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gryphonseggThis post explains my Blue Lantern character, Lally of Achiem. Let’s start with a description of zer appearance: Lally is short and round and curvy and purple. Ze has small black antennae and hair that is a darker shade of purple than zer skin. Lally’s default on-duty costume consists of long black pants, black knee-high boots, and a loose-fitting blue jacket with long sleeves and a high collar. If zer hair gets in the way of work, Lally makes blue light constructs to keep it out of zir face. Lally rarely wears purely decorative things, such as makeup or jewelry other than zer blue power ring, although ze has started occasionally wearing blue light construct bracelets after meeting Wonder Woman.
For some reason, I feel like presenting Lally’s backstory and personality in Q&A format.
Q: Does Lally identify as a man or a woman?
A: No.
Q: What is Lally’s background?
A: Lally is from Grevan on the planet Achiem. Ze was born into the lower orders of society but was able, through exceptional academic success, to get into an educational track for a middle-class job in environmental science. Ze has always had a close relationship with zer mother, Varsa. Lally finished basic education three years early and thus became a legal adult before ze would have been expected to enter puberty. Lally did not begin puberty during advanced education either, and ze might never have developed sex characteristics if ze had not been forced to.
Q: How and why was Lally forced to develop sex characteristics?
A: Grevan lost many of its young workers in the war, and the ruling class believed there would be economic benefits to making sure the next generation had a larger population of laborers. Many among the elite also felt that it was right and proper to make sure the lineages of officers killed in the war were continued. Lally was one of the sexless young people who were given hormone injections to make them capable of bearing and nursing children. These people were inseminated with gamete samples the officers had stored when their commissions were activated.
Q: So does Lally have children?
A: No, Lally suffered repeated miscarriages, two of them rather late.
Q: Is Lally okay?
A: Ze is out of pregnancy-related dangers now, though some physical and psychological consequences of these events remain.
Q: So Lally is technically female, right?
A: That depends on how you frame sex/gender issues. Lally considers “female” an aspect of zer medical condition, not zer personal identity.
Q: What pronouns does Lally prefer?
A: Informal ones. Grevanian society is highly rank-conscious, but Lally has been troubled by this facet of zer culture since childhood and has grown more critical of it as ze has matured.
Q: What about gender pronouns? Are things other than “ze” ever okay?
A: Lally’s culture of origin has no gender pronouns. Ze generally doesn’t care what third person pronouns are used for zer in other languages. When Lally learns enough about another language and culture to understand the context surrounding gender pronouns, ze sometimes finds certain pronouns to be closer approximations than others. Even in these cases, ze usually refrains from stating a preference because ze doesn’t want to hurt an alien’s feelings or presume to know more about an alien culture than ze actually does.
Q: Is “she” an inoffensive way to refer to Lally?
A: Lally is not offended—which is good for the Earth-based Green Lanterns, since none of them ever refer to Lally by any other pronouns—but people who understand English-speaking countries’ transgender and genderqueer issues might take issue with it on zer behalf, and not without reason.
Q: What is Lally’s gender identity?
A: Ze doesn’t have one. Zer culture of origin has no such concept.
Q: You mentioned the Earth-based Green Lanterns—what is Lally’s relationship with them like?
A: Ze is friendly with John and Kyle. Ze finds Guy obnoxious and suspects that he acts that way on purpose. Ze finds Hal to be one of the most frustrating beings in the universe.
Q: Who is Lally’s favorite Green Lantern?
A: Soranik Natu.
Q: Who is zer favorite from zer own corps?
A: Lally is good friends with all the other Blue Lanterns, but ze has an especially deep respect for Sayd.
Q: Who are the people Lally most looks up to or considers particularly heroic or inspiring?
A: Among currently living people, zer mother and Sayd.
Q: What things does Lally like?
A: Reading, science, biodiversity, reproductive justice, fresh fruit, light festivals, ecological conservation, puzzles, many different beings working together for the mutual benefit of all.
Q: What is Lally’s favorite part of being a Blue Lantern?
A: Getting to observe and learn from all the different worlds.
Q: What is Lally’s greatest hope?
A: That all beings will learn to help each other and think of difficult times as opportunities for mutual support and cooperative problem-solving rather than reasons to hurt each other.
For some reason, I feel like presenting Lally’s backstory and personality in Q&A format.
Q: Does Lally identify as a man or a woman?
A: No.
Q: What is Lally’s background?
A: Lally is from Grevan on the planet Achiem. Ze was born into the lower orders of society but was able, through exceptional academic success, to get into an educational track for a middle-class job in environmental science. Ze has always had a close relationship with zer mother, Varsa. Lally finished basic education three years early and thus became a legal adult before ze would have been expected to enter puberty. Lally did not begin puberty during advanced education either, and ze might never have developed sex characteristics if ze had not been forced to.
Q: How and why was Lally forced to develop sex characteristics?
A: Grevan lost many of its young workers in the war, and the ruling class believed there would be economic benefits to making sure the next generation had a larger population of laborers. Many among the elite also felt that it was right and proper to make sure the lineages of officers killed in the war were continued. Lally was one of the sexless young people who were given hormone injections to make them capable of bearing and nursing children. These people were inseminated with gamete samples the officers had stored when their commissions were activated.
Q: So does Lally have children?
A: No, Lally suffered repeated miscarriages, two of them rather late.
Q: Is Lally okay?
A: Ze is out of pregnancy-related dangers now, though some physical and psychological consequences of these events remain.
Q: So Lally is technically female, right?
A: That depends on how you frame sex/gender issues. Lally considers “female” an aspect of zer medical condition, not zer personal identity.
Q: What pronouns does Lally prefer?
A: Informal ones. Grevanian society is highly rank-conscious, but Lally has been troubled by this facet of zer culture since childhood and has grown more critical of it as ze has matured.
Q: What about gender pronouns? Are things other than “ze” ever okay?
A: Lally’s culture of origin has no gender pronouns. Ze generally doesn’t care what third person pronouns are used for zer in other languages. When Lally learns enough about another language and culture to understand the context surrounding gender pronouns, ze sometimes finds certain pronouns to be closer approximations than others. Even in these cases, ze usually refrains from stating a preference because ze doesn’t want to hurt an alien’s feelings or presume to know more about an alien culture than ze actually does.
Q: Is “she” an inoffensive way to refer to Lally?
A: Lally is not offended—which is good for the Earth-based Green Lanterns, since none of them ever refer to Lally by any other pronouns—but people who understand English-speaking countries’ transgender and genderqueer issues might take issue with it on zer behalf, and not without reason.
Q: What is Lally’s gender identity?
A: Ze doesn’t have one. Zer culture of origin has no such concept.
Q: You mentioned the Earth-based Green Lanterns—what is Lally’s relationship with them like?
A: Ze is friendly with John and Kyle. Ze finds Guy obnoxious and suspects that he acts that way on purpose. Ze finds Hal to be one of the most frustrating beings in the universe.
Q: Who is Lally’s favorite Green Lantern?
A: Soranik Natu.
Q: Who is zer favorite from zer own corps?
A: Lally is good friends with all the other Blue Lanterns, but ze has an especially deep respect for Sayd.
Q: Who are the people Lally most looks up to or considers particularly heroic or inspiring?
A: Among currently living people, zer mother and Sayd.
Q: What things does Lally like?
A: Reading, science, biodiversity, reproductive justice, fresh fruit, light festivals, ecological conservation, puzzles, many different beings working together for the mutual benefit of all.
Q: What is Lally’s favorite part of being a Blue Lantern?
A: Getting to observe and learn from all the different worlds.
Q: What is Lally’s greatest hope?
A: That all beings will learn to help each other and think of difficult times as opportunities for mutual support and cooperative problem-solving rather than reasons to hurt each other.
