easily read with homoerotic subtext (much moreso in Japanese but to some extent still in the English localization), and to a degree that, combined with how easily recognized his gay-coding is from an Eastern perspective, makes it unlikely the implied queerness is unintentional. In the same vein as Ike, though, clearly intended queerness is not necessarily explicit queerness, and though it's safe to say Wolf is meant to be gay, it can't be said that he's indisputably gay.

22* - Eagle has a plethora of quotes from the games he's playable in that very overtly allude to him being exclusively attracted to men; like Wolf, however, this is almost entirely relegated to his Japanese dialogue, though it is still somewhat true of his lines in English. This, accompanied by his design rather obviously being an homage to bisexual icon Freddie Mercury, clearly indicates that he is intended to be a gay man. Unfortunately, it has never been commented on officially, and is not technically explicit within the games.

23* - While there’s no deliberately official indication of Byleth being non-binary, Three Houses does quite literally refer to them, both in guide/tutorial text and in-universe via actual dialogue, using singular they/them pronouns, and numerous times, no less. Granted, it’s obvious the intent was just to not have to do two voiceover tracks for those scenes for each gendered version of Byleth; but regardless of intent, what that unequivocally conveys (at least in the English version, where singular gender-neutral pronouns carry a different connotation than in Japanese) is that Byleth canonically uses they/them in addition to either he/him or she/her.

24* - Same as with Byleth, and in fact the player’s Glaive is never referred to with binary pronouns; characters refer to the Glaive with they/them exclusively. Again, assuredly just a byproduct of Japanese language having, as I understand, a more well-established/accepted gender-neutral singular pronoun, while in English they/them is used only for cases of not knowing a person’s pronouns or knowing that they do use they/them. Nonetheless, in the English localization, the player’s Glaive explicitly uses they/them.

25* - Once again, both Traveler siblings in Genshin are regularly referred to with they/them, though in this case it’s weirdly even more explicit, since they’re both intermittently referred to with they/them and he/him or she/her, even by each other. While assuredly the same explanation as Byleth and the Glaive, it still reads overtly as Aether and Lumine both using they/them. (Also, this is currently the only Genshin inclusion on this list because good lord I do not feel like writing the detailed explanations needed to make clear the queerness among Genshin’s playable characters. Suffice to say, there are numerous Genshin characters who are queer in a way that’s almost explicit, but still technically implicit; most occupy a kind of grey area where, to see the full picture of their queerness, you have to consider various scenes, plot points, and lines of dialogue in connection with one another, and read into the implications. There are a few, as well, who are actually outright queer, but I’m not including them because with the way characters in Genshin express affection, I really don’t know where to draw the line of “this is explicit, while this is is technically still interpretative.”)

26* - In Specter of Torment, the closest thing to a romantic element present is Specter Knight being, on several occasions, kissed by a druidic skeleton named Gall, who the devs went out of their way, of their own accord, on Twitter to specify is male. Although Specter Knight is reluctant to kiss Gall, his reason seems purely that it’s specifically a Kiss of Death, a lethal magical technique Gall is practicing and intends to use on heroes (when used on Specter Knight, either he or Gall dies, though obviously only temporarily, since they’re both undead). So, while this is kind of a homoromantic interaction, it’s also kind of not. But, Gall being specified as male seems to indicate that the interaction is meant to confirm Specter Knight is gay; otherwise, I can’t think of any reason why Yacht Club would have bothered specifying. So, I’d say it’s likely Specter Knight is intended to be gay, but not concrete.

27* - Alright, here's my one inclusion that really depends on interpretation. I tried to keep everything strictly canon or official, sticking to cases that didn't require much (or, ideally, any) reading into, but this is one that I feel I have to include, even if it's arguably just a headcanon. Slight spoilers for Gravity Rush 2 ahead: Kat and Raven are two halves of the same soul, split before either was born; cosmically speaking, it could be said they're two halves of the same person, but functionally, they're completely different and distinct from each other. Over the course of the Gravity Rush duology, their bond grows as they end up living together, even sleeping in the same bed, and eventually Raven refers to Kat as half of who she is (though, again whether that's a “soulmates” thing or a “two halves of one soul” thing is up to interpretation, as is whether or not there's a difference between those two things). Indisputably, there's strong affection between the pair, and it's wholly viable to interpret them as a romantic couple, at least by the end of Gravity Rush 2. However, it's far from canon or explicit, and fully unknown what was intended. If you ask me, Kat and Raven are a couple of ultra-powerful cosmic wlw magical girl superheroes, but if you're looking for something official, sadly, that's not this.

28* - Shovel Knight features a function for its original/main campaign, Shovel of Hope, called Body Swap, which allows the player to change the sprites and pronouns (independently) of the main cast of characters. As such, both Shovel Knight and Shield Knight, who are lovers, can be the same gender, and Shovel Knight can have a sprite that is gendered one way (masculine or feminine, though both sprites are fairly androgynous) and pronouns of whichever gender you choose (he/him, she/her, or they/them). However, as neat as this is, it is quite evidently not canon (and it is limited to just Shovel of Hope, which is why I didn’t list the absolute myriad of other games Shovel Knight is playable in).

29* - The novelization of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (as well as subsequent AC content, and I believe even outright comments by the devs) confirmed Kassandra to be the canon player-character sibling, so while Alexios can also be played as explicitly queer, his canon orientation is not in the player's hands.

30* - The canon gender option for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is “Let the Animus Decide.” Simplifying a little, and without going into spoilers, this has Eivor as a woman, which aligns with the prequel comic (there’s no way to explain further without major spoilers; trust me, I’m not erasing any component of the character’s identity). So, like with Alexios, while you can play as a male version of Eivor, he is explicitly not the canon version of the protagonist.

[casualotptrash]

Why the Persona 3 FES vs Portable Debate Makes Me Want to Fly Into the Sun Pt. 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Da da da daaa!

Part 3 of this lovely emotional rant is here, for anyone who wants to spend their time reading these. With the last two posts, I have mostly tried to be informative or just complain a bit about why this debate makes me want to fly into the sun, but for this post it’s going to go a little different. Perhaps a bit more subjective than the others.

In this post, I’m going to go over everyone's favorite clusterfuck...a definitive version of Persona 3.

Now, as we established in the previous post, we know that the argument of FES vs Portable is essentially pointless because everyone’s opinion on either game is subjective. However, I have neglected to bring up this topic that puts a huge ass nail into this dusty old coffin: the fact that there is objectively no definitive version of Persona 3.

Everyone can argue all day and night about which version of P3 is better, but no one can deny that either version are “definitive.” By definitive, I mean that the game has the most content that is offered, like Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal. The reason none of the P3 games are definitive is because base P3 lacks stuff from FES and Portable, FES lacks stuff fro Portable, and Portable lacks things from FES. It’s a gamble of whether you want to experience cutscenes, an overworld, and The Answer, or a whole new route with the FeMC and the brand new option of dating male party members and saving...you know who.

One might be able to say FES is definitive because it has The Answer, which I believe is considered canon according to the Arena games. Another could say Portable is the definitive version because it came out after FES, added the FeMC (who is technically canon as per the second Persona Q game), and removes The Answer (which a lot of people said The Answer messed with the core theme of P3). However, the definition of definitive in this case, and with all of the other games, is that the game offers the most content. Arguably, FES and Portable provide the same amount of content, just in different ways. This is why this whole conversation of which one is better, or which to play first, spawned in the first place.

The reason I am bringing this up in this post, about why this whole discussion physically pains me, is because having a real, definitive version of the game could finally put this discussion to rest. At least, it somewhat would. People would probably still argue that FES is the best for some reason.

Now, the argument becomes...well, what does a definitive version of Persona 3 look like?

I have seen quite a bit about this topic, and people seem to really miss some common sense points. For example, they get caught up in whether it would be considered a remake or a remaster. I know some use those terms interchangeably, but the “official” definition for each is that a remake is a game that is made from scratch, while a remaster is made by updating the existing assets and engine. For example, the upcoming Nocturne HD release is a remaster. Personally I find it difficult to neatly fit the typical persona definitive editions, like Golden and Royal, into either of these categories. It may just be me not fully grasping the differences between the two, but I believe they would fit into more of the “remaster” category. It is true that there are new assets and content being added to the game, but it’s so minor that I’m not sure it could be considered a remake. On the other hand, because new content is added it couldn’t just be defined as a remaster because typically the effects and such aren’t even changed that much. It’s just gameplay and story content that is tweaked.

When people get so caught up in what it would be considered, logic seems to...go out the window? For example, in a debate between a P3 remaster or remake, a person made a comment that if a remake was to happen then people would demand that all of the social links be available to anyone. Now, that just isn’t possible for a variety of reasons. There’s no way we could ever mix and match social links to get a preferred grouping. Another issue with this is that if just a remaster was made, then one of the two games would be left out.

This is why I don’t really think about whether a definitive edition is a remaster or remake, because using such strict labels make it harder to judge what could, or should, be in one. This is why I’m just referring to this process as making a definitive edition. That being said, I would consider a definitive P3 game to be more of a remake (not that it really matters) because my ideas would essentially combine FES and Portable, in a way?

So here we go, into my idea of what a definitive version of Persona 3 would look like. (Warning: This will contain spoilers for all of the P3 story and *gasp* may be a bit biased toward Portable because I like it more)

1. Presentation

In simple terms, I would want the game to essentially be Portable...but with updated graphics, cutscenes from FES, and an overworld. It’s easier to use Portable as a base because it’s already closer to the format of P4 and P5, so then adding in the good parts of FES with the cutscenes and overworld are par for the course. As far as graphics go, I would like the models and environment to look more like P3D (aka whatever engine they used for Persona 5?) because damn did the characters get a glow up.

2. Gameplay

Along with the format of Portable, I would also want the gameplay of Portable to be in this definitive version. That means no jealousy system, no fatigue until after you leave tartarus, the vision quest, and the other changes I mentioned in the first post. Sorry FES fans, but yes...I would still want the option of controllable party members. However, a new change that should be added is backup members earning exp. I don’t think baton passes or anything should be added, we don’t want a clone of P5, and the combo attacks in P3P kind of fill this role anyway. The idea of having social links give certain perks with ranks, like how confidants work in P5, is interesting but I don’t think it would be necessary. I would also say that the soundtrack should be exclusive for each side, like how it is in Portable, and that there should be an option to choose which skills are inherited.

3. Social Links

The stance I would take with social links would essentially be how Portable did it, but with a slight tweak. No matter how much it would be cool to date Rio or Saori as the Male MC, or vice versa with Kaz or Keisuke and FeMC, I don’t think any mixing of the two sides would really be feasible. However, I would love to see cameos of those characters in the opposing routes. For example, you see Yuko and Kaz in the female route, but in the male route you could see Saori and Rio at school. That being said, and this is probably one of the biggest issues, I would want the male protag to be able to have social links with the entire party, men included. This brings up the issue of what social links you would cut out because you can’t have two social links be the exact same arcana. Unless they want to add more arcanas to the game, which would probably not go over well either, the best option is probably to prioritize the male party members and then have who would usually be in their place just show up sometimes. For example, Kenji would show up in the social link with Junpei instead of the magician social link just being about one or the other.

I know this seems weird, but it does kind of avoid shafting one or the other. If it was too hard to fit the two together (such as Chihiro and Ken both being Justice), perhaps a few more school scenes could be added where the MC interacts with the school friends that are not seen as much (Kenji, Chihiro, etc.) However, and this might piss off 1% of people but whatever, but the moon arcana with Nozomi (Gourmet king dude) could just be completely taken over by Shinji. Nozomi is a meme, but he is not needed in any way. Also, I would prioritize Yuko in the male route over Koromaru since, although he is a very good boy, he is still a dog. Also, please get rid of the option that you’re forced to romance every girl in the male route, and personally I would say keep in the fact that you cannot date Junpei. In a headcanon sort of way, I totally dig the idea of the MC being able to help Junpei through his rough time after Chidori dies (if she dies?) and feelings grow from there, but from a story perspective I think it’s integral to his character that he friendzones the player if they try.

So TLDR; who the social link is about would mainly stay true to the original route (male route with Kaz, etc. and female route with Rio, etc.), however in the male route the party members would take priority (so Akihiko would take the star arcana place and Mamoru (track guy) would just be featured in the link sometimes), and in both routes Shinji would take Nozomi’s place as the moon. Important note that besides including the other character, the main substance of the social link shouldn’t be changed; aka they should not change the format of the social links to operate more like P5 social links where the MC is just solving all of their problems.

(Sidenote: This is imply my idea on how to include party members into the social links for the male route, however if they just decided to keep the social links the exact same as Portable with no male party member social links with the male route then I’d be fine with that too. It wouldn’t really take away from the game as a whole for me, personally.)

4. Romance Options

Riding off of the social link talk...and I know this is like the least likely option of happening, but please make some gay options Atlus? If we can romance every single girl in the male route, why not just add the romance option for the men too? Yes yes there’s the whole argument about the issue of “making everyone bi” (thanks for erasing sexuality that care more about connections rather than gender?), but I say look no further than how Dragon Age 2 did it. Every romanceable option in that game can be romanced be either the male or female main character (barring a DLC character who is only romanceable by females), and it works just fine. Turns out, no one really gives a shit if it’s “realistic” enough (aka only having one or no bi/gay people apparently?) because it’s a video game and people want to romance whoever they want...because it’s a video game. Even if you really, really don’t like this approach there is also the option of going the Dragon Age Inquisition route, where characters are able to be romanced by certain genders and not by others (race also plays a role in this in the game, since there are elves and other fantasy races and such, but this is not applicable to Persona obviously). This is simply a hypothetical example, but how this would work is that like Fuuka can only be romanced by the Male MC, Akihiko and Yukari could be romanced by either MC, and Mitsuru could only be romanced by the FeMC. Obviously social links specific to a run would be a romanceable option to the MC in their route (as in Yuko would only be romanceable by Male MC because she’s only in her run, and social links like Saori could be a romance for FeMC because she’s specific to her route). I have a gut feeling this would cause an even bigger uproar with the fandom, so having any romance option (barring route specific social links for the route they’re not in) be available for either male or female MC is the best option in my opinion.

Take out Ken’s romance option altogether though. I know some of the language is different, so it doesn’t say you “spend a long night together” or whatever, but that doesn’t really make it any better. I do think it’s fine if Ken has a crush on the MC, and maybe has a whole Kenji thing of thinking they are together cause he’s 10 and kids can be like that, but the MC wouldn’t actually act on this and the player could be given the choice to actively dissuade Ken. The only good thing that came out of Ken’s romance option was the fact that him and Akihiko can argue in Tartarus if you romance them both, and I don’t want to lose that hilarious dialogue.

5. Tartarus

Tartarus...uh...to be honest I’m not really sure what to do with this beast. It’s boring and tedious in the first place, probably by design for symbolism in the game, but I’m not sure how to make it interesting without copying the dungeon/palace format. Perhaps the blocks could be restructured to act more like a big puzzle that needs to be solved, like certain sections of palaces in P5, but also have bosses and shadows thrown in. For example, perhaps one block could be more reminiscent of hide-and-seek stealth tactics while another is formatted like a series of arena-esque gladiator fights. Also probably lower the number of floors you need to climb? It gets a bit ridiculous when you realize there are 264 floors of Tartarus and 99% of them are the same but just with more funky music and slightly different decorations. This job is suited for someone with actual video game making experience though, and not me.

6. Awakenings and Pacing

Let’s talk about some quick fixes to awakenings and pacing of the game. Now, since this is a definitive version and not a true remake, I wouldn’t want them to rewrite the entire story or something. Most of the party member’s original awakenings happen off screen, which can be kind of lackluster. The MC’s and Fuuka’s are the only two we really see, and those moments were really cool in my opinion. Obviously we wouldn’t see Mitsuru’s, Akihiko’s, or Shinji’s original awakenings, but that is fine. Yukari and Junpei also fall into this boat because Yukari awakens before the MC gets to the dorm, and it would be hard to show Junpei’s awakening while also having his whole “reveal” moment when he comes to the dorm to live there. I don’t know if it’s ever mentioned when Ken awakens to his persona, but making a scene to show both his and Koromaru’s would be helpful instead of just saying Ken has the potential and he’s joining, and hearing about Koromaru awakening but not actually seeing it. As for the pacing, I’m mainly talking about the summer time where you can’t hang out with a good number of social links. I would just change this so that you can hang out with school social links during this time more readily, like if they’re just hanging out somewhere in town if they’re not at school. Like I said, this isn’t a remake (and I’m not a video game designer) so I didn’t want to get into how to fix the overall pacing of the story, which can be pretty slow until October or so. My one suggestion is maybe adding in a few extra scenes with Strega before October so it’s not like we run into them a couple times and suddenly they’re a major villain.

7. Shinjiro

(Spoilers for after October) I know certain people will definitely not like this point, but I think the option to save Shinji should remain in the game (and Chidori too). I’ll go into this in another post, but my main reason for keeping this in is because some people really do like this option, so it would be kind of unfair just to get rid of it because other people don’t like it. However, I would suggest a change to his social link so that there is the option to save him or not while also being able to complete the social link. Perhaps after rank 10 would be when you could give him the pocket watch, so that people could get the rank 10 and not be forced to save him. 

8. Extra Content

(Spoilers for the ending of Persona 3 and The Answer) Each definitive version has extra content in the “third semester” (because Persona 4 and 5 both essentially end after December), but in Persona 3 the natural game ends in January. I am not sure if they would try to add another whole months or so on, but because The Answer already exists, but I assume they wouldn’t add extra content in February or something for the MC. For The Answer, I would keep this in the game as sort of the “extra content” but add a FeMC version of this. Obviously it would be largely the same, except with the FeMC and perhaps the male party members could get more of a focus since the female party members get a larger focus in the male route (ie. Yukari breaking down with the keys. Maybe Junpei or Akihiko could take on this role as the people who don’t want to let go). Also, as a possible new addition to The Answer, Shinji could be a part of it if he is saved during the main game. In the NG+ run of Portable FeMC route, if you romance Shinji he comes to the rooftop for that final scene, so in a way it could be possible for him to recover by the time The Answer happens in March.

Now, if Atlus decided to add a more typical “extra content” thing, I hope they wouldn’t try to cram The Answer in on top of that unless they were able to do it cohesively. It might be a lot to have the whole ending of the game in January, come up with a reason to have extra content in February (presumably with the MC still alive, but also combat would need to be a part so then the issue arises of Tartarus coming back or something?), and then have the answer take place right after near the end of March.

Well that’s the end of that I think. This will also be the last post in this little “series” because I pretty much went over everything about this debate that makes me want to fly into the sun. I know the things I talked about in these posts will probably never stop, but I really hope that if a definitive version comes out at least the discussion will change to saying what is good or bad about each game rather than FES supremacy or whatever. That being said, above all I really hope this debate doesn’t discourage new fans from Persona 3 or the series in general, because that would probably be the worst outcome from all of this. It’s a great game, and it’s a shame that the game itself is kind of held back by being split into two (I’m not counting base Persona 3) different forms.

[airlock]

happy pride month!

this round, I'm making you all read, at the very least, this iconic gayass excerpt from Shadow Dragon

Minerva: Palla, I am truly sorry. I never meant to involve you and your sisters in my personal battles. Palla: Your battles are our battles, Commander. Minerva: But our kingdom has fallen apart: sons slay their fathers; brothers and sisters trade blows instead of kisses… I have let Macedon be destroyed. Palla: I do not think so. Nor do I think you should feel troubled for our sake. You are our home, more than Macedon; our true house is the sky around you. We will always serve you, Commander, through thick and thin. I swear it. Minerva: Palla…

Semifinals, Match 1

[airlock]

much love to tiki/say'ri too but I need you all to understand this much:

Quarterfinals, Match 3

[airlock]

man alive I can't vote in this one. see, I'm here for sharena all the way, but also, look at farina and karla's entire A support (which, being a karla support, chances are good no one's seen it and I wouldn't wish for anyone to put themselves through trying to unlock them regardless-)

Farina: So, Karla. What are you going to do after this all ends? I plan on returning home… Karla: Well, I… Farina: You haven’t even thought about it? I don’t know what to do with you! You’re just not very organized, are you? So, how did you end up traveling like this, anyway? Karla: I was looking for someone. Farina: Let me guess. A man, right? Karla: Yes…a man… I want to see him…very badly, so I set out traveling. I felt…attached to him. I still can’t seem to let go… I still hope that someday, we can be as we once were… Farina: Whoa! Karla: Huh? Farina: Karla, we’ve got some talking to do. You just can’t spend your life chasing some guy! Capable women live on their own, pay their own bills! Do you see what I’m getting at? Does that make sense? Karla: Um, yes. Farina: That’s why you need to be able to make some money! Oh, yeah! Hey, Karla, do you want to be a mercenary with me? We’d be strong and beautiful! Who could resist hiring us? And we could split the payment…mmm…60/40? Karla: …Hmm. That might be a good idea. Thanks, Farina. If you really want to, I’d be happy to try that. Farina: So we have a deal?

Round 1, Group 1

[airlock]

Round 2, Group 4

[airlock]

this is another tough one, I'm legit not voting -- but I'm here anyway to convince you all about why you should vote for both of them, somehow.

so first, about Micaiah and Vika, you might be stunned to find that this one is rooted on an actual canon interaction, much like Vika normally isn't with all of her abundant screentime-- but look, behold here, she's in like 3 scenes total and she still found the time to do this

Micaiah: Hello, Vika. Can I help you? Vika: Meep! Micaiah: Vika! Vika: … Micaiah: You always run away from me… Did I do something to offend you? Vika: No, I’m so sorry. I can’t explain why this happens. I get so jumpy around you. There’s just… something about you. Micaiah: Oh… Vika: Oh, but please don’t be sad! It’s not you. It’s me. I get… confused… sometimes. I really admire you, and then I get a bizarre feeling, and… Micaiah: It’s all right. Sorry to bother you. Vika: …No. Wait. Micaiah: Hm? Vika: I want to overcome this. I don’t like that I feel I must avoid you for some inexplicable reason. Micaiah: But… Vika: I know how painful it is to be… feared. I’m really, really sorry. Let’s be friends, OK? If you can forgive me, that is… Micaiah: Of course I forgive you! Thank you, Vika. I’d be honored to have your friendship.

now, let's clarify what's going on here for whoever's brain isn't sufficiently steeped and rotting in Tellius lore yet. Micaiah is Branded -- the daughter of a beorc and a laguz (or, in terms plainer to us but incredibly offensive in-universe, a human and a beast-person). the Branded are a despised minority whether among beorc or laguz -- but they usually live among the beorc, passing as one of them, which they can do as long as they conceal their slow aging and strange powers. much harder to live among the laguz, who can sense the Branded by instinct, so there's no hiding among them.

you might have caught where this is going already: Vika herself is a raven laguz, so she can sense that Micaiah is Branded. but Vika was (presumably) raised in slavery in the beorc country of Begnion, and not within a laguz community, so that's presumably why she can't identify the weird juju that Micaiah gives off to her.

so let's line up where this all takes us, then. Vika gets the most biologically ingrained rancid vibes whenever she's around Micaiah -- and she still admires Micaiah. she still wants to be friends with Micaiah (and, y'know, also something else we're imagining, but hey, you've got to start somewhere-), even if it's challenging for her because of reasons beyond her control.

(and the best part? Micaiah is presumably perfectly aware of all of this. she knows that laguz can sense her Brand, which is why she's mostly avoided them prior to the events that brought her to work with Tormod, Muarim and Vika. she can probably tell why it actually is that Vika struggles around her -- and what it means that Vika is putting in this effort anyway. and even if Micaiah didn't know jack or squat, one of her weirdo Branded powers is hyperempathy, so she doesn't just know what Vika is feeling -- she can probably sense it. ... anyway, you might be wondering why Micaiah still talks to Vika like she doesn't know what the problem is either, but, well. she's not trying to let people find out she's Branded. so, she's got her own walls to overcome in this relationship too. isn't that exciting?)

anyway, boy, that was a lot of words, huh? good thing that, for Elincia and Leanne's case, I can do without those things -- I've got something that, as I'm told, is worth a thousand of 'em.

Round 1, Group 2

[airlock]

interesting matchup, this one. I'm sure we're all familiar with Ivy's spontaneous-yet-retracted L-bomb, but do Vanessa and Lute have anything in their exchanges to match?

Vanessa: Lute, did you know this? The wings of a thousand pegasi are an incredibly potent aphrodisiac. Lute: I…I didn’t know that… OK, now I really need Titania’s help. Lute: Wait! Wait! I was just kidding! Hush, Titania! Hush! I was joking! Vanessa: I see… I was, um, kidding, as well. Heh heh? Hee hee! Consider it payback. But, Lute, I never thought you would try to steal the wings right off her back! Guess the battlefield is a lonely place! Ha ha ha ha!

... honestly it's an exercise best left to the reader.

(context: Titania is Vanessa's pegasus. no relation to the human Titania from the very next game afterward)

Round 3, Group 4

[airlock]

if anyone would like to see some logs for themselves on that one: it starts here and goes on for two more maps!

I gotta know how Katarina ended up in Sharena's harem, is it from some old feh event or was it just for funsies?

There was a Paralogue when Katarina was introduced where Sharena filled basically the same narrative role as Kris in regards to their relationship

[airlock]

so, while we're doing this, I figure I may as well Propagandize sometimes; not because I suuuper care about the final results but because it's never a bad time to draw people's attentions to how gay some of the interactions we're going over around here really are

which is to say, much love to tanya and mareeta, but here's Nino Being Smooth As Hell Hours

Rebecca: So…Nino. How’s that necklace coming? Nino: Oh, Rebecca! Here! Take a look! Rebecca: Wow! That’s nice! Good job, Nino! Nino: Well, I had a good teacher, I guess! But I think maybe it’s a little big for me… Rebecca: Hmm. It might be at that… Why don’t you just give it to someone you fancy? Nino: Someone I fancy? Rebecca: Yeah, you know… Someone you like? Nino: Rebecca, did you give a necklace to someone? Rebecca: Well, I… It’s a secret… Nino: Hmm… Here… Take it.

Round 1, Group 1

[airlock]

look at the gayass cg again.

Round 3, Group 2

[airlock]

right, so, I think calling it "propagandizing" as I usually do would imply a stronger level of attachment to FEH OCs than I really have -- consider this more of an informational notice, if you will

because the thing is, I'm sure a lot of folks around here who picked up FEH long enough ago to remember when Fjorm and Laegjarn were shiny new characters... also fell out of FEH roughly around the same time as I did, and might not have heard that a little bit of additional Book II story came out in 2021. (or they might have heard about Nifl and Múspell coming out as playable units, respectively with Bad Female Character Art By A Guy and no shirt on, but nothing further than that)

anyway, the entire thing was centered around Nifl and Múspell (the gods, not the countries) using Fjorm and Laegjarn as champions to fight each other with, but Fjorm was so exceedingly gay and useless about the whole thing that she pulled a Prophecy Twist on it and killed Múspell

if you want to catch what that was all about without having to do any arcane thing like dusting off the FEH app, FEH wikia has scripts for the whole thing! I'm linking to Tempest Trials: Ice & Flame 1 here, and for the rest, you just have to look for the same thing but 2, 3, 4, 5 and Finale.

Round 1, Group 4

[airlock]

so I can't vote for f!Kris/Katarina here BUT, if I'm going to boost one ship with my writing, it's only fair I do the same for all the gayass ones I've written about along the way here, huh?

so here, f!Kris/Katarina fic from 2018 upon you

Round 1, Group 2

[airlock]

it's time to bring up what I've neglected to last round, I suppose!

I have a Minerva/Palla multichapter fic; it's focused on Catria/Clair but Minerva and Palla are also absolutely there being gay at each other. if nothing else, it should be worth it for the bit where Leon refers to Minerva as "Palla's girl-toy"-

that said, as minpalla fic goes, my friend @wyvern-dork is the apostle, the saint, the alpha and th-- wait, no, that implies the wrong thing. er. anyway, here's all her Minerva/Palla stuff

Round 2, Group 1