#follow for more banger tweets

[vixonimus]

jesus should have compared himself to a harder to make bread with how long it took him to rise

[aleksjeojuice]

live from the tour bus

[vaunteir]

bgc is so gay/aroace hostility

[almonki]

nottemdude :

[angomay]

can’t believe sifloop invented yaouri

[aev1tern1ty]

I am bisexual sollux in evil parody stuck twitter and it’s a blast

[hwashitape]

since this post is back in my notes can y'all stream Seventeen

lungs, kidney, heart

[spohkh]

you cant even tell zionists to kill themselves anymore. because of woke

[5fingerpickz]

WHAT???

oh my god... what the flip i literally 💥

[ninjawitdaddyissues]

15 years of Dan & Phil - Major Arcana

It struck me that there has been 15 years since Dan and Phil met and my little goose brain connected that to the devil card number 15 (symbolised in dnpcrafts video) and so now you get a large post of me analysing year by year dnp in the major arcana.

DISCLAIMER: this is just for fun and because i am a silly jester who needed to feel joy while on video call with a friend. do not take any of this seriously, i am just a goofy guy with an internet connection and too much time.

The Fool - 0

we start at the fool, 2009.

"The Fool is young and vulnerable. He has not yet experienced the ups and downs of life, leaving him unaware of the magnitude of life's challenges, as well as the potential he holds. When The Fool comes up in a Tarot reading, you are encouraged to take on his open, willing energy and embrace all that lies ahead of you without worry."

The year dnp meet. The start of the journey. The fool is considered the main character of the Major arcana journey. Thus Dan and Phil are the main characters of this story, their story.

Both unaware of what the future holds for them, their life™ was only just at conception. I feel like this one is very self explanatory in context of them just having met, we as the audience are just introduced to the concept of Dan and Phil.

The fool energy (open, willing) is especially evident in videos like PINOF 1 and The Interactive Christmas Adventure where their silliness, and creativity really shine. This is an era of open, easy (almost naive) energy.

The Magician - 1

The year is 2010...

"The Magician card is a reminder that you are unique and have many gifts. These skills set you apart from the crowd and can help you begin new projects or overcome adversity. When The Magician comes up in your Tarot reading, it's a reminder that you already hold everything you need to move forward and accomplish what you've set out to do."

The year of Dan moving to Manchester and starting his Law Degree and Phil getting his flat in Manchester, PINOF2, Jamaica trip, and the conception of the forbidden video. We also have creative bangers such as "the inflatable lion of destiny", 'Blindfolded Catface Game', 'Dan and Phil get down' and 'The TREE'.

The boys are creating core parts of the Dan and Phil universe without knowing it. Together they have all the ingredients needed (see in the card imagery; the wand, cup, pentacle and sword) to create a fanbase and a successful career.

The High Priestess - 2

2011 baybeeeeee

"The most intuitive, connected card in the whole Tarot deck, The High Priestess is a card of awareness. This card urges you to listen to your inner voice and follow your instincts. Your mind knows far more than you think. When this card arises in your Tarot reading, stop looking for answers in the outside world. Turn within for the guidance you seek."

We have the Manchester apartment™, PINOF 3, the forbidden video leak and the first radio show. The relation to this, to me, really comes up in the forbidden video response. Having to turn inwards, the boys became insular, guarded and a wall was really put up between them and the audience to protect themselves. We can't speak to exactly what was happening for them internally and only make our assumptions based on what they outwardly expressed at the time.

The Empress - 3

2012

"The Empress is the most feminine card in the Tarot, and greatly encourages compassion, beauty, and love. She is deeply connected to Mother Nature, and her influence is powerful when you absorb the energy of the natural world around you."

"This supreme archetype of femininity also symbolizes fertility. It is The Empress who provides us nourishment and security. She is also sometimes seen as delighting us with flowers and fruit."

We have entered younow era. They also move to London this year, Dan officially drops out of uni, we get PINOF 4 and a second radio show. We also have the iconic tweet 'FYI i like vagina'. This year is known for being a difficult year in the Phandom. It has a reputation for 'no homo howell' and generally the boys being more reserved and insular with what and how they shared their lives.

In relation to The Empress card I think we can draw particularly on security. We know they had a stalking problem at the London apartment - a threat to their physical security, fans being hectic about their sexualities (particularly Dan) - a threat to their privacy. We also have Dan getting an influx of 'are you gay' on younow and having to reassert his ' straightness' lends itself to the femininity of this card. He had to play straight in order to keep himself safe. This card being for 2012 when we know they really withdrew from sharing themselves with us is quite the oxymoron but despite the withdrawing of their sharing with the audience we know they still had great success (got their flowers) in the coming years.

The Emperor - 4

2013

"The Emperor is a card of leadership and power. He is an authoritative force who has been through many experiences to achieve this status. He represents structure and solidity, and reminds you that you, too, hold immense amounts of power over your own life, and what happens to it."

THE BRITISH VLOGGER BOOM IS UPON US. The boys have gone through some shit™ at this point and are starting to establish themselves as Entertainers. They are on the grind, they are moving in the direction of establishing themselves as entertainers/presenters in the mainstream space marked by the beginning of the request radio show. Their Youtube numbers climb as does their power in the online world. As for them holding power over their own lives, I know Dan has mentioned not feeling in control of things like his audience at this point. But I think this card speaks to them really gaining control over their future career wise as a duo - even if they didn't fully see themselves as such yet.

We also have the Charlie Skies twitter fiasco this year - another threat to their privacy. Through this Dan in particular had to trust in the power he had over his own narrative in redirecting attention and deflecting Charlie's online attacks. He blocked him and protected his peace and as a result not a whole lot of the phandom knows about this beef. Dan and Phil are nothing if not good at diversion, distraction and hiding things from the internet (good for them).

The Hierophant - 5

2014

"The Hierophant is like a messenger from the heavens. He is experienced in spirituality and guidance, and his job is to bring these lessons down to us here in the real world. When The Hierophant comes up in your Tarot reading, you're encouraged to follow the rules, and to find a spiritual perspective on your current situation."

"Before him kneel two followers. The Hierophant’s task is to pass down his spiritual wisdom and initiate the two into the church so they can take up their appointed roles. This imagery speaks to a shared group identity and a rite of passage to enter the next level. The crossed keys at The Hierophant’s feet represent the balance between the conscious and subconscious minds and the unlocking of mysteries, which only he can teach."

This year brings us the first Brit awards hosting, the radio show transitioning to the Internet Takeover, Dan and Phil Games and the channels continuing to grow. This card in particular I think relates to them and their relation to the BBC. In this card they are the two people in front of the Hierophant, learning and having knowledge bestowed upon them. This was a year of developing their careers into a new phase of mainstream TV palatability. Dan and Phil are stepping into previously unchartered spaces for just a couple of guys on the internet.

The Lovers - 6

2015

"The Lovers card represents the close relationships in your life. If it comes up in your Tarot reading, your love life is in need of extra attention. However, this is just as much a card about your values and decisions. You may find The Lovers come up when you are at a crossroads. Consider all the possible consequences of your choices."

Significant events this year include; TABINOF, TATINOF, Dan and Phil crafts, Japhan part 1, Brit Awards hosting and the channels growing. Japhan happening this year with the lovers card showing up is very sweet. Dan and Phil knew they had big events coming up for them in their lives so they carved out space for them to enjoy existing together by going to Japan.

We also know that at this point Dan and Phil were looking to move on from the TV Host type of space they found themselves in with the BBC. A crossroads of where they wanted to take the world of Dan and Phil™ . That gave way to TABINOF and TAINOF, stepping into an unknown space of Youtubers doing stuff in the real world once again. Phil mentioned in his video, 'Draw my LIfe 2' that they really had to trust that this was the correct move for them. A crossroads where they had to consider the consequences when investing their money into TABINOF and TATNIOF.

The Chariot - 7

2016

"The Chariot card is connected to your natural drive and determination, and can indicate an upcoming victory. This card reminds you that your greatest successes won't come through limited thinking -- when you combine the knowledge of your mind with that of your heart and spirit, you are an unstoppable force."

This year brought alot of reaping on benefits of putting trust in the crossroads that the Lovers card presented. We see the end of the Internet Takeover, the final Brit Awards hosting and the end of the TATINOF era. They combined their mind, heart and spirit and came out successful, winning 4 awards this year and having the huge success of TATINOF. They didn't allow themselves to be limited (by the BBC) and they succeeded. So, if they could achieve a world tour and a best selling book on their own... well what could come next??

Strength - 8

2017

"The Strength card represents courage, the fortitude of your heart, and your ability to withstand anything life hands you. If this card arises in your Tarot reading, you are reminded that you're strong enough to handle whatever you are facing and will come out of it with even more power than you had before."

This year, the boys move to their new London apartment (the fake apartment), Interactive Introverts is announced, Dan goes curly and the end of danisnotonfire branding.

We know from the video 'Dan and Phil Finally Tell the Truth' that Dan had begun to realise he couldn't stay in the closet any longer, which led to his mini breakdown on the balcony. He stated that he was worried if they went on tour with introverts he was going to have a very public meltdown. We also got the video 'Daniel and Depression'. Between the two of these things we can see how the strength card really came into play this year.

Phil has also talked about how they didn't know how they were going to get everything done this year. With Introverts tour looming, they were inundated with work and they really had to grin and bare through it. They had to trust their strength as a duo that they would come through this time together.

The Hermit - 9

2018

"The Hermit yearns to be alone. He knows that the only way to process what is happening in life is to withdraw from the noise of the world and create a quiet space of solitude. When The Hermit comes up in your reading, the answers you need will come from within. Be very still, and listen..."

This year is the year of the Interactive Introverts tour, the final PINOF, the gaming channel hiatus and Dan's video 'trying to live my truth'. The Hermit coming up in a year of them going into hiatus, is just very nail on the god damn head. I mean what card could be more relevant? It seems so self explanatory, I don't even know what to say.

The boys had to turn inward once again to assess where to go next in their careers. They talk about pausing to take stock of what they have done and where they will go.

Dan took a huuuuuge step back to go inwards and process everything he had been holding in and pushing through in the previous years as they were so busy with their career building. This was a year where they gave themselves permission to slow down and finally look inward for where to go next. This introversion beginning is seen at the start of 2018 in Dan's 'Trying to Live My Truth' video.

We also have Phil with his dizzy spells during this year meaning there was less amazingphil content. This could also be seen as an introversion. He had to slow down his public career of take care of himself and focus on his health.

The Wheel of Fortune - 10

2019

"The Wheel of Fortune is constantly revolving -- sometimes you will be at the top, and sometimes you will be at the bottom. This Tarot card reminds you that nothing is permanent, and, good or bad, you must cherish the lessons that this moment is bringing you."

"Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point"

Bare with me while I desperately try to refrain from top and bottom jokes due to the concision of the wheel of fortune card and dnp coming out in the same year. But truly this card represents a turning point and a destiny fulfilment. If BIG and COTY are not a destiny fulfilment and turning point then I don't know what is! The boys are living their truth, they are moving into a new era.

Justice - 11

2020

"Justice is your firm-but-fair reminder that there is a consequence for every action. Whatever life is handing you at this moment comes from decisions you and others have made in the past, reflecting natural cause-and-effect. When this card comes up in your Tarot reading, make sure you are acting fairly in all your interactions with others."

Libra card!!!! This year we have covid hitting, a quiet year for content all round. We have the stereo shows starting up at the end of the year along with the phouse announcement. This year also featured Steve the pigeon (pigeon fest/rescuing a pigeon video).

When we look at cause and effect, the phouse is what comes to mind. They worked themselves so hard in the years previous and they were able to buy and design their forever home. The cause and effect of them coming out is also seen in their ability to be open with the audience that they are continuing to not only live together but purchase and build property together. If they had not come out, things like buying a house together would've raised so many more questions and possibly caused more issues for them and their privacy (fan speculation). This new era really hinged on them coming out and setting themselves up as an ambiguous couple. In this case the cause and effect really benefitted them.

The Hanged Man - 12

2021

"The Hanged Man tells you that sometimes small sacrifices are required to benefit the bigger picture. When The Hanged Man arises in your reading, you likely want to make a move but don't know where to begin. Lightening your grip on what's no longer working for you, or detaching from the outcome of your situation, can help you release yourself."

This year gives us the first joint video since 2018 in the form of 'something we want to tell you'. This marks Dan's return to being perceived online. Subsequently we have the book release in May, YWGTTN, and they move into the somewhat uncompleted phouse.

We get many iconic videos this year showing a shift in their on camera dynamic - a loosening grip on the wall they built up with the audience during the early years. They let us in on alot more of those moments that drive us absolutely insane, the smiles were off the charts and we started eating good again. They have begun trusting the audience with more of their authentic selves and silly dynamic. In Phil's recent video where he looks at old profile pics, he talks fondly about the silly icon pic from him and Dan during lockdown.

I think the sentiment of no longer caring what people think is really echoed in this years content. The boys are self assured and care less about what people have to say because they are successful and have nothing to hide.

The hanged man is shown in this loosening grip on hiding parts of themselves and allowing themselves to trust the audience more knowing that whatever the outcome they have each other and that in enough.

Death - 13

2022

"One of the most misunderstood Tarot cards, Death is not a card about physical death. The Death card speaks of cycles and is a reminder that all things must pass. Hanging on to situations from the past will hinder you from allowing new, better things to enter your life. In every ending lies a chance for a new beginning."

wad year/DD/wiqy

What can I say. Death card for WAD year? It just makes sense. A year where Dan and Phil spent the most time apart since they met in 2009, taking a break from the cycle of their everyday life.

We also got Dan's WIQY video, again reflecting on the last few years and essentially announcing his burn out. Giving up on being Youtube's 'golden boy' by speaking his mind about how he was effected by circumstances beyond his control.

Then we have WAD. The show being reflective of his past and the future for the earth. This year truly felt like a rebirth for Dan specifically. He was back on the internet, Dystopia Daily, being able to openly make gay jokes. He went back out into the world and found meaning in existence again. And once that meaning was obtained, he went back to Phil. A new beginning in how they both show up online, unapologetically themselves.

Temperance - 14

2023

"The Temperance card is a master of moderation. She encourages peace and patience, and reminds you to go with the flow of your life instead of trying to force its pace or direction. When Temperance turns up in your Tarot reading, it is a message to take things as they come, and remain flexible enough to change with the changes."

2023 brought us more DD, end of WAD, The 3rd Japhan trip, the Phude, and the return of the gaming channel.

This is a year of things slowly going back to routine for DnP. Dan comes back from tour, they go on holiday to Japan. Up until the gaming channel coming off hiatus 2023 was seemingly a chill flux and flow for dnp. The flow (this is a water heavy card) of their life returned to normal.

While DnP certainly didn't make this comeback with moderation (leaping straight into spooky week and then gamingmas as well as merch drops) they wouldn't have come back without a serious plan to keep their workaholic tendency's in check.

The Devil - 15

2024

"The Devil card carries themes of restraint and powerlessness. When it comes up in your Tarot reading, you are likely feeling stuck. The Devil has convinced you that you have no options, but this couldn't be further from the truth. You hold the keys to your own freedom, but it's up to you to open the lock."

So we all know the crafty video from this year has direct symbolism to the devil card. There have been many great analyses between the two so I won't go into that as much here. But what I will say is that I see this card for this year as an unshackling of themselves. We see them far more open and willing to trust the audience to be in on the joke rather than and us vs. them situation of the 2012 era. So rather than them feeling stuck I believe this symbolises them no longer being stuck and stepping into their most honest selves while still maintaining their boundaries.

That concludes my wee dive into dnp lore and how it relates to the major arcana. I am not someone with a huge amount of knowledge on tarot (just a wee bit from my own experience of doing a card read every so often but certainly not someone who has ever studied tarot), so if you are big on tarot absolutely chime in and add to this!! I am also so sure I missed dnp lore but hey I did what I could! Also big ty to @boardgamedanny for being on video call with me for 2 days in a row to suggest things and pipe in and also distract me horrendously. Also biiig thanku to my friend, Peter, who isn't on here but sparked this whole thing, with their tarot knowledge and my dnp brain encyclopedia.

now sources!!

[hypwriter]

Doing The Thing

Whoooooo... well, it's been a while since I last wrote anything here, so allow me to kinda reintroduce myself here on my blog for anyone who actually still follows me or cares. After multiple reincarnations and evolutions and maturing into what I want to be here, I've been looking to push myself to do the thing more and more. I say "do the thing" in reference to a poem I heard, and it stuck with me. "The only thing that's doing the thing is doing the thing." I've written a number of stories for individuals over the years, but they remain tucked away on Google docs. That's lovely because I can choose who has access, but that's hardly being a writer if only 3 people actually read my stories. Well, I'm gonna try to do the thing now, and whether I'll be successful or not, time will tell. I'm making this a public post here because I want some level of accountability, and saying this here will hopefully do that for me.

@ellaenchanting has over the past 4-5 years put out whole collections of writing and recordings every November time, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. Below are simply all of her prompts during her HYPNOvembers (organized in an excel spreadsheet because I'm a geek that way), and I encourage anyone interested in writing on their own to take a look at her prompts, and potentially attempt to do a little writing yourself as well. Do the thing.

I'm going to attempt to do the thing, and maybe afterward, if I've got a decent library of stories, maybe I'll put them up somewhere. I'm unsure of the next steps after I do the thing, but first off, I need to do the thing. I've got friends to keep me accountable, and I've got 22+ stories on the docket to get through, so hopefully, I can accomplish SOMETHING.

Poem about doing the thing below the break.

https://strangestloop.io/essays/things-that-arent-doing-the-thing

Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Scheduling time to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Making a to-do list for the thing isn't doing the thing.

Telling people you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Writing a banger tweet about how you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Fantasizing about all of the adoration you'll receive once you do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Reading about how to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading this essay isn't doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

[vixonimus]

i guess you could say they. fell for each other. follow for more banger tweets

[god-breast-america]

Hit tweet follow for more bangers

[starfieldcanvas]

SUSPICION POLITICS vs SOLIDARITY POLITICS.

i was going through my old twitter bookmarks in anticipation of deleting all my activity from my old politics account and i found this absolute banger of a thread from may peterson (which WAS originally public, it's just private now because every sane person is privatizing all their old twitter shit.)

if you've been frustrated (on either side!) by the talk about reaching out to men to counter their radicalization, you should 100% read this thread so you can start to see the parallels with other problems in social justice movements.

transcript below the cut

a series of tweets from May Peterson, username maidensblade on twitter. (for context, may peterson is a trans woman.)

seeing discussion of what defines TERF rhetoric, which is a good place to practice distinguishing between what an ideology PROFESSES vs what it DOES Misandry is often seen as the core of TERFism, but this lacks explanatory power and can lead us to miss a deeper issue 🧵

Misandry isn't useful to explain why and how TERFism works, although suspicion toward men is an important ingredient (more on that later)

TERFism does a great job of showcasing something about how philosophies of the oppressed can become something harmful

TERFs *profess* suspicion for maleness, and this is advanced as their main charge against trans women. And this is for a reason, all ideologies have more than one simple cause.

But what TERFism *does* is to sharpen the divide between the sexes created by white male supremacy, by favoring gender policing, pushing for a dualistic concept of gender, and approving of fundamental parts of white male supremacy ("women are weak, men are strong")

It's normal for an ideology to have effects that disagree with what people with that ideology profess to care about. TERFs profess to want to topple patriarchy (male supremacy) but their ideology in practice feeds into reinforcing male supremacist functions like gender policing

TERFism by and large is not a threat to men, but it is a threat to trans people and especially trans women. This is partly because of what the TERF ideology declares to be the solution to the problem it identifies (which is: men oppress women)

It's likely to only add confusion to try and diagnose what the ideological root of TERFism is, because not all TERFs have the same conscious thoughts, and because thinking is not as deep or as motivating as feeling. So let's look at the emotional shape of TERFism

TERFism is a good example of a SUSPICION POLITIC. This arises from an oppressed group (in this case, cis women) coming from their emotional reality as the subject of violence and exploitation that seems relentless and hopeless to fight.

What a SUSPICION POLITIC does is offer an answer to that state of fear, rage, and helplessness, which is to encourage its followers to be suspicious toward people who are, or might be, members of the group that collectively represents their oppression.

IOW, TERFism as a suspicion politic is saying "men rape and abuse and oppress you, but there's no end in sight to this problem, so you should armor up as much as possible against men. Don't give them any chance to hurt you. Be distrustful of everything to do with men."

The original state is FEAR, which calls for action to find safety. Since a strategy to stop gender violence has not successfully emerged yet, the next response is LACK OF TRUST. The entire worldview about gender is thus poised on a trust-mistrust axis.

The action that arises from suspicion politics tends to include some kind of separatism, a call to close ranks within an in-group, and deep hostility to the out-group.

Yes, for TERFism, this does mean making women and -in-group and men the out-group.

This is an expression of the suspiciousness embedded within radical feminism in general; feminists have seen the lack of impact of liberal feminism and moved toward a more radical posture, but one that was also less hopeful and more inclined toward suspicion.

Women don't have a meaningful way of dismantling male supremacy, so as the trust-mistrust axis becomes the center of the politic, those practicing it have to funnel energy toward anything that feels like it creates armor, even if it doesn't do anything to solve the problem.

So radfems became split along this line: police the in-group as much as possible by transferring this suspicion toward trans women—whom cis women do exercise power over—as a way of *feeling like* they're sealing up cracks against the invasion of male violence.

The other side of the split is feminists who saw solidarity with trans women as a way to unite against male supremacy and give refuge to an even more battered victim of gender violence.

But to TERFs, the ones scapegoating trans women as a way to feel safer, the solidarity extended by the other radfems was a sign that the transfeminine "infiltration" was successful and exactly the thing to be feared that they felt it was.

We can absolutely narrate the development of the TERF movement as coming from an understandable fear of men among women that hardened into a politicized mistrust, which got transferred over to trans women.

However.

This narrative only makes sense if transmisogyny was already there was a path of least resistance.

We have what happens a lot with suspicion politics, which is moral discharge. You can't fight the real problem so you discharge against someone you can fight.

Feminist and queer circles tend to have very poor transmisogyny literacy partly because it's a complicated oppression that clusters together a bunch of different tools male supremacy has to maintain its gender system.

Those tools are like release valves, things people use to relieve stress on gender relations, and these become more and more critical to use when you're trying to use a gender distinction to create safety.

I fully believe that ideologically, consciously, many TERFs do feel that the real agenda is to rebuke men and that transmisogyny is just an acceptable byproduct of that.

But if we buy this without question, we miss that the outcome harms trans women much more than it harms men.

Moreover, we miss a much larger lesson that EVERYONE could be learning right now: this is a common outcome of suspicion politics.

Genders are not naturally very distinct, so to be suspicious of a gender means you need to be able to suss out who is part of that gender.

The only way for this to work is to double down on tools used to regulating gender grouping, which always always turns into transmisogyny eventually no matter what the motivation is.

But the bigger piece of this is that suspicion politics are in contrast to solidarity politics, like I mentioned above with cis women offering refuge to trans women and trying to build solidarity with us.

Here's the thing: solidarity politics is the only method that has any chance of being effective. It is 100% impossible for oppressed groups to simply hole up in a paranoid shell and endure against oppression forever, which is ultimately a form of defeatism.

TERFism is particularly instructive about this because cis women are *the largest group of oppressed people* in the world. And even they can't simply pull away from society and hide behind armor. It isn't going to work.

But the problem with solidarity politics is that it is scary and it feels absurdly counter-intuitive.

It says "you know how X people have hurt you a lot and will hurt you again? Okay, turns out you need to make friends with some of those people"

On an emotional level, this feels like self-destruction. It's asking you to give up the one piece of armor you do you have that at least gives you a sliver of protection against the onslaught. Why would you do that?

That's the question we all need to be asking ourselves, because here's the punchline: suspicion politics of some kind is what most of us practice, and what most of us have come to when everything else stopped working. So it's, uh, relevant

Why should oppressed groups give chances to people outside of our in-groups, when so many of those people have earned our mistrust? Well, this isn't just paranoia talking, it's survival instinct. It's natural for oppressed people to become suspicious

The divide between suspicion politics and solidarity politics is the difference in emphasis on self-interest vs. shared interest. And it is really hard to tell someone whose self-interest has been continually violated that they should give it up.

This is also why it's useless to try and get TERFs to change their minds. Their problem isn't intellectual. Contradictions in their reasoning don't faze them. Their problem is emotional: they're legitimately afraid, so they double down on what power they have to curb that.

The real, lasting solution to that is to actually solve and abolish oppression. I want even TERF cis women to stop being oppressed too. No oppression is good. But that's a long way off.

Don't get me wrong, *trans women* don't owe TERFs solidarity. They owe solidarity to us. And this is also instructive because it's something else we have to ask to make solidarity politics viable—who does the solidarity need to be coming from, and with who?

With TERFism, the answer is pretty simple. With political ideologies like social justice, it's more complicated because we have vast webs of cross-community clashes and shared interests contrasting with opposed interests.

The answer to "who owes solidarity" is often "you do." And that really hurts to hear because, man, I know I'm not the only marginalized person who feels battered by neglect and aggression and wants to finally be heard about my needs and not have more responsibility put on me.

I see this a lot in dynamics on Twitter. In particular with intra-queer community suspicion toward transfeminine people, who are highly susceptible to moral discharge. But it also happens in other ways; another big example on Twitter is discharge against Black people

When a small cluster of oppressed people starts being able to create an in-group, it can be an incredible relief because finally you're able to exercise some control over the social dynamic. This is a survival response.

When one in-group has to parley with another cluster of marginalized people, who have their own in-group, what tends to happen is that each ask the other for solidarity.

And then, often, each group treats that request with suspicion.

Can you think of times you've seen this?

Do you see how rational it is? Do you see how understandable those emotions are, when pressure to relax a protective boundary feels like a threat?

The outcome I see the most is for those groups to develop an uneasy alliance, with at least some effort made on both sides to signal alliance and yet some tightness and discomfort to occur when one group has to make space for other group's needs.

The complexity of oppression systems means we all have really, really good reasons to fear being erased, and this fear is so intense that it's hard not to be suspicious when someone is asking you to think of yourself as a potential oppressor who has responsibility toward others.

Oppressed people are tired of hearing that we're the ones with responsibility. We would rather focus on how others are responsible toward us, because our needs have gone unmet for so long and when we try to center those needs, we often end up nickeled-and-dimed into compromise.

The core of TERFism in terms of *power* is transmisogyny.

But the core of TERFism in terms of *emotion and psychology* is suspicion.

There's something universal about this suspicion dynamic and it's something social justice communities need to reflect on.

We're never going to feel our needs fully being met while oppression continues. This is the sad, enraging truth of our situation.

But we benefit more from building around shared interest than we do from hostility toward other oppressed groups.

This is another place where I wish social justice would emphasize emotional work much more than mental work. Because oppressed people are often coming out in public flushed with stress hormones and fear and anger, and this is only aggravated by social media.

It makes no sense, emotionally, to tell people to be less suspicious, unless we are doing something to naturally relieve that fear and create an environment that feels safer.

Social justice communities tend to lean hard in punishment, which is also a product of a suspicion-infused environment. But this means the fear is only increasing, turning into a subculture of paranoia because trust isn't being built.

As a result, marginalized people who spend time in social justice tend to easily become burned out, to lose what trust they do have, to be socially harmed or disposed of, and to grow more suspicious and less hopeful that solidarity is possible.

Every environment has a problem with transmisogyny, yes, but that's not the only thing we can learn from TERfism. I think the appeal to see misandry as the bigger problem is an attempt to identify the problem of suspicion politics.

This is why we have to look at what an ideology professes vs. what it does. Social justice is supposed to be about making social environments less oppressive, but the outcome is often that marginalized people are only hurt more.

A big thing everyone can to do be less like TERFs is to consciously choose solidarity with trans women, in a way that's charitable, leaves room for imperfection, that gives second chances, and looks for shared interest.

This is also the model for solidarity with anyone, and it's not something you can take on as a program, a self-improvement project. Solidarity has to grow out of relationships of trust.

This isn't to say "suspicion bad." That is, ironically, the mentality of suspicion politics itself, which is motivated to root out impurities and treat reality as black-or-white.

[ofnightshadeandthornyroses]

Of Those That are Sanguinary    Pt.1

Eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty.

The Lost boys x fem! reader

A night on the boardwalk is what you needed.

Endless hours and constant double shifts at the diner you worked was making you waste away. Your boss was okay enough but the clientele wasn't guaranteed and you're coworkers – to put it kindly – are mostly cunts.

The diner's closed down for a gas leak and now with a few days off you get to finally come down and get to enjoy the veiw the diner over looks up close and personal.

A veiw you have yet to even bare witness to since you moved here.

You didn't know where to go or what to do first. There were so many stores, stalls, rides, and shows. You just might be here your whole time off. One might compare you to a kid in a candy shop with the way you went around the shops and stalls, looking and trying things out. At one stall you found a metal bat broach with red gems for eyes. When trying to look at the others you just couldn't get that bat off your mind and got it. It looking good with your patch jacket was a plus. After checking some jewelry stands and acquiring some more accessories you head to one of the many food stands near the stage and grab ice cream. Going to the railing to hopefully enjoy your sweet bovine tweet with a show, you're suddenly stopped. Its one of the surf nazis that would would sometimes poke around the  diner.

"Well hello~, didn't know you could dress up so...nice." He says as his eyes rake over your mesh shirt over your bra with your patch jacket zipped only just under. You could practically feel slime from his gaze go over your shorts and fishnets and into your boots. You smiled sickeningly sweet at him, "and I didn't know you made such a great wall."

You go to move a round but he follows. You feel like something else is watching you. "Hey come on. Ditch the ice cream," he leans in and grabs his dick through his pants, " I have something else creamy for ya."

You smile again though this time now thoroughly pissed. "You know you're mighty pretty." you place your curved finger under his chin "I wonder, if I cut you open would your insides would reflect it?"

You bring out your switch blade and poke the case into his gut, thumb above the trigger.

His face screws up, suddenly perplexed. He starts backing up hands raised, but he's ruined your little state of bliss and now you're gonna fuck with him.

"Whoa baby I didn't mean anything. I was-"

"What's wrong baby I thought you wanted to play? Me thinks red might be your color."

"Crazy bit-" You press the trigger, your blade shooting out though not touching him due to the distance he's so conveniently created. It has the desired effect though as the sleez ball quickly walks away.

Now satisfied and in a better mood you practically skip to the railing and sit on it quick to lick the drippings of your now slightly melted ice cream.

You hear them before you see them. The sound of chains and laughter building off of eachother tunes you in and tunes you out of the show currently on stage. You try and ignore it, focus on the blaring music and head bangers, but the sound behind you kept pulling at your mind.

The sound of melodic laughing in different ranges blending together, chains clinking, and leather rubbing together created a sort of siren song that wouldn't get out of your head. You finally spare a glance behind you and see the four infamous bikers of the Santa Carla Boardwalk. Three were playing and pushing eachother around while the other would join with a chuckle and words, deciding instead to walk with a cool stride.

You don't know when your glance turned into a stare but at some point you locked eyes with baby blue. And now they're moving towards you. Oh to everything unholy they're moving towards you!

You're stuck in your spot looking at baby blues and they're about fifteen feet away when five groupies seemed to spawned and stalled them enough for you to get out of your trance like state and find an exit.

Down two sets of stairs left you leaning on a pillar under the boardwalk wondering what the hell just happened. Your heart feels like it's going to pump right out of your chest and your brain felt like it was filled with warm cotton. 

You needed to cool down, to clear your head. To think.

You hear yelling to the side of you. About forty feet away and walk towards it, eager to get your mind off of something other than baby blue.

The sight before you is one of the surf nazi from before and a child in a dated jacket.

"I didn't mean to, really!" The little boy was held in his grasp by the front of his jacket. The evidence of the argument on the front of the surfers denim jacket in the form of what appears to be smashed ice cream.

"That's still doesn't matter when we told you to stay off the board walk! You and those freaks you hang with!"

You had enough at this point. "Seriously? From creeping on women to picking on tots. Is there anything you can't do?"

You put a mocking tone to your voice and bat your eyes with a smirk.

"Oh God it's this crazy bitch again. Look this isn't your business."

"A big greasy pig picking on a kid is what I consider my business." "Excuse me cun-" You punch his throat while he was busy getting in your face. He finally let go of the kid as he fell.

"You good, kid?" As you help him up and he brushes of the sand. "Yeah. I'm Laddie, thank you." "YN, and don't thank me yet, you still need to get away." With that he leaves with a wave and runs off.

You hear the man cough and get up from where you left him.

"You fucking bitch, I'mma get you." You take out your switch blade and he throws a punch. You duck and get him between the ribs and pull while grabbing his throat and squeezing just hard enough. " You're so convenient, you know. I really needed a distraction." You stab again and again puncturing his lung.

Certain that he couldn't scream anymore, you took off your stainless clothes and you got on top and went to work slicing down the middle of his body.

You skin his chest in two equal parts as well as the skin as his thighs and take you excess safety pin from your jacket and pockets and arrange an cut pieces of skin in the vision of your current muse.

Before you go you pick up your knife one more time, reaching into the thigh.

— • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • —

Laddie ran about the boardwalk searching for the boys. It was a while ago he left the girl under the boardwalk and longer since he last saw them and him and his treat ran into a surf nazi. He finally saw them nearing their bikes looking like they took a quick wash in ocean and a flight telling by their damp hair. They must have fed already.

He tries to stop too late and crashes into Paul.

"Whoa little buddy! Where's the fire!" Marcos head pops out from behind him and they start leaning on eachother.  "Yeah and why weren't we invited!" Suddenly they all stop and take notice as breeze comes by along with the unmistakable smell of blood, in mass quantity.

"Where-" Paul starts but Laddie stops him, his mouth going a mile a minute. "Wait! There was a surf nazi I ran into with my ice cream and he threatened me under the boardwalk and then this girl, she came and punched him right in the neck! Her name was YN and now she there with him! I did smell some blood after I left so I don't know if-"  Dwayne cut him off with a hand an his head. "Okay bud, where did you say this happened?" "Under the boardwalk, that way, near the stage." Laddie points and David puts his cigarette out and says "What'd say boys? Wanna ride?"

A chorus of yeahs and woops followed as the boys got on their bikes and rode towards the smell of blood and Laddies directions.

[residentmara]

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