#which is often really clumsy writing coming from cis authors

[cuntvonkrolock]

cis authors stop giving trans characters the gender-swapped version of their deadname as their chosen name challenge !!

[himboarcher]

reasons i've seen folks say that grad critics hate grad:

they hate travis (in fairness, i’ve def seen some comments of people shitting on trav for the sake of shitting on trav, but it’s not super common and typically gets downvoted into oblivion on reddit.)

it's not balance / travis isn't griffin (???????)

they hate neurodivergent people (again, in fairness, i have seen a handful of comments that could come across this way! but most of the time when travis being ADHD or his NPD is brought up, it's by defenders saying that criticizing travis is ableist because he's neurodivergent or, in one particular comment, infantilizing him bc of it and literally comparing grad to putting a kid's artwork on the fridge. there were some comments early on that pointed to him being a narcissist as the reason for things people disliked about grad, but everyone seems to have realized that that's a shitty train of thought and left it behind.)

they're just toxic haters (again, there are a small handful of people like this because this is the internet, but the genuine criticism greatly outweighs their bullshit. i 100% think that the people, which is mostly just one dude who is also insufferable on reddit, who have been responding rudely to positive tweets under the episode announcements lately are out of line and need to stop. there's been an influx of that lately, presumably because people are frustrated that after over a year of grad going on, there's been no improvement to most of the major issues. that's still no excuse to be a dick to folks, though.)

vs some of the actual reasons i don't like grad:

the racism / racist tropes, and the way that they’ve straight up ignored this criticism and will likely never acknowledge it. pretty wild considering a core tenet of their brand is their willingness to acknowledge when they’ve messed up and do their best to course correct.

clumsy attempts at inclusion that are shallow and often end up being fairly offensive ("...ask me about my wheelchair," anyone?)

on a related note: i don't think that travis had bad intentions, but as an nonbinary person, it feels othering to me that travis only has enby characters give others their pronouns unprompted. i'm thinking specifically of kai here. having listened to their introduction, i don't think it's as bad or awkward as some people have said, but i can't remember travis ever having another NPC tell the PCs their pronouns, especially not a cis character. it's not a huge deal, but it's something that rubbed me the wrong way. admittedly, i don't think it would bother me so much if travis hadn't dropped the ball so much with performative inclusion in the past.

okay i'm putting the rest under a read more because even without getting into all of the problems i have with it, this got Long.

little to no player agency. player choices are ultimately meaningless and have little to no effect on the world. even when he seems to go along with a plan they come up with, it always ends with them having to go back to travis' pre-written script (see: subpoenaing the xorn, but not really because they had to go with travis' original plan of "send the xorn home through the rift".) the players repeatedly get told things about what they think or feel or what they've been doing to an unnecessary degree. fitzroy is the only one who really gets space to play and decide things for himself, and that's only because travis has decided he's the main character.

the NPCs are all too nice and willing to give the PCs anything they ask for and more, unless the PCs are trying to follow their own plan and then the NPCs are completely useless. but honestly, aside from gray, all of the NPCs are just.... nice. travis refuses to even let his antagonists be mean or cruel or even more than just slightly rude, because that'd be a bummer and we don't want that! the "twist" of gordy the lich king actually being polite and chill is not a twist at all because everyone is like that in this world. the NPCs are also wildly overpowered, but then suddenly absolutely useless when the PCs actually want their help.

too many cliffhangers that are dropped immediately at the beginning of the next episode. i feel bad for travis because so many of these cliffhangers actually set up good momentum and seemed like things were gonna get interesting, but almost every single time he just dropped them at the beginning of the next episode. like when althea showed up to interview the boys and the next episode started with travis being like "actually you went to sleep, she said she'll be back tomorrow!"

that time travis specifically said in his exposition dump that the thundermen left their horses behind because they thought the centaurs might be offended by them riding horses, only to later on rag on them for being surprised that the centaurs had horses they could ride.....

also the centaur arc in general, but i already listed racism above, so.

the way that the toxic positivity and parasocial tendencies in the mcelroy fandoms have made a large portion of the fandom take ANY criticism as a personal attack on travis and/or on themselves for enjoying something others consider bad, either morally or just quality-wise. it’s okay to admit that something you like has problematic elements or just isn’t as good as it once was. you can and should engage critically with the media you consume.

related to above: the way travis has handled genuine criticism, which is to throw public tantrums on his twitter or make weird passive aggressive tweets & ultimately ignore all the genuine criticism and advice he's been offered by claiming it's all subjective, even after he specifically asked for it and set up an email for folks to send in genuine, objective advice for him (after he threw a tantrum on twitter and replied to someone's criticism publicly, which resulted in his followers dogpiling on that person bc how dare they insult their internet best friend). while i was writing this last night, he actually announced that he’s taking a break from Twitter and acknowledged that he’s been using it as an echo chamber where he can easily get validation from folks, and honestly i’m happy for him that he’s recognized this problem and is stepping away for a while! i hope he’ll genuinely use this time to reflect on how he’s been behaving and find a more healthy way to use social media. i’m leaving this point in because i think his Twitter being such a positive echo chamber was encouraging him to do stuff like this, and him somewhat acknowledging his behavior doesn’t mean it can no longer be discussed.

rainer. extremely cool concept in theory and i was very into it until that awkward "does anyone want to ask about my wheelchair?" moment. also when travis had her use her mobility aid to RAM INTO A DOOR instead of just fucking knocking???? also all the times travis has tried to force a romantic relationship between her and fitzroy, despite fitzroy displaying no interest in her in that way. also, just to clarify: as an ace person, i don’t think this is aphobic! (and it’s kind of a stretch to call it that imo, especially since griffin never explicitly said that fitzroy's aromantic!) i just think it’s weird and awkward and a little uncomfortable for me personally, mostly because it reminds me of the times i’ve been in similar situations.

less of a problem than a lot of the other stuff and more just bad writing, but the forced emotional moments. in general, nothing in grad feels earned (why are the boys heading a war? when they have multiple actual heroes with combat experience on their side and a supposedly powerful secret organization? and the thundermen are like 21 years old max and have only had like ~10 fights in the entire campaign?) but there've been a couple times where travis has tried to force unearned emotional moments, presumably because he knows people enjoyed those with the last campaigns. but the difference is that in balance, the big emotional moments happened because they were earned. in grad, it's just travis throwing a baby pegasus at us for a few minutes and then the next time she shows up, it's supposed to be a tearful goodbye.

there are absolutely no stakes. remember when the thundermen got told that if they left, gray would kill 10 students? and then they left and came back and it turns out that what gray actually meant was, "i'll tie ten students who are mostly nameless NPCs to a tree and throw some dogs at them that you can easily stop in time, then throw a tantrum because how dare you but i'll leave before you can really do anything to hurt me lol" travis did have fitzroy's magic get taken away, but like. it didn't really do anything? also all he had to get it back was be coerced into using drugs by an authority figure and trip in the woods?

we're told that the school is weird and the hero system is corrupt, but the world of nua is still presented as more of a liberal utopia than anything? althea getting fired because of a corrupt villain is the only time we've somewhat seen corruption, but even then, she was still allowed to get (what seems to me, anyway, but admittedly i don't know for sure bc nothing about the HOG makes much sense) a fairly important job from the very people who stripped her of her hero license or whatever the fuck heroes need?

travis doesn't actually seem to understand how capitalism or bureaucracy works and just chalks up everything to "red tape." also more on the rest of the boys than him specifically, but the "let's destroy capitalism!" thing turning into just pushing some filing cabinets over................... okay.

and one last piece of extremely subjective criticism: it's just kind of.... boring. i think a lot of people, myself included, would be willing to overlook 90% of the problems with graduation if it didn't feel like such a slog to get through.

also people saying that we can't or shouldn't criticize graduation because it's "free" is absolutely absurd for several reasons. first, something being free does not make it above criticism. second, there ARE people who directly financially support the show with monthly donations. three, there's a difference between something being free and something being not for profit. podcasting is their full time job. they make their living off of money made from TAZ and MBMBAM (and probably their other shows to a lesser extent). this not a fun home game that they are graciously recording and sharing with us. it is a product they are producing that they make money off of, both from ads in the episodes and merch & books based off of these podcasts. they have marketed themselves as professionals, and both griffin and travis have been on panels where they are marketed as professional DMs and appear alongside other professional DMs (which makes it incredibly frustrating when people say that travis is just a newbie DM and we can't criticize him because of that. if he's a newbie, then he should not be taking part of panels as a professional DM where he speaks as an expert). TAZ is free in the same way that an episode of NCIS is free. i may not pay for it directly, but the creators are paid to create it and profit off of me consuming this product. so saying we should be grateful for any mcelnoise that the benevolent good boys share with us and that we're not allowed to criticize it "because it's free" is absolutely wild.

[unforth]

Hello unforth! Thank you for your wonderful blog, and the the untamed art blog!! I followed you years ago for destiel, and you were one of the people that got me into the untamed. I watched it last summer and have been binging various cdramas ever since!! I had a question for you about reading. After watching the untamed I read the novel, and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I think you’re someone who prefers the show, but if not, sorry if I’m remembering wrong… hoping you understand. I want to try reading other novels but I found the romance in mdzs to be kinda off. I guess I’m wondering if you have a recommendation for the best novel you’ve read so far? It would be great if it’s one with fanfic but if not I’m still curious to try! I hope this didn’t come off as rude about the untamed, it’s just a personal preference. Thanks in advance, and thanks again for all your work in fandom!

Howdy! *waves*

You have not misremembered, I definitely prefer the Untamed to the novel of MDZS (and I'm with you, no shade on people with different preferences, of course!). I also didn't enjoy the novel of MDZS as much as I thought I would, though I think some of that was because I read the Exiled Rebels Scanalations translation which - again, no shade, translating that was a HUGE job and kudos to them - but I do here from native speakers that some questionable translation choices were made, which can detract from some people's enjoyment of the novel (and can enhance other people's, it just depends how those translation choices relate to each person's personal likes and dislikes).

Now, I can tell you what I've read and what I've thought of each one, happily - I don't know what turned you off about MDZS specifically, beyond an aspect of the relationship dynamic, so it'll be hard for me to say which of these might appeal to you more? But, here's a list of which danmei novels I've read, and my opinion. The list is shorter than you'd think - danmei novels are long and I read slow, lol.

Note that all of these end happy, for various definitions of "happy," and the main ship is canon in all of them. Also note that I tried to avoid spoilers, but sometimes it's hard to even talk about the ship dynamic without some mild spoilers.

These are (roughly) in the order I've read them; I just finished the last a few days ago. All art is by the official artists, but I'm not always sure what their names are, sorry - I've tried to figure them out for my art blogs but it's REALLY hard.

1. Mo Dao Zu Shi, by MXTX.

(since I'm writing this post for you, and you're already familiar with it, I'm not putting in TW and plot)

My take: I figure knowing my opinion of MDZS will help you assess all this? There are things I loved about MDZS, including the book, but MDZS is still obviously trying to figure out pacing. Whereas in SVSSS, the storyline doesn't always flow that smoothly and the ending is rushed, in MDZS in my opinion the biggest issue is that she clearly didn't plan some things ahead. For example, Miangmian and Wen Ning are both introduced within a few pages of when they'll be needed to Do Shit. It shows that she hadn't quite worked everything out as she was going, and every once in a while was like, "shit shit I need a character for this thing" and hastily added them. The plot itself is better paced, though, though I could have wished for a less talky denouement. When it was the only one I read, I also often thought, "this author doesn't understand consent," and, "this author has kinks I don't share." Now that I've read all three of her books, I completely retract the first one. MXTX absolutely understands consent, and was intentionally playing with it in MDZS. Not sure if the evidence of that got lost in translation, or what, but...yeah.

Relationship Dynamic: ...the second of those opinions, I still kinda feel. The consensual non-con is just not really my thing, like I'm okay with it in small doses? And I don't love some aspects of Lan Wangji's domineering attitudes and Wei Wuxian's act of bare tolerating it. And don't get me wrong, now that I'm more familiar with her work, I think it was an intentional writing choice and I also think they're both largely roleplaying it a lot of the time...but I still don't personally enjoy it much.

2. Scum Villain Self-Saving System, by MXTX.

Genre: modern transmigration into a fantasy xianxia world.

Where to find it: English translation by BC Novels | donghua season 1

Trigger warnings for: graphic descriptions of suffering, non-con of the "fuck or die" variety, and body horror...I can't think of anything else rn?)

Plot: SVSSS is MXTX's first novel, and is a satire of classic stag harem novels. Shen Yuan, the protagonist and half the main ship, is reading a serialized web novel by "Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky" about a demon named Luo Binghe who has a harem of over 3,000 women and has done all kinds of ghastly awful things. He hates this novel but has read all, like, 3 million words of it or something, and trolls every chapter...until one gets him so angry that he dies...and then he wakes up in the book right around when the book starts, in the body of one of the early antagonists, a cultivator named Shen Qingqiu who abuses a young, innocent Luo Binghe physically and emotionally and, ultimately, is horribly tortured to death. Shen Yuan, in Shen Qingqiu's body, thus sets out to not be horribly tortured to death by Luo Binghe. Hijinks ensue.

My Take: In terms of my opinion of it...SVSSS secured for me that MXTX is a much more brilliant author than I thought when I'd only read MDZS. She understands tropes and subverts them brilliantly throughout the story, and from a writing standpoint, I was impressed with her. However, from a plot standpoint...she's got all the ideas but hasn't, imo, yet figured out how exactly to bring them all together. The pacing is off at times, and the ending felt abrupt to me. It's also the only danmei I've read where I ship a side ship more than the primary one (which is, of course, Shen Yuan (as Shen Qingqiu)/Luo Binghe. (also, oops...I read SVSSS after TGCF and just put them in the wrong order, oh well, not gonna change it now.)

Relationship Dynamic: In terms of relationship weirdness...it's hard to sort in that regard, because, like, it's supposed to be weird? I think it's a really interest book but I'm not sure I'd recommend it in your situation. Bingqiu's main dynamic is...uh...tolerance and obsession? They're kinda hard to describe. Shen Yuan often seems like he's just kinda putting up with Luo Binghe, whereas Luo Binghe is...god. So hard to describe, lmao. He's a big clumsy ox in a museum full of porcelain dishes and he really, really loves his Shizun. (also note that Shen Qingqiu is Luo Binghe's teacher. They don't get together until after they're not master/student, but if that's not your thing, another reason to avoid.)

3. Tian Guan Ci Fu, by MXTX.

(art is by Starember)

Genre: historical China (loosely), xianxia (note that I'm still figuring out exactly how stuff gets classified so sorry if I get one wrong, but I think I kinda get it???)

Where to Access It: English Translation by the astonishing yummysuika | manhua (this is an official translation by Bilibili! It's a few chapters behind the actual release, but still...) | donghua season 1 is on Netflix | a live action adaptation is juuuuust getting started on script reading and filing

Trigger warnings for: MCD, temporary MCD, body horror, graphic violence, epic levels of mind fuckery, uh...genocide?...again, racism/colorism, probably other stuff, sorry, I can't take as long as I'd like to for this post so I'm not being as thorough as I oughta be.

Plot: TGCF is about Xie Lian, an 800 year old man, and it commences at the moment when, unexpectedly, he ascends to godhood...for the third time. Unfortunately, when he ascends, he accidentally does some damage in Heaven, and he has to repay that, so he gets sent back to earth to deal with a ghost who's been causing some problems. Hijinks ensue...and then fucktons of angst ensue...then more hijinks...then more angst...and basically it broke my heart like four times and I am grateful for it every day? The main ship is Xie Lian and a ghost named Hua Cheng, but it's hard to even talk about without some spoilers because of some identity shenanigans. (they're VERY mildly identity shenanigans, but still).

My Take: So, you asked what my favorite of the danmei novels I've read is? It's TGCF. TGCF is one of my favorite novels ever, and it has a growing fandom, a donghua that's on Netflix, and a live action that's just starting to film. TGCF is the culmination of the skills MXTX developed through her first two works, imo. She clearly plotted it out all from the start, and while Book 1 especially often seems kind of random - lots of elements are introduced and then kinda...apparently...forgotten? And never explained? But she actually DOES bring it ALL together and it's flat-out masterful. I'm a big fan, obviously.

Relationship Dynamic: it again depends on your preferences and what you didn't like about MDZS, and there's no way to talk about it without spoilers, so consider yourselves warned. Xie Lian ascended to godhood first at the age of 17, and right around then he also saved the life of a 10 year old boy...and that boy is Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng is a follower of Xie Lian's, in that Xie Lian is literally a god, and Hua Cheng is literally one of his followers. However, they're separated for almost 800 years, so the age difference is largely irrelevant, and while some people complain about Hua Cheng's behavior being stalkery and obsessive, I honestly think they're dead wrong. It's more like when you read a celebrity/fan AU, and it starts weird, and then they really genuinely fall in love. Like, the fan may have been in love the whole time, and how they felt about the celebrity before they really met might feel slightly ooky, but it's how they act AFTER they meet their idol that matters more, and...yeah, Hua Cheng is great, they're both great, antis fight me. Xie Lian is easily one of my favorite characters EVER, he is all my favorite tropes in one horribly, wonderfully fucked up martyristic idealistic sweet kind laid back package. I would kill for him, lmao. In terms of their relationship dynamic...they love and respect each other? There's really nothing that weird about it other than the aspects of the "fan" Hua Cheng that get revealed over time - and he's always terrified that when Xie Lian realizes what a fanboy he was, Xie Lian will be upset or disgusted, but of course Xie Lian never is. They adore each other. It's glorious. Highly recommend. :D There's also no explicit content in TGCF (unlike MXTX's other two books).

4. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (aka 2ha) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat.

Genre: original world, xianxia, time travel, dimension hopping, it's so many things, 2ha is so hard to describe lmao

Where to Access it: English Translation by the amazing yummysuika (things are complicated, though, and it's not finished) | a manhua is in the works and should be out this year | a live action called "Hao Yixing" or "Immortality" is already filmed and could theoretically air literally any time cause it's completely ready, but when will it actually come? Who knows!

Trigger warnings: all of them. Literally. MCD, temporary MCD, murder, suicide, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, rape/non-con, abuse, manipulation, gas lighting, torture, graphic violence, body horror, literal graphic onscreen horrible blood murder of a small child (I had to skip that chapter), teacher/student relationship sort of but not exactly, probably other stuff, this book is dark as fuck, and a lot of these tags apply to behavior of one half of the main ship toward the other, but...it's complicated, and there are reasons things happen, and those reasons aren't "well they're just a bad person."

Plot: This is another one that's hard to describe because there's sooooo much mind fuckery going on, but I'll try. 2ha is about Mo Ran, who rises to be the Emperor of the World, Taxian Jun, but slaughtering all who oppose him...and who is so miserable that he commits suicide, only to wake up in his 16 year old body. This is pretty much perfect from Mo Ran's point of view, because he's gone back so far that the love of his life, his fellow disciple Shi Mei, is still alive. He has a chance to fix everything that went wrong, starting with preventing his awful evil Shizun, Chu Wanning, from letting Shi Mei die.

Spoilers: the main ship in this book is Mo Ran/Chu Wanning.

Hijinks do NOT ensue. There are no hijinks in 2ha. It is all pain all the time (but I swear it ends happy).

My Take: ...well, from a structural standpoint there are some pacing issues. The book is incredibly long (over 300 chapters, over 1 million words) and there are definitely some chunks that could just be excised and it'd still be fine. However, other than that, it's pretty amazing and absolutely masterful how it's plotted. As a reader you'll spend 100+ chapters thinking you know what's going on, and who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are, and how they relate to each other...and then Meatbun starts in on revealing what's ACTUALLY going on and she then spends 200 chapters repeatedly punching you in the face! Like, I went in knowing a LOT of spoilers, because the tags were so dark that I felt that for my mental health it was important I have a general idea what was going on, and I STILL ended up sobbing my eyes out (and I am NOT an easy crier and don't usually cry at books) over something I knew was coming.

Relationship Dynamic: That's about the only thing that the title accurately conveys about this book. "The Husky and His White Cat Shizun," sounds so soft and fluffy, right? That's how they get you, ha. But, Mo Ran is absolutely a big dumb husky who wants to do the right thing (well, sometimes he does) but just completely fails depressingly often. When he sees someone he likes come in the front door he WILL jump all over them and bark in their face as his way of trying to communicate affection. And Chu Wanning is equally absolutely a cat. He is emotionally constipated, poor at expressing himself, uptight, touch starved, desperate for affection, and so lonely my chest hurts when I think about him. And for how they relate to each other...well, picture that big dog greeting a loved one at the door...except that loved one is the most hide-bound proud white cat you can imagine.

That's their dynamic.

(However, also...there are multiple timelines at play, and Taxian Jun does some truly awful things to "his" Chu Wanning in the original timeline, and many of these things are graphically described, and while it's ultimately all explained, it still all HAPPENS, so if you're going to have trouble reading fucktons of abuse between the main ship, I would not recommend this book)

5. Thousand Autumns (Qianqiu) by Meng Xi Shi.

Genre: historical China (like, references actual people, as far as I can tell), xianxia

Where to Access it: ...reading Thousand Autumns is HARD, it's split over like four websites/translators. This Carrd can kinda help? I can get you the rest if you want | donghua season 1 | I heard there's a live action in the works? But I don't know more than that.

Trigger warnings: graphic violence, mentions/threats of sexual violence (but it's all stopped before things really go wrong), starvation, description of child death (from starvation), near-death, emotional/mental abuse, major semi-permanent character injury, god, minor character death, they're major characters depending on your pov, I can't actually think of others, after writing about 2ha it feels positively fluffy). Note that there's not really any explicit content, just implications of smut, and not til basically the very end and extras.

Plot: Yan Wushi, sect leader of a demonic sect, has just come out of an extended seclusion to improve his cultivation when he and one of his disciples come across a man who is wounded to the point of near death. This turns out to be Shen Qiao, the sect leader of Mount Xuandu. When Shen Qiao awakens from his wounds, he's lost his memory, AND he's blind, and Yan Wushi decides it would be great fun and an excellent use of his time to fuck with Shen Qiao by trying to turn him evil - because Yan Wushi is certain that ALL people are inherently evil, and shattering Shen Qiao's veneer of righteousness will just help prove that.

Spoilers: it's not a veneer.

Not spoilers: Not many hijinks ensue, but there are a few hijinks, and even when it's not hijinxed, it's still not that painful...usually.

My Take: despite that synopsis, a lot of the plot of Thousand Autumns is actually political, and I like political plots, so I liked that aspect of it. However, it has some serious pacing issues imo, and it's also hard to read in English atm because it's not fully translated; it's close, now, much closer than when I read it a few months ago, so it'll be easier to read soon. Or maybe I shouldn't say it's pacing problems, but rather, it's more of a sequence of multiple major plots, strung together, with the growing relationship between Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao playing out in the background. I think if I'd known there was no "one big plot" that would have actually helped me, because it kept feeling like, "Oh, THIS is the main thing," but it never was. Things would feel climactic...except then there'd be more. So it's probably better to actually think of it as more...episodic? And the episodes/stories build, and interrelate, and do have a culmination, but not all of them directly tie in, and not all the threads end up coming together/getting resolved.

Relationship Dynamic: early on, Yan Wushi is definitely abusive and manipulative, intentionally so, and I would argue that, imo, Shen Qiao falls for it. However, mid-way through, there's some big reveals, and after that when they're reunited Shen Qiao no longer takes any shit and Yan Wushi continues to act like he doesn't care even when he clearly does. They're not a typical ship in ANY WAY, and I'd say their relationship is more founded on mutual respect than on love. Indeed, in the author's notes at one point MXS actually says they doesn't see them as the kind of couple to ever exchange love declarations, and I thought that was really interesting and it really helped me to understand how they worked together because I'll own I struggled with at times. Yan Wushi is self-interested, often cruel, and ethically and morally dubious. Shen Qiao, on the other hand, could probably ascend to Daoist godhood, he's so pure. Yet...they DO work. I'd say "opposites attract" but that's ALSO not their main trope, not exactly. They're a VERY hard ship to explain, and I know some people who've read the whole book and still don't really...get them...and I've had to really think about them to wrap my head around them...but the more I've thought about them, the more I like them.

6. Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by Man Man He Qi Duo.

Genre: historical fiction set in either actual China or make-believe China, I'm not sure if this is directly incorporated any real people

Where to Access It: English Translation by Perpetual Daydreams | manhua (untranslated, I'm not sure if there's anyone translating it into English) | I think there's a live action in the works? Not sure beyond that though.

Trigger Warnings: suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, drug addiction, drug abuse, chronic illness (different character than the drugs), manipulation, abusive, awful parents and parental figures (not all, but definitely some), some homophobia (but way less than there could have been), probably other stuff

Plot: After 7 years away, Zhong Wan returns to the capital of the Empire with the three children of his benefactor, the seven-years-dead Prince Ning. Prince Ning was executed for treason against the previous Emperor, and Zhong Wan has done all he can to protect and raise the three kids, but he's got a lot of worries about returning to the capital and what could happen to his charges if they get pulled into the politics surrounded the Emperor. But, even worse, he's got even more worries about being reunited with Yu She, nephew of the Emperor, with whom he has more than a little history...and about whom he has been lying for the past 7 years, claiming that he is Yu She's lover, in a bid to help use Yu She's reputation to protect Prince Ning's children.

Hijinks ensue.

And so does a political nightmare.

My Take: TYQHM was a hard book to get into because there are just so many characters and it's all about politics - this is NOT a xianxia or wuxia novel, and these characters are NOT cultivators. There's basically nothing supernatural in the whole book; instead, it's about Zhong Wan and Yu She figuring out their own histories, and accepting each other, while trying to survive in a political world that increasingly wants both of them dead. However, I adore political plots, and when all was said and done I really enjoyed it, and I'm trying tooth and nail to claw other people into the fandom with me, so far with basically no success. It only has like 15 works in English on AO3. And so not only does it not fit that requirement of yours...

Relationship Dynamic: ...I think you would also probably not like the relationship dynamic? Zhong Wan is a bit like Wei Wuxian-as-Mo Xuanyu, except more...genuinely? Like, it's his actual personality, not an act, in quite the same way. I don't mean the "flamboyantly gay" part...usually...he definitely has his moments...but he's just...like, he's been through so much that he'll basically say anything, and drag himself entirely through the mud, to distract people who might hurt the three kids (they're like 16, 13, 13, now I think? It was never THAT clear to me, tbh...certainly, all are at least 10...) and, later, Yu She. He has zero face, and doesn't mind having negative face when he feels the situation demands it...and Yu She, on the other hand, has MAJOR depression issues, is sure he deserves nothing, and mostly wants to destroy everyone around him and then kill himself, at least until Zhong Wan starts giving him a reason to live again. But, more than that...Zhong Wan is like the fucking epitome of a bratty subby bottom. He wants to get fucked SO bad. And Yu She is an incredibly reluctant dom, hilariously so at times, uncomfortably/manipulative so at others. When all was said and done, I was pretty fond of them both, but there were definitely moments that made me grimace, and given what you say of how you felt about MDZS, I think this one is less likely to be to your taste?

Bonus 7: Guardian by Priest. I never finished the novel version of Guardian because the translation had some issues that caused me not to enjoy it, so I won't get into it too much, but again, Guardian is a very different book than any of the others, because it's modern fantasy(ish, like, it's still deeply embedded in Daoist-related tropes but it's more "magic spells" and less "cultivation." Like, in terms of what it's like, it felt more like Japanese modern Onmyoji style stories, to me, than it felt like the ancient Chinese wuxia/xianxia cultivation stories.). I'm not gonna get into lots of details, because I read part of the book more than a year ago, and have seen the show (which is VERY different) like three times, so I can hardly even remember what they're like in the novel. There was definitely some weirdness, though? If you're potentially interested, I'd suggest starting with the drama instead. The plot for that is...

Plot: Zhao Yunlan heads a Special Investigation Unit in the human world tasked with maintaining a treaty between humans and the dixigren ("undergrounders") who are (in the show) aliens (in the book...it's the world of the dead). While doing this job, he keeps running into this professor, Shen Wei, who definitely knows more than he oughta.

Hijinks ensue.

And then it murders you with feels.

The live action streams from YouTube - here.

(Warning: uh, I don't want to give spoilers, but my "guaranteed happy ending" does NOT apply to the Guardian TV show...but it does apply to the book, as I understand it.)

*

Anyway, this was a terrible use of my time but it was definitely more fun than what I should be doing, and it's probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but since I wasn't sure what exactly you had in mind, I figured...might as well be thorough?

(Today's hyper-focus fail: this post, ha...)

[jaimistoryteller]

OC/Author PrideFest Question Mess Part 2

Thanks for the tag @raevenlywrites! I am now up to all the people who liked my post with the link character list having received at least one (mostly more) questions from me.

Rules I am going with: answer the questions you know or are comfortable sharing, tag others, add a question if you feel like something is missing.

Note: I will be answering in three different posts, one per section, rather than all together because of how many questions there are.

Questions for you:

Introduce yourself! Tell us a little bit about you and what you write

Why do you write LGBT+ characters?

Have you always written LGBT+ characters? If no, what inspired you to start? Is it a deliberate representational choice?

Do you use modern labels in your work? Why or why not?

World builders: do you have any neat societal twists? (unique names for IDs, different marriage practices, etc.)

Do you write outside your own experiences? (cis writing trans, wlw writing mlm, etc.) If yes, how confident do you feel about it?

Tell us about a favorite book/character someone else wrote that inspired you (or just plain gave you a warm and fuzzy)

Any advice for someone else writing LGBT+ characters?

Would you like people to ask you more questions when this is over?

Free space! Wax poetic about something near and dear to your heart.

Questions for your Ocs (in character or out, dealer’s choice):

Going to answer these like I would a Q&A post, with the first three characters that comes to mind for each question. 

Say hi! Let us get to know you, you big beautiful person, you!

Sparks  *grins and waves* I definitely qualify as big at 6′9, sadly I lost some height due to my teenage activities. Sitara and Aither both think I look good, though really I don’t see it half the time. 

Lettie *snickers and gives a graceful bow* I always startle people with the fact I am not clumsy. Too many skinny and slender folks need to get the idea out of their head that big does not equal able. I enjoy having clothes altered for me and enjoying as people stare at how perfectly I carry myself. 

Lo *smiles and invites everyone in for tea or other beverage of choice* what would you like to discuss? There are plenty of things I know, both about the Network and the world in general. *they play with the many bracelets on their left arm*

How do you feel about the world your author has created for you?

Aither - it’s better than the world the author lives in. Seriously, the author needs a few people like myself and Jon to help deal with some problems in the government, and if our more diplomatic (aka hacking for those who don’t know) methods don’t know, well, we have access to bunch of assassins, not even counting our significant others. 

[Author: seriously Aither?]

Lo *listens to the question as they settle on their seat, adjusting their robe like outfit to fan out* there are times I wish it was a bit more accepting of people like myself. However, Aither is correct in saying it is much better than the one the author is from. 

[Author: this is going to be a thing.]

Tichina - I am a solidly built WOC in a position of power and respected. While there have been struggles in my life, there have been a lot of times that are better than expected. I am able to save my kids (the teenagers and young adults on my sports teams and in my neighborhood) from the gangs and lives of poverty through education and opportunity. That counts for a lot considering out parallel world is not nearly as forgiving from my understanding. 

[Author: *sighs dramatically* this is what I get for being honest with them.]

Are you out? To whom, why or why not, etc?

Jon - pretty much everyone who has ever met me realizes that I am not quite like  the majority of people. Particularly if they start talking about how hot or attractive someone is. 

Isaac - I came out to my family as genderfluid and was promptly kicked out, since then I don’t really talk about it, I just live it.

Nazreen - only to my soulmates am I out. To everyone else I tell them to mind their business.

Tell us a little about your journey. Have you always IDed the way you do now? Are there parts of you you’re still figuring out?

Vasilia - I spent my childhood perfectly content as a boy, it wasn’t until I started going through puberty that I started feeling off. At which point I started lashing out. 

At everyone. It was the guard, Isa, that actually helped me realize what was going on as I watched them move around with complete confidence in the fact that they are not a man or a woman. 

Uncle Akaal put in some huge libraries in the building when we first moved in that are always being added to. Actually, those might be from Uncle Isha and Luc, and Aunt Aither. Anyways, I was able to do some research in them. I went through several labels before realizing I am a transwoman. My siblings and cousins were supportive along the way, and Uncle Akaal made sure I had everything I needed or wanted to try. 

Isaak - I’m still figuring myself out. I’m pretty sure that I am uninterested in sex, not sure if it’s because I am demi, ace, or simply haven’t met anyone I find appealing enough because I am picky. Or maybe it’s because of how focused I am on my studies. I’m not sure. *shrugs* at least I know my family will be supportive no matter how it goes. 

Marie - the first thing I realized when I entered puberty is the fact I like women, not men. My parents trying to have the safe sex talk with me was a hoot, at least looking back on that talk it was. At the time I blushed up a storm. 

Do you feel settled in your ID, or do you think it might change as you and your author go on?

Isaak - it’ll probably change since it’s not firm at this point. Besides, I’m four when the author meets me, and in my late teens when I start babbling about what I want with my future, there is plenty of time for growth and discovery. I have an entire book, maybe more to grow in! (thank you @lady-redshield-writes @essagandana @raevenlywrites and @ratracechronicler for encouraging the author on that. I love the fact I get a moon base farm!!!)

[Author: *sighs*]

Ioanna - I don’t know who I am. I hope to find out at some point, right now I am simply hurt and confused most the time, so I hope it will change as we go!

Diego - I like growing and changing, and hopefully I will continue to do so. I also like surprising the author, because it’s fun! Beside, the very nature of science is change. 

[Author: does anyone else’s characters make a point of driving them up a wall?]

Did your author always know you were [blank], or did you have to tell them? If yes, oh please, please tell us how! :3

Nazreen - I had to inform the author of my nature and I took my time doing so because I don’t like to talk about myself or share private details. The author only figured it out because I am sex repulsed and have a male soulmate who is not. Though he has been very good to me, accepting my boundaries in a way my ex-husband never did. 

Aither - oh yeah, the author always knew I was pan, even before knowing the actual word for it. Back then omnis-nihil which is extremely choppy Latin for ‘all-any’. 

Arona - no, the author didn’t always know, that detail was figured out when I had a freak out over the fact that I’m intersex and that’s why I haven’t gone through puberty like my sisters. It also happened to be the day my first soulmark started to appear. 

Is being [blank] particularly hard in your world? How does your society treat you differently than ours might?

Lo *makes sure everyone has drinks as they consider the answer* for the most part I am left alone and to my own devices. From my understanding of the author’s world, I would have probably ended up leaving my home and becoming a traveler trying to find a safe haven. Although, I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to unless I bought an island in the middle of nowhere since things seem to be getting worse in the author’s world, not better.

[Author: really Lo? You couldn’t have just left it at ‘my world’s better?]

No. 

Isaac - being genderfluid can be complicated. It’s not one of the socially accepted ‘norms’ so people can be idiots about it. In a lot of ways they are the same, I can’t think of anything major different. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to get a job quite so easily? Dunno. 

Aaron - it’s considered perfectly normal, so it is ignored by most. In the author’s world I might have had to worry about bigots or conversion therapy. The fact I am markless is more tricky than my orientation. 

Tell us a little about your unique experiences with your ID. Do you experience dysphoria? Is it impossible to find a date? Just want to find that special someone for snuggles but everyone expects sex? Unload for a minute, it’s okay to struggle sometimes.

Jamie - while rare, there are times I have to deal with dysphoria, that happens more on days I have a sudden shift from masculine to feminine. Particularly if the shift involves feeling like my chest is suddenly too flat. 

Dates are generally easy for me. I’m good at getting people to take me to dinner, dancing, movies, whatever sort of activity I feel like doing that night. 

I enjoy sex but get tired of having to explain myself first, so it doesn’t happen often. I don’t really trust people, so finding someone to snuggle with gets complicated at times because of that little detail. 

I work off a lot of frustrations in my grifting. Particularly on jerks who like to cause problems for people like me. It’s actually how I met Aither actually.

Vasilia - my dysphoria was a large part of why I was lashing out, as soon as it was identified Uncle Akaal made sure I got what I needed to help with it. There was some trial and error as we figured it out, and boy did I feel awkward discussing it with my Uncle, so he talked to Uncle Isha who then put me in touch with some other transladies. 

I’m a teenager for most of the story, and working on figuring out who I like so those don’t really apply yet?

I have bad days where I wish I would have been born a lady without having to go through all the processes to become one. I sometimes wish that I could have children, even though I know it’s probably never going to have. I want to be the carrier mother, even if I can’t be. Those thoughts are more common as I get older and my soulmarks start to appear. A lot of times on those days I end up curled up with my sister. She holds me while I cry and mourn what I can’t have. 

[Author: none of the others feels like discussing it right now.]

What’s the best part about being [blank] in your world?

[Author: no one is answering...really? I got over 500 of you peeps and no one wants to answer? Fine. Moving on.]

Do you like getting fan-mail? Would you like people to ask you more questions when this is over?

Lo *beams as they check that everyone still has their refreshments* I would love fan-mail or to have people asking me questions!

Sparks - ask away, I’m sure I am the most boring one in the bunch, but I know a lot of things due to years of working for and dating Aither. 

Vara - I dare you to ask me things.

Grab that mic! Drop some truth on us, something you’ve just been dying to share! Shout out to your besties!

Mara {I didn’t like all the traveling with my handler but I love my human. My human needs me. My human often thinks he isn’t a good human but he is. His mates think he’s great and scent mark him often to reassure him of this. I don’t think he understands. He will in time. I’ll help him.}

[Author: apparently Iov’s service dog would like you to know she love’s her human.]

Sela - my twinlets are awesome! They could have been jerks about the fact I am technically two days younger, instead they declared the three of us have the same birthday. I hope they know how much I love them. 

Pyotr  *rubbing his neck nervously before straightening up to sign* I adore both my soulmates. Never sould I have guessed having a platonic soulmate, a non-romantic platonic soulmate would be in the cards for me, but it’s just right. We’re the best of friends, and I wouldn’t trade Marie for anyone else in the world.  

Questions for either you or your OCs:

What’s your orientation and gender? Wave that flag!!!

When did you realize you were LGBT+?

What makes your heart melt?

Do you have a favorite LGBT+ song? Movie? Book? Artist? (comic?)

Do you have a secret crush outside of your own work? Some wild crossover OTP?

Tell us about your LGTB+ headcannons (I’d really love to see someone’s character answer this)

What’s your favorite thing about being LGBT+?

Is there a cool place you like to hang out with your squad? Maybe an LGBT+ meet up?

What are some things you do to keep positive?

Do you have any advice for young LGBT+ people?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Tagging some peeps I am getting to know off the writer peeps spreadsheet so they can see my answers or do them as they feel fit.

@racqueljoneswritings  @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword @minor-writer @lexa-scribbles and @ally-thorne

Part 1 and Part 3

[ghelikblack]

Character Study - Men

From what I’ve seen from social media, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I actually like men. 

Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t really listen to people, in the sense that I usually “voy a mi bola”, as the Spanish say. I follow my own path and usually don’t care much what other people think either of me or of my way. 

That’s why I usually try and keep out of these highly politically charged discourses. Whenever I participate in them it’s mostly because at that moment I’m bored and in need of a good argument/discussion. I was taught to debate at school and I’ve loved it ever since. I can counter-argue practically anything -be it my opinion or not - and I love to do it. If you say brown bread is better than white bread, I would automatically jump into the discussion and try to argue my way around until I managed to convince my “adversary” of the wonders of white bread. 

The internet and social media -at least in my experience - isn’t much in favor of discussions. I had this one really interesting discussion on Twitter once, about the culture of a fictional group of people in a series. It ended with the other person saying something along the lines “you’re literally stupid” and then probably blocking me. I mean, it was a little hard arguing in favor of a culture of warriors when I am not much in favor of soldiers, to begin with. But it keeps the mind active and forces me to step into someone else’s shoes. 

What has gotten me out of my “shell” so to say it is what follows: every once in a while I would stumble  across some terrible experience some woman (or some gay man, because talking about men nowadays goes hand in hand with sexual representation, for some reason) has experienced at the hands of men. 

It chips away at you if you know what I mean. 

Then there’s the media I consume YA novels and fanfic. (I’ll try not to enter into the realm of movies and such because then this will turn into an essay and no one wants that).

I read mostly urban fantasy/science fiction/dystopian YA novels; usually with hetero protagonists. I haven’t read many LGTB+ YA novels so I couldn’t say if the trend is present there as well. 

But in those stories that I have read, I can tell you this: the heroine is shackled by The Old Ways – usually represented by some Big Bad Man, be it an evil dictator, a controlling father, etc. She breaks free of her shackles, the Male Lead discovers how badass she is, yadda-yadda we all know the gist. 

Don’t get me wrong stories are important and I understand why they exist. What they’re trying to tell. I even understand why most of the authors writing about heroines rejecting the patriarchal society are written by women. 

But whenever I come across yet another YA novel written in the First Person POV with a female lead, and a female writer I find myself rolling my eyes at it and leaving it unread. Which probably says more about me than the work that I am ignoring. I don’t dispute that. 

Why do I leave the book on its stand and walk slowly away? Because it is repetitive and boring. It is boring reading about how evil men are. It is boring to read flat one-dimensional characters that bumble around and look in awe at Awesome Protagonists, who are actually bimbos but think themselves average, who are clumsy and have a great heart and don’t think they’ll get with Romantic Interest because they’re not pretty like the adds. Not to speak about the even flatter and even more predictable villains: old men with ridiculous backward plans that are easily foiled by Special Snowflake. 

And yes, men are also heroes of exactly the same types of stories. Have been for centuries and they are as much Special Snowflakes as the females. So why don’t they make me uncomfortable? 

Because I don’t get reminded every five seconds of the fact that Special Snowflake is a man, a man that thinks himself average, a man that has the necessity of wooing Romantic Interest, and doesn’t know if she will ever look at him. 

Male protagonists are… un-gendered to me. Because there isn’t the need to insert a Romantic Interest in every story. Because when it is inserted it doesn’t necessarily hinge on the fact that “AW he’s so dreamy and I am so normal, watch me weep while I cleanse the world of demons”. Every time more often they form a partnership, or they leave the romance completely out. That is also possible. Sure, apparently people like sex, so sex is inserted in a lot of narratives. But even then, it feels like it’s not the primary goal fo the protagonists - ok the primary is to stop Evil Patriarchal Guy, but the second is to woo the man of their dreams, so... 

Yep, not a fan of YA female leads, which is my own personal opinion. Writing is difficult and if that’s the way you want to swing your story, go for it.  

Fanfic is the second Great Source of reading material for me. (Thanks to it I won’t be finishing my Goodreads book challenge this year either, so thanks, AO3) Anyway, Fanfic has always been transformative and innovator and cool and I love them and are incredibly grateful to all writers young and old. But they too have become a place where hetero men don’t seem to be welcome. An “anti-hetero”/ “anti-male” playground where characters that are male and non-LGTB+ are villainized, probably rapists and most definitely just a tool to the submission of women. 

But much like those random posts, I’ve mentioned earlier, and like YA novels, this chips at me. Makes me feel uncomfortable for starting to think this is more a trend than an actual critique.

 I mean: yeah men can be awful. But so can women, so can gays and lesbians, and bi, and ace and white and black and Asian and anyone. There are 7 billion people out there. I’m sure many can be nasty, nasty people. I am of the not-so-nice opinion that people as a whole suck.

This - I’m going to call it a trend from now on - trend reminds me of the short stories I wrote as a somewhat feminazi-14-year-old. Because now that I am older and I understand the world a bit better, my 14-year-old was an angry pessimist that didn’t write all that flattering portraits of men. 

I come from what you’d call a traditional middle-class 90’s family in which the father is an older authoritative figure. As a teen, I was rebelling against it. That is not to say that men had done anything to me, particularly. My father may be the authority in the household but he’s a good father and a good man that has always looked out for us and has given everything for his family.  – Love you, dad. 

At 14 I was just an angry rebellious girl with some very black-and-white worldviews and a flair for over-dramatization. Also, I love torturing fictional characters. So there’s that. 

I didn’t have many girlfriends – as in friends that are girls – growing up. I still don’t. I’ve always been more comfortable with boys. Most of my friends are cis, white, hetero. They’re also men. 

And of course I’ve had big explosive arguments and I’ve spent time not talking to some of them. But whenever I had a problem I could rely on them. Not to sound overdramatic, but no male friend of mine has ever “betrayed” me, or hurt me. Female friends have. Which doesn’t make all women evil and males suddenly saints. I’ve said it: humans suck. 

 But I hope you can see a bit where I’m coming from. 

And maybe I am alone in this. Maybe this is just my inability to completely grasp women psyche. Jus my own shortcomings. But whenever I hear a man saying “women are complicated” or “I don’t understand women” I totally get you! Because I don’t either and I am one of them! 

As it must be evident by now, I am not the most socially attuned person in any room - not even in this one and I am alone but for a beautiful moth flying around somewhere. 

That is the reason why this is only my opinion, and I accept that you might have a huge grudge against all men. 

Then again, I have a very limited memory and don’t really understand social cues. I am sure someone has leered at me at some point in my life, I am sure I haven’t noticed many of the times it happened. Maybe I am able to brush misogynistic comments away because not every man around me is a total douchebag. I don’t know. 

What I do know is that I like men. I enjoy spending time with them and it bothers me that social media insists on portraying them all as some faulty discriminating mass. Because that is not true and by doing so… Aren’t we stepping right into the “oppressors shoes and turning the tables to make them “pay”? Do we want to become the oppressors, make them feel bad for being what they are just as some sort of revenge for the centuries of oppression women and LGTB+ people have endured? Or is this really about feminism and equality and turning the page and making women and men of all colors and orientations equal? 

If what we want is the latter… Then we’re doing it wrong. We can’t use a hate-discourse. We can’t use the same weapons they’ve used against “us” and then just turn them on “them”. We need to find another way, a way to have no one be ashamed of the way they’re born. 

That is the hardest thing because it requires education. It requires understanding. It requires forgiveness for “Universal Sins”. And it requires a willingness to listen and stepping into other people’s shoes. Which, from what I’ve seen from my limited attempts at online debates, is severely lacking. 

[airagorncharda]

My reply to a post got REAL long, so I’m just putting it here and sending them a link

@gretchensinister

[your post]

Goddddd this got so long, sorry!

You said you’d be up for opening that can of worms, so here’s my input!

Like TJ, I'm wary of the advice of "just make mpregs about trans dudes!" because (as a trans guy) that feels like it falls into the problem of fetishizing us/our bodies, in that it diminishes us to the sum of our physical parts, and ignores that lots of trans guys (especially during/post transition) cannot get pregnant, and ignores that most trans guys (or at least all the trans guys I’ve met) find the idea of getting pregnant very dysphoric and unpleasant. "Just write mpreg about trans dudes” also falls into the trap of allowing/encouraging women who are not queer and who are fetishizing/commodifying queer male bodies for their own sexual escapism to do minimal research before writing trans people, which usually just results in bad writing. 

So I’m WARY of it. 

That being said, I've never gotten the impression that the way YOU would write a trans character would be shallow like that. You give all of your characters deep thought and consideration as people, which automatically means you’re not diminishing them to sexual objects. Your description of your own fic verifies that for me, personally. 

I don't know any trans men who want to get pregnant, but they DO exist, and I DO find it conceptually interesting to read about trans guys where that’s something they would want. 

For me personally, I’m more inclined to say “consider that trans people exist when you decide to write mpreg” than TJ is, because for me I’d prefer to get a higher quantity of fic written about trans people, even if lots of it is garbage. People won’t learn to write us better if they never write us at all. So for me, I definitely don’t want to tell people NOT to, and I AM interested in the subject, I’m just also aware that most depictions of trans men + pregnancy are going to be gross and fetishistic. 

There’s a whole history around mpreg (which is similar to the A/B/O tropes and the seme/uke yaoi bullshit) that’s basically cis women reinforcing misogynistic heteronormative relationship dynamics-- but on TWO MEN (gasp!)!! instead of on a m/f relationship. It’s catharsis, because they can explore the ins-and-outs of the shitty social situation they’re stuck in without it actually being about THEM for once, but unfortunately it has the effect of fetishizing queer male bodies in harmful ways. The mpreg thing is... also just cissexist and gross on that level, which is why for me, encouraging SOME LEVEL of acknowledgement that there actually ARE men who can get pregnant feels important. 

The other half of it though is that I’ve literally never seen someone write a trans woman who is magically able to get pregnant just because she wants to. People are willing to write cis men who are able to get pregnant for 50million nonsense reasons (and really, I used to be into mpreg, so I can assure you that the explanations for how it works are incredibly diverse and thought out, and NONE of them make much sense), but nobody seems willing to give that level of consideration, thought, and care to a trans woman character. 

The fact that I’ve never seen anyone say “I wrote a fic where a trans woman gets pregnant and lives happily ever after” but I’ve seen an UNBELIEVABLE number of fics about cis men getting pregnant, and also a lot of people being like “just write trans men getting pregnant because after all trans men are just women with different pronouns, right?!” (again, it doesn’t sound like that’s what you did, but I’ve seen other people doing that) says a lot about how these people are really thinking about trans people. They aren’t writing about us to write about us, they’re writing about us to write about THEM, but in a fetishistic escapist way that is harmful. 

Overall I think it can be done, and I personally would like to see more of it, but I’m 1) not holding my breath that most people are going to do it, and 2) definitely not holding my breath that they’ll get it right if they do.

On to your original question:

Are cisswaps fine? ... I mean... I think the answer is just “Yes” but also “some people go about it in gross ways, which is not fine” with a side of “people use the term ‘genderswap’ when they mean ‘cisswap’ and that’s transphobic and ignorant”

I don’t think there’s anything WRONG with the idea of just rewriting a cis man as a cis woman. 

The problem comes in with how people handle it. I’ve seen a few versions of this going really wrong really fast (and honestly I don’t think I’ve seen any of them from you, nor would I expect to). Off the top of my head in no particular order:

1) Making queer pairings straight, aka hetswapping:

Specifically I saw a LOT of this in the Hobbit fandom with Bilbo/Thorin fics. The fandom actually seemed to have more m/f [cis man thorin + cisswapped cis woman bilbo] than it had of them in their original forms (and of course it had WAY higher of both than of f/f cisswapped femslash, or of either of them as trans). 

While some authors do this sort of thing justice, and the occasional m/f cisswap fic isn’t bad, there’s a big problem with hetswapping. Basically that’s where the writer decides “I like this pairing except for that pesky sinful queerness. Lets fix that right up!” and makes them not only a m/f pairing, but also both inexplicably hetero. This is --phobic and erasure of all queer identities that can produce m/f relationships, and it’s just queerphobic in general for obvious reasons. 

And again, when tropes like this inundate a fandom with such force that they utterly overwhelm the other fic... there’s something screwy going on.

2) Everyone be gay men. Everyone.

All the women in the story get cisswapped to be dudes, so that everybody can be fetishized equally.

Literally this is just an excuse to write bad fetishistic penis/penis porn, and it’s pretty much always rife with aggressive sexism and queerphobia.

3) Complete physical makeover.

Beefy masculine male character submitted to the cisswap machine? Enjoy your thin, busty, long haired femm with a completely different body type and facial structure. She likes makeup and boys and she’s clumsy. 

Basically this is just people not comprehending that people are people, that changing someone’s gender doesn’t need to change that much about them, and that the biology of cis men and the biology of cis women is... not that different. Society has a huge effect on how people grow up, including how much they eat and what they feel comfortable wearing, etc. 

I know you know all this, just saying again-- there’s a ton of reasons why this form of cisswap is sexist and cissexist and gross. 

What you were mentioning about making cisswaps where the characters are mostly physically unchanged? Honestly I love that idea. Not enough people do it. More often than that, I’ve seen people do that same design for trans characters, which makes honestly LESS sense to me, because trans people are usually forced to be much more performative with gender expression than cis people. Also, always writing/drawing trans women as being “obviously” dmab, and trans men as being “obviously” dfab is gross and transphobic. Writing/drawing CIS people who don’t fit the expected physical binary is way more underdone and very needed. 

Basically, ultimately I don’t think it’s cisswaps that are the problem, I think it’s how they’re handled. A lot of people handle them badly, which has left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths in regards to them, and that might be why you’d encounter someone who HATES them or who they make really uncomfortable. It’s not a matter of them being inherently bad, so much as there being a lot more bad examples than good ones.

Again, sorry this became like a dissertation instead of a reply. I figured since you were hoping to have a conversation about it, I should really put all my thoughts down. ^__^