Getting bigger: living together isn’t inherently romantic

Even bigger: going on dates isn’t inherently romantic

Getting larger again: kissing isn’t inherently romantic

you can choose your gender, and it includes nonbinary! you maybe can even change it later on! - but you can only choose one. sorry multigender folks, or anyone who would rather select none/agender! of course, no custom inputs either!

you can choose your pronouns, and they/them is even one of the options! you maybe can even change it later on! - but you can only choose one. and its often tied to your gender choice. and no option to input custom pronouns or not have any at all, sorry!

dont worry about gender, just choose your body type! - but you probably cant mix different sex characteristics or presentations, or its VERY limited. sorry intersex, trans, and gender-nonconforming folks, and anyone else with a body/presentation outside the binary standard! also probably fuck you if you want realstic/varying fat distribution options, or sometimes even just the ability to be fat At All. and also the body type thats clearly considered to have ""FeMaLe PrEsEnTiNg NiPpLeS"" is still not allowed to be topless.

you can choose what gender(s) youre attracted to, and sometimes even put none! you maybe can even change it later on! - but you can only be 100% allo or 100% aroace. sorry aroallos, alloaces, and other split-attraction people!

you can date or marry characters between any genders! - but you can only partner with one. or if you do have the option to date multiple, the game will treat you like youre cheating and cause negative effects for your relationships! but youll still only be able to marry one person! sorry polyamorous people!

you can choose a character to live with/be partnered to! - but you probably have to marry them and have obviously romantic and/or sexual interactions. sorry aspec, romance/sex-repulsed, and queerplatonic folks!

like. Again, its always great to see more options for queerness! its not like id rather these things to not be there at all. but it does suck to experience the particular mixture of joy and disappointment to see more ability to be queer in games, but never or rarely YOUR specific type(s) of queerness. or to have options thatre "almost there," where youre happy to pick a particular option, but still have a side of resignation on having to just pick whats "close enough" or limit yourself to only one aspect of your identity.

its just kind of another reminder that, even in many queer spaces, many of us are often still other. or not accepted at all. or superficially supported but rarely ever considered. or seen as "too much," "too confusing," or maybe even as "too weird/ridiculous" - to the point youre accused of "making the rest of us look bad/stupid/weird" or "being the reason for more hatecrimes against queers" by just being you- and so youre treated like, for the sake of the "real" and "good" queers, you shouldnt make yourself/your identity known. or you shouldnt be you. or you shouldnt exist, period.

(If you're interested in a blog where aspecs can talk about experiences like this, I've since made an aspec venting space!)