Tropers / Luna Veg 87

Hi there! Name's Phoenix. I'm a geek, a writer, an artist, a dreamer, an eco-feminist, a skeptic, a social anarchist, and lover of justice, freedom, and pizza. Out as queer since 2010, out as nonbinary/genderqueer since the start of 2019, and currently identifying as genderfluid pan-lesbian. Currently, I have a Youtube channel here [1] and occasionally write here [2]. Enjoy!

Media I Like:

TV Shows

• Adventure Time
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
• Futurama
• The Simpsons (pre-Seasonal Rot; maybe to about 2008)
• The Penguins of Madagascar (sadly, Too Good to Last)
• Daria
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Regular Show
• Spongebob Squarepants
• Rick and Morty
• We Bare Bears
• Key & Peele
• A Different World

Movies

• Disney Animated Canon:
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Big Hero 6
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (another underrated classic that I'm happy to see has been Vindicated by History to some degree)
• The Princess Bride
• Black Panther
• Get Out (2017)

Other Media

• The Muppets
• The Science Fiction genre

About Me

• All of the Other Reindeer -During childhood, among peers and even my own family. I've grown to realize that life is about finding your own Island of Misfit Toys.
• All Witches Have Cats -I'm a secular witch who adopted a black cat (his name is Archimedes, Archie for short; I named him after another magic familiar).
• Amazon Chaser -I have a thing for tough, badass women (especially tall ones), fictional and Real Life.
• Asperger Syndrome -My mother suspects I have it, and many of my traits and quirks lead me to think she's right. It's just a pain trying to find a diagnosis as an adult.
• Awesome Mc Cool Name -Well, I think so; Phoenix Willow Imani Lee. As tedious as the legal name change process is, it's been worth it.
• Beauty Mark -I have three; one next to my right eye, one above my upper lip, and a third just under my lower lip.
• Berserk Button -As many of my videos make clear, I am very much annoyed with being told I should let behavior slide from fellow vegans that I wouldn't let slide from anyone else (such as racist comments, bullying, etc.).
  • Hearing advice about bullying like "just ignore them" and "they just pick on you because they like you!" (having been a bullied child and teenaged myself, I don't mess around with this kind of thing).
  • People CHOOSING to talk about certain topics yet not bothering to do any research on them.
• Bi The Way -Kinda...I'm pansexual (meaning I'm sexually attracted to people regardless of their gender), but romantically lesbian (only interested in romantic relationships with women).
• Big Beautiful Enby-or so I'm told, when I can be bothered to doll up.
• Big Eater- I do not avoid sharing my fondness for food in my videos.
• Black and Nerdy -and proud of it, babe! While my videos don't always reflect this side of me, bits of it are hinted at (I wear horn-rimmed glasses, I make some videos on science topics that interest me, I wear my Baymax beanie in one of them, and I openly admit that Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies and that I will defend it at all costs).
• Bookworm -I love to read, but I have a fascination with words and language in general.
  • Badass Bookworm - ...and I also like kickboxing, strength workouts and [3] (chronic pain has put the kibosh on those for the time being), not to mention a no-nonsense attitude to calling out bigotry and bullying.
• Broken Bird -Because of a past of bullying and familial abuse that ultimately led to my depression (and social isolation/trust issues) that I'm thankfully recovering from. I still have bad days, but things are getting better.
• Cool Aunt -I have two nieces, a nephew, and no desire for (human) children of my own, so my goal is to be this. (And no, even though it is gendered, I have no problem with the word "aunt")
• D-Cup Distress -Buxom is not always better, especially when it comes to back pain, under-boob sweat, etc. They're still also a big reason why I worry that don't "pass" well enough as nonbinary.
• Deadpan Snarker -especially in my videos and writing. I employ my favorite brands of snark quite frequently in those.
  • Disabled Snarker -since I have psychiatric disabilities (depression, anxiety disorder, and probably C-PTSD), use a cane and walker as of 2019 (because of chronic pain and hypermobility issues in my legs), and no patience for people treating me like I'm helpless or dumb or just playing the victim.
• Does Not Like Shoes -and I'll only wear socks at all times in the winter.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me! -I do have depression and anxiety, but I only talk about it because it is part of my life experience, not because I want sympathy (I also often talk about it in my You Tube videos, usually within the context of the topic). I'm working on it; I don't need pity.
• Fat and Proud - No, I don't think there's anything wrong with the way I look I also posted an anti-fat shaming video wherein I point-blank asked fat shamers "why do you have such a problem if fat people feel good about ourselves? Doesn't everyone have that right?"
• Friend to All Living Things -as is reflected in my being a vegan for ethical reasons. I've always been a big animal lover.
• Goths Have It Hard -Somewhat subverted. I've dealt with anxiety for most of my life and clinical depression since my teens. I also embrace Goth music, fashion, and aesthetics, and love anything macabre and mysterious. However, the two things aren't related (I didn't even start to embrace the Goth subculture until my late 20s).
• Granola Enby-and how. I'm an environmentalist, vegan anarcha-feminist who hates shoes and loves nature. I've also made videos about minimalism, anti-consumerism, and one where I make a treat for my dogs out of bananas and peanut butter, in addition to those about veganism and social justice causes. Then again, I am probably a downplayed/subverted version, due to my occasional snarkiness, skepticism of everything (including the kind of pseudoscience other vegans and Granola Girl-types latch onto), and a tendency toward being a perfectionist Control Freak, rather than the laid-back type this trope suggests(and my videos are often critiques of other vegans who have more of the Straw Vegan mindset; I personally favor meeting people where they're at rather than judging and scolding them).
• Hair Decorations -My curly hair is usually held back with a headband or decorative bandanna.
• Hot-Blooded -I'm generally easygoing, but if I want something, I'll go hard for it (my name isn't "Phoenix" for nothing).
• Kind Hearted Cat Lover -After moving out of my parents' place and into my first apartment by myself, I adopted a cat named Archimedes and we instantly bonded.
• Kuudere -Type 2. I can seem cold, cynical, and unapproachable if you just watch one of my videos or see one comment I've made on social media, but once you get to know me, you'll see I'm a total softie.
• Ma'am Shock -I dislike being called "ma'am," albeit less because of the age connotation so much as the misgendering aspect.
  • Don't Call Me "Sir" -really, just..."Phoenix" is fine.
• Mama Bear -I have this attitude toward my Archie. I'm also very protective of my friends.
• Meaningful Rename -I plan to have my name legally changed to Phoenix to a. symbolize my recovery and becoming my true self and b. have a name that actually means something to me.
  • Nom de Mom- I also took my mother's maiden name (Lee) during my legal name change process (I have a lot of trauma connected to my father's last name; that's all I'll say). Plus, it flows better with the name "Phoenix."
• Meganekko
• Mx. Imagination
• Nightmare Fetishist -I love the macabre, and Goth style, and the aesthetic appeal of skulls (I even have a plastic skull decoration in my room; his name is Yorick). I think bats, bugs, rats, and black cats are the cutest things ever (admittedly, in the case of black cats, at least, it might be The Woobie factor, since they're often the least adopted cats in pounds, shelters, and rescues (the same is true of black dogs)). Additionally, I love Halloween, have a fascination with true crime stories (although the ones involving little children being harmed hit too close to home), and despite being religiously skeptical, I enjoy reading about Wicca and the paranormal. I'm also a big fan of Disney villains, and have said that the one drawback of the newer Disney Villains (many of whom I like and think are handled brilliantly) is that there aren't any creative death scenes, like in Tarzan or Mulan. I might qualify as Perky Goth, easy on the "perky."
• Old Shame -Interning at PETA in my early 20s. I somewhat made up for it by making a scathing video about them on my YouTube channel.
• Older Than They Look -I'm 33 as of 2020 and, without counting my Skunk Stripe, still look about 18 (my fashion sense and hairstyle help with that effect).
• Outnumbered Sibling -I'm an AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) enby with four brothers (one older, three younger), and no sisters.
  • Little Big Sibling -my little brothers all tower over me (since they're all adults now).
  • Practically Different Generations -I'm probably closest to my baby brother (I was a freshman in high school when he was born, so we're 14 years apart).
• Perpetual Frowner -so I'm told. I really don't mean to be.
• Plucky Girl/ The Anti-Nihilist -My touch of optimism and hope for myself and humankind (despite knowing its flaws) have probably helped me survive.
• The Quiet One
• Quirky Curls / Nonconformist Dyed Hair -I've been wearing my hair in a kinky natural style since my late 20s, and wear it in a side-shaved style, often dyed (usually fuchsia, blue, or purple).
• Sassy Black Enby -Of the quiet,, exasperated sarcasm variety.
• Shrinking Violet -due in different parts to my social anxiety and my introverted nature.
• Sibling Yin-Yang -My older brother and I. He was the "cool kid" in school and is an extroverted, charismatic go-getter and father of three. I was a Shrinking Violet in school and remain an introverted, easy-going queer cat parent.
• Skunk Stripe -I've had graying hair since I was 13 years old (it runs in the family).
• The Smart Guy -...of the Five-Man Band that is my brothers and me. I was always the most academically inclined, a Bookworm and word nerd from a young age, and to this day, prefer spending weekends at home on the computer or at the bookstore over going out on the town.
  • Ditzy Genius - My social skills, while better than when I was a kid, still leave something to be desired.
  • Genius Slob - As some of my videos show, my room is often a mess (as long as I can see the floor and I know where everything important is, I don't worry that much).
  • Genius Sweet Tooth
• Starving Artist -Kinda; I'm a writer and artist, but can't hold down a job because of my disabilities. I'm not "starving" by any means, but still have trouble getting by without help.
• Stepford Snarker -I get snappier when I'm annoyed or sad.
• The Teetotaler -I just don't like the taste of alcohol, and can't drink it anyway because of the meds I take.
• Stupid Sexy Flanders -I experience a lesbian equivalent to this when I see a rare man (usually fictional) that I find attractive.
• Tomboy -As a child, I was sort of this, being a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and loving to play in the mud (as well as searching for worms and other creepy-crawlies). Befitting a child of The '90s, I was also a big fan of gross-out humor.
  • The Lad-ette -now (minus the drinking). I usually wear comfortable and even tomboyish looking clothes when not working (as can be seen in my videos), and I have a great love of rock music, anarcha-feminist and sex-positive politics, love of large meals and junk food, rather uncouth sense of humor, and fondness for belching contests and Roller Derby. But I've always been a...
    • Tomboy with a Girly Streak -I did like dresses, pink, and dolls as a kid. Now I gush over cute furry animals, still have a huge collection of stuffed animals (some of which I've had since childhood), like painting my nails, have a ton of cute socks, and am a proud fan of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Since coming out as nonbinary, I've actually embraced my feminine side more.
• Tomboyish Voice -As you can hear in my videos, my voice is deep and husky (well, it's gruff, but still womanly).
• Transgender -Specifically, nonbinary/genderfluid. I still look pretty feminine, which I'm mostly okay with; I describe my gender as follows: "part-time effeminate bi dude, part-time Butch Lesbian, full-time badass."
  • Important Haircut -One of the first steps of my transition was to shave the left side of my head in 2019. I've kept it that way ever since.
• Why Did It Have to be Spiders? -contrary to my usual Freaky Is Cool mindset. I still won't hurt them, though.

Tropes Present in My Own Works (esp. my videos)

• Bunny-Ears Lawyer -I talk and write about serious issues but enjoy letting my quirks shine through (for example, making a video response about the serious implications of body-shaming wherein I use stuffed animals to act out a scene between a doctor and their fat patient).
• Catchphrase -My video intro ("Hello, all/you beautiful beings!") and outro ("...and as always, peace and love"; more recently, it's "peace, love, and stay hydrated!" ).
• Deadpan Snarker
  • Silent Snarker -My snark is often done in text.
• Disgusting Vegetarian Food -Averted (hopefully). I'm vegan for ethical, not health reasons, so a lot of my earlier content focuses on how being vegan doesn't mean you have to live on wheatgrass and plain tofu; you can be vegan and enjoy regular food (especially Sour Patch Kids!).
• Don't Shoot the Message- The point of a good number of my videos about vegan activism; yes, a lot of vocal vegan activists go about things in an abrasive way and aren't always that great at conveying their message effectively, but that doesn't mean veganism is invalid.
• Drama Queen -at times; one of my videos contained a [4] homage.
• Fat and Proud -I've made multiple anti-fat-shaming videos, one of which I responded to comments from randos calling me a "fat cow" by first saying that cows are beautiful and showing photos of cows I took at my local farm sanctuary and then by playing a clip of Maureen Johnson imploring her audience to "moo with me!".
• Nature Is Not Nice - This comes up occasionally in my videos, such as pointing out to a misanthropic vegan who framed nonhuman animals as inherently more worth defending than humans that things like rape and infanticide can be found throughout the animal kingdom, and videos critiquing the Appeal to Nature fallacy or talking about the benefits of genetic modification. I find this mindset sorely missing in a lot of online vegan and environmentalist content, and I think it's essential to not romanticize nature while talking about the importance of preserving it.
• Nice Hat -I often wear these in videos that show my face, like my aforementioned Baymax beanie, my Jack Skellington beanie, and my cute black beret.
• What the Hell, Hero? -A good number of my videos are calling out people who I once respected.
• The Woobie -I certainly never seek to come off as looking for sympathy in my videos, but I talk about my struggles with mental illness (including the tangentially related past of having been bullied that contributed to it) quite openly and have come close to tears a few times.

Favorite Tropes

• Action Girl
  • Lady of War, Silk Hiding Steel, and Girly Bruiser -because feminine can be badass, too.
• Badass Bookworm
• Agent Peacock -because a guy doesn't have to be super-macho to be badass.
• Coming of Age Story
• Determinator
• A Father to His Men -I'd actually like to see more villainous examples of this.
• Family-Unfriendly Death -they don't have to be graphic, but many of them are so creative.
• Family of Choice
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech -Only if the character deserves it, of course.
  • Calling the Old Man Out -because parents and parent-figures aren't always right, in Real Life or in media, and it satisfying to see them called out and held accountable for their actions.
• Give Geeks a Chance -I really want to see more female geeks given a chance (without a needless makeover). And more LGBT variants would be nice, too.
• Gratuitous French -I use it quite liberally in my own videos (for no other reason than my sheer word-nerd-ness).
• Humans Are Flawed -Yes. Because I believe it. Humans are not saints, and yes, there are some who are evil, but humanity in general, is not evil (and honestly, that seems to be the message most Green Aesop stories have; I almost wonder if people who take them as saying humans are evil no matter, what actually see that).
• Black and Nerdy -because we do exist. I'd like to see more Black and Nerdy female characters, personally.
• Lover and Beloved -I've realized recently that this is actually my favorite same-sex romance dynamic, especially when the couple is also an Uptight Loves Wild pairing.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? -Or, more accurately, media aimed mainly at kids that don't talk down to them appeal to me (hence many of my favorite shows and movies).

Pet Peeve Tropes

• All Adult Animation Is South Park -I'd love to see more Western Animation shows targeted at adults that A. aren't always comedy (an animated sci-fi, action, or fantasy show for adults could be great), and B. actually approach adult issues...like an adult.
  • Animation Age Ghetto and Comedy Ghetto -...both of which, I think, play into the aforementioned trope. There's a lot that can be done with these genres.
• Ambiguously Gay -because the assumptions are always based on stereotypes (as if straight men who are stereotypically feminine and straight women who are stereotypically masculine (as well as Manly Gay men and femme lesbians) just don't exist [nor do bisexual people]).
• Appeal to Worse Problems - Second-most hated logical fallacy. Because I've seen it used two ways; one is to deflect from legitimate problems (because, "OMG, First-World Problems!"). The thing is, we should work on problems that we can do something about, even if there are worse problems elsewhere. The second way is when it's used to snark-shame people with mental illnesses because it can make them less willing to seek help, even if they really need it (something I can say from personal experience).
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me? -How, exactly, is being raped or sexually harassed a compliment?
• Belligerent Sexual Tension -I just find it annoying (and unhealthy) to glorify really toxic behavior (like insulting, belittling, arguing, physical fighting, etc.) as romantic. What's so wrong about a romance in a story between two reasonable, sane people who aren't constantly sniping at each other? Sounds pretty fair to me.
• Butt-Monkey - People like to watch characters, not punchlines (and it's unpleasant to watch characters I like, or at least characters who don't deserve it, get put through hell for no real reason other than "tee hee, s/he's the Butt-Monkey! Laugh, damn it!" Although I mind it less if it's a character who deserves it (and I don't consider having little personality, or disliking/ being annoyed by the main character to indicate "deserving it;" more if they are legitimately evil and the treatment is more like Laser-Guided Karma).
  • The Friend Nobody Likes, Hate Sink, and Straw Loser - It really is a pet peeve of mine when the writers tell you (to the metaphorical point of beating you over the head with a mallet) that one character is someone you're supposed to hate (just as bad as when the protagonist does crappy things, yet is someone you're not supposed to hate; see below). Show, Don't Tell, please...
• Child Hater -or, more accurately, the constant portrayals of childfree-by-choice people (especially women) of being Child Haters. I like children (I wouldn't care about being a Cool Aunt if I didn't); that doesn't mean that I have to want to have my own.
• Comedic Sociopath, Designated Hero, and Jerk Sue -This is the problem I mentioned previously with the main characters of Family Guy and a lot of Western adult cartoons in general. I don't need characters to be perfect (because a character like that isn't very interesting), but I'd like to watch a character I can actually like (with their flaws and all) and care about. It's never good when a show has me Rooting for the Empire, but hey, at least villains (no matter how depraved) are usually not made out to be anything else.
  • Protagonist-Centered Morality -which feeds into these tropes. It's probably one pet peeve that turns me off from a lot of media I don't like.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male and The Unfair Sex -it seems like some misguided attempt at "girl power!" in most cases. I don't see being a brute or treating one's partner unfairly as "empowerment."
• Faux Action Girl -I'm not a person who subscribes to the idea that there's something inherently bad about the Damsel in Distress trope (provided the character isn't otherwise completely useless), but if a character is meant to be an Action Girl, she should actually be allowed to be one.
• Girl-Show Ghetto -I like the fact that this is somewhat being broken with shows like My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, but we still have a long way to go.
• Hollywood Homely - Show, Don't Tell, guys. Often leads to a sexist double standard.
  • The Glasses Gotta Go -which relates to it (if you touch my glasses, I'll kill you).
• Karma Houdini -the one thing my most hated characters have in common.
• Loving Bully -You know what we call people who bully people and say they "love" them? Domestic abusers (also subject to pseudo-empowering double standards).
• Magical Negro, Magical Asian, Inspirationally Disadvantaged, and Magical Native American - let's be honest; these characters are only present to help the (usually white, cishet, and/or abled) heroes on their journey. People of color, LGBTQ+ folks, disabled folks, and those of us who are more than one of those things deserve to be the heroes of our own stories.
• Reality Ensues - Again, not inherently bad in theory, but in practice, it comes off more as pedantic and condescending to the audience. Gosh, I never knew it was bad to marry someone you barely know or that movies like Home Alone are unrealistic. Thank you so much for pointing it out!
• Real Women Don't Wear Dresses -Saying femininity is a weakness is just as misogynistic as saying all women should Stay in the Kitchen. Feminine girls and women can be just as smart, strong, brave, and tough as masculine girls and women.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Badass? -the closest thing I can think of to a Spear Counterpart to Real Women Don't Wear Dresses. And I think characters who are Badass are 24/7 aren't very interesting.
• Sadist Show -Not sadist shows themselves, per se. I guess I'm more annoyed that each new Sadist Show (especially comedy shows targeted at adult audiences, animated and live-action) that comes out tries as hard as it can to top the one before it. At their worst, they become so bleak and mean-spirited that it makes me wonder why I should care about the characters or the show at all.
• Sassy Black Woman -I would have much less of a problem with trope if it weren't EVERYWHERE. There are many different ways to write Black female characters, you know. Just like...any other female character.
• Straw Vegetarian-...the aforementioned Hollywood Atheist video I made called out vegans for similar reasons.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl - The intention is noble enough, but it comes off as more condescending than noble in practice (it seems more disrespectful to, say, an Action Girl or Dark Action Girl, like saying she can't hold her own, just because she's a woman).