#she should have been incredibly important and prominent and the emotional center of this narrative

[crystalelemental]

The blood thing kinda makes sense with how traits get passed down. It’s kinda like, okay one parent has A blood and one parent has B blood, shouldn’t the kid have AB blood? And sure that’s a possibility, but the kid could also have A or B alone, or even O depending on the specific makeup!

It does, kinda, if we account for real world systems.  Forgive me if I’m wrong, I don’t remember my Genealogy lore as well as I probably should, but it doesn’t work exactly like Crests in Three Houses, does it?  Like, Crests can skip people and only manifest sometimes, but that wasn’t the case for Holy Blood in Genealogy.  After all, the entire premise is that the main bloodline that carried Loptous had a successor with minor blood, and that this would be passed down for a certainty.  If there was a chance it couldn’t be passed, then the entirety of Manfroy’s plan fell apart.  After all, they don’t have blood tests, or visible representations of that blood’s presence like with Crests.  There was no way to actually tell for certain if both Deirdre and Arvis carried Loptous blood, so getting them to have kids would be random chance in multiple directions.  Maybe both parents don’t have minor blood.  Maybe the resulting child wouldn’t have major blood.  There would be so many variables that make his plan not only unlikely to succeed, but outright impossible to account for.  His own actions would be blindly flailing around in the dark trying to hit a moving target.  But he never seems unsure or treats it like this is a desperation play.  He’s certain it will work, which implies that the blood is guaranteed to be passed on, and that mixing two of the same Minor blood would make Major blood.  Hell, this is also how your own Gen 2 units work, and is part of crafting the perfect units for that half of the game.

So yeah, by real world rules, something like this could’ve happened.  But by Genealogy rules, it seems like Crusader and Loptous blood is guaranteed to be transmitted, either as major or minor blood, with the additional stipulation that two minor bloods of the same type mixing will create a Major blood, and that based on Deirdre and I think some others, you can and will inherit multiple types of blood at the same time.  Therefore, Julia and Julius should’ve both inherited the same major blood of both Naga and Loptous, and refusing to acknowledge that based on the rules they created is cowardice to create a more boring, stock-standard good-vs-evil conflict.

And that’s not even how it gets into the entire theme of Julia’s character, which is the whole destiny vs. personal choice thing.  If she’d had both Loptous and Naga blood within her, then it’s easy to understand that she or her brother could easily have been the scion of Naga or Loptous, and it was random chance (or more likely, Manfroy insisting a son would be stronger) that spared her.  We’d have more to go on with the whole dichotomy of being able to bring both ruin or salvation to the continent, but not both at the same time; she’d have to choose, and the potential for both is within her in a very concrete way.  It would emphasize both that some things are determined by blood, but personal agency and choice, and a bit of luck, shapes how you choose to be, and could’ve been further emphasized with literally any conclusion to her arc other than making her a boring plot device enemy for Seliph to save.  Instead, they opted to go with her just having the good blood.  Because she’s the good one.  And the good one does the good thing, which is beat the bad one, who only has the bad.  It’s boring, it’s stupid, and it’s completely antithetical to the whole point of Gen 1, which was largely around how well-intentioned, good-natured people can make horrific mistakes that cause awful results.  Genealogy is just such a mishandled mess of a story that wants so hard to believe it’s this deep and complex narrative, but it can’t even handle its own characters right.

[ghostmartyr]

I REALLY THINK THERES A CHANCE YMIR COULD BE ALIVE LIKE I KNOW IT

OKAY HI TODAY WE’RE EXPLORING THAT THING MOST OF MY FOLLOWERS POLITELY IGNORE ON THIS HERE BLOG.

Yeah, so if you’re just tuning in, since 93 this has been one of the homes for the conspiracy theory that Ymir’s supposed end is so out of line with her character arc, there’s probably something more to it.

From there it quickly morphed into, well, if you’re saying her death is unconvincing, wouldn’t that naturally mean…?

Cue the end of me being taken seriously. Very sad, oh well.

The original point was a mix of, hey, we don’t know what the final Titan does, and hey, no one’s ever fully experimented with that spinal fluid thing. Final Titan part is now defunct, but the spinal fluid theory remains prominent in the circles that buy into it.

Basically, way back in the Reiss cavern happy fun times, when it’s first revealed that okay, technically it’s not eating the person, eating the person is just the simplest way to get their spinal fluid into a mindless titan, that seemed mad relevant. Hey, great, we can give Historia the power without murdering the main character! Plot hack! Only that never happened, leaving the information on spinal fluid a neat little tidbit that has no ultimate bearing on the plot.

The argument then, is that in theory, if a mindless titan noms enough of a Shifter’s spinal fluid, they could theoretically take on the Titan without actually eating a person.

Problems with this include that it’s needlessly finicky, there’s a good chance of the mindless titan eating the person anyway, throwing vials of spinal fluid into its mouth sounds like it could end very very badly–like sure, maybe it’s biologically possible, but it would be difficult to pull off, and most parties interested in passing on Titans do not have time to accidentally screw up the inheritance process with dangerous experiments that don’t amount to anything.

Only in relatively recent times, an explanation for putting all that bother into the process has arisen. See, as the current plot stands, Zeke needs himself to be irreplaceable. Except he isn’t, because there’s one (1) other person in the world with royal blood. Everything he does can be undone by that one other person exercising their free will.

Enter Ymir. Someone that one other royal cares about. Someone that one other royal would do anything for.

Suddenly, keeping Ymir alive means keeping Zeke alive. If he can guarantee that Historia won’t interfere with his plans, no one can stop him. Zeke’s never met Historia. He knows nothing about her.

Except what Reiner and Bertolt can tell him. Except what the girl writing a love letter to her says.

Historia can hit the undo button on everything Zeke has worked for. She is his greatest threat (now that his brother is 100% definitely positively on his side). As long as her bloodline is alive, someone else can activate the Founding Titan.

Yet Zeke is completely unconcerned. With Eren on his side what does it matter–but Eren is the replaceable one in this equation. Eren’s not special. Zeke is the one they can’t replace.

Except that they can.

Unless Historia bows out of that race.

But why would she?

Zeke needs Historia out of the way for him to have a say in how things play out. If Eren and Zeke are both replaceable, the plan falls to pieces.

Historia is a threat. Zeke needs her compliant.

So.

Hostage time.

No one asks where Ymir is. She’s dead, after all. No one will think to accuse Zeke of manipulating the Queen. Ymir is off the playing field. Marley won’t ask. They have Jaws back. What do they care for one random Eldian girl with a cursed name?

It’s perfect. If Zeke keeps Ymir alive, he has something to bargain with against the Queen of Paradis. Without her, he has nothing but empty threats. Ymir is the only thing Zeke comes into contact with that has anything to do with Historia Reiss.

And this chapter neatly sidesteps any interaction they might have had.

Reiner and Bertolt are newly arrived. We see them explaining Eren to Zeke, which would be critical information shared as fast as possible.

Ymir is nowhere to be seen.

No ominous last view of her being shoved into a ship. No uncertain questions from the two boys she saved. She’s just… not around. She’s completely missing from a place she has every reason to be. Much like Historia’s absence in the plot.

There’s a place where she’s relevant. There’s a spot where her role in the world matters. Isayama has never shied away from dropping characters in flashbacks to toy with people’s emotions. He does it with almost every single one he bothers with. “Oh, we’re here now. Hey, remember who would also be here? :D”

But Ymir’s completely missing.

Zeke’s one link to Queen Reiss, who he would have had to physically restrain himself to not have interacted with, and he’s not shown interacting with her at all. Reiner and Bertolt aren’t shown having emotions related to her at all. If Ymir never existed, the scene between them would have played out exactly the same way.

It starts to be something strange. The same thing is happening with Historia. She goes unmentioned in places she’s relevant.

They’ve both been escorted off the stage. For Ymir, while there was never an excuse for writing her into that decision, there is at least the excuse of well, she’s not presently relevant to the plot. For Historia? She is one of the most important people on the face of the planet by virtue of existing, and the story has been doing everything in its power to keep her off center stage.

Historia’s critically important. Ymir’s important to Historia. Zeke needs Historia to back off, and has no way of achieving that. Her actually having a kid would keep her in line in that she couldn’t eat him–but it would be devastating to Zeke’s plans. Yelena, who knows that, has her own reaction panel to Historia being willing to accept the Beast Titan, and yet the MPs theorize she’s the one to have convinced Historia to have a kid early.

Zeke needs Historia to play nice.

Historia is playing nice, by all accounts.

(She is also incredibly unhappy.

With only a guy incredibly indebted to her (her specifically) for company.)

Ymir is missing from somewhere she should have been.

It works. It works beautifully. Arguably its only flaw is that it’s too happy, because it would mean Shifters aren’t doomed and Historia and Ymir can reunite, but if we look at what Zeke being free to move about the cabin has inflicted on the world, I don’t think we have much of a risk for the tone to be radically altered by this.

Ymir had every place to belong in that flashback. She’s not there.

This manga’s greatest strength is its character work. Ymir’s fate has never made any sense from a character standpoint. Historia’s decisions as presented are a direct violation of her entire arc.

There are things that don’t make sense in both of their narrative paths, and what’s always been more important than anything else to them is each other. If there were ever two people as candidates to fuck up the world by having their love for each other manipulated…

Come on. It’s gorgeous.

[thesaltminers]

The Curious Case of Megan Derr

Megan Derr is the co-owner of Less Than Three Press, an indie LGBTQ publishing house--and she’s also their most prolific author. Before LT3’s founding, Megan posted her slash fiction on LiveJournal and Fictionpress, epicenters of older wank that unfortunately went unrecorded.

Over the years, Megan has been embroiled in several dramas, none of which impeded LT3’s growth. When juxtaposed with similar controversies, this lack of fallout becomes curious.

Was she just Not That Bad, comparatively? Did people not care? Or had Megan's navigation of the drama de-escalate any chance at a larger blow up? We investigate.

Why does Megan matter?

As visible co-owner of a successful and award-winning LGBTQ press, Megan is officially a gatekeeper. Her personal opinions matter and her voice reflects on her business… theoretically. Of course, in the past Megan has implied she was a martyr for the community, working so hard for them, whilst neatly minimising that her profit also comes from that same community

Nonetheless, she has a direct hand in what gets published, which is her right as co-owner. LT3 proactively publishes trans, bi, ace, and other less-exposed areas of the queer spectrum.

While this is obviously wonderful in a lot of ways, LT3's prominence in this particular publishing sphere becomes concerning when you realize that Megan Derr's personal beliefs and ethics drive the majority of the publishing decisions, and thus, what representation is produced. Given her avowed dislike of #OwnVoices (which will be expanded upon further in this report) and her insistence that the subject of a genre is not the audience for that genre, the implications are troubling.

We posit that Megan skirts the line of actionable offences, but works to "poison the well" or create a toxic environment. This is more ephemeral than other infamous instances of wank, but it is a long-running pattern of behavior with real consequences for both individuals and the community as a whole.

Social Media Climate

Recently, we compiled reports on Santino Hassell and Riptide Press, the latter of whom is still attracting attention for bad decisions.

Social media is primed for another explosion. The match was lit when the Bi Book Award finalists were announced and several Twitter users took umbrage with the two competing publishers of the year: Riptide Publishing and Less Than Three Press.  

The current call out

Twitter user BrookieRayWrite reacted to the Bi Award announcement with a threaded post, which included screenshots of Megan's past behaviour. They referenced two incidents: Megan’s dislike of #OwnVoices—a movement in publishing to uplift authentic minority experiences so that people could find content they felt connected to—and her blog post declaring M/M is for women.

However, this was not the first time someone tried to call out Megan. Heidi Belleau, an author LGBTQ romance, posted a comprehensive thread in 2016.

The rest of which, can be found here.

Nothing came from this Twitter call out. But now Heidi has resurfaced with her complaints about Megan, and with her comes an old wank standby to defend Megan--Aleksandr Voinov.

Yep. He called her crazy. In case you missed it, Heidi Belleau takes on this moniker to analyze its silencing and delegitimizing function. In short, Voinov is not only being ableist, he is actively working to create a hostile landscape to voices critical of Megan Derr.

Moments of Note

“No Gay Aces”

In an incident that went unrecorded, but that we witnessed at the time, an author published a book with a character who identified as “gay ace.” Incensed, Megan declared that there was no such thing. This conflict is worthy of note because its exemplifies Megan’s confidence in her own rightness and her refusal to ever back down from a position, a character trait that shines through in following events.

However, perhaps it also showcases Megan’s reaction when she knows she’s incorrect—as of now, the conflict seems to have been scrubbed from GoodReads. We hesitate to include unsupported facts, but feel it is important in Megan Derr's case to establish her pattern of behavior, in order to examine her tactics and strategy.

“Rose Lemberg”

At the height of #OwnVoices, Megan was becoming increasingly irritated over what she interpreted as a movement to outlaw people writing outside of their identity. She replied to a Tweet by Rose Lemberg—

Apparently Megan needed a reaction, because she Tweeted at Rose twice.

Megan's interpretation of “you are not doing us a favor,” as “don’t do this,” has the unfortunate implication that she believes writing outside of her identity is doing someone a favor.

When Rose removed themself from the conversation, Megan reacted thusly:

She steamrolls over Rose's "no spoons" comment, a clear signal in the disabled community that further engagement would be literally damaging to the respondent. The fact that she ignores that signal is incredibly ableist—and if she's ignorant about that, it just shows how unprepared she is to write disabled characters, thus proving Rose's point.

After confronting Rose, and not getting the response she wanted, Megan unfollowed.

Megan apologized for misgendering Rose, and we do not believe she would intentionally misgender someone. However, it does illustrate her "shoot first" nature.

“M/M Is for Women”

Turnabout is fair play, in a sense, because Megan had her own opportunity to open a discussion and then immediately block responses to it.

Megan lobbed quite the cannonball across the community’s bow with this fascinating retort against white cis gay men, prompted by a gay man who had called out the M/M genre for its fetishism of its subjects. Out of all her altercations, this one may be the most ill-advised (in a PR sense). It is also one where she found her audience not only unreceptive, but actively accusatory.

Whatever her point may have been, Megan said M/M wasn’t for gay men. Yes, Yaoi, BL, and slash fic was, on the surface level, fueled initially by a female audience. Yes, they fall under different genre conventions than the works of EM Forster and other literary authors. But there’s something undeniably and offensively entitled about declaring ownership of a genre over the actual subject of that genre.

When Megan felt that people were ignoring her reasoning unfairly, she shut down comments.

Friend/Colleague Exodus

If one were to casually take note of the comings and goings of Megan’s friends and colleagues, they may notice a gradual change in the cast of characters. The common denominator of this situation, of course, is Megan. There is a track record of Megan and her sister, Sam, saying oddly misguided and downright offensive comments to their authors, usually trans authors, at which point the relationship is ended and the author quietly moves on.

Water off a duck’s back

People in Megan’s sphere have probably noted that, controversy after controversy, nothing sticks. Even after years of wanky drama all throughout M/M’s history, with the inevitable apologies and flounces from the authors and readers at the center of each crisis, Megan keeps on trucking. The question is, what makes her different?

Leaving the realm of screenshots and facts, there’s only theory to go on. For instance, maybe the conflicts Megan faces are small enough, and far enough apart, that no one can exactly put into words why they think she should be called out. Or perhaps the people who dislike her realize some hypocrisy would come with accusing her of something. (Those in glass houses, etc.)

From a more practical angle, she almost never apologizes. Typically, the subjects of wank quibble, apologize several times, and release statements. Megan usually just posts a few accusatory tweets and then moves on after blocking anyone who could possibly question her worldview.

As evidenced by the more recent wanks, there is generally tangible evidence of harm with multiple victims stepping forward to detail their abuse. However, this takes years and momentum for this to occur. We know that Megan has her share of victims as well, and we know that they have experienced mental and emotional harm that has had real impact on their ability to work. Yet if people were to inspect why they don’t like her, would they only find several blog posts and Tweets that are abrasive and tone-deaf?

Her Modus Operandi has always been to aggressively confront someone she disagrees with (ex. Rose Lemberg) and then flounce/block when she’s challenged. Mirroring that, when someone confronts or disagrees with her, she immediately shuts down discussion (ex. M/M is for Women blog post).

As the co-owner of LT3, she also partly controls the narrative of indie LGBTQ publishing. Her choices and attitude influence the community tone and acceptable in-group culture, and, arguably, add toxicity. However, to pin down specific instances (and therefore confront and address them), is incredibly difficult—which is possibly why every call out thus far has dwindled without fanfare.  

In Summation

The overarching, and fascinating, truth about Megan is sometimes she makes sense. Unfortunately, she also says a lot of bullshit. This may come from a lack of ability to grasp nuance.

Does #OwnVoices put pressure on people to out their life circumstances for the sake of credibility? Probably, yes. But others feel confident in self-reporting, wanting their voices out there for others to hear them. Do people mispronounce white people’s names? Yes. But that doesn’t negate the racist undertones and microaggressions minorities face when people mock their names. These, among other situations, are odd hills Megan chooses to die on seemingly because she doesn’t want to understand them.

The current call out is in reaction to the Bi Awards. Certain authors have stepped forward to Tweet their protest of LT3's nomination. They argue that Megan, as the owner of LT3, has promoted an environment that does harm to bi voices, and they feel it is inappropriate for her to be celebrated in this specific context.

The situation is still developing. From here, we can see only two branching paths. Either those running the Bi Awards rescind LT3's nomination, or they do not.

But this event is dredging up old salt. As with any wank, one is left wondering what the conclusion should be; Exile? Apology? Loss of sales? What does a successful call out look like? Megan is a real person with a wife and a business that she has worked hard to develop. She publishes minority representation because she believes in that effort.

But her belief does not exculpate her.

She has managed to repeatedly dodge accountability. Whether this is through calculated tactics or a magical formula she managed to stumble upon doesn't change the fact that she has actively contributed to making the community hostile to marginalized people. It doesn't change the fact that her status as a major publisher among LGBTQIA online presses shields her, especially as those who would ordinarily call her out for bad behavior must hesitate and consider the economic ramifications of doing so.

Now, to guess what Megan might pull from this to deflect responding to the salient points? Probably that we mentioned her mom voted for Trump.

Interesting links: 

Heidi

http://archive.is/Aio1f

http://archive.li/1IknD

http://archive.li/SsQ41

Maria_Reads

http://archive.li/zPqGa

http://archive.li/kCInK

[rebeccaheyman]

reading + listening 9.29.20

It was another week of soaring highs and middling mediocrity, but fortunately no DNFs. Notably, I’ve been dragging my heels on PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke, which has been sitting on my desk in gorgeous hard cover since release day. You ever want to love a book so much that you’re afraid to actually read it? No, no, me neither. Here’s hoping I get brave this week. In the meantime...

It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake (Claire Christian), eBook ARC (US pub date February 2021). I loved this book so much that I’m already looking forward to owning the aBook once it’s available, just so I can relive the magic in a new way. Here’s my five-star NetGalley review: 

I have discovered the antidote to the unmitigated disaster that is the year 2020, and it is IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, NONI BLAKE. I inhaled this book in under 24 hours and feel soul-satisfied in a way I forgot existed. NONI BLAKE is a rom-com that's so much more than a rom-com; it's as much a character study as LESS and as much a travelogue as WILD, with the sweetness of Mhairi MacFarlane, the delicious heat of Sally Thorne, and the humor of every best friend you've ever gotten drunk with. It is, in a word, perfect.

When I say this book has it all, I am not kidding. In it, you will find: - an average-bodied woman finding sexual empowerment and body positivity - a Scottish book boyfriend for whom you do not need to travel through time - healthy adult friendships - A+ Bechdel Test score - adventurous, consensual sex that is at times hilarious and at other times really, really hot - situational comedy that will legitimately make you laugh out loud - adults who talk openly about their feelings in an authentic, mature way - portrayals of grief that range in severity from mourning the loss of an unborn child to coming to terms with years of self-criticism and negativity - rich, descriptive prose that does not drag down pacing - excellent plotting, perfectly balanced with the protagonist's complex internal journey

...the list goes on. This book is joy exemplified. I can't wait to give it to every woman I know. My only complaint is that the world needs this book immediately to inoculate us against the tidal wave of awfulness bombarding the globe, and yet it won't be released until 2021.

Notably, Australian readers have access to NONI BLAKE as of... today (!), so if you happen to be reading this in Australia, please do yourself a favor and buy this book immediately. And if there’s someone you especially like elsewhere in the world, maybe box up a copy and spread the love.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Talia Hibbert), eBook ARC (pub date March 2021). I know, I know -- how many contemporary romcoms with the exact same title structure can I read in a single week? Real answer: 2. But based on how fabulous both these titles were, I’m open to more. Here’s my four-star NetGalley review:

I've decided it's entirely impossible to read the Brown Sisters series without feeling amazing. Hibbert's writing is so smart, funny, and full of A+ banter -- not to mention scorching-hot heat -- that it almost feels like we don't deserve her books' nuances, diverse representations, and patriarchy-shaking feminism.

But we do deserve it, actually, and it's all there in ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN.

If at first Eve seems flighty and difficult to connect with, don't discount the intentionality of her characterization. In a tidy narrative trick, Hibbert gives us the very experience that defines many of Eve's friendships: while the youngest Brown sister may have made a great first impression in Chloe and Dani's books, her flightiness feels off-putting once she takes center stage. But sticking with Eve -- instead of pushing her to the margins of our two-person social circle -- has a massive pay-off, as she soon reveals herself to be intensely focused on helping others, spreading joy, and baking delicious cake. It's a side of Eve too many of her "friends" never get to see -- but Reader, we do. And it turns out, Eve is a wonder.

Many of Eve's quirks align with behaviors on the autism spectrum; while Jacob's autistic presentation is perhaps more conventional, Eve's traits are equally validated by Hibbert's sensitive, nuanced treatment of the disorder. Romance + autism usually means antisocial behaviors, rigidity, and/or Asperger's-like presentation (The Kiss Quotient/Bride Test, The Girl He Used to Know, The Rosie Project... the list goes on). But ACT YOUR AGE explores the all important "spectrum" side of "autism spectrum disorder," and urges us to resist believing we understand what these labels mean just because we understand one small aspect of a very large picture.

All of this happens while a truly compelling, heart-melting romance unfolds. Eve and Jacob are incredibly fun to watch, and Hibbert keeps things moving at a lovely clip. I especially appreciated her resistance to the "h/h have to spend totally unnecessary time apart after an argument/misunderstanding" trope in Act III, which is a convention I would happily see go the way of the dinosaur.

Fair warning to your TBR pile: If you don't reread Chloe and Dani's books prior to picking up ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN, you're going to want to afterward. There's simply no other way to maintain the rosy glow of post-Hibbert reading.

Finally, I'm predicting here and now that Mont, Alex and Tess are the next sibling trio to get the Hibbert treatment. (Please? Like...PLEASE please?)

Set My Heart to Five (Simon Stephenson), aBook (narr. Christopher Ragland, Rachael Louise Miller, Lance C. Fuller). If you combined the signature humor/love combo of David Nicholls, the deeply felt nostalgia of Ready Player One, and the bots-with-feelings hypothesis of Spielburg’s AI, you might come close to understanding what makes SET MY HEART TO FIVE so good. In the year 2054, the world has taken some unexpected turns: humans have accidentally locked themselves out of the internet, Elon Musk blew up the moon (also accidentally), and humanoid bots have been integrated into society as second-class pseudo-citizens. We meet Jared -- bot, dentist, cat-owner -- who has begun to experience curious malfunctions. With a friend’s help, and a heaping dose of old movies, Jared realizes he can feel real emotions. He resolves to journey west to Hollywood, where he’ll write a movie that changes the way humans view bots and paves the way for his bot brothers and sisters to enjoy the full range of human experience. 

Jared’s explanations of human behavior provide a satirical commentary on our curious, often contradictory behaviors (”Humans. I cannot!”). Since films from the pre-bot age figure so prominently in Jared’s emotional awakening, that same satirical analysis is applied to movie synopses, which are rendered with necessary frequency but occasionally feel like overkill. The book relies heavily on a lovely trick of narrative reciprocity; Jared is on an archetypal hero’s journey, even as he strives to write a formulaic screenplay according to the “golden rules” of the fictitious script expert, R.P. McWilliams. But SET MY HEART TO FIVE never feels hackneyed, and in more than one way proves the rule that great stories are all in the telling.

With the innocence and clarity that can only come from being something of a stranger in a strange land, Jared embraces his existence with infectious enthusiasm and charm. It’s virtually impossible not to cheer for his success, even as we’re warned again and again that a great story will “eff us in the heart” at its conclusion. Audio is brilliantly narrated by Christopher Ragland, who manages to imbue the bot cadence we expect with believable nuance and big style. 

Well Played (Jen DeLuca), aBook (narr. Brittany Pressley). I’ve got bad news for fans of WELL MET: If you wondered whether your enjoyment of Deluca’s ren-faire romcom debut of 2019 was due in large part to the book’s setting -- and more specifically, the way h/h’s interactions at the faire advanced the storyline -- the answer is yes. And why is that bad news, you ask? Well, because WELL PLAYED has none of the crackling Emily/Simon tension that carried the first book through its narrative stumbles. In book 2, the glacially slow Act I relies heavily on Stacy’s recitation of what makes her life humdrum, and a long series of email exchanges we *know* are coming from the conspicuously introduced Daniel -- even though Stacy, apparently suffering a traumatic brain injury, convinces herself it’s idiot playboy (and Daniel’s cousin) Dex. Sorry not sorry for the “spoiler,” which is impossible not to see coming from many miles away. Once this pseudo-conflict is resolved, the book boils down to situational fluff: a wedding, a squeaky mattress, the literal number of pumpkin spice lattes Stacy drinks over the course of a month. If it sounds like this is not a plot, that’s because it isn’t. The romance is low-stakes, the “uncrossable divide” that eventually separates h/h is the width and depth of a puddle, and the last third of the book is pretty much solely devoted to setting up a Mitch/April romance in book 3.

Notably, I found references to Stacy’s body-consciousness extremely strange. If we want to normalize average-sized women in romance, maybe we do that by not including, apropos of literally nothing, how “unflattering” woman-on-top sexual positions are?! Stacy is not characterized by self-consciousness, so the moments when her interiority veers toward self-criticism don’t feel necessary. I’m not saying these aren’t authentic thoughts and feelings plenty of women have, but an editor should have pushed DeLuca to answer the question to what end? Why include body hyperawareness in the precise moments when it appears? Like too much of the prose in WELL PLAYED, these inclusions felt like word-count boosting instead of dynamic character development or plot production. Sad as I am to say it, this book was a missed opportunity that shows the danger of rushing book 2 to market. 

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Olivia Waite), aBook (narr. Morag Sims). This book has been on my radar since its publication last summer. Gorgeous cover aside, I’m always here for diverse historical romance. Sadly, for me, the external stakes here were simply too low, and relied overmuch on the baffling revelation that men -- especially in this historical moment --  underestimate and undermine women. I never felt discernible chemistry between Lucy and Catherine. This could be due, in part, to Morag Sims’ narration, which pitches Catherine’s voice in a low, husky range that accentuated the women’s age difference. From the outset, we learn that Catherine is the widow of one of Lucy’s father’s colleagues; while Lucy is the more sexually forward woman in this partnership, there’s something a little An Education about the whole arrangement. 

On my radar this week:

Piranesi (Susanna Clarke) 

A Deadly Education aBook (Naomi Novik)

We Can Only Save Ourselves ARC (Alison Wisdom)

Angel in a Devil’s Arms (Julie Anne Long)

The Project ARC (Courtney Summers)

The Love Square ARC (Laura Jane Williams)

[queervideogameculture-blog]

Queer Video Game Pop Culture: A New Medium For Inter-sectional Research and LGBTQ Representation

by Jesse Jacobs

If the above video is any indication, video games have become a source of representation for the LGBTQ community. When one thinks of modern video games, the thing they probably don’t think very much of is the representation of LGBTQ people in them, unless you identity as such. You probably also don’t have the ability to properly recollect when and how a proper, meaningful representation even took place in a modern video game. Well, the queer video game culture blog attempts to shatter the ice for those in the dark on the topic, as well as enlighten those who are simply unsure about how intricate LGBTQ representation goes in video games. In today’s world, video games are a viable source of entertainment for countless millions, and that’s only growing. It makes complete sense why visibility for all demographics and inclusion of virtually every kind of person should be part of this genre of incredible, ever growing and changing entertainment. The most important topic when discussing LGBTQ representation in video games and why it’s a viable area for study is the intersectional approach that can be applied to discuss why race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability are all topics that aren’t discussed nearly enough. While there is a dime a dozen game that may go over some element of any of these topics, it’s often sparse. However, it’s important when you see them because inclusion at all is inclusion enough to notice and analyze.

The idea of pop culture has been around for as long as there have been humans, in one way shape or form, and it’s only grown and evolved with the times. Things such as the printing press, magazines, theater, radio, TV all have played pivotal roles in evolving our vision of pop culture. The internet especially has changed how we both learn about and consume pop culture. And yes, even video games fall into this category. In fact, any sort of mass media is considered pop culture, and yet not many pop cultural studies explore video games as of yet (Ziesler, 2008). That’s curious, because it’s a billion dollar industry with gaming projects that can take 5 years or more to finish. They commission and hire larger teams than some triple-A movie projects to create games larger than life, and each subsequent gaming “generation” (generally when technology changes), we see a major change in the look, feel, and the very capability of the games. In this way, video games are a reflection of modern culture. Culture itself is a social behavior as much as it is what we create. Everything around us that humans have created, whether it’s tangible or in our minds as pre-existing perceptions and beliefs of society, have a capacity to influence us, and they do, every day in fact. We’re constantly being shaped and reshaped by culture. And the culture changes with us as much as we ourselves change it. Change may seem miniscule from day to day to individuals, even year to year, but over the course of a couple decades or a generation change is enormous. Culture and pop culture specifically, has to evolve, or die. As society grows and matures it makes total sense why more and more people within it want inclusion and representation, and thus people seek popular culture to consume that they can relate to and resonate with (Sardar, 1997).

Gone are the days of isolated lives, and in are the days of constant bombardment of pop culture. Of course, many of us today simply don’t think without it. Pop culture has been so wired into us that it’s simply part of us. We’re consuming it as much as it’s consuming us. The importance to queer pop culture research is very important, in all its facets. It gives layers of credibility to the past, the present, and where the future may go. It also helps forge identities, for better or worse, and that in itself is a very important aspect of why pop culture is so important. It has the capacity to influence us in our day to day lives that we may not even think about it very deeply, and yet, there it is. Your cell phone alerts. Your homepage; your favorite YouTube video ; that one show you tune into on TV or your premium on-demand streaming channel; prime time news (Ott, Robert, 2010).

But media also has the power to manipulate us, and no we’re not talking conspiracy theory and paranoia. We’re talking about the fact that media can toy with us in ways that we won’t even notice. Most importantly and on topic, it gives us mass marketed images of LGBTQ people. While TV and film, and written material for that matter, have evolve tremendously in recent years, the inclusion of LGBTQ people, stories, and premises in video games is still hard to come by. It’s not hard to imagine why queer youth culture studies is important to consider, as it notices the reality that many people, whether they be gay, lesbian, or otherwise, try to even fill in story gaps to fictional characters in pop culture, regardless of what medium it may be, in order to relate to the characters more. Where one lacks representation, you create it. Writers aren’t perfect, so they will often leave loopholes open that give ability for someone to create a level of background story, on their own, to rationalize why a character is in fact gay or lesbian for instance. It sounds silly to some perhaps, rationalized a gay or lesbian character where it’s not clear that there is any, but it continues to be a viable way for someone to find representation where they feel it’s missing (Driver, 2008).

Modern video games have begun to show signs of change in the past few years. Game series by notable developer Bioware have often been inclusive of different sexualities, as well as races, and romantic relationships are available, even same-sex ones. Whether it’s the Dragon Age series or Mass Effect, the options have you choose your character, in many cases both gender and race, and let you make choices throughout the set-up narrative to “click” with one person or another. Herein lays the fact that these are personal stories that you choose, and that’s very important. But not many games dare have a character be anyone LGBTQ by default. Though there are a few notable ones. One in particular is Ellie, from The Last of Us, the mega hit from 2013 and released originally on Playstation 3. It was good enough to get a remaster on Playstation 4 years later, and for good reason. The game is amazing all on its own, but perhaps the most important aspect of the game is the fact they made Ellie, a young girl support character, an official lesbian. She even has her own personal story that touches on this bit, which was originally available as an add-on to the game. Other notable gay characters from modern games include Kung Jin from Mortal Kombat X, Tiny Tina from Borderlands 2, Sam from Gone Home, Dorian from Dragon Age: Inquisition, Juhani from Knights of the Old Republic, Dr. Jessica Kendel from The Division, and of course any sort of personally created character in games that make you create your own story and tailor that persons sexuality and/or gender whichever way you please. In Mass Effect 3, Steve Cortez was one of the permanently gay characters of the series that was introduced, even if one of the few. What made this character notable was the well-known “mass effect gay sex scene”, which was, basically shirtless cuddling. In any case it was a positive step forward for the series, and the gaming industry (Tassi, 2016).

 The thing about modern gaming and LGBTQ representation is that many of the characters are given background stories and plots all their own, so they aren’t just shallow gay or lesbian personas with no personality. They are given a level of depth that brings them to life. It’s up to you if you pursue any sort of relationship with them, at least in the case of open ended games like these and anything Bioware. In the case of characters, now legendary, such as Ellie (above photo, right), is that the story arc that was implemented when her lesbian relationship was made public came as a surprise by some, and a welcome one by many more. The story itself centers on a teenage girl growing up and struggling with life issues, only during an apocalypse about 20 years in. It’s very emotional at parts and also, very much so, is very personal and relatable to reality. This story addition to an already incredible narrative, fleshing out personal life of one of it’s important female characters, is a watershed of a moment for the gaming industry. It’s confusing at parts, conflicting, and even troubling, but that’s just what being a teenager is all about, and The Last of Us: Left Behind, is something that has the chance to blossom new narratives that are both similar and different, as it’s creating a style of play and mixed with story and character depth that very (if any) video games had attempted before this (MacDonald, 2014).

There are in fact transgender characters in video games as well, even if they don’t get as much exposure as even lesbian or gay characters. In Super Mario, first debuting in 1988, we have Birdo, a pink yoshi-like character (top right in image below).  Poison (left, below), is a transgender character from the Final Fight/Street Fighter arcade and video game series and one of the most well-known transgender characters all together in gaming. Chrono Trigger’s Flea (middle, below) is another one of note. Bridget (bottom, right), from Guilty Gear, is yet another. Leo from Tekken, Guillow from Baten Kaitos, and Quina Quen from Final Fantasy 9 are all also considered prominent transgender characters (7 Transgender, N.D.).

Video games continue to evolve to include more diversity and less cliché when it comes to sexuality, but the representation itself has only been growing steadily, albeit slowly. The video below was filmed about four years ago, when interviewers asked visitors to those years PAX Prime what they thought about LGBTQ representation in games. Some were able to come up with various titles, while others weren’t able to recollect any memorable ones. But while this is about four years old, it’s a good representation of how the industry is today as not many other titles, aside from the aforementioned ones above, have legitimate LGBTQ relationships. 

It’s important to note that up until now, there hasn’t been a good framework to really study LGBTQ people in games. Queer theory is a theory system that first gained prominence decades ago, and it was meant to study anything and all queer related. But it often only focused on white, especially male, queerness and never really addressed different races and genders. Quare studies is a slightly newer approach that focuses on everything other than the white male norm that queer theory sought out to cover, thus covering information about blacks, Hispanics, and others who fell through queer theories cracks. Future models of both queer theory and quare studies will have to evolve and incorporate newer aspects of culture, especially video games that have already been prominent for decades, even if the idea of LGBTQ representational research games feels like a shallow pool of study. In fact, because it’s still in its earl years, with some of the most notable characters mentioned in this writing, it’s safe to say it’s the best time to look into and research LGBTQ representation in video games (Johnson, n.d.).

           The future of LGBTQ representation in video games is an exciting one, and this is coming from a completely heterosexual male. The idea of seeing more people not isolated and able sees both social and cultural acceptance in games means that the industry has come a long way. Just as movies and TV are still evolving the medium and expressing more varied styles of relationships, so are video games. The future prospect of more equality may hold true, but the future will be more clearly seen when more research is done. As a medium created solely for a project in a queer pop culture college course, the information provided here is simply a gateway to newer fields of understanding and acceptance.

References:

7 Badass Transgender Video Game Characters. Retrieved on 8-13-2017, from: https://lgbtqbusinesses.com/transgender-video-game-characters/

Driver, S. (2008) Queer Youth Cultures. Albany: SUNY Press. PDF.

Johnson, P. (n.d.) Quare Studies. Retrieved on 7-16-2017. PDF.

MacDonald, K. (2014). The Significance of The Last of Us: Left Behind. Retrieved August 14, 2017, from http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/19/the-significance-of-the-last-of-us-left-behind

Ott, Brian L., and Robert L. Mack. Critical Media Studies: An Introduction. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. PDF.