#i mean it’s clear my gender is confusing to some people who look at me funny

[gh0stsp1d3r]

we need deadpool x oblivious gender neutral reader or him fending creeps off the reader thx :3

I’m gonna kill that fucker

A/n: AHHH I love this. Also I dreamed abt this request litcherally. Like I had a vision after I read it and fell asleep. Gif and div not mine. also this is most def not one of my best works LEVAE ME ALOME

warnings: creepy dude, mentions of murder (it’s Wade), a few suggestive mentions, your hammered, couple shenanigans !

Wade had always been protective of you even when you both were just friends, he had been protective, sheltering you from harm's way. His protectiveness got even stronger when you started dating.

And he’d be damned if he let some other random ass motherfucker look at you like that, touch you like that.

His hand was on your arm, and you took it as innocent, but he could see the discomfort on your face, even from afar. Then his hand went down to your back, you still visibly uncomfortable but not saying a word.

He wasn’t jealous, he was annoyed. Annoyed at that creep staring at you like you were his prey, like a piece of meat he needed to get his hands on. He was away from you for two seconds! 

He grumbled under his breath as he made his way back to you, both drinks still in his hands. You turned, smiling at the sight of your boyfriend. He noticed the man’s hand dropped from its place on your skin, turning to Wade.

“Who’s your friend?” Wade asked you, staring at the man with a crooked, forced smile. The man nodded at Wade, glaring at him.

“This is Micheal, Micheal this is Wade! My boyfriend.” You introduced the two to each other with a slight slur in your voice, not noticing the staring competition it seemed like the two were having at the moment.

Micheal cleared his throat, both men turning back to you. Wade wrapped an arm around you, smug smile on his face.

“Well, Micheal. You always hang around here?” He asked, glancing around the bar.

The man shrugged, Wade nodding.

“Man of few words, huh?” Wade retorted.

“I guess, yeah.” He scoffed, gripping the cup in his hands tighter.

The tension was thick, everyone could see it except you, who happily downed the rest of your drink.

“Slow down.” Wade chuckled at you, pulling you even closer into his side with a smile.

“Micheal was just telling me about- about-“ you hiccuped over your words. “About where he lives or something.”

Micheal flushed at you exposing him like that, glancing the other way, feeling Wades eyes on him.

“Is that so?” He mused, raising his eyebrows at the dark haired man.

“I mean, I’m just… here for a weekend. I was just-“

“Wondering if they could go home with you?” Wade tilted his head to the side, the man shrugged, glaring at your boyfriend.

“Can we go?” You turned to ask Wade, who nodded and you slipped out of his arms, beginning to walk towards the door slowly.

“Well, uh, Micheal, seems like they are struggling to walk at the moment…” he trailed off, watching you walk away and attempt to go to the door, stumbling around.

“So, gotta go. See you.” He pat the man hard on the back, man grimacing and sneering at Wade, watching you leave together.

He had a hand on the small of your back, leading you out of the crowded bar, and both of you walking out into the city lights.

“So, that Micheal guy….” He started, you looking up at Wade with a confused expression, not knowing why he brought the random man up.

“What about him?” You slurred out.

“Well, I mean, he’s a bit of a creep… he was like 60. I saw grey hairs on his head! And you don’t talk to hot people in bars unless you wanna bang them.” He held his hands up in defense when you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I think he was just… being friendly.” You shrugged.

“Oh, you oblivious, sweet thing.” He shook his head, you frowning. “Old men are the worst, babe. Believe me.” He chuckled, frown still on your face.

“He was just… I don’t know!” You threw your hands up.

“He had his hand on your back, on your arm, he literally was about to touch your ass before I came over, what does that sound like to you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Flirting! What else would it be?”

“Hm. I mean… I guess he did ask me… where I lived and if I wanted to ride with him…” you huffed, realizing he was right, recalling the words he had said earlier.

“Oh, see?! I’m gonna kill that fucker.” He exclaimed.

“You’d do that for me?” You said with a small smile.

“What makes you think I haven’t?” He raised his eyebrows, you giggling. He wasn’t really joking.

You began to turn to the side, thinking that it was the way to your house until Wade grabbed the collar of your shirt, pulling you in the opposite direction.

“Wade!” You complained, shoving his hand off your shirt.

“First, you’re going the wrong way, second you were about to run into a lamppost. I should be hearing, thank you Wade!” He clasped his hands together, looking up at the sky. “You’re my lifesaver, Wade!’” He mocked in a high pitched tone.

“Thank you Wade, o my Wade, how can I ever repay you?” You spoke sarcastically, giggling at the end.

“See? That’s exactly what I meant.”

[wonderjanga]

Gender? Who Cares About That?

Billy’s never really been one to really care about gender. Look, if you wanna be a girl, you’re a girl, same if you wanna be a boy. Or at least that’s what he thinks. He just doesn’t get the hype about it. So, whenever he feels like it, he just turns into a girl. No one really cares and he’s been doing it since the sixties so he’ll keep doing it. Well, at least no one cared until nowadays.

Marvel: *in female form picking up some rubble to clear it after a villain attack*

Reporter: “Ma’am!” *trying to flag Marvel down*

Marvel: “Yes, miss?” *carefully puts rubble down*

Reporter: “Hello, ma’am. We at channel five news have been meaning to ask you a few questions. Are you related to Captain Marvel, and if so, are you blood related?”

Marvel: *visible confusion* “Uh… I guess.” *honestly thinks it’s a little funny* “But, miss, I am Captain Marvel.”

Reporter: “Huh…?”

Marvel: “Did you not ask any of the citizens?”

Reporter: *looks to the camera guy before looking back at Billy* “Yes- I’m sorry, I was under the impression Captain Marvel was a man.”

Marvel: “I am.”

Reporter: “Yet you’re a woman…?”

Marvel: “Yeah. Whenever I feel like it, I turn into a girl. Then, whenever I feel like it, I turn into a boy.”

Tourist: “So you’re gender-fluid?”

Marvel: “What is that?” *sounds confused*

Tourist: “Literally just what you described.”

Marvel: “Oh. Then I guess I am. I didn’t know there was a label for it.” *

For reference, female Marvel looks like Marilyn just with blue eyes and black hair. As for why he doesn’t know what gender-fluid means? Well apparently it originated in 1994, and in my AU he was trapped in a time bubble and got out in 2016. He’s an old man guys. He can’t work computers. They’re too overcomplicated. If you were to ask a random citizen from Fawcett, they wouldn’t know either.

Marvel: *back in male form, frosting some cookies at the Watchtower*

Supes: “Cap?”

Marvel: “Yes?”

Supes: “So… uh…” *awkward and looks the other JL members*

Other JL Members: *peaking from behind a corner*

Supes: “We just want you to know we support you.” *awkward smile and pat on shoulder*

Marvel: “Cool? What’re you supporting?”

Supes: “Well you know… Do you really not know why?”

Marvel: “No…?”

*silence*

Marvel: “Do you want a cookie?”

Supes: “Yes, please.”

Yeah, he doesn’t care. Like stated earlier, he doesn’t care, and neither did the Fawcett’s citizens. He didn’t even think this was something that people were supported for. That’s why he had no clue what Clark was talking about.

Marvel and GL: *have monitor duty together*

GL: “So, dude, are you going to the pride parade in Metropolis?”

Marvel: “Why would I go to one of those?”

GL: “Cause you’re gender fluid?”

Marvel: “What?” *already forgot what that meant*

GL: “You know how you switch between girl and boy all the time?”

Marvel: “Ohhhh that. I still don’t see what that has to do with the pride parade.”

GL: “Dude, that’s apart of pride.”

Marvel: “I thought pride was for queers?”

GL: “Yeah. You being gender fluid makes you queer.”

Marvel: “Really?”

GL: “Yup.”

Marvel: “Huh. I had no idea. I guess I could go, but I don’t really wanna go alone. Are you going?”

GL: *nods head* “Me and a couple others.”

Marvel: “ ‘kay, then can I go with you guys?”

GL: “Hell yeah, man!”

Bonus:

Mary does the same thing as Billy! Whenever she turns into a boy though, she looks like Billy because twin power.

[love-takes-work]

I've seen a fair number of people interpret Rebecca Sugar's (and the Crew's) decision to put Ruby in a dress as subversive, and I want to discuss why that feels like a clear miss to me.

Every time--every single time--I've heard Rebecca Sugar talk about the queer relationships on this show, it comes with this expression of wholesomeness, and often glazed with a sheen of wistfulness, flavored something like "I needed this as a child and young person, and I didn't have it." Much of Rebecca Sugar's work to bring this wedding (and other unapologetic queer relationships) to the screen was framed as an emergency--as in, we HAVE to get this out there for those kids we used to be, because we know they're drowning.

Yes, it's funny sometimes when people make jokes about Sugar deliberately "adding more gay" or "making it gayer" as a big eff-you to the people who spoke against it, but that doesn't sit right from where I'm standing. It took so much strength (and resulted in so much battle damage) to fight that fight, yes. But from everything I can see from the interviews and conversations I've seen and read, this wasn't served up in a "ha-HA, take THAT!" kind of way. These characters having these kinds of relationships should have been a non-issue, and the fact that their very wholesome kids'-show wedding and very sweet kiss and very adorable love for each other was seen as Political when it should have been just two characters in love is so sad to me.

I've seen dozens of people suggest that Ruby is in a dress and Sapphire is in a suit "to fuck with the bigoted censors in other countries" or "to give the finger to gender roles," but again, I think it is simpler and sweeter than that. Rebecca's said that Ruby in a dress is how she feels in a dress. Celebration and exploration of feminine-coded stuff felt wrong to Rebecca for a long time, like it wasn't hers, because she wasn't really a woman and didn't want it forced on her. As a result she was robbed of all the beauty that should have been a non-issue, from what TV shows and toys she was supposed to enjoy as a kid to what kind of person she was supposed to marry and what she should wear as an adult.

Ruby never got a choice about how she looked really. Once she got to choose her presentation for a significant event, this is what she chose. It means so much more to see that than to construct it primarily as a reactionary measure, as if it would somehow foil the sinister censors in more homophobic countries (who, incidentally, are not therefore forced to show Ruby in a dress even though they tried to hide that Ruby was a "she" or that she was in a romantic relationship with another "she"; y'all, they just don't show the episode).

We see plenty of other examples of gender-role-related expectations being casually stepped on and squashed, like when they took the trouble to give traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine "clothes" to some watermelons to make the audience think there was a husband and wife watermelon only to have the wife be the warrior and the husband stay home with the child. With stuff like that, yeah, sure, maybe it's designed to make you think "oh isn't that very feminist of them!" Or maybe it's more "well why do I see this as a 'reversal' when it's just a thing that happened?" This show is full of ladyish beings who fight and have power. And as for Steven. . . .

Nobody has negative reactions onscreen (or even particularly confused reactions) when Steven wears traditionally feminine clothes, and it is (of course) also not presented as a "boy in a dress gag"--it's not supposed to be funny. When they go all in slathering Steven in literal princess tropes throughout the final act of Season 5, we understand that it's because the powerful Diamonds expect him to be Pink Diamond, not because the show is trying to girlify him or embarrass him or even make the audience think positive thoughts about boys in girls' clothes. It's more neutral than that in my interpretation: "these are literally just pieces of cloth, and while some of them have meaning, they don't inherently have a gender." I don't see this as transgressive. It's just in a world where putting on what you want to wear doesn't HAVE to be a political statement. (Though obviously it CAN be, and plenty of people wear a variety of clothes as a fuck-you to whoever they want to give the finger to. I just don't see that as happening here.)

Don't get me wrong; Rebecca Sugar certainly knew about the politics (intimately) and has lived at many of their intersections. She was not ignorant of how queer people are seen in this world. She was silenced as a bisexual person because her identity supposedly didn't matter if she was with a man and planned to be with that same man forever. She was shunted into "omg a woman did this!" categories over and over again, which she wore uneasily as a nonbinary person while accepting that part of who we are is how the world sees us. But what is it like if everything someone like her embraces is seen as a statement synonymous with "fuck you" to someone else?

She is married to a person who happens to be a man and happens to be Black. Her relationship isn't a "statement" about either of those aspects of his existence; her love is simply something that is. She is Jewish working in a society that's largely Christian. Her cultural perspective to NOT center her cartoon around Christian holidays and Christian morals; her choices to make an alternate world in this specific way is simply something that is. Her queer perspective as a nonbinary bisexual person has helped inform the Gems' radical philosophy of "what if we learned to explore and define ourselves instead of doing the 'jobs' we're assigned and being told it's our nature?" Her decision to include queer people in a broadly queer cartoon isn't designed PRIMARILY as a battle against baddies, or to drown out all the relentless straightness, or to deliciously get our queer little paws all over their kids' TV. It's an act of love.

So this is just to say that though I DO understand that sometimes subversion and intentional transgression are very necessary, I do not think that's the HEART of what's going on at this Gem wedding. We got a wholesome marriage scene between two of the most lovely little flawed-but-still-somehow-perfect characters, and I very much want to see their choices as being about them. About how Ruby feels in a dress. About how Sapphire feels about not having to always wear a dress. About them incorporating a symbol of their union into their separate lives so they can have some independence in their togetherness. About them celebrating their love by letting Steven wipe his schmaltz all over them.

There are many choices in the show that ARE carefully constructed to counter existing narratives, you know, giving the Crystal Gems' only boy all the healing, pink, flower imagery; having a single-sex species that's ladyish with all the members going by "she"; featuring many nurturing male characters who cry and cook and raise kids without mothers; pairing multiple fighty ladies with gentler guys; and importantly, intentionally loading up the show with stories, characters, and imagery any gender will find appealing despite being tasked with expectations to pander to the preteen boy demographic.

But it's very important to me that the inclusion of queer characters and the featuring of their choices be seen primarily as a loving act, and way way less of a "lol screw the bigots." I want our stories to be about us. Yes, I know it's a necessary evil that sometimes our stories are also about fighting Them. But every time I see someone say they put Ruby in the dress to "piss off the homophobes" or "stump the censors" I feel a little gross. Like the time I picked out an outfit I loved and my mom said I only dressed in such an obnoxious way to upset her, and I was baffled because my aesthetic choices, my opinions, my choices had nothing to do with her. Yet they were framed like I chose these clothes primarily to cause some kind of petty harm to her, when not only was it not true but I was not even that kind of person who would gloat over intentionally irritating someone.

The queerness of this show isn't a sneaky, underhanded act trying above all to upset a bigot or celebrate someone's homophobic fury. It lives for itself. Its existence is about itself. It's so we can see ourselves in a show, and it's so people who aren't queer or don't have those experiences can see that we exist, we participate, we want very similar things, and definitely are focusing way more about celebrating our love at our own weddings rather than relishing the thought of bigots tearing their hair out and hating us.

It's dangerous to turn every act of our love into a deliberate movement in a battle strategy when their weddings just get to be weddings.

I think there’s this idea that that [queer characters] is something that applies or should be only discussed with adults that is completely wrong. And I think when you realize that talking to kids about heteronormativity is just like air that you breathe all the time, it’s kind of amazing that that is not true in any other capacity. I think if you wait to tell kids, to tell queer youth that it matters how they feel or that they are even a person, then it’s going to be too late! You have to talk about it—you have to let it be what it gets to be for everyone. I mean, like, I think about, a lot of times I think about sort of fairy tales and Disney movies and the way that love is something that is ALWAYS discussed with children. And I think also there’s this idea that’s like, oh, we should represent, you know, queer characters that are adults, because there are adults that are queer, and you should know that’s something that is happening in the adult world, but that’s not how those films or those stories are told to children. You’re told that YOU should dream about love, about this fulfilling love that YOU’RE going to have. […] The Prince and Snow White are not like someone’s PARENTS. They’re something you want to be, that you are sort of dreaming of a future where you will find happiness. Why shouldn’t everyone have that? It’s really absurd to think that everyone shouldn’t get to have that! --Rebecca Sugar

[triptychgardener]

i saw you mentioned that transfem!calliope was practically canon, could you maybe elaborate on that? (im not dissing your hcs btw im just confused on where its suggested in canon)

Hey so it took me a while to get to this just because I wanted to solidify some thoughts about it! Won't go into as much detail wrt my other posts, but we can at the very least start with her handle: uranianUmbra

Uranian is an old-fashioned term, generally used for gay men, though also used in different ways to describe other-gendered people or ways of being, occasionally used as a catch-all similar to how Queer is used today. Its history is complicated and occasionally uncomfortable, as a lot of queer history can be, but notably, one potential root of this idea came from Urning

Now obviously conceptions of gender and sexuality were a lot different then, and I don't want to simplify this, but in Homestuck, it's pretty undeniable that Calliope is a woman stuck in a man's body, and this is likely why Hussie used that very specific word in the first place: to foreshadow the eventual Cherubian Twist.

And not that framing: a woman trapped in a man's body. Cherubs (at least as we are told) have two equal halves who can predominate. But the framing of their entire dynamic makes it very clear that this is Caliborn's body, not Calliope.

Callie's ideal self, in Callie Ohpeee, her Trollsona, is positioned as something to be taken off to reveal her true self. She feels that she needs to conform her exterior to match her interior self, something Caliborn never has to do.

Hell, even as she goes to sleep for the last time, she removes her jacket to reveal Caliborn's shirt underneath. It's his body, not hers.

Not only that, but throughout the story, we see that Callie experiences something close to either dysphoria or body dysmorphia. She hates the way she looks, and affects an especially sweet demeanor in order to not scare people away. She sees herself as a monster because her body becomes the most hideous masculine monster the story has ever known! Literally Lord English.

And shockingly, even though it (in my opinion) handles it poorly, the Epilogues do give us a brief insight into cherub gender, where it basically illuminates that Aranea was kind of talking out of her ass about cherub reproduction, and that Cherubs have no actual biological sex or gender. Meaning that somewhere along the way, Caliborn and Calliope CHOSE their genders, likely influenced by the human and troll internet they were permitted. Callie perhaps forming her own gender in opposition to her brother. This also probably created the ouroboros through which gender became a thing in the first place but thats besides the point. Point is, Callie was likely not a woman until she chose to be a woman. I.e. transgender.

Now the epilogues took it in what I find to be a kind of boring direction, i.e. "well cherubs have no real biological sex so that means I have to be nonbinary now" which is just such a lukewarm take on the imposition of gender but whatever. Point is that Callie is transgender end of story goodnight!!!!!

[torukmaktoskxawng]

Hey I was wondering if I could make the request of an Aonung x human reader who has a bunch of norse tattoos and he's curious about them?

(Adult Ao'nung by @cinetrix2)

Pairing: Ao'nung/Human!Reader (can be seen as platonic)

Warnings: Cute. Fluff. Aged-up characters. Reader can be seen as gender-neutral since gender is not mentioned.

Taglist: @mooniequeen @avatar-lover @taronyuhunter @alinacecee

A/n: I hope you know that by making this request, it got me thinking of getting another tattoo. When I started writing this, I ended up going to a friend's house the same night and begged her to give me an Avatar tattoo. Pic Here.

~~~~~~~~~

With Jake and his family as full-fledged Metkayina now, the reef people have slowly become accustomed to human allies coming and going from their island whenever Toruk Makto gives them a call.

As the years progress, both species actually begin to mingle a bit, and eventually, a small, human settlement finds its way to Awa'atlu. You were the first to live on said settlement, assigned to it by Norm because both he and Jake agreed that your expertise belonged on the island and the Metkayina have grown to know and trust you.

Among those who have gotten to know you were none other than the olo'eyktan's son, Ao'nung. And while it was clear that the two of you were friends, there was still a mystery about you that he had not yet discovered, and that was your physical appearance, specifically your tattoos.

You had several, more than anything Ao'nung had seen on Sky People before, and that was just the tattoos he could see peeking out from beneath your clothes. While some of your ink kind of resembled Ao'nung's, he noticed they took different shapes and didn't have any Na'vi significance that he knew of. Regardless, your tattoos were a small part of why the Metkayina trusted you more than other human allies, simply because you visibly had something in common with them, and he often wondered if yours bore any sort of significance like his does.

"Do all Sky People have tattoos?"

Looking up through your breathing mask, you catch Ao'nung's curious gaze while sitting comfortably in the sand as you work on identifying a rock for your research. Looking back down at your datapad, you reply, "No. Not all."

"Do they only get them when they're of age?"

"No, we usually get them whenever we feel like it," you snort, recalling getting your first one at seventeen, despite the laws stating you needed to be eighteen where you lived at the time. Your mother nearly fainted.

Ao'nung frowns in disbelief, "So there is no meaning?"

"Some tattoos have meaning. Others don't."

"What about yours?"

Your smile is genuine, beaming in a way one does when talking about their favorite interests, "Mine resemble my heritage. Where I come from."

Watching the confusion only grow on the young Na'vi's face, you further explain by pointing out your tattoos, starting with the key-like shape inked into the front of your neck, "It's a Nordic rune. It represents perseverance."

You then peer down and present your arm to Ao'nung, pointing out the tattoo on the inside of your forearm, "Vegvisir."

The word that left your lips sounded so strange to Ao'nung, his ears instinctively twitching at the pronunciation. Looking down at the tattoo on your arm, observing the intricate line work before peering back up at your face, he waits for you to explain the significance, and you do,

"It's meant to appear as a wayfinder. To help the wearer not get lost and find their way home. It's a symbol of protection and guidance."

Your hands then reach up to the collar of your shirt and pull it down to reveal one of your favorite and more prominent tattoos. Ao'nung's eyes widen at such wonderful artwork. At the center of your collar, just above your heart, was the picture of a beautiful, intricate tree, the branches meant to twist and form Celtic knots into the ink, the roots of the tree running down your sternum and disappearing into your shirt.

"This is Yggdrasil."

"Eggdrazil?" Ao'nung felt his own tongue knot itself just trying to properly pronounce the word, but even he could admit it sounded wrong coming out of his mouth.

"No," You laugh lightly while slowing it down pronouncing it to the best of your ability in a Na'vi accent, "IG-drah-sill. It's the Tree of Life. I'm not sure how else to explain it without sounding preachy or confusing, but... it's kind of like your people's Spirit Tree, in a way."

His eyes widen with surprise, staring down at the tree tattoo with newfound fascination at the idea that a human culture could be so similar to his own. Slowly reaching out, his fingers press into the ink on your collar, and you stubbornly stay still, refraining from the pleasant shiver that threatened to run down your spine at the contact.

Inspecting the tattoo with both his fingers and his eyes, Ao'nung finds himself thinking out loud, muttering under his breath, "They almost resemble what a warrior would wear."

You find your smile unapologetically twitching with amusement, "Well, technically, that's exactly who my ancestors were. Warriors."

Ao'nung's curious eyes finally meet yours again, excuding confidence, "And you as well."

Your smile melts into something more genuine, "And me as well. Just like you."

His lips curl into a smile of his own.

~~~~~~~~~

MASTERLIST

RULES

REQUEST

[fallingdownhell]

Could I request reader getting mad and giving a scathing "the reason you suck" speech at someone who's discrediting her man with Diluc, Kaeya, Al-Haitham, Zhongli and Childe?

Uhhh, someone likes to be feisty.. I see how it is. Sometimes you just gotta let all that pent up anger out, preferably at someone who deserves it. I got you <3

Characters Included: Diluc; Kaeya; Alhaitham; Zhongli

Content: gender neutral reader; cursing; cussing out people; nothing else, I think

Word count: 2,6k words

Thank you for your request!<3

Diluc

Diluc sighed as he put away the last dried glass onto the shelve behind him, finally being able to breath properly.. or at least that's what he had hoped for, but a particular customer was being really roudy today.

The man in question was a travelling bard, originating from Fontaine, who recently came to Mondstadt. He begged Diluc to let him perform at Angel's Share, hoping to make some money to continue his travels.

Diluc agreed after some time, yet immediately regretted it once the man started "singing". It was so out of tone, just horrible to listen to. Worst part was that, after getting paid, the bard instantly burned all of his earned money on drinks.

He got drunk rather quickly, now being loud and rude to the other customers who were starting to clear up the place since it was close to closing time.

You had been sitting on one of the tables on the lower level, a little bit further away from the crowd, but as things started to clear up, you went and sat on the bar, waiting for Diluc to finish up so you could both go home together.

After a few more minutes, it was only you and Diluc, plus the drunk man left in the tavern. Diluc tried to get him to leave kindly at first, but the man didn't respond too well to his request.

"The fuck do you want from me, you fucking asshole? Get the fuck out my sight and get me another drink!", he hiccuped in between his sentences.

When Diluc refused to serve him any more, he got even more agitated. "The fuck's that supposed to mean? Do you talk to all your customers like that you dick? 'm surprised you still got patrons, the booze isn't even that great here!"

You've had enough of it at this point. You listened to his shit far too long today, and you kept your mouth shut. But when it comes to him insulting and downplaying your boyfriend, that was were you drew a line.

So, without a word, you got up and stepped in front of Diluc, getting between the two men. As the drunkard was staring at you, confused on what you wanted from him, you took a deep breath in.

"The only asshole I see around here, is you! You ruined everyones evening today! Your so called "singing" sucked ass, and you reek of alcohol. No wonder no one wants to interact with you with how aggressive you're getting. Now, you better hurry the fuck out before I go completely insane on you calling my boyfriend such things, you coward!"

The two man looked at you, one with surprise but also some sense of pride, while the other became scared. He shrinked more and more with every word that left your mouth and by the end of your speech, he was hurrying to get out of his seat and left the tavern as quickly as his shaky feet would let him.

You sighed and turned around, facing Diluc now. "I'm sorry. I know you could have handled that yourself, but it just pissed me off how he was talking to you."

Diluc just smiled down at you, pulling you in for a quick, passionate kiss. "Don't apologize. I quite enjoyed seeing this feisty side of you. Just don't let it become a habit."

You blushed but nodded at him, which only made him chuckle. After that, you helped him finish to clean up, then went home with him. It may have been just your imagination, but you thought that he was holding you a bit closer to him this night...

Kaeya

You have been growing more and more irritated throughout the entire day as you witnessed your boyfriend Kaeya running through the city.

That was already an odd enough thing for him to do, since he was normally locked in his office the entire day. You didn't know what was going on, but still kept an eye on him whenever you saw him running by.

He didn't seem stressed or agitated, so you didn't mind too much, so long as he wasn't going to do any more overtime.

But then later, you noticed another man approaching Kaeya every so often, especially as he got closer to the end of his work day. It wasn't a knight or other shop keeper, as Kaeya had been talking to almost only those people the entire day for whatever mission he was currently on.

The man was just a normal civilian, walking up and talking to Kaeya. At first, it seemed like a normal conversation, but every time he walked up to your boyfriend again, he got progressively louder and angrier each time.

You weren't exactly happy with the situation, but you also knew that your boyfriend could handle it on his own, which was the only reason why didn't walk up to them to give that guy a piece of your own mind.

That, however, changed when you stumbled into them again. The two of them were currently standing just outside the main city gates, the two guards who keep watch looking between each other, not knowing what to do, as that guy was now full on screaming at Kaeya.

Seeing that, you wouldn't take that. If Kaeya wasn't about to tell off that man for his blatant disrespect, then you would.

You had no idea why the guy was being that way in the first place, but you also didn't care.

As you got closer to the group, his shouts became clearer to you, now understanding what he was saying.

"... damn knight of Favonius! What are you even good for, except exploiting us citizens? And you! You're the worst of them all!"

"Now, now. How about we all calm down first, and then-!", Kaeya tried to calm the man down, but he wasn't having any of it.

"No, I'm not gonna calm down! I am rightfully upset and you can't tell me what to do, Mister Knight!", the guy said in a mocking tone, it was clear he was looking down at all of them.

This was also the moment you arrived at the scene, as well. Walking straight past the two guards and Kaeya. You could feel their confused looks on your back, but you ignored them as you came to a hold in front of that guy, your face looking furious. Before he could take a breath to start another one of his monologues, you cut in.

"You shut up right now! I don't know what your fucking problem is, but I've had enough of you following around and bothering my boyfriend, yelling and insulting him." You pointed a finger to his face as you leaned more towards him, making the man back up a little, to try and get away from you.

"Is your life so miserable and boring that you have to take your frustrations out on other people? Do you have nothing else to do? Are you just that pathetic?"

You looked at him, eyes stone cold as you expectantly waited for him to answer. The guy looked from you, to Kaeya, then back to you, before he turned and ran away from the situation.

"Hmpf. That's what I thought..", you mumbled under your breath, turning around and walking into the city again, but not before grabbing Kaeya's hand and pulling him along with you.

He let you do so, having the biggest of smirks on his face as he witnessed the scene unfold before him. He made a mental note to applaud and thank you later, when you two were in the privacy of your home again..

Alhaitham

He wasn't cut out for the role of Acting Grande Sage..

Not only did he himself say that all of the time, complaining about the increase in work he had to accomodate. But all the other sages were saying the same thing, complaining to others about how Alhaitham wasn't doing enough, how he had to commit himself to the Act more.

Your boyfriend, however, paid no mind to those people, even less their complaints about him. He has already resigned from the Role of Acting Grande Sage and was only waiting for a new candidate to be chosen so he could finally step down and return to his work as the Scribe of the Academiya.

Currently, you were walking down the hallways of the Academiya, going for the elevator that would take you to the upper levels, where Alhaitham's temporary office was situated. Since he got his promotion, you always went to fetch him after the work day was done so you two could walk home together.

As you were riding the elevator upwards, you started hearing voices, getting louder and louder the closer you got to your destination. You were confused about the meaning of this, but you were bound to find out very soon.

As you arrived, you realized that Alhaitham seemed to be currently in a very heated argument with two other, older scholars. Well, more like the two of them were aggressively talking to him, while he remained silent.

Alhaitham was the only one to notice your arrival, seeing as the other two were too absorbed into their own little world, telling off your boyfriend.

You started approaching his desk, Alhaithams eyes following you as you walked up the stairs.

One of the scholars then noticed his attention wasn't on them anymore, which only served as fuel to his already bad mood and his manors.

"What, so the Acting Grande Sage now thinks he's better than us, so he doesn' have to pay attention to the "simple" people? You better turn your attention back to us because we are far from done here. I don't care if it's gonna take all night, but you have to do your work just as much as everyone else here. Just because you helped our Archon does not make you better than anyone else!"

His outburst ticked you off as you come to a sudden hold behind those two scholars, who still haven't noticed your arrival at the scene. It was silent for a few seconds as noone said another word after this.

Originally, you planned to ignore those scholars, simply walk around them to greet your boyfriend and take him home with you. But after that, it didn't feel right not to say anything.

Alhaitham noticed your change in demeanor as well. He leaned back with a slight grin on his lips, planning to enjoy what was going to follow.

"And what do you think gives you the right to talk to other people like this?", you said, tone noticeably pissed off. The scholars turned around, surprised by your sudden presence. Yet, you didn't give them a chance to answer, you just continued on.

"He is better than you, in one aspect, at least. He can hold his temper and treat other people with respect. Unlike you, he doesn't go around insulting and blaming other people for apparently not doing their work. Which isn't even true, what do you think he's doing here all day? Now, if you have nothing smart to say, please excuse us."

Upon ending your tirade, you look over to your boyfriend pointedly. He got the hint, got up and walked over to you. You took his hand as you led him towards the elevator, leaving those two scholars behind, who looked dumbfounded at you still.

You paid them no mind, however, as you tried to focus on your breathing, trying to calm down on the ride to the lower levels. After a few moments, you felt Alhaithams arm wrap around your waist.

You knew he wasn't the biggest fan of PDA, but in this situation, it seemed he could make an exception. You smiled at him, leaning against his side a bit more, but you still failed to notice the grin that was still plastered on his face from witnessing this scene...

Zhongli

Seeing as your boyfriend is the Ex-Geo Archon of the nation of Liyue, he naturally had a very expanded knowledge accumulated over the years he's been alive.

Nowadays, after giving away his gnosis, he likes to subtly share that knowledge with other people and scholars when he's not busy at his place of work.

Often times, when meeting with other scholars to discuss some topics he asked you if you wanted to accompany him. He accepts whichever answer you give him, not expecting anything from you, but he does enjoy your presence at his side.

Today, he had been invited onto the Pearl Galley to discuss some topics on ancient Liyue history with some scholars from Sumeru, and he asked for your company again.

Since you had nothing else planned for the day, you agreed to his invitation, setting off so you wouldn't miss the event shortly after.

Usually, during those meetings, you always set beside him, respectful of the people around you and the fact that you were out in public. However, somewhere along the way, you always ended up sitting in Zhongli's lap. Wether it was because you were growing uncomfortable on your chair, or simply because Zhongli wanted you closer to him, didn't matter. It just happened..

And so it did today as well. At some point, you were getting a bit bored, having heard the storys of the current topic from your boyfriend a few times already, so you decided to climb onto his lap and doze off a bit.

Zhongli didn't bat an eye to it, having already expected something like this to happen. Other people threw some weird glances at the two of you, but didn't say anything else, deciding to just turn back to the conversation at hand.

You dozed in and out while Zhongli held you, listening to the conversation only with one ear. That was, until one man decided to spring up from his table, slamming his fist down, hard. The sudden sound startled you, opening your eyes again to locate to source.

The man was standing, his head red as a tomato as he seemed furious about something. Confused, you looked at him, then around at the table. Zhongli remained utterly calm as he continued to stare at the guy, while the other scholars remained seated but tried to calm down their companion.

"No! Fuck off! Where do you think you're taking the right to just state your theories like they are proven facts? I know you're old as fuck but that doesn't give you the right to disregard our hard work and own theories like that, you bastard!"

The guy yelled, grabbing the attention of the entire ship. People around you started to whisper, now totally engaged within the situation. You were baffled at his words, turning to look at your boyfriend who seemed to be unbothered by it. He didn't seem like he was going to say anything..

But you just couldn't let that stand..

"The only bastard I see around here, is you! What, just because someone doesn't share your opinion and challenges you, you freak out and start to insult them? That's pathetic behaviour, if you ask me. Go and cry about it to your mommy and daddy, since they obviously handle everything for you."

At your words, the guy grew even more furious, but he was also rendered speechless. Before the situation could escalate any more, his other friends dragged the guy away, leaving only you and Zhongli back at the table.

People around you looked for a while more until they started to settle back, turning to their own business again.

You were still sitting in your boyfriends lap, mumbling under your breath, when he leaned down to you and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you, Darling. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate you defending me all the same."

[lady-ashfade]

Hi! I've taken a gander at your writing and I LOVE it! If possible, I'd like to make a request of some hcs (or a short drabble, either is fine) of Astarion x a gender neutral, autistic!Tav? Perhaps they've spent a long time masking and have been terrified of telling him about their neurodivergence, but eventually (very nervously) tell him after some time into their relationship? I'm curious to know how he might react. I've fallen head over heels for this man and it would mean a lot to me as someone who's still working to fully embrace their autism. Thank you for your time 💜 ♾🌈

Hidden Truth

This is very short so I apologize! It’s also kinda shitty because I’ve never done much about this before

Astarion x Autistic!Reader HC’s

I do not have autism, and don’t know much about it. But how ever I have seen a lot about it because I have a lot of symptoms so I looked it up to be more in depth with this. I’m so sorry if I get things wrong💓

Warnings: Poorly written autistic people, mention of people leaving for this, short explanation, over all kinds fluffy and a bit sad. Idk.

Astarion noticed that you weren’t like the others, there was just something about you. It wasn’t anything bad you just…Are very unique. And he loved it that.

The way you looked around each cave or place you visited and found something cool. Your little face lights up and starts to squeal and shake your hands around.

He loved how you got so excited over things.

Then when you looked around for a clue of what to say, you tensed up when people cried around you. Or, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time because you didn’t read the room. But, he loved to laugh about it.

Fighting was hard when there was loud sounds and he could see you flinch each time even though you had done this many times before.

At camp he noticed how you played with your hands or things in your hands. But he hated when he’d find you in a panic and never told him what was going on.

These are some of the things he noticed even if you tried so hard to hide it.

You had visited him outside of his tent with a plan to come clean, or to tell him. You loved him and wanted him to know about you, but it was so hard. You often dreamed about him calling you a “freak” and leaving you. It always made you sick to your stomach.

“Why the look? You’d think my presence would make you smile.” He’s tease and inch closer, swaying his body.

“I um- I have something I’d like to talk to you about.” The tone in your voice made him slightly worried but he didn’t show it. Only smirking and showing you to the log in front of the fire. “Anything you’d like, darling.”

You sat down next to him and began to pour your hear out to him. Explaining that you had autism and what the entailed, his confused face made it almost laughable. But he listened to your words like you have always done with him.

Each detail he could see exactly what you were taking about having witnessed you doing so.

“And, pray tell. Have you decided to tell me now?” He saw how you panicked and his eyes went slightly wide at the wrong tone he used. “I only mean..What took you so long?”

You looked away from him and avoided eye contact as it became hard. “I was afraid you’d hate me.” Hugging yourself at the memories of many doing so. “I didn’t want you to leave me.”

His heart broke and his chest felt heavy at the thought you- His darling. Were scared to tell him. So he laughed a bit.

“Oh, how cute. There isn’t much you could do for me to leave you and especially over something you can’t control.” His hand rested onto of your thigh and he scooted closer to you. “I find your traits endearing.”

His other hands reached to cup your cheek and turn your head, he was so soft. Softer then he’d ever been before. “I- I appreciate you telling me. You’d never have to worry about telling me anything,” he leaned forward and leaned his head on yours. “It’s clear to see that you have me wrapped around your finger, and my amazing self has you around mine.” His lips turned to kiss your cheek. 

Astarion doesn’t really care about it much. He learns how to make you feel better and help when you get overstimulated easy.

But he’s very protective when you get stares for a tic or anything. Pulls out his weapon and threats them, glares or just straight up yells at them.

He’s with you when you need him. Over all astarion is supportive over it.

But he was confused for a period of time and acts differently until you tell him not to. He just wants to make his baby feel safe and understood.

[transmultiphobia-discussion]

I'm so pissed off right now

My mutual reblogs a post disrespecting genderfluid people who don't identify as trans. I'm not looking at the post so I might get some things wrong but the wording was approximately this:

"not all genderfluid people are trans" ...are you smoking crack? No one's AGAB is genderfluid. If you don't exclusively identify with your AGAB, you are trans. That's all the word means. By definition, all genderfluid people are trans. Stop being stupid.

Now, I'm not genderfluid, but I'm bigender so I share the multigender community and larger nonbinary/genderqueer community with them. I am also not trans. I'm isogender and I'm cisgender. I reblog with a long takedown of their claim, explaining why some genderfluid people (and why I, a person who doesn't exclusively identify with my AGAB) may not identify with being trans. I went over why personal identity matters more than the definition of transgender, that it's inclusive so people are welcomed into it if they wish to identify that way, but it's not an enforced identity. That they have to respect the identities of genderfluid, multigender, and nonbinary people who are not trans. I thought this person might just be meaning well but needing some opposition, but this bitch responds with (approximate wording again:)

So, just to be clear: You, a self-identified cisgender woman, come onto My (nonbinary and been out for 10 years) post about MY community to call me stupid for saying trans people are trans? Cool. #transphobia #enbyphobia #cis people shut the fuck up challenge

I just. That really showed their transmultiphobia. I am the gender that better suits their argument. The way they contrasted me being a cis woman with them being nonbinary, then calling it "MY community" very implicitly is degendering me, stripping me of my nonbinary/aporagender identity because it's easier to feign a point by saying I'm a cis woman, therefore an outsider who has no right to argue with them, a nonbinary person, on the topic. Also the fact they accepted my identity as a cisgender woman despite the fact their post that I replied to would have categorized me as transgender.

I am not a fucking outsider in the discussion! I don't identify as trans but that's irrelevant because the post wasn't about the trans community. It was about the nonbinary community. It was about the multigender community that I share with genderfluid people. IT WAS ABOUT NON-TRANS GENDERQUEER PEOPLE. MY COMMUNITY. NOT THEIRS. MINE. The post was blatantly disrespecting my identity, even if naming genderfluid people. I had every right to respond! I had every right to be in the discussion! I had every right to defend genderfluid people who might identify in the same way I do! Or the way *I* identify!

Clearly they didn't have a real response but they didn't want to read my response with an open mind. Didn't want to consider that there are non-trans genderqueer people. So I'm degendered, for the purpose of painting me as an outsider instead of acknowledging that I am a fellow genderqueer person who just doesn't identify as trans

classic example of "multigender people are whatever gender category that is most convenient to the person" folks!

jeez that makes me so angry. make a post about how all people like yourself are trans no matter how they actually describe themselves, and when you say something, suddenly you are, in fact, cis to them. may seem contradictory, but this happens to multigenders all the time. I've been called a predatory male, a confused trans man who won't fully accept is transness, and a cis woman invading trans spaces just by being a bigender lesbian. none of it is consistent nor makes any sense! but since I exist in multiple gendered categories, people refuse to accept them simultaneously and put me in whichever one fits their worldview. is convenient to their argument, by how much they like me and tolerate me.

and it is very telling that they view genderfluid as a gender in of itself, rather than a descriptor for someone's genders- the same way people go "multigender women/men aren't women/men, they're multigender!" The case of not seeing multigender people's identities as legitimate as monogender people's and having to settling for just "multigender," or else you're an invader or a predator to those monogender people. because if they did, it would make total sense why a genderfluid person might call themselves cis- some only switch between genders closely aligned to their assigned gender, for an example. like it's totally up to the person to describe their experiences with their gender identity and if cis more closely describes that than trans, even if they're not perfectly binary, that's fine!

I feel like messing with the cis/trans dichotomy and blurring the lines a bit is necessary is normalizing transhood and dismantling cisnormativity. like they're built off of the phenomenon of assigned gender at birth and forcibly assigned gender roles, "cis" being the default and "trans" considered divergent. if they're no longer assigned to people, is the gender binary is no longer relevant, then what significance would those terms really have anymore? if there is no "cis" or "trans," just people that exist as they please right from the get-go? isn't that what we want? why strictly enforce them onto anyone?

[thewhumpcaretaker]

❧ 𝔽𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕄𝕒𝕟 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝

Michael Corleone x Reader (gender neutral), 700 words

In the wake of Fredo's death, with his wife gone and his family in shambles, Michael reluctantly talks to you about what he has lost.

TW: grief, hurt/no-comfort adjacent (reader tries to comfort him but somewhat fails)

Image Source

The leaves are moving over the grounds of Michael Corleone’s home. An unseen force of northern wind hurries them away, where they will tumble over the wooden dock, and then into the lake. The master of the house sits watching them, and watching nothing. He’s not even smoking his cigarette.

Fredo Corleone is dead.

“Michael.” His name is an address, a well-worn and star-studded thing. It isn’t like other people’s names, it isn’t like other words. It has become a title. But a man still lives inside it.

He doesn’t look at you.

“Will you tell me what you’re thinking about?”

It confuses him that you’re addressing the man and not the title. He has forgotten how to answer as a man. He clears his throat. “No.”

You stay silent until the no becomes a yes.

“My father’s birthday in 1941. We were all gathered, all of the brothers and Connie too. They bought this big…this big cake, and we were all talking about the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, the soldiers there... And Sonny told me something I’ll never forget, he said: ‘They’re saps because they risk their lives for strangers. Your country ain’t your blood, you remember that.’ And that’s when I told ‘em I enlisted in the marines.”

“How’d they take it?”

“Just got too quiet. Sonny even tried to knock some sense into me but he got held back. And then they all filed out and there I was.”

Another silence that you spend not saying the wrong thing until he speaks again. “The only one who said a kind word to me was Fredo. Too stupid to know any better.”

"You wanted to follow your own path. I get it. It's not like you knew where it would lead."

He twitches, a fraction of a movement, like he’s responding to something internal that’s so unpleasant he has to physically shy away from it. He looks so old.

You say the one thing that has to be said: “I’m sorry about Fredo.”

He flicks at his cigarette so hard you think it’s going to break in half. You know exactly what happened, of course. It’s obvious to anyone who knows the intricacies of the situation. His own damn kids will know. “That’s rich. Apologizing to the devil for the fall of man.”

And now you’re out of words. You can’t exactly say it’s not his fault. The best you can do is, “I’m sorry things turned out this way.”

Finally, he looks at you, and it’s with those too-wide eyes, that look that proves he’s held a gun before. Suddenly he’s yelling. “SORRY FOR WHAT!? Sorry I lost everything? Sorry I RUINED everything?”

“Yes.” That shuts him up. Your frankness – that’s the one thing you have that can disarm him when all else fails. “You’re a good man. You love your family, and that has never changed. It’s a tragedy, how things got torn apart. I want to do something for you. I want to make this hurt less.”

“Well, you can’t.”

“I know. You need your family. And I’m…not. But this isn't about me. I'm just somebody.” You were never really a part of that circle. Not like Kay, and even then, even for her, even before she did everything wrong…she wasn’t enough. She didn’t pull him back.

Still. Doesn’t it mean something, that somebody sits beside him now? Anyone at all. He puts his head in his hands. Maybe if you hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t have bothered to do that. Maybe he would have just kept staring at those leaves until the sun went down, or until there was work to be done.

Instead, his head is resting in his hands, and there is a hand on his shoulder, too. “You’re not alone, Michael.” He can’t take it. He’s sobbing, because he is alone in every way that matters. You do not matter to him. So be it.

So be it if you cannot help him. You will die trying. So be it if you’re not enough to stop the pain. You live to make sure that someone, anyone, sees him.

You do not matter to him. But he leans into you anyway.

[gordontheengineswifenirmal]

The asexual struggle -

When it comes to the ‘are we LGBTQ+’ question, a lot of us asexuals have complexities far beyond the label, or multiple associations.

Let’s start at the beginning. For folks who are traditional LGTBQ+ - do u remember how hard it was to get to the limited, tepid (to say the least) level off acceptance that you have today? Asexuality in general isn’t there yet. We are still a few decades behind in the society’s mind. We share a lot of similar struggles - we are seen as broken, people think we choose who we are, than can/want to/should be ‘fixed’, etc. we too have dangerous negative associations attached to us. We get called paedo, we are called prudes or incels, we are told we can and should change. Society needs to understand that the lack of attraction, and/or lack of desire, resolution, etc. - and everything in between deserves just as much recognition as this who have heterosexual, or lgbtq+ sexual identities.

What puts us behind? We are rarely even acknowledged. We are the red headed stepchild, sort to speak. No one really knows us, or our struggles, they don’t care. They think we are a joke. It’s incredibly hurtful and damaging. We are frequently overlooked and misunderstood. We are often not taken seriously, and frequently ignored by both straight and other other non straight folks. We have fighting within our own community that causes confusion. This still does not give anyone an excuse to invalidate our existence. We, just like anyone else, didn’t choose it. Some folks struggle with it. Some of us have learned to embrace it in the wake up struggle, but there is usually struggle. Additionally, some folks can be both lgbtq+ AND some form of asexual. (In my case, I like male characters who are not human or animals. Apparently I’ve developed a thing for male machines lol.)

For some folks, the LGBTQ+ identity has more relevance. That is ok, as long as they have sincere intentions, and aren’t looking for attention. Yes, using sexually/gender identification for attention - that is a thing, and it’s been a thing for ages. For me, the label doesn’t mean so much. I don’t even really say I’m queer. I’m definitely unique, and I’ll stick to that. This does not mean that I feel there’s anything wrong with those who do identify more with LGBTQ+. I’m still an ally. I’m not going to hate someone who decides I’m not part of that greater label. I do take extreme offence with those who ‘bingo’ me, and invalidate who I am, or think I’m not serious about it. Worse yet, the ones who think I chose to be asexual, or decide they will ignore how I feel because they don’t know what sexuality is, and don’t care to open up their minds and learn. Then there are those who pretend to be asexual because they are trying to gain something from you, and it’s not clear wtf their intentions are. Or, sometimes it is. Still cringe.

However, in many aspects of society, there’s an unspoken social competition - men vs. Women, sexuality vs sexuality, culture vs culture, religion vs religion, political affiliation vs another political affiliation. There is some relevance behind the reasoning for some of these, but not all. Some of it has become an ego game. This behaviour is toxic. It does not good for anyone involved. It simply persuades prejudice and ignorance. Education, and the willingness to learn is paramount. This was said about the lgbtq+ community, and still is. The asexual community is now saying the same. This is what we are penultimately asking for. We want to learn how to be more recognised, more accepted in society, and given our rightful place. We agree that the mindset of ‘heterosexual is the only healthy identity’ is wrong. Please do not treat us like we are the enemy, especially when we are sex/romance repulsed. We seem gain the most eye rolls - both from within and outside our own own ace sphere. It’s a tiring argument, and we need to spend that energy toward more productive things, working together to help make things better for all ‘minority identities’. Even if u don’t identify with someone else’s sexual identity, respect it. That’s the most important thing. You would want that too. You wouldn’t want to be treated as a joke, as if your sexuality doesn’t matter. Don’t do this to others. This includes all of us in the asexual community, no matter what that may mean for us individually.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I do love my coworkers to be clear they are by and large great people who, despite being tragically cis about it, have no issue with my gender or my presentation.

It's just also funny to watch the occasional newer person/intern try to get a pronoun train going in the meeting and becomes instantly anxious when they stare dead at my clocky ass face during my intro and I just. Don't offer them pronouns. They gotta ask now. They didn't want to. They're so afraid to ask.

And it was that feeling the first time that reminded me of when I first started dating my wife. She told me about how at some point in their relationship, she gets every white person in her life to say the n-word in her presence. She described it as a litmus test. Not just about their resistance to saying it/how long it takes for that to erode, but for how they react while they're saying it and after. Iirc, she has found that resistance is actually less reliable than how the word finally comes through. For her, that reaction is valuable for her in measuring safety of people even if they are good at maintaining plausible deniability about their relationship with race as a construct.

For me, I think it's more about forcing them not to ask me to reassure them that they're still good people if they're confused by my gender. As long as I respond to the unvoiced anxiety, they never actually learn to take responsibility for it. And yeah, with normal anxiety that would be a lil bit of a dick move on my part, but in this case the anxiety specifically comes from "I'm afraid that I don't know how to treat you with respect" as a core conflict against "it is important to me that I am a good person and I believe a good person would treat you with respect." We all of us have to learn eventually how to wrestle with that feeling, on some axis/aspect of our selves. When my wife sat me down and explained that she understood that I didn't want to say it, but that she needed me to be able to say it in her presence so we could work through what showed up there together, I had to face down the fear of "this word means nothing but hate to me and I don't want to believe I could ever see it in relation to you, a person I care about." But I did. Of course I did. Growing up in a racist society means internalizing racist messages, and you can unlearn the ones you can accept being told about. But you can't unlearn jackshit that you can't even look in the eye.

So I said a word I'd never said in my life, and I realized, as I *think* my wife intended, that I shouldn't be afraid of the word. The word doesn't matter. It could just as easily be "taxonomy" and still mean what it means. Because it was the IDEAS being signaled by the words that mattered most, that should be fought and resisted and erased. And if I was too afraid to look at the word and understand what it really meant, I could never actually promise her that I would always work to see her whole humanity and love her for it. She couldn't tell me what words to say for that to be true because the words could say whatever I meant them to say, even I didn't know I meant them. I needed to be able to understand and change on my own.

It's the same thing for me at work. I can't tell my coworkers the right words to say to ensure they don't hurt me. All I can do is hold an open door for their attempts. Hold compassion for the debrief when it goes awry. If they're too afraid of failing their own standards to make that attempt, I cannot be the one to swoop in and save them, because that only deepens the fear of failure for the future. What if the day comes when I'm no longer willing to rescue them? Do they lose their relationship with me? Do they panic and shatter under the pressure the first time it isn't escapable? Better to stand, patient and calm and unmoving, on the other side of the creek with a hand outstretched. Better to catch hold and pull them to solid ground once they take the leap.

And for what it's worth, several coworkers eventually got up the courage to ask on their own! And we had a good talk. And now, they're super chill all the time about ir and great at being kind and respectful, because they mostly all came through with the same realization I had that day way back when. They were looking for a rule to follow so they didn't actually have to think about the beliefs they knew they carried, minor tho they all ended up being. And it wasn't fair to ask me to excuse them from that part of participating in our professional relationship.

I dunno. I have no problem with people who normalize pronoun sharing and I think it's a great tool in the whole kit. But it's just not one I click with myself. And what a grand thing to be able to say to a cis person "Even if you are doing it from a loving place, treating trans people as a monolith that you can "be respectful of" via a one-size-fits-all process is still transphobia and I'm not gonna let you off the hook for it. You have to treat me like a person because you see me as a person. Up to you how you get there."

[ragingadhd]

Will and Alyss are trans here’s my essay

We talk a lot about how funny it is that Flanagan unintentionally wrote the gayest love story between Halt and Crowley in TEY, but holy shit we don’t talk enough about how he also managed to accidentally write the two most trans characters ever.

Alyss and Will being trans is a semi-popular headcanon that’s been in the fandom for ages now, but I haven’t seen many people really dive into why this headcanon is so prevalent. I think that partially has to do with the fact that, like any lgbtq+ identity, it’s pretty difficult to clock someone as trans without relying on trans stereotypes. Really, any character in the RA series could be trans if you chose to believe it since being trans doesn’t look any certain way. That being said, I do think there are some pretty clear qualities and experiences that Will and Alyss have that feel very close to my own experience with being transgender.

Physical appearance is usually the first thing people point out/notice when talking about this headcanon. Will is short, more so than one might expect from a cis man. Alyss is taller than most men and also has a deep voice. I have mixed feelings about people pointing to this as the only reason they think they’re trans. I mean, it makes enough sense for it to be the only reason since one part of being trans is the fact that one’s body doesn’t match their gender identity. What I don’t like about that being the only reason is that there’s so much more to the trans identity and experience than “body don’t match :(“

But that’s the cool thing about Will and Alyss, their physical appearance effects their perception of themselves the same way it does for a trans person (or a cis person really, but it feels much more prevalent in trans people). In the first book, Will is clearly uncomfortable with his height; almost any time it’s brought up, he replies with “I haven’t had my growth spurt yet”, almost defensively. Then, as Will becomes more comfortable with who he is, you can see it bother him less and less. I love this bc it’s exactly what happened with my dysphoria as I transitioned. The more I got to know myself and discover myself, the less my dysphoria bothered me.

As for Alyss, she is so clearly so confident with her appearance. She never tries to hide her height or voice. Although we don’t get to see her journey with those qualities, the way she’s so confident feels like something the earned. It’s something she maybe used to feel insecure about, then decided she gets to decide what femininity means to her. Her height and voice contribute to her elegance and femininity rather than contradict them.

Another thing about Will is his name and how it relates to his identity. I know Flanagan didn’t intend for any of this to be some trans allegory, but goddamn can I relate my trans experience to it. Will grew up without a last name, and you can see how deeply that effects him. It wasn’t just that he was “Will no-name”, he was missing a part of his identity. Hell, he said verbatim “at least you know who you are” to a fucking owl because he felt so confused and unheard (which btw is the most edgy teen thing he ever did).

Though you can see this missing part of his identity bother him less as he gained a support system, it’s still clear that he felt like something was missing. If he didn’t feel like something was missing, he wouldn’t have been so incredibly happy when he became “Will Treaty”. And when he got his last name, you can tell he’s proud, not because he finally has an identity, but because he finally has a name to match the identity he’s spent so long discovering and cultivating. He no longer expresses any sadness or grief that he doesn’t have his father’s last name, because he doesn’t need it to know who he is. He’s Will Treaty, and he’s perfectly happy with being exactly that. This is the most trans-coded naming experience holy shit.

Anyway that’s all I have to say about this (for now at least). Go give your local trans friend a kiss.

[therealjoejoemamakujo]

Oneshot request for (gender neutral) reader getting Sniper to open up about a topic/subject that genuinely interests him, if you can :3

Ofc!!

(Scared for my first req, + so sorry if it's not what you wanted (╥﹏╥) Please lmk because I might do it again if you're not likin' it.)

Reader Getting Sniper to Open Up to Them About Something he Likes

Climbing up the ladder to the sniper's nest, you clung onto the metal for dear life, not wanting to look down at the ground below you, which seemed thousands of feet away.

You were looking for Sniper, and after not seeing him anywhere else around the base, you decided that he must be up in his nest.

Finally reaching said nest, you groaned as your body nearly flopped onto the floor, wanting to give it a hug for having taken it for granted for such a long time.

Remembering what you came here for, you looked up, searching for Sniper. There he was, sitting on a small, wooden crate that was placed by a little window shaped cutout in the sniper's nest. You assumed it was where he would sit on the job.

He noticed your presence almost immediately, and quickly whipped his head around to see who was there. He visibly relaxed after seeing that it was just you. Sniper didn't talk, instead waiting for you to say something first, maybe to explain why you were here.

"Hey..," you mumbled, taking a few steps closer to him. You offered Sniper a small smile, remembering to keep your distance from him.

"What?" he asked flatly, looking you up and down almost as if he were sizing you up for some reason. It was clear to you now that he probably didn't really want anybody up here with him, and for that you apologized.

"Sorry, I just.. haven't seen you all day, y'know?" you replied, looking down at the ground in a nearly awkward manner. You rubbed the back of your neck, not knowing what else to say.

"Hm," was all he responded with. Sniper then turned his attention back to the window he was looking out of before you came in here, no longer acknowledging your presence.

You took the opportunity to get closer, now close enough to sit next to him on the large crate. Looking intently as Sniper gazed out of the window, you noticed how relaxed he seemed to be, how peaceful he was.

"Why are you up here so much..?" you asked, genuinely curious. Whenever he got the chance, Sniper was always escaping to this tower of his, not coming down until it was time to sleep on most nights.

"'Cause," he grunted, still not looking in your direction or even answering your question. You pouted, not determined to get a real answer out of him.

"No, seriously, you always come up here. Why?"

Finally, Sniper turned his head ever so slightly to look in your direction, once again looking you up and down like he had done before. It was a habit of his, just looking at people like that.

"'Cause it's quiet," he spoke, keeping his gaze on you. It almost seemed like he was waiting for a reaction from you, though his eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses.

You raised an eyebrow, a bit confused by his answer. You wanted to know more now, so you thought you would keep the conversation going.

"What do you mean?"

"People ain't yellin' 'bout every li'l thing. Jus' me up here.. Usually," he answered, hinting at the fact that he would have been alone were it not for you "barging in."

You huffed, deciding not to acknowledge his comment. You turned your body some to face Sniper more directly now, a clear indication that you wanted to keep talking. To your surprise, he didn't seem to mind it, not making any move to stop you.

"Does the yelling like-.. bother you or something?" you asked, gazing up at Sniper as you intently waited for an answer, interested to seemingly know more about him.

Sniper shook his head before opening his mouth just a bit to speak. "'Ts annoyin'. Bickerin' over nothing," Sniper answered a bit harshly, only because the thought of it alone made him annoyed.

You couldn't help but agree with him on this. The yelling was pretty annoying. You were going to leave it alone now, but you felt that there was more to this.

"Well, what else. I mean, you're here even when it is quiet," you said matter of factly, looking back at Sniper once more to listen to him.

He stayed quiet for a moment. It seemed as if he was debating really talking to you or not. He knew that he could, given that he was closer with you than he was with other mercenaries. He just didn't know how to word it.

"'Ts.. Nice up 'ere." Sniper lifted his hand ever so slightly, pointing at the window in front of the two of you. You looked over, being able to clearly see the sun setting right before you. It was a beautiful sight, really. After being mesmerized by it for what seemed like forever, you looked back over at Sniper to see the smallest of smiles adorning his face.

"It is.. It's pretty," you commented, you eyes never leaving his face. You really wanted to burn the image into your mind, for seeing him smile was something you'd never really seen before.

Noticing your gaze, he looked over at you, but the smile never left his face. "Reminds me 'f home," he added, once again focusing his gaze to the sunset outside. You could tell that it really resonated with him, seeing how he slumped over and rested his chin on his hand.

Seeing this made him finally relax, finally feel at peace, and you knew that he would look at it forever if he could. Unfortunately, sunsets didn't last forever. After another few minutes of silence between the two of you, the sun had set completely.

You looked over at Sniper, expecting him to be back to his "usual" self, but he still looked happy.

"Beautiful, innit..?" he asked, keeping his gaze forward as he spoke. He had kept silent the whole time as to not ruin the moment, to let the both of you really take in the pretty sight.

Seeing him happy made you smile, and you were quick to nod. "Yeah, it's really nice. I've never seen that before- Er, not like this," you said, watching as the moon began to come into view.

"You should.. Makes ya appreciate everythin'," he replied, an almost unnoticeable way of saying that you were allowed to watch the sunset with him. He nearly seemed happy that he'd have someone to watch this with, though he would never admit it.

"Thank you," you mumbled, smiling at him a little more. You were happy to know that he trusted you enough to do something like this with him, and you'd definitely be coming back.

[butch-reidentified]

“ask the average reader to guess whether a male or female wrote this based on the fact that the author used coarse language I bet they’ll tell you male 😏” this is what you sound like. that person clearly wasn’t even saying that women with body hair are disgusting, they were likening themselves to them, and condemning holding yourself and others to pedophilic beauty standards and you have to be reading it in the worst faith possible to have any other takeaway

yeahhh you're making shit up lmfao

post being referenced:

I never said he said women with body hair are disgusting. I never thought he said that; he was clearly trying to say that we're all just gross animals. If other people claimed he said that, talk to them. HOWEVER. he said "u are a nasty little slug too and having a vachina does not absolve u of that." I take issue with this specifically because radfems take a very "humans are just animals like any other" view. We do not believe "having a vagina" makes us superior or cleaner or less animalistic or whatever the fuck he was trying to say with that weird ass sentence.

my saying that any rando on the street would more than likely read that and assume it was written by a male is not about "coarse language" (this literally made me laugh out loud, so ty). have you looked at my blog?? it doesn't get much more "coarse language" than my writing 💀 you can say "this is what you sound like" all day, but you made that up completely while dozens if not hundreds of women knew exactly what I was referring to. Not that I actually believe that you were confused what I meant by that, but to be clear, his post reads as male because it reeks of porn-induced brainrot. "breedable 12 year old anime girls floating in a glass jar of formaldehyde waiting for some old man to come and fuck them and tell them they are so teeeeeeeeny tiny and worth it" specifically is simply not a turn of phrase (or even abstractified image) that would ever enter my mind in a million years, nor that of any woman I know. I've never seen a woman say something quite that far porn-rotted. not that it's never happened at all, but I've never seen it and I would bet my life it's exceptionally uncommon.

Everything within that image he painted is the polar opposite of how radfems see women/what radfems want for women. "Holding yourself and others to pedophilic beauty standards" - you mean the exact ones radfems speak out against relentlessly every single day??? Search my blog for terms like "female body hair," "shaving," "beauty myth," and the like, and tell me how on earth you came to the conclusion that I think women should shave or tweeze or laser or whatever a SINGLE hair even once in their entire lives. I don't shave my legs, which were wildly god-tier hairy BEFORE even I was on T. I don't shave my bush, I don't shave my armpits, I don't shave my mustache or the chin hairs cross-sex hormones gave me.

Radfeminism is opposed to every single thing that has to do with the gender construct. We absolutely do not have any requirements or expectations or criteria for womanhood beyond simply being a human + female. Like I said about viewing humans like any other animals, radfems see "woman = female human" the same way one means "doe = female deer." Woman is not a gender; it's a term referring simply to species (human) and to sex (female). That's it. No further expectations or criteria apply.

Before you try to argue that this definition excludes women who are infertile or intersex, let me be very clear about sex:

> "of or denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs"

"the sex that CAN" is crucial to defining female/male. the female body has biologically, genetically, and physiologically developed from before birth to support the POTENTIAL capability of producing large gametes (eggs aka ova). It is totally irrelevant if one has a medical complication that prevents her from actually producing those gametes; which gametes your body has clearly developed structurally and functionally to produce is what defines your sex, no matter what.

The fact that this is how we view "woman" and "man," as simply referencing one's sex and humanity - this is why we maintain that trans-identified males are men. Again, we don't see "man" as a gender in the slightest. We don't engage with the gender construct at all beyond our desire to dismantle it entirely so that everyone would be able to live free from those roles/stereotypes/expectations that are assigned on the basis of sex.

This makes it a ridiculous thing to assert that we have to "go so far to prove that trans women are actually men...." We do not feel that it requires any effort at all to say "a drake is a male duck, a buck is a male doe, a man is a male human." It CERTAINLY does not in ANY capacity require us to "reduce women" to that horrific sentence, or to "reduce women" at all. Is it "reducing" a doe to state that she is a female deer?

It also makes it ridiculous to insist radfems "dehumanize" women by using this definition - the definition which includes "human" as a non-negotiable criterion.

About the first of his two-part post pictured above, last but far from least: There will NEVER come a day when women - ESPECIALLY lesbians & ESPECIALLY extremely gnc lesbians - calling out misogynistic males for their behavior counts as "punching down." No matter how he identifies, how he dresses, where he works, what his talents are, what he likes/dislikes, his sexual orientation, or anything else, women (and again, lesbian women especially) do not hold institutional/systemic power over men.

as for the 10 foot pole part, I really couldn't care less what he meant or why, tbqh, because the supremely creepy pedophilic rant that made up the first part was the thing we all truly took issue with in that screenshot.

and let's not forget, this all started bc he called an ND woman the r slur for her critique asserting that he was appropriating a type of religious trauma specific to the sex-based oppression of women/girls, and profiting from doing so. personally, as a human female with a history of such religious trauma, while this has been resolved for approximately 7 years in my case, I still vehemently object to any male claiming it as his own for profit. especially if said profit is hoarded rather than given back to victims of such trauma.

NOTE: this answer was written while I'm barely staying conscious. I will come back to edit/clean up a bit later after getting some rest 😴

[vera-deville]

They're Not the Same!

02/23/2024 - 09/10/2024

Pairing: None Word Count: 694 Warnings: Some cursing Gender: GN Notes: This is a pretty short fic for an idea that I've had lying in drafts for a while, but I do plan on releasing longer works soon and get back to requests!

"I've never gone kayaking before. Is it any fun?"

Your eyebrow ticked.

"When're you goin' kayaking again? A young boy with lavender hair asked with his head leaned on top of his textbook.

Looking up, you decide that you've finally had enough. "Thursday, and for the last time, it's canoeing."

Epel frowned, scrunching his nose as he deliberated your point. "Yeah, but they're like the same thing Y/N-" Ace tried to explain. You grabbed your eraser and threw it at the red-head, who ducked just in time.

Unfortunately, your eraser ended up hitting a completely unsuspecting first year.

"Ow, what the fuck-" Deuce yelled as he tried to figure out what hit him.

"Sorry Deuce!" You apologized, "that was my eraser. I was trying to hit Ace!"

Deuce shook his head. This kind of behavior was silly, however, seeing as the target was supposed to be Ace, he figured that you had a pretty good reason as to why you were projecting erasers around. "What did Ace do this time?"

"Hey, what the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"He keeps trying to tell me that there's no difference between canoeing and kayaking."

"There's a difference?" Deuce asked.

The only reason why you didn't pull your hair out in frustration was because Deuce genuinely seemed confused and clearly didn't know that there was a difference. No biggie, lots of people boat without even realizing what kind of boating they're doing. "Yeah, there's a few differences, but basically canoeing is when the boat has an open design and you're sitting or kneeling, while kayaks usually have closed designs, and you sit with your legs outstretched." Deuce seemed to understand, so you continued, "Typically, canoers use a one-bladed paddle, whereas kayakers use two-bladed paddles. Obviously there are exceptions, but that's usually the case with the paddles."

"That's actually a lot simpler than I thought it would be." Deuce remarked. "How come Ace didn't get it?"

"Hey, I got it just fine-"

"No he didn't." You said, effectively stopping Ace and causing the other first-years around you to chuckle. "No matter how many times I tell him that canoeing and kayaking are different, he keeps telling me, me, that they're not!"

Deuce said, "While I get that they're two different things, why're you guys even talking about this in the first place?"

You stared at Deuce.

"Deuce..."

"Yeah?"

"You do realize that you're on my team, right?"

You watched as Deuce's face contorted into one of utter confusion.

"What team?"

You smacked your head on the table.

"We're going on a canoeing race, remember?" Looking at Deuce's face, it was clear that he had no clue what you were talking about. "Deuce! What in Twisted Wonderland have you been doing? How do you not know about this? We've been getting emails about the canoeing race too-"

"Wait, I've read through some of them!" Deuce exclaimed, as though he'd found the answer to a difficult question in an exam.

"Some of them!?" You yelled, exasperated.

"I thought the canoeing was optional..." Deuce meekly said after taking in your expression.

"Coach Vargas has literally been micro-managing our schedules because he wants us to be in best-shape for the race on Thursday-" You tried recounting everything that Deuce had somehow missed. "How do you not know this?" Spinning around to the other first-years, you asked your question again, "How does he not know this?"

Ace wisely kept his mouth shut, and Jack sensed that perhaps now was a good time to get his daily exercise in.

"Oh yeah, I have potions next!" Epel said and began packing his bag. "Still can't believe that Vil isn't disgusted by frogs and stuff. Even I find them icky."

"I think frogs are pretty cute." You said.

"Then you try holding them and their weird ass bumpy skin and warts." Epel said, shivering in disgust.

Everyone looked at Epel.

"Epel..." You began.

"Yeah?"

"Those aren't frogs kiddo. Those are toads."

Now Epel looked really confused. "What's the difference?"

Rolling your eyes, you begin explaining the difference between frogs and toads.

"So they're essentially the same thing." Ace said, annoyed.

"They're not the same thing!"

Author's Note: Apparently I've had this thing lying in my drafts since February 23rd, but I genuinely do not think it's been that long even though it's already September now, but here we are. Like I already mentioned, I will be getting back into requests and other writing soon, so please be on the lookout for that! Masterlist

[austin-chr-2-0]

Can we all just, as a group, collectively stop pretending that the Chucky series is actually a good show?

I promise it isn’t. It’s nothing short than a literal fetish bait that you see on TikTok. I’ll admit, Don’s show was enjoyable in S1. This is no hate or coming after anyone, I’m simply stating what I see.

Not only is the plot more confusing than my gender identity, there’s clear racism in the show. Am I the only one who finds it so hilarious that Don nearly killed off almost every POC character? And only kept the one that was apart of the “main couple” thing Don is doing that’s equivalent to the foolishness they did in Highschool Musical? One of my good friends did a whole blog on it, their name is Mys and I’ll link it.

And not to mention how Don literally admitted to Jake being a self insert. Let me repeat that for those in the back — HE ADMITTED JAKE IS A SELF INSERT. Meaning that the only reason Devon is alive because he’s an extension of DON’S SELF INSERT. Don literally said that his experiences with Jake are “similar” like sir, just admit it already. And don’t get me started on the poor writing here.

Dambala and Christianity? This isn’t paganism bro, and Dambala is technically voodoo and hoodoo, and those different religions have Catholic and Christian roots and similar tools. Also, I don’t mean to point out the elephant in the room but Chucky and Tiffany are white. Hoodoo and Voodoo and the practice of Dambala is a closed practice specifically for who?? African people. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. How come nobody fucking points out how Alyvina, Lexy’s actor, gets sexualized left and right?

And so does Devon’s actor. And I would like everyone to realize that Devon and Lexy’s actors, BJ and Alyvina are technically MINORS. Zachary is an ADULT. So imagine how it must look being a minor making out with a full ass grown adult. That is CRAZY.

And I know what everyone is going to say; “Well there’s consenting so it doesn’t matter” and “Well the show had better representation, I’d like to see you do better” and worst of all “What did you expect the show to be 💀 It’s TV-14, meaning that it’s gonna be swearing, sex talk, gore” and I know what the Don apologists are probably thinking; that I’m just randomly coming after a show but it’s far from it, if you took the time to read this editorial.

And let me break it down before everyone gets to typing and removing. I’m not saying it should be all cupcakes and rainbows. I’m saying these characters should have more characterization. Devon’s confession being deleted was the worst “fuck you” decision ever. We could’ve had a chance for Devon to get characterized and show some vulnerability.

But no. Of course not.

And instead of taking a season to focus on Devon, we have a random YT character — Grant. Again, nothing for Devon. As an African American gay individual, I resided with Devon a lot and I was so confused on how he rarely has characterization. We don’t even get to see him have a grieving process!

I believe, no, I KNOW Don is using something that was introduced in Scandal, a tv show — this method is called dog whistle media/politics. It’s basically racism, sexism, homophobia, all that good stuff in a language so coded that it only affects the person they’re targeting. Like a dog whistle.

So when Don kills off POC characters, sexualizes children, doesn’t let Devon be emotional or vulnerable, IMMEDIATELY jumped into sex in S3, trust that POC and lgbtq people and creepy mfs on Reddit know EXACTLY what Don is doing. It’s a fine line between made for mature audiences and made for creepy audiences. Like the Wren situation on TikTok.

The only reason you all defend this show is because it stimulates you, in a weird, arousal kind of stimulation way or the simple fact it’s all the representation you all really have, and you shouldn’t settle for less.

For people who get stimulated by this show; It’s gross. You’re gross. Receive therapy.

In conclusion, the Chucky series by Don Mancini is not a good show. It is a cash cow, and a lengthened fetish post on TikTok. Do what you want, but I will tell you, if you enjoy that show, it’s not just because of the representation. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.