#it is a big special interest — especially as a non-binary person myself

[teefconnoisseur]

tedtalk time! i wanna talk about non-binary people + androgyny!

non-binary people don’t owe you androgyny. we don’t. nor do we have to be androgynous purely because we’re non-binary. yes, in the definition, it says how we fall out of man and woman, and for many of us ( maybe not all of us ), that is true.

but i think people are mixing up gender identity with gender expression. which is understandable, they are very similar terms with very similar definitions, but they are different.

gender identity is, as you can guess, the gender you identify as. cisgender man / woman, transgender man / woman, transmac / transfemme, genderfluid, agender, demi-gender, the list goes on.

gender expression is, again as you can guess, the way you express your gender. in a feminine way, a masculine way, a gender neutral or androgynous way; maybe a whole different way, a combination or pairing of fem / masc, masc / neutral, etc..

men can be traditionally feminine ( make up, nail polish, dresses ) and still be men. women can be traditionally masculine ( suits, short hair, low voices ) and still be women. and vice versa. and same if they want to be androgynous.

and so can non-binary people. we can use gendered terms and pronouns outside of they / them, wear gendered clothing outside of unisex clothing, act in gendered ways.

just as women don’t owe you femininity.

just as men don’t owe you masculinity.

non-binary people don’t owe you androgyny.

thank you for coming to my tedtalk <3

[lazlohno]

pinned post!!!! ☎️

hello there internet traveller!!!! explorer even!!!! my name is Lazlo and I use they/them/theirs, vey/vir/veys, and xe/xem/xers pronouns. i’m non-binary and genderqueer, and in the sexuality department i’m asexual, grayromantic, and polyromantic. i am a minor!

this side blog is primarily for me to ramble and waffle about my disabilities, but i’ll drop off an opinion or two on whatever else comes to mind on occasion!

speaking of my disabilities!! i’ll list them here, so we’re all clear on what’s going on with me, a status check on the leebrain, if you will.

autistic

adhd

social anxiety & GAD

panic disorder

c-ptsd

chronic pain

paranoia

s.a.d

depression

insomnia

i also experience auditory hallucinations, dissociative episodes & verbal shutdowns/speech loss episodes. i’m suspected to have dysgraphia or something similar as well.

(for clarification on why i listed some of these conditions as disabilities, if you’re confused; i went off of the most common definition of disability i’ve come into contact with - a mental or physical impairment that affects a person’s ability to participate in certain activities and interact with the world.)

NOWWW, ONTO THE FUN BIT!! (my interests, media-specific. i had to stop myself from listing more lol)

ace attorney

the magnus archives (i’m mid season 4!! no spoilers please!!)

pokémon

undertale

deltarune

sk8 the infinity

bungou stray dogs

ghibli movies (my favourites are howl’s moving castle, ponyo, and princess mononoke!)

jekyll & hyde (the book and a ton of it’s adaptations!)

spider-man

rottmnt

madoka magica

fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

gravity falls

dialtown

generation loss

blue period

jrwi: the suckening

little nightmares 1 & 2

5 of my favourite movies, in no particular order!

The Truman Show

Legally Blonde

Drifting Home

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

Howl’s Moving Castle

7 of my favourite animes/mangas in no particular order! (it was SO HARD to only choose 5!!!! so i made it 7!!!! still hard!,,)

Sk8 the Infinity

Blue Period

Bungou Stray Dogs

Kotaro Lives Alone

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Madoka Magica

And finally i’m almost done with the listing!! 5 of my favourite games, again in no particular order!

Pokemon. The whole franchise. (But I ESPECIALLY love Soul Silver, B&W, Sun&Moon, Arceus, and Sw&Sh…)

Little Nightmares

Undertale

Deltarune

Ace Attorney - the whole franchise again haha

if you read all this… thank you!! and aaaa, why are you down here?!? (/silly)

here’s a fun fact from me for you, all special-like! - my favourite animal is a canadian lynx, cuz of their big ol’ paws and tufted ears, etc. did you know that they bury their food in the snow to use like freezers? if not, now you do! if so, we both know that! cool!

[astralbooks]

Hell Followed with Us - Andrew Joseph White

Read: 1/6/2022 - 2/6/2022

Rating: 5/5

Rep: gay trans boy main character, autistic gay love interest, Black trans girl side character, Latinx non-binary asexual side character who uses xe/xem, Black lesbian side character, sapphic Black hijabi Muslim side character, aromantic side character, various other queer side characters including characters who use they/them and neopronouns CW: parental death, graphic death, body horror, violence, religious abuse, discussions of genocide; instances of homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, and deadnaming

Review:

When I started reading this book, I very quickly knew I didn’t want to stop reading. The only times I managed to take breaks were when my partner messaged me to let me know that the renewal of a TV show I’ve been obsessed with recently had just been announced, and when I was literally falling asleep due to how late it was. I’m usually the kind of person who always arrives early when meeting up with friends, and I wound up running late to a hangout because I had to finish reading this book before I could let myself move. I couldn’t leave the last couple of chapters until later, I had to read them right then and there. The need to continue to read this book overrode my anxiety and that in and of itself is glowing praise.

Benji was such a great main character and I loved watching his development from being a scared runaway to how he is at the end. If you want to read about someone coming to terms with their anger and using that anger to destroy the people who hurt them then this is the book for you. ‘Anger’ doesn’t feel like a strong enough word to describe what’s going on here, to be honest. ‘Wrath’ might be better. I also really liked seeing Benji try to reckon with everything when in positions of relative safety with the ALC, and his growing friendships with (almost) everyone there were really lovely! He also has a directness that I appreciated. He’s not one to let a potentially sticky social situation fester, and I really liked that! This book is not for the faint of heart. The content warnings are not jokes or exaggerations. The descriptions are vivid and graphic, and the strength of these descriptions alone are enough to strongly recommend this book to people who like body horror. White doesn’t pull a single punch and does a truly great job! I loved the ALC so much! Benji himself notes how healing it is for him to be in an environment where he can tell people his name and pronouns knowing that people will use them for him without argument, and especially how important being around other trans people is for him. This book does a good job at emphasising how important community is, and at addressing some of the beliefs that some people within the lgbtq+ community have that do more harm than good. This book is unapologetically queer and a rejection of the idea that there is a right or wrong way to be queer or to exist. I need to give a special shout out to Salvador. Salvador my beloved. A major character who uses xe/xem pronouns? Who isn’t white?? Who casually mentions that xe’s ace??? And whose relationship with Benji is one of the most significant ones in the whole book???? Salvador pretty much takes Benji under xyr wing in the ALC and makes sure to loop him in in all the gossip, which does so much to help Benji feel like he belongs there. I think Salvador would’ve been one of my favourite characters even if xe didn’t use xe/xem, but xe does and that’s so exciting to me!! I’ve read so few books with any characters who use neopronouns, and I’ve never read a book with a character with neopronouns who’s this prominent before!! And all of Salvador’s friends used xyr correct pronouns and didn’t slip up once!!! Getting a little personal here, but a big reason why I use they/them is to make things easier for other people. It means so much to me to see a character who isn’t doing that, is unapologetic about it, and who’s respected by everyone whose opinion matters. And xe’s not even the only character who uses neopronouns in this book, xe’s just the most prominent one!! Xem being ace too is only mentioned once very briefly and is easily missed, but there was no way I was going to miss that. I wasn’t expecting any aspec rep, and I was fine with that, but for Salvador to be ace and Faith to be aro means so much to me as an ace arospec person!! I also really liked the main love interest, Nick, and I especially enjoyed his pov chapters and the greater understanding of both him and everything else that’s going on that this gives the reader. At the beginning, Nick and Benji have totally different priorities and this isn’t something that Benji fully grasps, so seeing Nick’s perspective of things at that point was needed and worked really well. The two of them also share a lot of really sweet moments, and their growing affection for each other was believable! I wish Nick had been a little more present than he was, though. Benji has a lot going on, so obviously his focus is often not on Nick, and then Nick only has three pov chapters in the whole book. We see him at the start when he’s distrustful of Benji, and we see him nearer the end when he regrets that distrust, but we don’t get to see his perspective of him going from A to B, and Benji doesn’t know about any of this while it’s happening. I was left with the feeling that earlier versions of the book had more written from Nick’s pov that have since been cut and I think that’s a shame. I could be totally wrong about that, but that’s the impression I got. I really liked Nick and Benji’s relationship! I just wish that it had a little more space. Nick is such a great character! Interestingly, one of the main antagonists, Theo, also got a single pov chapter, and I have complicated thoughts on that. It felt a little out of place, and I don’t think it was needed. I would’ve preferred another Nick chapter, if just because I need more of him in my life. Ultimately, I had a really great time reading this book, and would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a strong, visceral horror with a queer cast, with the caveat that if any of the content warnings would be an issue for you then to proceed with caution. Thank you to Peachtree Teen and TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with an e-arc and having me on this tour! You can see the rest of my tour stop here and the full tour schedule here!

[yayeetsonny]

Big surprise~USWNT x Baby reader

Prompt: Team finds out baby r is dating a famous person via instagram live.

Requested by: @khiaraaa-in-spacee​

Y/N PRO

Being a professional soccer player and playing in both the NWSL for the Orlando Pride and at the national level for the USWNT at the age of 18 is a great honor and privilege, I got to play the sport I loved nearly everyday and I was able to make a living from it, but it can be exhausting at times. Which is why I’m glad that we have a few weeks off before I have to report to the next national camp for our next set of friendlies. I live in LA with my girlfriend Billie Eilish and being able to spend some quality time with her after months of being on the go is great. The only drawback is that the team has no idea I’m dating someone famous, I have kept that part of my life private, It’s not that I don’t trust them, I do; they’re like sisters to me and the older players even sometimes act as parental figures, but Billie and I agreed to keep our relationship as private as possible and agreed that when the time was right, she would meet the girls.

Speaking of Billie she and her brother Finneas were working on some music in the little studio like set up she created in our basement so I decided to bring them a snack.

“Hey babe, I thought I’d bring you guys a snack since you’ve been working so hard.” I said, handing her the bowl of berries, and handing Finneas a bowl of popcorn.

“Aw, thank you baby. That was very sweet of you.”

“How’s the song writing going?”

“Slow but we’re making progress.” Finneas said

“Good to hear.”

I spent some time with them looking at what they had written out so far and listening to some of the beats they thought of using before excusing myself to go do an instagram live. Even though I was technically on vacation I made sure to still engage with fans and I looked forward to the weekly lives. I had previously sent out a tweet and posted on my instagram story that I would be on live soon so I knew a substantial amount of people including some of my teammates were bound to be on fairly quickly.

“Hey guys! How’s everyone doing today?”

I watched as the comment section was flooded with people telling me how they were or sending in heart and heart eye emojis.

“I’m doing great, can you say happy birthday Abigail?” I said under my breath.

“So glad to hear it! Happy birthday Abigail!” I said

I continued to read the comments as they came in, squinting as I did so and laughed when I saw a familiar name pop up.

“Hey Alex, no I’m not blind. I’m squinting because the font is small.”

She sent several laughing emoji’s in return.

“Hey Pinoe, Jess, Abby, Julie, Moe, Christen, Tobs, Tierna, Mal, Sam, Emily and Rose.” I said, out of breath after reading all their names off in one go. My eyes widened when I noticed several more of my teammates had joined the lives.

“Ah, and Hi Becky, Carli, A.D., Lindsey, Crystal, Allie, Ashlyn, Ali, Alyssa, and Kelley.”

I was practically wheezing by the time I finished listing everyone’s names.

“The gang’s all here I see.” I laughed.

I saw several of their comments popping up, all of which seemed to be referring to the same thing.

“Breath little one.”

“Drink some water, please.”

“Are you okay?”

“That wheezing doesn’t sound too good.”

“Go get your inhaler.”

I rolled my eyes playfully at their fussing, even from miles away they found a way to baby me. I was the youngest on the team so they felt the need to be protective.

“Guys relax, I’m perfectly okay. I just forgot to breath for a sec. And I’m 18 years old Chris, I’m not little.” 

Several of them sent comments back disagreeing which I chose to ignore.

“Okay guys send in your questions and I’ll do my best to answer most of them.”

Comments began flowing in and I started to answer some of them.

“What’s your favorite holiday?”

“Well I’d have to say Christmas for sure. Not only is it a time for me to spend with family and the food is great I’ll admit I like getting and giving presents too.”

“ Who would you want with you if you were deserted on an island?” “I’d have to say… Alyssa and… Julie. I’d want those two with me because Alyssa would keep mostly to herself and not drive me crazy like Kelley or Emily would with their endless energy but she would be a great conversationalist and she would share her warmth by cuddling with me, and Julie because she’s tough as nails and I feel like she would be good at gathering food and finding a way to provide shelter.” 

Alex, Pinoe and Tobin voiced their offense at not being chosen while the others, minus Christen just said they would let me fend for myself if we ever got stranded together. Christen said

“They are excellent choices and I agree.” 

Julie and Alyssa gloated 

“Ahaha we’re her favorites.”

“Now we know who the favorites are and I can’t say I’m surprised that I’m one of them.”

I continued to answer questions, they ranged from asking what my favorite color was to what my best moments the field was. I was in the middle of answering a question about my most embarrassing in-game moment was when Billie suddenly came running into the room, excited to show me something.

“Hey babe, Finn and I got down this amazing chorus, wanna hear it?”

I tried to find a way to mute the live while I talked to her but it was too late. She realized what I was doing, and her eyes almost popping out of her head. She looked at me worriedly while I just laughed nervously. I knew everyone had heard her call me “babe” because they began asking who I was dating and begging to see them. Emily commented

“Yeah Y/N spill the tea.”

Billie and I just stared at each other, slightly communicating with our eyes before she nodded and made her way over to sit next to me. We were both nervous but knew that everyone had to find out sometime, and while this wasn’t the way we had planned for the girls to find out I hoped they were cool about it.

“Guys… I’d like you to meet my girlfriend Billie. Billie Eilish.” I said to the camera.

“Hey guys, this wasn’t planned but I’m glad to be here.” She said

What followed was an outpouring of support and joy from the fans and I was incredibly relieved, we both were.  I didn’t see any comments from the team and that was slightly concerning. I knew they were all still on and paying attention. Did they not like her? Were they mad at me for hiding my relationship from them? 

I smiled at the camera, both Billie and I thanking fans for their love. I hadn’t told her this yet but I was starting to worry about what my teammates really thought of Billie. After answering a few more questions we decided to call it a day and promised to do lives together often.

“That was fun! Sorry for putting you on the spot like that I totally forgot you were doing a live.” Billie said coming up to hug me.

“It’s okay, everyone seems to love you and support us.” I said absentmindedly scrolling through my phone waiting for something, anything from the girls.

“You okay Y/N?”

“Yeah I’m okay, I just haven’t heard from the girls since you came on the live and none of them said anything after.

“Wait the whole team was watching?”

“Yeah they were.”

“And they didn’t say anything after I came on?”

“Nope.”

“Do you think they have a problem with us being together?”

“I’ll be honest, I’m not sure.”

After some more waiting I finally got a text from Morgan in the group chat.

“Group Skype in 5, be there.”

Yikes that was a little cold. I wasn’t one to be afraid of my teammates, except on the rare occasion one of them was in a mood but I couldn’t help but be nervous to talk to them. I told Billie what was going to happen and I could tell she was nervous too but she decided to wait in the other room to give us some privacy, only joining if requested.

“I’m sure it won’t be long. I love you.” I said kissing her.

“I love you too.”

As soon as I joined the call it was silent.

“Hi guys.” I said timidly.

“Y/N.” Kelley said

“So… A famous girlfriend huh?” Megan said

“Yeah… she’s really talented and I’m so proud of all she’s accomplished. Our relationship is really special to me.” I said more confident than before.

“She seems very nice.” Chris said

“She is so kind and sweet.”

“Does she make you happy?” Mal asked me in a serious tone.

“Incredibly.”

“Then that’s all that matters to us.”

“I-I thought you guys were mad at me or didn’t approve of her.”

I saw several of the girls’ eyebrows furrow and they all looked confused and concerned.

“What made you think that?”

“Well for starters, none of you commented anything after she came on the live and then after no one texted me for over an hour. I really thought you were upset or something.” I said sadly

“Aw, bub. We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to make you feel like that. Looking at it now, we see how it looked but we were just texting each other, trying to plan a way to fly out and surprise you and meet her in person. We got caught up in taking about how you, the baby of the team; our baby is dating someone as famous as Billie Eilish, much less dating anyone at all.” Alex said, everyone else agreeing

“You guys didn’t think I could be dating anyone?” I asked slightly offended 

“No, no. We didn’t mean it like that. We just meant that you did such a good job at hiding it from everyone and you never talked about liking any girls or boys or non-binary people that we thought you weren’t interested in dating at the moment.” Ali said.

“Oh.”

 I understood now why they thought that, I had never shown any interest in anyone but it was simply because I was already taken and saw no reason to entertain, think about or talk about the idea of anyone else.

“We love her as an artist and are sure she is a great person, especially if she makes you happy.” Allie said.

“Would you guys like to talk to her right now? She’s just in the other room, I can go get her.”

“OMG YESSSS”

“ABSOLUTELY”

“WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?” Crystal, Sam and Abby all boomed 

“And everyone else who isn’t trying to break your eardrums agrees too.” Ashlyn said giggling.

“Next time warn earbud users will you? Geez” Megan said rubbing her ears

“I’ll be right back.” I said chuckling at their antics.

I went into the room next door to get Billie so she could say Hi to the girls.

“Hey babe.” I said

“Hey, how’d your call with the team go?”

“Actually it’s not over yet. They want to meet you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, they were never mad or upset. They were just planning to surprise me and come out to meet you in person.”

“Oh wow. Not what I was expecting to hear but that’s very nice of them.”

“Yeah, you ready to meet my “moms” and sisters?” I said giggling

“As I’ll ever be.”

When we reentered the room we could hear them all chanting 

“GO, GO, GO, GO.”

When I looked at the screen I saw Mal chugging a giant bottle of sprite.

“What in the world? I’m gone for all of 5 Minutes and come back to see… whatever Mal is doing.”

“We triple dog dared her to chug the bottle of sprite after she pulled it out and took one measly sip of it.” Tierna shrugged

“You’re all so weird.”

“But you loveeee us.” Emily said 

“That I do. How you holding up, Pugh?” I said looking back at Mal and seeing she didn’t look so good.

“Moms, I don’t feel so good.” She said referring to Christen and Tobin

“Well baby, maybe you shouldn’t have chugged the whole thing.” Chris said pouting at her sympathetically.

“You were chanting with everyone else!” Mal said annoyed

“didn’t want to be a buzz kill.” She shrugged

“Wait a little bit and then heat up yourself some chicken noodle soup.” Tobin said

“Okayyy.”

Mal flopped dramatically back on her bed as some of the girls gave her props and others laughed at her very apparent sore stomach.

“I’m so sorry. They’re always like this.” I said turning to Billie 

“It’s cool. Props Mal, that was impressive.”

“Thanks Billie.”

“So Billie, how long have you and Y/N been together? Who kissed who first, and have you guys had sex yet?” Kelley asked

Of course she’s gonna be the one to put my girlfriend on the spot. Classic Kelley O’Hara

“Umm…” Billie looked at me uncomfortably

“We-we’ve been together for 7 and a half months. I kissed her, and no we haven’t.” I said covering for her as she froze.

“I see.” She said scratching her chin.

“Kelley, cool it with the grilling. We just met her.” Alex said coming to Billie’s defense.

“You’re right, sorry about that. I just want what’s best for Y/N. We all do.” She said sheepishly

“Nah, it’s cool. I totally get it.”

We continued to talk and the girls got to know Billie pretty well and they hit it off. I was relieved that they approved of her and that they were happy for me. They told me when they would be arriving in LA and how long they would be staying and we all got excited at the idea of seeing each other soon.

//

Sorry for any mistakes

-N

[quasieli]

top six: fictional characters that give you gender envy, flowers, little things that make you happy and d&d moments :D

Ooh lotsa questions!

Gender Envy:

1) Bow from She-Ra (2018). Something about buff athletic dude who wears crop tops and is soft as hell is very Gender to me.

2) Vax from Critical Role. Pretty boy, kinda goth rogue? That’s sexy as hell and I wish that was me. 

3) In a wildly different idea of gender envy, I’ve been thinking about it lately and @quantum-lesbian’s character in the Frostmaiden game I’m in with them, Ambrose, is Big Gender. Beautiful non-binary drow with a starry and kinda witchy aesthetic that dresses super grandly and ostentatiously no matter the occasion? Yes please.

4) Pete from The Unsleeping City, specifically season two. I adore season one Pete but season two Pete that works in a queer bookshop and has a teapot arcane focus, is artsy and is unapologetically a trans man who doesn’t give a shit about gender roles? Sign me the fuck up.  

5) Beau from Critical Role. Buff GNC lesbian mixed with academia, but like academia from the prospective of a grad student with ADHD trying to learn everything about their special interests? A+, I love her and I’m jealous. 

6) I’m gonna cheat a lil bit for this last one. I know the prompt is fictional characters, but Julia Lepetit and Jacob Andrews in their Hitman streams? Simultaneously both of them were Gender for me. Jacob esp felt like that for me, which is weird cause dresses can make me dysphoric, but I am also slightly envious of the Dude in a Dress type of gender presentation. 

Can you tell that I’m a confused trans masc enby

Gonna put it under the cut from here cause oof, there’s still a lot more.

Flowers:

1) Big slut for Sunflowers, always have been, always will be.

2) Fun fact, my dad’s family used to own a flower shop (in like the 70s, so I never got to see it :(), and one of their big things was hydrangeas. My dad has always loved them and now I love the snowballs too!  

3) A recent favorite, the Baker’s Globe Mallow. It’s a type of flower that only grows from the soils of forests that have been affected by wildfires. It’s a simple little flower but I love the idea of something beautiful rising from the ashes after tragedy. A little dramatic, but I’m queer, ofc I’m dramatic.

4) Roses are another important flower to my family (Rose was a family name for a couple generations), and ya know, they’re a classic. 

5) There’s this beautiful magnolia tree in front of my house that blooms with the most beautiful white and pink flowers every spring, and it’s one of my favorite things to see every year. 

6) There’s so many different types of Lillies and they’re all very pretty, but the Purple Stargazer is prob my favorite.

Little Things That Make Me Happy:

1) My cat, Maddie. She may be a cranky girl at times, but she is also very sweet and will always be my baby (even though she is 12). 

2) Not a little thing really, but my best friend. Just getting a sweet/silly text from her or the two of us chilling in a room, sitting in a comfortable silence because we just like being together, nothing better. 

3) Baking, esp if I’m doing it for others. I’m not much of a sweets person myself, a little treat every once in a while type person, but I love baking. It’s a very relaxing process for me, even when it can sometimes get stressful, but seeing people enjoying something I made, especially something that brought me great joy to make, is simply the best. 

4) In the same sorta vein, crafting and other art, but that’s a bit more personal. I love making things for others, but art, particularly drawing, is something I do more for me. It’s such a great feeling when you can get into a really good art mood and just sink yourself into a project. I love it.

5) My plush toys. Yes, I am a 23 year old, no I will not stop loving my plushies. I just got a few new friends, which I made a post about recently, and they such good cuddle buddies. However, there is one king amongst them all. I have this old, beat up christmas puppy beanie baby, on his tag named Jingle Pup, but I just call him Jingle. I had one version of him since I was like 6, but he currently lives on a shelf cause he is very beaten up and fragile, but his “brother”, who I got when I was 8, is still in kinda good shape and is currently chilling on my chest as I type this lol.

6) Again, not a little thing, but it’s important to mention; D&D. The game itself is such a joy, but truly the best part of it is the people. I love creating stories and memories with people through this weird little game. Truly one of my favorite things to do.

D&D Moments:

These are all gonna be personal moments, rather than anything from actual play shows/podcasts. RC is Reforged Campaign, where I play Saube, and FM is Frostmaiden, where I play Sparks.

1) RC - Meeting Mahety, Saube’s girlfriend. We met her way back in session 12 and we are now up to like session 73. Saube saw her and was immediately big heart eyes at her but also felt a bit awkward and shy. So, being a game a dice, I decided to roll. 10 or higher, Saube would talk to her, 9 or lower, she’d stay put. I rolled a 17, 17 is now a lucky number for me. I love Mahety and I’d die for her. 

2) FM - This was an insane fight that should not have been so crazy, but in a fairly early session, my group went up against an angry druid and her awakened animals. So much batshit stuff happened in that fight, and we unfortunately lost our bread loving bard (RIP Agneyis), but one of my favorite combat turns happened in this fight. Our artificer, Omaren, has a robe of useful items and one of the patches on it creates a large pit. Thinking quickly, Omaren tore off the patch, slid it under one of the dire wolves we were fighting and created a looney tunes style pit under it, allowing us to take it out easily via pot shots. Such a clutch move and such a funny visual, especially because the dire wolf kept failing the checks to get out of the pit.  

3) RC - Saube’s Zebrith (I will never remember how this actually spelled RIP). So, for context, Saube ended up with a death curse (long story) that mechanically meant they had disadvantage on any death saving throws. Scary as hell, need to get that fixed! So, Saube and their party had to be smuggled into another country to talk with some religious leaders of a goddess known as The First, the goddess of death. They were told that Saube would have to go through the aforementioned ritual, which included her soul leaving her body for a short period of time. During this ritual, her friends had to call back to her, to say things that would bring her back to her body and I still cry thinking about that game. That ritual was not only important for Saube bodily, but spiritually as well. After that ritual, Saube officially became a cleric of The First! 

4) A real sappy one, RC - Saube meeting all of her friends. Anyone who follows along with the rantings on my blog probably knows how important this game is to me. I met this random group of strangers on tumblr and formed a D&D party with them and now, a year and a half later, I honestly think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I know that sounds silly and dramatic but not only has this game brought me so much joy and comfort, but I also gained a group of really amazing friends who have been nothing but amazing since day one. As much as Saube knows she can depend on SICL, I know I can depend on my group of weirdos lol. We both love our friends very much and even though we’ve all been through some crazy shit, we wouldn’t change it for the world.    

5) RC - Just playing Saube in general. I really didn’t intend for it to be this way, but Saube is very much a reflection of myself. She is the first long term character I have ever played and so much of me is in her. I try not to treat D&D like therapy, because that’s unfair to my DM and fellow party members, but playing Saube has allowed me to work through some of my own problems, especially social anxiety, in a lot safer of an environment. It isn’t so much that I’m asking this game to help me fix my life, but playing out these scenarios that, in the real world, would make me anxious or make me freak out, I can stop, take a moment to breathe and work out these issues in a way that makes sense to me. Playing her has led me to understanding myself a bit better, as well, and that’s truly such a wonderfully unexpected gift from this whole experience. 

6) Lastly, a silly one: RC - Getting a crit 6. The last session of this game got real interesting. Saube’s party ended up in the ethereal plane and magic got real fucky there. So, any time any of us tried to cast a spell, we’d roll a d20, not look at the result, and then try to guess what number rolled. The closer to the number, the better the result. A few times, a few people managed to get within like 3 or 4 of their roll, but oh the power I felt when I rolled a 6 (on Saube’s die!) and guessed it correctly! So, not only did the spell (Bless) work, but it worked super well. So instead of getting +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws, Saube and two other party members got +2d4 to attacks, saving throws and skill checks. So powerful I broke the rules of D&D lmao. 

[newhologram]

Now that I'm once again committing to being openly #trans, stepping out of the rain and under the umbrella that used to keep me dry, I wrote something up for family, friends, and followers who may have questions:

Dear family, friends, and Holograms: Thank you for your kind messages. Even though most of you already knew this about me for so long, it feels so good to be more public, to be a voice just by being me, and to have your support. It's amazing to me to see that many of you have stepped into the role of an ally and are willing to learn more.

I'm writing this up to maybe offer some clarifications on things relating to trans identity in general but mostly my personal experience with gender. It's my hope that this will give you a template to work from. I don't want anyone to be so worried about offending me that they don't know how to talk to/about me. I want this to be comfortable for all of us. This is only my experience of gender at this time, so please remember that if you meet another trans/nb person, they will likely have a completely different experience than me.

Let's start with queer, which is an umbrella term for anyone who is not cisgender and/or heterosexual. It can be a useful label for someone who is not interested in having to spell out both their sexual/romantic orientation and their gender identity every time (it can get complicated even for us). Some of us might not fit neatly into the letters of LGBTQIA (notice it contains Q still) so this is the reason some people are comfortable with the label. Sometimes we do fit into the acronym, but queer is inclusive and we like it. It's also what's often used in academia. Queer history, queer literature, queer art, etc. Freddie Mercury is often referred to as a queer icon for example. Now, it can be a regional thing, as in some parts of America, queer is not considered a reclaimed slur (since it means "weird") like it is for say, a lot of Californians. While some of us feel empowered to own being "different" or "weird" while fighting for representation and rights, others may object to being called "not normal". Ultimately it's always up to the individual to decide what they are comfortable calling themselves, not what other people should be allowed to call themselves. I was always the weird kid and I have so much trauma around that and as an adult I'm like... yeah, you know what, I'm queer and proud. Now onto gender which is the focus of this post: transgender is an umbrella term. Trans as a prefix means "across" or "beyond", so transgender people have experiences and identities across or beyond gender. Non-binary is a gender identity under the trans umbrella. It refers to identities that are not strictly within the binary of man or woman. Non-binary itself is another umbrella term for many different genders such as agender (without gender), pangender (all genders), genderfluid (gender that shifts and changes), and many more. Gender is complex and varied across cultures and societies, so that's why there are so many different ways to describe it. Some may feel that not just one word works for their experience, so they may choose multiple labels or maybe even none at all. AFAB (assigned female at birth) and AMAB (assigned male at birth) is a way to describe what our assigned sex is without using "biological" or "born a (sex/gender)" as this is often used to invalidate trans experience --however, a lot of trans people who have transitioned may find it helpful to describe their experience as "born (and raised as) a girl" (again, up to the individual). We are all assigned sexes at birth but this obviously has no bearing on our gender identity or expression.

When I was a teen, "transsexual" was commonly used to describe a transgender person who transitioned, but this has fallen mostly out of use by now--But remember that being trans is not just about medically transitioning to another sex. There are many trans/nb people who do not transition, or who may make changes here and there to make their bodies more comfortable and fit their identity without necessarily transitioning. Whether or not this is a transition is going to be up to the individual. The social transition of coming out as trans/nb can be just as drastic as anything medical. (For those wondering why it even matters when celebrities come out as trans/nb if they aren't going to "change their bodies"--Visibility and authenticity. Just like I'm doing.)

Now on to me: I cannot accurately or concisely describe my lived experience of gender since it's informed every other experience of my life, but I will try. I'm NB and I definitely don't feel like a woman, but this doesn't necessarily mean I feel like a man either. "Boy" and "girl" do feel more relatable and accessible for some reason. I feel simultaneously and alternatingly like either, both, neither, all, any, and also just me.

Like I said, I can't really describe it. But for whatever reason, "boy", especially "feminine boy" has always felt more like my default energy. Don't ask me why, it is what it is. When I put on makeup, I never feel like a girl doing it even if I'm consciously exploring an archetype like "flapper girl" for example. It has always felt like princess drag to me. People were clocking me on this even when I tried to be a normal "girl". I often wonder if this is why I always felt so ugly before and now when I fully embody my gender as it is, I suddenly feel beautiful and comfortable. I feel closest to feminine or fluid archetypes, it's just how I express myself. This would not change if I were AMAB, I'd be just as feminine. I'd still be the same me.

Pronouns, for me: I can't say that my feelings on this will stay the same forever, but for now, I'm okay with any and all pronouns. I have some longtime followers who refer to me as he/him and that's amazing and so affirming!! *chef's kiss* But it's totally okay to use she/her with me too. Because I am aligned with feminine archetypes, I can't resist using she/her for myself often especially if I'm all dressed up in kawaii drag. They/them is also acceptable. This also goes for it being okay to refer to me as either a girl or a boy (or gendered family relation terms. But like, I'm Mommy to my cats, not Daddy xD)--Even though I'm not strictly one or the other, I feel all genders. While I agree with the common AFAB feeling of it being frustrating that she/her/girl/woman is always going to be considered my default by most people, and that this is/was a source of a lot of my gender dysphoria, I promise you won't offend me by referring to me as such. Often when speaking out my experience of being perceived as a woman, I might refer to myself as such because I'm talking about the way I am interacted with. (ie, it's okay to DM me like "HEY GIRL:･ﾟ✧ but the only way you’ll actually offend me is to insist I am “just a girl”/invalidate my lived experience/try to dictate my identity and labels)

It's still hard for me to share this very vulnerable part of my identity, even after having talked about it for 10 years online and with friends already. I'm probably going to keep having waves of anxiety over this as I shift into living daily life from the truest expression of myself. It really is enough for now to have you recognizing and acknowledging this very special big part of who I am and how I live. To be able to say it now everywhere and not just on my blog feels like a new universe being born. In closing, here are examples if that was too much information to ingest and understand all at once and you're not sure what words to use when referring to me: "This is my [family member], she's queer." "This is my friend New's page, he's non-binary." "This is my coworker's art, she's genderfluid." "This is a blogger I follow, they're pangender." "New is a trans model, this is his latest work." These labels and pronouns are all fine! :> I love you all. Thank you for letting me shine.

[isaacthedruid]

Steven Universe’s Representation and Music: an informal essay

As the first animated Cartoon Network show created entirely by a woman, Steven Universe’s run lasted for five seasons, a movie and a sequel-epilogue series. The show was far from perfect and its fandom wasn’t the best either but there is something so special about a show that followed lesbian space rocks and a young boy saving the world.

More specifically Steven Universe is about a young boy named Steven, who is half-Gem, half-human who protects the town of Beach City from evil. Gems are a kind of alien who take on the form of pastel-coloured women, to better assimilate with the rest of the world.

Rebecca Sugar, the creator, explains her colourful characters in a behind-the-scenes promo:

“I always dreamed of making a show that would have this mix of fantasy and reality. So, I wanted to make these fantasy characters that enjoy being with Steven as much, if not more than they enjoy being fantasy characters. The characters aren’t perfect and that’s what makes them so great.”

Steven’s family are known as the Crystal Gems, a group of rebels who fought against their government thousands of years ago and now live on earth. Steven’s mom, Rose Quartz was at the forefront of the fight, she did extremely terrible things and when she gave up her gem—-so Steven could be born—-she was left unable to form a body ever again. Steven, with only his dad and three alien women, must attempt to fix her messes and deal with the repercussions of his mother’s actions.

One of the main mechanics within the series is known as fusion, in which two or more Gems become a single being who is stronger and more powerful. The fused form takes on the physical, mental and emotional aspects of those who are part of the bond. As mentioned and discussed many times within this blog, fusions are a physical embodiment of different kinds of relationships. And for a show starring a primarily female cast, they do not shy away from using this mechanic to tell queer stories.

So explicitly that in 2018, the show had the first-ever lesbian wedding in a cartoon. Of course, representation wasn’t always as accepted in Steven Universe. Just two years before the big wedding, higher-ups at Cartoon Network told Rebecca Sugar, they not happy with the multiple queer relationships, so much so that they were ready to threaten cancellation.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she expressed:

“If this is going to cost me my show that’s fine because this is a huge injustice and I need to be able to represent myself and my team through this show and anything less would be unfair to my audience.”

Being LGBT herself, identifying as bisexual and non-binary, representation is important to her. For many queer people, especially grown-ups, they hope to see themselves represented in kids’ media today as they never had growing up. They want nothing more for children’s shows to say that being “different” or not fitting in with our heteronormative society is actually normal.

Within Steven Universe, you can find woman-loving-woman relationships, non-binary and intersex characters, woman-loving-non-binary relationships, asexual coded characters and basically every other letter in the acronym.

Rebecca Sugar even acted as the exciting force for LGBT inclusion within Adventure Time, originally working as a writer and storyboard artist before leaving to create her own show. She pushed for making the ex-romantic queer couple to be canonically part of the story and for it to not just coded into the dialogue.

A few years later, she returned to the show, multiple times, to compose over 20 songs that would air over the series 10-year-long run such as, “I’m Just Your Problem” which had lesbian subtext that would be confirmed later.

Some other iconic songs including “Fry Song“, “Remember You“, “Good Little Girl“, “Everything Stays” and even the finale song, “Time Adventure“.

Much like the show as a whole, there is something so special about the music she writes. In total, there were over 160 songs written for the franchise, some being short little tunes, no longer than a minute while others were full-blown musical numbers. No matter, all of them have their place within the show. Often when the character can’t express lines through speech, music is utilized to provide a more raw and poignant portrayal of their emotions.

Why Steven Universe is so widely loved is due to the music, as the overall story is not even close to perfect. Yet, everyone can agree on one thing, the music is unbelievably good. What is interesting is the different styles of melodies and backtracking used in the various songs, even more impressive is that every character has their own instrumental motif.

Steven’s motif is the ukelele as he is often seen playing the instrument himself, performing short little melodies and even writing the in-show version of the theme song. Additionally, Steven’s music uses a large amount of Chiptune synth, electronic music which is created using a programmable sound generator. Both instruments have a very childlike feeling to them, Chiptune especially as it is normally used in video game music like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of the main musical inspirations for the show. As Steven is the lead, most of the music has Chiptune somewhere in the score and fun fact, the first song in the show, sung by Steven, “Cookie Cat” was actually written on an old Gameboy.

Amethyst is very loud and fun, her motif is electric drums which is extremely reflective of her character. As she can be angry from convincing herself that she is not good enough to happy and giggling from pranking Steven, her instrument can be used in so many ways as she is not a simple character. No matter what, for the few songs Amethyst has on her own (or in the score), her drums provide such an interesting emotional response to the situation.

Garnet is a fusion, so her motif is actually the combination of two instruments. Ruby is a drumbeat as she is a fiery and loud character, she is chaotic while Sapphire is her opposite. Sapphire is calm and collected, she has ice-related powers and is represented by Synth music. The characters together have a perfect unity, expressed by Garnet’s synth bass sounds, she is the equilibrium of two very contrasting characters. The music associated with Garnet, uses primarily the synth bass but Ruby and Sapphire’s individual instruments can be heard throughout her music. All three instruments are also heavily representative as Garnet’s main dancing style is Hip Hop which clashing with others’ softer dancing styles.

Despite, not being alive during the show, Rose Quartz still has her own musical motif as she plays a large part in Steven’s growth throughout the series. As well as being in many flashbacks, she is represented with strings, more specifically, the violin. Rose’s story is rather sad which quite is visible within her associated music, yet, she was also an extremely powerful character as she led the fight against the Homeworld government. Her strength can be heard with strong uplifts and swells in the music. She is never seen playing an instrument unlike the rest of the main characters but one person who plays hers is Pearl, a character Rose was possibly in love with.

For the complex and beautiful character, Pearl, her motif is classical and swing piano. She is visually represented as a ballerina for a large majority of the series, dressed in a leotard, a small skirt and ballet shoes. Apart from Garnet, she is one of the calmest characters in the show. She is a perfectionist and is knowledgeable on many topics. She has a dark past and her fair share of trauma, all of this is wrapped up in her music. From her traumatic past with Rose Quartz, the violin had been heard throughout her music, yet, when she finally dealt with everything, the violin was lost. Swapped out for a new instrument, a bass guitar which she learned how to play at the end of the series. Pearl is a character who has been through a lot and her music reflects it. As she grew, her music changed with her, becoming her own instead of something built off of Rose’s.

My personal favourite song is “It’s Over Isn’t It?” which is this heartwrenching and emotionally painful ballad sung by a broken woman. Pearl was in love with Steven’s mom. Yet, the feelings were not mutual or at least ended being reciprocated as Rose left her for Greg, Steven’s dad. It hurts because Rose didn’t just leave her, Rose Quartz also passed away. As the song goes:

That they didn’t really matter until you I was fine when you came And we fought like it was all some silly game Over her, who she’d choose After all those years, I never thought I’d lose … You won and she chose you and she loved you and she’s gone It’s over, isn’t it? Why can’t I move on? … Who am I now in this world without her? Petty and dull with the nerve to doubt her What does it matter? It’s already done Now I’ve got to be there for her son

Without Rose, Pearl has lost her place in the world as all she ever knew was her. Yet, now she is left to help raise a half-human baby and go on with her life. It makes it more difficult as this baby is the product of Rose and the man that she left Pearl for.

Pearl doesn’t want to hate Greg, she is angry at him but she doesn’t have hatred towards him. They may not be the best of pals at the start of the series but in the song called “Both of You“ has Steven, finally, begging for Greg and Pearl to just talk to each other.

Why don’t you talk to each other? Why don’t you talk to each other? Just give it a try Why don’t you talk about what happened? … You might not believe it but you got a lot in common, you really do You both love me and I love both of you … I know you both need it Someone who knows what you’re going through

An interesting thing about this song is that Steven is this to them, the person with Rose’s gem is singing to the two people who fought over Rose. It makes me wonder if this could be Rose speaking through Steven to her two loved ones. Whether it is or not, doesn’t really matter to the overall story but it is a fun idea to look at.

Overall, these songs are a literal representation of dealing with ones’ emotions in a healthy way, something that Steven Universe actively tries to teach their younger viewers about.

To say Steven Universe is a good show only for its music would be a false statement, it’s one of the strongest aspects but without the story or the characters, the music would fall flat and not have any of its passion.

[spicyycarrot]

I can’t find my original response but here goes nothing. This is going to be long.

Quite a while back, someone sent me an anon ask about what I thought of neopronouns and my answer to that was… embarrassing to say the least. It was something along the lines of “they/them is fine but I like that xe and ze and whatever is weird :/“

Now, I doubt more than one person actually saw that (just like I really don’t think that anyone will even see this post) but it’s been bothering me for a long time and I’ve just gotta say, I’m sorry, that was wrong and all pronouns anyone actually feels comfortable with are absolutely valid and I will do my best to use them correctly! I was young(er), dumb(er) and ignorant at the time and my response came from a place of just not understanding what being non-binary or GNC or anything really entailed. Most of the knowledge I had on being trans came from people I no longer support or agree with, such as Kalvin Garrah or Blaire White (who had political stances I could never befriend) but I thought that since they were trans, she they what they were talking about, right? Truth is, they really only speak from their own experiences and are convinced that their experience is THE Trans Experience™ and anyone who goes through anything different is Not Actually Trans (“transtrenders”) etc. They never listed any sources for their claims that non-binary genders aren’t real, or anything for that matter and especially Blaire White’s track record of being an honest person is not exactly good.

Same goes for the gender dysphoria debate. I’m no longer a transmed but I do think you need dysphoria to be trans. Hear me out- a YouTuber named graysonsprojects put it really well in one of her videos, namely that you do need dysphoria to be trans, but everyone experiences gender dysphoria differently. Just because someone else experiences something you don’t or vice-versa doesn’t mean one of you is not really trans. (I’ve heard the term “gender incongruence” as well but that really just seems to describe that… someone is trans? Like, it’s not an indicator, it’s just a way of saying that someone is trans?? Their gender is not congruent with the one they were assigned at birth and I don’t think you can really use “being trans” as a criteria to determine if someone is trans.)

I’m neither a doctor or a psychologist, nor do I have any qualifications, but since there isn’t really a clear scientific consensus on this whole thing, I’m just going to state my opinion and elaborate a little. You do need gender dysphoria to be trans. Otherwise, why would you even be trans? If there wasn’t at least some kind of discomfort or just knowing that your gender is not the same as your biological sex, why would you not feel content living as cis? After all, your gender is not a choice. Nobody can just choose to be trans, and I doubt that anyone actually has. So yes, you do need gender dysphoria to be transgender, since the dysphoria is exactly what defines being trans. However, people experience gender dysphoria very differently from one another. The term “gender dysphoria” implies that you must be unhappy and disgusted with yourself or something along those lines, so the statement of “you need dysphoria to be trans” can seem a little misleading. For some, it can really be that bad and uncomfortable, while for others it might simply be knowing that they’re not cis.

No trans experience is any more or less valid than the other and it is not up to anyone to police someone’s identity as long as they’re not harming anyone. Using someone’s correct pronouns is basic human decency. Everyone is deserving of respect concerning their gender identity and pronouns and you should always try your best to respect them, even if you don’t fully understand them.

It was a case of not understanding for me, and I’m sorry for that and I’m still quite ashamed, even though I don’t have any sort of platform whatsoever and was mostly keeping these opinions to myself and at the end of the day, they were harmful to myself more than anything. I have been struggling with my own identity for longer than I can remember and finding someone like Kalvin Garrah, who pretty much kept feeding into my internalized nb- and transphobia, pushing me away from something that could have helped me understand myself better and keeping me locked in the little cishet box I, along with everyone else, gets put into by society that I was too scared and ignorant to leave. People like him reinforced the negative opinions I had already had about enby people in particular and I didn’t do any research of my own out of the subconscious fear that I’d perhaps discover that I was not cis. Denying the existence of non-binary people helped me suppress that exact part of myself.

To this day, I’m still not really sure if I’m really experiencing gender dysphoria or just symptoms of my self-hatred, unrealistic body standards, mental illness and a sprinkle of teenage angst and rapid changes of said body due to puberty. A part of me is kind of hoping it really is just my hormones going wild in this frankly quite wild time of my life and I’m only seeing the parallels to gender dysphoria because I keep thinking about it, hoping it’ll fade away as time progresses. Maybe I am just a little GNC but still mostly cis. Maybe I’ll do a Gerard Way and not be a big fan of labels but very much imply that I am not exactly cishet. Maybe it’s Maybelline. Who knows. I guess only time will tell.

But really, that’s about it. If anyone ever stumbles across this somehow, especially the anon who sent me that ask- wow! I hope I got my point across and again, I am sorry for being an idiot at the time (not that I’ve gotten any smarter, just a little more educated.) Special thanks to anyone who actually read all or really any of this, if there even is anyone. I just felt like I had to put this all out there, hope it was at least a little interesting. Thank you!

[tammyhybrid21]

THybrid’s Mummy Rant(pt 1)

ALRIGHT!

Sooo…

I kind of said I would be organizing a big giant analysis and rant on this character-- Because I have many, many feelings. Buuut I think this is probably going to be something that just ends up diving into a lot more for the context I do have. Both in terms of the movie, and the research I've been rolling around in--

So-- before I put this under a cut/readmore, can I put some context into this?! And by context--

I mean in general I would not be here if Mummy hadn't been the one Netflix had for the Movie's preview. Mummy is why I'm here, just because whoop. That's a character design that CALLS ME! So yeahh-- that out of the way…

First Impressions:

Sooo… in the first movie Mummy is… only in the last third, roughly of the movie. Which is a crying shame in all honesty because for me he steals the show from that point. AND we get to see SO MANY Sides. Like, just… there's a bit to unpack here, and it also leads into more of my Autism squee talk--

But I don't think I could even really articulate everything in a straight cohesive manner so I'll sort of sum it with the most important screencaps.

Soooo, I have a lot to say… and a picture says a thousand words… but especially here and okay, so those screencaps are… not exactly all the story, but they say a lot for what they say. And then you can compound that specifically with the research that I have… again, been just rolling in. Because GIMME!

Sooo anyway, let me talk about these screencaps while my brain is turned on. Because I feel that all of these are important! Including that first glimpse! Because like-- what you need to understand is-- Do you know how hard catching something like that is?! And how did he notice it. Which like, that's probably a sensitivity thing, but specifically! That would whistle on the way down!

Then!

LET ME TALK ABOUT MASKING!

Like just-- all these next pictures and moments! They bring up Masking. Because look at him when he's first approaching, first seen in full. He's threatening, intimidating(up until Tadeo spots him and it's just scream for them both) BUT THEN IN PRIVATE! Clapping, flapping, and well, we can watch Movie 2 with a very specific lense based on a piece of WoG I found…

But even those next few screencap moments--

Like, Mummy is important, BUT there are rules of how you're supposed to present yourself. Like look at him! Look at him in front of the guards! How Paititi is revealed and even the lead up, like, he has a good shift from the slight goofball to commanding and then to intimidating and just…

Snap fingers and the guards respond(which then with movie two… boyyyyy I want to know what happened). And as much as we think that hug is intense…

And then look at the shy nervous child. WHICH I'm going to bring in a moment or two from the Series, Descubre con Tadeo(which is a fun watch even if I only get like, maybe a fifth of the content).

He's insecure and nervous… and we related it to being like… first day of school jitters. BUT THEN he-- also has a perfect shift here as well.

Put on your professional voice! And like, I suppose some things could be argued in terms of Mummy's antics in the second film. But I just… have too much more to say that the whole movie kind of feels like.

"FIRST TIME I AM FREE!" in terms of how Mummy is running around and just having fun! You ever just want to cut loose mate?! Scream, or go wild… but like… with the second movie I have other places to just go, WAIT?! What happened?! And also just analyze moments that are… well…

But like, number one is a background moment actually(and I hope so muuuuch that it means something in movie three please)

LOOK AT TADEO'S CONSPIRACY BOARD!

Like I'm just here like, Mummy?! What did you do?! On his trip over, which for all is kind of implied/feels like a B-Line, and I have… other thoughts and feelings on that. But like, the conspiracy board! Mummy! Also considering that the English Localization has Tadeo in Chicago(and I want to know if that's true for everywhere--) As an aside in this moment, can we just appreciate the jump of quality in the animation between the movies?! Like ahhhh the details! I just hng-- And some things in the whole animated series as well…

Edutainment.

WHICH features BOTH Mummy and Tadeo just special interest dumping. And it's A++

He also hums the theme song in his take over episode, and dances and is just ahahahahah

Which, this is one of the two Mummy just-- yanks the show for himself moments… The other has him playing with everyone else as dolls and I just--

Yes

Gender

Which look, I've been going off some level of fluidity for him! Since I watched the second movie and he just-- STOLE THE SHOW! And the credits sequence, I have… a lot to say about his around the world trip but most of that ultimately amounts to disorganized screaming about the fact that he starts the travel with only one dangling earring and ends it with two to speak to the guards--

And that then goes into--

ANYWAY--

Genderwise, I've been informed that there's a WoG confirmation of nb, which… Good Representation! Even if I have personal… bad, yucky, awkward feelings about the term, if that's the confirmed canon term. Well. My personal dysphoria with the term specific aside.(Non non, it always feels like--) NO WONDER I HELLA RELATE!

For those not caught up-- I myself identify as Agender. Which is a nb-spectrum gender, or as I refer to it as when trying to explain. "Gender, yes". I have a gender, and that gender is yes it's something and exists. But like, I'm not tied to the binary of Male-Female, not really. Sooooo--

If Mummy is confirmed nb, which, I will be source hunting for sure.

Well, his relatability to me just skyrocketed EVEN MORE!

Like I'm sorry, you don't understand! That's super important on MANY levels. Not just for the rare gender to be highlighted. BUT!

Mummy is very Autistic Coded. More on the female stereotyped Autism as well-- and then FOR THE BIG THING! He's Inca!

Like, do you people even have a scale for the important points that he's hitting here?! (And if we add apparently spoken about Asexuality?! Excuse me!)

Like I don't know how much I could say on how important this is representation and character wise…

Sooo

Moving on.

Inca

Sooooo… this is probably something dumb to tack onto the end but. I'll be the first to admit it. I'm… coming from a culturally blind/naïve perspective but-- it's something intrinsic and important to understanding Mummy as character. He's from a cultural background I honestly don't yet know enough about. (Can I ever know enough though?!)

He's an Inca. And more than that-- WoG seems to have implied, he's Royalty, whiiiiich puts into perspective some of those screencap moments and brings about a host of interesting research topics for me to just gleefully dive into and roll around in.

BUT

With that contextual framing.

This dork, and this moment-- and thinking about how he's got the pull in the first movie to boss the guards around. Just like-- Make decisions and call the shots… and more to me…

Who put the cufflink there?! SPECIFICALLY?!

Because like, all he said was "keep it safe"

I also really, really want to know if there's some cultural significance and nuance I'm missing here, because hooo boy. As far as I have, this is basically just subtle nods and confirmations that he's royal, possibly even the recognized Auqui of their set up here(which as of movie two, possibly no longer the case).

I also have a lot to say about THIS:

In terms of the half a dozen or so resources that have STUFF to say about Handshakes to the Inca(albeit there is more than just a handshake buuuut). But this is already 11 pages in word and honestly, I don't think I could explain things in a nice and tidy context for all my FEELINGS that I have.

Sources:

Screenshots taken by myself and a friend

Tadeo Jones & Tadeo Jones 2: El secreto del Rey Midas

https://www.telecinco.es/tadeojones/descubre-con-tadeo/16940/ For additional character screenshots, albeit had to find some of it on Youtube.

WoG on Mummy's implied Royalty: https://www.animum3d.com/blog/animacion-3d-tadeo-jones/ (And English translation C&P feat. Google Translate: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DPhIuurqtx7QJm1df31cviHsqDEgKH5t9MVstJZHpRw/edit) Point of NOTE

With the designs and the script in front, you start to shuffle ideas, by his golden dress, his hat and his cape you imagine that he is someone important within his clan, that should give a sublime aspect to his behavior, as if he belonged to royalty, someone with a refined attitude and manners, are ideas that do not have to be evident or definitive, but in some way help to set parameters when shaping your personality.

WoG on Gender & Sexuality: Still on the hunt, right now more fandom news(please gibe me the source!) FOUND: https://elcultural.com/Enrique-Gato-y-David-Alonso-El-reto-ya-no-es-sorprender-sino-crear-empatia-con-los-personajes & https://www.ecartelera.com/noticias/41656/pelicula-aventuras-definitiva-tadeo-jones-2-equipo/5/

My son asks me many times if Mummy is a boy or a girl and it's all at once. It's absolutely ambiguous and that also makes it a lot of fun.

“For us he is asexual and we really like playing with it.”

Conclusion:

WATCH THESE MOVIES PLEASE!

And get the culture being represented by one of the characters RIGHT!

[sunnysideofsaturn]

2019, oh how you’ve destroyed me.

basically i’ve seen a ton of posts like this, especially by one of my best interweb pals (lookin at you, C @hey-im-pan ) and it’s inspired me to make one of my own! i journal a LOT but it’ll be interesting to try and sum everything up in little synopsis.

*side note: i struggle with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and ocd, so those and their effects may be mentioned. be cautious. This also doesn’t include a lot of the more personal instances, so don’t take it as an accurate representation of what it is like living with these issues*

January:

Honestly, not much happened. I went on a college visit trip with a few of my friends to my dream school, which was stressful but informative, and my anxiety attacks were far and in-between. Sleep schedule was wack (has been since 7th grade), but i was functioning. Dysphoria (i’m nonbinary, but hadn’t really even come out to myself then) was pretty high this month in particular for some reason, so i finally started trying to convince my mom to let me cut my hair off. (I had like 2.5 feet it was a mess)

February:

Finally came out to one of my close friends as pan, kinda accidentally but she was chill with it :) My grandma had a weeklong sickness that scared the shit out of me, but she got better for the time being. I was constantly pushing myself academically and physically at practice, but my grades were taking a bit of a nosedive because i didn’t have the capacity to deal with everything, but i bottled it up because i hate feeling weak. I continued to explore my sexuality, and started to research the gender spectrum.

March:

School and Crew (rowing sport) were the only things on my mind at all times. I started having more anxiety attacks again, and decided it was time to talk to my doctor about going back on meds after 3 years off them. IB was kicking my ass, but i’m so grateful for all of my teammates for giving me an escape on the water. Started to accept I was non-binary.

April:

A month full of good vibes i really needed. Got my drivers license on 4/20. I hiked my grades up with the help of extra credit, held a “wedding” in a Dillard’s try-on section, and spent a few days of spring break at the beach with two friends. I finally cut my hair off!! That feeling was literally incredible and i try to get a haircut every other month to actually keep up with it now. Saw endgame, died inside, and competed in an art show! I was doing really well, so I went off my meds again (don’t do that without a doctors permission like me).

May:

BAdddd time to be off meds, anxiety and depression were dropping my health and IB finals kicked my ass and the class i had been most excited about taking had become my worst at this point, but I got through the exams without missing any. Went to Jr. Prom though! We actually used going to Jr. Prom as a coverup to throw a surprise birthday party for my best friend. I still have no idea how she didn’t figure it out. I also started talking to one of my internet buds, Rosie. She’s helped me through so much she doesn’t even know about, and it such a beaut inside and out <3

June:

MADE IT TO PRIDE MONTH!! I finished my actual finals with minimal panic attacks, and join a Parkner discord! That was short lived, but from it was born… The What the Actual Fuck Fam, whom i love dearly. You guys still crack me up, and i know i’ll always have people to fall back on ( or help me commit murder.) Turned 17 and watched Monty Python (again.) Was forced into not one, but tWo bible camps, but also went to my first pride in my city! I have never felt so loved by so many people i don’t know :)

July:

Depression hit me HarD. I was constantly in a bad mood and taking it out on other people and myself, and I was losing even more sleep. Went back on meds for a bit. I got to see Far From Home, but pretty much isolated myself from anyone in my real life. July is always hard for me to get though for some reason. On a happier note, I started talking to @winterrs-child , who I now love dearly and @exbrodokills , which started out by exchanging memes but i think we can now call a friendship :D

August:

More depression, yayyyy, but Rosie and my irl friends helped me through it so much, even if they didn’t know it was happening. I finally came out to my parents and grandma as pan. They honestly took it pretty well, even if my grandma thinks it’s a ‘phase’. Also came out to C, B, and T as non-binary. Ya’ll were the first people I told after a YEAR omg <3 developed a huge celebrity crush on a cosplayer i won’t name even though they’ll never see this :’) Also fell back into the kiribaku pit after finally stabilizing my Parkner obsession. Also, joined a sapphic server which is basically a big gay support group :) (thanks to Rosie)

September:

Started my senior year of high school. So far, it’s pretty much been one big panic attack but i’m managing. I’m a mentor on the crew team this year and have adopted pretty much every underclassmen on the team. I love them all equally (except for my favorites) Cut my hair even shorter! I love it! Got back into writing poetry and short stories after an intense writer’s and reader’s block that lasted for almost a year. Went off my meds again (I should stop doing that, ik) Went to a Harry Potter fest, which was great, but started building up major anxiety for planning the rest of my life.

October:

SPOOP MONTH. October is my favorite month, so I was determined to make it good. Went on a couple more college tours, but also celebrated fall and halloween with my favorite people. Came reallllly close to stabbing my IB Bio teacher, but he’s survived, so far. Cosplayer mentioned earlier followed me on insta, cue gay panic. i also accidentally created a huge cuddle pile of 30 girls on my team in the captain’s backyard. It was as amazing as it sounds :0 Applied for 6 colleges

November:

CAVETOWN omg. I was also murdered with a bent hammer (don’t ask) and my mental health was pretty stable. I joined yet another server created by the cosplayer, and have made so many friends through it, plus gained a new dad figure :). Contemplated buying a binder on black friday, didn’t and deeply regret it (planing on getting one with the christmas money i get from my homophobic grandfather we pretend doesn’t exist) Discovered the goodness of Baby Yoda. Did pretty much no spanish homework. Solid 7/10

December:

Honestly, school wise december has been the most stressful month of this year so far, and the 2nd worst depressive episode. I’ve written 6 essays and done 5 projects this month and that was not a good time for the already low seratonin levels. i got waitlisted for the school i mentioned earlier, but was accepted into the other 5 :) I got to see an Of Monsters and Men concert, and I’m trying to push thorough til break, but my grandma has been getting sick more and more frequently over this year and now she’s been in a lot of pain for over two weeks and in and out of emergency care 6 times. Just hoping to make it to 2020 with everyone in tact and healthy :) I’m doing a secret santa with my friends im looking forward to. My friends have been amazing support through all of this mess, even if ii didn’t tell you about it, and i love you all!!

special mentions:

@donnaschaunamanon

@dawdlzdoodles

@harleykeenerprotectionsquad

@bumbblebeeeeee

@lykkesw

@chai-studying

@hey-im-pan

@pumpkinparkner

@everyone’s users i don’t know/remember

[junipersdragon]

Thoughts After Finnishing The Bright Seasions

Just be warned, there are some spoilers about the podcast, so if you haven’t listened to the whole thing, I suggest not reading this post.

Dr Bright: God, do I love this woman! I wish I had her as my therapist! She is so kind and practical to her pacients. I’ve actually began using one of the breathing exercises that was mentioned in on of the episodes, and it works really well for my anxiety. Joan Bright, best therapist 10000000/10

Sam: Boy, can I relate to Sam. Having clinical anxiety and depression is really tough and I struggled a lot with panic attacks this past year. I can’t imagine how it would be like to loose your parents in such a tragic way, but having someone to love and help you heal, even if you’re taking a break from each other, Of very good. Having a suport system is always good. Also the fact that the crossover Ars Paradoxica with The Bright Sessions is cannon blows my fucking mind.

Caleb: I love this boy. I love him. I would do anything for this boy. He is so kind and loving and sweet and, let’s be real here, that’s hard to do when you’re openly gay and in high school, empath or not. When he and Adam finally got together, I was gushing so much with feelings I nearly dunked the rag I was cleaning with into the toilet. Also, taking a flask with herbal tea in it to a party is now one of my main stratigies when I go to college

Adam: once again, I love this boy and would do anything for him. He is so sweet and very relatable. Having depression is very difficult, especially when your partner can’t quite understand your feelings. However, Caleb always makes an attempt to understand and talk with him. I’m so glad that Adam was a much bigger part of this podcast than I expected, because I truly love him and he and Caleb are such a good couple together. I cry every time at “You keep me green.”

Chloe: ACE PRIDE ACE PRICE ACE PRIDE!!!! God, I love how diverse the cast is with their sexualities in this show!!! Chloe is confirmed to have multiple past boyfriends and girlfriends, all while being ace and not having any intrests in having sex with them! It’s so good to see this kind of representation and I wish there was more of it in mainstream media. Chloe has such a big and beautiful and loving heart and I love her so much as a character! I could probably listen to an entire podcast just about her and Frank’s art adventures.

Frank: A smaller role in this podcast, but an important role nonetheless. Without Frank, many things would be left unanswered and the fact that whe know normal people can be inhanced and become atypical is a very interesting topic that I really hope comes up in The AM Archives. He and Chloe’s relationship is so pure and I just think that they are the best best friends ever.

Damien: oh, this man. I have a love/hate relationship with this man. His character is so solid, his morals are grey, leaning into black, but towards the end of the podcast he gets a redemption I never saw coming, to the point where I can truly say that I would love to listen to a podcast about Damien tracking and coping without his ability. He’s a very good antagonist and though he isn’t the main one, is my absolute favorite.

Mark: I love Mark. I love everything about his character, to his enthusiasm about the 21st century, to his relationship with Joan and Sam, to his voicemail. God, I love his voicemail. This man is pure comedy and hurt and I love him so dearly. I hope that his art helps him begin to cope and I hope that he and Sam get back together as some point in The AM Archives, because I love them so much together.

Wadsworth: Ah Yes, the Queen bitch. I hate this woman’s guts for everything that she has done because she is unapologetically evil and confident. She is such a good antagonist and I hope to never hear her appear in The AM Archives, but let’s be real, she probably will at some point. I hate this woman, but god, did her actress do a good job portraying an outstanding villain.

Green: Owen is a morally grey character and, for a really long time throughout the podcast, I hated his guts. I groaned right along with the characters whenever he called. But towards the end of the podcast, I fell in love with this goofy and morally grey guy. I’m so happy that he’s the director of the AM now, because I know he, Sam, and Bright will do amazing things.

Rose: We didn’t get to know Rose very much, but boy am I glad that she is there. Without her, we never would’ve gotten such an amazing 50th episode! The music in that episode was amazing and gorgeous and if I had money, I would be listening to those songs until my ears bleed. I love the blend of specialities we have in this show, with Chloe being ace, Mark being Bi, Damien being Pan (I think? Though it’s never really confirmed what his sexuality is), and Rose being lesbian. I hope we get more of her in The AM Archives.

*Bonus Episode Characters*

Myra: Yes, The mom character. Myra is a very interesting character, What with her past of abuse and her astrial projection. She loves her daughter very much and I know that she is a good mother and a good person.

Melanie: This character is a prime example of what it is like to be apart of the LGBTQ+ community in a dangerous country such as Iran and Seria. She falls in love with a girl from her dig team and I gushed at the clouds parting to reveal the stars. I wish for a day where everyone in the LGBT+ community can be safe and love who they love.

Austin: I would die for this child. I love this child and if anything were to happen to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.* I know how it feels to feel like you’re invisible. I lost a lot of friends this year, so walking around, it felt like I wasn’t even there. But I love Austin so much. He is such a sweet boy with a big heart and has great taste in music. I would love to hear an episode with Dr. Bright rocking out to P!ATD.

Lou: *see Austin* Lou is such a sweet girl and I am so glad that her episode was made. Loosing a friend is hard, especially when you know you can never see them again. I lost a friend this year, not to cancer but due to school drama, and it hurt quite a lot. But I am glad she is using her ability to do something to help the eart and I’m glad she is slowly moving on.

Victor: I’m not quite sure of what I think about Victor. He’s an interesting character with a morally grey past, but I can’t help but smile at the fact that he and his sister are finally reconnecting after so long. Family is very important I’m my culture, though as I learned, family isn’t nessicarily the one you’re born into, but the people you love the most in the world.

Arthur: I can’t not head Zach Valenti’s voice and think of Eiffel from Wolf 359. So I will forever headcannon that they are the same person.

Rory: *see Austin* when I think of Rory, I think of this cute yet badass teen rocking a leather jacket and red streaks in her hair. Her ability is distructive, but I’m so glad that she’s learning to control it properly.

Niko: *see Austin* Non-binary pride, bitches! As someone who’s best friend is trans, I absolutely adore this character! They’re voice and their humor and everything just makes me grin ear to ear. I want more Niko in my life and would gladly listen to anything to do with them.

Vanessa: Chloe’s Mom has got it going on, guys! Man, I love the chemistry that her and Joan have. They are just such good friends and I laughed so much during this episode. I also cried when the death of Chloe’s sister was finally explained. I would gladly listen to a podcast where it’s just Joan and Vanessa shorting the shit together. They are my brOTP and I live for it.

[yayabones]

Thoughts on Shadow Sistxrs Fight Club

As an artist, i often think about what my dream art project would be :

~immersive 

~empowering

~inspiring

~ethical

~challenging

~educational

A project i have dedicated most of my 2017 to is, for me at least, the very epitome of the above!

For the uninitiated, Shadow Sistxrs Fight Club is a physical and metaphysical self defence class for women, non binary people and QTIPoC.

It was born out of the idea to create a safer space to learn self defence. i am a confident person, but often I find it daunting entering new environments, especially if i know it may be kinda br0-heavy or a white dominated space. i thought it’d be amazing to have a space that combines the esoteric wonderment of magick with the empowering physical feelings of martial arts. a space where women, non binary people queer witches and QTIPoC could commune together, exploring our interests in the occult as a collective, helping each other learn, heal and create. 

I knew nothing about martial arts, so i turned 2 the internet calling out for a “WoC martial artist, bonus points if they’re a witch”. Monique Etienne and I found each other and Shadow Sistxrs was borne.

When we embarked on our first round of classes ( a 7 week course, each based on 1 of the 7 chakras ) both Monique and I had very little experience facilitating any form of classes. There were so many things we had to learn and our first series of classes were incredibly challenging, yet deeply rewarding. We would leave each class in ecstasy, feeling nourished by the collective energy created in the class. We dived in hearts first. We gave all our emotions to every class. Without any prior training in trauma therapy or professional healing, as the series unfolded, a set of big lessons lay ahead of us. 

We developed a safer spaces policy that all members have to read before entering class, and with the help of my labradorite stone, i learnt to set boundaries between my emotions, and my role as facilitator. 

As we come to the end of our 3rd series of classes, i reflect at how far Moni and i have come as facilitators, and am proud of our insight and dedication to maintaining a safer space for our sistxrs.   

As we have learnt through this process, there is no real safe space. As complex and varied beings, with a plethora of experiences, differentiating boundaries and unique needs, one person’s safe space may not be safe for another person. We can, however, strive for a space where there is clear communication of the intended healing and nourishing atmosphere, and allowing each individual the time and space to take time out if some thing is triggering or taxing

SSFC has been a channel for me to explore my interest in herbalism in more depth. It has given me a platform in which this hobby is praised and not pushed aside. Each week i will prepare a herbal tea blend and delve into my books to revise the medicinal and magical benefits of the herbs, their planetary ruler and ancient traditional uses. I take no credit for this knowledge, as it is widely available online and in herbal books. But having a space where i can relay this knowledge, in hopes that the stories of these herbs can be passed on, shared and made commonplace again. 

Something we emphasise in our manifesto is “every shadow sistxr has wisdom and knowledge to share”. I have learnt so much from our classes and most of those lessons have come from my fellow sistxrs. Wether it be Bea Xu sharing with us a traditional use of the Yarrow stalk in China was to create the hexagrams when divining with the i Ching, or Billie reminding us that an ancient use of incense was to keep the journeyer grounded to earth while they ascend the astral realms. The relationships we have built through communing together in this way are so sacred. I am honoured and grateful to all the sistxrs who have shared their presence, even if just for one session!

I love and loathe social media simultaneously, but i can thank it eternally for bringing Monique and I together to create SSFC. Monique is something special. as Sirin Kale wrote in her Broadly article about our class : “Etienne has the charisma of a cult leader and the practiced intensity of a top athlete. I don't exercise or own a DVD player, but if she brought out a fitness DVD, I'd buy it.” i know Moni squirmed at the thought of herself being depicted as a butch cult leader, but I think this description is perfect (soz mon). Each class Moni teaches, she is learning more about her own practice. having to simplify moves that she has been drilling for years, and explaining them to a coven of novices gives you a different perspective on the technique. Teaching martial arts to a group of people whose primary interest isn’t fitness, but healing and protection. Monique sees deeply into the spiritual benefits of martial arts, and shares these insights with us. One quote i will never forget ( and i searched frantically for a pen after she said it to write down in my SSFC handbook ) : “your structure is not weak, its just stronger in a different way”

As the year came to a close in 2017, I reflected upon my past year, and a strange anxiety fell upon me. I looked back and criticised myself for not making any (physical) ‘art’ since my YSP residency in March. Raised typically Chinese, I am taught to judge my success on my physical output and achievements. But my whole year has been focused on something much larger than a sculpture that will not get sold and eventually will rust away. I have been investing so much time, energy and soul into this art project, my dream art project. An immersive, empowering, inspiring, ethical, challenging and educational piece. Relational aesthetics some art theorists might say. I don’t know, but Shadow Sistxrs is not just the sum of Monique and my dedication, it is made manifest by the incredible souls that are drawn to the class. The sistxrs who delve into the mysterious and possibly daunting, and come to an unknown place, with unknown people, to share their hearts, their power and their wisdom, and leave with a new coven of Sistxrs.

~we are the shadow sistxrs, and we are the protectors of our own souls~

[somuchbetterthanthat]

What do you think the barricade boys would be like today. Like with everything going on.

I was thinking about this, and I thought “oh my god, I have zero idea, that’s why it’s so hard to really write les amis in modern AU” but, I can try to actually give the beginning of an answer (and I’m ready to hear everybody’s opinions on this, really, because I think, depending our own situations, we’re gonna imagine something different for all of them.). This turned extremely long.. sorry.

I think the easiest to pin down are Feuilly and Grantaire, to be honest. 

Grantaire, would be That Guy who never went to vote to an election because “what’s the point? They’re all the same.” Or maybe, the first time he was able to vote was for a presidential, he voted someone, they didn’t pass (or they did and disappointed him) and he was disappointed and he went “whatever, voting is not as cool as I was told it would”. Grantaire won’t say he avoids the news because the bullshit around him actually affects him, and he totally won’t ever admit how much he loves being friends with people who ARE optimist and who sees humanity’s beauty and want to make things better. Grantaire is also the guy who is Totally in Favour of Women’s Rights, Especially the Sexual Liberation Part of It *wink wink*. He… probably had unfortunate sentences like “girls don’t like the nice guys, they just want assholes” (i mean he basically already say unfortunate things like that in canon). Irma probably said once to him “Dude, you are an asshole, and I don’t see women running to your feet, so shut the hell up.” In my opinion, he’s also a white man in his twenties, with all the blind prejudice it can bring. He’s bi, but not that comfortable with it. 

Feuilly, and dear god will I fight anybody on this if I must, is a STUDENT. (Or was a student, depending on which age you give them). Feuilly still struggles with money, because he’d live in fucking Paris, but Feuilly would NOT struggle to study, because FRANCE’S UNIVERSITIES ARE CHEAP (in comparison to some other countries, I mean), and also there are different financial help for people like Feuilly who don’t have the financial means to pay everything from their pockets. It’s still highly probable Feuilly would work anyway, probably in retail or tutoring!, though. Feuilly would spend his time reading and Getting Angry or Passionate about everything that’s going on in the world, that won’t change in our modern world. It’s not about Poland anymore, but oh man Feuilly would rant hours on the situation of Syrians refugees. He probably sat in baffled, horrified silence after Trump’s election. He makes sure people know about what happens in countries the media aren’t interested in. In fact, I could see him write long articles on international problems. 

To be honest, I really don’t know If I can do this for all of les amis (perhaps not as detailed). A lot of this is only my personal opinions on how they might be in modern France. 

In a world where Law school isn’t the only available school for people who don’t want to graduate for School, what do Bossuet and Bahorel do? I can see them, of course, going to university, again and again, but? Would they really not get a diploma…? I mean, okay, poor Bossuet probably doesn’t because of Circumstances, but for Bahorel, I don’t know - he can still have gone to study Law in the first place, find it filled with Terrible Arrogant Competitive People, went “nope” and just. Tried a lot of other things, accidentally majored and got a diploma in at least two of them, and somehow ends up with the most diploma in the group???? Which is baffling because Bahorel would also clearly be a Stylist. He has a page and everything. People don’t get it. I dunno. 

Concerning politics activity, Bahorel would still be the person who Knows Everybody In Paris, which means he goes from group to group - Bahorel probably knows the most radical leftist you can find in Paris, and he has tried to infiltrate an extreme-right meeting once or twice (but that ended up badly). Bahorel probably is the Main Messenger of l’ABC. He’s also probably very good at corrupting students and making them think “maybe being Far Left is actually quite cool”

Jehan probably is vegan? I have no idea what radical art movement is actually scandalizing the Good Society, but he’s probably part of that in some way (with Bahorel). Street art..? I truly have no idea here, so I won’t embarrass myself trying to say something. He still writes a lot of poems, he’s still very erudite, and he’s probably still very rich. He probably gives a lot of money to charity - for women, children, and animals, and he’s an active participant in at least one of them. He’s very big on the “nature doesn’t belong to human and we should be respectful of it” sustainable development movements. 

… Of course les amis would probably all be for sustainable development cause they’re not idiots but. you know.

I can’t see Joly as anything else than a doctor, and I tend to think he’d go for caring for kids in particular. He’s good with them. To be honest, when it comes to politics, Joly and Bossuet are the hardest for me to pin down - I have zero doubt they’re as invested as the others, but I don’t think they’d have as much “clear” role if you know what I mean? Joly probably organizes things for the children at hospital, like having people come here to visit them and make them laugh (Bossuet would probably help with that, and, in fact, probably so would Grantaire), or making sure they can see That Movie that just got out, etc. Joly would also be highly invested in the cause of nurses, which are having a hard time in France right now. Bossuet, drawing from his own experiences, would probably help people in situation of poverty - homeless people, etc. Perhaps he’d help in Le Refuge, which is an association that helps lgbt kids in France who are homeless. 

As for Joly, I can’t see Combeferre as anything else than a doctor, apart if he’s a teacher. Combeferre could totally be a teacher. however, Combeferre would probably be a family doctor, after trying a lot of different specialization. In fact, Combeferre probably went for medicine after trying a bunch of other things, and probably did at least two years of “prépa” (I have zero idea how to explain what it is. Two years of school that prepares you to a test that will allow you to enter prestigious schools all over france?) in like, physics or something because he used to plan to become a scientist. Combeferre is fascinated by technology and how it can help; probably works on making teleportation a thing during lost hours; has contacts all over the scientist words, and spends a lot of time with Jehan speaking about how we could actually already put into place green energy all over the world. Combeferre also tutors kids, he’s involved in feminist groups, and of all his friends, he is the most socialist while everybody else is pretty far into radical left.

Would Courfeyrac be a lawyer? Honestly, I could see it! There is something about Courfeyrac that feels right about this, choosing to defend the innocent and all, he’s a paladin isn’t he - of course he would be a real life lawyer, not a fictional one, and I don’t know exactly which branches of law exists for him in modern-france, but he would be for the one who comes closest to helping either children, group of people being wronged, etc. He probably also gives free lawyer advice for those who don’t even know perhaps they hAVE rights. Courfeyrac would deal with everything social media in the group, and he would still have an uncanny eye to notice people that might fit and belong in their group. He’s charming in a less intense way that Enjolras might be, which makes him an easy “first contact”. 

 As for Enjolras, well, duh, he’d be a printer. He’d be involved in particular with everything that touches the right of workers, what the EU means for France’s companies, and what generally speaking international market do for workers that might not have a chance to fight against the competitive prices of other countries. Chances are, the printshop would also have an editorial branch to it, too. Which brings me to my point-

I think les amis de l’ABC would have a newspaper of sort: they’d started with a blog, and somehow it turned into a very political, humanist newspaper, of which Enjolras would be the principal editor: all of les amis might write articles from times to times - Bahorel, Bossuet, Courfeyrac and Jehan are the one who find other authors to fill in. Grantaire probably writes the horoscope, and it is mocking and still very PoliticalTM, but the tone is humouristic and there are a lot of puns and les amis are much too weak for puns.  

They would also have a branch dedicated to tutoring students of all ages, particularly in “difficult neighborhoods” (which would go hand in hand with Valjean’s center, which is a vague idea of mine that i like). That’s Combeferre and Feuilly’s responsibilities, though Joly chimes in when he can, as well as Courfeyrac and Enjolras. 

They would, obviously, protest - that’s a French Given. They would be, as I said, very active on social media (Courfeyrac on youtube, please and thank you, videos of Enjolras speaking, etc.). A lot of their stance might be on visibility and education: which wouldn’t stop them from direct action when it needs to happen. Les amis de l’ABC would very much be far left, though I don’t think they would like the idea of two big parties anymore, because that’s a feeling that every french people feel nowadays, i think, or so it feels anyway. 

And while I said “he” all the while in this post, because I put them all from canon to modern era, obviously not all of them would be “he”. Les amis de l’ABC would be boys, girls, trans, non-binary, they’d be white or black or brown-skinned, atheists, muslims, catholics, jewish people, etc. Les amis de l’ABC would be very diverse. Also, probably bigger than they were in canon-era - apparently there wasn’t that much of them because of political restrictions of the time-period, but nowadays they could be as much as they can freely, so, there’s that.  Of course, that doesn’t change the idea that Enjolras, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Feuilly, Bahorel, Jehan, Bossuet, Joly and Grantaire might be the “core” of their association/group. 

I don’t… actually know if that answer your question at all? I hope so?