part 1 of stuff from my fem au! i explain my design choices/other notes here if you wish to read

i'm gonna pretend like i didn't disappear for over 2 years-

"where's lardo and shitty and like everyone else-" they're coming eventually

ANYWAYS

bitty:

hyper femme, in part because she likes presenting feminine, but also from growing up in the south as a lesbian and feeling pressured to hide her sexuality for safety

growing up, she forces herself into the closet to make friends because she doesn't want to be alone. it works a little TOO well, to the point she's lying to everyone and herself. in a way, she's grown complacent in being a bystander to their bigotry, and she cuts them all off after graduation for this reason

knowing some of the other girls on the team are queer is relieving yet also intimidating, so she has a lot of work to do to unlearn her prejudices

she's not "visibly queer" so she feels this constant pressure to "prove" herself, which contributes to her feelings of isolation and a lack of belonging

back to the actual art: the first 3 fits were just me experimenting with coquette styling (like obviously no college student is walking around wearing that😭), the 4th one is the most realistic/casual

her style is a mix of coquette and femme americana, so think gingham patterns and bows and cowgirl boots/hats that i have yet to draw her in lol

jacqui (jack):

(she's basically not in this post but just trust me bro)

pretty basic clothing style, cycles through the same clothes, mostly samwell branded stuff and athleisure

has curly hair, it's almost impossible to straighten it

her stoicism/sternness/authority is perceived more negatively than it is for jack because those traits are praised in men yet vilified in women...that's not to say she isn't unnecessarily rude during bitty's year 1, but that her reputation is slightly worse than jack's

likely read off as the "ice queen" archetype

men AND women want her, she's just dense asf

she has a more strained relationship with her mom who tried to get her into modeling when she was younger, much to jacqui's disdain. their relationship takes center stage in place of jack and bob's

jacqui still feels pressure to live up to bob's expectations (and likely deals with some internalized misogyny because, um, the whole not being able to play in the NHL thing). there's just a different, more significant kind of pressure she feels with alicia who is projecting/trying to vicariously live through her.

holster and ransom:

i'm very normal about fem holsom if you could't tell

pretty much everything is the same as canon except they get away with a lot more PDA, like a LOT more

"best friends or dating" question is asked very frequently, they'll swear up and down they're just besties, but to outsiders, it doesn't look that way

definitely made a serious agreement of "if we're not married by 30 let's just marry each other"

rans has a more preppy style (think polo, tommy hilfiger...) versus holtz's sporty y2k style (wears insanely baggy jeans with the boxers peaking through iktr)

holster is a masc lesbian and she's from NY so you know she's fitted...

rans is "straight." yep

kate (kent):

high femme because yeah

her aesthetic is trashy y2k and mcbling (these words would send a victorian child into a coma)

i HAD to draw her in a britney fit, case closed

she's a lil bratty but not in an overtly mean way...

has a ton of brand deals with skin care/hair product companies (i'm envisioning a commercial with her in it coming on the tv or smth, and jacqui stormily walking over, grabbing the remote, and turning it off. bonus points for holsom just sitting there like: 😀 i have to draw this now)

she's not out but she's not NOT out. it's kind of a well-known "secret" that's kept for the sake of appearances. (in general, women's sports aren't nearly as toxic as men's when it comes to openly queer athletes, so there's less pressure from a systemic perspective, but she wouldn't necessarily broadcast her sexuality regardless)

behind her carefully crafted media image, she's pretty sensitive!