Latest Posts by squaloropera - Page 2

https://www.tumblr.com/squaloropera/749207242108256256/hey-ask-me-about-the-inherent-heteronormativity-of?source=share

Okay explain because I'm interested

Oh thank god. You will regret this.

Now, the first thing to do here is to explain exactly what I mean by ‘top/bottom’ discourse. What I’m referring to, specifically, is people arguing over fictional characters (usually) and their preferred positions in penetrative sex. These characters being gay, almost exclusively. Pretty fucked up, but now that we have that point of reference, I can explain better. Now, there is no inherent heteronormativity in thinking a character prefers to bottom or top, but the discourse here is usually where the problem lies. First of all, roles of ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ aren’t exclusive. A top can bottom, a bottom can top, there is no set rule. Thinking anything otherwise dangerously borders on ‘____ is the girl of the relationship cause he only ever takes’ territory. This is the heart of this heteronormativity claim. In general, this discourse will be in the comments of any fanart or fanfiction of a gay fictional pairing that happens to be sexual. Usually, you’ll find at least a few comments of ‘Nooooooooo, ____ totally tops!’ and with the expectation that said character should always be the more sexually dominant one, even if there’s no penetrative sex being displayed and the word ‘top’ is being used to refer to sexual dominance. The core of this discourse is never actually about the actual meaning of ‘top’ and ‘bottom’, but in fact the words are being used in place of ‘the girl’ and ‘the guy’. If you replace ‘____ is the bottom!’ with ‘____ Is the girl in the relationship!’ it suddenly makes the comment make sense, and also reveals the sinister nature of top/bottom discourse.

I hope this was coherent, lol.

Hey ask me about the inherent heteronormativity of top/bottom discourse in fandom

Personally, I’m starting to think fake allies are worse than outright bigots.

Sure, some asshole in a park will call me a faggot and it sucks, but there’s something so insidious and cruel about someone who claims to support you but who won’t do the bare minimum for your community’s pain. Someone who tweets ‘trans rights are human rights’ again and again like mantra but won’t stop supporting the Worst Person Alive in favour of continuing to read a kids’ book about wizards. Someone who wears ‘Ally’ t-shirts and ‘love is love’ pins with every outfit but won’t stop eating a fucking chicken sandwich brand. Someone who claims to fight for your rights but actively contributes to the harming of those same rights, despite how fucking easy it’d be not to. I’d rather you just call me a tranny fag or whatever at this point. If you’re gonna be a piece of shit, at least grow a pair and go all the way.

Every time I get told I’m under-qualified for something and respond with the reasons I am in fact qualified, I feel like this

This seems like some kind of autistic shit I would do

Wanna hear something really whacky and funny? I’m in my ‘I am cringe but I am free’ era, so I was making an OC for Banana Fish cause I’ve been hyperfixating on it since I was sixteen. Said OC is a hacker. Since I know nothing about code, I asked my mother who knows code some questions I had. My mother asked me what I needed to know this for, and I said it was for a character I was writing without letting her know that it’s an OC because I’m not willing to be cringe with an audience. My mother, however, liked the character and his story after I explained him a little, and she told me to get it to 50k-75k words and she’d edit it and send it to publishers. So, in a whacky turn of events like that of a 2000’s Disney movie that I’m too hot to watch, I am now writing an entire novel so she doesn’t find out that my character is an OC for a silly little show about gay people. Why is my life this fucking weird?

boopt

Fucking. I keep getting comments like ‘How would you know his character better than the author?’ And ‘Just cause you don’t have the kink doesn’t make it heteronormative:/‘ and I don’t vibe with it. I realise y’all couldn’t utilise reading comprehension enough to get through the original post, so this might not help cause you’re still illiterate, but maybe it’ll send you in the right direction.

(Yeah it was only two people and three comments, but I’m nipping this in the bud because I would rather rip my own eyes out of my head and bury them in my garden than actually try and debate barely-literate heterosexuals.)

Firstly, I don’t claim to know MXTX’s characters better than they do. What I do claim to know, however, is how character writing works. I fucking hate the claim of ‘But how would you know it’s ooc better than the AUTHOR?’ like. An author is fully capable of writing their own characters in a way that doesn’t line up with their established personality traits. While Hua Cheng is MXTX’s character and I can’t tell them what to write, I am well within my rights to point out how little sense it makes with Hua Cheng’s established character to be some rough dom sex bully. He’s literally the most caring, devoted, protective person on the planet toward Xie Lian. Not to mention, MXTX didn’t even write him like that even in the uncensored version. There’s a way more concise explanation (with a screenshot) of this in the reblogs, but I’ll explain briefly. While there is one scene in the uncensored version where Hua Cheng is acting rough and handsy, it’s also a scene where he’s blatantly acting outside of his own control. With his normal personality, he would never even touch Xie Lian without assured consent, let along make out with him like that. Also, he was handsy. No mention of bullying, cruelty or weird dom vibes. I was misinformed when I made my original post, because of everyone’s immediate gushing about him being a borderline sexual batterer, and that’s my bad. Also see the screenshot in the aforementioned reblog, where Xie Lian recalls Hua Cheng’s voice as being gentle and without coercion. Rough dom bully top abuser Hua Cheng is not and was never confirmed- but back to the original point, yes. An audience has full rights to point out inconsistent character writing where it exist. What, do I need to flash my media literacy license. Let me on the crime scene, I work for the FBI (Fans of Book Investigation).

Secondly, what kinks I have is irrelevant to my interpretation of media. I’m actually pretty fucking kinky, and I’m super into the whole rough sex, dom top, bullying thing. I think it’s hot as shit. That being said, I was still uncomfortable with this characterisation. Why? Because the idea of the designated ‘guy’ of the relationship (to explain that, while MXTX didn’t write either of them as the ‘guy’ or ‘girl’ in the relationship -thank god- fandoms often latch onto the idea that one character, usually the one who’s taller and less meek or polite, is the guy in the relationship. That’s why the shorter and nicer one gets feminised so violently) being sexually violent and insatiable is neither new, nor a foreign idea in heteronormativity. It happens a lot; the designated ‘man’ in the relationship is constantly horny and super sexually brutish, because tHe bOyFrIeNd wAnTs sEx bUt tHe gIrLfRiEnD sAyS nO cAuSe gIrLs dOn’T gEt hOrNy oR kInKy. It’s bullshit, and y’all need to stop pretending not to notice so your faves can stay unproblematic UwU.

I don’t care what the new, uncensored versions say. Hua Cheng being a rough bully dom top in bed is too heteronormative for me to ignore how it makes no sense for his character, sorry.

I don’t care what the new, uncensored versions say. Hua Cheng being a rough bully dom top in bed is too heteronormative for me to ignore how it makes no sense for his character, sorry.

When Daniel Howell started opening up about how much he hates shipping culture surrounding his relationship with Phil, but I never did that shit even as a kid so I get to watch people getting shamed for their fucked up behaviour

I just saw a fanart that looked a little too much like a fanfiction I wrote when I was 16 and orphaned recently, and it’s definitely not a fanart for my silly little fanfiction that never got more than ~800 hits, but it was so horribly similar that for a moment I could taste the ink-blood of my creation, my child, choking me to death.

My favourite thing about the Xianle trio is just how sickeningly codependent close they are. Like, what do you mean you haven’t been friends in 800 years, your friend group fell out in the most painful and traumatic way it possibly could have, and you all have the absolute most reason to hate each other- but in The Cave Of 10,000 gods Mu Qing and Feng Xin were absolutely appalled at the disrespect to their prince. They were fiercely protective, refusing to let Xie Lian bear witness to what they thought was an incredibly perverted insult to his honour. They went toe-to-toe with one of the most terrifying ghosts who ever lived, all in defence of him, and did so without ever thinking twice. They dragged him through that cave system with desperately protective determination, caring for him fiercely despite being misinformed about the situation, and even though they had no obligation to. I’m biting people. Mu Qing and Feng Xin never stopped caring about Xie Lian. He’s no longer their prince, he’s no longer their employer nor even their friend, but they would still put their lives in peril for him. Even when they thought he was a violent criminal (Lang Qianqiu ily but pls kys) they visited his palace to give him medicine for his arm (something about Mu Qing brushing off his injury and saying it isn’t that bad cause all martial gods get injured, then being the first in line to go heal him is so sickening and vile I love him) and make sure he’s alright, then physically fought over the implications from each other about the other having been a bad friend. All of the bullshit trauma, all of the heartache, all of the reason they could have to not give a shit about him, and they were throwing hands over who was a better friend. I hate them. (I love them.)

Hey, don’t cry. Make the honey drink from Ponyo, okay?

The worst part about having normal hobbies is that there aren’t any blowtorches or heavy machinery involved. I was born to wear cool goggles while I set shit on fire, and forced to do digital art like a normal teenager. This is bullshit.

Uuuuuugggghhhhh I wanna write a modern AU where Qi Rong is on the run from the law with Guzi but I’m sooooooooo lazyyyyyyyy

I’m anti death penalty but pro killing rapists and pedophiles. The solution to this is for the government to let me run around with a sword.

In my Naruto villain era (experiencing multi-episode flashbacks that make me realise my tragic backstory is even tragic-er than I thought)

I accidentally used self raising flour in lasagne last night instead of plain flour and, in a fit of anger, my dad yelled ‘WHY DON’T YOU GO AND EAT SOME OF THAT AND TELL ME IF IT’D MAKE A GOOD MEAL’ and he was only saying it to be a dick but I am nothing if not a pedant so I have resigned to eat this entire lasagne. I’m on my third bowl and it’s so bad but I am determined.

Nothing is more painful than when the song you’re hyperfixating on can’t be connected in any way, no matter how hard you try, to your current special interest.

Local autistic discovers that in order to speak a new language you have to learn it. Ten dead forty seven injured.

Watching Nana for the first time and I can’t believe that as soon as she heard Hachi was having relationship problems, Nana was like ‘Omg the cute femme with the cottagecore aesthetic might be single soon’ and immediately chose to share an apartment with her. Peak lesbian dumbass.

Hey Jun Wu fucking kill yourself challenge go

I am absolutely anti ‘watering characters down to just being a femboy’ and all that, but some people need to be more normal about people just calling fictional characters twinks. It isn’t an insult, it’s not crude, it’s literally just a genre of gay and some characters fit that.

fucking.

the hardest lines ALWAYS come from ao3 fanfics and I stand by this

Mostly thanks to @emilyelizabethfowl (their reblog contains many of the fic links!! thank u sm) and a few deep dives into my ao3 history, the sources of the quotes have mostly all been recovered! I apologise for not posting them all with proper credit originally, I truly didn't think the post would blow up so much, but the lesson is very much learned :) enjoy!

- number 1 is from merthur fic called Destiny Ordered You To Die, But I Willed You To Live by ironfamjam

-number 2 is from a klance fic called reach out for you (break these walls) by Paladin-Pile (UserFromPluto)

- number 3 is a batman fic called Home (jason centered) by Daisybirb

- number 4 is a zukka fic by I'm Not Angry Anymore by team_avatars_eyebags

- numbers 5 and 9 are from The Art Of Burning by hella1975, an amazing ongoing atla following zuko

- number 6 is a hualian fic called No paths are bound by cataclysmic_calamity (originally a thread fic but also fully uploaded on ao3)

- number 7 is a merthur fic called tell me every terrible thing you ever did (and let me love you anyway) by Stardustwrites17 (the quote is also originally from a poem apparently)

- number 8 is from a batman fic called Nature and Nurture by lurkinglurkerwholurks

- number 10 is from a steddie fic called let me know (everythings alright) by bexiguess

ALSO there is now a part 2 !! (which I swear is better organized)

nothing is more fun that creating OC’s who have relationships with characters that would need to be wildly out of character in order to ever give a fuck about them in the slightest. Like wdym Hua Cheng is nice to my silly little OC because he’s small and sells weeds by the road in ghost city like a street urchin. He would not fucking say that (affectionate)

Sometimes I can spend hours thinking about how a lot of gay stereotypes (fast walking, weird sitting, struggling with numbers, weird fashion, etc.) are just symptoms of neurodivergence, because neurodivergent people are more likely to be open about their sexualities due to not giving a fuck about social norms and have accidentally shaped straight people’s perception of gay people by just being rad as fuck.

you ever see something so cool that you’re mad you didn’t make it?

light a candle for me when i die, won't you?

No literally, I would put a gun barrel in my mouth before cooked fruit, good meat (sigh) or slimy vegetables

autism allies (and even a substantial number of autistic people) when you tell them your autism-induced picky eating is not “picky eating” but is in fact an eating disorder that you can’t magically get over in the next 5 seconds:

Not to sound stuck up or anything but people who say it ‘Makes no sense’ for Denji to be gay, aro or ace fundamentally misunderstand his character. I don’t even have those headcanons, y’all are just morons.

what if I started biting people. What then.

band-aid ^-^