#Also the first two are also intersex in some way shape or form

[sexellency]

Since we're exposing breeding kinks.

[host-hubliminal]

>>START_LOG:

HostLog_8:

Subject: Host 2.8

Name: Popcorn

Species: Bag (Of Popcorn)

Source: Showvember

Gender: Intersex Genderfluid (Femme-leaning)

Pronouns: she/he/they

Description:

Popcorn was added to the list as a joke by MOLES. Her arrival however was taken seriously.

Popcorn is a white and coral red striped bag with popcorn inside. She is not the popcorn itself, she is the bag. Her name is misleading. We know. Popcorn has limbs akin to that of a furred dragon, a very rare limb type, and her legs can shapeshift between digitigrade and plantigrade. Her limb color is a wine-plum with darker black around the foot/hand areas. She wears two white arm bands, one on each arm. Her tail follows the furred dragon shape, as well as coloration, but the plume of fur at the tip of the tail is a light, almost cotton candy pink color.

Popcorn’s object-part is known to change in size, shape, and color, but she stays consistent with a pair of 3-D glasses, and a striped popcorn bag. Her appearance is largely unimportant as no currently known forms have any special abilities that make him any different. The reason as to why this is is still unknown, but it seems to be normal for any other object in his universe.

Popcorn is a loose cannon. At first she seems unpredictable, but unlike Host 2.9 and Host 2.6, she is able to reign in this chaotic nature and use it to her advantage. And oh boy does she do that. She can be seen as greedy, self-centered, and almost barbaric, doing anything she can to get anything she wants. Despite this, she is seen to have some remorse and guilt for her actions. Her actions seem to be more influenced by emotion than anything else.

Known Abilities:

Popcorn’s abilities… Hm. Where do we begin?

The shapeshifting is most obvious and was already mentioned in his visual description.

Popcorn’s most fundamental abilities seem cartoonish in nature, slapstick if you will. Theoretically almost any object could do it but isn’t ‘Popcorn’ enough to do it. [Addendum./ We would like to thank a source of whom shall remain anonymous for the time being for this analysis and the following data as well.]

Theories say that he may have chaos-influenced abilities; the chaos they cause in turn influences what they are able to do in said situation. ‘If it’s funny enough, he can do it’.

Observed possible abilities are the snap to teleport (most normal for most show hosts, is also Host 2.2’s preferred method of teleportation), memory erasure (though it is unconfirmed if he did this with or without a device), high jumping/floatation, and minor shapeshifting of objects other than oneself.

Whether she has all of these abilities innately or by assistance is unknown.

It is also theorized that she can ‘respawn herself’, but this has also been thought up as simple as a restoration chamber in another room. Either way, whether or not he can respawn himself is unknown. If he is, we may be dealing with a literal god of chaos.

Procedures to take:

She will be nerfed via standard object protocol.

END_LOG.

[hazbin-rewritten-666]

first redesign base of Charlie Morningstar!!

Here is a bit about my reimagined Charlie!

Charlotte M. Morningstar is the Antichrist and the sole heir to the Demonic Throne! She is a polite, energetic demoness, but be careful not to anger her too much. She is the Princess of Hell after all.

Charlie is intersex but uses she/her pronouns and sees herself as a woman. She is bisexual with a preference for men. She is very extroverted and friendly but struggles with anxiety and being a chronic workaholic.

Charlie is a bit of a chimera, having many goat and serpentine like features, the opposite to her Christ counterpart (whom she is actually good friends with.) In her casual form, she stands at 6'10" ft and with the added height of her tri-pronged horns she is 7'4" ft. She has a long, muscular tail with three fins at the end and four pairs of droopy goat ears, two on each side. She has somewhat droopy eyes with a thick set of lashes, the bottom lashes are very long and have a red colour to them. Charlie has hooves similar to that of a goat, and wears special shoes to accommodate them, they don't add to her height.

I had two main ideas for Charlie: 60s working woman and devil kewpie. I gave Charlie a 60s-inspired haircut (that way, Vaggie stands out a bit more, too, with having longer hair) with some curled fringe to be reminiscent of mountain goats. A big complaint I have with the original designs is that there is little shape diversity in Viv's characters, so I decided to make Charlie a bit on the chubby side, she has a lot of muscle concealed by that chub though! It was also inspired by Hot Stuff the Baby Devil and Kewpie in his devil outfit, as the roundness makes her seem friendlier and more approachable, despite her towering height and demon features.

Give me some ideas for her final design or the other characters! I'd love to bounce ideas off of others, I'll be posting her final design, backstory, and playlist soon as well as sketches and finals for the other characters!

[batbeato]

I have two questions born from your post regarding Masc-Beatrice.

1) Would Sayo have been dressed in clothes made for Lion then, same-style as Masc Beatrice - or would they still wear the same dress that had belonged to their mother, Kuwadorian Beatrice, when meeting Kinzo post-epitaph?

Thinking on it at first, considering the epitaph was written in homage to both versions of Beatrice (I think?), and Kinzo wanting to see her smile again, I feel like Sayo would be dressed therefore as a woman - which kind of would maybe tie into being pressured to present as a woman. A “revival” of sorts, just like in the epitaph - the fulfillment of Kinzo’s wishes and resolving of his regrets - which coincides with the magical lore viewpoint of Beatrice being able to manifest a different form for Kinzo, pertaining to his (their) whims.

On the other hand, Sayo was heavily implied to be born as Kinzo’s son who he literally thought was dead, killed in the exact same way his mother had died no less - which could again facilitate the concept of resurrection (and probably really screw Sayo over, considering they were raised as a girl and woman, going down the route of canon).

There’s probably some (or a lot) of symbolism there to think over, the difference between being brought to Kinzo presenting as either Beatrice, the woman - both lover and child through the grandchild - or Lion, the young man who was lost, and doesn’t view themselves as Lion, indelibly imprinted by the concept of Beatrice nonetheless, the motifs used that could have mirrored Beatrice (Kuwadorian’s) style of dress and how and why it differs - but I feel like I’m talking myself in circles considering it.

2) I’m now curious if you have any ideas of Fem! Battler and how her dynamic would change compared to Canon Battler, with any version of Beatrice.

For 1: On the one hand, the idea of Sayo being resurrected as Lion for Kinzo is appealing. It ties together both this Beatrice's masculinity as well as their origin as Lion, and leads to some complex things for Sayo and how 'Lion' and 'Beatrice' tie together. But on the other, Sayo being made to dress as Beatrice further reflects Sayo's coercive sex assignment and how Beatrice is made to conform to Kinzo's wishes, regardless of who/what Beatrice actually wants to be. I think I prefer the latter, at least for a masc-Beatrice that focuses on the intersex-analogous trauma of their sex assignment as well as on how Sayo's life has been shaped by what others want them to be.

As for 2: Oh dear.

I don't think masc-Beatrice would be constantly making misogynistic comments, but just consider how fem-Beatrice acts with regards to Shannon's femininity. It comes from a place of deep hurt and a trauma-based understanding of femininity and womanhood and patriarchy. It slips in here and there in casual conversation, and then during emotional high points, it comes out in full force.

I do think that any version of Battler would probably be willing to sling insults around and banter/bicker, so she wouldn't let Beato get her down ordinarily, but during those points where Beato is crushing Battler's spirits, his words might slip in and actually affect Battler.

Also I still like the idea of fem-Battler being a knight/prince, even to masc-Beatrice. I think she'd still be very headstrong and stubborn and not willing to let bullshit get her down. Their dynamic kind of does the inverse of canon-beabato's, where instead of going from a very femdom dynamic to a more equal one / Battler being the 'Territory Lord', they start out with a very maledom dynamic and move to a more equal one / fem-Battler being the 'Territory Lord'.

With fem-Battler and fem-Beatrice, I do think that Beatrice might still make misogynistic comments but less so compared to masc-Beatrice. I don't think as much is different in broad narrative strokes except that this Battler also has to have a bi awakening while she's at it with the riddle-solving.

[froggy-anon]

Eone- intro

Name: Eone (Qu’lyvianne the Sanguineous pre tadpole) Nicknames: Viv/Vianne (Gortash), kid (Jehira, Halsin), Birth: he just spawned in at some point 30-something years ago Sexuality/gender: pansexual, reverse demisexual??, “whatever is more fitting” (genderfluid, intersex) Pronouns: he/they/she Status: durge, deceased (main timeline); tav, alive (flipped! timeline) Eyes colour: aberrated red, whatever colour is Volo’s eye Hair colour: raven blue with blood red highlights Nationality: Baldurian Height: 1,85m/6’2 Marks: I’ll just post he drawing of all his scars later because it’s a lot. Also the eye from Volo and golder garments on his horns. Class: Oathbraker Paladin Timeline: Dalereconing (DR)

Likes: Cats, reading history books, sweet wine, Karlach and Minthy deserve to be here, being tall, forests, potatoes in any way shape or form, roasted dwarf Dislikes: being reminded about what happened on Bhaal's altar Background: loud noises, nosy people, kids, having his top surgery still unhealed and botched, fish Personality: Very straight forward- Eone is very direct and often speaks before he thinks. With little to no thoughts inside his abused brain, he often comes off as funny without trying. He’s reckless and likes to do stupid things just to get that Serotonin going. On the inside, he is deeply insecure and lonely. With memories gone and dysphoria of living in a body that is not his, he often feels scared and  Relatives: Bhaal (father), Sarevok Anchev (brother), Helena Anchev (niece), Orin the Red (niece), unknown mother (???) Relationships: He might have had a short fling with Astarion before they realized that this was too unhealthy and they’re better off as best friends. He quickly became best friends with Shadowheart and Gale, same with Karlach tho he developed a small crush on her at some point. With Gortash it’s still a little bit complicated; for ten years they were building a somewhat trusting relationship only for Orin to come in and rearrange Eone’s brain. He taught him grace and how to get around with people (since in the temple he didn’t have a chance to develop actual social skills), he helped him discover his taste in music and books, they really grow close even though none of these things happened on purpose. And now he doesn’t remember any of it, even if his heart does. It’s like they made two steps forward only to go 20 backwards, but they did get together after Eone and the gang got to Baldur’s Gate, after the brain was defeated they moved out of the Gate and continued to build their relationship, free of the burden of leading cults.

Trivia:  He is a changeling but after Orin tries to empty his skull like we do with eggs before Easter, he loses his ability to change shape and is stuck in a body he was in when happened what happened. First two acts he is developing his morals from nothing and values deeply other’s opinion. His mother, Amelie, was Ilmater’s paladin before the indoctrination- in contrast, Eone was Bhaals paladin before Orin decided to make their brain a slushie. He also broke his oath (that no one knows what it was) the very same day the natuloid crashed Severe mommy issues, developed a short crush on Karlach and Minthy because of that, didn’t get a chance to get with either of them tho. Got lobotomized by Volo for funsies, got a cool eye in return Remember the mother? Yeah no, there was no mother. Eone IS delusional and wholeheartedly believes that he was built out of Amelie’s flesh instead of Bhaal’s. At some point in his early childhood, he started believing that at some point he had a mother and that she cared for him, for closure. He only continued to spiral more.

[umbra-borealis]

Little Toxin Masterpost. No ref sheet yet but for every like this post getst I'll leave a fact about Toxin and his parents below! Retweets count too!

Facts below the Read More!

Fact #1

Toxin's parents are Shadow and... Scourge!

They're a close family that lives isolated because they all hate being around people for too long.

Fact #2

Toxin goes by he/they pronouns and is intersex like both his parents. Yes, both, it's a no brainer on Shadow since him being alien tends to go hand in hand with otherworldly... situations but Scourge requires some more context. Keep liking the post and I'll share that too ;)

Fact #3

Okay okay, Scourge context!

Scourge has fused with Chaos in this AU making him a water elemental. On top of that Scourge's mother was a mimic octopus pretending to be a hedgehog to trick his father, whom I've also re-written and given the name 'Cobalt', into marrying her to connect their kingdoms. When she was found out she fled, leaving her two sons behind, one of which was Scourge and this technically means he's already a hybrid. His affinity for water is genetic, he was practically born to be homies with Chaos.

Scourge didn't inherit the camouflage ability like his brother Sapphire did, no he got the funky gender shenanigans instead and with no one to tell him stuff or compare himself to, he opted to tell everyone he's cis and run if they ask sussy questions. Shadow is the first person he told.

Fact #4

Shadow 'carried', as much as you can call it that side his alien species is of the egg laying variety. (No I will not go further into detail) He's part of a race (that's essentially Black Arms and The End from Forces combined and expanded upon) called 'Nova Luna' and his species generally has traits such as digitigrade legs and crystalline growths on their body of varying shapes, colors and sizes. (I have art of this coming very soon)

High ranking individuals pose as fake moons, hiding their colossal bodies to influence a planet from a distance. Shadow however has turned his back to them for good after having met Scourge. Toxin and Scourge are the best things that ever happened to him.

Fact #5

They had no idea this would be possible, but Shadow had no issues carrying and Toxin hatched about as normally as a little toxic green alien hybrid pup can. Needless to say they were relieved to see a hedgehog and not some horrible mismatch of their DNA with a ton of genetic issues. Toxin was a healthy pup, if anything he was causing his parents problems instead.

Fact #6

Toxin is in fact, venomous! He's not lethal but a decent bite from him as an adult can paralyze you for a couple hours and a small nip is enough to partially paralyze/sedate the area. Scourge found this out the hard way after Toxin hatched and got nipped in his hand. They had to teach him in his toddler years to not use his teeth to solve every minor inconvenience.

Fact #7

Toxin's abilities are mostly Chaos Energy related. While his parents are fire and water elemental's Toxin appears to have an in-born talent to control raw energy by itself, which is incredibly dangerous! :D

Shadow and Scourge are only two out of seven Guardians who each have an element they master and controlling an element is just handling electricity cables while controlling the raw energy form is the equivalent of grabbing an exposed wire and hoping for the best. There's no buffer in the form of an element to focus energy in, on or through. Why Toxin has this talent is unknown... to most.

Fact #8

His shoes were absolutely a gift from Shadow and an updated replica of his own. Toxin was gifted the shoes when he was 18 and does regular maintenance on them ever since. Its important to him emotionally but not just because it was a gift. It allows him to keep up with his parents in speed and he has many fond memories of learning how to use them with their help.

Fact #9

I know the shirt he's wearing mentions a vape, but he doesn't actually use them. Most he does is smoke the good old fashioned way and even that is sparingly. Because of his alien DNA he's ridiculously fast at healing any injuries or ailments and isn't very addiction sensitive. He'd be lying if he didn't do it to look cool though. He's an edgelord. (Toxin is a cartoon, it's not my aim to romanticize or endorse anything. He'll be fine but us humans wont be, so with that said, don't harass me over art okay? Cool)

Fact #10

Toxin's personality switches between calm, reserved, barely talking at all and absolutely unhinged. It depends on who he's with. Shadow definitely brings out a calmer side in him while Scourge is the type of chaotic dad who teaches his kid curse words and pranks. He's a good guy though and knows when to be serious.

Fact #11

He considers Sonic and Knuckles to be his uncles, even if they're not at all related. They were the first people to give Scourge a chance and support his growth into a better person after all. They would've done the same for Shadow and when Toxin came along they would do anything from babysit to teaching the young hedgehog how to use his abilities. Toxin gets along great with both of them but secretly prefers Sonic, he'll drop just about anything to grab food with his favorite uncle.

Fact #12

The Nova Luna have a hierarchy based on minerals and as they age or improve in skill there's a chance they can 'evolve' into a different rank. Toxin is an elusive Emerald to them because their whole deal is their obsession with the Ancient's Chaos Emeralds. Controlling all that power would make them all powerful and be capable of controlling the galaxy. The thing is, none of them have ever risen higher than the Ruby rank. Toxin however is related by DNA to someone of said Ruby rank, as well as someone directly responsible for guarding and controlling at least one of the Chaos Emeralds in the present day. That combination of the perfect circumstances caused Toxin to be born with the elusive Emerald rank.

Fact #13

Toxin being this rare of a creature makes him priority number 1 to the Nova Luna and since I have no intentions of writing his story just yet since it's pretty deep into the AU I just barely started writing, I can go ahead and say that he does get taken and spends at least a year in servitude/training to the Nova Luna.

Fact #14

Of course has trauma from his time there, but he did learn a lot about himself too and managed to cling to that knowledge for dear life. Any progress he made in skill level would come to bite the Nova Luna in the ass super hard in the end. Once reunited with his parents, Shadow and Scourge help him process everything he's experienced as they too have experience with trauma.

[starry-skies-116]

Samuel Lee Witwicky: Body Headcanons/Facts (Reboot AU)

Sixteen year-old Chinese-Australian American. So naturally, he has both traditionally ‘asian’ and ‘european’ features, that being golden-toned/warm-toned porcelain-esque skin with freckles. It’s a far cry from the stereotypical pale yellow- think of Mari and Sunny’s skin tone from OMORI (at least, Sunny before the pizza came).

Despite the height difference not really being all that much, he’s the shortest one (he’s 5’3/160 cm, Mikaela is 5’6/167 cm, and Heidi is 5’4/162.6 cm).

Despite being somewhat slim, petite and mildly toned, unlike other asian characters in Transformers like Miko Nakadai, his body type actually has some pretty prominent curves. His body type is actually really curvy around certain areas, and he's one of those trans guys who's not a skinny white twink (no offense meant by this /gen). One of his associations is nature, healing and life, and nature is plentiful with its bounties. His skin is also really soft since his parents urge him to always take care of it. This is why he likes to bind- he doesn’t mind being curvy in areas like the hips and thighs, etc, he just doesn’t like the curves on his chest aka breasts (someone pay for his top surgery or I sue /j) 🙂

He has traditionally really gentle and traditionally ‘beautiful’ features, like a button nose, dimples, bow-shaped lips, etc. But the one that stands out are his beautiful, bright and sparkling green eyes that’s inherited through his father’s side of his family (descended from Archibald). He also inherited his freckles from that side of the family too.

He has iridescent rings around his pupils that are an indication/foreshadowing that he’s not exactly ‘human’. Whenever his powers are triggered, or whenever he wills himself to use them, sometimes the pupils or the whole eyes light up with that blinding gilded light. And whenever the transformation into his other ‘Transformer’ form is triggered, they flash green.

Speaking of eyes, did I mention they’re monolid eyes? And they’re what some call ‘peach blossom’ shaped? And he lines them with red eyeliner? Bro is straight rizz material-

Trans dude, bisexual and polyamorous, born intersex (PCOS): him being trans and intersex plays into his body type where he has quite a bit of body hair on areas like his chest and legs. There’s not as much on his arms, though.

An INFJ Pisces and supreme peak autistic, what can I say lmao-

Sam dresses very modestly and formally, usually in collared shirts and in patterned sweaters/sweater vests (but mostly sweater vests). And most of the time, he wears baggy, decorative zip-up hoodie jackets atop them. Sometimes he wears cardigans or painted/decorated jean jackets, loose tops with floral or other cute patterns, and shorts. In the winter, he slaps on trench coats over his outfits along with cute gloves and scarves.

Sometimes his aesthetic is light academia with dark vests, sometimes it's cottagecore, sometimes it leans towards cute, muted pastel kidcore, sometimes he has a few retro-esque fashion items on, who knows? At the end of the day he looks as cute as he is on the inside 😊

But on some occasions, he does have blazer top jackets, y2k accessories, and turtleneck top wear that he wears on some occasions. Mikaela encourages him to wear them more often because she and Heidi both think that it makes him look awesome. He deserves to feel happy in his own body. Some of the blazer jackets have Chinese patterns, others have 80’s/90’s patterns. He sometimes adorns them with a pin or two.

If this man has his first date in the future, he’d wear a hanfu to it. He’d wear a hanfu to prom. He’d accessorize in all the cutest ways, and thinks it won’t look good. People proceed to die.

Y’know those Pacific Rim drivesuits that the pilots always wear? Think of Sam wearing something similar- that’s what he always wears into battle. There’s always a belt that he wears that has the steel Autobot crest on it on the armor/pilot suit.

Sam 👏 wears 👏 makeup 👏

And that’s on PERIODT.

He wears tinted and scented lip gloss, sometimes even those glossy expensive brands of lipstick that his mother owns, he learned how to properly apply eyeliner from his mother, he puts that on top of a bit of light foundation and blush, but even then he’s so damn pretty without makeup.

You cannot tell me that this man doesn’t have a natural blush on the tip of his nose and his cheeks, and some across the bridge too.

And jewelry?? On god. He wears those ebony stud earrings lined with gold with an amethyst dangling below it, those are his favorite earrings- and he has necklaces and pins, and he even has pearl jewelry and so many y2k-esque rings on his fingers that he likes to twirl and play with. He has jewelry for EVERY occasion.

He only wears the rings sometimes, though- he already has his bracelet to toy with.

And nail polish. He either goes with the glittery light purplish pink one, or the straight black nail polish with the extra shine, because that’s what suits him the most in his opinion.

He loves flowers and plants so much that he has a eucalyptus leaf and flower anklet that he wears on occasion.

Not to mention the Buddhist clay and brass bead bracelet that he stims with on occasion, twirling it around his finger in repetitive patterns as some sort of self-grounding and self-soothing behavior. He even sometimes chews on the jade pendant of the necklace his mother gave him- he wears that shit all the time.

Naturally, Sam’s body is capable of some pretty weird stuff, as you can imagine if you have the heart of a literal primeval CREATOR GOD merged with your own since your birth that’s been altering your DNA and fundamental molecular structure to superhuman levels-

When he transforms into a more robotic form, he pilots it like a mech or a jaeger with his own body in the ‘Transformer’ body’s spark. It’s an extension of himself, like he IS the body, because of the nature of his heart as well as the neural link established with the suit. If the Transformer body feels pain or takes damage, then he feels the pain of that damage and takes that damage as well. The only exception is severed limbs- in which case, the limb of Sam’s ‘human body’ merely is disabled/paralyzed until repair/medical aid is administered. Think of how Mark from Mech X4 operates the Mech itself. Coupled with that, the mech has all of the standard abilities of a Transformer, including an alt mode.

He can breathe underwater and in space when transformed. Or, rather, this is because he feels no need to breathe when transformed.

You know Blue Beetle’s mechanical scarab wings? Well, think of Sam’s more robotic form having those. The scarab wings with the sunset color palette, glimmering in the light as they unsheathe, having the ability to shift and turn into a shield of sorts as they arch over his head and in front of him, expanding their area to shield his body… foaming at the mouth rn help-

These come with side-effects, such as enhanced reflexes, strength, senses and dexterity, and the ability to interact with Cybertronian technology as well as reading several different scriptures/forms of Cybertronian to an extent. Given how Transformers sometimes communicate via telepathy or technopathy without any sensory channels/input required… Sam also has these kinds of abilities pertaining to the mind. He can establish neural links with other living beings and dreamwalk, creating a metaphysical manifestation of their realms of consciousness to navigate and telepathically talk to them.

Sometimes, he can even revive dead life such as plants, and on rare occasions he’s accidentally created new life. Other abilities include absorbing and redirecting energy, kind of like Black Panther’s nanotech suit.

When Sam grows older, I imagine he’ll have a small ponytail and have some beard facial hair. I imagine him also gaining a few more centimeters, in addition to maybe getting himself a tattoo of the Autobot crest. He’ll also embrace his body and grow into it, learning to be proud of who he is and not deny or show shame for parts of himself. He’ll also ofc have a few battle scars, because who wouldn’t when fighting in a war honestly. C’mon guys /lh 

[feeshybeach]

at the state in my life where I genuinely have more fun going on hikes with my dog, pokemon go, and sometimes my partner than.. being online all of the time. i mean, I say this, while i literally have to set timers on apps, so i stop using them as often. i also spend a lot of my time on discord, mostly since i paid for a years worth of basic nitro. it was heavily discounted, I'm getting my moneys worth - and finding a lot of cool communities online. Fuck yeah!!

usually once a week I go to two food pantries, have been for a few years now. its pretty consistent, which has been nice in its own little way. im on a somewhat first-name basis with quite a few people, and its nice overall to have some sort of a community time. its gotten so consistent its become a major autistic routine. that's sure, something for me. idk if it's good or bad but it's there, and thats fine

anyway. today!! I went with my landmates to go to a new food pantry in a nearby-ish area, in a city.

i became painfully aware of how isolated i had truly become, how used i was to my rural fuckass existence. how the fact I used to live in a city as a kid - wasn't even really a city. it was just a quickly commondified rural farm town and I lived in the captialismed but poor side of town.

But I at the same time, I realized that there really is more to life out there. going around the state capital was wild, signs of life that i had genuinely forgot existed - since I hadn't seen them in such a long time. Art, everywhere. intentional and unintental stuff, lived-in in a way that i just. dont see often.

i saw so much open pride, of so many shapes and forms. i felt like i was kinda in a completely foreign place. It's so. odd to me. i began to tear up seeing pride flags beyond just. basic six striped rainbow, if that. If anything, really. I saw multiple different progress pride flags, transgender flags, various rainbow flags!! I saw an intersex flag, a bisexual flag, a lesbian flag, a mlm flag. I saw an aromatic flag too, which was so cool.

not only did that get me, seeing the sheer amount of people and businesses plastering things related to Palestine, how food is a right, that ICE wasn't welcome, blatant political art that was genuinely stunning visually but also really. impactful I suppose. it's hard to verbalize, but I am also hogh and intently rambling so. whatever :3c

so much nicer than the place i currently live. It looks dead in ways that's hard to explain - as it's also alive, the same way any dying thing lives kicking and screaming before the end. that was darker than intended for free form word vomit. fascinating

Oh. Yeah. During my walks or general adventures, I've been doing vlogs lately. It's been so fun, a tad repetive. But fun. Really fun.

[halfelven]

more Elladan and Elrohir headcanons

Elladan has poor vision in his right eye due to a blow to the head 300 years ago and the discrepancy between his eyes often gives him headaches

they can both shape-shift into other 'human' forms better than their father and sister

because of this Elladan often 'plays' Elrond when he's home and Elrond needs to rest, since they have many of the same mannerisms it's easiest for him

when they were young their hair often switched between black and silver outside of their control

it settled on black when they were about six years old

but they can still switch easily to silver just by thinking about it

they can also change their eye colour from bright silver to lake blue to obsidian

this also can happen when their feelings or mood change quickly and was a dead give-away that they weren't quite elves all the way through their early adulthood

they're both intersex

Elrohir has his mother's laugh and when he first started to laugh again after her departure it stung

they both were born with two missing ribs compared to most humans and elves, though it is not very noticeable from the outside, it does leave them with some larger gaps between their ribs

their armour contains the most mithril in one place of all the "free peoples" of middle-earth and most of it came from their maternal grandparents

they often steal their father's clothes because he's a bit bigger/taller than them and it fits oversized and comfortable

[sigyn-foxyposts]

🏳️‍🌈Loki fam headcannons: sexualities and Indetities + backstories and reasonings! :D

Loki: Genderfluid, Omnisexual. Any pronounse.

It's pretty self explanatory on why Loki is genderfluid, he just feels like it and enjoys expressing, dressing and being masculine as well as feminine.

Though he chooses to stay more masculine for obvious reasons, Norse society might have given the ladies a lot more freedom...

But that doesn't mean they didn't go through being disrespected and be called things. Loki knowing very too well how it feels like.

Loki is also omnisexual because he is attracted to every gender and sex, just has a preferences for women. *cough* blame the horse.

Angrboda: Cis female, bisexual. She/Her.

Angrboda just like Hel didn't know her sexuality, but unlike what you would think she didn't bother figuring it out.

She didn't rush it as she didn't care much about finding a partner at the time, enjoying her work a lot more.

That was until she met Loki of course. Funny enough she had met Loki while he was in female form. Falling for this version of Loki first!

But of course, pretty early on she learnt Loki mostly took the shape of a man, and already showing interests in this new force of chaos in her life she didn't mind.

So she simply decided to label herself as bisexual!

Sigyn: Cis female, pansexual, Demi-sexual. She/Her.

Sigyn just like some of us really wanted to know her sexuality out of pure curiosity, but she didn't have a lot of experience either to really know for sure.

After all she had too, like Hel, not been very social with many. Mostly with her sisters and family, because that's what felt comfortable.

Hence why she would in the end figure out she was pansexual, not only because of Loki's goofy nature and charms but because no one else really caught her attention quite like he did.

Same goes with her being demi-sexual, after meeting more people, especially Loki she figured out out she needed to really know the person on a deep level before getting it on. Which is exactly what happened between the two!

Sleipnir: Cis male, Demi-romantic. He/Him/It/Its.

Sleipnir never really felt any romantic attraction towards anyone, but did have a few crushes on his fellow horse buddies that he had grown up with in the stables.

Though he didn't dare ever to actually confess his feelings! After all, crushes don't always last.

So he labeled himself as demi-romantic!

He is still questioning his sexuality and if there's anything he is attracted to in spasific.

Fenrir: Cis male, Pansexual. He/Him.

Fenrir just like Angrboda before him was too busy with his own thing, to care for relationships! Before meeting the right person.

He might have been very young when he first met Hyrrokkin, but her personality had always been quite charming to him.

Once fenrir was bound and betrayed, he had nothing left so it seemed. Except the bond he had with Hyrrokkin. She was all that he had that felt safe, so knowing her bbes, he let her help him and at last fell for her.

Later he found out he must have been pansexual! Thanks to random conversations with Hyrrokkin.

Jormungandr: Intersex, homosexual. He/Him/They/Them/It/Its.

Jormungandr had always enjoyed womens company in a platonic way, but never in a romantic way!

No, instead he did have an attraction to the boys. One in spasific, a dragon prince!

His name was Ao bing, prince of the eastren sea. Oh boy did the world serpent fall hard for this man.

Jormungandr is also intersex which means he has both female and male reproduction organs. But it looks and functions more like a males.

So Jormungandr luckily didn't have any issues there, nor did he have any dysphoria. Funny enough he didn't even know he had a utures and overies.

Hel: Cis genderqueer, lesbian. She/Her/He/Him

Hel always took a long time to question her sexuality and gender identity for many reasons.

Not only was Hel so isolated growing up, she just didn't know who she fully was and what love was like.

She knew she was Hel, she knew she was the ruler of helheim and Loki's daughter. Just not what she could identify as.

She always admired her father, Loki, for being both masculine and feminine and still, be her father. She thought she was just like him when she was younger! But she didn't feel genderfluid.

She liked what sex she was born as and felt comfortable being referred to with feminine terms. But she also liked he/him

So once she spoke about it with Loki, expressing how she wasn't sure and he helped her understand her options, that it was okay as long as she's comfortable with whatever she thought suited her.

Because she never figured out what to label herself she went with genderqueer, genderqueer being many things! But under the non binary umbrella.

Same goes for her sexuality, having absolutely no experience with romantic relationship at the time until she met The Morrigan. Her current wife.

She often found herself confused with what she could be and it took many years for her to just simply label herself as a lesbian!

Vali: Cis male, bisexual. He/Him.

Vali always enjoyed everyones presence, so why wouldn't he love everyone of any gender or sex?

Once he was old enough he figured he wanted to label himself as bisexual! Not knowing you could do that.

Narfi: Non-binary, homosexual. They/Them/He/Him.

Narfi never liked Loki's weird shenanigans and always tried to difference himself from his father. But that isn't the only reason he found being non-binary fit him best!

He had always from a young age, expressed himself with anything he could get his hands on, no matter if it was feminine or masculine.

It never crossed his mind that what he wore ever said anything about his birth sex. And when it did, he still didn't care.

He also really enjoyed hanging around with those who identified as boys and might have gotten a few crushes who knows!

Moder: Intersex, lesbian. She/Her/It/Its.

Moder already from birth was very unique looking, after all her true form is sadly that of a deformed deer human.

So not only had her appearance been shuffled around but her inner organs had too.

Which resulted in her becoming intersex. Her reproductive organs were resembling that of a female's but it still suffered greatly!

Moder is also attracted to the ladies, never having an intrest in the boys. In her own words, she could easily take the role of a man and still be a woman.

[jt-artsandfics]

If you’re still doing match ups and a one shot, could I bother you for one? You’re writing has been such a blast to read!

I’m 26, bisexual, and intersex (so they / them makes me super happy!). Im 5,9”, athletic with heavily muscled legs from years of rugby and other sports, tattoos, piercings, and dark almond shaped eyes. My hair is a dark brown and it used to be Mohawk but it has now turned into a mullet with shaved sides (thanks covid quarantine 😂).

I keep myself physically active because my profession is in the academics (and I have adhd lol)! I taught at a university as an introduction to literature professor during my graduate years and loved to work with students to help them find their own ways of thinking both about literature and the world. Im as much of an extrovert as I am an introvert at times, as I need alone time to decompress or work through new ideas for papers or narratives. At the end of the day if I can curl up with a good video game or show, scroll through some memes, and have a nice cold drink (I live in a desert), I’ll be happy.

Bad batch match

Yo your style sounds Hella Awesome!. Atm my hair is only the top with all sides and back shaved. And it's faded blue need to re door or might go Green again at once it fades enough.

I match you with..... Crosshair

Crosshair first first meets you thought Admrial rampart, you look so out of place in an Impeiral Uniform but that's what draw him to you to begin with.

The admiral seems to have respect for you and trust your judgment so who is Crosshair to disagree.

Your tattoos interest him once he gets a glimpse, in his time the only ones he had know to ever put so much effort into their looks wirh tattoos and body modification were clones and you stick out like a sore thumb amongs the officers.

He's quite while watching, and he eventually moves, starting small convosation that have to do with future missions. But after time he begins to enjoy talking with you.

He loves the way you re eyes light up when he walks into the room, how you have to try and hide a smile becuase 'commander Crosshair' is here.

He is alot more physical with affection, but he is also rough. He has so much pent up energy and it leads to the two to you getting together.

Crosshair has a Thing for tugging your pericings with his teeth, he doesn't know why but it just feel nice to know your at his mercy.

Watching you with new recruits always lead to something, some kid not knowing their place and trying to hit on you. And he is always their to pull them back into line.

He can be possessive but more on the line of, "he will fuck you up" if you hurt his lover. But does try to keep the relationship hidden. After all he is a Clone and you are an Impeiral officer.

He has a feeling Admrial rampart enjoys making Crosshair show more emotion then he wants, will team you up with the clone sniper on missions constantly. (Rampart finds it amusing watching Cross having to deal with emotions)

The amount of late night meet ups between you both whether it be on Kamino, planet side or on missions toy both find little bits of time to wide down and be around each other.

His group know about you both but aren't willing to say anything after the 'incident' their first mission. They don't fuck with the Commander and he wont fuck with them. Is how they see it.

God's he loves tracing your tattoos, running his fingers thought your hair and just gripping onto the strands and pulling you to his lips.

"Commander, this is officer Y/n. They will be assisting and traveling with you on your next mission. Your duty is to make sure they get back alive and with the Intel we need." The admiral explains as you move into the light. crosshair gives you a once over. Eyes scanning you're form.

You hold your hand out for the Crosshair to shake. He only stares at you as bites into the end of his tooth pick. " You look quite out of place for an Impeiral officer" Crosshair states. You roll your eyes and up your hand back.

"They are a good friend of my Commander, I trust them with my life. It is the reason I am intrusting them to you for this mission, you are the best from.what I have seen. They will be in good hands with you" Admiral Rampart Says looking between the two of you as me let's a small smile fall onto his lips.

"Im sure you too will get to know each other very well, after all Commander they are becoming apart of your team now. So treat them with respect. Any complaints are yo be brought to me" the small sparkle of Mischief in the young Admirals eyes is onyl seen for a short moment by you.

"Oh and, Do not disappoint me Commander. And don't under estimate Them." Is translate thing he says before making a quick and swift exist leaving you in the somewhat intimidating Presence of the Sniper.

He takes his toothpick from his lips and points it towards you. " Be ready before we ship out, I won't have you cashing trouble or ruining our mission" he says only for you to nod before speaking.

"Understood sir, I look forward to working with you, the admiral has told me a great deal about you, and yo uyr records are quite impressive." You say with a Smile, it makes him sease up a little as his eyes burn into you.

"I'll see you early, once again. I look forward to working with you. Commander Crosshair " you reply while making your way to the door.

Crosshair stays standing in the room now empty of all presence but his own as he growls. "Who is that Officer, and why do they look like someone who is going to cause me more touble then it's worth" he grumbles to himself before making his leave swiftly.

[nanominyo]

Yay my original humanoids which is a mix of orcs, fauns and reptelians has been designed - sorta - and I call them Rexens!

Rexens

The rexens is one of the 4 major humanoid species. The other species is Humans, Elven and beastmen. Rexens can most easily be described as a mixture of orc meets faun meets reptilian people. In general are they 1-3 heads taller than the humans and are often muscle strong. Most of their variants from country to country has no major visible difference between males and females, and they are often known to have a lot of intersex people between them. Most of them mark if they are male, female or intersex through earrings.

Rexens walk on the front of their feet like an animal and most of them has big and strong tails. Only the northern version got shorter, weaker and more stumpy tails. Females, despite maybe having some visible difference will always be flat chested unlike the humans and beastmen. Rexens eyes are usually red, pink or purple but their Nordic counterparts may sport yellow and blues too.

Most cases they dress like their fellow humanoids in the different areas they live. They are able to breed with Humans and Elven, often resulting in the creation of a beastman. The Beastmen as a humanoid specie in itself is basically the evolutions of some of the first Rexen and human breeding and usually live as an independent humanoid specie today, though the mixing still happens and is more pure than the actual beastmen.

Variants:

Frayciën:

The Frayciën variant has exchanged the scales for fur and are thinner and less muscle strong than their fellow Rexens from around the world. They are also between those with major visible difference between male and female. The males have bigger horns, ears, and teeth. In winter, their fur becomes extra thick. Height wise they are usually 1-2 heads taller than humans, but in some cases, they may be on height with the humans.

In early days of the Frayciën culture where they were seen upon as gods and are still to this day highly regarded as the protectors of the land.

They mainly live of plants and vegetables from underground which they split apart with their big teeth by dragging it down over.

Qutetish:

There used to live a Qutetish variant of the Rexens until a few hundred years ago where the humans and Elven of Qutetish began killing Rexens, beastmen and nomads. It is said there still live some and their genetics may occasionally show up around the world, but since they are officially written as extinct does very little know and hold on to the knowledge about how they look.

Donchatish:

Donchase lays right below Fracië and therefore do they share common traits, though the Donchatish version has scales on their backs and generally smaller ears and horns. They do have fur on rest of their body, but usually in a thinner layer there in the winter usually becomes thick around the head, neck and their main body to keep in heat.

Both males and females are often seen with shorter haircuts though, but their difference comes in the female having smaller ears, horns and teeth. The female even has more pointy ears than their male counterpart and are usually of a more stable and thicker built. Just like those from Frayciën are they only around a head taller than humans, and often seen to be human height too.

They live mainly of plants, berries and underground vegetables like their fellows from Fraycië, but also include meat in their diet in form of rodents and birds.

Kanakarian:

The Kanakarian version seem to have gone fully extinct all by itself. No one is really sure if there has been one for the area in itself, but the usual Rexens to live around here seems to be of either Paskarian or Ardelian origin.

Shuirinian:

The Shuirinian Rexens doesn’t only have teeth pointing upwards but so called also some pointing downwards. They usually have medium sized horns pointing inwards and slimmer eyes. It is said the slim eyes happened due to the rainforests – this means in terms of avoiding getting insects and plants in the eyes as they would run and move around on their hunts. Despite this they are often seen living of smaller animals like fish, rodents, birds and small deer like creatures.

Builtwise are they sportier in their muscle-built and stand around 2-3 heads taller than the humans. Blue earrings indicate female, green for intersex and red for males.

Raeyerian:

The Raeyerians are big, dark and scaly. Despite the maybe scary looks are they known to be a kind people – towards everyone else but themselves. Some will be chosen out as kids to be the sexual toys for the pack and get marked with two earrings in either black, gold or silver in one of their ears. At times they may choose out a human, beastman or elven even if their lust is too great to control.

It is best said to not stay overnight in a Rexen town in Raeyeria due to them becoming beasts at night while being super friendly at day.

The stand with a heavy muscle built and a giant strong tail and are good 3 heads taller than the humans there is around. Their food source is usually rodents, smaller fox-like creatures, insects, snakes and local amphibians.

Gold earrings means male, silver earrings means female and lack of earrings means intersex.

Ardelian:

The ardelian variant is around 2 heads taller than humans, has small horns pointing upward and big floppy ears. They are built just as strong as the Raeyerian variant but is less sexual and has smaller teeth. They appear to be slightly more dump than many of the other variants and are still despite the evolutions in the world – quite primitive. A few though has made it into the human society.

The humans mostly just let them live in their own small villages and take care of themselves.

They have medium sized tails, though strong. Their scales are rather small though. They live of farming – this includes cows, pigs and sheep are included in their diet.

Here the size of the earrings plays a part in telling the gender. Big earrings means male, medium for intersex and small means female.

Dotish:

Being much lighter in color and their scales being blue has something to do with their food. Their food is primarily the local fish which contains lots of minerals, some which has changed the pigment of these scaly Rexens. It has turned their scales blue while their non-scaled parts are in light skin color. Their teeth are primarily small though and they have small upwards horns on their forehead.

They are strongly built and has long, strong though slim tails. They are only the size of humans though.

Their earrings have symbols. Cross for female, line for male and lower circle + cross for intersex. They are skeptical of humans and elven and prefer to live away from them but has adopted the human technologies.

Vitian:

The vitian variant is another furrier variant of Rexen, being placed along Fraycië and Donchase. Their horns are curlier and more uncontrollable, not growing in same rates nor same way, resulting in them having two different horns nearly. Their ears are floppy and hanging and they usually have longer hair. They have small scales on their back and has a shorter tail, though not so much fur on it.

They mainly live off fish from the rivers and sea, but also includes fruits and vegetables in their diet when fish can’t be caught. Unlike most other Rexen they care the least about gender and doesn’t even matter showing it off for everyone to know.

The Vitian variant is incredible smart but prefer to be alone and far away from other humanoids. They are often found to be the singular farmers outside of villages and their numbers are falling due to them wanting to be alone.

Noshurilien:

The Noshurilien variant of Rexens is unlike its north-western neighbors not of a slim and sporty built but now leaning over in the bigger muscular built. They are mostly scaly on most of their bodies but are bare on the front where they have extreme volume of chest and stomach fur hair.

They have medium sized horns going in a bit of a half moon shape. Their tales are medium length and slim as it’s made more to keep balance than to be of some help to lift things.

The earrings placement plays in on gender here. On the tip we got males, in the middle is intersex and close to the head is females.

The Noshurilien variant lives equally to any other humanoids but are often found in industries requiring bigger muscles like building, timberwork and guarding.

Paskarian:

The Paskarian variant is an outlier for the Nordic Rexens, as it’s lighter of skin and has purple scales and darker purple hair. Their horns are made more as a defense circle around their heads. Unlike their fellow Rexens do they have an overbite instead of an underbite as well. They have a long and strong tail suitable for their big and strong bodies as they stand 3 heads taller than the humans. They use fur hats to warm their head most of the year as their bodies are made for warmer areas (from the days Paskaria used to be warmed up by the sea). Human structure took a lot of the warmth away over the years.

The number of rings in the earrings plays a part in gender telling. One ring means male, two means intersex and three means females.

The Paskarian variant lives in the mountains, hunted away from human villages. They are small in numbers and only seem to become smaller and smaller in their numbers.

Dacharen:

The Dacharen variant is very dark both in skin and scales. They even have scales on their head. Standing 2 head taller than humans, can they look intimidating, but overall are a kind people. They even cut off their horns to appear more friendly. Females and males have same face structure, but only males get facial hair. Their eyes are incredible dark, and they tend to live of the local wildlife like horses, oxes and goats.

They have long and strong tails to match their big and strong bodies, but they are more athletic built than their neighbors.

The Dacharen variant lives equally to other humanoids.

Meizen:

The Meizen variant is sporty built and has long and pointy ears. Their horns leans back, and they have weird pupils which is said to come from the fact that Meiss is very svampy. They also have dark purple They have small teeth and live off smaller creatures like rodents and birds but also live of local plants, berries, and vegetables.

Their earrings goes the same as the Ardelian variant. Small ones are females, medium is intersex and big ones are males.

The Meizen variant lives a more luxury life and are seen as the better “man” in the community. The humans often offer gifts and helpful services for the Rexens of the Meizen variant.

Beizenian:

The Beizenian variant is very much like their neighbors. Lighter skin with blue scales and purple hair. Their teeth are bigger, though round and used to split fruits and vegetables apart.

They are only slightly taller than humans but are very muscular built and has long and strong tails.

The earrings are made to say filled out = male. Hole = female. Hole and earring in it = intersex.

They aren’t looked greatly upon and are actually hunted by humans as a form for trophy – this means winning over someone bigger and stronger than you. Many tries to flee to the mainland but some of these smugglers sell them out.

[comrade-meow]

The Marxist left finds itself confronted by three insidious big lies that threaten the revolutionary and emancipatory foundation of the Marxist project, all related to undermining women’s liberation; they are:

1. Transwomen are women.

2. Sex work is work.

3. Feminism is bourgeois.

Misogyny in its many forms has long been a challenge for the left; not just the misogyny of the reactionary right, but misogyny coming from within the left itself. But it has not been until recently that this leftist misogyny has sought to portray itself as being inherently progressive. By engaging in revisionism of the most blatant kind, reactionary elements within the left have managed to posit themselves as the agents of progress. Much has already been written about the harms caused by these three lies, but no attempt has yet to be made to debunk them from a solidly Marxist standpoint. That is what we are out to accomplish here; to demonstrate definitively that these big lies are not just regressive, but inherently revisionist and anti-Marxist to the core.

The first of these three big lies, “Transwomen are women”, might well be the most damaging, because it directly contradicts the heart of the Marxist method: dialectical materialism. There are two main definitions used by proponents of transgenderism to explain their narrative. The first is that gender is an identity; the state of being a man or a woman (or any one of the other numerous “gender identities”) stems not from biological sex (to the extent that transactivists acknowledge the existence of biological sex), but from an internal identity, i.e. personal feelings, personal consciousness. The second definition says that transpeople are not really the sex they physically are, but the sex they say they are, because they really have “male” or “female” brains. Both of these definitions are rooted in the personal, not the material. One of the patron saints of queer theory, Judith Butler, says:

“It’s one thing to say that gender is performed and that is a little different from saying gender is performative. When we say gender is performed we usually mean that we’ve taken on a role or we’re acting in some way and that our acting or our role-playing is crucial to the gender that we are and the gender that we present to the world. To say that gender is performative is a little different because for something to be performative means that it produces a series of effects. We act and walk and speak and talk in ways that consolidate an impression of being a man or being a woman.”[1]

Though queer theory is a postmodernist philosophy, its roots go far deeper than just postmodernism; rather, this statement of Butler’s is an example of the dialectics of idealism. Marxism, as a philosophy, was formed in reaction to the idealist dialectics of the Young Hegelians. The dialects of idealism posit that reality flows from consciousness. Marx, on the other hand, argued “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.”[2] That is, it is not our thoughts that shape material reality, but material reality that shapes our thoughts. In fact, Marx’s first major work, The German Ideology, is exclusively dedicated to explaining this.

So what is the materialist definition of gender? And how does the embrace of the idealist definition under the guise of Marxism harm the Marxist aim of women’s liberation? The foundational Marxist text dealing with the oppression of women is Engels’ The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State. According to Engels, while there has always existed a sexual division of labor in human society, it is not until the rise of private property that this division becomes hierarchical. Before the rise of private property, society was organized under what was called “mother right”, i.e. a person’s family is traced through their mother, given the difficulty of identifying with certainty the father in primitive communist society. But because private property grew out of male labor, and became concentrated in male hands, mother right gave way to “father right”. In order to bequeath his property to his son, the father needed to know with certainty who his sons were. This meant controlling the reproductive labor of the female sex, and its subordination to male supremacy; thus the advent of patriarchy. In Chapter II of Origin of Family Engels calls the overthrow of mother-right “…the world historical defeat of the female sex. The man took command in the home also; the woman was degraded and reduced to servitude, she became the slave of his lust and a mere instrument for the production of children.”[3] Note that Engels here is dealing with sex, with biology. Women are not oppressed because of some abstract gender identity, but because of their sex. Class society and patriarchy, the two of which exist in a symbiosis, need to control women’s reproductive labor to sustain themselves. To put it more bluntly, they need to control the means of reproduction. Thus, women’s oppression has its origin in material reality.

But we have not yet dealt with the concept of gender. In the current queer theory dominated discourse, sex and gender are increasingly become conflated to the point that they are being used as synonyms for one another. Engels analysis of patriarchy is in many ways incomplete, but it forms the basis of future materialist explorations of sex and gender. The second-wave feminists who developed much of the thought around gender did not revise these fundamentals, but expanded on them, the opposite of what today’s revisionists are doing. Gender, according to the radical feminist Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, is “the value system that prescribes and proscribes forms of behaviour and appearance for members of the different sex classes, and that assigns superior value to one sex class at the expense of the other.”[4] Gender is therefore not the same thing as biological sex, but a kind of parasite grafted on top of biological sex to maintain the current sexual hierarchy, and ensure continued male control over reproductive labor. Gender non-conforming, as well as homosexual, men and women are therefore “exiled” from their gender community not because of some abstract identity, but because they do not fulfill their proscribed functions as members of their sex class; they are essentially class traitors. Intersex people, which form a distinct material category, are also lumped into this community of “exiles” because they too are unable to fulfill the goals of the patriarchal sexual hierarchy. Such communities of exiles have existed throughout history, and continue to exist to this day in all parts of the world, from the hijra in India to the two-spirited people of the Native Americans to the contemporary shunning and violence directed at gender non-conforming individuals. But to reiterate, none of this has to do with identity, but with the material structuring of class society.

While transactivists have started to turn against the biomedical explanation for transgenderism, it is very much alive and well in the medical and psychological community. Victorian-era theories about “brain sex” that would have earned the ire of Marx and Engels are now making a comeback. At best, these theories are chimerical pseudoscience which have not even come close to being conclusively proven in any legitimate scientific study. The standards by which gender dysphoria is diagnosed falls back on the constructed tropes of masculinity and femininity already discussed. Such theories risk misconstruing gender roles as being rooted in nature as opposed to constructions that reinforce ruling class control. Rather than being seen as the disease, dysphoria should be seen as the symptom of the sexual hierarchy. The pressures of gendered socialization are ubiquitous, and begin at birth. Very often we are not aware of the subtle forms socialization exerts upon us. For those who reject this socialization, it follows that they would experience levels of extreme discomfort and anguish. Gendered socialization is not just some abstract phenomena, but is, again, literally grafted onto us. Under this system of socialization, the penis becomes more than just the male sex organ, but the symbol of male aggression and supremacy, in the same way the vagina becomes the symbol of female inferiority and subjugation. Sensitive individuals who struggle against this socialization often hate their bodies, but not because their bodies are somehow “wrong”, but because of what they are drilled into believing their bodies are. What they suffer from is the inability to tear away the curtain that has been placed in front of material reality and to see reality in an objective manner. The fields of medical and psychological science are not immune from the influence of the ruling class. This is especially the case in the world of psychology, where a method of analysis is employed that isolates the individual from the wider society around them, preferring to view internal struggle as the result of some defect as opposed to the result of material and social forces exerted on the individual.

While capitalism has broken down certain elements of patriarchy, and allowed for women to make some gains, it has not dismantled patriarchy completely. Capitalism, being a class system, still needs to retain control of the means of reproduction. For example, laws that restrict access to abortion and contraceptives, while having negative repercussions for all women, have the most negative impact on poor, working-class women. These laws may be cloaked in the terminology of moralism, but have a far more base logic; they ensure the continued production of future proletarians for the benefit of the capitalist machine.

By shifting the definition of “woman” away from a materialist one to an idealistic one, we lose the ability to define and fight the causes of women’s oppression. In its most extreme form it erases women as a class, and makes it impossible to talk about patriarchy as an existing force. Why, then, are Marxists, who are supposed to be dialectical materialists embracing a set of ideas the very opposite of dialectical materialism? To answer this, we need to look at the nature of patriarchy; it is a system that predates capitalism. As already stated above, patriarchy and class exist in a symbiosis with one another. The one cannot be eliminated without the elimination of the other. Overthrowing capitalism is not the same as overthrowing class. As Mao pointed out, class dynamics still exist in the socialist society, and require continuous vigilance and combat on the part of revolutionaries. This is why many socialist states still restricted women’s rights to certain degrees, such as the draconian anti-abortion laws of Ceausescu’s Romania. All males benefit in some way from patriarchy, even males in a socialist society. It therefore follows that socialist males fighting capitalism also benefit from patriarchy. While men and women may be in solidarity with one another as workers, working class men also belong to the male sex class, a class that predates the existence of the modern working class. Class allegiances run deep. This is why so many socialist and “feminist” men are quick to defend and even endorse the violent language and actions perpetrated by some gender non-conforming men against the female sex class, regardless of how these gender non-conforming men identify themselves. This is not to deny that gender non-conforming men are discriminated against, and face harassment and violence themselves, but even as exiles from the male sex-class, they still benefit from some of the privileges awarded to this sex class. Note that I do not use privilege in the manner it’s currently used by the regressive left, i.e. as some abstract notion that needs to be “checked”. Rather, it is an actually existing force that must be combated, just as white revolutionaries must actively combat white supremacy, and first world revolutionaries must actively combat “their” state’s imperialism.

Opportunism and the “fear” of being on the “wrong side of history” are also driving forces behind this embrace of revisionism. The Anglophone left, especially in the United States, given its weakness in the overall political arena, has long sought to be seen as “acceptable” and “polite”, and is often eager to jump on any bandwagon it believes can advance it. This desire to be accepted also drives the fear. It is true that communists have made serious errors in judgment in the past, but that is not an excuse to rebel against core philosophies and hastily embrace ideas and movements without fully analyzing their beliefs and goals. This is not to say that communists should not be on the forefront in defending gender non-conforming individuals. A thoroughgoing socialist revolution requires that these existing oppressive structures be cast aside. But it is possible to defend gender non-conforming people without embracing misogynistic pseudoscience and revisionism.

Women are not just oppressed, but thoroughly exploited. Working class women make up what is possibly the most thoroughly exploited section of human society. By embracing philosophies that not only erase their ability to define and explain their exploitation, but also deny them the agency to organize as a revolutionary class, these “Marxists” have proven that they are in direct contradiction to Marxist philosophy and ideas. They are engaging in revisionism.

In the next part, we will examine the second big lie plaguing the left today, the notion that “sex work is work”.

[a-queer-seminarian]

a trans reading of Genesis 2: God divides the gender-less or gender-full first human into two

The following is a passage from the first episode of the Bible Bash podcast, “The Creation of the Earth Being - Genesis 1 and 2.”

____________

“In every single verse of [Genesis 2] until the last couple, references to this human being is ha-adam. Now there’s several interesting things about this word. This ha at the beginning in Hebrew...means ‘the.’ It’s not a name. This adam is not “Adam,” it’s a noun that’s not personal. ...

And it’s a single being. So we might begin to ask ourselves questions, ‘Well, what is this person? If it’s not got a proper name yet, if it’s just a being -- and it’s the being...’ Well, there are some things we can surmise from what happens next.

What happens next is God says -- you know, with a face-palm of some holy nature, ‘Oh! Ha-adam has no helpmate! And that was my whole plan with all these creatures, these birds and these animals and creepy-crawly things. ...But adam is still alone! This is not good that ha-adam should be alone. I will make a particular mate for ha-adam.’

And so God puts this earth-being to sleep and performs surgery.

So there’s this other word in the Hebrew that gets translated as ‘rib’ -- God takes a ‘rib’ from ha-adam. But this word, tsela, is not ‘rib’ -- it means ‘side.’ And this gives us some really important clues, because the times we see this word tsela in the Hebrew text it refers to certain things: one, where we get the idea of ‘rib,’ is the ‘ribby’ edge of a hill or a crest. But every other time...it’s referring to the building of holy things -- the ark of the covenant, the temple. Ah, yes, ha-adam is a holy thing! And God separates ha-adam at adam’s tsela -- side. God divides ha-adam -- and now ha-adam is differentiated. This earthling now is two.

And I like to believe that this is the important part of the text -- the part that’s all kinds of queer and trans and non-binary and every gender all here in this one story.

So let’s go back to why this is significant. ...An undifferentiated, self-sufficient, self-caring, self-generating [being]...

And so what we can assume is that God realizes that self-sufficiency is not the way of this creation that God is trying to make. That God wants relationship with us - otherwise, why make us? God could just exist as God. But God chooses to make all these glorious creatures and creation, including human beings, and realizes that perhaps, maybe, making them self-sufficient and undifferentiated isn't the way God wants to be in relationship with us.

And so God opens up adam and splits adam open. So everything is exploded, and re-formed, and re-shaped, and re-imagined for the soul purpose of relationship -- and the text tells us this: “It is not good ha adam should be alone.” And maybe God is telling...us that self-sufficiency, and self-reliance, and self-care alone isn’t enough. That we need to be fully who we are to be in relationship with one another, and that we need to be in full authentic relationship with each other in order to be in full relationship with God.

And so these two beings, now Eve...and Adam will be her partner. And she will be Adam’s partner. And each of them going forward always contains something of the other. They were once one. Now they are two for the sake of relationship. And so then we can start talking about, what’s a relationship mean? Well, it’s obviously to some degree about who’s prepared to do what in the act of procreating, of making more adams, more humans, more earthlings. But it doesn’t necessitate that they do that! And it doesn’t mean that they have to have these perfect little packages of chromosomal structure, or a certain kind of genitals -- it just means that these two were prepared to do certain functions to make more earthlings; and therefore every earthling, every adam, contains something of the rest of us.

We all contain something of each other. We also contain every possible gender expression, every possible sex configuration -- so intersex people are part of this holy temple of the human that God is making; trans people are part of that; every gender in between these male and female poles and then everything beyond and outside that is all, somehow, contained in the making of all of us.”

- Trans Bible Scholar Liam Hooper on Bible Bash

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Other places you can go for more trans readings of ha-adam’s creation:

“The Genderfull first being” section of TransChristianity (my own article!)

Austen Hartke’s video "Androgyny, Loneliness, and Genesis 2″

“Tzarich Iyun: Adam's Rib” by Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky

Phyllis Trible’s 1973 text “Eve and Adam - Genesis 2-3 Reread” (not a specifically trans reading, but a queer one)

My commentary on the Hebrew in Genesis 1:27 (tumblr post)

[andersunmenschlich]

Genesis 2

That’s the end of creation! That’s how absolutely everything got created, bar none, creation finished, over, done, finito. No more creating. Bible says this “everything done” day is the seventh, so I guess the time before light and darkness got separated actually does count as a day. Who knew.

The gods, that’s who.

Anyhow, the gods made the seventh day a holy day, set apart as super special because that’s when they finished all the creating. The first day ever that they didn’t do any creating at all. They were done.

And now, suddenly, in verse four, the writer changes.

No, I’m not kidding. It’s a very abrupt shift. Most noticeably, we’re not talking about the gods in general anymore: “אֱלֹהִ֖ים” is now always prefaced by “יְהוָ֥ה”—Yhvh, a specific god! “Gods” gets used like a last name now. It’s like, instead of “the Millers did thus-and-such,” now it’s “Alex Miller did thus-and-such.”

New writer. Real obvious.

Anyway! Our new divinely inspired writer takes us back to before the gods told the earth to sprout plants.

This writer tells us that the reason there weren’t any plants was because Yhvh God hadn’t made it rain or created Adam to aerate and fertilize the ground. Strange. I’d gotten the impression that there weren’t any plants because the gods hadn’t created them yet.

Our new writer also tells us that mist rose from inside the earth and watered the ground. Huh.

That would seem to make the lack of rain unimportant. Why say that there weren’t any plants because there was no rain when rain wasn’t needed?

Weird.

Anyway, Yhvh God took some dirt and shaped it into a kind of golem, then breathed into its nose, and poof! Adam.

Uh.

The plants still haven’t been created. I definitely remember Adam coming after the plants.

Land, space, water, and darkness—light, night, and day—sky—sea, dry land, plants—sun, moon, and stars—sea creatures and flying things—land animals—then Adam. And after Adam, nothing except deciding what everything but the sea creatures are going to eat.

Adam was last. I remember that very clearly (it was only ten or eleven verses ago). What kind of divinely inspired contradiction is this?

Ow, no, don’t throw things.

I’m just confused, that’s all. I don’t know how Adam could be created both before and after the plants. Probably I’m stupid. The Bible couldn’t be wrong, after all! Somehow, I’m sure, the gods created Adam male and female on the sixth day and Yhvh God created Adam plain old male on the third day. I don’t know how that’s possible. But the Bible says it happened, so it must have.

Ah, I know. The first writer messed up the plurals and singulars. Divine inspiration ruined by mortal stupidity! There’s only one god—Yhvh God—and there were two Adams, one male and one female.

...Except that still leaves the problem of those two Adams being made on both the third day and the sixth. Uh.

And wait, this new writer says there was only one Adam, one single male Adam.

...Okay, so the first writer messed up hard, then. They wrote “gods” instead of “god.” They said one intersex Adam… or maybe two Adams, one male and one female… were created on the sixth day instead of one male Adam being created on the third.

That’s… that’s some serious error right there.

Ow! Ow! Quit it!

Look, it’s not my fault! I’m not trying to make the Bible inconsistent! It’s just, look! First the Bible says man was created after the plants and now it says man was created before the plants!

This isn’t my fault! I didn’t make it say that! It just says it, all on its own!

Ow!

All right, all right!

So maybe I misread? Maybe the first part wasn’t meant to be read in a strictly linear way? I know it’s all “this happened, then this happened, then this happened—the first day. This happened, then this happened—the second day.” But maybe you’re supposed to skip around? Maybe the things that apparently happen in one day are actually happening in another?

…That’s stupid! No! I can’t convince myself of that at all!

Ow, ow, okay! Maybe I just don’t understand it because I’m the stupid one, and I’ll never be able to understand it no matter how hard I try—not because it’s dumb, but because I am. Fine, fine, you win, I give up.

So, after creating Adam, Yhvh God creates a garden in a place called Pleasure (“עֵדֶן,” Eden), and sticks Adam in the garden. Yhvh God also makes all kinds of trees that are pretty and/or produce tasty fruit grow in the garden, as well as the tree of Life and the tree of Being Able to Tell the Difference Between Good and Bad.

Side note to tell us about a river that runs through the garden, then splits into four rivers, each of which runs through or along a different place.

The original river doesn’t get a name, but the other four are Increase, Bursting Forth, Rapid, and Fruitfulness. Increase runs through the land of Circle (which has just the best gold, you guys, and awesome gum resin and precious stones, too). Bursting Forth goes through the land of Black. Rapid runs along the east side of Assyria. And we all know Fruitfulness, everyone knows the Euphrates, no need to explain that any further here.

Why this is important, I don’t know. Scene-setting? Nobody’s been able to find the garden of Pleasure using these directions, so it can’t be for that. Anyway, I’m sure Yhvh God knew perfectly well, when he was inspiring this writer, that a worldwide flood was gonna seriously change topography later on.

So the idea is that Adam will be a gardener.

No, this is obvious. There were no plants because there was no man to cultivate the ground? Adam gets put in the garden to tend and keep it?

There’s a reason man exists, and it’s to look after Yhvh God’s plants.

Ow! What?

Oh, the whole “dominate every living thing and even the earth itself” thing? Look. I’m not sure how much I want to trust that first writer, what with their gods and adams and plants being created before humans and all.

Yeouch! Dagnabbit, what?

I can’t throw out any of the Bible? I have to make all of it make sense, all together?

But it contradicts!

Ow! Stop it!

Okay, okay, it doesn’t contradict! I’m stupid! Men exist both to look after plants and to dominate everything, they were created on the third day and on the sixth day, they were spoken into being and they were dirt brought to life, they were male and female and they were just male!

Yhvh God told Adam he could eat fruit from every tree in the garden except anything off the tree of knowing the difference between good and bad, because if he ate anything from that tree “מ֥וֹתתָּ׃ מֽוּת”—he’d be as dead as dead gets that very day.

Then Yhvh God gets to thinking that maybe it’s not great for Adam to be alone.

Uh.

Don’t hit me, but didn’t Adam have Yhvh God? Like… was he really alone? God was there! I grew up hearing that when God’s with you, you’re never alone.

What good is “I will never leave you nor forsake you” if, even with God there, you’re still alone?

Augh, no! I’m sorry I asked!

[nervous breathing, cough]

Okay. So.

Since it’s not good for Adam to be alone (and he’s alone even with God), Yhvh God decides to make a suitable helper for him. Which Yhvh God does by forming animal golems out of dirt and bringing them to life.

….

I… look, I know I’m dumb. But I swear this contradicts what we were told in chapter one.

“Let birds fly above the earth across the face of the sky” on day five, before Adam was ever made, and “let the earth bring forth living creatures” on day six, also before Adam was made, is not compatible with “out of the ground Yhvh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them.”

Don’t you try to tell me Yhvh God had formed every beast of the field! “וַיִּצֶר֩” is a consecutive imperfect verb just like “וַיָּבֵא֙” (“and brought them”)! They’re the same tense!

Ow! Fine, I’ll move on.

So, being as God isn’t good enough company, he figures maybe a horse will work as a companion for Adam. Or a cow, maybe. How about a dung beetle? Pigeon?

Yhvh God seems kind of stupid, honestly.

Aaah! Fire! No! Bad! Put down the—where did you even get those pitchforks?!?

Right, so, Yhvh God makes all the animals and birds out of dirt and brings them to Adam, in the garden of Pleasure, and whatever Adam calls each one is the name it gets. This is probably a real long process, on account of how many different animals there are, but even after Adam’s named the very last glyptapanteles wasp, he and Yhvh God still haven’t turned up any lower animal suitable to be Adam’s companion and helper.

So Yhvh God goes ahead and makes a more appropriate lower animal.

Ow! Dangit! Look, I’m just saying! It’d be one thing if Adam and Eve were made at the same time, in the same way, like they maybe were in Genesis 1:27, but this is Genesis 2:22, and Eve is obviously not Adam’s equal here!

She’s a tiny part of Adam, a bit he can do without. Yhvh God puts him in a coma, pulls out a single rib. That’s Eve.

Like Adam says when he wakes up and sees her, she’s one of his own bones, a piece of his own body. She’s not her own being as such, she’s a little chunk of him that was removed so he’d have company.

Don’t look at me like that!

What other conclusion are readers expected to draw when one person is literally a single bone pulled from the other one? Especially when the bone-person was made specifically for the sake of the original human.

Anyway, the new writer says this is why a man leaves his parents and is joined to his wife such that the two become one flesh: because that’s what they were in the beginning, one body. The man goes looking for his missing rib and clings to it—the rib gets absorbed by the original body. Man is not complete without woman (woman is never complete, any more than a gear is complete with or without a clock: it’s the clock that’s complete with the gear, and incomplete without it).

Stop hitting me! What is wrong with you people? This interpretation was accepted just fine for hundreds of years, and you know it! This new idea that the Bible would never say women were created not on their own merits but rather for the sake of men—it’s completely ridiculous because look, Bible!

Don’t like the idea of women being lesser than men? Too bad! Leviticus 12:2 and 5! 1 Corinthians 11:9! Ephesians 5:22! Deal with it!

And now another side note: they were both completely unclothed, and it didn’t bother them psychologically. No shame, no embarrassment, none of that. No word on how they felt re: weather, plants, bugs, etc.

End of chapter.

Anyone else feel like these chapters end a bit awkwardly? Like they were randomly slapped in by people who weren’t actually reading any of it?

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 65: Broken Spell

Keith enjoys a morning out with Lance... Except for this one, *tiny* problem

First  Previous  Next

Keith wakes to a bare leg slung over his hip, fingers trailing from his shoulder and down his side, sliding across his waist to form teasing circles low on his abdomen. Lips flutter against the edge of his exposed ear, just a hint of teeth.

“Seriously?”

“What? I spent almost a decaphoeb celibate for you!” The Altean snuggles closer. “And now I find myself with a beautiful man in my arms who, unlike anyone else I’ve ever had, is entirely mine.”

The growl on Lance’s final word has Keith wavering, until he shifts and discovers the discomfort between his legs. He sucks in a breath between his teeth. “I think the fuck not, Lance. What did you do to my vagina?”

“Crude. Also, nothing. Discomfort is normal your first time. But I can fix it, if you like.”

“Please do. And how would you know that’s normal?”

“Well, I have an ass.”

“Gross.” Keith sighs as Lance’s quintessence slips beneath his skin. He’s come to associate that warmth slithering into his veins and nerves with Lance’s love and affection. It's familiar to him now, bringing him comfort, a sense of home and belonging. Basically, he’s a huge sucker.

“Hm… I’d love to have you in it.”

“Lance!” Keith roles over, discomfort gone, glaring at his mate. Lance raises an eyebrow. “I’ll... think about it. Thace says that I have to check and make sure my dick works anyway.”

“I’d be delighted to help, either way.” The Altean's smile is playful, easy-going.

“I’m sure you would.” Keith sighs. “So that’s the plan then? Have sex all day?”

“Mnh, no. We're going home before your season.”

“Lance, I need to have my season here. And stay two movements after that to see if I’ve conceived-”

“I meant your home, beloved. Your childhood home, remember? We said we’d-”

“Really?! You- Really?!” Keith’s face lights up like a thousand stars.

Lance beams. “Yes, really!"

Keith throws his arms around his mate. He'd never really doubted Lance's word, but that word still means worlds to him. Furry, plumed tail twisting around his ankle, purring loudly in his throat, Keith nuzzles into Lance's neck. He loves this Altean so much, couldn't think of a better place to be than right here.

Okay, maybe he's riding the high of being freshly mated, but he actually doesn't feel that different than before. Maybe a little giddy, but other than that... no more or less full of love. Still just as overflowing.

Laughing, Lance squeezes him tight, fingers running through his long, loose hair. He lets go all to soon- "Let’s go! Get your clothes on!”

Keith leaps up, scrambling for a fresh set of clothes. Lance flops back on the bed, chuckling as his spouse’s eagerness. The Galra pauses, turning back to meet Lance’s soft gaze. “What?”

“I love you,” Lance sighs.

“Well I should hope so, since I just gave myself over to you.” Keith grins, just a little cocky. “I love you, too.”

He pulls his shirt over his head, tucks the hem into the waist of his pants. Lance is still staring at him. “What?”

“Are we really gonna have a baby?”

“So that’s what you’re up to, is it?” Krolia leans in the doorway. Lance shrieks, pulling the blankets up to cover himself. “Making kits?”

“Well, we’re going to try. We’ll see what happens,” Lance squeaks. “Could you, um, let me get dressed?”

“Yeah, seriously, Mom. What the fuck?” Keith snickers, settling his circlet on his head. He hasn’t worn it in a while, but feels like it today. Lance wears his every day.

“Fine.” Krolia turns around, still leaning against the wall. “You do realize, don’t you Altean, just how easy it is for a Galra in season to conceive?”

“Uh… Not really, no. Altean females ovulate every ten movements -two phoebs-, and even then pregnancy is far from assured. It can take decaphoebs to-”

“During season, pregnancy is all but guaranteed, even for intersex people like Keith, though they do have a slightly lower success rate.” Krolia turns back, slow, slim smile on her lips. “So you’d better be damn well sure you want a kit with my son.”

Lance, fully dressed, slips an arm around Keith’s waist. “We have a responsibility to provide my kingdom with an heir. It’s an ugly thing, but it is something that we must take into account.” Keith’s tail twists around Lance’s ankle, squeezing tightly, approval of his honesty and forthright. “That said, I have wanted to be a father since I was a small child myself. I’m more than ready for it, and more than certain. Especially if I’ve got this one by my side!”

Lance beams, pressing their brows together. Keith purrs, soft and sweet in his throat.

“Right. So, we need elk, and supplies, and to meet up with hunters-”

“I want to visit the Sanctorium. I need to get an offering for my father.”

“You’re going back home? It’s almost your season!” Krolia frowns.

“Yes, which is why we’re going now,” Lance argues. “It’s not terribly far, it’ll give me a chance to see some of the wilderness, and we’ll be sure to return within a movement. In the meantime, we’ll send a message to Thace and inform him of our intentions to conceive, and he can begin collaboration with our own castle health care professional, Tavo, and Hunk, who is in charge of providing Keith’s meals. Additionally, I’ll have Adam and Pidge break into Daibazaal’s database and steal Lotor’s medical records. Honerva and Zarkon refused to unseal them for us.”

“Odd.” Krolia cocks her head, counting her coins, passing them to Keith. “Why would they refuse?”

“Not sure. Perhaps his records will tell us something. I intend to ask the man himself, as well.”

"Let me do it," Keith murmurs. "He's my cousin."

"Sure, of course! Do let me know what he says, though."

Krolia eyes them, gaze dark. “The Imperial couple is as morally dubious as Alfor is. Everybody knows that.”

Keith ties the bag of coins to his belt, scooping BleepBloop onto his shoulder. The primate works a hand into Keith’s hair, the other exploring his circlet. “Possibly even worse, though that is debatable.”

“Oh. Remind me to tell you about that later,” Lance mutters, suddenly looking nervous. “But for now, to the square! I want to see this 'Sactomium' you talked of.”

Arms linked, Keith leads Lance through the crowded streets, attention completely on each other save one moment where Lance murmurs something to Krolia, and she heads off with a nod, and something shiny in her hand...

The Sanctorium is a large structure, much like a den, but much larger, surrounded by gardens, vines creeping up the sides. Druids in long robes and masks walk among the vegetation, taking clippings and peeling bark from trees. Windchimes made of metal, wood, glass, and stone sing from tree branches and metal stands. There are Galra praying, meditating, simply walking about the grounds. Some converse with Druids, perhaps seeking spiritual council or advice on different rituals.

“So what are we here for?” Lance asks, gazing up at the structure. It’s clearly treated with respect. The stone is cared for and polished, painted with intricate designs, stained glass in the windows.

“Herbs. And a few different crystals. I need to make an offering spell for my father. For both a reunion and a goodbye.” Keith passes BleepBloop over to his mate, leading the way into the Sanctorium.

Inside is just as fascinating as the outside. There are shelves, arranged in a spiral shape, a single aisle through the middle to a desk, a Druid standing just behind. The shelves are lined with… stuff. Some, Lance can tell, are herbs, seeds, bits of stone and crystal. Some are definitely pieces of animals, like feet, claws, teeth, tails, and feathers. Others are… presumably one or possibly more of those things, but Lance can’t really tell.

“Hey, what do you think about this?” Keith holds up a clawed foot of some kind, only for BleepBloop to snatch and start munching on it. The Galra rolls his eyes at his uncooperative pet.

Lance shrugs. “I… Know nothing at all about your religion, either your magyks or your gods.”

“The basics are as follows,” Keith says, wandering through the aisles, grabbing seemingly random objects. “Different stuff does different stuff and only the druids know all of the stuff. And we have gods. There are hundreds of them, and everyone picks one or two to observe.”

“So who do you observe?” Lance leans over to inspect a box of he knows from his studies are shards of volcanic glass.

“Trija.” Keith continues selecting, measuring, gathering different objects, setting them all in a clay jar.

“Trija?” Lance’s brow furrows, a bit of forgotten knowledge tickling at his mind.

“She’s a star. A small one. She was our first empress, who supposedly married a sorceress and joined her in the stars when they both died.”

“I see… Why did you pick Trija?”

Keith pauses, fingers hovering over a box of dried fruits. Or maybe they were some kind of dead animal? He shakes himself, sets one of the dried… things in his jar.

“It was the only star I remembered. My father, he tried to teach me about the stars. I was really little, only six when he died, and I was a… precocious child-”

“Sassy. Opinionated. Stubborn. An adorable pain in the ass, no doubt.”

“Heh, yeah. Pretty much. But the one that managed to stick with me, no matter how unwilling a pupil I was, was Trija, because of the story. I held onto that, all those years. I was little, and alone, and I couldn’t sleep hardly at all. So I’d sit on top of the den, or in a tree, and I’d stare at her for hours, and it made everything just a little bit better. It made me feel less alone.”

“Keith…”

Keith’s fingers stop trailing over jars of herbs, turning to look at his mate, only for the Altean to latch onto him like a sucker eel, squeezing him tight. “I’m sorry. It was Altea’s fault you went through all that. My people took your father from you. I’m so sorry, Keith.”

“It’s not your fault,” Keith mutters, voice surprisingly thin. “Don’t apologize for them.”

“I promise I’ll ruin our childrens’ childhoods by spoiling them, not killing their parents.”

“Well, I am one of their parents, so…” Keith noses into Lance’s neck. “Let me buy this, and then we can-”

Keith’s eyes find Krolia, leaning in the entryway, glaring at Lance with absolute loathing. Something inside him breaks a little bit. She’d promised- Well, no, she hadn’t promised, but she’d agreed to give Lance a chance, to give him the opportunity to prove himself. And yet here she is, his mother, staring at his mate like she wants nothing more than to eviscerate him.

Something in Keith hardens, even as he squeezes Lance harder so he won’t pull back and see. He feels betrayed. It must reach his eyes, because Krolia falters in her glare, blinking at him in alarm.

Keith meets her gaze, stares her down as he rubs his cheek against Lance’s skin. Petty? Totally. Possessive? Oh, yeah. Necessary? Absolutely. He hates it, but yesterday, he would have chosen Lance, and today, it wouldn't be a choice at all.

“Come on, beloved.” Lance rubs his back, soothing circles. “Let’s get the stuff for your offering, and then get you home.” The prince draws back, lacing their hands together. “I want to meet Akira of house Kogane. I want to thank him for saving you.”

“Of course you do,” Keith murmurs, smiling, hand slipping up to link their arms. “I don’t remember him very well, but Dad would have liked you. He was the fun-loving, mischievous type. I think… That’s how I remember him, anyway.”

“If he made you, he must have been. You certainly didn’t get it from Krolia.”

“Yeah…” Keith grimaces, paying the druid behind the desk for his stuff. “You’ve no idea.”

“I mean… I’ve shared a room with her. For about a varga. I think I’ve at least some idea.”

Keith laughs. He just wants to enjoy Lance’s company, riding the high of their freshly consummated bond.

“But you know… Your mother has had a hard life, and one far from painless. It might just be taking her a while to remember how to do those things.”

“Yeah. I guess. Maybe.” They step together out into the sun. “Maybe she’ll loosen up as time goes on, huh?”

“Lance!” Krolia jogs up, like she just arrived. “I need to speak to you for a moment. Alone.”

“Very well.” Lance lifts their joined hands to indicate a pair of elk, laden with saddlebags, suddenly reminding Keith of his first night in the castle, when Lance gave him a tour of their quarters. “Your mother procured some supplies and elk for us, over there. Do you mind?”

“I guess not…” Keith eyes his mother cautiously. “See you soon?”

“Yes, and then we’ll leave.” Lance kisses his cheek, hurrying after Krolia.

Anxious, Keith heads for the elk, recognizing one of them as Lance’s doe from training, Bruna. He rubs her nose. “Hey, pretty girl. You’re gonna take good care of my dumbass mate for me, right? Assuming my mother doesn’t kill him first?”

Lance comes running up, a bag over his shoulder. “Okay, lets go!”

“What’s in the bag?”

“I’ll tell you later; let’s go!” Lance vaults onto Bruna, turning expectantly to his dazed spouse. “Kee-eeith. Let’s gooo-oooo.”

“R- Right!” Keith mounts his own elk -nameless, because he’s not an enormous dork-, urging him into a walk. “So we’re really leaving, then?”

“Yes, we’re really leaving! I can’t wait to see it! I want to see everything, remember? Remember when I-”

“You’re going to talk the entire way there, aren’t you?”

“Wha- No! No, I’m not! But I just want to mention-”

Keith smiles, shaking his head. His mother’s glare still stings, but it’s hard to be angry when facing off against Lance’s smile. He doesn’t see his mate like this very often -hardly ever-, so he might as well enjoy it while he can.

He does have a question though, one that’s been nagging at him for the better part of a movement now…