Well Written LGBT+ Characters - Who is/what makes a well written homosexual?

[Gingervitis]

I liked how the gay danganronpa characters were written (although the fandom would like you to believe Tenko and Kokichi spend all their time trying to out-I'M GAY SonicFox, and it's only them moreso than any other characters because they're from the newest game) because it wasn't their entire character, but affected their actions and motivations. It's probably more to due with it being a murder mystery based series but that's how a character being gay should be written.

Wait, Kokichi was gay? I knew Tenko, Nagito, Teruteru, Korekiyo, and that one guy from the anime definitely were, and Junko seems like she’d get her rocks off corrupting anyone, but is it canon with Kokichi?

 

[Reynard]

well let's get the obvious one out of the way

this guy is a well written character with his own ambitions and goals, has interesting flaws, is funny as fuck sometimes, and he only reveals he is gay if you A: have the gay perk, B: ask him personally
what a champ

Arcade and Veronica were both great, interesting characters. There's a reason why: they were characters who just so happened to be gay. They were characters first, and being homosexual was just a facet of who they were, not their defining feature. They don't fall into the issues you see a lot of poorly-written LGBT characters you see these days made by people who don't know what makes an interesting character or hell, even an interesting person. Fallout: New Vegas is really the game that shows everyone how a lot of that shit is done because Obsidian knows how to write something worth your time.

 

[remiem]

The webcomic Wildelife is an ok-ish read and has a lesbian couple.

Gonna echo what seems to be the general sentiment of this thread, they're good because it's not all about the fact that they're gay. Although one of the women involved is not as fleshed out as the other currently, the half of the couple who is a main character in the story has depth and personality and being gay is just a small facet of it. She's not constantly bringing up that she is gay or constantly making out with her girlfriend in overly sexualised fashion to remind people she's gay. They just are. It's present but not in your face.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Vanyel Ashkevron from the Heralds of Valdemar series. Helps that being gay is just one small part of how hes written rather than it being crammed in your face, and when he struggles with romance and loneliness its actually believable. and the poor guy gets so much dumped on him as all his friends are killed off one by one and he has to take on more responsibilities you just want to give him a hug.

I'm torn here.

On the one hand, Vanyel is, in some ways, a bit of an obnoxious stereotype. And good god, was the first book an emo angstfest.

Then the first book ended, and everything got a lot better.

I do like how for most of the second book, and some of the third, he keeps whining about how everyone is creeped out about him being gay, despite his friends telling him that, no, most people don't even know he's gay, and besides, everyone knows other gay people, Vanyel just grew up sheltered. It's actually the fact he's become a near-mythical hero-figure to the rest of the kingdom, with the ear of the king and enough power to level the city if he was pissed off. Basically, it's one long running "Nobody cares who you fuck, snowflake. You're not the first gay person we've met, get over yourself."

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

This thread reminded me of this video by Just Some Guy

 

[Elwood P. Dowd]

 

[Rat Lord]

I love the HTTYD trilogy, and Gobber is just a great, funny, lovable character. You wouldn't even know he was gay unless you looked into it (or caught the gay joke in one of the films)

 

[Jmz_33]

I ganna go with Ellie from the last of us. Though most of the strengths of the game are from the relationship/interactions between Ellie and Joel, Ellie has shown to be a strong character on her own. She can be stubborn, crude, and reckless , but can also be empathetic, caring, and independent.

Here’s to hoping that they don’t fuck it up in part 2.

 

[Kiwi Jeff]

This might not be the best character I could have picked, but he's one that I've always enjoyed.

 

[Fagbag]

If it isn't vital to the character and appropriate to the narrative, even discussing sexuality is entirely superfluous.
Whether it's supposed to be a positive or a negative representation of a queer, you're automatically working against either an eyeroll at best or an intensely defensive reaction at worst from your audience.

The best rule of thumb is always to not write an LGBT character.
Writing for the extreme minority of people who actually care is generally inadvisable because it comes at the price of a wider audience.

 

[GethN7]

This might not be the best character I could have picked, but he's one that I've always enjoyed.

Well, I want to elaborate because I believe you picked a better choice than you give yourself credit for.

Volgin was intended as an obvious Bond villain throwback, but his bisexuality just felt natural.

With women, it's about his superiority over them, basically he's a rapist in all but name.

With Ivan, you get the clear indication he actually cared about the man. He's so pissed at the mere idea you may have hurt the man (even if you went nonlethal and just took his outfit) he gives Snake a beatdown that is just horrifying to watch, and frankly nauseating in it's brutality. You can even weaponize this by wearing the Raiden mask later in a fight with the guy and he freezes momentarily (only the first time though), hesitant to attack the face of the man he cared for.

Portable Ops reveals it went both ways. Raikov fucking hated the idea of working with the man who did in his boss, and only relented under the potential logic of getting out of his shitty exile and hopefully back in the good graces of his government again by doing so, but it was still clear he had zero love for Snake regardless.

 

[Frenda]

i guess you could say Frenda Seivelun is a bisectual icon.

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

Been re-reading Scott Pilgrim and I forgot how delightful Wallace Wells is. I don't think I've ever seen gay panic trolling done so tastefully.

 

[Puddleduck]

I recently read a book called More Than This, can't remember the author's name though. The main character was called Seth, and he was gay, but this made no difference to the plot, and he's pretty well written. He meet his bf in flashbacks, but the gender could easily be changed without really affecting anything

 

[RumblyTumbly]

I always liked Wallace from Scott Pilgrim. He was just a really funny and sarcastic dude, and him being gay led to some great jokes in the movie ("Wallace, AGAIN?!?!").

 

[Grimoire Canthari]

Wait, Kokichi was gay? I knew Tenko, Nagito, Teruteru, Korekiyo, and that one guy from the anime definitely were, and Junko seems like she’d get her rocks off corrupting anyone, but is it canon with Kokichi?

Kokichi flirts with Shuichi from time to time in the main game. FTEs are basically him trying to bait Shuichi like a kid repeatedly so he keeps his attention. To say nothing of his Love Hotel scene (he apparently wants to seduce a cop, but not rape one), Love Across the Universe (a couple of the 'best' reaction choices for him where the game mode gives you max amount of hearts are: picking a documentary about police and stripping) and Harmonious Heart. Korekiyo definitely isn't gay though, reason in spoiler.

Spoiler: Don't read if you don't want v3 spoilers

Kiyo loves his sister.

 

[Amber the Hedgehog]

There are great characters that just happen to be LGBT but also great LGBT characters. I don’t think eather is inherently better than the other. All good fleshed out characters have key motives, relationships and issues but also features that don’t matter that much. What are central, sort of important or filler elements dependents on what the story is and how it’s being told.

Great example of a character who’s sexuality is extremely important, is James Sunderland, the main character from Silent Hill 2. James is definitely a straight male character rather than a character who happens to be straight and male. His story is largely about his sexual frustration after his wife Mary got sick and passed away. This is largely told by symbolism of monsters, NPCs, objects and places that James meets in Silent Hill. These are things like Maria, a slutty doppelgänger of James’ late wife Mary. Most monsters that roam Silent Hill have traditionally feminine sexy attributes combined with body horror. The big exception being Pyrami head. He is masculine, unstoppable and has big weapon that he uses to impale his victims. All these come together to tell a great atmospheric horror story that wouldn’t work if James wasn’t straight and male.

An other example I want to talk about is a fanfic, Just dinner by Wikketkrikket*. It’s a AU fic that mixes Captain America and Ironman orgin stories with elements from Spiderman mythos. A great fanfic that concentrates mostly on character drama, grief and mental trauma but still manages to feel like a super hero story. Good foreshadowing, nice phasing and clever combining of elements from different sources. But most importantly for this discussion, a bisexual character who’s sexual desires are very impactful.

Iron Man is a violent vigilante and also, quite clearly, Tony Stark, even if the authorities can't prove it. Steve Roger is taking care of dying godson Peter Parker. Peter is soon turning four, huge fan of Ironman and wants nothing more than to meet him. Clearly impossible and Steve hates Ironman but as this might be Peter’s last birthday Steve is going to try anyway. Tony turns up willing do an appearance, if Steve goes dinner with him.

This Tony Stark wants to fuck Steve Rogers really badly. It’s not hidden the slightest, it’s a key motivator for whats happens between characters and why Tony chooses the actions he does. How he thinks about Steve and getting into his pants is used show Tony’s mental health issues changing. He starts by thinking Steve is just super sexy and trying sleazily charm his way to Cap’s pants, but as things evolve, he gets turned down couple times, Tony gets more obsessive and ruthless but also stars to slowly question his actions and thoughts. What started to him as nice change of phase from sleeping with airheads, turns into the first genuine human connections for years. But as those are something Tony has been very purposefully avoiding since getting kidnapped, it causes mental issues to surface that he rather not think about.

* https://archiveofourown.org/works/11519013/chapters/25853142

 

[MW 002]

I’m probably in the minority when I say that a TransWoman as a villain in a fantasy novel could probably work- especially if the main thing which motivates her is the need to become the beautiful woman that they’ve always wanted to be, regardless of how many people around them require to be hurt/sacrificed in order to accomplish this task.

Problem is, that won’t fly with the woke crowd because they usually want Mary Sues

 

[Syaoran Li]

Achilles from The Iliad was in a relationship with Patroclus and was still a badass.

Also, in a weird way Sasha Vykos from Vampire: The Masquerade was both an excellent and creepy villain and a prediction of the insane Millennial Tumblr troon/genderspecial type...

In the lore of the game, Vykos was originally a Slavic knight named Myca Vykos and was a man. He was embraced by the Tzimisce, a clan of sadomasochistic and inhumane Slavic vampires (think Dracula mixed with Hellraiser or Necroscope) with the ability to warp flesh and bone to their whims and used that ability to make himself into a woman, Sasha Vykos.

Vykos became a high-ranking member of the Sabbat (an ultra-violent terrorist sect of vampires who reject their former humanity) and was known for their sadism and utter amorality.

Eventually, Vykos went from a woman to a genderless freak and one of the more memorable villains in the metaplot of the game.

Oddly enough, one of the earliest examples of a "non-binary" character in recent pop culture was also an amoral sadistic creep belonging to a cult of angry hive-minded fanatics, which is weirdly fitting when you consider things like Tumblr and the Rat King lolcows.

 

[The Great Chandler]

Joachim speaks for himself.