I mean in that case… just write the character and have the only variable text be pronouns? If the objective is a character who gives no regard to gender norms then simply write them without thinking about gender.
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Just to make sure I’m answering correctly: you’re looking for a character who is going out of their way to not conform to gender roles, regardless of what gender is selected of them? If so, if you’re writing a character frustrated with being put in a box by presuppositions of presentation, then go crazy. Sure, a woman can wear pants, but having a shaved head, being muscular, anything that crosses into more butch territories are usually looked at differently and viewed as more GNC. Women wear pants, but there are absolutely still styles of dress that read as masculine.
Some go punk/alt or fall into other niche communities to push the boundaries of how they’re perceived. I know people who painted their nails and grew their hair or shaved it all off or got masculine or feminine jewelry or started wearing dad button-ups to push their gender expression. Everything is normal, you just have to consider what modern society might scoff at if they saw it.
And if that’s not at all what you’re doing, then my bad. Just change their pronouns and you’re golden.
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Yes. They wear a medieval women’s hairstyle and, if AFAB, a binder, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten as far as their look goes. (They’re also a roboticist genius supervillain, but I’m not sure that counts either way.)
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In that case, I would give the character a mix of both very feminine and very masculine interests. Maybe they’re very domestic, liking to keep a clean home, cook, sew, etc. And they’re also very athletic, stoic, interested in old cars and technology from before the apocalypse, etc.
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Perfect. By having a roboticist genius supervillain, you’ve cut out half your work. You’ve already got Moira Overwatch and Herbert West Reanimator as points of reference, and a solid chunk of GNC individuals I’ve met (by ‘solid chunk’ I mean myself, specifically) strive to look like them. A lab coat is all you ever need.
(The binder is a wonderful choice, either way.)
I’d advise against the advice to give them ‘feminine or masculine interests’, as that might end up being read as roundabout gender essentialism – I wish real life interests weren’t read as feminine or masculine, but internally it’s more complex than that. I can’t imagine many people pick up interests only to buck gender norms (though I can see why someone might). That’s what presentation is for; much easier.
But if they have those interests ahead of time (and especially if they face backlash for them), I can see that exacerbating their desire to incorporate those interests into their identity. Spite works.
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Well, it took longer than I intended, but the work, she is done…for now. Wrapped it up while I was watching Survivor last night (Anyone else watching? Kyle and Kamilla are everything.).
Starting Monday, it’s back onto the other project until it’s time to do edits on this one!
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Yesterday, I discovered a whole extra bit of editing/revising work that I need to do, which I had totally forgotten about. It’s a good thing I highlighted those things in a bright color back then, otherwise it would have taken a full readthrough before I caught it. Probably adding at least a day or two more to my schedule.
As it is, I could still finish this by the end of the month, if I give a big push now.
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OK, there’s one important piece of lore I just wrote for Lily Adventuresses! Episode 2, and it will be related to the endgame I will write next month. I need some critiques, basically.
Lore book about how to end terrorism, starting from our minds
Book 5: How to Ensure Terrorism Doesn’t Happen Again
by Candace Ezeli
Terrorism, especially the one waged by the demons, is a terrible thing. No one basically denies that.
But to finally get it out of our system for good, and give the Goddess some relief, there is one way: Ignore the metaphorical scoreboard in our minds.
This “scoreboard” is manifested in three words – “even the score”. It is closely related, and is rhetorically similar to, “an eye for an eye”.
Whenever someone did something wrong to you, and you wish for them to be punished one way or another, that’s “even the score” taking root.
If unchecked, it mutates into the cycle of violence, where the oppressor becomes the oppressed, the oppressed becomes the oppressor, and this switching of roles goes on without end.
This is how terrorism spawned in the first place – because those who were the first candidates for demon-hood let their own egos prevail, simply because forgiveness was absent in their hearts.
If you want a healthy life, the score should not be: Me: 1; The One Who Wronged Me: 0.
It should instead be: Me and Everyone Else: 1, Scoreboard: 0.
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I didn’t know calling dibs was a thing for that. I must have missed the message.
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I’m currently typing this on my phone, so my answers might not be the best. Anyway, if you want my thoughts.
Your lore book suggests that terrorism is motivated by revenge and ego. I think this is an oversimplification, at best, of a very complex and nuanced problem.
Terrorism is often driven by some combination of social, political, economic and ideological factors. There is no universally agreed on definition on how terrorism is to be defined, but I don’t think one can simply ascribe it to a desire for revenge or ego. Yes, some element of revenge could be part of a motivation for terrorism, but that doesn’t capture the matter fully.
Honestly, it’s a very sensitive topic, and probably not something you’d need to include in a fantasy RPG. I would suggest just not touching on this topic if it is not important to the story you are trying to tell, and if you are unable to understand and capture the complexity of this topic. Bear in mind that people have lost loved ones to terrorism. It is not a topic to be handled lightly.
If you want, center that book around conflict in general rather than around terrorism.
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I posted in the OP:
It’s not anything particularly formal, it’s just that I’d prefer to be contacted at least a day before the end of the month so that I don’t end up duplicating work. If anyone wants to create the May thread, drop me a message during April! 
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I want to apologize to you all for not being able to keep up with it. I feel I’ve let you all down, and let Brittany down. It’s not that I didn’t want to - I’ve just been so overwhelmed. I appreciate everyone else who is stepping up to do what I couldn’t.
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It’s lovely of you to say so, but I promise you haven’t let anyone down and it’s completely OK 
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I don’t feel let down, if anything this lets the community continue her legacy.
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The way I’m approaching my own gender-selectable character is by focusing on keeping their core personality the same, since that’s the one thing that wouldn’t change no matter their gender. But in your case (correct me if I’m wrong), it sounds like your character is going out of their way to be nonconforming? If that’s the case, other than using appearance and hairstyles (which I think you already did great btw) I think you could really use worldbuilding to your advantage to highlight that.
Since your world is post-apocalyptic and superhero-based, maybe certain powers are perceived as more masculine or feminine? I’m not sure how your power system works, but if those kinds of perceptions exist in your world, they could be another way to emphasize your character’s nonconformity. Or you could explore other gender norms that are unique to your setting. Since it’s a post-apocalyptic world, people’s experiences would shape how they view masculinity and femininity in ways that don’t have to match our real world.
Other ways I could think of that could be used to show nonconformity, and that’s the same no matter what gender is mannerisms maybe a soft-spoken male would be considered not the norm (this is something that actually happened. A friend of mine is really soft-spoken that the new people we meet assumed he was gay lol), or people’s perception like maybe someone could say you’re pretty techy for a woman, or something along those lines.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts on how I’d approach something like this! I hope it doesn’t come across as pushy or anything like that. I’m not even sure if you were looking for advice or just sharing an update, lol. Sorry in advance if it’s unwelcome. I just wanted to share my thought process in case it helps 
Happy writing!
I’m actually trying Expanded mod for the first time right now, since up until now, I’m only playing on my phone hehe I’m playing with a combination of Ridgeside Village and Expanded mod, and few other mods that makes the romance more fun. Though I’m still marrying Sam lol, I downloaded a mod that made him immersive.
Not only I get to enjoy it for the first time, but it would also help me build my Stardew Valley-Inspired interactive fiction I’m working on right now.
For me, the squirmy part isn’t necessarily the 4-year gap itself (because something like that is realistic and it does happen. My own parents have 12 years age gap), it’s more about the fact that one of them is underage (at least in my country). That’s where it gets uncomfortable for m personally. But echoing what everyone already said though, do what is comfortable to you. If you’re not comfortable writing it, you don’t have to write any of it.
Best wishes on your writing 
When I think about teen romance, it’s all about the awkwardness of everything first times (including spicy scenes), silly misunderstandings and figuring themselves out. There’s going to be a lot of fumbling, blushing. If I were writing a teen romance, I’d focus on those moments.
For me, teen romance and Young Adult romance feels different. But maybe it’s because I grew up shipping cartoons like Phineas/Isabella and writing about them, and when I read about them it’s just really cute scenes and misadventures in the backyard. YA often explore deeper and more complex themes while teen romance (at least the way I see it) leans into the cuteness and innocence of young love.
About my current work though, I’ve made drafts of my favorite scenes, which is a really fun part of the week. I love the way Yvette is developing. Though it is harder to write scenes for my older casts, considering I’m neither divorced nor particularly wise lol I can write their longing and exhaustion, but writingtheir full personalities is trickier. I also love Ethan’s development, and I think he’ll be perfect to be gender-selectable.
I’m also working on stats. Because right now, I have their Personal Information in the stats, but there’s no actual stats. I’m trying to figure how to make Personality Traits (for flavor and presentation) and Social Skills (fail/success check) work. I don’t know if that’s enough gameplay though. I’m contemplaying whether to put physical skills like farming, fihsing etc. but I’m not really fond of grinding, and if I were to play text-base farming game, I’d rather play Stardew Valley lol
I hope everyone is having a good week, and best wishes on the upcoming month
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Hello @AletheiaKnights
Yes logical. I thoth emojis with symbols like my screen reader sometimes can’t read it.
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Hello @Dvalor53
Yes it’s said in the first post. Of course somewhat easy to mist it.
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I’m curious: Is anyone working on any projects that aren’t interactive fiction?
I’ve been primarily working on IF for the past few years, apart from a short story I wrote for a competition held by the library at the hospital where I work.
I’ve been focusing on Quiver this year, but I’ve also got a concept in my head for a trilogy of short novellas. I’ve had this idea in my head ever since I was mentally preparing myself for my open-heart surgery. I’ve made a few attempts to start writing it, but IF often takes the majority of my free time. But I do intend to write them at some point. I’ve mostly got it in notes, which I open now and then to jot new thoughts down.
The most annoying thing is I’ve got such a clear image of the protagonist for the trilogy that she has tried to pop up when thinking of characters for Quiver. lol
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Do drawing and programming projects count? 
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