#Allie Knowe

[widespot]

"Andy! What are you doing out here? Is Ida Juana -?" "She's fine, Mama Alli! Sara's set on moving out here with Hugh and Cliff, so I thought I'd come give the place a good lookover for her. Some of the new houses aren't bad, but they won't be able to afford one, not even with Sara's trust fund." "I've told Hugh, the trailer next to ours is coming vacant any day now."

"I don't know when I've been to such a lovely wedding party!"

"Oh, dear! Udo! Where'd you go? I think we'd better head for the library!"

[gillyeowalters]

Because it is the anniversary of his death, I wanted to share a small story about my grandfather.

Before I knew that I was intersex, I identified as a trans man. And I went the way any trans man has to go if he wants to transition in my country. My parents thankfully were supportive but I was afraid to tell my grandparents. My grandparents were German and lived/were raised during the third reich. While both of them never said or acted in a way that suggested that they had fascist views (my grandfather was until he died part of a leftwing political party), but there still was this fear in me. "They are old, they grew up surrounded by abhorrent beliefs...". And then there was my aunt. Who would constantly claim that my grandfather was homophobic.

The problem was, back then, there were no openly out gay people in our area, so I never got the chance to see my grandfather interact with someone who was queer. So I just believed her. Because she was so insistent on it. And because it confirmed my fears and my brain loves to be constantly afraid.

But I knew I wanted to come out. I had to, eventually, because I had stopped my estrogen treatment (back then, I did not know that I got that because I was intersex) and went on testosterone instead and first physical changes began to show. We all lived in one big house, so my grandparents would eventually notice.

I was so afraid that my father at some point offered to talk to his parents. I waited outside in the hallway that led to their kitchen and listened.

My father explained, easy to understand, that I was going to transition from female to male because I felt terrible in my body. My grandfather asked, "Is that why the child* is so depressed all this time?" I had been in and out of multiple clinics for manic depression at that point. My father gave a yes. And my grandmother made the incredibly selfish comment, "Can't that wait until I am dead?"

Before I even got time to be upset, my grandfather slammed his fist down on the table. I had never seen or heard him do anything like that before. He was a very calm and collected man who preferred to leave the room before he got too angry. "No, it can't wait. The child gets to get well now. And if that is what is going to help, then it needs to be done."

From that day on, he never used my deadname again or used the wrong pronouns for me. Sometimes, he would stop in a sentence to think and remind himself, but he did always address me correctly.

He celebrated with me when my name was legally changed. He built the bed frame for me and my boyfriend's bed when we moved in together, just like he had built the first adult sized bedframe for me when I outgrew my small bed. He drove my boyfriend to his chemo sessions because my grandfather also had cancer and knew how terrifying it was to go alone.

Did he fully understand what it means to be intersex? To transition? No. But he understood that one of his loved ones was suffering and that he could help to alleviate that pain. And so he did.

He taught me calligraphy. He taught me how to sew. He taught me bookbinding. He gave me many gifts.

But the biggest gift he gave me was, that when someone hated me for what I am, I could stomach it. Because this man was willing to unlearn the bigotry he had been taught for decades so he could love me for who I am.

*in my grandpa's dialect it was normal to refer to children as just 'the child' (genderless)

EDIT

I was blown away by how many people have reblogged this post. I believe my grandfather would be very happy to see that he can give some hope and love to others even now.

I do not want him to stay faceless; so here is a piece of art I made for his obituary, with a slightly altered quote added now.

Dahlias were his favorite flowers. Orange ones especially. They reminded him of the home he had to flee from as a child.

EDIT 28/03/25

Happy birthday.

[popstarglitch]

Imagine getting a call from one of your repairsmen asking to take time off because they're scheduled to play Dungeons and Dragons at Maddison Square Garden.

[setaflow]

The dichotomy of Brennan helping with ability score rolls for newer players:

Titan Takedown: Preps high-level base stats for the cast, with everyone having a 20 in their two most relevant ability scores and no one really having a genuine dump stat (no one's character has below a 14/+2 modifier in any ability), which allows the players to play to their class strengths and not have to worry about fucking up as much in a shorter, tighter campaign.

Fantasy High: Ally Beardsley rolls a 4 for Kristen's Dex and has to live with with the consequences of that for 6+ years

[thatonedudeinthecorner]

His ass does not pay attention enough to know all of their genders. Toph wears baggy clothes, he squinted at her and went “yeah that’s a boy. Or boy adjacent. Probably.” and moved on. Ally???

[laughingcatwrites]

As a reminder that good exists out there, a coworker recently confessed to me that he found out his child is questioning their identity (kid's gender redacted for this post). The kid is keeping it from him, so he can't say anything to them or show that he knows, but he's doing his best to get mentally prepared and educated so that he'll be ready whenever his kid does feel comfortable enough come to him.

For context, this guy is a big, bulky middle aged dude who loves sports and typical outdoor "manly" activities. As his coworker and friend, I know he's a kind and sweet teddy bear of a person, but his kid probably views him as a stern, authoritarian figure, the way most teenagers view their parents. His family lives in a conservative area, so I'm sure between that, their dad's looks and interests, and the fact that their dad is a Figure of Authority, the kid is worried that they won't be accepted.

But you know what? When he found out about his kid, the first thing he did was reach out to his closest queer friend and ask for resources for parents of questioning children. His biggest fears are that his kid will be bullied or discriminated against and won't feel comfortable enough to be themself. His second action was to find himself a mentor in another parent who went the same situation (kid coming out in a conservative town). The other person is preparing him for some of the struggles his kid may face and the fights he may need to take on as a parent to make sure his kid is safe and treated well.

Something I want to emphasize for people focused on language as the primary method of allyship is that when we spoke, he used some outdated terms and thoughts about gender and sexuality. That does not make him bad. These were the terms and thinking used about questioning teenagers when he was growing up and he never needed to learn more current ones. But now that he does have that need, he's throwing himself in head first because that's his kid and he's darn well going to make sure that his kid feels welcomed and has a safe place to be themselves even if they never come out to him.

[emiko-matsui]

i think my favourite part of the ratfish episodes are the fact that it's the most accurate portrayal of friendship i can think of. here's all your friends but they're anonymous, make each other laugh. it's always one specific thing that would make no one else bat an eye that makes you get made by someone else. katie made a joke about anti-depressants and immediately got clocked by rekha. zac mentioned publix and grant went "that's zac." grant chose a bette midler song and ally went "gay ass. probably grant." zac didn't get any vibes at all from steven and realised he knows his friends better than this. i do not know this person in real life.

[the-goddess-of-gays]

I need a fic where Nico attempts to explain his sexuality to Hazel without realising that she's even more bewildered by modern-day terminology than he is

Nico: Hazel... I'm gay. Hazel: Are you sure? Because you seem kind of depressed, actually. Nico: Nico: Hazel–

some similar conversations would include:

Percy: There's no excuse for homophobia! Hazel: Why would you be afraid of homo sapiens? Percy: ??? Piper: Hey, Hazel, are you queer? Hazel: Well, I'm a demigod. Of course I'm queer. Piper: *meant lgbtq* ...what? Hazel: *meant weird/peculiar* What? Frank: Hazel, you're an ally, right? Hazel: *offended* Did you think I might be a Nazi? Frank: What? No, I– Hazel: Are you a Nazi?! Frank: No! No, of– Hazel: *dramatically swoons*

[allimili]

you should totally do more siren smc x y/n

ya i should

[toastyyjams]

[L to R] do ppl here fw transkito ... this comic is so dumb sry

[sufferingink]

see I could be wrong but I don't think any of those are Ally Beardsley

[shadowqueendiangelo]

Never thought I’d see the day where Ally Beardsley was the most “let’s stay on track” player at the table. They’ve truly graduated to Brian Murphy levels of straight-man for this season and I couldn’t be prouder.

[kublakola]

Ally Beardsley is so good at playing Hot Competent Adults with Messy Internal Lives. Russell is the #1 fix-it man, and the sluttiest person alive, and desperately lonely. Margaret can do more in a battle with her HSBC app than most people can do with a gun. Also she is in a codependent decade-long lesbian situationship with her former coworker and current enemy. Pete is messier than most, but goddamn if he isn't good at selling drugs, and goddamn if he isn't a great Vox Phantasma. Kristen's not an adult but she's well on her way to getting back with her ex while simultaneously championing a brand new pantheon of gay goddesses. What a pc roster.

[queen0fm0nsterz]

I will never not be amused by the endless irony of AM and how he, a machine with nothing but hatred and envy for the humans who created him, was so loved by his Harlan Ellison (the original author of the story, AKA his real life creator) that he HAD to voice him in every single installment of IHNMAIMS possible, not letting anyone else take him.

The very thing AM hates most is the one that gives him life and keeps him alive outside of the narrative. In a way, it's similar to how he keeps the five humans alive in the story, but at the same time it's the opposite spectrum of it: the burning hatred of the machine versus the boundless love of the artist.

[sinistersuns]

Oh so now some cis men with a following on this site are seeing us as acceptable women to hate right along with cis women seeing us as acceptable men to hate. who could’ve seen that coming. the targeted bigotry against transmascs, nbs, and intersex people in the name of ~protecting women~ has clearly gone so well and been very #feminist

[thebrainrotsreal]

Drew this real quick because I fucking love these two so much ???? Especially Bee. I wish they interacted more so badly. PLEASE.

Also learning how to draw these guys.. slowly.