#their versions of NB does not include me and many others I have met

[sometimesanartdragon]

A little argument by me

I am finally jumping into discourse (read the whole thing before you get mad please and thank you)

Okay so I want to walk through something about Undertale and to start let me make myself clear: I AM A NON BINARIY INDIVIDUAL  and I am a very big supporter of the trans community at large. There is no trans phobia in my logic and I am constantly working to keep up with a community that seems to keep one to five steps ahead of me.

Now that the disclaimer has been made lets move on

Frisk and Chara can be whatever gender the person playing them wants them to be. End of story. The only point it is wrong is when someone else is imposing their views on you or an AU where they have established sexes 

This is my argument:

First many people believe Frisk and Chara are trans/non binary individuals. Well I am here to remind you, that trans and non binary people can use gendered pronouns, not to mention gender fluid people are both non binary and trans and use gendered pronouns. Also just because someone calls Frisk and Chara a specific pronoun does not make them any less trans just not the trans you want them to be. 

Second the evidence is very weak to Frisk and Chara being non binary to begin with. I can only remember in one scene where they refer to Frisk as “they” and it was said by monsters who could not even tell that Frisk was human to begin with let alone know what human sexual dimorphism manifests as or what modern human gender identity is. 

Not to mention that using they them does not automatically prove someone to be non binary. It just means the other person does not know.  

Third Frisk displays all the signs of a “player insert character” little to no personality, simple design, no real speaking roles (aka no voice/voice actor), customizable name (while it turns out to be Chara later you do not know this at the time and therefor play as if this were true making this a valid statement), little to nothing revealed about characters background/history/culture and so on. This means you as the player fill in the blanks. Some fill it in with themselves. Some fill it in with other things. No version is any less valid. 

Fourth Tobi Fox has not once supported any theory over the others pertaining to Frisk and Chara’s sex/gender. Therefore there is no official “cannon” In Deltarune your customization of Kris gets thrown out. Again this does not mean “non binary wins” It means you cannot impose your views on the character. meaning no one is technically right. This one scene has been used like crazy for confirmation bias as to the player character’s non binary status but again non binary people were also told that they do not get to choose in this scene. There is no real evidence to imply otherwise.

Finally Tobi Fox has made an amazingly inclusive game. there is representation all over for many people who often do not get representation. Tobi Fox clearly made it a goal to welcome everyone possible to enjoy the game and make something that did not alienate players as other games often do. Why would someone who clearly worked so hard to make sure so many people were included stop before they get to the player character? 

People already know that having one type of player character alienates large groups of people. That is why the gaming industry is currently adding more POC and women into their games.(we still have a long way to go) By making Frisk be anything other than everything you are making sure that, those who do feel uncomfortable playing such defined characters, have less chance to get the immersion that others do. imposing one type of non binary still alienates another type. same with trans by imposing that they can only use this set of pronouns you can be triggering dysphoria for other trans individuals. 

One thing that has been consistent for this Non binary talk is that those who argue the hardest for Frisk being Non binary is that they seem to be so emotionally invested in Frisk being their type of non binary (and not all non binary people as a whole) \ that seeing them as anything else but their idea of NB is distressing. I have seen anon hate, general announcements of “my way or the highway”, blocking of any blog that even thinks of liking/ rebloging any gendered Frisk that they do not approve of (even if they support NB Frisk), anon threats, even going as far as identifying them as Non binary afab or amab being wrong and bad.  

If this is the case I am sorry it is distressing for you. I support your need to have representation but it should not do harm to others/exclude others in the process.

Frisk is literally the most flexible and representative character in gaming today. I have never seen a character with more identities race/sex/gender/age etc, (even when Frisk is gendered it is usually hardly even the focus of the plot it just is a simple fact that no one pays a whole fuck ton of to attention to.) 

Often it feels like Undertale is too inclusive as people jump on the main character and fight over what is true and what is not. It seems we were not ready for something so openly welcoming in media. 

TLDR: Undertale is an inclusive game and inclusion is not the same thing as representation. Inclusion means everyone gets a share even if you don’t think they should. Frisk needs to be able to be any sex/gender/age/race/ability to properly include all players, and with little solid evidence that Frisk is any ONE thing then Frisk is likely everything.    

This has been my TED talk thank you

[the1918]

Some of you are familiar with my Sugar Daddy Bucky x Stevie AU, and if you are, I have some exciting news!

Sugar Baby Stevie is genderfluid!

(In an honest coincidence I happened across this information just before International Non-Binary People’s Day-- which is today!)

I have never written a nonbinary character before, so I was very excited when Stevie finally told me this! I’d like to share with everyone how I arrived at this conclusion as an author, and also tell you a little bit more about Steve. 

First, some background. When I originally wrote “All the Sugar in the World”, I set out to write a totally gratuitous porn-without-plot (PWP) story in which:

Sugar Daddy Bucky and his husband Steve shared a feminization kink. The point of this mutual kink was that they both got off on Steve, a self-identifying man (who I then assumed to be cisgendered), playing the heavily feminine character of “Daddy’s Pretty Wife”. 

This was a “sometimes but not all the time” bedroom dynamic for them and it was (and still is) purely sexual. “Daddy’s Pretty Wife” is a role play character for Steve, not an identity. This is the reason why in the story, Bucky uses she/her pronouns out loud when talking to Steve in-character, but refers to Steve by he/him pronouns in Bucky’s head.

As the author, I wrote both Steve and Bucky as cisgendered men, and I specified that Bucky is attracted exclusively to other men (Steve’s sexuality was not addressed).

In the other stories and head canons I have written in this AU I have always written Steve as being moderately to very effeminate both in and outside of the bedroom. This was and remains independent of the Daddy’s Pretty Wife role play character. It was made clear that he enjoys looking/feeling pretty while still identifying as a man.

So that’s how the character started for me. But lately, as I have been preparing to write a “how they met” and “first times” set of stories, I’ve thought more and more about Steve’s characterization outside of sexual role play and I’ve realized Steve’s truth: Stevie would not feel comfortable in a strict gender expression box!

Once I realized this, I immediately got writer’s block. It was like Steve would not let me write his character without recognizing that part of their identity and fleshing it out in my head. So... that’s why we’re here! I want you all to get to know Sugar Baby Stevie better. I’d also like to keep this on my blog as a standing author’s note that I can refer readers back to, because I do not plan on making this one, lone aspect of the character central to any given story; the most important and most immutable aspect of Steve’s character remains-- as always-- that Stevie likes to bounce on Daddy’s cock.

Sugar Baby Stevie:

Stevie is a genderfluid AMAB (assigned male at birth) person who prefers he/him pronouns almost all of the time, but is also fine with they/them.

But about 5% of the time, Stevie wakes up in the morning and says, “You know what? Today I am a woman.” On these days Steve prefers she/her pronouns but is still fine with they/them. Steve refers to these days as her “girly days” (or weeks).

Steve goes by “Steve” or “Stevie” no matter what kind of gender expression day they’re having. Stevie is a nickname, not a feminized version of Steve.

Steve is Bucky’s “husband” most days, but his “wife” on girly days. Steve is Bucky’s partner every day.

Bucky checks in with Steve every morning when they wake up with their own little language. He might say, “who’s my pretty sweetheart today?” and Steve might respond, “I’m your baby boy” or “Daddy’s best girl” or “who knows?”... or Steve might groan and roll over and say “ask me later Daddy, I’m sleepy”. 

Steve does not experience body dysphoria on her girly days. However, she does sometimes experience gender euphoria when Daddy Bucky or others gender her correctly! Daddy loves to make his baby girl smile bright like that.

Steve loves to feel pretty no matter what kind of gender expression day it is. He loves soft colors like pinks and pastels, and he loves glitter, and all of that is still true when she’s having girly days. Oh, and lace. Steve loves lace.

One of the many reasons Steve loves Bucky is that-- unlike some people Steve has encountered in the past-- Bucky does not fetishize Steve’s genderfluidity. The feminization kink they share (the “Daddy’s Pretty Wife” persona) is completely independent of Steve’s actual gender expression. They can even enjoy that role play on girly days if they want to and it still has the same impact, no differently than a cisgendered woman roleplaying a sexy French maid in bed. It’s a character.

Daddy refers to Steve’s ass as a “pussy” or a “cunt” regardless of Steve’s current gender expression, because Steve likes how dirty it sounds and because it’s a taboo-sounding kind of talk that gets them both going.

I have a lot of other head canons on this topic (Stevie is soooo talkative now that they’ve opened up to me about their gender!), but I’ll stop there for now.

Now that we know more about Steve’s own gender dynamic, I want to address (as a standing A/N) how my “author epiphany moment” has impacted my previous works in this series and how I have changed them (including re-writes and added author’s notes):

The AU/Series name has been changed from “Sugar Daddy Bucky and Twunk Stevie” to just “Sugar Daddy Bucky and Stevie”, because “twunks” are boys and sometimes Steve is not a boy!

“All The Sugar In The World” remains largely unchanged, because the premise is still completely valid in the context of Steve’s genderfluidity. The story takes place on a day when Steve identifies as a man (which he does most days) and Bucky is aware of that, which was also the situation when I posted the story originally. 

The main thing that has been changed about ATSITW is Bucky’s sexuality. In the original story it was implied that that Bucky is attracted exclusively to men (”gay as a daffodil”, my ode to Freddie Mercury). Looking back, I realized that what I was really feeling was that Bucky is attracted primarily to masculine bodies like Steve’s. Given the fact that Bucky is attracted to Steve independent of his chosen gender expression, I think he would more closely identify as bisexual with a preference for men. TL;DR: Bucky can’t get hung up on pronouns when his mouth is too full of Steve’s pussy to pronounce them.

The remaining fics and ficlets in that series all took place on “he/him” days, so again, no changes required.

I am SO excited to write more of these two in the future. They are all different kinds of kinky and they are so very, very in love <3

Thank you so much to @andysmountains​​ for being my counselor through this exploration and providing sensitivity reading, hype, and incredible head canons. Also, shout-out to @cantabile-l​ for being a magical trove of head canon detail.

Last--- I myself do not currently identify as non-binary, so I welcome input from my NB readers who have thoughts/comments/concerns/head canons about Steve!

[heavenlybodyys]

no one asked but here’s some stuff about a few of my characters/their universe. long post so buckle up. i love talking about my characters!

their world is similar but not identical to our own- the main differences being the species, magick, and creation of the universe. also this universe’s version of Action Park was shut down and abandoned after several casualties. magic is also widely accepted as a real thing. species include normal humans, normal animals, and some sort of human-esque animals (like furries except not quite) , don’t ask me about the logistics of any of this, i just like drawing animal heads in human bodies. most characters acknowledge the presence of the gods that created their universe.

Otherworldly friend group is an exclusive club of spirits, cryptids, etc that meet up and hang out. hard to get into unless you’re immortal and/or some sort of magic creature

Anthony (left) - nb, he/him, 22(ish)

-demon/undead ?

-22 in his current life, but he comes from a cycle of reincarnation (very little memory of his past lives). usually live around 200 years unless killed

-part of the Otherworldly friend group

-T pose

-works at JCPenny part time and absolutely hates it, customers and staff are awful and he’s a communist

-performs (fake) exorcisms as a side job for extra cash

-lives in the ruins of Action Park

-can shapeshift but usually stays his normal form (eyes will remain the same in other forms)

-big lovey dovey gay! twink! absolutely enamored on main! (dating Finn)

-eyes change shape but never any iris or pupil (just One Black Shape). default is 2 big Xs

-very social and friendly

——

Finn (right)- male, he/him, 23

-antlers...

-just a normal guy

-like, average life span and origin story

-only normal being to ever be accepted into the otherworldly friend group because he’s so cryptic

-autistic?

-introvert

-arsonist and deep web hitman. has taken lives. faces no consequences because he only performs ethical killings (ie; ppl who have done something to deserve it)

-pretty quiet

-when he does speak, it’s very cryptic, and everyone thinks it’s absolutely hilarious. he’s a real hit at parties, but he doesn’t really like them

-kind of mean but not intentionally, he’s just very closed off

-says what’s on his mind and doesn’t take bullshit

-tough guy thing is a facade, he is passionate about music and his boyfriend (anthony)

-plays the cello and is really really good at it

-likes to impress anthony and would kill for him (he will)

-does some questionable shit but it always works out in the end

——

anthony and finn

-met when finn was hired to burn down the ruins of action park

-finn was lovestruck and immediately gave up trying to torch the place and instead started flirting with anthony

-finn is really bad at flirting and anthony loves it (“once i dismembered a guy” “oh tell me more”)

-first date was Anthony giving Finn a tour of the ruins

-several dates later they have their first kiss on top of the loop of the neck breaker water slide

-after several months they move in together at the abandoned theme park

-anthony partially resurrects a dead dog (arnold) and the two adopt it and care for it

Pepsi- nb, they/them, ageless

-given name was literally impossible to pronounce, so they chose Pepsi instead (first word they saw upon arriving to earth)

-drinks pepsi all the time even though they don’t need to consume anything and have a hard time eating/drinking since they don’t have a mouth

-angel

-came to earth on a mission but immediately forgot it. decided to just hang out instead

-LOVES millennial/gen z culture

-living meme

-easily interested in simple things

-loves their friends

-hangs out in the void between reality and unreality, that’s where the otherworldly get-togethers are held

----

more to come b/c i have So many characters and they’re all connected but these are the most developed so far.

[edhayne]

Finding Our Religion — The gospel according to Hereford

[NB. This was written for Ogilvy & Mather’s ‘Get Out There’ initiative and was originally published in April, 2017]

The Church.

“The first great global brand.”

Wise words as ever from Sir John Hegarty. But is this another famous old institution that has lost its way in the UK? A global heavyweight lacking relevance in a country it used to dominate?

At a glance, you would say no.

Despite being an increasingly multicultural nation, 56% of the UK population state that they are “Christian” when asked their religion in the national census. A healthy number that no doubt keeps the global bosses happy.

However, this only tells half the story. Latest figures show that 1.4% of the UK population go to Church regularly. Are these statistics surprising? Perhaps not. But they certainly raise questions that the data alone cannot answer.

We therefore decided To Get Out There and explore what it now means to be considered a “Christian” country. Canterbury and York made the shortlist of prospective locations, but we settled upon Hereford, a cathedral city that attracts more weekly worshippers than anywhere else in the UK.

From casual chats on the streets to attending a Sunday Church service in a converted cinema, we met some fascinating people and learnt valuable lessons along the way.

The silent majority:

First up, we wanted to understand why people ticked the “Christian” box in the national census. For regular worshippers, the answer was obvious, but things got more interesting when we asked those that rarely set foot in a Church.

“I’m not sure what I believe, but I celebrate Christmas.”

“I was baptised when I was younger. I’m a Christian whether I like it or not.”

“It means I’m not a Muslim.”

Should the Church care about these varied reasons, or have they done their job by convincing over half of the UK population to tick the box? To use a football analogy, the Christian faith seem to attract a lot of fair-weather supporters — ‘fans’ that rarely come through the turnstiles, don’t watch the action on TV, but have a team when pushed for their allegiance. This might suggest that they have little in common. In fact, many of the people we spoke with shared traditional Christian values.

“I want my children to be generous, humble and respectful of others.”

“Telling the truth matters. I wish politicians would remember that.”

In a divided country with increasingly binary narratives, this was particularly refreshing to hear.

However, a more candid member of the clergy, outright questioned what these ‘passive observers’ actually bring to the Church. Perhaps naively, he pointed out that they’re not a source of revenue and their primary reasons for identifying as a ‘Christian’ were hardly positive.

The elusive youth market:

The same Vicar was equally outspoken about where the Church has been going wrong. Like so many 21st century brands, an inability to attract the next generation was cited as the biggest issue. This was a view shared by Church goers, box tickers and outright rejecters.

“Why should I be told what to do?”

“I’m not sure what the role of the Christianity is in modern life.”

These attitudes partly explain why Hereford has several Churches where the average age of the congregation is well over 70. However, unlike other parts of the UK, the city has had some success going after the youth market.

Our visit to The Freedom Church gave us amazing insight into the type work that has been undertaken.

Everything from the building, a converted cinema to the VIP welcome we received, made for a surreal Sunday morning. The service felt like a well-rehearsed Ted Talk, had the raucousness of a rowdy gig and the energy of a highly charged political rally. The congregation was vocal and passionate.

“You’re SO right Pastor.”

“Ay-men to that.”

The whole operation was more attune to a Silicon Valley start-up than a 2000-year-old global institution. Pastor Gary aka ‘Pastor G’ took on the role of Steve Jobs, but we also heard from a variety of other well-groomed individuals.

Consistently the focus was on what you can do as a Christian, rather than what you can’t. Extracts from the Bible were simply used as points of reference and the service was live streamed on the internet. The Crucifix ‘logo’ was nowhere to be seen and an array of artisan coffees fuelled the merriment. Their narrative was simple:

“Our vision is to connect anyone, anywhere to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.”

“We’re inclusive of all types of Christianity.”

“We practise a religion that’s for everyday life.”

It was impressively slick and had evidently struck a chord with a more youthful congregation. A chat with a member a few hours after the service summed up the pervading attitude of regular attendees.

“The Freedom Church is like a caring father. It guides me through everyday life without talking down to me.”

With all this positivity, we were keen to explore how this Church was perceived from ‘the outside’.

Tellingly, many hadn’t even heard of it. Those that had were dismissive and even viewed it with some contempt:

“A collection of happy clappy weirdoes.”

“Americanised nonsense.”

“They’re still ramming the religious message down your throat.”

With time a precious commodity, especially over a weekend, people cited the lack of a more mainstream middle ground as the biggest problem facing the Church.

“Why can’t the Church just be normal?”

“They always end up saying something that makes me feel awkward.”

“I’d rather watch Match of the Day with my kids on a Sunday morning.”

“To appeal to everyone we need something more in the middle (something between Freedom Church and more traditional services such as Church of England).”

Familiar franchisee problems:

Given the willingness of Hereford locals to openly discuss religion and their many shared values, perhaps it’s surprising that a more mainstream offering hasn’t surfaced. The city is awash with varied Christian places of worship and there’s a noticeable lack of other religious buildings.

One local was particularly proud to have “kept other religions out,” citing Judaism and Muslims as “the enemy.” An isolated opinion of course, but still alarming to hear.

On a more positive note, communication between some Hereford Churches has grown much stronger in recent years. Members of a Protestant congregation spoke of different Church communities sharing ideas and empowering each other to adapt.

“There’s far more that unites us than divides us”.

However, infighting, even between the same Christian sect, has proved to be a big barrier to reaching out beyond regular attendees. One Catholic worshipper even outright accused The Freedom Church of:

“Bastardising the Christian faith”.

Whilst people understood that constant meddling wasn’t the answer, the complete lack of a consistent message between Churches was cited as a major obstacle to more mainstream appeal. Furthermore, the calibre and training of some of the clergy was also called into a question.

Populating popular culture:

Throughout our visit it became clear that Herefordshire residents weren’t afraid to express an opinion. People’s views varied, but the conversation often centred upon upping the Church’s cultural relevance.

“Yoga and mindfulness are more popular than ever before. Going to Church isn’t that dissimilar. They’re missing a trick.”

“Why does the Royal Family dress so formally when they go to Church? They’re setting the wrong example.”

Above all else, people agreed that all Christian faiths needed to be far more open-minded and willing to re-think their messaging to tie in more closely to modern life.

Navigating the ecclesiastical boardroom:

We left Hereford with more questions than we answered. One weekend in the city was never going to be enough, but even a fleeting visit gave us valuable insight.

In particular, the trip revealed that there’s plenty that can be done to get more people actively involved in the Church.

So, what were the three biggest lessons?

1) You’re only as good as the experience you deliver on the front line — everyone rightly marvels at John Lewis’s creative work, but the experience at the point of sale is equally on point. Most of the people we spoke with in Hereford, including members of the clergy, felt that whilst freedom of expression was a good thing, a clear mission statement and some inspirational guidelines were equally important.

2) If you’re a global brand, fight powerfully for a UK relevant version of the brand narrative — letting the global bosses rule the roost is a huge barrier to attracting new customers.

3) Be clear about how any sub-brand launch complements the Master Brand — the Church has a brand architecture that’s become so complex, newcomers and those looking to re-engage don’t know where to start.

Evidently, the task for the Christian faith in the UK is huge and daunting, but many of the raw materials are in place. In a divided country, we found plenty of evidence to suggest that fundamental Christian values still matter to many people. Furthermore, how many other brands would love to have stunning buildings, big calendar events and array of charismatic employees in their armoury? Having 56% of the UK population on your books is handy too.

Challenge one is to make sense of these varied assets for a modern-day mass audience. Easier said than done. Challenge two is convincing those at the top to make some fundamental changes. That’s the really tricky part.

In fact, maybe it’s a brief for Sir John himself?

Listening to the people of a Hereford wouldn’t be a bad place to start.