LGBT Issues in Critical Role

Critical Role has a decent LGBT representation when it comes to their PCs and NPCs. Both twins (Vex and Vax) have been confirmed as canonically bisexual by their players. Zahra is also heavily implied as bisexual. Major NPCs like Gilmore, Allura and Kima have been established as queer, with Kima and Allura being in a relationship. There have been NPC established as non-binary, with cast making sure they used proper pronounsMatt Mercer's tweet confirming correct pronouns for a character, accessed November 8, 2016. Though, admittedly, before that when Mercer referred to a creature/character as "it" (clearly trying to avoid gender specific pronouns), a fan asked him on Twitter to use "they" next time, as it was more respectful towards queer and non-binary genders.
==Bisexual Characters==
Vax was the first character established as other than straight (thanks to episode 14 and his heavy emotional flirtation with Gilmore) and fans celebrated this admitedly unexpected plot twist, especially after Liam O'Brien confirmed his character as bisexualCelebratory Tumblr post, posted May 26 2016, accessed November 15, 2016, which a lot of them took as validation of how they "read" the characterTumblr post from May 27th 2016, accessed November 15, 2016. Soon after that Vax/Gilmore became one of the most popular ships. However issues with Vax's bisexuality and it's portrayal on the show started showing up in fandom when Liam decided to take Vax in a different direction and develop a relationship with Keyleth. The problems and negativity escalated even more when Vex, second canonically bisexual character on the show, pursued a relationship with a member of the opposite gender as well.
Some fans (a lot of them queer themselves) felt like it was "more of the same" of what they were seeing in mainstream media, where bisexual characters are stirred towards heteronormative relationships that make it easy to erase their queerness. 
 
Other fans didn't feel like the cast should be held to the same standards traditional media/TV shows are held to. 
A conversation developed on whether or not the cast was biphobic.
Vax and Vex are not the only bisexual characters on the canvas. Matt confirmed on Talk Machina episode 4, at about one hour and fifteen minutes in, that Allura is bisexual. Allura showed romantic interest in Tiberius early in the stream, and is currently in a relationship with Kima, a woman.
==Cast approach to LGBT characters==
Some fans have an issue with the way cast portrays their LGBT characters and how they behave outside of the game.
While discussing Campaign 2's femslash discourse, one fan remarked:
When Sam's character Taryon Darrington came out several fans took to Twitter to express their displeasure at the way that storyline was handled and how Vox Machina (and players behind the character) behaved, turning the initial scene into more of a joke. They were so vocal in their displeasure that Matt Mercer felt require to address the controversy
Not all fans agreed the scene was offensive.
==Gilmore's Fate==
Despite this ongoing discussion, the cast's support for LGBTQA+ issues and fans is obvious and appreciated. After episode 57 aired, only days after a tragic shooting at a gay club in OrlandoWikipedia page on the Orlando Pulse shooting accessed November 18, 2016, the cast offered a tribute at the beginning of the show with Matt Mercer talking about the tragedy while the cast held up colored pages that, as a whole, formed the color spectrum on the LGBT flag. A lot of fans were very moved by this display of support, proud to be fans of a show that did not shy away from supporting its queer fans.
It is that tribute that made the discussion stemming from the controversial cliffhanger of that episode so much more emotional. At the end of episode 57, Vax is invited for a walk by Gilmore. In one of the biggest plot twists of the show, Gilmore is later revealed as a Rakshasa named Hotis, a devil Vax had killed earlier on in the campaign, back to take his revenge. Because the episode ended with that reveal, as the Rakshasa attacked Vax, some fans became very concerned about the fate of the real Gilmore, speculating about the man's possible "off screen" demise. Gilmore's possible death, combined with the recent RL tragedy and an overall 2016 trend of writers killing off queer characters for various, often small or irrelevant reasons, made some fans even more emotional (reactions that would perhaps be less emotionally charged were the other events not a factor). One fan went as far as to tweet their concerns at Matt Mercer saying:
And while Matt usually doesn't comment on reactions to plot and cliffhangers in the show, the unfortunate timing of it made him respondMatt's comment in a Reddit thread addressing the tweet. Accessed November 18, 2016 to reassure the fan that he would never use the trope, going so far as to call it "a pit of storytelling laziness"Matt Mercer's tweet posted Jun 17 2016, accessed November 18, 2016, leading some to believe that Gilmore was alive even before the next episode aired.
Not all fans thought the Bury Your Gays trope applied to Critical Role, due to the show's formatcomment by sparkas on a Reddit thread, accessed November 18 2016 or because Gilmore's death wouldn't be because of his sexuality; some going as far as saying they opposed what amounted to a "plot armor" if no queer character could be killed because of that tropecomment by FlyingRock on a Reddit thread, accessed November 18 2016comment by AmbroseMalachai on a Reddit thread, accessed November 18 2016.
==References==
Category:Critical Role