Frog Boy

I like frogs, DnD, and books! he/him, 19

[frogs-and-books]

My sister told me today that I remind her of Gorou from Genshin Impact. I've never played the game.

Genshin fans is this a compliment or an insult?

[frogs-and-books]

Hello everyone. I'm sure many of you seeing this post know what it's about, but for the ones that don't, yesterday I made a post saying, and I quote "Hey, this is your daily reminder that Riz is not canonically Aromantic! He is implied to be, and it's totally fine to hc that, but I've seen a lot of people stating he's aromantic like it's a fact, when that has never been confirmed! He is canonically Asexual tho, you can't take that away!" Since then, I have gotten called stupid, bigoted, and I have been told to kill myself. As anyone who read my bio knows, I am a seventeen year old high school boy who is just trying to get through AP exams.

I never wanted to start drama, and I've never had any bad intentions. I just wanted to clear up some common misinformation I saw. But it seems no matter how much I say that you can headcanon whatever you want and ask people to stop harassing people who have different interpretations of media than them, people only hear what they want to. I was asked what I expected to happen when I posted that, and honestly, what did I expect? Well, I didn't expect to be harassed by a community that I thought was full of love. We are queer DnD lovers, and I thought that would be the last group of people to hurt those who are different. I believed, perhaps naively, that my post wouldn't do much but encourage people to do their own research on what's canon.

Please do not take away the wrong message from this post. I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for you, as a community, to do better. I don't hate anyone who has been a part of this mess. People are wonderful multidimensional beings with endless possibilities, and I choose to believe that everyone has good in them.

I am not perfect. I am sure there is a logical fallacy or two that I've had in my posts. I'm sure I've come across as too aggressive at some points. I'm sure that if any of these writings were submitted to the AP English exam I took today, I would've failed. I'm argumentive, extremely wordy, and not much to look at, but one thing I've always tried to be is kind.

I promise I tried to make sure everyone knew I was a safe space. Any opinions or headcanons you have are welcome and accepted as long as you respect other people. I have failed to make the community feel safe in my account, and for that, I ask your forgiveness.

Please do not search out or harass anyone who was related to this. If there's one thing I have learned from today, is that it can really mess with you. I love every one of you, even those who seem to believe I'm Satan himself. This was a learning experience for all of us, and I hope we can grow as people together.

And finally, to the person who told me to kill myself, I will not. I will live and I will be happy. I'll have a long, fulfilling life surrounded by my friends and family, and I will not let my opinions on a fictional goblin define me. Because I know I'm a good person and I hope one day you can say the same.

This will be my final post.

[frogs-and-books]

idk what you expected when your first and only post was telling the fandom they can’t do whatever they want forever and treating it as some sort of psyop misinformation campaign + putting one identity above all others. grow up! word of god is not real!

watching all these people in your asks jerk you off is honestly embarrassing

I literally said that multiple times, you can have whatever headcanons you want. All I said was that Riz isn't canonically Aromantic, which is a fact. I saw some people saying he was canonically aromantic, and I was trying to clear up misinformation. The word of God thing is also just your opinion. I think that word of God statements are canon, and you don't. That's just a difference in perspective.

I don't care what you do as long as you respect others. Please read my posts again. I say over and over and over that all interpretations people have are valid and that I completely support people reading him as Aromantic. The only thing I said is that there is more than one interpretation to the character.

I'm sick of people saying i'm a bad person or an aphobe because I said to respect other people's headcanons.

[frogs-and-books]

srry abt all the madness n chaos going on in ur asks/dms rn. hope ur feeling ok.

Thank you! I was really not expecting this much of a negative reaction, but I like to think most people who disagreed with my post ignored it. Sometimes, a few bad people stand out compared to the many good ones.

[frogs-and-books]

Heard you got some nasty dms, wanna say I totally agree with you and hope those asshats don't totally ruin your day 💚

Aw, thank you! I really appreciate it.

[frogs-and-books]

sorry people are being weird to you about headcanons for a dnd show in your ask box. for what it’s worth i completely agree with you. if people want to headcanon riz as aro that’s fine! but they also need to understand that it is not canon, and they can’t get mad at people for not having the same headcanons as them.

i am aroace, and while i don’t headcanon riz as aro as well, i really connect with him and his ace representation. like, the thing that he was uncomfortable with was not the fact that his friends were in relationships, but that they were talking about sex and kissing so much. it felt very realistic to what i felt, even as a non sex-repulsed ace. i think that you could also interpret that as a disinterest in romance, but to me as an aroace person it seemed way more on the nose for my experience as an asexual teen than an aromantic one.

Thank you so much! I'm glad Riz resonated with you. He resonates with me, too, despite the fact that I'm not aromantic.

I really don't want to start arguments, and I've been getting some mean DM's. It's been a crazy response for me, just saying he isn't canonically Aromantic, which is a fact. I don't care what anyone headcanons him as because someone else's headcanons don't affect me. I just think that if you're ready to get in someone's DMs and insult them because they said a headcanon isn't canon, you're in the wrong. It doesn't matter what your headcanon is. Please just respect people. If another person's headcanons bug you, block them.

[frogs-and-books]

My frustration has very little to do with what's canon and a lot more to do with the way fandom shippers feel like the lack of explicit confirmation can be used as a bludgeon against people expressing discomfort with the ship when fandom is a media space rampant with romance-centrism and when the coding is as explicit as it is. And then try to throw out "I accept he's "canon" ace" as a way of shielding themselves from criticism despite that not actually being anymore canon than anything else. Also, frankly, I think people would be entitled to get mad if they walked back from this coding. You talk about fighting for representation, part of doing that is voicing criticism when representation falls flat. (And walking back the coding would be falling flat even if that wasn't the intention.) I don't actually think Riz is canon ace or canon aro. Because I do believe in death of the author and that the ability of the audience to interpret art is very important. And I agree that heavy coding alone isn't enough to make something inarguably canon. The problem I have is the way that so many fans go out of the way to dodge Riz's potential as representation and refuse to support aro fans who see themselves in Riz. Mostly, as far as I can see, for the sake of continuing to ship a pretty bland ship. And a little bit to protect the creators from some potentially deserved criticism. (Also, having not watched Voltron, I can't speak to the accuracy of the Klance comparison. But generally ship happy fandom exaggerates queer coding on everything except ace and aro coding. So I'm inclined to suspect it's not entirely apt)

There's is no problem with aro people relating to Riz and seeing him as Aromantic, but if you don't like when people ship Riz with people, just block them. Other people shouldn't have to stop having different interpretations because they make you uncomfortable.

Maybe people are dodging representation for the sake of a ship! But if that's your issue, I think you're talking to the wrong person. I'm not saying he isn't, and I'm not trying to ignore the coding. I'm simply saying that it isn't canon. That doesn't mean that the characteristics that make people believe he's aromantic aren't there. He still has those traits no matter what his sexuality is.

I have said over and over that there is a lot of coding, and it's obvious why some people believe that he's aromantic, but stating that he isn't canonically Aromantic isn't an attack on anyone, it's a fact.

Also, please don't get mad at Murph if he doesn't make Riz canonly Aromantic. Coding doesn't equal representation, and it's his character.

[frogs-and-books]

I have to admit that it's so frustrating to me that people are doing this "He's canon ace but not canon aro" thing. It feels like people wanting to have it both ways at the cost aro people. If you're going to say only what's explicit in the text matters, then be honest with proper embrace of Death of the Author and disregard what Brennan said outside the context of the text. If you want to invest meaning in authorial intent, than be honest about the authorial intent with Riz. It's hard enough being aro in fandom as it is without people playing both sides of the fence on this

I'm sorry that there is a lack of aromantic representation, but you can't decide what the authorial intent was for the author. He could be aro! There's a lot of subtext and ways to read the story like that, but it's just as easy to read it as him being demiromantic or gray romantic or even just a late bloomer. Because of this, I can't confirm the authors intent unless he states it. I don't personally have an opinion on it, I just like Riz, and I'll like his character no matter what his sexuality is. I'm not going to disregard a statement from a cast member, especially when I doubt Brennan would have said without Murph's permission. That, to me at least, is confirmation of authorial intent.

I can understand why you're frustrated, but there aren't (or at least shouldn't be) sides. I'm simply saying that Riz is not canonically Aromantic, which is true. However, this does not mean that Aromantic people are somehow wrong in saying that they believe he is! Just like many other things, it is up for the viewer to decide currently.

If Murph comes out and says Riz is Aromantic, that's it. He's Aromantic. But until then, it's up for interpretation. You aren't wrong for saying he's Aromantic, but neither is someone saying he's not Aromantic.

I am so glad that Riz resonates with you, but others don't have your same experience and might relate to him in different ways, and their experience and interpretations aren't less valid than yours.

The world isn't black and white. There are so many nuisances that can be beautiful if you allow yourself to see them.

I'm not on the fence. I know exactly where I stand. Riz is canonically asexual and he has no confirmed romantic interests, although he has been shown to be less interested than his peers. This could mean many, many different things, but saying that thinking Riz is asexual but not aromantic is being on the fence is discounting real people who are asexual and not aromantic.

It's not all or nothing. I'm not out to get you or hurt anyone. It just frustrates me when people state their interpretations of media as facts and get upset when other people have different interpretations. Your interpretation isn't more valid just because it's more diverse. That would be like me reading a book where someone was never stated to have a race, but I decided that their character would make more sense if they were black, so now they're canonically black, even though I don't know what the author imagined them like. Just because it's adding diversity doesn't make it more morally correct. It doesn't make it more incorrect either. It just makes it your interpretation.

I know you're probably sick of hearing this, but it's up for interpretation, and you can't fault people for having a different interpretation of a character.

[frogs-and-books]

Hey, this is your daily reminder that Riz is not canonically Aromantic! He is implied to be, and it's totally fine to hc that, but I've seen a lot of people stating he's aromantic like it's a fact, when that has never been confirmed! He is canonically Asexual tho, you can't take that away!

[whatapunderfullife]

genuinely where do you get the idea that he is canon ace when that's never been implied or touched on in the show (to the level of aro/separately from the aro implications and the fact people tangle the identities together)and while dismissing the heavly implied aro identity

I'm not really sure about the harassment you are talking about. most of what I've see is people asking is fellow fans to respect that riz's greatest fear is all of his friends leaving him for a romantic/sexual relationships

people can headcannon whatever they want but you can't ignore that aro is a very marginalized identity with even less representation than asexual.

that this is something that aro fans see themselves in and have asked that people respect that and cannon events that riz struggles with romantic relationships

[frogs-and-books]

I think it's great the aro community relates to him, and I'm fine with whatever headcanons people want to have! I'm not saying the aro community is wrong for wanting representation or for making headcanons. This was mostly my frustration with people saying that Riz is canonically Aromantic when that isn't confirmed. Yes, he is confirmed as Asexual. It was confirmed in the Seven, not in Fantasy High itself, so I understand if you didn't see that, lol. You can Google it if you want more confirmation.

I'm not ignoring anyone, I'm just saying not to force your headcanons on other people! However, you interpret Riz's identity is valid, but don't get upset at people who have different interpretations. I don't really care what you think of Riz's romantic life, I just feel like some people have been misled to believe that he is canonically aromantic, even though coding isn't really representation.

[whatapunderfullife]

I think we're having two different conversations. which is fine, but I do wanna clarify

I'm saying that the fandom at large has decided to ignore the cannon characteristics that riz has that are aro coded which is what I see a lot of the posts reminding people that he is heavily aro coded are about.

you seem to be saying that people saying riz is cannonically aro is misleading and wrong because what if murph decides to play him as romantic at somepoint.

I do think that there is space for both of these discussions. I also think there is a difference between a fandom tying riz to a romantic relationship when he has shown no interest in one and the character creator deciding to go a route with said character. label are flexible and fluid and I think that would be cool for fh to explore. or even comphet.

[frogs-and-books]

I totally agree! Riz's characteristics shouldn't be removed because people like romance! I never meant that people should remove character traits! As someone who likes analyzing media, I like looking at characters from different points of view, and while all of them are valid, I don't believe one is more morally correct than another. As long as it's in line with the character, I don't really care what sexuality they are! That's just not something I'm looking for.

My personal pet peeve is people insisting that their interpretation is the "right" one, which is why I'm talking about this at all. You probably noticed I had no posts before this. I like Aromantic Riz, and I like Alloromantic Riz. I just like his character.

[frogs-and-books]

Hey, this is your daily reminder that Riz is not canonically Aromantic! He is implied to be, and it's totally fine to hc that, but I've seen a lot of people stating he's aromantic like it's a fact, when that has never been confirmed! He is canonically Asexual tho, you can't take that away!

[whatapunderfullife]

genuinely where do you get the idea that he is canon ace when that's never been implied or touched on in the show (to the level of aro/separately from the aro implications and the fact people tangle the identities together)and while dismissing the heavly implied aro identity

I'm not really sure about the harassment you are talking about. most of what I've see is people asking is fellow fans to respect that riz's greatest fear is all of his friends leaving him for a romantic/sexual relationships

people can headcannon whatever they want but you can't ignore that aro is a very marginalized identity with even less representation than asexual.

that this is something that aro fans see themselves in and have asked that people respect that and cannon events that riz struggles with romantic relationships

[frogs-and-books]

I think it's great the aro community relates to him, and I'm fine with whatever headcanons people want to have! I'm not saying the aro community is wrong for wanting representation or for making headcanons. This was mostly my frustration with people saying that Riz is canonically Aromantic when that isn't confirmed. Yes, he is confirmed as Asexual. It was confirmed in the Seven, not in Fantasy High itself, so I understand if you didn't see that, lol. You can Google it if you want more confirmation.

I'm not ignoring anyone, I'm just saying not to force your headcanons on other people! However, you interpret Riz's identity is valid, but don't get upset at people who have different interpretations. I don't really care what you think of Riz's romantic life, I just feel like some people have been misled to believe that he is canonically aromantic, even though coding isn't really representation.

[frogs-and-books]

Disagree with your post about Riz on two fronts. First, he's no more canon ace than he is canon aro. The word of god statement from someone who doesn't even control the character isn't a definitive statement of canon. That's not how fiction works. If it's not in the text, they could justifiably walk it back at any time. Second, if anything, it's more accurate to call Riz canon aro because of his coding. A character doesn't have to say "I'm gay" to be canon gay. All they have to do is explicitly express interest exclusively in people of the same gender expression to be acknowledged as gay. Why does an aro character have to explicitly state their identity in order for it to count when that's not an expectation for allo queer people anymore? And has never been an expectation for straight people?

I agree no one should be harassing anyone, though. I'm with you there

I assumed that he talked to Murph before saying anything, but I'd hope that if someone just lied about his character, Murph would clarify. But we have no evidence either way. I would still say that someone on the team confirming it is more canon than anything implied, tho. And yep, he shows the signs, but that doesn't make it canon. He does not have a label in canon, we can say how he thinks and feels about relationships and how he reacts to those things as facts, but we cannot factually state one way or the other what his sexuality is (in the romantic sense). Anything implied is up to interpretation, which makes it unreliable. Subtext is fun, but it's like two people debating whether the color red in a painting represents love or rage, no one really wins. It's simply two different interpretations, neither is right or wrong until the artist confirms one way or another.

Something isn't canon unless it's clarified onscreen or stated to be canon by someone behind its creation. Anything else is up to interpretation.

And I think if a character explicitly shows interest in the same gender but never says they aren't attracted the other, they could be gay or bisexual. Maybe someone would get mad if you called them bi, but I wouldn't because they're just two different interpretations of the same thing.

Headcanons are valid, as long as you remember that no one is forced to have the same interpretation of media as you do. That's the great thing about media analysis. You can't be right or wrong because it's all just your interpretation.

So, in the end, Riz is not canonically Aromantic because coding doesn't equal representation and because what you see as coding could be read differently by someone with different life experiences from you.

[frogs-and-books]

Hey, this is your daily reminder that Riz is not canonically Aromantic! He is implied to be, and it's totally fine to hc that, but I've seen a lot of people stating he's aromantic like it's a fact, when that has never been confirmed! He is canonically Asexual tho, you can't take that away!