#we'rehereandqueer

[werehereandqueer]

Dungeon-queering

I want to take a break talking about computer and console games and talk about my personal favorite tabletop game: DnD. Now a lot of you might be scratching your heads thinking ‘Dungeons and Dragons? Is there even anything to talk about?’ As a matter of fact, yes there is.

Wizards of the Coast themselves have been pushing out a handful of LGBT inclusivity into their campaigns and universe as a whole. Curse of Strahd and Storm King’s Thunder both have canonically gay NPC’s and promise more queer characters in the future; read for yourself here. Even though having just a handful of gay NPC’s might not be a fantastic example of rep, the overpowering rise in popularity of DnD means this rep will reach people from all walks of life, far and wide. We have seen the reach and popularity of DnD with the beloved internet series of Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, which add to the representation by having LGBT characters, such as the bisexual rogue Vax’ildan from Critical Role and  the gay wizard Taako from The Adventure Zone. 

It could be argued that a lot of DnD representation springs from people’s own characters. For example, in my party I play a pansexual elf, and as for the rest of the party there is a bisexual dragonborn, a lesbian human and another lesbian dragonborn. But thanks to the aforementioned internet series, the representation spreads to the audience, giving people these amazing queer characters.  

And even if there is just queer characters that only you and the rest of your party now about, you are still contributing by making queer characters commonplace in fantasy settings.  This type of representation shouldn’t be trivialized.

But not all DnD players are very welcoming. A lot of DnD players have voiced displeasure in the idea of gayness permeating the DnD universe. I’ve lost count of how many tumblr posts I scrolled past after reading homophobic vitriol. But every fandom has it’s bunch of assholes--it’s important to remember which people to block, and which people to surround yourself which. 

But tell us what you think of the progress Wizards of the Coast has made, and how has your DnD experience been on and offline?

And for those playing, may lady luck bless your dice!

[werehereandqueer]

Life is Qu- Strange!

So this week, I am going to discuss my thoughts on the Life is Strange series! Including the original and Before the Storm!

(I do not have access to the Bonus Episode that comes with Before The Storm so that is going to be excluded from this post. If I see a playthrough’s or get access it to myself I will edit in or do an update post about it – depending on its relevancy to the issues discussed.)

 When Life is Strange Episode 1 made its debut, it managed to make top 5 best seller within a month of its release. And I’m not surprised. The game itself has quite a unique and stunning visuals as well as using the butterfly effect and having the use of rewinding time to customise gameplay to each player as they play the game.

But something that really hooked me in when I first played this game was Chloe Price.

Now I love her style and her attitude. But the moment I first heard her talk about Rachel Amber. I knew, I just knew that it was no ordinary relationship between friends. In fact a friend tried to tell me they were just friends. The way she’s protective over the photo Max picks up of Rachel. When Max says she was a good friend and she responds ‘that’s putting it mildly’ and when she calls Rachel her ‘angel’. I knew that Chloe was queer to some extent. I knew she had some semblance of a relationship with Rachel Amber. (Which is made a bit more explicit later on when you find out she was sleeping with Frank.)

But apparently this subtly is not picked up by everyone. Even when Max kisses Chloe and Chloe doesn’t seem overly bothered by it and when, if you choose the options right, after Max kisses Chloe during the final choice – Chloe says ‘I’ll always love you’. 

And apparently for some people this isn’t explicit enough to know these characters love or attracted to each other in a way that isn’t explicitly platonic.

Now I will talk a little bit about Before the Storm before I address some of the issues the game does have.

Now I know some people believe Before the Storm was an unwarranted prequel, merely a stunt to milk the popularity that came from Life is Strange. But there are people who think this but still think that the developers who made it (different than the original ones) still captured the very essence of the game. And I don’t believe it be an unnecessary or unwanted prequel. I see it as a game that finally eliminates the option to deny the deep and romantic bond between Chloe and Rachel. Without a doubt, even if you play the options where they remain friends, there is no denying this bond is just as deep as the one Chloe had with Max – or even goes further than it.

I dare even say I loved this game more than the original. The developers did such a stunning job in continuing to the capture the unique art style of the game and continue with capturing the essence of Chloe’s character – even if she is a younger in this game. Nothing to me, in this game, appears out of essence of the characters we know. We are even introduced to new characters in this game are given the feel of them easily.

But the love and affection Rachel and Chloe and the kindling bond they start with are so stand out and so real it hurts. The interactions they have together are filled with raw chemistry. It’s so undeniable like love and intertwines such a beautiful bond between them – including in the ending credits that I wish I could play more games like it. Both these games lay a foundation for games in the future to set up queer character and especially have them as protagonists and have games that have them both as the main focus and somewhat in the periphery of the games.

 Now, while these games lay a good example it is not entirely perfect. As I mentioned before, in Before the Storm – Rachel and Chloe can remain friends. Which I find incredibly disappointing. Even in a game about choice – the first game shows that sometimes you do not have a choice. I think in Before The Storm that there honestly shouldn’t have been the option to just befriend Rachel. There is that chemistry between them that remains unexplored and does not explain the way Chloe wistfully and lovingly talks about her in the original. Unless it’s explained as an unrequited crush and Rachel never returned those feelings. But I just can’t find it in me to believe that to be true. I know that in a game about choice there should be choices in how the players can control the characters but they could have set it up in an entirely different way – since this prequel was entirely focused around their buddying relationship. The developers should have been brave and bold enough to have this as the one choice you could not change – just like the final choice in Life is Strange.

 But unlike many franchises that leave us begging for scraps of representation – I at least applaud Life is Strange to have the more queer options as canon. Even if I wish they would change some things about their representation.

But I suppose for now, we will see if any other game companies stand up and start having games with more queer protagonists in them!

[werehereandqueer]

Persona 5 has a real straight problem...

Oh, Atlus. We need to have a talk. I’ve been a loyal fan since I got my hands on a copy Of Persona 3: FES in 2009, and spent my entire summer seeing it through to completion. I unfortunately skipped out on Persona 4 due to losing my PS2, but you can imagine my excitement for Persona 5.

When the ‘Take Your Heart’ edition arrived on my doorstep, I tears open the packaging and immediately turned on my PS4. And I was floored. The more gritty, darker story, the streamlined combat, the slick and sexy aesthetic--everything was new and improved. 

But therein lies the problem that’s permeated most of Atlus games. It’s a straight problem. 

Atlus has never been known for handling their queer characters well., Kanji and Naoto from Persona 4 are proof of this. Kanji’s palace, ‘The Steamy Bathhouse’ is a homophobic mess. And let’s not even get started on Catherine, it’s horrendous treatment of trans-barmaid Erika, and the promotion pictures for the new character Rin in Catherine: Full Body:

But that’s a topic for another day. Today I want to tackle the issue of Persona 5.

From the get-go the problem is apparent. As the protagonist, there are plenty of different woman to choose as your LI, should you wish a love interest, but the men? They’re a no-go (make Ryuji romanceable you cowards!). And without even giving the option to choose the gender of the protag, despite the positive reception of choosing between Minako and Minato in Persona 3: Portable, there is absolutely no option for any same-sex relationships. But let’s be real, likely the female protag could only romance the men. That’s how it was handled in Persona 3: Portable. 

The only canon-gay characters present in P5 are the adult men who predatorily creep on Ryuji, dragging him away in the Red Light District and again on the beach. What’s more, it’s played out like it is all a joke, when in reality this sort of representation is part of the problem as to why poor presentation is so prevalent, and in turn leads to the sort of alienation that is dangerous to LGBTQA+ people. This could be because of how homosexuality is viewed as Japan, as “Japanese gay men and lesbian women often conceal their sexuality; with many even marrying persons of the opposite sex” (1) despite Japan saying their are tolerant of same-sex relationships, this shows some level of intolerance which may be the reason for the reluctance to include healthy representation.

But this shouldn’t be used as an excuse for literal homophobia and transphobia in the games. If anything, it should encourage more positive representation to challenge the homophobia ingrained into society. It’s not going to improve unless queer relationships are shown in a healthy spotlight. 

We’re here, we’re queer and we won’t be silenced. 

[werehereandqueer]

Welcome!

Hello guys, gals and nonbinary pals! Welcome to We’re Here and Queer, a space for safe and intellectual discussions on LGTBTQA+ representation in video games and movies. 

Let’s introduce ourselves! I’m Mod Amy, a bisexual cisgender woman, joined by Mod Dess, nonbinary trans asexual. To give you a better idea of what we’re doing, we’re both university students at Liverpool John Moore University, and this is one of our projects we’re doing.

For a modul called “Writers at Work” we are encouraged to put ourselves out into the world as writers and, well, work! We decided to do work with something we’re passionate about--the LGBT community. 

Bouncing around a few ideas, we decided to make a tumblr blog, a space were other members of the community can join us in celebrating good representation and picking apart flawed representation, and what creators can do better.

Now, onto housekeeping!

1) We ask that only LGBTQA+ people follow this blog. It is a space for discussing queer representation, after all.

2) No trolling, bullying, harrassment or otherwise unsuitable behaviour. You will be blocked and reported immediately.

3) Be respectful of other people’s orientation and gender. This should go without saying, but there it is just in case.

4) Asks, replies and reblogs on our posts are encouraged. This is a blog we want people to feel comfortable opening forums of discussion on. We look forward to chatting with you!

5) No spamming. We know it can be tempting if you are waiting for replies but we are both very busy individuals and can’t promise immediate responses. We hope you understand. 

Watch this space over the next few weeks for our first official post!