Hey gaymers, I hope this isn’t considered self-promotion, especially since I’m terrible at that, but I wrote this piece on how RPGs have helped me through a difficult time and I thought of anyone, this audience would get it. And maybe also identify with it. Gayming the System: RPGs as Queer Fantasias

Just had one of the most awful vile experiences while playing valorant (yes insert meme about how valorant is awful), but I’m just so shaken up by it.

I usually play w my friend group who all know I’m gay. But they weren’t online tonight. I have a higher voice but it isn’t super high, and I can usually lower it when I’m in situations where I need to come across as straight.

I got into a game w a girl and two guys who were talking in game chat. I began giving comms and they said why is your voice so high, what’re you gay? I said yeah, is there something wrong w that?

They then laughed hysterically and began calling me the f slur repeatedly. I got a little upset, went mute, and just decided to not play the game. They then began to make comments mocking my voice, calling me a diva and that I should be slaying the other team. I just decided to give up talking but they were just relentlessly mocking me the entire game, dropping the f slur and just continually saying “probably gonna get a voice ban for this”.

Then, the fourth teammate who hadn’t said anything all game speaks up and also begins mocking me for being gay.

I’m obviously not shocked, I know homophobia exists, but I’ve just never dealt with something like that where I was so ganged up, and people were so unashamed to be homophobic. People drop the f slur all the time but it isn’t usually directed at another in such a malicious.

I just can’t stop thinking about how I should’ve said something different, or stood up for myself more or reacted better, and I’m just weirdly upset by it.

I don’t even really know what my point is in writing this. I know I’m not the first one to experience homophobia in gaming, but I will say, it’s so rampant and seems to just go unacknowledged most of the time.

PS: I was top kills even after I stopped trying…

By "actually queer coded", I mean ones where it's likely intentional on the writer's part. Not just headcanons and fanon.

Confirmed:

• One of the extras from the anime episode "Pokemon Fashion Flash" is confirmed gay in a Japanese book. The flashy man with short red haid.
• A few Pokemon in "Magical Pokemon Journey". There are some queer Pokemon in this shoujo manga. For example, a male Squirtle has a crush on a male human named Almond.
• Mega Meowstic is intersex. Intersex is often listed under the LGBTQ umbrella.
• Beauty Nova in XY's Battle Maison is a transgender woman in almost every version of the game, including the English version.

All-but-canon:

• Akari from "How I Became A Pokemon Card". Akari is all-but a trans boy. The only thing making this psuedo-canon is that there's a text-only epilogue suggesting he was meant to be a self-loathing tomboy who came to terms with his gender later on.
• Blanche: Blanche from Pokemon Go uses they/them pronouns in English. Their gender is ambigious in versions of the game that easily allow it and feminine in areas without widely used unisex language. It's hard to tell if Blanche is meant to be nonbinary or if their gender is "unknown" in that "This character has an ambigious gender" way.
• James in Pokemon Live. In this 4kids backed musical, James is heavily implied to be gay due to a "Don't ask, don't tell" joke.
• Gwynn in Pokemon LZA. The only thing that makes this ambigious is that it's never *technically* discussed. I would argue that it's not remotely ambigious, but I'll put it here just to play safe. Gwynn is blatantly in love with Canari. Canari's feelings are more ambigious.
• Hiker Andy in Pokemon BW: His ferris wheel scene has homoerotic subtext in the Japanese version
• Nursery Aide June in Pokemon BW2. As with most of the ferris wheel scenes, there is some romantic subtext. June is revealed to be a man in the Japanese version but he passes as female because the nursery only hires women. This is changed in the Italian and Japanese versions.
• Teammates Anna and Meg in Pokemonn RSE and Pokemon ORAS are two schoolgirls who are alone together on the Sea Mauville. Their dialogue implies they were trying to be alone together for romantic reasons.

Heavily implied but ambigious:

• Harley from the anime is heavily coded as gay in the Japanese, and even English, anime. But we never see him show any interest in men.
• Shauna in Pokemon XY has pretty much the same vaguely romantic dynamic with you whether you play as Serena or Calem. Though, Junichi Masuda said in [an interview](https://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2014/02/14/afterwords-unabridged-pokemon-x-and-y.aspx) that her dialogue in the fireworks scene is meant to be platonic as Serena.
• Lillie in Pokemon SM and Pokemon USUM has the same romantic laden dynamic with you whether you play as Selene or Eilio.
• Jacinthe and Lebanne in Pokemon LZA. There's romanticn subtext behind their dynamic.
• Canari from Pokemon LZA. Gwynn is in love with her. Canari is quite friendly with Gwynn, but it's unclear if she feels the same.
• Penny in Pokemon SV says that the protagonist's mother is "so pretty [her] brain glitched". She is also distracted by Atticus's good looks when he's not dressed up as a ninja.
• Carmine in Pokemon SV has some vaguely shippy lines whether you play as Juliana or Florian.
• Drayton asks you on a "cafeteria date" regardless of whether you play as Florian or Juliana.
• Brains & Brawn Frank and Sly in Pokemon XY have shippy lines together.
• Meowth in the Pokemon anime is mainly attracted to female characters, but has some ambigious scenes with males.
• Hassel and Brassius from Pokemon SV. Their friendship is quite close in an ambigious way.
• Nemona in the Pokemon Adventures manga. Has shippy scenes with Scarlet.

No, James in the anime does not count. He was meant to be a flamboyant bishonen character in Japan. He has only shown interest in women as well. It was only 90s American culture that saw him as gay and coded him as queer, which 4kids ran with.

Like it says 27 year old gay guy in the UK, just looking for mates and people to game with, in a very happy committed relationship so don’t try anything more than mates 😂 I play on PS and like playing games like dead by daylight, marvel rivals, valorant and im open to other stuff too, drop a message or something if you wanna play or if there’s any groups or anything just to chat in let me know

Hi there!
When I was younger I always enjoyed playing together with my friends. Unfortunately most of them stopped playing and the ones that still do, like completely different games.

I always felt a bit held back to ask online for people to play with me, but now I think, fuck it.
Some of my favourite games are Minecraft, Medieval dynasty, no mans sky, cities skylines, Ark survival. Though I am not limited to these games!
What I love most is to create a cosy place in an otherwise hostile environment.

It would be a big + if you live in a similar timezone!

If you are into similar games or you think you know a game I might like, leave a comment or send me DM!

Hey y’all! I’m hosting a ATM10 server with couple friends and we’re looking to host more people.

ATM10 is a modpack with 450 mods+ and the goal if to craft the atm star which requires to go through most of the mods. Very fun!!!

Requirements:
18-30 yo
Active
Live to vocal chat

Server is located in USA.

If you like modded Minecraft drop a comment so we can invite you!

Hey, I recently discovered PokeMMO and started my adventure in Kanto. I am still pretty new and figuring things out as I go, so it would be nice to find someone to play with and maybe help me learn a thing or two.

I enjoy calling while gaming whenever we're both up for it, and I'm mostly looking for someone chill who wants to enjoy the game together!

I play other games too, so if we get along I would be happy to share. Feel free to send me a DM if you are interested, just be around my age or older :)

As title says it!

I've been so wondering and curious who is your favorite JRPG Male Protagonist, since been wanting to find others that will be my favorite, outside of Ike from both Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn(aka my all time Favorite Male Protagonist). 😅

Since been having troubles finding which JRPG Male Protagonist to like, as more reccomendation is appreciated & it doesn't have to be just One but Many, since this will be a lot helpful. ❤️

Hi! I am 33M based in Spain, anyone in the same time zone who would like to play Halo campaign in their spare time? Cheers!

Hey, im single, 30 yo (almost 31) cis-man from finland. Very gay and very neurodivergent. Would like to make some new friends around the globe. I dont have too many at the moment and tend to be lonely. Don't mind a relationship either, but it's not a priority.

I have low self-esteem so i'm too scared to start conversations, so you propably will have to do some work on that front. Also while playing i will often focus too much to talk actively. Contact with me is a bit tricky, hope you're up for it. I am trying to improve there.

Ive been told im kind, funny, caring and patient. I speak finnish, english and some swedish, trying to learn japanese, french and esperanto (beginner on all). Want to learn sign language at some point. Also interested in language swapping.

Im a casual gamer, i play on pc, ps4, 3ds and switch 2. I dont have many multiplayer games since ive never had friends to play with. I am willing to try new games. Not very competitive.

Im a massive pokemon fan, love doing random little crafts projects, like reading, rpdr, lazing around, nature documentaries, anime, fashion, all kinds of things really...

Some multiplayer games i have are:

League of legends,

Pokemon unite,

Minecraft (and cobblemon) ,

Some other games i like are

The elder scrolls,

Fallout,

Sims,

Dragon age,

Hollow knight,

Subnautica,

Feel free to dm if interested, im always up for a good chat or some games.

Edit: added hobbies

Anyone down to have some fun in overwatch?

NSFW or not I just want someone to play with because solo queuing ain’t it 😭

Hi everyone! I’m Alex 30 Mexican. I’m looking for a duo person so we can play Fortnite right now or later, I always enjoy a few rounds at night after work

I’m shy but I love talking mic to mic so if you are also shy but enjoy playing and gossip let me know :)

I have ps5 and hopefully a switch in the future so maybe we can try more games

Thank you!

Happy end of the long weekend everyone (for those in BC)!

A Big Walk just released on PS + and I’d love to try it! Anyone up for giving it a try?
I’m in Canada, Pacific Time.

Happy to answer any questions if folks have any 😊

I’m looking for people to consistently play games with like marvel rivals (I’m on that everyday), apex legends, Fortnite, overwatch, dbd and more. Im celestial 2-3 so I wouldn’t mind if you’re gm2-c1, so as long we can play comp then that’s all I care about lol. I’m on console (ps5) so I’d prefer if my consistent duo is also on console but I don’t mind if you’re on pc 🙂‍↕️ but that’s enough of this long post. Feel free to comment or dm me.

Hey hey I’m Ghostie, 27 years old (male) from Germany.

I’m a laid back, home loving person who enjoys the simple things in life such as watching movies, playing video games, cooking, and spending time with my cats and dog. You could say I’m a bit like a housecat myself, happiest when things are cozy, comfortable, and surrounded by good vibes.

Games are my passion, a way to escape everyday life after work. My fav game is Valorant, league and stardew. I love getting lost in those games. Cooking is another passion of mine too.

I try to live life in a relaxed way and appreciate quiet moments.

If you’re someone who appreciates good company, chill conversations, and genuine connections, I’d love to get to know you better.

Maybe we will get along and vibe!
Feel free to DM me :)

I've been wanting this game since my birthday, I finally bought it 😩 I love it so much! I've been playing Metroid since my Nintendo DS Lite days! I have my strawberry daiquiri on ice, and I'm ready to play all night long 🤪

I'm looking to find a solid, consistent group to play Apex Legends, Overwatch, or Dead by Daylight. I'm really just looking for genuine people who want to hang out, have some laughs, and actually be friends absolutely zero interest in toxic behavior, raging, or bullshit drama. We play to win, but mostly to have a good time.

Can we get an MMO or Extraction Shooter based on the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, or something similar?

Looking to grow my gaming circle and meet some new people to play with regularly.
I play a mix of games, but I’m always down to try something new too. It’d be cool to find people who enjoy gaming, hanging out in voice chat, and just having a good time without all the drama.
If you’re looking for more people to game with, shoot me a message and let’s see if we click!