Queernormative

-
I sat in The Lady of Refreshment coffee shop and waited for Lynn. A pair of men one table over  were locked in an embrace and ignoring their mochas cooling beside them. A pair of women were staring into each other’s eyes and giggling about something two tables over. The rest of the people in the coffee shop did not seem to notice the public displays of affection going on right next to them. 

I cast my mind back from the world of Ossedei to Earth. I had lived my whole life in Santa Porta. The little coastal Californian town was progressive as American small towns went. But even in Santa Porta, the elderly couple on my left would have been giving either gay couple serious side eye. 

Here? Nothing. I knew that in Ossedei, most countries had no issues with homophobia. But the degree to which gay and lesbian displays of affection generated no response surprised me. And even more, the number of people in queer relationships astonished me. I did a mental head count and concluded that more than three quarters of my friends and family members were queer. 

“You seem lost in your old world. What are you thinking about?” Lynn asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

“Thinking about the fact that, unless I’m very misled, you straights are a minority in Ossedei. Or at least you’re a minority here in Ys.”

Lynn smiled and touched my shoulder, “We definitely are. Does it feel good to be the norm?”

I giggled, “Oh I’m not the norm either. As far as I can tell, bisexuality is the clear majority. Being either gay or straight is a minority proposition here.”

Lynn nodded, “Cyrene Entertainment said they were aiming for a queernormative game.”

“Queernormative? I like that as a term. I’m pretty sure that more people are queer back on Earth too. It just isn’t acceptable to admit it.”

Lynn slid into the booth beside me. “Does it make Ossedei feel more like home?”

“It doesn’t hurt. I like not generating glares and sour looks.”

“You are more conventional in your appearance these days. No pink hair. No anti-establishment band t-shirts. No tattoos.”

“Yeah. I look like the genetic love child of Scarlett Johannsen and Charlize Theron.”

“I wouldn’t complain about that.”

“I’m not. It’s still weird though. At least you look like you.”

Lynn pulled out a compact mirror from her chatelaine bag and turned a critical eye on her features.

“Do I look like me? I’ve become used to looking like this. But I don’t look like I used to look. I look like somebody described me to a pinup artist.”

I smiled, ‘I wouldn’t complain about that either. Video game logic, everybody is beautiful unless there is a reason not to be beautiful.”

Lynn clucked her tongue, “You were already beautiful.”

“No wonder people think we’re a secret couple.” I shook my head. 

“Maybe you could keep it a secret. But I got exposed in my secret liaisons with Leon at every turn.”

“So you’re saying we should just admit our love to the world?” I asked. 

“Ha ha. You have enough lovers.”

I grinned, “Yeah. I do, don’t I?”


Read more in "Daughters of the Digital Empire," Available soon! Check me out on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddwardiswriting Check me out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ddwardiswriting

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chapter 1: The Proposal

-
Image
“Explain to me again why you’re marrying him?” I said. “He’s a total creep and raging misogynist to boot.”  I stared at Lynn with set shoulders as I waited for her response. Lynn glared at me over the laptop. I met her gaze and refused to blink. Lynn was my best friend. We had known each other since kindergarten. We shared nearly everything in common, except our taste in boys. Rain pounded on the windows of the girl’s academic dormitory, and I could actually feel the wind shifting the building. Outside, lightning spiderwebbed across the sky, and then the thunder rattled the windows. I hadn’t had time to draw a breath between lightning and thunder.  Lynn shook her head. “I’m marrying him because that’s how it is. That’s who I marry. Period. No way around it.” I picked up my wine glass and paused. Was it my wine glass? It couldn’t be Lynn’s. She was holding hers. But we were the last two girls standing tonight. Lindsay was asleep on the couch. We had held Sophie’s hair out of th...
Read more

Chapter 2: Waking Up

-
Image
I woke up lost in an enormous and luxurious four poster bed. I stretched, enjoying the feel of silk sheets against my skin. I lay, basking in the indulgence of my morning, until the reality of my situation landed on me like an avalanche.   I bolted up to a sitting position. Whose bed was this? This couldn't be my bed. My bed was a dormitory special. It was a single sized bed with a mattress that might as well be cardboard. I looked around. I did not see my dorm room. I did not see the dorm common room where I last remembered sitting next to Lynn.  Instead, I saw an opulent room decorated in a mix of regency and medieval styles. The styles clashed in strange ways. The walls were medieval brickwork overlaid with tapestries. The tops and bottoms of the brickwork were overlaid with crown molding. And the furniture was a mix of Victorian romance and crusader castle. The room looked gorgeous, but it made no sense.  And then I noticed the next thing. I didn’t have a hangove...
Read more

Chapter 3: Getting Dressed

-
Image
Once Amy had brushed my hair out, she helped control my curls by putting them in a waterfall braid. This kept the top of my head under control, but let the rest hang down in loose curls. I’d never had hair this long. It should have felt heavier than it did, I thought. Was that because I was in a game world? I didn’t know.  Next came make-up. Amy helped me apply an anachronistic moisturizer, followed by a primer. She then applied liquid foundation, concealer, and foundation powder. I was getting the whole treatment I realized. I waited as she worked through bronzer, blush, and highlighter. I realized she hadn’t asked for my input. I wondered if the rival had a default make-up or if the rival had instructed Amy on what kind of make-up she should apply? Or maybe the game just provided the rival with a single look. Either way, I let her carry on. She was doing an amazing job, so I wasn’t worried. Eye shadow came next, and Amy applied a dramatic gold eye shadow. I loved it. These weren’...
Read more