First we have Elh, who had spent their time conforming to society, and now changed to be more comfortable in their own skin. Red then dealt a harsh blow by (inadvertently) trying to push Elh back into that box of conformity by saying he "thought seeing you as a girl [would] make things simpler". Man I hope things get better for the two, my heart can't take much more :(

Not gonna lie, with how long this has gone on, I don't have much faith that they'll be able to work things out. I feel there's a good chance of this not having a happy ending.

nonnym said:
Not gonna lie, with how long this has gone on, I don't have much faith that they'll be able to work things out. I feel there's a good chance of this not having a happy ending.

Marshall goes to prison was almost 500 pages of Marshall being in a horrid situation and losing any and all semblance of self-worth, that finished happily.

This arc of the story has been 14 pages, I'm sure there's still plenty of time to turn things around

Option 1: Simply explain that they prefer presenting themselves as a guy even though they're unfortunately born with fem-bits.

Option 2: Refuse the request for elaboration and use the opportunity to lash out in a mix of sarcasm and angst while the self-righteous wallowing turns hostile to someone who cares about them.

Now place yer bets for how long the moral browbeating goes on for.~

I thought the name of the game was solatorobo

fluffking said:
Marshall goes to prison was almost 500 pages of Marshall being in a horrid situation and losing any and all semblance of self-worth, that finished happily.

This arc of the story has been 14 pages, I'm sure there's still plenty of time to turn things around

And plenty of time to make things worse too

ghackle said:
Option 1: Simply explain that they prefer presenting themselves as a guy even though they're unfortunately born with fem-bits.

Option 2: Refuse the request for elaboration and use the opportunity to lash out in a mix of sarcasm and angst while the self-righteous wallowing turns hostile to someone who cares about them.

Now place yer bets for how long the moral browbeating goes on for.~

It definitely feels like its setting up for Option 2. The exaggerated poses and word choice feels like someone building up to a breaking of the dam. I can practically see the next page featuring Elh throw his hands down into that classic, upturned palm/claw shape about level with the shoulder as he goes off on his tirade. Red definitely has not handled this situation well, but he comes off (to me anyway) as just plain ignorant and trying to make things make sense in his frame of reference. I don't think there's any malice behind what he did, hopefully Elh going off on him doesn't cause him to go on the defensive or retaliate.

nobleleader6 said:
It definitely feels like its setting up for Option 2. The exaggerated poses and word choice feels like someone building up to a breaking of the dam. I can practically see the next page featuring Elh throw his hands down into that classic, upturned palm/claw shape about level with the shoulder as he goes off on his tirade. Red definitely has not handled this situation well, but he comes off (to me anyway) as just plain ignorant and trying to make things make sense in his frame of reference. I don't think there's any malice behind what he did, hopefully Elh going off on him doesn't cause him to go on the defensive or retaliate.

Makes sense to be defensive if nothing else. Cat's at fault and is upset because the deception failed and is pushing the blame on the dog.

ghackle said:
Makes sense to be defensive if nothing else. Cat's at fault and is upset because the deception failed and is pushing the blame on the dog.

Sometimes stuff like this is just a welled up dam of trauma. Mistakes are made on both ends but fault or blame doesn't always need to be assigned. We who live in a world where knowledge is at our fingertips and who benefit from both foresight and hindsight know what these characters could've done differently to avoid this scenario. Ultimately neither one is thinking straight nor has been since the start of this whole exchange, and Red's dealing with literal millennia of built up gender dysphoria from a lack of ability to speak and be seen as he identifies and who he is, rather than assumptions made based on his body. That can wear a person thin.

angelbird said:
Sometimes stuff like this is just a welled up dam of trauma. Mistakes are made on both ends but fault or blame doesn't always need to be assigned. We who live in a world where knowledge is at our fingertips and who benefit from both foresight and hindsight know what these characters could've done differently to avoid this scenario. Ultimately neither one is thinking straight nor has been since the start of this whole exchange, and Red's dealing with literal millennia of built up gender dysphoria from a lack of ability to speak and be seen as he identifies and who he is, rather than assumptions made based on his body. That can wear a person thin.

Still doesn't change the fact they led someone to bed under false pretenses. If there hadn't been a curtain pull, there's no telling how far they might've gone.

Folks might not always be dealt the cards they want but a bluff is a bluff regardless.

nobleleader6 said:
It definitely feels like its setting up for Option 2. The exaggerated poses and word choice feels like someone building up to a breaking of the dam. I can practically see the next page featuring Elh throw his hands down into that classic, upturned palm/claw shape about level with the shoulder as he goes off on his tirade. Red definitely has not handled this situation well, but he comes off (to me anyway) as just plain ignorant and trying to make things make sense in his frame of reference. I don't think there's any malice behind what he did, hopefully Elh going off on him doesn't cause him to go on the defensive or retaliate.

the stuff you're describing as exaggerated seem like pretty standard anxiety responses to me.

Elh has been forced in to what he sees as a no-win scenario. he dosn't want to come out as trans to Red because he thinks he's going to be rejected, and he dosn't want to deny it because he'd be denying who he is. both of these options are simultaneously pulling him in different directions.

Hoo boy, this is a rough situation to be in, having to explain how you feel regarding your identity. Especially considering the context of the situatio. Hope the comment section can be civil and understand the nuance in what Elh is saying.

Also gonna bring up an interpretation from Bluesky I found:

"Alansarts [BSKY]" said:
Very nice callback that Elh basically dedicated his whole life to the Rite of Forfeit until he met Red, but right now he's feeling the same way cause of his words (that he obviously means no harm cause he's clueless but still)

I have never played Solatorobo, so I can’t understand what this means, but from what I can infer, there seems to be a bit of trauma involved, which, hey, I’ve traumadumped before, I understand how he’s feeling rn.

With every new page Elh becomes more relatable to some people. And more unlikeable and unhinged to everyone else.

noneofyourbusiness12 said:
Also gonna bring up an interpretation from Bluesky I found:

I have never played Solatorobo, so I can’t understand what this means, but from what I can infer, there seems to be a bit of trauma involved, which, hey, I’ve traumadumped before, I understand how he’s feeling rn.

The basic idea to get from the Rite is that this originally made Elh immortal and at this point, he is a couple hundred years old. The years of trauma, coupled with trying to reveal to Red who they are, is likely causing a lot of chaos on the inside and it just sucks.

First things first:

noneofyourbusiness12 said:
Also gonna bring up an interpretation from Bluesky I found:

I have never played Solatorobo, so I can’t understand what this means, but from what I can infer, there seems to be a bit of trauma involved, which, hey, I’ve traumadumped before, I understand how he’s feeling rn.

'SHE'. If you're going to refer to Elh from the actual game, they are canonically a girl in that, and you need to refer to them as 'she/her'. Elh is only 'he/him' in the realm of this fancomic.

Now then, with that out of the way, I have a single question I want to direct to dragonweirdo at this point:

'How much do you actually know about the characters you are using for this comic?'

I ask this because it's feeling more and more like the answer is 'not a lot' (or, at least 'not enough that making a comic about them would be a good idea').

makelovetodragons said:
'How much do you actually know about the characters you are using for this comic?'

I ask this because it's feeling more and more like the answer is 'not a lot' (or, at least 'not enough that making a comic about them would be a good idea').

this is kind of a really weirdly rude way of saying that you don't agree with the way the characters are portrayed.

makelovetodragons said:
First things first:
'SHE'. If you're going to refer to Elh from the actual game, they are canonically a girl in that, and you need to refer to them as 'she/her'. Elh is only 'he/him' in the realm of this fancomic.
Now then, with that out of the way, I have a single question I want to direct to dragonweirdo at this point:
'How much do you actually know about the characters you are using for this comic?'
I ask this because it's feeling more and more like the answer is 'not a lot' (or, at least 'not enough that making a comic about them would be a good idea').

You seem awfully upset that characters you don't own are portrayed by a fan of the same game as you in a way you don't like.
Gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that if you want total control over how others portray characters in media you like, maybe you should make your own OCs and write/draw/commission your own media for them.
Your game isn't sacred and only allowed canon-only portrayals. Fuck, them having sex (or, at least, attempting to) already breaks that veneer.
It's genuinely better for your own health if you accept that peoples' vision of their own fan-created works will diverge from the game's canon in different ways than your own does.

_{On another note, it's very interesting to see how everyone critical of Elh outside of being dismayed that the situation has gone the way it has in the comments also refuses to refer to him as male within the context of the comic itself even though that's been well-established by now.}

angelbird said:
You seem awfully upset that characters you don't own are portrayed by a fan of the same game as you in a way you don't like.
Gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that if you want total control over how others portray characters in media you like, maybe you should make your own OCs and write/draw/commission your own media for them.
Your game isn't sacred and only allowed canon-only portrayals. Fuck, them having sex (or, at least, attempting to) already breaks that veneer.
It's genuinely better for your own health if you accept that peoples' vision of their own fan-created works will diverge from the game's canon in different ways than your own does.

_{On another note, it's very interesting to see how everyone critical of Elh outside of being dismayed that the situation has gone the way it has in the comments also refuses to refer to him as male within the context of the comic itself even though that's been well-established by now.}

Now try to apply that same logic to a character that is canonically trans and depict them as otherwise in fanart. See if you don't get accused of "trans erasure".

haretrigger said:
Now try to apply that same logic to a character that is canonically trans and depict them as otherwise in fanart. See if you don't get accused of "trans erasure".

isn't that just what snoot_game did and it became more popular than the source material?

Came here for a good porn, stayed for the story.

noneofyourbusiness12 said:
Also gonna bring up an interpretation from Bluesky I found:

I have never played Solatorobo, so I can’t understand what this means, but from what I can infer, there seems to be a bit of trauma involved, which, hey, I’ve traumadumped before, I understand how he’s feeling rn.

A bit longer and sadly spoilery version compared to the other reply: people doing Rites are cursed with immortality, to be dedicated to that task. And said task involves living sacrifices for greater good (which is pacifying Very Bad Kaiju Sized Things). So Elh and one more guy not in this comic are going through being the only living 300+ y.o. members of their tribe with not very fun duty to do and at least one confirmed sacrifice each. And also witnessing how 300 years ago their entire tribe and families got wiped by said Kaiju Sized Things they had to pacify asap. And Elh specifically also got entomophobia due to surviving alone in the forests for the first few days after that wipe. A lot of trauma

At least if the comic takes place after the end of the game, two ancient cats are now mortal and don't have to do Rites anymore. Elh still scared shitless of bugs tho

dba_afish said:
isn't that just what snoot_game did and it became more popular than the source material?

Yeah, and Snoot Game was called transphobic from every corner of the internet that cared about such things. It became more popular than the source material because most people don't.

idk this looks like a touch undeserved crashout the other dude seems very genuinely confused

haretrigger said:
Yeah, and Snoot Game was called transphobic from every corner of the internet that cared about such things. It became more popular than the source material because most people don't.

yeah, that's kinda exactly what I'm saying. the relative population of people who actually care about stories by trans/nonbinary creators is too small for it to actually matter.

your hypothetical is a farse.

dba_afish said:
yeah, that's kinda exactly what I'm saying. the relative population of people who actually care about stories by trans/nonbinary creators is too small for it to actually matter.

your hypothetical is a farse.

So because the people that care about trans characters enough to be as insufferable and gatekeep-y over them as the person you were responding to are small in number... that excuses their behavior?

haretrigger said:
So because the people that care about trans characters enough to be as insufferable and gatekeep-y over them as the person you were responding to are small in number... that excuses their behavior?

I don't think it's "gatekeep-y" to be upset that someone took a nonbinary character made by a nonbinary creator and used it to make explicitly anti-trans/anti-nb material.

...

we're getting into the weeds here so I'll just make an as basic explanation why changing a character's backstory is okay sometimes and not others:

a lot of the time a character will have a bunch of traits that are secondary or mailable, altering/removing/substituting these will generally not effect what or who a character is. however, there are traits that are integral to who a character is, and altering those traits will fundamentally change who that character is, and of you do change these traits you better justify why the changes were made in the story*, and a character being trans is usually a deliberate decision and is usually one of these integral traits.

example:

• Sonic the Hedgehog could be a guy or a girl, cis or trans, straight or gay or bi or ace and nothing about the character really changes.

• Samus Aran, make her a dude or make her gay and the character kinda stops being Samus.

_{*Snoot Game technically does justify the change, it's just it's justification is "trans bad, nb bad, gender conformity based"}