Oh man, so I remember in the 90s cartoon, that two episode arc where it’s an alternate timeline where they hook up, and at first I was like, “bwaaaaaaaaah?!” Then I was like, “… omg omg omg what is this feeling?” I didn’t realize that was the feeling of an OTP blooming inside of me.
(via spikyhairjon)
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Anonymous asked: wow, this not-adressing-teenager-thing has been a point i haven't thought about until now. but now it seems obvious, thank you for that! ... but actually, what do you think about the general minority of heroINES - or, what's even worse in my opinion, that there's like ONE woman and MANY men, take Star Wars, take the Avengers, take Robin Hood, take Big Bang Theory ... It's all just ONE Woman and they're dressing in bikinis (Wonder Woman, Red Sonja, Leia,...)
I do think it’s getting better, I mean, it’s better than when I was a kid. I mean I get that there needs to be more representation, for sure, I mean I’m a black girl, the number of us in a comic or whatever is slim, but it’s getting there. For example, when I was growing up, I didn’t have an entire line dedicated to the Disney princesses. And sure we can talk about how there’s only one black one, it needs to be more diverse (it would be nice if it was), how it’s rare that you get all of them (like Pocahontas and stuff), and a number of things, but it is a start. It’s something. It would’ve been nice to have that as a kid.
There’s also the argument of, “All they do is get rescued,” and then THAT turns into a whole THING and just, I get tired of doing that. Some of them wanted to be rescued from legitimate things, you know, someone trying to KILL THEM all because they were pretty. And just… we could go on, and on, and on, but at the end of the day it’s nice to see a shelf with some ladies when it’s back to school time, you know?
As for clothing, yeah that can be better, but I don’t want to hate on these women because of it. I mean there’s a bunch of series full of short skirts, bouncing breasts, and all that, and yeah I can ask, “Why does it have to be like that,” and that is a good question. At the same time, I don’t want to look down on these women, you know? Like, “ugh Wonder Woman can’t stand the way she dresses ugh.” Because she IS strong, and she IS able to stand toe to toe with the likes of Superman and Batman, and I’d rather be happy about that.
That at sometimes people poke at it in the canon, like I was watching Justice League and there was some guy doing a show on how terrible the heroes are because “they do whatever they want, blah blah blah,” and he pointed out Wonder Woman’s outfit, like, “Does she HAVE to run around like that?” Green Lantern and Flash were watching with her, and she was like, “What’s wrong with the way I dress?!"
Flash looked at Green Lantern like, ”… you wanna take this one?“
And just… I guess what I’m trying to say is that these are arguments that are continuous, and everyone has a valid point, but I’d rather focus on the progress, because there has been progress. Years ago, for example, my black female was the legs of a woman in Tom and Jerry. Now I know there still aren’t a lot, but at least they, you know, have names besides, "That lady who yells THOOOOOOMAS,” at the top of her lungs.
tambourmadame asked: hi bri! - yeah, how do you explain the fact that it's so often fictional heroes or heroines becoming role models and not "real people"? i mean, even robin hood whom i was OBSESSED with when i was younger is a hero somewhere out of history and legend.
It’s because fictional characters can have real concerns. Like, the reason why I love Persona 4 so much is that the characters are teenagers with real concerns that teenagers would have, and concerns that people don’t address in teenagers. Too often they’re told “you’re too young to understand” and “wait until you’re older” and not taken seriously, but honestly, there’s so much growing up in high school and college, I hate that people just assume “you’re a kid, you don’t know any better.” Kid doesn’t mean incapable of feeling things, or being concerned about things. Kid doesn’t mean you just don’t know about being hurt, or being in love, or being worried about what other people think, and just… that’s not what being a kid is. Being a kid is about growing and becoming the person you want to be, and that’s hard to do if someone is like, “You don’t know any better.” Yeah, that may be, but that doesn’t mean you should treat them like they can’t grasp the concept of it, or have genuine concerns about their life.
This is really personal, but take my wifey for example. She came out to her parents and they said, “No you’re not,” and took her to therapy. How terrible is that? They’ve come around since then (because I mean, come on, 12 years with a girl?) but she essentially had to come out twice because the first time they were like, “Nope,” just because she was young. And sure, maybe there is a kid who thinks he’s gay, and maybe years later he’ll marry a lady, but it’s called growing up and discovering yourself. Don’t tell someone they don’t know what they’re talking about, don’t tell someone their feelings in the here and now are false.
Hell, I mean, look at a series like X-Men. Mutants are discriminated against because they’re different. You can fill in the blank with race, gender, sexuality, just… pick one. Just because it’s got superheroes who can control the weather or fly doesn’t mean they aren’t facing real issues. Look at Rogue, she can’t even touch the person she likes, and she struggles with that. So not only is the overall show a big metaphor for being different, but those characters who are different have their own things to deal with. What better way to address those issues than with something a younger audience would be interested in? I really like shows like that that aren’t afraid to go there just because it’s a “kid’s show.” Like Adventure Time? I haven’t seen much of it, but from what I’ve seen on Tumblr there are some solid lessons to be learned, and it’s not preaching them, it’s just part of the story. It’s not like, “Now son sit down and let me tell you about being kind to others,” it just… is. And that’s great.
One last pic for y’all in slightly improved lighting. I blame the weird ass expression on my face and general redness of the skin on too little sleep plus taking this just moments after two hours of swimming and weight lifting. I would like to emphasize one thing I have yet to mention and that is that I am working on getting an actual swimmer’s body— meaning lean, well-trimmed muscle. None of that huge, bulky, brawny shit. So I’m never going to get like, football player sized, for instance…
#attentionwhoring
That moment when you have attractive friends.
(via zessei-ouji-deactivated20140614)
Anonymous asked: - do you call any of your cosplay characters or else fictional people as role models and why? would be quite interesting to know as i myself have always been drawing similiarities towards princess leia...
I really do like Tiana, who believed that hard work would get you what you wanted. I really liked that message <3 I also have a lot of love for Storm because she really was the first black female character I saw in a cool, superhero setting as a kid. I had seen white girls there, and even Asian (Chun-Li in Street Fighter or Trini in Power Rangers), but the only black characters I remember until Storm were the likes of Fat Albert (which were men), Zack from Power Rangers (I don’t remember if he was before or after the X-Men cartoon), the MC Hammer cartoon (again, male), some sports cartoon with Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Wayne Gretzy (all men), and the lady in Tom and Jerry, you’d only see her legs. So Storm is a big deal to me, she was my, “OMG IT’S A BLACK LADY IN THE COOL ACTION SHOW” moment, I was pretty young and it was great :)
I also really, really love Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4. I like her story and her message, and the fact that her story focuses on her being in a male dominated industry, and being so convinced that she would be seen as weak for being young and female that she disguised herself as a man, to the point of calling her “he” throughout a good portion of the game until the big reveal. I also like the trans argument for her, which is due to the fact that her shadow hints at a “certain procedure.” I like that there’s a character like that in a game. I just don’t like the drama/arguments of the fandom about it. Frankly, I like BOTH view points and I think it’s great that we can even have such discussions about a character.
My opinion is that she was doing it for respect and, in the end, she learns that it’s fine to be female. I think that’s an important message because, honestly, I think there are some girls who think that there’s something wrong with being female. I use to think something was wrong with me because I played video games. I was told that I wasn’t a “real” girl because I was good at them, and that it wasn’t something girls did, so I thought there was something wrong with me. This isn’t nearly as severe as Naoto’s story, but I think those feelings happen sometimes, and it doesn’t get addressed the right away. It’s little things, you know, like, “Why don’t you wear dresses,” and stuff like that. I use to hate dresses growing up (which may seem odd because look at who I cosplay, lol, but that goes to show that I don’t need someone to tell me that I HAVE to wear a dress, if I want to, I will).
Though while this is my opinion of Naoto, I respect the trans camp and find that argument very interesting :) I’ve read a lot of great trans fanfiction with Naoto and I like that there’s different ways to interpret her.
Anonymous asked: You're my sempai because you are so open minded and introduced me to Attack on a Titan (and other cool anime!) Also, you are just an all around inspiration and deserve everything you've worked for!
Oh no, I shouldn’t be your sempai for Attack on Titan, that series will crush your heart! I’m not evil enough to do something like that… o.k. I am I admit it mwuhahahahaha I got you hooked on titans now suffer! Seriously though, that’s awesome, I <3 Attack on Titan :) And I try to be open minded and fair, because I’d want the same done for me. I mean I’m a black plus sized geeky girl practically married to a white girl who is Pagan so… yeeeeeeeah… good times ^^
Anonymous asked: You're my senpai because you help me with my writing and say nice things about my nummy cooking...whoops, may have given myself away there. Oh well...
Uh oh I think I know who this is, and if it is who I think it is, you deserve all of the love I give you :) I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you in my life <3
mickelwagen-deactivated20141126 asked: you're my senpai because when it comes to talking about controversial issues, you're knowledgeable, respectful, and calm.
I try to be :) That seems to be more effective then being like FUCK THIS GUY or whatever. There are so many stereotypes about things, and I know there are a lot in regards to who I am (plus sized, black, female, lgbt, ect.) and I just… I don’t feel like yelling, you know? I’m not here to impress anybody, I’m just here to be me <3
Anonymous asked: ur my senpai because ur a kind person
<3