#all of those are 100% true and I am not accepting arguments

[macaroni-stars]

Star Wars Fab Four as flowers LET'S GO

Luke - sunflower

Sunflowers represent: A long life and lasting happiness, as most varieties stand in full bloom throughout the summer. Good fortune and positive opportunities — a lucky charm for someone.

However, sunflowers are also a symbol of hope and strength, particularly in times of adversity. This is due in part to their ability to stand tall and face the sun, even in the midst of difficult growing conditions.

The sunflower is known for its ability to turn its face towards the sun, following its path throughout the day. This behavior is seen as a metaphor for staying true to one’s path and finding one’s own light.

Han - chicory

Chicory flowers are believed to represent determination, perseverance, and the ability to adapt to challenging situations.

Chicory was a symbol of perseverance and endless waiting as well as a protector of the martyrs in the Middle Ages. It is also valued as a food and as a remedy.

Chicory has also been documented thought out time as having many magical properties including luck, strength, divination, favors, frugality, invisibility, opening of locks, removing obstacles and curse removal.

Leia - gladiolus

Generally, gladioli represent strength of character, faithfulness, moral integrity, and remembrance.

These majestic flowers tend to bloom most impressively during the final month of summertime. Other symbolic meanings that people have attributed to gladiolus flowers are victory, healing, honor, and moral character.

Additionally, the Gladiolus flower is also associated with the idea of remembrance and nostalgia. In some cultures, it is believed that the Gladiolus flower can help to bring back memories of loved ones who have passed away.

Lando - lavender

Lavender flowers represent devotion, serenity, grace, and calmness. Purple is the color of royalty and speaks of elegance, refinement, and luxury, too.

Symbolizing renewal, lavender represents the opportunity for a fresh start and the chance to let go of the past.

Lavender's connection to renewal goes hand in hand with personal growth. It serves as a reminder that we can evolve, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.

[mae-i-scribble]

Hi, I hope you're having a nice day - in your author's notes for chapter 2 of The Long Way Home, you mentioned the idea that the story HSY wrote is different from the ORV that we know. I wanted to ask if you've ever written any posts expanding on that? I would love to read more about your thoughts on this (KDJ in your story's last memory being about reading that instead of WoS. Gutted me.)

Hello there! I have unfortunately not written a post detailing this (if you are the very nice anon who has asked me to elaborate on this i am very sorry, if you're not anon i am still very sorry), in large part because doing so in a way that I would be happy with would involve combing through the last 1/3rd or so of the novel. Since the major thematics about authors and characters and readers as one aren't really gotten into until that point. To be honest, I just haven't had the energy for that.

The idea that the novel HSY wrote not being ORV is one that I've always had since first finishing ORV- I can't say where exactly it originated from. Now to be clear, it's an undisputed fact that HSY and kimcom *are* writing about the events they lived through, and I do 100% both understand how and why HSY writing ORV is the more widely accepted theory (them including lines from early orv scenes, the way that it loops right back around into ORV's very meta theming, the way it would match up with the ideas of loop of fate, etc.) I just don't agree with it.

One of the greatest takeaways for me on the author/character theming in ORV is that an author will never fully understand a character they write. HSY and YJH live this out in real time, alongside HSY learning the origins of WoS vs the YJH she has come to know as a companion. In writing WoS she straight up admits that she fudges her memories of him because it isn't as if she could know everything about him- she just wrote the story she thought KDJ needed to hear. (I swear I have a point I promise). HSY as intimate knowledge in how while writing someone, you both grow to understand them intimately while simultaneously remaining clueless. With the experiences she goes through, combined with the fact that KDJ's narration in ORV is so specifically *him* with all its unreliability and the glimpses we get into his past/bits of him on his own without kimcom around, I just don't think ORV is something HSY would have written. To me, she wouldn't have tried to write from KDJ's perspective, already having far too much entanglement in obscuring people and characters with KDJ (and possily from that one scenario where she's almost taken over by the character she's incarnated into, but again, i would need to reread).

Then we reach the point where she writes this novel for the KDJ's across worldlines- or rather, kimcom does. Which I think is another very relevant point, HSY is compiling and spinning this into a narrative, but *everyone* is contributing to it and writing bits and pieces. Now that I type it out, I think that might be part of what makes me so happy with the thought that instead of ORV, HSY is writing that same story but told from kimcom's perspective, not KDJ's like ORV is. The image of everyone coming together to give their own perspective and accounts while HSY compiles and sorts those varying viewpoints into a narrative with KDJ as the focus just warms my heart. In a post I made about the epilogues, I brought up that with this interpretation, you can see it as kimcom writing KDJ as they see him, so that he can understand just why they love him so dearly- which I think is especially poignant considering this novel's true purpose isn't even to bring KDJ back, its to help everyone else heal from the trauma of losing him.

So basically, I can't really give you much of a textual basis for my argument besides for the fact that ORV doesn't straight up say HSY is writing ORV, it's more just was my first takeaway that has forever stuck with me as my preferred interpretation.

(P.S. thank you for taking the time to read my fic, I also loved writing the bit where KDJ remembers that story.)

[deimosbreakfrost]

What are is ur true opinion about TX2?

Warning! It's Only my opinion. If you don't like it, then bite your tongue, walk away and get lost.

- Quick Opinion:

I hate this band GUTS. I fucking hate Evan, I hate his music, I hate his sense of humor, I hate the fact that he's an fucking parasite, I hate that no one gave him and his band the "BrokeNcyde" treatment until now and his fanbase. ESPECIALLY THE FANBASE.

The fanbase is just a bunch of annoying brats that are from 10-17 years old, defend TX2 on the worse and most ignorant ways possible, uses shitty arguments because they're braindead, have the basic "be gay is quirky" Instagram/discord user sense of humor, makes TX2 their whole personality, can't accept that people hate them and uses "but I'm only defending them!" Whenever someone is (rightfully) saying they suck ass and most of them are those annoying Shorts/Tiktok therians that uses neopronouns and xenogenders (no offense to the actual GOOD people that uses them, just the bad ones) so--- yeah.

- Music:

05/10

Even though I fucking hate them, not gonna lie, their music is actually listeneble. "oh, but if you don't think their music is unlistable then why you say it sucks?" Because of Evan's shitty behavior.

The Band could do the most beautiful songs ever made, but if the vocalist who LITERALLY leads the band and is its creator is an huge asshole or an problematic person then OBVIOUSLY a lot of people won't like them or their music. (MSI is an example) But nooo, for the TX2 fans you NEED to like them and won't respect your opinion.

And also, their music is not emo and never will be. "Oh, but the emo music is mostly formed by hard rock, metalcore and pop punk bands that didn't meant to be emo" exactly. Different of them, TX2 always say they're "emo" but have nothing to do with the scene and their fans can't accept they're posers

Their music sounds like average 2019-2023 TikTok pop rock music, none of the songs are actually emotional hardcore (or emotional/hardcore in general) Oh, and also, they copied the music from other bands.

I am 100% sure that their song "black wedding" is an ripoff of Get Scared's "Sarcasm" but there's also allegations saying that they also copied; BMTH, AC/DC and Silverstein.

- Band Members:

02/10

Literally the unic well known one from the band is Evan and people just call him "TX2" and don't even give a fuck enough to search for his real name and the other band members. And as everyone from the ALT community knows, he's an poser, loser and popular man child.

While the other band Members? ...Who gives a fuck about them when Evan makes the entire band propaganda go around him and the fact that they're "problematic" just because he's an bitch? Anyways, the Band is formed by the Men child, the women™ of the band and the Drummer who's lowkey a wholesome guy.

I just gave a 2 because I love making Evan my punching bag and the drummer is actually a funny guy, his reels appears to me sometimes and they're actually kinda cool. Yeah I like him, all my friends hate Evan and TX2, BUT DON'T YOU DARE HATE ON THE DRUMMER

- The Band In General

01/10

The aesthetic of the band is unnexistent, none of the music are actually popular, well known or interesting, the fact that they're "problematic" just makes them more pathetic because it's all Evan's fault and not theirs and, different of MSI or maybe Marilyn Manson, Problematic ≠ good.

And this all could be fixed if Evan just made an video saying "hey guys, I fucked the things up. I'm sorry, I'll change and stop being like this" then boom, me and some other people might've understand. But no, he expects that the fact that he is annoying as fuck will make his band popular but it only gave us an reason to make him an public enemy.

But, sadly, this isn't the 2000's anymore and we can't just humiliate, chase them out or trow shit at them like people used to do with the crunkcore bands whenever they show up.

- Overall:

04/10

Not emo, posercore music, their jokes are overused and unfunny, none of the propaganda are interesting enough to convince an normal person to listen to them, the fact that they keep all the time using Evan and the fact that they're "problematic" as an propaganda is just a gun shot straight to the feet, uses pink money A LOT and, hot take, if someday Evan gets exposed it probably won't be for being "touchy" with minors. As we could see on his past behavior, bro probably is the ADM of the "I hate minors" twt account

- The Basic That You Need To Know About The Band:

"Why are them 'problematic'?" It's all Evan's fault. The band was just an average Poser4Poser TikTok band back in the day but after an alt influencer made an video giving their opinions about some bands, by the end of the video they basically said "if TX2 makes another joke about 'goth mommy wommys' I'm gonna actually kill myself'" Evan, as the man child he is, got SUUUPER offended by an negative opnion and started to beef with an minor because he simply can't take criticism. (The influencer was an minor back in the day, as I can remember)

So he started an entire era of him beefing with them because of an opinion that probably isn't that bad when compared to what I or other people think about them, as I could remember, they even created an song called "Vendetta" because "boohoo I'm a white bitchy twink who's an grownass men and I can't accept that people hate me" (and also, TX2 stole their audio of them saying their opinion and after the part where they say "I'm gonna actually kill myself" Evan yells "DO IT!" And, I don't know about you guys, but when you're an "emo" you need to be pro-mental health. And saying "do it" when someone says that they will kill themself is not so "emo" of your part. And it gets worse when you're an grownass men and the person who you beefing with is an minor.)

And the alt influencer gave their opinion about it and they basically said to him to stop and that he's just tormenting them for no reason at all because their video was not even about him and his band (oh, and also. The influencer goes by They/Them, and Evan misgendered them during his shitty apology video. It was probably an accident, but since it's Evan, I'm going to take this to heart)

And after that, TX2 created an entire "I don't care" personality to their band because they know VERY WELL that their carrier will crash and fucking burn if they even DARE to fall into a other drama.

Oh, and also. Their ass are not queer, is just Pink Money. Why Pink Money? There isn't any confirmation, image or footage if that's actually true and they only use the LGBT cause as an propaganda so they can make those "be gay is everything!" Or "be gay is quirky" teens to like them because they pretend to be queer

"Oh but they don't need to show footage to confirm that they're queer!" Yeah sure, only their words count, huh? As we could see, alot of times Evan basically used an "oh, trust me!" As an "valid" argument on situations where he didn't showed any footage. "But when he made an video saying he isn't a poser he showed a footage of him playing a A7F song on drums and said that he almost killed himself to know who he truly is!" Since when that A7F is emo? Is not because they're metalcore that it means they're emo. And also, again, Evan uses his own words as an argument when he has no footage to confirm that it's true, why you expect people to believe that he ACTUALLY almost killed himself when the unic confirmation we have is his words? I'm not trying to be insensitive but, if he already said "do it!" When a minor said that they would kill themself and the fact that he isn't trustable makes me doubt and have no respect to this men. (If he actually almost killed himself, then bro is an absolute hypocrite)

And with the placement that him and his band currently are, even shit have more weight than their words. And also, I will actually believe that Evan is an "Fag" if someday someone leak a video of him getting freaky with an guy or something. Till that doesn't happens, he won't have the right to get offended if someone calls him a Faggot or say "Fag" at all.

- What I like:

The fact that I have a band to hate on and that I'm not on the wrong for not being ashamed of doing so. Oh, and the drummer. I fucking love the drummer he's the guy ever, a cutie patootie I love him dearly he's really cool.

- What I Hate:

The fact that they collabed with I.N.K. Spencer. Don't get me bad, I fucking love you and your band but why. Why the fuck are you doing this.

- Conclusion:

Don't support or say you're an fan of them. "Can I still listen to their music?" Yeah, but just like BOTDF, probably a lot of people will want distance from you and give you an side eye if you actually say so.

And I can say without shame that I would love to wake up someday and seeing that TX2's Carrier is dead. I want to be the one who cheers and laughs while TX2's have their downfall

... Don't believe me yet?

Thx for asking XO

[rosesnbooks]

Feedback

Hi! I want to thank you so much for your reading 😁 You were on point with everything! 🤩

'You are a very understanding person with lots of empathy, creativity, a good intuition and you're also responsible. You are naturally very curious and humorous and you like to explore various topics, even spiritual ones. You are unique, caring, and original, whether regarding your traits, beliefs, fashion style, you name it…you dislike sticking to the norm. You make others feel accepted and understood, and you don't judge them for who they are.' < Thank you for that. These traits are my strengths and weaknesses. I was taken advantage of in the past and it made me a different person. I'm more assertive and I give myself a lot of self love and self care. I take care of myself. I march to the beat of my own drum, but in the past I tried to stick to the norm only for my peers to like me. You know how it eneded…Not good. I accept myself as an unique and original human being.

'You have most luck when you show your unique and humanitarian traits. I feel like you are very spiritually protected and that your intuition is truly amazing. You have a great potential for spiritual development, and I am guessing you're already working on it.' < Yes, it's 100% true! You are psychic? Lmao I know you are. It is on point. I decide to work on it. This is one of my 2025 goal.

'I think that you feel your pisces traits a lot and resonate with their characteristics.' That's right. I even try to resonate with my aquarius traits and it's getting better and better.

'Your presence is healing and I feel like luck follows you, especially when you follow your heart.' < It is something interesting. But true. I never followed my heart when it comes to career and now I'm unemployed since May 2022. I don't know what to do, but I'm tired of meet someone's expectations.

'Now, I feel like your emotions can be suffocating for you a lot of the time because you become one with them and maybe give them too much power over you. You may become very defensive in arguments and maybe even manipulate others unintentionally. ' Well, I guess it's right. Maybe my Mercury in Sagittarius makes me that way? I don't like when someone treats me as a stupid child.

'Your identity is very, very important to you and I think that facing some changes that may disrupt the way you view yourself can be very scary for you. I feel like you can be too strict with yourself and expect too much. Show some empathy toward yourself dear.' < My another goal.

'Don't be afraid to lead whenever situation calls for it. You are fit for a leader! You are capable and smart. ' < That's one of the biggest compliment someone has told me! I try to work on it. Maybe it makes me a person who doesn't like hierarchy?

'I see that it is your destiny to focus on others too by forming meaningful and happy partnerships/relationships. You are not meant to be alone and despite all your traits that differentiate you from others, you can find people that see you and accept you, as well as those who are similar. ' It's hard for me to make meaningful frendships. I hope it will change.Also, I'm single all my life and it's okay for me.

'Try focusing on maintaining a healthy routine, finding fulfiling hobbies, and focusing on the details more, rather than the big picture at all times. Show off your creativity too! You may be gifted in communication and/or writing.' My another goal for 2025! It's scary that you predicted my goals!

Happy New Year for you also! I'm satisfied with your reading (as always)! 💜💙

Hii darling, happy to see that you are satisfied with my reading🥺🫶 may all your New Year wishes come true, wishing you the best❤️ you're always so kind so I know you deserve it🦋

P.S. I've always liked your url

[caffeineandsociety]

I feel like there's a significant subset of the world - both queerphobic and pro-queer - that sees Queer Rights, i.e., the slogan, not the concept, as centering on the intersection of Penis + Femininity.

When it's queerphobes sticking to this image, that's when we get culture war bullshit that's shining a constant burning midnight sun spotlight on transfems and queer men and drag queens and intersex people with any inclination toward femininity. This is the most visible impact to your average "I don't do politics" guy.

But even within the community, it also prescribes a very narrow idea of what a cis or intersex-without-a-penis lesbian can be - you present the idea that not all butches are 100% service tops and absolute experts with a strap-on and people look at you like you grew a second head, femme lesbians and lesbian bottoms are treated like they're somehow Less Queer, and transmascs are treated as basically the antithesis of queerness; if the queerness that we need to defend and fight for = femininity + penis, then masculinity + (presumed) vagina is, like, the OPPOSITE of what we need to care about-

Even though to queerphobes, the hate is still there, it's just sloppier, more shrouded in shadows, harder to describe, harder to define. The framework for HOW to hate people who don't meet that standard is much less defined-

But it's also more socially acceptable, in a paradoxical way, because on some level those of us who are not Feminine + Penis Queer(TM) are seen as not being protected by the defense movements for drag queen story hours - and a good amount of the time, they're right, be it because even some of the pro-queer rights people truly are playing by their rules, or because their ill-defined hate toward anyone who fails to conform to the white supremacist standard of what The Two Genders are but ALSO fails to fit into their framework of why they're "supposed" to hate The Homosexual Agenda is just as hard for us to dissect as it is for them.

This is not to create a hierarchy of oppression. This is not to say that anyone who has a penis inherently oppresses anyone without, because that is just demonstrably not true. This is not to make an argument about which gender of queer people inherently Has It Worse; I am strongly of the belief that once you have "failed" hard enough at your assigned or actual gender it starts to even out and I have data to support that.

Rather, it is to serve as a call to start questioning the idea that queerness begins and ends at the intersection of femininity and penises. To step back and ask yourself if you have bought into this idea, whether you think it is good or bad. It is to ask yourself if you have more positive or negative feelings toward the combination of feminine + penis vs. masculine + vagina and start unpacking that - and in fact to go even further and start unpacking, what are your feelings toward OTHER combinations and do THEY differ? Beards and lipstick? Muscles and gowns? Masculinity + femininity + some entirely different genital configuration, be it by birth or by body modification? It is a call to recognize people who express queerness by deliberately overperforming their gender, whether they're cis or trans, regardless of what genitals they have or why - when gender conformity becomes so farcically intense that it loops right back around to nonconformity, as is the case for many femme lesbians or gay leathermen.

And above all else, it is a call to recognize that queerphobia comes for ALL of these examples of nonconformity-

And it will help every single one of us if we stay a step ahead of the game in recognizing WHY, in recognizing WHAT we're transgressing instead of waiting for queerphobes to publish books about it and then STILL debating whether they REALLY mean those things or not.

[forsetti]

On Personal Identity: It's Complex And Personal

Once gay marriage was upheld by SCOTUS, the right needed a new, under-represented group to attack in order to placate their base’s lust to make themselves feel superior and punish those they deem inferior.

It took a few years for conservatives to really hone in on who to attack. Finally, their broken moral compass led them right to the transgender community. To the right, transgender individuals have the ick factor of gay people on steroids, and since there are a lot fewer of them, the pushback would be minimal. Many people know someone in their family, someone they love, a close friend, or who is gay. This isn’t true of the trans community. If you are a morally vacuous bully, the farther down you can punch, the better.

Think about this strategy for a moment. The right tried desperately to make gay people their scapegoats for all that was wrong with America, and they lost. They lost big. They got bitch-slapped by Will and Grace, Ellen, and thousands of other examples that gay Americans are as normal, if not more so, than their Bible-thumping neighbors. Instead of learning even the most basic lesson from their loss, the right decided the best thing to do was punch down even farther on the social and cultural ladder. This right here should tell you everything you need to know about modern-day conservatism. As Adam Sewer poignantly stated in The Atlantic about the right, “cruelty is the point.” When it comes to people who identify as transgender, the only question that really matters is, “So fucking what?” Here is where I want to acknowledge that I am not completely aware of the terminology when it comes to people who identify as transgender. I’m trying to learn. If I misidentify or make a mistake in verbiage, I apologize in advance.

What difference does it make to Aunt Freedom and Uncle Tight Ass if anyone, especially people they don’t know and will never encounter, identify as transgender? The answer is, “Not a God damn thing!” There are side arguments about how respecting which pronouns someone wants to be referred to by is an affront to God, the Founding Fathers, and Strunk & White, but they are 100% bullshit. The argument, “Boys/men competing against girls/women is unfair" is specious and nonsensical as “it goes against nature." Especially since almost all of these arguments come from people who haven’t given a damn about women’s sports and/or who have spent years speaking about them derisively. The only time they’ve given a single thought to women’s sports is when they can use them to prop up their bullshit worldview and punch down.

Personal identity isn’t black-and-white. It isn’t something that is defined by others. If it was, then it wouldn’t be called “personal identity."

I have no idea what it is like to identify as part of the LBBTQIA community. I do have an understanding of what it is like to not feel comfortable in your own skin and not be accepted, and this understanding alone makes my heart break for the way the LGBTQIA community is viewed and treated for either being comfortable with who they are or for trying to be. I grew up in a very small town in a very sparsely populated county in rural Idaho. Anyone on the outside looking in would assume I fit in perfectly. I was a white, Christian, straight male in a society that was 99.999% run and dominated by white, Christian, straight males. Hell, I came from an upper-middle-class family, and my father held a prominent position in the community and the local church. You couldn’t script a more perfect character to play the lead part in “Fits Right The Fuck In.” However, never, not once, did I ever feel like I fit in. Who I am, how I feel about myself, and who I know I was (not wanted to be but was) never fit the role I was “born to" and “written for me.” I wanted to fit in. I tried to fit in. I did everything I possibly could to fit in. All of this led to anger and frustration. When I was growing up, this anger and frustration were mostly directed at the community in which I lived because I blamed them for not fitting in. While they were a big part of the problem, I was just as culpable. I was trying to be someone I wasn’t.

It took a number of years for me to truly realize not only that I was part of the problem of trying to fit into something or somewhere to which I didn’t belong, but also that I needed to begin to discover who I was or am. While I was going to college at Utah State University, I got glimpses of this, but that was even closer to being realized because Logan, Utah, was only an hour away from my hometown and only slightly less regressive and repressive.

It wasn’t until I attended graduate school at Michigan State University that I really started to be me. I’m pretty sure this is why I feel such a strong bond to East Lansing, where I still live, going on year thirty-eight of a five-year plan. Even through all of this, I still don’t really feel comfortable in my own skin. I never really feel like I belong in just about any social situation. I’m not sure if these feelings are remnants of past experiences and conditioning; there are still parts of me that haven’t been realized, or something else. What I do know is that these sixty-plus years of feeling lost, not fitting in, and not being myself have not been kind to my psyche. I cannot even begin to imagine how someone in the LGBTQIA community must feel because they have all the things I’ve felt at much higher levels and so many more pressures, abuses, and ridicule to the nth degree. Whenever I’m in a group situation where they ask everybody to identify themselves and say a little bit about themselves when it is my turn, I give the boilerplate answer but finish with, “Something most people don’t know about me is that on the weekends, I dance under the name “Raven.”” I say this as a joke, but there is an underlying, not true, but possible truth to it. I’ve always leaned more toward the cultural definition of “feminine.” Almost all of my friends throughout my life have been women. I feel at home around women. I’ve always preferred to have longer hair. In a group of men, I have absolutely never felt I fit in. There is a rooster inside of me. It took me a while to understand this, but it is absolutely true.

Not being who you truly feel you are and are supposed to be is a horrible feeling. Why on earth would anyone deny this to someone else? Why would anyone go out of their way to punish and/or ridicule people, either trying to discover this for themselves or for fully realizing it? All the answers I’ve seen given to justify these behaviors are specious at best and batshit crazy at worst. Don’t give me some bullshit argument and try and substitute it for an argument against the transgender community - What if someone identifies as a serial killer or child molester? Are we supposed to be okay with that?” Sell crazy somewhere else.  The transgender community harms society. No one is being harmed by someone from the LGBTQIA community being true to how they feel about themselves. No one is being harmed by honoring which pronouns someone wants to be referred to by. NO ONE. Every single argument or example you can make that tries to say otherwise is 100% rectally extracted. The vast majority of pedophiles who are grooming children are Christian youth pastors, the clergy, and members of your local police force, not the LGBTQIA community.

Pronouns: We're having a hissy-fit over pronouns? How dumb is that? A lot of people I know don’t use their given names. My maternal grandfather went by his middle name his whole life. One of my brothers has gone by three different names over the years. How did this affect my life? I’m sure I probably referred to my brother by an outdated name once or twice, only to be corrected, and then I moved the fuck along. In other words, it didn’t affect my life one scintilla. If it did, then the only reason would have been that I was the problem. Pronouns: Part II: This isn’t about proper names. This is about “men” wanting to be referred to as “she/her/they.” This is social and linguistic chaos.” Is it? Is it, really? Do you need the world to be so black and white and so perfectly defined that any ambiguity or things that go against your preconceived norms are automatically labeled “bad” or "dangerous"? The world is a very, very, very complex place. I understand the desire to have it make sense on every single level, every time, all the time. However, that isn’t reality. That is, you want to force reality to fit your worldview. The world is always going to win that battle. You're not accepting its complexity doesn’t impact it at all. The only one who suffers in this situation is you. The world doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings, your beliefs, your preconceptions, what your mom and dad taught you, or what your preacher said last Sunday.

Attire: Does it matter what someone else wears? How does Bob, who now goes by Sarah, wearing makeup, a dress, and pumps impact your life? I'm pretty sure it doesn't, and if it does, you are the problem. Does this make you feel uncomfortable? So? I have a deep, visceral reaction to people eating cheesecake, cauliflower, and dozens of other foods. As repulsive as these things are to me, I’m not advocating for any laws against them. Their personal preference doesn’t really affect me in any meaningful way. Also, why is it so damn important to be able to perfectly identify someone by how they dress? Are men’s egos so fragile they can’t stand the thought of someone thinking they are a woman or being wrong when they hit on or catcall someone? (This is a rhetorical question because we all know the answer is a resounding "yes.") However, this isn’t the fault of the person wearing the clothes, no more than it is when a woman in a “skimpy” dress is raped. They aren’t the problem. They aren’t the cause of or responsible for the actions of others. Bathrooms: Since when do you see someone’s genitals in a bathroom unless you intentionally look at them? If a transgender woman walks into a women’s bathroom, there aren’t any urinals (because there are none). You aren’t seeing their plumbing unless you bust down a door and start poking around. If this happens, who is the “weirdo” here? I’m pretty sure it is you. I’m really not sure I understand the fear here. The Children—the go-to when all your other arguments have epically failed. “I don’t want some guy in a public restroom when my daughter is in there.” The question has to be asked again: “How do you know it is a “guy””? Do you feel up to everyone who goes into a women’s restroom whenever your daughter is in there? If you do, you should be arrested because you are a pervert. Transgender women aren’t using the ladies' room to hit on your daughters. They are using the ladies' room because, wait for it, they need to use the ladies' room. Why is it that there are no bathroom sexual assaults in countries where same-sex bathrooms are normal? I find it very odd that the people who worry the most about their daughters being molested in bathrooms by the LGBTQIA community have no worries in the world about them being around church leaders, the police, male family members, or neighbors—the people who are absolutely most likely to assault them. I’d happily have my daughter babysat by anyone I know in the LGBTQIA community over a youth pastor, scoutmaster, or self-professed Christian. The Children: Part II: How am I supposed to explain to my children about transgenders?” Easily. Be honest. Be straightforward. Answer whatever questions you can, and whenever you can’t, be honest about them too. Kids have an amazing ability to grasp complexity and be okay with ambiguity. What they can always sniff out are bullshit and hypocrisy.

Cultural conditioning is a big part of how/why we identify the way we do, but other things are at play. Genetics, experiences, and sometimes just an innate sense—you don’t belong to the group others have placed you in. I often ask myself, “What would my life be like if I felt more like Raven if that was the dominant side of who I am?” I honestly don’t know what the answer to this question will be. What I do know is the very existence of this question gives me a small understanding of the LGBTQIA community. It is quite possible that I will never really know who I am or feel comfortable in my own skin. If that is the outcome, so be it. No matter what happens, I never want someone else to feel this way, to any degree, and I will never know why anyone would not only not understand this but go out of their way to make the situation worse.

Being comfortable in your own skin isn't something an outsider can really understand or judge. Why is someone else's happiness anyone else's concern if it doesn't directly affect them? It doesn’t unless you stretch and bend the definition of 'directly' in ways that defy linguistics, logic, and ethics.

[a-method-in-it]

One really interesting thing about the current discourse around pain management is that it obviously is inextricable from the opioid epidemic, which was essentially created by one company, and specifically one family: Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family.

And so I every time this topic comes up, I feel like we as a society need to get a primer on this company and what they did starting in the late 90s. (Most of this info is coming from the excellent book Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. Highly recommend.)

A short summary of relevant points:

In the late 1990s, Purdue Pharma created a new drug called Oxycodone and marketed it primarily under the brand name OxyContin.

They did a HUGE marketing blitz around it, including ad campaigns aimed at doctors about how important pain management is and how medical professionals should prioritize eliminating pain for patients.

They also straight up lied to doctors about the drug in very important ways, including lying about the duration of the effects and also saying it was 100% non-addictive and could not be abused because of its time release capabilities.

Turns out that

a) the "12 hour" pills did not last 12 hours and most patients started having breakthrough pain in as little as 8 hours, causing them to take their next pill before 12 hours, run out of pills by the end of the month, and turn to the black market to get more drugs; Purdue dismissed these people as addicts who were using the drug incorrectly when they tried to sue

b) it is addictive because obviously; it's an opioid, those are definitely addictive. And

c) you can very easily defeat the time release by crushing the pills.

Anyway, this created the opioid epidemic.

I am not exaggerating, this one company run by this one family essentially created the opioid epidemic almost single-handedly. No, they are not in prison, but that's another rant.

The point is that so much of our discussion around pain and pain medication has been warped by the opioid epidemic and doctors over-correcting after years of not taking the risk of addiction seriously enough.

The idea that patients should not be in pain is absolutely true, and also has been unfairly tainted by Purdue's marketing that used this same argument to harm patients for profit.

The idea that doctors should not be interrogating people about their use of painkillers and assuming they are "misusing" the drug (whatever that is supposed to mean), is running up against doctors' guilt that they bought Purdue's lies and were not properly monitoring patients for signs of addiction and getting them help.

The idea that keeping pills from addicts is not going to solve the problem and should not be our main priority is emotionally hard to accept when everyone wishes so desperately that medical providers had not been so willing to hand out pills before.

This is a hard and tricky area to begin with. How do you balance the need for pain relief against the risk of addiction (which is itself also a serious conditions that can cause physical and mental damage)? There's no easy line to draw.

And then you throw the decades of malfeasance by Purdue into the mix and everything becomes a mess.

Because ultimately, OP is right. People who don't want to be in pain should, in a society where we have invented very effective pain killers, not have to live in pain. They should be informed of the risks, including the risks of addiction and how to mitigate it as much as possible, and then they should get to make that decision for themselves.

But in order to convince anyone of that, you have to figure out how to talk people through the layers and layers of nightmares that Purdue Pharma wrought upon all of us.

It is actually way better for 100 addicts to get their fix on pain pills than a single person in pain go without. I call this the "Torture is bad" principle. You should be able to get the good stuff forever after a single doctor's visit. If you're worried about addicts fund rehab centers and needle exchanges instead of torturing people.

[rametarin]

Just thoughts from childhood.

Feminist discourse among kids in the 90s was frustrating and wild. The little girls generally couldn't read the books given to them by their charged up aunts, big sisters, moms and cousins, so they'd just read off the cliff notes and stomp around with this authoritative aire, just looking for opportunities to lord their cherry picked information over any boy (specifically) by baiting them into arguments that absolutely no 6-10 year old had ways to refute or even debate due to literacy level and access to references to dispute their statistics, or being set up like a similar propaganda mouthpiece.

The closest thing you got to people indoctrinating their kids in the other way was maybe the more traditionalist/conservative parents telling their kids to just be belligerent and ignorant by answering, "Jesus! ^.^" to everything and replying to (airquoting) "clever feminist debate" (prepackaged macros designed to be standardized weapons in arguments they start given the state of the discourse of the time), by going "Nyeeehhhh!" and refusing to even argue their logic.

Part of that was every so often the Babby Radfems would just announce something was verifiably true that absolutely wasn't. Like, every instance of a woman being sexy in a piece of media gave them a soap box to stand on to rant about how, "TCH. Typical MEN designing women to just be pieces of meat!" And then little muttery words about men doing it, as if men are the only people that do that and sexualizing a fictional character was something only men did because men were scum. That's not paraphrasing, that's a thing that was argued pretty often.

And then seeing the opportunity for solidarity and trashing on men, which was socially acceptable for the girls, other girls that weren't necessarily 100% on board but had the spirit and solidarity for the sentiment (even if just for selfish whimsical flight of fancy excuses to shit on men) would agree and join in on the rant about the sexy female in the media being proof men were shitheads and wrong. And, "You never see women doing that to MEN!"

And this is the crux of what I've been building this post up for; How in the 90s, you never really had any proof that girls actually did objectify men sexually and think of them that way or that the media was intended to be eye candy for women (or at least, mind candy, for their queerbait fantasies.)

They'd argue, dishonestly, "Where's your PROOF girls objectify men in media? Proof? Do you have proof?" Arguing that men were the only ones that wolfwhistle or have that media for the T&A. And the onus of responsibility and burden was on any detractor to disprove their assertion; that women were beyond such "sexist, objectifying behavior."

Well. Social media and those special corners that fangirls inhabit that weren't super gatekept provided all the ambient proof anyone would ever need that girls also shit and it also stinks. And I am living for these mostly transparent social media platforms that feature objective proof of women being horny on main and saying, "not exactly nice, progressive feminist things" and proving such behavior wasn't just some horrible patriarchal behavior women were immune to just by being so honorable and pure, but a human thing. That fantasy and face is so incomprehensibly unsustainable as a lie, it can't even stand up anymore.

Our current online world makes that unpleasant experience and discourse all but impossible, these days. And I adore that.

[flowystars303]

Idea of Love

Despite all my experiences with Love, I never truly understood what it meant.

Everyone goes their whole life saying that love is when you feel happy around someone, when you get butterflies or even when you sacrifice something or even yourself for the other.

I do not totally disagree, not at all. These are forms in which love appears and shows itself around us. Not only through people but through everything.

But focusing on relationships.

I loved him despite him hurting my feelings numerous times - I considered that love.

I loved him because I wanted to have a future with him - I considered that love.

I loved him because I liked to spend time with him - I considered that love.

But we argued, we fought, we swore and we disrespected one another despite that love. Despite laughing, we still hated. How was that possible.

I understand that love is not there 100% of the time, just like happiness isn't there all the time. But the extremes which I went through still hurt me to this day. And I do not think that is what love is.

I have come to the conclusion that I never really knew what love was. I just took in all that was said to me about love and made those things facts. Things that I could not question and that I had to just adapt to.

But no. With 2 years of a relationship, a turbulent one, and with 23 years of experience, I think I have come close to the idea of love.

I thought that even through the arguments and fights that this was all love, that my love would be enough. But it is not. It drained me. It created an illusion for me. It made me turn a blind eye on problems.

But love for me now is to be better for the other person. To change. That is true love.

To know that you want that person next to you for the rest of your life, and to know that you yourself have many traumas, insecurities and problems that need to be worked on, but must not let that affect the love you have for that person.

Not full acceptance, not at all. Because full acceptance means that you need to tolerate bad things, all things.

Both need to know how to make it work. Both need to change those parts of themselves that are selfish, that are toxic and that are traumatic so that the relationship can flow.

Love isn't just a bed full of red roses, champagne and a box of chocolates. Love is sitting down with yourself, digging deep and identifying 'What is something that I am doing that is limiting this relationship?". And changing.

I cannot say 'I love you' and with the same mouth say 'I hate you'. I cannot kiss and also slap.

I can say 'I love you' and with the same mouth say 'I am hurt by this'. I can kiss and also say 'I need some time because I am too overwhelmed at the moment'.

That is what I think at least.

V.

[brandonwayneb]

a message I sent or say, to helpful groups or individuals

thanks guys, keep well

I will always be doing the same,

once i psylock, eternal expectations will not allow for new amounts of traffic.

so my intent of this message is just to say thanks.

for the bits or parts any of you do,

in keen oversights, even if faster hypotheticals or even small innocent lies, or jokes,

can do a world of helpfulness specially after “dog piles” or brutality groups are being stocked on.

I grand father,

and I psylock as a collective eternal hive.

I dont accept new information,

if the threshold of justice is broken as a specific amount of magnitude.

specially if the country itself has collapsed in target crimes that they’ve clearly over extended on me…

anyways, without the wordiness,

i am just saying thanks, for pure intentions

and to expect I will keep gridlock eternity.

thats justice available to all lives.

zero shame

zero abuse

100% war wick

100% gridlock

and my gratitude for any honorable intentions that make it past ‘fog of war’ corrupt agent count and double bet on.

1) my thanks, as in means not always hot motived messages

2) your truthful to life itself honest ways to improve and make a difference

all in all,

i shift my focus, however slowly,

for i will not accept bolstering men who already had their way with me, and thousands of citizens,

honor cant be stolen.

and thats one of my main messages to anyone in projects of deciphering how many damages have been done across our countries, worlds, etc…

I live guilt free

I live free as free gets,

and my free soul shouldnt of never became agents hyper addiction,

but since I became similar to a “martyr”

I did my best duties to draw forth ALL of the members and networks involved in illegal actions on our lives and every life form..

i never expected to find primarily white business, hospitals, and jails, all marketing off world detriments…

i mean, outright disgusting,

and to hear those same agents cover their tracks with “job plays” or “acts and skits” and “scenes” and “this is all standard as usual”

eternity is eternity.

I am only 1 person.

imagine…

just imagine the horror…

if all this madness was done, just because 1 person made a hobby out of catching crimes in government…

lol… honestly…

insane america!

for me…

life is an eternal devotion.

ETERNAL.. literally will never end.

Honor is all that holds us together.

and as for my works in government or pro life missions,

all charity,

all hobby,

this is a keen reason why and how I can ideally catch most crimes…

i have no motive.

except Pro Life 99%

and for all lives to keep their personal needle eye 1%

Pro Life 99% all can practice

1% personal, all can respect and leave be.

so…

after all my messages, this isnt any sort of grand gesture, i just wanted to say thanks, for feedbacks that have been positive in effect.

besides all the gritty arguments.

1 word, charity.

Thanks again,

and if anyone in ur offices investigates,

i just encourage you to scan maps of americas locations, and hot names used, and work over diligence, or just try to make the interactions more fun… rather than too ‘coded’

all the codes tends to feed into maniacs who are already positioned as falsely ‘legal’ agents..

as in double agents really…

or flat out corrupted agents..

thats all they listen for all day long.

codes and how to make excuses..

codes and excuses,

thats their life.

and periodically checking whats the new ability or new take over plans…

all garbage motives…

but thats all they have, in their poor society

for me, this entire world is a hobby…

although not entirely true because i keep eternal devotions to pro life and honor each and every being to voice for themselves..

its really difficult to keep my attention…

because i am mostly charity and hobby

if you get my attention, expect intensity or means of pro life 99, however wont be to parallel responses in most situations,

for I only priority Eternity foremost.

so most words and interactions are absolutely irrelevant… specially if they dont unlink garbage agents who never stop trying to extort or speed spread hog ball games.

anyways, wordy wordy,

i was half asleep, and just wanted to say a positive more easy message, acknowledgement,

more than only directions and heat, or orders

1) thanks

2) eternity (or any word which means the same)

easy justices,

ask a bunch of innocent or ridiculous questions, to ventilate fools that dont know how to execute themselves lol jk…

anyways bests to you,

and all whom may be involved.

Fair Eyes.

PsyLock

Gridlock

Jasper Red,

not casper blue

Eternity.

zero, as in stop lab science or mark ur own karma

[discyours]

And for no true Scotsman… that’s an interesting dynamic…. Because it’s like for any ideology or system of beliefs theoretically yeah… we could get to a point that 99-100% of people claiming to be X are actually probably not X. It’s possible. It’s just a fallacy if you are making the definition sooooo narrow on purpose to get out of a jam in an argument. The fallacious/cheating reasoning existing doesn’t mean we can’t make good faith and meaningful arguments that would mean the majority of self-described X not being X. Especially if we acknowledge things like, ok maybe there is a historical X and a modern X and the modern people clearly have MOVED what X means at this point. But it’s now fair to emphasize that they aren’t meaningfully meeting the previous/ historical definition of X. You see that a lot with political ideology words tbh. Like here’s a fun one — what’s a conservative? What’s a liberal? It’s contextual in time and place and even then you will get disagreeing factions and people who think each other don’t count and each have good arguments for it.

I do think it’s just really interesting to think about how words for beliefs, movements shared across groups of people both are meaningful and will never be all that stable. With a political movement there is always disagreement within as well as without and it’s like the line between variations within a species vs super closely related but separate species. Where is that line? How much disagreement = broken up into factions? How much disagreement before one or more of those factions “aren’t” the original term?

Also with all these political movement/faction terms.. so much depends on context. Once enough time has passed it can be the heir to the older idea, but it will never be the same and is probably different enough to start drawing lines and naming eras.

With radfem for example for better and worse, there is so little allegiance or even awareness to the ideology of the mid 20 c radfems that I am ready to describe that as a full split. An evolution with changes based on newer information available, experiences and reactions to events and other ideologies/factions rising, etc. Modern radfems are inspired-by but not the same as the earlier ones, with rare exceptions there are no second wavers who aren’t literally the women who were at their most active in that time period.

Again I think the evolution is a good thing — we do need to always be reevaluating, take in new information and new contexts — and a bad thing, when it’s out of ignorance of the past and not thoughtful sifting through it that’s leading to the change in what modern self-described radfem is vs the more stable definition

Overall I accept it’s changing and want to make the most of our chance to influence the shape of the new incarnation

Another thought is I call myself a feminist (no adjectives) even though i disagree in at least one way with 99% of self described feminists and strongly disagree with the majority faction on core points. I’m fighting for the space. I want my core concept of feminist to become THE core concept for the majority. And were unlikely to get what we don’t fight for. Still that’s such a delicate political question— when is it better for me to say I’m an ex feminist and define some new thing like, “women’s liberationist” and call myself that? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. There’s something to gain and lose either way. What matters I guess is which move most advances our organizing capacity.

I have nothing to add but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

[citrusraindrops]

To clarify, you're claiming that transwomen having drastically higher rates of sexual assault convictions than the general public is an incorrect conservative talking point?

It is true that a) there is limited information on this point and b) trans individuals are a minority in any population.

A) having weak or incomplete evidence does not a claim disprove. At most, it means that further examination is required before any action is taken. However, because the worst-case scenario of this claim is sexual abuse (of either trans-identified males or of women), the solution should not be to create a situation in which one of the worst-case scenarios could happen (forcing predators and victims to share a space), but in which, either way, it is prevented. So while I think there can be an argument made that transwomen should be separated from men for their safety, I can understand and defend having a separate space for them (since they are a minority, I feel its fair to expect them to use individual/family bathroom stalls and change rooms), but I cannot justify forcing women to accept males into their intimate spaces.

You also seem to have overlooked the fact that 'intimate spaces' refers not only to bathrooms but also to change rooms, medical wards, doctor's examinations, nursing homes and aged care, childcare/daycare, etc. So while public bathrooms may be the most common intimate space for people to encounter, they are far from the only ones and many of these situations are far more vulnerable and revealing than public toilets.

B) I am not a statistician, but you (may) be conflating having a small sample size with studying a minority population. I may be totally wrong in this, so apologies in advance. While having a small sample size gives less certainty to the results of a study, again, it does not invalidate those results but rather suggests that further study should be performed. However, the study I linked is, while an estimate, an example of the entire prison population (as available in census data) and the entire population of the UK, so in theory it is accurate because it is not a sample but a comprehensive examination.

To illustrate this, picking 10 people to study and concluding from those 10 people that a population of 10 million reflects the same patterns would not be justified, but if you are studying 10 people out of a population of 10 people then your results are 100% correct.

Your next claim is that bathroom gatekeeping (I say bathroom to refer to all similar intimate single-sex spaces) is flawed because some women may be mistaken for men. Respectfully, in real life people's sex can almost always be very accurately determined: Voice, height, face and bone structure, hip position, fat and muscle distribution all vary between women and men and when put together, years of evolutionary history telling apart males and females allows for frequent accurate judgements of sex. However I will admit that, there have been cases in which gnc women have been mistaken for men- while I would argue that this is (exceedingly) rare, I think that even if it happens women should still have the right to call out men in their spaces and to have access to single-sex spaces. Similarly, I think that there will be transwomen that pass well enough to enter women's spaces unchallenged. Again, I think that this is a rare edge case that, essentially, we can do nothing about.

You also say that 'anyone who is a creep should be kicked out'. Yes, that's true, but as I extensively illustrated in my first response creeps can often leverage plausible deniability to continue their predatory actions when they can't be removed on the basis of their sex.

I don't think that it's 'funny' or odd that I have trans friends despite being opposed to the effects of gender ideology (a charged term, but the best one I have) on women's rights. I used to hold the same views as them and as you. It would be hypocritical of me to dismiss them for their positions. I care deeply for my friends and I want the best for them, and I value them as individuals even if I disagree with their views on sex and gender. In the end, it comes down to whether or not you think that people should be othered just because they have earnestly held beliefs that are different from yours. I don't hate trans people, or anyone. Hate is a strong word and I'm loathe to apply it to other human beings. Disagreement with someone's political stances or even beliefs and values is neither hate nor abuse.

Your last claim (I apologise for the length of this response!) is also highly debatable, and in itself is not justification for the admission of male bodies into female spaces. Certain populations of transwomen face high rates of abuse, more specifically trans male prostitutes or trans males in relationships with some straight men. However, they do not make up the majority of the trans male population and furthermore, statistics on violence against trans people as a whole come with very serious methodological issues. For one, (American) statistics on crime don't generally record the gender identity of either victims or perpetrators, making it impossible to determine with comprehensive/federal-level data whether transwomen as a whole are actually disproportionately victimised by men. Next, the widely reported high rates of hate crimes against trans people come from what I can tell almost entirely self-reported data, and with no consideration for the motivations of a reported crime. Essentially, a trans person could report their car being broken into as a hate crime, even if he or she didn't know who the perpetrator was (or if the perpetrator even knew the victim were trans) and even if there was no way to know or suspect that it was a hate crime rather than a property crime. These statistics are repeated and sensationalised, and it's entirely possible that it's caused trans people to report as hate crimes things that actually aren't. Regardless, the fact that in some cases transwomen are at some risk of violence from men does not justify the erosion of female-only spaces.

Lastly: How do you distinguish between transwomen and 'men who pretend'?

If you for the life of you, cannot orgasm without your partner doing weird shit to you then you have a paraphilia.

Lets stop making fetishes sound like something normal,name it for what it actually is. And by recognizing it as a medical disorder, it's more common for these people to go and seek out help.

[rainhadaenerys]

I am tired of people saying that we Dany stans don’t acknowledge Dany’s flaws. The fact is, Dany is THE most mischaracterized character in the fandom. Like, I am not kidding, I have written hundreds of metas with tons of book quotes just to disprove claims about her (I am many times not even writing about my own ideas, but writing in reaction to the takes in the fandom). I have written metas about how Dany is NOT a slaver, about how Dany is NOT arrogant or entitled, about how Dany is NOT violent, about how Dany does NOT see things in black and white, about how Dany is NOT reckless, and so on. And because we Dany stans are constantly denying things, we are accused of “ignoring Dany’s flaws”.

But we're not! Every single meta I write, I am constantly pointing out one political mistake here, one bias that Dany has there, her grey moments that the fandom never shuts up about, and so on. And so are other Dany stans. The discussion of Dany’s flaws and mistakes are scattered all over our metas. I (and other Dany fans) sometimes point out double standards, sometimes we point out exaggerations, and sometimes we point out that context needs to be taken into consideration, but we Dany stans are ALWAYS discussing Dany’s flaws (this isn’t even something that we can avoid discussing, because the fandom is constantly criticizing Dany one way or another, so discussing Dany means discussing these things).

But the thing is, there are certain “flaws” that the fandom accuses Dany of having that she simply DOESN’T HAVE! Like, it’s a fact, it’s not even debatable, because there are tons of evidence that contradict it! I am not going to claim that Dany is arrogant, not even a little bit, I'm not going to "admit it" because I have made rereads specifically for the purpose to find out if this was true, and in result I have written a meta about what I found out, and I found out that she is not, in fact, arrogant. Not even a little. And this goes for all the other “flaws” that the fandom accuses her of having and that I have disproven with my metas. I found the textual evidence and made my own conclusions that the fandom is not, in fact, right about Dany’s flaws (or about her strengths and her characterization in general, the general fandom really doesn’t know anything about Dany).

I am not going to "acknowledge" that Dany is arrogant or that she is violent or that she sees things in black and white or that she doesn’t have self reflection just to please the fandom. I am not going to accept those things just to show that I am moderate and can find “a middle ground”. Because just because you “find a middle ground” doesn’t mean you are right. This is a logical fallacy, the middle ground fallacy or argument to moderation. Just because one person says the sky is blue, and another says that the sky is yellow, doesn’t mean that the correct opinion is “the sky is green”. Similarly, I am not going to find a middle ground when I know for a fact that certain assertions about Dany are 100% wrong.

Dany does have her flaws. But they are not the ones the fandom usually believes them to be. And sometimes, she does make individual mistakes, but one mistake doesn’t necessarily constitute a character flaw. Just because Dany authorized torture once, doesn’t mean she is a violent person. Flaws are consistent aspects of the characterization of a certain character, and Dany is not a violent person. So I am not going to say that this is one of her flaws. I will instead discuss it as one of her mistakes. Similarly, Dany makes some political mistakes (which we Dany fans have discussed exhaustively), but that doesn’t make her dumb. The fact that we do discuss her actual flaws, and that we discuss her occasional mistakes without flattening her character like some people do (people who would just prefer to call Dany “rash”, “violent”, “stupid”, “incompetent” because of certain mistakes, instead of acknowledging that these are not actual consistent flaws of her character) makes me think that we are the ones actually writing nuanced meta about Dany, and writing actually evidence-based meta, instead of the people who just like to scream that we don’t acknowledge her flaws, and people who don’t even use evidence to make their claims.

[doped-on-galaxies]

So I decided to make my last post a little more clear

We're going to put the shippings more in depth.

First off, keepsakes

I dont take the keepsakes very seriously due to the fact that's all they are. They were gifted. Nothing fancy just things that are carried along throughout the series. Though Misty's keepsakes were carried throughout plenty more seasons than Ash and May's ribbon. The ribbon was nothing more than a good luck charm to remind May of how much she learned, same as Ash's lure from Misty was a good luck charm for him 🤭

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Whether these were hints towards shippings or not, these were the only personal ones that had Ash and a female companion alone. Though this can be argued I do personally feel as if Pokeshipping and Amourshipping were hinted in these. Nonetheless May and Iris did not get a cameo poster with Ash alone.

Being saved

If you're going to consider one as a hint, then consider all of these as hints. These characters were simply being saved, and each of the falling scenes have a close up of grabbing each others hands. Let it be noted though, that Misty saving Ash, Serena saving Ash, and May saving Drew were the ONLY times the females saved their *crushes* every other time it's just Ash saving and girl. Yes a few of the girls liked Ash but that carries us into our next topic.

Blushing

Somebody said that "blushing doesn't always mean romance" of course. I get that, but not in these scenarios. Each person blushed due to to a romantic gesture. Whether it's embarrassing someone about possible love letters, accusing one of having feelings, accepting feelings, or simply a romantic moment. They say "Oh well Pokemon can't be romantic due to age" yet last time I checked, there is blushing, rose giving, slow dancing, kissing, and people asking if x has a crush on y. Can they go too far? No, but did they give us an idea on who liked who??? Definitely. As shown even Ash blushed, he just didn't blush very often, but them few counted. I understand that Goh blushes at Ash too though but last time I checked we aren't talking about characters being embarrassed, but I do believe if there is a possibility for there to be a LGBTQ relationship with Ash- Gary and Goh are definitely good representations.

Oh, and yes I am aware Ash was sick in the scene with him and Serena, but Pokemon did a pretty *obvious* job of making it a romantic scene regardless. They didn't have to do all that, but they did. "Some" people seem to forget that there's more to a Pokemon shipping than having to fish out romance out of non-romantic scenes due to their ship just being a healthy friendship at best, but if you're here for the obvious, you can easily tell Pokemon did their best to portray some kind of romance in these scenes. The proof was in the blushing. If you don't feel for someone you don't blush. You argue it out or deny it. We have all been in a scenario as kids and young teens where someone asks if you have feelings for someone, and you brush it off or argue about it because it's simply not true. I promise you my face only got red when I actually had feelings for someone. It's natural instinct, Pokemon knows that too. Take some notes from the Pokemon creators because they knew what they were drawing and what was going to be said in these scenes. Also take a look at the few shippings that had no blushing whatsoever. It's a sign, not an argument.

"Look at how they look at each other"

You know, you're only partially right. Look at how Ash looks at EVERY GIRL. Ooooh wow same expression. Pretty last resort thing to fall back on. Which is why there are other hints that help to make SOME of those expressions actually worth digging in to.

Let's face it, when it comes to ships like Contestshipping and Penguinshipping- there's very few episodes that Drew and Kenny are in, so every second counts. Plus the episodes with Angie, Anabel, and Lucy (towards Brock) they made it very clear within the very few episodes that those girls had feelings. Though I do believe Pearlshipping was partially one sided (I do feel like Dawn liked Ash to an extent only with the way she left Kenny to travel with Ash despite his offer) there was 100% proof Kenny DID have feelings for Dawn and it was easily initiated in the actions he made. Contestshipping was not one sided though. I've learned in my 23 years of watching Pokemon if they don't blush, it's not anything to worry about. Luckily May blushed nearly everytime, and Drew did blush but he didn't always need to. After all he was slinging red roses left and right, and if they were for Beautifly- the last one she received would've never been given to her since Beautifly wasn't even in Battle Frontier at all.

Though I am a Pokeshipper, Amourshipper, and half ass Pearlshipper- I stand as an ally when I say that if you're looking for romantic signs in a shipping you're going to have to find it in the Poke'girls actions. Ash doesn't *look* at one girl specifically different than the other. He literally just looks at them. Though the only person he ever blushed with was for Misty, but that doesn't mean the 2,000,000 hints Serena had are dismissed. After all, like I said before, if Pokemon wanted to create hints, they would, and they did. Those hints were soooo out there, that saying "oh look how Ash looks at her" is gonna leave us asking "who?" Because let's face it he looks at all of them pretty normal. That being said there are still hints Ash had. Being jealous of Misty's potential crushes, showing he was attracted to other women, running up to Serena when he was sick and falling into her arms, and looking at Serena when she kissed him and doing nothing but smile, when normally Ash would probably freak the fuck out.

That being said I hope I made myself clear on how to spot a close-to-canon shipping. It's okay to ship people who have litte to no proof of real romance, but don't say a ship with real proof has none. That is where you are wrong.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

As someone who used to own recasts and was a “neutral” (honestly I was pro recast and was just lying to myself tbh), I 100% confirm that pro recast people use emotional manipulation to get people on their side and are just as responsible for recasts expanding.

The way I was introduced to recasts was with someone back in 2012 being pissed off that they were not allowed to join a photo contest because their doll was a recast Lorina. They framed this issue being that they are the victim of harassment and how it’s ridiculous people have prejudice over a doll being a when in reality they got in caught trying to pass off their doll as legitimate in a contest that only allowed legit dolls. Me being a newbie at the time, had no idea what recasts were until then, saw the situation of someone being bullied over something so silly and immediately took her side as I delved into recasts more.

As I looked, I kept seeing the same kind of posts as well of being mistreated because of recasts and that recasts were not as serious as it seemed while pushing cherry picked information to support them supporting theft and also kept downplaying that it was a issue of cheap vs real when the true reason was that these dolls were counterfeits being made against the creators wishes and people were trying their best to stop it from spreading. Overall, it was presented that it was a valid to get a counterfeit and people who hated it were bullies, and it was especially pushed as neutrals accepted this and, just like pro recasts, turned a blind eye to the damage of recasts for the sake of being accepting to these people.

And now because of their false information, it’s contributed to recasts getting worse and have expanded far more than they were 10 years ago with no end in site to the theft just like we were warned all those years ago and even then they haven’t stopped, and now that they’ve learned the buzzword of “elitism“ and that being against recasts means you’re anti-poor as their arguments as they keep supporting an illegal, harmful business. If I was properly informed what recasts were and why they were hated rather than being convinced the recast debate as a silly squabble over cheap dolls, I very likely wouldn’t have taken their side. And while I’ve been have been legit for 5 years this year and happy that I am, I still hate myself that part of my life where I contributed supporting this and buying recasts because of their emotional manipulation, even more so I repeated their BS claims in support of recasts while ignoring the facts and have convinced myself that “it’s not a big deal” just as the prorecast and neutrals did. It’s why I have grown to have a deep disdain for pro recast and neutrals alike for being this way when there’s proof that recasts are damaging the hobby and community, but they won’t stop as long as they can get their dolls cheap. Their nonsense is what made me into someone who has zero tolerance for recasts.

~Anonymous

[aminiatureworld]

Time and Chance II

Characters: Kaeya, Xiao, gn!reader

Word Count: 2,702

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: Confessions are tricky things. Sometimes it takes week, maybe months, maybe years of building up courage for one to happen. And sometimes life throws the oddest wrenches in our paths.

In which the reader confesses.

Author’s Note:

Sorry for the lack of Zhongli. I feel completely awful currently and though I wrote part of his scenario it was really poor in quality so I decided to stick with Kaeya and Xiao. I’ll get to him and Keqing another time I promise. Also don’t worry this isn’t life or death I just need to sleep it off lol. I realize between this and my computer there’s always something and I feel a bit guilty about it. At least I hope everything’s up to par!

This also probably won’t get proofread tonight.

 I hope you enjoyed my extra fic for Valentine’s Day! To all the lovely people who requested prompts I will be getting to those next week. Have a lovely night and thank you so much for your patience!

Kaeya

Perhaps falling in love with Kaeya wasn’t the most original thing you’d ever done, but by the time you’d come to that conclusion you were too far gone to care.

You loved Kaeya, or at least you liked him a lot. As someone who looked up to the Knights of Favonius there was something intriguing about the man who was simultaneously one of its lynchpins, and a sort of rogue state of a human being. It didn’t hurt that he was stupidly good looking, and a bit of a smoother talker. Okay, maybe more than a bit, but you didn’t really mind that. It was nice to be flirted with sometimes, and Kaeya had the sense never to take it too far.

You figured that Kaeya was at least somewhat aware of your feelings. Though you never asked about it, it seemed somehow too brash. Instead you figured that, in the months that had passed since your friendship had begun – for you did see it as a friendship by now – Kaeya had become aware and decided not to comment on it, as to not hurt your feelings. Though you wouldn’t go as far as call it noble of him, you certainly appreciated it.

So this charade continued on. You two remained close friends, or rather close friends in your estimation. Kaeya continued to flirt and you continued to ignore your personal feelings. It was truly an odd song and dance, but it wasn’t one you were about to change, not willingly anyways.

It’d become a bit of a tradition to patrol together. Seeing as you were an adventurer yourself and Kaeya was, well, Kaeya, you two had eventually decided it was better to make one long patrol together than two shorter patrols apart. Besides wasn’t the rule safety in numbers?

It was an exceedingly boring patrol, and as it neared its end the atmosphere between you two grew from semi-serious to absolute buffoonery. Kaeya had challenged you to see who could pick the most flowers the fastest, then who could control their vision’s element the long, then eventually, seized by some divine genius, he suggested that you might see who could run the farthest on the walls of Monstadt without falling over.

“This has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever agreed to.” You grumbled good naturedly. “Don’t blame me if you go tumbling off and end up with a broken leg.”

“I trust you’ll lift me to safety before that happens.” Kaeya answered back, eyes alight with his daredevil proposal.

“My anemo vision isn’t your personal elevator captain.” You reminded him. Hauling yourself up on the walls so you were on the farthest side you flashed a thumbs up. Kaeya nodded.

“Okay. Three… two… one and three quarters.”

“Kaeya.” You huffed, eliciting a chuckle from the knight.

“Okay, okay. Three, two, one, go!” The two of you ran as fast as you could, scrambling up the turrets, too concentrated to talk. Kaeya was laughing though, and eventually you found yourself laughing too, thrilled by the recklessness you were indulging in and the freedom to be doing it with someone apparently as stupid as you were.

“I’m getting ahead~” Kaeya chimed. You scoffed, quickening your pace. Kaeya did likewise, and for a moment it seems you two were going to be running the entire wall in this position. That is before Kaeya slipped.

“Shit.” He cursed, waving his arms like a madman. This only lasted a few seconds before he truly tumbled off, heading towards the stone paved ground. You didn’t say anything, though your brain was screaming various incomprehensible things. You simply clambered off your perch, hands already outstretched, praying to the god Barbatos that you could manipulate air you couldn’t see.

Luck was on your side as it turned out, and your swirl of wind caught Kaeya before he hit the pavement. Gliding down you shook your head wildly.

“Great gods Kaeya you scared the shit out of me!” You knew that you were screaming slightly, but you couldn’t help it. The whole situation had riled you up, leaving you panicked and not fully in control of your emotions.

“I’m fine! Honestly I am. I’m only sorry I lost.” Kaeya chuckled, but his laughter was weaker than before and his expression was slightly shocked.

“It’s not time to joke around Kaeya!” You shot back. “You can’t be so reckless! I know that it was also my fault for agreeing to it, but honestly! What would Monstadt do without you? What would I do without you?” You paused then, realizing that what you said held certain implications you’d been hoping to keep under wraps.

“What do you mean?” Kaeya’s expression immediately became brighter. Figures he’d read the meaning into your words. Honestly the man was too emotionally intelligent for his own good.

“I meant was I said.” You replied, figuring that there was nothing else to say. The truth was all but out now. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you Kaeya. Now I’m going to tell you something I’ve been hiding for a while, and since I saved your life and revealed it in the process I just want you to take it seriously, okay? I’m not joking, and now that I’ve said it I want to make it explicit. I like you. Like, I like, like you. And I know that I’m just your friend and that you’ve probably been aware of it for ages, but it’s out in the open now, okay? You don’t have to reciprocate or anything, that’s not it. I just… want to let it out.”

You stared at Kaeya, trying to gauge his reaction as much as possible, unwilling to look away. Unsurprisingly the news hardly seemed shocking to him, but instead of his smile slipping from his face it only grew wider. “You’re kinda oblivious you know.”

“I – what?” You sputtered, slightly offended. This wasn’t where you expecting it to go. “I don’t expect you to reciprocate, but leave the teasing alone for now at least!” So much for calling Kaeya emotionally intelligent.

“You’re reading this the wrong way!” Kaeya held up his hands, before stepping closer to you. “I just can’t believe that you’ve been my friend this whole time, had feelings on top of it, and never noticed that I was just as interested in you. I mean I’ve been flirting with you for months.”

“You flirt with everyone.” You scoffed, although the argument seemed to hold a bit less weight when compared to the jubilant, slightly smug look on Kaeya’s face.

“You may be right about that.” He admitted. “But c’mon. I don’t flirt with them like I flirt with you. I certainly don’t take them out on patrol.” His expression turned softer then, and he shook his head. “I know that I joke around a lot, but I promise, I wouldn’t joke about this. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you though, that was a fault on my part.”

“So you mean I’ve been hiding my feelings all this time for nothing?” You deadpanned, feeling overwhelmed. The situation still seemed too good to be true.

“Sounds about right.” Mischief was creeping back into Kaeya’s voice. “But it’s all right now! Your prayers have been heard! So, since you were the one to admit your feelings, I’ll be the one to ask the question. Want to date?”

“Yes.” You replied, sure of your answer.

“Good.” Kaeya replied, before pulling you into a hug, one you gladly reciprocated. It had been a hell of a day, and while you wouldn’t relieve Kaeya’s fall for anything you felt somehow lighter, as if a great burden had been lifted off your shoulders. He liked you, Kaeya liked you. For you, for now, that was all that mattered.

 Xiao

Once you’d decided to admit your feelings to Xiao you’d immediately followed up that decision with the knowledge that you were going to have to break it to him slowly. You’d been friends with Xiao for over a year now, and though you were cautiously optimistic as to how the adeptus would take it, you still knew that he wasn’t the kind of person who would be at all comfortable with a sudden confession.

Confessing your feelings was in itself an act which required all the courage you possessed. You weren’t sure when you’d truly started falling for Xiao, it had come about so gradually. But before you knew it you had grown to love him. You loved the way he talked, the soft cadence of his voice though often impatient was still filled with enough softness to make your heart flutter. You loved how, despite all he’d suffered, he still retained a begrudging love for the world, especially Liyue, which he once revealed to you would always be the one thing he loved, even if he loved nothing else. You loved everything, his hands, his eyes, the way he walked, the way he kept going despite it all. You loved it so much it hurt, and now you found that your love wasn’t something merely to be pushed away. If the odds of Xiao rejecting you were almost 100 so be it, at least then you’d be proud of yourself.

You spent quite a bit of time mulling the whole thing over, before the answer struck you. Xiao refused the gifts you brought him after some of your adventures, and when you’d once asked him what he might accept he’d shifted his gaze slightly towards the side, one hand running itself through his hair. “…Almond… Tofu.” He’d admitted. You’d been delighted by the revelation at the time, promising yourself you’d learn to make it. And what was a better way to show your feelings than to do so now? Not only was it something he’d like, it was something you’d made yourself.

So you gathered all the ingredients, borrow a receipt, and set to work in Wangshu Inn’s kitchen.

Unfortunately you’d failed to predict how difficult Almost Tofu was to make. It’d been hours and you had nothing to show for it but dirty utensils, a scarcity of ingredients, and a few mysterious blobs that looked about two steps away from inedible. Leaning your head on the counter you let out a groan. Why the fuck did you think this was a good idea?

“What’re you doing?” A familiar voice broke through your reverie.

“Xiao!” You exclaimed, glancing around you. There was no use hiding the project, although technically nothing was looking even close to Almond Tofu right now. “I was, I was trying to make Almond Tofu. But I guess I’m no good at cooking.” You laughed, more than slightly embarrassed.

Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he raised an eyebrow. Saying nothing he walked over to the counter. Grabbing a cloth he started wiping down the counter.

“What’re you doing?” You asked, slightly confused and extremely surprised.

“Teaching you.” Came the reply. “Come on, let’s start again. Have you washed your hands since your last attempt?”

If cooking was difficult without Xiao it was impossible with him. The whole time you couldn’t help butbe aware of his presence, the way he stood behind you, leaning forward ever so often. Once you hadn’t been mixing fast enough and he placed his hands on yours, pressing his chest against your back. Your grip had immediately lost all strength, and you were sure that Xiao was the only one actually working. His breath was warm against your neck, and his palms were warm and dry. It was all too much, and you spent the rest of the lesson only half paying attention, too wrapped up in his proximity to you.

Despite the distractions this batch turned out, well looking like Almond Tofu. You couldn’t help but smile when seeing the finished product. Even if you didn’t make it completely yourself, there was still something about creating that gave you a sense of pride. Even if you did need help from the person you were going to give it to.

“It’s done.” Xiao proclaimed, a slight smile of satisfaction on his face. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“Oh, well actually I made it for you.” You grabbed the plate and approached the adeptus. “I know you said it was your favorite, and the only thing you’d accept, so, I made it!” You smiled slightly, though inside you were a bundle of nerves. This was happening. Holy shit this was happening.

The surprise on Xiao’s face was evident, but he nevertheless took the plate. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks he pressed into the tofu, causing it to almost immediately separate. Taking a bite a smile crossed his face. “Thank you,” he said, “it’s very good. I’m surprised you remembered.”

“Of course I did!” You replied, voice slightly hurried. “And, um, well I’d like to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Xiao’s slightly concerned look returned. Setting the plate down he crossed his arms.

“Well… you see.” You glanced at the floor. “I know this will probably seem very sudden, and maybe not very proper; and I know that this is something that’s purely one sided, but the fact is I like you. I like you more than a friend and, well… yeah.” You finished, feeling as if you’d just spoken some utter nonsense.

Glancing up you noticed how rigid Xiao had gone. Mouth twisting into a nervous frown you shook your head. “I’m so sorry! I know that you aren’t really, well you’ve said you aren’t familiar with the way humans experience the world. And I don’t want to put you on the spot, that’s the last thing I wanted to do. I’m sorry it’s so shocking.” Glancing away you started worrying your hands together. This had gone so much worse than you’d expected it.

“I don’t understand,” Xiao finally spoke, dropping his arms to his sides, “I don’t understand why you’d like someone like me. I’m not a human, and in terms of adepti I’m far more cursed than most. You shouldn’t, you shouldn’t like some like me. I bring disaster.”

“No you don’t!” The objection came naturally to you, horrified as you were by Xiao’s view of himself. “You’re one of the most wonderful beings I’ve ever met, human or adeptal! You’re kind, and you try to understand the pain and emotions of humanity. And you never push your burdens onto others despite carrying such heavy ones. If that’s not the mark of a good person, well then I don’t know what is!”

“I still don’t understand.” Xiao said, voice softer than usual but just as matter of fact.

“I’m sorry I pushed this onto you.” You said, suddenly feeling a burst of regret, turning around you made to leave the kitchen.

“Wait!” Xiao’s voice was loud and slightly jarring, his hand caught your wrist in a grip that, while gentle, was still firm. You turned around, unsure what to expect. Xiao sighed, closing the distance between you two. “When I said I don’t understand, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” There was a pause as he collected his thoughts, looking down, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t understand how humans think, nor how they feel. But, when I’m around you I’m happy, happier than I’ve been in a millennia. And I want to be around you, all the time sometimes. I want to know more about you and I want you to know more about me. So, if that’s what you mean, then… I also like you.”

Xiao glanced back up towards you and your eyes met. You felt slightly floaty all of a sudden, as if you’d gotten very, very drunk. Everything was too sudden, your emotions had changed too quickly. But through all your confusion you understood one thing. Xiao liked you, he liked you. He wasn’t going to reject you or push you away. The thought was enough to bring a smile to your face.

“So you really like me?” You asked. Though you knew the answer now you still wanted to hear it again. Just in case.

“Yes.” Xiao replied, a smile once more adorning his face. “I like you.”

And that was all you needed to hear.