[ SECRET POST #4244 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4244 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.


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03.
[Jane Austen's Emma]


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04.


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05. [SPOILERS for The 100]

[Monty Green/Harper McIntyre]


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06. [WARNING for discussion of incest]

[The 100]


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07. [WARNING for discussion of fictional shota/bestiality/rape]























Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #607.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: How would you feel about asexual characters in a story/book?

[(Anonymous)]

Ehhh... I think the main hurdle here is that it doesn't take much to make something like this feel preachy/Very Special Episode. An explanation might make it worse in a "As you know, Bob..." sort of way:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AsYouKnow

This isn't 100% analogous but I'm a female POC. While that's fairly obvious from my appearance, it also rarely comes up in conversation. Most strangers are too polite to ask or simply don't care. My friends and family don't discuss it for the same reason why we rarely discuss the fact that we have arms and legs. There are few occasions when my race/ethnicity comes up in casual conversation, i.e. conversation that isn't specifically about race/racial issues. Obviously fiction isn't the same as real life and fictional conversations tend to be more relevant to the plot, less prone to trivial small talk, etc. But conversations about being asexual still need to have a credible context.


An author would need to consider a few things:

* Is there a compelling reason for asexuality or that specific character's asexuality to come up in casual conversation besides the author wanting to insert it? Otherwise, it's going to feel like it's coming out of nowhere because well, it is.

* Is this conversation taking place between people who would ordinarily discuss each other's sexual orientations? Two friends who are comfortable with one another might openly and easily talk about this. Two co-workers or casual acquaintances... maybe not.

* Is this conversation in character? Most people don't talk like an educational documentary about LBGQT issues. They don't explain what a demi-sexual is to the room like they're a professor delivering a college lecture. Any dialogue has to make sense for the character who's speaking, it can't just be heavy handed exposition.


I don't think it's impossible, but I do think it's difficult. Especially if you're determined to use the label, explain the label, etc. That won't necessarily sound natural.