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Description
The Spring of 5294, the grand ballroom of the Oriole arcology on Prexuz, on the Eastern Communion-Aggregrate perhiphery. As a gesture of goodwill between cultures perennially in conflict, graduation from the Communion's segmentory emissarial academy is traditionally held to coincide with Spring celebrations of the Aggregate calender, for which the Oriole offers a standing invitation to all graduates.

The class of 5294 is predominantly female, and partners are frequently swapped between dances. Freshly commissioned ensign Kei Katase - all dolled up to the best of her ability in bodice and skirt rented with academy allowance, the diadem least offensive to sumptuary law she could find, and (oh, the embarrassment if somebody noticed!) cream silk flowers with a dash of Dominic Winer No.5 - could not mind less. Having kept her female preference to herself mostly all her life for sake of avoiding trouble, when paired with a kharza jill who catches her eye she offers the courtesy of dancing the male steps of the canario, sparing her partner the social indignity.

On a close pass, on pure impulse she gives her partner a kiss. Nothing special, a little dry peck on the side of her muzzle. In an instant her partner's eyes turn cold as space. The moment the music begins fading into the next dance the larger marten seizes her paw, dragging her from the dance floor without a word. Mustelids are not given to fear but Kei dares not protest, her mind racing trying to recall what breach of diplomatic protocol she may just have committed, knowing full well Aggregate nobility can be unpredictable and dangerous. Careless diplomats could easily "disappear" if it preserves the peace or makes the case for war...

Alone in a secluded corner of the garden maze, the kharza pulls the diadem from her hair, spilling the flowers and returning the kiss. Nothing like on the dance floor, but impassioned, longing for relief, and catching her footing the smaller marten returns the affection. Although the banquet is already forgotten, the memory of the scent of sauteed duck breast and jellied lychees on her breath stays with Kei for life. Her Anglic is near-perfect with barely an accent, yet the kharza struggles with a lack of familiar words, asking if that was what she wanted. If she isn't interested in hobs, only jills. Not just also jills, but like it was the only thing. The right thing. But she conveys exactly what she means.

"I thought there was nobody else like me..."

When the kharza splits her bodice and begs her to touch her, she doesn't hesitate.

Their union is fiery and brief as often is for mustelids, only an all too quick moment hidden away in the snapdragon bed under a centuries old amate sycamore, before dressing each other and rejoining the celebrations. They never see each other again. Kei never even learns her name. But she knows for the kharza, even in a world that will never recognise her, the relief of knowing she is not truly alone stays with her forever.

GIMP 2, doodled in breaks over easter celebrations.

I don't often touch on LGBT themes in worldbuilding since, frankly, I'm very wary of it. Although being part of the community myself I've developed a general distaste for it, having seen way too many creators either letting those themes completely dominate their worldbuilding without rhyme or reason when self-criticism fails, or less reputable writers using worldbuilding as sociopolitical mouthpieces with little narrative or creative value. A shame since while Sturgeon's law is an ever-present peril, when done right - as with everything else - the inclusion of LGBT themes in sci-fi offers a lot of freedom to experiment, providing a fresh perspective and a reminder that views on sexuality and gender are extremely mutable. Gender variations that were recognised 2000 years ago are now extinct. So are sexualities that were recognised 1000 years ago. And of the countless variations recognised today, every last one - including heterosexuality in favour of another heterosexuality - will have been replaced in a millennium.

The Communion in this case represents a view which most Western viewers would find quite familiar from today. On paper variations in orientation and gender expression are either embraced or at least tolerated and enjoy legal protection, but in practice lingering intolerance means being outed is never completely safe.

The Aggregate is quite different: Bisexuality does not exist as a cultural concept as some degree of it is the social norm, and people are physically affectionate with others of their own sex whether they are personally attracted or not. At the same time being exclusively homosexual is considered unthinkable, to the point where equivalents of "gay" or "lesbian" do not exist, leaving those individuals with limited ability to culturally conceptualize their experience.

This is 100% mammal-made art and writing. No "AI" or similar machine learning-derived technologies used.

Description
The Spring of 5294, the grand ballroom of the Oriole arcology on Prexuz, on the Eastern Communion-Aggregrate perhiphery. As a gesture of goodwill between cultures perennially in conflict, graduation from the Communion's segmentory emissarial academy is traditionally held to coincide with Spring celebrations of the Aggregate calender, for which the Oriole offers a standing invitation to all graduates.

The class of 5294 is predominantly female, and partners are frequently swapped between dances. Freshly commissioned ensign Kei Katase - all dolled up to the best of her ability in bodice and skirt rented with academy allowance, the diadem least offensive to sumptuary law she could find, and (oh, the embarrassment if somebody noticed!) cream silk flowers with a dash of Dominic Winer No.5 - could not mind less. Having kept her female preference to herself mostly all her life for sake of avoiding trouble, when paired with a kharza jill who catches her eye she offers the courtesy of dancing the male steps of the canario, sparing her partner the social indignity.

On a close pass, on pure impulse she gives her partner a kiss. Nothing special, a little dry peck on the side of her muzzle. In an instant her partner's eyes turn cold as space. The moment the music begins fading into the next dance the larger marten seizes her paw, dragging her from the dance floor without a word. Mustelids are not given to fear but Kei dares not protest, her mind racing trying to recall what breach of diplomatic protocol she may just have committed, knowing full well Aggregate nobility can be unpredictable and dangerous. Careless diplomats could easily "disappear" if it preserves the peace or makes the case for war...

Alone in a secluded corner of the garden maze, the kharza pulls the diadem from her hair, spilling the flowers and returning the kiss. Nothing like on the dance floor, but impassioned, longing for relief, and catching her footing the smaller marten returns the affection. Although the banquet is already forgotten, the memory of the scent of sauteed duck breast and jellied lychees on her breath stays with Kei for life. Her Anglic is near-perfect with barely an accent, yet the kharza struggles with a lack of familiar words, asking if that was what she wanted. If she isn't interested in hobs, only jills. Not just also jills, but like it was the only thing. The right thing. But she conveys exactly what she means.

"I thought there was nobody else like me..."

When the kharza splits her bodice and begs her to touch her, she doesn't hesitate.

Their union is fiery and brief as often is for mustelids, only an all too quick moment hidden away in the snapdragon bed under a centuries old amate sycamore, before dressing each other and rejoining the celebrations. They never see each other again. Kei never even learns her name. But she knows for the kharza, even in a world that will never recognise her, the relief of knowing she is not truly alone stays with her forever.

GIMP 2, doodled in breaks over easter celebrations.

I don't often touch on LGBT themes in worldbuilding since, frankly, I'm very wary of it. Although being part of the community myself I've developed a general distaste for it, having seen way too many creators either letting those themes completely dominate their worldbuilding without rhyme or reason when self-criticism fails, or less reputable writers using worldbuilding as sociopolitical mouthpieces with little narrative or creative value. A shame since while Sturgeon's law is an ever-present peril, when done right - as with everything else - the inclusion of LGBT themes in sci-fi offers a lot of freedom to experiment, providing a fresh perspective and a reminder that views on sexuality and gender are extremely mutable. Gender variations that were recognised 2000 years ago are now extinct. So are sexualities that were recognised 1000 years ago. And of the countless variations recognised today, every last one - including heterosexuality in favour of another heterosexuality - will have been replaced in a millennium.

The Communion in this case represents a view which most Western viewers would find quite familiar from today. On paper variations in orientation and gender expression are either embraced or at least tolerated and enjoy legal protection, but in practice lingering intolerance means being outed is never completely safe.

The Aggregate is quite different: Bisexuality does not exist as a cultural concept as some degree of it is the social norm, and people are physically affectionate with others of their own sex whether they are personally attracted or not. At the same time being exclusively homosexual is considered unthinkable, to the point where equivalents of "gay" or "lesbian" do not exist, leaving those individuals with limited ability to culturally conceptualize their experience.

This is 100% mammal-made art and writing. No "AI" or similar machine learning-derived technologies used.