I see so many great bakudeku artists and fic writers interacting with lovely anons but like… I’m never turning anonymous back on again because I got such a heavy amount of cosplay hate years ago. But to the kind anons out there, the ones who are liking my writing and fics and ships and cosplay and my fat, black, queer self?
Know that I love you :)
I’ve been with this woman for 13 years and I’m looking forward to 13 more, and more, and more until we reach forever. She’s my co-author, my seamstress, my partner, my everything.
Pictures taken by our friend Lavonne Brite, who’s getting into photography and wanted to do some couple shots of us, from us being in normal clothes to showing what we normally do together, which is this lady making my cosplay and making me feel amazing :) You can also find my cosplay page here and my wifey’s here. We have many new things planned this year and are excited to continue to bring our ideas to life.
Hey there hi my partner and I are on our way to 17 YEARS and we’re still together and happy and in love and have fallen into My Hero Academia and write fics and have ships and aaaaah lgbtq geek love ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Today is National Coming Out Day so I thought I’d make a little something for everyone :)
(also it’s 3 days after my anniversary so I’m still swimming in feels)
As I developed the idea of “magnifiqueNOIR” I decided to make the girls college aged (the youngest being 18 and the oldest being 20), and at the time I didn’t think much of it. But as I reflect on what today is I realized… I was 18 and in college when I came out.
Each girl in the group represents a different aspect of the LGBTQ spectrum, and each of them has/will have their own coming out story. I think it’s important to show a variety, because we all have different coming out stories, and some of us are more ready than others and that’s perfectly fine. Even after I came out at 18 it took me 2 years to really start telling the people I was closest to. On campus I was out, but on campus people were meeting me for the first time, so if they didn’t like all the cards I laid out it wasn’t as significant to me as, say, my parents, or my close friends back at home who’d known me since childhood.
I think it’s also worth mentioning that coming out is a process, one that many of us have to do repeatedly. For example: Bree (Cosmic Green) has an older brother who knows that she’s bisexual and knows that there’s a girl she likes… but she’s not quite ready to tell her mother. And sure, her brother reassures her over and over again that it’ll be o.k., but there’s little things that her mother has said or done that makes her apprehensive. That’s not to say her mother is a bad person, but I think in regards to coming out we sort of hone in on EVERYTHING, whether it’s a “joke” someone says or a comment they make toward another queer person.
Then there’s the whole “magical” metaphor to begin with, as the girls get to decide who to tell about their abilities, and they even have to decide if they WANT to be magical girls to begin with. It’s a lot of little things in the story I didn’t realize I was doing until recently, and I really do think it’s an important story to tell.
So here’s a little wallpaper from me to you. I debated putting “HAPPY NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY” on there but I know some people can’t come out or aren’t ready to, so I thought a little subtle encouragement would be best :)
(also shout out to MuseTap Studios for the chibis)
My seamstress. My coauthor. My editor. My business partner.
My everything.
This is what queer looks like <3
Photo credits to Elyse Lavonne Photography, Stray Things Photography, X-Geek, and Nude Carbon Studios (whose specific photos are in the captions)
Generated using the
tool. Jeez look at all that love with the wifey <3 And cosplay and encouragement :)
14 years ago, I was 18 years old and starting my first year of college at Iowa State University. It was my first time away from my home, my family, my friends, and my boyfriend. However, over the summer, I had joined a Gundam Wing yaoi mailing list, wrote a bunch of fics, and met a lot of great people.
This included a girl named Jessica who went by Snow Tigra.
Over time, the two of us started talking more online, and we became friends. She was there for me when my boyfriend stopped talking to me, and even sent me a plushie white tiger so I wouldn’t feel so alone.
Spoiler: I still have that tiger and it comes to cons with me.
We started writing fics together, and chatting more and more, and at one point during one of our chats she mentioned how she had a crush on this girl in one of her classes. I went along with it, but when we were done chatting, I realized something.
I was jealous.
I was jealous that she liked another girl.
And then… I proceeded to ignore her because, in that moment, I discovered that I liked girls.
I thought, “no, no way,” because up until that point I had had a boyfriend, and all the friends I grew up had also had boyfriends. Being gay was out of the question, I was supposed to find a guy and marry him. So I avoided talking to her at all cost, would say I was too busy, but, after a while, I started to miss her.
So finally, one day, I went to the campus library and wrote the email that would change my life forever. I told her why I had stopped talking to her and not only came out, but admitted that I liked her. She was stunned, but decided that it would be best if we took things slow. We hadn’t even met in person, yet, and I did just break up with my boyfriend. I agreed, but we quickly realized that, nope, that wasn’t enough either.
So, on this day, 14 years ago, we decided to start dating. This involved a lot of chatting, fic writing, roleplaying with different characters, sending each other gifts, meeting up at conventions, her coming to see me on a monthly basis from Minnesota to Iowa, and finally, after I graduated in 2006, I got in her car with all of my stuff and moved to Minnesota.
I never knew, all those years ago, that that email I was writing was going to lead to me meeting this amazing woman who would become my support system, my seamstress, my coauthor, just… everything, absolutely everything. I had no idea that we’d have this house with these cats. I had no idea that we’d be creating art together. I had no idea that we would becoming inspirations to people. I had no idea that we’d be talking about so many issues together and promoting such positive messages. I had no idea, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy Anniversary. I love you :)
when you wanna talk about the thing but you can’t talk about the thing because you know people will roll their eyes and be like ‘oh great she’s talking about the thing again’ so you just kind of sit there and pout because you want to talk about the thing so badly but you know if you try you’ll just get shit for it
Truth! Here’s some food for thought in all aspects that affect me on a daily basis. Please feel free to add your own experiences.
When a person of color opens up about racism they know that they’ll have to deal with someone who groans, rolls their eyes, and tells them to not blow things out of proportion. They know that killers will walk away because “we don’t know the full story” or “they have a mental illness” – which paints a horrible picture for those with mental illnesses – or "they acted in the heat of the moment.” Meanwhile, victims will be blamed because thugs/threats/suspicious/ran/didn’t listen. They know this while, at they same time, they live in a world that claims to want racial equality.
When a woman opens up about being assaulted they know that they’ll have to deal with someone who asks, “What were you wearing? Were you drunk? Did you lead them on?” “Why didn’t you defend yourself?” When she opens up about feeling uncomfortable she knows that someone will call her a bitch because “it was a compliment” or “you’re too sensitive.” While, at the same time, she lives in a world that claims to want women to feel safe at all times.
When someone who isn’t “the norm” when it comes to sexuality opens up about their rights, they know they’ll have to deal with someone who “doesn’t mind gay people, but they shouldn’t get married” or someone who “doesn’t mind transsexuals, but don’t go into our bathroom” or someone who “doesn’t believe that asexuality is real” or “bisexuals are confused” and so on… while, at the same time, they live in a world that claims to want LGBT rights.
When someone who isn’t the “ideal body” opens up about wanting to be seen beyond their weight, they know that they’ll have to deal with someone who calls them out of their name, who suddenly knows their health history, who assumes they aren’t happy or can’t be happy, who decides who they are because of the size of their body – fat or skinny. This is all while living in a world that claims that everyone can live their lives how they are most comfortable. This is all while living in a world that can’t decide what the “ideal body” is.
All of these people know these things, so a lot of times, they sit and want to speak up, but don’t, because there’s always someone who shoots them down.
So don’t be the one who shoots them down. Be the one who listens. Or, more importantly, when someone does shoot them down, be there to support them.
This just in: still madly in love with my wifey. That is all :)
Many thanks to Lavonne Brite for taking pictures of us outside of cosplay and in cosplay. As always, all cosplay was made by the wifey <3
Had a great time at ACEN but the best part was definitely having my mom and nephew there. My mom is always cheering me on in this whole venture but she’s never seen me at work in person. To have her and my nephew sitting there and saying they’re proud of me just made my whole con.
Sometimes, I wonder if I can make this crazy venture work: writing books, doing crafts, promoting our cosplay and ourselves, I wonder how in the hell am I going to do this. But having them there smiling and cheering me on reminded me that I can absolutely do this.
So, with that said, thanks for a great ACEN and see you at Momocon!!!
(also thanks to the Bane cosplayer for taking a pic with my mama)
I’ve been with this woman for 13 years and I’m looking forward to 13 more, and more, and more until we reach forever. She’s my co-author, my seamstress, my partner, my everything.
Pictures taken by our friend Lavonne Brite, who’s getting into photography and wanted to do some couple shots of us, from us being in normal clothes to showing what we normally do together, which is this lady making my cosplay and making me feel amazing :) You can also find my cosplay page here and my wifey’s here. We have many new things planned this year and are excited to continue to bring our ideas to life.
