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I'm going soft for these two, in the spirit of V-day I let them cuddle for a bit.

Here's the new chapter of SOULs, second part will be out soon hopefully.

Yes this drawing sucks eggs but it's all I can do atm. Why did I spend so much time doing hands and feet instead of fixing Kenny's posture/face? I don't know.

I'm happy with eepy Mayuri but Kenny looks like a weird gremlin that has just learnt how to sit down... or better said, that hasn't yet learnt how to sit down. I've come to terms with it, there is no more left in the tank to fix this. You'll have to just learn to cope with it, soorrrryyyy.

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pspspspspspspsps

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Light.

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Writing Queer Characters

              As a queer writer and enjoyer of media, I tend to be very critical of queer characters. Many of them just aren’t done well, and carry that sort of ‘written by a straight person’ vibe, similar to the ‘female protagonist written by a man’ vibe. When queer characters are written wrong it can feel so alienating to the queer audience, and at that point, is it really representation?

While this isn’t an exhaustive guide on how to write queer people, it’s a good place to start to avoid some of the more common pitfalls and create queer characters that queer people can feel seen by.

1. Queerness is a pillar of identity, not a definition

By this I mean that when you’re creating a queer character, you’re just creating a human being that happens to be into the same sex (or not into sex or whatever, etc. etc.). In the same way that your straight characters don’t constantly talk about their straightness, aren’t built around the fact that they like the opposite gender, and don’t flirt with every other straight person they meet—queer characters shouldn’t either. It lands as flat, stereotypical, and a bit offensive.

              I’ll reiterate to make it clear: we’re human beings, just like anyone else.

              So you aren’t creating a queer character, you’re creating a character. One that still has a background, hobbies, interests, fears, personality, etc. And some of those things may connect to the fact that they are queer (maybe they go to queer clubs as one of their hobbies, or their background includes a queer relationship), but not all of them should. And speaking of background, not every queer character needs some deep queer-related trauma to form them as human beings. Some of us just have regular trauma.

2. People are still queer even when they aren’t in relationships

You’re probably reading this post because you want to or are currently writing a queer romance/subplot. Which is great. But I’d like to throw out this point as well—queer people exist outside of and beyond their relations to other people, and I’d personally love to see more queer characters that aren’t in relationships and don’t get into one by the end of the story. Who just exist—as many of us just exist. A queer person is not defined by who they date or have sex with. You do not need to create a romantic interest for every queer character you make.

3. Queer people have intersections

By this, I mean that a lesbian can also be disabled and black. A gay man can also be trans. A bisexual person can also be gender fluid and neurodivergent. This is another example of how queer people aren’t defined by their queerness, just like straight people aren’t defined by their straightness. When there’s a character who is “the lesbian” and she’s white and able-bodied and her personality is ‘lesbian’, we tend to see them as obvious diversity checks—a way to say that technically this piece of media has queer representation.

But queer people are people, and there’s so much more that goes into a person than just their sexuality. Don’t be afraid to include intersections in your queer characters—it takes more research, but it makes them more alive.

4. We don’t always come out—or need to

Queer narratives often have this underlying motif of making the queer characters constantly justify their own existences or explain their identities. While yes, using labels (especially bisexuality, as it’s often erased) is powerful, it’s also just as powerful and revolutionary to have queer characters just exist as they are without needing to explain themselves. In real life, many of us (especially when you’re a bit older and are already established among family and friends) don’t really continue to officially come out to every person we meet—we just exist and eventually new people who maybe don’t know will figure it out eventually.

The coming out story is probably the most common across queer media, but it leaves out so many different aspects of queerness. If you’re looking to tell a queer narrative, consider writing one beyond the coming out—when your characters are already certain of themselves and their places within their families/friends/community. When they’re allowed to just be.

Speaking of…

5. Beware stereotypes

By following the steps above you should be able to avoid most stereotypes, but just in case, here’s a small (not exhaustive!) list of some common stereotypes you should actively avoid:

- Queer people are pedophiles/dangerous/are trying to corrupt straight people - “Queer trauma”-inspired murderer - Killing off your gays (especially when they finally find happiness) - The flamboyant “gay best friend” (almost always male) - The homophobic, closeted jock - Lesbian couples have one femme and one butch, always - The transgender prostitute - The transgender surprise reveal - Bisexuals who just need to realize their ‘true’ preference/are confused - Bisexuals who are promiscuous - Lesbians are kidnappers - The over sexualized lesbian and the ‘innocent/pure’ lesbian (where’s the in between?)

I know that facing down a list of characters you can’t make often makes it feel like you can’t write any type of queer character, and so I’m here to reassure you. I know flamboyant gay guys and butch/femme lesbian couples in real life, but they’re also people with complexities and contradictions and they aren’t always consistent. If you build a person from the ground up, you may have a little bit of one of these stereotypes, but there will also be so much more that makes them special and unique.

But to be clear, let’s not keep portraying queer people as pedophiles, murderers, or serial kidnappers, alright?

6. Do your research and try your best

This post is a good start, but if you want to write a queer character, do your best to research their identities, what stereotypes that identity has, and how people in the community feel about representation on that identity.

Lastly, here’s some good vs bad examples of queer characters in media:

Any more examples you can think of?

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07/15 Happy Birthday

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I was going through all this and I got to his latest appearance… Like I love you man but seriously… wtf… So much fun to draw lol

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Posts about Mario made by non-fans that I mentally quote all the time

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By the way, if you play the game, PLEASE tell me if you liked it! or if you managed to guess the culprit or any of the evidence! It's my first time writing a mystery and I'm curious how it turned out! (also if anyone actually found the little pieces of secret dialogue...!)

Link again just in case!

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Not to be dramatic but this is a massive fucking deal and I legitimately hope every single politician dies.

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Manuscript illustration of rabbit with sword and shield

From Speculum Historiale, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 130II, fol. 319v

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its healthy for your paragraphs to vary in size, good for the ecodiversity of your doc

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Uh. Whoops.

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please don’t let me wake up from this / i want to stay

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hey folks if you have an android phone: google shadow installed a "security app".

I had to go and delete it myself this morning.

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