Gojo's Fingers Being Long As Hell Is So Funny Like Damn I Didn't Know Salad Fingers Was Zesty Like That

A Queer and Asian review of Xanthe Zhou + Spirit World

I haven't exactly been thorough about how I specifically feel about Xanthe Zhou as "representation" for people like me and a part of me didn't want to be too harsh since they're a fan favorite and I'm sure the writer did their best and what not- but there is this sense of "I'm not even whelmed I'm underwhelmed" by Xanthe as a character. I don't dislike them, but I can't say I'm a fan if I don't find them particularly interesting.

I'm sure for a lot of people the idea of a Chinese non-binary anime sword wielding, bomber jacket wearing, shaved cut having, envoy between the living and spirit world character is a novel concept. But when you've lived the reality this character attempts to represent (ghosts and spirits are a tuesday where I'm from) and have sought out that representation from within your own communities, Xanthe pales in comparison like a really corporate product. So I want to talk about intersectional storytelling and what a holistic queer Asian superhero could look like.

Again I'm aware Spirit World was written by a queer Chinese author (+ an all Chinese team) and as a fellow author who has to navigate mainstream publishing and deal with attempts at sandpapering authenticity for capitalism I want to stress that I Get The Struggle. But I'm allowed to be critical of how the final product turned out. Some of this is subjective musing even.

Here's the premise of Xanthe Zhou's character: When Xanthe was a very tiny kid, they were run over by a car when they were walking alone at night in the rain. They're resurrected by a powerful spirit called Po Po to be the half-dead, half-living Envoy of the Spirit World.

Everything about Xanthe is exhaustively corporate for me. Like industry planted representation designed to be as safe as possible and attempts at being intersectional are limited. Spirit World features Cassandra Cain Batgirl and John Constantine Hellblazer because that's how we get Asian and queer DC fans to hop onto out new queer Asian character! Xanthe doesn't get to stand out in their own world, or have an established cast system the way Kong Kenan gets to. Spirit World suffers from being a follow up to an Event comic, with all these characters crossing over- but it didn't rise to the challenge of including Batgirl and Johnstantine in meaningful ways. The story would've been better if they were replaced by characters unique to Xanthe's cast system.

I've become pretty cynical about scenes like this one. It's a scene where Xanthe is forcefully invited to have dinner with their family they haven't seen in years. The transphobic dinner pages made rounds on social media because "ooh look at John Constantine gendering a non-binary person correctly even when Xanthe's family keeps misgendering them", and "whoa even the magic system respects a trans person's name". It's free marketing, you can see comments on these posts asking what comic this is from to read more. People will start discourse over "Constantine going woke" and the defenders will pull up receipts that "John has always been a lefitst" and so on and so forth. I saw the promos for Spirit World, but these panels were what piqued my interest early on.

My twin and I were taking turns reading Spirit World- Jes asked Cin (who finished reading first) "so what about that transphobic dinner scene? Was it there? Are there other scenes that talk about it?" and Cin said "nope that's it. The rest is magic fight scenes and spirit world stuff." And honestly that feels calculated. It's like that Jenny Nicholson Star Wars Hotel thing: "whoa if they have this droid and this animatronic alien performer, imagine what else they have!" but nope. That's it. Just enough to fit in a tik tok promo. Just enough to fit in a tweet and make rounds. It's not like Alan Scott's Green Lantern solo, where his queer identity isn't limited to one scene designed to go viral. The whole narrative holistically discussed what it was like to be a gay man in that era. Spirit World on the other hand felt like it had a representation quota to fulfill before moving on to the generic Superhero Stuff- an entirely separate plot.

Then there's Xanthe and John. As a Hellblazer purist I already knew this was going to be a hard read for me since I'm not a fan of DC!Constantine but I've talked before about how Spirit World still has that appeal for me because sometimes og Hellblazer is a pain to read as a person of color. Maybe I can enjoy the fantasy of Constantine being an ally to an Asian person instead of fetishizing them like he did in those old Vertigo comics (people love to leave that out when they're defending Constantine as an ally but whatever). And people kept talking about how this is an elder and younger queer friendship dynamic and I love those.

So where was that? Sure, John genders Xanthe correctly over transphobic dinner and comforts them afterwards. But nothing he says or does is specific to a queer elder. Any ally or character can say these things or do these gestures. He doesn't speak from personal experience about how "it gets better" or "I know what it's like" it's just. "yeah throwing up in Gotham is great I do it all the time". Excuse me if I don't think that's substantial.

Ooh but the ghost of Johnstantine's ex boyfriend Oliver showed up! And then there was a bi joke about how John hooks up with a clone of himself a "dozen times" because he's such a slut amirite, gays. Diversity win. I expected bi jokes from DC!Constantine but marketing this as a queer narrative or generational friendship is a stretch.

Spirit World would've been a more holistic queer narrative if Wan Yujing, the villainous corrupted spirit that wanted to be remembered properly (or reincarnated, depends on the writer's mood)-was revealed to be a queer person. This would've been a fantastic opportunity to recontextualize Xanthe's personal transphobic encounter with their family into a larger systemic theme of queer historical erasure. The original meaning of a "dead name" is the idea that when a trans person dies, their family will put the wrong name on their grave. It's literally their "dead" name, erasing their legacy in writing. So why not include that in your conflict?

Wan Yujing is revealed to be a famous poet, slowly forgotten because "time erodes everything" (vague and bad writing btw). Why not pitch something more motivated and specific? Make it so that she wrote queer literature that was destroyed. Make it so that her lover was rewritten in history books as her "friend". Then when Xanthe makes the promise to remember Wan Yujing as she truly was, it'd be a holistic act of queer recognition and solidarity. But instead the resolution is just Xanthe Zhou promising "hey I'll remember you" and Wan Yujing just takes their word for it.

Can we talk about the huge missed opportunity of what this dialogue implies? Xanthe proclaims that they are both living and dead, granted the living's power to remember and the dead's immortality. Why was this not thematically paired with their experience as a non-binary person struggling in a cis-heteronormative world. Heck, why not pair this with how they're a queer Asian American, a perpetual foreigner wherever they go? Not Asian enough for traditional spaces, but not white enough for a majority of queer American spaces. Are we worried we'll scare off the white audience if this got too intersectional?

Xanthe gets more fleshed out under a different writer (Jeremy Holt) for one of the DC Pride stories (2023). Here, Xanthe talks about how being in the land of the living feels like going about a routinic obligation; "Reminding me that home isn't necessarily where the heart is". This is so much like the disassociated way trans people go about life before figuring themselves out. It's also like how a perpetual foreigner doesn't fit in anywhere. But it's not paralleled to that experience. The fantasy aspects of Xanthe Zhou the Envoy, are completely separate from the very few personal civilian parts of them. Like they're a Superhero first and a person second. The later half of this story gets overtaken by a team up with Batwoman, because once you have a new character set in Gotham you are at the whims of being absorbed into the greater Batfam conglomerate.

There's interesting concepts at the center of Xanthe's character. But it's hard to give credit to writing that doesn't follow any of that through. Xanthe's a hero motivated by making sure the dead are remembered and respected. That's a decent motivation in general, and a pretty resonant one for a queer hero-but everything surrounding the execution of that idea feels so half-assed to me. Xanthe's origin story has so many plot holes, it feels like it was thought up in 5 minutes.

Why was their death just some random car accident and not something more motivated? Why did the all powerful Po Po decide to resurrect them specifically? Where's the tension in any of the many excessive fight scenes in Spirit World, if Xanthe's apparently immortal? Also they age? What are the stakes for a character like this? This isn't even covering the shoddy writing for their transphobic family drama (Why did they just stalk their family after being resurrected? Why did their mom recognize them even though they've been gone and have aged for 15 years? so many questions ugh).

(why was this toddler walking around alone in the rain with their own umbrella. In Gotham. What is this-)

I casually propose that instead have Xanthe's origin be that they died as a runaway trans teen who went missing and was murdered. Maybe because the way police and society in general don't look into the disappearances of trans poc, Xanthe's death went completely unnoticed. Maybe as Xanthe's dying, Po Po sees their determination to fight for the forgotten and chooses to resurrect this kid specifically. Then we'd have a really motivated origin story that ties their identity to their heroism. Instead we get these over the top fantasy concepts + transphobic dinner with my talisman wielding mom.

Spirit World is a fun enough action fantasy with troubled pacing and generic MCU-quippy dialogue. It's so overwhelmed by it's own spectacle that we don't get a chance to get to know our new hero. What is Xanthe's character development? What flaw do they grow out of or overcome? If I'm honest outside of the attempt at quippy banter, what even is their personality? The ending is rushed; not only is the conflict resolved with Xanthe just promising to remember a dead poet, but they also make a deal to work with the Spirit World authorities. Because it's always so fun to watch queer people assimilate to the powers that oppress.

In one of these action sequences, I guess the writer decided there needed to be a semblance of themes to make it feel like the readers' time isn't being wasted. So while Cassandra Cain Batgirl from Detective Comics and John Constantine from Vertigo Hellblazer are holding the giant anime sword, Xanthe goes on an internal monologue about how change is natural and people's fears make them resistant towards it. Xanthe says that to embrace magic, "you need to look at everything you think you know about the way the world should be...and imagine something new."

It's a nice sentiment that isn't reinforced by anything else in the story, but it does make me think. What is "new" about Xanthe Zhou to someone like me who seeks out representation like this? I've seen queer characters with the shaved hairstyle, I've seen queer coded Asian girlies with the bomber jacket, heck I've even seen the giant anime sword. I kinda cringe at seeing "giant spiritual sword" at this point even. But you know what I don't see as often? In real life I've seen the bravest Asian queer people reclaim cultural hairstyles, clothing, practices and beliefs (that originally excluded them). I've seen them join communities and create entire subcultures and lingo in a way that would be unrecognizable to the typical queer readers who enjoy Hellblazer-but I certainly don't see it reflected in fiction a lot.

(Is it really new if I've seen it in a Disney movie)

The premise of a Chinese American non-binary half-dead-half-living Envoy for the dead is something so metaphysical in its intersectionality, world building, stakes and themes that it would require Sandman-levels of out-the-box creativity to pull off. Which is why getting a generic action adventure (+ one scene about transphobic dinner with the family) feels so disappointing. I wish Spirit World took its own words to heart; I wish it took everything we're used to, everything we've known about how the world is and dare to imagine something actually new.

You can only reblog this today.

Onyx Equinox crumbs tysm

Mini gods ! >u<

Been fixated on this series for a bit

So I drew em as lil minis !

(They don't have headdress cuz I'm lazy QwQ)

They so cute and small, they can't possibly do nothing now QwQ

I wonder if Megumi would wake up late at night to use the bathroom and hear light sobs coming from Gojo's room.

The cutest cuties that ever patootied

The way I literally just screamed like an idiot just now

✨🏳️‍⚧️A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TERF DOGWHISTLES🏳️‍⚧️✨

I’ve already posted something similar to this in a reblog, but I figured that for the sake of our safety, I’d rewrite it in a post of its own (with some additions and elaboration). Please consider reblogging this; we need to educate our community on warning signs that hide in plain sight, and once you know what calling cards TERFs use, you’ll be seeing them everywhere.

(Also please note that dogwhistles function in plausible deniability. While some of these points may sound innocuous or incriminating, always check for context clues first before blocking or exposing a potential TERF. Content warning for discussion of transphobic, misogynistic, racist, and anti-SW terminology/ideology under the cut. Please continue at your own discretion.)

• TIM/TIF: “trans-identifying male/female.”

• “Dysphoric female,” used to describe trans men.

• “Gender traitor,” used to shame post-transition men.

• “(Male) invader,” used to describe trans women.

• “Gender-critical” or “gender abolitionist.”

• Weaponization of detransitioners

• Discussion of “irreversible side effects” or “regret rate.”

• “Womyn,” “wombyn,” “gyn,” or omissions of the -man suffix.

• “Adult human female,” used as a mockery against the term “cisgender.”

• “Female homosexual” in the place of “lesbian,” especially if paired with the statement “lesbians don’t date men.”

• “Libfem”: derogatory term for trans-inclusive liberal feminists.

• The 🍒 (referring to Joanna Cherry) and 🏁 (referring to the cis gender binary) emojis.

• TRA: “trans rights activist,” used in a derogatory manner. (Note that this acronym can also mean “transracial adoption,” which has nothing to do with bigoted rhetoric.)

• “Peak trans (moment),” used to describe a TERF’s moment of radicalization.

• Any discussion of “rapid-onset gender dysphoria”. It’s transphobic psuedoscience and does not exist.

• Transmedicalism: the idea that you’re not “actually trans” unless you have a desire to medically transition. TERFS will use this to “fakeclaim” trans individuals who don’t “pass.”

• Use of the term DSD (“disorder of sexual development”) instead of intersex, and/or advocating for the “medical correction” of intersex bodies.

• Invalidation of, exclusion of, or aggressions against intersex people.

• Exclusion or invalidation of aspec identities (asexual, aromantic, aroace, etc).

• Exclusion or invalidation of multi-gender attraction (pansexuality, bisexuality, etc), usually on the basis of one being a “traitor” if they like men and women.

• Discussion of autogynophilia or autoandrophilia, implying that trans identity is a “sexual fetish.”

• “Fetishist” being used as an insult, specifically against trans women or sexually autonomous trans individuals.

• Anti-kink puritanism and the treatment of (particularly female) sexual liberation as a shame or taboo.

• Applying the “male gaze” argument to real-life women who are open about and comfortable in their sexuality.

• “What about the children?!” rhetoric, specifically manifesting in claims that children are being groomed, indoctrinated, or forced into “dangerous” medical procedures.

• Language such as “transgenderism,” “gender ideology,” “genderist,” “gender cult,” or other terms that pathologize trans identity.

• Denial of intersectionality’s effect on systems of oppression and the belief that the patriarchy is solely to blame for all of women’s problems.

• Self-proclaimed “radfems.” (Keep in mind this is a VERY tricky one, simply because many people don’t fully understand what radfem ideology entails. Look for context clues!)

• An open hatred toward all men.

• Denial of the fact that men can be oppressed or harmed, specifically trans men and minority groups.

• Strong aversion to being called cis or claiming the word is a slur.

• “LGB community” or “LGB, drop the T.” Any exclusion of a letter from the acronym could be a warning sign for bigotry or exclusionism.

• The Hydra symbol, used to portray trans individuals as an ever-expanding threat.

• “Did you just assume my gender?!” or “I identify as a ___” being used as mocking comments.

• Discussion of “basic biology,” “female/male biology,” “biological markers,” or “biological sex”/chromosomes.

• Transvestigating: intense scrutiny of one’s appearance and anatomy, especially around stereotypically gendered traits (body hair, eyelashes, muscles, height, facial structure, hips, waist, chest, etc).

• Phrenology: a form of pseudoscience claiming that one’s character can be determined by their facial shape and proportion. Phrenology holds extremely racist/antisemitic implications and heavily favors femme Eurocentric beauty standards, leading to women with non-European features being “transvestigated” or viewed as masculine and therefore “brutish” or “threatening.”

• Conflation of feminine expression or aesthetics with purity or goodness (oftentimes overlapping with phrenology).

• Noticeable disgust or bitterness toward masculine/butch gender expression.

• Erasure of nonbinary identity or categorization of nonbinary people into their AGAB.

• Gender purism: any belief that there’s a “right” and “wrong” way to be a woman.

• Gender essentialism: belief that all men are inherently violent oppressors and all women are inherently fragile and vulnerable.

• Separatism: enforced separation of men and women, specifically manifesting in “women only” spaces and the belief that trans women are “male invaders” trying to enact violence on other women.

• Defining the “female experience” exclusively by suffering, physically or mentally.

• Discussion of the “divine feminine.”

• “Woman-born woman,” “AFAB woman,” “biological woman,” or “natal woman” as an avoidance of the word “cisgender.”

• Defining womanhood as the possession of a womb and the ability to menstruate and give birth, usually paired with the statement “men can’t have babies/periods.”

If you stuck around for this long, thank you for taking the time to look through this. If you know of any other potential dogwhistles, I invite you to reblog this post or comment with your additions so I can add them into this list.

TERFS will be blocked on sight. You are not fucking welcome here. Trans people will always exist, are valid as fuck, and deserve the right to life and happiness.

My favorite trope is when a man hates another man so ungodly much it becomes an infatuation.

Constantly thinking of him.

How envious he is of him.

How everything is so effortless for him.

How he'd give anything in the world for just one chance to be like him.

Or maybe...be with him?

musk is going to die in a Tesla explosion in 6 months after sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and we will never get a conclusive answer on whether it was a CIA car bomb or just a normal Tesla malfunction

I expect Mappa to animate an OP with at least 3/4ths of the homosexual behavior displayed in Ao no Sumika when they get to this arc