i think certain opinions are built upon a strange imaginary ruleset where changing the pronouns used for a certain NPC would then "remove representation" somehow for niche identities. to be clear, i'm not talking about Fiona being transfemme, or insinuating that we shouldn't have trans NPCs. i'm talking about the weird discourse i've seen, like about the Wildclaw NPC - well, now i'm going insane because i can't find a wildclaw npc??? but i could've sworn i remembered a Wildlaw with like, glasses & a muffler, and people were arguing about if he was a demiboy or nonbinary or transmasc or whatever & getting angry on all sides bc like "if he's transmasc then how dare you they/them him" and "nooo he can't be transmasc we need nb representation" & my oldertrans anypronoun ass was over here like... staff clearly loves & appreciates their rainbow family userbase. they're showing not only a willingness but also Excitedness to include variety in their character designs, including gender, body size, skin color, visible disability, et alia. we are not going unnoticed here. and i use the phrase "niche identities" not because i want silent minorities, but because of the contemporary tendency to microlabel & focus on differences in a way that has lead to exclusionary infighting - just because staff has not specified that an NPC is ace or genderfluid or whatever doesn't mean that it can't be true to you! and it doesn't indicate a lack of care for those identities, either. only so many NPCs get introduced at once. give it time.
i'm all for including pronouns for NPCs along with their introductions. i think it's nice. users could root around staff posts searching for what pronouns were used in reference to which NPCs, but it would be easier to just have them listed for view somewhere more findable, next to NPC names & roles. ...though i do foresee perhaps an increased drama surrounding pronoun correction on the forums. like besties i PROMISE dropping the wrong pronoun for a dragon NPC doesn't automatically make someone a virulent transphobe & everyone is probably trying their best (and if they actually are transphobic, well, i'm sure they'll give you more evidence than just dropping an incorrect pronoun or two into a regular discussion)
Re: aaaaa pronouns so scary
to be clear, i'm not talking about Fiona being transfemme, or insinuating that we shouldn't have trans NPCs. i'm talking about the weird discourse i've seen, like about the Wildclaw NPC - well, now i'm going insane because i can't find a wildclaw npc??? but i could've sworn i remembered a Wildlaw with like, glasses & a muffler, and people were arguing about if he was a demiboy or nonbinary or transmasc or whatever & getting angry on all sides bc like "if he's transmasc then how dare you they/them him" and "nooo he can't be transmasc we need nb representation" & my oldertrans anypronoun ass was over here like... staff clearly loves & appreciates their rainbow family userbase. they're showing not only a willingness but also Excitedness to include variety in their character designs, including gender, body size, skin color, visible disability, et alia. we are not going unnoticed here. and i use the phrase "niche identities" not because i want silent minorities, but because of the contemporary tendency to microlabel & focus on differences in a way that has lead to exclusionary infighting - just because staff has not specified that an NPC is ace or genderfluid or whatever doesn't mean that it can't be true to you! and it doesn't indicate a lack of care for those identities, either. only so many NPCs get introduced at once. give it time.
i'm all for including pronouns for NPCs along with their introductions. i think it's nice. users could root around staff posts searching for what pronouns were used in reference to which NPCs, but it would be easier to just have them listed for view somewhere more findable, next to NPC names & roles.
...though i do foresee perhaps an increased drama surrounding pronoun correction on the forums. like besties i PROMISE dropping the wrong pronoun for a dragon NPC doesn't automatically make someone a virulent transphobe & everyone is probably trying their best (and if they actually are transphobic, well, i'm sure they'll give you more evidence than just dropping an incorrect pronoun or two into a regular discussion)