Too Long; Didn't ReadWhat can I do this week?
A Word from the Monarch
Faces of Pride
If only it could be this visible everyday...As part of our Pride Month celebrations, I unveiled a
new orientation profile field on the forums. Since then, 7 people have filled it in with 7 completely different answers, speaking to both the many different aspects of the LGBTQ+ community and to the vibrancy of our own community. As we close out this month's celebration, I wanted to share the stories of how and why some of them choose the label that they did.
First we have our Thane of Gaming,
Marzipan (
New Montith), who shares three stories from their life that led them to discovering that they're a "proud pagan bisexual enby".
I feel like the way I discovered I was bisexual was pretty normal- some actress in a movie, my best friend, and a whole lot of “am or aren’t I?”. And plenty of religious induced anxiety.
I can’t remember if it was Rachel McAdams in The Notebook or Scarlett Johansson in… well anything. What I do remember was being absolutely fixated on both and being jealous of their romantic counterparts in movies- Strike One. (Note: Since coming out as enby, it remains to be seen if the jealousy was jealousy over the romance or jealousy over their gender presentation. If we’re honest, probably both right? I digress.) I chose to ignore it. A, because it was probably just me being jealous because they were pretty. Totally. And B, I went to a pretty… intense?… Baptist church. Needless to say even if it wasn’t jealousy, it was better to stuff those feelings away- so I thought.
Click Here to Read the rest of Marzipan's Story!
Then there was my best friend Jas. We were incredibly close through grade school- honestly I think she and I were more emotionally intimate than most boyfriends I’d ever had. We hung out one on one constantly, not really all that concerned with group outings. Never a birthday or holiday was missed and we went all out- flowers, favorite snacks, carefully planned gifts. Lots of movie nights and snuggles and “joke” kisses because of games like Truth or Dare or Spin the Bottle with friends. Took us until years later before either of us admitted- to each other or ourselves- that we acted that way in hopes of winning the other over. We went as far as looking at studio apartments and talking about the pets we’d adopt together when we left for uni before we even addressed this- somehow it just hadn’t occurred to us! Strike Two. (Note: We didn’t end up together ultimately but we both have wonderful partners for whom we share the same deep affections for. The end of that chapter is still a happy one.)
I went through a lot of fluctuation. “Am I gay? Straight? Am I being exclusionary by claiming bisexual? Am I pan?” (No to all of the above). I went through periods of time where I leaned one way or the other hard- one month where I couldn’t fathom ever having been into guys and another where I couldn’t see myself being with girls ever. (Note: When I was younger, I wasn’t even aware there was anything else. Obviously I know better now.) I think what finally set me straight (but not really lol) were the zealots in my life. It was easy to ignore and be non-committal to my feelings on my bisexuality when they weren’t being confronted. However my fire and brimstone Baptist church liked to drag on LGBTQ+ identities every week, twice a week. What made me furious on behalf of my friends began alienating and hurting me personally- and it didn’t take a lot of introspection to figure out why by that point. Strike Three. I’m out.
I have been officially out of the closet since 2014 and now, in the Year of our Lord 2022, am a proud pagan bisexual enby. It took me a while to get here and to accept myself and I’ll fight for myself and for others like me until my dying days.
Next, our Neon Princess
Neon Abigail, who admits that she's still figuring things out but for now concludes that she "just likes people. Any people".
I'm still figuring out things about myself. My roommate is convinced I don't even like girls and I've thought about it a lot but I don't think that's true I think I just like people. Any people. I don't think I even have a type just that I need to be friends with them first. I knew I liked boys for a long time but only recently admitted that cause yanno closeted by my religious upbringing haha. And I think I'm happier being with a boy now than I was with any of my ex girlfriends but I still think I'd be able to date a girl if I wasn't happy where I am now.
Finally, our Jarl of Culture and Delegate
Michi (
Penguin Dictators), talks about why he's a "Michisexual <3".
I'm pretty much always figuring myself out, and to me labels are a hinderance to that progress since to me they're a box that you put yourself in and proclaim to the world...but what happens if another box is more comfortable, and then another box after that?
To me, I reject the idea of boxing myself in a specific label, and that applies to orientation as well. I put a semi jokey answer for mine because much like how I explained gender, I'm first and foremost Michi, not a homosexual/heterosexual, heteroflexible/homoflexible, or whatever other terms out there since giving a name sets it in stone, which much like gender I don't see orientation as anything but fluid and ever changing.
And I've pretty much felt like this for a good while, but I usually fall into some label because other people don't seem to really be able to deal with not being able to identify someone without that kind of help...so I adapt when needed and give myself appropriate on the surface labels despite how unnecessary I see them personally.
Three people, three identities, three paths to getting there. Some like Mars and myself (demisexual) were able to find a word in the rainbow of labels that best described us, while others like Neon Abigail and Michi created their own label to best fit their own unique and personal feelings about their orientation. And that was just the tip of the iceberg: other entires include gay, pansexual, queer, and straight (I think), reflecting the different journies, discoveries, and feelings of the people behind them. Together, our LGBTQ+ community is vibrant, supportive, and strong, and it's one of the things I'm most proud of as Founder of Wintreath.
Thank you to Marzipan, Neon Abigail, and Michi for volunteering to put their stories out there. It's not an easy thing to do on such a personal matter, but these stories are important to tell because to one extent or another they're all our stories in the LGBTQ+ community: stories of uncertainty, of striving to figure out just who we are, and ultimately of self-discovery and triumph. And to everyone else, if you would like to share your own story or reply to one of these stories, check out the topic we've set up on the forums for that
here.
Stay true to yourself, and
stay frosty,
-Winter
The Welcome WagonAloha to our new and returning Citizens!
Welcome to
PhoenixJet (
Thuragin), who comes to us as a friend of
Svipjoth, and enjoys all kinds of neat things from driving and riding to gaming, repairing, climbing and more. Please give them a warm welcome to Wintreath!
If you would like to become a Citizen of Wintreath, all you have to do is join our forums and then fill out
this form. Citizens gain full rights under our regional constitution, gain access to Citizen-only areas of the forums and Discord, and can participate in our government from our all-Citizen assembly to the Cabinet that runs the day-to-do operations of Wintreath.
Upcoming EventsAll times Eastern. Check out our Discord for the latest gaming events!
Cards Against Humanity - July 4th, 9PM (Discord #zaphyr Channel)
Mixed Bag Game Night - July 5th, 10PM (Discord #gaming/In-Game Channels)
What's Happening NowNews from Wintreath
Singups for Werewolf 28 End Today!Called
Just Desserts and hosted by
Michi (
Penguin Dictators), this going to be a vanilla game with few if any chaotic or difficult elements, so it's perfect if you've never played Werewolf before and want an easy and fun introduction to the game (it's kinda like text-based Town of Salem or Among Us). Besides that, I'm playing as well, and who wouldn't want to play a Werewolf game with me? Check out the link to join the game!
(Link opens to Twitter)
Wintermoot announced that Wintreath now has a home on Twitter, where news and information about what's going on in our community will be posted. Since then, the page has gained 7 followers and we received a warm welcome to the platform by our friends in
India, which made for an exciting start to our adventure! Check out the link and follow for all kinds of neat stuff about Wintreath!
Voting for Wintreath's Finest Ends Today!Wintreath's Finest is our monthly contest to recognize the Citizen who stood out and made a real impact in the community this month. This month's nominees are
Arenado (
North Gralend),
TGN (
The Greenlandic North), and
Marzipan (
New Montith), so check the link and vote for the person you think has been our Finest in June!
As part of our Pride Month celebration, we raised $300 for Out and Equal, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Thank you to all the Wintreans who contributed to this worthy cause during the month, and thank you to Marzipan for organizing this effort! Once again, I'm blown away by what our community can do when we band together.
Wintreath LGBTQ+ Playlist Released! (Link Opens to Spotify)
Marzipan also released our LGBTQ+ playlist, composed of songs that our members posted for having some meaning, beat, or vibe that's relevant to the LGBTQ+ community or to the LGBTQ+ identity. In posting the playlist, Mars described it as "an eclectic mix, just like Wintreath's community", and I know it's also awesome, just like Wintreath's community, too.
Neon Abigail wins LGBTQ+ Art Contest!Our LGBTQ+ art contest also came to an end, with Neon Abigail winning for her entry "How I Met Your Father", followed closely by Gattoartico for his untitled story entry. Congratulations to Neon Abigail, and thanks to everybody who entered in something! Although the contest is over, the art is as great as ever. Check out the link to see all the entries!
Wintreath's Fav LGBTQ+ Character Contest Ends!The Favourite LGBTQ+ character contest also concluded, with Raymond Holt from Brooklyn Nine Nine narrowly beating out Waylon Smithers from The Simpsons. Congratulations to Marzipan for submitting the winning entry!
Aliens is our Avatar Theme of the Month!Nominated by
Marzipan (
New Montith) in honor of World UFO Day, which is July 2nd, Aliens won after the only other nomination was withdrawn. Everyone is encouraged to update their forum avatars, Discord pfps, and NationStates flags to reflect our theme this month!
Read More About It!Publications from Wintreans about anything and everything
Rnesspo World News I-IIITGN has started a new publication for news from about his nation,
The Greenlandic North. These editions were posted before the publication got a dedicated forum, so they've been linked to here!
Rnesspo World News IVTGN also created a fourth edition, with formatting and graphics right on the forum page this time! In this edition, a war crimes trial concludes, the definitions of sleep and nap are updated, and a note on dirt naps.
Tales of Stigya: The Rise of Roxas - Links and MediaStigya's (
The Stigyan Triumvirate) long-running story comes to the forums this week as well! Check out the link to catch up on previous chapters, read about the inspirations behind the story, and listen to a story-themed playlist! Stigya has also posted the first several chapters to the
story forum.
New Forum Discussions
Here are the new discussions on our off-site forums! If one of them interests you, why don’t you add to it with a reply? As we have a few things going on at the moment, the list has been broken down by category!
Rollspelskra - Roleplay
Everything Else
Looking for Group
The Hearthkeepers: Wintreath's Welcome WagonThe Hearthkeepers help keep Wintreath a warm and welcoming community! They welcome and help new members, post daily questions for the community to discuss, create weekly events, and more. Would you like to help keep Wintreath a warm place? Check out the link and contact Michi / Penguin Dictators to join!
Winbassadors: Wintreath’s Face to Other CommunitiesAmbassadors (named Winbassadors on the Discord because ambassador was already taken) represent Wintreath to other communities. This involves joining their forums and Discord, keeping track of what’s going on there, posting our dispatches and information, and contributing to our foreign dispatch, the Auora Borealis. If you’re a Citizen and would like to join the Winbassador program, contact Wintermoot on Discord!
The Dungeon Masters: Wintreath's Gaming LeadersDungeon Masters help organize and run gaming nights: everything from Discord games like Cards Against Humanity to video games like Jackbox and Among Us. This is a great way to help contribute to Wintreath’s community that doesn’t involve NationStates, for those Citizens who have moved on from the NS side. If you’re interested in becoming a Dungeon Master, check the linked dispatch!
Rollspelskra: Wintreath's Roleplaying GuildRollspelskra is where the best roleplaying in Wintreath happens, with a focus on well-organized and moderated RPs that follow good etiquette. Join by showing you know the RP fallacies and how to avoid them, then once in propose and vote on monthly official RPs or create and join other RPs created by members. Check the link to explore Rollspelskra and join in on the fun!
Thanks for Reading!
Did you like this edition of The Frosty Bugle? Be sure to upvote/like this post so that I know people are getting something out of this publication and be encouraged to write more! Also, thanks to our subscribers who are listed below!
@TGN @Marzipan