#also fuck gender norms

[the-kingshound]

Honestly the people who critique your game (and some other if games too!) for those reasons just sound like they want those super straight, half erotica romance novels from like, 30 years ago 😒

[stupot]

I feel like, regrettably, this website needs a crash course in recognizing a particular brand of post about female martyrdom and suffering that is really, at its core, based on OP's views on a holistic level, a post about hating """men""" in disguise. Female anger is righteous and does come a from a place of personal and historical suffering, and should be expressed. I truly do think that. But I guess Tumblr's userbase sucks because then you go on these blogs and it's post after post about how men are ontologically evil and sex work should be criminalized and women are these broken shattered creatures unilaterally scorned by MALES with no hope for justice. Just the absolute most childish reductive way of analyzing misogyny in our culture that always boils down to racism, prejudice against sex workers, and transphobia

[mangomagicaart]

So there’s this clip of Casey Mongollio in one of their streams where they say as Floofty “hmm yes I do suppose that is quite poggers” in character. This was posted by @vizinix and because “Blair” and “Self control” do not belong in the same sentence together. I animated it. And here we are.

Here’s a link to the audio: https://www.tumblr.com/hazey-moonlight/716496683707645952/dragonsatlartales?source=share

And a YouTube link:

And a link to the YouTube

Plus a bonus doodle I did during my break. Don’t do this. Ever.

[yeetlegay]

Not for nothing, the representation of Porsche’s bisexuality means a lot to me as a bi person who didn’t figure out my identity until my early 20s. The journey that he goes through in the first half of the show, from a presumed straight man to a bisexual man in love with another man, is written and acted with so much empathy and grace. Porsche’s feelings about his identity and presentation of self are allowed to be confused, hesitant, and complicated without him being homophobic or misogynistic. The result is a more subtle arc of self-discovery, but such an important one. Porsche may not have deep-rooted internal prejudices but he still exists within oppressive structures that shape all our lives whether we want them to or not. Even though he doesn’t deny or dislike his feelings for Kinn, he does quietly struggle sometimes with the discomfort of being queer in a world that sees queer as “other.”

I think part of why this hits so hard is Apo himself. Now I don’t really follow the actors very closely and I try hard to separate the art from the artist, so I don’t want to place too much weight on this. But I do think Apo really brings a particular level of empathy and nuance to Porsche’s identity that deserves appreciation. Apo has spoken a number of times about how much he struggled with homophobic treatment in the Thai film/TV industry through the course of his career. He was often asked invasive questions about his sexuality, made fun of for the way he dresses and presents himself, and demeaned for being feminine or not masculine enough. It seems to have been a key factor in his decision to leave the industry (and even Thailand) entirely.

To be clear, he’s never made any public statement about his sexuality or gender identity, and it’s no one’s business to presume or ask about how he identifies. The problem was that, regardless of how he actually identified, homophobia had a big impact on him personally and professionally. Homophobia (along with all other forms of hate and violence) doesn’t hurt just queer people—it hurts everyone, because it confines and regulates people’s lives/bodies, and punishes deviations, big and small, from the norm.

Apo has some pretty incredible gender vibes to be honest. Something about his mannerisms, his face, his fashion choices, his presentation, just strikes keen envy in my nonbinary bisexual heart lol. And he brings that nuance into Porsche’s character so beautifully. Porsche gets to be tender as he is tough, someone who cares for his loved ones and shows affection without being demeaned for it. He’s allowed to be this strong, tall, muscular guy without it being prescriptive of his internal feelings and personality and how he presents in his voice and mannerisms. No one (least of all him) is policing his body and gender in the way queer people, particularly queer men, so often deal with. He gets to just be.

The freedom in that, for me at least, feels like a revelation. I feel loved when I watch Porsche, because his journey as a bisexual man isn’t rooted in his own repression or external prejudice. Even when he identified as straight, he didn’t behave or present in a way that was engineered to convey heterosexuality or even masculinity. He was already comfortable in his skin, and figuring out his sexuality was more of an internal journey than one centered on his body and how the world perceives it.

Obviously there’s nothing wrong with identity crises/questions/discoveries that do involve repression or homophobia (mine certainly does, thanks Catholic school 🙃). But I think it’s really neat that Porsche’s arc doesn’t, because it brings up questions that often get buried under the avalanche of homophobic/misogynistic/transphobic shit that unfortunately we so often have to wade through to come to our own queer identities. And that’s why I mentioned Apo’s experience, because I really think that as someone who’s had such a hard time in the industry in the past—precisely because he does step outside rigid gender norms—he really gets how homophobia shapes a person’s understanding of their own body. And consciously or unconsciously, he created in Porsche a character who could be free, for fucking once, of that heavy weight around his neck.

So basically, I hope he knows how much that means to a lot of people, not just me. And I hope that playing Porsche has given him some amount of comfort or healing or validation. He gave homophobia and misogyny a massive middle finger through this character, and I hope that and his continued outspokenness about his experience make everyone think twice before policing people’s gender and bodies.

[heartscrypt]

i get so mad when ppl say riddle would be ignorant/clueless towards lgbtq+ stuff bc he was raised sheltered. no the fuck he wouldn't. maybe he'd start out that way yeah but as Soon as its implied he doesn't know something hes taking that shit to heart and learning everything he could EVER know about it. hes making a fucking study of it. he knows more than you actually

[moe-broey]

It is extremely difficult to design modern outfits for Alfonse though idk what it is. Sharena will look good in anything from flannel docs lesbian outfit to cute overalls to something sporty to high femme dresses (tbh I still wanna draw her in one of my fave old dresses ..) but Alfonse. There are def a few routes you can take keeping his character/personality in mind and I think they look good/are super cute and make sense but like... esp for me personally, thinking of the v specific way I draw/stylize him...

AH. MAYBE. MAYBE I FIGURED IT OUT BC I HAVE NO PROBLEM DESIGNING OUTFITS FOR HIM IN FEH CONTEXT...... it's cause that bitch is always wearing tights and long shirts that (esp depending on how you draw it) border on being dress-like to straight up robes/skirt-like garments WHICH makes sense for him in universe bc that's p standard wear for men in Askr, in the Order of Heroes specifically. Like

Seliph's resplendent stands out to me as a huge example of this, and you can kinda see it in Corrin's too! Though I do think resplendents often take a lot from the chara's base outfit (both standard and resplendent Seliph having tunics, both Corrins having leggings ect). But speaking of Corrin, espp the lengthening of that bit of fabric at Corrin's hip, looks a lot like Gustav's garments!

Who may be a better measure for men's dress in Askr (normal attire, for a king anyway, and a cultural festival outfit). But I do also think you can glean some details off of resplendent designs too!

Also actually.

This Day of the Life comic that acknowledged Sharena's absence from the DoD banner (BITE BITE KILL KILL SO MUCH HATRED IN THE WORLD‼️‼️‼️) implies that their outfits may have been identical, just in their respective signature colors (blue and pink). And even looking at Alfonse and Sharena's base art, they have a lot in common!

And looking at Seliph and Corrin again, the puffy sleeves seen on Sharena and Henriette aren't necessarily gendered traits. ACTUALLY.... GUSTAV HAS THEM TOO! Alfonse's outfit is an outlier sleeve design wise!

Which is to say, there aren't actually a lot of strict gender differences in attire here. A lot of the clothing looks/feels androgynous esp when viewed through a modern lense (like I'm sure there's a lot of real-world historical inspo that goes into the designs, I just know fuck all about that LMFAO 😅). And esppp the way I've come to draw Alfonse a lot, I do emphasize what reads as femme -- giving him longer shirts, simplifying the strappy armor on his thighs into. Over the knee socks. Over the leggings/tights. 🫣 And that's not even getting into the knee high boots and heels!!!!

WHICH IS. Actually SO FUCKING DIFFICULT. To translate into modern fashion esp typical standard men's fashion, in a way that still feels true to him as well... bc I do believe in femme/androgynous Alfonse supremacy 😤 But he is ALSO. SO IMPORTANTLY. He is VERY MUCH just some guy who is heavily defined by the role he's been put in. Which is also kind of difficult to sort out, what Would he wear, if the standards were completely different and also if he was choosing for himself?

SINCE. I'M CERTAIN idk if I wanna dig for it but -- I'm CERTAIN all his outfits have been picked For him to some degree. The Order of Heroes outfit is a uniform, the bunny outfit is implied/stated to be picked by Sharena. The yukatas in their duo are 1) Hoshidan and 2) I think Anna was the one who picked them? Might be wrong on that, but I do feel like there's a castle dialogue about it. And of course, the DoD outfits are implied to be cultural Askran wear, and going back to that comic -- it seems neither Alfonse OR Sharena have much of a say in what it looks like (her being uncomfortable "showing that much leg" -- that, if given a choice, she may have wanted something more modest).

So like. There is. So much going on here actually.

[king-krisu]

One day I wish I'll be able to just tell people I'm a lesbian and not feel like I have to justify anything with my preferences or who I've found attractive etc etc yall are so fucking weird sometimes

[beemovieerotica]

a fair number of people are adding to my post "but only trans people should play trans characters" and like. I still disagree, because we run into the same problem, and we HAVE run into that problem e.g. people getting on John Cameron Mitchell's case for starring in Hedwig (which he wrote and directed??) forcing him to come out as non-binary in an interview.

unless there is something inherently physical to a role (race) for which an imitation has been historically fraught and meant to demean (blackface, yellowface) a character expressing gender fluidity / breaking gender norms and an actor exploring that from a place of respect is fine.

there is a conversation to be had about equity in hiring practices across the board for actors from minority backgrounds...but I guarantee it predates this entire discourse by decades and all of hollywood needs to change.

[alkalische]

Bagpipe's design bothers me so much because she doenst give the impression of like a victorian soldier like. at all.

(more under the cut)

I've asked several of my non-arknights friends about their thoughts (peer reviewed) and NONE of them managed to guess 'soldier'

it's a pity because i really like her as a character, but my impression of her is disjointed by her design

it's got promising elements here and there, i think the top half is mostly alright, the colour scheme is fine, and the gunlance is awesome, and the scottish kilt thing that they were trying to incorporate into her skirt is interesting (could be more creative with the execution because it just looks like a normal plaid skirt).

the biggest issue is that her silhouette makes her look like a generic high school girl. I do NOT get 'soldier' or even 'farmer' looking at her, she is. just a girl

and also my usual issue of the revealed thighs and complete lack of dirt while on the battlefield as is customary of gacha game character designs

it really suffers from 'lots of detail that manage to tell me absolutely nothing about the character'

I would have absolutely no problem with it if it was a casual outfit that she personally wears, but her 3 star battle lines (and also shared design elements with Horn who i Also. have a problem with) make it explicitly clear that THAT'S the uniform

She's also an absolute sweetheart and very likable, which i can see! but she's also canonically 'sloppy and disorganized' which i CANNOT because everything about her is pristine and there is no asymmetry or elements in her design that can clue me in

she's mentioned to also be incredibly physically strong as a vouivre, strong enough to carry grani around and run in the halls.

SO WHERE MUSCLES???

PLEASE. ENOUGH WITH THE 'very very slender but actually strong' trope GIVE THIS POOR GIRL A SHRED OF MUSCLE

All in all it's generally a generic design and i honestly would not have built her based off design alone

big believer of 'show, don't tell' and this girl is 90% tell

[rubyeyebabybat]

I can't get over the idiotic discourse I've seen over why cishet women are just fetishizing Astarion or shouldn't be allowed to like him because he has feminine/queer mannerisms. Like...bro. My husband and I are both cishet. He tends feminine, and has definitely disappointed many a hopeful who assumed he was queer. He can also be very masculine if he so desires. I love both sides of him dearly. I personally tend masculine, but still enjoy being feminine sometimes. People are complex, and saying that a certain type of person shouldn't be allowed to like certain characters because of their tendencies is the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard.

[cabozers]

This one goes out to feeling queer enough

[rebellum]

"We should respect trans mascs and butches because they protect us at pride"

So I get what you're doing with trying to argue against the anti-masculinity crowd and trying to say that trans mascs and butches are an important part of pride as a way to emphasize our place in the community

But...

Why us?

Why are we disposable? Why are we not worthy of protection?

When are you going to protect us, too?

[whiskeyswifty]

i still think it's incredibly funny that taylor swift made a whole song called "lavender haze" waxing poetic about breaking 50's gender norms and being "damned" if she cares what people say when the word, and color, are so deeply associated with not only the lgbt community's oppression and fight for equality in the 20th century, (the lavender scare in the 80s, having a "lavender" streak, etc) but eventually became synonymous with lesbians and wlw specifically, to the point where "lavender menace" was the name coined for the lesbian/wlw inclusion political group, a phrase that is so prolific in lgbt spaces even wearing a lavender menace shirt is shorthand for "i'm a lesbian." only for her to get on the horn and say "it's a phrase from Mad Men about being in love 😌" like...... mad men?? MAD MEN??? i totally understand how lavender might mean absolutely nothing to non-lgbt people, lgbt history has gone mostly unrecorded yeah yeah, but..... i've rewatched mad men THREE TIMES in my life at this point and when she said that i could not for the life of me remember that phrase. which was used ONCE in season ONE. and i just find it so funny she was like "that sounds nice. i'll write a song using that. people will get the mad men reference, right?" while it like.... just so happened to be the single color most synonymous with gay activity going back to fucking sappho ladkfjkdsfjdsk cool cool sure yeah a line from fucking Mad Men sure why not!!

[floorpancakes]

ppl will be like omgggg lesbian yaoi when and not know about rei x kaoru

[swashbucklery]

Just wanted to say thanks for your 'queer as in i love you' tag. I always like seeing it. It's a good reminder that not everything about being queer is a struggle or adversarial even if the news/current events usually make it feel that way.

This was so lovely to hear, thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that.

This year has been the first where I've been able to make a conscious effort to recover from the Being Essential Experience, and I have been thinking a lot about identity and what brings me joy and realized how much I missed the happiness and beauty of my queerness. Not that I became less queer during the past three years, but - being stripped down to a task or a role left so little space for personhood altogether. I am fortunate to be at a point in my life where I love my queerness so much and I'm grateful that it's a part of who I am. I love love love posts about other people nurturing their own queerness as I revive mine. Like a houseplant left unwatered on a radiator for too long, it's bouncing back.

And I think more than ever it's so important to incorporate both. Unfortunately one of the tasks of our community is resistance right now, and anger at injustice, naming injustice, is an important part of that. But another critical task is solidarity and community building. If our siblings are being harmed where do they heal, where do they find safety and care and affirmation and love. How do we stand with them so that they have the energy to resist again. How do we make sure that we are not divided, because a divided community is easier to harm than a whole one.

[misery-draws]

Okay I did the thing :P

fem Crowley :D (he won the poll) :]