#you don't get to erase or ignore other people's rep thanks

[mieczyhale]

[ruvviks]

>> oc quizzes

needed to catch up with tag games so i did a bunch of them in one post >:) was tagged by @arklay, @shellibisshe, @aceghosts, @florbelles and @strafethesesinners to take this test for my ocs, was tagged by @strafethesesinners to take this test and this test for my ocs, and was tagged by @aceghosts to take this test for my ocs, thank you all so much and sorry for the delay i've just been sitting here LMFAO <33 tagging @radioactiveshitstorm, @sweet-mephistopheles, @awful-roffle, @dickytwister, @roses-of-heaven, @reaperkiller, @steelport, @aartyom, @morvaris, @swordcoasts, @girlbosselrond, @cultistbase, @liurnia, @faarkas and anyone else who wants to do this :D <3 feel free to just pick one!!

– WHAT'S AT YOUR CORE?

– SPUN GOSSAMER.

the easiest thing to do is stay quiet when something’s up. you’re not bothered, and you know what? you shouldn’t be! it’s none of your business, even when it’s entirely your business. it’s difficult (read: impossible) to tell if your cheery demeanor is a cover-up for something sadder, or if it’s simply your natural state of mind. you see a lot of things: people coming through town, people leaving the house and never coming back, lies and deceit of the highest degree. what happened to you? will you ever be that kid again? your presence smells like cotton candy, and your fingertips sparkle like stars. whatever white rabbit you’re chasing isn’t going to lead you to wonderland if you don’t start reaching out when you’re not feeling okay

– FLIGHTLESS BIRD.

the thought of your found family is what motivates you in your own little world. you touch the clouds, and the soil gives way under your footprints… this is utopia. if you were to erase one thing, it would be your memory. experience is important, but ignorance is bliss. identity, in heaven, should give way to happiness. you'd give anything just to sit by the swings and eat ice cream, but this isn't that kind of world. you have to get up and wash the dirt off of your scraped knees

– WHAT JEWEL ARE YOUR BONES MADE OF?

– PEARL.

you are a bit of an open wound. ⍜ the pain won’t kill you like you think it will, let yourself bear it and you’ll find you can ⍜ you might even find that the world is a lot more than your oyster. ⍜ reticent (unwillingly so), passive, introverted ⍜ resilient, generative, adaptable ⍜ you hold the ability to create and recreate the world around yourself

– STAR SAPPHIRE.

well hello, beautiful. ✦ how does it feel to have their eyes on you all the time? ✦ do you like to perform? do you like the way their hands reach for you as you turn in the spotlight? ✦ do you wish they would stop? ✦ they won’t. they can’t help it. ✦ is that the reaction you wanted? you want them to laugh, to cry, to moan, to yell at you maybe. ✦ you only exist in the lines spreading across the faces of others, right? ✦ if nobody thinks of you, you aren’t. so you make yourself headline news and they won’t look away ✦ attention won’t solidify you when the sun comes up and love won’t fill that hole inside. ✦ you might want to install an alarm system. just because they want you, doesn’t mean you have to give yourself

– WHICH GREEK GOD ARE YOU?

– ARES.

ok i had to really search the myths for some positive ares rep… i did not find any. regardless. you are not some meathead or the embodiment of rage or whatever. you've just got your thing, which ok is a little bit to do with war/anger/wrath etc. but so do the rest of these guys. you're just as good as the rest of them and you have an incredibly hot aura so congrats on that. there's more to you than some people bother to see, fuck them if they don't

– APRHODITE.

you honestly have the hardest energy to pin down. 'oh aphrodite is just some love/sex god' wrong the spartans worshipped her as a war goddess. you can be found anywhere and nowhere, you are mysterious, you are ethereal, many probably love you

– WHAT KIND OF SPOOKY CREATURE ARE YOU?

– GULPER EEL.

king of the deep sea. your whole deal is swimming around with your mouth wiiiiiide open. fearless. hungry

– FRESNO NIGHTCRAWLER.

hahaha oh my god. oh my god your legs are so long. your joie de vivre is unlimited. i’m terrified

[posi-pan]

seeing people in the qrts of ur loki is bi/pan tweet saying shit like “more proof bisexuals can’t have anything” or “stop trying to take away representation from bi people.”

like bitch, if u really want to play that game i’m 100% sure bi people have more rep than pan people. far more people know about bisexuality than pansexuality.

also, i was lol’ing at people only replying with “he’s literally bisexual” or something along those lines like it was a big own. like, you literally said he was bisexual?? just because you said he’s ALSO pan doesn’t mean he’s suddenly not bi anymore. reading comprehension 0/10

right like how is literally saying a character is bisexual erasing or stealing bi rep lmfao it's just so ridiculous. and i'm forever thankful for the people who are challenging those assholes on their bullshit. because i simply don't have the time or desire lmao.

and like yeah, if they wanna play that game, let's talk about how every mspec character is treated as default canon bi. let's talk about how every pan character is already called bi, whether it's purposeful erasure or ignorant assumptions. let's talk about how people use the bi umbrella to justify calling pan characters bi. let's talk about how people use the supposed interchangeability of bi and pan to justify calling pan characters bi. let's talk about how no one said a word when a character went from canon pan to canon bi.

they're coming so hard for me (publicly, in dms they're all "hey i just want to let you know xyz /gen" like fuck you lmao) when all i did was acknowledge a character being labeled bi and pan. i didn't (and don't) erase bi rep. i didn't (and don't) steal bi rep. hell, i didn't even give my personal opinion on it or any of the quotes, yet they're acting like i'm personally saying the character is only pansexual and supporting every person quoted and everything they're saying. i literally just compiled some quotes and said the characters are xzy based on them. it's not that fucking deep.

and if they're disregarding someone saying a character is pan because the person is problematic, then they better fucking disregard every single queer character who was confirmed or created by someone problematic. because if that shit only comes out when it's pansexuality, then they can shove that blatant panphobic garbage up their ass.

it's telling as fuck that they're only mad about loki and wonder woman. deadpool was first labeled omni, yet the only responses on that tweet i got were "no he's pan" and "omni isn't real" and even one "no he's bi". they love to pretend the first label used is the only true canon label and anything else is erasure, yet they're not applying that logic to deadpool. or other characters in that thread who had more than one label used over time.

(and don't get me started on the people harping on the quotes that are like "pan makes more sense" because "um why does pan make more sense? biphobic much?" when uh. assuming the only reason to think pan fits better or makes sense is biphobia is just really going full force with the panphobia.)

where was this outrage when annalise keating went from pan to bi? because i remember getting shit for my initial disappointment over that, even though it took me like five minutes to go from being upset to being like "whatever who cares she can be both". they are never consistent or fair in anything they say or do. they are panphobic, point blank and it shows in their hypocrisy and strawmanning.

this got really long and i kind of used the message as an excuse to rant some more about this lmao i'm sorry but thank you for seeing their bullshit for what it is. there are hundreds and hundreds of people harassing and dogpiling me, one even suicide baiting me. over the sexuality of a fictional character. so it's nice when other people are seeing it for what it is, too.

[ofteasandherbs]

Gotta be honest, your response about shipping aro/ace characters really rings of purity culture to me. The statement that this fic, this ship is morally wrong; it isn't enough that it's tagged appropriately, that it says "dead dove, do not eat." It is BAD and therefore should not exist.

This kind of attitude is stifling for writers of aro/ace characters. It says that aro/ace must be one thing all the time, and that deviating revokes that identity. And that attitude is harmful to actual aro/ace people.

Fandom is the realm of fantasy. Aro/ace people can fantasize about sex. We can fantasize about relationships. We can experiment. We can change. I would rather read fics where Cad is an actual character with depth and struggles and nuance, and it gets shippy or steamy or porny, than all these fics where Cad is this stagnant caricature who just makes tea. It's not either/or, many people out there are writing really good, complex aro/ace stuff. My point is, are fics where Cad's personality and agency are stripped really any better than ones that modify his sexuality and romantic identity? Why is one permissible and the other not?

Fans are not the ones in charge of aro/ace representation. They are singular people trying to make light in a dark world. And sometimes, that is squick to me. But I don't have to engage with it.

If someone says that Caduceus shouldn't be aro/ace, or that aro/ace identities aren't real or valid, I'll be right there fighting it with you, shoulder to shoulder. But fandom has got to be a place of live and let live. Otherwise, it dies.

Sorry to do this anonymously. It hits a little too close to home for me. And maybe if I saw the specific thing you're referencing, I'd feel the same way you do. I just think it's a slippery slope.

Love your art, love your blog.

Okay, let me be rambly here sorry if I don’t hit all the points, it’s been a bit of day. Also thank you much for the compliment, I hope this long ramble helps clear up stuff…

So I’m not trying to ring that purity culture at all! Really I think people should feel free to explore aroace identities in their fullest potential! Where that post came from was from a friend who got attack basically for an hour on discord for asking that characters canon identities be kept like they are. It wasn’t a fic, or anything like that, if that was the question(??? Aaa I hope I’m sayin this right)

Cad is an interesting character and I agree! I wish people would in fact explore him in fics and not just have him as a tea/therapy bot. But I hope writers and people get that you can do that while still keeping a very important part of their identity true! To the extent of wrtiting an aroace character in a relationship, it needs to be handled with care. There are a lot of aros and aces and aroaces in relationships! And that’s fine! But to some, it’s triggering to have a character that is seen as specifically aroace in canon and has shown no interest in romantic or sexual relationships to then have that erased for a ship/fic/art if you get me?

Aroace identities are important to those who are in that community and when we get a character that is so different from the usual rep it’s a cause for celebration! Cad is filled with so much love as a personality trait and it’s amazing!! It shows that love doesn’t need to be romantic always! It shows that there are aces who are not cold hearted. But to see people still want to put him in relationships (especially sexual ones) without explaining, say, that it’s a queer platonic relationship, it becomes a bit of a big ole red flag. Cause at that point, we don’t know if that work was made with the best of intentions, ie keeping true to a canon identity.

It’s a bit like wayyyyyy back when people shipped beau and molly as a romantic and sexual relationship. That seems odd right? As molly is genderfluid but mainly identifies as male and Beau is a lesbian. We don’t want to erase her identity all for a ship someone finds might result in a deeper analysis of their character.

To end this long ramble, and hopefully it has helped to see why I was pissed, yes I want to see cad get explored. But I don’t want it at the expense of his identity getting erased. Not when there are many alternatives already out there to do so. Not when it causes harm to the aroaces who get triggered when their character they identify with gets their identity ignored, much like they do in real life. Fandom should be a place for them to escape to as well.