#genuinely can't believe this is all about

[notaaronsroommate]

i burned out of a religion major, so feel free to disregard all this but: Genuinely I don't think your average megachurch evangelical knows very much about church history or theology. Not in the funny gotcha way where it's ohh these dummies don't even read the bible. I mean, there are many american christians who don't know about the council of Nicaea or the history of the early church and don't really conceptualize fully of the biblical period containing real people on whom history might intrude. And similarly, as OP says, non religious americans kind of refuse to engage with the substance of what the general non denominational protestant churches say and believe. There's a feeling I get that people believe that since religion is fake you can kinda just get the cliffs notes version of the king james bible and argue against american christians based on that. Unfortunately, if someone is interested in how shits getting fucked up and what the people doing it are saying to rapt audiences, that means engaging with modern day christianity and its trappings. It's a real field of study that's sorely needed, it can't be treated like when you take a home economics course for easy credits because you think it's not hard to make muffins.

I am finding out that a lot of things I thought were common knowledge about Christian Fundamentalism are not in fact common knowledge.

Like with the aid freeze, people were like why would they do this? And I was like cause they want churches to be the only option for aid.

And people were shocked. And I was also shocked that this wasn't like...more well known. I grew up with people who were anti-aid because they felt that belonged to the church and made people behave more worldly if they could get it elsewhere. It was so well known it was a debate topic in my Philosophy of Religion course in high school.

I'm just...I'm concerned at how little some groups seem to know about Christian Fundamentalism. I wish I could help translate more.

[kamitv]

Secretly down bad!Naoya who walks around acting like he's a part of the whole "I hate my gf" trend when in reality, you drive him crazy in ways he couldn't possibly begin to explain or understand.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who gets hard whenever you yell at him. Something about that aggravation in your tone, the way you glare at him, and the overall frustration that takes over your body makes his cock twitch without second thought.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who can't handle arguments with you for that exact reason. Most of his past "lovers", if you can even call them that, would've left him after the first argument. But you? Oh, your tongues ten times sharper than his could ever be. He's tried insulting you in every way possible but somehow you always make him eat his works.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who's unintentionally become a gentleman around you. Following things like the "side-walk rule", referring to you as "ma'am", and doing things like holding the door open for you. All very simple things but all actions he's never done for anyone else. Ever.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who learned so much about himself ever since he got with you. You've suggested some wild things in the bedroom and although his initial response is usually no, he somehow ends up doing exactly as you've requested.

Secretly down bad!Naoya one time scowled at the mere idea of bondage, especially when you said he'd be the one restricted. And yet, there he was on that fated night with his hands tied behind his back as he watched you play with yourself right in front of him. He was so frustrated that night that he ended up cumming without you even touching him.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who still has a smart mouth, as expected, but he now only gets smart with you to provoke a reaction out of you. Sometimes you'll land a playful smack on his arm and all he can do is smile and ask you to do that again.

Which is roughly what opened his eyes to the fact that he quite enjoys a bit of pain from you. Choking him while you ride him to the point of throated grunts 'n groans catching at his throat? Telling him about himself in more ways than one and how he's such a shitty person?? Well, shit, he can't quite get enough.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who felt a shiver run down his spine when you once blocked him for something rather trivial. What really topped it all off was when you told him that the only thing that'd make you unblock him was if he sent an apology video, with tears.

And not just any kinda apology video either, no, of course not. The woman he's found himself with is far more demanding than that. Instead, you told him to send you a pathetic video of him getting off to you, still with tears, and a genuine apology.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who rolled his eyes at that rediculous request of yours. Never in a million years would he send some woman (the love of his life, btw--I know, surprising) a video of him not only jerking off, but also apologizing over something stupid he did? No way. Over his dead body-

Secretly down bad!Naoya who gives in after a total of three hours and sends you a lengthy video of his shaky hands wrapped around his cock as he pants out your name, whispering how sorry he is in a tone so unbelievably embarrassed that you can hardly believe it's him at first.

And if that wasn't enough, it's even more surprising to you how Secretly down bad!Naoya also has a pair of your panties pressed up to his nose and is ranting about how agonizing it's been not being able to text or call you for the past few hours.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who, at the end of the video, utters a bratty complaint about how much you get on his nerves. Which is so hilarious considering the mess he's made of himself, on video, all for you. And on top of this complaint of his? Seconds after, he's whining a plea for you to unblock him so he can get your attention again, even if said attention consists of you cursing him out again.

Secretly down bad!Naoya who gets unblocked about thirty minutes after he sent those videos of his and starts smiling to himself like an idiot. Somehow in that insane mind of his, he's managed to convince himself that he won whatever conflict was just between the two of you.

Even though he had to send you multiple videos of him jerking off and making an overall fool of himself...

Secretly down bad!Naoya who's not even 'secretly down bad', you're actually well aware of how pathetic your boyfriend is for you. He can't explain it too well but, you've always had him wrapped around your pretty lil' finger like no other.

[velvetvexations]

the way people talk about other trans people and our cis allies on here is just so horrendous

when i initially saw this discourse, i took the side of transgender radical feminists, because i have always been very critical of accusations against transfems. i have several transfem loved ones and i have been dedicated for years to making sure i unlearn transmisogynistic biases and am safe for my loved ones

i looked into these popular transfeminist blogs, specifically the ones ran by transfems, because i wanted to hear their stories. i was very taken aback by what felt to me like hatred and resentment towards transmascs. and i saw this type of stuff on the blogs of transgender radical feminists who AREN'T transfem, too

and i saw even more people talking about how awful cis people are, how cis people can never truly be our allies, how we need to separate ourselves from cis people

and i talked about this with one of my transfem friends. i talked to her about how i've found tumblr discourse and it feels like there is a portion of transfems online that hate transmascs. and i talked to her about it because i wanted to make sure i wasn't being transmisogynistic and having a knee-jerk reaction

and she told me that she doesn't hate transmascs. she told me that the things that were being said about transmascs WERE mean and hateful and cruel. she was very saddened, because these people on tumblr were sowing seeds of resentment between transfems and transmascs. she agreed that, while transfems face a unique subset of oppression in transmisogyny, transmascs also face a unique subset of oppression

all my other transfem loved ones also agreed. they said that no, i was not having a knee-jerk reaction, these were just genuinely cruel things to say about transmascs

i believe in anti-transmasculinity/transandrophobia/transmisandry/whatever you want to call it, because my transfem loved ones and i have diacussed it and they listened to me about my own oppression and agreed that there are unique ways in which we are all oppressed

i am not my transfem loved ones' greatest enemy. our cis loved ones are not our greatest enemies. transphobic cis people are our greatest enemies

i am the one who goes shopping with my transfem friends to find skirts that fit them. i am the one who teaches my transfem girlfriend about different types of bras. i am the one trying to help my transfem friend from america move to my country. my transfem friends are the ones who help me figure out mens' fashion and how to make my clothes fit me in a masculine way. our cis friends are the ones who treat us like people. not like freaks, or monsters, but like people.

transfems aren't my enemy. cis people aren't my enemy. transphobia and transmisogyny is my enemy

i can't understand why people don't love and appreciate our cis allies. after spending years being mocked and assaulted and abused by cis people for being trans, it's a breath of fresh air to see cis allies

like, with how popular it is to be transphobic nowadays, for a cis person to actively be our ally, they would have to be consciously monitoring their biases and actively doing their own research. they are ACTIVELY and CONSCIOUSLY making the CHOICE to stand with us. i love our cis allies so deeply

and i love my transfem sisters and nonbinary siblings, too. i have far more in common with transfems and nonbinary people than anyone else, even if i am a transmasc and transitioning in a different direction.

tumblr 'transfeminism' isn't helping my transfem loved ones. it isn't aiding them in any material way. letting them call me a theyfab does NOTHING to help them or to improve their lives. and THAT is why i hate this tumblr discourse. because these privileged pieces of shit are using the guise of transfeminism to be cruel to others, instead of materially helping other transfems like my loved ones

All very true anon. Thank you for sending in. <3

[grendil9]

"removing the constitution from the website" it's stuff like this that gives hints to goy, just enough to keep the smarter ones quiet and uninterested, that all of the insane "reactions" are indeed the true and sole purpose of "the government" otherwise known as polslop.

You're supposed to say "Uh, actually, they were just taking the constitution down for maintenance". You're supposed to say that. They need you to say that, you dumb slave. The purpose of people talking about how they did that is to make you comment. The purpose of them removing the constitution for a few hours or whatever, and then drawing attention to it in every post by every liberal-team bot on social media, is to make you comment. There was no maintenance, they need your comments. They need your belief. There are no teams, one single entity decides on which funny things to do to keep you commenting, and this is just one of them.

Every "event" like this, is just, quite literally, just a dumb show. Browbeating the weak and innocent into insane beliefs, culminating in self-castration (trans), and demoralizing the intelligent and capable into submission. Making the more perceptive goy say: "Maybe we deserve this dumb show that hurts people and conquers peoples minds, after all look how effective it is on my foolish brothers and sisters."

Polslop's existence renders the masses incapable of unity. There's no chance people who actually believe the dumb polslop, and all the stupid cartoon characters like trump and michelle and biden and shit, and people who don't believe in any of it, could ever really get along outside of immediate necessity. And of course they're so easily mislead already.

The "trump will save us" people are a damned people. Anyone who believes that government is real is going to be left behind by God. It's idolatry. It's a gay drag show with trump making gay drag queen insults for Adult Men to lap up. It just fucking sucks, way worse now that all the pageantry disappeared with Obama. It's just so gay and hopeless and demoralizing. How could you still believe government is real? How can you believe that that wailing shemale bag makes any important decisions at all. What a joke!

As far as I'm concerned if you believe that any single actor or group of actors in any government in the world makes any decision at all, you're defeated. You're ruled by evil. Every politician on earth is a golem with a round golem-male body or stick-thin emaciated golem-female body. They just exist to zombie-walk around on stages with their flabby soulless conscienceless corpses, and beautiful expensive masonic suits, and shoulder-pads, and colorful occult-meaning ties. Sometimes they'll read off a script, written by an AI and approved by a Skeksis boy, to keep you talking and confused and angry.

That is their sole purpose. They take your energy and torment you when you're in the shower or in bed, with their dumb meaningless plotlines that never go anywhere. Distracting and misleading the people. No "news story" they show you publicly isn't planned years and sometimes decades in advance. Or otherwise is just some spur-of-the-moment oneoff joke by some rabbi. That's all there is to it.

If it's on "the news" you can believe without a doubt that it's a planned hoax. There are no exceptions. If it actually happens, it doesn't go on the news. Real events that genuinely happen aren't spread to the public, because real events have too many unknowns. A real event could wake people up, so real events are smothered. Likewise real "leaders" of any kind are hunted down, gangstalked, electronically tortured, and driven to low-energy lifestyles, effectively "removing them from play".

I suppose I can't blame people who suffer the false belief that politics and democracy are real. After all the Skeksis are constantly poisoning the water supply. But it's still an evil thing, and it dominates so many minds, and there's really nothing more to it than just a dumb show.

As an observer from outside of America I'm genuinely quite astounded at how quickly things seem to be ramping up. I don't know why but I believed they would have a cold period where they'd just act like everything is normal before going full with their ideas.

But nope. Straight in to removing the constitution from the website; talking about raiding the homes of immigrant families; removal of the reproductive rights page; saying there are only 2 genders and now it seems they have the intention to make it so women can only get birth control with the permission of their husbands, fathers or a priest.

Thereby completely destroying years of good work for, not only reproductive rights, but women's health care as a whole.

This is only day 2 of the Presidency.

We are in for a long, painful, ride.

[phoenixyfriend]

Okay so we have like. An unusually high ratio of royalty/nobility among the Jedi. Dooku, Quinlan, Oppo, you can sort of count Adi or Xanatos or Bruck, etc. Lots of Jedi 'just happen' to come from royal, noble, or incredibly wealthy/powerful families.

So from this I want to posit four things:

If a royal family has a Force-Sensitive child, and hasn't had one in generations, they may think that sending that child to the Jedi would be a little like sending a child to join the Catholic Church in the middle ages: you get to influence the political choices of the highest religious power in Europe the Galactic Republic Government. (That said, Dooku was sent to the Jedi because his parents didn't want him and ||left him to die of exposure, basically, so that if the Jedi arrived too late they'd be picking up a baby corpse|| because they were so disdainful of Force-Sensitive individuals, and Quinlan wasn't sent to the Jedi so much as he escaped to them.)

They are all incredibly wrong about this, and royals raised as Jedi generally do not give any more of a shit about their home planets than any other planet. They care, of course, but they are not attached, because they are Jedi. Xanatos was an exception (afaik his dad sent him to the Jedi because he wanted to do the Catholic thing? and then Xanatos lost his mind). (Don't correct me on this, it's not really important if it was actually intended or not.)

This is achieved by way of Jedi from royal backgrounds having a mandatory high-level political class on how to handle royal court politics and general intrigue. It's not exclusive to the royal kids, but it is a prerequisite for them. They usually end up doing their home planets as case studies for capstone projects, in part because

Sometimes the planets try to call their errant royals back. It might be because the planet is struggling and genuinely running out of heirs/needs a change in leadership (Serreno) and it might be because it was the plan all along, but on the off chance that the Jedi decides they HAVE to leave the Order and take up a throne to keep an entire planet from kind of imploding on itself... that royal Jedi has to be ready to play the game. OR if they don't actually think they're REALLY needed there, they have to be trained on how to go, and be polite/avoid getting trapped/play the game until they can get the hell out of there, while also installing that cousin that nobody thought was strong enough but DOES understand how to run the treasury as the new king.

I'm just imagining this like. Very specific set of classes that are open to any Jedi that's taken the necessary prereqs, but is mandatory for people like Quinlan and Dooku and Oppo.

This was inspired by a post of mine that's getting circulated regarding QuinObi stuff and my thoughts about how Quinlan might have needed preventative training in case of political upheavals trying to pull him back to his home planet. I want to mess with the Politics Classes that Quinlan is taking because he has to and Obi-Wan is taking because Qui-Gon said he should.

Qui-Gon: You should take this class because I'm training you up as a negotiator and diplomat, and you will need it to interact with people when brokering trade deals or peace treaties. Tholme: You are taking this class because your aunt is insane and you have to be ready in case she tries to pull you back into the bullshit.

And as @firebirdeternal offered:

Quinlan: God this is the worst. So boring. At least Obi-Wan is stuck here too. Obi-wan: This is fascinating wow, I can't believe I almost didn't get to attend, Quinlan is so lucky he's automatically in these classes.

[xechu]

cw: nsfw, fem!reader, 18+ mdni, sexual content

notes: from the same au as my one shot: "Warm on a Cold Night" // check out part 1 HC here & part 2 HC here

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - who has an insatiable sex drive, especially when it comes to you. It still boggles his mind that you're the perfect combination of sexy and cute.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - would prefer it if you didn’t use toys (except for butt plugs). Why use it when you have him? That doesn't stop you from owning them though, you like it when he gets a bit riled up.

"What is this useless junk?" He scowled.

"I couldn't wait, Ryo," you admitted.

"Tsk, so impatient. Well then, show me how you played with yourself, and then I'll show you how I can top that," he smirked.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - may not be the most patient man to walk this green earth, but when the two of you are getting down and dirty, he will make sure each time you are coming undone, screaming his name, and clawing his back - no matter how long it took. If the two of you happened to be experimenting that day, he'll make sure that you are enjoying yourself, and if it doesn't work out, then he'll immediately switch back to something he knows will get you cumming.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - loves grabbing your hips and thighs, not just during sex but even outside of the bedroom.

"So, what are we thinking here? Have you decided?" He snuck up behind you and placed his hands around your hips.

"Hm, I'm not so sure, Ryo," you let out a small sigh as you contemplated on which dress to buy for your upcoming vacation to Greece.

"Why not get both then?" He says nonchalantly.

"I don’t know…it’s quite expensive."

"What am I? Chopped liver? I’m paying for them, why should you care?" He was genuinely offended.

Or, when you're at home watching Netflix (usually he goes with whatever you want to watch, he's not much of a TV/shows guy):

"I can't believe it! He actually did it," you turned to Sukuna, as the crime documentary you were watching was coming to an end.

"It's so fucking obvious he did it, I could tell immediately that he's batshit crazy," he rolled his eyes, taking in another swig of beer. His hand was on your thigh, as he mindlessly rubbed circles with his thumb.

"Okay, next one!" You said all giddy, reaching for the remote, but Sukuna stops you.

"Hey, it's my turn to have some fun," he murmurs, as he trails kisses down your neck.

Needless to say, he (and you) had a fair share of fun for the rest of the night.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - who would almost always fuck you in the back of his car whenever you came to visit him for lunch. He would tell Jin and the other workers that he's taking you out for lunch, and while he does treat you to a nice lunch (by the way, he loved it when you ate well), you also become his afternoon dessert.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - loves to push you to your limits in the bedroom. The more you say you can't take it anymore, the more it spurs him on.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - has an overstimulation and exhibitionism kink. On one of your travels, he brought you to a fancy hotel with a floor to ceiling window, where he had your naked body pressed against the window while he savagely fucked you from behind.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - isn't super talkative during sex. He would grunt, swear, and praise you once in a while - that's about it.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - usually prefers to top, as someone who has a tendency to dominate and be in control. But if you request to be on top he will gladly oblige. Highkey revels in it when you caught a mood that day and use his dick to blow off some steam.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - given how badly he lusts for you, one would expect that he has some obscene photo of you on his lock screen, but surprisingly it's very tamed. It's a photo of you smiling by the ocean when the two of you visited Paros (Greece). He also has that same picture of you in a photo print, put in a very expensive silver frame, and proudly displayed in his workstation. If you couldn't tell already, that's his favorite photo of you. You were always so goddamn beautiful when you smiled.

"Shit, Ryo - that your girl?" one of his regular customers asked.

"Mhm, that's my woman," he responded casually, but inside he was brimming with pride.

"Does she have any single friends that y'know - kinda has the same vibe as her?"

"Like what you see, huh?" It was more of a challenge than a genuine question.

"Eep."

(Even during your one year separation, he still had the photo on his workstation, and on his lock screen - but he will never tell you that)

ex/boyfriend!sukuna- speaking of pictures, he has this one polaroid picture of you that absolutely brings him to his knees (you secretly slipped it in his back pocket for Valentine's Day). It is carefully tucked between his ID and cards in the window slot of his wallet.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna- said polaroid picture is of you in black lingerie, splayed out on his bed, with crotchless panties and a jeweled butt plug. Needless to say, that night you both had your fill of wild, steamy, debauched sex.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - on the topic of that R rated polaroid, he would get all on edge when someone touches his wallet, but ironically, he couldn't give two shits about his phone (even though there are also some obscene pictures of you two in there too. His FBI can see it for all he cares). That polaroid though, was for his eyes only. He had a nightmare one time where he got pulled over and instead of giving his ID to the cop, he accidentally gave the photo. In the nightmare the cop says to him "Hm, interesting. I'll confiscate this and you can be on your merry way, buddy." He thought he was going to have to go to jail a second time. After that, he begrudgingly put the polaroid in his safe.

ex/boyfriend!sukuna - who noticed the way your eyes slightly darkened when Choso (his apprentice) accidentally mentioned in front of you that he had a frenum piercing. He is now seriously contemplating on getting one himself.

a/n: The polaroid and Choso incident was something that happened after the events of 'Warm on a Cold Night'. Do we all want our big strong Kuna to get the piercing or nah? ;)

[bougiebutchbinch]

ugh UGHHHH I wanna write a sad fucked-up thing from Ning Yingying's POV

Shen Jiu didn't prey on Ning Yingying in any way, but he could literally only sleep when a woman was there and no men. He flatly refused to tell anyone this or the reasons why. Therefore, he has behaved 'inappropriately' with Ning Yingying (i.e., asking her to stay the night out of desperation because he needed to sleep and Liu Qingge had embarrassed him so much by dragging him out of the brothel that even that space no longer feels 'safe'; but obviously not touching her at all and staying well away from her - still highly Suspect to any outside perspective, though!)

And Ning Yingying isn't stupid (despite what some people think).

She was genuinely nervous about what her shizun might want with her (her shizun, who she knows has two faces - the kind face she shows her and the cruel one he shows Luo Binghe and damn near everyone else). But she also trusts him, and when nothing untoward happens, she's more than happy to have a sleepover with shizun whenever he asks!

But of course, this looks really fucking bad.

And during the trial, Liu Mingyan and Qi Qingqi and the little palace mistress and Qiu Haitang and so many more people, they all come to Ning Yingying and sit with her and talk to her gently, and tell her it's okay. They understand she might be uncomfortable with talking about what happened. They just want her to know that they're here for her, that they support her...

From Liu Mingyan and Qi Qingqi's perspectives, they've heard the rumours, and they're genuinely concerned. Little Palace Mistress and Qiu Haitang, of course, have a darker agenda, and pressure Ning Yingying until even she's not entirely sure what happened between her and her shizun. Did he really just make her a little bed on the other side of his room and put up a screen for privacy? Then ask her to sit on the cushion on the floor by his bed and play the guqin for a little while, until he fell asleep? Did anything more happen? Surely she'd remember - but trauma can be strange like that, Qiu Haitang confides, with teary eyes. Sometimes, your memories don't reveal everthing.

I want a story where Ning Yingying did falsely accuse Shen Jiu, but it's entirely understandable why. He shouldn't have put her in that position. He shouldn't have used her for comfort, even if it was entirely non-sexual and innocent. He should've talked to her and explained that he saw her as a daughter (though in what world would Shen Jiu ever be so open with his emotions, lmao). He should've confided in Yue Qingyuan and his Peak Lord siblings about the difficulties he was having sleeping and found some solution together that didn't damage anyone's reputation - but that would be entirely against everything Shen Jiu is.

And I want Ning Yingying to come to the water prison and sit in front of that sad human stick and tell him she's sorry, she doesn't know what to think, it's all so confusing; she doesn't remember him being a monster even though she said she did at the trial, but everyone keeps telling her he was a monster and she doesn't know what to think or what to believe -

And Shen Jiu can't say a word, since Luo Bingge cut out his tongue. He just looks at her with his one remaining eye and lets her speak.

[seewetter]

Absolutely.

Although there's many things happening in parallel:

well-meaning people (not just cis feminists) focusing on psychology when that's inappropriate (often at the expense of considering the wider social context) or undervaluing community building and mobilization

well-meaning people focusing only on who is targeted not because they value reverse engineering bigoted psychology ... but because they are fixated on some groups over others

well-meaning people focusing only on who is affected for reasons similar to those mentioned above

Like recently a post went around trying to completely sideline trans women (and I mean sideline) from recent legislative issues targetting the "protection of women" from "woke gender ideology" and instead center intersex people because the definitions put forth by that legislation would legally define intersex people out of existence.

Now I understand and appreciate that existential risk that results from a formalized legal erasure of intersex people's biological existence. I really appreciate why people want to make intersex people a central issue when discussing this legislation. But they can't just become the central issue, the only thing under discussion, when the law also existentially threatens the entire queer community, especially the trans community and is aimed at trans people and specifically leverages anxieties about women's safety from trans women in order to make the entire law sound coherent, reasonable and socially acceptable.

Like I'll always try and make time for anyone's existential concerns, whether they are affected or targeted!

But as I explained in response to the intersex (and perisex trans) people who felt that intersex people were the singular central issue, this leads to a political strategy in which a group of innocents (in this case intersex people) get affected by a policy not aimed at them -- and I find it comparable to a few years ago, where DREAMers (children of undocumented immigrants) were the innocents, rather than undocumented immigrants themselves. Pulling on heartstrings and making a big deal out of this particular innocently victimized group led to bipartisan support for the DREAMers...which eventually fizzled out as public attention waned. So DREAMers never became a wedge issue to challenge how legal status is defined (or to abolish it altogether) and instead, DREAMers suffering (they lose their parents who are deported, it's genuinely horrible, especially for a child) just became a distraction from the important opposition that people need to give to the rhetoric and declared values of their opponents!

Like if someone is stirring up a moral panic and basing it on talk about "defending women" (not defending men, defending women) and the moral panic leads to policy that violates human rights and freedoms, what do we gain strategically from talking not about the casual inhumanity of this alleged "defense of women", about the monstrosities it inflicts on its intended targets, but instead only focus our attention of unintended targets who may be severely affected (in some cases more severely affected). Like that just sounds like a rightward shift to me, an abandonment of universal human rights as a guiding principle, if that makes sense? Like we can intellectually wax poetic about how we value human rights, but if we manage crises where we could help all affected people but instead we use the concept of "affectedness" to only help people who are especially affected...I find that cowardly and short-sighted. Or even if only an unrelated group were affected, I think it matters that the intended victim may have escaped victimization only because of luck ... that the intended target of inhuman policymaking is relevant precisely because that's who is in the crosshairs. Like I do believe who is being targeted and hunted for sport might have a lot of predictive value and allow us to allocate certain support structures more effectively than only trying to fix specific damage done, often as a side effect of a different process.

To give a more broad example of this: in the long term, one of the main stumbling blocks for feminism proves to be the financial dependency of homemakers (like housewives) from people who have money (their families, their partners). Given that housework doesn't pay a living wage and enable an independent lifestyle, a lot of people (in particular a lot of men) who earn money are reluctant to switch to full-time housework, meaning that the main breadwinner in many households remains male and the main dependent adult remains a woman. That dependency really entrenches ideas of who men and women "naturally" are and gives rise to the misleading and incorrect intuitive judgment that gender equality has been achieved yet biology makes the sexes different. This is a pretty central structure, yet it also focuses our feminism away from trying to dispel gender stereotypes mainly on tv and in movies... and instead focuses on trying to give people financial independence. And once we think in these financial and resource-centric terms, I think this kind of feminism becomes a kind of witness to large economic forces that shape human lives, thinking about how ableist or classist stereotypes arise from living conditions that drive people toward peak performance or that are the result of a society where classes exist in the first place. (No poverty -- and no one looks down on or mistreats the poor...).

These things aren't psychological, and yet they are political blueprints that help explain why targeting arises to begin with. To be affected by bad things, all it takes is a natural disaster or a mistake. Being affected doesn't confront us with much complexity or challenge. The answer to people affected by flooding...is to help. Being targeted implies various mechanisms, various tools, various relationships, it implies some need for ambitious problem-solving.

That's where these approaches get their strengths and their weaknesses. Talking affected helps us quickly mobilize support. Talking targeted helps us begin to understand what will avert future crises of this type. Both are necessary. The art is to develop enough of a sense of how the targeting works so you can mostly help everyone affected. Once you know how the targeting works, it's less likely you'll misunderstand how the ongoing situation you are in is developing -- those misunderstandings, like the assumption that focusing on DREAMers and building alliances "across the aisle" to start from the worst-affected and work your way up, can be costly.

Like especially in the trans community, the idea that transfeminine people need to "shut up in solidarity" is quite old. Back in 2011 I heard it mostly second-hand. These days I see it everywhere on Tumblr and if we aren't careful it may take over communities IRL (in some places, like certain community conventions, it has already demonstrably done so). And here, the idea of "we are all affected" plays a role. Trans men who find themselves faced with a form of misogyny that is used to both misgender them, closet them and do violence to them are often looking for word that isn't misogyny to describe how they are affected, often trying to mirror a word like "transmisogyny" (transmisandry, isomisogyny, transandrophobia etc. have all been proposed at various points in time). The reason this doesn't lead to much solidarity is that these attempts seem to follow a cycle:

Step 1: Find a word for my suffering / how I am affected

Step 2: (Implicit) be disinterested in why I am not the primary target used to leverage transphobic hate campaigns; refuse to engage existing academic literature on the topic of the long-term plans and psychology of transphobes

Step 3: Construct a worldview in which I am more affected since I experience a form of misogyny blended with transphobia, so I must be the intersectional victim of these two axes of oppression.

Step 4: Disregard what transfeminine people have to say as privileged, disregard suggestions that I read academic literature as manipulation attempts or classism or ableism

Step 5: Develop an overall hostile view of transfeminism (two transfem-centric) and of transfeminine people. Become hostile to rhetoric like tma/tme (I agree this rhetoric is unnecessary and used by insular communities of transfeminine users on Tumblr to be assholes, but obviously it is rhetoric that was developed with a lot of thought, found a place in academic writing for a reason and wholesale vilifying people who use it as oppressors is a bit much)

Step 6: Work to center trans men over trans women, collaborate with TERFs that praise one's assertions of more severe victimhood, allege that transfeminists are playing oppression olympics... while trying to assert that oneself is the ultimate oppressed victim.

The whole crux of transfeminism since Julia Serano's Whipping Girl has been that idea of targetting. I'm not accusing you, dear Tumblr user boreal-sea, of anything here! (I hope you know that -- I appreciate your original post and your response!) But I do not want this to be forgotten. Like the targetting conversation just is pretty central to understanding how people maintain oppressive structures. Without a whipping girl (or an equivalent), patriarchy doesn't know what to do. Anyone who has read Manufacturing Consent can imagine how Islamophobia fits into the manufacturing of ideological consensus. Anyone who engages with Adorno and Horkheimer can imagine how Antisemitism in Nazi Germany was central to the functioning of fascism, just as the figure of Wokeness is fairly central to Republican claims of improving the world rather than making it worse. These are all targets. They are all targets needed to maintain the negative effect. If nationalists can't terrorize their fellow citizens into "shared national values", then they lose the ability to convincingly argue that they belong to a nation. And that means that they lose solidarity, unity, they lose their support to bully other countries and extort wealth from them. That's why nationalists *need* domestic targets, groups of people they can vilify and oppress within their own borders who are considered citizens of equal status to themselves by the state, whose status nationalists seek to remove. Nationalists will opportunistically shift targets to whatever they think they can get away with. If we focus on "who is affected" ...well that may change, within a very short span of time. Had the monkeypox epidemic not been nipped in the bud, the whole queer community could have been a prime target. Had 3rd wave feminism never happened, conservatives in the trans community might have become prominent anti-feminists...prominent enough to make "being transgender" a central "proof" of the evils of feminism and potentially the nationalists would have all been pro-trans, instead of welcoming TERFs into their hateful arms. Like we have to understand what is going on, we have to understand the goals, the plans, the broader context, the broader project and ambitions...otherwise we are just doing temporary damage control.

Does that make sense? Like I think "who is affected" is a really good and valuable question, I just also have seen it (like any idea) been abused. Like I'm just as worried that "who is targeted" becomes an excuse for endless theory and inaction. I just think we need to be careful.

I’m going to try to articulate this in a way that perhaps everyone will understand.

I don’t think it’s helpful to discuss who is “targeted” by any particular policy. I think it’s more helpful to discus who that policy affects.

Abortion bans affect everyone with a uterus.

In the USA, statistically, most people with a uterus are perisex cis women. This means that the majority of people affected by an abortion ban will be perisex cis women.

However

The largest group is not necessarily the demographic most at risk.

I do not say “perisex cis women as a collective” here because I’m an intersectional feminist and I know that no such collective actually exists. Perisex cis women experience a kaleidoscope of intersecting risk factors that can make them more or less vulnerable to reproductive harm.

And taking intersectionality into account, we have to acknowledge that trans and intersex people with uteruses face additional risks when accessing abortion compared to perisex cis women. This may mean certain trans and intersex individuals may have higher risks than some perisex cis women.

Acknowledging this increased risk isn’t ignoring perisex cis women or erasing them from the discussion. It’s just acknowledging the most vulnerable among us.

[rynzie]

Cosmo Has More Personality Than the Fandom Gives Him Credit For

Cosmo! My favourite, and one of the most overlooked characters. I can genuinely not think of any other character that has been done so dirty by both the fandom and creators in Dandy's World and Im not even just being biased. So, in an attempt to clear these mischaracterizations and shed some light on Cosmo's true nature and character, I am making a Tumblr post. Yes it is 3 am and I'm too tired to do anything else. Cosmo... Is a very self-sacrificial person and it is so insanely obvious I am bewildered nobody is talking about this, but not really. Because it's so clear, just nobody has bothered to look into it or even comment on it. Nobody notices because they don't care to think about his character. Cosmo uses his own FLESH. His own flesh and blood- or I guess Ichor- to heal the other toons. He never worries about him being endangered or even if the other toons might waste his heal, instead he remains timid and unsure, worried about his own incompetency.

He doesn't even feel good or confident in his healing, all of his ability dialogues but a single one ending in '...' and Cosmo feeling as if he did something wrong. He's also a considerate person, his dialogue with Flutter, Astro, Finn, Ginger, showing that he takes the time to think about the other toon's and their situations. My favourite and the most obvious one being the Flutter dialogue. Not to mention his laughably gullible character that often gets overlooked because god forbid a cartoon non-human male carry feminine AND sensitive traits! Poor Finn, I bet he and Cosmo stood in awkward silence that whole elevator ride.

Another obvious and interesting fact about Cosmo is that he loves stars and space! It's been confirmed by Qwel that he enjoys to stargaze but it's not really shocking considering his name comes from COSMIC- yk, like SPACE? and STARS? And he literally has star freckles like c'mon it's right there in our faces. It's so glaringly evident and yes I'm running out of synonyms for obvious because I can't believe nobody knows this stuff! Yk why? Because people don't give two shits about a common toon that only exists to be a tool for Sprout, whether they mischaracterize him to be some uwu boy who can't do anything without his big strawberry boy or they make him into some big manly man with a moustache that has no issues at all with being confident and making snarky jokes.

Do you see the problem? God, I have to tag this with fruitcake otherwise nobody will care.

[undomesticated-animal]

Honestly, body euphoria has done WONDERS for my ability to keep a physical self care routine, and I keep thinking back to Young Domi being so fucking OVERWHELMED by the thought of having to haul myself through the daily gauntlet of mirrors, lights, smells, self-shaming, and dysphoria inducing body modifictions made in a desperate bid to feel worthy of my skin. The idea that this could ever be anything but NEUTRAL AT BEST was laughable to me, so much so that I didn't even realize how terrified I felt by the possibility it could be real.

I can't go back and tell Past Domi all the things I understand now that I know would have mattered so much, but I can say them on the internet and maybe someone gets to learn them faster than I did.

Body euphoria isn't just for trans and intersex folks. And I mean this more than just "oh cis people should get gender ephoria too" (it's true!) because I also mean that the idea that body euphoria/dysphoria is neatly segmented up into little slices of life with no crossover is unrealistic and painful for everyone. Thinking that I was only allowed to care about my euphoria around gender actually made it REALLY hard to recognize I was having DYSphoria around my gender at all. After all, I avoided thinking about that in exactly the same ways I avoided thinking about the dysphoria around other aspects of my embodiment! I must just be bad at body positivity, "it's always easier to do for others than for myself 🤗 teehee" was a go to blow off for me when people asked me to confront how visibly uncomfortable I was in my body.

Because the thing is, it ISN'T easier to do for others than yourself. It really isn't. The part that's easier is avoiding the shame we feel about it. But once we confront the shame, loving your body is the easiest thing in the world. <- this is gonna be where Past Domi went "oh fuck this noise" and bounced but HEAR ME OUT

A body you cannot live with is a body you cannot care for, and a body you can't care for is a body you will almost always struggle to live with. This feedback loop is the CORNERSTONE of body dysphoria for a lot of people. It's a chicken and egg situation where it's nearly always going to be impossible to know what came first, but once either is present, the other will kick into gear to really hunker down in your psyche.

The feedback loop works the other direction too though. This is why people tell you to find the little things that make a tiny difference. They are (usually) not telling you that it'll be enough on its own, but every one of those you find uncovers new ones, and little by little you start feeling up to bigger pieces of self care because you've recovered enough to start putting int the front-loaded work for the worthwhile outcome

When that upwards feedback loop clicks? It's night and day. Like I genuinely don't know how to describe what it's like to just sort of.....wake up different. But it happens all the time, and it KEEPS happening. And you start to realize you're not "waking up different" you're just....getting to know yourself without feeling so uncomfortable with what you're learning that you shy away from yourself

I dunno man, I don't have a point here, but I've been processing old grief lately and the grief of how long I spent viciously hating myself and truly believing that's what neutrality feels like.....Little-Domi deserved better, and so do yall

[iamquiantrelle]

SO INTO YOU ────── iamquaintrelle

# pairings: aurelien tchouameni x black reader (✨💕)

# tags: @sucredreamer @snowseasonmademe @jessnotwiththemess @rougereds @judectrl @mufasathatniggatho @irishmanwhore @lettersofgold @ayeshami @greyishbach @haartemis @goldenngt @solidbriii @sailurmewn @bbgkoo @mauvecherie-writes @leighjadeclimbedmtkilimanjaro

# summary: you’re a multiple grammy winning artist with a record breaking single based on an embarrassing crush on a footballer & when that single demands visuals who else do you ask to be your video vixen besides said footballer crush? but is he also willing to blow your back out too? ♡ masterlist

You were never drinking tequila again. Ever.

The tequila bottle sat empty on your coffee table like evidence from a crime scene, mocking you with memories of last night's social media bravery. Your Grammy awards caught the morning light, their gold surfaces throwing judgmental sparkles across your living room walls. You'd really done it this time - slid into Aurélien Tchouaméni's DMs like your verified check mark gave you the right to disturb his peace at 2 AM.

Your manager Carmen sat in the armchair across from you, tablet in hand as she went through tomorrow's flight details to Madrid. But your attention kept drifting to your phone, to that cursed Instagram conversation where you'd actually typed out "hey, random question but would you maybe want to be in my music video? no pressure lol" - asking him to star in your video for "So Into You," a song that lived in that dangerous space between confession and plausible deniability.

“Earth to lovergirl,” Carmen's professional tone carried just a hint of amusement. “You good? Or still having flashbacks to drunk-texting one of football's finest?”

His response still sat there in your DMs, casual as anything: “The song that's breaking records? I'd be down. Though I have to ask - any particular reason you thought of me? 😉”

You'd screamed into three different pillows after reading that.

“I still can't believe he said yes,” you mumbled, sinking deeper into the couch as Carmen scrolled through your embarrassing Instagram activity history with restrained glee. The evidence was damning: every single post liked within seconds, story reactions that probably made you look unhinged, the way you'd set notifications for his account months ago after that first video blessed your FYP.

It had been innocent enough at first - a clip of him in a post-match interview, fresh taper fade catching the stadium lights. Something about the way he carried himself, that quiet confidence wrapped in genuine humility, had you hitting that follow button before the video even finished. The way he'd laugh with his whole chest in interviews, how he could switch from intense focus on the field to the sweetest smile off it - you were gone before you even realized you were falling.

Your best friend had watched your descent with barely contained amusement. “Not you making a whole Tumblr shrine," she'd cackled one wine night, scrolling through @tchouamenithoughts. “Day 43 of manifesting Aurélien Tchouaméni to ruin my life’? Girl...”

“Listen,” you groaned now, watching Carmen pull up the same account on her phone, “we all cope differently.”

“Cope? You wrote a whole chart-topping song about how he 'controls the game like he could control your heart.' That's not coping, that's down catastrophic,” she said, maintaining her composure even as her eyes danced with mirth.

She wasn't wrong. You'd lost hours to The Bridge episodes, team interviews, even compilation videos of his best plays. You'd lost count of how many times you'd woken up hot and bothered from dreams featuring that TCHM chain of his dangling above you, his knowing smile as he– nope. Not going there. Not when you were about to meet him in person.

Your phone lit up with a text from an unknown Spanish number:

“Looking forward to finally meeting tomorrow. Been keeping those 2AM DMs for motivation during training 😊 - AT”

“Oh my god,” you breathed, showing Carmen the screen. “He saved the messages.”

“Of course he did,” she said, checking something on her tablet. “You really think he didn't notice how you watch every single one of his Instagram lives? Even the 3 AM ones after matches where he's just vibing to Afrobeats in his gym? Those thirst traps?”

The way he moved to those beats had no business living rent-free in your head like it did. Neither did the way his eyes got soft when he talked about his family in interviews, or how that dangerous half-smirk would appear after a particularly clean tackle. You'd documented it all on your Tumblr, built whole theories around his personality based on how he interacted with teammates, analyzed every public appearance like it was your job.

“What if he found it?" The thought hit you suddenly. “The Tumblr account?”

Carmen's composed expression cracked slightly with a knowing smile. “Girl, if he has, he still said yes to the video. What does that tell you?”

You didn't want to think about what that might mean. Couldn't let yourself hope that maybe he'd noticed you too, that perhaps those quick likes on your Instagram stories weren't just courtesy, that the way he'd immediately responded to your drunk DM meant something.

Tomorrow you'd be in Madrid. Tomorrow you'd see if that confidence you'd analyzed in countless videos translated in person, if his smile was really as dangerous as it seemed through a screen.

“Make sure you pack some lingerie,” Carmen said as she gathered her things, a slight smirk playing at her lips. “Just in case those Tumblr manifestations worked.”

You buried your face in a throw pillow, but your heart was already racing at the possibility.

**************************************************

The Madrid morning sun painted the makeup room in ethereal hues, casting everything in a dreamlike glow that did nothing to settle your nerves. You sat still as the artist perfected your look - soft glam that highlighted your warm brown skin, each baby hair laid with precision, curls falling in a carefully crafted cascade. The "effortlessly gorgeous" aesthetic you'd aimed for had, ironically, required a 5 AM start.

“He's here,” your assistant's voice cut through your reverie, and your heart performed a gymnastics routine worthy of Olympic qualification.

Here's the thing about Aurélien Tchouaméni - all the 4K footage in the world, every professional photograph, every high-definition broadcast couldn't capture what he was in person. The way he commanded space wasn't something a camera could translate.

He had to duck slightly entering the room (had he always been that tall?), the morning light catching him like it knew exactly what it was doing. The fitted white tee and designer jeans he wore were deceptively simple, the kind of casual that required serious thought. That signature "TCHM" pendant caught the light as he moved, the diamond Cuban link chain you'd written dissertations about on Tumblr proving worthy of every analysis. You'd watched enough matches to know his height, studied enough footage to know his build, but something about him actually being there, all 6'2" of him absolutely dominating the space, had your carefully constructed composure threatening to crumble.

“So," he said, that dangerous half-smile playing at his lips as he approached, “you're the one who slid in my DMs at 2 AM?”

The ground could swallow you whole any minute now. His French accent in person was a weapon that should be classified as illegal. “Listen, about that–“

“Nah, don't apologize," he laughed, the sound rich enough to drown in. "It was cute. Especially that part about my ball control being 'unfairly hot.'”

"Please tell me you're joking," you groaned, but you couldn't help smiling. His presence was magnetic - that quiet confidence you'd analyzed through screens somehow even more potent in the flesh.

"Three fire emojis and everything," he grinned, and you noticed his taper fade was fresh, clearly done for the shoot. The chain caught the light again as he leaned slightly closer, shortening the considerable distance between you. "But for what it's worth? Your voice is unfairly hot too.”

Your cognitive functions ceased entirely. The proximity brought his cologne into focus - something expensive and intoxicating that absolutely wasn't helping your ability to form coherent thoughts. The height difference hit differently in person, requiring you to tilt your head back to meet his gaze.

“Five minutes to places!” the director's call pierced through your haze, saving you from having to remember basic language skills.

The shoot itself was a study in sweet torture. For the first time in your career, you found yourself flubbing takes - missing cues, getting lost in moments. You, who prided yourself on one-take perfection, needed multiple runs at the simplest scenes. But how could you focus when he kept looking at you like that? The way his eyes would drift slowly down your body between setups, how his hands would rub together - a tell you'd seen in dozens of post-match interviews when something particularly caught his interest. But then again, Aurélien was known for giving everything his complete attention. You'd watched enough footage to know that.

He played his role perfectly - too perfectly, really. Each take had him hitting his marks with the same precision he showed on the field, but there was something else there. Something in the way his hand would linger just a moment too long when helping you up, how his eyes would catch yours in the monitor playback.

“Last setup!” the director announced, and you silently thanked whatever higher power was listening. Your heart could only take so much.

“So," Aurélien said during the lighting adjustment, his voice dropping to a register that did dangerous things to your pussy. “Since you're such a football fan now... maybe you'd want to come to my match this weekend? VIP seats?”

Your heart stuttered. “Yeah? What if someone recognizes me?”

"Let them," he smiled, and that chain glinted again as he shifted closer. "Maybe I want people to know, especially about that DM.”

You couldn't help laughing despite your burning cheeks. "You're never letting that go, are you?”

"Never," he agreed, then added more softly: "But I'm glad you sent it. Been trying to figure out how to slide in your DMs too, especially after seeing all those likes on my gym posts.”

You looked up at him (way up - seriously, the height difference was doing things to you), catching that dangerous glint in his eye. “Oh….”

"Front row seats," he continued, voice dropping lower. "Right behind the bench. That way I'll know exactly where to look after I score.”

Your heart did another full gymnastic routine. “Pretty confident about that goal, huh?”

"I'm confident about a lot of things," he smiled, and that chain caught the light once more as he leaned down slightly. “Like how good those likes looked on my notifications.”

You were going to pass away on the spot. But then his hand found yours, and that smile softened into something more private, more real. “Sure I’ll go.”

Maybe drunk you had known exactly what she was doing after all.

******************************************

Thank god for these VIP seats because the view? Immaculate.

Grandpa Ancelotti finally put Aurélien in his rightful position and oh my god, watching him command the midfield in person hit so different. TV did not prepare you for this. At all.

The way his orange kit stretched across those shoulders when he'd gesture to teammates? Criminal. And those calves? You'd seen them in videos but in person they were actually unreal. The entire package was just unfair - whoever said football kits weren't flattering had never seen Aurélien Tchouaméni in one. His body was sculptural, all lean muscle and perfect proportions, like god really sat down and took extra time crafting him specifically to ruin your life.

You watched him talk tactics with Jude, all authority and focused energy, and the way he carried himself on the field had you feeling some type of way. His whole demeanor shifted during matches - all business and pure power. The intensity in his eyes when he'd call out positions? Yeah, you were definitely going to need a glass of water.

When he made that assist - a perfect pass that had the crowd screaming - you jumped up cheering before remembering you were supposed to be playing it cool. But how could you when he glanced your way during the celebration with that smile?

Every time he'd body someone off the ball, the way his muscles flexed with the effort... Lord have mercy. You'd really thought writing a song about him was peak down bad but watching him work in person? Your brain was absolutely short-circuiting.

During a water break, he caught your eye and adjusted his shirt - a move you'd seen in countless matches but this time it felt deliberate, just for you. The stadium lights hit his dark skin just right, making him look like he was literally glowing. And that jawline? Sharp enough to cut glass.

The final whistle had you watching his post-match routine like you hadn't already memorized it from videos - the handshakes, the quick interviews, the way he'd run his hand over his fresh fade when downplaying how good he was. But then he looked up at your spot again with that private little smile and yeah... you were absolutely screwed.

Because watching Aurélien Tchouaméni absolutely own the soccer pitch? That wasn't just attraction anymore. That was straight up ruination.

You made it to the designated area and only had to wait around 30 minutes before Aurélien showed up, fresh from the shower, dressed casually but still somehow managing to look like a walking problem. A clean black tee stretched across his chest, showing off the definition of his arms, paired with dark jeans that sat just right on his waist. And the way his chain rested against his collarbone? Yeah, this was dangerous.

“You waited long?” he asked, a lazy smile on his lips as he approached, exuding the kind of confidence that came naturally to him.

“Not really,” you said, hoping your voice sounded steadier than you felt.

His eyes dragged over you in a way that felt intentional, like he was cataloging every detail. “Good. Would’ve hated to keep you waiting.”

The way he said it sent a shiver down your spine, but before you could overthink it, he tilted his head. “You hungry?”

You blinked. “Yeah.”

“Come on, let’s get something to eat,” he said, nodding toward the exit.

You followed him out, keeping pace as he led you to his car — his matte black Lamborghini Urus. Of course. He opened the passenger door for you, stepping back just enough to give you space but still managing to be close, like his presence was a gravitational pull.

“You good?” he asked, one brow lifting as you hesitated before getting in.

You nodded quickly, sliding into the plush seat, inhaling the faint scent of leather and his cologne —clean, expensive, and entirely him. He shut the door gently before walking around to the driver’s side, settling in smoothly before starting the engine. The deep purr of the car filled the quiet, and when he rested one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear shift, your eyes traced the veins in his forearm, the way his fingers flexed slightly.

Yeah, this was setting you off.

Aurélien drove with an effortless confidence, maneuvering through Madrid’s streets like he’d done it a million times — which, of course, he had. As he looped around the Bernabéu, he nodded toward the stadium. “You should come back for a tour.”

Your head turned sharply toward him. “What?”

He glanced at you, amused by your surprise. “You liked watching me play, right?”

Like was an understatement. Watching him on the pitch, commanding the game with precision and strength, was one thing. But now, seeing him here, driving through the city with that same quiet control, his jaw flexing as he focused on the road, his fingers tapping against the wheel — it was too much.

You were obsessed. Fully.

Your crush was sitting mere inches away, effortlessly charming, looking stupid good behind the wheel, and here you were, acting all timid. No. You needed to snap out of it. Because if you didn’t make a move now, when would you?

“You like tacos?” His voice cut through your thoughts as he stopped at a red light, glancing at you with a knowing smirk.

Of course, you liked tacos. But right now? Food was the last thing on your mind.

Because tomorrow night, you’d be on a flight back to LA. Who knew when you’d see him again? Your lives were on different continents. And after everything —after DMing him, after him actually showing up for your video — didn’t you deserve this one night?

Your heart pounded as you turned toward him fully, a slow smile curving your lips. “Tacos can wait.”

Aurélien’s lips curved into a smirk, the kind that sent heat rushing through you. He tilted his head slightly, feigning innocence. “Oh? And what are you in the mood for?”

The way his voice dipped on the last word made your breath hitch. He knew exactly what you meant. And judging by the way his fingers flexed against the steering wheel, he liked where this was going.

“Maybe we can go back to your place?” you suggested, trying to sound casual despite the thrum of anticipation running through you.

He hummed, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip like he was weighing his options. “For something to eat…or?”

“Definitely or,” you giggled, the boldness surprising even yourself.

Aurélien let out a deep chuckle, shaking his head slightly as he turned onto a quieter road. “Alright. So, UberEats later. Sounds good.”

Your stomach flipped at the ease in his tone, like this was the most natural thing in the world. Then his eyes flicked to you, warm and dark with something unreadable, and he bit his lip. “You’re so beautiful.”

The compliment was soft, unprompted, and it caught you off guard. Your chest tightened, heat creeping up your neck. “Thank you.”

He didn’t rush the drive, taking his time maneuvering through the streets, letting conversation flow easily between you. He asked about your time in Madrid, what you’d done so far, if you liked the city. And the whole time, his voice had that smooth, rich quality that made every word feel like it was meant just for you.

When he finally pulled up to his house — a sleek, modern place with clean lines and warm lighting —you barely had time to take it in before a low bark caught your attention.

Ocho.

The Belgian Malinois trotted toward the door as soon as you stepped inside, his dark eyes locked onto you with curiosity. Aurélien placed a reassuring hand on your lower back, his touch warm and grounding. “Let him sniff you first,” he murmured.

You extended your hand slightly, letting Ocho inspect you. The dog’s ears twitched before he gave a small huff, seemingly satisfied.

Aurélien grinned. “Good boy.” Then, switching to French, he said, “Va dans ta chambre.” (Go to your room.)

Ocho obeyed immediately, padding off toward what you assumed was his designated space.

“He’s well-trained,” you noted, impressed.

Aurélien shrugged, closing the door behind him. “Had to be. He’s my best boy.” Then he turned to you, his gaze softer now. “You want anything to drink?”

The fact that he even asked — so polite, so sweet —made your heart squeeze a little.

You shook your head. “I’m good.”

Still, he grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and a water anyway, tucking them under his arm before reaching for you. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you in just enough to make your breath hitch. “Come on.”

As he guided you upstairs, his lips found the side of your neck, pressing slow, lingering kisses against your skin as you walked. His goatee tickled, the warmth of his mouth sending shivers down your spine.

By the time you made it to his bedroom, you were already gripping his arm, steadying yourself against the dizzying effect of his touch.

Aurélien smirked as he nudged the door shut behind you. “Still thinking about tacos?”

Not even a little bit. “No.”

He placed the Gatorade and water bottle on the bedside table then Aurélien’s hands were warm against your waist, fingers pressing into your skin as he pulled you in. His lips found yours, soft at first, tasting, teasing, savoring. The kiss started slow, a gentle exploration, his lips moving against yours in a way that had your heart thudding in your chest.

But then his hands slid lower, gripping the curve of your hips, and something shifted. The kiss deepened, turning hotter, messier — needy. His tongue met yours, stroking, claiming, pulling soft moans from your lips that he swallowed greedily.

The room was quiet except for the sounds of your mouths working against each other, the wet slide of tongues, the occasional breathless sighs escaping between kisses. His fingers trailed up your back, making you arch into him, pressing your body flush against his. The heat between you was dizzying, his scent — fresh, clean, and something uniquely him —wrapping around you like a drug.

Your hands roamed, exploring the hard planes of his back, the ridges of muscle beneath his skin. He groaned into your mouth when your nails scratched lightly at his nape, the sound vibrating through you and making your thighs clench.

His hands moved with purpose now, sliding under the hem of your top, pushing it up, breaking the kiss only long enough to strip it from you. Then he went for your bottoms, peeling them away, leaving you in just your underwear. His dark eyes roved over you, taking you in, heat flickering in his gaze.

“Fuck,” he muttered, almost to himself, before his hands were back on you, caressing, exploring, like he needed to feel every inch of your skin.

You didn’t hesitate, your fingers slipping under the hem of his shirt, tugging it upward. He let you pull it over his head, and your breath hitched when you got a full view of him — his abs looked even better in person, all taut muscle and definition, a masterpiece carved in 4D.

Your fingers traced along the ridges, relishing the way his muscles tensed beneath your touch.

Aurélien groaned, low and deep, his head tipping back slightly. “You’re really testing my patience, bébé.”

You smiled, dragging your fingertips lower, teasing along the waistband of his jeans. Your fingers worked at the button, then the zipper, easing the denim down his hips. He helped, pushing them the rest of the way until they pooled at his feet, leaving him in just his Aime boxers.

Your breath caught.

He was hard.

The thick outline of his length strained against the fabric, the sight making heat pool low in your belly.

Your hands ghosted over his erection, barely grazing him, but it was enough to make him suck in a sharp breath.

“Shit,” he hissed, his hips jerking slightly at the contact.

You muttered an apology, but he just shook his head, eyes dark with heat. “It’s okay, bébé.”

Then his lips were on yours again, stealing the breath from your lungs, guiding you toward the bed. You barely registered the feel of the mattress beneath you before he was pressing you down, his body hovering over yours, his heat surrounding you.

And from the way he looked at you — like he was about to ruin you — you knew you were in for it.

His hands skimmed down your body to unclasp your bra then his fingers hooked into the waistband of your underwear, dragging them down your legs with agonizing slowness. His gaze roved over you, hungry and heated, before he lowered himself between your thighs.

His mouth found your skin, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses from your navel downward, making you shiver in anticipation.

And then — oh.

Aurélien’s lips, his tongue, the warmth of his breath against your pussy had you gasping, your fingers tangling in his curls as he worked you over with a skill that had your thighs trembling.

He was deliberate but messy, completely focused on you, his lips wrapping around your clit while his tongue moved in slow, devastating circles. When he slipped two fingers inside, curling them just right, a strangled moan escaped your lips.

“Tu prends si bien, bébé,” he murmured against you, the vibration of his voice making you whimper. His fingers stroked inside you, matching the rhythm of his tongue, and your hips bucked instinctively. He just chuckled, holding you in place as he kept going, kept building you higher, until—

And then he pulled away.

A whimper of protest left your lips before you could stop it, and he smirked at your pout, his thumb swiping at the corner of his mouth like he was savoring the taste of you.

“Be right back,” he said, pressing a final kiss to your inner thigh before moving toward his dresser.

You pushed up on your elbows, watching as he pulled out a condom, then hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers, pushing them down. Your breath hitched at the sight of him — thick, long, and impossibly hard.

Aurélien caught you staring and smirked. “Like what you see?”

You swallowed, your cheeks heating. “Obviously.”

That made him chuckle as he rolled the condom on, then returned to the bed, his hands guiding your legs further apart as he settled between them. One arm reached behind you, grabbing a pillow and tucking it under your lower back, another small but thoughtful gesture that made your chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with arousal.

His lips found your neck as he nudged himself against your entrance, teasing you with shallow strokes, making your body crave him even more.

And as he finally, finally pushed inside, a deep moan left your lips, because — oh. Oh.

This was happening. Your crush, your fantasy, your dream — was now your reality.

His thrusts were slow at first, letting you feel every inch of him stretching you, filling you, but it didn’t take long before the teasing gave way to something deeper, more urgent. He kissed you through it, all tongue and heat, swallowing your moans as his hips found a steady rhythm.

“You feel so fucking good,” he murmured against your lips, his voice thick with pleasure. “So wet for me.”

The chain around his neck swung forward with every movement, the cool metal brushing against your skin, dangling just above your face, and god, he looked beautiful like this — face twisted in pleasure, jaw clenched, brows furrowed, dark eyes locked on yours like he never wanted to look away.

“Tu es si belle,” he groaned, dropping his head to your neck, dragging open-mouthed kisses along your throat before moving lower. His tongue flicked over your nipple before he took it into his mouth, sucking just enough to send a sharp jolt of pleasure through you. Your back arched off the bed, hands tangling in his curls as you whimpered his name.

Aurélien pulled back slightly, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin before he released you with a wet pop. His eyes met yours, dark and full of intent.

“Turn over for me,” he said, voice like gravel, thick with desire.

You swallowed, your body already obeying before your mind could catch up. He sat back, watching you get on all fours, his large hands smoothing over the curve of your ass, squeezing each cheek once before dragging up your spine. The way he looked at you, eyes burning with hunger, sent heat pooling low in your stomach.

“You’re perfect,” he muttered, almost to himself. Then he ran a hand through his curls, exhaling sharply before gripping your hips and lining himself up again.

And when he pushed back inside, deeper than before, a broken moan fell from your lips.

“That’s it, bébé,” he murmured, his fingers digging into your skin as he started to move, slow at first, teasing. “Taking me so well.”

His pace quickened, the sound of skin on skin filling the air, along with the low, guttural groans spilling from his lips. His chain swung again, the rhythmic clink of metal adding to the mix of sensations that had you spiraling.

“Feel me?” he rasped, dragging a hand up your spine to fist your hair gently, pulling just enough to make you arch. “So deep inside you. Fuck.”

You whimpered, barely able to form words, barely able to breathe with how good he felt, how he filled every inch of you like he was made for this.

“Talk to me,” he urged, voice raw. “Let me hear you.”

“I’m—” Your words broke off into a moan as he angled his hips just right, hitting that spot that made stars burst behind your eyes.

“Yeah?” he taunted, a smirk in his voice. “Right there, huh?”

You could only nod frantically, your body trembling as he picked up the pace, chasing both of your releases. His angled his hips once more and that made you let out something primal.

“Damn, yes fuck me back,” he crooned just before you felt his lips touch the middle of spine. You shivered at the sensation, moaning out his name like a prayer.

“Aurélien….”

He rocked into you harder, faster and it made your toes curl. He was relentless and you loved every second of it. The sounds you both were making was the perfect lullaby of lust and pleasure.

“Mm…shit….Aurélien.” You couldn’t stop from moaning his name and judging by the way his hands gripped your hips each time, you could tell that he liked it.

Soon, you both were pushed over that edge, moaning as your orgasm overwhelmed your entire body. After awhile, you felt him slip out of you and then the bed shifted as he moved to throw out the condom.

Your body still hummed with the aftershocks of pleasure, limbs heavy, breath slowly evening out. You were probably a mess — hair wild, lips swollen, body still flushed with heat — but Aurélien? He looked unfairly good.

He was leaning back against the headboard, his chest still rising and falling steadily, dark skin glowing under the dim light. The chain that had been dangling in your face minutes ago now rested against his collarbones, catching the light with each small movement. He reached over to grab his Gatorade, unscrewing the cap and taking a long sip before setting it on the bedside table.

Then, he turned to you, dark eyes scanning your face, something soft in his expression. “You want some?”

You shook your head, not because you weren’t thirsty, but because you couldn’t stop staring at him.

His lips quirked slightly. “You must really like me.”

The way he said it wasn’t cocky or teasing — it was knowing, like he’d been piecing it together all night. And maybe he was right, because you couldn’t help the dopey-ass smile that spread across your face.

Aurélien chuckled, shaking his head before exhaling through his nose. “I like you too. Wish you didn’t beat me to sliding in the DMs first, though.”

You lifted a brow. “You really mad about that?”

He made a little face, scrunching his nose slightly, which was unfairly adorable for someone who had just rearranged your insides. “Not that much,” he admitted. “But I would’ve liked the chase.”

You scoffed, rolling onto your side to face him. “The chase? What are you, a lion?”

That made him smile, a real one, warm and lazy, like he was letting his guard down completely. “When a guy likes a girl, he usually asks her out first,” he said simply. “You were in my likes, I was in yours… I was about to slide through, but yeah, you beat me to it.”

Your stomach did a little flip.

He reached out then, running a hand down your arm before linking his fingers loosely with yours. “But I’m gonna do the rest, okay?”

Your breath caught, your heart stumbling in your chest. This was Aurélien Tchouaméni, your crush, your dream, and now, here he was — holding your hand, looking at you like this wasn’t just some one-night thing.

“Okay,” you whispered, squeezing his fingers lightly.

His smile widened, and then he tugged you closer, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead before settling beside you, keeping your hand in his like he wasn’t planning to let go anytime soon.

You couldn’t help but stare at him — at the strong lines of his face, the sharp jaw softened by the faintest hint of stubble, the fullness of his lips, the way his lashes rested against his cheeks when he blinked. He was so beautiful.

“What?” he murmured, catching you staring.

You shrugged, biting your lip. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

How crazy it was that you were here. That this wasn’t a dream. That your crush — the man who dominated the midfield with an effortless cool, the one you’d written lyrics about, the one you’d been too shy to DM for the longest time — was lying next to you, holding your hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“About how wild this is,” you admitted.

Aurélien chuckled, his dimples flashing as he turned onto his side, propping his head up with his free hand. “Yeah?”

You nodded. “I mean, this time yesterday, I was just hoping you’d even notice me at the game. Now I’m in your bed.”

That smirk made a reappearance, but his voice was soft when he said, “I noticed you way before the game, bébé.”

Your stomach flipped. “Yeah?”

“Of course,” he said easily. “You think I wasn’t watching whenever you posted on Instagram? When you DM’d me?”

Your face warmed. “You didn’t answer right away.”

He grinned, teasing. “Had to make you sweat a little.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Wow, so you really are a lion.”

“Gotta keep things interesting,” he mused. Then, more seriously, “But I was always gonna answer.”

Something about the way he said it made your heart squeeze. Like he wasn’t just saying it to make you feel good. Like, in some way, he’d been waiting for this too.

You swallowed. “And now that I’m here?”

Aurélien’s eyes darkened slightly, but there was something tender in his gaze as he squeezed your fingers. “Now,” he murmured, shifting closer, “I’m making sure you come back.”

Your breath caught, and before you could think of a response, he kissed you.

It was slow this time, unhurried, like he wanted to take his time tasting you. His lips moved against yours with an intoxicating rhythm, deepening the kiss little by little until you were completely lost in it. His hand came up to cup your jaw, thumb stroking over your cheek as he kissed you like he had all the time in the world.

And maybe he did. Maybe this wasn’t just for tonight.

Maybe, just maybe, this was only the beginning.

Aurélien pulled back just enough to search your face, his lips still brushing against yours, his breath warm against your skin. His fingers traced slow, lazy patterns along your arm as he studied you with that knowing smirk that made your stomach flip.

“That song,” he murmured. “It’s about me, isn’t it?”

Your heart stuttered.

For a second, you thought about playing coy, maybe teasing him a little, but what was the point? He already knew. You could see it in the glint of amusement in his eyes, the confidence in his voice.

You sighed, defeated but grinning. “Yeah,” you admitted softly. “It’s about you.”

Aurélien chuckled, shaking his head like he’d known it all along. “I knew it,” he said, his voice rich with satisfaction. “You should write another one.”

You huffed out a laugh. “Another song?”

“Mm-hmm.” His fingers brushed down your back, tracing the curve of your spine. “One about tonight.”

Your breath hitched at the implication, at the way his voice had dipped lower, rougher.

You bit your lip. “Might have to.”

Aurélien grinned. “Good,” he murmured, kissing you again. “Make it a love song.”

[arihi]

Charmed! 2025 (A Community Recap)

Charmed 2025 happened this past weekend, the 10th anniversary. My con recaps of years past desperately tried to fit in as much detail and information of each day, play-by-plays as I tagged everyone I could remember, talked about all the classes I'd been to, the people I'd met. Nowadays, I'm content to just do a general overview.

I spent a lot of time pensive and thinking about my time spent in the community and during cons. The 10th anniversary for Charmed meant that marked 9 years since I'd come out to my very first one. Longer in the community when I was still only online. How does the time fly by so quickly? It doesn't feel real. I still feel very new, and yet when I look around I'm surrounded by unfamiliar faces, cons growing too large and too quickly for me to recognize every face like I used to at the beginning. This sentiment is far from unique, and I had several conversations during the con with people who echoed similar feelings. At one point, I found myself in a group of people who all predated me in the con-going circuit - a rarity as more and more time goes on. We talked about the growth of cons, my first one. Though I'd spent a lot of the day feeling listless without realizing why, I found myself feeling comforted by the company, and realizing I had been lonely.

It's not at all a bad thing, and I'm genuinely happy that more and more people are finding community at these events - god knows I did. It's an adjustment is all, an ever-shifting growth of my own. It's plain to see from my blog activity over the years that I withdrew from talking as often. Not good, not bad, but also for good, and for bad. It's probably good that I don't reveal as much about myself at the drop of a hat. It's probably bad that I'm more avoidant now than I'd like to be. I'd remarked to a friend a while back that I didn't miss the old MMO that we met each other on and spent our days playing, but that I missed the period of time in my life that it defined. Similarly, I think I was going through a huge shift in life and perspective at the time I was first finding my feet at these events, these gatherings of people that taught me that it was worth it to seek my own happiness, that *I* was worth it. I know this inherently now, but it was much more of an impact back then for obvious reasons. I suppose it's like the honeymoon period of a relationship vs. settling into its stability. I suppose you could say I'm in a long-term relationship with myself! And it's some of the healthiest it's ever been. And now that I'm doing better and more stable these days, I should try to push myself to be out there more often.

Every time someone tells me that I've grown so much, I can't help but tear up and cry. (I'm doing it now as I type this.) And wouldn't you believe it, that happened to me like FOUR TIMES during Charmed!! Come on y'all!! What the hell. There's nothing that solves feeling stagnated in life like hearing that from someone else. I resolved myself at the beginning of this post not to feel like I had to document every interaction and tag every person, but it's difficult to fight the urge to yell it from the rooftops, how each interaction genuinely touched me, how they were the highlights of my con. How I miss them again, and how I can't wait to see them again. It couldn't come soon enough. Thank you to those who have watched my journey and always encouraged me. (I feel like I say this often, but, please know that I mean it every time. Except this time like triple it. That's how much it means to me.)

Charmed changed my life. I will say it to my dying breath and I will always be forever grateful for it. I learned people could be happy. I learned I could be happy. The connections I made at the first Charmed and subsequent years have changed my life beyond what a 2015 version of me could ever imagine. Tangibly, too -- beyond just a shift in perspective and mentality and wanting better for myself, I wouldn't have been able to move out without the chain of events that started at this first con. So- thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

I challenge myself not to document every interaction because in the past, that was how I had to live. Every post was proof I had experienced hardship (and lived). Every con meant a new lease on life and I had to memorize every single one and struggle to do hours long voice recordings about each day of the event to remember as much as I could because, that was all I could bring back. And I don't need to anymore - not because I don't want to remember, but because I'm in a better place now. These aren't the desperate emergency infusions of care I didn't know I could have; now, they are cherished moments with friends old and new, a drop in the bucket of happy memories. And part of life is to forget and talk about old stories and remember them again with good company.

Until the next one, and the one after that, and the many more after that.

-- Ari

[anarchistkale]

What the fuck were the character designs in Castlevania Judgement

Weird first post for a blog supposedly about anarchism and/or game design, but it includes designs in a game and I do what I want so fuck it. I just became aware of Castlevania Judgement, a 2009 fighting game featuring a grab bag of characters from across the Castlevania franchise. And the visual designs of the characters in this game are absolutely fucking BATSHIT, and not (in my opinion) in a good way. I'm gonna show you (with "you" being the roughly two hypothetical people who might actually see this post) a few examples to demonstrate what I mean.

First we got Trevor Belmont. Why is he called Ralph in this? Fucked if I know. Look at the straps on this son of a bitch's chest! Why the everloving fuck would an outfit need this many straps? Are the gray bits meant to be metal or leather? Genuinely can't tell. And would you believe me if I told you this is one of the least insane designs in this game?

This is Grant Danasty. Why? Why any of this? He's not fucking mummified in the game he originally appears in. He's just a dude. What is going on with his proportions, how is he supposed to use that weapon without shredding his arm, and what the fuck is up with those inward-facing spikes on his wrist? Weird shit on the wrists and feet is going to be a common theme with these designs. That and random, unnecessary spikes sticking off of everything.

Then there's Sypha Belnades. Setting aside that goofy-looking bulbous staff, just take a look at those boots. What the fuck are those metal crosses doing sticking off the front of her high heels? Are they supposed to be armour? How are they even attached? And what in the world is that on her wrist? Utterly unhinged. That's not even to mention the egregiously tight pants and the unbelievably tittieful top they've got her in: we'll see much worse in that department later on.

Next up is Maria Renard. So much "what the fuck" going on here. Again, the shoes are unhinged. The pink front bits, the boosted heeled soles, and the black parts look like pieces of three separate pieces of footwear stitched together very poorly. What are those black straps just above the boots? Part of the tights? Individual straps that she puts on one at a time over the tights? Madness. What are those plus-shaped things holding her pigtails? The dress is just four different 2012 Hot Topic outfits torn up and haphazardly sewn together, and that staff. What in the holy blessed fuck is that staff? Fucking candelabra-ass base, tiny little narrow bit connecting the cage to the rest of it about to snap off at any moment, and is that bird meant to be in horrible agony inside that twisted metal cage? Because it definitely is. Also, deduct 1,000 points for putting the small child in such a short skirt, obviously. Disgusting, hate to see it, moving on.

Alucard, my beloved. What have they done to you? Look at those gauntlets. The upward pointing spike. The looping bit of metal from the wrist to the elbow. What would possess someone to design gauntlets that way? More random spikes on the pointless red line curving across his chest. And again, the boots are unbelievable. Look at the ankles. Why is there that bulging out bit? What purpose does that serve other than to make the wearer trip on their own feet constantly? Outrageous.

Motherfucking Dracula. Lord of Darkness, most powerful vampire in history, etc. He has two rows of what appear to be golden nipples running down his chest. They're not spikes, they're clearly hollow. What the fuck else would you even call them? And then of course there's the exorbitant amount of pointless spikes coming off of his back and the mantle behind his head. Why the squiggly lines along his sleeve? Thank fuck we can't see his feet so we're not subjected to more atrocious boots. But don't you motherfuckers worry. I saved the worst for last.

Carmilla. For the love of all that is holy, what the FUCK have they done to Carmilla? Look at this! Where do I even start? Of course there's the elephant in the room, and the elephant is tits. The design is hyper-sexualized to a comical degree, of course, but that's not uncommon. It's not that she's in elaborate BDSM gear that melts my brain here. What is going on with that...weapon? Oddly shaped, spikey shield with two spikey balls sticking off the side and a bizarrely curved blade protruding out from the front? Never mind how that blade seems barely attached and liable to snap off on the first swing, how is she supposed to even use it? I've looked up gameplay clips of her fighting, but everything is so visually messy in the clips I've found that it's hard to tell what's meant to be happening. The only thing the camera ever focuses clearly on is her boobs jiggling. Then of course there's the outrageous gauntlet on her off-hand, with another precariously attached, oddly shaped, utterly pointless blade sticking off her forearm. Obviously there's the ubiquitous unnecessary spikes all over everything. But worst of all, as usual, is the boots. I've run out of different ways to say what the fuck in this post, so I'll do it in caps: WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE? The blades sticking up in the back that look like they'd shred her calves when she walks. The protruding bladed disks coming off the heels that would shred her ankles when she walks. The oddly angled spikes on either side of the front. Perhaps most nonsensically, the fact that the boots don't seem to be secured to her feet in any way: looks like she just slips her feet into them, no straps or anything. She's supposed to be FIGHTING in these! This shit is insane, I feel like I'm losing my mind.

What was the art director thinking? What could have possibly been the rationale for this design philosophy? I don't know, but I needed to share. If anyone sees this rambling mess of a post and wants to share their own favourite examples of bugfuck nonsense videogame character designs, I'd love to see them.

[lovelikehomicide]

Yes, to all of this.

I personally headcanon that all vampires are bi, given that they're hedonistic by nature and can reproduce through biting (increases race numbers and family size without sex), they just err towards hetero relationships for the sake of status.

Vampires from noble families, like the Dracula's, are expected to marry the opposite sex to keep the bloodline going, therefore providing more opportunities for political progress and internal wealth distribution. This also plays into the commodification of women. The male heirs need wives, not husbands, because a husband would be their social equal and therefore capable of redistributing their wealth towards their own family, while women are considered to be part of whatever household they marry into. Daughters are only valuable because they can be given to other families as brides, securing status and connections through the promise of someone to birth the next heir. This is a system created not to push compulsory heterosexuality, but to maintain the control of already powerful families. We saw in canon how important family connections and political power are.

Sex and romance exist separately from marriage in the vampire world, with sex and romance being viewed as acts of pleasure, and marriage as a responsibility to their family. I like to think vampires are very accepting of, and open about, all forms of sexuality, so long as they don't interfere with familial responsibility.

Also--new topic, but I refuse to believe that the memory wipe worked on Robin. Season 4 retconned the hypnosis rules, making it so that you can't hypnotise a breather you love in general, not just one you're IN love with. While Vlad's inability to hypnotise Jonno could be read as romance-coded, I don't think they would have been nearly as casual about it if either thought that was the case, given that the Vlad/Erin storyline was still in progress.

Robin and Vlad as an adult couple would be a trip, given Robin always seemed so torn between being in aw of vampires and being afraid of them. He had multiple moments of genuine fear, while still continuing to spend time at the castle and maintaining that vampires are cool. I think he would be enthralled by the new Vlad, but once the thrill died down a part of him would mourn the feeling of safety he had around him as a teen.

Robin is gay, btw, because I have serious trouble reading a vampire obsessed goth boy as straight, and he didn't fall over Ingrid anywhere near as much as every other teen boy in the show, despite her supernatural thrall.

some young dracula thoughts that have crossed my silly little head

i've said it before i'll say it again vlad is bi

he also swears in welsh as the count doesn't understand

he just swears a lot in general

no theres literally evidence for this in the show when he says wtf in the walkee talkees with bertrand

i picture the show with a lot more tradition than is actually shown and love the idea of vlad being referred to as viscount/just generally his status in the nobility being shown

vlad becoming even more morally grey and reconnecting with someone from his past maybe its robin maybe its jono but them seeing him and just being like ??? bc what happened to the vlad they knew

robin!! he also gains his memory back and goes looking for vlad

ingrid finally gains peace and she's happy

honestly i have more that i just can't think of but here we are i just wanted to dump them maybe i'll make another post in the future

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

TXT's Tea Session

Dislaimer: No facts, all alleged, just my interpretation of the cards and messages.

Alright, time for the next tea session. Time for to get to my other favorites. I feel they got some tea, so let's see what they are willing to share. I feel this group always shares some fascinating insights.

Yeonjun

I see him very protective of his career and assets. He can be selfish in that way. He always looks to expand his career. I can see him being open to sexual favors if that gets him where he need to be and expand globally. It may have been with an older female, as the clarifier was the Empress, hopefully he didn't get a chick pregnant, but it can also mean to be able to create he had to sleep with this person. He does feel caged and very in control. He may not liked to be tamed as he is.

He is showing they are infantilized and coddled a bit too much. They can't really mature in some ways. And that the higher ups don't want them to outgrow them and prosper too much. He is showing me that there is competitive energy between the members, maybe they are out up against one another. He is showing some sort of rituals they may do, but he isn't elaborating on this. Pulled more cards, it is something that helps them gain success, so maybe doing rituals and spells to help with their success. Nothing new there, been getting that.

I wanted a clarifier for the 5 of wands. He seems to actually not like the drama or competitive energy around the group. Although, he may care about success and his money. He does want less drama and for all to get along and be more loving towards another. He rather distance himself from that and would rather separate himself from it. He might also feel it isn't good for their careers to have all this drama and fighting. He wants them to stand as a united front and be a loving family, so whatever disagreements the other members may have, and I do see that. He separates himself from that noise and isolates himself, until things get resolved. He wants no part of it. He wants them to be emotionally connected. Not going to lie, thought he was a bit cold, and about his career, but he genuinely seems to want them all to get along.

Hmm, it took a while to get something out of him. He doesn't open up so easily, but got some tea, as I would expect.

Soobin

I can see him being emotionally turbulent, maybe got offered some drink that cultivate that. He isn't very stable, and emotions can get the best of him. He seems to run on his emotions. He struggles to stay balanced. I don't see him being very grounded. I see a female energy being problematic for him. I do sense he has been traumatized. He could have dealt with some sort of abuse. It is hard for him to stand strong through it all. He seems to have his guard up and tries to protect himself.

There could be some contracts or deal he foolishly signed into, no surprised there. I don't think he was aware of what he signed into. I just think he didn't know all it takes to get to the pinnacle of success. Backstabbing, lies and deceit and a sense of imbalance. I believe it is hard for him to manage it all. He kind of struggles to balance all the responsibilities of it all. He had a naive approach to it all.

Wanted more card for this Empress and got some not-so-great cards she is a problem in his life. She causes chaos and turmoil for him, makes his life a living hell. I am not sure if this is his Mom, or a mother figure in the company. But the Hierophant card showed up, so she can be part of the company. I see her having a strong desire to see them succeed, but she can be too much and overbearing and quite problematic. She may even confuse him and could say hurtful things to him, or maybe he said something to her. She makes it hard for him to reach new levels and maybe even find peace of mind. She may be part of the reason he is messed up and emotionally all over the place.

Beomgyu

He seems determined to get what he wants. He is a passionate individual and there may be something he wants or may fight for. I can also see him not really being about the money, more so the creative pursuit. He may want things to be more creative, rather than it be about how to make money or focusing on those aspects.

He seems to go through these modes of being emotionally numb, bored with things, distant and then he can be very self-indulgent. But I can also see him not taking those drinks they may offer and decline those things. He does seem to find a way to dissociate and disconnect from time to time. Like he may not want to face reality at times. He could drink (alcoholic beverages) to numb himself. Or there is some escape mechanism he used to avoid the reality.

He seems to try to balance all aspects of himself and tries not to lean to far into one end of the spectrum. He tries to be rational, logical and smart about things, but can also be very in the clouds, imaginative and idealistic about things. I see him clashing with others, maybe a war of words, due to his desire to be more creative and wanting more creative projects. He is pretty stubborn and I see him having no problem expressing his grievances and disappointments to the higher ups. I just keep seeing that he wants more creative pursuits and there is a disagreement on that and he is at odds with others, due to that. He isn't showing me anything new here. I have seen this in his energy for a while.

I don't see Beomgyu as someone with dark secrets or anything. Although, he does show off a timid and shy appearance. He seems pretty vocal and demanding about his grievances and seems to not keep quiet about that behind the scenes.

Taehyun

Seeing some discrepancy with him and others, possibly the members. He is at odds with others. This could do with an attraction, he may have an attraction to someone, could be a member, yup saying it. This is a tea session. Not going lie, could be Kai. He ends this spread with cups, which is about emotions. This is how I see this.

He may feel betrayed and backstabbed right now. He could be depressed. He seems a bit distant now, possibly avoidant, maybe trying to avoid his own emotions. So, it does seem he is focusing his energy on work and trying to do things to keep his mind off of things. I see him doing his best to escape his feeling, but also just reflecting and spending time to himself.

This 5 of Wands keeps showing itself with this group, definitely drama surrounds them and the members. I see manipulation, backstabbing with him, is it him or others, not sure. I am also seeing, and I saw this with his reading with Soobin. He may have did some sly shit to him, to knock him down, out of jealousy and competitiveness. I needed more cards, because this is interesting, so I got the Emperor, this always gives me check mate, a need to one up someone, so he may have felt the need to do that, and then I got, 5 of Pentacles and 9 of Cups, a need to take someone out to get what he wants.

Need more card, because he is bringing the tea! I got the 7 of wands rv and the 6 of cups and got boundaries being crossed in the past, had no clue wtf that means, so pulled more cards, and got the 3 of cups, strongly feel this is himself, Soobin and Kai, there is something about work and moving forward or a difficulty to do so, I wish I can get more information, ugh, I want all the details, but can't get it. I will pull two more and that is it! He gave me the 3 of wands, 3 again! And Empress, creative energy. Okay, this is simpler than I thought, it is a struggle for them to tap into their emotions, because of that they can't nurture the bond they have and move forward. It is just stagnant, also a need for them to be more compassionate and understanding of another. Okay, I am done officially.

Wait, another thing that came up while reading this back. Just with them there is a lot of combative and aggression energy and not enough emotions and compassion with these guys, which creates this turmoil. They are just not in touch with their emotions, which causes all these problems. They are all, mainly the 3 I discussed, have not done the healing work yet to move forward in a positive direction.

Huening Kai

He is showing a disagreement, being at odds, this could be with Tae or Soobin, since this is the exact same thing that came up in Tae's reading or the people within the company. These next cards make no sense to me. Ace of Swords, sharing some information. 10 of Wands, heavy burdens, carrying a lot of the weight and 3 of cups, rituals, magic spells. But that can also be the 3 members I been mentioning. Pulled more cards and still makes no sense, the Star card is also about sending something out to the universe. There is a plan for him to make some sort of change.

He might want to leave the company, maybe he told Tae about this and that upset him, but he may want them to join him. I see him wanting to go against the company head, maybe seek Justice. He wants to utilize his talents elsewhere. He may not think it is utilized there. He may be tired of making money for this person, he seems to think he is a lazy bumb and they do all the work, which is why he wants to dip, maybe so he can make money on his own terms and for himself. I see him wanting to expand even further than he is. He may feel the company holds him back.

He seems to want to take control of his life and may have a plan. He feels trapped and limited, a bit suffocated. It seems he is starting to follow his heart and intuition and letting that lead him. He also sees things clearly and has observed things he may have not liked. I also see him wanted to make money for himself and take control of his own money and assets. He is tired off the stress and the mental games they may play with them, the back and forth. Yeah, he wants equal distribution of money, the work he puts in he should be paid for and it seem he feels he doesn't. He may talk to the other members, I feel mainly Tae and Soobin about going after the company together and demand what they want or leave together. But they may not completely side with him there. He wants to shine, but he may feel he is being stifled.

Alright, I spent way too much time with this one, but this group was the most fascinating, which I was expecting to be honest. The more I read for them. The more interesting they are to me. But I will stop here.

[epickiya722]

As a bkdk artist who's been in the fandom since 2018, one thing that always annoyed me about antis is when I (and other bkdks) posted bkdk art back then, I'd see ATLEAST one comment saying "your artsyle is cute, but bakudeku is a terrible ship" or "I don't like bkdk but your art is so good. Maybe you could try drawing krbk next?" Or even "how could you even like this ship. Hori himself said that izch is canon."

The "your art is good but this ship sucks, draw something else" comments sounded like backhanded compliments. Like I'm passionate about the ship so I'll draw what I want? Thank you very much?!

It was so cool to hate on bkdk back then, they really acted like it was some illegal ship. I also had people say stuff like I didn't understand how bullied people feel or abuse victims like seriously what 😑

I feel your annoyance to the point. My sentiments exactly.

Going to sound mean when I say this, but antis have gotten so infuriating that I honestly stopped caring. Like anything they do just to hate on the ship is ridiculously stupid.

I refuse to believe they do all of that because "Oh, I mean no harm, I just want to express how I feel". No, they have been doing it for far too long and they do it on purpose.

They mask wanting to bother shippers but "sharing their opinions".

That's not how they really feel, that's not their opinion, so they can cut the fuckery. They just want to be an asshole.

Those same people who constantly bash on BakuDeku barely bat a lash at other ships that are worse if they gonna throw the "Bakugou is a bully card".

You're right and you should say it. When they say "art style is cute but..." it's a backhanded compliment.

Honestly, I wouldn't even call it a compliment because a compliment is meant to be genuine. If antis are being genuine about an art style being cool to them, they wouldn't follow up with some insult.

Now antis want to pull the "It makes no sense to ship them" card. Who cares about it making sense? You know what doesn't make sense to me?

If antis, those that ship Izuku and Ochako, want to scream about them being "canon" (I say more implied than canon honestly) then why talk about BakuDeku at all? Do you secretly ship BakuDeku and just want to deny it, resist it like "oh, no I mustn't! I shall not"?

Do you have just want to follow the crowd of haters? "I want to hate, too, yay!"

Do you just have a thing for "following rules" and try to apply it to anything? Because then why only single out BakuDeku? Why not other ships?

I don't know about them, but when I hate a ship I don't talk about it.

Antis be screaming "I see BakuDeku everywhere I can't escape it", but I had a totally different experience because when I first got into MHA and as the anime and manga went on, I didn't see BakuDeku content like that because I wasn't exposing myself to it. When I did cross the ship, my reaction wasn't to harass the shipper. Just shrugged and moved on.

So antis have no excuse at all for their shit actions. If you hate the ship, hate it.

Is like they want a cookie or something... "I'm a BakuDeku hater, I want a sticker!" That's what they look like to me.

Also, Anon, I thank you for being a part of the community. For anybody who reblogs your art with comments like that I'm a proud hater of them since they want to be proud haters.