Caffeinial

Copypasting from my toyhouse because I think it might reach more people on tumblr, too!

Hi everyone/she‧kú swakwe·kú! For any natives and those interested, I read that people can just make their own flags if need be so since I've been struggling with finding if I'm ace/demi/pan/bi/non-binary/demigirl, etc. I thankfully was welcomed into the two-spirit community on my reservation and felt more comfortable identifying as two spirit with the experiences with myself and the other parts I don't always identify as, so I thought I'd share my personal flag in case any other two-spirit natives might be interested in using it, too!

I am still learning, so please do not be hurt or upset if you feel this isn't representative, but I'll paste what I told my friends.

Two spirit usually can identify as any of the lgbt+ or multiple identities/two spirits for natives, so I have trans/nonbinary for red, bi/gay/les for yellow, ace/demi/etc for white, and the dark grays for those not represented for black, which are the four colors/directions of the medicine wheel---basically, gender for red, sexual/romantic orientation for yellow, ace spectrum for white, and other for black. It's my personal flag but other two spirits can use it ofc

I found it fit the best for me because bi covers the bi umbrella (pan/masc/fem/etc preference) the trans umbrella includes male/female/nonbinary, and demi/ace spectrum both share the same colors of asexuals, demisexuals, non-asexual partners and allies, and community, and the dark grays for what I may have missed/isn't represented. The two black arrows represent the two spirits or multi-directions. I used to study the pride flag color meanings a lot cause I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I WAS and I loved that the trans and bi and ace flags covered masc + fem, + everything in-between + nothing at all for both gender and sexual/romantic preference and this is what made me comfortable.

That aside, happy pride month! I'm slowly getting more comfortable with my identity, and just want to remind everyone, it's okay if you need to search and wonder for a bit, or don't know for certain, or end up changing your orientation when life things come along. I found out I was bi through talking with my friends on attraction, realized I was more comfortable associating myself as ace, and then found out about demisexual which made me even more excited because for years I used that to identify as! You have to find what makes you comfortable, and if you're an ally, welcome! We appreciate your support, your voice, and you helping advocate for our rights and being welcoming to anyone who may need an extra hand while they struggle against prejudice and misjudgment!

The color order I made was to be a bit remanent of the two row wampum, one of the Haudenosaunee treaty belts with the Dutch. It is about the relationships of the indigenous people and the settlers coexisting without interference like equals, I find it fitting to give a small nod to it regarding two-spirit nature as well.

It's the inverse of Chekov's Gun ("If there's a gun on the table in act 1, it should go off in act 3" or someone like that). Asimov's Tail is like saying "If a gun goes off in act 3, it should be on the table in act 1."

You don't need that for guns because we all know what guns are. A character in a modern setting pulling out a gun to win a fight on page 120 isn't going to bother the reader. But a tail is unexpected: You need the reader to buy in to and expect the tail before it becomes plot-relevant, or it'll read like a deus ex machina.

(Another comparison is Chekov was talking about the stage, and Asimov is talking about books. Asimov's Tail may not be as applicable to the stage, where the audience can all clearly see the character's tail in his costume.)