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vorkosigan2015-06-16 07:50 pm
beatrice_otter) wrote in vorkosigan2015-06-16 07:50 pm
Fic Dilemma
I'm signing up for femmeremix, a remix ficathon for female-focused fics, and realized that if I wrote one more Vorkosiverse fic with a woman in an important role, I could add the Vorkosigan fandom to my signup. And, thinking, I got a REALLY awesome idea for a genderswapped Aarl, which I now have to write. And then I realized "but genderswap doesn't count for signup purposes," but I'm going to write it anyway because it's such a cool idea.
And then I realized, "but wait, if I say instead that Aral died in Mad Yuri's massacre and his unnamed sister survived instead, that would qualify!"
Brilliant solution. Only problem being she is so firmly GIRL!ARAL in my head that I don't know if it would work.
Her backstory: canon!Aral married Ges' sister in an arranged marriage. Given an arranged marriage, wouldn't girl!Aral likely be married to a man from the same family? OMG, SHE WOULD HAVE MARRIED GES HERSELF! Except Ges would not treat a wife like an equal the way he treated canon!Aral, so he abused her, and given Aral's temper, she killed him, and now lives in semi-disgrace down in the Vorkosigan district. That is where the story starts.
Now, the main things that she has in common with Aral are a) brilliant tactician, except used socially instead of militarily, b) that infamous temper, and c) bisexuality. And sure, I can say that the sister had all of those too, but ... isn't that kinda denying the sister's individuality?
Sigh.
femmeremix, a remix ficathon for female-focused fics, and realized that if I wrote one more Vorkosiverse fic with a woman in an important role, I could add the Vorkosigan fandom to my signup. And, thinking, I got a REALLY awesome idea for a genderswapped Aarl, which I now have to write. And then I realized "but genderswap doesn't count for signup purposes," but I'm going to write it anyway because it's such a cool idea.And then I realized, "but wait, if I say instead that Aral died in Mad Yuri's massacre and his unnamed sister survived instead, that would qualify!"
Brilliant solution. Only problem being she is so firmly GIRL!ARAL in my head that I don't know if it would work.
Her backstory: canon!Aral married Ges' sister in an arranged marriage. Given an arranged marriage, wouldn't girl!Aral likely be married to a man from the same family? OMG, SHE WOULD HAVE MARRIED GES HERSELF! Except Ges would not treat a wife like an equal the way he treated canon!Aral, so he abused her, and given Aral's temper, she killed him, and now lives in semi-disgrace down in the Vorkosigan district. That is where the story starts.
Now, the main things that she has in common with Aral are a) brilliant tactician, except used socially instead of militarily, b) that infamous temper, and c) bisexuality. And sure, I can say that the sister had all of those too, but ... isn't that kinda denying the sister's individuality?
Sigh.
no subject
She doesn't have to share Aral's temper for that. She can be a woman who intended to use her brains to escape, but had to defend herself in the moment. And honestly, I can well imagine that a sister of Aral's would know how to defend herself physically, at least to a degree - can you see Aral leaving his little sister to grow up defenseless? Hell, even Piotr wouldn't fail to teach his daughter self-defense. After all, the Vorfemme knife may leave you less armed than the men around you, but it still leaves you armed, and it certainly doesn't suggest a culture in which women are expected to be completely non-violent. And with the Betan connections in the family, I doubt she had a terribly submissive/meek upbringing in any case.
You have many possibilities here, I think - and I think you should go for it!
Catherine
(Personally, regarding the sexuality thing, the hints that we've had about Ges suggest to me that it would be entirely possible that his wife would be turned off sex altogether for some time, regardless of gender. And if she had any interest in women at all, she might well conclude that they are a safer bet. Which is not to say Bad Sex Made Her Gay, just that she might calculate the risk that way, especially if she were just dipping her toe back into the water. Someone who couldn't physically overpower her might be a lot easier to trust.)
no subject