#fl4k x ellie

[taktycznyslonecznik]

I really wanted to draw them together, I think they're sweet 🥺

[wikagirl]

allrighty buckos here is the breakdown of how I measure stuff via zer0 that nobody asked for. This is purely for entertainment purposes so you may witness my insanity, there is probably an easier way to do this. Also warning: I'm german so I use x,y insead of x.y for decimals except for feet and inches stuff because I have to copy that shit from a calculator website because that shit don't make sense to me

Needlessly detailed and probably also overly complicated explanation below the cut.

Example of the day: fl4k

We know that zer0 is cannonically 0,0193 hectometers aka 193cm aka 1,93m aka 6′ 3.9843″ tall from their official bio so let's get a screeny of the bingus and start mathing

each one of these red lines is 1x zer0s head and yes I chopped some off the top because this is halfassed but it is what it is. I put the lines slighty ajar from eachother so you can see where they start and end and from this we can tell that zer0 is around 6,5 heads tall meaining that their head is ~30cm (193/6,5 = 29,69)

Now if we shuffle that over onto fl4k, at fitst glance it might look like they are the same height. also yes I made this image brighter a bit because sanctuary 3 do be kinda dark innit?

but we also need to keep in mind that they have the posture of a middleaged gremlin going through a midlife crisis so, if we want something more accurate we gotta make ourselves a nother ruler, in this case the distance between their chin and the top edge of their optic

and now we can use that measuring stick to scale an image where they actually stand up straight appropriately. I yoinked this one from the official cosplay guide and simply slaced it until the distance between their chin and their optic was matching the green line

and badda bing badda boom they are actually a bit more than 7 zer0-heads tall meaning that they are around 0,0210 ectometers aka 210cm aka 2,10m 6′ 10.67″

ANY WHY WAS I TRYING TO FIGURE ALL OF THIS SHIT OUT???

210 = 100%

2,1 = 1%

80/2,1 = 38,095 -> ~38,1

100/2,1 = 47,619 -> ~47,62

Conclusion: Nug, without antenna, is around 38% of Fl4ks full height and with antenna around 47%

also yes I checked if zer0s height changed in comparison to other characters we know like moxxi or ellie and in comparison to them by taking screenys of fl4k next to them and sclaing them all to match next to a screeny of fl4k and zer0 ant let me tell you, it has not, at least not worth mentioning as minor changes in height are always goin to happen when a character gets a new look and hairdo but I will not lead you through all that shit too because I might aswell start writing a book about zer0 as a measuring unit by that point

however

rhys appears to have grown a bit.

[catgoesboom]

This is the last one, I swear: The whole anti-huntlow/anti-glimbow stuff made me think about not only the fatphobic roots of it but also..

Is...is so weird noticing the weird monosex-normativity in people and how that comes from the same "us x them" demonizing mindset coming from TERFs.

Lemme explain So, Is clear we know TERFs are what they are cause of not only transphobia but borderline irrational hate towards men. And I say "irrational" as instead of seeing the patriarchy as a result of overlapping bigotries + colonization + capitalism, they think that is just men's nature. Is a type of "trauma response" if you will. And therefore the need to find solid ways to identify "us" and "them" comes full force. Problem is, our sense of "men and women" (also created in order to segregate - aka they're 2 sides of the same coin) is a literal social construct based on genitalism and specifically white traits (also used as a form of segregation in order to repress minorities) and guess what, people are more diverse than that, making any try at enforcing such segregation a shot in the foot as it constantly backfires towards queer people and specially black people. A similar mindset comes to monosexuals, the need to be able to separate the "us x them", that leads to homophobia when in hetero people and now in queer circles if not straight up biphobia, the dislike towards anything perceived as "non-gay" (non-monosexuals in "straight" perceived relationships or masc x fem same sex relationships for example). And the problem rises again cause again, as with terfs that not everyone is man or woman or at least not in the rules they created in order to try to maintain gender segregation, not everyone is monosexual, and yet they try to create solid rules of what is "ok" based on monosexuality (and also cisnormativity) and dislike anything that goes against that sense they created so another segregation was made that you're either gay presenting or het presenting and if you're one of those, you're an enemy to the other. Your actual sexuality and experiences are diminished to who you're currently dating (and if you're single, you're judged based on your presentation) and I think that is what is being translated back to the dislike towards these types of ships, but only "upgraded" the level of hate in some cases because of fatphobia, specially towards fem people cause we don't easily deconstruct misoginy as most people think and ignore all bigotry is intersecting. For example again both TOH and SR. Both shows are filled with queer rep and same sex ships, and only a few m x f ships, but somehow they get hung up on exclusively the ones with a fat fem. TOH of course is harder to pin point that when huntlow is the only m x f ship around, but with Shera is easier cause you have at least 3 m x f ships (glimbow, merhawk and entrapdak) and the only one of those that have some kind of hate is the one with a fat femme. Other example just you guys don't think I'm just focusing on these two shows, ellie/fl4k from borderlands, that pair has also a lot of weird hate that is just kinda imposibble to not see the fatphobia in it when Ellie is also unapologetically fat. So yeah, you guys just hate fat femmes and as i said before, only tolerate them when in a monosexual queer ship or them being apologetic of their fatness cause it makes you guys pity them.

[rhysstrongforksfagswag]

gonna copy my mutual here and ask for W A I N L O C K (for the ask meme)

W: Moxxi (Borderlands), Enid Sinclair (Wednesday), Rahne Sinclair (X-Men), Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings), Mercy (Overwatch)

A: After carefully consulting with the council (/hj) the current verdict is Timoxxi and Wenclair. There are many many options however.

I: Given that I have actual trauma relating to some fandoms, I could go for the low-hanging(?) fruit and pick one of them, but I think I’ll instead go for a deep cut and pick the Dear Evan Hansen fandom. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really a massive fan of the musical to begin with, but fans of the musical really just took the Evan/Connor pairing and ran with it, to the point that when the movie adaptation came out loads of people who only knew about the musical tangentially were surprised that there wasn’t anything gay in it. They really reduced the entire show to one pairing and I’d almost admire that if it weren’t for the fact that it was comically missing the point of the entire show.

N: Probably TMGblr? From what I’ve experienced of it, it’s the right combination of chill about interactions and unhinged about the media.

L: Oh god everyone’s yelling at the same time about what they want. You can probably predict what Timothy and Rahne both want, and since they’re shouting the loudest I’ll share what they want. Unsurprisingly, Timothy wants content of him and his daughter, specifically the two of them at a baseball game together. Rahne wants someone to make something of him and his husbands.

O: I’m gonna do this with both my main playlist and my TMG playlist for shits and giggles. From the tmg playlist it’s gonna be Need More Bandages, which is straight up not a shippy song in the slightest (though it still is a banger), and even my ship-rotted brain cannot find anything. From the main playlist it’s Country Disappeared by Wilco, which is not a shippy song but it features the line “fold ourselves into each other’s guts”. Again, it’s not a shippy song which is disappointing for this question. I’m gonna cheat a bit and shuffle our “loving the bad boy” playlist and see if that yields anything. Ok, that’s Dominated Love Slave by Green Day so that’s obviously Timnisha no questions asked.

C: Ellie x FL4K. It’s an adorable pairing but I just don’t ship it in the way that other people I know do (probably because Timothy has memories that contradict that ship).

K: The only fandoms I engage any significant amount with are Borderlands and the Mountain Goats. The tumblr TMG hivemind is brilliant and wonderful and I love everything they make. Borderlands… well, my mutuals all have great opinions that’s for sure.

[w-i-s-e]

This is a ship that I didn’t know I would like. 

Artwork is not mine, art comes from @mindysoung on Twitter, full credit to them. 

[ladypancakeofmapleton]

End credits artwork pt 2

[huskeddevotee]

Borderlands 3 and the Powerful Man + Crush on woman = Powerful Woman phenomenon

A common complaint in BL3 is how we get spoon fed a narrative of powerful women and girl bosses, without ever seeing strong female characters. No one is actually interesting or with much substance. With the problem of a false feminist narrative, I've had a nagging question in my mind since I first played:

What's up with the crushes?

Zer0 has a crush on Lorelai.

Fl4k has a crush on Ellie. 

Troy has...a thing, for Aurelia. 

Lorelai is an enby who presents and mostly uses feminine pronouns, and is a leader of a small Atlas soldier group fighting Maliwan. Zer0 is an enby/of indeterminate gender who presents and uses masculine pronouns, and is an Atlas spy and assassin. 

Ellie is the owner of the Catcharide and the Sanctuary III's mechanic. Fl4k is an enby bot who is obsessed with death and the hunt.

Aurelia is an older woman who is rich and full of bravado, though not to the point of unclassiness. Troy is a leader of a cult and is both aggressive and intelligent. 

So, this doesn't look bad so far. But look closer and it looks...weird.

We never see Lorelai and Zer0 interact bar an Echo log and a dialogue that may or may not play from Zer0. Troy and Aurelia are fundamental opposites; Troy is a grungy, crass, lowerclassmen, Aurelia is an elegant, classy, hyper-class-motivated woman who detests reprobates. Aside from a one-night stand which is ooc for both, they have no relationship. 

And Fl4k and Ellie…

Fl4k flirts with Ellie once. 

And its not even flirting. 

When the player meets Ellie, if they play Fl4k, their line is "You've got admirable heft, girl."

I am a fat girl. If someone tried flirting with me by telling me I was fat enough for them, that person would be maced. That isn't flirting. It has no grounds for a relationship, but because GB says so, Fl4k says this as a way of showing they like Ellie. 

Now, let's take a look at the boy and enbys.

Troy is a ruthless maniac with a taste for violence and attention. He controls the CoV, even killing a powerful Siren, Maya. He is dangerous. He is depraved. His thing is that he has the masses to throw against whoever oppose him, and years of being out of the spotlight has even turned him against his sister. He's off the rails and taking control. 

Zer0 is a hyper-skilled assassin that is 10 steps ahead of everyone they encounter, predicting enemy plans before they are even made. They are lethal with the blade and incredibly agile, striking fear into their victims with their mystery and oddness. 

Fl4k is a bloodthirsty stalker of men, obsessed with appeasing death after gaining sentience and revels in the fear of their enemies. They've tamed vicious beasts and what they can't sicc the pets on, they take down with a bullet to the head. 

Ellie is a mechanic.

Aurelia is a rich woman who's good at hunting.

Lorelai is a murderous batista. 

Now, the girls are not bad characters. I like them all.

But why do these men like them?

There is no reason or precedent. We have no reason to think these characters have chemistry bar being told there's something there. And all of them are straight - this is notable because the samesex relationship was done wonderfully. They showed chemistry and genuine romance between Wainwright and Hammerlock, why couldn't they with the trio of heteros? 

Because there was nothing to push with Wainwright and Hammerlock.

Every single female character that didn't die, we are told is powerful, a strong woman, a boss lady. 

They weren't. They were stupid, brash, arrogant, and did nothing to advance or control the plot. They told you where to go, and someone else told you what to do. Lilith has nothing to do until the end of the game. Tannis is a factor for 3 things. Ava does nothing ever. Ellie doesn't do anything. Lorelai doesn't do anything. 

Not even Tyreen or Aurelia do anything. Troy does everything for Tyreen until he dies, and Aurelia just taunts you over the Echo and shoots at Hammerlock. On Promethea, Rhys tells you what to do. On Eden-6, Wainwright tells you what to do. On Nekro, Typhon tells you what to do. 

For a game all about strong women, the women have no autonomy and its the men doing everything and moving the plot forward. The only female character that does something significant is Maya, for dying and directly encouraging Troy's abandoned character arc. 

So, we have female characters who aren't convincing as strong, powerful women. 

We know Ellie and Aurelia are powerful and strong - they're fan favorites. Everyone loves Ellie, and for the ten people who like TPS, Aurelia is great fun. Lorelai needed convincing the most. 

What's the easiest way to hammer in "See? They're strong and powerful!"?

Make a strong and powerful male/male presenting character have a crush on them. 

Zer0 is scared of Lorelai and likes it, even messing up the haiku when meeting her. Fl4k admires Ellie’s body - which I’ll get into in just a moment. Troy bottoms for Aurelia. These guys are intimidating and dangerous, so them falling for x woman means x woman is a strong, feminine force that allures them with her strength. 

Wainwright and Hammerlock are good because they were allowed to be a couple. They were just in love and you can see it. The trio never romantically interact beyond telling you "I, scary man, want this woman to step on me" in different flavors.

And what bothers me the most out of all of them is Fl4k and Ellie. Ellie was never a sexual character. She didn't care how people saw her, and didn't care about whether or not she had a man. As a fat girl, I adored her because it was nice to just see another fat girl not be just a Rebel Wilson fat girl. She talked about her body and was happy with it, but it wasn’t just “I am fat and like to f*ck.” 

In BL3, we are constantly reminded that Ellie is desirable and sexy. She tells us she wants to 'show city boys things they only see in nature documentaries'. Everyone's (Sans Zane, bless him) first comment upon meeting her is on her weight and how hot or good it is, rather than saying an actual greeting. You don't do that. You don't greet someone by saying "Wow! You're fat!"

They were trying to be positive about Ellie's body, but instead made the VHs look like feeders. Ellie was positive because her weight did not matter. Making it the only thing about her just...made it weird. 

And Ellie and Fl4k's only flirty interaction is Fl4k telling her they like how fat she is.

At least Lorelai and Zer0 clearly say they like something normal about the other. Lorelai comments that Zer0 is tall, Zer0 says Lorelai is scary in good way. Troy and Aurelia is just an allies-with-benefits, they don't have a romantic connection.

Fl4k, if that line was meant to be flirting, outs themselves as a fetishist. 

This bad character writing and interaction writing happens because we had to be reminded that these characters are powerful, and the only way was to make other characters say "Wow she's hot." The only reason this didn't happen to the main female cast is because they had a main part in the story - Lorelai, Ellie, and Aurelia are all blink-and-you'll miss it. 

The three women not being part of the overarching story means that they don't have a lot of opportunity to show off how capable they are - we have to be told directly, or be shown that they are because someone powerful thinks they're hot. And the thing is, these characters are strong characters, but we aren't allowed to see them be. Ellie was one of the best new characters in BL2, Aurelia one of the favorites of TPS. Lorelai could have been a great character, too. But they just didn’t do anything with them. 

And even stranger, they did this thing with Maya and Krieg.

When Krieg first saw Maya, his thoughts were 1, she's a Siren and could kill me, and 2, I am completely enamored with her. In that exact order. But this doesn’t come off as an attempt of spoon-feeding faux girl power because Maya is blatantly a strong female character. Every second with her, she is in control of the situation and active in the plot, both in BL3 and BL2. You don’t need to be convinced that Maya is a powerful woman, so Krieg being in love with her not only works via genuine chemistry, but because how could he not be? 

But the difference is, with Maya and Krieg, we actually had decent writers who knew how to write relationships between characters and how to, y’know, develop good female characters. 

Which we don’t anymore, evidently. 

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

btw the fl4k polycule is literally just (queerplatonic) clay x zane, (romantic) zane x fl4k and (also romantic) fl4k x ellie. with a side of fl4k and zer0 aswell as fl4k and hammerlock being besties.

[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.)

[Date this version was made: 12/4/23]

     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

Max Caulfield – Life is Strange

     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 – 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)

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)

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)

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

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

(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

(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.