#stop sexualizing touch

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

Getting on my soapbox for a moment, topic being, uhhhh... religious influence on education and bodily autonomy? Smthn like that idk

(This ended up being really long, so, more below the cut)

My parents put my little sister in homeschool as soon as I graduated, which like, i WoNdEr WhY (it's me hi I'm the problem it's me)

And the program/co-op thing she's involved in is christian-based bc my folks are unfortunately conservative christians who think it's a good idea to bias their child's entire understanding of the world through their religious beliefs

So my sis was telling me about her health textbook the other day, and how it was kinda weird? Like, they have a unit on I guess dating and sex type stuff, but this textbook has some interesting opinions

Such as, suggesting kids (not like little kids we're talking about high schoolers here) avoid hugging their partner because it supposedly might turn them on??

And, ok, to be honest I have absolutely no idea how realistic that is, it sounds pretty silly to me, but like even if that totally is a thing that happens to people... who cares, right?

But no, obviously that would be just disastrous because we can't have anyone tempted to do something totally crazy like having sex before marriage, god forbid

And there's just that sort of "no touching" purity culture bullshit and it really pisses me off, especially as someone who was also raised in that mentality, and I was just lowkey flabbergasted by the ridiculousness and audacity of a health textbook to tell kids not to hug someone they're dating bc it might lead to premarital sex, and I basically said as much, smthn along the lines of "imagine sexualizing hugs" to my dad, trying to get him on my side I guess, but that isn't how it went

Let me preface this with: I love my dad. I do. And he has really been making progress in terms of letting me be me and still supporting me even though our views don't always align. But my dad can also be petty, and he's a very touchy-feely person and I'm very much not, at least with most people including him. We have a little bit of history of him trying to hug me, me rejecting it, and him getting butt-hurt over it. So there's your rant-relevant context I guess

So when I half-jokingly say "imagine sexualizing hugs," he shoots back with "imagine being uncomfortable with hugs" in like, a targeted mocking way, like that in any way makes sense to use as an insult toward your own child or anyone for that matter

I didn't have the presence of mind or energy to really unpack that in the moment so I kinda just went "bruh did you really just-" made some joke like "well gee sorry for being autistic" (which yeah that's part of it too) and dropped the conversation

But like.... does he really not see the irony?

One of the major reasons I'm not comfortable with hugs and touch in general is literally BECAUSE of how it's been sexualized, like, that's kinda the whole point?

Of course I'm not going to want to hug you, my father, when there are voices in my upbringing suggesting that touching people is sexual, duh

Like it's literally so obvious to me how the two lines of thought are inextricably linked and how this sort of ideology can fuck someone up because, hello, living proof right here dude, so let's maybe NOT teach the same shit to your younger child?

Yeah you're right I'm not comfortable with hugs and that's kinda sad but I'm trying to get you to see that part of why that is is because of the same idiocy you're letting someone preach to your daughter, so if you don't want us both to be like me,,, maybe don't do that

To the kids and anyone else who needs to hear it, when how and why you touch another person should be up to you and that person and no one else. If you want to hug someone and they vibe with that then hug them, please don't let some bible-thumping freaks tell you it's a slippery slope to sin or whatever. Your body is your own and you make the decisions about what to do with it. That is one of your most basic, most fundamental, most bar-on-the-floor rights as a human being. Anyone who tries to guilt you about something like this is trying to control you and you should be wary of them

Me personally, I just find it interesting how society is so set on calling drag queens and queer people groomers when there are literally religious teachers out here manipulating children into not having bodily autonomy

What's up with that?

[zirconpetals]

Thinking about Spock trying to warm up(?) McCoy's hands...

[twilightakiishi]

made that template for three :3 venchiya rundown!!! more in tags if u care

[noctunis]

non-sexual intimacy is probably like one of the feelings one cannot encapsulate into words, at least for me. it’s something so special and something shared so closely between two people that i’d just like to fuse flesh with them just so i can truly hear their blood sing and can practically hear every thought that goes on in their head. being close, skin to skin, is not enough we must become one

[elendsessor]

every once in awhile i think about an idea @hautecl-re told me about (who is a very awesome person who you should follow asap) which is trans rella. and it makes so much sense on several levels.

(spoilers below!)

think about it: regardless of if she has womb envy or some other kind of dysphoria, it’s really clear she was wracked with guilt over the prince assassination attempt, so transitioning as a means to feel more comfortable with herself and distance herself from louis is plausible.

we don’t really see much of young rella outside of the one exposition cutscene and i don’t think we see the front side of her so for all we know she could’ve appeared more masculine which further gave forden reason to use her as a double to frame the evil twink.

also due to how the sex spectrum works, there can be a massive imbalance between testosterone and estrogen exposure during fetus growth (which is part of where the gay gene theory comes from), which is what often creates physical differences, be it on a build or genital front. the ishkia we see tend to have more typically feminine traits or are otherwise not as masculine, so there could be a case of pre-existing excessive estrogen that becomes more intense within male ishkia.

good chance i’m overthinking the last part, since a majority of character designs tend to be not really all that muscular. a couple roussainte, mainly bardon, are as broad as anyone gets outside of monsters. could also be because of euchronia initially being tokyo or at least shinjuku so stereotypical traits carried over. regardless, the genetic implications could 100% aid in transitioning, so even if they don’t have something like top surgery, transitioning is still possible.

tldr; trans rella is not only realistically a possibility but is also a goated idea and i believe in trans rella supremacy

[the-crow-binary]

People be like "stop sexualizing women" and it's just the picture of a fictional female character that has curves and wears a bikini at the beach

[bunnyboy-juice]

OH MY GDD I FORGOT TO TELL YALL MY WIFE CAME HOME YESTERDAY AND JUST. WOOP. PICKED ME UP LIKE NOTHING. AND THEN DID IT AGAIN LIKE 20 MINUTES LATER AGAIN LIKE NOTHING.

[skrunksthatwunk]

"a woman would treat her right" question do you believe lesbians are equally capable of harming their partners. question do you at default assume the straight relationships around you are of a lower quality than the lesbian ones around you. question do you believe there is something inherent ("biological" or "trained") about men that makes them gross, bad at sex, inconsiderate partners, etc in ways that lesbians (always assumed to not be men) don't have. question do you believe men to be capable of only an inferior sort of love and kindness and spirit when compared to (always assumed to never be men) lesbians. question why do you think that's an okay way to think/feel about an entire group of people based on a characteristic they have no control over (gender). question do you think you're normal about bisexual people, any kind of trans person (this view can affect all of us depending on the angle regardless of actual gender), cis butches on T, or achillean people. question do you see men as equal humans.

we can have butch chivalry we can have the "sweeps her away from an unfulfilling straight marriage" fantasy i get it believe me but why are you always making it about men and how bad men are. why is that how you express your desire or concern for (usually, in this case) women. we can stop doing this at any time.

before you get mad at me yes a lot of abusive or shitty or underwhelming men who're partners to women are like that due to misogyny. but they are not like that because they're men. not the same. and i don't think you can argue that misogyny is inherent to men without reinforcing a bio- or gender-essentialist framework, which i thought we all knew was bad. women are capable of and do perpetuate misogyny and abuse they are not some mystical safe haven of purity and splendor. lesbian separatism should die as a concept and if i could kill it myself i would do so barehanded. i would like to share in y'all's yearning and hope and love without it always being about how men are yucky and we don't wanna play with them anymore (or were so wise and perceptive that we never wanted to play with them). stop making lesbianism into a fucking country club your lesbianism does not make you superior

[hel-phoenyx]

5) Ultimatum

The letter is laying down on my nightstand, unopened yet I know whats inside.

It's always the same. A few threatening words, a condition I have to fulfill, usually the abandonment of my crown. Sometimes there's blood or a limb coming from one of my ladies-in-waiting. They don't go as far as an arm, but I've already seen a few fingers or an eye.

They expect me to abandon. To yield.

Those people are different, in my eighty years of reign, yet still the same. They don't expect women to be able to reign. They are afraid of the primordial demon in a position of power in the material plane. They want to see my kind banished back in the demonic dimension.

In what was once Chaos's supreme reign and is now controlled by what they embodied.

Yes, they're always the same. Sect of assassins, governors with ambitions, some ministers sometimes. A few nobles thinking they are in control, peasants tired of the demon lady, people of the order of gods trying to make things right. Heralds misguided by fear and anger.

Mortals.

They expect me to be easy to kill. They forget I am more than a hundred years old.

My two most faithful assassins are standing next to me. While I lay down in my bed, calmly reading a book, turning the pages with complete abandon.

Waiting.

It's been a few days since that letter on my nightstand was sent.

Soon enough they will come to me believing me careless.

Believing me sleeping.

How long since the last time I have truly slept ?

One of them clears her throat. She was sent to kill me once, a few years ago. Now she can't escape my grasp. I have taught her too much about the meaning of faith, devotion and pleasure.

This is what I do.

"Your Majesty ?"

"Yes, Juliana."

The woman tenses. She seems nervous. Why are you ? Nothing will happen tonight.

"I... Wouldn't want to criticize your spirit, but only us two to guard you while we know the enemy is about to strike..."

"You have no need to worry."

Her teeth grit. The second one has a little groan.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, we do have need to worry. You were threatened. And the absence of care you're treating this with is... Concerning."

I smile. This one, I have taught since she was little. She has shown tremendous abilities in slipping behind a target to kill it without a noise, but today, she's making far too much.

"I said, you have no need to worry, Elie. In fact, your presence here is useless. Both of you, go guard the outside. The windows, the corridors, no matter. Just don't be in my bedroom."

"Your Majesty-"

"I know what I am doing. You don't need to know anything else."

Elie is tensing. I can feel her muscles contracting, I know whe's trying to protest. I don't blame her. She's young, all her abilities will never change that, and youth is a terrifying thing for clarity of mind. But she doesn't have the opportunity to. Juliana, showing bigger restraints, takes her hand and pulls her outside.

Finally. Some peace and quiet for me to read.

I know you worry, but ease your mind.

I did not stay alive for eighty years at the lead of the world library while being carefree.

***

A few minutes pass, then hours, before I finally hear it. The shadows shifting, the door creaking. Whoever is behind it, they're trying to not make a lot of noise, and, maybe, maybe this would have worked if I was sleeping.

But I am never sleeping.

I am Myrrah, the Enlightened one. And since that fateful day eighty years ago, the Awake one.

My name in the old language of demons can mean both at the same time.

A smile curl on my lips.

"Come on in. You're being awfully impolite, you know ?"

A silence. My eye turns towards the door, where only appears an aura full of surprise. I've startle them by being awake, worse, by being friendly. Assassins used to take on unsuspecting victims can't do anything when the victim is unsuspecting another way.

Still, they aren't moving. Maybe they're trying to reassert their strategy. I will need to make another move if I want to see in plain light the face of the one that wants my head.

"Dear me, what manners do they teach you in the Order of Falcons ? Come on, don't keep me waiting, little one."

The name makes my night visitor tense even more. Like they didn't expect me to know it, did they ? They didn't think I had the upper hand.

They didn't think me able to deploy a full information network to not only know the identity of my threats, but also their number, their convictions, and everything they ever fought for.

This is how I know they're firece warriors, used to head-on fights. Used to take on assassins like Juliana and Elie. Used to prey struggling before taking their last breath. Used to domination.

Never used to people more powerful than them.

One step. Two steps. They finally enter my room. Their face fully lit up under the paleness of the moon.

It's a man. A young one, perhaps, I have never been good to guess ages for people that aren't humans nor demons. I suppose this one is an elf, around his thirties. Just out of teenagehood, probably his first mission, someone you didn't expect to send to kill a queen. Here to prove himself, or to make an example. Who knows.

No matter what happens, he had no chance to take on my crew. He's here as lamb to the slaughter.

I smile and catch the ears of the young one trembling. He's nervous. He doesn't know what to do.

"There. Isn't that better ?"

"Why.... Why are you doing this, demon."

My covers gently drift upon my body, moved by the tip of my tail.

"My, my, the Order really taught you hate. Can't you fathom me being friendly ?"

He's shivering. Poor little one.

"... Enough. You die tonight."

"Interesting. I am all alone in this room with you, only offering you a few words and a smile, and you still want to kill me. Tell me, who is the monster here, in this situation ?"

The Order of Falcons. Fanatics of the Angels. I have never like angels. They only bear holiness in their name. In their name they do atrocities. They keep people in cages and watch them suffer because they do not belong to the skies.

This one may be young enough to still not be completely indoctrinated. It's a gamble, but one I am sure of in its execution.

Because I know those kind of religions well enough.

I stand up. Move, slowly, towards the one they sent to kill me. He still isn't saying anything. Still shivering.

"See ? I am not trying to kill you."

"Lies. What weapons do you hide, monster ?!"

For an assassin, you are sure not doing a lot of assassinating. Look, I am here, defenseless. Laid bare in front of you as O open largely my arms and my dress falls on the ground while my tail uncurls in my back.

"What weapons do you see here, dear ?"

He swallows his saliva, hardly. I don't need my eye to notice his brushing over my chest, my bare stomach, my legs, my hands open and empty.

Fanatics of the Angels truly are as ascetic as they say.

"See ? Nothing."

Nothing, because I know they didn't send you here to succeed. They wanted you to fail. fail and die at the hand of my elite team so they can kickstart a new revolution directly in my walls.

I won't allow it.

Plus, you are

Far too young to see stars that way.

A step backwards. A step forward. My hand close enough to brush his chest.

He is not quick enough to cut it.

"You wouldn't kill a defenseless woman, in her own bedroom, would you ? This isn't what they taught you ?"

He grits his teeth, doesn't answer. That's a good thing, since I haven't finished.

"Yet if you do kill me, you know you won't ever get salvation. My assassins are waiting, blocking every path to escape. Surviving is not an option of they see you with my blood on your hands."

".... I... Don't care. I have a mission."

"Do you ? You look very hesitant for someone who doesn't care."

My second hand comes to meet where the first one went down.

"I have a deal for you, dear. It's in your advantage, really."

"... What is it ?"

I smile again. He took the bait.

"Simple. You leave me alive, and I forget you were even here. I could even help you escape the wrath of your precious comrades when they notice you're still in one piece."

Once again, a step forward.

He is falling right in the palm of my hand. I can feel it as much as his accelerating heartbeat.

My tail comes wrapping around his leg. He's shivering. Nit with fear anymore, however. The blue of terror is totally absent of his aura.

No, what I see in his eyes

It is the anticipation of those who feel the stars descending upon them.

"I could even teach you a thing or two about this world. That sounds promising, doesn't it ?"

***

Mortals are so predictable.

A pair of breasts, big enough thighs and a sultry voice and they let themselves fall in abandon. I didn't even need to use my powers. What the mind of a young one can do when they're in front of a object of desire, a thing of pleasure.

The assassin is lying next to me, still dazed, his clothes scattered on my ground with all the weapons he was hiding in there. I can still taste his sweat under my tongue. It didn't take me long to bleed him dry of screams, moans and every supplication the mouth of a man can utter.

Those taste the sweetest.

My tongue traces the edge of a muscle on his chest, and on my teeth, I feel a shiver.

"Please..."

A finger slips in his mouth to trace over the outline of every syllabe. He sucks on it almost hungrily.

I can't believe it was so easy.

"What do you want, my dear ? Tell me."

"...... everything."

I smile.

"That, I can do."

I climb on top of him as surely as I ran my hands all over his body. His name ? I don't know it, yet, he didn't make me that present. All I know is how he trembles under my skin and how those hands so eager to kill now feel hesitant to bring me to life.

It is no matter.

There is a lot of ways to feel the taste of death.

Tonight I will allow him to kill me while I feed upon him and his helplessness.

Because this is how I have always survived.

[sukugo]

i think a lot about how satoru refuses to drink, and while he says it's bc he's a lightweight, that.....doesn't change the fact that he still CAN drink if he wanted to. and it's probably bc of the nature of his powers. he knows that him getting drunk and losing a grip on himself, and consequently his powers, would have grave consequences. any small slip from him could kill so many people so easily, so he tries to stay away from it

[rhythmic-idealist]

The attitude among my coworkers of “I’m gonna get cancer anyway” is insane. I know how many of you have wives. Do none of you ever for even a second think about asbestos moving from your hair into the bedsheets

[vengeful4ever]

I need the hypersexuality beaten out of me I hate it here