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legendary-defender-of-fandoms · 4 years

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Would folks be open to a Vehicle Voltron spin-off of Legendary Defender?

I know Voltron left a lot of people disappointed at best and an unholy degree of pissed off at worst, and there’s nothing wrong with any reaction in between. The Voltron writing team dropped the ball with a lot of subjects (LGBT rep, Allura’s death, Lotor’s ultimate fate, Honerva’s “redemption,” etc.), and fans have every right to be angry, or hurt, or whatever.

But . . . . I’ve been thinking about Voltron a lot lately, and a Vehicle Voltron spin-off could be used to give us closure & redeem the franchise. Not the writers, or De Santos & Montgomery, but the characters & the core story deserve a second chance.

I’ll admit, I don’t know much about Vehicle Voltron (except it was an English redub of a Japanaese anime that had absolutely nothing to do with Voltron’s source anime, King of Beasts GoLion). But from what little I’ve gleaned, it could be a decent setup for a Star Trek/Justice League Unlimited sort of sci-fi action ensemble show, with different episodes focusing on separate teams until everyone has to meet up for big battles/finales.

There’s supposed to be about 15 vehicles of all sorts (planes, cars, helicopters, etc,) that make up Vehicle Voltron, broken down into 3 teams (Earth, Water, and Sky/Air). Each group of 5 vehicles makes their own mini-Vehicle Voltron, and when all 3 teams are together they make the big Vehicle Voltron. Perhaps the MFE pilots add one more to their ranks & form the Jet Vehicle Voltron that forms the head of Big Vehicle Voltron.

And with an expanded cast & different teams, the chances for proper representation would increase exponentially! Pilots & Paladins of every skin color, orientation, gender identification/presentation, body type, age, and neurodivergency. Not to mention all the crossovers born of the interpersonal relationships. Perhaps the left arm pilot of Earth Vehicle Voltron has a significant other who forms the head of Water Vehicle Voltron, or the legs of MFE Vehicle Voltron are Twins, and so forth.

Then there’s the appearances by characters from the OG Legendary Defenders. The Season 8 epilogue confirmed that Pidge & the rest of the Holt family spearheaded the Vehicle Voltron project, but they won’t be the only returning cast members.

Veronica probably transferred over from the Galaxy Garrison, either as a Pilot or a communications officer coordinating the deployment of all the Vehicle Voltron teams. And with Veronica onboard, we may see her girlfriend/partner/close friend Axca, who would rope in Ezor & Zethrid as the other members of her Blade of Marmorra relief team.

Perhaps Vehicle Voltron would give Curtis a chance to shine as the tactical advisor for one of the Teams, or an instructor at the Voltron Academy, and we’d get to know him as a character rather than a background Red Shirt hastily converted into a half-assed bit of LGBT rep. And with Curtis we could see Shiro, either as a guest advisor to teach the Teams about the importance of teamwork or just as a supportive husband. The important things here would be to establish Curtis’ personality & show his relationship with Shiro (who’s the better cook, what kind of stuff do they disagree over, how do they cheer each other up, do either of them want kids, etc.).

And think of all the other cameos we could see - Hunk & his culinary crew partnering with one of the Vehicle Voltron teams to oversee peace talks between unfriendly nations, Keith & his Blade of Marmorra team running into another Vehicle Voltron team as both try to evacuate an unstable planet, Veronica visiting her little brother Lance on the family farm & seeing how he’s doing after Season 8, etc.

Then there’s the stories. I have a few basic plots figured out, but there are tons of possibilities:

Welcome to the New Legendary Defenders - this would be the three-part premiere, as we’re introduced to the Vehicle Voltron teams, mission statements, and cast while following one of the new recruits (possibly Chip, or maybe a new character).

New Olcarion - ever wonder what happened to everyone on Olcarion since Season 8 forgot to tell us? This episode has you covered! Perhaps they built their own planet & it’s having some technical difficulties, or they think they found a new planet they could colonize but the planet has sentient life that went hidden until a bunch of off-worlders started stomping around like they owned the place.

Shadows of the Empire - there’s probably still a few Galra who aren’t ready to let go of Zarkon’s era of conquest or Haggar’s era of devastation, and they might pop up every once in a while to cause trouble. Sendack’s dead, but maybe that wormy General from the Taujeerian episode would make his long-awaited return as he tries to establish his own Galra Empire. Or maybe a forgotten cache of Galra sentret droids either never got deactivated or were recently reactivated & are still carrying out their prime directives (I.e. conquer everything in the name of the Galra Empire).

Balmera Pains - a colony of Balmerans reach out to Vehicle Voltron for help. Their Balmera is under distress, and no one is entirely certain how or why. The team shows up to help with evacuations, and they discover the Balmera isn’t dying - it’s pregnant. Everyone’s excited, since a new Balmera hasn’t been born in millennia, but there’s still the issue of tremors & other seismic activity putting the Balmerans at risk.

Lion Goddess - this would be an overarching story in the first season, possibly extending into a second season. It would start with the original Paladins getting dreams/visions/flashbacks of the Lions. Pidge & Shiro would be in Vehicle Voltron more than the others, so they’re the ones who we would see exhibiting symptoms first. Pidge might be dreaming about Green before her alarm goes off at the start of her day, or Shiro might hear some whisper over his shoulder & find nothing there, that sort of thing. The two would probably talk about these flashes & dreams with each other, chalking it up to old memories or PTSD (or one of them might try to pull a Steven Universe & keep their trauma bundled up until they explode into a Kaiju of guilt & self-loathing). This could even be something Shiro & Curtis regularly discuss, as Curtis wants to support Shiro through whatever’s going on. But as the other Paladins make their cameos, we may see them showing symptoms as well (Keith May be restless or irritable, Lance May be distracted or lethargic, Hunk might flinch if folks start talking about lions, space anomalies, or Quintessence, etc.). But eventually everyone will get together & realize they’re being Called by Voltron. Or Allura? Or the Universe in general. This revelation may coincide with reports of distant planets sighting giant flying robotic cats in their area, scaring off folks who come too close to their territory. Then it’ll be time to get the Gang back together to find the Lions & see why they’ve reappeared after so long & what’s going on. Through some complicated shenanigans, it’ll be revealed that the Lions have gathered the life force of Allura & need the Paladins to help with channeling her energies into regenerating her. Not sure if Lotor would be regenerated during this process as well - while his body kind of melted into the Sincline robot, his consciousness/soul/whatever could still be trapped within the space between dimensions, or his energies became entangled with Allura’s as they both drifted in the ether & by bringing back one, they bring back the other. Bottom line, yay, Allura’s back! And after a few episodes in a coma (regeneration is exhausting), she’s up & about and ready for some closure. She & Lance can try to pick things up where they left off & realize they still care about each other, but just don’t work as a romantic couple. She & Coran can get an emotional reunion to make up for Coran being snubbed in the Season 8 finale. Maybe Allura’s QuintessenceBending will have grown exponentially, and now she spreads new life wherever she goes, or maybe channeling all of Honerva’s stolen Quintessence into jumpstarting the Multiverse has left her completely drained of her gifts. If Lotor’s back as well, the two will have a lot to discuss after their shared time in the ether.

Anyway, those were my thoughts on a Vehicle Voltron spin-off. Am I the only one?

#voltron legendary defender #vehicle voltron

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incarnateirony · 4 years

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Lol I'm not reading that entire novella of a wank post. In any case, ublock origin and ghostery work on tumblr so nah, sorry, you only get 2 cents from me, not 10.

“I literally refuse to read what I’m pretending to be righteously angry about because I fundamentally know my entire position is based on my wilfull ignorance and refusal to admit I’m the assbag who is physically incapable of controlling myself from attacking someone in their own space or spreading absolute horse shit in DM” and pretending I’m the wanker here. Get a god damn life.

(Edit update: at the bottom it’s kinda become transparent that the person at the heart of it is sending all the anons complete with geolock so lmao fuck off with your ridiculous shit. This post has been truncated to focus on the new data)

The fucking hilarity that your heads are crammed SO thoroughly up your asses that you can’t tell the difference between “someone having a strong opinion you don’t like in their own space” and “multiple people relentlessly besieging all of their social media and trying to undercut years-long friendships in petty wrath by manipulating a conversation for a weeks long grudgewank they’ve been telling you to stop, but we value fractal emotional validation rather than the complete reality of the situation that would realistically make us the harassing assbags, so as long as we stay ignorant and refuse to ask for it, because the same person is only supplying it on request to still try to not over-damage the guilty party who refuses the same human dignity to the person they’re targeting, we’re innocent somehow!”, while you fucking T-pose out there about y’all being bullied. Like, how does your own bullshit taste, or have you already cleared your colon and started passing up past your trachea again?

Has it even remotely occurred to you that 0 people are coming for any of you, despite weeks of this, but you’re still collectively coming at me? Do you even care? No, you don’t.

What a fascinating self-demonstrating display of the very conversation that set this all off, about this fandom’s addiction to arguing for validation rather than accepting content or moving on, and engineered clout wars. Keep goin.

Oh and by the way.

If you’re going to try to pretend you’re innocent here, and that you aren’t sending your own vicious anons, at least use a VPN, jesus christ.

Yeah no, you want me to put it on public blast so you can try to victim pose again. But I’ll just defer readers to you attacking living circumstances outside of my control. No wonder you never showed up in my inbox, Nonnie. Because you’re not a Nonnie, you’re just the person causing this.

Oh wow look how many times you’ve spammed my inbox and hopped to the replies just to pick new fights

Hop off my dick, sis. Like I can literally SEE your ass stalking my blog

So I’m going to point out that service provider BT has a line in their terms of service "Respecting other people’s views, and their right to express them freely", which forbids users from promoting or threatening violence, abusing or harassing anyone, or encouraging hate. Extra points to BT for putting their policy in plain English.

Send me one more fucking anon and see what happens.

Nice screen resolution tho.

(14 hour later update: Oh wow look at that no new assbag anons from that location! GOOD ON YOU. A literal record of you leaving me the fuck alone after two weeks of your shit, not minding the DMs I’m actively hearing about of you still snaking around. No, proxying it through a friend isn’t gonna stop that. If this doesn’t immediately terminate in the next 24 hours, I will be contacting your service provider. While I’m unclear on the limitations on pressing charges for harassment and slander internationally, I’m very clear on the ability to make them turn off your internet. But should they provide me any advice on the former, I will gladly accept it.)

#mildew

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hetamavi · 6 years

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Colony America and England’s Relationship

Yes. ANOTHER Colonial America and England analysis. I decided to tackle this subject as a follow up to my other analysis. It’s something I hit upon a few times in that post, but didn’t really focus on since it would have gotten a bit too off subject into something deserving of its own post. My next post will be on a completely different subject with a character that has nothing to do with any of this.

First some things to keep in mind while/before reading this post:

- Please read my other analysis before reading this one!

- America was English territory throughout the 1600s-1700s. We’re not talking about England when his empire had peaked. We’re talking about England when he was still new to imperialism and didn’t have much oversea territory. Jamestown was England’s first successful established settlement in the Americas, putting America among England’s first oversea territories and America was long gone by the time England hit his imperialism high. I’m bringing this up, because I believe this is why we’ve never seen England became emotionally fixated on anyone one else under his control in the same way he was fixated on America.

- While I point out a lot of bad things England did in this post, I’m not trying to say he’s a horrible person. Despite all of the things he did wrong, he was NEVER trying to hurt America. I’m also not trying to suggest there were no good moments between pre-Revolution America and England, but the better moments of a relationship doesn’t cancel out any toxicity.

PRE-REVOLUTION

Let’s get straight to the point. England saw America as something to be owned. America was his possession, something to be used for England’s own benefit. I’m not saying England didn’t care about America, but I am saying he didn’t have much respect for him as his own person. England was the colonizer, America was the colonized. Even if they painted a pretty picture on a surface level, there relationship was clearly imbalanced with England getting emotional validation and America eventually not really benefiting from their relationship at all. In this analysis, I’ll go over the various things that went wrong with their relationship and how all those problems build up to the violent end.

1) England relied on America to be his emotional crutch.

It’s normal to rely on those you’re close to for emotional support. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. However, there is such a thing as emotionally depending on someone too much. And England had clearly crossed the line into depending on America to an unhealthy degree.

England was miserable in Europe. He said so himself that he couldn’t stand to be there. And it’s easy to see why, he had become enemies with everyone there and was on the receiving end of lots of teasing for being Europe’s black sheep.

But things were different with America. America was nowhere near mainland Europe and didn’t have the perception of England as some angry, friendless jerk that would cause problems for him. His image of England was completely clean. So he served as good source of emotional support and validation to England. He even told him his terrible cooking tasted good!

That reliance on America to validate him is what brings us to a resulting problem.

2) England was dismissive of America’s feelings in favor of his own.

In one strip, we see England doing things that clearly make America unhappy. Instead of addressing America’s unhappiness, all we see is England cheerfully ignoring what he’s saying, even America’s response to being overtaxed.

In the other strip, England does at least respond to America’s protests of being more comfortable in his casual clothing (Especially since he really doesn’t have much use for fancy suits at this point in time), but he only responds with how America’s clothing makes him look bad by extension. Again, he doesn’t really address America’s concerns, he just brushes them off.

And he DEFINITELY didn’t want to acknowledge America’s growth and capability of handling himself that resulted from England leaving him alone most of the time (but we’ll get to the Revolution later). Speaking of neglect...

3) Neglect

See linked other analysis.

DIFFERING PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS

While England saw America as devoted him (ignoring things that would suggest otherwise as shown above), America’s opinion of England and his bond to England had clearly changed over time (Though I guess that goes without saying).

America always had an independent spirit. During one of his first meetings with England, he told him he had managed to learn a lot about himself despite not letting any of the older nations near him. England himself quickly realized America was fully capable of handling himself.

That sense of autonomy was left to grow as a result of England never really being there for him. America was left to learn about things such as politics and how he differed from humans on his own. Instead of that isolation hindering his growth, he grew rapidly because of it.

On top of that, it’s EXTREMELY unlikely Spain, France, and Netherlands were strangers to him before the Revolution. America seems familiar with France’s cooking in one strip (I’m sure France was feeding America some of his cooking out of sympathy for America mostly eating English food) and we see Netherlands smuggling goods to America even against England’s naval blockade in a later strip. Besides this showing America established relations with other countries besides England (lessening how much he needed him), all three of these countries probably said some not-so-good things about England to America at some point. If that really did happen, it’s possible they weakened England’s image in America’s eyes and made him more aware of his flaws. (Spain, France, and Netherlands are also the nations that gave America direct support during the Revolution as shown in one strip. While that was more of a result of them being enemies with England than being on good terms with America, I feel that it’s worth at least pointing out.)

So this all leaves us with an America who had been extremely neglected by England, grew up as a result of that, and along the way became more aware of the kind of person England is through his own experiences and possibly through what others had told him (not necessarily a bad person, but England wouldn’t have been on a pedestal). England’s never around, but at least that leaves America free to do what he wants without interference. At least that was the case until England comes in after the Seven Year War to finally start exerting power over America. By this time, instead of welcoming England with open arms, America welcomed him with anger over his life suddenly being controlled by someone who hadn’t been there for him before.

And that brings us to the fall out.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

This is what all of these problems have built up to. The American Revolution is America deciding he wants out and England reacting to that violently in an effort to force America to stay.

I went over this in my previous analysis, but I think it’s important I do it again here. During this scene, America tells England he’s no longer his little brother. And for all the fandom comments of “That’s not how that works”, I think America meant what he was saying and this is where that differing perspectives issue comes in. America had mostly grown up on his own and through his own efforts. He had lots of responsibilities with little parental guidance, so he had to grow up really fast. America knows this and is demanding that England throw away the fantasy of what he WANTS America to be. He wants England to instead acknowledge the reality that America isn’t his little brother (and he hasn’t been for a long time) and he DOESN’T need him.

However, to England, acknowledging that America is capable of independence is allowing the possibility of being abandoned. So, instead of doing what would be best for America and letting him go to further grow, he resorts to using physical force to keep America under his control. He went as far as to keep fighting even when his army was gone and he even turned his rifle against him.

England eventually reached the conclusion that his actions were futile and that he was only making the situation worse on both himself and America. He breaks down in front of America and his army with America commenting on how “big” England used to be, implying, at least in that moment, he thinks England is “little”.

Honestly, even without analyzing the feelings of the characters involved, the Revolution is a big red flag concerning what their relationship had become. It came down to one side of a relationship violently forcing the other side to stay in that relationship and then breaking down emotionally when it didn’t work out. That is REALLY telling.

POST REVOLUTION

Neither of these characters have completely healed from the wounds of their old relationship. England still gets extremely physically ill around the fourth of July. America missed out on having a childhood and I suspect his loud, attention grabbing behavior is at least partially a result of the neglect he endured as a colony.

But that doesn’t mean their current relationship is doomed to be just as unhealthy as their old relationship. Their current relationship is built on completely different terms (with them now being equals instead of colony-owner). Modern England also has more positive relationships with the other European nations compared to back when America was a colony, reducing his need to latch onto an emotional crutch in the first place. And while England is still not completely over the Revolution, he’s made big steps in moving on and now even tries to take part in America’s birthday celebrations.

As much as England loves to remember their past, it’s clear that their relationship years after America’s independence, as good friends, is a massive improvement over what they had together before.

#Axis Powers Hetalia #APH America #APH England #hetalia #aph #analysis

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hamletteprinceofdenmark · 6 years

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You act so proud of your reply to the other clexa anon (which wasn't hate at all, more indicative of YOUR mindset) yet you ignore the real point: Les/biphobic representation IN MEDIA. Nowhere did anon say bi/pan women falling in love w/men is wrong IN REAL LIFE. Congrats on misrepresenting anon's point. Then you go off on a tangent defending the "validity" of your ship when it's nothing to do with the ask. Then you attack grammar, because improper grammar MUST mean their argument is less sound.

Oh Nonny,

Do you feel better now? Now that you’ve let it all out?

First I’d like you to point out where I was proud, in the negative/haughty sense you seem to indicate. Statements without evidence is just opinion and therefore not persuasive. You need to provide evidence or your arguments fall flat. PEEL, Nonny, PEEL. Point, EVIDENCE, example, link. I’m pretty sure we covered this in Year 8, come on.

Now we broach the much bigger subject of fiction vs reality and how they impact one another. Honestly I could do an entire meta on this without your help and/or encouragement.

The OG anon in no way indicated that when she was talking about les/biphobia that they were talking purely about media. In fact, the exact quote was “damaging tropes condoning homophobic and biphobic prejudice.” Which seems to indicate that they were talking about how fiction can inform our real world prejudice, which is how I interpreted it. The trouble with text is that we can often be misinterpreted, so I’m open to the idea that I might be wrong, but I need you to convince me nonny, and so far, you’re not.

I only used real world examples to emphasise my point, but mainly used the “the 100” text as evidence, as that’s what we were talking about. I still don’t see how Bellamy and Clarke ending up together is les/biphobic in anyway, since Clarke is not a lesbian, Clexa was left on mutual if tragic terms - with them both still very much caring for each other, and as I have stated before a bi woman ending up with a man is in no way biphobic because attraction is a spectrum not an either or game. She has just as much right to be attracted to Bellamy as she did to Lexa.

The relationship between reality and the fiction we choose to create and consume is an incredibly important one and I think it is vital to think of them together. Often fiction informs our thoughts and prejudices just as much as our real life experiences, which is why tropes like “Bury Your Gays” and the general misunderstanding of multiple gender attraction can be so destructive.

By indicating that they thought Bellarke would be les/biphobic, OG anon did indicate, at least to me, that bi women getting together with men in real life would be equally damning. That’s not okay with me. I argued accordingly.

By accepting something in fiction, you accept it - even in a small way - in life.

I will agree that that paragraph where I indulged in a little Clexa vs Bellarke was petty and immature, but do you know what nonny? I felt petty. I felt angry and annoyed that we are still having these pointless arguments two years later. I will never understand the pain Clexas went through. I didn’t identify with either Lexa or Clexa, and while I empathised and understand on an intellectual level, I don’t really have that emotional connection to how everything ended for you. But to still hold on to a broken dream and try to drag others down into your pit of despair years later? Frankly, it’s pathetic.

It was petty, but I felt petty, and I indulged in that pettiness for once in my life and I am not sorry. You will not get an apology from me for pointing out the flaws in “the 100”’s writing team. I really wanted to root for Clexa, but it felt ridiculously rushed and I didn’t believe in it. Not in that “we are soulmates forever” way. It didn’t feel earned and I will keep saying that.

And finally, the grammar jab. Again, not my finest moment, I could have been less sassy about it. But I am an English tutor. I had just come back from doing this for 2 hours, and honestly? Would it have killed them to use a colon?

We are a fundamentally judgemental race, the only indication we have of each other is the text we are sending over the ether. If you don’t have the patience or self respect to proof check your own work before sending it to someone, how do you expect them to respect you?

Internet speak has fluid grammar it’s true, but that anon was clearly not using that, and the tutor in me riled. Grammar is the easiest way to make ourselves clear in a text-only format. Choosing to ignore that also sends a very clear message.

4/10 for execution.

If you feel this mark was unfair, resubmit your anonymous hate to the ask box with the appropriate recommended changes or feel free to message me at any time for a more direct feedback session.

We’re both aware that you can do better.Remember I’m always here to help you improve and present your best self.

- Professor Qwerty

#anon hate #clexa #bellarke #ask qwerty #maybe I am petty .... I’m okay with that #hey nonny nonny

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abrowngirlineurope-blog · 7 years

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I guess this is my first post

Subsequent internal explosions after one another might make a person go wild. Traumatized and lose senses, for if emotions are too much I feel a state of shock in which only emptiness is there. A simple converstation, for you to continue your day and enjoy the jolly sun. For me to gnash my teeth for the rest of it.

This blog is not to be written in perfect English, for no European language was fast enough to colonize my tongue at birth. And frankly - I don’t care about my spelling mistakes or anyone’s definition of language. Mistakes and writing is my aesthetic, and so I consider many ¨ugly¨ things a beauty, a form of art.

This blog is not there to make amends, speak politically correct, or be ever-sparkling-positive about the world and the so-called silver linings of life in it. At times it might, but at other times the darkness might be so overwhelming that it will feel as if your screen swallows you with its hate against the entirety of humanity.

Why?

Because this is oke, and we need to stop telling people that are angry to just ¨stay calm¨ or ¨look at the positive¨ or ¨enjoy life instead¨ because if anger is not expressed in words, then how should it be?

I want to tell the story that forced me to start writing this blog. But the story is a long one, it’s one that started 25 years ago, in the belly of my mother as bombs flew over our heads. It started 21 years ago as my father gasped for his last breath in an unknown house. It started when my younger sister had to resent our own mother as her only means to continue growth, as I did too. A story full of blames and finger pointing, full of healing and forgiveness.

If there is an aim to all this writing - besides the healthy and much needed but constantly oppressed venting process of A brown girl in Europe - it should be the intersection of love and hate. For when have we decided that hate is no longer allowed? Haven’t we learned, especially in the ¨liberal¨ west that oppressing something makes the urge it roots from grow stronger? So instead of hating hate, I will allow for it to have a channel, so that it can flow and release itself from the chains society has put it in.

Oh wait, I forgot, among the English speaking citizens of this world, quite a few do not believe in fiercely expressing hate, nor anger. And I respect that in you, and human being to humang being - I am sincerely happy for you. I am happy that your life has never dragged you down its ugly aisles with your naked body, screaming out for help and left with nothing but wounds to remember. Wounds to heal into scars, and some might even die with the fresh red of blood still on their scars. For, some wounds never heal. At least not this lifetime.

So to commence an entire lifestory, I will start with today.

Rewinding in my head the moment I sat on the chair, by myself, a beer and a cigarette, I tried to read a book but my mind was too twisted full of memories. A new-made friend passed by to drop their vacuum cleaner, and my heart knew there was the opportunity to feel less misunderstood. As I vented to a fellow person of color about yet another encounter with an ignorant white man, I brought the bottle of beer to my lips and felt the icyness touching soft skin. My hand on my belly as I worried about the meat that would become extra on my belly would I continue this beer-cigarette existence in Berlin. But moving to a new city always comes with adjustments and breakdowns, so down the bottle went. I rolled us both a cigarette, planted my feet on the chair in front. My friends’ perfume entered my nostrils as I lit the rollie and commenced to talk about my day.

Today I had an encounter with another white man, his sexuality not being straight gave me the feeling at first that they might understand. But the reasons to leave the Netherlands became even more clear to me as the word-vomit exited my mouth. His response: ¨But, you have now accused me of several things - of being an orientalist, of being a white man¨ and as we continued ¨You talk in such a patronizing way to me, you just assume that I do not understand any of this! But you see, if I would walk away from you without having had this conversation, I would not mention that I had met another ¨brown¨ girl, I would’ve said I met this girl that does freelancing and...¨

He continued but my ears were no longer receiving information. My breath had choked and my heart was beating so heavily at this moment that i could feel the heat it was creating throughout my body, my jaws intensified their grip on each other as my hands turned sweaty. But when I try and explain that being ¨colorblind¨ erases my identity I know that I am making sense in my head but with hoops he has not jumped in his (mind). Obviously, because he never had to. Nonetheless, I am left with ¨But we’re just having a nice conversation, I don’t know why you had to turn it into something nasty now¨.

I’m done. I am so fucking over white liberals in Europe defending their fucking white liberalism. Arguing that they are not racist, orientalist, or ignorant when it comes to matters relating to people of color.

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queerstorypodcast · 7 years

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Transcript of Episode 1

Episode 1: Queering the Word

Welcome to QueerStory Podcast, where we will explore LGBTQ history and the reclamation generation of Queers. I am oso, and I have trimmed a lot of weed while listening to a lot of podcasts to get to this point.

As we know history is written by the hetero-cis society, white dominated society, the Eurocentric, the state, the police, the priests. That melange of half-truths, lies, and manipulations is not what you will find here.

Queerstory is the history they try to erase, the history they keep off the census, the history they alter and colonize. We are the living queer stories who will not be erased. Welcome to this podcast!

Today I want to explore the reclamation of the word Queer and the movements towards and away from it. The history of the words we reclaim.

Let’s talk about these words. If some of them are triggering for folks: here’s your trigger warning!

Take care of yourself, we care about you. If you are an elder who lived through this: THANK YOU. Thank you for paving the way, for moving the movements, for taking the hits and continuing on. If you want to interview or share your personal stories please email: ____ I would love to honor your experiences.

According to the online etymology dictionary the word Queer can be found as far back as 1500. An adjective from Scottish, and perhaps originally low German, to describe something as “strange, peculiar, eccentric, oblique”. There are origins that link it’s decription from “Old High German” the word twerh meaning “oblique; from the root terkw, meaning “to turn, twist, or wind”. This origin connects the modern english word “queer” with the origin of the modern word “thwart”. Excellent.

queer (adj.)

c. 1500, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to German quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from Old High German twerh "oblique," from PIE root *terkw- "to turn, twist, wind" (see thwart (adv.)).

Sense of "homosexual" first recorded 1922; the noun in this sense is 1935, from the adjective. Related: Queerly. Queer studies as an academic discipline attested from 1994.

queer (v.)

"to spoil, ruin," 1812, from queer (adj.). Related: Queered; queering. Earlier it meant "to puzzle, ridicule, cheat" (1790). To queer the pitch (1846) is in reference to the patter of an itinerant tradesman or showman (see pitch (n.1)).

These wanderers, and those who are still seen occasionally in the back streets of the metropolis, are said to 'go a-pitching ;' the spot they select for their performance is their 'pitch,' and any interruption of their feats, such as an accident, or the interference of a policeman, is said to 'queer the pitch,'--in other words, to spoil it. [Thomas Frost, "Circus Life and Circus Celebrities," London, 1875]

In 1812, we find queer being used as a verb, meaning “to puzzle, ridicule, cheat”. This was found within the markets of wandering tradesman who would “queer their sales pitches” to deter policemen or other issues from knowing they were trading on the streets.

Exciting to know that “queering” has roots in confounding the police!!

This innocuous word, that simply meant “strange”, eventually became a slur against homosexuals, all thanks to one over-bearing father.

So, you may have heard of Oscar Wilde, the famous Irish poet, playwright, dandy, and all-around sassy bitch. His influence was further reaching than the gay 1890’s stage and prose sets. The meat of this queerstory is within the gossip. As many listeners may already know, Oscar Wilde had a young lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, or “Bosie” as he was known to friends and family- and dear dandy daddy Oscar.

Their relationship existed within a time when being homosexual was a crime punishable by imprisonment and “hard labour”. Yet, Oscar was a flamboyant creative, able to use his eccentricities to divert attention away from the root cause bing his beautiful gayness, but to his creative spirit. Bosie, on the other hand, was reportedly reckless in his slutty endeavors and flamboyant escapades. Their relationship was tempestuous, Bosie was spoiled by Daddy Oscar, and they even visited gay brothels together, at the request of you Bosie. The villain in this queerstory is Bosie’s father The Marquess of Queensberry (what a name right? I mean… come on) famous for refining the rules of boxing and being the one to fuck Oscar WIlde’s life up forever.

When Papa Douglas found out about his son and Oscar, he confronted the pair a number of times. The most notable being In June 1894, he called on Wilde at 16 Tite Street, without an appointment, and made clear his feelings for the dandy: "I do not say that you are it, but you look it, and pose at it, which is just as bad. And if I catch you and my son again in any public restaurant I will thrash you" to which Wilde responded: "I don't know what the Queensberry rules are, but the Oscar Wilde rule is to shoot on sight" This dude went so far as to publicly post a note about how Oscar was a “sodomite” to which Oscar sued him for libel…. Welll… here’s the thing: you might not want to sue someone for libel when your are very much sodomizing and being super gay with their son. As queerstory shows: this did not turn out well for dear Oscar, Bosie’s father was so unhinged by the thought of a gay sex scandal on the family name as well as wanting to avoid a conviction of libel, he went after Oscar. After a long very public and press-covered trial, Oscar was found guilty of sodomy and gross indecency and sentenced to hard labor and imprisonment.

I say all of this to share that: In 1894 the Marquess of Queensberry was the first person to use the term “QUEER” derogatorily on paper. He referred to Oscar and gay men in general as “queer snobs” in a letter. This of course was devoured by the press and immediately exported to American newspapers and used derogotorally. The American press used it to highlight that homosexuality is “abnormal”. It was specifically used against effeminate gay men.

To Describe the homosexual it was first recorded in 1922, queering it from an adjective to a noun by 1935.

Though gay people of all delineations were forced into closets by the Western puritanical residue of European conquest, there were many words used by gay people themselves to understand their own identities. Radclyffe Hall, the famous lesbian author (The Well of Loneliness) actively identified as an invert, which was an early demonstration of reclamation.

When we use the word Queer now, we are reclaiming it. This began in The U.S. in the 1980s by LGBT folks who likely were sick of words having power over them and who were reeling from the AIDS Plague. During protests at this time people would chant “We’re Here, We’re queer, We won’t live in fear!” In 1990 Queer Nation was formed. A flier was passed around at New York Gay Pride called “Queers Read This” saying:

“Ah, do we really have to use that word? It's trouble. Every gay person has his or her own take on it. For some it means strange and eccentric and kind of mysterious [...] And for others "queer" conjures up those awful memories of adolescent suffering [...] Well, yes, "gay" is great. It has its place. But when a lot of lesbians and gay men wake up in the morning we feel angry and disgusted, not gay. So we've chosen to call ourselves queer. Using "queer" is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world.”

Around the same time queer film maker Bruce La Bruce was developing New Queer Cinema. The queercore movement, a very gay outcry to punk, was born in the 1980s and exploded in the 90’s with notable bands:___This can be seen as the avant-garde and unapologetic gay answer to the punk movement, queercore expressed the very same discontent with society as the punks were stating.

The word queer was adopted as a personal identifier particularly by queer people of color and eventually began to take on a more politicised meaning. It became a movement. The queer movement rejected causes viewed as assimilationist: marriage and adoption.

Being Queer was a rejection of what we were supposed to be banned from in the first place. Now here’s some music by Lorena and the Bobbitts

Song: We’re Queer - Lorena and the Bobbits

Bump: You’re listening to Queerstory

Part 2:

We are the stories that make up the histories hidden from us, so here’s my relationship to the word queer:

When I was 7 years old I learned a new word. During that time in my life I was learning a lot of new words, the Christian school I attended was pumping many new and appropriate words into our supple young minds weekly. However, this particular word jumped into my body with real movement and instant familiarity.

As a kid I highly identified with being “weird”. Modeling myself after Gonzo from The Muppets. I am adopted and his story of mysterious beginnings, while looking different from everyone he knows, mirrored mine. Despite being haunted by the space it put between my family and myself, I enjoyed the weird world that swirled inside me. Shit, I enjoyed the space it put between myself and the boring world of Christianity. It made me feel special, though I didn’t know why I should be special. Sure, some moms tell us we’re “special” or “bright” or whatever else to help with our budding self-esteem. But, something about my weirdness gave me the gift of being set apart from everyone else.

I loved being weird. It meant that the world playing inside my head would only enhance the world I was discovering around me. It meant that my thoughts, being weird, were valid and real. It also meant that my shenanigans had legitimate justification.

“Why is that kid peeling a grape, pouring kool-aid all over it, and pretending their eye has popped out?”

“EWWW, and why are they eating it?”

Mom: “Why do you have to shred the skirt of your uniform? You know you have to share it with your sister.”

Why am I always drawing pictures of Catherine and can’t seem to keep my mind off her symmetrical freckles?

Why am I sure I am a boy when everyone insists I’m a girl?

You’re just weird, kid.

Then I learned a new, wonderful, powerful word. This word tasted good in my mouth. Upon learning it, my young mind had no conception of the connotations it carried. I just plain ol’ liked it.

Queer.

The day I learned it was like any other day at school. I recall being in class, doing one of many boredom-busting-class-acceptable activities: scanning the vocabulary pages in the back of my books for words of interest. Usually words like ‘rectum’ and ‘areola’. I found studying the “holy” bible was only interesting when seeking the scandalous stories about tits and ass.

The day I found the word Queer I remember feeling joy. I needed a word for my weirdness. This word was perfect. Later, after-school, I was eager to announce my new joy. Clutching my Dixie cup of goldfish crackers I sang out: “I’M QUEER!” to which the older kids laughed and muttered the long list of derogatory associations to this word and this young gay claiming it. A lovely thing then happened, a girl named Jessica Prescott (you don’t forget a kid like this one) put her arm around me and defiantly stated to the jeering masses “You can be Queer if you want to!”.

I had no idea the act of solidarity this other kid offered me. I just thanked her, smugly stuck my tongue out at the haters, and went about my Queer kid business.

I think about this experience and feel comforting warmth inside. Being Queer when I was a kid had a different shape than being Queer any other time in my life. It was not defined by sexuality, but it lent itself to confusing feelings towards my friends at sleepovers and the rage I carried about being disallowed to be a boy. The shape shifted when I was 15 when football players were beating me up by the lockers for “munching carpet”. Later that year, being Queer was a painful shape when my mother outed me by presenting me with the rolled-up-printed-out AOL history revealing my web browsing of gay.com and planetout.com. It morphed again at 19 when I was locked into an abusive lesbian relationship with a woman who hated trans-people and beat me up in my mother’s house for organizing and performing in drag shows. Then at 22 it was an awkward shape as I feared for my safety in Texas, while simultaneously being used by straight women to figure out if they were lesbians.

Being Queer is a shape I can’t hide. It orbits me and is born of me. It is often lonely and isolating. It is glittery, juicy, and clever. It is all I know. It defines my perspective when I open my eyes and take in the world around me. It leads me to the gayborhoods wherever I go, instead of anywhere else.

As a Queer I find joy in the fabulosity I contain, I also carry scars of abuse and abandonment. I don’t think one has to experience traumatic events to be Queer, but I do think that if you have felt the struggle and fear that accompanies it, you value it as a core component to your identity. I never “tried” being Queer. I just am.

Back in the day being called Queer was only derogatory. There was no reclamation of such a term. Some older gay folks still don’t appreciate that we are claiming it, because it hurt them so. To reclaim Queer you must understand that it isn’t flippant. It’s militant. It’s pain being slapped back at the dominant paradigm. It’s claimed with a feeling of reverence and respect for Silvia, Marsha, Divine, and all those who had to be Queer during times of turbulent change to make it so that we can do what we do. We are Queer because we are. We cannot change it, we cannot hide it, and even in the darkest hour we don’t want to hide it because it is beautiful. I ask those who appropriate, to please leave our culture to us. We’re professional ass-eating, cunt-bumping, sounding, dick sucking, fisting, flamboyant, butch, femme, sassy, beautiful people. Admire us, enjoy our art, be our friends.

I was proud to figure out the word Queer was meant for me that day in 2nd grade. I had no idea it was wielded to hurt at times, to isolate, to make fun, to incite violence. I had no idea it meant I’d have delicious desire for others of my gender and of any/all/no gender. I had no idea it meant that it validated my knowledge of being a boy. All I knew is that it meant weird, no one else claimed it, and that it was all mine.

Happy Pride month, be well.

Tune in Next week for episode 2 : The Godfather of the gays: Magnus Hirschfeld.

Thanks for reading Queer Story! Stay gay, you hotties!

#queerstorypodcast gay queer lgbtq lgbtqia trans transgender deafqueers @transcrip #transcript

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