#respresentation matters

[fayrobertsuk]

Poetry for ALL

Some personal anecdotes and a plea follow...

As quite a few of you know, I’ve been engaged in disability awareness and rights campaigning and other work since sometime in the 90s, so when I was given an opportunity to support and host an event dedicated to making performance poetry as accessible as possible in 2018, I jumped on it.

(image description in alt text)

Poetry for All is the brainchild (and heartchild, and soulchild) of Rose Drew, who I first met through one of Richard Tyrone Jones’s Utter events in London. She’s an extraordinary writer and performer, and a powerhouse of an events host and organiser. Within about 30 seconds of watching her on stage, I knew I wanted to be like her when I grew up as an artist. When she got in touch three years later to ask if I’d like to help out with what turned out to be the inaugural event, I threw myself into providing as much support as possible with enthusiastic abandon, and we pulled together a line-up which included the extraordinary performers Raymond Antrobus and DL Williams (“DeafFirefly”), both of whom I’d performed with before and was keen to see again. 

Now, there’s a whole section on our new website about the history of the events where you can read the facts, but I want to say here that, personally, that first event in March 2018 (coincidentally on my birthday!) was an absolute eye-opener – seeing how poetry events could expand and develop the ideal of accessibility in ways I hadn’t considered. It was also extremely inspirational as I realised that, well, I was allowed to write about my disabilities. Seeing and hearing artist after artist sharing so much and so eloquently unlocked something in me that I didn’t even know I’d been repressing:

I’m allowed to be an openly disabled poet. I’m allowed to express my neurodivergence. I can tell my truth. 😱🤯

Bit of a culture-shock, but I owe so much to the poets and to Rose (and to Dave Wycherley, BSL interpreter extraordinaire – that’s a hard and physically/ mentally taxing job as it is, but to do that with poetry? on the fly?! breathtaking...) for helping me get to that starting point, knocking down the walls of my own internalised ableism.

So, apart from a paean to self-expression and why representation and finding tribe matters, and a screed of gratitude for new friends made and old friendships strengthened through the course of these events, why am I writing this? What’s with the hashtag? “Plea...?”

Well, so far, since you ask, all of our events have had local funding in York, where they’ve taken place exclusively so far. Rose applied for Arts Council England funding for this and next year for a tour comprising several venues and a host more disabled artists and BSL interpreters from various parts of the UK (all getting paid properly!), but we found out last week that we’d not got the money. Any of it. So our forthcoming event on 24th November in the gorgeous National Centre for Early Music is in jeopardy and, since the thought of Rose (herself a disabled artist on low wages) having to pay for this out of her own pocket was not to be supported, I threw myself at a plan of creating a (somewhat last-minute) Crowdfunder, so that we can at least pay for the venue, the artists’ and interpreters’ fees, the travel and accommodation expenses of those of us coming from out of town, and the costs of producing merchandise to sell. We’ll be producing an anthology in print and ebook form, as a joint publication between indie publishers Stairwell Books and Allographic Press. And, if we exceed our funding goal, there’ll be video and audio available of the event to boot!

We’ve created a frankly very exciting range of pledge rewards for people wanting to support us (all the way from £1 and £2 options, since money is tight, especially for disabled folk, right now, to more chunky ones like private mentoring, workshops, and a publishing package), and we’ve got three weeks(!) to raise our £1,500 to cover the shortfall from ticket and merch sales. Eeep! So, if you’re able to and would like to help us, we’d be ever so grateful. The campaign is here:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/poetry-for-all-2023-fundraiser

And if you have absolutely no funds to share with us at all, we’d be incredibly grateful if you shared on social media, with friends, on blogs, all of that!

Thanks for reading all this, and have a great day!

#fay speaks #image #image description #disability #disability awareness #accessibility #fundraiser #crowdfunder #poetry for all #I am going to be posting about this a LOT! #accessible events #accessibility matters #respresentation matters #fundraising

[marisatomay]

Ahh, I came by too late with my opinion and you turned off Anon. Oh well, same opinion with or without my name.

Of course sex serves a purpose in media and often is important for the storytelling. Yes, sometimes sex scenes are gratuitous in nature because in this society as a whole, sex sells and Hollywood knows it.

Representation in media is very important but not absolutely necessary to enjoy a particular piece of media. In fact, watching media that pushes your own personal boundaries and thinking can be a good exercise. I'm not saying you should watch things you know will trigger you, but watching something you disagree with can still expand your understanding of another point of view. I don't think that is a bad thing.

I have a daughter who is deaf-blind. There is nearly no respresentation of that in media. Does that mean she can't or shouldn't enjoy movies and shows? Of course not. In my opinion it is similar. She can't change that about herself but to ignore it would be ignoring part of herself.

If she were to take an extreme view, then media that doesn't represent her shouldn't exist. Sounds a bit much, right? You can advocate for more media that appeals to you without trying to ban or abolish what others enjoy. That's my opinion on the matter.

you sound like a good parent and it saddens me that more people weren’t raised with this mindset

[mrs-gauche]

While I know it’s generally bad for leaks to happen (unless they are intentionally encouraged by the developer, and yes this seems to be a thing, as Mark Darrah himself even mentioned in the past), and there’s no real point in overanalyzing something that is pre-Alpha footage from over a year ago (!!)... I’m just glad it didn’t contain some major spoilers story wise, because I wouldn’t know how to avoid them until whenever this game actually releases. 😂 I’d like to know as little as possible about the story and the characters going into it.......

........That being said.. I’m a hypocrite, I couldn’t resist and took a tiny little peek 😂(and if you don’t wanna know anything until there’s something official, I completely understand, just don’t read any further now!), so all I want to say is

HOLY SHIT GUYS This seems legit and we are probably looking at the very first glimpse of REAL (pre-Alpha) DA4 gameplay footage after EIGHT flippin years, which means this game is REAL, it’s actually happening, it’s a real game that’s playable and everything and ahhhh!!! Weisshaupt?? Davrin?? A dragon?? Darkspawn?? Purple stuff??? DID YOU SEE THAT HAIR ANIMATION THOUGH??

Ahem. Okay, so with the first wave of euphoria out of the way now, how are we feeling about THIS

Hmmmmm 👀👀👀

HMMMMM

OHHHHHHH

Seems like the spirit of Joplin lives on after all?? 👀👀👀

I’ve already seen plenty of people speculating and while we should take everything with a grain of salt here of course, there was a comment on a reddit post by another (supposed) playtester that confirmed “Rook” to be indeed the protagonist’s name/title! 👀 And while this could be of course just a placeholder name for whatever it’ll actually end up being, there could be a lot to derive from this!

- As people have pointed out, “Rook” does sound a lot like a code/spy name, much like Charter, Butler, Farrier or any of Leliana’s spies

- Rook being also a type of crow, fitting in perfectly with the bird themed names like Hawke

- In slang, it’s ALSO another word for “swindler” or “deceiver”, which also reminds me a lot of how there was a Lord of Fortune in Tevinter Nights who used the name “Hollix” as part of their disguise during a mission (which btw was actually the name of Dorian’s mother’s pet nug lol)

So all of this considered, and assuming that the leaked footage might have been part of the very beginning of the game (and how the leaker seemed to suggest that Grey Warden is just one of multiple factions you can choose from!), can I just say that my speculation about how DA4 might start off with an infiltration mission of one of four factions (Grey Warden/Antivan Crow/”Veil Jumper”/Tevinter.. something), while playing as a “spy” (/Lord of Fortune?? 👀) under the alias “Rook”, might actually turn out to be true after all??? (°ロ°)

I mean.. it could just end up being a simple “choose your class/faction” at the start and that’s it 😂, but either way, if we get something resembling different “origin stories”, like depending on which faction you choose, the game starts off with a different mission (similar to what Cyberpunk did?), I think that would be an awesome concept! (Not setting any expectations here though! 😌 The game might start off at Weisshaupt no matter which faction you choose!)

But back to topic, the rook being of course also a piece in a game of chess, which was depicted on the cover of Mark Darrah’s red “Joplin” book first seen in 2016!

Which in turn also of course immediately takes us back to the amazing mind chess game between Solas and Iron Bull, referencing a real game that happened in 1851 known as “The Immortal Game”. While people have been taking Solas sacrificing most of his pieces as well as his queen (Flemythal) only to then strike the final blow and win by moving the bishop (mage) as foreshadowing and also a perfect respresentation of how both Solas and Iron Bull think and strategize, what’s interesting to note, is that it’s the turn in which Bull takes Solas’ rook that ultimately seals Solas’ win in the end. 

Now, this could mean absolutely nothing of course, but with this new information from the leaks, maybe there’s more to it than we think. 👀

Then there’s also the link to Solas’ final Tower tarot card of course...

Other than that, I just think it’ll be really cool to have a chess themed aesthetic for DA4 following the tarot card theme of DAI! Or just the idea of having a “game of minds” like the Immortal Game rather than just relying on “brute force” with an antagonist like Solas, that requires a certain level of strategic thinking and consideration from us in how we act/make decisions to outwit him, would make a lot of sense to me!

(Or we might as well reference that one Simpsons episode with the “human chess board” and cover both brute force AND strategic thinking lmaoo)

Or, even better, let us do something like the flippin “logic chess” mechanic from that glorious Ace Attorney spin off game lmaooo

Let’s bombard Solas with some hard hitting arguments. lmao

I will say though that, if “Rook” does actually end up being the title/name of our next protagonist, I’m once again very curious how the hell they’re gonna make this work in the localized versions, if they do attempt to translate the name literally. Let us pray that they’ll just stick to English for this one, or else the multiple meanings of the term will be completely lost in translation. lol Can’t wait to play as flippin “Turm” in German or “Tour” in French. 😂

#da4 #dragon age 4 #solas #need to step up my chess game it seems 👀 #exciting stuff!! #speculation time ~ 🎵🎵🎵 #who am I kidding I will probably absorb every new piece of information about this game like a sponge 😭 #yet I'd love to go into it completely blind 😭 #the dilemma 💀

[taetaespeaches]

I so get what that anon said about not regretting anything. After Joon said that the plan was to break after MOTS7, but then Covid messed everything up so they kept going, I feel like it would be very easy to look at everything they’ve done since MOTS7, (like Dynamite, BE, PTD, etc etc, which was all clearly done 1. To hold onto the chance of a MOTS7 world tour, and 2. To be there for us army while we were going through Covid) and see it as not integrated to who they are as artists or that it wasn’t as clean as everything they did before and a bit more chaotic and messy, which is also where I think some army would think the boys see that as a regret, but it’s so not. Like although it’s not what the plan was, those boys worked so hard to do the best they could, FOR US. Sure, from what they said it may not have fully been what they wanted or a felt like a true respresentation of them, but so many good things came out of that. Army grew, they cracked the billboards, broke records, the boys learnt SO MUCH and grew SO MUCH, 2 x grammy noms, the list goes on! And now that they did that for us, this there time to take a breath, regroup, and get themselves back on a track they are happy with, creating work they are proud of and passionate about 💜

I agree so much. It’s not regret and I hope they don’t feel regret for a single thing. It’s just you’re exactly right, they had this break planned for after mots7 and then the world went through this massive thing and they stuck around for the fans, they continued, probably in hopes of holding out for the tour but also to provide us some light in a very dark time. They could never have predicted the way they skyrocketed in fame within this time. And all of their accomplishments matter, even if it was in a time of confusion.

I think when you’re an artist, your work is so closely tied to who you are as a person. And their whole career that can be seen, but they reached a point where they needed to figure out who exactly they are now. And when you keep creating art during that time, it’s going to feel confused and lost and strange. And I think that’s what they’ve been experiencing. It’s not like a 9-5 job where you clock in for a paycheck, like they’re work is so closely intertwined to who they are. They need to go grow and rest and experience new things. It’s natural and normal and I’m so happy for them and proud of them

#anon #asks #i was at that last show in vegas and no one can tell me that they didn’t want to be there you know? #that show was full of love and happiness #like just bc they’ve been confused doesn’t mean they’ve been hating the last couple years or anything like that #these boys have still out their hearts into everything and they did it for each other and for us #*put #i don’t think they could ever really regret that

[oizzys]

I have some bloody thoughts on Joanne Freakin Rowling

Sooo HP is a great franchise and she has earned the cred she gets for creating it all.

Now she is truly terrible at respresentation and that’s a big problem. I really don’t want to excuse it by saying that the books weren’t written now in the 2020s and that it was some years ago because the books were still written in the 2000s. But I still feel like as a straight white women maybe she just doesn’t know. She doesn’t know how much being represented matters to people and that has made her a bit blind to the problematics of her lack of it. Still, she could have made much better work of it and maybe put some thought into reaching a lot of different groups of people.

She as a person a really don’t know to what extent she is problematic but I still feel like her books ARE good and if maybe they where made into movies anew you could change things to make it more inclusive. (Making Harry and Hermione POC, Remus gay, maybe including mental illness and neurodivergence)

I don’t really know where I was going with this - just that we can still give her the credit she deserves while pointing out her flaws and take a stand that she REALLY should be better at including people who are not what society deems ‘standard’

#harry potter #HP #hermione granger #ronweasley #hogwarts #lol jk #fuck jkr #but still maybe not #magic #author #hbtq #draco malfoy #drarry #maybe idk #I think that would be nice #social issues #? #inclusive #representation

[ticapuravida]

Addiction = product of America.

It’s a disease that has a cure but the government won’t teach you the cure. Because they profit off of addiction.

It’s a form of control. They are the real addicts. Power is the most interchangeably powerful addiction in the world. For good and for bad. Right now society’s souls are being poisoned and infiltrated by unfulfilling ideas of “happiness”.

The government started and intwined origins and apathetic motives towards addiction throughout all of history and WITHIN the whole system. True CRIMINAL addiction is power and until you teach me about abuse of power and authority I don’t want to hear you judging ANYONE until you check your priorities first. *practice mindfulness and grounding techniques

The addicts to fear aren’t the ones on street corners. The ones to fear are living comfortably on their own private islands and jets discussing how to get their rocks off and laughing at how easily assimilated America is.

Don’t give them a reason to laugh.

#daily affirmations #law of attraction #mindfulness #spirituality #visualization #energy work #black lives matter #black lives still matter #no justice on stolen land #no justice no peace #justice #save our kids #save our youth #teach them #be the difference #be the change you want to see in the world #motivation #inspiration #respresentation matters #true history #origins #human rights #humility #power #addiction #recovering #recovery #imagination #educate our youth #be the bigger person

[monachopism]

please cast more dark skinned poc in lead roles. colorism is real and rarely talked about. I can think of about a billion examples of light skinned white features poc supremacy in film and television. it needs to fucking stop.

#I'm so livid abt this all the fucking time #respresentation matters #blm #black lives matter #poc #people of colour matter

[atu433b]

tsd prologue is extremely.. weird. very very very dark considering the epilogue which is way too lighthearted/walks all over ur grace’s character development in the last third of the book.. though i suppose it starts near the fede ring scene. in any case the prologue is like a bad end where he did indeed die.. weird weird weird very glad the version of the copy i read first didn’t have either of them included

#look at that first paragraph! cool! the last few pages are a little clunky but not terrible #one day i can properly compare tsd with tfatd but that epub is garbage and i am biased towards fidena.. home #i only kin felicia because tomboy respresentation in the last third or so.. and that she's somewhat sullen and **********. #'fiery' romance novel heroines are boring.. and no one in the genre writes like denys anyways. not even within her time period which sucks #words words words have been up a little while because of *ed*ugs #want to reread cause i haven't in a good year or so though learning sql is a much more pressing matter #though.. in turn.. it is difficult to plan how to learn without having a good consistent routine cause of a retail job having irregular hour #s each week........ which sounds very much like an excuse. hrm.. #what to do what to do

[mack3030]

What do you think of this post? :/ I thought it’s absolutely disgusting and wanted you to tell me your opinion on this?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/59072686

I think the best way to handle this is to take this view by view as he's got a lot of opinions shared in one post and I'd like to handle it topic by topic: Issue #1 that Zero Shared: EA is spending too much time working on fixing "social issues/respresentation issues" rather than fixing more important aspects of the game. My reaction to this is a bit of "Well, why can't they do both?". Why can't EA fix the game's core features and work on making sure that representation is included? Because part of the issue is that this game is supposed to allow people to feel like they can create sims that represent them. And if those sims do not look like them, or have the ability to interact with the world like they do, that magic is lost. I also should point out that this is something that the custom content community has also had to step in and help, and that it's pretty important that the CC community, if it REALLY wants to promote representation and social awareness, should NOT paywall aand should make sure that the quality of such CC is acceptable. I was sent this screenshot of an excellent opinion shared by a BPOC simmer in Dollhouse Mafia:

But in the end, it really is up to EA to make sure that their game represents the sims/community well, especially since console folks CANNOT use CC. And if they do not have enough people to make the game excellent for everyone AND address any representation issues brought by the community, then they might need to hire more people, or dare I say it, partner with the custom content community. Electronic Arts surely has the money between all of their franchises (Fifa, sims, etc) to be able to pay for programmers and artists. If EA cannot manage to both make the game playable, and representational of real people, then they frankly don't deserve to be paid. Period. The second issue Zero brought up is the issue of the community and social justice. Now, as a member of the sims community he is certainly welcome to his opinions (even if they're misguided), but I'd like to try to share my thoughts on it. First, why does he assume that when people in the sims community speak out about social issues, they are ONLY talking to people about the sims? I don't know about you but with tumblrs tagging system, there's lots of ways to get posts seen by people outside of your own fandom. To assume that simmers only talk to simmers about social issues in sims games or in the world in general is a pretty narrow viewpoint don't you think? I'm sure the same can be said for just about any other playform that people talk about the sims on. Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Youtube, etc. There's methods to be able to have your message reach beyond the audience of a specific game. In addition, I'd like to assume that when people talk about social issues that matter to them they are also educating other people in their life about it. For example, as an autistic person, I routinely teach my friends, family, and yes, even my students about what life is like for me with the way my brain is wired up. I am always advocating for autism acceptance. I can't turn it off. It's to the point that my students know not to use "autistic" or "retarded" as an insult in my classroom. Now, he does bring up a semi-valid point that there's more to causing change with social justice than just talking about it. Yes. Some action needs to occur. For example if you try to raise awareness for the rights of one group or another and don't take any actionable steps, then you're just expecting others to do all the work for a cause that you care about. But, for Zero to assume that this is all the community does and that there aren't members of the sims community actually going out and taking actionable steps is a big brush to paint people with. {Because imagine having the cajones to assume that you know how every person in a fandom spends their own personal time. You must be God, amirite?} There's a saying that when you assume you make an "ass" out of "you and me" which is why assume is spelled that way. And in this case we are seeing a prime example of someone making a bunch of lame ass assuptions and painting a community with a giant brush all because they're pissed that a game they don't want to play anymore isn't being updated in the way they like. Which creates some very odd and slightly nostalgic imagry in my brain:

^ Literally how I am imagining Zero acting right now, but with much more crying like an actual baby. So honestly, I'd just tell him to grow up and get over it. If he doesn't like how EA handles stuff, he can stop playing. But he doesn't need to make baseless accusations of the community to do so. /shrug The sims helps people enjoy something away from the real world (in fact the sims can often be a safe escape from a world that is dangerous/unfriendly to some people), and if they desire to have the game represent them, they deserve that. So stop being a pigeon pooping on people's hotdogs, and let people do what they want without your judgement. If you don't like it, then don't read people's opinions/blogs, and just move on. They don't need heckling from your peanut gallery, and your "clout" as a creator. As long as they are not actively hurting other people in the community, they don't need controlled or "karen'd". Also I'd 100% recommend reading @anachrosims' take on this situation as well.

#zero #sims 4 #sims 4 mods #sims 4 cc #sims 4 tea #sims 4 drama #sims 4 maxis match #sims 4 alpha #the sims #sims4cc #sims4 #sims4alpha #sims4mm #paywalls suck #the sims 4

[ladyrocksavage]

This pic right here. This is why you make movies. To inspire.

LOVE IT!!

#Wonder Woman #Respresentation #it matters #look at that look of being inspired #of holding dreams #of wishing #wanting #empowerment #Gal Gadot #DCEU

[slipperyskell]

Jaskier Headcanon Dump

I’m just in a rambly mood about this lad today so I’m gonna yeet some general stuff about Jasier ya’ll’s way 

very fidgety - seriously have you seen him in show??? lad’s always messing with his fingers or tryna keep himself moving around one way or another 

he is actually really smart, but has a hard time focusing on stuff he doesn’t find particularly fun or interesting, so a lot of people write tend to assume he’s not the brightest bulb of the bunch

when he can put his mind to something tho???? he’s all on that shit 

very very easily distracted - anything and everything that can get his attention, will get his attention 

prolly has some form of ADD/ADHD or something to do with an attention span disorder 

Absolutely loves being outside when he’s looking to write music!!!! nothing like some fresh air to get the creative juices flowing 

he’s that classic respresentation of an extrovert that’ll just like... adopt someone more introverted and be like “yes this is my friend now” 

usually very supportive of whatever his friends do 

genuinely curious about what they’re up to, likes asking questions about it, providing ideas and the like if the situation calls for it 

always carries a notebook and writing utensil with him just in case an idea strikes, be it something he saw or some lyrics flitting about in his head 

always keeps his lute with him as well - usually plays it when he’s bored

his best/most direct way of expressing how he feels is through his music - there’s a ton of songs he has written and played that no one gets to hear, save for himself (or the audience in the case of Her Sweet Kiss) 

GENERALLY SPEAKING, Jaskier isn’t super fond of the prospect of killing people, at least when it comes to those he doesn’t feel deserve it

he really likes people, finds the concept of each and every single person in the world living a life as equally complex as his fascinating to no end, and taking that life away when the taking isn’t earned just doesn’t sit well with him at all 

ofc if someone’s wronged him personally or those he cares about, then a bitch gotta die

prolly has a knife/dagger/something on him just in case, but he usually gives people a second chance and either forgets about the damned thing entirely or puts himself in a situation where it’s too late to go for it

goes without saying - this lad is pan as fuck 

when he’s in a committed relationship with someone, he wants nothing more than to parade them around and be like “yes!!!! this is my love!!!! they’re super cool and they do super cool stuff and you better fuckin like em!!!! aren’t they fuckin cool????? I think they’re cool”

ofc if they aren’t comfortable with that then he won’t, but he still hella supports them and just wants the world to see just how awesome they are

when he was younger, that was when he tended to fall in love with damn near everyone, but as he grew older and lived life on the road with Geralt more, he started to realize that that kind of living was really hard on him, and even worse for those he slept with

my guess is he was so wrapped up in the fame he got from travelling with Geralt, the mere concept of people liking him as much as he thought they did just completely overwhelmed him 

his naturally charismatic personality didn’t help matters

so when people were like “omg Jaskier I love you!!!!!” he’s just like :0 !!!! “holy fuck i love you too????? whoa??????” 

but, like any famous singer/band member, he got a bit burnt out on that life style as he got older 

he’s very gesture-y when he talks, all around very animated 

but it’s because he’s usually like... genuinely into whatever it is he’s talking about 

hums tunes a lot when he’s doing stuff - often tests out melodies like that if he doesn’t have his lute on him for whatever reason 

likes going for walks outside, especially if it’s in a smaller town/village 

something about the atmosphere is really comforting to him 

prolly writes notes down about the monsters Geralt kills so the details are accurate enough 

more than likely asks Geralt a metric fuck ton about monsters, too - like what ones actually exist and what don’t, how they work, what they look like, anything and everything on his mind

Geralt keeps his answers relatively short as he always does, but he’s actually really happy that someone is taking the time to ask about his line of work, even if it’s just for the songs 

definitely one of those people who just fuckin wake up in the middle of the night like “Geralt are unicorns real????” or “Geralt, if golden dragons can take on the form of a person, does that mean they could have human kids?????” 

and Geralt is just like 

“Go to sleep, Jaskier.” 

idk man I just fuckin love this feral flower child

#jaskier headcanon #jaskier #jaskier the bard #geralt #geralt of rivia #witcher #the witcher #netflix the witcher #the witcher netflix #geraskier #kind of but not really in this particular ramble

[blackcoffeeandblankpagess]

I happened to take pics of everything I ate today and it is def not a respresentation of a normal day but it satisfied Mission: Eat More Food and I’m happy for that and I never share a full day of food because 1. I never think to and 2. Everyone is individual! This is just one day! But I’m feeling wild so-

-Oats which you literally cant even see because they are buried but it included almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds, spices, blueberries, banana, cherries, granola, cacao nibs, and pb

-Whole wheat everything bagel with avo, egg, and cheese from local bagel place aka crossed off my to-do list of takeout places lol

-It was my neighbors’ anniversary and they offered for me to get takeout with them and I had penne vodka with shrimp and I haven’t had penne vodka in like...6373872 years. Plus lots of fresh bread (ugh) with butter and salad and calamari and red wine

-Was watching part two of the gourmet makes chaco taco episode and was not physically hungry at all but wanted ice cream so I finished off my pint of van leeuwen, I had prob like half a pint left and did I need all of it to feel satisfied? No. But did it sound good and does my body need it? Honestly probably

It doesn’t matter how “healthy” you are eating if you aren’t eating enough. Today was def a more takeout heavy day than usual but that is what normal eating looks like. Allowing myself to see the community aspect of food and not stress. I will have literally the next three years to make all of my own food decisions, saying yes when people invite you to a meal is empowering.

#personalposts #myfood #nj

[uhnoodles]

Stobin Shipping (ST3)

Hello all!

I’ve been debating whether or not to post this because conflict and confrontation make me physically ill and I’m not usually one to start anything of any sort that would invite such a thing.

I’m not writing this post to invite such a thing either, but unfortunately, I don’t think I can post this opinion without getting a lot of hate. I wouldn’t even be putting my voice out here unless something big happened, which has.

So, here goes.

Stobin is a ship from the 3rd season of Stranger Things featuring Steve Harrington, a character from every season, and Robin, a character introduced this season.

Steve and Robin work together at Scoops Ahoy and seem to be warily civil with each other in the beginning of the season. Various plot points drag them together, and eventually they bond and begin to grow warmer and friendlier with each other, a classic enemies to friends trope that is seen in many a fiction story. What usually comes next in this line of relationships is lovers or something synonymous. And we got a taste of it when Steve admitted his growing romantic feelings for Robin. Robin, however, turns him down because she is a lesbian. Steve is oblivious, then accepting and friendly with her from then on. There is absolutely no hope for them to ever be together in the show because she is a lesbian. I don’t want them to be together in the show because She. Is. A. Lesbian.

...Having said that, I feel slightly more comfortable approaching the purpose of this post.

A lot of people feel that it is homophobic/lesbophobic to still ship Stobin even after Robin came out to Steve, turning down his romantic advances. And I’m not going to tell you how to feel. I’m not in the business of doing that, because I’m not you and I don’t dictate your emotions or reactions. And honestly, if someone does still ship Stobin because they think it’s stupid that Robin is a lesbian and that she doesn’t “fit the bill” or they are just fucking homophobic, then fuck that guy. Because that’s not cool.

But. In my opinion, which is an opinion and not a fact, Fanfiction and shipping were made so fans can live out their non canon dreams.

I ship Stobin. Not because I think Robin being a lesbian is dumb or disgusting, or even because I wish she wasn’t a lesbian. Because I don’t wish that. I’m a lesbian. I was so fucking ecstatic when she turned out to be a lesbian! She is a cool, funny, complex character and she’s ours! Holy shit! YES! I honestly can’t wait for the writers to explore this in season 4 and give us all the sweet lesbian content I want.

Representation matters. I know that, and I feel that. I’m white- so I have had the privilege of being represented in the media my whole life. Hell, I remember when I first saw Beauty and the Beast, Belle immediately became my favorite princess because she had brown hair like me. I’ve also been lucky enough to grow up in an era where the LGBTQA+ community is slowly being accepted by society. I’ve also been lucky enough to have absolutely no issues in that area of my life. I’ve never been faced with prejudice in any way regarding my sexuality. I’m lucky, and I know I’m one of the few. So maybe Robin isn’t hitting me as hard as she is a lot of lesbians.

Don’t get me wrong, please, don’t get me wrong! She is a lesbian, I know this, and I never want that to change! If she and Steve got together in the show, I would be fuckin pissed! That is erasure! That is queer baiting! (I think that’s the term?) Her presence as a lesbian in this show is important because Stranger Things is set in the 80s, a very homophobic period in American history (which is true for all of American history through pretty much now for a lot of people). The fact that we have not just Robin but also Will- and both are accepted and still loved by their friends- is amazing and I have cried multiple times over it! If their presence in the show is of the utmost important to me, a lesbian who has faced zero kicks in the ass in her life, I can’t imagine how important she is to a lesbian who has faced every struggle in the world.

I believe, as I’ve stated, that fanfiction exists so fans may live out their non canon dreams. I ship Stobin because I thought their warm and fuzzy moments slowly building up throughout the season were very believable and they lit up the fan girl in me so fuckin quickly. “Yes!” I thought, “Steve is getting a romance again, and with arguably the coolest girl in the show!” And then she came out as a lesbian, which didn’t even phase me because I knew I could read fanfiction of Stobin to satisfy that whirlwind of fangirling emotions inside me that would never be satisfied canonically, which is completely okay with me.

That’s what fanfiction and shipping is to me. Satisfying my unmet fangirling needs. Am I mad about any of my unfulfilled ships? No! Absolutely not! Every fandom I am part of, I ship most ships in existence. I also ship Steve with Billy, Jonathan, Nancy, I’ve even read Steve and Kali (008) and enjoyed it! The thing about Robin is that, in season three, she only interacted with Steve and 2 children, and her and Steve had many faux romantic moments. I’ve read RobinxOFC and shipped the two! Hell, there’s this Haringrove fic with an OFC that I think she would be really cute with! I guarantee that as soon as she interacts with literally any female character, I will go buck fuckin wild. However, the in-depth character connection she has is Steve.

I know to a lot of you guys, these are just excuses, and I’m honestly very very sorry if I am hurting you in any way by continuing to ship them, completely apart from the canon, in the fics I read a write. I definitely would have kept my fuckin mouth to myself, but I noticed something quite alarming.

“Kill yourself”. Two words. Both simple words. Put together, they could destroy a life. They have many a time. I’ve been the target many times when I write a fic with a ship people don’t like. So alarming. So fucking alarming. Those words can do real damage. In real life. Not a fictional universe, such as the Stranger Things universe. But in real life. Now, I know that representation is so very fucking important, and I know that Robin is a lesbian. I support her as a lesbian and will accept no less in canon. Threatening another human’s life over respresentation in media isn’t okay, not in my books. Even if I didn’t ship Stobin and was as affected by it than a lot of you guys are, I would still be writing this post, just minus the explaining my view of Stobin and fanfiction in general. Because death threats, disturbing messages, and mocking one-off comments won’t get your point across. They’ll just root tour subject of hate more firmly into the ground and harm their psyche along the way.

It’s not worth it. Stranger Things is not worth it. Someone, a human being, in real life, could be hurt by careless, aggressive words. Over something that you could ignore so easily if you don’t support it. And I know that ignoring something you find abhorrent and a violation of human rights can be downright near impossible sometimes, but resorting to such terrible words just isn’t okay. Explain your side, debate, argue, don’t berate, don’t get furious. Or at least don’t let your fury turn you into a monster who threatens another human being’s life. Because doing that, saying those things? It’s monstrous.

I know this will get replies, and I’m not looking forward to it because confrontation, again, makes me hate my life. But you have the right to express your opinion to me if my own displeases you, but know that I will definitely ignore threats and furious massages that I’ve seen circulating around this particular ship.

I don’t know if I properly expressed myself or if this came across at all how I wanted it to. Bottom line:

-Robin is a lesbian, I support her

-I got attached to the teased romance between her and Steve, so I will be reading fanfiction and imagining scenarios myself to satisfy my hunger

- I, personally, don’t think that makes me a bad person or a homophobe/lesbophobe for reasons I’ve listed above

- I sincerely apologize to anyone who is offended or hurt, that is truly not my intention

-I only opened my fat mouth about this because death threats and hostile behavior have been circling this ship and it crossed a line in my head

I’m sorry this is so long. @pelegringo is a blog I know has been experiencing a lot of these threats and I don’t know how many others have been dealing with it. I’m so sorry if my opinion is unwelcome, but I saw someone being hurt and couldn’t ignore it.

I wish you all the best, and I hope you have enjoyed my Ted Talk.

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #st3 #stobin #stevexrobin #steve harrington #im sorry #death threats are not okay #possible trigger warning #trigger warning

[we-were-legends]

“Champion’s dawn”

Chapter 7 - “There is no one greater than us”

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Oropher arrived to the stables were continued a true movement. One cavalry division was just lead away through wide corridor towards the Plaza and immediately the next one took their place gathering on the courtyard and awaiting for their last soldiers to come forth from the stables. Next to the them, Oropher's archers slowly prepared for their leave.

'These are the last!'

Oropher heard a call from Taranir and looked up at his friend who just approached him on his tall horse. He bid the horse to walk slowly next to Oropher, though clearly the animal didn't like to shuffle along in so slow pace.

'Good. The divisions officers are overseeing the Plaza?'

'They are.' Taranir confirmed 'Haerdin and Egnaspen are already there. Mablung will arrive with the King.'

'Then we should join them.' Oropher said and he approached his horse that stood beside Saida who sat surely on her dappled mare. Tall Bargamo was not happy to be bothered and threw his head impatiently with ears folded back.

Oropher looked briefly at his elite soldiers who as expected wore their best armor and presented themself properly to their rank. Amrun, Tinnu and Halloth were neatly respresentable as well, their armor may not be as admirable, but nontheless fulfilled its purpose.

Oropher jumped on his horse pleased to see that mean Bargamo have not decided to lash out in gallop the moment he mounted. It seemed Oropher's training finally brought some effects with this horse.

'Hakon has some knocks on his back.' Saida said apologetically as she knew Oropher never favoured Bargamo.

'It's fine.' he said, for a brief moment hoping that Hakon will soon get better. He tilted head to three young elves nearby. 'Keep an eye on them.'

Archers of Oropher's banner left the courtyard some time ago and already few last divisions prepared themselves to join their respective banners at the Plaza. Only few horses stayed in the stalls and unusually empty fields were way too quiet. After scanning the fields, Oropher decided it was time to join the Haerdin and Egnaspen on the Plaza.

'Move out!'

Oropher spinned his horse around and Bargamo reacted sharply as always. He run forth in slow gallop and Oropher knew his soldiers will follow suit and fall behind him in the rows. They entered the corridor leading to the square where the army had gathered. Hoofbeats of their horses echoed between the walls and soon enough they entered the Golden Plaza like a quiet but vigilant storm.

With Oropher on lead they passed by the the regiments of Haerdin standing on the right area of the Plaza. The middle area was claimed by Egnaspen and while galloping by the soldiers of the Wolf banner, Oropher cought the sight of known figure in Egnaspen's ranks and Arvellon noticed him as well. His cousin sat on his brown horse in a second row, stationed there as lower ranking officer. There was an amout of uncertainity in Arvellon's eyes and Oropher realized that his younger cousin never had a chance to participate in the display of the army. Oropher easily seen Arvellon's nervousness that was clearly sensed by his horse who stepped from one leg to another not sure about the mixed emotions of his rider.

When Oropher passed by Arvellon he slowed down a bit to have a better look on his cousin, if only for a moment. Arvellon wore light armor in colour of dark grey. Sword at his side was well looked after, just as Galadhon and Oropher have tought him. A weapon you don't care about well enough will sooner or later rebound upon you – Galadhon always said to Oropher and this same thing he passed on to Arvellon.

He smiled briefly to his cousin and the gesure was returned though Oropher didn't think it will bring any consolation to Arvellon. He was not surprised that his cousin was nervous – as expected he wanted to present himself as best as he could, though taking part in army display for the first time and being station in a second row didn't help at all in softening the tension. However, this could not be handled in any other way. Arvellon was a lower rannking officer leading a division and his place was among the commanders of the Wolf banner.

Oropher's smile quickly faded when he arrived to his soldiers who were arranged in arrays of adequate divisions and regiments. Heavy cavalry stood on the left side taking first rows, next to them were horse archers of Faron's regiment and after them, almost to the end of the Plaza, the swordsmen stood in steady rows. Oropher's banner proudly stood above them and wolverine sharply bared his fangs.

Oropher and Taranir stopped their horses in front of their gathered warriors, while the rest of Oropher's elite troops joined the first row of the officers, as they were ones as well. Oropher's eyes reached to the farest parts to the Plaza where his soldiers stood and he nodded to himself cleearly pleased. There was not thing that was not tightened up and he firstly nodded at Taranir knowing that in great part it worked out because to him. Then he looked upon his officers with no dissapointment. He didn't have to say a word for them to know that he was satisfied.

'You know what to do.' Oropher said to them and they saluted bringing their fists to hearts. He looked upon his banner – the wolverine growled threateningly, showing off his superiority. Oropher always aspired to be the best – and this same thing he passed upon his own soldiers.

On the upper floors gathered a great crowd eager to see a the gathering. The army was presented extraordinary – soldiers stood proudly and their armors shone in the bright light of the torches, weapons on their sides were polished with great care. Horses neighted around, but in great part the animals stood patiently and their hair glimmed perfectly combed.

Oropher spinned his horse when Bargamo rised to rear. This beast needed to calm down and Oropher will make sure he will. His horse threw head angered when Oropher didn't let him, but came back to his unstable ease and obeyed.

Haerdin and Egnaspen sat quite relaxed on they horses at the center of the Plaza enough distance away so no one could hear them. They didn't seem nervous and Oropher wondered if they had any news from Mablung concerning this sudden gathering.

Oropher turned back and glanced at his elite in the first row. His three nightmared stood next to each other with Saida on their one side and Faron on the other. He shot them a warning glance before he turned back to Taranir.

'I will speak with Haerdin and Egnaspen.' he said and bid his horse to gallop towards two generals.

Soon enough they noticed him approach and Haerdin moved his horse to the side so he could enter their circle.

'Everything seems ready.' Oropher said and both of them nodded to his words.

'Our soldiers showed a great discipline by mustering themselves so quickly and with such effect.' Haerdin added looking briefly at the ranks behind them.

'Indeed.' Egnaspen admitted 'Maybe this was all about it.'

'I hoped you would know why the King gave such and order.' Oropher said after he chastened Bargamo, who showed his animosity towards two other horses and watched them now with ears folded back 'Has Mablung said anything about it?'

'Even Mablung was taken by surprise.' Egnaspen said 'And the King does as he wishes.'

'The latest meeting of the Council didn't concern the matters of importance to the army. Nor the army itself.' Haerdin said 'Unless there is something they are not telling us.'

'Don't exagerrate. If anything happened outside the borders we would be first to know about it.'

'Well, Haerdin is right. This latest wargs movement in our forests was planned. They have no power on their own to pass by the Girdle.' Oropher said and Egnaspen narrowed his eyes at him knowing what he had in mind.

'Let's hope none of this will prove to be truth. If the shadow is stirring in the north again than soon we will face it in battle.'

'The Darkness was never fully defeated. We all know it.' Haerdin said with forlorn expression 'Ered Gorgoroth is far and yet still too close.'

Oropher grimaced and memories of the First Battle passed through his eyes. The horrors of the enemy were hungry for blood and ever watchful. This has not changed and it never will. They may have lived peaceful centuries under the stars facing only minor disturbances and occasional enemies. The shadow of war passed by them all of sudden and dreadful darkness laughed at them hoping to meet them on the battlefield. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide – in the right time they would have to make a stand.

'We must send the patrols to the settlements before winter.' he said 'I will speak with my father about it.'

'If our predictions will be correct than they would have to move closer to Menegroth.' Egnaspen said and then shook his head at the lone thought of the matters that rose now above them. 'We will speak later with Mablung. Let us focus on the army.'

Despite trying to force himself to not chew the dark thoughts it was hard not to. Oropher clearly saw the other two generals grimaced too at the lone though of coming nightmares.

'Horses seem to be calm.' Haerdin said all of sudden.

'I hope it will stay this way.' Egnaspen said 'Many of them are not used to such gatherings, moving only in divisions.'

Before Oropher added something a loud click was heard through all the Plaza and the great door of the Throne Room started to open.

Casting last look on themselves the three generals took their leave and went back to their own flanks stopping their horses in the middle of each one – Egnaspen held the middle one, Oropher was on the left one and Haerdin on the right. Taranir stood at Oropher's right as the second in command and they both watched the entrance to the Throne Room.

The door opened wide and the Royals walked forth to the Golden Plaza. The fire flickered and shone brighter when the Maia entered the place – the air freshened with a far away smell of mountain streams. Their Queen Melian was a sight to behold and her lone presence brought courage to hearts. Her husband was tall like the great oaks in the forest of Region. King Elwe was born to rule – his majesty and grace made others cling to his will and obey his orders. The Primus General Mablung was at the King's side, his eyes run through awaiting army watching them all with sharp eyes.

The King and Queen stopped a distance away from the army and Mablung mounted his powerful dark stallion that was lead to him. The Prime General spinned the horse around to the soldiers who awaited his orders.

'To the King! Salute!'

'Hoorah!' the whole army bestowed immediately and, as one, they brought their fists to hearts in warrior's greeting.

The caves echoed with their powerful voices and Oropher silently prayed to the high stars for the horses to not spook out. Although, they were trained very well no one could be sure how they will react in every situation.

Mablung's horse neighted and trotted clearly roused by the commotion around. For a brief moment Mablung observed the first rows of his warriors and then he spinned his stallion to face the royal couple.

'Your highness, the army is at your command.'

King Elwe looked at his beautiful wife and she smiled with pride of both – her husband and their valiant people.

'Thank you, general.' Elwe said with his clear low voice taking his eyes away from his wife to look at Mabung and then he turned his eyes to the soldiers before him. His blue eyes were pure with light that no other Sinda posessed and there was unhidden satisfaction on his face and clear content.

'How many regiments are under each banner?'

'The Cougar has six, the Wolf has five and the Wolverine has six. There are at least three hundred soldiers in each regiment' Mablung said 'Five thousand and one hundred soldiers in total, my Lord.'

'How many archers?'

'One thousand and five hundred'

Elwe nodded in silence lost in own thoughts and as always no one could predict what he was thinking of. No one it seemed, except the Queen, who also glanced at the soldiers silently analysing. Oropher wondered if this was all a farce for the King's satisfaction or wise Elwe truly had something in mind. It was hard to tell if the King knew something that the commanders did not – as always Elu Thingol was hard to read or maybe it was just Oropher who didn't see the King too often. His father always told him how mindful Elwe is and wonderful Melian matched him in kindness and wisdom.

While Mablung answered the King's quiestions, Oropher once more looked to the upper floors were the gathered elves watched the army in wonder. It had been centuries since the regiments were shown in full glory and Doriath's strength was to be feared by the Darkness and whatever lurked far to the South of the world.

It was probably by accident that Oropher found his father among the crowd. Erthor was smiling and he delicately waved hand in a greeting, which Oropher, of course, could not return back, though he managed to smile back delicately.

Erthor was always reluctant in Oropher's choice to become a warrior and Oropher suspected it was finally because of long talks with Galadhon that he finally accepted. Oropher remembered the anxiousness in his youth at the lone thought to defy his father and follow the way Erthor did not approve, though deep in his heart Oropher knew he would have joined the army even against his father. This thing happened with Amdir, who stood against the words of Edwethon and he did as he wished which his father never accepted. Galadhon tried to convience Edwethon, but he was too closed at the possibility to his son being a warrior and Oropher was glad his own father proved to be wiser.

After the decision was made Erthor did everything to support him. Erthor gifted Oropher his first weapons – a slender sword that arched at the tip and a curved bow with embellished quiver. At the beginning of his training those were perfect, but as more skilled he was the weapons lacked gracefulness and weight. The bow and quiver served him well and now rested in his room, hung in his bedroom in special place and his first sword was reforged and became his basic one with which he was always seen on patrols and trainings.

Suddenly Oropher wondered if Arvellon payed attention to have his sword ballasted accordingly to his rising skills. It was no use to reforge the weapon over and over since simple leads could make the work. But the clue was to remember about it as getting used to fight with too light weapon could prove to be devastating in future training. Oropher would have to check if Halloth, Amrun and Tinnu remembered about it as well. He hoped they did and if not, he didn't know if he should be more angry at himself or at them.

Focusing up, Oropher quickly turned his eyes from his father back to Mablung and it was unbelievable luck for just when he did that the King beckoned him to come closer. Oropher narrowed his eyes delicately not knowing what this was about. It was rare for the King to beckon a commander so directly and Oropher was sure he did nothing to anger the great King. He bid his horse to gallop toward the royal pair and hoofbeats echoed between the walls interrupted only by neghting horses who stepped from one leg to another.

Melian was even more breathtaking up close. There was a smile upon her face that soothed all worries and filled spirit with courage. Oropher saluted when Bargamo stopped sharply as he was bidden.

'The horse suits you, my nephew' Elwe said with a smile 'I heard of your clash with wargs not long ago.'

Elwe knew of everything that happened in his kingdom and Melian sensed all evil once it revealed itself. Oropher bowed before his King as graciously as he could on the back of his horse.

'We are always ready to perform our duties, my Lord.'

'Good.' the King said wathing Oropher for a bit and his light eyes stared deep into him as if considering 'I am more than happy to have you in the great army of Doriath. As one the Princes of this realm you are the future of our people. My beloved brother would have been proud of his grandsons.'

Oropher didn't know what to answer, a bit confused about the King's words. Celeborn, as his older cousin, could have more memories with their grandfather Elmo, but Oropher himself didn't remember well his grandfather and he could barely recall how he even looked like.

'I am sure he would have been.' he said and Elwe smiled a bit with inscutable expression.

'Arvellon also serves, is that right?'

'He is, my King. He is an officer in general Egnaspen's regiment and he leads his own division.'

Sudden irritation rose in Oropher. If the King truly wished to speak about the family and go down the memory line that he truly didn't have to muster all the soldiers. They had more important matters at hand, but if Elwe wished to take a look at his solders and speak with him in the middle of the Plaza – who Oropher was to forbade him?

Oropher noticed that Melian watched him intently and Elwe smiled a bit as if he sensed the sudden exasperation.

'Very good. Young Arvellon will grow into a great warrior. He will surprise all of us.' Elwe said and Oropher narowed his eyes in suspicion. He didn't like this sudden interest in Arvellon – it always foretold troubles.

Then Elwe's eyes clouded and he reached out to stroke Bargamo's neck at which the horse has not reacted. Oropher watched a bit surprised for the mean horse always tried to bite, especially a stranger. But it seemed that the great King was obeyed by everyone and Oropher didn't know why he was surprised.

'You and Celeborn are headstrong and your hearts burn fiercely. But don't confuse freedom with blind independance as Amdír did.' Elu said and he seemed deep in thought as if long centuries back in the past. 'All of you echo with her rabid spirit and you bear yourself like her.'

Elwe look Oropher in the eyes and his eyes burned with azure flame backed by this strange light, but Oropher didn't look away.

'Celeborn directed his spirit into powerful charisma. I see him on the Throne if I shall ever fall.' Elwe said with determination Oropher didn't understand. He didn't understand what Elu wanted to tell him. 'Amdír has her freedom, but you took her fury. You were softened during those long centuries. You learned to take orders. Your eyes does not shine as hers under starlight.'

Oropher didn't know to whom Elwe was recalling his words. None of their family was anything like Celeborn, who will soon match in wisdom and greatness the esteemed elders of Menegroth. His words cut through minds with ease, carried with strong and clear voice. None of their family was like Amdír, who followed only his own will and cared not for the words of those who tried to confine him. None of their family was like Oropher whose fury was powerful like a monsoon. Who could be greater than them? Together they were unmatched.

'Don't let them control you. I fear that soon I will need Celeborn's determintion and your fierceness. And when the storm will be over all will be well again. Keep your fire, but don't let it consume you.'

Oropher felt well known fire boiling in his veins. The great King didn't have to worry of his flame to ever burn out – it was ardent and blistered with pure energy that mirrored in his every move.

'I will try my best, your majesty.' Oropher said bowing again and then he had weird feeling that Elu knew something he did not – something that concerned their family and something he tried to know about for so many centuries.

'I know you will.' Elwe said with full resolution and then his tone changed again to commanding 'Thank you, general. Be on your way.'

'Your majesty!' Oropher saluted and bowed to the Queen before returning to his troops.

#oropher #celeborn #galathil #amdir #elu thingol #elwe #melian #mablung #sindar #doriath #house of elmo #we were legends #champion's dawn

[wetookanoath]

Sorry if you have answered this or comes out as rude, but you have said your own opinions in what white people should be beware upon writing Ryan or Helen and hurtful tropes of RG. But as a writer of color myself what could you say we could do to avoid doing harm? I don't want to fall into some racist or stereotypical stuff. Even though Ryan comes from part of my ethnicity I don't know what things could do harm? (and you being a POC too I was wondering.) Thank you in advance!

I haven’t talked about this, good question.

- First step for everything is realizing we may fuck up in our writing some times, therefore we should be willing to listen to other people when they are telling us, “hey, this isn’t okay”. I’ve seen some poc writers that get very defensive about how their characterize poc characters, doesn’t matter if the character is from their same ethnicity.

- We need to be careful and realize when we are putting the characters through our own internalized problems. Sadly, the latino culture has a lot of internalized sexism in it and we are raised in it, and some of us don’t even notice when we are being shitty.

- That said, I don’t know much about other poc experiences, this is why I like to research and, if I have the chance, talk about it with a person of the athnicity the character is from.

Important when it comes to Ryan. I know my shit, I’m mexican; but I don’t know all of the things a mexican in the USA goes through, I don’t know what asianamericans go through, which is why I do research and make an effort to not be an asshole.

- And something very important: we can’t do their lives about being poc only, because we, pocs, know that our life is not only about it. We are like anybody else, we are not 24/7 thinking “I’m mexican, I need to be represented as such, I want mexican representation to be positive, people should treat me with respect”. We also think about what we are gonna eat, the friends we are with, we go out, we poop, we sing, take showers, laugh, cry, EVERYTHING.

- Something I’ve noticed is how we often make poc characters a little bit emotionless, especially men of color. There’s nothing wrong in a character that cries, there’s nothing wrong in a man of color who is close to his heart and feelings, there is nothing wrong with feeling.

- That said, we gotta admit when we are putting all out fantasies into our characters. Sex machine characters of color are very common and I’ve seen a lot of pocs feed into this, too. I have done it in other fandoms and it costed me realize my own shit to see I was being wrong and was feeding into another harmful stereotype of my latina community.

- Latinos are all diferent from country to country, this also includes the USA. So, Ryan has been raised in the all these things he is, but also in the fact that he is still an america. So while I’m super happy he is in touch with his mexican heritage, he is still american and he probably doesn’t know much about mexican problems. 

What I’m trying to say is that we shouldn’t make them exactly who we are, because reflecting ALL of us in a character is not okay. This also goes for everyone who is writing him in all his wonderful heritages.

- Remember that mentioning heritages and including bits of characterization and scenes that signal to an ethnicity are not always necessary, unless it’s truly relevant to your story/characterization. Don’t force your writing to fit the expectations of anyone, included that part of you who wants to properly representate.

Sometimes, the best respresentation is the one where their heritage mixes with every day things, only brought when it would normally happen in real life (talking about food, meeting the parents, talking about a passt experience, even in negative ways, too-- the recognition of those problems many cultures have with sexism, machismo, homophobia and more, an experience with racism -like Ryan did in the video about being ambiguously ethnic-, etc.); we shouldn’t be afraid of making our characters normal people because that’s what make them human.

- When writing RG, I advice to my fellow poc writers to understand we are not searching to make him perfect, nor ignore the traits we already know of him. Characters can be villanous, of course they can, and if we want to write him as such, we gotta keep in mind this is a person who is acting bad and we have to make this clear in narration and actions, let the reader know that this is something harmful that affects the characters and so on.

- Finally, we tend to idolize non-poc characters even without realizing. Because our views in beauty and so on have been affected by media and colonization, our subconscient sometimes rejects the idea that we are beautiful, but this caucasian totally is.

No. Ryan is such a fucking handsome, hot and cute man, all at the same time. He may not be some people’s type (which is also valid), but he is attractive and I think anyone can see that. Helen is gorgeous, holy shit. I honestly think she is one of the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Jen is so damn perfect, too; Quinta is so beautiful, like fjvnidnfirngtr. 

What I mean is-- drooling aside, is that we shouldn’t be afraid to express this and let our white characters express it, too. This where we have to be careful. 

Skin description is so difficult to me, it may not be to you, but I struggle a lot with it. I tend to not include it. Try to better describe their face, their body, eyes, eyebrows, lips, those expressions they make that are so attractive to you and that your white character may find attractive.

We gotta be careful with this, because we can sound like a cheap erotic book when describing poc characters, we can sound like fetishising them for being poc, especially when done from a white character’s point of view. 

- Oh, and-- when your poc characters is looking in a sexual way at your white character, don’t do this shit of “he is white, but that’s ok” because-- because no, lmao. It’s not about who is better. Is about real people, feeling real things, loving each other, appreciating each other. Nobody is better.

#ryan bergara #shyan #skeptic believer #shyanlibrary #nini got mail #writing tips #fandom #racism // #machismo // #sexism // #Anonymous

[makitokito]

At least people have valid reasons to dislike Home for the Holidays. Its pretty refreshing after Liam/Drake stan wars.

People have every right to continue to ask for respresentation and you cant help having people complain about the same old cookie cutter shit that half the stories have.

I frankly wouldnt care how great the story is I just want something... new. We got ITLIW yay, but now I believe people that its ending soon. Sure Home for the Holidays is likely an obvious short but the pattern is, really good short story, a few longer over played, over sone stories.

I could think of like a ton of ways to make this story not the same old shit, but fact of the matter is, that it is. Things get repetitive. And it brings us back to that quality over quantity. Maybe not everyone is going to get bored, but some people are.

#choices stories you play #playchoices #anti #anti home for the holidays #anti pixelberry #maybe