huh

[kindkit]

Still listening to the Rusty Quill Gaming podcast. Spoilers through episode 25, "A Wilde After-Party" under the cut.

If someone had told me that one of the characters in RQG would turn out to be queer, I wouldn't have been terribly surprised, although I wasn't really expecting it, either.

And I definitely wasn't expecting it to be Bertie. It's no shock that Bertie's idea of flirtation is the single entendre, but for the object of said flirtation to be alternate!Oscar Wilde (young version, and hotter than Oscar ever was, just for good measure) was pleasant indeed.

And . . . apparently Zolf may be queer as well? I mean, I'm not sure how else to interpret him saying that he'd have been annoyed at Bertie for shagging a journalist, were it not that Oscar has "a really great butt."

This places the whole sewer-swimming scene, the one where Bertie and Zolf keep "locking eyes" while Zolf is naked, in a new light. I honestly thought that was just a joke, the sort that one sees all the time in media between men who are canonically Very Very Not Queer. But apparently our friends at Rusty Towers do not see queer people as a joke.

Well done Rusty Quill!

Comments

[rydra_wong]

An inspirational poster has been made: https://spacecharlie.tumblr.com/post/190337572515/a-truly-inspiring-quote-from-zolf-smith

Based on the main campaign and the specials: the RQG lot seem to be operating without a default assumption of heterosexuality, and it's beautiful. And there's a lot of comedy but the queerness is never the joke.

I honestly thought that was just a joke, the sort that one sees all the time in media between men who are canonically Very Very Not Queer.

Yeah, that bit's the nearest you ever get to anything that might read like that, and okay it is jokey, but it turns out the joke isn't the usual Haha It's Funny Because They're Definitely Not Queer That Would Be Ridiculous.

On a similar note: there's also no skittishness or sense that it's intrinsically comic for male players/GMs to voice female or non-binary characters, which I appreciate.

So Bryn's grizzled post-apocalyptic warlord in one of the specials happens to be female, and Alex's fourteen eighteen-year-old monster-hunter with a shotgun in another is non-binary, and the gender (and differing genders of character and player) is never the joke.

[rydra_wong]

Also: Bertie and Zolf (and Wilde) are very much not the only canonically or hinted/potentially queer characters in RQG, I'm happy to say.

Also: now you know that Wilde's a recurring character, I can say that he's my absolute favourite Rusty Quill NPC and (suitably vague, I hope) what Alex goes on to do with him is amazing.

I love this excellent comment re: stuff you have seen so far:

https://audible-smiles.tumblr.com/post/190523401207/berties-insistence-that-he-and-wilde-have-a

ETA: also this excellent art of RQ!Wilde:

https://digitalintrovert.tumblr.com/post/182453884691/oscar-wilde-anyone

[cyprinella]

Zolf is queer by word of Ben but it thus far has not been addressed in the text at all other than a few quips like what you caught, much to occasional fannish contention. :/ And it didn't come up until like the late 120's so there's a hilarious sudden shift in fic if you read AO3 starting with the oldest stuff.

[kindkit]

Apologies for the ridiculously late response, but . . . do you remember what context Ben said this in? Was it one of the meta-episodes, or at a con Q&A or something? I think I've listened to all the meta-episodes but it's possible I missed something.

[cyprinella]

It was in the official Discord channel. The only reason I know about it is because it went around tumblr at the time because I don't do Discord.

Tumblr post with a screenshot: https://thoughtsbubble.tumblr.com/post/186327660068/so-i-got-the-ok-from-ben-to-share-this-and

[kindkit]

Ah, cool, thanks!

BTW now that I'm up to date on Rusty Quill Gaming I'd like to follow you on Twitter. I didn't before because spoilers. Anyway, I'm gavestonsfrolic over there.

[cyprinella]

Oh cool! :D I would recommend my public one since it's where I do RQ stuff and private is mostly me moaning about various things, primarily work. octopusgallery Most of my recent follows on that account are also RQ related if you want to find other fans.