Not long ago, Pie and I started playing Fire Emblem Fates, with her picking up the Birthright side and me taking on Conquest. We were both a bit opposed to playing Conquest, but a friend ended up gifting us both so we figured we should split them between us so we can play together. Kat and I recently got Pie a New 3DS (why are you so bad at naming, Nintendo?!) for her birthday, so it's exciting that she and I don't have to share our original one anymore for when we want to play side by side.

For those not aware, FE: Fates has you choosing between your birth family, the Hoshidans in Birthright, or the Norians, the family who raised you in Conquest. They sort of portray the Hoshidans as peace loving and the Nohrians as power-hungry, painting a pretty clear distinction of Good vs Bad right down to the color schemes, at least on the surface level. I'm not sure how it will pan out since Pie and I aren't terribly far, but I'm curious to find out. Also, I'm pretty happy with Conquest so far because when I made my decision to stick with the family I grew up with, it didn't paint me out as being power-driven. Rather, my character wanted to enact change from within, which I thought was a great take and had a lot of interesting plot potential that I'm not certain is in Birthright.

Since the main theme centers around family, it made me really think on what family means to me, and I didn't really identify with the idea that family is who I grew up with or my blood, because I don't have the strongest of ties to either, and perhaps that has to do with being trans and what came with that, or just how I am as a person. Rather, I found that, regardless of who the people are in my life, like my Dad and a select few in my family, Pie who I grew up with in my adult life, my romantic partners Brie and Kat (and Pie, obvs), as well as my closest friends...they are my family. I feel like family is just everyone who is worth keeping around in your life...the people who we cherish and those whom we wish to nurture connections with.

I know that being polyamorous, and even trans for that matter, isn't something that everyone will understand or even accept. I know that my personal development and who I turned out to be is atypical compared to societal norms, but I wanted to take a moment to thank my soul mates in this comic because family has been on our minds a lot lately (we've been referring to the four of us as our family unit). I also wanted to thank all our readers for letting me be open and share our authentic lives with you in this way. So thanks <3