#especially in regards to gay people being awesome

[giantkillerjack]

I MADE A NEW FRIEND TODAY AND THEY WERE SO NICE AND WE ARE GONNA GO TO THE LESBIAN BAR TOGETHER!!!!!!

[downbadspanishlad]

WARNING: Some of the following content may be slightly triggering due to discussion of abuse and trauma. Please don't read further if reading about that stuff could possibly hurt you! You're valid!

Masculinity in Baldur's Gate 3:

As a trans guy who didn't have friendly male rolemodels growing up, the male companion characters in Baldur's Gate 3 mean so much to me.

While Astarion is clearly my favorite, I have a huge amount of love and appreciation for all the companion characters (male and female). But it's the several types of masculinity the male companion characters have that offer something for male and/or masculine folks like me to aspire to (in some way or another).

Disclaimer: I've unfortunately not had the time to interact much with Minsc, therefore I won't be including him in this post, but he seems like a lovely and cool dude overall, so please don't take his absence as a sign of me not liking him.

Astarion:

Astarion's interest in murder/violence and being mean at times are definitely not things to aspire to, but I do understand why he does what he does. His trauma is no excuse for his actions, but they do explain a lot (He also becomes much kinder as you progress through his story, revealing that he's actually a pretty kind hearted dude that puts up a rough exterior as a method of defense).

I really like Astarion for a lot of reasons. The first reason is the fact that he is a masculine character that is ALSO an explicitly queer, slightly effeminate man with trauma.

In terms of being "explicitly queer," I mean this clip from this video:

As someone who doesn't neatly fit into the stereotype of being a "MANLY man", let alone society's expectations of what it means to be a "real man," Astarion's effeminate nature is something I deeply appreciate. 

(Note: That's not me trying to insinuate that trans guys me aren't 'real men.' It's solely about commenting on how men who are trans, hell - even cis dudes who are gender non-conforming, are often told they're 'not real men').

Astarion's very theatrical in his demeanor, and it's one of the things I love most about him. He's hilarious, he's fun, and he's able to be the way he is without being shamed and emasculated for it. I grew up and currently live in an area where being as theatrical and fun as Astarion is something that can get you shamed or even physically hurt for not being "man enough" in that way. 

I've also often felt very insecure in my masculinity for being queer and possibly being "not masculine enough" for people. Don't get me wrong - being gay is epic (and gay people are epic), but it has absolutely nothing to do with a person's gender or how they express themselves. Toxic masculinity, however, is something that suggests otherwise, and I'd be lying if I said I'd never felt insecure in my masculinity because of my sexuality (I admit that it's something I'm still working on too). But that's exactly why I love the fact that Astarion lives in a world where he can be as flamboyant, expressive, and as queer as he wants while still being seen as masculine.

I also love that bi/pan erasure is (overall) not a thing regarding the ladies of the BG3 fandom. Astarion is especially popular amongst the girls and the gays, and I think that's EPIC! I really love that Astarion lives in a world where he doesn't have to worry about people saying that his sexuality isn't a real or valid thing. It's really awesome, and I love that the women of the BG3 fandom (straight and LGBT) are completely cool about it.

And I definitely don't want to equate my trauma with anything Astarion has been through (especially as someone who isn't a survivor of sexual violence or physical abuse), but I also really love Astarion as a character because I find a lot of comfort in how Astarion's trauma is dealt with in his story.

So long as you (the player) treat him with the respect and dignity he deserves, Astarion is never shamed or made to feel "less than" for his trauma. The story of his trauma is treated with proper respect and care, and I absolutely love that. 

He makes me feel less alone and weird for how my own experience with abuse has left me with inner demons that I've yet to overcome. Like him, I experience night terrors due to my trauma. It's a very scary thing to deal with. And as a man, it makes me feel very small, ashamed, and pathetic. But seeing Astarion go through it and not having that be something he's shamed for is something I deeply appreciate. I know he's fictional, but seeing a character as cool as him going through that too makes me feel less alone and weird for it.

Wyll:

Wyll is a close second favorite character of mine. He's just an awesome, epic, badass guy! He's the kind of man I aspire to be. He does everything he can to help others, he cares deeply about doing what's right, he's a huge nerd/dork, and he's got the biggest heart amongst the companion characters (which says a lot in my opinion since he's got Karlach and Halsin as stiff competition for that category). He's very cool and lovely, and I really hate seeing how underappreciated he is as a character.

I absolutely love the meme of people saying that Wyll was the only origin character to dust himself off and head back to doing what he was doing before getting kidnapped and infected by the mindflayers. This man is too selfless and rad to take a break from teaching the tiefling children in Emerald Grove.

I do want to give credit for this meme to this cool dude called Azeem (aka Black Purist).

As well as this post here on Tumblr.

Gale:

I'll admit, I didn’t really care for Gale at first. But the more I got to know him, the more I realized that this dude is (most certainly) on the spectrum. That's not a canon thing, but I absolutely believe that he is. It's not a bad thing either (and I say that as someone who is also autistic). Honestly, realizing that many of his traits are autistic recontextualized certain things about him and helped me like him way more.

I'm not happy to admit this, but I think I didn't like Gale much at first because he reminded me a lot of myself (due to his autistic characteristics). That's some internalized ableism that I need to work on lmao. Anyways, after doing some self-reflection and giving his character a proper chance, I realized that Gale is actually really cool.

I really appreciate how straightforward Gale is as a communicator. The dude puts everything out in the open, for better or worse. He has no ulterior motives and does his best to make his intentions very clear. Love him or hate him, Gale is a dude you're not afraid of (unless you're a bad guy or something).

I also appreciate how passionate the man is about the stuff he's dedicated his life to (magic, which is most certainly his special interest). Gale is also very kind and open-minded, a good example of this being what he has to say about Astarion's vampirism.

Overall, Gale is an excellent man, and I really appreciate the sort of masculinity that his character represents.

Halsin:

So long as you save him and the Emerald Grove, Halsin is totally chill with you from the first moment you meet him. He's very kind, upfront, and non-judgemental, which is pretty cool.

I also really appreciate how much he cares about consent. Halsin is polyamorous, and if he expresses romantic interest in the player character and the player character happens to already be in a relationship, he makes sure to not pursue anything without the expressed consent of both the player character and their partner. 

I know caring about consent is a bare minimum thing to do, but unfortunately there are still a lot of people irl who don't care about it, which is why I greatly appreciate how Halsin (and also BG3 as a game) treats consent as an essential, inherent part of romantic and sexual relationships. Very cool, indeed!! 😎💖🌟💫

[aromantic-diaries]

In regards to this stupid aromantic cishet men discourse. Why does it matter that they're straight? Like, when people want to demonize especially straight men, do they think gay men can't be manipulative and abusive? Or trans men? Are they the pureness in person and can never harm anyone? And why does gender matter. Do they think women can't be sex obsessed or use people? I don't understand why they're all treated differently. Why are aromantic allosexual people sorted into categories. Why do people think aro cishet men are evil but I never even heard of aro cishet women being treated like this. I hate this.

Also not saying that cishet aro men are bad and everything, just used the stereotypes and bigotry that's used against them. Cishet aro men are awesome.

I think it's very simple. It has to do with the idea that cishet men are the enemy and therefore have nothing in common with queer people and any cishet man who even comes near us will only do so with ill intent. Combine that with the debate around whether or not aromantic people belong in the community and we have ourselves a new boogeyman. A lot of people, queer or not, really like to disregard the struggles of aromantic people and maintain the idea that sexual attraction without romance is always immoral and malicious so when it comes to cishet aromantic men, it leads to the assumption that they must be predatory misogynistic creeps.

Then again I think that regardless of whether or not we think cishet aro men are queer, we should not be excluding anybody. You really can't split society into Queer and Cishet because that inevitably leads to people who are stuck outside of these categories. Not just aromantics and asexuals who are otherwise straight, but also people who are closeted because it's simply not safe for them to come out, people who are still questioning, and anyone who is 100% cisgender, straight and allo but still doesn't fit the heteronormative standards for whatever reason. Not to mention the fact that viewing cishets as the enemy that we have nothing in common with doesn't get us anywhere. Labels aside we are all people and putting eachother into boxes does not fix a damn thing. In an ideal world there would be no need for categorizing people as either queer or cishet cause we would all just be seen as people who may have a plethora of differences but are people regardless.

And yeah, your point about how any type of person regardless of gender or sexuality can be abusive or manipulative is absolutely correct. We need to remember that queerness is in no way a moral high ground, how good of a person you are is defined by your actions and not your labels

[metanarrates]

i have a lot of mixed feelings regarding trans headcanons in orv, or in general in fandom spaces because of how often its taking transmisogynistic jokes and bending them to actually have a cool and awesome meaning instead of just reading fiction with transgender characters. how do you feel about this as an everyone in orv is transfem poster (not accusatory tone i am genuinely wondering your take on this)

I think it's complicated because i Do agree that most trans headcanons in fandom are rooted in transphobic ideas, especially when it comes to transfem characters. I actually personally wouldn't trust most people who headcanon characters as trans unless they're able to point out when something in the text is transmisogynistic. and orv does have transmisogynistic stuff in it. the whole joke with nirvana and the entire scene with the pink kids is based around transfems being predators and men in disguise. I really don't want to hang around other orv fans unless they're able to point that out. (also, i would Definitely not trust anyone who refers to those characters as trans icons or whatever.)

I'll also fully admit that I don't remember the revolutionary arc all that well. at the time when I first read it, I just simply assumed that jang hayoung was meant to be a trans woman, and any issues kim dokja had with recognizing her gender was interesting because of how it tied into the metafictional elements about how characters can change beyond a reader's perception. from my recollection, and from the readings of other people in my life who have read the novel, it seemed canon that she was intentionally transfem. similarly, I felt like the plot point of "yoo joonghyuk has a female alter ego" was taken pretty seriously, rather than being a meanspirited joke. if I'm not remembering that right, though, please let me know.

orv in general has a problem in depictions of lgbt people. there's the abovementioned transmisogyny with nirvana and the pink kids, and there's also the undeniable fact that "kim dokja and yoo joonghyuk are gay but haha Not Actually" is leaned on a little bit too much as a joke. I have a similarly complicated relationship to the idea of shipping them for that reason - I think their relationship is meaningful and rich, but I really dislike that the fandom seems to just take that joke as an uncritical BL trope, rather than discussing how it's sometimes a bit homophobic. again, I don't trust joongdok shippers who aren't able to discuss this.

at the same time, though, I do think that if you're aware of the problems in the text, it's possible to construct a lot of rich meaning out of applying queer lenses to the text. there's a lot to dig into regarding how the story depicts gender, for example, and how it depicts transcendence and self-actualization. you can't credit the authors here - like I said, their writing has several issues with lgbt people. but as long as you aren't advertising the story as Queer Fiction, I find that it's extremely valuable to discuss how a trans reading might cast an interesting light onto a character. and on a more personal level, I think having these sorts of open discussions about both the problems and merits of trans readings, as well as the issues present in a text, do tend to make a lot of trans people feel more welcome in fan spaces. both are necessary for making a story and space that may be hostile towards them feel more welcoming.

yes, I do agree that it would probably be better to read fiction with better trans characters. those stories are out there! this is also why I am wary to praise singshong for jang hayoung's character - I don't think orv exactly Deserves a reputation as a trans inclusive story, especially when there's a lot more of those that are much better at it out there.

but at the end of the day, there are going to be trans people who do like orv, all the same. I'm one of them, though I will say upfront that I am tme and therefore much less affected by the story's problems. my fiancee is transfem and she likes it. a lot of my mutuals who like orv are trans. I don't think it's such a bad thing that we've constructed these community readings in a work we already liked for its other merits. we're going to be here anyway. as long as we do our best to be respectful and point out problems as they arise, I think it's a good thing that we're having these sorts of discussions.

[cartoonrival]

do you think sakura could be arospec?

this is something ive been thinking about especially because i hc the rest of team 7 as aro/aspec for their own independent reasons so it just like. seems like shes left out if shes not. to be fully honest i think her sexuality is pretty much free reign in terms of headcanons because even though her crush on sasuke is supposedly at the center of her story theres a million angles you can take on it regarding how genuine that crush actually is. the same argument people use to hc her as a lesbian could be used to say shes aro or that she's literally just not in love with him but still caved the general pressure to pick someone to be in love with.

her crush on sasuke being some form of comphet definitely does carry water, considering how she presents her crush on him to ino and her friends like it's an accomplishment that will make them like her more, and obviously her crush is exaggerated to the point that it wouldn't be a stretch to say she's just acting how she's seen people on tv act when they're in love.

on the other hand, i think observing that sakura has slightly mildly obsessive tendencies from the start is kind of important to understanding how her time with team 7 turns her into the person she is at the end of the story; someone who will go through hell and high water for the people she loves, for the idea of a perfect team that she only got to see flashes of to begin with. she is, after all, the only person who naruto (an insane person) feels understood by in his love for sasuke. that's the reason he feels drawn to her, and he's admitted this multiple times. with this in mind, i also don't think its inaccurate to say that her crush on sasuke could easily be genuine. she's 12, after all, a first crush at that age does make you act stupid.

the point of all this is to set the scene that i truly think people can take whatever angle they want with her sexuality. im honestly not married to any particular headcanon. i think she tends to have an attitude that she understands romance better than naruto does (who is almost definitely accidentally aroacecoded and im tired of acting like thats just my personal headcanon and not well supported by the actual text), which usually makes me lean towards the idea that she has a better idea of these supposedly intrinsic feelings and therefore is allo. her initial struggle to understand naruto's obsession with sasuke (describing it to sai as brotherly) plays into this but im not sure how. it could potentially be ascribed to the idea that she doesn't think it looks like romance because she has a rigid idea of what romance looks like. this is just weird. i feel like she would've suggested to naruto that she thought he was gay if she thought he was gay, but she doesn't do this (saying this in terms of her as a character separated from the person who wrote her. i know why kishi didn't have her suggest that). but maybe naruto being gay just didn't even cross her mind because homophobia runs so deep. but she's a fujoshi so that doesn't seem right either

ok so i guess my answer is no i dont think she is. but i think its well possible for someone to headcanon her arospec and for it to be awesome

[synbunny]

I'm actually making use of this now after nearly 5 years. Probably a good thing since I was in an awful headspace 5 years ago. I'm still not doing well, but I am doing *better* now that I'm like...employed and shit now. I work IT help desk. Not the greatest job but I make decent money. Not enough to own a house but...I'm not optimistic in my ability to own my own place in the future.

To introduce myself...I'm a 25 (soon to be 26) year old woman living in the US working IT help desk. I love to play video games (especially ARPGs such as Diablo) and have an obsession with vocal synthesizers such as VOCALOID. My sexuality is weird and doesn't really have a proper label to apply to it. All you need to know in that regard is that I am gay as hell. The "content" that I create are mods for video games, with my current project being a Diablo II LoD mod. I'm not much of a programmer though. I just know some scripting in Python and PowerShell. My mod is mostly changing database entries and modifying miscellaneous files like animation files and tilesets.

Today was a good day though. I got a big raise (holy shit I am beating inflation now) and I recently picked up the game Starsector. It seems like the type of game I'd be super into, but the egg is a bit hard to crack. It hasn't hooked me yet but I can feel its potential to become a big-ass obsession. I've been super into games with dynamic worlds and ever-changing systems like Doors of Trithius and Soldak games. Which, I highly recommend trying Soldak's games. They look and control really jankily but they're awesome and innovative.

It's late as I write this though so I will have to try Starsector a different night. Probably not tomorrow since I need to motivate myself to clean up my apartment and I can't stay up too late on Friday since I have a couple appointments on Saturday.

I started dating a dude despite saying I would never date a dude. He's super sweet and really supportive. I don't really feel like I am good enough for him in either the looks department or just...how much affection I show. I don't really show affection in the same way as other people and when I try to it feels fake as hell and makes me feel gross. Like I don't feel genuine when I do that but my genuine self feels cold to people I guess. He's quite a bit younger than me. 4 year age gap. He keeps comparing himself to me in terms of his career but like...my dude, I was *losing* money when I was his age. I was (is?) a lazy, privileged fuck who could go to college. He's doing better than I was but he doesn't seem to see that. He's working towards a career on his own and I practically had it handed to me on a silver platter. College is easy. Doing things on your own? Hard as hell.

Well, that's all I'm going to write for tonight. I'll probably play a couple of bot matches in Unreal Tournament then go to sleep. Still one more day of work this week. Aaaaaaaa

[sarahowritesostucky]

Hello~ Huge fan of the way you write ABO, especially Hydra Sanitorium and CAfOE. I've been wondering, though - could/would you give a little more detail how Steve ended up in an A/A marriage in CAfOE? I know his line about "rules for thee", but it's so interestingly off-beat (to me) with the rest of his characterization. Are A/A marriages considered same-sex marriages, or do the same categories of LGBTQIA apply in your ABO 'verse, and secondary sex is a different category? That is, Steve was/is "straight" in this context because he was married to a woman. And ditto for Peggy, running the girls' school. How did the presumably very conservative parents of their students feel about it?

Psyched about the new update, btw. I adore Peter, so I'd been waiting for him to show up!

Oh my GOD here 🥇🏆just take it: the award for best, most engaged fan question. What a flippin' awesome question to wake up to!

Yeah Peter is this adorable little wiry, hyperactive, chibified boy that lives in my head for omega characterization. Conservative parents of students would have no issue with an A/A relationship, and I'll explain why.

The same rules of LGBQIA do not directly translate here. Much less importance is placed on primary gender (m/f), and most placed on designation (a/b/o). O/O is the only designation that would overarchingly be considered "gay" or dysfunctional somehow and thus discouraged - and that's b/c of the intense bio need omegas have for alphas. Even still, o/o has often been permitted as a background activity, just so long as they don't start identifying as only wanting other omegas. Historically, A/A relationships have not been viewed the same way.

(The context I'm discussing here is the cultural context of Europe and US from about 1600s-1940s/50s. Here is a post where I talk about other world cultures and time periods, as well as discuss the cultural traditions in the west regarding older alphas being paired with younger omegas)

So the first thing to understand about this 'verse, is that A and O is pretty uncommon. Like 0-10% of the population can be A or O in most places, and probably 5-8% of the world's total population is. Most people are beta.

Second important point: Alphas do not have the same level of biological need for omegas as omegas do for them, so they have more options and flexibility for choosing their partners.

Thirdly: you need to remember that A's and O's are viewed very differently int his world, and this affects what is socially acceptable for them. Omegas are viewed patronizingly as needier and a little biologically dumber than anybody else (b/c they are); they are people who need to BE taken care of. Whilst Alphas are viewed as ultra competent. Therefore, o/b or o/o relationships have never been well tolerated or taken seriously, whereas A/A relationships always have.

In many cultures - including in the west - it is perfectly normal for an A/A pairing to happen. Polygamy of a shared omega spouse between the two alpha spouses would've been a common arrangement, historically and leading all the way up into the 1940's(US)/50's(Europe).

The arrangement of two alphas marrying and being equal-plane partners, then adding an omega third into the mix (kind of like a really, really smart pet/nanny/prostitute, all built into one) whom they would care for and raise their family with together, was a very common social construct in the past.

In Peggy and Steve's marriage, part of the breakdown was to do with this issue--both in changing opinions about it, and miscommunications about wants and expectations.

Hope that helps! 💖Sarah.

[sailorgundam308]

Maybe I should shut my mouth already, but this is my little space to vent and digress with stuff I need to keep bottled up elsewhere.

BG3 brought me back to fandom spaces after more than a decade and, while I know this could be just a generation gap thing, there are stuff I keep reading about or that sms throws at me randomly that is pretty annoying and even disheartening. Lots of younger/new people are engaging with the Forgotten Realms lore for the first time and it’s awesome. But I forgot how impassioned and intolerant fierce parts of fandoms can be.

It rubs me the wrong way how people in general tend to simplify things in order to either justify themselves or feel secure in regards to the world - which is a terrifyingly complex, irrational and nuanced thing we have absolutely no control over. Over the years I’ve surrounded myself with people that are fine with not knowing everything, not understanding all that’s going on, and who are okay with admitting there are things we’ll never grasp, points of view we’ll never have the authority to speak from. But the internet isn’t my bubble.

In regards to BG3 fandom - but I’d risk this is valid for a lot of places in and outside fandoms - there’s a lot of simplifying, flattening and denial of other experiences. The diehard straight folks at BG3 Reddit freak out because characters are pan, BG3 steam incels freak out because the women are “ugly”, BG3 tumblr users freak out (ironically) also because characters are pan, but in reverse. It’s a bit too much, especially when a lot of the fuel for divide is our own headcanons (which, let’s remind ourselves, can’t be wrong or right cause they exist for our personal entertainment and fantasy). Not to mention the game canon itself purposefully leaves a lot to be inputted by the player so we can head-customize our experiences. It’s the magic of rpg.

Still, there are these heated discussions that I can’t help but see stemming from simplification and labeling of things. This is shit that imo should not be happening still. I’ve mentioned here before how I dislike that people bat an eye on a character and, for example, decide what sexual orientation they should have. Generalizing, Shadowheart is straight because she is pretty and petite. Karlach is a lesbian because she is muscular and curses. Astarion is gay because he is slender and flamboyant - and so on. Mind you, they could very well be - but that is not the point. The point is passing judgement onto people based off appearance or demeanor alone.

Outside BG3 this reads as our daily encounters with ideas like: fat people are lazy, immigrants are uneducated (or less educated), hot girls are dumb, being slender is a desirable feminine trait, being muscular is a desirable masculine trait, poc are poor(er). Do some of these prove to be true on a case by case basis? Yes. Do some of these prove to be false on a case by case basis? Also yes. The fact is that some of these ideas are entrenched into the way people view the world. And that includes me and you. Even if you and I personally don’t do this, it doesn’t change the fact that a vast majority of people still do - and many of them unknowingly.

So when a niche community divides itself further to pass judgement onto fictional aspects of a game that is intentionally left so open to interpretation, to the point it creates feuds, it’s quite disheartening. It’s can’t be helped, perhaps, but it just plain sucks.

What specifically prompted me to write this, despite it being a ongoing feeling for a while, was the discussion around Halsin’s status of survivor/his backstory. And, again, there is a bias there that some people might not even realize. Astarion is the ideal victim in this regard, because he is the portrayal of fragility and attractiveness mixed in the right measure so his trauma can elicit sympathy and a sense of protection in many of us. Whereas Halsin isn’t necessarily the face of a traumatic experience for many. Not only physically (buff guy gets attacked?), but these two relate their experiences to us players differently, and act differently towards their trauma. It made me think again of the flattening of characters. This one can be a victim because “look at his face”. But this one? Not so much. It comes across as dismissing the “non-ideal” impersonation of that type of trauma.

Risking some oversharing, it’s the type of attitude that is putting me off from and isolating me within certain fan spaces - because my personal experiences are not quintessential “enough” for some, and my interpretations aren’t either. I’m in the lgbtqia spectrum but I’m not quite the “right kind of queer” (or, as some put it, fake queer, which is hilarious if nothing else). At least, my interpretation and depiction of queerness and gender within my favorite characters is not the one that is welcome in the spaces I tried to reach out to.

Far from me from claiming the epitome of trauma, but I’ve had my fair share. And I assume a lot of people have, too. So a little empathy or sympathy goes a long way, in reminding us our views (on headcanons) do not mean others’ are invalid.

How nice would it be that, instead of blurting out our first impressions because they are ‘easy’, we’d take a minute to just check if we’re saying what we’re saying out of an over simplistic view of things? Or, better yet, sometimes we don’t need to get out of our way to invalidate someone else’s experience. It’s mostly headcanon after all. Unless an idiot is going ‘round shouting nazi, racist, xenophobic, homophobic or misogynistic shit, there’s usually a way to turn around and leave them be (otherwise, fuck em up please and thank you.)

[kinghijinx22]

Skullgirls Webtoon Episodes 15 and 16... WAIT PEACOCKxMARIE REAL!?

Finally read episodes 15 and 16 of the Skullgirls webtoon. Been going through some stuff lately and honestly I was waiting for the right time and it never came. But with the release of Black Dahlia in the Skullgirls game which I've been really hyped and after playing her story mode, I figured there was no better time to return to the comic then now. And after checking it out, it turns out that despite it being 3 weeks I've only missed 2 episodes because they are on another break. Understandably of course, artists shouldn't be overworked.

So first of, love the music loving gay fish couple at the start. They had neat designs and were cute together. Then we get more Big Band which was awesome, going to help Peacock with the brawl at the Casino. Patricia and Ben's friendship has always been so endearing to me, and I loved seeing Patricia's reaction to Ben showing up. Black Dahlia clearly wasn't going all out, just taking shots at Peacock from a distance. The conversation she has with Vitale regarding Cerebella was really interesting though and could have so many implications. What was especially interesting was seeing Vitale stand up for Cerebella, even though he's clearly just using her it was kind of nice. And then we have Parasoul and Egrets coming in to clean things up, leading to her confronting Ben and also the next chapter.

So this episode was really good, not just because of the final panel but that is one of the reasons. Anyway Parasoul continues to take things into her own hands as she investigates Lab 8 and uncovers the experiments they've been conducting. So Avian has been operating the lab in secret even after being ordered to shut down by Franz. Their operations are a little morally weird, and Parasoul has a point and was really understandable in this situation. I mean Avian has pretty much turned a bunch of people, including kids into super weapons to fight the Skullgirl, but also he did not mutilate them and very much saved them with his operations by giving them parts that they needed. Also they also seem to friends and are thankful to Avian. Getting to see the Egrets and Lab 8 was really cool though, and now it looks like were going to Maplecrest to see Marie in the next episode. On the other side of the episode, Eliza finally shows up! Another one of my favourite Skullgirls characters so that was pretty hype. I love how confident and in control she always is, and how she can be really scary. Vitale gets to see the results of Ms Fortune taking the life gem from his father, and now he's clearly bringing out the big guns to get it back. What Dahlia said about Cerebella has clearly gotten to Vitale, and although I'm not the biggest fan of Cerebella because of how incredibly ignorant she is, I do feel kind of bad for her. Trying as hard as she does for the people who are most important to her only to feel like she's being discarded is rough.

AND YO THAT LAST PANEL!!! Is the Peacock and Marie ship real? Favourite Skullgirls ship honestly, always loved the idea of these 2 as a couple. Thought it would be really adorable and that it would fit the story well. With their interactions and how much they care about each other it was very easy to read their relationship as romantic, and it would be so nice to have some representation with main characters. As nice as it is having Molly and Roxie and that fish couple, those are side characters and background characters. This image is very explicitly meant to be romantic coded, so hopefully something comes of this we aren't just being baited. Queer bait is a disgusting business practice that I refuse to support, and if this is a situation of exploiting the image of queerness without actually writing anything sincere for queer people then I'm probably dropping this comic.

[oddman-the-oldman]

Sometimes this is easier than others...

.

Tonight I was tagged by the versatile @heatherannchristie Thanks for the opportunity to lend my confusion to these questions,

What is your idea of perfect happiness? 

I don’t really believe in perfect happiness. I believe unhappiness is the required contrast that allows happiness to exist. That they are bound together and that you can’t experience one without knowing the other.

What is your most marked characteristic? 

I am perceived differently in different contexts. IRL my flute playing makes me standout sharply to casual acquaintances. More subtly I shift between masculine and feminine emotional response without noticing myself. ( Genderfluid ) 

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

Survival for +/- 65 years as a genderfluid, For most of that time I was clueless and didn’t understand why straight people beat me up for being queer or why gay men would hit on me in front of my wife.

What is your greatest fear? 

Old age and age related infirmity.

What historical figure do you most identify with? 

Kokopelli

Which living person do you most admire? 

I spend a lot of my time admiring my wife.

Who are your heroes in real life? 

1st responders

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? 

I don’t have an answer for this one.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? 

Unwillingness to learn, especially the job they  are being employed to do.

What is your favorite journey? 

Seasonal migration “Snow Birding” between the Desert SW in winter and Canada in the summer.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 

Can virtue of any sort be overrated?

Which word or phrases do you most overuse? 

“I don’t know.”

 What is your greatest regret? 

It took what it took to get where I am. I regret nothing.

What is your current state of mind? 

Getting a bit sleepy... mild headache

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? 

We would have more money to snow bird on.

What is your most treasured possession? 

My Flute

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? 

Misery is a state of mind that involves judgement of a circumstance. I aspire to a Zen state that doesn’t include misery. 

Where would you like to live? 

On the outer edge of civilization. Not fond of people IRL large crowds of them even less so but appreciate the amenities of the big city.

What is your favorite occupation? 

Retirement is awesome.

What is the quality you most like in a man? 

I avoid them when I can.

What is the quality you most like in a woman? 

Self confidence and independence

What are your favorite names? 

Kevin, Bob & Bobbie

What is your motto?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Tagging @uschi-the-listener @poppiesandpromises @elvedon @phoenixculpa

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[cherry-stained-corpse]

Wednesday Spoilers possibly

(You’ve been warned…unless I don’t actually mention a spoiler in which case 🤷🏻…it is more a precaution than anything)

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Also this is strictly my own opinion. Obviously. If you think differently you are free to do so. Just don’t be a jerk about it.

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• So I am 7 episodes in, I have yet to watch the last one. But so far, I personally really like it. I love this iteration of Wednesday. I think it makes perfect sense for her to be this way with these particular traits especially as a teenager. That’s something I think some people may be forgetting. She’s a teenager here, and as teenagers go, they don’t necessarily stay the same as their past child selves. Even then, personality wise she’s not that different to how she was portrayed in the 90s films by Christina Ricci (in fact they are literally in the same show now which is pretty awesome). Clearly they are taking a more personal angle where we actually explore how some traits can be put one at odds with others. Like being emotionally despondent, being incapable of expressing emotions and thus those around you portraying that in ability as you not caring for them. Being simply unable to show that caring emotion and telling yourself it’s on purpose. I found myself really relating to Wednesday a lot in that regard. I’m autistic, so I have a very hard time expressing emotions in ways that are considered the conventional way. Due to my own struggle with emoting and such I was often labeled as a stuck up person that thinks they’re better than everyone, or someone who doesn’t care, simply because I don’t emote the way everyone else does or know how to express certain things the way people expect them to be expressed. I’m not a hugger, I don’t feel comfortable with too much contact if any, and I don’t fair well in emotional talks with people because sometimes I genuinely do not know how I’m supposed to react or what I should say. That could be why growing up I was so attached to her character (The films and 60s sitcom are favorites I’ve watched my whole life so I suppose I can be considered a huge fan). Aside from of course the fact that as a goth I’ve always had morbid spooky interests even as a kid. Perhaps for some it might be frustrating to watch a protagonist like this, and how she stubbornly refuses to change even when some flaws are very highlighted. But i personally have interpreted as she doesn’t know how to change, even when she feels guilt, she feels bad but even acknowledging that you do might feel extremely difficult. Maybe because of pride, maybe because that’s just all you know how to exude. I personally really relate to her. I’m not sure if I explained it well enough. But I also think it just makes sense, these aren’t traits that are all that new to her. They are simply more deeply explored but these traits where already there.Over all I think her characterization, the actress they chose, her development, everything is perfect.

Aesthetically, I think they really hit the mark. I have watched several different shows and some that depict a goth character or attempting to depict gothy or spooky aesthetics, and so far this one has done a better job than a lot. Every single one of Wednesday’s outfits have been perfect, I feel they really capture her character very well while also showing a more varied wardrobe. I’m very into character designing and fashion and costuming so I was very happy with the choices they made. Also could be a bit biased since most of her outfits are things reflective of my own wardrobe lol. Oh also ALSO…this show fits every criteria to be labeled as Dark Academia and no one can tell me otherwise. All it’s missing is a gay romance but…I suppose we can’t win them all. (I’m begging more shows/movies/whatever please enough with the heteronormativity. Give us gay guys some representation in these genres…)

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Another thing I wanted to touch on really quick. I hadn’t spoken on this before but I recall this being an issue since even before when they first announced the cast and showed what they would look like for the first time. A lot of people did not like how “ugly” Gomez was. And many claimed it was because they preferred “the original”. So to that I ask this, Are you really arguing for the integrity of the original, or are you just racist. Or perhaps a third option that seems to be a common one (of course giving the benefit of doubt that it’s not including any sprinkled in racism), Do you simply have a deep attachment for the 90s iteration regardless of wether it is accurate or not visually?

Because if we are going to discuss accuracy and what the character should look like, this Gomez Addams is perfect. He represents a far more accurate depiction of Gomez Addams than any before him. Not only that but he’s Latino as is the rest of the family coded to be for the first time. That’s another thing. Latino representation especially in goth aesthetics. Of course I’m aware the 90s actor for Gomez was also Latino, a fello Puerto Rican, and he was great! Always will be iconic! But what I’m saying is It’s perfectly appropriate for the family to be Latino, Wednesday to be Latina, because she is. Morticia is also casted perfectly. I’ve seen some grief about her not having her “Iconic red lip” when as far as I remember that was only iconic for the 90s Morticia. Not so much from the 60s sitcom or the actual originals, the 30s-40s cartoon comic iteration. Granted you could of course argue that it’s implied for her to have red lips since the comic and sitcom are black and white, but then the same can be said in regards to any dark shade. Personally I would have gone full black but to each their own. I think these new actors did a phenomenal job at portraying the characters well.

There’s nothing wrong with preferring the 90s film version of them, or specifically Gomez. That’s fine. Those movies are iconic for a reason. I adore those films. But theres something to be said when a Latino playing the character and portraying the original appearance gets flack for being “too ugly” when he was never actually meant to be attractive or sexy. Again, nothing wrong with portraying him as such. As an artist I like creating my own concept and versions of characters that can often be drastically different to the original. But perhaps some reflection is needed when that becomes your biggest gripe whilst ignoring the original. Even then I’m not against liberties being taken, plenty have been taken in this new version that honestly I quite like. I love how they really expanded upon Wednesday’s character. I love that she’s a writer, I love that she plays the cello. I love that we get to see a more in depth look at her character. Perhaps that could be because I myself love and partake in those things in my personal life. But I don’t know. That’s just me.

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Anyways I’ll probably make more posts doing a fuller review in specifics and stuff that happened. I have…words to say about the Hyde and it’s overall…look. And other such critiques. But I’ll save those for after I’ve finished the final episode :) these have just been my personal thoughts upon first impressions. Kind of word vomit-y. Who cares it’s my blog.

[statecryptids]

I’m struggling to understand how self-image is the root of sexual orientation… how can it be? When we say the penguins are gay, we don’t mean two with the same self image only love each other. We mean two female penguins or two male penguins only pair bond and have sex with others of the same sex. I want to respect people’s right to fantasy and lives but I don’t want to do it while lying to myself and others especially not about homosexuality.

Is there a way to openly acknowledge sexuality is about sex including in humans but accept people will culturally use the labels to cope with their self image not matching their sex.

I already know all about intersex conditions btw. Intersex activism has been a part of my life for a long time. None of them are a third sex. None of us produce a third gamete. We highlight and don’t undermine sex existing and being the basis of things like sexual orientation.

I feel like part of my issue here is between being homosexual and intersex (CAH) is I know too much about this already to accept the regular arguments for why gender — total social construct — is somehow what defines sexuality for everyone. For bi people I get, and for everyone to have or lack gender preferences I get… but that would have to be learned, developed as we get acculturated. Because gender identities are rooted in our culture. Nobody has like, a nb-identity brain vs a man-identity brain vs an agender identity brain. What would that even be? Where would it come from? Wouldn’t that be the definition of bioessentialism — claiming that gender aka how we culturally feel and act is inborn — It’s learned. Meanwhile sexual orientation is inborn from the womb on. It’s neurological.

So then I end up in circles because I am all about respect including respecting beliefs I don’t see as literally true … but like for that to work I need to be allowed to likewise express how I see it and that my respect isn’t the same as endorsing any of it as literally real necessarily. At least not to me if that’s how people want to see it. And that is NOT how this seems to be playing out culturally. I have never experienced anything with less room to say no I don’t believe that in the face of someone claiming something on pure belief.

I’m afraid I don’t entirely understand what you’re saying here. I will say that nobody thinks gender and sexuality are the same thing. Being trans, enby, or cis is indeed unrelated to being bi, pan, ace, gay, demi, or straight. I have heard that taking HRT can sometimes cause changes in sexual attraction, but I don’t have enough information to comment on that.

If this is in regards to my post about “the enby urge”, that was a joke on the “feminine urge” and “masculine urge” memes. I don’t feel like either “masculine” or “feminine” fully fits me so I used “enby”. Mostly I just wanted to express my support for trans folks and tell them they’re awesome.

I’m going to assume your questions about trans people are In good faith and direct you to resources that can answer these questions better than I can. I hope these will give you a better understanding of trans and enby people.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-something-unique-about-the-transgender-brain/

https://translifeline.org/resource/coming-out/

There’s also this fantastic explanation from the good doctor:

[bisluthq]

https://www.tumblr.com/bisluthq/756823852163727360/i-dont-think-people-should-speculate-about?source=share

This was cool to read and good for lorde for living and sharing what she wants and if she's exploring, that's cool. I had one of my male friends explore his gender identity and he experimented with a lot of stuff and ultimately decided he's full dude and not NB or fluid in that way (he IDs as having a fluid sexuality and said bi and pan labels don't resonate). But what was cool was he spent months just being so mindful of literally every choice he made and was like 'ok why do I want to order this drink? Is it what I want? Do I actually want to wear this? Or am I expected to?' We have a very gay friend group with one token straight out of the 8 of us lmao but he was first to explore gender and then we all would sit down at dinner and be like 'no wait - DO I want to order this? Did I want to wear this????' and im sure it sounds like I'm reducing gender to like girls ordering beer and boys ordering a Cosmo or something and little stereotypes... But it was actually a really good thing for all of us? We all thought about why we did stuff more than ever before and another girl said she wasn't sure if she was cis (she still hasn't decided but I don't think she cares because she presents not overly feminine (in traditional sense) and is just who she is but the labels are overwhelming). And apart from the token straight girl (soz not soz I love calling her that for a joke 😂) we've all come out regarding sexuality so talking about gender was super casual, compared to my other friends who are very straight and see a lot of that stuff as like 'women can wear trousers and be builders now, men are nurses, what else is there?' lol like they're not being even micro aggressive, but they just don't get it.

All of this to say, whether it's actively thinking about your choices in regards to gender or something else, I thoroughly recommend examining why you do some things and if you're only doing them because it's what's expected or the norm because it's just a really good way to get to know yourself. In our group of 8, one friend stopped drinking because he didn't actually like the taste or feeling and another went to therapy because she realised she was still trying to get her parents approval. Like it was realllllly good. Thoroughly recommend. Oh and for funsies, I learned I was trying so hard to seem fun and happier as a way of hiding my depression (that my friends all knew I had lmao) that I was doing shit I didn't like just to look like a fun person, but it's actually ok to order a cup of tea with dinner and go home early and sleep. Sleeping at reasonable hours is awesome lol

THIS was an awesome and inspiring read. Your friend group sounds awesome, as do you. I also recommend examining why you do things and how you do things - especially in your early 20s tbh but if you “missed” that window still def do it (it’s not too late), and if you’re younger and feel like you’ve got it figured out that’s… awesome lol but I’m not sure you do. And it’s okay to change your mind regarding what you like and the labels you use and the pronouns that work and… everything.

Just like for my own story: I came out as bi when I was 19 turning 20 but I’d known for kinda a fair while before that. As part of that, I also felt like I had to present more masculine for a while there so I got a pixie cut and wore Doc Martens and did think a fair bit about gender. I then decided I was pretty much completely gay but very cis and presented hyper feminine - I also got quite religious for a little while and into dressing tznius (modestly) so no pants (I did make an exception for the gym because I wasn’t THAT strict about it but I didn’t wear shorts even at gym for example), nothing above elbows, no plunging necklines etc. I only dated girls in that time (well one girl mostly). I’m retrospectively not sure if part of the hyperfeminine and religious thing was me “compensating” subconsciously for being gay. I’m now living with a man who has also done a lot of thinking about this kind of thing and is like… Kinsey 2ish idk he usually just calls himself straight because he has a VERY heavy preference for women - like wouldn’t ever date another man but enjoys kissing other men on occasion and has been in more sexual situations with other men like he’s gone further than kissing but overall he’s decided it’s not really his thing lol. That said, as I’ve also said before, he doesn’t really enjoy penetrative sex much at all so idk we are very sexually compatible tbh and both quite respectful of each other’s vibe on these things. What’s been interesting to me though is I’ve noticed I’ve started presenting in more masculine ways? Like I started wearing a lot of pants again and a lot of boots/unisex sneakers and I pretty much stopped wearing makeup (which is interesting because I was like a “full face before work” kind of person while with my exes but now I think about it I think when with my first boyfriend I also often didn’t wear makeup lol). So idk man like… I don’t think I was being dishonest with myself when I was doing the makeup and the pretty dresses and shit and I wasn’t dishonest when I said I’m bi OR when I said I only date women OR when I said “okay and also this guy” (Shy Ronnie and Clyde style) OR when I say like “I want to wear comfy shoes and my sweatpants today and fuck makeup for the day” and do my lil DIY a projects lol. I even think the pixie cut and like attempting to present more butch wasn’t dishonest with myself, it was me trying something that I ultimately quite quickly realized isn’t very me but I’m glad I tried it because otherwise how would I know that it’s not very me?

I have this bar friend who I’m probably gonna see a lot less of for a while because I’m doing a whole sober era but she’s old af right she just turned 60. She realized she’s a lesbian in her late 30s. She had only dated men before that and was even pregnant with an ex boyfriend (very tragic story there re the baby and a very fucked up relationship but yeah like she was). What I dig about her is she’s SO unapologetically herself. So she shortens her name to a traditionally boy name, wears a pixie cut and only ever pants and flats but she also loves funky makeup and doing her nails all different colors and LOADS of bling and bizarrely she loves the Brit royals and like has bumper stickers of them on her (I shit you not) Subaru and she also loves very hectic outdoor stuff and idk is just… so her. But it’s taken her, by her own admission, a fucking LIFETIME to get here and she has a lot of issues too and she drinks waaaaayyyyy too fucking much lol so it’s not like figuring out what makes her happy and who she is has magic pilled her. And that’s a woman who’s literally 60. She’s also had like 8 careers lmao and achieved a bunch in all of them and loves what she does now but again she’s… 60. And she’s not like… sorted yk, like there’s a lot going on, which as I say is why I don’t think I’m gonna see her for a fair while.

Which was a really long essay to say that we should be kinder to ourselves and each other and celebs really as we all figure our shit out. The internet has been really bad for that imo because everyone is so obsessed with having your neat labels in your bios everywhere and it’s… okay not to know. It’s okay to play around with stuff. It’s okay to change your mind multiple times. All of that’s fine. It’s never too late (or too early) to try something out and see if it’s you 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Also good luck with your depression bestie, I’m here for you ❤️✊🏻

[dralbum]

Hello! Happy June! It's Pride and I have another question (4/30)

Today we are talking about queer representation in media. In 1894 "The Dickson Experimental Sound Film" is released, becoming the first "gay film". It was also known as "The Gay Brothers", it feature two men dancing together and it reportedly "shocked audiences with its subversion of conventional male behaviour". Unfortunately, in 1934 the USA introduced the Hays Code, which, while it didn't explicitly ban queerness, banned queerness in effect. This resulted in three decades of queer-coded villains, such as Joel Cairo in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) and Jack Favell in "Rebecca" (1940).

The Hays Code was lifted in 1968, and the queer cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was released in 1975, and gave a much-needed positive and FUN representation of queer people and queerness. Unfortunately, this was short-lived, as the rising AIDs crisis worsened the stigma around the gay community. This didn't stop everyone though, and in 1985 "Desert Hearts" was released; regarded as the first mainstream lesbian film with a happy ending.

Further on, the first gay kiss on TV in the UK was on "EastEnders" in 1989, "Ellen" became the first American tv show with an openly gay lead in 1997, and other show such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" started to add recurring LGBTQ+ characters. An important show in the UK was "Queer as Folk" (1999) which was one of the first shows to depict the queer community as vibrant and alive.

Even further forward, and "Moonlight" (2017) became the first LGBTQ+ film (and the first all-black cast) to win Best Picture at the Oscars. GLAAD publishes an annual report showing how representation is changing. 2005-2006 1.4% of regular characters vs 2020-2021 the figure is at 9.1%. So, there is still a long way to go obviously, especially because media is often the main or only place that young people have an insight into the community at all.

Because of this, I want to ask you for a recommendation: What is a piece of queer media that you think more people should see? (it can be literally anything, big/small, funny/sad, smart/stupid <- just anything you think deserves to be watched!:))

(I'll go first: "Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho" (or "I Don't Want to Go Back Alone) is a really really cute Brazillian short film available on Youtube! (if you enjoy it, there is also a full-length film version called "Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho" (or "The Way He Looks"))

Happy Pride 🌈 🎉

this is SUCH a lame answer i apologize but i’ve been rewatching steven universe and i think characters like ruby and sapphire were a lot of young queer peoples first time seeing queerness on television especially children’s television and seeing them being openly affectionate is really awesome. Smiles

[idreamedadreamintimegoneby]

You know what ALOTO has NONE of? The "Predatory Lesbian" stereotype.

Too often in wlw media there's this stereotype of a lesbian (usually butch) who has this bravado, "I could treat you better than your boyfriend could" or "I could turn you" type of energy. While some girls might see this as sexy and confident, I see it as predatory and uncalled for.

But in ALOTO, they avoid this stereotype perfectly! A few examples:

Jo and Maybelle We see from the very beginning that Jo is fawning over Maybelle, especially with her "What's your type?" "Blondes" response:

Is she being flirty? Yeah! But from then on, she's just as respectful and playful with Maybelle as she is with the rest of the girls, and never makes a move or does anything to make Maybelle uncomfortable. Maybelle never felt threatened by Jo, or even with the reality that she might be gay after all. In 1x07 she says, "And so what if she's queer?" And reminds Shirley that above all else, Jo is their friend.

2. Lupe & Carson 1x01 scene

In 1x01 when they're at the bar, Lupe and Carson are small-talking about running away from home. Lupe comments on her haircut, Carson says, "I don't think I look that different, though." Lupe gives her a knowing smile and backs away, saying "Eh...you kinda do."

In MY opinion, she's appreciating her haircut in a way that says, "You look kinda hot now," but is perfectly nice and doesn't do anything other than compliment her. (The fact that it just adds to Carson's Gay Awakening isn't Lupe's fault, LOL.)

3. Shirley's Perspective

Shirley is used as the traditional/fearful view of gay people, the "You're a lesbian and I'm a woman, therefore you MUST be in love with me!!" perspective. But the story is great about using the other characters to nonchalantly point out how dumb that is (her 1x07 convo with Maybelle, Carson's "That's not how it works" comment, lol). They don't make it into a huge political statement, they literally just look homophobia in the face and go "WHO TF CARES"

(presleyelvis has a really good post about Shirley's character development too!)

4. Honorable Mention: Carson & Greta

Carson & Greta is obviously a huge topic, but I just want to point out that I don't believe Greta was acting predatory or pursuing Carson in any way. She only acted on signals that she believed Carson was giving her, and was brave (stupid?) enough to act on them.

Even when Greta brings up Charlie in conversation, she's never bitter or disparaging about him, other than to say that he looks boring lol. No man-hating lesbians here, people!

ANYWAY, I just love that the girls have nothing but respect for each other as friends & teammates, and that their sexuality is only deemed a "threat" to external forces (except for Shirley, who again has an awesome self-realizing arc in that regard.)

GOOD JOB, FRUITS 🍑🍑🍑

[queerxqueen]

What bothers me the most about all of this is how the fandom really has exposed it's toxic homophobia. Fake allies, people claiming they're LGBT+ but then treating others in the community like garbage by sending hate mail and making fun of us. Why are we called "delusional" and "crazy" for thinking it could happen? I haven't seen people call R*nance or St*ddie shippers crazy. Byler happening is not the biggest impossibility, especially considering how Will is in love with Mike.

(Same anon) Why does the LGBT+ community constantly have to defend themselves for wanting more representation? Robin is amazing rep, very well written and awesome, but just because we have her doesn't mean we should only have one token gay character and her love interest that we've barely seen. Why can't we want a great childhood friends to lovers story in ST? I'm tired of being called delusional or crazy for wanting and liking a more well written relationship than their unhealthy canon one.

you're SO right and i talked about homophobia in the fandom outside of tumblr in this post but i've seen SO much casual homophobia across the fandom spaces i'm in (twitter, reddit, tiktok) in regards to byler so let's just knock 'em out, speed round style

"Mike can't be gay because he likes El" = bi erasure and ignorant of comphet experiences pls read a book

"shipping is for fun and for fanfiction not for the real show" = god forbid we see ourselves in characters and want to see ourselves represented in fiction 

“robin is amazing representation ur being ungrateful and making it about gay white boys” = LITERALLY shut ur mouth im sorry that on a show with a giant cast i could possibly want more than 1 or even 2 queer characters, sorry for wanting various narratives about being queer rather than just 1

"it's the 80s it's not realistic" = gay people existed in the 80s you utter moron

*assumption that will will get rejected without considering any other possibilities* = WHY are you so okay with seeing queer people suffer?? do you think you should unpack that in therapy bestie???

“its a scifi show not romance” = where is that energy for every other straight ship in the show then??? like shut up, yes it’s a monster show but at it’s core it’s about friendship, growing up, etc and if you only see it as a horror scifi show you’re probably missing the fucking point

anyway i’ve been lucky to not have any angry melvins or homophobes in my inbox on tumblr and i like to think it’s because they know i’d tear them a new asshole for trying but this is just stuff i’ve seen peripherally on reddit/twitter :/