#like I also give a shit about making sure that we talk about lgbt people within the terms they would have used in their day

[nitrosplicer]

so weird to me that there persists this meme of academics as being gleeful censors of queer and lgbt history (a la “haha and historians will say they are roommates”) when you actually pick up contemporary histories and they’re all like “yeah this woman wrote love letters to those she called her friends but knowing the context of coded language these people were probably her lovers” - very obvious to me that a lot of thought about history was shaped by a surface reading of perhaps one textbook during high school and never again!

[moshieee]

Ew, essays :[

I miss the old days of kindergarten when we attempted to color butterflies and ate erasers and glue

-🎁

I hated kindergarten

Essays may suck but at least now I'm not the weird kid in the corner wishing I had friends

However yes I absolutely despise essays with all my being... in fact!

Achievement unlocked: you somehow found a topic moshie hates enough and on a bad day to start them ranting in the tags...

Warning there are curse words, poor spelling, and caps locks

Sorry in advance

[mlmarint]

so here’s my thoughts about the “daddy issues” thing with the whole anti tommy shit

you guys are such fucking hypocrites

i would be totally on board with someone bringing that it’s not okay to sexualize someone’s trauma if that was the case. but guess whaaaaaaat???? THATS NOT THE CASE. and it’s not “terrible dialogue” either, there’s so many scenes with terrible dialogue in this show, but some of you should really stop and ask yourselfs WHY you didn’t like this one.

if eddie was the one to make a comment like that some of you’d be OVER THE MOON. i’ve NEVER seen ANYONE in this fandom talk about how a LOT of the buddie explicit fanfics have a daddy kink on it. and before any more comments, i REALLY HATE buddie fics with daddy kink because it always reminds me of christopher and do NOT want to think about christopher in that moment.

“that’s not the problem. the problem is that once again buck it’s with someone who doesn’t care about his trauma” oh grow the fuck up.

tommy LITERALLY decided to not date buck because he thought buck wasn’t ready for it, he gave buck his space, he at first didn’t want to go to maddie and chimney wedding with buck because he thought buck was acting on impulse and wanted him to take his time to be okay with who he is, and after he was sure he tried his best to be on time to his date.

and also!!!! buck is a little “freak” in bed guys, he was a literal sex addict in season 1. every now and then the show reminds us this (like the ring cutter scene), also this is the second buck’s relationship with someone who’s like older than him. i wouldn’t be surprised if buck has a canon daddy kink because GUESS WHAAAAAT some people who have daddy issues??? THEY HAVE DADDY KINKS!!!!!

but you guys wanna know what i truly think?

i think that some of you (these tommy antis) are only here for buddie. you’re not here for the show, you’re here for buck and eddie. you’re not here for all these amazing characters!!! you’re not here for the fact that buck being a bisexual man discovering that side of him in his 30s its one of the most important things that happened in this show when we’re talking about lgbt+ characters and the importance of having something like that to be on media.

you’re not here for bi buck, you’re only here if this means that eddie will be with him. you’ll won’t be here if they decide to give a eddie queer discover story non related to buck on season 8 (and i truly think we’re going that way).

you only liked buck and tommy when you could sexualize two man kissing.

if you want to talk about something that is not okay that tommy did why don’t you rewatch the older episodes he’s in? he wasn’t a nice person back then and honestly i would like for them to bring that up!!! for them to show how a person can change and grow out of their prejudice and realize that they don’t need to be an ass and be okay with who they truly are. in fact why don’t we talk about how they hinted the fact that tommy didn’t like who he was when he was working with gerard? that he doesn’t like gerard and that he was a toxic person and that tommy grow up with a racist, homophobic and sexist dad???? that’s why he wasn’t a nice person back than but he’s different now and he’s a proud gay man and that once again that’s a nice thing to have on media because it shows how it’s NEVER too late to come in terms with who you are and change the way your are for better????

tommy isn’t perfect (and no one that he hurt before seems to actually care about it cause he did truly changed), but that doesn’t mean you need to cancel the guy FOR ONE SINGLE comment!!!! part of the 911 team made fun of buck for being sexually assaulted by his therapist but no one canceled them for it, did they?

honestly i am so fucking tired with fandoms in general.

at this point i hope we don’t get buddie being canon FOR A LONG TIME cause i want you guys to suffer with tommy and buck being in a happy relationship.

just remember: eddies it’s not canonical queer yet, there’s hints of it and they probably are going on that road with the whole thing they’re saying on interviews, BUT buck IS BISEXUAL and HE IS dating TOMMY you like it or not and it’s by far the most healthy relationship he EVER had in this show, can’t you be happy for him????

you can be a buddie shipper and still enjoy bucktommy because what we should truly want more than anything it’s buck and eddie to be happy with who they are.

and I SAY ALL THIS BEING A BUDDIE SHIPPER FOR YEARS

[markerofthemidnight]

🏳️‍🌈 as many as you want.

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

Oh, shit! No specific fandom in mind or anything?! HOLY SHIT YOU BET I’M GONNA MAKE THE MOST OF THIS!

(warning: rant incoming (under cut))

Hatchetfield (specifically The Lords in Black)

I’ve already talked about my headcanons for their sexualities on a different ask, so let me just run through any specific mental stuff I think they may have…

Tinky definitely has ADHD or something similar, Pokey probably has some kind of antisocial disorder which is why he’s… Like That™️, and maybe autism too (noise sensitivity). I’ve also called Wiggly a narcissist a few times, and while I stand by the fact that that could be the case, I don’t want to make a statement like that about a disorder that I don’t know all too well.

They all go by he/it mainly. They’re fine with any pronouns, though.

Project: Eden’s Garden

I’m not going to give any disorder to Tozu because I think it’s much more fitting for him to just be… straight-up insane rather than having any undiagnosed mental thingy (though ADHD is a possibility, short attention span and all.) He’s definitely somewhere in the ace spectrum, if you ask me! I’d personally like to say panromantic and asexual. And obviously, his race is British.

Mara is also somewhere on the ace spectrum, though I haven’t decided where. I’m not sure what kind of mental illness she might have, though probably something trauma-related like PTSD knowing the kind of story the devs will probably give her.

Other than that, lemme run through the students really quick… Eva is also also somewhere on the ace spectrum, Eloise has an inferiority complex, Damon has DEFINITELY had some very non-straight thoughts that he’s in denial about… oh, and Kai goes by he/they, though wether that’s just for the clout or if they’re genuinely genderqueer is up for debate!

Chonny Jash (GOD it’s been a while since I mentioned that name huh?)

You will pry my headcanon that the Headspace is just the result of a really weird plural disorder from my cold, dead hands. Other than that, Heart and Mind are both autistic, just in different ways (Heart has sensory problems, Mind is antisocial with a tendency to take everything literally, and both have special interests). Soul definitely has something too, but I’m not sure what.

They’re all gay as shit, but to different extents (Soul is straight up homosexual, Heart is pan with a preference for men, and Mind is grey-homoromantic aseuxal).

Finally, they all grew up in Australia but moved to the states at some point in their life (hence their accents. Their old one comes back sometimes depending on their emotions.)

Dreams of an Insomniac

Alex is gay. So gay. I don’t know why they just give off those vibes.

Dr Lankmann is aro/ace, and doesn’t understand people who feel any kind of attraction at all. As in, some of his closest followers have had to talk him out of dissecting the brains of allo people multiple times.

We already know that all Veldigun are aro/ace, and mainly go by he/it pronouns, but if I were to add to that: The Flock goes by they/it, and Simon goes by he/they and is only referred to as “it” by those who don’t trust him.

And, while you’ve given me the opportunity… eh, why the hell not? SNG&D HEADCANONS LETS GOOOOOO (spoilers ahead but honestly I don’t think you care)

SNG&D

(JJ and Ricky are from SpiffyNeedleGeeks’ now-cancelled Curse of Strahd campaign, and played by Lettersent (or Dion, he’s fine with either))

First off, they’re both aro/ace. Like, SO aro/ace. These are children we’re talking about, after all.

We already know they have OSDD canonically, but a very specific headcanon I’ve had for a long time is that they’re also autistic! Mainly because generally their vibes remind me of my own autistic ass, but also because LOOK AT THEM. LOOK AT JJ’S BLANK FUCKING AUTISM CREATURE STARE.

JJ’s autism manifests mainly in the way he acts. Again, the blank stare he canonically does 99% of the time, his tendency to stay futher away from the group (especially before he really learns to trust the rest of the party), the sort of silent nervousness he has around strangers contrasted by the rabid little bastard he becomes when he’s around people he dislikes (in a different way to Ricky taking control) all give me a lot of autistic vibes.

Ricky, however, is a bit harder to categorise. Mainly because most of these are just my headcanons, but… eh. I like to think that he’s, to an extent, a bit noise-sensitive (part of the reason why he doesn’t like social situations besides just being terrible at them), we already know he’s touch-averse canonically, and he’s got a big aversion to certain tastes and textures (though that’s less due to the autism and more due to the fact that he’d literally never eaten before in his life until like a week ago).

This also adds a much funnier layer to why he’s so overprotective of JJ. It’s not just because, y’know, he was born specifically to protect him, but also because it’s literally his special interest. Whenever someone asks him something about him, it probably takes all the strength he has to resist the urge to ramble for hours.

Aside from that, the brothers also both gained PTSD from everything they’ve been through. While I’m fairly sure it’s canon that Ricky has PTSD from their death, I like the idea that JJ has some too that he more or less got over in the years between their death and meeting the party. (The sight of a Displacer Beast still puts him on edge, though.)

…Sorry, I just- I had to get that off my chest.

I could talk about my headcanons for some of their other characters more, but I think I’ve been ranting on too much (besides, it’s mainly JJ and Ricky I have headcanons for anyways, as they are by far my favourites).

[gala-xyzz]

to the idkhow community at large

holy shit i feel so nervous typing this up but here we go. i need to say this or i'm gonna feel awful for the rest my life

about seven or eight months ago i left this site due to some harrassment my sister and i were getting from people here. i'd made some statements about lgbt that upset some people, and we were getting lots of angry messages about "how could you be so homophobic" etc etc (not an actual quote but you get the idea)

well, to start, i would like to offer (what i hope is) an apology

i probably should never have made those remarks. to the people i offended, i'm sorry that i offended you, because i swear i never intended to do that. i want to be friends with all of you and i felt like i never got to explain what happened. if you see this, i sincerely hope we can become friends again, because everyone was so nice before the incident

i would also like to explain what happened from my point of view, because i felt that i was never given a fair chance to explain what happened on my end

some background: i come from a very strict home. my family is catholic, and they were very firm in making sure i wasn't exposed to most of modern culture, mostly via homeschooling and keeping me off of social media. as such, at the time of this all happening, i did not know much about lgbt or how to interact with people in that movement, especially without offending them

i was talking about some characters of mine, joking about how they had some gay tension between them, and another friend of mine, knowing my beliefs, was a bit confused about my stance on lgbt matters because of that and asked about it. i gave what i felt like was an approrpite answer, trying to stress that i was neutral about the matter and i was not going to attack people for being lgbt

turns out the phrasing i used offended some people, and it got me blocked by a couple of people. alright, i thought. it's only one or two people, i can maybe handle this

some months later, my sister was trying to join a discord server (i think that was it), and one of the blocked people mentioned my remarks about lgbt people again, which by that point i had forgotten about. that's when we started getting the angry dms and a lot os people blocked us

i was upset by this, as i have had a past history of losing friends. a lot of them, and not because of anything i did. it was mostly bullying and other shitty people. the situation then was beginning to feel (to me, at least), like one of those bullying incidents, especially because some of the messages came from people i considered close friends on here, so i got upset and left

it's been seven months now, and i'm trying to become a more accepting person. i've grown up in an environment where lgbt people are seen in a negative light, and i believe that is a wrong mindset. people are going to think how they will, and we need to be as accepting of that as we can

but this goes for the lgbt people, too. shunning someone for not understanding your ideas and beliefs does not help you, it only scares us away. and so i am hoping that maybe we can try again this time. maybe we can try to be friends again

and if you're still mad, please just give me a civil dm. don't call me names, don't insult me for my religion, etc etc

thank you for hearing me out :)

[twisted-gremlin]

I feel like- TWST and pride

Heartslabuyl Pride:

- I mean, I think Riddle makes sure people in his doorm know what every day represents and do something to celebrate that in general. Informational things about whatever, haveibg them wear a colour if it involves that, haveibg a meal based on the food whatever it is. When it comes to pride, he makes sure none is gonna be an ass about it. "Its scientifically reasonable and there are studies showing that it's natural in every species to be queer, intersex, transgenderd, aromatic, and asexual." He also makes sure that those who are whatever get a chance to talk about themselves and their experiences to the first years and the first years get to too. If they want of course, he wont force them into anything. Just, dont be homophoboc or its off with your head and a shit ton of studying

- in Heartslabyl, the only student there that we are close to who probably had a bad experience is Cater. He already has had a bad home life so he has kept this extra tidbit to himself too. He let's it out more at school and is the one who keeps an eye out for those who have bad home lives or is struggling in the closet and is just kinda there for them

- Trey, he such a mom when it comes to anything, so when it comes to being gay- and you just came out. Expect a cake in the pride flag that you cane out as, but if it's unlabeled you get a rainbow. He also knows where things are for students who are transitioning, he checks in to make sure you took off your binder/boobs after 12 hours or when you're eating

- Ace probably teases you. But you get to tease him back, as the pansexual man that he is. I think he would be a big activist tough, makeing sure none gets treated poorly by anyone. And if they do, they get to deal with him, and Deuce.

- Deuce beats up homophobes with Ace. It really ticks him off when he sees that sort of thing. But he also learned from Trey where all the differnt things are for trans kids and queer kids. He needs to be a good honor student after all, so he'll be takeing over Treys work when he leaves

Savanaclaw Pride

- I feel like, Savanaclaw wouldn't do much for pride, not because they don't belive in it, because where Leona comes from, the LGBT is quite accepted. So he makes sure those who are there, know that either accept people for who they are or get the fuck out.

- Ruggie is a sly little bastard, so he keeps an ear our for any bs that happens. Reporting it to Leona quickly

- Jack, quite the gay man himself, make sure that queer students in his doorm feel accepted. If they ever ask him for help with anything, he'll be more likely to do it.

Octanavile Pride

- well- the boys are so gay- oh so very gay oh my God. They do sell pride things like pride drinks, pastries, there is little pride flags at the tables. He will hold queer date nights, drag shows(those are Year round but more often during pride, he absolutely slays in his dress). The queer students get a little revenue boost aswell, since he specifically has them working those nights

- Jade, the ever so persuasive man, makes sure that none in Octanavile is going to do harm to any of the queer students. If they do well, he and Floyd get to have some fun :>

- Floyd does drag sometimes. You can't tell me he dosent. He is so all over the place with e v e r y t h i n g (including gender, sexuality, and attraction lol) but when he does do a show he gives it his all and everyone fuckin loves it. None knows what's going to happen, but they know Floyd is gonna be awsome

Scarabia Pride

- I think, with pride being a little more quiet and underground, when either Yuu or one of the students comes out to Kalim and explains the whole thing. This man makes sure to learn everything little thing he can about it so that he can throw the most epic pride parade EVER. Jamil helps of course (a little less reluctantly because, he is so quietly gay for this man and a few others and it's nice to see Kalim in a new light)

- Jamil is alot like Trey when it comes to Trans and queer students. He has things for them if they need it, when Kalim learns about pride he shows kalim where it is and what the students would need so Kalim also has some in his room now too to help those students.

Pomfiore Pride

- Vil is already an activist for queer people. Whatever makeup he has made marketed towards queer people he makes sure is CHEAPER than regular products while keeping the quality. He has things in his room to help with trans students feel their authentic selves and will even teach them how to use them and is very strict when to use them and when not to.

- Rook knows who in the doorm is and isn't queer, and who is and isn't out. He makes sure trans students get the things that they need when their time of the month comes around, he helps queer students ask their crushes out. He is just a good support. None dares try to be homophobic, or else they face the wrath if Rook and Vil

- Epel being a Tans man that has only socially and recently started to physically transition is still quite insecure about things. But I think other trans kids would look up to him, wither amab or afab, because he has taken this chance to learn how to be a man healthily under Vil, and accept the parts of him that is feminine.

Ignahyde Pride

- first of all, the lights from the tech in thr doorm change from purely blue to one of each pride colour (some students can also select ddoffernt pride flag for it or gave a little one in the corner of their screens) Iida makes sure if you try to switch it off, it fuckin fails. He also trolls homophobes as a passtime

Diasomnia Pride

- in Briar Valley, love is such an important thing to them. It's what hatches a dragons egg after all. So, they don't discriminate on what kind of love surrounds an egg, weather it be two mothers two fathers, a mother and a father, whatever it may be. Love is important culturally. So, of Malleus hears the silly thing of someone in his doorm being discriminates against by anyone because of these trivial things. A big storm is brewing, and the one who dared to hurt thar student is going to PAY

- When it comes to Lilia, a nonbinary ✨️Icon✨️, he has adapted the most and easiest out of all those who cane from Briar Valely, so he also would have a place to store differnt things for the LGBTQ students under his care.

- Silver is very awkward and standoffish to those he dosent know well but he hopes that part of an alliance between humans and fae that the positives of both of the species rub off on eachother. He is quite supportive if someone he knows does come out to them and he makes it feel like it's just a normal thing to be and makes them feel safe to be themselves

- Sebek, is quite protective of his doorm mates and those he calls a friend. So, you better not have insulted them with no good reason behind it. Because he is LOUD.

Staff

- Crowley probably have fuck all knowledge of pride, but he may have some things for students if he knows that they are trans, just in case.

- Crewl secretly makes potions that makes his students a little more comfortable in their bodies (aka he has tans potions that gives a student the body of the opposite sex, if you want just specific things gone he would teach that student)

- Trein is a little old fashioned, but he respects his students for being who they are. He knows as much as he could about queer history that haven't been erased already and teaches what he can of it too

- Vargas is another teacher that would have access to afab products in his desk, and if you get them from him, he'll also go a little easier on you for the week

- Sam dosent do the pink tax bs at all, it'd part of why he is so popular. He knows how to market and sell to people at the best prices, no bs hideing behind the scenes or anything. He does give away pride flags or a little pride thing during pride month aswell to those he knows are supportive or queer themselves

[statementlou]

Do you reckon the anon who says they’ve watched aotv is legit? I can’t picture Louis saying having lgbt fans is “weird” bc he’s straight or throwing Harry’s name under the fire like that but he never fails to surprise us so idk

Nah. At absolute best they did see it but are still trolling with the most exaggerated bad faith readings possible of everything out of his mouth, which is certainly a thing people do around here, but honestly a prescreening makes no sense (it's DIGITAL) and they have nothing to say that makes it seem like they have any inside knowledge rather than just making shit up. Like do I think he curses a lot and that Freddie is in the movie, yes these are obvious like I also think he'll talk with an accent! And that 1D are in the film! Do I think it's mostly pretty similar to the AFHF mini doc I mean yeah, sure, and that he talks about the band breaking up in largely the same way he has already in interviews, yes. This is not insider knowledge. But there is legit no chance he talks shit about Harry or larries, BE SERIOUS. I DO however believe that he says some fairly mild things about his own feelings that trolls (and rads) will say are him doing that though, we see that every time he does anything. I would really recommend people watch As It Was, Charlie's Liam Gallagher doc, except also I wouldn't unless you actually care about LG cause it's like not that amazing- I think this doc will be fucking great, hours of Louis footage and so fun, but I don't think anything we've seen from either Charlie or Louis up until this point gives any reason to suggest it will be anything other than a long promo reel. I am here for that, but it's not gonna be any kind of Secrets Finally Revealed oscar winning investigative documentary, you know? (Saying it out loud so I can be proved dramatically and ridiculously wrong BRING IT ON LOUIS CMON! But I would be surprised.) My experience of Louis to date is that there will be some kind of exciting something he's held back that we see for the first time here and freak out about (the arm break maybe, some cool tour shenanigans, something band/ bandmate related), there will be tons of rainbow moments and some kind of especially loud (but plausibly deniable) gay thing for larries to lose our shit over, and his private life will remain very much private and the press focus will be on his 'underdog of the band beset by tragedy pulls himself up' storyline and on Freddie.

[shera-dnd]

I'm really sorry to post my replies with images deemed NSFW.

Long story short - Varvara is being pretty much converted using Kyouka as a medium (indirect kiss etc.).

That is creepy and disgusting and should not be viewed as a Bi representation but as something homophobic and harmful.

It is even more creepy and disgusting when You took into this equation that Yuuki pretty much knew how she felt about Kyouka and even approved of said feelings.

Long story short - he should demand nothing, yet he demanded everything.

Once again and this time for the last - dont treat it as a Bi rep but as a something creepy and disgusting. And dont be okay with that.

Thank You.

Well good morning, this was the first thing I saw when I woke up. I feel like a lot of people would have chosen violence upon seeing this, but arguing with or venting at someone on the internet has never solved anything, so how about we make a learning experience out of this?

Okay so, no I did not delete your asks because they had NSFW imagery, I deleted them because they came across as very angry and accusatory

Now I'm not gonna hold that against you right now and we're just gonna have a chat. You said you were an ally to the LGBT community, so I hope that you will sit down and listen to what I have to say. You're free to disagree and argue, but at least listen first

On the point you are trying to make about that scene in the manga. I've decided to catch up on it so I could talk about it properly

And I have to say that I do not see it. Like I believe the term you're looking for is less "conversion therapy" and more "corrective rape". The idea that you can fuck the gay out of a woman is deeply gross and the fact people genuinely believe that is horrifying

BUT I don't think that's what's going on in that scene. It's framed as yet another reward, which as usual exists outside of the control of any of the characters and lands entirely in the box of "things the author thought would be hot at the moment"

It is also expressly said that they're "punishing" each other so that they can better serve Kyouka, once again centering their attraction not on each other, but on someone else

Considering also that from that point on nothing has happened to indicate Varvara was any more into Yuuki or any less into Kyouka than any time before that scene

Now as much as I loved to joke about and headcanon Varvara as a lesbian, I was never under any illusion that the ecchi femdom slave kink manga would give me proper lesbian representation.

Varvara had only expressed attraction to women before and now she showed attraction to a man, to me that shows less lesbian conversion and more like one of those tumblr bi women who absolutely adore women and also have that one pathetic man they're into

The way I read this it's whatever

But you read it differently and you have every right to be grossed out. You have every right to be angry and to drop the manga entirely. I'm not here to defend Mato Seihei no Slave

But I have to ask, as an ally, did you come to me because you wanted the genuine opinion of a queer person? or did you do it because you wanted a queer person to validate the opinion you already had?

Just, you know, do some self reflection on that

Anyways back to Chained Soldier, I'll admit there's plenty of gross shit in it. Like jesus fuck have you seen all the reward scenes with Ren??? and I'll fully admit that the manga is capital P Problematic

I just think that the way we should deal with problematic media is not by shutting it down entirely, but by actually engaging with it, understanding what makes it problematic, and making sure that we don't internalize those parts of it

Problematic media can have a lot of good stuff in it besides all the nasty bits, we just gotta like know how to engage with it in a way that doesn't like change our views for the worse

As for the impact this could have on its readers and how they treat lesbians in real life. I don't think anyone who reads this and actually engages with it will come on to any lesbians and be gross to them, because well Yuuki doesn't come on to... anyone actually.

Our boy is very passive about everything that happens and will downright refuse any sexual advances that are not tied to the rewards. He did not initiate the stuff with Varvara and did not force himself on her

And the people who WOULD come on to lesbians and think they can "set them straight", I don't think they need a manga to validate their disgusting beliefs

But you also said you wanted to contact LGBT organizations in Japan to help fight against this kind of stuff, and you know what you got the spirit there

I don't think a manga being gross is even on the top like 100 things those organizations are trying to deal with in that country, and even if it was there are waaaaaaaay bigger and nastier manga to deal with first

But hey that doesn't mean these people can't use our support, so please consider donating to Stone Wall Japan and Japan Pride House, both organizations that try to help queer people, as well as J-ALL which is trying to help grant legal protections to LGBT+ people in Japan

I'll be posting links at the end of this post and will happily signal boost any other japanese charities sent my way

And just as another note at the end

I disabled anon asks for a reason, and you creating an alt account just to send me an ask is extremely shady behavior. That's a boundary I have set that you chose to disrespect and I have every reason to block you for it. I won't, because I genuinely think you're just a person trying to learn and be validated in your opinion, but just don't do that kind of shit again

anyways I hope you take at least some of what I've said to heart and here are the donation links!

[cottagecrowe]

Ok I finally have words for some shit that's been bothering me SO BADLY, lol

So whenever some movies snuck in modern day feminism into things like Anne with an E, or the newest Little Women, etc., It always felt badly written, out of place, awkward, and just came off as cringe-y, and I had no idea why.

For something like Tauriel being slapped into The Hobbit, it was obvious. She was there specifically and only to give more "strong female representation", and the team even fully admits that... It just makes you wanna wrinkle your nose cause for one thing we do...? Have strong women in TLOTR??

I could go on a whole separate post just rehashing the problems with the existing material with women in it that other people have already talked about for sure, but for at least one kind of portrayal of strong women, it IS there.

I also think some of the eps in TROP gives us that in a bit of a more eloquent way, too. You know, in a way that just feels natural and part of the story and was written in well? Not like a separate modern day speech just copy pasted into a fantasy movie/period drama/classical book made into show/movie?

But it being inserted like that into recently made period dramas and/or classical books like Jane Austen and Little Women is REALLY rubbing me the wrong way.

1. I feel like even if they didn't write it that way and you go back and realize as much, you remember the lil speech they gave in your head using modern day language/terms when they like...are in fucking 1870 or something and would absolutely not be talking like that, lol.

2. Again, it just feels like it's copy-paste inserted into the moment they felt would work most to put it. If it's an original show, this just feels...forced? And if it's off of a book, it feels forced and inserted because that's exactly what it is, lol.

3. It's...always MODERN DAY feminism. Believe me I have absolutely no issue with feminism being in a movie/show, even if it's integrated to be more highlighted in a newer version of a book or something, like Emma, or Little Women~.

I will always and forever die on this hill, but I think one of the movies that has always done it the best in both a historical, AND fairytale/fantasy manner, was Ever After A Cinderella Story. Seriously, everyone go give that movie some more love. Jane Eyre, in general, also does.

BUT. Modern day feminism slapped into...historical fantasy/period drama...? What?? Lol, it feels so much more natural if you ya know...have it be verbage of the state of growth that feminism was...at the time in history your media is centered around..? From the way they talk, to the way they expressed their frustrations, to their mannerisms big and small, to HOW you insert it as naturally as possible and not just to have a big obvious speech moment like you think your audience is fucking stupid and not going to understand unless you have that kind of moment in it.

Personally, I always loved watching Jane Austen movies made in the 90's, and then going off with my immense love for them, and taking my own initiative to learn and do research behind the feminism of the times more.

Fuck, that's how I also ended up learning so much LGBT+ history, too, tbh, which helped to lead me to question the teachings I was raised on, and follow down a better path. And I still have so much more to learn of both.

I also love to SHARE that knowledge with other people, and part of me just feels like when it's more lazy like this, just any chance for more people to learn cool facts about our history, is sort of taking away a potential opportunity to look back on people of the past and understand the struggles of their time. To stop looking at them as inferior just because they lived a long time ago, and instead hear their voices and stories, and let them continue to be remembered.

Idk, I want more feminism in more media, but whenever I think about that fucking speech Joe gave to Laurie about marriage, or Anne gave her class about periods, while I have no doubt/am gladdened by the fact I'm sure it will help a lot more girls speak up and continue to do so...it just feels so ick, lol.

It's like I can feel the "ugh we just wanna capitalize off this, so get it out of the way and move on, whatever" energy that's with it. Sort of like how they kept building up the power rangers movie for having a lesbian, and we got the saddest and smallest little thing out of that ever, while everyone was making a huge deal about it, lol. Yes, baby steps are progress too, but idk. I feel there is still good cause in annoyance and anger over the stupid parts surrounding it, too, lol.

Honestly, we shouldn't HAVE to have baby steps towards any kind of progress like this. We shouldn't HAVE to fight tooth and nail for our voices to be heard and our trauma and bodies to be valued and shown respect.

Capitalism is the biggest con and conspiracy we could've ever done to ourselves, tbh.

Anyway, this went in many directions but if anyone related or understood what I was trying to put down and stuck out reading this, ily and thank you~

I do also understand this type of media may just Not Be Made For Me, and that's cool too~! But something about it just leaves an icky taste in my mouth, lol.

If nothing else, even if you enjoy these movies and shows, I beg of you to search for some way to watch the 90's/80's ones (yes, even the Pride and Prejudice bc you can dislike it all you want, if nothing else they filmed that thing beautifully and I'll die on that hill lol), and the og Anne of Green Gables, and take any love you grow for any of them as an excuse to learn more about women in all sorts of times and cultures, to better listen to their voices and merge them with your own. At the end of the day, that's all that's the most important, and even if the newer versions of these accomplish that for some people, I'll be a little happier, lol~

[sadaveniren]

I'm the same anon as before and you're so right!!! I don't have a normal 9-5 so my hours are whatever I want so 🤷‍♀️ and just because of that my weeks looks incredible different to the ones of my friends, I will be doing the most random things at the most random times and I Can't imagine what my life would look like if in addition to the time I had access to the same kind of money they have.

I also think some fans don't want to seem crazy and want to feel superior so they shut down headcanons like this one just for the sake of it

Sooooo many fans try to kill fun headcanons just because they don’t want to “give antis ammo” or whatever. It’s like they forget two key things: 1. Fandom is fun 2. Antis are gonna fucking hate us anyway

Like we aren’t going to convince a hateful anti to leave us alone. We sure aren’t going to convince them Harry and Louis are together. We might barely be able to convince them either of them are allies much less part of the LGBT community. So why put any effort into policing ourselves in that manner? Just let us have fun!

I’ve been in this fandom since 2014 and I still have fun every single day. I also have made sure to cultivate an overall positive fandom experience. I have a large group of friends who are all as positive as me and we just share fun headcanons and try to puzzle stuff out in the most low key and low risk to our mental health way possible. I block hate anon pretty liberally. I don’t go looking for anyone who is doing anything I don’t care to engage with. If I see people getting sucked into discourse or spiraling into unhealthy behaviors when it comes to doomsdaying away I go in the OPPOSITE direction of it.

I watched “rad Louies” become a thing because fans were convinced Louis was being sabotaged in 2017 and rolled my eyes and continued on in my lane, writing fic and figuring that everything would be okay and now 5 years out I can pretty confidently say I believe there’s a lot of evidence Louis cut the promo himself on Back to You and his Epic contract because he didn’t like the musical direction he was going in.

I watched fandom tie themselves into knots over and over again with Harry’s stunts and have just shrugged and carried on because it’s not my life and not my job to worry about what Harry is choosing to do with his life.

I learned in May 2015 when fandom tried to “change the narrative about party boy Louis” that we as fans don’t actually have control at all. 1DHQ worked really hard to give us that illusion that we were all powerful and we had control on the marketing decisions etc but guess what? No one TALKED about Briana openly when Louis got papped with her in May. No one shared pap pics on tumblr. And yet we STILL GOT BG. We bitched and moaned and debunked left right and center and yet they CONTINUED ON.

As a fan my only job is to have fun. I have fun by trying to work out timelines and make up cute headcanons. My headcanons aren’t hurting anyone and despite what antis think I really don’t care if I’m right or wrong lol hell I’ll be the first to admit that I get shit wrong a lot. *gestures towards my guess that Louis was doing something May 25th when it turned out to be an error on his poster (which is a whole other issue but whatever) and that Steve Aoki might make an appearance at Louis’ Vegas show (which turned out to be that Louis showed up at HIS show)*

I’m having a blast. If my headcanons get debunked oh well I move on. Fandom is supposed to be fun! Be in it because you enjoy it and you HAVE FUN! If you aren’t having fun maybe… find something else to do?

[ihopesocomic]

Tbh I wish Proud was less of an asshole to justify his "It's just what a mane has to do to survive", to show how patriarcal societies, while much more opressive towards females than to males, are still toxic to men.

There is just no nuance. Every male is a sexist (sometimes homophobic because we can't have a story about LGBT+ characters without homophobia🙄) piece of shit who really loves Pride law even though it forces them to leave their homes and family to a world who gets harder to survive thanks to the longer dry season (Which is supposed to be happening but we don't see any evidence of it 🙄🙄🙄) , and gives a higher success rate to those who are monstruous enough to kill Fathers and their children.

I guess his name is a good indicator of how much he is practically the living incarnation of Pride Law (His name is fucking PROUD), which could just be a really bad way to show that he's Lite, but I dunno, I feel like it would be much better if the show made him more of a morally gray character to show how destroying the patriar- I mean Pride Law would be better not just for lionesses, but for manes as well.

I suppose what I want is Proud to be completely transformed into a whole new character because this dude right now is just the walking and talking embodiment of everything wrong in MP's world and I think that's boring.

Ugh you have no idea how much I agree with you on how this show was a completely missed opportunity to show how the patriarchy negatively affects men and it's perpetuation just further hurts the future generation, even if people can sit down and think about it and agree with how it's harmful. But then again it was a missed opportunity for many things, and considering how much this show revels in demonizing its male characters no matter how little sense it makes, I can't say that I would've expected them to handle such a complicated topic with any ounce of sensitivity.

One of Proudmane's biggest problems is he's just Quickmane But Worse™ so Quickmane could've easily just existed on his own as being the talking embodiment of everything wrong in MP's world. And Proud should have been something different, to present the opposite side of Pride Law of someone who isn't Fire, someone who's been out on their own for longer and the consequences of that. But he's not, he's exactly the same as Quickmane, right down to having the same exact purpose to his entire existence lol

Proudmane's other problem is, they literally set him up to be sympathetic right after setting him up to be an asshole, only to make him become an asshole in the end anyway (which begun the 'Quickmane may be ableist but he's better because he's not homophobic' conversation lol)

Even then the whole "Its just what a mane has to do to survive" is not only debunked by what we see with our own eyes in the previous episode, which is that he was in a big group of males and eating well, which even according to Fire was a good ol time. The statement is also directly contradicting what he did... seconds beforehand. Which was... what was it... oh yeah threatening to kill Nothing, who wasn't a hinderance on his survivability lol Pretty sure killing cubs is also not a hinderance to his survivability, since 1) This aspect of Pride Law isn't exactly reinforceable, and 2) This particular pride has no qualms about accepting a mane who doesn't kill babies, case in point, uh...... the first fucking episode.

That whole scene in episode 5 annoys me for a variety of reasons lol like Proud having a literal debate with Nothing about why he should kill her, when he could. I dunno. Just do it.

But let's pretend for a moment that being a no-mane/prideless (is there really a difference here? Do we really need two different words for males and females? lol I hate the word 'no-mane' it's so dumb) in this universe is as bad as everyone says it is. Let's pretend that being prideless is closer to being a death sentence.

We could've had first-hand insight into a typical male lion's life in this world. From learning that their father murdered someone else's father, and children, in order to have a pride (and that the feelings of the pride itself on the matter is irrelevant to one's own survival). The near-constant fear knowing that one day that same thing could happen to you and your siblings and father, and knowing one day he's going to have to do the same. Being raised to believe he's worthless unless he gains control of a pride, taught to treat lionesses like they're inferior. The traumas of being forced to leave his home, and be subjected to starvation and facing other dangers alone, and how being alone can seriously impact a social creature's mental health. But he believes that in order to survive he has to be just as horrible as everyone else, and his justification is Pride Law and survival. In order to live, you have to exploit everyone's weaknesses, because it's for your own good. And then he's going to raise his children the same way. Not only showing the cycle in real time, but that also could've shown that Pride Law doesn't in fact benefit males like everyone is told it does, and that in many instances they're victims of the system as well, just differently.

And that's where you'd bring in Fire or Feather to be his foil, to show no, you don't have to be awful in order to survive, and you should reject everything about Pride Law. (And Nothing could raise Feather that way, and/or Fire could come to his own conclusions since he was allowed to live in the first place, but only because his sister went against Pride Law from the start, and he either didn't think it an option to do so, or felt too scared to do it himself. Him being alive to this day should allow him to have new perspectives on Pride Law. Either way Nothing's sole duty was to end Pride Law, but the writers don't permit her to succeed lol)

But nah, its more dramatic and therefore more entertaining if you just have your villain be a homophobic sexist prick that the show tries gaslighting you into feeling bad for. Instead of having the villain be the patriarchy, it's just men who are the villains lol And if you're a nice guy, you die, sorry.

As a super huge lesbian, man-hating (intentional or otherwise) is not the progressive messaging people think it is. - Cat

[todomemolesta18]

Hey uh... I am not sure who to ask about this but my sibling Said to ask one of the people like you becuase you are good at listening.

I have a major problem in a community of a frenchise I adore and I am not sure how to cope.

I have been accused of sending harmful asks to my friend with suicide thoughts and made fun of thier OCs for having disabilties, being LGBT+, trans, having scars etc. I DIDN'T! THEY WERE ONE OF MY CLOSESTS FRIENDS EVER AND NOW THEY ACCUSE ME?! And my other friends also claimed that I was a manipulator and homophobic. The account was diactivated and I made a new one. But I diactivated that new one becuase my best friend exposed my new one to them and found me. Now I am here.

A little more backround: I was already kinda contrevirsal there for no real reason. I got 'cancelled' twice becuase of stating my own opinion. I just said I didn't like a fanfic as much as other do but still LOVED IT BECUASE ITS AMAZING! And after the second one, I got a lot of anon hate from those people telling me to kill myself and other harmful shit. The ST (suicidicle) friend reached out to me to talk about it becuase they went through something similar. We started talking negative things about them, since both of us thought they were bad people. One time in Septembar, ST friend sent an anon Asks to one of those people and told them about our anon hate. We were shocked to relise that they had no idea about our hate and apoligized. We were over time becoming friends and I started to chnage as a person. I began being kinder to people and hold in my anger issues. Unforutnately, this didn't end well.

The ST friend was getting a Lot of hate regarding thier AU and SH problems. Around the same time, I started to vent a lot about common things like jealousy and other stuff. I was also bearley online due to school deciding to heat up with tests. That friend almost ended thier life due to those asks. I , like for these past months, sent messages in a sign of comfort for them. I even brought it up to my sister and other online friends about it. I started blaming myself for failing as a friend becuase no matter how much I comforted them, its always the same. I felt like this until a few weeks ago.

4 of my friends blocked me, ST friend stopped replying to my messages, and my best friend bearley talked to me. Something was not right! I made a post about how confused I was for that happening, and one of my mutuals decided to step in and send an ask to one of them. They replyed to the ask, and didn't give any information besides saying that they view me as disgusting. I was even more confused. My account was diactivated the next Day, getting a message that I was nas reported by a few users.

I made a new account, and reaveled it to 4 of my friends and my sister, one of them was my best friend. I have blocked all those people and was willing to make a fresh start, until...

One of them made 3 post 'exposing' me being a horrible person, and 'proof' I was sending harmful asks to the ST friend. What was in those posts? I apperently can't vent about common things on the internet when everyone else can, forigners are racist for saying a word they had no Idea what it means (they saw others use it, and apoligized after misusing it), claiming that things I said months ago was recent even tho it wasn't (I was in a different person), every single one of my messages semmed harmful due to the lack of context behind them, there can't be more people with the same writting style, etc.

I CRIED reading that shit. I lost 2 more friends after those posts, and the entire community was brainwashed to think I am an asshole. I am not calling those people who accussed and spread misinformation villians, they are more rather misunderstood and clearly got the wrong person.

Here is more facts: ST friend Said shit about them way worse than me and doesn't regret them(I on the other hand made a Lot of posts hating my older self and being happy with the change.) They have claimed to have nobody comforting them, when I was talking to them everyday and sending nice things, I was just ignored. Those vents weren't even harmful. Can't I be human for a momment?! I never called any of them evil, rather people who don't understand.

I have blocked all contacts with that community and most of the franchise but dispite all thing, I want to post about it.

Why? Its my biggest Hyperfixation, no other fandom can reach the same level as it. I am not mentioning what it is, but it Means a Lot.

I can't post about it becuase everyone knows who I am due to my artstyle and the way I talk, and they all DISPISE me.

I don't know what to do... I want to show them that they accussed the wrong person and that I am not the same person from august-september.

I am better...I AM BETTER!

I really don't know what to do...

Im so sorry this happened to you 🫂 Maybe... you should report those people? Because they acused you wrong. Or for stuff that you didnt you. They didnt inform themselves right.

Idk how to help. But you are welcome in my blog, and if you need to vent, you can do it all you want. I will listen.

[bengiyo]

The Warp Effect Ep 10 Stray Thoughts

With GMMTV dominating my watch calendar, it's actually becoming a bit difficult to recall everything that happened in a previous episode.

Last time, we tackled sexual health with Jedi and Rose, who had to contend with an HPV flare up in their open relationship. Over the course of the episode we questioned the nature of fidelity and safety, and learned that they likely were infected over ten years ago from other partners as the two revealed that they actually don't want their relationship to be open. Meanwhile, Nim discussed keeping the baby with Army, and also reconciled her relationship with Mollie. Elsewhere, Kim recognized that she didn't want to keep the baby at this time, and Ice spent the episode coming to terms with that and supporting his partner. Kat is back in the saddle, but Tony is a gentleman and is waiting for Jean. Alex and Jean may be on the path to speaking again.

As always, so much happens in this show.

Real shit, I want to see Jean's movie.

I don't have anything against Tony based on what we've seen, but I feel like it's a bad look for the lead to be involved with the director when they're advertising the chemistry between the leads?

I'm glad we're bringing See-ew back.

Ah, right. Liu has a handsy boss. I get her coworker choosing to accept it, but he should not be touching Liu like that and demanding she interact with him on IG.

I was lulled into a mild complacency, and now we're back to the sports homophobia plotline with Joe.

New is quite vascular.

I was not expecting Alex to just go into Liu's workplace and start a fight with her boss. What is he going to do if she gets fired as retribution?

And now we're storming back in with boxers? Why is no one talking to Liu first??

Lol, nevermind. Liu handles her own business. I want a show of just Clize whooping ass on the regular.

Okay, Mollie and Nim! Jojo said, "We are grown here. We give head."

Mollie is so valid. She just had Nim shivering from that tongue action, and now Mollie is all like, "We're just friends?" Friends don't get each other off like that. Get Tilly Birds on the line.

Okay, Silvy is so good. The aghast expression she pulled off was fantastic.

Oh, Army, I really need you to appreciate Joe's reality. Joe might lose the career that seems to provide a sense of purpose, and Army just doesn't grasp that.

"I just want the kind of love that makes me feel at ease." Me, too, Liu. Enjoying that these characters are in their late 20s, because your priorities start to shift.

The potential Kat and Jean have, only to reorient the conversation to Alex.

Really glad we're returning to Kim and Ice. In the 90s we had very special episodes about abortions and teen pregnancy, but we never lived with the fallout of the choice.

I think Ice should review his musician couple idols, because none of those relationships really worked out.

I'm gonna need the people on the internet to be respectful of Clize's feet. Still, I'm glad these two found some kind of balance.

Oh, I loved Jedi's proposal.

These dudes are going to sneer at their proposal in a queer-friendly bar? I think they should learn what bricks taste like. Give them a memorable LGBT experience.

They're not backing down? The whole bar should stomp their asses. I'll accept Jeana and Alex teaming up, and getting yelled at by the rest of the club.

Establishing that Tony has been a decent dude was a good move, because we expect him to not force an encounter on Jean after she panics. I like the way Joong plays his disappointment that they can't proceed along with his worry for Jean. I'm sure he suspects what may have happened, and knows it isn't his wound to heal.

I kinda wanna hear Phuwin play Motley Crue music now.

Mixed experiences across the squad right now.

I don't remember who Mr. Saran is, but I'm curious how the prom will act as a plot device next week.

[lakesbian]

16

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

have gone on hazmat-suited explorations into ao3 before. which was a mistake.

there is a bewilderingly large subset of the fandom that likes to take a look at the incredibly tragic & compelling dynamics btwn the undersiders--all of which are characterized by some form of imbalance or distance btwn the involved characters--and then go "actually, i think this nuanced and emotionally significant character writing would be better if everyone involved was flanderized and also all dating each other in the most boring way possible."

except for aisha, of course--she's brian's sister, so it'd be awkward if they had to account for her. the fix for this is to shove her offscreen with a bit of neat little character-lobotomy to make it so that nobody gives a shit about her. alec included. fuck that he straight up killed himself for her, fuck that taylor couldn't tell whether their relationship was platonic or romantic & estimated it could become solidly romantic in the future--just make him literally Wrinkle His Nose In Horror And Disgust at the idea of dating aisha so that we can bonk him together with op's taylor doll instead! and yes, that is an actual example from an actual fic.

oh, & aisha is apparently just, like, chill with being off doing her own thing while everyone else is going on insufferably twee dates & talking about how much they dislike her instead of inserting herself into the middle of everything in the most annoying way possible for attention. i recognize it's pointless of me to focus on aisha's out-of-character reaction to inane and implausible fandom tropewriting when the tropes themselves are inherently founded on 50 layers of They Would Not Fucking Say That, but there's just something particularly funny to me about how aisha's Entire Goddamn Problem is that everyone ignores/dismisses her and the fandom not only constantly perpetuates that but gets the one (1) character who did Not dismiss her in canon (alec) in on it.

(to be clear if i was in charge of making worm good (lgbt) i would immediately and without hesitation make both taylor & tattletale and taylor & rachel's dynamics gay. she wouldn't, like, date-date either but it'd be a thing. i would not remove brian/taylor. the undersiders are a team of people psychosexually obsessed with taylor and also alec and aisha are there. worm is about the tragedy of loving taylor hebert, and also alec and aisha are there.)

anyway tl;dr i think the twee-ass flanderizing "fuck the plot and themes everyone is going out for a pizza date and then collectively telling emma to kill herself when she randomly manifests to bully taylor in the middle of the pizza restaurant" (also a real example) shit this fandom does in their 5 million all-the-undersiders(-sans-aisha-who-doesn't-exist-)are-dating fanfictions sucks and is bad and furthermore i don't like it at all. surely there is other more tonally appropriate media people could make these fanfictions about instead of Tragic Relationships: The Book. [poking wormfic writers w/ a stick] you guys don't like tragic dysfunctional relationships :(?

[algumaideia]

Just saw sb say Jasico shippers who are also Solangelo antis are losers who dont care for Nico’s healing journey

anyway an AU in which Nico did leave both Camps after the war, spent a few years afterward traveling the world to see and meet more people, learning about the LGBT+ community, working as an ambassador for his dad, talking to ghosts, ended up having his knowledge horizon widened, and returned to the Camps much later as a completely different human being - at peace and free.

I can damn well save him without putting him in a couple. Solangelo isn’t special. Selflove Nico for the win.

(I very much love Solangelo, but I decided to take this personally bc im also a Jasico die hard, so)

Hello anon!!

Sorry for taking so long to answer you!! My mind has been all over the place. But here it is. Also, I'm sorry bc this is sort of a mess.

I agree with you, there are jasico shippers who also ship solangelo and not liking one ship doesn't mean you want a character to be miserable. And sometimes you want a character to be miserable and that is okay!

I'm not sure if this was a writing request, but I read your ask as this and wrote something.

Also I saw across the spiderverse lately and the idea of punk!Nico got in my head and now it just can't go away.

(the idea is that now Nico only deals with monsters and ghosts who are harming humans or demigods, and not shit related to gods and their missions. Also he sees some gusy from time to time but it is not dating, although I didn't make his romantic situation explicit)

...

Strange. That was the best word to define what Nico felt going back to Camp Half-Blood after so much time. His shoulders tensed and he felt a familiar discomfort on his stomach. His body was preparing for the judgement. It was just bad memories. He didn't care what those people thought about him, they were strangers and children. But in the end it didn't matter how much healing he had done in the past years, his past would always scar him. At least now, it didn't hurt.

Before he changed his mind, Nico entered the camp. It didn't look much different. The cabins are basically the same, kids running with the old ugly camp shirts, a lot of noise and fighting. Some part of him felt like he went back on time.

"Nico di Angelo."

The demigod opened a big smile. He recognized that sweet voice. Turning around he bowed to one of the only gentle beings he met at this place.

"Lady Hestia."

"It's been a long time since we saw each other."

Nico felt guilty. He had always liked Lady Hestia, since the first day they'd met. It wasn't his intention to spend so many years without seeing her.

"I'm sorry. You were almost always in camp and I..."

"It wasn't an accusation, you don't have to worry."

She looked at him with kindness. She always had.

“You look better.”

“I am better.”

Hestia nodded. She seemed satisfied.

“I imagine you want to talk to Dianisius and Chiron. They are at the Big House. See you around, Nico di Angelo.”

Nico bowed.

“I’ll go after you so we can properly talk when I finish at the Big House.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Hestia walked away in the direction of her fire. Her appearance was the same as when Nico met her which comforted him for some reason.

While walking to the Big House, Nico asked himself where would he like to go on this visit? Would he want to meet some kids? Make a sort of tour? Avoid everyone besides Hestia? Would he want to see his old cabin? Enjoy the woods?

“Nico!! You… you changed!”

Nico smiled in amusement at Chiron's surprised face. He guessed his traumatic young self didn’t look like someone who would end up being a punk. He no longer wore only black, had tons of piercings, tattoos and some spikes in his clothes.

“I guess you could say that.”

“What brings you back here? Is there any problem?”

“No, I just wanted to see how things are.”

“Well, feel welcomed. I can give you a tour and show you the new things we got since the last time you came here.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll just see my cabin.”

“Would you like to talk to the kids? I’m sure they can learn something useful with such an experienced demigod as you.”

Nico pondered the question. It was not like he was opposed to helping the kids, but he really didn’t want to have anything to do with what was happening at camp. Sure, there were some changes made by Apollo, however Nico still despised what was going on there. 

“If the kids have any problem with a mission you can call me, I wouldn’t mind helping them.”

It wasn’t what Chiron asked and Nico didn’t care. He shook his head as a way to say good-bye and walked away. 

Nico wasn't sure what he expected with his visit. Maybe have some closure? See how much of his past he had overcome? Throw salt in the almost healed wound? Maybe he just didn’t want to feel like he was running from his past.

Seeing Hestia was good, though. And coming back just made him feel sure he made the right choice to leave the camp. What would have he become in a place like this that also ostracized him? Would he have become comfortable with his sexuality? As much as he was now? Maybe he would still be doing missions for gods. 

Should he go to his cabin? He didn’t have much to do with the kid he once was, lonely, full of self-hatred, in love with some boy, sometimes consumed by trauma. He had a community now, had made friends, moved on, worked on his problems. Maybe he should just really leave all of this behind, talk to Hestia and give his proper goodbye to this haunted place. Yeah, Nico would do that. 

Visiting Camp Half-Blood ended up not being so bad in the end.

[leilost]

multiples of 2 for the price ask for yourself or any of your ocs (whichever is more comfy!)

Let's do me, Nadji, + human Remi 😋

2. Do you like to use the term queer for yourself? Or just LGBT, etc?

Yeh. It gives me room to just fuck around and let things come and go as they please.

Nadji doesn't. Not that it hasn't resonated with him, he's just never thought about it. And he doesn't feel the need to. He doesn't do a lot of research when it comes to labels, so it usually just boils down to "I be fucking." Or nothing at all. Nobody ever knows who he's actually interested in until they know.

Remi does identify as queer. They're heavy into queer theory, reads all the time, keeps up with the discourse, the labels and new language. Like, they really bout they shit. They see it as an opportunity for folks to ask them "what does that mean to you?" and then they personalize it (similarly to me).

4. Are you "out" to your family and friends?

Me: Yeah, sure.

Nadji: What that mean

Remi: I had no interest in coming out, but they know.

6. (If you're out) do you wish you came out sooner? Later? Or was it the right time?

Nah. If it was up to me, I would have told no one. Coming out is an annoying concept, especially with my experience. I'd rather just let folks find out or just say "yeah, call me that. end of discussion," if we're talking about gender-affirming things like name changes.

Nadji just came home with a dude (more like a lineup of dudes) one day and let his folks figure it out, lol. I think the only person he had a conversation with was his momma, Nadie, and she initiated it. But, it was casual, and her goal was to talk about sex ed so wasn't much of a convo. Nadie is also bisexual so she wouldn't make a big deal out of it anyway. Now, does he wish that he brought dudes he was dating around sooner or later? Ask him and he'd joke and say he wouldn't have brought them around at all, but I think that Nadji has a lot of guilt for how he's treated past partners since he's on the aro spectrum and didn't know what was up until much later. A lot of people just called him a player. They still do. He tries not to think about it.

Remi told everyone about their name change during the summer before their sophomore year of high school. It was a non-negotiable. Either you call me by my name, and respect my pronouns or we not talking (Remi: except for Mama). They have no regrets when they did it. It was the right time because they has figured it out. Plain and simple.

8. Describe your gender without using any words traditionally related to gender:

Me: Outchea

Nadji: Nigga

Remi: It changes weekly with producer tags. Right now it's Mustardonthebeathoe. (Please click the link, I'm crying.)

10. Something that gives you gender euphoria (whether you're cis or trans):

Me: Already answered.

Nadji is a cis man, but he's had a time with gender growing up. People often thought he was a girl when he was little (his hair used to be real long and he has wild lashes), and he's been called pretty his whole life, but then he got that stocky frame and people were like you real macho. He just vibes. He wouldn't be aware of this but he gets a lot of gender euphoria from not having to think about gender at all. He can just be a clown in whatever way that manifests. Also, when P-Funk comes on, he feels it too? Very specific but the funk is just affirming like that, lol.

Remi like wearing those close-fitted tees with the circle neck and real short sleeves with baggy pants. It always does it. Or just a good ole white beater. They also like when they're doing things that makes them feel more connected to their body. They love handy work, love lifting things. Also, wrestling/play-fighting.

12. Name some queer artists/bands or songs you like most:

Imma let my babies have it because I listen to everything the listen to.

Nadji: frank ocean, tyler the creator, steve lacy, blood orange, anddd omar apollo.

Remi: takes a deep breath in moses sumney, serpentwithfeet, cupcakke, mayal, closegood, meshell ndegeocello, jamila woods, swsh, bbymutha, sienna liggins, intro (kenny green was bi), big mama thorton, adrian kain, baby tate, jackie shane, I could go on but I will stop.

14. How do you think other factors like neurodivergency or upbringing have impacted your identity?

It all affects it. I could be here all day talking about this, but I'll let them have it.

Nadji: few seconds delay Oh shit, you mean me or- points to Remi who uses they/them pronouns

Remi: slides in front of Nadji so they're completely blocking him As a black autistic arospec anti-fascist they/them dyke (sights to me nodding in the background) there are many things that work together to help me define my queerness. I don't see it as one identity in the middle with the other identities connected to it by branches. They all exist within, without, around, and beside each other, always in harmony. That is all.

16. Do you attend Pride in person every year?

I used to, but stopped once it got really crowded, intense, and commercialized.

Nadji: Hell yeah. Wouldn't be the same without ya boy, you feel me starts smiling

Remi: as soon as the question is asked No.

18. How old were you when you got to attend your first Pride? Who did you go with?

I have no idea how old I was, but it was over the age of 21 lol. I went with a cousin.

Nadji was 20. He went with his art crew.

Remi went once with a friend once the parade was finishing up, stayed for like 20 minutes, if even that, and dipped. Like, dipped forevermore.

20. Do you feel like you "fit in" with the queer/Pride community overall?

At times I don't, but generally, yeah. Also, the more that I grow into myself, the more I don't mind not fitting in. I've been in a lot of spaces where I've felt and been excluded because of how I look. A lot of times it's been because of white queers not perceiving me as queer-presenting enough. Which is so funny because the events I go to are usually said to be for queer and trans people of color, (and usually said to be free for trans black folx) which I am both. White people often annoy me. This is not new information.

Nadji doesn't care until someone makes him hyperaware of it. It's more so about him feeling left out, period. That's him in any space since he likes the attention.

Remi doesn't, but they've never really cared. And it's not because they're not embraced in queer spaces. It's more so that the way people embrace them isn't embracing them, it's an idea of them. And phew, that is loaded. Perhaps I'll talk more about it another time.

22. How do you usually celebrate Pride month?

Being outside, lol. But living in New York while also having an overnight job is making that difficult at the moment. This is the first year that I'm like loud loud about it because I'm like....openly trans. Majority of my family knows, I'm in the process of getting my name changed legally, and I feel really secure in who I am. I bought my first flag pendant necklace and that's like huge for me. So, yeah. Definitely a really important pride month.

Nadji: We outside. (For the folks who need it, this can mean many of things. And Nadji indeed means all the things.)

Remi: With my folx. (As long as Remi has people they love around, they good.)

24. Do you practice any religion, if so how does it play into your LGBT identity? Do you feel welcomed by your spiritual community?

I don't feel like sharing that right now.

Nadji, nah. He definitely believes in divinity and it has a place in his life, but he hasn't explored it.

Remi, my babyyyy. Yeah, Black American folk magic plays a huge part in their everyday and their identity. As a non-human, which is what they originally started as, they have they ability to communicate with spirits and I associate them with Hoodoo and its practices. Their spiritual community is very few actually. But they don't care because that's not their concern. It never felt like one.

26. How do you feel about the term partner rather than husband/girlfriend/etc?

We loooove it.

28. Do you experience both romantic and sexual attraction? Do you experience them the same across any gender(s) you are attracted to?

I experience sexual attraction, and I'm arospec.

Nadji and Remi both have the same thing going on, but at different capacities.

30. Are you monogamous or polyamorous?

Nadji: chuckles

Remi and I in unison: Relationship anarchy.

32. Do you do arts and crafts? Post a pic of a project you've done:

I NEED TO DO THIS FOR NADJI AT A LATER TIME.

34. What are you needing most right now (what would make your life easier or more fulfilling in regards to existing as queer)?

Anti-trans legislation stresses me out so...yeah.

Nadji: Y'all heard that new Khamari? It's fire.

Remi: shrugs Burn it all and start over.