#trans flag for her colors what a win

[pcktknife]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrffffff

[gatorbites-imagines]

Can you write jason todd with ftm reader where he defends him from transphobia in public? I need my big beefy boyfriend to beat up transphobes for me pls. Thanks and happy pride ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Jason Todd x FTM reader

Headcanons

idc what anyone says, gotham knights Jason is beautiful to me

Hallo zusammen. Happy pride. My teacher decided last second to change everything about my next exam, so ive been stressing. So to make myself feel better, here’s some Jason going to pride with his BF.

As much as Gotham is a shithole filled to the gills with crime, its got a large demographic of LGBT. Even the heroes and villains are somewhere on that spectrum, which also means none of them target the local pride parades.

But like any pride parade, there are bigots at the sidelines. Now, Gothamites don’t do stupid well, so most are sent packing before they can even start up with their usual theatrics. Are you gonna yell homophobic slurs at poison ivy? Or when Killer Croc is walking by wearing rainbow streamers?

That doesn’t mean there aren’t stupid that sticks around. They are rarely locals, since even the most hateful locals know not to be dumb enough to cause a ruckus the one place the villains and vigilantes get along and have the same goal.

Not every hero was suited up though, seeing as you and Jason were walking side by side along with everyone else. Jason was wearing a less flashy outfit, mainly because he doesn’t do bright colors too much, but your sexuality and gender were more out in the open.

At least obvious enough for some hateful person to spot that you’re trans. And since you look like an easy target, amongst Gothamites at least, they decide to focus on you with their hateful rhetoric.

Insults weren’t anything new slung around Gotham, a city where you would get called a bad nickname more than your actual name. but it was never focused on something like your gender, your sexuality, or your race. It would be something like the fact that you wore ugly shoes, or that you ate weird.

which was why it catching the attention of more than just your boyfriend when the transphobic slurs get thrown at you. Apparently, you freezing up at the slurs seem like a win to these people, as they start yelling and jeering at you even more.

 Surprisingly it isn’t Jason that throws the first punch. Its some random chick wearing a lesbian flag over her shoulders and purple ladder laced boots. Her punch seems to unleash what everyone had been holding in, not wanting to give these bigots any attention.

Jason gets his own punches in of course, specifically targeting the people that had been yelling slurs at you. And as much as you hate this city sometimes, seeing people from all across the board come together to beat up bigots seems like its as unified as Gotham is ever gonna get.

Some other people wearing pride flags or colors come to check up on you, but you are honestly too busy watching Jason throw a guy with an offensive sign across the pavement.

The other people nod approvingly at your boyfriend. Fun to think Jason, the most Gotham guy you know, gets the approval from the Gotham gays.

When Jason comes back, he’s still jittery, his blood clearly rushing from the confrontation, but a couple of kisses and thank you gets him to settle down for the most part. He ends up more colorful than he would like, being given flower crowns and different lanyards and sashes. But hearing you laugh is enough to make him put up with it.

And if you’re wondering where the heroes were? Well, they just happen to have been busy with something else, even if Red Robin had been sitting on the ledge of a building, wearing his own pride flag the entire time.

You and Jason can both tell he won’t hear the end of this when you guys get home later. At the end of the day, the hateful speech doesn’t weigh too much on you, knowing that not just Jason, but Gotham as a whole, would chew up and spit anyone out who tried it.

[melanieph321]

Gabriel Medina x Black Reader - My Heart Belongs To You

+18

I have a new crush, and it's my job to force him upon you too. 🤭🙈

Reader is in Paris trying to book another modeling gig. While there she takes her time to meet up with her long distance boyfriend Gabriel Medina, who has just secured a bronze medal in surfing at the Paris Olympics.

Enjoy!

You were late. Very late. Your heels clicked against the stone covered streets in Paris in search of a bar called La République. You had never heard of such a bar, and you knew Paris. Either way, it's where your boyfriend, Gabriel, told you to meet up with him and his friends. And by friends, he meant the entire Brazilian olympic squad.

"Y/N, you made it!"

The people in the bar, along with Gabriel, turned their heads upon your arrival. You stepped through the door, recognizing neither of the dozen faces staring back at you. Except for Rebeca Andrade. The Olympic gymnast whom you may or may not have cheered for like a maniac after witnessing her gold winning floor routine the other day. You were a big fan. The biggest. If it wasn't for your early career in modeling, you would have begged your parents to sign you up for gymnastics instead.

"Can I kiss you?" Gabriel grinned. "Or would that ruin your makeup?"

"No, it wouldn't. And It's actually the way we normally greet each other in—"

You were brought back. Gabriel catching the back of your head in his hand, tilting your body backward before planting a lingering kissing on your lips. It was swift but sweet, laced with a longing for you.

"Come on," He whispered as he pulled you back. "Let me introduce you to everyone."

Gabriel draped an arm around your shoulders, shuffling you towards the bundle of athletes having a laugh and drinking beer. "Everyone, this is Y/N, my girlfriend. Y/N, meet everyone."

You waved awkwardly. "Hi everyone."   

Despite their reassuring smiles, you couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. You were most definitely overdressed for such a gathering. La République was more or less a dive bar. Most of the athletes, including Gabriel, looked fresh off the field, wearing colorful tracksuits, sporting the Brazilian flag. You, on the other hand, wore lavish leather pants, a designer bag, and shoes to match. You had just come from a whole day of modeling castings here in Paris. And frankly, your feet were killing you. However, Gabriel insisted you'd come tonight. He was so excited to show off his bronze medal in surfing. Although he wanted nothing more than to bring home the gold, just getting to represent his home country at such a major event was truly what drove him. You really admired him for that. Really, really admired him...

"Você sabe... Gabriel não conseguia parar de falar sobre você enquanto estávamos fora." (You know... Gabriel couldn't stop talking about you while we were away.)

"Huh?"

You snapped out your mesmerized trans. You were watching Gabriel as he stood across from you in the bar, laughing with his friends over a pint of beer. A woman with bleached blonde hair appeared before you, her blue eyes regarding you curiously. You were caught fantasizing about your boyfriend.

"I'm sorry." You blushed.

"It's all good. The name is Tatiana." She offered a hand for you to shake. "I was with Gaby surfing in Tahiti."

"Of course you were. Nice to finally meet you."

"Don't mind me." She grinned and moved to stand next to you, joining the admiration of your boyfriend.

His brimming smile lit up the whole room, along with his new found tanned skin and voluminous dark locks.

"Ele é um exibicionista, não é?" (He's such a show off, isn't he?) Tatiana laughed. Her brazilian accent was thick. But not as thick as other people in the bar, some whom you failed to understand a word of what they were saying. Especially after a few drinks.

"We all wanted Gaby to win the gold. Turns out he has the real prize at home."

"He does?"

"Yeah, it's you."

"Me?"

She smiled. "Like I said, he wouldn't stop going on about you while we were staying in Tahiti. João even tells me that you guys were FaceTiming a lot. So much that he was forced to sleep outside of his and Gaby's shared hotel room one night.

"Oh." Instant heat dabbed your cheeks.

"Don't worry." Tatiana laughed. "We all love it for him. Gaby deserves to have someone like you, someone who makes him happy again. However, it's been a long time since I've seen him this happy."

It was true. Gabriel told you about the dark period in his life going through a nasty divorce with his ex-wife. After only two years of marriage.

"We all worried for Gaby during this time." Tatiana reminisced. "It really fucked him mentally, affecting the way he surfed and his motivation to even surf."

"It did?"

"Yes. Luckily he met you."

You admired her for telling you this. For telling you how happy Gabriel was with your relationship. Believe it or not, but you hadn't seen Gabriel for six months while he was preparing to go to Tahiti, where the olympic surfing events were being held. During this time, the two of you had to settle for late night FaceTime calls, while he was all the way over in Brazil and you in Portugal, where you were originally from. A tormenting time for the two of you, having just gotten used to juggling your busy careers.

Being in a long-distance relationship really didn't make things easier. Sometimes, you thought Gabriel should go for a girl more like Tatiana, a surfer. Then a girl like you, making a living traveling the world, rushing through the streets of luxurious cities just to get your face on the cover of some fashion magazine.

"Either way, I just wanted to let you know how happy Gaby was when you told him that you were coming to see him in Paris. We all had to endure an early flight from Tahiti just to shut him up. I'm still hungover from the olympic medal ceremony."

"Right, congratulations." Tatiana got silver for her performance in the women's individual surfing, making it two surfing medals for Brazil.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." She shook your hand once more. "I hope to see you soon."

The two of you were left acquainted, her kind words restoring your mood for the reminder of the night. You had a good time with Gabriel and his friends. At the end of the night, you even managed to slip Rebeca a used napkin to sign her autograph on. The expression on her face was priceless. However, you were never throwing that napkin away.

"Don't you want my autograph?" Gabriel said, seeing how you victoriously waved the napkin around the streets of Paris. He was walking you back to your hotel, your hand held tightly in his.

"No. Why would I want that?"

"Ouch." He clenching his heart with his hand. "I thought my girlfriend would be more proud to see me more than any other athlete."

"Oh, baby. Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"Jealous?" He snorted. "Of a stained napkin with some gold medalist autograph scribbled down on it?"

"Some gold medalist?"

You stopped in your tracks. Gabriel turned to you, unsuccessfully hiding the twitch of his lips. "Okay, fine...." He sighed. "Of course I'm jealous. While you were at it, you should have gotten me an autograph. I love Rebeca. She's amazing."

"Right! God, I wish I could flip in the air like she can."

"You should try."

"And break my neck during the attempt. I don't think so."

"Not on land." He laughed. "I meant in the water. Like I do with my surfboard."

"Yeah, it's still a no for me."

"I could teach you."

"How? I would die."

"Nah." He pulled your arm, tugging you towards him. "You'd be in safe hands." Gabriel wrapped his arms around your waist, craddling your body by pulling you close. Your back against his front. For a moment, you remained like that. Hugging in the street.

You stood in the middle of the Champs-Élysées boulevard. Now abandoned. The luxurious shops that decorated the streets displayed some of the world's most expensive fashion collections. From stylish haute couture to flamboyant patterned handbags. Here, you found fashion giants like Dior and Louis Vuitton. Not to mention Saint Laurent, who you hoped to hear from after today's castings. It would be a dream come true to walk in one of their fashion shows one day.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriel's lips pressed against your ear, his breath warm and welcoming.

"I really wish I could work here someday."

"Where, in Paris?"

"Mhmm."

Gabriel tilted his head regarding the manekins displayed in the window shop before you. To him, they were probably just that, manekins, wearing questionable outfits.

"You will." He whispered.

"Will what?"

"Work here some day." His face nuzzled into the crook of your neck, his lips finding your pulse. You sighed, surrendering to his soft kisses, tilting your head back against his shoulder. For a moment, you allowed his touch to distract you. To drift you away to a relm where time did not exist. Just the two of you. You and Gabriel. His rough hands roamed your body, easing their way down your stomach, his fingertips slipping under the belt of your leather pants.

"Wait!" You stiffened.

Gabriel pulled back to check on you. "What?"

"I need to get back to my hotel. I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Erm...can I come?" He chuckled.

You stared at him blankly, pushing back the panic that rose within you.

"Y/N, is everything alright?"

You shook your head. "No."

"No?"

"No."

"Well, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You're going back to Brazil the day after tomorrow, that's what's wrong." You wiggled out of Gabriel's embrace, attempting to escape from him by making your way down the boulevard.

"Y/N, wait!" Gabriel rushed to catch up with you, a troubled expression on his face.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like what I said isn't the truth."

"That I'm going back to Brazil?" He frowned. "I thought I told you that over the phone."

"Well...if you're leaving so soon, why did you even bother coming to see me at all?"

"Y/N."

"Don't..." You took a step back, avoiding Gabriel's attempt to console you. You  hugged yourself tightly, the cold night nipping at your skin. "What's even the point of this, of us? I hate having to miss you. It hurts so much."

"It hurts me too." He mumbled. "Trust me, Y/N, I want nothing but to come home to you every night. To be committed to you in every way possible. But I...can't." He lowered his head. His feet shuffling something invisible on the ground. "Trust me." The night breeze stirring his dark locks. "I would... Marry you."

"Baby?" 

Gabriel's eyes were glossy, looking up at you. His lips trembling slightly. You stepped up to him. Your hands settled on each side of his face. He shut his eyes, allowing the tears to run down his cheeks. "I want to marry you. I will marry you someday. I just need to—"

"No."

His eyes reopened. "No?"

You shook your head. "No. Marriage is not what's important to me."

"No. What is then?"

"This." You shrugged. "Being here with you in the city of love. I just hate missing you  that's all."

Gabriel made the effort to dry his tears, lowering your hands from his face. "But we're in love, aren't we?"

"Is that a trick question?" You laughed. Gabriel, however, did not laugh.

"I love you, Y/N." His words sent a spark to your heart. "I love you because you make me the happiest I've ever been. I'm just afraid that I'll depend on you to make me happy all the time. I have to be able to feel happiness on my own, and until I can do that, I don't want us to rush into anything. It would mean making the same mistake as I've made before. And I really don't want to lose you too."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pushing yourself up on your toes in order to peck his lips. "Okay." You whispered, your lips brushing against his.

Gabriel's arms wrapped around your waist, his forehead settling against yours. "Can I take you back to your hotel now?"

"Yes, take me back."

He took you back to your hotel, the Eiffel Tower spotted from the outskirts of the window in your room. The window which Gabriel went to close the curtains, his naked silhouette reflected in the moonlight as he did. He then moved in the dark towards your bed. His hands pressed down on the sheets, tracing the outlines of your body.

"Meu coração." 

He crawled to lay on top of you, his hands finding your hips under the covers, and his mouth....his mouth found your lower ribs as he made his way upwards, tracing kisses until his lips pressed against your lips. His tongue warm against your mouth.

"I feel you, meu coração."

Your breath hitched as his hips grinded against your thigh. His erection growing stiff against your folds.

"Fuck, Y/N. I can feel you." He spoke against your mouth while his hands desperately nipped at the lace of your panties. It was the only pice of clothing you still had on.

"Do you feel me?"

Gabriel's rough hands ripped the seam of your panties. Tossing the piece of fabric in the corner somewhere. His hand then made its way between your legs, his fingers mercilessly creeping into you.

"Gabriel." You moaned, your mouth left open.

"Sssh." He hushed. "Just relax for me baby."

His cheek rested against your breast. He then turned his head and caught your nipple in his mouth, licking the hard pebble, sucking you dry.

"Please, baby. You're gonna make me come."

He hymned in response, his fingers still moving deeply inside of you.

"Shit." You squealed. To which Gabriel hushed you again. "I said I want to feel you, baby. Let me feel you come all over my hand."

"Gabriel, please." Your eyes squinted shut. Your chest heaving up and down.

"Yes baby. Let yourself go for me."

"Baby, I'm gonna....I'm gonna...."

"Yes, yes. Come all over my hand."

As he wished. You squirmed below him, feeling your walls clench around his fingers still curled up inside of you, pressing against the roof of your pussy.

"Baby." You bit his shoulder, dimming your squeals of pleasure.

"Fuck."

He said it. Not you. You were to busy melting into a pile of nothing.

"Was that good for you baby?"

"Gaby."

You nodded, eyelids drowsy. "Now you." You made the effort to sit up. However, Gabriel made sure to push you down with his weight. "Let me clean you up first."

There was no stopping him. He moved downwards, shifting to rest on his elbows with his hands raising your hips towards his face.

"Why do you always do this." You chuckled.

"Do what?" His eyes were foggy with lust, staring blankly at the feast that was presented before him.

"You make me come at least three times before I even get to touch you."

Gabriel shrugged. "What can I say, I like the sounds you make when I make you feel good."

"That's not—"

You gasped with the first swipe of his tounge. Gabriel licked your already sensitive clit, swollen from the previous round. Gabriel didn't mind, however. Devouring the mess he made out of you.

"There." He licked his lips. "All done."

"Fuck." Your head fell back against the pillows, your hand reaching for his head, running through his hair. "Mhhhm." You hymned. The hotel room filled with the sounds of Gabriel sucking and licking you clean. You came hard. A spasm of your muscles.

You watched him with your back against the headboard, curling a finger your way. "Come here."

Gabriel did what he was told, crawling towards you with a sly grin on his lips. He kissed you, opened mouthed. A kiss that went from sweet to filthy in a matter of seconds.

"God, I've missed you." He groaned.

"I've missed you too baby, so much."

He reached for something on the floor. His pants. He found the condom in his pocket and took the time to dress his leaking cock with it.

"Turn around for me, baby."

You whimpered, wanting to see his face when he fucked you.

"Don't cry now baby. I want you like this. Trust me, I'll make it good for you too."

You turned over to lay on your belly. Gabriel then raised your hips with his hand, settling himself behind you. His flesh slapped against your folds, making you flinched as the size of him surprised you til this day.

"Relax." He grunted and with the help of his hand guided his cock toward your opening,  inserting himself slowly.

"Jesus."

He chuckled, moving in and out of you slowly. Thrusting his hips upon you like some beast in the night. He lost control about halfway through, grunting every time his hips crashed against your ass.

You buried your face against the pillows, silencing your cries. It was too much, the pleasure almost unbearable.

"Fuck you feel so good. You have....no idea....how much....I've wanted this." He said between hits. "Meu coração."

"Just like that baby. Arch your back for me."

You met every blow of his hips by arching your back. Welcoming his dick that was shoved inside of you until Gabriel grunted in relief, his body collapsing on top of yours.

You lay still in the night, the after care consisting of lazy kisses and whispers of sweet nothings.

"Fuck Y/N. You're making it hard for me to go back to Brazil."

"The don't." You smiled.

He chuckled. "Or perhaps you can come back with me and travel the world by my side?"

"Perhaps. I might need a day or two to think about it."

"Yes, take all the time thay you need. Just know that no matter wherever I am in the world, my heart belongs to you."

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling my trans friend that the thing they called transphobic wasn't transphobic?

Using fake names for everyone.

Back when reddit was doing the r/place thing (everyone can place pixels on a canvas to create images), my friend (Audrey) had an idea to make the trans flag on part of the canvas. Lisa, Lucas, and Bailey agreed to help her. They chose a random spot on the canvas to use, but I noticed that there seemed to be another group working near that area already. So I told them we probably not make it there.

Audrey, Lisa, and Bailey argued that it was a good spot since it was near some recognizable things and would make use easier to spot when the canvas was closed. So they started getting to work there. Lucas joined them while I took a break. But after a few hours, Audrey messages me asking for help to "stop the transphobes". Apparently the other group that was near there had started coloring over Audrey's trans flag. But every time Audrey placed one pixel for her trans flag, the other group placed 5 to replace some of the pixels. I didn't think they were being transphobic, just trying to make their own piece which looked like it was going well.

I said that we could just move it instead. But Audrey argued that it would just be letting the transphobia win. I said that it wasn't transphobic for the other group to be coloring in the area and that it was no big deal. Audrey said that I was siding with the transphobes. Lisa jumped in to say that she would try asking the other group to move by messaging one of the active members there. She vanished for a few hours. During that time, Bailey tried to reassure Audrey that it would be fine and that we could continue to make it.

Lisa came back and said the group had given us a compromise which was that we could make the trans flag behind their piece but not erase theirs. Audrey did not like that because it would be covering up our work. Lisa said that it was all the other group wanted for the compromise. Audrey said she would message them to ask them to move. She came back angry because the other group refused to move locations. Lucas said that maybe we should just comprise. Bailey argued that it wouldn't be fair for us to do that when we had started working before they did. I just said Audrey this did not fit the definition of transphobia.

Audrey called me an asshole for that and logged off. I had gotten some dms from Lisa and Bailey saying that since I wasn't trans, I was not allowed to decided that. I just ignored them and said I wouldn't continue helping protect their area. They both called me assholes for that and repeated messaged me about it. I went back a few hours later and saw the trans flag was reduced to just 5 pixel lines. Audrey said that it was my fault for not helping and that I was an asshole for siding with the "transphobes".

But I don't see what the problem is. I took a look at the whole canvas and saw 5 other trans flags on other spots there. What was wrong with us losing ours?

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[a-loose-collection-of-ants]

Ok. Shit.

I get the feeling I'm not gonna sleep tonight, and who knows, I might regret this tomorrow but I need to get some thoughts out.

I've tried to retain this idea that most people are inherently good. Some of this is the remnants of whatever religious faith I was brought up in, and some of it is just what I tell myself to stay sane. It's getting harder to think that way, but I am trying to hold on to it.

There's this image I keep replaying in my head. My dad and I were visiting family down south shortly after he had wrapped up his cancer treatment. We stopped by my aunt's house in South Carolina, and she told me with tears in her eyes about how she had started gardening again after my dad's diagnosis. There was a Trump flag flying from her roof.

On another visit to the same family members, we were visiting a college and walked by a gender neutral bathroom. My uncle made some off-color joke about it and then quickly moved on when nobody laughed. My sister (a sort of closeted trans woman) looked at me with an expression of both deep sadness, and whatever face you make when you watch a bird fly head-first into a window.

My point is, I know these people aren't filled with hatred and malice. It's not constructive to waste your energy hating them when their greatest sin is ignorance.

I barely remember the Obergerfell decision, but I remember being in middle school around the time it happened. Attitudes towards queer people weren't great, but they changed so rapidly that I barely noticed. Maybe the fact that this was when I realized I was queer gave me a false sense of security when it came to the "moral arc of the universe", or maybe it's the example I have to hold onto about how fast things can change.

It's easy for people to fall into patterns of hate when they lack exposure, and the media landscape right now is making easier to avoid that sort of exposure. The basis of the fight against extremism is education, and I think it has to also be compassion.

Don't get me wrong, I also have family that are more than likely not worth the effort ("they" control the weather and all that), but those aren't most people. Most people are exhausted by politics. They see the price of groceries and vote for the other guy regardless of who's name is on the ballot. Or they're like a classmate of mine, who didn't really like either candidate and was having trouble just voting for the "better" one.

If anything, I guess this is a reminder to myself to hold on to empathy despite everything. It's fine to feel angry. Hell, it's probably good if it gets you moving. But we cannot respond to dehumanization with more dehumanization.

I'm not really all that religious anymore, but I hold on to some things. One of them is this: All things, by virtue of being crafted by God's hands, have value. Or, as my dad said it "God don't make no shit". This goes for yourself, as well as everyone else. I can't let myself lose that right now.

I don't want to belabor my point too much, but I do want to say that I saw people saying things like "it's all over if trump wins". I'm not going to lie, it's bad and people are going to get hurt and die because of this. America was waiting for the results of it's biopsy and we found out it's cancer... but we're not dead yet. I don't have a specific action I can advocate for, but please, don't give up. Authoritarianism is a longstanding wound on this country and it festers in apathy.

Take a deep breath. Regardless of what happens, time moves forward and the sun will rise in the morning. I am going to go to work, make some dinner, and hopefully find some way to work volunteering into my schedule.

Recommended listening if you want to cry right now

[coochiequeens]

Yet another case for SheWon.com. Not just any case, one where a grown ass white dude was allowed to compete against an 11 year old girl of color in the name of inclusiveness.

By Amy Hamm February 22, 2024

A trans-identified male is set to compete against women as the reigning Women’s Snooker Champion at the English Women’s Snooker Championship on May 24 in Walsall, UK. Jamie Hunter, 27, became the top women’s player following a semifinal victory against a young girl last year.

Hunter first rose to prominence during the English Women’s Snooker Champion finals in 2023 after he came out victorious against Mary Talbot-Deegan, finishing 3-1. Hunter had managed to make it to the finals after he beat out Ellise Scott, an 11-year-old rising star in the snooker world, taking 2-0 against her in the semifinal grouping. The event had been Scott’s debut in the tournament, and, prior to her match against Hunter, she had achieved three match victories against experienced female opponents.

Hunter had been participating in women’s cue sports since 2021, just one year after he “came out” as transgender.

Prior to transitioning, Hunter played in a mixed-sex amateur league for five years. Speaking with Snooker Zone in 2021, Hunter admitted that he had no intention of competing professionally until he discovered that there was a women’s tour.

“Until this year, cue sports was just a hobby, something I done once, maybe twice a week, but now finding out about the Women’s snooker tour, I believe that will change,” he said at the time. “They make out as if I played snooker as a man, I was rubbish, so decided to do it in the women’s instead. I changed my gender for my wellbeing and my life, not for anything else.”

Hunter received significant backlash after his 2022 US Women’s Open win, when former women’s world champion Maria Catalano criticized the policies enabling males to compete against females. In an interview with The Sportsman, Catalano argued that women’s snooker should exclude males from female categories, as some rugby leagues have, to ensure fairness for women. 

“We have fought so hard for our rights in the past – myself, Reanne Evans and others got people to write letters to allow us to play in leagues and clubs that banned women. I don’t believe that women can compete against men on a level playing field in sport. We are wired differently, we think differently. We are mentally different,” said Catalano. 

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) publishes a mixed sex international ranking of players. The highest-ranking female on their current list, Mink Nutcharut, is listed at 119.

In response to the criticism of his wins against women, Hunter has framed the backlash as transphobia.

“Everybody’s human. Regardless of what choices you make. You should treat everybody with respect,” said Hunter speaking to a BBC journalist last fall. Bizarrely, Hunter was interviewed while he sat in a gaming chair in a dark bedroom — which he refers to as “the dark girl cave.” The room has a transgender pride flag pinned up on the wall behind him.

The upcoming English Women’s Snooker Championship is set for May 24, 2024. It is being organized by the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB), which is the national governing body for the sport in England. They describe their goal as creating a “structured coaching environment that will inspire all regardless of gender, ability, or ethnicity to fulfil their potential in our sport.” 

The EPSB has a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy with a lengthy section on discrimination, including a ban on any “condition, rule or practice [that]… particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic.” As for their list of protected characteristics, the EPSB includes “gender, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religion, age, disability, HIV positivity, working pattern, caring responsibilities, trade union activity or political beliefs.”  

The English Women’s Championship is set to take place at the Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall, UK, on May 24.

This is not the first time a male has dominated women’s cue sports, sparking backlash from players and fans.

Last November, a female pool player refused to compete against a trans-identified male opponent at a women’s championship in Wales. Lynne Pinches received an outpouring of support as video began to circulate showing her walking away from the table after being matched to play against Chris Haynes.

Days later, two more female pool players refused to compete against Haynes in solidarity with Pinches during the Ultimate Pool tournament in Blackpool, UK.

In January, Pinches headed an effort to launch a lawsuit against the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) and Ultimate Pool Group (UPG), accusing the governing bodies of subjecting women “to direct sex discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sex.”

What does he have to gain from this?

ENTRY FEES AND PRIZE MONEY

Entry: £30

Winner: £200 

Runner-Up: £100 

Semi-Finalists: £50

[pansyboybloom]

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, by Samantha Allen - A Review (8 out of 10)

"That's precisely the question we asked ourselves on November 9th. To stay, or not to stay? I found my answer at the top of the pride flag: there's no way of course that the color of its first stripe was a commentary on our geographically divided political climate. Red didn't mean Republican and blue didn't mean Democrat until the year 2000 anyway. Red is simply the first color in the rainbow, not a sign from the cosmos for me personally. But back when Gilbert Baker first designed that now ubiquitous emblem of LGBT rights in 1978 he did want that red stripe to signify life."

Samantha Allen, a reporter, wife, and transgender woman who was raised in Utah amidst the heart of the Mormon Church and left the South and its redness behind after beginning her transition, asked herself the questions that many Americans, especially queer ones, asked themselves after Donald Trump's win in the United States Presidential race in 2016. But, instead of moving out to Canada, Samantha decided to move down. Down to Utah, Texas, Indiana, and other red states that had seemingly made it clear that she and people like her weren't wanted, to answer a question that she couldn't shake:

Why weren't the Southern queers leaving?

"What makes an oasis, an oasis?"

In Real Queer America, Allen snakes through the south to pockets of queer safe havens ranging from queer bars in small rural towns, to LGBT shelters across from Mormon temples, to protests in Austin, TX, and places of safety throughout all of red America, no matter how small

As a Southerner, this book called to me. It was written with love, with the respect that only a Southern queer can give to other Southern queers. Allen examines the parts of the queer South that those outside its borders might struggle to understand, like LGBT youth political groups that work with the Mormon church to secure transgender rights in Utah. The chapter on Utah struck me in particular. I won't pretend to have any good opinions of the Mormon establishment, but the fondness Allen has for the community who raised her, even after it hurt her, is mind-blowing. Hearing from people like an ex-Mormon radical who works hand in hand with the church to secure LGBT safety, a mother who is deeply supportive of her transgender son because of her Mormoness, not despite it, a gay youth rights advocate who stated in the heart of Mormonism out of an unshakable faith in the goodness in the people of Utah, and, most remarkable, a trans man who has been told by the church that, should he continue his medical transition, he would be excommunicated, but chooses to love God anyways.

Of course, another favorite chapter was that on Texas. As a Texan, I am all too familiar with names like Paxton and Abbott, but also Wendy Davis and the Briggle family. Allen shows the Briggle family as human, and continues that humanity into her trek into the Rio Grande Valley, an often forgotten part of the state, demonized by both the North for its poverty and the South for its tie to immigration from Mexico. Allen approaches the complexities of race interacting with queerness with attempted grace, but her analysis seems to fall flat-- something she acknowledges later on, in Indiana, in which she has in-depth conversations with a black trans woman on how while Allen may feel safe holding hands with her wife here, her blackness will forever keep the 'queer eutopia' she lives in from truly being safe.

She tells Allen: "There is a difference, it seems, between an oasis and a eutopia. When you're in a desert, an oasis can be a single well of water in the sand, or in this case, one college town with an incredible queer bar. A watering hole doesn't make the desert safe, it just makes it habitable. Even then, when you arrive at the refuge that is Bloomington, so much of your experience here depends on the identities you bring with you. And eutopias? Well, eutopias don't exist. If they did, every LGBT person in the country would move there, and queer making would end."

Allen also carries some of the uncomfortable, if not plain disheartening, pro-veteran beliefs quintessential to the South, spending a long time speaking in depth with veterans surrounding Trump's trans military ban. She repeatedly references a shirt she saw while at an Austin rally: I fought for your right to hate me. The reverence she holds and the anger she feels for veterans was upsetting at times and showed further Allen's privilege.

Still, Allen's beliefs need not be perfect in a book about how the Northern need for perfection leads to the Southern LGBT community being abandoned. This abandonment is mentioned in the Indiana chapter when discussing Mike Pence and his 'return to religious freedom' act, which lead to North wide economic protests and boycotts-- that affected the queers of Indiana far more economically than it did Pence. It was grassroots organizations and local state fighters that pushed back the collection of bills, and many, like the ones Allen interviewed, felt abandoned by blue states that seemed to care more about protesting through inaction than action.

Grassroots education, safety, activism, and community are a recurring theme in Real Queer America, unsurprising to any rural or Southern queer. One such example is the Back Door, a queer bar-- not gay, but specifically queer, an active choice maybe by the "dyke daddy" of the club-- that serves as a bastion of fun and sex in a rural town, but also as a place to come together and practice activism.

"The 'Back Door' is a perfect example of the red state queer ethos-- that being politically active is a responsibility, not a choice."

Allen stresses one thing above all: community. The queer chosen family, and the queering of friendships, she argues, are just as threatening to the average bigot as her sex life or her gender identity, if not more. Together, Southern queers thrive-- something many Northerns don't see. Allen critiques Northern journalism from her own writing background, citing that Northerners only care about Southern queer lives when a politician is passing a bathroom bill, a gunman is shooting up a night club, or a high school has their first trans homecoming king, not out of a desire to share his joy, but to further stress how backward the South is. Amidst the shared meals with bisexuals in Tennessee, watching the dancing queers of the Back Door, the support groups across from Mormon temples, the protests in Austin, and more, Allen asks the reader, is the most radical thing to do as a queer person to simply live and love? Is living, thriving, fighting together, arm in arm-- is all of this what being queer in the South means? She finds answers in each place she goes, and while I will leave her answer up to the reader, I find her comment when meeting with the trans cafe owner of Allen's college youth to shine clear:

"Watching Rachel run her own small business in south central Indiana was my first vision of a future where I turn out okay."

Please, check to see if your local library or bookstores have Real Queer America before buying on Amazon! Let's support local reading!

[psi0nics]

Spider-Gwen is Very Likely Trans in Across the Spider-Verse, says One More Person

But this shit matters.

I've rewatched Across the Spider-Verse for probably the eighth time recently, and it continues to be blaringly obvious to me that Gwen is most likely a trans girl. I'm most certainly not the only one to have pointed this out, and I don't really think I'm adding anything new. But we need as many voices to speak up, I feel, and I might as well share what I think of it. Now, this little essay is going to focus mainly from the movie's material alone since I'm not much of a comic reader, and it'll be limited to my own experience as a Filipino trans girl who really wants to express some thoughts.

Spoilers ahead!

Across the Spider-Verse explores the journey of Miles Morales after the first film, Into the Spider-Verse, where he rises up to the mantle of Spider-Man. Now, we follow him as he fights to be recognized as Spider-Man by the rest of Spider-Society, who reject him for factors out of his control—and yet he made the best of them, took pride in them, and rose up to become Spider-Man in all the ways that matter. Unfortunately, the exact circumstances, Spider-Society doesn't like—represented by Miguel O'Hara. From all that I've heard and read, a lot of Miles's story strongly being a very Black story, drawing from Miles being Afro-Latino, and though the story itself never shows racism nor do the different universes explicitly show systemic discrimination and whatnot, his story still clearly draws from that. Miguel O'Hara isn't some racist white dude excluding Miles because he's Afro-Latino, Miguel is an Irish-Mexican man and the entire theme of the Spider-Society is that it is extremely diverse and open. But that doesn't mean that the institution that it represents in the context of literally everything Rio Morales, Miles's Mother, tells him. To remember where he's from, to not let those big institutions tell Miles that he doesn't belong there, and all these things that are brimming with subtext.

The subtext is there, and it's all intentional.

Then there's Gwen Stacy. Who, for her entire arc of the film, hinges on a relationship setup from the beginning—her father, George Stacy. Now, for a lot of trans people, including me, we found it striking that that arc felt pretty queer-coded. Now, by itself, there's nothing much to be gleaned, just Gwen struggling with the fact that she's forced to reveal her superhero identity to her dad in a tense moment, ripping them apart, and later reconciling. Now, I'm quite young for a queer person, but I'm aware of the history of all these subtle things or narratives about identity being all that queer people had in the mainstream for a very, very long time.

But these days, we celebrate every win, for every explicitly queer character, for every confirmation from creators where they couldn't explicitly show anything in the material (except for Rowling bullshit, fuck that fake shit), and every hold that we're constantly fighting for. I know I'm speaking for a lot of people when I say we are so happy to see so many gay and bi characters see the mainstream's spotlights, be left unquestioned, that I, someone on the other side of the world, am left in positive awe whenever I see some middle-aged white dudes casually say, "My daughter's girlfriend." But of course, it's always a fight. We can't be complacent, because for every win, people will always try to tear it down, and I know I just happen to be in pretty inclusive online communities to see what I see in the west. There, people queer sexualities still fight. Here, people still fight. Queer identities will never stop fighting.

All this to say, what of Gwen? Well, one of the moments that made me think about her this way was when I was putting the little hints together. Because her arc does not stand in isolation. Her arc is literally colored by transness. From the big trans flag above her door, the trans colors that literally paint her and her world, the reflections that show her other identity, her reconciliation with her father hitting us with "They can only know half of who I am," the acceptance, and even the tiniest bit of Mary Jane's voice over talking about raising a child that's different than everyone else and learning to learn as a parent, and all these details. Hell, she even hangs out with Hobie Brown, whose entire thing is anarchism, the rejection of what society has considered the norm for bullshit reasons, to hang out with a radical leftist—and as one of those, there's not any other group (or at least from my experience) quite as intersectional with solidarity with marginalized groups as radlefts. To those who say, "Maybe she's just an ally," I challenge you: why would the film stop there?

Why does the film that goes out of its way to casually show more people of color as normal, to show people with disabilities playing basketball, to show an entire arc about Miles striving to fight the institutions that want to keep him down, to drive with progress, to drive the narrative that anyone can be behind the mask, why would it stop at making Gwen Stacy a trans girl?

And very similar to Miles, of course there's no one explicitly transphobic nor are any groups shown to be that. It's a more personal story, and is more subtle about it. And it's crazy how much this reminds of when I grew up watching The Legend of Korra, when Korra and Asami's relationship was only some endgame thing and hinted at with a "vacation." Gay people didn't have that much there. Not much in other places in the mainstream either. They started making their own, of course. Through fan-fiction, through art, making their own stories. But fortunately (I say with as much dripping sarcasm as I can) capitalism now sees it as a big enough market for billionaires to profit off of. (Which is, in a very dystopian way, a win.) And now, it's eerily familiar to see trans people get the same treatment now, stuck in a limbo of infrequent and rare representation in the mainstream if we aren't clawing for every inch.

So, while Miguel O'Hara isn't a racist authoritarian, George Stacy isn't a transphobe—not when he goes out of his way to wear trans flags (and no, it's not a trick of the light; nothing is a trick of the light, it's all intentional in animation). But the conflicts they represent aren't any less meaningful in the subtext. And that means a lot for people who are fighting tooth and nail to be recognized.

And all of this, too, is representative of one of the first and second film's main themes. It's not that it doesn't matter who's behind the mask, it's that it can be anyone behind the mask, carrying with them all the richness of their experiences, bringing forth a Spider-Person unlike any other. And in the second film, to defy the patterns and labels set by the institutions that govern our lives, doing things like using fear and preserving an order for some grand picture.

So, I'm pretty sure Gwen Stacy is trans. What does it add to the story? Nothing. Being cis never added much to the story.

But for someone like me, it's doing a lot. It gives me hope.

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

social media’s in a nutshell, but the people who actually use them.

Twitter: So did I you know your an awful person?

also twitter: Racism, racism, racism, sexism, your best friend talking about a dog they saw, sexism, sexism, homophobia, homophobia, homophobia, transphobia, NSFW art from a mutual, transphobia, transphobia, and then the worst take in the history of worst takes by some 13 year old or maybe it was actually 30 something you can’t tell.

YouTube: “why YouTube has become a capitalist hellhole for anyone who dares speak about anything not consumer friendly: A video essay” 4 hours and 50 minutes long, 40,895 views.

also YouTube: “me and my friend are mermaids btw here’s how to do the mermaid spell! Easy in 1 step!” 26 minutes long.

also also YouTube: “I COMMITED TAX FRAUD AND TRIED TO OUTRUN THE AUTHORITIES CHALLENGE 24 HOUR CHALLENGE PART 1 OF 279” 10 minutes long and has almost a billion views.

also also also YouTube: “beheading” 13 minutes long, with 1,600 views.

ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO YouTube: “HUGGY WUGGY TOILET NAKED VORE?” 20 minutes long, 8 million views.

4chan: be me> sexless loser> finds amazing wonderful woman who loves me for me> she’s fat> keep her until someone else comes> me and her do exercise and eat better> she becomes 100/10> gets married> has kids> love of my life>

also 4chan: ROBOTS, /B/ WE MUST UNITE THIS FUCKER BLENDERED A CAT WE MUST KILL HIM>

THAT (insert string of slurs) WILL GET WHAT’S COMING TO HIM>

FOUND HIS ADDRESS AT 404 CATBLENDER MAN STREET>

AUTHORITIES CALLED I GOT THE RSPCA AT THE HOUSE LETS GO /B/ FUCK YEAH THIS IS A WIN FOR ALL THE ROBOTS LETS GO>

also also 4chan: *the most graphic picture you have ever seen that haunts your soul and your life you will never be the same* hey /b/ look what I found>

also also also 4chan: guys, *insert the most out of pocket slur filled green post you hav ever seen* and that’s why I think (insert minority) are degenerates>

tiktok: *video of hatsune miku dancing with the caption* it’s not okay to encourage ED$ instead be kind and respectful and not be f@tphobic and @blei$t

also TikTok: *a video plays before quickly cutting out replaced with a new one* YOU ARE MAKING PEOPLE UNALIVE THEMSELVES WITH THIS TIKTOK GET HELP TRANS PEOPLE AREN’T GŘOÖMËRS AND PDFILES YOU ARE AWFUL!

also also TikTok: *a video plays of a montage of red and black text* you never saw me as real, you never saw me. I’m going to k1ll myself soon, life is too hard my parents have taken away my ps5 and my phones I am making this on my friends phone. Good bye cruel world.

also also also TikTok: *dangerous things happen in quick succession* “so that’s how you do a deep clean of your home!” comments : girly😭 NO you can’t use 🔥 on wooden floorboards 😰

comments: 💀💀💀 bro’s using chemical weapons to clean her sink💀💀💀

Comments: BLEACH IN YOUR FISHTANK? GIRL ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOUR BF’S DISCUS😬

comments: okay you did so many things wrong here and genuinely I’m surprised your are still alive-1

Cleangirly: no it was pretty safe idk what you mean🤷‍♀️

Comments:WHAT DO YOU MEAN SAFE? YOU SET A FIRE TO CLEAN THE FLOORBOARDS?-2

Also also also ALSO TikTok: *a video explaining why if you hate the color blue your a narcissist* yeah anyone who hates blue is a big red flag girlies

Tumblr: “guys penis” 1 million notes

also tumblr: *a long post explaining the intricacies of sexuality, sexism, the queer identity, toxic masculinity, and how colonialism and racism plays into it.* so yeah long post whoops.

reblog: *the most loaded toxic reblog you have ever seen* woman should all be killed.

reblog: *starts out making some form of sense then devolves* ALL MEN ARE RAPISTS AND SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH NOW

reblog: *a story relating heavily to the post, which makes the original post better by its addition* so yeah some other re blogs are missing the point but you really put my experience into words thank you <3

reblog: *a picture of the tags filled with the weirdest take you have ever seen* Uhh who are you and can you leave tumblr? Thanks?

also also tumblr: gifly the gif, share gifly the gif because look at him *mindbogglingly fast images flash*

Quora: “why is the sky blue?”

answer 1: because god made it that way in his infinite wisdom

answer 2: because *long winded but concise explanation on how it works* I have a doctorate in this subject.

awnser 3: Long story short, it’s not blue it’s the ozone or something.

Facebook: “meemaw want to add you as a friend” *presses yes, anyone you have ever known tangentially appears in the Facebook friends page*

Also Facebook: “Gerald is my husband who I love”

Comments: that’s nice Geraldine, happy anniversary

Comments: *long winded conspiracy theory* that’s why the illegals want to rule the world and destroy us all

also also also Facebook: *random 5minute crafts video* TOP TEN LIFE HACKS FOR COOKING!

comments: oh what an amazing video! -Geraldine

comments: YOU CAN MAKE THE POPPED CORN WITH A COKA COLA CAN?

comments: I am showing this to my dear wife Geraldine. -Gerald

omegle: *video starts live-streaming and you see an older man’s cock* “…” “…” “you 13?” “…” *ends chat*

also Omegle: *you and a guy talk for ages* that was awesome here’s my socials! See you soon friend!

reddit: “why the Reddit mods are power hungry” *it is a screenshot of a screenshot talking about mod abuse.* “REDDIT WANTS US SILENT WE MUST FIGHT!” *deleted post*

also Reddit: “top ten anime wifus in (PEDO BAIT SHOW) and why I’d fuck them”

also also Reddit: “how do you fix a bolted screw valve on a pressure cooker…”

Vine: *5 seconds of comedy*

[molsno]

im tme and im just gonna preface this before this ask, its nothing bad and its not a criticism, more of an observation! i mean none of this critically and moreso am looking for an opinion

do you think theres a reason for why a lot of media recently is going for transfem characters when they have their trans characters? tokenism usually, but generally i find when theres a trans character in a piece of media shes typically transfem. and occasionally nonbinary for the extra Blizzard Diversity Points in the eyes of Cishet People lol.

i can name plenty of trans women characters - Kiku from One Piece (though one piece also has Yamato, a trans man), Natalie in Big Mouth, Bridget in Guilty Gear (though this is a correction of the past), Unique in Glee, Denise in Twin Peaks, Lily in Zombieland, Alluka in HxH, Vivian in TTYD (though she has a tricky history due to localization cowards), Perfuma in She-ra (after production iirc), Talia in League and Gwen Stacy (heavy coding. like trans flag colors coding.)

Though I don’t know as many trans men - Yamato in One Piece, Sheldon in Glee, Barney from Paranormal Dead End Park or whatever that shows called, Bow in She-Ra, Viktor in Umbrella Academy (though due to the actor’s irl transition), and Alice Yabusame from YTTD. Obviously im missing plenty just as i am with trans women, but i think its interesting i can still name so few transmasc characters as a trans man myself

im not saying this as a bad thing, especially not as “trans women get more rep than trans men!!” because its just… weird to proclaim. especially with the history trans women have in media - for every well written, lovely portrayal of a trans women, theres a million caricatures behind her.

because most of these studios arent stocked with trans people making content for trans people, not like Maddie in Celeste, i just was curious why theres so many trans women characters. because of how radical the existence of trans women is, and how much more political transfem identities are made due to transmisogyny, is a good portrayal of a trans women deemed more diverse? Does this history of transfem characters make devs and writers think “if we do it right, we’ll win the trans crowd!”?

again, NONE of this is criticism. im so happy for trans girls who see themselves in bridget, gwen, talia, or anyone else i mentioned and anyone else i forgot. im so glad they finally get to have characters that arent vile portrayals of men in dresses or the archetypal “ambiguous twinky anime boy pretending to be a girl”. but im just interested in why its always trans women? do you think devs see it that way?

I mean realistically it's probably just because until fairly recently the average person didn't even know what a trans man even is

[samglyph]

🍀🦚🏳️‍⚧️ for the queer asks~ also hope tomorrow is better for you! 💙

🍀 - What thoughts or emotions that didn’t make sense to your past self make sense now that you know you’re queer?

You guys really wanted this one. Ok so the biggest thing that I can think of (though it’s not quite an emotion) is child me’s obsessiveness over cool girls. And not in a “I want to be them” way. I remember one summer this girl came to stay with her grandmother who lived in my neighborhood, and despite knowing nothing about her, I suddenly wanted to be around her all the time. Like, to the point where I was blowing off other friends (bad Sam). I couldn’t really explain why I wanted to do that to myself. Or in elementary and middle school there was this girl who I rarely spoke to, who was in different classes, but every time I saw her my brain was like “I must be with her” and in my child mind I was like “to be her friend obviously” and in my adult mind I’m like “you thought she was hot”

🦚- are there any queer books/tv shows/etc. that you would suggest?

I’ve been so bad about consuming media recently so I’m gonna take that etc. to mean webcomics. (I’ll edit this to have links after I post it)

Heir’s Game is a queer political intrigue about a city state that runs a competition for who will be the body guard of the next duke. Great worldbuilding, and lovely well rounded characters. And it’s complete, so you can binge read it!

Matchmaker is an adorable slice of life comic that follows a bunch of queer young adults. This one delves more into gender and sexuality as a basis but it also talks about stuff like working in the art industry, which I find quite relatable! It’s also complete! (You have to scroll to get to the beginning)

Never Satisfied is a great fantasy story with a non-binary lead about Lucy, a magicians apprentice who is trying to win a game to potentially become the city’s next big magical protector. Plot twist though: Lucy isn’t actually that great at magic. In fact… they don’t have any magic at all. I’ve been reading this one for years and it’s such a fun ride. (It’s currently on hiatus I know I’m so sorry but you should still check it out). Another good hiveworks one that I’ve been into lately is Glass Scientists, which is a queer retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. I personally love how it handles the topic of trans identity in fictional Victorian England.

Transfusions. Do you like vampires. Do you like gay people. Are you over the age of 18. Go read transfusions it’s so fun, it’s about a guy who gets attacked by a vampire but then the vampire spares him and then the guy realizes the vampire is lonely so they become buds and then…. Something more. But I’m serious about the age thing this one is intended for a mature audience.

🏳️‍⚧️what flag do you think has the best color scheme?

The lesbian flag. I may not be a pink person but hands down the sunset gradient fucks.

Thanks for the asks!

[pashterlengkap]

The Olympics and Kamala’s new campaign are making summer sizzle!

Here are this week’s most popular positive stories, with some fun social media posts tossed in too. Like seeing uplifting content like this? Sign up for our Good News email. WOW! What a news week, huh?? Kamala’s in — the presidential race is heating up! Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just signed an important pro-LGBTQ+ law, and maybe you’ve heard, but the 33rd Olympic Summer Games just kicked off in Paris, France — vive le sport! This year’s Olympics are quite modern and extra fun, with drag queens and Lady Gaga in the opening ceremony, and athetes competing in breakdancing and skateboarding for the first time ever. If you’re a fan, our sibling sites Outsports and Queerty are tracking the queer athletes and covering other noteworthy highlights throughout the event— ooh la la! Outside the games, there’s plenty of good news to swim in, so let’s dive right in! Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Watch the 1st president turn into the 47th! View this post on Instagram A post shared by claire salvo (@clairesalvo) 40% of U.S. states now have this important LGBTQ+ law on their books This week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a law that affirms LGBTQ+ lives in courtrooms — do you know which law? In other good political news, lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) opened for Vice President Harris’s first presidential campaign rally, and a recent study found that the number of LGBTQ+ elected officials has tripled since 2017. Queer Democrats are getting energized for the upcoming election —  are you? Let’s all make sure equality wins at the ballot in November! People are going wild for a possible Kamala Harris/Pete Buttigieg dream ticket Harris is considering him as a possible running mate. Will we soon be calling him “Vice President Pete”? WNBA star Brittney Griner is surprising folks with what she wants her son to call her Her newborn son just arrived into the world — but his first words may not be “mama” if Griner has anything to say about it. He’s 5’4″. His husband is 6’7″ and has some things to learn… View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gay Fat Friend (@gayfatfriend) Gospel singer Kim Burrell atones for her past sins against the LGBTQ+ community At an awards ceremony, she apologized for hurtful comments she made nearly a decade ago. Tennessee scores important legal victory for people with HIV People of color and trans women were disproportionately affected by this old law, but now things have changed for the better! Kamala Harris’s campaign releases first ad, complete with Pride flags & boundless optimism Harris’s campaign used images from a Pride Month appearance in the ad, highlighting her support for LGBTQ+ rights. Ever seen someone swim in bioluminescence? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luca Martinez (@lucamartinez.fl) Biden fights in Supreme Court to restore student protections Biden’s new Title IX protections didn’t just cover transgender and non-binary kids — they’ll also help out other students. Here’s how he’s fighting for them. You love this dog’s super cute Pride-themed hairdo Seriously — it looks like eye-popping leg warmers from the 1980’s fitness craze… but it’s all fur! I went bald at age 19 —but it actually had one huge upside When I was young, bald guys were the butt of jokes in every movie and TV show. But later on, I realized it gave me something important. This male-on-male tango is mesmerizing! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Teatr Wielki – Opera Narodowa (@operanarodowa) From our sibling sites: * GAYCITIES: Photos of the queens who dolled up for RuPaul’s DragCon LA * OUTSPORTS: The gay parts of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony saved it, including Tom Daley and… http://dlvr.it/TB7z0l

[wild-grinders]

do you have any headcanons for flips or shark attack?

Shark Attack? Unfortunately no.

Flipz? ....Yes.

My main headcanon for her is thaat she's trans (there used to be a rumor that her real-life counterpart, Chanel West Coast, was trans due to her birthname being masculine and she decided to be called 'chanel' instead. however, it's confirmed that she's not trans and just wanted a new name). But you know what. Flipz can have transgender instead. She has the trans flag colors in her design.

A lot of her character doesn't need further headcanons than this.

She's doing her best at being trans and she's winning.

[erigold13261]

Hello, I am back again. I know you might be tired of these long winding asks, and I apologize. However, I cannot contain the Category Autism Event Level 7 TM in my mind, or I will explode. (Also, I wish you get that job you've been wanting to get <3 <3)

Here we go again into Crossover Land.

I just realized this. Haibara Yu's kanji name is 灰原雄、and the kanji that represents his given name is 雄, which not only means "brave", but also "male." As in the biological male. And... I like to imagine little Yu choosing the kanji bc he was a Real Boy. Older Yu thinks it was silly of him to do so. (But likes his name anyway.) (Also Yu is an androgynous name, so they might have just changed the kanji to represent who he was.)

Speaking of which, Yu was the first binary trans kid Gwen had ever known. And vice versa. Imagine the shock and joy when they find out that.

Yu was stealth trans until very recently.

Idk how Yu and Gwen found out, perhaps they were both going into the doctor's office for their hormones? (Yes Gwen started Estrogen while in Nueva York. No note has not gotten notes dad's consent.) (Maybe they wouldn't allow that to happen, but Gwen's body dysphoria was pretty bad.)

Commence a "Spider-Man Pointing at Each Other" or a "Spider-Woman and Ash-Man Pointing at Each Other" meme moment.

After a few days, Gwen gives Yu a friendship bracelet. A pink, blue, and white one.

Yu does not know what it means. And thinks that Gwen here has a crush on him, and wants him to wear her colors. But doesn't she like Miles????

Gwen realizes Yu is mistaking something drastically.

She picks up her phone, and points at the trans flag.

Yu did not know the trans flag, and gets more confused.

Gwen starts to frantically point at the trans flag more, to no avail.

He calls for Peni.

Peni comes and explains the misunderstanding.

Now Yu and Gwen wear matching friendship bracelets. T4T friendship for the win!

Well, now more people wanted friendship pride flag bracelets.

So Gwen (Yu, and Miles too) decide to make a bunch of them. A bi one (Miles), a gay man one (Satoru and later Ganke), an AroAce one (Nanami), a nonbinary one (Suguru), two agender ones, (Noir and Shoko), a genderqueer one (Margo), a genderfluid one (Peter Porker), two rainbow pride ones (Peni and Hobie). (I want to know Pav and Gayatri's queer HCs bc they made them one too)

Team bonding hurray!

Another less happy HC.

I wondered why in this world, Japan isn't known for its robotics or technology, and instead J-1, Vandelay, and that UK robotics company are.

Perhaps in this world, Japan fell behind after the economic collapse of the 1990s.

And instead maybe, they are known for people. Powered individuals. (JJK canon explains how sorcerers and cursed spirits are far more common in Japan than in other areas of the world.)

This is why the Gojo clan are rich. And Satoru is the first one in 400 years to be born with blues powerset.

This makes him important. As an asset. As a way to get on top of the food chain.

Then they need to control the boy.

They did just that. Control his friends, the places that he goes to. Every single move so that he can be on top.

It didn't work. Now the boy was hanging out with that Ripoff (Suguru), and that Freak (sorry Shoko).

(Shoko's healing is a good asset though. Might as well have them get married for more blood.) (HC that Shoko has a parent with an object head, making them less valid in that world)

Satoru even was in love with that Ripoff! How dare him! And even Shoko was in a scheme of... what?

Now he was useless, at least with that mindset.

Then Miguel and Olivia came in. Promised to help the boy and others control their powers.

They did not want Satoru or any of them around anymore. They agreed.

Yu was already friends with Nanami, but only heard of Satoru and Suguru before. As he was about to leave his home, he found a bus coming to him.

There was the SaSiSu three, and Nanami.

Yu is confused, but he leaves anyway.

But why weren't they having any luggage? Wearing their school uniforms? And sleeping?

(Olivia wanted them in full shape. An heir of the infamous Gojo clan was going to be an important asset that shouldn't be chipped or cracked.)

... sorry for this HC. I think it's pretty dark.

And a quicker one.

After Hobie realizes that Satoru was in a screwed-up home life, they decide to be a bit nicer to blues.

They know what it is like to be mistreated. And it understands that being a rich person does not equal happiness. (Something that Cyril knows too.)

Taught him music he was never allowed to listen to.

Now Satoru gets taught the drums from Gwen.

Blue loves it!

... sorry for the ask dump. (Might return for more haha/hj) Have a nice day/night!

Lol, don’t apologize! They are actually really fun to read (and now I am getting tiktoks with JJK references in them that I can kinda sorta understand lol)

Also thanks for the luck on my job! Hopefully I get it too (at the moment of writing this I am still waiting for a call back, will call back myself tomorrow afternoon if I don’t get one in the morning).

Anyway! Time to answer!

-Yu’s kanji: That makes me think of nonbinary people who name themselves after nouns for some reason. I don’t know why, but it’s a nice thing to think about since it was/is a name that makes them happy, and I’m glad to hear even if older Yu thinks it’s a little silly, he is still happy with his choice in name!

-Yu and Gwen: Oh wow, yeah! That is true! Gwen is just surrounded by a bunch of trans people who aren’t really binary trans. Didn’t even notice that till now! Neat!

But I can see the two bonding over that. Like it is nice to be surrounded by all kinds of queer people, but sometimes you want someone in an even more similar spot as you. I definitely think if Yu meets Remi he will be even more happy to meet another ftm trans person. Which might make Gwen feel left out a little, but I can see her finding out Tatiana is a trans woman, or even meeting Zimelu and just trying to get to know them and their experiences.

Honestly Gwen and Yu looking up to Tatiana and Neon J as elder binary trans individuals is a nice idea for me to think about. Even though those two don’t really flaunt their transness, they would definitely be willing to talk about it to make Gwen and Yu feel better about their own experiences.

-Stealth trans: Oh yeah, Yu and Neon J could probably have a really good conversation about their experiences as being stealth trans. Like Neon J literally only came out publicly for his kids’ sake as they were getting harassment from interviewers. Yu (hopefully) came out on his own to be more open about his transness but would still probably benefit from hearing about Neon’s experiences. I think Tatiana was never stealth, but also never fully flaunted it. She would tell people if they ask but wouldn’t just be telling without provocation.

-Hormones: I think you would definitely need parental consent at Gwen’s age. Well also Yu’s age, I think you said he would be 15-16. So I can see Yu getting parental consent and being able to go get hormones, but Gwen really wouldn’t. Jess would definitely have fought for Gwen to get them, but it would be shut down because Gwen isn’t emancipated and it could cause problems for Nueva York to give hormones.

Maybe Gwen could get puberty blockers at the very least without parental consent, like that would have been the compromise of Jess pushing for hormones. Though Gwen would definitely be given the proper clothes, accessories, other social transitioning options for note to have even if note couldn’t have hormones.

I can see Gwen talking with a nurse at the Nueva York doctor’s office and Yu overhears and wants to ask or talk to Gwen maybe (would Yu understand enough English at this point if he only knew Japanese?). Maybe he sees Gwen in some trans flag outfit or with a pin of some sort and that’s how he realizes. 

I don’t think Gwen could have been the one to figure it out because Yu was stealth (maybe note had an idea just from experience) but I do think Yu would be the one to figure it out in whatever way he does because Gwen is a bit more open about her transness than Yu is (at least at the moment she is more open about it).

-Point Meme: Yeah, if they both wear trans flags at one point, that would definitely be how they find out and react lol.

-Bracelet: For once Gwen is glad to have been forced into Nueva York’s arts-and-craft room (also I should probably read ahead because I could combine points like this and the last one, but I like reading asks point by point lol).

-Crush?: (okay yeah I need to read the next few points lol, so like this one point encompasses  the rest of the points until the break in paragraph)

OOOOH! So Yu doesn’t know what the trans flag is! Okay! So that wouldn’t be how they found out! Interesting!

Well, however they found out, Yu thinking Gwen has a crush on him because he doesn’t understand is kinda cute. Maybe he thinks her and Miles are just friends (or maybe he knows a bit about polyamory, probably not the word for it, and thinks this is some kind of relationship like that).

Imagine him going to Nanami for advice as to what to do and his aroace ass is of absolutely no help to Yu lol. 

Yu ends up letting Gwen know he thinks she has a crush on him and she so panicked (not in a bad way because maybe she could like Yu, but Yu was right that she likes Miles right now and that is who she wants). So it’s like 10 minutes of charades and maybe Gwen saying colors in different languages or trying to say something but all she knows is like 1 year of Spanish and a few words in French or something, so she is just being even more confusing to Yu.

So she quickly leaves and drags in Peni. Gwen is super embarrassed, but Yu probably laughs at the whole situation (Peni is definitely laughing) and it’s a fun story everyone ends up finding out about. Suguru or Satoru just screaming “rosa” and “azul” to be brats and embarrass Gwen a bit when she walks by, causing a small fight between them and Hobie who (although also found the situation hilarious) is willing to fight on behalf of Gwen lol.

Anyway, once all of that is settled, you better believe the group spent a ton of time pleading for computer time so they could look up flag colors and identities to make sure all these bracelets are accurate and in the right order!

Also, I don’t have any queer headcanons for Gayatri and Pavitr that are set in stone. I do like T4T or Bi4Bi, but honestly what if they were both aroace and together. Maybe one is aroace and the other is something else. I don’t know why I want one to be aroace, or at least asexual, but I do lol. I mean heck, I wouldn’t even mind he/him butch lesbian Pav and BiAce Gayatri. I want these two to be weird in their identities but also totally super confident and happy in themselves. So yeah, nothing concrete with these two, but they love each other and are weird but happy.

-Power/Tech Japan:

I will be honest before reading ALL of these points, the reason Japan doesn’t have a big robotics company in this AU (at the moment) is just because I haven’t found the right media to fill it. Honestly, Vandelay could have easily been in Japan, someone on one of my HFR posts said they personally saw Vandelay Tech as Japanese, while I personally saw it as in California for some reason. So it could have been a Japanese industry, but just how I saw it, it was put in the United States lol. (now I shall read the rest of the points :3)

There very much could be a robotics company in Japan (there’s definitely SOME, but maybe not to the level as the main 3), but I actually like the idea that some places just give birth to stronger powered individuals! I always wanted to think about how some places give different abilities, different elementals, different bodies (like object heads). Like I think South Africa is a place that has a lot of powerful people or that Korea might have more people with light based powers. So Japan being a place where more powerful people are from is something that could absolutely happen!

I can also see the Gojo clan being rich because of this. That is something I haven’t explored all that much is how powered individuals do tend to have more influence and say in the world around them. So families with very useful powers are definitely going to be using those privileges to get an upper hand in life.

Poor Satoru though. Having blues life be fully controlled is awful. I’m glad blue was able to find time to become friends with Suguru and Shoko (even if they did end up doing a scheme that probably irreparably damaged someone because of overhealing, draining power, and matter manipulation).

Shoko and Satoru potentially being in an arranged marriage would have been such a cool story line to look at. Maybe the Gojo family didn’t have any better option at their disposal so they would have been willing to overlook Shoko’s object-headed parent because of its power, but after the scheme went wrong and showed just how far Satory strayed from the family path, the family would have never wanted that girl’s blood in the family bloodline.

Once the scheme was brought to light (and probably brought bad recognition to the Gojo family), you better believe the family was willing to pay Miguel to take Satoru and try to “fix” blue into being a better kid that would follow orders. Nueva York absolutely got a big donation from the family to make sure this happened (also I just imagine Olivia having to contain her excitement at the thought of studying these powers and then Miguel had to contain his excitement when he realized how much money was being donated to Nueva York).

I wonder if Yu and Nanami tried talking with the SaSiSu three on the ride to Nueva York. I can imagine the three not being very talkative to anyone outside the three of them at that moment. Everything went wrong for them and they were now being shipped to who-knows-where. Definitely not the most happy ride any of them have had.

(also don’t apologize, it’s all good! Trust me, I have had more dark headcanons as well as people sending me in way darker stuff. So you’re all good!)

-Hobie lightens up:

Oh definitely. Once Hobie realizes that Satoru isn’t just a spoiled rich kid, they absolutely start trying to be nicer (not to say that the two still don’t bicker and fight a little bit, but nothing like what it initially was in the beginning).

Speaking of Cyril, I wonder if Hobie ends up talking to Cyril and telling him about Satoru Gojo. I can see Cyril knowing a bit of that family, maybe his mom knew them personally or something. She is a very famous singer with a voice similar to Gayatri, which is a very strong power to have. Perhaps there could be a neat little connection there somehow.

Anyway, Hobie and Gwen teaching Satoru rock and metal music is something I really like! Especially if Hobie shows Satoru some Ex-Jay music that is in Japanese. Imagine the three singing in Japanese to rock songs! That would be really fun! (Gwen doesn’t understand what she is singing and Hobie knows the gist of what it is singing. Satoru would know exactly what is being said and loves that blue is able to actually experience something with others that blue can fully understand without having to translate).

I wonder what instrument Satoru would like the best. I can imagine blue knowing how to play a more classical instrument because of blues family, so maybe something less traditional would be to blues liking. (for some reason I see Satoru in the middle of a room just dancing and shaking maracas around and it is very funny to me)

______________________________________

That’s all I have for now! thanks for the info dump! It’s always fun reading stuff like this! And honestly this is the perfect propaganda to push me into watching this show lol! Once I get time I honestly really do want to watch the show. It’s obviously not going to be exactly like this since this is an AU, but just seeing stuff on tiktok and your explanation of canon is starting to be enough for me to want to see what the show is really about! :3

You have a good day/night as well!

[lovecatsys]

I would like to know Everytying abt ur ocs please. What are their favourite colours. What are their vibes. all the fun facts I’m begging

Ouguhggh okay!!

Favorite colors.... Koemi's favorite is blue, kind of an electric sky blue tbh, but she likes dark blue as well, honestly the color scheme I've really chosen to go for with her so far is basically the trans flag, but I can see her in a lot of different colors tbh, she's a fashion queen so I assume she's worn it all!

Rowan, honestly I kinda feared I'm saying this because it's the most common color in thier color scheme, but I'm just gonna go with black. They can be kind of emo tbh, their main clothing styles are either like, edgy emo punk sorta thing, or like. kind of hippie aesthetic with knitted sweaters and crafty jewelry w gems and butterflies, more bright colors.... I'd say those are their two main styles, but yeah overall, black wins over.

Vibes and fun facts, maybe I should reblog a character ask game! id love if people asked me those for either of them :) brb gonna do taht

[cypric-rat-hyperfixation]

Some rat art prompts

Why not?

Not that you need to tag me, but I would love to see what you guys do with these ideas 👉👈

Rat violently stabbing an apple with a scalpel or toothpick

Three trans lesbian rats cuddling

Plain white rat painting a pride flag on its own fur

Cold nakey rat being offered a jacket by a caring rat with fur

Rat sailing in a Tupperware bowl

Rats sitting in a boat with fishpoles and peas biting their lines. Pea fishing

Hurting and emotionally shattered rat being accepted and consoled by a compassionate friend

Group of rats playing dnd together

Rat wearing a punk bracelet like a belt

Vision-impaired rat with its guide bug<3

Rats playing video games

Nelson the cheester

Plato's Symposium but it's rats

Mama reunited with her kitten that was lost

Medieval blacksmith rat secretly gay lovers with the medieval baker rat next door

Rat tucking/binding for the first time and just being so fucking euphoric

Rat ADHDing all over the room

Rat stimming by popcorning around

An inventor rat inventing a machine that opens the bag of yogies the normal way so that the human will never know they were stolen! c:<

Rat being gendered correctly and being all euphoric

Bulky, heavyset, battle-scarred artisan rat taking on a teeny little bright-eyed mouse apprentice

Swarm of rats killing cops

Intersex pride rat

Cold nakey rat shivering and cuddling closely into a grinning harley rat

Rat stimming by woogling the noodle

PMD-style rat team in a dungeon

Flirty, self-confident rat embarrassing the shit out of a flattered bashful rat

Stimmy hands!!!! Happy hands rat!!!!!!!

Neil x Giant Rat That Makes All Of The Rules

Club scene featuring a rat bar, stripper rats dancing, a DJ rat manning an Alexa, and rats switching pieces of differently colored glass in front of flickering flashlights for the lighting

Lab escapees living happily out in the city together

Rat who loves another rat supporting them even though their feelings are not returned

Outer space excursion!

ALIEN RATS???

Rats doing TikToks

Nakey rat carefully applying sunscreen to itself

Rat stimming by wiggling the whiskers

Wounded mama rat trying to provide for her babies

Rat making little clothes out of yarn

Trauma survivor rat going about life

Rat struggling to injure a zombie rat it loved when it was alive

Vengeance

Fat rat showing love and care to its own body! Stretch marks if nakey

Cthulhu rat

Lochness Ratster

Rat collecting shells beside the sea

Rat collecting snail shells and pebbles beside the lake/river

Physically disabled rat with prosthetics made from found things like toothpicks, paper clips, watch parts, screws, scraps of rubber, necklace chains, etc

Rat collecting nuts, bolts, and tools from a hardware store

Rat finding something stimmy and going ham!

Dragon rat and its hoard

A nerd rat's extensive collection of dice

Fiery rat yelling "YEEEEEHAW!!!" while clinging to the back of an enraged lion

Rat snuggying a little keychain plushie

Cave paintings of rats

Rats riding saddled corvids

Vines but as rats

Heavily tattooed nakey rat

Rat dancing around on a slab of clay to make a r t

Rat sailing in a makeshift boat, collecting pieces of glass, driftwood, and seaweed in the water

Proud mama rat cheering on her kitten as it wins a race

Terrified but charismatic rat trying to talk its way out of being eaten by a mildly amused predator

Rat that has shaved itself nakey except for a dyed tuft on top

DRAG RACE RATS

Cold, distant, emotionally-closed-off-due-to-emotional-damage rat opening up to a compassionate new friend

No thoughts head empty

Cyborg rat

Cocky group of well-groomed harley fancy rats shunning the "commoner" wild rats outside the window begging for food

Rat getting so happy and stimmy and boggling uncontrollably, perhaps while a friend looks on and laughs lovingly

Nakey rat with HELLA freckles

Scenes from religious texts but using rats

Rat shyly asking another rat if it can be lovers with that rat's lover, too

Ur rat looks gnc af😳

Meme rats (e.g. Neil, GRTMAOTR) doing a meet-and-greet like celebrities

Rat drug deal. The drug is that honey they're addicted to

Swarm of rats killing nazis and conservatives and other fascists, racists, bigots, and alt-righters

Famous artists as rats making their famous works but as rats (e.g. rat Da Vinky making rat Mona Lisa)

Rats skydiving and parasailing and shit using empty plastic bags

Rats playing dnd using those teeny tiny little dice in their lil rat hands

Biblically accuRATe angel

Vintage robot rat with cogs n' shit