#sorry for turning your post into an essay OP. especially one that's mostly about a different artistic medium

[thorne1435]

True, true. Essay time!

For the sake of writing, the offensive part is in how your characters act and react towards your clockable trans person. If they're respectful about it, then everything is fine. It's just realism, at that point, and that sort of positive portrayal might make it a little easier to encounter someone like that in real life.

The same can be said of a visual medium: draw women with adam's apples or slight beard-shadow or strong jawbones, because some of us have those traits, cis and trans alike. Then, someone who's never seen a trans woman before sees your artwork and if they finally do see a trans woman in the wild (or just a cis woman with masculine features), they'll be less taken aback by the fact that some women have adam's apples and/or etc. This is an important part of destigmatization.

Must I, once more, direct our attention to Ticker (Warframe)? She's very masculine, and y'know what? It's not a big deal. Nobody fucks with her. She's unabashedly a woman in spite of the clockability, and that fucks severely. Because it's real. It resonates with people who are like her. It gives them hope that there are people out there who are willing to accept them in spite of it, while simultaneously creating those accepting people in the first place.

As cliché as it is to say, representation matters. Especially when it's realistic and respectful. I remember when I was still cis and transphobic, I absolutely had my world view move slightly to the left when I had to accept that she was a woman and there was no issue with that. And that's pretty impressive given how little dialogue Ticker actually had when she was introduced. Imagine what can be accomplished with an obviously-trans character who's thrust directly into the spotlight as a side-character who is frequently interacted with and maybe even talks about they're experiences! But if we can't have that, just give the women an adam's apple and the men a soft face every now and again. Just for us.

to cis artists, yr allowed to draw trans characters to be clockable, in fact i encourage it. it's not politically incorrect or offensive to depict trans people as being obviously trans, especially if you're drawing cartoons. its not a stereotype a lot of us just look like that

[remusawoooo]

anon here, excited to read the essay! i asked you because i really like your takes and i see people in the more canon-adjacent parts of the marauders fanbase to complain about the extremes of the fanon one, though personally ive never really seen anything Too extreme, tho thats probably just tantamount to how well i curate my spaces i suppose (ive seen people say that fanon makes remus really “alpha” or makes sirius “bimbofied” and while ive seen hints of those extremes here and there, mostly it looks like it varies from person to person. ive just seen remus be more assertive than he probably is in canon, or sirius being more dramatic and “fem” than he probably is in canon). from what i know people like exaggerating events (the prank, etc.) or shifting some personality traits, but i dont really think thats a bad thing - i personally enjoy it. as long as they dont completely turn characters into stereotypes (though its a pitfall of every fandom, i fear), then whatever its just camp.

people are allowed to criticize stuff like that though, not taking that away from anyone, i personally just dont really care enough to be totally accurate esp since this hyperfix is kind of the bottom of the barrel for me LMAO. but i ask mostly bc im just curious to see what other peoples opinions are, and bc i think - especially in a fanbase like this - that its incredibly important to be at least a little critical with your media experience and reflect on it. saying “oh fuck canon we’re just having fun” is fine and all, i dont think anyone is stopping you, i think the personalities people have made up for characters that have zero screen time are super fun and the little ships are not everyones tea but like its fine. but even still, people should be way more aware of what characters theyre dealing with and from what franchise, and like reflect on any biases you may have. if youre making shit up for a random DE character, or retconning some sutff, okay, whatever, but be sure to not defend or like suddenly turn to really weird rhetoric. idk i think its the bare minimum in a fanbase like this

i definitely rambled way too much here, super sorry op! i hope this doesnt bother you, feel free to reply or feel free to not. i just really like hearing peoples thoughts on things, and i like your takes and your blog so i hope i didnt catch you by surprise. i really am just an outsider trying to look in LOL

hello anon, I'm sorry I lost your ask. I was writing on my laptop and saved the draft (but apparently had to press on alt, and didn't do it) so I basically lost your question and half of my initial response. Ty for sending in another ask!! Not a bother at all, i find this very lovely :D 

I was mortified to find that someone who isn't really a part of the fandom was perceiving me while I was complaining about fictional characters ahahaha. still, thank you for validating me and asking my thoughts on the mischaracterization of marauders!! I do talk about it daily, unfortunately, and without any prompt too. I'll try to gather all my thoughts here. I don't necessarily come across fanon as much as I did when I reentered the fandom and honestly, I can not be more with you about curating your space !! at the end of the day, I am just here to have fun, and really, pointing out these issues is not a good time at all! But I do post a lot about these, I can't be bothered to bottle up any thoughts lol.

I think the major issue I have with current interpretations is the underlying bigotry that comes along with it. There is a lot of unchecked problematic content that doesn't sit right with me.

Flanderizing characters in fandom interpretations is not limited to marauders fandom obviously. any popular media will face this because so many of us want to interact with one character so their traits are simplified for easier consumption and to find a common ground. this is also not limited to new marauders fandom. even in the older era, leather jacket-wearing, motorbike-driving quintessential bad boy siruis was a thing. so I won't nitpick on silly simplifications.

I just want to say that this isn't about me wanting everyone to have the same interpretations as I do about the canon. I follow so many lovely people and I don't agree with all of their posts. But, we all just simply share the love for these characters in the text and form an imaginary community. So, if we were to remove all the issues I will mention, it is still very well possible to have different personal takes.

Here are some of my issues:

Queerness, Gender roles, and misogyny:

My biggest problem is the representations of queer relationships. the fandom packages these couples in a strange and obvious heteronormative mold where the individuals fit into male and female gender roles. mlm and wlw are now an “f/m”* stereotype and characterization gets affected by the ships. Heterosexual relationships shouldn't have these limitations either, anyway. There is no one way to be a woman or a man. With queer relationships in particular, we have reclaimed the word queer now but it was used to describe the unconventional weirdness in the relationship. We didn't fit into the normal portrayal of a loving relationship. So, it really bothers me, even in fiction, that queer ships are popularly consumed in a way that represents a traditional template. (*this is not about gender itself but the gender roles! f/m can very well be queer!). 

Let's take the biggest victim in this fandom: sirius.

Sirius’ portrayal concerning his gender and sexuality has heavily changed his characterization in the fanon. We have a character who is popularly headcanonned as trans and is it a coincidence that all their traits have changed from the og material? Sirius is suddenly vain, whiny, and dumb. Canon doesn't suggest this interpretation, it has to have stemmed from somewhere. It's the implicit bias. Sirius becomes a caricature of what a woman “should be”. When we focus on sexuality, there is the suddenly short twink sirius who has the same new traits- proving the point of fulfilling gender roles. These characteristics are a stand-in for the “female” role of the traditional relationship and it becomes more clear in the example of new age wolfstar. Remus is now the big alpha stoic manly man- the obvious stand-in for the “male” role. I could go on, it is apparent in the way you can see remus becomes a caretaker and sirius is taken care of.

The point I am trying to make is not to discourage gender/sexuality hc. I love them, keep them coming. But, why is female sirius not tall suddenly? It is not inherently bad at all to have a feminine and masculine pairing! But why do we need to change the constitutions of these characters to consume their relationship?

I'll keep dropping disclaimers because I hate being misinterpreted: I don't obviously mean every single person is doing this or that doing one of the things means doing the other too. 

Race:

It is related to the point above. I was personally so excited to see the popular desi james hc. Even in fanon, I have never seen such a prevalent and encouraged brown rep, it was quite sweet to come back to that. But the problem is the change of characteristics that comes with race hc. Desi james is also a manly dude who is big and buff as opposed to the white petite and delicate regulus within jegulus ship. The melanin is directly proportional to the manliness here. 

This is a propagation of race stereotypes. Maybe jegulus was a bad example because usually there are seen as blank templates. I will raise the argument that this can't be all we can come up with for blank canvases then. Either way, my point about race still stands when you repeatedly design interracial queer relationships so they fall into heteronormative roles. Anyway, same issue with wolfstar when there is a brown remus.

Canon, JKR, and hypocrisy:

Refusing to engage with source material is funny when we are picking characters out of it. the interpretations of the characters will be from their book. otherwise, they are just original characters with the same name. you can add onto the traits and a lot of the time fandom comes to a consensus regarding a few things! This is common in every fandom but I don't think I have seen such reluctance to not only critically engage with media but also shame others who do. We are surely in special circumstances with this fandom but I really do think jkr and how we navigate the fanon should be two different things.

Most of us don't condone jkr or even remotely agree with any nonsense she spews on the daily. Most of us can see the problematic nature of even consuming this media and staying in this fandom. It is one of the reasons I even left the fandom. Most of us are simply doing our best to engage carefully while distancing ourselves from her. So, it is quite laughable when some love to take the moral high ground for rejecting canon while still engaging with the same characters. (the rejection of canon in question being sirius’ height, lol)

(Sirius' height is quite a polarising fact apparently. Unfortunately, the point about height is also discussed so disingenuously. When I talk about sirius’ height, it is not really about him being 6 or 7 feet. It will not really impact my life. It is about what it represents. He is bimbofied as he becomes short. It's an issue of "WHY" again.)

Of course, this isn't an accusation of intentional bigotry from everyone here. The problem with this fandom is that the people in it tell themselves that it is progressive and to run away from the problematic creator as much as possible. We are not progressive if all we do is co-opt queer and racially diverse identities on such a superficial level. The bias manifests in subtle forms. I just wish we check ourselves from time to time, that's all. 

There is a lot of hostility when we try to discuss issues in the fanon. Things are interpreted in the most misguided way to just win the argument. Like I said in the beginning, we all just want to have a good time. That also means creating a welcoming space for vulnerable groups (especially when the same identities are used to pat yourselves on the backs for inclusivity points). I didn't even cover everything btw, I just wrote about the issues that concern me. queer and poc also partake in biased representations, I also probably have some biases that I didn't identify yet. I just think it would be super neat if everyone tried to make an effort to unlearn and engage with media without hurting anyone. 

I have other issues but they are all just super subjective opinions and smth I can ignore when others do. ex: I really don't like giving tragic backstories to bigots in the story. Not every supremacist loser has a trauma that forced them into oppressing people! There is also "tropeyfication" of all major ships. Just an overall issue in the reading world I think, though.

Anon, I didn't mean to make it preachy in any way btw. You probably asked for a silly little rant and I went full lecture mode, so I apologize for the tone shift!! I mentioned these because every other issue can be brought down to these imo. Like you said, I also don't have any fixation on everything being canon-compliant. I only complain by asking about the thought process behind certain kinds of changes, if that makes sense! I hope this wasn't a drag really and you can see where I am coming from. If I misspoke anywhere, pls lmk. Thanks for sharing your opinions too!!

This is a long long rant, anyone who read everything, you are wonderful and patient. Thank you for taking the time. This huge post and the content can make you think, “who cares this much?” or “it's not that serious” and yaa it really isn't that serious. The characters aren't real but we all are. the identities projected are real. so, it does matter to talk about this.

Everything said this is a fun place to be once you find your own corner in the playground.

[whirlybirdwhat]

Hello, what are your favorite anime? Do you have a top 10'

I would have a top ten if I watched more anime than I did so instead I’ll just named the one that I watch? Its mostly main stream ones, so you’ve probably heard most of them but I’ll explain a bit. The first six are all on American Netflix which is where I watched them (or coming to Netflix soon, in One Piece’s case,) for easy watching! 

So. Personal ones that I like/love!

1. One Piece. Duh. It caters to me and me personally in literally every way so its my favorite above all other favorites!! Gonna assume you know me via my op stuff so i won’t explain what it’s about beyond PIRATESSS!! I think ive made seperate posts but if anyone wants to ask me why i love op i have an essay in my brain ready to go lol

2. Fullmetal Alchemist! Another popular one but It was my second anime that I ever watched and OH i love it so much! Essentially two brothers atttempt to regain their bodies after treading on God’s territory and hhave to learn to deal with the military, life lessons, and immortal beings ;) I recommend for this one watching both FMA 2003 and FMA: Brotherhood, because FMA expands on a lot more on characterization (especially with Lust!! And Nina!!) while Brotherhood is far better in terms of plot. I personally love both, and the themes it has are really good!

3. One Punch Man! I really only watched one season of this, but the premise is what if someone could defeat anyone with just one punch? Its a satire on fighting in other anime’s and focuses on other character’s fights, slice of life shit, rising complications, and other things. Its fun, and I absolutely love genos.

4. Dragon Pilot! I’ve only watched two episodes of this so far but its a pretty cute show about how a woman in the Japanese Rookie Guard becomes friends with and thhen pilots a Dragon which acts like a jet, and is very fun!

5. Fairy Tail! Baby’s first anime and it still has a place in my heart. In a world of wizard guilds, a celestial wizard finds her way into the legendary Fairy Tail Guild and things get wild from there.  I can’t really say anything about how good the series is in terms of worldbuilding or characterization or what not but it does have a lot of feel good moments that had me cheering, and the fanservice moments were easy enough to skip through! 

6. Seven Deadly Sins! This one is pretty fun not the best anime i’ll say I’ve ever watched but the fights were fun and I loved the reveals it had! Premise is that the former criminal knights of the kingdom are being regatherd by a Princess to save the kingdom. Uh. Some of the characters (elizabeth) are very annoying but the rest are pretty fun and everybody is just. very powerful and i love it. worst down side is that there are a lot of pervy jokes which i hate :///

Fuck what else do i watch. Shit.

Um. I have also watched Magi: Sinbad (sinbad from the story fights through mystic dungeons) Yuuri On Ice (gay figure skating ?) , and My Hero Academia (hero school but make it traumatic and with poor world building)? Basically all the ones I have easy access too.

My to-watch list is, however:

1. Gintama - samurai and fun shit with a lot of one piece references lmao

2.  Castlevania - Vampires?? Thats all i know for this one sorry i want to find out more lmao

3. Lupin the Third - Crime! with fun hijinks! Apperantly!

4. Carole and Tuesday - muscians but in the future and supposedly really sweet. 

5. Cowboy bepop - bounty hunters in space

6. Mob Psycho 100 - kid withh pyshic powers find person to help him withh them?

7. Soul Eater - Reaper in training and her weapon which can turn into a person hunt down souls.

And things people Have recommended too me that I probs won’t watch for a while/never watch in general but you mighht find interesting!

1. The Promised Neverland

2. Demon Slayer

3. Sword Art Online (??? my friend really likes this one and i have yet to understand what it is about)

4. Jojo’s bizarre

5. Golden Kamui?Kamuy? 

yeah. 

Hope that helps anon! my anime list isn’t very big, sorry, I have a short attention span for things im not 100% hooked on so I often drop shit half way through and I prefer reading, so I haven’t really looked for a lot of anime

fuck i do need to watch more shit lmao one piece just took over my life