#it’s me I’m speaking for the lgbtq community on this one

[toothlesshat]

As per my post yesterday

[posi-pan]

wayne brady is pansexual!!! 💗💛💙🥳

i’m pansexual. in doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, i couldn’t say if i was bisexual, because i had to really see what that was, especially because i really have not gotten a chance to act on anything. so, i came to pansexual because — and i know that i’m completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. being able to be attracted across the board. and, i think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. i took pan to mean that not only can i be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but i could be attracted to the person that is there. i’ve dealt with the shame. a shame cake, just eating it every single day — and then worried about… people finding out. i’ve always had a wonderful community of friends who are in the lgbtq+ community, people that i’ve grown up with in shows, gays and lesbians, and, later in life, my trans relatives and my niece. i’ve always had that community, but i've always felt like a sham because i wasn’t being forthcoming with myself. i could speak out about black issues because i can’t hide that. and you can play at being an ally, but until the day that you can truly say, “this is who i am, and i wanna stand next to you,” that's not… i always wanted that day to come. i’ve told myself in the past, also, nobody needs to know my personal business. the world can absolutely go without knowing that wayne identifies as pan. but that gave me license to still live in the shadows and to be secretive. what does that feel like to actually not be shameful, to not feel like, “oh, i can’t be part of this conversation because i’m lying?” i had to break that behavior. i’m now trying to be the most wayne brady i can be. i don’t know about most, actually. i’m still coming together. but if i’m healthy, then i can go onstage at let’s make a deal and be the best wayne brady that everybody wants and expects. i can be the best dad that maile needs. i can be the best friend to mandie, the best son to my mother, and one day, the best partner to someone, because i’m doing this for me. not dating yet though! [laughs] i am single, but it’s not about being with someone right now. i’ve got some work to do still. then, wayne as a single, open-minded pansexual can make a decision and be free and open to other people.

i included more quotes from the article than just strictly pan related because it’s quite touching. good for him!!!! 🌈👏🥰

[transtheology]

According to Matson, 39, his “disclosing,” as he describes it, is a moment years in the making. He offered his story as indicative of the often difficult path for trans Catholics, including those seeking life as a religious — a category that includes brothers and nuns.

“I am currently based in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky,” he wrote in an email to friends and supporters on Sunday. “I live in a hermitage at the top of a wooded hill, which I share with my German Shepherd rescue, Odie, and with the Blessed Sacrament, which was installed in my oratory shortly before Christmas.”

[...] Matson approached a canon lawyer to discuss his options and was told that only two aspects of Catholic life were categorically off the table: marriage and the priesthood. According to Matson, the canon lawyer recommended being upfront about his status as a transgender man in any vocational conversations with church leaders and mentioned the role of a diocesan hermit, which could prove less challenging than enlisting with an existing religious order.

[...] What followed was roughly a decade of searching and no small amount of rejection. Living in the United Kingdom while pursuing a master’s degree, and later a Ph.D. in theology, Matson entered a vocational discernment program and approached the Jesuit order to ask if he could join.

“They said, ‘No, we just don’t see how this would work for us,’ which was crushing, because that’s where I felt called,” Matson said.

[...] “I thought, well, if I can’t find a religious community to sponsor me, maybe what I need is a bishop,” Matson said.

A priest friend recommended different bishops to contact, beginning with Stowe, who was emerging as a leading voice among Catholics calling for a more tolerant approach to LGBTQ+ people. In 2020, Matson sent Stowe a letter, conveying his status as a transgender man, his vision for an artists’ community and his pull to religious life.

Stowe wrote back immediately, expressing his openness.

“It was an enormous relief,” Matson said. “I was in tears. I felt my hope revive.”

[...] Matson vented his frustrations to Stowe and his spiritual director, saying he wanted to speak out. But he said he was advised to first “build a foundation” in religious life for several years.

During that time, Matson had an experience that shook him. Attending a friend’s play in his religious habit, he was approached by a student who identified as trans and nonbinary. After asking if Matson was a monk, the student said they were raised Catholic, but that their parents had rejected their identity, and the student felt like they “don’t have a place in the church anymore.”

Matson responded by saying there were people in the church who would support the student, and Matson prayed with them, asking God to show the student how they are “wonderful the way you’ve made them.” The student, Matson said, grew emotional, thanking the hermit profusely and saying, “No one from the church has ever affirmed me for who I am.”

[...] As for ever leaving Catholicism itself, Matson bristled at the idea, calling the church “my family.” “I’m Catholic,” he said. “I became Catholic after I transitioned because of the Catholic understanding — the sacramental understanding — of the body, of creation, of the desirability of the visible unity of the church and primarily because of the Eucharist.”

At the very least, Matson said, he hopes going public will spark dialogue about his fellow transgender Catholics, a discussion he believes can enhance unity among the body of believers.

“You’ve got to deal with us, because God has called us into this church,” he said. “It’s not your church to kick us out of — this is God’s church, and God has called us and engrafted us into it.”

[kiingkiismet]

Ok, so Joe dropped out of the race. Awesome! Next order of business—vote for Kamala.

“Isn’t she a cop/didn’t she cause damage to the ___ community??/she’s just as bad as Joe!!!”

Here’s the thing. No matter who you have in office, they will always have blood on their hands somehow, some way, as getting to a position like that requires you to step on multiple people’s shoes and worse. There is no ethical option by default. However, there’s a little funky little thing called ✨nuance✨. You are not (and should not) be voting for a candidate based on your own moral individual standing. What you need to do, is vote for the person who is going to cause the least amount of damage to those who are most vulnerable—I.e. people of color, LGBTQ, disabled folk, immigrants, and so on.

NO, it shouldn’t have to be like this, but it is. Individualism is going to be your downfall if you want to die on that hill. At the end of the day, people on the right will not care if you do die on that hill, in fact, they’d prefer if you were just dead in general to be brutally honest with you. So, on top of your protesting (which did work! Joe dropped out because of poor voter turnout and low approval), exercise whatever rights we have left to beat that shriveled up orange since this IS an alternative and arguably better candidate that we’ve been asking for. Not perfect, but leagues better and isn’t an old white man for once.

The goal here is harm reduction, that’s what this is. Get your ass out in November and beat Trump’s ass because she is better than a literal wanna be dictator who plans on stripping everyone’s rights day one. Be so real.

And before anyone tells me that I’m selfish—I am literally speaking as a disabled, transgender black dude. We are already LIVING the horrors that white people are now suddenly aware of because it’s only now threatening you. Don’t tell me shit that we’ve already been living and aware of for decades before you and HAVE told you.

[writing-for-life]

I’m running a Sandman blog. As such, I feel I can’t not say anything, but I’ll make this short (for me):

I believe victims. I’m a psychotherapist and work with them almost every day. My trust in the legal system on these matters is therefore also limited and a complicated affair. I unequivocally believe that the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman are true. Having said this, I will withhold further commentary as the situation unfolds, because it’s too complex.

I also believe that stories have meaning to us that goes beyond their creators, and that meaning doesn’t suddenly fall away because of their creators’ actions, although it can, and that’s also okay.

Our feelings are allowed to be complicated, and no one deserves any type of harassment because they still love a story while simultaneously grappling with feelings of anger, disgust or simply sadness towards or about its creator. Neither does anyone deserve any hard feelings because they decide they don’t want to engage anymore.

Our feelings are our own, and we don’t have to justify them to anyone.

Fandoms exist because of story and community. And those stories and communities don’t suddenly stop existing, so I hope we can remember to treat each other with respect and empathy moving on from here.

Edit:

On a more constructive note, and also speaking as a therapist with both personal and continuous secondhand experience of SA who already sees the damage caused by unreflective knee-jerk posting on here:

You don’t have to make repeated public statements to disassociate yourself from works. Once is enough if you feel you have something to communicate to your followers. Not at all is enough, too. Simply do what you need to do. It’s enough if you know what you stand for, and to act accordingly.

Get your information from original sources, not “summaries” and hearsay on Tumblr. The amount of misinformation, both accidental and malicious, I have seen on here is shocking. All podcasts are freely available with transcripts. Stop believing the people who tell you otherwise, because they either don’t know what they’re talking about, or they aim to control the discussion for their own agenda. If you want to partake in discussion, get info from the source, because that’s truly something you owe to the victims. Otherwise, consider to withhold your opinions. We don’t have to add to the noise, there’s enough of it already, and it somewhat disqualifies itself if it adds its own agenda: This is not about LGBTQ+ issues or whether you deem an outlet trustworthy (it’s about the victims). It is not about your own opinions about kink (it’s about the victims). It is not about your disabilities or struggles that render you “unable to listen or read”. It is about the victims, not about you. So consider to stop centering yourself.

You are not a bad person for enjoying the work of a person who did wrong, neither does condemning them automatically make you a good person. How you behave towards your fellow human beings does. So if you feel tempted to judge, or even harass, other people for their love of a piece of media, take a breath first. Because in that moment, it has stopped being about the victims—it has become about centering yourself as righteous.

Don’t read into works, but don’t pretend they exist in a vacuum either. We can’t truly separate the art from the artist, but we can (re)assign meaning unique to us. The moment you interpret a piece of art, it reflects you. It will mirror back your feelings and worldview. If all you feel while engaging is negative, it is time to disengage. There is enough art in the world you can enjoy. But don’t judge those who still find meaning even if you don’t.

Take action in the real world, and step back from online discourse. Put your money where your mouth is, donate to women’s shelters or volunteer, organise fundraisers. In short: Make a difference where you can. Online opinion pieces are not that place, neither is keeping yourself in a state of constant aggravation by obsessively checking the tags. All it does it make you unwell.

Don’t support the creator financially. I know I won’t from here onwards, especially where there is a clear divide between his work and that of others (the creator credit for The Sandman also belongs to Mike Dringenberg and Sam Kieth, as you can see on literally every Sandman-related published work. And the intellectual property belongs to DC/Warner since it was work for hire. The Sandman was never creator-owned). Secondhand books are an option, so are libraries. They’re everywhere, and eBay is your friend in that case. You can also still read and enjoy the works you own, it doesn’t harm anyone. You don’t have to bin, burn or sell them. If that feels right though, go for it. It’s your choice, but don’t expect others to make the same choices.

Most importantly: You have nothing to prove to anyone. You know who you are, that’s all that matters. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

[morgana-larkin]

Me againnnn lmao I have another request could u do Melissa x reader where reader is normally quiet but someone brought up their special interest and everyone is kinda weirded out coz reader gets so happy and starts talking about it and sharing facts and stuff but no one except Melissa knows reader is autistic and someone says something mean to reader and she gets upset and Melissa comforts reader and also stands up for her (as always no pressure I’m so so so happy! u r the first person that iv come across who writes fics about Melissa and autistic reader I get so happy when I see a notification from u i literally jump up and down with happiness and your fics really help me to accept im autistic coz I’m still trying to come to terms with it anyway hope u r doing well🫶)

OMG YES! Info dumping! I love it. And I’m so glad my fics are helping you. Feel free as well to message me directly if you ever want. So my other obsession besides Lisa Ann Walter, is Doctor Who and Jodie Whittaker, so of course I chose to have the reader talk about her as the Doctor… I regret nothing 😊. I went a little extra at the end but I’m too gay for Melissa to care. Anyway, I enjoyed writing this so thank you for the prompt and I hope you like it! As always, not edited in the slightest.

For everyone, feel free to keep sending me prompts, and I was thinking about writing a one shot about Cheesy as there’s not enough imo. Let me know if I should or not.

Title based off the song from Shrek 3 and the Italian word stronzo means asshole.

Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself

Warnings: someone is mean to reader, reader struggling with having autism(small part)

Words: 2.3k

You’re sitting in the break room at the table with Barb and Melissa. You get up to get a coffee and when you do you hear someone starting to talk about Doctor Who and you perk up.

You turn around to see Jacob, Mr. Morton and another teacher talking about it. “You guys watch Doctor Who?” You say and they stop talking and look up at you. Normally you’re quiet and don’t really say much as you’re recharging before you go and have to teach your kiddos again.

“Yes, do you watch it?” Jacob asks you and you nod with a big smile. Melissa looks up at you and sees your smile and she can’t help but smile herself. She’s had a crush on you since about 4 months after you started and it’s almost been 9 months that you’re working here.

“Well come here and share your thoughts about it.” Jacob says and you walk over to them, coffee in hand.

“What exactly is your discussion about?” You ask them.

“About the first female doctor, the 13th doctor.” Mr. Morton says and you keep smiling.

“She’s my favourite doctor! Like she’s so enthusiastic and passionate and she just loves everything about what she does! And she’s so funny too, it’s just a joy to watch Jodie play her!” You start and they look at you confused, wondering why you’ve always been quiet but now you’re talkative.

The truth is, you're autistic and the only one that knows is Melissa and she promised not to tell anyone since it’s your secret not hers. You told her because you felt like you kept missing social cues or taking things too literally, so you wanted someone in your corner to help you and she had no problem doing that for you. She looks at you talking so passionately about your favourite show with a smile and heart eyes before going back to her phone, secretly still listening to you.

“And her Tardis is so amazing, oh and her companion’s compliment her so well, and her outfit looks amazing. Did you know that Jodie helped decide on the outfit to support the LGBTQ community since she’s a huge ally. And also…” and you keep going on for about 5 minutes about how much you love the 13th doctor and her era on Doctor Who. Until the other teacher, you don’t know their name, the one Mr. Morton and Jacob were talking too, says something.

“OMG! Would you please shut up!” He says and you quickly shut your mouth. “I preferred it when you didn’t speak at all.” He says, glaring at you. And you look down at the ground, embarrassed before running out of there.

Melissa looked up when he started speaking and is now getting up and walking over to them. “Hey! Don’t talk to her like that. You should count yourself lucky that I won’t contact one of my guys on you.” She says and looks at Jacob. “Why didn’t you say anything?!?” She says to him “or you?” She says to Mr. Morton.

“Sorry Melissa, it all happened so fast.” Mr. Morton says and Jacob nods in agreement.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” She says to the teacher that was mean to you.

“Hey, we were just sitting here talking about it until she cuts in and starts talking about everything that we weren’t even discussing. And she wouldn’t stop talking.” The teacher says , only making a deeper hole for himself. Melissa glares at him.

“I don’t care what you think! There’s better ways to do that!” She says to him.

“She shouldn’t have talked so much and knew that it was too much.” He says, still trying to defend himself.

“She’s autistic you stronzo!” She yells at him and then realises that she just told your secret and has wide eyes. All 3 of them look at her speechless, now understanding that you got excited and were info dumping and didn’t mean to talk so much. Melissa turns around and walks out of the break room and goes to find you.

She ends up finding you in your classroom crying on your chair, hugging your legs. She knocks on the door, “hey y/n it’s me, just wanted to come check on you.” She tells you.

You get up and unlock the door then open it. Melissa’s heart breaks a bit when she sees you. Eyes puffy, red and watery, tear stained cheeks and red nose from you blowing your nose.

“Oh hun.” She says and you walk back to your chair hugging your legs again. Melissa walks in and closes and locks the door then walks over to your desk. “Hey, he was an ass, he shouldn’t have said that to you.” Melissa tells you and crouches down and you look at her.

“No, he’s right, I was talking too much. I shouldn’t have gotten involved in their conversation. I just got so excited,” you tell her and you sniffle a bit.

“Hun, it’s understandable, I know how much you love Doctor Who. You have nothing to be ashamed about.” She tells you and grabs your hand. “Btw I might have accidentally told them that you’re autistic. As in I told them and called that teacher a stronzo for you.” She tells you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to slip out, I just got angry that he was mean to you.” She says, rubbing your hand with her thumb.

“It’s ok, they would have found out eventually. But this is another reason I don’t engage in conversations, cause I might talk too much.” You tell her. Melissa gets up and opens her arms out.

“Come here.” She tells you and motions to hug her. You put your feet down on the ground and then hug her waist since you’re still sitting in your chair. “Why don’t we go back in there, finish lunch. And then after school you can come to my place and I can make you some food and we can watch whatever you want.” She suggests and you look at her surprised.

“Really?” You ask her and she nods. “I would love that.” You tell her and she smiles. She helps you up and then unlocks the door and opens it for you. You both walk out and she sees you’re nervous about going back. She puts an arm wrapped around your back and her other hand on the arm closes to her and rubs it, providing comfort for you.

You get back in and when you enter everyone stops and looks up at you. Melissa can feel you immediately tense up. “What are all youse looking at?” She says and glares at everyone. Everyone immediately looks back down to their phone or food and continues what they were doing. Melissa leads you back to the table where Barb is and Barb gives you a comforting smile.

The teacher that was mean to you gets up and comes over to you. Melissa sees him coming over and glares at him, almost daring him to hurt you again. He has his head hanging a bit, looking embarrassed and stands beside you and you look up at him.

“Hey y/n, I just wanted to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have said what I said to you, I’m sorry.” He tells you and you nod your head at him. You’re too overwhelmed right now and can’t speak. You finish your lunch without saying another word and Melissa keeps glancing at you, worried about you.

You finish up the day quietly. You get the kids to work on their book report so that it’s silent and you don’t have to talk much. At the end of the day, when your last student was picked up you glance over at Melissa down the hall. You taught first grade so your classrooms are close together.

You can’t help but stare at her. She’s bending over and offering one of her students a high five before waving bye to them to go with their parent. You decide to leave now while she’s distracted, you think that maybe it wasn’t the best to get Melissa involved in your situation and shouldn’t have told her you’re autistic. So many people have had to accommodate you or help you and you feel like you should be able to do it yourself now that you’re an adult.

Melissa sees you look at her with a sad expression on your face before leaving. She can’t help but feel like maybe you won’t come over to her place now. When her last student is leaving with their parent a couple minutes later, she practically books it to the parking lot but sees your car is already gone.

She drives home and gets to work on cooking dinner, hoping you’d show. But then she gets a text from you saying that you won’t be able to make it tonight, and she sighs. She researched autism when you told her a few months ago and she knows that when autistic people get overwhelmed, they hide themselves away. She offered for you to come to her place to de-stress with food and tv, so she does the next best thing. After she finished cooking, she packed it into a container, and brought it with her to your place. She went and knocked on your door.

You answered it not too long later with leggings and loose shirt on. “Melissa? What are you doing here?” You ask her.

“Well since you won’t come over to my place, I thought I’d come to you.” She says with a warm smile and you now feel even more guilty for cancelling on her. “I brought over food I made. So either we can eat here or we can go back to my place. Choice is up to you.” She tells you with a shrug. You decide to go to her place and when you get there she gives you your favourite hoodie of hers and you sit on the couch. You’ve been to her place before and you told her that the plastic felt weird to sit on and she removed it the next day so that you’re comfortable when you go there. “Hey, you don’t have to speak but I just want to know that you’re ok.” She says and you nod. She gives you a plate of the food and you see that it’s her spaghetti and meatballs dish. Your favourite food of hers and you smile at her. She joins you on the couch, sitting next to you and then hands you the remote so you can decide what to watch, you decide on Shrek 3.

You watch the movie while eating, with Melissa right next to you, you in her hoodie, and you finally feel like you’re calming down. You put your head on her shoulder after you put your empty plate on the coffee table and she wraps her arm around you. You continue the movie, quoting some of the lines, and when it plays the ending scene with puss and donkey singing thank you, Melissa gets an idea. She guides you up and leads you to the empty space beside her couch and starts dancing with you. When the chorus comes on she sings it to you “I wanna thank you for lettin me be myself…again” She sings and you laugh. When she says the line again, she spins you while singing. The second chorus comes up “come on sing it with me.” She tells you.

The both of you sing it while dancing “I WANNA THANK YOU FOR LETTIN ME BE MYSELF…AGAIN.” You both sing at the top of your lungs. When it ends you’re both laughing and she hugs you.

“Thank you for letting me be myself.” You tell her and she looks at you with a warm smile and places a lock of hair behind your ear before cupping your cheek.

“It’s not a problem hun, it doesn’t matter to me that you’re autistic you know. You just think differently, and that's alright.”

You look in her eyes and you lean forward and kiss her. Melissa kisses you back and moves her hand from your cheek to the back of your head and places her left hand on your waist. You pull back and look at her with a smile.

“You kissed me back.” You say to her and she nods. “Why?”

“Because I like you. I have for a few months now.” She tells you.

“For how long?” You ask her and she thinks about it.

“Around the new year.” And you look at her in shock.

“But that’s after I told you I was autistic.” You tell her, putting the pieces together. “You knew I was autistic and you still like me?” You question her.

“How would you being autistic make me not like you?” She asks you, confused.

“Because I’m different than other people and have struggles because of it.” You tell her like it’s obvious.

“So? Everyone is different in their own way and everyone has their own struggles.” She tells you. “For example, I have trouble letting people in, because of trust issues. And I can have a short temper too.” She says and you look at her with so much love in your eyes. You kiss her again and she doesn’t hesitate to kiss you back.

When the person says “you may kiss the bride” , she doesn’t hesitate to give you a kiss then either. With a huge smile, she brings you closer to her and gives you a kiss, as wife and wife.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

@imaginesmultifandoms

@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

@dvrkhcld

Let me know if you want to be added! 🙂

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

My problem with Sallie May—a discussion of representation:

There’s been some discourse around Sallie May lately that’s gotten me thinking more about her. Not really as a character, but what her purpose is in the narrative and how she’s treated by the fandom and the show’s creators.

Sallie May is an interesting case study in representation without depth, and I wanted to talk a little more about what that means.

OPINION DISCLAIMER—I’m gonna be talking about how I personally view lgbtq+ and queer representation and what I consider to be well-rounded representation vs. empty or shallow representation.

Also. I am only one member of the queer community—I don’t speak for all lgbtq+ people, and I am DEFINITELY NOT trying to talk over other’s experiences. My opinions are my own, and if you agree with me, cool! And if you don’t agree with me, that’s great too!!

Also also. I don’t think I should have to say this but, this is NOT a personal attack on ANYONE involved w/i the production and creation of Helluva Boss. This is my own analysis, b/c I like to talk about media and the ways we interact with and interpret it.

So, with all of that out of the way, if you’re interested in my analysis, let’s talk about Sallie May!! (TLDR @ end of post)

First do want to make it clear that my issue is not actually with her like…existing. Or with her general characterization. Mostly because, even with Hell’s Belles, she still doesn’t really have a very strong characterization to begin with, and isn’t a fully-fleshed out character.

In her initial appearance she was a bit-character, bordering on just being a straight up background character. She had three lines in her debut (and to date, ONLY) appearance in the show proper.

Until Hell’s Belles we knew next to nothing about her other than that she likes violence and also that she has a neighborhood body count? Which. I don’t know if they were trying to imply that she’s a serial killer, I doubt that was the intent. Or maybe they were. I can’t know.

Regardless, I honestly believe they didn’t really think the implications of that writing decision through at all. There’s a very real and very harmful “trans serial killer/murderer” trope in media, and while the impact is definitely lessened by the vast majority of HB characters being violent murderers—it still feels weird having the only trans character we’ve seen at this point be literally INTRODUCED to the audience by the fact that she’s a murderer, and to then be given NO further information on her.

Luckily, we DID get more information about Sallie, even if it was still very little and surface level. In Hell’s Belles we learn that Sallie May and Millie used to be a lot closer, and that Sallie May felt left behind when Millie moved to the big city.

In the short, Sallie May expresses her frustration with having to pick up the slack around their family’s ranch, and that she’s been lonely without Millie there. Millie and Sally have a little heart to heart and are able to make up, and the short ends.

This is a nice little piece of backstory, and does give us slightly more insight into Sallie May and what her life is like, but because the episode is a short, we still really don’t get to know her as a person.

Like Millie, Sallie May doesn’t have any real depth. We only know starter information about her, like that she cares about her family, and that she’s violent.

But unlike Millie, Sallie May is a minor character. She has (at the time of my writing this) appeared in ONE episode of the actual show, and one short. She is a minor character, and the ONLY transgender character in the show with a name and lines.

So. Okay. Why does literally any of that matter??? Who cares if Sallie May is an under-developed minor background character??

Well, in my opinion, it matters because the show-runners frame and treat Sallie May as if she is a main character, without actually writing her—or any trans character for that matter—as a main character.

This really rubs me the wrong way, because it comes across as tokenism.

In my opinion since she was introduced, Sallie May has become a token transgender character—an excuse for the HB writers to not write or develop more transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse characters and stories, because they already have one.

I worry that, if anyone rightfully points out that HB is severely lacking in gender-diverse characters and storylines, the creators and fandom will point to Sallie May as “proof” that they do have representation.

If HB is as radically queer and LGBTQ+ friendly as it claims to be, why do we only have ONE named trans character in the show’s 5 years of existence?

Due to all of the above, I find I can’t agree with people who praise the show for its representation, because of how stunted it is. I just don’t think I, or anyone, should have to read sources outside of the narrative to learn important parts of a character’s identity.

I feel this very deeply as a lesbian and nonbinary person—I understand that most of the women characters in Helluva Boss are sapphic, but I ONLY know that because of the HB Pride Print that came out just this year. I have not actually gotten to SEE any of these character’s sexualities fully represented, and it’s because of this that I struggle to see myself represented in HB in any way.

I do need to clarify that what I am NOT SAYING is that no one can feel represented by Sallie May, or that if they do, they’ve been tricked somehow by writers into thinking they got more representation than they actually did.

Sallie May is a very popular character, and because of that I honestly would like to see more of her. I want to see more of her because she’s the only trans character on the show, and I want her to be properly developed.

I talked previously about how I enjoyed Hell’s Belles, but wished we had gotten to see more of Sallie and Millie’s relationship in the actual show. Their relationship has a lot of potential to show the unique ways in which siblings interact and navigate conflict, but we only got to see a few seconds of them interacting in Sallie’s debut. The short gives us an idea of what Sallie’s personality is like, but it’s so brief that I still don’t feel like we really KNOW her on a deeper level.

To me, three lines + one short with a brief backstory doesn’t feel like the sort of amazing representation that fans of the show laud Helluva Boss for.

As a series that often boasts about its queer and trans rep and inclusivity, I can’t help but feel like Sallie May should either have been a main character from the very beginning, or that she shouldn’t have been trotted out like some sort of bastion of trans representation, when the only indication she is trans is her horns/white roots.

And yes. As a genderqueer gay I KNOW that it can be extremely tiring to have all of our stories revolve around our struggles and ONLY be about being LGBTQ+. I also want to see a variety of stories about queer people like me going on adventures and getting to do things that don’t revolve around our struggles. But I also want to still actually see myself represented.

Not just know outside the story that, “oh that character is nonbinary, but it will not be mentioned in the narrative in any way and will not ever be important in the context of this character I’m supposed to see myself in.”

Madeline Maye talked about this specifically in her critique of Helluva Boss, and her pointing this out was kind of what made me realize that, yeah. Anyone watching Helluva Boss for the first time would probably have NO IDEA that Sallie Mae is a transgender woman.

It also made me realize that the only reason I knew that Sallie May was trans was because her VA, Morgana Ignis, who is also a trans woman, tweeted about it, and the official Helluva Boss Twitter retweeted it.

The original tweet is hidden now (Ignis has since left Twitter—idk why, I genuinely hope it wasn’t due to harassment—that’s never okay) but I was able to confirm that this was the case based on the HB wiki, and the official HB’s retweet still being up:

The only confirmation we’ve ever had that Sallie May is transgender has been outside of the show—either from social media Q&As and the show’s wiki or merch—

Sallie May has a LOT of merch. Like a lot, this isn’t even all of it. And yes, SOME of the merch is from the recently released “Hell’s Belles” short, but the vast majority of it is from the 3 years since her initial introduction.

The vast majority of it is also highly sexualized, and highlights Sallie’s penis through her swimsuit. Now, I’m aware that Morgana Ignis requested this, and I honestly don’t have too much of an opinion on it. I’m not a trans woman, and I’ve seen multiple opinions from trans women on this design choice for Sally’s merch. I’ve seen some trans women say that they liked and felt represented by this choice, and some say that they felt objectified and that it made them dysphoric. This is one of those situations where I don’t think everyone can be pleased—like I said at the beginning of this post, LGBTQ+ people are as diverse in their opinions as we are in our identities and self-expression, and I think everyone’s feelings regarding Sallie’s portrayals in the merch are valid.

I bring it up because, other than the wiki explaining that Sallie May has “male horns”, this is the only other way to confirm that Sally is trans, as it is never acknowledged in the story. I bring it up because I don’t think merch should be the only way an LGBTQ character’s identity is validated.

I assume that all of Sallie Mae’s merch is because of her popularity, but I also can’t help but wonder if this has contributed to the impression that Sallie is a main character, when, in the narrative so far, she is still a minor one.

I don’t believe that when she was originally created to be a “token trans” character, but since her introduction, there have not been any main characters that are transgender, nonbinary, or genderqueer.

We’ve only had one other trans character with a speaking role—this imp:

Who is FTM. He seems to know Blitz from a while back, and talks Blitz into staying at the party. Then he watches him drunkenly make out with random people with another (I assume) trans imp who is probably MTF:

(Also—as an aside, this scene kinda bothers me?? I don’t THINK this was the intention at all, but having a VERY CLEARLY drunk off of his ass Blitz, who can’t meaningfully consent at this time, being watched, and almost like…leered at by two of the only visibly trans characters in the show…it feels gross. Like why are two of the only other confirmed trans characters voyeuristically watching a drunk man who can’t consent making out? It would be one thing if we had a story full of different trans characters who acted in all sorts of different ways, but at this time these two are 2/3rds of the show’s ENTIRE trans rep. With the other 1/3rd being introduced to us as a serial killer. Like. Guys. What is it that you’re trying to say?)

Apparently Sallie May’s VA has stated the below on Social Media, and stated that there’s a lot more coming for Sallie May in the future. And that’s great!!! I really really want to believe that.

But I look at the above and can’t help but wonder…if this is the case, why did it take three years for her to get another appearance? In just a short? Why wasn’t she given more focus and importance from the very beginning, in her introductory episode? If her original appearance wasn’t representative of her and Millie’s relationship then why did they even write it that way???

I want to believe all of the above—that Sallie May actually WILL get to become a main character. But I look at the way she’s been barely portrayed, and the way that she’s basically been used to just sell merch, and it makes me sad.

I would love to see more of her, more of any trans characters that aren’t 2 second background characters, but I honestly have a hard time believing we ever will when the episodes take as long as the do to come out, and the when the episodes focus so heavily on shipping pre-existing pairings.

As a lesbian, I would love to see Sallie May get a girlfriend, but given Spindlehorse’s track record with lackluster sapphic pairings and representation, I don’t have much hope of seeing that either.

I just. If you managed to get all the way through this heinously long post, thank you for reading. If you didn’t, that’s very fair (lol) and I’ve got the tldr for you here—

TLDR:

—My issue with Sallie May is not actually with Sallie May at all. It’s with the fact that we don’t get enough of Sallie May, or any trans characters, for that matter.

—You can, of course, feel represented by any character, but I think it’s important to ask yourself how you are being represented, and if you are actually being represented.

—Not every queer/trans/lgbt story has to explicitly be about being queer. The stories in which we are represented should be as diverse and vibrant as all the members of our community. But, I still want to actually be able to tell and to see that the characters are lgbtq+. If a character is a lesbian or sapphic, I want to see her show an interest in other women. If a character is transgender I want to see that acknowledged by the narrative, whether it’s the character mentioning their transition or just saying they’re trans. I want to SEE myself and other queer identities. Not just know that they’re there.

[kaelidascope]

Fandom and LGBTQ Hostility and My Experiences Trying to Exist in Both Spaces Online

I came into these spaces with a very strict rule that I would not react or do anything cancel-worthy out of an overabundance of caution. Digital footprints are dangerous. The things you say online will follow you around forever. I know that first hand. I’ve bottled up and stayed silent about a lot of things I’ve either witnessed first-hand or experienced because I was trying to maintain a clean online persona. I’m not an ‘airing out dirty laundry’ type person. 

In light of recent events however, it’s gotten so bad that I can no longer sit here and not say something about how I feel. I’m disappointed and frustrated with the experiences I’ve had both in fandom and LGBTQ+ spaces and I can’t be complacent. I’m tired of getting treated like this, I’m fed up and I’m not going to put up with it anymore. I feel it’s important I voice what I’ve been watching and what’s happened and how I’m not going to tolerate it anymore by calling it out first hand. 

This is a two-topic rant. They overlap in some instances, but it directly has to do with how fandoms behave in general towards each other on Twitter and Tumblr, and also how absolutely hostile LGBTQ+ individuals are nowadays to each other on the same platforms. 

I come from a different generation and a different social media platform. I wasn’t on Twitter and Tumblr until last year. I’m not dismissing the fact that I may have missed out on decades worth of culture and social expectation. The places where I come from aren’t exactly fantastic either, but at least here, more queer people are interacting with each other with shared interests much more widely than in places like DeviantArt. The amount of culture and information I’ve absorbed in one year is more than I ever had within the past twenty years. It should be a good thing, and I’m disappointed that it wasn’t. 

This is not the way I wanted to come out online to anyone. I’ve been figuring out where I sit on the gender and sexuality spectrum for a while now. I will not document a specific timeline for anyone because that’s nobody’s business but my own. Within the last year, I took a massive stride forward in exploring things I legally didn’t think I was allowed to. I expected backlash from cishets and the usual thing I see LGBTQ+ folks write essays over, about how the world hates us, but at least we have each other. Shockingly, the backlash didn’t come from straight people. It came from other queers. 

I am 27 years old and I am entirely self-sufficient. I’m mixed Puerto Rican living in a red state. English wasn’t even my first language. I don’t have a network, so I’m teaching myself these things. I'm asking questions. I'm reading materials and expressions of self-experience and self-identity through fanworks and other autobiographical content. I'm actively trying to seek community and support through transgender and non-binary individuals with shared interests and so far all I've been met with is hostility and assumptions. So much so that I've now been made to feel like I'm on a timeline to figure it out so I can have a well-practiced, short introduction to copy and paste to every person who comes across me. And the only reason I even need one is so that they can make the decision to pass judgement over whether or not I'm allowed to speak, write, draw, wear, act, breathe the things I do. I'm disappointed. I'm anxious. I honestly feel more shoved into the closet now than I ever did before and I shouldn't be. Nobody should be treated this way when trying to figure out who they are. I probably won't even get an apology for the things that were said to me, either. I pride myself on the extraordinary caution I take to be politically correct, vetted through reputable sources, and as close to authentic as possible. And yet somehow I’m still getting called things like terf, transmisogynistic, triggering, when I’m fucking trans myself and all of my content gets vetted/REQUESTED by trans individuals. I get promised up and down that people are kind and welcoming in these sorts of spaces and honey, they aren’t. The people you choose to be friends with aren't as inclusive and friendly as you think they are. You don’t even know me and what body parts I have. The fact that you need to know in order to decide whether or not to treat me with respect is telling of an internal issue that has nothing to do with me. 

I have no reference point. I live in a place where laws ban anything gender and trans. I have no local resources or community. I've barely met any LGBTQ people in person. If I have, they never came out publicly. Most of my queer exposure has been online, and the fact that I've seen nothing but angry, mean, exclusive and discriminating behavior without any sort of reasoning why other than selfish defensiveness, I don't know where else I'm supposed to go for support. Something a lot of you guys need to take into retrospect is anyone who identifies as LGBTQ gets shot where I live. We have sundown towns here. If you don’t even know what that is, good, but also that’s telling of your privilege that you need to consider when talking to others not from blue states. I didn’t grow up in an environment where we had these highly liberal culture points and the word ‘gay’ was never allowed to be said out loud. We did not have gay clubs in school. I'm about as fucking late to this as you possibly can get. The only reason I know anything about our history, representation, and barely anything about what's socially acceptable and what's not, is because of the internet. So many of you had the privilege of being exposed to this information as young as under the age of 10. I didn’t. Sue me for not immediately knowing what every gender label means right off the bat. Half that stuff isn’t even legal here. 

I can't believe it's boiled down to the fact that I have to somehow justify my existence on this Earth and give an explanation that fits into predetermined boxes just to do anything to engage with other people. I have no time or space to figure it out. I’m disorganized and overwhelmed because I can’t ask questions about ‘can butches do this?’ ‘How versatile is transmasc/transfem?’ ‘Am I more genderqueer or do I fit under the trans umbrella?’ Gender and identity is fluid and ever changing. I have actually seen people harp and attack individuals for "defaulting" or "detransitioning" when they change their mind after giving this big coming out speech. It’s like support on these platforms is entirely conditional and a one-time thing. Y'all really expect people to wear the first style of shirt they buy for the rest of their life? Are we not allowed to do anything unless we know for sure? How’s college working out for you, for those who believe this mindset?

The vocally aggressive ones who use big words that contradict their statements can do, say, and be whatever they want.  But people like me can't. The ones who have to straight pass in public to keep their jobs and maintain their life safely. Some of us have been on our own since 19 with no family support. Consider the environment someone lives in before assigning your harsh assumptions. I can’t just change myself on a whim without doing significant damage control. Half the jobs I work for don’t even allow unnatural hair colors. If we list our pronouns as anything other than our assigned sex at birth, it causes legality issues with taxes. The way I have to navigate how to explore my identity and also keep a roof over my head and my bills paid may seem highly conservative to most. It’s in no way shape or form meant to reflect disrespect on how others live and express themselves. I am doing the best with the environment I have. The way I do things is not meant to be read as a message of ‘you’re doing it wrong because you’re not doing it the way I do.’ None of us are wrong. That should not be the subliminal message here. 

You know someone actually challenged me on that? Saying I was being harmful for purposefully straight presenting in public? Please research your country and state specific laws before you say that to me. If I could afford to live somewhere safer and queer-friendly, this conversation would be different. I am working on getting the fuck out of this state. But I don’t have a partner or parents money to default on. I’m doing this by myself. It’s not impossible, just a slow process. 

I'm disappointed and fed up. I've reached my limit, and I don't really care anymore if someone uses this essay to try and cancel me 5 or 10 years from now when the world goes through another gender renaissance of terms and identities. I will not put up with being treated like this when you refuse to listen to anyone else other than the sound of your own voice. I’m trying my best to learn, adapt, and express myself. I do not need to be lectured or be called derogatory things just because you think I’m coming from a malicious place.  

It’s not just about the hostility and gate-keeping behavior exhibited in online queer spaces. The same exact thing happens in fandom spaces too. People get pissy about queer headcanons and presentations so much to the point of taking it upon themselves to police the fandom and scrub it clean of “impurities.” I’ve watched y’all go through people's social media pages for any type of ammunition for justification of a personal grievance. It shocks me how much hyperfixation gets put on specific and morally harmless things when there are people out there writing diabolical shit way worse than what I have to offer. And y’all happily support them too but bark at me about what I make cus that author fits your social criteria and you assumed I didn’t. Don't think I'm ignorant to every single scrap of hate mail and harassment I've gotten over the past year and a half in my inboxes. Including the passive aggressive posts about my work, vague tweets, and discussions about me in discord servers. Over what? Have you actually read my work? If it’s actually as problematic as you say it is, provide me with a modern and unbiased example why this particular scene and execution is harmful. And not because you got triggered or disliked the kink, or read the summary/tags and assumed it was something it’s not. I don’t know how much more caution tape, massive warnings, obvious clear-cut tags (that were provided to me by queer individuals to PUT on there in the first place) out of insane amounts of caution I can do. I have always been willing to provide spoilers and explicit details in case someone is unsure how they’ll be affected by something I make. If you already don’t like it based on my warnings, that’s always been more than okay! My work is not for everyone. I’m getting tired of politely and respectfully saying please move on, because the message seems to be getting lost in translation. So let me be clear; 

Get off my pages if you don’t like what I make. It’s not for you. It will never be for you. Dead dove. DO NOT EAT. PREFERRED DEMOGRAPHIC 25+ ADULT CONTENT RATED E FOR EXPLICIT. I can recommend so many other fantastic creators with better suited content for you! If I could hide my content behind a roped off section deliberately keeping you from seeing it, I would. BLOCK ME. 

If your response to this section is ‘well then just don’t write it’. Honey, there’s people out here in the RWBY fandom writing trans incest actively commenting on all your shit and you respond back. A magic grimm-goo strap and monster smut featuring a transfem character (again, requested by literally 3 trans people and WRITTEN by one) should be the least of your worries. 

I have actively chosen not to address the harassment and hate mail, because it's sad that half of you hate me so much you need to make a point of telling me so regularly. I sincerely hope moving on with your lives will grant you peace of mind. Truly.

This is why I barely interact with anyone. Nothing but hostility, harassment, and expectation to behave in ways I cannot emotionally commit to. I am exhausted, uninspired, and have such a bad taste in my mouth it's proving extremely difficult to want to do anything creative. It’s been worse with my recent exploration of my gender identity. Opening one door to write about certain things somehow, miraculously, closes ones I previously existed in. I’m practically getting kicked out if I’m not 100% one way or another. I don’t go out of my way to shove my content down your throats. Why you feel the need to come to me and tell me you dislike my existence because you read it, despite me stating this is not for everyone and probably not for you, doesn’t have anything to do with me. Idk what else I can do. Disappear off the face of the planet, I guess. That seems to be what the overall solution is when y’all find something you don’t like. I can't believe I witnessed grown adults in their mid twenties with self-proclaimed senses of rightness start a trend on Twitter to go through people's mutuals and their likes to see if they’re socially acceptable in Fandom spaces or not. That was fucking ridiculous. And especially not fair to those who had their private accounts leaked and put on blast when it was already behind an vetted follower wall. Believe it or not, people draw weird, lewd, diabolical shit. They’re actually being responsible by putting it behind a paywall, or some type of ‘proof of age before following’ requirement. It falls on the people who go on there, take screenshots, and post them publicly for minors and non-consenting individuals to see without filters what was previously hidden. It’s irresponsible and immature. 

For fear of getting canceled by the Fandom, I moved all 600+ accounts I was following onto a private alt. I don't interact with my main anymore. I went so far into hiding and didn’t dare share anything about liking content made by people I wasn’t allowed to like, because that’s how cruel it is out here. It's honestly stupid I even felt like I had to do that. For what? People glazed over the brief moment of drama within a few weeks and went right back to posting the same shit they always have. They find new things to gossip about on their privs. New enemies to cancel on Twitter. New things to deem problematic and attack. 

I will be heard with this letter. I don’t care to be associated with anyone who treats people like this. I don’t believe in it, I won’t support it, and I’d rather have a small circle of people who won’t be rude or attack other people for existing. I’m not going to sit here and take the abuse any longer. Leave me in peace. There is no reason any of this should be happening. 

This is not meant to undermine the support I have gotten from the few who know what I'm going through and have given me the space to figure it out. I appreciate every question answered and insight provided as much as your abilities allow. I'm so grateful for it. I just wish it wasn't 2 people while everyone else is an asshole.

[oeldeservesthenorris]

Like many people in and around hockey, this cause is personal for me. I’m close to someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve seen firsthand what the community goes through -- which is often a combination of hate, anger, and miseducation that causes a lot of hurt. Knowing how these experiences affect someone on a day-to-day basis gives me an important reason to speak up.

At the same time, I understand there are a lot of people who don’t have a “reason” -- because they don’t have anyone in their life who identifies as LGBTQ+.

However, it’s important to be able to break down your own biases and beliefs surrounding a topic, and humanize the people in the community they may be affecting. Why should I be treated, viewed, or welcomed any differently in society than a person raised alongside me? Someone with the same values, manners, and appreciation of love and respect for a partner in their life, just because it may not look the same as what has been accepted as ‘normal’ for years?

You don’t need to know someone who is LGBTQ+ to care about their experiences, to believe they deserve fair treatment, and to want to help create a more welcoming environment.

GO FUCKING OFF SCOTT LAUGHTON.

There's a little sector of NHL society that continues to make me hopeful that hockey will someday, maybe soon, move in the right direction and this mans is one of them. Thank you for your service sir.

[gordontheengineswifenirmal]

The asexual struggle -

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

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

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

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

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

[joonliebe]

This is going to be a little rant about something I have personally noticed in my own community and I think it should be talked about

If a gay man doesn’t want to date a trans man and a lesbian woman doesn’t want to date a trans woman then that doesn’t necessarily mean they are transphobic!

Now let me go into further detail about my statement.

It’s not wrong to have a preference in body types when pursuing a relationship. Just because a gay man won’t date a trans man doesn’t mean he doesn’t see you as a man (same goes for lesbians with trans women)

I’m not sure how bottom surgery works exactly so I can’t speak on that part but if a lesbian is lesbian because of the fact that she just doesn’t like having sexual relationships with those with the opposite genitalia then she shouldn’t be shamed for not wanting to be in a relationship with a trans woman.

Unless the individual specifically states that the reason why they don’t want to date transgender people is because they don’t see them as real men/women then they are not transphobic

And this goes for straight people too. Unless a straight person specifically says that they won’t date a trans person because they’re not real men/women then they shouldn’t be labeled as transphobic.

This happens a lot more than people think and it goes farther than just straight people. It goes into our community as well and it breaks the one thing that we as a lgbtq+ community stands for and that is to be accepted no matter our preference.

As a gay trans ftm individual myself I know it can be disappointing to find out that another gay man would want to date me because I don’t physically have the same genitalia as my gender however in the long run I will survive and find another. I rather a man to be open and tell me that he doesn’t like the opposite genitalia so that he doesn’t feel pressured into a relationship where he would be uncomfortable when having sexual intercourse and or not want to have sexual intercourse.

That brings me down to my last point

As a transgender individual you should make it clear to the person that you want to be in a relationship with (if gay, straight, or lesbian) ahead of time so you don’t end up in the wrong situation.

Unfortunately not all people would handle finding out their partners are the opposite biological sex of their attraction and may act aggressively (this would be obvious transphobia).

On a non violent note if that person turns out to not want to be in a relationship with you because your genitalia is not something that they seek in a relationship however they do still see you as a man/woman then don’t take it personally because you can always still be friends with them even if it’s awkward for a little bit the awkwardness is only temporary and will only last the longer you stay on the thought that the person doesn’t seek a relationship with you because your genitalia. Instead think of the fact that despite you not having your gender anatomy you are still a man/woman

If you have any questions or are unsure what I mean by something please ask me. Do not assume something if I haven’t specifically stated it because that is disrespectful to me and uncalled for.

[chaosandmarigolds]

sorry. I know I just posted saying I wouldn’t anymore but I’m just trying to clarify. Some people, and it’s reasonable, everyone is free to have their opinions and speak on them have found my content to be fat-phobic and hateful towards minorities (LGBTQ+ plus and the black community) which is a big deal!

I cannot speak about the black community because I’m white, I have no space to speak. As the main issue is that I didn’t write from an POC perspective. I believe I’ve said it before but I write from my personal experiences as I don’t want to misrepresent anyone. That was my heart. I didn’t want to hurt a group by trying to appease someone by writing something I know nothing about.

a few users brought this up to me and while I did try to explain my reasoning and why I didn’t they did not think it was adequate. I’m sorry if my writing offends you, I’m truly sorry if it hurts you because truly that’s not my heart. I was attempting to write silly fun things and give people a little break from reality, I am sorry.

I unsure on what to do at this point, I have those few users blocked but I still get messages via inbox and currently it’s all just overwhelming. If it is appropriate I will delete this page because the last thing I want to do is spread hate about a community I am in and ones I heavily respect.

-Coraline

[millie-mar]

the stranger things i hate about you

chapter four: the hideout pt1

| 1k words | 10 things i hate about you!steddie |

Throughout the eighteen years that he’s been alive, Steve met many people. He made friends, dated a bit, hooked up a lot, but in the end it was all pointless. He realised that he brings people pain, so he isolated himself, but now, he has to go back to that extroverted Steve Harrington and go out with Eddie Munson. He’s mostly concerned with the fact that Eddie seems to not buy his bullshit and definitely suspects something.

Steve’s thoughts linger on that as he leaves the school building a bit later than others. He couldn’t stop thinking about his earlier exchange with Eddie, so much that he lost track of time and didn’t realise everyone from his class already left long ago. So now he’s alone on the school’s parking lot. He stops in his tracks and looks up at the sky, then closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in and out.

‘Finally. I thought I’d have to wait here for the rest of the day!’ Robin’s voice interrupts Steve’s thought process and causes him to jump slightly.

‘Dammit, you couldn’t give me a warning?’

‘Isn’t me speaking up enough of a warning?’ Robin approaches Steve, patting his back. ‘So… How did it go?’

‘How did what go?’ Steve knows what the girl means, but he was confused as to how she knew about his conversation with Eddie.

‘Don’t play dumb. I pay you to do something for me, so of course I’m going to track your progress.’ Robin says, her chin up and an uncomfortable smirk on her face, she’s definitely not used to saying something like that.

‘We’re meeting tonight.’ he sighs.

‘Tonight? Grea-‘ she stops, thinking for a second ‘Wait. Tonight?!’ she exclaims ‘But he’s meeting Jonathan and Nancy tonight!’ At the mention of the latter name, Steve halts and looks slowly at Robin.

‘Nancy? With Eddie?’ He cannot believe that. He’s never even seen the two together, and since the girl broke up with him after the ‘incident’, he has kept his distance, but he has never stopped caring about her, and liked to check in on her now and then. ‘How do you even know that?’

Robin’s expression changes completely, her mouth slightly open, eyes wide, but it’s temporary and she regains composure. ‘I have my ways.’

Steve decides not to question it for now, he’s not really in a position to do so, so he changes the topic. ‘What am I supposed to do then? Eddie said he’ll pick me up at seven, and we’re going to a bar.’

‘What bar?’ Robin immediately jumps in, determination on her face.

‘I’m not sure, the name kind of slipped in to the conversation.’ he replies, deep in thought. ‘Steakout? Hangar-‘

‘Hideout?’ she interjects.

‘Yes! That’s the one.’

‘Hideout is an inclusive bar. It’s on the edge of town, kind of in the middle of nowhere.’ Robin takes her phone out to check the exact address.

‘An inclusive bar?’ Steve questions, confused.

‘Yeah. A gay bar.’ Steve’s eyes look like they’re going to fall out his sockets. He’s never been to a gay bar, maybe because he’s not gay. But does this mean that Eddie is? ‘Well, technically an LGBTQ bar, but saying gay bar makes it easier for people who are not part of the community to understand.’

Robin types something on her iPhone, scrolls couple times and gives her phone to Steve. ‘Here. You need to find out what the guy likes if you want to befriend him.’ The way she said ‘befriend’ stuck to Steve. What exactly does Robin expect him to do?

Steve took the phone and looked at the page opened on the screen. It was Eddie’s instagram profile, full of posts. Most of them don’t even show Eddie’s face, but one; a picture of Eddie, smiling brightly with his arms around a guy who’s covered his face and… Nancy. Steve opened the post, the caption saying ‘night out w my ppl🤘🏻’ . He never thought Nancy would be friends with someone like Eddie, she’s always been a preppy girl. While Eddie, he’s a punk, he smokes, does drugs, drinks, he’s in a band, hangs out with other weirdos from younger years.

Steve’s jealousy clouds his judgement. He’s seen how close everyone at Eddie’s table is in canteen; they laugh, chant and even hug each-other. While his table would chuck things at other people and laugh at someone else’s despair. He wants that connection with someone, which is why he fell in love with Nancy. She gave him that feeling. But now she’s got that connection with Eddie. A pang of pain hits Steve in the chest. The thought of her and Eddie doing the things they did fills him with annoyance and a bit of anger.

He will befriend Eddie, and whether it’s to make a change or be a prick and destroy what he has with Nancy, he’ll decide later.

After scrolling the posts on Eddie’s profile for the past ten minutes, Steve gathered the basic things that Eddie likes; metal music, his guitar, his band, D&D, his friends and a dog that he apparently has. Most of these things Steve already knew. He gave Robin her phone back, the girl already at the edge of losing her mind from the wait.

‘I’ll need your help.’ Steve says, an idea forming in his head.

‘With what?’ Robin couldn’t be more confused, seeing a little smirk on Steve’s face.

‘I need to get his attention somehow, and make it believable I wanna be friends, right? Be at mine for six. Bring your makeup, and any punk jewellery you can find.’

With that, Steve leaves Robin on the parking lot, dumbfounded, still not able to comprehend what is happening. Slowly, she smiles to herself, ‘Welcome back Harrington.’ She mumbles and leaves the place not long after, hand in her pockets and the smile not leaving her face.

<- last | next ->

[theodorecanaryhood]

The artist and the Tattooist: The Angel and The Demon

Part II

Jason Todd x Male! Reader

Warnings: sex, some violence and bad language

Jason, left, reader, right

Wayne enterprise was holding a Gala during the summer, in particular this was during pride month and Bruce was big on showing his support to the LGBTQ community.

Not just because his second son is Gay, but because he wants to show that equality is what you give. Treating everyone the same to Bruce, is big to him.

Bruce and Jason were on speaking terms after a while, Jason just had trust issues for his old man. But he couldn’t be angry at his father too much, Bruce was so accepting and never hesitant of opening his arms to his Son’s. All of them meaning so much to him.

‘Why don’t you bring your boyfriend?’ Bruce suggested to Jason, who shrugged.

‘I’ll see what he’s up to this weekend, he tries to get as much work done before the Monday rush’ Jason replied, knowing your work schedule as well as knowing you.

It was true, you liked to get canvases done latest by Sunday. As you had gotten more popular in the last few months.

‘See if he can, it would be great to meet him. Plus, it’ll be good for him to have some fun’ Bruce continued.

Of course when Jason asked you to attend as his plus one, you didn’t hesitate. But internally, you were nervous. It was the first time you’d be meeting Jason’s family.

The dress code was changed with a few weeks notice, instead of usual black tie it was mixed up. Dress up in costume. You found it odd, but it gave you an amazing idea.

‘Angel and Demon?’ Jason chuckled as you held up the costumes.

‘Yeah, why not?’ You smiled, handing Jason his costume. One of and Angel.

Jason found it ironic as he always felt the demon would fit him better, but then he figured it would be a funny joke for later.

‘There’s no top with this?’ Jason questioned as he held up his costume.

You laughed as you pointed out that the wings attach around your shoulders, some bottoms and footwear.

‘No need for a shirt, it’s meant to be worn like that. It’ll show off your body’ you winked, as you ran a hand up Jason’s shirt.

Kissing him deeply as Jason sighed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around your neck, holding you in place.

‘Ok, you want to show me off to everyone, I get it’ Jason laughed as you tilted your head.

‘You’re hot babe, you really should start realising that’ you replied as Jason nodded.

The night of the Gala came and Jason dressed up in his Angel costume, standing looking at himself in the mirror.

‘I’m ready’ you called out as you walked into the room, wearing the Devil’s costume.

Black shirt and trousers, black shoes, black wings. Black eyeliner and mascara. Jason’s Jae dropped as he’d never seen you like this before, you just admiring the view of Jason.

Jason wore white trousers, shoes and the white Angel wings. With some light material covering part of his torso. Jason still not comfortable showing all his body off yet.

‘You look sexy’ Jason said, his eyes checking you out. Pulling you in for a kiss.

The two of you entered the gala hand in hand as some reporters waited for the Wayne family members to come.

‘Mr Todd’ one reporter said as she came over to him, camera in hand.

‘Hi’ he smiled, squeezing your hand as his fingers interlocked with yours.

‘Can we get some shots of you please? It’s for our article’ she asked, Jason nodded.

‘Yeah sure, get one of me and my boyfriend’ Jason said as he kissed your cheek, while it was snapped.

‘Thanks’

You both walked further into the event as you took in the view of rich people, all staring at you and Jason as you both walked in.

‘Everyone’s looking’ you whispered to Jason, he just squeezed your hand again.

‘Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll protect you’ Jason reassured you. Seeing you were nervous.

Jason took you to a table that had 5 men and a woman seated at, Jason waved at them as they all waved back, smiling brightly.

‘Hey everyone, this is y/n, my boyfriend’ Jason introduced you. The men all stood up, and you saw clearly one of the older men was Bruce Wayne.

‘Y/n, this is my dad Bruce, Alfred, my brothers Dick, Tim and Damian. And that is Selina’ Jason introduced, pointing to all of them as he named them.

You smiled as Bruce shook your hand while smiling at you, Bruce shook your hand while placing his other hand on top of yours and his.

‘It is such a pleasure to meet you y/n, Jason has not stopped talking about you’ Bruce said warmly, as he invited you both to sit with them at the table, having two extra seats.

You guys all chatted and drank as you got to know everyone better, you sat with Dick for ages as the two of you laughed. You both having a similar sense of humour. While you and Alfred talked about recipes, the older man seeming to really approve of you.

You smiled as you saw Jason talking with Selina and Bruce, Bruce showing a lot of affection towards his son, which made Jason smile.

‘Come have a drink with me’ Jason whispered in your ear as he stood behind your seated form. You nodding.

‘Didn’t want you to feel overwhelmed back there, they can be a lot sometimes’ Jason said as he kissed your cheek, walking you to the bar.

You guys stood at the bar for a while as you drank, you both laughing.

Dick came over and got a drink too as he smiled at you both. Jason wrapping an arm around your waist.

‘Wanna dance babe?’ You nodded at Jason’s question, the two of you holding hands while walking to the dance floor.

A few hours had gone by, the two of you just enjoying each others company. But you didn’t want to just leave at the end without talking to Jason’s family a bit more, so you went to find their table.

With only Dick, Tim and Alfred at the table now as Damian was with Bruce and Selina in the bathroom.

‘Hey, there’s a pride event on Friday if you want to come? Me and Jason are going’ Dick informed as he invited you, you nodded with a smile.

‘Yeah, sounds great, I’ll close the store early’

The rest of the Gala was Jason socialising with his Dad’s rich friends, something he and his siblings had to do often at these events. Keeps up the Wayne name apparently, Jason was trying his hardest not to look bored. Holding your hand, arm round your waist or simply just touching you in some way the whole time.

Jason made an effort to show everyone at this Gala that you were his, and only his. It made you blush, but also reminded you of the fact that Jason is territorial with things and people he cares about.

Neither of you drinking too much tonight as you had the long drive home, you smiled as you said goodbye to his family. Selina giving you a hug as you both departed, something Jason pointed out Selina doesn’t do unless she likes you.

The next day was usual as you both had work, though as Jason lived closer to the gala you stayed over at his. For the first time you were both too tired once you got in, so you both simply fell asleep.

Jason had a client at 10 who was insistent on having a particular art design. She sat down on the seat, watching as Jason prepped himself for the tattoo.

‘The rose won’t take too long, but the exterior pattern might take some time. This should only be one sitting, but you can always come for a touch up in a few months if you want to add to it’ Jason informed, as the woman sat.

She was in her early 20’s, blonde and already had some nice tattoos on her arms and legs. She’s never been here before, she was just looking for a new artist since her last one moved out of the City.

‘So, how long you been tattooing?’ The woman asked, it wasn’t unusual for Jason’s clients to make small talk in the process. As it always made process to go quicker.

‘About 7 years now’ he smiled, the gun working its magic on the top of the woman’s arm. Her not showing much pain or discomfort to the needle.

The two talked a little as Jason did his work, effortlessly working the design onto the woman’s skin.

After he was finished, she checked it out in the mirror. She smiled at what he’d done, with a satisfied expression she approached Jason.

‘Happy?’ He asked as she nodded, him smiling at her.

Once all the aftercare had been given and discussed, the woman paid, making sure to tip well.

‘Thank you, so much it’s beautiful’ she smiled as Jason nodded.

‘Glad you like it, thank you for the tip it’s generous’ Jason replied, the woman winking.

‘I was wondering, if I could get some friends to come here and get some work done. I know they’ve been looking for an artist for ages’ she suggested, Jason nodded.

Always happy to accept more and more clients, Jason felt at the moment was enough with just him, Roy and Wally. But, was hoping to expand a little more so was looking to employ a couple more people too.

‘Happy for you to get as many people here as you want’ he smiled, the woman flicking her hair a little.

‘Was also wondering, if you were free Friday night? There’s this thing at my work, we’re all going and I don’t have a plus one’ she asked, Jason smiled.

‘I would love to but I’m going to a Pride event with my brother that day’ Jason politely responded.

‘Pride event huh? That’s so cute, you taking anyone else?’ She asked, Jason smiled again.

‘My boyfriend’

‘Well have fun’ she said, leaving with a laugh as she called out promising to bring her friends next time.

Jason patrolled the streets but didn’t find much exciting action, he’d hoped he could relieve himself of some tension and stress, but I guess criminals were taking a night off.

‘Think I’ll call it a night’ Jason mumbled to himself as he started up his motorbike, with the intention of heading home, he ended up making his to your place.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ You asked as Jason walked into your apartment, you of course opening the door to him first.

‘Patrol was boring tonight, still got tons of tension and energy’ Jason said, walking into your apartment with you.

You were finishing up on a final canvas which you put over on a stand to dry. Jason checked it out, never failing to be impressed with your work.

‘You excited about Friday?’ Jason asked you as he sat on your couch, you nodded.

Jason just watched as you worked while cleaning, Jason feeling himself getting hard in his pants.

‘You’re staring again’ you said, not looking at Jason, hearing him let out a huff.

‘I just like watching you’

You sat on Jason’s lap as you both made out, him grabbing your face. He felt how hard you were getting too.

‘God you are tense’ you commented as you felt Jason’s shoulders.

‘Wanna help me relieve some of this?’ Jason asked you. You smirked as Jason stood up carrying you.

‘That feels amazing’ Jason commented, his face down as he lay on his front.

You massaged Jason as a way to help him offload some tension, his back and shoulders were the worst.

‘You should get a massage more often babe, this tension is not helping’ you commented, Jason humming.

‘You can massage me anytime you want, this feels better than sex’ Jason breathed out in relief.

‘No offence taken darling’ you chuckled as Jason laughed, you smiled as you worked all over a Jason’s back.

‘Want to do my front?’ Jason asked, you hummed in response as Jason rolled onto his back.

This time you spiced it up a bit by sitting on top of Jason’s hips while working his chest and abs.

‘Don’t tease me now babe’ he said to you, smiling as you rubbed up and down his body.

‘I’m all about the teasing’ you wink, Jason placing his hands in your ass as you leant down and kissed him.

‘Let’s fuck’ Jason growled as he rolled you over onto your back, him laying on top of you.

The make out session got steamy as Jason began to unbutton your shirt.

Jason licked your stomach and chest all the way up, until he got to your neck and bit at it. Then giving you a deep kiss.

You held onto Jason’s face as you tugged at Jason’s boxers, him doing the same to your underwear.

Jason rolled you onto your front as he gave your ass a hard slap, you urging him to do it again.

‘I want it’ you begged, putting a little as Jason smiled devilishly.

‘I like when you beg, do it again’ he growled as he bit your ear.

‘I want it now, baby please’ you begged again as Jason leant down and kissed you deeply, giving you a little lick in the face.

Jason slid his hard shaft into you as you called out in pleasure, gripping onto the pillow. Jason was moving slowly, sliding in and out.

You were biting your lip as you moaned out, Jason grunting as he picked up a quicker pace. Jason urged you onto all fours, to which you obliged.

You stayed on all fours as Jason wrapped an arm around your neck, with his other free hand reaching round as he jerked your off.

‘Oh God, baby’ you moaned out as Jason lay his forehead on the back of you neck.

Jason pushed himself in and out of you deeply and slowly, his hot breath fanning the back of your chest.

‘Jason, Jason’ you breathed out, Jason’s length filling you up and hitting all the good spots.

The ecstasy of your bodies together and the volume of you both, which probably kept the neighbours in the loop of what’s going on, was so hot it kept you both going for the moment.

‘Oh God, Jason I’m close, please don’t stop’ you whimpered as Jason carried on jerking you while riding you.

Your hot seed shot out like bullets as you moaned out of pleasure, Jason seeming to find it hot as he sped up a little. Arm still wrapped around your neck.

Once he’d finished emptying you out he placed his other arm around your neck too, riding you deeper and deeper.

‘Y/n, I love you so much’ Jason blurted out, going quicker as he came closer and closer.

Jason slowed down and pumped deeper as he spilled inside you. Finishing inside, Jason caught his breath as he pulled himself out.

Turning your face with his hand, kissing you deeply. Seemingly not registering that he’d said ‘I love you’ for the first time.

You both kissed as you turned your body to face his, Jason smiling into the kiss a little.

‘I love you too’ you whispered back, Jason smiling brightly as he kissed you again. Laying you on your back as he began to slide down your body, making his way to between your legs.

Sucking, licking and playing with you until you were hard and ready again. Giving you the best blowjob of your life.

Friday came and you were both headed to meet Dick, walking hand in hand as you swung your arm a little. Making Jason chuckle.

‘Hey guys’ Dick called out as he came over smiling, giving Jason a hug. Then coming over and giving you one too.

You both wear dressed appropriately for the weather, with casual clothing. While Dick went all out and wore a rainbow shirt with some bright coloured shorts.

You found it sweet how much Dick cared about his younger brother, and how sweet it was that Dick made a huge deal of showing nothing but acceptance. Of both of you.

Dick took you both to the gay bar close by after the parade, standing in between you both with his arms around you both.

Of course, you and Jason snuck away a couple of times to have a quick make out. Or just to cuddle.

You and Dick got on so well it made Jason smile, as he only wanted you to like his family as much as they like you. Which you did. Even exchanging numbers with Dick at the end of the night.

Jason kissed you for the hundredth time today, as you both stood outside. Jason not giving one shit about who was looking.

‘I love you y/n’ Jason smiled, resting his forehead against yours.

‘I love you too, Jason’ you breathed out as you pulled in for another kiss. Never getting tired of Jason’s lips.

[tommykinard6]

You know what I don’t like about buddie? That it makes 3/5 of the main characters lgbtq and they’re coworkers. I’m bi and I can tell you that’s horribly unrealistic to have majority lgbtq folks in a work setting. At my last job, there were 4 out lgbtq people out of the 90-100 that worked there. Idk. That probably doesn’t make any sense. But it takes me out of the story a bit.

Hey nonnie. As another queer person, I do understand what you’re saying. However, I don’t think for me personally it reads very unrealistic. First off, 9-1-1 is not the most realistic show in existence. But also, I think the ratio of queer people in general society is becoming more common. More labels are coming out (haha) and also general acceptance (at least in the US) has gotten a lot better (not perfect, barely even good, but better). It might be unrealistic to have such an overwhelming ratio, but I think more people finding themselves within the community or being less afraid to be themselves (like Tommy) is less uncommon than one would think.

Also, perspectively speaking, there aren’t only five people on shift technically. It’s a larger firehouse, we just focus on five in particular.

Not trying to discount what you’re saying, nonnie, just countering it a bit.

[nerdishpursuits]

Can you elaborate on your tags about reading jk Rowlings original post?

Just that I admit that at first, when the JKR discourse started back in the day, I didn’t actually go and read the essay she published on her blog, which is the one that started the entire thing. I did go and read it, eventually, because I tend to like forming my own opinions on things. Personally, I didn’t see any evidence of transphobia. Same with her tweets. Sure, she’s a sarcastic troll some days because she’s, probably, tired of this topic. She was arguing there is such a thing as biological sex and people transition from one to the other in order to embrace living authentically. And that kids should be kids as they have no way to consent. They need to be left alone, or helped to make informed decisions they’ll not regret later in life. Perfectly fine and I’m very much supportive of that.

Everyone should love and live as they please, and no one has the right to ostracize them for it. What she called problematic was the complete denial that biological sex exists, hormone blockers in kids who can’t really consent, self IDing as a woman without actually transitioning and some trans activists saying a biological woman’s experience doesn’t matter. I don’t see that as being transphobic. Just logic and concern.

Over the past few days my partner and I went on a deep dive on this topic and found there’s plenty trans people agreeing with JKR. We’ve seen videos of trans women competing in women’s sports and winning, then commenting they don’t care at all about the medals and winning, but simply enjoy having a good time with their friends at the gym. Why compete in the women’s weight lifting category if you don’t care about winning then? Aussie surfer Bethany Hamilton was dropped by her lifelong sponsor in favor of a trans woman who previously competed, and won, in the men’s division. Swimming, wrestling, roller skating even etc. There’s trans women out there claiming they’re the ones who know what a woman is because they’re forced to think about it, whereas a biological woman is simply born and therefore, inferior. Others who claim they experience period cramps or that their genitalia is superior to a biological woman’s etc. As far as I’ve seen. JKR and other trans people have spoken out against these kind of situations, comments and claims. That’s why I think that cancel culture is so toxic. We need to look at the whole picture and stop claiming things are black or white or the damaging adage of if you’re not with me you’re against me.

I think a very loud minority, who doesn’t represent the entirety of the trans community, might actually be doing more harm than good. Not just to the trans community, who deserves nothing but acceptance and support and love, but the rest of the LGBTQ+ community as well. Pushing a narrative too fast, and forcefully, isn’t helping. It’s actually turning people against us and it’s frustrating and depressing. Denying actual biology and elbowing your way into biological women’s spaces won’t win you their love. Calling them birthing people won’t win them over. Calling them lesser won’t open doors either.

There’s a ton of material to be found on YouTube, there’s podcasts, articles etc. Personally, I think people need to sit down and talk and debate and be diplomatic. I’m not saying JKR isn’t without her faults but I do think she’s been demonized for speaking her mind and voicing her concerns about women’s spaces and kids. It’s as if people can’t have a healthy debate anymore. We need to cancel those who don’t agree with us. It’s the all or nothing mob mentality and, personally, I’m sick of it. This is a nuanced topic and should be treated as such. But now you can’t even be a centrist anymore. You have to be for or against and nothing in between. How about we look at what’s right or wrong, for both sides, and decide accordingly. Why this inane ideological war that radicalizes people who should be having a productive conversation instead.