Poll: Shadow of the Future, Gender Bending

[jeriendhal]

So in the current scene I'm working on, Ali is meeting some more of her family that couldn't make the trip out to the colony in Shadow of Her Sins. Specifically she's meeting her cousin Neka and Neka's spouse Fin, plus their two cubs. So far I'm about 1,000 words into the scene and I haven't gotten around to specifying which gender Fin is (he/she/it and the cubs are out at the park at the scene's start, to allow Ali a moment to settle in before being bowled over). Just wondering where I should take it. Making Fin a non-standard gender would be cute, but I don't want a big distraction from Ali and Salli's f/f relationship


[Poll #1990067]

Comments

[rix_scaedu]

Making Fin a non-standard/less expected gender might also indicate a family trait shared by Ali and Neka in the type of partners they are attracted to.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

I'm leaning horribly towards, "Wait, you married a human?"

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

First LOL of the day.

[rix_scaedu]

There is, of course, no accounting for taste, :)

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

Other:

Limited shapeshifter, results depending on Neka's mood: either, neither, or both.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Not sure if the medical tech will support this. Well, probably. Must consider....

[mehhayperson.livejournal.com]

Being genderqueer myself I am in favour of moar non-binary characters in fiction, but any of these would work (as long as your approach is respectful, etc, etc).

With respect to it being a "family trait" or not - today, on Earth, 10% of the population is LGBT, so I imagine in a future society where cis/straightness is not necessarily the assumed norm you would naturally have more non-straight people. So having a non-cis named character is totally a thing that you should do. Yes.
(I get really really *really* psyched when I see characters who are any combination of genderqueer, bisexual, or asexual, sorry.)

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

I may end up assigning a random number to each choice and rolling a set of dice to decide. I'm leaning toward Female ID's as Male, which would be an interesting dynamic given the Foxen's matriarchal society. Whatever I decide it isn't going to be a point of humor or derision. The scene's drama is going to come from Ali's PTSD influenced reflexes.


Going down the list of RVA's major characters, orientation so far works out to:

Rolas: Probably Straight. I've got a half-written scenelet that changes him to Bisexual or at least Bi-Curious, but it's canon is currently dubious. Also very much BDSM submissive in the bedroom.

Melanie: Straight. BDSM dominant in the bedroom.

Salli: Bisexual, leaning heavily towards lesbian.[1] Technically Neuter after divorcing her husband, but she wasn't exactly happy then.

Ali: Lesbian exclusively.

Lu: Undetermined. Assumed straight male until proven otherwise.

Brutal Compton: Very much Straight with a large side-order of Intolerant Gender Normative Hypocrite.[2] Ali did not have a fun time on Margo's ship when she was figuring out her preferences...

Lt. Zan: Genetically male. Like all Wazagans he's effectively gender neutral by other race's standards.


[1] In the unlikely event Salli ever again meets a male she's attracted to, she'd likely only enter an open relationship, being unwilling to give up Ali.

[2] Of the "I'm not gay if someone is sucking my cock" variety.