#and characters that you can read as trans/characters that are just playing with gender/etc

[offbeat-manga-ships]

AYUMI TO AIKA / あゆみとあいか / AYUMI AND AIKA by Kindaichi Renjuurou / 金田一蓮十郎 • chapter 2, part of MERMAID LINE / マーメイドライン

[cavegirlpoems]

Further thoughts.

There is a tendency to write settings - particularly for interactive media like ttrpgs, larps, etc - that are essentially gender-blind, where you can create whoever you want without that having an effect on the game. The decision to be gay, or a woman, or trans, or a gay trans woman with pink hair is an aesthetic choice that will not give you a meaningfully different experience in the game.

This rather kneecap's the setting's ability to tell queer stories, imho. If we take it as read that queerness refers to gender- and sexuality-based identities and behaviours that fall outside of the societal norms, then the experience of falling outside those societal norms is (rather tautologically) a key element of queerness.

So, in a completely gender-blind setting, one can't - tautologically - be gender-nonconforming. There is no expectation to conform to. The experience of queerness, of being outside of societal norms, becomes null and void. Such a setting will feature homosexuality, but it won't feature gay pride, and nor will it need to as none of the societal forces that led to the pride movement exist.

This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a world where one is not oppressed for one's identity is an enjoyable world to explore for what should be obvious reasons. On the other hand, it becomes impossible to tell (say) a coming-out story in a world where there's no closet to be in to begin with.

There is also the element that whilst a setting may say its gender-blind, it's still written and played in by people from the real world, who still subconsciously inherit real-world biases, and this can be reflected in the world.

While (say) women might have just as much right to political power as men, if in practice the people with political power are disproportionately men, that sexism is still present. Far from removing it, the gender-blindness of the setting simply obfuscates it, and often actively proves an obstacle to addressing it; one cannot call somebody out in character for sexism in a setting where sexism doesn't exist, no matter how sexist they're being.

(Similar biases around sexuality, transness, polyamory, kink, aceness, etc also creep in).

(In many cases, this can also apply to other axes of marginalisation, such as race, etc. However, in a lot of settings this doesn't apply the same way. Many fantasy settings are deeply opinionated about a character's ancestry; see the D&D skull-callipers explaining that elves are just more intelligent and agile than everybody else, and this being a mechanically enforced fact in the world.)

My point, anyway, is that in these cases efforts towards inclusivity can paradoxically erase that which they seek to include. One cannot represent the lived experience of a marginalised identity in a setting that totally denies the existence of that marginalisation.

[olderthannetfic]

I just got the weirdest hate comment. Basically, this woman who has loved all my stories and commented on them for months found out I'm a cis man. And now she hates my F/F stories. She's now decided they're "fetish fuel" for "your lesbian kink" and "you probably write with one hand down your pants".

None of these stories have steamy scenes. One, I suck at writing those. A lot. A lot a lot. Two, the women are busy saving the world. That's stressful and stress makes some people's horniness go way down, so I always assumed they wouldn't be in the mood until the villain is defeated, you know? Three, some of these stories have middle school aged characters and I find people older than me hot, so I have literally, truly not thought once against their sex lives. I assumed they were going on dates like I was at 13 - movies, hang out at the mall, playing video games, that stuff. Nobody I knew was getting laid at 13. (I didn't get laid until I was 20, personally, but idk what the statistics on that are.)

So it's really weird that she's suddenly angry at me. I know most of the fans of the show are women. I get why she assumed I was one. Totally valid. Statistically that makes sense. It's the jump from "you are male" to "you're getting off to this" that I don't get. Don't get me wrong, I know some guys like F/F and some women like M/M. But liking writing/reading something doesn't mean you get off to it.

(Also utter side tangent but I don't like her using lesbian to refer to bi characters. That's... not how that works. Bi people don't become straight or lesbian or gay depending on who they date.)

Can someone explain to me? I think my neurodivergent ass is missing a lot here and I'm lost.

--

Radfem nonsense.

Look up lesbian separatism as a political thing to find the sorts of women who think all men are inherently suspect, dangerous, predatory, etc. Some of them are also TERFs and think trans women are men and predators, but this general attitude on gender happens even without the transphobia.

Basically, she thinks you snuck into her exclusive clubhouse and got your cooties on it.

Some femslash fans do view this type of fandom as an expression of their identity, not just a thing they enjoy, and being confronted with the reality that it can also just be a fiction taste and the space isn't all people like them making a space for people like them can be upsetting. She's being a jerk and not responding to your actual work or your actual self, but if you want to know why, that's why.

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - known Character Creation info Part 2

[LINK TO PART 1] <- since I hit the character limit in that post I had to make a Part 2 ^^;

This post is just another dump collection of info and snippets that came out about CC (& some related topics). if you’ve been following the news or reading posts here, it’s not new info or anything, I just put it together in one place here for convenience. ( ˶´ ᵕ `˶ )

if you notice anything missing, pls lmk. there’s a bit of repetition of info in places as prev posts (including Part 1) on the topic overlapped.

---

Although non-natural hair colors like blue and purple are available for Rook in the CC, all NPCs in the game have natural hair colors [source]

A user asked if there are instances wherein Rook will be referred to by their last name. “Yes, there are places where we refer to Rook by their last name. It’s very contextual - we don’t want to awkwardly insert a reference in where it doesn’t make sense - but it does happen, though it is going to be more common with some backgrounds than others.” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

You can have body tattoos [source: the official BioWare Discord]

A user stated “There are no restrictions on lineage/faction/class combinations other than dwarves cannot be mages”. Corinne added “Correct." [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Q. “Will the gender identity of a trans/non-binary Rook be acknowledged in game by other characters? (beyond just pronouns I mean)”. A. “There are moments when you can disclose and discuss, however, disclosure remains the right of the individual so you have to make that choice for yourself. [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Q. “Will we get the option to give our Rook more fantastical hair colors, like purple, blue, pink?”. A. “Yes” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Q. “How about heterochromatic eyes?” A. “Yes” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Q. ’‘Will I be able to make a short qunari and a tall dwarf or are there limits to that? Do the qunari have to be buff?“ A. ’'There are limitations, of course… but yes, you can make a Dwarf that is tall or a Qunari that is short, relative to their lineage. We stan the skinny Qunari” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

the armors mesh and mold to every body [source: the official BioWare Discord]

In CC you can customize things like shoulder width, chest size, glute size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, nose crookedness, and more [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

There are hundreds of sliders for body proportions [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

CC detail: “Features like skin hue, tone, melanin” [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

There is nudity in DA:TV, “which I learned firsthand while customizing my Rook” in CC [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

Rook’s backstory also affects “reputation standing”, along with the other previously-known things like in-game dialogue etc [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

The 4 voices we can choose for Rook each have a pitch shifter in CC [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

The devs used the DA:TV CC to make each in-world NPC, except for specific characters like companions [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

If you play as e.g. a qunari Rook, the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters like them loom over those below. The camera also adjusts appropriately for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

If you are playing, e.g., a qunari, and you encounter elfy stuff, you might be missing unique dialogue options and an elf Rook would have more to say at that point [source: the Game Informer cover story article, DA:TV spoiler warning for link]

Twitter user: “Please please please let me make a feminine shaped body with no chest, begging for non-binary to be something I can present not just a pronoun slap”. Saira: “this will be entirely possible with the body sliders!” [source]

“Last names are based on your faction. You can customize your first name, however.” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

“In-world - Rook is a nickname you’re given before the events of the game, and it’s what everyone refers to you as. It allows for other characters to refer to you in dialogue without awkwardly having to write around not having a defined title, while still allowing for name customization.” Also, in the game, it is explained why we got the nickname Rook in the past. [source: the official BioWare Discord]

“There are specific lines and dialogue options for different lineages, as well as different backgrounds, and classes, including at least a handful that are unique to lineage/background combinations. No specifics but we wanted to make sure the game felt reactive to the choices you made in creating your Rook.” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

A user asked whether elven Rook is Dalish or City. Answer: “It’ll depend on your background. As mentioned previously, certain lineages will have variations of that background that go into more detail where appropriate.” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

“Without getting into spoiler territory - Rook’s a hero because they chose to be, not because they were chosen. Your choice of background fills in some of the details - and you get opportunities to define it further - but some things we leave up to you to fill in.” [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Twitter user: “Is Rook a nickname or their actual name?” Michael Gamble: “Nickname. The thing that people call you on the game.” [source]

“Oh just wait. The hair tech is phenomenal in this. Even I was thinking "aye is this a Bioware game!?” lol.“ [source]

“One thing I’m particularly happy about and can’t get over is how much better the hair rendering is. It might be a small thing to some but it looks incredible. It’s in another stratosphere compared to DAI.” [source]

“Everyone in the previews was gushing about how robust the CC is in Veilguard so there might be a decent chance to make some wild Qunari designs.” [source]

The 9 specs Rook can be (3 for each class) are:

Warrior - Champion, Reaper, Slayer Rogue - Duelist, Saboteur, Veil Ranger Mage - Death Caller, Evoker, Spellblade [more info here]

Update with new/further info up until June 27th:

Each spec is tied to a faction [source]. the faction each spec is tied to is as follows:

Mage: Death Caller - Mourn Watch Evoker - Shadow Dragons Spellblade - Antivan Crows Rogue: Duelist - Antivan Crows Veil Ranger - Veil Jumper Saboteur - Lords of Fortune Warrior: Champion - Grey Wardens Reaper - Mourn Watch Slayer - Lords of Fortune [source]

Magic “remains elusive” to dwarven Rooks [source]

“Lemmy from Motorhead” beards [source]

A user asked if they could see pics of the CC. Corinne: “If only I could. But hold tight, you’ll all be sharing your lovely creations with me soon enough 💜” [source]

A user asked “Please tell me we finally get black clothing and/or armor?” Corinne: “There are many gorgeous fits. Just you wait 😉” [source]

User: “Fingers crossed we can play as Qunari again!” Corinne: “You can and they are ✨💅” [source]

"SO many options and beautiful hair choices and very intricate skin details" [source]

"It really felt like they were trying to be very careful in making sure they had good representation with hair textures and not gender locking anything, it was all about choice. The devs put lot of care and thought into it" [source]

In CC we will be able to customize qunari Rook’s horn type and material [source]

There are “hundreds of options” in CC [source]

Selecting Rook’s faction is the penultimate step in CC [source]

The Lords of Fortune are pirated-themed [source]

Each faction has unique casual wear worn in specific cutscenes when the character isn’t wearing armor [source]

Each faction has 3 unique traits, e.g. for Lords of Fortune, they gain additional reputation with this particular faction, have increased damage versus mercenaries, and perform takedowns on enemies with slightly less effort [source]

“Faction selection, which ties into your character’s backstory, determines who your Rook was before, how they met Varric, why they travel with Varric instead of their faction, and more” [source]

Rook’s appearance can be changed using the Mirror of Transformation in the Lighthouse, but not their class, lineage and "identity" [source]

The unique faction-based casual wears are "very pretty” ^^ [source]

CC has sliders for width and height on pretty much every body part [source]

BioWare said “they worked with Black consultants to ensure they got hairstyles and textures right and authentic for masculine and feminine options” [source]

CC is expansive, robust, rich; BioWare’s best yet. At its heart is inclusivity [source]

BioWare used it to create most of the NPCs in the game, main chars like companions aside [source]

When browsing through the presets, the game allows for more detailed looks at each [source]

Pronoun choice is separate to gender identity choice [source]

Different body types available [source]

Before exiting CC Rook can be viewed in 4 different lighting scenes at any time, “including The Veilguard’s keynote purple hue, a bright and sunny tropical day, and a gothic night”. The team worked hard to quash the issues caused by the green lighting in DA:I’s CC [source]

Head and body presets can be selected individually and customized [source]

40 different complexions including smooth, rugged, youthful, freckled [source]

Skin hues range from cool to neutral to warm [source]

Undertones to these skin tones [source]

Melanin slider [source]

BioWare engaged consultation to represent people authentically

Vitiligo slider (intensity and amount adjustable) [source]

Sliders for forehead, brow, cheeks, jaw, chin, larynx and scalp [source]

Selectable undergarments, with nudity [source]

The “Body Morpher” involves “select[ing] three presets for each corner of a triangle and then mov[ing] a cursor within it to morph your body or head into a mix of these presets” [source]

Adjust height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how visible cataracts are, the sclera color, how crooked your nose is, how big its bridge is, the size of nostrils and the nose tip [source]

Many sliders for things like mouth and ears [source]

On ears: you can adjust asymmetry, depth, rotation, earlobe size [source]

For ears you can have cauliflower ear [source]

The makeup blends modern stylings with the fantasy of DA. It has more than 30 options including eyeliner intensity, color, glitter, eye shadow, lips, and blush [source]

Tattoos are a thing. Add them to Rook’s face, body, arms, legs. Their intensity is adjustable [source]

Tattoos are customizable [source]

Scar options [source]

Paint options [source]

“Tattoos, scars, and paint are very culturally relevant to some lineages, BioWare tells me, with unique tattoos for elves, for example” [source]

Hair options: a ton. Hair can be non-traditional colors. Hair is gorgeous. Frostbite uses the Strand system to render “each style fully with physics” [source]

Select qunari Rook’s horn type and material - more than 40 options available [source]

4 voices. English masculine, English feminine, American masculine, American feminine. Each has a pitch slider [source]

[olenvasynyt]

Top 3 most controversial acotar takes/opinions, now☄️

Uh nooooo only my top three? Alrighty. These are going to be very harsh:

1. I have read the ACOTAR series at least 3 times since 2021 and I very often skim chapters every week for posts and videos. And I will be fully honest, I never want to reread the series ever again because of Feyre. I dislike her biases, her hypocrisy, her habit of ignoring other people’s POVs and the mistakes she’s made. I hate her excuses and her blindness and selfishness and how she treats everyone who is not in the IC. I hate how she treats Tamlin and Lucien. I physically cannot reread ACOWAR without flinching at all of the stuff she does, ESPECIALLY her taking down Spring out of revenge. I do not like her as an FMC and I’m glad we have moved past her story and onto other characters.

2. I think the fanbase’s hatred for Tamlin is so extreme and it is heavily influenced by Feyre’s own biases, as well as stupid memes on tiktok. If you take a second to look at the story from Tamlin’s perspective, you can easily understand his actions. With Hybern, EVERYONE FORGETS THAT 1. He was not part of the Archeron Sister’s kidnapping, that was Ianthe. It’s literally explained by Hybern in the book. And 2. He was playing as a double agent, which is hinted at many many times and it is something we later discover. I would go into it more but I feel like that’s its own post that many people have made before.

3. I don’t think SJM is the best writer. I know writers can retcon, especially in huge series like this, but she uses retconning as a crutch, and it’s very frustrating. She has so many inconsistencies and plot holes and inconveniences that personally bother me. I think her world building in ACOTAR is so flat and not thought out at all, and her magic system is even worse. Most of her villains, not just in ACOTAR but in her other series, are not that good idk. She also has a habit of the typical villain monologue that I am getting so sick of and I literally skip the part of the human queen during the Blood Rite because I think it’s so badly written 😭😂

And here’s some random ones just for fun with no to little explanation (I couldn’t do just 3 LMAO sorry)

4. ACOTAR would be better in 3rd POV limited and we can still get the mystery of the world, Feyre’s biases, etc. A lot of problems I have would be solved if we got the POVs of other characters

5. I would like Rhys so much more if he was revealed to be a villain

6. Lucien is one of the only characters I genuinely enjoy, and I’m holding out for him. If he did not exist, I would not be reading ACOTAR at all

7. The IC are awful for how they treat Nesta and I DESPISE THE “intervention” they put her through. It was not a real intervention and readers should not try to defend it in that way

8. This fanbase is filled with too many straight normies who have never experienced a fanbase before and refuse to broaden their minds and think beyond canon. Tamsand would be the most popular ship in any other fanbase. There would be more sexuality and gender headcanons. Trans headcanons, trans fanfics, m-preg fanfics, etc etc. But I guess this is a very popular fantasy romance so I get why those aren’t popular but I should not have to explain why it’s okay to ship ships that aren’t canon, and why people often insert their heteronormative fantasies in queer ships (looking at you Azris)

[hydropotato]

Since Temple's coming in a week, let's talk about nonbinary characters in video games.

I first want to disclaim that I am not nonbinary. I am transgender, yes, and I know nonbinary people, but that doesn't make me an expert. This is my personal critique on my observations; feel free to give your input, disagreements, additions, etc. so long as you're certain that you're being civil about it.

Content Warning: Discussing society's "Gendering" of Nonbinary Characters. If you dislike reading about how genderless individuals get wrongly gendered by others, I'm sorry. Please click away.

So, Temple, and their protoframe Flare Varleon! Warframe's... 2nd they/them character. Huh.

Flare takes some pretty obvious references to glamrock and - as even the devs have pointed out - David Bowie. David Bowie often explored gender and sexuality, and while he wasn't (as far as I know) nonbinary, he was definitely interested in playing with androgyny. To me, this is a great design direction, as Flare was thus designed to be covered in so much styling that it's nigh impossible to truly discern any male or female biological gender. This is one issue I will cover later on; undeniably, those who are less accustomed to gender as a spectrum will try to compartmentalise a nonbinary character as either male or female. I don't like that it happens, but I'm well aware that denying this phenomenon would not help in moving society's culture forward.

Flare has been (accidentally, I hope) misgendered by fans as 'he' and as 'she' to a decently equal measure, though teetering more towards 'he'. Considering the popularity of David Bowie, my assumption is that having him as the point of reference, Flare would then, in their minds, most likely be a 'he' by assumption. Let's hope they learn to gender them properly in the future.

But that's about it for Flare. Temple is practically Flare but with a more Warframe-y head & body, so not much to say about them. I do think Lizzie being an infested living guitar was a cool touch but that's not really on topic.

Let's look now at Xaku. As I mentioned, Temple/Flare was the 2nd Warframe character to go by they/them. Xaku was the first. Firstly, I think Xaku being they/them was a great way to test the waters, and we couldn't have a canonically nonbinary person without Digital Extremes (DE) first seeing if a nonbinary Warframe would be well received.

Xaku's gender/sex is stated as "nonbinary (pluriform)", because they're literally three warframes that were fragmented and reassembled into one by the Void. Again, I see this as DE testing the waters by giving a blatant "reason" to be they/them, and then checking for player response. Some may see Xaku's lore reason to be they/them as a cop out, but I personally see it as a great way to introduce the concept. Xaku was well received & rarely misgendered, with their Prime version being more recently released, much to the playerbase's delight.

Design wise, having Xaku be fragmented allows for greater androgyny, as every component can be different. Even the torso being slim and flat chested is an intentional choice to maintain gender ambiguity. The limbs each have different appearances, making Xaku neither masculine nor feminine, just really cool.

So, good job DE!

Let's look at other games, though. Starting with Riot's Valorant.

Clove is Valorant's non-binary character. They're Scottish, and I have no idea what Scottish culture is like so I can't tell if any part of their designs is a cultural reference, sorry. What I can talk about, though, is their design. Now allow me to be a little blunt.

The pinks and purples are beautiful, but they're also very... feminine. So are the short shorts and tights. Frankly, they look like they could be a trans woman. This is a pretty great design direction for a nonbinary character, as enbies, from what I know, can in fact express themselves in a variety of ways. Hiring a nonbinary voice acting talent was also a good idea, to show that yes, nonbinary people can be feminine, and much like with feminine men, it doesn't invalidate their gender.

The playerbase, however has wrongly assumed them to be a 'she' far more than 'he'. To me, this is not a failing of Riot's part, it is more so society not being quite ready to view gender from an open, non-dichomotised perspective. We can do better, we just need to learn and grow and correct one another when our fellow human makes a wrong assumption.

Moving on, let's look at Blizzard's Overwatch.

Venture is Overwatch's nonbinary character. Putting aside ActiBlizz controversies, and focusing on the art and design team's choices, Venture's design is very androgynous. The earthy tones are an excellent design direction, as it serves as a nod to their role as an archaeologist while also being a genderless colour scheme. The large baggy clothes also work to conceal their body's form, meaning that in a game where most female characters have visible or even emphasised breasts, Venture's body could be of any shape and still fit beneath their clothing. This helps the playerbase perceive them as neither man nor woman, with the assumers having a more balanced misassumption of their gender.

If only they got more cosmetics... That said, I do love the Toph skin.

Now to a slightly less known video game, but one I play and love: Path to Nowhere, by AISNO.

Path to Nowhere is a Chinese game, and Oliver's gender is labelled as "Unknown" instead of nonbinary. Considering Path to Nowhere's setting involves healthcare and mental healthcare for the people you take in, it is more likely that Oliver is nonbinary than actually "unknown".

The pink hoodie and plush unicorn may suggest young girl, but the shorts and the short hair are more akin to a young boy. As such, the designers succeed in conveying the absence of binary gender to the players.

Path to Nowhere has canonical ladies with flatter chests, with McQueen (right) being an adult woman. In most gacha games, flat chests would only exist on male characters and small (child sized) girls, but since Path to Nowhere's design variety is so vast, Oliver having a flat chest does not indicate them being male. I am trying to not sound like a creep; I genuinely appreciate, as an art student, the artistic decisions within this game to vary characters body proportions and forms, allowing for a nonbinary character like Oliver to fit in without being funneled into a gender binary. The only reason I can see for Oliver's misassumptions is their name, which is more typically a boy's name. That said, this game has characters called Ninety-Nine, Shalom and Summer, so I wouldn't think about it too deeply.

In conclusion- wait this isn't a school essay. I don't have to conclude. I think nonbinary characters shouldn't be a token thing, and Warframe having two proves to me that they have the will to be inclusive not for tokenism but rather for more creative variety. I think the characters I've mentioned each have great designs, and their respective design teams did a good job creating these characters despite the much easier option of just designing another masculine man or feminine woman. Telling people a character is nonbinary is easy; getting the point across enough that gamers who have never met LGBT folk in real life can go "oh yeah, they're nonbinary" is where the challenge lies. Anyways, I shall end here. I wanna hear your thoughts, on these fellas or on any other instance of gender expression in media that you thought was neat!

[personfrommars10]

"Hi!! I definitely agree that it was racist for him to call himself that name, obviously that isn't debatable. My perspective on his reasoning behind it, though, is not that he meant to mock Native American culture, although that was the impact. I think Charlie taking on an alternate, more subversive persona is an important part of his character, and I think it plays heavily into the subtextual queerness of the film. Of course, it is extremely and undoubtedly racist for him to use a Native American name, or utilize tribal paint as part of his persona, and the writers could easily achieved the same goal by having him use a more appropriate, gender-neutral name instead. I just think it is important to recognize the nuance of the situation, largely because it is a good example of white queers appropriating other cultures in order to present themselves, which obviously happens a lot in real life as well. Definitely not trying to argue with you, I just want to add to the discussion and provide my perspective as a white queer/trans person who reads Charlie as genderqueer. Interested to hear your thoughts on this though!"- comment by @ineffable-hubbiewubbies on my post about Charlie and his use of the name Nuwanda,

And as a person who likes to continue conversation, but also wanted more people to see what my thoughts were on your comment were I thought I'd make a post about it

So when making this post, I don't think I explained enough of what I meant by Charlie calling himself Nuwanda is racist, I was meaning as a fandom we should use it as a chance to reflect on the name and realize that it is racist and stop calling him that, using as names for our blogs etc etc, not that we should forget or change the fact that it happened, I think that it is a very big part of Charlie's identity as a person and that as a person who enjoys the genderqueer headcanon for him, we as a community can use it as a chance to reflect and realize that I isn't okay for him to do it so it's the same for us, we should respect others cultures and stuff, and use Charlie's mistakes as a teaching moment for ourselves, thanks for reading this all the way through if you did, see you guys in the next post

[merrycrisis-if]

Hi! I don't know where to start but this game hits far too close to home for me down to a lot of aspects that I had to put it down for a long time until I was in a much better headspace. A lot of fun (not really, it made me cry on a lot of points and attacked me). It felt very personal, on top of being about a topic that I don't really see a lot of happening when it comes to IF games.

I'm not a diaspora by any means but moving out so far away from home when you grew up with the kind of Southeast Asian family background and dynamics just like the MC had (minus the tentative open-mindedness) and the whole setup just revolving around the dreaded week long stay for the big family dinner / gathering during the holiday is just... Man. Personally, I've fallen out of making the effort to do that nowadays, but seeing the perspective of a character who still does just reminded me of those kinds of "I wish things were better" thoughts I had whenever the time came for me even when the auntie would say the deepcut about marriage/work/school progress. Being a trans guy and reading the lines about how the mother used to always call for help with the kitchen, adjusting to that, etc. added with someone like Qiu who's been in a situationship with the MC before transition and getting the brunt of homophobia on top of it... Like, that was all too close for me. And I get to play through the experience via an IF all over again! The lines about feeling glad that you don't want to be celebrating the erosion of Qiu's relationship with their mother but feeling glad about how they changed is also a thing I've been thinking when it comes to people.

I think I also loved the small details of how you can pick whether or not you kept your accent or adopted the American way. "No way lah cultural emphasis!!??" That got even more expanded with the food options and such.

Also honestly, you write broken up exes getting back together so good I had to keep reading after all of that damage. Hopefully this wasn't all a bit too much to read! It's kind of nearing that sort of time period again even if it isn't Christmas so it just really reminded me of this story.

Hey, thank you so much for this message.

Honestly, I’m really glad to hear that the IF struck home — even if it also opened up some painful memories, because I feel a lot of the same things / it draws from a lot of the same emotions I have about home/Singapore… and it’s just nice to be able to put it out in the world and have people relate to …the good parts and also the not so good parts.

I think I intended Merry Crisis to actually be a lot more cynical and more ‘bitter’ on the spectrum of bittersweet than it turned out — I had a lot more to say regarding gender, and one’s relationship with one’s parents/family vis-a-vis being the “child that went away” and who is thus a lot less close / feels like the ugly ducking than the sibling who stayed…

But for better or for worse, I think the IF ended up being a lot more wholesome and cozy than I initially expected! I don’t think it’s a bad thing but this is also a reminder that the sad bits are still… there haha.

Sorry for the ramble, I just really appreciated the message. Hope you’re doing well, wherever you are :)

[pearlofthewoods]

So I’m seeing so often particularly on Marauders Reddit, people complaining about the more ‘feminine’ depiction of Sirius in fandom at the moment… and citing jewellery, nail varnish and eyeliner as evidence of this?

Now, let’s make this clear. I have nothing against fem Sirius. This is fandom. People can do what they like. Don’t like, don’t read.

So what is particularly baffling to me is this insistence that jewellery and nail polish always constitute ‘feminine’.

Because to me? That doesn’t have to be true at all.

I also come from the Buffy fandom. Bear with me here. (Any BTVS fans will know where I’m going with this).

One of my favourite characters in the show is Spike. He’s strong, powerful, confident, dangerous, (a vampire) and to me, pretty masculine indeed.

He also…wears a fuck tonne of jewellery, eyeliner AND nail polish on a regular basis.

Now there are some people who like to headcanon gender-fluid Spike, and fair play to them. But to me, Spike is the epitome of someone who’s secure in their masculinity.

He wouldn’t even stop to consider whether wearing any of this stuff would ‘feminise’ him at all. In fact he’d probably scoff at the idea, (or punch you in the face for suggesting it, come to think of it).

I also think it’s not a coincidence that Spike’s look is grounded in the 70s punk scene, (therefore from around the same time as Sirius I might add), and it is in the flashbacks to 70s Spike that we see the most examples of his eyeliner and accessories, and of course the original punk accessory, the leather jacket, (something we also knew Sirius possessed).

Now to reiterate, NONE of this is to say we shouldn’t headcanon either Sirius or Spike as gender fluid, trans or feminine. Feel absolutely free to do so.

It is the critics of this Sirius portrayal that I’m speaking to, the ones who blanket criticise any and all versions of Sirius with jewellery, nail polish or eyeliner as ‘feminine’ and then widely call them ‘fanon’ or ‘ooc’.

If you personally prefer your Sirius more ‘masculine’, ‘headstrong’, ‘impatient’, brash’ * etc, then that’s fine. But Sirius can be all of those things and ALSO wear jewellery, makeup and nail polish. None of these are mutually exclusive.

Particularly if you’re one of the people who enjoys punk!Sirius.

My brother in Christ, 70s punks were covered in jewellery and makeup, including the men. And it didn’t make them any less masculine. Don’t you think Sirius would’ve been too?

To be absolutely clear. Fem!Sirius is also a perfectly valid interpretation, and I’m very glad trans/gender-fluid people are getting the opportunity to see themselves reflected in him (or her, as is sometimes the case).

People should just let others enjoy what they enjoy. The block button is there for a reason. But for the love of God I also NEED the fem!Sirius haters to STOP using jewellery and makeup as the examples upon which they base their criticism.

I thought we all knew that neither jewellery nor makeup represent someone’s gender. Especially not in a fandom basing itself in the 70s, where these things were even more common for men in certain scenes than they are today.

So please, let’s not return to strict gender stereotypes around clothing in an attempt to criticise a version of Sirius that you don’t like. Just because someone’s wearing makeup and jewellery does not make them feminine.

And even if it did, that wouldn’t be a problem either.

So in conclusion, Fem!Sirius can wear jewellery and makeup, and Masc!Sirius can too. These things are not necessarily representative of gender.

Thank you

[theresattrpgforthat]

Any TTRPGs where 'Genderfuckery' (i.e. playing around with gender in some form - trans characters, nb characters, in-game genderbending, crossdressing, etc etc - anything that 'fucks around' with gender and conventional ideas of gender) is a central mechanic or thematic element in some form?

Heaven is Here, by Rae Nedjadi.

This is a game that is deeply stepped in magical surrealism, it is desperately mundane, it is laughter in a coffee shop, and sacrifices made to the moon. It is friendship bound up in art, in gender, and what it means to be human.

This game uses the Belonging Outside Belonging system, which encourages collaborative storytelling with simple rules. You are artists, people made of many layers caught up in entanglements with one another. You are magical beings, because to create art is to create magic. Art is expression and creation, tied intimately with who you are and who you wish to be. Discover what inspires you and what holds you back. What does your art mean to you? How do you feel about the art others create? What new forms of inspiration will you uncover?

Rae describes gender in this game as ever shifting. As artists, your gender is connected to your art and what you love. It is a game about big questions in mundane scenarios, called Moments. Currently there are four playbooks and four Moments, as the game is still in development, so it is likely best experienced in a smaller group.

Giant Metal Bodies, by TheGiftofGabes.

You have a Giant Metal Body. If you run out of juice, you’ll probably die, but you might just flee to die another day. If you survive at the end of your mission, it doesn’t matter. The war will continue to try and kill you another time. If you die, it doesn’t matter. The war doesn’t care about your sacrifice.

Giant Metal Bodies is a game about what it means to be a Giant Metal Body in a war much bigger than you, that doesn't care about you, and which will destroy you no matter what.

I know that there’s been a lot of talk about trans allegories in mech stories, so this game feels like a very fitting way to talk about the trans experience using tragic themes. It was also submitted to the Trans Fucking Rage Jam on Itch a year or so back, which likely has a number of submissions that you might find interesting!

Expanse, by TheTrueToad.

Expanse" is a short solo-RPG made for pondering and expressing one's own gender. Create an expansive map of values, colors, and textures for the landscape of your gender.

I love the example aspects that you can choose from in this game. You have your traditional genders, such as Masculine, Feminine, and Androgynous, but you also have options such as Purple, Timid, Voidlike and Witty. You will map out a landscape that represents your gender by drawing from a regular deck of playing cards, and reading the associated prompts. Each house in the deck responds to a different categories of aspects. I definitely am interested in how this game can provide alternate ways to think about gender; and you can create a lovely map along the way!

This game was made for the Trans Joy Jam, the counterpart for the Trans Rage Jam.

Elf Genders, by Lucian Kahn.

Elf Genders is a worldbuilding tool for creating your own new systems of fantasy genders. Most humans are women, men, or nonbinary, but maybe elves are… something else? Elf Genders helps you decide what!

This is not an rpg, but if you want to fuck with the genders of your fantasy game, this is a great place to start. This is a game session (or sessions, if you get really into it) to help you establish a setting and lore details of your elven folk, and what gender means for an elf. If you or your game group already have a game in mind, this is definitely worth looking at.

AetherNet, by Legendary Vermin.

The Internet as we know it ceased to exist after The Incursion, and in its place the sprawling Virtual Hyperreality of the Æthernet stretches horrible and festering in every direction. Plumb its depths in search of riches, miracles and ruins that the keepers of the mundane world will pay heartily for, just beware of the Daemons and UNGODS waiting for you in its depths, hoping to bend and shape your flesh to their own ends.

Make a character in seconds, ruin them for hours. The Player Book contains the minimum essential rules and setting information, and the Ref's Handbook fills in the other rules and tables you need to run the game.

The game itself takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk future where magic and technology are connected - and dangerous. There is actually a section in AetherNet titled “Genders” that asks you to roll 1d2 (or flip a coin) and roll a d6. This will give you one out of 12 options for your gender, which include options such as “a daemon bound you into a pact” or “once, you were a ship or space station and its crew”. Your Gender can also be changed or corrupted as you play, gaining qualities such as “without fear” or “too persuasive.” This is the most wild example of gender I’ve seen in a game so far, and I definitely recommend you check it out.

Sleepaway, by Possum Creek Games.

Sleepaway gives us long hazy days, chilled summer nights, kids screaming and chasing fireflies, crackling campfires, and a gaunt, cruel monstrosity forever hiding just out of sight, always asking, “What do you do next?”

In Sleepaway, you play as a group of camp counselors at a not-so-ordinary summer camp besieged by a strange and ominous cryptid, the monstrous Lindworm. It is a GMless horror game for 3-6 players, which uses the Belonging Outside Belonging system created by Avery Alder and Ben Rosenbaum. In it, players take control of not only their characters (which include archetypes like the Lifeguard, the Songleader, the Crafter, or the Athlete) but also the world around them, picking up Setting Elements to react to their friend's decisions. As the game goes on, the players also invite the Lindworm to play with them, causing horrific events to callously occur throughout the place space.

A Belonging Outside Belonging game, Sleepaway is a game that can be played without a GM, because each player will pick up a setting element sheet and be responsible for it throughout game play. This is the closest to what I was looking for when it came to gender, because your characters have gender options such as “A Robin,” and “A Particular Colour.” The game itself is a great setting to explore danger and liminal spaces, as summer camps are excellent places for self-discovery, as they take place away from your typical surroundings. Also, Possum Creek Games has a well-deserved reputation for making games that play well and make you feel something. You should definitely check it out.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Women are Werewolves, by 9th Level Games.

Wanderhome, by Possum Creek Games.

Blood Feud, by Bläckfisk Publishing.

Gay Crime, Sapphics Against Capital, by Evey Lockhart.

Here, There Be Monsters! by wendi yu.

Dream Askew / Dream Apart, by Buried Without Ceremony.

[bokunodumbassery]

I know I usually stick closer to canon on this blog, but I have some random trans BNHA considerations (interaction notes at the end):

- Transfem Shinsou. That kid is the Ultimate Egg. I see a lot of nb headcanons for Shinsou, which I think make sense, but honestly I read them as a trans woman.

- Transmasc Yaoyorozu. Again, I see a lot of transfem Yaoyorozu headcanons, but my gut tells me that they're someone who is Performing Perfect Girlhood very well, and possibly even takes pride in being elegant/knowledgeable/etc, but largely does it for the sake of being who they are supposed to be. Give them cargo pants, an energy drink, and a ticket to a rage room and they'll crack eventually. I know their hero costume SUCKS but honestly something about it reminds me of how trans tape works.

- Transfem Bakugo Masaru. They get about five seconds of screentime, if that, but in those five seconds they gave egg vibes so strong I can still sense them now. There could be a fun AU where both Katsuki and Masaru are transfem; it could play out very interestingly. You could also have interesting character work with the nickname 'Kacchan' ('chan' being typically feminine) and repression/Katsuki lashing out at any hint of their own femininity.

- I would LOVE a transmasc Mic since there are a few interesting masculinity-adjacent things going on with his character, but he's possibly too repressed to ever work out that he's trans, so you'd have to make it fit with canon Somehow. You could actually argue transfem Mic for the same reasons, but it's not my personal preference with him.

- Genderfluid (or transmasc) Toga. Something something wanting to "become" someone else who performs gender differently to you... that, or I could even see a genderfluid transfem Toga, with her schoolgirl fit being an attempt at reclamation of the girlhood she never got to have.

- Aizawa is either a cis man who is very firm and unwavering in his masculinity or pre-realisation but very much Not Cis. That, or he's a trans man who was actually held as a child.

- unpopular opinion, but I don't feel like Kirishima is trans? He COULD be, and I understand the logic behind a transmasculine Kirishima, but honestly I've seen cis boys overcorrect like that and I think he's just being pushed as The Trans Man because he fits the obvious stereotype, which is lazy and annoying and it pisses me off.

- Lady Nagant is NOT CIS. Idk what's going on there—I could see transmasc egg, I could see agender/nb, I could see transfem 'this-isn't-the-kind-of-woman-I-wanted-to-become'—but SOMETHING's going on.

I'm aware trans headcanons aren't everyone's cup of tea, and since it's a sensitive area of self-reflection and identity navigation we can all be a bit protective of our own trans headcanons and get uncomfortable when a headcanon contradicts/clashes with something that matters to us. In light of that, I'd just like to state for the record that this is all in the name of introspection and fun; if someone else has thoughts regarding these characters, wether or not they align with mine, feel free to add to the conversation! I also welcome questions. As always, if you don't like it, just don't engage.

[solar-wing]

☀️ Omegaverse: Alpha & Omega Biology ☀️

Hi guys!

I wanted to make this post because I expected that I would need to explain this topic and my reasoning behind it at some point. Many of you have read my Omegaverse fics and have probably guessed correctly that it's my favorite AU or trope to write about.

But, I'm sure many of you have been slightly put off or dissuaded by my tendency to describe the Omega Male Reader with a cunt, wet heat or core, and their Alpha sucking on a 'nub' or playing with a cocklette. I totally get it.

I am a male author who writes for male readers, cis and trans alike. But, I am also someone who in my years has grown to detest labels and gender roles and the silent rules they put on us.

This is why I set up my version of Omegaverse and A/B/O Dynamics on the basis that Omegas have vaginal genitals and Alphas have phallus genitals, regardless of gender. In my eyes, it helps to create a more imaginable and realistic explanation of male pregnancy and pregnancy between two women, which I hope gives inspiration to wlw authors, even though I already know I'm not the first person to use this idea. Not even close.

Also, I just like the chaoticness of it all.

But, I know it can be jarring or off-putting for male readers who may not want to think of their themselves as the readers having a cunt or a pleasure nub. Which, also let me explain that.

Since I write for male readers, and I'm sure some may have an aversion to the terms vagina, pussy, folds, clit, etc., I do my best to steer away from using those words as much as possible. I know 'cunt' is probably not the next best thing but if anyone has suggestions, I'm more than open to hearing them!

But, I also detail the use of cocklettes and twats which may be a little confusing (and weird) to imagine or think about, but it's fiction. We all have weird fantasies, thoughts, ideas, etc.

The cocklette is the male omega's version of a penis. This tiny and often defective organ typically serves no purpose but as a bundle of nerves/pleasure spot for Omegas. A male equivalent of a clit.

Let me be clear; I am a cis-gendered male author. But, as I said, I write for male readers, ALL male readers. Cis, trans, and those are non-binary alike. This is why I typically don't put non-binary or trans in my tags because I'm keeping the reader as a character as ambiguous and open as possible.

The most I put in the tags regarding identity or label is gay so that it reaches more of the audience I want it to reach. That's it.

Also, I'm sure it doesn't help that I mainly write from a submissive point of view. I'm biased toward bottom/sub-male readers, I admit it. And I know there's a growing demand for top/dominant male reader content, but I'm sorry, that is just not my cup of tea.

But, if you don't want to read about yourself having vaginal parts and a cocklette, that is more than okay. That's why I always put a disclaimer in the warnings section of my author's notes if a fic is Omegaverse and include a link to my headcanons. I'm letting you know from jump what's in the fic you're about to read and giving you more than enough opportunity to turn away.

I do write smut that's not Omegaverse as well, plus I have many fics with no smut at all that keep things clean and open for my male readers to imagine themselves in.

This is not shade or me throwing shots at anyone who felt uncomfortable or surprised by it. It's completely valid, and I understand. But, I give plenty of warning and opportunity so there isn't any confusion.

You will likely never see me write an explicit trans male character since that's not part of my identity and I'd rather give that opportunity and shine to the authors who are of that identity. I just write what I like to write, or better yet, what I myself like to read.

The only thing that doesn't change is that my characters, reader or original, are and will always be MALE characters. Even if my Omegaverse characters have vaginal parts and their nipples leak more milk than a pregnant cow, they are MALE characters. Not female. They are boys, men, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, boyfriends, husbands, misters, kings, princes, dukes, barons, cowboys, bachelors, fucking dudes, and every other word related in the dictionary. Again, no shade to any female reader I have, but yall know what it is to.

I hope this doesn't discourage anyone and that everyone receives it as I intended it. If you like my fics, please engage more with them and tell me the things you like and want to see more of! If you want more regular smut and less Omegaverse smut, I'm more than happy to comply, just please check my rules first!

Thank you!

[coupleofdays]

I have finally decided to put pronouns on my profile here on Tumblr: She/her. There are reasons for why I’ve waited, why I’ve hesitated to do so until now, and I will explain them below.

The short version: I might be genderfluid, I might be trans, I’m not certain yet. I’m going to go by she/her on here, but I’ll be he/him most everywhere else, including “in real life”, for the foreseeable future.

The long version: I have occasionally seen posts in different places online saying some variation of “You shouldn’t wait for a ‘perfect time’ to transition, there’s never going to be a perfect time, just start doing it right now.” And I think I understand the point of this message, why it’s important to get it out there, why it can be the thing that spurs questioning people into taking their first big step and becoming what they want to be. But when I read it, I don’t feel motivated. I feel stressed out, for some reason. I’ve been thinking about why that is, and this is what I’ve come up with so far:

I think I’m the kind of person who thinks “if I could wave a magic wand and instantly turn into a woman, I would”. But the actual, real-life process of transitioning feels… intimidating. I don’t think it scares me, it just feels like it’s a lot of hard, sometimes frustrating, work. I started doing voice training on my own last year, in order to get a feminine-sounding voice, and I’ve realized that it’s a complex process that’s going to take a lot of time for me if I want a voice that’s “passing”. And then, on top of that, there are all the other things I feel like I want to have done before I can go out in the world and say “yes, I’m a woman now”: Laser hair removal, learning how to dress, how to do makeup, how to take care of long hair, reading up on how HRT works, reading up on gender theory so I can confidently explain myself if people ask questions, doing paperwork for changing my legal name and gender marker, and so on.

Important sidenote: Yes, I am aware that not all trans people do all of the things I’ve listed above. Some don’t change their voice, some don’t remove their beard, some don’t use HRT, some dress however they feel like without worrying about what clothes are “male” or “female”, etc. And that’s totally fine, of course. But as it stands right now, if I want to transition, I want to do most, if not all, of those things, to feel comfortable, to feel safe.

Getting back to the main point: When it comes to transitioning, I’m interested in the goal, but often feel unenthusiastic about the process to get there. And sometimes, when I think about this unenthusiasm, it makes me wonder if Maybe I’m Not Trans After All.

The thing is, I don’t think I’m uncomfortable in my current body, or with my current gender identity. When I look at myself in the mirror, I do often think that I’m a fine-looking man, and that doesn’t bother me, at least not that I’m consciously aware of. My feelings about transitioning aren’t “I have to do this to become happy, to become who I truly am”, but more “it sounds like fun to be a girl, and I think I would look good as a woman too”. I like writing stories with female characters, I think I have a preference to roleplay as female characters in games, I have several female OCs. But I’m okay with playing as/writing about guys as well, though possibly to a lesser extent. That’s why I’ve considered that I might not be trans, but some kind of genderfluid (acknowledging that these labels have their limits, and should be descriptive, not prescriptive).

Whatever the case might be, I have decided that when I see a “don’t hesitate, don’t wait, start transitioning right now!” post, my attitude is going to be: I am transitioning, I’m just doing it slowly, because it’s a lot of work, and I don’t feel the need to rush through it. Again, to be clear: I know that that’s not how all trans people feel about this process. These are my feelings about my transitioning, I’m not going to say that they are universal.

My original plan was that I would add my pronouns to my Tumblr profile when I was finally “finished” with transitioning, and write something like “hey, I’m a woman now!” I’ve had several thoughts about other posts about being trans, or genderfluid, or my gender identity in general, that I’ve wanted to write, that I’ve decided to hold off on until I had done my “coming out” to the world at large. But now that I’ve realized that it’s going to be a while yet before I’ve figured everything out and done all the work to potentially feel comfortable with being a woman “in the real world”, I’ve decided on this: I’m going to use she/her pronouns here on Tumblr, but I won’t be using them in most other places online yet (aside from a few more or less private forums, etc.), and when I’m out and about on the streets, talking with family, colleagues at work, or with most of my friends, I’m going to look like, sound like, and refer to myself as a guy, for now. And that’s fine, it doesn’t bother me.

[s-lorelei]

🌿 Sheileigh (Shylee) 🌿 She/Her || 21

Gender: female ♀️

Sexuality: aroace/bisexual 🏳️‍🌈

Fun fact: I made this divider! ♥︎

Fandoms: AoT, Sk8, WoF, Warrior Cats, Harry Potter, HTTYD, ATLA, Hazbin Hotel

Personality: sweet as a lemon 🍋 {I can be super sweet though, I swear 🍰}

💚 Likes: coffee w/ extra creamer, dill pickle chips, spicy food, thunderstorms, fluffy clothes, succulents, hyacinths, betta fish, cats, honeybees, tigers, reading, cottagecore anything..

⚠️ Dislikes: rain (the getting wet part), cold weather, math, cigarette smoke, men who are jackasses to me or any of my girlies, dogs, wasps (why do they have to exist?), fanfiction, people who act like jerks and then turn around and play the victim when they’re finally accused of their awful behavior..

🚫 Things I absolutely despise: ATYD, trans rights activists who don't do their research, anti-feminists (asshole men & idiot women who think they can't live without a man), people who hate J.K. Rowling, proshippers, Severus Snape haters (Snaters), Tiktok, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, Pete Hegeseth, J.D. Vance (hillbilly, my ass. You're from Ohio, my guy.), Marjorie Taylor Greene, RFK Jr, literally anyone in the Trump Administration right now.

💖 Things that I adore: Santa Fe salad, my grandma's cooking (seriously, she makes some awesome chicken and carrot stew.), Justin Trudeau, Volodomyr Zylenskyy, my cat Apollo.

‼️ Current obsessions: The 9/11 Bush Administration theory (9/11 was 100% an inside job), man vs bear experiment, getting into a self-care routine.

🚫 DNI LIST ‼️:

Misogynists

TRAs

Trump supporters

"Pro-life" supporters

Anti-Ukrainian/Pro-Putinists

Radqueers

"Plural" people with "systems." This is called having a mental illness, and you should probably be looked at by a medical professional.

Proshippers (as in the people who write incest or pedophilia fics on their blogs because I have seen some)

Marauders stans (If you're a normal Marauders era person, you're fine. I just don’t need any delulu tiktok fans in here.)

Snaters

Any form of paraphilia (pedophilia, agraphilia, necrophilia, etc.)

Islamophobics/antisemitics

People who identify as 100+ different things because that's just weird and unnecessary

Yes, I will know because I look at profiles when people follow or reblog.

EXTRA (things I am):

A gender critical, radical feminist, and no I don't care if you hate me for it

A person who loves canon works. No, I'm not reading a 500k word fanfic that's an AU while everyone on Tiktok is passing it off as the law. I'll read it to criticize it and that's it.

A democrat in a deeply red state

A multishipper (I learned this from my high school years of watching anime.)

A heart surgery patient. I had surgery when I was ten to repair seven holes in my ventricle septum. (Shoutout to the Vanderbilt doctors of Nashville, TN!)

(I also made this one!)

FANDOM INFO (interests and just stuff to do with fandoms/books and television):

Favourite genres: mystery, thriller, fantasy

Favourite books: The Giver, The Hobbit, Red, White & Royal Blue, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

Favourite animes: Attack on Titan, Sk∞ the Infinity, Banana Fish, No.6, Yuri!!! on Ice, Bungou Stray Dogs, Terror in Resonance, Seraph of the End, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Angels of Death, Your Name

Favourite mangas: Assassination Classroom, Attack on Titan, Apocalypse no Toride (seriously, this is such a good manga and deserves an anime, the issue is that the author stopped updating/the manga got axed 😭)

Favourite characters: Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Bill Weasley, Bilbo Baggins, Ravi Singh, Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Jean Kirstein, Tamaki Amajiki, Cloudykit, Whiteout, Turtle, Queen Snowfall (a lot of Wings of Fire characters)

Favourite Disney movies: Raya and The Last Dragon, Brave, Moana (the first one, not whatever wretched thing the second one was), Tuck Everlasting, The Lone Ranger, Encanto

Favourite Dreamworks movies: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, every HTTYD movie, El dorado, every Shrek movie (except this newest one, probably), Shark Tale, Kung Fu Panda, Over The Hedge, The Croods, there's so many Dreamworks movies that I love.

Overall favourite movie: Coraline (I could literally watch it on repeat forever), I also love Racing Stripes.

Favourite ships: Eruri, Drarry, Snily, Harry × Luna, Draco × Pansy (ik I also ship drarry but dransy is so cute ngl), AshEiji, Yurio × Otabek, Nezushi, Jeankasa, Kiribaku, Izuocha, and many more.

[sparklyeevee]

I am thinking about a specific text here, but this applies more broadly. Until very recently, like, most queer rep was queer coding. Writers etc, who may or may not have themselves been queer, put queerness in in ways that would be immediately recognizable to Us, but not to Them. In some cases, especially in the 90s and aughties, this often coexisted with a small amount of palatable, overt queer representation. Importantly, everyone knew about gay people even all the way back in the early 90s, and a lot of adults, even cishet adults, knew about trans people as far back as the late aughts. And idk, I see a lot of unsubtly queer coded characters and relationships get talked about as like, obviously the author didn't mean it that way, probably they didn't know how it sounded, they were an adult in 1995 so they probably didn't know about bisexuality, even occasionally the suggestion that what to me is obviously queer coding is evidence of homophobia on the creator's part because only a homophobe would fail to recognize how gay that sounded. I don't think it's a new observation that the art of reading queer coding is maybe starting to get lost, but the way this plays out with fantasy novels frustrates me particularly, because the setting itself would often prevent the characters from explicitly using modern terminology for themselves even if the author were going for overt representation, which they often weren't. And this can make it very difficult to have the conversations I actually want to have about these books. You can't say "This very obvious AIDS metaphor (in a fantasy novel from the late 80s) was kinda homophobic in context, actually." when you have to back up and explain not only how it functions as an AIDS metaphor but the extremely heavy handed queer coding of the characters and relationship involved, and that the author being apparently cishet (read: married to someone who appears to be of a different gender) doesn't mean they didn't know what gay people were in the 80s. And you really can't say "Wait Author trans coded Character using a trope that I first encountered in webcomics in 2004, but this book came out in 1993, what early instance of this trope have I missed? Also was Author going for a specific third gender thing here or is Character just transmasc but still comfortable being a wife because that's a job?" when like, well, you can imagine.

[the-guilty-writer]

Criminal Minds PRIDE Fic Challenge!

Here we go! First writing challenge ever and I'm even more excited about the theme. During June I ask fic writers to challenge themselves a little bit by writing a piece that is LGBTQ+ inclusive!!! Don't let the topic intimidate you; If you want to participate, but don't know where to start, there are prompts to help. All the fics will be collected in a Masterlist that will be avalible by July 1st.

Note: if you have accessibility issues with this post (or any of my posts!) let me know and I can send you the information in an accessible format.

Prompts and rules are under the cut!

------

These prompts are only ideas to help get you started! You can write any LGBTQ+ centered fic you want! Feel free to modify any of the more specific prompts to your liking.

Prompts:

Character coming out to their friends/family/the team.

Character's found family is more supportive than biological family when they come out.

Characters go to a pride parade/festival/event!

Characters discuss queer coding in media.

Character(s) explains their new, queer relationship to a child.

Character 1's child comes out to them. They go to Character 2 to ask what they wish their parents would have done.

Character 1 is having an identity crisis (gender or sexuality). They go to Character 2 for help.

Character 1 is confident about their identity. Character 2 isn't, so they ask for some advice.

Character 1 takes Character 2 to a gay bar for the first time to act as their wingman/wingwoman/wingperson.

Character 1 is unsure if they're attracted to or envious of Character 2's confidence in their identity.

Character has been dating Morgan, but realizes they're not attracted to men. He isn't sure how he ended up in this situation twice, but it's the perfect opportunity for him to play matchmaker for his ex girlfriends.

Character comes out to the team (or it's just pride month) and Penelope goes a bit overboard with decorations.

For the writers who are intimidated by this topic or unsure if they can write it: write something with GN!reader. It's less intimidating than you think, and it can make someone's day to be able to read a fic they might otherwise not relate to!

Bi and Pan Prompts:

Character 1 has always thought they were straight, but they realize their feelings for their best friend, Character 2, are more than platonic.

Character 1 is in a straight passing relationship and worries about the visibility of their queer identity. Their partner is incredibly supportive in helping them express themselves.

(NSFW) What does Emily really do during a sin to win weekend?

Trans and Nonbinary Prompts:

Character 1 gives Character 2 a gender affirming haircut.

Hotch teaches Character how to shave.

JJ teaches Character how to do make up.

Character finds themselves needing gender affirming clothes. Rossi makes sure they have the best of the best.

(NSFW) Character 1 gifts Character 2 gender affirming lingerie and it gives them quite the confidence boost.

Aro and Ace Prompts:

Character 1 keeps trying to set up Character 2 with people/telling them to find someone to help ease their stress. Character 2 has had enough of it.

Character has a monthly spike in libido and it makes them question their identity. Spencer tries to help with a ramble about science (NSFW add on: and a few other ways).

------

Rules:

The fic can reader insert, OC, character x character, general fic, etc. as long as the character(s) is from Criminal Minds (yes, even the ones I don't write for).

Fics can be any genre and can be platonic or romantic in nature... and yes, this includes smut (I know, I know my brand is ruined. Oh well). You must be 18+ if you are going to submit smut. You all know I love platonic fics very much if not more!

You can write something new or dig up something you've already written! I'm also happy to add on fics that are sent to me after the masterlist is posted.

Tag me in your fic or message me the link. Please list the ship, content warnings, and have a 1-2 sentence summary of your piece! If you have multiple pieces, you can submit a mini masterlist.

Be kind and respectful! Reach out to me if you have any concerns. This blog is a safe space!

------

Thank you to @imagining-in-the-margins for the support and for sending some of the prompts from discord! (and telling me it's safe to tag @foxy-eva for this too)