EDIT of the EDIT: I should elaborate that trans here is referring to having the body of a guy, but being psychologically a girl and identifying as such. This shit is REALLY confusing
And you know what? They actually did it pretty damn well. Here's the short story, for those interested, it's actually pretty good: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/uncharted-realms/truth-names-2015-01-28
If you didn't read the article, the story focuses on Alesha, the leader of the Mardu Horde (think Mongols + Dragon motifs), leading her clan against the brood of dragons they're warring with. As the battle ensues, she notices a young nameless orc not kicking as much dragon ass with sufficient zeal as should be expected. Now being nameless is big thing for the Mardu as your name is earned by performing heroic (read: suicidal, but admittedly fucking metal) feats in battle. During a quiet point, she confronts the orc and demands to know why he isn't jumping down the dragon throat to emerge sword first out the other end or doing something equally metal as fuck to earn his war-name, and tells him to know who he is and to take it. The orc doesn't really take this well and shoots low saying 'You tell me this? A human boy who thinks he's a woman?' Everyone shits themselves and we then go to a flashback of Alesha's naming ceremony where she (well he) takes the name of her grandmother as her war-name. Everyone's cool with it and celebrates the same as if she picked any other name. Back at the battle, Alesha proving why she's the baddest of asses by taking down a dragon in the space of about five seconds before telling the orc that she knows who she is and he needs to buck up and go cut his *****-ass a dragon. He doesn't. The story ends with a naming ceremony where it turns out he was simply saving his clanmates by cutting off the dragons' claws, slugging them in the face to stun them and getting fallen dragons off of warriors trapped underneath. Everyone tells him what a swell guy he is and he acknowledges Alesha as Alesha, Who Smiles as Death, which everyone thinks is a fuck cool name.
Honestly I was expecting a lot worse when first heard about this, i.e. shoehorning it in where it doesn't belong as an afterthought. It actually played into the story and gave meaning to what would've been a 'They Killed Some Dragons and Shit' type of story.
So what do you guys think of this?
And you know what? They actually did it pretty damn well. Here's the short story, for those interested, it's actually pretty good: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/uncharted-realms/truth-names-2015-01-28
If you didn't read the article, the story focuses on Alesha, the leader of the Mardu Horde (think Mongols + Dragon motifs), leading her clan against the brood of dragons they're warring with. As the battle ensues, she notices a young nameless orc not kicking as much dragon ass with sufficient zeal as should be expected. Now being nameless is big thing for the Mardu as your name is earned by performing heroic (read: suicidal, but admittedly fucking metal) feats in battle. During a quiet point, she confronts the orc and demands to know why he isn't jumping down the dragon throat to emerge sword first out the other end or doing something equally metal as fuck to earn his war-name, and tells him to know who he is and to take it. The orc doesn't really take this well and shoots low saying 'You tell me this? A human boy who thinks he's a woman?' Everyone shits themselves and we then go to a flashback of Alesha's naming ceremony where she (well he) takes the name of her grandmother as her war-name. Everyone's cool with it and celebrates the same as if she picked any other name. Back at the battle, Alesha proving why she's the baddest of asses by taking down a dragon in the space of about five seconds before telling the orc that she knows who she is and he needs to buck up and go cut his *****-ass a dragon. He doesn't. The story ends with a naming ceremony where it turns out he was simply saving his clanmates by cutting off the dragons' claws, slugging them in the face to stun them and getting fallen dragons off of warriors trapped underneath. Everyone tells him what a swell guy he is and he acknowledges Alesha as Alesha, Who Smiles as Death, which everyone thinks is a fuck cool name.
Honestly I was expecting a lot worse when first heard about this, i.e. shoehorning it in where it doesn't belong as an afterthought. It actually played into the story and gave meaning to what would've been a 'They Killed Some Dragons and Shit' type of story.
So what do you guys think of this?