#@ certain fans anon

[hakusins]

If male Jordan looks female does female Jordan look like a male? … (let me fuck em both)

unfortunately anon you'll have to get in line - there's already someone by jordan's side and he ain't the sharing type

but on f!jordan design!! I actually didn't think much when making m!jordan cause i was just thinking of what my oc's type would be (pretty men) HBREHBFJHBERF but if i were to view f!jordan, it would just be m!jordan design but female? so they'd look something like this:

BUT YOU DID give me the Thought of .... short haired f!jordan so you also get a bonus brainrot doodle from yours truly <3

but same anon - same, i want to fuck em both

[moonchild-in-blue]

Massive thank you to you and everyone else who calls out how shitty it is to get mad at peoples interpretations. Sleep tokens music is romantic. Its also toxic. These statements can coexist. Its not your business if someone plays bloodsport or vore or hell even atlantic at their wedding. Youre not them, you dont know what the music means to them. If you see a weird take just roll your eyes and move on, its not a big deal. Absolutely sick and fucking tired of all these "why are you calling this romantic/sexy? Youre stupid and a terrible person!" takes like fucking relax. Media literacy is important yes. Respecting that this music is dark and personal to vessel is also important. Same goes for respecting how people relate to the music in dark ways. But as long as people are not saying things directly to vessel or fans about how their individual trauma is sexy then just chill out and respect peoples different interpretations. It sucks that i cant talk about how i view certain songs without being called horrible things and having really fucked up vitriol aimed at me. Yall need to grow the fuck up and get over yourselves. Im not thinking of your personal shit when i call a certain song romantic/sexy, i dont even know you, sometimes im thinking of my own trauma actually lol. Lets all discuss this music maturely where we respect each other and what each of us as individuals bring to the table for interpretation, stop making this fandom toxic as hell for anyone who doesnt agree 100% with your own interpretation. (Also the whole "youre not allowed to say this song is romantic/sexy" thing is very dismissive of some peoples trauma in itself, it ignores how messy someones feelings toward their abusers/toxic partners can be. Pretty fucked up to call a trauma survivor stupid or a terrible person because a song reminds them of their positive feelings towards someone who hurt them) Anyways yeah, just tired of people being so harsh because they refuse to see other peoples perspectives. I genuinely think one of the most toxic aspects of this fandom is the vitriol over different interpretations, people act like outright children at times with it im ngl, especially with more sexual discussions. It also feels infantilizing towards vessel at times, hes a grown adult who put romantic/sexy elements in his music and he doesnt need people trying to protect him from those themes. Im rambling but this stuff pisses me off so much, this fandom needs to do better

Context post for the clueless ones - regarding my tags/replies

Here's the thing - I've been in fandoms for many, many, MANY years. This type of discussion isn't anything new nor unique to Sleep Token, but it sure does make a comeback quite often. It's tiring to keep repeating the same things over and over, but that's what fandom is all about isn't it?

Someone needs to say something, and I am not one to shy away from uncomfortable conversations like these. Something something, build your own community, be the change you wanna see, etc etc.

I've said pretty much everything I wanna say already under that post, but for the sake of clarity, and because I can't keep my mouth shut apparently -

Under the cut for length - you know the drill:

Music is art. And art is subjective. Meaning, each individual will have their own personal connection and interpretation of a given piece of art, which in this case is Sleep Token's music.

Did Vessel write the songs with a certain intent or meaning? Most likely yes! It's not hard to connect the dots and guess what events/emotions might've transpired and served as inspiration for them (accuracy to personal life is irrelevant and none of our business, but it's also no rocket science to understand what's been said).

Can we establish a base meaning for any given song, or better, can we have a general consensus of what a song is about based on its lyrics and themes? Absolutely! Not every song is like that, but we can all agree there's a lot of recurring themes of past relationships and mental health struggles.

Is it wrong to diminish the songs to one basic element (eg. the sexual undertones) and/or completely disregard the bigger, more important theme? I'd say it is.

Giving Atlantic as an example (which as a lot of you know, is my most favourite song of them and very dear to me): this one has some very blatant references to suicide and depression. Regardless of whether it is based on irl events or not (none of our business!!!), it is extremely heavy and emotionally charged. I find it incredibly disrespectful when people say random stuff during the rituals when he plays this one.

Or for example, how certain people reduce Sleep Token to "baby making metal", instead of acknowledging the insane (insane!) variety of genres and the profound lyricism they present.

Should we limit our views, and by extension, those of others, to surface-level interpretation, without allowing room for different views and interpretations, either fictional lore based or not? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Vessel himself said to "not restrict ourselves to labels or genres because music transcends it all" (paraphrasing here). It's literally their whole thing. It's very hypocritical to be shouting from the rooftops about "media literacy" and assuming people are stupid or idiots for not understanding the basic, surface-level meaning of a song, when Vessel himself constantly writes in metaphors and half-truths.

I've touched on this a lifetime ago on one of my analysis, but if you *actually* look at the lyrics, you'll realise Vessel hardly ever says what he means. There's always something else behind his words, something he purposefully keeps hidden. It really sneaks upon you sometimes! I'm over a year in and I still find something new everyday on their music. That man has a way to weave in a hundred and one statements under a single sentence, that is just truly beautiful to study.

Is, say, The Love You Want, about a man (Vessel) mourning the fact that his love isn't reciprocated? Yeah! Is it about someone who, despite knowing they can never receive from their lover the attention and affection and care they want, will stay by their side anyways? It is!

Is it about bitterness, spiteful accusations aimed at the one person who should love you fully? Or a reflection of how little self-regard the singer has, so much that they are willingly and actively choosing to stay in a sinking one-sided relationship, because the alternative is too painful to bare? Can you flip the switch and see it as someone who is obsessively pursuing another person, and painting themselves as a victim? All of this, yes!

You can even eliminate the romantic aspect all together and apply it to a relationship with the self (past or future, or an alter ego), or a parental figure. The options are endless. There isn't one universal truth when it comes to music, and as such, all of these takes are 100% correct.

Many statements can be true at the same time - it doesn't make one more true or correct than the other. Simply different. The way we connect with music is very much dictated by our own life experiences, and no two people have lived the exact same life.

Can you prefer a certain way to look at a song, or completely disagree with certain takes? Absolutely! I know I sure as hell do! That's normal and expected and part of the fun in being in a community such as ours. More people means more ways to look at a song - isn't that just wonderful?!

Now, this is very obvious for most of us, but some people, especially in the younger rage, have been taught to look at things in a very black and white way. Not to be that person, but the truth is that the rise in awareness of social issues and "pc-ness", is slowly starting to eliminate the possibility of things being flawed and nuanced.

If you're wrong, you're awful. If you're right, you're obnoxious. Made a mistake? Get cancelled. Grow from your mistakes, but not like that. Learn from your actions, but change your whole personality in a day otherwise you're problematic.

You know what I mean.

Life isn't black and white. Art isn't black and white. Music isn't black and white. What may seem like a toxic, dark, obsessive depiction of a relationship to you, might translate to the deepest and most truest of loves to me. I can acknowledge something is Not Right, while still drawing my own conclusions.

Is Blood Sport a sad af song? Yeah! Definitely not the first thing I'd think of when in a happy relationship. But maybe that's the point. And maybe I do. And that's okay, and none of anyone's business. "Okay but The Apparition isn't a good example of a healthy and romantic-" TO YOU! Maybe that's what love looks like to me! Maybe I just happen to be into it! And what about it?

Maybe to me love comes with all the ugly sides too. The violence, the despair, the self-doubt. Who are you to dictate what I can or can't think? I highly doubt Vessel would go 🗣️ "WRONG! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! >:::(", so why would you?

You can, and should, discuss the songs with others! Maybe some people do genuinely need a fresh pair of eyes to help them get to the juicy core of the songs - that's why we're here! To discuss, and exchange ideas! You can, and should, call people out when their engagement with the music is being harmful to others (joking and laughing during Missing Limbs? No bueno. Speculating about Vessel's personal life? VERY no bueno. Choosing a potentially weird song to walk down the aisle? None of your business + not your wedding + you weren't even invited + none of your business. Notice how I've been repeating that. Notice again).

You shouldn't, however, shame and ridicule others for having different views from you.

I think, rather than engaging in pointless discussions and start accusing people of being this or that, we should all exercise a little "don't like? scroll past". Is it harming you or others? No? Then scroll past! Is it an awful, truly horrendous take about something you're really passionate about? Okay! Disgusting! Scroll past! Good for them! 👍

Also - keep an open mind. We're all doing this living businesse for the first time, no one holds all the answers to everything. It's okay to change your mind. It's okay to say the wrong thing and backtrack. It's okay to make a mistake and learn and grow.

You know what's not okay? Being a dick to others because the thing you like is being misinterpreted. It's hard, I know!!! You can block people! You can scroll past! You can look at pictures of your favourite vessel and cleanse your brain!!!! I know I do!!!!!

And this is a last afterthought but - you don't get to complain about the fandom you're in if you're doing nothing to change that. I see many, maaaaany of you bitch about this and that, while having 0 engagement aside from the bitching. Like?? Maybe if you spent more time reblogging cool art or gifs and less time whining about literally everything, this would be a much more pleasant space!! And I DO get to be a little petty here because I sure do try my best to make this a fun and nice community. I am allowed a little bitching 😌

Anyways, tl/dr: don't be a dick; don't like - don't engage; keep an open mind; gaze upon the vessels. Peace and love yall 💙💫

[ahappydnp]

the majority of us ARE 22 year old college kids though😭 at least that was the dominant demographic at my tit show

gonna be real i think everyone in the community is going to keep their own confirmation biases on the demographic split because let me tell you the vast majority of phannies on my dash are at least late 20s and almost everyone i talk to or have met irl are dnp's age or older and have always existed since the beginning, they're just not as vocal/don't share their faces or personal information as much/don't engage with dnp in the same way the kids did back in the day!

and yeah obviously there are a ton of young 20 somethings (and that demographic is basically the only one dnp talk about publicy because they're whole vibe right now is "you all watch us when you were 14") SO WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT DEMOGRAPHIC IS A MASSIVE ONE!!!! i don't think they make up as big of a percentage of the fandom as they think they do (maybe like a healthy 68%... instead of the 95% they assume)

**edited for the slew of 22 year old anons**

[josephtrohman]

where is your boy tonight i think he's in oklahoma

HELPPPPP maybe he won’t find out what i know (that he’s being cucked by jimmy butler)

[fiona-fififi]

"Why doesn't their side call out the bad behavior they accuse us of??"

Because they've blocked all the crazies on their side and aren't seeing it. Just like you're not seeing all the bullshit on your side because you've blocked all the crazies over there, too.

Also, they ARE calling it out. You just have everyone on the other side blocked, so you aren't seeing the callouts.

Like jesus fucking christ, can we stop generalizing giant portions of fandom based on the behavior of the worst fucking people in them?? Because I promise you, whether you are seeing it or not, there are really fucking shitty people in ALL corners of fandom.

[dipperscavern]

“jon the boring” i am going to rip all of my hair out

[katyspersonal]

Regarding previous post about disco horse: I really appreciate that everyone is actually talking for once, but a kind of jab happened on my mental health so I have to step away. It isn't from this post, but the reason is sort of connected

Again, I personally find no problems with the DLC except for how Radahn ship came from nowhere and can justify how that comes. But regardless of how many things anyone else dislikes about the DLC: you are valid to hate it as much as you want, but when you start insulting people who loved/accepted/justified the DLC as "media illiterate fromsoft dickriders who keeps coping even after the honeymoon phase passed" and variation I draw the line. There are many ways where other fans can find reason where you didn't and there is potential in new lore that you won't use. Absurd how some people are still willing to support illusory narrative that Radahn Redditor simps are the "worst" part of the fandom when not even at their most arrogant and annoying they can dream to reach HALF of the toxicity cultish Miquella/Malenia fans have, over the awful crime of having different readings, opinions and priorities.

And yes, I know it is inevitable that Tumblr and Twitter fans WOULD make a moral/intellectual/maturity contest out of how people feel about the DLC (🤡🤡🤡), but it hurts when people I actually don't want to butt heads with who start to approve of this mentality. Like, okay cool. Wallow in your elitist toxic pool of Ledas while we, "pathetic dickriders" go and "cope" somewhere else, hope everyone is more comfortable this way 🤦‍♂️ I am tired of getting hurt through endless passive aggression and I have my limits. It is just always hurtful to finally rip the bandage, even IF it is to the better. I need a hiatus for a longer time, albeit for a different reason now

[allastoredeer]

Oh no, I hope all the folks annoyed about the influx of radioapple art with Lucifer in a dress aren’t talking about all the recent art of flapper!Lucifer. I've been seeing tons of radioapple art with Luci dressed in drag as a flapper girl and being all flirty towards an incredibly flustered Alastor, and I've loved every bit of it! No sign of any of the usual Manlyman!Alastor/UuU!Lucifer crap, just flapper!Luci teasing a VERY red-faced Alastor. I really hope that's not what people are talking about😟

I think I've seen pics of that floating around Twitter. Love the dress design, made me want to draw Alastor in one T.T Idk if that's the one any of the other Anon's were talking about specifically, but even if it is, don't let that take away you're enjoyment of it. You are 100% allowed to like things even if other people dislike it.

This is fandom. Curate it with people and fandom art/fics/edits etc... that you enjoy and ignore the rest 😊It can be irritating and disheartening to see people hating on something you really enjoy (I get the feeling, I've felt the same way about characters and shows I like) but at the end of the day, you loving it and them hating it doesn't actually hurt anyone. We're all here to have a good time, whether that's gushing about a ship/show with a like-minded community or ranting about it with a like-minded community. Both can be fun and cathartic.

I mean, even if you did like UwU Lucifer and Manlyman!Alastor, I'm not going to seek you out and tell you all the things I dislike about it and why you shouldn't like it, nor should anyone else. I'm not here to rain on anybody's parade. That's why I rant here, on my own blog, in my own little space, with fans who agree and understand my frustrations. That way anyone who doesn't want to see my posts can block and/or mute me and go about their day enjoying the content that makes them happy.

Make sure to give the flapper!Lucifer and flustered!Alastor art some love so the artists know you're enjoying it too! As an artist myself, that does wonders for our motivation to draw it more often LOL

[chevelleneech]

‘bucktommy shippers are moving to ody3. awful news for the fandom when they decide avery’s getting in the way of their fated m/m ship’ …as if buddie shippers aren’t the ones who have displayed disgusting behaviour towards both buck and eddie’s past female love interests, not to mention the aggressiveness and violence they displayed against buck’s male love interest. I don’t think bucktommy shippers are going to be the problem here.

I have been vocal about both BuckTommy and Buddie shippers acting an ass, actually, so this isn’t the gotcha you think it is. I mean, I’ve argued plenty with people about how the actress who played Marisol being questionably awful didn’t mean she deserved to be treated the way she was. Particularly when Ryan Gúzman kept his job in the show, despite his actions as well.

However, BT are right now currently claiming 9-1-1 and Oliver are biphobic, claiming the show sacrificed God tier queer rep (ignoring Henren), and calling for Oliver to be fired all because a side character who has a racist and misogynistic past, played by an actor with the same, ended his run on the show.

This ain’t about ships, it’s about the people who love LFJ for literally no reason other than portraying a gay character in a minor role, leaping to the next queer ship they can find as some sort of cancellation prize.

That said, a large many of BT shippers claim to have been Buddies, so you’re talking about the same group of people. You can’t separate former Buddies from current Buddies just because you want to defend BT fans. The same folks who were harassing actresses left and right in “defense” of Buddie going canon, are some of the same people who jumped ship to support BT, and are now the same people “defending” LFJ.

The ven diagram is a circle, so no, I do not want BT shippers moving to Ody3, because aside from them being misogynistic and willing to let racism slide so long as it means being racist toward someone they don’t like (Aka them saying Ryan should have offed himself, yet they’re fine with LFJ and Tommy’s actions), they’re also revisionists. They claim things happened in 9-1-1 that in fact did not, and I do not want to see the inevitable revising of saying Max and Avery never worked or whatever.

And to be clear, I do understand that fandom as a whole is a pretty toxic place to be, but BuckTommy shippers are blatant liars. They have fully rewritten Tommy’s importance within the 9-1-1 universe, sidelined Hen, Karen, Michael, David, and Josh’s relevance as queer characters, and are currently claiming Oliver Stark — a man who has been nothing but happy to portray Buck as bi — is being a biphobic clout chaser for not “protecting” a fictional character that isn’t even his own’s, existence on the show. They are telling a man to “finish the job” in reference to his suicide attempt, because they didn’t want the FICTIONAL CHARACTER he plays on tv to ruin their ship. They accuse Buddies of demanding fan service, yet are petitioning to have Tommy reinstated in the show, and demanding Tim Minear listen. They are accusing the cast of being bullies because LFJ didn’t get a tear jerking send off.

Yes, the way women are treated across the board in fandoms spaces is awful, and should continue to be called out. Which it is, but to act as if BT shippers aren’t and haven’t been awful people this entire time as well, is straight up bullshit, and no other fandom needs that energy. BT fans are seeking a queer ship to latch onto, not a romantic ship to enjoy. They want to see Tristan and Max fuck, not watch Ody3 blossom, and I’m not going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not when they’ve shat the bed so horribly just because a RECURRING CHARACTER with not even sixty minutes of screen time, was written off.

[pilferingapples]

Wow, a Les Mis fan who enjoys worldbuilding. Shocked, I'm shocked.

I've been holding on to this for a while bc it's such an odd message from an anon , but yes , indeed, We Are Just Like That XD

[review-anon]

Pokemon or Digimon?

Pokemon 100%

Grew up with the franchise and own all the games as well as most of the spinoffs.

I watched a few Digimon episodes when I was younger but never got into it and the whole tamagotchi roots of the franchise I was scared of as a kid.

I know people say play Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth but the onnllyy issue is aside from the massive learning curve, is that since SDRA2 borrows a lot of its tracks certain tracks will have certain associations.

[cabeswaterdrowned]

book recs? My fav books are trc, aftg, soc, shadowhunters/riordanverse etc and the likes (so basically the most basic literature taste known to man) thanks!

well I enjoy all of those and trc is my fav series so will give you a couple of my main fantasy recs along those lines or not dissimilar and throw in one of my fav thrillers which is very gay and explores dark themes for aftg adjacent rep, and then another suspense book i love. I sort of went with books i could draw some type of lines of comparison to at least one of the books you mentioned.

•The Diviners series by Libba Bray — this is my go to ya fantasy rec these days, it’s historical urban fantasy with some horror and mystery elements. It’s set in 1920’s New York, book one opens focusing mainly on Evie and a specific case of a ghost serial killer but introduces other chars, after the first book it becomes more about an ensemble cast of Diviners who have different supernatural powers and their dynamics, also the main antagonist is bigotry and hate which I’m aware is a concept that can be done poorly in fantasy and I won’t pretend every beat of it is flawless but it is my favorite example of a fantasy series take on that concept that I’ve read. More importantly stunning character work I especially adore the female chars among the diviners Evie Theta and Ling, Ling is one of the most special characters ever and these books should be worth reading because of her INTP canon ace lesbian with autistic swag realness alone. 

I definitely would recommend it to TID/TLH fans for the historical setting and atmosphere as well as some of the playing with man vs machine + to TRC/TDT fans for the characterization and also the second book is largely about Henry and Ling learning about their dream powers and developing a friendship through this and also Ling has a narrative foil in dreamspace she’s gay with just think some of those idea would resonate with trcers + to SoC fans for the ensemble dynamics. 

•The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray

This is one I used to describe to people as The Gangsey all girls au set in Victorian London and that’s not fully accurate but it works enough to be a pitch, but basically it’s about this group of four girls who go to a boarding school together and discover a sort of parallel world where they can bee free and realize their ambitions detached from society, but in the real world they’ve awakened horrors they must deal with too. I need to reread this one but it was deeply formative, if you love messy complicated female friendship dynamics and paranormal/mystical plots that are just creepy enough this is for you. Also my favorite character in it is a gay blonde mean girl character who is ambitious and wants autonomy above all else but does also love her friends fiercely Felicity Worthington you will always be famous <3 if you enjoy Jessamine Lovelace and Grace Blackthorn from TSC she has strong parallels to both those chars imo and is better written/handled arc wise. But I will tell you that the other wlw char in the book who is her love interest dies there is byg, just so you no one gets mad at me for that. But still very worth the read imo. 

•The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor

this series is a mix of urban fantasy and high fantasy, the first book is set mainly in Prague but large parts of the other books take place in a fantasy world called Eretz so there is a fun parallel worlds element. But it’s about Karou who is one of theee protagonists of the 2010s yet got paid dust justice for my girl, and she’s an art student in Prague who was raised by a family of monsters (chimeara), her surrogate father is Brimstone and he has a business of selling wishes for teeth that Karou sometimes helps with but is frustrated that she isn’t allowed to know why or what they’re for. Karou’s dynamics with the chimearas and with her best friends Zuzana who is also a wonderful character and inspo for my letterboxd url rabidfairy09, are really lovely and the prose is so beautiful… but the story really takes off when the love interest Akiva is introduced I won’t go into details about that because spoilers, but they have one of my absolute favorite romances in the genre that does subvert and play with those paranormal forbidden star crossed romance tropes in ways I think are quite fascinating. Books 2 and 3 are more complicated to describe there is an essential conflict between chimeras or devils vs angels in this world so there’s your modern tsc connection, and very lyrical prose although I find Lainis even lusher and more elegant than trc prose. 

• Sawkill Girls by Clara Legrand 

Ya horror book that I remember reading over the summer in high school and I think it’s a good summer read tonally, part of the plot is one of those stranded on an island survival stories but it’s less intense than like Yellowjackets (no cannibalism), I don’t actually have much to sell about the plot I just enjoyed the vibes and also there are lesbians one of whom is an ambitious driven abuse survivor who had an arc I remember really liking.

•Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie Mclemore I actually really love all the books by her I’ve read but I think this is a great one to start with. Basically there are multiple generations of women who are all witches living together (300 fox way vibes), and Estella has several cousins and she and them are all in love with the same woman who is the daughter of the man who owns the estate, and there’s a thing where boys and this family keep disappearing and then one of them shows up and resulting drama. The main romance is m/f but like all the female chars being bi, it is a good romance from my memory but the main event is the familial dynamics, the main character Estella’s arc around dealing with her internalized self hatred and a lot of anti colonial themes those anti colonial themes and themes of multigenerational trauma are very relevant in all the Mclemore I’ve read so yes, very much would read her starting with this book. Also very gorgeous prose as is in all her magical realism stuff. 

•this one is already quite popular on tumblr so you may have read it but The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, if you enjoy the cutthroat gang in SoC and that high fantasy world I think you would enjoy it I also get some Zoya vibes as well as Kaz vibes from Jude the main heroine. Won’t bother with detailed description because again, very popular books. 

•Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire

basically a series of portal fantasies or fairytales for adults, they are all novellas and it’s an ongoing series following several different chars not all of whom appear in each book. But I enjoy them and I think if you like Riordanverse this is like an adult fantasy take on similar concepts in a way, even though it’s not directly mythology based.

•The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

This is the other tumblr popular series on the list and has a good amount of overlap with trc/aftg/soc fans so will only give the brief pitch that it’s adult sci fantasy and about lesbian necromancers in space. You will be very confused at least some of the time but it is worth it, trust me. 

•Black Iris by Leah Raeder 

new adult psychological thriller with a sapphic romance that slaps so hard. Delaney Keatings is one of my favorite unreliable narrators and also just an A+ character, there’s not a lot I can say about the actual plot because a lot of it is psychological but will give one other plot hint: vigilantes. Definitely look up trigger warnings before reading this there’s a lot about homophobia and also references to sexual violence, drug use a lot more it’s very in line with Aftg in terms of like, grittiness in that regard. Do highly recommend. 

•Dare Me by Megan Abbott 

like with Mclemore I love this author in general and would recommend everything I’ve read by her but this was my first book of hers so it’s a good introduction, and also a lot of it is about girls on a cheer team having homoerotic psychosexual dynamics as well as the murder, so it’s also in line with aftg thematically in that way. gay sports media. 

There are a lot of others but I don’t want to make this list ridiculously long so… here are some recs <3 thank you so much anon for letting me ramble and I hope you like them!

[floralovebot]

helia is obv meant to be androgynous and bishounen but I get why people would think he was designed to be a woman initially because his name is a woman's name actually. helia is a girls name. also, compared to avalon or other long haired characters, he's also somewhat more different.

I don't think it's too far fetched. some language groups like greek fans could have other pov. in latin american spanish his name was changed to helio for this very reason.

i know his name is feminine. that still means nothing tbh

sky is a popular girl's name in the west. does that mean he's automatically a girl? like no of course not. no one is arguing that sky is a woman just because of his name. griffin is a masculine latin name. don't see anyone questioning her. if his name is the Only proof people have that helia was meant to be a girl, that's weak when other characters also have feminine/masculine names that don't align with their canon gender.

also, you need to ask yourself, what is different about helia? like actually answer that question. what exactly makes helia different from characters like palladium, valtor, or avalon. it's not his body - helia has the same muscular body the other specialists have and he's one of the few male characters we see shirtless on screen. it can't be pacifism - he's not a pacifist and pacifism is not a feminine trait. it can't be art or poetry - neither of those things are feminine traits/hobbies. it can't be his fashion - he's just wearing a shirt and jeans. if anything his wardrobe would be considered more masculine compared to the crop tops the other specialists are wearing (even for the time). it can't be his personality - nabu is also wiser and gentler, timmy is also a simp, brandon is also caring.

so what exactly makes helia different from other long haired male characters?

nothing. that's your answer.

the only thing that makes helia So different is that other long haired male characters are often coded as white Or specifically have darker skin, so fans don't feel the need to question their masculinity (which is a Whole other discussion). helia is not coded as white. even fans who don't consciously realize it are still picking up on that coding. these white fans then feel comfortable questioning his masculinity because they've done that to men of color for decades. it's not just asian men either. white people love to question the masculinity of all men of color, regardless of race or skin color. that's how they demean them. how they separate them from white men. they uphold certain racial and gender stereotypes and then demean any man who "doesn't fit that". which in their eyes, is all men of color.

it's like this: man of color doesn't adhere to western/white/european cultural standards > white people realize, don't like, insult them, and try to make them feel like they need to adhere > white men prioritize the patriarchy and feel the need to glorify it > in order to insult men of color, they specifically call out and question their masculinity > white people around the world think this is genuinely innocent because it focuses on gender instead of race > white racists get away with it

listen, i know at first this seems like a really harmless and maybe even amusing topic. "oh helia is so pretty people think he's a girl ahahah". and for some fans it is genuinely harmless. they just think he's too pretty to be a man. and then they realize, laugh it off, and don't question it again.

unfortunately, that's not the case for a lot of other fans. it's not innocent. it's not harmless. it's white people picking up on racial coding and questioning his identity because of it. you guys don't do this to other characters. you don't do it to sky, who also has a "feminine" name. you don't do it to palladium, who is slimmer and has a gentler, nicer personality. you don't do it to saladin. or nabu. or ogron. or gantlos. or anagan. or tritannus. or nereus. or king neptune. or king teredor.

all of those names are male characters with long hair.

i know it's nice to assume that this is innocent and genuine. but unfortunately, that's not the case. this is an example of something that isn't innocent for a majority of adult, white fans. even if they're not doing it On Purpose. subconscious bias is called that for a reason.

[kennys-parka-jacket]

i'll never forgive proship vs anti discourse for distorting the phrase "this thing in fandom makes me uncomfortable".

[hello-that-happened]

Psst, dunno if you already knew, but askgiegueandcrew is posting again. They're also making a fan fiction reboot of the story. Thought you might be interested. (I do enjoy seeing you go crazy in the tags)

*deep breath*

WHAT

WHYYYYY DIDN'T TUMBLR NOTIFY ME THAT @askgiegueandcrew IS POSTING AGAIN

also yes I'm totally going to check out the fanfic

[deoidesign]

is it okay to draw time & time again fanart?

yeah of course! I like to think I've made something of a playground, and I'd love for people to play on it with me ^^

I've put it out into the world, It's out of my hands now <3 I'm not one to try and exercise too much control or sanctity over my stuff.

Just be sure to share it with me so I can see!