Jun 15
InCo
in random images from my Pinterest board
Nova
Hatov
SAWA
Jeanne
Chell
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from Belarus
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from India
seen from United States
seen from Argentina
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
InCo
in random images from my Pinterest board
Nova
Hatov
SAWA
Jeanne
Chell
ROUND 5 — Match 18 of 18
Owen/Isabel (I Saw the TV Glow)
Identity: Trans woman, implied/Word of God Notes: Implied throughout the film, but confirmed by Justice Smith. Propaganda: "There is still time. This isn't how life is supposed to feel. I found my heart. I found yours too. It was still beating. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"
vs. Nova NoStar (InCo)
Identity: Aromantic and Asexual, implied/Word of God Notes: Shows disinterest in romance in-source, and is directly referred to as aro-ace by the creator. Propaganda: "Nova is an interstellar messenger and also spy, whatever people are willing to hire her for; she travels from planet to planet and she takes pride in being prickly and independent. She’s NOT lonely and if she keeps saying that maybe she’ll start to believe it! I love the slowburn friendship between Nova and Hatov, Nova slowly letting herself feel the feelings of grief and guilt and desire for friends that she’s kept locked down for so long. Nova and Hatov initially start as such an oil-and-water mix but they are ultimately so good for each other to slowly learn to move on and open up to the potential for change. It is such a great portrayal of this slow-building friendship! And at the same time Nova is doing her own investigations: into her past and this planet’s secrets. Mostly just by talking to people and listening to them, which most people don’t ever really do. She is so good at what she does when she is On A Mission. And the mission is to figure out WHAT is up with this planet that shouldn’t exist."
Who should advance?
Owen/Isabel
Nova NoStar
A (platonic) love letter to InCo
There are a few cut and dry aroace podcast characters, and even some that don’t end their story in some sort of long-term committed relationship. Attraction is a spectrum and having a variety of identities and experiences is important. I just happen to fall at the Strong No end of those spectrums, so the ‘but in this way’ and the ‘when it’s you’ and the ‘yes romance, no sex’ characters don’t really do it for me.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for a QPR. I have an extensive Elementary tag and an absurd number of fics/wips that are just the same QPR recycled into different fandoms. But what I play with in fandom isn’t necessarily what I want.
So a character that hits nearly every note of:
how I feel
how I don’t feel
what I want out of life
That hits pretty hard.
For me, that character is Nova Nostar.
I mean, she’s not a perfect comparison. She’s not also agender, for one thing. She is deeply messed up in a way that makes her deliciously compelling as a character, but I dearly hope is never that relatable.
But, she doesn’t have a type. Romance isn’t for her. The idea of being in a relationship with Hatov – someone who is, truly, very important to her, even if she struggles to verbalize it – is laughable. Even from Hatov’s perspective, the suggestion is deeply uncomfortable. Not because he doesn’t care about her – because he does, immensely, desperately – but because that’s not who she is, and that’s certainly not who she is to him.
Also, she enjoys soap operas and trashy novels and yelling at characters who persist in making terrible choices – just as long as all of that is fiction (to her; fiception, if you will), it’s interesting and fun and enjoyable. Personally, I can’t deal with the never-endingness a soap, but I will read a romance. I’ll enjoy it, even. I’ve written plenty of shippy fanfic. I’ve read a lot of shippy fanfic. Just as long as it stays over there (in fiction), I’m all for it.
And Nova’s happy ever after? Leaving her friends, people she has developed deep and meaningful relationships with, to go back to space. Those relationships aren’t over – she’ll call and write and visit again – but the point is her future is not some version of an intimate relationship. It’s her, and the life she wants to live. It’s the life she’s worked for, the life that she has been saying she wants, and that isn’t taken away from her. It isn’t changed to fit around another person.
Because it feels disingenuous to get into Nova’s character and not address the Alula of it all, I’ll mention it briefly. InCo does many things well, and portraying deep, abiding, profound grief is one of them. Nova loves Alula, and Alula’s death weighs heavy throughout the story, showing up in unfinished sentences, misdirection, and locked doors long before the fact of it is said out loud.
Nova tells Jeanne that Alula was different. She also, in her most vulnerable and unguarded moment, tells Hatov that Alula wouldn’t leave her alone, that Nova thought she wanted to be left alone, and it’s so clear that Nova desperately wanted to keep Alula in her life. This is the same Nova that deliriously remarks on just how pretty Hatov’s eyes are - something that isn’t unrelated to Alula.
I don’t read this as Alula being an exception, that she would have been Nova's fairytale ending. I read Alula as being the first person to see Nova. And that's a hell of a thing. Nova was always going to grow up and fly her own ship. But Alula cut through Nova’s defensiveness, her self-protection, and taught Nova that she could love people in ways that were comfortable, and safe, and not the ways expected by society and portrayed in fiction.
And then she went and got herself thrown out an airlock with Nova watching, but that’s really going beyond the scope of my point.
Just to tie up loose ends, about Hatov being pretty, about Alula’s intense eyes – that’s not sexual attraction. People are pretty. I don’t want to fuck them about it.
Nova NoStar from InCo is aromantic asexual!
ROUND 4 — Match 36 of 36
Sera (Dragon Age)
Identity: Lesbian, explicit Notes: Can only be romanced by a female Inquisitor, and directly turns down the male Inquisitor if flirted with, stating she likes women. Propaganda: 1. "She’s political, even when she refuses the language of politics. She hates elites, she hates being talked down to, and she’s constantly watching for condescension. She’s also complicated about identity and belonging, and the game doesn’t smooth that out to make her easier to like. She’s difficult. She’s real. And when she chooses someone, she’s all in, even if she complains the whole time." 2. "SERA DRIVES ME INSANE AND I LOVE HER. she’s loud, she’s petty, she’s immature on purpose, and she’s constantly testing people. like she will absolutely pick at you until you snap just to see if you’ll leave. and then when you don’t, she’s loyal in this very intense way that she pretends isn’t intense. she cares SO much and hates that she cares." 3. "I adore Sera so much! I love how much she cares about the little people, and also her absolute commitment to chaos and utter disinterest in concepts like "organisation" and "structure" and "efficiency" as relates to the Jennies lol. I'm always delighted by all her little notes in her Cabinet of Wonder Whose It Was. I love her silly nicknames for the Inquisitor if you romance her, and her absolutely delighted reaction to hearing you told people about your relationship. Weirdly I like that she can break up with you even though I know that's controversial (I just like it when characters have dealbreakers in games). And her asking Inky to marry her was so frigging romantic ❤️❤️❤️" 4. "she feels so completely like herself. she’s loud, impulsive, funny, immature in some ways, surprisingly perceptive in others, and absolutely refuses to become the kind of person the world seems to want her to be. people either bounce off her hard or get incredibly attached, and honestly that alone says a lot about how much personality she has. she also stands out because she gets to be messy. she’s not there to be the elegant, respectable version of a queer woman. she’s abrasive, silly, angry, vulnerable, affectionate, politically charged in a very personal way, and often a complete pain in the ass. that makes her feel more real, not less. and on top of all that, she was a lesbian companion romance in a huge fantasy rpg from a major studio. that mattered then and it still matters now."
vs. Nova NoStar (InCo)
Identity: Aromantic and Asexual, implied/Word of God Notes: Shows disinterest in romance in-source, and is directly referred to as aro-ace by the creator. Propaganda: "Nova is an interstellar messenger and also spy, whatever people are willing to hire her for; she travels from planet to planet and she takes pride in being prickly and independent. She’s NOT lonely and if she keeps saying that maybe she’ll start to believe it! I love the slowburn friendship between Nova and Hatov, Nova slowly letting herself feel the feelings of grief and guilt and desire for friends that she’s kept locked down for so long. Nova and Hatov initially start as such an oil-and-water mix but they are ultimately so good for each other to slowly learn to move on and open up to the potential for change. It is such a great portrayal of this slow-building friendship! And at the same time Nova is doing her own investigations: into her past and this planet’s secrets. Mostly just by talking to people and listening to them, which most people don’t ever really do. She is so good at what she does when she is On A Mission. And the mission is to figure out WHAT is up with this planet that shouldn’t exist."
Who should win?
Sera
Nova NoStar
ROUND 3 — Match 72 of 72
Nova NoStar (InCo)
Identity: Aromantic and Asexual, implied/Word of God Notes: Shows disinterest in romance in-source, and is directly referred to as aro-ace by the creator. Propaganda: "Nova is an interstellar messenger and also spy, whatever people are willing to hire her for; she travels from planet to planet and she takes pride in being prickly and independent. She’s NOT lonely and if she keeps saying that maybe she’ll start to believe it! I love the slowburn friendship between Nova and Hatov, Nova slowly letting herself feel the feelings of grief and guilt and desire for friends that she’s kept locked down for so long. Nova and Hatov initially start as such an oil-and-water mix but they are ultimately so good for each other to slowly learn to move on and open up to the potential for change. It is such a great portrayal of this slow-building friendship! And at the same time Nova is doing her own investigations: into her past and this planet’s secrets. Mostly just by talking to people and listening to them, which most people don’t ever really do. She is so good at what she does when she is On A Mission. And the mission is to figure out WHAT is up with this planet that shouldn’t exist."
vs. Teddy (Date Everything)
Identity: Bi/Pansexual, explicit Notes: Romanceable regardless of the protagonist's gender. Propaganda: "ugh he just feels like pure comfort without being boring about it. he’s this huge, soft, safe presence, and the game leans into that hard, not just “aww, teddy bear,” but that very specific feeling of someone who makes you want to EXHALE when they show up. he has this aura of safety and familiarity, which is exactly why he sticks with people. he’s also just a nice change of pace in a game full of bigger, louder weirdos. sometimes the character people end up attached to most is the one who feels warm, steady, and easy to trust, and teddy has that in spades. if someone likes characters who are soft in a genuinely comforting way, he’s a very solid pick."
Who should advance?
Nova NoStar
Teddy
ROUND 2 — Match 143 of 143
Nova NoStar (InCo)
Identity: Aromantic and Asexual, implied/Word of God Notes: Shows disinterest in romance in-source, and is directly referred to as aro-ace by the creator. Propaganda: "Nova is an interstellar messenger and also spy, whatever people are willing to hire her for; she travels from planet to planet and she takes pride in being prickly and independent. She’s NOT lonely and if she keeps saying that maybe she’ll start to believe it! I love the slowburn friendship between Nova and Hatov, Nova slowly letting herself feel the feelings of grief and guilt and desire for friends that she’s kept locked down for so long. Nova and Hatov initially start as such an oil-and-water mix but they are ultimately so good for each other to slowly learn to move on and open up to the potential for change. It is such a great portrayal of this slow-building friendship! And at the same time Nova is doing her own investigations: into her past and this planet’s secrets. Mostly just by talking to people and listening to them, which most people don’t ever really do. She is so good at what she does when she is On A Mission. And the mission is to figure out WHAT is up with this planet that shouldn’t exist."
vs. Dion Lesage (Final Fantasy XVI)
Identity: Gay, explicit Notes: In a relationship with Terence (a man), and explicitly referred to as a gay man by Square Enix. Propaganda: 1. "he already feels instantly larger than life - noble, tragic, devastatingly sincere, and carrying himself with that exact final fantasy level of grandeur where every emotion lands at MAXIMUM FORCE(tm). he’s the kind of character people latch onto immediately because he feels both beautiful and doomed in a very deliberate way. he’s widely been talked about as the first openly gay major character in final fantasy, which is a massive deal for a series this big and this long-running. his relationship with terence isnt tucked away as a wink-wink maybe if you squint thing, it’s there, it’s real, and people noticed immediately because final fantasy had so rarely been that direct before. that matters a lot when you’re talking about one of the biggest rpg franchises in gaming. it also helps that dion is just cool as hell on top of that. he isn’t there to be reduced down to “the gay one.” he gets to be powerful, beloved, emotionally important, and genuinely central to the story, which makes the representation hit harder because it’s attached to someone people were already going to care about anyway." 2. "First explicitly queer character in Final Fantasy!"
Who should advance?
Nova NoStar
Dion Lesage
ROUND 1 — Match 284 of 286
Nova NoStar (InCo)
Identity: Aromantic and Asexual, implied/Word of God Notes: Shows disinterest in romance in-source, and is directly referred to as aro-ace by the creator. Propaganda: "Nova is an interstellar messenger and also spy, whatever people are willing to hire her for; she travels from planet to planet and she takes pride in being prickly and independent. She’s NOT lonely and if she keeps saying that maybe she’ll start to believe it! I love the slowburn friendship between Nova and Hatov, Nova slowly letting herself feel the feelings of grief and guilt and desire for friends that she’s kept locked down for so long. Nova and Hatov initially start as such an oil-and-water mix but they are ultimately so good for each other to slowly learn to move on and open up to the potential for change. It is such a great portrayal of this slow-building friendship! And at the same time Nova is doing her own investigations: into her past and this planet’s secrets. Mostly just by talking to people and listening to them, which most people don’t ever really do. She is so good at what she does when she is On A Mission. And the mission is to figure out WHAT is up with this planet that shouldn’t exist."
vs. Blue Diamond (Steven Universe)
Identity: Nonbinary, Word of God Notes: Referred to as a “nonbinary woman” by Rebecca Sugar. Propaganda: N/A
Who should advance?
Nova NoStar
Blue Diamond