brap
Banned
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/healsluts-queer-kink-gaming/
“Some people might assign spanks as punishments, and others might do simpler things,” H.F., a trans woman who is part of the Healsluts Discord, told me. “It’s basically just an extension of BDSM into gaming. You could call it a method of doing long-distance BDSM while hanging out.”
If you’re unfamiliar with BDSM, healslutting may sound weird. But the kink isn’t just about masturbating while playing video games. It’s a powerful outlet for self-discovery and community, one that’s mirrored in every fandom where adult content flourishes.
Eimi, a trans woman from Kansas, felt “completely awkward and disconnected” from others during high school, partly because of her gender dysphoria. Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) gave her an avenue for self-expression well before she realized she was transgender. After getting into the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, she took on the role of a woman in-game and told others she was a girl. She soon entered into a relationship with another player who went by the username Teyah.
“I introduced myself to her as a girl and we hung out for a while, a week or so, but eventually I ended up telling her my story,” Emi says about presenting as a boy prior to her gender transitioning. “She asked me out, and so began that extremely long-term relationship. We were inseparable, or at least I was inseparable from her.”
During their relationship, Eimi had her first online sexual encounter with another Final Fantasy XI player who “played a girl character who had a dick.” She bottomed for that player and learned that “the idea of being fucked rather than doing the fucking” was sexually pleasing to her. While the incident caused major tension between Eimi and Teyah, the two eventually patched things up, and the encounter would influence how the couple had online sex once they started cybering together.
“We started off playing as we were, me as a boy topping her as a woman,” Eimi told me. “However, I really wasn’t satisfied with that. I asked her if I could first play as a woman, and then a woman with a dick. She preferred me topping but was open to topping me, something I begged for more and more. I can remember her making a joke about me preferring anal and saying, ‘Oh, she’d have to do it on me first,’ and I was just like, ‘Sold!'”
I doubt Square Enix designed Final Fantasy XI so its queer players could hook up and go steady. But MMOs are fundamentally social experiences. Eimi had to make friends to play the game. Because users found ways to engage with each other sexually, Final Fantasy XI became more than just a space for play. It became a world where people like Eimi and Teyah could experiment with each other privately and safely. That legacy lives on today through spaces like the Healsluts Discord, where players can use games like Overwatch and League of Legends to explore without shame.