#where she grew up in this very conservative environment

[goldenstorm0]

shout out to that one time my mom was struggling to not accidentally misgender a student.

The kid presented very non binary and had a unisex name. This was right after election and understandably a lot of kids were stressed, so if someone just couldn't handle the day they were told to chill in a different classroom for as long as they needed (all special ed, idk what gen ed was like but this isn't uncommon for them, just higher volume than usual). So she had this kid, and my morman ass mom who does her damndest to be an ally, first tried to guess their pronouns by asking the kid's name. And when that didn't work, looked them up in the system but then realized that wouldn't be accurate. So she tried asking around the different teacher aids but no one had worked with this particular kid before.

So by the end of the day, she admitted defeat and finally just. asked. but she was so tired and not thinking straight. So finally she said:

"so sorry to ask, I don't want to come across rude, but are your pronouns she/him or he/her?"

All of the queer people I've told this to think its the cutest thing ever, my poor mother is mortified by it, and I promise to never let her forget

[sandinmybed]

can i be fr for a minute?? sending abuse to people online for holding different views than you is not activism and in fact actively hurts your cause. most people are not extreme in their viewpoints, you can give them a new perspective if you're willing to spend some time explaining shit. if someone is saying something you disagree with and you rush in there to condescend to them and call them disgusting and subhuman and dont even TRY to explain calmly why their views are harmful, they're going to shut you out instantly and double down on their views.

most people are simply genuinely ignorant to the issues they're talking about - they just pick their views up from the news and the world around them and express opinions because that's what every person does. if you run in there and tell them they're scum for it, what then? if someone does that to you, are you going to think "maybe i should do some research" or are you going to think "this person is an asshole, im blocking them." a lot of you think you're activists and then refuse to do any kind of actual WORK to support your cause.

[disco-troy]

I don't feel like people have a nuanced enough view of Kory what she thinks about killing. She's not blindly wanting to murder criminals, nor is she delighted by the actions of murder. She sees murder as a necessity because of her upbringing in the middle of an existential war, and also as a way to regain autonomy on her life. Autonomy is a key theme in many of the people Kory chooses to kill.

The idea of autonomy over the body and her life is extremely important to Kory. This makes sense, Kory spends six years in slavery, her life not her own, and grew up knowing her planet could lose its own autonomy and freedom at any time.

When she was a slave, the few times that she was able to control her life in those times. Her first kill was her kill of what would become her last master, starting the chain of domino that would result in her freedom.

Note her words: "His very touch sickened me". It wasn't just about her imprisonment or her anger, but about her body, her autonomy. She couldn't handle being touched like that anymore, and killed knowing that it would solve nothing, knowing that it would lead to more punishment for her later down the line.

Her next kill allowed her to escape, securing her freedom and her own autonomy.

To escape she must pretend Kory has completely given in to her captors. That she is fine, even happy with the Gordonian touching her. But by doing this she is bringing him close, giving him the illusion of control over herself to secure her own freedom.

She is pretending to be a slave, while affirming to herself that she is still a soldier.

In this way we can see a dichotomy that has ruled Kory's life until now. On one side, you have succumbing to subjugation, which involved a loss of bodily autonomy. On the other side you had her claiming her freedom and her autonomy which comes with the need to kill or be destroyed.

In addition to this, you need to think of the context of Kory's upbringing. Of course Kory is used to killing her enemies. She grew up in a climate of fear in which there was a real possibility of total annihilation. Millions of her people died in the war that eventually lead her to being sold as a slave.

She grew up during a society that could have been destroyed in war, where everyday killing was not a questions but an existential threat. Killing and war was literally the only way for her people to conserve their autonomy.

This disconnect between Dick/Donna and Kory is not because Kory is an alien, but because the Titans are living in a world where they are superheroes and Kory is living in a world where she is a solider. Would a Kory that didn't kill even been able to come out alive from war? From her enslavement? To her its about her autonomy and her independence, she doesn't have the luxury of morals, of thought, of choice.

Later we see Kory not change, but shift. She realizes that killing will never be easier for her again.

This makes sense! her interpretation of killing has changed a lot because she's been exposed to a new environment. On earth she is not facing a literal war, she has real power, she has backup, she doesn't have to fight every second for her freedom and autonomy.

I think this is demonstrated in an incredibly narrative compelling way in Titans (1999) when Kory kills to give another character autonomy over her own body; Adaline Kane. Adaline is about to die, but her blood can still be harvested for Vandal Savage's experiments. She begs for death, instead of living that fate.

Kory gives it to her.

(much like Slade gave Joey in Titans Hunt but this post only has the space for one parallel right now)

When it comes to protecting the greater good, and especially when it comes to bodily autonomy Kory is not only willing to kill, but sees it as her duty.

She's never stopped being a soldier, she's never stopped being the Tamaranian who was forced to kill and see her people die to preserve her home, but more than that, she never stopped being the little girl for whom killing was her only way of reclaiming her autonomy.

[cjlouwho]

I’m gonna try to keep this short (oops I didn’t) and not focus solely on the fictional side of things, but it’s painfully obvious some of you have never had to deal with people who make you feel unsafe with being yourself. and, I mean, good for you! but that’s not everyone’s reality. I grew up in a very religious environment with so many “gerrard’s” (but, like, Christian versions which are worse) and there is no way I, to this day, would feel comfortable being myself around those people. I saw a post saying that tommy could have had what the 118 has now if he would’ve been a better person and that’s just… not true? Not while gerrard was in charge. And it’s clear that he was a better person by the time bobby came around. He joined in on those family dinners and was close to hen and chimney at that point but it just wasn’t where he was meant to be. Whether that’s because he wanted to be a pilot or because that place held too many bad memories, it’s clear he didn’t feel like he was meant to stick around there.

I know those posts mainly come from people who only want buck and eddie together and hate on anyone else, but it saddens me that some people don’t believe that you can change. I was a crappy person when I was younger. So judgmental, stuck to the Bible word for word, and hated so many people. I was old when I realized I myself was bisexual. I was old when I started doing my own research, making sure to clear the history on my computer because- even as an adult- I didn’t trust that my privacy wouldn’t be violated and my truth be found out. There were many times things were said around me where I should have spoke up, but I didn’t because sometimes you cannot safely do so and that is just reality!

I, to this day, am working through religious trauma and guilt and self hatred. There are still people in my family that I don’t feel safe around (distant relatives, thankfully), there are secrets I will hold with me until my mother has passed away (I love her, but she’s conservative so make of that what you will).

Anyway, I definitely did not keep this short, but I’m just trying to say I think Tommy’s storyline is very important for more than him being Buck’s first boyfriend. I was who Tommy was, I am who Tommy is, and I hope I’d get the forgiveness that chimney and hen showed to him instead of whatever it is I have seen on my dash today.

[justanotherhh]

something i haven't seen much of so far is analysis of charlie's journey from the perspective of someone who also needs to change how she engages with others (vaggie too, but that feels more obvious as she's an ex-angel/exorcist and a sinner)

when charlie tries to help angel by confronting valentino it's been built to in the other episodes, because it's made very clear that she doesn't respect sex work -- she's got that "we need to save them from themselves" type attitude you see a lot with people who haven't done critical analysis into their own biases from a position of mildly-to-severe privileged disgust and haven't engaged with the perspectives of sex workers as people who can frame and understand their own experiences (whatever work they engage in and why they do sex work to begin with). same for her opinions on addiction

the scene where angel has to do a reenactment with sir pentious frames addiction as

something to be judged

something pitiable

something predatory

which isn't exactly a great way to bring angel onboard with the programme/make him feel less like shit. meanwhile the anti-sex + weirdly heteronormative attitude is also present in that scene by having sir pentious dress up as a virginal young girl in an anime-type school uniform with a big lollipop (the irony of this being practically indistinguishable from a porn setup feels very intentional), who declares that "she" won't be having sex before marriage as the great crescendo (sidenote, monogamy in the afterlife sounds.... like a long time to be monogamous......... yzma voice: "why do we even have marriage??")

angel, up until his duet with husk, is having it made clear again and again that the people seemingly helping him find the essence of his being inherently gross. he likes sex -- yeah there's the performance/face he has to wear to get through the day, but i think the bdsm club was a sincere suggestion and vaggie literally calls it disgusting/shoots it down without thinking about how to do so respectfully (again, she's an ex-angel/exorcist, she has biases of her own to contend with, but also the implications that nobody in heaven is having fun sex or negotiated kink and bdsm... tragic. do they even have a sex club called consent up there?)

charlie is a fairly conservative person at the beginning of the story. yes, she wants to help, but her framing of what "help" looks like doesn't take into account her own biases; presumably she grew up with the idea that "sinners are bad people" as much as anyone else did, if not more considering lucifer gave up on the sinners and that's been her environment from birth -- cut off from the people she's supposedly in charge of, but "hearing stories." (in both the pilot and happy day in hell she clearly has a fondness for the sinners, but it's as an outsider, someone who does not relate to them, and generally there's that overtone of "royalty doesn't know shit about what anyone is going through" which, charlie being a ruler, i wonder if that will be a focal point or just something to accept, it's not a dealbreaker for me, just something i noticed, esp as helluva boss has poked on power dynamics in hell along those same lines). the yearly murdering of demons is, likewise, something that is simply status quo and so even getting to a place of "hey maybe we shouldn't do that" is big and was inevitably going to create more cracks in the logic of black-and-white heaven-or-hell, so it's cool that that's where we the audience get to first meet her -- right as those threads are about to start unravelling

but at the very beginning, in some ways she echoes elements of characters like adam and lute (who are of course far more in-your-face, being villains) in her original assessment of what makes someone "a bad person" -- it causes her to create a system that doesn't actually work, and then of course the hotel is destroyed, but next time they'll build it to be better! (metaphor *jazz hands*)

why is angel in hell, is the question later asked. is it because he was/is an addict? because he drinks? because he does sex work? because he likes sex? (it may be because he's killed people/was in the mafia, but we don't have all the context yet, for now those are the things people know in the story itself) at the beginning charlie isn't asking the right questions, questions that would need her to go into herself and challenge her own biases, but throughout season 1 she goes from merely proclaiming that "everyone" can be saved, to sincerely challenging the idea of "needing to be saved" from things that shouldn't be judged in the first place. "if angels can do whatever and remain in the sky." yeah, how are we stipulating what's allowed and what isn't hmmmmmm? stay tuned for s2

(and youknow, apologises to angel for overstepping his boundaries, so it's not like angel doesn't know that she does care for him, ep4 gives a lot of development for their relationship as well -- it's the tipping point for a lot of what comes next)

interested to see how that challenging will continue in s2. she's gone from "we have to make you into a good person by cutting out things that make me (and others) uncomfortable from a conservative/purity-based judgemental framework" to "why do we have these systems of judgement in the first place?"

tl;dr angel changed a looot in s1 but so did charlie. she understands better now that the work she's doing is going to look very different from what she'd first anticipated, and poking at her own biases in relation to angel helped that journey and brought her closer to actually understanding and relating to the people around her

(there's another element here about charlie and vaggie as queer women in this particular universe, but it's a slight tangent so... different post)

[vicciouxs]

⠀⠀⠀⠀Hannah Doyle, 24. she / her now listening to she's a monster by exhibit decay...

⠀⠀⠀Hannah is the middle daughter of 7 siblings and they lived, with her parents, on a farm located in a small town. Her parents were extremely religious, as was the town, so Hannah grew up in a conservative, closed environment, where she didn't feel accepted. In the same way that being the middle child she felt that no one paid attention to her, she felt like a shadow or sometimes even like a ghost that you only notice when she does something wrong. In conclusion, her childhood was mostly solitary, which led to a personality that was somewhat closed and complex to access, because in the town she didn't have many friends, except for a neighbor who spoke with her out of her parents' obligation, but she didn't consider her either a friend. However, when Hannah was around 8 years old, her parents hired a maid from the church who would later become quite close with Hannah.

⠀⠀⠀Throughout her growing up Hannah showed a certain fascination with food, she loved to eat and was always hungry; but soon that hunger would turn into something more, something more twisted and deeper that she couldn't explain. Food was beginning to seem boring to her, she loved it, but it was boring, it satisfied her physically, not emotionally, and that frustrated her. How could something she loved so much make her feel so empty? Her response to that was to eat more, in the vain hope that if she was full she wouldn't feel empty. For religious reasons, her family used to practice fasting and they were very strict with food, so she had no choice but to beg the maid, Lola, for something to eat, she didn't care what it was, she just needed something else. But when her parents sent Lola away, Hannah began to feel more and more anxious, sometimes even acting aggressively toward her parents or siblings because something inside her desperately needed to eat and she couldn't control it.

⠀⠀⠀During one of the meals, one of her older sisters, Elisa, gave Hannah her food when she saw that she had even begun to trim her nails; and that's what they did day after day, during every meal, until their parents noticed. From that moment Hannah barely remembers anything, everything is blurry in her mind, she only remembers the sound of the plate crashing against the wall and her mother's screams just inches from her face. They were ashamed of her, she was clear about it and that's why they took her out of the house, so that she could reflect on her behavior; but she did everything but that.

⠀⠀⠀She wandered around the farm like a lost soul, listening to her stomach growl and her head spin, she had to eat, she needed to eat and suddenly a heavy breathing caught her attention. It came from her neighbors' farm and as if that breath was calling her, Hannah sneaked into the plot through a hole in the fence. She walked for a few minutes until she ran into a small rabbit, that was on its deathbed, perhaps because it had tried to escape and had been injured in the process, not knowing that this would cause its death. Hannah knew very well that when an animal was injured it was best to sacrifice it, so she crouched down next to it, ready to do the same thing she had seen Lola do with the chickens many times, but this time it was different. She barely remembered what happened, everything became dark when she began to feel the hot blood descending down her throat and how the small animal was losing heat between her hands. What came next were the horrified screams of her neighbors and the widening eyes of her parents; but none of that mattered to her, the important thing was that she no longer felt hungry, she was satisfied.

⠀⠀⠀Her parents didn't know what to do with her, they tried to take her to priests, use penance, punish her, they even tried to perform an exorcism on her, but nothing worked, Hannah didn't seem to regret her actions. So his last option was to put her in a convent, where her life would change forever. There she ate once a day and if she dared to escape to look for something else they punished her with lashes and even more fasting, on one occasion they even locked her up which caused her to completely embrace madness.

⠀⠀⠀She was isolated, she didn't talk to anyone, no one talked to her, the only thing that accompanied her were the voices in her head and the roar of her stomach that made more and more noise with each day that passed without eating. But as if something had heard her hunger, a young novice, who took pity on her, tried to help her, a big mistake. Her name was Sophia and she would always remember the fear she saw in her beautiful blue eyes. The young woman opened the door to give her something to eat and when she did, Hannah, who was bigger and stronger, pounced on her. She began to devour her by the throat, so that she wouldn't scream and what happened next is in black, she doesn't even remember what she did with the blood or the body, but once the door was open, Hannah escaped from there and again she felt satiated, she was no longer hungry.

⠀⠀⠀She left a note behind her, she and Sophia were lovers who had escaped together and so no one would deign to look for them beyond that horrible convent.

[nevis-the-skeleton]

So in “The Polar Star”, what would’ve happened if Arcee and Bee saw the files instead of Smokescreen?

I was reading and randomly had this thought

It’s indeed a good question, I apologize in advance if my answer is a little messy, sometimes it’s not easy to completely reimagine a scenario XD. It's true that Smokescreen really wasn't the best bot to find out the truth about Starscream, especially because of his more than inappropriate words about Cold Constructions.

Additionally, Starscream and Smokescreen are both very impulsive, which creates a torrent of chaos. We also saw what could have happened with Ratchet, and the result was not better, if not worse, due to his status as a doctor (here). But with Arcee, and especially Bumblebee, there is a possibility that the outcome could be much less dramatic.

*

First of all let's talk about Arcee, we must already put their current situation in context: the two are in a fairly cordial understanding, although they both made mistakes at the beginning, when Starscream had just joined the team, they managed to put their differences aside to work better together.

And, Arcee also has a huge advantage on her side: she's a Caminus. So this may seem like a super strange reason, but you should know that in my AU the Cold Constructions were only persecuted on Cybertron, and not on the other colonies, in particular Veloctitron and Caminus.

Caminus was the only planet to oppose the Caste System, and the Mistress of Flame also showed great disapproval of the treatment of Slaves and Cold Constructions. So the fact that Arcee grew up in an environment such as Caminus may make it easier for her to gain Starscream's trust, unlike Smokescreen.

But Arcee will still have to be careful. She'll be facing a terrified and cornered Starscream, and it's truly the worst thing that could happen with him. Both are impulsive, so if Starscream tries to fight, she won't hesitate to fight back. It will really be up to Arcee to defuse the situation, by starting a conversation directly.

I already think that, unlike Smokescreen, she won't hide what she discovered from Starscream. She will show him what she found, ask him if it is true, waiting for his reaction. Of course, the Seeker's reaction will be bad, and Arcee will have to be very quick so that it doesn't get out of hand. But it's definitely possible.

This will also be an opportunity for her to talk about the Autobots' real goal, which was never to reestablish the Caste System, as Starscream thought all along. Indeed, the Seeker must surely have wondered for a long time why a Caminus had joined the Autobot camp, when her people were against the Cybertron system.

In this alternative of my story, it would therefore not be Ultra Magnus, but Arcee who would tell Starscream about the existence of the Sentinels.

*

Now let's talk about Bumblebee, he is at a much greater disadvantage than Arcee, due to his age (which is the same as Smokescreen) and the fact that he is a Cybertronian who was raised by the Autobots. That really doesn't work in his favor.

But, Bumblebee was raised primarily by Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet, and the three never wanted Bumblebee to fully know Sentinel Prime, knowing full well that he really wasn't a good influence, and that his speeches were the more often inappropriate and disrespectful.

So, Bumblebee grew up in an environment where he was taught that every life was important, and that no one was worth more than the other, while Smokescreen was with a conservative and strict Creator, who viewed Cold Constructions as defective waste and Slaves as disposable robots. So, it is indeed not the best setting to have a fair point of view.

Bumblebee also has the advantage of being eloquent, despite the lack of his voice, and his empathy can greatly help him defuse the situation with Starscream. In Part 2 (spoiler alert if you haven't read it yet), when Starscream has a panic attack, it's Bumblebee who goes to see him and speaks with him. He's also the one Starscream confides in about what happened with Smokescreen, no one else (end of spoil). And it’s quite simply because despite his young age, Bumblebee knows how to listen, he manages to put himself in the other person’s place.

So, if he discovers the truth, it will be natural for the young Autobot to start a discussion with Starscream. He will know how to find the right words (or rather beeps) to calm the Seeker and put him at ease. And if Starscream asks him not to tell anyone, Bumblebee will promise not to (and promising is something very important among Transformers).

*

So, as we saw, it was really bad luck that it was Smokescreen who discovered the truth about Starscream. Arcee would have had the advantage of her origin, and the fact that she and Starscream have been getting along better for a while, while Bumblebee will have his empathy to help him.

Although, honestly, the best scenario is when Bumblebee finds out the truth, because unlike Arcee he is not impulsive, so there would be no risk of fighting, unlike with Arcee.

[crispysnake]

nobody asked but I'm talking about it anyways here is some ramble about Keyleths work in me modern au :P

She studied Ecology in university (where Percy was also there studying mechanical and system engineering, Grog for a wrestling scholarship, and Pike for allopathic med, but that can be a different post tehe) cause she loves delving into little ecosystems and learning about how everything has its purpose and use, everything is essential and it's a whole little world, later on, she often refers to VM as her own little ecosystem. But afterwards, she becomes a Conservation Biologist!

I think Vilya was incredibly passionate about protecting the environment and endangered species, Zephrah is a small community in the middle of nowhere and first hand watched their land get taken and forests get chopped down for urbanizing, roads, and cities etc, so Keyleth grew up watching her mother be very active in their community and vocal about how important their environment is and how it needs to be protected.

This loops back around to Keyleth pursuing Conservation Biology and being the very eco-friendly girl she is, as mentioned before in my hobbies post! She loves working outside, she loves working with a whole bunch of different critters and plants and ecosystems and learning how to care for and protect them. I think that does mean she travels quite a bit,( which was one of the reasons she was hesitant about starting things with Vax) usually just a few hours out of town but in a similar sense to her aramente she has had to make a few more extensive trips for work.

It's just very very important to her and she puts an immense amount of focus and effort into her job, she can easily pull out 5 fun facts about the Golden Mantella frog and its ideal environment. or crouch down next to a tree and ramble for 5 minutes about how this particular ecosystem is cool because it has Funaria moss as its primary producer and how it also means there was most likely a wildfire in the area recently. Other then being a constant fountain of information and awe, I think she's fought to try and make a difference in their community or maybe just at least their neighbourhood, rooting for community gardens, composting and planting more trees in the area, it isn't a lot but it's a good start and she hopes to achieve more someday:) she hopes Vilya would be proud of her for the work she's doing.

[love-for-burgundy-blog]

Here are my religion headcanons involving the pokemon bw characters!! Note: I do not know everything about all these religions so if I get something wrong, please let me know!!

I headcanon Iris to be spiritual but she isn't a fan of organized religion. Her bio mother is Muslim and her bio father is christian. She went to mousqe services a couple times but she never enjoyed it. She just doesn't like being told what to believe. I also headcanon that she DESPISES evangelicals.

Cilan to me is a prodestant christian. He was raised to be conservative but he still accepting of other beliefs and ideas even if they aren't what he believes. He still takes his religion very seriously though as he reads and recites bible verses every now and then. However, Cilan never talks about his religion with other people with the exception of family since he doesn't want to leave the impression that what he believes is superior to what others believe.

I like to think that Trip grew up Catholic however unlike Cilan, he wasn't taught to be as accepting of minorities which is why he was so arrogant to others. When Trip became a teenager, he finally decided to stop going to church and break free since he didn't like what he was being taught there. Now that he left that environment, he is friendlier and more accepting of others. I headcanon that Georgia helped him break free.

Bianca and her father are members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints (they are Mormons). I headcanon this since Bianca wears long skirts and speaks in a high pitched voice. (I'm not trying to stereotype anybody who practices this branch of Christianity, I'm just sharing why I headcanon this.) While her and her father are conservative, they are accepting of and very friendly to everyone including minorities. Bianca as well as her father take their religion seriously but not to the point where it's their whole personality. Like Cilan, Bianca and her father never talk about their religion to others.

Stephan I think is an atheist. While he is ethnically half-Jewish, his parents never made him go to church or read any religious text. He is very glad that his parents never forced a religion on him. However, while he isn't religious, he is incredibly accepting and supportive of his more religious friends.

Burgundy to me is Jewish (Reform). And she takes her religion seriously as well. She enjoys going to synagogue as she has all her life and she does Torah studies with her family once a week. Like many other Jewish children, she had a baby-naming ceremony when she was 8 days old, attended Hebrew school, and had a bat mitzvah when she turned 13. I actually headcanon that the preschool at her synagogue is where she first met Georgia. While she is very religious, she is still quite liberal and has many LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent friends. All in all, I can see Burgundy as an Ashkenazi Jewish girl.

Like Burgundy, Georgia is an Ashkenazi reform Jewish girl, but she doesn't take Judaism as seriously as Burgundy. Like Iris, she is spiritual but she isn't a fan of organized religion. In fact, she didn't enjoy synagogue so she quit going after her bat mitzvah at the age of 13. Georgia and Burgundy attended different synagogues but Georgia ended up going to the preschool at Burgundy's synagogue since Georgia's parents didn't like the preschool at the synagogue they attended.

So these are all my headcanons involving the Pokemon bw characters religions. If I said something wrong or if I upset anyone reading this post, please let me know <3 I shared these since I wanted people to know some of my hc's which might be helpful for reading certain fanfics of mine in the future ;) Please feel free to share your thoughts on these headcanons!!

[tobiasdrake]

Part of the reason I love Ken's journey is just. Like. As a conservative-raised AMAB with gender stuff and something something aroace spectrum, I get it. I've been where Ken's been.

I come from very conservative roots. My family voted for Bush twice and was proud of it. My family believes the Iraq War was a national badge of honor. My dad married his best friend's daughter as soon as she graduated from high school. My mom voted for Trump because she was mad that the Mexican family down the road had a nicer truck than hers and wanted retaliation.

This is the environment I grew up in. This is where I come from.

And I remember being a 16-year-old boy living in my grandparents' basement. That's where I lived through high school because me and my dad's wife (three years older than me) didn't get along. So my grandparents' home became my home, and the basement became my room. I had the entire basement to myself.

It was nice. My friends were over constantly, and that was how I lived. I just had my own space where me and my friends could play video games and watch movies and hang out and be happy. I loved every minute of it. I was so happy in that basement. It was all I really wanted out of life.

But it wasn't enough. Because I also had all of these pressures. This can't last forever. You're at that age. You have to start making some changes to your life. And these weren't external pressures; Nobody was telling me things. They were just. Like. Things that I knew were right, because that's what I'd been taught. There's a roadmap from childhood to adulthood.

Can't watch Sailor Moon anymore. That's for girls.

Can't play Tomb Raider. What are you, gay? That's for girls.

Can't stay in this basement with your friends. You gotta get a girlfriend. You need to get married some day. Doesn't matter who. Find a girl.

That was the big one. That one had haunted me for most of my childhood. Find a girl. Doesn't matter what girl. Just find one. If you can't find one then you are a failure as a man. Back when I was in kindergarten, I was already trying to convince the girls to be my girlfriend. I didn't even know why I wanted one. I just knew that it was what you're supposed to do. You're a failure if you can't.

It should come as no surprise that girls didn't like me much in school. After all, I treated them like Romance Prospects, not like people. And that, in turn, made me not like them very much either. Made me rather hostile to them, in fact. I was angry. I was hurt.

"Why are you DENYING me my validation as a human being!?"

I could easily have fallen down a Manosphere rabbit hole, just like Ken did. It wouldn't have made me happy. It didn't make Ken happy. It doesn't make any of those Manosphere bros happy; They've just accepted a cultist ideology to justify why they're so unhappy.

I'm 36 now.

Do you know where I am?

I live in a two-bedroom apartment with friends that I love. We have our own little social group that comes in and out of here, as well as our own little corner of the world that's just for us. A space where we can play video games and watch movies and just hang out, with no further expectations or obligations or social requirements.

And I am very, very happy.

It took a lot of looking inward, a lot of self-improvement, and a lot of personal growth. But I found my horses. I hope Ken finds his some day.

[meeda]

Here’s a lengthy retrospective on how I grew up in an environment that was a lot more accepting of trans people, and how that left a positive impact on my views and beliefs today.

I think my first introduction to transexuality was in 2004 ish. I was 9 or 10 and there was this commercial on a filipino tv station for what I think was a phone provider. There was an older lady, along with who I assume was either a drag queen or a trans woman, dancing and singing a catchy jingle together. of course I was just a kid, so I thought, “huh, that’s kinda funny. Why is that man wearing a dress? How silly.” But I didn’t really think any further than that. I heard this commercial many times growing up, I even have the melody memorized to this day. I never once felt disgust or hatred for the “guy in a dress,” I just thought the commercial was funny. My parents never felt the need to explain it to me or shield my eyes or lecture me about gender roles whenever the commercial came on. They just treated it like a normal commercial. It was just a fun time with two people singing and dancing to a jingle about phone providers. Nothing deeper than that.

The next memory I can recall was my first time learning about transgender men. I think I was maybe 11 (so 2006 ish). There was a TV special on whatever channel my mom was watching where they interviewed an older trans man, who talked about his childhood growing up as a girl and why he decided to transition. Again, my mom didn’t like.. freak out or anything. She treated it like it was just another show she was watching. She didnt make any rude or disparaging comments about the guy, she just found the whole interview interesting. As for me, I was intrigued by this man’s story. First off, I was mind blown by how this person, who was born female, looked and sounded so much like a man. I didn’t think that was possible, but now I knew it was. Once again, I felt no hatred or fear or disgust. Just curiosity. I watched a bit of the interview, then got bored and carried on with whatever I was doing before.

Then when I was either 12 or 15 (I honestly can’t remember whether it was 2007 or 2010) I had my hair rebonded by a hairstylist in the Philippines. The hairstylist was an out and proud trans woman. She was recommended by my aunt, and my parents had no reason to object to her doing my hair. I didn’t talk much to the hairstylist, not because I was uncomfortable with her, but because I was just a shy and unsocial teenager lol. But my mom and my aunt had a great time talking to the hairstylist. Though I couldn’t understand much of what they were saying, it definitely sounded like they were all getting along. After the stylist left, my mom didn’t make any negative comments about her to me. And I once again never felt any kind of disgust towards her. She was just my hairstylist for the day, and that was it.

When I learned about transphobia later on in life, I was disappointed but not surprised. Obviously it was just another form of discrimination, which didn’t sit right with me. But it wasn’t just mere bigotry that bothered me. It was their reasoning. Every time I see a conservative or transphobe complain about how trans people are corrupting the youth or indoctrinating kids, I just think back at my childhood. Maybe it’s because I was introduced to transexuality in a very neutral manner, or maybe it’s because I was still young and politically unaware, or maybe it’s because my parents weren’t hateful bigots. But I never saw or heard anything negative about trans people growing up. As far as my young mind could comprehend, they were just people wanted to change their gender. Thats hardly a reason for them to be hated, and yet, conservatives find a way to hate them.

I’m someone who wants kids in the near future and I just know im gonna get hate from conservatives who think im “brainwashing” my kids by teaching them that different genders and sexualities exist. Because in their mind, I would be “forcing” them to learn “against their will.” But they couldn’t be more wrong. I’ll simply do what my parents did and approach it as if we’re a normal subject. Were my parents “forcing the trans agenda” onto me when they allowed the phone commercial to play? Were they “forcing the trans agenda” by letting me watch a non political interview of a trans man? Were they “forcing the trans agenda” by letting a trans woman rebond my hair? Obviously not. But if they had shielded my eyes, if they had made rude comments, if they had forbid the hairstylist from doing my hair, I guarantee it would have instilled some type of fear in my young and impressionable mind. I likely would not have grown up as accepting of trans identities as I am now. And I feel like that is what happened to most transphobes.

Looking back, I’m so grateful for my parents’ nonchalant attitude towards different gender expressions. I truly believe hate is taught, and it never once crossed their minds to teach me to hate another person for the way they express themselves. Considering they had catholic upbringings, they could have easily taught me to be uncomfortable, hateful, or even fearful of transgender people. Similar to how a lot of conservatives are today. My parents aren’t perfect, and like all of us they have their unchecked biases. But it gives me comfort that when I eventually become a parent, I have a good blueprint to follow.

[triviareads]

Trivia's Monthly Book Round-Up: March 2024

Definitely a better reading month this March! I had a lot of fun with the historicals as well as the contemporary romances I read this month (including some pretty out-there finds like Beg For It by Megan Hart which I ended up adoring. I also got to read some fabulous ARCs like The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (reviews to come).

Daddy Crush by Adriana Anders

Exactly what it says on the tin, just a really well-executed age-gap romance that's tender and sexy and has a daddy kink; Jerusha grew up in a rural conservative Christian environment and moves out because she never could quite fit in with her family. She develops a crush on her new neighbor Karl and ends up asking him for sex lessons. I love how unapologetic and joyful Jerusha is about exploring her desires after not being able to do so in the past, and Karl provides her with that safe space all while feeling juuuuuuust enough guilt about being an old lech (he really isn't) to provide further entertainment for me.

Also, I appreciate the realness of the way Adriana describes their bodies— the softness, stretch marks, dimples. It's one of those things I wish we saw more often in romance novels that weren't specifically advertised as having fat rep.

Beg for It by Megan Hart

A super hot femdom romance; Corinne and Reese were in a relationship for in their early twenties, but he eventually left her to move to the Big City. Now they're middle-aged and Reese is a successful businessman looking to take over the company Corinne is CFO of. I loved reading about how the D/s dynamic just clicked for them when they first met in a flashback scene. As with all great second chance romances, their mutual resentment upon reuniting is real ("I'm not your boy anymore!"), but they're also grown-ass adults who know how to handle themselves.... for the most part. You get the sense that while both of them technically moved on, they were never able to get what they wanted from later partners; Reese loves to serve Corinne and gets off on punishment just as much as she enjoys making a meticulous (mental) list of infractions and doling the punishment out. Also, I do appreciate a book where pegging isn't treated as a one-time *special* thing (or worse, a bonus scene).

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

At long last I decided to retry Jennifer Ashley and I ended up adoring this book! After years of no contact, Eleanor approaches her ex-fiancé Hart to inform him someone is threatening to leak his nude photos. Hart is a gruff, growly SCOTTISH duke who's trying to become Prime Minister so.... this is inconvenient. For all of Hart's posturing, he never got over Eleanor and the man is Obsessed with her. There's so much I loved about this story— there's such a valid reason as to why Eleanor broke off her previous engagement with Hart and I feel like they both learned and grew from it in the following years. BUT that doesn't mean the chemistry isn't there— it was always there (as shown in the flashbacks) and it will always be there, and it's bonkers hot. Like, Eleanor hoards Hart's blackmail nudes in her Hart Scrapbook (I know) and when she's found out, she asks for more nudes (which are taken. in a veeeery hot scene that is very female gaze-y). Obviously he asks for hers in return, which he also takes, eventually.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

@mermaidsirennikita had already put this one my radar, so when the hero Sinclair McBride aka The Scots Machine aka BASHER McBride was teased in The Duke's Perfect Wife in that specific way where you know he's a future hero because he made the current hero (Hart) jealous, I had to read about this hot blond widower barrister next. The heroine Bertie is a pickpocket who tries steal Sinclair's pocket watch but he catches her and she ends up stealing a kiss instead. Then she highkey stalks Sinclair because she's FASCINATED by him and accidentally ends up as his children's governess. In classic The Sound of Music style, she gives the kids an unorthodox but well-rounded education, and on the side she's adorably seething when a widow tries to put the moves on Sinclair. She and his son successfully cockblock him and what follows is the most EROTIC finger-sucking scene I've read like, this man fully shoves 3 of her fingers in his mouth and goes for it. It's so great. I'd absolutely recommend.

The Home Wrecker by Sara Cate

I'm gonna be real, I was not impressed by the last few books Sara Cate put out, but I actually ended up really enjoying this one. Kudos to Sara for actually writing cheating into the romance, and I also thought she handled sensitive subjects like Briar and Caleb's fertility struggles (and the decision they make by the end), Dean being a sex worker, and homophobia in conservative Christian families, quite well. And the emphasis she put on family (lost, found, estranged, having children) was actually really moving by the end.

And on a romance level, the cheating stuff worked— It was kinda great to read both Caleb and Briar being galvanized into acting once they've both been with Dean, especially when you see their their intense apathy towards one another earlier on with this super cringy sex scene. I also like how we were given three distinct personalities with distinct viewpoints in the three main characters; it's something I felt was missing with the throuple in Madame. Here is my full review.

Out of Office by A.H. Cunningham

This is suuuch a sensual, tropical romance split between Panama and Miami and it's out on April 23rd. Here's my review.

[khal-eventing]

Thoughts on Tokitae

Let me start by saying that I am not a professional in the field. I know many people who currently work or have worked at various SeaWorld parks. I know many people who have left the field and now have their own successful canine training business. I have had two internships in the field, and I am a current volunteer at a zoo with marine mammals where I’m practicing husbandry behaviors with lead trainers. I have done a ton of research on both sides, but I am by no means a professional. What I am about to say is purely my own opinion, however I am doing my absolute best to make my opinion based on factual evidence.

It was recently announced that Toki- better known by her stage name “Lolita”- is set to be returned to a sea pen in the pacific northwest where she was captured from over five decades ago. 

Personally, I do not believe this is in the best interests of Toki. 

I visited MSQ when I was down in Florida for college. As someone who grew up and had their passion for marine life inspired by visiting Seaworld, I can say in all fairness that MSQ is the first facility that I have gone to where I began to question the ethics of cetacean captivity. While I am a supporter of all AZA facilities and recognize the excellent work that they do for species conservation, and for the animals in their care, something about MSQ just felt very old school- and by that I mean very outdated facilities. I know there are so many permits to be obtained to start fixing things like outdated animal housing, but this brings up my first point.

The zoological community should absolutely have done something about Toki’s situation decades ago. It should never have gotten to this point. She needed a much larger facility, or to be moved, and that needed to be done years upon years ago. Mark Simmons said it best in one of the many podcasts he has been speaking on: The zoological community should be ashamed for letting it get to this point. Something should have been done. And it should have been done long, long ago. 

But now comes the issue of trying to release her- or move her to a sea pen to live out the remainder of her days (there seems to be confusion amongst the people funding this and those in charge over what the actual long term plan is). It is incredibly emotionally charged on both sides- from former trainers who want what is best for her, to individuals who have knowledge of wild orca but do not have experience with animals under human care and are not experts in behavior. Everyone wants what is best for her and no one wants to see her suffer. But there are issues with this particular plan, and I want to cover my own concerns (concerns that have been brought up by many other people as well)

Issue 1: This is a bureaucratic nightmare. I’m not even sure what all goes into this, but I know there’s a ton of permits that will be needed, a lot of things need to be mapped out and approved, it’s going to take time, it’s going to take money, and at any step in the process the whole thing could be scrapped for not being able to obtain one permit or another. 

Issue 2: She nearly died last year from a respiratory illness. She’s clearly a survivor, and while I do believe she would survive the transport, the fact is that she is not a healthy animal at this point. She is being treated with daily medication, and will be introduced to pathogens that she is unfamiliar with in a sea pen. With her current issues, this could easily pose a threat to her life. Along with this point, she could bring pathogens into an environment that is already threatened by pollutants.

Issue 3: She was captured when she was roughly 4 years old. Over five decades of her life she has had her humans as her family. She is very habituated to them, and as seen with Keiko (who can be deemed a success or not depending on your viewpoint of the situation, in my opinion the release itself was a failure but the story would have been a success if there was funding to be able to keep him healthy in a sea pen vs pushing for full “freedom”). There is a lot to be said about learned behavior, and I believe that Toki is a very poor candidate for release.

Issue 4: Toki will be going from a tiny pool to a large sea pen. That change can be unbelievably overwhelming. IF they are committed to trying this, they really need to entertain an interim solution: like Keiko’s tank in Oregon. Then Toki would be given the chance to become more fit, get used to swimming more and diving deeper, and maybe they can see if she would be able to adjust to that- if she isn’t able to, then the next step of a sea pen would be out of the question.

Issue 5: The cost of it all. And this is my BIGGEST issue with this. Again, Toki’s situation needs to improve, and should have been improved decades ago. But what frustrates me to no end is that people are willing to poor millions into a single whale. One whale. I’m not saying her life isn’t important, however the millions of dollars being poured into a “swim off into the sunset” fantasy could be going towards any number of other issues facing our oceans. Or even go directly to the endangered southern residents. 

So what’s a good solution then? I mean, I honestly don’t know and I hope something will be done. Nobody wants her to stay in her current situation. I would suggest moving her to SeaWorld Orlando, but the issue with that is I can bet SeaWorld won’t get involved. They won’t want to be directly in the line of fire of animal rights activists yet again. I can imagine they would steer clear of the situation. Using the money to build her a much larger facility on property would also be ideal. It’s a complicated situation and I truly understand everyone from both sides. The trainer’s are passionate and heartfelt about wanting to save this animal that they love so dearly. But the people who wish to see her returned to her pod have just as much passion, even if it can sometimes be misguided by anthropomorphic values. Toki’s situation is not a good one. It needs to change. But I don’t believe such a drastic answer of her “going home” and being ��released” is the solution either. I wish something was done years ago. I really, really do. And I just hope that whatever happens next doesn’t cost Toki her life.

[highliqhts]

🎬  just  announced,  rowan delaney has  been  cast  as rikki chadwick  in  the  upcoming  h2o: just add water  reboot.  the  twenty3  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  scouring the local thrift stores for the cutest knitted tops, giving their manager serious heart palpitations by going on instagram live rants about how big corporations are ruining the planet at 2am, being weirdly good at tiktok dance challenges, trying to cook for people despite being terrible at it and being completely unable to keep a phone screen protected without cracks   that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  free-spirited,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  brash.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  how they almost had an accident trying to swim with a mermaid’s tail as a child  will  let  people  to  know  them  better. 

hii, besties !! <33 i am daisy and genuinely so excited to be here ?? fair warning that it's been ... probably about a year since i last tumblr group rped, so i might be a bit rusty but this one brought me back from my retirement. this is rowan, who is a brand new muse of mine aka they're definitely still a work in progress but i'd absolutely love to plot with everyone and figure out all the missing pieces !! anyway, hope u enjoy, mwuah !

basics.

name:  rowan delaney.

nicknames:  ro.

gender:  demi woman

pronouns:  she/they.

age:  23.

date of birth:  january 23rd 2001.

astrological sign:  aquarius.

place of birth: brisbane, australia.

nationality: australian.

ethnicity: mauritian, italian.

occupation:  actress.

sexual & romantic orientation:  pansexual, panromantic.

character.

positive traits:  free-spirited, accepting, spontaneous, passionate, independent, loyal.

negative traits:  brash, aloof, stubborn, fickle.

likes:  the beach, having conversations about things that actually matter, finding that piece while thrifting, traveling, chai latte, pistacchios, surfing.

dislikes:  small talk, people who don't care about the environment / animals, authority figures, rules that don't make sense to her, fake niceties.

biography.

if there ever were two people who absolutely should be parents it's rowan's moms. their lovestory is one for the ages, as they had met in the australian wilderness, ciara an italian backpacking tourist and lauren the australian who saved her from some kind of poisonous snake ( or if you believe lauren a totally non-threatening, non-poisonous snake but she would only contest it if ciara isn't around ). what followed is neatly documented in the photo albums rowan grew up looking through, their mothers on their travels through the entire country, lauren having joined ciara for ' protection purposes '. one thing led to another and the two of them fell in love, something that was completely unthinkable, both with the distance and with ciara’s very catholic and conservative family back in italy. there were simply too many obstacles, it couldn’t work out, right ? with heavy hearts they said goodbye after almost an entire year spent constantly by each other’s sides. that is until, due to a sudden storm, ciara’s flight didn’t take off, leading them to have yet another conversation … after all, wasn’t this fate telling them not to part ? in the end ciara never left australia to go back to living in italy, instead taking the leap and staying in australia with the woman she excitedly calls the ‘ love of her life ‘ even to this day. 

rowan was the last puzzle piece to their perfect little family, in addition to the two dogs, one cat and the stray duck all living with them as well. nobody really knows how the duck ended up there. they do know how rowan did though, after years of careful consideration she was about the most wished for child you could possibly imagine. and so she grew up, surrounded by love and support. that being said, for a while it wasn’t easy for rowan to cope with the harsher realities of life outside their little house. while at the delaney’s family home it was alright to express yourself and your feelings however you wanted, the outside world was less accepting of that. therefore school wasn't easy for her during the first years. rowan was a bit of an outsider during those years, spending most of their free time at home with the pets and their mothers. it wasn’t until she grew up some more that she found friends who would accept her as she was. 

once those years came around however, her life was better than ever before. alongside their friends they spent a lot of time exploring the beaches and city around them. their mothers, being the free-spirited and encouraging women they were, mostly encouraged them in this, paying for their first surfing lessons right alongside the first acting classes. initially they had only signed up for those because a friend of theirs had. surprisingly enough though, rowan soon figured out that acting was something they were not only rather good at but also loved to do. though ciara would later say she never thought it to be all that surprising, with how much rowan had always loved listening to and sharing stories. especially during those younger, more lonely days, where it was mostly books keeping her company. the last years of high school were spent acting in local theater productions, having bonfires at the beach and surfing with their friends. 

life was good for rowan during those times as she started considering what to do after school. it was at the beginning of her last year in high school when she saw an open audition for neighbors and decided to simply shoot her shot. never in a million years did they think this would actually lead them anywhere,that was until they got callback after callback, eventually sitting down to do chemistry reads. they were seventeen, a month into their final year when they got the official offer. sitting down with their parents, they debated. how would she finish school, when filming would take place in melbourne ?  was it even feasible ? could she move there on her own ? in the end they found a solution that had her living with a friend of the family in melbourne during filming, studying with a tutor when she was there and still attending school whenever she was in brisbane. it was a stressful year and it’s safe to say their final grades were not much to be proud of but they did it, they graduated. afterwards she was lucky enough for her minor role to stay permanent, gaining some importance in the show’s plotline, leading to her being able to continue to stay on the crew and work in melbourne. 

they kept their very first television role on neigbors for about 3-4 years, before finally saying their goodbye to the australian soap. due to the relative prominence of the show in australian television, they had earned a decent level of exposure through it. in australia, this would have definitely lent itself to quickly gaining further job opportunities and she definitely debated this with her moms for quite some time. in the end it was them that pushed her to aim higher, to try her luck in the us and move to los angeles at 21. the move was probably the hardest thing ro has done to this day, leaving was tearful not only because they’d miss their family but also because they’d miss their home and they were fully aware they might just be leaving for nothing. for the past two years ro has mostly been getting very small appearances for an episode or three in multiple tv projects ( imagine patient on grey’s or a lost plotline in riverdale or smth, i’ll have to figure the exact projects out ). only recently did she get her first real breakthrough when she was cast as rikki in the reboot of h20: just add water, an australian classic ! they’re about to start filming season 1 and it’s safe to say that ro couldn’t be more excited, having been an avid viewer of the show as a kid.

tl;dr: basically she's born to two very loving lesbians whom i gave an unneccessarily sweet backstory. she grew up in australia, loves the oceans and animals and always had the loving support of her family. she started acting at 17 and moved to the us to further follow that career at 21. h2o is her first lead role.

headcanons.

rowan sometimes refers to the pets that were in the house while they grew up as if they were their siblings, which can be confusing to some people 

ro’s style is very much sort of boho inspired, she loves cute knitted pieces and wide flowy pants and dresses or jeans shorts as well as sporting the most pieced together yet somehow strangely working assortment of jewelry 

she has a decently active social media presence, which is mostly used for an unpredictable mixture of silly on set tiktok challenges or passionate calls for action, mostly for environmental protection 

they’re very much a beach and oceans enthusiast and they WILL shut you down for leaving any kind of trash on the beach but also for supporting environmentally damaging companies 

ro has a decent amount of houseplants at home and tries to keep them alive so desperately ?  but honestly, they’re really not a natural at it. 

she loves doing her nails herself, including cute and intricate nail designs 

when they were 19 and at a party they got a tiny tattoo of an octopus done on the left side of her hip

[lewmagoo]

Sorry if this is too personal but I remember you saying you went to a Christian college. What was the experience like? Only reason I ask is because I’m writing a paper about religious institutions. Ignore this if you want :)

i feel a rant coming on. forgive me for the oversharing that's about to happen.

so here's the thing. i grew up in church. a christian environment was all i'd ever known, so going to a christian college just felt like the right, and safest, decision for me. all things considered, the college i went to wasn't as bad as other, more strict christian colleges (e.g., hyles anderson college. look that one up, bc it's a damn doozy), but it was still extremely conservative and rule driven.

it's the place where i started questioning my beliefs for the first time. a lot of things felt very cult-y there, such as, having to go to chapel every single day and we would all stand at a bell tone that happened at the same time everyday, and sing a hymn called the doxology. there are very strict dress standards, which wasn't a problem for me because again, i was used to it after growing up in church. my problem was with the administration, and i'll tell you why.

during my first two semesters there, two very close family members died. i had to go home on two different instances for funerals. the first time i went home they were very accommodating and worked with me. the next one i had to leave for, they made me feel like i was an inconvenience for having to leave. the dean i talked to was more concerned about my studies and me staying on track for midterms than she was about me having to go home to mourn a literal death. it seemed like an annoyance to her to have to excuse all my absences, as if i had purposely arranged for someone to die so i could get out of school. i remember leaving that meeting in tears and calling my mom sobbing over it.

next was the way their counselors handled things. during my second year there i was deep in the throes of depression. worse than i'd ever been before. i had a professor who had, on several occasions, humiliated me in class. and it was math, my struggle subject, so the way he treated me made it 100x worse. and i couldn't drop it bc he was the only one who taught that specific section and it was a prereq for my major. and to top it all off, during that time, i was subjected to a very traumatic event that deeply fucked me up. so i decided to go to one of the campus counselors because i was at the end of my rope. it was a mistake, because she gave me no tools to help myself with. she basically told me i just needed to pray more, and she quoted bible verses and told me to read god's word. and that was one of my last straws.

i decided i was leaving the school after that semester. and it was the best decision i ever made. my mental health has greatly improved since then. i will never go back.

apologies if this wasn't the answer you were looking for. if you want a more streamlined answer please dm me lol

[libbystcwart]

MERROCK TASK • GET BOLD

TW: brief mention of death.

WHERE DO THEY FIT IN

financial / class status: wealthy | middle class | poor

grew up: wealthy | middle class | poor

health / wellness: fit/healthy | moderate | disabled | ill

education: below high school | high school | college | beyond

legalities: clean record | has a record | trouble / prison

town status: local | new in town | somewhere in between

lives: downtown | suburbs | coast | countryside

FAMILY LIFE

parents: alive | deceased | unknown

came to be: blood | adopted | other

siblings: multiple siblings | one sibling | only child

extended family: large (aunts, uncles, cousins) | small | none

children: none | has children | wants children

relationship status: single | complicated | taken

if taken: dating | relationship | engaged | married

if single: looking | not looking | whatever happens

pets: no pets | has pets | wants pets

DEATH TW: Libby has had a child and considers herself still a mother, even if her child has passed. She still wants to have another child in the future.

PERSONALITY STUFF

extroverted | introverted | somewhere in between

organized | disorganized | somewhere in between

close minded | open minded | somewhere in between

calm | anxious | somewhere in between

easy to get along with | not so much | somewhere in between

cautious | reckless | somewhere in between

patient | impatient | somewhere in between

outspoken | reserved | somewhere in between

leader | follower | somewhere in between

empathetic | careless | somewhere in between

optimistic | pessimistic | somewhere in between

traditional | modern | somewhere in between

hard-working | lazy | somewhere in between

cultured | uncultured | somewhere in between

BELIEFS AND IDEALS

are they: religious | agnostic | atheist

do they believe in ghosts / spirits: yes | no | unsure

the afterlife: yes | no | unsure

reincarnation: yes | no | unsure

aliens: yes | no | unsure

astrology: yes | no | unsure

fate: yes | no | unsure

political alignment: conservative | liberal | independent | other

are they: pro-choice | anti-abortion | unsure

are they: pro-death penalty | anti-death penalty | unsure

are they: pro-euthanasia | anti-euthanasia | unsure

are they: pro-legalized drugs | anti-legalized drugs | unsure

Because of her grandparents, she grew up in a nondenominational Christian environment but she doesn't really follow/practice any kind of religion as she's gotten older.

SEX, ROMANCE & RELATIONSHIPS

sexuality scale: allosexual | in between | asexual | other

romantic scale: allromantic | in between | aromantic | other

experience: virgin | very little | moderate | experienced

number of partners: 0 | 1-5 | 5-10 | 10-25 | 25+

number of relationships: 0 | 1-5 | 10-25 | 25+

preferred partners: men | women | any gender | other | none

relationships: monogamous | polyamorous | other | none

with others: relationship person | casual sex | other | none

in bed: traditional sex | adventurous | kinks/fetishes | other

ABILITIES AND SKILLS

cooking: good | in between | bad

cleaning: good | in between | bad

musical ability: good | in between | bad

artistic skills: good | in between | bad

driving: good | in between | bad

athleticism: good | in between | bad

swimming: good | in between | bad

horseback riding: good | in between | bad

fishing / hunting: good | in between | bad

gardening: good | in between | bad

communication: good | in between | bad

handiness: good | in between | bad

handwriting: good | in between | bad

technology: good | in between | bad

HABITS, GOOD & BAD

alcohol: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

smoking: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

pot/weed: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

drugs: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

shopping: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

gambling: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never

sex: excess | frequently | average | infrequently | never