A Single Unified LGBT Character Thread

I've actually watched that EC episode as well, and it's actually something that I've taken into account when devising this particular plot point. The character is "not okay" in that while they're still now a strong, independent character, they still have issues lingering from the trauma that rear their ugly head from time to time in varying forms, but they have the strength and the tools, both internally and externally, to recover when that happens.

And yeah, the conditioning part is also an important part of it, because they know it was wrong in any case, but they also can't forget the involuntary pleasure, which contributes to the "episodes" that occur, as a small part of them wants to go back to feeling that pleasure, which also nearly caused them to "fall off the wagon", so to speak, during their therapy period, especially with some very bad people trying to take advantage of their weakness.

Seems like you're on the right track when it comes to handling trauma survival.

As for the last part of your question (how a medieval society might treat LGBT people), well, that depends: is this world one you made up, or is it set in a real-life medieval setting? If it's a world you made up (even if it is based on a real-life setting), then how society reacts to LGBT people is up to you, since you make the rules of any society you create.

It's pretty much a fictional fantasy world, though with bits and pieces of real-world aspects, including deities (for example, the party priestess worships the northern gods, who are basically the Norse pantheon, and yes, that's a part inspired by Order of the Stick). I'm thinking LGBT people aren't outright shunned or denigrated most of the time, especially since it's entirely possible to change one's sex either by drinking a potion or via magic, but the actual support for them isn't terribly great, especially for adventurers who end up in situations like the ranger ended up in, since kingdoms probably think such things are pretty low on the ladder in terms of funding and administration when wars and other medieval problems are going on, nevermind fantasy stuff like monsters running amuck, etc.

edited 11th Aug '17 1:49:58 PM by Cronosonic

I guess it sorta depends on how much like our world you want to make it. Does it have our version of the Band of Thebes?

edited 14th Sep '17 8:03:00 PM by frnmmma25

I know this thread has been dead in awhile but remember John? the cynical magical boy. Well he changed alot over the years from a jerkass white kid to a Indian American who goes by mostly he/they since they aren't really not much of guy or a girl either. Now here comes the part where is so this question, is it weird for a genderqueer person such as themself to be okay with their own body but wants transition in a different way.

edited 16th Sep '17 9:24:19 PM by ewolf2015

Body dysmorphia is not a prerequisite for being trans. You just need to feel your assigned gender doesn't fit who you are. For a lot of people, their bodies become the reminder of their assigned gender they can't get away from, but that's not necessary.

It's also worth remembering that 'dysmorphia and dysphoria are separate things (neither of which you need to be trans, although gender dysphoria is very common in trans people and rare in cis people).

Should I delete the thread I made about the interracial and gay couple, and move it here? I at first posted it here, but then I thought that it may have been too broad for this thread.

When I got down to counting/thinking about it, I realized just how intrigued I am by all the nuances of bisexuality and how they showed up in just my first series/saga, alone with queerness not even being a Central Theme or issue, simply a normalized aspect rather than for fanservice or Very Special Episode-type pretentiousness. This list is by no means the full amount, (bi or otherwise,) but representatives of the spectrum I noticed:

Sikura: 50/50, happily/monogamously married to a man and viewed sex as simply a carefree extention of friendship and only during a "hallpass" stint where they were physically separated for years did she have another relationship with Sylvia out of stress relief then only remained friends with nothing more than flirting to not lead her on.

Sylvia: about 50/50 that was a Han Solo/Loveable Rogue-type (that out-foxed a similar type that taught her to fly) flying around alone and unattached in a ship to explore, sell wares and smith items before Sikura and didn't just have mind-blowing sex with her, but also gave Sylvia a greater sense of home and purpose after the destruction of her tribe to hold a number of jobs in Sikura's homeland, namely bodyguard to Sikura's daughter, Kelsey and Ultimate Blacksmith that designed Sikura's weapons, considering her as a muse while accepting their break-up and has done little more than flirt with others due to seeing Sikura as too tough an act to even hope to match.

Kelsey: 50/50 though had exclusively dated women in her homeland because "all the guys I liked were scared of my dad/security and all the guys I didn’t weren't," questions herself if she "has a thing for nurses" given a new female love interest reminding her of Soccoro though was heavily tempted to sleep with Kavi over similar musical tastes and escapism though didn't due to knowing there'd be no going back, a lack of trust between their factions and out of respect for past people such as her eventual girlfriend and first boyfriend she later rescues and has a threesome with before heading off into the final battle and possibly having a poly relationship post-war.

Soccoro: 50/50 that considers herself "too soft-hearted/a hopeless romantic" that slept with patients and staff, alike as a stress relief that ended up in Kelsey's homeland where training Kelsey in medicine lead to her "giving into Kelsey's charms" that made her increasingly scared of Kelsey's status/heritage to claim she was too busy to spend time together as the eventual excuse for their break-up then ended up dating an equally bisexual male nurse.

Xandrina: leans more toward women, specifically as a Chubby Chaser partly because she grew up hungry in a hellhole city where sex was a high commodity so "fat = food and pleasure" and partly to regain a sense of control/dominance after once being petite and manipulated by an amazonian Dark Messiah then eventually works out to "become my own amazon." Is a proudly promiscuous "unicorn" that's Friends with Benefits with Sikura's son as a bodyguard that picks up women for herself and/or them as well doing his de facto BBW girlfriend that considers herself straight yet sees Xandrina masculine enough to "get the job done."

Jojo: Exclusively men with no (conscious) interest in women before current girlfriend Atiya, a Former Teen Rebel Biker Babe that only dated bad boys beforehand and had a hostile relationship with most women to not truly consider an attraction to women (i.e. the occasional Stupid Sexy Flanders towards Sikura,) before getting her act together reflecting in her working out with Xandrina to go from "spinner" to "Korra" with her patience and maturity being to the extent her friendship with Atiya easily turned romantic. She and Atiya were originally supposed to be RedOniBlueOni FoeYay as an extension of their charges' sibling rivalry, but the passionate hate started to look like more like love and then each went through a number of revisions to perfect their looks and dynamic. Her view is that her interest in said bad boys was legit albeit superficial whereas she has a genuine love for Atiya for making her laugh, helping her simultaneously re-connect with her culture through setting up side-businesses related to her past and inspiring her to be more feminine/responsible in doing the cooking and wearing more dresses without giving up on hobbies like biking and boxing. Because it's the first meaningful relationship she's had in ages, she's the more anxious of the two in doing it right and has also learned that despite being the bigger of the two, she's the bottom out of fear of being too rough with Atiya.

Atiya: Only been with one man and had only been flirtatious with women as part of her job as a spy/corsair before genuine relationship with Jojo that she’s the more relaxed of the two. Was originally going to be an uptight LadyOfWar that Jojo wanted to prove her maturity to though proto-Atiya actually liked her spunky, but I liked Atiya as more flamboyant to contrast both her charge and a similar bodyguard to Sikura's son. Had been Happily Married to a man until she was left widowed and after recovering from grief and revenge didn't think about romance with her friendship with Jojo going from "I wouldn’t mind kissing those lips" to "I truly love her" as Jojo is one of the rare few with the understanding, patience and interest in her meandering, motor-mouthed style of storytelling as well as being someone Atiya can dote on and show-off to.

Brynjar "B.B." Bjornsson: Similar to Jojo in exclusively dating a wider variety of women before current relationship with Kavi that's poly with women and at least one other man though only loves Kavi and would be perfectly happy being monogamous with him. Lived a shallow life in a cycle of mercenary work for money to spend on women and merc work until being stranded in a refuge with Kavi who nicknamed him, defeated him, let B.B. cathartically do him and gave him purpose by sharing his family's philosophy that he follows religiously. Since then views sex with others, especially most women as "trivial/spiritually empty" to him outside of group sex with Kavi and hopes that Kelsey finds the same place among them to the extent he would’ve followed Kavi's plan to have children with her after him.

Kavi: Similar to Sikura though Up To Eleven in his free love polyamory as he already has at least one child by the time he meets Kelsey and aspires a near-Adam and Eve Plot population boom between their respective groups and especially him with her because of their chemistry, Hybrid Power and the same philosophy that would further connect the population. Camp Bi in the same sense as Prince and Hindu gods as well as being a power-bottom towards men.

Jean Dream: A Yandere due to attachment/abandonment issues being an immortal guardian that outlived her mortal charges so she’d easily fall in love with anyone/anything (would fall in love with a mailbox if it were sentient) that can express love for her that she'll fight to the death to protect yet has obsessed over them to the extent that some have faked their deaths with the exception of a domineering commanding officer and a Puppeteer Parasite that she took as the ultimate intimacy.

Kagan (pronounced Kayhan): 50/50 though prefers both to be thick (beefy and/or curvaceous/amazonian,) barring a one-off incident with Soccoro's charismatic twink nurse boyfriend while everyone was single where he nearly did the smaller guy, is currently in a happy monogamous relationship with Kelsey's straight friend, Alaia in a symbiotic relationship where her music spiritually/psychologically helps focus his mind due to an attention disorder while his movements inspire her music as well as being the Betty to Rahim's Veronica in listening to his problems. He was originally the loser rival of Sikura's son that hated him so much Kelsey mocked his FoeYay as a genuine attraction and that idea turned into a genuine attraction to men (as I realized I had no genuinely queer male characters before) though explicitly not towards the son, had a more loving/fulfilling relationship with Alaia, is like another big brother to Kelsey (especially talking of said male nurse,) became older, buffer, more mature as Sikura's eldest daughter sees him as a rival while the "son-hating loser" part became his younger brother.

Rahim: 50/50 or more accurately, "power turns me on," Kagan's ex-boyfriend/rival in martial arts that used to date on-and-off because they both came from noble families and pushed each other to be Renaissance Men though being a constant Competition Freak and choosing to ignore Kagan's desire to talk finally proved to not be worth it anymore for Kagan with the rivalry giving Rahim mixed feelings that on the one hand his desire to beat Kagan for the title continues to motivate him yet Kagan's power in constantly beating him to remain champion remains a turn-on that he’s yet to find someone else "worth my time."

If there's any questions/comments I'd be happy to answer.

Here I am again; another story featuring another Transgender character. For starters, this one is supposed to be Erotica or at least have such elements while otherwise being a Blood-borne/Berserk inspired Gothic adventure. Hopefully the Erotica aspect doesn't set off red flags.

The hero of my story is a brave knight (how original!) who grew up in a patriarchal, almost spartan-esque society where men and women have clearly defined roles i.e. your genitals determine what jobs/responsibilities you can have. Homosexuality and Bisexuality is tolerated.

As an example; men can own land and join the army hence a Gay couple would be a double income household but would need to keep a maid for housework (stay at home men are looked down upon). Conversely, lesbian couples typically enter into a pact/legal only marriage with another man who can purchase land/a house.

Transgender-ism however is basically non-existent or that is what everyone believes. No such thing. Obviously our hero is one and has been living in denial since childhood and actively trying to suppress his true self. She's a transgender woman who tries her best to live as a cisgender man since she was born as one.

The fun part comes when she learns that there is a plot to depose the current thing and in her attempt to stop it; she ends up being transformed into a woman. The conspirators disappear into the shadows and our hero is humiliated. Now that she appears to be a cisgender woman, she is stripped of all title and rank, leaving her as little more than a spinster in the eyes of society.

The king whom she served exiles her (while saving her from execution) and our hero is left as a penniless wanderer. Her only friend and companion being her former squire; another woman who is also a social pariah but for different reasons.

So our hero (call her Claire) dejectedly accepts her fate thinks she should commit to being a woman. She tries to take up what society deems "female" work (gardening, housekeeping etc) but absolutely hates it . Life throws her a bone and she ends up defending her new home/village from monsters which sends her into a frenzy and reminds her of the glory days as a knight.

Now convinced that she must be a man after all, Claire takes up bounty hunting and goes on a quest to find a cure for her condition. Except with each passing day she feels more and more comfortable with her new female body and begins to appreciate it's differences; thanks in part to her companion who is absolutely enamored by her.

It essentially comes down to the fact that Claire was always a woman and it took her some time to realize that her society had fed her decades of bullshit that men and women should be a certain way. She comes to love herself as she is; a full blooded woman with what society considers very masculine interests.

By the time she finds the cure she realizes she no longer needs it and returns to her homeland when she learns it's in trouble since a brave knight like her should always serve her kingdom no matter what. And she teaches some lessons along the way too.

All that said, the Erotica aspect comes in the form of some of the monsters she fights including a tentacle plant monster (don't worry it's consensual). Clair's companion/squire Jessamine also plays a part in this aspect. She's shunned from society because she's intersex and has a fully functioning pair of male genitals which in turn force her to live as a man. There's another lesson here for loving yourself just as you are; warts and all.

Finally the villain of the story is supposed to be Transgender themselves. A Trans-man who felt angry for being denied the things other men enjoy since he was born a woman (essentially a reversal of the hero's situation). He creates a transformation potion which is what the hero drinks thinking it was a kind of poison in an attempt to save the king.

Thought's and opinions?

edited 19th Oct '17 1:00:01 PM by SmokingBun

Edited by Hotpizza on Nov 27th 2022 at 9:25:29 PM

That sort of thing very heavily depends on details of execution of the idea.

Aye.

It's worth noting that the Bugis people of Indonesia have a five-gender system which accounts for transgender men and women as we might understand them as well as non-binary individuals, so perhaps looking into that would help. Maybe also read up on the Dominican guevedoces, intersex individuals whose genitalia only transitions from male to female at twelve, to understand how some more conservative cultures might deal with the issue.

So... this may come of as very stupid, but I can't imagine writing teenage gay romance (between 16 years old) without sex (which is bad cause I don't want to come off as crude), I mean, I'm not talking about the ones where both charaters are gay, but the ones in which they think they're straight or haven't really put much thought into it, but discover they have a crush on someone of the oposite sex, I mean, how do you write that?

Is not that I'm a fan of those kind of plots, I find the fantasy of turning straight people gay stupid for many reasons, but its not like it doesn't happen, I mean, people discovering that they prefer the other gender in later stages in life.

But obviously is way less common the older you get, which is one of the reasons why I'm way more confortable with watching a movie about a single 25 years old guy falling in love with a coworker than, say, a 41 years old guy suddenly abandoning his wife and kids for a guy that he just met.

Now, I think it would be easier for me to write about that 25 years old guy than writing a teenager, because he would be way more mature, wouldn't have to deal with bullying in school and will have at least some kind of finantial independence from his parents.

Why don't I though? write about people older than 21 instead of teenagers, I mean? Simply because I was one and stories with teen main casts were the ones that inspired me, cartoons, shonen, power rangers, etc. I want to write something with teens facing action, adventure and drama, and I want to add romance to the mix too, but while I don't want to make a cast full of gay, I want to make romance important/dramatic, make people care so it doesn't become a romantic plot tumor, and that's easier if the people in love are the main characters. So you see, that's a dilema, I don't want people to think that just because Adam and Steve are the only gay characters in the main cast that's why I put them together. (I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, I'd just like them to date more people first)

But I guess the problem is more me than anything, I just don't want to mention the sex problem (Adam - "If we date, does that mean that we'll eventually have sex? do I want to?") at least not too much, because I don't want to make their relationship all about sex, but I cannot see it not comming up; so how do I do it correctly?

And also, I gues my problem is not only with these kind of plots, but with chosing, I've never dated anyone ever, so I don't know what criteria is used for that, if x and y want to date z, and none of them are asholes, and I like to write both x/z and y/z, how am I supposed to decide who he's gonna end with?

edited 12th Nov '17 1:08:24 AM by Gabo352

I was thinking about making a character in my fantasy story whose basically your typical farm boy hero gay. This partially explains why he's isolated. He also has a very shallow attitude towards women, like Zack from the Suit Life of Zack and Cody, except he does it solely because he thinks that's what straight guys do, and to get people to accept him. He literally, at first, cares about many of them only as props. Is this problematic, or just and story telling, in any way?

Sounds like if you make it a point to show his growth, and make it clear he's wrong early on, it'd send a good message.

Thanks.

I read the review of Niels http://badwebcomicswiki.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Niels, and I'm afraid of being Humon about the relationship between two men that I'm writing. They don't really have any red flags in their relationship, and it does grow and change from a simple but quiet friendship to a forbidden dalliance to the bliss stage and finally a marriage like state (gay marriage isn't legal in the time period they're in). It also has some flaws that they try to overcome, like Felic subconsciously trying to put Harold in the woman's role to be more hetero-normative and to feel more normal, or both of them feeling like perverts about their sexuality and trying not to talk about it instead of resolving the issue.

So how do I avoid being a faux-progressive Yaoi fangirl? I'm a bisexual 19 year old girl, and I do think that two hot men being sexual with each other is erotic, but the plot is about how they are the only two people who can converse with any supernatural entity in an alternate WWII where demons and trickster spirits invade and screw around with people or play mind games before horribly breaking and killing them, and it's up to them figure out what the hell is going on while winning the war for the allies and trying to make sure that the Daemons and devils don't cause the end of the world.

I wrote about this in a previous post called "Writing a realistic and respectful interracial and homosexual relationship in World War II", but that received no replies. I made the relationship a gay relationship in the first place because I first just wrote them as close but ambigously close (this was before I made them the main characters) and wondered about just making it delibrately ambigous so people could have it be whatever they wanted before being afraid that it would be queer-baiting, and just writing them as gay. Now the relationship is pretty important and central to the plot, and the character development comes from the adventures they fare and how some of the people they meet are even worse than demons, and using their relationship to help support themselves and being able to support others despite all the events going on.

Did I do well, or is this just Humon wank fuel?

You might want to not use bad webcomics wiki as an indicator. Also humon's issues are actually a bit separate of the things you're bringing up, especially since she has also left it behind to move on to other projects, and has admitted there were some issues.

Anyway, premise is usually not the problem, it's mostly execution. So write it. Analyze the content. Don't get stopped up at the idea.

Okay, I will. Thank you for responding.

Hi, I'm in the beginning phases of writing a fantasy story with a protagonist who is a trans man, and I guess my main question is how would this be something I organically introduce in to the story? Would the best way to go about it to just mention it while describing the character for the first time?

I suggest a "less is more" approach. The most extreme way to do that is to never even use the word "trans" (like in "Hills Like White Elephants" where the word "abortion" is never mentioned). However, another way is to not have the narrator or the character himself refer to his being trans. Instead, have the story (with various characters treating him like he's trans, depending on their own characteristics that would be more good or more bad or neither) and then have some other character bring it up.

edited 23rd Jan '18 7:11:51 PM by WaterBlap

Hm, fantasy setting? You get to decide how much of the means of physical transitioning is available to him - from nothing available beyond dressing to perfect swap potion. And also what stage he's at in using them. And that'll influence bringing it up - i.e. if he still has breasts, then you can mention binding them.

Hm, alright! The setting in question is rather low-fantasy, so his transition really just involved putting on muscle, dressing, and binding. Mentioning him binding/unbinding his chest was an idea I had, although I do worry that doing that alone wouldn't make it clear that he was a trans man.

The character in question is a mercenary/monster hunter who works as a part of a guild of other mercenary/monster hunters, who are a rather gruff bunch, but they have a strong sense of camaraderie. One way I thought about making it clear that the character is trans is mentioning him binding/unbinding his breasts early on, and then when this guild is introduced, directly mention how the protagonist feels like they found his place in this group, as they respect his identity and treat him as a man despite knowing he was assigned female at birth.

I mainly just want to avoid coming across like I'm playing the reveal of his transgender status as shock, but it's difficult to navigate, since the character being a trans man is an important trait of his that I want to retain, but not the focus of the story.

Male pronouns and the chest binding should get the point across. A moment of reflecting on how the group accepts him can be nice, but don't try to force it, don't need to make it all about his gender, and don't land in As You Know.

edited 25th Jan '18 10:21:45 PM by Adannor