Some questions on a fictional fantasy people and political ramifications in the acronym community.

Because I always get the damn acronyms wrong and I think labels are stupid anyway.

So this doesn't bother me, but I want to make sure I don't completely piss off a whole sector of the population inadvertently.

I'm writing an urban fantasy with a serial killer mermaid in it. She's an idiot, a real flake. One of the major mistakes she makes in the beginning of the book is PIVOTAL to the plot, but to do it, I needed to make her race not have homosexuality present.

This made sense to me. I mean, you have an entire race of people generated in an environment who knows how many thousands of feet underwater. Their brain chemistry is NOT going to be the same as people who are land-based. We all know that sexual preference (and for this aspect of the book that's all I am addressing, not the rest of it) is something that happens based on biological and chemical stuff and not choice. It seemed reasonable to me that there could viably be a race of beings that just didn't do that. There are animals that don't after all.

What I don't want is for people to think that I'm trying to deliver some kind of message. I don't think it is any different than creating a race that doesn't see or that speaks out of their butts. I mean, pick up a few sci-fi novels and you can find some fun stuff.

Would you find this offensive? Not? Not even notice?

The reason it's an issue is that the killer uses a certain power she has to seduce men before she kills them. It doesn't work in this instance, which pisses her off to no end. She kills him anyway and it causes her a GREAT deal of trouble. She has to kill this character, and I feel like this is who he is. The scene doesn't work as well any other way.

I can have another character explain the biological differences later on, but I don't want readers throwing the book across the room, so I thought I would ask.

I also think a lengthy explanation where it doesn't fit will look sort of lame.

So?

Thanks for the answer!

I have one (thus far) other gay character in the book who is one of my MC's, so it isn't as if I am killing off the one, poor homosexual bit player. You know, like the red coat in Star Trek that you KNOW is going to die.

There may end up being more diverse characters pop up, but it isn't finished yet. I don't always know these things. :0)

It's mainly a biological difference, and I am pretty sure that by the point the murder occurs that the reader will understand that this particular mermaid has the IQ of a potato.

I agree with you, I think there would be some messing around. They are equivalent to human in intelligence and sensual/sexual desire and experimentation and I think that would lead to some fun.

Not to be crude, but she's a bit like Snooki presents herself (I don't know if that's how she [Snooki] actually is).

The character is extremely materialistic, self-centered, and not very bright. She's stubborn and goal-oriented, but completely oblivious to glaringly common sense details. The book is written in omniscient, and the narrator pokes fun at her quite a lot. It's fair to say that although there may be some or even a lot of same-sex nookie in the mermaid world, my killer doesn't want to acknowledge it.

I have a second mermaid character who will probably address this subject later and bring that up. I'm hoping that the reader can suspend disbelief or hold faith in me for a few chapters though. Like I said, mid-scene isn;t the place for an explanation, and I don;t think it's the narrator's place to provide it. Leaving it at "it's a biological thing" is about as far as I want to go right then.

Thanks for your reply. This helps a lot.