#and people still haven’t come up with an alternative to queer if they don’t like it so much
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On Getting Gifts This Holiday Season
Note: paragraph summary at the end.
People are talking about how they won’t be buying anything for the holidays coming up next month. This is great, but I also know that there are those of us who come from very traditional families, and whose families would be very upset when we do not participate in the holidays in the same way that they’re used to. This could be especially bad for those of us in an unsafe environment, where not participating could reveal your political beliefs. Maybe giftgiving is one of your favorite parts of the holidays because it’s a way you can show how much you care for the people around you, but you still don’t want to buy nonessentials to stand in solidarity with Palestinian and Congolese people and all the people in the US and around the world who are being exploited to create more things for us to buy.
That’s why I’d like to suggest some alternatives, because this is when I usually do holiday shopping.
- for those of you, who are a little bit crafty, why don’t you use some of those supplies hanging around and then that you haven’t touched in years to make something for your friends and family?
- If you’re not crafty, have you ever considered baking or cooking a gift for those who matter most? For a significant other, you could make it a whole thing with a beautiful dinner date of home cooked food.
- do you have any gifts that you’ve been given that weren’t quite right for you but will be great for your cousin? There is no shame in regifting any unused gifts that you’ve received.
- There are groups like Freecycle and Barter Up (on tiktok @barterup901) as well as local groups where trade is allowed or expected. Freecycle is a website like Craigslist except everything listed is free. Barter Up is on discord and has groups by state where you can trade everything from goods to services. Some cities even have local meet ups too. I’d check on Facebook, Meetup.com, or start your own with your friends! Also, on Facebook, there are by nothing groups in many cities where people are willing to trade for things that they want or make posts about what they’re getting rid of that you don’t need to buy.
- hypothetically, if you have a green thumb and a rebellious spirit, go to a store like Lowe’s and make some clippings. This one works even better at stores with unethical practices. Use a glass jar as a pot, decorate it with what you have, and pot your clipping. Voila! Perfect gift.
- calling all disabled girls, guys, and theys! Have you got tons of wellness supplies and no idea what to do with half of them now that they’re no longer applicable to you? Gift a like new heated eye mask and a pack of essential oils to make a cute spa set. Bonus if you can make some sort of lotion or bath soak to go with it (epsom salt for the win).
- if you do need to purchase something, why don’t you donate to a mutual aid request, buy an esim for Palestinians, or donate to another cause you support in someone else’s name?
- Now, I don’t want to see people forgetting that local businesses exist where products are made locally. A lot of people have neighbors who sell eggs at the farmers market. A lot of places also have eco-friendly stores that sell local products. Search for small businesses near you, particularly those owned by marginalized people and buy some gifts from there. If someone in your life wants a book, this is actually pretty easy because even if you don’t have a local bookstore where you live, you can buy from one online and queer bookstores are a thing.
So in summary, the first priority is to use gifts that you can make, eat, trade for, or already own. When you still need to get a gift to someone, donate to an organization, you love and want to support or purchase a gift through a small local business near you that you know has ethical practices.
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one thing that is impossible to convey to cisgender friends is just the inexplicable horrible disgusting feeling that comes from a deadname being uttered.
like currently, im closeted from my family and therefore only expect them to say my deadname and so ive become numb to it. at school however, i’m very lucky to say everyone from teachers to friends and peers know my real chosen name (not the one on this account teehee), pronouns, and that i’m queer. my teachers have been supportive because i also got lucky that i took classes with all the great teachers teaching them, especially my art teacher throughout high school. i also am incredibly grateful because i am lucky to have a good group of queer friends and a friend circle of supportive people (well at least for the most part. if you know, you know.)
with that said, every once in a while someone will say my deadname at school, usually an old classmate or friend i haven’t seen in ages but see me and give a passing hello, and it feels so horrendously strange. even though i hear and see the name everyday at home, when its said at school it sounds like an alien word of a language never seen outside of that utterance on earth, and having it directed at me just feels so strangely wrong.
and then this morning- a very off morning overall- something rare happened. remember my art teacher? yeah absolutely incredibly lovely woman, she is the only teacher that i trust to talk about my family situation or generally queer topics with, but also constantly stressed and visibly running all over the place in her mind. this morning, my teacher (who was just looking at portfolio assignments from the previous year, including my own with my deadname on it) just asked me something in the lesson about last year (a simple and yes or no) but for the first time sine literally a year ago, flat out deadnamed me. she hadn’t even noticed, it just slipped off her tongue and then she had to move on, and i have been sick and was very hungry and tired so i assumed i was imagining her saying it, but it was so distinctly wrong feeling and sounding that i knew it was real. the name sounded so unnatural in her voice, like her body knew it was false yet her mind kept speeding ahead. it sounded alien and it was directed at me but this time the direction made me feel as if i was wrong, as if i had just slipped through an alternate universe where i was still stuck in the same closet walls people forced me into time and time again. it felt like a slap in the face, a punch to the gut, a knife to an open wound. it felt like a reminder that no matter how hard i tried, i would always be too disconnected with who i am and how the world registers me. my name is My name but the deadname is still the one ironed onto my chest. people can nod their heads and follow the script but one mistake and i feel like a child caught playing dressyp and pretend beyond the age adults deem it appropriate. in one tiny word lasting a second from a slip up i couldn’t even correct, i felt more ill i had from the actual cold festering in me. and oce again, i understand this teacher enough to know this doesn’t mean any true malice of any kind, but man it felt like a disorienting kind of hell and made my ears feel so uncomfortable, and i don’t think i coudl ever explain it to my cisgender friends.
regardless of whether or not they changed their name, i know my trans friends could feel what i was getting at, but to everyone else they don’t feel it so they couldn’t understand it. i tried explaining it to someone and i couldn’t do it. i tried again and i couldn’t do it. being trans is truly such a unique experience even down to the aspects that many cis people ik feel they have enough of a grasp on.
idk if any of that made sense, or if this was anything worth saying. i just still feel weird and the strange alien way the name was said and felt still rattles in my mind
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what was asked already? heres my go for marginalia sirius: 32, 45, 8, 37!!! and for james: 17!!! and for dorcas (this is the first time i actually [redacted] her in a fic): 29, 28, 43!!!! and finally, remus: 47.............
oh boy let's go
Sirius:
8. How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?
When he doesn't mean it (or just means it on a very surface level), loose as fuck. When he really means it, he's buttoned up tight. His home life didn't really prepare him to talk about emotions like that.
32. If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?
The key here is petty crime, as opposed to the actual treason he's in the middle of committing, so. He'd probably start stealing Snape's stuff just to fuck with him or something.
37. What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell? / 45. What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?
Both were answered here!
James, your nemesis:
17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?
Most people first notice his wildly unruly hair, or his darker complexion, because alternate timeline or not, the UK is still a pretty racist place pretending not to be. James first notices his own rather dashing smile. ;)
Dorcas (I'm so curious about what's been redacted here):
28. What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?
She tells people that she wants to be a playwright, which is the truth. She also says that she doesn't want to get married, but the truth is that she just wants to be a lively bachelorette living with her very good gal pal Marlene.
29. How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?
"That's their problem."
43. What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?
I think Dorcas actually has a really interesting perspective, being a pureblood at the top of the sociopolitical food chain, but also being a queer Black woman. She understands the limitations of her race, sexuality, and gender under the Accords, but sometimes has to be pulled back and reminded that she very much does still have class privilege. I think she really resisted that at first, especially as she and Marlene became closer, but ultimately the pair of them really challenged each other to understand those intersections and wise up to how their respective privilege could give the other a leg up (Obviously she sort of fucks this up halfway through the fic, but to be fair, Marlene wasn't really talking to her at the time to tell her it was a bad idea.)
I wish I had more bandwidth to explore Dorlene in this fic the way they deserve, but they still have a greater role to play coming up, and I think at some point I'll write them a oneshot exploring their relationship in greater depth.
Remus:
47. Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?
His maaaaaaaaaaaaaahm. But also I feel like the rest of the staff at the Lupin estate were smitten as fuck with him as a baby/young kid, and still remember him really fondly.
character asks
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I agree with you on everything and I love your clearsightedness, except one thing. I think youre right that LTHQ/Sony don't want Larries around as unconditional fans because we support Louis too hard, so we have to be taught in regular bursts not to trust him and hate him instead. I think HSHQ/Sony do want Larries around because we also support Harry hard and we're very handy to defend his queerness when he's playing all sides against the middle and getting shit for supposed queerbaiting from normals and other fanbases. We're gonna to be super useful for getting SM hype when MP drops and defending H from claims he shouldn't have taken the role because hes not gay. But Louis, they do need Louis to keep Larry going just enough (he is kind of necessary for that) and lets be real, make Harry's image more approachable and relatable for us, but they dont want him to come anywhere near reaching his potential as an artist as we've seen proved conclusively by now. This is just more of the same old bullshit they always pull to drag him back down and damage him again because the tour went far too well. Its the same shit. The same people. The same tactics. Damaging syndicated articles, and fandom sabotage 'from his own mouth' except it's always a version of Louis that doesnt exist when you actually see or hear him. It's about us , about Larries, and how easily we can be made to turn on him but only if we never turn on Harry. I really think thats what its all about now.
I actually do think you have a point here, so I’ll add this to what I said - maybe HSHQ do want Larries around, but they want us fully in the background while they continue to cater to his solo fanbase and especially to the locals, who they want listening to his music, buying his album, and attending his concerts. Hardcore fans are important, but those locals are the reason his streaming and overall sales numbers are so high and it’s hard to sustain that interest.
You know, I’ve noticed more and more lately how this side of the fandom's view of Harry strays further and further from the general public view every single day. For example, I constantly see people talking about how het Harries and locals only like “sexy” Harry and how they must HATE the rest of Harry’s stage behavior and clothing. In reality, people have known how Harry acts and dresses for a long time and it adds to their attraction to him. I don’t get how people haven’t picked up on this considering Harry has become MORE popular with the general public and expanded his mostly female fanbase since Vogue. I try to avoid Harry and Louis content on TikTok, but often when it pops up, I find people talking about how Harry was “written by a woman” because he’s masculine while still being in touch with his feminine side and he’s sexy without being threatening. These aspects of Harry’s image that many Larries claim het Harries or the general public hate are actually a huge part of peoples’ perfect boyfriend fantasy of him, and both Harry and HSHQ know that.
It’s just extremely frustrating to watch people come up with excuses and alternative meanings to very clear, unsubtle lyrics (e.g. I bring the pop to the cinema, if you’re getting yourself wet for me, choke her with a sea view), make excuses for certain types of behavior or ignore it entirely (so much of Harry’s stunt content never even makes it to Tumblr, I’ve noticed, while all of Louis’ does), or blame everyone around Harry and then turn around and spew vitriol toward Louis immediately when something happens. Especially considering what the consequences of all of this stuff are for Harry (his career is on the rise) and what the consequences are for Louis (nothing has improved for him in terms of promo or public image even after his sold out world tour).
It’s just hard to watch how Louis gets punished by his fans when he gets nothing out of this shit. This quote you said toward the end: “It’s about us, about Larries, and how easily we can be made to turn on him but only if we never turn on Harry.” You’re right. And it’s horrible.
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Has this ever happened to you?
Have you ever met someone in the streets and felt like you know them... no, like they’re merely a forgotten friend? Have you ever watched the elements obey your wishes? What about something not quite elemental, but still somehow part of that order? Have you felt like you are being watched? Do you think the government has taken a sudden interest in your actions? Have you joined a new school club? Or have you rekindled relationships with people you haven’t spoken to in years?
If so, we may have answers. We may know what you are.
Aurora Hearts is both a story and a universe for many stories. While at this point it’s pretty detailed (after all, it’s 2 1/2 years in the making!), this post is a brief overview of what both the mainline WIP and the setting have in store if you choose to engage!
GENRE: Urban fantasy/paranormal. New adult. Magical girl inspired, but not necessarily magical girl.
SETTING: An alternate Earth. The main story takes place in the years 2019 and 2020, while side stories and fancontent currently spans from the 19th century into the near future.
FEATURES: A magic system that straddles the classifications of soft and hard, a world without COVID cause I don’t want to write about that, representation in many fields that is usually written by someone in that category (ie, queer characters by queer authors, disabled characters by disabled authors, worldbuilding specific to a location written by locals, etc).
What’s the main story?
The original work Aurora Hearts is written by me, Tabby (scoutdrafted) and was the starting point of what’s become in many ways a collaborative project.
PLOT: When 25 year old Marise Gaumont visits her online BFF Ainsley for the first time, she’s not expecting to get kidnapped and dragged to a secret government military base. She’s especially not expecting Ainsley to be the one doing the kidnapping. She’s especially especially not expecting to be conscripted into an ancient force that is (supposedly) keeping America safe from a supernatural threat.
Thrust into the Defense Company of the United States, Marise can’t help but find their recruitment practices... and basically everything else they do... reprehensible. When it’s revealed that two more of her friends are on the recruitment docket, she makes it her goal to free herself and her loved ones from the Company’s evil grasp. However, there’s two obstacles determined to block her way at any cost. One is the stoic and uptight Director Agnor, who was assigned to keep an eye on her.
The second? Her friends themselves.
TROPES AND FEATURES: friends to enemies to lovers | friends to lovers | found family | magic organizations | faerie worlds | a whole lot of wlw | regular updates
FORMAT: AH WILL NEVER BE TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED, and is available online at its own dedicated website. The story is written similarly to a novel but in an episodic format. One episode is about an hour’s worth of content, with 6-8 episodes making up an Act (roughly the size of a novel) and four acts making a season. There are three seasons planned.
Ideally, AH updates weekly. We are currently on a hiatus while I focus on school and refill the backlog, but our community is still active.
What’s the universe?
The coolest thing about the universe is that it’s really become quite accidentally collaborative. We have a Discord community and there are members from several countries, many of whom have created their own local versions of the Defense Company (the magic governing organization), their own characters, and their own rules and variations for the universe. We even have some people writing their own stories in the universe! While the general universe rules are too long to overview here, you are invited to come join us at our Discord server and hear all about it there! :D
Where can I find you?
aurorahearts.net and https://discord.gg/wKYHvTdPqV
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I almost got dragged into some really gross trans-exclusionary thinking in high school, but I avoided the echo chamber that you live in because I met trans people in real life, existed in real queer spaces that weren't just TERF clubs and saw some anti-TERF talking points that I researched. If this is the alternative, I dodged a major fucking bullet.
Shut the fuck up and fuck off.
Some of my closest friends are NB and guess what? I still ended up being gender critical because my views don’t stem from not knowing trans people or a lack of education but from my own experiences and education. I’ve listened to them speak about their gender and everything and guess what? Still gender critical. If anything, seeing their internalised misogyny, internalised homophobia, body issues, rejection of femininity*, centring much of their personality around being ‘q*eer’, thinking it’s just fun and quirky/hating on ‘cis hets’, and so many other things have validated my point of view. So you can say it’s some ‘TERF talking points from the internet’ if you want, but that’s not true for me. It’s my experiences with my trans friends. It’s stories from so many people around me. It’s getting hate mail. It’s seeing the homophobia. It’s everything.
Literally ‘they’re only like this because they haven’t educated themselves or met trans people’ is rhetoric from the trans cult and actually listening to radfems for half a second would lead you to conclude that the vast majority of us were allies at one point, many of us have met trans people (and even had relatively good experiences with them), yet we still ended up being GC. But you have the audacity to tell me that I’m the one in the echo chamber? And then you try to back that up by saying that you were nearly dragged into TERF circles which means that you should know better? How did you manage to make the obvious lie more obvious?
You just can’t accept the fact that I might have actually educated myself and have had experiences with trans people but still come to a different conclusion than you. You want to write me off as someone who’s just raised bigoted, never met trans people, and fell into a hate group but I’m sorry to say that you’re just fucking wrong.
*Just to clarify: I am not saying rejecting femininity is a bad thing or that every woman/person needs to embrace femininity. It is more that because they are more masculine/androgynous leaning that they see themselves as therefore being not women
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[VICE VERSA episode 8 parts 3&4]
Tess is such a bitch lmao
So… this is awkward
“Mek looks like someone I liked” the casual queer-friendlyness in this show makes me want to cry
Also side note: I really appreciate that Puen doesn’t get legit jealous learning this because that trope is utter garbage for how possessive and unreasonable it makes a character look
“How DARE you not like me back then when we didn’t even know each other” yeah no fuck off
Appreciate that Puen’s being honest about Mek’s intentions right away rather than keeping it a secret for some flimsy reason
“Let’s try to trust him” seems like a risky call given how big his hate-boner for Tess is
“Do you have a problem?” “yes, I could be riding Puen right now instead of having to look at your damn face”
ALESSANDRO MAHMOUD?????
Don’t fucking touch him
“Our characters don’t click” that’s because one of you is a nice person and sadly it’s the fictional one
He’s wearing his “just quit” shirt again, following your own advice my guy
Omg Talay fucking insulted Mek asjkdlfj
I know I’d probably be on Mek’s side if Tess was still himself and the show’s giving us a very biased pov since we’ve all grown to like Talay /and/ I’m all for revenge after being wronged but yeah I can’t help it, this guy’s a dick
CATS!!!!!!!!!!
The orange one looks so confused, the poor thing
“Are you a cat lover?” ANSWER THE QUESTION
Cakes all over this episode for some reason
TAWAN????? *raging war flashbacks*
I’m sorry but all I’m looking at is the cats
The grey one must feel really comfortable since it’s letting Jimmy hold it like a baby! The way Sea’s holding his is plain wrong though…
This poor guy must be like “what is wrong with this lady”
“If it’s not this cat, I won’t be director” how petty is this bitch
TESS HAS NOT ONLY ONE BUT /TWO/ PEOPLE INEXPLICABLY LIKING HIM????
“I’m going back to liking him” Puen to himself: “brb gotta check if there’s enough budget left to hire an assassin”
T&P: let me have a tasty 0% drink as I think it over
“My mood is just cloudy grey” ROLLLL CREDI–
I see you smiling after Puen touched your belly Talay
But also what is this whole scene
I mean, mirroring each other would be the perfect excuse to kiss…….
Oh? OH????
GO FUCK YOURSELF TALAY
Mek went back to liking him real fast, holy shit
“GREYLLERY”??? THAT’S NOT EVEN A PUN
Puen being jealous here is completely different from what I mentioned earlier, here I actually get it even if jealousy is never a good thing
Puen literally RUNNING to join Talay alkdskld
It makes me sad how sad Puen looks
DON’T LEAVE!!
Puen listening to the perfect sad music to fuel his broken heart
Talay, c’mon, can you really not figure out what’s bothering him?
Grabbing his cheeks omg
“I haven’t even seen your face, yet I like you” MY HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was worried Talay was gonna blow it after Puen showed so much vulnerability but THIS IS GREAT, I’M SO HAPPY
FINALLY!!!!!!
Take that, Mek, you little bitch
Also is this the right time to bring up that they are using other people’s bodies to make out……..
Tess is such a bitch lmao <<<<< HE'S REALLY ALWAYS BEEN THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE JUST DITCHING HIS FRIENDS AND BRAGGING ABOUT STEALING OTHER PEOPLE'S CRUSHES AND THEN HE GOES AND COMPLETELY RUINS TALAY'S LIFE AND /STILL/ IS A TOTAL JERKFACE TO TUN IM SORRY BUT THIS IS A TESS HATE ZONE
“Mek looks like someone I liked” the casual queer-friendlyness in this show makes me want to cry <<<<< IT REALLY IS SO NICE i know we've already talked about it in a previous episode but i will never get tired of saying how much i love this. talay says he liked a man before and it's something that can just BE. kita and fuse pretty much know that he likes puen even if he hasn't actually admitted it and they never question it. puen and talay don't have to come out to up and aou because they act lovey dovey once and up and aou just take it in stride and go right into teasing them. and i said it before, but this isn't only a thing in the alternate universe, where same sex marriage is legal, queerness in vice versa just is and it's beautiful
Also side note: I really appreciate that Puen doesn’t get legit jealous learning this because that trope is utter garbage for how possessive and unreasonable it makes a character look // “How DARE you not like me back then when we didn’t even know each other” yeah no fuck off <<<<< REASON NUMBER 9264828648 WHY I LOVE VICE VERSA!!!!!!! other love interests in BLs: you liked someone else? you liked someone else before meeting me? jail for almost-boyfriend! jail for almost-boyfriend for one thousand years!!!!! puen the walking green flag: [uses that as an excuse to hold talay's hand and give him a cheek kiss] LIKE IDK WHAT ELSE TO SAY HE IS SIMPLY BUILT DIFFERENT
Appreciate that Puen’s being honest about Mek’s intentions right away rather than keeping it a secret for some flimsy reason <<<<< after what happened in episode 4 puen has been trying so hard to be honest and upfront with talay (except for his name, which is way more about puen's own sense of self rather than any actual malicious intent of hiding stuff from talay), and even when talay tries to deal with everything by himself (like with tess' clothes) he's always the one to remind him that he's not alone and that they're a team and that they can find a solution together!!!! they do have some misunderstandings throughout the show but they never last longer than an episode because they're just SO GOOD AT BEING OPEN AND COMMUNICATING
“Let’s try to trust him” seems like a risky call given how big his hate-boner for Tess is <<<<< puen was trusting the talay effect to work its magic and the talay effect is gonna come through!!!!!!
“Do you have a problem?” “yes, I could be riding Puen right now instead of having to look at your damn face” <<<<< THE WAY I CHOKED ON MY OWN SALIVA THE FIRST TIME I READ THIS COMMENT AND SPENT THE FOLLOWING 10 MINUTES COUGHING MY LUNGS OUT TRYING TO RECOVER SFJKSGFKSGDKSG funny you would mention that though because one of my favorite headcanons is that talay indeed likes to rid-- [GUNSHOT]
ALESSANDRO MAHMOUD????? <<<<< THE DOUBLE TAKE I DO EVERY SINGLE TIME JUST BECAUSE IT FEELS SO WEIRD TO ME THAT PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF ITALY KNOW MAHMOOD TOO
“Our characters don’t click” that’s because one of you is a nice person and sadly it’s the fictional one <<<<< SFJKSGFFKSGDJ YOU AND TALAY ARE BOTH BEING SAVAGES THIS EPISODE AND I LOVE IT
Omg Talay fucking insulted Mek asjkdlfj <<<<< HIS FULL NAME IS TALAY RAWI 'IM A NICE PERSON BUT I WILL CUT A BITCH' LERTPANYA DO NOT TRY HIM (also not to be that person but talay is so hot when he's angry)
I know I’d probably be on Mek’s side if Tess was still himself and the show’s giving us a very biased pov since we’ve all grown to like Talay /and/ I’m all for revenge after being wronged but yeah I can’t help it, this guy’s a dick <<<<< weirdly enough mek is pretty much the only character in the show that im very neutral about. i recognize his narrative purpose because they needed to parallel the pangpuentalay situation in episode 7 to have talay being the one to choose puen this time around, but aside from that i don't really feel much for mek. that being said, i unfortunately have to admit that if i believed the person in front of me was tess, i would be an absolute petty bitch too ;;;;;;;;
TAWAN????? *raging war flashbacks* <<<<< SFJKSGDJGSJDG THE KINNPORSCHE EFFECT
I’m sorry but all I’m looking at is the cats // The grey one must feel really comfortable since it’s letting Jimmy hold it like a baby! The way Sea’s holding his is plain wrong though… <<<<< im pretty sure jimmy actually has a cat while sea has a dog!!!!! which would definitely explain why the cats seem so comfortable with jimmy while sea's idea for putting them at ease is meowing at them sfjksgdj also im never letting go of my puentalay cat dads headcanon!!!!! which is basically talay finding a small stray crying during a stormy night and bringing it home (because if there’s one thing he can’t resist it’s a pair of big sad eyes), and he wasn't really planning for the cat to stay but puen has already named it and now it’s too late. and then one day talay gets home and there are TWO CATS in their living room because puen thought the kitty needed a friend to keep him company while they’re at work so now talay has THREE KITTENS to take care of (yes the third one is puen)
This poor guy must be like “what is wrong with this lady” <<<<< pang really said 'if puen and talay can let their friends be actors in the movie then i can kidnap this random stranger who happens to look like a famous actor in our universe to play in it too'
TESS HAS NOT ONLY ONE BUT /TWO/ PEOPLE INEXPLICABLY LIKING HIM???? <<<<< you've already watched episode 9 so you know mek didn't really mean it but when i watched the show the first time around i remember thinking that at least mek was attracted to tess in the past but hated him because he was an asshole and only started to like him now that he's actually talay (and lbr who wouldn't love talay), meanwhile im still sitting here wondering why the hell tun never stopped being in love with that jerk
“I’m going back to liking him” Puen to himself: “brb gotta check if there’s enough budget left to hire an assassin” <<<<< puen sitting there like 'i should have known the talay effect is too powerful and now i can't even blame this guy because talay IS nice and cute and of course every single person on the planet would fall in love with him i've just played myself once again'
“My mood is just cloudy grey” ROLLLL CREDI– <<<<< me every time a character mentions the title of the episode/show/movie: [points at the screen] THEY SAID THE THING!!!!!!!!!
I see you smiling after Puen touched your belly Talay <<<<< talay tries not to show it but he's just so ridiculously fond and charmed by everything puen does THEY'RE BOTH SO GONE FOR EACH OTHER IM EMBARRASSED FOR THEM
But also what is this whole scene <<<<< IT'S TWO BESTIES BEING RIDICULOUS TOGETHER AND YOU MUST BE TIRED OF HEARING ME SAY THIS BUT IM SO HAPPY THEY CAN BE SILLY AND HAVE FUN TOGETHER LIKE ACTUAL FRIENDS
I mean, mirroring each other would be the perfect excuse to kiss……. // Oh? OH???? // GO FUCK YOURSELF TALAY <<<<< WHEN I TELL YOU TALAY LOVES TO TEASE PUEN WHICH IS GOING TO TRANSLATE TO HIM SEXUALLY FRUSTRATING PUEN TO NO END AFTER THEY GET TOGETHER
Puen being jealous here is completely different from what I mentioned earlier, here I actually get it even if jealousy is never a good thing <<<<< this is just my personal interpretation but I've honestly never read puen as being jealous here, not more than talay was of pang in episode 7 anyway, which was not at all, not really. like puen says, he knows that talay doesn't have feelings for mek, but both him and talay have this fear of being left behind, of not getting to love the person they have feelings for, while also being selfless enough to take a step back if they (mistakenly) believe the other could be happy with someone else. that's why mek was essential as the last step to make puentalay happen, because in ep 7 talay needed puen to choose him, but puen also needed talay to choose him back, and when talay finally does there's nothing standing between them anymore, not even themselves
Puen listening to the perfect sad music to fuel his broken heart <<<<< puen was also listening to music when he was being all sad in episode 6 I JUST LOVE HOW CONSISTENT THIS SHOW IS AND I LOVE PUEN MY MOST BELOVED CRINGEFAIL SAD KITTEN SWEET POTATO DARLING IDIOT
Grabbing his cheeks omg <<<<< not to be incredibly sappy but TALAY IS HOLDING HIS ENTIRE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!!!!!!!
“I haven’t even seen your face, yet I like you” MY HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! // I was worried Talay was gonna blow it after Puen showed so much vulnerability but THIS IS GREAT, I’M SO HAPPY // FINALLY!!!!!! <<<<< THERE AREN'T ENOUGH WORDS IN ANY HUMAN LANGUAGE TO PROPERLY EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS ENTIRE CONFESSION SCENE JUST SCREAMING SHAKING CRYING THROWING UP SPINNING COUNTERCLOCKWISE ON THE FLOOR WAILING KICKING HOWLING PASSING OUT. the fact that it happens when the lights are out to emphasize that their feelings aren’t about the bodies they inhabit but about who they are!!!!!! puen being so overwhelmed with emotions he needs to grab talay’s wrist to ground himself!!!!!! the tear falling down puen’s cheek and the ear graze and the hand at the small of talay’s back!!!!!! THE KISS PARALLELING THE ONE IN EP 4!!!!!! and not to be that person again but you can actually hear NOISES under the music!!!!!! and i do love that talay likes to tease puen but they both know when it's time to be serious and honest with each other which is why they communicate so well!!!!!! CAN SOMEONE JUST PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY THIS IS GETTING SO EMBARRASSING
Also is this the right time to bring up that they are using other people’s bodies to make out…….. <<<<< SFJKSGDJSGDKS SHHHH WE KNOW BUT WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT
#the day i'll be able to shut up about this show is the day people in every corner of the world are gonna celebrate#and if i talked about it less i might be able to reply to your comments faster ;;;;;;;#vera and monica watch vice versa#m: ask
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Grindr: a thesis
one of the many ironies of being a queer boy in his 20s is the hatred for Grindr and the other apps, and how it makes you feel awful, how it taught you to hate yourself in ways you didn’t think possible, how you never feel whole when you’re on it, but also having it be the only way you can meet other men who want you. And these men, they don’t even want you the person. They want your body, what you are, your energy, your time. You are an object for consumption. And that’s fine. You make yourself fine with it, because what are the other choices? You can opt out, sure, but you know you’re not the kind of guy that gets to have a meet cute, not the kind that gets to let a relationship blossom from a friendship. You’re the kind of guy that gets a one night stand, something quick and dirty, and then gets discarded. You’re not thin enough, not pretty enough, never enough.
So, you put up with it. Because you have to. The alternative is too unbearable. You have friends, great friends, you love your friends and would do anything for them, but they don’t provide the emotional intimacy you’re searching for, and when they do, it feels like an imposition, like a form of pity. You tell those same friends that they can be whole alone, that they are people who can be alone and be fine, but those people have had their first great love, the high school sweetheart, the college romance, the post-grad partner. You haven’t been afforded those same luxuries. All you have is an overpriced education and enough anxiety to be debilitating without copious amounts of medication, all of which only numb it, turn the burner down to a simmer and put the lid on. Eventually that pot is going to boil over, but you have time. At least you hope you do.
And when you do get chances at something, you push them away, forget about them, grow to despise them. Is it because you see yourself in them? Do you see how needy you are reflected back at yourself and hate them for it? And once again, those fucking apps come back into play and you look for something new, something shiny. Something that won’t ever like you back and sees you as simply a message to delete. you are subhuman to the people who you want. But you’re just as superficial, because you want these people over a few pictures, knowing nothing about the men behind the screen.
All this isn’t to say that you want to end your life. You like being alive, you like being you, and in spite of everything telling yourself to hate yourself, you try to like yourself, hell maybe even love yourself if you remember to take your medication. You go to therapy, you do the work, you get better, or at least you think you do. You reconnect with old friends, rebuild bridges you burned, you do your best.
But even all the emotional work you do isn’t enough to deal with the crushing weight of the world continuously turning and moving on. You’re still in your undergrad while most of your friends have moved on. You feel guilt over not calling your grandmother, but you don’t know if she’ll even remember your name when you call. You dread having to go see her, having to deal with the reality that the woman who you looked up to growing up is gone. You miss home, you miss your mom, but whenever you’re home you miss your apartment, your freedom to be yourself, to not have to hide a part of yourself.
So, you look for something to fill the void. A warm body in the cold night, a lighthouse, anything. And the cycle begins again.
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I posted 4,964 times in 2022
That's 1,303 more posts than 2021!
121 posts created (2%)
4,843 posts reblogged (98%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@killjoygem
@sharkface-daydreams
@chromaticroses
@kyidyl
I tagged 4,105 of my posts in 2022
Only 17% of my posts had no tags
#serotonin - 1,095 posts
#funny - 917 posts
#moon knight - 327 posts
#neat - 288 posts
#truth - 267 posts
#video - 260 posts
#queer stuff - 257 posts
#important - 252 posts
#tumblr - 158 posts
#relatable - 113 posts
Longest Tag: 140 characters
#just ‘cause your genital preference ‘aligns’ with cisheteronormative ideas doesn’t mean that’s the only valid experience of your orientation
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
So apparently people think neopronouns are brand new and like to make fun of them. I saw a bunch of people saying “just use they or it”, calling people who use neopronouns disgraces to society, etc. Just general vehemence likely spawned from viewing neopronouns as a useless recent fad. Quick queer history lesson! Feel free to add on if you have more detail, this is just pulling from what I remember.
"They" only became mainstream as singular recently. Until then, neopronouns (literally "new pronouns") were singular alternatives to he and she. The reason there are so many "options" is because a consensus was never made for a definitive gender-neutral pronoun in the mainstream, so people kept coming up with new ones over the decades (centuries? been a bit since I read up on this).
People who use neopronouns today typically do because they dislike that “they” has both plural and singular connotations, making it a messy replacement for he or she. Most nonbinary people (self included) have adopted "they" because it's currently the most accepted by society (a very small few use “it”, but most view that as dehumanizing. Don’t refer to someone as “it” unless it specifically tells you it uses those pronouns).
I hear "why don't they just make up a new word" about singular they and "why don't they just use they" about neopronouns. I think everyone just needs to chill and use whatever the person wants. Idk how to use neopronouns bc no one in my life uses them, but I'd fuckin learn.
Give it a decade or two, nonbinary people being relatively socially accepted is still new. Neopronouns will either all die out in favor of singular they, or one or two will become common use and the others will fall out of use. As for genuinely new neopronouns (not aware of any, personally. 99% sure ey/em, xe/xem, ze/zir, etc outlive me), it’s only a growing list if people you refer to use such varying pronouns. I am nonbinary. I have a handful of non-binary friends. None of us use neopronouns. How many people are there in your life that each use different neopronouns for you to be audibly frightened? If someone says they go by any neopronouns, you don’t have to learn them all. Just one.
I know learning new things and changing your vocabulary is scary, but very few people use neopronouns. They are not something to be forcibly stamped out, but treated with respect. Yes, some baby queers have adopted them, but I’m sure there are also people who have used them for decades in the circles that they were out in.
If someone in your life uses neopronouns, learn them. Think of it not as a foolish impossible task, but as a brain exercise, because if English is your first language you haven’t had to actively think about learning NEW pronouns in English since you were an itty-bitty tot. Don’t assume defeat, view it as a challenge. And if no one in your life uses neopronouns... why tf are you complaining about something that doesn’t affect you?
13 notes - Posted March 1, 2022
#4
my ideal episode 6
-we FINALLY officially meet jake. bonus points if jake is based right out the gate and if marc says any stupid shit jake sets him straight
-the scales are explicitly stated to not be ableist (idk running out of words juice but you know what i mean— integration is not the end goal for every system and should not be implied to be and should definitely never be forced). basically just explain them better. they’re anubis’ scales and he needs to be freed from his lil statue still. maybe he’ll do that chad move where everyone else thinks they understand how it works and he’s just like, “no, the problem was actually the lack of communication. yeah, that also solved it but that was kind of a fucked up loophole and honestly shouldn’tve happened.” or “yeah no shit it wasn’t balanced. you’re supposed to weigh one heart at a time. she confused the scales! it’s a soul per person not per body. you each needed to be weighed separately. steven’s probably would’ve been balanced too at that point, the idiot just had them both on at once.”
-steven is brought back to life (maybe the gods do it as an apology “yea sorry for not listening to you, here’s your buddy back”)
-the mk system goes to ACTUAL therapy with a qualified professional
14 notes - Posted April 27, 2022
#3
would a power fantasy be called a
kingk?
20 notes - Posted February 15, 2022
#2
two options for the scales:
1) only one heart was supposed to be weighed at a time so that’s why it couldn’t perfectly balance until steven was gone (but if tawaret weighed them each individually it would’ve given proper results)
2) the “soul” is one per body so even though there are three people, all three hearts needed to be weighed at once but jake’s wasn’t there (but doesn’t explain why it balanced after steven was gone— jake’s heart still wasn’t there)
if it turns out to be anything else i’m calling bullshit and writing my first fix-it fic
24 notes - Posted April 27, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
me @ fictional characters:
i love you
not in a romantic way
in a i want to cry and hug you way
33 notes - Posted March 15, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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Anakin Assists the Jedi Council While On Medical Leave
AU brainstormed primarily by @atagotiak, @gelpenss, and myself.
Basically, a fix-it based in Anakin getting a peek into the daily life on the Council early, and accidentally Figuring Some Shit Out along the way, mostly because Palps Fucks Up.
So, Anakin gets injured in a way that limits him to Coruscant for a few weeks. He can still walk and talk, but he can't fight. The specific injury doesn't matter, just this:
Anakin runs errands on behalf of the council and sits in on meetings to take minutes as a "you're on medical leave but we need all hands on deck, congrats you get to be the secretary until we can send you on stabbing missions again" thing.
Also, there just aren't a whole lot of people with Anakin's clearance level. They had to send out Stass Allie to handle the mission that was originally next on Anakin's roster, and Anakin's the most convenient person to substitute into her position.
He's not super happy about this but he can more or less understand the point of it. Given that he gets antsy about needing to fight almost immediately, he can acknowledge the worth of having something useful to do, if only as the person who's writing down who says what and making sure everyone has the right file on hand.
(Besides, Obi-Wan jokes in a way that Anakin thinks might be encouraging, this is good practice if Anakin ever wants to be on the High Council himself!)
(This is a very helpful conversation.)
BASICALLY, Anakin is resigned to this but agrees because "Usually we have Master Allie handle this but we need her running that mission that was originally set for the 501st, so you get to fill in for her until you can switch back. Think of it as training for eventual mastery or admin or--listen, we're just really stretched thin."
Here's the key thing, though: Anakin isn't supposed to leave the Temple, for medical reasons, so Palpatine doesn't know Anakin is sitting in on Council meetings. They haven't met up since Anakin's last surgery, and because [muffled hand-wave reason] he didn't find out another way, like Anakin comming him or the Council giving him the heads-up about the change in attendance.
It's fine. He's just taking notes and doing preparatory research, he has the clearance, the Chancellor likes him anyway. Hell, they'd have had someone's Padawan doing this, before the war increased the necessary clearance levels. They'll toss in a quick message in the brief they send to Palps that he never reads anyway, and that's really all they need to do. Skywalker's getting some rounded experience and this way the medics won't be freaking out about him stressing his heart after getting electrocuted by trying to spar too early.
Palpatine doesn't talk directly to the Council, he just sends a recording the first time Anakin is there. It's a bit weird, but nothing goes wrong. Anakin's off-screen from whatever device they use to send a response, since he's not technically a member, just assisting for a bit on the part of Master Allie's duties that he's actually allowed to touch (and not the bits that are getting added to Mace, Plo, and Shaak's stuff).
The first four or so meetings are like that. Anakin starts having a bit of sympathy for the Council as he sees how many things they want to do that are hampered by the need for Senatorial approval, things that he would also want to do and didn't think required this much red tape.
About a week in, still mostly recordings with Anakin just sitting on the side playing paralegal, the wheel of fortune turns a few pegs.
Palpatine hands over a an order on the range of injury that a soldier should be treated for, "to ensure that republic resources aren't being wasted on clones that, while expensive, would actually be cheaper to replace than repair."
Oh, he dresses it up in prettier language than that. Anakin doesn't process it as such first.
The Chancellor manages to couch his phrasing in "prioritizing resources for taxpaying republic citizens and employees of the GAR," which... well.
The natborn commissioned officers pay taxes. The Jedi are employees. The clones are neither, because they're slaves.
Probably he frames it as the employees thing, very much the kinda language that sounds halfway ok unless you’re fluent in political bullshit.
And Anakin is really confused at first about why the council is upset by the order because, okay, he would PREFER to be able to use medical supplies on refugees when possible, but he understands prioritizing the soldiers?
He just looks up, totally lost, when someone groans and goes, "That's the third time this year, is he trying to get us all killed?"
And it vibes as such a genuine, aggrieved, sad reaction that Anakin is completely blindsided because it's not the sarcastic, petty resentment he kind of expected? It's just... desperate depression.
And someone gently has to explain that this is the third time they've had resources restricted to only GAR employees and that it's a polite way of saying "prioritize natborn officers, stop wasting resources on clones, we can replace them easier."
Or maybe he doesn't ask, because he's just there to take notes, not argue, and he can see the masters drawing up a response that amounts to "We would like to remind you that our soldiers do not fall into that classification, and to limit their access to our medical supplies is liable to cause a loss of life that we find unreasonably high. Please see the annotations attached to adjust wording so that the clones may receive the same level of care."
Anakin's internally just like "Yeah, that's phrased nice and addresses the main problem, Palpatine will obviously agree and change it!"
And then he comes in the next day and the response comes in and it's just dripping condescension about considering the clones actual people.
"This is why we can't use the bacta tanks on clones anymore, just the patches. We could use them at first, we had a few of the CCs get through fatal injuries with them, but they cut that off and said we could only use the tanks on Jedi and non-clone officers a few months ago. The Banking Clans keep tightening their belts on the army, and the Chancellor insists we put citizens first, and the clones aren't citizens. We've been arguing back as much as we can, but he keeps going on about the economy and we can't... we just can't, Skywalker. We're trying to save as many of our men as we can, but..."
Something like "Allocation of resources reiterated, the Kaminoans have assured the senate that the Jedi are far from exhausting the resources ordered."
And Anakin's like. He can't blame the council for lying about Palpatine's past or future actions. He just saw Palpatine's actions. Those actions were to order people under his control to throw away lives he saw as replaceable commodities.
These are his friends' lives.
His soldiers are being thrown away by a man in a tower that he trusted.
And then that man has the gall to suggest it's the council's fault.
Palpatine is good at what he does, especially in public, he dresses it up in flowery language and everything, but Anakin's just like "Those are my FRIENDS and also this is??? How slavers talked about their property on Tatooine???? FRIENDPATINE, WHAT THE FUCK."
Anakin can be passive aggressive sometimes as well as outright aggressive. So if he brings up the guidelines and why they make him upset in general terms, and Palpatine says something about how he’s sad the council doesn’t care about the clones...
Anakin, internally, having just watched the council scramble to save as many clones as possible within the guidelines that Palps handed down: Uh-huh.
(Anakin is just the gay horror teeth gif from queer eye.)
Just. “Yeah, funny you say that, Palpatine! Because as I remember, you told the council not to waste more resources than necessary while Mace Windu was arguing to expand the treatment range!”
Palps doesn't even have time to salvage the situation or attack Anakin because Anakin just bulldoze rants for fifteen minutes and then storms out.
Anakin... maybe does a little treason and gets a copy of the orders so he can ask Padme "Hey, can you explain the politics of this?" and doesn't tell her who wrote it so she isn't biased (he tells her that this is why he's not sharing the author's/speaker's name), and just lets Padme pick apart all the 'this is a nice way of saying they don't view the clones as people' details.
Alternately, someone on the Council sees Anakin dithering and manages to get him to admit that he's not great at political language and wants to ask someone to help him understand the full implications. The person--Mace? let's go with Mace--is aware that Anakin is on good terms with Senator Amidala, if not necessarily aware of the depth of said relationship. Mace points out that he's probably going to be seeing her soon just because he usually does and, as a Senator, she can get easy access to these sessions since they're not about specific missions, just allocation of resources, etc. It's not an optimal solution, but she's got a bit more free time than anyone else Anakin knows with the clearance levels, like Order members that are actively involved in the war effort.
Anakin dithers and panics and Mace, trying to be helpful, tells him that plenty of Jedi have made friends among the Senate over the years, didn't you know Qui-Gon Jinn was a personal friend of Former Chancellor Valorum?
At any rate, Anakin goes to Padme and asks her to explain it to him, because she knows how to phrase things so he gets it.
Anakin has to have her pause and he goes outside and destroys some things halfway through.
(Anakin maybe thinks back to the times Padmé or Obi-Wan were really obviously frustrated and when he asked, they said stuff like “I can’t stand Palpatine rn, sorry Anakin I know he’s important to you and you don’t want to talk about politics, let’s just talk about something else.”)
(Obi-Wan: I don’t trust Palpatine
Anakin: you just don’t like politicians in general
Obi-Wan: yes that is also true)
(Obi-Wan does like Bail and Padme but he does also talk a bit about how politicians generally aren’t to be trusted.)
#Anakin Skywalker#Sheev Palpatine#Jedi High Council#Mace Windu#fix it fic#star wars#star wars prequels#Phoenix Posts#Padme Naberrie
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I haven’t been in the star trek fandom for very long (I’ve only just started binging the series in the last couple months), so it’s been pretty surprising to find out just how negative the perception of the reboot movies are.
this isn’t coming from the perspective of someone who grew up with the series, so it hit different for me than it might for people with a different relationship to TOS, but I thought it was genuinely clever and Respectful with how it was handled.
To quote leonard nimoy: “Well the alternative timeline gives them license to escape from canon concerns. I can’t see people saying ‘they shouldn’t do that because…’ or ‘that doesn’t tie in to such and such’ because it is a different time and place. Am I right about that?”
[Link]
the entire Premise is that the original series happened as it was presented in TOS, but an event late in Spock’s life caused the creation of a parallel universe in which everyone’s lives were significantly altered through two key changes to the timeline. this gives them the freedom to Both revel in fanservice And explore different facets of the characters and their relationships.
the destruction of vulcan Vastly impacts the characters and the plot moving forward, and its a detail that a lot of people take issue with. but the emotional impact of sarek admitting Directly to spock that there is value in his humanity, that his feelings Aren’t wrong, that sarek married amanda because he Loved her cannot be understated. you can read all of these things into sarek as he was in the original series, but he Never had an open conversation about these things with spock. this creates a Believable and Rewarding change in their relationship, where we get to see a different facet of them Because of the changes made. and that’s exactly the appeal. showing us pieces of these characters that we never got in TOS that are nevertheless undeniably Them.
everyone is Different yes, but they’re also fundamentally the same people at their core and that matters.
kirk’s personality obviously takes the biggest change, with him experiencing trauma at a young age, losing his father, and having an implied abusive father figure after that point. he has a harsher personality in reaction to harsher conditions, he’s spikier and harder to love. but he’s also still fundamentally a Good person whose willing to risk everything to help people. he still has what made kirk prime a good captain and a good friend.
I’m not gonna say that it’s the most nuanced story in the world, but it explores a version of kirk that was born from even Less fortunate circumstances than kirk prime, exploring a kirk brimming with potential who learned to bite back after he was kicked down. exploring those themes of trauma and loss, of insecurity and growth, and coming to the conclusion that Fundamentally He Is Capable Of Good isn’t a Bad thing. you don’t have to like it, but his growth into a better person is The Point. they deepened his flaws (all of which were present in a less exaggerated form in TOS) To Show That Growth.
and then of course there’s his relationship with spock.
people are totally justified in not liking that they had a rough start to their relationship, I usually don’t like to see that kind of thing in reboots or hollywood adaptations either, but the way people talk about it is just unfair.
Yes kirk and spock and bones have a very strong relationship in TOS, they also already know each other by the time the show starts. to look at them having to learn to get to know and trust each other when they first meet and say that it’s Bad because they were already full on ride or die for each other in the og series is silly. TOS kirk and spock had to meet and fall in love with each other too, it didn’t just happen over night kings.
secondly, the entire point of the first movie is that Even With reality itself being altered to pull them apart they are fundamentally compatible people that are Bound to each other. they meet each other on bad terms because of circumstances outside of their control, and yet they’re still pulled into each other’s orbit and find the other slotting into place next to them as if they always belonged. one of the first things that spock prime says in the movie is “I am and always will be your friend,” spock and jim are Meant for each other and the movie goes out of its way to explain that. which is what makes it so Weird to see people complaining about how they don’t like each other.
it’s a Different relationship, but it’s absolutely no less steeped in yearning or queer subtext.
speaking of queer subtext ! some people are Very unhappy with spock’s relationship with uhura.
first thing I wanna say is that making the argument that they’re doing anything that the original series hasn’t done is just, completely untrue. kirk has fallen in love with more girls in the og series than he knew what to do with, leonard nimoy was a heartthrob in his time (and he deserves it, awooga) and spock reflects that ! Spock usually turns the women who come onto him down (or when he doesn’t it’s because a plant has literally altered his mind), but there are exceptions to even that. all of three of the main boys have plenty of romance subplots, it happens. if that takes the possibility of them being queer off the table for you (which it shouldn’t, m-spec people exist) then I’m sorry to say that TOS is not exempt.
now, I can understand why Specifically This Relationship could rub people the wrong way or being disappointed that they didn’t outright depict kirk and spock as having a relationship (if not in the first movie then in the following ones after they’ve gotten to know each other), but even in that context the way I’ve seen people talk about it comes off as insensitive.
no, the relationship did not come out of nowhere. they considered having spock and uhura date each other in the original show (and you can see signs of this in the earlier episodes, where uhura very obviously flirts with him and they spend time together in their down time) before they decided against it, and spock was originally going to kiss uhura until shatner insisted that he wanted to do it (because it was the first interracial kiss on tv). [Link 1, Link 2, Link 3]
nichelle nichols was asked about this exact thing (spock and uhura’s relationship in the movie), you can read the interview in full here [Link] but I’d like to highlight this paragraph in particular:
“Now, go back to my participation in Star Trek as Uhura and Leonard (Nimoy) as Spock. There was always a connection between Uhura and Spock. It was the early 60’s, so you couldn’t do what you can do now, but if you will remember, Uhura related to Spock. When she saw the captain lost in space out there in her mirror, it was Spock who consoled her when she went screaming out of her room. When Spock needed an expert to help save the ship, you remember that Uhura put something together and related back to him the famous words, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m afraid.” And Uhura was the only one who could do a spoof on Spock. Remember the song (in “Charlie X”)? Those were the hints, as far as I’m concerned.”
the film makers looked at the fact there were Hints for uhura and spock, that they were Interested in exploring an interracial couple for the first time (both before and immediately after interracial couples won the right to legally get married) but Couldn’t because of the circumstances of the times and decided to Make that depiction. you don’t have to Like their relationship just because of that fact, but it’s Incredibly reductive to play down it’s significance as just a No Homo cop out. explicitly queer relationships are not the only progressive or culturally important relationships in fiction.
moreover, if you can’t imagine polyamory in the communist utopian future that’s on you.
moreover, this perception that this was a soulless cash grab is just, unfounded.
leonard nimoy returned to the role as spock for the first time in 16 years (since 1991) and this was Entirely because of the respect they had for nimoy, spock as a character, and the franchise as a whole.
Lets look at some quotes from nimoy in interviews regarding the film:
Leonard Nimoy: When I first read the script (...) I immediately contacted J.J. and said “I think it is terrific…I think you guys have done a wonderful job. There is still work to be done, but it is very clear that you and your writers know what you are doing and you know how to do this movie and know what it should be about….and I am very interested.” Then as time went by we worked things out with Paramount, but the most important things were J.J. and the script. (...) I am very pleased about that and I am very comfortable with where this is going. I think the writers have done a terrific job. They have a real sense of the characters and the heart of Star Trek and what it is really all about.
(...)
TrekMovie.com: Now in the case of the new movie you have been retired from acting for years. What was it about this one that made you want to act again and go through the make up again? What was it that made you say ‘I really want to do this?’
Leonard Nimoy: You are right, this is a special situation. First it is Star Trek and so I have to pay attention. I owe that to Star Trek. Second place is that it is J.J. Abrams who I think very highly of, he is a very talented guy. Then came the script and it was very clear that I could make a contribution here. The Spock character that I am playing, the original Spock character, is essential and important to the script. So on the basis of those three elements it was easy to make the decision. So those three things: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams, and an interesting Spock role.
[Link]
Praising the cast playing younger versions of characters from the original 1960s TV series, he [Leonard Nimoy] said: “Let me take the opportunity to say this. Everybody at this table [the cast] are very, very talented and intelligent people.”
“They found their own way to bring that talent and intelligence to this movie, and I think it shows. (...) When Karl Urban introduced himself as Leonard McCoy and shook hands with Chris Pine, I burst into tears. That performance of his is so moving, so touching and so powerful as Doctor McCoy, that I think D. Kelley would be smiling, and maybe in tears as well.”
“The makers of this film reawakened the passion in me that I had when we made the original film and series. I was put back in touch with what I cared about and liked about Star Trek, and why I enjoyed being involved with Star Trek. So, it was an easy way to come on home.”
“[In this Star Trek] they said things and showed me things, and demonstrated the sensibility that I felt very comfortable with, and I think that shows in the movie. I like it.”
[Link 1, Link 2]
again, you don’t have to like it just because leonard nimoy did, you don’t have to Agree. but the idea that nobody working on the film Cared is provably false. near everyone working on the project was already a fan of the series or were excited to be involved and did their homework. it’s genuinely a Miracle just how much of a labor of love this was, and in my opinion you can feel that through the movie itself. I’d highly recommend looking into interviews and behind the scenes details about the movies. they had a respect not just for the source material, but for leonard nimoy as a person.
there’s definitely more I Could say about this, but it’s 4 am now so I’m gonna shelve it jklfdsa
that said! it’s Fine to not like the movie, not everything is going to be suited to everyone’s taste, but the specific criticisms I’ve seen feel very off base
#star trek#kirk#spock#uhura#nichelle nichols#leonard nimoy#star trek aos#aos#star trek tos#tos#meta#long post#hello followers I write essays about star trek now
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2022 |
I wanted to write something for New Years and didn’t get around to it, so here we are now.
Gunna put it under a cut because I’m gunna get a little personal;;
I’ve spent most of my twenties running away from and avoiding the difficult things I didn’t wanna deal with. Six years ago I got married and bought a house and even at the time I knew I was making a mistake, but I pressed on because that’s what you do, that’s the dream, right? But I knew something didn’t feel right. Two years into it I was deeply unhappy and I realized I couldn’t continue pretending to be something I’m not just because the alternative was easier. Four years ago I began to change things for myself and it wasn’t until the very end of 2021 that I finally finished it.
I’m single again and my house is up for sale. To some people from the outside looking in, it may look like I failed, because I had everything you’re supposed to want and I gave it up. Sure I may be moving back in with my parents at 33 and I don’t have any lofty ambitions or dream job I’m chasing, but for the first time in a long time I’m happy. It took me 33 years to figure out who I am. And I know I’m not done learning things, but the picture right now is clearer than it’s ever been.
I’m queer, aroace, and non-binary. I’m not always good with words, I still listen to music from the mid2000’s, and I love with all my heart. I like my blue collar job, I’m good at it. I’m too busy having fun making fan works to focus on original ideas, and I’m okay with that.
I’m not always good at getting started on things and often need a little push, but I’ve learned that the hard things are worth it and I’m just lucky that I have people around me who I can lean on. So here I am, starting this new year almost completely fresh and I am so looking forward to it.
Throughout my journey I’ve been hurt by people I thought were friends, but that’s only shown me who my real friends are and they bring me so much joy—whether we talk every day or once a month. So without further ado, I wanted to thank a few of you that have been there for me through this past year:
@santacarlahorrorshow - Mel, my horror buddy, my same brain twin, even though we’re no longer active in the same fandoms I love that we support each other in our interests and still geek out together. And when I’m being too hard on myself you’re always there to kick my brain back into shape.
@super-unpredictable98 - Flor, the Lyddie to my Win, my favourite rp partner, I know you’ve been having a hard time lately, but I’m so thankful that you’re still along for the ride with me, no matter what. I love watching new animes with you and that we have the same taste in fictional men so we can thirst together. Also thank you for all the new kinks lmao.
@crytalstellar - Nikuuu, I’m so glad I forced got you into bnha with me. I missed talking oc stuff with you and just talking to you in general. You’re still one of my favourite people, and I’m so so happy that you’re writing again >w<
I could write paragraphs about all my friends and mutuals, but I’m running out of word steam. So to all of you, please know how special you are to me and how much I appreciate you, even if we haven’t talked much lately, I still think of you often.
@magic-multicolored-miracle @elliethesuperfruitlover @crabstick @catsnathan @maerenee930 @salvador-daley @spanishmossmagnolia @wadewilsonswebhead @seigephoenix @badsext @hucklebunny @the-dollhouse-system
+ all the new mutuals I’ve made recently and hope to get to know more over the coming year! (I would tag you all, but I’m afraid of getting annoying lol) Y’all are wonderful and amazing.
💖 joz
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So there’s this trend I’m seeing on social media about people boycotting / encouraging people not to buy the upcoming Mass Effect remasters.
The reasonings being somewhat varied, some valid, others not, but mostly centering around one thing in specific; cut content relating to same sex relationships that didn’t make it into the games.
Now, I understand not being interested in the product being offered; I’m probably not going to buy it myself for a lack of specific features like multiplayer and... just not needing the buy the game for my fifth or sixth time. It’s completely valid to think the remasters are just not doing enough for you to justify a purchase, or that their faith in the company doing it properly in their current state isn’t there. I get that.
But the mood that’s come up lately isn’t just disinterest; it’s downright outrage. Violent, ideologically charged opposition to even the concept of the remasters because of a perceived failure to meet their extremely specific and often high standards and notions of progressiveness.
Now it’s not exactly news that Bioware has had a rocky relationship with inclusivity over the years, with queer characters flitting in and out of recognition and prominence, appropriation of queer archetypes, and less than stellar execution of what characters they do include. I’ve had my complaints with these myself from time to time, though it’s still always struck me historically as a generally positive, if clumsy attempt at progress that I appreciated despite the flaws; remember that the original Mass Effect 1 came out in 2007, and was the focus of a major media scandal about even including romantic relationships at all in the game, nevermind same sex ones. That’s 14 years ago! The most recent game in the series is 9 years old!
We can talk about the social standards of the times and the progress we’ve made, and we can also talk about the merits of restoring and improving media as it was, or recreating it to more closely reflect the values of today and which or both of them is a worthwhile pursuit, but I don’t think that’s what’s being sincerely argued here.
What we see instead is some protestation that failure to make the exacting changes that they see fit according to their personal ideology is some kind of radically regressive statement, as if it’s a conscious, malicious decision and not either one made in good faith or not at all. This movement has collectively decided that the remaster needs to contain exactly the changes that fit their fleeting whims or the entire thing’s at best a wash and a wasted effort, and in some cases a ‘homophobic’ statement of hatred, or cynically callous laziness.
Let’s remember; the focus of this argument is the presence of available simulated dating options in a 14 year old game. The arguments posits that some of these alternative options are ones that were cut from the release of the games, notably the first one, and have some or numerous assets that exist in various forms within the game files that with some work can be accessed in the game with user-made modifications. Some of this is true; though much of it is exaggerated or misconstrued in terms of its scope or viability.
Many of these people just assume that this cut content that someone else has restored in a mod somewhere is just some sort of simple toggle done in moments without effort, ignoring the work those modders did on their own time and money to introduce those features.
Even if we just hand wave any standards of quality or continuity or polish and integration these mods have, you have to consider the dozens to hundreds of volunteer man hours of labor these fans put into many of those mods to make them viable that a company paying it’s employees a fair wage and time to do without overworking has to budget. Which I should mind to you is something also incredibly topically relevant in game dev these days. Adding new content costs money. Restoring old content, still costs money.
Even then, the viability of many of those original assets is at question in itself; the 'ingredients’ used to create the content are not equivalent to the ‘cooked’ content found in the game files, so some of them are difficult to work with or lacking in features or quality. Hell, we know for a fact that half of the god damn development data for ME1 is just fucking gone, which is why the DLC isn’t making an appearance in the remaster at all; it just doesn’t exist anymore and would need to be remade from utter scratch.
Now there’s a dozen reasons undertakings like these would or wouldn’t make their list of priorities for remaster given the other work they are doing re; texture and model uprezzing, gameplay updates, etc. It’s not exactly strange for them to recreate the game largely as it was with a more limited scope of changes. Perhaps the decision was made to preserve some parts of the game largely as it was; with mostly minor cosmetic changes to things like Miranda’s camera angles; things that don’t have much overhead or ripple effect. Perhaps restoring the content was considered, but didn’t make the cut- maybe for the same reasons it didn’t make it into the game in 2007. Maybe for different ones.
Only the people involved know.
Now, would I like to see some of that content restored and improved? Sure! I think it’d have been a great thing if they’d promoted the series as having new or restored content; if they’d promised us such things. But they haven’t, and while it’s one thing to praise taking an initiative like that if they had, I think it’s completely unreasonable to be outraged that they didn’t.
We can celebrate that kind of outstanding and excellent steps forward in inclusivity, but we have to understand that while someone not being ahead of the curve may not be exciting or even disappointing; it is not in itself an act of directed aggression. And treating it like one is a waste of time and energy that we can direct to protesting actual aggression, or celebrating those outstanding steps.
But here’s the major thing that kills me; all those mods they love and praise aren’t going anywhere.
The remaster will come out and unless Bioware is so completely tone deaf and media blind from the past year they pull a WC3, the old versions of the game will all still be available. All those user made mods they cite in these arguments about “how easy” it is to add content to the game will still be there, ready to play as they always were. Some of them might even work or be easily made to work with the new versions!
All of that will still be there! And we’ll have access to a new version of the trilogy that is far more accessible to new players who haven’t yet been exposed to so much of the games content that they are desperate for more of it.
Just look at Mass Effect 1; that game has not aged well, and it was kind of a sloppy mess even when it came out! How many new players can we get to enjoy all the good things the series has to offer with an easily accessed, more enjoyable package to play through the entire series without issue? I’ve done numerous replays of the trilogy through the years, and Mass Effect 1 is always a huge stumbling block. It’s just a pain in the ass, straight out. Don’t you want at least the option to fix that?
And if not, you don’t have to buy it and no harm is done to you! Enjoy your existing version with your mods and familiar features and flaws.
And if you truly, genuinely care so passionately about Bioware improving their record of inclusivity; look instead to the new game that’s coming out and look forward to that instead. Every game in the franchise has been better than the last at this; ME1 cut the same sex relationships, but ME2 had some. ME3 had even more, and then Andromeda had yet even further than that after patching!
How many will the new game have?
Look forward to that and make it clear to bioware you’re looking for that in their games; just.... ease off this ridiculous vitriol in trying to get people to avoid the remaster because it’s not good enough for you. No one needs to have this bullying done to either the developers themselves or the players looking to buy the game for themselves or others. It’s simply not productive.
Especially with this franchise’s sordid history with excessive media outrage and entitlement that’s been absolutely exhausted.
Just... relax. And have some perspective.
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Okay, something on the other side of this ramble
Another ramble and I will call it…
The Horror In Sports Films
(it’s more about Johnny Lawrence with a side of Ash Williams this time)
1. Horror and Punch-Kick-Emotions films (whatever they’re called – hand-to-hand fights in front of an audience with Feeling after which man is allowed to cry, so not like… Shootfighter or Bloodsport, those are different Types of Movie) are very formulaic
2. The former allows for a rare-in-film depth of feeling from female protagonists at the cost of being the victims of extreme violence (The Final Girl) – the latter allows for a rare-in-film depth of feeling from male protagonists at the cost of semi-willingly engaging in violence (Rocky/Creed, Raging Bull, Warrior, The Fighter)
3. You’ve very seldom got some Final Boys (Nightmare on elmstr 2, Evil Dead, Chucky, Get Out) and Female Sports Stars (Million dollar baby… and… ? Beautiful Boxer? Somewhat different vibe in that it is actually a trans story, but still, it has that je ne sais quoi – queer feeling in obvious abundance. Girlfight… I haven’t seen that one sorry) and when you do, the questions about Gender Roles are mixed up like shaking a test tube and they’re not reaaally as popular, because cis straight fans are terrified of identifying with something that’s, you know, *whispers* more obviously gay (unless the Final Boy is a child or Does Action!)
4. A nightmare on elm street 2 and Karate Kid are both very different to their genres’ formula due to the lead – in Karate Kid they get away with this until the third movie, which we can and have talked about forever and ever
So: Ash Williams (Evil Dead) and Johnny Lawrence – Queer Final Girls also? (I mean, yes) and also The Monster (also yes)
Horror in sports: You’re trying to be A Man. You have to suffer before you’re allowed this title. You have to Prove Yourself and the ways to do this are counteractive to your physical health, your emotional well-being, and your relationships to others. And the true horror is this – you will never achieve Man. It is unachievable. You will simply suffer. And suffer. And suffer. And then you will die (maybe, after death, you will be remembered as A Man, maybe this twisted kind of saintliness is the only thing you can aspire to, because the alternative is to No Longer Be A Man).
Is Johnny (while Daniel is going through his coming-of-age journey in the first movie) going through a horror film/juvenile Raging Bull?
And once we meet him again – similar to Ash Williams – he is Upholding Masculinity by being an alcoholic with c-ptsd, who is also racist and sexist, but hey, they… drive classic (shit) cars? And are emotionally stunted? And uh ‘checks notes’ like Babes and punch/shoot things! M A N ! ! !
JC Leyendecker, Tom of Finland, both famous gay artists who created images of men that were considered highly masculine, the first of which were literally considered the ideal American Man, the second of whose men are very similar to the kind of guy you’d see in American Action Films (The Schwarzenegger/Stallone Ideal). The kind of intensely muscled oiled up idealized man that straight men Love. (don’t y’all want to put straight men in test tubes sometimes? Just me?)
And here’s the thing about us-and-Johnny. Other people have spoken about it. Was it @nomercyonlytears (apologies if I’m misremembering) EDIT: have been told it was @palamedessextus - sorry! - who had that glorious piece about Johnny Lawrence/Billy Zabka “if I felt less I could talk about it more”, and I know there’s an overlap in fans of Johnny and fans of Ash, and we’re very queer, and some of us, I believe, are transmasc and/or NB and/or have experience with transness as it affects ourselves and/or gender ???? experiences, and variations thereof – but I won’t put words or identities in anyone’s mouth, this is all about me and about projecting the horror of Imperfect Masculinity onto Johnny, like I do with many cisgender men in narratives like this, because they really are Horrific, and I’ve had thoughts for awhile about the potential for trans and particularly transmasculine narrative (also other kinds like lesbian and particularly butch narrative) to… I guess be a better? A more rounded and self-aware kind of depiction of masculinity – and is the real horror that these stories can Never Be That?
and the thing about Raging Bull is that he has that self-awareness that he’s been Made Into Something Monstrous, but it’s an unsustainable model of self outside of the boxing ring – he doesn’t however, know how to not be that, and if someone did provide a template, he’d probably call it gay……
These are stories of Frankenstein Monsters – stories of a Flawed Violent Masculine that is both projected inwards (addiction, self-harm, inability to connect) and outwards (racism, sexism, fighting-which-is-also-self-harm), and the second, the second someone were to take this to its natural conclusion and says… “uh, hey, that’s a mighty queer theme you’ve got there” the whole thing would become… idk… Something Else (something... queer....)
Final Girls are often saved or save themselves (also through a form of Transformation Into Monstrousness), but in this case the monster is masculinity, the way to be saved is also masculinity, but like… queer masculinity
we haven’t had a reckoning of that yet within these formulaic genres, as far as I am aware…
Ash Williams is especially in a strange place, because the narrative in the later series is presented through such a male-gazey, weirdly affirming camera (badass drug sequence – badass retraumatization sequence – badass self-hatred sequence), and the series was cancelled so I guess we’ll never know if there was any self-awareness there in the end (one of the final shots is objectifying a new female character and a Badass Car Upgrade so...)?
At least Johnny Lawrence looks close to tears every time something upsetting happens to him. Johnny really wants to cry and it’s a tragedy that he can’t
will he still be badass once he’s cried? (if he’s been beaten up enough it might even be allowed – the horror of Being A Man is that even if you fail or lapse, you are still required to Keep Going, because Toxic Masculinity Will Not Let You Go)
One day the Horror In Sports will come home to the same natural conclusion that Horror In… Horror is doing: It’s All Really Friggin Queer
(so are Ash Williams and Johnny Lawrence)
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Random bits of Lorien Legacies fandom history I remember:
- Everyone thinking Five was going to be a girl before The Fall of Five came out and people living their truth writing all those self inserts and oc girl fives who always ended up smooching Nine (who didn't love a good self insert?)
- all those anti Five memes after TFOF which were like "i am number four fans counting to ten 1 2 3 4 not you 6 7 8 9 10"
- that facebook game about mark james that may or may not have been a fever dream
- everyone calling setrakus ra mousetraps for some reason. I don't remember why.
- the fandom making Eight's sole character trait pizza because he referenced it one time. Also whitewashing him with Robert Sheehan edits.
- that time I was really into crack ships and someone took one look at a Nine/Marina fic I wrote bluescreened and did a whole essay on how ridiculous ships made them quit the fandom and everyone called them out on it
- Sam/Six ship being named Stormchaser
- When John/Six/Sam love triangle was going on and everyone went out of their way to hate on Sarah (and also that time everyone thought she was a traitor?? I forgot how that worked out my brain is telling me Setrakus shapeshifted into her but i haven't read it for ages so idk)
- the iconic fic I read once where the fic author didn't like Sarah so they included a scene where her head exploded and she was secretly a robot the whole time to get her out of the picture go bold or go home
- the time everyone started liking Sarah and making critiques of John's character and the series shitty writing #SarahHartDeservedBetter
- the time @officialpittacuslore rocked up, pointed at John and Nine and said "yes, I'll have some more of whatever those two have going on", dug a pit, labelled it 'Stohn' and everyone jumped in overnight (gay alien pit throwback uwu)
- astohnymous sending everyone in the fandom incorrect quotes on anon
- Six/Marina rising in popularity. Sirina supremacy. There is no heterosexual explanation for dreaming about seeing a girl on the beach that's soulmate energy right there.
- sandor/devektra/crayton/lexa fics and edits were a big thing for a while and devektra was always taylor swift
- the period before the revenge of seven was released where there was a countdown centred around celebration of fan content creation where everyone wrote fics and did art and edits for a certain theme!
- the time I got so annoyed by this random guy named Devdan just disappearing and never being mentioned again I made a whole detailed theory involving alternate timelines to make it so Devdan is Eight from a bad!future. I still think this is a cool theory and better than the actual explanation, bad and lazy writing.
- one time I ran a secret santa for the fandom and legend says I still haven't removed the page from my blog because I just forgot to for years. Literally. It's still on my blog. Wth?? Shameful 😔 my blog is terrible but what do you expect i dont get paid
- the shittacuslore and setracrapra RP blogs
- also I have a Malcolm roleplay sideblog I hardly ever used don't know if that counts as a significant moment of fandom history but I just find it funny how out of all characters I could have RPd I chose him. Could have picked a character with cool powers and telekinesis but I pointed at the local traumatised amnesia dad and was like "yes, I will be him", made 3 posts and never used it again.
- I've been an Adam stan since I first joined this fandom and the first thing I contributed to this fandom was a coloured pencil drawing of One wjth a surfboard, and it's been glorious watching Adam rise from 'character people are vaguely aware of but most haven't read the side-stories so they don't know about him to care enough' to 'fan favourite who deserves everything in the world and also look at him he's depressed and queer' (no I am not projecting ok maybe i am but can you blame me) anyway shoutout to Knave for all the Adam content over the years it feeds me
- The time people were coming up with shipnames for fun and I said Kevy for Kelly/Five and everyone rolled with it but it was actually a typo the whole time and doesn't even make sense when you look at it but it was too late to go back no i don't remember why we were discussing shipping kelly/five
- That solid week and a half everyone aggressively shipped Malcolm and Henri
- when legacies reborn came out and there was a resurgence of energy and theories around all the new characters
Anyway I joined the tumblr fandom ~2013 but I've been in this fandom since 2011, before The Rise of Nine was even released. Also what the actual bleeping heck it is 2021 and 2011 was TEN YEARS AGO?? A WHOLE DECADE????? Help
#lorien legacies#i felt like i had to make this for important historical record#also for fun :)#i've been in this fandom a decade hoo boi I'M OLD
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The Grooming We Sustained
I watched this video by Illuminaughty, about the history of Victoria's Secret (link below if you want to watch it). I realized and I couldn't stop realizing...
https://youtu.be/u7rTN2dIhso
Despite its flaws, the #meToo movement legitimately outed a number of extremely sketchy men, such as Harvey Weinstein, who used their cocks to gatekeep the entertainment industry or used their employees as a sort of personal source of sexual amusement. I think #meToo, by exposing the disproportionate number of perverts in the elite of society, inadvertently increased society's receptivity to Pizzagate and theories about The Lolita Express, because why wouldn't these perverts stop at legal adults, consenting or not?
To sum up the video, VS started in the 60s as a faux-upscale lingerie store which catered to men who wanted to buy lingerie for their lovers. At a point around the 80s, it was purchased by L Brands, which also owns Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited, The Limited Too, Bath & Body Works, Express/Structure, La Senza, and other mall stores.
The problem with the brand was the founder/CEO, Les Wexner, who hung out with Jeffrey Epstein and defended him from allegations. He sexually harassed women at his office, sexually assaulted models, made inappropriate comments, and fired or demoted models who refused his advances. He was with L Brands in one form or another from 1963 until just this year, 2021.
My impression of VS within the past 10 years is that it's been what the upper middle-class white-bread American woman thinks is sexy. It's been the Olive Garden of lingerie.
In the 00s, however, I remember VS being a sort of prestige brand with teens as early as 5th grade. It was the brand for the girls who wore the pants that had "JUICY" written across the butt, and I remember being on the bus listening to boys (I must emphasize this is on a middle school bus) saying girls who wore those pants were trying to advertise that they were "wet". Claire's, a store with teen and pre-teen consumer base, was selling chokers that looked bondage collars. Abercrombie & Fitch was in trouble with parents who realized the store their minor children wanted to buy clothes from sold A&F Quarterly, which contained soft-core porn, sexual commentary, and articles about sex. They were in trouble again later for selling thongs in the Abercrombie Kids store. The music marketed to minors contained questionable lyrics about being rubbed the right way, sweating til their clothes come off, and comparing themselves to a sex slave.
I'll be clear: Thongs and push-up bras, bondage collars, sexual photo magazines, and songs with sexual lyrics are not verboten on their own. The problematic part is that they were implicitly (or explicitly, in the cast of the A&F Kids thongs) marketed to minors, or at least did fuck all to temper their popularity with minors. A&F defended their A&F Quarterly magazine, saying that its intended audience was college students who were of legal age for the material. That is true. Likewise, the argument could be made that parents should parent their kids and set limits for what entertainment they consume and what they wear. That's also true.
However, minors were begging their parents for these things or simply accessing them on their own. If a teenager is just walking around the mall unsupervised (which I'd say they should be able to), the A&F or VS store, or wherever they'd go to buy Juicy-butt pants, wasn't going to card them. Claire's doesn't keep the pseudo-bondage chokers behind the counter. There's also an element of something approximating sensory overload for the parents. It's near impossible to screen everything, especially when the mainstream culture is designed by a cabal of rapists, whether intentionally, or simply because it's the cultural norm in the circles they run with. The 12 year old asked for some fucking bullshit pop album, the parent looks at the album and it appears to have a teenage girl/boy on it and there's no "parental advisory" label, so it can't be that bad, right?
For Millennials, VS was part of this weird push for sexual precocity. A lot of us were "not a girl, not yet a woman" and trying to assert our maturity and feel grown, which involved a lot of tight, short, low-cut, hiked-up, and thrust into a sexually appealing shape. There wasn't really a middle ground between children's clothing and that beauty standard. I suppose there was alternative style, but it was still cooler and more rebellious to wear your Jncos with your thong exposed, a slice of midriff showing, and "handlebar" pigtails. The Disturbed girlie tee that said "Mistress" was cool and someone in my 7th grade class had one. And you weren't alt unless you had a choker styled like a bondage collar or a blowjob gag. I was alt in middle- and high-school and remember there being pressure to be (or pretend to be) sexually open, kinky, and not have limits. This was middle school...
The culture at the time had such a racy tone that saturated everything because the people who architected it were perverts of the highest order. I would guess that parents probably overlooked what they were buying for their minor children due to mere exposure effect. It likely spread through "So-and-so's kids have that and they're decent people, too, so I guess I'll allow it." It's also possible that many parents were naive. I remember a girl in my 4th grade class wore a South Park shirt to school and got in trouble. Her mother said something like "I got it on vacation because it had cute cartoon kids on it and didn't think it was anything bad". I forget what setting this was, but a minor had a weed leaf shirt his mom thought was a palm tree. I think that's how a lot of this shit flew past the radar.
Boys were also equally victimized by this, similarly through media, music, and video games that would have been fine for an adult audience. They were pressured to act lewd, be ashamed of their virginity - retrospectively, it's ridiculous for a 13 year old boy to be making fun of another 13 year old boy for not knowing or doing some sexual thing, but that was normal and funny at the time - and listen to the most explicit music they could get ahold of for clout.
So...should teenage minors who are practically being beat over the head 24/7/365 by their hormones from age 11-13 onward be expected to remain innocent, sexless babies until age 18?
Of course not, but an entertainment industry and corporations run by perverts and literal rapists shouldn't have been the party that provided the sexual and behavioral guidance and norms to an entire generation. I don't think it's moralistic screeching to object to massive impact that rapists have had on popular culture.
The oblivious parents are partially to blame, but their ignorance wouldn't have been as harmful if there weren't a billion-dollar cultural machine in the picture mass-marketing sex divorced from love or responsibility to people who don't know better and saying, "Don't let your mom see this. It's a secret for cool people."
Boomer parents weren't exactly good, in general, about talking to their kids about sex. Susan spent the 70s getting her back blown out in the back of various vans with fur interior and water beds, and now she's too bashful to say "penis" and "vagina", and has to whisper when she refers to sex as "intercourse". Even a boomer who found the middle ground between 70s hedonism and 50s pearl-clutching repression is going to naturally have a hard time keeping ahead of cutting-edge, professional groomers.
The larger impact of all this takes the form of people who haven't woken up to realize how fucked up this all was, and how we may have been covertly groomed, in mass, by corporate pedophiles and rapists. Those people, perhaps, might be the ones so desensitized that it seems appropriate, if not preferable, to teach masturbation techniques to kindergarteners, promise teens they should start their sex work career on their 18th birthday, claim pedophiles are "just another sexual minority", and attempt to argue that queer acceptance means involving children in kink events and drag shows.
#victoriassecretangel#victorias secret#y2kcore#y2k icons#y2k aesthetic#2000s nostalgia#jeffery epstein#les wexner#l brands inc
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•.* SYRU *.•
hisg00dbunny
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