#I remember when I was a kid people would say you shouldn't care about gay or bi people

[neonaurore]

even IF intersex people were that rare imagine if someone came up to you and told you that they have a very rare horrible illness (I am NOT equating intersex people to illnesses, just talking about a severe theoretical) that nobody else has and is unique to them and they need help with specific problems. and then imagine looking at them dead in the eye and saying "well, nobody else deals with your problems so do they really matter or count? we could use this attention and resources for so many other illnesses, you know, you're just a statistical anomaly"

it doesn't matter how rare someone is if they're still suffering. it doesn't matter that a "very small number" of people get corrective surgery against their will and often kept secret from the parents. it doesn't matter how "few" people suffer from seeing their experiences and life misrepresented and seeing themselves as othered and be treated like a freak. everyone matters when they're suffering.

and then when you realize just how many intersex people there really are, that should make it hit harder how prevalent this is.

this is the same logic used to deny all marginalized groups honesty, representation and advocacy. I've seen it for gay men, for lesbians, for trans people, for disabled people, immigrants, ethnic minorities, so on--"they're such a small group it doesn't matter!" when what it really means is "I'm not affected in daily life so it doesn't affect ME." and at that point you've tipped your hand as to what you really think.

i love when intersex people try to talk about our issues people try to hit us with a "that doesn't count, that would be like 0.01% of the population you're talking about," ahh response, which I have personally received several times at this point.

everyone loves to be confident to pull some bullshit statistic out of their ass to be dismissive, but it's funny because they never do a second of research. the United Nations Human Rights Office estimates 1.7% of the population are born intersex:

even if the numbers were any lower, it would still be worth talking about intersex issues. any amount of people with these experiences are worth representing and discussing. we should not have to be invisible because our conditions are so stigmatized that many of us receive "Corrective" procedures just after birth, during childhood, or puberty. so many of us are swept under the rug, that's part of the reason why the statistics vary depending on which area is reporting the statistics.

you can't weaponize how marginalized someone is against them. if we fight for people with the most specific gender identities that can't be easily explained in one or two words, we must include intersex people. if we include people who use unique pronouns not seen in current common vernacular, we must support intersex people. if we support other queer minorities, we must support intersex people.

it's not an option. you can act like we are a statistic on a page, a number you can't possibly fathom in your mind, but we are all around you. everywhere. existing in real time. we are not fossils. we are not extinct.

you don't have the pleasure of ignoring us anymore. intersex rights are human rights, and sometimes, they're queer rights, too.

[inkskinned]

it's just that there's a few more steps you have to take that other people don't have to take, but they don't see the steps, so they think you should be able to hop from moment to moment, a chickadee.

it isn't getting out of bed. it is the weight, the hook in your chest, the anchor. you have to move the anchor first. you have to silence your alarm, but your phone is in your hand, which means now you have to put the phone down, which is too-hard. you get stuck in there for a while, the white screen, mindlessly scrolling. you don't even like this activity, have tried a few other options but - here you are, and time is passing.

you've googled iron deficiency causes depression and if i drink enough water does it help with mental illness and anxiety but no caffiene within the last two weeks, like how you googled am i gay quiz at 17.

it isn't just calling the doctor back, it's the anxiety, it's these little moths in your lung cavities, furious and fluttering. you need to figure out how to capture your fingers from between their nervous bodies. you are an adult, you can say the words yes hi, i'm calling because i need - but you need to practice first. maybe write it down because what if you misspeak, wouldn't that be embarrassing. write it down, but you need to find a pen first. well, actually, your desk is kind of messy. you should get a new pen. you should get a new organizational system. you should try journaling.

your grades in school were always strange. the way teachers would say things like it feels like you're not trying. you could touch stars in the stuff you cared about. well, sometimes. god be willing. homework average zero. oops! your english teacher's wrinkled brow: i know you know this stuff. what the fuck are you doing?

it isn't the showering, it's the mirror before the shower and the soft horrible pull of your naked physique. you have to avoid eye contact completely or else it'll be 93 minutes later and you'll have picked at your skin until every little pore is bleeding. you have to stand up but standing is tiring and also you should have remembered to buy more soap but you never remember anything. maybe get out of the shower and while it's still running and you're still dripping wet, use your phone to take a note. make a note to get your groceries. let the shower run while you stand half-in half-out and get lost in your phone for a moment. come back out when the water runs cold and now you have to sprint to get ready.

your grandmother's frown. you're just being lazy. protestant work ethics in a house that isn't even protestant. she says she just learned different but she means learned better, doesn't she.

it's not that you can't send the email, it's that your hands have been hurting lately and the desk really is messy and also why the fuck would you even care about this thing? doesn't everyone else feel like they're drowning? hi brendon thanks so much for sending! will review and get back to you shortly. but now you're on the internet, close the tab with tumblr on it. go on, close it. feel the little soft vapor of boredom come up and over your eyeteeth and make everything overwhelming and itchy.

literally all you have to do is put on shoes to go outside. you're literally already dressed, that's the hard part of this whole thing. literally just put the shoes on. just... do it! do it! this shit is easy!

it's literally that easy. just stop taking all those stupid invisible steps. stop following your strange made-up rules. times like this, even you're positive you're faking. you just don't want to bother with the cleaning and the cooking and the being-an-adult.

but then - shouldn't you be able to put these stupid shoes on? nobody's even looking. go on kid. life is out there! just take the leap!

get moving.

[prodigal-explorer]

why i hate sunflower (sunny x basil) - a rather unprofessional essay

spoilers for omori below

and also i'm not gonna tag this as hate because it's literally just the truth. cry about it.

respectfully, it's a horrible ship. i might just be saying that because i hate basil, but i just cannot see it ever being healthy. basil destroyed everybody's lives with what he did, and even if they decide to forgive him, what happened to them won't just be reversed. not to mention the codepedent/abusive aspect of the whole situation.

basil expects sunny to dedicate his entire life to him and his emotional well-being. you shouldn't be responsible for anyone's emotional well-being when you're fifteen years old except for your own.

even in the game, there is evidence of something codependent. basil can't function like a decent human being when sunny explains that he's going away. basil literally HURTS SUNNY to the point where he needs to be hospitalized in an attempt to make him stay. and you think that would work romantically? heck no.

yeah, they smile at each other at the end, but does that really mean anything? forgiveness is great, but it doesn't take back what happened and the effects it had. sunny will always remember when he tried to leave and got his eye taken out.

and the fact that sunny is so heavily traumatized because of what basil decided to do to his dead sister is just insane to me. he's always going to see that image. i get that basil had good intentions or whatever but intention doesn't equal effect. if i ran you over with my car, it doesn't matter that i was twelve or that it was an accident. you would still have to go to the hospital.

and when people say "but he was just a kid he didn't know any better!". if basil had the cognitive ability to think of doing that, he had to cognitive ability to stop, or AT LEAST to admit what he did. if he did, then hero wouldn't blame himself for years and years, aubrey wouldn't have been abandoned, and mari would have been respected after she died. what basil did was extreme disrespect to the dead and it gives me chills just thinking about it.

and he did it to sunny's SISTER.

i just don't see why you guys don't care more about that? that's a bit more than a little red flag that is like a red ocean.

end of story, sunflower is a horrible ship and i don't get why the fandom is so obsessed with it. it makes me sick just seeing it.

especially when this is such a beautiful story when you look at it from a friendship pov! why does everything have to be about romance and uwu little gay boys? i know damn well if basil was a girl nobody would be shipping him with sunny, you guys just want a gay male relationship to fixate on and infantilize because that's what toxic fandom people DO. but that's a digression.

anyway if you like sunflower you're a threat to society. womp womp go cry. or better yet stop shipping it that would be lovely.

[hel-phoenyx]

Meili belongs to @azeler

You know sometimes when you're the golden child of a damn bougie family with monthly meetings with other right-wingers factories, you don't have much choice but to go.

Plus the evening was at the folks so I didn't have much choice. Mom explicitely told me that if I wasn't there I would get a cut on my allowance, and sadly I still depend on them to get by. Plus, I couldn't let Kriss alone. She needs someone to defend her when they start insulting her husband or try to turn the kid against them.

So I went. And it went as I expected. Profundly boring, full of racist, misogynist and homophobic upper-middle class fuckers, with at least good tasting alcohol. I would rather have been anywhere else but here, but you know, getting hammered on high-quality champagne does have its perks.

And Meili was there so the evening wasn't completely lost. I asked him if his parents forced him, but he told me he came on his own accord. Yeah right. For the sake of our friendship I'm not gonna believe that.

I don't remember much about the evening per se. Like I said, getting hammered with expensive alcohol does have its perks. But I do recall some games between the men, an argument started between Kriss and my uncle about how she chooses to dress the kid (a pink shirt. Oh the blasphemy.) and Meili joining in, but not in the side I was hoping for.

Him, too, was completely hammered. Usually he keeps silent on the matters when I'm here. Probably because last time I almost cursed his whole family out and was very close to hitting him with the prosthesis.

Back to the matter at hand.

Of course I started shit. Of course I told him that the color of a kid's shirt is none of his business and he shouldn't care that much about clothing. When we brought the argument to a secluded room, I even told him that him of all people should know about what turns kids gay and it certainly wasn't the existence of pink in a toddler's life.

That may or may not have played a role in the reason why I am now waking up naked and with my bed absolutely not empty.

More may than may not.

I look to my right. Back hurts, I have a hangover bigger than my future, and some of my muscles feel sore even though I was supposed to get a good night of sleep. And, of course, as if I wasn't having enough problems, Meili is asleep next to me.

Gr-eat. Like I needed to fuck a friend that is not even aware he's not straight and is starting to drift apart from us because he's on the pipeline. This is not at all gonna be messy.

Not. At. All.

Nooooooooooooo.

Gods above my head hurts. I better get my hangover special case in the nightstand. Paracetamol and water, some sugar to have a little kick, or a bottle of rhum to suppress the hangover in another way if needed.

Yes, I may be an alcoholic. No, I have other problems to care for before trying to fully sober. Therapist is fuming but I really can't deal with withdrawal in the middle of a thesis.

Jesus fuck, the more I wake up and the more I remember. I would rather bury that with the rest, but the heat of his body is still gripping to my skin. I hate how soft it feels. It shouldn't.

Anyway. Can't get drunker in that situation, so I take the medicine and the water and waits for it to take effect. And put on something. Ironic of me to say that considering what booze made me do, but I really don't wanna have this conversation naked.

As I reach my shirt, that of course was thrown very far away, I hear something move on my bed, and a bedhead lifts from the pillow.

"What the hell..."

"Morning, sleeping beauty," I sigh, mentally bracing myself. "Before you ask, no, I don't remember the specifics of what we've done last night, but I guess you can get the whole picture."

He blinks. Look at his naked body. Covered in burns and scars. Gods I still remember how they felt under my fingers. Damn brain.

And then he turns his head towards me, eyes full of an unidentifyable yet extremely strong negative emotion. Hey, I am a diagnosed autistic since I got into the PhD, I can't identify feelings easily.

"What the hell, Tyrfing ?!"

"Using the full name, how brutal. I guess you're not very happy, either."

Can't show how badly it hurts. Can't show my name in his mouth stings like a blade. Is it really so bad that you stopped being my friend ?

He looks at his body frantically, run his hands on it, on the scars, on the skin, with the panic of a man that can feel the memories. Before searching for his shirt that I recall throwing far away in my room.

I turn around while he gets out of bed and grabs his clothing. Don't need to add to the embarassment, especially considering he has to put on his prosthesis first.

"... What did you do to me ?!"

And here it starts.

I roll my eyes.

"We were two for that, idiot. I may have been drunk but I remember you jumping on my bones first."

"Yeah right. You must have done something. I'm not gay, asshole."

Was expecting this, but still, sure took a hit.

Calm. Be nice. I know more than anyone his kind of upbringing fucks people up. I can't show how bad the looks of contempt feel right now.

That's my friend, goddamnit. I don't usually fuck my friends, yes, but still, I don't need that to completely ruin our relationship. He's on a dark path. He needs people that can help.

And I need my friend, too.

"Meili, can you please try to not insult me while you're panicking ? What's done is done."

"... And I'm trying to process, jeez ! For the last time-"

Not gay, yes. I know. If I was really mean, I would throw in your face how you looked at Kaizarz, back then. I can't forget the longing on your face. It made me so fucking pissed at the time, one more reason added to the rivalry. Today it just makes me melancholic.

Finally, he takes a deep breath, finishes dressing up. I guess he feels a bit better now that I can't see the scars, now that he thinks he look normal.

"Feeling better ?"

He looks at me. Looks at his body.

"That was a one-time thing."

"Glad we're on the same page."

"I'm not-"

"Not gonna argue with you on this one."

He stays silent a long time. Sighs.

"We're not mentionning that to the others. Ever."

I expected as much. I too, am perfectly content with burying that far, far away in my mind and act like that night ever existed. Plus, if I say one single world about now knowing Meili's body in a more intimate way than anyone I know, I would never hear the end of this, I know Domi would have at least three new jokes a day. Without talking about Kriss.

Yeah.

Perfectly content with that.

It doesn't feel heavy at all.

[water-petal]

Fucks dog shit somehow my first tired got deleted because why the fuck not? Anyways this rant will get me a supreme deluxe banner for being homophobic, sexist and misogynie because that's what happens when you hate on a female character that someone likes even tho I defended the fuck out of others. genius farmer genius

Now isn't that pure retardation to blame Sasuke like that? Well tell that to the bitches who hate who hate Hinata on that because Neji chose to be a good brother and give his life to save his sister. Look I don't care who should die because they shouldn't (It should be Temari... I have a hate Bonner huh.). Sorry for my vulgar language but I just saw some guy saying that konan should be the heroine and the one to suck Naruto's dick. Mate she is literally shallow as fucking water, all I remember her doing is sucking off Yahiko and Nagato just having Hinata's supportive mentality but to an extreme level. Look konan is great but she's just Hinata without the critical thinking part, she fucking let Nagato kill Jiraiya would Hinata let Naruto kill Asuma's wife (Forgot how to write her name it's kureina right?) and for good lord TenTen stans need to shut up about how great she is. For fucks sake her 'Fight' with Temari is filler, she doesn't have anything I mean anything she's utterly useless just masturbating materiel for some horny bastard if anything Kureina Hinata should have gotten more screentime with Sakura because they are actually interesting with good powers, fucking Kureina is a mistress for Giratina's sake who managed to hold off Itachi only if for a few seconds that's dope as shit but because Kishimoto wanted to kill off Asuma he needed to make her pregnant (I have no probs with housewife but the problem with Kishi is he wasted a lot of good characters for Uchiha glazing and building up the villains and Naruto's conflict with villians, all I am saying is that Naruto ended before it should and I blame the manga industry because of how fucking overworked they are I am glad he at least finished the damn story bro couldn't go to his friends weddings for fucks sake that's sad as fuck)

My view on SasuHina is that I've seen NtR hentai with better reasoning for cheating than Hinata choosing Sasuke over Naruto , I sacrificed my soul to Giratina and read one and the pure character assassination for Naruto is gross, and the reviews Naruto as a stupid lesser fuck you are gross plz grow up and get laid because I can't with your shut you disgusting fucks. Naruto is not an idiot, you are.

And good lore NaruSaku is a pile of dog shit with the generic boring shonen couple that sucks ass and should die in a fire, if you want to have a nation turned to rubble let Naruto and Sakura date because they will fight t'ill eternity and end up breaking up because they are more like siblings than fucking lovers.

And don't get me on those who screech "CHEMISTRY" when they fucking ship ShikaTema which is the worst example of chemistry, the only Shikamaru that can even satisfy Temari is adult who's a workaholic not the lazy bum kid, just like how the only Hinata that can satisfy Naruto is the brave Hinata who isn't a crybaby , and the only Sasuke that can date Sakura is the aloof tame Sasuke who isn't a maniac, you know people fucking change you sick stupid fuck, you won't me to believe that Naruto will marry the girl who doesn't understand why he still wants to save her love over the girl who understands him and picks him when he's lost and slap sense to him. And you want me to believe that Sakura will marry the guy who didn't even pick up on her worries over the guy who did and encouraged her?

Limey shit is so fucking atrocious I'd rather be HIV positive than stay on the god forsaken app , only YouTube and shit posting is better than dealing with fucks who don't understand how characters should work. I miss when common sense was still a thing because what the fuck. And don't start me on the gay shippers because they have the worst case of main character syndrome and exposing their shit will definitely get me suspended because of hate crime on the LGBT community and name me a supreme deluxe Homophobic straight dude which is somehow their worst enemy.

My final saying is fuck you sns because you singlehandedly ruined the Naruto fandom for ever with all your fucking stupidity and retardation Naruto is my favorite manga and my favorite character and you singlehandedly ruined him because you all are pieces of shit who lack any sense of critical thinking.

This is me if I ever meet a singe fuck of you:

jesus christ bro who hurt you.......if it's reddit fans i heavily suggest to to stop interacting with them

honestly speaking majority of naruto fandom just has a hate boner to reading the manga properly.....which sucks tbh

or else this shit ton of hinat and sakura hate wouldn't exist

sasuhina.......wenever talk about it, it's cursed i've seen shippers think they are anakin and padme i hate it

narusaku was the first plan but then it was dropped because kishi realized naruto needed to have chemistry with hinata.....they made sense

[the-comfort-den]

hey! can i get submas bitties?

Emmet: They can control their volume slightly better Ingo bitties and are super expressive! You can always tell what they're feeling and they can always tell what their Ingo is feeling! They can get bored a little easy so they can get into trouble quiet a bit! They cant read other people but they can read their brother like a book! And he can still be just as loud as his brother(they may be small but they can still be heard over train whistles like Ingos-), they like joltic pokebitties a lot and will happily keep way to many around lol, they cant read social cues for shit and can be seen as 'pushy' or seems to talk 'out of turn', but tbh he and Ingo talk over each other and don’t give a fuck so they kinda don’t care, if they interrupted something important they figure you'll just repeat yourself/continue where you left off, though he does try to people please, they are super eccentric and can be dramatic in the 'gay theater kid' kinda way,

-

Ingo: They are loud and cant really control it, they cant control their volume at all, and when they try they're still either super loud or barely above a whisper so it's better to just not adopt an Emmet and Ingo pair if you cant handle his volume, they also cant really emote well and have horrible resting bitch face and will always speak their mind, though they're pretty reserved and are near impossible to read say for by their brother, though he can read others and social cues very easily, and they're very observant, and arent afraid to remind their Emmet that while they will always end up talking over each other that doesn’t mean everyone will put up with that, they're so blunt that they're labeled as rude, but if they wanted to be rude they would be- he doesn’t people please like his brother, unless they feel that bad about it, but even then-

-

PLA!Ingo: As they don’t have an Emmet, they can be adopted by themselves, they are slightly more expressive than non PLA!Ingos but still don’t have much of a filter like them, though can control their volume! But tend to be a lil quiet so that might just be that lol, they are very found of pokebitties and of course like Bitty!Sneaslers the most, though also really like Hisuian Sneasels but will also happily care for any pokebitty, they also get along well with other PLA bitties(and I mean from the game),

-

Kinda a bonuses:

PLA!Emmet: not actually a proper type, but when an Emmet somehow looses their Ingo they will 'turn into' this type, and are often paired with a PLA!Ingo to try to help their issues, since they cant pair them with an Ingo since they will fight the other Emmet over the Ingo in fear of loosing their brother again- They have a lot of mental issues, like depression, anxiety, paranoia, and often have ptsd/cptsd due to the situation as well, and pairing them with a PLA!Ingo, since they wont have an Emmet already with them, can help them settle in and relax a bit! It will also make them not fight another Emmet over an Ingo as long as you don’t try to pair more than one PLA!Emmet with a PLA!Ingo(or PLA!Emmet with a non PLA!Ingo who has an Emmet)

They very much are Rescue types!

-

Aand the alternate/other PLA!Ingo: the one where the Ingo looses their Emmet, similarly to PLA!Emmet they have depression, anxiety, and paranoia, and often have ptsd/cptsd due to loosing their brother, and are often paired with PLA!Emmet's as well due to this! They will also fight another Ingo if they're paired with an Emmet and shouldn't attempted to be paired with an Emmet of either kind that already has an Ingo they're paired to,

They are also rescue types unlike the 'normal' PLA!Ingo

-

Remember! Emmet and Ingo bitties HAVE to be adopted together or they will fall into a depression! They are paired/bonded already so it would be like separating the non bitty Emmet and Ingo(which would not end well for their mental states)

Also note that the two rescue types will fight to the death with other Emmet/Ingos unless separated!!

(I will also do bitty cards for Pokemon if asked :])

[tarlos-spain]

This story is inspired by the book Boyfriend Material. It's not the same story but it really helped me get to this story. So yes somethings here may be similar to the book but a lot will be different.

Thanks as always to my betas. You are very patient with me @chaotictarlos and @morganaspendragonss

Summary:

TK, son of one of the music legends and singer of One Night Strand, has decided that he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps and is happy in his career as an after-school teacher. Apparently, the people upstairs don't like that his father's reality show is going to have a section to find him a boyfriend.

Carlos, the future heir to a stud farm, wants to have a life of his own, find the man of his life, and get married, which is exactly what his parents don't have in mind for him. But a date to find that perfect groom for his thirtieth birthday complicates everything.

Now both TK and Carlos need to find a groom soon, before they lose control of their lives.

Chapter 01

TK knocked twice on the door of his boss's office.

"I want to see you on Monday. Come at 10. I'll be expecting you."

The message he received from the man on Friday had not been very specific about the reason for the meeting.

"If you're TK, come in, if not, I've got a lot of work, so come back another time."

Paul's voice, so gruff, almost made him wince. If he wanted to see him, it was not for anything good. When he had hired him to be a teacher at his little after-school activities facility, he had been rather reticent.

"Everyone knows who you are, your last name precedes you, and that's not a good thing for an after-school teacher in elementary schools. But it's also true that I'm not one to be prejudiced, so let's see how you do."

TK still remembered those words from his boss. He couldn't thank him enough for the opportunity he had given him by hiring him.

He thought the course was going pretty well, the kids seemed to be having a good time in their music classes. He had good opinions from the parents, apart from a little run-in with that one father, a guy who had a problem with his kids' music teacher being gay.

So now he didn't know what his boss might want to talk to him about.

Paul was just finishing up a phone call and motioned for TK to sit down and wait a moment.

"Yes, I understand what you're saying, but I'm not going to fire anyone because of what their father does." TK took a sharp breath, his boss was talking about him with the higher-ups. "No, I don't care. I have no intention of firing him because of what people think about his father... Let me talk to him... Are you serious? I really didn't think you were that closed minded. TK is a good guy and whether he has a partner or not, whether he's gay or not, shouldn't be a big deal today... I've already told you, yes, I'll talk to him and pass on your words."

Paul stared at the phone screen and sighed. He put it down on the table and folded his hands, looking at TK.

"Did I get you in trouble?"

"Nah. The guys upstairs are always banging on about something and if it wasn't your dad's new show, it would have been about...well, whatever. That's what I'm here for, to take as many slaps in the face as possible."

"I'm sorry, I never meant to get you in trouble. If you want me to leave, just say so. I'll find something else, don't worry."

"Nonsense. I have no intention of firing you and I don't want you to leave. The kids like you too much and I've had more sign-ups this year asking specifically for you. But one thing is certain, I need to talk to you." TK kept silent and waited for his boss to drop the bombshell. "I don't care who you date or if you don't date anyone, but for your dad to say on his new show that you're looking for a boyfriend and he's going to open a section for you to find you the best match - that could be a problem."

"I know and I told my dad not to do it. But it's not possible to get Owen Strand to change his mind when he gets something in his head."

"That I don't know, all I know about your father is what we see on television. But if he's still hell-bent on coming after you with cameras all day, setting you up on dates and making you go out with a different guy every night..."

"That's not good publicity for Little Arts."

[readingtoinfinity]

Fandoms

I'm gonna complain for a hot second.

This morning I watched Daniel Greene's weekly Fantasy News (it's good, I enjoy them, see attached) and one of the things he brought up was this article (attached for your reading leisure) about toxic fandoms. It's about the vitriol in fandom that's existed for years, always bubbling beneath the surface, and the unfortunate people who are the targets of their (often bigoted and hateful) wrath, always undeserved. It's an unwelcoming attitude towards people who are making more of the thing fandoms ostensibly love, and not against the actual people making the product bad, i.e. producers and executives.

I cannot for the life of me understand how people continue to shift this message towards "If they didn't make bad media, we wouldn't be so toxic". Like, Jesus Christ that's a fucking bad take. It's frankly the attitude an abuser has towards their spouse, though the two are of course different things. Of all the comments (both on this article and on Daniel Greene's original video) most are so brain-dead and unwilling to listen that I feel like I've watched a completely different video and read a completely different article.

There are, of course, a number of other arguments I've read on the subject. It's a mixed bag of good and bad arguments, ranging from strawmen to a belief "wokeness" is ruining media (which is untrue and frankly stupid) to some actual arguments that I would like to get into but are immaterial to the larger message. Not all of them are as outright toxic as the takeaway in the paragraph above but all of them feed into the larger idea, that members of fandom are largely blameless in the push-and-pull between the producers, the fans and the projects being made.

Do none of these people remember Jake Lloyd? Played a young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace? He's still nervous around cameras because his childhood was ruined by "fans" who hated what had happened to Star Wars. And it's a bad movie! I am not saying you shouldn't criticize it! I'm saying to shut the fuck up and stop talking to the actors, directors and writers about it. They don't care about you! You're not going to save the project by yelling over Twitter!

When I was a kid I played a goat on stage. I hated that role and I hated putting on that costume and I hated bleating three times before crawling off the stage on all fours. It was for a class and I only performed it once but I hope any recordings of it have been destroyed. I can't imagine what my life would be like if the recording got out, if every time I went to buy groceries or see a movie or hang out at a park someone came up to me and said "Hey you played that goat right?" It'd drive me nuts. The mirrored pit of razor wire and glass that is fame is a terrible (if beneficial) curse to bear.

A black Aragorn will not destroy Lord of the Rings. Luke Skywalker being gay will not ruin his triumph over the Emperor. A short Superman will still stand tall in his heroics. I hope these stories are made of sterner stuff than whatever reinterpretations (smart or stupid, well-done or botched) are to come, because there's a reason we all love them. Be critical, but be open. Your next favorite thing hasn't come out yet. It'd be a shame to miss it because you're focused on the superficial.

[mrbonsaibones]

list of Things That Happened That I Can Remember (should be noted I was always in boys groups, ages 5-9):

Kid asking for my mixed coworker by asking me (and this is word for word) "where's the purple lady." no idea if he was colorblind or what. should be noted that the kid had known my coworker since he was in preschool and was special needs but I have no idea how much either of those factors effected this comment.

Kids being baffled by the aforementioned coworker getting her hair braided. they thought she just had magic hair. they also said she looked like Uma from the descendants movies which, while flattering, was not really true? the moment the kid who said this walked away my coworker leaned over to me and said "these kids have never seen a black person before huh" and uh. yeah. they might not have.

Kid asking me why I cut my hair short if I was a girl. when I said "because I want to" he screwed up his face and muttered "you can't...do that..." but in a way like he was genuinely baffled? same kid came up to me later and told me that I should grow my hair out again because "girl's can't have short hair, you're breaking the rules"

Kids calling each other gay, which I would dismiss as general "kids being annoying" except a) they were like seven and b) when asked, they had no idea what the word meant AND they weren't using it in a derogatory way. they were just saying shit.

Kids saying some sexist shit whilst I was doing things for them, seemingly forgetting that the person they were demanding more waffles from is in fact a woman (ish). It made more sense after I cut my hair but before that, with my giant fluffy ponytail it was a bit more baffling. best instance is, after seeing a girls group at the activity we were going to, one of the kids said "ew we have to play with girls" WHILST HOLDING MY HAND AFTER ASKING ME TO PLAY WITH HIM. I just stopped and turned to him looking like this: O_O -and pointed to myself. he then said "yeah but you don't count cause like-" and then gestured to my...everything. well played, second grader. well played.

Kid punching me in the crotch and then being so so surprised that I didn't react at all. cue shocked "GIRLS DONT HAVE BALLS???" reaction. the kid was six so I doubt it woulda hurt that much even if I did have balls but. kid please don't say that so loud I'm gonna get written up

My second year working there my respiratory system decided to fuck me over. This still causes me problems. When I took out my inhaler in front of a kid for the first time the kid first asked if I was doing drugs and then when I told him i needed it to breathe, he demanded he get a turn. thankfully my coworker saved me by declaring snack time.

Kids started talking about the para-olympics (? however you call them?) and were all very confident that they could beat the competitors. when i reminded them that these were trained athletes they were talking about one of them said "yeah but I have two legs." I resigned myself to simply redirecting the conversation, too exhausted to lecture about treating people with disabilities with respect.

One kid told me, unprompted, that his dad said gay people were unnatural. This kid was seven. When I asked if he a) knew what gay people were and b) if he thought the same thing he told me that he doesn't know what gay people are but he's been told that god doesn't like them so he doesn't like them either. I was 15, had just figured out my sexuality, and cared a lot more about what my bosses said (that being "don't let the kids talk about anything romance related, they shouldn't even be talking about holding hands) simply said "...okayyy...." and asked him if he wanted a snack.

I have so many other stories from this job and these are only a few. Truly a baffling experience.

working with kids really tests how well you can cope with just. the most staggering What The Fuck Did You Just Say situations ever huh.

[hamliet]

why did Justin fall for Brian?

Probably because Brian was unashamedly himself and provided him the first opportunity for Justin to be himself, out and open, not just in words but in action. He was gay, and Brian helped him express those desires without any shame or fear.

Justin was scared to come out. He hadn't even told Daphne. When he does later on, his father does reject him, and his mother, while she ends up being awesome, had some really flawed moments because she was human too. So, his fears weren't unfounded. I think it's pretty clear that he gets the idea that love is conditional long before his father told him not to come home if he was going to live a "disgusting lifestyle." He tells Brian that his mom said she wished she never had him in the shower in episode one, after all; whether or not Jennifer ever actually said that (because it's clearly not true), he certainly got that impression.

Justin expresses that he can't go home that first night and gets caught lying to Brian about his age. But, instead of kicking him out--which he'd have been in the right to do--Brian doesn't dump Justin on the curb. He takes him with him. Plus, Brian then takes care to give Justin a good first time--he wasn't just focusing on his own pleasure, on taking what he wanted, which is something that the penetrative partner in sex can do. He took care to make sure Justin enjoyed himself, and likely Justin hadn't previously had someone ensure that he was simply enjoying an aspect of life that a great deal of society at that time would look askance at.

Also, Brian (later in the series) tells Justin that it was obvious he was "fucking terrified" that first time, and that "we're all a little scared our first time." It's not that you shouldn't be afraid to be fully yourself, to go after what you want--it's just that it shouldn't stop you. He doesn't tell Justin that Justin shouldn't feel the way he feels--even when that feeling is fear. Instead, Brian acknowledges it and helps Justin do what he wants anyways. This stands in sharp contrast to, say, Ethan, who tells Justin not to be nervous or afraid whenever he is.

Despite coming across like a selfish asshole, Brian ironically listens to Justin that night. He names his kid what Justin suggested, slows down when he asks him to, and helps him relax. So in a basic sense, Brian acknowledges Justin's feelings and thoughts, and that helped him feel valued--even if Brian was literally only thinking of Justin as a one-night stand whose name he couldn't even remember.

Of course, Brian is not a simple character who is only a jerk, or even a character who just goes after what he wants (which Justin at first thinks he is, and then discovers he isn't). Brian is unashamedly himself only on one level. He actually hides his hurting self and what that vulnerable inner child wants (love and to live) deep inside.

I've said before and will say again that Justin upfront decided that he loved Brian because of what Brian represented to him (safety, pleasure, a lack of shame), and then spent the rest of the series learning what loving Brian actually meant as a parallel to learning to love himself. People are complicated. They fuck up. They are contradictory. But they are beautiful.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Thanks for ur posts about Izzy, I'm as white as my wall, but also gay and genderqueer as fuck, so logging onto ao3 and seeing how commonplace charitable interpretations of Izzy are gives me psychic damage. Like, I often stan villains, but normally I have to find myself a little niche of other people who are as crazy as I am to do that. (I'm a Badminton fan btw, hope they kill another one off in Season 2)

I'll tell you a secret, I'm also white. I don't really consider it a wall. It does make me a little dumber I guess because I don't experience racism that's directed at me. But like I've had multiple black and brown people that are important to me in my life ever since I was little, so I guess if I'm out with my little sister(who's Chinese) and I see racism directed at her I'm going to pick up on that too and have to navigate that situation. White people are racial beings and we live in a racialized society it's just that we have the privilege of pretending that's not the case if we want to. You should always be listening to people who do experience racism about racism because they have had to be the recipient of it but that doesn't mean that racism is an unknowable mystery of the universe to you. It's something your friends and neighbors and coworkers have to navigate daily. The goal of listening to marginalized people is to better support them and one of the ways we do that is calling out other white people when they fuck up. They're not gonna listen to us for the most part, one thing I've learned being publicly vocally in support of people of color both in my real life and online is that there's no fuckin solidarity in the in group, but they are more likely to listen to you than they are to listen to poc (especially white queer people if you are yourself queer because there is actually some solidarity there as well as a leverage point). The more we as white people who care about PoC are afraid to talk about race issues the more PoC have to go it alone. I remember was in 8th grade when Michael Brown was killed, and I live in a predominantly white area, and for some fucking reason my social studies teacher decided to bring up what was happening in a class of roughly 30 white kids, one Asian girl, and one black girl and I stood up for him when the entire class was doing the whole "if he didn't want to get shot he shouldn't have been doing x y z" thing. And I remember that my black classmate didn't speak up until I had been defending him for like half the period and was getting visibly frustrated, and I kind of don't think that she would have said anything if no one had been on her side, because why would you take that risk. I was insulated partially because of my whiteness and partially because I was already being bullied so if I made a stink about something in class it couldn't get much worse for my gay goth autistic ass. The point of that anecdote is that if you rely on people of color around you to do the work of antiracism not only does that make things harder for them, but it also leaves the door open that that work won't get done because the person of color that you're afraid of speaking over will probably decide to prioritize their own safety. That's not to say you should speak over anyone either, but 90% of being an adult is figuring out how to navigate complex social situations and this is one of those.

Now of course I know that defending Michael Brown from racists is more serious than defending Ed Ourflagmeansdeath from racists because Michael Brown was a real person who died tragically and Ed is just my blorbo. But either way I'm in a proverbial room full of my chud peers and I've never been the kind of person to not say what I think, and in both situations I am kinda insulated from consequences. There's a reason @chuplayswithfire has had to turn off her anons and I haven't. Part of it might be follower count but I'm not enough of an idiot to think that's all it is.

I guess I kinda got off subject but you're on my blog, so cheers.

But yeah, as a certified villain fucker I would love it if the loudest and most prolific members of our community would just cool it on the racism(/misogyny if we leave the ofmd fandom). I don't even have that much of a problem with apologia in theory. In practice I've even dabbled in apologia myself for my man CJ. But villain fans have kinda always been like this. There's been us baddies who enjoy fucked up guys(gender neutral) and then there's the Snape wives and the Kylo Ren stans and the Jokercels who can't care about fans of color or women to save their life.

Also re: Badminton I too am a great fan of watching Rory Kinnear in period costumes die in stupid ways. As an actor I've thought Badminton would be an incredibly fun role to play since episode 2. Standing on a rock in the background and just fucking around while things happen in the foreground would be the time ever tbh.

[qqueenofhades]

Re: the post you reblogged about Bush. I'm 21 and tbh feel like I can only vote for Bernie, can you explain if/why I shouldn't? Thanks and sorry if this is dumb or anything.

Oh boy. Okay, I’ll do my best here. Note that a) this will get long, and b) I’m old, Tired, and I‘m pretty sure my brain tried to kill me last night. Since by nature I am sure I will say something Controversial ™, if anyone reads this and feels a deep urge to inform me that I am Wrong, just… mark it down as me being Wrong and move on with your life. But also, really, you should read this and hopefully think about it. Because while I’m glad you asked this question, it feels like there’s a lot in your cohort who won’t, and that worries me. A lot.

First, not to sound utterly old-woman-in-a-rocking-chair ancient, people who came of age/are only old enough to have Obama be the first president that they really remember have no idea how good they had it. The world was falling the fuck apart in 2008 (not coincidentally, after 8 years of Bush). We came within a flicker of the permanent collapse of the global economy. The War on Terror was in full roar, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were at their height, we had Dick Cheney as the cartoon supervillain before we had any of Trump’s cohort, and this was before Chelsea Manning or Edward Snowden had exposed the extent of NSA/CIA intelligence-gathering/American excesses or there was any kind of public debate around the fact that we were all surveilled all the time. And the fact that a brown guy named Barack Hussein Obama was elected in this climate seems, and still seems tbh, kind of amazing. And Obama was certainly not a Perfect President ™. He had to scale back a lot of planned initiatives, he is notorious for expanding the drone strike/extrajudicial assassination program, he still subscribed to the overall principles of neoliberalism and American exceptionalism, etc etc. There is valid criticism to be made as to how the hopey-changey optimistic rhetoric stacked up against the hard realities of political office. And yet…. at this point, given what we’re seeing from the White House on a daily basis, the depth of the parallel universe/double standards is absurd.

Because here’s the thing. Obama, his entire family, and his entire administration had to be personally/ethically flawless the whole time (and they managed that – not one scandal or arrest in eight years, against the legions of Trumpistas now being convicted) because of the absolute frothing depths of Republican hatred, racial conspiracy theories, and obstruction against him. (Remember Merrick Garland and how Mitch McConnell got away with that, and now we have Gorsuch and Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court? Because I remember that). If Obama had pulled one-tenth of the shit, one-twentieth of the shit that the Trump administration does every day, he would be gone. It also meant that people who only remember Obama think he was typical for an American president, and he wasn’t. Since about… Jimmy Carter, and definitely since Ronald Reagan, the American people have gone for the Trump model a lot more than the Obama model. Whatever your opinion on his politics or character, Obama was a constitutional law professor, a community activist, a neighborhood organizer and brilliant Ivy League intellectual who used to randomly lie awake at night thinking about income inequality. Americans don’t value intellectualism in their politicians; they just don’t. They don’t like thinking that “the elites” are smarter than them. They like the folksy populist who seems fun to have a beer with, and Reagan/Bush Senior/Clinton/Bush Junior sold this persona as hard as they possibly could. As noted in said post, Bush Junior (or Shrub as the late, great Molly Ivins memorably dubbed him) was Trump Lite but from a long-established political family who could operate like an outwardly civilized human.

The point is: when you think Obama was relatively normal (which, again, he wasn’t, for any number of reasons) and not the outlier in a much larger pattern of catastrophic damage that has been accelerated since, again, the 1980s (oh Ronnie Raygun, how you lastingly fucked us!), you miss the overall context in which this, and which Trump, happened. Like most left-wingers, I don’t agree with Obama’s recent and baffling decision to insert himself into the 2020 race and warn the Democratic candidates against being too progressive or whatever he was on about. I think he was giving into the same fear that appears to be motivating the remaining chunk of Joe Biden’s support: that middle/working-class white America won’t go for anything too wild or that might sniff of Socialism, and that Uncle Joe, recalled fondly as said folksy populist and the internet’s favorite meme grandfather from his time as VP, could pick up the votes that went to Trump last time. And that by nature, no one else can.

The underlying belief is that these white voters just can’t support anything too “un-American,” and that by pushing too hard left, Democratic candidates risk handing Trump a second term. Again: I don’t agree and I think he was mistaken in saying it. But I also can’t say that Obama of all people doesn’t know exactly the strength of the political machine operating against the Democratic Party and the progressive agenda as a whole, because he ran headfirst into it for eight years. The fact that he managed to pass any of his legislative agenda, usually before the Tea Party became a thing in 2010, is because Democrats controlled the House and Senate for the first two years of his first term. He was not perfect, but it was clear that he really did care (just look up the pictures of him with kids). He installed smart, efficient, and scandal-free people to do jobs they were qualified for. He gave us Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to join RBG on the Supreme Court. All of this seems… like a dream.

That said: here we are in a place where Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren are the front-runners for the Democratic nomination (and apparently Pete Buttigieg is getting some airplay as a dark horse candidate, which… whatever). The appeal of Biden is discussed above, and he sure as hell is not my favored candidate (frankly, I wish he’d just quit). But Sanders and Warren are 85% - 95% similar in their policy platforms. The fact that Michael “50 Billion Dollar Fortune” Bloomberg started rattling his chains about running for president is because either a Sanders or Warren presidency terrifies the outrageously exploitative billionaire capitalist oligarchy that runs this country and has been allowed to proceed essentially however the fuck they like since… you guessed it, the 1980s, the era of voodoo economics, deregulation, and the free market above all. Warren just happens to be ten years younger than Sanders and female, and Sanders’ age is not insignificant. He’s 80 years old and just had a heart attack, and there’s still a year to go to the election. It’s also more than a little eye-rolling to describe him as the only progressive candidate in the race, when he’s an old white man (however much we like and approve of his policy positions). And here’s the thing, which I think is a big part of the reason why this polarized ideological purity internet leftist culture mistrusts Warren:

She may have changed her mind on things in the past.

Scary, right? I sound like I’m being facetious, but I’m not. An argument I had to read with my own two eyes on this godforsaken hellsite was that since Warren became a Democrat around the time Clinton signed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, she sekritly hated gay people and might still be a corporate sellout, so on and etcetera. (And don’t even get me STARTED on the fact that DADT, coming a few years after the height of the AIDS crisis which was considered God’s Judgment of the Icky Gays, was the best Clinton could realistically hope to achieve, but this smacks of White Gay Syndrome anyway and that is a whole other kettle of fish.) Bernie has always demonstrably been a democratic socialist, and: good for him. I’m serious. But because there’s the chance that Warren might not have thought exactly as she does now at any point in her life, the hysterical and paranoid left-wing elements don’t trust that she might not still secretly do so. (Zomgz!) It’s the same element that’s feeding cancel culture and “wokeness.” Nobody can be allowed to have shifted or grown in their opinions or, like a functional, thoughtful, non-insane adult, changed their beliefs when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary. To the ideological hordes, any hint of uncertainty or past failure to completely toe the line is tantamount to heresy. Any evidence of any other belief except The Correct One means that this person is functionally as bad as Trump. And frankly, it’s only the Sanders supporters who, just as in 2016, are threatening to withhold their vote in the general election if their preferred candidate doesn’t win the primary, and indeed seem weirdly proud about it.

OK, boomer Bernie or Buster.

Here’s the thing, the thing, the thing: there is never going to be an American president free of the deeply toxic elements of American ideology. There just won’t be. This country has been built how it has for 250 years, and it’s not gonna change. You are never going to have, at least not in the current system, some dream candidate who gets up there and parrots the left-wing talking points and attacks American imperialism, exceptionalism, ravaging global capitalism, military and oil addiction, etc. They want to be elected as leader of a country that has deeply internalized and taken these things to heart for its entire existence, and most of them believe it to some degree themselves. So this groupthink white liberal mentality where the only acceptable candidate is this Perfect Non-Problematic robot who has only ever had one belief their entire lives and has never ever wavered in their devotion to doctrine has really gotten bad. The Democratic Party would be considered… maybe center/mild left in most other developed countries. It’s not even really left-wing by general standards, and Sanders and Warren are the only two candidates for the nomination who are even willing to go there and explicitly put out policy proposals that challenge the systematic structure of power, oppression, and exploitation of the late-stage capitalist 21st century. Warren has the billionaires fussed, and instead of backing down, she’s doubling down. That’s part of why they’re so scared of her. (And also misogyny, because the world is depressing like that.) She is going head-on after picking a fight with some of the worst people on the planet, who are actively killing the rest of us, and I don’t know about you, but I like that.

Of course: none of this will mean squat if she (or the eventual Democratic winner, who I will vote for regardless of who it is, but as you can probably tell, she’s my ride or die) don’t a) win the White House and then do as they promised on the campaign trail, and b) don’t have a Democratic House and Senate willing to have a backbone and pass the laws. Even Nancy Pelosi, much as she’s otherwise a badass, held off on opening a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump for months out of fear it would benefit him, until the Ukraine thing fell into everyone’s laps. The Democrats are really horrible at sticking together and voting the party line the way Republicans do consistently, because Democrats are big-tent people who like to think of themselves as accepting and tolerant of other views and unwilling to force their members’ hands. The Republicans have no such qualms (and indeed, judging by their enabling of Trump, have no qualms at all). 

The modern American Republican party has become a vehicle for no-holds-barred power for rich white men at the expense of absolutely everything and everyone else, and if your rationale is that you can’t vote for the person opposing Donald Goddamn Trump is that you’re just not vibing with them on the language of that one policy proposal… well, I’m glad that you, White Middle Class Liberal, feel relatively safe that the consequences of that decision won’t affect you personally. Even if we’re due to be out of the Paris Climate Accords one day after the 2020 election, and the issue of climate change now has the most visibility it’s ever had after years of big-business, Republican-led efforts to deny and discredit the science, hey, Secret Corporate Shill, am I right? Can’t trust ‘er. Let’s go have a craft beer.

As has been said before: vote as far left as you want in the primary. Vote your ideology, vote whatever candidate you want, because the only way to make actual, real-world change is to do that. The huge, embedded, all-consuming and horrible system in which we operate is not just going to suddenly be run by fairy dust and happy thoughts overnight. Select candidates that reflect your values exactly, be as picky and ideologically militant as you want. That’s the time to do that! Then when it comes to the general election:

America is a two-party system. It sucks, but that’s the case. Third-party votes, or refraining from voting because “it doesn’t matter” are functionally useless at best and actively harmful at worst.

Either the Democratic candidate or Donald Trump will win the 2020 election.

There is absolutely no length that the Republican/GOP machine, and its malevolent allies elsewhere, will not go to in order to secure a Trump victory. None.

Any talk whatsoever about “progressive values” or any kind of liberal activism, coupled with a course of action that increases the possibility of a Trump victory, is hypocritical at best and actively malicious at worst.

This is why I found the Democratic response to Obama’s “don’t go too wild” comments interesting. Bernie doubled down on the fact that his plans have widespread public support, and he’s right. (Frankly, the fact that Sanders and Warren are polling at the top, and the fact that they’re politicians and would not be crafting these campaign messages if they didn’t know that they were being positively received, says plenty on its own). Warren cleverly highlighted and praised Obama’s accomplishments in office (i.e. the Affordable Care Act) and didn’t say squat about whether she agreed or disagreed with him, then went right back to campaigning about why billionaires suck. And some guy named Julian Castro basically blew Obama off and claimed that “any Democrat” could beat Trump in 2020, just by nature of existing and being non-insane.

This is very dangerous! Do not be Julian Castro!

As I said in my tags on the Bush post: everyone assumed that sensible people would vote for Kerry in 2004. Guess what happened? Yeah, he got Swift Boated. The race between Obama and McCain in 2008, even after those said nightmare years of Bush, was very close until the global crash broke it open in Obama’s favor, and Sarah Palin was an actual disqualifier for a politician being brazenly incompetent and unprepared. (Then again, she was a woman from a remote backwater state, not a billionaire businessman.) In 2012, we thought Corporate MormonBot Mitt Fuggin’ Romney was somehow the worst and most dangerous candidate the Republicans could offer. In 2016, up until Election Day itself, everyone assumed that HRC was a badly flawed candidate but would win anyway. And… we saw how that worked out. Complacency is literally deadly.

I was born when Reagan was still president. I’m just old enough to remember the efforts to impeach Clinton over forcing an intern to give him a BJ in the Oval Office (This led by the same Republicans making Donald Trump into a darling of the evangelical Christian right wing.) I’m definitely old enough to remember 9/11 and how America lost its mind after that, and I remember the Bush years. And, obviously, the contrast with Obama, the swing back toward Trump, and everything that has happened since. We can’t afford to do this again. We’re hanging by a thread as it is, and not just America, but the entire planet.

So yes. By all means, vote for Sanders in the primary. Then when November 3, 2020 rolls around, if you care about literally any of this at all, hold your nose if necessary and vote straight-ticket Democrat, from the president, to the House and Senate, to the state and local offices. I cannot put it more strongly than that.

[ghcstvalleychief]

people hate to hear the truth but BL is made to fetishize m/m relationships, they know lgbtq money is huge and hetero girls will also be all over them. It's funny seeing people so defensive explaining why "not all" are like that but the whole genre is homophobic. For one, they use sexual violence or lack of consent in at least 90% of the series. The companies are pretty homophobic and RACIST, count how many openly gay men and dark skin color main characters are there. Most of the fans don't care about plot, about acting, about chmistry either, they only care about two boys kissing. Tharntype will be my first example, the series lacked of plot continuity nor sense whatsoever, first episode had a rape scene that was romantized, the acting was basic at most and with some was lame yet was one of the most popular series until this day. Now moving forward KinnPorsche, I'll move from the rape ship that is the obvious one to the young ship. People were pretty upset about one of the actors being underage (when the kid is a really good actor anx their scenes were cleaned from NC) because they could not sexualize them comfortably. Some fans even saying that for season 2 the minor actor would be legal it's beyond gross. Fact is, they try to put like we shouldn't bring morals to series, is just fiction but how can you be a supporter of rape and think you have any right to judge anyone. Like I said, BL is an illness in the entertaiment industry and heteros have no right into saying shit because most of them only care about a ship and two boys kissing.

I didn't know what Tharntype was initially until I kept seeing people mention it. So naturally, I was curious about what it was. I watched it and I couldn't get past the 3rd episode. I was confused because I was trying to figure out why this was such a huge thing in this fandom. The more research I did, the more I realized how some of the scenes that happened in TT were commonplace in this genre. I was shocked because I saw something similar to the scene you mentioned from TT but in a completely different show shortly after.

I remember visiting the BL subreddit because I was curious to know what the fandom was like and there were so many posts on that subreddit about how "it's okay for us to ship what we want and we shouldn't be made to feel gross for enjoying rape/non consent scenes." Like, I saw a post in that subreddit about that and I immediately left. What was even worse is how many people responded to and agreed with the post. People can be in denial about it all they want, but there are far more people who have some rather interesting thoughts surrounding all of this. And they are vocal about it. I know there is one actor in particular who's been very vocal recently about the fact that he's straight in real life. We all know who I'm talking about, and I just wonder how many of them are like him.

These actors won't admit to it because the industry is built on this fanservice thing where they have to sell the illusion that these actors are gay but they're most likely straight. They don't want actual out and proud gay men; they just want straight men who can pretend to be gay because that's what sells. I won't completely blame these actors because I know they probably have managers telling them to refrain from confirming or denying anything because of the industry expectation. But I will blame the actors who are straight up homophobic choosing to do this because they're only here for the clout and the money.

The thing about KC is that I never thought it should have existed in this show to begin with. The mere idea of a romance with that couple always made me feel uneasy because Barcode looks like a literal child. He is extremely young and he looks it. I was never going to be receptive to the idea of it and I wasn't. I needed Chay to be played by someone older because it would have me feel less icky but not by much.

[khaleesiofalicante]

bestie do you really think it's funny to make me cry?

OK WHERE DO I START AUJHUJHDSDUJHFV

deep bre-INCOHERENT SCREAMING

That's it. that's all I have to say.

THEY PASSED THE CHILD PROTECTION BILL I'M GONNA BE CRYING IN A CORNER IF ANYONE NEEDS ME

All those shadowhunters who ran back to Idris I hope you starve to death there. have fun!

Anjali is so awesome OH MY GOD I LOVE HER ALREADY

Rafael is THAT kid I see...it suits him so well.

It had been two very long years stuck in this small office room. But every time Alec saw the way David giggled when Lexi called her father Jalapeno poppers or some other equally ridiculous name, Alec knew it was worth all the trouble.

THIS OMG I'M NOT OK

Alec wondered if that’s why so many leaders before him had been awful. It was easy to be a bad leader. But it took effort to be a good one.

This is so true...I'm so proud of him...

Dani...bestie THAT IMMORTALITY CRISIS WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME. I know it's gonna happen but I was having a very good day. why do you hurt me in such ways... (I'm pretty sure my family thinks I'm mentally unstable after the way I screamed reading)

“Anjali,” Diego sighed. “What have I told you about doors?”

“Knock them down?”

“I said knock on them!” Diego corrected, shaking his head. “Not knock them down!”

I'm in love.

HUHYUHKSDYKFVYUFVYU ALEC'S CONSUL VOICE I'M SCREAMING

SIMON BESTEST!! HIM SORTING THE STUDENTS INTO THESE GROUPS I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! AND ANJALI BESTIE GOOD LUCK AT BEATING THE SEELIES!! (good luck with stealing the weapons)

well, Rafael do you perhaps have a little crush? (Grammarly ik I'm writing in lowercase stfu)

ok ok I know this is pretty sad but every time someone gives Magnus or Alec the "you haven't talked to him yet?" look I start laughing-

ALEC'S SO CLUELESS ABOUT MAX AND DAVID I CANT-

“So, you are just going to leave me here and go to York then?” Max demanded now; all puppy dog eyes. “Like my mom left me at the academy?”

Yeah. He took the news a little too well.

MAX PLAYING THE ADOPTED CARD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

“Is it because you don’t like me?” Max pouted again. “Like my mom…Who left me all alone.”

“You can’t play the adopted card with me, you lil shit,” Rafael laughed. “I’m adopted too.”

I'M SO IN LOVE LEAVE ME ALONE

AWW MAX SEEING THE INSTITUTE AND IMMEDIATELY GOING "David would love this" ISTG THIS KID I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

“Weren’t you listening to a podcast on Mayan Civilization during breakfast?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

“Bapak said it’s historically accurate!” Rafe argued.

“Bapak is not that old!” Alec countered.

“Maybe he is,” Max said, analyzing the paintings on the walls. “Maybe you don’t know it.”

“Excuse me, I know how old my husband is,” Alec said indignantly.

“Then where are the receipts dad?” Max asked. “Show us the receipts!”

Where are the receipts, Alec? EXACTLY!

THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE HAS CAUGHT ON TO MAX'S VERY OBVIOUS CRUSH

“I think he likes David,” Rafe whispered.

“Of course he does,” Alec whispered back. Why were they whispering? “David is a sweet boy.”

“No. I think he ‘likes him’ likes him,” Rafael giggled.

Alec looked at his son sharply. “But-He is..Da..They are children!”

“You’ve never heard a childhood crush?” Rafe grinned.

“No, I was too busy…studying,” Alec sniffed.

“That’s not what I heard,” Rafael bit his lip. “I heard you had a thing for boys in motorcycle jackets.”

“Okay that’s it! You are not allowed to hang out at Hotel Dumort anymore,” Alec said.

Really Alec? Studying? REALLY???

MAX AND RAFE RACING TO THE TRAINING ROOM!!!

the reference to the infernal devices...I'M GONNA KILL THE ALREADY DEAD STARKWEATHERS! I'M ABOUT TO DO SOME NECROMANCY SHIT TO BRING THOSE FUCKERS BACK JUST TO KILL THEM SLOWLY

Hugs max it's gonna be ok buddy.

In that moment, Alec remembered all the talks.

He remembered how his mother had lectured Izzy about not going out alone late at night, but she hadn’t said anything to Jace or Alec.

He remembered the way Jem spoken quietly to Mina in soft Mandarin about how people might call her names, but he hadn’t said anything to Kit.

He remembered the way Julian had told Ty to be careful about kissing his boyfriend in public, but he hadn’t said anything to Dru.

I hate this so damn much. I hate it. It sucks how there will always be people who will be targeted for being born the way they are. Whether it be skin color, sexuality, body type, or anything, people will always fucking talk and make the world unsafe for certain people just because they aren't generic male cishets. If you're a girl you're in danger. If you're a POC you're in danger, If you're neurodivergent you're in danger. If you're a member of the LGBTQ community you're in danger. If you're disabled you're in danger. If you're part of any minority you're in danger. If you dare to be different you're in danger. Fuck people. I'm a queer POC female and it's scary. I don't want to be always checking my surroundings when I'm out. I shouldn't have to feel this scared walking out of my own house but I do and it sucks. Ok, I feel like I'm derailing from the main point here.

Sorry for that just got really heated for a second there.

NO NOT THE NIGHTMARE. BABY NO

DAVID MY CHILD!! OMG, HE'S GONNA TAKE UP ARCHERY SOMEONE HOLD ME WHILE I CRY!

“This is who you are,” David said, his voice oddly soft now. Softer than usual. “And you’re beautiful.”

Alec blinked at that.

“Blue,” David said quickly. “I meant you’re blue. Uh, yes.”

BESTIE I SAW WHAT YOU SAID THERE. WE ALL DID

Also, alec sitting outside max's room...IM GONNA-

“David is in there,” Alec whispered. “I just wanted to…check…if everything was okay.”

“Alexander, are you spying on our child?” Magnus demanded. “Without me???”

“What? No! I-”

“Move over!” Magnus sank down next to him. “What are they saying? Are they kissing?”

“WHAT? They are not kissing!” Alec said in alarm. “Wait. Are they???”

He couldn’t hear anything now. Alec panicked.

“I haven’t talk to the kids about kissing yet,” Magnus pointed out. “We can’t talk to Max without talking to Rafael first.”

“Wait. Is Rafael kissing people???”

“Rafael is not kissing people,” Rafael replied as he walked past them to the kitchen. “Also, you guys are shit at whispering.”

Alec rolled his eyes at him and turned to Magnus. “It’s stressful enough that we need to talk about racism in the shadow world. Now we need to talk about kissing??”

“And other stuff,” Magnus chuckled.

Alec groaned into Magnus’ shoulder. “By the angel. Fine. We’ll just tell them there is no kissing. Until they are 30.”

“Hypocrite,” Rafael coughed into his hand as he walked back to the table with a bag of chips.

THIS WHOLE SCENE OH MY GOD.

And srsly alec? 30? really? whips out the extract "kissed" from cassie's website According to my files here-

“And David?”

“Yes, sir?”

“The bedroom door stays open from now on.”

David blinked, his cheeks pink. “I…What?”

“Door stays open,” Alec said, lowering his voice, just a register. “Is that understood?”

AYY ALEC DAD MODE YUCDUHDFHFUHJIUHC THIS IS SO AMAZING IM GONNA SCREAM

Alec advising David with the bow is so close to my heart...IDK WHY IT JUST IS

That conversation...PEOPLE FUCKING SUCK I HOPE HUMANS GO EXTINCT BECAUSE I SURE AM READY TO DIE SO LET'S TAKE THE EARTH DOWN-

“Why don’t shadowhunters have acne?”

"What?" Alec blinked.

“Their skin is like so freaking perfect and smooth and they can just freaking go through puberty without a one freaking pimple and don’t even get me started on the freaking dimples and then-”

Magnus started laughing. Alec felt a little confused.

EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS !!!!! THAT DAMN ANGEL BLOOD

That part about how we normalize these little things which are actually hurtful...I didn't realize that. I guess we really do, huh? This just made me want to be more careful with others and if I feel others do this with me, to stop them and correct them.

I loved this chapter so much. You're such a great writer.

I wanted to share something of my own now!! I FINALLY GOT MY COPY FOR RWARB!!!! I told my parents it was a thriller about how the first son and the prince forge a friendship and discover secrets about the government and the monarchy-

The place I bought it from sent me a very cute bookmark. It's a pride bookmark and it's just my first ever pride merch and I'm close to tears. Let's just say my family isn't the most accepting so this bookmark's really precious to me

Sorry, the quality isn't the best. I was in a hurry. It's almost 4 am now I'm gonna try and sleep (I'm gonna reorganize my bookshelf). See you on Tuesday!!

Thank you so much. I love reading your comments. They are so honest and full of life. You are going to LOVE rwrb. It's such a good book and it's so romantic and raw and perfect. Lmao about your parents. What they don't know can't hurt them ;) And I loooooooooove your bookmark. Be gay. Do crime.

PS -

"It sucks how there will always be people who will be targeted for being born the way they are. Whether it be skin color, sexuality, body type, or anything, people will always fucking talk and make the world unsafe for certain people just because they aren't generic male cishets. If you're a girl you're in danger. If you're a POC you're in danger, If you're neurodivergent you're in danger. If you're a member of the LGBTQ community you're in danger. If you're disabled you're in danger. If you're part of any minority you're in danger. If you dare to be different you're in danger. Fuck people. I'm a queer POC female and it's scary. I don't want to be always checking my surroundings when I'm out. I shouldn't have to feel this scared walking out of my own house but I do and it sucks. Ok, I feel like I'm derailing from the main point here."

THIS IS THE MAIN POINT. YOU GOT IT. SO CONGRATS <3

[kookie-doughs]

Beta Tester

Kozume Kenma X Reader

-YN LN is a popular mangaka

Chapter 16: Stage

Seeing you running towards him made Kenma frown.

"Kenma!" You waved. "Thank you for not leaving yet!"

Ignoring you he continued to walk towards the direction of the stage.

You pouted and crossed your arms. "You know... As sorry as I am for that kiss I really don't regret it."

Jogging up in front of him with a shit eating grin, you positioned yourself in front of him where he'd have no choice but to look at you while you looked at him. His ears were slightly red without a doubt but who were you kidding yours were too.

Kenma cleared his throat, "Good for you then. Now get out of the way so I could get out of here. "

"And honestly I liked that kiss." You continued determined to see him flustered again. "Your lips were soft and I bet my ass you're a great kisser. I rate you 10/10 would do it again."

With a glare he looked at you straight in the eyes, "So do it pussy." Then went ahead before you could see the red settling on his face.

"I- Wh- Excuse me- Wh- Huh? K-Ken- Kenma!!" You squeaked as you chased after him.

"I said what I said."

You finally caught up to him when he was about to climb the stairs towards the stage. Luckily(?) you also have to go up with him.

"Ehh... Where's the flustered Kenma? I wanted to see you all blushy and panicked. You looked so adorable. I don't want hot daddy Dom Kenma. I want cute baby sub Kenma..."

As he was halfway up the stairs your height gap grew and he was way over you. He just looked down on you, leaning closer the gap barely existent he smirked.

"Too bad." Then turned away.

There were a handful of people who saw the scene. Which made you more embarrassed. Holy shit you acted all alpha online only to be dominated by a hermit named Kozume Kenma.

Boy were you happy. You'd happily submit to him.

"Let us all welcome the two people who made the game possible! YN LN and Kozume Kenma!!"

You might be confused why you two were the ones going and why you were introduced like that.

As you are the creator of Puri-Puri you of course are the reason why this game existed.

But Kenma came here as he's the biggest investor, the face of the game and no one else wanted to go. So yeah...

As you two came up the stage you were just wishing the blush from the scene a few moments ago. The cameras flashed and claps were heard.

"Shit the media is here..." You mumbled.

"Your surprised, why?" Kenma gave you an amused and disappointed look. No idea how he managed to do that but he did.

"Shut the fuck up. I just got a feeling the questions won't be about the game thanks to the media."

"So you do think sometimes..."

"You want me to hit you?"

A clearing of throat behind you stopped your argument. It was Akaashi handing you both microphones to be clipped on you [I'm sorry I dont know what they're called] .

"Good luck, don't do and say anything stupid. And remember this is the release of PPM's demo." He reminded and got off the stage.

"Good evening to you all! I hope you've been having a great time!" I started.

"We'd like to thank you again for attending the release of PPM's demo."

"Now of course the game is yet to be played but from the trailer that was shown, I hope you had enjoyed it since the game is going to be much better than the trailer!"

"I'm sure you all must've questions as well. That's why Me and your idi-- dear author will answer."

"You definitely were about to call me idiot." You frowned at him.

He smirked and shrugged. "I have not a slightest idea what you mean."

"You're the worst."

Ignoring you... Again. He motioned at one of the reporters to probably ask their question.

"Ms. LN, as the initial plot of the Puri-Puri Magika is about [REDACTED], and the trailer we saw have quite a large difference from one another only having the universe in similarty. Is it just the universe of the similar one to the manga? "

"Of course the plot would be different. It disappoints me quite a bit that none of you realized how they're connected aside from the universe. Well, I don't really want to spoil you but if you actually read the Manga and saw the trailer," You gave a proud smirk. "Everyone that was a fan of PPM in the team were ecstatic. They were all just-" You mimicked a mind blown. "They were so excited about the game and a those."

"Thank you Ms. LN."

"Next please."

"Mr. Kozume," the next one called. "You were neither a fan of YN, nor PPM, why did you decide to not only beta test the game but sponsor and invest big sum of money on the game."

"We--"

"No wait ! I want to answer some of those questions!" You cut off cackling. "The one about him investing and him beta testing! It's actually an annoying and Hella funny story."

"No I was a--"

"Shut up you'll probably lie."

"Shut up." Kenma now had his ears red. "Don't you--"

"He was the biggest asshole back then!"

"Stop talking."

"He fucking beta tested despite not knowing shit about PPM because it was the biggest game. And he just banwagoned  on it like a bitch he was."

"I did not. I had some clues about you Manga."

"You did not know shit about PPM cut yo bullshit. You didn't even know who the MC was!"

"Shut up."

"That's why he beta tested! Now the reason why he invested is really hilarious!"

"I really hate this story..."

"This was the reason why Kenma became Bae too! We didn't know shit about how to contact Kenma, we only had his email address and his social media. Keep that in mind. "

"So since he didn't know shit about PPM he really couldn't care about the plot and just looked for bugs and shit. He wasn't even aware of the bugs in the plot since he didn't know which what was supposed to be part of the plot and not. This bitch ass decided there wasn't any bugs anymore so we went with that. But then we had to play it and saw a shit ton of bugs."

"I said there were some bugs don't make me seems so stupid."

"You didn't even inform us about the glitch at the time skip part! That could've ruined the entire thing! Anywayz, so we had to code the game again. So we emailed him that there were way too many bugs other than what he told us so the next testing would be later. But the asshole never replied. And since I was the one entasked to guide this bitch ass, I  had to flood his email! And he didn't respond! Not once! It had been DAYS! I send him at least 20 emails everyday! I have up on the 3-4th day and DMed him on Twitter."

"I really hate this part."

"No. No. This is the best part. Do y'all remember that one trending #KodzuGone started by Tenma? It's because, this asshole never responded to our emails so I DMed him all the shit important shit in the emails. Then this bitch fucking blocked me! I fucking rante to Tenma and he canceled Kenma like he deserved to! I was panicking about it since Mr. Suzumiya told me that Kenma could be a potential investor if he wanted. And I needed cash... "

"Do not call me that publicly. You are disgusting."

"He went full sugar daddy on me!" You cackled. "His entire squad had betrayed him! They were canceling him so he just fucking slid into my DMs apologizing about the shit he did and I told him, bitch I'm coming over there and see you play this fucking game or I will not stop this canceling and make it worse. So he was forced to telll me his address and I'm not sure if yall saw the live but it was hot shit. The next day he bought all the copies of PPM at this one store and gave them to me and then he invested shit ton of money on my on going works, bought me a new tablet, paid my Keiji bills, and many other shit. Yall would die to have him as sugar daddy I'm telling you. Ya don't even have to give him sugar for the treats. "

"That was the biggest mistake I made."

"Awwe, but thanks to that we're closer than ever. "

"Exactly my point."

"Thank you for answering Ms. LN."

"I hate you so much." Kenma sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No you don't. Admit it you love me."

"I really don't. Next question please."

"A-Ah, my initial question was actually answered in the previous question. It about your live. Now my question is, Ms LN and Mr. Kozume, is your relationship really a platonic one or a romantic one? "

"Okay, babe," You chuckled. "my man won't even let me breathe the same air he does. Ya think we're dating?"

"Well your right."

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?! " You exclaimed a little louder than you thought since the mic made a loud noise.

"The relationship we have is both platonic and romantic. As labels aren't placed we share a romantic relationship." Kenma smirked.

You looked at him and the crowd with a clear eminent blush. "I-I I- Wh-"

Pulling you closer to him and turning around so the crowd won't see you both. He lowered the mic to prevent them from hearing.

"I wanted to see you all blushy and panicked . You look adorable." He whispered to your ear before facing the crowd again who were now going crazy over what Kenma had just confirmed.

"Y-You're an asshole..."

"Yeah, an asshole who..." lowering his mic again he leaned to your ear. "Still has your favorite onsie at his place. You really shouldn't have left it at my place. I'm so tempted to burn it."

"You leave my onsie alone! I will drown your consoles."

"With that threat, you're suddenly stripped of your house visit privileges."

"W-Why would you say we're dating?!"

"I didn't. I just said we both share a romantic and platonic relationship with no labels. I technically didn't lie too."

"Why did you do this?"

"Aside from wanting to see you all flustered? I'm probably drunk." Kenma smiled and turned to the crowd again. "Next question please."

Previous | Masterlist | Next

I'm sorry lately there's been to many words and less pictures it's just that... Idk

Lol I'm sorry this was supposed to be smau but there's been too many words

Ooc Kenma is shit so I made him drunk

-kookie-doughs

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @synx-ed @normalisthenewnorm @0majuh0 @leachann @nikanikabitch @almondeupeach @immxnty @mer-majesty @yamayoomi @simpingoveranime-men @lostmarimoismyhubby @mariishat @just-snog-already

[firstlovesuggestions]

There's this guy that I like a lot, he's sweet and kind and honest and everyone that knows him agrees he's a great genuine guy. But because he's a bit popular and I'm not, I'm scared people will find me out and tease me for liking him. We do a lot of stuff together, he's so friendly and he's never treated me differently, but I'm worried abt what other ppl would say. I know I shouldn't but it still bothers me. I'm so hopeless when it comes to stuff like this sdjksjds

You know the “right” mindset to have, which is not caring what others think. But none of us can truly say we don’t care what anyone thinks. First things first: don’t be too hard on yourself for still caring when you know others’ opinions “shouldn’t” bother you. Second, if he hasn’t treated you differently despite being on the popular side, he probably doesn’t have a big head about that popularity. That alone is the sign of someone genuine.

I remember the most popular guy in my high school was the first to help me when I dropped 4 classes worth of material all across the hallway. We went to the same elementary school too. I was the new kid, and he sat with me at lunch until I made other new friends so I didn’t feel scared or lonely. So you better believe I had a crush on this guy. But it wasn’t weird, because most girls (and all three of the out gay guys, who he defended from people’s bullying a lot) had a crush on him for his sweet personality alone.

And you know, nobody ever confessed to him. It was probably intimidating for everyone knowing how many other people liked him, too, and wondering what the consequences would be.

What I’m trying to say is that if you confess to him, or admit that you like him to someone else, any teasing you get from others could just be laced with jealously. They might talk smack, but it could be them deflecting the fact that they like him too. Not because you’ve done anything wrong. And who knows, if you’re the first one to confess to him, that could really stand out to him. I kind of wish I had confessed to the guy from my school... just to see what would happen.

I’m rooting for you, whatever happens!