Must Love Frogs
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🕑 Added 2022-08-28 15:36:33 +0000 UTCRudy is a Stenella, but he still counts!
Ike is a character who has gone through rather major changes since I first introduced him; sometimes I don't even notice when a character is evolving, so thanks go out to Lopoddity for pointing this one out. My original idea for Ike involved him trying to live as a woman for much of his life, only embracing his masculinity relatively recently. I have since decided that Ike comes out as a man much earlier, in his late teens. The reason for this is that I thought the major narrative relationship for Ike was going to be with his ex-husband Dolph. I was wrong. The most important relationship for Ike is with Gnewt. The interaction between this significantly "othered" man and his confused but 100% devoted father is the story I want to write. The intensely loyal father-son bond will show up again between Ike and his own son, Rudy.
Gnewt himself is evolving as well. At first he was just sort of an add-on to Ike and Rudy. Now he's his own man with a fully realized backstory that exists apart from his son and grandson. He also has personal potential for his own arc. He's less frail than I was expecting too; war wound notwithstanding, this gnu is no pushover! He has plenty of life left to live!
As for Dolph (not shown), he has his own row to hoe. Since breaking up with Ike he has been questioning his own sexuality, realizing that he wants very much to be with a woman. This sort of reverse-closeting may seem unusual, but at least it affirms that Dolph does and did see Ike as a man through and through. Good luck to Dolph...hopefully he can do better than pursuing the happily married spouses of pro wrestlers.
When We Fly (c)Kae
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Must Love Frogs
All this and more, Lop, all this and more!
Lopoddity
How interesting! I already mentioned I was a fan of Ike's original story, but it's still always a treat to read about a queer individual receiving much-deserved love and support from their parent~ The change-up with Dolph is definitely something I'd like to see expanded on. I'm assuming this means he was with Ike for....years, long enough to marry and have a kid, and yet at some point he realizes he's unhappy and wants to be with a woman? How unusual. I've seen plenty of midlife gay awakening stories, but not so much the inverse. The closest I can think of is Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For, in which aggro lesbian Sparrow hits middle age and finds herself in an unexpected relationship with a man, even having a child with him. We got to see Sparrow's confusion and anger at society trying to lock her into a restrictive box ("Why can't anyone see I'm a BISEXUAL lesbian?") and we got some interesting discussion on what sexuality and gender even mean in the first place, as her male beau states he's always felt like a butch lesbian in a man's body. Bechdel dropped this plot thread early, so I'm happy to see you telling a story with somewhat similar themes. Is Dolph bisexual, gay, straight? Or maybe something that doesn't have a neat label? Was he truly unhappy with Ike- does he truly want a woman- or is this simply a midlife crisis? And if he does indeed truly want a woman, why are his sights set on the unavailable (and also nonbinary) Ryleigh? Dolph. Dolph wat r u doin I'm also curious about how Ike feels about all this. Definitely gotta be some resentment there. Or maybe Ike wasn't happy either? At least he, Rudy, and Gnewt seem to be doing okay now.
Jonathan
Three generations of awesome!
