Mostly Void Partially Stars

“You feel the bulge in his pants” - implies that you are feeling some guy’s penis, may be sexy depending on context

Here's a few fun ways to explore queerness with non-human cultures for your fantasy and scifi worlds!

- give them more cultural genders. Not just "nonbinary as a third gender", give them some weird genders! Sub-genders, even! And don't make it all tied to their biology, though having a variety of biological sexes is also a lot of fun.

- maybe they don't have genders the way we usually define them, and they use something else as an important identity with associated pronouns and outward expression.

- get creative with their relationship structures. Maybe polyamory is their normal. Maybe they have a committed partner most of the time, but then they have a breeding season where anything goes. Maybe they are functionally an aromantic culture and they don't really do committed relationships like that.

- if they have distinct biological sexes, what options are available for those who want a medical transition? Maybe it's a more low fantasy world in a historical setting and they don't have that option, but what other steps might they take to "pass"? If their concept of gender or an equivalent identity has nothing to do with their biology, what does it even mean for them to be trans?

- in a species where biological sex is naturally flexible, shifting between egg and sperm production on a whim or just because of environmental changes, what does that do for their gender culture?

- interspecies relationships are inherently a little queer, when you think about it. What does attraction between species look like? Are there some cultural barriers they have to navigate?

- if queerphobia exists in your world, don't be shy about exploring the effects it actually has on the characters. If there is no queerphobia, what does that really look like? Was it a struggle to make that happen? Think about the generational history a little, and how different it might look to our own reality.

Nobody was behind me in line, which seemed to be a good reason for her to treat me to a five minute retelling of the identification, rescue, and argument over initial custody of Kit Kat, who was so small they thought when they first heard him crying for help that he was a bird and not a kitten in a tree, and is now fifteen pounds of "pure, sculpted lardass".

And I didn't mind, precisely, I wasn't bored or anything, but around the time she was bringing me up to speed on Kit Kat's current status it occurred to me that this woman is a cashier in a store that primarily sells candy bars and beverages. People must buy Kit Kat bars from her multiple times a day. Does she do this every time there's nobody in line behind the purchaser? Did I just have that I Own Several Cats And Will Enjoy Your Cat Stories look about me? Was it the first time it occurred to her that she sold the brand of candy bar she named her cat after? Was she new to the job of selling Kit Kat bars?

I was in the same snack shop, which I'm in, like, once a month, recently. I only recognized her because I spent five minutes listening to this monologue in sincere wonder. But I did recognize her, so as I was buying a soda and a Milky Way bar (this time) I said, without thinking about how this would come across, "Hey, how's Kit Kat?"

She looked genuinely horrified and said, "What...how?"

"Oh fuck!" I blurted. "Sorry! You told me about him last time!"

This is still quite cryptic as responses go but she gave me a frankly frantic look of sudden recognition and said, "He's fine! You bought a Kit Kat! I was unmedicated!"

I did not inform her she is small town famous on Tumblr and instead just said, "Glad you're both doing well!" and we parted as confused and mortified friends.

After a while Korben started meowing; a bit unusual. He’s a talker, but he doesn’t usually meow that much unless he’s begging or wants something. He seemed especially distressed. I didn’t think too much of it, just tried reassuring him without really investigating.

His meowing went up an octave like he thought he was trapped or something. I finally stuck a head out to see what was bothering him and Leeloo was sitting outside the catio walls looking slightly perplexed.

listen, if guitar can be used in a rock band, any string instrument can. in my experience, violin is often suited better to a role more similar to lead guitar, just because of the instrument’s range. but CELLO. i don’t even play cello, but man, that thing is versatile. (also the easiest to do vibrato on. yes, i’m jealous.) it’s got a wonderful range that can easily take on a higher pitched solo riff, or a constant rhythm backup part. (i know viola fits into this equation somewhere but i rarely see them featured in ensembles like this. sorry, violas.)

string instruments all have generally the same structure: strings (duh), a bridge (the place where they’re anchored), a nut and tuning pegs (to pull the strings taught so they produce a particular pitch), a neck (to hold the strings down to refine the pitch), and a body (for the sound to resonate through).

the biggest difference between “rock” instruments and “classical” instruments is just a few structural changes and the manner in which they are played.

guitar (and bass guitar) have frets, while a standard orchestral string instrument does not. the frets are those little metal things that go down the neck of the instrument. without them, you have to get A LOT more precise with your finger placement if you want the pitch to be right. it also means that the string is being held in place by a strip of metal, instead of flesh, so that changes the sound a bit.

electric instruments (including electric violins and cellos, which are AWESOME) have major changes to the body. since the sound is being amplified by Magic Computer Things That I Don’t Understand, the body doesn’t have to resonate the sound as much. it’s why electric guitars are so quiet without an amp.

plucking vs bowing. this, my friends, is where the magic happens. to make a string instrument make sound, you have to make the string vibrate somehow. guitars are usually plucked, picked, or strummed. (all pretty much the same thing - you pull the string to the side a little bit, and then release the tension.) but string instruments can also be bowed by pulling some sort of fiber (traditionally horse hair) across the string, and the friction produces sound. to produce enough friction without an inhuman amount of strength, you have to cover the bow hair with rosin. (it’s refined tree sap. please do not lick it, crush it up and snort it, or use the dust to draw pictures on your friend’s shirt. (yes, i’ve personally witnessed all of these.)) the reason you don’t typically see bows used on guitars is because the bridge is flat, instead of rounded, making it more difficult to get the right angle.

so basically, the reason that a cello seems weird in this context is because we’re just not used to seeing bowed instruments do this. bowing creates such a different sound, but the main structure of the instruments is so similar that it actually makes a lot of sense to me why we’re seeing more bands use classical string instruments.

and before anyone gets mad about guitars and violins clearly NOT being the same thing, let me explain it like this. (i swear it’s related just bear with me.) have you ever seen a photo of a dolphin embryo? or an elephant? a bat? a pig? compare it to a human embryo. we know that when all of those things grow up, they will be very different. but looking at them in such early stages of development, it’s much easier to see how they are evolutionarily related. pretty cool, right?

@everything-you-feel-is-real I know by tumblr tradition that I'm to say "impossible, my posts never blow up like that," or "please don't do this to me."