Well it’s mostly drawn from the implications of her past. There’s enough context to say that her parents were not kind people, given her running away from them, and how Cortez’s “playing pretend” comment seemed to remind of her something someone said to her in the past.
Plus during the trauma illusion part, hers seemed to revolve around abuse from her father about her going through her mother’s closet
So I feel it’s likely her parents (or at least her father) were massive transphobes, and that’s why she ran away.
Also in the latest update it seems likely that her medication is for more than just ADHD
It could also explain her interest in transmutation magic? Or maybe that’s just something of a pun.
All that is to say, that as a trans woman myself I’m always eager to see more trans characters in IF, and more T4T romance.
(If Valerie turns out not to be trans I will be very embarrassed, author pls)
I actually asked because I’ve been nursing the same exact theory for pretty much the same reasons!!! Sorry for not mentioning that in the first place, I thought I might’ve been reading too much into things so I was really nervous/elated that someone finally seems to think so too! (And I will also be very embarrassed if the theory turns out to be wrong, haha.)
A couple more pieces of potential evidence
In addition to what you’ve already listed, I think you’ll find it interesting to note that if you code-dive in Chapter 1, you get a boost to Valerie’s respect if you tell her you’re nonbinary. There’s no option yet to indicate to her that our MC is binary trans (if you tell her you’re male or female), so I think picking nonbinary makes it clearer to her that we’re (also) not cis and thus makes her feel more admiring of us. On top of that, code-diving in the newest update reveals that if her ego stat is above 0, Valerie will spend several minutes in the bathroom getting changed and she opts for a skirt and tights instead of the pants she was wearing before, so that could indicate that she’s gained a bit more confidence in herself to express her gender identity a little more?
There’s also a few other things related to Valerie I got from digging around in the Discord server that are particularly intriguing to me, but unfortunately are much more insubstantial and rely even more on speculation than what’s already been said.
Playing this all over again made me forget how much I wanted Charlotte to be a RO. Stg one of the most charismatic side characters ever, full on rivals to lovers plus drama with Callum right there.
Catch me picking ALL of the options to be alone/talk to her. Honestly I’ll code dive later to get all of the options that give me best approval ratings to see if any scene dialogue changes
Might put up a “guide” on Charlotte approval maybe.
I had not replayed this game in a long, long time, hence it was a complete rediscovery for me and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
I love how different but equally interesting both the present and past sections of the story were, as well as how much depth there is to the characters we interact with.
I also must say I concur with the would-be Charlottemancers. I think she’s an amazing character, and I love how her relationship with mc develops over the course of the story depending on their choices.
@CorvusWitchcraft Remember me? I’m the girl that was pining after Charlotte before she’d even made an appearance. I don’t mind if you don’t, it’s been awhile. I was waiting for Kira to show up before making another post, so it’s your fault for taking so long.
Turns out Charlotte was everything I’d hoped for. Delightful to watch her warm up to the MC a little near the end of that past section. Of course we’re not at the ‘Pyjama sleepovers while we braid each others hair’ stage yet but baby steps and all that.
Admittedly it’s very early stage but first impressions can be important and my impression of Kira is pretty ‘meh’. Again though, it’s early days. Maybe she’ll grow on me, maybe she won’t. If I ever decide I’ll let you know. Whether you want me to or not. Considerr it punishment for making Qolvar the secret RO.
So, we finally meet Kira. As someone who identifies somewhere in between trans woman and femme leaning nonbinary, albeit closer to the femme NB side of things, it pains me that I can’t romance her on my femme nonbinary MC. She’s a gay character, so it’s valid as hell. Doesn’t mean I won’t sulk about it though
No but it would be hilarious if it was. I’d almost like to see it happen. Nobody will deny me my sweet little Charlotte. My MC would die before they let any harm come to her…
Ah, yeah, sorry the orientations don’t quite match on that—but thank you for understanding! I know not everyone likes ROs with set sexualities, but with Kira especially it was really important to me to represent her particular preferences and orientation without compromises.
I hope you’re able to continue to enjoy the game regardless!
I’m sorry you’re going to have be more specific because it turns out we actually have a lot of those—
…Oh okay yeah, I do remember that actually
Haha, in seriousness, I’m glad Charlotte has lived up to your expectations after all, and that you (and apparently a lot of other people!) are enjoying the way her character is developing.
Even if she may not quite be everything you hoped for Because, after all…
Yes, I can now confirm that the secret RO is, in fact, upcoming character Felrin, whom you’ll meet in the next update! I know it’s not what some of you were hoping for, but I’m sure Felrin will thoroughly charm you all just as he’s charmed Kira
Oh yeah, there’s plenty of other choices for me so it’s not the end of the world. Besides, it mirrors real life at the end of the day. Some lesbian women are absolutely fine with dating trans women and femme nonbinary people, while others are exclusively attracted to cis women. Sexual preferences aren’t something we can control, which is something everyone should preach from the roof tops at this point, and so it’s important to respect that even if it’s the sexuality of a character in a game.
And for what it’s worth. As much as I liked Kira, my go to choices will always be Farah and Valerie. It’s always been those two from the outset, and picking between those two is already hard. It’s probably better for my mental health that I don’t have a third option in Kira that I’ll have to add to the eternal debate of “Which LI should I go for this time?” x3
I’ll be honest and say I never quite expected to see her as an actual RO cause she’s been dead (even if I had hopes cause I’m delusional) but I’d be happy with a past tragic fling as apparently is the case with Callum.
There seems to be a lot of us here. Truly a girl for the girls it seems.
A second edit to say I just realized that this sounds low-key like a threat when taken out of context and can’t stop laughing my ass off.
Ohhh interesting. I can’t wait to meet him then. I’ve been pining against Cortez so far (if you don’t count Callum, rest in pieces, and dear Doc, but I only picked one flirt option with him) so it’ll be interesting to have another option, which seems just as spicy as said wizards My poor MC always falling for the assholes
Delightful to watch her warm up to the MC a little near the end of that past section. Of course we’re not at the ‘Pyjama sleepovers while we braid each others hair’ stage yet but baby steps and all that.
Because, after all…
My poor MC always falling for the assholes 