[ SECRET POST #2939 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2939 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09.


__________________________________________________



10.













Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 036 secrets from Secret Submission Post #420.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[lb_lee]

I'm just glad to be seeing trans characters being SOMETHING besides jokes or tragedies. I am more than happy to put up with the sheer level of crap that comes with it. Give me Trans Mary Sue saves the Marvel Universe over another Trans Tragedy any day of the week.

[(Anonymous)]

Even when your very existence is basically being turned into a cool fashion accessory by Tumblrites to get more notes and kudos?

[lb_lee]

That is not new to me. I can't say I'm THRILLED there's tons of bad fanfiction, but seriously, as far as trans issues go, I care WAY more about keeping my healthcare and the legal bullshit than what Tumblr is doing.

[(Anonymous)]

Then you don't care that Tumblr's fashion for trans means people are faking your identity just to seem popular? You don't care that the very issues you mention are ignored in favor of fandom characters who can't choose whether to wear skirts or pants?

Of course it's not as important, but it does mean that a significant amount of young people are now of the mind that all trans issues mean is whether or not an anime girl passes as a boy, and how cool it is to have make-believe gender issues because it makes them look edgy.

[lb_lee]

Then you don't care that Tumblr's fashion for trans means people are faking your identity just to seem popular? You don't care that the very issues you mention are ignored in favor of fandom characters who can't choose whether to wear skirts or pants?

No. I don't. My trans concerns are health insurance, homelessness, unemployment, and familial abandonment/abuse. I do not care about kids on tumblr, who are not a serious force in this society to cause me to end up homeless again.

I'm not telling YOU not to care. By all means, care all you want! But I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT.

I thought people complained about tumblr because they were outraged over everything. It's weird that I'm getting these comments about me NOT being outraged over something.

[were_lemur]

Warning: insufficent loathing of Tumblr detected. To rectify, please increase loathing of Tumblr by at least 13.7 percent. ;)

[lb_lee]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of tumblr. But seriously, people complain about tumblr caring WAY TOO MUCH about little things, and now I'M supposed to care way too much about them caring way too much?

Please. I'm overdrawn at the care bankk. I've got less shits to give than a constipated tree sloth. A Mormon tea party has more fucks than I have to give about kids on tumblr.

Er, I mean... yes. How dare those kids. I am so mad. I am going to write a letter to my editor about Kids These Days and their Homestucks and their silly pronouns and their fanfiction... not like back in MY day!

[(Anonymous)]

While I agree in general that kids on tumblr are probably not the primary concern for anyone with half a brain, there still are some of the more disgusting examples who will try to get you fired/expelled from your university/swatted just for disagreeing with them on the internet. As soon as it slips into that territory, it becomes so much more than just some silly kids complaining way too much.
They are a minority, definitely, and it's not just a tumblr-isolated problem. But the opinion that these things are alright if they do it to others is still a fairly common one in certain circles on tumblr, and it can be slightly worrying.

[lb_lee]

Whoa, dude, when did I ever say I was okay with that shit? I was specifically talking about transfic on the Internet. I didn't say ANYTHING about trolling, bullying, or abuse. That's a totally different matter.

[(Anonymous)]

The big problem with the transtrender kids on Tumblr is that it makes it even harder for legitimately trans people to be taken seriously. Like, it's seriously harmful. I can see why people are baffled.

[(Anonymous)]

Not only that, it's harmful to non-trans people who don't fit into traditional gender norms too.

[(Anonymous)]

The number of people who actively use tumblr and are influenced by that side of it are actually very, very small.

The problem with fandom people is we all seem to think that what's going on in fandom spaces is noticed and cared about by the general public. For the most part, it's not. Most people have never come across "transtrender" kids because they're using the internet for other things.

[lb_lee]

Look, tumblr kids are not the ones who kept my healthcare expensive, who made getting a job harder, who drove me to homelessness. That was the bigots in power, the adults who control the healthcare and legal system. Ergo, it is the BIGOTS I care about, because THEY ARE THE PROBLEM.

I don't care how a bigot gets their transphobia. I don't care if they got it because a trans person took their wallet, killed their dog, or made a stupid blog somewhere on the Internet. I'm still going to hold them accountable for their own bigotry. The blogger or mugger is not responsible for the bigot's bigotry; THE BIGOT IS.

Blaming a child for an adult's bigotry is asinine. I'm not going to waste my rage and energy on THAT. I have so many other things to be pissed off about! Things I can actually CHANGE.

For Christ's sake.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, it sure is great to have transness boiled down to gender existentialist bullshit!

[lb_lee]

This is a new thing in trans fiction? Color me shocked.

[feotakahari]

Now I'm seriously tempted to try to sell you my novel. (She's not the hero, but Melody is the closest thing I've written to a "badass" character.)

[lb_lee]

Oh yeah? Well then, go on, sell me!

[feotakahari]

Heh. I'm a little nervous trying this . . .

Well, my sales pitch for the story proper is over here, as are the links to buy it: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/358833/nonpony-announcement-i-have-a-book-out-now Basically, a superhero, a magical girl, and a werewolf meet, and they realize something is targeting all three of them. They work together in order to survive, and in the process, they start to understand how limited their approach to this whole "hero" thing is. I deliberately set up three people whose beliefs and values mean they should hate each other, but whose personalities and virtues mean they wind up liking each other, and I had a lot of fun bouncing them off each other.

For selling Melody: she's thirteen years old, she has magic powers, and she watches way too much anime. She's been fighting and destroying malevolent spirits since childhood, so she comes off as a hardened veteran in some ways, but in other ways, she's just a hyperactive kid. I really enjoyed messing with that dichotomy of her being the youngest and the "oldest" character.

My initial decision to make Melody trans was somewhat shallow, to be honest. I realized I wasn't comfortable with what I'd been writing, since all the characters were finding out that they really weren't what they thought they were, so I decided to make one character be exactly what she thought she was--a girl, even if her family and her school insisted she was a boy. But it wound up tying into the idea that her magical girl identity is really the only identity she can meaningfully claim. In her so-called "real" life, she's been denied the opportunity to be herself. When she transforms herself with her magic and fights monsters, she's not pretending to be a hero like the werewolf is, or trying to be a hero like the superhero is--she is that girl already, and that's not escapism, that's just being herself.

And then, of course, there are the consequences of that. Melody doesn't like to show it, but she's one of my most desperately lonely characters. The life she's found for herself is one that the people around her wouldn't understand, and she's overjoyed to meet Price, another girl who's in the same "business," so to speak. They act as mutual mentors, close friends, and eventually something I don't even have a word for. Price would not have survived without Melody, and in turn, Price risks everything to save Melody's life.

In all honesty, I'm still a little worried about Melody. I did everything I could think of to make her feel like a real person and not a stereotype, but I'm not trans, and I don't know how well I succeeded. I'd love to get your opinion of her.

[lb_lee]

Hmmm. That definitely sounds intriguing! I can't buy any paper books right now (I'm moving, NO ADDING POSSESSIONS) but I am intrigued, and I'd be happy to give my opinion, though note I'm a trans guy and hardly The Authority On Transliness.

[feotakahari]

It's also on Smashwords! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/463837

[lb_lee]

Oh duh, I forgot an obvious question: how long is it? I have a large stack of DID and cult books to plow through... I could use some fiction to cleanse my palate, for sure.

[feotakahari]

Technically, it's a "novelette"--about 17,000 words, compared to 60,000 for a quick novel. (Hence why it's with Alban Lake. There's a publishing gap between 15,000 and 20,000 words where it's very difficult to sell anything, and Alban Lake was the only place willing to pick it up.)

[lb_lee]

Ah, okay, that's not bad at all. Hmmm.

I'll sleep on it and then decide whether to buy the ebook. (I always do this; I am TERRIBLE at buying things.) Last year, I made it my resolution to pay more attention to small-timers, but the excerpt I read looked much better than the "HARDCORE ACTION" blurb made me think.

[feotakahari]

Thank you!