cool cool cool.

Rahim/Vahim fans aren’t upset because their ship won’t be canon, but the way that white venji fans are going about invalidating the ship and Rahim’s character is borderline racist and we need to address it. It’s completely fine to not like the character, the ship, or even prefer him and Victor to be friends, but there’s a lot of reasons why PoC fans are exciting for the character and the relationship.

It’s so rare to see an interracial queer couple between two people of color. “Interracial couple” are almost always depicted as being white/(often light skinned)PoC, and the person of color is often never seen as the main character but as a love interest, underdeveloped, etc. Not that all of these characters fit that description, but think of popular interracial queer couples on tv: Rue/Jules, Nico/Karolina, Alec/Magnus, Eric/Adam, Santana/Britney. They fit this portrayal, and while we adore these couples and their characters it’s so invalidating to never see QPOC couples. Seeing White Venji fans try to claim that it’s more important to see an white/poc interracial couple than a QPOC couple is so ignorant.

There’s a reason why Rahim points out the lack of awareness that Benji gives to his and Victor’s relationship. It’s not to “drive a wedge” like white fans are claiming he is doing (which is portraying a person of color as antagonistic), but to illustrate that benji is both racially and economically privileged compared to Victor, and his failure to realize that is dismissive of Victor’s dilemma with his mother. In fact, there’s a whole scene where Benji “apologizes” to Victor for not giving his mother a benefit of a doubt for improving, then immediately continues that behavior until Victor calls him out for it. Benji isn’t a bad person, but his lack of willingness to recognize his privilege and see Victor is very reflective of the struggles QPOC experience in white spaces/relationships.

History in the Making

A Red, White, and Royal Blue Zine

It has been so wonderful to work with this talented, passionate fandom over the past months to create this piece. Happy 2nd birthday to Red, White, and Royal Blue. Two years ago this book took all of our hearts by storm, and this is our celebration of its enduring effect on our lives—on our own histories, so to speak.

Read the zine here: https://bit.ly/3uPOryv

Cover design by @caitybuglove23​ Layouts and Formatting by @scone-lover​ Dividers and Frames by @ru-dimental​