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An Analysis of ADAM - Beyond The Queer Menace

Adam/Ainosuke Shindo from Sk8 The Infinity is every queer person's nightmare anime villain. Imagine you're watching an engaging, good-spirited show when suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, the flamboyant queer-coded villain professes some sort romantic attraction to the teenage protagonist. You know the feeling; images of Hisoka or the more horrific Joker characterizations may flash through your mind; the realization that the creators of this show, as friendship-is-magic as it is, may not welcome you as viewer. It's terrible, and Adam is the epitome of the caricature: predatory, violent, narcissistic, pedophilic and so openly queer you can't not make the connection.

We've all seen it, we all know what harmful stereotype, even if you love him, he falls under, but I'd like to say that, even with all of that, he feels distinctly different, and it's because of how he fits into Sk8 as a whole.

Sk8 is a very queer show, as many people who've written about the show have explained with their analyses (e.g. the punk aesthetic, found family, and the drag-like 'double life' aspect), but one thing i haven't seen talked about specifically is how Adam/Ainosuke Shindo is a representation of the consequences of repression.

His backstory feels intentionally reminiscent of a queer child who was in an intense homophobic and otherwise emotionally neglectful environment, and developed emotional issues, including violent tendencies and compartmentalization of his queer self Adam and work self Ainosuke as a result of that. He specifically also embraces an open display of queer aesthetics, as those previously in repressive environments generally do, taking a defensive pride in their identities that those with less hostile experiences may not.

Sk8 is a show focused on love and passion (e.g. the 'skating is a metaphor for love'), friendship, community, and found family, and Adam's story is part of that. He is what can happen when someone is constantly invalidated, and then takes those ramifications out on others, as hurt people hurt people.

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In Defense of Snow White 2025

There has been a lot of criticism for the 2025 Snow White movie, and i just don't believe some of it is fair at all. This is coming from someone who watched it with my family, some of whom loved it. I myself was 'meh' about it. It's just a disney movie, one that undoubtably belongs on DisneyXD, intended for children under 13, which i think is a fact that many criticisms don't take into account. let's get into it:

"The costumes are bad/historically inaccurate/look different to the original"

The costumes look like they are from disney channel because the movie's inspiration and references are built on it's own brand. Once the movie leaves theaters, its permanent home will be disney channel and disneyplus, so of course the clothes visually match disney channel clothes. They are colorful because it keeps children engaged. Snow White's main dress has long sleeves and a bright tulle skirt because when it is turned into a costume, the parents deem the sleeves modest and the tulle is fun for kids to wear without much deviation from the movie. It's historically inaccurate (see: patterns on peasants) because there is no history to be inaccurate about. it's a fantasy kingdom that aesthetically conforms to a child's imagination. get over it.

2. "Rachel Zegler and the other actors did a bad job"

Rachel Zegler has been critically acclaimed for this movie. Gal Gadot sucks but we all knew that. The other actors were immersed in their roles as much as any disney channel actor needs to be. You may not like an actor as a person, but that doesn't mean everything they do is bad. I guess this one is more subjective, though.

3. "It's different that the original"

Snow White 1937 was different than it's Brothers Grimm tale, which is different than many regional folk tales of Snow White from before it was written. Remakes and retellings aren't supposed to be the same. They are supposed to rework an older, familiar tale to appeal to that time's sensibilities and audience. The 1937 Snow White was about having courage and hope in the face of hardship in the way that little girls of that time were encouraged to emulate. The 2025 Snow White was about having courage and hope in the face of hardship in the way that little girls of this time are encouraged to emulate. The audience's sensibilities are different, and so the story is changed.

4. "Rachel Zegler shouldn't play Snow White, because she isn't 'pale as snow' per the original story's description"

Many of the people saying this mean it as a joke, and i agree that it is ironic that a brown actor would be cast as a character known for being pale. This is not directed at you. some critics, though, are entirely serious, and to those people i say: do. you. hear. yourself. Rachel Zegler is a professional actress and singer who has the voice and acting ability to play the role. The story was changed in the movie from her name reflecting her appearance to reflecting the weather conditions of her birthday. Other than that, it just sounds a little, i mean a tiny bit, maybe, sorta like racism. It is not a genuine criticism to say that because it's not judging the movie's own merits.

I just think that sometimes we -- american audiences -- can judge movies too harshly or insensitively, many times based in mob mentality, and I think that some of the criticism directed towards Snow White is one of those times. Lighten up, guys.

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fantastic art!

The empty space where you used to be; the part of you that's a part of me

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One thing i love about all of MXTX's novels is that she does something right that a lot of literature with queer protagonists gets wrong: community. All of her protagonists come in contact, if not meet directly, other queer people that help them, and aren't their love interest. So often, the gay couple protagonists are "us against the world", and it almost seems that they are, in fact, the only queer people in that world. But all of MXTX's novels have helpful queer side characters. In SVSSS, Shen Qingqiu has Shang Qinghua, an older queer man and ally to him, who at times is the only person that understands him, being a fellow transmigrator. There is also a case to be made for Liu Qingge, as whether you interpret him to be gay or asexual/aspec, the succubus extra certainly makes for a pretty convincing queer implication. For MDZS, there is Mo Xuanyu, an explicitly queer man and great ally to Wei Wuxian, as well as Xiao Xingchen & Song Lan (again, clear implication). TGCF is pretty straightforward, with Shi Qingxuan being Xie Lian's first friend and informant after his 3rd ascension; this one is less important, but I think there is also a case to be made for Yin Yu, though that is less clear and could just be me, as well as... He Xuan, if we're gonna talk about narrative stuff, I believe him/her/them to be genderqueer...

But that's beside the point. If the story has a world for being gay (mdzs: 'cutsleeve'), there better be mentions of queers in the universe. In queer lit, *cough* BL, there can be a sense of isolation between the homophobia and experiences of the protagonists and the reader, especially because finding community is such a fundamental queer experience. So gold stars for her.

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What I think is interesting about Shi Qingxuan, among other things, is that, despite her peers' rejection of her identity, her femininity affirmed by the narrative in the most tragic way possible: victimhood. She is coerced by her brother, then used by someone she put her trust in, and attacked because, to the perpetrator, she represented something that he despised. There is nothing more feminine in literature than not having agency.

Someone please stop me from making parallels between her story and real discrimination against trans and queer people, i can't-

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How rude! Every cybertruck is a valued citizen of America, and with the recent rise in discrimination against them, they deserve to have protection.

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OP you are right

You will not use AI to get ideas for your story. You will lie on the floor and have wretched visions like god intended

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🥲

2ha peaked in the first chapter when Mo Ran killed himself the story should have just ended there. After that it was all downhill

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Lil' MXTX Analysis(ish): Wei Wuxian's Archetype Subversion; "The Hero"

The real kicker about Wei Wuxian is that he doesn't have a Hero's Ambition, or at least not in the traditional way. You know, the yearn for glory? the Call To Adventure and the longing for Greatness? Yeah, he doesn't have that. He never had ambition his whole life, only the desire to protect and support those he loves (and an overwhelming compassion for his community). In his youth, though he was a prodigy (which doesn't translate into trying to Be The Best), he wanted to be Jiang Cheng's right hand and aid him in his rule. Then, when he became the Yiling Patriarch (#depressionera), he was driven by a desire to protect innocents, including people he is close to, (though it's distinct from Xie Lian's "helping the common people").

For the most part, in my experience, most real people don't have a Hero's Ambition. They don't have that One Thing that they want achieve or do, and this subversion just makes him so human.

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is truly a master storyteller.

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I love seeing unique designs for novel characters, but my favorite by far has to be Mobie-Jun as an elf that got jacked with steroids.

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A Warning for MXTX fans planning to read SVSSS

If you want to read SVSSS after reading MXTX's other novels, i just have one piece of advice:

SVSSS is great, really, but it has a much less ... overt moral standing.

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Digital art of Yue Wuhan from Mistakenly Saving The Villain by me.

Don't copy to other apps.

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(Arcane: League of Legends) Linke's Interview, Viktor's Sexuality, and Online Discourse

Breakdown of the Event:

In a German twitch interview, Christian Linke, one of the writers of Arcane, stated that, "he talked to a group of LGBTQIA+-Rioters before/during the beginning of the creation of Arcane and asked them what is lacking good representation in media, and the answer was asexuality. He said that the problem is that oftentimes, asexuals are portrayed as people without any emotions at all, which obviously does not reflect reality. They've always seen Viktor as asexual, and his love - while Jayce and Viktor do love each other, in a way - is on another level, and despite people being mad about it, they didn’t change that aspect about him or his relationship to Jayce." *

Linke had also previously stated that he did not believe that Jayce and Viktor had romantic feelings towards each other, but instead had a brotherly bond.

The fanbase's reception of this news was mixed. There has been discussion about:

How Viktor's character arc, involving his feelings of wanting to be emotionless and wanting to save humanity from suffering, connected to his asexuality enforces asexual stereotypes.

How an asexual identity attached to a disabled character may enforce stereotypes about disabled people.

How his sexuality was never addressed in canon, even though the creators never shied away from explicit (literally) queer content.

How Linke's views of the fandom shipping Jayce and Viktor may have influenced his decision.

Here are my two cents:

Linke's timing (after the show is finished, with no other explicit mention of it in canon or by other creators) certainly does seem suspicious, but it could mean anything. He also says it right next to talking about the part of the Arcane fandom that ships him and Jayce. That also seems suspicious, but I believe we all should avoid making assumptions about a person we don't know's views, perspective, or purpose for sharing information. I have heard many people say that he must be trying to dissuade the jayvik shippers when he says that, and because he claimed that a disabled character was also asexual, he must be supporting ableist stereotypes, but I really believe that ignorance should be assumed instead of aggression when possible.

Queer Rep Via Confirmation On Social Media, which is basically what the Event was, is pretty common (in fact, the one trans character in Arcane was confirmed that way). It's a flawed type of rep, but flawed rep isn't inherently harmful, and representation is more complex than a sliding scale of good and bad. It involves the story's implications, the writer's intention vs the audience's reception, and other factors. It's also largely subjective.

In the world of Arcane, labels for orientations don't exist and neither does discrimination (as stated by one of the creators). Nevertheless, Caitlyn and Vi's relationship and queerness were conveyed through their actions. Asexuality is harder to convey than homosexuality, as it usually involves a lack of action, and confirming it without a doubt without using labels or a character arc (and boy were they already pushing how much plot they could fit into the show) would have been an effort. There are ways they could have, but I really don't blame them for not doing it, if his asexuality was the plan from the start. Sometimes, queer characters don't have to explain themselves, and that's the purpose of the QRVCOSM.

Also: It really doesn't matter if Viktor is canonically asexual. I'm not going to explain what it is, what's what google is for, but it doesn't exclude romantic or sexual fanon content from being made, even respecting his canon sexuality. All fanon content, even if it's 'canon compliant', including shipping, is outside canon. It's all interpretation, (and that is also why all interpretations of Jayce and viktor's relationship, platonic, romantic, queerplatonic, is valid).

*https://www.reddit.com/r/arcane/comments/1h1k9fw/lore_spoilers_viktor_was_always_meant_to_be/

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To My Fellow Americans

So, in light of recent events, I would like to give all of my fellow americans some reminders:

Everyone is your brother and sister.

Every american, even if they be an immigrant or of a US territory, is a human being, and deserving of the dignity and respect you need to show them.

Everyone has family and friends.

Everyone has a right to control their own body.

every single person has the same value as yourself; no one is less important than yourself, and compassion is not a request, it is essential to the creation and continuation of society, community, and civilization. Don't take it for granted.

Being consumed by hatred and fear of your neighbors is the worst way to live.

Hurting another person is a terrible act. Always.

Listen to others feelings and respect them as an equal.

It is your job to stand up for the more vulnerable and weaker.

Always fact-check when you come across new information. It is the information age, and many people will say hateful and ignorant misinformation and lies to get you to agree with them. if you find out that unsavory information is true, please reflect on why you feel that way, and find ways to go forward.

Opinions shouldn't hurt anyone. If yours do, please reflect deeply on them, and find a way to mend your damage.

Respect and protect our National Parks. They are a gracious gift.

Division is what caused the fall of Rome.

Always lead with compassion. It's what everything good we've built is made of.

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The next Fast & Furious movie is going to have a cybertruck in it.