#don't fine women for calling out your sexism

[jimvasta]

On the one hand, women should absolutely be able to wear shorts if they want to.

On the other, men wearing thongs would definitely encourage me to watch volleyball.

[dootznbootz]

Odysseus was afraid the entire year on Aeaea in the Odyssey.

Content warnings: Rape, Sexual Coercion, Sexual assault, Sex Work, power dynamics, this will also be long as fuck as I talk too much. This is NOT a "Circe the Goddess Hate Post". I call her out but that's it. I tried to keep this neutral but still making a point (Let me know if I gotta put more)

Lots of lovely folks on here have written great essays on what Calypso did to Odysseus as it's soooo blatantly obvious there. It literally states how he cried every day and how he flinched from Calypso, very straightforward on how he was explicitly raped.

But I've noticed that a lot of people are always iffy about Circe's situation (understandably so, it's not so in your face.) She's usually always mentioned in the "Odysseus never cheated! He was raped!" posts but then the evidence is only ever given against Calypso, and then mentioning how you can't say no or disobey the orders of an immortal and how it was in exchange for freeing his men.

WHICH IS ALL CORRECT!!! But!!!

There ARE immortal/mortal couples who genuinely love each other. Dionysus and Ariadne, and Eros and Psyche are examples. Apollo and Hyacinthus. Psyche indeed becomes immortal eventually and in some versions, both Hyacinthus and Ariadne do too. But even while mortal themselves, their immortal lovers still remained respectful and loving towards them and definitely doted on them. There are definitely power dynamics at play here but there's some nuance.

Odysseus and Circe's relationship, however, is very different. We all know he slept with her at the very least once. And that was in exchange for his men being returned to humans. That was the only time it was explicitly stated. With Calypso, it tells you every night he was enchanted and slept beside her. It was the narrator speaking but Odysseus is the narrator now and it's his story. If you think he lied, this probably won't change your mind anyway.

But even if it was a one-time thing, (which isn't the only interpretation and I will have points that talk about others) then why did he stay a year? What was he doing?

I'm doing a deep dive into the year he spent on Aeaea based on evidence in Book 10 and then the beginning of Book 12. Step by step, and honestly I'm writing this for Tumblr, not as a thesis so I will be a bit more casual but still using sources. To me, it's very obvious that he was uncomfortable throughout the text simply based on the language that is used. But it's very subtle and not an outright statement of "He's been crying every day."

BTW, just so we're clear, this is not a "Circe is the root of all evil, etc." type of post.

This isn't meant to villainize her. She's an immortal being and in mythology that changes things. Everybody is morally gray. I genuinely think if we were to ask her feelings on it, she'd probably be like "Oh, yeah! Turned his men into pigs! Strange little man he was." I don't think she gave a flying fuck.

I just simply get pissed tf off when people think Odysseus was fine. It honestly disturbs me how often I'll go on other websites YouTube and see everyone call him a whore and a womanizer. It's sexism at its finest because 1.) "MaN AlwAyS wAnTs sEx" and 2.) women can't rape/coerce. THIS IS SIMPLY TO LOOK INTO HIS FEELINGS ABOUT IT.

This is also only for Homer's Odyssey, using different translations. If you want to discuss this, (I'd be happy to! Just be nice!) DON'T BRING UP ANY OTHER WORKS.

With all that out of the way, come yell with me 🤗

I've read multiple translations, as I know there's going to be bias depending on who's translating. And having done so, each one has basically the same situations described the same so that's nice for consistency. Also, there are some parts in the story that are vague and that we'll never have answers to.

Odysseus first simply sees the smoke from her chimney and then sends his men in, after drawing lots Eurylochus leads half of the men to check out the house. I mentioned here vaguely how the 2 immortals he sleeps with are both introduced while singing and weaving, which could be seen as an enchantment (which to me is most likely. They both possess magic and are goddesses). So I'm just gonna move past that. Just take a peek and come back or just know that enchantment was likely.

Next, I'll see people often joke on Tumblr about how

"Odysseus says that Polites is his best friend yet only mentions him once!"

I think Odysseus mentions his best friend, the one to jubilantly go in first, to show WHY he would go through with this. How much these comrades mean to him. That's his best friend, and there are approximately 20 others who are now pigs as well. Could you knowingly leave one of your best friends to live a life like that knowing you could've done something?

[...]Circe—and deep inside they heard her singing, lifting her spellbinding voice as she glided back and forth at her great immortal loom, her enchanting web a shimmering glory only goddesses can weave. Polites, captain of armies, took command, the closest, most devoted man I had: ‘Friends, there’s someone inside, plying a great loom, and how she sings—enthralling! The whole house is echoing to her song. Goddess or woman—let’s call out to her now!’ So he urged and the men called out and hailed her. She opened her gleaming doors at once and stepped forth, inviting them all in, and in they went, all innocence.

(Fagles, Book 10)

In the Odyssey, it's never mentioned why she turns people into animals. I think they were turned into pigs because, throughout the Iliad and Odyssey, Odysseus is often associated with boars. His men are associated with him, therefore: 🐖 Piggy. From what we know, the lads were just eating her food. With how much Xenia and hospitality are a large part of the story, they probably thought they were safe. They were GUESTS. This is especially welcome after the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians. And it literally says "All innocence". They were simply naive.

Then Eurylochus runs back, so terrified that he couldn't speak at first. He then begs Odysseus to just leave the men behind. Odysseus has shown that he does TRY to save his men when it is truly not reckless to do so.

But I shot back, ‘Eurylochus, stay right here, eating, drinking, safe by the black ship. I must be off. Necessity drives me on.’

(Fagles, Book 10)

Then the famous warning from Hermes. I've seen folks bring this up when talking about this. YES, he is literally commanded by Hermes to not refuse her if he wants his men back in basically every translation. It sounds like Circe was warned as well. When? We don't know, but it sounds like Hermes didn't pick "sides" here.

Strange that he was still like, "Sleep with each other" to both, because he could've been like, "Circe, there's this guy named Odysseus. When he comes to this island, change his men back." But who knows, maybe it was Circe's idea from the beginning and Hermes went along with it. Just food for thought.

Now here’s your plan of action, step by step. The moment Circe strikes with her long thin wand, you draw your sharp sword sheathed at your hip and rush her fast as if to run her through! She’ll cower in fear and coax you to her bed— but don’t refuse the goddess’ bed, not then, not if she’s to release your friends and treat you well yourself. But have her swear the binding oath of the blessed gods she’ll never plot some new intrigue to harm you, once you lie there naked— never unman you, strip away your courage!’

(Fagles, Book 10)

But that doesn't explain why he was there for a year afterward! Nor if he himself was okay with it, which is what I'm trying to delve into as he wasn't.

Also the knife thing? She's still immortal. It was meant to startle her. Her dad is Helios. Odysseus would've been toast, literally.

Also note this exchange wasn't a "Yippee! Hermes says I'm going to get laid!".

...just approaching the halls of Circe, my heart a heaving storm at every step, paused at her doors, the nymph with lovely braids— I stood and shouted to her there. She heard my voice, she opened the gleaming doors at once and stepped forth, inviting me in, and in I went, all anguish now …

(Fagles, Book 10)

Another translation by Ian Johnston, (they all say the same thing essentially but trying to make a point.)

I continued on to Circe’s home. As I moved on, my heart was turning over many gloomy thoughts. After I had walked up to the gateway                                                of fair-haired Circe’s house, I just stood there and gave a shout. The goddess heard my voice.                      She came out at once, opened her bright doors, and invited me inside. I entered, heart full of misgivings.

HE👏WAS👏SCARED! The tone is solemn and suspenseful. He was just told that without Hermes' help with the root, he wouldn't be able to survive and bring back his men. Circe was dangerous.

He made her swear not to harm him.

Straightaway she began to swear the oath that I required—never, she’d never do me harm—and when she’d finished, then, at last, I mounted Circe’s gorgeous bed …

(Fagles, Book 10)

Please note that she NEVER promised that to his men. His comrades did NOT have moli in their systems. He had no way of truly ensuring their safety in any way from Circe.

He then refuses to eat or speak, literally "lost in grim forebodings". If he "just got laid", then why isn't he happy? Not many men can say that a goddess CHOSE to have sex with them. He did it to get his men turned back. It was an exchange. I don't think Circe is "Evil" so maybe it slipped her mind. Or yes, she could've thought, "Hey, I got what I wanted. He's handsome enough. Homer never shuts up about how hot this guy is He hasn't brought up the pigs yet. I'll just let this play out. Maybe HE forgot. I don't have to do anything." We don't know. But Odysseus probably felt like he got deceived.

"Hey, I did my part of the deal. I slept with you. Now do yours."

She pressed me to eat. I had no taste for food. I just sat there, mind wandering, far away … lost in grim forebodings. As soon as Circe saw me, huddled, not touching my food, immersed in sorrow, she sidled near with a coaxing, winged word: ‘Odysseus, why just sit there, struck dumb, eating your heart out, not touching food or drink? Suspect me of still more treachery? Nothing to fear. Haven’t I just sworn my solemn, binding oath?’

So she asked, but I protested, ‘Circe— how could any man in his right mind endure the taste of food and drink before he’d freed his comrades-in-arms and looked them in the eyes? If you, you really want me to eat and drink, set them free, all my beloved comrades— let me feast my eyes.’ So I demanded.

(Fagles, Book 10)

He doesn't trust her despite what she had told him that he should when they sleep together. He has figured out that while she will not hurt him, his men were not a part of that oath, the men he was trying to protect in the first place.

She is then moved by how they rejoice when they see one another again. While turning people into animals for funsies isn't cool and coercion is fucked up, I think she comes to see this group as not quite friends but I think she did find them entertaining in a way.

This is very strange but I've seen some folks say that since Odysseus was pissed at Eurylochus for still not believing him about Circe is proof that "Oh he was trying to defend her!". Which??? Uh, Eurylochus was literally questioning his leadership as a whole. Calling him reckless and shit. He is captain and he's the King, he can't let that shit slide. The text literally says "Mutinous". Also if I had to sleep with someone I did not want to especially if it was to save my friends and I got called names afterward I'd get fucking pissed too.

Only Eurylochus tried to hold my shipmates back, his mutinous outburst aimed at one and all: ‘Poor fools, where are we running now? Why are we tempting fate?— why stumble blindly down to Circe’s halls? She’ll turn us all into pigs or wolves or lions made to guard that palace of hers—by force, I tell you— just as the Cyclops trapped our comrades in his lair with hotheaded Odysseus right beside them all— thanks to this man’s rashness they died too!

They stay a year. Again it's never stated that Odysseus slept with her that whole time. You could interpret that. (Honestly, I feel Circe would get bored with him? She's a goddess, she's got more important matters than mortal men. And she definitely doesn't love him.)

His men DO have to bring it up that "Odysseus has forgotten his native land." Maybe they thought they could sneak out without her knowing??? I am fucking REACHING but hold on as Telemachus did because he knew Nestor would well, be Nestor and try to coax him with "Have a meal with us! Let me tell you about how badass I used to be in my youth." But to sneak away from a goddess? Without her permission? That won't end too well. Aeolus in the beginning kicked out Odysseus when he tried to ask for another bag of wind. If she didn't want him around, she could literally boot him out. While she didn't force him to stay like Calypso did, she didn't "release" him either.

We don't know if they've been asking for a long time. Odysseus does say to Circe that they have been begging him nonstop, but he could also be saying that to try and convince her. He's good at persuasion. I think while he knew he could rely on her for food, shelter, and good advice, he still didn't feel...SAFE with her. I think he was possibly avoiding her personally.

I think HOW he asks her to leave is important to know as well.

...but I went up to that luxurious bed of Circe’s, hugged her by the knees and the goddess heard my winging supplication: ‘Circe, now make good a promise you gave me once— it’s time to help me home. My heart longs to be home, my comrades’ hearts as well. They wear me down, pleading with me whenever you’re away.’

(Fagles, Book 10)

Throughout all of Homer's works, the characters grasp another's knees when they are desperate and are literally at the other person's mercy. Priam did when begging Achilles for Hector's body back. The man who literally killed his son and was defiling his body by dragging it around. Leodes grabs Odysseus' knees to beg for his life before Ody kills him. If he saw her as a friend, and not a captor, WHY DID HE FEEL THE NEED TO BEG IN ORDER TO LEAVE?! No one, who is in a healthy relationship, has to BEG for permission to leave. Or to "Break up", if you interpret them as still sleeping together.

And even Circe acknowledges that he is there against his will!

‘Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, old campaigner, stay on no more in my house against your will.

(Fagles, Book 10)

[...]Odysseus, man of many resources, scion of Zeus, son of Laertes, don’t stay here a moment longer against your will

(A.S. Kline, Book 10)

This is probably another reach that you can ignore but the whole "they wear me down", could be trying to appease her. "Look, you're REALLY cool, it's actually my crew that wants to leave hahahah please don't kill them"

I mentioned before how Telemachus snuck away from Nestor but that was simply out of necessity because he needed to go home now. Not rest for the night. NOW. Nestor is just everyone's grandpa. Menelaus kind of talked more but Telemachus is very straight up in "Please I have to go now" and Menelaus immediately got things ready for him. He never has to beg and clasp his knees. Telemachus was never afraid. Menelaus is a fun uncle and Helen is your cool auntie.

Back to Circe! She tells him instructions for the underworld, they were in her bedroom. But that might've been the only way to speak with her. As even Penelope is usually away from the suitors when they are in her halls, Circe may have done the same. The text never states she played hostess physically. If she was hosting in the halls during the day, why did Odysseus wait until night to talk to her? He could've just asked her while she was on her throne in front of everyone. (He did so with the Phaeacians)

Or maybe he went alone because she only swore an oath to not harm him and so he didn't want his men near if she decided she didn't want to let them go. I could be missing something here so feel free to say something. Idk if this was a pride thing on how "I don't want others to see me beg".

She has info he needs in order to go home as well. She tells him to go to the Underworld.

She gave him new fine clothes and put on pretty clothes herself but that doesn't mean they had sex. Nausicaa gave him nice clothes as well but he never slept with her.

Then he leaves. Immediately. Not even doing a headcount as he didn't realize one of his men had died. (That was negligence on his part but he wanted out) He booked it, to the UNDERWORLD BY THE WAY. Circe even had to sneak the animals he needed for the sacrifice. Odysseus even basically said "She's a goddess. She can do things mortals can't" at the end of the book. And it almost feels...Numb? Solemn? Neutral? Gives a "It is what it is" vibe.

But Circe got to the dark hull before us, tethered a ram and black ewe close by— slipping past unseen. Who can glimpse a god who wants to be invisible gliding here and there?

(Fagles, Book 10)

She’d slipped past us with ease, for who can see a god move back and forth, if she has no desire to be observed?

(Johnston, Book 10)

She's a goddess. She has magic. She can do whatever the fuck she wants.

NOW ON TO BOOK 12!!! That was long! GET A SNACK AND WATER! LUCKILY THIS'LL BE SHORTER!

In Book 11, Odysseus swears, upon all his loved ones in Ithaca, to Elpenor that he'd give him a proper burial as he's been "unwept, unburied". So in Book 12, he sails back to Aeaea to fulfill his promise.

But you know what's funny to me?

He didn't tell Circe he was there.

He didn't even go to greet Circe himself. He sent his men to go get Elpenor's body.

The biggest clue that he didn't love/trust her is that if she was his "Affair partner" then why not go see her for "one last night together"?

SHE came out herself and pulled him aside to know what happened and then gave more advice.

I dispatched some men to Circe’s halls to bring the dead Elpenor’s body. [...]

Nor did our coming back from Death escape Circe— she hurried toward us, decked in rich regalia, handmaids following close with trays of bread and meats galore and glinting ruddy wine. [...]

But Circe, taking me by the hand, drew me away from all my shipmates there and sat me down and lying beside me probed me for details

(Fagles, Book 12)

In every translation, it talks about how he sits, and she lounges/lies down. That's not sex 🙃 In some translations, it even says he tried to be with his shipmates but she pulled him away!

So we lay down and slept beside our ship’s stern cables. But Circe took me by the hand and led me away, some distance from the crew. She made me sit, while she stretched out beside me on the ground. 

(Johnston, Book 12)

Then, she gives advice about the sirens, Charybdis, Scylla, and her father's Cattle. He tries to ask if he could save all his men. She scolds him for even thinking he could try. He again books it out of there.

I think we all know it wasn't "love". But I think a lot of people think Odysseus was willing and happy with whatever this was. "Friends with Benefits", if you will. I guess you could see it that way but I will say that makes me feel itchy with the whole power dynamic and fear. I don't think folks who have that arrangement have to beg on their knees to ask if they can leave though.

I mean the entirety of Book 10 gives me the vibes of "Laughing uncomfortably because you don't want to upset the other person". To just grin and bear it.

A lot of this was just putting the text here and picking it apart step by step. What you do with this is up to you. It's rambling while banging pots and pans together.

Maybe you see him as drugged the entire year and still sleeping together, as the moli "wore off". Even then, just because her magic can't affect him, there are plenty of natural concoctions that can be created that can affect mortals.

Maybe you see the entire year as sex work in exchange for shelter and food.

Maybe he was just alongside his men the whole time under her roof and was avoiding her after the exchange. After he got asked by his men to finally leave, he would start to walk up to that room only to freeze and turn around, thinking "One more day won't hurt. Should wait until I know she's in a sympathetic mood".

I beg of you, however, PLEASE understand that there was fear and coercion throughout his entirety on Aeaea. He wasn't staying to get laid. While there is so much going on and too many things that are left vague to really know exactly what happened, it is consistent that he was scared/numb. Lots of people go through with things they don't really want to do just to appease others. There are plenty of situations of sexual trauma where one person goes through something and the other has no idea the other person isn't okay. ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE CAN HARM THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT AT ANY MOMENT!

Sexual trauma is a very complicated thing and while he was scared, he definitely wasn't as traumatized by her as he was by Calypso. Calypso was a torturous hell while Circe was a year of walking on eggshells, as he did still receive help from her and she even apparently taught him a special knot. Not comparable but I still think Circe should be acknowledged. As even Odysseus acknowledges Circe when talking about how Calypso held him captive, as @leynaeithnea and @akaittou have reminded me. Leynaeithnea's addition:

A. S Kline translation of the Odyssey, book 9 Calypso, the lovely goddess, kept me there in her echoing caves, because she wished me for her husband, and in the same way Circe, the Aeaean witch, detained me in her palace, longing to make me hers: but they failed to move my heart. she held him back from leaving - one way or another - he did not want to, she LITERALLY compares Circe with Calypso, - yes he uses a stronger word for Calypso (here "kept" vs "detained") than for Circe, but it is still not willingly that he stayed.

He would not have brought up Circe alongside Calypso if her affections had "wanted". It's wild because I read the Odyssey and kept thinking "Y'all are calling the sex slave a cheater? The guy who slept with a goddess to get his men back? The ultimate simp apparently doesn't love his wife??"

Things I'm adding that shouldn't affect the argument as it is not in the Odyssey but I want to mention as it's a "fun fact": Odysseus' dad was an Argonaut. Laertes probably met Circe as well, (or knew of her) with the whole purifying thing and maybe Odysseus heard his dad tell stories of her. Later myths also have Circe with the habit of turning her crushes (or their lovers) into something with Scylla and Picus.

In conclusion, Yeah, he was afraid of her. At least to an extent. And don't pull the whole "Ancient men didn't get raped". Male victims exist and deserve compassion for what was done to them and women are capable of sexual abuse. If you think otherwise, you are not a true feminist and Fuck you. I said in the beginning this'll be casual and I don't wanna write a fancy ending. You can still think Circe is neat but you have to know that this was fucked up.

If you think a lot of this is bullshit or wanna give more context or wish to yell with me but still know he wasn't alright on Aeaea, cool. If you want to point out mistakes or something I should keep in mind with interpretations then feel free to say so but give text evidence. If you try and bring up the Telegony and/or Madeline Miller's Circe, fuck clean off. This is Homer. If you call Odysseus a whore and not the malewife he canonically is I'll start biting. 😤

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

So I am a bit ashamed given modern day politics to admit that I'm left leaning at all. Even if I'm a just Left of Center Libertarian.

But the reason why is because of the fact that a huge swath of the left has an issue when it comes to words. Specifically changing the meaning of words until they mean next to nothing at all.

What do I mean by this? Well let's consider, what words have been made to mean nothing by the left:

Gender

Sex

Abortion

Genocide

Nazi

Man

Woman

Child

Family

Capitalism

Communism

Socialism

Fascism

Racism

Sexism

Etc

The list goes on and on and on.

Nazi more or less now means, "I don't like you and you don't agree with me thus forth I will bestow this label on you so as to smear you publicly"

Gender used to mean sex and now it both does and does not mean sex and even is now used to mean "Identity" with that was never what it meant.

Genocide is SUPPOSED to mean the intentional removal of a group of people through killing them or breeding them out by sterilization or intentional delusion of their bloodline. (Example of this is the raping of Uyghur Muslim women by Han chinese men and the sterilization of the Uyghur Muslim men by chemical castration or actual castration). Now it just means, "People dying in war is genocide. People not being allowed to chemically castrate themselves is genocide. People being allowed to eat meat is genocide". IE: It means nothing at all.

And then there's my favorite phrase from the left.

"This is a threat to our Democracy" which actually translates to: This is a threat to the power of Democrats therefore we need to smear and slander anyone pushing whatever is being pushed currently. And we will use weasel words normies use in order to scare them away from whatever this thing being pushed is".

First and foremost, we DO NOT live in a Democracy. We live in a Constitutional Republic. Secondly, when people want power as BADLY as Dems and will lie, cheat, steal, and smear to get there, you should be concerned. I mean for god sake, people consider a very TINY riot at the capital with 99.99% of people unarmed completely, while we also know feds were in the crowd, an "Insurrection"; But then will not consider fire bombing the security office outside the White House, the pushing down of the WH fence, and the burning of a historical church across the street, and the injuring and killing of several Guards and Police the same thing.

So basically, it's a "If we are in power, everything we do, no matter what it is, is fine and reasonable. If you are in power anything we do to try to remove you from power is fine and reasonable.", situation.

That's why I don't like most of the left. Because they think they are gods. Their "Moral" is correct even when it never stops changing. Look at their defense of slavery in the middle east all because, "Those poor oppressed Arabs". I'm sorry but what?! SO slavery is FINE so long as it's non white doing it? That's what I'm hearing right? And sadly a lot of the time it's "YES! That is what you are hearing". If time has taught me anything it's that most of the left is a brainwashed, uneducated cult. They believe EVERYTHING outside of their cult views as evil and thus forth need to lie about it to make everyone else NOT involved or not informed also have the same resentment towards the people they hate.

And it was the last straw when I saw post after post after post of leftists excusing rape. And then people like Hasan Piker calling Kids, "Colonizers" while in the breath before talking about violent removal of people is fine if they are colonizers.

No leftists. You need to understand something very clearly. The "Right" you view as so bad and evil are consistent in most of their morals. But you view everything in bad faith. Thus can't see past your own bias long enough to realize the actual evil ones are you.

And understand. I'm not calling EVERYONE on the left evil. But if you worship the left, you probably are evil. Even if you believe you are doing "The right thing" that doesn't mean you are. And it's about time you realized that.

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

STEVE LOOKS AT HIS BIG EMPTY HOUSE AND THINKS FUCK IT

(ft. baby Steve and Hopper accidentally teaching El the word 'orgasm')

cw: child neglect, underage drinking, sexism, brief fatphobia, Italian (like 2 words)

plugging my steve playlist

At first, eating fast food every day sounds like a dream come true. His parents don't allow him to eat pizza - we don't want you to become fat, Stephen, what would the people think? - but when he finally breaks the double digits and they deem him old enough to stay home alone, the freezer is filled with frozen pizza. "You know how to get takeout, right?" his mother asks. Steve doesn't mention that he needs to get on his tippy-toes to reach the tall table with the phone and nods. And then he is alone.

Tommy Hagan says that he loves it when his parents aren't home. His brother wants to be left alone, and so he is sent upstairs and can watch as much tv as he wants, even the horror movies he isn't allowed to yet. Sometimes, when his brother invites friends over, he can even sneak a bit of alcohol. He loudly proclaims that alcohol is cool and fun and awesome, but one time, when Steve and Tommy are alone, he whispers that beer actually tastes really bad and makes him sleepy and that sometimes it gives him a tummy ache.

And it is somewhat exciting, at first. Having the entire house for himself. He can watch as much TV as he wants, even the scary movies his mom hates. (But at night, when he dreams of monsters and demons and blood, there is nobody there to reassure him that it isn't real). He can eat whatever he wants whenever he wants. (One night he puts all the pizza in the oven and plays a game against himself: eat as many slices as possible. The next day the teacher sends him home with a bellyache and he barely makes it into the bathroom before he is throwing up. He can't even look at pizza after that without feeling nauseous)

After that disaster he discovers the wonder that is takeout. (The table is so incredibly tall and every time he reaches for the phone there is a split second when his heart stops and he is sure that the phone will fall on the floor and break into a hundred pieces and he won't be able to hear it when his parents finally decide to call (they haven't had time yet, his father is a very busy man) and they will find out and they will hate him forever. But he always manages to catch it, so it's fine.)

Hawkins is a small town, which means that Steve's options are severely limited. His parents left him three pamphlets from different restaurants he can call. The first is Italian. Steve remembers heaving on the toilet and throws that one away. The second is a Diner. His stomach is already growling and reading has never come easy to him, so he calls without even reading the last one.

By the time his parents return, he knows the number of the diner by heart and is already on first-name basis with most of the staff. His favorite is Daisy. She always asks him how he is doing and sometimes she sneaks in sweets he didn't order.

He misses Daisy when his mother starts cooking again, and then he feels bad for missing her because his parents are finally home! He never really appreciated his mother's cooking until he had to go without. He has vague memories of refusing to eat his vegetables when he was small, but the feeling of eating something not greasy is so good he even takes seconds. His parents smile and he feels his heart fluttering in his chest. "See, he is already growing up", his father says, and Steve beams.

He wants to help in the kitchen, but his parents don't allow it. ("Only women belong in the kitchen", his father thunders. "You're just making a mess! For gods sake Stephen, leave me alone! Aren't you too old to keep running after your mummy?!", his mother complains.)

--

Steve isn't sure when exactly he decided that he didn't care. Maybe it was when he went to Carol's house and realized how empty his fridge is in comparison to hers. Maybe it was when he started exchanging his readymade supermarket sweets for other people's lunches, so he could at least have something that isn't prepackaged. Maybe it was when Daisy suddenly stopped going on the phone when he called the diner and the new worker (he doesn't know her name) got really annoyed with him when he wanted to talk about his day. (He is scared that he is the reason she is gone. That all the secret sweets and fries she would add to his order got her fired. But he doesn't know how to contact her, or even her last name, so he can never find out for sure)

All he knows is that one day he looks at the kitchen and knows he can't do frozen or canned meals anymore.

--

Steve goes to the living room and searches the huge bookshelf with narrowed eyes. (He once asked his father why they had so many books if neither he nor his parents like to read. He said that he should stop asking stupid questions.)

He chooses to see it as a good sign when he finds a cook book in the lowest shelf. The bookshelf is even taller than the telephone table, and if all the recipes were too high up he wouldn't be able to reach them even with a chair.

He makes for a noticeable picture, a tiny boy dragging around a huge book and an even bigger bag. (He had never gone to the supermarket before. When his parents go on a business trip they always leave him with enough food to last until their return, and when they are home food always seems to magically appear in the kitchen - or he assumes it is in the kitchen, he isn't allowed in there when mother is home. He thought grown-ups just magically knew what they needed to buy, but he took one look at the ingredients list and knew he would never be able to remember everything. When he sees a woman taking a shopping list out of her bag, his tiny mind is blown.)

Sometimes he can't reach a shelf. Then he stretches and glares until an adult notices and takes pity on him. They offer to help him with the book or with the bag but he refuses. Father says he is already a big boy, and big boys don't need help. It doesn't count when people just do it without asking. He would've been able to reach the flour all by himself if no one had interrupted him. Probably.

His first attempts in the kitchen are disastrous to say the least, and his respect for his mother only grows. One time his neighbors even call the firefighters. He was terrified when he heard the sirens nearing his house - was sure that his parents found out that he was messing in the kitchen even though they explicitly forbade it and that he was going to prison and that he would never walk free again. Luckily that didn't happen. He doesn't mention that part when he recounts it to Tommy and Carol the next day. And if he exaggerates the fire a bit, there is nobody there to dispute him (it's okay if it makes him look cool.)

(The firefighter asked where his parents were. He said they were on a business trip. Another one asked when they would be back. He answered in a week. The first said he should call his parents, and Steve explained that they didn't like to be bothered. The second one frowned, and Steve asked if he was in trouble, but he assured him that he wasn't. The first one said he should call them anyway, that they would want to know this, and so he did.

His father answers the third time he calls. He sounds annoyed - Steve can perfectly picture his angry frown - and so he explains that he didn't want to call him, he promises, but the firefighter said he should.

"What happened?" his father asked, still annoyed.

And Steve hesitates. His teacher says that lying is wrong, but when he was honest and told his mother he wishes they were home more often she said that he should stop being so selfish, that it's not a good look, that it's ugly. So he doesn't say that he accidentally charred another chicken (the book said that if it is even a little bit raw it can make you sick and being sick isn't fun when you don't have anyone to take care of you) and forgot to turn off the oven. He knows his parents don't want him in the kitchen. They will probably feel like they should come home early, and of course they won't because father's work is important, but they will feel bad while they are gone and Steve doesn't want his parents to feel bad. So he starts talking about his day, hoping to be able to come up with something by the time he gets to the part where he has to explain the fire. Luckily his father doesn't have time to listen to his ramblings and hangs up before that.)

The next day Steve goes to the supermarket, the trip already a part of his daily routine (this time with a list, like a real grown-up), and tries again. He learns what fancy words like "bardare" or "irrorare" mean and that you need to preheat the oven before you use it. He still messes up, but it's okay.

After all, he's got a lot of time to learn.

--

Steve is glad that he wasn't the only one.

And he feels horrible when he thinks that. These fucking monsters are terrifying, he was sure he was going to die more than once. (He still can't believe that he didn't).

But if he had to go through all of this alone, he wouldn't be having a We All Survived An Attack By Monsters From Another Dimension/Will Byers Is Back/The Weird Supergirl Needs Friends/Isn't The Sheer Amount Of NDAs We Needed To Sign Literally Insane/Just Like What The Fuck In General-Dinner right now. He feels a bit like an outsider - which is ridiculous considering his literal girlfriend is also a part of it (or at least he hopes she still considers him her significant other). But he has nothing better to do and he doesn't want to worry Nancy, so he compromises with himself and brings food as a sort of apology.

(he isn't sure what he is apologizing for)

He arrives early to help set up the table, and Joyce places his dish right in the center.

The first one to taste it is Hopper. Steve doesn't blink when Hopper guides the fork to his mouth and he doesn't breathe when he starts chewing. For a moment it seems like time stopped flowing (he is eerily reminded of the first time he saw that monster, the demo-monster-whatever. The realization that the world is so much scarier than he originally thought). Then, Hopper's eyes widen. He makes a sound that would not be out of place in a bedroom. The kids (and isn't it awful that they are so fucking young they are like half his age they shouldn't have to deal with this) stare at him in varying degrees of disgust.

"Holy fuck Joyce, I think I just had an orgasm. I would literally sell my fucking kidney for this lasagna."

The kids look as if Hopper had stripped down and started pole dancing on the table. Nancy's little brother makes an unimpressed "ew." Supergirl imitates him, although she doesn't look too sure about why she is doing that. Steve can't help the small smile forcing itself on his face.

"Oh no", Joyce says, "it's Steve who brought the lasagna". The entire rest of the table stares at him (as if he was the one who has fucking mind powers and okay maybe he isn't over everything like he tried to convince himself he is) and he can feel his cheeks reddening.

--

(Later, the kids give him a self-made "I survived a Demogorgon and all I got was this stupid apron"-apron. He wears it every time he goes into the kitchen)

Unexpected talent #1: cooking

[boreal-sea]

hiii so english isn't my first language and i'm learning more about gender and trans stuff and if i might be trans or something (i've been told i sound agender?? but that feels wrong), and something that confuses me, so i'm asking around abt it… "woman" used to simply denote afab, right? like a body type of ppl with a biological (not surgical) vagina & estrogen puberty. like a female dog. ppl say that it reduces women to their genitals, but what about with other animals? like female cat, female horse, etc, just bc we say "oh she's a girl" or "oh i have a male dog" doesn't mean we're saying they're only their genitals in that case, right…? a bitch is just a female dog, that's why it's a misogynistic word. misogyny is based on how ppl see someone without a penis as lesser, bc they don't have the power to forcibly penetrate and feel genital pleasure for it, they can't impregnate, they're "just a hole" etc. like so much of misogyny is just body-specific. the misogyny transfems experience seems terrible but also conditional? bc if they're found out to be amab they're treated as creepy men, so they then stop experiencing misogyny, they just face usually homophobia. meanwhile bio women (and transmascs who don't transition) have no exit door to the misogyny unless they transition and pass perfectly as male or something, and historically that wasn't an option. to me man & woman have always been neutral body types until i came across trans stuff, and i think the idea of gendered brains sounds sexist af. like gender seems like bullshit, i see me being a woman as just like being a female cat, i don't have ~womanly~ vibes in my brain, i was just born female and that's the least important thing about me, but male society made it weird. why should gender continue to be a thing? what does gender actually mean, if sexism was to be eradicated? is it bad if i view my womanhood as just a body type? most cis people i've talked to view their "gender" like this, as just a body type, like any other animal. they don't "feel" like one, they just have the body and aren't dysphoric about it. they might not always like it, but they don't have dysphoria about it, so they just… are. is that transphobic? i've heard mixed thoughts about it from trans ppl & activists, i'm just curious. feel free to ignore this lol ;;

If the term woman does not feel right for you, but your body being female feels fine, that's ok!! There are many genders that are not man or woman: agender, gender neutral, and nonbinary are options. You could also just say "I do not have a gender, please just use female". That's ok to use for yourself. However, most people do not like to be called "female" or "male" in English. It is considered dehumanizing to call someone male or female if they are a person, because as you said, it treats them like an animal. So we just don't do it.

In English, "woman" is a gender. "Woman" is not attached to the female sex. If a person identifies as a woman, then she is a woman, even if she is not female. We usually say "cis woman" for a woman who was assigned female at birth (afab), and "trans woman" for a woman who was assigned male at birth (amab). We do not say "biologically female".

For example, I am afab, but I am not a woman. I am a trans man, and I am nonbinary. Meanwhile my friend from college, she IS a woman, even though she is amab. She is a trans woman.

As for misogyny: what you described as misogyny is actually sexism. Sexism is based on sex, misogyny is based on gender. They are separate.

Trans women experience both misogyny and sexism, and it is not "conditional". A trans woman does not stop experiencing misogyny if she is discovered to be a trans woman. That is not how this works. She will continue to face misogyny, and it will be misogyny mixed with transphobia against trans women. This is called transmisogyny.

"Being treated like creepy men" is a major part of transmisogyny. It is hatred towards trans women. When a trans woman is called a "creepy man", she is being misgendered (which is transphobia) and treated like a sexual deviant even though she is not. She is experiencing this misogyny because she is a trans woman. If you hate a person for being a woman, that is misogyny.

We don't say "bio women". What you mean is a "cis woman". Yes, cis women also experience misogyny, and they cannot escape it - but neither can trans women.

"Man" and "Woman" are not body types, they are genders. When you say "body type", you are meaning someone's sex, but body types can be changed. A trans woman can have a vagina and breasts, just like a cis woman. A trans man can have a penis and a flat chest, just like a cis man. There are surgeries for all of this, and hormones trans people can take to change their sex from male to female, or from female to male.

There is currently mixed science about the idea of gendered brains. You can find scientific research that supports the idea brains have gender, and you can find scientific research that supports the idea that brains do NOT have gender. Right now, no one knows. But it is not something we get to have an opinion about, it is something science must learn.

The idea of gender is a social construct, just like sex. The idea of man and woman was invented by society. I agree that it is bullshit to assign qualities to man and woman. Women do not have to be nice, men do not have to be aggressive. These are called gender roles, and they are indeed bad. Trans people agree that gender roles are bad, and we are loudly yelling that no one should have to act a certain way just because they are a man or a woman. I want to free gender from gender roles, so genders do not have assigned roles, and so anyone can do anything they want.

If we got rid of sexism, that would be great, but that would not make genders disappear. There would still be people who identify with "woman" or "man" - it would be their own personal feeling of what that means to them. Maybe you do not have "womanly" feelings inside your head, but maybe someone else does! It is not your right to tell her she cannot be a woman.

Many people have very strong feelings about their gender. It is ok if you do not, and it is ok if you don't understand people who like their gender! But you have to let other people live freely. If a cis woman wants to be a woman, let her. If a trans woman wants to be a woman, let her.

A cis woman fits the body she has. She doesn't have to think about her body or her sex or her gender - she may never think about it at all!! Her body doesn't give her a big feeling. It is boring. She may say "I am a woman, and I have a body that was assigned female at birth, and I have breasts and a vagina and a uterus, and all of that feels correct to me". That is what it means to "feel like a woman" for a woman who is cisgender - it doesn't feel like much!! It's not a big feeling, it's just "Yeah, all of this matches, and I don't have to think about it".

Meanwhile, a trans man might say "I was told I am a woman, but that does not sound right to me. I have a body with breasts and a vagina and a uterus, and that feels wrong, too. I do not fit this body, and I am not a woman." That can be dysphoria, and that is how some trans people feel. Many trans people think about their body and their sex and their gender a lot because those things do not match, so it causes discomfort all the time.

Imagine you go buy a pair of shoes at the store. You put them on, and they fit perfectly. You go home, and wear the shoes every day. You probably do not think about your shoes all day long; you probably don't even feel them on your feet. You don't notice your shoes at all, because they fit right and are comfortable. They do what they need to do; they are boring.

When a cis woman says she doesn't feel much about her body, that means her body fits like a good pair of shoes.

Now imagine you are given a pair of shoes, and they do not fit right. They are too tight, but you are told you have to wear them anyway. All day long, your feet hurt. Your toes are being pinched and the shoes are giving you blisters all over your feet. You think about your shoes and how much they make your feet hurt all day long, because you cannot stop thinking about them. The pain is still there even when you get home and take the shoes off. And you dread that tomorrow, you have to put those bad shoes back on and walk around, again and again.

That is how gender and the body can feel for a trans person. It is constantly on their mind, it is something they pay attention to all the time because it does not fit right.

[butmakeitgayblog]

As queer women, we talk a lot about personality meaning more than looks.

I feel that calling someone a ‘jump scare’ is kind of harsh.

As somebody with body image and self confidence issues… I would certainly hate to be referred to as the ‘jump scare’ that my attractive partner was dating.

We should do better. As long as people are happy and safe in healthy relationships… we should support them, I think.

I don’t mean to start an argument or anything. I just think we should be nicer.

And that's a wonderful sentiment to say, but two things.

1. Have you ever, for one second, taken a look at how men speak about women online? How absolutely unfiltered in their misogyny, sexism, sexualization, and pure hatred they can be on a WIDE scale? It's not a few bad apples, it's literally everywhere. I'm not saying two wrongs make a right, but I'm also not gonna sit here and feel terrible for making a joke on my personal blog about pretty women getting with ugly man, especially when I'm saying it as a broad observation rather than a personal attack - and it's an observation which I am not the first to point out.

2. I'm genuinely sorry you have body image issues. I do too. Most people do, especially women, considering the society that we live in. A society that by and large tells women they have to be thin but also thicc but not too thicc, they have to be gorgeous and dolled up but also not too dolled up because then they're vain. They have to be smart but not too smart, confident but not too confident. Have the exact right boobs and lips and tummy and thighs and the exact right shaped hips. Alllllll while pushing this coinciding narrative of 'dad bods' and nerdy lanky boys and grungy guys and so on. Men who literally don't even wipe their asses well enough to not leave streaks in their underwear are made of fun of but get a pass 🤨 The standards are split inequitably, and women are held to standard of conventional beauty to a degree and prevalence that men never are, so if the worst thing that happens to a guy's ego is that some niche lesbian fandom blogger calls them ugly in a shitpost, then they're still having a great day compared to the messaging that most women face every single time they open any app out there.

Just an afterthought as well, I literally said that looks mean nothing in the grand scheme of things AND I said if they're a wonderful partner who treats them well then obviously that's the best person for them, because again, looks don't matter. Please, don't try to police me on my own blog. I know you mean well and your heart is in the right place, but I also know what I'm saying, I think about what I'm saying before I post, and I'm fine with making a rare occasional joke about ugly dudes.

[bookoftheironfist]

Danny: "Give it up, Colleen. Before you get yourself hurt." Colleen: "Over your dead body, chum!" Danny: "Colleen, you wanted this duel and now you've had it. I hope you're satisfied. Now you're going to surrender or I'm going to break your arm. D'you hear me, girl? I really will break it!" Colleen: "You and how many other-- Oww!! Alright, already, I surrender! Hey, Danny, what's with the grumps? We had a pretty good workout and you won the duel to boot..." Marvel Premiere #24 by Chris Claremont, Pat Broderick, Phil Rache, Vinnie Colletta, and Karen Mantlo

I've talked a bit about this scene before in regards to the Danny side of things-- K'un-Lun's societal sexism and Danny's relationships with women who fight, and the way that each bit of culture shock in this early period fed into his frustration and homesickness for K'un-Lun-- but this time I want to focus on Colleen, and how compellingly this scene establishes her character and reflects her pivotal role in the Iron Fist world at this time.

This scene opens the issue, flinging us into a different type of action than we've grown used to in these stories-- not a desperate battle against an enemy, but a casual sparring match between two friends. Or at least, that's how Colleen sees it; as the fight goes on, we come to realize how the perspectives of the two combatants profoundly differ. Danny is uncomfortable and upset; he doesn't want to fight her, he's been raised with the philosophy that attacking a woman, under any circumstances, is forbidden. But Colleen doesn't care. In fact, as his protestations become more adamant, she begins to mess with him. To tease him. To see if she can push him past that mental block so that they can just, you know, have some fun.

Colleen Wing in this early period existed as a bit of an anchor within the world of Iron Fist. With both Danny and her father, Professor Wing, ensconced in far-flung things-- mystic realms, magical powers, epic revenge quests, ninja death cults-- Colleen is grounded. Down-to-Earth. While we don't actually see the Nightwing Restorations duo in action for quite a while, its existence is established early-on, cementing Colleen's career as an experienced professional butt-kicker. She is very likely older than Danny (at least, Misty certainly is). And when this strange, angry, damaged boy arrives from another dimension, wielding unearthly kung fu skills and the powers of a dragon, she takes him under her wing (pun maybe intended) and does something that probably not many people would do in that situation: She hangs out with him. She treats him like a regular person. She likes him and thinks his skills are neat, but she isn't in awe of him the way her father is. This is the same Colleen who refused to cater to Misty's self-pity after losing her arm, who treated her beloved friend as a tough and resilient surviver until Misty finally began to see herself that way too. With Danny, she goes, "So, you're this amazing fighter, huh? Cool, let's fight."

And that's exactly what we see here. Colleen is not afraid of Danny's legendary abilities. She's not intimidated by him at all (she calls him "chum", and earlier in the scene tells him to "quit futzing around"...<3). If he's gonna go easy on her because of some twisted-up moral quandary, fine, then she'll go right ahead and kick his ass. All she is asking for here is his friendship and respect. She has no time for his sexist hand-wringing. She wants him to fight her like an equal. To fight her like a friend. And Colleen Wing is stubborn enough and confident enough to risk a broken arm-or-two to make that happen.

P.S. The facial expressions here by penciller Pat Broderick are wonderful. The realism and attention to detail in this fight (a staple of these early Iron Fist issues) make it all the more fun and impactful.

P.P.S. "I am a woman. Not a girl." Chris Claremont, I am giving you the biggest of high fives.

[legalkimchi]

Sometimes I hate the world.

So I love wristwatches. It started when I found myself working at a mall jewelry story around the recession of 2006. Staring at them for hours, I started to appreciate them. I marvel at the engineering behind them and the artistry of watches. Many luxury watches are hand made by skilled watchmakers. They are superfluous. They don't control time in any way and your phone is more accurate but I love them.

Part of collecting watches is the large portion of the watch community that buys them to flex their wealth. It's an annoying truth of it. Folks like Kevin oleary love showing off their collection of millions of dollars of watches. There are lyrics in songs about Audemar piguet, patek Phillipe and of course, rolex. (Which, by the way, is a nice watch maker but by no means the best or most expensive. They just have really good marketing...)

But that community is plagued with the same issues of any community. Racism, classism, ableism, sexism, etc. There was one time I was watching a video discussing a smaller watch and the reviewer asked "who is this for? Women? Asians?" He was making a comment on smaller wrist size. As an Asian with an above average sized wrist, I was put off by this random comment. But facing that sort of racism is pretty benign, relatively.

I saw a discussion on what is luxury in the watch world. Lots of folks like to wax poetically about it. Be to be honest, most watches are luxury products. Unnecessary pieces of jewelry. To be fair, I think that's fine, but some folks feel the need to say otherwise to defend their spending habits.

But I commented a softball. I merely said, if you have the money to buy a $400,000 watch, you probably have a moral obligation to help people with your money and not buy such a purchase. While some watches get super expensive, when you get to that level you aren't paying for an artists work, or even the gold or platinum of the watch, you are paying money to show off you are paying money. You clearly have hundreds of millions, if not billions, and should probably help people with that money.

I try not to get bullish about socialism in a hobby watch forum. I try to play nice.

But then someone had to comment about they would rather buy a luxury timepiece than "squander it on people who will be hungry tomorrow."

And I wasn't even sure how to proceed. As there are rules in the watch forum that state to be "nice" and "civil" I simply stated that the statement showcased a severe disconnect with our two moral philosophies and out of respect for the forum runners, I would not comment further.

But others joined the discussion to call out, gently, this person's ridiculous viewpoint.

And he doubled down. Saying he felt it was more a "national government" issue and that he felt it was "offensive" to give to someone in need. Stating giving to the poor keeps them poor. And he wasn't going to "gamble on layabouts."

Thankfully there was a block function.

I always try to engage with folks first with compassion and second with the benefit of the doubt.

But there was no use arguing with this vile person. It would have lead to me being thrown out of the forum (which is generally a nice place) and him still being there. Because he wouldn't attack me, just poor people. It is a common rhetorical tactic to exclude those fighting the good fight.

Just an annoying way to start my day...

[justagalwhowrites]

“Love” how you immediately dismissed that questioner. Like no YOU got your panties in a twist because you thirst off the idea of being younger and with a dinosaur of a man. Which no kink shaming. But don’t pussy foot around it. You ARE apart of the problem and DO have an effect on the world around you. Saying nuh uh doesn’t actually change the facts. Also hilarious how because YOU haven’t seen a tag like that then it couldn’t pooooossibly exist right? Seen many variations of that shit across the board. So many authors who demonize aging and quite literally mock older women in their writing. So hate to break it to you but your internalized misogyny is showing. And to be clear, I AM being condescending with that last sentence. Because for a woman supposedly in your thirties you sure are acting like a preteen here. AUTHORS ARE NOT INFALLIBLE. And readers are totally allowed to call someone out for being a fucking weirdo with their writing and romanticizing predatory behavior. So yeah YOU ARE being exactly like predatory men who do that shit in real life. Thanks for promoting horrific behavior and then throwing a tantrum when people say something about it. Also, OP wasn’t rude nor condescending. It just hit a nerve because you fit the mark. Cry about it some more or actually get help.

Hi!

I... don't think you've read anything I've written lol which is fine! You don't need to! I just generally write Joel with a peer because that's what I enjoy. I also understand that a lot of people enjoy other things, which is fine! People don't need to enjoy what I enjoy or read what I wrote. I never said that tag doesn't exist, I'm sure it does, and I - like Max said as well - certainly don't agree with demonizing aging. But the post that Max reblogged from jumped on a younger reader story and said that creator sounded like a predator. I know there are a lot of people who, for whatever reason, really enjoy writing and reading stories with younger readers. I don't think that's the same as being a predator. I don't think I'm throwing a tantrum and, given that my two longest fics star middle-aged women, I certainly didn't take what anyone said as directed toward me. I just don't like seeing people who decided to be vulnerable and share something they created that a lot of people also enjoy compared to something predatory.

I think there's plenty of room in fandom to have conversations about sexism and ageism and racism and any number of societal ills. I just don't think we should center that conversation on fan-made content. I think we should strive to be kinder toward other fans (which, again, Max also said comments about aging like OP mentioned are absolutely shitty) and treat creators like community members, not like the conglomerates who actually profit off this stuff.

[uncle-fruity]

Here's something from my brain:

Telling transmascs they shouldn't go on T because they'll "become ugly" is still rooted in patriarchal ideals & expectations. It's why every TERF is hard to take seriously when they insist they're trying to fight sexism.

What's the ugly part? The body hair? The balding? The deepening voice? The potential for weight/muscle gain?

So, by that standard, cis women with body hair, cis women who are balding, cis women who gain weight and/or muscles, and cis women with deeper-than-average voices are, BY TERF'S OWN LOGIC, ugly.

Oh? Do you think that all women are meant to be frail? Thin? Hairless bodies? Thick head of hair? Wispy "feminine" voices? What are you trying to say about how women's bodies are supposed to be? Do you think ALL women have the same body type? The same standards of beauty? Is beauty every woman's top priority? Should it be?

You know who else freaks out about "manish" women? Basically, all the people who think women are objects to be seen & not heard. All the people who think women are their sexual playthings and little more. It's a trope throughout literature & media to paint strong, outspoken women as manish & undesirable. A trope that TERFs seem happy to exploit for their own ideals. Because if they want to prescribe womanhood onto us, they must also accept that they are unhappy with the way we are living through our womanhood, and think it's reasonable to control and legislate our bodies based on their personal belief about how women should behave & think.

Being a woman is not about how pretty you are. It isn't about what you owe to the people who would rather you shut up and be demure. And for TERFs to use these insecurities that the patriarchy instills in young girls to dissuade them from making choices for themselves is honestly a disgusting tactic.

I don't even care if you (wrongly) connect biology to gender. If someone looks at me, a trans guy with ~2 years of hormone treatments under my belt, and decides that I'm an ugly woman based on the vagina they're assuming I have and probably the tits that I definitely still have, fine. Maybe it's the nonbinary in me, but if you wanna purposefully (incorrectly) call me a woman, then that shitty decision is yours to make. Now, ask yourself.... why are you mad that a woman (by your own standards) is choosing something for her own body?

These are the same people who get mad when trans guys claim historical figures like Dr. James Barry as one of our own. There's no way to tell how he'd identify if he was using modern language to describe himself without resurrecting him and asking directly. But, in the end, whether he was a woman seeking to break through barriers of sexism or whether he was a trans man in a time before we would have called him that, he chose to live a life that is similar to the one many transmascs choose for themselves. He expressed himself in a way that is familiar to transmascs. And I have no doubt that these fucko TERFs would try to belittle and tear him down just the same as they do any of us. In fact, it was a woman who undressed him against his will after he died and exposed him as a "woman" postmortem. We can't say for sure if she'd identify as a TERF if she were using modern language to describe herself without resurrecting her and asking directly, but we can safely say that she's not the kind of person I'd like to know either way. Her mother should have taught her about consent.

If I was a woman trying to escape the patriarchy by transitioning (a common, completely stupid ass take btw since everyone who isn't at the very top of the power chain is a victim of the patriarchy (among other things)), would you mock me? Admire me? Sympathize with me? Tell me I'm delusional? Call me ugly? Tell me I should think more about my ability to bear children with my womb? Would you join me in trying to escape oppression? Would you hate me for trying? Have you decided that men are the enemy, and therefore I've betrayed my sisters in a war I reject wholeheartedly? Would you hold me down? Get your friends to beat me up? Tell me I deserve the violence in my life? Undress my dead body? Tell me I'm crazy? Force me to put on a dress? Force me to shave? Tell me to brighten my voice? Tell me it's a shame I've destroyed my feminine smile? Would you dare try to drag me back to the patriarchal depths like crabs in a barrel?

At the end of the day, it's all about telling people how they should live their life. How they should look, which beauty standards they should care about, which roles they should identify with, who they should be beholden to... And if those people disagree, maybe they're just hysterical mentally ill or being manipulated. Lock 'em in a room with some yellow wallpaper to keep it cheery until they change their minds!

Do you see? The parallels? How, even if we accept that your fake science is actually real science, and claim womanhood based on our vaginas and tits and ability to sometimes bear children, you are still denying us agency by taking away the right to express our gender however we choose. If I'm a woman who looks like a man, or who acts like a man, why is that a problem for you? Why do these gender barriers matter to you? Don't you see that in taking control of gender, we defang a critical branch of the patriarchy?

Sexist ass cult mindset, -10/10.

[moonystoast1971]

HI IM PISSED OFF AND HERE TO TALK SHIT ABOUT TOXIC MARAUDERS STANS

so i saw a "hot take" it was the coldest shit ever like girlie my fridge is broken rn pls bring ur opinions this way

basically they were mad that the marauders fandom now has more characters in it (the characters they named: pandora dorcas evan barty) and that it was now less about james sirius and remus but more about "ocs" and want to bring it back to the early 2000s

TW!!!!!!!!!!: talks about racisim, colourism, sexual harrassment, homophobia, fat phobia, lesbophobia, general toxicisity, sexism, shitty beauty standards

lets evaluate ur early 2000s:

-two ships only ever written about and they were both toxic: jily and wolfstar lets talk about that for a second: Jily was only ever written in a way that was litterally sexual harrassment! you had james sexually harrassing lily every five minutes but called it romantic. you had this girl subjected to years of humiliation and sexual harrassment - THAT STARTED AT AGE 11 AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO AGE 17! like u were telling us how cute it was to be pressured into romance. THE LOVELYYYYYY EARLY 2000S <333333333 next we have wolfstar which was litterally gays for straight ppl, remus was ur tortured little broken boy who treated sirius like literal shit- this man treated sirius as if he was an annoying ass burden, he could never do anything good, he was always treated as if his presence was killing remus. but its fine they were aestheticly pleasing and the straight girls loved to read about them. sirius and remus were ur trauma porn gays written for straights. lily and james were ur sexual harrassment turned love affair romance for the toxic love girlies.

-all ur characters were white: james occasionally got to be desi but that was fucking rare, all ur characters were skinny white ppl. if james was written as desi itd be one quick "cholatey skin" (seriously why were you out here describing his skin as food???????? none of the 4385853959 billion white ppl got that treatment) dorcas and mary eventually got thrown in but of course OF FUCKING COURSE ya'll still had mary as miss lily collins miss emily from paris and dorcas as light skin when she was dark skinned (your colourisms showing babes - dark skin girls are beautiful, don't forget that) but no yall had her as miss zoe kravits well knowing she was dark skin

-your over glorification of male characters and complete ignorance to the female characters:

Tell me why james sirius remus and snape (never peter) all got these in depth stories, all got to have feelings that got explained, lives that had meaning but lily evans was a pawn in her own love story? was used as a plot device? as personal growth for not one BUT TWO MEN she wasn't a person to ya'll she was james and snapes character development. mary and dorcas got added in and were given the personality of fucking sticks on the ground. you treated these women as if they were plot points to further the lives of men AND NOW UR COMPLAINING WE'VE GIVEN THEM PROPER PERSONALITIES?????? my brothers in christ ur sexism is showing, better cover up.

-UR TOXIC ASS BODY STANDARDS (oml this one drives me up the fucking wall):

you will be genuinely SHOCKED how many early 2000s marauders fics i've read where the second its revealed peter betrayed them he's being called fat and ugly and horrible names about his weight. james remus and sirius were these perfect little pretty boys who were basically described as gods while peter was described as ugly and surprisingly (no it fucking wasnt surprising in the slightest) fat THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PLUS SIZE BODIES so why was that how you described him? always just "fat and ugly" what the fuck? STOP DEMONISING PLUS SIZE BODIES

-ur antisemitism: Snape was ur bad guy, so of course your "amazing" writing "talents" had to talk about how ugly he was but snape wasn't plus sized so ya'll couldn't call him fat, OH BUT LOOK GUYS HE STILL HAS A BODY PART WE CAN INSULT TO MAKE THE MARAUDERS LOOK EVEN BETTER THAN HIM!!!!!!! HIS NOSE!!!!!!! sitting here writing fucking paragraphs describing this man and always going back to his "big ugly nose" "ginormous nose" u may not like it but ur an antisemitic. you're talking about a jewish mans nose and describing it in ways to make it sound hideous JUST TO GLORIFY UR BORING ASS WHITE MEN! why was his nose the marauders favourite insult?

-ur general homophobia:

as i said earlier: WOLFSTAR WAS GAYS WRITTEN FOR STRAIGHT GIRLS TO TWIRL THEIR HAIR ABOUT

those were ur only queer characters. james was straight, peter was straight (tho some of yall mfs [2000s remadora shippers] were out here making peter the only queer character so it just worked so well when he was ur bad guy) snape was straight, lily was straight (not that it mattered bc the girl barely had a personality) the fandom was just a bunch of overly glorified straight assholes with their two gay friends who hold hands to make the straight girls horny. eventually marlene and dorcas were thrown in to apease the lesbians but all they did was come by holding hands and say hi to ur precious white men and never speak again

LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THE FANDOM NOWADAYS:

female characters are actually treated like important characters NOT JUST PLOT DEVICES (wow who knew that was something we could do 😲😲😲)

queer characters are written properly they aren't just jerk off material for straight girls

the characters arent just fucking white men and when they arent white their culture is actually fucking mentioned it isnt just a throw in to appease ppl

the characters just have more fucking personality tbh

body types are celebrated not demonised

there are so many different ships which allows representation for so many different people

NON CISGENDERED CHARACTERS!!!!!

redemption for characters that were literal children in that war (these kids were raised in households brainwashed and abused to fight in a war they were too young to even understand properly)

honestly our stories r just fucking better

QUEER SHIPS WRITTEN FOR AND BY QUEER PEOPLE!!

now last thing i wanna talk about is the added characters and the redemptions for certain characters: literally all i want to say is if u dont fucking like seeing other characters being given roles in it DONT PRESS THE FANFICS WITH THEIR NAMES TAGGED theres this special button in ao3 which allows u to exclude certain things - exclude their names if ur small brain cant see that these were literal children who were being manipulated into their ways and if ur tiny little brain cant handle so many names

please feel free to agrue with me in the comments babes id love to hear ur shitty ass old ass out dated ass opinions <33333

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 3-10 & 3-11

[Warning for a lot of sexism and male friends deceiving women for condescending reasons. Yeah. Sorry we come back off hiatus for this. It's part of the reason there was an hiatus to begin with.]

Three days later, the ship prepared by Arthur awaited patiently for Bleu's group to board it.

"It looks really small, for a ship meant to cross between continents," Karin mumbled as she looked at the vessel in front of her.

"It's the one Arthur's team picked. There's nothing wrong about it." Bleu paused before continuing. "Well then, I'm going to give the governor my farewells, so you and Karna go ahead and board. Tyrin and the others should be coming soon. After all, if you're early you get to pick the best rooms."

Bleu pushed them inside, and then hurried off. His behavior wasn't convincing. But, Karin couldn't realize right away what was off.

"Let's go, Karna."

Calling out to the girl, she headed to the ship she was pointed to.

"Alright," Karna answered happily, and boarded after Karin. In the end, she had hardened her resolve to cross to Parmecia with the group. Her feelings against leaving them were stronger right now than her wish to seek out Gong and become his disciple.

And thus, the ship departed with the two onboard.

Only once the sun had gone down did Camallia managed to yell at Bleu for it.

She had been told that they would only depart the next day, and had realized that the two girls were missing.

Bleu was in the same room as Tyrin.

"Was it you who planned to deceive them like this? Or did Tyrin put it in your head?"

Her breathing was ragged with fury.

"I had no choice. I knew that there was no way they'd stay quietly in Rune. Even so, I don't want to bring them to Parmecia."

Camallia could understand the reason, but couldn't stand the method.

"You look down on them. Besides, would those two even give up just from something like this?"

"It's fine. Even if they turn around after reaching Waral, we'll have already departed to Parmecia by then," Tyrin answered, putting on the airs of a strategist.

Camallia glared at him, telling him that such assessment also underestimated them.

"Then, why are you taking Tyrin and Randolf along?" She asked Bleu. Since he struggled to answer, Tyrin opened his mouth in his place.

"I am still under orders from Master Otrant. Randolf has his own ambitions. Men look for adventure, after all. It's a burning fire only we understand. And keeping delicate ladies away from danger is a men's duty as well."

"Self serving excuses. Such an egotistical way of protecting does not really protect people."

Having said that, she gave up and left her seat.

Bleu knew very well that it hadn't been a respectable way of dealing with things. He had prepared himself for the scolding when he went with Tyrin's idea. How much did his honor even matter compared to Karin's safety?

As he swallowed down the bitter taste of the confrontation, Camallia wandered aimlessly through the harbor. Perhaps that was her way to keep her own negative feelings at bay too. Or, perhaps her flushed cheeks yearned for some fresh air…

Were those the reasons? In reality, she was carrying out a happy secret reunion in that harbor.

***11***

The following day, Bleu took the ship and departed from Uranbatol.

Besides the ship crew chosen by Earnest and Arthur, there were only Tyrin, Randolf, and Camallia with him. It was too late to let go of the two men. Both of them and the ship would be sticking around until the end, it seemed.

While the crew was full of vigor and hard at work, the absence of those bright and boisterous girls cast of a shadow over the voyage. Bleu didn't know if he could call that lonely or what.

"If you miss them, there is still time to go meet them," Camallia suggested, seeing through him.

"No, this was my decision."

"Indeed, your decision, not their decision, nor something they have agreed with."

Bleu asked what did she mean, but she promptly ignored him and moved away.

He would only learn what she meant once quite some time had already passed since their departure.

As Karin and Karna appeared in front of him, he doubted his own eyes. Tyrin and Randolf had their mouths agape in the same way. Only Camallia had a knowing smile on her face.

"Stowaways, sir," the ship captain told Bleu. They had been hiding in the boats at the deck.

"You… If you came then…" Bleu's shoulders trembled. "Camallia, you're an accomplice, aren't you?"

He turned to shout at her, while she kept a cool face.

"They braved danger by their own choice to escape their ship in the middle of sea and come back, what reason did I have to deny a request from them? I did what I had to, and guided them in secret."

Bleu stared at her with hate on his eyes as she boldly declared that. But Camallia wasn't one to be shaken by something like that.

"Do we have to go back now…?"

He whispered, and everyone rejected the idea.

"Even you two," he looked at Tyrin and Randolf, who had not reacted as he expected. Tyrin explained that if they came back, the same thing would just happen again.

"I surrender completely. Shouldn't you, sir, know better than anyone else that the result will always be this?"

Bleu couldn't answer that. If he did he'd have to agree.

"Then, at least Karna…"

"Why are you singling me out?" She was unusually stern as she stared him down. "How many times do I have to say it, it is a priest's duty to help those in need and be good. I won't be as virtuous if I abandon Sir Bleu here."

"Then, what about your goal of finding Gong?"

"Once this adventure is over, rumors should spread about a priest that traveled with a Sacred Dragon, and that will be me, of course. I'm sure they'll reach Master's ears. When that happens, maybe he'll come see me. At the very least, he should realize that I've been training seriously."

Karna stubbornly believed that.

"What should we do, do we turn back?" The captain asked with a troubled face.

Bleu had to give an answer.

"Continue on like this. To the north. Our destination is Parmecia."

Bleu told the captain like he was choking at the words.

The girls cheered. Someone's stomach suddenly growled over their voices. Karna's face became bright red. Thinking now, the reason the two had been found in the boats was because of that noise.

"Well, well, if hardtack is fine by you, shall we eat?"

Karna agreed immediately and went after him. The others followed suit.

Only Bleu and Karin remained in the room.

"I'm sorry."

She apologized earnestly without delay. With his plan beaten, Bleu mellowed out.

"Good grief, you're impossible. Always causing me trouble. I told you that you couldn't come along," he tried to explain gently.

"…Are you angry?"

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not."

At that blunt answer, Karin lowered her head.

"Why can't I come? Am I that much of a burden to you?"

"That's not it. I never said that. I'm just, worried. I don't want you to face danger, or sadness."

"Why do you think that I won't be sad if you leave me? Why do you think you won't be able of doing a single thing against the dangers that might come?"

"I don't trust myself to protect you."

Without thinking, Bleu let out his true feelings.

"So I really am a burden."

"I told you it's not like that."

"Then, try and protect me. Not your pride, but actually me. You are capable. If not, you'll stay forever the baby dragon who cried in our arms. Say, don't you need my help?"

Bleu struggled to answer for a moment.

"You're not a burden to me. But, I don't think I'll ever rely on you like that again. Children get to be just children, no matter their race, but now I'm Bleu, the Sacred Dragon." He paused. "Now, let's go join the others. For now, I won't try to drive you away anymore. I'm lucky you're being as nonchalant as Karna about this."

He took Karin's hand, and they left the room together.

Translation notes:

If the content warning didn't make it clear already I kinda hate these parts. Part of why I took an hiatus from this translation was because I wanted to write a sort of rant/midpoint review of the novel to discuss this, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I need a couple more parts first before I can fully make my point on why this one is bad. So if you disliked it too, just wait and soon we'll all get to be mad about it together.

[jynjackets]

Sorry to ask but why did you call Adria sexist? What has she done?

I don’t mind the question. I think it’s important to back up my claims so here we go.

If you watch her interviews, she's weirdly consistent about this really odd opinion she has about women.

Here she basically says men and women have different attributes when it comes to strength and toughness (which is sexist). Talking about her character that is known to "talk like a woman, walk like a woman," I don't even know what this means. But it comes off that she thinks there exists a single way a woman should act. Her character being a typical feminine-damsel type also implies her preference for this stereotype.

Reading through her other interviews she has a very narrow idea of what a woman should be, especially when it comes to ‘taking care of men’ and whatnot. I want to be clear it is one thing with having personal preferences to how you want your female characters to be presented, which is totally fine, preference is preference. But why this is problematic and moves past mere preferences is because she is saying one is better than the other. That women should be represented in this certain way.

She's done this not with just her latest character, but a lot of them.

Here she says her character is a "real woman" implying that there is a way to be an authentic woman as opposed to an inferior type. She also implies that her character is a real woman because she takes care of people. I don't feel the need to explain the issue with idealizing this.

It's again, her weird notion there's a difference between "tough" and "strong". Here she adds that women should 'own their femininity,' as if the opposite is what women are experiencing.

Not that this completely applies but it’s common for women who perceive other women to be adopting too ‘boyish’ of traits, to believe they are misogynists and rejecting their own kind. But this generally isn’t true— and the real issue with this is that it’s actually those that show conventionally masculine traits that are typically a minority and/or marginalized across women. Studs, butches, and tomboys helped pave the way and redefined culture for all women. In reality, they can be considered the epitome of feminism – proving that you don’t have to look, think, or act “like a woman” to be a woman.

It's, again, fine she may have had a preference. But to make a whole career where women are meant to be portrayed a certain way is such a red flag for me. Especially when she likens herself to them.

The rest of her snippets, to be very honest, it's just a bad fucking vibe I get from her, man. Like why would you say this?

and this?

"Sexist," one might say, might be a rather strong claim for someone who may, arguably, insist on a certain portrayal for women?

No, it fits because not only is this "preference" already largely overrepresented in media, but there are several ways of being sexist. The actress especially is exhibiting what is known as benevolent sexism, a more socially accepted form of sexism prevalent among both men and women.

Examples of benevolent sexism include:

basing a woman’s value on her role as a mother, wife, or girlfriend

focusing attention and praise on someone’s appearance rather than their other attributes

believing that people should not do things for themselves, such as manage money or drive a car, because of their gender

A lot of these can be done without intentional malice very easily! It could be seen as a complement telling someone "wow! I love your braids and lipstick, you really look like a real woman," or "my character is special and great because she is such a good friend and so loyal to this male character" without adding anything else. These, no matter the intent, are still very stupid and sexist to say.

I guess it's important to note where I am coming from and it is that I fucking hate toxic radfems. I hate how lesbian spaces drown out studs and mascs. I hate terfs and people who gatekeep identities because a certain representation isn't good enough for them. And while this actress's crimes are likely a misdemeanor compared to these awful gatekeepers, I cannot stand the stupidity of any hint of lateral violence. Especially when you’re relatively rich and famous you have a responsibility to not hold people back.

I can see that for others it’s not a big deal, hence “socially acceptable”. But it’s ideas she spouts like these that are poisonous to progress. The point should be that there should be no expectation for women. You can be anything you want because you want to. It's when I see comments to the things she says that make my blood boil like “yea! I love women who aren't so in our face ” (aka I don't want female characters with agency or opinions or as the lead) or “this is what a real woman is, sensual and feminine” (aka sexualized, long hair, tits, and ass).

I’m not above giving her the benefit of the doubt that she’s just kind of dumb. Like she’s not out here with a tradfem agenda or whatever. Outside of sexism she’s just bad at explaining anything. This is the last time I’ll probably criticize this woman because I already blocked her tag and she’s a flop anyway so she's easily ignorable. I really hate hating on women because they’re criticized enough, but there is a standard to be met when it comes to being aware and respectful. I wish I was cherry picking but I found all these interviews in like a 20 minute Google search and that's pretty damn telling of her career. She's also like 30 something years old. It's difficult watching a full adult infantilize her own character or see people believe she's "just naïve" when you can just say that they're being sexist.

[dervampireprince]

Have you ever thought about doing Sherlock? A bit taboo i know, old fandom and such, but I feel like you’d be brilliant at it. Just a suggestion from having some nostalgia here, non the less hope your having a wonderful day.

TW: homophobia, racism, albeism (specifically against autistic people), transphobia, mention of jokes about rape

if you don't want to read this entire answer because the TWs are uncomfortable for you, then tldr no because the show contains bigotry and the main cast are gross/have said gross things. i don't want any arguments about the show, i don't think you're a bad person if you like the show, i just personally am very uncomfortable with it and with the lead actors so i will not make any fan content of it and would ask for no one to request this fandom again. i can not like the show and you can like it and we can get along these things can coexist.

all of this post is /nm , i am not angry at you anon, i am just explaining why i have the feelings i have about the show which you do not have to read if you do not want too, no hard feelings.

full answer under the cut, read at your own discretion:

i assume you mean bbc sherlock since you said taboo? and if so, the answer is no. and i don't think it's appropriate to call sexism and homophobic 'taboo' like it's a guilty pleasure. i'm not going to voice for a show that is at worst bigoted and at best a really bad adaption of sherlock holmes as a character.

this isn't meant as a mean attack towards you. when i watched the show when it came out i was a young teen and didn't see the bad in the show. and then when i was older and i got more familiar with the writers and uncomfortable with them i looked back on the show and realised how terrible it was. and look it's fine if you like it as an adaption of sherlock or like certain scenes of the cinematography or acting performances that's all fine. but.

but. hey maybe you're saying 'taboo' because you just think the show is cringe because of how the fandom acted or because of superwholock so sorry to burst anyone's bubble but this show and the people associated makes me so uncomfortable and angry so sorry you opened a can of worms.

irene adler's story is adapted terribly. in the books she's the only person to best sherlock. in the show? she doesn't. she loses. and then is a damsel in distress. oh and also is treat with such lesbophobia as the male writers have her be gay, literally say she's gay, but then falls in love with sherlock cos i guess she just hadn't met the right guy yet. that's such a gross narrative. and the queerbaiting. i know that word gets thrown around a lot. let me remind people of what it actually means. when a work of fiction purposely baits that characters will be queer while knowing they will never make the characters queer. so many people make comments within the show about john and sherlock being boyfriends, john being gay, etc, etc, while the writers knew they were never going to make them gay.

also the actor who plays has said disgusting things about autistic people, the actor who plays john has a consistent history of making racist and sexist jokes as well as joking about rape, and his ex wife who played his wife mary watson on the show is a terf. so. i mean she's claiming she's not a terf but she's following so many terf accounts and you don't do that by accident, said she supports 'legitimate trans people' which is a transphobic phrase as theres no such thing as an unlegitimate trans person, and doesn't think trans women are women. so. and the head writer, also has a history of sexist comments but when i searched to see if i was right they're mostly old so maybe he's grown up since then idk i don't follow him and don't want too.

anyway if someone is interest in a critique of sherlock in terms of how it works as an adaption hbomberguy has a video called 'sherlock is garbage and here's why'. it doesn't talk about the actors and what they've done or said, it's purely pulling the show's writing apart and how it adapts the characters and while the title sounds click baiting it's a really informative and well made video essay.

this is not meant to be me saying if you like sherlock you're a bad person, because i don't believe that. this is me sharing my stance on the show, as someone who as a teen was a big fan but then grew up and reflected and more stuff came out about the people involved. if you can still find things to enjoy about the show despite what i've said, go ahead. doesn't bother me. but don't ask me to make fan content for the show.

[sciralta]

I still don't understand why pb couldn't add a single throwaway line of Austin being homophobic if you play with a male MC and male Kit. I don't know if you played MotY, but if you do so with a non-white MC, you get to call Vanessa racist for the way she treated you, pb CAN make differential dialogue potions based on the MC you pick. I mean, even one line could have solved that.

Honestly they possibly could’ve added it with an f!MC and f!Kit pairing too—although gay men and gay women both face homophobia, the nuances can be different, so maybe a few lines between a gay MC and a lesbian MC would be different.

It’s possible they wouldn’t have done this either, because my reason for my suggestion that PB should’ve made Austin homophobic is that his overprotectiveness around MC dating, and dating Kit in particular, makes absolutely no sense when MC is a grown ass man. Kit too, is a grown ass man. So while that older brother protectiveness and unconfidence in MC’s choices is understood smoothly as sexism with an f!MC, with an m!MC, it’s just plain weird to act like that over your adult brother, even if you did had to raise him a bit.

If Austin was revealed to be homophobic, suddenly that behaviour would make a lot more sense. It even adds a new element to his saying that Kit never has a steady partner, under this new lens it could be seen as the straight belief that gays are naturally unfaithful and promiscuous. You see, Austin’s totally fine with that lifestyle (gays), as long as it’s away from him and his house. But when MC comes back home he’s less able to ignore it, and when he finds out about MC and Kit, he blows up and let’s all those quiet thoughts be said out loud, to the shock of both of them.

So anyway PB might not see the need to have to input that storyline with a lesbian MC when it’s already understood as sexism—although there is a possibility for a story to exist where MC has to deal with both Austin’s sexism and also his homophobia.

But the real reason the didn’t or wouldn’t do this—beyond y’know if they just never though about it—is that if they made Austin homophobic, that is not a tension that can be solved with just one line. It was possible with Vanessa in MotY in that one scene not just because we’re gathering her, but also because she’s not a close family member. The revelation that Austin is homophobic would need multiple scenes of MC and Austin working through that after the hypothetical moment Austin blows up at him and Kit, and not just a few lines. A good deal of those scenes would have to be brand new, and not just dialogue changes from scenes with other MCs. And if PB decided to make those new scenes paywalled? Good luck to them. So ultimately while I do think this would’ve made for a better story, I could understand why they wouldn’t have done it if the thought ever crossed their minds.

I mean, it makes them weak but I can understand it.

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

The Them taking out the Horsemen narratively and thematically important for GO’s view on humanity and love and community… but I do always find it a little underwhelming tbh. This is also true for me in the book, but the book makes the visual parallels between each of the Them and their respective Horseman clearer so it made more sense. In the book we also have the Them gathering play versions of the Horsemen’s summoning items.

And no for sure “cheek” was about the “gentlemen” comment. You bring in Brian Cox for the absolute gravitas and you make him do that, smh.

Speaking of the ladies, to your point about Pepper being a feminist but her hold on what that means is unclear… do they kind of write Anathema like that as well? Is it ok because basically everyone except Adam is an idiot, so the women should be silly as well? Like even our main ethereal girlies are wildly incompetent and that’s what spurs the whole story (but hot, important to remember they’re both insanely hot and in love, and so they are forgiven because I have principles).

What I’m saying here is thank you for making a 3+ hour ep that I am 1/3 of the way through lol

HI!! agreed on the underwhelmingness in both show and book. it's more disappointing for it to be eh in the book bc you'd think that gaiman - who has written a lot of quite good children's books - would be able to capture the whole power of belief/fairytale logic idea behind that scene while imbuing it w actual intrigue, but ig that's just not rlly the tone the book was going for? and i like that they braided a crown out of grass and got a stick sword and everything! and that wensley swung the play scales around like a weapon it's a fun visual!

THANKS FOR THE CONFIRMATION. he literally made death sexist. he made DEATH sexist. that wasn't even in the book he just wanted to make death sexist. DEATH!!!!!!!!!! spn-ass writing (i don't even know if death is sexist in spn but uriel feels sexist sometimes and it's like. that is an entire angel who hates humanity and the earth so so much that he actually wouldn't develop an understanding of gender or the patriarchy imo)

yeah, i do think anathema is written similarly to pepper regarding her beliefs- she feels them very strongly but some are misguided or based on misinfo. it does make sense that everyone's incompetent bc i think gomens is about how it's not the best of humanity who save the world, it's some cringefail weirdos with a passion for something and who are trying, which is quite nice! but it does feel different when wensley's quirk is saying "actually" a lot and pepper's is... being a feminist? like everything is political but anathema and pepper's things are more directly political. and it is perfectly fine to make fun of feminists/lefties who don't rlly know their shit through specific instances of character writing if the show at large still values feminism and leftism, but given how the women are written (also HE MADE DEATH SEXIST????) and the things grey and i mentioned about the use of north africa in ep 2, gomens also falls short there. it's all a mixed bag though - obv pepper's "i do not endorse everyday sexism" is part of her Hero Moment, so we are supposed to admire her for her beliefs there, but we're clearly supposed to laugh at "another deluded victim of the patriarchy" and the did-you-just-assume-my-gender-esque exchange during the bike convo in ep 1. and obv you don't have to Make An Unambiguous Statement through clapping and cheering every time one specific char says things, but when you make one character The Feminism Character, it does feel like you're making a statement even in places you aren't. but again, this rlly would all be fine and forgotten if the women were written better

damn that got long but i loveee that you called aziraphale and crowley "our main ethereal girlies." they rlly rlly are. and thank YOU for this ask!!! it was a joy to answer <3

- Crystal :)