#and lets not for get the poc members of the lgbt+ community

[iamafanofcartoons]

100+ REASONS TO WATCH AND ENJOY RWBY

Let’s put this as simply as we can.

Now, I understand you’ll need further reasons to look into the show that was created by Monty Oum, Miles Luna, and Kerry Shawcross.

SO! Here is 100+ Reasons to give RWBY a shot, plus a resource list link at the end. ENJOY!

1) Sci-fi/fantasy show that balances the two aspects very well 2) Endearing characters 3) Deep underlying messages about the importance of human connection 4) Constantly improves on itself 5) Writers actually try to listen to what the fandom wants 6) Creative setting 7) Actually handles difficult topics, like communication, privilege, and the cycle of abuse in a way that is sensitive to the audience 8) Ending is already set, meaning the show is not at risk of selling out to corporate overlords 9) God-tier foreshadowing 10) Top notch fight choreography 11) EVERYTHING IS A GUN 12) RWBY unambiguously avoids Depraved Homosexual tropes - no evil LGBT characters

13) No surprise plot twists for the sake of shock value 14) The soundtrack Not only does it slap, bits of lore and characterization can be found in the series music 15) Character design 16) Symbolism and metaphors and hidden meanings abound Can make for an enriching experience if you have knowledge about color theory and fairy tales and historical/mythological figures 17) Nuanced portrayal of morality between heroes, villains, and those who are neither 18) Layered writing where not everything, especially conflict, is clear-cut and easily resolved 19) Portrays trauma without over-dramatization 20) Production values improve with each volume 21) Hopepunk 22) Female-Centric main cast All the “Fix-it” fanfics and “Rewrites” involve Male-Centric Casts and/or taking time away from female main casts to focus on male characters, especially male side characters. 23) No surprise plot twists for the sake of shock value meets Thanos snap. 24) Good bits of humor sprinkled throughout without being overbearing 25) A few villians that while irredeemable, are interesting to watch in how they act. 26) Masterpiece of a comedy spinoff 27) You can legally watch the show for free 28) Subverts narrative tropes common to both "western" hero stories and anime 29) Gender dynamics and expectations are well-balanced Gender  tropes subverted, and addressed directly at times 30) Comfortably addresses class warfare, alcoholism, and other "mature" topics in approachable ways 31) Corgi 32) Combat Skirt 33) Women get to have pockets and pouches... 34) Women not requiring a man to save them 35) Large number of POC portrayed positively 36) LGBT are neither creeps nor villains, instead the straight people are. 37) POC are neither creeps nor villains as a majority...instead the white people are. 38) The “White Male Savior” with the mask, trenchcoat, and katana is the villain, while the underdog protector of the lower-income is a POC woman who may or may not be lesbian. 39) Meaningful facial expressions (that is, the animators spend time creating mood and reaction to elevate the storytelling) 40) Main antagonist is a woman, as are several of the other antagonists and they are NOT ditzes or idiots, nor are they fanservice. 41) The women are as intelligent as the men, where most anime try to have men be superior than women for the sake of shounen, the women are equal to men in screentime, plot relevance, intelligence, strength, personality, etc....though RWBY tries to have the women take precedence. 42) Men are support characters with their powers, while Women have more protagonist superpowers. 43) Positive half-sibling and stepmother representation 44) Positive honorary family member representation 45) Gay shipping and Lesbian shipping is encouraged by the writers and voice actors/actresses 46) The Main female protagonist's blood-based superpower is not broken or OP and has limits. 47) Well-executed humor (usually, ha). Basically trying NOT to make it fanservice or toilet humor or cringe. 48) Creators at least try to fix its less than stellar/problematic parts, which is more that I can say than the majority of entertainment. 49) Female characters are complex and interesting, also for the most part don’t woobified female villains. 50) Terrifying Villains and Monsters There is a difference. V1-V3 involved Monsters , V4-V8 involved Villains. 51) Every Character is based on a fairy tale/myth/legend/story and looking for those breadcrumbs just adds to the show 52) Already said, but emphasizing the fight choreography and the soundtrack. If you love over-the-top video game style fights this is for you. If you love epic metal playing over those fights this is for you. 53) Plays with tropes and story telling norms to subvert expectations in the best way 54) Not afraid to have tonal shifts to tell the story they want to tell 55) Not afraid to have the heroes lose sometimes 56) And plot points have consequences!!! None of this "bad thing happens and 1 episode later the status quo is restored" 57) Emphasizing foreshadowing again. Things that happened in season 8 were foreshadowed as far back as season 2. 58) The main characters are proactive. None of this waiting around for them to get up the courage to do something about the bad guys. Don't give me the “manor tea” stuff, they were trying to recover, Ironwood had it out for them and would have shot them for helping while refusing to obey him. 59) The Main characters are smart. They notice things (and come up with really cool strategies) 60) At least one villain does NOT underestimate the main characters 61) Everyone doesn't let characters use false justification for their actions regardless who it is! Everyone gets a consequence that fits! 62) Soundtrack is LIT 63) Gay Gay Homosexual Gay 64) Because I'm still on this, two autistic-coded main characters whose traits aid in their heroism! Ruby and Penny...possibly Marrow Amin 65) Kdin Jenzen, a Transgender VA, plays May Marigold, a transgender heroic side character who does not get killed off. 66) Chaotic teens saving the world with the power of stubborn optimism 67) Opposites Attract Tropes 68) Goth Uncle 69) Goth Milf 70) Himbo Dad 71) Non-sexualized Catgirl 72) Cat Cougar Milf with Tea Tray defeats Bat Assassin 73) Panther Dilf 74) Blonde Brawler Female who is also smart and can work mechanics 75) Female protag uses scythe and cape/cloak 76) It Portrays several different types of abuse ranging from romantic relationships to familial abuse along with accurately portraying them 77) Shows how harmful Alcoholism is 78) When/If a a character dies, it’s for a reason and isn’t for shock value Penny cheated death once...she would not cheat death again. Ozpin's immortality is a curse, and he is truly dead, a ghost. 79) One of the the main-main characters is disabled and isn’t treated as/seen as lesser 80) Male/Female friendships are a thing and abundant Normally if a man and a woman engage, its shipping, not friendships. But with Naruto and Sakura we have friendship. With Ichigo and Rukia its friendship....now that is abundant friendship in RWBY. 81) LGBT Voice Actresses Voice LGBT Characters. Kdin Jenzen is Transgender, Arryn Zech is Bisexual, and so are their characters. 82) All Romantic relationships, heterosexual or not, are given attention and emphasis on their interpersonal relationships 83) Balances tragedy and comedy, there are SEVERAL episodes where you both end up laughing your ass off and crying 84) Never goes all out depressing, the message is clear, it takes it to heart, and it shouts it for all to hear. Sometimes bad things happen. But you have to keep moving forward. 85) Has a variety of characters, each with their own themes/allusions (e.g. Ruby = Red Riding Hood, Team RWBY = Fairy Tale Characters, Team JNPR = Crossdressing Historic Heroes) 86) Amazing Music that builds on the characters' motives 87) You won't suffer vision problems after watching an entire cast that's blindingly white (shounen anime in general) 88) Gay doesn't suddenly die to leave heartbroken love interest Straight and angstily going back to the white guy who killed Gay out of possessive jealousy, which is super romantic. 89) Partners of dead Gays, should a Gay die, will not obligatorily be paired with someone str8   90) Character designs reference various fairy tales and stories, so you can get things like Mulan and Thor being a childhood friends romance, Beast and Beauty being one and the same and in love with Goldilocks, and Red Riding Hood maiming Cinderella, who is evil. 91) Everyone; good, bad, and the minor characters...are all hot. 92) You WILL get attached both to the good and bad characters. 93) All characters have very unique designs that fit their personalities and fighting styles. 94) Emotional/Physical Abusers get killed AFTER being humiliated 95) The Entire Show is full of metaphors and symbolism. The backgrounds, character clothing, the weapons they use... it's fun to analyze! 96) Stresses the importance of just being a nice person above all other stereotypical morally gray anime tropes 97) The people who work the the show. Seriously not just the main people; I'm talking about all the unsung heroes who do amazing background and scenery to sound design, etc. RWBY has some of the nicest, most hard working, and supportive crews I've seen. And considering the amount of harassment the anti-fandom can throw at them, they take and handle it so remarkably well. 98) Every character looks amazing from main to one-off. How their outfits convey who they are so well and sometimes subtlety. Also how the creators and character designers make it so cosplayers can have pockets on their outfits. 99) No  stupid twists for shock value, the twists that do happen are foreseeable but executed in a way that is still shocking. 100) Enjoyable Comedic Spin-off far better written than Teen Titans Go. 101) Awesome weapon concepts 102) Awesome growth of story, plot, and transition of it. 103) People hate it when you have fun watching RWBY....is that not enough?

Need to come up with a list of good youtube channels next.

[starlitsecrets]

Tumblr users really need to stop hero-worshipping rich middle-aged straight men. Taika Waititi is not a gay icon. He's just another straight guy who likes the attention and adulation he can get from queer allyship. Men like him can't score edgy popularity points by playing disabled anymore (because the disabled community would rightly call them out for it) so playing gay is like their last chance to stay relevant. It's as transparent as it is embarrassing. (As is any queer fan who falls for it.)

Haha wow, anon hate- this is exciting. I’ll take the bait. You’re making a hell of a lot of offensive assumptions but let’s break down a few things.

1) I agree that nobody should be hero-worshipping rich straight men; I’m failing to see that making posts defending comments made by an indigenous (potentially queer) man have to do with that. Particularly given that I’ve stated I’ve literally only really started paying attention to Taika in the recent past and certainly don’t “hero worship” him.

2)Curious to know what you consider to be a gay icon- and who made you judge of what qualifies? Do you consider Madonna, Judy Garland, Cher etc to be any less of a gay icon because they aren’t lgbt? Because I’ve got news for you- a “gay icon” is generally considered to be someone who has amassed a large following within the gay community not necessarily someone who is gay but I digress. Sure this status is generally not self appointed but also if you can’t pick up on tongue in cheek humour or think that jokingly stating you are a gay icon is offensive umm you need to walk away from your computer for a bit and get some sunshine.

3) So if I’m reading this right you’re saying that unlike the disabled community gays are *checks notes* transparent and embarrassing…? I guess disabled queers are splitting themselves in 2 about whether or not they need to be embarrassing and ignorant or um…emotionally and intellectually superior to the rest of their communities??

Anyway being ableist and queerphobic (yes that’s you buddy- referring to queer people as too stupid to understand if they are being manipulated or not) is really an excellent way to prove that you’re someone with the authority to speak on such matters /s.

Anon I really urge you to think about how attitudes and comments like yours affect indigenous/poc members of the lgbtq+ community and people who are questioning their sexuality/on their own journeys of discovering their queerness.

I assure you- people like you are doing more harm to queer people and the queer community than any indigenous (potentially queer) man bringing queer stories to mainstream audiences ever will.

[caffeineandsociety]

I notice that a huge part of the reason for online leftist infighting is people fundamentally not understanding the difference between, and interplay of, fighting FOR progress, vs. fighting AGAINST regression.

Trying to build space for more ethical and sustainable business practices to survive and thrive while megacorporations try to crush them? Rebuilding your yard to suit your local climate and support the ecosystem? Trying to get more queer stories told outside of niches where they're already normalized? Trying to get more inclusive education available, whether through schools or not? That's action FOR progress - but these things don't necessarily halt regressive actions. Shop small all you want; it won't HURT Amazon or Walmart...but it will HELP that ethics- and sustainability-focused mom-and-pop shop that encouraged its employees to unionize, or that independent disabled POC Etsy seller, keep from having to close up shop and funnel all those people into an Amazon warehouse instead. You could plant trees 16 hours a day for the rest of your life and it won't offset the damage caused by oil companies, but lobbying for a community garden and filling your space with whatever local plants you can may help make YOUR COMMUNITY healthier and more livable and very likely inspire those around you to do the same.

On the other hand, voting, fighting propaganda, pushing back against the encroachment of bigotry into spaces that are meant to be a haven from it, showing up at your local city council meeting to tell them NOT to approve that new Walmart that WILL choke out local businesses that provide the same services? That's fighting AGAINST regression. That's saying "dude, the status quo is bad enough, don't make it fucking WORSE." JUST voting for the center-right candidate instead of the outright fascist (and let's not kid ourselves, the US political sphere doesn't have a major left-leaning party, we have outright fascists vs. the center-right) will ensure that progress happens at an inexcusably slow pace if it happens at all - but it DOES slow the backslide; it is marginally better for the ratchet to stop than for it to spin out of control. Stopping one new Walmart from being built won't IMPROVE your local community from where it was before, but it DOES send a message to Walmart that you will not tolerate their shit and wastes a lot of their time even IF they try again.

Neither of these approaches is complete, and neither is better than the other. BOTH need to happen.

And, yeah, there are some actions that do a bit of both at the same time - unionizing your workplace, petitioning for new nondiscrimination laws, etc. - but those aren't complete either. I mean, just look at how the passage of same-sex marriage got a lot of white middle class gays to rest on their laurels, and how a lot of young LGBT+ people are being radicalized against the members of their own community who don't want to - or can't - assimilate into the hot new Rainbow Capitalism Club; there's a purely anti-regression fight that NEEDS to be fought here.

In short, don't ignore the whole picture. Complicated problems require multifaceted solutions.

[neogenders]

since some people have been misrepresenting my term joypunk, i decided to make a guide featuring examples of what is and is not joypunk. i am going to link this to the original post, but i encourage those who reblogged the original to also reblog this for clarity.

all points will be below the cut because this is long, and also because i don't want to misrepresent myself. if you find strange or unclear wording, i will be more than happy to clarify.

one aspect of joypunk i want to emphasize is that while joypunks prioritize fun and joy over hardship and oppression with regards to their various identities, that does not mean joypunks are ignorant to or neutral in regards to discourse or activism. joypunks may be incredibly active in these regards, but the difference is that a joypunk makes sure to always center joy and fun and prioritize it over hatred and distress.

some examples of joypunk in regards to various identities:

the best example for joypunk in regards to race and culture i think, is the concept of "black boy joy." someone who is a joypunk in regards to their identity as a poc would center their culture's achievements, rather than their hardships. a good example would be that a joypunk would advocate for more portrayals of, for example, black people having fun, enjoying life, and having the same diverse experiences in media that white characters are given the privilege of. so many black stories we see are tales of black hardship and struggle, and a joypunk may seek to instead prioritize stories that display black joy, adventure, romance, friendship, and the like. (there can obviously be more examples - this is just what i came up with! i am not a poc so if you would like me to edit this please let me know, i'm using limited knowledge here).

lgbt+ joypunks will often display their joy through pride, but they also may emphasize this in more political ways. for example, a trans joypunk may argue that the dysphoria debate is unnecessary, as dysphoria does not dictate one's transness - one's euphoria and joy surrounding their identity does.

neurodivergent joypunks may emphasize in their identities the fact that their communities have helped them understand themselves, their needs, and ways in which they can improve their lives. a nd joypunk emphasizes how useful support, self love, and sharing information, resources, and experiences, can help others understand themselves and their symptoms. nd joypunks do not push aside the struggles that their neurodivergence causes, but instead focus on uplifting their community and loving themselves

joypunk can also be connected beyond these obvious identity groups - it can be linked directly to "anti-cringe culture" sentiments which can be connected to many internet-based subgroups.

joypunk can obviously extend beyond the stated usage above, but in general can be used to describe any way in which you prioritize joy in your life.

however, the following individuals can never be joypunk, as they violate one of it's basic tenants, which is basic respect to others:

bigots and hate groups such as terfs, truscum, transmeds, trump supporters, cryptofascists, the far right, neo-nazis, etc etc you get the idea

pedophiles, MAPS, etc.

those who support incest or "consensual incest"

those who support any other sort of abuse or those that are themselves abusers

those that do not respect the boundaries of others, whether that be in relationships, within a community, etc.

those that appropriate from other cultures

those that purposefully seek out those the disagree with for the sole purpose of harassing and berating said individuals. joypunks emphasize joy, not hate.

again, joypunks seek to emphasize fun and joy when it comes to their own joy, as well as the joy of others in their community. you cannot be a joypunk if you actively support harmful rhetoric or if you are general a rude and disrespectful person. joypunk is about respecting your fellow community members and prioritizing their joy as well as yours. be kind to others.

[lesbianismellegreenaway]

no nuance november except i do provide nuance because let’s be educated: criminal minds edition

1. spencer getting mad at jj and the whole fight thing during 7x02 was completely ridiculous. it was a spy mission and its the fucking fbi, jj couldn’t go around telling literal fbi secrets and when reid shoved his addiction at her, that was the biggest guilt tripping thing ever and jj didn’t deserve that at all (also reid getting snippy with her was not it and giving her the cold shoulder)

2. you guys ignore elle, morgan, and jj’s (and probably others but i’m blanking rn) trauma all in favor of reid. we shouldn’t compare trauma but the way you guys obsess over reid getting hurt yet when it’s a woman or a poc you guys just ignore it and then villanize them (jj and elle). it’s just sexist and racist and there’s no excusing it.

3. speaking of elle, you guys got mad at her for going rogue?? she killed a literal rapist???? like literally go her. but you guys got mad at her for snapping at the team??? that’s what trauma does to you like god forbid the traumatized woman snaps again, see point 2

4. idc what anyone says ashley seaver is annoying and was so god damn bland, call me sexist but i simply did not vibe with her especially when she was unnecessarilyrude to spencer (i probably don’t like her cause she was meant to be a younger jj cause cbs thought the show wouldn’t do well with older women)

5. speaking of people being rude to spencer, when they (the bau) tell him to shut up???? like it doesn’t take a profiler to know that he likes his facts and tid bits of info getting validated and when his friends shut him down??? like that’s not cool bro-

6. i am so sorry but i just hate how quirky garcia is like it’s just so annoying and i try to love it but i am so sorry i know everyone loves her but i simply am not on the same vibe length with her 😪✌️

7. someone should’ve called reid out for being a dick to emily during his addiction post revelations. like just because someone is going through it does not mean they get to be an ass (but i also do wish at least one of the team members comforted reid about his addiction besides that vague thing we got in jones with gideon because they comfort strauss but not their own team member?? huh??)

8. if you know that emily was supposed to be a lesbian and you still ship hotchniss (or any other emily/male character),,,, that’s lowkey homophobia luv

9. elle greenaway is a lesbian (have you SEEN her hatred of men, she was the stereotypical mean lesbian and good on her)

10. i know thomas gibson got fired but couldn’t they have written a better exit for hotch??? like my man just stopped showing up a few episodes and then got announced he was going into witness protection??

11. elephants memory is def one of the top 3 best episodes of criminal minds

12. writing maeve in..... was a choice. i love the actress (beth riesgraf) with my entire heart but she was the literal women in refrigerators trope and she honestly deserved better

13. the writers of the show making gay men predatory but not including gay men protagonists???? like ik cbs said no to bi!reid and lesbian!prentiss but the least you could do is like not make the lgbt community villains and predators when it’s a common stereotype???

14. the way you guys write jj so ooc in your fics- sexism❤️

15. on a final note, most of the cast has done something bad and lowkey problematic yet they haven’t done anything to improve even when they were called out,,,, stop stanning people you don’t personally know

[dodstoldpackage]

Pluralkit — Why You Should Add It To Your Servers!

“What is Pluralkit for?”

Pluralkit is a discord server bot that allows multiple/plural/system members to talk with proxies!

“What’s a system (plural/multiple)?”

A system is multiple people or consciousnesses in one body!

Imagine it as many friends in a room except that room is one body. Everyone is their own individual or person but have to share a body with other people.

“Why is Pluralkit important for discord servers?”

It helps so that multiples/plurals/systems can talk to their full extent! Each system member can talk as themselves and not as their host/frequent fronter(s) and not get confused as them.

“Why can’t they just change the nickname on their discord account?”

Because not everyone will be aware that they’re a system right away and to anyone who’s not educated on being a system, it would just look like the person was changing their name as opposed to it being someone different talking. Which, it is someone different talking.

For example, if you were always hanging around your best friend and went off on your own for the first time to talk to someone, you would probably feel really crappy if they mistaked you for your best friend. Especially if that was the only reason they thought you were cool to talk to.

“How will I know the account that it’s tethered to?”

System tags! Most systems set up tags with Pluralkit and add them to their nicknames to help aid the moderation team and other members. You can also react to a proxied message with ❓ to get a dm with the account information!

“What if one of the system members was mean to another server member and that person wanted to block them?”

Unfortunately, there are limitations with the bot and discord for this. But if a system member was mean, it’s up to the system to make sure they don’t keep interacting with the other person if they can’t be civil. You can still block the main account, but unfortunately proxied messages are a different thing. Which I realise seems like a flaw, but this bot is very important for systems to have!

“What if a system member breaks a rule? Does that mean the system gets off scotch free?”

No! System members are all responsible for each other and keeping everyone in check! If the person refuses to keep fronting after they’ve done something wrong, other system members are expected to do whatever needs to be done to take that responsibility (ie apologise, not fight if they get a warning or banned or kicked, etc)! Besides, most systems are really good about not letting system members talk in places where they could get everyone into trouble.

“What about roles? Would it give them extra permissions?”

Nope. The only permissions members will have is whatever is tethered to their original account. Pluralkit doesn’t make additional accounts nor does it give anyone any roles.

“How would I know someone’s pronouns if I can’t see their account information just by clicking on their name?”

Again, you can always react with ❓ to get their account information that way. A lot of systems also set pronouns in the displaynames of their system members. Or, you can always ask!

“Why do the proxied messages get labeled as ‘bot’?”

This is due to limitations with discord. They aren’t actually bots, they’re real people. Pluralkit doesn’t invite any other bots, I promise!

“What about Tupperbox? Or is that rude to suggest?”

There’s nothing wrong with Tupperbox, it’s just less widely used by systems and can create double proxying issues if both bots are in the server! It’s not rude to suggest Tupperbox at all, but you’re better bet is still likely with Pluralkit.

“What if plurality isn’t what our server focuses on?”

It’s still important to have. You never know how many systems would like to join your server or have joined it already without offering them what they need to be open about it. Plus, it shows further inclusivity to those in your community! Just because someone is a system, doesn’t mean they aren’t apart of other communities as well. You can be a system and kin, a system and lgbt, a system and bodily a poc, etc.

“What about security? I don’t want to add any bots that might be dangerous.”

Pluralkit has a very open source code and doesn’t save anyone’s information or data outside of the systems using it. And, even then, they’re really only saving front percentages, message count, and information on individual members that has been put into the bot. They don’t keep any track at all on who’s using it or not using it. They don’t even take the time to search for trolls to ban them from using the bot. They do not care for your data at all.

“Is it a hard bot to set up?”

Nope! You really just add it. Just make sure it has all the permissions it needs in every channel and you’re good to go! The most important being “manage webhooks,” “read messages,” and “send messages.” If you’re confused by any of this, you can message us. We’re very good about setting up server permissions for members and bots!

Below are some example screenshots from me (Aspen).

This is an example proxy. Not all systems use emojis like ours. This is an example of what it may look like while the system member is typing their proxy.

This is what it looks like directly after the message is sent! Top is our original account, bottom is my proxied message.

End result! The original message gets deleted and what’s left is the system member’s proxied message. That snake next to my name on the message is our system tag. All systems (who use tags) have different tags and do them differently. We have our tag set in our nickname for just about every server we’re in (at least all of them that have Pluralkit). The tag helps to indicate that it was our account that the proxied message came from.

Things to note:

System members are not their proxies! They’re real people. The proxies (ie the emojis and such) that create the proxied messages just tell Pluralkit to re-send the message as a proxied message. I reiterate, System Members Are Real People With Real Feelings! They just happen to share a body with others.

If you have a bad run in with a system or a few, that’s not how all systems are! Most of them are very nice! We’re not trolls either, we don’t want to attack your communities, we just want to feel more included elsewhere.

If you have a bad run in with a system member or a few, that doesn’t mean the whole system(s) are bad. Some system members just aren’t always the nicest people. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive the other members who are really trying to be nice and be your friend.

[binickandros]

Hey I know it was a few days ago you said this but I'm coming into your asks to also complain about how much they sidelined Nick in the Stand. I legitimately don't understand the creative choice to focus on Harold as the main character and sideline Nick and the other, bigger characters. Yes Owen Teague is a fantastic actor, he was amazing, but the decision was presumably made long before his casting. Why was this the Harold Lauder show whereas Nick was barely in it, I... don't understand :(

Stand ranting anon again: I just wanted to add that I would be fine with the amount of screen time Harold got, if all the other characters got the same amount, like if it was a 20 episode season and we could get a whole episode of Nick backstory, of Frannie etc. We only even saw Frannie pre-plague through the fence whilst Harold was creeping on her, which is really... Not Great. So yeah I just feel like it was bizarre they used their limited time in the way they did, very confused.

Listen, nonny, LISTEN: I may never be over this injustice. I am a CANCER, we hold GRUDGES, and you can consider this one fuckin well HELD. Uh this gets long sooo...

I watched the 94 miniseries when it aired and of course immediately loved Nick. Shortly after that I read the book for the first time and loved Nick even more (Larry is 2nd, then prob Fran, then Stu), and over the years I’ve rewatched the mini-series and re-read the book and I was always like “man, I’d love to see an adaptation of this without network TV limitations, just like dark and creepy and atmospheric, but with the good guys winning the day” as they do.

So fast forward to 2011 or whenever and there are tentative announcements of a movie. Eh, not great, nowhere near enough time. Then!! A limited series!! Which is just a miniseries made fancy.

My dumb ass: more time in Shoyo!! Maybe Rita AND Nadine!! More time with Fran and her dad!! Etc etc

Welp I guess I got one of those things, but at what cost!! A whole entire Lucy, and uh...p much everything else I might have wanted.

I was talking about this with someone else (you know who you are but don’t wanna tag you in case you, like me, avoid the mortifying ordeal of being known at all cost) and we were both like “okay what EXACTLY about our culture right now made the adapters here (including King’s own son, Owen) think that a story about good v. evil somehow needed to focus on the red pill incel????”

Like they obviously had some idea about making the story more diverse, but because of the way they then used those characters, it felt like performative with no substance.

Ralph Brentner is now a Native woman?? Love it!! She’s also a glorified extra until the last few episodes?? Oh pls fuck off.

Larry is Black?? Great! A Black main character!! Except of course he’s NOT because HAROLD IS.

Nick’s now Latino! Buuuut played by a hearing actor. Which actually only matters in principle because we’re going to try to sweep our bullshit decision-making under the rug by hardly having him on camera. Won’t show up till episode 3, gone by episode 6, in one 2-minute scene in episode 5. Good job, guys! *high fives all around the writers’ room*

I’d honestly like to see someone with way more time on their hands do a screen time comparison between Nick and Harold, or Harold and literally every other character on this show. They opened with Harold, he was in every episode in a major way, he got a CLOSING MONOLOGUE and MONTAGE of his LIFE, while Nick just blew up and then was mentioned a few times and that was it.

I mean I guess they attempted something meaningful by having him...looking at that picture or postcard before the bomb? Which was like someone on a boat, so was maybe his mom, or reminded him of his mom? But how the hell were we to know that, bc we got the piece of exposition about his mom from FLAGG in ONE SCENE, and we’d never seen that picture before, nor do we have any idea of the significance of “Silencio,” which was written on the picture and was the title of the episode. It was literally not meaningful AT ALL bc we as the audience didn’t know a goddamn thing about it, and it was “blink and you miss it.”

I thought 9 hours would give us more time for backstory. That’s what I was looking forward to. Like Fran burying her dad was sad bc duh he’s her DAD and he’s DEAD, but it’s so much more meaningful when you’ve seen them bonding. Even the 94 miniseries, which had to cut some stuff for time, showed us how close they were, and the scene of her stitching his shroud was heartbreaking.

How did Stu, a 45-year-old man (tho that’s James Marsden’s age and I think they mean for Stu to be younger), come to fall in love w Frannie, a 20ish-year-old girl?? Who knows! He saw her on the road and thought she was cute and I guess that was that. She’s a college student from Maine and he works in a calculator factory (or something idr) in East Texas and there’s a huge age difference, so what do they have in common? Ah fuck it who cares let’s see what Harold’s doing.

I just honestly would like to know the thought process here. I think. Let’s be real. This is what happens when your main creative team is nerdy white boys. They identify with Harold: he’s an “outsider,” he’s “misunderstood,” if only people hadn’t been so mean to him!

An adaptation created by 2 white dudes. A writers’ room with all white dudes, except ONE woman who, for all we know, was just there, again, as tokenism. This is what happens when white men create for themselves without any real input from women, POC, or members of the LGBT community. Because the “gay rep” on this show is a whole other rant.......

Anyway, nonny, I’m writing a Nick fic rn that will hopefully see the light of day soon, and it’s literally. All Nick. And an OC bc Nick deserves love too!! And no Julie does not count. I’m not saying that just as shameless self promotion, but also to show that I was so incensed by this bullshit adaptation that I’ve now written 35k words and they JUST LEFT SHOYO, all while starting school doing something I’ve never even dipped my toe into before, so it’s fairly intense work.

Justice for Nick Andros. He deserved better from the source material, and somehow an adaptation made in 2020 (when we should all know better) made it So. Much. Worse.

[endermansdirt]

Are YOU looking for a creative mode mc realm?

Are you looking for an LGBT+ poc + nuerodivergent friendly realm?

LOOK NO FURTHER!!1!

how do i get in to Crafty Homos?

join our discord server!!

cool! now fill out the application forum!!

boom now ur playin the craft

[8-evil-annoying-catboys]

im so tired of being hyperaware of my skin tone and how i’m affected by white privilege as a white-passing poc while actual white people get to walk around acting like they’re more oppressed than any given poc because of other axes of oppression. like. im poor, neurodivergent, trans, gay, and mexican and im much more aware of how just LOOKING white gives me WAY more privilege than any of my darker-skinned siblings and cousins within the exact same oppressed groups as myself or even who are allocishet and abled and middle class, than the average trans gay poor neurodivergent Actual white person is. being/looking white ALWAYS comes first. white passing poc generally understand this because we see what our family members go through that we don’t. white people just, like... don’t see it, i guess? or if they do, they ignore it. and im sick of it. the phrase “check your privilege” applies to almost EVERYONE, but ESPECIALLY white people, and yes that means ALL white people regardless of what struggles you have. i am not saying this to belittle the struggles of other oppressed communities, but white people in those communities NEED to understand that they still have an advantage against poc. for the most part—ie, unless you’re visibly disabled, pretty much—people won’t see you as an lgbt person, or a poor person, or a person with mental illness, or an invisibly disabled person at first glance. even for white passing poc, people don’t see us as poc at first glance and sometimes won’t even see us as poc after we tell them we are (which is... a whole other post unto itself tbh). but if you are clearly, visibly not white, then people—especially white people, but even poc do this—will see you on the street and register you as “a mexican” (or if they’re more culturally sensitive they might think “a latino”/“a latina” but let’s be honest most ppl who aren’t latine think of all latines as mexican by default, in america at least) or “a Black person” or “an asian person” or “an indigenous person” and they WILL define you by your ethnicity, or what they think your ethnicity is, and make judgements about you based on that before you even say a word. white people get to live without even paying that any mind, if they want to. and while people are still ableist, still classist, still anti-LGBT, still intersexist, etc., to white people, any and all other forms of oppression and prejudice are magnified by racism to an extent that white people could not begin to understand. please, for the love of GOD, recognise that just because you’re oppressed in some other way, that does NOT erase your white privilege, and in fact your white privilege protects you from more intense oppression whether you realise it or not. try to develop some compassion, try to imagine how it feels for a person of color who is disabled/lgbt/intersex/poor/female/otherwise oppressed in exactly the same way you are. if it doesn’t make you want to cry you’re not doing it right.

[talesofsymphoniablog]

An Open Statement to the Larger Tales Community [IMPORTANT UPDATE 15 JULY]

[UPDATE 15 JULY ‘20] As of today, I want to make an important correction to my post, in order to acknowledge my mistaken assessment of the situation. I’ve been informed that, while the document in question was originally created as a callout to ostracize and dogpile the intended victim, the original creator has decided against doing so and instead cut ties with the Vesperia community. According to what I’ve been told, the document should never have been circulated in the first place and should have been deleted. I was made aware of its existence by someone who just now noticed that the document was still publicly available to share and feared that meant it was or would soon be circulating as originally planned. (I don’t know the reason as to why it was not deleted and has remained publicly shareable.)

This document should never have been shared or circulated, and as far as I know, there were no recent plans from the creator to do so. However, speaking for myself, the amount of pain involved in finding out that my own private messages with my dear friends were so meticulously catalogued and misinterpreted is still immense. Considering the original creator has stepped back and wants to let it rest, I see no reason to press the issue, and am going to step away from it. It is not my place to pass judgment, especially upon things that are in the past. But I also won’t begrudge my friends and all those involved, who feel the continued online existence of the document suggests the potential for future distribution, their right to be skeptical of these claims and cautious in all future interactions. I pray that everyone takes care of themselves to the best of their ability. Know that you have the right, not only to express yourself in fandom, but also to have private spaces where you can express your feelings and frustrations without worry.

Thank you all for your support. We’ll now return to our usual Symphonia content.

Mod Colette ♡

(Original post text below the cut:)

I know many of you are just here for Symphonia content, but it has come to Mod Colette's attention that a group within the fandom of another Tales game, Tales of Vesperia, has been reaching out to other fans with so-called "evidence" against a member of their community in an attempt to ostracise and potentially dogpile him. They have gathered screenshots from private discord servers, betraying the trust of all those involved, and amassing a wealth of out-of-context conversations interpreted to vilify their intended victim. Some of you, if you associate with the Vesperia community, may find this "evidence" sent to you and may find yourselves "warned" about this community member.

I will never tell you what to believe, and will never insist that anyone interact with people that have wronged you personally. But I urge you to critically consider any "evidence" sent to you of someone's wrongdoing, especially when it's ambiguously interpreted, and especially when it's aimed at a small POC LGBT+ creator. I understand those characteristics alone do not make someone infallible. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. We all say and do things we don't mean at the time or that we later find out are wrong. But I am one of those whose privacy was breached in the gathering of this "evidence," and as a former victim of criminal stalking (both in-person and online), I'm horrified and frightened by these actions. To compile a document like this in order to accuse someone else of stalking reeks of hipocrisy. Knowing how damaging this kind of trauma is, I won't encourage anyone to get involved in this situation. But if you wish to learn more or find yourself pulled into the situation, I urge you to call this document out for what it is: cyber bullying and suicide-baiting.

I will continue to run this blog. I am not backing down from the Tales fandom because of this. But I need to make public my stance. We cannot allow this to become an accepted behavior in the Tales community. You don't have to personally interact with everyone and are encouraged to block and blacklist where needed. But everyone deserves to have a place in fandom for their own personal enjoyment. If not, we're failing not only ourselves, but every future Tales fan who comes to join this community.

Sincerely yours,

Mod Colette ♡

[buttercupjosh]

Hot take: If more NHL/hockey players had people of color in their families, I think they’re would be slightly more activism about racism....just sayin......

(I know I’m reaching for straws here with this post but bear with me on it)

(Yes, this may or may not come from the fact that Jason Dickinson’s father is from the Caribbean (his dad is from Saint Kitts, which 90% of the population is of African descent, 3% mixed, 2% white, 1% Indian but I can’t confirm if his dad’s racial background) and y’all already know that Jason was at the front at WC press conference against racism and he kneeled during the anthem with Tyler Seguin. I know you can’t pick what family you’re born into but you can decide to stand up and advocate for others.)

(Also, this does include their romantic relationships. If there was more acceptance of a player having a POC partner, more of them would be speak up about racial injustice and inequality because it’s directly affecting someone that they love and they’re probably more likely to have those difficult conversations with them. (Side note: Tyler Motte’s girlfriend is a woman of color and he supports HDA. You love to see it😌!!) Unfortunately, hockey isn’t the most diverse sport. We know that these guys compete with each other and show off what they have and tend to have a type and most of them date someone within that type. (Side note: I think social norms also play a factor into this as well. If most guys grew up in a majority White area, they may not have a lot of exposure to certain racial concepts and be hesitant or ignorant towards race and racism. Also, if most guys on a team are dating supermodels, being perfomative activists and buying sports cars, then other players are more likely to desire and do the same because it’s something that everyone else around is doing and it adds the pressure of wanting to be accepted by their peers and it becomes normalized within their specific player culture.) Yes, I know that we can’t change who they’re attracted to but it would so great if more players openly were romantically involved with a person of color (in a serious, authentic and non performative way) and it wasn’t seen as something that’s strange or make him seen as an outcast and wouldn’t be judged or harassed or made uncomfortable or feel embarrassed or ashamed by others because of it. Also, I’m not bashing or criticizing the type of girls that they date/marry either, there’s nothing wrong with them, it’s just different as a woman of color to see these players date within the same type of “skinny, blonde or brunette, could basically be a model” girl and yes, as weak as it sounds, that reality can make you feel insecure and feel like you’re not enough to them and that they don’t care about you, even if you don’t want to date them. There’s nothing wrong with them having a type, we all do, but just think about how it would be so amazing if more people of color could take on that role as well. I know the league is full of racist players and fans and that plays a factor as well. I know that it’s so unlikely that this is going to happen anytime soon but this is just something that runs through my mind at times. Also, your worth shouldn’t be determined or placed into the hands of others. You’re worthy and valid, even if others don’t see it and you don’t feel like it😌)

(This can also apply to LGBT+ community as well. Members of the LGBT+ community are also subject to inequality and injustice and exclusion. I’m speaking about POC because I’m black. I’m not complaining with this post and I know that there’s not much I can do about it, I’m getting some thoughts that have been sitting in my mind for a while off of my chest. I’m sorry for the ramble and that it’s so long, I just needed to let it all out.)

[juno-nureyev]

(Part 1) I saw someone say that Lovecraft is an amazing show that puts black people at the forefront in a sci fi genre which is one genre they don’t usually occupy but they’re frustrated with how they handle LGBT issues. As an aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter I agree but as an LGBT poc i also agree with the other point. I get why they write the characters the way they do (complicated, often closed off, etc) - the time period, their personal individual experiences, etc but-

(Part 2 of person talking about liking Lovecraft for putting black people in sci fi drama but has issues with LGBT elements of show)- but its bad that Montrose, a gay black man, kills a member of the LGBT community JUST to move the plot forward. Then in the ep 5 he gets to live his best life after just murdering someone. Also let’s not have the gay black guy die in the end. Even if Montrose is a complicated guy, it looks bad for the LGBT community like why can’t we have good representation too

Yeah I think it’s doing an amazing job as far as your first point. It’s beautifully done there. There’s how many white main characters? One? Or something.

And I also agree with the lgbt thing. Although, I feel like the lgbt characters being much more closed off and stuff kind of makes sense because it’s the 50s and that was—not a good time for it. But yeah as far as their depiction of lgbt stuff. Like it’s kind of fifty fifty if you ask me. If you exclude yahima I would be very happy with what they’ve done so far and hopeful for what else they might do?? But they knew they were gonna kill her in the same episode and they made her trans anyway. In my opinion—as another aspiring filmmaker, yoo—if you know you’re gonna kill your character, dont make them your token trans character. Unless you plan to have more trans characters. I dislike the idea that lgbt characters can’t be killed just like your other characters you know? But don’t like, don’t kill us off if we’re the only one in the cast anywhere because that definitely looks bad. So if they bring in more it would be a lot better than it is currently.

I don’t want montrose to be killed for that reason too tho. Like yeah there’s more than one gay character in this case but—he’s the only main character that is that we know of for a fact.

I also just as a rule love redemption arcs so I’m always hoping for that shit.

[writtenbyhappynerds]

Fanfic 102: Unit 3, Diversity

          Hello! Welcome back. This week we’re going to talk about Diversity. Beyond how to insert diversity into your writing, the nuances, and the ways you can create a believable character. The Editor and I understand how sensitive of a subject this is, and wanted to take the time to make sure the information we are doling out is inclusive and well-written and quality. There is often a lack of diversity in media and books, and often when it is included it’s shoe-horned in for brownie points. We understand that, and we want the up-and-coming writers to be better than those before them. The two most important things to remember are the following: no diversity beats terribly-done diversity, and, the way that the character is diverse is not and should never be their whole personality. We will be discussing LGBT, ableism, and race.

          The LGBT community is a vibrant community with members of all shapes and sizes. The most important part when writing a character who is gay or trans is that this aspect is part of their identity but it is not their whole identity. When we discussed characterization in Fanfiction 101, we talked about not reducing side characters or members of the cast to one-note aspects of their personality. The same applies here, and a character’s sexuality or gender expression should not be at the forefront of every conversation. You shouldn’t create these characters with their sexual or gender identity being at the forefront of your mind, because you wouldn’t do that for a straight or cis character. You wouldn’t sit down to make a character with your first thought being ‘ok but they have to be cis,’ so it’s silly to do the same to a gay or trans or nonbinary character. Make them like you would any other character. What changes would be aspects of their identity, or values they hold near and dear to their heart or motivations. Those may be different than a straight character or a cis-gender character.

          If you’re straight or cis and writing a gay or trans character, you need to do your research to accurately portray the character in a realistic and believable way. An example we love is Todd Chavez in Bojack Horseman, who portrayed an asexual character, and Todd’s journey as he came into his own. Bojack Horseman also portrayed polyamory with Hollyhock, who was the adopted daughter of 8 dads. What we enjoyed was that Todd’s sexuality added dimension to his character. It didn’t reduce him to being the token LGBT representative, and it didn’t force him into a box where he could only focus on LGBT issues. Todd was and is so much more than that, and his sexuality is a part of his story, but it’s not the sole story.

Rick Riordan is a master of writing experiences that are not his own, and he cheated the system by basing his characters off of people he knew. This is a method that you can use. You can base your characters off of friends, public figures, etc. If you decide to not do that, googling what transgender men and women have to experience or what top surgery is isn’t enough. I would suggest looking to Youtube, where many transgender and LGBT  influencers have talked about their experiences. I would suggest looking to forums, Reddit being one of them. Yahoo Answers is also a really good source. What you want is as many experiences as you can get: ones that are similar, and ones that contrast. The goal is to combine them and make your own character in a melting pot of other experiences. You owe it to not only those who read your story but yourself to do the research. You want your characters to represent the communities you do, and the ones you don’t as best you can.

          Let’s move on to people of color (POC). The same rules we’ve discussed prior apply: A poorly written POC is worse than no POC (Looking at you Baljeet). In addition, that POC’s ethnicity should not be their entire personality, and if you are creating a character just to say that you have made a POC, then you have already failed. There are many issues we see when we find people of color in fanfiction. Among them are language barriers, naming, and a misinterpretation of cultural values and experiences.

          Putting words in a foreign language in the middle of fanfic is very, very common. You see it everywhere. In Avengers fanfic it’s Russian or Norse. In Batman fanfic, it’s any of the languages that the Batkids speak. The writers put in these conversations that sometimes go on for pages in another language, and then add an author’s note at the bottom with the translation. This is awkward, and when you read books, this is something you never see. If you want your character to speak another language, you don’t need to actually write the other language. Putting a few sentences through Google translate doesn’t make you a better or more dedicated writer than someone who adds the tag: “she was screaming now, all her words coming out in rapid French.” Tags can be used to dictate a change in language, and I encourage you to use them. Now, there are of course exceptions to this rule, and those exceptions usually lie in food, names, and things. Calling someone a name that is in another language is fine. Describing food in another language is fine, and things are generally ok. But that’s just for you. Your characters also have to speak the language.

          No one worth their salt or heritage is going to go through a moment where they start out speaking in their fluent tongue and then “forget” to switch back and forth between English and their native language. It is so incredibly unrealistic and awful and it lets the reader know someone who is not actually bilingual wrote this piece of work. When you learn two languages, here’s what really happens: you forget words. You have to stumble through words in your own language before you get to the one you need. You call things, “that thing.” You point. You sometimes say “what’s that called?” you find aspects of the second language, or even your own language stupid and you don’t want to do it. You get words mixed up and you make mistakes. That’s all okay, and that all happens, and should be written as such. One of my teachers never forgot the French word for spider because she got the shit scared out of her by one and didn’t know what to call it when she needed someone to kill it. My aunt took 3 years to learn Turkish by immersion and now can speak it fluently. You don’t even need to be fluent in every language, and many people only know a handful of words in one or a few sentences in another. That’s totally okay! If anything that’s more realistic because it’s super hard to learn a new language and speak it fluently. Don’t force your characters into a box like that. Let them make mistakes.

          Culture is a huge thing when writing POC. You have to keep in mind that culture shifts, and what may have been culturally huge for one set of characters won’t be as significant for others. You want your characters to interact with their culture in a way that is realistic, and not reductive. Kelly from the Office is a great example, as she invites the office to celebrate Diwali with her. Lara Jean from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is another example. We see her eat Korean food at home, and in the books, she still celebrates Korean holidays. Where the shift comes into play can be seen in Never Have I Ever where Devi is not as Indian as her parents, and we see her struggle with the culture. She still goes to Hindu association things, Ganesh puja, and she wears Indian clothes. However, she’s still a normal teenager out chasing boys and worrying about colleges. In Superstore the Muslim character prays 5 times a day, and still works at the grocery giant. The big takeaway is that these people have lives that include, but aren’t limited to their cultures. They aren’t reduced to stereotypes.

          Naming characters is already rough. However, naming characters from a different background than you are even tougher. The Editor has a lot of anger towards Panju Weasley, from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Her exact words, as they were texted to me:

**

>Like Cursed Child where Ron and Padma has a kid named Panju.

>What the fuck is a Panju?

>That’s literally the dumbest name in the world

>All she had to google was Indian names.

>There are so many fucking lists.

>I dont even think it’s an actual name. Like it might be a nickname for some people but I dont think people have actually named their child panju.

**

          As usual, the Editor is very correct. There is a simple solution to getting around what we’ll call the Panju Dilemma- a phrase which we’ll use to describe terrible naming choices of POC. In Fanfiction 101 we had an entire unit centered around naming. Nameberry.com exists, and if they don’t have it all you need to do is Google the country of origin and the sex of the OC. Sometimes you can add in the year the OC was born, to really get a feel for the time period, but that doesn’t always work. For example, in one of our stories we have a cluster of kids from Syria. When it came time to name said kids, we Googled: popular Syrian names 2003. That’s how we got our OCs: Reem, Nour, Nizar, Jano, and Stella. Naming is very important, and you owe it to your readers and your characters to do them justice, and not saddle them with a terrible name.

          The final note of diversity we want to talk about is actual ability. Ableism is often overlooked in movies, shows, or books. It is something that is shoehorned in as an extra adversary for the OC or the cast, only *gasp* This time the biggest adversary is themselves. I hate that. I want to eliminate that because as someone with a disability and someone who has worked with kids with disabilities, you can absolutely write and code characters like that in so long as, and say it with me now, it is not their entire personality.

          You can totes write a character with anxiety and/or depression, so long as you don’t snub these very real mental disorders that millions face on a daily basis. You also have a duty, especially with anxiety and depression, to not glorify, glamorize, or romanticize either. Do not romanticize self-harm. Do not romanticize anxiety. Do not romanticize depression. They are not cruel tricks of life that befall beautiful intelligent women. It is not “tragically beautiful.” Depression and anxiety and self-harm are not a paragraph for you to lament on while the OC gazes longingly out the window at her lover. Anxiety keeps some people from talking on the phone they’re so nervous. It gives girls panic attacks in mall food courts because they don’t know what’s going on anymore. Depression isn’t your OC watching the rain in a hoodie and sweats, it’s not showering for days on end because you can’t find the motivation to. It’s having insomnia because you can’t sleep. Self-harm is not an OC’s love interest holding their wrists and telling them to stop. It is deep pain and numbness and hurting yourself to try and feel something. It is rubbing Neosporin on your cuts and hoping they go away. It is forcing your friends to keep it a secret because you don’t want anyone to know because what if they take it away from you. These mental disorders are not yours to romanticize. They are yours to show the growth and power and strength of your characters. They are yours to use to show how trauma has affected your character and can represent normality behind mental health and emotion and talking about things like this. Even more so than girls, writing a male OC with anxiety or depression is more empowering because you are allowing a character to talk about their feelings when that isn’t seen as acceptable by their sex. If you feel you are able to take that plunge, and you can do the adequate research to represent the disorder well, go for it.

          In addition to mental health, physical disabilities are often overlooked. I have a chronic illness. I have never seen in a book, movie, TV show, or fanfiction anyone with a chronic illness, let alone my chronic illness. That in of itself is a broad term, and I’ll let chronic illness mean anything from lupus and POTS to asthma and anemia. These disabilities make a character have to work harder, but hey, look at Captain America. The boy had every disability under the sun and he got out alright. No one is going to make changes for you. You have to be the change you want to see. If I want OCs with chronic illnesses, I have to write them and do them justice by not only my community but the communities that I don’t represent. Jeremy Scott’s The Ables is a great example of writing disability and using it as part of, but not a character’s entire identity. The main characters all have superpowers but are put in a class that doesn’t allow them to use said powers. This is because they are all disabled. The main character is blind and telekinetic, another can read minds but is in a wheelchair, another is a genius but has cerebral palsy. Their disabilities are a minor obstacle, but not the big bad, and that is a great way to write disability. People who live with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses have to deal with said limitations every day. To us, as time goes on it becomes less of the monster at the end of the story and more of an everyday beast. It becomes normal, and there are bigger things for us to worry about than just our disease. This speaks for every aspect of diversity we have covered in this chapter: The people with said note have to live with it every day. It is a common enemy, not the final boss. To treat it as such is to say that it is our biggest concern in life. I wish my chronic illness was my biggest concern, but I have other fish to fry.

          What we have done here is not an all-inclusive list of diversity. This chapter took 2 weeks to write because the Editor and I wanted to do right by our community. Not just the communities we proudly represent but the communities we don’t. There are many more nuances and aspects to diversity that are out there, and what we have presented is our best. Yet it is still incomplete. If there is something important that you feel we have left out, we sincerely apologize. We acknowledge that what we have written here is not all-encompassing for diversity. We wanted to talk about issues that are common occurrences. However, what we have covered is not the end-all of what’s out there. We apologize for the delay, and to make up for it, our next unit Writing Children will be published at the same time as this one. We sincerely apologize for the delay.

Xoxo, Gossip Girl

[gulgbtqplus]

EGM candidates

Our EGM is on October 9th, 2020. If you would like to run for any position, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/EMdnNa7Nr7ybah7E6! We will be updating this list as responses come in.

VP Secretary

1) Robyn (they/them)

GULGBTQ+ has been a real lifeline for me (like many others) since I started university and especially now in my 3rd year in the middle of a pandemic. And so I would love to be VP Sec to give back, support and uplift the community that’s had my back and been my safe space for the last few years.

I previously spent some time as Non-Binary officer last year so I already have an insight into the on-goings of the society. And I also attended Trans and Non-Binary coffees nearly every week. As VP Sec I would want to give more attention and accessibility to POC, disabled, and trans students in particular, especially right now.  I would love to continue to work with the SRC and GUSocNet in particular, and reach out to others also. As a home student, I know the importance of having a network and so I would love to keep strengthening the network we have built as a community and expanding it. But of course most importantly working alongside our already amazing exec and committee to put ideas into motion. (And maybe make a zine or two ya know).

I realise the massive responsibility that is being part of the exec but I’m more than willing to rise to that challenge this year. Overall I want everyone to feel like they have a safe space within the society and that this is their community too. It would be a joy to be your VP Sec this year and continue to help carry on the community we have here! :) (And stay safe!)

2) Liam (he/him)

I’d be the right candidate as since I’ve joined I’ve been active in the society whether it be events or discussions going on in the server. This is important as there always has to be an open channel for discussion and chat no matter the topic. Being the VP Secretary is a big undertaking and in that i'd love to be able to chat to you all whether it be in coffees, direct messages, or an anonymous poll every now and again to find out what direction you want the society to move in. The priorities of a society are fluid in a changing world and I believe i'd be the one to step up and give people the voice to help us steer in the right direction

Events Officer

1) Robyn (they/them)

As Events Officer, I would love to continue the work previous folk have done over the last few years in running more accessible and ever creative events. Moreover this would be incredibly important with the on-going Covid situation and I would love to have the challenge of creating new events with the committee and in the society to adapt to the new online environment. To find new ways of fundraising for the society and also making online events just as exciting as in-person events were. I’m a very creative, inventive and adaptable person thanks to my degree, the projects I do outside of university and work I did with charity events back at school. Last year, I spent some time as Non-Binary officer, attending trans & non-binary coffees throughout the year and so I have a decent idea of running events already in the society. I would strive to continue to make events more accessible and welcoming to POC, international and disabled students etc., and also manage the issues that previous years may have had by taking on constructive feedback consistently. In all, I want to create a space and event for everyone by solidifying communication inside the society and outside the society.

Communications and Technology Officer

1) Evelyn (they/them)

I’m a social and economic history student. I have found it really valuable to meet people through GULGBTQ especially the craft group. I really don't know what I'd have been able to do otherwise as I found it quite difficult making friends etc when I first came to Glasgow last year. On that note I would like to contribute to the society... Mostly I'd really like to improve the website e.g. the calendar is in need of a bit of TLC!

2) Liam (he/him)

As a technologically oriented person, I believe I would be able to do the Communications and Technology role justice by setting up regular channels for communication. The website as cute as it may be is dated and could do with a freshen up. This is however easier said than done, after evaluating with everyone what priorities for it we should have the slow process of neatening it can begin. To bring people to any events, the weekly announcements message could be posted on the page along with a link to the Discord server. The page is a representation of what we do as a society yet it lays bare with nought but who is on the committee and manifestos of who would like to be. Be gay do crime, thanks for listening.

Men’s Officer

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4 or 5 years. I came out as transgender in 2016, and since then have openly shared my transition and experiences on a small YouTube channel. I’m tired of the narrative that as a trans man I am not a “real” man, and the barriers faced by transmasculine individuals in accessing things that are typically put down as 'feminine' needs (sanitary bins - I’m looking at you!). I am incredibly keen to push for change in the teaching of healthcare subjects, so that it is less awkward accessing things such as cervical smears and menstrual care, and that healthcare teaching in general stops being focused from a cis-het viewpoint. Whilst that may be one of my personal main focuses, wider campaigns and work around challenging stigmas particularly associated with men’s mental health and sexual health is really important. So I’d want to make sure there is involvement in these too.

2) Liam (he/him)

GULGBT+ has so far done a great job of having everyone feel accepted and have a space to chat but at the moment there isn't a Mens Officer and from anecdotal experience there is a significant lean in the societies demographic to female students at least in terms of activity in the society. My aim as this years Mens Officer would be to make the society a welcoming place for all, whether this is through running events directed towards those who aren't aware of the society or aren't aware of its purpose.

International Officer

1) Alexandra (she/her)

After moving to the UK last year, there were so many new things that I had to learn and there was plenty of confusion and mistakes along the way. Now that I've settled in and I feel comfortable as a resident of Scotland, I would love to have the opportunity to give advice and guidance to those who are still figuring things out, or are just looking for solidarity during a difficult adjustment period. It can be so disorienting and isolating to leave behind your family and friends to move to a new country, and I hope to let some folks know that they're not alone and they can talk to me and all the other wonderful people in GULGBT. This club made a huge difference for me in this regard, and I want to make sure others get that opportunity as well!

2) Pat (they/them)

I've been an international student in different countries over the years and it's had a profound impact on how I can conceptualize and relate my own queer identity. Listening to and supporting each other as international students who are far from home and potentially in a very different situation culturally and linguistically is so important, when it comes to LGBTQIA+ issues as well as the bureaucratic and everyday. I want to make sure that the society is providing a space for international students and potentially make connections with other societies for international students to reach new members and share resources.

First Year Ordinary Member

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4-5years. Having already spent a fair bit of time getting to know many of the LGBT+ freshers’ community at UofG this year, I’d love to be able to act as a linked voice for them to help make sure they still manage to have a great first year’s experience. This certainly wasn’t the year anyone expected, and I’m really keen to try and help make the best of what we can so everyone has a positive start to their course.

Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4-5years. From completely relaunching my previous university’s LGBT+ society, to starting its first separate dedicated group for trans students, and being elected as the first trans rep for students across Scotland… my undergrad was busy! I’m really keen to bring the experiences I’ve had, and lessons I’ve learned, with me to GULGBT+ and get involved through my next 5years studying at UofG. Being a postgrad and/or mature student comes with its own unique challenges and I want to work with the committee, SRC, and wider university to make sure you are well supported in achieving all the things you want to whilst still being able to balance everything you have going on outside of university. Aside from that, something I am keen to work on during my time studying medicine, is making the curricula of healthcare subjects more inclusive of LGBT+ patient scenarios and education.

2) Pat (they/them)

Community is really important to me and has become even more so since the suspension of in-person meetings. When I came to Glasgow last year, I found that the vast majority of people I met through freshers events and societies were a good few years younger than me and it seemed like I was the only postgraduate/mature student around. I would like to continue facilitating a space for postmat students in the society and ensure that people older than the average student will feel welcome and at home in the society.

---

Preferences of those running for multiple positions:

Robyn

1. VP Secretary

2. Events Officer

Ethan

1. Men’s Officer

2. Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

3. First Year Ordinary Member

Pat

1. Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

2. International Officer

Liam

1. VP Secretary

2. Men’s Officer

3. Communications and Technology Officer

[irrevocably-delicious]

A Brief History of LGBT+ Characters and Why the Death of Adam in Voltron is Worth Being Upset About

So uh.... Good morning.

So I think it’s pretty obvious by now that the reception to season 7 has been less than... good. The fan base has been shattered. People are upset, angry, and abandoning this series in droves (I’ve lost over 50 followers as I write this, just from people no longer wanting anything to do with this show) and have been incredibly vocal as to the reason why.

They killed Adam. 

After two weeks of receiving praise for the relationship that was revealed at San Diego Comic Con, fans discovered on Friday night that Adam’s existence would be short lived, further contributing to this popular “Bury Your Gays” trope. 

And I’ve seen people confused at this outcry. They don’t understand why people are so upset at this tiny side character’s death. What’s the big deal, right? It’s war! There’s supposed to be casualties!

And to that kind of response I have to narrow my eyes and go:

“Oh.... maybe you understand the history of this.”

Because it is a history. A rich one. “Bury your gays” isn’t a trope in the same why that “Fake dating” is a trope. It’s not popular out of coincidence and I feel like many people are ignorant of that, which is FAIR! Because most voltron fans are young, most tumblr users are young, so I don’t expect you to be watching documentaries on LGBT+ cinema in between studying for your chemistry exams. 

So that’s where I come in. Buckle in children as I take you on a journey on why the “Bury your gays” trope exists, and the harmful ramifications that it has had on the LGBT+ community since its inception.

So lets go back. Way back to the 1920′s when homosexuality, or at least homosexuality adjacent themes were seen on screen. 

A time where a bro could kiss his bro, and it was seen as heart wrenching and realistic (Wings, 1927). A time where Marlene Dietrich could wear a suit better than a man, and flirt and kiss a lady just because she fucking could (Morocco, 1930). A time where gender roles were a bit looser, and there wouldn’t be an outcry over such imagery.

But as the great depression continued, and film producers became desperate to get butts in seats at the cinema, these LGBT+ themes became outright explicit. Raunchy even. Used for titillation and shock value. 

“Have you seen that new picture, Doris? The one where the roman emperor has the hot male sex slave?? Mmmmm scandalous!”

But with this rise of LGBT+ characters and interactions used for shock value, also came the rise of public outcry. The catholic church (those debbie downers) started boycotting films. This lead to the formation of the PRODUCTION CODE, which is a fancy way to say THE CODE THAT WILL NOW CENSOR THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR FILMS in 1934.

Backed by catholic activists, the code made it impossible for LGBT+ representation to exist on film. 

But did they?? See, this is actually were we start to see the development of “Queer coding”. Where actors and directors got savvy, and let you know a character was gay, whilst never explicitly stating so. It was subtle enough that it got past censors, but clear enough that audience members, especially LGBT+ people, got clued in.

Yeah Peter Lorre, you put that phallus shaped object next to your mouth a lot. They’ll get what your implying, don’t you worry. 

Oh, I’m sorry.... did i say you couldn’t have LGBT+ characters?? My mistake, you totally fucking could. Explicitly even.... if they were the villain. Religious people were totally cool if the villain in your film was LGBT+, because to them, that’s what LGBT+ people were.... villains. 

Film’s like Rebecca, Dracula’s Daughter, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope all centre around truly horrifying and despicable villains... who are all gay. LGBT+ villains became such a staple in horror films during this time that it lead to a whole near character archetype! We have the damsel in distress, the heroic soldier, the wise old man, now welcome the rise of the: 

PSYCHO QUEER.

Yikes. 

But why I’m talking about this so much is because this popularity in LGBT+ villains is what creates the “Bury your Gays” trope. 

Because the villains.... always die. 

It’s their comeuppance. Their karma. Of course bad people will die and the heroes will go one to live a happy life! But what crime are we punishing these villains for? 

The message these movies gets across to their audiences is that “If you are gay, you are a bad person... and bad people deserve to die”. Because Gay and villain were so synonymous with each other, they become one in the same, and as we all know by now REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

This influences how society views LGBT+ people, so that in 1952, when the PRODUCTION CODE of YOU BETTER NOT CONDONE ANYTHING SINFUL IN HERE BECAUSE JESUS DOESN’T LIKE THAT is torn down, things still don’t get much better for LGBT+ representation. 

LGBT+ characters no longer have to be villains, but society is still not super cool with LGBT+ people, so now we get a new archetype: The self hating tragic gay character. And often? These characters kill themselves, such as in 1961′s The Children’s Hour. Because this is palatable to audiences who do not condone homosexuality in any way, but watching an LGBT+ struggle with themselves? Watching them become overwhelmed by guilt and hatred until they decide that death is the only way out? How tragic! How cursed they are! How pitiful! How... marketable. 

But to see LGBT+ characters end up happy? Audiences at this time would not have stomached it, because to them, being LGBT was immoral and these characters were not deserving of happiness. A good analogy might be how modern audiences would view a film with a drug addict character in it. The addict either succumbs to their addiction and dies tragically, or they “Go straight” and have a happy ending. For these audiences in the 50s and 60s the only happy ending was a straight ending. 

Then in 1969 we get the Stonewall Riots, and in the 1970s things actually look alright.

That is until the 1980s and society finds a new reason to hate, fear and vilify LGBT+ people. The AIDS crisis wipes out lives and almost all positive representation in the media. This fear is echoed in film as LGBT+ people become villains again. Sleepaway Camp and Cruising are such examples. 

The 90′s are better. Whilst mainstream cinema is still vilifying LGBT+ in the 80s, more positive independent films still exist, and the success of the 1991 documentary Paris is Burning prompts Hollywood to go “Hey... maybe we can get some money if we pander to these LGBT+ folks”.

There is a brief period in the 90s where gay comedies like The Birdcage, In and Out, and To Wong Foo are allowed to exist. They’re comedies. The stereotypes are played for laughs, but there is a level of joy and care with these movies where even though these characters are making us laugh... for once we’re not laughing at them. We love these characters. We want them to succeed. No. One. Dies. 

It smells like progress. Finally.

Or at least it would. Because these films also exist in the same decade that Philadelphia wins Oscars and the musical Rent is winning Tonys. Both of these deal with the tragedy of the AIDS crisis and have main characters die from the disease. Am I going to point out that Rent has four characters suffering from AIDS, but the only one to die is the Trans-coded poc gay man? Yes. Yes I am. Meanwhile the heterosexual couple suffering from AIDS gets a happy ending.

Interesting. 

I hate you Rent. I hate you so goddamned much.

Also the 90s sees a good return to queer-coding villains. It’s always been there. It’s never really gone away, but I need to talk about the queer coding of 90′s villains because I’m sure all of you will actually recognise them.

Ah. There They are. Queer coding and Disney have a very rich history, which MANY articles have been written on. One might even say that it’s a... tale as old as time.

Mmmm no thank you. 

But why it is so rampant, particularly in animated films, is because the films have a limited run time. 

“We need to convince the audience that these characters are villains IMMEDIATELY. We don’t really have the time to waste on developing them and showing all their evil actions. We need audiences to believe when we tell them that these characters are bad. how do we do that?”

“.... make them kinda gay??”

That’s not actually how the conversation went in the board room, I’m sure, but it’s a very reduced down version. Because of the history of LGBT+ villains in the early years of cinema, animation relies on the stereotypes of villainous characters... well unfortunately those villains of old were LGBT+, so now we have LGBT+ stereotypes being passed on to new villains. 

Anyway, my point is that almost all Disney villains die. Sorry that’s where I was going with this. Most of them die. The “Bury your Gays” trope is repeated here because of the villain’s queer coding. It’s not obvious, but the subtext is “Hey, if you’re a bit effeminate or do things outside of your strict gender role? Mmmmmm you deserve to die.”

“Bury your Gays” continues in modern media. Despite the importance of Brokeback Mountain, which explicitly shows a romance and intimacy between two men... Jake Gyllenhaal’s character still dies, and it’s implied that it may be due to a hate crime. 

We see it in television. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Downton Abbey, Arrow, there was a massive outcry over the trope in The 100 when a female character, after just entering an intimate relationship with another female character, is killed off seemingly senselessly. 

The LGBT+ community is tired of only seeing themselves killed for shock value, character growth, or tragedy. Even Ru Paul’s Drag Race has come under fire in recent years for seemingly exploiting its contestants traumatic histories for ratings. 

This is why this year’s Love, Simon was so important. The film portrays an adolescent gay character as he struggles with being open with his sexuality and finding a meaningful relationship. Simon is portrayed as a sympathetic character. He’s the hero.

And he gets a happy ending.

This is why Korrasami, a same-sex relationship in children’s media, is so important. It shows two girls achieving their happy ending together.

It’s why in the same year that Steven Universe portrays a same sex wedding, Adam’s death feels like such a step backwards. 

The producers have stated that Adam’s death was supposed to raise the stakes of the season, it was supposed to make viewers realise the severity of the situation and overcome them with a feeling of loss, but Adam’s death doesn’t just fail the LGBT+ fans... it fails to effect viewers emotionally.

Because audiences can’t mourn a character that they have no connection with.

Most of Adam’s character was developed in interviews and not in the show, where he only spoke for one scene. The creators talked about the deep relationship between Adam and Shiro, but none of that is actually visible in the series. Taking the season at face value, Adam is just some guy who’s connected to Shiro that is killed off unceremoniously. He wasn’t even given the dignity of  hero’s death, taking out even one enemy before he died. That’s what hurts the most.

His death is meaningless. It does nothing. It’s pointless.

But of course “There’s still Shiro, right?”, which is true. Shiro still exists and is confirmed a mlm, which is important, but it’s understandable why fans may not be satisfied with this. Let’s take a closer look at Shiro.

I often joke with my friends that Voltron should be renamed Shiro Suffers: The Series, because out of all the characters in the show, Shiro has definitely endured and been subjected to the worst (you could argue that Allura has, but Shiro has the joy of being tortured emotionally and physically, so I feel he wins). 

The writers have tried to kill him numerous times, with only toy sales saving him. He’s been beaten, tortured, terminally ill, killed, revived, possessed and used... it’s a lot. In the old days, I used to ship shallura, not really out of feeling a real romantic connection between the characters, but just because I wanted Shiro to have someone. Someone to help support him. Someone he could open up about his struggles with. The paladins mean a lot to Shiro, but because he is their surrogate guardian, he cannot open up to them like this. He cannot show the paladins weakness, and we see this in how he keeps his disease a secret from Keith, because he does not want to burden Keith with his struggle. 

The introduction of Adam wasn’t just exciting because of the potential of seeing a caring LGBT+ relationship, but because it gave fans hope that Shiro would have someone. There was the potential that Shiro might finally gain some kind of supportive relationship outside of his strict roles of “leader” and “guardian”.

Adam’s death removes that possibility. Despite how caring, generous, strong, intelligent, kind, patient and capable Shiro is written... his life is fucking awful. It’s very telling that in the final scene of the season, when every other paladin is in the hospital surrounded by their family and loved ones, Shiro is alone. He’s on a stage, giving a rousing speech to a crowd, still trapped in this role as an inspirational leader.

God, they don’t even let Shiro mourn Adam. Does he feel guilty that he was the one who supposed to die, whilst Adam lived, but now their roles are reversed?We’ll never know. Adam’s death doesn’t even give some insight into Shiro’s character. It’s truly pointless.

Season 7 of Voltron has made it clear that this is not a kids show.  This is a serious show with dark themes. The writers want it to be taken more seriously.

Then I will critique it more seriously.

While I strongly doubt it was intentional, season 7 perpetuates the age old message “If you are LGBT+, you will not achieve a happy ending.” The “Bury your Gays” trope is steeped in a history of oppression, censorship, and vilification. When Adam dies, you’re not just seeing a character die, but you’re seeing the series make a conscious decision to participate in this oppressive trope. And it stings even more because the series sets two heterosexual relationships to potentially end in happiness, whilst the LGBT+ relationships have already ended in tragedy.

Why Adam? Why not literally anyone else? We had no connection to him, so it’s not like they could have used a handful of other characters for the same effect. (Kill James. Fuck that guy. And he’s young so it really would have hurt.)

And that’s what you have to question. This is why fans are upset.

I’m not writing this to convince anyone to boycott the show, or plead with you to stop watching. That’s up to you and your own belief system. I definitely do not condone harassing the writers or voice actors.

I just want people to understand why fans are so upset over season 7, and that they have every right to be. To state that the outcry is just because “fans didn’t see their ships become canon” is dismissive and cruel. Adam and Shiro’s relationship was heavily used in marketing by Netflix, so much so that you could call it queer-baiting. It was hyped at SDCC and explained as this deep and meaningful relationship, whilst the producers knew what Adam’s fate would be the whole time. 

I know producers have to answer to higher ups. I know the crew were largely on edge about what would get approved and what would not. 

But the point remains... they still made this conscious choice. Fans don’t have to be happy about it. They shouldn’t be. 

I have no idea what season 8 will bring, and at this point I feel like it might be a mess. But I encourage fans to support each other and be vocal about why you’re upset. You can’t change this show, but there’s hope that another series could learn from this. 

History repeats. Until we don’t let it. 

[thenightling]

It’s funny how every time I argue against people shaming LGBT+ and POC for wanting to join the police force to change it from within I get the same “It can’t be fixed!” reply.

Then what do you want us to do?   Just accept it as it is so you can complain?  Never try to make things better?

The only other option is having no justice system at all.  That means bigots could get away with violent hate crime far, far too easily.  It just makes the vulnerable more vulnerable.   

Today when I got the same non-response, the person called me “Buddy.”  As Buddy is usually toward men on this site I tried to correct them that I’m a woman. They somehow took that to mean I was misgendering them while THEY were still misgendering me.  

God, I hate this Hell site.   The narrative on their blog is that I was misgendering them on purpose.   No.  I said the simple “Woman.” in response to you calling me “Buddy.”  I’m not a man.  I’m not your buddy, even if you meant it as unisex (which I doubt).  I’m a woman.   

And so all effort to get them to address the fact that it’s now popular to discourage members of the community from trying to change the system from within.  (Now telling Lesbians that they “lose the right to call themselves butch or fem”) and asking what can we do is lost.

Twice now I got replies that the police force can’t be fixed and then was blocked before I could reply to that.

Okay, let’s say the police can’t be fixed.  The only other option is anarchy-  meaning no law and order at all.   Lots of vulnerable people would suddenly be in danger.   Any other suggestion would be trying to fix the system.

Do none of you assholes think things through before repeating a popular slogan?   

It’s like “eat the rich” all over again.  Yeah, because accidentally dehumanizing the poor as cannibalistic monsters totally fixes class inequality...

It’s like no one wants anything to change for the better.  They just want to be edgy, angry, and bitter.

Whatever happened to “Be the change you want to see.”?