#the immediately response from the social media team in our group chat was to berate that person for being lazy/not doing their homework

[whoatemyshoe]

"just google it" "do your own homework" "google is free" "find it yourself the information is out there"

but they are. they are asking people who have that information, for the information. they are doing their homework by reaching out and asking people questions. just because it's not typed on a search bar, doesn't mean it's any less of putting an effort to finding things out.

like i'm sorry people in the past refused/ridiculed you when you asked them for help. doesn't mean you have to be like them tho. why is learning through human interaction rejected in favour of isolated learning?

[queeryourgame]

Community Values, Guidelines & Rule Enforcement

Community Values

Queer Your Game is an international multi-game LGBTQIA+ only gayming community. We aim to provide our Gaymers with a protected cross-platform environment where we can all enjoy ourselves, meet new gay™ people from all over the world and gayme together safely. Queer Your Game welcomes all sorts of Gaymers regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality or level of skill. 

Our community is live on Discord and you can join us today!

We expect everyone to behave responsibly, kindly and respectfully toward one another across all platforms and games.

The following guidelines are not exhaustive and we reserve the right to change and amend them as our community grows and we learn. We’ll let you know when we do, but we expect all of you to read them, accept them and abide by them.

One last thing, safety is our main concern and to that end, we are offering a moderated space.

You are the heart of this community. The way you behave is the way we all behave and your integrity is our integrity. If you see someone that needs help, if you witness something that’s against our guidelines or just plain wrong, say something. Do something. Tell a mod, alert us on social media, stand up for your fellow Gaymer as you would like your fellow Gaymer to stand up for you and help.

Join Queer Your Game 👉 http://bit.ly/QYGDiscord 

Community Guidelines

Queer Your Game is an LGBTQIA+ only community. What does that mean? Well, it means that if you are cisheteroromantic AND cisheterosexual then you can’t be part of this community. We appreciate that you consider yourself one of our cishet allies and we understand that you might have a spouse/partner, family members, friends and acquaintances who are LGBTQIA+ that you care about and support. However, due to the nature of the gaming community at large, we wish to keep QYG open to LGBTQIA+ folks only. PS: If you are cisAromantic and/or cisAssexual and you consider yourself Queer, we welcome you.

Our community guidelines must be respected cross-platforms. You must also abide by the community guidelines and terms of services of the platforms you are using. On Discord, you must respect Discord’s guidelines, on Twitter, you must respect Twitter’s guidelines, on Xbox, you must respect Xbox’s guidelines, etc.

Queer Your Game is not yet a corporation but we will abide by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), the European Union Copyright Law (EUCL), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO and WCT) and the World Trade Organization (WCT) on copyright and intellectual property. If the copyright and IP organization of your region isn’t mentioned here, please know that if we are contacted by them regarding copyright and intellectual property transgressions by our users, we will consider their inquiries just as seriously as those from the organizations mentioned above.

While we are on the subject of copyright and intellectual property, it’s important you remember that we consider fanart and derivative work to be fair use. Fair use is a right, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Using culture to express yourself and create your own representation is something that we at Queer Your Game actively encourage.

Reposting original art, derivative work, and fanart as your own without crediting the artist or appropriating art, derivative work, and fanart is forbidden. If we find out that you are stealing original art, derivative work, and fanart from the artists in our community—whether from Discord, Tumblr, Twitter, or anywhere else our users are present—for commercial purposes, you will be reported to said platforms, to the relevant authorities, and you will be immediately banned from Queer Your Game. Forever.

The sharing and/or promoting of illegal activities and illegal materials, like piracy, copyright and intellectual property infringement, betting and gambling, pornography, pornography involving children/animals/violence, political parties, etc. are forbidden in our community cross-platforms.

Please don’t use the community Discord and other platforms for your advertisement of any kind, unless you are affiliated with Queer Your Game and/or we have given you permission to do so. Yes, that includes charities and fandom projects. Do not ever ask for money or promote your Ko-fi, your Patreon, your PayPal, your Kickstarter, your IndieGoGo, etc. unless you are affiliated with Queer Your Game and we have given you permission to do so.

Remember when we said that your safety is our main concern at Queer Your Game? That starts with keeping your personal information secret. Do not ever share your personal information in our Discord Server or publically on our other platforms. If you want to share your personal information with a fellow Gaymer, add them as a friend and share what you wish to share via private direct messages.

Nobody at Queer Your Game, Admins or Mods, will ever ask you for your personal information in our Discord server—unless you are in the SOS channel and you are requiring immediate IRL assistance, and we do mean life or death situations.

If you are caught sharing another Gaymer’s personal information, you will be banned. If you obtained that information illegally, we will report you to the authorities in your country of residence.

To become a part of our gayming community you need to follow our application process. We do not allow Gaymers to have multiple accounts—especially if you have been kicked or banned and you’re trying to trick us into adding you again. Don’t do it.

If we catch you impersonating another Gaymer, you will be banned and reported.

By the way, don’t use offensive usernames. By offensive we mean insulting, discriminatory, violent, sexual, etc.. Oh and don’t copy another Gaymer’s username either.

We are running an 18 and older Discord server and we don’t mind you discussing all sorts of topics, including sex. I mean, we’re gay. It’s okay. Just don’t be inappropriate. Don’t link to porn, under 18 content, illegal content, or you know, all the stuff we already mentioned above. Don’t upload under 18 or NSFW content in the chat, don’t use porn/violent/discriminative GIFs, don’t swear like a sailor, don’t spam.

Using our community Discord for sexual acts or intercourse, the promotion of sexual services and the exploitation of children is prohibited.

We will have zero tolerance for Gaymers who bully, harass, verbally abuse or berate other Gaymers in-game, on Discord or any other platforms Queer Your Game is on. Hate speech is not okay. Do not promote violence against anyone, especially other marginalized folks. If we catch you bashing on someone, alone or in a group, you’re done.  

If you have a disagreement with someone or you’re getting upset and you feel like lashing out, find a Mod, take a break. If you can’t manage what’s going on in the moment, walk away, send us an email or DM us. Criticism should always be polite and constructive. In fact, one of the mottos we use in every aspect of our work at Queer Your Game is “To be a voice of criticism, be a force of proposition.” It’s good advice; you’re welcome.

Trolling in-game, on Discord and other platforms Queer Your Game is on is unacceptable. Don’t ruin the experience of other people. That goes for spoiling. Whether it’s about a game, a movie, a book, a tv show, just don’t spoil, okay? Now, we know some of you will want to talk about every bit of spoiler and juicy news out there so we made you a channel on Discord.

In-game, we expect you to show fair play, to win with dignity and lose with grace, and to support your fellow Gaymers and teammates. Cheating and hacking are prohibited. Respect in-game rules and codes of conduct. No friendly kills, no awoxing, no spawn killing, no stealing from other Gaymers, no destroying other Gaymers property. Oh and no botting.

Raging is a no-go. Don’t rage quit, don’t yell at your fellow Gaymers, don’t insult people, don’t swear excessively, etc.. If you can’t handle what’s going on in-game, if you know you’re going to lose it, walk away. It’s that simple.

Cooperation and support are promoted within Queer Your Game. We like transparency and we think that champions, raid leaders and more skilled Gaymers should lead and help and teach and theorycraft and strategize and all the good things that can advance their fellow Gaymers, their own teams, parties and guilds of Gaymers. Just don’t go around sharing all of that on social media unless it’s made clear that it’s okay or you’re the person who came up with it.

At Queer Your Game we consider ourselves proponents of social justice and equal rights. We also know what a lot of social media platforms and communities refuse to acknowledge: tech and media are not neutral and no community or person is apolitical. While we encourage conversation and we understand that nobody’s perfect and no content is unproblematic, we want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the diversity of our community as they have fun, share, learn, educate themselves and grow. We expect all Gaymers to be on their best behavior. If you witness any of the following behaviors, report it to a Mod.

Racism, anti-blackness, xenophobia, white supremacy, Islamophobia, antisemitism, cultural appropriation, and bigotry will not be tolerated.

If you’re a transphobe or a TERF, don’t apply. We don’t want you. We also expect Gaymers to respect their fellow Gaymers’ pronouns. Misgendering will be sanctioned.

Sexism and misogyny won’t be tolerated. If you’re a white feminist, we don’t like you either. And if you don’t know what that is, we encourage you to check Google.

Ableism, food-shaming, fat-shaming, and all physical discrimination or belittling are rude and forbidden.

Don’t police, gatekeep, etc.. We have Mods and Admins, and we have guidelines. Your judgment of others is not required nor welcome.

Threats, incitation to violence and self-destroying behaviors, and any activity or conversation that could lead to your physical or emotional harm are completely forbidden and will get a Gaymer banned.

Suicide stunts or self-harm for attention-seeking, entertainment, or bad jokes will be sanctioned.

We have created an SOS text chat and voice channel on our Discord. Our intention is to provide a safe space for any Gaymer who would find themselves in a sudden and terrible struggle. If you are in danger, if you are in crisis, if you are experiencing a medical or mental health emergency, etc., anything that would require immediate assistance, you can, if you choose to, go into the SOS text and voice channels.

We want to make it clear that, even though our Moderators are notified that if they are alerted or see a Gaymer in an SOS channel, they should immediately check on them, we cannot shoulder the responsibility of your well being and your safety. We will not offer professional and trained support even if some of our Moderators and Admins could be trained professionals. For now, we can only provide you with a safe space and common sense help if we are able. We will call the police or an ambulance if you need them and we happen to be able to. We will stay with you if you require a presence. We will help provide you with crisis helpline phone numbers if they’re available where you reside so you can seek the appropriate help.

Please don’t abuse the SOS channels. We cannot stress enough that this specific gesture is a way for Queer Your Game to show you in action that we care. We are not in any position to be responsible for your safety and/or your well being and we do not make any promises of trained support or life-altering actions. Therefore Queer Your Game—as private individuals or as a corporation—is not liable for you.

Rule Enforcement 

Queer Your Game is a moderated space, on Discord, on Social Media, in forums, and in-game. We have Moderators, Admins, and Super Admins.

As a moderated space and community, Queer Your Game does, in fact, exercise a certain censure as described in our community guidelines. We reserve the right to change them, although we will let you know when that happens.

The appreciation of your violations and of your behaviors remain up to the discretion of our Mods, Admins and Super Admins. You can appeal a sanction, a temporary kick or ban, a definitive ban, etc. by emailing us at community@queeryourgame.com. The decision to maintain, alter or lift your sanction(s) is also to the discretion of our Mods, Admins and Super Admins.

The offense system is as follows:

You can get warnings of different gravity in-game, in Discord chat or voice channels, in your mentions and in your DMs or PMs depending on the platform you commit your offense on.

If warnings don’t have an immediate impact on your behavior, you can be asked to a private conversation with a Mod, an Admin or a Super Admin on Discord.

A small offense will get you an email, a DM or a PM, possibly a temporary time out or kick, most likely a private scolding and a mark on your account.

A serious offense will get you the same treatment as a small offense, a definite scolding, a kick or ban for the length we deem fit, and you will lose your status in the community. When you come back, you will have to go through a return interview and you will start fresh as a Padawan Gaymer on probation.

A grave offense will mean your immediate kick from our Discord and a ban will be decided by our team of Mods, Admins, and Super Admins. You’ll receive an email informing you of your ban and our definitive decision.

We may ask for your opinions, thoughts, and ideas in polls and voting events.

We at Queer Your Game think strongly about the ethics of our project. We believe in transparency and in taking in different perspectives. To that end, we regularly consult with outside professionals in different fields and we are in the process of recruiting different individuals for our reference and sensitivity group.

Join Queer Your Game 👉 http://bit.ly/QYGDiscord

[omgkatsudonplease]

[fic, viktor/yuuri, canon divergence] Constructive Criticism

Written for @elle-chat, who donated to @katsukiyuuristrophyhusband‘s nancy fund. The prompt was “canon divergence, vicchan lives”. Thanks for donating; hope you like this!

He gets the call from Mari around noon. “I thought — I thought it was best to let you know,” she says, her voice wavering over the connection, each breath like static. “Vicchan’s at the vet. He — there was an accident. We’re not sure if he’ll make it.”

Yuuri sets down the phone with shaking hands, ending the call like an aforethought. He clenches his fists, feeling the hallway shift and his breath come short in his chest.

Of all the days, it had to be today, right? The day of the Grand Prix Final in Sochi? He feels a lump rise in his throat, choking out the rest of his air. There’s a hand on his shoulder, Celestino’s voice resounding from the end of a tunnel as he guides him to his feet and onto the rink for warm-up. His feet don’t feel like his own; the rest of him seems cut off from his brain, from his vision now fogging up on the —

“Mr Katsuki!”

Yuuri feels the cold hardness of the ice, the pain flaring into painful clarity. He blinks rapidly, the fog in his head clearing as other hands help him off the ice into the bleachers.

The whispers echo around him. Is he all right? Will he be able to skate tonight? Hopefully he hasn’t hurt himself. He’s being poked and prodded, checked for injuries. He’s sore, but fit to skate, if he could get himself out of his head (or his head out of himself) in time to do it properly.

“Do you need some time alone?” asks Celestino. Yuuri feels the guards on his skates. He loosens the boots, nodding as the solid firmness of the ground returns as he puts his shoes back on.

“Five minutes,” says Celestino. “But you know you need a little warm-up. Don’t do any jumps. You psych out too hard if you fall.”

Yuuri takes a couple deep breaths and smiles.

Yuuri’s not allowed on social media before competitions. It’s a rule he worked out when he was younger and just starting to get noticed by the JSF as their new rising star. It doesn’t even matter if the feedback’s negative or positive; either he’ll get discouraged from the critics or he’ll feel too much pressure from well-wishers hoping he won’t fail.

So because Celestino has taken his phone at his past self’s own insistence, Yuuri can’t check in with Mari about Vicchan and has to fiddle uselessly with the zipper of his jacket as he tries to calm himself down. The others are still skating; he can hear the scratches of skates against the ice every time the rink door opens and closes.

“Are you alright?” A shadow falls over him; Yuuri looks up, and is briefly blinded by the halo of light obscuring the figure from view. He blinks, and then his childhood idol’s concerned expression swims into view.

“Um,” he says intelligently, berating himself almost as soon as he does so because yes, that’s definitely the first thing he wants to say to Viktor Nikiforov on the day he’s supposed to meet the man on the same ice.

(He’s almost glad he doesn’t live in a society where the first words of a soulmate are tattooed on his body somewhere, because if on the off chance Viktor Nikiforov had been his soulmate, well.)

“You took a fall earlier, and I was a little caught up but I just wanted to see if you’re okay,” Viktor clarifies.

“I’m fine,” Yuuri says, as if on autopilot. “Just nervous.”

Viktor chuckles. “We’re all nervous,” he says, and then to Yuuri’s increasing consternation the handsome silver-haired Russian takes a seat next to him. “Viktor,” he says, extending a hand.

“Yuuri,” says Yuuri, shaking his hand. “I — I know your name.”

Viktor laughs. “A lot of people do,” he points out.

“Yeah.” Yuuri looks off into the distance. “You don’t have to — you don’t have to sit here, you know. With me. I’m fine.”

“How do you know I’m just sitting here with you?” Viktor’s grin is roguish. “I could just be tired and you’ve got the only empty seat next to you.”

Yuuri points to the empty chair across the hallway. Viktor laughs again.

“Okay, point,” he concedes. “But really, I just came to wish you well. I watched your short programme — it was phenomenal.”

Yuuri gapes at him. “You watched —” he begins, but Viktor holds up a finger, and Yuuri’s mouth stops short.

“Thing is,” he says cheerily, “you really need a new choreographer. They’re not making use of your stamina at all. I’ve seen your other stuff too, and it’s obvious you’ve got so much more than what your coach is giving you.”

Yuuri would like nothing more than to transform into ooze and slide between the cracks of the earth. Vanish forever, away from the bright eyes of Viktor Nikiforov’s strange insulting compliments that still make his heart skip a beat. “I — it’s — well, what would you do?”

“You seem to have some kind of block that’s keeping you from feeling your piece entirely. As if you’re scared of unleashing your real emotions onto the ice,” Viktor remarks, and Yuuri can’t help but laugh at that.

“Takes one to know one.” It slips out before he can really stop himself, but to his surprise Viktor’s expression is more amused than insulted.

“You think I’m not feeling my piece entirely?” he asks.

“Um, no, sorry, I mean —”

“It’s all right.” Viktor grins widely. “I love hearing constructive criticism. No one offers it to me anymore; I almost miss it. What do you think I should do?”

Yuuri takes a deep breath. Critique Viktor’s skating? That’s like someone telling him to call the moon ugly, even if the surface of the moon is actually scarred with craters…

“I don’t buy your free skate,” he says. “You’ve got this great love song and you put a lot of skill into it, but your emotions feel manufactured, you know? Like you get some of the loneliness down, but when you’re going into the ‘stammi vicino’ portions where the singer meets his lover, you tend to lose some of your emotion.” He pauses. “Like you’re pretending you understand what love is.” He pauses again. “Not that you’ve — I wouldn’t know — sorry.”

Viktor seems to have gone completely still at the outpouring. He taps his lips thoughtfully with a finger, and then his eyes twinkle as his lips curl up into a smile.

“I really appreciate that, Yuuri,” he says. “I think we should both do our best today, yeah? Give me a good show; I’ll be watching.”

“Me, too,” says Yuuri, hearing Celestino call for him. “Thanks, Viktor.”

Viktor waves at him as he stands up. “Davai, Yuuri.”

He gets a text from Mari after his performance. Vicchan pulled through, it reads. He’s ok. He’ll be home soon and recovered by the end of the week. It’s as if someone has pulled a string and released the tensions coiled in his chest, because it’s suddenly so much easier to breathe.

He sits in the kiss-and-cry, waiting for his scores. Celestino has a hand on his shoulder, smiling proudly. Yuuri hadn’t skated his best, he knows, but he’d skated well enough, knowing Viktor’s eyes are on him. Trying to prove to Viktor that he can at least make the most of what’s given to him. He fell on one of his jumps and popped another, but hopefully combined with his high short programme score, he’ll —

And the score for Yuuri Katsuki is 178.52, putting him at 262.07.

In the end, that only nets him fourth place below Viktor, Christophe Giacometti, and Jean-Jacques Leroy. But Yuuri takes it anyway, because Vicchan is alive and well and he’d like nothing more than to see his dog again.

He fires off a text to Mari: Can I see Vicchan when I get back to the hotel?

Her response is immediate. Yes.

The next time he talks to Viktor, it’s at the banquet after the exhibition skate. He hadn’t skated in it, but he had watched Viktor’s appreciatively from the sidelines. For one heart-stopping moment, Viktor had winked at him as he passed him along the boards, and it had taken all of Yuuri’s strength to remain upright and conscious after that.

Viktor’s eyes had lit up at seeing him enter the room, though the way he surveys Yuuri’s suit clearly suggests he has some opinions about its cut. Of course, the Russian looks perfect in his own charcoal suit and black tie; Yuuri probably looks like an overgrown bug in comparison.

“No, I’m just thinking that it’s a waste to hide your gorgeous figure in some blazer jacket twice your size,” replies Viktor cheekily, and Yuuri tries not to blush.

“Thanks for the advice,” he says.

Viktor grins. “You did well,” he replies. “I’d have given you more points, but alas I’m not the ISU.”

“I popped a jump and fell,” Yuuri points out.

“But you really had emotion this time,” Viktor says. He takes Yuuri by the arm. “What do you think about my routine this time? Sold you on my love story yet?”

Yuuri purses his lips. “I guess?” he says, and Viktor laughs.

“You guess?” he asks. “Wow, you’re a tough crowd to please.”

“I was — it was a good performance. You were good.”

“But not as emotional as you would like.” Viktor winks at him. “I’m guessing the next time we meet it’ll be Worlds, so we have until then to make our separate routines perfect for each other, right?”

“Why are you doing this?” Yuuri blurts suddenly. Viktor drops his arm, blinking at him. Yuuri feels embarrassment well deep in his throat but he forces it back down, pressing on. “Why are you suddenly so friendly to me? I’m just… this is my first year at the Final. We’ve never… you’ve never talked to me, or shown me any sign that you knew I existed.”

Viktor bites his lip, suddenly looking sheepish. “I — I, er, didn’t know how to best approach you,” he replies. “We never skated in the same group at Worlds, and we didn’t get seeded into the same competitions for the Grand Prix, and, well. World Team Trophy’s usually spent half-drunk so I don’t even remember half of what happens during that. But I’ve… well.” He looks downright embarrassed now, his cheeks flushed bright red. “I saw you having a bit of a rough start yesterday, and I just wanted to offer you something to cheer you up.”

“Oh.” Yuuri nods. “Thank you. I’m sorry I was presumptuous.”

“You’re not —” Viktor shakes his head. “You’re the best skater Japan has to offer, so I was told as soon as you started showing up in Grand Prix events to study you.” He laughs a little. “You’re not like most of the competition. You really make the music your own. I admire that.”

Yuuri wonders why the sprinklers haven’t turned on yet, because his face is practically on fire. “Dance with me,” he suggests, for lack of a better way to deflect attention from his skating.

Viktor looks as though Christmas had come early. “Of course,” he says, and takes Yuuri’s hand.

In the morning, Yuuri wakes in an unfamiliar hotel room to the sound of his phone alarm and the warmth of another body in the bed beside him. His head is groggy, but not from alcohol; as he rubs the sleep from his eyes, he turns and sees Viktor lying in bed next to him.

And then Yuuri realises they’re both naked, and the events of last night come creeping back into his memory.

Viktor stirs, cracking open one bright blue eye. “Morning,” he mumbles, and Yuuri’s breath flees him; in the golden morning light he’s almost angelic as he looks up at Yuuri. He wants to freeze the moment and live in this feeling forever. But the alarm continues to ring, so Yuuri snoozes it and reaches out to brush some hair from Viktor’s eyes.

“I have a flight soon,” he says. Viktor makes a disappointed noise, which causes Yuuri’s heart to skip a beat.

“We traded numbers, right?” he asks. “If you… I dunno, just in case.”

“Yeah,” says Viktor. “We should do that.” He sits up, too, yawning and stretching before leaning out of the bed to fumble for his trousers on the ground. Yuuri tries not to stare too hard at the curve of his ass. He fails.

They quickly exchange numbers, and Yuuri feels awkwardness curl strangely in his chest as he clambers out of bed to get dressed under Viktor’s watchful glance. His own room is on a lower floor; he’ll have to run down and get his things. It’ll be obvious to Celestino that he didn’t come back last night, but he’s beyond caring at this point.

“So,” he says once he finishes buttoning his shirt, tucking his tie into his trouser pockets and adjusting his ill-fitting blazer. “Bye, then?”

That seems to galvanise Viktor out of bed, stumbling towards him with a maddening gleam in his eyes. He pins Yuuri against the edge of the hotel’s desk, kissing him deeply and sweetly like he had done last night, his tongue plundering Yuuri’s mouth of all the breath left in him. Yuuri’s hands tighten in the hairs at Viktor’s nape, wanting more of him to have and hold.

“Text me when you get to Detroit,” Viktor breathes, and Yuuri smiles against his lips at that.

“I will,” he promises. “And I’ll show you the pictures of my dog that I promised.”

“I’m glad he’s alright,” replies Viktor. Sometime during last night Yuuri had told him why he had been so worried before the free skate, and Viktor had sighed and said he’d have felt the same if Makkachin had been at the vet with no news about his recovery. They had drifted off to sleep after that, and Yuuri had slept soundly in Viktor’s arms.

He smiles now, his body light and his heart joyful at the prospect of staying in touch with Viktor. “I’ll see you around?” he asks, as Viktor walks him to the door.

“Until Worlds,” says Viktor, and it’s a promise and a challenge all in one.

Yuuri grins, leaning forward to kiss the playful smirk off his face. “Until Worlds,” he agrees, and smiles all the way home.