#the lebanese and the aroace

[heremob]

I like to HC Truffles and Lammy as having a sibling like dynamic and that they are roomates

[little-apricot-orchard]

THIS is why i dont like white punks or white leftists in general- like??? really???

i guess it's scary to me when white leftists say that the punk scene is the scene where you wanna go if you're trans or a person of color or a drug addict or someone else who's been kicked down in life. cuz like, if you've lived in this scene, is it really where you wanna send people?

i got involved in my local punk scene and the problem is that people aren't actually focused on looking out for each other. punk is heavily white. punk is heavily abled. punk is heavily cis. i know everyone says "real" punk is this and that, but the problem is: i live in a punk house venue. i live in a house where punks throw punk rock shows weekly and invite other punks into our home to throw music and art shows. the DIY scene is a mess. it's full of abusers. it's full of enablers. it's full of queerphobes and tranny chasers. it's full of people who collect vulnerable traumatized people. it's full of people who will hand beers to recovering alcoholics and pass lines to recovering addicts.

this scene is full of people who scribble "this machine kills fascists" on every object they own and turn around and cower and say "I'm scared, can you come pick me up, there's some scary guys outside." because some black dudes listening to some rap posted up outside of the punk show. this scene is full of virtue signaling assholes who put antisemitic symbols on their "battle vests". this scene is full of half-assed "communists" who just want to brag about the big scary words they learned like "praxis" and "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie".

this scene is full of fake socialists who won't lift a finger to help each other, but will drag each other into hell instead.

the problem with punk as we know it is that it's whitewashed to hell and back, and the spaces created by these individuals are not centered around safety, but violence. yeah, you kill fascists, but do you provide meals for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and harm reduction for the addicted? do you pass out extra blankets and clothes? do you help people get to the hospital? do you pat someone on the back when they turn down that beer? do you remember to not offer a baggie to the person who just got out of recovery?

no? then you aren't a safe person to be around, and you ain't punk. you are the reason this scene is unsafe.

[incorrect-hs-quotes]

“#*looks at my 18k word homestuck arospec slowburn karkat fic*” :O?? Is this?? Published anywhere???

oh its not published anywhere im writing it on gooble docs but hoo boy now youve gone and done it. lemme introduce yall to the idea that is “dont look down”

-mod dave

so its a full-human collegestuck, and karkat is a grey(pan)romantic ace kid whos still trying to figure himself out. hes got some lingering self esteem issues because hes never felt love before Save One Fucking Time In Middle School For A Month, and now this asshole bane strider (i am definitely putting my partners ocs all over this bitch) is in love with him and asking him on a coffee date ?? what the fuck ?? 

turns out hes aro. well not aro. he cant be aro because a little later on he realizes that after he puts his stubbornness aside Holy Shit I Think I Actually Feel Something but he gets scared of it because he doesnt wanna seem like a freak. also he has vitiligo and theres also some lingering issues there cause he was bullied for it in middle / high school and is just now realizing that in college nobody fucking cares. but like He Still Cares and hes like absolutely amazed as to how the fuck someone has a physical crush on him

but like the gist of it is hes gonna realize he likes him but hes gonna push it down cause hes scared but hes also a little bitch so hes gonna say yes to dating him anyway and a month in hes gonna be like “oh god this was a mistake im not ready to do this yet” and then hes gonna distance himself but theres still gonna be buildup !! and banes gonna get upset and go “why the fuck are you avoiding me” and theyre gonna break up for a bit and karkats gonna go “guys i literally dont know what to do i thought i was aro but then i had a thing for him and then it went away and then i built it up again and now he broke up with me what the fuck.” 

and he makes up his mind that Yes he likes the guy and hell try again and he goes and confronts him and he sits him down and he finally fucking comes out to him that “hey im ace and im. like. i. i think aro but like not entirely i dont know why i like you but like this has never happened before and it came absolutely out of the blue and i dont know whats happening” and banes gonna be like Oh Shit Okay Bet and hes gonna go “yknow. my twin fucking brother is aroace do you want to talk to him”

ENTER DAVE (well not enter cause he got introduced in the beginning but.)

they bond (also theres a subplot where daves a visual arts major and hes piecing together his first sbahj film and karkat and john both decided to volunteer to help) and dave helps him figure everything out and hes like “so you like. rarely feel it” and karkats like “yeah i feel like im fake aro i dont know what to do” and dave goes “dude theres a whole spectrum. youre probably grey or demi” and karkat goes WHAT and daves like “yeah look it up check it out”

and karkat latches onto the greyro label like an absolute motherfucker and goes back to bane and hes like “i figured it the fuck out . i think. fingers crossed. fuck” and banes like “so i guess where we go is up to you” and karkats like “i wanna stay with you but. yknow. gently” and bane goes :D “BET” and they probably kiss and karkats like !! and kisses him back and then the rest of the year goes pretty well and karkat has a lot more green in his closet. 

i am gonna reach novel length. "dont look down” will be a fucking novel so help me god. yall are gonna underline that bitch

[redheadbigshoes]

I don’t know if I’ve made a post specifically about this, in case I haven’t I’m doing it now. There was a time I was very addicted to reading sapphic books, so here’s a list of the ones I read and my opinion about it:

*There will be no spoilers, so in case anyone has read any of these books or want more detailed opinions with spoilers just dm me or send asks that I’ll gladly talk more about it

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - I enjoyed a lot this book. Very emotional (at least for me). I really liked the way it’s written (the characters in the present and throughout the story going back to the past to explain certain things). Main character is a bisexual woman and she isn’t afraid of calling people out when they erase her identity by calling her a lesbian, there’s just some things I think it stereotypes bisexuality even more. There’s also lesbian rep, also some stereotypes about lesbians. Latino rep, though also with some stereotypes. Tw: suicide (also I have some issues about how this was written).

Her Royal Highness - the first thing that I thought when I finished this book was “that was it?”. It feels rushed, I think either the book should’ve been longer to explain some things or it should’ve been a series. The main character is bi and her romantic interest is a lesbian. I personally thought the lesbian rep is shitty. Idk if it was a problem with the translated version but I don’t remember the word lesbian ever being mentioned in the story. The lesbian character comes out to the main character after the other one says she’s bi and the lesbian character just says something like “I’m like you except for the boys part”. That’s how she describes her being a lesbian 💀

Girl Made of Stars - TW: rape (I don’t remember being explicitly described, but the whole story talks a lot about it). Main character is bi, her romantic interest is a non-binary lesbian (so nb rep). I really liked this book, I don’t remember anything I thought was a little problematic or anything in particular I didn’t like about it.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass - I really liked this story, I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it because it’s not a modern setting, idk exactly when the story is supposed to be, I’d guess Middle Ages or something like that. It really is like a fairy tale but not so childish. Considering is not modern setting I wouldn’t know the sexuality of the characters because they don’t label it, they’re just sapphic. For me it was like a different version of Snow White. Also, from what I remember the main character as well as her romantic interest are POC. I enjoyed how some chapters are through the main character POV and some others are through her stepmother’s POV.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn - Also not modern setting. I’m pretty sure if not all characters most of them are POC. Characters’ sexualities are also not labeled. It also feels like a not so childish fairy tale. I liked it, though not as much as I liked Girls Made of Snow and Glass.

Before You Say I Do - I loved this one, there’s barely any angst, very fluff, feels like a fanfiction which I loved it. The whole time while I read it I imagined both characters as Kara and Lena from Supergirl 😂. One of the main characters is a lesbian, the other one I don’t remember if she’s bi, unlabeled or ends up figuring out she’s a lesbian. There’s some NSFW so I wouldn’t recommend if you’re 18 or under or if you’re not comfortable with that kind of thing.

Cool For The Summer - Main character is bi as well as her romantic interest. I think one of them is Jewish and Lebanese descendant (correct me if I’m wrong though), the other one I think is Russian and Jewish descendant. There’s also an aroace character (she’s a minor character). I enjoyed it, though disappointed about not having any lesbian rep.

Cinderella Is Dead - main character is black. Like the title says it’s based on a fairytale, though it’s not childish. I really liked how society in this book was described. It’s after the whole story about Cinderella. I have to warn that there’s some mentions of domestic abuse and you’re probably going to hate basically all men in this story because it’s a very misogynistic society. The characters are also not labeled.

I’ve also read some books that I don’t think have an English version so I won’t even bring them up.

[furby-organist]

NAME: [redacted] NICKNAME/S: Glitter HEIGHT: 5′2″ NATIONALITY: USA & Lebanese Dual Citizen SEXUALITY: Aroace. PRONOUNS: she/her and they/them are both fine GUYS OR GIRLS: I’ll vibe with anyone based on personality, who cares. (I guess Alexa gets the indifference from me.) LAST TIME I CRIED: Uhhhh I don’t remember. Not bc I don’t cry, but because I have bad memory. Probably like a month ago bc I was overwhelmed by idk work, executive dysfunction, whatever HAIR COLOR: Naturally dark brown. Rn it’s dyed black and the bottom part is like an ash mid-brown color. WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING: Studying for my professional exam, laundry, a handful of replies, finishing up some art 

FAVORITE FRUIT: I like mangoes and peaches! I also like lychee with whipped cream, and strawberries with chocolate and whipped cream. FAVORITE SEASON: Fall or Spring! FAVORITE SCENTS: Good food scents and also specific perfumes: Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb, YSL Black Opium, Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille, MFK Baccarat Rouge 540.  FAVORITE COLOUR/S: Black, Burgundy, Maroon, Crimson, Teal, idk. FAVORITE ANIMALS: Cats! I also like polar bears by osmosis bc my sister loves them. And I’m growing fond of raccoons, bc of Alexa. FAVORITE FOOD: I like so many foods... I love ramen (like actual ramen, not the instant shit), lots of Indian foods, Lebanese food, uhhhhh listen I just love spicy & flavorful cuisine across the board. TV SHOWS: Love & Hip Hop has been my fixation for a while. It’s so CHAOTIC and the verbiage is HILARIOUS. FAVORITE MOVIE: I’m not a huge movie person but Mean Girls is fantastic. Also 21 & 22 Jump Street. FAVORITE VINE: I can’t think of like, a specific one, but a really funny one is the IT’S OKAY I GOT THAT WEED CARD one. FAVORITE VIDEOGAMES/S: Okay I don’t allow myself to play videogames bc they hit the hyperfocus JUST RIGHT and I will do NOTHING ELSE for weeks. I know how I am and it gets UGLY. That being said, I like watching playthroughs and I ADORE the Danganronpa franchise. FAVORITE SUBJECT: Art, probably. I didn’t pursue it academically beyond getting a minor in undergrad. TEA, COFFEE, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: All of them, actually!   AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Oh I’m a mess, all over the place. Sometimes 2, sometimes 12. WHEN MY BLOG WAS CREATED: This one started in like, August 2020? But the actual blog was to host an in-progress tumblr theme I was working on, so it was created several years ago. (As you can tell, the theme is still in progress.) NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS: 170.  RANDOM FACT: I do my art in PS Elements 10 which I got back in 2013 with the purchase of my Bamboo tablet that I still use. The pen pressure doesn’t work anymore but otherwise it’s pretty neat.

FAVORITE FANDOMS: I’ve only been involved in like, the YGO fandom, and this one. Everything else I just kind of watch from the sidelines. Both of these fandoms have their pockets of very great people and great content, and then like, bad content to avoid.

TAGGED BY: Stole from @showmethehotpods TAGGING: Everybody who wants to do this, but make your own post.

[famous-aces]

Khalil Gibran

Who: جبران خليل جبران‎ (Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān)

What: Author and Artist

Where: Lebanese (active in Europe, the Middle East and the US)

When: January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931

(image description: Gibran as a middle aged man it is a faded black and white photo. He is a tan man with a receding hairline, strong eyebrows, a mustache, deep eyes, and a cleft chin. End ID)

Gibran is extremely popular in the Arabic speaking world and a national hero in his native Lebanon. Despite only having periods of popularity in the US (notably in the 1960s and 1970s) he is the third best selling poet in history (#1 is William Shakespeare, #2 is Lao-Tzu) and has around 20 monuments and memorials world wide dedicated to him from Montreal to Morocco, Buenos Aires to Bucharest. He is hailed as one of the founders Arabic prose poetry. He was also a visual artist (although he is far less known for that).

He wrote extensively in both English and Arabic and became a Lebanese nationalist later in life.  His works include (English then Arabic) The Prophet (his magnum opus translated into 100 different languages and never out of print, published originally in English) (1923), The Broken Wings / Al-Ajniha al-Mutakassira (1912), Spirit Brides / Ara’is al-muruj (1906), Sand and Foam / Ramal wa Zabad (1926), The Madman (1918, published in English), and Rebellious Spirits / Al-Arwah al-Mutamarrida (1908)

(image description: Gibran's self portrait from 1911. It shows Gibran in front of a crystal ball with another person behind him. He looks into the "camera". He looks very much like his older self but with more hair and a slightly thinner mustache. End ID)

Probable Orientation: Aroace

Gibran had a few close relationships with women, once thought to be sexual now seem to platonic (assumed sexual because of the genders of the friends). His most notable was with philanthropist and educator Mary Elizabeth Haskell, who was his closest ally for over 20 years. Their relationship was odd, part business, part pleasure, she even served as his sometimes editor and seems to have been infatuated with him. He loved her as well but just how is a little hazy. He did not seem to be interested in either sex or romance from her or anyone else, simply companionship. They did get engaged, but he broke it off unconsumated. Indeed when he did so he voiced that he wanted to remain her most intimate companion, but not in the way that marriage implied. It is 100% a QPR without those words. There are assertions he slept around, but no names have surfaced in my searches, just the assumption that he must have.

Apparently when she tried to take things further he told her he was not "sexually minded" which she documented in her diary and he further turned down the offer of intercourse. There are some who assert he had other affairs or was leading Haskell on so he could further use her for funding, that he was a heartless monster who manipulated a woman in love with him. It seems like a very unfair view of him. By all accounts he seemed to care about Haskell deeply platonically and it seems like the general accusation that aro/aces/aroaces are heartless and unfeeling with an added level of anti-immigrant sentiment, this lying brown heathen breaking the heart of a good white woman. In other words I would say this is just prejudice against him.

In how he talks about his relationship with Haskell it is very obviously a QPR and his "love letters" confirm that. He did love her, just not romantically.

Quotes:

"My age [she was 10 years older than he was] is simply the barrier raised between us and the blunder of our marrying. Not my age constitutes the objection — but the fact that for Kahlil there waits a different love from that he bears me — an apocalypse of love — and that shall be his marriage. His greatest work will come out of that — his greatest happiness, his new, full life."

- Mary Elizabeth Haskell when the engagement was broken (sounds like the SAM)

"You have the great gift of understanding, beloved Mary. You are a life-giver, Mary. You are like the Great Spirit, who befriends man not only to share his life, but to add to it. My knowing you is the greatest thing in my days and nights, a miracle quite outside the natural order of things."

- Khalil Gibran in a letter to Mary Elizabeth Haskell, 1914

"The most wonderful thing, Mary, is that you and I are always walking together, hand in hand, in a strangely beautiful world, unknown to other people. We both stretch one hand to receive from Life — and Life is generous indeed."

-Khalil Gibran to Mary Elizabeth Haskell, 1912 (they have a unique relationship from everyone else. Intimate and platonic.)

"[their whole friendship was] a continued intercourse.” 

- Khalil Gibran to Mary Elizabeth Haskell when she offered to have sex with him, recorded in her diary. Their platonic relationship was as important to him as he assumed sex must be.

(image description: a sculpture/monument of Gibran in his home town of Bsharri at the museum dedicated to him. It sees some 50,000 guests a year. The royalties from his books were willed to the town. The sculpture is an enormous dark stone image of Gibran's face in a rough hewn pillar it set up against a hillside. End ID)