#fictional examples

[ghostlymongoose]

This is something that's been tugging at my heartstrings for as long as I can remember.

I'd be lying if I said I've never quite felt as the gender that was assigned to me at birth. Because I did. I was born a cisgender male and it felt right. Or, at the very least, it felt partially right. Like it was always just one half of what or who I really am.

I would adamantly try to deny these strange feelings I'd get while coming across terms such as "non-binary" or "intersex".

Because we've always been taught that there only exist two sexes: male and female.

Transgender people are viewed as "strange" or "diseased" by most cishet folk because of their simple inability to comprehend those who are different from them.

However, they are, at the very least, becoming more and more visible in both media coverage and the regular everyday life. And their existence had become much more digestible to the general mainstream culture under the oversimplified explanation how transgender people are just "people who feel like, and desire to be, the opposite gender".

Then what can someone tell me about those of us who've always felt like multiple genders at once.

As previously mentioned...

I was born and raised a male but always felt like the other half of me is missing. Like this gender identity I possess is only half of the entire truth.

Because I've always felt like I was meant to be both a man and a woman at the same time. And this is not just when speaking about my identity, but body and mind as well.

Even my genital always felt incomplete without the lady bits.

And that's when I learned of the old Greek legend of a "Hermaphrodite", or "Hermaphroditus".

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with this term, let me explain...

There are multiple versions of this ancient myth, but they all share one major important aspect in common.

Hermaphroditus was the bastard child of Aphrodite, goddess of love, and the messenger god - Hermes.

"It" was described as a two-sexed being of both male and female likeness and was considered an important symbol in fertility and marriage unions, as it symbolized both "power of a man" and "beauty and compassion of a woman".

But, as it turns out, Ancient Greek people were not the only nation known for such a tale.

Majority of the Hinduistic pantheon are gods and goddesses described as at least partially androgynous.

Come forth, Ardhanarishvara

The one whose name would literally translate "Half-Female Lord" from Sanskrit.

The form taken by the very supreme god Shiva when merging with his consort goddess, Parvati.

Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God, and vice versa. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva's all-pervasive nature. And that's not even mentioning traditional Hindu notion of the "third gender" people known as hijras.

Or who can forget the gender nonconforming individuals of ancient Hawaiian and certain Native American tribes. "Two-Spirit" individuals, as they are called today.

These men and women behaved in a manner befitting both sexes and we're often permitted or even downright encouraged to participate in roles attributed to the opposite sex.

Mahū, as they were called in Hawaii, were "third gender" people with traditionally spiritual and religious roles in their society. Historically, it's been used primarily for those born male, but it's meaning had evolved since then and has come to refer to multitude of genders and sexual orientations in modern Hawaii.

Māhū were particularly respected as teachers, usually of hula dance and chant. In pre-contact times māhū performed the roles of goddesses in hula dances that took place in temples which were off-limits to women. Māhū were also valued as the keepers of cultural traditions, such as the passing down of genealogies. Traditionally parents would ask māhū to name their children.

The term itself may be used either pejoratively or respectfully when referring to modern LGBTQI+ people of Hawaii.

But yes

All these traditions and mythologies aside,

Hermaphroditism and Intersexuality had always been so very intriguing and inviting for me. Imagine my surprise to learn that over half of the plant world is hermaphroditic and in possession of both male and female reproductive parts. The same thing applies to creatures such as snails, slugs, leeches,etc. Not to mention a pseudo-hermaphroditism that occurs in female hyenas and cassowaries evolving pseudo-penises.

Or the very people who are born Intersex and thus possess characteristic of both sexes.

Gender dysphoria has been something I've come to consider a lot. Especially as of late. And I cannot deny that I've always felt amused when somebody happens to misgender me online.

Once I had been referred to as "ma'am" by an online friend of mine when rp-ing as a genderless character from an old video game.

I was intrigued not because I found it funny but rather endearing. Something deep inside told me that calling myself ma'am feels just as right as being announced as sir.

I've always felt as intersex in a way. At least in my subconscious.

I've always identified as pan or bi and felt attracted to both men and women (especially to dominant, muscular ones but that is a story for another day). But I was always particularly fond of gay shippings and stories. And it's very fun to see many best fanfics blur the line between "passive/feminine" partner and an "active/dominant" one. Only further emphasizing the duality within human being.

But, of course, my yearning to explore more themes of gender nonconformity and "Intersexuality" do not stop there.

Intersex People sorely lack in representation and it is never unwelcomed to behold a cool fictional character falling under that category.

Seeing The Titan from The Owl House present themselves as bigender being was beyond awesome.

Not to mention that, while I don't know if they can be counted as such, Raine Whispers perfectly captures an androgynous non-gender specified appearance.

Or the amazing Body Swap mode that Shovel Knight offers to it's players. In which you are not only able to genderswap any important member of the original cast (and thus create semi-canon queer romances 😉), but also put your titular protagonist into a female body while giving then gender neutral or even masculine pronouns.

And how a very similar thing is included in the critically acclaimed masterpiece that is Elden Ring.

In which you are not just able to change your character's gender and body type at will, but also experiment with them. Putting a female head on a male protagonist (and vice versa) is a memorable and progressive feature for sure.

Sadly, however

Such portrayals aren't always in positive light.

One of my all time fav 3D Platformer franchises, Ty The Tasmanian Tiger, does include a villainous eldritch race of hermaphroditic shape-shifting extraterrestrials known as "Quinkans". Who serve as the main antagonists of the 3rd installment.

This also applies to old myths.

Take the old Romani mythology that includes a horrific self-fertilizing Poreskoro

The progenitor of many illnesses that wreak havoc upon humanity to this very day.

But as with everything else. Bad ones should be separated from the good portrayals and not be taken as the root of all beliefs, thus giving rise to prejudices and negative assumptions.

And for the sake of not making this post hours long, I shall just end it by announcing my support for all the other people who feel similarly about themselves. And to say that it feels so very liberating to be true to one's self.

Yes I AM a guy. But I am also equally a woman. Not neither. But both. And I am so very glad to be a part of this wonderful social media where differences between people are highly celebrated and explored.

And I want to thank anyone who took time and energy to read through this little article of mine. Hope it wasn't too long or tedious to read.

And with that, I wish you all a wonderful day 💐💖

[daisywords]

One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.

Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.

It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?

Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.

[taraxippos]

I think people tend to assume that any criticism of worldbuilding is ultimately a demand for a story to grind itself to a halt and give the reader 20 paragraphs of exposition, and like. Most of the time good-faith criticism of this nature is coming from a core aspect of the story not being grounded in the setting in a way that outright detracts from the story's quality. You fix it not by Explaining but by Showing it passively in the makeup of the world.

Like the last instance I saw this critique in was like 'you can't expect an author to stop and exposit the nuances of gender roles/Queerness in a fictional society' and it's like yeah I don't, and in fact this is actually one of the easiest things to show in the text without exposition. If a society has gender norms to begin with you'll see aspects of these norms baked into EVERYTHING. You'll see it in its stories, its religion, its taboos, its etiquette, its clothing, its family structures, its language, its insults, its labor, its leadership, etc. It will have massive impacts on how characters interact with one another and how they perceive themselves. It will help Shape your characters.

If you do this legwork to begin with for the core facets of your story, you will find very natural places for these concepts to be demonstrated without derailing the plot and with little to no exposition. THAT sort of thing is what's being asked of you.

[canisalbus]

What kind of dog is Machete?

He's troubled but he's trying his best.

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

So, this image has been viral on the Internets in armor nerd circles a few times, but I never saw anyone talk about the artist and how she also does amazing stuff like this.

And this.

And this.

Gambargin is mostly active on Facebook, but has a huge, HUGE backlog of amazing drawings of warrior women on Instagram and deviantArt.

In summary:

-wincenworks

[caffeinewitchcraft]

Secrets of the Bly

The canopy sailed over the horizon line.

The mother looked out the window, snapping the sheets as she folded them. Her clear gray eyes were the same color as the morning sky and just as gloomy.

“Closer,” she muttered. She seemed surprised she had spoken, and her hands slowed, fingers lingering on the fraying edge of her own bed sheet. She wet her lips. Said again, “Closer.”

“What’s closer?” the daughter asked.

The mother didn’t jump, but the air changed as if she did. Her shoulders stiffened. Her hands went back to work. “Nothing,” she said. Then, not being able to help herself, “The forest is growing quickly.”

“Teacher says that trees don’t grow fast. Only an inch or two a year.”

“You couldn’t see the Bly when you were a baby,” the mother said. Her heart stung. She knew her daughter wasn’t calling her foolish. Lately, when the little girl spoke of her teacher, something she never had, it makes something sour in her want to lash out. “Now look how tall it stands!”

The daughter came to the window. Her clothes were ill-fitting. She looked as if she tumbled in and then out of fresh laundry only to come up wearing a whole bedspread. The dress she wore used to be the mother’s from when she was young. Her eyes traced the horizon. “That’s faster than teacher said.”

“Not even a teacher knows everything,” the mother said. Her own mother’s voice rang through hers. That made her jump. She thrust the laundry away from her and finally looked at her daughter. “Some truths are only learned while living—”

The daughter stared at her bare feet. Shoulders rounded. Lip jutting out so far the mother could see it through her hanging, flaxen hair. The mother’s heart stung different.

“The Bly is…different,” the mother said. It’s her own voice this time. Softer and more yielding. She kneeled so that the daughter could see her right away when she chose to look up. “It’s a secret I’d like you to keep.”

The daughter’s eyes darted up, meeting the mother’s. Her lip contracted a centimeter. “A secret?”

“Just between us two,” the mother agreed. Was the little girl old enough? She would give anything to bring her daughter’s chin up again. “Your teacher is right that trees grow slow. The Bly is different here. Only here.”

“Only here?”

“On our land. You see, the Bly is home to another kind of creature. Like us, but not. They are mischievous and kind and cruel. More importantly, they’re magic.”

“Fairies,” the daughter said confidently.

“The Good Folk,” the mother said in her own mother’s voice. Then to soften it, “And that’s not the secret.”

The daughter reached out to put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. She jumped in excitement, using her mother to steady herself. “Tell me! Please, tell me.”

The mother smiled and placed her hands over her daughters. She tilted her head forward and was rewarded when her daughter stopped leaping about and pressed her own forehead against hers. She whispered, “The secret is that once, a long time ago, I stole something from them. That’s why the forest grows so quickly over the horizon. They’re looking for what I took.”

“What?!” The daughter was amazed. “You said never to steal.”

“I did. I needed it very badly, mustn’t I have?”

“Yes,” the daughter said. Her quick mind tumbled through her mother’s confession. “So you’ve been in the Bly? What was it like? Teacher says there are wolves in there. What did you steal?”

For a moment, the mother was not there. She raced through dense old growth with her feet cut to ribbons and her skirts sticking wetly to her legs. Her breath came in cold clouds in front of her and she ran through them just as quickly as they formed. She could use only one hand to shield her face from vines and branches. Her other arm was curled around the bundle in her arms.

“One day,” the mother said. She stood but wrapped her hands around her daughter’s so that she knew it was only a necessary retreat and not a complete one. “One day, when you’re older, I’ll tell you all the stories I have.”

The girl’s lower lip was out again. “How old?”

“When the Bly hits the edge of our land,” the mother said. She held out her pinky. “Promise.”

The girl was suspicious. “It grows fast?”

The mother’s heart stung differently again. “Very fast.”

“Deal!”

---

(Patreon)

[bajaja-blast]

i can’t explain it but these characters are so autistic imo

EDITED BECAUSE I FORGOT TO ADD

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[fluffyk97]

Sonic 3 spoiler rambling about Sonic and Shadow under cut !

Y'know something that I feel might go lil under-appreciated is how well they made Sonic and Shadow mirror each other in the movie.

Like something that always can easily irk me are people boasting one of the two over the other because from the very beginning of his introduction to the series, Shadow's character is meant to reflect Sonic. They're meant to be equals that are so similar and complete opposites at the same time.

With the movie, I honestly wasn't expecting it that much. Sonic actually has a backstory that is just like Shadow's: powerful little hedgehog that is wanted for his power, so the one he's known his whole small life that he loves sacrifices herself to save him.

I fr fully expected Sonic to learn about Maria and be like "I lost Longclaw, I know you're pain, but-" blah blah blah- BUT they don't do that??

Of course, we have Commander Walters first telling Sonic that Shadow's story is a lot like his but wasn't able to find family and friends, and Sonic does find Shadow had a family from finding a picture of him and Maria together. He never gets told what happened exactly though, although it wouldn't make too much of a difference with the fact they did change up Shadow losing Maria just a little bit.

Since they didn't live up in space, Maria didn't have a capsule to send Shadow off with sacrificing herself and instead they made it an accident. WHICH- can be understandable if people don't like that, however personally I don't mind it that much because honestly the intent to shoot Maria was there, but she ended up being lost from an accident caused by Walters.

Which, ties in to Shadow hurting Tom...

Walters in trying to help save Maria's, Shadow's and Gerald's lives unfortunately led to Maria's death and watching Shadow be put in stasis for 50 years where all he thinks about is that painful memory burned fresh in his head. So of course when Shadow sees Tom disguised as Walters, he takes his anger out on him by hurting him while also stealing the key for the ARK. Leading to unfortunately another scenario of where the intent of harm is there, but someone still got hurt from an accident because Shadow never really meant to hurt Tom. But he does anyway..

Which of course in turn, makes Sonic mad just like Shadow was 50 years ago. Only difference is Sonic doesn't get immediately captured by GUN and forced into stasis. Letting him able to go straight to Shadow afterwards for hurting his family.

We have Shadow take note of all of that himself, telling Sonic he's feeling exactly the pain he felt and Sonic being the one to say "I'm nothing like you!". Just like how I thought Sonic would tell Shadow about Longclaw in hopes of redeeming him, but reversed and both sides full of anger and grief.

One awesome super fight later though, we come to the talk on the moon. Probably my favorite part in the whole movie. outside of the super fights and Live and Learn playing lol

After mentioning Tom and getting uppercutted straight to the moon by Sonic, Shadow loses his super form, leaving him vulnerable, easy for Sonic to take his revenge on him. Only for all of that to be stopped because of Shadow pointing at his own chest which reminds Sonic what Tom told him at the beginning of the movie and calm down.

"You didn't let pain change who you are."

This completely baffles Shadow, with him actually wanting Sonic to finish it, but of course Sonic just refuses saying "No one wins with revenge". It just leaves silence between them, finally giving Shadow his own moment of remembering Maria outside of her death by looking at the stars he used to gaze upon with her.

He mentions it to Sonic how all he knew and felt was just the pain, and now finally- FINALLY, Sonic mentions how he shares that feeling of loss from Longclaw. Not in a moment of trying to just redeem Shadow without the full weight of it, but in a moment of understanding.

A strong moment of these two looking at each other in a mirror, eye to eye. Sonic, who was allowed to grieve all those years ago after losing Longclaw, telling Shadow the pain of loss will never go away, but the love will always remain.

"The light shines, even though the star is gone."

And through that shared pain and loss, now coupled with empathy and understanding one another through it. They truly connect.

Sonic and Shadow's dynamic was just done SO WELL in the movie and I couldn't be happier with it...

[houseswife]

wilson saying “I need to do this. for you.” is fucking insane actually. in the same episode where house is deciding whether or not he should commit suicide as a result of wilson’s dying. They are each other’s lines between life and death. humans have a biological instinct to preserve their survival at all costs; house has an addiction that governs his life. but they were willing to forgo all of it for one another, because they couldn’t fathom it being any other way. IM SICK

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Errors, "Errors," and Sci Fi: The Nail Gun Gray Zone

I have more thoughts on errors in sci fi, specifically what does and does not count as an error. So I made a graph.

I'm a firm believer that at some point, your story will just be better if you bend certain rules of reality. A story with 100% realistic gun battles will be impossible for audiences to follow. One with ultra-realistic dialog will be boring and impossible to follow.

HOWEVER. Ice floats in water. Residents of now-Phoenix in the 1700s might've not known that, but it's hard to imagine anyone alive today who hasn't at minimum seen an image of a drink with ice in it. So GI Joe (2009) hinging a major plot point on a block of ice sinking in liquid water is widely regarded as silly and world-breaking. Same goes for The Strangers (2008) making a character unable to use her phone while it's plugged in and charging. Even in 2008, a solid majority of U.S. moviegoers owned cell phones and regularly used them as they were plugged in. Errors. Firmly.

But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you have "errors" that only bug a small subset of your audience with relevant expertise. You can always count on some of that subset to take to Reddit and whine pedantically about a 10-round gun firing 11 rounds, but I doubt those count as errors. My personal example is the lack of a character named Surprise in Inside Out — I've studied and taught Paul Ekman's theories, so to me the fact that they included only 5 of his 6 "universal" affects is always going to look weird. But I know that's less an error than a pet peeve, because there wouldn't be much for the character Surprise to do that isn't taken up by Fear or Joy. (The sequel also has a Surprise-ish and a Contempt-ish character, so there's that.) Same goes for the water main not being pressurized correctly in Batman Begins — I'll take city planners' word for it that Scarecrow's plan wouldn't work, but COME ON. It's a sci fi movie about a furry who makes a living punching aliens. If you want realism, watch a documentary.

That said. There's also that middle zone. What I call the Nail Gun Gray Zone, because it really is hard to tell how much some errors are obscure and piddly, how much they're mainstream and obvious. Because. Nail guns can't shoot nails. They're not projectile weapons. Not unless the story takes the time to show a character modifying the tool to override the fact that it has to be pressed flush against a board before it will fire. BUT. If you told me "99% of modern Americans know that!" I'd believe you. If you told me "only professional contractors know that!" I'd believe you. That poll clarified basically nothing — roughly 25% of respondents had used a nail gun, ~25% didn't know much about them, and ~50% had only seen one used. (I didn't ask "do you know that a nail gun can't be used as a projectile weapon" because then anyone who read the question should by definition answer "yes.")

Anyway, I think that a lot of online arguments about errors/"errors" in sci fi can be captured by the Nail Gun Gray Zone. Most of us can agree that only pedantic blowhards would say that the lack of Surprise ruins Inside Out, and most of us can agree that it'd be nice if The Strangers had simply broken Kristen's phone. Nail guns? One person's "oh come on, that looks ridiculous!" is another person's "it's called a nail gun, right? so why not use it like a gun?" and I don't think doing more polls will resolve it one way or another.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Claudia from AMC Interview with the Vampire

Rubric

[boombox-fuckboy]

"Fan of fiction podcasts" is not the funniest trait you can give a fiction podcast character but I do think it's in the top ten. Top twenty at the very least.

[hi-intrepid-heroes]

lying awake at night thinking about emily axford characters and friendship. fig giving gorgug drumsticks to help him deal with his rage. sofia taking a rat into her heart without hesitation. calliope's dedication to calder throughout his absence. 'maybe im not an artist maybe im just a really good friend'. just. the acknowledgement that friendship is central to a person's life. not something that fills up space until romance can truly make you whole but something fundamental to one's existence

[le-bon-pamplemousse]

A TV SHOW THAT IS ACTIVELY LEANING INTO THE ANYONE CAN DIE TROPE CANNOT BE DOING THE BURY YOUR GAYS TROPE AT THE SAME TIME

people be gay and when anyone can die that means that some gay people will die! this is not that hard of a concept to grasp! I am so sick of this particular line of discourse!

[pavedinashes-if]

"This means there's quite some ROs for feMC who are sub if you want them to be."

It's not the same.. 😔 Especially since so many ROs are switches for mmc and doms for fmc. And the one that's a sub for mmc is a switch for fmc, as if women only want to be dominated 🤢

Ugh, damn. And here I was trying to hide the fact that my only intention with writing this IF was to create a world full of women that are dominated. No, let me correct myself... want to be dominated. Apparently, I didn't hide it as deeply as I thought.

I was genuinely debating whether or not to respond to this ask. But if this is the takeaway you've gotten from everything shared on this blog, then I think you've missed a major point. So sure—if that's the essence you've decided to extract, then yes. Let’s go with "not a single sub for F!MC in sight."

Now, regarding the actual structure: the switch ROs exist specifically to offer different experiences based on how the MC wants to play. They can express both dominance and submission, depending on the dynamic you explore. If the wording or presentation of that flexibility triggered something for you, I'm sorry that it landed the wrong way—but the intention is to provide options, not reinforce some kind of gendered fantasy.

Maybe if you'd shown the slightest bit of decency and self-restraint—and skipped the passive-aggressive emoji—I'd have had something kinder to say. But given the tone, this is what you get.

Male MC:

dom RO

M!Sam (Switch)

F!Sam (Switch)

Felix (Switch)

Felicia (Switch)

Noah (Switch)

Naomi (Switch)

Francesca (Switch)

Xavier (Switch)

Alex

Laurenz

Laura

Michaela (Switch)

Michael (Switch)

Dima

Dalia

F!Sparks (Switch)

M!Sparks (Switch)

Paula

Paul

sub RO

M!Sam (Switch)

F!Sam (Switch)

Felix (Switch)

Felicia (Switch)

Noah (Switch)

Naomi (Switch)

Francesco

Francesca (Switch)

Xavier (Switch)

Michaela (Switch)

Michael (Switch)

F!Sparks (Switch)

M!Sparks (Switch)

Female MC:

dom RO

M!Sam (Switch)

F!Sam (Switch)

Felix (Switch)

Felicia (Switch)

Noah (Switch)

Naomi (Switch)

Francesco (Switch)

Francesca (Switch)

Xavier (Switch)

Alex

Luarenz

Laura

Michaela (Switch)

Michael (Switch)

Dima

Dalia

F!Sparks (Switch)

M!Sparks (Switch)

Paula

Paul

sub RO

M!Sam (Switch)

F!Sam (Switch)

Felix (Switch)

Felicia (Switch)

Noah (Switch)

Naomi (Switch)

Francesco (Switch)

Francesca (Switch)

Xavier (Switch)

Michaela (Switch)

Michael (Switch)

F!Sparks (Switch)

M!Sparks (Switch)