Sexual Orientations in My Characters
Oct. 29th, 2017 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPreviously I ran through a list of romantic orientations. This Tumblr list focuses more on sexual orientations, and here's my list of QUILTBAG characters.
Types of Attraction
According to one Tumblr user who claims to be an expert on the topic, there are six types of attraction:
-sexual: “I want to have sex with you”
-romantic: “I want to date you”
-sensual: “I want to hug/kiss you”
-platonic: “I want to be friends with you”
-aesthetic: “You look nice”
-Alterous: can best be described as desiring emotional closeness with someone; is neither platonic nor romantic but rather somewhere in between the two
-inclusive: attraction which applies to the specified group or trait, but is not necessarily limited to that. [coined byng_moonmoth]
To this I will add three more. The first is already in wide use, the second is my own construction to fit a need.
-social: "I prefer to interact with this type of person."
-tractive: "I want to form serious, long-term connections with this type of person."
-flux: an orientation which shifts over time for various reasons, or seemingly no reason.
These are some prefixes:
Asocial- when you have no desire to be in real life relationships due to anxiety (usually social) or trust issues. The person can have friendships with people over the internet.
(Just to clarify, Asocial- in this context is just a prefix for asocialsexual/asocialromantic/etc, not the definition of the actual term “Asocial”)
Chaein- The attraction to those whose kintype either hunts or is hunted by yours, i.e. fawnkin being drawn to wolfkin. This is not to be confused with abusive dynamics, rather, it draws from the natural ties of death and rebirth in the wild, but between two kin represents a simple form of mutual protection and reliability. From the french word chaeine, meaning chain or bond.
Chrono- a pattern of orientational fluidity and/or fluxing that is based on the time of the year.
Com- To experience attraction, polar opposite of A- (asexual/aromantic/etc). An orientation label to use if you do not wish to narrow your orientation down any further than simply feeling attraction. Different from allo/zed in that Com- is a specific identity while allo/zed are blanket terms.
Causti- An acidic orientation that gradually dissolves other orientations until it is the only orientation, or only fully intact orientation remaining.
Dread- An orientation that fluctuates from feeling no attraction to feeling attraction. When attraction is felt, it is accompanied by a strong feeling of dread or anxiety.
Duo- Having two or more well defined orientations that you switch between (e.g. cupiosexual and fraysexual).
Dwin- From word "dwindle." The idea is that this is sort of opposite demi- orientation. A person feels attraction for most of their life, but after a particularly strong/close moment/relationship of a particular attraction, they soon or immediately stop feeling that attraction afterwards, or that attraction slowly dwindles away. It can be combined with different attractions and orientations. So a dwinpanromantic would be a panromantic person who had a strong romantic relationship, but then afterwards they feel no romantic attraction anymore, thus becoming aromantic. These could be because they lose interest in the attraction, or the relationship was so strong that if it ends, they feel like they’re better off not trying again, or simply they just do not want to get into another intense(?) relationship again.
Feu- attraction to people depending on the weather: only feeling attraction when it is warm. Comes from the word ‘feu’, French for fire.
Glaro- Attracted to people depending on the weather: only feeling attraction when it is cold. Comes from the word ‘Glace’, French for ice.
Mala- An orientation which is created or influenced by maladaptive daydreaming or fantasy prone personalities.
For example a Malasexual person might feel pansexual usually but may feel more asexual during a maladaptive daydreaming episode.
An orientation specific to people who experience maladaptive daydreaming due to a neurodivergence such as: schizotypal personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, schizophrenia or similar.
Moll- or Molli- An orientation that is weak or soft in its presence, often from "none" to "about halfway." From "molli," Latin for "soft."
Procul- "Procul" is Latin for "far away" or "from a distance," and describes someone who has attraction/feelings only for people they’re sure they can never be in a relationship with, like fictional characters, celebrities, etc.
Propeest- An aspec identity which feels like a mix of many (any more than two aspec identities) that all are a part of your identity.
From the latin words "prope est" (meaning close to)
Similar to Myr- but different in that (likely):
Propeest refers to a mix of orientations, and myr refers to experiencing various orientations together.Likely someone who is propeest may prefer that label because they may feel an overlap between those a-spec identities, to the point they can’t point out the different orientations like, someone who is arovague and aroflux and cupioromantic may not understand if the fluctuations are affected by neurodivergence or not, or how actual attraction may be affected by wanting to be in a relationship, and then they may choose propeest while someone that considers those just a combo may pick myr instead it’s like the difference between androgyne and male/female ambigender, y'know?
Term coined by: nipplespaghetti
Somnio- Only feeling attraction while dreaming, or attraction only to people in dreams.
Tempu- When your orientation changes, depending on what time of day it is.
Now here are all the sexualities:
Abrosexual: having an orientation or feelings about it that constantly change and cannot be pinned down for this reason
Gormlaith in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" has sexual and romantic attractions that fluctuate in just about every way including this one.
Aceflux: similar to genderflux where the intensity of sexual attraction you feel fluctuates; asexual to demisexual to allosexual and back
Alex in Schrodinger's Heroes may fall into this category, as she is written in many ways but often on the ace spectrum.
Achillean: A term to describe men, partial men, or male-aligned people who are attracted to other men, partial men, or male-aligned people. It is not necessarily synonymous with gay because people who are bi, pan, ace, etc can also use it as long as they fit the above statement.
In ancient Rome, as in 19th-century England, green indicated gay affiliations. Victorian men would often pin a green carnation on their lapel as popularized by author Oscar Wilde, who often wore one on his lapel.
Aegosexual: feeling attraction or desire only for situations that does not involve oneself; previously known as autochoris-
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Akoisexual: the feeling of attraction but not wanting it reciprocated or losing it when it is reciprocated; used as an alternative and potentially less problematic form of lithosexual/lithoromantic
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Aliquasexual: not normally feeling attraction, but feeling it on occasion under specific circumstances
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. Most animals show this pattern; humans are unusual in being able to mate in any season. As a science fiction example, consider the Vulcans with pon farr once every seven years.
You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
In "The Best Type of Intimacy" Benchdog mentions feeling no urges since neither human nor canine females smell right to him. He has not yet met a dog girl, though, so may well find that attractive -- perhaps only during her season.
Alligisexual: feeling erotic attraction toward switches in kink. From Greek αλλαγή (allagí̱) meaning switch or change.
Allosexual / Sexual: someone who experiences erotic attraction, such as heterosexual or homosexual.
Amicussexual: when you’re attracted to people you’re platonically attracted to
Kedric Roberson is romantic amicussexual, introduced with "In the Depths of Your Grief."
Amorplatonic: experiencing romantic attraction but only wanting to be in queerplatonic/quasiplatonic relationships
Rizel Bagong-gahasa is Skink's partner and prefers queerplatonic relationships.
Androgynosexual: Being sexually attracted to both men and women, specifically to those with androgynous appearances.
Francys Kline in "Who Needs Your Light" feels this way, preferring people with a blend of gender traits. (Not published yet.)
Androphilia: an attraction primarily toward men or masculine-inclined people.
Chiara certainly has this, although it may not be limited to this. See "Some Ancient Urge" for sexyfuntimes between Chiara and Cuoio.
Androsexual: Sexual attraction towards men or those with masculine characteristics.
Chiara certainly has this, although it may not be limited to this. See "Some Ancient Urge" for sexyfuntimes between Chiara and Cuoio.
Antihaemosexuality: a sexual orientation in which one is attracted only to people who are not, at the moment, menstruating. In some extreme cases, antihaemosexuals may only be attracted to people who never menstruate, or who have never menstruated at all.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Apothi: being aromantic/asexual and not experiencing any romantic/sexual feelings in any shape or form; aromantic/asexual individuals who are romance/sex repulsed
Lalor is a standoffish sex-repulsed asexual who is probably also apothiroromantic (but his best friend Ani has gotten past his barriers anyway); Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance. They're introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Arospike/Acespike: feeling no attraction except in occasional bursts of intense attraction and then plummeting back to no attraction
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
Asexual: feeling no sexual attraction regardless of gender or situation
In An Army of One, many characters are aromantic, and all of the AYES so far are aromantic asexual.
In Hart's Farm, Solvig is aromantic asexual. Ragi is aromantic demisexual homosexual, mostly celibate and mostly solitary.
In Schrodinger's Heroes, Ash and Schrodinger are canonically asexual.
Clement, introduced in "Damask Speaks," is homoromantic asexual.
Autisexual: a sexuality, which can only be understood in the context of being autistic, when one's autism greatly affects one's sexuality, or how one experiences sexual attraction.
Persia is identified as autisexual in "The Queerest Profession."
Autosexuality: the feeling of attraction only towards oneself
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Bi gay: When you’re bi but your attraction leans towards the same (or similar) gender. As in, you have a stronger attraction to the same gender, or become attracted easier to people of the same gender. Similar to homoflexible.
Bi lesbian: bi women/woman-aligned people who are more strongly attracted to women. Historically, the term lesbian has included bi, pan, or other m-spec women.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Bisexual: the feeling of attraction towards two or more genders, generally your own gender and other(s)
Aalap Mahato, Dana Crockett, Jeffery Kemp, and March Guerrero are all polyamorous bisexual in a sedoretu-type family. See "Constantly Tossed About."
Alimah (polyamorous bisexual switch) and Garry Steiglitz (polyamorous bisexual dominant) appear in "Come Together to Learn and Create."
Ansel Nichols explores his possible bisexuality with René Schrader (also bisexual) in "We Are What We Are."
Bruni Ferrari is biromantic bisexual. See him with boyfriend in "The Best Drivers in the World."
Cavalier is bisexual and polyamorous. In the Trichromatic Attractions thread, he appears with a female (Princessa) and a male (Tarnish) love interest. Start with "The Things You Do."
Dextera, Talen, and Brandan Sharpe are all bisexual in "First from Inside of You."
Noah is biromantic bisexual. See him cuddle with Danso in "The Frequency of Love."
Stalwart Stan is biromantic bisexual, and also demi. See him get all hot and bothered in "The Outcome of Vulnerability." He's the lead of the whole thread Antimatter and Stalwart Stan.
Borea: having an exception to your usual orientation
Lalor is generally nontractive (but his best friend Ani has gotten past his barriers anyway); Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance. They're introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Burst: having spikes in attraction that fade away after a while
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
Butch Lesbian: Term used in the lesbian and gay subculture to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine identity with its associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception and so on.
Cass: feeling utterly indifferent towards attraction and believing it's not important
In An Army of One, many characters don't seem to place much value on attraction. All of the AYES so far are aromantic asexual, and some of them don't even want a pilot.
In Schrodinger's Heroes, evil!Schrodinger is sometimes written this way.
Cease: usually beeing allo- yet occasionally feeling a sudden loss of attraction and then returning to normal
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Cetero: the feeling of attraction towards nonbinary people; replaces skolio- because “skolio” means bent or broken and implies that nonbinary people must be fixed; this is reserved for trans/nonbinary individuals because cis people were judging nonbinary people based off of presentation alone
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Culparomantic: feeling romantic and platonic attraction at the same time
This fits most of my characters in a relationship. Certainly it applies to Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, who started out as nemeses, then sort of made friends, then admitted the romantic/sexual attraction.
Cupio: the feeling of having no attraction towards any gender yet still desiring a sexual or romantic relationship
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Demisensual: not wanting close physical contact such as snuggling with anyone, until a close emotional connection develops, after which an attraction for sensual activities may develop.
Demisexuality: not feeling attraction towards someone until a certain closeness or bond has been formed
Stalwart Stan is demisexual. He and Lawrence discuss demisexuality in "The Outcome of Vulnerability."
Calliope is demiromantic demisexual.
In Frankenstein's Family, Dénes the brewer is slow to warm up to people, and uncomfortable with fast advances in intimacy. You can see this in "Who Finds a True Friend," where he and his wife Dorottya get involved with Csilla. By contemporary terminology, I call Dénes demiromantic demisexual, even though those terms aren't in play within his culture.
Desinoromantic: when one does not experience full-on romantic attraction, but experiences “liking” someone instead of loving them romantically, at which point the attraction goes no further
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Diamoric
[,daɪə'mɔɹɪk] (dye-uh-MOR-ick): From the Greek prefix “dia-”, meaning “passing through”, “going apart”, and “thoroughly/completely” and the Latin “amor” for love.
Diamoric is an intentionally flexible, loose term that describes a personal identity or a relationship (sexual, romantic, platonic etc.) that is neither “straight” nor “gay” due to the presence of one or more non-binary people.
An Identity:
A diamoric person is a person who prioritizes NB people and NB partnerships in their life. Note: Only a non-binary person can claim diamoric as an identity.
A Descriptor:
A diamoric relationship or attraction is one that involves at least one non-binary person. Note: Any relationship that includes a non-binary person is diamoric - even if one of the partners is binary.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Dominusexual: feeling erotic attraction toward dominant people in kink. From Latin dominus for master.
Duo: having two or more well defined orientations that you switch between
Gormlaith in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" has sexual and romantic attractions that fluctuate in just about every way including this one.
I have also used duosexual in reference to the twins of "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" who only want to have sex with a man who wants both of them.
Ficto: only felling a certain type of attraction towards fictional characters
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Fin: feeling attraction to fem(me) identifying people
In Walking the Beat, a lesbian romance, Dale's partner Kelly is femme so Dale is probably finromantic finsexual.
Flux-: fluctuating orientation between hyper- and hypo- and/or a-.
Chatault (Dinah Courdouannier) in "The Cardinal Sin of Satanism" is aromantic fluxsexual, with bursts of horniness separated by spans of disinterest, and no interest in lasting relationships.
Fray: only experiencing attraction towards those you are less familiar with; the feeling is lost when they become closer or more familiar; the opposite of demi-
Chuckwagon (Charles "Chuck" Anstrew) from Terramagne-Nebraska is aromantic fraysexual. He hasn't appeared anywhere yet, though.
Gerontosexuality: Attraction primarily to elderly people.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
GLOW: Stands for Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Grey: the feeling of usually not having any attraction except occasionally depending on the situation; typically paired with asexual and aromantic
Gray-A:
1) do not normally experience sexual attraction, but can sometimes.
2) Have sexual attraction but a low sex drive
3) Have sexual attraction and drive but no desire to act upon it.
4) Those who have sexual attraction and drive but only under limited and specific circumstances.
Alternative definition:
Gray-A: (also spelled “Grey-A”) is a gray area between asexuality and sexuality
Hanh Espinoza has no romantic or sexual aspirations at this time. He may not be quite aromantic or asexual, but he seems to be on that spectrum. He is introduced in "Devil May Care."
Gynephilia is an attraction primarily toward women or feminine-inclined people.
This likely describes Cuoio, who certainly finds women appealing and doesn't mind men expressing feminine aspects, so I gather he'd be fine with the male-bodied-female-presenting comares. He's quite protective of Salvo's crossdressing in "Small Beautiful Bones."
Gynosexual: Sexual attraction towards women or those with feminine characteristics.
This likely describes Cuoio, who certainly finds women appealing and doesn't mind men expressing feminine aspects, so I gather he'd be fine with the male-bodied-female-presenting comares. He's quite protective of Salvo's crossdressing in "Small Beautiful Bones."
Heteroflexible: the feeling of having mostly hetero- attraction yet having an openness for other genders
In "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG," Jarlath is heteroflexible vanilla.
Heteroinclusive: attracted to a different sex/gender than your own, but not necessarily to the exclusion of other sex/genders. Many of the sexualities that align with multiple genders, such as bi, omni, pan, etc. can be (but are not necessarily) heteroinclusive.
I can't think of a character who identifies with this trait, although it may match some of them.
Heterosexual: the feeling of being attracted to a gender other than your own
In P.I.E. Brenda and Darrel are heteroromantic heterosexual.
As far as I know, Stalwart Stan's parents Stuart and Sharon Wood are heteroromantic heterosexual. You can see their family life in "What We Call Chaos."
Homoflexible: Being mostly attracted (both emotionally and physically) to the same sex, but can, on occasion be attracted to the opposite sex. This is different from Bisexuality because you are attracted to both sexes equally in bisexuality, but if you are homoflexible, you are drawn more to the same sex.
Hyacinthe Adam Defau in "Sojourners" is androromantic homoflexible.
Homoinclusive: attracted to the same sex/gender as your own, but not necessarily to the exclusion of other sex/genders. Many of the sexualities that align with multiple genders, such as bi, omni, pan, etc. can be (but are not necessarily) homoinclusive.
I can't think of a character who identifies with this trait, although it may match some of them.
Homosexual: the feeling of being attracted to your own gender
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are homoromantic homosexual.
Hefty and Roger are homoromantic homosexual, as shown in "Chipped."
Iculasexual: being asexual but open to having sex
The closest I have to this is Dian in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" who provides his partner with orgasms via superpower. It's a sexual activity but not intercourse.
Incited Attraction, or Inci- Feeling attraction only in response to thoughts or feelings expressed by a person one is (potentially) attracted to. Inci- fits in the a-spectrum.
Intrasexual: a member of a multiple system who is only attracted, romantically or sexually, to other members of the same system. “Intraromantic” is a more commonly-used term, due to the difficulties of two members of the same system engaging in a sexual relationship.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Ipsiflux: wanting to form a strong, long-term relationship with a boss but the exact nature (sexual, romantic, platonic, etc.) depends on the boss' orientation and morphs to match. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Pips in "The Higher a Monkey Climbs" is ipsiflux.
Ipsiplatonic: wanting to form a strong, long-term, relationship with a boss which is neither sexual nor romantic. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsisensual: wanting to form a sensual relationship with a boss, which is not necessarily sexual or romantic. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsisexual: wanting to form a sexual relationship with a boss. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsitractive: wanting to form a strong, long-term relationship with a boss. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Kalossexual: the desire to have a sexual relationship yet never feeling sexual attraction; part of the ace spectrum
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Lamvano: feeling no desire to do sexual/romantic things to someone, but wanting to be on the receiving end; opposite of placio-
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Lesbian: someone who identifies fully or partially as a woman who is attracted to other fully or partially identified women
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are lesbians.
In "TERF Wars," Maren is a political lesbian.
Limno: experiencing attraction towards depictions of attraction (writing or drawings) but not the physical acts
This fits Sander Albinson, a minion who appears in "Bitter Ice."
Ma: feeling attraction to men
Basically all the straight women, gay men, and bi everyone.
In P.I.E. Brenda is a straight woman.
Hefty and Roger are gay men, as shown in "Chipped."
Stalwart Stan is biromantic bisexual, and also demi. See him get all hot and bothered in "The Outcome of Vulnerability."
Noah is biromantic bisexual. See him cuddle with Danso in "The Frequency of Love."
Menosexual: A little-known orientation, menosexuality is attraction primarily or entirely to people who are menstruating. It is the opposite of antihaemosexuality.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Metasexual: the term I eventually coined for myself after outgrowing omni/pan. Meta means "beyond." I'm attracted to people, not bodies, and other terms just seem too limiting. By the time I stack up all the factors, my sexuality is a tesseract.
Dazhawn Alvarez from "In the Light of Creative Altruism" is nonmonogamous metasexual.
Katie McCormic from "Without Diversity" is quasiromantic metasexual.
Maurita Johnson from "An Unconditional Acceptance of Life" is quasiromantic metasexual.
Min: feeling attraction to masculine identifying people
This likely applies to Chiara, who definitely has romantic/sexual interest in men, and she's perfectly happy dancing with a butch in "Small Beautiful Bones." See "Reveal Everything Mysterious" for her romantic dinner with Cuoio.
Moon lesbian: a variation of lesbian that is dark, mysterious, and primarily nocturnal; often introverted. Counterpart of sun lesbian. See a moon lesbian Pride flag on Tumblr.
Multisexuality: a sexual orientation wherein one is only attracted to members of multiple systems. In some cases, a multisexual is only attracted to one member of a system; in others, they may be attracted to several members of the same system, to everyone in the same system, or to people from separate systems. One thing all multisexuals have in common, though, is that they only experience romantic or sexual attraction toward members of multiple systems.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Neu: feeling attraction towards people who are genderless
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nin: feeling attraction towards androgynous identifying people
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nocisma: feeling attraction to everyone except cis men because of associated oppression
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nociswoma: Attraction to all genders but having that attraction to women fade once it is known someone is a cisgender woman OR not feeling attraction to women until it is known that woman is not cisgender.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Noma: experiencing attraction to every gender except for self identifying men
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Novi: feeling complicated attraction or lack thereof in such a way that it is difficult or impossible to fit into one word or term
I don't have a character who specifically identifies this way, but it's one of several that may apply to Vagary, who identifies as sexually confused (and is just as confused about romance). See "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Novo: when one’s orientation changes with gender
Sometimes Calvin has different feelings than Calliope does, as mentioned in "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Nowo: experiencing attraction to every gender except for self identifying women
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Objectumsexual: Someone who is sexually attracted to inanimate objects. (In this sense, this is not a fetish, for the person sees the object as a partner, not a way to enhance a separate sexual relationship with another person)
Dennis Bithersee in "The Blue People" is objectum sexual, with a particular interest in statues or dolls that don't portray a recognizable human ethnicity.
Omni: the feeling of a lack of preference in gender and may be attracted to all genders equally; similar to pan-
Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance; introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Marion in "TERF Wars" is omnisexual.
Pain's Gray is heterosexual, but omnisensual, and often mistaken for homosexual.
Hart's Farm includes a number of omnisexual characters such as Bergren and Frida.
Pan: the feeling of attraction towards any gender or all genders; similar to omni-
Pat in Schrodinger's Heroes is canonically pansexual and polyamorous and pretty much up for anything.
Madigan Gorman from "An Unconditional Acceptance of Life" is sapioromantic pansexual.
Particesexual - wanting to form an erotic relationship with a partner such as a dance partner or beat partner. From Latin particeps for partner.
Penulti: feeling attraction towards every gender except your own
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Platoniromantic: feeling no difference between platonic and romantic attraction
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Polar: feeling either extreme attraction or intense repulsion
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Poly: the feeling of attraction towards most or several genders (but not all)
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Polyamory: the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
"All You Can Do Is Feel" shows one aspect of the relationship between Liborio, Olympia, and Ruggiero.
Pat in Schrodinger's Heroes is canonically pansexual and polyamorous and pretty much up for anything. He is married with several spice.
"Because You Have Made It So" features a foursquare marriage of recurring characters from the thread Antimatter & Stalwart Stan. In Terramagne-America, a foursquare refers to a polyfamily which has two sexual/romantic couples and some other connection between the cross-couples. In this case, the couples are Hefty/Roger and Fiddlesticks/Diamond; Hefty&Fiddlesticks are beat partners, while Roger&Diamond are queerplatonic friends.
Carissa in "The Willingness to Surrender Ideas" is polyamorous with a husband and a wife.
"Constantly Tossed About" includes a sedoretu-type polycule of Aalap Mahato, Dana Crockett, Jeffery Kemp, and March Guerrero.
The Coral Reef in "Come Together to Learn and Create" has 26 people (and Chuck is pregnant again). Character clusters are divided into Sunset Green, Patina Park, and Linsey Corner.
Denby, Paula, and Samuel Foss are a polyfamily appearing in "The Uncontested Stars."
The Parquetry polyfamily appears in "A River So Long."
"A Place That Makes You Happy" has background in which two huge polycules join. The Pans had 25 members and Clan Aspen had 18 (with one on the way) for a total of 43 (+1). Its prequel "A Celebration and a Consolation" features the Kallistos family which consists of a lesbian couple, their gay sperm donor family friend, their 6 children, and two grandmothers.
"Shiver in Awareness" introduces the soulbonded triad of Bern Engelbrecht, Eanmund Scholler, and Leta Scholler.
"The Things We Never Saw Coming" has a polycule discussing in-family adoption of a surprise baby.
"Three of Us" follows a polyfamily on their first date after their newest baby arrives.
Trichromatic Attachments features Tarnish (a gay superhero), Cavalier (a bisexual gray cape), Princessa (a straight superhera) fumbling their way toward a healthier relationship. "Care and Take Care" is not the first entry, but it has links to earlier poems and features a meeting with the Parquetry family for advice on polyamory.
Pomosexual (the “pomo” means “postmodern”): a label used to describe those who do not self-identify as gay, straight, or bi, because they feel such labels are unnecessary and outdated.
Corey Trueblood in "On the Crust of an Unfinished Planet" is idemromantic pomosexual.
Pre: a placeholder term for someone who doesn’t think they’ve experienced enough attraction to know their orientation
While Vagary has not yet found this term, it certainly applies to him. See "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Proqua: feeling attracted to feminine people when you yourself are feminine
Mira is a lesbian and this reasonably fits her; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Proquu: feeling attracted to masculine people when you yourself are masculine
Ham is gay and this reasonably fits him; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Queer: This is sometimes used as an umbrella term for those who do not identify as heterosexual. It can also refer to someone who does not fit any specific sexuality.
Quinn in Schrodinger's Heroes generally eschews labels, so this is about as precise as it gets.
Sapphic: Referring to women or woman-aligned NB people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to other women(-aligned) people. Applies to lesbian, pansexual, bisexual, and other women(-aligned) who are sexually/romantically attracted to women(-aligned).
Originates from the Greek poet Sappho, a bisexual woman from the Isle of Lesbos, from which we get the term lesbian.
Sapiosexuality: a sexual orientation where the primary feature that one finds attractive is intelligence, rather than appearance or body. It commonly goes hand-in-hand with asexual-spectrum orientations.
Clarity is sapiosexual; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Sans: when there’s no trend line in the attraction one feels, it just does what it does
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Sensu: an orientation that is based off of sensuality as opposed to romance, sexuality, etc; different from sensual orientation; when romantic or sexual type pleasure is derived from sensual acts or situations
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Sensualarian: Someone who "blurs" the lines between romantic, platonic, sensual, and sexual relationships. There is no "clear, cut" distinguishing mark between the variety of types of attraction. For example: You might have a "girlfriend" by traditional standards, but you feel that they provide more than just a romantic partnership.
Ideal for individuals who feel that they have the emotional capacity to love numerous individuals at once, but don’t feel "polyamorous" is a good fit for them, or individuals who feel like "traditional" relationship terms (girlfriend, best friend, friends with benefits, etc.) are not too "rigid" to describe their own feelings and relationships.
Pronounced: "sen-shul-air-e-an"
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Skoliosexual: the feeling of attraction towards nonbinary genders; replaced by cetero- because of problematic wording
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait. However, this is an aspect of my orientation, and I like this term precisely because of the "twisting" connotation. My sexuality is Celtic knotwork. \o/
Sologamy: “Self-marriage or sologamy is marriage by a person to oneself. It is known as a commitment that values self-love, and self-compassion.”
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Soul sexual:
A sexual-preference designation. Rather than identifying as "gay" or "lesbian" or "bi", a soul sexual is attracted to the soul inside the object of their affection. Race or gender does not factor into the attraction.
Woman #1: I heard you were with a woman now...so, what are you, a dyke?
Woman #2: No, I'm soul sexual - the soul I fell in love with happens to be in a woman's body.
Kshanti is soul sexual. See "The Basic Source of Peace" (unpublished).
Specio: feeling attraction towards someone based off of specific traits, not gender
This may be the closest I've found to the platonic orientation that Pips has, which actually has two clusters: terrible bosses, and fantastic bosses. And he squishes on them so hard, he turns into a fluttering schoolboy, as shown in "The Higher a Monkey Climbs."
Submisexual: feeling erotic attraction to a submissive person in kink. From Latin submissus for submissive.
Sun lesbian: a variant of lesbian that is bright, expressive, and primarily diurnal; often extroverted. Counterpart of moon lesbian. See a sun lesbian Pride flag on Tumblr.
Thym: feeling attraction which varies depending on emotional state
This is one of the possibilities for Vagary; see "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Traumatasexual: a sexual orientation shaped by extreme trauma. Derived from traumatagender.
Traumatagender/Traumatgender/Trautgender/Trauatgender: A gender that varies; it can change a lot, it could be unknown, it could just be there, it could be nonexistent, etc. Whatever it is, it was based from intense trauma. Should only be used by those who have experienced or are going through what they consider intense trauma.
-- Fy
This is the traumatagender pride flag.
In T-America, this is the traumatasexual pride flag. It resembles police lights seen through raindrops and broken glass.
Volit: feeling attraction that is not directed at anyone in particular
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Woma: feeling attraction to women
This reasonably describes straight men, gay women, and bi everyone.
Stalwart Stan started out with girlfriend, Angelica, as shown in "Look at Me."
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are gay women.
Hart's Farm has a variety of heterosexual characters including Soren and Szilvia.
Zoosexuality (occasionally called “zoophilia”): the sexual attraction to non-human animals. Most zoosexuals are only attracted to members of one particular species, or to members of closely-related species; and most zoosexuals are attracted to mammals.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait. I'm watching for it, though; if there are dolphin men who think human women are hot (yes, this is a thing) then there are probably human women who are into dolphin men. I'm not sure we should count the scientist who jerked off her research partner to keep his interest, due to the artificial conditions.
Types of Attraction
According to one Tumblr user who claims to be an expert on the topic, there are six types of attraction:
-sexual: “I want to have sex with you”
-romantic: “I want to date you”
-sensual: “I want to hug/kiss you”
-platonic: “I want to be friends with you”
-aesthetic: “You look nice”
-Alterous: can best be described as desiring emotional closeness with someone; is neither platonic nor romantic but rather somewhere in between the two
-inclusive: attraction which applies to the specified group or trait, but is not necessarily limited to that. [coined by
ng_moonmoth]To this I will add three more. The first is already in wide use, the second is my own construction to fit a need.
-social: "I prefer to interact with this type of person."
-tractive: "I want to form serious, long-term connections with this type of person."
-flux: an orientation which shifts over time for various reasons, or seemingly no reason.
These are some prefixes:
Asocial- when you have no desire to be in real life relationships due to anxiety (usually social) or trust issues. The person can have friendships with people over the internet.
(Just to clarify, Asocial- in this context is just a prefix for asocialsexual/asocialromantic/etc, not the definition of the actual term “Asocial”)
Chaein- The attraction to those whose kintype either hunts or is hunted by yours, i.e. fawnkin being drawn to wolfkin. This is not to be confused with abusive dynamics, rather, it draws from the natural ties of death and rebirth in the wild, but between two kin represents a simple form of mutual protection and reliability. From the french word chaeine, meaning chain or bond.
Chrono- a pattern of orientational fluidity and/or fluxing that is based on the time of the year.
Com- To experience attraction, polar opposite of A- (asexual/aromantic/etc). An orientation label to use if you do not wish to narrow your orientation down any further than simply feeling attraction. Different from allo/zed in that Com- is a specific identity while allo/zed are blanket terms.
Causti- An acidic orientation that gradually dissolves other orientations until it is the only orientation, or only fully intact orientation remaining.
Dread- An orientation that fluctuates from feeling no attraction to feeling attraction. When attraction is felt, it is accompanied by a strong feeling of dread or anxiety.
Duo- Having two or more well defined orientations that you switch between (e.g. cupiosexual and fraysexual).
Dwin- From word "dwindle." The idea is that this is sort of opposite demi- orientation. A person feels attraction for most of their life, but after a particularly strong/close moment/relationship of a particular attraction, they soon or immediately stop feeling that attraction afterwards, or that attraction slowly dwindles away. It can be combined with different attractions and orientations. So a dwinpanromantic would be a panromantic person who had a strong romantic relationship, but then afterwards they feel no romantic attraction anymore, thus becoming aromantic. These could be because they lose interest in the attraction, or the relationship was so strong that if it ends, they feel like they’re better off not trying again, or simply they just do not want to get into another intense(?) relationship again.
Feu- attraction to people depending on the weather: only feeling attraction when it is warm. Comes from the word ‘feu’, French for fire.
Glaro- Attracted to people depending on the weather: only feeling attraction when it is cold. Comes from the word ‘Glace’, French for ice.
Mala- An orientation which is created or influenced by maladaptive daydreaming or fantasy prone personalities.
For example a Malasexual person might feel pansexual usually but may feel more asexual during a maladaptive daydreaming episode.
An orientation specific to people who experience maladaptive daydreaming due to a neurodivergence such as: schizotypal personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, schizophrenia or similar.
Moll- or Molli- An orientation that is weak or soft in its presence, often from "none" to "about halfway." From "molli," Latin for "soft."
Procul- "Procul" is Latin for "far away" or "from a distance," and describes someone who has attraction/feelings only for people they’re sure they can never be in a relationship with, like fictional characters, celebrities, etc.
Propeest- An aspec identity which feels like a mix of many (any more than two aspec identities) that all are a part of your identity.
From the latin words "prope est" (meaning close to)
Similar to Myr- but different in that (likely):
Propeest refers to a mix of orientations, and myr refers to experiencing various orientations together.Likely someone who is propeest may prefer that label because they may feel an overlap between those a-spec identities, to the point they can’t point out the different orientations like, someone who is arovague and aroflux and cupioromantic may not understand if the fluctuations are affected by neurodivergence or not, or how actual attraction may be affected by wanting to be in a relationship, and then they may choose propeest while someone that considers those just a combo may pick myr instead it’s like the difference between androgyne and male/female ambigender, y'know?
Term coined by: nipplespaghetti
Somnio- Only feeling attraction while dreaming, or attraction only to people in dreams.
Tempu- When your orientation changes, depending on what time of day it is.
Now here are all the sexualities:
Abrosexual: having an orientation or feelings about it that constantly change and cannot be pinned down for this reason
Gormlaith in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" has sexual and romantic attractions that fluctuate in just about every way including this one.
Aceflux: similar to genderflux where the intensity of sexual attraction you feel fluctuates; asexual to demisexual to allosexual and back
Alex in Schrodinger's Heroes may fall into this category, as she is written in many ways but often on the ace spectrum.
Achillean: A term to describe men, partial men, or male-aligned people who are attracted to other men, partial men, or male-aligned people. It is not necessarily synonymous with gay because people who are bi, pan, ace, etc can also use it as long as they fit the above statement.
In ancient Rome, as in 19th-century England, green indicated gay affiliations. Victorian men would often pin a green carnation on their lapel as popularized by author Oscar Wilde, who often wore one on his lapel.
Aegosexual: feeling attraction or desire only for situations that does not involve oneself; previously known as autochoris-
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Akoisexual: the feeling of attraction but not wanting it reciprocated or losing it when it is reciprocated; used as an alternative and potentially less problematic form of lithosexual/lithoromantic
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Aliquasexual: not normally feeling attraction, but feeling it on occasion under specific circumstances
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. Most animals show this pattern; humans are unusual in being able to mate in any season. As a science fiction example, consider the Vulcans with pon farr once every seven years.
You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
In "The Best Type of Intimacy" Benchdog mentions feeling no urges since neither human nor canine females smell right to him. He has not yet met a dog girl, though, so may well find that attractive -- perhaps only during her season.
Alligisexual: feeling erotic attraction toward switches in kink. From Greek αλλαγή (allagí̱) meaning switch or change.
Allosexual / Sexual: someone who experiences erotic attraction, such as heterosexual or homosexual.
Amicussexual: when you’re attracted to people you’re platonically attracted to
Kedric Roberson is romantic amicussexual, introduced with "In the Depths of Your Grief."
Amorplatonic: experiencing romantic attraction but only wanting to be in queerplatonic/quasiplatonic relationships
Rizel Bagong-gahasa is Skink's partner and prefers queerplatonic relationships.
Androgynosexual: Being sexually attracted to both men and women, specifically to those with androgynous appearances.
Francys Kline in "Who Needs Your Light" feels this way, preferring people with a blend of gender traits. (Not published yet.)
Androphilia: an attraction primarily toward men or masculine-inclined people.
Chiara certainly has this, although it may not be limited to this. See "Some Ancient Urge" for sexyfuntimes between Chiara and Cuoio.
Androsexual: Sexual attraction towards men or those with masculine characteristics.
Chiara certainly has this, although it may not be limited to this. See "Some Ancient Urge" for sexyfuntimes between Chiara and Cuoio.
Antihaemosexuality: a sexual orientation in which one is attracted only to people who are not, at the moment, menstruating. In some extreme cases, antihaemosexuals may only be attracted to people who never menstruate, or who have never menstruated at all.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Apothi: being aromantic/asexual and not experiencing any romantic/sexual feelings in any shape or form; aromantic/asexual individuals who are romance/sex repulsed
Lalor is a standoffish sex-repulsed asexual who is probably also apothiroromantic (but his best friend Ani has gotten past his barriers anyway); Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance. They're introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Arospike/Acespike: feeling no attraction except in occasional bursts of intense attraction and then plummeting back to no attraction
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
Asexual: feeling no sexual attraction regardless of gender or situation
In An Army of One, many characters are aromantic, and all of the AYES so far are aromantic asexual.
In Hart's Farm, Solvig is aromantic asexual. Ragi is aromantic demisexual homosexual, mostly celibate and mostly solitary.
In Schrodinger's Heroes, Ash and Schrodinger are canonically asexual.
Clement, introduced in "Damask Speaks," is homoromantic asexual.
Autisexual: a sexuality, which can only be understood in the context of being autistic, when one's autism greatly affects one's sexuality, or how one experiences sexual attraction.
Persia is identified as autisexual in "The Queerest Profession."
Autosexuality: the feeling of attraction only towards oneself
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Bi gay: When you’re bi but your attraction leans towards the same (or similar) gender. As in, you have a stronger attraction to the same gender, or become attracted easier to people of the same gender. Similar to homoflexible.
Bi lesbian: bi women/woman-aligned people who are more strongly attracted to women. Historically, the term lesbian has included bi, pan, or other m-spec women.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Bisexual: the feeling of attraction towards two or more genders, generally your own gender and other(s)
Aalap Mahato, Dana Crockett, Jeffery Kemp, and March Guerrero are all polyamorous bisexual in a sedoretu-type family. See "Constantly Tossed About."
Alimah (polyamorous bisexual switch) and Garry Steiglitz (polyamorous bisexual dominant) appear in "Come Together to Learn and Create."
Ansel Nichols explores his possible bisexuality with René Schrader (also bisexual) in "We Are What We Are."
Bruni Ferrari is biromantic bisexual. See him with boyfriend in "The Best Drivers in the World."
Cavalier is bisexual and polyamorous. In the Trichromatic Attractions thread, he appears with a female (Princessa) and a male (Tarnish) love interest. Start with "The Things You Do."
Dextera, Talen, and Brandan Sharpe are all bisexual in "First from Inside of You."
Noah is biromantic bisexual. See him cuddle with Danso in "The Frequency of Love."
Stalwart Stan is biromantic bisexual, and also demi. See him get all hot and bothered in "The Outcome of Vulnerability." He's the lead of the whole thread Antimatter and Stalwart Stan.
Borea: having an exception to your usual orientation
Lalor is generally nontractive (but his best friend Ani has gotten past his barriers anyway); Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance. They're introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Burst: having spikes in attraction that fade away after a while
This commonly applies to anyone who goes into heat. You can see it with the horses Judd and Zigana in "A Confession of Pain."
Butch Lesbian: Term used in the lesbian and gay subculture to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine identity with its associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception and so on.
Cass: feeling utterly indifferent towards attraction and believing it's not important
In An Army of One, many characters don't seem to place much value on attraction. All of the AYES so far are aromantic asexual, and some of them don't even want a pilot.
In Schrodinger's Heroes, evil!Schrodinger is sometimes written this way.
Cease: usually beeing allo- yet occasionally feeling a sudden loss of attraction and then returning to normal
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Cetero: the feeling of attraction towards nonbinary people; replaces skolio- because “skolio” means bent or broken and implies that nonbinary people must be fixed; this is reserved for trans/nonbinary individuals because cis people were judging nonbinary people based off of presentation alone
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Culparomantic: feeling romantic and platonic attraction at the same time
This fits most of my characters in a relationship. Certainly it applies to Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, who started out as nemeses, then sort of made friends, then admitted the romantic/sexual attraction.
Cupio: the feeling of having no attraction towards any gender yet still desiring a sexual or romantic relationship
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Demisensual: not wanting close physical contact such as snuggling with anyone, until a close emotional connection develops, after which an attraction for sensual activities may develop.
Demisexuality: not feeling attraction towards someone until a certain closeness or bond has been formed
Stalwart Stan is demisexual. He and Lawrence discuss demisexuality in "The Outcome of Vulnerability."
Calliope is demiromantic demisexual.
In Frankenstein's Family, Dénes the brewer is slow to warm up to people, and uncomfortable with fast advances in intimacy. You can see this in "Who Finds a True Friend," where he and his wife Dorottya get involved with Csilla. By contemporary terminology, I call Dénes demiromantic demisexual, even though those terms aren't in play within his culture.
Desinoromantic: when one does not experience full-on romantic attraction, but experiences “liking” someone instead of loving them romantically, at which point the attraction goes no further
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Diamoric
[,daɪə'mɔɹɪk] (dye-uh-MOR-ick): From the Greek prefix “dia-”, meaning “passing through”, “going apart”, and “thoroughly/completely” and the Latin “amor” for love.
Diamoric is an intentionally flexible, loose term that describes a personal identity or a relationship (sexual, romantic, platonic etc.) that is neither “straight” nor “gay” due to the presence of one or more non-binary people.
An Identity:
A diamoric person is a person who prioritizes NB people and NB partnerships in their life. Note: Only a non-binary person can claim diamoric as an identity.
A Descriptor:
A diamoric relationship or attraction is one that involves at least one non-binary person. Note: Any relationship that includes a non-binary person is diamoric - even if one of the partners is binary.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Dominusexual: feeling erotic attraction toward dominant people in kink. From Latin dominus for master.
Duo: having two or more well defined orientations that you switch between
Gormlaith in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" has sexual and romantic attractions that fluctuate in just about every way including this one.
I have also used duosexual in reference to the twins of "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" who only want to have sex with a man who wants both of them.
Ficto: only felling a certain type of attraction towards fictional characters
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Fin: feeling attraction to fem(me) identifying people
In Walking the Beat, a lesbian romance, Dale's partner Kelly is femme so Dale is probably finromantic finsexual.
Flux-: fluctuating orientation between hyper- and hypo- and/or a-.
Chatault (Dinah Courdouannier) in "The Cardinal Sin of Satanism" is aromantic fluxsexual, with bursts of horniness separated by spans of disinterest, and no interest in lasting relationships.
Fray: only experiencing attraction towards those you are less familiar with; the feeling is lost when they become closer or more familiar; the opposite of demi-
Chuckwagon (Charles "Chuck" Anstrew) from Terramagne-Nebraska is aromantic fraysexual. He hasn't appeared anywhere yet, though.
Gerontosexuality: Attraction primarily to elderly people.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
GLOW: Stands for Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Grey: the feeling of usually not having any attraction except occasionally depending on the situation; typically paired with asexual and aromantic
Gray-A:
1) do not normally experience sexual attraction, but can sometimes.
2) Have sexual attraction but a low sex drive
3) Have sexual attraction and drive but no desire to act upon it.
4) Those who have sexual attraction and drive but only under limited and specific circumstances.
Alternative definition:
Gray-A: (also spelled “Grey-A”) is a gray area between asexuality and sexuality
Hanh Espinoza has no romantic or sexual aspirations at this time. He may not be quite aromantic or asexual, but he seems to be on that spectrum. He is introduced in "Devil May Care."
Gynephilia is an attraction primarily toward women or feminine-inclined people.
This likely describes Cuoio, who certainly finds women appealing and doesn't mind men expressing feminine aspects, so I gather he'd be fine with the male-bodied-female-presenting comares. He's quite protective of Salvo's crossdressing in "Small Beautiful Bones."
Gynosexual: Sexual attraction towards women or those with feminine characteristics.
This likely describes Cuoio, who certainly finds women appealing and doesn't mind men expressing feminine aspects, so I gather he'd be fine with the male-bodied-female-presenting comares. He's quite protective of Salvo's crossdressing in "Small Beautiful Bones."
Heteroflexible: the feeling of having mostly hetero- attraction yet having an openness for other genders
In "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG," Jarlath is heteroflexible vanilla.
Heteroinclusive: attracted to a different sex/gender than your own, but not necessarily to the exclusion of other sex/genders. Many of the sexualities that align with multiple genders, such as bi, omni, pan, etc. can be (but are not necessarily) heteroinclusive.
I can't think of a character who identifies with this trait, although it may match some of them.
Heterosexual: the feeling of being attracted to a gender other than your own
In P.I.E. Brenda and Darrel are heteroromantic heterosexual.
As far as I know, Stalwart Stan's parents Stuart and Sharon Wood are heteroromantic heterosexual. You can see their family life in "What We Call Chaos."
Homoflexible: Being mostly attracted (both emotionally and physically) to the same sex, but can, on occasion be attracted to the opposite sex. This is different from Bisexuality because you are attracted to both sexes equally in bisexuality, but if you are homoflexible, you are drawn more to the same sex.
Hyacinthe Adam Defau in "Sojourners" is androromantic homoflexible.
Homoinclusive: attracted to the same sex/gender as your own, but not necessarily to the exclusion of other sex/genders. Many of the sexualities that align with multiple genders, such as bi, omni, pan, etc. can be (but are not necessarily) homoinclusive.
I can't think of a character who identifies with this trait, although it may match some of them.
Homosexual: the feeling of being attracted to your own gender
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are homoromantic homosexual.
Hefty and Roger are homoromantic homosexual, as shown in "Chipped."
Iculasexual: being asexual but open to having sex
The closest I have to this is Dian in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG" who provides his partner with orgasms via superpower. It's a sexual activity but not intercourse.
Incited Attraction, or Inci- Feeling attraction only in response to thoughts or feelings expressed by a person one is (potentially) attracted to. Inci- fits in the a-spectrum.
Intrasexual: a member of a multiple system who is only attracted, romantically or sexually, to other members of the same system. “Intraromantic” is a more commonly-used term, due to the difficulties of two members of the same system engaging in a sexual relationship.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Ipsiflux: wanting to form a strong, long-term relationship with a boss but the exact nature (sexual, romantic, platonic, etc.) depends on the boss' orientation and morphs to match. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Pips in "The Higher a Monkey Climbs" is ipsiflux.
Ipsiplatonic: wanting to form a strong, long-term, relationship with a boss which is neither sexual nor romantic. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsisensual: wanting to form a sensual relationship with a boss, which is not necessarily sexual or romantic. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsisexual: wanting to form a sexual relationship with a boss. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Ipsitractive: wanting to form a strong, long-term relationship with a boss. From Latin ipsimus for boss.
Kalossexual: the desire to have a sexual relationship yet never feeling sexual attraction; part of the ace spectrum
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Lamvano: feeling no desire to do sexual/romantic things to someone, but wanting to be on the receiving end; opposite of placio-
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Lesbian: someone who identifies fully or partially as a woman who is attracted to other fully or partially identified women
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are lesbians.
In "TERF Wars," Maren is a political lesbian.
Limno: experiencing attraction towards depictions of attraction (writing or drawings) but not the physical acts
This fits Sander Albinson, a minion who appears in "Bitter Ice."
Ma: feeling attraction to men
Basically all the straight women, gay men, and bi everyone.
In P.I.E. Brenda is a straight woman.
Hefty and Roger are gay men, as shown in "Chipped."
Stalwart Stan is biromantic bisexual, and also demi. See him get all hot and bothered in "The Outcome of Vulnerability."
Noah is biromantic bisexual. See him cuddle with Danso in "The Frequency of Love."
Menosexual: A little-known orientation, menosexuality is attraction primarily or entirely to people who are menstruating. It is the opposite of antihaemosexuality.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Metasexual: the term I eventually coined for myself after outgrowing omni/pan. Meta means "beyond." I'm attracted to people, not bodies, and other terms just seem too limiting. By the time I stack up all the factors, my sexuality is a tesseract.
Dazhawn Alvarez from "In the Light of Creative Altruism" is nonmonogamous metasexual.
Katie McCormic from "Without Diversity" is quasiromantic metasexual.
Maurita Johnson from "An Unconditional Acceptance of Life" is quasiromantic metasexual.
Min: feeling attraction to masculine identifying people
This likely applies to Chiara, who definitely has romantic/sexual interest in men, and she's perfectly happy dancing with a butch in "Small Beautiful Bones." See "Reveal Everything Mysterious" for her romantic dinner with Cuoio.
Moon lesbian: a variation of lesbian that is dark, mysterious, and primarily nocturnal; often introverted. Counterpart of sun lesbian. See a moon lesbian Pride flag on Tumblr.
Multisexuality: a sexual orientation wherein one is only attracted to members of multiple systems. In some cases, a multisexual is only attracted to one member of a system; in others, they may be attracted to several members of the same system, to everyone in the same system, or to people from separate systems. One thing all multisexuals have in common, though, is that they only experience romantic or sexual attraction toward members of multiple systems.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Neu: feeling attraction towards people who are genderless
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nin: feeling attraction towards androgynous identifying people
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nocisma: feeling attraction to everyone except cis men because of associated oppression
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Nociswoma: Attraction to all genders but having that attraction to women fade once it is known someone is a cisgender woman OR not feeling attraction to women until it is known that woman is not cisgender.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Noma: experiencing attraction to every gender except for self identifying men
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Novi: feeling complicated attraction or lack thereof in such a way that it is difficult or impossible to fit into one word or term
I don't have a character who specifically identifies this way, but it's one of several that may apply to Vagary, who identifies as sexually confused (and is just as confused about romance). See "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Novo: when one’s orientation changes with gender
Sometimes Calvin has different feelings than Calliope does, as mentioned in "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Nowo: experiencing attraction to every gender except for self identifying women
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Objectumsexual: Someone who is sexually attracted to inanimate objects. (In this sense, this is not a fetish, for the person sees the object as a partner, not a way to enhance a separate sexual relationship with another person)
Dennis Bithersee in "The Blue People" is objectum sexual, with a particular interest in statues or dolls that don't portray a recognizable human ethnicity.
Omni: the feeling of a lack of preference in gender and may be attracted to all genders equally; similar to pan-
Ani is casually sexual, intensely omnisensual, and open to romance; introduced in "A Different Kind of QUILTBAG."
Marion in "TERF Wars" is omnisexual.
Pain's Gray is heterosexual, but omnisensual, and often mistaken for homosexual.
Hart's Farm includes a number of omnisexual characters such as Bergren and Frida.
Pan: the feeling of attraction towards any gender or all genders; similar to omni-
Pat in Schrodinger's Heroes is canonically pansexual and polyamorous and pretty much up for anything.
Madigan Gorman from "An Unconditional Acceptance of Life" is sapioromantic pansexual.
Particesexual - wanting to form an erotic relationship with a partner such as a dance partner or beat partner. From Latin particeps for partner.
Penulti: feeling attraction towards every gender except your own
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Platoniromantic: feeling no difference between platonic and romantic attraction
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Polar: feeling either extreme attraction or intense repulsion
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Poly: the feeling of attraction towards most or several genders (but not all)
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Polyamory: the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
"All You Can Do Is Feel" shows one aspect of the relationship between Liborio, Olympia, and Ruggiero.
Pat in Schrodinger's Heroes is canonically pansexual and polyamorous and pretty much up for anything. He is married with several spice.
"Because You Have Made It So" features a foursquare marriage of recurring characters from the thread Antimatter & Stalwart Stan. In Terramagne-America, a foursquare refers to a polyfamily which has two sexual/romantic couples and some other connection between the cross-couples. In this case, the couples are Hefty/Roger and Fiddlesticks/Diamond; Hefty&Fiddlesticks are beat partners, while Roger&Diamond are queerplatonic friends.
Carissa in "The Willingness to Surrender Ideas" is polyamorous with a husband and a wife.
"Constantly Tossed About" includes a sedoretu-type polycule of Aalap Mahato, Dana Crockett, Jeffery Kemp, and March Guerrero.
The Coral Reef in "Come Together to Learn and Create" has 26 people (and Chuck is pregnant again). Character clusters are divided into Sunset Green, Patina Park, and Linsey Corner.
Denby, Paula, and Samuel Foss are a polyfamily appearing in "The Uncontested Stars."
The Parquetry polyfamily appears in "A River So Long."
"A Place That Makes You Happy" has background in which two huge polycules join. The Pans had 25 members and Clan Aspen had 18 (with one on the way) for a total of 43 (+1). Its prequel "A Celebration and a Consolation" features the Kallistos family which consists of a lesbian couple, their gay sperm donor family friend, their 6 children, and two grandmothers.
"Shiver in Awareness" introduces the soulbonded triad of Bern Engelbrecht, Eanmund Scholler, and Leta Scholler.
"The Things We Never Saw Coming" has a polycule discussing in-family adoption of a surprise baby.
"Three of Us" follows a polyfamily on their first date after their newest baby arrives.
Trichromatic Attachments features Tarnish (a gay superhero), Cavalier (a bisexual gray cape), Princessa (a straight superhera) fumbling their way toward a healthier relationship. "Care and Take Care" is not the first entry, but it has links to earlier poems and features a meeting with the Parquetry family for advice on polyamory.
Pomosexual (the “pomo” means “postmodern”): a label used to describe those who do not self-identify as gay, straight, or bi, because they feel such labels are unnecessary and outdated.
Corey Trueblood in "On the Crust of an Unfinished Planet" is idemromantic pomosexual.
Pre: a placeholder term for someone who doesn’t think they’ve experienced enough attraction to know their orientation
While Vagary has not yet found this term, it certainly applies to him. See "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Proqua: feeling attracted to feminine people when you yourself are feminine
Mira is a lesbian and this reasonably fits her; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Proquu: feeling attracted to masculine people when you yourself are masculine
Ham is gay and this reasonably fits him; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Queer: This is sometimes used as an umbrella term for those who do not identify as heterosexual. It can also refer to someone who does not fit any specific sexuality.
Quinn in Schrodinger's Heroes generally eschews labels, so this is about as precise as it gets.
Sapphic: Referring to women or woman-aligned NB people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to other women(-aligned) people. Applies to lesbian, pansexual, bisexual, and other women(-aligned) who are sexually/romantically attracted to women(-aligned).
Originates from the Greek poet Sappho, a bisexual woman from the Isle of Lesbos, from which we get the term lesbian.
Sapiosexuality: a sexual orientation where the primary feature that one finds attractive is intelligence, rather than appearance or body. It commonly goes hand-in-hand with asexual-spectrum orientations.
Clarity is sapiosexual; introduced in "Damask Speaks."
Sans: when there’s no trend line in the attraction one feels, it just does what it does
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Sensu: an orientation that is based off of sensuality as opposed to romance, sexuality, etc; different from sensual orientation; when romantic or sexual type pleasure is derived from sensual acts or situations
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Sensualarian: Someone who "blurs" the lines between romantic, platonic, sensual, and sexual relationships. There is no "clear, cut" distinguishing mark between the variety of types of attraction. For example: You might have a "girlfriend" by traditional standards, but you feel that they provide more than just a romantic partnership.
Ideal for individuals who feel that they have the emotional capacity to love numerous individuals at once, but don’t feel "polyamorous" is a good fit for them, or individuals who feel like "traditional" relationship terms (girlfriend, best friend, friends with benefits, etc.) are not too "rigid" to describe their own feelings and relationships.
Pronounced: "sen-shul-air-e-an"
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Skoliosexual: the feeling of attraction towards nonbinary genders; replaced by cetero- because of problematic wording
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait. However, this is an aspect of my orientation, and I like this term precisely because of the "twisting" connotation. My sexuality is Celtic knotwork. \o/
Sologamy: “Self-marriage or sologamy is marriage by a person to oneself. It is known as a commitment that values self-love, and self-compassion.”
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Soul sexual:
A sexual-preference designation. Rather than identifying as "gay" or "lesbian" or "bi", a soul sexual is attracted to the soul inside the object of their affection. Race or gender does not factor into the attraction.
Woman #1: I heard you were with a woman now...so, what are you, a dyke?
Woman #2: No, I'm soul sexual - the soul I fell in love with happens to be in a woman's body.
Kshanti is soul sexual. See "The Basic Source of Peace" (unpublished).
Specio: feeling attraction towards someone based off of specific traits, not gender
This may be the closest I've found to the platonic orientation that Pips has, which actually has two clusters: terrible bosses, and fantastic bosses. And he squishes on them so hard, he turns into a fluttering schoolboy, as shown in "The Higher a Monkey Climbs."
Submisexual: feeling erotic attraction to a submissive person in kink. From Latin submissus for submissive.
Sun lesbian: a variant of lesbian that is bright, expressive, and primarily diurnal; often extroverted. Counterpart of moon lesbian. See a sun lesbian Pride flag on Tumblr.
Thym: feeling attraction which varies depending on emotional state
This is one of the possibilities for Vagary; see "Can't It Just Be What It Is?"
Traumatasexual: a sexual orientation shaped by extreme trauma. Derived from traumatagender.
Traumatagender/Traumatgender/Trautgender/Trauatgender: A gender that varies; it can change a lot, it could be unknown, it could just be there, it could be nonexistent, etc. Whatever it is, it was based from intense trauma. Should only be used by those who have experienced or are going through what they consider intense trauma.
-- Fy
This is the traumatagender pride flag.
In T-America, this is the traumatasexual pride flag. It resembles police lights seen through raindrops and broken glass.
Volit: feeling attraction that is not directed at anyone in particular
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait.
Woma: feeling attraction to women
This reasonably describes straight men, gay women, and bi everyone.
Stalwart Stan started out with girlfriend, Angelica, as shown in "Look at Me."
In Walking the Beat, Dale and Kelly are gay women.
Hart's Farm has a variety of heterosexual characters including Soren and Szilvia.
Zoosexuality (occasionally called “zoophilia”): the sexual attraction to non-human animals. Most zoosexuals are only attracted to members of one particular species, or to members of closely-related species; and most zoosexuals are attracted to mammals.
I can't think of a character I've written with this trait. I'm watching for it, though; if there are dolphin men who think human women are hot (yes, this is a thing) then there are probably human women who are into dolphin men. I'm not sure we should count the scientist who jerked off her research partner to keep his interest, due to the artificial conditions.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-10-31 06:40 pm (UTC)(That is: there are a lot of models that many people might not consider; and, having found one or more, might find don't fit *perfectly*. But they don't have to - they're models! The only perfect model of a thing is the thing.)
Also: "platonic" is, according to some, a horrible way to say "non-sexual" given its basis (Platonic ideals). (I've heard this from people who take friendship, and, I assume, Greek philosophers, very seriously.)
("...Plato they say, could stick it away, half a case of whisky every day...")