#the autistic teens are unionizing

[ardmolii]

god but this linework fux✨️

[shamebats]

It's a weird idea that I've been rotating in my head in a while but I do feel like I'm in a way a case study against the idea that if society wasn't as gendered, there wouldn't be any trans people.

Despite the society I grew up in having been misogynistic & patriarchal, my own family & the school system were actually surprisingly not that gendered. My parents were fairly autistic themselves, my mom was pretty butch in a rural slavic woman way (never really wore skirts or dresses, makeup or cared that much about her appearance, she had work to do) and I was a defiant child, so they'd mostly just let me do my own thing. I forbade my mom from buying clothes for me without my input fairly young, so I could pick my own clothes and dress however I liked. I was about as likely to dress in a more feminine way as any boy because I knew that everyone including my teachers would've made weird comments about it if I came to school in a skirt. I had a little brother and we were treated fairly equally, we were even abused & neglected in the same ways (yay, equality!).

My best friend growing up was a neighbors' boy and we spent most of our time together getting dirty, trying not to get lost in the forest and climbing tall trees. Nobody ever told me I wasn't supposed to do "boyish" things. But at the same time, my neighbor's grandma also taught us both how to embroider and sew on buttons and we were way more into it than his sisters. At school, I was only friends with girls.

For the first like 3 years of school, we all (girls & boys) had gym class together and even got changed together in the classroom, I think it was because we didn't have any dressing rooms at that school, and nobody thought it was weird.

Adults drilled into me that I needed to study so I could go to university because I was smart and that was what was the plan for me. The fact that I was a girl didn't have any influence on that. Sure, I was told I'd want kids eventually, but boys were told the same thing and nobody ever made me feel like motherhood was the main thing I needed to aim for in life.

I didn't really think about my gender much until puberty hit. To this day, most of my dysphoria comes from my body — my breasts, my uterus, menstruation, the fact that I could get pregnant, the shape of my body. Thankfully, not wanting children in your teens & 20s was also very normal & expected in my culture and birth control was free while I was a student.

At work, my bosses were always about 50/50 men and women. Right now I have a male superior but his boss is a woman and we're the only men in our team. We're paid fairly because we're in a union, but even pre-transition I was always paid well. I never felt like I would've been better off at work if I'd been a man.

My partner always liked that I was a tomboy and never put pressure on me to be more feminine. We had some issues with equal division of chores at the beginning but we've been pretty 50/50 for a while now and we've always had separate bank accounts and our own savings.

We've also known for a long time that we don't want children, so I was never looking at a future where I'd be sacrificing myself for others in the way most cis straight women do. In fact, my partner quit his job & moved countries for my sake.

Despite all of this, I still prefer being a man. Not much has changed for me socio-economically. If I'd stayed in my home country, I would've basically just gained transphobia as an issue. But I moved to a more accepting place so even that isn't as bad. My partner turned out to be supportive and is very much happy with me being his boyfriend now, so not even that aspect of my life changed since transitioning. I was very lucky.

I love being a man. Being on testosterone makes me feel like my body is finally mine and I've been riding the high of a much improved mental state since day 1 of starting T. I can only describe it like "what antidepressants wish they could do".

So if society wasn't gendered at all. If gender didn't exist and if misogyny wasn't real. If biology was the only thing that'd differ between people? Yeah, I'd still want T, top surgery & a hysterectomy. I'd still be a transsexual, and I'm pretty sure I'd still want to be a man.

[fuckyeahfightlock]

Punk Rock Cool Kid Required Viewing Batch 1 The Punk Rock Movie Eraserhead Rock 'n' Roll High School

(I'm rewatching all the "required viewing" films of my alterna-teen years) Notes on these three films below the cut.

The Punk Rock Movie (1978, dir. Don Letts)

For three months in 1977, The Roxy nightclub was created for the express purpose of booking punk bands, who could not play anywhere else in London. DJ Don Letts started filming bands onstage and backstage, on a super 8 camera. The result is The Punk Rock Movie, a pure documentary film (no narrative, no narration) of a fingersnap moment in time.

The bad news is that this film (to my knowledge) has never been remastered either visually or for sound. Its specific, super-8 look serves it well and I don't know that it needs to be sharpened, but the sound is pure garbage. There are a few snippets of people talking but my 50+ year-old ears cannot make it out, due to low quality and background noise (guitars, other voices. . .in other words, nightclub noises). It's not a huge loss since 97% of the film is music, but I did wonder what Siouxsie & the Banshees were joking about as they took pill after pill after pill, or what a cool girl with a Union Jack shaved and dyed into the crown of her head (in 1977? that would have been so difficult!) had to say, or the thoughts of those ripped-from-the-headlines Shop Girls Sacked For Being Punk.

The live bands do not fare much better, but it's punk rock. A few of the performances are electrifying, most are so-so. Personally, after the opening "White Riot" by the Clash, I might recommend a casual viewer skip through to the last 20 minutes of the film, where we get fantastic versions of "Carcass" by Siouxsie & the Banshees, and "Oh, Bondage! Up Yours!" by X-Ray Spex, followed by the only bit not filmed at The Roxy, a short set by the Sex Pistols on the first night Sid Vicious ever played live with them, at Screen on the Green.

~*~*~Let's stop by Hyperbole Corner where I will assert the following: Johnny Rotten was the only real punk. Maybe it's his wild eyes, maybe it's his necktie. People later thought the Sex Pistols "selling out" represented the end of punk, but watch Johnny onstage and see if you don't agree with me. Hyperbole corner over.~*~*~

This film is not the most enjoyable to watch because of its low quality; even if you are an old punk and love punk music, it's kind of an endurance test. That said, if you are curious about the subculture, this is probably the purest, least polluted view of it; a person could learn a lot.

High- and lowlights include: Slaughter and the Dogs (inspiration for the Smiths), lingering shots of Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers shooting up heroin, Generation X (baby Billy Idol), someone cutting their torso with a razor about 50 times, The Slits (Ari Up was either autistic or had untreated ADHD or both; that girl was WILD), punk kids pogoing/slam dancing, cops dismantling and confiscating the window display at BOY boutique, Wayne (now Jayne) County and the Electric Chairs.

Definitely worth a watch if you want to see the real 1970s London punks, but probably not enjoyable for the casual viewer because of the quality (it's punk!).

Eraserhead (1977, dir. David Lynch)

Speaking of endurance tests, I'll confess up front I have zero intention of rewatching Eraserhead. I hated it then, I know I would hate it now, and it's one of those films I somehow have seen multiple times even though I hate it.

David Lynch is not for me--I looked through his entire filmography and did not find one movie of his I enjoyed--not even The Elephant Man, not even Twin Peaks. And I've seen a lot of his films! I just think surrealist films don't speak to me. Surrealist comedy, sure. Surrealist visual art, OK. But this is a No from me, dawg.

People I knew always cringed and shivered about the Radiator Lady, but that incessant worm-baby crying. . .I know the film is purposely designed to be uncomfortable, but jumping jayzis on the cross, that noise is irritating. And now that I've parented colicky infants. . .definitely No Thank.

I was doing my damnedest to be a certified cool kid, but I don't think I even pretended to like Eraserhead in 1987. It's just not for me.

Rock 'n Roll High School (1979, dir. Alan Arkush)

1970s teen comedies are always going to be pretty much the same thing: kids trying to lose their virginity, warring cliques, a borderline fascist principal, and casual racism/sexism (PS, where are the brown people?). So there are a few things to forgive here: a ticket scalper dressed in full Native American headdress (get it? "scalper"?); two hall monitors who shriek "body search!" at teen girls who later emerge from the office with disheveled hair and clothing (but otherwise seem fine, maybe mildly annoyed). But really. . .it could be a lot worse. I've seen a lot worse! I found it interesting that nobody swears in the film--not even a hell or damn--and while nubile young (female) bodies are somewhat on display in gym uniforms with tight tank tops and no bras, no one even references any body parts. The girls in gym class are only there for themselves--there aren't boys around and the girls are just dancing and singing "Rock 'n' Roll High School"--it's cute! Even in scenes about teens trying to get laid no one says "tits". Overall the film is oddly kind of innocent.

The main plot is that a girl has written songs she wants to pass along to her favourite band, The Ramones. Let me tell you that PJ Soles as "I'm Riff Randell, and I'm a rock-n-roller!" is the most adorable, likable teen girl I've ever seen in ANY teen movie.

She's zero-angst, bursting with confidence, witty, mischievous and not mean. . .this girl just wants to have fun! Riff somehow buys 100 tickets to a Ramones concert with $1000 she just happens to have (in 1979?! that's like a billion dollars now!), only to have them confiscated by the mean principal, Ms Togar. Zany antics and many, many Ramones songs/performances proliferate.

Riff's clothes and hair are New Wave style that made my inner child so jealous. She has a good friend who's a nerd but also praised as the most desirable girl in school.

PJ Soles is also perhaps history's greatest actress, as she swoons and even gets a little sexed up over cute and dreamy teen idol Jooooeeeeey Ramooooone--then cut to a literal monster. 6'6" tall with terrible teeth and possible albinism, Joey was the least attractive Ramone (not that any of them were very good looking--gun to my head, Dee Dee). The scene of Joey serenading Riff in her teenage bedroom has to be seen to be believed. That poor girl. Guess it goes to show you that when a guy's in a band, there's magic that makes girls love him even when he looks like Joey Ramone (RIP).

The Ramones concert the kids attend features an actual live performance by the Ramones. Unmatched energy, those fast/short/singable songs. . .Gabba Gabba Hey!

~*~*~Here in Hyperbole Corner we assert "Blitzkrieg Bop" is hands-down the greatest American punk song. We will not be taking questions at this time. Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Hyperbole Corner over.~*~*~

This movie has kids taking over the high school, every archetypal high school character (except a gay kid, or as I stated earlier, any brown ones), a food fight, the sexiest conversion van you have EVER. SEEN., and so much great music--mostly, but not all, by the Ramones. A fun watch if you look past the clunky stuff.

[v3ng3anc3-qu33n]

PSA about the U.S.A.!! TW!!

I live in America, and right now, we have a convicted felon, rapist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. man, as president, Trump. Stand up for what you believe in, not what a rich white man sitting high and mighty does! You have your own fucking brain use it! According to the Vanity Fair, Trump has 34 felony counts, 1 conviction, 2 cases pending, 2 impeachment, 6 bankruptcies, and he now has 4 more years. The president is meant to serve us, not have us serve him. You are supporting a man who threw a pissbaby tantrum when he lost in 2020 and sent his followers to start a riot in the capitol. Then according to the American Civil Liberties Union, Project 2025 plans many horrid things such as severely limiting abortion access, mass deportations, abusing warrantless surveillance, using violence against protester and even journalists, limiting voting access, censoring classroom discussions of real world issues, taking back trans rights, etc. The fact that I am in my teens and seem to be better educated than most adults is a problem if you have a problem with ANYTHING I have said I don't give a fuck and honestly you deserve to suffer and that's coming from a girl who never wished harm on others. A girl who now realises that some people deserve to suffer and a girl who has been ruined by this world. A girl who fears for her best friends. For her anorexic friend. For her depressed friend. For her autistic friend. For her transgender friend. For her self harming friend. For her black friend. For her Hispanic friend. For her Latino friend. For her suicidal friend. For her family already struggling. For herself. For everyone. For all their rights. For all of them. Please donate to all possible sources! I am on birth control due to period cramps that would leave me randomly having to sit on the floor and being unable to move leaving me laying in bed or on the floor for multiple days as i have a very long period and heavy flow and also am given severe migraines I unfortunately cannot stock up in advance as it is a prescription and especially due to my history of suicidal thoughts we can't gather my meds in advance however please use this to help others you know and support them in these hard times!! There are many people who need extra money in these hard times to ensure their safety. Please provide aide!

[beardedmrbean]

(PJO nerd too) Oh actually the demigods often START wars in the setting. WW2 is considered a big fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon vs the sons of hades. With hades sons loosing…

Yeeeah, it consisted the hp “love potion” discourse among the pjo fandom

Also in the current setting, the demigods often die at extremely young ages usually in their teens. Now beyond the implied ww2 historical figures, other figures such as Harriet Tubman(Daughter of Hermes) and Blackbeard (Son of Ares) also I think that Union general that looted and burned down Gettysburg too is a son of ares

Now demigods are usually killed by monsters who want to get back at the gods via taking out on their kids. But given the WW2, it was stated in the first book the Abrahamic god does exist in that universe. And other pantheron such as the Egyptians and Nordic joined Riordan books

But I as I got older, I often headcanon that the Greco Roman gods made a deal to let their kids be killed at such a young age so they wouldn’t able to get too powerful (As Big G was definitely pissed, with what that certain Hades son did to his chosen people)

Sorry for my autistic rambling

You're good, I know none of that about the books think I saw 2 of the movies I was just looking for a pop culture reference I could use.

apparently I failed miserably at it, lmao

GrecoRoman pantheon is wild, never understood why they always tossed Hercules in with the Greek ones when Hercules was the Roman incarnation and Heracles was the Greek.

Maybe they thought it was easier for a english speaking audience to pronounce, that or someone made a typo and we've been running with it ever since.

[vague-humanoid]

@chrisdornerfanclub

A Louisiana Law Department That Polices Itself

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana may have violated the civil rights of a 16-year-old autistic boy when deputies pinned him to the pavement, handcuffed and shackled, as officers sat on his back for more than nine minutes, according to a “statement of interest” filed this month by the Department of Justice as part of a civil rights lawsuit against JPSO.

The teen, Eric Parsa, died on the scene in January 2020. The sheriff’s office has also recently faced a number of other lawsuits alleging wrongful death, excessive force and racial discrimination by deputies. The sheriff’s office was the subject of a yearlong investigation by ProPublica and WRKF and WWNO starting in 2021, which disclosed evidence of racial discrimination and violence by deputies; after the first story ran, the American Civil Liberties Union called on federal prosecutors to investigate the department.

Regarding the DOJ filing, the sheriff’s office maintains that its deputies did not discriminate against Parsa based on his disability — and thus did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act — because Parsa posed a threat to himself, the public and law enforcement officers.

But the DOJ said that evidence submitted in the case appears to show that Parsa posed no danger, and that deputies were aware of the teenager’s disability and did nothing to modify their procedures or actions to ensure his safety, as required by law.

“A reasonable jury could thus find that Defendants discriminated against E.P. based on disability,” DOJ attorneys said in their May 12 statement about the Parsa case, noting the only word Parsa uttered throughout the deadly ordeal was “firetruck.”

The coroner ruled the teen’s death an accident as a result of “excited delirium,” a controversial diagnosis that is listed as a cause of death for a number of people who died in police custody. The coroner also cited “prone positioning” as a contributing factor. But Parsa’s family disputes the finding that his death was accidental, saying it should be classified as a homicide. In January 2021, they sued Sheriff Joe Lopinto and seven deputies, claiming the sheriff’s office violated Parsa’s constitutional and civil rights, as well as his rights under the ADA.

[funnywormz]

just finished sonic prime s2! some quick thoughts below the cut before i go to bed (spoilers ahead!)

- i liked this season a lot! i think i preferred it to the last one tbh

- the characterisation of sonic and shadow was ON POINT!!!!! love how they're portraying shadow in this season, he so often gets flanderised and mistreated by writers that it's nice to see him depicted as a more nuanced character again. sonic is a charming little fellow as he was in the first season, in general this portrayal of him is one of my favs. and the dynamic between them is so good. sonadow was 12 year old me's first ship ever so my inner pre-teen is LIVING rn as you can probably imagine lol. even outside of that though they play off of each other very well and their interactions were a highlight of the season for me. also the moment where shadow was falling gave me SO MANY flashbacks lol, thankfully sonic caught him this time 🥺

- the animation was also at a very high standard as it was last season, sound design and music were great too. ik it's been said a million times before but i do rlly like how they animate sonic's ears perking up and flicking around like a real animal's ears, very very cute

- to expand on sonic's characterisation, i do think this is definitely one of my top portrayals of him in like....... anything. this sonic is very emotive and expressive and he obviously cares a lot about people, and yet he's not the most emotionally intelligent and often misses social cues because he's so tied up in his own thoughts and perceptions. he doesn't come across as rude or annoying or selfish though, he's just genuinely not the best at reading people or being able to think outside of his own perspective which, as an autistic person, i find very relatable. he's flawed in a very realistic way. i can sometimes find sonic a slightly grating or annoying character but this take on him is one i enjoy a lot, you can tell he means well and he wants to help and cares about things very deeply, which i appreciate a lot.

- i do hope that they're going to explore shadow's character more next season and i ESPECIALLY hope that they're going to play around more with the idea of him and nine being foils to each other. it seemed rlly clear that shadow's trust issues were meant to reflect/parallel nine's same issues and subsequent betrayal of sonic, it's an interesting touch to have them reflect each other and i rlly hope they revisit it.

- i rlly loved the black rose and rusty rose dynamic and interactions too and i also hope we see more of that next season. the roses should start a union

- now im gonna get onto the negative points sorry. ik ppl will hate me for this but i really don't like dread. he just feels like an unnecessary addition to the plot and whenever he shows up i just feel like "ugggh not this guy again". his design and character is cool in isolation and he has some great moments but overall im not a fan of how they used him this season

- i had the same problem with this season as the first which is that it felt like there were a lot of unnecessarily long repetitive fight scenes with very little plot. this is more of a subjective thing in terms of my personal tastes, but at times i found it pretty tiresome and would even start skipping the fight scenes lol. they just get pretty predictable and same-y and it feels like obvious padding to prevent the plot from advancing too fast and it just gets frustrating

- i would have liked for the characters to have had a bit more downtime to interact and stuff this season. it felt like a few of those endless fight scenes could've been replaced with some fun interactions but idk. ik it's a show for little kids so they want to keep their attention with Big Explosion so i don't blame anyone for doing it this way, but these are just my personal feelings on it

- in general it felt like the stakes were SO HIGH for the entire season that it stopped feeling exciting pretty fast. i think that interspersing the action with some down time would have made the action more meaningful. it kinda felt like after a while the stakes stopped meaning anything bc they just kept ramping up constantly

- that being said, the prismatic titan was SO COOL and i greatly enjoyed sonic's showdown with it, my inner 12 year old was going INSANE

- i think that dr deep came into his own as a character much more for me this season, he was rlly funny and a lot of the jokes landed with him pretty well

- chaos sonic was SO FUN it's a shame we didn't get to see more of them

tldr: it definitely has flaws but overall i had fun. excited for more rodents in the future........

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: Pride Asks!

It may be August, but I’m a big believer in Pride Year, so today I’m going through the list of questions I found on this post and answering the ones I feel like thinking about!

(Turns out I felt like answering all thirty-four of them. Have fun!)

1. Which labels do you use?

I am greyromantic and demisexual! I also use aromantic and asexual, or aro-ace.

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

I’m here, I’m queer! I understand why some people aren’t comfortable with reclaiming this word, but it works well for me. You can’t leave out the A when you call it a queer community.

3. Which pronouns do you use?

She/her

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

Yep!

5. Are you "out" publicly?

Yep!

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

I wish I’d known it was an option sooner. I couldn’t have come out before I knew about it, so I suppose it was the right time. But I wish I’d spent fewer years thinking there was something wrong with me.

7. Are you the "token" queer person in your family?

No, but when I came out, I didn’t know that there were other queer people in my family.

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

My gender is “respect me!”

9. When did you realize you weren't cishet?

In middle school, I knew I wasn’t feeling the same thing that my peers were describing when they talked about crushes. But it was easy enough to dismiss it as just another thing that was different about me. I was already anosmic and autistic, and always the first Jewish kid that anyone had ever met. I assumed I was “straight but broken” for the longest time. I didn’t even really believe that I could be asexual the first time I heard the word, in college. I joined my school’s Feminist Union, and that’s where I learned that there are more options to sexuality than straight or gay, more options to gender than boy or girl, and that romantic and sexual attraction weren’t the same thing. I went on Tumblr and followed as many queer blogs as I could find – I was determined to learn everything I could about all the identities, so I could be the best ally ever! One day, I saw a post with the word “demisexual” in it, and I Googled it. I read the definition, and it clicked.

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

When people call me “sir” or “ma’am.”

11. Favorite (or just one you love) piece of LGBT media?

Technically You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson. I wish I could reach back through time and hand this book to my preteen self.

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

“For Me” by Dearlie and “Never Been in Love” by Will Jay stand out. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but “Good Thing” by Zedd and Kehlani is SO aro.

13. Do you choose to reclaim slurs, why or why not?

Every word we use to describe ourselves has been used against us pejoratively. If I find a word works for me, I use it. If someone asks me not to use a word for them or around them, then I won’t use it for them or around them.

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

I’m Jewish, anosmic, and autistic. I understood from a very young age that there were things about me that made me different from other people, that other people wouldn’t be able to see right away. Once they realized that that difference existed, they would doubt me, question me, negatively judge me, and distance themselves from me. In a way, that all prepared me to realize and accept my asexuality and aromanticism.

I also give my parents a lot of credit for never putting any pressure on me to date when I was a kid or a teen. In hindsight, my childhood home was a very safe place to be aro-ace. Queerness wasn’t something we ever talked about, so it’s not like they encouraged me to explore, but they never discouraged it, either. When I first told my mom I thought I might have a crush on a girl, she immediately hugged me and told me she loved me, and that was the end of the conversation. I knew I could come to her and my dad with whatever new discovery I might make about myself.

15. How has your identity changed over time?

I went from “I have no idea” to “straight but broken” to “panromantic demisexual” to “greyromantic demisexual.”

16. Do you attend Pride in person every year?

No. I’d like to, but there’s a pandemic going on out there. And I live in Florida.

17. Have you ever attended Pride in a big city/ large metro area?

I went to Orlando Pride once with my then-boyfriend. There was a big, colorful parade, I bought a demisexual pride flag, and someone gave me a pair of rainbow sunglasses that I wore til they broke.

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

I think that Orlando Pride I mentioned was my first Pride. I was twenty-four or so.

19. Do you feel safe and accepted in your local community?

Safe enough, and accepted enough, given that it’s Florida. I stay in the Disney bubble enough that I don’t feel the need to constantly look over my shoulder. I have a girlfriend I love and friends I adore. That said, while no one locally is actively out to hurt me, it’s rare that anyone besides my girlfriend and a few key friends is actively out to understand and support my queerness, either. I try to find other aros and aces to hang out with in person, but it’s hard.

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

I feel like I do. But I don’t think that they feel like I do.

21. What message would you give to your younger self?

Everything about you – everything you feel, everything you experience – is just as good, just as valid, and just as important as anyone else.

22. How do you usually celebrate Pride month?

These days mostly through TikToks.

23. Do you prefer loud parties or quiet?

Game night!

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

I’m Jewish. Masorti/Conservative. Like I said before, being Jewish in a predominantly Christian area prepared me in a way for being aro and ace. People struggle to understand it in similar ways; people are nice to me until they learn about it in similar ways. My community is pretty chill about it. They know I’m queer. My girlfriend and I met at synagogue. It doesn’t come up much, really. They’re more interested in the fact that I’m a twenty-something in a congregation where everyone is either much older or much younger than me.

25. What queer discourse frustrates you the most?

“Aces and aros aren’t LGBT!” “You’re not queer enough!” “You’re not oppressed enough!”

We have nothing to gain from shutting each other out, and everything to lose from perpetuating hate.

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

Partner is a great word! One of the ways my aromanticism shows up is in a fluctuating romance-repulsion. Sometimes I’m happy with romantic behaviors and ideas, and sometimes I’m really not okay with any of it! Right now, I’m calling my girlfriend my girlfriend, but sometimes that word doesn’t sit well with me. When we first announced our relationship on social media, I called her my “person.” I’m a big fan of having more words, more options, for how to describe the many ways our lives and relationships can be. “Partner” is great.

27. What gender-neutral terms for yourself or others do you use (i.e. joyfriend)?

My person. My partner. My friend. Babe.

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

Great question! I experience both at times, rarely. I’m demisexual – I only experience sexual attraction towards someone after I have an emotional connection with that person – and I’m greyromantic – I sometimes experience romantic attraction to others, without a clear pattern to it. Gender has never been an important factor for me. I’ve been in love with he’s, she’s, and they’s, and it comes and goes the same either way!

29. Are you currently partnered, or if not are you interested in having partner(s)?

My girlfriend and I have been a romantic couple for about three months. We were friends for about two years before that. I want to build a future together with someone, to make big life decisions together, to create a home together and have each other around for hugs whenever we need them.

But I feel fine when I don’t have that. Who I am when I’m in love and who I am when I’m not in love – it’s both me. I’m whole either way. But I know what I want.

30. Are you monogamous or polyamorous?

Not sure! I’ve never been in love with more than one person at a time, but I’m pretty sure I could be. I think it would be amazing to have more than one person you have that kind of understanding with and can count on like that. But I’m comfortable with monogamy. It’s not like my romantic partner is the only important person in my life; my family and friends are just as important.

31. Post a pic in your pride gear (or it can just be a selfie or anything else lgbt):

I don’t have any good pride pics right now, but I found this picrew I saved, like, two years ago:

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

I’m a writer, so have a poem instead:

I am yours to sit up with past midnight I am yours now to hold very near I am yours to give flowers and chocolates I am yours when I tell you my fears

I am yours when you soothe all my worries I am yours when you calm all my rants I am yours here beside you for always I am yours since you gave me the chance

I am yours when I tell you you’re silly I am yours when you tell me the same I am yours now to keep us both mindful I am yours in both sunshine and rain

I am yours when we meet in the morning I am yours when I tell you goodbye I am yours, though the allos will tell us That love without sex is a lie

Incidentally, I’m working on a book of Aromantic Asexual Love Poems. If you’ve read this far and you’re interested in beta-reading a queer poetry book, please reach out!

33. What about your LGBT identity do you feel proud of/ want to recognize/celebrate?

The freedom! The freedom to not know what’s going on with me, to be inconsistent, to figure out what’s best for me and my relationships, to build my future day by day by day. Recognizing my aromanticism and asexuality has opened so many doors for me and given me so much hope!

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

More people who are neither aro nor ace mentioning aro and ace people in queer contexts. We can’t be the only ones speaking up for ourselves. Y’all need to be positive and noisy about us, too. That’s how we know we’re safe with you.

[ao3feed-newsies]

The Moon's Pull

by, ion_bond by ion_bond “Jack was always working in artful and subtle ways to get David to come to the roof. He tried to lure him with trumped-up union business, and when that wasn't enough, he appealed to David's keen fear of missing out on something good. He offered gossip. He talked up the healthful properties of exposure to night air. He promised meteor showers and white moths as big as hands.” Jack wants David. But if David actually says yes, then where will they be? Words: 3064, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken, Newsies - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Jack Kelly (Newsies), David Jacobs, Kid Blink, Jack Kelly's Mother (Newsies) Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Jack Kelly/Kid Blink Additional Tags: Canon Era, uksies, Post-Strike (Newsies), Angst, Dialect, Orphans, Yiddish, mention of sex work, Kids smoking, Period-Typical Racism, Internalized Homophobia, Boys Kissing, Minor Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Bisexual Jack Kelly (Newsies), canon-typical asshole behavior, Autistic David Jacobs, Jewish David Jacobs, Jack Kelly is Black, No Beta We Die Like "Newsies" at the Box Office in 1992 read : https://ift.tt/8daL4tg - January 10, 2024 at 12:54PM

[lostinthewronguniverse]

So, while I understand your reasoning, I do find it flawed. While many people in the US do not like their boss or the police, they do prefer to lick the boots of their bosses and police when told or when things get rough. I am not discounting myself in this

When a homeless person is making someone uncomfortable, by far the majority of people would be more comfortable with calling the cops on them than allow them to sleep by a bus stop or beg in a walkway. White right wing people who don’t trust the police are still happy to call them when black people are hanging around chatting for “too long”. If an autistic teen walks towards your fence to look at a flower, way too many people would call the cops on him. While in reality many people in the US hate cops for one reason or another, the sentiment is still there that we love cops as soon as things get hard, and it is a small portion of people who would actually call out cops like during George Floyd’s death. Most people would have walked by figuring that he probably deserved it because no matter how much we say acab at the end of the day we tend to trust them more than the person whose rights they’re violating

Now, bosses we practically never stand up to because we’re too scared to lose our jobs. We may acknowledge that they’re power hungry and deliberately target a single person and make 2x+ our income for half the work and whatnot, but when we are talking to them, we hardly say anything. If we see someone being targeted, then we might try to cheer them up after but you hardly ever see someone push back against the harassment. In private, we’re even more likely to agree with the boss that they do so much for the company or so-and-so performs poorly. We keep kissing ass in the hopes of a raise or promotion and we get nothing. Then, we go behind the boss’s back and complain about how horrible they are while not doing anything to change it. This is the reason why so often unions are unable to form or people can be singled out because no one wants to receive the boss’s ire and we’re told that we can’t move ahead with others but we can move up on our own. Once again, the sentiment is there that no matter how much we hate our bosses we treat them like we love them

Actions speak louder than words. While you’ve lived in more states than I have, you have only taken people’s words at face value and not looked at their actions. I have a friend who is constantly fighting for social justice that absolutely calls the police every time she sees a a tent in the local park and I had an old coworker who repeatedly talked about how toxic our boss was that also said he was her mentor and inspiration when he got team lunch for her promotion. The people you know who talk the talk and walk the walk are the minority. Regardless of if OP is from the US or not, they understand the people here better than you, a native.

P.S. I do find it funny all the people who pretend like they hold the will of the revolutionaries from 1776. 1) All those people were racists who wanted to steal Native American land and 2) They weren’t afraid to suffer for a bit without something like Starbucks or cheap factory farmed meat and fast fashion. Do you know how hard it would have been to boycott England? And, if you broke the boycott then you could have been killed by a mob as a loyalist instead of just needing to cross a picket line

[atlanticcanada]

Halifax support workers strike impacting students and families

The father of disabled teen from Fall River, N.S. is calling on all sides to get back to the bargaining table and put an end to the Halifax area CUPE educational support worker strike.

“This has gone on too long and it is not fair for the kids,” Mohsen Nakad sid.

His 13-year-old son Abraham Nakad attends Georges P. Vanier Junior High School, but for the past four weeks, he hasn't been able to attend school with workers from CUPE local 5047 on strike.

Nakad supports the workers on strike and wants the government and all sides to get back to the negotiation table and come to an agreement soon.

“For me, I am supporting the EPAs, because I know how much our life is easier with them,” Nakad said.

His son Abraham is autistic and has cerebral palsy. He’s nonverbal and communicates through a tablet device. At school he is supported by educational program assistants, or EPAs.

Abraham would like to be back in school and he reminds his father of that at least a dozen times every day.

Abraham taps on his tablet device to send a message to his father.

“I...want...school...school,” Abraham said through the tablet. He hit the message button again, to emphasize: “I want to go to school.”

“It's unfair, it makes me very sad for my son and his friends,” Nakad said.

“Just because they have disabilities doesn't mean they should have to miss school.”

Abraham and his father joined school support workers on the picket line Wednesday outside Georges P. Vanier School.

The past three years have been challenging for Nakad, he’s a single father of two children and a small business owner.

While Abraham was at home during the pandemic, Nakad says he was forced to close his convenience store.

Now Nakad had been preparing to open a pet grooming salon, but with the ongoing strike he’s putting that on hold for now to care for his son at home.

“I have to postpone everything now because I cannot look after my business. I have to be with Abraham all the time.”

In Dartmouth, CUPE leaders joined a rally organized by the Nova Scotia NDP.

CUPE Nova Scotia president Nan McFadgen wants Premier Tim Houston’s PC government and Halifax Regional Centre for Education to get back to the negotiating table and work out a resolution.

“We’re disappointed that we’re still here,” McFadgen said.

Seven of the eight regional CUPE groups voted to accept the province's offer, but the Halifax area local voted against the offer. The group is looking for better wages, McFadgen said.

“And this local decided that it wasn’t enough and now they are going to walk the picket line for better wages and that needs to be OK to happen in Nova Scotia,” said McFadgen. “A local has a democratic right to either accept or decline an offer.”

The Nova Scotia’s Education Minister said in a statement Wednesday that the department remains hopeful that the job action will end and that impacted students will be able to return to school before the end of June.

“The first step is for the union to reach out to the employer, HRCE [Halifax Regional Centre for Education],” said Becky Druhan.

“HRCE has contacted the union regarding ways to support students who rely on the striking workers, but the union has refused to participate. HRCE is doing everything it can to support students and minimize impacts of the strike,” the minister said.

Both the union and government said there are no scheduled talks at this time.

Nakad urges the government to meet with the union and get a deal done to salvage the remaining school year.

“We need to see this government doing something for our kids,” said Nakad. “This isn’t fair for them.” 

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/ewpg2QE

[patrickcann]

self indulgent kimi ni todoke/mob psycho 100 crossover au that i drew a while back

[chesedelhim]

hrm

[tintentrinkerin]

Wincest: Oneshots

Sammy’s Sickness [explicit, Weecest]

Cabin Birthday [mature, Weecest]

Re-Union [teen]

True Unity [mature]

Scare [teen]

Profound Pain [teen]

Neutral Evil [teen]

Kintsugi [explicit]

King of the Wilds [bangfic]

Wolfmate [bangfic]

Golden Rain [teen, dark, gencest]

Wincest: Multichapters

‘the fortress that is your soul’

Cathartic Arrest [mature, Samdean, hell trauma]

‘The Boyking and His Knight’

Part one - adelphopoiesis [explicit, gore, Samdean, complete // can be read separately from Samael and Din]

Part two - The Book Samael and Din [explicit, gore, Samdean, ongoing]

Chapter One: Josephine

Winkline: Oneshots

Kissing people, forgetting things. [explicit, Samjackdean]

Curse’s Delight [explicit, Samjack]

Shared Property [explicit, Samjackdean]

Peep [explicit, Wincest + unrequited Samjack]

Sam’s Boys [explicit, Samjackdean]

Hard Candy [explicit, Samjack]

Yuletide [teen, Samjackdean]

soaked. [explicit, Samjack, piss kink!]

Sun and Moon and Samuel [explicit, noncon!, Samjack, Deansam]

Cursebreaker [Samjack, Deanjack, dubcon /TBA]

Winkline: Multichapter

‘Hedgehog Dilemma’

Part one - Innocence Lost [mature, Samjack, dysfunctional Destiel on the side, complete // can be read separately from Harnes & Spears]

Part two - Harness & Spears [explicit, Samjack, dysfunctional Destiel on the side, ongoing series]

Interlude & Chapter One: Basic Oneirology

Chapter two: Should I stay or should I go now?

Chapter three: Sacred Spaces

Chapter four: Collision Course

Chapter five: Father’s Eyes

Chapter six: This is no puppy love

Chapter seven: Bed of Thorns

Chapter eight: Angel Trap

Chapter nine: Caress every ache

Chapter ten: The Stars

‘The Fem!Jack Adventures’

The Fox, The Serpent and The Vulture [explicit, female!Jack, Samjackdean, oneshot that can be read on its own // more parts are WIPs]

‘Constellation’

[AU, Trans!Jack, heed the tags and warnings! Polyamory, Samjackdean]

Chapter one - Discovering the Escort

WINKLINESTIEL (yes, you read that right)

‘Meet Me On The Equinox’

[Omegaverse, very explicit, they all fuck, Jackwena at the side]

The Start: Waxing

Real Person Fiction

Infinity Pool [mature, J2]

The End Has No End [explicit, J2]

Ficlets (pairings vary)

mine. [mature, Wincest]

Hail the Queen [Samdeanwena]

Culloden Ghosts [Sastiel, autistic Jack]

[snarkesthour]

Happy St George's Day!

· In the midst of a pandemic when schools are all closed, the government votes to not allow free school meals to schoolchildren during school holidays, despite this being the only meal many of them have each day

· Marcus Rashford, a footballer, led the drive to feed the nation’s children, 49% of which live in poverty, and forced the government to provide food for them during the school holidays

· Instead of previous years when vouchers were given to parents that can only be spent on nutritious food, members of government give contracts to friends to provide a week’s work of food costing £5 to schoolchildren for a price of £30. Food is unhealthy and would not last a week

· Parcels also expect parents to cook two tablespoons of rice at a time in the oven and bake their own bread every day, ignoring poverty-stricken families possible lack of access to such equipment

· Wife of conservative MP attacks poor families for eating unhealthy food when healthy food is cheaper, ignoring the fact that not all families have access to equipment needed to store and cook it

· Nigel Farage, head of the Brexit party came out strongly against the government for their stance on starving schoolchildren. Not a good look.

· Another MP came out and said that poor families should not receive government assistance because the money would be going direct to brothels and crackhouses and the parents would spend it on drink and drugs instead of feeding their kids, a dangerous and persistent stereotype of working class people

· For the first time in its history, UNICEF is feeding kids in the UK – the 5th richest country in the world – and the head of the House of Commons accused them of “playing politics” and said they should “be ashamed of themselves”

· J.K. Rowling came out hard as a TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist), writing a book about a serial killer that dresses up as a Muslim woman, which isn’t subtle when you look at her history of transphobia and other “-isms”

She also publicly supported an author who wrote a book about the destruction of Europe by waves of Muslim immigration

· Speaking of J.K. Rowling, the government’s response to the Gender Recognition Act.

· It is now impossible for under 16s to receive reversible puberty blockers

· Wait times at NHS Gender Clinics, of which there are only 7 in the country, have doubled, with wait times now up to 60+ months (5+ years)

· Keir Starmer, head of the Labour (left wing) party says he doesn’t want to get involved in trans issues

· With the loss of Labour, no major party supports trans rights

· Self ID is no longer allowed, meaning every step of transition is medicalised and involves the trans person having to prove that they are “trans enough” at every stage to panels of cis people

· Government wants to invalidate non-enrolled deed polls, essentially making available a public list of every trans person in the UK

· Hate crimes have quadrupled

· Anti-trans campaigners are now setting their sights on trans adults’ access to hormones

· A petition was formed to counter this and was reviewed by the government, who determined that nothing was wrong with the GRA except that it might have been a bit lax.

· The Guardian newspaper ran child labour and child starvation supporting stories

· Internal border now along the border of Kent and lorry drivers must produce travel papers (Brexit Passport) to cross it, placing the county of Kent in a state of “no man’s land”

· Government fails to lockdown on time, every time

· Government refuses to ban conversion therapy in the UK

· Scotland adopts Human Rights of Children, which requires the government to better support children and families, especially those who are poor, disabled, minorities or young carers. England does not

· The government declared that sleeping rough is now grounds for deportation

· Schools reopened several times despite being warned not safe to do so

· The government banned NHS workers from speaking out about COVID

· Do Not Resuscitate orders proposed for those in care homes, with learning disabilities and who are autistic

· The government cut pensions as the COVID death toll rose

· The government learnt about new South-East COVID strain in September and didn’t come forwards until December

· New COVID strain targets kids, teens, and young adults, and yet none of those groups are allowed vaccination unless a serious pre-existing condition is had, even if they are key workers

· Downing Street says UK should be model of racial equality because government report says no institutional racism in the UK

· Report also says young people are young and foolish for thinking it exists and that minorities are superstitious and irrational and are sabotaging themselves out of success

· It came out that the government was given the independent report and rewrote it to the version that was released to the public – the version that says racism doesn’t exist in the UK

· The rewritten report also refers to the slave trade as the “Caribbean experience”, like those enslaved were on holiday

· Woman in London abducted, murdered and dismembered by off-duty cop and when socially distanced vigil goes ahead, police wait until dark before trapping women, arresting them, using excessive force on them, and also destroying memorial

· Bill passed in government that allows undercover officers to commit serious crimes such as murder, torture and rape

· Plainclothes police to now patrol nightclubs and bars due to aforementioned murder by police officer

· Bill passed that bans any protest at all, no matter how quiet, unobstructive or small it is, including single-person protests. Bill also includes a 10 year sentence for damaging a statue, which is a longer sentence than for rape

· TV programmes critical of the government have been cancelled

· Universities have been told what to platform and schools have been told what to teach, including banning material speaking about BLM and calling for “overthrow” of capitalism

· Voting has been supressed, mainly those who are working class or POC

· During protests in Bristol, press was assaulted and pepper sprayed by police and two legal observers were arrested

· Being Roma/Traveller and living the traditional Roma/Traveller lifestyle is now illegal under that same bill that bans protests. They also have to register as such and receive a licence or risk losing their vehicles

· Hours before Eid, lockdown across the UK with no warning whatsoever, meaning people woke up the next morning after visiting relatives to find themselves “criminals”. The country was opened up specifically for Christmas though

· Conservative (right wing) party blamed BAME (Black And Minority Ethnic) communities for dying of COVID more than white people

· Landlords have been protected extensively and renters blamed for living in close quarters or having to take public transport to work

· Conservatives have launched investigation into possible corruption in Liverpool Council. Liverpool is a Labour stronghold and if corruption is found then the Conservatives can seize control of the council. No evidence of corruption is present as of yet

· Military threatened to stage a coup if Corbyn (then head of the labour party) became Prime Minister

· Government orders all government buildings in England, Wales and Scotland to fly the Union Flag every day to boost patriotism

· MPs call for the curriculum to require teaching the history of the Union Flag rather than Britain’s many atrocities

· The first fortnight of April saw a mini heatwave with temperatures up to 20°C immediately followed by snow, and this is ignored in favour of debating “vaccine passports” in order to visit the pub

· UK allows for international summer holidays despite being warned it will cause a third wave, such as the situation in Germany

· Government placed asylum seekers arriving in the UK in army barracks where they were to sleep 24 to a room with no open windows or air circulation, and when COVID inevitably ran rampant, the Home Secretary accused the asylum seekers of not following COVID protocol, such as social distancing

· Several accounts of self-harm and suicide attempts were reported from the asylum barracks and were dismissed

· UK to deport unaccompanied minor asylum seekers

· UK refuses entry into the UK for radicalised teen failed by system who joined ISIS. Case is difficult and controversial because teen wishes to return to the UK temporarily to fight for her citizenship after the UK broke international law by stripping it from her, despite her not having dual citizenship. Argument given was that her parents were from Bangladesh and so she could apply for citizenship there. Bangladesh refused. Teen is now stateless and living in a refugee camp after losing several children, unable to fight for her citizenship to be reinstated.

· Rioting in Northern Ireland, which included the first use of water cannons in 6 years, a bus being hijacked and burnt, a press photographer attacked, and people throwing bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs at police, not to mention some of the clashes happening over a peace wall in west Belfast, completely ignored in British media and then later drowned out by non-stop news of Prince Phillip’s death, obscuring any important news from being heard. Riots were over Northern Ireland’s being a part of the UK

· MPs take vote on whether China’s treatment of Uighurs constitutes genocide. They decide it does, but that it isn’t their job to do anything further

· Home Office released their spending for the 2020 fiscal year. It’s a mess, including over £77,000 at an eyebrow salon in March alone, and £6,000+ in Pollyanna Restaurant which doesn't appear to exist.

· When people started questioning the spending, the Home Office sent a tweet fact checking themselves

· Country reopened over the summer for Eat Out To Help Out, a scheme to boost the economy. COVID cases rose sharply and the government then blamed people, but mostly working class people, for not following restrictions such as only leaving the house when absolutely necessary, after telling them it was safe

· Foreign NHS workers denied COVID vaccinations

· GCSEs and A-Levels were cancelled due to COVID-19 and expected exam grades were to be used instead. Private school students received grades much higher than they were expecting, and state school students received grades much lower, some grades falling as far as an A to an E. This was because the government couldn’t imagine state school students being smart enough to receive the high grades they were predicted to get; after much uproar the grades were scrapped, and a new method was introduced

· BBC offered staff grief counselling following Prince Philip’s death, but not after having to report on the ever-rising COVID death toll

· The COVID-19 Infection Survey closed in mourning for Prince Philip, with workers to contact participants to reschedule visits for “as soon as possible” when they return to work

· Census workers told to pack up and go home and were placed on immediate unpaid leave due to the death of Prince Philip, but told they must make up the hours later

· Conservative MPs lobbied for a new royal yacht after voting to keep schoolchildren hungry (see first points)

· The BBC’s complaint page crashed over the amount of complaints they got of their coverage of Prince Philip’s death. It was covered non-stop for over 24 hours and the page came in at over 100,000 complaints before going down

· BBC also fast becoming politically biased despite their requirement to be apolitical, after cutting out the audience laughing at Boris Johnson on Question Time, displaying Corbyn as a communist figure in front of a prominent piece of Russian architecture, and providing a platform for a Conservative MP to tell a stage 4 bowl cancer patient that her life wasn’t valuable on live television

· On the COVID-19 pandemic, the BMJ, (British Medical Journal) said about the government that “science was being suppressed for political and financial gain” by “some of history’s worst autocrats and dictators”

· Not only did Boris Johnson launch Eat Out To Help Out when he was warned it was dangerous, lifted lockdowns too early when he was warned it was too dangerous, reopened schools when he was warned it was too dangerous, but when scientists said the second COVID jab should be delivered within 3 weeks he decided that was too tall an order and it should be within 12 weeks – after a period of radio silence, suddenly the science fit his plan. No scientists came forwards to defend it

· The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, blamed protestors for protests that became violent from police attacking protestors, bullied staff members under her, bought members of staff in her department, said it was “disgraceful” to topple the statue of Edward Colson, a slave trader, in Brighton because it undermined anti-racism protests, held treasonous meetings with Israel with the plan to divert aid money, and threatened to starve Ireland in order to get them to agree to Brexit

· She also wants to set up Australian-style asylum processing centres on British islands, but the islands she wants are in the Atlantic ocean and over 4000 miles away from the UK. This is because she wants to help asylum seekers enter the UK legally, completed ignoring or oblivious to all the reasons that asylum seekers might not be able to do that, and for the fact that to seek asylum you must essentially walk up the border and ask for it

· The bungling of the Track and Trace system – the government spent £10bn on a system to track and trace the spread of COVID-19. All data was stored on an Excel spreadsheet which developed a technical glitch and many results were lost before the system was scrapped

· As Autism Acceptance month began, the BBC ran a story saying the autism causes fascism, and that an autistic person who had chosen to embrace the ideology was incapable of seeing that a neo-Nazi group he joined was morally bad because he was autistic

[professorsparklepants]

Good morning to underage drinkers who participate in anti-drunk driving campaigns, the one member of the friend group who can't draw, jocks who break their leg once a year, girls who drink chicken broth out of their reusable water bottles, polite mormon boys who definitely won't leave the church, obnoxious mormon girls who definitely will leave the church, catholics teens who think fetuses have souls, first chair violins who wear tuxedos as casual wear, eighteen year olds who think liking twilight is a personality trait, identical twins with different sexual orientations, girls who look exactly like their baby photos, indians whose names are always butchered by substitute teachers, republican members of the Jewish student union, students who treat their art teacher like an annoying older brother, autistic boys who are stupidly good at guitar hero, boys with afros that have the circumference of a beach ball, chinese kids who never get away with eating in class because their lunch can be smelled from down the hallway, and the only soprano in choir who isn't a prep.