Okay, I should probably explain myself before any of you get the wrong impression. No, I am NOT homophobic. That would require me being prejudiced against homosexual people and refusing them basic human rights. That is a treatment no one should receive. My personal opinions on stuff like the LGBT Community are not a deciding factor on how I treat people. I am of the mentality that if you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. Trust me, I've gotten plenty of comments in this book outright trying to force me to change my opinion on a subject that has been firmly etched into my psyche since the day I learned about it.

So no, discussing my opinions on this particular subject is not a fun thing to do. However, I do feel as though I owe an explanation for why this book has been completely full of straight ships and seems to show a severe lack of liking to gay ships. Short answer, that's just how I am. Most, if not all of the ships that I have put in this book are ships that I relate to in some way. And since I am a heterosexual male, shipping a gay ship is just kind of impossible for someone of my mentality. It's just how I am.

The long answer... is a bit more complicated than that. If it weren't already apparent by the over twenty books of fanfiction that I've made over the past few years, I am a self-made writer. Not to pat myself on the back, but I do feel as though, after watching and reading so many amazing stories and learning how they operate, I think I've gotten a good grasp on what makes a good story. And when it comes to gay ships... well... it's a fickle issue.

Here's the thing; all throughout history, until the twenty first century came along, being a homosexual or just showing that you were attracted to the same sex could get you publicly ousted. It was more looked down upon than even incest and pedophilia. It was always considered a bad thing. So to suddenly outwardly portray it in media when it's suddenly no longer a bad thing is, understandably, very difficult. It's not as simple as "just change the gender of one of the love interests". No, there have been stereotypes and cliches that have been in place for arguably longer. To change up that formula is no simple task.

Which brings me to my point. Looking at the situation, as a writer, gay ships, or really just gay representations in general, are extremely rare in terms of being well written. Or even just passably written! I'm fine if you want representation, but if it comes at the cost of an interesting character(s) or even, God forbid, an interesting story, then that's where I put my foot down. I cannot count how many times a character or story has been butchered simply because the writer wanted some LGBT brownie points.

So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make a list of the types of screwups that gay ships/reps can do to a character or story, as well as certain examples. However, I'm limiting it to what specifically gay ships/reps can do. Because as much as I want to tear apart Bumbleby and how it singlehandedly butchered RWBY, that's more of a problem with shipping itself rather than gay ships/reps specifically. So here are the issues.

1: It can ruin how audiences perceive a character. This problem is mostly limited to pieces of media that have been going on for a long time. If a character has been a certain way for a while, adding a sexuality in there can do insane things to someone's mind, and, in a broader sense, the fandom's minds. Once a long-time character is given a sexuality that is not straight, that is the one character trait that will always pop up first in minds, no matter what their opinion on it is. The perfect example is Nico di Angelo from Rick Riordan's book series. Once he was confirmed gay, that was all the fandom could see him as. And while Riordan himself may not have made that the forefront of Nico's character, props for that, it's still what the fandom did. This is, perhaps, the least avoidable issue, as something like that is almost beyond a writer's control.

2: The writer makes it the character's main personality trait. This is the most avoidable issue, as well as the most used issue. There's really only one exception to this issue, and that's when the story itself revolves around this character's love life, so that trait HAS to be at the forefront. That type of representation is fine. It's when a show is not supposed to be focused on it is when we have a problem. These are the most easiest to spot too. The show can try to trick you into thinking they have other character traits that are more important, but it's pretty obvious what they're doing. Perfect example is a character known as Ilia Amitola from RWBY. What do you know, I get to bash RWBY after all! At first, it seemed as though she was going to be an interesting character, but then RoosterTeeth slapped a lesbian sexuality on her, and what do you know? Her entire character revolves around her feelings for Blake. This can be a problem for any ship, but RoosterTeeth seems to act so proud of themselves just because Ilia's a gay character. Which brings us to... the third point... oh boy...

3: The Voltron Effect. That's right, an example screwed up so bad that it got the problem named after it. I think it's no secret that Voltron started off big and great... only to suddenly go to utter garbage by the time the final season rolled around. Unlike the previous problems, this is less about what the show does to the representatives and more about what the show's crew do to them. Now, this can be the problem with other shows and shipping, but again, that's the broader idea of shipping itself rather than gay representation. So unfortunately, I can't lash out against RoosterTeeth again due to this (but OH BOY, do they not know how to talk to their fanbase). Voltron is, by far, the biggest offender. One character in particular wasn't even stated to be gay in the show until the end! The crew just sorta expected the audience to know based on interviews and social media posts. There's ship baiting, but then there's gay baiting.

Now these problems are merely what I myself have seen. There could be a variety of other examples, but either I haven't heard of them or the problems could simply be lumped in with shipping overall. If there's anybody reading this that knows more issues, please feel free to comment. So far, out of all of the shows I have watched, there is only one of them that has avoided all of these issues. It is a show known as The Dragon Prince. You can watch the show for yourself to figure out what I mean, it's all on Netflix. Not to mention that the show's crew is a right combination of teasing and secretive. It's a quality I wish all shows had.

If you want my own personal opinion on how to handle gay representation in your story, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to go to, but I'll try my best. First, make your character, and have their sexuality be an afterthought. Unless it's a romance novel, be sure to only bring up their sexuality when you think it fits their personality in a certain moment. After that, it's just simply writing your story. It's your audience you have to worry about. Make sure the sexuality is subtle enough so that readers get what they want while still having that character's strong moments not be overshadowed by it.

Now for the part that is super avoidable, but so many crews get wrong: DO NOT BAIT YOUR AUDIENCE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. This is more aimed at those who would have a cast to work with, such as with a TV show or movie, but the point is the same. If you have no intention of showing something, don't tell your audience that you will. Learn from Voltron's mistakes. Warn other people you might be working with to follow this advice too. Never show any hints of ship or character preferences. This is why history is so important; because you learn from it. Be less like Voltron: Legendary Defender, The Legend of Korra, and RWBY, and be more like The Dragon Prince, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I hope I got the point across that this isn't an attack on gay representation. This was merely an explanation, a warning, and advice to those who happen to be reading this. That second point in particular from earlier can especially screw you over into thinking that a character is more than what they truly are: the chance to earn brownie points from the LGBT Community. Why are there no gay ships in this book? Because I can never find any good ones. I'll see you all next time!

Man, can't wait to read the comments from people who didn't actually read this.