#the other media is almost definitely a more accurate representation | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

duckielover151 · 8 months ago

Text

Just have to rant about this somewhere.

CONTENT WARNING: Murder, Suicide, Mass Death of Children, Hostage Situations, Cults... It goes on and on, honestly.

I just watched the 3-episode documentary National Geographic did on the Jonestown Massacre... And I don't ever want to hear anyone refer to it as a "mass suicide" ever again.

If 'Jonestown' doesn't immediately ring any bells... You probably know it better as the incident in the 1970s where almost 1,000 people in a religious cult committed suicide by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid.

And frankly, that's just not an accurate representation of how it really went down.

For one... They weren't what I'd consider overly religious. Hearing some of the survivors talk about what drew them to this cult... They were more akin to hippies, if anything. Drawn to this philosophy of equality and peace and love... Jonestown started as this commune where everyone would support each other, where they'd be free from things like racism and classism. It really targeted the most vulnerable people in society and led them to believe they could create their own paradise. The leader did become this unhinged, most likely mentally ill, egomaniac... But hearing the people talk about what drew them in... the 'religion' was never about worshiping him specifically.

These 'followers' were not this uniform group of fanatics that every media portrayal I'd ever heard about this incident made them out to be.

This commune they'd created that was supposed to be their paradise was controlled by armed guards. Who you better believe were present the day everyone was killed, enforcing the "suicides" after Jim Jones felt he'd started to lose control and people had started to escape.

Some of the interviews with survivors after the fact are genuinely infuriating.

One woman who got out the day previously... crossing something like 30 miles of jungle with her 3-year-old... terrified the whole time that, any second now, they were going to be discovered and shot down... was taunted by this one reporter, trying to get her to admit that if she'd been there, she most likely would have gone along with her friends and poisoned her child.

Eyewitness accounts of the soldiers who went in to try and account for the bodies after the fact, tell stories of people they found who were clearly trying to run away and ended up with bullets or syringes in the backs of their necks.

I'm sure there were true believers who did drink the Kool-Aid willingly, believing there was nothing left for them in this world.

But so many of the people who lost their lives were victims in the strongest sense of the word. I'm willing to bet that most of the parents who did poison their children that day, did it because they truly believed it would be a kinder, gentler death than what was inevitably waiting for them if they'd tried to fight back.

It's kind of disgusting, how this incident has gone down in history. Just the undertones in every portrayal that the people involved were crazies who deserved it.

(I mean, my view of the internet has hit rock bottom a lot of the time... But you search the Jonestown tag on this very site... And primarily what comes up are memes or posts making a joke out of it. And that's a little horrifying to me.)

As someone who has definitely referenced "drinking the Kool-Aid" in a derogatory, joking manner in the past... (And fairly recently, I'm ashamed to say.) Please educate yourselves. And don't automatically trust the media's portrayal of tragedies like this.

#jonestown #jonestown massacre #this month's rant #trigger warnings

14 notes · View notes

sweetmoons · 4 months ago

Text

Let's talk about the representation of EDs in Heartstopper season 3

TW: Discussion of Eating Disorders, OCD, self harm, and other mental health topics.

*Some spoilers*

So I just watched season 3 of Heartstopper today and I really really wanted to talk about this because I haven't seen many people talking about it and it's so important to me. Before I say anything, I do want to clarify that the reason I'm speaking about this is because I have struggled with disordered eating for about 6 years now, I'm in recovery currently (yippie!) but it is something that was and still is a big struggle in my life, so I want to comment on how I feel Heartstopper captured that experience.

I will just say from the beginning I think this is the best representation of an Eating Disorder I've personally seen in a piece of fictional media. If anyone has any better examples let me know I would love to check them out, but in my personal experience this is the best I've seen and it honestly shocked me. In the comic Charlie's Eating Disorder is a big part of him definitely but they don't talk too much in detail about how it's tied into his OCD, likely because of comic length restrictions. Now personally I don't have an ED tied to OCD, but I have a friend recently who was doing a project where he was trying to find non-villanizing depictions of OCD in movies and TV, and he was practically tearing his hair out in frustration at how little anyone EVER said OCD by name. So when they in detail talked about how EDs are sometimes caused by body image issues but there's also EDs caused by compulsions (which is what Charlie has) I was honestly so shocked (in a good way).

Just them mentioning how EDs can be caused by compulsions (and also sometimes cause more compulsions) was more than I've seen in any show I think. But when we get to the depiction of what Charlie is actually experiencing I think it shines even more. Now obviously not everyone has the same experiences with their ED but some of the reactions and feelings from the characters hit so close to home that I cried.

Charlie saying he thinks about food almost all day, him lashing out and getting angry at people around him when they try to force him to eat, Charlie saying he's not sure if "I'll ever go back to normal. Whatever normal is." All of those moments resonated so hard with me. And the depictions of relapsing with self harm and not eating were a nice depiction too, showing that just because he started getting help doesn't mean he was magically fixed, and Geoff saying to him "Relapsing doesn't negate all the progress you made." HOLY FUCK That is SUCH an important message for people to hear holy shit.

AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE THAT NICK BEING HIS BOYFRIEND DOESNT MAGICALLY FIX HIM!!! I feel like in a lot of media just with depictions of any mental health disorder, when the mentally ill character has a partner and their partner is like "I luv u pookie bear 🥺" the mentally ill character is just suddenly okay??? Like having a partner was all they needed??? But they emphasized so much how Nick couldn't "fix" him, not only because Charlie needs more help than from just one person, especially professional help, but also because NICK IS JUST A CHILD HIMSELF!!! That's such an important message for kids watching to hear and something I wish I heard as a teenager.

Also the general reaction of people around him to his eating disorder was very accurate to my experience. Charlie's extended family making comments about his appearance and weight despite everything and saying that he seems "like nothing ever happened" just because he got treatment. Oh my god that's so accurate. The line of Charlie saying "I hope I get Grandparents that don't comment on my weight" made me laugh because OH MY GOD that shit reminded me of family gatherings so much. Plus Charlie's frustration of everyone treating him like he's fragile, won't even lie it made me tear up because that's something I personally still struggle with to this day from family. The strong message to the audience that just because someone's disgnosed as mentally ill doesn't make them any less of the person they were before their diagnosis is so so so nice to see.

Sorry this was a lot of me yapping because honestly this is so significant to me and I know it would've been so nice for me to see this 6 years ago when I was 15 and first started developing an ED. But I think Heartstopper is truly doing something incredibly amazing with representation in their show that hasn't been done much in the past and I'm so happy to see this.

#heartstopper #charlie spring #nick nelson #eating disoder trigger warning #ed trigger warning #tw ed #eating disorder #sh tw #sh trigger warning #ocd #ocd tw #ocd trigger warning

14 notes · View notes

sketchycozy · 9 months ago

Text

What is a furry?: Definitions and misconceptions

Furries are one of the most misunderstood fandoms both in person and online! In this post I will be discussing what a furry is, as well as discussing some common misconception in regards to the fandom!

What is a furry?

In order to dispel misunderstanding, we first need to define what a furry actually is. A furry is a nickname for anyone in the anthropomorphic animal fandom, much like how swiftie is a Taylor swift fan and Trekkie is the nickname for someone who’s a fan of Star Trek! To put it simply: furries are people who find animals who look and behave like humans cool! That all someone need to be a furry. They don’t need to own a fursuit, be an artist, or even have a fursona! All they need is to like the concept of anthropomorphic animals and call themselves a furry!

Some definitions!

Furry: a person in the anthropomorphic animal fandom

Anthropomorphic: giving human characteristics to non-human things

Fursuit: an hand-made costume, either based on the client’s own character or a pre-existing character the designer made (known as a premade suit). Fullsuits are full fursuits, well partials are just some pieces like owning just a head, tail, and paws.

Misconception 1: All furries own fursuits

Although fursuits are a big part of the fandom, they arn’t the main point, and not all furries own or even want a suit!

According to a 2011 survey done by FurScience:

Only around 10-15% own a fullsuit

Only around 25% own a partial suit

A little over 10% have no interest in owning a fursuit

Around 5% have no interest in owning a partial suit.

People with fursuits are more likely to attend conventions, with around 40% owning some sort of fursuit. This is likely part of the reason most people think they’re a much bigger part of the fandom than they are. They’re a lot more noticeable, and people often look at conventions as an accurate representation of the whole, which often isn’t the case as many can not afford to travel and attend conventions.

Misconception 2: Furries believe they are animals (aka the litter box myth)

This misconception likely comes from a mix of two things: media misinformation and getting therian’s and other kin confused.

No, furries do not believe we are animals. It is likely people are confusing us with Therians (those who believe they have some sort of connection to an animal, such as believing they were one in a past life). According to a survey, only around 10% of furries identify as therians. Is their overlap? Absolutely! But not all furries are therians and not all therians are furries.

Furry isn’t an identity. You can’t “identify as a furry”, just like you can’t “identify as a swifty”

When it comes to the whole litter box thing, it’s almost all hearsay from kids. It initially started with one kid telling their mother that they had litter boxes for kids who identified as animals. The mother took her kids word for it, talk about it at a school board meeting, the video blows up, and boom, suddenly kids everywhere are saying it’s happening, and yet despite kids constantly talking about it, I’ve never seen a video or picture of any of the incidents described. Now, schools may have litter in their schools, but these are often for either students who have service animals, schools to have a place for students to pee during a lockdown, and for cleaning up vomit and other accidents kids may have in school

Misconception 3: Furry is a new thing

The furry fandom started as an offset of the sci fi fandom, dating all the way back to the 80s! It’s definitely grown in popularity with the internet, but we’ve been around much longer than you probably expected!

Misconception 4: Furry is LGBT+

Although there are a lot of furries who are LGBT+ in some way, being a furry by itself does not make you a part of the LGBT+ community, and their are plenty of furries who are not a member of the LGBT+ communities. LGBT+ is about romantic/sexual orientation and gender identity, and being a furry is neither of those.

Misconception 5: furry is a kink/fetish

Although their absolutely is a NSFW side of the fandom, it is not the main point of the fandom, and there are plenty of people (like myself) who don’t partake in it at all. Even for those who do partake in the NSFW side of the fandom, they often arn’t their just for that aspect and enjoy the SFW parts of the fandom as well. After all, if it was fully an NSFW fandom, 18+ dealers dens (vender halls at furry cons) and 18+ events at conventions wouldn’t be sectioned off or during after hour times. They’re kept separate for a reason, and that’s because not every member of the fandom is interested in it.

Additionally, most fursuits are actually not made to accommodate NSFW activities, and most fursuiters don’t use their suits for things like that, reporting things such as “they don’t believe it would be comfortable” and that they do not want to ruin an expensive suit.

Additionally, many people confuse pup play (those leather pup masks) with furry. There is absolutely overlap between these two cultures, but again, not every furry is a pup player and not every pup player is a furry.

Let’s not forget how many minors are in the fandom too! Trying to call a fandom that has many young people in it as a sex thing is- very uncomfortable.

Misconception 6: furries are zoophiles

You’re going to get your gross people in every fandom, and unfortunately when you have a fandom centered around animals, it’s going to attract those who have bad intentions with them. That being said, zoos are not welcome in the fandom, and being called out as a zoophile is social suicide in the fandom.

For example, a very popular fursuit maker known as DHC was exposed to be a zoophile and animal abuser. After this was called out, they lost thousands of followers, and anyone who buys a suit from them is ostracized by most of the fandom for supporting someone who hurts animals. Some people even took it too far by harassing those who bought their suits before DHC was exposed, and although I don’t agree with harassing people who had no idea, it is a testament to just how much the fandom hates these people.

When it comes to art, it’s pretty looked down upon too, with being caught making “feral” NSFW art (art when an animal appears like an actual animal with animal anatomy) being a career ender for many artists. The general rule of thumb being that 1. The character has the ability to consent, 2. The character is anthro and 3.The things being sexualized are human characteristics.

Unfortunately, there will always be gross people in every fandom, but just like every other fandom, we shouldn’t generalize it based on the worst of it.

And that’s it!

Feel free to reblog with your own thoughts or things I missed. I’m sick of seeing people, especially kids, being harassed and threatened over things that arnt even true. For more Info as well as to see where I sourced my statistics, check out furscience, a group dedicated to researching the fandom!

#furry #fursona #furry fandom #furry misconceptions #anti furry #info post #furry info post #text post

9 notes · View notes

hellomynameisbisexual · 2 years ago

Text

"For bisexuals specifically, media representation has a long history of portraying us negatively," said Dr. Nora Madison, a media professor at Chestnut Hill College, told CBS News. "The most common stereotype is that bisexuals cannot be fully satisfied with only one partner because half of their desires must then obviously be denied. This is problematic on so many levels, but it begins with the definition of bisexuals as being attracted to both men and women, but with assumptions that bisexuals are only attracted to men and women, and are always equally attracted to men and women at the same time."

"Both of these assumptions are incorrect. The far more accepted definition is one made popular by Robyn Ochs, a prominent bisexual educator and author, who said that bisexuality is the potential to be attracted – romantically and/or sexually – to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree."

Bisexual individuals make up almost 50% of people who identify as part of the LGBT community, according to research from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Nearly 3.5% of adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, which translates to approximately 9 million LGBTQ+ Americans. However, accurate media portrayal of bisexuality has long dragged behind data.

Gay, lesbian, or bisexual characters make up almost 8% of television characters, according to GLAAD's "Where We Are On TV" report from 2019. However, representation for bisexual people becomes far less likely in the breakdown. Not only do bisexual characters make up less than 26% of all LGBTQ+ characters, but there has been a steady decrease in representation since 2016. According to the Annenberg Report from USC, there were eight bisexual characters in the top 1,200 films of 2018 and only three in the top films of 2019, far less than what appears on television screens.

"Alongside these persistent connotations with excess and perversity, another factor challenging bisexual representation is that, unless a character explicitly identifies as bisexual, we tend to assume someone is straight or gay based on their current partner, something real life bisexuals also contend with," said Maria San Filippo, an associate professor and author of The B Word. "Television offers bisexuality more potential for representational legibility in this regard, I find, because its serial form allows for more expansive, ongoing narratives."

A year fraught with tropes that characterized bisexual people as flighty, unwilling to choose, in a phase, or worse, killed for the plot of the straight protagonist, 2016 marked a turning point in LGBTQ+ characters. It wasn't just enough to have them, consumers wanted them to be accurate. In the past four years, series like "Sex Education," "The Politician," "Stumptown," "Greys Anatomy," "Brooklyn 99" have all been praised for their accurate portrayal of bisexual characters, films like "Call Me By Your Name," "Colette," "Atomic Blonde," and "Booksmart" have featured explicitly bisexual characters.

For bisexual individuals unsure of their sexuality, experts say the representation they see on screen could make the world of difference. Bisexual people are more likely to have depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses, according to a study from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Another Human Rights Campaign health brief found that bisexual people were more likely to commit substance abuse, have less emotional support and hide their sexual identity. The reason? One researcher points to minority stress theory, a model that says multiple public stressors and societal expectations can manifest negative reactions in minorities.

"I think (more accurate representation) is a big improvement because it's part of a larger move in more recent television which tolerates non-binary identities," said Katherine Sender, a professor with Cornell University's Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. "I see it as part of that bigger idea. In the past, being trans or being bisexual was extremely problematic within those binary categories. One of the things that's happened, particularly in the rise of original programming on streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon, is there's a much greater tolerance or acceptance of people being on spectrums and not having to fit into one or another end of a binary."

Streaming programs have produced more bisexual characters than ever, but cable programs are still the most likely to show the most bisexual characters, according to the GLAAD report. The inconsistency can most likely be attributed to the more common nature of bisexuality on screen. Shows on original streaming services are more likely to portray more than one LGBTQ+ character, while cable shows, which portraying more LGBTQ+ characters overall, are more likely to feature one character per show, the report said. In all, representation, just like bisexuality, is a fluid spectrum. The decision to feature bisexuality, accurately or not, comes down to a myriad of factors, including writers, actors, show-runners, and industry heads. And while television might not intrinsically cover real life, experts say positive representation does have positive impacts.

"Diverse representation is important for everyone," said Madison. "The more people are exposed to a variety of sexualities, especially in positive or affirming contexts, the more opportunities individuals have to figure their own identities out as well as broaden their viewpoints about others. Media content producers are products of the society they grow up in, and historically many were white, straight males. I don't think positive bisexual representation was a priority until more individuals started asking, demanding, and celebrating it."

49 notes · View notes

illusionneverchangedx · 2 years ago

Text

Scorbus is canon! This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill!

I saw the Toronto showing of the Cursed Child yesterday and Scorbus HAS to be canon. In fact, I went in completely blind. I didn't know what to expect and had no spoilers prior to watching it. However, I was so surprised. First, the actor who played Scorpius, I believe, portrayed him as autistic. I LOVED that! It was such sweet and wonderful representation. I'll try to recap a bit of the Scorbus moments from memory, so it might not be completely accurate. In the beginning, when Harry tells Albus he can't be with Albus anymore, he throws a MASSIVE fit. It was super cute. There was a staircase scene (I think it's called the staircase ballet) where Albus tries to avoid Scorpius on the moving staircases at Hogwarts while Scorpius tries to reach him. They're kept apart as Albus runs away and the staircases keep moving them apart. It was literally the most stereotypical Disney "we want to be together but can't be together scene." It was definitely at this moment I felt something was going on between their relationship. Also, when Snape asks Scorpius who he's fighting for, he says Albus. I also remember that in the end, Albus leans into Scorpius, almost like he wants to kiss him, before Rose interrupts saying something along the lines of it "only being awkward if they make it awkward." The most shocking part has to be at the end when Albus comes out to Harry saying that Scorpius is "the most important person to him and might be the most important person the rest of his life." Harry then says he knows and that he likes Albus. I wish I could remember more, but, to be honest, I never even thought it might be canon. My brother is the Potterhead, and he just really wanted to see the show. I didn't know what to expect at all. I had suspicions in the beginning of the play, but I figured it was just queerbaiting (like always). I chalked it up to just "two bros being close" because I didn't think I would see something like this in mainstream media. But, the conversation Albus had with his dad at the end completely made me rethink everything and realize they were crushing on each other the whole time! I hope others had the same experience at the shows in other cities, because it was a phenomenal show! I would highly recommend it!

#scorbus #harry potter #cursed child #harry potter and the cursed child #theatre #albus #canon #hp next gen #scorpius #scorpius x albus

47 notes · View notes

thorgans-guide-to-thedas · 11 months ago

Note

Do you think the Chasind were influenced by Mongolia as well?

So there's two different breakdowns I could do for this: what WE running the blog think the Chasind could be influenced from, and what the evidence in the Bioware lore (BL) presents to us. I want to stress again that we are NOT cultural experts , but we try and research and provide accurate information as much as we can.

This got REALLY long so I'm dropping it below the cut

The way our funny little group interprets and pulls inspiration from cultures in Thedas is basically just a blueprint or a road map. You'll see in some of the posts and definitely in things as we continue to post them that we use a lot of vague language when describing people. We want to avoid force-fitting players into certain roles or making people feel that "oh, well this region is inspired by this culture, so I guess I'll have to play that". Thorgan's Guide aims to spread out more opportunities for players to see themselves in this world and feel safe as they play.

So, right now, we are looking at the Chasind as a mixture of different cultures coming from early-colonial America and the Caribbean. That doesn't mean that Mongolian influence can't be added, and that is where we want there to be freedom for everyone playing the game.

Our drafts for Avvar/Frostback Basin cultures have definitely pin-pointed cultural inspiration from Inuit/Sami/Mongolian cultures, so even in our silly little home-brewed re-imagining, the geographical locations of the Frostback and the Kocari wilds are not far from each other, and it would totally work and would definitely be worth exploring for us. But I want to stress this again: our homebrew isn't meant to be law and we want everyone to have fun with it.

As for Bioware evidence, I have so many issues with it. My interpretation of the BL around Chasind features a lot of negative stereotypes associated with "uncivilized cultures," which basically translates to non-eurocentric. There is already a blatant lack of diverse ethnicities in the BL, but if I were to name a few cultures that were meant to be non-white representations, they all have antagonistic qualities to them - Chasind included. Tumblr user @dalishious talks a lot about how Bioware codes their people and cultures based on what suits them and how this can be damaging to real-world people [1]. (Dalishious' resources and research into this matter is a wealth of information, and I would highly recommend checking out their other work).

The Chasind are described as barbaric and "primitive at best". Based on pre-existing stereotypes of Mongolian culture (keyword stereotypes), it follows a similar pattern. With many minority cultures, they are placed into the ideas of "nomadic" and "simple", having technology seen as under-advanced in the face of Western civilization - so this, in its own twisted way, falls into the category. We are encouraged to see the Chasind as simple-minded and aggressive, told that they raid the swampland and cause harm and strike fear. Many brown-skinned cultures are subject to similar treatment depicting brutal warriors and merciless attacks, and of course, the antagonistic coding of Thedas cultures fits the Chasind into this role.

One thing that stuck out was the line "some Chasind are reputedly so barbaric that they even consume the flesh of the dead." The cannibalism stereotype was present in almost every dark-skinned representation at some point in time, using the "disgust" or "savagery" of the practice to separate civilized from uncivilized [2] [3]. Though appearing across the globe, these stereotypes intensified in mainstream media and specifically in films involving South American, Caribbean, and Pacific Islander cultures [4] [5].

In another line, we see "Chasind are known to decorate their hair with pierced copper coins; these are tied into the ends of their braids." This in itself is vague and, in reality, could reference dozens of different cultures around the globe. Many Slavic cultures had hair accessories and braids, but so did many African regions. It does not help that the Bioware games choose to darken the Chasind skin in their depictions. This usually leads our mind into thinking that they are meant to portray a certain culture or people based on our inherent beliefs and subconscious biases.

Bioware's writing is confusing at best and utterly racist at worst. Most of their regions are either blatantly European or a melting pot of so many minority cultures boiled down that you can hardly tell where the original inspiration came from. Is it Mongolian, Slavic, African, or something else altogether? I don't even think Bioware knows this. Just looking at the wiki page makes my head spin at how many contradicting and overlapping things there are in Chasind culture and how many elements they've taken from all over the place. All I can really say on the matter is that the wiki is doing a lot of harm with it.

From Thorgan's Guide, we totally encourage the addition of cultures to the game, and if the Chasind have Mongolian influence for the players, awesome! From the Bioware standpoint, Mongolian cultures were another target of stereotyping and "othering", not only from the Western world but from China as well, and it is completely possible that those cultural elements could be reflected back in Bioware's ignorant writing.

I may have gotten a bit carried away in writing and completely BLASTING negative stereotyping. Hopefully, this was still an interesting take on it all and at least kinda makes sense.

Here are the sources if anyone wants them:

[1] Dalishious. (2019). Coding Does Not Inherently Equate to Representation. (Source)

[2] Pyleyev, M. (2016). How the Feeling of Disgust Went From Life-Saving to Dangerous. (Video)

[3] Selvam, A. (2018). ‘Black Panther’ Challenges a Bogus Food Stereotype. (Source)

[4] Moore, R. B. (1973). Carib "Cannibalism": A Study in Anthropological Stereotyping. (Source)

[5] Conklin, B. A. (1997). Consuming Images: Representations of Cannibalism on the Amazonian Frontier. (Source)

#answer #chasind #reimagining thedas #thorgans guide to thedas #world of thedas #dragon age ttrpg #dragon age tabletop

6 notes · View notes

ineffablegoose · 1 year ago

Text

the ungay good omens petition is funny in a lot of ways but i had some thoughts

so, okay it's very likely if you follow good omens, you must've seen the petition going around. and yes, while I definitely think its satire, on the off chance its not?? i kinda think that's even funnier

I dont think good omens season 1 was subtle about being, very inherently queer, I'll talk about the book in a bit but GO s1 wasn't hiding it at all. they threw much more of the book's subtlety OUT and were much more vocal about it and the themes. and that makes sense. people nowadays like to complain about 'stuff getting too woke' and like?? yeah? so?

activism and agenda is something very inherent in media. id almost venture to say its impossible to create something (especially write) without hampering in some of your core beliefs. an anti-capitalist will write an anti-capitalist story, or at the very least will not have capitalism be idolized. and you can ponder if its deliberate, what it says about us as writers and as readers (because interpretation is a thing), but then id be going off topic so moving on

the difference is that back in the 90s, people were much more subtle about pushing queer narratives. and you can have your own opinions about whether you liked the stories better back then or whatever, but you have to acknowledge that activism and representation in 2023 are much different in comparison.

one can argue that the GO book itself wasn't meant to have the queerer narrative we have in the TV show.. and whether that's true or not will probably depend on what you think and infer. only two people have the answer and I don't remember if Mr Neil had said anything about it (I apologize, i should probably check, but its also 12am and i have an exam tmrw. this is just a rambly text post i don't think anyone is going to see)

i think GO book had some queer elements, but subtle enough that perhaps someone who isn't of a queer background could ignore it. (again the thing about interpretation of media by the consumers, you will see what you want to see)(though how subtle is the f slur line and the legendary monkeys on nitrous oxide line? seriously?) and they could be chalked up as jokes. plausible deniability is plausible deniability.

It is of my opinion (and feel free to disagree) that Mr Neil had chosen to accentuate the core beliefs of the story that was held in the product that he and Sir Terry Pratchett wrote 30 yrs ago. the agenda was there already, but how you write out representation will continue to change and evolve, as did society change and evolve in 30 yrs. how he chose to change and adapt the book, while i don't think is accurate (because its not 1 to 1), is definitely faithful. its faithful to the source material and its core messaging, and i choose to believe the adaptation reflects on what good omens the book has and always been: a critique of religious extremism by way of satire. and again,

feel free to disagree, but i don't know any narrative that can better push anti-religious extremism other than an inherently queer one

#good omens #good omens season 2 #thepetitionwashilariousimsorry #i wrote this instead of sleeping #silly thoughts

5 notes · View notes

muhammedfayasma · 1 month ago

Text

Reader - Sources and Significance

1. Kuc, K., 2016. Karol Irzykowski and Feliks Kuczkowski: (Theory of) Animation as the Cinema of Pure Movement. Animation, 11(3), pp. 284-296. Available at: https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1177/1746847716660685

In this article, the author introduces polish literary critic Karol Irzykowski and his theory of animation cinema which he considered to be “Cinema of pure movement”, it chronicles the development of these theories which was largely influenced by the works of polish Animator Felix kuczkowski and his principles of “synthetic visionary films”. The article lays down what Irzykowski believed to be the unique aspects of film, its similarities and differences to other art forms, how through animation can cinema be considered an art form with its insistence on movement and the freedom granted to the artist, extensive and intensive cinema and how filmmakers during the german golden age were able to use aspects of animation to transform their live action films into works of art.

I find this source useful as it deepens my understanding of what makes animation cinema unique compared to live action cinema along with introducing me to a more experimental and raw approach to animation and cinema and the artists that occupy that space that I can learn from.

2. Ben Labidi, I., 2021. Representation and emancipation: Cinema of the oppressed. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 24(2), pp. 250-265. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877920959338

In this article, The author explores the idea of media being a tool used to transform the social consciousness, to fight racial biases and to act as a form of resistance against colonization. Drawing on the works of palestinian critic Edward Said, his analysis of representation and its relation to colonialism, the article does a deep dive into intricacies of representation, fact checking biased media representation and the relation between emancipation and representation. It explores through examples, how palestinian filmmakers have turned to cinema to provide a more critical, human and accurate representation of life as a palestinian, borrowing principles of second and third cinema movements whose definitions are also expanded upon.

The topic of representation is one that is very close to me as a minority myself and through the article I was able to understand how as a filmmaker I can better approach the topic, understanding the intricacies of representation and how other minority filmmakers have approached the subject.

3. Lin, J., Swart, J. and Zeng, G., 2023. Theorising TikTok cultures: Neuro-images in the era of short videos. Media, Culture & Society, 45(8), pp. 1550-1567. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231202167

In this article, the author using Dutch film theorist Patricia Pister’s theory of “neuro-images” discusses tiktok as more than just a platform, but as a cultural form that is deeply participatory, platform specific and shaped by the algorithm. It discusses how with its large database of user data, the algorithm and the users engage in an almost give and take relationship to produce personalized stories about people and the world. It likens tiktok and its “brain screen” interface to a kind of automated cinema, where everyday life is captured and augmented, arranged into categories that span multiple genres, with its own unique sense of time and unpredictability.

The article is relevant to my practice as it helps me understand new ways in which technology affects how consumers interact with content, the new creative avenues that open in terms of storytelling and interactivity and how the technology itself influences the content.

4. Ehrlich, N. (2019) ‘Conflicting realisms: animated documentaries in the post-truth era’, Studies in Documentary Film, 15(1), pp. 20–40. doi: 10.1080/17503280.2019.1663718.

In this article, The author explores animation's role as a contemporary documentary aesthetic and how it tackles established ideas of realism. It explores the traditional struggles of animation to be seen as real. The author analyses the role of realism and truth today in a post-truth world that values “truthiness” and explains how animation can be an effective tool in navigating this landscape. It analyses realism through the lens of two conflicting theories of “familiar” and “defamiliar” with examples highlighting both the strengths that animation brings to the representation of the real and the pitfalls that could present itself with increasing numbers of such documentaries and content.

This article is relevant to my work as an animator and filmmaker as it tackles existing notions and biases of what animation can be and represent in terms of real, how audience's perception of truth have evolved and how this helps animators to bring forth new complex ways of representation that aim to not simply inform but go deeper.

5. Yoon, H. (2015) ‘Globalization of the animation industry: multi-scalar linkages of six animation production centers’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 23(5), pp. 634–651. doi: 10.1080/10286632.2015.1084298.

In this article, the author examines animation production centers around the world. Identifying them, their development over time and changes, the distribution of types of knowledge across different production centers and the kind of work that is also distributed based on that knowledge. The article also examines and finds reasons for the various cultural and economical factors that affect animation production in the identified centers, the local and global linkages and the different ways studios are attempting to push the market forward.

This article is important to my work as a professional in the animation industry to understand the types of markets that exist for the medium, its global and local links, how the cultural and economics combine to determine the types of creative work that is practiced in the market.

6. Goudarzi, M., Jamasbi, S. M., Safoora, M. A. (2022) ‘A Semiotic Analysis of Camera Movement in Animation Works of Disney Company*’, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 41(2), pp. 225–243. doi: 10.1080/10509208.2022.2108689.

In this article, the author uses Charles Sanders Pierces ideas of semiotics and uses his widely used threefold classification of iconic, indexical and symbolic to examine the movement of the camera in cinema. It gives a detailed definition of sign and each of the classifications and its potential for use in cinema and particularly animation to create meaning and enrich the narrative. The author also introduces Jean-Francois Lyotard’s different types of movement in cinema and expands on it and talks about the camera movement as part of the semiotic system, the limited ways it has been explored so far as well as introducing parameters for the exploration, dividing into the threefold classification and analyzing it with examples from both live action and animation films with an semiotic analysis of how Disney uses camera movement to convey a deeper meaning and concept of their film.

This article is important to my work as a filmmaker since it helps to expand on camera movements and to use it for deeper meaning in the narrative. The case study with disney movies was particularly insightful as an animation filmmaker as it really highlights the potential of the virtual camera in use for animation for more complex storytelling.

7. Mohd Hasri, U. H., Md Syed, M. A. and Runnel, C. (2020) ‘Transmedia storytelling in the Malaysian animation industry: embedding local culture into commercially developed products’, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 30(2), pp. 115–131. doi: 10.1080/15456870.2020.1835909.

In this article, the author discusses how transmedia storytelling has been used to success in the Malaysian animation industry. It provides an overview of transmedia storytelling and its different characteristics, how transmedia storytelling can be developed and implemented. The article compares the development of the Japanese animation industry, considered a pioneer in transmedia storytelling to highlight the possible influences on the Malaysian animation industry. The article chronicles the development of transmedia storytelling to a mainstream practice in the Malaysian industry with examples, highlighting both government and private stakeholders influence to promote local culture,values and traditions and increase the marketability of the local product which has propelled the industry to new heights.

This article is useful for me as an animator from India, who has a sizable animation industry but one that does not deal in creative original content. It highlights how a small original creative market was able to find success by embracing its cultural roots to attach itself to the audience and how important government support can be as well.

8. Weber, I. and Zhang, Y., 2023. Adapting, modifying and applying cinematography and editing concepts and techniques to cinematic virtual reality film production. Media International Australia, 186(1), pp. 115-135. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X211018476

In this article, the author explores cinematic virtual reality (CVR), touted by Lev Manovich as the inheritors of the development of cinematic technique and theory. The article analyses cinematic virtual reality as a new cinematic frontier but with the context of existing practices, components and thinking of traditional 2D filmmaking. The article identifies cinematography and editing as the two main components of innovation for cinematic reality and using the example of CVR film “calling” and the experience of the director, presents various methods in which the traditional filmmaking language can be applied in the case of cinematic virtual reality. Through an analysis of the directors process, it also suggests a methodology, the possible dangers of an unexplored technology as well as technological developments that can help new aspiring directors to aid in their own CVR work.

9. Romanowski, M., Sheldon, Z. and Shafer, D. M. (2019) ‘Parasocial interactions and digital characters: the changing landscape of cinema and viewer/character relationships’, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 29(1), pp. 15–25. doi: 10.1080/15456870.2019.1702550.

In this article, the author attempts to understand whether parasocial interactions differ when the characters are completely CG, a hybrid or when they are played by a real human, an actor. Seen as a by-product of character creation for media entertainment, the article explores development and types of parasocial interactions, its importance to success of the media and differences to parasocial relationships. It also highlights notable CG characters that have had a lasting impact in the culture and visual effects technology. The study offers an encouraging conclusion to filmmakers regarding the believability and relatability of their characters, whether they are CG, hybrid or real actors.

this article helps to reinforce the idea that believability and ideas of realism are not impossible to achieve through the medium of animation and mix media, which is liberating for an animation filmmaker.

10. Krämer, N. C. et al. (2019) ‘I feel what they say: the effect of social media comments on viewers’ affective reactions toward elevating online videos’, Media Psychology, 24(3), pp. 332–358. doi: 10.1080/15213269.2019.1692669.

In this article, It conducts a study to understand how comments on social media, particularly youtube, affect the emotional responses to non-hedonic entertainment videos, which explore deeper conditions of being human such as acts of kindness. It also studies whether the comment or the international aspect of the comment is more important .Through a thorough analysis it comes to the conclusion that they do affect the emotional responses, with negative comments reducing the feelings of emotional elevation while positive comments enhance the impacts of videos online.

This article is important for me as a content creator and filmmaker who wants to venture into the indie scene which is largely dominated by Youtube and social media in general. To understand how the community aspect will influence how my work will be perceived and how to understand the negative trends in order to correct them.

0 notes

canadian-riddler · 3 years ago

Note

Arkham Riddler has a great representation of mental illness. Edward has it bad, his doesn't even realize nor acknowledge that he has issues. His illness is THAT BAD from start as in it twists his perception of himself. That cliche of "the first step to get better is recognizing you have a problem" is real. There's helping someone who refuses to be helped. Yes lots abd lots of stuff and humiliation happenned, but Knight Riddler is consequence of Interview Riddler

He is. He just has the wrong one.

For several reasons (one of which is probably necessity), DC plays a little loose with their depictions of mental illness, but Arkhamverse Riddler in particular almost undoubtedly has narcissistic personality disorder. People with NPD, to my knowledge, are extremely difficult to treat simply because the nature of their disorder prevents them from entertaining the notion that there could possibly be anything wrong with them, and if they realise they have a problem they have to almost totally change the way they interact with and react to and even think about other people. This would require a huge change in anybody's worldview that would feel impossible to handle.

How does this pertain to fandom? You rarely see people headcanon a character as having narcissism. Why? It's not a sympathetic disorder. It can't be fixed with cuddles and cathartic tears and warm drinks. Personality, even in a mentally healthy person, takes tons of time and work to change and there is absolutely no soft and gentle resolution to be found in a person with NPD. And Riddler's NPD is backed up by the fact he actually IS genuinely very intelligent, is very often right, AND has perfect recall! I have thought about this a LOT and I have NO idea how I would deal with this in a story. It's a massive character roadblock and I find it absolutely stunning that Arkhamverse makes him more and more skilled while sending him deeper and deeper into his mental black hole.

The most interesting part about all of it is that people criticise media for not having accurate depictions of mental disorders and yet Arkhamverse Riddler actually (as far as I know) is a great depiction of NPD and yet this never gets acknowledged! In fact, his NPD often gets overwritten with a different disorder which is easier to deal with (a thing which I myself am guilty of). Fascinatingly, people who ascribe responsibility for Riddler's actions to Batman would actually make Riddler even more entrenched in his narcissism!

And yes, you are correct. Riddler is the walking definition of a person who refuses to admit they have a problem. I'm not sure he's even capable of doing so post-Arkham Knight simply because canonically at that point he actually is genuinely powerful and wealthy, alongside being very intelligent and having a flawless memory.

#so says Indy #nonamesnotitles #asks #Riddler #Programmer Dad #Arkham Knight #it's really quite incredible that they did this with a side character tbh #or maybe it was easier idk #I know the next Batman game has him in it but honestly he shouldn't even be #based on the character trend #IDK maybe they'll come up with something genius we'll see

133 notes · View notes

itsonlystrange · 4 years ago

Text

Okay I’m just saying..do you guys realize what a cultural reset canon byler would be?

Like it would trend on Twitter, 100%. People who have never seen the show before would become interested in it, ESPECIALLY people who are looking for queer representation in shows.

Byler is a good slow burn that’s INTERESTING. It’s not your stereotypical gay guys who obviously like eachother and are only there for comic relief and pushed to the back so that the het ships can get the spotlight. It has DEVELOPMENT. And it’s rare you come across stuff like that.

Neither mike nor will are stereotypically “gay”. They are just regular teenage boys who happen to not be straight. Usually gay ships portrayed in TV and Film are used as comedic relief. Or the overly flamboyant gay guy and the super macho gay guy getting together in the last 10 seconds the show.

Yes, there are a TON of good shows out there that have queer representation however a LOT of them get thrown under the radar or are overshadowed by the more heterosexual ships or shows.

So imagine, a show as big as stranger things, having its two boys be in a canon relationship. Like the internet would BLOW UP. It’d be the topic of every interview. Finn and Noah would be the topic of every interview. Stranger Things would have relevancy again.

Obviously, ST is still relevant however with this whole hiatus it’s falling off the radar easily and people are becoming bored. But this...this would blow it up again.

Obviously queer ships are NOT there to make a show relevant again, at all. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, imagine all the lgbtq+ kids that watch ST. The lgbtq+ BOYS that watch ST.

Often, when queer relationships are portrayed in film or television, it isn’t portrayed accurately. And it’s often shown as “if you don’t come out this way then you’re invalid.” Or “if you have internalized homophobia you’re invalid” and a thousand other things. Hell, I remember being much younger absolutely hating myself or not “picking a side” and being so confused with my self and wondering why I was even bisexual in the first place.

But then you have byler, which portrays a much more accurate relationship between two closer than normal boys. It portrays the internalized homophobia, the abuse and bullying people back in the 80’s (and still now) would endure. And yeah, it’s not the most accurate depiction but it’s FAR better than some other popular show’s queer relationships.

Millions of people watch this show, an abundance of them being lgbtq+. And imagine them having a ship to look up to. A ship that doesn’t portray gay relationships as a “joke”. And even better, Mike and Will are teenagers!!

Often, in film and television, queer ships are usually based around two adults. In fact, a lot of times they portray young teenagers being in a gay relationship as “gross.” They say that it’s too “mature”. That having a partner that’s the same gender as you is wrong, and that you need to be a little bit “older” because apparently being in a queer relationship is only for adults because queer relationships are just too “inappropriate.”

But then you have Mike and Will who are two 14 year old boys. Who aren’t stereotypically “gay” as the movies portray. They’re just normal teenage boys. And that’s how it SHOULD be portrayed. We need to stop portraying Lgbtq+ ships as “inappropriate” or “weird”. They’re just two teenage boys in love.

Remember when everyone found out Robin was lesbian after being straight baited? Yeah. The internet blew up. So take that and times it by ten thousand. That would be canon byler.

It’d be a huge step for the media. Unfortunately, we haven’t come that far with queer ships. It’s gotten better but there’s still a lot of steps to take. But having a huge show like stranger things have their two man boys be in a canon relationship and have it portrayed regularly, guys!! That would be huge!!

Imagine all the little kids getting to grow up with that. Or all the teenagers that are Mike and Will’s age struggling with their sexuality seeing these two boys who aren’t stereotypically anything be canonically in love. Like, that would be huge.

I know that if I grew up with a canon byler I would definitely have felt a lot more sure of my sexuality earlier on. So many kids would have a wonderful ship to look up to that isn’t fetishized or treated like it’s “weird.”

And the fact that it’d be the topic of every interview. Noah and Finn wouldn’t see the end of it. People would talk about it non stop. It’d be advertised on social media accounts, the duffers would talk about it, the stranger writers would talk about it. I mean, it’d be big!!

And yeah, it’s sad that a gay ship becoming canon would be revolutionary, but that’s just how the world is. We still haven’t progressed past that yet. And it’ll take awhile before having a gay shop isn’t a big thing.

I often see people say “if byler became canon then everybody would stop watching” which just ISN’T true.

They’d gain so many viewers. It’d be more popular than Mileven ever had been. Yes, Mileven has their cute moments, however at the end of the day, Milevens dynamic has been done before. Thats not to say bylers hasn’t, obviously a canon byler wouldn’t be the first. But it’d be the first big canon queer ship in awhile. Straight ships with mileven’s dynamic happen all the time.

And at the end of the day, ST isn’t a romance show. If Mileven didn’t end up being end game I don’t think many people would care. It wouldn’t be as big as people say it is. I feel like the fandom likes to think that Mileven rakes in all the money but that simply isn’t true. It’s a science fiction show at its core and the core viewers don’t watch for romance. If Mileven is what raked in all their viewers then season 2 wouldn’t have been as successful as it was, considering mike and el don’t even interact until the last episode of season 2. So I really think the fandom is just overreacting on that part. Yeah, people are gonna leave the fandom. Just how people left when stancy wasn’t endgame or when their favorite chatacter died or when something happened that they didn’t like. That’s just how life works. They’re gonna lose viewers regardless of what happens because not everyone will be happy with how season four plays out. But at the end of the day, it’s hot like ST is going to lose 25 million viewers because two 14 year olds weren’t endgame. It’s often easy to forget that the fandom doesn’t reflect ST’s viewership. The fandom takes up only a small percentage OF their viewership. So yeah, some fan accounts may deactivate, just like how a lot of bylers left the fandom after season 3. But it’s not like nobody’s going to watch the show, that’s absurd. Mileven isn’t their main cash cow. It isn’t even on the leader board of st’s main cash cows. If anything, Steve dying would make st lose more viewers than Mileven not being end game. And it’s been made more clear recently that a lot of people prefer Jopper over Mileven, especially with the ending of season 3. We gotta remember that, the FANDOM is mainly teenagers however stranger things main demographic and viewership is ADULTS. And I don’t see many 21+ year olds not watching the show because a ship almost 10 years younger than them wasnt end game. Most of st’s viewers don’t care about the romance

TLDR: canon byler would be huge for stranger things and would probably blow up the internet. It’d also be good commercially and financially for stranger things. Also having byler he canon would be so helpful to all the kids and teens and even adults out their struggling with their sexuality and would make so many lgbtq+ kids, teens, and adults feel seen and feel loved and feel validated. Over all, canon byler would do more GOOD then bad.

#byler #gay mike wheeler #gay will byers #stranger things #stranger things 4 #will byers #mike wheeler

215 notes · View notes

thealexchen · 3 years ago

Note

i’ve actually read both of the articles that you mentioned earlier! I could see where both of them were coming from at varying points, though shannon liao’s struck me as a tad harsh, as someone who felt very seen by Alex, particularly with regard to her asian-american identity, and the cultural details and familial attitudes you see displayed throughout the game (especially in episode 5.) I could see why others would like them to be more overt, but they’re still present & relevant as is, imo.

I'm happy you read and enjoyed them! Well, since we’re on the subject, I might as well give my fuller thoughts about all this. This answer got horrendously long, so I'm putting it under a read more. I really wanted to talk about this more fully, so thank you for sending this ask!

I definitely see Robert's point in his article. Alex didn’t need to be Asian for the story of True Colors to be told, but it’s still meaningful that she is so that Asian fans and fans of color can look up to her and feel represented. The Chens buck a lot of stereotypes too: Mrs. Chen was not a “tiger mom” and her kids and husband remember her fondly. Mr. Chen doesn’t push Alex and Gabe to excel in school, and in fact neither Alex nor Gabe went to college, but they still had happy futures. Alex isn’t the best friend or the Asian schoolgirl or the dragon lady or the Asian nerd. But at the same time, when Robert says "Alex never really talks about her thoughts on Chinese culture,” that’s like— well, what’s wrong with talking about it? Why not talk about it more explicitly? The words “Asian” and “Chinese” and “Vietnamese” aren’t even used in the game when "gay" and "lesbian" were, and that's a little disappointing.

I figured people would figure out Alex was at least Chinese because of her last name, but I saw some streamers unsure of what Alex’s ethnicity even was (“Alex is… Chinese, right?”). That was disappointing because Asians tend to be treated as a monolith when we’re so internally diverse. Also, it’s completely possible to miss that Alex and Gabe are also half-Vietnamese. Their mother’s name is Giang “Wendy” Chen, a Vietnamese name, but that’s only in the credits. There’s far less Vietnamese (and Southeast Asian) rep than Chinese, so I wish that had been made more explicit.

In Life is Strange 2, Sean and Daniel’s struggles (personal and institutional) were centered around their identity as half-Mexican boys. True Colors almost seemed to be going in the opposite direction in that Alex’s Asian heritage never really becomes plot-relevant, but Alex and Gabe’s background comes into focus in the last chapter.

Part of Shannon’s critique was that because Alex’s parents aren’t in the picture, the game can’t explore Asian culture through a familial lens. There is some truth to that: for children of immigrants in particular, their parents are their strongest (and sometimes only) link to their race and culture. I thought a big missed opportunity was exploring Alex’s possible sense of isolation and struggle to reconnect with her Asian heritage after being separated from her family.

After growing up with two Asian parents, eating Asian food, celebrating Asian holidays, likely speaking Asian languages, etc. it would have likely been disorienting and lonely for Alex to suddenly be raised by non-Asian foster parents and lose all those traditions all at once. Possible comments like “I really miss Mom’s pho” or “Do you know how difficult it is to find hoisin sauce in the stores around here?” could have inferred more at that specific kind of loss and isolation in Haven Springs. The game touches upon this very briefly when you look at Gabe’s shrine, and Alex does comment “I don’t even know if I’m doing this right… but I felt like I had to do something.” In this way, I find it especially poignant that she still held onto cultural traditions after so long.

But I still thought Shannon’s critique was overly harsh. The little details really do add up, like in Alex’s childhood home, and meant a lot to me too. And most importantly, there was representation behind the scenes too: Alex was voiced by two(!) Asian American women and the lead writer, Felice Kuan, is Chinese. I think Alex naming her mouse Shu-shu was my favorite detail. Because it’s the one detail you can’t miss. Every streamer remembers Shu-Shu’s name and loves how cute she is and they can probably infer it’s a Chinese term. It just is so visible and empowering in that way and my heart felt warm every time I heard someone say “Aw! Shu-shu!"

But that doesn't mean Alex's Asian heritage didn't matter at all. I really appreciated that Alex's backstory still mattered because she came from a poor, working-class immigrant family. Her life circumstances were used for drama, but none of Alex's suffering was racially motivated and that felt tastefully done. I’m gonna paraphrase a comment I saw on alliebeemac’s playthrough of episode 5: "It's no coincidence that both Alex and Ryan lost their mothers at a young age, but because Ryan's father was a military veteran and had a high-paying job as a Typhon foreman, he got to keep his childhood whereas Alex's entire world was torn apart... And if you want to look at it even more metaphorically, the white patriarch Jed was able to preserve his own image as a hero and 'good old boy' of Haven by literally sacrificing an immigrant family to the mines with the expectation that nobody would come looking for them. Whether you're an immigrant or whether you're a foster child, the system is saying 'we don't care about you.'"

And at the end, Alex tells Jed, "You want to look away and pretend the men you hurt weren't people. But I won't let you.” It's a deliberate stand against Jed (a white man)’s dehumanization of poor laborers, including her Chinese immigrant father. Jed isn't explicitly portrayed as a racist, but his actions come from a privileged, and subsequently racist and classist place. For me, it worked better than LiS2's portrayal of racism because it was subtler and more personal. Alex stands up against Jed out of a personal sense of justice for her brother (and her father).

Do I wish we had more? Yeah, absolutely. I wish Alex got to actually speak Mandarin or Vietnamese in the game because that's so rare in games, even though I knew that would be unrealistic because Erika Mori is Japanese. I wish the character artists had at least made a version of Alex and Gabe’s models without shoes, because it just didn’t look right to see them wear shoes in the house (especially in bed??) and even LiS2 had Sean and Daniel in their socks in some scenes. I wish Alex and Gabe talked more about their family while Gabe was still alive and Alex could have had that comfort of someone who misses the food and customs they used to celebrate. But like I said, one piece of media isn’t gonna please everyone. And Asian representation in particular is so tricky because not only is there not enough of it, but Asian Americans are so diverse and come from so many different backgrounds. Children of immigrants are going to feel more connected to their Asian heritage than third or fourth gen kids or mixed race kids for example. Everyone is going to have a different definition of “Asian culture” and “accurate representation.”

But on a meta-level, it really means so much to simply have an Asian face on the box of a major Western game ❤️ Like even just seeing the way Alex's eyes crinkle when she smiles or how other characters find her attractive (like Steph’s note during the LARP preferring Alex’s natural black hair), it feels so affirming. It’s incredible to see an Asian girl be called the hero of her own story, to see her succeed and fail and cry and laugh and fall in love and kiss another woman and be comfortable in her bisexuality. It acknowledges that the queer community includes Asians, that Asian girls can also be curvy, that Asian girls can and do struggle with mental health. And like Erika Mori said, Alex is a fully-realized character and that’s what makes her so compelling, first and foremost. She also has a strong moral compass and dreams and fears and is such an incredible role model for people of all backgrounds, and that’s what makes her identity as a queer woman of color so much more meaningful.

#life is strange true colors #listc #asian representation #answered asks #anon #alex chen #gabe chen #chen sibs #life is strange #true colors #true colours #lis: tc #life is strange 3 #my post

36 notes · View notes

thatgamefromthatad · 4 years ago

Text

Mobile Game Review - Helix Waltz (Recommended by @raimi)

🎻 What is this app? Helix Waltz is a dress up game with an elaborate storyline that heavily involves character interactions. On the App Store it’s described as a “thrilling ballroom drama set in Baroque style dress,” which I think accurately reflects the sort of vintage European court-style setting the game takes place in. The setting also has fantasy elements, including characters of different “races” such as elves and people with animal ears and tails called Orens.

The game follows a main storyline as well as various side storylines and has a large cast of characters with their own personalities and preferences, all of whom you can build up your relationship with, which will affect their interactions with you depending on the level of favor you have with them. Rather than playing out in a linear set of stages or chapters, the story progresses as you accept and complete missions and attend balls where you have the chance to encounter other characters attending the same ball. There’s a bit of freedom in that sense where you can attend any of the available balls you want and encounter any of the characters that are there without necessarily following the main storyline, building up favor and getting to know anyone you want.

The dress up part is structured somewhat similarly to other dress up games I’ve played - there are various items in different categories (hairstyles, headwear, dresses, shoes, different types of accessories, etc.) with different attributes and rarities that will affect your “chic” level at any ball or other outing you attend, as well as how other characters perceive you depending on their preferences. You can have “beauty contests” with other characters you encounter at balls that compares your outfit’s chic level to theirs and there are other parts of the game where your outfits can compete with others players’. You can gain new dress up items through completing quests and through a gacha-type mechanic where you draw from different sets of potential items.

📝 Review Summary: The sheer number of different characters you can interact with in this game is very impressive, and it’s definitely entertaining getting to know them all and try to build relationships with them. I definitely found myself getting invested in certain characters and wanting to progress through the storyline so I could learn more. The art in this game is also very beautiful, which includes both the character designs and clothing items.

The follower who recommended this game noted that there is queer representation, including a trans character, which is a positive aspect, but I noticed there was not a lot of BIPOC representation, specifically a lack of characters with dark skin and limited options to have dark for your own character. The default character you play is white with very pale skin, and from my understanding from doing a little research, skin color changes are included as makeup items which definitely seems wrong, not only because you have to get your hands on the right item to have darker skin but because skin color as makeup seems to imply blackface, even if that’s completely unintentional (the makeup items in this game aren’t technically just makeup - they also change the shape of facial features). I definitely think this game should add different base skin tones, as well as characters who aren’t all super pale.

Full review below:

***

👍What’s good about this app? The enormous cast of characters in this game and the multi-faceted system involved in gaining favor with them and getting to know them are definitely this game’s biggest assets, in my opinion. Each character has their own unique personality, backstory, style, relationships and role within the in-game society, but what’s really enticing is the fact that the story tends to build up a bit of mystery and intrigue about different characters and families/factions, which motivates you even more to get close with certain NPCs and learn the different secrets they hold. The game is pretty immersive that way in the sense that your goal of building up enough trust and prestige to gain access to the most interesting intel/gossip aligns with the main character’s goal of integrating and positioning herself strategically amidst higher society.

That sense of immersion also comes through in the way the game is structured to allow you to interact pretty freely with the characters rather than following a linear path from one encounter to another. You encounter other characters similarly to how you would if you really were a young noble in this sort of society - by wandering around ballrooms or other settings and seeing who you run into or seeking out those that you already have some level of relationship with. You can even get letters from them! You can choose to follow closely to the main plot, or pick your favorite characters and go out of your way to interact with them, or a mixture of both. This game really focuses around character interactions in a way I’ve never personally seen before, and it’s very impressive - and fun!

Another great aspect of this game is the art, which of course is an important aspect for any dress up game. I’m not very well-versed in fashion in general, but I can say from an average Joe perspective that the clothing items and outfit sets are overall just very pleasing to look at and give me that sort of mouthwatery fashion-p*rn feeling whenever I see some extravagant “look” whether it be from real life, a game or any other sort of media. You could say I’m easily pleased though since I can say that about just about any other dress up game I’ve played or been widely exposed to (Love Nikki, Time Princess etc.). One thing I think is especially cool in this game is the perfume category which I can best describe as creating a kind of animated aura around your character that differs in appearance depending on the perfume. This works well with the fantasy-type setting of the game and gives a little extra magical oomph to the outfits. Other outfit pieces can also be animated, like jewelry that sparkles for example, which is also a nice touch.

The last positive thing I’d like to mention is the theme song of this game that plays in the main menu (and pretty much everywhere else except outings), it’s so beautiful and I love it so much I added it to my Spotify playlist I listen to every day lol. The song is Sans Toi by Sarah Natasha Warne if you’re curious.

In the video below you can see a perfume item in action creating a galaxy-like aura around the character, and hear a short clip of the song as well.

[Video Description: A screen recording showing a fully dressed-up character wearing a luxurious red white and gold robe over an ornate black and white collared top with a red vest and loose-fitting brown pants that have two golden stripes at the end of each pant leg. They are holding a sword, have long blond hair tied in a high-set ponytail that drapes over their left shoulder and have a large, circular golden ornament position behind their head resembling a sun or halo. They are wearing dark stockings and black high heels, and there is a sparkling, swirling aura around them with streams of light changing color from blue to purple flowing toward them. The rest of the character and clothing is still except for jewelry and accessories that sparkle and glow and some golden parts of the clothing that shimmer.]

👎 What’s wrong with this app? There are a few minor flaws with this app such as a glitch(?) I experienced a few times where I was talking with one character and another character suddenly appeared and then disappeared, which I’m pretty sure was a glitch because after it happened for some reason I wasn’t able to complete any of my goals at the ball. Also if you don’t have a great internet connection it can be very frustrating because the game will freeze often, although I can’t criticize this that much since my internet connection just sucks and I’ve experienced this with other games before that are just highly reliant on having a constant internet connection.

Probably my main problem with this game is the lack of diversity in skin tones, both in the cast of characters and in your options for your own character. Like I said there are dozens of characters in this game but from what I’ve seen so far they almost all have pale/light skin. I don’t really think the setting of this game is an excuse considering it’s a fantasy setting and there are definitely characters from different regions or backgrounds but they all just happen to have very light skin. Another reason I think there should definitely be more diversity is that there are definitely themes of racial discrimination in the story - some characters will spout stereotypes and hateful comments about other races, in reference to fantasy races or other social groups in the game, and I’m definitely not saying the targets of those comments should be dark-skinned, I just feel like if you’re going to touch on those subjects but have little to no representation of the people who experience that kind of discrimination in real-life, it seems a bit hypocritical. As a disclaimer I am mixed-race (East Asian and white) and semi-white passing with pale skin so I’m not an authority on the skin tone issue specifically but my opinion as someone reviewing this game is that there’s no reason to not have more diversity in the game, even regardless of whether it involves the themes that I mentioned.

Below is just a handful of the NPCs but as I scrolled through the list pretty much everyone had pale/light skin, Gedanh is the NPC with the darkest skin tone as far as I know:

As far as a lack of diversity in selecting a skin tone for your own character, that didn’t specifically stand out to me at first considering the main character is a pre-established character and not as much of a self-insert as in other games like Time Princess, but the fact that you can change your facial features using “makeup items” and skin tone is also locked to certain makeup items doesn’t seem fair, since it makes whiteness the default and limits darker skin tones to these specific items and corresponding makeup looks. I’m not sure what adding diverse base skin tones would look like from a programming perspective for this game but with everything else this game has going on that is so complex and impressive I feel like there’s not an excuse in this day and age to exclude something as basic as different skin colors.

While the lack of diversity is definitely my biggest criticism of the game, I’ll just add that another flaw is that many aspects of the game can be confusing and despite a pretty lengthy series of tutorial quests that teach you about different parts of the game, I still have some confusion after playing for a while. For example I’m still not even completely sure if winning a beauty contest against a character strengthens your relationship with them, and I had to look at the Helix Waltz wiki to learn how to investigate NPCs’ preferences and exactly how remaking clothes works etc. The wiki and other players are a great resource, but having more guidance in-game, even if it’s in the Help/FAQ section (which I checked and still didn’t have all the info I needed), would be an improvement.

🪞Full list of features (there are a lot but I’ll try to cover them to the best of my ability):

Storyline (main plot, side plots that unlock when you strengthen your relationships with characters and event plots)

Quests (there are quests that go along with the plot or events as well as daily quests. The daily quests are more simple such as “talk to X amount of NPCs” or “attend X amount of balls” while the other quests involve having interactions with specific characters, wearing specific dress up items to certain events, etc.)

Dress up (you dress up for every ball or other outing you attend. Each ball will have a different clothing attribute, such as a certain color or style, that increases your chic points if you wear items with the corresponding tag. Different characters also have style preferences but you need to investigate to find out each character’s preference. In addition to dress up before events, the mirror section of the main interface allows you to make whatever outfit you want with the items you have, which will be the outfit your character wears during scenes outside of outings. There are different categories of items corresponding to different parts of the outfit and for some categories you can wear more than one item from the same category, such as wearing a different bracelet on each wrist)

Balls (this is one of the two main ways you will interact with characters and complete quests. There are a few balls you can choose to attend at any given time, hosted by a specific family or faction, with specific characters attending that you can check before you enter the ball. Once you enter the ball and dress up, you can choose to approach a certain character if that option is available - I think you can only approach characters directly if you’ve already talked to them at the ball or if you are wearing an outfit they like but I’m not sure about that part - or you can choose “wander around” and have the chance to encounter different characters who are attending)

Other outings (in addition to balls there are other places in the game where you can encounter other characters, such as the slum and the tavern, and these outings work similarly to balls in terms of character interactions)

Conversation (for basic conversation you pick from a selection of topics and you can gain favor with a certain character by correctly picking the topic they prefer. There is dialog to read for every conversation although these are stock conversations that repeat so you’ll usually want to just speed through them. When you increase your relationship with a character you can unlock special conversations with them that are more unique and tied to the plot)

Q&A (sometimes a character will ask you a question and depending on if they like your answer it can boost your favor with them)

Beauty contests (while conversing with a character sometimes you can have a beauty contest against them comparing your outfit to theirs, and if you win you get points that I believe go toward earning in-game currency - another thing I’m not 100% sure about. I think you can only have a beauty contest with female characters but there is at least one male character I’ve been able to have a beauty contest with. Sometimes a character will immediately force you into a beauty contest when you encounter them)

Dancing (sometimes when interacting with a character at a ball you’ll have the option to dance with them which opens up a short memory-based minigame. I think completing the minigame correctly yields similar rewards to winning a beauty contest. I think you can only dance with male characters as I’ve never had the option come up with female characters so far)

Gathering intel (intel is a resource in the game that is used to learn more about characters and that can be exchanged with characters for rewards. While wandering around a ball you may have the chance to eavesdrop on characters and gain intel)

Gift Box/gacha mechanic (The Gift Box section of the game is where you can draw from different gacha-type pools for items and resources. Different pools take different currencies and have different sets of items)

Remaking, dyeing and enchanting clothes (you can change the style or color of some clothing items if you collect the right resources, which changes both the item’s outward appearance and attributes that go toward chic points/gaining favor with different characters. You can also enchant clothing items, which changes their appearance and increases their chic points)

Events (there are limited-time events such as events that offer limited-time items/gacha pools and limited-time quests)

Illusion Contests (one way you can compete with other players in the game rather than NPCs. You are given preset clothes items to choose from in order to put together an outfit, and can give the outfit a name. Your outfit is scored based on a voting system where two outfits are shown and players can vote for one or the other. You get rewards based on how many votes you get and you also get rewarded for voting on other outfits)

Championship (another way to compete with others players using your owned items rather than preset items. I have not participated in the championship myself yet but from my understanding you make one outfit to defend against other players challenging you and then make outfits to challenge other players’ defending outfits. The players you have the option to challenge will be the same rank as you so the competition is balanced and I believe this competition is based on the attributes of your items and a theme set for the current championship cycle, a bit more like a NPC beauty contest than the voting-based Illusion Contests.)

⭐️ Overall Rating: 4/5 (this would definitely be a 5/5 game if they fixed the racial diversity issue but it’s unfortunate that a game that’s otherwise so complex and engaging - and has LGBTQ+ representation - drops the ball in this area. I definitely hope they at least add the ability to have different base skin tones in the future.)

I really enjoyed this game so thank you to @raimi for suggesting it! If anyone else has any game review suggestions feel free to send them 🥳

#helix waltz #dress up games #dressup games #mobile games #baroque #full game reviews #fashion games #lgbt characters #game characters #interactive fiction #recommended #court games #fantasy games #game music #image descriptions in alt text #long post

31 notes · View notes

aster-ion · 4 years ago

Text

Sylvie x Loki Might Not Happen and Here’s Why

***SPOILERS FOR LOKI TV SHOW***

1. They are basically siblings

Even though they have different personalities, backstories, and physical appearances, that doesn't change the fact that they are the genetic equivalent of siblings. No matter what Timeline you're looking at, both Sylvie and Loki are the offspring of Laufey and whoever he had children with. We know this because they are Variants of the exact same person, meaning that if either of them were born to someone other than Laufey, they would have been pruned as a baby. And since they weren't, that means they must be just as genetically similar as siblings are.

Because of this, the idea of Sylvie and Loki engaging in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship is extremely disturbing to a lot of fans. It's too big an oversight to brush past, especially when the show has continued to remind us over and over that they are, in fact, both Lokis. Maybe if them being the same person wasn't such a major plot point, it would be easier to ignore the facts, but it is, and that means that Marvel is basically pushing either an incest or selfcest (depending on how you look at it) type relationship. And that’s extremely risque for a corporation as large as Marvel, especially with a character as beloved by fans as Loki.

2. It is terrible LGBTQ+ representation

And before anyone says anything, no, it is not because Sylvie is portrayed as female and Loki as male. I've seen a lot of Sylvie x Loki shippers say that the reason people don't like the couple is due to it being one between a male and female, but that's not true. Loki and Sylvie were both confirmed to be bisexual, meaning that they can engage in a relationship with anyone of any gender. It would be completely valid for either of them to pursue romance with someone of a different sex and still be bisexual. No one is arguing against that, and if they are, I definitely do not agree with them.

However, the problem comes in when you take into account Marvel and Disney's (who owns Marvel) long history of queerbaiting. There have been countless times that Disney advertises their "first gay character!" only for it to be a single line of dialogue or a brief shot. Marvel in particular has used the popularity of certain LGBTQ+ ships and headcanons in their fanbase to generate media popularity that they don't actually follow through with in their movies/shows. So when Loki was confirmed to be both genderfluid and bisexual in Episode Three, lots of people felt like they were finally getting a win for representation.

But those people, myself included, appear to have been let down again. The first two official queer characters had so much potential to go off and be with anyone they wanted, but instead, the show has set them up to be in a romance with each other. Now, this wouldn't be problematic on it's own, but when you take into consideration the questionable nature of their romance from Point One as well as the fact that the show has explicitly referred to it as "twisted," it raises the question of whether or not this is actually good representation. Because the fact is, in one episode the writers went “look, it’s two queer people!” and in the next, they said “their relationship is disgusting and demented.” Marvel’s first bisexual characters being borderline incestuous/selfcestuous does not sit well with me at all.

All of this is made even more confusing when you take into account the background of the Loki crew, most notably, the director Kate Herron. She also directed the Netflix series Sex Education, which has quite a bit of very well done representation of all kinds. So how is she managing to fail so badly on this project? It makes me wonder whether she truly is just losing her touch or if this is all a misdirection. Personally, I'm hoping for the latter.

3. It does not send the "self love" message people seem to think it does

The writers, director, and cast of Loki have said multiple times that the relationship between Sylvie and Loki is meant to act as a metaphor for self love. And in a way, that makes a lot of sense. Despite creating different identities for themselves over time, they are still ultimately the same person and therefore share a special bond because of it. And there's a lot of potential that can be done with that concept.

Loki is an extremely complex and intriguing character. He has experienced a lot of trauma in his past that has shaped him into the person he is today. And that person is clearly very broken. He has never given away or received any kind of love, with the exception of his mother and possibly his brother, Thor. Other than that, he's had no healthy friendships, romances, or perception of himself. It makes sense for him to be confused by this pull he feels towards Sylvie, who is both alarmingly alike and vastly different from himself.

Something this series does exceptionally well is breaking Loki out of his comfort zone. He is finally forced to see himself from other people's perspectives. It started with the file Mobius showed him in the first episode. Loki was able to view his actions apart from himself, and was hit with the realisation that he had been hurting people, and he didn't like that.

Loki is also confronted by the existence of the Time Keepers and the TVA, who describe him as an antagonist and nothing more. To them, his role is to make those around him look better, even if that means he repeatedly gets the short end of the stick. Mobius mentions that he disagrees with this and that Loki "can be whoever and whatever he wants, even someone good," adding another layer of depth as to who Loki could be in the future of the series.

Another huge moment for Loki's character development is while in the Time Loop Prison with Sif. Though he starts out annoyed with the situation and recalls not feeling apologetic when he cut off Sif's hair, the longer he is in the loop, the more he changes. Loki admits things to himself that we have never seen him say aloud, such as the fact that he is a narcissist that craves attention. Sif telling Loki over and over that he deserves to be alone makes Loki question whether or not he believes that to be true, allowing him an introspective moment where he really has to think about who he is.

Now with all of that being said, I'd like to tie in why this is important to the writing of Loki and Sylvie. They act as a mirror to one another, representing both the flaws and strengths of "what makes a Loki a Loki." For once, Loki gets an honest, unbiased look at himself without layers of expectations or self doubt. On Lamentis, he calls Sylvie "amazing" and praises her for all her accomplishments. That's a huge moment for him because it shows that despite also finding her irritating, he can look past those traits and see someone worth being a hero underneath. And through that realisation, he begins to understand that he can also grow to love himself. That kind of character development for Loki is incredible to watch, and it's the kind of character development I want to see from this series. Unfortunately, them possibly engaging in a romantic relationship will ruin it.

Whenever I'm feeling insecure about myself and my abilities, the solution has never been to look at who I am through a romantic lens. Self love is an entirely different type of love from romantic love, so if the series tries to push this relationship as a romance, it will fail to truly represent the arc that they are trying to show.

4. Nobody likes it

This one's a little on the nose, but it's true. Almost no one likes this ship, and more than that, most people actively hate it. Yes, there is a small minority that like Loki and Sylvie together, but there is an overwhelmingly larger group that is disgusted and angry by the fact that the show paired them up.

After Episode 4 aired, I ranted for about an hour and a half with a friend about how much we didn't want them together. My aunt whom I have never texted reached out to me to say that she hated their relationship. My homophobic neighbour came over and told me that she would prefer any other romance to this. Friends that I haven't talked to much since school let out for summer have all agreed that they collectively dislike Loki x Sylvie. This ship has brought people together purely because everyone hates it more than they hate each other.

There is no denying that the general feedback for Loki and Sylvie being a couple has been negative, even if you support them getting together for some reason. So if there are so many people out there who don't like it, I'm confused as to how it would be approved by a team of professionals.

5. The contradicting information we have gotten so far

Before the release of Episode Four, Kate Herron said that the relationship between Loki and Sylvie was “not necessarily romantic.” During the interview, she continued to refer to them as friends and people who found solace and trust in each other.

However, after Episode Four, the head writer, Michael Waldron, and other members of the crew spoke up about Sylvie and Loki. They said things like “it just felt right that that would be Loki’s first real love story” and “these are two beings of pure chaos that are the same person falling in love with one another.” These kinds of comments very heavily imply something romantic, directly contradicting what Kate Herron said. Even Tom Hiddleston, the actor for Loki, has assessed the situation, highlighting the differing viewpoints. He’s also said before that the end of Episode Four ultimately has Loki getting in his own way.

Now, this could all just be a misdirection on either side to build suspense for the show, but as of right now, it is entirely unclear who is telling the truth. Though it is more likely that the statements made by Michael Waldron are more accurate (as he is the writer), there is still a slight possibility that Loki x Sylvie won’t happen. I’ll link the articles I’ve found on this topic below so you can read them and decide for yourself.

Kate Herron Statement - https://www.cbr.com/loki-sylvie-relationship-not-romantic/

Michael Waldron Statement - https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-sylvie-in-love

Tom Hiddleston Statement - https://thedirect.com/article/loki-tom-hiddleston-sylvie-romance

6. It is still salvageable

The odds are not in our favour, I’m afraid. It is highly probable that the show will put Loki and Sylvie in a romantic relationship with each other. Yet there is still a way to salvage it and turn their bond into something incredibly satisfying. Like I mentioned in Point Three, the relationship between Loki and Sylvie has the potential to be incredibly empowering and provide both characters some much-needed growth. And I believe that while unlikely, it can still do that.

The only mention of them being romantically interested in each other came from Mobius, who at the time was angry, betrayed, and doing anything he could to get Loki to talk. Then, at the end of the episode, right before Loki is about to confess something important to Sylvie, he is pruned. This results in no explicit confirmation from either Loki or Sylvie that they are in love with each other. The audience is left not knowing whether Mobius was correct in his speculations, and honestly, I don’t think Loki knows either.

Loki is no expert on love, as I explained earlier. It is entirely possible that he doesn’t grasp how he feels about Sylvie and defaults to romance because of what Mobius said. There is undoubtedly some sort of deep bond forming between them, and I would love to see that being explored in the next two episodes. I would love to watch Loki’s journey of realising that he doesn’t want anything romantic with Sylvie, and was simply confused by the new things he was feeling towards her. Loki even says “this is new for me” when talking to Sylvie at the end of Episode Four. Him momentarily believing that he wants to be a couple with her then shifting into them becoming friends who help each other grow is still a reality that could happen. And ultimately, I think that would benefit them both as characters as well as strengthen the overall message of the show.

In a show about self love, acceptance of yourself, and figuring out who you want to be, Loki very much needs people who support him. He has that in Mobius already, and now he’s beginning to have it in Sylvie as well. I just hope that it is done in a way that resonates with the audience and subverts expectations, which just cannot be done through some twisted romantic relationship. I’ve spoken to others watching the show and seen people talking online, and everyone seems to agree that Loki and Sylvie work much better as platonic soulmates or found family than a couple.

Of course, my hopes aren’t that high up. While I’d love for this to happen, I’ve been let down by Marvel before and wouldn’t be surprised if they went for the easy route of pairing characters up rather than dealing with the emotions correctly. Still, I have hope for this series. Everything else about it is wonderful and perfect in every way. It has the potential to become a masterpiece and easily the best thing that Marvel has ever done. However, this romance would ruin it for me and so many others. We already feel incredibly disappointed by Loki x Sylvie being suggested, so I can’t even begin to fathom how people will react if the show makes it canon. I’m begging Marvel to please do better than this. They have a wonderful story to tell and a wonderful team to do it, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that they don’t throw that away.

#marvel #loki #sylvie #mobius #loki x sylvie #loki x mobius #kate herron #michael waldron #disney #lgbtq #representation #tva #loki tv

27 notes · View notes

comfy-whumpee · 5 years ago

Text

Whumping Safely 101

Many people in this community have mental health problems, face various types of discrimination, and have complicated relationships with some parts or types of whump. In particular, I aim this at people who care about the experience of survivors and others with triggers – partially because I am an abuse survivor who often flirts with triggering content as part of my love of whump.

Keeping your blog safe is difficult, takes effort, and is never a perfect process. But as the community grows and grows, it’s really important that we hold ourselves to a high standard. I would argue that this is a responsibility of all content creators, but especially those of us in the messy playground of whump.

I’ve got three sections in here: content warnings, writing with care, and community interaction. I’ve tried to make it navigable. It’s about 1.8k words. Shorter than a lot of drabbles! I welcome good-faith criticism on this topic and further questions on my own views.

Content Warnings

The biggest responsibility, in my opinion, is empowering your reader to make their own decision on whether they want to expose themselves to your writing. This also happens to be by far the easiest way to help people whump safely.

What to warn

This is a big and ever-changing topic. Some things you should warn for as a rule of thumb are anything NSFW, pet whump and box boy whump, drugs and alcohol, medical and hospital content, graphic gore, intimate partner violence, and animal harm. It can be tricky to draw the line of what counts – what needs a warning? If you’re in doubt, just warn it anyway. It doesn’t hurt.

If someone requests a trigger be warned for, even if it’s something that feels obscure or tame, show compassion and agree to the request. This is someone who cares enough about being able to read your writing that they wrote in! They want to be able to read it and enjoy it. You’re being complimented.

Otherwise, look at what other blogs tag for. You’ll see some variation in styles and levels of detail, but it’s a good way to gauge what people think is warn-worthy, when we’re often writing stuff that would already be R-rated in mainstream media.

The easiest way to make sure people don’t see your triggering content is to use a cut. Tumblr is not a very functional website and likes to delete cuts, but a cursory check of your posted content will usually tell you whether it’s worked. With asks, cuts are very spotty, so don’t be afraid to post an ask response separately with a screengrab of the original question. People often then respond to the ask itself with a link to the post, especially if it’s a whole drabble. Tumblr is weird and bad so just do your best.

Content notices

I.e., a quick summary before the drabble, usually in bold, to state what will be coming. I like to distinguish between using content notes (CN) and trigger warnings (TW) to indicate severity. Others might use the old phrase ‘dead dove do not eat’ to indicate this is a heavy piece, and often you will see qualifiers like ‘intense’, ‘mild’, ‘mention’, ‘referenced’ (i.e. it is discussed but not actively happening), and ‘implied’ (as the opposite of ‘explicit’). I’ve also seen a couple of people use ‘vibes’, which is a really nice way of demonstrating that it’s there, but not the focus. A quick paragraph like this, or just a line, lets people make a quick risk assessment on their reading.

This is also important if you’re sending in asks or requests to people. If you want to ask about something triggering, send an inquiry first about whether the blog is okay to hear it.

Tagging

Tagging is a chore, but it’s your primary way of warning people about your content. The main benefit of tagging is that you can be as detailed as you want, because can be tagging for content in general, not just triggers.

In a best case scenario, you’d tag the kind of whump you’re doing, tag triggers, tag characters, and even your ‘verses, because tagging is your index for your blog. If you tag reliably, you help your future self and your readers find stuff, and you also make your blog really dang safe. People who have unusual triggers can blacklist tags, and will pick up on your content tags to help them.

Don’t just tag your own writing. Tag your reblogs, tag your prompts, tag your asks. Yes, edit your asks to add the tags. Tag your images and gifs. Tag your images as images and your gifs as gifs.

If you aren’t up for detailed tagging for whatever reason, just tag for triggering content, and add stuff to that list if you’re asked to. My usual technique is to make a mental note of tags while I’m formatting and editing before posting.

Be aware that your first five tags will be used in search results. If you’re using tags that are associated with kink too, such as ‘shibari’, you might want to rethink your tag order if you don’t want interaction from those blogs. Also think about what tags might come up in non-whump contexts, such as ‘collar’ or ‘PTSD’. Some tactics for getting around this I’ve seen are adding ‘whump’ after the content or writing the tags in past tense (i.e., ‘collared’).

It is also a good idea to watch out for when you might be reblogging something whumpy that is intended as kink / porn / fetish, especially in images. Tagging these as spicy / nsfw / kink is a sensible move.

Writing with Care

Okay, now for the harder stuff.

I mean here to lay out some guidelines for how to write in a way that helps your reader build good faith. This is a much more nuanced topic, and it’s different for everyone. There will always be differing opinions on what should and shouldn’t be written about, what a good depiction of a sensitive topic is, and how to discuss that topic. I tried to strip this back into absolute basics that I hope we can all agree on.

Maybe your whump involves abuse. Maybe it’s gaslighting. Maybe it’s severe mental health problems, or addiction, or slavery, or you write about or analogise real-world issues. Whump deals with the dark stuff, and that’s a big part of its appeal. But don’t ever forget you’re writing the dark stuff.

(Try to) Know what you’re doing

Some of us play fast and loose with plots, medical accuracy, worldbuilding, and other things that get in the way of the pain we crave. This is all well and good, but when we start using whump that speaks true to people’s lived experiences, we shouldn’t be careless with it. I’m particularly talking about things that get represented poorly in mainstream media, such as abusive relationships, issues around marginalisation, mental illness and disability.

Be critical of media that you’ve consumed. Think about how its depicted things that you want to depict in turn. Look for opinions on fictional representations of those issues. Be aware that you might be more ignorant of things than you realise.

Look at how others are writing these issues, particularly if they’re writing from a perspective different to yours. If you haven’t personally experienced what you’re writing about, e.g., if you don’t have PTSD and you want to depict a character who does, seek out stuff written from or with experience. Listen to the experts.

If you’re looking for stuff about representation specifically, I recommend this collection of posts about ‘Braving Diversity’ cultivated by Writing With Colour, who are in themselves a fantastic resource for this topic, and have recommendations for other blogs that deal with intersecting issues.

Listen to others

Missteps are inevitable. Nobody is perfect. If constructive criticism is offered, that’s also a compliment to your writing. Someone read your work and thought about it, and thought you’d care about improving it. They’re offering themselves as a resource for helping you see your work in a new light.

Criticism is hard and sometimes hurtful, but even if we don’t think it’s accurate, there’s often a grain of truth in it. If someone tells you that your writing is harmful, think about why they’ve said that, not whether or not they’re correct. This is an opinion! Opinions are subjective! But what drove someone to send that in?

You don’t have to respond to all your criticism and definitely don’t respond straight away. Being respectful to those who are trying to help you means taking the time to consider it properly. Sometimes, they don’t need a response. Others, you might want to learn more about what they think before deciding. You might have already discussed the topic, in which case, you might just want to reblog your previous posts.

If it’s sent in bad faith or is outright hateful, you’re well within your rights to just delete it and move on. You might get the same criticism over and over again, and that’s exhausting, and you don’t have to retrace your steps for everyone.

But if it’s new, even if it puts your hackles up, you can always stop and wonder why someone felt that strongly about your work.

Take a step back

One of my better-known characters is a pet whumper who conditioned his victim to adore and depend on him. It’s not always easy to represent how deeply messed up that is within the text – though I think that’s part of the challenge – but in meta-commentary, I am always describing him as a creeptastic bastard lacking compassion and self-reflection. I hope to always give the reader the confidence that I know just how wrong it is.

This is a really simple thing you can do just to give readers good faith in you. Show that you know what you’re writing is dark and messed up. Show your understanding for the issues you’re handling and that they’re complicated. It might seem self-evident, but when you’re writing the really dark stuff, or unhealthy relationships, or institutionalised whump, you can inadvertently create the impression that you just think it’s fun. The fact that it’s fiction does not automatically absolve you. Show that you care about doing it right.

Community Interaction

I’m going to keep this one short and sweet because I will almost entirely be preaching to the choir here.

Be polite to others. Imagine saying what you’re saying to their face.

Don’t send anon hate. Just don’t. If you can send criticism off anon, do so.

Nobody is obligated to interact with you.

Nobody is obligated to monitor their own reader base.

If someone says do not interact, do not interact.

If someone says do not interact, why they’ve said that is none of your business.

You don’t need to spread the word about someone’s bad politics.

Ask yourself if your input is needed, or if what you’ve said has already been said.

You don’t have to take a side.

Take care of yourself. Take breaks. Remind yourself that whump is a small part of the world.

That’s all from me, folks. Stay safe.

#discourse...adjacent?#whump community #whump etiquette

465 notes · View notes