#and this is in spite of their breaking the gender binary

[dullahandyke]

I have a feeling my lecturer isnt gonna think my essay idea is relevant so some time tomorrow I'm setting myself up with speech to text and rambling to yis abt aye and gomorrah and its colonial gender identities

[genderkoolaid]

Tumblr is all "sex ≠ gender", men can have vaginas and women can have penises, gender is a social construct, "trans ≠ dysphoric", and whatever else up until a cisgender person is transsexual. The moment my cis guy ass mentions I'd be happier with a vagina instead of a penis, everyone starts trying to tell me I am, in fact, a trans woman in spite of me making it very clear that I did the soul-searching and experimentation, I feel shitty as a woman and don't wanna be one. I am happy as a man.

And it is just... so... tiring...

I'm sorry you have to deal with that. It sucks that even in trans* + queer spaces there's still so much exorsexism. People will say they want to break the binary until someone is actually transgressive in a way that confuses them & then suddenly there's a problem.

[dyrewrites]

Holly Lisle -- Some words

I've just learned that my favorite modern author died last month. I, along with everyone else who subscribed to her newsletter, was aware of her health issues--and how she refused to slow down in spite of them.

So this is not a surprise so much as a gut-punch for the timing. Because I didn't know it was this bad.

I'm going to try not to go on too long...but I might fail (I did).

First I'd like to say that her books helped my husband and I bond on a level I'd never quite bonded with anyone else. She was his favorite too. He introduced me to her, in fact and she was my first fantasy read outside of classics. I've never been good at talking about books to other people but he and I still discuss some of hers.

Her writing workshops helped give me the confidence to start writing again after years of believing myself incapable. She also knocked me out of believing there was no point, as I was raised on the idea that there was only worth doing something if you could make money at it. While her workshops, and newsletters, consistently informed people there was no 'real' money in writing...but she managed to keep herself and her family afloat as the sole provider with it. It took her decades to get there, but she did it, so it was possible. That meant a lot at the time.

I'd also like to say that she wrote some of the best romance and intimacy I've ever read. When none of her books were really about that. It was in there because it was part of life, part of those characters and it felt so natural and beautiful and I have never before (or since) cried reading a sex scene. But she got me with one.

And lastly, if you've been longing for an author who covers more than a binary spectrum of gender roles, or genders or sexuality...she's your gal. She created maybe six or seven different genders for one of her worlds and there are so many words and languages in her books to cover more. It's staggering, honestly.

As for recommendations;

You like female heroes (I think exclusively even)? You've a banquet to pick from.

You like political intrigue? The Secret Texts quadrilogy has you covered.

You like weird magic that breaks worlds and gives a cat thumbs? The Arhel trilogy will delight you.

You want to cry about the power of a sister's love repeatedly while worrying about magic mirrors and dragons? World Gates trilogy.

Desire a space-faring kind of bounty hunter who kicks ass and almost dies a lot? Her name is Cadence Drake.

How about a middle grade book about kids meeting faeries and trying to save their parents? Moon and Sun duology.

All of them tread into dark places, all of them put you at risk of feelings things you didn't know you could, and she is not afraid to kill major characters...so, you know, if you see her listed as "Fantasy Romance" be aware that genres are simplified and there's layers.

Holly Lisle's written so much and she had so much more she wanted to write...and now she won't.

But you can read what's out there, learn who this lovely mind was through her work and maybe add an author too few people have heard of to your shelf.

I've not read all she's written but I've loved all I have and plan to find everything I haven't.

[trans-wojak]

Hello! I find your posts interesting and I'm a transmed myself, so I wanted to bring up something I've noticed about tucutes and the non-binary labels.

As we all know, cisgender transphobes claim being trans is a choice. But what happened to more people being offended by this statement?

Due to new mainstream media with tucutes and non-binary labels populating and taking over actual trans spaces, more people now think gender is a choice, because of tucutes. If people can acknowledge that transphobes think gender is a choice, then why can't people see past the non-binary façade and the tucute ideology spitting the same theme? Tucutes have the same beliefs as the oppressors, and their appearance in mainstream media lures cis people into thinking they're trans and stretching the 'being trans is a choice' theme, while also bringing more hate to the community because of their appearance.

Tucutes are our oppressors in disguise as the oppressed. Their whole non-binary scheme is to keep them in the community to try fitting in while breaking off actual transsexuals. They're on a mission to make LGBT labels infinite and meaningless, taking over certain spaces- trans, lesbian, etc. All the while indoctrinating people that don't have a mind of their own and guilt tripping people into believing them. They're confused, and they're confusing others. The future is headed in the wrong direction with their plotting.

I as a Gen Z notice how the ideology of tucutes is to rebel and express their spite for social norms while feeling unique. They 'reclaim' slurs that aren't meant for them to feel like they're winning against their enemies. And they take over on TikTok and act like they were victims of their past transmed ideology. Saying transmed ideology made them dysphoric. If they need certain ideology to be dysphoric and another ideology makes them not feel dysphoric, then visibly they're contradictory, and therefore trenders.

Yes this exactly true, nonbinary and transphobes share the same belief system; that trans healthcare is just cosmetic body modification and not a medical need, they just believe in diff results: one believes it should be banned indefinitely, the other thinks it should be freely handed out to anyone who wants it.

They think gender dysphoria is socially created, just like transphobes. That you can just use mental gymnastics to ignore the male gender is associated with having male sexual characteristics in biology, it’s not a made up social concept and no amount of “you are valid as a man even if you are entirely female!” will magically change the fact the human brain sees sexual characteristics as either male or female even without socialisation.

Fence sitters now accuse transsexuals of being wrong for wanting to alter our sex and NOT just using stupid terms like “I identify as”. Like, non binary isn’t even gender non conforming majority of the time.

It’s confused many transsexual men and women into thinking if they don’t fit gender roles, they aren’t real men or women. It’s confused butch lesbians into thinking because they aren’t subscribing to gender roles and like the same sex, they mustn’t be real women. Like talk about non binary being the new third sexist gender role lmao.

[azvainia]

He/him lesbian discourse is stupid, and here’s why; bare with me this may be a bit bumpy of a ride but I promise I have a point

CONTENT WARNING: mentions of heavy topics such as bigotry and SA. if you’re not mentally up to it, just scroll. inane discourse is not worth your mental health.

Throughout my time existing in the queer community, I’ve noticed that there is always a group that’s ostracized for being too “different” from the rest of the pack, or are hard for others not in their situation to understand.

The worst part is it doesn’t just happen in the queer community, it seems to happen everywhere, in every space that humans inhabit and form groups in. you may have noticed, for example, that queer people are an outgroup to those who are cis/straight. It’s a line of people, each more niche than the one before them, all saying “You? You can’t be with us. You’re not one of us.” until we get to the end and we’re talking about problems on the fringes of the internet, like this very post.

Don’t get me wrong. There are some people who need to be ostracized to keep the peace as well as maintain safety in a space—Including, but not limited to: Nazis/fascists, racists, homophobes, pedos/zoos, etc. specifically when they are actively causing harm to others (remember rehabilitation though, if someone has grown out of a previous pattern of behavior that aligns with something that caused harm, I don’t think they should be permanently barred from our communities). At the end of the day, there’s always going to be people like this who are hateful, and I believe it’s important to keep in mind that relationships are complicated too. Some people will tolerate certain harmful behaviors because of circumstances like jobs or familial relations, and some would immediately cut them off. I think it’s all down to your preferences. It’s your life, after all.

My issue with this Ostracization comes in when it’s done to those who are not causing harm. I’ll start big picture here. I’m thinking first and foremost of the historical rift between women and men. I’m no expert on ancient bigotries, but if I had to guess I would expect misogyny to be an older one. I can hear it now. “They’re meek and they’re biologically engineered to be weaker than us!” Are they causing any harm? Is there any real reason to treat them worse than men? Next I think of racism, which is inconceivably annoying. “Oh no, their skin is a different color! They have different customs than I do!”boo hoo.

Of course next we can look at queer history. First, straight people push out gays. Because they can’t have biological children? Because they’re threatening masculinity? Whatever. Then, in spite of black trans women like Marsha P. Johnson leading the Stonewall Riots, cis queers ostracize trans people to make themselves more palatable (despite the fact that when given the chance, bigots would be fine with all of us wiped off the face of the earth). And when trans people become a bit more widely known and accepted (relatively so)? Soon, gender-non-conforming trans ppl like non-binary, agender, and genderfluid people are the next target, forming the trans-medicalist debate while trans people in general are still struggling to fight the narrative that they would assault people in the bathrooms of their aligning gender.

So we’ve finally caught up. In many modern queer communities, gnc trans people are accepted as just another part of the alphabet mafia. But there must be another sacrifice. Neopronouns and He/him lesbians. Years of oppression, and we still can’t seem to break the cycle. To those who have issues with people who use these labels, I ask you sincerely. Why?

If you are a lesbian, no one is forcing you to date someone who identifies as a lesbian while also being “male-aligned” in some way. The same way no one is obligating cis people to date trans people just because they’re an ally or whatever. Please consider; are these people you so despise and call lesbiophobic truly doing any harm other than existing? I thought that the trans community was all about breaking gender norms and being your truest self. Is excluding lesbians who are masculine or use he/him not enforcing the whole “blue= boy” shit all over again? Yes, “he/him” is most often used for men or masculine people, but just like gender roles and gender itself, it’s just a concept we humans made up. With time, everything shifts, changes, and grows.

Let us grow together. Let us feel the magic of queer joy together. Even if you don’t entirely understand it, live and let live.

Realistically I know that gatekeeping and discourse like this will never end, but even if one more person reflects and tries to be more inclusive, more thoughtful, more empathetic, I will be happy. If you got this far ily, take care of yourself and live your best life.

[sprawlingants]

otis and his stupid gender and his stupid HAT!!!!!! /j

okay MAN where do i start with this guy,, i have so many headcanons that i can't all fit into my canon,

because i DO headcanon him as transmasc but i also DO headcanon her as transfem, he just works for both

because what if he was transmasc??? if you called him short, or small, or anything that could barely be considered feminine, he'll kick your ass, heavily insecure that he looks too much like a girl to be a real man

or what if she was transfem, heavy internalized transphobia while she tries to dress more masculine so she could "get rid of those thoughts" and deepens her voice purposely to spite herself

but alsooo what if he was genderfluid and literally starts being so confused about his gender, one moment he NEEDS to wear a dress and do his eyeliner, and grow his hair out or he dies, and next second he needs to cut his hair so short, and dress into a suit and tie or he'll DIE!!!

^ he attempts to block out those thoughts, because it's dumb and gets irritated and frustrated because of gender dysphoria so he tries to excuse them as mood swings (which he tries to keep all bottled up, because he also thinks THOSE are dumb TOO!! this man can't catch a break with me)

what if they were non-binary, they'd get frustrated because something just FEELS wrong but they can't specify it, just slightly ever so wrong and they can't tell what

i headcanon that otis was raised in a family who thought lgbtq was just plain dumb, and otis had no other family, who was gonna tell him it's wrong to think that way??

it's getting a bit too long for my liking, hopefully i open someone's eyes to otis and his horrible gender thanks,,,

i was previously writing about my headcanons again but then i got to otis and then i NEEDED to write down my thoughts right now!!! ugoh DAMN YOU OTIS!!!!!! you INTERNALIZED TRANSPHOBIC THING GRAH!!!! imm putting him in a microwave..

also if u don't like these headcanons,, just don't say anything

[1moreff-creator]

since you’re interested in both drdt and fnaf……………. thoughts on Min as Circus Baby? or maybe Cassidy?

Ooh, these are nice ideas! I’ve seen the FNAF x DRDT AU idea being thrown around, and I’ve always found it quite intriguing. And obviously I’m always happy to talk about Min :D

So, I’ll start with Cassidy first since that’s the one I see working slightly less.

Though, of course, we have to ask: which interpretation of Cassidy? Are we going VengefulSpirit!Cassidy? Or are we more of a VS!Andrew believer? What about the kid from Happiest Day, is that Cassidy or BV? Or both, and we’re going with BV!Fifth? What about Golden Freddy (GF)? Does Cassidy share it with Bite Victim, Andrew, both? And what about Princess Quest?

It’s a lot, yeah. I’m more of a VS!Cassidy defender myself, since I still refuse StitchLine!Games on principle. And while I could sorta see Min as the Vengeful Spirit, since she can be quite mean (read: murder-y) at times, she’s not particularly hateful from what we saw, so I feel there’s better alternatives. In particular, I raise to you VS!Cassidy as Nico. Quiet like GF, but still clearly spiteful and very capable of evil things. And you can attribute the gender confusion around Cassidy to Nico being non-binary!

However, if we go with Cassidy sharing a body with Andrew, I could definitely see Min as Cassidy if you put Xander as Andrew. You know, foils gonna foil. They would disagree constantly, and Min would want to just be done with whoever William is after a while, like Cassidy under some interpretations, but Xander would want to keep going I guess. It could work! And then if BV is also there, they would maybe try to break them up when they fight, so Eden could work maybe? I would need to know what the rest of your AU looks like :p

I’m not getting into BV!Fifth.

And I don’t quite see how Princess Quest could be related to Min, so I guess you’d have to assume that’s a representation of Vanessa and put whoever Vanessa is in your AU there.

But as for Circus Baby… oh, that’s where we’re cooking. You really want to turn my favorite DRDT character into my favorite FNAF character? (If we ignore everything post-SL, I don’t quite like Scrap Baby or SE!Baby). Oh, I’m down.

I absolutely see Min as Baby, or, well, Elizabeth. I’m not sure if we’re considering them separate or not, but I’m gonna consider you mean Elizabeth because… well, frankly I just don’t know what being only Circus Baby would even entail. All the animatronic itself does is kill Elizabeth and get possessed, though I guess you could rework it to be a sort of “animatronic conscience influences soul behavior” situation, and even then I feel there’s better characters for something like that (read: David, Veronika, maybe Mai, etc).

But all that doesn’t matter too much in my eyes. Because Min as Elizabeth is fantastic.

“Perfectionist people-pleaser” fits both Elizabeth and Min perfectly, if we assume Elizabeth’s personality in the books can be extrapolated to the games (which, I guess Scrap Baby sorta proves that). Replace “William” with “XF-Ture Tech” and it’s like a perfect match.

Deceptive and cunning, like Baby was in SL, also fits with the girl who tried to get everyone killed in a class trial. Min is definitely smart, but she can freak out if she doesn’t feel in control like Elizabeth sometimes, and you can even see hints of Baby’s ego in the way Min constantly argues with Xander.

In fact, if we’re going with Min as Baby, I’d imagine maybe Xander as FT Freddy could work. Again, foils gonna foil, but the whole “overthrowing Baby” thing FT Freddy (presumably) pulled in that source code conversation inside Ennard? Perfect for Xander fighting Min as always.

Though I’d imagine there’s a few important differences. For one, I imagine Min would pull the whole Ennard stunt more to save all the other animatronics than for any selfish reasons, which I also believe applies to Baby but not everyone sees her like that. “I just wanted to save you” is Min’s secret quote, right? Works. I don’t know who we’re assuming Michael to be, but if it’s Teruko (read: protagonist), then that’d be pretty heartbreaking.

And also, I would like to imagine Min wouldn’t get so easily manipulated by the William equivalent. She’d see through it and maybe end up hating him for it? Maybe give us the team up with the Charlie equivalent that canon FNAF was too cowardly to gives us? I don’t know, maybe I’m coping. I would need to know who the William equivalent is, I guess. But Min did always feel a bit iffy about the whole Contest thing Hope’s Peak set up (understatement), so I imagine she’d also be critical of the William equivalent.

Let my girl roller skate. She’s kill it in Scrap Baby’s shoes.

So, yeah, pretty nice ideas! Thanks for sharing! Hope you’re satisfied with this answer.

God, I really wanna see a full AU like this now. Y’all are gonna drag me kicking and screaming back to my FNAF phase I swear /lh

[queer-starwars-bracket]

Queer Star Wars Characters (Round 2): General Bracket Match 28

Sky Graf | Identity: non-binary | Media: The High Republic Quest for Planet X

Sky Graf was a young member of the wealthy Graf family. A year before the Night of Sorrow, their father went missing looking for Planet X. To prove themselves to their family and possibly find their father, they stole their older brother’s ship the Brightbird and deemed up with Dass Leffbruk (who had previously made it to Planet X) and the Jedi padawan Rooper Nitani to use a Force artifact to try to find Planet X during the great hyperspace race. The Force artifact brought them backwards through the planets Dass had recently visited, where they face challenges while also trying to outrun Sky’s brother. During their journey, they also had to take the Path of the Open Hand member Fel Ix as a hostage. Fel Ix began to break through his cult programming, and when the news of a possible battle between the Path and the Republic reached the crew of the Brightbird, he convinced Sky to give up the search for Planet X to travel to Dalna. Fel Ix succeeded by appealing to Sky’s connection with their father by pointing out how he was a father himself. Working with Fel Ix, Sky helped defeat the Graf code that was corrupting the communication buoys in the Dalna sector, preventing more violence during the Night of Sorrow. Their brother, Helis, eventually caught up with them. But the siblings were able to talk about their feelings and reconcile. The two of them would fly the Brightbird together and continue to prospect. But Sky would no longer chase their father’s ghost.

Sky’s lifestyle was a combination of the hard and technical life of a pilot and hyperspace prospector combined with the luxury of their family’s level of wealth. They are very intelligent when it comes to science. They are confident, with a prickly exterior. They didn’t connect with Fel Ix the way Dass or Rooper did until the end, not wanting to try to understand the perspective of someone who tried to kill them. When things got serious, they showed a surprising capacity of violence and a willingness to do anything to achieve their goals. They only felt like they had unconditional love from their father, his disappearance driving them even further in conflict with their family. At the end of the book, they are more at peace, but still eager to make their own name separate from the Graf dynasty. Unusually for transgender characters in Star Wars, there is explicit discussion in their internal monolog about how they felt gender dysphoria when they started to go through puberty and how their father got them a binder.

Amara Kel/Howlrunner | Identity: wlw couple | Media: “Amara Kel’s Rules for TIE Pilot Survival (Probably)”

Amara Kel is the narrator of the short story “Amara Kel’s Rules for TIE PIlot Survival (Probably)” which is her internal thoughts about how to survive as a line TIE Pilot. This military satire story also details her relationship with another pilot, nicknamed Howlrunner. Amara Kel is snarky and cynical, dissoluted with the Imperial Navy but without the kind of spark that would lead her to defecting. She is happy to stay in the background, staying alive without promotion and glory. However, Howl’s skilled flying inspires in her a sense of love and respect for the TIE fighter and the wire thin finesse in its flying.

Amara and Howl’s Theta Squadron was one of the squadrons dispatched to hunt the Millenium Falcon through the asteroid field around Hoth. In spite of rule number one “Don’t Get Attached”, Howl pulls off some crazy flying maneuvers and saves Amara from being eaten by the exogorth. Miraculously, they both survive that deployment.

[musical-chick-13]

6, 7, 8, 10, 13?

YES THANK YOU. BLESS YOU.

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

Oh, God. Um. Most of the popular ones, if I'm being honest. There are a bunch of different ways I could answer this, from "it's everywhere" to "people misunderstand this canon dynamic" to "people make disgusting bigoted comments toward another, '''in the way''' character" to "most destructively moralistic" so I'll talk about the fanbase that historically has encompassed all of these, which is. The J*hnlockers.

I don't think I can EVER explain how utterly unhinged (derogatory) this fandom was when the show was airing. People straight-up labeling their analyses as a "conspiracy," convincing others that there was a Super Secret Actual Finale Episode that would "fix" their ship not being canon. They paired the main villain up with a character who didn't even exist in canon because doing anything involving the women was, presumably, too much to ask. The absolutely horrendous things they would say about the female characters, ESPECIALLY to fans of them who were minding their own business. (Also, they called one of the gay co-creators "actually a straight man" for not canonizing this ship which is completely and utterly WILD to me.) Genuinely there was NO space more unsafe fandom-wise that I have EVER been in. I cosplayed Irene for a con one time and, though luckily nothing happened, I was AFRAID FOR MY LIFE THE WHOLE TIME. Like. The level of vitriol and misogyny and biphobia (I'm not even going to get into that one) was UNREAL. To the point where genuinely I hope we never get new content of any kind so I don't have to think about people who act like this ever again.

7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

...........at the risk of getting murdered. MCU Steve. He was just kind of. There. To me. I didn't particularly care about him because he read to me as "generic good guy" which isn't an archetype that particularly resonates with me, but...then the fandom just. My God. Saying that EVERYTHING he ever did was right, that NO ONE had any points when they questioned him, that he EPITOMIZED goodness in a way no other character did ever, that anyone who liked Tony (or anyone who was ever perceived as being in Steve's "way" about anything, don't get me started on how people treated Sharon) was A War Criminal Apologist Irl and was Singlehandedly Upholding Every Type of Oppression, like it was. SO annoying. I went from indifference to borderline-hatred out of spite.

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8 WAS NOT THAT BAD, GOT SEASON 8---*I am forcibly removed from the building*

(On a more, uh...eloquent note, Lady Macbeth is not a badass gender-binary-shattering Girlboss™ femme fatale, she is a complete mess struggling with layers and layers of psychological issues that she does not let herself process, as well as a HELL of a lot of internalized misogyny. I love her, too, but this creation of her into some sort of suave or cool monarch lady genuinely baffles me. But then again, this play was my Capstone Research Project my final year of college and I wrote a 50-page paper on it, so maybe I'm a little too invested in how people present her, lmao.)

10. Worst part of fanon

Tbh, everyone who insists that two characters [usually (cis, white, abled) men] MUST be in romantic love because they care about each other. Like...don't get me wrong, I love looking at a LOT of non-canon pairings through a romantic lens because It's Neat™, but showing physical affection or willing to throw down/break the law for someone or calling them things like "admirable" or "amazing" are not? Inherently romantic?? Like by so many people's standards I'd be in romantic love with all my platonic friends, I guess, and that's very annoying. Romance isn't the only kind of love that exists!!! Nor is it the only important or significant one!!!

(On a more specific note, there's a fairly pervasive idea that Aki/Himeno is...a grooming relationship? When according to the established timeline and personal events that would. Literally be impossible. People take the "I'm not old enough to smoke" line that happens not long after they meet as some sort of confirmation that Aki was, like, fifteen or sixteen at the time? Or something? Instead of like. Nineteen. Dude has to have time in the three years he's known her to change significantly in appearance, become old enough to smoke (the legal age for that is 20 over there btw), and develop a substance dependence. And given the visual markers of Himeno's appearance when the two of them meet and how drastically her appearance changes in the intervening years, she can't be more than a couple of years older than him? People also take a comment that's meant to convey that he's been at his job three years longer than another character as saying that he's only three years older age-wise than said character. Which, again, given the timeline. Would be impossible. And also. There is an example of grooming in this story! It's really important to the plot actually! It's meant to be seen as horrifying! You would assume that the fact that this relationship is not presented in the same way means something! Don't get me wrong, Himeno's done her fair share of shitty things, but grooming her fight partner was not one of them. There are plenty of reasons this ship isn't for everyone, you don't have to make shit up, lmao.)

13. Worst blorbo-ification

Genuinely I cannot choose between these two, so we're gonna make this post even longer.

Why do people like K*lo R*n. I don't understand. He was given the barest hint of sort-of, hazy tragic "backstory" and people...very much disagreed with me when I said I didn't think that was enough from a narrative standpoint to actually mean anything. And that's not taking into account that this blorbo-ification happened before we even knew that. When all we knew was that he felt kind of lost sometimes and killed his dad while helping head up a fascist empire, people went wild, and not in a "I like villains" kind of way. In a "he's MEANT to be read as mentally ill" kind of way (my God, please stop saying this about every character who is mean and exhibits one emotion) and "his parents MUST have been abusive to him" kind of way. Neither of those things. Has any basis in canon. Just. Just admit you like a character who's not a good person. And that you like a ship that's a dark romance. You won't explode, I promise.

The other one is Light. People want him to be a tragic anti-hero SO bad, I am incredibly tired. He went from zero to beyond 100 in the space of a couple of in-story hours. He's not some misguided utopian visionary, he's a hypocrite with a god complex. I have met too many people like this irl to get behind any positive or sympathetic interpretation of this character. (And don't get me wrong. I think in order to most effectively present the Themes™ of the work as a whole, he had to be written like this. I don't begrudge the creator (in this instance, anyway), I begrudge the fanbase. There's actually a lot I could say about this piece of media and general reaction to it, but my God this is already long enough.)

I choose violence asks

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

...Another Weird AU

I call this the “deranged cousin” of the ideas in this post, and for a good reason...it’s basically that as a crack fic.

Inspired by a conversation on a certain Discord server about “what if HypMic magical girls, but not Ramuda?”. Thus, even though they’re guys, they will be referred to as “magical girls” as a gender-neutral term. After picking characters based on their height, it was quite the brain exercise to string them together, but I had a lot of fun doing it. That said, I think I’ve written “magical girl” so many times for this particular set of ideas, it’s started to lose all meaning... *sweatdrops*

So there is the HypMic world we know and a parallel universe to it, in which 1) there are no Hypnosis Mics, but 2) some people develop magic and some don’t (which essentially took the place of Hypnosis Mics). What was TDD + Sasara and Kuko were hyped up to be the greatest magical girls ever by Chuohku...only for half the group to develop powers and for Chuohku to banish the Powerless trio (this world’s Samatoki, Jakurai and Kuko) as a result. Fast-forward to the present day and Riou, who did develop powers, sets out on a trip to make things right again...by recruiting the Powerless’s counterparts from the universe we know...

...or so the story goes, but as you can see, that’s not fully true.

Basically, in this system, each magical girl is assigned a gemstone and their powers are related to both their backstory and possible meaning/s of the gem. They also have a ring with their assigned gemstone, typically worn on the third finger of the left hand, which they use to transform, although Jakurai doesn’t keep his on his person (see below for why). They have to transform to invoke their powers, with the exception of Kuko. (Why Kuko? Because he’s the only one whose powers already seem to exist in canon in some form, most notably in RIP and the related drama track.) They were originally meant to have sentient wands as well a la Prisma Illya, but that made everything too complex. You can see a remnant of what once was in Riou’s profile below.

(…On a personal note, as I was thinking about this idea, I was reminded my story White Parasite originally had the same premise before becoming more standard. However, this was a few years ago when I believed gender and sexuality to be more binary, so I was afraid of not being taken seriously or alternatively, being heckled out of town. You can either take this idea as extremely parodic (like Mahou Shoujo Ore) or as breaking down gender norms (men who wear dresses in spite of not having femininity).)

Magical Girl Riou. The magical girl of alternate worlds (or dare I say, isekai...?). Gemstone: obsidian, a gem with potential meanings of “clarity” and “looking to the future”. Power/s: parallel world travel and observation, born from wanting to do things over in order to save his commander. Ostensibly the leader, because he’s the one who has the powers to kick off the plot, but prefers to not take the spotlight. His transformation outfit is a black vest and a white short-sleeved shirt over a black ballerina skirt (it gives off the image of a “third-rate idol”). The magical girl has to be okay with the outfit to some degree, so his magic gave him combat boots as a compromise. (Also maroon stockings, because I can’t imagine him with bare legs *sweatdrops*.)

Magical Girl Rei. The magical girl of success. Gemstone: citrine, a gem with the potential meaning of “prosperity” - this extends to his transformation outfit, which for most intents and purposes is a businesswoman’s (complete with kitten heels!), aside from a big split in one side (...for mobility reasons, although even with that, it still hinders him so much, it doesn’t do much for fanservice purposes) and with the shirt open (as he usually does). Power/s: brainwashing, born from wanting to “exert more control over others”.

Magical Girl Jakurai. The magical girl of location. Gemstone: amethyst, a gem with the potential meaning of wisdom, protection from drunkenness and instilling a serious and sober mind (ha!), born from the fact he wanted to save Yotsutsuji. Due to the belief such powers are “unscientific”, he is unable to manifest a transformation, although his power (as seen by Riou) is known to be a “viewfinder” - finding lost items with more accuracy than Odd Jobs Yamada or creating magical weapon sights.

Magical Girl Samatoki. The magical girl of relationships. Gemstone: rose quartz, a gem with the potential meaning of “unconditional love”. Power/s: love spells or similar which can manipulate romantic and/or sexual feelings [A/N: over the years I have realised I’m no help when it comes to writing romantic/horny stuff, so don’t expect me to write about the repercussions of it all *sweatdrops*], born from wanting to amend his own failed relationships. His transformation outfit, much to his embarrassment, is a cross between his Halloween Witch outfit and Magical Girl Ramuda’s - a light pink dress with bell sleeves, bright pink gloves, a hooded cape and ballet flats (also bright pink).

Magical Girl Kuko. The magical girl of enlightenment. Gemstone: lapis lazuli, a gem with the potential meaning of “contacting spirit guardians”. Essentially, his power is a stronger version of his existing powers of bridging and contacting the supernatural and mundane worlds, born out of his spiritual beliefs. His transformation outfit (although basically no one ever sees it) is a royal blue halterneck top with silver sparkles, a navy blue pinafore skirt and strap sandals.

Magical Girl Ichiro. The magical girl of emotion and one of the magical girls restricted to the parallel world. Gemstone: opal, a gem with the potential meaning of “intensifying emotion”. Power/s: manipulation of platonic emotions (...basically anything that’s not Samatoki’s domain), born out of the fact he wanted to sympathise with his brothers better (it may not seem very versatile until you realise he can manipulate happiness, sadness, jealousy, platonic love/friendships and so much more). His love for his division bled into his transformation outfit and so it is a maid dress, complete with Mary Janes. Samatoki is still in denial his power is a more limited variation of Ichiro’s.

Magical Girl Ramuda. The magical girl of innocence and one of the magical girls restricted to the parallel world. Gemstone: moonstone, a gem with the potential meaning of “abundance”. Exactly as you know him from HypMic Quest, including the flashy powers, although in this case it is specifically born from him wanting to gain attention.

Magical Girl Sasara. The magical girl of renewal and one of the magical girls restricted to the parallel world. Gemstone: emerald, a gem with the potential meaning of “youth”. Power/s: Temporary age regression, born out of the desire to see the world as a child eternally. His transformation outfit is a corduroy dress that looks similar to overalls, with black shorts and a long-sleeved white shirt underneath. I just can’t get this version of Sasara out of my head, which is why I shelved the idea initially when I couldn’t get table formatting to work on Tumblr and then brought it back once I found time for it... *sweatdrops*.

[agentofanarchy110]

70 horrible questions ... Fuck it

Yes with dad, no with mum

the only boyfriend I ever had, who incidentally is a dickhead

I regret many things, chiefly falling for my ex lololol

oh definitely

single Pringle couldn’t care less about the mingle

i don’t

Mini pancake

used to be on a netball team despite being 5”2

always and forever I don’t even like long nails (sensory autistic thing I hate it if I make a fist and they dig in)

Oooooo don’t actually remember but most memorable was I hit someone around the face when I was 12 for calling me retarded (got detention but so worth it) NO NOT REALLY DONT HIT PEOPLE KIDS

wish I did (demiromantic asexual I’m doomed)

no but I’ve stayed up for 36

no, pretty mild feelings here

I miss my cat who died an awful and undeserved death earlier this year

I have two new cat bois

anxious, bored, tired but not that bad

I’ve never made out with anyone let alone in a bathroom

yes, but only if they get too close

hell yes who wouldn’t

nowhere. I haven’t.

sit in bed doing nothing all day watching YouTube hopefully

I genuinely have no idea. If I do, probably only one, or twins, cause I don’t want to go through every stage twice. They’d be adopted

no, but I’d like ear piercings some day if I can learn not to pick scabs

English and Film Studies!

my evil ex boyfriend who I’m toxically attached to but finally managed to get over once we met again after a long time and it’s all fine and platonic now

chocolate mousse

yes, and then he went and broke it back ten times worse. Twice.

not as far as I know we were pretty loyal till we broke up

probably

being reminded of my abandonment and neglect issues right now

not romantically

Dark violet

fuck yes (refer to the above)

actually getting to enter a Warriors MAP (I dunno I’m a sad nerd ok)

My dad

yes. And third. And fourth. And fifth. And so on. I apologise even when I’m not the one in the wrong just to get the conflict over with.

forgive

no but it isn’t the worst /hmmm not sure actually maybe?

18 years old and still waiting my dude (almost, birthday in November)

no why the fuck would I do that

The questions in the forties are skipped so this is actually 50 )red velvet cake (no literally it’s not just an ace thing)

52. I’m agnostic, I don’t know. But if everything happens for a reason it’s probably spite because the universe sure does love to screw me over

53. …

54. only if the person you’re with is genuinely a bad person or abusive, but I believe it’s the better option to just break up with them if it doesn’t mean they’ll harm you

55. No, but I can have mean thoughts about peopls

56. Technically no one because no one ever hit back (I swear I’m not a maniac I had issues as tweenager)

57. Yes, but it’s bloody hard to find.

58. Mild. I hate weather in general cause I’m really temperature sensitive

59. yes but not when my boots are frozen to my feet lololol (that actually happened when the Beast from the East came) (it’s a Britain thing)

60. maybe? Doesn’t seem like a NECESSARY aspect but it’d be nice

61. no tbh it’s freaking creepy unless ironic then it’s funny (ace vibes fr fr lol)

62. My hyperfixations. Reading Radioapple fanfic like I need it to survive. Cats. Animals. Books and TV

63. Jokes on you I already have lol

64. I…never kissed anyone… (#allo assumptions lmfao)

65. Ask them more about it before I enter into any kind of relationship. Would try it out, but back out immediately if it wasn’t for me

66. Depends what you consider “the opposite sex” (I’m bio female but non binary/gender fluid)

67. My mate AJ (not on Tumblr)

68. Another friend irl

69 (hehe I’m immature) . Uhhhhh maybe I dunno

70. I’m a coward so no probably, sorry about that

70 horrible questions ... Fuck it

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? 03: Do you regret anything? 04: Are you insecure? 05: What is your relationship status? 06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat? 08: Played any sports? 09: Do you bite your nails? 10: When was your last physical fight? 11: Do you like someone? 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? 14: Do you miss someone? 15: Have any pets? 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? 17: Ever made out in the bathroom? 18: Are you scared of spiders? 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? 21: What are your plans for this weekend? 22: Do you want to have kids? How many? 23: Do you have piercings? How many? 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? 25: Do you miss anyone from your past? 26: What are you craving right now? 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 28: Have you ever been cheated on? 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? 30: What’s irritating you right now? 31: Does somebody love you? 32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues? 34: Who/what was your last dream about? 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? 36: Do you give out second chances too easily? 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? 38: Is this year the best year of your life? 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? 51: Favourite food? 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? 54: Is cheating ever okay? 55: Are you mean? 56: How many people have you fist fought? 57: Do you believe in true love? 58: Favourite weather? 59: Do you like the snow? 60: Do you wanna get married? 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? 62: What makes you happy? 63: Would you change your name? 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? 69: Do you believe in soulmates? 70: Is there anyone you would die for?

[mendaciumhq]

CHARACTER NAME: sebastian o'shannon / salazar slytherin reincarnate

CHARACTER FACECLAIM: freddy carter

CHARACTER AGE/DOB: 23 years old / december 17th 2000

CHARACTER PRONOUNS/GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUALITY ETC: he/him or they/them, non binary, greyace & aroflux, polyamorous.

CANON OR OC: oc???

CHARACTER FANDOM: hp/magical world

CHARACTER PROFESSION IF RELEVANT: part-time potions professor at hogwarts, part-time magical history author

SCHOOL INFORMATION/HOUSE/ETC: hogwarts, slytherin

ALIGNMENT IN THE WAR & OPINIONS: sebastian has long been sided with the order of the phoenix. however, some will assume the opposite. this is because since sebastian's final year of hogwarts, he has been a spy for the order. so to those he's worked alongside within the death eaters, he would appear to be on their side. this happened because, in spite of his own beliefs built about the idiocy of blood purity supremacy, sebastian's mother and step father have entirely different views. they joined the death eaters and claimed they would force sebastian's younger siblings when the time came too. in order to protect his siblings, sebastian 'joined', even took the dark mark to full commit to selling it as truth. he's been secretly funnelling back information to the order the whole time.

THREE CHARACTER AESTHETICS:

the sound of waves crashing against the shore on a stormy winter day

feeling stronger, invincible even, when with your friends

keeping your appearance together to sell the idea that you are 'okay'

ONE SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF YOUR CHARACTER:

wires by the neighbourhood

ANY IMPORTANT CHARACTER NOTES/FURTHER BIO/HISTORY: see attached google doc for in depth lore/details on sebastian, salazar etc:

sebastian o'shannon is the reincarnate of salazar slytherin. he has known this since early childhood, when memories from a previous life began bleeding through, when it all began to unravel. however, he kept this to himself: the only time he spoke of it, his mother called him attention seeking and childish for making up such stories. he quickly learned to keep his mouth shut from then on. until, of course, he finally came to hogwarts. the moment the sorting hat landed on him, it confirmed what he thought to be true and welcomed back the true slytherin to the school. he also told him of another walking the halls: gryffindor. but, of course, the hat didn't give specifics. so it took a month for sebastian to figure it out and bond with the gryffindor reincarnate. each other meeting of a reincarnate came with it's own chaotic energy.

sebastian went through school growing, changing a lot as a person. breaking free of what he'd grown up in: the pureblood superiority of his family in particular. in spite of being around a lot of people who still supported the ideologies, sebastian found his friends and broke the generational bullshit. rejected it outright and wasn't quiet about it either.

it isn't until his final year that all of that rebellion went quiet and died. it had to. he had a cover to keep after all, as a death eater-- even if it were a lie, he still had to commit to it in order to keep up the belief. it meant some public fall outs had to be staged with friends. cruel things that still haunt him, even if all parties involved know the truth.

sebastian hopes that, eventually, he'll be free of this life of living a lie. he misses his friends dearly, and wants to stop pretending. but he'll do it for as long as he has to, for as long as it's feeding back good information that saves lives.

sebastian also works part time at hogwarts as a potions professor, working alongside slughorn, but the majority of his time is spent in his own private works, writing about magical history. he has a bit of a leg up, after all.

ADMIN ALEX APP.

[queenofmorolianspiders]

In honor of weeding out the shitlords in my follows, here’s some headcanons for QB’s society!! I’ll have a few trusted friends go over these later to make sure that everything comes off non-offensively, but for now, AGGRESSIVELY SHOVES GENDER-RELATED HEADCANONS AT PEOPLE (I’m also probably forgetting a lot.)

also if you have ideas for things i should make up hcs for please hmu my askbox is always open to discussing/figuring out things for qb’s society.

[i’m very very very certain that i’ll need to edit this and make everything nicer and that there are better ways to say the things i’m thinking of, or the goal i’m trying to get at....]

QB’s people literally do not care what your gender id is, in the grand scheme of things. All they care about is how strong you are.

Wanting to change your body’s appearance to match how you feel inside is no big deal. There are literal permanent transition options that will match what you need/want/desire, if you so choose. Out of all the things you should be worried about, whether or not you feel comfortable with your body is not one of those things.

While the temporary names for children are based on things like the set of pronouns a person uses, (ie [parent a name]+wyn, [parent a name]+son), there are many more options. I honestly need to update that naming mechanic, esp since that convention came out of a bad binary. Maybe [name]+en. So in QB’s case, the names are Cedwyn, Ilywin, and Ceden or Ilien. Or maybe even Cedilien. 

I don’t know how many genders her society has language markers for, but I’m gonna guess at least 5. Or maybe one. Either way, it’s not 2-3.

A lot of her culture really hates converting to a language/culture that relies on a binary set of gender markers. So, languages such as English, Spanish, other (romance?) languages that require adding gender to things that are inanimate, etc. It’s so very frustrating, especially when THAT IS THE LEAST OF YOUR CONCERNS WHAT GENDER SOMEONE USES WHEN THEY’RE GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU

QB has been male before. This was less a “pretend to be a guy” and more “Hm, I feel like trying this out”, especially in her teenage years, when she wanted to make certain of who she was. Because it’s okay to see if an identity fits you or not, even if it’s to make sure that you are comfortable in your own identity.

sometimes, she still goes for a masculine appearance/body if the whim suits her.

QB’s people literally do not understand human’s aggressive nature towards gender roles. They understand how to use them against them, however.

 but they literally do not understand why you would kill someone for saying that they’re a different gender than was assigned/expected of them. 

like, let them die for other reasons what the fuck is wrong with you for killing someone because they said they were a woman like don’t you guys need more women.

people who don’t have any particular gender association and/or preference are normal and valid. there’s no confusion about it or trying to pin them down into anything unless it’s a kink.

qb’s society aren’t picky about sex and aren’t going to freak out about what is or isn’t in a partner’s pants. If they really want to have sex with someone, they’ll figure out a way to make it work.

QB is pan sexual for a reason. She doesn’t care. She’ll do you no matter what you look like, so long as she’s attracted to you. 

qb’s society probably has no stipulations or social faux pas about presenting. You can wear a dress and still be a dude, if that’s how you identify. you can look masculine and wear a dress and still be a chick, if that’s how you identify.

....i guess this kind of works with how “procreation/survival of the fittest” works for them as a culture. People who live to be longer than 40 of their years are allowed the right to procreate, as they are seen as “the fittest”. And, like, it never occurred to me SOONER to have it be a thing where people could like.... not necessarily have a “sex” change since idk if that’s even the right wording anymore, and i’m not sure how it’d work but like. if someone wanted to be able to carry, they’d be given the stuff to carry. if someone wanted to give, they could give. if that like, makes sense. tho i’m bad at explaining how that’d work esp since i’m just. really bad at this stuff overall.

fashion is not restricted by gender. If you can rock it, then it’s meant for your bod. You can have men wearing slinky dresses and dolled up to the 9′s, or dressed up like Bayonetta, and they’re still men. Why hold back a fashion/design because of bullshit like “gender roles”. Are gender roles based off clothes you wear gonna save your ass? Very rarely. 

granted, this won’t stop someone from telling you that your fashion sense sucks regardless

[neptunemagia]

@its-decido asked so I shall deliver. Here are all of my gender and sexuality headcannons for Sailor Moon.

For reference I ship Michiru x Haruka, Rei x Minako, Inners poly pile, Ami x Makoto, Mamoru x Usagi x Seiya, Kunzite x Jadeite, Chibiusa x Hotaru, and Princess Kakyuu x Reformed Galaxia. The only ships I have strong feelings against is anything that breaks up harumichi and anything involving Prince Demande bcuz he sucks ass and doesn’t deserve love.

Usagi is bi with a preference for her precious Mamo-chan. She/her, potentially some cutesy neo-pronouns.

As the goddess of love it only makes sense for Minako to be pansexual. She/her.

I think Ami would be demiromantic and demisexual. Not really sure of she’d like multiple genders or just girls. She/her, but might try out she/they at some point.

Makoto is bi. She crushes on everything that breathes within a ten mile radius of her. Preference for guys and more masculine girls. She/her, I think trans girl Mako headcannons are super cute.

Rei is the man hating lesbian straight men fear. In the manga, she makes it clear that she hardly tolerates the existence of men, so I doubt she would date one. The 90s anime always felt really weird, so I’m calling it internalized homophobia (she went to Catholic school after all). She/her or maybe she/they, purely out of spite for this world.

Chibiusa, much like her mother, is bi and in love with everyone. Even horse boy gets a kiss. She and Hotaru are canonically the same age when she is reborn. It’s not problematic, you just don’t like it. Which is fine, but chill out a little. She/bunself, it’s the 30th century, her using neo pronouns is entirely realistic.

Michiru is literally the biggest lesbian to ever lesbian. I get vibes like she has mommy AND daddy issues. There’s no such thing as a mentally well artist after all. She/her.

I can see Haruka as being non-binary or a cis woman. Lesbian, potentially bisexual (NOT biromantic), with a heavy preference for ladies. Anime Haruka absolutely has some kind of religious trauma. All she talks about is going to hell for her sins. She/they (maybe ze/zir).

I stand by Setsuna being aroace. The Endymion thing felt like filler, and all she ever talked about was his lavender jacket. Next season, her only outfit is a lavender jacket (I distinctly remember her wearing a lavender tee shirt in Crystal as well). She’s even stated to be an aspiring fashion designer. Clearly she was just jealous of his suit. She/they/it, because as an eternal being this gender shit is probably pretty pointless to her.

Hotaru is some form of gay. Lesbian, bi, pan, no idea. All I know is she has a massive crush on Chibiusa. She/it, she probably has some crazy depersonalization going on with Mistress 9 and the cyborg stuff.

Seiya, Seiya, Seiya. I get heavy trans masc vibes from them, but Naoko did say all sailor senshi were women, so I’m going with the in-between of non-binary and/or genderfluid. As for sexuality, I’m just going to leave it as sapphic. She/he/they/ze. Do they even have gender/pronouns on Kinmoku?

I refuse to see Yaten as anything other than a aroace girly girl. Yaten forever chooses sleep over sex . She/her.

Taiki confuses and upsets me to no end. The hair makes it so unbelievably painful to think about them that I leave my thoughts at pansexual they/them.

Kakyuu is bi, and all loving like Usagi, our other princess. She/her.

Manga Mamoru is the token straight friend. Anime Mamoru is bi purely because of the Fiore arc. He/him.

feel free to request a continued analysis of the genders/sexualities of minor characters and villains, other headcannons, along with my list of which villains are redeemable (all monsters of the day will be included, you have been warned)

[cazort]

experiences of loneliness definitely can be different on the basis of gender socialization, and no, it's not strictly bioessentialist and any trans or nonbinary or gender-non-conforming person who has had experience being perceived as female at some times or in some settings, and as male in others, can confirm this.

these differences don't play out strictly and you can find plenty of examples of exception to the rule, each person is unique.

but there are major differences, on average, in how women and men are socialized in our society, which affects both how we are treated in a specific situation, and how we are likely to respond as a basis of our socialization.

and posts like this are frustrating to me because i've seen these ideas used, many times, to shut down very important dialogue about ways in which people are treated differently (sometimes wildly so) based on their perceived gender, and how we can be hurt by it.

here are some things i have noticed in terms of gendered socialization differences:

people are much more wary of me if i come to an event alone (i.e. not with a partner or group of friends), if they perceive me as male vs. if they perceive me as female or nonbinary. this can make it harder to break into new social circles when you're male. this experience also fits with the observations of others and me listening to the experiences of others, including both cis people and trans people who have experienced life as both binary genders.

single women usually get much more attention of people hitting on them or trying to flirt, often in uncomfortable or aggressive ways. while sometimes this attention can be nice, often it is unwanted and it can easily become overwhelming. again, this observation comes from many different sources, listening to lots of people, both cis and trans people.

when people see me as male, if i express being lonely, others are more likely to blame it on me, assuming i did something bad or wrong to explain the loneliness, and they are more likely to react in non-supportive ways (like by closing off, judging me, or saying negative things to me) and supportive responses are much more likely to respond by problem-solving or giving advice about things i could do to meet people or better connect with people. this observation comes both from my own personal experience, and from observing others giving each other advice or reacting to each other, both in person and online.

when people see me as female, if i express being lonely, others are more likely to blame it on others or on circumstance, more likely to be empathetic to me, and often directly try to include me in things, invite me to things, etc. while the reactions are more positive and supportive overall. but they are often less problem-solving and don't always give as much useful advice. this observation comes both from my own experience and observing others.

these are just a few issues

i want to point out that (a) these are average tendencies, not universal rules. people don't always act a certain way. it's more that there is just a disparity, sometimes little, sometimes big, in how people are treated.

(b) this is not a simple example of men "having it worse" or women "having it worse". for example, on the surface it looks like the reaction to men's loneliness is a bit colder, crueler, or harsher, and there is some truth in this stance. however sometimes, when the person IS doing things that are making it harder for them, they actually benefit less from empathy and more from problem solving and advice, so there can be a completely different way in which women are held back by how people treat them.

when people perceive me as female, sometimes the extra attention is nice. people check in on me more. other times it feels patronizing or coddling. no, i don't need your help, i want to do this alone.

going back to the first two points above, i think men are more likely to fall into an extreme "downward spiral" of loneliness in which, in spite of their own initiative, like going to events, putting themselves out there, they still struggle to make friends.

i think women are less likely to get stuck in the exact same way. women who show up by themselves at events usually (not always) find it easier to break into existing social groups. this doesn't mean women don't become lonely though, plenty of people (including women) are so depressed they struggle to even get out there into the world and show up somewhere. similarly, women are more likely to go to an event and feel uncomfortable or unsafe because of disrespectful, unwanted attention from men. i know a lot of women who stay home when they really want to go out, because they are afraid for their own safety, and this seems to affect them a lot more than men.

so like...can we please just talk about these things without being like "oh this is some gender essentialist bullshit" or "you are just spouting MRA rhetoric"? because it's not and i'm not. these are real things. and no, i am not saying they apply to everyone. but i want us to start talking about the ways in which people can experience loneliness different and struggle with different aspects of loneliness more.

i would encourage people too to share your experiences and listen to the experiences of people of other genders. listen to women, listen to men, listen to nonbinary and gender-non-conforming people, and trans people both binary and not. we all have something to contribute to this dialogue and we will all come out better if we can listen with an open mind.

"it's bioessentialist to joke about male loneliness" IT'S BIOESSENTIALIST TO THINK THERE'S A MALE AND FEMALE VERSION OF LONELINESS...

[morporkian-cryptid]

Me and my partner are getting into the discworld books and I always love your reblogs for it! Do you have any recs? we just finished Going Postal (a personal favourite of mine)

OH BOI DO I HAVE RECS!! You knocked on the right door, my friend!

The Discworld series can be broken down into several sub-series. I advise reading each book in a given sub-series in order (eg, book 1 of the Watch before book 2 of the Watch), but reading each sub-series in whatever order (Death before the Witches, or the Witches before Death, or mixing them up). Reading the books in order is not absolutely necessary, you might just miss some context, and see the characters' evolution in the wrong order; but each book has its own separate plot.

@blackboard-monitor wrote a very good comprehensive break-down of each sub-series, and which ones you might enjoy depending on what you like.

---

As for my personal recommendations:

If you liked Moist von Lipwig, I'd recommend his other two books: "Making Money" and "Raising Steam".

If you want to stay in Ankh-Morpork but with different protagonists, I'd suggest the Watch series (my personal favourite). It's about a cynical noir inspector and his band of loser cops who accidentally become a competent police force through sheer spite. Start with "Guards! Guards!"

The Death series is a fandom favorite. It tells the story of the Grim Reaper, his family, and his recurring existential crises. Start with "Mort".

If you don't want to get into a sub-series just yet, you can try one of the free standing books.

"Small Gods" is a must-read, it's about the origins of religion, the meaning of faith, and the dangers of religious extremism. Also it has a one-eyed sentient tortoise that swears a lot.

I'd also recommend "Monstrous Regiment", which can only be described as "Mulan but with more lesbians". It's about feminism, gender roles, the pointlessness of war, nationalism, and it has a non-binary caffeine-addict vampire.

---

And of course, this wouldn't be a proper Discworld Recommendation Post without whipping out a Reading Order Chart, the Discworld Fan's most efficient weapon.

This may look like a mess at first glance, but Fear Not! It's actually pretty simple to use: just pick a color and follow it!

I hope you enjoy Discworld, and might one day become one of us feral fans lurking in the shadows of the Internet with a reading order chart, ready to spring onto unsuspecting newbies!