#it would have been transphobic but at least made sense

[theradicalace]

people on tiktok are literally deranged

[chatonfils]

Starting off by saying I hate “mom Danny” bc it tends to be p transphobic and misgendering, so if anyone adds it to my post I’m blocking them.

Tim making his Kon clone baby, but the cloning chamber isn’t stable enough for the fetus. He’s desperately trying anything that he think might work, when he comes across Phantom. Phantom who has experience with stabilizing clones.

Danny had heard whispers through the grapevine (Ellie who’d joined the Teen Titans as Phantasm) that there was someone attempting to make clones. He’d only meant to snoop and see if it was a Vlad situation. If any clones had been made and needed liberating. What he found was a newly minted Red Robin crying over a red blinking message on a cloning chamber. He warbled a quiet “please, Kon, I don’t want to live without you.”

Danny quickly realizing this wasn’t an attempt to replace and destroy, but actually someone grieving, in probably an unhealthy way, but who was Danny to judge, he’d once replaced Sam and Tucker with robots for less. So he decided to help Red Robin out. Sure, he hadn’t dealt with kryptonian dna before, but he was at least 89% sure halfa dna was way more complicated. And Red Robin had already figured out ways around the dna shenanigans, it was just the stability that wasn’t going well. Honestly, he didn’t think it would be as easy as an ecto dejecto like it had been for Ellie. But his parents had a lot of inventions that they’d started making to help out ghosts, once they’d realized Danny was Phantom. Maybe telling Red Robin about ghost IVF wasn’t his most thought through plan.

“I think what might help is an incubator.” Phantom had suggested.

Tim could only gesture at the cloning chambers that had failed him thus far. They were essentially huge incubators.

Phantom awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “I meant, like, a living incubator. Like a surrogate.”

“Where am I going to find someone that I not only trust to carry the baby, but also would volunteer?” Tim raised an eyebrow at him. Hell, had Tim had the equipment to do so, he would have carried the baby, everything else be damned. He just didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Phantom blushed green and looked away. “It might take a little tinkering with the embryos to work with the physiology, but…. I could carry the baby for you. I mean, I’m trans, and even if I wasn’t, ghosts are kind of malleable in a reproductive sense. And there are options for IVF in ghost science. And like, my own clone is like my little sister. I’m also a protection spirit, so I would protect the baby with my entire afterlife. And I’m kind of rambling so you should say something before I embarrass myself.”

“You would be willing to carry a baby for me?” Tim was shell shocked by the offer.

“I mean, yeah. You’re a good guy. You’re not cloning him for a malicious reason. You’re just trying to bring back a piece of your friend because you love and miss him. Dedication that strong for someone who has left the living plain, is admirable. You realized early on that you wouldn’t be able to increase the speed in which the clone grew. You’ve been trying despite knowing that this clone will be a baby that’s going to be your child, and not just the friend you lost. And I wouldn’t mind giving up my body for a little bit so you can make your family.”

Tim certainly hadn’t meant to surge forward and kiss Phantom. “Thank you.” Tim pulled Phantom into a fierce hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

It took about a month for them to work out the kinks of making the baby safe for Danny’s body. In this time, Danny showing Red Robin his human form, and Tim revealing his own identity. It felt kind of wrong to keep his name from someone he intended to get pregnant with his child. Tim and Danny got close as they worked together on the baby. And there may have been a few more kisses shared between them. In the end, the baby ended up spliced with mostly Kon’s dna, some of Tim’s (to stabilize the kryptonian dna), and some of Danny’s (to keep the baby safe in the womb).

Once Danny was well and truly pregnant, he encouraged Tim to find Bruce. “I’ll keep the baby safe. You find your dad. If you need me for anything, I’m only a call away.” Tim hadn’t forgotten about Bruce, he’d just never thought it would take so long to set up cloning Kon. So much of his hurt and loneliness had fallen away in Danny’s presence, and Danny had let him hyper focus on making their baby.

“Probably terrible timing, but I’ve got to ask,” Tim swallowed nervously. “Be my boyfriend?”

Danny’s lopsided smile, thawed Tim’s nerves. “I think I could work with that. I hope you don’t mind kids though, I’m kind of pregnant.”

Tim huffed a laugh. “I’ll keep in touch while I’m away. Please keep me updated on the baby.”

Danny pulled him into a proper kiss, “I will.”

I’m mostly imagining Tim getting bump update photos and falling in love with his increasingly pregnant boyfriend, while he finds Bruce.

I’m also imagining after Bruce is back, Tim being like, “anyways gtg, my boyfriend is in his third trimester and I don’t want to miss the birth of our baby.” And peacing out before any bats could react, let alone stop him.

And also maybe when Kon comes back, there’s maybe a poly relationship started.

Also thinking about Tim getting Danny pregnant without the science.

Danny gets Dad, Tim gets Papa, and if Kon joins, he gets Poppy.

[carigm]

About Dyersfilm’s “leak”

For all of you who don’t know, dyersfilm is an insufferable individual who used to go by the name of swiftlynatalia. She is racist, homophobic, transphobic, and even made fun of her supposed favorite actress’ eating disorder. However, people on Twitter (especially mlvns) entertain her because she had reliable sources during the filming of S4, and after during post production. She had some true leaks, many being the same that Reddit got right, while others only she had. She was also wrong about quite a few things, but generally she was reliable.

It is worth noting though that she is extremely biased against byler (many of the leaks she got wrong for S4 were pertaining their storyline) and absolutely hates the ship.

This time around, she was getting some leaks during the first couple of months of filming to her curious cat, but she herself claimed that these were not reliable leaks whatsoever and that she was pissed because this time she doesn’t have access to the real sources she had for S4. She has complained about this repeatedly for these past few months. The leaks she has gotten tho, many she has mocked and made fun of because they don’t align with what she wants from the show. She also made a “disclaimer” when the show started filming again that she would not be posting leaks about Byler because she hates us all, and yet every single one of those most likely fake leaks she got she posted, and many of them talked about Byler. She would post them and mock them for “clearly being untrue”. She has barely gotten a single Mlvn positive leak this whole time, and when she’s gotten at least something that alludes to them having scenes together she immediately ran to post it and alert all her friends, even tho she herself knows all of these are most likely fake.

For weeks now, her curious cat has been dry af because I guess nda’s are stronger this time, or no one wants to leak shit to her (she’s rude as hell). she posted the following ask 10 days ago. Someone asked her if she knew about any Mike and El scenes and she said no. Keep this in mind for what’s coming next…

Then suddenly yesterday, she alluded to a Jonathan spoiler she’s supposedly pissed about, but refused to post it like she’s done for everything else. People quickly thought it might involve Byler because she said she wasn’t going to post “leaks” about it, even though she had already lol. So they asked her and she said that “yes, it has to do with Byler.”

Then shortly after this someone asked about Mlvn again, this was just today. Again, note how she proceeds to say she knows nothing about Mlvn 😭

Bylers on Twitter noticed her answers about Mlvn and her comment about a supposed byler leak involving Jonathan and started speculating. She ofc noticed this, and not even after an hour of her saying she knows nothing about Mlvn she goes on to say this.

….

She knows nothing but somehow she knows Mlvn is stable? The bipolar disorder of these answers could rival my own bipolar.

Mind you, we all know that she would’ve jumped up at the first opportunity to post any leak that implied Will was pining and miserable, her and her friends would’ve had a field day over it. And yet, she only clarifies this after…

Not to mention how utterly ridiculous this all is. They’ve filmed stuff up until episode 4 (from what we know), why the hell would Will be pining and hung up over Mike if Mlvn is endgame? That makes absolutely no fucking sense. They would have him immediately fully patch things up with Mike and move on, not be hung up on someone he can’t have in the middle of an apocalypse. Especially not after the Duffers said he’s getting a happy ending. Will getting a happy ending but still being in love with Mike halfway through the last season with Mlvn being endgame is absolute lunacy.

Especially when you consider the fact that narratively, in a sense, Will has already moved on. He doesn’t expect anything from Mike, he doesn’t think Mike can like him back. He saw Mike confess his love in front of El, he helped that confession happen. Will literally has no problem with Mlvn anymore pls 😭 He saved them!!

This is the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever read.

Will is somehow upset at Mike not feeling the same way…when Will already believes Mike doesn’t feel the same and doesn’t ever expect any reciprocation 😭

Either she’s wildly twisting this supposed leak out of context to fit her own perceived narrative of what should happen, or she’s straight up lying about this.

And we know she’s lying about Mlvn so…you people decide what you think of this buffoonery lol.

Wait for Reddit leaks y’all. This woman could get a legit leak saying Byler is endgame and dig her own grave before posting it.

[genderkoolaid]

hi! your blog's been encouraging to me as a trans guy, but i've recently felt that i should no longer call myself that/should just "go back to" being a girl, and idk if my train of thought makes any sense...so i just wanted to ask someone w more experience (but feel free to ignore this rant/call me out if im not making sense btw)

so yeah, my cousin's been out to me as a (binary) trans man for a few years now, and in trying to find understanding, i came out to him a few months later, but got a very flat/kinda disgusted reaction. despite my consistent support for him over the years, he has continued to "joke" about my looks/short hair and dismisses any attempts at serious conversations or even just jokes about gender/being a guy too. he also calls me things ive told him makes me uncomfortable (gender-wise) and then acts like it means nothing. he generally brushes me off by telling me to stop trying to compare myself to him, and is either prickly about it or just in-your-face "idgaf what you're talking about and i'm tired of you." it barely hurts me anymore, but ive felt connected to trans-ness for so many years (longer than id even known he was too) and his reaction to this part of me has honestly made me wonder if i'm just making it up/am trying too hard or something,,,like maybe i'm just trying to cover for being a gross 20-somethings woman ?? idk ?

i'm probably just being over-sensitive, and i dont feel it's outright malicious or anything (maybe he just doesn't think/care about it as much as me?), but i have nobody else to ask (no irl friends/people im out to) and i'm currently renting/living with him, which has brought these worries to the forefront. thanks if youve read this far, but please don't feel pressured to respond!

Your cousin sounds like he has a lot of internalized transphobia he's directing at you. Unfortunately there are trans people who try to prop themselves up and make themselves feel more confident in their transness by tearing down others. You are not being over-sensitive, and regardless of what he thinks he's doing, he's actively being cruel to you. You are well within your rights to be hurt by his actions. Living with someone who is constantly being transphobic to you is traumatizing- detransitioning can be a coping method for those who have to constantly defend themselves from transphobic abuse.

If its possible, I would recommend trying to see if there are any queer orgs in your area you could connect with (physically or online). At the least, you may find some people who can give you emotional support, and they also may be able to find you a better living situation. Even if that's not possible right now, keep reminding yourself that his behavior is cruel and you are allowed to be upset about it. You do not need to take any of his opinions on your gender seriously. You are not making up your transness or trying too hard. You are not over-sensitive, you are being hurt.

[velvetvexations]

i feel really selfish saying this, but i really wish there were more general trans movies with characters who aren't trans women. like, i'm really glad that they're there and there should be more, but on the other hand, its kinda all thats there? obviously there ARE movies like this, but 9 times out of 10 when there's a recommendation to go see a trans movie, its either a trans women or a character heavily implied to be a trans women there. and i'm really glad those movies are there! but i'd just wish there could be a big discussion about movie and there would be a trans man or a nonbinary person representing the community.

(this also goes for other types of media too)

i sent an ask complaining about how the majority of trans movies that the community talks mainly show trans women and i wanna take that back cause a lot of those media are shitty towards trans women. i dont think its fair to complain about that when those media are awful towards trans women. i apologize

anon of the trans ppl in media asks you can publish them! i retracted it cause im kinda emotional rn and i couldn't really remember if i was being fair or shitty

I think what you're forgetting, anon, is that while trans women are depicted badly in a lot of places - less so over the years, people mainly reference things from the previous century - there's still way more positive transfem rep than there is of anything for transmascs, and that doesn't mean transfems have it better, but as always hyper-visibility and invisibility are two sides of the same coin. It's okay for invisibility to not feel good. There should indeed be more media about transmascs.

Now I'm finally doing that. This year I made my first ever hand sewn cosplay. There are definitely mistakes, but it's pretty sturdy and I can't express the sheer sense of pride I got from wearing something I sewed myself. There are some things I wanna tweak on it, like I must have made a mistake when measuring the waistband because it's WAY too thick. But it's functional, it's accurate, and it even has a zipper! It was expensive because of course for my first ever sewing project I picked a character with a pleated skirt (you need 3x your waist in fabric and im fat which definitely adds up lmao, plus i got the fabric custom printed from a print-on-demand company) and the pleats took forever to do. But I'm so so so proud of it. I'm looking into armor crafting with EVA foam for a future cosplay, and it's intimidating but I'm really excited at the idea of working with it. I've seen so many amazing armor sets and props made with EVA foam and I can't wait to make my own. I'm thinking I'm gonna cosplay Maple from BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense.. Then again, that might be jumping off straight into the deep end again like I did for the last cosplay since she has a GIANT shield. At least I'm sticking to her main outfit, not the one with giant angel wings lmao. I may have watched several videos on wing crafting but even I'm not brazen (or stupid) enough to try making those for only my second real cosplay lmao. Anyway this has been your regularly unscheduled cosplay info dump. Thank you for tuning in, we'll see you next time!

Ambitious! I hope it all turns out great, it sounds like a lot of big projects to have on one's plate.

My opinions are a lot more nuanced than most takes on 'shipcourse' that ive seen, but I've gathered that im generally included when people say 'proshippers dni' based on how people define it in said dnis. I'm not gonna purposefully interact with someone who obviously doesn't want me there. But that makes it frustratingly difficult to find people to follow who also believe in things like transandrophobia. It happens all too often that I find someone with great takes and go to follow them, then see that they have a dni that includes me. It especially sucks when all the other things in the dni are things like "racist" and "transphobic". I'm sorry, but I just can't see having a nuanced opinion on fiction as being on the same level as being a bigot towards others. It sucks to be put on the same level as actively hateful people because I have concerns about the normalization of censorship. I believe that when you open the doors to censoring media because of morals, you set the groundwork for things like the Hays Code. Censorship has always been disproportionately used to silence marginalized groups. I just can't get behind that, no matter how 'noble' the intentions behind it might be.

If it helps any, I'm also what one would call a pro-shipper but find the word itself beneath my dignity because I think it's ridiculous it's an argument in the first place.

[cure-icy-writes]

Penny's trying her best to reconnect with her father.

Penny is trying, she's really trying, and she wants to reconnect with her family. She's introduced her dad to Arven, who's clearly starving for parental affection, and she's invited Nemona on one of their Galarian raid adventures. She even brought Juliana over once or twice.

All of her friends say about the same thing. Your dad is really cool, Penny. You're lucky to have him. Arven acts like an old man and is already developing dad hobbies, Nemona is the perfect enthusiastic daughter that Penny could never be, Juliana has a good-natured personality and is willing to try anything at least once.

It's just… Penny isn't any of those things, not really. She's quietly snarky and kind of a bitch sometimes. She's introverted and likes her veevees more than people. She's fatigued easily and doesn't know how to communicate, so she does shit like pressuring Juliana into a series of heartbreaking battles because she doesn't know how to talk to her friends.

She wonders, sometimes, why people still like her or hang around. She's depressed and self-loathing to the point of toxicity, feeling guilt for so much as touching people.

"Man, you need to get better taste if you consider me a friend," she joked once, to Juliana.

Juliana had just… slowed down. And stopped. Which was a crucial mistake that made Penny feel like launching herself off a cliff. (Not that she'd die, just that it would be a way to escape the social situation.)

"Well, maybe I'm allowed to like whoever I want," she said, quietly at first, then her face screwed up. "I want to yell at you sometimes, that hey! You're liked, actually, and it's frustrating that you won't accept that!"

"Sorry." Poison, poison, poison. That's all she feels like she's made of. Unwanted muk.

"I'm sorry too."

"Why?" It came out more sarcastic than Penny had intended. Why would anyone apologize to me? I'm good at enduring it. I can endure so much. Why would you treat me with this softness?

"Because you deserve better," Juliana said.

If she's poison, if she deserves it, then it makes sense. She knows how to cope with enduring the shame and the guilt. She doesn't know how to cope with knowing full well the weight of what was done to her. She can only ever handle it when it's buried under layers of dissociation and metaphor.

She didn't know how to respond to that. It was a compliment, but she doesn't know how to accept those. Even when her dad compliments her, and her dad is the most genuine person she knows, she just feels an overwhelming wave of embarrassment.

"Do I?" Penny had asked.

"Yes. And just because you've been made to feel like that, doesn't change the fact that you deserve nice things."

Penny had sat with that for a while, thinking about her therapist from Galar who never got far with her anyways because she didn't trust anyone. About the time she cut her hair short, thinking that maybe if she just conformed, she'd be left alone.

It didn't help, in the end. The bullies just found some new attribute to pick on. She thinks those sorts of people are like Sharpedo with the scent of blood, who figure out you're trans and autistic long before you realize it yourself. If she'd come out as trans back then, she would have had the protection of a label and a community, and no one wants to be labeled a transphobe but everyone's eager to harass the guy who is just a bit too feminine.

Making herself miserable in advance never stopped anyone else from tormenting her. Pre-emptive punishment for her own perceived failure was never a viable strategy, and now she's left at a safe school with people who want to be her friends, flinching at shadows. And it's not fair to anyone.

She knows that she's damaged, she's not worthy of calling herself traumatized but she does feel fundamentally altered. Stunted. She doesn't know how to interact with genuine kindness.

But she wants to learn, damnit. She wants to believe that maybe the world doesn't hate her. So she asks her dad for help, for the first time in years.

He's overbearing as usual, broad movements and loud voice. She positions herself against the wall and wears her headphones, fidgeting with the dial so it cancels just enough noise but not too much.

"I'm really proud of you, Penny," he says, ruffling her hair. "Look at you! Getting your own furniture, that's a sign that you're becoming an adult. I can't believe my little girl's growing up so fast!"

"It's… not that," she mumbles. "Just. Arven's helping me clean. I wanted to get some of the dust out and sort some piles."

"Arven, huh?" Her dad's working on building the frame of the bookcase, while she's dusting off her books and measuring and figuring out how to sort them. "He's a good kid. Real hard worker, too!"

Penny isn't sure how to explain that it's a trauma response. So she doesn't explain. Except the longer she thinks about it, the more pissed off and frustrated she gets, that Arven has it so bad at home, that he's mature and responsible and won't ever have the chance to be a kid again while she can afford to be a kid for much longer because of her dad's hard work.

"Hey, what's that face for? Turn that frown upside down," Peony jokes, poking at her cheek.

She doesn't smile. "Arven doesn't have a good home life. That's why I invite him over so much." She's fucked things up, she's ruined the mood. This was supposed to be about father daughter bonding and she's dropped this. She's never going to talk about her feelings ever again. Her dad puts down the allen wrench, watching her. She just wants to hide.

"That's good, then. That you're giving him that chance. Ah, I know I'm not the brightest at picking up on these things," he admits, and frankly the autism is probably hereditary but he's not ready for that conversation yet, "but I'll do the best I can, okay? For you, and for your friends. All you have to do is ask."

And asking for help is such a mortifying fucking ordeal that she'd rather swallow a ghost pepper, frankly, but it's supposed to get easier in time. Allegedly. It's such a simple thing, the first thing babies learn, but it's been beaten out of her. She's the sort of girl who can endure anything, who can endure the impossible. But asking for help makes her want to sob.

"I'll try," she says, and this time it's not a platitude but a genuine hope.

[thegoldheartlocketandkey-blog]

It’s been made pretty clear by the fandom, not just Buddie Shippers, that we aren’t really fans of who Buck and Eddie end up with in the finale.

The biggest issue I have with the pairings is that they weren’t worked up, they kind of just showed up and we have no reason to care about them.

If these women are supposed to be endgame, at least give us ample reason to support the choice.

Natalia: They really screwed up her character because there was so much potential in making her interesting and someone we would like to get to know. She’s a death dula and Buck died. Instead of having her tell Buck that it’s so “cool” that he died they could of had her play an active role in having him process his death. I mean they still have the opportunity to do that but after they gave us a cringe date, a recycled story line, but with less depth, they gave us too many reasons to dislike her as a character for me to even see that play out.

They made the same mistake they made with Lucy. Instead of having Natalia be a friend to Buck they force her to be a love interest which adds nothing new to bucks character.

But imagine Buck’s character development if Natalia was a friend. He would have gone from Buck 1.0 ( The guy who only does hook ups), to Buck 2.0 (the guy who just ends up in relationships) to Buck 3.0 (the guy who chooses himself and is able to be friends with a woman).

We can also address the fact that there is a lack of chemistry between Buck and Natalia. The kiss in the finale was awkward and not in a cute endearing way. I will say, I love that she doesn’t look like she could be related to Buck. I’m willing to see their relationship play out during season 7, but I just can’t see it being the end game.

Marisol: Where did she come from. What do you mean this is the girl that has Eddie acting like a middle schooler. She came out of nowhere and we know almost nothing about her, besides the fact that she fixes her brother’s mistakes.

I rewatched Season 6, Episode 5: Home Invasion, where we are first introduced to Marisol and after watching the episode, I believe the fan theory that her brother’s rescue was originally written as a boyfriend being rescued. But after the scenes where already filmed, the writers decided she’d be the love interest so they re-recorded the audio of the scene. I’m serious go back and watch her emergency, there is something off about it.

Marisol to me feels like another Ana. No substance, no reason for me to care about her. They both barely interacted, so their phone call makes less sense the more you think about it.

The same episode where Eddie is told he can’t look for love, he finds what he’s “been looking for”. This feels like Eddie is again only doing what he thinks he is supposed to do. Instead of processing his feelings of loneliness, he’s doing what he thinks the world expects him to do and date someone. He married Shannon because he felt like he had to. He stayed with Ana because he thought it was best for Christopher. And he’s settling for Marisol because he doesn’t want to be alone. None of those reasons are good reasons to pursue someone for a serious relationship.

It’s one thing to have Eddie date because he wants to be outside his comfort zone, meet people, and have fun. It’s a completely other thing to have him date because he feels like he needs to.

The only way to make Marisol a good character is by having her be a person that helps Eddie figure that out. She helps him realize that it’s not just about the end game, but his ability to just enjoy her company and not so worried about what the end result. She can just be someone he dates because she was fun to date. A relationship that shows him that you can have someone be an important part of your journey, but not your end game. Like a summer fling.

Given the fact that the actress who plays Marisol recently reposted a transphobic meme and couldn’t even attempt a sincere apology, I hope we don’t get to see her at all in season 7. She can be explained away by Eddie mentioning her once and just saying it felt promising but she just wasn’t the one. I have no interest in see their relationship play out.

Buddie: In my opinion, the best match for Buck and Eddie will always be each other. The writers have their relationship set up as the perfect slow burn, friends to lover scenario. And even though they screwed up the finale a bit, they can easily correct their wrongs. Buck and Eddie’s chemistry is undeniable and having them end up together would play into their individual story lines so perfectly.

I need this relationship that has developed organically to flourish in Season 7.

I will continue to manifest Buddie and let me use this moment to state couch theory is not dead. Buck will just need to get rid of another couch.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for defending a teacher in my friend group?

Ok, preface : I've stopped bringing this up because I understand it bothers the friends in question. Also, this might be stupid and me overthinking, but it annoys me.

I (18,he/him) am in first year of college and I've made a few friends. Notably, Dan (18M) and Sarah (18F) - fake names obv. Important detail, we're all French in France and we're doing English studies, so French isn't our first language but we're pretty much all bilingual.

One of our teachers, who I'll call M, speaks only in English during our classes, likely because he's American (he understands French and probably knows how to speak it, but his classes are oral practice ones so it makes sense he'd use exclusively English). During one of our first classes, maybe the second or third week, he told Dan to go sit somewhere else because he was being too loud, and that he'd have to stay sitting away from the friend group until the end of the semester.

Dan is understandably upset by this, not incredibly so but you know. Except this really isn't an injustice, like at all? Dan (and Sarah) is very very loud and speaks a lot, generally not of the topic we're supposed to be discussing during the class, and generally in French. During the class when M told him to move, he told him like 3 or 4 times to speak less loud, speak in English, speak of the subject.

I personally think, as an aspiring teacher, that it was smart of M to immediately move Dan instead of giving him chances upon chances continuously until it was the end of the semester and he had disturbed the class all the way, but again - I understand Dan would be upset.

The problem is that I did defend the teacher to Dan and Sarah, who were very adamant that he was being excessive and should have at least given Dan a second chance. Eventually they questioned why I was so passionate about this and I stopped talking about it.

What makes me annoyed is that when I complained about another teacher for taking his powerpoints off the uni's website (out of annoyment that not a lot of people came to his classes - out of all the classes he's one of the few where there's no attendance and you can just. go) Sarah said that actually he was kind of right, and said I was being stubborn about it (because I complained particularly about the fact that this teacher had like an Italian accent which combined with the shit microphone made it difficult to understand what he says).

I'm also kind of worried about something else about all this : me (and M) are white, and Dan and Sarah are black ; the latter two like to joke saying that M is racist (which idc, it's like when I say someone's transphobic for annoying me or smth it's a joke) and stuff and I'm afraid I'm being unconsciously an asshole and on M's side instead of Dan and Sarah's because M's white or smth. I'm probably overthinking it, I'm not racist, none of my entirely poc friend group has ever told me I was being racist except for a joke (the same kind as said earlier) but y'know.

Even more INFO, I know it might just be a question of me actually being too passionate about this, because I get really bothered about this kind of things especially in scholar situations (I tend to defend endlessly and usually uselessly both students and teachers, but usually more students because I've had a lot of shit teachers). Plus, I want to be a teacher, and I've been told a lot growing up to try and put myself in the teachers' place to understand why they do X or Y. On another note, I absolutely do not reproach being loud to Dan and Sarah, I am very loud without meaning to all the time and I talk a lot all the time.

tdlr; aita for being too passionate about defending my teacher's decision to move my classmate?

What are these acronyms?

[noteoftheturnabout]

apocalypsedykelord

fuck it we ball

WHY THE FANDOM DARLING BASIL BONERATH IS NOT TRANSMASC

1. y'all are projecting onto him because you like him.

wouldn't be that bad on its own, do whatever you want forever (I'm going to grit my teeth and grip my phone so hard my screen almost shatters regardless, but it it was just that I'd leave everyone alone about it). we all know that phenomenon, where queer teenagers will see a character they enjoy and will slap a queer label or two onto them regardless of whether it "makes sense" or not. multiple characters in textually homophobic/transphobic franchises have been headcanoned as gay, bi, trans, you name it. male characters with canon female love interests have been made gay, characters whose childhood we've seen in their canon gender have been made trans, - all because the person making the headcanons either finds making the headcanons themselves extremely fun, or because they love the character they're making the headcanons for so much, they want to see themselves represented in this character. and it's fine! really! good even! trans boys/transmascs who saw basil and fell in love with him at first sight, because you think he's quirky, or amusing, or just extremely funny, or interesting, or well written, (or smart.. or misunderstood... or justified...) and now he's a trans man because you said so - I really have nothing against you. however.

2. transmascs and male privilege.

I'll keep this side tangent that has the possibility of being thousands of words long really brief, because I'm definitely in no way shape or form an expert on this topic. do transmasculine people, trans men in particular, have access to male privilege? I'm leaning no. at least definitely not over cis women. this will be useful going forward.

3. basil bonerath and male privilege!

aka, literally in the next sentence. bonerath's entire character is rooted in male privilege and the entitlement that comes with it. he's canonically misogynistic, and the limited line of archetypes women fall into for him is definitely reflective of that. (him dismissing maya more than phoenix because of her age And gender is also definitely reflective or that). he's canonically an entitled, egotistical, entirely self-centered asshole, who feels like the main character of the universe and that the entire world around him exists as a background prop for his story. I mean. hell. his storyline is about him singling out a woman to be his intellectual equal, only on the condition that he fits his idea of that - a stone-cold, perfectly composed, feelingless and dangerous femme fatale, and then murdering her for falling out of this role and expressing weakness, humanity, vulnerability and dare I say, femininity? his and hanma's storyline is specifically about heteronormative relationships under the patriarchy, or, more broadly speaking, gendered dynamics. can we all agree that this behavior is almost exclusively reserved for men?

which trans men are, but this sense of entitlement is either something you're raised with as an award for conforming to patriarchal masculinity, or in the narrative where basil is transmasculine it would be something he specifically chose. he chose to position himself above women, he chose to act like that after he transitioned, getting the most out of the social capital he has gained, knowing that he can get away with it now. escaping womanhood to reap the privileges of manhood - doesn't it seem like a very weird narrative to you? as a person who can maybe kind of call themselves transmasculine, it deeply irks me on a level I can not explain. of course, it's utterly stupid to complain about somebody's literal headcanon being bad trans representation, but there's just one other reason why the story this provides for basil is bizarre.

4. it justifies him (it doesn't).

what do we have, then, if basil is a trans man - why does he act the way he does? out of desperation to prove himself as a man. he is misogynistic out of dysphoria, placing the reason he's not a woman and doesn't feel like one onto the fact that he's smarter and more ambitious than an average woman. he behaves in outrageous ways that are allowed and encouraged in men in a desperate attempt to fit in with them as a social group, to be seen as one of them, to essentially just prove his gender. him being transgender adds a layer of panic, hopelessness, desperate struggle and tragedy to his story, allowing people if not to justify it, then at least feel bad for him. while the Point is that you shouldn't.

he acts the way he does out of desperation to prove himself, period! prove himself to the world as the person he thinks he is, which is - better than everyone else! he struggles not to gain equality, but to gain superiority! he's already on equal footing with all the other men and he wants more. he's already privileged and he wants more. he wants fame and recognition, praise and adoration, his issue is not that he doesn't get his basic objective dignity and achievements acknowledged. even if he thinks what he's asking for and what he wants is entirely reasonable, even if he thinks he Is oppressed - in being a genuis and not having that acknowledged, not for being transgender. he'd be FINE if he didn't do what he did, even if he doesn't think so and thought he had no choice (waow hanma parallel). if you're looking for tragedy in basil there is none - sorry I have to be the one to break it to you. you are obviously allowed to like him, adore him, be insane about him, etc - I'd just prefer it if you did so while seeing him for what he actually is.

[myragewillendworlds]

"Non-binary girl" history anon. Thanks for explaining and for the links to look through! I've been watching the rise of this on Tumblr & LJ for along time, but it was always at a distance, and of course I thought the fad would die immediately so I never thought it was worth digging into back then. I do remember at least a few users using the word "non-binary" to describe their fashion sense on Tumblr before trans* (remember the asterisk?) activism got big here, but maybe they themselves were appropriating that vocabulary from the LJ & DA crowd? It's so hard to untangle this stuff and really makes me wish I had thought to document it at the time, now that I'm trying to explain to people 15 years later that their "gender" started as a fad on LJ and isn't part of some 1000s year old queer history.

I'm not entirely sure when I saw "non-binary" as a term for the first time. I do remember the birth of words like "agender", "bigender" and such, which came before. In general, it started with girls going "I don't think I'm really transgender… but I don't feel like a girl because I like wearing boxers and hate dresses" and them concluding that makes them neither, or both at the same time, or both but they switch depending on whether they feel like putting on make-up or not. Shoving it all under the term "non-binary" came a little later.

This won't particularly make you feel better, but it doesn't matter. It would have made no difference at all if you had painstakingly documented every single thing, screencapped every relevant quote, created a whole timeline on it. The person accidentally "responsible" for spreading the word "demisexual" outside of its niche forum of origin had documented & screencapped every bit of proof that the word was just made up by a 15-year old girl for her monsterfucker RP fanfic. None of the "demisexual" adults who've seen this care that they're using a teenager's childish made-up fantasy word as a serious sexual identity and continue to use it all the same.

But you don't need a history on the origin of these words. You have 15 years of documented non-stop aggressive, transphobic bullying, suicide-baiting and death threats sent by the "non-binary" community to actually transsexual people. You have evidence by the WPATH that the "non-binary" crowd doesn't experience gender dysphoria, the symptom that's clinically required to be present for a diagnosis of transsexualism. You have a community of people that truly believes gender dysphoria doesn't actually exist, transsexualism isn't biological in nature, and gender is something purely cosmetic, malleable and changeable by choice – the exact same arguments made by the equally transphobic and sexist conservative crowd. These are your arguments.

"Non-binary" is an inherently sexist and transphobic concept, one that has been continuously used this past decade to bash, threaten and intentionally trigger actually transsexual people. All that is still as true in the present as it ever was.

[aliorsboxostuff]

Hello. I've been feeling like shit lately, so, if it's not too much to ask, can you write a trans spider reader with miguel comforting him about his dysphoria and transphobic family? Sfw, please. Thank you so much and I hope you have an amazing day/night.

I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK A WHILE, I GENUINELY HAVE GOTTEN TOO CARRIED AWAY IN OTHER STUFF BUT I HOPE THIS SUFFICES! Thank you so much for your ask, and I hope when horrible days bring in dysphoria, this fic can help you go through it just a bit ^-^. I hope you have an amazing day/night too! :D 

All That Matters

Tags: Miguel O’hara and ftm!reader, Miguel and male!reader, Miguel and Spiderman!reader, Platonic fic, Platonic relationship, transphobic background, transphobic family, angst, slight angst, angst to fluff, friends, leaving home, being Out and Proud!, Every Spiderman is respectful or else, Miguel is supportive, Miguel is awkward, He tries his best truly, Hurt to comfort, this goes out to all my FtMs!

As if the trauma of getting bitten by a radioactive spider wasn't enough, the resentment your family has towards you for simply being your authentic self adds to the pile of already growing self-hatred. It didn't take much for you to leave your universe and join the Spider Society. One missed anomaly made its way into your world and the next thing you know you're already situated in the many vacant rooms the Spider HQ provides. 

—

Every Spider-Person comes with a tragic backstory. Their uncle or aunt died, they never got the love of their life, they somehow lost their powers amidst a big fight, they lost to a supervillain, etc. And with every spider-person, comes a bag of unhealed trauma and inner conflict that even Therapist Spiderman can't heal. 

In your case, it was your family. As if the trauma of getting bitten by a radioactive spider wasn't enough, the resentment your family has towards you for simply being your authentic self adds to the pile of already growing self-hatred. It didn't take much for you to leave your universe and join the Spider Society. One missed anomaly made its way into your world and the next thing you know you're already situated in the many vacant rooms the Spider HQ provides. The face of your family, shocked and hurt and confused when you pulled down your mask and left them was the last thing you remembered of them. After moving your scarce belongings, you left your universe without looking back through the portal. 

But somehow, the past always bites back.

It had been a shitty week in general. You misplaced your comfortable binder in the laundry basket and shoved it inside the washing machine along with your other shirts, resulting in the fabric shrinking and making it unusable. So you resorted to your other binder, admittedly, the less comfortable one, but that would have to do until you buy another binder with the same soft fabric your soiled one had. It didn't show awkwardly on the outside, under your suit, or whenever you wear casual clothes around the HQ, so you made do. 

Then, a stray anomaly just had to stumble into your original universe, and while you could've told Miguel you wanted to sit this one out, your adrenaline from the last mission an hour ago hasn't faded yet. To be fair, you'd forgotten the place even existed. So, without much more thinking, you jumped into the portal with Miguel leading and do what you do best—Kick some ass.

But of course, the Spiderman luck just had to spoil the fun.

Miguel was throwing punches and you were swinging from one building to another, trying to push down the prying nostalgia as you passed one apartment to the other. It wasn't until you and Miguel got the anomaly webbed up and ready to be transported back to the base did you caught a familiar face in the corner of your eye. With your spidey senses practically shooting up your spine, you turned to look at the end of the road, just peeking behind a building. 

It's your family member. One of them, at least, from the look of shock on their face, jaws dropped to the floor and eyes shaking. You knew it was them when your blood ran cold. Your eyes meet theirs, and you can feel your stomach drop, bile rising instead. You had to physically look away and focus on Miguel instead who was opening the portal before-

They called out. The name pushes down the nausea but instead raises your blood, curdling it through your veins. You feel your hand curl into fists, breath coming out short. They only ever knew your old name- your dead name. After all this time, even after you left, even after they saw you as Spiderman, they will only ever know you as ‘that little girl who left her family’. If your eyes could pierce through your mask, you'd be giving them a withering stare, arms shaking with restrained anger.

“Let's head back,” The portal hums to life. Something in your chest loosens, and you turn to see Miguel hauling the anomaly like a sack, which makes you huff in amusement. The man turns, before he looks over at you. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine, let's go,” You nodded curtly, letting your muscles loosen. Miguel hums before he enters the portal and you follow behind him. 

Once the anomaly is taken into its cell, you excuse yourself from Miguel and go straight to your room. That rising bile has managed to inch it way closer and you didn't feel like dealing with it at work. Miguel nodded at you and you went on your way, swimming past walkways and other spideys until you reached your quarters. The door slides open after your recognition. The second it closes and locks, you throw off your mask with a growl. It lands near your mirror, just at the foot of it. As you approach it, you notice your reflection, your suit gleams in the afternoon sun, your hair misused from being inside your mask the whole day. You glance over your figure, before you sigh, and head into your bathroom with a shirt and pants in hand. 

When you've changed into your designated oversized shirt and boxers, you were lying on your bed, phone in hand and watching something to get your mind off of the horrible day, a knock alerted you. Then, a voice calls out. “Hey, sorry to bother you, are you in there?”

It’s Miguel, you thought. “Yeah, hold on a sec’,” 

You paused your video and sat your phone down. After sliding to the edge of your bed, you shoot your web at the button that opens your door, and it slides to reveal Miguel in his day clothes. Other than his apprehensive face, his body is trying its hardest to act casually.

“Sorry I-” He takes a breath, his eyes glancing somewhere beside your doorway. “I saw what happened earlier, in your universe.”

A sigh leaves your lips. A soreness suddenly appears on your neck as your jaw locks, before you manage a cough. “Yeah, my bad about that it was-”

“No, I- we didn't know-”

“I should've told-”

“You don't owe me-” With that, Miguel clamps his mouth, before he sighs. You huff out a cut-off laugh before standing and putting your phone on its charging pad, your back against Miguel. “Listen, I don't know what you went through, or how bad it was,”

You turn slightly, eyes cast to your snowy carpet. “But I know no one deserves to be treated the way you were,” 

“If they were the reason you left your universe, I understand. But you're a part of us now, a part of this universe. You’re in the year 2099, we haven't had a problem with transphobes and bigoted people in years, if that makes you feel any better,”

You scoff, blinking the annoying sting behind your eyes. 

“I just want you to know we don't see you any different. We don't see you for your body, your voice, mannerisms, or anything else. What you say your name is, your type of Spiderman, is all that matters. No one pries for no one's business here.” When you raise your head, you find Miguel trying—managing—a small smile, his fang poking out, making you snicker. 

“Lyla told you to do that?” You smirks, before Miguel drops the smile and swipes back a fallen strand of his peppery hair. 

“The smile- yeah, I told her I don't do that. But not… not the rest. I mean that, we all do. It's in the contract,” 

You laugh, and something lifts inside your chest when you what Miguel huff. “Wait- we have a contract?”

“No- never mind that,” He shakes his head, which elicits another chuckle from you. “We don't have a contact but … doesn't make what I said less genuine,” 

It halts your thoughts. A gush of emotions ran through your head, some through your heart which fills it to the brim. You took a breath, once, twice, before managing a solid nod, a small smile on your lips. The man you knew as your boss—the leader, captain, whatever anyone wants to call it—Has always been closed off, doing missions and interacting as needed. You've seen him with Peter B. Or maybe Jessica, but that's all. The fact that he went out of his way, either by his own volition or from Lyla’s pestering, to say what he’d call a ‘supportive’ message, then it worked. Miguel mimics your small smile. He blinks before he leans on your doorway, arms crossed. 

“Anyway, I came to ask if you wanted to join me in the training room. Blow off some steam and all,” 

You answer with a hum. “I guess I could… I’ll get change then,” 

The man nods and moves away from your doorway. Your web dissolves and lets the door slide shut, leaving you in your privacy. You quickly grab your athletic clothes and strip off the shirt and boxers. After putting it on, you find yourself in your mirror reflection. The day hasn't ended yet, but maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

Miguel is waiting opposite your door as it opens. You had your phone and water bottle in hand, and your headphones—One of the only things you brought with you—hung on your neck. “Let’s go,” 

The man nods and walks beside you through the hallway, flicking on his sunglasses as you both make your way to the wider and more crowded walkways. 

Requests are open! remember to reblog!

[comicgeekery]

Sherlock & Co. : The Lion's Mane

I just listened to The Three Students and it gave me the brain fever for this podcast again. Here's my thoughts on The Lion's Mane episodes! 1000 kudos to the writers for making The Lion's Mane actually interesting. It's long been my least favorite Sherlock Holmes story, mostly because it's really stupid. Doyle really cemented the trope of "dude who dies muttering the most obscure possible clue about his death". We get "speckled band", "Ballarat", and "lion's mane" where it would have made way more sense to say "Something bit me", "dick Aussie", and "a goddamn jellyfish"! I appreciate the subversion Doyle did of making it look like there could be a murder but for once it's just an accident, but...it just always super contrived. Anyway, S&C did a brilliant job revamping that story! An entirely new setting, a genuinely intriguing mystery, fascinating cultural exploration, and a solution that was beautifully layered, offering solid twists for new fans and listeners familiar with the original story. I honestly had no idea if an actual jellyfish would be involved by the end, there were so many "lion's mane" red herrings! Then, when there was, there were still very much actual crimes happening! Also, the narration, acting, and music were really on point for conveying the wonder of the sea of jellyfish. Way to make a visual work for an audio medium, team! And smaller detail: We're getting more hints that Mariana's got some secrets. She was obviously reflecting on some stuff that the isolated, insular Scottish town brought up. I'm looking forward to finding out more about her. My only criticism of this adventure is the long bit about Harry Potter stuff. After the transphobic associations of A Case of Identity, I'm really nervous about this podcast being a trans-friendly one. And, sadly, I don't think JKR's work can be suitable separated from her awful, hateful activism. Promoting Harry Potter helps give her more money to put toward passing transphobic legislation and otherwise promoting hate. Besides that, queer content has been pretty minimal on Sherlock & Co. As far as I recall there's only been one explicitly queer character, Sherlock's old friend in The Gloria Scott. It just...has me teetering about whether or not I'm safe listening to this show. I know I've said before that I deeply hope Sherlock and John get together on it by the end, but it's been a long time since I've noticed any vibes that felt flirty between them. Maybe this really is another show where they'll just be friends. Which would be valid, just disappointing. But I hope it isn't at the price of realizing this was never a show for me. Hmm. Wow, real downer of a thought to end this post on! Guess my brain went places! Anyway, The Lion's Mane was overall fantastic and I'm glad I got to hear such a complex re-imagining of the story!

[healingtots]

૮꒰ྀི >⸝⸝⸝⸝< ꒱ྀིა〜♡

Introduction!!

Hi, I'm Kali! I use She/Her/They/Them and He/Him pronouns. This is my petre/agere blog! This is my safe space so please don’t sexualize my regression! I will also mention this... My big age is 25 and my smol age is 2-6. I am also Demi-Pansexual and thus this blog is LGBTQ+ Friendly. So if you are a fellow regressor, a supporter, or coming into my blog with an open mind and aren’t here to judge or harm me or any of my followers... Feel free to pull up a seat and stay a while!

Firstly... My DNI:

N$FW + K!nk blogs (This includes but not limited to... abdl, ddlg and varients, ageplay, petplay, etc.)

MIK (minor in k!nk) or anyone who supports/enables them.

Racists, homophobes, transphobes, etc.

Fatphobes, Sexists, ne0nazis, lgtbq+ exclusionist, etc.

Pro-life supporters.

MAP$/ped0s & those who support/enable them.

Anti-agere/agedre or Anti-petre account.

Anti-furries or if you hate or dislike furries in general.

Anti-Therian, Anti-Therionthropy.

Pr0ana/PrO-ed, $3lf harm, g0re, tr@umacore, etc account.

If you cross tag sfw with n$fw tags.

If you have a blank blog.

If your account is based on politics or anything similar.

If your account is not child/kid friendly.

If I find out that any of the above apply to you and you interact with me and/or my posts, I will immediately block you! I do not give warnings. Please respect me, my blog and my rules. Thank you.

Also, even though my dms are open... Please don't dm me just saying "hi" or "sup". Please actually have something to say or talk about. Dry, one worded conversations (especially starters) make me highly uncomfortable! I also prefer talking to people who are 18+ but I have no problem with minors following or interacting with my posts so long as they are 13+ and follow my DNI above. ^

Continue reading if you want to know more!

I made this ^ visual as well to further describe myself.. It was created as of 7.7.23 and it may change over time. If/when it does I will change it but till then this is what I have learned about myself ☺

Shows I like: 

Bluey, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Winnie the Pooh, Blues Clues, Strawberry Shortcake, Little Bears, Care bears, Dragon Tails, Between the Lions, Sponge Bob, The Adventures of Hello Kitty and Friends, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, etc.

Movies I like:

Bratz, Barbie, Tangled, Moana, Pocahontas, Wreck It Ralph, The Lion King, Up, The little mermaid and most animated Disney/ Pixar movies! 

Games I Enjoy:

My favorite games at the moment are Minecraft, Animal Crossing, Ark, It Takes Two, Fortnite, Calico, Bloodborn, Call of Duty, and anything zombie related honestly! I don’t play as much as I use to now. I also enjoy Fallout, Bioshock, Bloodborn, Skyrim, The Last of Us, etc.

Other:

I love stuffies, the outdoors and all animals... except spiders! I wear dips from time to time due to comfort reasons. I love building forts, playing with dolls, blocks and Lego's. I recently started collecting Calico Critters! I enjoy swimming and I also speak Spanish. I use to love playing dress up... But that's another thing I haven’t been able to do much now a days sadly. I also really enjoy doing puzzles, taking bubble baths and watching anime from time to time, though... I'm not very familiar with a lot of them. I adore Studio Ghibli, Sanrio and Dr.Seus!

And last but not least... I would like to make little friends around my big age range so feel free to dm me introducing yourself as well! That said friends are always welcomed with open arms~ I am also a flip but I am currently looking for a cg or 2 to help on my healing journey and to be a sense of support and safety for me! If you are interested in being my cg down the line, as it will take time for me to trust you, you can dm me too! All I ask is that you, please be patient. I don't regress around just anyone and everyone and I will be selective about who I chose to be my cg(s).

[theenpcbracket]

THEE Official* TTRPG NPC Bracket!

Every TTRPG party has That One NPC that they’ve latched onto.  It might be an NPC who’s become a member of the party.  It might be a god.  Maybe it’s your wizard’s familiar.  It’s probably that one shopkeeper from that one town with the craziest voice you’ve ever heard come out of the DM’s (or if you’re the DM, your own) mouth.

This bracket is designed to celebrate those NPCs!  Tell the world about why they’re so special to you and your party.  You’ll learn about all the wildest, most wholesome, most villainous, silliest, and everything in-between NPCs out there, and be able to cheer yours along in a Tumblr-typical bracket-style tournament.

All the guidelines for your propaganda can be found on the submission form here!  I have it set so your personal information will not be recorded.  Please only submit NPCs through the submission form so that I can ensure that I have them all and Tumblr didn’t eat any of them.  

EDIT: Submissions will be open through midnight, EST, on 7/5/23 (previously 7/2/23)!  Please spread the word so we can celebrate as many beloved NPCs as possible!

More below the cut for examples of propaganda, inspiration, and tags for other polls!

An example of submitted propaganda may read something like:

Name: Marcy Relationship to the party: The Queen of the Winter Court’s secretary/assistant Party Name: Heel Turn Crew Image: [would be here or as a vs graphic]

What makes them the best: She’s incredible at her job and on top of all her shit, but she’s also deeply a gossip and here for a good time.  She’s not gonna reveal state secrets but she will give you some dirt if she likes you.  Caffeinated to all hell.  She’s less than a foot tall because she’s a pixie but she has the personality and voice to fill a room.  The vibes and energy of a New Jersey mother of four who’s lived in town for thirty years and is not about to let Big PTA get one over on the new kindergarten parents.  Would probably smoke with you if you asked, but not during work hours.  Has at least two exactly identical desks.

Quote: “Listen hon, come back in an hour.  There’s a great coffee place, you go two blocks straight out the door and hang a left.  Have some coffee ‘cause it’s to die for, I don’t know what they do to their dark roast but it’s incredible, then come on back and I’ll get you in there with her.”

The inspiration for this bracket came from @wizardbracket which was very fun!

Edit: there was another blog that was originally an inspiration for this bracket the mystery character bracket op is a wild transphobe so I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole lol. That shit will not be tolerated here and you don’t have to come tell me about it because lord knows they’ve been rather direct about it in their recent posts.

Tagging some other bracket blogs whose audiences are likely to overlap with this tournament.  Please don’t feel like you have to boost!  I just wanted to be sure that if I was going to tag any ongoing brackets, it was because I felt it made sense to do so!

@best-dad-battle @foundfamilyarena @found-family-tournament��@foundfamily-tournament @ultimate-tragic-couples-showdown @certified-dumbass-competition @mostpatheticlittleguy @group-oc-tournament @homemadegirlbossbattle @dragon-tournament

[inthegoodbooks]

shadow and bone (review)

So, according to StoryGraph, I have already read this book before… in 2016… that probably tells you all you need to know about what I thought about this book.

I enjoyed this book. Don’t get me wrong, the book is not bad. It is very expositional and reads very YA… but then again, that is exactly what it is. And I don’t hate it.

In this book, we are introduced to Alina, a Grisha (magic user, basically, although the book does a pretty bad job of describing this to you) who discovers her powers very late. And what a power she has: Alina is a Sun Summoner and the seemingly omnipotent Darkling plans to use her to change the world.

I found Alina quite annoying tbh. But only in the ways I often find YA protagonists annoying… She’s clearly beautiful, but she “doesn’t realise it.” She’s a plain Jane. And it gets on my tits. She also sticks out her tongue at least three times in this book and I just refuse to believe that anyone does that over the age of 3. Just me? Very much gave me the ick, regardless.

Another YA trope in Alina which irritated me was her suggested love interests changing every five minutes. It made rooting for Alina quite difficult and, by the end, I no longer cared whether she found Mal again or not.

On the topic of tropes, boy are the men in this book bloody awful. The king, the creepy priest, the obviously evil Darkling (I mean, come on, he’s called the DARKLING ffs.), even the bloody trainer! Suggestive lines such as, “You don’t want to attract too much attention from the King.” and, “Lock the door…” made a lot of the plot twists predictable, dry and just a lil obvious. Not that we don’t need more stories about men abusing their power - that’s always going to be relevant and especially important in YA circles - but I just wish it was a little more subtle.

Speaking of subtly - did you know Alina had a scar on her right palm? Because she tells us more than five times in a very short book. All the build up with this and the reason behind it is because she didn’t put down some pottery when she hugged Mal once? Are you joking? This was such a lacklustre climax that it should’ve been called a clilow.

The ending of this book also gave me proper Harry Potter vibes. Not that I want to credit she-who-must-not-be-named with anything more than being an awful transphobe HOWEVER, there’s something very Voldemort about ‘mercy was something the Darkling would never understand.’ A little close to the bone of the only kind of magic Voldemort can’t understand being love. Just me? Idk. It did make Alina sparing the stag make sense though, otherwise that was a bloody ridiculous decision which was OBVIOUSLY going to result in the deaths of lots of people.

And it goes without saying that the Darkling isn’t dead, right? Suppose I’ve got to read book 2 to find out…

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[sylsaccount]

rare ramble post

it is so hard to be like. yes i am a trans woman. yes i believe that i am biologically male. yes i hate males and i am literally kam about everything. yes i do not think of myself as a man but if someone were to ask me "does kam include all male people in general" i would say yes bc its kind of biased for me to say no and i dont think its worth it to spend the resources to figure out the like 0.001% of good ones. not that kam is a thing i realistically believe in just like. theoretically you know. idk.

its weird trying to live mostly separatist but not earnestly being part of the group u wanna separate with you know? and like. i literally dont believe in gender yet i am a gender haver. that is simplifying it for sure, its not like the way i think about things isnt consistent, but on the outside it seems like i dont make any sense. i dont get along with most rad-aligned ppl for obvious reasons, and i dont get along with other trans people for obvious reasons. ive met a lot of detrans folks lately that i get along with, but i am not and i doubt will ever be detrans myself.

ig i should say i dont get along with trans women, not trans people lol. ive known plenty of trans men over the years, some of which have been close friends. the truth is 99% of trans women act "like males", at least in my experience. and like. i just cant deal with that lol

i just made a post saying im the only real gender abolitionist so its kind of funny that i say "like males". i am not a biological essentialist nor do i like calling behaviors "masculine" or "feminine". yet any woman reading this knows exactly what im talking about. even the ones that claim to be the "good ones" that are "actually women" etc. are walking caricatures. if i have to see one more instance of that hsts slaaay yassss motherrrrr i love sabrina carpenter shit i will blow my brains out (you are fortunate if you have not encountered this group. i personally find them just as evil as those knee sock programmer catgirldick types)

i cant help but wonder if someone similar to me from an outside perspective would judge me the same way, u know? a lot of my interests are stereotypically male, i am autistic, i am kind of an asshole. ofc at the end im always like. well i have actual feminist values and i cant stand males and i always prioritize women over everything so like. its just me being anxious over nothing i think.

this is mostly unrelated but ive also been thinking a lot abt the ppl who follow me. ive had an influx of followers as of late, but there r others who have followed me for a long time. its kind of funny looking through... i have ppl that i know for a fact hate trans ppl. me being trans is not something ive ever specifically hidden, but its also not something i bring up a lot. i just realized bc of that weird anon the other day that its the first time ive explicitly mentioned it on my blog in a couple years. i couldnt help but be worried abt it! at the same time, i have some old friends i dont rly talk to anymore... a couple of which, despite knowing that i am respectful towards other individual trans ppl and that i am not truly transphobic, im sure have taken issue with the types of things i reblog and strongly personally disagree. yet as im looking over who im following, it doesnt look like ive lost mutuals from either camp.

id like to talk to more people too. its hard to dm people for me, as i think it is for many people here. i have some mutuals i would love to talk with, but i am kind of an ass, and they are kind of an ass, and thats why we follow each other, so its like... they may not even wanna be bothered like that u know? i know what its like when u have some coworker or acquaintance u like well enough but then they start trying to be buddy buddy with u and they become a nuisance. i dont wanna be that!!! i am extremely misanthropic myself so its easy to imagine being on the other end

my friend group (some irl and some online) has a little discord group chat we use. we just added someone new and its been very nice. i really do love meeting new ppl when i vibe with them...

u could say. sylvia why dont u just go meet people irl. well, unfortunately, i cannot tell people irl that i have extremely regular homicidal fantasies and think 50% of the population should kill themselves. i cant rant abt all the dystopian shit i am subjected to on a regular basis, bc they dont view it as dystopian. i cant even discuss my own life and perspectives on things because SOMEONE is going to have their feelings hurt (despite me being the one who has trauma abt it -_-). on the computer there are lots of intelligent people with interesting lives who r also kind of losers and hate everything. i like those people.

i dont rly have a point on any of this. just thoughts ive been having.