#funny enough im going on vacation and wont have internet for a few days so thisll be a fun post to come back to later

[zeravmeta]

my one whole post contributing to the fgo attractive male discourse is that the actual appeal comes less from basic ideas of what makes someone attractive and rather the actual use of aesthetic and presentation using said characters traits. its not enough to have convenionally attractive traits but rather the characters traits combined with the aesthetic that theyre trying to achieve.

take limbo for example. limbo shows some tit and is buff sure but most of his appeal actually comes from his characterization and presentation with his buffed out look complementing those traits. the best examples of this are actually in his final ascension and his cbc ce

so itd be easy to just say that limbo flaunting what hes got is what makes him sexy here, but its actually the opposite: its what he isnt showing you. limbo isnt showing any more skin than he usually is in his regular ascensions (just his upper body and knee), but the framing and the implications of him naked and staring down at you, the licking of his lips and the juxtaposition between him standing out from the rest of the bleak colors and skeletons, especially with his contorted look are what actually make it sensual and sexy because your focus is immediately drawn to him and the implications. then in his cbc it goes the entire opposite direction, putting him in a rather standard outfit that isnt really all that different from just sticking a male servant in a suit HOWEVER the use of the clothes to show creases and movement in the actual ce lets you actually feel how much weight and muscle limbo is throwing around here. his final ascension uses everything but limbos bare physical body to make him look sexy, but in his cbc where hes fully clothed its his body shape and the use of the clothing to convey that where it makes him sexy.

now compare this to kintoki

yes laughing at raita is hip these days whatever but the genuine appeal with kintoki doesnt come fully from his buff body but instead the aesthetic surrounding it. in his final ascension hes full on manspreading sure but the most appealing thing here is his face, the way hes pulling his hair back and looking at you. its a confident and calm look, hes appealing here because of the aesthetic of him being in a club and the shirtless full on muscle bod actually enhances that because it makes him look powerful. the same thing happens in his costume as well: hes in battle, covered in blood and wounds, a storm of sakura petals surrounding him as he stands imposing, its a look that radiates cool factor in spades and the hyper muscle design actually looks more attractive because of it. again, a design that has conventional attractive features used to enhance an aesthetic and then in reverse. say what you will about raitas anatomy but his design philosophy is well thought out and his style does fit with these characters because kintoki himself (along with many other of his characters) is a half oni half god monster, and despite looking fully human the actual raita style adds that extra flavor that makes him feel inhuman.

now lets rock the boat a little bit

obviously people like to meme on hajime enjoyers because he isnt bishe/conventionally attractive, but this is the one exception that proves the rule where a suit/basic look actually compliments the character. hajime looks like a scruffy overworked goblin whose lived off cigarette butts and beer for the past year, and it works because its actually part of his character that hes always tired. obviously hajime has so much more character to him that actually makes him more attractive but ill be bold and fully say the same appeal for hajime is the exact same appeal that izo has

izo in all his ascensions is a full on messy unwashed murderous hobo who is consistently one of the most popular male characters as well as one of if not the most popular 3* around and its fully because of his hobo look and personality. hes one of the only servants where a suit look actually works because he looks out of place in it, izo here looks so damn proud of himself like hes made his first paycheck and is about to lose all of it on gambling, and much like hajime the appeal comes from the factors surrounding him.

now lets look at siegfried and talk about most cbc designs

this is where a suit ultimately fails, because its taking a basic presentable 'attractive' look and putting it on a character who was already attractive where it doesnt enhance his look whatsoever. sure siegfried has his tits out but siegfried always has his tits out, however there isnt the appeal that limbo has with a full on outfit because its entirely uncreative. they just stuck him in a suit, gave him glasses and called it a day. his suit could have so easily been improved too by making it backless to conform with his legend, but it doesnt even have that and just feels lazy overall. this costume fails because it rides entirely on siegfriend looking good to make the outfit look good, so the outfit is functionally worthless in making him look attractive, because siegfried is already attractive. and the same trend follows with many of the cbc ces, theyre just uncreative.

these are all incredibly homogeneous: they always have a ce where the round table is just hanging out, a ce where gil and ozy and maybe sometimes iskander or qsh are just stuck together on basic premise, a ce with the kids, some type of office setting, a male idol, maybe a bakery sometimes, so many cbcs fail because of simple uncreativity in using their characters and giving them a costume to enhance the character, so instead its the character that enhances the costume, and most times, this is done by just sticking them in a suit and calling it a day.

so yeah fgo men are fine and well and attractive, the devs are just so unsure of how to make them look attractive with costumes.