#on an unrelated note i think i might have autism

[yukimomodivorce]

Unecessarily long explanation/analysis of what Re:vale's name might mean

I don't know how to start this ok so basically this post and these tags from @nitunio

inspired me to try to explain my own interpretation and I maybe accidentally spent several days looking into the etymology in the process and now I have more to say about it than I did initially. So I wanna start by outlining every potentially relevant definition/use of re and vale that I found and then I'm gonna talk about how some of them relate to Re:vale. This post has sections and a reference list baby let's go

1: Definitions of re

1. In music terms, re is the second syllabic note in a diatonic scale (do re mi etc.)

2. Re: specifically with a colon at the end is often used as an abbreviation of 'reply' (especially in emails) and/or as the Latin re meaning 'regarding' or 'in reference to'

3. In most cases, re as a prefix/affix indicates 'back' (as in return) or 'again' (as in repetition)

2: Definitions of vale

1. The Middle English vale (pronounced like veil) is another term for valley (derived from the Latin vallis), used in literary/poetic contexts or place names to mean:

A low stretch of land surrounded by hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it

The world or mortal life (figuratively and often with connotations of sorrow or hardship, such as in the phrase "vale of tears")

2. In most modern uses, the Latin vale means 'farewell' or 'goodbye', especially in the context of death (apparently this is really common in Australia? I've never heard it before)

3. This use is derived from valeō (or present infinitive valēre), which basically means 'be well/healthy' - so vale in Latin means 'goodbye' in the sense of wishing someone good health, safe travels etc.

Valeō/valēre can also denote strength and worth, and it's the root of both valour and value

4. From what I can find, vale in Spanish is mainly used as a colloquial term similar to 'OK' or 'cool' in English, but it's an inflection of valer which can mean 'valid' or 'worth' and is also derived from the Latin valēre! everything is connected :D

TLDR two main uses of vale both derived from Latin: vallis meaning valley and valeō meaning to be well/healthy/strong/worth

3: What 1 year and 4 months of being a Re:vale fan does to a man

Yuki and Momo's symbols are both repeats, and the two dots (resembling a colon) are what distinguish repeats from final barlines in sheet music (more of me rambling about their symbols here - it's also where the design on their rings comes from, which is something that I keep realising and then instantly forgetting about).

Considering this, I think that the most relevant and likely intended meaning of the 're:' in Re:vale is repeat - we also see English words with the prefix used in this sense pretty frequently with Re-raise, 'revive' and 'rebirth' in Dis one., and 'restart' and 'reborn' in Period Colour. The 'back' aspect also has some significance here, especially in Re:member (the word remember doesn't mean you're like. membering again. it refers to memories. but the title re:member is very intentionally split that way because re:vale both gains and loses a member, so it works with both the again and back implications. anyways). This is also a bit of a recurring theme in i7, what with the whole "the ideal idol is one that doesn't end" thing.

Turning our attention to vale as in valley, once you look into it the whole "vale of tears" meaning doesn't really align with Re:vale unless you only interpret their story as a tragedy, but if you were to look it up and just see the definition "the world" with very little context, then it seems pretty fitting for the most famous currently active idols in the Idolish7 universe. But it actually symbolises how they mean the world to me and also to each other. And the figurative world of suffering that they have put me through thank you and goodnight. Just kidding there's more. I would say something about the valley (landform) and how Yuki is the river and Momo and Banri are the surrounding hills but you get the idea. Momo would live by the river...... he wouldlive by the river. I think about this every day

Anyways. So I really can't say how much of this is intentional but the 'goodbye' vale is especially accurate if you consider the underlying meaning - it's a way of saying goodbye, but it's also sort of a way of saying good luck and be strong. It's the same as how Banri has to say goodbye to Re:vale, but he also tells Yuki to "find a place to sing as yourself". And valour is kind of Trigger's thing (see: valiant) but reaching a little further for the 'value' meaning, it goes back to the whole Mikansei Na Bokura thing - all three of Re:vale's members had to lose something important to them, but the time they spent with it was still valuable and in the end they're able to retain those experiences and move forward to something just as valuable. In the end the name is a bit of a cluster of things vaguely related to them but I guess if you put it together it's like. The repetition of them saying this to each other. Yeah Momo after his injury getting that push from Yuki and Ban's concert to start saying goodbye and moving on and yeah like nitu said him affirming Yuki. Banri saying goodbye/I can't be there next to you anymore but I'll cheer you on from the sidelines and remember the time we spent together fondly and be able to smile once we meet again (<- from the end of his re:member pov). Yuki stabbing me 12 million times in the chest I mean um. Yuki... yeah I'm gonna need another 14 days to write that post let me get back to you on that one. But you get the idea. You get it

I think I had another point somewhere in here but this post has been sitting in my drafts for ages and I still haven't thought of it. But thank you very much for reading if you've gotten this far!!! As a reward you get a hug from me and the reference list :D

4: References

These aren't organised well at all but hopefully it's not too bad

Australian Writers' Centre: Q&A: The Origin of 'Vale'

Dictionary.com: Re • Vale

The English Idolish7 Wiki (my beloved)

Reddit: Contextual Use of "Vale"

Wiktionary: Vale • Valer • Valeō

also the google definitions of most of these terms but idk how to link those and I can't be bothered

[mcytblrsexymen]

Highlights from the Mod Chat pt 3.

[ID: discord message from a capricious and willful god, reading: shoutout to the fact that the quackity and etho girlies still seem to be deciding to ship them now love whatever was happening over there with that alliance. godbless]

[ID: discord message from LITTLE FRAUD JOCKEY, reading: I might do a little joe fraud but at most i'll do like. 20 votes. me: wow I wish I had the dedication to sit down and force myself to do a task also me, from 330am to 8am this morning: I love voter fraud I love voter fraud I love voter fraud I love voter fraud I love voter fraud I love voter fraud I love foter fraud I love voter fraud it has been reacted to nine times with the pushpin emoji]

[ID: discord message from [binarual + bisexual] I love everyone in the notes like "oh no I voted for them both how could they be in the same poll now!" Well, you see.]

[ID: discord conversation, reading: SAD GAYISMS for SEXYLAMPNAP: yeah but tumblr/4chan was more popular as a hateship Fiendish Bots/Glorious Sideblogs: there's a sentence]

[ID: discord message from [binarual + bisexual], reading: Twitter is so good at reading]

[ID: discord message from classically trained drabbler, reading: hahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahhahha no you may quote me on that if you wish]

[ID: discord message from gay for infographics, reading: No and the reason is big number make me happy to put on the infographic]

[ID: Discord message from VOTE FOR TECHNOBLADE, reading: Scar would approve of the fraud]

[ID: discord message, reading: anon: like, do we have... any other plans for when the poll ends? Erotic Mushroom Indoctrination: ...nap? a capricious and willful god: yeah nap classically trained drabbler: an adult beverage (this message has been reacted to ten times with the Clap emoji) undercover weeb: pizza VOTE FOR TECHNOBLADE: Buying discount love candy after work (this message has been reacted to nine times with the elmo fire emoji)]

[ID: discord message from gay for infographics, reading: New nickname thanks to ma sœur! Now if there's ever another mod chat post and I have said a funny thing, my name doesnt have to be censored ahahaha this message has been reacted to four times with the Laugh emoji]

[ID: discord conversation, reading: Fiendish Bots/Glorious Sideblogs: I think it either has to be defaults or "recognized sexist skin" and my brain is just too slow to pick out what that means alone, right now fake GeorgeNotFound fan: beautiful typo Fiendish Bots/Glorious Sideblogs: oh no]

[ID: discord message from Fiendish Bots/Glorious Sideblogs, reading: god bless ren and martyn's open homoeroticism it has been reacted to 3 times with the pushpin emoji]

[ID: discord message from charlie slimecicile enoyer, reading: i think it'd be funny to let the blog collect dust for a few years to recover and then out of nowhere on a completely different, unrelated date, drop a series of polls where the only option for all of them is ethoslab and also one for pix. It has been reacted to 3 times with the 100 emojij]

[ID: discord message from classically trained drabbler, reading: "get your head in the game" is a very normal sportsball phrase that did not originate in high school musical y'all are just loser ners how am i a sports expert here]

[ID: discord message from classically trained drabbler, reading: also voter fraud makes autism brain go brr too good]

[ID: discord message reading: literally who the fuck is joe hills but I AM seriously considering doing it for the bit this has been reacted to with the Handshake emoji three times]

[ID: discord message from Fiendish Bots/Glorious Sideblogs, reading: Just had to explain both tumblr and Minecraft to my doctor]

[thatdepressedtwink]

Bugbo Headcanons (sorry for the poor formatting I did this in notes)

- Bugbo is left handed

- Any of gerbos legs work as hands

- Gradient Joe is TRANS AND HAS TOP SCARS!!!

- Bugbo is arospec

- Thomas Flyswatter goes by He/they pronouns (honestly this might even be canon)

- Thomas Flyswatter, even if he did have feelings of Bugbo, probably would not realise after A LONG TIME, and when he does realise it’s because of a completely unrelated topic much like how he blames Bugbo for his tragic backstory despite no connection

- Gradient Joe knows BSL

- Hoppo knows guerilla warfare

- Hoppo is taller than anyone of them, she just prefers standing low to the ground

- There are no wars present and they ended a bit ago, Hoppo is just committing war crimes

- Bugbo is only slightly unsettled by Hoppo, the same way a regular person might react to Bugbo

- Bugbo’s motto for “togetherness makes anything effortless” as well as his need for actions to have reason is because as ants, you must work together as to help the colony grow and be orderly. Hence his philosophy. That or autism.

- Bugbo listens to white noise as a form of entertainment.

- Bugbos love languages are words of affirmation, and if close, touch

- Gerbo types with kaomoji’s

- Bugbo’s handwriting looks like New Times Roman

- Gradient Joe uses cursive

- Hoppo puts ink on her hands and types on paper like a typewriter, and she’s good at it too.

- Bugbo never swears, and he HATES it. Emphasis on hate. But he does think in swears when in rage.

- Gerbo can roll around like a wheel when all his legs are straight

- Gradient Joe gets back at people he’s mad at very subtly. For example, next time they mention they’re gonna go to the loop-the-loop roller coaster, he will not mention that he saw screws flying out that thing when in use.

- Bugbo is similar in the way he gets back at people he’s mad at, except hes more direct at inconveniencing them while trying to make it seem like hes helping them.

- Bugbo doesn’t know how to give affection/show how he cares for his friends in a socially acceptable way and is slightly self conscious about it. He also gets very uncomfortable and speaks fast when receiving lots of direct affection. Like “ohthankyou”, “thatsreallygoodimgladforyou”

- Bugbo can do the back up vocals to Laplaces Angel, the “oh how I know, how I go, how I go” vocals, and black box warrior OKULTRA

- Bugbo watches documentaries and Vsuace and occasionally goes “how riveting” while watching

- Bugbo unironically goes “oooooh” and “aaaaaaah” when he sees something cool

[tomcat-reusables]

Another miscellaneous text post on a movie no one cares about: The Royal Tenenabums and horses

Someone else has had to have analysed this by now but I've been itching to post something about it since I wathced The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) with my friend and his mother several weeks ago (albeit for the sixth time because the autism is autisming) and his mother brought up something incredibly interesting to me that explains very complex characters in a simple but in my opinion, perfect way.

Margot Tenenbaum is a zebra, we see zebra symbolism relating to her all throughout the movie, from her wallpaper, to the zebra costume she wore on her 11th birthday, to the zebra exhibit she and Richie slept under at the museum as children. Margot has felt out of place her whole life, like a zebra in a family of horses, she feels like she never was a genius and the only one of the Tenenbaums she could truly connect with was Richie (which is a discussion for another day). We know she was purposefully excluded from multiple family activities throughout her childhood and was constantly introduced by Royal as his "adopted daughter". She wanted to seek out her 'real' family in the first place as she was made to feel like the Tenenbaum household wasn't somewhere she was meant to be.

Chas, Richie, Royal, Etheline, they're all horses, a stable of horses that Margot was lost in (I am by no means a Margot sympathiser by the way, I have my reasons).

Eli Cash, he obviously has a pretty overarching cowboy aesthetic but in the way where he's notably slightly obsessed with chasing after and wrangling wild animals (note the magazine cover where he stands shirtless clasping a snake by the neck in each hand). What throughout pop culture are cowboys known for trying to capture? Horses. Eli has spent his entire life chasing after a false idea of what the tenenbaums have, trying to lasso their fame, their fortune, the sense of belonging and appreciation he thinks they have. But given he was only looking at a false idea of their lives he saw through rose coloured glasses it'll never be attainable to him. He's spent his whole life at this point like a dog trying to bite it's own tail creating a deep void within him that he chooses to fill with drugs and reptiles and homoerotic paintings, but deep down he's still somewhat self aware that he's really just an average b-list author.

And finally, to add a very minor detail to this theory. At the end of the film when Chas's dog Buckley, is hit by Eli's car, royal gives them a dalmatian. This might not seem signficant at all, but in an unrelated google search journey trying to find out why dalmatians were so specific to fire-fighters I discovered they were selectively bred to guide horses. This exchange occurs slightly before the movies resolution where the characts despite what it may appear, don't exactly get happy endings but return to a sense of slightly better yet still undeniably sombre normaly. If the tenenbaums are horses, this addition of a new dog symbolises moving back into a rythm of sorts. A consistent trot throughout the dreary landscapes of their lives.

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Okay. So. Long not-an-ask ask. Apologies. Might seem creepy(?) Weird(?) Unasked for(?) Trauma dumpy(?)No clue if this fits within normal social norms, but I had to go and tell you this, because I -need- you to know that you have meant the world to me and I feel like no thanks I could give you could ever be enough.

I'm sure you are aware by now that I am -quite- the fan of trr (solaris edition).

For the past 8 years of intense social issues, panick attacks and a whole other array of struggles, I have spent 7 of those thinking I might be autistic. I never dared do anything with it, part of a whole other trauma unrelated to this, but had the same struggles none the less. I tried not to research too much into autism, as I was deadly afraid of 'conforming to the diagnosis' because I was desperate to know why my life had crumbled the way it had.

For 7 years, I knew something was wrong, but could not, dared not, to get the help I needed.

March 14 I read your trr for the first time.

March 15 I had the biggest breakdown I had in a while, crying and crying reading 'Halt does research' where I read Halts flashback, and saw myself in my youth in a way I had never before.

I can't find the exact chapter/date for this one, but there were some bits where Crowley was kind and considerate and patient with Halt, and I cried and cried again. Knowing this is how I wanted to be treated, and what impact it would've had on my growing up if this had been given to me.

The first time around trr -wrecked- me, nor only on a story level, but on a deep and personal level. It made me see things I already suspected, knew, even, but pushed deep down out of an immeasurable fear of what it would mean.

I re-read trr 3-4 times (sometimes without comment spamming) between march 14 and october 8th.

October 8th I had my intake conversation at a diagnostic centre.

The strength and healing I pulled from your trr got me in that room. Your trr showed me who I had been, seeing me in a way that no story had ever seen me, and showing me what could be, too. The way I deserve to be treated and loved in a much more concrete manner than anything ever could.

Now, poetically enough, march again, the 17th, I got diagnosed. Autistic, with a higher need in social stuff and task-doing. I was just as I -should- be. Not broken, not imperfect, just wired differently. Due to planning issues, I have not yet received my official report, all I had this past week was a single stressfull conversation and my brain trying to convince me I heard it all wrong. (I did not)

I am so used to keeping myself together with glue and smiles, that I have not yet been able to process the impact of what this means. Not fully, at least.

But in march I read your trr. And I saw your Halt. And I saw me. And I cried in mourning and desperation. And in march, I read your Crowley, and I saw my options, my truth and what could be.

I spend so many words writing this (I am so sorry) and yet they don't feel enough. You have given me something I never could on my own, and I could never express to you what that means. I just. I needed you to know the impact you have had. The help I will now get because you chose to write a grumpy guy in a way that mattered.

Thank you. With every fiber of my being. Thank you.

Well, first things first: Congratulations are in order! Maybe you don't have the paper yet, but you're one of us - officially! Get a warm drink, a favourite treat, and have a you night with your cat

But on a more personal note: this ask also means a lot to me for reasons that would be extremely rambly if I explained them in full. I'm gonna try anyway.

I first started to suspect I was autistic when I was fifteen. I began to seriously suspect it, and make accommodations for myself as if I was autistic, when I was twenty-eight. I had a friend with ADHD whose brother had ADHD and autism, and through conversations with her about what her brother was like (I knew her through school, and hadn't met her brother in person), I grew more confident about being autistic...but still not fully confident. See, the way my 'tism works, I don't like to consider myself as anything unless I have incontrovertible proof of it. I was leery about eye contact, stimmed regularly, had to think about my facial expressions and tone of voice constantly, related to autistic people, hated too much sensory stimulation...but I didn't have proof. Feel free to laugh at me - I tease myself about this as well

Fast forward two years. I'm just preparing to publish the first chapter of The Royal Ranger. I'm nervous about it. I'd had the thought to make Halt autistic in it, but, well, I didn't have proof that I was autistic yet, did I? And I didn't have an autistic beta reader on the fic. So I gave myself an out. I clarified in the author's note that it was based on my own experience and not meant to be universal. I paid careful attention to how I felt so I could write Halt feeling the same way. Even in later chapters, when it came time to say what Halt saw when looking at people's faces, I had Caitlyn say it and framed it as a years-old conversation she was remembering. That way, if i was wrong, I had a cover

Things started to change before that though, on May 1st, 2022, when Angel made a post here on tumblr praising TRR. Having another autistic person openly say they related to Halt and loved his portrayal went a long way towards settling my mind. Angel started beta reading TRR, and when he never accused me of doing something completely wrong and off base, my mind settled further. I got better about saying I was autistic. And then other autistic people commented saying they related to Halt and saw themselves in him, and I realised that writing an allistic character was a lot harder than writing an autistic one because, oh yeah, they actually pick up on emotions, and all together the scales have tipped and we've hit my brain's standard of "incontrovertible proof"

So thank you for sending this in, and thanks for reading, and thanks for all the comments! I look forward to reread number six (I think we're on six now?) 😊

[sonicphobia0601]

Okay bro but hear me out ... Billie bust up but it takes place in 1966

That would not really make sense, since a cursory lookup of the year is a major timeline of events for the LGBTQ+ since it saw early progress despite the fact that the 1960s was a time of discrimination, harassment and activism. In fact, if Billie Bust Up was released in the 1960s, the devs might have been arrested or worse for producing the game. But I think they might have also gotten along well with the Mattachine Society. I'm not an expert on LGBTQ+ history but I don't think Billie Bust Up would have such a positive effect at that time. But on the flip side, there was also the Equality Begins at Home campaign. But if you're talking both timeline and historically, it might not work as well as the concept seems. That might be more of a question for the Billie Bust Up official account on Tumblr rather than someone like me. And that leads to another problem: since the game is also has characters that have neurodivergence (such as Barnaby and Aristotle having autism, Billie having ADHD, etc). And neurodiversity wasn't a term used until the 1990s. So it would not work.

Unrelated note: I got a theory on how Barnaby got his autism diagnosis since in the 1920s I think Barnaby would be considered eccentric. Since he died around the 1920s (from what I gathered), he might have killed a doctor who specializes in autism sometime between 1990-2024. After the supposed doctor's death, the doctor might have noticed things about Barnaby that lines up with autism (difference in communication, the fact that he might be struggling to communicate why he might want you to join his party. More tangible proof from the Barnaby proposition cutscene and "A Million Gruesome Ways to Die": giving too much eye contact, overly exaggerated facial expressions, hooting a lot, overly knowledgeable about one subject, and a seeming lack of boundaries... Such as standing too close to someone) and ran a few experiments without him knowing. Or that doctor might have given Barnaby an autism test. I'm not sure but from what I gathered, Barnaby is going to have to have his autism diagnosis sometime between 1990-2024. Therefore I don't think that Billie Bust Up in 1966 would 100% work due to the factor that there is also neurodivergent representation. Sorry, dude.

[philsmeatylegss]

Yeah! Like when Phil said he would only eat 2 foods in a dark room with someone feeding him and the Jesus Lion from Narnia on the TV as a kid and he'd throw his toys in the washing machine and watch them go around for hrs, I did think "ok...that does seem like it could maybe be a sign of autism", but I'm not gonna claim to know for sure he's autistic bc that's just weird. I don't know him, and don't have nearly enough evidence, nor expertise to diagnose him. Dan and Phil have also expressed their discomfort and annoyance with strangers on the internet diagnosing them, so that should be enough for people to stop. Also as an unrelated side-note, most clinicians don't use the RAADS-R to evaluate autism bc many studies have shown that it (and maybe even most questionnaires, but the jury is out) is not a valid or reliable screening tool. When I went in for my ADHD evaluation, I was also screened for autism and even though I scored high on the questionnaire I was given, the psychologist determined I didn't have ASD bc the overlap of symptoms of other diagnoses that there was stronger evidence for (major depression, GAD, ADHD, and possibly sensory processing disorder) were mimicking autism. She did however determine that I have autistic traits. They just don't interfere with my functioning enough to qualify for an ASD diagnosis. That's the thing about self-diagnosis. There are nuances to this stuff that a lot of people don't really understand if they're not a trained professional! You can have autistic traits and not be autistic. You could have symptoms of other disorders that mimic autism symptoms. It's really hard to tell without a thorough evaluation. Mine was 5 hrs long, and even then, it might not have been accurate bc she wasn't able to interview any of my close friends and family. I understand that getting evaluated is an expensive and time-consuming process, but off the internet, autism still carries a stigma, and giving yourself a label like that should only be done after careful consideration and research. Not after taking one very flawed questionnaire and watching a few tiktoks.

Another example of anons taking my incoherent rants and making it a legible argument

[lilmerh]

for pride asks!!

3, which pronouns do you use?

7, are you the token queer person in your family?

14, how do you think other factors like neurodivergency or upbringing have impacted your identity?

21, what message would you give to your younger self?

25, which part of queer discourse frustrates you the most?

3. She/they/he and also secretly fae prns!! I don't like telling people my pronouns. It makes me gender dysphoric for some reason I can't quite figure out

7. I think so! At least I'm the only openly gay person I know in my entire fam

14. My upbringing definitely helped bc I wasn't raised by homo/transphobic people, nor were surrounded by them in school or other places. This led to me having no shame upon learning I was gay (I did have a bit of a struggle with not being "trans enough", but overtime I worked through that).

My Autism Sense Of Justice made me very stubborn in my beliefs of LGBT rights, equity n equality, and I try to speak in favour of this whenever I can (in class, assignments, and such, mainly).

My autism itself didn't impact my gay identities much... except for figuring out my romantic identity. A major question I asked myself used to be "am I aromantic or just autistic???". Those two may seem unrelated, but being autistic, it made me question my aromantic identity a lot. The main reason was basically "am I actually aromantic, or does my autism just mean I dislike/experience differently the societal expectations of romance?" f.ex. kissing, that weird eye contact thing, other body language "signs" of crushing, playing hard to get n other things that were viewed as romantic that I just hated.

Over time I came to the conclusion that I should just... try calling myself aromantic and follow other aros and read their experiences and see if my mind changed. If I was wrong, I could always just... change the label I use for myself. An' now I confidently identify as aromantic lol (technically more accurately greyromantic and biromantic, but I just say aromantic because it's easier + I don't have to care too much about defining myself)

21. I don't have much I would say to myself tbh. If anything, I would tell my younger self to not watch like... Steven Crowder and other cringe ppl's LGBT videos. During a short period of time (that I grew out of bc I stopped agreeing with their views), I used to watch conservative's vids on LGBT because I believed I "had to remain neutral" (for whatever reason) and so had to "respect" their takes even if I didn't agree with em.

I don't know if I would actually tell my younger self to not watch them, though, bc I think in some way, having had that short phase was beneficial to my development?

-It makes me slightly more understanding to people who don't know much about the LGBT and might say off things. Since I fell for the cringe ppl's words for a short bit, I can extend a certain degree of understanding to people who aren't outright hateful, but still say off things/agree with the cringe ppl (note "a certain degree")

-The embarassement from having listened to bigoted ppl for some time makes me wore open to learn an be against exclusion + be more firm in my own beliefs because OMG I do NOT want to repeat that mistake again *skull emoji*

25. If I were to pick one... probably the insistance that labels are set in stone and no person can ever break them or use contradictory or confusing labels.

Gayness, for many of us is hard to define, or we might just not want to, for whatever reason. For some, using a broad label like "queer" is more comfortable. For some people, their labels might change with time or how they feel (say, a genderfluid person who identifies as achillean "despite" being a girl sometimes). Sometimes it's a matter of community (like, a transmasc still calling himself a lesbian, even though that label is mainly assosciated with women, because he identified as a lesbian for years and still does bc he still has ties to the community). Sometimes people choose one label over another more "accurate" one (like me!! I think omnisexual would technically describe my attraction the most accurately, and yet I choose bi. It's more well known + it's just always been there for me, yk?)

Being gay is confusing!! Not everyone can decipher the exact labels that describe their experiences perfectly. Not everyone wants to, either. Some people feel more trapped by doing that than just calling themselves "trans".

I am all for people making super-specific labels to describe their experiences, and I ALSO think no one should force another gay person to use/conform to a specific label.

In my opinion, LGBT labels are mainly useful for two things:

To understand your own experience, describe your experience to yourself

Communicate that experience to others, find community, have a word for your similar experiences, use that word + community to fight against anyone who tells you you're lesser than or don't exist

I think the more important factor is that people feel comfortable with the label they choose, rather than fretting about which label to choose.

Policing labels never does anything helpful for the community, it just brings infighting. Also, it ignores the fact that each label has a different definition depending on who you talk to. Many labels also have a long history, which means people are gonna have different opinions of what it means because language naturally changes and evolves. (One term is "lesbian". I've seen so many different definitions and flag variations, I probably couldn't list them all. Another one is "transgender", which evolved from "transsexual" which evolved from "transvestite".) No label in the LGBT community is viewed 100% identically by every person. Therefore, we should just let people assign whichever label they want to their own experience.

Everyone experiences being gay differently; forcing everyone with a specific experience to use a specific identity kills the biodiversity and variation within that community.

[carnivorouswillgraham]

Weird thought but: it seems like most of the older kids (or at least the older GRACEFIELD kids) have some form of neurodivergence. I wonder if kids with autistic or ADHD traits tended to fare better so they got to live longer, and if female, even become biological mothers and Mamas. Kids who don't have autism might imitate some of the traits especially because their Mama is the only adult they ever meet. The living situation at Gracefield promotes selection for neurodivergence. The only thing they are consciously seeking is kids who take tests well, after all.

(worth also noting I have an older cousin who I thought had autism of a high support needs type... turns out she was actually severely traumatized in college and it left her in that state, which has left me acutely aware of the fact that sometimes trauma and autism can look very similar. Also makes it hard for me to know if I have C-PTSD or just autism.)

oh this SO makes sense. of course the kids that would be easier learners (like emma) or naturally brilliant (like norman) would live longer and it would defintely make sense that autism and similar born neurodivergencies would be apart of that. i think ray being autistic is like. completely unrelated to his intelligence AKJDH as he canonically studied only to keep himself alive, unlike emma and norman who were more naturally smarter than average, but it def makes complete sense for that to attribute to many of the other kids' survival.

the imitation also seems like a Huge possibility. even if it's just closer to "oh my big brother is so cool and smart he really likes to study so ykw ill study too" type of imitation, rather than a trauma based (intentional or not) mimic. we see in multiple separate side stories + directly in the main story where don imitates ray even in the current timeline when theyre older, so it adds up that he (and any of the other kids) would want to copy their big siblings, leading to them repeating actions that come natural to the older children.

[camposnotebook]

Just Another BNHA Analysis Blog!

Welcome to campos notebook! I do chapter by chapter analysis, where I read each chapter multiple times, taking notes the entire time!

For each chapter, I'll do at the very least 2 posts, but for some chapters, I might do up to even 10 posts, depending on how much weight the chapter has!

The types of analysis you can expect through out the volume during individual chapters will focus on: characters, ships, specific moments, symbolism, parallels, and more!

At the end of each volume, I'll do a series of posts piecing my thoughts on the entire volume together!

Analysis will usually focus on things that have happened in the past and present, but occasionally, I'll include things that will happen later on in the story, if I feel they're incredibly relevant.

Please note that just because I'm doing analysis, does NOT mean I won't be BIASED occasionally. My analysis can, and will, be biased now and then, because I'm only human!

My analysis will often involve theories, and headcanons, that I believe are supported by my analysis! Although I have other headcanons that aren't supported by analysis and are just for fun, those will NOT be included! I'll only ever include ones that I personally think have decent evidence! However, please remember that they're my personal theories and headcanons, and just because I think the evidence is solid, doesn't mean you have to agree!

All in all, I ask that you remain respectful, and remember that my analysis isn't law! You don't have to agree with it! This is, ultimately, at the end of the day, a passion project of mine I am doing both for fun, and, well, to put it simply and honestly, to make my fanfics feel more accurate. I do love to be a detailed bitch in my fics!

Also, if it's at all interesting for you to know, I take my notes physically, in these notebooks: x and x I also use fountain pens. This is because of the autism. Also Campus notebooks are amazing with fountain pens I really recommend them if you like fountain pens! Ironically I was looking for Campus notebooks unrelated to bnha entirely because of my love for fountain pens! And I found these packs of bnha campus notebooks and immediately got them.

~

Master posts under the cut, sorted by volumes, each volume master post leads to chapter master posts!

There are also Character and Ship master posts, which function in a similar way to the volume master posts!

Ship Master post

Character Master post

~

Vol 1 Master post

[tape-fanatic]

BIG POST NOTE THING THAT YOU SHOULD READ BECAUSE IT HAS STUFF THAT I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD READ BUT BEWARE BECAUSE THE WAY I WROTE THIS FEELS A LITTLE CRINGE

My name is Ar (not really,) you can also call me AJ. I have come onto Tumblr with the sole purpose of :

Seeing people's creations . 😀

But as the days passed, I felt pretty bummed out that people weren't really interested in my OCs or stories on other social medias (well I don't blame them), and then I thought: "Why not try here, on Tumblr?" Tumblr seemed like a pretty good place to start, and so here I am, writing this; and here YOU are, reading this !

Anyways, let's get to the main(er) point.

This account will be filled with my OCs and stories, which is a handful. I'm probably gonna once in a while post fanart for fandoms though, or just for a special occasion (like my birthday :)) ).

BEWARE, HOWEVER!

Most of my OCs are fairly old, being created at the age of 5. So expect for some of them to have CRINGE/UNREASONABLE names or designs. And also, story and lore may switch around and be changed because I am still figuring things out.

RULES AND HEADS UPS !1! :

Rule #1: I am a minor. If you actually happen to send me an ask, please don't make it inappropriate.

Rule #2: Please don't be very rude.

Rule #3: This is pretty much Rule #1, but with the specifics; please don't ask for my characters to do anything weird :((

HEADS UPS !1! (because I can't think of many rules) :

#1: As I said before, some of my characters can be quite cringe due to being made when I was really young :(( Please understand that !

#2: The story and lore are a handful, and I have MANY OCs. I'll only really include the ones I think are most important or should be introduced (I'll throw in a couple side characters from time to time though, you don't need to get to know them you can just know they exist)

#3: I also said this before, lore might change from time to time. I'm still trying to make things work out and fit together!

#4: I don't think I have the writing skills to be able to foreshadow/make comics about lore, so I guess I might end up telling you guys huge chunks of lore straight up.

#5: I get motivation to create MANY. DIFFERENT. THINGS. So a lot of my OCs look completely unrelated to each other. Despite that, everyone is included in the same universe.

#6: Some characters are neurodivergent (ADHD and autism), and I'm trying my hardest to represent them well. If anyone could, it'd be very appreciated if I was told more about these topics. I'd hate to spread misinformation :(

Links to important notes

Thanks for reading this!! :))

[thanksgiving-isnt-ur-fav-holiday]

this sounds so fuckign stupid and ridiculous but i feel like I'm about to have a freakout bc i don't have access to a printer so i can't handwrite out why i think cirice by ghost is such an attack on titan-coded song like i am vibrating thinking about it and i want to scream bc i can't do it rn

on an unrelated note i think i might have autism. sound off in the comments below

[kimyoonmiauthor]

A mini rant about scholarship in the US and South Korea

'cause... it might make you learn something. USian scholarship usually has weaknesses in the following areas:

Don't check your sources.

Don't check your source's sources.

Take a quote and then don't check the surrounding quotes or take a quote from a different text that quoted a text, but don't check the original text.

Writing convoluted to sound smart when not necessary.

Retconning to believe white (usually straight, or make them straight) (usually abled, or make them abled) men over everyone else in the world. (which, BTW, is easier to do when you don't do 1 and 2).

Not requiring citations from white men.

Weaknesses of Korean scholarship

Jump conclusions--not even reasonable inferences.

Everyone believing a source before checking how the work was done

believing fictional sources without questioning them first. (This is a different flavor from the US)

believing fictional sources without looking for historical backing.

Not being able to sort logically sources that came from a much later date versus contemporary to that date.

It's an exalted source, so you believe it absolutely rather than investigate if it could be true or not.

It's a different kind of media literacy issues. It's irking in different ways, but mixes really badly in News reporting. So, say, there is a historical figure, but we don't know what their name is. Someone from a different country takes a stab and *guesses*, the Korean media thinks that's the "valid" name. Urrgghhh without asking, "What is the source of the name?" "What historical documents do you have to back this name?" They don't have it? Oh noes. Let's ignore that part. Then they make the jump conclusion, this must be the name. Then news articles pick it up, but because the US doesn't check their source's sources, they think it's 100% true. Then it becomes a copy error. Then the Korean news media doesn't doubt the US news media, and then double copy error. And I'm over here banging my head against the keyboard because the bad media literacy is feeding off of each other and I want to bash both sides.

Which is what happened to poor Heo Hwang Ok. Someone made a comic book and then it got transliterated wrong by the Korean media, then got copied to the Indian media, then became her "official name" in the Samguk Yusa, which it DOES NOT APPEAR. I have the copy of the Samguk Yusa.

Then the copy error became official on Wikipedia.

But this has also happened in other instances which has been noted by Korean native scholars and I've noticed too. There is an absurd theory that chili peppers are native to Korea, for example, because birds carry seeds, and they could have pooped them in Northern Korea/ China, therefore the current chili pepper in Korea (Kochu) comes from Korea.

But is there academic evidence with DNA? Nope. This is all inference and conjecture based on air. And I'm not saying the US is much better... for example, there was a study about mice where they seemed to have behaviors of autism, accordingly, but no one could read the article well. Because they didn't have media literacy, they were making jump assumptions such as, "Vaccines cause autism." What? It's about mice, dude. And Autism is caused by bacteria. But that's not what the study actually said. No one actually looked at the study or lines of evidence. So I spent time breaking it down bit by bit.

The whole anti-homosexuality scare a few months back--I also broke it down and found flaws in the study.

Basically what I'm saying is that a little media literacy and making sure you aren't doing these mistakes would help everyone a lot. I get it, though, reading the source all the way through it hard. But make sure it says what you think it actually says. And remember, fiction IS NOT HISTORY. WTF. Why do people think a comic book is actual history?

BTW, if you stop trying to dress up your words to sound smarter, maybe you'd actually make sense. Also stop ranting about unrelated things, Freytag and Foucault. If your academic buddies think that because you write in plain goddamned English, you should be kicked out of the academic club for writing for plebeians, then kick them back and call them unrelenting snobs. Also, I'm pro more media literacy.

[sure-i-exist]

Reasons I think the dragon riders are autistic:

(This was written out of order over the course of several days)

Hiccup

• His interest in dragons. Multiple people literally say “his life is dragons”. I don’t think I need to expand on this point any more

• His deal with emotions - the way it seems to me is that unless he’s very happy or genuinely angry, he doesn’t really emote much? His voice isn’t necessarily monotone but he’s very same-y (in more than just tone - also body language and stuff) almost always aside from when incredibly gleeful (e.g. riding toothless) or very angry (literally any moment where he ends up yelling at the others)

• On a similar note, there’s several times (especially in rtte) where it looks like he’s about to scold someone and then he doesn’t (in a kinda emotions/expressions not lining up with his actual thoughts and stuff way). Now, this doesn’t sound much here but an example is in the dramillion episode near the end of the ep so that kinda gives you a better idea of what I mean yknow?

• Also his massive interest in inventing, another pretty damn important thing in his life that he’s very good at, to say the least. • Another thing with emotions - he’s pretty easy to manipulate. Which sounds so horrible to put but I mean it in like, his emotions specifically are kinda easy to manipulate and especially his empathy. They’re often used against him

• He notices details and you know how he constantly tells the twins they’re geniuses after something they say reminds him of a completely unrelated point? Yeah idk how to explain it but that’s autism, baby

Astrid

• Stubborn - it takes a lot to change her views of opinions

• Fully believes there are right and wrong ways of doing things (and usually believes those ways are the more traditional ways that she’s used to)

• Idk if there’s even proof of this but I am dead certain she sticks to her rules almost all times. She doesn’t care about other peoples rules but despite that often has very strict views on how to do things which I think is why I believe this. She also hates going off-plan and that doesn’t rlly mean anything here but that probably adds to why I’m so sure she likes rules

• Again no proof of this but she seems like the type to be very particular about her daily routine. If she decides to switch it up once she now gonna keep that for months. You can ignore this point but this is something I wholeheartedly believe.

• The vibes

Fishlegs

• He’s honestly the only character who might have actually been written as autistic (but also may not have been and instead be written as a nerd, but obviously that trope alone just makes him autistic by default)

• Same as hiccup, huge huge interest in dragons. No need to elaborate here

• Very empathetic, many autistic people experience either notably low empathy or high empathy. Fishlegs very clearly is on the high side

• Also can I just say I love how on berk he was a guide and he taught kids all about berks history and dragons and shit like that like hell yeah making your special interest your job, good for him honestly

• I just watched legend of the boneknapper and I just noticed fishlegs talks with his hands a lot and makes a bunch of gestures while talking which I am absolutely counting here cause i want to

Snotlout

• Hand gestures. Like all the time. And a lot of the same ones. And I’ve got no clue if that actually is prevalent in autism or whatever but personal experience (I.e. me and my friends) suggest so + I relate so I’m counting it

• Gonna sound dumb, but “shut up, [name]” and just common phrases he repeats. • On that note: he yells his own name frequently (typically while doing something cool or when annoyed or etc. emotional reasons) and I interpret that as kinda a stim, helping with emotions type deal yknow? • Again related to that, ‘Snotlout Snotlout oi oi oi’ (copied from spitelouts own version) is absolutely a vocal stim, and while I’m like 80% sure copying vocal patterns and phrases from the people around you is a thing everyone does, I’m still counting it anyway • Very big emotions/kinda dramatic. Idk how to phrase this but at any given point it is very clear what Snotlouts emotions are - and I know a lot of autistic folk (myself included) are generally quite monotone or struggle with expressing emotion outwardly, but this feels right so again counting it. + exaggerating emotions is a thing I do all the time to make things more obvious

• Hate to say this one but just the general way he treats people - he often doesn’t notice the way people react and he just continues with his (often pretty shit) treatment of them, can be seen in the unwanted advancements towards Astrid Heather etc and how certainly initially he didn’t rlly seem to get the message

• To put the last point more clearly: this boy has the absolute worst social skills and has no idea about that

• He doesn’t always get when people are making fun of him or being sarcastic

• I mention this with Tuffnut as well, but Snotlouts also pretty sarcastic even tho he doesn’t always get other peoples sarcasm

• He’s pretty blunt. Or he confuses himself with his own words. That’s pretty much the two sides of Snotlout’s speech patterns

• he’s my favourite character <3

Ruffnut

• Her whole deal with violence, particularly in rob/dob - I don’t know how to describe it but something about that

• Her and Tuffnut both get like random interests and they know loads about it or otherwise devote a lot of time to it - e.g. science when they were sick with eel pox, theatre in Total Nightmare, other examples I’m sure but I can’t remember rn. It just reminds me of myself and hyperfixations I get

• She doesn’t really care to change how she acts around different people; regardless of whether she’s been captured by enemies, is being scolded by Hiccup or is setting up a prank with tuffnut, she’s always the same.

• On that note, she’s often pretty blunt. Like unless she’s talkin fancy deliberately or trying to trick someone shes usually pretty clear and doesn’t usually change how she acts or speaks to make others feel better. • Yknow how her and Tuffnut were all like “woah maybe we did something… right? […] what’s this feeling is this accomplishment? I’ve never felt this before” and stuff that one time? I know it’s played off as a joke, but I’m diagnosing that with same <3

• Mirroring speech (see briefly in tuffnuts section)

Tuffnut

• Similar thing with violence

• Same as the hyperfixations thing I mentioned with Ruffnut, and just know there are plenty of things they say that I attribute to past hyperfixations

• Several occasions where he doesn’t get sarcasm

• He is pretty sarcastic tho despite that, same with Snotlout and that is something I feel is quite common - not really getting other peoples jokes or sarcasm but doing so yourself a lot

• His speech is very reminiscent of my own, he talks kinda overly fancy and deliberate most of the time (but there are also occasions where he’s almost overly casual? Which again is very relatable to me. I am now realising I may or may not have accidentally stolen tuffnuts speech patterns as a kid)

• (To the last point ignoring the part at the end) Ruffnut is also similar in this respect (as in the deliberate kinda overly wordy talk) but usually to a lesser extent - in fact, she normally only speaks like that when tuffnut is also there and speaking in such way, which to me absolutely seems like mirroring

• Similarly to the sarcasm thing, he doesn’t get rhetorical questions. Or at the very least doesn’t get them in that one episode in rtte and that’s enough for me to count it here

To be clear, at the end of the day, I see them all as autistic mostly cause I relate to and connect with the characters. And I do not know how to put that into words clearly so here’s this mess of a compilation.

@louthestarspeaker @tiggster27 @we-are-not-the-losechesters @drekialba @qualityhistorygamingwinner @maluron @scared-nightnurse @famderfries @purpleshutin @rubysparx @nonbinarynightmare77 @macabre-changeling @paradoxical-hermitcrab @bad-girl-coven

[livewiregoth]

Pinned note

Please stop sending me messages to reblog your gofundme posts, pleas also remove me from lists to message people about donating/sharing them. I’m sorry but I’m done, I’ve mistakenly reblogged scammers too many times & have trouble figuring out if these are scams or not. Please do not @ me either, I understand that if these are real they’re for important posts but I’ve been messaged repeatedly by people & it’s getting hard to tell at points who is fake. I’m getting multiple messages from people. I’m getting too many messages & I’m done. If I come across a post I'll reblog it if I can, I can't donate but I'll share. Otherwise I'm not accepting people asking me to share in my inbox. Please stop messaging, I'm tired of scammers that apparently want to pretend when there's actual people that deserve the money more than these scammers.

I'm sorry | Please read this

I’m only making this cause I need it at some point, at some point I’ll delete the post & replace it with a new one.

Link to my art is linked on the side as “My art blog” though here’s a link for mobile users

-

Links to tags I use sometimes

Help - Mostly for boosting people that are asking for donations for like food & medical bills or something but might be for other things sometimes

Boost - Used for if I think it’s important or something that needs it’s info boosted or whatever. Some of these might also belong in the tags for the section below. I put this stuff in boost before I decided to work on tags for them.

Resources/References This is for stuff like resources/refs mostly art related stuff, some of these are also mixed into Boost as that was where I use to put things I thought were interesting along side things that felt should be signal boosted.

Art resources - If someone has a link to stuff like assets whether it’s tools, programs or images then this is the tag for it

Art references - Posts that are either art tutorials or references that help could help with art

References - Posts that like the tag above are tutorials or references that could help with stuff. I put doll customizing refs/tutorials here.

Resources - Tutorials/info that can help from baking to info that might help like daily things you might not understand(if I come across it), reminders of not mixing medicine with stuff(like what stuff not to eat/drink with ADHD meds) & info people post that could help out with Autism or ADHD. Also resources to help with writing characters & other things I’m starting to struggle to explain.

Game related Section setup for game related stuff, mostly tamagotchi blogging & mod/custom related stuff

Tamagotchi - I have a few posts that are kinda blogging about the tamagotchi I’m caring for.(It’s for my own tamagotchi not any tamagotchi stuff I reblog) Links to related tags: Ps | On/Meet | Pix | Uni

Sims - Reblogging posts that are downloads for custom Sims 4 stuff, mostly clothes & hair but sometimes other stuff

Mods - Mods/modding resources unrelated to the Sims 4 custom stuff, homebrewing consoles is here too

Game resources - It’s like the art resources but with game making

[365days365movies]

April 11, 2021: Tootsie (1982) (Recap)

To be clear, I like Dustin Hoffman.

I can’t exactly claim that I’ve seen him in a lot of his most iconic roles, but I’m planning on fixing that this year for sure! On my to-watch list this year and beyond is Midnight Cowboy, Kramer vs. Kramer, Stranger Than Fiction, and Marathon Man at the very least.

But that’s not to say I haven’t seen him in other iconic roles of his, of course. Fun fact: I actually tried to do this project in 2019, and it...didn’t work. But, one of the films I watched that year was one of Hoffman’s most iconic dramatic films: Rain Man.

Oh, and by the way, that movie is not about an autistic man. Or, rather, it’s not based on a man diagnosed with one of the autism spectrum disorders. Instead, he actually most likely had a genetic disorder called FG syndrome, unrelated to the spectrum disorders. Ironic, since Hoffman’s character was the pop-cultural depiction of autism that people STILL refer to quite often, and quite inaccurately. But, obviously, that’s not Hoffman’s fault, and he was good in the movie, to be fair.

I grew up with him in Hook, as the pirate captain himself (I still do his laugh sometimes, it’s weird, I know). He had an underappreciated starring role in one of my favorite guilty-pleasure films, Outbreak (I fucking love that movie, and I’m not ashamed to admit that). He was in Finding Neverland, but I just forgot about that until I looked up his filmography to write this intro. And, of course...Master Shifu.

So, yeah, I actually DO like Dustin Hoffman, despite the fact that his role in The Graduate wasn’t stellar for me. Just seemed kinda miscast, and a little too awkward to be even slightly sympathetic. Then again, he wasn’t really meant to be, so maybe Hoffman was the perfect choice. Even then, he still acted well in it.

And anyway, I watched that movie for two major reasons. One, it was on my list of films to see, and TWO: it was a lead-up to the ACTUAL Hoffman film I wanted to watch this month: Tootsie. After all, I just watched rom-com Some Like It Hot, and if you’ve looked at me schedule, you know what film is coming next. So, this one fits in my planned schedule. Why? Well...there’s a theme.

Yup. I actually picked these movies for a reason. See, here’s the thing: this is a repeated trope in comedies, and I’ve always wondered whether or not it’s...problematic. But, much to my surprise with Some Like It Hot, they actually used the situation to comment on the female experience. I mean, not necessarily really well, but they tried at the very least. And for a film from 1959, that ain’t bad!

Which isn’t to say that it’s entirely clean, of course, but it was far better than I’d expected. So, if 1959 did that OK, how did 1982 do? Let’s find out, shall we?

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is an acting coach, as well as being an actor himself. However, he’s not the most successful actor, as he keeps attempting to audition for pieces, only to get refused for nebulous reasons, or refuses them when he disagrees with the director. He might want to take his own advice, for the record.

In the meantime, he works in a restaurant with Jeff Slater (Bill Murray), a playwright and roommate. That night, the night of his birthday, he spends time with an actress friend, Sandy Lester (Teri Garr), and also hits on the majority of women there that night.

As the party concludes, and various people go home, Sandy is abandoned by her date, and Michael offers to take her home. She breaks down crying, and Michael guesses that she’s upset about an upcoming audition. He gives her some coaching advice, and manages to get her to produce the correct emotion for the role. Afraid that she’ll lose it without him, he agrees to accompany her to the audition and enrage her. It’s very funny.

That morning, however, she IMMEDIATELY gets kicked out of the audition, as she wasn’t right for the part. However, when he goes to help her by speaking with an actor on the show, he finds out that the actor is off the show, and is instead getting a part that MICHAEL was supposed to get. Now enraged himself, he goes to speak with his agent, George Fields (Sydney Pollack), and the two have a tense conversation. It’s revealed that because of his difficult nature, he has a terrible reputation in acting circles, and literally nobody will hire him.

Challenge accepted.

Now dressed up as a woman named “Dorothy Michaels”, he goes back to the audition that passed on Sandy. Like her, he’s also immediately rejected by the director, Ron Carlisle (Dabney Coleman), who insists that she’s too “gentile” for the part of a hospital administrator. This causes “Dorothy” to go off, in a righteous monologue that accuses Ron for conflating power with masculinity. Which...yeah, he totally is, and DAMN, it’s a good tell-off!

Producer Rita Marshall (Doris Belack) agrees, and invites “Dorothy” to read for the part. He comes in to read, and in the process meets Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange), to whom he’s IMMEDIATELY attracted. He brushes that off, and the audition commences. From there, he gets the part, which is a regular part on a soap opera called Southwest General.

Now fully invested in the dumbest idea anybody’s ever had, “Dorothy” goes to her agent and tells him the ridiculous news, and asks for $1000 to go shopping for more clothing. Back at their apartment, Michael speaks to Jeff about the whole situation. He notes that he’s doing this to get the money for his play in Syracuse, which requires $8000 to produce.

Sandy is to be cast in this play, which is an issue, as they now need to explain where the money came from, as it’s technically from the part that SHE was refused for, which would hurt her feelings. He lies and says that the money’s from a deceased relative. While in her place, and while she’s in the shower, he decides to try on some of her clothes to get ideas for Dorothy. But when she walks in on him, he lies AGAIN and says that he’s sexually attracted to her. And she reciprocates IMMEDIATELY, which leads to an unintended relationship.

On the set, “Dorothy” finds out that he’ll be kissing John Van Horn (George Gaynes), an older actor who’s clearly a bit past his prime, and makes it a point to kiss every actress on the set when they start on the show. Gross. Michael agrees, and when the scene comes, he improvises and has his character (Emily) hit the doctor instead.

While the director (who’s a DICK, by the way) notes the improvisation, he approves of it, while also discouraging any similar actions in the future, and calling her “toots”. “Dorothy” takes it, rather than talks back. John compliments her on the improvisation, and then kisses “Dorothy” anyway, much to Michael’s shock!

We also find out that Julie, who plays a nurse on the show, is dating director Ron. Later on, though, Michael observes him making out with another actress on stage. Shortly after this, Julie invites “Dorothy” to dinner at her place, which is eagerly accepted. At dinner, we find out that Julie has a young daughter and that her relationship with Ron is...not stellar.

They have a discussion about being a woman in the ‘80s, and the complexities inherent in that concept, which is an interesting theme of this movie! Gotta say, this is a more socially-conscious version of Some Like It Hot, and I really like that! But the conversation is cut short when Michael realizes that he’d promised dinner with Sandy that night, and leaves in a hurry.

Dinner with Sandy is awkward, as Sandy is...Sandy is a lot, to be honest. But, she tells Michael that the woman hired in her stead on the soap opera (who is, of course, Michael himself), is written as a wimp, rather than tough as intended, and that she should change that. Michael agrees, and actively goes against the script to make the character of Emily far tougher. and essentially a feminist.

While this causes some grief to Ron and Rita at first, Dorothy Michaels soon becomes a massively successful and popular actress on the show, and her popularity absolutely explodes. Michael’s wrapped up in the success of Dorothy Michaels, and thinks that she might be able to branch outside of the role of the soap opera. Which is difficult, as his agent points out, because of the simple fact that Michael is...well, Michael.

At a party that his agent invites him to, Michael meets Julie AS MICHAEL. He uses a line on her that she’d mentioned before to Dorothy, only to be met with a drink to the face. Which is fair, as the line was about being honest about wanting to have sex with her, so I get it.

On the set soon afterwards, we see that the show is becoming more progressive, allowing Julie’s nurse character to stand up to John’s chief doctor character. After the scene is done, the director once again calls Dorothy “toots” instead of her real name, and Dorothy absolutely snaps back at him, and rightfully so! In response, Julie goes and invites Dorothy to a weekend in the country, on her father’s farm. Despite some rebuke from Jeff for lying to Sandy AND Julie, Michael as “Dorothy” goes on the trip.

This, by the way, is an excellent time to mention that this film is exuding some real strong, uh, vibes. You know...alphabet mafia vibes. Like, it’s definitely there, heavily leaning towards Julie. Obviously, “Dorothy” is actually the heterosexual Michael, but that’s not helping, just saying. And there’s literally (and absolutely obviously) nothing wrong with that, but it’s so strong at this point that it’s hard to ignore.

On the farm, “Dorothy” meets Les Nichols (Charles Durning), Julie’s lonely and genuinely nice father, if a bit old-fashioned in his views on gender politics. He’s also got the hots for “Dorothy”, which is funny-but-awkward as shit. That night, Julie tells “Dorothy” some very personal things about her dreams as a child, which is a genuinely very sweet scene. And can I just say, that this movie is both funny and quite heartfelt? I love it! Also, again, the vibes...THE VIBES.

Meanwhile, the popularity of “Dorothy” continues to skyrocket, to the frustration of director Ron, but to the delight of producer Rita, who decides to extend her contract with the soap opera by a full year! Oh FUCK! Realizing what the hell he’s gotten himself into, Michael calls his agent, who tells him that it was in his contract, meaning he’s basically fucked.

Jeff also tries to help hi, out of it, to no avail. Just then, though, they get a call from Julie, looking for “Dorothy”. She’s been having her doubts about her relationship with Ron, and she realizes that she’s been settling for Ron and other men like him. And Dorothy’s inspired her to be a better person, and to be honest with others and with herself. Fuckin’ OOF.

Just then, Ron arrives, allowing them some alone time, as Julie is getting ready for their night out. In the process, “Dorothy” reveals that she knows about his indiscretions with other women. Ron proceeds to use the EXACT SAME EXCUSE that Michael used to excuse his lies to Sandy, and it’s well-executed! Good job, writers, that’s pretty awesome.

“Dorothy” promises to watch Julie’s daughter for the night, which proves a bit of an issue, but he works it out. Julie returns later on, having broken up with Ron. Another heart-to-heart ensues, but this one is concluded with a revelation that Julie is lonely, despite the fact that she appreciates Dorothy’s influence and friendship. And then, "Dorothy” tries to kiss Julie. OH

Yeah, Julie’s not exactly chuffed about this as, despite a LOT of “Sappho and her friends” vibes, she doesn’t actually swing that way. “Dorothy” tries to explain, but this is interrupted by a call from Julie’s dad! He asks her out on a date that night, and “Dorothy” accepts. On said date, he FUCKIN’ PROPOSES TO HER! She promises to think about it, and takes the fuck OFF.

And to continue the parade of “Fuck me, I guess” that marching down Michael Street, who should show up at the apartment but John, from the show! Having followed her home the previous night (YIKES BUDDY), he literally serenades her outside of the apartment window, before “Dorothy” lets him in. It’s there that he reveals he’s MADLY in lust with her, and it’s HILARIOUSLY awkward. Thankfully, just as John is forcing himself on her, Jeff walks in on them, interrupting John’s actions, and causing him to leave in shame.

AND FUCKING THEN, after all of that, Sandy arrives at the apartment to find out why Michael’s not returned her phone calls. And Sandy’s a lot, sure, but all of her concerns are completely valid and legitimate. And despite Michael’s impressive ability to lie, he tells her the truth: he’s in love with another woman. Which she absolutely freaks the fuck out about, but whatever, not like Michael doesn’t deserve that.

Having had it with all the drama around Dorothy’s life, he goes to his agent and hilariously recounts to him the whole series of events that’s taken place. Still struggling to find a way to get out of the situation, he goes to work the next day, for an awkward conversation with Julie. She thanks Dorothy for inspiring her to be true to herself, which cuts DEEP, but still says that they shouldn’t spend time together anymore.

Producer Rita arrives with news: the erasure of a reel of footage has forced them to shoot a scene live. Said scene involves a party being thrown for Dorothy’s characters, putting her in the starring role. And THAT is when Michael takes his chance. Dorothy improvises a monologue about Emily’s REAL past, as a twin who tragically died before realizing her dream to become a hospital administrator. Ripping off his disguise, Michael reveals himself as Emily’s twin brother, Edward!

Everyone on stage and at home is SHOCKED, especially Les, John, Sandy, and of course, Julie. And once the cameras stop rolling, Julie now understands everything. She walks right up to Michael...AND PUNCHES HIM IN THE DICK

John asks if Jeff knows, and I break in half laughing.

Months pass. Michael was able to fund Jeff’s play in Syracuse, and goes to meet Les, who lives in the area. The two make amends after an understandably awkward reunion, and they begin the journey to become friends after everything. This prompts Michael to return to the city and speak with Julie, who is...less than happy to see him. Which, yeah, entirely fair.

But, again overcoming the initial awkwardness, Julie is able to admit that she misses her friend Dorothy. And Michael reciprocates, speaking for Dorothy, who is...well, him. He says the following great line: 

I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man.

And from there...the two decide to rekindle a friendship, with Julie asking to borrow one of Michael’s dresses. And y’know...I’m rooting for those crazy kids.

That’s Tootsie! And, uh...I love it! I LOVE it. I actually think this is a great film, and one of the best I’ve seen this month. But I’ll elaborate...in the Review! See you there!