#(and by my exact I mean they're relatives on top of just looking similar)

[lyraeon]

can anyone with both an eyebrow piercing AND glasses mind telling me if it's an annoying combo like I suspect or if they just miss each other entirely? I keep being tempted to get one but that's the biggest thing stopping me from following through.

(oh and how long does it take to get used to laying on it? that's not usually the side on my pillow but it is sometimes)

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

There was an attempted terror attack today in Samaria, which was thwarted, the 16 years old terrorist tried to stab people, but he was neutralized before he managed to hurt anyone.

In Haifa, however, another terrorist was more successful. He managed to run over a 20 years old man with his car, seriously injuring him. Then the terrorist got out of the vehicle, wielding an axe, and started chasing down civilians who were at the scene, but thankfully there were was a soldier nearby, who neutralized him before any further damage was caused. A reporter mentioned the exact location inside the city where the attack happened, pointing out that it's a very crowded area, right by a hospital (it happens to be the one where my grandmother was hospitalized a few years ago, when a foreign worker ran her over and fled the scene, and I spent a week there with her, so I knew exactly what the reporter was talking about), so the odds of accidentally shooting a civilian while trying to stop the terrorist was high, yet the soldier managed to react quickly, effectively and accurately, and in this case, with no collateral damage. He's a hero. Here's a pic of the car used in this attack:

I got to hear an interview with Dr. Oren Tamari, an Israeli doctor who looked after an old Gazan woman, who was found tied to her bed. She was asked what happened, and according to her reply, two days prior, terrorists (there's no way of knowing whether they were members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad) tied her there, maybe intending for that to be a way of luring soldiers into a trap, when they'd fight with terrorists, and unknowingly kill her as well. Dr. Tamari was asked whether he had come across anything similar in Gaza, and he confirmed that it's not the first such usage of civilians by terrorists that he had encountered.

Germany, Japan, France, Romania and Austria have also announced that they're suspending their financial aid to UNRWA, and the EU said it is reviewing the matter, following the news that there's evidence some of this UN agency's employees have been involved in the Hamas massacre. In the case of one employee, he and a first degree relative were implicated in the kidnapping of an Israeli woman, while several others were killed during the Oct 7 massacre on Israeli soil, leaving no doubt of their complicity.

In reaction to the claim that the employees who participated in Hamas' massacre were "just a few bad apples," on top of the repeatedly proven wide scale complicity of UNRWA in encouraging antisemitism and terrorism, Israel is also pointing out that there is a structural connection between UNRWA and Hamas beyond the 12 employees that the UN had to concede participated in Hamas' atrocities. It was pointed out that about 10% of UNRWA's Gaza staff has ties to terrorists (23% of male staffers have ties specifically to Hamas), and 49% have close relatives who hold official positions in terrorist organizations, especially Hamas. In the past, Hamas has even directed the resignation and of a non-Palestinian director of UNRWA for his "crime" of not disputing that the IDF's strikes in Gaza in May 2021 were 'very precise' (meaning, not indiscriminate bombing). The participation in Hamas' massacre of UNRWA employees is just the inevitable end result of this symbiotic relationship between this UN agency, and Gaza's terrorist dictators.

Ironically, Arab countries which hardly donate to UNRWA felt completely free to attack the western countries that did, and decided to suspend this financial support until they know their money isn't going to terrorists. Shame really is dead.

For that matter, we can talk about the fact that in southern Lebanon, UN employees don't do anything about Hezbollah terrorist activity, even when Hezbollah fires at Israeli civilians from between two UN posts, and despite the UN's stated goal is to make sure this terrorist organization is not so much as present in this area, in accordance with UN resolution 1701. And we can also talk about the UN's complicity in crimes against civilians, like UN involvement in corruption in Russia, UN employees raping local women in Haiti (it's believed most women raped by a UN employee did not report the crime committed against them) and UN employees involved in sexual exploitation and abuse in Congo. The idea that the UN is an impartial, super-human force for good in this world is... just not true. It has been called out on its complicity in crimes before, it NEEDS to be called out for its systematic complicity in crimes against humanity, that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists committed.

In not unrelated news, it only took almost 4 months, but the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten (center in the pic below), has arrived in Israel with a team that will look into Hamas' sexual crimes on Oct 7. They're expected to work here for about a week.

It seems Nancy Pelosi is being attacked for urging the FBI to investigate whether Russia has links to protests in the US pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. What these attacks seem to ignore is that her comments appear to follow the publishing of a US state department report on Soviet antisemitism, which is responsible for cultivating anti-Zionism as an anti-westeren tool, and that antisemitism and protest funding are tools currently employed by the Kremlin.

This is 21 years old Dor Reeder.

He moved to kibbutz Be'eri in order to take care of a kid with special needs there, while his parents live in the neighboring community of kibbutz Sa'ad. His father, Tzvi, is a Red Magen David paramedic, who on Oct 7 had a feeling that the rocket attack they started experiencing that morning was abnormally intense. Tzvi notified the emergency squad of kibbutz Sa'ad that they should be alert. Thankfully, they were and together with one tank, they managed to protect their community. Kibbutz Sa'ad was attacked by terrorists, but suffered no massacre. Tzvi continued in his work, evacuating the wounded under fire. Dorit, his wife, is a nurse, and was a part of opening an emergency field hospital in kibbutz Sa'ad. Some of the injured from the Nova music festival were brought for treatment at this hospital. While Dor lived in kibbutz Be'eri, he also found love there, a 19 years old girl named Tchelet. They were hiding together during the Hamas massacre, but were eventually found. While Tzvi managed to help save his own kibbutz, Dor and Tchelet were murdered by terrorists. It took 9 days of uncertainty for the news to be confirmed. May their memory be a blessing. Tzvi asked for everyone to be strong, raise Israel's flag, and hold our head up high.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[pyrriax]

your centurion anatomy sounds really cool :0! can you describe more in detail about them?

in your screenshot it stated they have a crystalline star in their hearts, does this have something to do with the seraphim? also by "tainted by gold" does that mean centurion blood or do seraphim also have gold blood? what are the different colors of centurion blood and are they all some matter of metallic? how do centurions connect to their seraphim?

you can also talk about seraphim anatomy if you want :3 (im also very curious about why they went extinct but im guessing thats spoilers)

also who are the other centurions and seraphim aside from clown and branzy? do they have some kind of hierarchal system? how do seraphim give their souls to creations since im assuming its literal? and what is the exact purpose of soul-sharing?

no need to answer all or any of these ofc just curious :3

Hello hello yes of course! I'm happy to elaborate more on them ^_^ I'll be pulling pieces from my notes, some screenshots of writing I've done relating to it, and just going into some Details.

(Fair warning this is going to be a LOT of words and a lot of this is subject to change, this project and world is a work in progress and I've been shifting things around as I start actually writing things!)

Preface (A quick rundown of the World itself)

Divided into two parts, the main one I'll be focusing on is The Vesper, Vesper is the name of the main Seraph city, and is also used to refer to the floating islands which are the main home of the Seraphs.

The other part of the world, The Fray, is the actual planet. This is the ground, and was once a lush place, but is currently... Not so much. Once upon a time, it had a handful of different names, but now it's nothing more than ruin.

So, Seraph anatomy (What the hell even is a Seraph?)

Seraphs are an organic bipedal species which are humanoid in nature but tend toward being less human in appearance; though one of the main differences is their many (varying number) of wings, along with having anywhere from two to four eyes. Though, all of these things variy from Seraph to Seraph! In general, they're a bit bird-ish, and though the main two that I'll be talking about look relatively similar, Seraphs have a wide variety of colors and patterns, along with the fact they're known to dye feathers the same as people dye their hair!

(Note: this is an older sketch, before I'd really fleshed out the exact origin of Seraphs. The halo isn't a standard thing, but this does somewhat convey general anatomy! This is a Seraph which is basically showing off what it is, and taking a less strictly humanoid appearance, though it remains bipedal. As well, this is a four-winged example, although its ears are feathered, which can give the appearance of an additional set of wings, depending on the Seraph!)

Generally speaking, Seraphim anatomy isn't too out of the ordinary, although one thing to note is their speech is much more adapted toward chirping and trilling for vocalizations, and most of what I write for the dialogue is more... A transcript of the conversation, than the literal things being said (since I'm already in deep with a worldbuilding project and I don't need to add a conlang on top of that, lol). Well, that's all bar the star in the room, but we'll circle around to that in the next section!

Long before they were known as the Seraphim, Seraphs were a flying creature, and have retained a few key aspects of that, specifically the wings themselves, and a lighter skeleton. This does lead to the high potential of bones breaking, and general injuries, but there are things that circumvent that from being such an issue, which is tied to magic in the world itself.

also by "tainted by gold" does that mean centurion blood or do seraphim also have gold blood?

That line is referring to Seraphim blood! Seraphs have a varied blood color, but the most common one is gold/brass-like, which is usually vibrant but when dried it's much more weathered looking (taking on a greenish hue).

Seraphs are one of two sentient species in their world, and are revered as Gods both for their appearance, and for their abilities. Although, this doesn't mean that they are peaceful, and they often will partake in bloody fights, often to perceived death. Though, these are frowned upon, it isn't outright disallowed, for reasons I'll be getting into! (I swear I'm not dragging this out on purpose I just want to explain what the fuck a Centurion is before we get into magic)

Okay, so what is a Centurion, then? (Centurion Anatomy)

Centurions are primarily humanoid in appearance, but an important distinction to make is that Centurions are not organic. In place of faces, Centurions have masks, which are typically undecorated, left blank to ensure they aren't viewed as expressive or of having emotions. There are few exceptions to this. As well, they typically will have all of their body completely covered, for similar reasons. It's established already in the screenshot you mentioned that Centurions are constructs, and generally speaking, they are made for temporary usage, rather than anything long term. This comes with the nature of their primary purpose, but let's put a pin in that for now.

Despite their status as constructs, they are given pieces which function much like their organs, which primarily exist to be like a siphon for energy and the magic which fuels them. Over time, these pieces wear down, and they will cease to function properly after their designated time is up. This time can be extended, if these pieces are replaced or maintained, but this is something that they cannot do themselves. It was a limitation put into place by their creators to keep them from self-perpetuating and as well to keep them from outliving their usefulness.

These organs appear like they've been made of wood, metal, and wool. This isn't exactly the case, as much of what makes them up is organic material, specifically that of grown stars. (There's worldbuilding and flora explanation I'm not going to drag this out with, but if you're curious I can talk about it more ^_^)

Centurions are nothing more than machines. Or, at least, that's how they were supposed to be, but this isn't how it always remains.

what are the different colors of centurion blood and are they all some matter of metallic?

Centurions have blood much more like humans, though not always. Being variably red or gold, depending on their function. While they are constructs and don't have so much of a need for a circulatory system, this is a bit more... Cosmetic. Centurions with gold blood are more often than not the ones that are made for jobs within Seraphim cities, though this doesn't mean that they always remain there. Although, in rare cases, Centurions may be made without any blood, and instead their organs will be made to replace the few functions it does have.

But, focusing on if all of their blood is metallic, it isn't always the case. Centurions are much more varied, and even from one to another major pieces of anatomy can be wildly different. So, it isn't a far stretch to say there's quite possibly a handful of Centurions with non-metallic blood out there.

Centurion Origins & Purpose (With a little sprinkling of magic!)

So, if you hadn't already guessed it, Centurions were created by the Seraphim! At the beginning, Centurions were made to fill in odd jobs, taking care of things which were necessary and being generally a stand in for workers as the Seraphs progressed. They were modeled after the other sentient species, which are functionally humans but not quite. This was something which caused a fair bit of outrage from them, but the Seraphs didn't exactly care.

Eventually, though, the Centurions took on a much different, and much more... Important role. They took the place of Seraphs in slaughter, in petty squabbles or fights which would've otherwise been an inconvenience. This turned into Centurions no longer being made for small jobs, and instead they were being made as machines of war. They were mindless and soulless soldiers, following orders without a doubt or question.

Although, some Centurions are different from the others: they have a soul, one of the stars. These are the main leaders, and they are the ones which remain for the longest. (This is what Clown is, which is the reason he is the way he is!)

Centurions made for fighting are the only remaining residents of the Fray, and have been the reason for its destruction, after the fall of the Seraphs.

Stars, Magic, all those little things (An some creature details)

Magic in Seraphim is an innate thing, something that everything in the world possesses, but uses in different ways. Some creatures use it for shapeshifting to quickly adapt, others will use it to hunt, meanwhile a handful of species will consume it rather than hunting or scavenging. Although, creatures which consume magic are known to be short lived, and reproduce a lot like how puffball mushrooms do. It's a little horrifying when all of the sudden there are sharp spores flying everywhere, but it's the reason most avoid the main pools of the magic. Seraphs are a species which primarily consume magic, but, unlike the much more nudibranch-esque creatures which are prone to exploding due to the magic they consume, Seraphs have harnessed it for their own purposes.

The Vesper are floating islands which are suspended above vast lakes (which are almost oceanic) and have been held there by the Seraphim. As a means of storing the excess energy they've taken in, they developed a way to use it to continue to suspend the Vesper. These stores could last for several thousand years, assuming they're properly maintained.

But, onto the burning question of the night: what are those stars?

in your screenshot it stated they have a crystalline star in their hearts, does this have something to do with the seraphim?

The star is a key part of the Seraph's anatomy, and is the place where magic tends to remain within their bodies. This is a piece of their heart, the place where their soul resides, and is also their tie to this Godhood they have. Much of the reason they're revered as gods it due to the fact that if the star remains in place, and remains unbroken, it can make them... Somewhat immortal. It greatly heightens their ability to heal, a little like a regeneration potion, if you think about it.

Seraphs are notoriously hard to kill for this reason, given the fact that if given enough time, they're known to be able to sort of regenerate limbs. Not perfectly, and not without several years of time and a high risk of infection, but it's possible. And that's because of the stars. They're almost entities in and of themselves, keeping the Seraphs alive to not die themselves. Although, these stars can survive in other bodies, most notably being placed into Centurions.

So how do you kill the supposedly unkillable, then? What could cause such a mass-dying if they can regenerate?

The easiest and most straightforward way to kill a Seraph is to rip out their star. Although, that involves incapacitating them to some degree (usually via fatally wounding them, as that's generally the most accepted method. This is why it's so greatly frowned upon, as that leaves the Seraph who's been wounded to most likely be killed.) It's recognizable for its shape, which is the origin of its name (for a more visual reference, they're a little like konpeitō, but with a spikier appearance), and though they have varying tones, they're more often than not a pearlescent white. At least, that's when they've been cleaned of blood.

Without their star, the Seraph will die. Even if they we're fatally wounded prior, they will only survive a handful of months at most.

So, this mass dying. While I won't go into all of the details, since that definitely spoils some things, but magic is a finite resource, but even more, Seraphim stars became... Valuable as a weapon. Without the proper maintenance and constant in and out flow of magic, they'll accumulate energy, storing more and more until finally they just explode. Much like the nudibranchs, an excess of this magical energy leads to explosive properties.

This also means that Seraph corpses are dangerous if the stars haven't been removed, which is why in the carnage, there aren't many bodies left to lie and rot. The few Centurions remaining in places like the Vesper cleaned the place of these bodies, and some even took the stars for themselves.

So what do the stars have to do with souls?

In an earlier draft of a concept, I detailed a Seraph getting decapitated and surviving due to its star. The stars are a place where the Seraph's memory, personage, and in the most fantastical sense, their soul, is stored. This Seraph lives, and while it never quite has the same senses as it did before, it is still fundamentally the same person, as its star wasn't harmed in the process.

So; for a Seraph to give a Centurion its soul, that is an act like giving up itself to that Centurion. The Seraph will not exist in the same sense, and as shown with Clown and Branzy, even that will diminish over time.

Although, there is one thing I've avoided mentioning: the humans. Our outliers, as one of the least magically inclined species, they've tried to get ahold of this magic, as well as attempting to use the Seraph's stars for their own. This lead to a few people who've remained, but aren't quite human anymore.

how do seraphim give their souls to creations since im assuming its literal? and what is the exact purpose of soul-sharing?

Seraphim can take out their own star, an act which is painful but to be done for another is a little bit of a profession of love. To give their star to a Centurion, under regular circumstances, it is a way of prolonging the life of their soul. The star is "consumed", a thing which is looked down upon by Centurions, as it's viewed as becoming one with those who've condemned them to their hellish lives.

There are two things that can come of a Seraph's soul being placed into a Centurion, and they go as follows, with few exceptions:

The Centurion is Soulless / a Husk: The soul will continue to live on, but they will start again. It removes all but a few traces of the Seraph's memories, and they will learn to live as they now are. [Example: Ro, who we'll learn more about in the next section]

The Centurion has a Soul / Star (Even if it is one that was grown / artificial): The pre-existing soul will be slowly consumed by the Seraph's, a process which results in one or both of the stars shattering. This can only happen is the Centurion has agreed to it, and it is a thing which became more common as more Seraphs died. [Example: Clown, whose visions of shattering stars are that of his own, and not Branzy's]

Last but not least, an incomplete list of character I've given story to for this AU

Starting with our Seraphim:

Branzy is the most notable as he's the only Seraph who remains a Seraph for his entire existence, even after giving his soul to Clown. Although he's used his magic for shapeshifting purposes, appearing much more akin to the Centurions, as he's been enthralled by them since he was young. Roshambo, although I'll be elaborating more on him in the Centurion section for a few reasons. He was one of the first Seraphs to give his soul to a Centurion, and it had some... Interesting effects.

Onto the Centurions:

Clown is the obvious one, being one of the most perfect example of what makes a Centurion, and being one of the "leaders", his star (his soul) is artificial, one of the ones which was grown, and thus, he's a bit different from Seraph-souled (or, star-eating) Centurions. [Appears a lot like his typical canon appearance, as he was one of the few Centurions who were directly associated with a Seraph, and despite the fact of his origin, he doesn't have the blank mask which is typical of these Centurions. His mask is also carved into a shape which is much more like a horned owl, a little heart-ish; this doesn't affect him.] Zam, a lovely odd case who shows up long after the fall of the Seraphs, but before the Vesper as a whole collapses, who becomes one of the residents of the Vesper's grand library [At least at his introduction, Zam is much like the typical soldier Centurion, dressed in a way which is very impersonal. This changes as he spends time in the library, and by the time of the fall, he's adopted a palette of darker amber hues and white, along with the occasional gold or brass accent. While his mask remained generic for a long time, he eventually allowed Ro to help with adorning it, ending up with a smile and some filigree which matches Ro's own mask.] Roshambo is the last on this list as of currently; although he's fully convinced he isn't a Centurion at all, having been around the other residents of the library since his creation and not knowing himself to be any different from them [Previously being one of the few Centurions who was designated to a space where he would be viewed, Ro is dressed in a way which is almost painfully fancy for him. Unlike the typical blank white, the base color of Ro's mask is an iridescent black, adorned with lavender stripes and laurel patterns. His appearance is a little less decided, compared to the others.]

And last but not least, our... Humans?:

Mapicc is the closest to a normal human of those given one of the Seraph-souls in order to grant him the almost-immortality, this has lead to him having several inhuman traits, including the appearance of seasonally shed feathers, which he's more annoyed by than anything. Spoke is about the furthest from human someone can get while still being so, and this is because of the fact of the star he was given. He was given one of the artificial stars, as a part of a test. He's only become more... Bizarre as time goes on, body twisting and morphing as the magic doesn't know where to go, and he can't fully contain or control it.

The roster is pretty small, since I've been focusing on two different eras, and these two sets don't interact much. Clown and Branzy exist long before the extinction of Seraphs, but Branzy's giving up of his heart does mark the true beginning of the end. Roshambo, Mapicc, and Spoke (later as well including Zam) are the last living beings on the Vesper after the fall of the Seraphs, and are there until the day the sun doesn't set, and the Vesper itself falls from the sky.

... So that's the world of Seraphim, from relative start to end, with much of the fluff, character centric pieces and a bit of the more out-there magical elements cut out to save my damn hands because this is almost 3k words 👍 There are things I'm not sure will remain canon, more proper worldbuilding and flora / fauna exploration I need to work on, and some things I most definitely missed, but hopefully this answers some questions and raises others! there is a lot more to explore post-fall but i have to leave a couple of mysteries, as a treat.

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 224 Trivia

Happy birthday Senku! He's finally in space! 🎉🚀

We can see the approximate distance to Treasure Island from the mainland in this shot, the only other indication of where the island is is in the (non-canon) Reboot side story. My guess is the exact island used is Aogashima.

Another summary of the journey, this time including prehistory. We have depictions from the most recent ice age (though could be later, mammoths and sinomegaceros were around for a while afterwards, even in Japan), early civilization similar to Ishigami Village, and ancient Rome.

For the parts present in the manga itself, I've added the chapter numbers to each of the panels.

The books Senku has here are "General Chemistry" and "たのしい 科学" ("Fun Science"). The latter may be a reference to a children's science education book series named "たのしい! 科学のふしぎ なぜ?どうして?" ("Fun! The Mysteries of Science: Why? How?").

We get a glimpse of the docking system here. Possibly based off the SSVP, as it was used with almost all the Soyuz craft and Russian space stations to connect modules.

This docking area then opens up, becoming the transfer tunnel so astronauts can enter/exit.

I suppose the astronauts were completely naked in their space suits so that when the revival fluid is released, their skin will definitely get touched?

I can't think of any other reason for it, but it does make the previous chapter funnier.

Senku's petrification scars are now fully healed!

(Stanley's are too, poor Xeno is the only one with them now.)

The mystery of how Stanley is meant to use these "cigarettes" remains.

These belts are the middle part of the external space suit, so it's probably how the top and bottom parts are locked in. After they change, they tighten the fabric inside so that it stays attached to them.

I'm not entirely sure why they need it, since current space suits usually just attach the top to the bottom directly.

They're using both CRT and LCD screens. My guess is the LCDs are more convenient (it's easier to display things from computer->LCD than it is to a CRT, also text is more legible due to the pixels), but they still have several CRTs from earlier so they may as well use them too.

Stanley asks about their oxygen supply, meaning they may be limited until the rocket is assembled. Normally, there's recycling systems onboard to collect waste products and convert it into clean air or water, but Stanley and Xeno's discussion makes me think they don't have one.

Obviously, the astronauts have new outfits, but they don't seem to follow any previous astronaut outfits depicted in the series.

Senku's popped collar is still present, but now he lacks his signature equation.

Stanley's outfit changed the least, it remains form-fitting and solid black, with white gloves.

Oddly, Kohaku is still wearing a dress in space, but it's a lot neater and more modern than her previous roughly-hemmed one. She's also got both long socks and boots without a heel.

The spray dryer does a similar preservation process to what they did when freeze-drying ramen, however this process is better for foods (and pharmaceuticals) that are sensitive to temperature.

Here, they dry a liquid (like ramen broth) using a hot gas, turning it into a powder.

In true Francois fashion, the ramen packets made by them contain more meat and garnishes than the ones Byakuya ate. They're also visibly more delicious-looking.

Without regular boosts, the ISS would fall to Earth in around 6 months, however this number can vary a lot depending on atmospheric conditions and the relative angle/position of the ISS to the direction of travel.

Basically, unless someone/something continued to control it almost immediately, the ISS is definitely gone.

(Rei didn't, the Reboot isn't canon.)

[thesealfriend]

Ok so I 3D-modelled my gender.

It's a slow day at work and I was musing in the tags of my last post:

And it finally gave me a good way to visualise this so I figured I'd put it here. It might seem super obvious to my fellow enbies but it could be a handy teaching tool, so here goes (under a cut because it got long. Like, super long):

The incorrect, western, binarist view of gender puts man and woman in boxes, and says you have to be one or the other. Trans inclusivity on this model says you can climb out of your assigned box so long as you climb directly into the next one. Support for gender-nonconformity says the boxes are kinda wide, even touching, and you can be really close to the other box but at the end of the day you're either in the blue box or the pink one.

Here's my gender according to that theory:

[ID: a screenshot of a grid, on top of which are two boxes; blue on the left and pink on the right. A while ball is positioned above the blue box, slightly past its center/further from the pink.]

Now, if we take those boxes away, you can see they were covering up the slightly more progressive "gender spectrum" idea, where gender is on a line, with male and female on either end, but you can be anywhere on that line, either end, right in the middle or any one of an infinite number of points between.

[ID: a gif shows the pink and blue boxes being highlighted and deleted, to show a much smaller box at either end of a black line. The ball is in the same position, now above the line a small distance from the blue box.]

This is much better, but still not ideal. There's a lot of wiggle-room to be outside the traditional boxes, but it still frames gender as exclusively relative to man and woman. Looks like we need to get a new perspective.

(heh.)

[ID: another gif shows the viewport being switched from an orthographic to a perspective view. The view is then rotated to show that the black line was in fact a square plane. The pink and blue boxes are at the front of the plane, and the white ball is towards the rear]

Turns out, there's a whole other dimension to gender. It's deliberately not labelled; this isn't necessarily how strongly one feels gender (though that is also a valuable measurement to many folks), just an example of how someone can be in some aspects, similar to a binary gender, but there are other factors that mean they're actually nowhere near the same.

And really, the plane was only really there to clearly show the ball's relationship to the space between the boxes. We don't need it. Its size is arbitrary. I could use it to make another point about the Y axis, that the ball could be closer to or further away from the plane, but I can make that same point without it. And let's turn the grid off for good measure:

[ID: Screenshot shows the scene without the plane, and with the grid turned off, so the boxes and ball are just floating against a grey background.]

The ball does still have a relative position to both the boxes - I'm still able to describe my gender in terms of male and female, if I want to, but really it's meaningless.

This also lets me segue quite nicely into gender presentation:

[ID: Four screenshots, taken at different view angles, show the ball differently in relation to the boxes. First, appearing directly between the two, second directly in front of the blue box, third close to but slightly above the pink box and forth far away from either box.]

I didn't move the ball at all in these screenshots. It's still in the exact same position, as are the boxes - I just rotated the camera around. Gender can remain static, but appear differently depending on how someone presents themselves or how someone else tries to see them. I chose these camera positions specifically - all of these are ways I tend to present, and they give people a very different idea of my gender, but my ball hasn't moved.

I don't have a succinct way to end this overblown ramble, but uh, tl;dr: gender is an approximation of a sphere floating in an endless void.