What I would personally like for Choices love interests as a bi player (Note that this means I can have multiple romance preferences…Yes, that was me being salty at PB):
Slow burns, and I mean, really slow burns. Not even having the option to kiss until 10+ chapters in slow burn. Also, slow burns that are not really based on sexual attraction, but instead, emotional connection until it becomes romantic and sexual attraction (sadly, that means an LI who doesn’t have electrokinesis, but you can do it, PB. I believe in you.)
I know some players are bugged by this, but I don’t necessarily mind the sweet and demure type for the female LIs. But wow, PB really doesn’t do anything interesting with that type, huh? I guess I’d just find it more fun to read if they contrasted those qualities with something unexpected. Like what if she’s stoic, serious, guarded and stand-offish but when you get closer to her, you realize she just gets flustered easily with feelings and romance? What if she seems sweet and kind and shy when you’re romancing her, but she lives for the fight — a “looks like a cinnamon roll, but would actually kill you” type situation. Some LIs I can think of as examples would be Perfect Match’s Sloane and Blades of Light and Shadow’s Nia. Both are shy, sweet and adorable, and complete badasses at what they do (though neither are particularly bloodthirsty, so maybe they don’t actually fit what I described XD).
I also might be in the minority here, but can we have female LIs who don’t have their lives together? I feel like more male LIs get to be, well, a mess and the MC is there to give them emotional support. And I do love the strong, badass women in Choices, but I also want to see female LIs who struggle, who are impulsive, who get to be an emotional wreck, who get to have unhealthy habits, who are unemployed, who are ex-convicts, who are not successful, etc.
Soft male LIs who have a lot of characteristics traditionally associated with femininity. Male LIs who are shy and get flustered easily, who like beauty and fashion and aesthetic, who aren’t domineering, who are gentle caregivers, who don’t have a six pack. Actually, you know that typical demure quality they give to the female LI? That’s rarely ever used for guys. Let’s see that in a male LI.
On the other end, more male LIs who demonstrate healthy masculinity would also be great. For example, Bryce from Open Heart. It’s definitely one of the reasons I found him so refreshing and endearing compared to other male LIs. He’s confident, intelligent, and ambitious. He’s outgoing, he loves his friends, and he shares that love openly. There’s a genuine quality about him, too — he means every word he says and he doesn’t hold back. He’s just full of self-love and love for others and I would love more male LIs like that.
I like it in gender-customizable stories when the LIs are explicitly queer. I guess this isn’t necessary, but it just feels really validating when, for example, a male LI that most of the fandom interprets as straight states in canon that they are attracted to multiple genders or even mentions a past romantic partner who isn’t the same sex and gender as the MC.
More Trans LIs — to my knowledge, Bachelorette Party’s Aisha is the only trans LI in Choices (She’s awesome by the way) Edit: How could I forget to include Andy Kang from It Lives in the Woods (He’s also awesome, my god, I’m so sorry, Andy)! Okay, so Choices has two trans LIs.
Gender non-conforming LIs
Normalized polyamorous relationships like in Perfect Match
More mlm covers and romances
A bit nsfw here…male LIs who bottom. I think they did this in Blades of Light and Shadow if you romance Mal or Tyril with an M!MC.
vaporwave
blakekathryn
stormborns
