#this is the most political i get but i care much

[forgot-my-line]

By actively making posts that put people down and make a public space feel unsafe, unwelcoming or not open/accepting of someone, you are doing the exact same things they are. If it's bad when they do it, it's bad when you do it. It's not a one-way street. You are being just as bad as they are.

I completely agree that we don't owe them Respect. They didn't show us any. I do, though, wholeheartedly believe that there isn't a single person ever who doesn't deserve basic human decency. That includes feeling safe in spaces that are open to literally any and everyone. And yea sure, most aren't helping, but what about the ones who are at least trying? what about the trump voters who are donating to trans health donation centers? or the trump voters who didn't get a say (for personal safety or other reasons) or were spoonfed misinformation, who are trying to right things now? Do they not count for something?

I'm also not saying we have to coddle anyone. I'm saying if we could stop making public spaces unsafe for some people, regardless if you like, love, hate or despise them, that would be just peachy. These spaces are where some people go to escape other oppressive forces, don't add to the list of people they have to avoid. Actually, in fact, don't coddle them. That won't help. What won't help either though, is isolating them. If we isolate people, we do the same thing as the people you are so against. You are being just as bad as they are.

Not every person who voted againt Harris is a bad person. I apoligize if this fact is upsetting to you. Some trump voters, as touched on ealier, weren't in a position where they could vote how they wanted to. I am well aware that this is a very hard subject to come to terms with. Not everyone has to see things like abuse or manipulation first hand but that doesn't mean it isn't a real thing that actively affects choices and decisions. Sometimes the only thing they could do to avoid voting for Trump, was to withhold from voting or vote third party. They didn't get a choice so why make them feel worse about it.

It's been made more than clear that these are the consequences of what happened at the election. Not only has it been spelt out for everone, their dead grandma, and their pet fish, but it's been spoonfed to each and every one of them. Repeating the same things over and over and over again only make people sick of listening to you. They'll see and hear how upset you and everyone are regardless

As for standing up for what's important to me, Unity has to be pretty high on my list. Sorry if my standing behind that ideal upsets you. Change isn't gonna happen if you stand alone, acting as if the entire world is against you. Rome wasn't built by a single person, just as it wasn't built in a single day. You need to have people in your corner.

As you said, Change doesn't magically happen. People work for each and every change that has happened, big or small. Shaming and tearing people down doesn't have to be a part of that work. I'm not saying shaming people won't get the results you so desperately want, I'm saying that there are much better ways of getting people to realize they are wrong and/or need to change than making public spaces an unsafe space to be and to make people feel worse about themselves than they already do.

It wasn't just this particular post that was the issue, but the fact that no matter how many political opinions and posts I ignored completely and scrolled past, posts like these still showed up on my dash. My passion is my compassion and ability to care for everyone. I'd much rather live in a world where every single living thing feels safe, at least in my presence, than getting into silly arguments with random strangers on Tumblr dot com. Responses like these are not only condescending, they actively miss the entire point I was making.

[unknown-cold]

In this interview Amanda said something that caught my attention. Do you think that in ep 8 Caitlyn will talk about what Jinx did to her when she kidnapped her? Bc Amanda said that in ep8 there's a Caitlyn line that will make us say "Oh so that's why"

Amanda means this line that Cait is going to say will let us know why she was so mad at Jinx in ep 3 and how Caitlyn went completely blind when she saw Jinx in her target and bc of her anger and also her fear and terror of Jinx, Cait has completely lost control of herself in this moment. (there is someone who made a post on this topic @loycos and talked about what happened to Cait in ep3 and how Cait didn't see Vi or Isha in front of her bc of her anger and her deeply terrified of Jinx) I mean look at her eyes and the expression on her face, yes she looks angry but she is also terrified.

This is a natural reaction. I mean for example, imagine that you see something that scares you so much. There are two reactions, either flight or fight, and these reactions always come without a person thinking. At this moment the person is only thinking about getting rid of the thing that scares him, and he does not focus on what is around him bc these strong feelings control him.

Anyway, what makes me sure that this scene might happen in ep 8 (Caitlyn talking about what happened to her when Jinx kidnapped her) is Reed Shannon (Ekko VA) comment when he saw the drawing and said "I thought this was a leak" Reed might be joking as usually, but why this particular drawing and why he chose this word "leak".

But honestly if this scene actually happened and we knew what happened to Caitlyn, it would make us understand more why she was so angry and scared of Jinx when she saw her in front of her and it would also explain why she literally went blind and didn't see anything around her at that moment, neither the child nor Vi, all Cait saw was Jinx, she just wants to bring down Jinx. I mean look at these pictures she is so terrified of her

Again Caitlyn's insistence on killing Jinx in the scene in ep 3 was not only motivated by revenge on Jinx, but also out of fear and terror of her.

And not like those idiots who say that Caitlyn wanted to kill the child on purpose to get to Jinx or even say that she wanted to kill Vi too, or bc she's a cop and the cops kill children and blah blah... That's really ridiculous and annoying!! Bc if we focus a little bit on the period that Caitlyn went through we will see that Cait didn't have time to process all these things that happened to her, from the torture that happened to her when Jinx kidnapped her, then the killing of her mother, then the attack on the memorial ceremony. (I know that Jinx is not the reason, but from Caitlyn's perspective she thinks that Jinx and the Silco followers are the reason)

And in the end I hope that no one comes who doesn't like the post bc I am defending Caitlyn's character. If you don't like this character I don't care, there is no need for you to write a stupid comments. Please don't tire your little fingers if you don't like my post block me this is better for you and me. I will not waste my time responding to you, I will delete your comment and block you immediately.

I am a student at the Faculty of Psychology, and when I talk about trauma and the interpretation of human behavior and reactions, I know well what I am talking about. Bc most of the characters' reactions in this show are very realistic and need to explanation, writers do not want to explain everything in the show, they want viewers to occupy their mind and explain the events themselves (And I still repeat the point that the show focuses on the development and complexity of the characters more than anything else, and does not focus on solving political issues, the show is not about politics, okay)

And btw some people ask me about my opinion of Jinx's character, I have no problem with her character at all, I like her and I understand her condition, when I criticize her actions, it doesn't mean I hate her.

One day I may do a post about her character development and her condition, but I see that there are many posts about her and her actions, and I feel like I won't say anything new about her. Unlike the rest of the characters like Vi and Caitlyn, there are not many people talking about them. And maybe I will make a Viktor post bc I really like the development of his character. When the show ends, maybe I will.

[lily-onher-grave]

okay okay okay thoughts/excited ramblings about the wicked movie under the cut bc i've seen it and now i'm insane about it again

let's be real it's kinda hard to fumble the opening number of a musical especially when that opening number is no one mourns the wicked and yet i was still absolutely blown away it was SO GOOD

the lil munchkins running, the singing in the streets, the posters of the witch (side note all the artwork was insanely good and just added so much to the style of oz i feel like) it was all so awesome

NOMTW becomes so sinister and they nailed it

obligatory emotional babbling about glinda standing alone in the crowd as everyone sings 'the wicked's lives are lonely'

before i left for the theater i was like 'take your bets on if i'll cry' and my roommate and i agreed that yeah obviously i would. but what i didn't expect is for ariana's sad face to knock me out in five minutes flat. i was done for

the effigy. holy shit. and handing the torch to glinda. i want to go see the whole thing again just so i can rewatch that scene. my heart still hurts

(also nanny! sort of not really. but i liked the childhood scenes i liked that elphaba had one (1) good thing in her life before shiz)

SHIZ okay shiz honestly shiz was the thing i was most excited for bc c'mon, we don't write about our gothic magic school all the time in fic for nothing. and honestly it was so good. the shots of the whole castle! the library design! the balcony moments and the stairways and just like the layers of architecture and the way morrible could kind of be anywhere at any time. the way it felt so grand and yet so small at the same time. idk man the vibes were good and the set was beautiful

glinda arriving by boat was magical that's all

the way everything dillamond had was tailored to him was fantastic it was so good

actually i want to shout out the library set design again and how it tied into the clockwork theme that never gets fully called out even in the musical but it's still so good

where's my time dragon clock tho

also back up the scene where elphaba loses her temper in the courtyard--when she breaks the relief of the wizard, there's old artwork of Animals behind it and i gasped out loud when i saw it

and that was the first moment i thought 'this is brilliant but i still want an hbo dark fantasy political drama tv show based on the book'

speaking of the dark fantasy political drama tv shows, the Animal meeting!! i'm so glad they put more stuff like that in there

actually as a whole the movie felt more grounded and less comedic than the musical. i think they did a fantastic job of keeping the magic and silliness and charm and wonder of the show while still adding those extra bits of drama and dire circumstances

anyway gelphie fic prank wars trope is officially canon great work everybody handshakes all around. i was cackling (silently. i promise i'm a respectful moviegoer)

the ozdust ballroom being illegal makes so much sense. it being underwater was fucking cool. boq and nessa were actually really great and i usually don't care about them at all during this scene

also i love love love nessa and i cannot wait to see more of her. but showing her multiple times on the sidelines when elphie was being humiliated was such a good choice. the tension between nessa obviously caring for her sister yet always caring for herself more is so delicious and i always want to see it fleshed out more, and i think they did such a good job with her? her and elphaba have sweet moments which i love, and her wanting to be independent and only elphaba really understanding that is so so good. and having her just watching elphaba for so long before finally saying she can't watch. god i can't wait to see her be desperate and selfish and cold in act 2, it's gonna be so good

side note boq also looking upset by elphie being bullied. i miss my brotp man

but let's talk about what's most important: the gelphie dance. because oh my god i started crying all over again. so did elphaba. and glinda wiping her tears i'm dying i've died oh my god

i always get a little bit surprised when glinda seems more head over heels than elphaba. idk why. but ariana's glinda is absolutely more head over heels than cynthia's elphaba and i loved it

(they just. freaking LEFT the party. just zipped out of there as soon as they hugged. glinda was like hmmm i just realized some things and grabbed elphaba's hand and ran off while the night was young. and fiyero stared after them knowing that he stood no chance whatsoever)

also i'm like 72% sure the guys sitting next to me were a couple? and they both cried during the gelphie dance too and it was a very unexpected but very funny moment of solidarity

i say ariana's glinda is more head over heels and i stand by it but elphaba's fond little smile when glinda was pouting about sharing secrets almost made me start sobbing again they're so GOOD they're so CUTE and she is SO heart eyes for glinda immediately!!!

i need to be sedated i swear

popular was adorable 10/10 no notes absolutely nailed it i loved every second

also glinda sitting next to elphaba in class now. my heart <3

after dillamond gets hauled away (again with this being more violent and dark and those moments of drama coming through more in the movie i loveeee) glinda doesn't sit down until elphaba does

also they had several little moments of elphaba looking to glinda and glinda either shaking her head or nodding. they've been friends for 2 days and they're already having silent conversations i love them <3

the poppy spell? was sick as hell????

another seeing of wicked, another complete sense of bafflement as to why fiyero is there

i say this jokingly but the fiyero and elphaba romance really does feel like a product of the early 2000s especially now that it's on screen rather than on stage. idk maybe that's just the lesbian in me talking though

the train design is also sick but we knew that from the trailers

okay look logically yes i knew idina and kristin would have cameos. but i'd been crying on and off and one short day's magic had already taken hold so they caught me completely off guard. it was great

the wizard stuff was really sweet. and while i was hoping for more time put toward shiz and stuff, i do think those moments did a great job of 1) showing how much elphaba just wants to be loved 2) foreshadowing the wizard being her father and 3) laying the groundwork for her briefly considering working with the wizard in act 2, which is a decision that never quiteee feels right in the show

i love that they put more lore into the grimmerie btw. very cool

the hot air balloon was random but fun. i wonder if it'll come up again in act 2

every time. every damn time glinda starts singing in defying gravity i just want someone to end it right there. glinda grabs the broom, it fades to black, and they both lived happily ever after

fuck

defying gravity taking place at sunset because it's at the end of their one short day of happiness

also UM morrible coming up and hugging glinda when she's crying. exquisite emotional manipulation i'm screaming

elphie! seeing! her! inner! child! i loved the baby elphie scenes even though i prefer creepy 'horrors' elphaba always. but seeing her come back was sooooo fucking good

elphaba only ever relying on herself, in the end

glinda's final 'i hope you're happy' took me out, as it always does, as it always should. and reaching out from the balcony? i'm sobbing again

morrible dragging glinda into the darkness while elphaba flies into the sun! someone fucking help me i'm already wrecked by these two

honestly my biggest complaint is that now i have to wait for part two, i want to see the rest nowwwww

[vigilskeep]

Would love to hear about some of your attempts on your surana's life

i love minerva surana to pieces and i have always been trying to get rid of her because she is the most narratively inconvenient woman alive. she is extremely powerful, both magically and politically, and not only fond of getting involved in everyone’s business even if it has nothing to do with her, but highly personally invested in most of the major political struggles in the following decades after her victory

i’ve gone back to poring over an old favourite where during the height of about-to-burst mage templar tensions, an attempt on alistair’s life forces her to visibly use blood magic in front of the gathered nobles & chantry higher-ups of ferelden. she could use her connections and warden immunity to get away with it, but that would mean kinloch hold takes the fall for the templars’ renewed ire. instead, she agrees to tranquillity. she would do it with the hope that her gift for strategy would continue to be useful to the wardens, only for what i have always known to be true about her character—that despite how little she sometimes pretends to feel, she would be nothing, listless and useless and never pushing her mind to its great achievements, without how much she cares—to come true. and she would see no point in dragging it out under those circumstances, and have made her wishes clear

i remember writing a shoddy attempt at an in-world codex entry about it and concluding with something like “six months after being made tranquil, surana was assassinated by her own husband, the former antivan crow zevran arainai. both the wardens and the fereldan crown refused to report on their pursuit of the matter.” and feeling very sick about it. in this theoretical setup it’s a martyrdom that helps instigate the rebellion

i’ve made other attempts. for example i think it would’ve fucked if she was at the conclave. (oh she could take some of divine justinia’s place narratively...... hold on i’m onto something here.) i’m yet to truly be convinced by any of this however

[zaczenemiji]

Tabito Karasu Headcannons

where reader is a hyper-independent eldest daughter of an Asian household who also happens to be the student council president

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

These HCs are based on my 5-chapter-long Tabito Karasu x Reader on AO3. I highly recommend reading that too as it contains all the emotions, details, and the full story.

✧ "What can I say? I've got a talent for winning,” he says whenever someone asks how he scored the student council president.

✧ After training, he’d go back to school to fetch you whenever you stay behind to finish your student council duties.

✧ Always insists on helping you—he doesn’t stop at the polite offer or the half-hearted “Let me know if you need anything.”

✧ He simply did things for you, without question, without hesitation, and without making you feel like you owed him anything in return.

✧ Brings you food at the student council room whenever you’re so caught up in work that you didn’t notice it was well past lunch.

✧ Then he would sit across from you as if it were the most natural thing in the world to keep you company.

✧ The list goes on: Karasu helps you review for exams, reminding you to take breaks when you were clearly overworking yourself, or simply showing up when you least expected it.

✧ He would take on tasks you stubbornly refused to delegate, even if it meant showing up early or staying late himself.

✧ But he doesn’t try to take over or do things for you that you could handle yourself. He simply… supported you.

✧ Hates seeing you put everyone else’s needs above your own. And he hates how no one seemed to notice—how no one insisted you take care of yourself.

✧ Wants to be the one you relied on—the one you turned to when the world felt heavy.

✧ He cares for you in ways no one else ever had—quietly steps in when you needed it most, without taking away the independence you valued so deeply.

✧ Karasu always finds excuses to stay with you a little longer together.

✧ NEVER lets you walk home alone. He listens to you talk about your day as carries your bag without asking.

✧ 24/7 tells you you’re beautiful—all the time, followed by a kiss—on your forehead, cheeks, lips, anywhere his lips could touch you.

✧ Whenever he hugs you, he’d hold you tight as if to make the moment last forever.

✧ To say that your family loves him is an understatement. He quickly became a part of it in ways that surprised even you.

✧ He’d play soccer with your younger brother and would lift your little sister onto his shoulders and swing her around until she was giggling uncontrollably.

✧ Sometimes when your schedule gets hectic, he’d offer to be the one to fetch your younger siblings on your behalf and they would end up picking you up instead.

✧ Always brags about you in front of his family. So when you first came over to his house, you were referred to as the girl he can’t stop talking about.

✧ He’s definitely a girlfriend’s boy—“Sorry, I’ve got plans with my girlfriend,” he’d say, unapologetic to his friends, choosing to spend his free time with you.

✧ His possessiveness came out in subtle ways—a hand on your back, an arm slung over your shoulder, or fingers intertwined with yours. He wanted everyone to know you were his.

✧ “Let them stare,” he’d say, smirking.

✧ Loves you so much—you are everything to him.

✧ So if he loses at soccer, if he doesn’t become the greatest striker in the world—it’s fine. Because he has you.

✧ That was his real goal. You were his greatest win.

@mianbaobaoo @thetwinkims @arlecchinoftl @karasuglazer @axjisai @egoistlino

[elefishwrites]

Hello! Could I possibly ask for general (platonic) Cosmo headcanons?

- 🪻anon

omg yes you may!!

first platonic req AND first emoji anon?? already?? AND it's for cosmo!! man you have no idea how happy that makes me!!

enjoyyy~☆

"made with love!" ★ platonic cosmo x gn reader hcs

pairing ❥ cosmo & reader (dandy's world)

relationship ❥ platonic

reader's gender is not mentioned!

dividers made by me ⊹₊⟡⋆

☆ Cosmo is genuinely one of THE sweetest individuals you will ever meet

☆ He's a bit shy at first, but as long as you're nice to him and you give him time he'll warm up to you!

☆ He probably gives you some of the stuff he bakes if it wasn't made with anyone in mind!

☆ Likewise, he probably asks you to taste test new recipes! Politely of course, and he's always understanding if you decline!

☆ If you also bake—Great! It's his favourite hobby, so that's another thing for you two to do together!!

☆ Aside from baking, I can also see him enjoying making bead jewelry and charm bracelets and the like, so you might also recieve cute bracelets or necklaces on occasion!

☆ If you two are close enough, he might even ask if you want to make friendship bracelets for each other!!

☆ If you accept, he'll cherish whatever you make for him, no matter how it looks, and you'll probably see him wearing it along with the one Sprout made for him

☆ Speaking of Sprout, you'll probably end up being acquainted with him one way or another. Those two are pretty much inseperable, so there's no way you aren't meeting him at least once

☆ If you get along well, congrats! You're a trio now!

☆ Also speaking of Sprout, another perk of being close with Cosmo is occasionally getting to hear about the crazy shenanigans the two get into

☆ But it almost always starts off as some offhanded comment related to whatever you two are doing at the moment, like it's just the most normal thing in the world to him, which has resulted in a number of double takes on your end.

☆ Like... Say you two are in the kitchen, and something catches fire. While attempting to calm you down as he goes to help you put it out, he might say something like, "Don't worry-! We can deal with this, I've put out much bigger fires...!"

☆ Which, if questioned, then becomes a recounting of the time he and Sprout nearly burnt down the entire kitchen while trying out a new recipe.

☆ Overall, though, Cosmo is one of the sweetest, most kind and caring toons you could've befriended! Treat him kindly, and you'll have a friend for life!

You held your hands behind your back as you entered the toon rooms' kitchen, welcomed in by the enticing scent of sweets in the oven.

Cosmo was sat at one of the tables, fidgeting with something in his lap. He held a pensive expression, seemingly unaware of your approach.

You called out to him, causing him to jolt, head swiveling in your direction.

"Oh- Hi, [Name]." He greeted you with a little smile and a warm voice. "What's that you have behind your back...?"

You got a bit closer, grinning widely as you presented him with a bracelet—More specifically, the friendship bracelet you had made for him.

His eyes lit up, taking it gingerly out of your hands before excitedly examining it. "Is this-?"

You confirmed it as such, accompanied by a nod.

He looked back up at you, his gaze filled with stars. "[Name], this is... Perfect! I love it, thank you!"

He slipped it onto his wrist right away, taking a moment to admire it, before quickly speaking again. "Oh, I have something to give you, too...!"

He revealed what he had been fidgeting with before—Surprise! It was your half of the friendship bracelet exchange!

Now it was your turn to be excited, taking it out of his hands and looking it over. The beads were arranged in a pattern of your favourite colours, the only deviation being one half of a silver heart charm.

You thanked him, slipping it on and immediately leaning down to pull him into an embrace. He froze for a moment, before you felt his arms wrap around you in return, enveloping you in a comforting warmth.

As you two sit there, wrapped in a hug, you know with all certainty that you are loved, and so does he.

You hope this friendship will last forever.

[mariacallous]

Since the conversation, if you can call it that, about trans people always seems to come down to bathrooms, I am sure of one thing.

I would much rather share a ladies’ room or a locker room with Sarah McBride than with Nancy Mace.

McBride, of course, was just elected to Congress and, in January, will be the highest-ranking elected official in America who is transgender. The 34-year-old comes to the US House of Representatives after serving in the Delaware legislature; before that, she was the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign.

Mace, a member of Congress from South Carolina since 2021, has been on an ugly campaign in recent weeks clearly intended to belittle and marginalize McBride – and to get on TV as much as possible doing so. She has filed a resolution, and the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has given it his nod of approval, that would somehow force trans people to keep out of the congressional bathrooms that reflect their gender identity.

“If you think this bill is about protecting women and not simply a ploy to get on Fox News, you’ve been fooled,” wrote Natalie Johnson, Mace’s former communications director. She added, pointedly, that a real effort to protect women would involve “a bill to bar Matt Gaetz, a sexual predator with an affinity for underage girls, from ever walking those halls again”. (Trump, as you know, tapped the far-right former Florida representative as his attorney general as part of this month’s parade of appalling cabinet choices. Gaetz later withdrew from consideration.)

On Wednesday, McBride reacted with dignity to all the performative insults and abuse. She simply responded that she would follow the rules and that she’s in Congress to represent her Delaware district; I’m sure she’ll eventually find ways to continue her admirable advocacy.

Mace, on the other hand, can’t be described as dignified. She’s running around pasting the word “biological” on restroom doors for photo ops, and snidely tweeting in McBride’s direction about International Men’s Day.

And she’s getting plenty of the media attention she craves.

On one level, this is all part of the unending circus of the Trump era.

On a human level, it’s scary, wrong and damaging.

“As a trans person myself, I’m really worried about where this is headed,” wrote Parker Molloy, who writes incisively about politics and media in her newsletter the Present Age. “I spend each day worrying about whether or not the healthcare that keeps me alive will remain legal, whether I’m going to face new restrictions on where I’m allowed to exist in public, what would happen to me if (god forbid) I wound up in prison for some reason, and whether or not my identity documents like my passport will be retroactively made invalid.”

She added poignantly: “Now, more than ever, I feel alone.”

Trans students may have it even worse. Again, it often comes down to bathrooms.

A lot of children, especially transgender and gender-nonconforming children, avoid bathrooms all day, since that’s where the bullying can be most intense. Thus, advocates say, trans kids often are prone to urinary tract infections or eating disorders because they’ve avoided eating and drinking.

As for the right’s obsession with trans students on sports team, the vast majority have no unfair advantage on the playing fields (or courts, or pools). They are just trying to reap the same benefits of sports as do other kids – leadership, teamwork and friendship.

The meanspirited and misinformed narrative about transgender people makes it difficult for them to feel cared about and to live full lives.

But don’t try to tell that to Mace, whose preoccupation is not with kindness or decency, but with getting attention and winning the culture wars.

As the Daily Beast reported last year, Mace’s staffers were given a handbook that outlined just how intensely this mattered to their boss; they were told to book her on TV multiple times a day, amounting to nine times a week for national outlets and six times a week for local outlets.

In 2021, Mace depicted herself as supportive of LGBTQ+ rights. That was before the tide turned so forcefully and, as Philip Bump of the Washington Post put it, before “the Republican base had been fed a steady diet of anti-trans rhetoric, making trans issues fertile ground for anyone willing to engage in the fight”.

Mace, clearly, is more than willing.

If that means being cruel, then so be it. As writer Adam Serwer observed about Trumpian politics: “The cruelty is the point.”

Meanwhile, vulnerable and marginalized people are made to suffer for trying to be true to themselves. And despite the progress shown by McBride’s election, the world around this milestone seems to be getting increasingly harsh.

[carovingian]

I debated writing this here or starting a new thread, but I think the folks who’d need it are here, so I’m gonna take a crack at something.

I really love men. I seek out mostly male spaces. I like that my work is full of nice thoughtful guys who are excited to make something clever and useful. I like that my personal life is fill of horny creative guys.

I loved the guys in my college fiancé’s marching band fraternity. They helped me feel better when the band sorority didn’t want me.

I worry about guys, because I’ve seen how they default to sharing their strengths most of the time. I’ve been in a politeness standoff with a heavily breathing 80 year old man over who would sit in the last open chair because I was pregnant at the time, and a lot of guys are Like That. They’ll give you their last crumb, it’s a labor worth doing to make sure they remember to rest.

I confess; I’ve been annoyed by what gets called mansplaining exactly twice. But the vast majority of the time I think it’s just an example of what I said before- guys will give you anything they think is their strength, it’s a reflex. It’s okay that they’re wrong sometimes, because it’s honestly a very good and kind impulse. I love that men will share what they know.

I love guys that rough house. I love guys that grew up big and are slow and careful with it. I love guys my exact (short) height because they’re guys and it’s interesting to see how our frames and experiences differ and how they don’t. I love every tall guy who cheerfully grabbed something high up for me.

I think facial hair is so so neat. I think baldness is a great look but I’m sad guys don’t really get to choose it. I love the way guys put on muscle. And don’t get me started but I really really love cock.

*ahem*

On a different note, I love my uncles. It was really fun to sing with them at the family reunion, and see my Uncle Lloyd sweep the Timeline tournament. I love how he’s my half Uncle, but my grandfather adopted him. I really hate that I never met my grandfather, but I love how my father has been doing careful cardio his whole life because he wanted to keep us from feeling how he felt when his Dad died of a heart attack. I love how much research goes into heart health.

I love guys, many specific guys, and most kinds of guy I’ve met. And I hope hearing about it helps a bit. It’s not a big structural change, but it’s a thing I could do this morning, and I hope it helps.

Leaving toxic masculinity behind as a source of community is pretty much an unmitigated good, especially for men who are chronically underperforming in one or more metric by which hegemonic patriarchal status is measured (heterosexuality, whiteness, ability to perform violence, ect.). No real external spur is needed for leaving. It doesn't even require empathy. Just perspective. Relying on an abusive pyramid scheme for self worth is bad, actually.

But when you leave that, I dunno, call me a whiny incel who expects emotional labour from others, it would be cool if there was some sort of community or support structure in place for progressive men to find celebration and identity and acceptance. It would be nice if we had cultural conceptions of positive masculinity that could be emulated instead of individual, exceptional, disposable blorbos to be fawned over. It would be nice if being masculine wasn't viewed as something that negates or problematises my queerness. It would be nice to even be able to find media about masculinity that isn't poisoned by fascism or more interested in dunking on said misogynists for clout. I feel like I'm trying to build something new from scratch. Why? Why is this such a fucking wasteland.

I don't know about y'all, but I have never felt understood and accepted by any community ever in my fucking life. I have never felt seen. I have never felt at home. I'm not gonna become a misogynist about it but there sure isn't anything positive to lean on or collective vision for a positive future to fucking strive for, is there? Christ.

And like, because I know I do have to end with this, before you try some faux-hopecore bullshit on me that actually seeks to shift the blame right back onto me, I'm already donating to and planning to volunteer for my local left wing party for our upcoming federal election. I already signed up for more classes to fill my time, I'm married, I text my stupid friends who bail on me and don't text back. I have been to therapy several times. I have already poured hundreds of hours trying to build community in male feminist spaces online. Systemic issues do not magically become individual failings when we talk about men.

[melaniepilled]

the storyline is brilliant. (most) characters are well-developed. the animation is gorgeous. the soundtrack, though a bit on the nose, is pretty cool. HOWEVER:

what's with the copaganda? like come on, lesbian cop? all those corny scenes trying to make the viewer empathise with this cop or that cop? i dont need to see the poor fate of a cop's daughter to know cops are human beings with loved ones. that's nowhere near the point. it's disrespectful as hell to pair scenes of, idk, a cop's suffering with a zaunite's suffering to be like: we're all the same, guys! no, you're not 😭

all that shit with marcus was so annoying like they want us to think he had some noble motive for his corruption. lmao? like, sure, at the end his kid's life was threatened by silco but what about before those five minutes? didn't he team up with silco of his own accord for YEARS?

idk, man, i think the showmakers could've made the point of "silco threatened this cop into doing this woo scary" without all that corny sad music and 1000 scenes of poor helpless enforcer marcus. I DON'T CARE omfg.

now back to the lesbian cop. GIRL was that necessary? seriously, the best queer rep you can imagine is a female cop? argh. ew. be for real.

any way, who even is caitlyn kirraman? noble girl felt caged by noble expectations blah blah blah overused trope blah blah. she wanted to 'see' the real world and the best she could do was join the Brutal Oppression Force to get some hands-on action in harming the real world? huh?

on one hand, i can believe an almost-princess wouldn't know the reality of this oppression but man. come on. it's so cliche. sheltered rich kid joins a police or police-adjacent service with pure intentions only to learn the service is only at the disposal of the elite? jeez, never heard that one before.

AND she could have been mildly tolerated is she wasn't so intent on throwing her power and status around. and for what? pumping the undercity with toxic gas to faciliate her witch hunt?

annoying. negative rizz. could have done way better. every time caitlyn kirraman appears on screen i have to stifle a groan of frustration.

and what's with the uniform? the rest of the character designs were so good you can almost forget it's arcane League of Legends and then there's ... this.

anyways, i want to complain about one more character before i can move on to other things.

this mf. he's so blank. no personality. switches his motives every episode. i don't even think he's meant to be a real character. what's his deal? characterless mf sorry i dont even have anything to say forget it

overall, the way arcane tries to equate the harm done by this or that zaunite to the harm done by topside is ... suspicious, to say the least. i DO think zaunites have a right to take up arms against topside and i feel no sympathy for poor helpless enforcers or noble councillors. womp womp

anyhoo. on to the good shit. arcane is like 20% action and 80% political intrigue and if i had known that i would have watched it ages ago. nevertheless, all the side characters and sub-plots are highly entertaining and if not for them arcane would be nothing.

characters i liked!

jinx and vi are ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ that's sisterhood for ya.

viktor my man. he was sexier when he was dying.

ekko my cutie patootie

silco is a weirdo and an edgelord that being said he is pretty interesting

sevika. so hot. answer my calls sevika please

let's talk about my fav girl now

MEL MEDARDA. soft-hearted girlboss fighting her warmongering mother. do i think she's selfish and does not care about her 'people' as much as she says? yes. but she does have principles. also, i have no idea what her sub-plot is going to lead to. it's cool. she's cool. love to see a beautiful girl suffer xoxo

that's all i will say for now. this post is already super duper long. i havent even talked about jinx and vi. meow. bbye.

[canmom]

you must have this many dead friends to ride

it's TDOR (well, it was). unable to sleep, i read through all the deaths reported in the 2022-23 trans murder report (a year out of date, I don't think they've released this year's one yet.)

I'm not quite sure why i felt i should do this. if it's a gesture for the victims... well, if someone murders me one day, i don't think it will mean much one way or another if someone in faraway country reads a brief two sentence report that a 30-35 year old trans woman with 'other' occupation was found tied up with burn marks or something. nevertheless, it is the time of year for this ritual.

most of the deaths are reported in central and south american countries, largely due to reporting bias, though there's more reporting now from countries like India and Pakistan - almost nothing from east asia though, probably due to language barriers. it's hard to draw much of a conclusion about anything since many of the reports don't say much, the stats are subject to extreme sampling bias, etc etc. but the general types of story are: "her partner murdered her", "she was killed by gunmen on the street/in her house", "there was an argument and the other person decided to kill her over it", "the mob killed her for extortion reasons", 'her body was found in some awful condition", "the cops killed her" (including Tortugita, who they shot 57 times at the 'cop city' protest), and of course good old "explicitly anti trans hate crime" (which covers Brianna Ghey, the one death from my country, and several from the US).

my murdered sisters are in most cases very young. younger than me.

the statistician in my brain wants me to acknowledge that i don't know the degree that trans women are specifically subject to murder for being trans women or by abusive partners etc, and how much it's "just" about being poor and racialised and living in a place where paramilitaries, gangs etc routinely murder people. sex work is a dangerous line of work for many reasons, but it's also going to be the case that a lot of us are sex workers so even if we were all equally likely to be murdered, a huge number of the dead would be sex workers, just as many of them were beauticians.

but honestly, even bearing that in mind, a whole lot of sex workers were killed.

there is something particularly ghoulish in talking so drily about death statistics; the website uses the painful phrase 'concerning trend' in regards to the demographics of people killed (overwhelmingly trans women, sex workers and not white), as if a perfectly proportional series of murders would be less 'concerning' somehow, but what exactly are you supposed to say? it is of course a window into who a society is comfortable getting rid of, but we already knew that. there's a reason that a sex worker is the go-to plot-inciting murder victim in fiction.

collating death reports like this... in part it is done as a matter of political advocacy, saying 'look, we are being murdered by the hundreds [multiplied by some nebulous but significant underreporting factor]'. but of course, if that's our goal, we are holding our deaths up against, for example, the tens of, likely hundreds of thousands of people killed by violence in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine in the last year - events which have already divided the world into people who can't stop it, and people who can but don't care to. and what do we want done about it? to beg the state to come down and apply its monopoly on violence more stringently? often the police are the ones killing trans women.

so what remains is ritual. we light candles, and read out the names of strangers who nevertheless have this one important thing in common with us, the ~global community~ of trannies and such - this was a person who refused to take the awful role they were given, asserted their own will to change their body, managed to live a life at least partly on their own terms, and then got killed over it.

but we don't have time to tell the life story, no time to describe the mess of relationships and aspirations that drive a life; there is no time to imagine what feelings we shared, what they enjoyed, what stories we might have laughed about if we'd known each other...

we have time for 'found dead in a car'.

if that.

in my country, we face a very different threat distribution - i don't really expect anyone i know to get murdered (though it's not impossible, there are people I'm close to who have been viciously attacked and there was little to do to stop the attacker coming back), but I'm sure Fall won't be the last of my friends to die by suicide. if we are 'fighting like hell for the living', our project here is more about trying to build lives that are worth living for, and weathering whatever fashy deluge is coming down the political pipes. what does fighting like hell even mean here? i think i used to think i knew.

but this night at least, I'm remembering my friend Fall, who we lost back in 2022. I made this page about her, and the feelings that came up from her death, with writing from friends who knew her better than me. I'd be grateful if you read it and helped some part of her memory live on. (apparently they wrote a little memorial for her in the recent translation of Shōnen Note: Boy Soprano which she worked on.)

I never got to ask what Fall thought of all these TDoR rituals - it's one of many things I didn't get to talk to her about and I bet she'd give me something unexpected to think about, formed some ingenious connection. or maybe she didn't think much of it! but it's as good a reason to think of her as any. she was awesome, she should have been given a much better hand by this world, and it is more shit for not having her in it.

I bet the friends of any of the 321 people on that list, and everyone on this year's list, would be able to say something pretty similar.

entropy always gets its way. but I'll hold onto what I can of her, my fragment of her ghost, for as long as we can. i guess that's the point of the ritual. hold onto our ghosts. tell each other that, one day, they'll stop accumulating so fast.

[kitkatcadillac]

i have not gotten all the way through the hbomberguy video yet or anything im just a little more than halfway through but since i dont know how to talk about anything else ill say this is only a microdetail brought to mind by his mentioning of some of somertons plagiarism and using being gay(as a marginalized group) as a selling point and defense

but that it is so fucking twisted to claim to be a queer rights activist and supporter and then steal a trans asians article, written from and about the pov of a trans asian person, to remove so much of the personal trans experience and input so often "lgbtq"

like not to tinfoil hat on you but i think theres this thing thats been going on for years thats had its ups! and its had its downs. but that is ultimately, that "lgbtq" has been pushed into being marketable but in this really fucked up way wherein its like... if its gay, great! if its lgbtq, fantastic! but you get into LITERALLY!!!! any other labels that are considered "othering" (see: less marketable) it gets dicey.

like. look me in the eyes. i know, and you know, that he did that in part because he was trying to hide, well, plagiarism. but he isnt the only one that sees unique queer identities and their experiences and knows if he just packages it up pretty... if he makes himself sound smart, and if he blankets it over to "lgbtq" its more marketable.

listen. im not saying you should not ever love lgbtq or queer as blanket terms. but by referring to every singularly, uniquely queer experience as lgbtq, as queer, when it defines itself as something more specific, it ends up having a smear effect of erasure.

i think unfortunately the nature of marketability is competition, and it just sucks that that makes stupid football teams out of everything. if theres a market for it theyre gonna start a fight about it. dems vs reps, queers vs straights, gays vs trans. its very easy to want to turn everything into a fight, into support this and ditch this, instead of actually taking the time to create like... learning opportunities. a big point in all of this shouldnt be like oh well fuck these people in particular, it should be to be careful about the information youre consuming and to do some research yourself too.

theres also a good point that im seeing so many people that are surprised and shocked about people they respected and trusted turning out to be this way and never realizing so many messed up things about the sort of messages those people have been putting out. i mean like, okay, weve all seen the you are not immune to propaganda garfield, but seriously. the transphobic rhetoric was right there. the misogyny was right there. the BLATANT misinformation about gay history and its relationship with corporate was RIGHT THERE, in a nicely packaged form with clear and agreeable speaking, nice video and audio editing, and (obviously) quotable, sharable information.

👏 be! 👏 fucking! 👏 careful! 👏 about letting someones grab on marketability trick you into making an already bleak situation worse. it is so fucking easy to get caught up in us-and-them rhetoric when that is so much the worst thing to do im begging you. do not discover your mistakes and respond to them by doubling down when you recognize that it is a mistake.

[aerithisms]

rotating the pub scene from 73 yards in my mind i think there is so much being said there about wales and welsh/english tension that is so interesting and is going so under discussed

[here-there-were-dragons]

i'm seeing three times as many people bitching in the tag about the very idea that someone might not like this breed than i see people actually expressing unambiguous dislike for this breed

[ofpd]

y'know despite the pervasiveness of modern au in les mis fandom i don't think i've ever come across a fic that has an interesting and well-executed answer to the question of what enjolras's politics would be/what he would actually be doing in a modern au

[hevs-dreamworld]

Author hevexn:

Oh boy, do I have a hyperfixation poly relationship rn. Nazseelris, Nazo, Seelkadoom, and Iris. Basically there is going to be a massive arc where they all start getting closer, and arguably more affectionate with one another, then the drama comes right after with Iris’ family.. 👀

Characters:

Nazo: “Well, me and Seelkadoom have been dating for.. Jeez, 3 years now? Tch, you’d think we’d be married with how close we are all the time now. Our relationship is rather healthy, and we really don’t have many issues with one another. I mean, even if we didn’t get paid by G.U.N for helping them in the pandemic, I’m sure we’d still be pretty healthy. I mean, we don’t have spending habits like impulse buying large purchases often, and we usually agree on the large purchases if it’s over $100,000.” (<- got paid MILLIONS by G.U.N when he and seelkadoom helped with the pandemic in 2021 with a vaccine, but no matter where the money goes, he always still has too much money to spend-)

Seelkadoom: “yep, despite us being villains, we’re actually a pretty healthy couple! We just got lucky in all areas of life, and it’s ironic how we got so far!” -smiles-

Extra question: “for the fans, would you two ever be open to a polyamorous relationship?”

Nazo: “Ehh, it depends. If we both like the same person, then sure, but if not we’d probably talk about it and see if it’s a smart idea. I mean, our stuff is pretty sacred, we don’t want someone to disrespect that.”

Seelkadoom: “wholeheartedly agree on that. We both have certain boundaries that are not to be crossed, either by each other or by our friends and family. So while we’re not against it, we are going to be a little picky on who we choose to let in.”

—————————————————————————————————————

Iris: “Me, in a relationship? Honey, I’m the Heartbreaker of Solleanna for a reason. I’m not interested in a relationship, especially if they don’t have anything I want in particular. Men are immature, don’t take care of themselves half the time, they’re mentally weak, and emotionally fragile. I mean, have you seen how many women get murdered just because she politely said no? That should be enough evidence as to why I don’t want to be in a relationship with men. Besides, I want intelligent men, cultured, wealthy, educated, good looking, and mentally strong men. However, I have yet to meet a man that holds to all my standards. If I ever do, then you better believe I’m going to make sure he stays mine. After all, men like that don’t pop up often. Why let him go so easily? Then again, all most men are good for nowadays are for money, to have babies, and filling up jobs to keep the economy running. I mean, that’s how I feel about a lot of them. If they want to make us women feel powerless and pathetic? I’ll do it back times ten honey.” -crosses her legs and sips her wine glass.-

Iris: “hm. Nazo and seelkadoom, those cuties? They’re alright. Sweet as all hell to Amy and I when we all hang out, but I don’t think I’d ever have the heart to pursue them. They’re already together, and it’s just so cute watching them. I don’t want to ruin what they have!” (<- girl’s/gay’s girl!)

————————————————————————��————————————

Mutuals and propaganda:

@hunniegl4zed @thebreadmeower @sonic-au-collision

For kinda both creators and characters?

Creators: Are there any ships in your au that show up that you really enjoy? Or any that are very important(like mc's having relationships)

Main Character(s) of the AU's: if you're in a relationship how do you feel about it? What's your relationship like?

Question for both awesome!!

[drinkingdeadpeopletea]

i think what's really getting me about kozma claiming to have blown up the moon and also claiming to "be" the breach and basically equating "breach collaborators" and "my allies" in the same speech is that. the breach operative we've known since season one, the person who "is" the breach as far the story's concerned, is saskia. and midst is saskia's HOME! she built the black candle with her own two hands (metaphorically, at the very least), she LOVES it there and she loves those people :( and if we take kozma's story at face value, she just threw the "centerpoint" (according to imelda) of her own operation entirely under the bus and endangered the lives not only of innocent people but also of a bunch of her own operatives without their knowledge just to destabilize the trust and frankly that makes me kind of hope she IS telling the truth simply because that's the kind of betrayal i find absolutely delicious,