#context? who's ever heard of such a thing!

[rorschachisgay]

this post has MAJOR SPOILERS for the movie Superman (2025) directed by James Gunn do not read it if you don't want to read about one of the biggest story moments in Superman (2025) which i am discussing under the cut because i want to talk about how language is politicised and immigration!!!

so in Superman (2025) there is a message from Kal-el's parents where he has only ever heard half. he is able to understand and translate it himself. exactly how he is fluent isnt explained because it doesn't really matter, but he has a robot army and maybe a dictionary so whatever. that's not important. what's important is that he has a personal understanding of this message.

later on in the film the other half of the message is discovered and translated by Lex Luthor. it's made very clear to us that the message is genuine and real, and has been fully translated by a team of experts. the message is disturbingly violent and controlling.

here's the thing. they also show the first half of the message, run through Luthor's translation. while the ultimate meaning of what is said is the same as Clark's earlier translation, the specific words themselves are very different. it's noticeably more formal and less comforting than his translation too.

so what does this tell us? firstly, that Luthor's translation is technically accurate, and secondly, that it reads very differently to someone not familiar with Kryptonian language and culture.

language can be deeply politicised. and this is very often the case with languages that are foreign or are of people perceived as the enemy, either due to racism or political division, or both. you can see this in the western response to how it's common for muslims to refer to those who have died as being martyrs. martyrdom is a concept in islam that is historically and culturally beautiful and complex. it means a lot, more than i could describe. but its spun by western media to mean something scary, that it's some grim celebration of death. proof of a toxic culture.

Luthor's translation of the Kryptonian has no cultural context. it has no speakers to verify the meaning. his translation, Clark's parents tell him to dominate and control the humans. technically, that might be an accurate translation. but what does that mean to a Kryptonian? is this a term that has some specific history and meaning that isn't translatable? there's no way of knowing, but it's definitely politically useful for Luthor. fuck, Clark doesn't even know. he didn't grow up on Krypton. he's not experienced that culture.

and maybe it did mean something awful. maybe Kal-el's parents were dicks. fundamentally it doesn't matter to the arc of Clark's character, as he has no option but to take it as written, but it's interesting to highlight this because it reinforces the idea of Superman as the immigrant. he is someone who can be victimised and politicised whenever it serves those in power. his status as an equal is something that can be revoked.

i don't know (or care) if this was the intended reading, it's very common in Superman across history to portray Krypton as somewhere that's complex or not inherently good, but i think with the political subtext of the movie and the heavy references to the history of america and the middle east, as well as Gunn's stated intention to make a narrative about immigration, there's a pretty obvious and interesting subtext to this

[vidavalor]

The Lie That Is Lazarii

Lazarii: a word Good Omens invented, which causes both the audience and multiple characters within the story to use one of Good Omens' favorite things-- etymology-- to determine what they think it means. With just a little bit of word math-- and a smidge of actual math-- we can use Lazarii to show what is really going on with the very suspicious Heavenly alarm bell and see what the sneaky Saraqael is really up to in S2.

How had only Saraqael ever heard of Lazarii and Heaven's big miracle alarm system before?

The word Lazarii is first spoken by Saraqael in the bookshop. The context that both we the audience and Aziraphale take away from what they say is that a Lazarii is an unit of miracle measurement used by Heaven. From what Saraqael said, 25 Lazarii would be considered very high miracle usage.

This is all pretty suspicious, though, as several scenes across the season show us.

For one thing, neither Crowley nor Aziraphale had ever heard this word used before. Over 6,000 years of trying to hide from Heaven but neither of them knew that Heaven measured miracles in this thing called Lazarii? Making this even more suspicious is the fact that Michael and Uriel also appeared to have never heard of this word before Saraqael said it.

They kept saying plume instead-- a word that more described what they saw on the globe that Saraqael showed them than would be used for an unit of measurement of invisible miracle power.

Saraqael only jumped in with the "nearly 25 Lazarii" comment after Michael and Uriel had both already been questioning Aziraphale. Neither of them used the term Lazarii when they did-- both of them used the word plume. Aziraphale hadn't even really heard of miracle usage being referred to as a plume, either, while we're at it. Uriel's clarifying description of "a plume of miraculous activity" came as a result of Aziraphale's uh wtf is a plume in this context? reaction to Michael's question.

Michael appeared to make up calling it a plume on the spot, looking for a word that matched what they and Uriel had seen on the globe in Heaven earlier. Uriel backed up what Michael said to look united in front of Aziraphale but really had no idea, either. This all showed how little the angels in Heaven actually spoke with one another about miracle usage in measurement terms. No one had any words for it.

There was no commonly understood way of phrasing this, in the way that there would be if this was something Heaven had always been monitoring and bugging angels about on a consistent basis. That is actually why Saraqael jumped in with "nearly 25 Lazarii"-- to manipulate Michael, Uriel, and Aziraphale by making them all silently thinking that there was just a word they didn't know and distracting them all from realizing and thinking about the fact that this is all a bit suspicious.

Here's where we might also point out that Michael and Uriel?

They didn't even know what the alarm was for when it went off.

They're the rotating manager-on-dutys of Heaven 😂 and they were like what is all this noise about?! They had never heard this alarm go off before. Ever. In 6,000+ years. No one, apparently, had ever tripped this Big Miracle Alarm in the entire history of Earth.

When the alarm was going off in Heaven, Michael was seen asking Uriel what it was about-- and Uriel didn't know, either. It was then that Saraqael started claiming that the alarm going off was for a big miracle. I mean... how the fuck do they know about this but no one else does? lol

Why do I get the feeling that if you asked former Supreme Archangel Gabriel (post-memory-restoration) what a Lazarii was, he'd be like...

It should also be noted that Crowley-- who had also never heard of this word before when Aziraphale first told it to him-- was not alone in that. There is canonical evidence that neither Beez nor Shax had ever heard of Lazarii, either.

Before going to Crowley with her new information about the miracle, Shax was presumably updated by Beelzebub, who would have gotten the information from Heaven, most likely from Michael. Shax never used the word Lazarii when talking with Crowley about the miracle.

So, at no point did Michael use the word when talking to Beez and at no point did Beez use the word when talking to Shax. That's because the word didn't exist then. It didn't exist until Saraqael made it up on the spot in the bookshop to manipulate the other angels and keep them from figuring out that The Big Miracle Alarm is totally not really a thing.

Here's Shax calling the miracle one of "enormous power" which only could have been performed by "the mightiest of archangels"-- no Lazarii mention in sight:

So, by the time the news got to Shax on the celestial grapevine game of telephone, The Big Miracle that supposedly set off this alarm was apparently so big that Shax thought Gabriel himself had to be involved in performing it.

We also have exactly zero evidence in the story so far that, when it comes to miracle power, any one angel or demon is any more powerful than anybody else. We have some angels and demons that are ranked higher in a bullshit rank system set up by the villains. It's the bad guys who are saying where angels and demons rank in Heaven and Hell so the whole system is broken-- and it would be, anyway, as all rank systems are inequal.

Shax seemed to think that Gabriel's high position in Heaven meant that he had also had a higher level of miraculous capacity and Shax, my girl, you're sounding an awful lot like people who think celebrities and world leaders and such are superior beings here. 😂 Crowley was having a bit of fun with her over that one.

I mean, it probably depends upon how many hot chocolates Gabriel's had to drink on any given day but, ya know... anyway! Back to Lazarii...

If you're The Metatron and you have the ability to measure miracle usage like this, why wouldn't you be using it to control the angels?

Social control of angels is, like, The Metatron's favorite thing. Why wouldn't he cap everyone at no more than, idk, a 3 Lazarii miracle or something, even just to keep Michael busy and out of his hair for centuries writing people up for excessive miracles. 😂 It would be a great tool to use to intimidate the angels into obeying him, which is all he's ever trying to do. Instead, though?

The only one we've seen who knew of it apparently existing is also the only one we have seen be enough of a radical believer to do all of The Metatron's dirty work. Saraqael takes people's memories, which is a form of murder. They eagerly agreed to turn Maggie and Nina into pillars of salt without a second thought. They're manipulative and they'll do whatever The Metatron asks of them. His only edict in S2 to Saraqael that we saw? Find Gabriel. So, all of Saraqael's actions, at least in the early part of the season, would be in service of meeting that goal.

So, here is where we come back to the etymology of Lazarii a bit here and how we can figure it out the truth about the alarm by figuring out more about this word. Aziraphale shared the word with Crowley, who took the same somewhat-correct-but-incomplete etymological path with it that the audience does: that it's tied to Lazarus.

Using the same context clues we have for figuring out the word, Crowley assumed what the audience also did: that Lazarii was named by Heaven after Lazarus, and that 1 Lazarii is equivalent to the amount of power that it would take to bring someone back from the dead.

That sure seemed like what Saraqael wanted Aziraphale, Michael, and Uriel to think when they made up the word, yes?

It's just that... the math doesn't hold up there.

Because think about it for a second...

If 1 Lazarii is equivalent to how much power it would take to raise someone from the dead? That sounds really dramatic when you say it aloud and like it's got to be this huge amount but we humans have medical professionals who can actually bring people back from the dead. We already know how much power it takes to do that and it's just... not really that much power.

And here is where we prove Saraqael is a liar and Lazarii isn't a thing with just a little fun math. 😇

Consider that EMTs and doctors use defibrillators on patients when they've flatlined-- when their heart has stopped and they're clinically dead. If the person can be brought back, it's a matter of one or a series of shocks from the machine to restart their heart before they've been resurrected. So, how much power would that really be and how could that prove that Saraqael is a liar?

Depending on the setting it is put on, a defibrillator can deliver anywhere from about 200 to 1000 volts of electricity on each charge. So, we can use that to figure out how many volts of electricity 25 Lazarii would be. Exactly how much power is Saraqael saying this big miracle generated?

Say we're an average city hospital over the span of a couple of days and we've brought 25 people back from the dead. To make the math easy here, and to go for numbers on the high end to make a point, let's say that every one of these people we brought back needed a lot of shocks before their heart restarted and the same amount of them-- we'll say, 10 shocks-- and that we did each shock at the maximum 1000 volts. (You usually would not start using a defibrillator at 1000 volts but, again, we're going for the biggest possible result here to show the point.)

This would mean that each person here needed 10,000 volts in total to come back from the dead. We brought back 25 people using about the very maximum power we could need, which brings us to a collective total of 250,000 volts. So, on the high end?

25 Lazarii would be about equivalent in power to 250,000 volts of electricity, which sure seems like it's enough for a very big miracle!

Until you consider one, key thing:

The average bolt of lightning contains 300 million volts of electricity.

25 Lazarii would be equivalent in power to one quarter of one million volts of electricity... so, Gabriel simply traveling from Heaven to Tadfield on a single lightning bolt in S1 took at least 1200 times the power that it would take to raise 25 people from the dead-- the level of power that Saraqael is claiming was a big miracle.

For further perspective here: with the knowledge of this math, then how many Lazarii did we see just in the five seconds or so of lightning smiting Job and Sitis' mansion that we glimpsed while Aziraphale went at those ox ribs?

4 bolts = about 1200 million volts of electricity = about 4800 Lazarii.

But a miracle of such enormous power of *checks notes* nearly 25 whole Lazarii! was what triggered Heaven's alarm system? 🤔

When it would take 192 of those nearly 25 Lazarii miracles happening nearly simultaneously to equate to the same amount of power of just the few seconds we saw of the bad thunderstorm that took out Sitis and Job's house? 😂

I'm to believe that Crowley-- who knows when he over-miracles, as we saw when he knew he overdid it and sent the grave guards to Hell in 1827-- checked the Gabriel miracle, thought it was teensy and fine, but somehow it actually triggered Heaven's miracle usage alarm? And when apparently nothing before ever has? When he and Aziraphale both seemed centered and nothing seemed to go wrong with the miracle at all? I don't believe that.

We think that the Gabriel miracle set off the alarm because the next scene we are shown is Michael reacting to the alarm going off-- even if we don't see any true proof of correlation there. From the math we just did here, though?

If the alarm system measures huge miracles, it should have actually gone off earlier in the day when Crowley let off some steam in the form of at least 5 bolts of lightning (I can't remember quite how many atm)-- which is equivalent to at least about 1500 million volts of electricity-- and fried the power grid from Whickber Street to Kingdom Come in the process.

That certainly would have raised more alarm bells in Heaven than whatever Crowley and Aziraphale did to protect Gabriel and here is where the etymology of Lazarii really explains what is going on with the alarm and Saraqael. All of the characters who encountered this word were so distracted by what else was happening that they overlooked completing the word math-- even Crowley and Aziraphale, our word nerds extraordinaire.

Completing the word math would mean looking at Lazar, the root word shared by both Lazarii and Lazarus.

Lazar is from a Greek rendition of Hebrew El'azar, meaning one that has been helped. The alert is not measuring miracle usage. Saraqael activated a red alert when they figured out where Gabriel had gone and who was helping him, which occurred at around the same time Crowley and Aziraphale were, indeed, helping Gabriel together.

The alarm does not measure miracle usage because Heaven cannot actually do that. If they could have, they would have done it ages ago. If they had such a thing, surely someone would have tripped it before S2, and Michael and Uriel and everyone else would have already known of its existence. There likely isn't even a system that is triggered if an angel and a demon do a miracle together, which is the only other option.

There's just Saraqael, knowing where Gabriel went because it was the most logical option, setting off an alarm to fool Michael and Uriel to get them to help carry out their plan. They were in control of all of it from the moment they were showing them the globe with a supposed plume of miraculous activity that Saraqael was likely really making appear seem to be coming from near the bookshop. After all, until this point? Until Saraqael took control? The archangels were about here at figuring out where Gabriel went:

So, ya know, they were never gonna find him 😂 and Saraqael is evil but they're not unintelligent. They had one goal: please The Metatron. The Metatron told them all to find Gabriel. Saraqael knew that the only place Gabriel could have gone for safe haven was the bookshop embassy and they knew that Crowley and Aziraphale would protect him.

They knew that would ultimately necessitate a miracle and made up a fake miracle alert system to sound an alarm and have a pretense for the archangels going to the bookshop the next day. They thought they could get Aziraphale to confess that he had Gabriel if they turned up the pressure enough. They thought they would leave the bookshop with Gabriel in tow the next day.

Instead, Aziraphale managed to best them, even though he confessed to having done a big miracle the night before. He managed to not say that it involved Gabriel, and the miracle to shield Gabriel from the archangels held, even when Michael almost saw through it, keeping Saraqael from being able to see Gabriel.

In truth, Saraqael likely didn't know for sure if Aziraphale had done a miracle at all when they purposely made up and set off an alarm in Heaven. They thought it very likely but they didn't know a miracle had actually taken place until Aziraphale thought the archangels already knew one had occurred and began to lie about it.

Heaven doesn't actually measure miracles and, because of that, there is currently no such thing as a Lazarii. Saraqael made the word up to make it all sound official as part of trying to intimidate the angels around them.

One thing is for sure, though: if the biggest miracle that Saraqael can imagine is the power equivalent of raising 25 people from the dead? When the main group of angels and demons rise up against them, Heaven is about to not know what hit them.

Saraqael's response might well just be their usual go-to:

[mcsm-multiverse-wreckage]

{ Aiden's eyes widened as he listened, each word sinking deeper into his thoughts. }

{ Admins? }

{ He'd only ever heard rumors—vague theories, campfire stories that felt more like fairy tales than truths. The idea that Admins were real had never crossed his mind seriously. }

{ Until now. }

{ Scratching the side of his head, Aiden blinked slowly, trying to piece it together. Was this phenomenon unique to this universe? Or could Admins exist in his own... and the others too? He had to ask. }

`` So... Admins are real? `` { he said, turning to Jesse with a raised brow. } `` Do they exist in our universe too? Do you know? ``

{ Jesse looked up, startled by the question. Her initial reaction was to say “Of course they do, you know that,”—but then it hit her. Aiden was in an entirely different universe while everything went down. He wouldn't have the same history or context. Not his fault. }

{ She nodded and replied softly, }

`` They do exist. ``

{ Radar interjected, gently correcting her. }

`` Did. They, uh... did exist. The same thing happened with our Romeo and the other Admins. ``

`` True that, `` { Jesse agreed with a quiet nod. }

{ Jack chimed in from the side, his tone thoughtful. }

`` Yeah, he's down in The Underneath with Binta and Xara to make amends. Who knows how things are going for him now. ``

{ Lukas, silent until now, straightened up. His expression darkened slightly as he rose from his seat. }

`` I'm... heading outside. Just in case someone chipped finds their way here. Gotta keep watch. ``

{ Jesse’s eyes followed him as he left without hesitation. A shadow of concern settled across her face. She understood why. Lukas had never liked Romeo—and after knowing him for seven years, she could read him well enough to know he probably needed time alone to clear his head. }

{ She turned toward Amber, offering a soft, appreciative smile. }

`` Helping Romeo like that… it was really kind of you. ``

[Description of universe below]

Serial #: L-1291213

Current year: 2035

Basic recap of events: Somehow, in 10 years, humanity has barely accomplished more than they have already. Besides slight advancements in tech, almost everything stays the same. This universe in particular is part of a large group of universes (and by extension, multiverses) who are protected by respective guardians. The Multiversal Guardian protecting this universe is named Lilac. Photo below:

She is known as a hero to this universe to most, although authority figures are either wary or downright threatened by her presence. But, they reluctantly let her do her job because she's the only one who can defeat her rival, Slasher.

^^^ Slasher was Lilac's former friend turned mortal enemy after she killed off and corrupted countless whole multiverses. She's unstable both physically in terms of code and mentally. She's currently in an Asylum somewhere else, but she may make an appearance.

(For reference: 🟩🤡 🪶)

[Will probably do a full description of each of them once they appear.]

{ The group—Jesse, Lukas, Aiden, Harper, Jack, and Radar—came hurtling from the sky, all yelling in panic except for PAMA, Harper, and Jack. They landed with a collective thud, Jesse's phone slipping from her grasp. Somehow, both Harper and Jack stuck the landing, feet firm on the ground. Jesse blinked at Harper, more surprised by her than Jack. After all, Harper wasn’t exactly spry. }

{ Harper stretched her back with a groan, then glanced over at Jesse and Lukas picking themselves up. She chuckled quietly, then leaned toward Jack and murmured, }

`` ...Some heroes, huh? ``

{ Jack just smirked, arms folding across his chest as he watched the pair. Then he turned and jogged over to Radar, offering a hand. Radar looked up, dazed, before grabbing it. As he stood, he winced, clearly favoring one leg. Jack caught him with ease, slinging an arm around his shoulders. }

`` Whoa, I’ve got you. You alright? Anything broken? `` he asked.

{ Radar shook his head, managing a faint smile.}

`` No... at least, I don’t think so. My leg just hurts. ``

{ Jack gave a nod, then glanced over at Jesse and Lukas approaching with concern written all over their faces. Lukas spoke first. }

`` Radar should rest by a tree while Jesse and I scout the area. ``

{ Jesse agreed but added, }

`` Jack—stay with Radar. Make sure he’s okay. ``

{ At the sound of his name, Jack straightened up, nodded, and gently guided Radar over to a nearby tree, helping him settle against it. Jesse and Lukas watched quietly. Lukas caught sight of Aiden standing awkwardly nearby, doing a whole lot of nothing. His expression soured as he leaned toward Jesse and muttered, }

`` Why is he even here? One heart-to-heart isn’t gonna fix what he did. ``

{ Jesse looked at Lukas, then at Aiden, and back again with a shrug. }

`` That’s kind of why I think he should be here. And... he might actually be useful- helpful. ``

{ They both turned to look at Aiden. Jesse wore a faint smile; Lukas scowled. }

`` He’s tough, `` { Jesse added. }

`` Tough? Try rude and stubborn. `` { Lukas snarled. }

{ Jesse gave a light nod. }

`` That too. ``

{ Harper strolled over. }

`` This place looks clear. I scouted ahead. ``

{ Jesse hesitated, then asked carefully, }

`` Can we stop for a bit? Radar may’ve hurt something in the fall. ``

{ Harper glanced over at Jack and Radar, then sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and turned back to them. }

`` Fine. A few minutes. But then we move. Also... ``

{ She paused. Something felt... off. Her eyes dropped to Jesse’s empty hand. Hands on hips, brow raised, she asked, }

`` Where’s your phone? ``

{ Jesse’s eyes widened. }

`` Oh geez—PAMA! ``

{ She darted over to the spot where the phone had landed, scooped it up, and brushed off the dirt. No cracks. Thank goodness. She exhaled with relief. }

`` ...PAMA? You okay? ``

{ Lukas hung back, eyeing the distance before walking toward Radar and Jack. Harper trailed after Jesse, peering curiously over her shoulder. }

(ooc: let @jesses-phone reblog this first just in case they want to respond as PAMA. Ammy, if you're reading this, when you reblog please tell me if you're going to reply as PAMA or not so I can continue on with this interaction between Jesse and PAMA)

[alrightbuckaroo]

Happy Wednesday, everyone! While chapter four of the time loop au is now up, I thought I'd switch it up a little. Here's a snippet from that little something I've been working on every now and then that, again, is not the safest for work:

“I think it might be time to greet our guests,” Carlos murmurs into the shell of TK’s ear.

Despite his own suggestion, he leans down and begins pressing kisses down TK's neck. He can't help it, it looks just so inviting. TK prods, “Do you think they’re up?”

He almost regrets the question as soon as he asks it. If he’s invited a conversation, that means Carlos will need his mouth free for talking, and TK’s neck is starting to get to used to the feeling of his lips again.

“That and then some,” Carlos answers, passively.

He looks up at TK’s response of silence, wondering why the conversation that just started has suddenly stopped. At the sight of TK’s confused face, Carlos continues. “I’m going to wager that Lou II wasn’t the one that was just whimpering ‘Daddy’ for the last who knows how many minutes.”

“You heard it too?” TK asks, his voice trailing off as he rounds off his question, becoming more and more consumed by the way Carlos continues to pepper kisses in every nook and cranny of his body.

“Of course,” Carlos mutters in between kisses, when he comes up for air. “I’m like Peter Parker, it’s my spider sense.”

“It’s Spidey sense, babe” TK corrects while shiver ripples through him as Carlos sinks his teeth into his left nipple. Pleasure masquerading itself as pain, coloring his world with thoughts of lustful red.

“Nerd,” Carlos mutters before sitting up and catching TK’s lips in another kiss. When they pull away, TK's looking at him with stars in his eyes.

“So, does that non-conventional spidey sense tingle when I’m around?” TK's inquiry is filled with a wayward air, implying he already knows the answer.

“No,” Carlos admits as he begins trailing kisses down TK’s chest. He continues further down before stopping himself right above TK's crotch. “But that’s only because I know you’d prefer to call me ‘Sir’," He pauses again. "Or ‘Officer’, when I let you.”

“Speaking of which,” TK begins, hoping that Carlos had a change of heart he hasn’t yet told him.

“Never again,” Carlos interjects, clarifying his stance. He sits up as TK smiles, noticing the way Carlos' face begins to turn his favorite shade of pink. “Not after last time.”

open tag +

Thanks for the tags!

@honeybee-taskforce, @heartstringsduet, @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad, @paperstorm, @bonheur-cafe

@lemonlyman-dotcom and @ladytessa74 :)

No pressure tagging:

@ambiguouspenny, @americansrequiems, @actual-sleeping-beauty, @bonheur-cafe, @basilsunrise

@carlos-in-glasses, @carlos-tk, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @captain-gillian, @freneticfloetry

@herefortarlos, @lightningboltreader, @literateowl, @orchidscript, @nancys-braids

@never-blooms, @reyesstrand, @strandnreyes, @sanjuwrites, @safeaswrites

@three-drink-amy, @thisbuildinghasfeelings, @theghostofashton, @vineofroses, @your-catfish-friend

@welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, and @whatsintheboxmh :)

[halfbaked00q]

Im soooo weak to when Bond is like casually being used or exploited at his expense for some ostensible Greater Good except the situation doesn't HAVE to come to that, not really, and he's so inured and even numb to it that he barely pays it any mind; meanwhile, Q absolutely minds and is very indignant on his behalf and works overtime to like either try to avert or forestall the situation before it gets to the point where Bond has to dig his own claws into more of his soft underbelly to offer up on the sacrificial alter of politics of all tawdry things, or to manufacture a way in which he does the needless "needful" so as to spare Bond at least one unnecessary additional wound upon his psyche.

bonus if Bond finds out and maybe after being angry or indignant about it - I don't need you to do my job for me, Q, this is what I'm here to do - and either Q tells him/lets slip or he deduces that like, this isn't Q thinking he can't get the job done, this is Q finding him precious and worthy of protecting, and like. he's just very in awe of that and does in fact feel very safe and cherished within the cradle of his Quartermaster's regard

[over-eden]

This really is such a fascinating subject!

There's been so many studies, papers and books on heterosexual women and their relationship with Mary but I do not think I have found something specifically focused on lesbians and how they feel. (Granted, my area of expertise concerns women from Latin America, so there may be studies done on non LATAM women I may not know about.)

That being said here some tidbits from the things I have been able to gather from studies done on heterosexual women, stories provided by lesbian women and how it all relates to their feelings towards Mary - also do note that the information provided below is specifically regarding the Marian apparition known as La Virgen De Guadalupe:

-It is important to note that whether lesbian or heterosexual, women that grew up with La Virgen De Guadalupe for the most part seem to follow her not with church doctrine as a basis but with folk religion instead. I am using this term to refer to practices of the faithful that incorporate cultural and regional practices into traditional Catholic doctrine. This also includes cases when such beliefs contradict church guidelines.

- To follow up on the point above the basis of the worshipping of Mary is not so much that she is the mother of God, but the sentiment that "Mary is a mother to all” alongside family stories of miracles granted, to quote the author Maria Del Cocorro Casteñada-Lilies:

"What gives veracity to the story in the eyes of the child is the context in which it is told to her or him. The story is not merely passed down as an event that happened many years ago but is contextualized in what the mother perceives as Our Lady of Guadalupe's intercession in the trials and tribulations of the family."

-In the same way some women thank La Virgen De Guadalupe for a safe abortion despite abortions being against church doctrine, so do lesbian women who thank La Virgen De Guadalupe for a homophobic parent accepting their orientation despite this also going against classical church teachings. 

For examples of this there are some exvotos (an offering such as a painting or other artwork giving as a token of thanks for blessings) by lesbian women (and one by a bi woman) here: (x) (x) (x)

-Lesbian women who believe in La Virgen De Guadalupe also give thanks to her when surviving homophobic attacks, an example would be Cathy Arellano's story "Con una poca de gracia para la Juanita Doe", an English translation is available in Sinister Wisdom Issue 97 - Out Latina Lesbians. While I could not find a free copy of the issue online - here is pdf of the writing I am referring to (x). 

-Outside of that, while I cannot provide too many details due to privacy reasons as these are personal anecdotes, two things I have heard from lesbian women that have stayed with me:

"When my mother kicked me out, I felt less alone knowing that there was another mother that would accept me no matter what - La Virgen De Guadalupe. I will always pray to her."

"I once made a joke about sticking with Catholicism because regardless of origin most other religions will always condemn the gays to hell so I might as well stay with the one I grew up with. Instead of laughing my mother became deadly serious and told me that was untrue. Orientation had nothing to do with whether or not I would be turned away from Heaven. Considering how Catholic my mother is, it surprised me but her next words did not: If I ever felt God was too distant for my worries, I could always implore La Virgen De Guadalupe. She is a woman like us and can understand certain things better."

For additional readings I would recommend:

Our Lady of Everyday Life - La Virgen De Guadalupe and the Catholic Imagination of Mexican Women in America by Maria Del Cocorro Casteñada-Lilies.

While her book only interviews heterosexual women, she does add that she wonders what she would discover if instead the women that volunteered were homosexual. Still a great introduction to how women navigate their faith through La Virgen De Guadalupe.

Chicana Lesbians - The Girls Our Mothers Warned us About - Edited by Carla Trujillo. Not based around religion but an insightful look into Chicana feminist writing. The original cover featured La Virgen De Guadalupe and I recommend looking into why it was removed for later printings!

And on that note... not specific to La Virgen De Guadalupe but to the general feeling of lesbian women and how they navigate their faith, I think this paper gives a good introduction - Queer like La Virgen: Catholicism and Lesbian Sexuality in Carla Trujillo’s What Night Brings by Emily Anderson (x)

(*I do also want to note that I have heavy disagreements with Chicana writing but nonetheless included two works with Chicana themes because I think it is useful for exploring how lesbian women navigate their faith. I also want to say that when reading Chicana writings to be wary of applying it to Mexican women as a whole as Chicana writing is specifically Mexican American).

Also as mentioned earlier my response focuses on lesbian women and how they navigate folk religion, currently I have yet to find writings on lesbian women that worship Mary (regardless of the Marian apparition), from a more strict theological perspective. There are a handful I have found that take this approach for devotions towards Jesus Christ but again not for Mary. (And the few that I have found have been from American or European lesbian women, which for both groups I am woefully ignorant of how they practice their Catholicism whether folk or strictly theological and thus wouldn’t feel qualified drawing conclusions for either group of women.)

Regardless of my own personal feelings on religion I really do wish a study would be conducted on lesbians that are devoted to Mary. 

Hopefully this gave some insight to your question. I love learning about anything and everything, and tracking down lesbian experiences regardless of whether or not I agree with my fellow sisters really is a joy in itself! 

when lesbians decide to worship mary it's like okay but what are you worshiping her for. birthing a man?

[skitskatdacat63]

“Amore et Timore” - King Fernando I “El Animoso”

[crescentfool]

some screenshots from the september 20th p3 reload trailer!

[egregiousderp]

On the one hand: I have something for the sweetheart exchange (valentines multi fandom multi pairing event) that’s been technically completed—though not to my satisfaction—since my first quarantine in 2020.

On the other hand: this would necessitate a whole lot of readers telling me precisely how to safety-tag a fic in which a trans dude gets given period oral while his gremlin boyfriend thinks about the sex organs of plants and compares his boyfriend to various flowers.

And you know…even after this many years I’m not sure I’m at all up to that or know how to categorize it for safety and comfort of others or that I’m up for doing so.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

shake your hand in character ft. flashback joe iconis, cyril von miserthorpe, krampus, the fancy tree, mister macabee, quince, little evalina, debra neezer jolie, flashback joe jr., flashback mama, poinsettia, hot candy, clouds, santa, aunt lorette, rufus?

[nero-neptune]

this coffee shop is playing covers from the glee soundtrack, which is probably waging psychological warfare on Someone. not me, tho.

[elodieunderglass]

I’m a little upset because my husband (stressed out little Englishman, old as balls) had never heard Welcome to the Black Parade. What do you mean you’ve never. Like never heard it ever. You’ve heard it, though?? and it turned out that - NO.

And he said: well i wasn’t an American child during the millennium or indeed at any point in my existence now was I? So of course I had to explain about welcome to the black parade, I mean, REALLY. Really? Really!

Anyway unbeknownst to me it CLICKED for him and he liked it in quite a normal, I-will-hear-that-song-again way and he added it to his playlist of what he fondly believes to be similar-sounding songs, which in context affected me like a blow to the back of the head. Sir; your brain. Explain it to me please.

And he was like wdym. Sounds like Queen.

And the thing is. If you are a virgin to MCR and don’t give a damn about anyone or anything and you’re a highstrung little guy who is not an American and is a million years old, and if you spent your ENTIRE teens in a healthy outdoors attitude of underage drinking and smoking and banging other teens on unsupervised hiking trips while being attacked by swans, and other worldly and mentally healthy adventures that did NOT involve being on the internet too young, so that you genuinely wouldn’t know who Gerard Way was if he leapt out from behind a mailbox and bit you suddenly;

If MCR means nothing to you at all, net zero context, net zero interest, genuinely no nostalgia or cringe or judgement or admiration because you are NORMAL,

fuck me. Sure. It DOES - fuck me: okay. You win this Dr Glass. It does - yeah actually you’re right. It’s - it sounds like Queen.

[shitpostingsapphic]

I want to talk about THIS moment. Right before. There's a TON of people misreading Caitlyn's intent because she's using such a playful demeanor after Vi's sorrowful self-deprecation. To be honest, it's the best response she could have had, and the best tactic. Her demeanor serves as a stark contrast to the spiral of self hatred that Vi is going down, and it's an excellent distraction. Caitlyn is stopping her line of thinking, right then and there, and she does it while delivering one of the most romantic and understated declarations of love I've ever seen.

Stay with me here.

Let's be very clear: Caitlyn did NOT come to the cell with the goal of seducing Vi. Not even. How do we know? Aside from several context clues that come before this scene, the way Caitlyn responds to the kiss is very telling:

See how long it takes Cait to even register what the fuck is going on?? She's literally like "oh. OH. we're kissing? WE'RE KISSING." And Vi also OPENS HER EYES very briefly, to check that Caitlyn is as into this as she is, right as Cait settles into the kiss, likely sensing her hesitation/delayed reaction. This scene is NOT Caitlyn seducing Vi. This scene is Caitlyn giving herself to Vi, and Vi choosing exactly what she wants to do with her, which is VERY different.

What does Caitlyn say right before the kiss? She says, "Do you really think I needed all the guards at the hexgates?" Translation: I left Jinx's cell unguarded on purpose. I want you to know that I heard you during our last conversation. I want you to know that I trust you. I want you to know that my love and care for you is more important than my need to sate my grief and desire for revenge. I choose you.

And following: "Sorry to say, you've grown a bit predictable." Translation: I know you. I see you. I knew you would choose this, coming after your sister, and I facilitated the circumstances in which you COULD choose this. You don't choose wrong. You choose love, and I understand that now. I want you to know that I support your choices, and they won't cost you the people you care about, at least not me, not anymore. I know that you'll always choose your sister, and I've made peace with that. What you want is what I want.

That is MONUMENTAL. That's quite possibly one of the most romantic things I've ever seen in media. Because who the hell has the guts to give up their grief and forgive their mother's murderer, all for love? That's a level of sacrifice that not enough people are acknowledging.

People say Caitlyn never changed, never felt remorse, never grew from the bad choices she made. I say wrong. And this was the turning point.

[garden0fyves]

thinking about...baby trapping d1 athlete!toji, but you can't tell who's trapping who.

(tiny bit of context here. unedited.)

to toji, it's bad enough that you're the best thing to happen to him. it's another that you’re every wet dream toji has had in his life, and if it means ‘accidentally’ filling you with his seed to keep you, then he’ll do it. no one can ever experience this again, you’re all his. he’ll make sure of it. but, what toji doesn’t know is that you’ve stopped taking your birth control. you’ve started taking multivitamins and timing your late night dates in time with your ovulation cycle. you’ve been celebrating his wins with his cock buried to the hilt inside of you, and your legs tight around his waist as he stuffs you full.

toji’s hands are strong on your hips as he buries his cock deeper inside of you. his jaw ticks when your tight cunt squeezes around him, and he twitches inside of you. your gaze is so soft, so pretty as you look up at him. you’re both sophomores in college and have so much to lose, but god his coach will just have to understand this “mistake”. he’s never seen how pretty you look underneath him, never seen the soft gasp you let out when toji presses a fat finger to your clit. and although he never will, he'll just have to accept that toji will be a father soon. toji's eyes narrow when you pull away from his lips to watch his face. your eyes drift from his eyes to his nose to the scar that rests on his lips. "i love you." you whisper softly, voice and eyes equally as watery.

if toji weren't already madly in love with you he’d have cum then and there, shooting you full of his love from the simple acknowledgement of your love for him. but, that’s already happened and toji’s slowly (very slowly) getting used to your sweet confessions when he’s fucking you particularly well. “i love you too, pretty girl.” he presses a wet kiss to your lips before he kisses your jaw and down to your shoulder. here, he bites down to leave the most obvious hickey he’s probably ever left a day in his life. toji doesn’t notice the way your legs tighten around him, only the clench of your cunt and the flutter of your eyelashes as your eyes fall shut.

“gonna be mine forever.” he whispers against your shoulder. it’d be a red flag if the same thoughts weren’t running through your mind. “gonna be yours forever, baby. gonna get married and have your babies.” you purr your words, eyes sliding open just to watch his reaction. toji’s dark green eyes slide up to yours. there’s something new in them, something primal as your words settle on his pussydrunk mind. “gonna be my pretty little wife, hm?” he pulls his hips back just to slam back into your pussy. you gush around him, back arching in pleasure. “tojiii!” you whine his name because he knows it’s true. he’s using your words to torture your poor cunt.

although his thrusts are sharp, they’re still filled with love. you can feel his love through the way his fat finger teases your clit. the way his kisses are gentle against your body despite the pounding your pussy’s experiencing. your stomach’s beginning to flip as your orgasm builds. your pretty pussy’s so loud, making noises toji’s never heard before. you’re so wet that the sheets are beginning to soak. every time toji’s fat cock slides into your cunt he feels like he’s reached heaven over and over again. “she’s taking me so well- fuck! one day,” he begins, cutting himself off with a throaty moan. “‘m gonna fill you up riiight here. make you a mommy, baby. fuck, you’d be so fucking pretty.”

toji presses a hand against your stomach, adding extra pressure so that he can feel the way his cock rubs against your soft insides. “why are you gonna wait? make me a mommy now. don’t wanna wait, wanna have your baby now.” your poor boyfriend can barely handle the words as they fall from your lips. toji’s head falls into your shoulder and stays there—tired and barely maintaining control. “don’t say that.” he whispers your name like a prayer, like he’s begging you to take your words back. by now, your legs have long tightened against his back. your thighs burn from the strength it’s taking you to keep him inside you. (as if you needed it)

“can’t- we can’t baby, not yet. gotta make it to the league first, mama. make sure you have everything you want.” you whine at his words because no matter how sweet they are, they aren’t what you want. you know toji means it. he always does. but right now, you want his child. fuck whatever millions he’ll make in the future from catching a ball. you want something permanent. something that screams that you love him more than anyone ever could. “doesn’t matter.” you whisper, sliding your nails up his back before they’re being dragged back up and into his hair. “cum in me, baby. give me a baby then you can take care of both of us.”

toji’s chest tightens with a newfound affection as the images flicker through his mind. you smiling and swollen with his baby, mini versions of the two of you running around. how fucking gorgeous you’d look being a mother—the mother of his children. he feels like a teenager again, like he’s never fucked before and it’s all overwhelming. he’s cumming, deep and plentiful into your fluttering pussy. you cry his name out, your own orgasm bullying it’s way to the surface. “god, you’re so good. my girl- fuck!” his hips jut into you at an attempt to get impossibly deeper in you. despite the overstimulation wracking your body, you soothe him by running your nails through his scalp. the sweat on your body’s ignored, the cum sliding out of you and onto his cock temporarily forgotten. “i love you.” you hum, pulling his head back just a little. “i love you too, mama.” you giggle, knowing that his little nickname may just be true soon.

to neither of your surprise, three months later you’re posting a baby reveal on your instagram’s. a tiny replica of toji’s jersey covers your belly as the two of you stand on the field with the biggest smiles anyone has ever seen from either of you. your phone’s never blown up so quickly, but you couldn’t care because your heart’s never felt so full.

back to the club!

[honeyvenommusic]

.

[inkskinned]

i love finding out how big this world is. my girlfriend has only visited boston a handful of times, but i grew up here. i told her we'd be going to do the tourist traps in salem, and she said - which salem?

to be fair to her, there are a lot of other states that have a town named "salem." and i think there's some evidence that the witch trials actually happened in what is now called Danvers. but the thing is - she thought "salem" was like, a made-up thing. there wasn't actually a salem, massachusetts - like there isn't a gotham city.

they don't talk about it that much where she grew up, is the thing! and this made me laugh. a week ago she was talking about her hometown and said something akin to "well the museum's kinda like the one in richmond," and i had to explain i still had no frame of reference for what the hell this museum was like.

i love finding out what knowledge i take for granted. i used to live with 5 other women. 3 of them were from south korea. they had to take, like, a solid fifteen minutes to explain their birthday system to my gay math-blind ass, laughing as they did.

that same month, our roommate from denmark taught me the danish word for wreath by accident - she'd been talking about decorations, used krans, and i'd been able to figure it out through context. i just picked it up and kept talking. our entire house used krans as the word. she came home and slammed the door one evening, mock-angry, shouting: you motherfuckers! it's a - a wreath!

and how often do you use certain words, anyway! i am cuban, so i was raised with certain spanish words sort of sprinkled in there; but never how you'd think. in middle school i asked someone to pass me the recogedor - in a completely american accent, like i was speaking english. i hadn't registered it as a spanish word. i mean, how often in school do you actually use the word "dustpan" - i'd only ever heard it in the context of cleaning my house.

there are places that you grew up that you, just, like, know. that you assume everyone knows. there are things and people and "common knowledge" that you have that, just, like. doesn't exist for me. i don't know what you call your public transportation system, but in boston we call it "the T". our train cards are called charlie cards because of a song where a father accidentally abandons his family, which was written because our system of transportation. in boston, most people would snort and say everyone knows that, kid.

i think you and i should go on a long walk - it's getting dark early these days and we need any sun we can manage. tell me about the first time you saw snow. tell me about the stuff everyone knows about your home. tell me about the cities "everyone's been to," about the food "everyone's already tried." who knows. maybe it will feel nice to you - watching someone learn about it for the very first time.