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Basically, there's no room for the hetero romance tropes to get in the way of the characters and their chemistry.

Katara and Zuko? They have intense chemistry of some sort going on, but never romantically involved in canon. I have needed them to kiss since I was like sixteen and I still do, though I would now prefer they do it post-finale. Roy and Riza? The history there, on top of their personalities. But they can't express their feelings about each other, I am hyperventilating about them.

There's a pattern here, is what I'm saying. I'm not sure it's even about the gender thing. My big m/m ship is Stucky, and again it's that intensity that canon never gets a chance to fuck with.

Because Luke and Mara? Even Jaina and Jag? Depends on who's writing them of course, but they're amazing. MANY feels about these guys.

Royai was the ship that made me realize I don't hate reading romance, I just don't like the standard hetero romances you see in the bookstore. I devoured fanfic about two war criminals who refuse to be happy as punishment for their sins but are still rabidly loyal and protective of each other.

As a kid I found the angst of Rogue and Gambit delightful. The denial and insistance she's no good for him, the patience and acceptance of her powers(I'm focusing on what parts of the ship intrigued me). The fact that she could crack him like a glowstick, and he would let her if it meant being in her arms.

Jyn and Cassian aren't a ship I'm necessarily feral for, but it's one I can respect and enjoy with enthusiasm. Just the tragedy of what if makes it so much fun. Also they don't flirt with each other on first sight. They're rough and disinterested in each other beyond their goals. They actually get to interact as characters a and b instead of mc and romantic interest. And I really think that helps. Like... not immediately having them be in romance mode gives them a chance to shine as they do begin to like each other. When your ship isn't tied up in one character being the romantic interest of the other it makes for more intriguing ships? Like they're each a fully developed character who interacts with the entire story not just the character they were made to romance.

and no, this isn’t me saying “write that messed up, disgusting thing” because while, yes, write it if it’s what you want (I myself enjoy writing dark fics, something I believe would be considered “vile” to a lot of people), this is me saying in a world of censorship and capitalism, ao3 really is a treasure.

In RE9, there is a invincible enemy for Grace. Called "The Girl". She roams the halls, hunting you. The only way to shake your stalker off is to turn on the dwindling lights. There is a mod to remove her.

I saw a post on X. It compared this to beating the game without playing it. Responses are mean. If you use it, you're a tourist. Not appreciating the horror game because it scares you.

If you flinch and cover your eyes at a horror movie, you should be kicked out by its guardians.

What is the acceptable modding before you are a fraud? How much do you suffer in a game to be a fan who passes?

I want to be kind to players. If you like a game enough to try it and install a mod to play until the end, that is a dedicated fan. Next time, they might feel confident to try again right?

Talking about games on the internet can feel like a stalling engine. You must play at a high level to talk about it. You must interpret the game correctly. You must defend it against other tourists who couldn't climb with you. You must be angry about it.

Because I usually do a first play through in assisted no matter what. And then I'll try it in standard on my next. I'm the type of person who gets really frustrated when I die in the sams fight/chsllenge over and over again.

It took me 6-7 times dying to the girl to figure out how to get the SCREWDRIVER. And I was beginning to get frustrated. She's the first b.o.w. Grace faces and she's not forgiving. Move too slow and you're watching your head get bitten off. And after like 5 times of watching that I was getting stressed.

And That's the point of the mod. The girl is stressing you out too much to get past her? Here's a mod that takes her out so you can continue playing Grace's parts without feeling miserable.

WITHOUT FEELING MISERABLE.

I'm not a super skilled gamer, I can't fucking navigate ANY map to save my life (I get lost, turned around, directionally confused) all of it. Every game. Sometimes I'm opening a map every couple minutes to stay on course. If Bioshock Infinite didn't have a navigation button that *pointd you in the right way* I would have been stuck in circles at multiple points. Because no, I don't always catch the little side alleys or holes in the wall. I'm playing RE4remake for the second time in 6 months and I still have to keep checking the map to know where I take Leon next.

But I'd never finish a game if I couldn't get map help. Because I'd get lost. And I don't always want a guide to tell me which way because they often spoil what's also ahead in terms of enemies or puzzles. (AND I FUCKING LOVE MY PUZZLES)

I like playing dark urge in Baldur's Gate 3 because it gives my character a chance to have a backstory and angst and more complex feelings. But I have the mod that trades Alfira for the dragonborn bard. Because I fucking despise that the game makes you kill someone you are trying to save. And I don't like that if you save the teifs then they are literally partying over her deathbed. It makes me uncomfy because I like the drama and redemption of dark urge but also get very particular about the way the game handles her death. Which is poorly imo because why are you not having a few teiflings looking for her and at least plucking at the guilt of the player character? Why am I allowed to get away with it when she has a close friend who should be desperately asking me if I've seen her? Is killing a stranger any better? NO. But it makes the moral disconnect more palatable because if no one else knew about dragonlady bard, it'd easier to cover up and hide. Which makes more sense to me as a player.

It's not pathetic to want to play a game but need to remove certain elements.

Players should be allowed to make necessary changes without getting called names or laughed at. It's honestly an accessibility issue. And accessibility should never be laughed at. Oh this element in this installment of a franchise you enjoy is too close to a traumatic experience you actually had? Sure use a mod that makes it no longer a threat to your enjoyment of the game. This thing they created to terrify is too terrifying? Go ahead and change it so you can still enjoy it.

It's the same reason good game masters in ttrpgs ask the players what content they refuse to engage in. Like... are you aware that most people have certain things that are incredibly uncomfy for them? But still want to enjoy the game or system because it's fun and they like the other aspects?

It's not fair to exclude any player because the subject of x or the appearance of y made them too uncomfortable to continue so they checked if someone modded that icky thing out.

Why is this a hard concept? Why are we hell bent as a society on refusing to acknowledge that any kind of accessibility should be welcomed if it grows the community and brings in new blood?