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fruityroth · 5 months

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Just something on why representation matters: even the smallest bit of seemingly the most miniscule part of someone's identity being shown will make someone out there happy. It can be the most minor thing in the world to you, but someone, somewhere, will be absolutely ecstatic to see a part of themselves in one of their favorite characters.

Example: I seriously love left-handed characters. As a lefty, this is super cool to me. Seeing someone who uses their left hand in media will always make me smile, and it makes me feel more connected to the characters. Some examples: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Sephiroth, and, of course, Link. Like, this is why I loved The Legend of Zelda so much as a kid. Link has historically been left-handed since the very first game. Seeing Link pick up the Master Sword in his left hand, being called the Left-Handed Hero, and generally just be awesome while also being a lefty, makes me giddy to this day. It's just such a positive representation of left-handedness, and that probably doesn't matter to *anyone* that didn't grow up as a southpaw, but it makes me happy.

That's also why it's a shame that he's no longer left-handed. Not only do I feel less connected to the character who was, for the longest time, my absolute favorite hero (a pot-smashing, grass-cutting role model, one could say), but it also feels like they cut out a core part of his identity with that small change.

I especially felt disconnected after reading about why they made the change. Apparently, according to an interview, they switched for wii motion controls, since people hold the wii remote in their right hand regardless of "hand preference" (those were the exact words used). I, uh...I don't! I have, and always will, hold a wiimote in my left hand. Learning that *this* was the reason for them cutting out such an enormous part of the identity of my childhood role model, the Paragon of what lefties could be, seriously pissed me off. And again, this probably doesn't matter in the least to anyone who isn't a lefty.

In short: diversity, inclusion, and representation don't have to be massive. It doesn't have to take up the core of a character's story arc. Even something as simple as the character's *dominant hand* can make people feel seen.

This is also why I don't like it when people say not to have representation for representation's sake. "Oh, it's just tokenism if you say that a character's gay and do nothing about it!" No. No, it's not. It increases diversity, it makes people feel closer to your characters and story, it gives positive representation of usually marginalized people (including lefties until recently, believe it or not!), and it adds an extra layer of depth to this collection of traits that you're passing off as a person.

Even if there's an argument to be made that a character is just the "token gay," or the "token PoC," or whatever, it also shows that people from those communities are capable of living normal lives in society, rather than conforming to whatever stereotypes apply to them. I would much rather a writer add an identity to a character and then not mention it much than they try to make a story arc around it that comes off as anything-phobic.

Again, in short: representation matters. Never say it doesn't.

#representation matters #the legend of zelda #link #left handed #lefties #lgbt representation #lgbtqia #rant post #writers #ruby rose #weiss schnee #sephiroth #rwby

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ladybirdvariant · 4 months

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God I love it when a fandom looks at what was intended to be just like another piece of majorly straight media which originally had like one stereotypical gay token sidekick and just goes yeah every single character in this is queer as fuck except for that one token straight, we don't claim that one

#marauders #rejanis #glee #mean girls 2024 #brooklyn 99 #the good place #harry potter #one of us is lying #wolfstar

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seriousbrat · 2 months

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Accusing people, some of whom incidentally are likely LGBT themselves, of not viewing wol///fstar as canon because they "can't read queer-coding" is the cope of the century and borders on delusional. it's also condescending and disrespectful- why is your personal analysis of a work of fiction more valid than anyone else's, particularly when that analysis is almost certainly driven by confirmation bias? Have you asked yourself whether the "signs" you think you're reading in the text are actually there or whether you just want them to be? It's fine to want them to be and to add two and two and get six, personally I've done that with many works of fiction and I will continue to do so, but objectively there's no evidence that holds up to the slightest bit of scrutiny that jkr actually intended Sirius and Remus to secretly be in love.

Leaving aside the fact for now that this is JKR we're talking about and all that entails, it honestly verges on conspiracy-brained at times. Besides that, using homophobic stereotypes as "evidence" is, to put it plainly, shit. Some of these stereotypes might seem fairly innocuous yet still manage to be offensive (e.g. "tonks is queer-coded because she has short hair/is cool/has this personality trait or physical characteristic) but others honestly cross a line. Think for a moment about the logical leap you're making when you claim that werewolves being an allegory for stigmatised illnesses like AIDS is proof that R is gay. What equivalence is being drawn here? worth thinking about

I just want to say this is a work of children's literature and we're all free to interpret whatever we want and make up whatever silly things that we want with it. But you're not smarter or more special than anyone else because you think there's a gay way to look or speak or act, or for seriously believing that JKR created some kind of mad convoluted mental backflip conspiracy to specifically fuck with what was at the time a fringe element of online fandom that she likely wasn't even aware of. Apply Occam's razor here and go with the simplest explanation, which is that JKR, a heterosexual woman, wrote a children's book in the 90s with a majority heterosexual pairings and one token gay character. From there, do whatever you want. The end

#theyre channeling larrys at this point. likeits tjlc vibes in here #i say token but i wish grindledore was more of a thing in fandom like grindledore rise. my toxic boys r right there #wolfstar critical #<<< its not really because its not about the ship itself. hopefully thats clear. but jic #'tonks is gay bc she's cool' when will peeople learn that gay people can actually be like. any sort of person on the planet.#it's not that there aren't signals that exist in the community but turning that around and #genuinely believing that the presence of ultimately neutral characteristics tht can appear in any sort of person #is evidence for being gay is... not the serve u think it is #and besides! its lame uncool gay people erasure!

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spinningalbinoturtle · 4 months

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The fellowship of the Kinsey scale aka LoTR characters ranked from most to least fruity

Btw this is a joke (well sort of) so don’t take any of my stereotype arguments too seriously. Although I do genuinely think most of these characters are gay.

1. Frodo- Frodo is gayest the character. He’s constantly described as queer, his deepest connection is with Sam and their relationship is incredibly romance coded. Plus he reads poetry all the time, wears his sparkly elvish top and that fall in Return of the King movie? Homosexual. Not to mention he has THE gay haircut. Man looks like a starbucks barista. Galadriel is his gay icon.

Sam- although more masculine than Frodo and also bi Sam has the second most Gay EnergyTM. He’s a bit overemotional he spends the entire series simping over Frodo and is obsessed with flowers and poetry. When his wife dies he leaves his kids to spend eternity with his husband and the elves. Gay behavior

Legolas- Legolas is a petty drama queen and I love that for him. Loves his dwarf husband. Just look at his hair-no straight man cares that much about their hair. Gay gay gay.

Gimli-a bear but in the dwarf way. Galadriel is also his gay icon. Loves his elf husband. Loves some sparkly diamonds and jewels. Lord of the GLITTERING CAVES you say? Sounds kinda fruity

Gandalf-he’s basically a minor god and thus does not conform to human ideas of sexuality and gender. Literally all the LGBTQIAs. Gandalf Big Naturals , Gandalf the Gay are just a few of this bitch’s many names.

Pippin-Y’all on this app have convinced me Pippin is not cis gender. I don’t know in what form trans, non binary, gender fluid? Honestly could be any one.

Merry-pansexual and very open about it. Just seems like a chill queer dude who smokes a ton of weed and is open to a relationship with anybody

Boromir-excessively emphasizes his straightness but has homoerotic battle moments and after battle showers with his comrades in Gondor. Very repressed bisexual

Aragorn- I think its funny if he’s the token straight but THE BIGGEST ALLY YOU WILL FIND. Literal king passes a bunch of laws enshrining LGBTQ rights cause all his friends are gay

Bonus

Faramir- is transfem and you can’t change my mind. Lesbian with her wife Eowyn. Has bi-to drag queen-to trans character arc.

Eowyn-butch lesbian horse girl and ya know what? We absolutely love her for it. After the war she has a buzzcut.

Bilbo-ace icon. I’M SORRY if you ship Bagginshield but I headcanon him as ace/aro. Hates the idea of sex but wanted kids so he adopted his gay little nephew.

#lotr #frodo baggins #sam gamgee #eowyn #aragorn #merry brandybuck #legolas #pippin took #samfro #boromir #faramir x eowyn #faramir #gimli son of gloin #gandalf

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blond-jerk-tourney · 3 months

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Strawberry Bracket: Bracket Finals

Propaganda from submitters Under Cut

Nanami Kiryuu

She's the mean girl of the show, and a pretty interesting take on the "bitchy vain school rival of the protagonist" trope. She spends most of her early screentime being a bully and most of her later screentime being both the biggest loser imaginable and deeply sad/troubled (which still does not erase how much of an asshole she can be). She even laughs like your stereotypical mean rich girl. Nanami has so many problems and sucks so so bad. I adore her.

Shes a psychotic bully who seeks to ruin the lives and reputations of any girl who gets more of her brothers attention than she does. Reasons Nanami Kiryuu deserves to win: - she has made many attempts at physical and psychological terrorism against Anthy Himemiya (including a plotted wardrobe malfunction at a crowded social gathering) simply for drawing more of her brother's attention than her - tried to fill Anthy's bedroom with wild animals (a snail, a snake, and a live octopus) to make her out to be a freak only to find that her room was already full of wild animals - she bankrolled an elementary schoolers crush on her to turn him into her personal boyservant - briefly non-personed a member of her bully entourage for sharing an umbrella with her brother - received a luxury cowbell due to a shipping error and smugly wore it to school for weeks flaunting it like high coture - when her bully entourage rebelled against her due to her brothers manipulation she brought them back in line by just straight up beating the shit out of all of them - all in all just a petty, goonish motherfucker (she also does the ohohohohoho anime girl laugh)

she's blond: despite being Japanese her hair is yellow, unlike her brother's. yellow is even her image color. she's a jerk: introduced as a jealous and dishonest scheming bully, she is one of the more outwardly antagonistic characters in a cast where pretty much everyone is a Real Piece Of Work she's the best: the quintessential ohoho-laughing ojou, her fully-realized character arc makes people both laugh and cry even her sidekick is a blond jerk! how many blond jerks have their own blond jerk sidekick?

i don't know what you've heard but she's NOT the kind of girl who lays eggs!

The token mean rich girl of the franchise. Does the classic "ohohoho" laugh. Doesn't like either of our main characters. She never actually seems to get her way, and secretly has a lot of her own problems. also she lays eggs and turns into a cow

Absolutely THE quintessential anime mean girl. I mean literally her laughing is THE meme for the hohohoho anime laugh. Needs attention So Badly and straight up bullies anyone she deems a threat to that (so basically Everyone). I haven’t finished RGU but apparently she duels with the intent to kill and drowned a kitten once because it was taking up too much of her brother’s attention? Also she’s 13 which explains a lot

Char Aznable

He's extremely blonde and he's a total asshole. he has had a gay thing with 2 people and tried to kill both of them. he makes a new identity and its arguably more blonde and more of an asshole. look up Quattro Bajeena

Snooty little motherfucker supreme. "I have never betrayed anyone in my life" says man who spent his whole career lying to people. He's in love with his rival and he won't admit it. He's my silly rabbit. He is the "I came here to laugh at you" guy

Char is an environmental terrorist who dropped space colonies of people living in space onto earth so people would leave earth for the earth to heal from human damage. He's a prince that should have been assassinated seducing the new prince while undercover to kill the family that killed his family. Anyway vote for Char. He stole the name Char from some other guy from space Texas who he caused the death of

Excuse me that's not char aznable that's quattro bajeena, why would you ever confuse the two :/

#strawberry bracket #strawberry bracket finals #polls #tournament polls #nanami kiryuu #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #char aznable #quattro bajeena #mobile suit gundam #blond jerk tournament

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olderthannetfic · 1 month

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You know what obnoxious thing I keep seeing in fandom I wish would stop? This absolute need some people seem to have for their ship to be Representation in some way. Shipping is just imagining scenarios between two characters! You don’t need it to be a Special reason or whatever? I have a ship that is popular and people make weird vague comments about how the fandom is racist because both of them are white and there are other ship options that have poc so the white ship being big is a reflection on how racist the fandom is but the thing is…

Look I’m going to be real with y’all the fandom is for the game Detroit: Become Human and let’s just say the two major black characters are basically stereotypes written by a neocon lib boomer in a story that itself is imho…let’s call it tone deaf and corny af rather than overtly racist but yeah. Black folks on twitter regularly mock this game for good reason. It is very much a boomer white man’s idea of the civil rights movement but with robots. The robots sing actual slave hymns. The main character is essentially a light-skinned Martin Luther King Jr (dubbed Markus Luthur King by blktwt lol) and the religious allegories of him as a savior figure are very on the nose. It is bad lol. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to explore the black characters but the fandom is full of young white people singing the praises of this writing while patting themselves on the back about it which is genuinely uncomfortable to be around. Just my 2 cents but the virtue signaling and insane policing around those two characters makes it unbearable to interact with their content it is deeply sanitized and you WILL get death threats if you attempt any nuance or are critical of the (kinda racist imo) way they were written in canon.

The worst part of this is that Markus has a popular ship with a character a lot of people read or interpret as a more soft or femme gay man and you know what zoomers hate? Femme gay men. So obviously this is made to be ‘problematic’ in some way because these people can’t just admit to being femmphobic/homophobic themselves.

Sometimes it’s easier to stick with the boring white characters in the background because they aren’t being closely guarded by stupid reactionary people who are used to flashing their favorite fictional poc characters as tokens of their own goodness and virtue.

The pinnacle of this game is that moment when the black lady lectures her son about why they need to run the robot underground railroad to Canada.

I watched some playthroughs. Unsurprisingly, I liked the buddy cops with the good development, not the cringey activism plot with too many foils and not enough development of any single relationship and not the the Women Care About Babies plot.

But if I were going to do something fannish with Markus, I'd write him having a fucked up relationship with his mentor's son post game—the surrogate son who thought the guy was great and the estranged son who knew he wasn't but who has also done a bunch of shitty stuff himself.

It's especially hilarious when tryhards think the problem is not enough people shipping Markus with North as if the slashers are going to be into 1. het and 2. yet another unnecessary traumatic sex stuff backstory for a lady.

Even worse, half the whining isn't even about that Nines fanon nonsense being more popular than Markus: it's about how Markus/Connor would be better than Hank/Connor because old people are ew.

Sorry, children, a lot of people are here to thirst for Clancy Brown and because they'll turn up for any Caves of Steel ripoff. Other Connor ships were never in the running.

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crimsonxe · 10 months

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Something I’ve seen floated as a bash numerous times:

“BB is written by 2 straight white men”

I frankly don’t give a single shit about the creatives gender, sex, or identity. Just the story they present not being fanservice or harmful stereotypes; and the relationship being legit. Although it does deserve mentioning that not only is Miles NOT white, he’s half-white and half-hispanic, but that the writers currently include Eddy who isn’t white and Kiersi who is a bi woman.

What the writers of RWBY have done:

- Presented a grounded/realistic journey of discovery for two women. Not some sugary world of gay or any world of gay to be clear; but one where there were hetero options and they felt like legit ones not just tokens thrown in to push against the “world of gay” idea.

- Presented an actual bi character, instead of a lesbian with a bi sticker slapped on

- Presented a slowburn that put time into building the relationship up. No trying to over-do things or put a spotlight on them. They were just a relationship developing like any other. Which is a big plus, for me. So many rush into their LGBT+ currently cause they’re aiming for an LGBT+ specific audience, while RWBY chose to aim generally. If anything this is a plus for the writers being straight, cause they aren’t over-doing it. It isn’t “GAY GAY GAY ALL THE TIME GAY!”, but grounded and realistic like a typical story. To try to present an example: RWBY is a shounen/seinen-adjacent w/ LGBT+ mains vs. a shoujo-ai/yuri where everything is about the gay story. BB is an element within the story, not the entire story or even a central pillar of the story. That makes it that much more special and real for being non-fairy fantasy type, one of many reasons BB carries far more weight than some others that I’ve run across. Blake and Yang are characters that have gone on a whole ass journey with multiple arcs together and not... that happen to be LGBT+.

- Never fanserviced the characters in general but also not together, nor going into the future will. There’s not going to be sex scenes between the two or over-the-top things between the two, because they don’t do that. Even Renora never did that sort of thing, only more grounded things. Like Blake gently grabbing Yang’s arm (like her mom does for her dad) to calm her or supporting her (which is something Yang definitely needs), even Blake’s flirty and cheery original self coming out is part of that. Because the show doesn’t do fanservice

- Presented all of this in a world where that isn’t sunshine and rainbows. Deaths do happen, grimm exist, Salem exists, danger exists, and there’s no real “sugar” to it.

The writers did all of this as well as showing respect for their female characters allowing them to be badasses and complex, regardless of whatever their labels are. In fact the way they did things in their writing actually is MORE appealing to me than other LGBT+ written/created shows, because of it being more general audience and less over-the-top gay-focused. Its the difference of a shipper writing fanfic and a writer just writing a general story; there’s a clear difference in the two. Blake and Yang feel REAL. Also pretty sure the guy in charge of Warrior Nun is also a straight dude and that show is just as awesome with its just as grounded wlw pairing that hits a special spot for me.

#rwby #bumbleby

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pjo-gaysofgreeks · 4 months

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I wrote this silly little thing for a graded final and I figured I’d share…

Allied Authordom: Rowling vs. Riordan

By Serena Martinez

Allyship does not demand perfection, but rather desire to grow. We are all unlearning internalized -phobias and -isms which have been normalized in society. The key to true allyship is recognizing you have the capacity to cause harm, do the work to be better, and consciously avoid hurting someone that way again.

Given the upcoming television adaptations of both J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan’s popular series, I am going to use them as a case study example. The hoards of Millennials and Gen Zers that grew up with either or both series are now young adults with the ability to think critically and set their own moral principles. I am not sure I know someone in my age range who hasn’t at least watched a Harry Potter movie and most of my friends are eagerly following the new release of the Percy Jackson Series (December 20th!!!). As much as I wish people would turn towards new POC authors who are trailblazing their own paths of authordom, I know many are still tied to the nostalgia of the past.

When first published, neither series included diversity up to today’s standards. Both trios were completely composed of white cisgender people: a male protagonist, a male best friend and sidekick, and a female friend and potential love interest. Although Riordan intentionally made Percy neurodivergent to depict the experiences of his real life son and Rowling crafted the entire series to support species equality, the core representation remained the same. That doesn’t even include Rowling’s problematic stereotyping of the werewolves and goblins who were based on people with HIV/AIDS and Jewish communities respectively. Riordan and Rowling’s subsequent elaboration (or lack thereof) on their respective universes showcases the difference between them as authors and allies.

Rowling has essentially never budged from her original position on representation in her series. To her, making Hermione Black in the theatrical adaptation of the series and retroactively admitting Dumbledore is gay was enough to show she is a proper liberal ally. Many would deem this too little too late, especially given the stereotypes used to describe people of color in the series like Kingsley Shacklebolt and Cho Chang. Rowling showcases prime examples of tokenization without ever addressing such simplistic character depth over two decades after the series’ publication.

Then, of course, there is the significant harm caused by Rowling’s unapologetic transphobia. She has only doubled down since her first transphobic tweet in 2020 by publishing a book about a cisgender man dressing as a woman to murder people (emboldening the false and harmful narrative of the trans predator), donating to anti-trans companies and legislatures, and claiming that continued support of the Harry Potter Universe is proof that people are in support of her transphobia views.

I think Rowling could have come out of this unscathed had she admitted her books were a product of her time and apologized for her wrongdoing to the trans community. Instead, she has only chosen to dig her heels into hatred. Suffice it to say Rowling is the bad example of allyship amongst these two authors.

Riordan, on the other hand, heard readers’ criticism of his predominantly white and straight series and returned with a sequel including complex characters not defined by their racial, gendered, and sexual diversity. Riordan’s central characters in subsequent series were Latini, Creole, Chinese, Native American, Muslim, bisexual, and genderfluid. His newest book that follows a gay couple from the original Percy Jackson universe is co-authored with a queer writer because Riordan did not want to attempt to portray an experience so distinct from his own. When Leah Jeffries who plays Annabeth Chase in the new TV series experienced racism from fans online, Riordan published a statement calling out the behavior. Since interviews have started he has continued to ensure she is supported. Rick Riordan is certainly imperfect but has continued to use his privileged platform to uplift voices rather than misrepresent or silence them.

While Rowling uses Twitter to corral an army of transphobes that dox anyone who looks gender non conforming in their profile picture, Riordan uses his platforms to vocally confront hatred. The same year Rowling mocked gender inclusive language for people who menstruate, Riordan was staunchly calling out transphobes criticizing genderfluidity in his series.

It is not enough to just magically make characters different identities because doing so erases the complexity of each experience and makes representation a farce.

Onto the question everyone has been waiting for: what does this mean for the T.V. series?

This is not just about allyship. This is about how Rowling continues to harm trans communities during a time where they are already experiencing heightened levels of violence.

Do NOT watch the HBO Harry Potter series or anything where Rowling gets streams and thus money! Illegally stream it. Watch the old movies on DVDs you already own. But every view pads her wallet and her ego, emboldening her to fund and support transphobia globally.

Reread the Percy Jackson series in preparation for the much awaited television show. Delve into Harry Potter fanfiction which doesn’t line the pockets of the Author Who Shall Not Be Named. Try new series from queer authors of color who deserve to be platformed far more than Rowling ever did.

#fuck jkr #percy jackson #percy pjo #allyship #trans ally #rick riordan #jk rowling #article #opinion

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mythsandheather · 4 months

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It's a story involving Greek Mythology and we have yet to see 2 men dating each other. The LGBT representation in LO isn't really good because even thought Morpheus is a fun character, her being trans was revealed on a Facebook post 😑

And I rather not talk about the "stereotypical background lesbians"

I could not believe my homosexual eyes when I saw the “grooming is good” dumpster fire that is LO being listed and praised on websites as examples of good gay rep. These are the kinds of people who think corporate pride is doing enough, that Rupaul’s Drag Race is all there is to drag and that Harley Quinn is good rep.

The only thing we’ve gotten close to a gay male character, intentionally anyway, is Eros’s annoying ass and he got shoved into an off-screen straight marriage so fucking fast, it’ll make your head spin.

He exists to be a gay best friend stereotype, complete with seemingly nothing to do but roam Olympus all day and night like a lost soul until the next time he and Daphne are called upon to be Rachel’s mouthpiece and salivate over all the cheek-slapping P+H are doing.

Of course some other characters are kind of implied to be queer too, such as Hera and Echo or Poseidon and Amphitrite, but like Eros’s whole ass marriage and child, they get minimal screen time compared to every painful second of every work P+H speak to each other.

And then there’s the one actual canonly gay couple aka the incest lesbian stereotypes. I’m a fat butch lesbian. I know I’m not seeing Rachel make the one token fat woman and the one token butch woman the only lesbians and I know I’m not seeing people hand over their money and praise her for it. I know I am not fucking seeing that shit.

Speaking of unflattering, negative stereotypes…poor poor Morpheus. I can’t remember the last time I saw trans rep fumbled this badly.

Even so, we’re never going to see any openly gay men or any men dating each other in LO. That’s just a fact. Every man in LO is either unquestionably thirsty for Persephone, shoved into the background or evil. Queerness would risk humanising them. Perhaps it’s a good thing.

We all make better headcanons and art anyway.

#lo critical #antiloreolympus #lo criticism #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lore olympus criticism

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just-antithings · 9 months

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The situation with Harry Potter fandom makes me wanna put my head through a wall.

I saw comments on a post that said "if you have a Harry Potter url I think you should kill yourself <3"

Like. What the fuck.

Dont get me wrong, I HATE jkr. Along with the transphobia, there's the antisemitic goblins, Asian stereotypes (Cho Chang really??), the fact that she said her werewolves were a metaphor for AIDS when there were explicitly "bad" werewolves who spread their "disease" to children on purpose, the fact that she made a race of magical creatures slaves and then mocked the one character going against the enslavement (but it's fine because they LIKE being enslaved) (also this character she also later attempted to retcon by saying she's Black. Big yikes), also the running joke of the one Irish character exploding things (written by a British woman in the nineties so there's some Implications there). She's bad. No one should support her, so no buying the games, books, movies, etc unless they're second hand.

And I know there are plenty of fans who agree with her, and seeing someone mention liking the franchise could raise some red flags.

BUT.

Why the fuck do you go after creators of fanworks?? Jkr doesn't get shit from that, first of all. Second, she's mentioned previously she doesn't want any fanworks that aren't "kid-friendly", so anything with smut/queer characters other than Token Retcon Gay Mr. Dumblydoor would probably make her shit herself.

But newsflash! A lot of creators suck! Taking it out on people who separate the content from the creator and are just doing this for comfort reasons, people who KNOW why she's wrong and have often been a target of that bullshit themselves? Jerk behavior.

Im nonbinary. I loved Harry Potter growing up. I grew out of it before a lot of this came out, but it still fuckin hurt. I'm just so sick of people taking it out on those making fanworks that don't even support jkr instead of...yknow...going after jkr herself. You're just punching down to the people already hurt, because you can't do shit to the one who hurt them and you need to take out your rage somewhere ig.

Anyway fuck jkr fuck transphobes who like her and fuck these people man

#mod erin #ask #posted without comment #you’re right and you should say it #slavery mention #suicide bait mention

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spooky-something · 3 months

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What allegories (alcoholism, classism, social pressure/repression etc) do you prefer reading into The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and what are your personal headcanons?

MAJOR SPOILERS TO ANYONE WHO HAS YET TO READ THE NOVELLA (Even though it's old as hell 💀💔)

When reading it, initially, definitely got a LOT of strong allegories for drug/substance use/abuse, which was definitely something fascinating, as we've seen it happen around us a lot of our life, and based on what we know, it really did fit a lot on how Jekyll acted during the story

However, the take of it being about things such as being transgender/homosexual, or social norms, or even the stigma on how neurotypical allistic people perceive neurodivergent (this is including everything besides ADHD, too, as I think people tend to forget any mental illness is part of neurodivergence, and not just ADHD) autistic people as "bad" or "savage" or all of these ableist stereotypes is a fascinating take we adore too, as it resonates with us a lot harder than substance use and addiction

Yet, I do truly believe the strongest and most accurate of the themes in the novella are in fact the ones referencing the aforementioned substance use/addiction/abuse, solely for the fact that Jekyll is able to recognize that this would be something he can control (unlike the other things we've mentioned) had he not began this, and that this thing he'd placed upon himself had actually caused severe damaged to all around him (not to mention himself)

Yet, since it snow balled so far that he has, essentially lost all control, it results, in the end, with him commiting suicide via overdose in hopes of preventing more damage (this could also be seen as him desperately needing a high that he ends up killing himself, although, that would be far different from what the text actually says)

To us, it just makes more sense this is the message than the other ones, though they're all fascinating takes

As for headcanons, I personally headcanon Jekyll as Aroace spec and gay, Hyde as Aroace entirely, Utterson as gay, and Lanyon and Poole as either either token straights or bisexuals

Honestly, kinda forgot the rest of the cast 💀

One thing that we don't really consider a headcanon, since it's not the message of the text at all, though something we just like, because it gives us comfort and a fraction of representation we don't have, is that Jekyll/Hyde are part of an OSDD-1B sys, and that the drug never really did anything, besides trigger out Hyde (and allow alternation of his body), who'd been there the entire time, and Jekyll just had no idea, because he had no memory of any sort of vivid trauma (courtesy of Hyde)

Also like to think Hyde isn't evil, because let's be honest... And old man and a young girl??? Those are like... The two most annoying types of people to deal with... Probably deserved it, dude /sat

I'd stamp them near or to death, too, dude... /J

But, yeah, would never truly say that they ARE an OSDD-1B system, since it's just not canon, but in my personal AU or whatever you wanna call it, they're a good representation system

Oh, also, Hyde is definitely a cry baby, that dude cries himself to sleep after losing anything ever, or dealing with the slightest insult, dude has a GLASS ego...

Some could even say that of a scientist's... /J /ref

#classic literature #gothic lit #gothic literature #classic lit #the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde #edward hyde #henry Jekyll #Mr. hyde #mr hyde #Dr. Jekyll #dr Jekyll

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bnhabeans · 10 months

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Class 1a pride headcanons let's gooooo 🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Going by seat order bc I'm autistic and it makes good sense

Also no mineta bc I don't know what to do with him

1. Aoyama 🌟🩶

Nonbinary and aspec. They aren't sure if they have a definitive gender one way or another but if anyone asks they just say "sparkling of course!! ✨️" as for sexuality/romantic attraction they are asexual and still questioning their romantic alignment. Honestly they would be happy going through life with maybe some qpps and not really thinking too much about it

2. Mina 👽🩷

Bi as hell babey!! Everyone is gorgeous in their own way!! Mina falls in love so fast and with so many people she's just like. Everyone deserves love and if she's gotta be the one to give it then so be it.

3. Tsu 🐸💚

Distinguished lesbian. Not afraid to tell the other 1a girls what makes them attractive. Tsu loves complimenting ppl and feels very proud of herself whenever the other girls get flustered bc she knows it means she's made their entire day.

4. Iida ⏩️💙

Bisexual and doesn't know what to do about it. Has many panicked conversations with Tensei over finding people attractive and feeling very weird about it bc they all live together and also puberty hormones hit him like a truck about a month or so after meeting everyone.

5. Ochako 🌌🩷

Pansexual. Very proud of it. Often seen very loudly validating her classmates identities and making sure that any potential homophobes and transphobes know that they will be punted into the stratosphere if they so much as breathe wrong in the general direction of anyone ochako cares about

6. Ojiro 🐒🤎

Token cishet. Great ally tho.

7. Kaminari ⚡️💛

Nonbinary and bisexual. Pronouns vary by the day. Often jokes that they've never made a decision in their entire life because of this. When they go pro there ends up being an official line of Chargebolt merch that has the slogan "gender? I don't even know'er!" On it.

8. Kirishima 💪❤️

Bisexual but kind of oblivious to it. Equates attraction to admiring someone for being "manly." It is discovered at some point during his years at UA that his personal definition of manly just encompasses all the traits that he finds attractive in a person plus other traits he admires but isn't necessarily into. This makes for a very confusing journey of self-discovery.

9. Kouda 🐇🤍

Grey ace. Questions his gender sometimes but is not overly concerned with what gender is the right one. More interested in solid friendships than dating too and so he ends up with qpps as his most meaningful relationships

10. Sato 🍫💛

Stereotypical cake loving aro ace. He doesn't care what everyone else is doing, he's busy perfecting his ganache.

11. Shouji 🤝🩵

On the ace spectrum but still figuring out exactly where. He has body image issues due to trauma and that kind of effects his views on attraction and romance.

12. Jirou 🎵💜

She thinks she's bi but she's still figuring it all out. Honestly anyone that can vibe to music with her could catch her eye, and she especially likes people that have slightly odd tastes such as listening to classical music or pre-quirk pop*

*(this is based on the headcanon that bnha takes place a couple hundred years into the future. Pre-quirk pop would just be the pop of the 80s up to about now in her view)

13. Sero 🩹🩶

(I couldn't find a tape emoji so bandaid it is)

Pansexual. He and ochako get along very well bc not only do they share an identity in this way, they also both feel like they're parenting their respective neurodivergent friend groups lol.

14. Tokoyami 🐦‍⬛🖤

Homoromantic ace. Sometimes does Bird Things to show his affection like bringing gifts and trinkets to ppl he is interested in or like nesting with their stuff. He finds these urges embarrassing but everyone else thinks it's cute and adores him for it.

15. Todoroki ❄️🔥❤️🤍

Gay gay homosexual gay. Has absolutely no idea how romance or crushes or teenage hormones or anything is supposed to work so he just does not realize that it isn't normal to daydream about cuddling his male classmates. Ochako gently explains the concept of a crush to him after he mentions something about this offhand and it blows his fucking mind.

16. Hagakure 🌫🤍

Bisexual and a very proud member of the Loving Women Club. Has a huuuuggeee crush on Mirko (which like, same girl).

17. Bakugou 💥🧡

Gay. Has a very specific taste in men but he won't tell anyone what it is because like three people on the entire planet fit the criteria (in his mind anyway) and he does not want anyone figuring out who he might be into because he sees it as weakness. Even after he goes to therapy he describes his type as "certain dumbasses who have issues and can't take a single fucking hint" so.

18. Deku 🐰💚

Bisexual disaster and everyone around him knows it. Has like 3 crises a day over finding random classmates attractive and overthinks everything there is to overthink in the situation. Luckily for him everyone knows what he's like and how his brain works and they find it endearing (even if certain classmates won't say it out loud)

19. Yaomomo ⚛️❤️

Lesbian. Momo recognizes that all the girls around her are so pretty and talented and it's a win for her bc they have such a culture of uplifting each other so she's constantly getting compliments from very pretty girls. She's living her best life as the president of the loving UA women club.

Bonus: shinso!!! 🐱💜

Shinso uses the Queer umbrella label. He has a preference for men but is generally attracted to any gender. When he transfers into class A the first two weeks are like a constant crisis bc he's like. Getting attention from all these attractive and talented people??? And they like him for who he is??? Paralyzing.

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writeradamanteve · 1 year

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Lucy Carlyle & Holly Munro

I want to talk about this dynamic as it’s truly one of the most polarizing relationships in the book, for various reasons, and yet it’s really one of the best written ones, also for many reasons.

So, sit down and grab a cup of tea. This will take a while, and Reader, I don’t plan on holding back.

Race and Diversity

Let’s talk about diversity for a moment. For those of you who’ve read the books, you know that until Holly made an appearance in the series, the Lockwood & Co. books were lily white. It was so white. There wasn’t a whisper of there being any people of color.

I cannot claim to know Jonathan Stroud’s values, but having watched the show before reading the books, it was clear to me that Stroud, at least, wasn’t consciously or maliciously being racist when he first wrote these books, and that he did, in fact, acknowledge the lack of diversity by Doing Better, first by introducing Holly in The Hollow Boy, and then ultimately, while collaborating on the TV series, readily allowing for a wealth of diversity, even going so far as giving one of the lead roles, which was canonically white, to a man of Iranian ethnicity.

So whatever prompted Stroud to introduce a person of color in the Lockwood & Co. book series, he clearly wanted to do it right. He didn’t retcon existing characters like other writers I know (looking at She Who Must Not Be Named “He’s Actually Totally Gay! Even If It’s Not In The Books!” ~ugh~), nor did he tokenize them like Ms. Voldemort over there (“All The People Of Color in My Books Are Sidelined and If They Have a Speaking Part, Either Stereotyped or Tends to Be Mostly Unbearable.” ~what a cunt-). Holly was a real, fully fleshed out character, who had a positive, and/or complicated, impact in the story.

Now, if I didn’t read the books and just went by all the posts about Holly’s relationship with Lucy in my Tumblr stream, it would seem like a simple case of opposite personalities clashing, at best--jealousy at it worst, but this relationship is not simple like that. I don't want to call it complicated, either. What it is, is nuanced. There is a lot of nuance to Holly & Lucy.

"Welcome, Holly!" Said Lucy, Never

With Lockwood & Co. all narrated from Lucy’s POV, we are introduced to Holly with Lucy’s reactions, perceptions, and biases.

It is clear, then, that Holly’s sudden appearance in what Lucy considered her Safe Space was jarring and intrusive. Lucy was neither consulted on this nor forewarned, but in a world of landlines, archives, and dewey decimal shelving, there is no way to contact a person in transit, there is no instant messaging, and I don't even know if there are answering machines. In this case, Lucy was traveling to her rural hometown which was hours away, for a couple of days, for the obligatory visit to the family she had left behind.

Consider for a moment: Lucy’s trip home was not a leisure vacation by any means. In fact, it only cemented Lucy’s resolve that she belonged in London, and that she missed being in 35 Portland Row, her found family (a.k.a. Lockwood and George), and her independence—all of which Lucy fought HARD to attain and preserve. None of these things came easy for her, but she did earn it, and she was assured enough in her accomplishments to pay a visit to her hometown voluntarily. We all know how it is--when we're not in a good spot in life, we generally don't feel like reconnecting with people like former classmates or family we left behind. It's too humiliating to tell them that we aren't doing so well, but if we've been successful in our pursuits, those class and family reunions are So Welcome, like--"Sure! I'd love to see you all!" In Lucy's case, she wasn't terribly enthused to see her family again, but she felt strong enough to weather the doldrums of it, knowing full-well that she could tell her mother to Shove It.

So given all that background, Lucy is understandably pissed that Holly comes sashaying into Lockwood & Co., highly recommended, with Lockwood hastily making space for her and keeping her comfortable. Not to mention George instantly liking her.

Holly seemed to have effortlessly settled into Lockwood & Co. without the trials and tribulations Lucy had to endure. It probably didn’t help that by all appearances, Holly’s had it easy most of her life.

Holly was beautiful, refined, classy, and educated. We don’t know much about Holly at this point, but it is implied she is possessed of a pedigree equal to Lockwood, except that she wasn’t orphaned at a young age and that her parents were there to nurture her talents.

It absolutely did not help either that Lucy, as a person, has zero social skills. She, with her Blue Collar upbringing, was not raised to make nice or be diplomatic. We hear her thoughts because she is the narrator, and we think her thoughts judgmental, but thoughts, by their nature, are unguarded. If we’re being completely honest, we all make snap judgements about the people we meet. Some of us may be snarkier about it than others, but a lot of our thoughts are not always positive. I wouldn’t call non-positive thoughts negative, just stripped of the diplomacy and niceties we were taught worked best in social settings.

So Lucy does tend to sound a bit nasty sometimes, but is she, really? Or is it just that we see into her mind without the filter of social norms. The show portrayed it perfectly--Lucy is an observer, and some of those snap judgments make their appearance in her words and actions, but is it more extraordinary than some of ours?

So Lucy, for her part in the introduction of Holly, did pretty well, and her thoughts were quite straightforward: She was pissed about the whole situation with Holly, hired without a proper heads-up to her, without the hoops that Lucy had to jump through, and both Lockwood and George appeared to like Holly better than they ever did Lucy. That was Lucy’s knee-jerk reaction.

In the coming weeks, we see how Lucy fully acknowledges how beautiful and fashionable Holly was, and how efficient, doing exactly what she was hired to do with breezy, confident ease. She cleaned their disaster house, organized their schedule, fielded nuisance inquiries, and booked them profitable, resume-padding jobs. Oh, she can be a field agent, too, but she was a bit rusty, so it was the least of her talents.

Lucy clung to that last bit as her security blanket—something she had over Holly, who otherwise seemed so aggravatingly perfect. So when Lockwood, like the good boss he was, was very much willing to reignite Holly’s skills on the field with gentle support and enthusiasm, this again, made Lucy simmer in resentment.

Keep in mind that while all this was happening, Lucy was trying her best to make it work. She hated that Holly was trotting around like a responsible adult, cleaning and trying to make everyone eat healthy. But Lucy was mostly civil.

The tension between Lucy and Holly was palpable, but you can tell that Holly wasn’t trying to annoy her. They were both trying to make it work, and that Holly was sensitive to Lucy’s triggers.

Lockwood & George

Most of Lucy’s resentment stemmed from how much better Lockwood and George treated Holly than they did Lucy—at least from Lucy’s perception.

So I examined that. Is that true? Did they treat her so much better?

The immediate thought is that yes, they do treat Holly with a level of reverence and care that wasn’t exactly there with Lucy, but if Lucy thinks it’s because they liked Holly better, that would be an oversimplification of how Lockwood and George regards Lucy.

First of all, Lucy and George butted heads immediately. Lucy’s lack of social skills and George’s lack of filter was just an inevitably tumultos brew. They did eventually grow to appreciate one another, deeply and sincerely, but that's because they both saved each other's lives. That's what it took. They love one another now, but they had to go through a lot to get to that point. Also, they never stopped being snarky to each other, so there's that.

Lockwood, however, treated Lucy with respect. He was confident of her abilities and he made space for her, too. He offered her his room, for God's sake, and he didn't think twice about her missing 4th levels. He trusted in her skills well enough to bring her along for jobs, immediately. He was impressed by her Listening talent, and was even excited by how, with her, the agency would thrive.

So it wasn't that Holly was treated better; she was treated differently. Lucy is an field agent. By all appearances--her short brown, low-maintenance hair, her practical clothes, and the rapier at her hip, she was ready for action. She did not sweat details. She did not bother with the tidiness of her room. She certainly wasn't the type to pick up after the boys. Why the hell would she? She wasn't their mother. And she gave as good as she got. She didn't appear shocked or stymied by course language or behavior. She was not a delicate flower, so George and Lockwood treated her like the tough cookie that she was.

Lockwood and George respected Lucy this way, just as they respected Holly that way.

So while we understand Lucy's resentment, we have to keep things in perspective here.

Lucy vs. Holly

Lucy felt that Holly was patronizing, that she looked down on Lucy, and that Holly could do no wrong. It did not help that Lockwood was not acknowledging Lucy's feelings.

To Lockwood's mind, Holly was a godsend (she was), and that Lucy can try a little harder (she couldn't--that was truly the best she could do), and he seriously had very little time to make Lucy feel better about the entire thing. His patience was wearing thin.

Was it all Lucy's fault? No. Was it Holly's? No, but while Lockwood was making all the right moves for the agency as its founder and CEO, Lucy was not only doing her best to make her relationship with Holly work, but she was also grappling with her growing Talent and the use of it. Lockwood did not approve of what Lucy was trying to achieve with her Listening talents. It was dangerous to both Lucy and the rest of them--so much so that he threatened to fire her if she didn't stop.

We all know that Lockwood's threats of termination were empty, because in The Creeping Shadow, we were told that Lockwood did not want Lucy to leave and that he did everything to get her back. This threat was more a desperate attempt to curb Lucy. He is perfectly aware that Lucy cannot be stopped by normal means, but he needed her to stop, because what she was doing was risking her safety, and he would not have her killed because of it. Lockwood believed that by withholding his warmth, Lucy would realize how serious he was and come to her senses.

Because of all this, Lockwood grew distant and Lucy felt that keenly. That Lucy was turning to Skull as her confidante showed how lonely she grew in the midst of it all.

As we come back to Holly and Lucy's relationship, we begin to see that whatever Lucy's feelings for Holly were, they were being processed amidst all this upheaval, so Lucy was not having an easy time of it.

When we truly look at Lucy's and Holly's interactions, both of them were really doing their best, and they carried on well enough, but there was an inevitable breaking point.

Things would eventually come to a head at Aickmere's, brought there by the Chelsea Outbreak. Lucy and Holly would have it out, stirring the poltergeist.

From their argument, we find out that Holly was just as insecure about Lucy's gifts as Lucy was of Holly's. They both thought the other was being patronizing, and that neither of them actually looked down on the other. They picked a bad time to have this discussion, but it was had, and while it stirred the haunting to disastrous levels, it DID give Lucy and Holly a better understanding of one another. It was Growth at a Time of Poltergeist.

In Lucy and Holly's brief time working together to stay alive, we saw exactly how they would get along, how intuitive they were of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and how amidst the arguing, it was totally conceivable that they could come to like one another.

At the end of The Hollow Boy, when Lucy comes to the decision to leave Lockwood & Co., we know for sure it isn't because of Holly, even if everyone thinks it is.

Holly & Lucy

I am still absolutely tickled by the fact that Holly actually tells Lucy in The Creeping Shadow that she misses her, and that Holly wished Lucy had stuck around so that she would have someone to talk to. I did briefly, actually think that Holly might have had a crush on Lucy, because Lucy gives out bi-vibes (or maybe that's just me, Idon'tknow), but as I thought about it more, that would be a pretty annoying trope, where everyone falls in love with the heroine, so no. I think Holly was actually setting her sights on someone else, though Holly absolutely did miss Lucy, and she genuinely wanted to be besties with Lucy, especially because Holly thought Lockwood and George were so hard to crack (and by the way, this is so telling. Again, more proof of how differently George and Lockwood treats Lucy and Holly--not better, but differently. They are at their best behavior with Holly and as a result, they aren't vulnerable with her. The boys, however, treat Lucy like one of them, so she knows them the way Holly couldn't).

Holly's contributions to the narrative of The Hollow Boy were significant, in the same way that Kipps's contributions were significant in The Creeping Shadow. The Empty Grave treated us to the dynamic of having Kipps and Holly round out Lockwood & Co., fully entrenched into its maverick ways and the secret of the Whispering Skull.

Lucy and Holly's relationship found an easy cadence, and I especially loved how Lucy and Holly banded together instinctively to comandeer the two-bed room at the inn, leaving the boys to grapple with the second bedroom arrangements.

I cannot stress enough how well Holly and Lucy's relationship turned out, and how I will marvel at its development. I will always think of this relationship as well-earned. It was a journey, human and interesting. Stroud did a marvelous job forming it.

#lockwood & co #lockwood & co book spoilers #lockwood & co spoilers #holly munroe #lucy carlyle #The Hollow Boy spoilers #The Creeping Shadow spoilers #The Empty Grave spoilers

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