Adventures in Geekdom or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Comics

xkcd knows what’s up.

In my fifteen or so years of participation in geekdom, I’ve learned that there are two universal truths.

1. There are infinite shades of nerdity on the geek spectrum.
2. There are many people out there who still don’t get it.

Being a nerd was always part of my core identity, though I took pride in calling myself a “nerd” over “geek.” Geeks were socially awkward, not smart, like me (doesn’t that sentence just radiate hypocrisy?). I prided myself on being some kind of upper echelon of social outcast, defining myself through criticizing others. It didn’t matter that I never actually envisioned who that social outcast was who sat on the lower rung of the social ladder. I wasn’t like “those” weirdos, whoever they were.

So it really wasn’t a surprise when similar feelings resurfaced when I was invited to go check out Free Comic Book Day.

Sexualized Saturdays: A Little Less Penetration, A Little More Action

“I know fanfic authors, well, I know what they like.”

So many of you may have realized by this point that I have been pretty heavily into Teen Wolf recently. No, don’t worry, this post isn’t about Teen Wolf too, but it was when reading some Teen Wolf fanfiction recently that I noticed something that I thought was pretty cool.

Many of the fanfics I read did not define a loss of virginity with penetration. There was more than one fanfic I read were mutual masturbation or oral sex were defined as enough of a sex act to be considered as “actually having sex.”

Now I’m not saying on the whole that every Teen Wolf fanfic is like this. I think it is more likely I just ended up reading a string of fics that define sexual intercourse more broadly than penetrative sex. That being said, I find it incredibly interesting that more fanfics are beginning to define sex and virginity more broadly. The reason I find this so interesting is because even now you have plenty of people who declare for sex to be “real sex” there must be some kind of penetration. No penetration, no sex.

As you can imagine this is frighteningly heterosexist and extremely problematic when we talk about virginity.

Come on, Rushers. Don’t be that fandom.

This week it was announced that Big Time Rush will be touring the US with fellow Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice this summer. Good news, right? That’s what I thought at least, but the reaction of my fellow Rushers has been less than positive.

Now, there have been times when I’ve kind of shaken my head at this fandom, but the only time I’m truly disappointed in it is when a girl has anything to do with the boys. That’s when the unabashed hate comes out and I just have to plead with my fellow Rushers to stop insulting any woman who comes into contact with the members of the band.

[For the remainder of this article I will use the word "you" to address the fans to whom I must speak. If you, dear reader, are not a person who has ever insulted a woman who was linked with your favorite celebrity, then my use of the word isn't actually directed to you, but if you are, then maybe you need to hear what I'm about to say, whether you're a Rusher or not.]

Theatre Thursdays: A Very Potter Senior Year

What else could we possibly be talking about today??

Yes, as we all hoped when we heard about the reading at LeakyCon, A Very Potter Senior Year has been uploaded to YouTube! The third and final musical in the series by Team StarKid makes its way into the lives of eager fans—and it’s a bittersweet moment, to be honest. The show is as funny and energetic as we expect, but there’s a sadness in knowing that this is the end which is actually part of the show’s theme.

While the previous two entries were hilarious madcap romps, I would say this is the first time one of the musicals has a theme or message and that theme is directed to all of us as fans and says that it’s OK that Harry Potter has come to an end, that we can move on to other interests without forgetting or betraying all that the series has meant to us. The theme works its way into the story by showing that the wizarding world, including Harry’s peers at Hogwarts, have forgotten all about him and his accomplishments now that Voldemort and his followers have been defeated. This disregard for Harry is hastened by the arrival of new book crazes such as Twilight and The Hunger Games written by none other than Gilderoy Lockhart.

Ginny and the Diary

As Lockhart’s presence would indicate, the structure of this musical comes primarily from The Chamber of Secrets, but of course it has bits and pieces from the rest of the series mixed in and a healthy dose of its own original plot.

Ginny receives Tom Riddle’s diary and unintentionally revives Lord Voldemort, Harry keeps trying to regain his popularity but only sinks lower and lower in the eyes of his friends, and Draco Malfoy becomes the new most popular boy in school. What can be done to save the day? You’ll have to watch to find out, because I’m certainly not giving any spoilers here!

Trailer Tuesdays: Ore to Omae no sa o Oshiete Yaru yo

You did it, guys. You climbed this whole mountain. …Almost.

This may look like a normal anime promo to the uninformed viewer, but what it is in actuality is an excellent example of how internet fans (and fans in general) can have a very large impact on the companies we thrive off of. A couple weeks ago, this trailer showed up seemingly out of nowhere with no information behind it and only the long winded title of Ore to Omae no sa o Oshiete Yaru yo (“I’ll Show You the Difference Between You and Me”), almost immediately affectionately nicknamed ‘Swimming Anime’. However, all was not as it seemed.

What I’ve Learned from Saturday Night Live

So I know that many people know this exists, but I need to share it (again) to demonstrate my point.

Now after this originally aired, I heard (since I don’t follow these Internet things myself) that the Internet blew up, saying that no one is like this. Unfortunately, I’ve been around enough to know that this stereotype is somewhat true.

Did SNL take it over the top? Of course it did; it’s a comedy show for a reason. It wouldn’t be as funny if every stereotypical thing wasn’t exaggerated. However, to people not interested in anime, this is how we anime fans seem. If you don’t believe me, I actually got three phone calls when this aired saying ‘Hey, you were on SNL!’ And it honest to goodness hurt. I know I’m not alone in feeling pigeon-holed, and I know there is no reason for me to feel that way. But I do however admit that sometimes we bring this upon ourselves and I feel that this is something we as a group need to and can change.

Why is any change needed? Because this perception can and may lead to the death of fandom. There are a minority of people who seek out anime because there are genuinely interested, but most (myself included) get into it because their friends are interested. And if fans keep seeming ‘odd’ to those outside of fandom, we are eventually going to cut ourselves even more and over time, anime could just die out in America. And while I’m sort of exaggerating here, the growth of anime could stagnate if the audience does not continue to grow.

Calling All Writers and Artists!

Ye seekers of fierce women, ye bards of kick-ass characters of the fairer persuasion, lend me your ears. Long have we searched for stories that may sate our palate and quench our insatiable need to see women take center stage, not necessarily as the love interest, but as three-dimensional characters that can hold their own against their counterparts. Women with drive. Women with desires. Women of violence, of lust, of undetermined morality. Seek no further, my peers, for I have found a treasure trove (the motherlode, so to speak) and have come to share my bounty with you lovely readers.

Today I bring you the ‘Heroine Big Bang’. Much like a kink meme, which I have previously discussed, a big bang is a collaborative effort of many writers from all walks of life; however, unlike a kink meme, a big bang doesn’t stop at writing. No sir-ee, here we have writers and artists getting together to create large-scale works of art by combining their talents. Now as the title of this specific big bang implies, all the stories and artworks are going to focus on female characters from a wide variety of fandoms!

Now, you notice I used “going to”. Future tense. You see, this big bang is in its infancy meaning that there is still time to sign up for both authors and artists alike! If you feel so inclined, I would heartily implore you to sign-up  yourself, dear readers! There can never be too many participants and hey, I would love to see whatever you guys want to put out.  Either way, I know I’m going to be keeping an eye on this.

Let’s Put the “Gender” Back in Genderbending

Ever noticed how some fanfics write your favorite male characters as girls?

A gender bender, or genderbending, is when an author writes a character as the opposite of the gender that he or she is in canon—that is, the writer changes the character’s physical gender (not gender identity, although that could make for a fascinating fic as well). Relatively few stories use genderbending as a way of exploring transsexuality or the more complex issues of gender identity. Typically, as MadameAce has said in a previous post, genderbending is used to spice up existing romantic pairings between characters.

Or it’s used for pictures. Look at this gorgeous thing. Look at it.

There are several reasons that authors normally use genderbending. The author might want to see more girls, due to either a lack of existing female characters or the existence of really poorly written female characters. Sometimes if the relationship in the story is (as fanfic tends to be) comprised of two guys, the author genderbends one of the characters so that the pair can more easily have children. But regrettably, in most fics, genderbending reads as a trope where guys (for the most part) are turned into girls and then there is a lot of sex, for reasons. The problem is, if you’re changing something as fundamentally definitive as a character’s physical sex, it shouldn’t be glossed over or used as a gimmick.

Colbert and Back Again: “Hobbit Week” with Stephen Colbert

Saika and Bacula already know this about me, as does anyone who has ever seen me in person, but I am a massive fan of The Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert. The word “fan” can’t even begin to encapsulate the incredible amount of admiration I have for this man. So I think I can be excused this reaction when Saika helpfully tried to inform me that Stephen had a cameo in Peter Jackson’s forthcoming “Hobbit” series:

Saika: Hey, Colbert has a cameo in The Hobbit, red alert!

Luce: I SAW THE NEWS EARLIER TODAY AND FREAKED OUT LIKE I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING I’M SO HAPPY FOR HIM IT CHANGED HIS WHOLE LIFE AND HE LOVES IT SO MUCH THAT’S THE DREAM

Saika: Hahaha, Luce, I’m like crying at your reaction. Did you weep, Agent Romanov?!

Spoiler: I did.

But what’s important here is that Stephen is a massive, massive geek who loves Lord of the Rings more than is entirely healthy. His favorite character (and mine) is Faramir, Aragorn once showed up at his studio to tell him to run for president, and he’s probably the only person in the world to ever be gifted both the Captain America shield and one of the original replicas of Sting. And so I was particularly excited to see that Stephen was going to be hosting a week of Hobbit-themed shows in preparation for the release of The Hobbit.

Sexualized Saturdays: “Straight guys don’t do that!”

I’m sure our readers know that I am a big fan of Big Time Rush, but you may not know that I am also a fan of Supernatural. In fact, I was the one to tell Ladies Geek Girl and Saika about the show in the first place and encourage them to watch it, so…

I’m not very active in the SPN fandom anymore, though, because my work schedule makes it difficult to keep up with the show, which is why I don’t really post about it. (I am watching the anime version right now though, so expect a post or two about that once I finish the series) Back when the show started, however, I followed the fandom pretty closely through LiveJournal and forums (these were pre-tumblr days folks!) so I was very aware of the shipping and all that in the fandom. One of the things I noticed that irked me, which I’ve also noticed in the BTR fandom, was that any time Sam and Dean (or Jared and Jensen, for that matter) showed affection or concern for one another everyone jumped all over it as being proof that they were gay for each other.

Why does this bother me? Well, for one, I related strongly to the family dynamic in Supernatural. I saw myself in Sam so much and the relationships he had with Dean and John hit really close to home with my own relationships with my brother and father. It was wonderful to see them try, fail, try again, make headway, etc. in their relationships with one another and the strength of familial love between them reminded me of my own and gave me hope that no matter what troubles may exist in my own family we could get through them because we loved each other.

Then I went online and that love was turned from something purely familial into something lustful and I was made to feel uncomfortable and confused. Why did it seem no one could believe that these men loved each other as father and son, brother and brother? Why did any sign of affection have to be turned into something romantic or sexual? One of the phrases I saw thrown around a lot in the SPN fandom and even more so in the BTR fandom is “Straight guys don’t do that.”

And any time I see that phrase, or some variation thereof, I want to ask “Says who?”