[ SECRET POST #6073 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6073 ⌋

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


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03.
[Love Me to Death]



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08.
[Miley Cyrus, "Flowers"]
























Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 32 secrets from Secret Submission Post #868.
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

[fscom]

04. https://i.imgur.com/N4f1LjU.png

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a native speaker and it gets confusing for me, too. I blame English for being a shit language.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm one of those fic writers >:D hehehe.

[(Anonymous)]

Why are you proud of being a bad writer?

[(Anonymous)]

It can be legit confusing. Generally it takes me a bit to get into the flow and then with a decent author it works. Related, but I absolutely hate the xe/xyr type neo pronouns. I would much rather deal with they/them.

[(Anonymous)]

I hate neo pronouns. Especially xe/xyr. Blah blah every word is made up blah blah, but how the fuck is it even supposed to sound? Also in my language xe and xyr look close enough to swear words, so you can guess how I use this pronouns

[(Anonymous)]

I've never understood how it's so confusing? They/their/them has always had a singular component, and most people use it without thinking.

[(Anonymous)]

Same. I'm here confused about what the OP is confused about.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't find it confusing if the author has done a good job of describing the person so I know which person is talking.

[(Anonymous)]

It's an issue when the singular they/them gets used at the same time the plural they/them gets used -like when the author talks both about the individual as well as a group of people in the same paragraph. There might be authors who do it well but so far, all stories I've read were apparently written by authors who could NOT do it well and I haven't the patience to go out of my way to find someone who does it right.

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly, it's not that surprising, pronoun confusion is a common error in writing and being ESL doesn't help

Not really anything to do with singular-they though

[(Anonymous)]

The singular is only for when you don't know the gender of the speaker.
Someone asked you to read their work.
Not
Jeremy asked you to read their work.
But
Jeremy asked you to read his work.
Jeremy is one male person. No need for pronoun nonsense that just gets confusing when Jeremy and Jenny are both involved in a scene and yet the author keeps talking about 'they' so when They took a shower it seems Jeremy and Jenny took a shower together or similar.
The neo pronouns are confusing and unnecessary. I'm a woman not a they.

[raspberryrain]

I played a sort of visual novel recently where all the characters were they/them'd, regardless of gender identity. Fortunately, it wasn't very long nor very confusing. But I really would rather not.

[(Anonymous)]

I've seen it done in Supernatural fic with they/them for a few characters (Hannah is canonically male and female) and it works, but they're not generally a main character in every scene, either.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel you. I find they/them really hard to deal with in long form fiction. I always get confused at least once.

It frustrates me that the language/culture seems to be coalescing around they/them as the primary and deeply imperfect IMO gender-neutral pronoun option instead of there being more of a push to de-gender English more generally and establish a single, all gender pronoun.

[(Anonymous)]

English has always had fucky pronoun usage that has pretty much only ever simplified what was already used, like "you" becoming singular/common. "They/them" is popular because it was already in use when gender was unclear/unimportant. Introducing a new pronoun, rather than shining up a current one, would be more confusing, not less.

[(Anonymous)]

What really sucks is that English already has a gender neutral pronoun, but it has extreme negative connotations when used with people.

[(Anonymous)]

No disrespect but that's a very stupid suggestion

[(Anonymous)]

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Singular they
Predates singular you

[(Anonymous)]

I love singular they and the fact that even some people in the gender binary are starting to use it for any reason, such as not wanting to reveal their gender online, or not have their gender be such an integral part of them that it gets named in their pronouns, or just because they like the way it feels. This is the future and the English language and everyone who finds it confusing will adapt. Children will be born who grow up learning that it's normal and will not see it as confusing because it's just the way things are.

[(Anonymous)]

I think I've gotten used to reading they/them pronouns because in my current fandom the main character is actually Y/N - who is written like that because 'you're' part of the story (In addition to another character who also goes by gender neutral pronouns too).
Each to one's own of course. If its too hard to read something that you're suppose to read for fun, then it makes sense to go find something that's easier to consume for you.

[(Anonymous)]

I’m the same way, OP. I’m ESL as well and trying to read a fic where a character uses they for the personal pronoun and then also refers to multiple people in a group with the word they just gets too confusing.

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, "nonbinary native English speakers are being xenophobic." That's a tough one; well played.

[meadowphoenix]

the only time i've been confused is when they (singular) and they (plural) converge in a scene, but tbqf, that happens with he/she/you pronouns with inexpert writing for me too, so I would assume that first.

[(Anonymous)]

“They couldn’t help themselves but to try their cookies.”

“They couldn’t help but to remember that they had made cookies with them.”

“They had made cookies with them, and now they wanted to try them with them.”

“They couldn’t help but to try the groups’ cookies.”

“They couldn’t help it; they had to try the cookies.”

All of these refer to the same scenario, but some of these read easier than others, while still using singular They. But there’s still a problem here: Without context, how do you know if this They is Singular, or Plural?

It’s ALL about context. 100%. And if the writer can convey the situation without confusing the reader. ESL can be difficult, especially if you are someone who grew up speaking a very tightly gendered language. But if a writer takes the time to pay attention to what they’re writing (again: singular they!), it’s not difficult to understand at all.

ESL is a legitimate struggle for some, so I have no issues with folks who get confused, but you can STILL write in a way that will convey what you need without gendering.