Gender and Sexuality Meme
1. What gender of character do you play more of, male or female? Why?
Female. I have a few men, but - yeah, female.
2. Is this different or the same as your own gender?
Same.
3. Do you find that your gender makes it easier or more challenging to play your characters?
I think easier. But it's not an ease thing. I just like writing women, because I want to tell women's stories.
4. What sexuality / gender identity do your characters have?
Bisexual females:
Mel (who has only had sex with men in either game, but she's still in my head bi), Leah (who believes herself to be gay), Jubilation Lee (I have no idea why, but in my head, she is), Toph (or she will be, as puberty progresses), Red Riding Hood
Straight females
Dinah Lance, Francesca Bruni, Ai-Ling*, Claire Bennet,
Gay females:
Karolina Dean, Jack Hollins (iffy. Depending on your viewpoint, he could be a straight transman)
Straight Males:
Will Turner, Iroh Fray, Wolfgang von Uberwald*
* I reserve the right to later prove myself wrong about these characters.
5. How does your character's sexuality and gender identity define / affect their personality?
For the straight and practising straight cissexual characters (and for Mel, no matter who she slept with) it has no effect, except for people like Will, who has shaped his life around love.
Jack's formed himself into a bit of a parody of a straight man in his attempts to pass. His mannerisms are a little more exaggerated than a cisman, and he sometimes hides his true polyamory as promiscuity as he tries to fit in.
Karolina had deep self esteem issues as she came to terms with her sexuality. She's more or less over them now, but her time in the closet has formed her into a slightly unsure, almost shy young woman.
Leah has deep seated issues with sex. In some ways, her homosexuality has defined her personality less than her personality (partly a result of abuse) has pushed her further along the Kinsey scale. She's firm and unapologetic about her sexuality (except with Sam, although she has yet to recognise the crush that's fueling the deception) and she's proactive and determined not to be victimised, but this has been informed more by what's happened to her than who she's perceived herself to be.
6. Do you tend to predominantly play characters of a certain sexuality? If so, why?
My canon characters tend to be canonically straight. So I tend to lean towards lesbians and bisexuals when I have the choice, for balance. On the other hand, some of my OCs were written into a ship, which happened to be het.
7. To what extent do you write / play your character's sexual or romantic life?
I'm all about writing relationships of all sorts, romantic sexual and other, so where there is sex and romance in a character's life, it comes up. I try to keep a balance, as its not everyone's priority. Shatter!Mel, for instance, isn't looking for a relationship and has priorities. Sex with Dean happens because I want to write it, rather than because she prioritises it. If a character has good friendships, though, it's all the same to me. I don't write much smut, so it hardly matters.
8. How has the character's romantic life affected his character development?
In some cases, romantic life is deeply tied to canon progression; see Will, Karolina and Dinah. Because canon does it all, I don't give myself much room to develop more. In others, it's not relevent.
Mel's character progression in both games is nearly all about her romantic life: she's more grounded with Mike than she ever was, and in Apharstreetshatter she has children. Leah's character progression is also being tied up with her feelings for Sam Winchester, and Jack's love for Jo Harvelle is affecting him more than I ever thought it would.
9. Do you set 'ships' or plan for your characters to be together with other characters, or do you allow their relationships to develop organically? Why?
Bit of both? Mike/Mel evolved entirely organically, as did Jack and Jo and a few other ships I've planned. Sam/Leah is based on us agreeing they have chemistry and are cute. Dean/Mel was entirely planned and engineered, but worked well.
Basically, I don't like to deeply plot, but I do fairly often say "hey, let's see what happens if we thread these two" or "X should shag Y" and if it works, it works.
10. Do you change the gender identities / preferred sexualities of canon characters? Why / why not?
No. I'm very narrow with how I play canon characters. It used to be a pet peeve, like any hints of OOCness in characters, but I'm over that now. Still, my own playing of canon characters is more creative interpretation of another's canon then it is borrowing a name and likeness for my own storytelling. So if Dinah Lance says in canon "I'm as hetero as they come", I'm never going to stick her in bed with Babs, unfortunately.
Female. I have a few men, but - yeah, female.
2. Is this different or the same as your own gender?
Same.
3. Do you find that your gender makes it easier or more challenging to play your characters?
I think easier. But it's not an ease thing. I just like writing women, because I want to tell women's stories.
4. What sexuality / gender identity do your characters have?
Bisexual females:
Mel (who has only had sex with men in either game, but she's still in my head bi), Leah (who believes herself to be gay), Jubilation Lee (I have no idea why, but in my head, she is), Toph (or she will be, as puberty progresses), Red Riding Hood
Straight females
Dinah Lance, Francesca Bruni, Ai-Ling*, Claire Bennet,
Gay females:
Karolina Dean, Jack Hollins (iffy. Depending on your viewpoint, he could be a straight transman)
Straight Males:
Will Turner, Iroh Fray, Wolfgang von Uberwald*
* I reserve the right to later prove myself wrong about these characters.
5. How does your character's sexuality and gender identity define / affect their personality?
For the straight and practising straight cissexual characters (and for Mel, no matter who she slept with) it has no effect, except for people like Will, who has shaped his life around love.
Jack's formed himself into a bit of a parody of a straight man in his attempts to pass. His mannerisms are a little more exaggerated than a cisman, and he sometimes hides his true polyamory as promiscuity as he tries to fit in.
Karolina had deep self esteem issues as she came to terms with her sexuality. She's more or less over them now, but her time in the closet has formed her into a slightly unsure, almost shy young woman.
Leah has deep seated issues with sex. In some ways, her homosexuality has defined her personality less than her personality (partly a result of abuse) has pushed her further along the Kinsey scale. She's firm and unapologetic about her sexuality (except with Sam, although she has yet to recognise the crush that's fueling the deception) and she's proactive and determined not to be victimised, but this has been informed more by what's happened to her than who she's perceived herself to be.
6. Do you tend to predominantly play characters of a certain sexuality? If so, why?
My canon characters tend to be canonically straight. So I tend to lean towards lesbians and bisexuals when I have the choice, for balance. On the other hand, some of my OCs were written into a ship, which happened to be het.
7. To what extent do you write / play your character's sexual or romantic life?
I'm all about writing relationships of all sorts, romantic sexual and other, so where there is sex and romance in a character's life, it comes up. I try to keep a balance, as its not everyone's priority. Shatter!Mel, for instance, isn't looking for a relationship and has priorities. Sex with Dean happens because I want to write it, rather than because she prioritises it. If a character has good friendships, though, it's all the same to me. I don't write much smut, so it hardly matters.
8. How has the character's romantic life affected his character development?
In some cases, romantic life is deeply tied to canon progression; see Will, Karolina and Dinah. Because canon does it all, I don't give myself much room to develop more. In others, it's not relevent.
Mel's character progression in both games is nearly all about her romantic life: she's more grounded with Mike than she ever was, and in Apharstreetshatter she has children. Leah's character progression is also being tied up with her feelings for Sam Winchester, and Jack's love for Jo Harvelle is affecting him more than I ever thought it would.
9. Do you set 'ships' or plan for your characters to be together with other characters, or do you allow their relationships to develop organically? Why?
Bit of both? Mike/Mel evolved entirely organically, as did Jack and Jo and a few other ships I've planned. Sam/Leah is based on us agreeing they have chemistry and are cute. Dean/Mel was entirely planned and engineered, but worked well.
Basically, I don't like to deeply plot, but I do fairly often say "hey, let's see what happens if we thread these two" or "X should shag Y" and if it works, it works.
10. Do you change the gender identities / preferred sexualities of canon characters? Why / why not?
No. I'm very narrow with how I play canon characters. It used to be a pet peeve, like any hints of OOCness in characters, but I'm over that now. Still, my own playing of canon characters is more creative interpretation of another's canon then it is borrowing a name and likeness for my own storytelling. So if Dinah Lance says in canon "I'm as hetero as they come", I'm never going to stick her in bed with Babs, unfortunately.