Was driving with my grandmother and in broken English she says “no eyes… no nose… no face. Don’t trust.” To which I looked around wildly in search of this omen of ill portend.
In this post I wanted to talk about what asexuality might look like in IFs, and the various ways this might be encoded into one’s IFs!
This is NOT a comprehensive post, I am NOT an expert. This is more or less me using my platform to educate where I can.
At the end of this post, and this is very important to me, is a list of resources covering some available information about BIPOC and Asian experiences. I will be talking about a BIPOC character in this post, but my discussion of him will be about implementation and structuring within an IF context! This is not an analysis of BIPOC and Asian asexual experiences nor about how this character acts as representation of these experiences.
If you intend on writing about these experiences, please educate yourself with my references being a jumping off point. I want to highlight these sources because they explicitly are written by BIPOC and Asian authors, and therefore, deserve more of a platform and focus. If you just want to skip to that section, please do!
This following section will be talking about two specific characters in IFs that I have encountered so far in my own playthroughs. I will be tagging the creators as permitted! Just be aware that this is not a critique, this is not an in-depth analysis, this is just pointing to various ideas and concepts associated with the characters that I feel are important to point out!
Unfortunately, I will not be providing a comprehensive list of IF characters that are asexual. One of the following examples is actually not asexual at all, but is written in such a way where I'd like to discuss its relevancy to this post. If anyone has made a list, please reach out! I'd love to tack it on and give you credit.
Oswin - God Cursed
Oswin, created by @wings-of-ink (aka Lunan), is a confirmed Demisexual character who is also BIPOC. It is very rare that we have an explicitly BIPOC asexual in media, let alone a BIPOC asexual man, therefore Oswin is a very wonderful rare character that I am very grateful to see in the IF.
In the story of God Cursed, should you choose his romance, there are a few moments where you get to discuss your MC's experiences with relationships. Whether it be romantic experiences or sexual ones, Lunan provides us a few choices as to how to respond to Oswin's expression of his demisexuality as well as how the MC may express their own sexuality.
There are a good few choices to choose from, including expressing a similar lack of sexual desire as Oswin, to being completely allosexual. Either way, the MC is accepted by Oswin and for their identity. Additionally, Oswin does express in the IF how Oswin’s connection to the MC influences his desire, which I recommend reading the IF to see how that is expressed.
Furthermore there are elements of aromantic identity in their IF! This is quite rare, and honestly is lovely to see. Especially as most IFs assume you may want to have a romance, when hey you just might want to have some casual fun!
Robin - Viatica
Robin, created by @fir-fireweed (aka Fir), is NOT an asexual character. That is completely fine, and is not expressly why I bring up this character in this discussion. Why I bring this character up is due to their complex relationship with sexuality.
In Viatica, there are a lot of complicated feelings around sex expressed by the characters. Within the story sex has become a compulsory act dictated by an abusive higher authority, thus losing its capacity for expressing intimacy and affection. Many of the characters have complex experiences that culminate in a heavy discussion at one point in the IF that makes it worth a read alone (aside from the amazing story that is...); but let's turn the discussion back to Robin.
Robin is the most vocally uncomfortable around the conversation of sex due to their own traumatic experiences. In the IF there is even a scene where the MC may try to initiate intimacy, whether sexual or otherwise, and Robin expresses discomfort. The MC is automatically stopped due to recognition of this discomfort, and they have a good discussion as partners about Robin's stress about sex.
I could go at length about Robin's expression of their sexuality, their discomfort and subsequent trauma about it, but I feel it is more satisfactory to see it for yourself. The arc that Robin goes through, as written by Fir, is very fascinating and while it does culminate in Robin having sex, is a larger critique on how sexuality is perceived in the world of the IF as a whole.
IF Implementation
Now! Would I say the above IFs are perfect reps of asexuality? No, because no one is perfect and these IFs are offering different commentaries on sex and sexuality.
What might that mean for IF authors though?
When implementing asexual characters, you as an author must think about the layers of identity. In Lunan's work, the MC is able to express differing levels of romantic and sexual inclinations. Fir's work, which is admittedly old in comparison, does not have these layers but that isn’t a bad thing.
How most IFs express sexual variations (in a straight forward fashion):
You had no sexual experience and you don't want any.
You had no sexual experience and would like to see how it works.
You had sexual experience and you don't want any sex.
You had sexual experience and you do want to have sex.
Authors can add sub-variations to these expressions like:
You rarely feel sexual attraction to your sexual partners
You need to be close to your sexual partners to feel desire
You have pleasured yourself but have not experienced sexual attraction to another person
These sub-variations add a layer of complexity to the MCs identities, whilst also proposing some variables to keep in mind. Furthermore, this adds asexuality into the narrative and forms a format where intimacy can be expressed in a different manner!
Subtle ways to show asexuality in MC/Characters:
Lets say for example, a Character grabs MC on the waist and squeezes them (this prompt was suggested by a friend, love you friend!). The people talking in this hypothetical can be swapped in terms of who is MC and who is RO.
You feel discomfort rising within you and push their hand away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m testing how you feel. Is that not okay?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Because you need to ask first” (Just asking for general consent)
“Because I know where this might lead, and I’m not into it.” (You can clarify with a note as to what you mean by this, but this can be interpreted as ‘baseline’ asexuality)
“Because I need to know you, and I don’t.” (Potentially demisexual choice or greysexual)
OR
You feel warm at their touch, allowing them to keep their hand where it was.
“Where is this going?” You ask.
“Wherever you want it to go.” RO says.
You want to escalate it further, push their hand where it felt best (Potentially allosexual, but can be interpreted as a sex positive interaction for an asexual)
You didn’t want it to escalate further, the warmth of their hand felt so good in the moment (General consent)
“I don’t want this to be more than… a touch. I like feeling you, I like knowing you want me close, but nothing more.” (Asexual option)
The straight forward variables might look like:
Sex experiences: true/false
Sex want: true/false
Sub-variation variables might look like:
Sexual attraction: true/false
Close Sexual attraction: true/false
Sexual Desire/Personal intimacy: true/false
I hope readers right away might notice this added layer of complexity, and I would like to take it a step further and express that no reader should use this post as reason to judge IF authors for not implementing Ace identities into their works. There is so much complexity in identities, there is no true way to implement everything, and some people just aren't aware of Ace identities. That's okay! Everyone is learning as we go.
But IF authors, there are so few Ace characters out there! Please don't hesitate to add Asexual or Aromantic ROs! Add customization options for MCs! Go forth and increase the scope of your IF, but don't scope creep that's the devil talking.
Black queer organizations: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a32827051/black-lgbtq-organizations-groups/
Book on the topic: https://www.acornbookshop.com/products/refusing-compulsory-sexuality-a-black-asexual-lens-on-our-sex-obsessed-culture?variant=53980226453717
Asian Asexuality:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388886964_Asexuality_in_Asia_The_Intersection_of_Tradition_Identity_and_Sexual_Diversity (China, Japan, and India)
https://anoaqa.org/about-anoaqa-new/ (Organization focused on Asian asexuality!)
https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9202348&fileOId=9202351 (Dissertation on Japanese asexuality!)
https://www.asexualityasia.org/ (This organization is run by southeast Asian individuals, but promises a broad spectrum of covering Asian experiences.)
Indigenous Asexuality:
Guides to general Indigenous sexuality: https://guides.library.ubc.ca/c.php?g=735133&p=5293056
Unfortunately there isn’t much beyond my preliminary research, but that’s okay. I just did a general search, there are loads of people online willing to educate, feel free to seek them out!!!
Book list: https://boatneck-group-cf6.notion.site/aro-ace-books-bcaaaf3d0556465fb9b9135a7fe2952b
Make good choices, and keep queering up spaces. Special thanks to Fir and Lunan for agreeing to be tagged in this post, I apologize for asking anonymously but anxiety is a bitch. Happy pride month!
Oh this delightful, my dear. Thank you for sharing and including Oswin too! There's a lot of layers for this we can explore that will add such a depth and richness to MCs and ROs alike. ^_^
Here's some of the notes, starting with the things multiple people brought up:
SHRIMP COCKTAIL:
banahbanah: #flashback to that one fic where Peter Parker frets about drinking shrimp cocktail because of the alcohol
generaldeliciousness: adding: what a prawn/shrimp cocktail is
#why is your character turning it down because they're under 21 #do you think prawn cocktail is a cocktail #this lives in my brain rent-free constantly #the rest of the fic was so normal #and good enough that i'll still re-read it #but bro
And then many, MANY, people wondering if this was actually authour mistake, since Peter really would do this!
POMEGRANATES:
zhajhassa: #haha where's that post that was like someone describing someone eating a pomegranate but they ate it like an apple
thornhands: #once someone wrote persephone biting into a whole Pomegranate #had to stop and stare at a wall for a minute
sungsingsanguine: I once saw someone very confidently write about a character eating slices of pomegranate.
FRUIT TREES:
zagreuses-toast: #given a very endearing glimpse into a writers blindspots by seeing them describe someone sitting under a ''pineapple tree''
salatrash: I remember something about picking watermelons... OF A FUCKING TREE
baander: #cranberry trees
DOUGH/BATTER:
maycelium: #I'm a chef so I'm really used to people not accurately describing how to cook food #But I was surprisingly flabbergasted when someone was writing making a cake and was kneading it. Which uh #Not necessary for cake. It was interesting for sure but just bizarre
livebloggingmydescentintomadness: #the one that drove me nuts was when a character set aside a batch of PASTA DOUGH 'to rise' #pasta doesn't have yeast!! #it does need to REST but it will never RISE #you do not want an airy crumb on your noodles
lovesodeepandwideandwell: #THE ONE WHERE THEY MADE COOKIES BY LADLING BATTER INTO A TRAY
Some other topics:
ANIMALS:
catenarwhal: #mandatory 'how cows produce milk' mention#i'll never recover from that one I fear
piromantic: #one time i saw someone fake their way through describing how spiders behave
pluto-lichen: horses
misskittypotter: #stardew valley faking its way through what fresh fish smell like
pa-pa-plasma: #saw someone faking their way through knowing what a seal is once #i still am fucked up over that one to this day. they just straight up did not know #& they were NOT good at guessing it either like it was clear they had never googled that animal ever #& was only just now realizing via answering questions from anons that seals are not!! what they assumed. initially
SEX:
dykevandyke: #what a prostate is #and where it is located #as in. external.
dreamyeyedrose: #I remember back in the ff.net days reading an Ichigo/Renji fic where the writer assumed the penises go inside each other #and I was like “I mean I don't know how it works for sure I don't have one but idk if that's how it works”
SOME OTHER FOOD STUFF:
thetrekkiehasthephonebox: #add another one to the list bloggers#this character is cooking a salad
shosta: #still baffled about the published work that didn't know food could freeze
sun-dari: #once i read a fic where the author didn't understand cinnamon
alto-tenure: #read something recently where the author was just. blatantly wrong about spices
dramatic-dolphin: #i saw someone try to fake their way through what ramen is once. like 14 years ago.#but i remember.#i was very confused about ramen for a few months. they were writing it so authoritatively.
the-celery-stalks-at-midnight: #i will never ever forget someone putting leftover fries in the microwave to reheat them and setting the timer for five minutes
typeghost: #this sparked a memory of a hannibal fic where the author had to fake their way through writing about gravy
draculin: #the one fanfic where the author knows about coffee only as a concept wrote a character as a coffee drinker#was very interesting#I don't remember the fandom or the plot but I was mesmerized by the coffee actions and choices
11235811235811: #there's a lot of faking their way thru congee in the svsss fandom i'll also note
fishali3n: #read one where the person clearly didnt know what tofu is
emmy-everafter: #in the aftermath of shadow and bone s2 i saw a lot of people pretending to know what stroopwafels are #babes they are more like cookies than breakfast waffles #like yes there is a waffle pattern but you're not gonna cut into a stack of them with syrup and sugar#🤣🤣🤣
NON-FOOD STUFF:
red-umbrella-811: Shoutout to Dame Agatha Christie for faking her way through what a wrench is in a very popular published work.
bluebeetle: #once saw someone have a character put an entire phone book in their pocket
nonametis: #- sex talk in languages other than english #<- or just the petnames in a different language other than English
sadisticpony: #the fanfiction i saw this week where op DIDNT KNOW HOW AUTOMATIC DOORS WORKED #and that they arent in peoples homes!!! of course. also opening the automatic door for someone is unironically very funny but its not #its not like. grabbing the door handle to let someone in. helpppp
danmeichael: #reminds me of the fic with the figure drawing class where the character started with the feet. #i love you feet first figure drawing author
meowmix1100blr: #me watching this one fic absolutely obliterate what the board of directors does
vexedhexes: #one time i read an architect character making a doorway bigger by building a bigger door #what a beautiful world. #OH. also gravity falls fic where they go 'oh piedmont is in california so its warm all year round'
leveragehunters: #characters going to a beer garden #And it's literally a garden outside the pub#It was a very cute mistake
fitofpique: #yes! #grown men do not get blind drunk off two beers #but i am possibly guilty of the hypothermia one #assuming it does not make you very horny?
dadvans-likes: #always thinking abt the soup kitchen fic #the entire setting of the fic was 'soup kitchen' #and i very quickly realized #the author did not know what a soup kitchen was #and they thought that soup kitchens only served soup #fic
msmargaretmurry: #i love fanfiction #once read a fic where the characters played 20 questions #but the author seemed to not know how to play 20 questions and was just kind of winging it........ #immaculate
shakespeareaddict: #Look I know not all of us are hockey experts #But it takes about ten seconds of research or any attention paid to the show to realize #That the Stanley cup playoffs are not in fucking September
baejax-the-great: #the funniest one i saw #was someone faking what church is like #like 1. they really didn't have to write an entire church experience for their fic #and 2. they had clearly never even watched a show where people went to church #it was bonkers weird
twosunson: #things ive seen authors faking #knowing how to unclog a drain #knowing. literally any history #knowing what ketamine looks like (apparently- oregano) #(you know who you are)
waterhorseyblues-ao3: #beltane being celebrated in winter #wales being portrayed as a completely separated land from england (i wish) #characters getting up after weeks of bedrest like that dosnt completely fuck you up
violetfairydust: #i once read a fic where the flight time from london to seattle was 3 hours
purekesseltrash: One time, in a fic set specifically in Des Moines, IA, two of the characters casually drove 20 minutes to the ocean. The memory continues to delight me. I want to know where that author thought that Iowa was.
i don't read a lot of fic anymore but i'm forever thinking about stephen king's 'it' where the characters went into a chinese restaurant and were greeted by a waitress wearing a kimono
Hello again! Hope the spring has been pleasant for you 🌷
With this update we're continuing the pilgrimage, which is turning out more dangerous than even the Crown and their companions anticipated:
The Crown will be revisiting an old place they had forgotten about, and learn more about the scars left on the land from the reigns of Crowns past
Whether you brought the water spirits with you or whether Eshkar is also there or not will give you additional variations and, depending on one choice you make this chapter, may lead to someone getting hurt
There will be more lore on the religious practices of Arsur, and an opportunity to customize your Crown's religious beliefs as well
A dangerous encounter shakes things up this chapter--is it a test of the spirits, or just bad luck? Either way, how your Crown handles this situation will not go unnoticed!
And last but not least, romance scenes with your chosen love interest, though the tone of these will be quite different considering the previous encounter...
Thank you for all your patience and support, I hope you enjoy the new chapter as summer approaches 💖
For those that are unfamiliar with the game
A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy romance story, told in the form of a text-based interactive novel with choice mechanics. The setting is inspired by Kurdish culture as well as other historical settings in the Middle East such as Ancient Persia, but it also draws heavily from other cultures and countries in the region.
Your character is native to Arsur, a vast empire overseen by a single ruler known as the Crown. Unlike traditional monarchies, however, the title is not inherited through blood. Whenever the Crown dies, their famed golden eyes pass on to the one chosen by the Spirits of this world to be the new Crown. In this story, your MC takes on that role.
There are four different love interests to choose from, whose genders will be customized to suit the preferences of your Crown. You can find more info about them on the blog page!
Also note that this current version of the game is safe for those 16 years and older.
Like the premise so far? Play it and give it a try! The entire game is free!
If you enjoyed the game, please reblog! Share it with your friends! Recognition and reader interaction is just about the only thing I get in return for creating it ❤️
RIP Marjane Satrapi, author of the amazing graphic novels Persepolis about living during the fundamentalist revolution in Iran in the 70’s and 80’s. She also created the animated movie based on the graphic novels, which is where these gifs come from.
Reblogging in honor of Marjane Satrapi, one of THE great graphic novelists. Her comic Persepolis was a crucial text for shaping my belief that comics can deeply explore identity, culture, politics, and history.
Still here. Things have been bad and I haven't gotten much done. I've been working on stuff, trying to get back in the habit of writing again. I wanted to wait until I had more to say, but I don't know when I'll actually have something concrete.
Thanks to anyone who sent messages and sorry I haven't responded. I am still working on this and whisper, just very slowly.
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