#so sorry about that one

[necrotic-nephilim]

Any ships you don’t like in the batfam fandom that is popular?

OOOH this is such a fun question because I have quite a few

StephCass - i'll be honest this is one of those ships where the fandom ruined it for me. because 2000s StephCass is an elite dynamic, they care for each other so deeply. but the fandom has been intent on defanging and purifying this ship. i don't know *why* but StephCass seems most popular with the anti-Batcest crowd who get very mad if you compare it to ships they deem Batcest. i have an entire meta commentary on this in my drafts I'll likely never post discussing why the only reason StephCass gets the pass for not being Batcest ties directly into misogyny (because the women of the Batfam need to exist as love interests first, not family members so Steph was never going to truly get to exist as a "full" Batfam member so long as she could remain a viable love interest for Tim, and the same can apply to Babs, Helena, and even Cass in some cases) and that just sours me to it. like if i want yuri in Batfam i think there are far more interesting/fucked up ships for Steph like Babs/Steph or Helena/Steph. and when it comes to what i'd actually like to see in canon, i don't want to see Steph relegated to love interest of a Batfamily member, even if it's queer. let her date and exist outside of Gotham the way every other Batfam member gets to, DC *please*.

Bruce/Selina - i can't fully articulate why this ship isn't my thing, it just isn't. i think i just can't conceivably agree with Selina letting go of so many of her fundamental morals and beliefs for the sake of a man, even one she loves such as Bruce. ironically, i think that's one of the few things Gotham War got right about these two. the only canon love interest i like for Bruce is Zatanna and i mourn we'll never get much of that.

JayRoy - i will admit when i was newer to DC the first comics i picked up for Jason were all New-52 and i shipped this. but now that i'm a pre-Flashpoint truther and i've actually read well-written Roy Harper comics, i only see the flaws in this ship. ngl if ppl were actually fun and interesting with it, playing with the idea of Roy knowing Jason as Robin and still seeing him as just Dick's little brother who's gone a little mental, it *could* be fun. but this Red Hood & the Outlaws (2011) and Red Hood/Arsenal (2015) dynamic *butchers* the fuck out of Roy and strips him of everything interesting. and even as a Batfamily stan, my number one pet peeve is when other DC characters get *butchered* in a Batfamily character's book just for the sake of propping up the Bat as some kind of savior. free Roy Harper from this mans.

Bruce/Oliver - we could be here all day if i listed all the Bruce ships i don't like, but i figure this one has to be included. because oh my god either the people shipping this *really* don't understand Oliver Queen or they just hate his ass because why would you subject Oliver to this man. he can't *stand* Bruce. i really hate the popular BruOliie shipping dynamic of like "oh they were boarding school besties" because if you want that, you *should* like Bruce/Zatanna, not these two. Oliver just always gets butchered in these fics and i won't stand for it.

Tim/Bernard - the ESSAYS i could write on this ship and why i dislike it. the fucking *fear* DC (and most popular media tbh) has with depicting queer relationships as anything other than totally perfect and cute for fear of accusations of homophobia has stripped this ship of *any* real grit. Bernard is a non-character in Tim Drake: Robin, he exists to cheer Tim on and prop him up and just be The Boyfriend. we occasionally get glimpses of an interesting character with really interesting trauma and nothing is *done* with it bc at the end of the day, Tim and Bernard must be perfect and cute. what's fun about Tim is he is the *worst* boyfriend alive. that boy is *ass* at dating. all of his relationships are rich with conflict and yet the moment he dates a guy suddenly all of his flaws vanish? i hate it. i mourn what this could've been if we kept messy Tim Drake and had a Bernard who was actually informed by his trauma. DC please let gays be messy again. also of all of Tim's 90s/00s friends to bring back as a love interest, Bernard Dowd was just a *bizarre* fucking choice. Sebastian Ives was *right* there come on now.

Any Crossover Ship - look if crossovers are your cup of tea i'm happy for you but oh my god if i have to see that little green ghost boy or that ladybug girl in the Batfam one more time i think i may explode. i have a lot of thoughts on *why* i think specifically Danny Phantom and Miraculous Ladybug get crossed over as often as they do with the Batfam, but i don't think anyone wants to year that. my only exception to this is Jason/Bucky Barnes, but it *has* to be comics!Bucky. like. Judd Winick's Jason and Ed Brubaker's Bucky would hatefuck and that i wish to see it. any other crossover ship (especially the Peter Parker ones that seem to be rising in popularity) just do *not* do it for me.

honestly besides that i don't think i dislike many ships. (aside from being super opinionated on Bruce ships, but that's mostly bc ppl will use him to butcher the character they ship him with) there are some ships i'm neutral to because i simply do not know enough to have an opinion (like Dick/Wally). i guess the only Batcest ship i'm not particular to is Bruce/Damian, but I wouldn't say that one is popular nor would i say i dislike it, just that it's not my cup of tea. most Batcest ships click for me in one way or another because i like their Weird dnyamics. i guess i could also say i dislike most ships that have come out of Young Justice (tv) because. oh my *god* why were those group of characters put together on a team. it's baffling. but even then it's not disliking those ships, it's moreso disliking that show's depiction of those characters so. everything is really dependant on the canon context for me!

[astheswarmitcalls]

PART 3: RETURN TOUR WARDROBE - CAMPY AS FUCK

This is the third part of my 4-part analysis of MCR5, the Masterpost for which can be found here. Link to next part found at the bottom of the post. If there's something I missed, or you'd like to add your own spin/elaborate on something I brushed over, by all means I'd love to hear it!!

So for Campy As Fuck, we’ve got a great range of costuming that seems incredibly intentional and costuming that seems so stupidly fun. Deep political commentary can coexist with just doing things for the bit and because you simply want to. Gerard did say that this tour "was the most fun we’ve ever had. Every day it’s like clown city!" Also, for my own ease of reading, costumes that were designed by Marina Toybina will have an asterisk (*). I’ve also had to do a fair bit of research for this and found some things that I haven’t heard anyone else talk about.

In an interview with Marina Toybina, she said this:

”I didn’t know if they had a designer. Then he did mention Colleen (Atwood) was doing something for him.”

I don’t think it’s common knowledge that Colleen Atwood also worked on the tour outfits. She did the costuming for The Black Parade and Danger Days, so it’s fantastic to see her back for the tour, and it explains some gaps in the costuming. Toybina only did 11 of the characters Gerard portrayed onstage, some of the outfits are DIYed, and a few of them I speculate could be Atwood’s work.

META-MAN: “I feel so powerful!”

The first outright Costume in the reunion tour. At this show in Milton Keynes, Gerard had this white suit splattered in blood and tattered, white mask with the Meta logo drawn on their forehead. Pretty clear-cut commentary on Meta, how you shouldn’t let corporations own your identity and such. Gerard went on a 4-minute spiel on his feelings about Meta-verse. Here’s an abridged version of it here:

“We don’t want your meta-verse. We don’t want you having every single detail of our lives, and CONTROL over it… living your life on a screen, and giving everything- giving these corporations everything. And living in a new and beautiful and EXCITING, virtualistic fucking world. I feel the same way that David Lynch feels about watching a movie on your telephone… I’m not judging, there’s no judgement. You do your thing on there, I’ve done my thing… Look, there can be great things to share on there… Just don’t give those bastards EVERYTHING! Keep some for yourself and the people you love.”

To me, this is reminiscent of the ethos of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The Fabulous Killjoys fight against Better Living Industries or BL/ind. (hah! Get it?!) who have seized utter control of Battery City in post-apocalyptic 2019 California. The story encompasses topics of capitalism, consumerism, corporations, and corporate greed.

Not any clear ties to MCR5 here, aside from maybe talk of corporations, but there doesn’t have to be. This works beautifully as a little statement piece from Mr. Way here.

CLOWN GERARD: “They are gonna have to bury me in this motherfucking filthy clown suit.”

Gerard Way is a filthy fucking clown. This is unbelievably fun, and so far removed from the established MCR lore.

I think clowns also embody the spirit of the return tour: they’re getting silly and having fun with it and not taking themselves so seriously. I’m vaguely reminded of Hesitant Alien, and the psychology of Lola. They would look right at home next to a clown, methinks.

Again, no clear MCR5 ties as it’s not necessary. This is just so fucking fun.

UNCLE FESTER????:

The ghoulish/skeletal makeup is familiar to MCR. This whole look though? It’s something.

That raincoat-poncho-thing appears to be that earthy green that’s appeared throughout the tour, albeit a lot grosser. ‘Doug’ is written on the front which is a nod to MCR’s producer. The silhouette of this entire fit reminded me of Uncle Fester from The Addams Family. The themes of that franchise (death/decay/vermin/rot/reanimation) wouldn’t be so far removed from the themes of MCR5. That being said, I don’t know if Gerard is even a fan of The Addams Family so we’re definitely reaching.

CLOWN GERARD (REPRISE):

Unlike the previous clown outfit which was very circus-y, this reads a lot more like Joker. They’re both sort of decrepit jesters, but this has a little less whimsy than the former.

The shirt they’re wearing is a Watchmen tee. Watchmen and Joker are both rooted in comic books. Gerard loves comic books. Maybe it’s that simple. Clowns are not familiar to MCR in the slightest. I did say that the clowns popping up could be symbolic for how fun the tour is for the band, but I’m reminded of something Gerard said after the release of Revenge regarding the attention they had garnered.

“There’s a fine line between being treated like a demi-god and a circus monkey. It’s almost the same thing”

Dressing up like a clown because you feel silly and jovial is all fun. Painting clown makeup on your face to comment on the way you feel you’re being commodified and treated like an attraction is scathing.

CRYING BLOOD GERARD:

More religious subtext here. MCR’s first album ‘I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love’ features a song called Lady of Sorrows. The Lady of Sorrows refers to the Mary mother of Jesus in Catholicism. Gerard and Mikey were both raised Catholic, something Gerard has said ‘is some scary shit.’ So the Lady of Sorrows is depicted crying for all the sorrow she has suffered (Jesus dying etc.), with statues of Mary being known to, through some sort of divine miracle, cry real tears or blood. The black sclera contacts are a real nice touch.

Jesus’ story is technically one of rebirth? Which appears to be a very explicit theme of MCR5?? And the Virgin Mary could almost make the cut for FEMCR as a historical (??) woman who is mythologised and experiences a lot of tragedy? There’s layers here, both with the religious iconography and what may be a Virgin Mary cosplay.

SKELETON!!!!:

Now this? THIS is so fun. Skeleton iconography is very familiar to MCR through The Black Parade. This is so campy. It’s giving shitty Halloween costume. Back during The Black Parade it was fairly common for the band members, Gerard especially, to don skeleton face paint for performances. Case in point:

Skeletons are very at-home with MCR. The skeleton one-piece, however? It’s skewing away from those traditional themes of death, grief and illness that are present in TBP. This skeleton is silly and fun and campy. Skeleton Gerard reads as another nod to MCR’s established aesthetic, to what the band represented before, and yes, we are going to acknowledge it exists but we are moving on from that. You wanted The Black Parade? You wanted skeletons? Sure! Here’s our frontman in this stupid skeleton suit from Party City.

MY CATMICAL ROMEOWNCE:

Babe. BABE. Can I be real for a moment? Can I speak freely for just a second? I love you so much, but you are so fucking weird.

In all honesty though, I do think this is at least alluding to the established motifs of MCR. Gerard spoke on tour about the stray cat they took in during quarantine who brings them dead rats. The Foundations of Decay refers to vermin, and there’s rat iconography on the set as well as Gerard’s weird rambles about rats. They had a shirt spray painted with the word ‘rats’ one night, and this may be the follow up to that. I will say the neckline on that sweater is incredibly Wine Aunt, and we love to see it.

As I’ve stated before, we are the rats. We are the vermin swarm. Mr. Way?? Are you out to get us or what?

BLACK SWAN:

This costume is really cool, but I have not watched Black Swan so there’s not a lot I can say about it. From what I gather it’s about ballet and about the ballet Swan Lake and there’s themes of perfectionism. I skimmed the Wikipedia page and that was about it. If might go watch the movie, come back and rewrite this entire bit.

When I was researching however, I DID come across Black Swan Theory; a metaphor for the reality that just because something has not happened does not mean that it cannot occur in the future. (Britannica). So something that has not happened? And may seem unlikely but is not an impossible occurrence? Like, mayhaps, a fifth MCR album? Think about it for a little.

(If you're familiar with Black Swan and you have stuff to add, please please please by all means I know there's probably a lot I'm missing here.)

WATCHMEN REFERENCE?:

A not-so-subtle-but-not-so-obvious reference to Gerard Way’s appearance at Comic Con in 2010:

The inclusion of the bullet through the skull I think is reminiscent of the iconic Watchmen smiley face.

Watchmen tackles themes of nuclear warfare and war. It’s incredibly rooted in a real-world narrative, and explores and deconstructs heroes/superheros in a grounded setting. The narrative of MCR5 is going to be more raw, more realistic in this sense. With references to 9/11, and functioning as an almost meta-commentary on the band’s rebirth itself, we’re moving away from a concept that’s fantastical like in Revenge, and to something more akin to TBP. Watchmen is also explicitly about war, which is an established theme for The Foundations of Decay and the backdrop of the Return Tour.

As A DC/’Superhero’ Comic, that grounded, grittiness that’s not so common to typical superhero comics is a lot of what Watchmen encompasses. Gerard has talked extensively about how much Watchmen influenced them as a writer and a person. It’s likely this might just be an ode to an incredible piece of art, but the themes of MCR5 and Watchmen marry into each other quite well.

*BAT GERARD:

Now this? THIS is Camp. The big, black boots, the gloves, the WINGS. You wanted vampires? How about bats? How about a stupid, slutty bat costume?

No connection to MCR5 this is just delightful.

*CASINO GERARD:

The sparkly gold tux? It’s fantastic. ‘The house always wins’ was written on the drum that night and is in reference to casinos. To make a profit, the ‘house’ needs to be skewed against the players. We’re a few neurons off from turning that into a grand metaphor for capitalism.

This night they performed a Frank Sinatra cover. I totally dig it.

*SHEET GHOST GERARD:

Oh man oh man oh man-

As is with basically every costume in Campy as Fuck, it’s just stupidly fun. This may be one of my favourite ones. It’s just so fun. The references to the undead and spirits and ghosts seem familiar from The Black Parade, but this still feels wholly new.

HELENA/REVENGE-ISH GERARD:

This feels almost like nostalgia-baiting. MCR wants us to draw connections between the colour palettes of this outfit and the Revenge age. The stunt they pulled at WWWYFest was a much more obvious play on the toxicity of nostalgia culture. The black with little pops of red is so reminiscent of the band’s Revenge uniforms, and I think this is paying ode to that. Also their flower is so big it looks a little silly.

I read this as an ode to Helena; the black with the red flowers. MCR keeps toeing that line of familiar and new and I adore it.

*GERACULA:

VAMPIRE TIME BABEY!!!

It’s already been established that vampires hold significance in the MCR mythos. They’ve written 5 songs, maybe more, that are about or use vampires as a metaphor. To my knowledge, vampires have been referenced in MCR since the first album, but we haven’t seen them appear in music videos or in costuming. UP UNTIL NOW!

Gerard Dracula. Geracula. I believe this is a costume recreated from the 1931 movie ‘Dracula.’ It’s the traditional, gothic vampire that MCR loves. It’s also incredibly Camp. Vampires have thematic relevance to a lot of MCR’s messages, about addiction, but I suppose as undead they’re sort of a symbol of rebirth? I’m pushing for this to have MCR5 ties but it really doesn’t need to, it’s so fun.

RED SKULL? PHANTOM? I DUNNO???:

So! I’ve been pointing out allusions to military/anti-war commentary with the green and camo throughout the entire tour thus far. This could be read as a reference to The Ghost of You music video (set in WWII) with the military uniform, or something that could just be Fun, but it feels far too intentional for that. Why the bright red? Why not black or green?

Hear me out: this is the man who stands upon the hill in The Foundations of Decay. He’s the military leader, the one who has endured the battles and gets to be canonised in death. He’s in red and black because that was the unofficial ‘uniform’ for My Chemical Romance and their fanbase. He’s our leader and we are his devotees, his mob, his minions.

That one is a fairly big stretch, but we’re trying to cover as much ground as possible. It’s like monkeys and typewriters, maybe if I ramble for long enough, I’ll write Shakespeare.

I think this outfit may be a Colleen Atwood costume; it’s too high quality to be store bought but doesn’t appear on Toybina’s Instagram.

God sorry this one was so, so long, I promise the next part won't be. I think.

<<< PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART >>>

[daftmooncretin]

spock’s room decor is actually fucking bonkers. The weapons??? the big red velvet curtain??? like ok phantom of the opera go crazy.

for reference jim’s room has some photos and a plant so we can surmise this is uniquely a spock being a dramatic weirdo thing

[kiryuing]

[podcastwizard]

this will not be a bridgerton blog but for the foreseeable future i will not be thinking about anything other than bridgerton

(original post @romanceyourdemons)

[collaredkittyboy]

[endusviolence]

Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?

I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?

In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".

Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.

This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.

Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.

The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]

There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.

This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]

As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.

But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?

Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.

[callisteios]

Hi, feel free to take my new uquiz to discover what kind of vampire you are!

[keymintt]

a comic/zine about coyotes

[hinamie]

dead man walking

[wispscribbles]

I love your ghost design. I wanna squeeze him :⁠^⁠)

If no hug then why hug-shaped???

[wojtekaneko]

That's how it went

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF Michael refuses to be gaslit on “THE BITE OF 83”

[poisondionaea-art]

I'm so happy with the 'Deadpool and Wolverine' Gambit

Man you have no idea, I'm Cajun and I've always been irked by the different variations of Gambit because Remy is one of my favorite characters but he's never been proper Cajun. He's always had a stereotypical southern gentleman accent that's not something anyone in Louisiana or New Orleans would have, he says French words in most variations but none of them are words we actually say here.

But this variation of Gambit, oh he is amazing, he has a proper Cajun accent which I was worried about when I saw Channing Tatum but he nailed it, it's spot on sounds like my family members and friends. They forwent his usual French words that no one here says for actual proper Cajun words we commonly use here in Louisiana the whole theater was going nuts. When he said sha (no one uses cher or mon cher / cheri everyone uses "sha" , " oh sha" or "mah sha" ) instead of cher or cheri you had people clapping and laughing with joy , he called someone a couyon (fool/ idiot in French commonly used even with monolingual english speakers here in louisiana) and everyone was loosing their minds.

I live in the part of Louisiana where Cajun accents, dialect and French are most prevalent in the state and everyone was so happy with Gambit. I love how this variation came out , I think Channing did a terrific job and I hope that any other variations of Gambit in the future are more like this one.

[notbrucewayne48]

"aphobia doesn't exist"

bitch literally not that long ago an aroace youtuber animator was insulted by almost half of its community for being it

[liorlen]

gale origin playthru from astarion’s pov or smth like that