Hello! I wasn't originally going to cover this pre-demo because I feel like it's a lot more natural to discover these things as you progress through the characters' stories, but in case you want to know the ROs romantic/sexual orientations and gender identities going into the story, you can find that info below the cut:
(Also, like everything, this is a WIP so these are potentially subject to change)
** UPDATE **
Changes have been since this post was written: the ROs do not have canon genders anymore and five of them are gender selectable (not Adonis). You can read more on that here and here, but the original post is still below the cut.
In addition, I'm considering making Shar, Kenji, Thema, Cecil, and Hero gender selectable which would make them:
Shar: cis!f/cis!m/enby
Kenji: cis!m/trans!f/enby
Thema: cis!f/cis!m/enby
Cecil: enby(ftn)/trans!m/cis!f
Hero: genderfluid/enby/cis!f/cis!m
(Adonis is locked in as cis!m because this plays a key role in his story)
I'm considering doing this because I don't want readers to be dissuaded from a character's storyline on the basis of their gender. Their default genders would be their canon genders but each gender option would do more than just changing pronouns and verb tenses in the game. If you have any thoughts on this, please let me know!
Here's a look at some of the other characters too if you're interested:
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Like many young hopefuls in the music industry, Beverley Akua Mansa Tawiah (who goes by Tawiah) found herself at the mercy of the pop machine at the beginning of her career. In 2007, following the self-release of her first EP, In Jodi’s Bedroom, Tawiah toured the world with acts like Mark Ronson and was signed to Warner Brothers.
It was a life that seemed perfect, until creative differences proved irreconcilable and she and Warner Brothers parted ways. Tawiah soon found herself without a band, label, or any of the structures she’d grown used to.
Away from the spotlight and free from the pressures of the industry, Tawiah learned to connect with the guitar. She released 2017’s Recreate EP on her independent label Lima Limo Records, followed by a transformative trip to her familial home in Ghana that inspired her writing.
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Ahead of its release, we spoke to Tawiah about her time at the performing arts college BRIT School, how her great grandmother’s favorite hymn played a part in her album, and learning to work within limitations. [Read More]
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Hi just a quick question Bc I couldn’t find the answer via search. So I saw that on the intro post the ro’s arr almost all gender delectable but then the ro asks are written in one gender so I was wondering which one is right if that makes sense
Yes, so, I've made a couple posts on this (but even I just had a really hard time trying to find them so I'll be updating this blog's tags asap, anyways, they're here and here)
But to summarize...
When I started writing HK the ROs weren't gender selectable (because HK was originally a series of traditional short stories so the characters had defined genders and storylines in that) but after lots of thought and discussions with fans and other writers I decided to make them gender selectable. The main reasons for this are that I didn't want people to not explore a character's story because of their gender and I wanted to explore how gender affected the characters, their lives, and elements of their personalities (i.e., I want Kenji and Kairi, Sharvin and Sharva, etc., to feel authentically unique though they are technically the same person).
The discrepancy in how their genders are reflected on this blog is mostly due to that change and the fact that I've been thinking of these characters as having specific genders for well over a year (so, it's an issue of me trying to retrain my brain). In addition, these characters are constantly changing and evolving as I get to know them more, so it could also be a bit of that.
I really want to move away from the characters having "canon genders" but I have questions on how best to do that sometimes. For example, Shar never uses they/them pronouns (she/he/xe), so should I still use they/them pronouns when writing about them since that seems to be the default gender-neutral option?? Or should I use xe? But then does it seem like I'm just writing about Sharva????
Ngl you considering to make the ROs gender selectable (-Adonis) would be great because just based off their reactions to the asks I fell in love with them but due to my personal preference I was only going to romance 2 of them (Thema & Shar). Regardless though it’s all down to what YOU think. You’re the one who has to code and adjust to multiple routes, so just follow your gut feeling, I support either way. Much love ❤️
Aww, thank you so much.❤️ It's definitely something I'm gonna do precisely for that reason. I don't want people to miss out on ROs' storylines because of their gender.
The full options for the love interests are now:
Sharvari (f), Sharva (nb), and Sharvin (m) - all prefer the name Shar
Kenji (m), Kairi (f), and Kira (nb)
Thema (f), Tano (m), and Tawiah (nb)
Cecil - name stays the same for nb, m, and f
Hero - name stays the same for genderfluid, nb, f, and m
** UPDATE **
As of 12/21/21, the specific gender options are:
S "Shar" Patil
Sharvari, cisgender female, she/her
Sharvin, cisgender male, he/him
Sharva, agender, xe/xem/xyr
K Ishida
Kenji, cisgender male, he/him
Kairi, transgender female, she/her
Kira, x-gender neutral, they/them
T Sarpong
Thema, cisgender female, she/her
Tano, cisgender male, he/him
Tawiah, pangender, any (they/she/he/xe/ey...)
Cecil Gray (name doesn't change)
Transgender nonbinary (neutrois), they/them
Transgender male, he/him
Cisgender female, she/they
Hero (name doesn't change)
Genderfluid, either she/her, he/him, or they/them pronouns and either feminine, masculine, or androgynous presentation
