#but it’s very emotionally taxing

[m4ggotm0ld]

chat should I go to collage to be a marine biologist or mortician

[god-i-hope-so]

I wish the bvddies would keep their Buck/Tommy breakup posts away from the bucktommy tag. It's not that hard to not tag it when it's not relevant. They can say what they want in their posts, obviously, but they definitely don't know what basic respect is.

[aurathian]

things that have stuck with me as a woc in (the zelda) fandom

Hey all. This post is mostly about the Gerudo and my own experiences in fandom as a Middle Eastern woman (will be using acronyms such as MENA and woc), because the longer I stay here the more insane I become. This post is mostly about a lot of horrible stereotyping, misogynistic, racist, etc. headcanons, and just downright horribly offensive comments I've witnessed that have stuck with me throughout my time here.

There are a lot of other problems in this fandom with a lot of other aspects of the games (the Zonai...) which I won't touch on, as the Gerudo resonate closest with me and I feel I have the authority to speak on these issues as I am MENA, and they are based on MENA stereotypes.

TW for racism, misogyny, xenophobia, abortion... it's just strange.

The most notable thing I've experienced during my time in this fandom is being spoken over, as a woc talking about woc issues, by white people. White people who were MY FRIENDS.

One instance that sticks out to me is when someone shared their art of Urbosa in a Zelda server. It was really sexualized, and her waist was EXTREMELY tiny. Below the art, the artist said, "her waist is snatched because she got an abortion." She didn't say this about the other characters she drew. Only the woc.

Do I need to elaborate on why that is a horrible, disgusting thing to say?

This really upset me. What upset me more, however, was that nobody spoke up. Nobody said hey, this is wrong, and what you said is gross. When I spoke about this with my friends, they continued to bash the art style or whatever and ignore the fact that what was said was disgustingly racist. Then, after repeating about 5 separate times the impact this had on me as a woc (because nobody was listening to me and the most action that was taken was hug emojis), I got asked: Are you MENA?

They chose to ignore the racism they were witnessing and then questioned my (already stated) credibility. To question my capacity to be upset, hurt, and angry. These were people I called friends.

This next instance was not me being spoken over, but it was... weird. In a Zelda server, someone shared their headcanons for their personal AU. One of these headcanons was:

The Gerudo stop aging until they meet their significant other.

The Gerudo stop aging until they meet their significant other.

This was to justify the person's pedophilic ship with Riju, which... yeah. Self explanatory. So not only that, but you are tying the life and worth of WOC to their partners which, in-game, are men. The Gerudo do not continue their lives until they met their partners. The woc do not continue their lives until they meet their partners.

Be real.

This person ended up getting called out (after MUCH convincing from me to do so...).

These are two specific instances that have stuck with me during my time in fandom, but now I'll touch on more general stuff.

The only way people speak about Urbosa or other Gerudo characters is sexually or violently. It seems we only have the capacity to say "yes mommy Urbosa step on me! Crush my bones!! Yes!!" which is actually extremely harmful. You can like the Gerudo. You can think they're sexy or hot. But you need to be more mindful about how you speak about them, because if the only way you can express your feelings about these woc is through acts of violence, that is a problem. Because you cannot see the Gerudo as characters beyond being man-hating lesbians to satisfy your own fetishes. By acting this way, you also contribute to the idea that Gerudo women cannot be feminine because they are brown-skinned. No other race in Zelda is spoken about this way.

The Gerudo are often attached to other characters, as mentioned previously. I think this is most commonly and easily seen with Urbosa. Whenever she is discussed, it is in relation to Zelda (mother-daughter relationship) or Zelda's mother (having an affair or whatever other headcanons there may be). It is rare that Urbosa is written on her own, outside of her relationships. Not like she has an entire society to run or anything.

Let's also not forget about the sexualization of Link in his Gerudo vai outfit. Yes, it's cute. Yes, it looks good on him. But so many of you borderline fetishize him wearing it. However, I don't think I know enough to speak on this specific issue, so I will stop there with that.

I will never forget the time I came across a post saying that the existence of Ashai, a pale Gerudo, is racist.

Here is Ashai. She teaches the dating lessons in Gerudo Town. As you can see, she is paler than a lot of the Gerudo.

However, contrary to the westernized belief that all Middle Eastern people are literally brown-skinned Muslims, the Middle East is extremely diverse. Middle Eastern people are pale, dark, brown, tall, short, Muslim, Christian, Jewish. We are not carbon copies of each other like this poster wanted the Gerudo to be. In fact, this same exact identical-ness is what made early versions of the Gerudo so racist. The one thing Nintendo did right was having a diverse range of skin tones for the Gerudo in BOTW, and by saying Ashai's existence as a pale Gerudo is racist, you erase all of that progress.

Race is not just in your skin tone. It's in your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your ears, your body. That is why, despite being pale, Ashai is Gerudo. Ashai is a WOC.

This post is not intended to stir up drama, because if you believe racism = drama, that is not on the poc calling it out.

If you are a white person who is friends with POC, this doesn't make you exempt from contributing to the harmful stereotypes or racism.

Sit down. Listen. And reflect.

[eldritchqueerture]

so how was everybody's day. any fun things happen.

[janebonbon]

Crazy week?? I think it's been about a week since last I posted, feels more like a whole month! Currently still away from home, but we'll be back home by Tuesday at least. Anyway, the whole thing has been cathartic! It's gotten a lot of stuff out of my system. I'm looking forward to going home and getting into my routine, I am exhausted!

I didn't bring my digital drawing pad with me, so unfortunately I'm stuck with good 'ol paper and pen for now. Things will (hopefully) be back to normal once I'm home. Thank you for your patience!

[butch-himbo-king]

yesterday was easily the hardest day i’ve had at this job so far and the fact that it’s only tuesday and i have to go back there today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow feels so fucking heavy rn

[lunarw0rks]

gaz is the type of guy that

falls in love with people so easily

[dreamonminecraft]

I'm glad you all think I'm well articulated because I've had two bloody noses today, throw up in my mouth every time I get a notification, haven't left my bed in 6 hours, eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, or brushed my teeth. So. Sunshine and rainbows everybody I'm doing great.

[skeletalhorse]

Ooh I'm emotional today 🥹

[politemagic]

Emotional support cursed cat picture <3

(she butted her head against my arm right as I took the picture)

THE BABY!!!!! THE SWEET BABY!!!!! SWEET FLUFFY BABY!!!!!!!

thank you lovely!!! this photo is cursed with bringing joy to all those who gaze upon it. and i shall now curse everyone else with it

[sincraft]

What do you mean that there’s only two months between the end of team crafted and the start of mianite.

What do you mean that the team crafted fallout and mianite were concurring events.

[zebrafiz]

quick life update teehee

[lith-myathar]

.

[yo9urt]

falls on the ground

[eddiexmunsn]

i wish i had an eddie to wait up for me to get home after a late shift only for me to find him snoozing on the couch with pizza on the kitchen counter waiting to be eaten

[recoverediary]

Was supposed to cook last night but I was so busy I didn’t get the chance so now I’m eating a protein shake (1 scoop chocolate pea protein + 1 cup almond milk + rest water, 150kcal) and a free mini bag of Takis (140 kcal) for lunch at work today ahahaha …