#new subcultural group.

[kraniumet]

"cultural analysis" youtubers read something that isn't a medium/vouge/vox op-ed as research challange

[cosmic-kiwi]

So close and yet so far.

Because the thing that you're getting brainwashed about is thinking that 'nonbinary' needs to exist at all and should be defined by a resistance to social norms.

A woman who doesn't follow the 'expected' social norms is still just a woman. A man who doesn't follow the 'expected' social norms is still just a man. I don't know how anyone can think otherwise (without being incredibly sexist).

There is no "correct" way to be a man or a woman, or to dress as a man or a woman, or to act as a man or a woman. "Man/Boy/Male" and "Woman/Girl/Female" are simply biological states. Nothing more. Those labels don't tell you *anything* about another person beyond which gamete their reproductive system should theoretically produce.

You people keep talking about this 'gender binary' when none actually exists. Sex is binary in the vast majority of cases; that is true. But the way "gender" is defined (if you can even define it) is so vague and meaningless that it seems to just mean personality/style, which is, of course, not binary and never has been in the first place.

Yes, societies have and do (either intentionally or not) had/have a way of promoting or outright enforcing certain behaviors among men and women. But I thought that kind of thing was the very thing so-called progressives were supposed to be fighting against, not reinforcing. Societal norms don't actually provide accurate information with regards to reality. For instance, a woman who insisted on wearing pants in the 50's was not 'nonbinary'. She was just a regular woman who wasn't a fan of the fashion norms of the time.

-------

The real reason "so many autistic folks" are "trans"/nonbinary is because autistic people tend to see the world in black and white rigid categories. Including concepts like "boy" and "girl". And so if you're a girl who feels you've never fit in with the other girls (because you're autistic) you're more likely to mistakenly think, "well clearly, I don't fit in this category -- that means that I *must* belong to the other one or some brand new other one that I must make up." (Hence "nonbinary" and all the other supposed 'genders').

But... that' so obviously not how anything actually works. Being a girl in no way means you automatically fit in with the other ones or do all the things you think that they do.

----------

"the current binary definition of gender" --- which is WHAT? Can anyone explain to me, a woman, what 'identifying' as a woman apparently specifically entails without sounding incredibly sexist or relying on stereotypes (which most likely would not be accurate in my case)? Because I don't see how you could.

Actually being trans is in no way about 'not following society's rules' or whatever. It is an actual (very rare) medical condition or mental illness (the science isn't settled on this) that very few people have. And I think a lot of people are getting sick of people appropriating it and pretending like they have it when they clearly don't as if all it is is a way to say 'FU' to society.

terfs keep mentioning the % of autistics who are trans/nb and that we're 'brainwashed'

and because i'm an asshole, i decided to look into why so many autistic folks are trans/nb. it's not an inaccurate statement, at least the first half, but terfs lie through their teeth so i decided to get to the scientific root of it.

the answer blew my fucking mind.

the study on gender and autism i found said two very specific things about autistic people: we are more mentally resistant to things like social conditioning and binarism. we like our secret third things, y'know.

an excerpt:

“The finding that non-binary identities are most elevated seems to support hypotheses focussed on autistic resistance to social conditioning, which are consistent with existing evidence of the same effect with respect to self-description of sexual orientation. Perhaps elevated rates of trans identity in autism might result from a rejection of the binary cisgenderist norm, which combined with a below-typical concern for social norms could promote the disclosure of the identity.”

94% of autistics surveyed for that paper identified themselves as non-binary.

other studies have found autistic people have higher levels of critical thinking, and require more evidence to maintain or convert to a belief system (hence why many of us eventually fall away from religion) than allistic people.

which means, at least from my perspective, that:

a) the 'brainwashing' terfs are accusing the trans community of inflicting on autistic folks would likely not even work if they tried.

b) the current binary definition of gender flies directly against embedded autistic modes of thinking to begin with.

you cannot brainwash someone into thinking something they already believe.

[gazingatmydoom]

u guys ever find a wiki article about such a fascinating topic it makes u cry or is that just me

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

The "Americanization of the global internet" post and slow deterioration of local native culture gave me an idea: many users don't even know there is native language communities on this website, so if you know of a regional group/"subculture" on Tumblr, reblog/comment with the tags they use so people can find them and connect with other folks from their countries or speakers of a language they'd like to learn

I will try to update this post with every new addition to hopefully make a comprehensive list of Tumblr regional communities

Edit July 29th: the post has reached a point where Tumblr won't let me add any more links, so from now on all tags are plain text to make it fair

The list so far:

Europe

• Czech

#česky, #hezky česky - general Czech language posts, frequently featuring user-written poetry, art, sometimes politics and current events, warning: often contains vent posts

#čumblr - Czech but frequently used by Slovaks as well, primarily memes and fandom things, shipping, art, cultural things, frequently overlaps with #česky

#obrození, #obrozujeme - memes and fandoms as well but with more emphasis of maintaining and developing Czech culture, is a mostly humorous parody/self-proclaimed continuation of the Czech National Revival of the 1800s, overlaps with #čumblr and #česky

• Slovak

#slovensky - general Slovak language posts

#slumblr, #sumblr, NEW - #ťumbľr - Slovak, general posts, memes, fandom and culture things, sometimes overlaps with #čumblr

• Polish

#polska, #polish - Polish, general posts, art, politics and current events

#polblr, #polishposting, #polskie rzeczy - Polish, more humorous general posts and memes, often overlap with the above

• Ukrainian

#ukraine - general Ukrainian posts, often in English

#укртумбочка - mostly used by artists

• General Slavic

#slav, #slavic, #slavposting, #slavic stuff - mixed Slavic, usually cultural things, memes, art and photography, sometimes politics, sometimes visited by other East Europeans

• Irish

#gaeilge - Irish, general posting but especially cultural things and memes, often features posts for language learning

• Welsh

#cymraeg, #tymblr - general Welsh posting, memes

• Romanian

#romanian - general Romanian tag

#romanisme, #vlandom - Romanian, mostly memes and humor

• Hungarian

#magyar, #hungarian, #tumbli - Hungarian language, mostly quotes

• Finnish

#suomitumblr, #suomitumppu, #suomipaskaa, #suomeksi, other variations beginning with suomi - general (shit)posting

any and all swear words such as #perkele, #vittu, #saatana, #helvetti and #paska - shitposts, overlap with above

• Dutch

#dutch, #the netherlands, #netherlands, #holland, #nederland, #nederlands - general Dutch posts

#nedermemes, #dutchcore - memes, shitposting

• German

#deutsch, #german stuff - general German posting

#BundesTag - memes and humor

blogs like @official-deutschebahn, @official-german-medienlandschaft and other official-deutsche- blogs, "because THE joke of German tumblr is to act like an overly bureucratic public institution"

• Swedish

#sweblr, #swedenposting, #svea rike - memes, shitposts, fandom stuff, sometimes political

#svenskt, #sverige - general Swedish stuff

#all makt åt tengil vår befriare, #sa du sten - used mostly by @svenskjavel

#borås - posts and memes about the city, "kinda like Swedish Ohio"

#lesbisk, #bög, #bisexuell, #pansexuell, #hbtq+, #hbtq, #homosexuell, #asexuell - Swedish queer tags

• French

#upthebaguette, #french side of tumblr, #whatthefrance - general French posting but especially memes, comics, art

#bagaitte - French queer posting

• Greek

#greek tumblr, #ελληνικα, #ελλαδα, #γρεεκ, #ελληνικο ταμπλρ - general stuff

#greek memes - memes

Catalan

#coses de la terra - general stuff

Belarusian

#беларускі тамблер - general stuff, fandoms

#артшляхта - art

Italian

#itablr - general stuff, not very populated yet

#welcome to italy, #italian things, #italian stuff, #italy tag, #roba italiana

#sanremo - for the Sanremo Music Festival, also #domenica in but only after the end of the festival

Italians also frequently gather under #leonardo rai, #medici, #i medici, #montalbano and #il giovane montalbano

Estonian

#eestiblr, #eesti - general stuff

@unofficial-estonia - blog

Danish

@useless-denmarkfacts - blog

Spanish

#español - general Spanish (* I noticed some Mexicans using these too so there may be overlap with American Spanish-speaking countries as well)

#citas, #frases - quotes

#humor grafico - memes

Scottish Gaelic

#gaidhlig, #gaelposting - general, art, language

Africa

Moroccan

#المغرب, #Maroc -general, often photos

Asia

• South Asian

#desiblr, #desi, #desi tag - general South Asia posting, memes, humor, sometimes also used by Arab people

• Indian

#dabara tumblr, #தம்பிளர் - suggested tags for South India

Russian

#русский тамблер, #русский tumblr - general stuff, memes

Sri Lankan

#අරගලයට ජය, suggested tags LKA or #Lankablr if anyone's interested

Indonesian

@useless-indonesiafacts - blog

Israeli

# עברית# ,ישראבלר - general stuff (sorry if these are broken, tumblr keeps fucking with right-to-left scripts)

Arabic

#عربي - general

#كتب, #كتاب, #كتابات - books and writing

Oceania

Australian

#auscore, #straya - general stuff, culture, memes and shitposts

#auspol - politics

Aotearoa (New Zealand)

#māori, #te reo māori - Māori tags

Americas

Brazilian

#brazil, #brasil, #Come to brazil, #br posting, #meu brasil brasileiro, #tumblr br - general and memes

Turtle Island (North American) Indigenous

#ndn, #ndn tumblr - usually about culture, memes etc

"If you're looking for something specific to your tribe, try the non-English spelling of your tribe's name (Tsalagi for Cherokee, for example)"

Not location-specific

Jewish

#jumblr, #frumblr - general stuff, history, discussions, posts mostly in English

Romani

#romani, #rroma, #rrumblr - romani sides of tumblr, general stuff, history, discussions, mostly in English

Please share around wherever you're from, US American local cultures are welcome as well, especially indigenous (though that should go without saying)

Reminder that this is a post made to allow people to find others of the same culture/language, be respectful and do not use these tags to target groups and spread hate

[jillianallen14]

Dear Baby Bats - Goth Band Recommendations

As a middle sibling goth (I’ve been in the subculture for 10 years now, so not a baby bat but not an elder goth either), let me turn you on to some bands because we do not gatekeep in this house!! Also, if you want consistently good lesser-known & brand new goth band recs, go follow Awfully Sinister on TikTok and Instagram. He’s a DJ & has great recs. I've found so much music through him because it's really hard to keep up with all the new bands cropping up every year. You want to avoid the goth subreddit because they are extremely gatekeeper-y and argue over labels constantly. It’ll just confuse you, and they are not nice over there.

If you’re very new to the subculture, and you haven’t yet listened to all of Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, Cocteau Twins, Clan of Xymox, Joy Division, and Depeche Mode, go do so now. You'll want to know which of them you really enjoy the most because it will help you know which sub-subgenre(s) of goth you want to watch out for, and it'll tell you what to look for to find it. For example, Sisters of Mercy is the gothic rock subgenre, Christian Death is deathrock, Cocteau Twins is ethereal wave, Clan of Xymox is like the original darkwave, Joy Division is classic post-punk, etc. I haven’t included industrial, despite its proximity to the goth subculture, just because I actually don’t really know that many industrial bands beyond Skippy Puppy, Ministry, and Throbbing Gristle. Some other goth/goth-adjacent staple bands (that are very popular and very influential) that you should listen to if you haven’t already are The Damned, Killing Joke, The Cult, and Adam and the Ants/Adam Ant). I didn't know where to put She Wants Revenge or London After Midnight either, but they're also great.

I’ve bolded some of my absolute must-listen to goth bands, and I've put monthly Spotify listeners for each band so you know which ones deserve WAY more love. And in my pre-list ramblings for each OG band, I've given you some key terms to look up so you can more easily find music that's similar to what you enjoy. Okay, here we go:

If you like Bauhaus:

Bauhaus is a hard one because honestly, nobody really sounds like them, and they aren't really that closely associated with a specific sub-subgenre of goth. They were post-punk, they were art rock, they were experimental, they were sometimes very punk and at other times very gothic rock. They liked to call themselves “dark glam rock” (all four members are massive Bowie, T-Rex, and Iggy Pop fans), but you’re gonna have a hard time finding bands that sound like them if you look that term up. They probably have one of the most unique sounds of all-time. They’re my favorite band (I even have a tattoo for them, like I am devoted lol), but even I have a difficult time finding other bands that scratch their particular itch for me. These bands I’ve listed are as close as you’re gonna get to Bauhaus’ general vibe imo.

Virgin Prunes (80’s band that is technically deathrock but has the same absolutely unhinged, danceable sound that Bauhaus has, so they’re going here; one of my favorites; no one else does it like them and no one else ever will; I would actually give my left foot to see them live); 13.2k monthly listeners (this is actually physically painful to me, how is it this low!!! don't walk, RUN to go listen to them)

Alien Sex Fiend (80’s classic unhinged goth); 77k monthly listeners

Sextile (modern band that has some very Bauhaus-sounding guitar work at times but with heavy industrial influences); 147k listeners

The Danse Society (80’s unhinged goth; has similar experimental vibes to Bauhaus imo; one of my fave goth groups); 36k listeners

Sex Beat (80’s); not even really on Spotify

Ritual Howls (modern band; I don’t know why it gives Bauhaus, but it does; one of the few modern bands that scratches that particular itch for me); 45k listeners

The Agnes Circle (modern band; one of my favorites; they have the right Bauhaus-like atmosphere for me); 52k listeners

Traitrs (I can’t explain why they remind me of Bauhaus, but they do; another one of my fave modern bands; they make me want to start levitating and doing the Ian Curtis dance in the same way Bauhaus does lol); 239k listeners

Paralisis Permanente (underrated 80’s; they have a lot in common with Bauhaus’s sound actually, def give them a try!); 54k monthly listeners

The Birthday Party (80s band, totally unhinged; they’re less dark and atmospheric than Bauhaus, but if you take one listen to their album Junkyard, you’ll know exactly why I put them under this category haha; Nick Cave is the vocalist, which is amazing); 54k listeners

Tones on Tail (80s; Daniel Ash & Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus formed this group; I’d put Love and Rockets as well, which is all of Bauhaus’s members except Peter Murphy, but Love and Rockets weirdly bears little resemblance to Bauhaus’s music; but if you just generally want more of Bauhaus members' work, Love and Rockets is great, too); 81k listeners

Dalis Car (80s; collaboration between Peter Murphy and Japan's bassist; their music is extremely weird, so only listen if you really love the batshit insane Bauhaus songs or if you really live and breathe Peter Murphy like I do lol; their description on Spotify is so fucking funny); 7k listeners

I'd also recommend listening to Daniel Ash, David J, and Peter Murphy's solo work. They're all great!! Peter also did some amazing collaborations with Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails); the version of Reptile that they did together is better than Nine Inch Nail's original version imo, and you can find that entire session on Youtube!

If you like Siouxsie and the Banshees:

Siouxsie is another one that's hard to pin down sound-wise because again, they don't really fit into one specific sub-subgenre, so all of these recs are just goth bands with female vocalists who have the same kind of powerful vocals that Siouxsie does.

Second Still (modern band, one of my faves; singer sounds a lot like Siouxsie to me at times); 69k listeners

Skeletal Family (80’s band; has the same “women in punk” vibes that Siouxsie has); 55k listeners

Xmal Deutschland (80’s band; has the same powerful vocals that Siouxsie has; makes you wanna go stupid go crazy the way the Banshees do); 73k listeners

Secret Shame (modern band w/ woman singer; has the same rage that Siouxsie songs have to me, especially early Siouxsie); 6k listeners (let's get those numbers up, folks!!!)

Rosegarden Funeral Party (modern band w/ a woman vocalist); 57k listeners

Mephisto Walz (90s & 2000s; sounds so much like the Banshees at times); 56k listeners

The Creatures (80s; a Siouxsie Sioux & Budgie side project); 34k listeners

Madhouse (listen to Repulsion! 80s group that’s technically deathrock, but I put them under this category because the singer has Siouxsie-like qualities); not really on Spotify

Strange Boutique (90s; vocalist is Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse & Madhouse; this is probably my favorite project of hers); 112k listeners

If you like Depeche Mode:

For Depeche Mode enjoyers (which DM is kind of on the fringes of what’s considered “goth,” but they’re so entrenched in the subculture that I included them anyway), you’re gonna want to delve into goth playlists and modern goth that leans towards synthpop/synthwave. So those are the kinds of playlists you’ll want to search up for similar sounds to DM.

Nuovo Testamento (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements in a way that’s very similar to Depeche Mode; lots of fun live, and they have a good sound); 25k listeners

Boy Harsher (modern band; relies heavily on synth; feels like it should be playing at every goth club); 558k listeners

ULTRA SUNN (modern band; singer sounds like Dave Gahan); 217k listeners (they just blew up on tiktok recently, which explains why this just skyrocketed since the last time I was on their Spotify page lol; good for them, good for them, they deserve it)

Ministry's first album (called With Sympathy), which was synthwave/synthpop before they went industrial (this is one of my all-time favorite albums)

French Police (modern band); 252k listeners

Closed Tear (modern band); 152k listeners

Night Sins (modern band); 33k listeners

Panic Priest (modern band; vocals sound decently similar to Dave Gahan & there is a lot of reliance on synth; In All Severity is a gorgeous song); 5k listeners

Fad Gadget (underrated 80’s; I just feel like if you like DM, you’re also gonna like Fad Gadget); 58k listeners

Martin Dupont (underrated 80s cold wave/synth pop; Inside Out is one of my favorite 80s songs); 26k listeners

If you like The Cure:

You'll be hard-pressed to find a goth band that wasn't influenced by The Cure, so I really can't give you any key terms for what to look up lol. They also changed their sound so frequently that it entirely depends on what era of The Cure's music you're looking to find similar music for.

Vision Video (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements like The Cure does; one of my fave modern goth bands; they are INCREDIBLE live); 52k listeners (I'm gonna need y'all to get a song or two of theirs to blow up on tiktok expeditiously lol)

Urban Heat (modern band; great live); 36k listeners

The Chameleons (80’s band; very underrated; they are also very good live); 167k listeners

House of Harm (modern band, very new; also very good live; has pop elements); 44k listeners

Deceits (modern band, another very new one); 28k listeners (it's crazy how much this number has grown the past two months because it was in the single thousands not that long ago; everyone say thank you, tiktok)

Drab Majesty (modern band; their instrumentals remind me of The Cure); 172k listeners

Double Echo (modern band, one of my faves; their instrumentals also remind me of The Cure); 15k listeners (let's get these numbers up!!!)

The Bolshoi (underrated 80’s band that combines new wave and goth elements in a similar way to The Cure); 114k listeners

The Essence (underrated 80s band that sounds so much like The Cure it’s actually insane, but they’ve got their own sound too; they’re like a perfect blend of all of The Cure’s different sounds); 25k monthly listeners

The Glove (80s; a Robert Smith side project with Steven Severin from Siouxsie and the Banshees); 25k listeners

Crimson Ivy (80s band; singer sounds so a lot like a more yelly version of Robert Smith sometimes); not on Spotify

Miss Teen America (brand new band from NYC! They only have one single out right now, and it’s well worth listening to); 940 monthly listeners (y’all know what to do!!! Let’s get those numbers up, up, up!) link to their single: https://open.spotify.com/album/4nvdZeUVLLrMv3tEziCqm7?si=2WVS7-eYQLGR7Id3wLiKhg

If you like Clan of Xymox:

Most of these bands will be modern ones because Clan of Xymox was honestly way ahead of their time. (They are also amazing live, so go see them before they eventually call it quits!) For playlists that are full of their vibe, you’re gonna want to look up “darkwave” playlists. Clan of Xymox pioneered darkwave, so any darkwave band you listen to is gonna be influenced by their sound in some way or another.

Harsh Symmetry (modern, very new; very heavily relies on synth); 29k listeners

Ssleeping Desiress (modern band; instrumentals similar to Xymox); 55k listeners

Twin Tribes (probably my favorite modern goth band; they are fucking incredible and so good live!); 276k listeners

ACTORS (modern band; heavily relies on synth); 86k listeners

Mareux (modern; heavily relies on synth); 4.8 million listeners (this is wild!!!! everyone say thank you, tiktok)

Sixth June (modern); 23k listeners

Plastique Noir (modern); 40k listeners

Rendez Vous (modern); 160k listeners

Minuit Machine (modern); 97k listeners

The Frozen Autumn (90s & 2000s); 31k listeners

If you like Christian Death:

All of these recs will be deathrock recs or goth bands that heavily leaned on punk sounds. So if CD is the OG goth band you’re most fond of, you’re gonna want to delve into deathrock playlists for similar sounds.

Asylum Party (80’s band); not on spotify

45 Grave (80’s band); 47k listeners

Voodoo Church (80’s band; probably my favorite out of this bunch; I actually like them more than Christian Death); 7k listeners (let's get these numbers up immediately!!!!)

Ausgang (80’s band); 2k listeners (WHAT; they deserve so much more, damn)

Corpus Delicti (90’s band; they are very good; they sound the least like Christian Death on this list imo); 26k listeners

13th Chime (80’s band; very underrated); 6k listeners

UK Decay (you know, I actually don’t know what era they’re from; unhinged sound); 1k listeners (omg)

Super Heroines (underrated 80’s band; Eva O formed it); 2k listeners (you see what I meant about underrated?)

Specimen (80s band; this one could have just as easily gone under Bauhaus tbh, but the vocals are generally higher pitched than Peter Murphy’s, so I put them under this category); 102k listeners

Sex Gang Children (80’s band; just so unhinged & I love them for it); 27k listeners

Suspiria (90s, I think? I don’t actually know); barely on Spotify but 27k listeners

Theatre of Hate (80s); 7k listeners

Bloody Dead and Sexy (2000s, I think); 44k listeners

Mescaline Babies (2000s); 3k listeners

Acid Bats (2000s; Mexican band with Spanish lyrics); 2k listeners

Altar de Fey (80s band; formed in San Francisco!!); 23k listeners

Twisted Nerve (80s band; classified as “gothic punk,” so I felt this was the best category for them; they’re great; their sound also reminds me of early Siouxsie and the Banshees and Killing Joke); 2.5k listeners

Play Dead (80s); 8k listeners

Limbo (underrated 80s; if you like Bauhaus & Virgin Prunes as well, you’re gonna like this band); 413 listeners

If you like Cocteau Twins:

Cocteau Twins’ early sound is usually categorized as “ethereal wave” goth, so those are the playlists you’ll want to look up if you enjoy their early sound. If you like their later sound, you’re gonna want to lean more towards shoegaze for similar vibes. Admittedly, ethereal wave is one of the goth subgenres that I know the least about, so I’m not gonna be much help here.

Dead Can Dance (80’s band; NO one, and I mean NO ONE, was doing it like Dead Can Dance; so fun to dance to in the goth club); 332k listeners

Lycia (90’s band; their music is very transcendent); 20k listeners

Linea Aspera (modern band; gorgeous woman vocals; honestly, their music is just very beautiful); 67k listeners

This Mortal Coil (formed in the 80s; some songs feature Elizabeth Fraser & Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins, but even the ones that don’t still have an ethereal vibe similar to CT; Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust is just like the best song ever); 310k listeners

Autumn's Grey Solace (2000s); 62k listeners

Faith and the Muse; (90s); 22k listeners

This Ascension (90s); 4k listeners

Strawberry Switchblade (80s); 400k listeners

If you like Joy Division:

All of these bands will be ones that sound very classically post-punk, so those are the playlists to search out; emphasis on "classic" because post-punk is a very broad term that gets applied to a lot of music. I would argue that Joy Division has had the most influence out of all the OG goth bands on the current goth sound/goth renaissance we're going through right now, so there are a LOT of bands out there for you if you’re a JD fan.

Molchat Doma (modern band); 2.5 million listeners (wow lol, they've grown so much over the past two years, it's actually insane; good for them)

Soviet Soviet (modern band); 152k listeners

Fearing (modern band; very good live); 30k listeners

Ploho (modern band); 146k listeners

Pink Turns Blue (criminally underrated 80’s band; they are SO good live); 98k listeners (this is an actual travesty, this band is way too good to not even be in the hundred thousands)

The Sound (another incredibly underrated 80’s band); 119k listeners

This Cold Night (modern; has the deep vocals of Joy Division and the driving bass but more stripped back than JD); 150k listeners

Bleib Modern (modern; has very similar vocals to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, which is a band listed under the Sisters of Mercy section of this post, so if you end up liking this band, you should also listen to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & vice versa); 36k listeners

Lebanon Hanover (modern; has the existential angst that Joy Division always ignites in me but more stripped back); 936k listeners (this is crazy, holy shit!!!!!! go, Lebanon Hanover, go!!)

She Past Away (modern; deep vocals); 226k listeners

Belgrado (modern; woman vocals!); 18k listeners (they deserve better than this!!)

Leonora Post Punk (modern; Mexican goth band w/ Spanish vocals! They’re amazing! They have those deep vocals you want when you’re looking for a similar sound to Joy Division); 56k listeners

O. Children (modern; has the deep vocals & interesting bass lines that Joy Division was known for; great band); 29k listeners

If you like Sisters of Mercy:

This is one of my least favorite goth subcategories, which is odd because I actually love Sisters. But if you’re looking for a lot of music that sounds like SoM, I’d suggest delving into the 90’s and early 2000’s goth music scene. Search out those playlists. A lot of the 90s and 2000s goth bands were very derivative of Sisters of Mercy.

Rosetta Stone (90’s band); 54k listeners

Miazma (modern); 10k listeners

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (another criminally underrated 80’s band; one of my fave goth bands); 40k listeners (THEY!! DESERVE!! BETTER!!)

Dreamtime (modern); 65 listeners (ouch lol, please go show them some love)

Fields of the Nephilim (80’s, I think; if you’re a metalhead, you’ll probably appreciate this band); 95k listeners

The Merry Thoughts (80s); 19k listeners

The March Violets (underrated 80s; might be a controversial opinion to put them under SoM, but I’m standing by it); 69k listeners

Horror Vacui (modern; it’s kind of a stretch putting them here tbh, but I couldn’t figure out what other category to put them under); 44k listeners

The Sisterhood (spin-off Sisters of Mercy group that was formed by goth king Andrew Eldritch himself); 3k listeners

The Mission (formed by former Sisters of Mercy members; Wasteland by them was actually one of the first songs to get me into goth music); 180k listeners

Eyes of the Nightmare Jungle (late 80s & 90s; every time a song by them comes on, I’m convinced it’s a Sisters song until the singer starts singing lol); 13k listeners

Ex-Voto (formed in 1982, but most of their albums on Spotify came out in the 2000s; this band is like if Fields of Nephilim had a baby with Clan of Xymox & then sprinkled some industrial techniques in); 6k listeners

Also, if you want a 1500-song, 105-hour goth playlist that’s constantly growing, here you go. The name of it is a dig at my ex lol: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jCV530pMmOEmDHj4CLNka?si=cEVKiyAwQpaieGiV2pMyqw

[schizosupport]

One of the curiosities about how psychosis is defined, is the fact that clinically, delusions are defined as strongly held "wrongful" beliefs that don't respond to counter-proof, and that aren't shared with others in a subculture.

In other words, believing even very bizarre conspiracy theories such as "the earth is flat" isn't a delusion, though in a broader linguistic sense it is sometimes referred to as such.

In this post I wanna talk a bit about why that is, and why I do think that it's important to have a distinction between clinical delusions that happen in psychotic illnesses, and strange beliefs that arise in other ways.

So why is it not a delusion if it's shared with a subculture?

I think the reason for this distinction is that delusions experienced by people with psychotic disorders are something that comes from within, rather than something we've been taught to believe. Per definition. Psychotic people aren't particularly "gullible", we don't lack critical thinking skills, we have an illness that make us believe random untrue crap in a way that makes us unable to think critically about it. So while a psychotic belief could be inspired by something we've come across (like a conspiracy theory) our brain is generally gonna take it as a seed and run with it. Therefore we usually quickly get out of bounds from the 'community' that might have inspired our belief anyways.

Overall, we are less prone to having gotten our beliefs from others and are more prone to being the originator of a belief. In something like folie a deux, a non-psychotic person is taught reality from a psychotic delusional person, f.ex. a child growing up with a delusional parent. The child might appear at first glance to be psychotic, but actually they only believe those things because that's what they were taught by someone they consider an authority. If you remove the child from that environment, you will usually be able to help them regain a better understanding. Similarly someone might grow up in a cult. And they are believing what they are being taught, and their parents are believing what they have been taught. And there will be most likely an originator to the cultish beliefs. That person might be maliciously making things up, or they might even be psychotic and delusional. But the people who are being taught these things as facts are behaving like most humans, as social creatures who's reality is defined by their context.

Most people's context is defined along the lines of consensus reality, but if your social context is not aligned with the majority consensus reality, you are still aligned with the beliefs of your social context if you share your weird beliefs with a subculture. Your brain didn't independently come up with a wild belief that is out of touch with everything you know/have been taught.

Consensus reality is a consensus. And even if the consensus you follow is shared by only 2% of the population, if that 2% is all the people you relate to and consider to be the people "in the know", then you are in a way not going against your contextual consensus reality. You've just picked a less popular one.

So what defines a clinical (psychotic) delusion is that it does not align with any consensus about reality that you have access to. It's your own, and it's unlikely that you have allies who are supporting your beliefs. Though in rare cases a clinically delusional person may be contributing new material to a subculture, that others then start believing, and as a result they do share their beliefs with a subculture. But they didn't just learn the belief from the subculture, the belief is growing and morphing independent of the group.

But yeah that's all clinically speaking. In a broader linguistic sense, I think people use "delusional" to refer to anyone who has beliefs that aren't aligned with the majority-consensus-reality, or even more simplistically, that aren't aligned with the speaker's understanding of consensus reality (usually as an insult). So an atheist might refer to the religious as delusional, and vice versa.

It may be a losing battle to get wider society to stop using 'delusional' in this way, but I think it is at least helpful to talk about how such "delusions" differ fundamentally from the psychotic experience.

[tiffanys-aus-and-headcanons]

Terrible Visions

A scrambled timeline is a timeline that has proceeded much like ours, except that some particular facet has been mixed up all over the place. For example, in the scrambled timeline we will consider today, our world's fictional stories have been told by different people, and in different ways.

Bryan Lee O'Malley, in this alternate timeline, is best known as the cartoonist responsible for Homestuck, a popular comic series about a group of children who become embroiled in a cosmic-scale video game known as Sburb. Although Homestuck is probably most often associated with the cult classic Edgar Wright-directed film adaptation released in 2016, the comics themselves are highly-regarded, and the film brought a new audience to them. Netflix has commissioned an animated continuation, The Homestuck Epilogues, which is due to be released soon.

Andrew Hussie, on the other hand, is a figure you're likelier to know if you're overly online. His "MS Paint Adventures" series - most notably including Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, which is kind of like Homestuck but weirder and hornier - have firmly remained a fixture of obsessive Twitter fandom culture. It doesn't help that the best-known iteration, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, is infamous for stretching thousands of pages of meandering digressions out of a simple and focused narrative starting point. Scott Pilgrim fans have developed something of a toxic reputation, which is not entirely deserved - although of course Knives discourse is interminable, and back in the fandom's heyday there were reportedly incidents of fans assaulting each other "for being evil exes".

Scott Pilgrim fandom was very big back in the day, though, and consequently it was a nexus for other creative figures who would go on to surpass Hussie. Perhaps foremost among these is indie developer Toby Fox. He was literally living in Hussie's basement when he produced ROSEQUARTZ, a universally-beloved retro Goonies-like RPG about a human hybrid boy born to a race of gem-based aliens. He's now developing an episodic spiritual successor, RAZORQUEST, with more overtly dark themes. It revolves around an inheritance dispute among a demon-summoning family.

Other foundational figures in this timeline's internet culture include Alison Bechdel, who helped get the webcomic scene started. Although she's now more seriously acclaimed for her personal memoirs, her gaming webcomic Press Start To Dyke, which premiered in 1998, was once everywhere. It had a broad appeal, and at its height, it was common to see even straight guys sharing pages from it. Time has not been especially kind to it, though, and at this point its main legacy is test.png, a meme spawned by one of the comic's most ill-advised pages.

Then there's John C. McCrae, more often known by his pseudonym Wildbow. A prolific and reclusive author of doorstopping "web serials" - long-form fiction published online - McCrae's best-known serial is still his first, Wind, a noir superhero story set in an alternate history where capes are mostly just a subculture of unpowered vigilantes. Wind landed in a culture already rife with comic book deconstructions, like Alan Moore's 2002 graphic novel Worm Turns, but it nonetheless managed to stand out from the pack with its extensive cast of characters and its themes of coordination problems and the end of the world. Later McCrae web serials include Part (the first "Otherverse" serial; an urban fantasy story about a couple who die in a car accident and find that they have become ghosts), Tear (a "biopunk" story set in a collapsing underwater city), Warn (the controversial Wind sequel), and Play (the second "Otherverse" serial, set in a small Indiana town that helps hide a psychic girl from the CIA).

Last and perhaps least, we should discuss J. K. Rowling. Far and away the most famous of any of these authors, Rowling's name is inseparable from the YA series that she debuted with, the Luz Noceda books, which remain her one successful work. Although it was heavily derivative of older fantasy novels - like Jill Murphy's Academy For Little Witches, or Philip Pullman's Methods Of Rationality trilogy - Luz Noceda was still a monumental and unprecedented success in the publishing industry, and the film adaptations were consistent blockbusters. The final book, Luz Noceda and the Watcher of Rain, contained some allusions to a romantic relationship between Luz and her recently-redeemed associate Amity. Rowling confirmed that this was her intent in subsequent interviews and indicated that she had fought her publishers for it; the film would then go on to escalate matters slightly further.

There have been many lengthy and heated online arguments as to whether the references in the book itself constitute text or mere subtext. Whatever your stance on this discourse, a new complication has been introduced recently: although she has put out no official statement on the matter as of yet, it has become quite apparent from Rowling's shrinking network of contacts and her conspicuous silences that she is certainly TERF-sympathetic, and likely an outright TERF herself. For many, this is leading to a critical reevaluation of the social values inherent in the Luz Noceda series; others, to say the least, are holding off on that kind of reappraisal.

Anyway, Scott Pilgrim just beat Luz Noceda in a Twitter poll for Most Gay Media, and people are piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissed

[animentality]

Dude I'm so confused

Why are the redditors refugees here-

Whats up with the tag 196

AND WHY IS EVERYONE BEING SO NICE WITH THE TWITTER REFUGEES CAME WE GAVE THEM HELL (almost)

The Reddit refugees are here because several subreddits have gone private in protest of reddit's new policy of charging third party developers for access to its API.

Hence the term reddit blackout.

196 specifically was a very queer friendly subreddit that had one rule: that you post before you leave. 196 is trending because those Redditors have come here and they're basically sharing their memery here instead as they protest reddit's greed.

As for why we're welcoming them when Twitter refugees were seen with a little more irritation, well.

Think of the culture similarities.

Tumblr and reddit have far more in common than Tumblr and Twitter.

Twitter is about clout and manipulating algorithms and discourse in 280 characters or less. It's about bad takes that reach the right people and it forces you to see things you don't want to see and it's crawling with the worst people imaginable and you're forced to see them, all the time. They also brought bad tagging and 2016 Tumblr discourse with them, because Twitter culture really involves starting fights for clout and braindead opinions that no one really wants to come back to Tumblr culture.

There was a time when Tumblr did the same thing, but worse, with more words...but nowadays, it's really calmed down.

The worst people...went to Twitter after the porn ban. Ironically, it made the site less toxic and hostile.

But then they came back.

And it was like...hm. no thanks. Stay back where you came from.

But Tumblr and Reddit have much more in common.

Both have a more streamlined way of customizing your online feed. You can choose what subreddits you see on your home screen, just like Tumblr only shows you the content of your followers, on your dashboard, and in chronological order rather than what's trending. You can join a very specific weird niche group of freaks with a shared obsession, and not care about the rest of the site at all. You also don't have a character limit on either site, which lets you ramble more and share weird detailed stories.

Reddit might have karma, but like Tumblr, the majority of people are lurkers and not posters. It also allows you to downvote bad opinions, and moderators who have to adhere to certain guidelines of behavior, which means a lot of banning disruptive people.

Granted, sometimes their mods are power hungry, but. You know.

It does more to control its users than Tumblr do, and that's a good thing in terms of keeping toxicity and illegal shit off its subs.

Reddit also has a way more leftwing attitude than you would think.

It has a reputation for being full of incels but I honestly think that's outdated.

It's cleaned up its act quite a bit since the old days.

I see way more vile shit from Twitter and TikTok. Like seriously.

Twitter is crawling with conservative bots and propaganda machines and just outright inflammatory lies. TikTok literally has the worst comment sections I've ever seen, like edgy teenagers cracking racist and misogynistic humor and acting like it makes them different and special. Its algorithm also spoon feeds you garbage and is designed to be as addicting as possible.

At least reddit's culture, while chauvinistic and regressive in certain subcultures, is mostly on the tech positive, atheist libertarian side.

It can be a little pretentious and caustic about certain subjects, and a little full of itself. Some reddits are also very male leaning and disregard female concerns in favor of moaning about how men have it worse than anyone else on earth.

But for the most part?

...well.

I welcome them here, because if they left reddit in protest, then we always support protests. But 196 specifically is also a queer subreddit, and we support that even more.

Plus they're funny as fuck.

What's not to like, really?

You should welcome them with open arms too.

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 428 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

1 中継で、AFOとの戦いを見て… ちゅうけいで、オール・フォー・ワンとのたたかいをみて… chuukei de, OORU FOO WAN to no tatakai wo mite... "On the live broadcast, watching the battle with All For One..."

2 私は体育祭から轟先輩が… わたしはたいいくさいからとどろきせんぱいが… watashi wa taiikusai kara Todoroki-senpai ga... "For me, ever since the sports festival Todoroki-senpai was..."

3 俺も…！指針になったんです！ おれも…！ししんになったんです！ ore mo...! shishin ni nattandesu! "Me too...! It became my compass!"

4 私も わたしも watashi mo "Me too."

5 僕も…！ ぼくも…！ boku mo...! "Me too...!"

tagline 1 新１年に囲まれて… しん１ねんにかこまれて… shin-1nen ni kakomarete... Surrounded by the new first years...

6 憧れるのはいいが彼らも人間だ集団で追い回されたら驚いてしまうよ！ あこがれるのはいいがかれらもにんげんだしゅうだんでおいまわされたらおどろいてしまうよ！ akogareru no wa ii ga karera mo ningen da shuudan de oimawasaretara odoroite shimau yo! "It's okay to admire them, but they are also humans, and if they're chased by a big group it will take them by surprise!"

7 一人一人となら話せるんだが ひとりひとりとならはなせるんだが hitori hitori nara hanaserunda ga "But I can talk to you if it's one by one."

8 轟くんが対話をほっぽり出すなんて余程だ とどろきくんがたいわをほっぽりだすなんてよほどだ Todoroki-kun ga taiwa wo hopporidasu nante yohodo da "Todoroki-kun throwing out conversation would be reasonable."

9 廊下を走ってたぜ廊下をよォ‼︎委員長‼︎ ろうかをはしってたぜろうかをよォ‼︎いいんちょう‼︎ rouka wo hasshiteta ze rouka wo yoO!! iinchou!! "They were running in the hallway! In the hallway!! Class rep!!"

10 うむ規律は守らねばならない！ うむきりつはまもらねばならない！ umu kiritsu wa mamoraneba naranai! "Hmm, you must abide by the rules!"

tagline 2 No.428　笑顔が好きな女の子　堀越耕平 ナンバー428　えがおがすきなおんなのこ　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 428 egao no suki na onna no ko  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 428 The Girl Who Loves Smiles Kouhei Horikoshi

11 後遺症もある！安静にさせてやってくれ！ こういしょうもある！あんせいにさせてやってくれ！ kouishou mo aru! ansei ni sasete yatte kure! "There's also the aftereffects! Please do them the favor of letting them rest!" (Note: I assume by aftereffects Iida means the trauma but who knows, maybe he means Katsuki's medical condition. Yes this line is updated.)

12 ご…ごめんなさいなんてことを！… go...gomen nasai nante koto wo! ... "I'm...so sorry, for such a thing! ..."

13 お見かけしてつい…‼︎ おみかけしてつい…‼︎ omikake shite tsui...!! "It's just we happened to see them...!!"

14 爆豪ってワーキャーされるの好きだと思ってたけど ばくごうってワーキャーされるのすきだとおもってたけど Bakugou tte WAAKYAA saseru no suki da to omotteta kedo "But I thought Bakugou liked being oohed and aahed over."

15 数が多過ぎてさすがに困惑してるな かずがおおすぎてさすがにこんわくしてるな kazu ga oo sugite sasuga ni konwaku shiteru na "There are too many of them, anyone would be flustered."

1 いいなァ‼︎ ii naA!! "Seems nice!!"

2 昔からかっちゃんわりと女性に距離置かれてたから慣れてないのかも むかしからかっちゃんわりとじょせいにきょうおかれてたからなれてないのかも mukashi kara Kacchan wari to josei ni kyou okareteta kara naretenai no kamo "For a long time, Kacchan was relatively kept at a distance by girls, so maybe he's not used to it."

small text 僕幼なじみなんだ ぼくおさななじみなんだ boku osananajimi nanda "I'm his childhood friend, [that's why I know.]"

3 へー意外 へーいがい HEE igai "Eh? That's unexpected."

4 意外じゃねェだろクソが いがいじゃねェだろクソが igai ja neE daro KUSO ga "It's not unexpected, damnit."

5 活躍は認めるが… かつやくはみとめるが… katsuyaku wa mitomeru ga... "I acknowledge his service contributions, but..."

6 ヤンキーがモテるのは認められん ヤンキーがモテるのはみとめられん YANKII ga MOTEru no wa mitomeraren "I can't acknowledge that a Yankee* is popular." (*Note: "Yankee" in this context refers to a type of delinquent subculture that Katsuki's character directly takes after.)

7 とっとと去ねや‼︎ とっとといねや‼︎ tottoto ine ya!! "Hurry up and leave!!"

8 ひ！本当に失礼しました！ ひ！ほんとうにしつれいしました！ hi! hontou ni shitsurei shimashita! "Eek! We're really sorry*!" (*Note: Literally, this phrase means "We were really rude.")

9 確かに意外じゃなかった たしかにいがいじゃなかった tashika ni igai ja nakatta "That was certainly not unexpected."

10 あ！あの！ a! ano! "Ah! Um!"

11 緑谷先輩‼︎ みどりやせんぱい‼︎ Midoriya-senpai!! "Midoriya-senpai!!"

12 あの！ ano! "Um!"

13-14 見てました みてました mitemashita "I was watching you."

15 マジで勇気もらいました！ マジでゆうきもらいました！ MAJI de yuuki moraimashita! "It really gave me courage!"

16 自分もなんかしなきゃ！って じぶんもなんかしなきゃ！って jibun mo nanka shinakya! tte "[I thought] I have to do something, too!"

17 ほんと…！思ったんです！ ほんと…！おもったんです！ honto...! omottandesu! "Really...! That's what I thought!"

18 あの… ano... "Um..."

19 ありがとうございました！ arigatou gozaimashita! "Thank you very much!"

20 失礼します！ しつれいします！ shitsurei shimasu! "I'll take my leave now*!" (*Note: This phrase means a lot of things. Again, it literally means "I will be rude," but in this case it's something someone says before taking their leave.)

1 えと…いやあ… eto...iyaa... "Uh...thanks..."

2 ……この痛みはーーー… ……このいたみはーーー… ......kono itami wa---... ......This pain---...

3 緑谷と轟はいい…‼︎ みどりやととどろきはいい…‼︎ Midoriya to Todoroki wa ii...!! "It's fine for Midoriya and Todoroki...!!"

4 オイラはヤンキーがモテる事を認められない オイラはヤンキーがモテることをみとめられない OIRA wa YANKII ga MOTEru koto wo mitomerarenai "I can't accept that a Yankee is popular."

5 魂がそうなっている たましいがそうなっている tamashii ga sou natte iru "That's what's happening in my soul."

6 まア maA "Well,"

7 戦いがでかすぎたよ たたかいがでかすぎたよ tatakai ga deka sugita yo "the battle was too big."

8 んでその中心にいたんだ んでそのちゅうしんにいたんだ nde sono chuushin ni itanda "They were at the heart of it all."

9 無理ねえよ むりねえよ muri nee yo "It was impossible."

10 (sound effect) ズキン… ZUKIN... Throb... (Note: This sound can indicate the throbbing or stinging of a physical or mental pain.)

1 職員室 しょくいんしつ shokuin-shitsu Staff Room

2 また２ーA取材交渉 また２ーエーしゅざいこうしょう mata 2-EE shuzai koushou "Again with the 2-A interview negotiations."

3 Noで ノーで NOO de "Give them a no."

4 受ケタイ奴モイルンジャナイカ？ うケタイやつモイルンジャナイカ？ uKETAI yatsu MO IRUNJA NAI KA? "Isn't there someone who wants to take it?"

5 峰田トカ みねたトカ Mineta TOKA "Such as Mineta."

6 そうじゃない奴もいるんで そうじゃないやつもいるんで sou ja nai yatsu mo irunde "There are also some who aren't like that."

7 そっち優先です そっちゆうせんです socchi yuusen desu "They are the priority."

8 じゃ　今日はここの復旧再建だ じゃ　きょうはここのふっきゅうさいけんだ ja kyou wa koko no fukkyuu saiken da "So, today the restoration and reconstruction will be here."

9 お！A組やないか！ お！エーぐみやないか！ o! EE-gumi ya nai ka! "Oh! If it isn't Class A!"

1 ファット‼︎お願いします‼︎ ファット‼︎おねがいします‼︎ FATTO!! onegai shimasu!! "Fat!! Please [have us]*!!" (*Note: This is a standard greeting that translates literally to "please do me this favor" that is used when someone is about to work together with someone else on something, sort of like "If you please" in English.)

2 おうよ ou yo "Sure!"

3 サンイーターももうサイドキックやっとるで！ SANIITAA mo mou SAIDOKIKKU yattoru de! "I also hired Suneater as a sidekick!"

4 君らはあっちを きみらはあっちを kimira wa acchi wo "You all [will handle] over there."

5 金属類はこちらへ きんぞくるいはこちらへ kinzoku-rui wa kochira e "Put various metals here."

6 っし！ sshi! "Okay!"

7 まず聖地だ まずせいちだ mazu seichi da "First, the holy site."

8 ん！ n! "Yeah!"

9 相当なダメージデニムだろ そうとうなダメージデニムだろ soutou na DAMEEJI DENIMU daro "Aren't you equivalent to distressed denim?"

10 おとなしく休んでいればいいものを…まったく おとなしくやすんでいればいいものを…まったく otonashiku yasunde ireba ii mono wo...mattaku "It's okay if you just rest quietly...jeez."

11 軽作業かっちゃん けいさぎょうかっちゃん keisagyou Kacchan Light-duty work Kacchan

12 やっぱそのままなんスか yappa sono mama nanSU ka "So you really are still in that state, huh."

13 気にするな徐々に回復している きにするなじょじょにかいふくしている ki ni suruna jojo ni kaifuku shite iru "Don't worry, I'm gradually recovering."

small text 手ができた てができた te ga dekita "I can make hands."

1 元には…戻るんスか？ もとには…もどるんスか？ moto ni wa...modorunSU ka? "Will you...go back to the way you were?"

2 俺は元より全部獲りに行ったつもりだ！ おれはもとよりぜんぶとりにいったつもりだ！ ore wa moto yori zenbu tori ni itta tsumori da! "I plan to attain something greater than what I was originally!"

3 おーい君たち おーいきみたち ooi kimi-tachi "Hey, all of you!"

4 これお昼 これおひる kore ohiru "Here's lunch."

5 うわぁーおにぎり‼︎ uwaaa onigiri!! "Wow, onigiri!!"

6 いいんですか!⁉︎ iindesu ka!!? "Is it [really] all right!!?" (Note: This is an expression of politeness, like "Is it really okay for us to eat this?")

1 ウチの土地は今回の戦いでふっとんじゃまったがーーーーー ウチのとちはこんかいのたたかいでふっとんじゃまったがーーーーー UCHI no tochi wa konkai no tatakai de futtonja matta ga----- "Our land was was all of a sudden done in by the battle this time-----"

2 全部取り戻します ぜんぶとりもどします zenbu torimodoshimasu We'll bring it all back.

3 ごめんなさい gomen nasai "I'm sorry."

4 いや！責めるつもりで言ったんじゃねぇワリィ いや！せめるつもりでいったんじゃねぇワリィ iya! semeru tsumori de ittanja nee WARII "Oh no! I didn't say that with the intention of blaming you. My bad."

5 君たちの頑張ってる姿を見たら俺たちもクヨクヨしてらんねーって思ったんだ きみたちのがんばってるすがたをみたらおれたちもクヨクヨしてらんねーっておもったんだ kimi-tachi no ganbatteru sugata wo mitara ore-tachi mo KUYOKUYO shiterun nee tte omottanda "When we saw how you all were doing your best, we also thought 'We can't mope.'"

6 任せっきりじゃなく自分たちでまたいくらでもつくりなおすさ まかせっきりじゃなくじぶんたちでまたいくらでもつくりなおすさ makasekkiri ja naku jibun-tachi de mata ikura demo tsukurinaosu sa "We can't leave everything to you forever. We'll rebuild however many times it takes."

7 いやあこんな飯まで戴いたんだ いやあこんなめしまでいただいたんだ iyaa konna meshi made itadaitanda "Wow, and we got all this food!"

8 今日中に片そうぜ‼︎ きょうじゅうにかたそうぜ‼︎ kyou-juu ni katasou ze!! "Let's clean up everything today!!"

9 それはさすがに人手が足りんわ それはさすがにひとでがたりんわ sore wa sasuga ni hitode ga tarin wa "That's because we don't have enough helping hands."

10 ん？ n? "Hm?"

11 何だァ予定にないハズだ なんだァよていにないハズだ nandaA yotei ni nai HAZU da "What's this? This definitely wasn't the plan."

12 すみませんイレイザーヘッド sumimasen IREIZAA HEDDO "Sorry, Eraser Head."

1 ウチのがどうしてもお詫びをと ウチのがどうしてもおわびをと UCHI no ga doushitemo owabi wo to "My [class] really wants to apologize..."

2 先程は失礼致しました さきほどはしつれいいたしました saki hodo wa shitsurei itashimashita "We apologize for our rudeness earlier."

3 皆さんの事情も配慮せず みなさんのじじょうもはいりょせず mina-san no jijou mo hairyo sezu "We didn't even consider everyone's circumstances."

4 マジですげえな一年…‼︎ マジですげえないちねん…‼︎ MAJI de sugee na ichinen...!! "The first years are really amazing...!!"

5 なんでつれてきた nande tsurete kita "Why did you bring them?"

6 詫び圧が凄くて わびあつがすごくて wabiatsu ga sugokute "The pressure to apologize was immense."

7 皆の為に戦った先輩たちのように みんなのためにたたかったせんぱいたちのように minna no tame ni tatakatta senpai-tachi no you ni "Like our upperclassmen* who fought for everyone's sakes," (*Note: It's "senpai.")

8 俺たちも先輩たちの力になりたい‼︎ おれたちもせんぱいたちのちからになりたい‼︎ ore-tachi mo senpai-tachi no chikara ni naritai!! "we also want to be helpful to our upperclassmen*!!" (*Note: Still "senpai.")

9 仮免どころか入学間もないですが かりめんどころかにゅうがくまもないですが karimen dokoro ka nyuugaku-ma mo nai desu ga "We haven't been inducted into school* let alone received our provisional licenses yet." (*Note: In Japan there is a concept of "entering school" called nyuugaku which is basically the opposite of graduation. It's an induction or welcoming ceremony.)

10 やれる事やらせて下さい‼︎ やれることやらせてください‼︎ yareru koto yarasete kudasai!! "Please let us do what we can!!"

11 ２年生の邪魔になるから隅で軽作業ね ２ねんせいのじゃまになるからすみでけいさぎょうね 2nensei no jama ni naru kara sumi de keisagyou ne "So that you don't become disturbances for the second-years, please do light-duty work in the corner."

12 ハイ‼︎ HAI!! "Yessir!!"

13 後輩ってこんな未知の生物だっけ こうはいってこんなみちのせいぶつだっけ kouhai tte konna michi no seibutsu dakke "The underclassmen are such unknown creatures." (*Note: This word is "kouhai.")

14 飯こんなに用意してないんだけど めしこんなによういしてないんだけど meshi konna ni youi shite nainda kedo "We didn't prepare food for this many though."

15 食べてきました！ たべてきました！ tabete kimashita! "We ate and then came [here]!"

1 なんかよくわからんが……… nan ka yoku wakaran ga......... "I don't really understand, but........."

2 こんな感じで頑張りが数珠つなぎになっていくんだな こんなかんじでがんばりがじゅずつなぎになっていくんだな konna kanji de ganbari ga juzu tsunagi ni natte ikunda na "it's like this that hard work links people together*, huh." (*Note: This idiom literally reads as, "string together like rosary beads.")

3 ……お茶子ちゃん… ……おちゃこちゃん… ......Ochako-chan... "......Ochako-chan..."

4 うんーー un-- "Yeah--"

5 …少しずつだけど …すこしずつだけど ...sukoshi zutsu dakedo "...It's little by little, but"

6 前向きになってるようで まえむきになってるようで maemuki ni natteru you de "looks like things are looking forward."

7 良かったなって よかったなって yokatta natte "That makes me glad."

1 そんだけ！ son dake! "That's all!"

2 ごめんね！梅雨ちゃんデクくん何食べてる？ ごめんね！つゆちゃんデクくんなにたべてる？ gomen ne! Tsuyu-chan DEKU-kun nani tabeteru? "Sorry! Tsuyu-chan, Deku-kun, what are you eating?"

3 高菜⁉︎ 私も高菜がいい たかな⁉︎ わたしもたかながいい takana!? watashi mo takana ga ii "Takana*? I also like takana." (*Note: Takana is a type of Japanese mustard greens vegetable.)

4 高菜と梅干しこそ至高‼︎ たかなとうめぼしこそしこう‼︎ takana to umeboshi koso shikou!! "Takana and umeboshi* especially are supreme!!" (*Note: A pickled plum condiment.)

small text おめぐみや omegumi ya "Such a blessing."

5 (sound effect) ズキン… ZUKIN... Throb...

1 PM 7:00 ピーエム7:00 PIIEMU 7:00 7:00PM

2 寮制は緩和され りょうせいはかんわされ ryousei wa kanwa sare The dormitory system was relaxed.

3 自宅へ帰る事も選べるようになった じたくへかえることもえらべるようになった jitaku e kaeru koto mo eraberu you ni natta Now we can choose to return home, too.

4 麗日一旦家帰るって うららかいったんいえかえるって Uraraka ittan ie kaeru tte Uraraka said she'd go home for the moment.

5 お茶子ちゃん… おちゃこちゃん… Ochako-chan... "Ochako-chan..."

6 既読がつかないの きどくがつかないの kidoku ga tsukanai no "It won't show that she read [my text.]"

1 ああ!!!くそお!!! aa!!! kusoo!!! "Ahh!!! Shit!!!"

2 何⁉︎ なに⁉︎ nani!? "What!?"

3 しくった！ shikutta! "It screwed up!"

4 急にヘリ出せなんて言うから…‼︎ きゅうにヘリだせなんていうから…‼︎ kyuu ni HERI dase nante iu kara...!! "It's because they suddenly told me to go out on a helicopter...!!"

5 カメラのバッテリーが KAMERA no BATTERII ga "The camera battery"

6 切れた‼︎ きれた‼︎ kireta!! "died!!"

7 あの日 あのひ ano hi That day

8 私たちの結末は わたしたちのけつまつは watashi-tachi no ketsumatsu wa our conclusion

9 カメラには映らなかった カメラにはうつらなかった KAMERA ni wa utsuranakatta wasn't shown on camera.

1 もう街並みが元通りだ もうまちなみがもとどおりだ mou machinami ga motodoori da The cityscape is already back to normal.

2 少しずつだけど前向きになってるようで すこしずつだけどまえむきになってるようで sukoshi zutsu dakedo maemuki ni natteru you de It seems like things are moving forward little by little.

3 良かったなって よかったなって yokatta natte That makes me glad.

4 事態が良くならないあの日からまるで日が沈むにつれて影が伸びていくような じたいがよくならないあのひからまるでひがしずむにつれてかげがのびていくような jitai ga yoku naranai ano hi kara maru de hi ga shizumu ni tsurete kage ga nobite iku you na Ever since that day when the situation didn't get better, it seems like, as the sun sets, the shadows go and grow longer.

5 これまでと違って本当に終わったんだ これまでとちがってほんとうにおわったんだ kore made to chigatte hontou ni owattanda Unlike before, now it's really over.

6 決着がついた けっちゃくがついた kecchaku ga tsuita The conclusion has arrived.

7 良かったんだ よかったんだ yokattanda It was good.

8 明るく前向きに取り戻していく時だもん あかるくまえむきにとりもどしていくときだもん akaruku maemuki ni torimodoshite iku toki da mon It's time to get back to being bright and positive*. (*Note: The grammar pattern here notes a sense of disatisfaction with what was said, like "but I don't like this.")

9 私は皆が笑ってるのが好き わたしはみんながわらってるのがすき watashi wa minna ga waratteru no ga suki I love when everyone smiles.

10 水を差したくない みずをさしたくない mizu wo sashitakunai I don't want to put a damper on things.

1 だから dakara That's why

2-3 ずうっと痛むこの傷もしまっておくんだ ずうっといたむこのきずもしまっておくんだ zuutto itamu kono kizu mo I'll put away even this wound that hurts all the time.

4 うぐっ ugu "Ngh."

1 うぅ uu "Uu" (Note: These are sound effects for grunting and sobbing.)

2 うぐ… ugu... "ngh..."

3 麗日さん うららかさん Uraraka-san "Uraraka-san."

tagline 少女が秘めた想いデクはーー… しょうじょがひめたおもいデクはーー… shoujo ga himeta omoi DEKU wa--... The girl's hidden feelings, and as for Deku--...

[who-is-page]

I've seen (typically older) therians talking about how they feel that their subculture as animal-people and nonhumans is slowly disappearing. This is a point that, in all honesty, I'm inclined to agree with-- although I think I'd perhaps frame it less as "disappearing" and more as just "changing."

Because let's be honest with ourselves here: is the subculture actually vanishing, or is it just evolving into radical new dimensions as excited newbies join and find different focal points for their nonhumanity? As they express themselves in whole new dimensions and ways, as they explore a digital landscape that didn't exist ten, twenty years ago? As the older members lose touch with the newer members, and no one bridges that gap between the two?

I think I'm also extra frustrated because when I see these discussions go down, a lot of the time they're either 1) self-pitying, or 2) finger-pointing.

It's not bad or wrong to look around and realize that the community you found comfort in has changed in ways you could have never predicted and which leave you feeling off-kilter. But approaching these changes with a complete lack of curiosity, with an absolute woe-is-me sort of perspective, where you drag your feet and glare bitter daggers at everyone else, isn't the way to do anything.

And going around trying to pin blame on whoever happens to be at hand is an even worse way to approach it. "It's the furry fandom's faults!" "It's the alterhumans' faults!" "It's the humans' faults!" Who does this approach realistically help? What does this do, beyond ostracize people and make whoever is saying it feel temporarily vindicated in their solitude, in a vicious cycle where they never step out of their ivory tower and always use how alone they are as "proof" that they're right?

I think having discussions about the ways the subculture has changed is extremely worthwhile. But I think that they're at their best when enthusiasm over sharing takes a main, central point. When you see people excitedly telling others about Werecards for the first time, or when you get to introduce someone to the concept of personal websites and webrings, or when you link someone who's only just starting to learn that there's others like them to old and new groups and forums alike. These are the ways you keep those traditions alive, these are they ways you get people both informed of and really excited about them.

And like, maybe I'm just cheesy and optimistic, but building bridges is way more fun than building walls! And more than that, I also think it's fundamentally something that's significantly more helpful and productive. I'm always so hype when I see community projects taking off that involve connecting many different people, especially if they're centered on a specific group or identity, but I also think that those sorts of things are how we keep a community healthy and moving, how we avoid things getting stagnant and rotting away.

I've said it before in past essays I've published and I'll say it again: alterhuman communities survive through their internal momentum. We're still around and kicking because we're a bunch of opinionated, passionate animals and objects and entities and people and concepts and and and-- this is what we are! This is how we all, both together and individually as separate groups, continue to be around. We write. We argue. We dance. We leave tracks. And then others see all those things, months or years down the line, and they know they're not alone. They know that it's okay to join in around the campfire, and they end up leaving their own tracks, and the cycle repeats.

So I guess what I'm saying here is that I'm not just beseeching people to create, but I'm asking you to create with others. To extend that paw towards the people around you in your immediate community spaces and wider, and to realize that yeah, the digital grains of sand and time might erode and change the landscapes we're all in, but we can still have a damn good time exploring the new nooks and crannies around us and showing others our old hidey-holes and favorite spots to watch the sun set.

[centrally-unplanned]

I watched two documentaries recently that were very "2000's nerd culture" which I thought were very fun! In like a meta way as cultural commentary, of course, it is me after all. The first was Indie Game: The Movie, a 2012 documentary on the making Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez. It is a "creator-focused" documentary and in particular for the latter two games the film crew actually filmed them mid-production & release, which does make for some authentically heartfelt scenes.

So in a certain sense all eras of documentary will contain this, but the 2000's going into the 2010's was absolutely rife with a new wave of films, often supported by crowdsourcing funds like Indie Game was, primarily concerned with the self-legitimization of niche subcultures. By creating something cohesive, academic, and prestigious like a documentary, the film can codify the subculture as "real" and "worthy", and additionally lend credence to narratives about the subculture that have grown prevalent. And to be clear, this is not a criticism, even if there are parts that are - all meaning and identity is forged in similar ways. But for nerd culture in the 2000's, there was a particularly intense need for this process, because this was the era of nerdom going mainstream. That level of culture shift generated demand for all the above, which films like this aim to supply. There were lot of films of this type - we made a brony "documentary" propaganda film guys, nothing was exempt.

Indie Game is overwhelmingly the story of outsider artists bleeding and dying for their art, which will triumph above all odds. And it leans, heavily, into the bleed; at one point Phil Fish (creator of Fez), openly states he might commit suicide if his game fails. Much screen time is spent on personal sacrifice, financial poverty, the "doubters", etc. This is of course a classic tale for artists, but if I may be so bold that is something of an easy sell - emotionally, narratively - for someone writing the Great American Novel. It is maybe harder to sell if you are making this?

(Cover art by Bryan Lee O'Malley btw - very era appropriate!) How do we make "dude in hat solves puzzles" worth the Starving Artist life?

We do that by positioning these games not as games, but as paradigms. These games, by dint of being the independent vision of unitary creators, are making games that Big Gaming never could. New digital means of distribution are allowing artists to cut out the middleman of publishers, groups that corrupt the real vision of creators. And with no barriers to development, now anyone (maybe...even you?) can make games that can compete in the big leagues. Indie games through this lens are a different product than mainstream titles, and these creators are opening doors. And their suffering is going to be financially rewarded with success and money to boot! That is the narrative Indie Game is selling to its audience of gamers, to understand why the indie games they bought and loved are meaningful.

And to be clear, as much as I am about to deconstruct this, it isn't like totally false or anything. Starting in the late 2000's digital platforms like Steam, more accessible development tools like Unity (released in 2005), and so on did in fact make smaller games appealing to more niche markets more viable, and by virtue of their nicheness yeah they can do things big budget games maybe can't. These creators absolutely had passionate visions for their games, sacrifice for your passions is fine (not bashing that part here), hats off to them. Indie games in this era would absolutely "change gaming".

But not really in the ways this narrative wants them to, nor with the "meaning" people of the time expected it to have. For one, there is a conflict in this documentary of them wanting to highlight "bold new visions" and also wanting to highlight...popular indie games. This is Super Meat Boy, for example:

Yeah, never had a 2D platformer blob guy dodging traps before in gaming! "No see its retro" yeah retro to what, old games? Like those Nintendo made back in the 90's, which you explicitly mention in your documentary? You know, niche indie studio Nintendo? This isn't a bash, at all, at the game itself, but instead the idea that "AAA Studios would never"; they totally would, and always did. There has never been an era where the large gaming studios weren't also making creative games, but for this narrative they need to be propped up as static for it to make sense. And the actual niche indie stuff that big studios wouldn't touch don't sell well enough to justify being in this film!

And the idea of the "solo developer" is also, hm, let us say a bit sus. Not that these developers weren't solo or small teams, they were (though ofc a solo core creator will often have dozens of helpers on supporting roles that get sidelined in this "unitary vision" narrative); but that such a model is all that new? How big do you think development teams were in the 90's for so many classic games? The original Pokemon Red/Blue game had less than a dozen core developers (the total staff list, including American localizers, is ~30 people - Super Meat Boy meanwhile seems to have 16 for comparison). You wanna bring up the dev teams for PC-98 visual novels? They were made in an Akihabara cave with a box of pixel art scraps by like 6 people! You think those games didn't have "unitary creative visions"? Small gaming companies have always been a part of the ecosystem, getting niche titles funded & published using insane magic and pure luck. The "indie boom" is better seen as a change in the numerator.

Though what did change is that, by being self-published, development was approachable by outsiders in new ways. Though even then, this is a bit of a lie - Jonathan Blow of Braid was an industry veteran, and everyone here plays the "convention circuit" and networks with people like the PAX crew and Xbox representatives. But with the games being published by an individual over a studio, even a studio of a half dozen people, it is far easier for the audience to see the creators as "one of them". No office, no suits, just a man in his gamer den banging out his dream. That aesthetic is core to why this narrative was potent at the time, and why making a documentary to codify it was seen as compelling. It takes an already ascendant idea, polishes it, packages it as nonfiction, and then sells the idea back to the people who invented it. LIke so much media, to be clear! I always enjoy seeing it, it is the dialectic of culture in action.

I also find it very funny to see a documentary made in 2012 playing tropes that will become far more ~problematic~ just around the corner. Burnout and work-life balance - in a documentary where a developer, crying, discusses suicide if his game fails, to remind you - is pretty much never mentioned, and a successful game launch is absolutely presented as justifying endless crunch. You would never see that today. The only women in this documentary are wives and parents - which is very amusing, because the co-creator of the film is a woman! No one thinks gender is relevant to mention. Boy would that change in a few years.

Indie games today, of course, are just a segment of the gaming market. They are incredibly common now, so much so that most people lose money making them, people discuss oversaturation, big studio companies have "indie wings" to cover consumer preference ranges, etc. There is no magic in it anymore, it is just dev strategy. So yeah, very enjoyable as a representative time capsule in a strain of culture that is pretty much gone now! The Capital-R Romantic Era of indie gaming; what a time.

In the next post, we are going much more niche, so stay tuned for that. Or don't, I don't know you, and like this was a loooot of writing. Maybe i'll, idk work on that for the next one? ...I probably won't -_-

[brostateexam]

One of the recent trends on TikTok is an aesthetic called “night luxe.” It embodies the kind of performative opulence one usually encounters at New Year’s Eve parties: champagne, disco balls, bedazzled accessories, and golden sparkles.

“Night luxe” doesn’t actually mean anything. It isn’t a reaction to wellness culture, nor is it proof that partying is “in” again (has partying ever been “out”?). It’s just one of many aesthetic designations for which the internet has contrived a buzzy, meaningless portmanteau. Rest assured that night luxe will likely have faded into irrelevance by the time this article is published, only for another meme-ified aesthetic (i.e., coastal grandmother) to be crowned the next viral “trend.”

The tendency to register and categorize things, whether it be one’s identity, body type, or aesthetic preferences, is a natural part of online life. People have a penchant for naming elusive digital phenomena, but TikTok has only accelerated the use of cutesy aesthetic nomenclature. Anything that’s vaguely popular online must be defined or decoded — and ultimately, reduced to a bundle of marketable vibes with a kitschy label.

Last month, Harper’s Bazaar fashion news director Rachel Tashjian declared that “we’re living through a mass psychosis expressing itself through trend reporting.” There is, I would argue, as much reporting as there is trend manufacturing. No one is sure exactly what a trend is anymore or if it’s just an unfounded observation gone viral. The distinction doesn’t seem to matter, since TikTok — and the consumer market — demands novelty. It creates ripe conditions for a garbage-filled hellscape where everything and anything has the potential to be a trend.

TikTok plucks niche digital aesthetics out of obscurity and serves them up to an audience that might not have known or cared in the first place. While aesthetic components were once integral to the formation of traditional subcultures, they’ve lost all meaning in this algorithmically driven visual landscape. Instead, subcultural images and attitudes become grouped under a ubiquitous, indefinable label of a “viral trend” — something that can be demystified, mimicked, sold, and bought.

[drdemonprince]

So, I (a trans guy) am kind of coming to terms with the fact that I might be more gay than bisexual after all. Where I live, the queer community is split pretty definitively between the "women, non binary and trans people" (or FLINTA*, if you're familiar with that horrible term) and the gay male community. While I have lots of problems with the former, it is kind of the community I am in, mostly because it has felt safe during my transition. It still feels safe, but not really comfortable. I want to feel like I am part of the gay male community, especially if I mostly want to date queer men in the future.

I am like, so scared of existing in any gay male spaces. When I tried being in them pre T, I felt like an imposter. When I travelled to the US a few years ago, the only place my then partner (also on T) and me were misgendered consistently was in gay bars (in a lot of famous "gay friendly" cities). All of this has left me with a sense of humiliation and not-belonging that gets reactivated every time I even think of stepping into one again, even if I am fairly certain I would not get this reaction now.

How do I get past the shame that is attached to my previous experiences and learn to actually enjoy myself there?

So, I believe that you have the order of operations wrong here. You don't get past shame and then go out to these gay spaces -- you go out to those gay spaces and then overcome (some) of your shame. And that shame may live with you forever in some form. You can still have a worthwhile life with it.

Go to the gay bars. There are many different kinds of them, all with wildly different energies and clientelle, and it is normal and boring and blase for trans guys to be at each and every single one of them.

One way that many newbies unwittingly screw up is by going to the most circuity, dance-y kinds of gay bars that tend to be filled with young, thin, rich, superficial people -- and then they mistake the meanness of that crowd for the meanness of all gays, or interpret the meanness as a sign they are not accepted by "the gay male community."

There is no singular gay male community. There are in fact a wide variety of subcultures with their own beauty standards, stylistic choices, interests, and norms. And there's a lot of cliquishness and mean girl behavior among people who have decided they are high rank in any particular small subculture, don't get me wrong. But you don't have to believe in any of it. They're just coping with their own history of marginalization and rejection by trying to become a new ruling class within their own tiny pond. You can laugh it off as the work of kind of sad, small thinking and just enjoy yourself and talk to people who are not assholes.

So, go to the leather bar. Go to a pup night. Go to an old-timers bar filled with gays over 60 (they will be nice to you and buy you drinks, I promise). Go to a gay bar that's casual and nerdy, with arcade machines and pub trivia. Go to a drag bar on a weekday night and meet some of the newer queens who are still trying to find their chops. And yes, go to the DJ sets and dance clubs all you like, but don't let what a few snatched bitchy 22-year-olds (or insecure former twink 42 year old real estate agents) get you feeling insecure. They're doing that shit because they are insecure.

Bring a friend. Talk to someone who seems nervous and alone on the side of the dance floor, too. Wear an outfit that will get some compliments. Nurse a drink at the bar and trawl grindr to see if anyone seems worth talking to. Join a dungeon or a gay running group. Attend a gay men's support group at your local lgbt center. Meet a ton of people and just get yourself out there, and quickly you will realize that your mind has wildly over dramatized how much you stand out or how much anybody cares.

Fat gays, disabled gays, older gays, Autistic gays, nerdy gays, poor gays, Black and brown gays, immigrant gays, they all feel like they do not belong and are not welcome too. Find them and be kind to them and hold onto them. Notice who is nice and warm with you, but also don't read into it too much if some people are just neutral. Eventually you will figure out what you like doing, which spaces you enjoy inhabiting, and who you want to be there with -- and then you'll have some fun.

[artbyblastweave]

hero-ify the Xenomorphs and/or the Predators

The Predators who come to earth are a subculture within their society filled to the brim with bitter, vindictive washouts from Predator Culture- in which they correctly identify a deep, violent sickness and criminality, even if they can't properly identify it's true cause- and, because they can't purge their own society of those they view as guilty, they essentially engage in vigilante tourism against lower-tech civilizations rife with individuals whom they think have it coming. They are, crucially, not uniformly competent in their ability to identify who has it coming, despite working off moral standards we'd find fairly recognizable. You get one Yautja who's doing his homework and carefully hunting down special-ops groups implicated in war crimes, staging his battles in remote areas to minimize civilian casualties. Then you get another who just walks into New York and starts mincing anyone carrying a firearm because he figures that all of them must have done something.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for taking romantic photos with a 14-year-old when I was 19?

Context: In the 2000s I used to be into the emo/scene subculture and when I was barely 19 I went to an emo meetup at a graveyard. There was no established age limit to this group but everyone was pretty young--teens to early adults. I'm autistic and so it was a big deal for me to be social like this (I was poorly socialized due to homeschooling and severe bullying and I was mentally probably a lot younger than 19 and I looked much younger too). Well, a girl who I assumed was older than me or at least the same age (we were wearing heavy makeup so it made it harder to discern) really took a liking to me (glomping me, dragging me around the place, etc.) and we hung out for most of that day (along with another of her friends). Her friend was taking photos of her for Myspace--posing in front of the graves, etc. And the girl asked me to take a "romantic" photo with her. I balked. My severe social phobia battled with my desire not to disappoint my new friend, and at the time I couldn't say no to people no matter how dire the circumstances. So I said yes. They were, in hindsight, tame photos. Holding hands while gazing "romantically" and tragically into each other's eyes. The most suggestive it ever was was a photo where she pinned me against the graveyard wall and grabbed my chin and tilted it up. We never kissed or did anything beyond the photoshoot. I felt incredibly uncomfortable the entire time and had a panic attack during it. When it was over I went home and she friended me on Myspace and I found on her profile she was 14. I panicked the fuck out. She asked if she could post the photos and I asked her not to. She already had. I asked her to take them down explaining how uncomfortable she had made me. She took it very well and did so, deleting the photos. She apologized to ME which was ridiculous and I apologized profusely to HER that I thought she was OLDER than me! But as a 19 year old I should have made sure. She asked if we could be friends still and I said I didn't feel comfortable with that. She said she understood. I blocked her and haven't contacted her to this day. I am in my thirties now but this still haunts me (I suffer from POCD and this encounter did not help it in the slightest). I still have the paranoia that she'll remember who I was and for some unknown reason decide to ruin my life and most of all I feel like such an idiot and a creep.

[wilted3sunflowers]

Pink Pearl: SOLD

Always thought of as a simple minded pearl who honestly to many outsiders never thought she was that great at being a quiet and follow you from behind type. Yet never seemed to be reprimanded much from Zebra Agate whom she was entrusted to. Currently she's thriving in this new Era 3 and on earth in Empire City. She was the one among this group to actually start the whole animal pattern print...kind of. Though technically it could be argued the pattern started with Zebra Agate but Pink Pearl conciously chose leopard print from seeing them on models in store window advertismenet and could not be more interested. On Homeworld theres very little patterns, only really lattice work or stripes of any kind or diamond checkerboard. No one really thought out- no one thought to look to organic beasts for fashion. Humans are so fascinating. Maybe thats what that Rose Quartz truly saw in them. How creative and vibrant they are. Comes with a past form too on toyhouse

Design Notes on Grey and Pink Pearl: Inspired first by Pink pearl's interest in 'animal pattern' which Grey is a pearl who excelled at being 'a pearl' sure she was never the most emotive, sing song-y type of pearl for entertainment yet what Zebra Agate needed was a pearl more of a secretary of keeping things on schedule and taking calls and what not. I also decided for this story a conscious effort that Pearls don't wear patterns. They're not of importance they are here to be simple, more softer colors typically and just to show they're a pearl. not some combination of gem type wearing another gems pattern. Also decided the same of course for Pink pearl for them being simple, run of the mill pearls even if Grey has a bit more to her past design it was only for the more authoritative feel that a pearl might have being under an *Agate* that terrifies Design notes on Pink lace: Due to corruption she is a lot more faded- not just from corruption but because her gem was more like that of the sand gem. Embedded in an object and only ever facing the sun. bleaching her gem of colors with too much exposure. She's a lot more polished in her currently look- i had a design ready for her just out of corruption look but then that would leave Zebra agate without a past form and decided to let the two non pearls without past forms. She of course used to be much more vibrant.

Design Notes on Zebra Agate: purposefully the inverse of typical zebra pattern on her clothes. with white stripes on black you can see that her hair itself is a regular part of black stripes on white like a typical zebra. also her design on her bodysuit is specifically to mimic a ribcage with zebra stripes

Zebra Agate: [Sold] "An Agate Terrifies" That's what Agates do. That's who Agates are. Subjugate those out of line and whip them into shape. They're here to make everyone stay in their proper places and follow rules. However I took her to completely go into the other direction of dealing with rules. The Punk movement appealing to her- if this is Era 3 and there is no need for her job role. Why should she keep trying to force a terrifying agate lifestyle? She may not be the kindest or most sweet Zebra Agate is however sentimental and more thoughtful than many- even pink lace considered her much more cold and rigid to expectations of what used to be common of gem society. While shes not an anarchist she has been delving into punk fashion but also the subculture to help her adjust to her new world and its views. She had always needed to follow rules blind and enforce them but due to the new order change. How else was she to find something that even acknlowedges no structure is perfect and many are flawed- even so her diamonds were flawed. Nothings perfect and nothing is without work to adjust.

Grey Pearl: SOLD A muted personality. What do you do when you used to know everything you were supposed to do? Living not in just a new era but an entire new world where you're allowed a lot more freedom that you never actually craved before. She's known Pink Pearl for thousands upon thousands of years and while there are some feelings of envy she would consider Pink Pearl to be her only friend. It's a complex mix of emotions like anyone would have especially towards Zebra Agate and the peculiar softness she seems to have for Pink Pearl that she has with no one else. Whilst never treated harshless it always was more of a cold wall from Zebra Agate that Grey Pearl felt. That this was strictly business relationship. Agate never even asked her to sing or dance- two components that make a pearl a pearl in many's eyes. Yet she's asked Pink Pearl to sing for her, and never stopped her from dancing without being asked. Grey Pearl may not have much of a relationship with Faded Pink Lace however she almost projects a sense of kinship of feelings left behind with her. In fact it was after Pink Lace Agate came back with those curated corruption spots that she decided to have some own markings herself. Humans have tattoos and while she can't get a traditional tattoo from humans she herself worked to get those marks on herself. She was the last one in the group to reform to this new Human lifestyle. Comes with a past form too on toyhouse

(Faded) Pink Lace: SOLD During the gem war she of course fought for homeworld and even was was part of the last charge. Of course, while she is more of the carefree type even she could see the dangers. Zebra was part of the task to pull out more of the aristocrats and Pink Lace part of the ground troops. Anything could happen so just as a precaution she sent her pearl away to Zebra Agate. Honestly, she expected that terrifying Agate to reset Pink Pearl for herself. It was a peculiar feeling for Pink Lace recognizing her pearl- even if it took only a moment before her Pearl recognized her. All so unevenly spotted and with sharp spiked growths coming out of her. She was a mess...Just how Zebra Agate used to scold her about. Her pearl still so lively and a bit oblivious to others feelings but even now so creative- such unique spots on her dress...theyre not even diamond shaped. Pink Lace at least knows to go with the flow of things but a good deal perceptive.