The Trolliest Critic

I’m Z, also known as Trolly. This is a critique blog that focuses primarily on writing in media & roleplaying, but also includes gaming and politics. Read the 'about' page before following.

[riptidepublishing]

[riptidepublishing]

riptidepublishing:

riptidepublishing:

WaveCon: Celebrating LGBTQ Fiction at Sea

Riptide Publishing is planning the first-ever LGBTQ fiction convention at sea: WaveCon, a celebration of all things queer fiction! On March 11, 2017, WaveCon will leave out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and sail to Mexico with approximately 500 LGBTQ readers, authors, editors, and agents discussing and sharing our love and enthusiasm for all genres of queer fiction.

We have tons of tropical fun and excitement planned, along with, of course, a full course of panels, workshops, book readings, author Q&As, meet and greets, parties, and so much more. Even better, for five full days, your room, every meal and snack (including room service!), entertainment, and conference programming are all included for about the same cost (and in many cases, less cost) than land-based book conferences.

But before we finalize guests and programming, we want to hear from YOU! What would make this event the most special and fun for you? What kind of accommodations would you prefer? What services would you like for us to provide? To that end, we kindly request that you take this ten-minute survey about WaveCon.

To thank you for your time, one lucky survey taker will be randomly selected to receive guaranteed early-bird registration AND an additional $100 off the low early-bird registration fee. If the survey reaches 2,000 unique participants, we’ll add a FREE REGISTRATION (CRUISE INCLUDED, OF COURSE!) to the prize pool—an $850 value!

Take the poll now!

Very excited to be updating this with some of our first confirmed attending authors:

Radclyffe (Author, and Publisher at Bold Strokes Books) Abigail Roux: abiroux Jordan Hawk TJ Klune LA Witt: gallagherwitt Amy Lane Lisa Henry JA Rock Marie Sexton: @mariesexton Heidi Belleau: teacupnosaucer Anne Tenino: ZA Maxfield: zamaxfield Megan Mulry: meganmulry Rachel Haimowitz (Author, and Publisher, Riptide Publishing) rachelhaimowitz Sarah Frantz Lyons (Editorial Director, Riptide Publishing): sadisticeditor Alex Whitehall (Author, and Production Manager at Riptide): creativewhimsy

Plus many, many more to come—this is just the very first wave! But we’re thrilled to be able to announce such a diverse mix of queer authors so early. 

That said, we’re missing a very important shade of the rainbow here. We’ve already confirmed lesbian, gay, bisexual, genderqueer, and asexual authors (who by and large write about their shades of the rainbow), and even a bisexual polyamorous editor, but we have no trans authors signed up yet. (We are waiting eagerly to hear back from some, though.) Please take the poll and tell us your favorite trans authors so we can invite them along!

Three new awesome queer ladies to add to our early attending author list!

Julie Cannon Carsen Taite D. Jackson Leigh

Since so many folks just found out about WaveCon in the last day and we’re still very eager to hear who else you’d all love to see attend, we’re extending the poll for a few more days, to 9am EDT on March 28.

[thetrolliestcritic]

Hi, I was wondering, how do you go about writing a character that's demisexual/romantic?

ALRIGHT SO.

Demisexual falls on the Asexual Spectrum. Essentially, demisexual people do not experience sexual attraction until they’ve developed a strong emotional connection with someone (typically when they’re in a relationship with them), but even then they still may not experience sexual attraction. It’s important to keep in mind that just because someone who’s demisexual is romantically involved with you, or has developed a strong bond with you, doesn’t mean they will definitely start experiencing sexual attraction towards you.

Demiromantic people experience what’s called “secondary romantic attraction”, which means that they sometimes are able to experience romantic attraction to people after they’ve created a close, personal bond with them. Again, sometimes, not always. 

More links for your pleasure.

Primary Vs. Secondary Sexual Attraction

Demisexual (AVENwiki)

What is demisexuality?

Confessions of a Demisexual (Tumblr)

Ask A Demisexual (Tumblr)

Demiromantic blogs to ask questions to!

Writing Demisexual Characters

Hope this helps you out, anon!

[thetrolliestcritic]

PS3 videogame recomendations?

I’d shoot an ask over to Gaming Feminism since they cover and abundant array of games, and my expertise lies with PC gaming friend. Sorry!

[thickskinnelasticheart-blog]

if you’re tired of problematic, ableist neurotypicals, clap your hands.

[thickskinnelasticheart-blog]

Triggers, Roleplay, and You, or Sit Down and Shut Up.

Lately, I’ve noticed it… ableism.  “What the fuck, Adrien,” you say.  “I am a perfect, angelic flower face from outer space,” but I am here to tell you that you are not.  This is a simple no-nonsense, comprehensive guide to triggers and what happens when someone is triggered/you trigger them.

This guide speaks specifically to OOC reactions, but if you want to use it as a guide for IC, you could use it that way, too.

Read More

[thetrolliestcritic]

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Aka, my triumphant return to this community.

send me roleplay recs

send me roleplay groups for the shit list

send me the urls of bigoted roleplayers/helpers/etc.

Let’s get down to business while I start working on the shit in my inbox.

[thetrolliestcritic]

Hey Z! How about The Actor/The Actress for your character archetypes series? Just an idea :) Love those btw!

Ohhhh duuuude, radical. I’ll get on that this upcoming week :)

[thetrolliestcritic]

Hi!! Do you have any pointers on writing a genderfluid character?

Genderfluid peeps tend to not have an affixed gender, fluctuating between all kinds of gender expressions and identities. Sometimes they mix and match, sometimes they express as feminine or masculine, sometimes entirely neutral. A lot of genderfluid people also use gender neutral pronouns (two links here).

My pointers would be to just search around the internet and read whatever you can about genderfluid as an identity, and learn how genderfluid people wield this identity in the real world by listening to their experiences.

Some links for you~ 

Genderfluid Facts (Tumblr)

My Trans Character Guide & Bio Building

Wanting to Write Genderfluid Accurately (answered question)

How Can I Live a Gender Fluid Life

How do you know if you’re genderfluid

[relv07]

If you’re afraid that the cast of Mulan won’t be entirely Chinese or at least Asian clap your hands

[thetrolliestcritic]

Hello, Z! I was wondering if I could ask you a question about gender identity. I want to write a nonbinary character, and I've read a guide written by a nonbinary person, but I still have some questions about the more sensitive areas of being nonbinary. However I don't want to accidentally trigger you, so I thought I should make sure beforehand if it would be alright if I asked you about it?

Not sure if whoever sent this is still around, but I’m down for answering any questions you have, anon.

[thetrolliestcritic]

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Aka, my triumphant return to this community.

send me roleplay recs

send me roleplay groups for the shit list

send me the urls of bigoted roleplayers/helpers/etc.

Let’s get down to business while I start working on the shit in my inbox.

[dadaboi]

i don’t like being angry on this blog, i like this to be a nice safe space which is why i chose lola as my fc. however, recently i have noticed a disturbing trend in the rpc. racism. 

calling this anything but the blatant racism it is is disgusting; and as one attempting to ‘simplify’ or infantilise the problem by simply calling it “bullying”. one attempting to do that is alikening this situation to a playground disagreement, not a serious problem that affects our society in real ways today. 

from what i have seen: this has escalated from a situation where white people felt uncomfortable being denied from a safe space for people of colour. this was called “reverse racism”; and people of colour in that safe space were attacked. this is a very disturbing trend, as it highlights an underlying trend of being unable to be told ‘no’. much like the child whose mother will not buy it a new toy; members of the rpc have thrown tantrums. however, these tantrums reveal dangerous underlying mentalities. 

by why shouldn’t white people be allowed into safe spaces for people of colour? isn’t that really reverse racism? well, even ignoring the fact that reverse racism doesn’t exist, white people simply shouldn’t ask to be included into poc safe spaces, much like why straight people shouldn’t have a letter in the lgbt+ acronym and men are not allowed at women’s colleges. 

as i mentioned before, the trend of white people being unable to handle with being told ‘no’ shows a disturbing trend in our society and the way we raise our children. where does this sense of entitlement; this burning need to be oppressed come from? why do you feel entitled to someone else’s safe space? why do you feel the need to escalate this with clearly racist reactions, such as making talk blogs with racist names? how come when poc people explain how this is racism you say you’re being bullied?

these are hard questions, but they are ones you must ask yourself. whether this trend of escalation continues is hard to tell and immediately disturbing, but i hope the rpc community questions their actions and reactions. this is not simply ‘drama’ or ‘bullying’; this is a serious, real-world issue with serious real-world consequences.

[writingwithcolor]

Anonymous said: Thanks for helping writers with this blog! In my WIP, many major characters are PoC. While racism isn’t a major theme in the books, I don’t want to gloss over how racism affects them. Do you have suggestions on how I can show their experiences without being overwhelming? How would characters’ experiences with racism differ if they come from different social classes? (Some are very rich, some middle class, and one is very poor and has white half-siblings who don’t understand the racism he faces.)

The racism your characters might face depends on their race/ethnicity as well as where they’re from and how different they are from the average person from their area.

As example, there is a high Somali and Hmong population in my state (Colette) and they each face a slightly different brand of racism here than (non-immigrant) African Americans and Asian Americans even.

RACISM AND CLASS

Note: Anything I can provide comes from my western American perspective, though America imports its racism and anti-blackness across the world (mass media etc.) leading to a lot of the same hurdles and stereotypes following PoC wherever they go.

As noted, how racism affects individuals definitely varies by race (Latinx face different racism than a Black person) though there are similar struggles, especially in matters of classist-racism. So the topic in itself will need further exploration in regards to the race(s) you’re portraying.

From what I’ve observed, a Person of Color’s socioeconomic status has a great influence on the racism + discrimination faced. The “lower” in social standing a PoC is or perceived to be, the more racism intensifies, especially when they are less assimilated to the dominant culture.

For example: In upper, upper-middle class society particularly, depending on how PoC act + whether they’ve got what is known as “respectable” working for them (aka they mostly speak and dress in line to the dominant culture’s fashion and manner), these PoC are more accepted and made “exceptions” to a lot of the racism others of different classes and lifestyles will face. 

So usually; the more assimilated, the less blatant racism and faced.

Aka: “You’re not like the other Black people…”

Living in a suburban, mostly White upper-middle class town, I unintentionally had respectability going for me in terms of my behaviors being more “western neutral” and I was and am still treated pretty well by peers, strangers and authority; I rouse less of a threat.

Yet you take another Black person who acts, speaks or dresses a way associated with the working class and “Urban” Black culture, and they’re targets: seen as violent, ghetto, and less worthy from the get-go, dangerous on sight.

Any number of the above (dress, manner of speech, interests..) might mean receiving disrespectful looks & treatment by others, followed in stores, incarcerated, and stopped and questioned more often than Whites, just to brush the surface (See micro aggressions towards Black People for more there).

Now just because a PoC is presentable by those terms set by dominant (western) culture doesn’t mean they won’t deal with micro aggressions and racism as they are still subject to discrimination, prejudice, and ill-treatment just for being Black or Brown.

It’s just usually less often, a little “quieter” or even insidious.

Read More

[medievalpoc]

You’d better invest in a pocket dimension if you want to keep up with all the great reads that are coming your way in 2015. Including Alastair Reynolds, Naomi Novik, Neal Stephenson, and tons more. Here are 60 essential science fiction and fantasy books coming out this year!

New works by N. K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel Jose Older, and more!

[superheroesincolor]

Edge of the Woods | Indiegogo campain

"Hello! My name is Jo, and I am a Taiwanese-American actor and filmmaker.

A few of my friends and I are working on a dystopic retelling of fairytales, featuring a Chicana Little Red, an Asian Robin (that’d be me), and a Puerto Rican Cinderella. Our mission with this film is to challenge the typical narrative allowed Queer Women of Color and to create representation for those of us who are never offered any. We’re committed to this mission both in front and behind the camera, and we’re currently running an indiegogo campaign to fund the film.” - Jo Chiang

EDGE OF THE WOODS is a dystopian fantasy short film that tells the story of four friends trying to make it out of the city and past the edge of the woods. Living under the constant threat of a police state, the friends must figure out how to endure a heavily militarized society in the city, and once they enter the woods, how to survive the monsters that lurk amongst the trees. Based off of the characters Little Red Riding Hood, Robin Hood, Cinderella, and Snow White, your childhood heroines are thrust into a much darker world and must get to grandma’s house without losing themselves along the way.

Starring: Raquel Chavez as Red, Jo Chiang as Robin, Korinne Winter as Ash and Shelley Farmer as Snow.

Check out and support this project at Indiegogo // facebook / youtube

[thetrolliestcritic]

"Whats the 'GoFundMe' widget on your page for, Z?"

Glad you asked, hypothetical friend! My best friend is trying to better her life and needs some financial support to achieve the dream. She wants to start feeling better and living a more stable, happy life by going back to school. If you or anyone you know could reblog the post about it, or donate even just a dollar, we would both be very grateful!

Alisha means a lot to me, and her bettering herself is vital to her well-being, so please help out if you can!

[androphilia]

New evidence that the legal immigration system discriminates against Latin Americans | Vox