The protagonist Lucius Pasternak is explicitly a trans man whose struggles with bodily autonomy, repressed reserve, and desire form the emotional core, while the supporting trans character Amity Crown-Shy further foregrounds embodiment and identity as plot drivers. These elements are not incidental but define the narrative's conflicts and resolution within a queer commune setting. The author Mattie Lubchansky, a trans woman, has stated the intent to create 'trans culture, for trans people' and deliberately conceived Lucius as trans to explore alienation and autonomy, drawing on themes of sex, desire, and separatism.

This creator intent directly shapes the world-building, pitting a hyper-capitalist surveillance state against the anti-capitalist, anti-fascist Spiritual Association of Peers commune founded in 1977, where rituals and sexual freedom serve as resistance to billionaire land grabs. Marketing and blurbs reinforce the framing by labeling the work a 'queer, trans story' that blends folk horror with identity politics, making progressive messaging foundational rather than organic to the premise.