#representation is representation

[chestersbraincell]

Piping hot take(like seriously I hope I don’t get death threats for this): as much as I’m aware of the issues behind Jack Black playing Steve(ie whitewashing, Jack’s world-views/him generally as a person), it IS kinda nice to have a fat person be one of the main and most iconic characters in a movie for once

But alas it would be even greater if a plus size POC individual played him instead :(

[girl4music]

You know what? Rather than saying Xena and Gabrielle aren’t textually canon I should just say they’re a romantic friendship or platonic romance. Because - evidently - I see and interpret them as very canon. And yes, sometimes even in a textually written way. But it seems to confuse people when I try to explain that they are an EPIC well-written romance/love story when I follow it up with “even though they’re not textually canon”. And I could understand how that would be confusing if I had never seen the TV show. And many people seem to be familiar with what “romantic friendship” or “platonic romance” is and I’d definitely say Xena and Gabrielle come under that. I mean they do have an amazing relationship and it can be interpreted as platonic just as much as it can be interpreted as romantic. They do always seem to refer to each other as best friends only in a public setting. They never say they’re lovers or are in love. They never have to. It’s written on their faces as clear as day. In just the way they are with each other you can tell that they are. It’s incredibly obvious and beautifully nuanced. But since it’s not confirmed in the show that they’re anything more than best friends,… I think “romantic friendship” or “platonic romance” works. And for me - that a very respectful and affectionate way of understanding and defining their relationship.

So yeah,

They’re romantic friendship or platonic romance. Very much canon to the fans, the creators, and the cast. But couldn’t be confirmed as a textually canon couple because of the severe censorship and restriction for the production and the final cuts for each episode. I mean there is a script where they outed them after all. It just couldn’t be allowed to see the light of day. I’m pretty freaking sure Steven L. Sears has it though and one of these days I will beg him to let me see it just for all time sake. Just to read how they actually were going to shoot that episode before NBC made them rework it. And there was also the Sappho musical episode that never made it to production either although you can find that script and it’s… alright… I guess. Plays like a piece of rushed-written femslash fanfiction but it’s decent. I’ve certainly read worse.

Oh, that’s another thing I forgot to mention in my last post. They were so serious about being in solidarity with the fans about Xena and Gabrielle that they actually commissioned actual FANFICTION writers to write episodes for the show that did make it passed the Final Cut. One of them is actually one of the best episodes of the entire show. Not just because of the representation provided but it’s genuinely a good story. But I’ve waxed poetic about ‘When Fates Collide’ enough (I’ll never wax poetic about it enough).

But yeah - that was something no show with a “non-canon” main protagonist relationship has ever done. Brought in fanfiction writers - actual shippers - and told them “write us a Xena and Gabrielle love story”. That was a big deal and proved just how serious they were about them seeing their relationship as canon.

[lucyyygg]

not to contribute 911 ship disk horse but it's weird to beg for a character to be confirmed queer for years but disregard and attack the show for it because it didn't happen exactly with who you wanted how you wanted it to

[thousandyearphantombunker]

If you want to fight for representation maybe don't fucking antagonize artists/writers who fight for it because "it's not good enough!"

Entitled people with ridiculous bullshit expectations like this hold back representation so much

Like I could throw all that criticism toward Legend Of Korra and Steven Universe back at TOH and other shows like it when it comes to disabled representation- "its only coding! It's not outright stated! Eda's curse turns her into a monster! Wahhh" I've stated I don't like how TOH handled disability but I'm so happy it exists because hopefully we'll open up more story telling that explores disability through the perspective of disabled characters themselves rather than a bunch of able bodied neurotypical people writing/regurgitating the same inspiration porn bullshit

I'm not saying we can't criticize these shows (SU and LoK have issues that deserve to be discussed) but creators working on them fought so hard just to get moments like Korra and Asami getting together, for the first lesbian wedding on a children's show. New shows get to flex that they have these characters because other shows like Legend of Korra punched through barriers to give them space- they didn't have space so they made some! You can criticize SU and LoK like I said- SU has serious issues with Filler and some botched ass morals and LoK could be shallow in some parts but if you try and flex on them because new shows have an easier time with gay representation your a fucking idiot- your new shows wouldn't exist without these ones

But no. It's never blunt/explicit enough, it's too problematic because xyz', it's not representing every single facet of our experiences so it must be bad.

Also the gems being nonbinary/genderless just adds another layer to LGBT representation

Are y'all gonna attack TOH because Raine is nonbinary and their relationship with Eda "doesn't count"

I'm done being polite. You can criticize rep and call out harmful things in fiction without erasing the importance of these stories

Steven Universe: Eh, I don't really feel like saying "girlfriend" or "wife". Maybe they're together. They have a special connection...

(gets violently shoved aside)

The Loud House/Craig of the Creek/The Owl House: Pfft, amateur. "My GIRLFRIEND Sam and I..." "I'm texting my GIRLFRIEND, mind your business." "Luz's new GF showed her..."

[tio-trile]

Something something vampires have no reflection so he can't even try to see his brother's face anymore when he looks into the mirror

[saszor]

[ID in alt]

Tutorial on drawing characters/OCs who have some sort of facial paralysis. It doesn't cover all possible variants because I was using mirror as my main reference lawl

Keep in mind that this is an introductory drawing tutorial and has some generalizations in it, so not every “X is Z” statement will be true for Actual People 👍

Consider supporting me on ko-fi if you find this to be helpful.

[hamletthedane]

Thinking about him (the soldier in Poynter’s Faithful Until Death painting watching an apocalypse unfold around him with horror in his eyes as he tries to keep himself standing beneath a doorway, based on an actual 19th century archeological find of a man in full soldier’s garb under a doorway at Pompeii)

[abigails-ear]

Only been watching The Pitt for a few days but Mel King is THE best autistic character ever written in a medical drama. She doesn't "make connections no one else can" or "just see things differently" or any other Savant with Special Abilities stereotypical bullshit, she's a resident physician who's exactly as intelligent and capable as any other resident physician in the same year. She hates unnecessary yelling because it's loud and annoying, not because she's completely incapable of handling conflict. She usually keeps her stimming subtle enough to hide but sometimes she can't. She loves having a furry critter to pet. She accommodates an autistic patient by lowering the lights and closing the doors because she understands the sensory nightmare of an active medical setting. She speaks in a straightforward and honest way but she isn't an overtly rude inconsiderate asshole. She misses some jokes and takes things too literally on occasion but she does have a sense of humor and she is funny. She speaks up against misinformation and parent panic about autism and other developmental disabilities. She has emotions. She looks at a video of a lava lamp on her phone to chill. Doctor Mel King you have my entire heart

[dionysus-complex]

look I know it’s supposed to be a joke but that “irradiated wasteland” is the unceded homeland of the Paiute and Shoshone peoples and consists of fragile Mojave and Great Basin desert ecosystems that are actively being exploited and destroyed by mining interests who utilize the perception of desert as wasteland to justify their destruction of indigenous lands and communities. the joke's not funny. fuck off with this.

[victusinveritas]

All from @mattxiv on Instagram.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

kinda hard to take it seriously people complaining about "toxic yuri" this, "toxic yaoi" that. i grew up on toxic comp het; in my day we called them "cartoon sitcoms"

[girlsloveupdates]

Western lesbian representation is so bad. It's either the series gets cancelled, a character dies, they don't get screentime, or the storyline only focuses on the homophobia they face.

Meanwhile in Thai GL, there have been over 30 series announced in 2025 alone. And let me tell you, there's something for everybody. Childhood best friends to lovers, period drama lesbians, boss x employee trope, space lesbians, multiple couples and love triangles, mafia action lesbians, idol x bodyguard trope, lesbian with powers to control time, prisoner lesbians, crime-solving lesbians, messy sapphic friend groups who are all in love with each other, high-school sweetheart s, weddings, happy endings and so much more. And this is just the beginning. There will be many more great series to come in the future.

The only thing that's stopping more western people from watching is because of subtitles. Which is such a pity because these people say "there's no good lesbian representation" but there is. You just have to be better at looking for it. Don't set yourself up for disappointment anymore, don't watch something for the bare minimum representation.

As Bong Joon Ho once said:

[spacebubblehomebase]

Crazy how the person you've been following for Team Rocket memes suddenly reached for the stars. But to celebrate another artist's success, I present to you another AU! Because we need more of those in this new fandom and I like the cliché trope of a traitor love interest. XD Though I admit this small doodle idea got way out of hand. Still, do you see the vision??? (🌕v🌕) -Bubbly💙

More content:

[seventeendeer]

as a fat person who's always clamoring for more interesting fat characters in media, I honestly think one of my all-time favorite depictions of a fat character is Jumba from the original Lilo and Stitch - both visually and personality wise

from a design perspective, even though he's an alien, he has so many little anatomy quirks that make him a more believable fat character than many fat human designs in other media. I love the realistic sag and layering of the fat on his arms, the lack of neck definition, the rim of chub around his face and upper back, the way his back is rounded. his clothes pull taut and pinch in anatomically accurate places (e.g. shoulders are firmer = smoother outlines, the sides and back are squishier = bumpier outlines).

and he's stylized so well! all these great details boiled down to some simple shapes and pen strokes. IMO the Lilo and Stitch art style is extremely appealing - it's warm and clean and visually pleasing, but every character is super unique. Jumba isn't supposed to be pretty, but even though he's a very large, very fat, bald older guy who spends most of the movie in crop tops, the way he's stylized and staged makes it clear the audience is supposed to find him interesting to look at, and variably intimidating/cool/powerful/capable. he's often funny, but the physical aspect of his comedy is derived from being so hefty the other characters struggle to prevent him from barreling ahead and doing whatever he wants; being fat makes him come off more in control of the funny situations he gets into, not less. also, because the art style is what it is, a lot of his character acting also just makes him look kind of cute ... though that's universal across the cast

I also really like the fact that his size clearly gives him both realistic advantages and realistic disadvantages. along with having a stronger sense of agency in the comedic scenes, his size in combination with his impulsivity also makes him a more intimidating antagonist. you never know what he's going to do, and his size makes it difficult for other characters to stop him when he's made up his mind. at the same time, it seems to take him longer to catch his breath, he sometimes grunts when moving around a lot to imply it takes more effort, and he clearly struggled to find clothes that fit him when putting together his disguise. I think it's awesome that the character's size impacts how he interacts with the world so much, and again, in relatable ways

and personality wise, it is ALWAYS great to see fat characters portrayed as intelligent - not only is Jumba an accomplished scientist, he's also crafty and witty! a few quiet scenes imply a philosophical side, as he ponders on Stitch's existence and feelings as a living weapon. with Stitch explicitly being made in his own image to an extent, I'd argue there's even room to interpret some of the things he says about Stitch being hints to how he sees himself; we never learn much about Jumba's past, but it's clear he's a social misfit and strongly defiant. I don't think it's a stretch to assume some of what he said to Stitch about being a monster who can never belong anywhere was intended to read as projection (which makes it all the more heartwarming when both of them find a place to belong on Earth)

it's also a nice twist that toward the end, Jumba is the one who is unexpectedly compassionate toward Nani, while Pleakley tries to urge him to ignore her. again alluding to a level of emotional depth and intelligence that is often missing from even well-intentioned depictions of fat people. his character isn't even fully explored, and yet he's one of the most dynamic and interesting supporting characters in a movie full of fantastic characters. the audience is expected to find him fascinating and even sort of mysterious, and he is!

the sequels and spinoffs were more merchandise-driven franchise fluff for kids than the artsy direction of the original movie, but even so, I remember Jumba went on to become Lilo's lovable, amoral uncle figure, which I also thought was so fun as a kid. I love that they committed to the fact that he was more caring and compassionate than he seemed. not only was he a cool evil mad scientist character, but he was also eventually ... a friend ...

and he was even gay

[writing2changetheworld]

The Rollettes are in a Lady Gaga music video! This is huge! This is amazing!