#i'm sorry but if i can see characters explicitly say 'i'm bi' and 'i'm trans' and 'i'm autistic'

[transmasculinearomanticism]

not to be a bitch but i'm really really tired of people talking about a character being canonically aro and "aro swag" when the character in question was implied to be aro via word of god one time

[thefirstknife]

Hey, would you happen to have lore receipts for Drifter being bi? Just curious, it’s been a while since I read trough his lore :) I would also add Petra to the list of gays as well, while not confirmed, she’s heavily implied to be in love with Mara.

Oh yeah, Petra! 100% wlw and heavily implied to be in love with Mara. Awoken just be like that.

On to Drifter, yes! He is my blorbo and he is the best.

First, we know he likes women because he very obviously had (still has?) a thing for Orin. He also tried flirting with Lady Efrideet (disastrous result). And he very obviously likes Eris. To what extent, we can't tell, but he enjoys her company and has explicitly said that he likes how "freakyx she is. He also most recently dedicated time to make her a nice meal in seasonal armour (Eidolon Pursuant set).

The other hints are in how he talks about certain things in general. For example:

And you know me. I like to keep some folk close—real close. I feel somebody's hand on my throat, I figure they're about to kill me or kiss me.

Personally, I like to keep my options open.

It doesn't specify gender!

Also this:

"Had a face like the end-times and eyes like manna in the desert. One look at him, and I knew I wasn't gonna be saved."

Who is this man whose eyes he's complimenting? (probably Shin)

More directly though, he's very openly flirting with men for no reason and out of nowhere, as well as using as much innuendo as possible while he talks.

His first target? Zavala. These lines from Arrivals for example. He's so direct when asking if Zavala came to see him because he's special. Like, hello? Also this absolutely bonkers innuendo about Zavala he sent to Ikora (from Witch Queen CE book):

Hey Ikora,

Did you sign off on this? Zavala ordered a search of my ship to get samples of my plants? "There are known similarities between your vessel's infestation and the growths aboard the derelict Glykon Volatus." Tell the big guy that if he wants to get at my garden, he'd better start pounding some Primevals.

Transmat firing,

D

I think that's as far as they could've gone with that one without crossing the ratings line.

And my fave for last. So, there's a lore book about Ada-1 making the loom for transmog and at one point she visits Rahool for help. And he explains that it will take a long time to search for things she needs so she asks if she can search herself. And then:

Rahool shook his head. "Access to the classified archives is limited to sanctioned Guardians, Tower support staff, or the Vanguard themselves. You are none of those things."

Ada scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, I've seen that Drifter perusing this data on a weekly basis for his own amusement."

"That's not— there's no way—" Rahool stammered and blushed. "I assure you, no such breach has occurred."

I'm sorry, but nobody will ever convince me that this isn't confirmation that Rahool and Drifter are hooking up and Rahool is giving him access to the Cryptarchy archives.

The way this is written is beyond funny. First, Ada practically lives next to Drifter and she says she's SEEN him using the archives. So she has personally seen something going on between Drifter and Rahool. On a weekly basis.

And then also Rahool "stammering and blushing." That's fanfic level acknowledgement. Why would he stammer and blush if he didn't allow it? Wouldn't he be angry about it and ask that Ada tell him all she knows right away so that he can report Drifter? Nope. He's stammering and blushing. Case closed.

In conclusion, Drifter likes dangerous women who can snap him in half and Awoken men. I don't blame him.

Additionally, something I like very much, a certain bounty you can take for Gambit:

The text changes depending on your character's gender. This is the text for the female Guardian, but if you're on a male Guardian, he'll say it the other way around with king/queen.

Drifter says trans rights!

[chemtrail-notes]

I’m not sorry, where was the “big asexual news” that was promised? Because I didn’t see it at all. Yea this is about Heartstopper s2. *Originally posted 08/05/23*

This rant and or essay or essay rant will be through the lens of an asexual, aka my asexual lens. If you are asexual and you disagree with me, valid. Regardless I got things to say. And it is a rant so don't be surprised when I get blunt and sharp and harsh with what's down below.

First, what I liked about the show in short, good. It gave exactly what I expected it to give especially going off the vibes of s1. A whole lot of kissing vs actually talking to show their intimacy but hey, thats that.

Again first, what I liked about the asexuality aspect in the show.

1. There's an asexual/aromantic character.

2. Shout out to 'Summer Bird Blue' (aroace main character) and 'Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex' as I have read them both and love them. (Wouldn't recommend 'Ace' to someone who is just realizing they are asexual without reading a less theorized/asexuality book prior to but it was wonderful to see it.)

That's it.

Like if you have never seen asexual rep in any form of media until now, I'm glad you got to see it here but when I hear "BIG ASEXUAL NEWS" I expect it to be big. This wasn't big. It was small, medium at best and I wasn't satisfied.

My first impression of Heartstopper was just basic curiosity back in 2022. I only heard of the name from seeing the graphic novel in my library years prior. And when the trailer came out, I had already read 'Loveless' by Alice Oseman (I was reading any book with ace characters and waited patiently to finally get my hands on this book that was wonderful for me) so I recognized the name. And watched it. I had no expectations then. The expectations came when I discovered after watching s1 that Oseman tweeted this:

That is when I had expectations for s2 and held her to that. And I had full faith. Oseman is literally aroace! Oseman has said openly that having aro/ace characters in their stories is extremely important to them! Oseman is basically an aroace activist and their name is one of the known names in the community! So of course, I was happy to not only watch s2 of Heartstopper but also support her as she is a voice I believe that can more people recognize asexuality. And I still do believe that; this rant isn't about her personhood, ethics or vibe. We have seen how many famous people show us that we do not know them at all so I'm not making any statements about who they are as an individual - nah I'm over doing that. I'm criticizing them as an AroAce author/activist plus Executive Producer of Hearstopper that has openly stated they want to show more ace and aro rep in media. My question is, the minute you saw your rise in fame and rise in popularity of Heartstopper the tv show why didn't you run to add that purple, black, gray, and white in the show? Because of all the shows to showcase asexuality on a main stage, Heartstopper can and dammit should be that.

Hi to the non-asexuals reading this -

homoromantic (gay/lesbian) asexuals exist - biromantic asexuals exist - panromantic asexuals exist - trans asexuals exist - heteromantic asexuals exist - nonbinary asexuals exist - it's just little to no sex involved

the same goes for aromantics just in reverse - aromantic bisexuals and so on

I don't want to hear anything about taking away from the other queer identities present in the show. I'm aware of how little gay or bi or trans or otherwise queer character shows the community gets. But do you want to know how many asexual characters shows the community has? Dare I add "main asexual characters that are explicitly mentioned by name or by how they are in relation to society"? ............. Exactly. Not many. Because from 2010 till now there has been a nice chunk now and growing gay, bi, or even trans mainstream media or characters in said media (even when they are cancelled, they still existed and do exist). Having the main characters of Heartstopper have some asexuals in the show wouldn't take away anything. And it should have happened. No, no, no, no not minor characters. Main. Cast. Asexuality is insanely diverse and has so much intersectionality within it, it CAN work! Would it change the canon from the graphic novel? Yeah, but who cares, the canon was already changed!

As I was watching s2 and realize that this big asexual news was making an insanely late debut, I was already ready to write this post. By episode 6 we had gotten a little attention to asexuality being mentioned with Issac getting more screen time (oh my gosh he actually gets more time on screen and lines??! Because he was literally a background character despite being in the main friend group) and that was it. But I was like "let me not run my mouth, maybe in the graphic novel Issac had way more time to shine and then it led into him being asexual seamlessly." So I go to the wiki and learn all about the Osemanverse - all Oseman's books are in the same universe - and all the characters of Heartstopper and to my surprise Issac didn't even exist in the novel! Lol! So now knowing that, I know all about Issac and can now run my mouth.

Issac was created for the show most likely to replace a character named Aled who was gay demisexual and also the main character for 'Radio Silence' another book of Oseman's but was part of the friend group in Heartstopper graphic novel. I find it really weird that the ace character got cut because it "wouldn't fit with the timeline" as he was a main character in another story but whatever (Oseman on tumblr says here). They bring us Issac. And in s1 he is the quiet one (literally he barely has lines) who holds a book all the time listening to his besties romance antics and sometimes being a voice of reason (within a minute to 3 minutes cause thats all he gets). And in s2 he is STILL the quiet one who has little screen time but a little bit more lines holding a book all the time listening to his besties romance antics BUT NOW has an intro to a guy who he likes but is questioning how far that "like" extends to then realizing the term aromantic asexual resonates with him....in the quickest, exposition-based way I have seem.

'Heartstopper' Season 2 Will Explore Isaac's Asexuality, Says Alice Oseman (collider.com)

WHEN?! Because it seems like any time to Issac was rushed. Am I supposed to appreciate the literal 1-to-2-minute discussion with the AroAce artist while we barely saw the actual art piece and then the exposition-like description of living in a world heavily toward romance or sex? Were the little purple graphics supposed to make my heart leap? Nope that is reserved for another character of a different show (more on that later). It wasn't explored - not like the relationship between Tara and Darcy or the connection between Elle and Tao, who are also not the main-main characters! Secondary characters if you will. I didn't add Charlie and Nick because of course most screen time would be dedicated to them, they are the primary characters. But shit! Even the two gay teachers had a more intimate and kind handling of their gay experiences and then falling for each other! And they are tertiary characters we just met! I---. I can't get it. Why didn't Issac get the same level of focus in this show? Explored? It was barely shown sans Issac telling James he didn't feel what he thinks is romance toward him. And then at the end where Issac grabs the 'Ace' book. I mean okay then...

Now for Oseman. Listen, I do not know her entire ace life story. However, I did read interviews about them and their quest for asexual representation and also aromantic representation. In a Guardian interview states - "'The world is obsessed with sex and romance. And if you don’t have that, you feel like you haven’t achieved something that’s really important,' she says. Oseman tries to highlight the importance of platonic relationships in her own work – even in Heartstopper, an out-and-out love story, friendship is hugely important – and to include asexual representation in her books."

I will say, friendships are shown to be highly important in the show so I have no qualms with that. I do have qualms with what she states next: "As much as Oseman and others like her are trying to start conversations about asexuality, she doesn’t think it’s going to be a widely talked about subject any time soon. 'We’re never really going to see much cultural change in terms of awareness until a big celebrity comes out as being asexual,' she says. 'And there’s nothing I can do about that.'"

You as an individual human on this Earth can't change that yes but lets stop pretending you don't have strong influence now, from your Webtoon days and now to Heartstopper TV days. Oseman even recognizes the attention and new fame that has come to them since the show premiered and became so popular that even Netflix (Mr. Let me cancel a show that people actually liked) renewed it for s2 and s3 practically a month after its premiere. So, I don't get it? Why not add in more asexual rep in the show? Why not run to do so especially because you didn't back when you first starting your author journey? Again, I've read up on them; I know Oseman may have discovered the term asexual at 18 but didn't claim it then and had many years of questioning themselves (not looking into asexuality, believing they may be demisexual, trying to like boys etc) until 2020 when they came out publicly when 'Loveless' debuted. So their old stories wouldn't have asexuality in them. Heartstopper may have been wrapped for s1 production by that point, but Heartstopper said officially on Sept 22, 2022 that production had started. Which really means from the end of spring into the summer s2 had started being produced and written. AGAIN, as the executive producer seeing the massive popularity for this teen show, why didn't you say "hey this is different from the graphic novels but thats okay because we can have two different forms of canon in these two different forms of media (novel, tv) - but lets make a main character(s) be on the ace/aro spectrum! The audience will be open to it!" And who would I make asexual as a main character? Easy peasy - Nick.

I refer you to the italicized words above with all the labels I listed. Anyway. The bisexual to asexual pipeline is real and many aces say that before figuring out they were ace they assumed they were bi because they didn't have a preference toward a gender and assumed either was good. I literally thought it for a long time myself. And it can work perfectly because Nick in s1 and s2 was thinking about his sexuality. The scene in episode 6 where things get intimate, and Nick stops Charlie as he isn't ready to do anything more than kissing though he says he wants to just not at that moment. Charlie literally states, "And I'd only wanna do it if you did, and...if you didn't ever want to do it, then I wouldn't either." THE STAGE IS SET. And what could have happened next is Nick goes on his phone (they on them phones all the time anyway) to look up why he's nervous about having sex despite liking his boyfriend, scrolls down page after page, sees posts about the pressure to have sex, in the article it mentions asexual people. Boom! Seed is planted. Obligatory: Aces can have sex as asexuals can fall under sex-favorable, sex indifferent (the two that would or could engage in sexual activity), sex-averse, and sex-replused. Then we would have Issac and Nick, both aces showing the beautiful spectrum that is asexuality and a dab into aromanticism. And yeah, I read that Tori will be officially stated as asexual and aromantic in Volume 5 of the graphic novel but as of now thats only for the graphic novels.

I don't write fanfic nor will I so no I won't just make up a fannon to satisfy me but when I hear Big Asexual News I expect it to be big. Because while Issac's realization of asexuality may have been nice I've seen better. Remember that character I mentioned before? Yea well its no surprise, its Todd Chavez from BoJack Horseman and not only was it actually built up longer with more focus on Todd, it was also the main queer sexuality in the show. Besides the former producer man who was gay (and Bojack ruined his tv career), then got cancer and died - Todd's asexuality was the main focus - main character - for diversity and I loved every second of it. You saw him not only realize something was amiss with him, go to an ace meeting and see differences in the ace spectrum, get a gf, realize the gf and him didn't have to date just bc they were ace, not back down when others would question if he could have romance, and eventually find a nice girl and move in together. Not to mention how the show pokes fun at allosexuality in a satire way. And you would think a show like Heartstopper with the influence of a literal AroAce person could match this or surpass this for the 13 to 17 teen audience (BoJack is good but heavy so kids shouldn't just watch it lightly) but it just fell flat.

I really feel like asexuality and aromanticism was pushed to the side by allosexuality and alloromanticism yet again, but it irritates me this time because it didn't have to be. And if Oseman didn't say anything, didn't hype the asexuals desperate to see more asexuality on screen in mainstream pop culture, then this post would have never existed. Yea the other producers and writers and blah blah blah may have stopped them, I can see how one executive producer doesn't have all the power but damn that tweet had me convinced that they had a significant amount of influence. And yes again, can 1 person change everything? NO. Oseman cannot be the only AroAce person to change the tides, we need more activists and people demanding to see more ace or aro rep. Yasmin Benoit is a great one who is getting more and more known by the day, more asexual books are being bought and in libraries, asexuality has more of an understanding than it did years ago (still a long way now). But in terms of asexuality in media.....not just the dumb stereotype of a robotic person or the "well you arent conventionally attractive or charismatic so it fits that u are aro or ace or aroace" or soley based on they had a trauma (bc that isnt a prerequisite for asexuality)....there's not many.

I don't care about spoilers for s3 so, in the future, before I decide to watch or not, I am seeing if more aroace identity is directly present before I decide to support the show in streams. Which won't matter in the long run because 1 person not watching won't hurt its popularity and I don't want it to. I don't want to hurt the show or dismiss how it is a showcase of lgbtqia in a happy, comforting, fantastic binge worthy show. I just want more for asexuality in media and this show could have launched it far if they actually made it big.

[jaredthebc]

ur turn for hilbert 🎤🎤🎤

MY SON YESSSS I have so much autism for this guy who has like 20 lines in a gatcha I basically only play once in a century and the rest I basically projected onto IFUHRUIFHRF

Sexuality Headcanon: Bi Bi Bi, Bi Bi (+ Ace)

Gender Headcanon: THIS BLORBO IS SO TRANS all Pokemon protags radiate transgender but the ones in BW especially. If I had 100% control of my wardrobe currently I would unironically dress like Hilbert. I also know he's trans cause he told me himself

A ship I have with said character: Kuroshipping :] Its very casual for me in that I can see either perspective of people who see Hilbert as Aro, and I don't really see either Hilbert or Cheren being wholesome head over heels for each other but they really do radiate that energy of "If our company allowed gayness to be explicitly shown we would be an endgame couple" They just have an energy where they would be chaotic but in such a fun and loving way (though they probably would mellow out once they reach their twenties) the kind where you probably would just think they were close friends from a glance gthhgtuighg

A BROTP I have with said character: I WILL FOREVER STAND WITH HILBERT AND N BEING THE BROTHERS EVER AND HOW THEY BREAK THE CHAIN OF BROTHERS FIGHTING OVER DRAGONS

Just ahguhtuhgtgtihu I have so much to say about these two I cannot fit it in one ask fiuhtguihtg. Brothers who didn't know they existed until found, thinking both are heroes with roles sprung upon them from early ages in different points of their lives, instead of breaking over time they slowly melt together like glue, both feeling the need to reconnect after their own individual self journeys are complete, finally breaking a chain of pain and suffering even if it hurt to get there...aaaaaaa I care for them so muchhhhhhhhh

PLUSPLUS HE AND HILDA ARE TWINS YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND IUHTIGUHTG just the general idea of an extra sibling not burdened with the pain of being a hero at one point in time like her brothers thus being a way to keep both grounded, while STILL not being a perfect person herself able to rely on her siblings its aughhghghghgh I love themmmm

A NOTP I have with said character: I'm sorry but if you ship Hilbert and N (+Hilda and N for that matter) I will hate your guts and I hate how a lot of the tags are filled with that shit ;-; I just want sibling content (I'm neutral on Hilbert X Hilda since they aren't canonically siblings despite how I plead and beg, I just ignore and move on with my day lol)

A random headcanon: YOU GET TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE BABY

First one kind of ties to the brothers at peace thing, is whatever dragon Hilbert ended up getting depending on the region, after he and N reconnected, N just kind of ended up getting both dragons over time from Hilbert. Its not like official or anything, but Hilbert noticed how often N borrows his dragon and is fine with never getting it back. He is just happy N can be at peace with both of the dragons :)

AND THE OTHER IDK HOW MUCH I CAN FIT basically, I think Hilbert never became champion. He didn't really have a major goal of becoming one like the other protags before him, but that doesn't mean he hated the idea or anything, he just wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to do, and used his journey as a way to internally see what he should do. After the whole "Unintentionally becoming a chosen hero to fight his spiritual sibling" thing, a lot about N really stuck to him, wanting to find him for several reasons (like wanting to make sure he is okay, potentially bringing him home, saying the stuff he said in Masters etc etc). He didn't really act upon this until he was initially fighting Alder. He was literally on Alder's last Pokemon before he called the match off on his own terms.

After this he went on his way across the regions looking for N, which took a major toll on him the two years he was gone, mainly mentally. He had a hard time really justifying himself to relax, and almost ghosting everyone he ever knew also hurt a lot (The most he did to contact was write letters once in a blue moon to his mom, letting her know he was okay, but since he was on the move so much she didn't even really get the chance to write back)

I want to write a fic about this someday but basically I imagine Cheren was the one to find Hilbert outside of Unova and convince him to come home, and the reunion for everyone included so many tears and hugs. After some time home, Hilbert would go to Pasio (With the Unova gang of course) and reunite with the one he longed so much to meet again

General Opinion over said character: I am very normal about him. I know a lot of the stuff is kind of made up from my mind but in my defense I kind of have to at points this poor boy gets no lines in his own game lol

I care for him so much and I hope for the day Pokemon realizes the potential of some kind of anime based on him (never will happen but I'm used to things I want not happening lol)

[transandersrights]

Info for requests/prompting

Hello I take prompts!! This is just a (hopefully short) post explaining what I write/don't write, and assorted other things. This is a Dragon Age blog so this post (which is doubling as a da drunk writing prompt list) is specific to that, but I take other requests too - you can see my fandoms most easily on ao3 (leonidskies)

Quick requesting info - easy prompts to send me are:

Ship (platonic or romantic)/character + word/phrase/song

Character + specific headcanon

Character/ship + AU

Literally just a DA thought or a vibe. I'll give it a go

When I find a fun prompt list I'll link it here

DA "drunk" writing flavour of the week: women! Please give me women to write about

For more detailed info, you can look at stuff below!

Canon stuff:

I can most easily write DA2

I can also write Origins and Inquisition characters, but I'm a little sketchier on canon events there (esp for Origins)

For spinoffs, I can write Absolution and things based on the DA novels (except Tevinter Nights)

Character stuff:

Anders is easiest for me! Beyond that, I'm most confident with mage and elf characters, but happy to give anyone a shot

I'm happy to write specific or non-specific DA OCs. If I get no specification at all, my OCs (Adrel Surana or Ilassan Lavellan) might make guest appearances

If you'd like me to do someone a little more obscure pls just make sure they have a wiki page. But I'm very flexible I promise!

Unless you specify, I'm gonna assume that you're happy with characters being written as complex + not necessarily good all the time. My DA opinions will colour how I write characters!

Ships:

Go nuts. I am not picky (some exceptions noted below). I love rarepairs

Handers is my bread and butter. Beyond that I have little experience but much enthusiasm

I will happily write poly ships!

I'm most comfortable writing explicitly queer ships (incl m/f with trans characters or m/f with canonically bi characters)

If you give me literally any platonic dynamic I will write it very happily

My "canon" is nb!Surana/Zevran/Leliana, m!Hawke/Anders, and m!Lavellan/Dorian (also trying out: m!Lavellan/Josephine). Again, they might pop up unless you're specific about not wanting them

Keep in mind that I might not write your ship in the way you're used to it being written!!

I love writing:

MAGES

Elves

Platonic relationships

Trans and nonbinary characters

Disabled characters

A variety of queer headcanons

Found family/family feelings

Any setting

I will not write (DA relevant):

Pro-Circle/Chantry/Templar

Mage/Templar ships (including former Templars, including Seekers), unless they're Tevinter

Master/slave ships

Varric ships (I am sorry he is aroace to me)

Canonically gay characters in m/f relationships

I will not write (general):

Incest, adult/minor, or student/teacher

A/b/o

Cisswap

Suicide (references to suicide = okay)

NSFW/kink (fade to black/pillow talk = okay)

RPF

Harry Potter/Mafia/Police AUs

Pregnancy or bio fankids

Assorted other stuff:

I'm a very versatile writer! When I say I'll write anything I really do mean that

You'll probably get anywhere between 300-1.5k depending on the prompt and how feral I go

I will post finished requests here, but they'll also eventually make their way to ao3

I'm fast when I write. I'm very slow when I don't. That's just how it be

I take prompts at any time! They're most likely to appear on evenings when I'm working from home/the weekend

I will simply delete prompts I don't like

[greensconnor]

Re your tags on the 'don't trust PB' post: what has he written that was so bad? I'm behind on everything and don't have mental energy to scour through the whole extremely active tumblr blog so I thought I would ask you if that's not too much of a trouble??

basically, beachdeath already has a reputation for being a shitty person outside of choices (links provided: summary of things pre-beachdeath era dating back to when they were lalondes, whose callouts i did not link because this was pre-transition and i don’t want to deadname/misgender him, and the first link sums it up pretty well & provides links to it); defending 4lung & horreurscopes who both ship inc*st so warnings for that ig).

the SPECIFIC incident i was referring to was aisha’s line in bachelorette party where she talks about dating as a trans woman, which i thought was a GREAT scene until the line said “cis lesbians aren’t into that”. beachdeath also replied to a transphobic post about aisha saying something to the effect that she was a ‘lesbian who dated other lesbians’ (i can’t find the post sorry!)

this is a problem for multiple reasons. i was SO excited to have a trans lesbian character in choices, especially one who is explicitly and unapologetically a lesbian but the way beachdeath talks about her makes it clear that he didn’t put any sensitivity or thought into how he would represent a lesbian. this line can be interpreted in either of the following lesbophobic ways:

lesbians are inherently transphobic. this is terf rhetoric; the idea that all lesbians are transphobic, which is certainly not the case. while lgb people definitely do have the capacity to be transphobic, the idea that lesbians are inherently transphobic leads to the natural rejection of trans women as ‘real women’ which is literally! terf thinking!

if this was NOT the intention, then it implies aisha only dates other lesbians, so lesbians are the only one relevant. as i mentioned, beachdeath has reiterated this statement, which ALSO is lesbophobic in nature by implying that lesbians are inherently biphobic and won’t date bi women/will only date other lesbians.

if ur going to come into my dms and tell me that i’m making a big deal out of nothing or w/e i’m going to block u. this isn’t a post saying u should boycott bp/platinum or whatever, someone just asked and this is the way i see things. goodnight.

[telliusweek2017]

Hi, question regarding the Tellius Week. I want to participate, but I'm not super familiar with all the characters, and I'd rather not end up, say, straightwashing someone by accident. Do you have some sort of list for reference, or is Heather the only character who is canonically stated to not be straight? Thanks in advance!

Let’s see…I would say that Heather is for sure the most explicit of any character-it’s very clear that she’s interested in women and not in men. 

Beyond that…I know this might be a controversial opinion, but I personally would say that Ike is canonically gay, or at the very least canonically uninterested in women. It’s not explicitly stated (because LGBT representation is unfortunately not really at that point yet), but to my knowledge, every single other FE main lord has the option of a canon ending where they marry someone of the opposite gender. Ike’s only canon paired endings are with Ranulf and Soren-both men. So while no one explicitly says “Ike is gay,” I would personally argue that Ike is canonically queer and uninterested in women. 

However, I do know that some part of the fandom likes to ship Ike with Mia or Elincia, and while I personally would prefer to avoid shipping Ike with women, if people really really are invested in shipping him with women, send us an ask and Mod Sanaki and I will discuss it more to figure out what our policy is re: Ike ships. 

Let’s see, beyond Heather and Ike…Kyza is a male character who is pretty clearly in love with Ranulf, but he’s not developed enough for us to really say if he’s gay or bi or whatever (apparently he was written as trans in the Japanese version but it wasn’t written well, so…). For all the other characters, as far as I remember there’s no one else who’s explicitly gay in canon; I do think that other characters are implied to be queer/LGBTQ, but they could reasonably be interpreted as straight, bisexual, pansexual, gay, etc, so we don’t want to limit who you can ship them with. 

For example, I personally read Reyson and Tibarn as in a relationship, but there’s not enough canon evidence to conclusively make statements about their sexuality. They could be gay, they could be bi, or they could be straight and have a really strong platonic relationship (or they could have some other identity, since sexuality is not limited to gay/straight/bi). Therefore, I wouldn’t say that shipping them with women is straightwashing in the same way as shipping Ike with women or Heather with men is straightwashing.

Sorry, this answer was super long! But to sum up, I’d say that the two characters who are canonically gay (defining “canonically gay” as having strong and explicit canon evidence) are Heather and Ike, but everyone else has enough ambiguity that you could ship them with anyone as long as the ship obeys all the rest of our guidelines!

-Mod Lucia