Prince Escalus' Words

If a white male lead is toxic or cruel, the narrative immediately rushes in to show you his broken childhood or his mental health struggles. Suddenly it’s not about the harm he’s actively inflicting on the people around him, it’s about how much he’s suffering on the inside. His choices get rebranded as trauma responses, and the story flips the burden onto everyone else to heal him, understand him, and forgive him. If his partner sets a basic boundary or asks for an actual apology, the narrative frames them as rigid and unfeeling for not catering to his pain fast enough. It’s a complete free pass. His past trauma becomes an absolution machine where he never actually has to take responsibility for his own actions because poor him he's so so sad.

But the second you look at female characters or characters of color, that entire grace period disappears. When a POC character has trauma, the story almost never uses it to excuse their bad behavior. Instead their pain is written as baggage they need to deal with quietly so they don't burden anyone else. They’re routinely forced into the role of the patient, grounded anchor whose entire narrative purpose is to perform emotional labor for the volatile white lead, completely stripping them of their own right to be angry, complex, or messy. If a female or POC character makes even a minor mistake, reacts out of hurt, or dares to hold the fan favorite accountable, both the narrative and the fandom drop the hammer on them. They get called annoying, selfish, or toxic, while the white guy gets thousands of words of fan essays dissecting his childhood to explain why he’s actually just a broken boy who needs a hug.

Worldbuilding where being queer is normalized and queerphobia has no impact on the plot? THAT'S FINE. Worldbuilding that includes queerphobia and tackles the effects of it as part of the story? THAT'S ALSO FINE.

Low-stakes queer romcom where the characters are fluffy and cute? THAT'S COOL. Messy queer drama with toxic people who fuck each other over and clash repeatedly? THAT'S ALSO COOL.

Stories that center the characters' queerness, show a trans character's transition, and are about the queerness as much as the rest of the plot? AWESOME. Stories where the characters' queerness isn't treated as a big deal, and have trans characters whose transition happened before the story entirely? ALSO AWESOME.

You may PREFER one thing or another, but it is actually good to have all these things. It's about variety. It's about queer characters being allowed to exist without censorship. It's about queer artists getting to make things without being told we're a "niche issue" or "adult content." It's about having as many goddamn cakes as the bakery can produce.

TEEN WOLF as movie posters 2x11 | "Battlefield"

Melissa Caravello died the 8th of May 1892 on the oak steps of her father's church, a chill hand grabbing her dark and dishevelled hair to keep her from leaning away from the fangs and another one gladly squeezing her thigh.

Noshiko has travelled many continents and met countless individuals during the last century but no one caught her attention quite like the young woman who burst out of a small church, dragging a man with her before kicking him to the ground. She watches, amused, as the young beauty screams at the man, telling him that if he ever steps foot into the church, she'll personally introduce him to the devil. Yes, maybe Noshiko will stay in New Orleans a bit longer than planned.

The adopted daughter of a preacher, Melissa had never dreamed much for herself besides maybe... maybe having a family. Growing up, she'd spend hours and days simply picturing the lil rosy cheeks of her baby or the laughter of her child running by her. Weirdly enough, she can never fully picture a husband in this idyllic future. Now that she's felt the touch of Noshiko on her bare skin, she knows why. Still, after yet another huge fight between her and Noshiko, Melissa ends up asking for the only thing her vampire nature cannot give her: a child. Enters Kira, a young orphan girl on her death bed that Melissa pleaded for Noshiko to save. And their lives have never been the same since the addition of their darling and demanding daughter.

Kira knows they're lying to her... Both of them! They've been lying to her for as long as she can remember, saying that it's normal for her to still be this small, to never change despite the years going by. And why can she only eat that red liquid they give her? Why can't she play with other children and why must they always sleep during the day? That gaping silence, she had expected it from Noshiko, but the pain Mama Mel's deflection' causes might just be her last straw before she snaps.