They are the only gay male NPC couple. Ryder can get into a relationship but that's optional. Background characters don't have any lines. That is what makes it stand out, particularly when there has been a lot of criticism on how this game has handled gay male relationships as a whole.
On the Mass Effect 3 page, Steve Cortez is listed underneath this trope, despite Shepard being able to romance him and potentially not even being able to die depending on your choices.
Lexa from the 100 is listed under this trope and is a commonly cited example despite the main character being bi and the fact that lots of straight people die on that show.
It is also worth noting that your given definition "gay couples die and one ends up miserable" fits in this situation, given regardless of what happens to Avitus, he is incredibly unhappy.
Edited by kalanvl
@Tahaneira I am not sure your interpretation is actually true. Bury Your Gays' description meanders and rambles a lot and references both scenarios. IMHO it could use some TRS cleaning, but in its current form, the useage seems accurate.
Also, both of you, stop edit warring please.
Edited by Ghilz
- "The trope is 'all gay couples end with one dying and the other being miserable."
No it isn't. The description specifically says that the effect is lessened even if you're dealing with a Cast Full of Gay. The trope doesn't say anywhere that it's all-or-nothing.
It also says: "this isn't an if-then correlation, and it's not always meant to "teach us something" or indicative of some prejudice on the part of the creator." In other words, it's one of those tricky "association" tropes like Angry Black Man—only instead of "black man who is angry", it's "gay person who is dead".
Edited by KingZeal
I'd say the trope doesn't apply here. Macen is not killed because he is gay. In fact, his sexuality is largely irrelevant, the Negative Space Wedgie doesn't target via sexual orientation.
The trope doesn't have anything to do with being killed BECAUSE the character is gay.
Take another peek at the trope. One of the things it mentions is that many more modern interpretations shows it taking the axe to gays, even if the reason isn't expressly stated as such.
I was thinking of taking Bury Your Gays to TRS because of this debate.
The Square Peg Round Trope says this trope only applies if their death is portrayed as punishment for their sexuality. But the page itself is not clear on that, any many examples, including this, seem to ignore it.
To TRS?
It isn't "lgbt are killed just for their sexuality" it's "LGBT characters are killed off disproportionately in media."
Prominent pop culture examples of this (Lexa, Tara, Ianto, etc.) are not killed because of their sexuality and are indeed often on shows where lots of other characters do die and there might even be more lgbtq characters.
The issue here is again, the only male npc gay couple has one of its members die and the wider cultural implications of homophobia.
Edited by kalanvl
So it's been over two days now since there's been a response to this thread. Have we reached a consensus? Is it okay if I go to the forums and request that this page be unlocked?
The consensus seems to be that the trope should be looked at and clarified. I do promise to leave the entry as is unless that cleanup process says otherwise; this page does need to be unlocked.
Per the latest discussion=1502683699022619600 clean-up thread]]. He's a non-examples since so many other characters die offscreen like him and so many other LGBT characters in the game don't die he's in no way being singled out to die due to his sexuality.
Shouldn't you wait until someone other than Memers decides?
There's no consensus in that topic.
Please add the following tropes to Nakmor Kesh once this page is finally unlocked:
- Action Girlfriend: Whilst her lover Nakmor Vorn is very much a Non-Action Guy by krogan standards, she's still quite the fighter.
- Action Mom: If you complete the main storyline quests and Nakmor Drak's loyalty quests, she gives birth to a clutch of her own, fathered by her partner Nakmor Vorn.
- Battle Couple: Zigzagged. Initially, she and Nakmor Vorn subvert it, as she's the Action Girlfriend and he's a Non-Action Guy. Played straight in the end sequence, where he gets a case of Took a Level in Badass by using his genetically engineered gas-plants as grenades to fight against the Kett.
Curly Goddess
Once this is re-opened, I want to add the following to Keri T'Vessa:
- Consummate Professional: Zig-Zagged Trope. Once Keri learns Ryder is romantically interested in her, it becomes almost impossible to keep her professional interest and her romantic interest in them separate. At one point, she makes a Freudian Slip making it clear she already sees them as a couple, and on another occasion, she hears that Ryder briefly "died" and can't hold back her emotional relief and joy at seeing they're okay. That said, she does make it clear that nothing sexual can happen until after the documentary is finished so that it doesn't compromise her work's integrity.
- The Mistress: Keri is perfectly fine with being Ryder's second, and secret, lover. She doesn't care that Ryder shares his/her heart with someone else—she simply loves them and loves spending time with them, at one point even stating that she's watching the door at Vortex to make sure their Love Interest doesn't catch them.
Coz people were edit warring, so mods locked the page till the discussion below is settled.
Regarding Bury Your Gays applying to Macen Barro (spoilers):
The trope is not 'one of a happy gay couple gets killed.' The trope is 'all gay couples end with one dying and the other being miserable.' They aren't the only gay couple in the story; Ryder can have that down, and their relationship can blossom quite happily. There are also background couples on the Nexus that seem not to die horribly.
Edited by Tahaneira Hide / Show Replies