Thread by @gaydissection

thinking more about the lgbt rep in 13 Sentinels now that i'm 80% through the story

while i was bracing for the worst after hijiyama's prologue, the more i realize that the initially uncomfortable framing of the nonbinary character's transness is intentional--

--in that it's meant to draw in players who might be dated and prejudiced in their thinking, like a certain someone who grew up in 1940s japan. i won't say more as not to spoil pieces of the game, but the way hijiyama reacts to and ultimately comes to love this character

is really touching. the character also states outright two things that really felt sincere to me
- "some binaries work for me, and others don't" (a cute programmer joke and also a direct I Am Nonbinary)
- "you had a crush on me before, so why does it matter now?" (paraphrased)

there is some uncomfortable "but aren't you a man?" and "they lied to me" stuff, and i caution trans ppl who might be very sensitive to that language to be wary. but the prologue is easily the weakest part of this game, and it does get better

while there is a separate conversation to be had about hijiyama possibly being a character that nationalists might latch onto bc hes a ww2 soldier, the fact that he modernizes his worldview while still being kind and caring for his friends and partner is not lost on me either

if a guy from 1945 can come around to respecting lgbt people and falling in love with them, so can any chud among us who is blindsided by hatred. and thats i think a meaningful journey

also, the nb character has a name (one of many, but the "real" one) that is gender neutral!

that's random but i forgot to mention it earlier. lends some credence to the representation being more intentional

anyways i think theyre both very cute and gay and im glad for it. i'm curious what others' thoughts are on the subject