#diversity win! your school bully is a trans ally

[neptune-knows]

one of the funniest things that has happened in my games is multiple times playing an ftm pc (aka crossdressing trait bc I don't have trans mod) while whitneys dominance stat is about max is that he will do the "don't use x gender bathroom" but since he "knows the players real gender" it basically ends up like "I better not see you entering the girls bathroom"

which accidently makes whitney one of the biggest trans allies in the game

[shadysadie]

Choices beatablity/enjoyablity without spending diamonds

So when I first downloaded the Choices app I thought it was gonna be a mindless waste of time for waiting in line or whatever. I was NOT expecting the stories to be as engaging and good as they turned out to be. Like a lot of people I got really into them and ended up spending quite a bit on diamonds. However, I was curious about how the playing experience changed without spending ANY diamonds so I went back and played a few through without making a single Diamond choice and decided to report if it was even possible to "win" without spending money. Here are my results.

The Crown and The Flame: Very beatable. This game is essentially a steampunk Game of Thrones on a smaller scale. You play mainly as two characters an exiled queen trying to reclaim her kingdom and her best friend trying to sabotage the enemies.

You can't loose any of the battles because otherwise the next books wouldn't be possible so you don't have to worry about passing or failing.

Diamonds are mostly used to get extra weapons, allies, romantic scenes, and backstory. While those things certainly add to the experience and are really fun they aren't necessary to winning and the story is in-depth enough that its really fun even without the add extras.

It Lives in the Woods: Difficult but possible. This story centers around a group of high schoolers who accidently awaken a vengeful spirit in the woods outside their town. It focuses both on the mystery and horror of the creature as well as the mundane horrors of high school like bullying, drugs, transphobia, racism, and high parental expectations.

Throughout the game you and your friends lose or gain Nerve based on your choices and your Nerve score influences how much time you have to make important decisions as well as what options are available. Like TC&TF Diamonds can unlock weapons, allies, backstory, and exclusive scenes that raise Nerve. Unlike TC&TF you won't automatically win the battle just to push the plot forward. The fate of the main characters rely on their final Nerve score and if it's too low they will die. This includes the main character.

That being said, I played through without spending any diamonds and I was able to keep everyone alive. It's really hard, you basically have to choose every right answer, but it's possible. Survivability aside, there is a lot of backstory that can only be obtained through spending Diamonds. Since I played twice, I already knew the backstory the second time around but I imagine not having that would get really frustrating and take some of the fun out.

It Lives Beneath: Difficult but possible. The sequel to ILITW, in this one you play as a college student (not the MC from ILITW just older, new character though characters from ILITW do show up depending on whether or not they survive) who's parents get murdered and moves to a small town with your brother to live with your grandfather. Quickly you find out there is something very wrong with the town and the lake it surrounds. This one sees you fight off an angry spirit AND a cult as well as trying to protect your little brother.

Like ILITW how well you do in the final battle depends on your Nerve score. This time not only does your Nerve score determine who lives and dies but also: how loyal your team remains, how many civilians you rescue, what injuries you and your team can face, and whether or not you are able to be possessed.

Playing through without diamonds I was able to survive, but I lost a member of my team. The backstory in this one is more important to the plot so most of it is free, the diamond backstory only adds insight and while is nice to have isn't necessary.

The Haunting of Braidwood Manor: Possible but almost pointless. In this one you play as a girl trying to investigate ghosts in order to help your recently deceased brother. You go to an old mansion with a reputation for being haunted and meet the resident ghosts. One girl your age, and her three younger siblings.

This one is super short, both story length and chapter length. The diamond choices are pretty much just to allow you to buy scenes to extend the run time. You can't lose one way or the other, but without spending the diamonds the story is super quick and pretty forgettable. The extra scenes are pretty necessary to form emotional attachments to the characters. There are two love interests but you can't pursue either of them without diamonds. The interactions with the three kid ghosts are all free and they are quite fun characters.

Veil of Secrets: Beatable. This one is another mystery...by now you guys might be noticing a theme in the stories I like...in this one you play as a journalist who goes to a small town for your best friends wedding. The bride disappears and the groom gets murdered and its up to you to solve the mystery.

Unlike the other games where I played through with diamonds first then returned and played without as a personal challenge, I've only played this one once without diamonds so I can't compare and contrast the paid experience and the free experience.

That being said, I enjoyed this game just fine without diamonds. Its possible to solve the mystery without buying anything but since you collect maybe 1/4 as many clues it doesn't really feel like you solved it so much as the answer falls onto your lap. Admittedly out of all the Choices stories I've played this one kept my attention the least and I'm not sure if the lack of diamond scenes could be at least part of the reason.

So there you have it. My incomplete, extremely bias list of free Choices stories. I'm not going to lie, I really love this app. I didn't think a mobile app (particularly one with some of the DUMBEST ads I've ever seen) was gonna give me the range of interesting, engaging, and fun visual novels that I've found on Choices. Also I love the diversity. So far all the games I've played have let you choose whether your character is gay, straight, bi, or ace. Characters from a lot of different races and abilities are shown. And ILITW has one of the best written trans characters I've ever seen in media. So while I usually adamantly refuse to spend money on mobile apps, I really am not ashamed of the fact I have spent money on this one because I want to support these creators. But as a poor college student I'm also glad that the games don't require money to enjoy. If you like visual novels and you haven't checked this app out yet I 100% recommend. (Just don't let the adds turn you off because they do NOT represent the stories even a little bit.)

[literarygoon]

So,

I’ve never met a more nonchalant shit-disturber.

Decked out in a Santa hat and Harry Potter spectacles, Chris Elston was on the streets of Victoria this week trying to raise awareness about the problematic nature of Bill C-6. It’s part of a larger campaign that saw him erect billboards all across North America earlier this year to express his support and solidarity for author J.K. Rowling, who has been mobbed relentlessly by activists for her stance on gender issues.

Literary Goon connected with Elston on the steps of the Legislature to chat about freedom of thought, conversion therapy and gender ideology in schools. Literary Goon: I understand you're a kindred fan of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series, and you recently finished reading Goblet of Fire with your daughter for the first time. I still remember how I felt when I reached the end of that book, how energized I was by how the narrative was exploring progressively darker themes as Harry aged. What lessons and insights have you gained from J.K. Rowling's work, and how does it inform your current worldview? What does her work signify for you as a parent?

Chris Elston: The Harry Potter books don’t exactly inform my worldview, but they are full of wisdom and inspiration which is very helpful. I am also fortunate to have magical spectacles like I do, where Muggles think they are without lenses. What Muggles don’t realize is that my spectacles enable me to peer deep within the gendered soul, and when I gaze very deeply, I can always see that the gendered soul is a myth!

Sex is binary and always will be. People should be able to express themselves however they please, but to deny biological reality is folly.

I will say that J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series inspires good in people. J.K.’s genius, imagination, and strong moral fiber shine through in the books, as Harry undergoes injustice after injustice, and is forced to call upon courage he doesn’t know he has. He just carries on, fighting, as we all must do right now.

As Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, said, “It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.”

L.G: Earlier this year you erected a billboard in Vancouver that was quickly and unceremoniously taken down by angry activists who characterized this declaration of love as hate speech. Since then, you've arranged for billboards all over North America, all with the same message: "I <3 J.K Rowling".

For your efforts, you've had your business and social media accounts mobbed, you were arrested while peacefully protesting, and you've drawn nationwide attention to your mission. What are you trying to accomplish?

C.E.: The billboard was taken down by Pattison Outdoor — one of the companies owned by billionaire Jimmy Pattison — after Vancouver City Councillor, Sarah Kirby-Yung, kicked and screamed and threw a hissy fit on social media, complaining that a declaration of love was HATE SPEECH.

Oh, the absurdity of it all. Love does not equal hate.

After that, with the help of two anonymous donors, several Canadians, and people worldwide via GoFundMe — before GoFundMe’s censorship and cancellation — a billboard went up in San Francisco, 15 billboards went up in Utah, 14 digital screens displayed our message throughout the underground Metro network in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Portland. And finally, Times Square in New York City.

What am I trying to accomplish? That is very simple. I am trying and succeeding in having one conversation at a time, and I encourage other people to have one conversation at a time. The more conversations, the better. People need to understand what is going on in society, especially with our children. Children cannot speak up for themselves; they have neither the knowledge or experience or appreciation of history to understand what is going on. They are being lied to in our schools by a trans ideology that was snuck into our school lesson plans without any consultation with parents.

If politicians refuse to listen, it is up to us as the citizenry to spread awareness ourselves, so that we can arm other parents and children with the truth. Once the truth is known, it acts as armour against any lies which try to insidiously seep in through our schools, and elsewhere in society.

L.G.: You successfully recorded politician Nicola Spurling lying on video during this most recent election campaign. She denied apologizing to J.K. Rowling after calling her a danger to children, then doubled down on that accusation -- despite the fact that this interaction is now a part of the public record. You've also tangled with well-known liar and vexatious litigant Jessica Yaniv, and the former NDP politician who defunded Vancouver's Rape Relief Centre, Morgane Oger. What would you like the public to know about these three individuals, and why do you judge them worthy of your opposition?

C.E: I don’t judge them worthy of my opposition. Or anyone else’s, for that matter. What they’re worthy of is being exposed as the vexatious, vindictive, troublemaking liars and bullies that they are. They find shelter for their incredibly nasty behaviour underneath the baby blue and pink of the trans flag, which people don’t dare to cross, because to do so brings unprecedented harassment.

Any extremist ideology that can’t stand on its merits and has to use lies and bullying to silence fair criticism is an ideology that needs to be exposed. These three hooligans are perfect spokespeople for the lying extremists who try to silence any concerned citizen into submission through intimidation.

L.G.: There aren't many men involved in the gender critical movement, partially because they don't feel welcome to contribute. You've now experienced blowback from potential allies such as feminist speaker Meghan Murphy, who have disavowed your actions and disassociated themselves from your campaign. Why do you think it's important for men to speak out on this issue, and why is there so much opposition to them doing so?

C.E.: Meghan Murphy literally said this is a women’s only movement. Okay, that sounds like a totally different movement from anything I’m involved in. I’m not sure what it is, but I hope it’s very successful.

It’s important for men to speak out because we are fathers and sons and husbands and brothers and because this affects children all across society. On the subject of women’s sex-based rights, it affects our wives and mothers and adult daughters. Everyone should be concerned about this. Who cares what their sex is? This is a tragedy and an emergency because 99.99% of us have been asleep, while activists have been busy planning and succeeding in getting our laws changed, effectively eliminating the sex binary.Who is anyone to say that a father of daughters should not be speaking out? And then to lie and lie in an effort to sabotage my efforts?

It’s stunning and would be quite fascinating, if not for the real damage all these lies have caused to the campaign. Lies that hurt a campaign like this might as well be direct efforts at harming children, as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, onwards and upwards. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” – Winston Churchill.

The truth has at least one leg of its pants on now. Social media can be a rather inhospitable place, but it plays an important role in bringing people together, and in sharing ideas. In the real world, support has grown day by day and continues to do so. No government, organization, or individual can stop free speech and compassionate conversation, and that is what I will continue to do.

L.G.: I was on the receiving end of a social media mobbing by trans activists while I was an editor at the Humber Literary Review, where activists campaigned behind the scenes to have me de-platformed for wrongthink. This is just one example of how TRAs are threatening people's livelihoods all over Canada and across the globe for expressing their beliefs. To me, the most egregious part of this whole conversation is the way diversity of thought is becoming villainized. What do you think these activists fail to understand about freedom of speech and expression?

C.E.: The transgender activists understand freedom of speech and expression perfectly well, which is why they always try to shut it down.Truth always wins. They know that. This is a craze. It will go on as long as it goes on, but that won’t be forever. It won’t end with a bang, but with a whimper.

As more and more of us get educated, more of us will be in position to speak out, act out, and vote out our politicians.

L.G.: Gender ideology in schools is particularly alarming to me, as the father of a new daughter. I want her to grow up without having regressive, sexist anti-science rhetoric in her classroom -- but that's exactly what SOGI 123 offers. What options do parents have who object to this curriculum, and how do you think we can bring common sense back to the conversation around gender identity?

C.E.: Common sense already exists in the vast majority of our population. Each school board has say over the materials that are used in the classroom, in order to accomplish the broad curriculum goals of the Ministry of Education. We need to speak with our school trustees, or vote them out and install better ones, if needed.But teachers also have autonomy over what and how they teach in their classrooms. Parents should have discussions with teachers.This is simply a case of creating broad awareness of what is potentially being taught to our children, so that parents can get actively engaged, and act accordingly.

Read the lesson plans at https://bc.sogieducation.org/sogi3.

The Literary Goon

[bethestaryouareradio]

LGBTQ Diversity

 “I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.” ― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Hosts Brigitte Jia and Joven Hundal start the show with Zahra Hasanian’s Hope Heals segment to discuss her activism implementing diversity at her school through her EquiTeam program. Zahra works passionately to move the campus forward with a progressive empathetic vision.  People need to be uncomfortable until change can occur.Author and blogger, Lee Wind joins the conversation with his soon-to-be published (October 2018) crowd funded book that was too controversial for traditional publishers, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill. It’s the book Lee wanted to read when he was a teen. “To fix his life, a bullied and closeted 15-year old boy goes public with real historical evidence that Abraham Lincoln was in love with another guy—triggering a backlash and media firestorm that might destroy everything he cares about.” A snippet of Maria Wong’s chapter , the Gift of Diversity from the forthcoming book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers is read explaining how she grew up Chinese Mexican. Diversity is essential in this time and age. People’s different passions, interests, and beliefs are what will make the world a better place, one that lends new opportunities to individuals and provides brighter futures for the next generations. 

Bio: Lee Wind

Lee Wind is an author, blogger, and make-the-world-a-better-placer. He’s the openly gay founding blogger of “I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?,” an award-winning blog about books, culture, and empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning, and Queer youth and their Allies. For over ten years, readers from 100+ countries have racked up 2.4 million page views—and counting!       

In his "Clark Kent" jobs he is the Director of Marketing and Programming at the Independent Book Publishers Association and the official blogger for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. His Superhero job is writing, inspired by our world’s amazing—and untold—LGBTQ history.

Lee’s YA novel, “Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill,” was too controversial for traditional publishing, so Lee crowd-funded both publishing the book and donating hundreds of copies to LGBTQ and Allied teens! 

http://bit.ly/QAAFDB

Read a serialized version: http://www.leewind.org/2017/09/a-secret-from-history-two-books-and.html  www.leewind.org

Listen at Voice America Kids Network: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/106851/the-gift-of-diversity

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