Already got to that.Originally Posted by warellis
Already got to that.
Astolfo's never done a single gay thing, as far as I know. I'm fairly sure he's straight.
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It's not like he's done much straight shit either.
So he's done "other" shit then eh?
Dunno.
He gave me handmade chocolate on Valentines, that's basically sex.
Peperoncino is such a good character that I honestly don't even need any other gay representation in TM other than him. I think he's that well written.
That being said as a "queer" (god I hate that word) person I don't necessarily need TM to delve into gay characters because what makes the writing good generally doesn't have much to do with a character being straight or not. Sure Tsukihime and Stay Night are romance VNs but more so than the relationship between characters, I feel like exploration of philosophical themes and the characters themselves and how they interact with the world is more appealing, at least to me. For one I never cared about the MC-Girl romance more than I cared for the world and characters themselves, on their own.
However if they can do a good gay romance or character I'd never be opposed to it. I love how Pepe is handled, you look at his speech pattern and design and might think "great, a stereotype" but he is so much more than that and the subtle nod to how his orientation was a defining factor in his backstory is masterfully done, and the fact he is an effeminate gay man isn't really used as the whole point and defining trait or a joke even. When I was done with his arc in LB6 it really made me think "wow, so Nasu CAN write a gay character". Now writing about it, I think I'd love to see how he would go about a non straight and non yuri route in a game.
Wait, was Pepe actually gay and not just queer-coded? In any case, I see what you mean. Representation isn't everything nor something to fall on your own keyboard for, but it is nice, and it says good things about the culture that we can have 3-D portrayals of queer characters where that isn't their sole defining attribute.
I was under the impression that he's into Daybit, with LB4 and LB6's narratives really drive that home.
Hm, I'll have to check that out more closely. In any case, I thought the answer would be his dynamic with Kirschtaria.
There's one singular line in his backstory that tells you how his sexuality impacted how people viewed him in lb6. And it kinda hits hard
When was it? Was it when he died, because I actually haven't gotten around to reading that part of Avalon le Fae yet.
Yes, his final moments contain one last flashback and really the only time where he expresses any feelings or reveals about the topic. It's not overly explicit and doesn't spell it out, but you can't read it any other way than "he's not like what society expects a man to be, in more than one way". The fact it's saved for the end really makes the impact bigger.
Oh, I see. I need to really finish reading Part 6, then...
Pepe is the only gay Tengu.When I was 10, they had great hopes for my future. They lauded me as the greatest genius since the clan's founder. I really wanted to live to those expectations, but I fundamentally couldn't. I was born with a different orientation. My body and heart didn't fit together. I went against the mold society demanded me to fit. The clan wished I had many children to pass on my superior genes, but it was impossible for me. I had people who could understand how I felt, but no one who was the same.
That also sounds like he's gender nonconforming or had some dysphoria.
You can read it as that, but you can also read it as "My body (male, made/expected to have sex with women and procreate) didn't match my tastes/soul/heart (not into women)". It can be both too, but the gay interpretation fits with the "not procreating" part pretty well, at least.
It does, and I readily accept both, given his gender presentation.
I'm a cis straight woman myself so my weigh in on these kind of topics is kind of weak, but it's more or less just an extension of my own issues with some things. I wondered some years back "Huh, isn't it kind of weird that even if you pick female Hakuno the relationship with the girls is explicitly framed romantically while the boys are restricted to subtext?". Then I started watching a lot of video essays that addresed how in a lot of media gay women are allowed to show more physical forms of affection because straight dudes find it hot while for gay dudes they're more often than not restricted to subtext where people juuuuuust have enough wiggle room to say "They're just friends, you people read WAY too much into things".
Of course representation doesn't necessarily make writing better, but it also doesn't necessarily make it worse so the current handling of it is kind of squint inducing.
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I took his interaction with Daybit when he saved him in LB4 as pretty darn explicit.
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