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yourtoradorasextendedwarranty · 7 months ago

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So I understand that I have a tendency to politics and rage post quite a bit and while I'm scrolling through my feed I like to go through and kind of mix things up with cute videos of animals and just wholesome things.

But the reason things have been picking up with me posting in general is because I have a bit too much free time recently and my work is a delivery job currently. Now as to what I'm about to talk about it is going to be me bitching. And it's because there is a demographic in the country that I can't tell whether or not they are just stupid, ignorant, or malicious. Though there is a possibility that it's a Venn diagram and that there's overlap or potentially a perfect circle.

Now the video that I'm about to share before I get into this topic is going to feature a person that I am aware that a lot of people don't like for a variety of different reasons. Having said that however I find man on the street videos pretty optimal for testing the general climate of people in general. Having said that here is the video.

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Now if you decide to not watch the full video that's completely fine because my response is mainly only to the first and third person that are interviewed. And this is a broader conversation about Democrat voters in general. So I am going to put a read more tag under this because it will probably be long but if you end up giving it a read I appreciate it.

I don't know if it's because of mainstream Media or pundits or talking heads but Democrat voters in the United States seem to be heavily uninformed to a point of sheer ignorance or just general stupidity. And if you are honestly asking me I can't tell if it's again, ignorance, stupidity or maliciousness. But the first guy in this interview basically literally talked about forming a totalitarian government even if he's not implicit about it that's what he wants. Because he very much said that he didn't want to stack the supreme Court and then said that yes he actually wants to have full power of the house the Senate and the presidency so that they could stack the court and then prevent Republicans from ever getting that kind of majority so that they could keep power.

Because even if all of that wasn't explicit he very much made that clear in what he implied. And between him and the third guy who both claimed that people are misinformed the irony is palpable.

As to the third guy I don't think that he's malicious I think that he's ignorant and bordering on stupid and I don't say that to be crude. I actually say that because I believe it to be the case in this instance because of how he talks. This seems like a guy who un-ironically watches CNN and MSNBC religiously. And then literally only repeats the things that he hears. Because he talks about a stalemate when it came to the border bill. A border bill in which didn't actually do much of anything. The bill itself allows 4000 illegal immigrants in throughout the day and after the 4,000 mark they are supposed to halt illegals from coming in. Part of the bill was also an aid package to Ukraine. Now if you look at it from both of those angles it sounds pretty clear to me that it really doesn't do anything about the border. Actually if anything it codifies illegal immigration into our country.

Then there is the supposedly banned books. The actual definition of a book being banned is an instance in which societally and often governmentally a book is removed from circulation from all means. In other words society and the government say you can't publish this book anymore owning this book is literally forbidden and we will imprison you or file charges against you if it is found in your possession or if you are found to be distributing it. That is the actual definition of what banning a book looks like. Meanwhile what was actually taking place in a lot of instances where that a number of books were being looked over for their potentially inappropriate content in regards to children. And they were not being banned. They were being removed from elementary and intermediate schools and an instances some high schools. Why? Because a number of them have explicit sexual content in them. And the only reason that they were functionally allowed was because the only sexual content that Neo progressives want in schools is LGBT sexual content. If you asked quite a number of them if they thought that Playboy or any other number of publications that do dirty smut stories featuring straight people they would freak out at the prospect in some cases.

And so I'm sorry to tell you Mr number three but yes if you have literally no issue with LGBT sexually explicit content in schools just say it. But in all likelihood he doesn't know. He just heard some talking head at the New York times or MSNBC or CNN telling them that the stories were just about LGBT people and did not actually feature anything bad. Despite the fact that one of said books actually features essentially a how-to on giving a blowjob and it's depicted in a picture, and another of the books teaches you how to use Grindr but it is not locked behind a hint hint, wink wink, of if you are under the age of 18 don't read this next part. Yes because a person who buys a book is not going to read everything in it if they bought it with the intention to read it regardless of their age. What's more there are a lot of people who will still argue to this day that drag queens are not explicitly sexual. To which I respond with 99% of all forms of drag performance have historically been sexual in nature in some way shape or form. But it asks a broader question of why is it only that drag queens want to read in front of children and literally no other groups? You never hear about drag queen story hour for old people you never hear about drag queen story hour for you know community viewing. It's always intentionally aimed at children often small children. So I would say yes there is very much an agenda there. And the agenda is to normalize sexual depictions of people in explicitness as well as degeneracy.

Now understand something. Functionally speaking most of the people I know are filthy degenerates. But most of them know where to draw the line. Societally speaking most people do not. And that's part of the issue. Because most instances of drag queens are explicitly sexual and drag shows themselves are often if not always explicitly sexual. You would not be stripping at a drag show and dancing in a sexually provocative way if it wasn't meant to be sexual. Performative or not it is meant to be sexual. And for a lot of drag queens it is a sexual fetish. Because they get sexual gratification from it.

Which leads me interestingly to a point that I did not think I was going to talk about but seeing as this is kind of a rant I'm going off script. People need to understand that kinks and fetishes are fundamentally sexual in nature. And the reason that I say that is because you don't call your likes of something a kink or a fetish unless the implication is that it is for sexual gratification. And there is a very specific reason why. I do not call my love of seafood a kink or a fetish. I don't call my love of anime a kink or a fetish. I don't call the fact that I enjoy going on Long scenic drives a kink or a fetish. And the reason is because they aren't. I've had a lot of people recently try to draw this weird distinction between sex and sexual stuff and also can kink and fetishes. And most of you seem to be ill informed so as somebody who has experience with those specific communities let me weigh in with age old wisdom. If you like something then it is a like if you like something and it gives you sexual gratification it is a kink or a fetish. And it is probably about time that we stop pretending those things aren't related to sexual gratification.

Having moved that out of the way however, I can kind of get back to what I was saying having made that statement. When you see amen on the back of a truck strapped to a sex cross being flogged in public while nearly completely naked that is a form of actual degeneracy. And the specific reason as to why is because it is intentional public showing of things of an explicit sexual nature. Mind you I don't know if this was last year or the year before but that very instance was featured at a pride parade.

But back to the video because it is important the third man interviewed seems to be wildly actually misinformed when it comes to what is going on in the world. No the economy is not good. Any look at prices of restaurant food or store-bought food would very much showcase that is fact. Gas prices would actually be almost $4 if not north of $4 even in places like Texas if not for the fact that Biden is literally emptying out our reserves right now to artificially lower costs. And then you have groups and communities who are very much upset with the current state of illegal immigration into our country because it is very much taking its toll on not just our economy but also culturally.

It's weird because when you talk to Democrats, and yes this goes both ways but it's not nearly as bad, they have this stereotype in their head of what someone on the right or who is Republican is. Which is a dumb redneck who sits on his ass does nothing but watch sports drink beer while literally plugging his brain into Fox News and then going dig ditches or something. While making Facebook posts about how he wants to bring the KKK back and how he wants to hunt down all the gays.

99.99% of people who would vote Republican do not even remotely embody that stereotype. Then again extremes on every side in every culture in every faith in every political party will always exist. Because extreme people will always exist. But when it comes to voters who are Democrats I am unable to truly process how there are so many things that they don't know. It literally makes no sense to me. And what's more interesting is the fact that black voters are starting to actually realize that the Democrats don't actually give a damn about them. Which I'm excited to see. Because it was funny watching Texas and Florida and other states, send illegals to New York Illinois New Jersey and other places. Because prior to now a lot of those people had never truly understood what border states deal with on The daily basis.

Me personally? I live in texas. And I have steadily seen the population of Latino people grow exponentially over my time growing up. But unchecked Mass migration has gotten so ridiculous over the years there are areas in North Central Texas around Dallas where there are 10 to 15 mosques within 10 to 15 miles. Which is absurd. Now I don't have any problem with mosques existing in any cities or states. But I will say one thing specifically. When you are seeing mosques overtake churches in the United States and you have enough of a population of a different culture(s) that you need 10 to 15 mosques in that range? It's pretty much safe to say that you are functionally being replaced. And you don't even have to take my word for that. Cuz if you listen to a lot of the people in the Bronx and other areas like Chicago and what not where there are currently illegal immigrants taking over hotels and homeless shelters, as if their rights are that of free things provided by taxpayers in this country. You are seeing a lot of them talk about the fact that they are being replaced. And I actually believe that they are. Because people Mass imported into this country will be added to the census. And if the Biden administration has anything to say about it he will get them identifications and voter IDs before the election comes around. Because recently over a million new registrations of voters have come out of Texas tens of thousands of whom have been dead. We had a similar phenomenon in Missouri I believe. And the way that this was found out, was through a program that is specifically meant to be used for new voter registration not in fact to clean voter rolls. Never you mind the fact that Biden has been selling us out to other countries by moving all of our stuff over to other countries. And the only positive thing that he has done was something that Trump had already been planning to do in the first place. Which was the chips act. More or less to start producing silicon here because it is better that we bring a lot of our manufacturing back to the United States. Especially when we are perpetually at economic war with China.

Democrats in my opinion feel incredibly uneducated. And for some God forsaken reason they think the going to school magically grant them an education. But then you listen to them talk and it is clear they have absolutely no clue what is going on with the world around them. They literally just repeat things that they've heard. Which honestly doesn't shock me. However it doesn't make it any less sad if you consider the fact that they're allowed to vote while literally not knowing anything about what's going on in this country.

Never you mind the charisma scandal with Joe Biden and Hunter biden. Never you mind the fact that Joe Biden used his position as vice president to protect a company that his son was working for that belonged to a foreign nation. Never you mind the Joe Biden used his power as vice president to get his son, or try to get his son lucrative deals in the energy sector in China. We have found out so many things that the Democrats lied about. The inflation reduction act which actually increased inflation. And had more to do with the green New deal then literally anything to do with reducing inflation. Then there was the LIE of the don't say gay bill. Which convinced a lot of people you could no longer say gay in schools or some people believe that you could no longer say the word gay in the state at all. Despite the fact that the bill was called the parental rights in education act, and it's entire goal was that teachers were required by law to tell parents when issues were arising with their kids. And that they could not have extracurricular discussions about LGBT topics in schools. But see here's the fun caveat. the law The Way it was written also prevented them from talking about cisgendered topics. In other words it barred teachers from using class time to explicitly discuss sexuality or gender identity. As teachers jobs is quite literally to teach academics in particular subjects related to what they've been briefed to teach. So if you are a math teacher, your job is to teach math. Not to talk about how your wife is Polly lesbian Ace and how she just got a train ran on her at a fetish community event that was pro LGBT. (No I did not hear about this being an actual thing that happened but it is an extreme case of what was happening. IE: teachers talking about their romantic and sex lives openly to their students and prompting class time discussions about LGBT topics that had nothing to do with what they were allowed to teach in the first place).

The fact of the matter is so much of the things that the Democrats have put out via the news and other sources have been bald-faced lies. And most of that can be proven generally. But the problem is the news are not going to tell on themselves. Which makes things frustrating because when cnn, msnbc, the New York times, abc, the guardian, the daily beast, and many other outlets outright lie they all align democrat. And so they are not going to tell on themselves or tell on each other unless there is absolutely no choice but to do so. We saw a member of Congress intentionally set off a exit/fire alarm in order to delay proceedings. But guess what he had a D in front of his name so he got away with it. Hillary Clinton destroyed evidence of malfeasance, gross negligence and possibly maliciousness, by having her staffers destroy cell phones with hammers and use bleach bit software on servers to remove the fact that she had sent dozens if not hundreds of classified documents to foreign entities. Never once prosecuted because of course she has a D in front of her name Rachel maddow almost cried on live TV whenever they said that no Trump was not in fact linked to Russia. And that Russian gate was a hoax as a whole.

Moderates left of center people and people on the right seem to have a far better idea of what is going on in this country rather than run of the mill liberals. And they certainly know significantly more about what's going on in this country then neoliberals. Under Trump the economy was good. We had no new wars. There was an actual attempt to bring our soldiers home had many generals not lied about how many soldiers we had in foreign countries. Remain in Mexico was great policy for mitigating immigration. And the easiest way to understand why the media hated Trump is one very specific instance. The one time that Trump specifically opted to use military force explicitly in a very specific drone strike. Many of the dem aligned media opted to call that particular act presidential. Even though technically what they said was finally Donald Trump starting to act like a president. Donald Trump fired Bolton. Yes a little too late, but the fact remains that he did. So if I were to take a wild guess as to why the media hated him it wasn't because he was a fascist. It wasn't because he was a dictator. It wasn't because he was going to form gay hunting parties. And it wasn't because he was trying to reform the kkk. It was because he was a threat to their power. And while certainly there were more powers granted to the deep State under trump, we had significantly more victories generally speaking as a country because of trump. Specifically the Abraham accords. The fact that under Trump no new wars did start. The fact that Donald Trump without security walked into North Korea as a symbol of good faith. Something no other president has ever done. Trump held up an LGBT flag that said gays for Trump in front of the rnc. And the RNC clapped for him. I grew up around Republicans, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that The stereotype that constantly gets put on to Republicans is functionally false in most cases.

Meanwhile the Democrats consistently claim that they want to help minorities and that they are trying to protect democracy. Except one, we don't live in a democracy. We live in a constitutional republic. And two, Democrats are literally the party of the KKK. And contrary to Democrat messaging and several Neo progressives messaging no there was no broad party switch. Almost every form of legislation passed by democrats has negatively affected minorities in some way shape or form. It is consistent. And it is frequent. Democrats as they are and have been for the past 20 plus years are in my opinion a malicious organization of evil autocrats. Or more accurately a group that seeks to be autocrats. No having said that I will say one thing. This is a post specifically about democrats. However I will concede to the fact that there are Republicans who very much are no better. But I think the scales are functionally different. And imagine the scale like this. You have one scale with 30 lb on one side and 5 lb on the other side 30 lb is the evil rot of the Democrat party and specifically The crazies. Be 5 lb are the same people. Where as Republicans you are looking at a 30 lb weight on where as Republicans you are looking at a 15 lb weight on one side and a 10 lb weight on the other side. The 15 lb is the neocons and the actual unit party assholes. The 10 lb are the decent Republicans regardless of whether I disagree with how they do things. And you might think by me saying this that I am a republican. Except no I'm not even conservative. Mind you, it is my obligation to tear the party that supposedly is supposed to support me to shreds because they are malicious snake oil salesmen who do not actually care about this country. And are frequently doing everything that they can to bankrupt the American people, flood this country with people that they can buy off, and sell us out infrastructure and all to foreign entities specifically China.

Speaking of which. Let me just mention one thing because it's insulting to me. China is currently in the midst of genociding Uhygur muslims. Which includes forced sterilization. Forcing them into labor camps. And having Han Chinese men rape the Uhygur Muslim women. And based on the reports multiple times daily. I have seen more people harass random Jewish people and any company that could theoretically be linked to Israel then I have seen any backlash against China whatsoever. The reason this is so extraordinary to me is because I have seen vtubers and celebrities get literally harassed and dog piled because they wanted to buy something from Starbucks but because something something Israel all of a sudden Starbucks is on this "evil blacklist of companies controlled by the evil Jewish state". Meanwhile I have heard zero pushback or boycott for any extended period of time against China whatsoever. You arrogant f**** are all still using tick tock. You're still buying stuff off temu, which is actually worse because guess where your products are made from that website? Oh yeah right Uhygur Muslim labor camps. A video on that here-

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So. I have gone completely off script at this point. And I understand that this is long and effectively a rant. But it boggles my mind that even when confronted with actual reality people will continue to vote for Democrats because they've literally bought into the lie that they are the party of love and tolerance. When they have done so much more damage to varying communities including minority ones. Fun fact about things like affirmative action. All they actually do is make other people hate you for getting a job based on your skin color. And nothing anyone can say will prevent anyone from viewing it that way. Because you have quotas to meet under affirmative action saying you have to have X number of insert demographic here. Which means that if you only have 50 spots that you have to hire for you are legally obligated to save positions for people based on the color of their skin. Rather than first come first serve. Then you have DEI bullshit. In which even people who thought that DEI had a different definition soon realized that it was actually making people more racist. Which honestly shouldn't shock anyone. And then you have the welfare state. And which you can survive pretty decently off of welfare up to and including social Security and food stamps. And it is actually easier to survive off welfare then it is off of a job paying between nine and twelve dollars an hour depending on where you live. What's more they make these benefits particularly lucrative for certain demographics of people. Meanwhile other people get the shaft. Because a group depended on the government will always bow to the government. And those in power are very much aware of this. And if you really need any more actual proof look no further than california. Where it is been a constant that they have been trying to "fix" homelessness and clean up the city in general. Only for people like Gavin newsom and others to say that it was impossible to do in a short period of time and likely would not improve. Only for Gavin newsom's communist hero Xi decided to come to a conference and he got the city very clean very quickly and kept it such until the man left. Not to mention has forwarded several different forms of legislation that have made life worse for people in california. That $20 minimum wage that you thought would be so great? Yeah 10,000 people lost their jobs over it. Color me shocked. Oh except for the fact that Panera bread didn't have to abide by this because they donated a s*** ton of money to Gavin. So it was never about helping the people. It was literally just placation. Or maybe you could look back at the legislation where he tried to repeal the part of the California Constitution that says you can't discriminate based off of XYZ protected classes. Which means he wanted to allow discrimination based off of those things. Or there is the ever so present fact that it is no longer a crime much less a felony to intentionally and knowingly give your partner HIV.

Are there uni party republicans? Absolutely. There are also RINOs. As well as warhawks. But almost all of them fall right in line with the Democrat establishment. Because for all of them it is war money and power. Now I'm going to wrap this up a little bit by saying this. There are quite a few decent Republicans that get a bad rap because of mainstream media who exceedingly have a Democrat bias. And yes there are a few although not many Democrat politicians who are not evil assholes. But that shortlist is in fact a very short list.

*Rant Finished

#Youtube

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sparrowsgarden · 1 year ago

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Making my own post rather than writing an essay in the tags of another.

There's an important distinction to be made between fear and hatred, in cases of genuine phobias. I know our language is inconveniently muddy there because phobia is also used in other contexts, but in this case I'm talking about an actual clinical phobia of bugs or heights or whatever. The context here is ecology. We're not talking about reactions to people, that's a related but different thing.

With that very important caveat - Phobias are distinct from illogical hatred. Phobias are about uncontrollable fear and most typically manifest as avoidance behaviors, and they are morally neutral.

People who hate wasps and want them to not exist may or may not have an actual phobia and may or may not even be particularly afraid of them. There's a Venn diagram there and the non-overlapping areas are pretty big. Phobias, and more standard fear, of certain things are very common because they're things that we should be cautious of! It is completely fucking fine to be scared of being stung by a wasp. It's unpleasant and for some people genuinely dangerous.

I have a severe phobia of certain insects, which has a lot to do with size - average sized wasps actually bother me very little, but I am incapable of walking through a butterfly garden without having an extreme fear response. I also like and appreciate butterflies! Obviously! I just would really really rather they stay out of my personal space, and I have to avoid certain experiences because of that. I am even quite interested in insects from a scientific perspective and will seek out experiences that are a bit outside of my comfort zone when I think they'll be beneficial, but my inability to be around butterflies has been extremely enduring despite that.

That is to say, it is a very good goal to try to get people to have a greater appreciation for things they may fear, and to recognise when their fears are disproportionate to the size of the threat. You can do that without being mean to people because they have those fears, regardless of how common they are, and regardless of how irrational they are. It is actually really really hard to eliminate a phobia - most people with phobias are completely aware their fears are irrational, but that doesn't help a lot. You can work to become more comfortable, and to minimize your fear response, in order to function in situations where you can't avoid your fear. Being scared of wasps, or butterflies, or snakes, or dogs, is not a moral failing. It only becomes an issue when people use that fear to justify being a dick! We should educate people to not be dicks, regardless of their personal feelings of fear or disgust.

#phobias #not pictured: i also have a legitimate phobia of 'plants that are bigger than i think they should be'#as far as i know it's unique and you are allowed to laugh because yes it really is absurd #if i talked about that rather than the bug phobia it was going to be too much of a tangent #but it sure is a prime example of 'knowing a fear is irrational doesn't make it go away'

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oidheadh-con-culainn · 1 year ago

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related to that other post i made about reading speed, whenever people are like "you shouldn't just read easy fiction books, you need to Challenge Yourself and Broaden Your Mind and Do Analysis" it annoys me because i am the kind of person who does enjoy close readings and analysis (uh, have you seen my blog), but also i have two brain-heavy analysis-focused jobs that challenge me plenty and that my brain is not just broadened but actively melted by trying to juggle them on a daily basis. so a lot of the time i read as a means of relaxation and a way of giving my brain a break, and i have no interest in making that particular hobby Harder and More Challenging for myself

i want to read easy books! i want to read books that feel like a hug! i want to reread the same romance novel five times! i want to read pacy genre fiction that i can understand on a first read! i struggle to get through 800-page classics that require constant consultation of a dictionary or a companion volume and as such i don't tend to read those for fun! and... i also have multiple degrees in literature, because the things i read academically and the things i read purely for pleasure fulfil very different functions in my life, and i do not think equating one with the other is actually of benefit to anyone

because honestly, "literary analysis" and "reading for pleasure" are not wholly separate concepts but they are a venn diagram not a circle and the stuff that's only in the reading for pleasure half is just as valuable and worth doing as the stuff in the middle or, if that's your jam, only in the analysis half (though personally i don't make a habit of doing things i get zero pleasure out of unless i have to). and the overlap is smaller for some people than for others, and some people don't get pleasure from close-reading, and frankly that's fine too?

and if you have very boring repetitive jobs which do not stretch your mind in the least (as i have had in the past) then Challenging Books play a more significant role in not letting your brain atrophy, i get it, i've been there, i've had some incredibly boring jobs and i did find myself seeking out intellectual stimulation from other aspects of my life. but not everybody has those jobs. some people are in fact having to grapple with and analyse vast amounts of information on a daily basis and are just trying to chill in their downtime and that isn't like. some kind of moral failing, omg. yes, even if that means only reading fanfic

so. basically. stop telling other people what to read, stop making assumptions about other people's analytical skills or intelligence based on how they approach their hobby, stop making out analysis as some kind of Moral Duty for anyone who wants to read books. and sure people have bad and misinformed opinions about or readings of books, but i can guarantee you the people who are approaching reading as a personal challenge and an ethical duty are having just as many bad and misinformed opinions about them as those who are just vibing, tbh

#néide has opinions about books #am i vagueing about the general theme of several posts on my dash recently? maybe!

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eastgaysian · 2 years ago

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cant sleep plagued by thoughts about television. forgive me if this is somewhat scattered or i get details wrong its 3am and im not as autistic abt barry (or literally anything) as i am abt succession. basically barry is/was three things: soldier, hitman, and actor. the show plays with the idea that these are completely separate archetypes that we don't think should overlap, but for barry they're continuous with each other. the carryover from his military service to his contract killings isn't just an ability to kill efficiently but an ability to continually justify those deaths by portraying himself as a hero who doesn't need to face consequences.

obviously it's easier to draw connections between killing people in different contexts, but that self-centeredness and seemingly unlimited capacity for self-justification is shared by the actors in the show, to a less extreme extent. the entertainment industry is also continually interested in the voyeuristic depiction of certain kinds of violence and suffering - including kinds based on real-life experiences - as long as they can be made palatable within the narrative. barry's most successful performances (or 'performance' in the case of his first confession to cousineau) are the direct reflections of his life as a killer, both because that's the performance he's been honing his whole life, and that's the kind of act people are most excited by.

like, basically the venn diagram is. hitman-soldier: purpose in violence. soldier-actor: endorsement and adoration of the public. all three: construction of narratives that absolve him of guilt and prioritize his own selfishness over everything else.

the hank-sally and fuches-cousineau mirrored pairs are soo fun to me in how they bridge this gap, particularly hank and sally because i really hadn't thought to compare them until hank did but like ohhh. damn. as much as barry rejected and resented hank for finding him useful as a killer - despite all the goodwill hank continually showed him - in the end that's the only value he had to sally too, because that's kind of the only value he had at all. like he really isn't a full person. fuches made barry a killer and barry forced him to play a role cousineau made barry an actor and barry made him a killer. i'm gonna make an actual effort to fall asleep but i may make this post even longer after waking up

#barry spoilers #i can talk abt barry rn because i am not plagued by an awareness of other peoples opinions #babbling

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cuephrase · 7 months ago

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okay hi! I was the one who asked about how you get into comics cuz they're confusing and intimidating 😭 your answer was super helpful! I've been making a list as well as starting off with some like 'non-canon' stuff. (ig thats what its called? not main continuity)

I have another question though! I always see fans talk about liking and disliking different writers - are there any you personally like/ should stay away from? I always hear people complain about tom taylor specifically 😭

oh hi!! i'm so glad my answer was helpful, goal achieved!! yeah, i'd call it not main continuity, bc they are canon in their own little spheres...the licensed AUs. even if they're not main continuity, i think they can go a long way in easing you in/keeping you engaged as you brave the more intimidating aspects of comics.

WFA was that for me, actually. (which. ik is grounds to get me shot/invalidate every comic opinion i could ever have in some circles, but tbh i care a lot less about the opinions of people that uptight about this franchise than i used to, and i'm much happier for it. something can be flawed and still be fun, yk?)

BUT- to answer your question:

full transparency, while i am great with names irl, as far as comics go i drowned myself in so much content that i missed a tonnnn of names, and i've only really started learning names recently + they tend to be names of newer/current authors. for awhile i actually knew more artists names, believe it or not.

that being said, okay. hmmm.

so overall: writers that you're going to hear about a lot will fall into like, 2.5 groups, sort of a venn diagram. they are- Controversial, Loved, and Current. Current is the .5 group, because it overlaps with the other two. in my experience, you will hear about Controversial and Current the most- Loved is going to have like a few names that are just generally well-received, not that some people won't like them but like the majority is rocking with them.

some names you might hear a lot include

Devin Grayson

Chuck Dixon

Scott Lobdell

Tom King

Tom Taylor

Geoff Johns

there're almost definitely more but like, that's who immediately comes to mind.

writers will be Controversial for a range of reasons, but their writing being bad/unpopular is not the only reason.

i think knowing why people dislike an author can be super useful, i think meta is really interesting. but i personally have never avoided reading something purely off of the writer alone for two reasons, those being-

i like to form my own opinions. even if i think i'll probably agree, i like to experience it for myself so that i get full context.

with the exception of one writer (that ik by name), every writer that i've read and been like "wow i don't like this", they've written something else that i've enjoyed.

i said this in a response to a different ask, (about tom taylor actually lmao), but-

if you're interested in reading [tom taylor's] run, you should. other people disliking a run is like...idk if this is going to make sense, but it's kind of like knowing the weather. you'll be like "hey, there's rain" and then you can either a) choose not to go outside, b) grab a coat and umbrella, or c) pull on a swimsuit and go dance. no wrong choices! maybe you get outside and it's more of a light drizzle, or maybe it's basically a tropical storm and you book it back inside and start batting down the hatches.

basically, what i'm trying to get at is, if something looks interesting to you, i don't want you to be put off or feel bad for being interested (or even liking it, if you try it out!!) bc you've seen that some people seem to really dislike the writer.

on the flip side, reading stuff going into it thinking "everyone loves this!!" can be it's own problem, especially if you're new to comics, bc if you don't like it, you might be discouraged. like case in point, tom taylor's nightwing run was super hyped up for me so when i got to it and was underwhelmed i was like, oh. it made me wonder if i was missing something/reading them wrong, and also, like if everyone loves this and i don't, will i like comics? (hell yeah i would, i love comics but damn if i didn't get skeptical for a hot minute there.)

now to answer your question about writers i like/would stay away from:

i....don't really know.

like okay, i'm really enjoying the Batman/Superman: World's Finest run a whole lot rn, right, and that's written by Mark Waid. i already had Impulse on my tbr, but i was more excited to read it when i found out Waid was the writer, because of how much i enjoy B/S:WF.

or like Chip Zdarsky. pretty sure tumblr hates him, but i personally really enjoy his batman run, i like it so much actually, not that i think it's perfect, but omg does all the hate entertain me, and i really liked his jason & bruce story in Batman: Urban Legends, and i have Batman: The Knight on my tbr and i was more excited to read it when i saw that he wrote it.

however, if i saw them attached to a project that didn't immediately interest me, whether bc of the characters or concept, i wouldn't check it out just because they're writing it, yk? somewhere along my comics reading journey i may find writers like that, but i haven't yet.

(also the only reason ik their names is because they're writing current runs that i'm following lmao)

and it's kind of the inverse with writers who i'm not fond of, where if the project interests me, i'll check it out anyways, heaving a big sigh as i do.

i do plan on paying more attention to writers, bc i'm curious to see who i tend to like/dislike and why. like since i just finished reading through all of the Nightwing runs, i plan on ranking the writers once Tom Taylor's run wraps up, just for fun.

but yeah!! ik which runs i like/don't like and why, and that's about it.

idk if this was helpful at all, i'm lowkey afraid it wasn't, but hopefully it was!!

tysm for asking, and as always, i'm more than happy to answer any other questions you may have!! my inbox/dms are open 🫶🏼

#dc comics #cue answers #re: braving the beast

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thenotebookwizard · 1 year ago

Text

Southern Belle (CageBlade Week | Day 4: Surprise)

TITLE: Southern Belle (CageBlade Week 2023 Day Four: Surprise)

FANDOM: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types; Mortal Kombat (Video Games)

RATING: T

SUMMARY:

Everything was bright green and white, broken up with splashes of color from flowers and decorations. Windchimes competed with the soft country being bleated out by the live band tucked away in the absurdly large and overly ornate gazebo, and there were antique tables laid out with more food than even the dozens of people milling about could put away on a Sunday afternoon. Sonya Blade has gone back to Texas - small town Texas - for her great uncle's birthday. No, no one asked her if she wanted to, but she was there anyway. After a fight with Johnny and a long flight, the last thing she wants to do is argue with her grandmother and try to fit into most uncomfortable parts of her childhood all over again. Only, Grandma's not having it and her argument with her not-boyfriend might follow her home. CageBlade Week 2023 | Day 4: Surprise

A/N: Yes. I am from Texas. Yes. These events are real. No. If anything, I downplayed what they look and feel like.

Note: never try to hide anything from a Southern grandma. They know all, have been there, done that before you were born, and will tell you like it is.

Organizations frame the world; governments. Secret societies. Fraternal orders. Organized crime syndicates. After school clubs. Name it, and there is an organization for it. Many organizations inspired fear or loathing or commentary; some were only whispered about and others were shouted down.

And others, everyone knew not to mess with. In the southern united states, there were organizations with such influence and money and power that most people had forgotten they often quietly ruled entire small towns with lace-gloved hands from garden parties, where policy and civic matters were decided over tea and canapes.

Sonya Blade had grown up a scion of those venerable southern societies; not that she paid them much mind or cared to be involved with them. Her grandmother had despaired of ever getting her into a frilly dress to mingle with the appropriate sort of people in small town, Texas. Rare family visits from Austin were fraught with intrigue as Sonya and her grandmother maneuvered and sparred, each working to get the other to give in. Neither would.

Sonya Blade and Sonia Morgan were both indomitable forces of will and neither had ever learned the meaning of 'surrender' (except that it was something other people did.)

Sonya hadn't always won and had found herself frocked in lace and layers standing in a garden, protected from the unforgiving Texas sun only by a flimsy parasol. Sonia hadn't always managed, and heard tales of her rakehell granddaughter racing dirt bikes, mudding in fields, and fighting the local ruffians.

Today, both Sonya and Sonia were a united front. Grandmother and granddaughter both wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Sony's great uncle was turning 95. Her grandmother's brother-in-law was hardly her favorite person, and her grandmother couldn't stand him. He was technically a war hero, and Sonya grudgingly respected that about him, if nothing else. His status as a war hero had earned him the right to call up the US Army and 'request' his combat-decorated great niece attend his birthday party, thrown by one of the less savory fraternal organizations of the south.

Sonya hadn't paid attention to which one. There were at least a dozen alone in Exeter, Texas, and they were an overlapping Venn diagram of who was allowed to belong to which - and the more you were in, the more clout you had.

In a town of less than ten thousand people, they had a lot of clout.

Sonya tried not to, but she hated the old man. He was a lecherous, racist, nationalistic old goat with opinions about everything - especially her. While she and her grandmother had battled, Sonia Morgan loved her grandchildren and respected them, even when she disagreed with what they made of their lives.

(Though, she always expected excellence from them in everything they did. Sonya had only gotten in trouble for her local fights if she'd lost. If she'd won, her grandmother never spoke of them.)

Requested my ass.

The Korean War veteran had 'requested' her, and people much higher in the chain of command had cut her orders for 'special leave' to attend. It was tantamount to an order, which is how Sonya found herself back in Exeter for the first time in more than ten years. And why she was wearing her mess dress in the Texas summer, sweltering in the heavy fabric.

Her grandmother stood next to, taking her arm the way she would any of her grandsons, sending the blatant social cue her granddaughter was to be afforded the same respect any soldier was given.

She was grateful, even if her grandmother's perfume was still cloying and overly floral.

Not that her grandmother needed an arm to lean on. Sonia Morgan stood tall and unbowed after almost eight decades on Earth. She had slowed down, but still woke early in the morning and went about her business with vigor and charm. She still spoke her mind, and people still listened when she spoke. Unlike many, she had grown with the times, and got her news from her tablet as often as she did lunch with her friends, and her smartphone was tucked into her purse right next to her make up, ossified peppermints, and a snub-nosed revolver.

"You give him too much respect, dear. Wearing that." She patted Sonya's arm. "The peacock won't give you the respect you're due, so I don't see why you're suffering for him."

Sonya held her tiny crystal flute of chilled champagne with her first two fingers and resisted the urge to toss it back like it was a shot. They'd had this discussion four timessince her arrival last night.

"Because, grandma, I am a soldier in the United States Army and I was granted special leave to attend this event, at the request of retired Army Colonel Pierce Morgan. As such, I..."

Her grandmother hushed her. "I know, dear. I know. Representing the service, etc, etc. He doesn't deserve it. Never has. He came back a hero with a cane and medals on his chest and he's never let any of us forget it. He's done nothing for the community but leech off it, and I swear before sweet Jesus himself, the man thinks he..."

Her grandmother closed her mouth and let out a sigh as another elderly woman in a pink dress wafted past, her own heady perfume stinging Sonya's nose.

"Mathilda. Her grandson is single, you know. She's hardly a pleasant woman, but Eric is a good boy and has a very good job as a welder."

Sonya drained her champagne. She wasn't having that conversation. Was not going to happen.

She immediately regretted the champagne. As fancy as everything looked, they had cut corners. The champagne was definitely the cheap stuff. She'd had enough of the good stuff with -

She'd had the good stuff now. She knew what the difference tasted like. She almost wished she didn't.

She knew her grandmother had stopped her diatribe because it wouldn't be proper to be heard complaining about the guest of honor, even though everyone there likely knew how she felt about her brother-in-law.

And because Mathilda had designs on being the third Mrs. Pierce Morgan and was almost as influential as her grandmother.

It also gave her grandmother a chance to change subjects to her recent favorite: Sonya's impending spinsterhood. She was, apparently, far too old not to be married and adding to the already vast number of people in their extended family.

Sonya did what she was best at when it came to conversations about her personal life: she evaded.

Not just because she had no desire to meet Mathilda's grandson Eric, but because she hated discussing her personal life even more than she hated thinking about her personal life - putting it third place to feeling things about her personal life. Which was far too complicated right then to even consider discussing with her grandmother.

Who just might recognize the name her current personal life was consumed by.

(And just how the hell would she ever explain how she met the infuriating man? Even if they currently weren't speaking, that didn't mean she wouldn't have to explain knowing him. She had enough stupid sappy photos on her phone she kept forgetting to delete to prove she knew him, but 'saved the world in an interdimensional tournament against demons and monsters' was hardly the kind of meet-cute her grandmother wanted to hear about. To say nothing of proving that story.)

"Uncle Pierce is hardly a peacock, grandma. He's more like a rooster. He thinks he's prettier than he is, makes a lot of noise, but doesn't do a lot but strut."

Sonia Morgan huffed. "Until he's in a box, you mean."

Sonya had no idea how to respond to that, so she just kept her mouth shut and grabbed another flute of champagne from one of the waiters rotating around the garden.

(Why Exeter had what felt like a hundred different historic houses with giant gardens she'd never understand.)

The party was picture perfect. Southern belles and gentlemen all standing idly about in clusters, talking and gossiping under the summer afternoon sun in a vast garden meticulously landscaped and decorated in climbing vines and flowers, watered by a discreet irrigation system that could have probably watered two dozen lawns or kept a family in water for months.

Not that Sonya wanted to eat. Her stomach was already in knots just being there - and how she'd left things with Johnny the last time they'd tried to talk, just a few days ago.

She'd had to leave before she'd figured out if she was going to apologize or not. She'd had to leave before she'd figured out if she was going to just let him go or not.

Why did it have to be my fault, this time?

"He is quite the peacock, though." Her grandmother lead her through the garden on a path she seemed to know was there without looking, their feet brushing over stones winding through the expansive property. "He wears his uniform as often as he can, and he carries his medals in his pocket!"

Part of Sonya winced at that. She knew how hard it was for soldiers who came home. She knew how much of their identity was being a soldier, how little of their civilian self was left after they finally left the service. She dreaded it and refused to think about it - about being a civilian again. Of not being in uniform. Of not serving.

She could respect his pain there as much as she respected his heroism in the war.

She couldn't respect the way he treated other people. The way he treated her. The way he'd treated her grandmother and his own brother long after he'd come home. Not because of PTSD or reintegration. But because her grandfather hadn't been able to serve - his eyesight had been horrific. Because his grandmother hadn't abandoned her husband for a 'better' man.

Him.

She saw the path her grandmother led her on leading right to him, where he sat at a table, surrounded by old men and a few younger men in uniform like hers. Young enlisted men from Exeter who had come home to celebrate the hometown hero's birthday - possibly even related to her, in some way.

"He's not nearly fancy enough to be a peacock." She didn't know why she was still arguing with her grandmother, other than it was something to say, and she knew she was expected to say something. "I know a real peacock."

She felt herself smiling in spite of herself. She'd called Johnny a peacock once, and he'd just laughed at her. He'd jumped away from the mirror where he'd been preening, wiggling his eyebrows at her - and caught her around the waist, trying to dip her like they were dancing.

"Well, my bright and pretty plumage caught your attention, didn't it?"

She had laughed right along with him. She'd tried to deny it. Tried to argue with him that it was everything about him that wasn't a preening peacock that had caught her attention, but he had just shushed her with a searing kiss before -

She swallowed hard.

"Oh, have you now? Some puffed up poppinjay trying to get your attention, hmm?" Her grandmother poked her in the side. "Some of them might not be so bad, you know."

Sonya laughed softly. "Not all of them, no. But my boyfr - friend - John," she cut herself off hard, hoping to keep too much from coming out at once, cursing herself for her slip. She didn't let Johnny refer to her as his 'girlfriend' so she wasn't going to use that damn word. Or use the name her grandmother just might know him by, "is the biggest peacock of them all. Flashy clothes, gold necklace, fancy car, and throwing his money everywhere, as if that's all that matters about him. Peacocks do it to get attention. Uncle Pierce does it because he thinks it makes him important."

It stung a little to say that, because heroism under fire was important and worthy of respect and recognition, but it couldn't be all there was to a soldier - to a person. It couldn't be the only thing that defined them. Honor. Service. Humility. Respect. Hard work. Discipline. Focus. All of these and more made a soldier, and far more than that made a person.

Sonya knew she was bad at being a person more often than not, but she also knew she was very, very good at being a soldier.

"Boyfriend?" Her grandmother practically cackled, drawing her a few steps away to another path; a longer, winding path that would eventually get them to Pierce Morgan, but gave them plenty of time to talk before that. "You have been holding out on me, Sonya. Tell me dear, who is this peacock who not only got your attention but got you to almost use a word I haven't heard you use since high school."

Sonya wished she had a free hand to rub the bridge of her nose, but she was still holding the stupidly tiny flute of now lukewarm champagne.

Yep. I fucked up.

There was no way to lie her way out of it. Her grandmother could spot her lies coming a mile off and wasn't above calling her on them.

She had to say something. As little as possible was the best plan. The bare minimum. If not less. Could she get away with classifying him as 'Human, male - one. Annoying, rich, annoyingly rich, and full of himself?'

Especially because she wasn't sure they were anything anymore. She hadn't answered his calls. Or texts. Or checked her email.

After what she'd said, she really didn't want to. She wasn't good at apologizing, and she wasn't good at being wrong. She was even worse at being the problem.

She'd made a career and a personality out of being the solution to problems. Often, violently.

"John. Carlton. From LA. More money than sense." She disliked she was whispering. She disliked how she was clenching her jaw. "Peacock. Like I said. Fancy clothes. No fashion sense. Fancy car he drives too fast. Lots of - admirers."

Her grandmother tugged on her arm, pulling her away from the milling crowds to a shaded bench near vast expanse of trellis festooned with patriotic decor and valiant red roses blooming in spite of being planted in Texas. They mingled with yellow and white roses, but the latter were far sparser.

Sonya found herself sitting next to her grandmother, who reached up and tugged Sonya's head around to face her.

"Sonya, you are lying to your grandmother, and I will not have it. Worse yet, you are lying to yourself."

Sonya blinked.

"Grandma, I'm not..."

"Hmph. I'm not done yet, young lady. I heard the hitch in your voice. That tight tone you used to get with someone when they'd caught you in one of your messes. Either he's an embarrassment you'd rather never mention again or you're in one of your messes again."

Sonya set the champagne flute down.

"It's complicated. Really stupidly complicated."

Her grandmother's face softened, and she looked at Sonya with the stern edge her grandmother always had, but with the softness that came from both love and respect.

"You didn't answer my question. Tell me about him."

"I did!" Sonya folded her hands in her lap to avoid talking with them - a habit her grandmother had never managed to break her of, but she was trying to be aware of for at least that one afternoon. "He's a - "

Sonia Morgan cut her off again. "No, Sonya. Tell me about him. Either he's someone you want to forget and I'll drop the subject or he's not, and I won't. But either way, you will tell me about him. Because if you don't tell someone, you're going fall apart and spend weeks pretending you haven't."

Sonya tried (and failed) not to gape at her grandmother. How did she know?

"Close your mother, dear. There are worse than flies buzzing around these gardens. I'm a southern belle, granddaughter, and if there is one thing we know, it's when a woman is hiding a secret about her heart. There are a thousand tells even you can't hide behind your uniform. People love, Sonya. People look for love or they hide from love. It doesn't matter the shape of that love or the kind of that love, but for all our backwards ways, southerners know the need to give and receive love."

Sonya's hands clenched, then relaxed. "Johnny's - sentimental." She sniffed. "So utterly sentimental. He can't remember half the things he agrees to do, but he can remember what I was wearing the day we met. He's an idiot, but he cares. He cares about what people think of him and of others. He has this stupid image he thinks matters, and maybe it does, but it's stupid. He's - spontaneous. Incorrigible. He's like a big kid, sometimes, thinking things are 'cool' or 'awesome' all the time, even when they're just silly or just there. He cares more than he'll admit, because his 'image.' He's a fighter. He doesn't give up. Ever. On anything. Not on his career. Not on himself."

Not on me.

That thought stung. She was so willing to give up on him. On herself. On anything resembling them because -

She shook her head. She wasn't going to admit that.

She sighed. "He's stubborn. So. Stubborn. He kept flirting with me even when I turned him down...rather harshly. Repeatedly. When I asked him why, do you know what he told me?"

Her grandmother was smiling at her. "I assume it was all manner of uncouth and inappropriate from the look in your eyes."

"He told me I was fun to rile up. He liked making me mad because I was 'hot' when I got mad at him."

Sonia laughed and patted her granddaughter's arm. "You are fun to rile up. I've known that since you were a child. I could get you to storm around my kitchen, waving your arms and ranting at me about how you weren't some frilly stupid girly girl and how you didn't want to wear dresses or go to tea parties so easily."

Sonya narrowed her eyes. "You did that on purpose?"

"Of course I did. I love your fire, Sonya Blade. No granddaughter of mine will be one who doesn't speak her mind and speak it well! Did I or did I not force you to refine your arguments and debate with me until you were ready to scream to the heavens you didn't want to talk another minute?"

Sonya laughed. "Of course you used our fights to teach me to fight better."

"Damned right I did." Sonia glanced about, making sure no one heard her use such a foul word. "You're too smart not to argue right, even when you're mad. And I know you hated every minute of it, but learning to mingle and interact with people so very different from you is important. Even if you hate it. I know I taught you that, too. As much as I taught you good southern manners and to sit up straight and stand up straight, because as much as this world is changing, it's too hard for a woman to be taken seriously if she is seen as soft for even a single heartbeat."

Sonya sighed, her shoulders slumping. "You are one devious woman, grandma. But thank you."

"I am a southern woman. You'll meet no creature more devious, I promise you that. Now then, your 'Johnny' sounds like a man who loves deeply, loves often, and seeks joy - no matter what the more staid around him might think. Boys are good for that, you know. The best of them never grow up, and while that can make them insufferable at times, they will always want to make us laugh or smile or growl at them. Nothing makes them happier than making us feel something in a moment, and nothing gives them more satisfaction than doing something for us. He might have the insecurity of a boy, giving himself an 'image' to protect, but he sounds like he has the heart of a man, which is far more important. You can help him learn to love himself and he can help you learn you are more than you let yourself be. The best of them help us grow as much as we help them, you know."

Sonya shook her head. "He's not insecure. He's over confident, if anything."

Her grandmother rolled her eyes. "You still have so much to learn. Peacocks are insecure about their feathers. They fight each other, hoping to rip out the others' tailfeathers to make sure they are the brightest and prettiest. Your Johnny can't do that in this modern world, so he makes sure he gets the best feathers his money can buy. Trust me on this one, dear."

Sonya looked down at her hands. Could Johnny Cage really have - insecurities like that? She knew he was afraid of being considered a fake martial artist (which she knew was absolute garbage. The man was one of the best she'd ever seen, and that was saying something.)

"Maybe. But - "

"But nothing. Why isn't he here with you, Sonya?"

Sonya knew she could come up with a thousand and one excuses and some of them might even be true. His schedule was packed, and his work kept him busy. She hadn't told him about the event. She hadn't even told him much about her family.

I didn't even think to invite him.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wasn't sure she wanted him meeting her family, because she wasn't sure how far inside her life she wanted to let him get when she might have to chase him back out again.

Sonya wished she was having any conversation but this one right then. Even one about Eric the welder. Welders were respectable craftsmen, and he would know where she could go to get a cold beer and some real food after this disaster.

Even the sound of someone else's souped up sportscar outside made her wince, because thinking about Johnny meant she missed Johnny - who was so much better at these sorts of events than she was. Even if he'd never been to one before, he'd charm everyone and manage to make everyone forget to be disappointed and disapproving of the girl raised in cosmopolitan Austin who had gone off to become a solider.

"I...we had a fight."

What? What did I just say? Why did I just say that? How could I say that?

She felt betrayed by her own mind. How had her grandmother gotten her to admit that?

"Hmm." Her grandmother patted her hand. "Still mad at him?"

Sonya took a deep breath. If she couldn't tell her grandmother, who could she tell? It wasn't like she was going to call up her mother and tell her. She could, but her mother was even better at getting emotions out of her than her grandmother, and she wasn't ready to tell her mother she might be in love with a movie star.

Who just might love her back.

"No." Sonya shook her head and threw back the warm champagne. "I'm mad at me. We fought, and it was my fault. I said stupid things because...well, because. He wanted me to go to a - a work thing - with him. He really wanted me to go. It's important, a big, big deal. For him, I mean. I'm not a trophy to be paraded around, no matter how important it is or how much of a role I played in the success of his - project. I wasn't nice about it."

She was skirting around 'my movie star sorta-boyfriend wants me to go to an awards gala where his new TV show based on their real life adventures on another world was getting bigtime awards' and how much she wasn't ready to be public with him like that.

To claim a relationship.

Tabloids catching photos of them at dive bars and fancy restaurants was one thing. Paparazzi snapping pictures of her in a bikini in his pool was somewhere between mortifying and flattering, but this wouldn't be celeb-watching fans seeing her online. This would be everyone seeing her at a Hollywood event, in a fancy dress he bought for her, getting out of a limo in front of cameras and rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.

Her soldiers would see her on TV. Her parents. Her family. Her friends. Everyone would see her as the arm candy of the action superstar whose comeback story was already Hollywood legend.

She also left out the part where she got so emotional she stormed out of her own apartment and went to sleep on base.

There were some things too mortifying to admit to. Especially to one's grandmother.

She was surprised her grandmother was letting them talk this long. She heard a commotion near the backdoor to the massive plantation home her great uncle's fraternal order met in, and there was quite a crowd gathering. Her grandmother would be mortified if they missed their chance to greet Pierce before he gave his speech - it would be a snub of the worst sort, and a social gaffe her grandmother wouldn't want to have to live down.

Her grandmother laughed. "Talk about insecurities. A trophy! Men are competitive, Sonya, and the worst of them view us as prizes to be won. If he's that sort, then you're best off without him. That's not the man you told me about, though. You said you helped him with his work. You said you're important to him, and he's sentimental. Isn't it possible you're deciding what he thinks based on what everyone around him might think? Or, are you so worried about what others think you didn't stop to think about why he might want you there? Or about compromises?"

"Compromises? What could he compromise on? I can't afford a dress for - that sort of event! We'd show up in a limo, and I can't be seen to be his kept woman! I'm a soldier. An officer. I represent the US Army!"

Her grandmother gave her a look that made her feel five again, griping about wearing a fancy dress to church. They'd compromised then, too. Nice pants and a nice blouse, but not a frilly dress.

They'd bought her dresses she hadn't hated, later. A lot later.

"Can't you go as a soldier? That uniform is mighty fancy, I think. You'd be there with him, all right. At his side. Even on his arm, if his work requires that sort of thing. But you won't be anyone but you. Even if I think wearing a pretty dress wouldn't hurt you as much as you think it might."

Sonya didn't roll her eyes, but it was a near thing. Her grandmother didn't know a damn thing about the kind of event she was talking about, but that was her own fault. But it didn't mean her grandmother was wrong about it. She could ask him about wearing her mess dress. It was allowed for formal events, and that was certainly formal - black tie was required.

She winced. She could have asked him. If he was still talking to her.

"When this is over, Sonya, we are going back to my house. I am going to fix you something to eat, since you refuse to even nibble at the expensive food laid out for us, and then you are going to call that man before you get back on your plane. Even if you tell him to shove off, no granddaughter of mine will leave things like that. You were raised better than to hide from the consequences of your own actions."

Sonya winced again. Her grandmother was right and that stung. She was hiding. And she hated being a coward, even in the complicated mess that was her personal life.

She'd call him. He probably wouldn't answer. All of the things she'd said? She might not answer if he'd called her after that.

She'd probably ruined everything - she was good at that. A good soldier, but bad at being a person.

She heard a familiar laugh, and felt a twinge of guilt and loneliness.

Okay. I'm just depressing myself at this point. I'm starting to hear him everywhere.

She stood up and offered her arm to her grandmother. "I will call him tonight. Before I get on the plane. I promise."

Her grandmother patted her arm again. "Better. Now, let's go get the first painful conversation over with before the old windbag starts to give his speech. Maybe one of us can take ill in the middle of it and we can leave early. Being this old has to be good for something, after all."

Sonya almost laughed at that. Who would have thought her grandmother would skip out on a garden party early?

She was about to make a comment about senior discounts being better than military discounts when she saw him.

He was standing there, shaking her great uncle's hand, a thousand watt smile on his face. He was dressed for the occasion, probably in something he'd 'borrowed' from some costume wardrobe somewhere, but it was nice enough to pass muster.

Though, I never would have thought he could pull off a Texas tuxedo.

He even had a brass belt buckle with his initials on it. (That didn't surprise her as much as the obviously new and obviously expensive cowboy boots.) She was glad he'd foregone the hat, because she wasn't sure if she could take him seriously in a stetson - the bolo tie was bad enough. He obviously had no idea how to wear it, which didn't surprise her a bit. He hated ties in general.

But she had to give him credit for trying. She wasn't sure what she should give him for being there.

"Johnny?"

Her grandmother looked up at and cackled softly. She saw the look on Sonya's face and saw Johnny's face when he caught sight of her, and her cackle turned into a full on laugh.

He smiled at her - not the smile he gave the cameras. Not the smile he gave the audiences. Not the camera he gave fans and interviewers.

The smile he gave to her.

His eyes lit up when he saw her, and she saw him gather every bit of swagger he had around him like a cloak, but -

She'd seen it. That momentary pause. That momentary fear that he'd come here just to be rejected.

That stung. It also tugged at something in her chest, and she wanted to go to him and reassure him and -

Oh fuck. I've caught feelings and now I have to do something with them.

Why weren't there Army regulations and procedures for this? There was a whole section in the damn handbook about shining your shoes, but nothing on how to navigate this?

"That's your Johnny? Dear heart, you might have mentioned he was that good looking. He's almost pretty enough to be a movie star!"

Sonya groaned softly. "Grandma..."

How was she supposed to break that news? Especially when it was apparent to the younger generation there just who Johnny was. There were a lot of stunned, star-struck faces as people stared and tried to make conversation with the comeback kid himself.

She sighed, and stood as straight as she could. Her grandmother had taught her better than to slouch after all.

Sonia let go of her arm and gave her small push. "Go on, then. He's tracked you all the way to Exeter, Texas. Don't know what else you need to know."

Sonya walked out from under the shade and crossed the garden, suddenly feeling - both more herself than she'd felt all day, and shockingly and painfully shy.

She ignored the paths and strode across the grass and right up to him. She wasn't sure what came over her, but she decided to accept his gesture for what it was. He'd tried to do what he'd told her people did: dress for the occasion.

She reached out and straightened his bolo tie, tucking it under his collar - which, thankfully, was not popped.

"Hi."

She was grateful a word came out. It was about the only word she was able to force out right then. She barely noticed the Army servicemen near her hear uncle muttering 'oh shit she's a lieutenant colonel!' and snapping to attention, saluting as best they could, given how many tiny flutes of champagne they'd probably had.

"Hey yourself."

His hands closed over hers.

"So. I know you're already mad at me, right? I figured, how much more mad could you be if I, you know, surprised you to talk to you face to face and maybe have a public fight? See, you left all the info about this on a post it note - did you know you write in all caps? - on top of your special leave paper and well, I just thought..."

Sonya rolled her eyes at him. She held up one finger, hoping he'd wait just one damn minute for her to process and - be a soldier. She turned to the servicemen, and saluted them back.

"At ease. It's a party. Stay sober, and if you can't do that, get a ride back. Got it?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" They all grinned at each other as they backed away slowly. Their encounter with a randomly appearing superior officer had gone a lot better than they thought it might have, given all the young women hanging around them. (Sonya knew small-town Texas. They were most certainly being peacocks, and at least some of the straight small town girls would see them as tickets out of town. Even if Johnny's arrival had changed the landscape a bit.)

She turned back to Johnny. "You."

He grinned at her, but she saw the fear there in his eyes, and it made her chest ache. This wasn't what she wanted. She didn't know exactly what she did want, but it wasn't this.

"Me?"

She grabbed his hand and tucked her arm into his. She did not tell him he was taking the traditional position of 'being escorted' but she figured it was her small revenge for him showing up - as sweet a gesture as it was.

"Let's take a walk."

"Uh...sure?" He let her lead him away from the crowd of admirers. "I mean, we could go sit down or something. I saw champagne!"

"Johnny, if we stop moving, our every word will be heard, remembered, and discussed for posterity for the next three generations of this town. You're a movie star. They all just remembered I'm an actual officer in the Army, and my grandmother is about to passive aggressively sass the guest of honor for being a tool. We're not sitting down and you do not want that champagne. I think you're allergic to 'cheap.'"

Johnny laughed. "So, the sass is genetic? Makes sense. Grandmother, huh? Can't wait to meet her. But you make it sound like we're being hunted."

Sonya rolled her eyes. "Sass is genetic and southern and I am nowhere near as brutal or skilled as grandma. You will meet her. There's nothing I can do to stop it, and I'd feel sorry for you, but you crashed the party, so it's your own fault. And we are being hunted. We are the most exciting thing to happen here since my great uncle got back from Korea, and everyone wants to know why I know a movie star."

"I'm a TV star too, now." Johnny grinned at her, boyish pride in his new series and success shining through. And this time, Sonya smiled back.

"Yeah. You are. Look, I'm -"

Johnny shook his head. "Nope. Don't you dare. I came all the way to Texas to tell you something, and I'm going to tell you now. Before this conversation goes any further. I know you're blaming yourself and you're all tied up about what you said and how you said it. And yeah, harsh. You weren't nice, but I wasn't listening. Again. I just got excited. I jumped straight to the fun part. Taking you out and showing you, well, showing you my world. Giving you the chance to be the woman everyone looked at and wanted to be. Letting you be seen for the awesome, amazing, and stunningly sexy lady you are."

He sucked in a deep breath. "Only, I forgot. That's me. That my world and not yours. That's my high, not yours. I just wanted you there when I win. When what we went through is transformed into something new and amazing and there is just that modicum of appreciation. Where I could stand at that podium and say 'see her? The badass girl in the show is based on her.' And then watch people see you. I didn't think 'what would being there mean when Sonya went home?' You told me, and, well...I didn't hear it."

Sonya groaned and pushed her shoulder into his, letting herself get closer to him. "You're an idiot sometimes, Johnny Cage. You're my idiot, though. Look. I'm sorry for what I said. How I said it. I shouldn't have gotten so - angry about it. I just got scared, okay? And I'm not good at being scared or being a person or a lot of things that come with you and me."

Johnny stopped them, just for a moment. He put his hands at her waist. He captured her eyes with his, and stepped very close to her. Close enough she could feel the warmth from sun radiating off his absurdly white shirt. "Whoa. No. You are good at being a person, Sonya. You are a person. You aren't good at feelings, but I'm not good at feelings, either. Thing is, I like you enough to get better at them. And I will! Eventually! I don't think about you being scared, because you're you...but I get it. I'm not going to fight with you about it. You said no, and that's that. I'll call my agent, get some model to come with me - because my contract with his agency says I can't go stag - and I'll text you snarky comments about what everyone's wearing all night."

Something fierce writhed through her gut and settled her chest. She heard his words and she knew what he was saying: he had a legal obligation to have someone with him at the event. He hadn't even bothered to plan a backup. He'd just - assumed he could convince her to do it.

But the idea of him going to an event like that with someone else hanging off his arm awoke something in her. Something she hadn't ever felt in a relationship before.

"Don't even think about it, Johnny Cage." She fisted the lapels of his sport coat. "I am going with you, but you are not buying me a dress. I will be going as who and what I am. A soldier. I will be in mess dress uniform and while I will be on your arm, I will be your partner, not a trophy. Not arm candy."

Johnny grinned. His eyes lit up. "You mean this whole time I could have had you come in uniform and I didn't even know it? Aren't the rules about that? Do you know how you look in that? I mean, come on, Sonya..."

Sonya just sighed and rested her forehead against his. "Yes. I can come in uniform. I will go in uniform. It's allowed, because it's black-tie formal. Hell, the Army will love having me there in uniform. Okay?"

His grin twitched and he darted in, stealing a quick kiss. "Okay! Now can we get champagne and meet your grandmother? Since we're not fighting now?"

Sonya glanced around at the tableau of the garden party. She'd grown up knowing some of these people. Many of them had opinions on her. She was there to honor her great uncle and his service. She was supposed to be a proper southern girl, even in uniform.

Using her great uncle's birthday party to introduce her - boyfriend - to her grandmother was probably at the very least uncouth, if not against the rules.

She was okay with that.

Sonya tilted Johnny's head towards her and gave him a much slower, more thorough kiss.

He'd come all the way to Exeter, Texas to apologize to her. To make things right between them - to tell her it wasn't her fault. To tell her he was trying to listen.

"Come on. Let's go meet my grandmother. By now, she's probably made great uncle Pierce wish he was back in Korea being shot at. Just try not to be too LA and you'll be fine. Did you know she thinks you're very pretty? Almost pretty enough to be a movie star."

"Hey! Wait a minute. She doesn't recognize me?"

Sonya patted his shoulder. "She's almost eighty and wishes John Wayne still made movies. Besides, even if she did recognize you, she would never tell you that. And if you tell her you're a movie star, you'd be bragging. So all you can really say is you're an actor and have steady work in Hollywood, or she'll call you names. She might even bless your heart."

Johnny frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Sonya laughed. "This is going to be fun. For me, I mean."

#writing #fandom #fanfic #fanfiction #mortal kombat #Sonya Blade #Johnny Cage #Sonya Blade/Johnny Cage #CageBlade #CageBlade Week #CageBlade Week 2023 #Slice of Life #The South (US)#Fluff #If you squint

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hummingbird-hunter · 2 years ago

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Me, on Life, Death, and the World — a poem

TW: Discussion of attempted suicide

As a child I learned two things: First, is that the world is unkind, both by nature and nurture: the unkindness innate that preceds us and makes the globe turn or the turtle to swim though the cosmos of stars far away, or maybe too close; and the unkindness of us, artificial and broken and twisted and yet so ingrained in the world we create with our hands, with our teeth, with our words and our scriptures, that stones all the witches of young; that's the first thing I learned. Second, is that there is something in me that is rotten and wrong and it's not even one thing, it's a Venn diagram with dozens of circles overlapping and crossing and filling my mind and body, burning me from a person to a biblical place, other people are Hell but Hell is also my mind — get it out, get it out, please let me leave, let me live. I learned some of those Hells are disease, fire that could be put out, while others are just what I'm made of, the pitch-black of tar drowning out my blood; and the world is unkind but it's even less kind to the ones who are falling apart. Yet I found inside me, even with feet dangling over the edge of my window with nothing but sky and asphalt beneath me that my only wish was to wake in a far kinder world; or maybe survive and come back so that people would know I need help, please, help me I'm dying! I screamed to deaf ears and blind eyes, I just want to live, is that too much to ask for? but the answer was only my echo, my feet over the edge and I jumped — back into my room, thank god back into my room, not that he deserves credit; so I found inside that I not wished to die, but the world doesn't care what you wish for; oh, well, fuck the world then! So years later I stand, the world no less unkind, I am no less deranged; but the world is unkind to the sheep and the wolves and yet sheep still graze when the wolf bares it teeth and the wolf still pursues when hunter takes shot; not for meat or protection of unkindness innate but for twisted unkindness man-made of the sport and I am the sheep and I am the wolf and sometimes I'm even the one with the gun, unkind to the bone, playing god for the fun of it, for sometimes the scorpion stings not from nature but nurture, but who cares if result is the same? So I play the game, sometimes by the rules, sometimes breaking the board and throwing the cards, if all choices are bad I'm still playing my hand if all choices are bad then I'll make a new one; I am not that delusional to fix the world by myself and I am not blind to accept it as is; but I'm living in it, and to live is enough; for I am the World, just as lakes, just as trees, just like every unkindness and all things that are wrong. For if I'm not the king, then I must be the God.

#poem #poetry #writing #creative writing #my thoughts

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atomicapplebees · 2 months ago

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I feel like a good part of what you're saying is we should not be defining womanhood by suffering. I agree! Womanhood is not inherent suffering! Generally people who feel like women have positive feelings about that! Every individual should be able to define it for themselves, positive and negative feelings alike.

But to say you have to know what it's like to be a woman in your soul in order to face misogyny is just laughable.

Whether someone has an inborn gendered qualia is irrelevant. Misogyny is an outside force. It happens to anyone percieved to be a woman. Whether they feel like a woman in their heartest of hearts is doesn't matter. If percieved as too womanly, it could even happen to men!

And believe it or not, it hurts. Even if the insult is meant for True Women and we're just, i guess, splash damage, it was still meant for the person it was aimed at. It still hurts. You've got trans guy after trans guy in your notes telling you it hurts. But it seems like none of that counts, because you've determined their qualia based on a single identity label they share with you.

"I'm not a woman so misogyny slid right off my back" ok?? Good for you??? I've never done a scientific test to determine the true gender of my soul but I can tell you I was forced into the box of "woman", which like it or not comes with a buttload of cultural pressures. The only way to liberate myself was to rally with other women, and other people in that box. Nothing that led me to taking on a different identity label changed that. Not all of us had a misogyny phase.

I'm still advocating for women. Not doing so would still be advocating against me. I feel this based on my own experiences; yeah even trans women, despite not sharing a birth assignment! Trans rights and women's rights are both part of a venn diagram! (And even if I didn't have a personal stake in it I still care about people that aren't me??) I am advocating for myself too. I guess this comes across as selfish to some people, because if men have a problem that means women don't (this is called oppositional sexism. Queen Julia Serano has a thing or two to say about it.)

You're also trying to equate "authority" with "understanding" and portray both as somehow counter to "experience".

This is gonna sound wild but I think even a cis man can understand women's experiences! It's even possible for them to overlap in some ways. They may not experience it firsthand, they may not understand everything, and it certainly wouldn't make them an authority. But we are all humans under a rigid gender system, to say we can't understand each other is, again, oppositional sexism.

None of us are claiming to be the authority on misogyny or woman's experiences. There is no authority, that's why we have diverse groups of people writing feminist theory, many of which disagree with each other! Even if they're women! Even if they're trans women! No one woman's experience or even understanding of her own gender in relation to misogyny is the authority.

Absolutely there are trans men who will try to make themselves the authority on women's experiences. That's rude and bad! But transandrophobia theory is a response to other queer people, not even just trans women, making themselves the authority on trans men's experiences! That is also rude and bad!

A post about transmisogyny doesn't need to include a paragraph about how no one without their exact gender qualia could possibly know what it's like to hurt. You yourself said it's rude and bad and wrong to ignore sexual abuse done to (cis, presumably) men. How is it then ok to ignore gendered abuse done to transgender men?

There are plenty of binary trans men in this disourse who don't feel the same as you and they are not assigning a female experience to you. Most trans men aren't assuming a female experience to everyone born with a uterus. We're not saying misogyny = womanhood either. You can't assume that a pure, binary, innately trans man has had no positive associations with womanhood. If you transitioned because you hated womanly things with a passion that's like, cool or whatever. But actually, I had quite a few things I liked about being a girl! I just like being a boy better! It's that fucking simple!

"Yehbutt you're genderqueer/not binary/man-lite so you don't count" No, I reject the idea of binary and nonbinary as distinctly opposing experiences. Being treated like a woman and a man and neither over the course of my life is not irrelevant to my feelings of gender. Maybe I identify as wholly all of those at once. I am the authority on my own experiences that effect my personal understanding of gender. Nobody gets to degender me just cause they don't like how i describe my gender.

I'm sorry it causes dysphoria in some people to say men can face misogyny, but that's not my problem. People should stop trying to map their own experiences onto others and demand the other isn't real because they don't match.

It really doesn't matter whether gender is innate or not. Some people may feel like it is and that the harmful messaging for their assigned gender never hit them. Some people won't, and every insult to their assigned gender is like a knife in the heart. Some will feel another way entirely. No one is trying to be the authority on anyone else's experiences. Except you.

(Unpopular opinion: "female" is as much an identity as "woman" is. Sex divisions are as much a societal force as gender is, it is not somehow more real just because there are things about it that can be quantitatively measured. It's not coopting womanhood for a trans woman to say she is female. Please, talk to us not terfs. "I identify as female" is a thing a lot of people say. We can argue about identity vs reality til the cows come home, but identity is part of experience and you can't tell someone their experience is wrong.)

Lately I've been dipping my toe into the mess that is transandrophobia discourse, and in the process I've been presented with one question in many forms:

"Do trans men experience misogyny?"

My initial answer was "these terms are all theoretical frameworks for a vast range of human experiences, why would you choose to frame your pre-transition experiences as that of a woman?" This makes sense to me, but clearly isn't satisfactory to many of the people sending me anons. As much as I might want to use my own life as a case study, I can't very well tell these people in my asks box "no, you've never experienced something that could be categorized as misogyny." Still, the question bothers me.

I think that's because the question obfuscates the actual debate. It's clear to me the question we are debating is not one of "experience" but "authority." That is:

"Do (binary) trans men understand what it's like to be a woman?"

My answer? No.

How can I justify that when we have, since birth, been raised as women? Well, because we also have, since birth, been trans men. If we cast aside the idea of transness as a modern social construct or anything other than an innate and biological reality, this has to be true. Even before you ever came out to yourself, you were transgender. Transphobia has dictated every moment of your life. Your idea of what "womanhood" is is not at all the same as a woman's, be it cis or trans. Why? Because a woman does not react to "being a woman" with the dysphoria, dissociation, and profound sense of wrongness that you do. [If you do not experience these things, a cis or trans woman, at the very least, does not identify as a binary trans man.] A woman sincerely identifies as a woman, and identity plays a pivotal role in how we absorb societal messaging.

Let's take homophobia as an example. While any queer person has probably experienced targeted episodes of bigotry, the majority of bigotry we experience must necessarily be broad and social. Boys learn to fear becoming a faggot as a group, but the boy who is a faggot will internalize those messages in a completely different way to the boys who only need learn to assert the heterosexual identity already inherent in them through violence. All of them are suffering to some extent, but their experiences are not at all equivalent. This is despite the fact that they've all absorbed the same message, maybe even at the same moment, through the same events. Still, we don't say that a straight boy knows what it is like to be a gay boy. Similarly, cis women do not know what it is like to be a trans man despite being fed the same transphobic messaging in a superficially identical context. It isn't a stretch to say the same can apply to misogyny.

Because I can't speak for you, I'll use myself as an example for a moment. I'll give my bonafides: I am a gender-nonconforming, T4T queer, white, binary trans man. I am on T, and I have recently come out to my family. I do not pass. My career as a comic writer is tied to my identity as a trans man. I can confidently say I have never been impacted by misogyny the same way as my friends who actually identify as women. This manifested early on as finding it easy to shrug off the messaging that I needed to be X or Y way to be a woman. In fact, most gender roles slid off my back expressly because breaking them gave me euphoria. I was punished in many ways for this, but being this sort of cis woman did help me somewhat. It's easy to be "one of the guys" in a social climbing sense if you really do feel more comfortable as a man. It also helped me disregard misogyny aimed at me or others because it seemed like an shallow form of bigotry. It was something you could shrug off, but it was important for building "unity" among women. I thought this must be the case for all women, that we all viewed misogyny as a sort of "surface level" bigotry. However, for whatever conditional status I gained in this role, there was a clear message that if I did "become" a man, every non-conformist trait about me would just become a grotesque and parodic masculinity.

That was the threat that was crushing me, destroying my identity and self esteem. That was what I knew intimately through systemic, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. I could express my nonconformity as a cis woman, but if I took it so far as to transition to male? I would be a pathetic traitor, a social outcast. I truly believe that throughout my life people were able to see that I was not just a failed woman, but an emasculated man.

I do partly feel that the sticking point for many is the idea that the sexual abuse suffered by trans men is inherent to womanhood, and therefore inexplicable if trans men are men from birth. While this disregards the long history of sexual abuse of young boys, especially minority boys, I do see the emotional core. I'll offer that the sexual abuse I suffered was intrinsically linked to my emmasculation, my boyishness, despite the fact that I was not out to myself or anyone else. I believe many trans men have suffered being the proxy for cis women's desire for retribution against cis men, or for cis men and women's desire for an eternally nubile young boy. I also believe they have suffered corrective assault that attempts to push them back into womanhood, which in itself is an experience unique to transness rather than actual womanhood.

I'll note quickly that many, many trans men cannot relate to the idea of feeling confident and above it all when it comes to womanhood. Many of you probably tried desperately to conform, working every moment to convince yourself you were a woman and to perfectly inhabit that identity. I definitely experienced this as well (though for me it was specifically attempting to conform to butchness) but I can concede many of you experienced it more than I did. I still believe that this desperate play-acting is also not equivalent to true womanhood. It is a uniquely transgender experience, one that shares much more in common with trans women desperately attempting to conform to manhood than with true womanhood.

One key theme running through the above paragraphs is the idea that "womanhood" is synonymous with "suffering." A trans man must know what it is like to be a woman because he suffers like one. It should be noted that actual womanhood is not a long stretch of suffering. It often involves joy, euphoria, sisterhood, a general love and happiness at being a woman. It wasn't until I admitted to myself I had never been a woman that I was able to see how the women in my life were not women out of obligation, but because they simply were. The idea that you are a woman because you suffer is more alligned with radfem theory than any reality of womanhood.

When I admitted my identity to myself I was truly faced with the ways that my ability to stand up to misogyny did not equate to being anti-misogynist. I was giddy to finally be able to admit to being a man, and suddenly all that messaging that "slid off my back" was a useful tool in my arsenal. Much like cis gay men feel compelled to assert their disgust for vaginas and women after a life of being compelled towards heterosexuality, I felt disgust and aversion to discussions of womanhood as an identity. I didn't even want to engage with female fictional characters. I viewed other people's sincere expressions of their own womanhood as a coded dismissal of my identity. Like many people before and after, I made women into the rhetorical device that had oppressed me. Not patriarchy, not transphobia, but womanhood and women broadly. It wasn't explicit bigotry, but the effects were the same. I had to unlearn this with the help of my bigender partner, who felt unsettled and hurt by the way I could so easily turn "woman" into nothing but a theoretical category which represented my personal suffering.

This brings me to another point: I sometimes receive messages from nonbinary trans mascs telling me that it's absurd to think they don't understand womanhood and identify with misogyny in a deeper way. I would agree that, if you sincerely identify in some capacity as a woman, you are surely impacted by misogyny in a way I am not. However, why are you coming to the defense of binary trans men like me? Less charitably, why are you projecting a female identity on us? Perhaps my experience frustrates you so deeply because we simply do not have the same experience at all. Perhaps we are not all that united by our agab, by our supposed female socialization.

So, no. I do not believe that binary trans men know what it's like to be women. I don't believe we are authorities on womanhood. I do not believe that when a trans woman endeavors to talk about transmisogyny, your counterargument about your own experiences of misogyny is useful. I ESPECIALLY do not believe that it is in any way valid to say that you are less misogynist, less prone to being misogynist, or-- god forbid-- INCAPABLE of misogyny because you were raised as a girl. I also don't believe your misogyny is equivalent to that of a woman's internalized misogyny in form or impact.

For as much as many in this movement downplay privilege as merely "conditional," those conditions do exist. They do place you firmly in the context of the rest of the world. Zoom out and look at the history of oppressed men, and you'll find the same reactionary movement repeated over and over. Attacking the women in your community for not being soft enough, nice enough, patient enough, rather than fighting the powers that be. Why do I believe your identity is more alligned with cis manhood than any form of womanhood? Because this song and dance has been done a hundred times before by men of every stripe. Transphobia is real, and your life experience has been uniquely defined by it since birth. This is a thing to rally around, to fight against, but you all have fallen for a (trans)misogynistic phantasm in your efforts at self-actualization. You are not the first, and you will not be the last. Get out of this pipeline before it's too late.

#rambles #long post

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