#unless you are specifically thinking about it

[tboy-trash]

CW graphic descriptions of animal abuse and police K-9 violence.

A study found that between 2011 and 2015, about a quarter of police dogs in the US that died "on the line of duty" did so of heatstroke, after being locked up in police cars under the sun BY THEIR HANDLERS [1].

A study on dog training methods that sought to investigate whether shock collars are worse for welfare than "traditional" physical punishment used the dogs in a police dog training facility, and, when it found out that the collars indeed caused more visible stress, it had to clarify that this was despite the non-shock-collar dogs being pinched, choked and kicked routinely [2] (←sort of unrelated but if you want to know how this is possible, it's not bc the shock collars are necessarily more painful than a beating, but because the unpredictability factor makes it so much worse, you can look up studies on rats and unpredictable punishment, if you have the stomach, to understand more).

During and after the Vietnam war, the US military abandoned some 5000 dogs in Asia. Dogs that were abused and prone to attacking anyone [3].

In 2014, the US department of justice issued an investigation on the Ferguson police department. 100% of those the Ferguson police sicced their dogs against was Black [4].

Nationwide, a report from 2019 that looked at data from the period 2005-2013 found that the victims of K-9 bites remained majority Black and that, despite propaganda showing these dogs are trained to find and bark at someone "unless they move aggressively", in which case the dog would bite, the proportion of biting was exactly the same before and after police departments were encouraged to train this behaviour [5]. Police dogs also seem more likely to bite repeatedly and to the chest, face and neck than domestic dogs [6]

Lest you think this is an US problem, the police also shows a pattern of harassment and violence towards racial minorities in Europe [7], the only reason I'm using US data is because it's easy to find. Not every country allows for dogs to be used this way though, so the implications depend on the specifics, but every country that uses police dogs trained for attack has the same fundamental problems.

Anyway, here's Malcom X on police dogs

"A hundred years ago they used to put on a white sheet and use a bloodhound against Negroes. Today they've taken off the white sheet and put on police uniforms. They've traded in the bloodhounds for police dogs and they are still doing the same thing.”

Sources:

1- Barberi, D., Gibbs, J. C., & Schally, J. L. (2019). K9s killed in the line of duty. Contemporary Justice Review, 22(1), 86-100.

2 - Schilder, M. B., & van der Borg, J. A. (2004). Training dogs with help of the shock collar: short and long term behavioural effects. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 85(3-4), 319-334.

3 - Houlden, S. (2020). Gone to the War Dogs: An Analysis of Human-Canine Relationality in Twenty-First Century Conflict and War (Doctoral dissertation).

4- U. S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2015). Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department. Retrieved from: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf

5- Loder, R. T., & Meixner, C. (2019). The demographics of dog bites due to K-9 (legal intervention) in the United States. Journal of forensic and legal medicine, 65, 9-14.

6 - Meade, P. C. (2006). Police and domestic dog bite injuries: What are the differences? What are the implications about police dog use?. Injury Extra, 37(11), 395-401.

7 - Borooah, V. K. (2011). Racial disparity in police stop and searches in England and Wales. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 27, 453-473.

All k9 dogs are abused hands down if you post any pro k9 stuff on my dash you’re unfollowed I don’t care if we’ve been mutuals for years, you can claim to be anti-cop or a leftist or whatever but if you post k9 dogs with like “a good doggo! A good boy!” fuck off, if I lose followers over this then good riddance

[sucodelaranja86]

hey!! can i req hcs of hyun-ju with an s/o that’s a singer?? not even like an actual singer but just someone who loves to sing 😋😋

- hyun-ju with a singer partner hc's: ★

featuring: hyun-ju cho x reader

summary: one of your special talents is singing, and that pleases your girlfriend a lot.

warnings: none

genre: fluff

A/N: this is such an interesting request! I honestly had no idea on what to do first, but i managed. :33

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

➤ First off, i have a feeling that Hyun-ju is not really the type that listens to too much music. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like she doesn't enjoy it, she just doesn't have the time or that much interest.

So i think that her musical taste consists on what's trending or what you listen and show her. Meaning that if she ever hear you singing or humming to a random song, she will not get the reference. Unless you listened or showed her the song before, she will not manage to guess which song you are singing.

She cares a lot about your interests and hobbies, meaning she will want to mingle in what you are into (even if she doesn't get it). So these specific situations are not unexpected and unusual:

"Are you singing that one song you showed me last week that had a butterfly in the album's cover?" she asked excitedly after hearing you hum a melody while helping her wash the dishes.

"Hyun-ju, it's the soundtrack from the movie we watched yesterday."

At least she tries.

But seeing it from another point of view, she really enjoys hearing your voice. As i mentioned before, she doesn't have time to stop and listen to music. So hearing your tuneful voice always soothes her greatly.

Your number one fan. Asks you to sing "that one song you hummed when you two were getting back home on thursday" and gets sad if you don't recognize it.

LIKES WHEN YOU SING FOR HER TO SLEEP‼️ Her days are really stressful due to many factors, so when you sing with what she calls a "perfect lyrical voice", it puts her to sleep in a minute.

Overall: your biggest fan. Don't spend more than a week without singing or she will be feeling like her favorite bad just disbanded.

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

[4linos]

clingy, not a burden

lee minho x fem!reader

synopsis/request: after a long day, minho’s need for affection is met with warmth and reassurance, reminding him he can always seek comfort without shame.

wc: 1143

It had been a difficult day for Minho. He'd spent hours at practice, pushing his body to its limits with choreography and vocal runs, and while he appeared fine on the outside, you could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He didn't show it all the time, but when he was this worn out, the sharpness in his usual actions and the brightness in his gaze began to fade. More than anything, he just wanted to be near you.

It started when you were in the kitchen chopping vegetables, with the calm hum of the evening filling the room. Minho entered silently behind you, his steps light and seemingly hesitant. He didn't say anything at first, just stood there and watched you for a bit. He looked a little... smaller, as if all the energy he'd spent over the day had drained him totally. Then, almost as an afterthought, he scooted closer to you, snuggling in next you as if your presence was the only thing that could keep him grounded.

You could feel him before you saw him: his body warmth, the small brush of his palm against yours, the subtle aroma of sweat and tiredness on him. You looked up to see him standing there, staring at you with the gentle, almost vulnerable expression he saved for occasions like this. He said nothing, but you understood exactly what he wanted.

"You okay, babe?" You asked, your voice simmered with worry, but a smile pulled at your lips as you noticed how close he was standing, nearly leaning into you, as if he couldn't get enough of your presence.

He blinked slowly and gave a slight nod, but his eyes never left yours. You could see he was tired, both physically and emotionally, from practicing, but he wasn't the sort to acknowledge it. Instead, he just followed you about the kitchen, lingering close like a shadow.

When you moved to the counter, Minho was there behind you, resting against it and watching you slice the vegetables with a kind, almost drowsy smile. It was subtle, but the way he kept close to you made you feel like you were the only thing he could think about at the time. You could literally feel the weight of his tiredness through the air, and the way he didn't let go of your side all evening told you exactly what he needed: closeness.

"Minho," you teased softly, watching how he kept following you around the apartment, sneaking behind you when you went to the the bathroom and reappearing just a few seconds later when you settled into the couch. His movements were so gentle, his gaze so steady, and the way he leaned in, seeking the warmth of your skin, made your heart hurt with longing. "You're being a little clingy today, huh?"

It was meant to be playful, to ease the stress that had accumulated around him. Minho was not the clingy type, at least not unless he was tired or needed something specific. It was one of the things you like about him: he wasn't overly clingy, always giving you your space unless he truly needed it. But as you said it, his face changed quickly. The smile faded, and the light in his eyes faded just a little. His lips pushed together in a narrow line, and the sorrow returned to his face so rapidly that you nearly missed it. He wasn't offended at all. But you knew him well enough to notice that something had changed beneath the surface.

Minho's shoulders stiffened, and for a brief time, he looked like he was about to leave, walking away and leaving you alone in the apartment's silence. You could sense his sudden distancing before he made a move, and it hit you like a punch in the the stomach. You never wanted him to feel forced to walk away from you. Not right now, when he needed you the most.

"Minho…" you murmured quietly, your voice breaking as you reached out and gripped his wrist, bringing him back into you. His look had softened to something uncertain, the faint sadness still lingering, and you realized you had made a mistake. "I didn't mean it like that," you quickly added, your words tumbling out in a rush. "I wasn't teasing you, I promise. I just... I was trying to make you laugh. I'm sorry."

Minho hesitated, his eyes shifting to yours. There was a hint of embarrassment in his expression as he stood in front of you, his hand clumsily drawing away from yours for a second, unsure how to answer. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and you could tell he was still digesting things, feeling a touch vulnerable, with his walls cracking in an unusual way for him.

But then, after a long moment, he sighed, as if the weight of the day had finally gotten to him, and smiled sheepishly. His shoulders slumped, and at the next instant, he leaned forward, concealing his face in the crook of your neck and pushing against you as if seeking refuge. "I'm sorry," he said into your skin, his words muffled. "I just... I'm really tired today. I didn't want you to think I was annoying or something." You smiled softly, your fingers sliding through his hair, the warmth of his body against yours a reassuring reminder that you didn't need to say anything else. You kissed the top of his head; your voice gentle and full of love.

"Minho, you can be clingy. I don't mind," you said softly but really. "If you need me, I will always be there for you. You don't have to hide it or be embarrassed. I adore how you want to be close to me. You are never too much for me, you know that, right?" Minho halted, his body stiffening against yours for a little moment, as if he wasn't sure how to accept the reassurance. But then he relaxed again, his breath slowing as he sank himself further into the warmth of your embrace, as if the sheer reality of your words might lift the weight of his tiredness.

You felt his body soften against yours, the last bit of tension fading as he snuggled even closer, his arms wrapping around you like a lifeline. And in that moment, it didn’t matter that he was clingy. It didn’t matter that he needed something you couldn’t put into words. All that mattered was that you were there, and that he knew, no matter what, you’d always be his safe place to land.

“I’m not going anywhere, Minho,” you whispered, your hand tracing small circles on his back. “You can be as clingy as you want. I’m here. Always.”

And with that, he finally let himself rest, his exhaustion slowly melting away in your arms.

//

masterlist

[artuurle]

more doodles of this thing that haunts my brain and his boyfriend

More doodles centered around pre-godhood shenanigans under cut to keep post short for the sanity of others lol

tha legally mandated Only 1 bed trope ...

getting the old uniform out!

annnnd the obilgatory sad bonus U u U

[kittenwriter]

I don't like having to own a specific pronoun. Of course, I say that as someone who definitely has pronouns I don't use despite not wanting to own a specific set aside from "not those," but no one's going to look at me and jump to the ones I don't want unless they're trying to Make A Point. But you can't be like "not he/him" at the pronoun circle even though that's most accurate.

(My general reluctance to claim a pronoun probably says something about my gender but I try really hard not to think about it too much which the pronoun circles do not help with. And at work I have to have them in my email signature.)

i think one of the most frustrating things about the “share pronouns in a circle” phenomenon, as someone who teaches, is it has been so entrenched in the “canon” of the “progressive toolkit” that when you reject it for very good reasons, you recieve pushback for not giving space for pronoun sharing, so you just end up doing it anyways. and it really ignores the way it makes a spectacle if there are only a handful of trans people in the room, or even worse, only one

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Hello Aubrie! Goood, I love your writing so much, and I couldn't wait to send in another request!

Could I ask for Eyeless Jack and his s/o going on a date day? How it would look like and all that? (can be sfw/nsfw)

I decided to keep it just SFW this time as I was just in a fluffy vontent mood today, but you can feel free to request date night specific spicy stuff with EJ next time if you'd like :) I hope you enjoy, I'm extra tired today so my writing may be different but I had a need for EJ fluff

Your date day actually ends up being a date night with this one, as your boyfriend is nocturnal, however, he gets up a bit earlier than normal if the two of you want to spend a "day" together. Normally waking at about 6:00 pm, Jack will get up around 4:00 on a day the two of you wish to spend together. He'll spend a little while waking up, curled up in bed with you, discussing things you want to do, getting ready to go out with you, just waiting for the sun to go down more so Jack can handle being around the light (as he can't handle visibly bright light very well, hence the nocturnal part :p).

He'll make sure you get something yummy to eat for dinner, and that's usually your first spot on your date nights. The Underworld is full of restaurants that operate 24/7, so he'll take you out to eat at whichever place you'd prefer to go to, and you'll both sit and talk for a while over food. Even with the nocturnal citizens out and about, the Underworld is a lot more quiet at night, so Jack enjoys walking through it with you, enjoying the peace of it. The two of you might window shop a bit, going into any stores that catch your eye. I think if it's warm enough you two have a tradition of getting ice cream together, because there are places that serve a mix of demon and human appropriate flavors, so you can get whichever flavor you'd prefer, and EJ can get his go-to blood ice cream so he can enjoy it as well. Following that, Jack always loves taking you for another walk, this time through the forests of the Underworld. The air is nice and fresh, and the creatures running about are usually attracted to Jack, so he always gets excited by the chance to tell you what the different animals are, and because they trust him so much you can even pet them while they sit contentedly beside him.

It's not until either the sun starts coming back up or you start to get too tired that the two of you finally begin to make your way back to the mansion together. Once you get back, Jack normally prefers to enter relaxation mode with you again. You'll take a relaxing shower together, and then put on some perfectly fluffy, soft pajamas (Jack is a connoisseur of comfortable fabrics), and curl up in bed once more. Some nights you guys might put on a show in the background, or some music, or anything you're in the mood to watch and just sit, and cuddle to the background noise. However, there are also nights like tonight, when you snuggle up and read together. It always starts with both of you reading your own preferred books in silence, but then usually one of you grows more tired faster than the other (usually you, as it's generally 5:00 am by this point), and the other person will read their own book aloud for both of you. Days like these generally end with you fast asleep in Jack's arms due to your need for sleep overcoming you, and Jack will always chuckle and set his book aside, before pulling you into his chest, and finally falling asleep himself. You usually always wake before him, unless you sleep the whole day away (sometimes Jack also just refuses to let you out of his arms on purpose but shhhh it's fine, it doesn't matter), but post date day snuggles are also mandatory in this relationship, so really, date days are like two days in one because you've gotta recoup your energy from staying up so late. Even if the two of you just spend a date day curled up inside playing board games or reading, or even just silently snuggling up, Jack doesn't mind, so long as he gets to spend as much time with you as possible, anything is fine in his opinion. He's just thankful to have you there with him.

[thoughtportal]

When Simon Bogemann’s hand began cramping around the steering wheel in a claw position on his commute from Geelong to Melbourne, he began to worry.

Bogemann, then 43, was also getting pins and needles in his feet and fingers every night in bed, and while sitting down during short lunch breaks at work.

His GP put it down to a lack of magnesium and recommended a supplement, in addition to the multivitamin he was taking for a chronic condition.

Bogemann was unaware that both capsules contained added vitamin B6, too much of which could lead to the symptoms he was experiencing – a type of nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy.

The wellness industry’s marketing of over-the-counter vitamins is leading to an increase in the number of people presenting with peripheral neuropathy linked to excessive vitamin B6 in their blood, Australia’s peak body for pathologists has warned.

Dr David Kanowski, a chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology in Brisbane, says most people are unaware they are consuming too much of the vitamin.

Bogemann certainly had no idea: “You buy an over-the-counter supplement, you just think that it’s going to be good for you, not bad for you.”

He says it has been a challenge to change his multivitamin to a product without B6.

“One thing that I have learned is that B6 seems to be added, for some reason, to a lot of over-the-counter supplements.”

It is also in some energy drinks, breakfast cereals, and protein and weight loss shakes.

Magnesium tablets, commonly recommended for cramp relief, often contain B6 because it can assist magnesium absorption. But a person who takes two magnesium tablets a day could consume more than 120mg of B6, far exceeding the recommended dietary intake for adults in Australia of 1.3mg to 2mg a day.

It was previously believed that peripheral neuropathy was caused by doses of hundreds of milligrams taken over periods of 12 months or more but cases have been known to occur at levels as low as 21mg.

The initial symptoms include numbness and pins and needles in the feet, which can spread up the legs. Muscle cramps and pain may be felt in the arms and hands.

In 2020 the Therapeutic Goods Administration released a safety advisory warning. Two years later, still concerned about a lack of awareness, the TGA lowered the limit at which products must display a warning label, from 50mg of B6 down to 10mg – and banned products with more than 100mg.skip past newsletter promotion

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Nevertheless, cases have continued to rise. Between January 2020 and October 2024 the TGA received 81 adverse event reports of peripheral neuropathy associated with medicines containing a vitamin B6 ingredient, with most of them reported in the past two years.

Kanowski says advertising on social and other media promotes the idea that taking more vitamins is good for health.

“It’s understood that if you want to counteract bad habits, like smoking or drinking too much, perhaps that can be counterbalanced with vitamins,” he says.

Kanowski says the TGA has been “fairly hands off” unless toxins are in a product.

Fiona Sammut, a dietitian based in Victoria, says it’s a big ask to expect consumers to read and interpret “tiny font” disclaimers and formulations.

People who see claims that vitamins will “boost their energy” may take several supplements thinking they are harmless, she says.

While foods are commonly fortified with vitamins for “specific evidence-based reasons”, such as vitamin B1 fortified bread, Sammut says there’s no similar reason for B6 fortification because there isn’t a high incidence of vitamin B6 deficiency.

Most people get enough B6 in their diets from foods including fish, non-citrus fruits and starchy vegetables, and high intakes of B6 from natural food sources have not been reported to cause adverse effects.

Sarah* had symptoms of peripheral neuropathy for years, but “never thought anything of it”, because she assumed they were related to her Crohn’s disease.

In hindsight, she says, the symptoms began about a year after she began taking a multivitamin that contained 60mg of B6 after weight loss surgery in 2011, in addition to the magnesium which contained 82mg she had been taking for years due to cramps in her legs.

She had been having yearly blood tests at her dietician’s recommendations but it was only in late 2021 that the pathology lab tested for B6 levels and found they were 15 times higher than the recommended range.

In most cases, once B6 levels return to normal, peripheral neuropathy will slowly improve within six to 12 months but in some severe cases it can be irreversible.

Prof Matthew Kiernan, the chief executive of Neuroscience Australia, has described a case he saw in his clinical practice of a 40-year-old patient who was worried he had motor neurone disease before the doctor linked the gym enthusiast’s symptoms to excessive vitamin B6 intake from the supplements he consumed as part of his fitness program.

Kiernan, who diagnosed more patients with peripheral neuropathy after his article on the case was published in the Medical Journal of Australia, believes there should be limits on the number of supplements people can buy because they are unnecessary for people eating a balanced diet.

“None of this is policed,” he says. “So, if you go down to the chemist and go down the vitamin aisle, they’re all there. You can get a whole shopping trolley full of them.”

[sirhamburrger]

Can I get a earl grey with 100% sugar and a crossiant on the side for Rin Itoshi 🙏(the link didn’t work for the post 💔)

sure! let's double-check your order first, shall we? ➼ earl grey -------- friends to lovers ➼ (100% sugar) --- fluff ➼ croissant -------- drabble/oneshot ➼ for r. itoshi ------ who's only ever got soccer on the brain... and you! ➼ total ------------- 649 words ➼ contents -------- slightly possessive rin, pda, bad pacing, pda at the end, it also probably doesn't get good until the end alright, here you go! presenting...

on soccer and you (r. itoshi x reader drabble) courtesy of kai’s cat café! - 150 followers event

café menu || order progress asks closed.

rin itoshi's life revolves around soccer. if he’s in a good mood, soccer is probably the reason why - a good game, maybe, or a new skill learnt. if he’s in a bad mood, it’s probably also to do with soccer. busy? likely busy with soccer. even if he’s not busy, his mind is probably fixated on his next game or practice session. rin itoshi lives his life as if the world were a soccer field and every moment, a match waiting to be played.

so, naturally, he does everything like he plays soccer.

he does his schoolwork like he plays soccer. cautious, careful, calculating. you see it in every clinical movement, every learned thought spoken aloud, every smooth glide of his pen across paper. his handwriting is as precise as his passes, sharp and deliberate. he doesn’t rush, doesn’t stumble; every stroke of his pen carries the weight of strategy. 

he eats like he’s fueling for a game. every meal is a calculation, a perfectly balanced equation of proteins, carbs, and nutrients. there’s no indulgence, no whim - just discipline. he knows his body is his weapon, his tool, his masterpiece, and he treats it as such.

even in casual moments, when others laugh and talk freely, rin is observing. his sharp teal eyes scan the room like he’s analyzing a pitch, reading movements, predicting plays. it’s not that he doesn’t want to relax; he simply doesn’t know how. soccer has taught him to always stay one step ahead, to think three steps forward - a permanent lens.

and his relationships with other people? they may as well just be another match to him, since he approaches them with the same mindset: cautious, intentional, always thinking about the long game. emotions aren’t things he shows easily; they’re like the ball at his feet - kept close, controlled, never exposed unless absolutely necessary.

and then there’s you.

if he’s the star player, you’re his number one fan, his cheerleader. always watching from the sidelines, supporting him. this is how it’s been since the two of you met in elementary school. people might think rin's more than a little scary, but that’s not true; he’s the best friend you could ask for. you go to all his matches, and if you have some kind of play, or art exhibition, or piano recital, he’ll be there. 

in a way, he’s your number one fan as much as you are his.

being around you doesn’t feel so much like a game of soccer, and that’s precisely what he likes about your friendship. with you, he can finally be his true self, and not what other people think he should be.

you’re worried that will change when you start dating him. going from being best friends to being in a serious relationship - well, the transition itself isn’t all that hard. but you’re worried that he’ll change the way he sees you, change the way he treats you. and in a way, he does. every date is planned out to perfection, every element falling into place like the pieces of a puzzle.

but, as everyone who’s seen him play knows, he gets unpredictable when he gets excited during a match.

he brings you huge bouquets of flowers sometimes, so big you need three vases to fit them all. you’re craving a really specific food? he’s running down to the convenience store at 2am for you, or looking up a youtube tutorial for it. when guys hit on you - in his presence, no less, the nerve of them - he’s pulling you into a heated kiss that leaves you stuttering and breathless. 

and he kisses you in front of the crowds too when he wins his games, uncaring of hundreds of people seeing your public displays of affection.

so yeah, he’s unpredictable when he gets crazy over you, just as he gets crazy over soccer. but you’re sure not complaining.

end.

a message from the café owner:

this request was pretty fun to work with, thanks for this anon! rin is getting to be one of my favourite characters so i'm probably going to be writing for him more and more (and two seperate times within this event LOL) and sorry about the link 😢

café menu || order progress

© sirhamburrger || [general m.list]

[grison-in-space]

One of my favorite teaching moments was the time that one of the students in my class (a Classics double major that had long since forgotten that anyone else in Genetics Lab might have humanities interests) snapped the opening lines to another student out in the middle of a play argument. I gasped at him, the other student demanded to know what the first had said, I provided my own translation ("I'll rape you in the ass and mouth, cockslut Aurelius and ass-hungry Marcus") and formally made the point that we do not say shit like this unless we expect to stand by our words when someone unexpectedly understands them. Then we got into a brief argument about whether irrumare is better translated as "to skullfuck" or "to rape one's face" and a much longer discussion about the way that toxic masculinity relates to homosexuality and prescriptive sexual behavior.

For the record, what aetherograph is referring to is actually the Roman verb irrumare itself. It is a violent word, and while all the folks above are right that Romans and Greeks alike had a lot of moral panic surrounding men being the receiving partner of penetrative sex, irrumare is specifically more threatening and insulting than, say, pedicare: you're specifically muting the person and potentially blocking their airways here, making them even more vulnerable. It also implies very strongly that the penetrating person is controlling the movement: this is not a verb that can be translated synonymously to "blowing" a person, for example. The word means to forcibly fuck a person's mouth, an act so degrading that it is beyond imagination that an upstanding man would or could tolerate it without being forced.

These are Bad Words to a Roman, and I think translations should incorporate that as well as trying to convey the violence of the words. I really don't like translations that try to downplay the extent to which Catullus 16 is a very, very vivid rape threat in response to (inferred) loss of masculine status on account of spending too much time and attention with female lovers. I think there is a tendency to be delighted by profanity and obscenity themselves in the hallowed halls of literature, and certainly this is one hell of an ancient Italian poetic tradition that continues well into the modern day. But I also think that obscenity and poetry both exist to turn strong feelings into meaning, and I think Catullus' poetry is most powerful and effective when we stop thinking about how naughtily he was saying something and start thinking about what exactly he was saying as he did it.

Catullus certainly is one of the Roman poets that fucked, but Catullus 16 is not a romantic poem but a violent one. (This isn't that uncommon for Catullus, who writes vividly about sex, emotion, and violence as recurring themes and can be almost as aggressive to women as to men. One of his other famous ones, Catullus 11, involves him feeling spurned by a lover and declaring that his friends Furius and Aurelius should go tell her that he says he hopes she's happy with all her many suitors, her three hundred lovers, none of which she truly touches despite the rupture of their thighs; another (Catullus 58) has him complaining that his lover whom he was so attached to is off lying in the back alleys fucking all the "grandsons of Remus," AKA any Roman who shows up and hikes up his tunic.) He was also very capable of mushy sweetness! But the anger is always there lurking beneath the surface.

He was a complicated guy. His poetry is constructed in careful layers of meaning around astonishingly raw emotions, glittering and artistic to behold. He was absolutely a man of his own time and place, which makes him translator catnip. But that time and place was Imperial Rome, and translators ought to work to communicate exactly what sort of place Rome could be, too.

you cant even begin poems with "i will sodomise and facef uck you" anymore. because of woke .

[briarberrythornedhart]

Trust me

Contains: Post Season 4, Hurt/comfort, implied sex, Eddie Munson X You, no Y/N, roommates to lovers.

🦇 🛋️ 🦇 😴 🦇

Eddie lived.

And now he lives with you. You invited him to stay with you in your apartment and lie low while the Sheriff’s dept and the FBI completed the investigation of the murders (and exonerated Eddie, obviously).

There is some damage to his tattoos and a half destroyed nipple but otherwise he was unharmed physically by the events in Hawkins.

Mentally, he struggles.

He is uneasy and anxious.

Extremely Jumpy.

You’ve taken to wearing an ankle bracelet that jingles so he’ll hear you coming and not panic.

He doesn’t sleep well. He’s always tired and can’t even nap. He’s not even cranky about it, he’s just listless.

Dustin says he’s very different from the Eddie he knew in High School. Almost the opposite. Revved Down.

Eddie tells you he can’t sleep anymore because when he closes his eyes he sees the murders. Even Fred’s, which he didn’t witness in person, his brain cruelly recreates on a loop of guilt with the other deaths. It does no good to tell him he shouldn’t feel guilty, he can’t turn off the feeling that if he’d done something differently… he could have saved them. Like he personally could have taken Vecna out if he knew the solution. Like he picked the wrong CYOA path. It’s ridiculous and he knows it but he can’t seem to change that feeling, especially at night.

In the time you’ve chosen to take him in as your own personal project— sorry… as your roommate and good friend - You have barely seen him close his eyes at all.

The chocolate orbs are usually on you, meeting your gaze, watching your movements. Curious as a cat.

Right now it’s breakfast and he’s watching you make cinnamon toast.

Your way. Which is a very specific way. Exactly how you like it.

He looks like he’s taking mental notes but his head is heavy on his hand and his shoulders are curved like he could almost fall over from fatigue.

The black eyeliner he let you decorate his eyes with is smeared over the dark circles under his eyes. The black nail polish on each short nail bed on each long skilled (guitarist) finger is chipped. You will offer to repaint it later.

Even bone tired in rumpled sweatpants and an old tshirt that has holes in the armpits and at the collar… he is still unbelievably hot.

Without a doubt, if you weren’t certain-sure he was not into you in the slightest, you’d have tried something already.

Probably. You have a type and it is this guy.

“Smells good.” Eddie suddenly says. Perking up slightly.

“Do you want some toast?” You ask.

“Yes, please, princess.” He uses his trademark terms of endearment with everyone. It isn’t condescending or anything. After all he calls Steve Harrington and ‘Coffin-Jeff’ from his band and Nancy Wheeler ‘Princess’, too. So you think it doesn’t mean much of anything.

He licks his lips in anticipation.

The man would live on foods that are nutritionally-void vessels for butter if you didn’t insist on the occasional salad or omelette.

“You can have as much as you like if you’ll take a nap for me after.” You promise, handing him a triangle of toast.

“With you?” Eddie raises his eyebrows in a twist of confusion.

“Yeah. I mean…At the same time.” You Disambiguate. He slumps slightly and nibbles on the crusts. “You could take the couch and I could take the loveseat… Unless…”

“Unless???” His eyebrows are back up, way up, hidden in the curly brunette fringe.

“Well….I’ve heard that weighted blankets help with uneasy sleep, nightmares, anxiety and stuff. We don’t have anything heavy bedding wise but…I could be your weighted sorta blanket…if you trust me.”

“You’d do that for me?” Eddie smiles softly. “Even knowing I usually wake up yelling and screaming about scary shit?”

You did not know that. “Of course. Let’s try something new, you need sleep and I want to help if I can.”

He finished the cinnamon toast in 2 bites.

You lead him to the big thrift store find monstrosity of a chesterfield that he had helped you heft into the apartment.

It was wide and deep and cozy.

“Will I fit?” Eddie looked skeptical. “I usually curl up on my side on couches, these darn legs are longer than they look…”

You pressed gently on his shoulders. “Trust me. Get comfy.” You insisted. “Bend one knee up against the sofa back.”

He flopped down on his back, hands behind head, legs slightly spread and gone boneless. “Climb aboard.” He said wryly.

You crawled from his bare feet up between his spread legs to ease yourself onto his body. You tried not to feel some kind a messy way about how he body-rolled against you as you both tried to find the most comfortable position. Eventually your head was resting on his broad chest.

You shifted and felt like you were gonna roll off him, off the couch, but he said “whoa, princess.” And wrapped an arm around you to keep you there.

You were held and warm and not a little bit well….to be honest you were just completely massively turned on by the perfect scent of him and being pressed against his body.

“You good?” You asked.

“Yea, sweetheart. How bout You?” Eddie whispered.

“I feel safe.” You lied. Because what you felt was more complex than safe could ever be.

“Good. When I get… uh…if you notice that I am…” Eddie cleared his throat. “Just know I’d never do anything. I promise.”

You peered up at him. Your turn to be very confused.

He stammered and his face reddened. “I mean if you feel uh… ‘little Eddie’ getting ideas down there, don’t worry, I’m in control. Just because you feel so nice… perfect even�� know I’m at the helm, right? And I value our friendship and would never…”

“I thought I didn’t do it for you?? Like at all?” You stammered back.

“I mean, obviously you do. You Do all of it for little Eddie.” He gestured at his crotch which was pitching a size large (OMG is that real?) tent in the sweats. “You are hot and sweet and funny and whip-smart and you’ve got this ass that I… ::fuck:: I’m sorry, forget I said… I mean, I wouldn’t ever do anything about it, not ever.”

“Why the hell not??” You got up on your elbows and sat on his belly. You looked down at his gorgeous flushed face. He bit his lips hard.

“Princess, You mean too much to me. When I think about losing you…”

“Why would you lose me? I’m very hard to just…misplace.” You stuck out your tongue at him.

He gave you a small chuckle and his hands found your hips. Squeezed you there. One hand stroked down your leg to run a finger over your jingling ankle bracelet. Then he frowned and then his hands dropped away.

He took a deep shuddery breath. “I usually lose when I love… one way or another, it’s inevitable… I have extraordinarily bad luck.”

“Eddie, nothing is totally inevitable.” You touched his cheek. Rubbed his lower lip with your thumb. “Can you trust me just a little bit more than you fear bad luck?”

Perhaps a smile teased one corner of his mouth. Almost a smile. Nearly one. “I trust you, Princess.”

You dismounted Eddie and took his hand to lead him to your room. Soon to be his room too.

He did yell that night but not in an unhappy way.

[the-crooked-library]

Okay I wanted to tell you that I'm literally drinking your posts about Nosferatu, thank you so much for sharing all your thoughts! You're helping me better shaping my own opinions.

And I have another thing that can't leave my mind so I thought to share: Ellen is in perfect control of Orlok, and it's never the other way round.

She is the one that summons him first, and after their first encounters (I got the feeling that they met more than once before her father discovered her and the encounters got unpleasant, but I might be wrong), when she rejects him out of fear and disgust, *he leaves her be*. Okay, he visits her in her dreams, but dreams are manageable, right? In fact Ellen moves on, she tries to build a reasonable life, she falls in love, and Orlok just leaves her be. It's only when she marries that he acts: because the vows of marriage can break the oath they took years ago.

And even if moved by jealousy and rage, even if he is so powerful that he can control animals, weather and human minds, even if he can bring the plague to a whole city, even if he kills and tortures everyone, he can't touch her unless she gives her permission, her consent. He barely even look at her without her permission.

And in the end he knows the dawn is approaching, he knows he's gonna die, he is more than satisfied, more than fulfilled, but she says "more" and so he stays. And he dies. Because she wanted for him to die.

I don't think Ellen is fully aware of her power and control over him since the beginning, because to admit to herself this much is too much for her. A part of her still wants and impossible normal life. But surely she knows. She places her hair in the lock...

And in the end she fully embraces this power, to the extent of her own death too.

I think this is what hit me the most in this movie. How big a role the girl plays in the action of the vampire.

hi - and thank you so so much! I am delighted to hear that you've been enjoying my posts about this film, because, quite frankly, I haven't been able to shut up about it at any point since I saw it.

Regarding Ellen's control of Orlok: this might be just my opinion, but I think it is strongly reminiscent of the dynamic between Sarah and Jareth in Labyrinth (1986)! Sarah's situation is, naturally, less traumatic than Ellen's - but she is the heroine of a coming-of-age fantasy film, rather than a gothic horror, so that comes with the territory. The point is, their stories share the same essential plot beats and deal with a similar subject matter, and Sarah's story is punctuated by her interactions with the Goblin King. Like Orlok, he is ancient and in some ways immortal; he is obsessive, dangerous, and magical in a way that does not fit in with the Normal World - which provides a point of endless fascination for Sarah, who also feels like an outsider in it. As such, the Goblin King both excites and terrifies her, he adores her and menaces her at the same time - and, crucially, he has no power over her. Here's how the story develops:

the loneliness, the frustration with her life

the summons, however accidental

friends/family in danger

at the same time - thrill, excitement, seduction, obsession

fairy tale time limit - 13 hours or 3 nights

confrontation/declaration of love, offer of eternity

the evil is defeated because he isn't actually in control.

The Goblin King begs Sarah to just fear him, love him, and vows to be her slave if she does; Orlok does much the same, insisting time and time again that Ellen isn't meant for the human world - that he would give her the companionship she wanted for all eternity; and the same pattern repeats in a plethora of other media as well, vampire, fairytale, and various derivations thereof.

Just to throw a few examples into the mix - Ellen Hutter, Christine Daaé, Sarah Williams, Will Graham, and Louis de Pointe du Lac all follow that specific dance. Each one of their respective monsters seduces, threatens, adores, coerces, rages - and eventually submits. Orlok is reverent as he stays with Ellen past the sunrise; Erik releases Christine in the finale; the Goblin Kingdom crumbles, Hannibal kneels in the snow and falls from the cliff, and Lestat allows Louis to slit his throat. For the pursued, this is, first and foremost, a story of self-actualization; and a fantasy of being loved so deeply that it supersedes all other possible concerns. None of these characters have ever felt loved by another human being - and so it's not surprising that the thing that wants them so much isn't human. It's really more of a reasonable assumption than a leap.

I absolutely agree that Ellen's actions are often very subtly questionable, in a way that almost feels like reaching; and I think that this is likely the intention - though that could be debated until the cows come home, given a contrary enough group of people. Still, in the film itself, she is indeed torn between Morality and Desire. Lines are inevitably blurred. The locket miniature for Thomas, the perfumed lock of hair for Orlok; a sacrifice for the city, a night of passion for her.

One proper, sane; the other invariably personal, close to the skin - clinging, like the scent of lilacs; and it could be said that this dilemma is best encapsulated by her description of a dream she had in the very beginning of the movie. In it, she is wedded to Death. None of the witnesses survive it. She is horrified, she has never been happier in her life, and it's rooted in the very core of her anguish. Because what sort of thing is she, if the only person that loves her wholly is a monster?..

[narfin-frood]

Hi! I'm a big fan of your art, and I just wanted to know, did you study the WOY art style? I'm asking because the way you draw each character, Hater especially, is so expressive! Do you have any tips with expressions? Thank you!

thank you so much!! and to kinda answer your question: while what i do is, technically, studying, that's not what it feels like. i genuinely just enjoy looking at character sheets. a lot of the time they'll include little notes about things you wouldn't think about unless you're told to, like wander's eyes typically angling towards each other at the bottom or sylvia's eyes obscuring the full width of her neck.

(i have any one of these open in my reference panel almost always! not only are these full of tips & tricks for your everyday sketching, they're full of rules for each character, which are meant to be broken in interesting and fun ways.)

[im gonna pack a bunch of other, tangentially related tips and tricks and thoughts into the readmore, including my personal breakdown of hater's expressions specifically, so feel free to give it a click. long post ahead]

a lot of stuff can be picked up by just watching the cartoon as many times as you want. i have watched every episode (minus big fucking baby episode, which i hate) like 6 times over, sometimes more (looking at you the rager), and that has definitely solidified my wander over yonder visual library.

also, wander over yonder's art style already fits in with the way i draw, because i LOVEE long curvy lines and super crisp & clear silhouettes!!

as for why/how i get hater so expressive.... that mainly has to do with the fact that i think he's So Cute. He's So Cute and i wanna Squash Him. and his character design reflects that!!!

his hood is his eyebrow and his eyes may or may not be rolling around in their sockets, and his nose is a little upside down heart. but all of the lord hater emotion is stored in the chin. lord hater has a bunch of specific and VERY malleable options for mouth shapes, depending on what makes the expression and lipsync look clearest.

you can keep it super simple, with a clear divide between his top and bottom jaw, and do several round bumps for teeth, which they do a lot when tweening, like this:

this kind of seems to be his default state, depending heavily on the episode and when it was made and who was drawing him the most, of course.

you can also keep his jaw and skull distinct, but keep his teeth straight and flush with each other, which helps for sharper expressions, esp. anger or frustration, but can also work for a good "squee". he also sometimes pouts so hard his chin eats his mouth, which is, again, cute.

if you're having trouble keeping an expression clear while also maintaining the distinction between his jaw and the rest of his skull, it's pretty common also to forego most of the overt skeleton bits, save for a few hatch marks to indicate teeth (sometimes squiggles or bumps, when he's yelling about it). in my head i affectionately refer to this style of hater expression as the "peanut sans"

none of these convey the intensity of emotion you're looking for? fear not, you can also always just go Full Skeleting. and give his teeth a full outline. this is great for Pain and Strain and Nefariousness.

and then there are a million expressions in between and possibilities within these parameters beyond your wildest belief. nothing should hold you back from a really fucked-up lord hater expression. not proportion. not structure. ESPECIALLY not symmetry. please. make his chin bigger. make his head bigger. make one eye bigger. make him look in two different directions. scrunch his nose up. whatever it takes. by all means. i implore you to have fun

(honorable mention. his W face. the face when he says the consonant W. sometimes OO. i'm. obsessed. with it . he looks. kity)

anyway. lord hater tangent aside. i could also share my own process for expressions, but it really just hinges on what looks appealing/what i like the most/what communicates the emotion i want to communicate the clearest, and it varies between characters and people.

it helps to, again, build your visual library, and look at lots and lots of funny faces, both in real life and in cartoons you like. make funny faces in the mirror and try to focus on what parts of your face change shape or interact with other parts of your face when you do something like smile really wide or drop your jaw. your skin is taut, and there's a bunch of muscle and fat attached to your bones, so when one big bone moves, a bunch of muscles and fat under the surface will shift around too, and understanding that relationship is really helpful in the long run, both for drawing real people and for drawing cartoons.

and the easiest way to retain information like that is to have fun while you study. stop thinking of it as studying and start thinking of it as gathering information on this thing you like a lot and want to do more of, like when you scroll through someone's account to look at all their art, and just. do more of that. do more exploring and observing. since animation is my special interest, this part is pretty easy for me, but it does still take practice to get into that mindset, especially when you convince yourself you have to be super strict and rigid to make it in the art world. focus on drawing and observing what makes YOU happy first, and everything else will follow.

and don't worry about taking notes. don't worry about remembering everything you look at. just look at things you like, and think about them for longer than you usually would. think about the shapes and colors. what makes that drawing so darn appealing to you, besides subject matter and the vague concept of an "artstyle"? you'll be surprised just how abstract what appeals to you can be. for me, with expressions especially, it comes down to random shit like "i like when the edge of a character's mouth creates a tangent with the outline of their head" instead of "pretty eyes" or other, vaguer elements. and that shit i like becomes a part of my artstyle, but only when it fits in and looks appealing, because you can't do stuff like this in every single drawing & retain a full range of expression

ANYway. i hope this made some sense/helped at least a little. i like lord hater a lot. and i also like to draw

[sagekjs21]

@korrasera No, I actually completed my studies quite some time ago. I have earned my degree and graduated. I earned my degree in the summer of 2012. So granted I will absolutely admit that I am fairly rusty.

As I've said, I'm not aiming for operant conditioning here, strictly classical. I want my child to associate going out in the street unaccompanied by an adult with a sense of that being incredibly wrong, whether that would mean a hint of pain or a hint of fear. I don't want them to think that running unaccompanied out into the road is a safe or fun activity. And yes, I am well aware that conditioning takes time. That much I do definitely remember. But I also remember that when Pavlov was doing his experiment with his dogs, it took a lot less time than he was assuming. Although to be quite honest I don't remember the specifics as far as time amounts go other than I remember his surprise at what he ended up discovering. 

Is spanking traumatic? In many cases definitely, I would agree with that. In all cases? No. No it is not, because that would mean that literally every single child brought up in the United States public school system from like the 1920s through the 1970s would have severe trauma. And this is simply not true. Corporal punishment ran rampant in public schools in America back in those days, and, while there are certainly some traumatized adults for sure, not everybody is going around with complex trauma.So this argument is just simply not true. In order to truly deduce how traumatic spanking is to a child, there would have to be a lot more research done than is currently being done. Also, every child to ever receive any kind of spanking, even if they only received one in their entire childhood, would have to be studied for decades beyond their childhood just to ensure the accuracy of the study. This is simply not possible. Child abuse is absolutely traumatizing, I will never diminish that. But a SWAT on the butt or the wrist that causes literally about 15 seconds worth of pain and leaves no mark and that is implemented maybe a maximum of five times in a child's life is not going to lead to PTSD by any means. there would have to be some other factor involved, some other type of abuse going on.

I'm under the assumption that I will fail as a parent. On the contrary, I know full well that I will fail my child in some respect as a parent. Why? Because there is no such thing as a perfect parent. There are great parents, there are Zent parents, there are negligent parents, and there are abusive parents. There are also parents that are quite inconsistent. I strive to be a great parent, but I have no delusions that I will be a perfect parent by any means. That simply doesn't exist. It doesn't matter how educated someone is, how hard someone tries, how kind, loving, patient, perfection and parenting simply will never exist. So will I fail? Absolutely. And I pray it won't be too severely.

But if my kid accidentally runs out into the middle of the street, if I am simply too slow to catch them and if I'm calling their name and they don't stop, that is not a failure on my part. That is simply an unfortunate happening, an unfortunate event. I tried my best, I wasn't ignoring my child, I was just too slow. The reality is, I'm partially blind. I don't see well in bright sunlight, so if it's bright and sunny outside and my kid runs out into the middle of the road, I will absolutely chase after them, but what if I trip on something on the ground? Is that my fault? No, it's just an unfortunate happening. This has nothing to do with me fearing my future role as a mother, not at all. This has to do with practicality. It has to do with safety measures. It has to do with prevention.

I completely agree with your third to last paragraph. Everything in that is golden, I'm totally with you. But again, this has nothing to do with my fear of failure. It has to do with safety. It doesn't matter how attentive a parent is, unless you keep your child in a plastic bubble literally, you cannot protect them from absolutely everything. It is simply impossible. For instance, you have to sleep at some point correct? You can't supervise them 24 hours a day. You can do your best and that's all you can do. And this is why small, fairly harmless, preventative measures are necessary. I'm not afraid of failing my child, I'm afraid that in the event I could not get to them fast enough their life could be in danger. That's a rational and reasonable fear. It has nothing to do with me being inadequate, it has to do with life being complicated. But I'm with you on parents not letting their kids become independent adult adults in adolescence, that's completely abusive and selfish and just plain wrong. So at least we agree there.  

When people get pregnant, they will give up smoking, give up alcohol, give up coffee and soda, give up fondue and raw cheese, give up cold cuts and sushi, all because they have heard somewhere, from someone, that these things can be bad for the baby. They don’t know the research, haven’t looked at the studies, can’t talk about sample sizes and control groups. But their dedication to their future child’s safety is so strong, their caution is so overpowering, that they give up these things just in case. 

So it baffles me when those same people will insist on spanking their kids. 

Even when they are shown the research.

 Regardless of what the experts in the field say. 

No matter who says it. 

Or how it is said. 

People are so invested in this ability to hit their kids without judgement or consequence, that it absolutely confounds me. 

[pomefioredove]

I was thinking about Leona's first canon encounter where he rises out of the bushes, threatened yuu and sniffs them and not gonna lie I'd be freaked out and because I'm yappy I'd tell everyone about how there's some lion bum who comes out of the bushes to sniff people and try to snatch em up, and warning people like "y'all need to watch out, there's a freak in the garden and he's gonna grab you and sniff you! He's huge too!" And like I'd think I'm genuinely warning people while everyone is trying not to die of laughter or something at my first impression of Leona, local royal and housewarden.

Like I'd be genuinely concerned and weirded out and immediately telling everyone about the sniff kinkster in the garden (he would beat my ass for defamation or something but also i bet the others have a field day with the way I'm freaking out and the way I'm describing my encounter and also i might get banned from savannaclaw unless I'm looking to get beat up)

Like if you don't read the story, you have no real knowledge of this world, and you had that type of encounter with some giant tall guy that was literally laying in the bushes and starts huffing you and threatening you, I'd assume he's a danger but not as like "oh no the other world Prince!! He's a powerful beastman!!" Because i would know fuck all about anyone's standing, I'd be like "there's some nasty guy laying in ambush in the shrubs??? Also he's grabby and huffy?? Ewwww"

Idk like he'd register as a very specific type of loon to me i guess

SEE yuu is a real one bc after grim they just sort of... accepted? that this world is weird as fuck and they never question anything after that. like yep. that guy has horns. I guess. oh this guy in the bushes is sniffing me now. okay

[an-excellent-choice]

I've always kinda wondered how Gale might react to an ace tav, considering how much physical intimacy seems to mean to him

Forgive me, I was cooking this headcanon for a while. 😅😅 This going to be a long one.

I honestly headcanon this during the game. Thinking along the lines Gale finds out Tav is ace after Act 2.

(Forgive me if i might get the experience of being an ace wrong but from what i do know it is a spectrum and being ace doesn't always equal to sex repulsed. pls tweak this headcanon depending on your ace spectrum 😅)

Thinking that an Ace!Tav would be okay with the Act2 sex scene because it could be an astral sex scene which is more than a physical but more on the joining of minds and soul.

Gale though finds out Tav is Ace after this, maybe a few days after. From Lae'zel like how "strong Tav is to endure the feeling of flesh when they have admitted pleasures of the flesh is not to their liking. Lae'zel for sure is above it unless she is mating the best specimen"

And Gale goes "They said what?!"

Gale would be wringing his hands in worry and anxiety in how he could do such a thing to Tav. A new relationship and he already insulted Tav. He could barely look Tav in the eyes during dinner. And when they retire for the night Gale would almost throw himself at Tav's feet in apology and remorse.

Tav would of course explain their spectrum as being an ace. Gale relieved and taking mental notes on Tav's comfort zone with the physical intimacy.

Tav could also try to apologize to Gale for being unable to provide the sexual intimacy Gale might want. Only for Gale to cradle their face and say

"You see me beyond my magic and love me as I am. How could I ever love you less for who you are."

Tav and Gale would spend the night talking about their future and how to be intimate with each other even without the sexual intimacy.

Gale would admit while he would miss a certain degree of physical intimacy (specifically the sexual), He was happy with intimacy with regardless of the lack of the sex. He loves his talks and time spent with Tav. The only thing that matters is the future together ahead.

[amarriageoftrueminds]

I also think about:

1 . Bucky having a visible disability now (versus Steve once having, perhaps, invisible disabilities) and Steve seeing how people react to that, how they treat a visibly disabled person in the modern era, (that some peoples' attitudes haven't changed), and being the vocal ally to disabled Bucky (that Bucky was to disabled Steve). Noticing how Bucky has changed to accommodate his disability, and is now thinking in a way that is very familiar...

2 . The aspect of disabled experience that is navigating a world not designed to accomodate someone like you, and how -- looked at from that perspective -- Steve's experience as a superhuman actually might continue to feel like being disabled?

I mean... Steve is navigating a world where nothing he can buy/use/wear/eat is designed to accomodate someone with the same same strength, speed, endurance, and (possibly also) sensitivity of sight, smell, taste and hearing, as him. It's a world where he'd have to be on eggshells the whole time, just to exist -- unless he modifies things to suit his needs, like a disabled person would. (And the same would be true for Bucky).

3 . The intersection of war specifically and disability. Think of the disabled people Steve would've grown up around because they were veterans of WWI. (Probably the only glamourized depictions of disability he would see, outside of sideshows on Coney Island?) Then the recently-disabled soldiers Steve would've met in WWII. Finding out his own president was in a wheelchair, and he didn't know. (And then the people disabled by being in concentration camps; inmates of the camp 'hospitals' he would liberate as Cap).

i keep trying to find the words to talk about Captain America as a disabled person

because like. the climax of the first act of his movie is his disabled body getting erased, freeing him to do hero things, and we all know about how problematic that is, and if he was a new superhero and not literally made up in the early 40s it would be offensive. (as it is i'm really glad the movie played up a bunch of serious physical impairments instead of going with the halfhearted 'weak and small' take.)

but the thing is Steve remains a disabled man in an abled body.

in the terms Erskine valued him for--not a perfect soldier but a good man, someone who did not lose sight of the value of his own strength, and the value of other people in spite of their not having it--but in other ways, too.

emotional ways. tactical ways--he adapts instantly to being overpowered and outnumbered and works with and around it, in a way Thor and Tony can't because having had educational field trips into helplessness and relative lack of social privilege doesn't teach you not to be shocked by it the way living with it your whole life does.

steve doesn't stop being the man who spent his whole life fighting against being defined by the things he couldn't do. he doesn't stop being someone who expected to die young and wanted more than anything to make the time he did get worthwhile.

he doesn't stop being the person who needed these things because he lived in a world that told him he was worthless.

eugenics was incredibly normalized in America in Steve's day. Americans developed a lot of the theory the Nazis went on to apply. Steve Rogers is someone who grew up hungry, being told he was one of God's mistakes and should die without further polluting the gene pool.

His life did not stop being a fuck you to that ideology the second he got a non-disabled body and stopped being an obvious target.

because that was where the Nazis started, remember? their first mass cullings. they got the disabled concentrated in big hospital institutions, and then started killing them off. because those were the easiest and most obvious targets of their worldview.

steve was already in one of the groups the Nazis wanted to exterminate. this gets much less attention than queer readings, for plenty of reasons including that disability doesn't come with built-in romance plots and that he got made un-disabled by the story, but within canon it was already personal.

he wasn't motivated by self-preservation because lol it's steve, but he wasn't opposed to Nazi Germany as a simple moral ally of its victims, either. he was one of the people fascists wanted to destroy. he knew their kind from the ground. and i think that matters in a way we as a fandom tend to undervalue.

steve doesn't identify as part of a disabled community cuz that wasn't really a thing, and he has a lot of internalized ableism, and neither of those things stop me from relating to him as a disabled protagonist.

at a fundamental level he's always going to be that furious little gremlin showing the world his teeth and demanding it answer for the fact that it contained so much injustice.