The Wordsmith's Forge

>> It's really strange. I know friends who've had people rear up and start snapping after they pointed out the bad points in modern trends to tear down heroes and follow the theme of "you can't have anything nice and I, the writer, am going to destroy all of it, because that's the way the world is".<<

It's fine to have antiheroes. They're interesting. But few people want a steady diet of them. It's not fine to make all characters antiheroes and ban classic heroes.

>>It's ugly. It's like the writers decided that "queer" means orgies and angst, then amped it up to 11. Full of racist tropes, non-consensual mind-wiping, on-screen SI, on-screen rape, murder, sexual abuse, etc... It's... Ugh.<<

Yeesh.

>> The magickal schools genre has *so much* potential for beauty and they just wiped their asses with it.<<

I think the idea of vulnerable young people appeals to the worst in some folks. They like the virtual rape or child soldier motifs. >_< I myself do not.

The closest thing to a super school in Terramagne thus far is what the Marionettes have for all their kids. Anyone attempting to hit a mob compound would be so much shark food. And the cops? Would be busy elsewhere.

>>Fair point. :/ Having it mentioned would be completely out of place, and it's good of her to correct a storyline... But I still think it's cheap of Rowling to get credit for including a queer character with no indication that he's actually queer in the canon.<<

Hence why I said it would've been better to specify a queer student.

>>SCABS as in... webcomic, weblit? I have never heard of it. o-o <<

Weblit, and I'm pleased to see that it's still up.

>> Meanwhile there are more than enough people who will start throwing bricks if you even try to compare types of discrimination with real parallels...<<

Painfully true. But it's a routine part of literature to deal with difficult truths at a safe remove. It just works better if you do it mindfully than accidentally or as a gag.

>> To the extent that even trait-having people will insist they're not oppressed because they aren't specifically targeted and saying they are takes attention away from other marginalized groups. :| <<

Yyyyeah.

>> I can count three genderqueer friends who do that off the top of my head. Those three are also non-binary, so it's already impractical for them to try to have the same conversations and fights with everyone they come out to. :/ People get binary trans more than they do enbies. Enbies are unicorns; most people are convinced they don't exist.<<

Yeah, that's a challenge.

>> \o/ Yay Vagary! That's one boundary he is good at! <<

It really is, and I think it holds up hope for their relationship.

>> Can I ask what problems there are with it, for Cal? <<

Cal grew up as Calvin, a boy, which didn't really fit, so he repressed the dysphoria and tried really hard to be a guy, as some transfolk do.

Then the tornado happened and suddenly there was the gendershifting. Changing into Calliope made it impossible to ignore the dysphoria -- Cal is much happier as a woman.

But there's still a whole life's worth of Calvin, which makes a bulletproof cover identity for Calliope. It's safe. It's familiar. Living as a man, however, puts a lot of strain on Cal inside. That also makes it harder to expand life as Calliope.

That whole history plays into the conflict because Cal is "doing" Calvin without fitting into the body or role any better. An 8-hour workday is a LOT. Asshole transphobe coworker does not help.

Yet underneath all that, gendershifting is an outward manifestation of humanity's dual nature. A man has an inward feminine spirit, the anima; a woman has an animus. Gendershifters can make both forms fully manifest. There's just enough difference between Calvin and Calliope to make me suspect that if Calliope could make peace with her animus -- accept that Calvin is a real part of her -- it would be more comfortable. Wearing him as a costume is safe from people cracking the cover, but not the healthiest life choice overall. And figuring out how to make that change is hard, especially with her plate already full of gender coaching in general and couples therapy on top of that.

>> Sounds like it works well for you. Kind of like non-attachment, applied to the body instead of other physical things?<<

That and impermanence. It's where I am now, but won't always be. I've been other things; I will be again.

>> I think that's how some people come with being here. It's mixed, since most aren't practiced with that and don't have... you know, experience. Or at least any they remember having. It sounds better than freaking out about things not being perfect. Me, I just try to stay in the present and not stress myself out thinking about it.<<

Good point.

>> [[snrk]] Borrowing that. It sounds like you're speaking from experience. <<

Yep. People have a tendency to see boobs and make certain assumptions that aren't true. As long as it doesn't cause trouble, I ignore it; in most situations, it's not actually important for anyone to know my gender. But if they start trying to dictate what I can or can't do based on the shape of my meat, I can and will take a wrecking ball to their reality tunnel. Or just not nerf myself, which amounts to the same effect in the end.

>> \o/ When someone's too short to hop the fence, give them a boost! :D <<

Exactly. What a scribe's for, really.

>>No accident. :) People will come running when they find somebody producing stuff they actually like. And writers who not only do it well but take requests and listen are rare... As I'm sure you know. ;) <<

Sooth. It's why I recommend niche marketing. There's a lot of territory that just isn't written much, which means very low competition.