#CAN YOU SEE HOW HARD IM TRYING NOT TO BE OFFENSIVE BUT INCLUSIVE

[dawnofiight]

I’m actually so over people writing/describing Angel as being built like a twig, or scrawny asf- GIVE ME BUFF ANGEL GIVE ME CHUBBY ANGEL 🗣️🗣️🗣️

CHUBBY ANGEL MENTIONED

[reservedlisting]

I normally dont make posts on tumblr but considering I dont want to continue harassing people on discord with my thoughts about hotd I'm gonna rant here :') this is literally just for me and i dont expect anyone to read this or make any sense of my insane ramblings.

this show is SO SO SO SO SOOOO SO0O0O0O0O00o0oo0o0o0o0o baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad! I could and have written an entire thesis about it so I won't do that here but my god it's offensively bad.

The way that women are written and in turn men are written in juxtaposition to women. As a woman I am genuinely offended and Im dutch and me so I dont get easily offended. Yes, I have some issues with how George writes women and girls but fundamentally women are allowed to be humans and be flawed but also have those flaws pointed out in the story. In that way men and women arent any differently written in asoiaf.

Hotd women are allowed to be flawed (Only Alicent's flaws are lingered on though) but also lets gloss over it when its convenient so that we can pretend women are all just peaceful little lambs and its the evil men that want bloodshed (Nvm rhaenyra having the servant killed so she can marry Daemon and have her husband leave under threat, alicent having larys burn Mysaria's house down, Rhaenys literally having the highest body count by committing acts of terrorism during the coronation). Until we are actually given a Very Good Reason :tm: the reason being this prophecy bullshit that has infused the show with the worst writing imaginable. They didn't learn from season 1 when everyone already hated the prophecy inclusion, nope they just doubled down on it. Just having to hear rhaenyra yap yap yap about this shit made me wish I was aborted like the alicole baby.

Its also so funny how they're like ah yes we'll have this person call rhaenyra a whore or a cunt so that we are in fact reminded that these are bad people that we shouldnt support. Like wow thanks for that signal show, I didnt pick up your more "subtle" clues. Then i have to see tweets with 20k+ likes about how criston deserves to die.. not daemon though for actually choking rhaenyra or calling alicent a whore (because the audience actually agrees with that lbr)

Then there is the BLATANT biased. It's about as subtle as a brick to the face. Condal (who is a clown for many reasons) pretending theres some kind of equality between the sides doesn't actually make it so. it's so obvious that they want everyone to support Rhaenyra and despite her completely irrational behaviour. Oh no those sexist lords in the council, meanwhile she's been off for days on end and then comes back with nothing to offer and then leaves AGAIN. As if these men arent risking their own hides by supporting her. Ofc Rhaenyra wants to go to war but is "smartly" talked out of it because "ohno cant risk you" and meanwhile everything that Aegon does is painted as stupid even though they almost work out.

Why am I supposed to think Aegon is an idiot for thinking that a king needs to be on the front line? as they have been many times throughout history? Of course he's gonna be pissed when they make plans without him. And then you have useless Alicent, never have I been turned off a favourite character so quickly and I genuinely loved her in s1, they really had to try very hard here but they've managed to make me dislike her. You're not logan roy girl, youre just boring as fuck and contribute absolutely nothing. Maybe you shouldve actually tried to prepare Aegon for rule in the decades since he was born instead of whining about how your evil sons dont listen to you.

its funny how tb people on twitter were made about comparison posts about aegon and alicent vs paul atreides and Lady Jessica. Because somehow Paul killing 61 billion people is less bad than whatever Alicent and Aegon do... meanwhile I'm actually mad that Alicent isn't in fact remotely like lady jessica. I genuinely wish she was because at least that would make her compelling. Instead of this useless figure we see now. Her relationship with her children especially aegon was always fraught. But she clearly loved them. Despite my hate hate relationship with ep8 that moment between Aegon and Alicent in the carriage and in the dragonpit was one of the best moments. Now even that is ruined.

The blatant bias really shone through in episode 4 to the point that I just had to laugh. And then reading what condal has to say or what TGC said they wanted him to do. I might as well be reading tb fanfic on ao3 and I might get to read a fairer treatment of the characters.

The fact that we also have seen extensive scenes of tb with their dragons but sunfyre, the most beautiful dragon and Aegon, the two that have the strongest bond get about 1 sec cause god forbid people actually like Aegon and see a human side to him. Ofc Condal said that was propaganda and that Syrax the golden was actually his fave dragon (truly a clown of a man).

On top of that they just pile all the shit on Aegon but ofc we must remember that he is a rapist and we cannot support him. Funnily enough it's made him the most compelling character by a country mile. Actually might be the only compelling character atp.

Aemond is a clown, alicent ditto. Tb are all boring as shit. Cant even include a lil bit of bastard drama for rhaenys and corlys cause obviously she's soooo understanding. YAWN. She's also super courageous ofc. And then there's ofc the stans who will defend anything their fave does cause stan brainrot. Instead of calling out the shitty writing they'll just double down that their fave did nothing wrong (aka aemond and alicent stans mostly, cause i dont even see tb's idiotic takes most of the time)

And its such a waste cause they have this giant budget, it looks pretty and there's tiny glimpses of interesting things and themes here and there but these writers are simply not competent, they're in fact incompetent. Half the show reads as fanfic and i say that with all due respect to fanfic as an avid reader.

then there's also the fact that they manage to create zero emotional connection with anyone so even scenes that are supposed to be good just arent. Like why the fuck would i give a shit about the cargyll twins killing eachother? cause you put some good music under it?

dont even get me started on b&c... i wasnt even planning on watching this season and i heard the complaints about b&c and i thought no way is it that bad. I saw gifsets they looked fine. And then I (stupidly) decided to tune in and I literally burst out in laughter cause the way it was filmed was just comical in places?!?! it was even worse than i had anticipated after the complaints somehow?!

Funnily enough sunfyre's cries were the only time I actually felt a strong emotion watching this show (other than the anger I feel at how bad this show is)

It's funny how people say that f&b bad and a dry historical account and sure but even then George manages to make me feel more about characters with one line that this show manages to do with all the power that a visual medium has.

and let me not forget about this show's sudden need to have its tongue firmly lodged up viserys' ass, what a great king indeed.

AANND then there's the PANDERING to the worst of the d*ny stans (who funnily enough dont even appreciate being pandered to so congrats condal). Rhaenyra is and never will be dany. This show is really written for the sansa will braid dany's hair crowd. Iykyk. Forcing in that friendship beyond the point of reason making the characters just acts stupid, and not in a people act stupid way but in its actually bad writing way. And then having to force in the prophecy even more for that and to give rhaenyra a righteous reason. And lets not forget the white stag in season 1 but sure Condal doesnt take sides Then the addition of the dragon eggs which he finally had to walk back probably cause he sensed the rancid vibes i was sending his way. Its so clear that HBO wants to sell their Boss Queen merch but then actually she's written in a way that's so bland and wants to take absolutely no action that there isnt really anything remotely boss bitch about her, completely coasting on young rhaenyra's personality cause older rhaenyra is again boring as shit. I guess now that she has Viserys' "permission" to rule she'll actually do something but i really dgaf at this point. But sell that merch I guess

Every time its some reviewer saying NOWWW the rREALLY great episode is coming on and every time im disappointed and episode 4 actually infuriated me to the point I had to stop watching and rant on discord several times.

this also never shouldve been the story told directly after game of thrones cause its so obvious how much theyve been influenced by it and writing in response to it, to its detriment. And now I'll never actually get to watch a good version of the dance. And if the viewership keeps dropping i might not see any good awoiaf adaptation again

I thought that after season 1 and the time jumps out of the way they might produce something half way decent but NOPE its somehow MUCH WORSE

Anyway hope Condal gets haunted like Daemon has been. Fuck him and this garbage show.

I havent even touched on everything here and this is completely incoherent but writing something coherent and semi intelligent is just more effort than this show is worth. Anyway call me when a knight of the seven kingdoms comes out, I can't imagine they could fuck that up. But who knows what new depths of shitness we might reach.

at least d&d had the decency to give us a few good seasons

[starszinhis3y3s]

im so pissed off. like sick to my stomach pissed off 😡

so, yesterday, during training, this girl i was hanging out with (i saw she was struggling & im a "returner" so i helped) was trynin reeeeal hard to set me up with her roommate. like she went outta her way to: ask me if im on Grindr (i am, but ion use it cuz theres hella STIs out here 😭 everyone is so gross), to talk to me about my sexual/dating preferences (im asexual), and then wouldnt Stop trying to get me to go out with him.

my 1st excuse: "nah im good lol", "oof yeah no i dont wanna risk monkey pox!(the current wave of sti sweeping the area)", "i mean im always down to *meet* other queers in the area - yk, community n whatnot", and THEN i said "is he white? i mean...i dont date white people after some past experiences with racism in muh-"

AND SHE CUT ME OFF "😒😠 yeah youre just racist. like you know im White right? and u been hanging out with me all day." then stormed off. refused to let me talk afterwards, or explain myself.

Y'ALL. SHE WENT & SNITCHED TO THE SUPERVISOR. not JUST any supe 😡 she *specifically* went to the Queer Native supervisor(any pronouns)(literally the onleeeee other Queer Native at this resort). this bitch went off tellin stories about how i said that i "hate all white people" and painted herself the victim. when SHE was the one bein shitty.

but once i said my side to Ronnie, i was no longer in trouble for "not being inclusive"

it was SO embarrassing to have to sit thru that conversation. zey pretty much told me to keep that kinda stuff to myself, that the yt ppl around here WILL take offense to it. that she doesn't wanna see anymore "racism complaints" about me, that fey would be watching me and "taking notes", and also that briley and i needed to make up and be friends again! straight up told him "ill be friendly, civil, and helpful, i dont care about the gloves she can keep em. im not mad at her, ik why she said it, but im nawt gonna be friends with someone who calls me a a racist for having preferences and stating boundaries. especially when she know wasnt listening to my no. i genuinely thought she would understand, bein that she has a Black dad"

[rebel-pogue]

Stretch Marks

JJ Maybank X plussize!Reader

request: kinda...?

warnings: cussing, issues with body image, angst, fluff

summary: After a fight with your parents about your health, you plan to spend the rest of your day to yourself until a certain blue eyed blonde finds you on your deck.

a/n: from @maybanktho​ they made a wonderful list of imagine ideas and I had to jump onto this one... tho I do have a couple others from the list im working on as well! I hope you guys enjoy! This one was enjoyable bc it felt really personable but idk... let me know what you think and if you’d like any specific imagine!!

wc: 1.5k

There were plenty of things in the world that you never understood. One, why bras were so insanely expensive. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that they were conditioned into wearing one to be presentable to the public. They were uncomfortable, no matter how “high quality” they were, broke way too easily for anyone’s own well being, and even if you bought one to look cute for someone else, it’s not like it stayed on your body very long in those instances. Another thing you just didn’t get was why or how anybody could be interested in you or your body. Emphasis on the latter.

You’ve always been bigger than everyone else, in size and height. You never knew what it was like to be able to just pull something off the shelf at a store and it fit, nor to have something fit perfectly without it being too loose on your waist, or not fit over your hips and butt at all. Growing up you were constantly surrounded by smaller, prettier girls, magazines that glorified a specific body type, and TV shows and movies that were never inclusive to plus size women. Even if they had one character who was plus size, they were always the butt of the joke. You didn’t know what it was like to love the body you lived in growing up.

As you got older, it got easier. A lot of it was thanks to yourself just generally being tired of being told you didn’t fit “a look”, though more appearances of plus sized characters in TV shows, movies, and magazines helped as well. Instead of feeling that separation between the women who ran the world, you felt a connection finally. However, it didn’t take much for a single comment to plummet your confidence. Then you met the one boy you never realized you needed in your life, JJ Maybank.

“Hey gorgeous.” The smooth drawl gained all of your attention away from the music you were listening to as you relaxed on the deck from your house. Your eyes landed on the smooth-talking blonde who stood at the steps, leaning against one of the wooden posts that lined the short pier that you often escaped to when life was too much to handle.

You couldn’t help the natural smile that came to your lips as you lifted the sunglasses from your eyes to greet the insanely attractive male, “Well, hello to you too. I thought you had work today?” You questioned, watching his movements as he stepped closer to you, his eyes never leaving yours.

He rested into a seated position beside you, and his eyes travelled your body. You loved and hated when he did this. Your conflicted emotions could never fully convince you if he actually enjoyed what he saw or not, but today he couldn’t see much anyways, which you were thankful for.

“Got out early, Pogues were thinking about taking a ride out to swim...” he slowed his words his eyes finally matching back up with yours again, “Why are you wearing sweatpants? It’s hot as balls outside!”

Your hands instantly found their way to the hem of your shirt, toying with it nervously, “Haven’t had the best morning so far.” You commented casually, not wanting to continue much of the conversation. You hadn’t planned on doing anything with your day after the conversation you’d had with your shitty parents that morning.

JJ tilted his head slightly, reaching up and brushing some loose strands of hair that had whipped to the front of your face. You flinched slightly at his touch, not because you were scared of him but because the small gesture of affection was hard for you to accept sometimes. He frowned slightly, but didn’t bring attention to it.

“Was it your parents again?” He asked, averting his eyes from yours so he wasn’t putting too much pressure on you to answer. You could never fully explain how or why JJ always knew what to say or ask.

Sighing heavily, you pushed your body up, pulling your knees to your chest, instinctively covering your stomach with your arms, “They made their usual comments about how I needed to take better care of myself, how I shouldn’t be wearing such ‘revealing’ clothes, that I should use my money for gym memberships instead of, oh I don’t know, saving money for COLLEGE?!” Your voice grew in intensity and volume as the anger returned to your mind, tears stinging the edges of your eyes. “I mean, it’s like I can’t do anything in life if I look like this.” You gestured towards your body, regaining eye contact with JJ and regretted it immediately.

His bright cerulean eyes were too soft, too concerned, and too focused on everything you had just said. His normally striking and strong features relaxed into an empathic position causing you to involuntarily take a sharp inhale.

“Never-mind, JJ. Don’t worry about it, it’s not your problem.” You said quickly, trying to deescalate the situation and make it seem less important. You stretched your legs out in front of you, the bright sun disappearing into the black sweatpants that hung on your legs. Your mind began to spiral as the memories from that morning circled back and how you had just complained to JJ about something he could never understand.

Pushing yourself off of the old wooden deck, you stood fast, keeping your eyes away from his. Today had started off horrible, and it seemed it was just going to continue in that fashion no matter what you did. You couldn’t fix your body, you couldn’t fix your parents, you couldn’t fix you. As you began to step over JJ, his hand reached out for you, clasping onto your wrist where your hand still clung tightly to the hem of your shirt.

“I don’t get it, like, I really don’t…” You were waiting for the usual ‘I understand how you’re feeling but it’s not that serious’ comment to spill from his lips. You kept your eyes on the ground, not wanting to watch him crush your mentality anymore than it already was.

“JJ I don’t need your sympathy-“ You began, a small tear rolling down your cheek.

JJ stood quickly, grabbing your shoulders to bring your attention back to him, “It’s not sympathy (y/n)! I don’t get how people can look at you and not be blown away! How they can’t just look at every inch of you and fall completely head over heels for you, how they couldn’t fall in love by just seeing how beautiful you are!!” He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide and honest.

Your breath hitched in your throat as more tears fell from your eyes, this gorgeous, beautiful, fit boy just confessed to you right? Is that what just happened?? You didn’t know what or how to process what was coming from his mouth, but he continued, “The first time I saw you, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. Your smile was just… nothing like I had ever seen before. Hell yeah I noticed your body, I noticed your hips, your chest…your ass! It’s because I saw one glance and I knew I needed you in my life… and I couldn’t have been more right, for once in my life.”

His hand landed on your waist, resting easily and comfortable above your hip. Your shirt lifted slightly and you could feel the heat from his hand on your side. “…are you sure? Are you sure you want this?” You asked quietly, still not able to tear your eyes away from his beautiful blue ones.

He scoffed loudly, his eyebrows knitting together almost angrily at what you had said, “I don’t want anyone or anything else.” You stated matter of factly and slammed his lips into yours.

It was rough at first, but the passion overtook the both of you and you lost yourself in him. Your hands found their way to his blonde locks, his hands reaching behind you, grabbing onto you and holding you tight. Your lips moved together in motion, his tongue easily making its way through your lips and dancing with yours. You didn’t know how long the two of you stood there in each others embrace, but when you finally broke you both had to catch your breaths. Resting his forehead against yours, he pressed one more quick kiss to you.

“Do you really think my ass looks good?” You asked, looking up into his eyes curiously.

The grin that landed on his face made you swoon, “Oh baby, I would throw away everything if I could just hold onto your ass.” You both chuckled softly, falling comfortably into silence.

A small while later you found yourselves making the short walk towards your house, your hands grasped in his own large ones. “So, you said we’re going swimming right?” You asked, glancing sideways towards him.

“Maybe later, no offense but after talking about you I’m so fucking horny right now and you gotta take responsibility.” He pulled you after him, rushing into your house and towards your room.

[pocmuzings]

hi g! i am an admin of an rp and i really strive to make it as inclusive as possible so muns of all fcs feel welcome. i'm curious to know, when you are looking for an rp what do you look for in terms of admins making it inclusive? this isn't meant to be pointed at all, i am just genuinely looking to improve!

i feel like i answer this a fair bit , and honestly my answers don’t change too much ? there’s a plethora of things u can do , and by no means  are these definitive . these are things ive noticed make me feel more included , or Safe to join a rp . speaking as a woc , and somebody in the Cursed tz . .

if ur an admin ..  u should absolutely be playing a diverse character . please for the love of god . u should be the example of what the rp is about and what u wanna see . if ur char is just a cis whitey . . that just doesnt cut it for me ! thats not what i wanna see in 2021 !

when asked for most wanted fcs . . really name some ‘ unpopular ‘ fcs . aka faceclaims of colour . faceclaims that are gender diverse , body diverse , religiously diverse , different able bodied , etc , etc , etc !!! put these fcs in the forefront ! push for them ! strive to see them !

if somebody joins ur rp as a ‘ non popular fc ‘ aka . . a fc that isnt a whitey , or like . .zendaya . pls put in extra effort to plot and rp with them ! pls pls pls. because i guaranteed for the most part , especially in an established rp , they will be ignored otherwise ! if ur rp is super inclusive ooc , then this most likely wont happen , but also . . most rps arent super inclusive ooc lets be 100 here . 

either write skeletons for chars that are DIFFERENT and ‘ challenging ‘ to some , or ENCOURAGE these characters to be written . write more smooth talking business men who are indian ! write characters who are hard of hearing ! write characters who wear hijabis ! who are ethnic but have great relationships with their parents ! write characters who are in wheelchairs , or are sexy and confident in their plus sized bodies . write characters who are black women who are soft , but still strong . write gentle black men . write a  trans man , write a nonbinary god , etc , etc . defeat the stereotypes ! turn them on their head ! there are guides ! there is so much out there ! we can create the world we wanna live in , so why fill it with boring white cis , hetero normative ppl ???

know what ur gonna do with ur characters , plot wise . if ur rp has a plot , thats fantastic ! but . . u probably have to carry that momentum . ppl join ur rp bc they probably LIKE the plot and wanna explore the plot . so how r they characters gonna be involved ? whats their part in it all ? how will it help them develop ? what plot drops / tasks / events can u host that will make ppl do more with their chars and be more active ? 

don’t have an ooc chat . just don’t . please . they’re so cliquey , they literally always are . those who like ooc chats are usually the ppl who r cliquey , im being honest fjknfjn . there is no point in having an ooc chat , really either . ppl can add each other on discord at any time , for free , if they want .

have clear boundaries . what can and CANNOT be rped . what fcs can and CANNOT be used . have a very very clear line . no lazy ‘ no taboo plots ‘ or ‘ no big plots without talking to admins ‘ ‘ no triggering topics ‘ ‘ no deceased fcs ‘ . no . u need to get in the nitty gritty . u need to ensure ur harbouring and keeping a safe space for those entering ur rp

be friendly , as an admin . be firm . but also , be very very open and candid and honest . if something goes wrong ? its so fine , and honestly v human , to post abt it ! if there’s drama ? its rlly good to address it and talk abt it amongst ur rpers . listen to ur rpers , if theres a problem . create open communication . maintain it . show that u care and want to help , when u can help , whilst also maintaining ur own sanity !

advertise ur rp for different timezones ! if ur entire ooc list is just rpers in the united states . . look .  nothing wrong with it , but firstly , make sure everyone in the rp doesnt think america is the whole world ( the rpc  / america rlly thinks its the whole fucking world sometimes ) . this means , dont make fun of ppl for spelling things differently ( honestly im  just australian and this guy once made fun of me for spelling it as ‘ offence ‘ not ‘ offense ‘ . like . . ok im not american . the whole world isnt america kjfnjf ) . this doesn’t mean u need to be online at bizarre hours or ruining ur sleeping pattern , but try and get an admin thats in a diff timezone to help cover things ! or just make sure ur rlly advertising ur rp at allll times of a day . including when us ppl are usually asleep ! try and encourage other muns in other timezones to apply ! and when they do apply , pls try ur best to include them and make sure theyre not left out of everything !

theres probably a lot more but this is what first comes to mind for me , personally . this are usually my ‘ green signs ‘ ( go go go ! ) for a rp ! when i see this stuff on a main , or by an admin . . i feel very Warm n fuzzy . 

[bigskydreaming]

Im asking this genuinely so pls dont yell at me; when you say that those using trigger warnings dont care about their readers’ mental health and wellbeing, what else are trigger warnings supposed to be for? To make sure people don’t enter fics that have material that would harm them. Just like tv shows that warn about nudity or violence or what have you. Its a rating system, theyre warnings. Tagging for rape or underage ARE the looking-out-for-readers thing. Past that, it is on readers to decide

I try not to yell at anyone engaging in good faith, I know it doesn’t always seem that way, but I would rather be engaged with than ignored...the latter is when my volume goes up, lol.

But in answer to your question, it comes down to the fact that trigger warnings are well established enough in fandom by now, that they exist as a kind of social contract.

In short, its EXPECTED that you provide trigger warnings, and that if you don’t have them, someone will bring that up at some point.

Problem is, this counter-productively works against what trigger warnings are actually FOR.....once we reach a point (which we’ve long since reached)....where a lot of people are only including the trigger warnings because of the social contract that expects them to have them, and not ACTUALLY because they’re prioritizing their readers’ well-being.

Something I see a LOT after trigger warnings is the phrase or sentiment “enter at your own risk”....and the phrasings are so, so key to what I’m talking about. 

Take a small sampling and just look for what I’m describing and I’m fairly certain you won’t have to go far to find an example of a fic where the tone of the author is not one of concern for readers, but preemptive concern for potential backlash from readers.

And these are two very different things.

Like, we all know how to read and interpret tone and nuance. Its genuinely not that hard to tell the difference between a sincere expression of wanting readers to be aware of potentially triggering content, and a faux-expression of that when really, the only thing you’re worried about triggering is a negative reception from people, and you want to get ahead of that by making it clear from the get go that hey, you did your job, you warned readers, and thus nobody has any grounds to say anything about your content itself.

Because also too there’s the fact that trigger warnings are inherently fallible. They rely on the author’s own AWARENESS of their content and everything it might include......but a racist author isn’t going to place a trigger warning for using their characters as mouthpieces for even blatant white supremacist ideology. 

A genuinely predatory author (and yes, they absolutely do exist, and its willful stubbornness that people rely on to pretend that like, for some bizarre reason, only genuinely predatory people don’t partake in this otherwise global hobby of reading and writing fiction, like what even is that, how do you arrive at that conclusion, that like, actual pedophiles are so busy preying on ‘real life’ teenagers in their zip code 24/7 that they just don’t have TIME to go online and cultivate predatory relationships with real life teenagers via social media? That doesn’t make any sense!)

But anyway, a genuinely predatory author, is absolutely NOT going to tag or place trigger warnings for pedophilia, etc....because they don’t WANT the things they write perceived that way.

People trying to normalize incest are not always going to tag for incest because they want to DISTANCE the cute, sweet dynamic between two ‘only sorta brothers’ as other than the kind of incest that destroys families...regardless of the reality that most cases of incest are the LATTER and its the FORMER that’s so rare it barely exists. 

And that sort of thing is how we get terms like dub-con and pseudo-incest and ‘consensual underage sex’ when its describing a relationship between a minor and adult....because this is mitigating, distancing language. Its entire reason for existing is to make unpalatable content seem more palatable.

And especially in Batfandom, we KNOW this.

Because we all, practically universally, give Devin Grayson crap for describing the rape in Nightwing #93 as ‘nonconsensual sex’ and go.....THATS NOT A THING!

And then half of fandom turns around and....acts like that and similar stuff...IS A THING.

That doesn’t work! LOL. It just...doesn’t.

Or another example, because abuse can be just as triggering as rape.....like, for me, personally, I’m a survivor of both, and yes, both CAN be triggering. But not as much as people might think....like, just reading a depiction of these things doesn’t trigger me.

Its, like you were saying at the get go, yes, a matter of surprise.....the kind of thing that CAN be warned for, and prepared for, and its the sheer unexpectedness that’s usually the trigger. 

Like.....I went off a few weeks ago about reading a story that was supposed to be about Dick’s brothers learning the truth about what led him to take the Spyral mission and what happened in Forever Evil. That’s what the summary said, that was it, that was the only thing it led me to expect about the story. So understandably, I go into the story expecting it to be sympathetic to Dick. I’m looking for catharsis from it honestly, a salve for the many fics and canon events that blamed and punished him for something I don’t consider his fault, right?

And then towards the end....I get Jason punching Dick again, before hugging him, because that’s just how he reluctantly shows love or whatever.

This genuinely triggered me, yeah. Its why I got so upset about it. Because I was blindsided, I had no way to prepare for it, because I went in expecting catharsis for a story that bothered me due to its victim blaming, and instead I got the author heaping on more of the same abuse we already saw in canon.....with zero awareness that’s what she was doing. 

So....that’s absolutely something I wrestled with should I message the author and ask them to add a trigger warning or not? Because I genuinely could have used one. It would have helped. I would have avoided that story if I had any notion that might crop up in it, because frankly, that’s not something I had any interest in reading.

But problem is, there’s only really two realistic outcomes there. If she was open to hearing a genuine request for her to be aware that her content contained triggering material for a reader....chances are, she probably would have just edited it and taken that out entirely. It was just one line. Easy enough to do. It certainly didn’t add anything.

Problem is....there’s an equal and opposite likely outcome....that she’d get defensive, call this unsolicited criticism, and double down on the idea that what she had written wasn’t abuse, because obviously she doesn’t condone abuse, so she wouldn’t have written that plain and simple. It has to be acknowledged that a lot of authors ARE innately defensive about social content in their work, and not open to hearing they’ve done something offensive or triggering....because that’s like...literally the basis of the ‘no unsolicited criticism’ movement in fandom, even though being critical of toxic ideology expressed in content is NOT the same as offering criticism of someone’s writing in general. 

So you see what I mean? A trigger warning COULD genuinely help in that situation....but our fandom environment simply flat out is not conducive for readers to be at all confident that they even CAN come forward and alert an author that they delved into an offensive, even harmful take with their content and be well received no matter HOW they phrase it....

For much the same reasons I mentioned in that other post. People are more likely to instinctively jump to the defense of the person WRITING the content that offended or did actual emotional harm....than the person simply trying to say, backed by their own lived experience of....being offended or experiencing emotional harm....hey, this is a problem for me and I would appreciate it being regarded as such....

Otherwise, what is even the POINT of this entire system of trigger warnings in the first place? If a problem for a reader isn’t regarded as worthy of attention in and of itself.....at least, not in comparison to whatever problem that READER’S problem creates for the WRITER.

You see what I’m saying? For this, and a lot of other reasons, trigger warnings are innately fallible. They rely on an honor code system, and the uncomfortable truth is none of us are actually naive enough to believe everyone in fandom is innately honorable enough to honor that....if they were, would we have as much cases of anon hate, spite fics, etc?

But fandom as a whole looked at the trigger warning system and decided well....its good enough. Because its not like I’m proposing a viable alternative, its not like I have a BETTER system in mind, offhand. All I do have is the point that well...no...its NOT good enough as is....because for a ton of reasons, there’s a ton of cases in which there’s a ton of people for which it flat out doesn’t work for or benefit at all.

But when this comes up to any degree, in any capacity whatsoever....and the only thing people fall back on is well, I tagged it, or I used trigger warnings what more do you want, or its good enough for me so that’s what matters, or just....

“I did what I was supposed to per the social contract about trigger warnings, so if anything goes wrong in your reading experience at this point, that’s entirely on you.”

Like, does that make sense?

Basically, there’s a world of difference between:

This is a problem that still needs solving because the solution provided now is not all-encompassing or inclusive....

And....

This is a problem that’s already been solved as far as I’m concerned, and I’m utilizing that solution so any further problems are just in the mind of the reader and have nothing to do with reality, let alone me and my work.

Again, as I said above....its the difference between genuinely engaging with other members of your fandom community with actual concern for THEIR fandom experience.....or faking engagement with other members of your fandom community when your only real concern is YOUR fandom experience, and at most, the experiences of anyone who already is of like minds to you on a subject.

Hopefully that answers your question or clarifies my stance there, anon. And thank you for actually engaging on this. It feels a bit like shouting into the void a lot of the time, lol.

[angelofwaverlyplace]

@worrywonderwander made this post about me because i said wish you were gay wasnt homophobic. im not sure why she blocked me when our conversation was fairly civil. shes downplaying my opinion and credibility by talking about my age when i am an honest to god adult. now to the content of the post:

the only thing i can concede to wywg being guilty of is queerbaiting. the offensiveness of the song is still unseen by me and a majority of lgbt people regardless of your personal issues with it. with that being said, intention is a huge factor. she had no malicious intent and furthermore went on to apologize if anyone thought she did. even if the song was distasteful, which it wasnt, it cant be homophobic or prejudiced if the intentions were pure

if i stan her so hard that im going to defend a straight teenage girl? im not sure what her age or sexuality have to do with my defending her. i understand the power dynamic between cisgender and heterosexual people versus the lgbt community is unbalanced, but creating a divide the way that you do is unhealthy. if i support someone i dont care who they’re attracted to or how old they are. i also am defending her song more than her herself. i believe that it doesnt deserves the slander it gets and i stand up for what i believe.

again im not following her blindly, its not even about her, but more about the principle of the song being labelled as something its not. similarly, ive found that often people will brand something as homophobic, transphobic, etc when it objectively isnt just because its not up to your standards of inclusivity (not you specifically, people in general).

yes i agree and i said earlier that artists are not responsible for how people interpret their art, but the fact is that a majority of people found the song overall unproblematic. becuase art is subjective someone can take something harmless and make it into a huge deal or even do the opposite and downplay an objectively offensive piece of media. its all open to interpretation so im not sure what you were trying to say there.

in regards to billie profitting off of assumptions about a song topic, you can say that about any subject. khalid has a song called “talk” you wouldnt say that he’s unfairly profitting because some people may assume he’s singing not talking. i understand that people are a little more sensitive when it involves the lgbt community which is understandable but not 100% fair in my opinion. its 2019 and a majority of people are accepting of the lgbt community. we aren’t victims anymore.

i think the issue is that some people are taking the song too seriously. shes not wishing upon a star that the subject of the song wakes up gay one day, but rather that he doesnt like her and since the alternative would be that there is something wrong with HER, she would rather he not be attracted to girls. if i sang that song about a guy i would call it “wish you were straight” because that would mean that it wasnt my flaws he wasn’t attracted to, it was my gender. also, she isnt wishing the gay experience on him, so to speak.

you mentioned that her stance is selfish and thats precisely the point. in the song itself she calls herself selfish. again i will fight for something i believe in. if i thought she was genuinely immature and selfish i would admit it. i strongly find it important to understand the gray areas since Nothing is black and white.

just as you are able to criticize billie i am just as able to explain my differing opinions. she is by no means perfect but this is not the reasons for her imperfections.

the next part is about me so let me simply explain why i compared the community aliens. you said that straight people should not even reference gay people which is ridiculous and creates sn unecessary divide between gay and straight people. i am fully aware of the history of lgbt people between stonewall, the aids epidemic and even trans people dating back centuries. i understand your caution when it comes to people referencing the community, but so much has changed in the past 50 years, hell the past 5 years. its unfair and unrealistic to police their language in regards to us. with the exception of slurs of course, there is no need to dictate the vocabulary when straight people reference the community. the world is a lot more progressive than it used to be.

i dont know if you’ll be notified for this or even see this; i have never blocked anyone so i dont know how it works. but i would love to have an open mature discussion if you want to unblock me and message me.

[sunniapplepie]

Sunni's thoughts on the Tryforce album!

I do this everytime GG puts out a new album (i THINK I did one for Cool Patrol also but i gotta check- ANYWAY)

Here's my post of what I thought of the album and, this is my opinions so not everyone will agree. Take it with a grain of salt, I'm just sayin how I feel:)

RATING SYSTEM IS 10/10 process. 10 being best, 5 being average, 1 being buttfucking bad.

Intro:

It was cute, a nice way to start the album off with a bang. I will say tho, I noticed the theme of "its our last album" really hangs over the whole tracklist from this and that kinda throws off the good vibes. Like, yeah its the last one, but maybe not make it a huge deal that it is.

8/10

Hardest Game in the Fucking World:

I'm in the middle with this one. On the one hand, it's Dan and Arin lamenting on how hard Dark Souls is (and tbh same), but on the other hand...it's literally them lamenting about how hard the game is. Also it's from their perspective and not a game character which is weird but a cool change of pace. The lady in the intro got me confused tho, like WHO ARE YOU???

6/10

A Boy and his Boat:

My favorite of the songs of the ones they did as an MV. I love the beat so much, it has that smooth feel to it like I wanna just chill out by a pool. Dan sounds sooooo good in the bg vocals, and tbh the Zelda raps are always the best so- I'm glad this lived up to the hype. Side note the Disneyland line got me all happy inside XP

10/10

Filling in the Name Of:

So I guess this is a Tetris one? It was a little hard to figure out what it was till I listened a bit longer- and I guess Arin is the long piece that gets used all the time. A pretty funny concept xp I got all happy when Brian showed up- boy needs to be in more songs like when he was in Release the Kraken👍👍 the guitar and Arin excitement is damn good too omg

9/10

Welcome to the Mario Party

Okay this is the one I got all butthurt about before when the video came out- it's supposed to be a smooth jam and Arin is imitating Snoop Dogg, but ehhhh it's kinda just meh for me. The bridge is okay, the beat is nice, I kinda love/hate the inclusion of TWRP, like them being in it makes it sound like a real party slow jam, but also kinda cramps the style of the whole album since this is the only song that has this style to it. Also Dan does fuck all in this one and sounds super monotoned- I liked the line about him losing his invite in the mail tho- but overall, meh

5/10

Dream Daddy- A Dad Dating Skit

....the fuck was this crap?

@ GG, please don't make it like you're money hungry, because that whole skit, makes Arin and Dan seem like they're doing this for quick cash and that's REALLY not good. Couldn't we have gotten a dream daddy rap? No? ....k then. Still sucks tho.

3/10

Donkey Kong Joonyer:

It wasn't good. Like...at all. Its honestly the worst rap of the whole album. It's a one note joke, repeated for the whole run time. And it's not funny. Kinda offensive, and also really fucking dumb.

1/10

A Wild Guitar Solo Appears!:

HELL YEAH A POKEMON RAP!

Honestly this one brought back memories of me trying to learn the last pokemon rap and then listening to the first one at my grandmother's house YEARS ago. A lotta nostalgia in this one, plus the guitar solo was pretty sweet. I will say tho, I don't know if imma remember this one as much as the others. Still really liked it but I feel the other two were better? Also loved the interaction with Ash and Pikachu, it was honestly hella cute. But overall, a very good song!

7/10

The Simple Plot of Kingdom Hearts

...alright so....

This was the song I was dreading because, you guys know I'm a big kh fan and I was thinking I was gonna love it or hate it. Honestly, this one is pretty cute, and I really liked how much the announcer was actually trying to make sense of the plot this time instead of getting butthurt that it's going on for too long xp I did notice tho, they only cover the first game and not the entire storyplot which Id say is a missed opportunity but also a good choice since you don't wanna confuse everyone like crazy, even tho the firsy game KINDA does that anyway. They also made it a big deal that hey, it's the last album this is the last song last last LASTONE, and I'm not a fan of that but fine -_- it was still cute tho- gotta listen to it again to catch the points of the game they made.

8/10

Arin Checks the Mic:

ARIN WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE SO GOOD AT RAPPING?? LIKE, I WAS IN SHOCK THE WHOLE TIME, HE SOUNDS SO GOOD, HE WAS GOLDEN

10/10

Blowing the Payload:

Eh. It's the overwatch rap and I'm not 100% into the game anyway from the one time I played and failed miserably, but I mean- it's an okay concept. Reminds me a lot of Robots in Need of Disguise, with it being super mundane but shit happens that completely ridiculous. I did make a point before tho, Dan sounds completely unenthusiastic the whole time and yeah he's playing a guy who's playing other people so the voice shouldn't technically change, but I feel like it should have just to make it funnier (like the guy is trying so hard to get into a character to come off convincing) but then again, him not giving a shit is also kinda funny? So meh, in the middle with that. Not a fan of Arin yelling the whole time tho- it's just got KINDA annoying. Just a smidge.

6/10

Vegeta's Serenade:

Im confused as to why there's a Dragonball rpa in a video game album but sure- OKAY ARIN I STG YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY, YOU SOUND SO BEAUTIFUL ACTUALLY SINGING THIS TIME AND IT'S SO NICE- WHY DIDN'T YOU AND DAN SING TOGETHER THO- MISSED OPPORTUNITY GODDAMMIT BUT IT WAS STILL SUPER GOOD

10/10

This Song Sucks:

Not gonna say this song sucks but- it's not....good either? Lol

It's also in the middle for me- its them poking fun at themselves for the album layout where again, they say it's the last one yada yada, guys don't hammer it in- we get it.

That aside, they were kinda just throwing out what I assume is scrapped ideas for songs they never did- sad but tbh I can see how this would be a good idea and I like it. The Sonic Boom slam tho, BEST PART AND I WAS SHOOKETH.

7/10

Outro:

A perfect sendoff to the whole album. Not my favorite outro but then again, the outtros and intros were never my favorite anyway? But it got me all sentimental- this is probably their last album (if jamming it down our throats that it was the last wasn't already obvious). But still, it's cute xp

9/10

FINAL THOUGHTS

The whole album itself, has this kinda unfocused feeling, like they don't exactly have a consistent flow of songs that go with the mood- its just a "throw to the wall and see what sticks" kinda feel, for me anyway.

I think in the long run, Player Select will still be my favorite along the albums, and Tryforce might be...number 2? Yeah the first Starbomb Album is not my favorite I'm sorry xp

Then again, Starbomb 1 had more songs I hated than actually liked, so this is an improvement.

As the last album goes, it could have been a lot better but for what we got? Pretty good! Had some stinkers tho, not gonna deny that.

Damn guys, this has been a long ass journey, and Starbomb-thought not as special to me as NSP, still holds a lot of nostalgia and sentimental value to me. Tryforce isn't the best of the albums, but its a really nice sendoff to all these years of Starbomb. Hope it isn't the LAST time tho...

[peakblr]

rad asks: 3, 10, 16

ah hey!!!!!! thanks for asking 💕💐 sorry this took so long

3. Are there any parts of radical feminism, or beliefs commonly hold by radical feminists that you strongly disagree with?

im actually having a hard time answering this ahshskshdlska i wrote a really long rambly response but i ended up justifying what i was describing as disagreeing with LOL so like. idk no widely held radfem beliefs are coming to mind, sorry im just as disappointed as you are shdkshdlsjds i hope this doesnt sound sheepish or anything. So i’ll say what i do agree with, which won’t come as a surprise to anyone probably.

i’m anti porn, i think porn should be illegal, should not exist and all of it should be destroyed, pornstars should be given justice and compensated somehow for the govt allowing this shit, and all pornographers should be considered lower than dirt and killed publicly LOL. and i don’t feel bad about that, they don’t feel bad about filming rape and selling it, having the pornstars they abuse lie about how they love it when asked. i feel the same way abt prostitutes and their pimps, that paid consent is not consent and pimps can all drop dead.

i’m all for separatism, no it would not stop men from being men, but it would save women and girls a lot of grief, hurt and scarring.

i think gender isn’t real, is used to oppress women and helps no one, and that id rather it be abolished than exist to validate some people who like gender roles, ackshully.

ive been agnostic for a long time; my mom and my brother are atheists, my dad is a deist. but i will sooner believe that the creator of everything is female, having given birth to the universe than a male. A man’s involvement in creation is his ejaculation. No more, no less. life does not begin in the testicles, or you wouldnt see all this anti abortion stuff, you would see more anti male masturbation stuff–if it weren’t mostly about using women as incubators, lol. that being said i’m pro choice clearly.

i am anti surrogacy, for similar reasons. same sex couples should absolutely be allowed to adopt, but no one has the right to have a baby except the woman who can use her own uterus for her own baby. even with infertile women, there is no justification for paying another women to rent out her uterus.

i currently am not vegan but i admire the ideas behind it, and i see the similarities between how animals and women are treated. i do know however that those who are farming this produce are not necessarily treated well either. disclaimer i know literally jack shit about it so i can’t really speak much for it either way at this moment.

i know there are trans identified, detransitioned or reidentified females who don’t like words like “mutilation” to describe the surgeries they have had to remove their breasts or to alter their privates to mimic penises, and while i don’t insist on mutilation being the word used, i don’t see how it is inaccurate and i find it hard to talk about it in a positive light, less i be endorsing that women get these surgeries to ease their discomfort with their bodies. that being said i don’t want tifs or detransitioned/reidentified women to beat themselves up and constantly regret it. it is not their fault that they were made to be so disconnected from their bodies. they did not want that, and with the trans movement there were not a lot of people telling them that there are other ways besides transitioning to deal with these feelings. i don’t see how this can be hard to believe seeing as we call it the trans cult all the time, which is an accurate name by the way.

i like the alternative spellings of woman and women. womyn, wombyn, wimmin, womxn, a mon, wom or whatever it is. i don’t currently use them myself but i love them and i don’t care how “stupid” you think it is. you know whats stupid??? the words “trans woman,” “trans man,” and “nonbinary.” “Cis woman.” yeah ill take wombyn any day rather than agree that i “identify” as a woman for not subscribing to the transgender religion.

political lesbianism is shitty, i understand some straight women don’t wanna be celibate, but dating lesbians to stick it to the men and not because you love that lesbian is selfish i think. if youre bisexual then you are also not a lesbian but by all means be a febfem or just a bisexual who does not fuck with men.

prostitution will never be empowering. make up, nails, impractical clothes, revealing clothes is not empowering, having men think you are sexy or fuckable is not empowering. you are not “doing it for yourself.” “Poly” relationships are not empowering or woke, making yourself more accessable sexually to men is not empowering in the same way that it empowers men to have sex with multiple women.

idk ive been writing this for a million years but thats some things off the top of my head that i know i Do agree with, i know that wasnt the question but i still wanted to say something lol. i realize now this answered multiple questions from that ask post so im sorry if anyone else thought of asking those things that i answered LOL

10. What’s your relationship with the term “terf”?

ah! i do jokingly call myself that occasionally, you can see it right there on my about page. but in all seriousness it’s horseshit and goes to show how narcissistic the trans movement is. I see people, newly self described radfems who haven’t figured out what the point of it all is, who try to say “there’s a difference between terfs and radfems! You can be radfem and trans inclusive!” or whatever. To which I say, 

these are not two separate groups. Actual radfems are called trans exclusionary because they don’t think men who identify as women can be oppressed by women, and that having been born as a woman is not a privilege, regardless of how that woman identifies. 

radfems aren’t even trans exclusive, really. While there are many detransitioned, reidentified women, there are also many who have transitioned and intend to stay that way, or who are even transitioning currently for their own reasons and comfort, while still confronting their womanhood and how they have been affected or are effected by being a woman in our society as well as how transitioning is dangerous. it’s male exclusive more than anything, and rightfully so. any problems men have are created by other men, and as one user on here put it, feminism should not be “all lives matter.” 

i forgot to say this initially but being “trans inclusive” is interpreted by some to mean “trans endorsing,” that being trans is an innate thing just like homosexuality, that brain sex is real, and that there is nothing wrong with trans identified females getting surgeries they don’t need on perfectly healthy genitals, or getting hormones they otherwise wouldn’t naturally have that have life altering side effects. otherwise i would be called trans exclusive. LOL. so it really does not mean anything, ultimately.

16. How do you feel about the terms TIF/TIM?

i think they’re great. it says exactly what it means. it is much more appropriate than trans man or trans woman, and it makes it easier to talk about them with a little less word salad. the term trans man others tifs from females, and the term trans woman others tims from males. this is problematic. there is nothing differing tifs from females and tims from males outside of the fact that they are trans identified. the only differences they may have are if they have surgically and or hormonally transitioned, but it is not enough difference to make them the opposite sex, nor does it erase male or female socialization, and the benefits or consequences of being a man or a women, respectively. i worded this a lot better when i saved this draft last but tumblr seemingly ate it LOL so thats a drag. but yeah. tif/tim is great. i don’t think it should be offensive, there is nothing insulting or cruel about it. at best it is “invalidating.”

thank you for sending me these!!!! i’m sorry if my answers were unsatisfactory or hard to understand lmao i edited a lot of fluffy blabbering out of my responses believe it or not. i hope you’ve had a great day and that you’re having a lovely night 💌🌻😊

[fr3aklike-me]

yesss, people say that and it sounds nice but after actually trying to do it, it seriously does work !! it’s hard not to worry sometimes though, but it’s so much better to worry a little bit and then accept that it’s not gonna change anything and try to distract yourself. and yes it’s totally an energy zapper !! work is so much fun though, my coworkers are so nice. i feel like bc i work there it’s made me more comfortable with myself bc as you were saying having queerness just be more normalized, it’s like that there. like one day my manager was talking to a customer and she said “yeah my wife and i…” and it wasn’t a whole big deal and i love that. it’s probably like that with 70% of my coworkers, the rest are straight hahaha. (but the ones who also don’t act like it’s a big deal, so it’s super nice) and yes it’s super cool, i love it so much. i remember when my aunts got married in 2015 and when i think about how it was only 7 years ago that gay marriage was legalized where i live it’s insane to me. but yesss for sure in shows i hate how it’s obvious it’s a “thing” to have a queer character, it makes it seem less inclusive bc they often will make endless jokes about it too. and yeah i don’t like to make it a big deal, it dulls the other peoples reaction and they’re less likely to say something offensive if im clearly comfortable with it yknow? and awww the slideshow that’s such a great way to too !! i love that. but i know i know, everyone has their things, but i still think you’re pretty close to perfection. STOP IT you’re so sweet jdkhshdh omg. but yes wtf is the “lifestyle” it’s not like we live our lives differently it’s just a different person we love. my mom always calls my aunts wife her “partner” which is so funny to me, they’ve said wife is what they prefer but she’s like “well which one is the wife ??” and yeah i am not gonna ever be with a man again, i don’t even think i had real feelings for that one guy it’s not a choice. awww omg, you’re a great listener too, and ahhh i make you feel cared for too ? that makes me so happy that’s what i want <3

we are pretty close !! and yeah we can talk forever it’s rly nice !! omg i didn’t even think of that but that’s so cool, the multiple people in my family !! oh my goodness that’s so funny, what were the fanfics based on ?? ahahha it’s sooo embarrassing to look back at old stuff you used to write, omg but you should. but yes it’s so important, it’s nice to recognize that you have some part in situations and see where it comes up. it’s really nice to have it be that draining sometimes though. it’s super peaceful to go to sleep after that, and wake up the next morning and then remember how you feel. and yes! in therapy it’s the same thing too , I think it’s so hard to say things out loud sometimes but once you do it it’s a huge relief like you said !!

(tw abuse and death) i mean yeah, the brother seems like a little awkward guy but I mean as a child too that’s really weird. I don’t honestly put it past him in his adulthood because he does seem just like an awkward person, but say he wants to hit and hurt his sister when he is annoyed with her, the day that she passes away, is really odd. I saw one solved case actually from a video on tiktok of a cop finding a car in a river. The people in the car been missing for 20 years and they were found just randomly. but it’s so crazy how that happens a lot, like how do people vanish and no one knows what happens to them ??!

yes! I felt like I can relate to the small town vibe, even though I don’t live in a small town it’s the sense of community that’s there you know? And once they started getting involved with Lorelei‘s parents and shifting their show that way, it really showed how privileged they were. but I’ve noticed that too, it’s like the POC are background characters or stereotypes in someway. it’s good that they’re not doing that anymore as much but it’s still annoying that it was only 20 years ago and that was still happening. i watch this one about Scientology, like ex members. or ex Mormon videos, i think they’re so interesting. or I think it’s on Hulu, it’s some thing like “escaping cults” but it’s about a lot of different ones and each episode there’s a different cult

you are so good at it, like i feel so safe here <3 but yes getting rejected by a friend would be the absolute worst, it’s so risky so i get it. oooh how interesting, i think it was the same for me, i never thought it was a possibility. oh that definitely makes sense yeah, but i’m so happy you realized it eventually !! that’s so interesting though, you’ve mentioned you’re Muslim, did your parents talk about it at all even to say it’s not allowed or anything ? i think i realized pretty similarly as well, my ex bf was a couple years older and before we were together i was friends with his girlfriend at the time. she introduced us and i thought he was rly hot and then i found myself thinking that it would be great to have a threesome with them but only if the girl was there. and then it kinda spiraled from there, i kept denying my crushes on anyone but men and would seek out men to like. but then finally i accepted that the idea of having sex with a man was gross but having sex with a woman made me nervous in a good way and i just let myself feel that after a while !! but oh no i never told a soul at my old school haha and the old friends thing hahaha but that’s so good that you’re still friends aww !!

-💟

exactly, like sometimes, if I realize I am overthinking of worrying excessively over something that is reasonably out of my control, then I write it out on my phone and I pretty much let out all of my thoughts as a way to express them. then, I'll read over what I wrote and try my best to accept the uncertainty that all of these thoughts may come true, but at the same time, none of them might. I am literally so happy that your coworkers are so sweet and have created such a nice environment, that is so, so amazing! YES YES I love how your manager just casually brought it up - as it ought to be brought up, because it very much should be normalized. and that's great, that your straight coworkers also don't make it into a big deal. because sometimes, I feel like people who aren't queer will sometimes over-compensate by making a huge deal out of their acceptance of queer people, and even though they mean well, I feel like in some ways, it just further divides queer people away. omg your aunts, I love that. literally makes my heart fucking swell in happiness to hear that (also "I wanna be your girlfriend" by girl in red just played on Spotify, I love that the app is listening to us celebrating queerness and followed suit LMAO). it really is so crazy that it's only been a few years since it's been legalized in so many countries, it shows that there is still so much work and growth to be done. absolutely, if you showcase comfort in your sexuality, people will know that it's not something up for them to debate over with you (which so many people try to do and it makes my eye twitch in irritation). even the slideshow LMAO it wasn't even me coming out officially - the slideshow was me generating six tropes for each of my friends and writing them headcanons with their fictional crushes, and I just casually put in Saebyeok and me dkjkdjf. ahhh, my only response I could think of for what your mom said was that they're both wives, but, when you talk of one aunt and are referring to their wife, it's a bit clear who is being labelled as the wife there, haha. and yeah, I definitely understand that, heteronormative societies make non-men feel like they must like men, as though they're obligated, and sometimes, it makes us feel like we should like a man as opposed to truly liking them. and I absolutely feel cared for, you are so attentive and validating in responding to things I've said, it makes me feel so cared for and doted on in the sweetest way. so, thank you so much💗

omg I love that for you! chill grandparents are literally what holds the world together, I love them. oof, now I'm missing my grandparents too!! so... the fanfics... were on 5SOS. sigh. anyways, moving on LMAO. yeah, they had many tropes and cliches, but you know, it was part of my journey - at least that's what I tell myself to not cringe too fucking hard dkjfkdj. for sure, even though such a process can be draining, it just means you can also get some more stressful things off your chest, which also will leave room for peace afterwards. exactly, when I first went to therapy, I was crying so much, but then afterwards, felt this sense of calm at having just unloaded all of that to someone who understood. what kind of journal prompts do you enjoy outside of shadow work?

exactly - if he didn't say those things as a child, I could excuse his behaviour as an adult as him simply being awkward. but, it's very concerning he said those things and leaves a lot of questions. right, right, it is so puzzling how people just vanish. I don't know much about it, but isn't that a bit like Bermuda Triangle? I know that's also another mystery where everyone is wondering how something or a group disappeared, I think? all I remember is there was a "Suite Life on Deck" episode on it jfkdlfk

oh, yeah, for sure. the sense of community and family within the show is one of the best parts. it's such a comfort and super relatable in that respect. exactly, once Rory moved to the grandparents', she just became so privileged. and when Logan called her out on how she is also privileged, despite enjoying prizing herself as not being so, the way I was cheering for that boy omg. exactly, like so many stereotypes and the amount of jokes they make about Indian food in that show makes me so mad. shit, shit, I remember in my class in high school, they mentioned Scientology, but I forgot most on it. could you tell me a bit? as long as it's not triggering or uncomfortable, of course. oooh, and I'll check out the Hulu show! there was this YouTube video I once watched on a man who had escaped a cult reviewing the accuracy of films' cult portrayals, you might find it interesting!

I literally smiled at that first sentence, it makes me enormously happy you feel that way. for sure, I feel like so many of us feel like heterosexuality is the only option in life because of what we're taught. and thank you! <3 oooh, I see, I definitely understand that kind of denial about the crushes on non-men, even though so much attraction and interest is directed towards non-men more often than men. I'm so proud of you, that you came to accept that your sexual attraction was for women and that you allowed yourself to feel that way, like, that's so, so great. I am so proud of you. and that's totally understandable, knowing how your school reacted to queerness.

so, for me being Muslim - my family always had a pretty "don't ask, don't tell" attitude on queerness. they didn't explicitly speak against it, but it was an almost unspoken rules that if you're queer, you either keep it a secret or you go about it in a very lowkey manner (ex. dating secretly). my dad, who I haven't come out to, is a bit difficult to read in terms of what he feels. but, I knew my mom supported the community, but when I told her, she very much wanted me to keep it a secret. and I understand now it's because she's seen how openly queer people in our family have been treated - like, maybe being outcasted or treated with discomfort or shame. but, it was upsetting to not have her support in the moment I came out to her.

anyways, I don't wanna end this response on that note, but I hope you're having a great day/night <3 and Ramadan ended up starting for us tomorrow, so I am mentally preparing for it now LMAO

[scorpiorpt]

girl no offense at all but you’ve been notorious in the rpc for years now as the olivia o’brien/sydney carlson/nyx/vada girl. you ask for attention on main and never reciprocate the energy, you bump your selfies constantly after they’ve only been posted a short period of time, you’ve made comments/clowned about people’s religions, and you’ve been so much nicer to male muses that you think you can ship with vs fem presenting muses. any time you’ve been confronted ic or ooc you either don’t reply, leave, or complain to admins instead of holding yourself accountable. people have tried and you never took it seriously.

no offense taken and i get it. i’ve stopped using those specific muses because they were toxic and i’ve tried to be better about it. i’ve branched out to different fcs, different character types, etc because i did get into the habit of playing the same muses over and over again.

regarding my last muse in oak, emery, yes they did make remarks about christianity and how they didn’t believe in god. when it was brought up as an issue, we apologized and a comment like that wasn’t made again.

people bump their own selfies all the time, as did emery, but they also put in the effort to bump selfies on the tl and post them on fleets if they were below the average rts/likes. i did my best to keep up with dms and notifs and responding to as many tweets as i could using the -filter:replies feature. i thought i was doing better but i think i just struggle with longevity in an rp and expecting too much. i tried really hard not to be that bitch who let what happened in rp bother her just for it to reflect back on her muse but i did, i noticed it and i hated it. in the last few weeks of oak, i was getting desperate in my muse having that attention because i thought i put the effort in to deserve it in return, but maybe my extra effort is actually the bare minimum and it’s not enough. all i can say more about that is that i’m trying to improve and have that inclusive and supportive muse and not have it always be about me or my muse.

the one thing i’ll fully disagree with is me having my muse be nicer to male muses vs female presenting because i don’t think i do that at all but then again, i could just not be seeing it and i’ll do my damn best to be more mindful about that.

i think i find it easier to avoid that type of confrontation because it’s the internet and in the grand scheme of things, it shouldn’t matter. but i know i need to do better in reminding myself that y’all are real people too and i know how shitty it feels to call someone out and be ignored. it’s one thing if it’s anonymous random hate but it’s another if it’s coming from people in a community i share space and energy and time with so the respect for all of you should be there as well.

i am sorry for the ways i’ve played my muses in the past, for the dumb shit i’ve posted without thinking about it, and for ignoring concerns. i am going to do better. i’m not making excuses, i’m listening and i’m explaining in hopes that there can be an understanding and yeah. my ims are always open but i’m happy to do it through here too.

[just0nemorepage]

I'm desperately trying to not come off as offensive with this, since I love me a diverse and inclusive cast of characters and am trying to write one. However, I wanted to ask you, in light of your review for My Lady Knight, if you think there's merit to the idea that some books feel like checklists for diversity? Or the idea that a diverse cast is no replacement for good writing, characterization and plot. Again, Im probably coming off passive aggressive but I just want your opinion on this.

*My Lady King sry 

You sure didn’t come off as offensive to me, so don’t worry!

I had to go and look - it’s been two years since I read that book, jeez.

I feel like my stance on the situation is a little more complex than that, but with that book in particular, the only issues I could find were poor editing, and that the story itself felt short and rushed. Everything else seemed on point, and the raw skill and story quality still felt like it was there, so I still gave it a full five stars.

Also - my stance on book reviews in general is that they are my opinion fully, and that I had have my thoughts on the matter but I generally don’t try to force them on anyone else. What that means is that I can see the flaws and faults in a book and choose to love it and rate it highly anyway, but I will address those flaws and faults to anyone I recommend the book to so they can form their own thoughts.

And that line of thinking is probably more or less the answer to your question. Diverse characters or storylines are no replacement to good writing or plots or characterization or development, but that shit has to be actively and notably bad in order for me personally to rate a diverse book badly (bad meaning both skill level or just being downright wrong in how things are represented or written). Diverse books are so hard to find and so necessary to have around that it’s very hard for me to not hold them with innate high regard.

[floofsta-x]

Rise Before the Fall, Pt.1

parts;; One (You are here) | Two | Three (coming soon)

genre;; Science fiction, fandom – Pacific Rim!AU

pairing;; Jooheon x I.M [Jookyun, Rapper Line]; PS there’s also Kiho in here, and mentions of Hyungnu and Minhyungnu

⚠️ warnings;; violence of course [THEY’RE FIGHTING GIANT ALIENS???], fluff, bucketloads of angst, depression due to terminal illness, and some smut eventually

words;; 5497 (5.5k)

title;; The final track of the Pacific Rim OST, Drift – Blake Perlman & RZA

author’s notes;; Ahhh! I am so excited to be able to share a bit of this with you at long last! This is the first part of a Jookyun miniseries, but trust me when I say that I also have a larger, more inclusive work on the way involving the rest of the boys and this gigantic extended universe–that’s honestly gotten way too out of hand. But I will deal with that as it happens. Anticipate! I really hope you enjoy this small offering while you wait ❤︎

    It is June, 2017.

Almost two years ago, the first Kaiju emerged from the deep-sea rift known as the breach. Massive, terrifying, toxic, indestructible by conventional means, and hellbent on destruction, it ravaged a great part of the Californian coastline before finally meeting its end in the form of a nuclear warhead. There was great rejoicing. Everyone believed the threat to be over. The world sighed in relief and went on with the everyday, content to think that the terror was a singular event, a freak of space and time.

Yet, when the next reared its ugly head and leveled a good part of Tokyo, and the third headed for Sydney, Australia, the brutal truth had to be accepted. There was no end in sight. So, a council of world leaders from the nations of the Pacific Rim put their heads together. They needed a match for the towering Kaiju, the alien monsters. Thus, the Jaeger was born: a hunter, a soldier scaled up to the extreme of the alien threat. It was a crazy idea, but one that was eagerly received in light of such dire circumstances.

To be able to kill the fast-moving, agile Kaiju, scientists employed experimental technology. They hoped that the Jaegers could be controlled via mental power alone. The idea was that by syncing a man’s brain and the warrior, they would able to move as one, and naturally. Scientists quickly learned that one person on their own could not handle the load. When a second added their willpower, though, things ran a whole lot smoother.

Given the green light to proceed with production, within months, a small fleet of Jaegers rolled out. A governing organization for their maintenance and command was created, too: the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps. The Jaegers could not operate without pairs of pilots, and so teams from around the world were meticulously chosen and trained. They were the first on the front lines, and ultimately also the first to realize that humankind’s gamble was paying off. One Kaiju was killed at the hands of a Jaeger. A second, six months later. The next, four months following.

Now, there is an emergence about every 5 weeks. The ragtag teams of rangers and Jaegers that exist at various points around the Pacific Rim have managed to check them off as they have come, but there have been unforeseen consequences for many. Innocent civilians have died of Kaiju Blue, from attack, and from fear and panic. Mark 1 and 2 Jaegers have gone down, killing pilots, experienced and inexperienced alike. The world is tired, though the human spirit fights on.

This is the story of two young men, recruited by necessity and hardened by combat. Forged into best friends in the cockpit of their Mark 2 Jaeger, Blind Rhythm, Lee Jooheon and Im Changkyun have managed to fight their way through 3 solo kills and 1 team drop without becoming an alien monster’s gigantic toy. They’ve just been deployed again, against the biggest, nastiest Kaiju yet, and they’re going to need every bit of wit, skill and strength they can muster…

Lee Jooheon jerked out of his deep, dreamless slumber and almost instantly realized that something was wrong. The familiar, piercing sound of sirens rang in his ears and bright light pushed the dark away as the LED screen on the wall of the bunkroom lit up. Though he was still hazy and scrabbling for alertness, one thought ran through his head and one thought alone: Kaiju. And since the screen is up, we’re being deployed, then. Groaning, he rolled over and rubbed his eyes, then glanced toward the clock on the wall. 12:15 blinked back at him in blocky lines. 

“Changkyun? Hey, let’s go man. We’re up.” The messy-haired, chubby-cheeked boy groaned sleepily, wiggling a little bit to rock the bed. Doubtless, momentarily there would come a reply like “Ok, ok, you don’t need to tell me twice, Jooheon hyung.”

But there was only silence. “Come on, don’t act like the maknae. People need us–” 

Wait a minute. I don’t even hear breathing. Jooheon rolled and slid out of bed, dropping the little ways to the ground, his knees bent as he hit the floor. Glancing behind him, it hit him that his suspicion was correct. The bottom bunk was empty, sheets not even touched. 

Dread descended on him. “Kyunie…where did you go this time?” he half-asked, sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. It was a futile question, only for his own peace of mind; he knew without even having to look around that his co-pilot wasn’t here. 

The LED panel was urgently trying to blind him, but it didn’t matter at the moment. As he stood there and tried to get the gears of his brain moving, Jooheon couldn’t seem to think of anything else but his best friend and partner in crime. Changkyun meant the world to him. They had flown together for three years, first in basic training, then the Air Force, and now for the PPDC. Now, on missions, they lived in each others’ heads, but far before that, they had known their friendship was special. It had always been so natural, and though they had a few hard times they found themselves unable to stay away for long.

Apparently, others noticed too. Six months ago, an officer had approached them and recruited them for the PPDC. Jooheon and Changkyun had become part of the second generation of Jaeger pilots. Many commented on how strong their drift compatibility was. At first, both of them thought that it was a blessing. Then, they rushed through training (the Los Angeles Academy was still non-existent at that point) before ultimately command told them that they were to fill the cockpit of a Mark 2.

Blind Rhythm, they named the mech–and the duo learned very quickly how truly terrifying facing down a Kaiju was. It was without a doubt the scariest thing anyone could do, but together they had managed to keep their cool and bagged their first kill.

The next one was a little better than the first. The third went down in no time. And now they were about to be thrust into the fray again.

Once the cold of the concrete floor had seeped into his bones and he felt alert enough to think, Jooheon glanced over at the screen at long last. This kaiju–Blitzkrieg, apparently–was hands down the biggest that had ever emerged from the breach. They already had stats on it, as well as possible primary offensive strategies and mechanisms. Thirty minutes until report time, the red clock in the corner blinked forebodingly. Thirty minutes to find my co-pilot.

As he pulled on a pair of tennis shoes on, Jooheon shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then dove out the door in his boxers and rumpled tank top. He didn’t care that he wasn’t wearing socks, that his hair was a mess, that he probably looked like he had walked out of the apocalypse. His brain was going too fast, thinking of possible places to find a twenty-one year old boy–because in a few ways he still was a boy–Changkyunie.

Jooheon jogged down the corridor, purposefully passing halls of bunks and quarters. His instinct was to ask someone, and of course the first person to cross his mind was Shin “Wonho” Hoseok, head of Blind Rhythm’s J-Tech team. Hoseok-hyung was a good friend of theirs and always supportive. Many admired him for his body, but those who really knew him easily saw that he was as kind-hearted as handsome and sexy.

Finally Jooheon pulled up in front of the door he needed and knocked. Faintly, from inside, there came, “Just a minute!” 

That was fine. He had seconds to spare; also, it was a perfect moment to lean forward and catch his breath. Finally, the doorknob wiggled and none other than Wonho himself pulled it open. 

Boy, was he a sight. His dark, blue-green streaked hair stuck out oddly, and he was half-naked and adjusting his boxers, like he had just put them on and pulled them up. More than that, though, Hoseok…well, to put it nicely, it looked like someone had been having a little bit of fun with him. Lines of red and black hickeys dotted his neck and collarbone, and his lips (plus the immediate area around them) were redder and more swollen than usual.

“Jooheon-ah!” He gasped when he realized who it was. “What are you doing here, shouldn’t you should be suiting up–”

“I know, I know.” The chubby-cheeked pilot waved his hand dismissively, and before the older boy could protest he cut in, “Have you seen or heard from Changkyun? I can’t find him.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Who is it, Hoseok-ah?” In the dark, another voice spoke; moments later, someone else quite unashamedly came up behind Wonho and wrapped their arms around his torso. A lazy hand ran down his chest and defined abs. Not too much to Jooheon’s surprise, it was Yoo Kihyun, another friend and a doctor in the medical bay. So that was why Wonho had been finding every excuse to go there lately.

“Jooheonie.” Kihyun said with surprise, regaining his professional posture, though he didn’t remove his arms from around the older man’s waist. “Why are you here? You drop in 25 minutes.”

“He’s looking for I.M.” Wonho explained, patting the hand on his stomach and subtly lacing his fingers with Kihyun’s. “You haven’t happened to see him, have you?”

The black-haired, sharp-faced doctor shook his head. “No. But–I have heard people say that for the last month or so, he goes outside at night. To the lake.”

Jooheon abruptly remembered the last time they had drifted, and mentally rebuked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He had found out that his best friend took nightly trips to the small man-made lake just beyond the compound to watch the stars and moon, and also forget about the throbbing, sometimes excruciating, pain in his head, at the base of his brain. “Oh yeah. Say no more. Thanks.” He glanced between the two touchy boys at the door. “I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

“It’s alright, Jooheon-ah.” Wonho smiled encouragingly. “Just, go find Changkyunie and whip some Kaiju ass…ok?”

“Will do, hyung.”

“We’ll be here for you when you return as heroes.” As the pilot stepped back and nodded, turning to go, Hoseok thought of one more thing and blurted, “Jooheonie?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you please…not tell anyone?”

There it was. Jooheon knew that Wonho wasn’t oblivious to the state he was in. If that hadn’t done it, Kihyun’s loving gestures gave it away, and on top of that, Kihyun had placed himself straight behind Wonho because he was stark naked. It would take someone horribly stupid to not see the truth.

Jooheon smirked and nodded. “My lips are sealed.” Of course, there was also the drift, but Changkyun would totally understand. Both of them wanted Hoseok-hyung to be happy, and neither had ever seen him as radiant as he had been in the last few weeks. It was obvious, now, why that was.

With a final duck of his head to his hyungs, Jooheon took off in the direction of the exit.

Not too much later, he found his co-pilot sitting out on the end of the big dock, staring down into the water, tossing a little electronic thingy-or-other out across the lake, and catching it as it came back to him. He had invented it, probably. Jooheon couldn’t help but take a moment to stop and appreciate how ethereal Changkyun looked, sitting there with a leg up on the pier, gently bobbing up and down as the waves washed up against the floating walkway, and bathed in the light of the quarter-moon.

“Hyung.” Changkyun’s low voice rumbled as the older boy approached, and he tossed his creation out and bent his leg so that his co-pilot could sit beside him.

“Hey, Changkyunie.” Jooheon took the spot, content to relax a little and wait. He dipped a toe in the water, making ripples and watching them expand outward, the proverbial drop in the bucket of time or whatever that shit was.

Finally the older boy broke the silence. “Is it your head again?”

“It’s always my head.” Changkyun tapped the back of his neck, immediately above the first vertebrae. “Right there.”

“Yeah–I know, I felt it last drift. Weren’t you supposed to have an appointment in med bay about it?”

“I did.” Somewhere, a cricket stopped chirping, engulfing the boys in a moment of silence before another started up somewhere else. “Kihyun-ah–he and Hoseok are friends with benefits you know–ran some MRIs and told me that he’d see me again in a couple of days. He’s convincing, but couldn’t fool me. I know when a person’s beside himself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

A storm of anger clouded Changkyun’s face. “He was pitying me. Dammit, Jooheon, I wish I knew why.” For a brief moment, Changkyun tensed before he was pulling in huge breaths, letting them out, and lowly humming an indiscernible tune. His pre-combat destress routine, he called it. “But that’s not going to help me now. I’ve gotta relax.”

“So you know, then. About the Kaiju.”

Wordlessly, the younger boy lifted his phone, and pulling his earbuds out of the headphone jack, flipped on the screen and gave it a shake. Voices started blaring through the speaker: various people in command, lead techs, LOCCENT. Almost the moment he did, familiar codes and names came over the air.

“514-M. Where are J and I? They’re not in their room or in the DR [drivesuit room]. Alpha’s wondering as well. Over.”

“514-W to 514-M and 514-Alpha. I’ve seen them. They’ll be there on time. Give them space. Over.”

Jooheon chuckled and shook his head. “You scoundrel, hacking the shatterdome’s private channel.” They normally had access to the feed, too, but with a special pager that was currently sitting in a drawer somewhere back in their room and definitely not with something as insecure as a cellphone. The channel was hidden to standard searching devices and came up blank, but somehow Changkyun had managed to tweak the phone or find another devious, secret way to listen.

“I haven’t cracked the frequency that matters, though.”

“Huh? You mean the one that Marshal Hyunwoo supposedly uses to talk to H.One? You still really believe that fantasy of yours is real?”

“Then why do we have seven 514 codes? And the last one’s 514-H, huh?”

“That’s easy. It’s from when Hyunwoo wasn’t in high command yet. He was only given the title Alpha after that happened.”

“Bull. He was 514-S; that was struck from the book a long time ago.”

Jooheon groaned, throwing his head back and giving an exasperated huff. “Think about what you’re saying, Changkyun. Our hyung? Talking to the most wanted man in South Korea, the Kaiju Black Market head?”

“Our research division gets the fresh material it does somehow. Also there’s substantial evidence for the rumor that Hyunwoo has a tryst with H.One.”

“That’s all just flying pigs and fucking lies to try to tear the Marshal down, and you know it.”

Changkyun sighed; but more because he wanted quiet and peace than anything else closely related to ‘You’ve won this one’. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Jooheon’s momentary anger at his partner cooled at the memory of how intense his pain was. Yeah, this stupid Shownu and H.One thing had existed prior, but–Jooheon couldn’t stop his friend from thinking altogether. Perhaps it made him forget the throb in the back of his head for a while or the stress that it put on him to be so young and have to fight things that could rip him apart limb from limb like nothing. Jooheon certainly had those coping mechanisms, too: rap, for instance. The occasional broken toaster or coffee pot. Looking after wizard hacker Changkyun. 

Finally, at long last, the older boy murmured, “Are you going to be ok to fly?”

Pressing his mouth into a line and sticking his tiny invention into his pocket, Changkyun nodded. “Yeah. I took some ibuprofen before I tried going to bed and I’ll have some more when we get back to the room.” He turned and pushed himself up, to his feet, holding out a hand for support as Jooheon stood. “I’ll be fine. Time to go draw some blue blood, yeah?”

“Hell, yeah.”

Just like Wonho had said, the two of them were right on time. Side by side they had their Drivesuits put on and stepped into the Conn-Pod. Once they were connected to the tangle of wires and metal comprising the command platform and feedback cradle, they made the drop onto Blind Rhythm’s nuclear-powered body. Jooheon and Changkyun felt themselves lock into the systems and start pulling weight with the Jaeger controls.

Not too long after that, a familiar, sunny voice crackled through the comms. “Welcome back, Blind Rhythm. Everything is looking smooth and clear and sunny…of course there’s no sun, but proverbially we’ll say–”

Changkyun groaned, glancing over at Jooheon and rolling his eyes. “We get it, Minhyuk…” 

“Ahem. Yes. Right. Well, the Marshal is now on deck, let’s get this Kaiju taken care of. Neural Handshake initiating in five seconds: five, four, three–”

This was the moment of truth. Jooheon and Changkyun glanced at each other one last time before they got sucked into the drift. The familiar falling feeling washed over them, of floating through each other’s memories: old ones from their childhoods, new ones from tonight, and everything in between. 

Finally they jerked back to the present. “Neural handshake holding, strong as ever…” Minhyuk noted, to be formal. For the Marshal, of course. The pilots swung into the calibration phase, before declaring that they were ready for combat, awaiting orders.

“Gentlemen, I hope you’re aware that this is a mother of a Kaiju.”

Gentle smiles spread on the faces of the two pilots at the sound of Marshal Hyunwoo’s voice. “Yes, we know that.” Jooheon responded with what they both were thinking.

“Good. Blitzkrieg is quickly approaching the miracle mile and seems to be heading for us; or, worse, Seoul. We can’t let it get past here. You are to dispatch it on sight.”

“Yes, sir.” 

The huge steel doors of the coastal shatterdome pulled apart with a groan. Blind Rhythm stepped out onto the tarmac, then into the cold, dark, but calm sea, striding out into the water, fists clenched. Jooheon reached up for a moment to flip off the comms. “Changkyun, I don’t feel as much pain as last time, but the pressure’s there–are you ok?”

“Yes, hyung, I told you.” 

The older boy’s eyes softened as he saw that his co-pilot was doing his best to contain his temper. “You realize that if you black out, I don’t think I can survive running this Jaeger by myself.”

Deep breaths, Changkyun. Ran through both of their heads. Then, You’ll still try, though, won’t you Jooheon?

I care about you, Kyunie. I’d die for you. That’s why, yes, I’ll try, if worse comes to worse. But we need to kill this motherfucking terror together.

A mile was nothing for a man as tall as a jaeger, and soon they were sitting in their target zone. “Ok Minhyuk, feed us things.” Changkyun said, eyes darting left and right. “Where is it?”

“It seems to be circling around; I think it’s sensed y–Oh, fuck!” 

“What, Min–”

“It put on a burst of super speed–closing in on you, eleven o’clock–get out of the way, fast–!”

Blind Rhythm had just enough time to sidestep before a huge, black and blue figure emerged from the sea, mouth wide open and clawed arms extended. It missed, barely, and flew on past, landing back in the water, kicking up mist and waves as it swung around. A brief moment of calm passed. Both monster and mech seemed to be sizing each other up.

“Christ–you were right when you said it was a mother, Marshal,” Jooheon muttered in awe. In addition to being the largest Kaiju they had ever seen, Blitzkrieg was agile-looking. It was ugly, too, with the body of a big cat, a slender tail with a massive, clubbed end, and the face of a Gharial crocodile–except with more eyes and several layers of long, pointed teeth in its mouth. The beast growled ominously before opening its jaw wide and making another leap for Blind Rhythm.

“Arm razor!” Both boys shouted together and flicked their outside wrists. A gap opened up down the Jaeger’s arms; long, knife-like blades reaching from fist to shoulder slid out.

As the Kaiju landed on top and knocked them over into the water, Jooheon and Changkyun threw their first left hook. Though they were aiming for the neck, it nailed the beast in the side of the head instead. Not like that wasn’t as good of a hit, though. Blitzkrieg roared in pain and shook its head, backing off. The Jaeger managed to roll over (with some effort) and scrabbled back to its feet, water washing off of the gray hull.

They only had seconds before they were set on again, the stone-like mass on the Kaiju’s tail smashing into their side. Changkyun, the left hemisphere, cried out; the backwash of pain got Jooheon’s blood boiling.

“You–you son of a bitch!” The older boy roared and straightened, reaching out to grab the tail as it came around for another hit. “Give us that!” By then, Changkyun had recovered. Quickly he grabbed just below where Jooheon’s right hand was, flicking his wrist down. The sharp blade on the side of the Jaeger’s wrist sliced clean through, detaching the club.

The Kaiju’s roars were starting to become more angry than pained; but the two boys could tell that taking off the tail had hurt. Jooheon flung the dead flesh out to sea. Then at the sight of the beast’s gaping maw coming around to snap at them, he instinctively leaned in with a shoulder. The beast attached itself there, and this time the older pilot was the one to have white hot agony flash through him. He thought that he could feel the individual rows of teeth burrow in; the beast chewed a little. “Agh! This is your chance Changkyun!”

The younger boy gritted his teeth and put his arm up against the Kaiju’s exposed neck. Acidic blue blood started running down as the knives cut into its flesh.

As the monster reared back to get away, Jooheon summoned his strength and reached up, electrical wires sparking and popping, and grabbed onto the long jaw, pulling the whole beast back toward them and onto Changkyun’s arm. In one smooth, fluid motion the latter elbowed out, cutting deep, deep into a weak spot in the Kaiju’s armor. The only thing that stopped them from taking its head off completely was its spine.

Wheezing and unable to breathe, the Kaiju stepped back, knowing that it was at its end. Blood poured out of the gash the Jaeger had created. Together, Jooheon and Changkyun reached down and grabbed the snout once more, but from the underside, surging forward and pushing the beast back, bending its neck at an extreme angle. Moments later, a snap ripped through the air, and the beast hung lifeless in their grip. Everything was silent, except for the two pilots’ heavy breathing. Blue blood dripped from the Jaeger’s hands into the sea.

Then there was a cheer from LOCCENT, Minhyuk at the forefront of it. “Kaiju Blitzkrieg has been eliminated!“

“Good work, boys.” Marshal Hyunwoo told the two pilots. “Leave the body there, we’ll have a containment dome over it soon.”

Neither Jooheon nor Changkyun spoke to each other as they strode back through the water to the shatterdome. They really didn’t need to; they knew what was running through each other’s heads. Shock lingered from everything that had just happened–and so fast.

Techs were swarming all over the damaged mech almost the moment that it reached the bay and powered down. When the pilots stepped out of the conn-pod onto the high walkway, Wonho was waiting, a huge grin on his face. His collared uniform covered up the area where Jooheon knew Kihyun��s bruises had turned purple. “Congrats guys.”

“Thank you Hoseok.” Jooheon nodded to their friend and grinned.

But Changkyun said nothing, just shuffled and stared at the floor, rocking on the balls of his feet. For some reason, after being in a Jaeger, pilots could still often feel what the other was thinking even after the neural handshake broke. The first pilots had called it a Post-drift hangover, and the name stuck. The raging one Jooheon had now told him everything. 

The painkillers were wearing off, and the throb in the back of the younger boy’s head was now unbearable. He felt like he was about to black out, but determinedly he kept himself upright. It took all his strength. He hadn’t even noticed Hoseok standing there.

Behavior like this wasn’t normal for Changkyun, and Wonho quickly picked up that something was wrong. He made a worried face and tilted his head quizzically at Jooheon.

“It’s ok.” the chubby-cheeked pilot reached over and placed a hand gently on his best friend’s shoulder. The younger boy looked up at him, in the eyes. Pain was evident on Changkyun’s face, and sunk deep into his irises. “Maybe something happened during the drift, I should take him to the med bay–”

At ‘med bay’, Changkyun seemed to come alive, and he shrugged off the hand, cutting in almost defensively, “No. I’m fine. I just need a little while.” Jooheon could see him fill up his lungs all the way, and then with a calmer tone, addressed their hyung. “Yes, thank you, Hoseok. Please take care of her.” 

“I’ll do my best.” Wonho nodded, knowing full well that he was referring to the Jaeger. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes.” Exasperation seeped back into the maknae’s tone. “I just need out of this drivesuit.” He started pulling at the release latch for the spinal clamp, behind his head.

“Changkyunie,” someone called from down the walkway, and Minhyuk came jogging to them. “Wait, let’s get back to the DR.”

The tall, slender LOCCENT officer led them there, but they made slow progress. Jooheon had to catch Changkyun on his shoulder, after the latter stumbled and almost fell in the hallway. Quietly, so that Minhyuk wouldn’t hear, Jooheon prodded his co-pilot, “Why won’t you let me take you to the medical bay? You need it.”

Changkyun let out a labored sigh. “I don’t want them looking at me.”

“We can ask for Kihyunie. You trust his hands, don’t you?”

Weakly, the younger boy shook his head. “You know, I told you earlier that Kihyun was pitying me? Everyone there looks at me like that. I don’t want to go.”

Right about that time, they reached the drivesuit room and Minhyuk turned to help them. Jooheon motioned that his co-pilot should get help first. Minhyuk only nodded and settled Changkyun down into a chair. In no time his slender, deft fingers had pulled the release. After that, the circuitry suit zipper only needed to be undone before he could slide out of the battle armor. 

Soon enough Jooheon was out, too, leaving both boys in underwear only. Changkyun tried getting into habit, but his best friend stopped him and gently pried the clothes from his hands, handing him a different set instead.

If anyone saw them as they went back to their room, no one interrupted. Jooheon wondered if it was a funny sight: one chubby cheeked boy in uniform, carrying another on his shoulders. The passenger wasn’t in uniform but instead in a pair of athletic shorts and a hole-ridden tee shirt. His arms and legs wrapped around the other, and his eyes drooped closed involuntarily.

Jooheon could feel Changkyun’s thoughts blank in and out as he succumbed to a mixture of pain and exhaustion. At long last he could set his co-pilot down in his bed. Jooheon pulled the sheets over the younger boy, and sat there a minute to rub his forehead before Changkyun’s consciousness flicked off for good.

The two pilots slept for a long time, and woke up feeling at least better about the kill they had managed to pull off. After that, a couple of days passed slowly. Changkyun still had excruciating pain, but the day-to-day routine they resumed, packed full of training, conditioning, and downtimes with friends, made it not as bad.

Jooheon couldn’t help worrying constantly about his best friend. He had never considered himself to be an anxious person, but now that Changkyun was struggling to live normally, he found that it was so easy to get that nauseous feeling at the thought of how sad and in pain the younger boy was. It ate at Jooheon. All he could do to keep himself level was stick to his own routine.

One evening, Jooheon returned to their bunk around six pm to discover that Changkyun wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen him in any of the usual places, so he had assumed the younger boy had already returned here. Jooheon’s stomach dropped, but he somehow managed to convince himself that it wasn’t reason to worry. Faintly, he remembered that Kihyun had called Changkyun back and asked him if he would be willing to meet for an appointment at five. Of course, Kyunie had agreed, and that was probably where he was now.

Changing into some comfy jeans and a black tee, Jooheon lounged at his desk. Taking out some clamps and screwdrivers, he busied himself in pulling apart a blender that he had found abandoned in a hallway. Many people in the shatterdome knew Jooheon’s talent for mechanics and so trusted him with various repairs. After realizing that he was being called on more and more, he started charging a small fee for his services. He also picked up appliances sometimes and worked on them, cleaning them for resale or personal use. The almost-mindless work kept his brain occupied and wiped away the stress of the day. 

The next time Jooheon looked up, the digital clock on the wall said 11:00, and the ranger’s eyes widened.

His next thought was the realization that Changkyun still wasn’t back. If he was going to sleep tonight, he would have been here long ago. Instantly, Jooheon knew where he would more than likely be. He still went out to the lake lots of times. Often Jooheon would let him have his peace, but considering that Kyunie had met with Kihyun today…a feeling deep in the pit of the older boy’s stomach urged him to go.

So minutes later, Jooheon found himself out in the night air, hands in pockets, wandering out to the water’s edge. It was a nice evening, but for some reason the wind chilled him more than normal. 

Changkyun was sitting in his usual spot: on the dock, both feet over the edge, motionless. So motionless in fact that Jooheon wondered for a moment if he was asleep. But as he heard his hyung’s footsteps approach, the younger boy turned his head to see who was there and tried his hardest to smile. 

With a jolt, Jooheon realized that his best friend was paler than the moonlight that shone down on him. The chubby-cheeked ranger plopped down next to Changkyun, their hips pressed together, body heat warming each other up. 

For a moment, sitting like this, neither spoke. 

“Is it your head again?”

Changkyun smiled weakly and laughed a little. “It’s always my head.” giving the tiniest hint of a sly grin, he lifted his hand and tapped the usual spot. “Right there.”

Jooheon didn’t have the heart to continue on. Nor did he know how to. Another long moment of silence reigned, expectant silence, unsure silence.

“Jooheonie, I’m dying.”

[thesquidwizard]

I was told reading  Philosophical problems with blah blah blah would answer why making 500 genders would solve gender stereotypes I am petty and affable so I read it

If you want my opinions and my mind slowly melting i am kindly putting this under a read more cuz its fucking long as shit

the TLDR is : this drivel doesnt mention the problems of gender stereotypes or neogenders at all its just some guy wanking on why women need to give up their spaces because he thinks their wrong and annoying ( Kathleen Stock especially)

I’d love to @ you lake-lady, but you blocked me for thought crimes and im to lazy to try to get around that ( if you actually read this before recommending it to me, you are very very strong and very very brainwashed)

the first 14 paragraphs are circle talk "GC feminists are wrong, i will prove their wrong, they think "this" it is wrong ill prove its wrong etc etc etc" if you survive that that, They focus on Kathleen Stock in their words "Stock presents an articulate, relatively comprehensive, and moderate form of gender-critical feminism" first: If Margie’s self-diagnosis (“I’m a boy”) is questioned by the therapist, the therapist can be construed as . . . “converting” . . . a trans child to a “cis” one. If, on the other hand, Margie’s self-diagnosis is affirmed unquestioningly, the therapist is effectively failing to affirm Margie in a sexual orientation of lesbianism; something which also looks like conversion by omission. (Stock, 2018e) -They spend 5 paragraphs explaining why Stocks hypothetical girl^ isnt converted to male heterosexualness by transitioning, and not affirming Marges Gender identity is Dangerous They do not address Stocks ACTUAL concern that Gender Affirming Therapy without any kind of therapy and research on GNC and SSA children is conversion by omission because it doesnt take into account if these feelings stem from gender stereotypes and homophobia. Stocks is not concerned that you are converting this girl straight( sex is real she would be SSA either way) she is concerned your transitioning her without affirming her sexuality and giving her support in the knowledge that being a lesbian is okay and perfectly normal.-

Next: concern about female-only spaces is about legal self-identification without any period of “living as a woman,” prior male socialisation in a way which exacerbates the tendency to violence against female bodies, and the fact that many self-identifying trans women . . . retain both male genitalia and a sexual orientation towards females. (stock) If the evidence shows (as, in fact, it is already showing) that some males—whether genuinely “truly” trans or just pretending—turn out to pose a threat to females, and it’s really hard to tell in advance which ones will, can’t we then make a social norm and/or law to exclude all [natal] males from female-only spaces . . . ? (also stock)

-Quotes are separated by garbage but this whole section is what we have all seen before " why must trans woman suffer, just because cis men hurt woman" except its really long it acknowledges male violence rates but refuses to acknowledge we have already seen men (and identified transwoman) taking advantage to hurt woman. This whole chunk is just SOME woman must be sacrificed for Trans feelings-

They do put: Finally, we know that some men who come into contact with children in their work will offend against them. Yet we do not exclude all men from working with children, even if using gender as a watershed would prevent those offenses. Why does the good of minimizing child sexual abuse not lead us inexorably to the conclusion that we must outlaw all male teachers and coaches? Because our practical reason recognizes complexity: We readily see that even the most highly desirable states of affairs (minimizing abuse of children) do not have simple, quasi-mechanistic implications for policy or decision-making, and that they do not justify the indiscriminate suppression of other goods (even less important ones, such as professional vocations).

-And id like to add with the rise in pedo crimes I am 100% down with separating men from children because i do not think any child should be endangered just to keep men in jobs.-

They also put this quote in:

there is clearly a difference between the experience of a child who is treated by others in way that are characteristic of boys and also feels like a boy, and a child who is treated by others in ways that are characteristic of boys whilst feeling that they are really a girl. (Finlayson et al., 2018)

-And are you sure? are you really sure? I feel like there might be differences between social conditioning, experience and feelings. A boy treated like a boy and a boy(who feels like a girl) treated like a boy are still experiencing being treated and raised like a boy?? one just has emotional differences  (is it internalized homophobia, Gender non conformity, a developed fetish?? who knows but they still experienced boyhood)-

-Next section says we cant make single stall or any other kind of netrual or trans bathrooms because its to hard? and it hurts trans feels reminding them that they have birth sexes because thats hate speech???-

also this: Our social world is arranged in a way that makes exclusion from the sex/gender they claim—on the basis of a lack of “authentic” belonging (Serano, 2007)—central to trans subordination. As with other forms of social subordination, trans exclusion has not only material dimensions (Blair & Hoskin, 2018; Hargie et al., 2017; Moolchaem et al., 2015; Movement Advancement Project and GLSEN, 2017; Rondón Garcia & Martin Romero, 2016; Serano, 2013; Stonewall, n.d.; Yona, 2015), but also discursive ones that work in accordance with the logic of so-called performatives. Performatives are utterances that do things with words: specifically, they accomplish something in the act of saying it (Austin, 1975). The classical example is marriage—in the act of declaring a couple married, a celebrant brings about a change in their normative status, provided the celebrant is the right person in the right circumstances. This presupposes a normative background (that is a set of laws, conventions, or other rules) governing all those matters: who qualifies as a legitimate celebrant, what the right circumstances are for the performative to do its work, what marriage status means in terms of spouses’ rights and obligations, etc.

-Celebrating a Marriage is celebrating a couples chosen form of representing their relationship publicly and adding each other to their legal family, how is that the same as letting men into woman's bathrooms because they have feelings??-

-Theres more babblery about subjugating trans people by not pretending biology is fake, and that saying they cant just taking womans rights and spaces is denying their reality and existence we find out the author is a gay(cis) man so why does he have opinions on womans spaces and issues who fucking knows ( he really likes the word unintelligible)-

-Im tired, Ive taken several breaks just to stay clear headed( mildly sane) and now we are onto why Trans inclusive practices dont threaten the concept of female, male, lesbian and gay. Okay buddy ole pal bring it on-

Stock (2018b) has also argued that trans inclusion on the ground of self-identification/declaration threatens “a secure understanding” of concepts intimately related to “woman”—namely, “female” and “lesbian.” It is hard to see this threat as a real one. After all, conceptually, “trans maleness” and “trans femaleness” presuppose “cis maleness” and “cis femaleness” as their other—namely, the case of female and male for which no transition, no reaching across, is required: the case of femaleness and maleness already on this side of (= “cis”) their sex.

-At some point i expect to find out Stock implied his dick is tiny or something " gender crit feminists are wrong im gonna argue with just this one" In this section he manages to be long winded and say nothing have a taste:

Stock (2019b) argues, correctly, that “sex [i.e., maleness and femaleness] is not determined by any single, unitary set of essential criteria,” and that “there is no single set of features a person must have in order to count as male or female.” She goes on to state that: (a) “you do still need to possess some” female (biological) sex characteristics to count as female; (b) that this is “a real, material condition upon sex-category-membership”; and (c) that “medical professionals [assigning sex]. . . rely upon an established methodology, aimed at capturing pre-existing biological facts” (Stock 2019b). Stock presents (a), (b), and (c) as if they were true without qualification. In fact, they only describe how, for very legitimate reasons, sex is understood and assigned within the discourses of biology and medicine; but our everyday usages of “male” and “female” may well be more capacious. It does not follow, of course, that there is no connection at all between these discursive domains—biology and the everyday. Rather, something like the biological meaning of “male” and “female” refer to the central cases of “male” and “female” as those terms feature in everyday usages. But those usages, if trans-inclusive (as they should be), will also cover, legitimately and usefully, noncentral cases of those selfsame terms.

-Yes you need to be female to be female, it doesnt matter what you look like how much you weigh your hobbies or tastes you just need to be female. Observed Biology is observed not assigned we dont pop out blank slates until someone says "ya this ones a girl"-

There really is no good reason to fear that such trans-inclusive practices will imperil “maleness” and “femaleness” as concepts. It is the very fact that those concepts have and will retain central cases that puts to rest any such fear. What makes something like the biological meanings of “male” and “female” the central cases of everyday usages of those words is “[o]rdinary-life truth seeking, a certain level of which is essential for survival”; this “involves a swift instinctive testing of innumerable kinds of coherence against innumerable kinds of extra-linguistic data” (Murdoch, 1992). Reproduction is a key aspect of human experience: The existence of each of us and the perpetuation of the human species presuppose it. The extra-linguistic reality of the dioecious configuration of human bodies, which is functional to human reproduction, means both that the concept of “female” and “male” are here to stay, and that their central cases will remain well-understood, even after we give up on trans-exclusionary attitudes, practices, and policies. To put it another way: trans-inclusive linguistic usages, policies, and so on, cannot threaten the distinction between the concepts of “male” and “female,” which hinges on the nondisposability of the central cases of those concepts.

For similar reasons, it is difficult to agree with Stock that characterizing as “gay” trans men attracted to men, and as “lesbian” trans women attracted to women, “leaves us with no linguistic resources to talk about that form of sexual orientation that continues to arouse the distinctive kind of bigotry known as homophobia” (Stock, 2019d). After all, our linguistic conventions make cissexual womanhood and manhood the central or paradigmatic cases of “womanhood” and “manhood”; cissexual (though not necessarily gender-conforming) lesbianism and male homosexuality the central or paradigmatic cases of “lesbianism” and “male homosexuality,” and so on. This will not change. First because of the prevalence of cissexual women/men and cissexual lesbians/gay men, in terms of sheer numbers, relative to trans women/men and trans lesbians/gay men. Second, because of the ways in which the concepts of “man,” “woman,” “gay,” “lesbian,” “cis,” and “trans” sit together with the concepts of “male” and “female,” which reference an extra-linguistic reality, of which, as we have already seen, we cannot but take notice. Given these linguistic and empirical facts, a trans-inclusive use of the terms “lesbian” and “gay” does not carry the dangers Stock (2019d) worries about.

-I keep going back and checking the date this was published  in 2020 clearly this man has neither been online except to stalk Stock, nor talked to a human who actually believes what he is arguing against. No one is mad at transwoman for liking woman or vise versa its the kind of woman and men they go after and EXPECT romance and validation from ( ie lesbians and gay men, ie threatening what lesbian and gay mean in "inclusive" climates) fucking knob.-

I dunno if this is translated or the writer isnt english but he keeps using subordination where "opression" would be used and umm. anyway onto "Overemphasizing Sex-Based Subordination"

first he explains the difference between paranoid and paranoid structuralism there is so much fucking bullshit then we get to some quotes! that are bullshit-

Even assuming that the socialization of trans girls mirrors that of cis boys, the fact that trans girls do not identify with maleness can be expected to make a difference to the outcomes of such socialization (Finlayson et al., 2018).

-this guys back, love this guy doesnt know you dont fucking socialize yourself-

It is a mistake to treat “violence and discrimination against trans women . . . as if it were unconnected to that faced by cis women” (Finlayson et al., 2018).

 -Finlayson marry me your so smart, that big brain of yours is sooo sexy. Anyway transwoman and "cis" woman face violence from the same people.. Men. but it is not for the same reasons and most transwoman who face violence are brown and black sex workers( if your gonna care go wholesys not halfseys). As opposed to woman who face violence no matter their class, race, nationality, age.. etc etc etc-

Saying “Not giving people everything they desire is not a denial of their humanity” (Allen et al., 2019) amounts to an insensitive dismissal of the serious argument that trans exclusion is ipso facto harmful.

-I want an affordable home and access to food and water whenever i am hungry, you want me to pretend reality doesnt exist so your feefees dont get hurt-

The claim that women “are a culturally subordinated group . . . [while] at best, trans women are a distinct subordinated group; at worst . . . members of the dominant group” entirely discounts the ways in which sex, gender, and cis/trans status intersect. These intersections produce more complex, shifting, and context-dependent power relationships than are captured by the M > F formula.

-Sex based oppression is actually like jello, sometimes woman are less oppressed or oppressed slightly more to the left, I too can just kinda say words-

A dubious assumption underlies this statement: “[T]he fact that our concept-application [of, e.g., ‘woman’] might indirectly convey disadvantage towards some social groups [e.g., trans women] is not itself a reason to criticise the concept use, because the concept use has a further valuable point” (such as “to pick out a distinctive group, relative to recognisably important interests”) (Stock, 2019e). The dubious assumption here is that the “valuable point” of a restrictive use of the concept will be lost if the concept is broadened. The assumption is dubious because even in its broad, inclusive use, the concept retains a readily identifiable central case.

-Yes you dunder head if we start calling lizards mammals we lose the point of what makes a mammal a mammal, which complicates and endangers our way of researching and understanding mammals by making woman "whoever the fucks wants to be one" we loss the ability to easily talk about things that are exclusive to woman the more female language is edified the harder it is for females to unite to talk about womans issues, womans health, girls puberty, womans oppression etc etc.-

-my fuck i dont even care to learn this mans name and i have a personal hatred just for him, i hope ya'll have noticed he uses several different "sources" for his arguments and yet pins GC feminism on Stock alone. Anyway here we go into Doing Philosophy and Debating Policy in the Age of Social Media and Digital Platforms ( i think this man nuts every time he types out philosophy)-

my god we have brough Plato into this, Stocks must stand alone but we are at fucking plato, anyway this section actually has some brains in it there drivel but also truth:

Needless to say, in real-world face-to-face exchanges, unalloyed communicative action is known only by approximation. But there are very good reasons to think that the distance between the ideal (namely, communicative action) and the real is especially wide in the context of the quasi-spoken digital media used to construct (and respond to) the gender-critical case against trans inclusion. Stock (2019f) herself, discussing the reception of her arguments, has complained about countless “half-arsed takedown attempts” by “online philosophers,” crediting, conversely, philosophers she meets offline with “interesting, constructive, and charitable” objections. She also notes that social media siphons “users into paranoid, angry silos” (Stock, 2019d), and that “when reading disembodied words on a screen” it is “easy enough” to engage in “projection” (Stock, 2019a). Why and how do social media and allied platforms have this potential for distorting genuine communicative action?

First, they enable new manipulative communication practices, such as flaming and trolling. The popular support base of gender-critical academics makes ample use of these, though gender-critical scholars are also at the receiving end. Rather than using the quasi-spoken features of social media and allied platforms with a view to genuinely advancing understanding, online activists may exploit these features for strategic aims. Common techniques include drowning a post or blog with irrelevant comments; exposing the blogger to ridicule; deflecting attention from the point she made; forcing her to address spurious objections; pretextually professing a failure to understand, demanding endless further explanations; and so on. Some of these techniques are available in spoken exchanges, but social media and allied platforms magnify their power by enabling “widely-distributed individuals to organize and galvanize around issues of common interest [or] political advocacy” (Stewart, 2016); and by facilitating the use of nonverbal or nonargument-based, but effective, communicative devices, such as memes, gifs, and emoticons.

Another way in which these digital media distort genuine communicative action is by affecting the motivations of the blogger, or micro-blogger, herself. Specifically, they facilitate the interference with genuinely communicative goals (reaching understanding) by noncommunicative, strategic aims. I will discuss three: acquiring influence, career progression, and venting.

In traditional academic communicative practice, one’s recognition as an expert is supposed to follow from the credit that accrues to one as a result of the soundness of one’s research methods and arguments, judged through peer-review processes. But “in the era of social media there are now many different ways that a scientist can build their public profile; the publication of high-quality scientific papers being just one” (Hall, 2014). Veletsianos and Kimmons (2016) have found, by examining a large data set of education scholars’ participation on Twitter, that

being widely followed on social media is impacted by many factors that may have little to do with the quality of scholarly work . . . and . . . that participation and popularity may be impacted by a number of additional factors unrelated to scholarly merit (e.g., wit, controversy, longevity; p. 6).

-This section like every section goes on forever but we finally finally reach our conclusion-

Cooper (2019) has invoked a legal pluralist perspective to argue that it is possible, and may be desirable, for gender as conceived by gender-critical feminists (as “sex-based domination”) and gender as conceived in trans-affirming terms (as “identity diversity”) to coexist side-by-side in the law. Access to women’s spaces is just the kind of policy matter that need not choose between one conception of gender and the other: it can and should be granted on the basis of both. While a compelling feminist case has been made for inclusion (Finlayson et al., 2018), the best feminist case against inclusion suffers from a number of argumentative fallacies (Aristotle, n.d.), and is at odds with well-established and sound uses of practical reason. Many problems in gender-critical thought are consistent with the explanation that paranoid structuralism is too often presupposed in gender-critical work, rather than being treated, productively, as a hypothesis. The nature of the publication outlets favored by gender-critical feminists (social media, blogs, etc.) is also likely to be implicated in generating some of these problems.

I think one of the things i would like anyone who managed to read this entire thing to take away from this is that not ONCE were male bathrooms or male spaces mentioned, not once did this apparently "cis" gay man say that he welcomes and wants transmen in HIS spaces or that he has even thought about it

(((( also he didnt even mention neo genders so my original question 100% unanswered, even fuckface magee doesnt think demiboys are real. He doesnt want to or even mention solving sex based oppression he just wants woman to stop fighting to keep men out))))