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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Characters Out of the closet, and on the boards - 'Gay' characters in a GFFA See first post 30 May. 15

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by DarthBreezy, Mar 6, 2013.

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  1. J_Girl

    J_Girl Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2001
    [face_laugh] That is a good line! I'm here and reading along and support what's being said here even though it doesn't pertain to me personally. I hope this keeps going.
     
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  2. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Interesting thread. I have no GOC to add (though I did once break the rules and suggested a EU character had a short homosexual relationship, but it was so vague, it could have suggested a inter-species relationship depending on how you interpreted it). However, I may do the challenge (if my life ever calms down). In my first attempt at an original piece, one of the main characters is gay, so I do have experience writing homosexual characters.
     
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  3. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    I've got one... actually, more than one, but this is the only one here at the boards...

    Name: Taloh Knightshield Hallan

    First appeared: Her first appearance for me was a story called "Mid-Life Crisis", which got interesting reactions upon showing it to a creative writing class.

    Also/Currently Appears in: Here at the boards, she has appeared in "So They Met In A Bar" (currently truncated), drabble sets during "Prismatic Edges" and "Edge of Life", and a cameo during "The Table Was Crowded."

    Gender/Orientation: (Gender) Female, (Orientation) bisexual. (Though I only got to hint at it with broad flashbacks due to boards rules.)

    Mini Bio: She's a former planetary guardian from another dimension who landed in an alley in Dorthus Tal on Saccoria, and she had/has amnesia, and Taloh isn't actually her real name, but an alias, one of many that she (or her other self, depending on how you look at it) went by while traveling from place to place for years and years... with a female traveling companion named Bree.
     
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  4. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    Holy cow - done and done...

    Perhaps Love

    Kampher and Leibe meet and fall in love...

    Trust me, this was way more draining, and harder to write than I thought it would be. Funny enough I've never had a problem writing male GOCs, but when it came to writing a woman, a pair of women in love, with even with nothing more than a very chaste kiss on the fore-head from one of them, it was very difficult. I sincerely wonder why that was?
     
  5. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    I'm working on a story for this... does anyone wish to beta for me? It should be ready for beta'ing by tomorrow if not tonight.
     
  6. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 4, 2002
    I'd be more than happy to if you'd like!
     
  7. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    Cool, a conversation sent your way.
     
  8. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 4, 2002
    and DONE! :cool:
     
  9. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    I think I have an idea of where you're coming from. For me, it's relatively easy to write about two women falling in love (about on par with doing a story about a hetero couple), but I balk at the idea of crafting a male/male pairing. Because I'm a man and you are a woman, Breezy, this could be a simple case of gender reversal where we're more comfortable with the idea of the other sex having homosexual relationships. It makes a strange kind of sense, actually, what with Freudian projection and all...my Shepards were always females who romanced Liara.

    Okay, I'll quit while I'm ahead...
     
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  10. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    Okay, here is my entry for the challenge: Revelations. Thank you to DarthBreezy for beta'ing. :)
     
  11. Obi-Wan21

    Obi-Wan21 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2002
    I believe in a GFFA that homosexuality would be natural. I also believe in diverse casts and make a point of providing ample amounts of unique characters with differing racial, ethnic backgrounds. In that respect, I'll stick to fan fiction, I have included a number of homosexual characters, the pair I've always been most proud of are two comrades during a siege who find a spark between them and fall in love as they hold out against the onslaught of an overwhelming enemy force.

    It was, IMO, an approriate way to toe the line of how people discover their sexuality. It was a personal challenge to myself since I don't believe events or genetics make you heterosexual or homosexual. It's all a matter of finding that person. And these two found each other on a war-torn world. And I'm a heterosexual male that's been happily married for a few years now.

    But I felt that writing was an approriate way to examine a homosexual relationship without bias. I grew up in a very "anti" home, as it were, so it was very important to myself that I write something authentic.

    While Mandalorians may be the easiest source for diving into a homosexual relationship, I don't believe it should be the only option. For me, I found the regular trooper far more engrossing.
     
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  12. Ink.Knight

    Ink.Knight Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2013
    I have a couple of minor characters in my currently untitled OC-driven work that I may do something with if I can ever figure out how to make it subtle enough not to get chastised over. I'm great at reading and spotting subtext, but I'll admit I haven't really tried my hand at writing it. Mostly because I want to read stories where it's treated as completely normal and written that way, like Malinda Lo's Huntress and Ash.
     
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  13. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Stupid question: My only gay OC is a non-SW OC. I don't suppose we can talk about them, too? The NSWFF forum doesn't have such a thread, to my knowledge, and its OC thread is dead.
     
  14. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Not a stupid question, and I think that would be okay to discuss here.
     
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  15. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    I'm wondering, given the obscurity of the rules (I know about the situation with the site owner and that it affects this) if a PM writer's advice group consisting of maybe one of the mods (if mav or Bri are able to give time for that) and other interested writers would be able to address some of the troubles that Ink.Knight, TrakNar, and others are having with determining what is/isn't allowed to be written here.

    I get the feeling that you might be able to be more exact in your definitions of what you'll be required to shut down if it's in a convo thread? It's not something that I've run into needing as a resource yet, but I do wonder if it's realistic to have fic with a couple dozen OC's and absolutely everyone is straight. When/if I start to reference some variety of orientation in one of my stories, I'd like to be able to ask someone with the knowledge to say "you can do this/not that" so that I can choose whether to take the relevant chapters to exclusively FF.net or something if necessary.
     
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  16. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Bri and I are always happy to read a section of fanfic or read about ideas prior to them being posted in a fic, people PM us quite frequently to do that. This applies to anything that you might have a question about. The example given in the first post of this thread is a good example; basically, if someone could easily read it as not a same-sex relationship, then it's okay, but if it's very open or a major part of the story, it's not allowed.

    But yes, if you would like to make a convo thread where people can discuss what would be and wouldn't be allowed, that would be fine and I would be willing to be a part of it.
     
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  17. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Thank you, mav. It's not something that I need (yet, anyway), but I think it's good for everyone to know that you're willing to give advice on this.
     
  18. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    Been too long since I've been here, but good to know the conversation is still going. :)
     
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  19. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    I'm also to be willing to be a part of any PM convo to discuss what is and isn't allowed.
     
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  20. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    My DDC diary for last year (2014) ended up having one character that was involved in a same-sex marriage.
     
  21. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    I also have two gay characters in my main fic, but it's really a tiny thing in the background and I doubt anyone noticed. But I have plans for a new OC and I'll definitely need the mods' advice about that. PM inbound in 5, 4, 3... (days, because I don't have time right now).
     
  22. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    Since this thread seems to have been revived from the dead, I'll pose a new question or two (or as an old question for new participants).

    What made you decide to cast a gay character(s)? Did you find it easier to write (for whatever reason - not trying to pry) or more difficult?

    What made it so hard for you? (skipping board standards as I found there was FAR more than just shifting pronouns and censoring the squishy bits).

    As former Agitator in Chief when it comes to TFN's position on sex and sexuality here in fan fiction, I thought it was the least I can do...
     
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  23. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Could this thread be made more inclusive? As in, cover the whole spectrum, not just homosexuality?
     
  24. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    One would think that was implied.

    In any case, the rule that sparked this conversation is/was quite explicit in referring only to same-sex pairings and the depiction thereof. It seems reasonable enough to me that bisexual and transgendered characters would be included with this new sentiment, without having to declare it so. Therefore, talk all you want about the "full spectrum" and most likely no one will so much as bat an eyelash. ;)
     
  25. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    In that case, I could easily include Lavinnia, as she's ace.

    Anywho, Prof. Hypno didn't start out gay. His character evolved that way. He was originally just a resurrected character from an old fan comic I had back in 02 that I just didn't want to scrap entirely (I had recently come across fifteen comic pages, part of a script, and a slew of character designs and notes). He had been changed considerably from his original incarnation, but his orientation wasn't set in stone yet.

    Prof Hypno's relationship was spurned by him being very lonely and latching onto someone who showed him genuine attention and affection. Now, it's something that helps him cope with being sold to Team Rocket, which isn't the nicest group a Pokemon can be sold to—even Jessie, James, and Meowth are shocked by some of the stuff their boss and his cronies will do to Pokemon.

    I didn't really find writing him to be difficult, or easy. I'm writing a character, and when I write a character, I tend to method-act. I just slip into character and write them how they would act. Prof Hypno being gay doesn't really alter how he's written, aside from how he might feel about his own feelings and how others perceive him. However, since he's a Pokemon, he's not really influenced by human perceptions on orientation. Thus, he never really thinks about how it may seem "taboo." He's in a relationship with another Hypno who cares about him and sees passed his disability. It just so happens that that other Hypno is also male.

    As for Lavinnia being ace... Well, Lavvy is pretty much the main RP muse. I have a Poke'sona that I don't really use too much, as Lavvy took that position ages ago. So, she will get a lot of aspects of my own personality (not a whole lot, as she is incredibly shy and a bit sniffly). She knows about breeding, but she doesn't think about it and is naive about it when she does. To her, it's something she knows that Pokemon do on occasion when her former Trainer took them to the Daycare. That's really it. She has no preference and no interest in it.

    What would make writing this hard for me would be that I would have to pretty much excise the Prof's relationship almost entirely, should I put him in a fic that I could post here. Since he (and by extension, Lavinnia) is in an RP on Tumblr, I have a lot more freedom and don't have to worry about the board's restrictions.

    Translating an RP character to a fic is difficult enough; having to excise an element that is prominent in that character's life because it helps them cope with life is heartbreaking. While Lavvy may have a better chance of being put in a fic, Prof Hypno may stay as an exclusively-RP character.
     
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