oh no

i'm not smart enough to be able to trace an exact origin point to why this has started being popular, especially in the past few years, but my personal theory is a combination of the renaissance of interest in late 90s to late 00s 'gamer/nerd/otaku' culture (i.e revitalized love of retro fps, rising interest in heisei-era anime and VNs, and then-contemporary commentary on nerd culture a la the eltingville club), the rise of the 'male loneliness epidemic' theory/ideology (which is flawed at best), and like... the regular old right-wing pipeline. what aspect of this is most prevalent depends on the person/project, but they often have some level of all three

i'm not going to act like i've completely sidestepped the influences of this either-- i have OCs that have qualities of characters like this! i love retro fps! i love the eltingville club! --but i think with the concurrent rise of kids doing stuff like saying the r slur again and sending gore to each other and participating in s/h communities and stuff it's like... ummm... uh oh guys. i've seen this movie and i don't like how it ends!****

*= i'm going to estimate between the ages of 14-20 here, but it's usually more like 15-19. they are often (but not always) white, which probably makes it easier for them to cherrypick the aspects of these types of people they relate to (loners, struggling with their sexuality, maybe have a bad relationship with their parents, bullied, etc) without the stuff that doesn't directly align with their still forming political beliefs (so most OCs like this aren't explicitly racist or neo-nazis, but they're almost always misogynists because it's easier to handwave hating women as compensating for being closeted)

**= the OCs are often of similar age (though i see some creep up into their 30s) and are always white. i think i've only seen a non-white character of this kind once or twice.

while that doesn't surprise me considering most prominent people irl like this are also white, i think it's also a symptom of the fact that most people who make OCs and especially in these edgier communities don't really find people of color compelling or even capable of being anything other than bland side characters or victims to their more prominent white OCs

***= i have never (to my knowledge) seen a person who makes OCs and art like this who is TMA, and i think making characters like this in current political climate without any real lived experience or input from transfem people can be extremely dangerous.

i'm not going to act like i've never met a racist trans woman or one with internalized misogyny or one who had an edgy phase, everyone has the capacity for that kind of behavior, but i'm also not going to make a character who is predatory towards women and constantly thinking about (or actively) killing and torturing people and then turn around and tout that as my messy transfem rep. you see what i mean

****= adding my obligatory 'covering my ass for people who can't read' statement here:

this does not mean you cannot make characters like this! i do not control the kinds of characters people make, i am not your dad!

lots of news this month: my short story THE THAW is included in the inaugural DD Market bundle 🔞 on sale now until June 17th. you can support 39 artists and writers for 30USD and we'll all feast in pleasure.

THE THAW | a short story through a life defined by childhood abuse, death, and sex. Field medic Enver Kaychak puts up a taciturn and at times menacing front, but in the hushed privacy of the woods (and into the body of his equally-tortured comrade, Daniel) Enver's tension quickly unravels.

New Mexico furries finally ☀️