Are there only gonna be 2 male romanceable characters? Or did something have changed?
“Everything happens for a reason”
-Ignismancers after finding out that Iris will be a RO
4 Likes
“Everything happens for a reason”
– Ignismancers after finding out Iris kills Seeker.
11 Likes
Zenkai boosts inbound.
2 Likes
Yep but we won’t reach Seeker or Fortorns level anytime soon in this book. I’m still trying to figure who the fake mc is we see in our dreams
Always love a good superhero story! Lookin good keep up the good work!!
2 Likes
Well, both the MC and Lat are said to have some kind of adaptability power. So yes we do have Zenkai boosts
1 Like
Sorry it’s taken me a couple days to get to your question, but as I mentioned a bit above, I’m not sure about the addition of more ROs in the game, either for this one or the sequels.
The big thing here is, the main cast already consists of seven main characters, who are all present in most of the content. They all have their own personal events and plotlines, which because I hate myself, the player will deal with throughout the game. By the end of the book, that seven is going to grow to ten. At some point, I need to start considering how wide I’m going to let the story get, and adding more ROs to the books will exponentially widen it.
The genders of the cast are also set in stone. It probably says something about me, I guess, but the new additions are all women. So, in order for another male RO to join the pile, I’d have to either 1) create a new addition to the cast (something I’m very wary about doing), or 2) make Seeker or Forlorn romanceable. The former isn’t going to happen, for obvious (V and I) reasons. The latter… I’m not sure of, but I wouldn’t put my hopes up on that ship sailing just yet. Forlorn’s character still has a lot of exploration left to be done, so I can’t confirm one way or the other.
Oh yes, quite so. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but if the player fails a check during the fight with the pyromancer in Chapter 2, they get a stat boost. That’s the first hint that this will be the case.
What if… It’s just your brain playing tricks on you? 
Edit: A disclaimer, because rereading the post I can see that I was a bit unclear: the three new additions aren’t all going to be Romance Options. Iris will be one, but the other two (who shall conveniently remain spoilers for now…) will not.
10 Likes
Hm… Re-the Forlorn upgraded to a possible RO question: going to take me a moment to get myself organized, but here’s a couple surface thoughts - I’ve noticed that people like the tension they already have with him being mildly antagonistic toward the MC. Rivals-to-romance kind of thing, I guess?
If–and this is not promising/expecting it would happen either way–Forlorn were added, it would make sense to be Super slow-burn taking maybe two, or three books to get to a first kiss type scene with him. I know people on the A route of Wayhaven have quite literally gone through the same thing with A, so it isn’t unreasonble necessarily. Right now, just establishing the MC can be an equal to any member of the League is a touch more important than accepting MC’s overtures (however sincere, or joking they might be), therefore it makes sense that even when MC gets through to Forlorn a la the burning office scene by saying the right thing to shut the stubborn man up that things would still need time to settle into an open, and trusting place to germinate those seeds of potential emotion.
Even just basic friendship with the man is supposed to be a degree of challenging, and I don’t see that working itself out until Forlorn starts letting himself be seen as a human being with a bit of vulnerability. He has that with Ignis, and Seeker, but not the younger League members who are likely still trying to figure him out just as much as they are Seeker. 
11 Likes
You’re right about Fortorn but does warm up to the Mc quite a bit after the first mission. He seems like an interesting guy who does more then work on his muscles. If only he would open up
6 Likes
Forlorn is a manipulative bastard
2 Likes
Damn am I the only one likes Forlorn. I think that he is related to Aki in one way or the other which explains his protective nature of her. Either that or he is extremely close friends with her parents…Forlorn with friends hard to imagine. So I wouldn’t say he is being manipulative unless we see something else. As for a RO option absolutely not, A in Wayhaven is good because their stance on romancing a human makes sense. When you’re 900 years old it makes sense for you to think twice about falling for someone who dies at 70 and belongs to a not so loyal species. Forlorn being a slow burn because he leads a superhero team is basically counterproductive, he would have to show you a complete other side of him along with his true identity (can’t romance someone without knowing their last name). If he does that what’s the point of waiting three books for a kiss, cause remember he respects strength and power atleast that’s what I am picking up. Not to mention that he has shown signs of warming up to the MC, so my guess is if we do well in the fight with the giant robots (Megas xlr memories anyone) those signs will only increase. In my opinion he makes sense as he a perfect model of professionalism and a true hero without fault (until his past comes to light which should throw his character through some development).
2 Likes
In that case maybe you really should consider making Forlorn a possibility somewhere down the line.
You could, I suppose, make him the inverse of Ignis…whereas Ignis is seemingly available from the start but ultimately doomed…make Forlorn the opposite as someone who may become available and interested somewhere down the line of his personal and the mc’s plot.
I think it could work, particularly since Forlorn starts off closed and fairly antagonistic, whereas Ignis starts out friendly and (seemingly) open from the start.
Of course my mc himself is already far too tied up with Mars to really be interested in dating somebody else and even if he did it would be Nova.
You can also ask yourself if one of the three new ones could potentially work as a boy or non-binary, gender-flipping character, “feminine”, men do exist and are valid characters too and there are some great discussion threads on this site about that.
7 Likes
That’d likely be the case if I go along with Forlorn as a RO. He wouldn’t be available until the next entry comes around, and at that point the player both knows Forlorn’s history (which explains why he’s so hesitant to consider anyone), and has… certain things that lead to Forlorn seeing them in a different light.
Still, it’s nothing set in stone just yet. There’s a lot of ground to cover before I make a final decision one way or the other.
There are a lot of resources in the forum that help inform and educate in the topic, yeah. Honestly, I’ve probably spent hours just going through the threads and absorbing all the information, so if anyone who posts there ever gets a like on months/years old posts, uh… my bad 
Still though, of the three, only one of them could be turned into a gender-flippable/male character (Iris and the other one are staying women, for spoilery reasons), and it’s actually something I’ve idly debated with myself in the past. I’m not sure about it, because my draft idea of their personal plotline is tangibly related to her being a woman and how that’s impacted her life growing up (they come from a pretty conservative country, for a hint).
That said, I do personally think that AToH could always use more LGBTQIA+ representation. There’s some light stuff already there, like Ignis canonically being bisexual (and in fact, having been in a relationship with another woman in the past), Nova… somewhat hinting so far that he doesn’t feel very at ease with the traditional idea of a “man” and Seeker being demisexual, or at least somewhere in the asexuality spectrum. There’s other stuff like a hero lesbian couple the player can meet if they hang out with Mars and Nova in Chapter 4, and such. Allowing the player to dress however they want is, I’d like to think at least, another example. For stuff that isn’t explicitly in the game yet but that is part of the plan is Roberto, the Italian PM, being a trans man, and Governor Maya being non-binary, as well as other stuff that I’m keeping under wraps.
9 Likes
If it is macho culture related then being a feminine guy could also work to make life difficult growing up. Particularly if they dress ambiguous (or to use 90’s language metro-sexual) and are mostly interested in pursuits traditionally considered “feminine”.
The difficulties are different, true, but particularly if you add canonically gay or bisexual into the mix, they can certainly be equally shitty and traumatizing. It’s not a competition.
That is true. It can be done though I know of only one instance that really pulls it off well and that would be Dandy/Daisy in the Evertree saga.
Up to the author ultimately but I am very much of the opinion that it would be nice(r) to keep things somewhat balanced whenever possible. Unless of course you’re specifically writing an m/m or f/f (dating) game, in which case, go crazy.
4 Likes
Being a feminine guy and being a female in a conservative country wouldn’t really be the same though, and would have to be written differently especially if they wanna get specific with some things.
1 Like
Ah, but that’s already something that’s somewhat being tackled through Nova. He doesn’t present as androgynous or anything, but a big part of the wedge between him and his family is that he’s far and away not the kind of son that people from certain countries find “proper”. Macho culture’s definitely burned Nova somewhat. After all, as Chapter 2 might make you ask:
Why, exactly, does he feel the need to hide what he’s truly like behind a fake cool bad boy persona?
It’s something to give more thought to, regardless. Figuring out a way to keep representation balanced is always a top priority. Part of it is, I think, that I naturally gravitate towards women in media as my favorite characters, and this is, on some level, a story written for my own enjoyment. Still, I’ll figure out a way to give the male cast more of a spotlight as things develop, even if I have to give Gloria himself superpowers. 
I should note, by the way, that the three new cast members aren’t going to be all romanceable. I edited that in a bit above, but only Iris will come to play in the game of hearts.
In terms of cast members total, the number does remain more or less equivalent. Not accounting for the MC, it’s a group of 10 people. Of that, 4 are officially men, and 6 are women. A perfect 50/50 split would be preferable, I suppose, but a 40/60 one does remain somewhat comparable, I think. Especially if you add in the recurring side characters.
9 Likes
You know I actually assumed he did in fact have unregistered super powers, just on a lower spectrum than the league or other superhero team members and more subtle to boot, something like enhanced empathy or touch level only telepathy, stuff like that. Something that is a very useful advantage but not mindbogglingly powerful and can be hidden easily.
Like I said, your choice, still if you can work it in might not be bad to have one gender-flippable squadmate character, that way you can give people who prefer guys, like me, a perfect balance in the main cast or even give those folks who prefer non-binary people a friend in the main group.
Side and background characters are nice, but simply not as vital as the main cast. One of my biggest disappointments with the Mass Effect series was in fact how full the background lore was of gay and lesbian and bisexual people but how we always seemed to be unlucky to get very few of those wonderful people in our squad, particularly when it came to the male/masculine end of the spectrum. 
And don’t get me talking about the absolute trainwreck that Andromeda turned out to be. 
Or the television phenomenon that is still really prevalent in television and particularly soap opera’s of the gay best friend who never seems to do anything actually gay on-screen, so that him (and it is almost a he, as f/f used more as fanservice for straight guys) being gay is really more of an informed attribute apart from maybe wearing slightly more stylish/fashionable/extravagant clothing than the rest of the male cast. And even then not all gay men are particularly fashionable or in tune with the latest trends, that is really just another stereotype, even if it is one that could be applied to me in real life.
While the League currently seems to want the mc to remain anonymous and dress fairly generically my style guide for my mc in your game is this model……so this mc of mine already leans kinda metrosexual. So Nova may like his college instagram party photos then. 
Although in spite of his eccentric clothing preferences he’s not really that much of a party boy in spite of his looks and Lat mostly had to drag him to them I imagine.
Also while he has the physique of the faceclaim model as a superhero with all the training he does at the League, I imagine him slightly fuller bodied during his college days. Not exactly fat, but no six-pack abs and perfectly toned physique either.
1 Like
A fair assumption to make, but no, not really. If anything, Gloria’s the anti-thesis to powered people in this universe. He served in Delta Force, which in this universe includes “anti-powered” preparations. He isn’t realistically equipped to put a stop to anyone in the League proper, but he’s definitely had a couple wargames about disabling a low-level powered who’s on a rampage.
It is pretty striking how Mass Effect seemed to have a lack of possible LGBTQIA+ relationships, especially for male Shepards, and still “seem” like some kind of ground-breaking game in terms of representation. Up until game 3, the only main character who isn’t purely straight is Liara, and one could technically argue that’s more because she’s the most ‘canon-y’ love interest for Shepard.
And yes, the less said about Andromeda, the better. Praying to a God I don’t believe in that the announced new game is actually passable. 
Oh, don’t get me started on the “cool gay friend” trope. It’s pretty much a staple of telenovellas here, and I detest it. If it ever goes beyond bad jokes made at the expense of his sexuality, it runs full speed at the opposite line presenting them as some sort of promiscuous and extravagant dude who’s super catty and aiming for everyone’s downfall. It’s as if they realized presenting women as manipulative harpies is no longer acceptable, so they just go ahead and dumped the position into the LGBTQIA+ groups.
In all honesty, it’s less that the League’s aiming for generic, and more that I’m just really bad at fashion That’s kind of why I don’t go too in depth with clothing descriptions, really. I have a pretty hard time imagining “fits”, so to speak.
… Which is a bit ironic, considering how much I like commissioning art. Victoria’s outfit was both the easiest and hardest of them all.
7 Likes
Fair enough. Still thus far events at the League kinda conspired and still do conspire to make it a bit of a fashion desert.
Firstly thus far the mc hasn’t got any money of their own, nor any time to really sew, design 3d print, whatever his own outfits and accessories.
Second, since most of what he does these days is train the only outfits he really needs are sportswear/exercise clothes…which is the only thing he really buys on that mandatory shopping trip with Ignis…also because that trip is before he really feels comfortable at the League and he’s not in the mood to buy more elegant/extravagant clothes or anything really out of the ordinary for guys at that trip. He just wants to get rid of having to exercise in jeans. And that is practically his only goal during that trip he didn’t particular want to come on anyway
Thirdly, and the reason why I assumed the League itself would want the mc to dress generically is that they have us wear the face-altering collar whenever we go outdoors. So my mc having a really distinctive style, like his faceclaim model, would basically render the effects of that collar null and void if everybody who cares to could recognize him by his rather distinctive clothing style anyway.
That said, once the mc does start getting the salary mine might want to start dressing more like he’d prefer for things like dates with Mars, assuming he doesn’t have to wear the collar then either.
Ouch, sounds slightly worse than it is over here. Still when the gay best friend in one of my mom’s daytime series did get a focus episode of his own of course it wasn’t a dating or clubbing episode but a work / promotion troubles one. 
But, hey, look his Italian model boyfriend at the time sent him a really sweet text, conveniently with no photo or video too (so they can do it without paying another actor or having to show any m/m stuff and heve bob, the production assistant, do the texting.)
2 Likes