Day 8 of @the-line-is-erased: Japan - Reunions - Inventions, creations, and crossing the line.
Cel and Sassraa talk about gender
“Cel, I have a question.”
They leaned back from where they were installing part of the elemental engine that would power the airship. Cel’s draconic wasn’t great, but they were working on it constantly, so between that and Sassraa’s English they could get by easily enough.
“Sure, what is it? If it’s about Skraak’s suggestion for the rudder, I told him already that it won’t work, and if he’s trying to get you to convince me, I’m-”
“No, no.” Sassraa looked down sheepishly. “It’s about your society.”
“Oh. You mean, the society of the village I lived in just recently? Or half-elf society? Oooh, is there an alchemist’s society you’ve heard of that I am somehow not a part of?”
“Maybe I said that wrong…”
“No, no, it’s all good.” Cel offered a supportive smile. “I got carried away. Go ahead.”
Sassraa sat down next to Cel. “Well, I was talking with Hamid, and I realized that much of his culture seems to revolve around two main genders. Not that there aren’t others”- Sassraa gestured to Cel –“but they’re a rarity, and not always well regarded. Among kobolds, we have… eight sort of ‘common’ genders, but there are way more than that and sometimes people have a mix or have multiple. And nobody bothers you for your gender or makes you live and work in a different role because of it. It’s just… very strange.”
“It absolutely is,” Cel replied, nodding and letting out a heavy breath. “A lot of languages are very much not welcoming to a gender that isn’t male or female. You have to make your own rules. But, hey, if your gender doesn’t, I don’t know, translate across from your society, you don’t have to try and press yourself into one that people around here might know of. Just be you.”
“It’s hard.” Sassraa chuckled. “I’m sure you know.”
“I’ve had a lot longer to figure it out, though. You’ve just been thrown into this.”
“You and Hamid have been trying to teach me English, but pronouns… I don’t know which ones to use for me. There are a few that could fit, I suppose-”
“You can use more than one set!”
Sassraa’s eyes grew wide. “I can?”
“Of course! You can use as many pronouns as you want! Or none, as the case may be, and we’ll just use your name. And it can change day by day, whatever you’re feeling. Or! Or you can make your own pronouns! Like I said, you get to make your own rules, which is scary, but also freeing.”
“Hm.” Sassraa thought about it a long while. “I think I’d like to try they and she?”
Cel smiled. “Absolutely. Is there anything else I can try and help with? Not sure I helped at all here or if I just rambled.”
Now it was Sassraa’s turn to smile, placing a hand on Cel’s arm. “You helped a lot. We make our own rules. We don’t force ourselves to play by someone else’s.”
“Alright, now I should go tell Skraak how terrible an idea that rudder design is.”
Cel chuckled. “Good luck; he’s real set on it.”
With a fond roll of her eyes, Sassraa stood and trotted away to continue their own construction work. Meanwhile, Hamid came over to Cel with an armful of equipment they had previously requested from the scrap of Earhart’s last ship.
“Is everything alright with Sassraa?” He asked.
“Oh, yeah, she’s all good. I was just helping them out with some cultural things.”
Sassraa wasn’t quite out of earshot yet, and Cel swore they could see her smile as they heard both sets of pronouns used.
