#fans be normal about trans people challenge: impossible)

[charlataninred]

Ohhh wowwwww mr beast is getting cancelled? Who could have seen thiiiiissss coming

[dicctor-blog]

Why are saw fans transphobic/boot lickers. Am I missing something here

[pixelsandpins]

Cultural Conservatism and the Collapse of Media Critique

Last week, the next installment in the Dragon Age franchise released, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I'm a huge fan of the series and the studio that makes the franchise. Now the video game community, as a whole, has a really high capacity for what really comes down to just…idiocy, honestly. It's been a problem pretty much forever, I'm sure, and just got worse with the advent of Web 2.0. Any given sub-community, however, is a reflection of a larger cultural zeitgeist, though. And one of the current cultural boogeyman are LGBTQ+ people, like myself. Cultural conservatism is circling back around from the significant progress made through the 2000s to demonize literally any kind of attempt at mirroring real life diversity in media. Sexuality and gender and race and religion are suddenly political and no one wants "politics" in their military shooter.

I’ve literally seen the comment “I play games to have fun, not be educated” happen on TikTok discussions of Veilguard, and this is not the first time. It’s a phrase or construction I’ve seen before in a reference to scene or sections of game that dare to vaguely touch on real life social issues around marginalized groups. We have a group of people who refuse to be socially or intellectually challenged. This is made more ridiculous by the fact that so much of what they find “challenging” is milquetoast, at best. Anti-corporate or anti-establishment revolutionary messaging is met with acclaim because it makes them feel rebellious and edgy. But the mere presence of characters using ASL to talk to their deaf friend is a bridge too far. Dragon Age: The Veilguard hasn't escaped this. In this case, though, it's sort of grimly funny because Dragon Age, as a series, has always been more progressive in terms of how it handles relationships and personal identity. Is it always nice and smooth? No, of course not, but the ethos has always been there. So there's now a contingent of self-professed gamers who are suddenly upset that a game series that has always had gay people…continues to have gay people in the new game. A game series that had a trans character in its previous installment a decade ago now gives the player the option of adding more gender qualifiers to their player avatar. A whole group of people baffled why a series that's always had a very queer audience would choose to include queer themes. Like they’ve totally forgotten the influence of capitalism and that queer people have money. It's a very obvious case of "culture war" ideologies overtaking good sense. And while this isn't the first time this has ever happened by a long shot, and it won’t be the last, this particular game has been one of the starker lightning rods for this vitriol. This is already annoying and frustrating on the surface level. If we tell commercial art that it's simply not allowed to ever explore anything even slightly outside the white cis-het norm ever, we're stagnating art as a whole. How dare we ask the general public to empathize or think about experiences outside their own for even a moment. More than that, though, it makes it impossible to actually discuss the game. When consuming a review or discussion video, it's always wise to have an understanding of where that reviewer is coming from. Do they normally even play RPGs, for example. Now, you also have to determine if they're a homophobe or use the words "woke" or "DEI" unironically. From a gaming cultural perspective, there’s become this stark divide. Where instead of everyone being able to respectfully (as much as gamers can) disagree or critique from a place of good faith, there's a strong undercurrent of "us vs them." That you have to show a certain loyalty to this game just so the assholes don't “win” this sort of fake argument. It’s not logical, by any means, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an experienced reality. And the lovers of the game aren't the ones who created that feeling, but rather people who wouldn't have enjoyed or played it to begin with. People who literally buy the game then return it within the window on Steam JUST to have the ability to bomb it with poor reviews. Looking down from the top, it's patently absurd. And it's destroying the ability to communicate about commercial art in an intelligent way.

[itsclydebitches]

I... don't know how to feel about Penny. Her genuine joy at being "real" was a sweet moment, but it also felt wrong. She was ALWAYS "real". As a young woman with an incurable illness, Penny meant a lot to me. Her status as synthetic, as having something out of her control that made her intrinsically different from everyone else, never made her lesser, despite her personal doubts. She was reassured over and over that her personhood, her feelings, her "realness" were valid, and that was further solidified by her being able to receive the Maiden powers last Volume. But suddenly, instead of something that's accepted as HER, it's "extra"? "The girl that's always been underneath?" She has to be human, be "normal", to be really her? How are people like me meant to take a message like that? Are we not real, not whole, until we're "fixed"?

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, anon, and beautifully put. People who have told me that Penny’s change last episode hurt them have included: some in the trans community, disabled community, chronic illness community (overlap there), queer community (specifically romantically and/or sexually, alongside trans viewers), and the autistic community. As the obligatory disclaimer, obviously not everyone in these groups feels the same way — the posts celebrating Penny’s change have thousands of notes  — but there’s been enough hurt expressed across all these communities that it’s worth taking notice. It’s not a few individuals being critical for the sake of being critical, it’s a wide variety of fans recoiling at the message they found here. Because all of these groups share an important commonality (among others): the world telling them that their difference is bad and needs to be “fixed.” Of course we all saw ourselves in Penny! Her story embodies a hundred different versions of that struggle. 

However, crucially RWBY also showed us an end to that struggle. See, alongside everything you’ve laid out above, I have a problem with Penny’s transformation because it’s an impossibility for everyone watching. “But, Clyde, this is a fantasy series. Everything is impossible.” Bear with me for a second because it’s different when you attach that magic to a real identity  — or a coding for a real identity. See, a trans person, an autistic person, a disabled person, etc. will never have a magic dude show up and magically “fix” them. Some might want that. Others might not. Whether each individual considers that a celebratory part of their identity, or something they would instantly change if given the chance, is not the point here. The point is that no one will ever have that option. A trans person will never get the chance to magic up their preferred body, an autistic person will never get the chance to magically make themselves neurotypical, the disabled person will never get the chance to magically make themselves able-bodied. Every single RWBY viewer exists in a world where they have to live with that part of their identity, perhaps changing it or managing it as needed with certain tools  — surgery, medication, aids, etc.  — but no one gets to magic these challenges away. It’s why the well meaning wish fulfillment of things like, “Blind character can now magically see!” usually doesn’t land well, because the viewers watching recognize that the character was given an out that they a) may not want and thus find incredibly offensive (why are you trying to “fix” me?) or b) will literally never have access to, neatly severing their emotional tie to the character. We no longer see ourselves in them because the character got a perfect fix that will never exist for us. It’s no longer relatable. And yes, for some thinking about a perfect, magical scenario is still a wish fulfillment, but I think it’s a more powerful message to show a character who lives with and embraces their difference, just as the fans must. And RWBY did that. We had whole seasons of Penny being reassured of her personhood (Ruby), seeing the benefit her differences brought to the world (stopping the truck from hitting Ruby, being the Protector of Mantle), and getting to see a world where good people stood up for her (Volumes 7 and 8). That is so, so validating for everyone watching who also questions what benefit they bring to the world, or whether they���re “really” who they want to be. Fans saw themselves in Penny both because Penny’s existence mirrors these groups and because her story said, “We see you. You’re wonderful as you are. Are you struggling with that? Experiencing challenges with your identity? That’s okay. See, Penny is allowed to struggle too. And don’t worry, if Penny can accept herself, you can too. Look at how fantastic her differences are. Look at how much her friends love her because she’s different, not in spite of it.” 

Aaaaand then in one fell swoop RWBY erased all that work. Suddenly, Penny was “fixed” and everyone watching had to grapple with the fact that... they’re no longer Penny. This is where their story and her diverge. Penny’s struggles are magically waved away, while the rest of us still have to live with ours. Worse, the story celebrates this erasure, telling the viewers that Penny is at her best now that she’s “fixed.” So how is every real person watching, the ones who don’t have and often don’t want magical fixes, supposed to react to that? By RWBY’s logic, you’re not “really” your gender, or “really” valued, or “really” capable until you have the perfect body to match your soul... but no one gets that. Some of us struggle with our bodies a lot more than others, but no one gets the perfect solution Penny got and a lot of people don’t consider it a solution at all. What was, a week ago, an incredibly relatable storyline has now swerved to create a, “Oh wait. I can’t relate to that anymore” reaction. 

[softtransbf]

Mister Nice Guy, part 2

part one

Summary: Shit hits the fan, and the rest of the BAU is done with it.

Word Count: 3523

Reader: he/him trans man, no physical description

Warnings: case involving targeting gay people, brief mention of a child abduction case, coming out/anxiety of experiencing transphobia (no actual transphobia though), alcohol, swearing

@aleccolocco (sorry it took so long to finish lol)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No, that doesn't make any sense at all, doctor!" you spat his title. "He's not jealous of these couples, killing what he can't have, or a homophobe, punishing gay people for being happy. He's putting an end to their unhappy relationships. He sees it as mercy." Over the months, your cold war with Reid turned into outright conflict, and tonight, alone in the police station in Oregon, was no exception. Hotchner had tasked the two of you with presenting the preliminary profile the next morning, and it was going as well as conversations ever went.

"We have no evidence that he knows they're unhappy, though. All of his victims are clearly happy in their relationships," Reid challenged.

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. "Please. One look at their social media and it's obvious that the relationships are on the rocks."

"Where do you get that? All I see are typical happy relationships. Selfies, checking into special events together, posts about kind things one does for the other. Nothing indicating a troubled relationship to me."

"The gentlemen doth protest too much. They're painting an overly happy painting on social media, hoping that some of that happiness will actually become real. They're desperate for the relationship to work."

"Let's say you're right. I don't think you are, but let's pretend for the sake of trying to see your logic through. Why? Why would they be so desperate to save a failing relationship?"

"God, straight men just don't fucking get it!" You went to grab a file, missing his small flinch. "You don't understand how limited the dating pool for men who are into men is. Look at the most recent couple in particular. The most lovey-dovey on social media, and got the most brutal deaths."

"Yes, because they were the happiest. My theory holds," Reid interrupted.

"No. Look, this guy put way more out there on social media than his partner, and look at the pictures he posted. Look how forced his smile is, look at the body language. He needs this relationship to work, because dating as a gay man is one thing, dating as a gay trans man is almost impossible. Having to start over and deal with transphobia over and over again is worse than being in a bad relationship. In his eyes, I mean." Shit, the first person I come out to on this team cannot be Spencer fucking Reid. He doesn't deserve the honor.

"That was yesterday. We haven't gotten the autopsy report yet. How could you possibly know that he's trans?"

"Testosterone vials and needles in the bathroom. Neither of them are old enough for a cis man to reasonably have issues that require testosterone injections. It's HRT, hormone replacement therapy."

"Even if you're right, your conclusion still seems like a much bigger jump than mine, that the killer sees the relationships as happy and is lashing out at that, be it from jealousy or homophobia."

"Whatever. You'll see tomorrow, when we talk to the M.E., that he was trans, and that fact backs me up. I am absolutely right about this, and you will eat your words. Then I will present my theory, and you can choke on yours."

"We? You anticipate us spending more time together?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I meant 'we' as in the team, asshat. The world doesn't revolve around you. Mine sure as hell doesn't. I'm gonna go back to the hotel, write my own damn preliminary profile, and try to get some fucking sleep. Clearly we won't agree on this."

"We don't ever agree on anything," he pointed out.

"Not true. We agree that we dislike each other and can't get along. Good night, doctor." You turned and walked away, not giving him a chance to respond.

This man is going to be the death of me, he thought as he watched you walk away.

~

The autopsy report came in the next day, and you were right. The tech team also found a locked notes app on his phone that catalogued his unhappiness and fear of leaving. You presented your preliminary profile to the team. Reid didn't even argue; he just sat in silence, leaving the room as soon as you were finished. Never one to pass up a chance to gloat for beating him, you offered to get coffee for the team, got everyone's order, and left shortly behind him.

You were expecting to catch up to him, his impossibly long legs be damned. You weren't expecting him to be waiting for you. He pulled you into an empty interrogation room and pushed you up against a wall, his face just inches from yours. It was only a moment before being flustered by the closeness and those goddamn eyes were replaced by anger.

"What the FUCK, Reid?"

"What game are you playing, Y/N? What game are we playing? What's your endgame?" He spoke quickly and softly, but there was an intensity in his voice that had you captivated.

"I'm the one playing games?" You pushed him back, away from you. "You're the one who decided to hate me before we even met. When I transferred, all I wanted was to do a good job and fit in with the team. But quite literally from the minute I walked through the door, you'd decided you hate me. Turnabout is just fair play, gorgeous." Oh, fuck.

"Gorgeous?" You walked past him to the other side of the room, running a hand through your hair and turning your back on him. "Fine. Yeah, okay? I wanted approval from the brilliant and handsome Doctor Spencer Reid. In a way that's respectful of your heterosexuality, of course." You turned around and faced him again. "But that doesn't matter, because you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me right off the bat."

"What makes you think I'm straight?" He's fucking with me, now that that cat is out of the bag. Great. Fucking cishet men. Even he's no different. Thank god he still thinks I'm cis.

"Garcia mentioned in her newbie-run-down that you're 'awkward, but in a cute way, especially around women'. Plus, she mentioned that Emily is bi, leaving everyone else implied straight as even the best cishet allies are wont to do. And as we both know, Penelope knows everything.

And before you make the hearsay argument I can see forming in that brilliant head of yours, I've heard and seen too much about your impeccable memory to assume you don't remember when we all went to the bar after my first case. I was unabashedly Queer, friendly flirting with Derek and calling out cishet bullshit. When I did the latter, you literally rolled your eyes and walked away. Which is, funnily enough, some cishet bullshit. 

JJ said you were just going through a thing and things would get better, but they just got worse. I'm not going to ask you to spill whatever was going on, because it's not my business, but god damn, dude. Why did you hate me so much so quickly?"

"You asked JJ about me?" He took a few steps towards you, a small smile on his face.

"That's the part you focused on? Jesus fucking Christ. Yes, I asked her about why you decided to hate me before we even met. Whatever. I hope you got whatever you were looking for by pulling me in here. I'm done. Done with this conversation, done with whatever has been going on with you and us since the day I transferred." You turned to leave, but he grabbed your arm. It was barely more than a light touch, but you let it stop you.

"Y/N. I can't-" he sighed. "God, you make my head spin. I can't organize my thoughts enough to say what I want to. JJ was right, there was something I had to work through, and I guess you'd made up your mind about me before I figured it out. It isn't an excuse for how I treated you, just an explanation. As for the more recent development of arguments… I guess I read a subtext that wasn't there. I could never dislike you, let alone hate you. I am truly sorry for- for all of it." With three long strides, he was out the door.

Make his head spin? What subtext? Since when is he unable to say what's on his mind? And what was that about not disliking me? All we've done since we met is argue or ignore each other. Why else would he act like that? Why do I even care? Why am I so knotted up about what he's thinking and feeling? Whatever. Fuck him, and not in the fun way. I've gotta go get coffee for the team. As you were getting the coffee, you couldn't get the memory of his face, so close to yours, to stop playing in your head.

The rest of the case was mostly as normal, but there was an energy between you and Spencer that was distant like when you joined the team, but there was something else to it that you couldn't quite put your finger on. It made you a little bit sad, though, for reasons you didn't understand.

~

"I love you, Y/N. I love you so much. I pulled away from you because it terrified me how much I loved you from the moment you walked through the door that first day. Being around you, even when we were arguing, made me feel alive in a way I never had before. You're all I think about, you're all I could ever want. I love you."

"I… I love you too." You didn't know which one of you moved, maybe you both did, but in an instant, you were kissing Spencer Reid, and you couldn't have been happier.

-

You woke up with a start, breathing heavily. You looked around; you were in your room, home alone, and it was 3:37 am. What the hell was that?

Four hours later, you trudged through the door of the BAU office, venti red-eye in hand. You made it about ten steps before Derek had his arm around your shoulders.

"Whoa there, hot stuff. Rough night?" You tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't budge, so you just kept walking, making him go with you towards your desk.

"So not your business, Derek. You being open with your personal life doesn't mean we all have to be open like that with ours."

"Personal life, huh? So who is he? More importantly, how was he, and should we expect more mornings like this in the future?" You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him away. You'd reached your desk, so you sat on top of it, facing him. As you did, you made eye contact with Spencer, who was well within earshot. His face was unreadable, and you weren't sure why him hearing Morgan tease you like that upset you. It never had before.

"No, Derek. There's no one. Just some nightmares. Nothing major; I'll be fine by tomorrow." You got off your desk, sat in your chair, and logged into your laptop. Derek whistled and walked away without another word, shaking his head.

You tried to focus on the paperwork you needed to get done, but you couldn't stop thinking about that dream. The feeling of his lips on yours… it felt so real.

This is ridiculous. Love? We don't even like each other. Well… there was the stuff he was saying yesterday- 'I could never dislike you, let alone hate you', and some sort of subtext? But not disliking someone is a far cry from love. Plus, he's straight, so this is all absurd. And even if he DID have feelings for me, I sure as hell don't return them. I mean, maybe he's not as awful as I've thought, especially if he wasn't coming from a place of dislike. And he really is very pretty. Those eyes… Wait, what the fuck? This is all fucking ridiculous. I just need to get a full night's sleep tomorrow, and all this weirdness will be gone.

You took a giant gulp of your coffee, shook your head, and ran your fingers through your hair. Fortunately, Hotchner called a team meeting, forcing your attention to other things.

While no case could ever be described as 'normal', this case was pretty cut and dry, once you figured out what you were looking for. No dramatic twist, no tense showdown at his arrest. There weren't many cases like that, but you were very glad that this one was. You never sleep well when on a case, and no matter what you did, you couldn't shake that dream, the butterflies it left in your stomach every time you looked at him, and the strange disappointment when, unlike before that moment in Oregon, he wasn't looking at you.

Two more weeks passed. The energy between you and Spencer, whatever force it was that had drawn you together to argue again and again, was gone. You were polite to each other, and cooperated as necessary, but didn't do more than the bare minimum when it came to interacting with each other. Your interactions were cold and low-spirited. So you were so glad for a fun night out with Penelope, Emily, and JJ.

"So, Y/N, things seem… different… between you and Spencer these days. Did something happen?" Emily's tone made it clear that the three of them had intended to bring this up long before the plan to get drinks was even made. "I appreciate y'all waiting until I had a couple of drinks in me at least before going here. I guess we just got tired of fighting? I don't know. I can't figure out what's going on in that brilliant head of his. I thought I at least knew where I stood with him, even though it was purely adversarial, but I think I was wrong. But then that leaves me with no idea what he thinks of me or why I care so damn much."

"Really? No idea at all?" JJ asked. "I remember walking by a closed door in the police station in Oregon and hearing the word 'gorgeous' being thrown around." "Oh my god. You heard that?" You buried your face in your hands, and they all laughed.

"Yeah, I did, but only that one word. I'd figured you were on the phone with someone, but then you and Spence both started acting sad. I wasn't sure, of course, that you were talking to him until just now."

"Fuck. Okay, yeah. I think he's pretty. But I'm absolutely not alone in that. Derek calls him Pretty Boy, for goodness' sake. Appreciating someone's beauty doesn't have to mean anything more."

"Y/N, really? After everything we've been through together, you're gonna lie to us like this? Whatever happened, you've both been miserable since, and it's throwing the whole team off balance."

"What do you want me to say, Penelope? That I'm in love with him? He's pretentious and a know-it-all and a nerd and funny and kind and gorgeous and oh my God. I think I'm in love with him." The three women clapped and cheered.

"Finally, you get there! Took you long enough." Emily winked. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Keep this shit between us until my feelings go away. Even if he wasn't straight, I wouldn't risk fucking things up by telling him how I felt. As it is, I stand no chance in hell, so I'm just gonna write this one off as another straight guy I've fallen for and try to move on."

"Y/N, if you tell him-" Penelope started.

"No. You, more than anyone, know why I can't even entertain the idea of trying to be with him. I can't set myself up for that kind of pain. Not here, not where things are so good." You looked at all three of them. "I know that your intentions were good, but I just can't do this. I'm sorry." You grabbed your coat and left.

Your interactions with Spencer changed yet again. Now that you knew you loved him, you couldn't help yourself from being warmer towards him. As the weeks passed, you got closer. After three weeks, you considered him to be a good friend, not that that made things any less painful. You were just hoping that Penelope, Emily, and JJ were going to respect your wishes and drop the subject of your feelings for him.

[From: Penelope]: round table room ASAP

Shit. The last time you'd gotten that text from Penelope, the team left on a serial child abduction case 30 minutes later. So, despite it being your day off, you ran out the door and were there with your go bag in 15 minutes.

But no one else was there. No files on the table, nothing to indicate that there was a new case. You pulled out your phone to call Penelope, but then you heard a commotion outside the door- you'd closed it behind you.

"No, Derek, wait, I don't-"

"Can it, Pretty Boy, and thank me later." Derek opened the door, pushed Spencer into the room, winked at you, and shut the door, all in about 3 seconds.

"Spencer. Um, hi. Is the rest of the team not going to join us? Garcia's text seemed pretty urgent." You tucked your phone into your pocket.

"I don't think so, since I just heard Morgan barricade the door." He tried to open the door and failed.

"Oh my god they're Parent Trapping us. I'm gonna kill them."

Spencer tilted his head, confused. "Parent Trapping?"

"Oh my god have you not seen any of the Parent Trap movies? Were you living under a rock in 1998?" "I was seventeen and working on my first doctorate, so pretty much, yeah," he laughed. You couldn't help but laugh, too, as you firmly ignored how his smile made you absolutely melt.

"Fair enough. The '61 one is good too, but the '98 Lindsay Lohan one is Iconic for good reason. Anyway. The point is, they've locked us in here and won't let us out until we have a conversation."

"Just a conversation? Or do they want us to talk about something in particular?" He took a seat at the table.

"I- yeah, they have a particular topic in mind. I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I was tipsy and said things I should have just kept to myself. I thought they'd respected my wishes and left well enough alone, but clearly they didn't. And they won't let us out of here until I tell you-" you hesitated.

"Tell me what?" He leaned forward, and part of you swore you saw hope in his beautiful brown eyes. You looked at the floor, avoiding them.

"Tell you that I… have feelings for you. Romantic, cheesy, butterflies-in-my-stomach feelings. I don't know why they want me to tell you this. We've just gotten to a good place as friends, and you're straight, and-"

Somehow you missed the sound of him getting up and taking the few steps over to you, because you practically jumped out of your skin when his hands were suddenly on your shoulders.

"Y/N. Please, darling, look at me?" Bewildered by the endearment, you did, and his smile was blinding. "I'm not straight. I'm bi, and I think part of me has been in love with you since your first day at the BAU. The thing JJ said I was working through? The potential problems of having feelings for a coworker. For you. As soon as you walked through that door", he pointed and then took both your hands in his, "I loved you. The night at the bar? I was rolling my eyes at myself for how much I wanted to kiss you, and I walked away to stop myself from doing something reckless. I love you, Y/N. Can I do something reckless?"

"I'm trans," you blurted. "I hope that doesn't change anything, but it's something you should know. If knowing that I'm trans changes things, now is the time for you to say something. If it's a problem and it blows up later, it might actually kill me. Because I love you, too. So much. If it doesn't change anything, then please, Spencer, kiss me."

The words were barely out of your mouth before his lips were on yours. You weren't sure how long you were kissing before you were interrupted by cheers from the other side of the door. "Shit, Spencer, they're going to be the worst about this, aren't they?" You were a bit embarrassed by how breathy your voice was, but you were too happy to really care.

"Oh yeah. We're not going to get a moment that's just us in this building ever again. Do you want to get it over with and face them, or would you prefer we stay in this moment a bit longer?"

"What do you think, doctor?" you asked, pulling him in for another kiss.

[nctinfo]

[TRANS] WayV’s interview with ELLE Korea May 2020 issue!

— Kun

A suffering leader, everyone's Kun —  With a meticulous personality. The pros and cons would be: I think I am the leader thanks to my sense of responsibility and delicacy. [But] when there is too much to take care of, it is a bit cumbersome. There’s no member who gives me a hard time because they all pick on me one by one (laughs). If I had to introduce my hometown, Fujian Province, it's a quiet city with clean air and few people. Many people come to visit because the mountains and the lakes are beautiful. When I think about nature, I start missing my hometown. At school, I was the head of the student council's entertainment department. I might look like a serious person since the members are so active and mischievous, but I'm also a fun person. Times when I feel like we’re one team are when you know what the others are thinking just by the look in their eyes and, when we dance and the movements are 'synchronised'. WayV to me is the comfort of being able to share everything with each other. All the members worry a lot about music so a lot of ideas come out every time we hear new music. It is certainly an advantage that all seven have a lot of desire. I have a bright young voice, but my desire as a vocalist is to have a thicker and more mature voice these days. Wouldn't it suit dance songs that match our [team's] style more than ballads. I graduated in Practical Music. If there is a song I want to arrange: I'm still trying to look for my style while listening to various songs. I want to challenge not only the arrangement but also the composition. I am a good cook. The dishes I recently made for the members are the dishes that I learned from the main chef of the company while I practiced them [on the members]. The menu with the biggest reaction recently was DongPo Pork. When I can't sleep, I deliberately watch low-rated movies and these days, I watch a four-hour-long landscape video shot from a train driver's perspective. It makes me fall asleep really fast (laughs). The most memorable stage after debuting was as expected, MAMA 2019. When I was giving the award speech, my hand that was holding the microphone was shaking and it was all captured [on camera]. What I want to say to myself in hard times is to be confident! The moment you lose your confidence, everything becomes more difficult. The mindset I don't want to lose is to be grateful. Everything I do right now is impossible to do by myself. This is the most important. To Winwin: who has known me the longest among the members! I hope you always take on challenges with courage because I will always be there beside you to support you. Also, all the members know that you are cute.  

— Lucas

Healthy energy, hot Lucas — Between a boy and a man, I feel closer to 100% boy! I don't think I feel mature enough. [Maybe I’m just like] a baby who wants to be a man (laughs). The most impressive man to me is a responsible person. And also, a man who gives everything to his loved ones. Having an attractive rapping sound because of a low and husky voice. My desire to sing is big! I want to sing a sad song. I've heard from people around me that a calm song suits my voice. Like the calm songs of Paul Kim I normally listen to too. My favorite song is "Take Off, The killing point is the dance break, with the powerful guitar riff. Emotion is what is the most important on stage. I believe each song has its own soul, and it is important to immerse yourself. My role in the team is positive energy. Although always looking bright, surprisingly, I have a lot of thoughts. Yesterday too, I had a lot of thoughts before going to bed, so it took me a while to fall asleep. Not long ago, Kun hyung played me a song he had composed and so many ideas came up so I wrote them down and sent it to him. WayV to me is a friendship that feels really deep even though it’s been only a year since I made a debut with the people I love so much. So much that when we come back from a schedule, as we laugh and talk together, the stress will suddenly be gone. The most important thing in a team is to have sincere conversations with each other to understand each other's differences. Only then can we get along well because of the wider understanding. Having appeared in a number of familiar variety shows like the Chinese version of <Running Man> <Let's Run Season 3> I like that I can go to various places the most. It's also a special opportunity to meet people with other jobs and not only artists. I think I'm often called/casted [for these shows] because of my sincere youthful reactions. The mindset I don't want to lose is the promise I made when I debuted to be a good influence on people. That's what I always keep in mind. I want to be a person who always gives positive influence to people, family, and fans around me. To Yangyang: who I know is really smart, you're still a cute little brother to me (laughs)

— Winwin A quiet presence, Winwin — In the reality show <Dream Plan>, mingling well with the elders in the village was impressive. Special trick behind it was thanking them for looking out for me! Since they were all kind natured, I guess treating them with sincerity looked good. When Lucas and I visited their home, we got served a meal and received a warm welcome. A performance video of Ten and I has been released. As a dancer, Ten is a member whose strength is being versatile. He helps the members at dance practices a lot. I’ve learned dancing in a special dance school. At the time I was the shortest and least talkative kid until I grew taller in high school. I’ve spent most of the time practicing alone. Chinese dance is similar to modern dance mixed with ballet. Learning the choreography is fast and it’s an advantage to be skillful in tumbling. I would like to properly showcase a modern dance at a concert someday. When I’m on the stage what I care about the most is my gestures and facial expression. During ‘Take Off’ promotions, the gestures and facial expressions I did during my part varied from stage to stage. I hear that I’m ‘pure’ a lot. A new charm that I want to have: our fans call me ‘Baby Chick’. I want to showcase more of an ‘eagle’ image, so I cut my hair short. Isn’t it similar to Park Saeroy (laugh). Something that makes me angry, although I normally have a good temper is being unsatisfied with stage performance to the point I can’t sleep on that day. But it’s okay to just take a nap. I just need to do better. The most memorable moment in WayV promotions was receiving the Best New Asian Artist Award at the MAMAs, it was the first time we’ve gotten an award together so I was very happy. The reason why I went to Beijing on my own as a middle school student seems to be fate. I passed my exams without much determination, left my hometown and went to school in Beijing where I was noticed and then debuted. Coincidence became fate. To me WayV is a path that we’re talking together, a team with a lot of growth potential. I’d like it if the younger members came to me whenever they need someone. I feel our fans love and support the most when: I’m always amazed and grateful for our fans hearts. All of the people who always look out for us even when we’re not promoting any albums and who support us are an immense source of strength. Success to me is when more people get to know us and we get to perform in many different countries. I want to think about my personal success after my team’s success. To Kun: when members want advice, we reach out to Kun first before our families. He knows a lot, can do a lot, and is a person we can depend on.  

 — Ten

Ten who is curious about what's next rather than what’s now — The secret to adapting well everywhere is attending an international school. I had friends of various nationalities and I also traveled a lot. Wherever I went, I went to see the common [places] first. Learning an unfamiliar culture is fun. I’m learning Thai, English, Korean, Japanese and now working hard at learning Chinese. I memorize expressions that I can use while watching Chinese variety shows and dramas. Although it's still difficult to read the buzzwords and hanja. The most important thing as a performer, and what makes you an outstanding dancer, is to have your own style while not being trapped by masculinity and femininity. I am different now from a few years ago and I'm trying to challenge myself by being flexible in various aspects. What I've learned since debut is, in the case of WayV, that when you work with various genres the main concern is the vocal style and with SuperM, I learned about the importance of performance through the activities [we did]. 'It's important to dance well, but you must also have your own [style]', 'think about what you want to express in front of the camera, but you must be faithful to your feelings on every stage in order to develop [yourself]' is the advice I received from the Hyungs (Baekhyun, Kai, Taemin). For the dance video that I did together with Winwin, the concept, music, settings, and outfits were all decided by us together without the company's advice. I came to realize the difficulties of being a staff member (laughs). I can [now] see the wider picture and more details. I like poetry too. I think poetry expresses emotions. It helps me  understand the world and the society as a person and not as an artist. The lyrics of my 2nd solo song 'New Heroes' feel like an autobiography. If 'Dream in a Dream' was all about the performance then 'New Heroes' is a song about the time spent committing [to something] and I thought anyone can sympathize with that. The [original] lyrics were so great that I asked them not to change it and to just go with it. I want to write lyrics myself someday. The kind of person I want to be is [someone who] always tries to go with the flow as I think that making plans and setting expectations can make it more difficult on yourself. I hope I could be a person who can leave a good impact on others. WayV to me is just like a family who always does everything together and takes care of each other asking ‘have you already eaten?’. Everyone has an open mind to try and accept new challenges. During the 'Moonwalk' promotion period, I was kinda surprised how well we got along. Having received recognition for my skills since debut. The times when the expectations are high are: Art and languages too are ever-evolving disciplines, so it's not easy to keep up. Nevertheless, there are self-expectations and anticipations to show a new side of myself. I will work hard (laughs). I still play Pokemon Go and I'm waiting for the June update. I will catch a lot of new Pokemon again! To Xiaojun: with whom I saw Harry Potter together yesterday! Let's make an appearance in Harry Potter when there is a reboot.

— Hendery

Flexible midfielder, Hendery — Something I’ve gotten into recently is practicing playing drums. Kun hyung is cooking a lot lately so I’ve been reviewing the food too. The other day he made kimchi jjigae so good that it even got an approval from manager hyung. My favourite track is ‘Take Off’. We filmed the music video in Ukraine and spent loads of happy times together, so I feel happier whenever I listen to it. Something I’ve improved on since debut is that recording songs takes less time. When I hear a member of staff say ‘Is this really Hendery’s voice?’ I feel proud of myself. The charm of my vocal is: I’m still looking for it, but I feel like my rap sounds nice when I spice it up with a little melody. Good at giving advice to our members. A tip to giving good advice is: it’s important to have helping and not making decisions in mind. Talk about both bad and good points about the A and B. The secret to always looking like I’m at peace is my parents always telling me ‘Your happiness is the most important. You always have a home to come back to, so work as much as you can enjoy’, thanks to them I grew up as someone with little stress or worries. Mindset that I don’t want to lose is the excitement before going on stage. I think the most important thing for an artist is their greed for performing. When I get on stage the most important is interacting with fans. The most memorable stage was our Korean debut on <Show! Champion>. I couldn’t believe we’re performing Chinese songs in Korea. I was so overwhelmed to see our fans welcoming us so enthusiastically even though they didn’t understand what we were saying. I opened an instagram account recently. My posting plan is ‘This is where I am‘ ‘I am filming today’. I want to showcase my daily self. I hope our fans can smile for a brief moment when they see the pics I had the most fun taking. To me WayV is: I feel empty when I go away to see my family for a little. Every time that happens I facetime them to relieve the sadness. Lucas is the member who picks up the most (laugh). To Lucas: No matter how busy we get, even if we become grandpas, I’ll always be by your side. It’s something I want to say to all of the members, but Lucas is a friend I'm especially attached to so I really wanted to say this. 

— Yangyang

Infinite potential, bold maknae Yangyang — I speak Chinese, German, English Korean and Spanish. Great language skills are useful when you travel. Whenever I talk with friends of various nationalities, I think it's fortunate that I can speak many languages. In our team alone, it's full [with people who speak] Chinese, Thai, English, and Korean (laughs). My role in the team is being the happy virus! Although of course, the hyungs think I'm a maknae that requires a lot of energy from them. WayV to me is a high tension team that can deliver strong and positive energy. If someone shows a slight sign of exhaustion, we immediately stick together and somehow infect each other with energy. I think that such energy is conveyed to fans on stage. If I have learned anything from living together with the members [it would be] the habit I have developed to control my greed and to care for others. I'm used to looking at the other's feelings now before doing something. My favorite song is ‘King of Hearts’, because I participated in writing the lyrics. I also love 'Love Talk' from the 2nd mini album. It is a charming song that is sweet and sexy but has a way to make your body move. My ambition as a rapper is the flow. Because I think this is the aspect that determines the impression of a song from the listener's point of view. I want to be a multi-talented person who is good at not only rapping but also dancing, singing, and writing lyrics. I've always had a lot of ambition. The attractive part of writing lyrics is that I can tell my story, since from a long time ago, I wrote lyrics little by little and it's always fun work. I want to steadily keep doing it. I like Virgil Ablo and Demna Gvasalia, and the fashion icon who caught my eye these days is Mike Amirie. I am drawn to people who have a simple yet clear style. The same goes for musicians. I like people who have a clear style like Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky. I’ve said 'I like who I am' before. Instances when I am especially like myself is when I'm confident. When I have confidence and want to show off, I can show much more than my actual skills. I use SNS to check on NBA and fashion news. I see the news on sneakers I'm looking forward to fast. Surprisingly, I don't look up anything about me [but] when a stage or performance is over I do look up the reactions. Most of them are good, so every time I read, I get energized. To Hendery: hyung, you seem to really get into gaming, but don't try too hard (laughs). 

— Xiaojun

Warm voice, Xiaojun — Something I’m into these days is practicing the songs that will be included in the next album that we are preparing for. Before debuting, I only sang my favorite ballad song, but nowadays, I want to sing songs of other genres such as R&B. I've been uploading videos of me singing on my personal Instagram. My favorite song is ‘Face to Face’. My heart warms up every time I hear it. I really like the lyrics ‘You won’t be lonely because I’ll be your strength, I won’t let you cope with your wounds alone in silence’. The keywords that describe me are kind. Friendly. Positive. I often say ‘I wish my songs were healing different people’. The way I heal myself is: my heart calms down when I look at pictures with many memories sealed in them. I take a lot of pictures of the scenery and especially when I look at the pictures of my hometown in Guangdong I feel healed. The reason behind my strong sensitivity is the big influence of my dad who’s a singer and my older brother. Ever since I was little we would often watch movies together. I graduated with a musical major. My greed for musicals is: I’ll surely do it again later. I like starring in musicals but one day I’d like to make my own. A musical piece I’d like to recommend is <Dear Evan Hansen> who won at Tony Awards and Grammys. It’s a warm story about a lonely high school boy suffering from social anxiety disorder, who is working on his trauma and healing from the pain. My way of dealing with stress is quiet time on my own. Just like positive energy, negative energy is easily spread to others, so I’d rather be alone. A memory I really want to make is a trip, I promised to go on before debuting, with the members. The destination is still undecided. The kind of team member I want to be is a silent supporter. It would be nice if I can be 'my people/dearest' to others. Something I want to do this year is to have an event for the fans. I like to surprise friends or throw surprise birthday parties. I think fans will love it if we would do a guerilla performance. I told you here so I have to throw [that idea] away and I will prepare something else (laughs). To Ten: You are one of the 'Hyung-line', and you Korean is the best so there are many times you have to lead us. Don't carry everything on your own and sometimes lean on us! The same goes for Kun hyung.

t/n: Due to the structure of this interview there might be inaccuracies as many things only made sense in Korean but sounded kinda awkward in English (more so compared to other translations we did). We tried our best to convey what they meant, but please keep this in mind when reading this interview.

Translation: Alex, Esmee @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source: ELLE Korea Scans — Do not repost or take out without our permission!

[ranma-rewatch]

Episode 22: Behold! The 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Technique

Sorry about taking a week off, y’all, I just had a rough go of it. Still sort of am, but I’m back anyway. We’re still in the middle of the arc that introduces Shampoo’s relative Cologne into the cast, and last time Ranma was hit with something that made changing back nigh impossible, forcing him to be stuck in his cursed form. This week should, from what I recall, be how Ranma learns the technique that will become his signature move. Other than that, I think there’s a festival? We’ll see, next paragraph.

Hey, I was right! There was a festival! Though, that’s not where the episode starts off. It begins where it left off, with the realization that Cologne had done something to Ranma that made it so that his skin was so sensitive to heat. He tries to overcome that by jumping into some water that I will assume is warm or hot, but the pain is so much that he passes out immediately, then wakes up being tended to by Kasumi and Nabiki, who dressed Ranma up in some of Nabiki’s lingerie.

He’s annoyed that they did that, but they’re of the opinion that Ranma should lighten up about the fact his body is stuck in a way he doesn’t want it and embrace acting like a girl. I do not like that. He goes on a walk, and is immediately attacked by Kuno, first as an actual attack and then with romance when he sees it’s his ‘pig-tailed girl’. Akane comes in to help, however.

Shampoo shows up, wanting to help Ranma. She says there is a way for him to be able to get rid of what Cologne did to him, and that way is the Phoenix Pill. It gives whoever takes it incredible heat resistance, and Cologne has one with her. When Akane asks why Shampoo is helping, she says it’s because she prefers Ranma’s uncursed state, and basically calls Akane a perverted lesbian for being okay with Ranma as he is.

Heading to the ramen restaurant that Cologne owns, Ranma finds she is waiting for him, openly carrying the pill he needs around her neck, but he’ll have to take it from her by force. He tries, and fails, a lot. Then he sees the cafe is hiring, and uses that as a way to try and get more opportunities to get the pill.

That doesn’t really work either, though Ranma’s presence as a cute waiter does make the place more popular with men. Eventually, Cologne shows Ranma a secret technique of the Amazons, one that would certainly help him get the pill: titular Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire technique. It’s basically a hand-to-hand move that involves moving the hands so quickly they can pull out chestnuts from a fire without burning the hands.

Ranma tries learning it with his father’s help later, but it doesn’t seem to be working, even when Cologne stops by to show him it again. The fact Genma can’t do it either is a bit of a factor too, of course. The others suggest Ranma go to the fair to relax, and Akane goes with him. He quickly starts having fun, to Akane’s relief, but then she sees a kid being scammed by a stall out of getting a fish.

She tries to help, but she can’t win the game either. Ranma jumps in, and handily manages to scoop up fish using a net that’s basically nonexistent. The stall-owner, not wanting to actually have to give away a prize, demands Ranma do it again with piranhas, but he realizes he can do it: all that time with Cologne has enhanced his speed, and what he’d need to do to catch the piranhas is basically the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (which just sounds cooler than the translation), and he does it.

Now confident, Ranma goes to find Cologne, only to fall into a trapdoor. She sends illusions based on characters from Journey to the West after him, but he manages to chase her out of there and into an enormous public path area. She heads out onto the water, but Ranma uses a stick he stole from a monkey pretending to be the Monkey King to get out on the water. He does manage to use the technique and take what he thinks is the pill, only for Cologne to realize, just before he falls into hot water, that it’s a fake since she was afraid he might master the ability. The episode ends with him vowing to get the real one, and turn back to normal.

So, a lot happened, except also not a lot did. The big thing, obviously, was Ranma learning the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken, which will be basically his staple move. It works well for him, despite the silly name. Ranma’s always been fast, so giving him a technique built on speed just fits him. This is also basically the first time in the series he’s had to train and level up to face a tougher foe, so that’s neat.

Not as neat is all the misgendering. I know, to a lot of folks, all the stuff about other people wishing Ranma would just act ‘like a girl’ is either fun or harmless, but that’s not the case for me. Like I’ve said before, Ranma’s situation with his curse reads a lot to me like someone as a trans man, as he tries over and over again to insist to everyone that he is, in fact, a man regardless of what he looks like. There have been small moments of the Tendo sisters trying to get him to dress femininely before, but actually putting him in women’s clothes in his sleep just feels really wrong to me.

The front half of the episode was also pretty filler-y, not a lot happened, and the fluff wasn’t even particularly enjoyable. There were also a lot of coloring errors for a few characters hair, namely Shampoo and Ranma’s, as well as quite a few shots were some of them looked off-model, so it wasn’t particularly pleasing to the eyes, on the whole.

All of that said, I did enjoy a lot of the Akane stuff with this episode. Despite griping here and there, something about her being happy that Ranma, who has been run ragged, is able to enjoy himself at the festival, and about her trying to help that kid win a fish, it’s just cute. There were also just a lot of small moments between Ranma and Akane I liked peppered throughout.

This wasn’t really a bad episode, but it wasn’t a particularly good one either. It was a step on the path towards Ranma getting cured of his new ailment, as well as the story of how he learned his signature move. This episode was near the bottom for me, right between the first episode of the series and the third.

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’  

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 15: Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 19: Clash of the Delivery Girls! The Martial Arts Takeout Race

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 17: I Love You, Ranma! Please Don’t Say Goodbye

Episode 20: You Really Do Hate Cats!

Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 22: Behold! The 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Technique

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 21: This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Episode 14: Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan

Episode 18: I Am a Man! Ranma's Going Back to China!?

Now, next time we have another new character appearing, and it is once again to be someone we’ll get to know a lot more throughout the run of the series. Next time, we’ll cover “Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan” and perhaps I’ll get new insight into a character I was never originally a huge fan of. See you all then.

[bigskydreaming]

FRIENDS is such a perfect example for why I have no patience for saying its unrealistic or unreasonable to expect too much of shows in taking progressive stances. Or providing positive representation. Or that we should be grateful for whatever they DO give us in terms of so-called progressive depictions of PoC, LGBTQ+ persons or disabled individuals.

Because it was over twenty years ago at this point, and nothing has changed. Shows still do the exact same stunts and expect applause and a cookie for their token attempts at progressive actions, while turning around and doing 100x as much to perpetuate the status quo.

As an example, take Ross’ ex-wife, Susan. She was gay, and had a girlfriend who raised her son as equal parents and with Ross co-parenting as well. Great, right? They were consistent presences throughout most of the ten seasons of the show, and even got married in one of the earlier seasons. Their wedding was the focal point of an entire episode, with rave reviews and buzz around that episode and how much it did for gay rights and to promote positivity towards LGBTQ+ people and issues. 

Again, great right? That’s a good thing, yeah? What’s the problem?

Well, nothing there. The problem is that IN ADDITION to this wedding episode and the recurring presence of Carol and Susan throughout the show.....the main characters made homophobic and transphobic jokes like EVERY DAMN EPISODE. Oh sure, I don’t think the writers thought of it that way, their own internal biases meant they wrote these jokes without a second thought and probably THOUGHT they were liberal, progressive, social conscious people and so were these characters they were writing....

But none of that changes the fact that these constant, incessant jokes at the expense of gay people and trans people and occasionally bisexuality and so on....they were still homophobic and transphobic and biphobic regardless! Carol and Susan’s partnership was treated as a punchline ten times as often as it was held up as something good and natural. Any time it came up in casual conversation and not because those characters were involved in a scene directly, it was never oh how great a couple they are or what good parents they are or anything even about THEM, it was almost always ‘lol isn’t it hilarious that Ross married a lesbian?’

And that’s not even TOUCHING the shit that was everything involving Chandler’s parents.

Like yeah, great, FRIENDS had one good, wholesome episode about a gay marriage. But I guarantee the way it dismissively and offensively references LGBTQ+ people and issues in every other way on the show, in every single season.....that made WAY more of an impact on audiences, and did far more to perpetuate and normalize such jokes and the views behind such jokes than their one token attempt to say ‘look how much we care about gay rights’ did in reverse.

But at any point in the twenty years since then, you try criticizing the show for being so blatantly and consistently homophobic and transphobic, and GUARANTEED you inevitably have people jumping all over that and pointing to Carol and Susan and their recurring appearances and their wedding episode while saying see?? SEE? How can Friends have been homophobic when look how much they did to show they care about gay people, look at this episode, everybody’s saying nice things about a gay wedding, where’s the homophobia huh? CHECKMATE.

And if you actually try arguing with that and pointing out that doesn’t negate all the other times they were offensive and used homophobic language and jokes and stereotypes.....what do you hear? ‘They did what they could, they had the studio to worry about and it was a different time back then.’ ‘These things take time, you can’t expect them to do everything perfectly, it has to start somewhere like with that wedding episode, that was a big step.’ ‘You’re never going to get perfect representation, you have to be realistic. They TRIED and that’s more than a lot of people do, doesn’t that matter?’ ’One step at a time. This was a good start.’

Any of this sound familiar? Sound like the same lines trotted out any time someone criticizes a current TV show or cartoon or movie or comic book or novel because of blatant racism or homophobia or transphobia, with defenders jumping to lift up one single episode or character or storyline and saying ‘look, see how much they care, nobody’s perfect and at least they tried and it was probably the studio/editors/publisher that wouldn’t let them do more?’

“You can’t demand more than what the studio/show/film/comic/novel was willing to give you here” is the takeaway now, same as it was twenty years ago, same as it was twenty years before that.

WHY THE FUCK NOT? Is what I wanna know.

Considering people seem more than happy to demand marginalized audiences settle for the one bone or scrap they’re thrown to pacify them while following that up with a hundred times that amount of content enabling the racist, ableist, homophobic and transphobic status quo. 

It was bullshit then, and its bullshit now. A half-hearted or hell, even an earnest attempt at doing ONE thing to challenge racism or homophobia, is not a free pass to then perpetuate those things in a dozen other ways. And its certainly not a shield against people saying THAT’S NOT ENOUGH. DO BETTER. DO MORE.

It’s about priorities, at the end of the day.

Any content creator that’s able to include some token effort at being progressive absolutely is capable of more than JUST that. It is always, ALWAYS just a matter of picking your battles, when it comes to studios, audiences, publishers, etc. That’s what it comes down to. You have to pick your battles, decide what you’re going to fight to include or how its portrayed, where you’re willing to compromise and where you’re not.

And over and over, all these arguments, all these content creators and their nominal efforts and excuses for not doing more, all it boils down to - is just like any creator, they picked their battles. What was worth fighting for in their eyes and where they were okay with cutting their losses. The answer to ‘why not more’ and ‘why not better’ is ALWAYS - because they didn’t care as much about fighting for that content as the other stuff they wanted to include, that mattered more to them.

Thing is, there are a million different elements at play in any given content. There are a million different identities or combination of identities that could be prioritized in any given content. It is literally impossible to prioritize all of them or even most of them or even 99% of them. While at the same time, its equally true that all of them DESERVE to be prioritized somewhere.

And like....because of that, its not a problem that somebody’s personal priorities are different from yours or what you’d like theirs to be. If someone’s not trying to be offensive or exclude any given identities or experiences? If the reason they only fought to include a token display of something and nothing more than that is because they personally have other things they prioritize more, that are more important to see included in their final product, for them, the creator, personally? That’s not evil. That’s not unreasonable. People are ALLOWED to have their own priorities. They’re allowed to have things they care more about fighting for than other things.

But the same has to be true in reverse.

Fans get to be equally concerned with THEIR personal priorities. Criticism isn’t censorship, a hundred, a thousand people on the internet saying ‘i hate this because it doesn’t do enough of x’ is not ‘you are a bad person because you like this because it includes y and you personally care about y a lot.’

Stop responding to people saying “I’m not satisfied by the inclusion of this one character, story, episode. I want more. People like me deserve more” with “Stop expecting more than what you’re given and settle for being happy with whatever you’re offered.”

It should NOT be that hard to instead respond with “I enjoy this thing because what it does and doesn’t prioritize lines up well with my own personal priorities, but it makes sense that you’re not content with it because your priorities are different and that’s fair and valid. You deserve content that lines up with your priorities, same as this thing currently does with mine. Its not an attack on me to hear you say that.”

[thecinephale]

Super Girl: The Effort to Look Female

Harrisonburg is not rural Virginia. It’s a city. It inhabits over 50,000 people, includes James Madison University, and has gone Democrat every presidential election since 2008. Still, I spent the last few weeks with my stomach in knots, working out a strategy for my weekend there. While the wedding I was attending was right on the JMU campus, our Airbnb was deeper into Rockingham County, my girlfriend’s grandma lives in Stuart’s Draft, and we had to drive through all sorts of places to get there and back from Brooklyn. 

And as my friend Kelly said, “It’s a college town, sure, but there IS a Cracker Barrel.”

***

Next week marks my one year on hormones. Some trans people call this a second birthday, but for me that date is too nebulous. Do I claim the doctor’s appointment that acted as a first consultation? Or the first time I let a green oval of estrogen slowly dissolve under my tongue? Maybe it’s a month further when my bloodwork came back normal and I began taking a proper dosage?  

I prefer to think of transitioning as a process with many beginnings. If I had to pick a date, it would be May 12, 2017, when I fully came out to myself. But even this erases the person I was at 16 who dressed in drag for the first time. 

A year on hormones doesn’t feel like a landmark. It feels like I’m running out of time. Everyone is different, but I know generally there’s a timeline of when changes occur and when they stop. Some people claim it’s a four year process, but most people see the majority of changes in the first two years. I’m halfway there.

***

Sunday night the first trans superhero appeared in mainstream media. Nicole Maines portrayed the character of Nia Nal on The CW’s Supergirl in its fourth season premiere. Like hormone birthdays, this monumental event can’t be reduced to a single day. Nia isn’t a superhero yet, for now just a reporter working under Kara/Supergirl. And her transness has not been discussed. Both are known because they were announced at Comic Con back in July. The first trans superhero in mainstream media, played by a trans actress. 

Nicole Maines knew she was trans when she was 3 years old. By the time she was able to vote, Maines had successfully sued her school district, ensuring basic human rights for all transgender students in her home state of Maine. The CW’s marketing team has played up the “real life hero plays on-screen hero” angle and they’re not wrong. 

I knew I was trans 20 years later in my life, after I’d finished my first puberty and voted in two presidential elections. Maines and I have drastically different experiences of transness, and yet I spent the last several months watching 65 episodes of Supergirl (plus crossovers!) to prepare for her debut this week. Sure, most trans women don’t look like Nicole Maines. Most cis women don’t look like Melissa Benoist. This is how this works.

***

Once I decided to go on this trip to Virginia, I also had to decide how I was going to present. I’ve been, as they say, full-time since February. Some days I just wear jeans and a t-shirt, like most women, but it’s been a long time since I’ve actively pretended to be a man. It always made me feel awful and as my breasts grew (now at a C cup!) it became more and more difficult. My girlfriend’s extended family knew she was dating a woman, but didn’t know I was trans. I felt up to the challenge. This weekend I was just a woman. Period.

It’s been my experience that the most mindlessly validating individuals are those I’d least expect: catcallers and the elderly. My guess is they have limited knowledge of transness and classically feminine signifiers like a skirt or long hair makes their animal brain think woman. Of course, if they notice their “mistake” the catcallers will be especially cruel. Still, these experiences factored into my expectation that a high femme presentation would get me through this weekend. 

I have no idea what I look like. I’m not sure I ever will. Intellectually I know my face has feminized, but I don’t know how much. I don’t know why sometimes I get correctly gendered, but mostly not. I don’t know if people are just humoring me or saying what they’re supposed to or being kind when they say “Miss.”

I appreciate this effort, but it’s not what I want. I want to look in the mirror and see a woman, I want the people in my life to look at me and see a woman, and I want strangers to look at me and see a woman.

In Virginia, nobody saw a woman.

***

The most trans-related scene in Nicole Maines’ first episode didn’t feature her at all. Martian J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood), recently retired, has joined an alien support group. While Supergirl has previously leaned hard on the alien as immigrant analogy, this scene isn’t the first time the show has equated alien status with queerness. Season two introduced an underground alien bar that was obviously meant to evoke the historic haven of the gay bar.  

An alien that looks human begins by saying he’s at the group to share his happiness. “For the first time since I’ve been on this planet I feel like I fit in,” he says with a smile. “And it’s because of this.” He taps a device on the side of his head that reveals his true alien form, before switching back to the human veneer. 

An older alien who looks human but has pointed ears and tusks on his forearms pushes back. “Who decides what’s normal? Why should we have to wear these devices that change our appearance so we can be tolerated?”

The first alien responds with the obvious: “Well, that’s easy for you to say. You just look like a Tolkien fan.”

***

Whether we want to look cis and whether we have the ability to look cis is certain to be a heated topic between trans people, because it’s often a heated topic within ourselves. Everyone is taking stock of what they have and what they want. And sometimes it’s impossible to distinguish what we truly need to feel okay and what society tells us we need. I identify as a binary trans woman, not because I believe in the gender binary, but because I’m close enough that I can live (for now) with that conformity. The more gender non-conforming you naturally are and the more gender non-conforming you desire to be the more external pressure you’ll receive.

I’m 5’5 and 110 pounds and within my first three months on hormones I’d developed breasts. These are my natural privileges. My body hair, facial hair, and Adam’s apple are my negatives. The curly hair on my head and my masculine but not that masculine face are up for debate. Every week I get an hour of electrolysis done on my face, which is the process of hot needles and tweezers manually killing every hair follicle. It’s more painful than it sounds. I’m one year into this process and have at least another year left. It costs $75 per session and my ability to afford that at all is another privilege, while the huge chunk of my income that takes up is another negative.

My facial hair is my biggest insecurity and whenever I get misgendered I assume that’s the reason. My mom regularly insists it’s my Adam’s apple and if I would just get that surgically reduced I’d be able to “pass.” The truth is probably more complex. A mix between stubble, the Adam’s apple, and the small characteristics that are targeted in a comprehensive surgical process known as Facial Feminization Surgery. 

I’ve never wanted FFS. I can’t even decide if I want the Adam’s apple surgery. Going on hormones was such an easy, obvious choice for me, but these surgeries can feel like a betrayal of my transness. I don’t want to look cis. But I do want to look like a woman. I’ve started to worry that for the rest of the world those will always be the same thing.

Due to my size I thought I would be like the alien who looks pretty normal but just has tusks on his arms. I could proudly be like, “Look at my tusks/Adam’s apple! I’m an alien/trans. Deal with it.” Maybe I’m really the other alien, whose life is consumed by their alien status unless they change themselves. Or maybe we’re all both aliens and the support group is our minds. Two sides debating, one that looks in the mirror and sees a woman with some unique qualities, another that looks in the mirror and sees a man who needs to change.

***

I wasn’t misgendered until halfway through the wedding reception. I certainly got stares, but it was unclear whether those were lesbian couple stares or transgender stares. I chose to think lesbian couple. Last week my electrologist worked under my jaw so I could wear a full face of makeup. I wore a blue and white Kate Spade dress that was conservative yet flattering. I had on heels and my hair was up. It was the most femme I’ve ever looked. If a random catcaller correctly gendered me the week before when I was wearing a sweatshirt and no makeup, then surely my gender had registered now.

Again, the goal is not that no one knows I’m trans. The goal is for people, without thinking, to say “she.” If afterwards they go “Hmm is this one of those transgendereds I’ve read about?” then fine. But I want to win over the gut instinct. I know this is wrong. Our identities shouldn’t require any external validation. But they do. 

Once I began interacting with people and there was cause to gender me, I did about 50/50. But even when correct there was a pause. I suddenly felt very foolish. This idea I had that I was my harshest critic, that the man I saw in the mirror would look like a woman to these Virginians, was painfully misguided. I look how I look. It will continue to change gradually as I continue hormones and electrolysis, and this may or may not change how others perceive me. I can then choose to alter my appearance further with surgeries or, simply, accept the way I look.

***

“There’s nothing slight about fashion,” Nia says pitching a story. “It’s one of the most visceral forms of art. What we choose to wear tells a story about who we are.” A trans woman believing in the power of presentation is not exactly groundbreaking. But the show has always been filled with clichés that work because they’re true. 

What struck me most watching Maines’ debut was the immediate fondness I had for her. This, of course, has as much to do with talent and charisma as it does transness. Maines injects Nia with an immediate likability, an awkwardness that recalls season one Kara, but with an added vulnerability. I’d framed this character as a necessary first step. Sure, she looks like Nicole Maines… still a trans superhero! But watching her on screen I became very aware that I don’t know Nicole’s insecurities and I don’t know Nia’s. I don’t know anybody’s experience of transness except my own. I don’t even know what gender is or what it means to be trans. Nobody does. We may craft personal narratives to decipher our wants and needs. Cis society may craft narratives to understand, or, more commonly, to erase. But we don’t know. I don’t know why sometimes I look one way to some people and a different way to other people. I don’t know why I have some insecurities and not others. I don’t know why some clothes feel good. Or why some do not.

What I do know is that it felt good to see Nicole Maines on screen. I know that when Kara looked at her and said, “Oh my God. You’re me,” I thought, no. She’s me.

[tgc-mamamoo]

[TRANS] TenAsia 10+Star Magazine Interview with MAMAMOO

Q. You’re a group that has debuted 5 years.

Solar: It doesn’t feel real. It still feels like we have just debuted. Wherever we go, it seems like we are still the maknaes. So to say that it’s been 5 years… it sounds gross (everyone laughs)

Q. Let’s look back to last year. What’s the most memorable thing?

Wheein: First, as a group, our song “Yes I Am” has received so much love. Including myself, each member has also featured in songs, or released solo tracks or OSTs. Since we have showcased our own music, we hope they will become presents to our fans.

Hwasa: Holding our solo concert “Curtain Call”. We have performed in Seoul during March and Busan in August. The concert was a time when all the things Mamamoo has done bloom like flowers, so the meaning is different.

Solar: To me, our concert was the most memorable. The concert consists of all our joys and sorrows. Although we only perform for a few days, the time of preparation lasts for months. The moment the curtain rolled up, seeing thousands of moobongs (Mamamoo’s lightstick) in the audience, I became overwhelmed by the tough times we had while preparing. (laughs) In addition, thinking that there were that many people who came because of our music, it made me want to cry too. Our first MooMoo fanclub ceremony (Picnic Live) was also unforgettable. We were able to communicate with fans, play games, and spend time with them, so it was enjoyable.

Q. During your concert, you cried when your fans held up slogans saying “Never Letting Go”?

Solar: It’s a phrase with a story. It was during a public broadcast when we just debuted. Other than our fans, many fans of other singers were gathered there. In between, MooMoos prepared a slogan event for us with the phrase “Never Letting Go” written. At that moment, I was so touched that I cried. (laughs) Inspired by that, we eventually made a song with the title “Never Letting Go”. After years have passed when I saw this slogan again at our concert, all the times in between started flashing in my head which made me cry.

Hwasa: Whenever we perform, our fans make us touched like that. (laughs) Thanks to them, every moment spent with our fans [can be remembered] through events.

Q. A strong relationship with your fans can be seen.

Solar: During our early debut days, we didn’t receive much attention. So our fans are the ones who stand by our sides and watch us grow little by little. Hence, we try our best to communicate with them. We listen to their opinions and create opportunities to meet them often even when it’s small-scaled. We did fanmeetings and a pork belly party. (laughs) Because of that, we are able to build a thick relationship with our fans.

Q. You’ve been picked by many rookies’ as their role models lately. How do you feel?

All: Ey~ (Mamamoo, who did not believe this, repeatedly replied with ‘really’.)

Moonbyul: That’s because we haven’t heard about this in person… (laughs) It’s fascinating. Even for us, we have role models too. When we first debuted, whenever we met our role model sunbaes, my heart would tremble and think that “yes, I aspired to become a singer because of this sunbae”. Now that we have become a role model to our juniors, I am thankful and I feel great. I also feel the responsibility to do even better in the future.

Solar: I am grateful. It seems like a proof that we have successfully walked through the path we chose until now, so I am happy.

Q. Is there anything you would like to say to your juniors?

Hwasa: It feels embarrassing so I don’t know what to say. (laughs) I understand greatly the hearts of our juniors who have just started. I just want to tell them that they are already doing well enough right now.

Q. When you think of ‘Mamamoo’, you think of ‘the group who plays well on stage’.

Solar: Thank you for thinking of us like this. On the other hand, for as much of the expectations received, we feel just as burdened. We always worry by thinking about the need to show new performances on stage. But thanks to that, it seems like we are growing little by little.

Moonbyul: Hence, every day is a challenge to us. Since we have to prepare new adlibs for each performance, it feels like we are conducting missions. It is impossible to put down our nervousness.

Q. Thanks to your unique adlibs, you were invited to perform at the 37th and 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Moonbyul: I was told that we are the first to be invited to perform for two years consecutively. It is an honour. When we appeared in 2016, we told ourselves to not make any mistakes; as for our second appearance, we had the burden to be funny with our adlibs so I was very nervous. (laughs)

Q. To create refreshing performances every time, how do you overcome the burden and pressure?

Wheein: There isn’t any ways other than sticking closely together as four. Nothing can be done to relieve the burden. The nervousness before going on stage has become a strength among us. (laughs) This might be off topic, but whenever we have individual schedules, that’s when the emptiness hits the hardest.

Solar: Instead, the nervousness helps us create an even better performance. The fans who smile while seeing us perform give us huge strength too. If we see that the fans enjoy it, we will also be able to enjoy ourselves even more.

Q. You have a very strong impression for being bright and lively, for which you are nicknamed as “beagle-dols”. Do you feel burdened by it?

Solar: We worry about it a lot. On TV, we give the impression that we are fun, we play well and fool around a lot. But in real life, we are all actually very shy.

Wheein: There are many people who are unfamiliar with our serious and quiet sides. Sometimes, I feel frustrated by it too. Wherever we go, if we act shy, people react by saying “Ey, you’re Mamamoo though?” If we are quiet, others ask if we are sick. (laughs) I became reluctant to meet new people too. However, since most people perceive us as bright and positive, I accept this gratefully as a whole.

Hwasa: This is a part of life that I must face. We cannot explain to everyone who we really are and what we will be doing.

Q. Compared to what you expected when you first debuted, how different is it with your current state?

Moonbyul: Until now, we have been following what we pictured from the start. But of course, we have been hit with unexpected difficulties too. I’ve been accused for “being a singer just to hear certain words”… Because of these exaggerations, I wonder to what extent I can match myself to the colour we wished for.

Q. What was hard for you?

Moonbyul: When we first debuted, I have received a lot of misunderstandings. When we were trainees, we received trainings where we could actively voice out our opinions. Whether it’s related to music or outfits, we have personally participated in them. However, it is not the case outside of our company. As a rookie, it is difficult to spread your own voice. At the beginning, we’ve heard that we were ‘arrogant’. Right now, many people understand us more. In order to produce better results, I do not plan to stop expressing my ideas.

Q. RBW CEO Kim Do Hoon once mentioned, “Mamamoo will not stick to being ‘idols who only play well’.”

Wheein: This is similar to what we believe in. We are loved for having a fun and bright image. But now, we wish to appeal further in terms of music. Because we are people who will be doing music for a long time, we wish to naturally show you our transformation as it is. Hence, our upcoming year is very important. Compared to the past, I want to show you our certain growth in music.

Q. You must worry a lot about the new music coming up.

Wheein: It is now our assignment to not lose our trendy sense while trying out different genres of music. What I hope for Mamamoo is to develop into a high-class and refined team.

Moonbyul: It is not as straightforward as saying that we want to change our images. Having sudden changes might create antipathy instead. Whether as a team or as solos, we must show our diverse sides step by step through various routes and contents, until we are able to proudly say “This is Mamamoo.” Nethertheless, because the standards of people have risen, I’ve become more distressed. (laughs)

Q. Solar has featured in Super Junior’s song “Charm of Life”.

Solar: The fact that the sunbaes invited me to do this is already an honour, and it was fun recording it. The gags from the song seem to match well, so it was enjoyable.

Q. Moonbyul has released a solo track “Love & Hate” on your mini album ‘Purple’ - a song with different colours from the team.

Moonbyul: I was not a rapper originally, but my position changed as I joined the team. I wanted to showcase my vocals through the song “Love & Hate”. I performed this first at our concert. Because of the good reactions from fans, we decided to include it on the album. In the future, I plan to release more R&B hip hop music like “Love & Hate”.

Q. Hwasa has released a parody cover of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” called “Pink Panties” in the beginning since debut, and has received hot reactions. When will we be greeted with a solo track similar to this?

Hwasa: I have been consistently working on songs. But I’m not sure if there will be a song as creative as “Pink Panties”… (laughs)

Q. Wheein has participated in various featurings from Jungkey to Super Junior’s Heechul. What’s your secret to getting endless love calls?

Wheein: Do I have to say it with my own mouth? (laughs) During my trainee days, I worried a lot because of my voice. I thought it was too typical. At that time, our CEO told me I had a voice that could digest any kinds of genre, that I shouldn’t dwell myself in a slump because of this. Yet, I still couldn’t be completely satisfied with myself. Now, I finally understand what my CEO said to me. My voice has now become a strength that I hold only.

Moonbyul: Wheein normally listens to a lot of songs regardless of their genres. Therefore, she was able to develop a voice that fits various genres. Last year, Jungkey’s song “Anymore” that Wheein featured in has even won 1st on SBS Inkigayo. I was so surprised when I watched it on TV. Our baby was out there alone winning first, so I felt very proud. She was also the first within Mamamoo to ever win first on her own, so I was very proud of her. (laughs)

Q. You held showcases in Japan and Taiwan last year. How was the reaction of the locals there?

Wheein: To be honest, I couldn’t comprehend the amount of love we receive overseas at all. Since we have seen it first hand, I now realize that there are many fans who love us. Crossing country borders, I am really curious as to why they even like us. It is fascinating. (laughs)

Moonbyul: It was amazing. Even though our languages are different, I find it funny when they all understand our adlibs. Thanks to them, I have gained a lot of energy. If we are given the chance, I wish to visit more countries in the future.

Q. What dream do you wish to fulfill next year?

Moonbyul: World tour. This is my first time saying this since debut… but when I was in middle school, my dream was to become a “world star”. (everyone laughs) Through concerts, I hope our music can be heard by many.

Solar: First in general, I wish to do different kinds of music and achieve another year with more growth. Specifically, just like what Moonbyul said, I want to hold concerts more often. I want to hear people say “Mamamoo’s concerts are a must-go concert”.

Hwasa: It’s our 5th year now, so I hope it will be a year where our members can each showcase a lot of our own skills.

Wheein: I hope that Mamamoo as a team, and each member as artists, will be able to grasp their positions. I would also like to widen my promotions in various fields.

#PLUS #QUESTIONS

Solar

What are your new year’s resolutions?

To live diligently! I have worked hard last year too, but there are also things I regret and feel sorry about. This year, without any regrets, I will try to live diligently.

What does your remake project “Solar Emotions” mean to you?

A project with songs that I love, songs that mean a lot to me which I want to sing them again.

What other songs do you wish to remake through “Solar Emotions”?

There is a lot really. The song that came to my mind now is the late Kim Gwang Suk’s “Around Thirty”. It’s a song I really liked. I wish to sing it someday.

As a leader, when are you most thankful to your members?

Since trainee days, we’ve been together for almost 8 years. From then to now, I am always thankful that they trusted and followed me all this time.

Moonbyul

What are your new year’s resolutions?

To open my mind! I will be 27 years old now. All these times, I’ve developed habits and created a mold for myself. In the coming year, I wish to break the mold little by little.

To the “King of Search” Moonbyul, what does “search” mean to you?

Whenever I perform at events or appear on broadcasts, I get curious about our fans’ reactions, so I’ve started searching them up. Through that, I have now learned new words and slangs as well. It’s interesting so I’ve been monitoring well. (laughs)

What is the most interesting slang these days?

“제곧내”. At first, I thought it means “I will come down soon”. (laughs) But as I found out, it actually means “the title says it all”. (To all the staff around) Don’t you find this really eccentric?

What does “Girl Crush” mean to you?

A word that made me known to the world? It doesn’t only mean “a cool female who makes other females fall for her”. There is a burden and responsibility that comes with being a naturally cool woman.

Wheein

What are your new year’s resolutions?

To put my thoughts into action and achieve them! I am at the state where my sense of achievement is dry. (laughs) Hence, there are times when I feel bored. Even for a bit, if there is something that interests me, I want to try it out and experience the enjoyment through it.

What interests you these days?

I want to learn an instrument. First, I’d like to learn how to play the guitar… I want to get my own studio too. It is my dream to be able to make music and also draw at such place.

What do you want to draw?

Things related to music? Without the restrictions of a genre or subject, I want to draw freely and combine it with music. For this, I want to be able to go to exhibitions often too.

Who is your favourite artist (painter)?

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960.12.22 - 1988.8.12). His works still look trendy even now. They are known to be colourful and vivid. I was deeply impressed by him.

Hwasa

What are your new year’s resolutions?

To take better care of my health! Before, my goal has always been to work hard in everything. But now, I get sick at times when I shouldn’t be, so I’ve realized the importance of my health. (laughs) I hope my members will all take good care of their healths as well.

You’ve been loved for having strong makeup on. What makeup tips do you have for the new year?

Point makeup! The basic eyeliner stands out from the colour of your lips. I am the type who puts on red lipsticks to match the light pink eyeliners.

What is it like living as the maknae in Mamamoo?

A non-maknae-like… luxurious life? I’ve been living without feeling like the maknae. (laughs)

When are you most thankful to your members?

When they send text messages to my parents to ask how they've been. I am most thankful when they treat them like their own parents.

trans by tgc. (@tgcnim) - please take trans out with full credits.

Magazine photo credit @wheeinasmile

[missingverse]

Missing Chapter Eleven

Notes for this chapter: As I am not from America and Hey Arnold is, a lot of research has gone into the next few chapters when puzzling out locations, but I will probably still get some details wrong. If you notice anything really off, please let me know in the comments.

Also, I have not seen the Jungle Movie yet but I'm hearing good things. Lovely.

…..

Three weeks until:

Waking up was a challenge; actually getting up once she was awake was even worse. The sun trickling through the curtains was stinging her eyes and she had slept with her shoulder at an odd angle, it ached.

Once Helga managed to lift her head off the pillow, she noticed that not only had she been drooling again, but the drool was foamy! Was that normal?

Her arms and legs were heavy, she rolled over with difficulty and picked up her cellphone.

Pheebs, I'm not coming in today.

Thank goodness for predictive text, her fingers wouldn't move the way she wanted them to.

Why not?      

I'm sick.

Again?You really need to see a doctor.

Yeah, with whose money?

Free clinic is two bus rides and

I can barely get out of bed.

Ask Patrick's mom to bring you. You know she would.

I can ask my mom when she gets home from work.

It's fine, I'll try and sleep it off

and see how it is later. It's probably

just the flu.

Flu doesn't last this long, Helga.

All right, I'll think about it and

call you later.

She dropped the phone and attempted to get up. She couldn't remember going to bed the night before; the last thing she remembered was getting halfway through her Social Studies report. She stumbled to the bathroom to wash the drool off her face.

Miriam wasn't up yet; Helga heard her thick snoring from what used to be Olga's room. Bob was definitely gone to work, the sink was clogged with shaving foam and stubble.

She leaned into the mirror and poked at the skin under her right eye. It was still marked from where she'd blackened it. Telling everyone it was a baseball injury was marginally less embarrassing than admitting she'd had a dizzy spell and fallen into a door (like anyone would believe that when it was known as the go-to excuse of beaten wives and battered kids).

She turned on the shower and made to get undressed, and then she realized just how bad she was; apparently she'd been so out of it she'd put on her nightgown back to front.

…..

Dawn was just tiptoeing up in the sky when Arnold was rather brutally woken up by a knee in his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Helga thrashing in her sleep, trying to push him away from her but just pushing herself closer to the wall. A small distressed whine was rising in her throat.

“Helga....Helga!” he groaned, still half asleep and a touch winded.

He shook her by the shoulder gently and she stilled, slowly blinking awake.

“You were having a nightmare,” he told her.

“Yes, I was,” she replied. She was damp with cold sweat.

Being this close, it was remarkable how human she looked for a ghost. He could count individual eyelashes, the faint freckles under her skin, the trembling of her lip that indicated she was still upset but trying to hide it.

“You wanna talk about it?” he pressed, scooting to the edge of the bed so she wouldn't feel trapped.

“Not really,” she mumbled, turning so she was lying on her back. “But I probably should, right?”

“Not if you don't want to.”

“There was something around my neck.”

Now cold sweat started beading on Arnold's skin under his t-shirt.

“What kind of something?” he asked cautiously. “A hand?”

“No, not a hand,” she murmured, stroking her throat thoughtfully. “It was cold. And heavy.”

That could be anything, but Arnold's mind helpfully supplied some images.

Jewelry.

A thick rope.

A chain.

Something sinkable if you tossed it in water.

Concrete.

“It's probably nothing,” Helga demurred, but she didn't sound convincing.

Arnold threw back the covers and got to his feet, booted up his computer.

“Maybe you should come with us to school today,” he suggested, pulling up the latest headlines. “Just a distraction. Things have been getting really heavy lately...”

“Maybe,” she agreed, but she had turned over in the bed, facing the wall. Away from him.

They had hit a dead end. They had where Helga had gone last and why she was there, but Officer Plaskett was certain Bob Pataki hadn't been involved in her disappearance.

He wouldn't have wanted to lose his only source of real income Arnold thought sourly.

But that left them with nothing else. Nowhere to go. Part of him was a little glad though, because it was just now occurring to him that if they discovered what happened to her, ghost Helga would have no reason to stay and he had grown very used to having her around.

“Wanna hear some news?” he asked.

“Sure, why not?” she replied, still facing the wall and a little muffled by the pillow.

“Lena Montclare has been slammed for inflammatory tweets about her fans,” he began.

“What kind of news is that?” she said, turning over to look at him. “Who's Lena Montclare?”

“Remember that Netflix movie you watched while I was out? She played the sister.”

“Oh. She was awful in that.”

“She's just awful in general.”

“What else is there?”

“Seven reasons JimBob Saves Christmas doesn't need a reboot....Massive shipment of Lego bricks runs aground on Kettle Beach.... Golden couple Ray Harkness and Mona Washington rocked by rumours of infidelity...Pocaselas cheer team make the nationals....”

Helga sat up suddenly.

“What was that last one?” she asked, a high note rising in her voice.

“What? Pocaselas cheer team....” he answered.

“Pocaselas. What is that?”

“Uh, it's a city two states over, I think.”

Pocaselas was barely a city, more like a halfway point for people on their way to somewhere better. It was full of motels, hotels and trans-state bus lines. Arnold had been stranded there once for seven hours when trying to get to Montana for a concert when he was thirteen. He hadn't even tried to go to a concert since.

“I know that place. I keep seeing the name,” she said, rubbing at her temple (just under her scar).

“Seeing it? Where?” Arnold asked, typing the word into Google.

“In my dreams. It's printed on something.”

“Like a newspaper or a street sign?”

“I don't know, it's hazy.”

Pocaselas was unremarkable; Google brought up basic info about annual rain fall, bus timetables, some mommy blogger's website....

….until about three entries down in the search and the only real reason anyone knew that Pocaselas even existed.

The Black Gulch Ripper.

…..

In the early nineties, Pocaselas became known as a hive for young runaways and working prostitutes, who were sometimes one and the same. For any young person looking to disappear, it was a good option. There were lots of short-term places to stay, lots of abandoned buildings to squat in when the money ran out, and plenty of truckers and blow-ins to keep the working girls in business.

When women began going missing, nobody thought much of it. People left Pocaselas all the time, especially runaways. There were a lot of cases where a john was robbed by a working girl who fled town on the first bus in any direction. So nobody could really pinpoint who the first victim was.

The first victim found, however, was 26-year-old Elisa Frank. She appeared in the Black Gulch on the edge of the city, discovered by a local fisherman, and was so bloated and disfigured it was near impossible to see what had been done to her. Her throat had been cut, and a good number of internal organs were missing.

A girl who had frequently worked the same stretch of highway as Elisa turned up next, not in the Gulch itself but just beside it. Sarah May Caldwell's throat had also been cut but only her heart and lungs were missing. Police arrested the girl's pimp for their murder but he was released without charge (and then picked up again and sent down for three years for soliciting.)

As many as a hundred girls had been reported missing; with the ones that hadn't been reported the number would have been closer to three hundred. Three more bodies were found in the Gulch in the same state as Elisa and Sarah May, but it was near impossible to tell who could be considered the culprit's next victim just looking at the missing reports.

By the time four more bodies appeared in the gulch, a pattern had emerged. They were all young women; the oldest was thirty-four and the youngest nineteen. They were blondes, mostly (Tegan Nicholls was biracial with curly dark hair and Annette Fischer was a redhead) and they were between five foot and five seven. Several of them were heroin addicts and three on some other narcotic, which the police theorized made them easier to capture, and most were prostitutes but two were mere runaways.

The newspapers gave the killer the nickname everyone used. He would go quiet for two to three year stretches and then come back with a new body, and there was a grim sense that the press had been waiting for him because it was the only kind of interesting news you got in a place like Pocaselas.

There had been theories that the Black Gulch Ripper was behind Helga Pataki's disappearance, but it was dismissed as nonsense. For one, Helga was much younger than the killer's usual M.O. He also concentrated his attacks in the Pocaselas general area, and the difference between that city and Hillwood was two states and a mess of highways and sideroads. The roads in and out of Hillwood had speed cameras that had picked up nothing beyond the usual traffic.

It was entirely possible to reach Pocaselas on foot through the forest that ran from Hillwood through the interim state to the edge of the city, but that was only if you managed to avoid swamps full of water moccasins, treacherous sinkholes and the occasional bear. It was said only a madman would attempt it.

…..

“You're not ready yet?” Phoebe said as he opened the bedroom door to her, still in his pyjamas.

“We might have got something,” he told her, ushering her in. “I'll tell you on the way to school, I just need to shower.”

Her attention wasn't on him though; she was looking in the general direction of Helga, sitting on his bed.

“I can kind of see her,” she said, a smile slowly growing. “The air is kind of blurry, like when there's gas in the air.”

“That's good,” he said.

“I have a new notebook for you,” Phoebe said, ignoring Arnold entirely. “I missed your last few birthdays, I owed you a new one.”

“Wow, thanks Pheebs,” Helga said, taking the notebook.

“Did you hear anything? She thanked you,” Arnold told her, and Phoebe's face fell.

“No,” she mumbled. “But it's okay, she can write to me with the notebook.”

Arnold left them there, and throughout his shower he could hear the low murmur of Phoebe talking and Helga answering, although he knew anyone else listening would just hear the sounds of a girl talking to herself. He got out, dressed and just as he was about to come back in, he heard something that made him linger outside.

“....has to know something, doesn't he? I mean, you ended up in his house...”

Helga muttered a reply he couldn't hear and through the crack in the door he saw her scribble out a response and hand over the notebook. Phoebe read it and rolled her eyes.

“If not now, then when?” she said. “Back then you told me you were over it, but you're obviously not.”

Helga scribbled out another response, and at this one Phoebe looked like she wanted to cry.

“What's the point?” she half-laughed. “You tell me! Maybe the reason you're back is nothing to do with how you died, you know? Maybe that's not the right kind of closure....”

They both lapsed into silence, and Arnold felt it was okay to come back inside. He watched Helga slam the new notebook shut when he came back in.

“You ready to go?” he asked.

…..

Helga ultimately decided not to join them, and for the first few minutes of the walk to school Phoebe was silent. Until....

“...why is she in your bed?”

“What?” Arnold sputtered.

“She's in your bed now,” Phoebe continued. “She was on the sofa and now she's not. Why?”

“I had to tell her about the memory stick,” Arnold said with a sigh. “She was pretty upset, and I was worried.”

“So she ended up in your bed because she was upset?”

“I can understand why you're worried, but nothing happened. At least until this morning.”

Phoebe stopped dead in the street and grabbed his arm, turned him around.

“What happened this morning?” she demanded, cheeks turning pink with anger.

“She had a nightmare,” Arnold explained.

The colour drained from Phoebe's face, and she looked abashed.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I guess I'm still a bit peeved that you can see her and I can't, but I shouldn't take that out on you. How does she look to you?”

“Like herself, but older,” Arnold shrugged. “Speaking of....do you remember any kind of scars Helga had before she went missing?”

“Scars?” Phoebe questioned, thoughtful. “Um...she had one on her elbow from where she broke her arm and the bone went through skin. And she kept saying she had one under her eye from when she blackened it but I think she was just hyper-focused on it...”

“Wasn't that the one her Dad gave her?”

“That was just a rumour, Arnold,” Phoebe sighed. “She ran into a door because she was dizzy and she didn't want to tell anyone because someone would spread rumours. Which they did anyway.”

“Oh,” was all Arnold could think to say. He'd bought into that rumour, they all had.

“Why are you asking? Does she have different ones?”

“Yeah,” Arnold said, and took a deep breath before continuing. “She has a big one, on her head. Looks like she was hit with something big and heavy. There's one on the back of her leg too.”

Phoebe blanched even more.

“And there's one more, a really long one...it goes from her hip to her chest. It looks kind of deep too.”

“Her hip to her chest? How do you know about that one?” Phoebe asked.

“Come on, Phoebe...” Arnold groaned.

“How do you know about that one?” Phoebe growled.

“I looked, okay? She was asleep and I saw the edge of it from under her t-shirt so I took a look.”

“You goddamn perv-”

“There was nothing sexy about it if that's what you're worried about,” Arnold muttered. “I don;t know about you but looking at knife wounds doesn't get me hot under the collar.”

Once again, Phoebe's anger faded.

“Sorry,” she mumbled again. “She used to complain when boys paid attention to her... I guess I'm still a bit protective.”

“It's okay,” Arnold shrugged. “It's nice, actually. Nice to see you trying to look after her even after all of this.”

“Just repaying the debt. I would have been eaten alive at school if it wasn't for Helga.”

Phoebe had forgotten to ask what the new thing they had discovered was, and by the time they reached the school he had debated with himself over and over about telling her.

The Black Gulch Ripper flashed in his mind, over and over.

In the end, he decided it could wait.

[nerdylittleshit]

Frodo Lives

Aka The Great Meta Scavenger Hunt Round 5

For this weeks challenge Lizzy gave us this:

Now no one bends reality like Supernatural, so as a point of professional pride, I think we should re-examine our own canon to find out where and when it is only a dream/extended metaphor/biased narrative told to us in secret first person from a particular character. Did Dean never come back from the season 2 djinn dream? Is Sam still in Mystery Spot? Or Hell? Is everything before 6x20 Cas’s take on events and he literally told us the whole story when he threatened to tell us a story? Find yourself a break from the normal narrative and tell me how an episode/story arc/season/entire chunk of the show was in fact a story within a story or a dream within a dream or an unreliable narrator unreliably narrating. (x)

Also known as “It was all just a dream”, my least favourite trope. Don’t get my wrong - glimpses into alternative realities or dream worlds can be great, hell 2x20 is one of my all time favourite episodes. But they need to work with the premise that the audience knows that what we see is not real. I absolutely hate it though if we get this twist at the end. Even more if the dream itself covered several episodes or worse the whole show. Unreliable narrators can be fun if it is done right, but most of the time this trope feels to me like lazy writing, and adding a twist just for the sake of it. Nevertheless I’m gonna present my own little theory of an unreliable narrator in Supernatural, though I have to admit this theory is probably not fool proved. Either way, here we go.

The title probably already told you what this is about - presenting a theory about Charlie and the potential that she might be still alive after all. I know to most of us she still is - the Supernatural fandom ignores Charlie’s death the same way the Harry Potter fandom ignored the Epilogue at the end of Deathly Hallows. Because that’s the thing about canon - we acknowledge it as long as it is not stupid.

Now Charlie’s death hurt like no other, and there are many reasons for it. She was a fan favourite, a stand in for the audience and postive representation of a fangirl, and the only recurring queer character on the show (or you know the only one out of the closet *cough*). And let’s just say killing a queer character by Nazi-esque character, her dead body left behind in the bathtub (the fridge probably wasn’t big enough) is about as sensitive as putting a collar on a woman of color. Just saying.

But we just simply ignore all our bitter feelings for a moment, and instead of the why, we look at the how. Because for whatever stupid reasons TPTB thought it was neccessary to kill Charlie (it wasn’t), the fact remains she died in what could be only described as a giant plot hole. Instead of giving her an heroic hunter death - the way Jo or Bobby or any other hunter on the show had - she died in a way that left many of us with disbelief.

There where plenty of ways Charlie could have escaped, plenty of ways she could have fight back - after all that girl had survived a war in Oz. And it is her stay in Oz that made many believe she did perhaps fake her own death, and that she gained the knowlege to do so while she was there. And even without magic this is Charlie we are talking about. Charlie, who was so brilliant, not even Dick Roman could make an Leviathan copy of her, as we learned in 7x20.

DICK ROMAN: You're kind of completing me right now, Charlie. You have that spark, that thing that makes humans so special. Not everyone has it, you know. Those people – they can be replaced. But people like you... are impossible to copy.

And in the same episode we also got this:

CHARLIE: This ain't the first time I've disappeared. You think my name is really Charlie Bradbury? Please.

This would confirm the theory Charlie faked her own death. But another of my least favourite tropes is when characters do exactly this - faking their own death. Say she did - why would she still be hiding by now? All the Stynes are dead, Dean is free from the Mark of Cain, there is no other threat for her. So we can rule out she did it herself - but it doesn’t mean nobody else did.

Yep, that’s right. Crowley. And I know now you are wondering why he would do it? What is his gain? Well, first of all in the world of Supernatural death often works as a plot device. Sam’s death at the end of season 2 led to Dean making a deal, which resulted in his death, which led to Sam starting to use his psychic powers. Or take Kevin’s death: it was the reason Dean took the Mark of Cain. Charlie’s death then led to Dean fully embracing his dark side and giving in to his desire to kill. It is lazy storywriting at his best, to think the only way to lead a character in a darker direction is through loss. And furthermore it degrades the death itself of the character if it only happens to lead the plot in a certain direction (so, no surprise both Kevin and Charlie were killed by the dreaded duo).

So could it be Crowley arranged/faked Charlie’s death, knowing what deep impact it would have on Dean, who already struggled with the MoC at this point? Did he hope Dean would come back to him - continuing their summer of love - and eventually become a demon again? Maybe even get the First Blade back? It is a possibility. If anything it would have brought Dean closer to Crowley again, maybe even made him dependent on Crowley.

And it wouldn’t be the first time Crowley faked the death of a loved one - he made Kevin believe his mother was dead, hoping that her loss would take away his last hope/connection to a normal life and to isolate him more from the Winchesters. To get Kevin at a point he wouldn’t care anymore, and started working for Crowley.

But in 9x14 we learn that Linda Tran was alive all the time, trapped with others as a human leverage. Previous to that Crowley did try to mess with Kevin - telling him at first his mother was dead, only to tell him later the opposite, that she was still alive and only he knew where she was. In 9x02 he first made Kevin doubt, reminiding him that he never saw a body.

This of course is something we defenitely saw - Charlie’s body, later cremated in a Hunter’s funeral pyre. But could it be it was still a trick after all? Maybe it was enough to simply tell Kevin his mother was dead, but Crowley knew the Winchesters needed a body to be convinced. But then again Crowley’s mother is a witch and we know he has the means to pull of a stunt like this. In 10x14 we saw him using the Rune of Amaranth, an illusion spell. Of course the illusion only holds as long as nobody touches it, and Crowley needed a corporal body to convince the Winchesters. We did saw another form of illusion in 8x21, where demons looked like Sam and Dean, to trick Kevin. So maybe there was a body - it just wasn’t Charlie’s and only a spell made it appear like hers.

And speaking of witchcraft. It is possible Rowena might have helped Crowley. Maybe she was able to contact Crowley even though she was a prisoner at the time. After all she knew how important Charlie was to Sam and Dean.

ROWENA: I read you the minute I saw you. And I'm sure you're learning that the line between good and evil is quite flexible. But we part company when it comes to blind devotion. Case in point . . . the Winchesters. You've made them the family you don't have. Foolish.

CHARLIE: Sam and Dean are like my brothers. I love them.

ROWENA: I know. And that steadfast loyalty will be your undoing, my girl.

She warns Charlie that the Winchesters will be the death of her, the same way Crowley warned Kevin in 8x02.

CROWLEY:I know we're not mates, Kevin, but one word of advice – run. Run far and run fast. 'Cause the Winchesters – well, they have a habit of using people up and watching them die bloody. Toodles.

Furthermore it might be possible Rowena cast a spell on Charlie as well. Because the reason Charlie left to be on her own, to get to the motel where the Stynes found her, is Rowena.

CHARLIE: I am doing my best, but with her criticizing, breathing down my neck, trying to sign me up for team witch . . . oh, oh, and moaning how the one good year for music was 1723 . . . I . . . I am going crazy. I know. No, I mean, she is evil.

CASTIEL: She is a wicked witch, so by definition . . .

CHARLIE: No, no, no, I mean something bad is gonna happen here. Castiel, man, just spring me for two hours, one hour . . . anyplace quiet. Dean is my buddy, and I cannot screw this up, but . . . but my mind is . . . is . . . it's a wad of gummy worms. Please.

Especially the last line made me wonder if Charlie is feeling that way because of Rowena. It sounded very unlike Charlie to start a catfight and to leave a safe place when she knew the Stynes were still searching for her. So was Rowena messing with her head? Getting her out so her son could fulfill his evil plan? And could it be Charlie is still alive? That Crowley uses her skills for himself? Or again as a human leverage?

In my personal opinion I don’t believe that’s true. If Crowley kept her he would have used this leverage already against the Winchesters. Furthermore bringing Charlie back now would feel like cheap fanservice and again lazy writing. That doesn’t mean Charlie will never come back -after all you are never really dead on Supernatural - but maybe in a different way. Who knows.

[find-your-rp-partner]

Looking for New Rpers for Winter Break!

▶ Hello possible roleplayers! I am in desperate need of some amazing roleplayers that are creative and original! If you’re in desperate need of a roleplay partner for some amazing times then please read below and see if you wanna talk even further!

A bit About Me

▹ I go by the names: Rex, Pink or Drowsy  ▹ I’m 21+ of age  ▹ I enjoy ooc chit chatting about characters, plots and mostly anything. ▹ I’m in love with really creative ideas, characters and plots. ▹ Is into m/m ships this also means trans. ▹I am universal when it comes to plots, so don’t be afraid when coming to explain your plots or just talk about plots with me. The more creative and original the plot is. ▹ My fave rp things: Badass older men, all kinds of older men, Baras, Sci-fi plots, Dark themes, gore, heavy smut, fluff, rad adventures.... ▹ I’m not a big fan of over using the same tropes within characters or plots. In small amounts I’m fine, but full on in everything is just overkill for me.

What I want in a roleplay partner

▹ I want someone who can be super creative (In plot, characters, everything)

▹ Someone who isn’t afraid to chit chat ooc style��(If you don’t want to chit chat we don’t have to. We can just rp all day and night I don’t mind)

▹ Is 18+ (Self-explanatory, though if you don’t want to do smut or even gory shit it’s fine we don’t have to do that)

▹ Makes great and complex characters, settings and plots. (I badly want originality , I want roleplays that make me can’t wait for the next reply because I’m so far into it!) 

▹ Doesn’t mind Dark Themes (If dark things is not your cup of tea then we don’t have to do it)

▹ Is fine with older characters (The youngest I will go is 20 years old. 19 -18 is pushing it for me. As for the oldest 58, I can go older but I don’t really think people go that old.)

▹ Writing is great (I would like to have semi-paras most of the time, yet if that is impossible then a few sentences if alright with me.)

▹ Doesn’t mind doing several different plots (Sometimes I get bored which is fine we all do, and I like to do different plots if the other one isn’t working for us! It’s totes fine)

OC Plots 

Supernatural:

Angel and Demon: No one visits the lone demon who walks among the humans, because it is said that he was a traitor to hell and his brothern. Though one Angel breaks this rule to see exactly what is so wrong with this demon. When they get too close things become a bit unexpected. 

Incubus and Vampire: One wants nothing but sex while the other just wants a group of his own mindless humans to control. The pairing is odd and shouldn’t have ever met before, yet now here they are trying to work together and get exactly what they want.

Boss Vampire and Vampire: They’ve been together for such a long time and yet the times are changing. As the world around them continues to move forward something must change within them as well. Or they might always be stuck..

That odd one and his gift: No one thinks that they will ever be able to talk or even help those that are dead. This wasn’t the case of a widowed male who just lost his husband and the other male who can see his dead husband perfectly fine. Now they must help each other in order to fulfill the deceased one’s wishes.

The monster under his bed: There are odd doors to our world and yet monsters can only get in one way...During midnight and under the bed of anyone the choose. Though one monster seems to get stuck within the human world...Can he survive?

A new sight: A male must repay his grandfather’s dept, by taking the place of a bodyguard to a particular man. This man does a dangerous line of work, just know that when anyone calls him it’s usually because it’s a last resort and someone will get their soul taken from it.

Oddly different now: A lone older male finally gets to see his best friend he hasn’t seen in years, yet once they meet again his best friend is a demon with plans to make his life a living hell. 

Talent Collector: There is one male that wants to have just one talent, yet being around nothing but amazing talentful people...He becomes jealous and desperate. Though one day someone gives him the opportunity he thought he could never have. Now he must go around being someone he isn’t and return home to the true person he took his new identity from. This start to turn stranger as they both fall in love with each other, yet one continues to collect more and more talents becoming filled with greed. 

Fantasy:

The Elf and The Disciple: Being alone in the world is hard and it takes only one to change that. Though what if that certain one was just a normal human that didn’t deserve to be in your world?

Two Kingdoms: Opposite sides are ready to call for a great war, two kings wants nothing to do with each other and the only way for them to come together is to be deserted within their giant country and help each other out. Will they be able to do it? 

The Soul of a Dragon: The last dragon within our world has woken up, yet they walk among us like humans. They are looking for a mate and will not stop until they find the right one.  

Slice of Life:

Hidden freely: Everything was going fine for him, that was until his old best friend comes back in town. Now a hermits life will be changed upside down, the only question is...Can he take it?

Just married is the new job: He didn’t mean for any of this to happen but he was desperate. The amount of income he would take in will keep him comfortable and happy, the only thing he has to do is...Be the new wife to a complete stranger!

Ruining Purity: He will do whatever it takes to become a real man, even if that means dating the only person that’s one horrible being. 

Two is a crowd: Growing up as the shy one isn’t the best way to live your life, though faking an alter ego to get through the day makes things a little easier. But what if there was someone who can see right through you and make you change back to your shy ways out in public. What would happen now?

No life?: Being too successful with your life can lead to having nothing to actually do. He works day in and day out, yet when a co-worker invites another person to a Christmas party his life is turned upside down.

The New Kind of Fired: He will get his revenge on the boss that fired him. No matter what and that’s why he’s the new intern at the same place, waiting for the perfect time to ruin his former boss’s life.

Fashion Meets Silence: Getting into a bet with a few of his friends, they decided that the most amazing male on campus must make a nerd into an amazing male as well.  Agreeing to the terms, the job seems simple yet trying to actually do it turns to be a bit more challenge than actually planed.  

Strong Enough To be Shocked: He gets his ass kicked all the time, everyday by the same bully, yet one day when he decides it’s too much. He finally goes over to this bully’s house to find out a bit more than he planed. Now there’s too much on the line and he has to buddy up with the same person who always kicked his ass. Can he do it? 

Sci-Fi:

Alien meets human: He’s 100,000 miles away from home, yet there is a bigger threat on this planet he landed on. With the help of one human maybe he can save it and return home.

Two Crazy: Space is gigantic, and the worlds within it are all unique and special. Then why is it so hard to hide from the Galactic Government!?  They jump from planet to planet, doing odd jobs, having fun and hiding from the feds! What exactly did they do to get in trouble with the space cops anyway!?

It’s Go Time Old Man: Being the most smartest person in the world comes with one major thing…A sickness for it and everything that lives on it. Taking advice from a friend, a lone scientist opens his lab to those that want quick money and have a place to finish up on any work they have. Though once they come in, they will have to go on a few adventures to places they never knew existed, while being with one utter mess of a Scientist. 

A new voyage: Assembling a team filled with the best people to go out and free planets from under the rule of the Galactic Stars, a captain destined for greatness, leads a team to such planes. With the help of his best friend who is a Co-Captain on his ship everything becomes a battle for glory, pride and justice. 

Never Surrender: After a horrible accident of their empire being taken down, a lone navigator and trainer seek out on an adventure to take revenge on those that planed this. There is heart break and mistakes on the way, but they continue to get through and end up victorious.

Fake Love?: A Companion robot that is in love with its owner never thought that his owner would actually fall in love with a real human. Now as emotions arise things are becoming difficult for the two, if he keeps pushing away like this then soon he might be turned off and left alone forever.

Romance:

An Old Feel: He will never get over it any time soon, this is why he shuts off his feelings and lets his days go by without feeling a thing. Though when a new co-worker is within his place perhaps he can feel again?

Formal Love: Searching for all of these years a demon has finally done it and found his lost love. Though they are reincarnated and seem to not remember their amazing past. Perhaps the demon will have to make them fall in love with them again.

Comedy:

The lucky foursome: You have the Newcomer, Slow Lover, Odd one and cool one, but can they really have a foursome without messing it all up? And even after it all why do they continue to be in each other’s lives? 

Being married isn't Cracked up: He got married too fast and now both sides are starting to see just how boring being married is. Now they try everything to get that spark back into their marriage, no matter how crazy it sounds.

Horror:

Killing For Thrills: Follow two opposite end students as they travel at midnight to be in the underground murder school. Where all killer students come and participate in the biggest survival torment around. Will they enter in it and become the next mysteriously killed students?  

Too strange: He had a normal life until meeting a monster that can rip him to shreds. Though he just found out that he can die and now even more of these cannibalistic monsters are coming in to his city trying to find the special immortal.

Action/Adventure:

One Kind Of Fate: Magical Boys have protected a Busy city for hundreds of years, yet as the darkness they defeated slowly disappeared so did they. Though in the near future things seemed to be turning for the worst, as the darkness decides to come back at full force making the last magical boy awaken from their slumber and defend the city once more, yet that can’t do it without the help of a single cop and his hidden powers. 

Buddy and Wingman: They’ve gotten themselves into a lot of trouble over the years and now it seems that all of it is finally catching up with them. It’s time to right wrongs and do the whole thing called ‘life’ over again. Though can they really fix everything or is this just another pipe dream?

And heres a few more plots!

A spirit blesser and human: 

The odd town that you are taken to if you sleep in a certain field

Mystery:

Detective and the new associate

Gossip Love: After a a student of a jr College vanishes out of thin air and a new student from over seas, seems to take the place of the other. A best friend tries to put together the clues as to what happens. Yet someone is on thier trail and it seems to be the new student. What secret is going on? And what does a popular gossip blog have to do with it? 

Western:

Two outlaws

Sheriff and Prisoner

Crime:

Cop and Rookie

Being in prison but it's in the home of the cop that arrested you

Classic:

Modern Cinderella

Modern Beatty and the Beast

& Fandom stuff 

Marvel: Tony/Bucky (I have on plot for this that I really want to do)

Overwatch:  76/ Reaper  Junkrat/Roadhog Hanzo/Mcree Genji/Mcree Mercy/Pharah Tracer/Widowmaker

Fandom base but with oc’s:

Gravity falls  Hero Academy  Preacher KNB Sailor Moon

(If you have your own plots or even fandoms you would like to rp in then please tell me about them. All are welcomed. :) ) 

Contact: Email: sillybooby@gmail.com Kik: rexpinku  Discord: Please email me with your info and a request of the Discord ID

(I will be roleplaying both ways, but Kik rps are limited to one para. I like them short on Kik. Email they can be as long as we want.)

When contacting me please tell me a little bit about yourself and what kind of plots you would like to do or have. Also a sample of your rp writing would be very much appreciated too, it isn’t really needed though. Thank you! And I can’t wait to chit chat with you! 

[theescapekey-blog1]

What Is Escape the Room?

In in escape room sandy utah the present day's Internet society it is not uncommon to note people of all ages and completely different ethnic teams, hooked up to free on-line games. Some readers may be left wondering the place they will come up with these so called escape games to play online without cost. A random search in Google will yield greater than one million outcomes. Considering that escape games are browser primarily based video games in-built flash, by Adobe, thousands of free arcade web sites are increasingly internet hosting these type of games. The escape game style has grown to such extent, they are now cut up into different themes, the most popular being room escape the mystery escape room salt lake city games.

Room escape games start you off in a virtual room. The first transfer made by the player would usually be to look around for clues. Hints shall be given as to where you are and the right way to get out of your confinement. Secondly, the participant might want to make an effort The Escape Key Social Network to put these clues together in order to provide you with some type of plan of easy methods to escape the room. The game follows a simple to use interface by using arrow keys and some use of the mouse. Some games even function a zoom perform to higher close in on some objects.

Partaking these video games don't require the player to study long and complex rules. Room escape games are made for all ages. Both young and old can't only play the sport efficiently, but take pleasure in themselves as properly. The implementation of new and more superior graphics know-how allow for background photos of impressive detail. The music score and particular effects are top notch as properly. Extra decisions are available www.theescapekey.us/ to the gamers, to the extent that they'll selected a room theme through which to play in as a recreation choice. Thus, having the ability to configure your game in this method every time you play, will present the gamer with virtually a brand new sport every time. One also can regulate the extent of problem you want to expertise. Though the problem level will automatically increase with the completion of each degree.

It's simple to see why so many online players fall in love with this kind of game. A easy story line, and simple to make use of controls, allow for a simple to use but thrilling sport anyone can play escape room utah groupon It could be additionally true that as you go up within the ranks, some puzzles might pose an undesirable stage of problem, which may stand in the way to a profitable completion. Nonetheless, the experience of beating these arduous to beat obstacles truly makes the sport a lot more exhilarating. Ultimately, you will be left searching for extra and harder challenges, making you an avid fan of escape games on-line.

Escape rooms are rising in their popularity. Basically, they're a physical adventure game the place gamers are required to resolve totally different puzzles by making use of hints, clues as well as technique so as to be able to complete set out aims. escape room utah valley Often, the player has a time restrict set by which he must have unveiled the ploy hidden throughout the rooms. There are totally different locations where the game might be set and it contains house stations, dungeons and even jail cells and so on.

This sort of sport set is sort of common in several elements of the globe. There are areas that have gotten everlasting escape TheEscapeKey rooms. Escape room fanatics observe the video games throughout so as to benefit from the thrill that comes with it.

This sort of sport usually has groups of around six to 12 gamers. They are required to govern and use the environment so as to realize the set goals. The spaces are themed in a certain way in order to problem and thrill contributors to endeavor to work together.

In escape rooms, the players are wanted to make the most of all their senses. They should use their ears, eyes, brains and your complete physique so as to be able to resolve all of the clues left. There isn't any have to know something specifically. Even very younger children can take part.

What they entail

Escape rooms are normally primarily based on a theme where one needs to flee. Most occasions, the time is about at one hour. This sort of setup has develop into a phenomenon worldwide and they have captured company entrepreneurs as well as researchers at universities. mystery room layton utah This sport permits folks to interact. People leave the screens in order to engage in a nose to nose kind of journey. There are so many challenges that you could encounter at such rooms and every member of the team can try their greatest to be the hero.

All the members within the game are anticipated to convey one thing to the table that can help the entire workforce to finish the sport in time and escape. The video games are normally designed so effectively and it is up to the workforce to really find methods in which they will circumvent the puzzles as a set.

Completely different teams handle the challenges in a different way. Some select to make it look chaotic as the rooms are turned the wrong way up. Those who use this tactic declare that it's accomplished as a means of discovering the clues after all the puzzles have been gathered. Generally making errors is frequent with such games. The clues will be wherever throughout the room so the staff wants to stay alert and eager with all the items around.

Stories and themes are tremendously emphasized in this sort of recreation. It's essential really get into it in order to enjoy the game and be capable of find all the clues. The clues are all linked and that's how it is best The Escape Key room utah to treat all of them. There are individuals who have created games that have gotten world famous on account of their creativity and problem level. Players feel fairly fulfilled when they're able to clear up the game.

Setting a while apart for frolicsome leisure is actually a wholesome exercise that helps human growth and improvement. That is why each college has games as a part of their curriculum. As we develop into adults, time becomes scarce and there is barely The Escape Key room salt lake city any room left for recreation and video games. Nonetheless, the Internet has been in a position to present a back door for folks, who are actually able to interact in on-line leisure with out having to leave the consolation of their workplace.

Pc video games have been around for some time now. The new fad is that they are now out there on-line by the hundreds. Additionally, the rising availability of high pace Web connections at decrease prices, boost the gaming expertise even more. One of the newest genres featured in on-line sport websites are room escape video games. The character of these games gives some type of appeal for folks of any age. As unbelievable as it might sound, thousands and thousands of people go browsing on the lookout for games every day. The number of games in demand doesn't change, however the popularity of genres, pretty much like clothes and music.

A large number of websites have begun spawning room escape video games as the newest form of entertainment. Whether or not they're free arcade sport websites, or sport directories that provide a hyperlink to different websites providing such The Escape Key room logan utah games, game seekers are certain to come back across a recreation they like with little effort. The development in the direction of a brand new genre merely follows avid gamers' demands, to the unfortunate demise of some other style.

Escape games aim to check your problem solving and detective skills. There numerous classes inside this sport style, situating the player in locked environment of some variety. Relying on the structure of the room, a special plan for escape is required. You are prone to find a variety of objects The Escape Key games utah lying around relevant to the game theme, and which provide clues to finishing the game. Themes embody a typical room, toy room, princess room, office, spa room, labs, class room, store room, storage, space ship, locked automobile, elevate and may very well be something with 4 partitions.

Venue does not matter in the escape games. Spotting the proper of clue is crucial if you end up locked in. Step one in your downside fixing process is to look at the room carefully. Secondly, the player should click on each idle item left within the surrounding area, on the lookout for clues. Certain objects will lock the clue inside by way of a puzzle, which the player might want to resolve so as to acquire it. Room escape games enhance many basic skills like analytical, reasoning and logic, which is not potential if we idly sit in front of television.

Online Escape video games could be accessed around the clock and might be performed anytime. You simply want your mouse to enter into the cyber escape room video games. Since escape games are a tremendous stress reliever, many people come again dwelling and start taking part in these games to shed off all of the tensions and hassles of life at work. Since escape video games could be discovered within the realm of free on-line games, you can play with no speck of fear.

Having fun and on the identical time putting our minds to a take a look at, what a genial idea! In fact, that is precisely what you get when you play room escape video games: some minutes of really enjoyable good time and a terrific read this article intelligence check. Subsequently, get able to trans-go the borders between the true and the web world and to place all of your senses to work, for you have simply been locked in a room apparently impossible to flee from!

In a few phrases, let me tell you how these games work. It can be a typical room, a resort or a even a kitchen where you abruptly discover you have been locked in. After you overpass your surprise and also you recover from your quick moment of panic, you need to start scanning the inside you're in to its even most insignificant (on the first sight not less than) objects. Often, as a saving anchor, which is thrown to a drawing man, instantly after mystery escape room utah reviews you find yourself trapped in that specific room , in a lot of the escape room video games a lower scene appears, establishing a sure context. You are instructed by which mysterious methods you've got landed there and sometimes some very useful details about that strange place you're in. Quite scary, however on the same time very thrilling, is not it, to discover yourself as the primary hero of the identical game you're taking part in!

So, we have got this half all cleared up: in every room escape recreation there is a locked room it's important to work out methods to escape from. Their second major characteristic is that the room is at all times crammed with hidden clues on how you possibly can find your way out. Scan all the pieces, do not spare any object you will discover in your room.

You may as well rely on your mouse to focus on the objects on the screen or move around the room. Some items are, themselves, the clues it's worthwhile to collect to insure your escape, however others have to be used in a sure manner or work together with other objects there within the room and contribute to your escaping plan. So, expensive Sherlock Holmes, make a fantastic group with your personal laptop mouse and start opening the doors, the drawers, don't let any hiding place escape you until you have found all the "clue objects" that will enable you to solve this thriller! The clock is consistently ticking and the place do you add that in many room scape games there's a actually intricate labyrinth product of several rooms, not only one, that it's important to undergo until you discover your method out of this puzzle.

Video games which might be primarily based on the real life adventures make among the best when you wish to check yourself at totally different levels. Such video games also promote crew work once you participate as a group and they are often real studying adventures to help you sort out life higher. Escape rooms are a should try for individuals who wish to strive mystery room utah their wits in puzzle fixing within very brief intervals of time failure to which there are repercussions. An escape room is usually a real life journey recreation that isn't on-line. Which means you really get locked in a room and are expected to make use of parts within that given recreation to solve puzzles and escape the room inside the time given.

The rooms come in several themes and you may select the challenge, in accordance with how a lot you're feeling you'll be able to take and the kind of enjoyable you need to take pleasure in. Most include Visit Website added lighting and sounds to make the experience as actual as possible so you can work fast in finding the clues and solving the puzzles to gain your freedom earlier than the time elapses.

Selecting your video games

Some of the vital considerations when it comes to escape room video games is the length of every session. Often, you will have about 60 minutes to resolve the puzzle and escape out of your room. It is important to keep in mind more information on wikipedia that the games can get fairly intense, supplying you with adrenaline rushes that may leave you shaken by some means. Guarantee that you could handle the length of the sport with out going into a critical panic attack.

Since it could actually get fairly intense inside the room, consider how doable it's for you to get out as quickly as you feel you cannot take it to the tip. You do not need to be compelled into going all the way in which to the tip of your minutes if you don't want to. A recreation that gives you the consolation of a panic button so that escape room sandy utah you could be let loose as soon as you feel the necessity to is therefore vital. Chances are you'll wish to push yourself to the sting, however you additionally should have the freedom to go away the room as quickly as you begin feeling uncomfortable. Not everybody can handle the same levels of endurance so don't be ashamed to walk away.

[nyklifsondiviiportfolio-blog]

Are you a: Boy? Girl? Alien? Cyborg?

November 29, 2015

Professor Loza, Hampshire College

Introduction:

There aren’t a lot of representations of non-binary people, even less of people of color who are non-binary in science fiction and fantasy. In the media, and every day. While this isn’t surprising that means theorists have to take a more critical look at gender-bending narratives. Some ways in which normal gender roles are blurred in science fiction and fantasy: shape shifting, time travel, and cross-dressing. The main two points I will be discussing though, are cyborgs and aliens. Both are crafted bodies that allow for varying gender creations.

In my research I realized that there aren’t many examples of canonical genderfluid characters and that the examples given by theorists who do approach this topic are a bit of a stretch. I will be discussing the monstrous queering of gender in cyborgs, shapeshifters, and aliens. In realizing that there aren’t many fantastical non-binary options to unpack I looked for transgender characters, but similar to the media’s depiction--there isn’t one. Not until recently, in American contexts, have trans* characters and people become slightly more visible. Albeit, these are not always positive images, but all press is good press right? Wrong. Most are white transgender females who are being fetishized completely cutting off the voices of queer people of color and first nation two spirit individuals.

In addition there are little to no academic sources on this topic by transgender individuals. This is because there is barely any source material to begin with, on top of the limited amount of transgender people who are able to be educated in the area of identity politics (Bornstein et al. 198). Fictional universes within the context of science fiction and fantasy seem to be an excellent place for gender binaries to be skewed and a way for non-binary characters to become more accepted images. In this paper I look into the examples--and lack--of nonbinary culture mainly in the context of feminist, queer, and racial theories pertaining to fantastical or science fiction content.  

Trending Genders that you Might not Think are Queer:

Many forms of genderqueering exist that I could have discussed such as the plethora of cross-dressing in anime and other tv shows. Yet, that is not embodying a gender identity, that is merely passing within preconceived social constructs (Melzer 234). For example Ax from the Animorphs series is a Yeerk alien who takes DNA from the two girls and two boys of the series and mixes that together to create a human morph--a morph that he can go to the mall looking like. The human form is said to look like a very feminine boy or masculine girl, not placing him anywhere on the gender spectrum performance-wise.  His “fluid body enables her an adaptive identity, which challenges the stable sex/gender/ sexuality correlation without erasing the materiality of the body”(Melzer 234). Being an alien already other’s him on top of the fact he is ambiguously brown in appearance due to one of the main character’s being black. This alien is faced with prejudice due to forced assimilation and not passing fully as male and being a person of color (Cohen 445). So when he starts trying food in the mall’s food court, he is chased by mall cops very quickly.  

There are children’s books about girls who dress as boys to be able to be soldiers or knights. One example Is “The Song of the Lioness” series by Tamora Pierce. Alana, the hero, dresses as a boy until she is knighted. She binds with cloth wrapping and talks deeper as the boys she is growing up with go through puberty. Meanwhile she has no idea what to do when she gets her period. Her being in a supposed man’s position blurs the lines of her gender even after her secret is let out. In addition many examples of historical fiction exist about white women fighting in the civil war. These tropes and people subvert gender divides but still identify as cisgender. In addition are able to pass more easily due to being white, which is a harsh reality. Which, in the end, gives them a privilege after the battle where a gender nonconforming character and person live on gender lines (Bornstein et al. 268).

Technologically Created Bodies:

Fans all over have questioned BMO’s gender, wondering if they are a girl or boy. Pendleton Ward has released multiple statements saying that BMO is a robot and therefore has no gender. This reflects on how society today needs to consume culture. The audience is not used to a character that lives outside of binary standard, and will not accept this reality. The problem is, just like real non-binary people, society can not accept what is in front of them. “Cyborgs might consider more seriously the partial, fluid, sometimes aspect of sex and sexual embodiment” (Stryker 115). In the gender-bender episodes of the show, BMO is the only one who remains unchanged in appearance. In addition, BMO is referred to by characters as both M’lady, and with he/him pronouns.

BMO has an alternate self, when talking to themselves, named Football. Football calls herself a baby girl while BMO calls himself a baby boy, but both are the same robot. BMO in the episode “Football” comes out to their friends as Football and wants everyone to call them by that name after switching places with their mirror self, similar to when transgender people are transitioning from dead names (Bornstein et al. 199). The agendered character BMO is possible in a post-apocalyptic world which “is also an effort to contribute to socialist-feminist culture and theory in a postmodernist, non-naturalist mode and in the utopian tradition of imagining a world without gender, which is perhaps a world without genesis, but maybe also a world without end”(Haraway 2). This little robot was built to be human-like and able to imagine, as found out from their creator in the episode “B More.” That is why BMO is married to a bubble who is has no defined body or gender and dates a female hen on the show. They are free from a gendered body and in a time of candy people and vampires, why would a robots gender matter?

BMO is able to transcend gender binaries because they are a robot (Bornstein et al. 169). Pronouns are fluid for them being referred to from “it” to “her.” The female identity is internalized whereas BMO’s masculine detective episode and being a their creator’s son is external relating to common cyborg body politicking. Robots have been used to be characters that are an “alternative narrative of cyberpunk identity that begins with the assumption that bodies are always gendered and always marked by race...Thus, the more important dividing line” for a robotic body “is between material connection and virtual connection, not between female-body-in-connection and male-body-in-isolation”(Vint 116).  A created body is in theory able to go beyond racial and gender lines, but this is still within a gendered and racialized culture that these stories are being told (Vint 117). BMO is a green little robot, does that make them a person of color on the show? The only human without gills is a white cisgendered male boy, while everyone else is some kind of monster that came out toxic waste. Except BMO is a created companion with their own agenda.

Androgynous Aliens:

Many literary examples of androgyny from the 70’s and 80’s appeared alongside second wave feminism. Creating an androgynous culture meant creating one where women were equal, in power, and able to be masculine (Annas 145). For example, in The Woman From Space uses “it” as a pronoun for love interest Lella at first, a dominant and masculine woman-ish from the planet Aronia. It is powerful, beautiful, tall, strong, and an intelligent scientist. Yet Lella’s femininity shines through as she forms a heterosexual relationship with the man who first meets her, Sarrazin from Earth. Both planets are set in gender binaries that oppose the other possibly queering the relationship they have. But, like most sci-fi feminist novels, it is a stretch (Larbalestier 76-78) Some books contained all female societies where women had learned how to clone themselves negating the usefulness of men.

The main example I will be delving into is one of the more famous books of the feminist science fiction genre, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. The novel takes place in two societies called Karhide and Orgoreyn. They live on a planet called Gethen. The planet is populated by hermaphrodites who only have a chosen gender expression during “kenmer.” The theme of androgyny is used to represent different forms of bigotry being displayed in the human race and how having a “race of androgynes who live harmonious, peaceful lives” is used as a “cure for gender bifurcation and decisive hierarchies”(Pearson 28). This was the first famous creation of a queer utopia, that wasn’t so utopian. Androgynous societies often either show the shortcomings in our own or are meant as a plot point of a peaceful option that is “agendered. “

Gethenian believe that everyone else is disgusting. The king calls others with constant sexes “a society of perverts”(Le Guin 21).Whereas the human Genly, who is there to try to get them to join an intergalactic peaceful “Authority” is constantly being shocked by their gender incontinuity. He refers to almost every being with he/him/his pronouns no matter how femme they seem. He still is seeing through a binary lens, “I tried to, but my efforts took the form of self-consciously seeing a Gethenian first as a man, then as a woman, forcing him into those categories so irrelevant to his nature and so essential to my own. Thus as I sipped my smoking sour beer I thought that at table Estraven's performance had been womanly, all charm and tact and lack of substance, specious and adroit. Was it in fact perhaps this soft supple femininity that I disliked and distrusted in him? For it was impossible to think of him as a woman, that dark, ironic, powerful presence near me in the firelit darkness, and yet whenever I thought of him as a man I felt a sense of falseness, of imposture: in him, or in my own attitude towards him? His voice was soft and rather resonant but not deep, scarcely a man's voice, but scarcely a woman's voice either”(Le Guin 10). Genly, pronounced Genry by Gethenians, is in constant culture shock due to the gender fluidity of locals. The belief that any type of variant gender expression is wrong and shunned while being exoticised is similar to the sentiments felt today.  It also existed in the late sixties when this book was written. The main character has his room showed by his “landlady”(Le Guin 26). He is a spectacle. This is similar to transgender women in mainstream media.

Ursula K. Le Guin made monstrous images of alien people of colour and an ignorant black both entrenched in racism. The king asks Genly if everyone is “as dark as him”(Le Guin 21). While aliens at the “Voluntary Farm” are described as growing darker. Yet they earlier are described as red-to-brown colouring with many inhabitants matching Genly’s skin colour. The author uses racist imagery of developing darkness as evil or traitorous. This idea is affirmed when Estraven early on explains patriotism as “I mean fear. The fear of the other. And its expressions are political, not poetical: hate, rivalry, aggression”(Le Guin 14). She explains this to show how “in these binaries a nostalgic longing for nature, a Rousseauistic desire for a community unfettered by the violence of cultural systems”(Namaste 223) exists no matter the society. The only way to break free is to escape, which is what Genly does.  

The problem is that a lot of early feminist science fiction books with genderbending narratives are written by men, so therefore sexist. In Woman’s World the conclusion involves the way to solve gender differences is for men to gift women more responsibilities. How nice of men. What a lovely, yet misogynistic, sentiment. The Disappearance by Philip Wylie has a similar message (Larbalestier 79). The ending does state by multiple characters that “sex” is a woman + a man. To separate the two creates havoc, but this is just by heteronormative standards(84). What about the lesbians? What about the asexuals? So much of gender ideals in this gender are based on physicalities. What genitalia is “female” what bodies are “male” and going off of masculine and feminine societal ideals. In addition, when talking about bodies race never is discussed, in fact there are no black men in the book (Larbalestier 85). The women are called a “coloured colony” living in tents behind white women’s houses. Being owned by them. The ideas are along the lines of everyone is equal and similar sentiments and now that people realize that everything is going to be ok. As if all who identify as male or female have equity within those labels (Larbalestier 80). There is a plethora of role reversing novels in feminist science fiction, written by men, as a way for males to understand their privilege. And the books that are written by women are mostly white women who are internally oppressing themselves without realizing it and using racist imagery that has been normalized by white male science fiction writers.  

Conclusion:

The failures of articles on cross-dressing, androgyny, and any kind of gender blurring. In other words, how word transgender seems to be invisible in academia while also in white feminist based theory. Society thinks of the wish to cross dress as a sexual fantasy, so it makes sense that hermaphroditism and greying of gender lines in more commonly accepted in the fantasy genre. But, there is little to no representation and the theory reflects,“one of the great failings of queer theory and especially queer politics has been their inability to incorporate into analysis of the world and strategies for political mobilization the roles that race, class, and gender play in defining people’s differing relations to dominant and normalizing power”(Cohen 457). Cyborgs are created bodies similar to the created bodies transgendered people and transvestites medically create through hormones and surgery. To have a nonbinary character on a popular children’s TV show is a good step towards more fantastical interpretations of gender besides Androgynous aliens and other monsters.

Bibliography:

Annas, Pamela J. "New Worlds, New Words: Androgyny in Feminist Science Fiction."Science Fiction Studies 5, no. 2 (1978): 143-56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4239176.

Applegate, Katherine. The Predator, Book 5. Animorphs. New York: Scholastic, 1996.

Bornstein, Kate, and S. Bear Bergman. Gender Outlaws: The next Generation. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2010.

Cohen, C. J. (1997). Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 3(4), 437-465.

De Lauretis, T. (1987). THE TECHNOLOGY OF GENDER. In Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction (pp. 1-30). Indiana University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gzmbr.4

Haraway, D. (2006). Cyborgs: A Myth of Political Identity. In S. Stryker & S. Whittle (Comps.), The Transgender Studies Reader (pp. 103-116). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Haraway, D. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late 20th Century." Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, (New York;Routledge,1991), 149-81.

Larbalestier, Justine. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. Middletown, (CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2002), 73-103.

Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. New York: Harper & Row, 1980.

Melzer, P. (2006). Beyond Binary Gender: Genderqueer Identities and Intersexed Bodies in Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed and Imago and Melissa Scott’s Shadow Man. In Alien Constructions (pp. 219-258). University of Texas Press.

Namaste, K. (1994). The Politics of Inside/Out: Queer Theory, Poststructuralism, and a Sociological Approach to Sexuality. Sociological Theory, 12(2), 220-231. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/201866

Vint, Sherryl. Cyberpunk: Return of the Repressed Body. Bodies of Tomorrow: Technology, Subjectivity, Science Fiction (pp.102-123). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.