#with a best friend who identifies as pan

[leidensygdom]

The ways in which being asexual feels isolating

I've been pondering whether to post this or not, but I figured out I wanted to explain a bit of this experience.

So, I could go on a very long tangent on how being asexual is usually a lonely experience, and how much I've been otherized here and there- Specially in real life. How the same people that claimed to be queer (or allies) had been much weirder about my asexuality than they were about me being bi/pan or whatever.

But I think I wanna talk about how something like that bleeds in every aspect of socializing, even down to something like fandom. I stay away from fandom usually- I like to look at cool fanart and that's about it. I hate discourse, I hate drama, I hate reading people getting worked up because they're treating fanon as canon. But there's one thing I've noticed, over and over, that just sends me off my rails.

And it's how fandom tends to treat asexuality (or aromanticism). So, you get a character in some piece of media that explicitly, unequivocally, states they're either ace, aro, or both. "I do not have interest in a partner", "I don't desire to have sex nor do I enjoy the topic", whatever. And as an ace person, I do appreciate being able to see myself in media- There isn't many chases where something is established that bluntly.

Now, you decide you want to check some fanart for that. Fandoms have this tendency to make absolutely everything about shipping, even when the media they're basing it in does not revolve about that (and it's annoying, because a lot of times people aren't interested in the actual themes- It's all reduced to shipping). Suddenly, you notice people treating the aforementioned character as anything but aro or ace. It's all about shipping. "This person interacted with this other person in a way two friends would, but we gotta make this their entire personality now". Some people may instead go for "well, maybe the character is not having sex, but they're probably an absolute freak about it, studies it extensively, has encyclopedic knowledge about it-"

Now, there's of course sex-favourable aces, and that's completely valid, but it's already straying from what, canonically, the character had mentioned. Asexual or aromantic characters aren't really allowed to exist as themselves. People often see them as a blank slate to fill, to change, to fix. I could talk forever about how people react to real life aces like that. I've had people asking me incredibly invasive questions because they saw my lack of sexual attraction as something broken, something they could fix.

And I hate that! I think I'm allowed to say that I hate that! It's hard and unusual for media to cement an aro/ace character, because they're defined by the lack of interest for something, which is often hard to show. But when it does- No one seems to care. It's all shipping, it's all "well, he's gay in denial", "well, she's probably super repressed". If you took a canonically gay character and made them straight on a fanfic, you'd get angry people. Which is bound to happen when you erase representation that people identify with. But aro/ace characters are NOT even seen as queer, they're not even seen as "representation" by most people. You can erase that bit of it, put some god awful shipping on top, and people will applaud you. And it sucks!

I wish people would see being aro or ace as an identity worth respecting, not an identity that needs overwriting. It feels a bit too close to how people often treat aro/aces irl, and it sucks. It reeks of this sort of exclusionism, where "aro/aces are technically queer but it's queer lite at best, it's less interesting than being gay, and we kinda don't want them near us anyhow". Again, I've had far worse experiences about being ace than I have about not being straight.

Sorry if the post got long, but I hope this experience may at least resonate with other people who have been struggling with this, too. It has always felt just kind of lonely to be ace, and see how little people do even consider it an identity, even when it comes down to something like fandom.

#lgbt #lgbtq #asexual #asexuality #aromantism #aro #ace #aroace #aromanticism #queer #long post

[posi-pan]

wayne brady is pansexual!!! 💗💛💙🥳

i’m pansexual. in doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, i couldn’t say if i was bisexual, because i had to really see what that was, especially because i really have not gotten a chance to act on anything. so, i came to pansexual because — and i know that i’m completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. being able to be attracted across the board. and, i think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. i took pan to mean that not only can i be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but i could be attracted to the person that is there. i’ve dealt with the shame. a shame cake, just eating it every single day — and then worried about… people finding out. i’ve always had a wonderful community of friends who are in the lgbtq+ community, people that i’ve grown up with in shows, gays and lesbians, and, later in life, my trans relatives and my niece. i’ve always had that community, but i've always felt like a sham because i wasn’t being forthcoming with myself. i could speak out about black issues because i can’t hide that. and you can play at being an ally, but until the day that you can truly say, “this is who i am, and i wanna stand next to you,” that's not… i always wanted that day to come. i’ve told myself in the past, also, nobody needs to know my personal business. the world can absolutely go without knowing that wayne identifies as pan. but that gave me license to still live in the shadows and to be secretive. what does that feel like to actually not be shameful, to not feel like, “oh, i can’t be part of this conversation because i’m lying?” i had to break that behavior. i’m now trying to be the most wayne brady i can be. i don’t know about most, actually. i’m still coming together. but if i’m healthy, then i can go onstage at let’s make a deal and be the best wayne brady that everybody wants and expects. i can be the best dad that maile needs. i can be the best friend to mandie, the best son to my mother, and one day, the best partner to someone, because i’m doing this for me. not dating yet though! [laughs] i am single, but it’s not about being with someone right now. i’ve got some work to do still. then, wayne as a single, open-minded pansexual can make a decision and be free and open to other people.

i included more quotes from the article than just strictly pan related because it’s quite touching. good for him!!!! 🌈👏🥰

#wayne brady #pansexual #pansexuality #pan pride #pan positivity #long post #mine #text #and yeah his explanation isn't quite how pan is defined but he acknowledges that #and we really need to allow pan people the room and space to explain their pan identity in their own words how it makes sense to them #even if it isn't the textbook definition. other queer people are allowed that so why do pan people get held to a higher standard? #and we're fucking human beings!!! it's weird to expect us to do nothing but spit out preapproved technical impersonal definitions #*1k

[crowinthewoods]

A bunch of incorrect quotes just cuz I'm bored and these are funny. I might have went over board and no I'm not sorry.

Jon: I am an expert at identifying birds.

Gerry: Okay, what about those ones flying over there?

Jon: Yeah, they're all birds.

Gerry: What’s up with you?

Jon: What do you mean?

Gerry: You’ve been nice and helpful and considerate all day. What’s your game?

Gerry: *makes Mike a cup of tea but puts salt in it*

Mike: *sips tea*

Gerry:

Mike: *finishes tea*

Gerry: Didn't it taste bad?

Mike: Yeah, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings so I drank it all.

Gerry, tearing up: Oh, okay.

Tim, carrying a box: What would you say if- if I, hypothetically, came home with 7 kittens one day?

Gerry: …

Gerry: What’s in the box?

Tim: What woul-

Gerry: Tim, what’s in the box?

Tim: I think you know.

Jon: What did you two do?

Mike:

Tim:

Jon: You’re not in trouble, I just need to know if I have to lie to the police again or not.

Gerry: Why would I flip my shit about that?

Tim: Because you flip your shit about everything.

Gerry: Well, will you look at this. Here is my shit, and yet it remains unflipped. Just sitting there on the skillet, getting burned on one side. It’s a miracle.

Jon: Mike, we're hungry!

Gerry: Mike! What's for dinner?

Tim: We're hungry, Mike!

Mike, frying a bottle of ketchup over the stove: *screams*

Tim, tearing up the room: Where are they?

Tim, looking under a pillow: Who moved them? Who moved my children?

Tim: Somebody moved my M&M's, and now I am going to start killing.

Jon: If you water water, it grows.

Mike: ...What.

Tim: They've got a point.

Jon: What are you two arguing about this time?

Mike: They’re always using common phrases incorrectly!

Gerry: Cry me a table, Mike.

Jon: *Locks Mike in the car.* Act like a child, get treated like a child.

Mike: What? Isn't it illegal to leave a child locked in a car?

Jon: Onion rings are vegetable donuts.

Mike, used to Jon being dumb: Sure...

Jon: Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed.

Mike: Okay?

Jon: Lasagna is spaghetti flavored cake.

Mike:

Jon: Lobsters are mermaid scorpio-

Mike: Jesus, that one is a little-

Gerry, interested: No, no, Jon, keep going.

Tim: Gerry? What are you doing here?

Gerry, wearing a hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and holding a gatorade: My best.

Jon, texting Tim: I’m a theif.

Tim: Thief.

Jon: Theif.

Tim: I before E except after C.

Jon: Thceif.

Tim: NO.

Mike, slamming pots and pans together to the rhythm of "Give it to me, I'm worth it": I didn't get no sleep cause a' y'all! Y'all never gonna sleep cause a' me!

Jon: Sometimes I get so caught up on being gay that I forget I’m actually bi.

*at a zoo*

Daisy: What are they in for?

Not Sasha: Daisy, this isn't prison.

Daisy: So they can leave?

Not Sasha: No, but-

Daisy, pointing at a meerkat: I bet that one murdered someone.

Daisy: When I said you should try being friendlier this isn't what I meant.

Kevin, stirring a cup of tea aggressively: Oh, so now I'm TOO friendly? There's no pleasing you.

Not Sasha, who broke into their house an hour ago: Two sugars please.

Kevin: Coming right up.

Daisy: As you know I keep a list of all my friends in order of how likely they are to betray me.

Mike: Where am I on the list?

Daisy: Well I can’t tell you that because then you’ll quickly move up or down depending on your reaction.

Daisy: When I first met you, I thought you were weird and annoying.

Not Sasha: And?

Daisy: And you are.

Kevin: A banker? Me?

Melanie: Yes, Kevin.

Kevin: But I don’t know anything about running a bank!

Melanie: Good. No preconceived ideas.

Kevin: I’ve robbed banks!

Melanie: Capital! Just reverse your thinking. The money should be on the inside.

Tim: Guys, there’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly.

Mike, on the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.

Gerry: Awww, why don't you like cats, Daisy? They're just snuggly buddies! They have toe beans! They make a little blep! What's not to love??

Daisy: I don't know Gerry, I just prefer to be conscious instead of dead on the floor.

Gerry:

Daisy: I'm ALLERGIC.

Tim: Made you all playlists!

Tim: Gerry, yours has only heavy metal, and is dark like your soul.

Tim: Kevin, yours has sad songs and blues to pair with your crippling depression.

Tim: And Melanie has the ABBA Gold album.

Not Sasha, excitedly: Heeyy!!

Daisy: Hey, someone's excited.

Melanie, deadpan: Yeah, and it's making me sick.

Daisy: Who else is hiding in the laundry room trying to listen to Martin and Jon's convo?

Gerry: Me. I'm in the laundry basket.

Tim: I'm in the washing machine.

Mike: I'm in the closet.

Gerry: We accept you Mike. <3

Mike: No I'm literally in the closet.

Gerry: Love is love. <3

Kevin: Who hurt you?

Not Sasha: *snorting* What, do you want a list?

Kevin: ...Yes, actually.

Melanie: This can’t get any worse. Can it?

Tim: Sure it can - just give me a minute.

Helen: Hey, Sasha, where are you going?

Sasha: Well, it depends. When I die, probably hell.

Sasha: But right now I’m going to McDonald’s.

Gerry: Mike said its my turn with the brain cell.

Sasha: Square up.

Kevin: Sometimes I like to place my hands on someone’s cheeks, look into their eyes...

Kevin: ...And violently jerk their head until it snaps.

Basira: ...That took an unexpected turn.

Melanie: So did their neck.

Sasha: If I say yes am I joining a cult?

Jon: Possibly.

Sasha: I’m in.

Martin: I think this might be a bad idea...

Tim: Don't start thinking on me now!

Melanie: Basira, I know you love Helen. I mean, we all do, they’re a very nice person and I respect them immensely.

Melanie: But I think they might be a fucking idiot.

Basira: *cooking*

Melanie: *kicks down door*

Melanie: *grabs knife from Basira's hand*

Melanie: WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR?

Basira:

Basira: What.

Martin: They're trying to tell you they want to cook.

Sasha: Kevin and I were crossing the street, and this man drove by and honked at us.

Michael: What did you do?

Sasha: They chased him to the next red light, and reached into his window, and-

Kevin: *walking in* Who wants a steering wheel?

#daycare au #the magnus nightvale daycare au #chaos #the magnus archives #gerard keay #jonathan sims #michael distortion #not sasha #welcome to nightvale #incorrect quotes #sasha james #mike crew #melanie king #basira hussain #martin blackwood #daisy tonner #kevin wtnv #they're all dumbasses your honor

[nyxsealia]

When I was 17 and trying to figure out what the heck my sexuality was, the main, if not only, piece of advice I found online, even when I directly asked people, was to go out and experiment sexually with various people and see what gender I enjoyed sex with most. And years later, that still seems to be the advice most of us give when someone is trying to figure out their sexuality. And there's nothing wrong with doing that, and if that's what helped you, great. But I do think there's issues with this being the most prevalent advice.

There are a lot of reasons someone may not want to do this, various personal or religious reasons, comfort levels, a lack of interest in sex, not experiencing much or any sexual attraction, or simply being too young for this to be applicable.

I found the advice unhelpful for many of the reasons I just mentioned, and it left me feeling lost on how I was supposed to find out what my orientation was. It also left me with thoughts like how can I be a part of queer culture if I don't want to experiment sexually or be sexually active? Even looking at articles with advice on dating as a queer woman I saw bullet points like "It's okay to have sex on the first date!" there was so much emphasis on how it's okay to have very active sex lives that it left me feeling like if I didn't want that, I'd never be able to have relationships because there'd be an expectation of sex right off the bat. Don't get me wrong, sex positivity is important and we shouldn't shame people for their sex lives. But I feel like we don't don't talk about not being into that kind of thing enough.

I also didn't know at the time that I was asexual, and while I'm sex neutral and open to the idea of sex with a trusted partner, I don't have any desire to seek out sexual relationships. Not experiencing sexual attraction made figuring out my attraction a thousand times harder. I still don't know if I'm bi/pan or lesbian. I do refer to myself as gay or lesbian in some instances, but sometimes I say queer or just shrug and say "I like girls" or "I'm not straight" and some days I'm okay with the vagueness of that, but other days I feel the stress and pressure of having to pick an identity in order to have a community to belong to and be accepted. That stress and pressure doesn't get better when all the advice I can find on the subject just tells me to have sex and that'll clear everything up.

We put a lot of focus on finding out exactly "what" you are. And I don't think sex is the best way to do that. Lots of people have varying interest in sexual or physical intimacy, not just queers. My cishet friend told me she got a boyfriend but she wasn't entirely sure if what she was feeling was romantic, and that the idea of kissing made her uncomfortable. She doesn't identify as ace or aro, and she shouldn't have to. People can have a lack of interest in these things without a lack of attraction.

Another issue with this advice is that sexual and romantic attraction doesn't always line up for everyone. You may enjoy sex with all genders, but find you only have a desire to date one. So sexual experimenting wouldn't necessarily answer the question for you. Orientation is really complicated. I did mostly consider myself lesbian, but I occasionally find men aesthetically attractive, and I'm honestly starting to wonder if I'm actually bi but still feel uncomfortable using the term.

All this needlessly long and ramble-y text to say, this advice is simply useless to a lot of people. And while I can't speak personally for this part, I'd bet at least some people who enjoy sexual experimentation still weren't sure of their orientation at the end of it. This advice shouldn't be presented as the one size fits all solution.

If you're uncomfortable or uninterested in figuring out your identity this way, there's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing wrong with not knowing. You don't have to know right now, or ever if you'd prefer that. It's okay to use vague terms. It's also okay to use whatever label feels closest even if it's not perfect. And remember, you're not locked into anything. You can always change labels.

There is no right way to determine your orientation. Everyone discovers themself in different ways and at different ages. It's not a race or a checklist. The most important thing is to be kind and patient with yourself and whatever you do to figure yourself out, be safe.

#I'm so sorry this is so long #I just watched roughly five hours of video essays blame that #queer #lgbt #lesbian #lgbtq #wlw #asexual #nonbinary #agender #gay #bisexual #pansexual #queer community #lgbtq community #queer positivity #lgbt positivity #transgender #genderfluid #queer dating advice #lgbt dating #aromantic #aroace

[notiddygxthgf]

𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 !

synopsis: the one where you have the hots for your dealer, and Wakasa is always eager to please a customer. (don't let your boyfriend stop you from finding your husband.)

pairings: wakasa imaushi x f!reader, light takeomi x reader content warning: smut, porn with some plot, car sex, cheating, oral sex, sneaky link, sexual tension, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, sex while high, consensual drug use, mentions of abuse. word count: 1.4k authors note:

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | part six | part seven | part eight

WHEN YOU CAME TO , your head was resting against something soft. It felt like a couch, but then again, it could have been anything. You quickly identified the warmth surrounding your body as a hoodie, although you weren’t too sure it belonged to you. Your skirt, disheveled and wrinkled, sat unadjusted at your hips. One sock was clinging to your thigh for dear life, while the other was coiled up around your ankle.

You blinked slowly, unsurely, while waiting for the blurriness to subside. Groaning at the pain you felt in your back and thighs, you rolled to the side. 

Something smelled good. Really good.

“Hey there,” You heard a familiar voice call. A quick glance up brought back memories of… only a few hours ago, probably. 

"You’re taking me so well,” He grunted against your neck. His teeth nipped at the sensitive skin. “So good.”

And standing there in the kitchen with a pan in his hand and a shit-eating grin on his face, was your dealer. His hair was tied back into a bun. He had an apron on in a remarkably cliche fashion, though the frilly pink pattern stood out against the black tank top he was wearing beneath, and even more so with the black sweats hanging loose around his hips. A navel tattoo peeked out from the waistband.

You remembered being high. Rather, you still felt a little high now. Judging by the fact that it was nowhere near as strong as it had been last time you were consciousness – as well as the noticeable gaps in your memory – you assumed you were beginning to come down.

“How long has it been?” You asked weakly.

He set the pan down on the stove. His pretty eyes flitted over your tired face. A knowing grin spanned the length of his lips. “Since what?”

“Since i passed out on you,” Huffing out a brave sigh, you crossed and then uncrossed your legs. “Sorry about that.”

And then the reality of what you had done finally set in. Shit

You had just cheated on your boyfriend.

After two years, you had cheated on your boyfriend – gone against every moral opposition you had and you had slept with another man. His coworker , nonetheless. 

“Oh, fuck…” You cried.

He sighed happily, thrusting up a little harder. “You like that?” 

"Please," You repeated. “Harder.”

You had slept with his fucking coworker and you enjoyed it .

“Don’t be, I’m flattered,” He said. Turning back to the stove, he picked up the wooden spoon and dipped it into the pot. He brought the spoon up to his mouth, blew on it, and then sipped some sauce off of it. He looked to be trapped in thought for a brief moment before eventually nodding and setting the spoon down on the stove. “You like pasta?”

Your heart felt heavy. How could he be so casual? So unbothered? He had just slept with his best friend’s girlfriend and he seemed – at least on the exterior – to have no complaints about it. 

Wakasa turned both burners off. He reached into the cupboards and produced two ceramic dishes. You watched as he scooped some pasta into the first dish, topping it off with some sauce.

“Yeah, sorry,” You sighed. Who were you kidding. This was your mistake and yours alone. 

Your lover of the evening approached the couch with two dishes. He plopped down next to you, offering one in your direction. Rather hesitantly, you took him up on his offer. 

“Thanks,” you said, though your voice was barely louder than a whisper.

As he reached for the remote and turned the TV on, you shifted in your seat, wincing slightly as the jolt of pain that you felt brought back memories of what you had done. He flicked through the channels, stopping on one that was showing a movie.

Then he put the remote down and sat back, throwing his arm over the back of the couch.

You could smell his cologne again, though it was mixed with something else. The smell of sex, probably. The two of you had done it in the back seat of his car, after all.

After a long silence – during which you spooned a few bites of pasta into your mouth – you voiced your thoughts. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

Though he didn’t turn to look at you, Wakasa’s lip curled into a little smirk. “No, probably not.”

“Shit,” You sighed. It felt as if the weight of the world was suddenly on your shoulders. You felt crushed beneath its weight. “You don’t feel guilty?”

“No,” he muttered. 

In hindsight, it would have served you well to remember that the two of them were currently on bad terms. Very bad terms…

The man next to you swallowed. This time when he spoke, he actually did turn to look at you. Though, as those pretty eyes looked you up and down, you wished he hadn’t. “You enjoy it?”

After a brief period of self-reflection, you realized you didn’t have it in you to lie to him. “Yeah.”

“Mm,” he hummed. He glanced at the TV, and then back at you. This time it was you who had your head turned away from him, avoiding eye contact. “Do you regret it?”

“I don’t know,” You answered truthfully. Honestly, you had no idea. Part of you wanted to regret it. You wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shout at him for taking advantage of you, cry to him that you were a taken woman. But the reality of the situation was much different. It was you who had initiated things with him, and it was you who set your relationship aside for a backseat quickie. “I don’t know.”

You set the dish down on the coffee table, resting your head against the couch cushion. 

“Hey.” The gentle tone of his softspoken words made you open your eyes. He had turned his whole body towards you. Setting his own dish down on the table, he gazed at you with strong concern in his eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose in an effort to relieve the ache that had begun to take over your head. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“What do you need?” He asked. He seemed genuine.

“I think…” you paused. You wanted to cease existing. That’s what. “I think I’m gonna go.”

Wakasa looked at you for a moment, and for a moment it seemed as if those lilac hues were staring into your soul and pulling your resolve apart piece by piece. “...Okay.”

You yearned to stay with him, to hold him. Nothing would bring you more joy at this moment than to have him beg you to stay, even if you knew it would do more harm than good. To be held and comforted by him, only that might bring you peace, though you had no idea why.

You were conflicted. You needed to leave this situation before you began to cling to those feelings.

He pushed himself off of the couch, hand grazing your shoulder as he stood up. “I’ll take you home.”

Swallowing the huge lump in your throat, you fought the urge to cry. “Okay.”

The tension between the two of you was palpable.

And some fifteen minutes later, as Wakasa sped to your place on his motorbike, as the cold wind blew against your tired face, you felt that weight on your shoulders again. It was almost overwhelming, that horrible sinking pit in your gut. 

He tensed his shoulders and for some reason, some godforsaken reason, you felt a certain sense of peace. When the two of you were like this, with your arms around his waist, with his strong, warm back pressed against your cheek, it felt as if everything would be okay. 

While the city lights flashed past, you shifted closer to him, bringing your arms tighter around his waist. He glanced back at you, casting you a knowing look before turning back to the road. He pulled his hand away from the handlebar for a moment – steering with the other – to rub small circles over the arm you had thrown around him.

Is it really so wrong?

You sighed, letting yourself melt into his spine. Just a moment longer, you thought. It won’t hurt.

How wrong you had been.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo rev x reader #wakasa imaushi x reader #wakasa imaushi #wakasa smut #wakasa fluff #wakasa imagines #takeomi akashi #bonten #tenjiku #toman #brahman #shinichiro sano #benkei #blackdragons #notiddygxthgf ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ #party monster ⋆ ★

[olderthannetfic]

It's been really funny watching my far-right conservative relatives and my liberal lefti-ish fandom friends get mad at Gwen Stacy possibly being trans. For the right wing, this is indoctrination/grooming/whatever. For the center-but-identifies-as-left wing, this is not good enough, cowardly, bullshit, etc. Two groups of people with nothing else in common coming together to agree that ew this icky trans thing is bad, shitting on kids who like the trans character and complaining about the same scene in the movie just kind of proves to me that no queerness is ever going to be accepted by most people. Hell, a lot of their complaints are identical: her haircut is too stereotypical, it wasn't told to us at the very beginning of the first movie, why is she into boys that's not okay, it's so cringe that trans kids like her, etc.

This is why I don't write trans characters anymore. There's no reason to. I'm a trans man, but I've never gotten anything but shit for writing trans characters. Being trans isn't a big enough deal, or it's too big a deal, it's too accepted or it's angsty trash, the character's appearance is always incorrect and bad and wrong, they're too weird, they're too normal, it's bad to have a straight trans person because you're pandering to normies, it's bad to have a gay trans person because you're being stereotypical, it's bad to have an ace trans person because you're saying trans people are unfuckable, it's bad to have a bi/pan trans person because it's fetishization, etc.

The best way to do representation is to not do it. Creators who make the mistake of attempting to do so get crucified. When was the last time you saw backlash against not having rep that was remotely as angry and omnipresent as backlash towards media that does? Racefaker, anti, and lover of 3D photorealistic loli and shota (who of course believes anti-antis are pedos, and has also been accused of raping her own sister by said sister) Lily Orchard got a following off of a 3 hour long video essay on how Steven Universe is terrible and tore into every single queer character at length. Shows with no queer rep don't get 3 hour long diatribes against queerness made about them.

Queer rep is a surefire way to get torn into by other queers and queerphobes alike. The easiest way to exist in fandom, even as a queer person, is to make very cishet works and if someone leaves a comment with a headcanon say you support it. Doing that has completely stopped all the hate I used to get.

Personally I hope they confirm Gwen is cis so I don't have to keep hearing how much she sucks from so many people. We're not at a point as a society where we accept imperfect, non-blatant rep. I doubt we'll ever be.

--

It really just depends who "we" are.

Some people will always be disappointed by fandom over-hyping something as 100% overtly canon when it isn't, but plenty of reasonable adults are capable of not nitpicking every minority character to death. Clout-chasing social media drama queens aren't the whole of society.

[be-better-then-yesterday-you]

Writing Challange

For?: Anyone, but really I think it would be a pretty interesting study to have “anti-shippers” of the couples in question, to write these scenes.

Prompt: Re-write cannon scenes of popular “completely straight” gay ships that “fans created” and writers/showrunners/actors never encouraged or used as “queerbate”, as heterosexual relationships using the exact same actions and words and emotions as the original scenes.

Why?: I think it would be interesting to see just how many people would still see that particular couple the same way and how many would discover they actually do just have an aversion to gay ships.

I think that alot of people see the word “queerbaiting” and dont fully understand it. They take it like “oh they’re angry coz they didnt get their way, and they just want to make everything gay” … that is so completely not what it is.

Its understandable in a sense that the term queerbaiting isnt fully understood by all because theres no such thing as “straight-baiting” in television and movies. Its the actual complete opposite … when its a male/female relationship, its called a “slow-burn”, inferring that it will eventually become something. Its called “taking advantage of the actors chemistry” and while it is talked about and hinted at as a “will they/ wont they” its never actually in question because the majority of the time, chemistry reads are done between these actors for the specific reason of knowing “will this sell?” But when it comes to queerships, once upon a time they happened by accident. Actors were brought in with a different storyline and then something showed up on screen that wasnt intended and through that they discovered that there was this entire massive subset of fans who were not being acknowledged in life or on television … so they did exactly what they did with their straight relationships. They took advantage. They teased and hinted and wrote things that had they been a “usual” couple, would eventually lead to “endgame”. They encouraged the will they wont they of it all. Took advantage of that chemistry. The only difference? They never intended to give their fanbase that eventual outcome. They straddled the line of keep them invested but never encourage. And now? Now it seems that its become a requirement for shows, to have that one relationship that is strictly-straight friends, “which is so much more special then romantic love sometimes”… but they will still play off of it and benefit from merchandise and views and hashtags and everything that brings in a dollar from fans who are only looking for exactly what they’re calling it … “every kind of love” …. Why cant two women have a healthy faithful relationship? Why cant two men who are best friends, ALSO fall in love with each other? Why cant a character who has only ever identified as “straight” grow and realize that they’re bi or pan or gay? And why cant two people be both best friends and queer but also find love with other people? Why cant a queer man and a straight man have a healthy loving friendship that doesn’t have to end horribly? A big part of it is because of those words! Words that for so long have been used as homophobic slurs and still today in Twenty-freaking-twenty-four are used with hate instead of what they actually ARE which is how people identify how they LOVE . Words that the LGBTQIA+ community have taken back and fight every day to redefine with love and Pride and positivity, but that the “ entertainment industry” still shy away from due to a history of hate-filled, un-informed homophobia. An instilled fear that if they step over that line, then it will all fall apart. That the villagers will come with their torches and pitchforks and storm the castle so to speak. So they stay just this side of “not too far” and spout the company line. “I think its really important that we show every kind of love” but never actually doing that. Because the other company line is “who else can we exploit for a dollar?”. And its not new. The entertainment industry has always used queer people to their advantage. Once upon a time it was for the “hilarity” of a man or woman dressing in drag to get away with some scheme. Or it was about gay bashing and feeding into hate and fear by showcasing what a horrible insult it is to be called gay or how dangerous it is to be out. How sexy it is for two women to be together - but only to turn on the straight male lead. Now its become something along the lines of a joke again, but now the joke is “we know what we’re doing and we’re going to keep doing it because we’re profiting off of it, off of you.”

Queerbaiting isnt us seeing something unintentional or not there. Queerbaiting is this: if the same scene can be rewritten the same way but as female/male, and you can suddenly see it as romantic, its because the relationship is queer coded, to pull in specific fans.

Scripts are not just dialog on a page. While actors are sometimes given leeway, they are given a script telling them how to portray the words on the page. How to move, speak, emote. A director films this, re-sets films again multiple times until what is written comes across on camera the way it was meant to. This is all then edited even further to make things even more impactful and entertaining. It is then viewed and approved and only then shown to these “delusional fans.” This is all done knowing what reaction they will get from it. There are people who actually have the job of encouraging these ships. Of finding more ways to profit off of something that somebody else is in charge of disproving to fans by calling it unintentional. It is an industry, a business, nothing is unintentional. That is queerbaiting.

Challenge: Just change one thing. One characters gender, thats all.

Go ahead and give it a try. Im honestly curious as to the outcome.

Also add some ships that you think apply in the tags!!

#buddie #buck x eddie #911 abc #mcdanno #steve and danny #hawaii five 0 #destiel #dean x castiel #supernatural #sterek #stiles x derek #teen wolf #supercorp #kara x lena #supergirl #myka x helena #warehouse 13 #merthur #merlin x arthur #merlin #writing challenge #midnight rants #lgbtqia

[secretlytranced]

I love your page so much and exploring Tumbler has inspired me to be more bold.

So I'm also 30's happily married and my husband is very encouraging of exploring my sexuality. I've just been wanting to learn as much as I can and haven't acted on anything in person but what was it like in your experience? I'm wondering if I might be bi or pan but only more so in recent years versus growing up.

hi! glad you're being more bold! i only bite when I'm thirsty ;)

That's super cool that you have a supportive partner! It's always helpful when you realize that you need to explore yourself more intensely and you are supported.

I really can't give you advice other than to keep exploring, keep reading, following your... heart? head? pussy? Idk. you know what i mean. if it's intriguing in a tingly way- keep checking it out and keep an open mind. you never know what you'll be suddenly into or when. It just happens. sexuality is fluid and weird and amazing. best to just go with the flow.

as far as your label- that's totally up to you! I've always felt that I'm bisexual so that's what I say. I have a friend who thought that she was, and then realized she's pan. that's cool too. I don't think labels have to be set in stone or define you fully. Hell, you don't even need a label. If I find someone attractive, I really don't care what gender they present as. I just find the Person attractive. Is that pan? Idk. I don't get into all that. I identify as a cis bisexual female. It's whatever makes you comfy to call yourself. Or, again, dont call yourself anything. Who cares? It's your life. As long as you're safe and responsible and having fun- go for it!

I am apparently very wordy today. Anyway- for me, I was into hypnosis since I was a kid, although, it started more as an intense interest that grew with me through adolescence into more. For a long time i just kinda kept it quiet bc it was weird. then i got into stories online, then videos, then in person. It's an evolution, really.

The best I can say is keep looking around and keep yourself safe. You'll get where you're going and have a great time getting there. ;)

#also you can message me if you want #i'm just really bad at answers rn #lol #ask me anything!

[hellyeahscarleteen]

...

"Disabled asexual people do exist. Although disability doesn’t automatically equate with asexuality, there are disabled aces who feel that their sexual orientation is connected to their disability. In the autistic community, there are people who feel that their asexuality has a relationship to the way they view and experience the world as an autistic person. Some people feel that their past trauma, PTSD, and other mental health issues directly impact their asexuality. And others with chronic pain and fatigue-related symptoms have said that these symptoms impact how they experience asexuality, whether it’s a fluctuating scale from day-to-day or more constant.

“My desire or ability (or lack thereof) to engage in romance or sex due to personal choice, pain, medical concerns or my being a pan gray ace, that’s all as valid as anyone else’s reasons, disabled or not,” says Emily Johnson, a social media and digital editor, designer, and poet in Atlanta, Georgia. “Abled people get too tired. Abled people experience pain. Abled people simply aren’t interested.”

Sexuality is deeply personal for everyone. I have several friends who identify as asexual, and none of us experience our asexuality in exactly the same way. It helps when we can avoid assumptions based on our own experiences or what we’ve been taught by society—so when sex is brought up in conversation, I don’t conclude that everyone in the group who hasn’t had sex eventually wants to. While talking to other ace friends, I remember that some asexuals have sex regularly, some never have sex, some occasionally have sex, and so on. We all experience our sexual and romantic lives differently, and the best thing we can do if we aren’t sure is to ask someone whether they’d like to share and then listen with empathy and understanding."

#disability pride month #disability #asexual #ace #sexuality #lgbtq+

[nerves-nebula]

For years ive kind of favored demisexual/demiromantic above bi/pan to refer to myself because tbh it’s just more accurate. The way I’m attracted to people is nearly unrelated to gender. I could probably make a dozen things more important to me than the gender or physical appearance of my partner.

Gender presentation only matters so far as if someone is openly visibly queer I’m more interested because I know we might be thr same. But if it turns out they’re a shit person what does it matter what they look like. And like, I’m not interested romantically? I never deeply desired a relationship just from looking at someone, at most I just want to see more of you if I like being around you :/

I described my romantic feelings to a friend once as basically just being friendship but with more intimacy than a typical friendship and more of your life intertwined and he was like “that’s absolutely not what romantic feelings are they’re way different from friendship” and I’m beginning to think I might just be aromatic/asexual entirely, not demi. and i haven’t been able to tell because i deeply yearn for intimacy and I’m a bit possessive and so I figured that must mean I want romance or something.

But I’ve never had a crush. And I love my girlfriend but I probably couldn’t tell you the difference between my relationship with her and having a really close friend- because she’s my best friend! I adore her, but I never needed her to be in love with me. I never need sex or even really romance. We’ve been on one “date” to see sonic 2, and mostly we just hang out like we always have just with occasional kissing and some sexual activity. My ideal relationship has always been being best friends and deciding to intertwine your lives, which is basically what happened, and I knew that would always be seen as romantic to outsiders so I didn’t realize until recently that like… there’s no specifically romantic feelings here??? It’s just closeness? Intimacy? And I can easily see myself developing this kind of closeness with any of my friends if they do desired??

Anyway I think it’s time I stopped kidding myself. I’m not Demi, I just have really high standards about who I keep around in my life and get close to in general. My standards for friends and partners are exactly the same because there isn’t much of a difference when it comes to who I want present in my life.

I don’t catch feelings when I’m close to someone, I just get relaxed around them, which feels nice and so I equated it with romantic emotions. But once I got more friends I realized that warm fuzzy feeling wasn’t romantic attraction!! Because im aromantic!!!!

I guess it’s pretty cliche to come out during pride month but in my defense I didn’t realize this until i wrote this post. I was supposed to be musing on why I prefer demi to other labels and basically just talked myself into identifying as aromantic. Oops.

I’m probably also asexual but I already basically knew that.

#nnstuff #aspec #arospec #aromantic #pride

[thehalfbloodedwitch]

Too Good to be true Blurb (D.m. x reader)

Pairing- Draco x Femreader

Summary- Some things aren't always meant to end happily| Angst

Words- 1,100

Draco Masterlist Main Masterlist

ੈᵔ ᵕ ᵔ❅*.ೃ

A lovely honey voice yelled, "Y/n/n, hurry up!". Y/n peeked her head out of the dressing table mirror and exclaimed, "Coming Pans!"

As Pansy dragged Y/n across the Hogwarts hallway, she remarked, "We're going to be late again, and it's all thanks to you." " We wouldn't have been late", Y/n said, "If it weren't for this ridiculous outfit that I had to find and that took so damn long." Pansy laughed in response.

McGonagall eyed the two of them and said, "Late again Miss Parkinson and Y/l/n?" "Sorry Professor, it wouldn't happen again," said Y/l/n. The professor then stated, "This is the third time you both are late, so 10 points from Slytherin. Now don't repeat this again."

"10 points? All thanks to you both "As Y/n and Pansy took a seat in the second-to-last row, a cold voice from the back spoke. Pansy replied, "It wasn't my fault." " Come on, it's just ten. Win the quidditch cup and bring our points up again, then we'll talk." Y/n then turned to face the boy with the blonde hair and said, as his grey eyes met hers.

"Come on man!  She's simply perfect," commented Mattheo, who was sitting next to him. "This girl is just something I can't explain through words, I don't know what it is," Mattheo said as Draco scowled and rolled his eyes at him.

When Pansy and Y/n began to make notes on their parchment, McGonagall yelled, "Silence!" and directed all four of their eyes back to the class.

Mattheo's eyes were transfixed on Y/n as she and Pansy exited the classroom because he has had a crush on her since he first had seen her in the courtyard one day reading a book that she had taken from the library. Mattheo has always admired her bravery, wit, and snarky remarks.

Pansy Parkinson had always been madly in love with Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince and the most intriguing and cold person at Hogwarts, whereas Mattheo had a huge crush on Y/n Y/l/n.  Pansy had always admired Draco for his intelligence and his mysterious personality; no one could ever know what he was thinking or feeling at any one moment; he was a puzzle that needed to be solved.

"You don't understand, Y/N! His flawless eyes "Pansy remarked, her dreamy gaze straying into nothing.

Draco rolled his eyes at Mattheo as he continued, "Her pretty smile when she reads."

Both of them were sick of hearing about their crushes and how they were, so they needed some time alone. "I am going to take some fresh air," remarked Y/n as she stood up and headed for the common room. "I need to get some fresh air, Theo." asid Draco and headed outside the dorm room.

Y/n heard footsteps approaching the common room as she sat on the couch next to the fireplace. Though she didn't mind sharing the space with another person at that time. She did not look around to see who it was and instead focused on the fireplace.

When Draco first noticed a person sitting near the fireplace, he was shocked. At first, he considered waiting for the person to depart, but after a few minutes, it became clear that the person had no intention of leaving, so Draco settled down on the couch and continued to observe the person.

The girl sitting next to the fireplace, who had Y/e/c eyes and beautiful pink lips, had her face partially lighted by the fire from the fireplace. Although the girl looked angelic, it was easy to identify her as Y/n. What was it about the girl Mattheo, his best friend, was so captivated with?

Even though they were sitting in the same common room, Draco and she were unable to speak with one another because they had never really talked much. "Hey, isn't it a little late for you to be up? " Y/n moved into her spot and asked. Draco answered, "I could ask you the same thing," with a chuckle, and Y/n's lips were sealed.

"Draco inquired, folding his arms across his chest, "So, what brought you here?" "Oh, me? I simply needed a break from friend drama. What about you?" "Me? Same" Draco replied and silence followed his words.

After a long pause and after glancing around, Y/n said, "Why don't you sit close to the fireplace?" Draco said, "Uhm, why though?" Y/n  asked Draco, "Don't you feel cold? It's December, the coldest month ever." "No, I actually don't" Draco replied. 

"I won't bite, so don't worry." Y/n teased Draco, who responded with a smirk: "I don't mind you biting me, honey, I'm not worried about that." Y/n pretended to fake gag and answered, "You know what? Forget that I ever offered you to sit here."

Draco remarked, "Now that I think about it, I should sit near the fireplace," to which Y/n sarcastically responded, "Oh, don't bother, you aren't welcome here anymore." Draco then sat down after giving her a nudge.

"It is warm here," he said, "Duh, it's fire" Y/n replied as the both of them started at each other for some time and then looked at the fireplace. This time the silence was serene and tranquil.

But despite the fact that Y/n and Draco had never met before and had never even spoken to one another, let alone sat next to one another, the two couldn't stop staring at one another.

They felt queasy for reasons they couldn't quite put their finger on, but they hoped they had some understanding of it before what was about to happen.

The two Slytherins immediately clicked when they started joking about and talking to each other the following day, and they quickly became close friends.

They both knew exactly when they fell in love with one another, but they didn't realize it until it came time to say goodbye for good. Mattheo invited her out on a date on the day the four of them graduated from Hogwarts.

It made Draco sick to his stomach to think that Y/n was in love with someone else. He could see the gleam in Y/n's eyes as she nodded and said, "Yes, I would love to Theo!"

Draco felt like his world was collapsing, like the ground beneath him had given way, and he was sinking helplessly while Y/n and Mattheo went on multiple dates.

A few years later, Y/n stopped by to visit his best friend Draco. While he was joyfully snuggling with Pansy Parkinson and, something felt terribly off to her, and Y/n was unable to look at the scene. Her mouth became dry, and her heart was racing as she turned her head and looked in another direction. This was wrong.

The dreaded day came, the day the both of them had to talk to one another, talk about where they stood in this relationship.

"What are we?" Y/n asked, she couldn't hold her emotions any longer, "We're friends?" Draco said as he whispered to himself just friends.

"Then why do I feel, something, when I see you and Pansy together, I should be happy for you but, that's not what I feel" "Rather you feel anger, jealousy, or any other emotion?" Draco continued, and Y/n nodded.

"Maybe we are meant to be friends," Draco said, as his eyes fell to the ground, a tear slipped his eye when they both realized they were in love but were too late to ever notice, Don't worry darling, this isn't over yet, but this is goodbye, for now, Draco said, placing his hand on her waist and kissing her lips as the clock behind them rang to announce that it was Christmas.

"I never imagined Christmas could ever be this miserable. I wish I knew-" Draco interrupted her by placing his finger on her lips." It's okay, dear, we'll meet again, perhaps in another life, but we will, and then I won't be so oblivious."

Draco then carefully pulled his hand away from her waist and walked away without turning around. He knew he would never be able to look at her again without the desire to stay, but he couldn't do this to Pansy or his best friend Mattheo.

A snowflake fell on his shoulder as a tear slipped out of his eye, Y/n just stared at the door while holding her tears, she never thought she would ever find love, and once she found her love, it was too late, Y/n wiped her tears and spoke, "I want to go back to a time before it was too late" as tears slipped down her eyes and she sat down on the chair, thinking of the moments she had with him, which she could never recreate with him. Never.

ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ❅*.ೃ

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Tags for Draco December- @alexis-angelsss @blackthunder137 @ell0ra-br3kk3r @writingwitch007 @kimberlyxmalfoy @offlines-idfk @dreamnotfound231 @myworldgoesboomz @staywildmoonchild91 @blisias @lazydreamer19 @fuurinbae @setef4nie @tsuki-tsukii @elizabethmalfoy16 @webofanxiety @turquoiseicepop @itchywitch33 @dr4cosimp

Tags for Draco Taglist- @nicofiliac @steveslittlesunflower @slythermuf @cait2212 @tsukibaby1 @dracoslittleangel @enchantedforever @gachabella23 @raajali3 @siriusblackstwin @ravenqueen777

Edit- I added the tags on 25th December because I was very lazy to add the tags on 22nd

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#draco december .ೃ࿐ੈ✩‧₊˚ #draco x you #draco x y/n #draco x reader #draco x pansy #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x reader #draco lucius malfoy #draco malfoy angst #draco angst #mattheo blurb #mattheo x y/n #mattheo x you #mattheo x reader #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x y/n #mattheo riddle x you #mattheo riddle x reader #draco fanfiction #draco malfoy #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #pansy parkinson

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

The West Wing episode 4.20 "Evidence of Things Not Seen"

Have you ever noticed how the biggest names behind the camera tend to have close relationships with a handful of actors who are in everything they make? Aaron Sorkin is no exception, and honestly, I feel like I understand why. His work is so specific, just like Tarantino’s or Scorsese’s, and when you have such an identifiable style, I think it either clicks with you or it doesn’t. When you find people who click with you, whose brains meld seamlessly with yours, it really is a euphoric feeling and I imagine you’d want to keep those people close.

The West Wing, and Aaron Sorkin, click with me. Sometimes I watch a show and the thrill is having no idea what’s about to happen; I’m along for the ride in a vehicle that I barely recognize, let alone know how to drive. I would never be so bold as to think I could have taken the wheel of The West Wing, but to keep the comparison going, putting an episode on feels like getting into your mom’s car. You know all its little nuances, where the cupholders are, and how it’s going to feel on the road (and when to grab the handlebar).

“Evidence of Things Not Seen” has everything I love about The West Wing; it’s a fun one, but an inspiring one too, and it even guest stars- get this- Matthew Perry, fresh off of Friends. All the characters are mostly off the clock in this episode, so it’s time for a good poker game. Leo and the President are excited to kick back over a game of cards; Leo even has a full spread prepared, and tbh nothing makes me laugh like his reverent demand of CJ to “oooh squeeze this piece of rye bread”.

But the relaxation will of course be interrupted. The President will have to step in and out to negotiate with Kaliningrad- their government spotted an unmanned spy plane that we were flying over there, and Bartlet needs to talk them into giving it back. Our cover story: it was an environmental mission studying coastal erosion (Chinese spy balloon anyone?). Josh will have to do some back and forth too, interviewing a candidate to replace Ainsley Hayes as associate counsel.

Amid all of this, it’s the equinox, and CJ is convinced that at “the exact moment of the equinox” you can stand an egg on its end, and it won’t tip over. She’s carrying an egg around, but she hasn’t pulled it off yet and skepticism abounds.

All of Sorkin’s characters speak with what’s become his trademark cadence and tone so at times I see them as somewhat interchangeable- he just likes the sound of a group. But “Evidence of Things Not Seen” highlights the individual personalities and ideological differences that actually are present and consistent once you get past the similar speech pattern.

We’re launched into the title sequence with Bartlet giving the egg thing- and this coastal erosion cover story- a shot, but the egg topples over. His subsequently loaded “yeah, this isn’t gonna work” is about a lot more than the equinox. Compared to CJ, he’s always been a pragmatic optimist, entertaining every romantic idea but not expecting all of them to pan out. CJ, meanwhile, will always stick her neck out to vouch for the idealistic solution, even when it’s not even in the realm of realistic. She’s also usually right. In a previous episode, when everyone else guessed that the president’s approval rating had remained the same at best, she wagered that they had gone up 5 points, a number so preposterous Leo wouldn’t even repeat it to the President. Turns out she was lowballing. She’s also the voice of the iconic line “it’s about going to the blackboard and raising your hand- if you think you get it wrong sometimes, why don’t you come down here and see how the big boys do it.”

Toby’s even more complex than either of them, which I’d go so far as to say is the reason he also has the most complex individual relationship with almost every other character. He and Bartlet are a story for another day, but Toby and CJ’s deep, often wordless friendship really run wild in this episode. Toby’s created the image of himself as the pessimistic curmudgeon, but it’s a defense mechanism for the red hot idealism he’s carrying around. He’s so often disappointed, and he’s tired of it, but he can’t help but see so much potential in the world, even if he won’t admit it.

Will’s being in the Air Force won’t come up again after this episode, but it comes up in this one to serve the theme of Toby and CJ’s dueling worldviews. He’s heading to Wyoming to address a situation in which two launch crew officers who were slow to react to a threat of an incoming missile from North Korea. Turns out it was a good thing they asked some questions before enacting protocol, because it wasn’t a missile- it was a meteor from space. But they’re still being court-martialed because if it had been a missile, they wouldn’t have reacted in time. Toby can’t help but burst out laughing at this story (“Why do we think at this point that North Korea is attacking the East Coast of the United States?” “There are transcripts that show that surprise was expressed at that”). Then he turns it on CJ: “We failed on both a mechanical and human level. So tell me again what you have faith in”.

“Us. Because with what little free time he has, Will is going to Wyoming to defend one of these guys, and I don’t think it is failing on a human level”. Instead of responding, Toby lays down his cards, expecting to win the hand. But, in another symbolic move that speaks to a lot more than poker, CJ lays out a full house, sweeping up the chips in her unexpected win.

While this weighty discussion hung in the air, Will, Toby, and CJ had another thing to attend to- a bet amongst men that the other couldn’t hurl a playing card into the podium from the fifth row in the press room. They head down there, with CJ tagging along hoping to see them both fail- no one’s taking her very seriously tonight, after all. Instead of settling that debate, they’re interrupted by three gunshots slamming into the press room window. Will’s military training kicks in and he drops to the floor and rattles off ballistics to the secret service agents that instantly burst in, but CJ freezes. It’s Toby who pulls her to the ground in the heat of the moment.

I don’t love this being the second time CJ’s been “saved” by a man in this show (Sam did the same thing at Roslyn), but this interaction with Toby feels a lot more organic than that did, and so does the way they address it. On the whole, everything about an active shooter and subsequent crash of the building is a tired plot at this point. I’d actually go as far as to say this entire episode is pretty unoriginal- a criticism I read when doing some research on this episode. But I think the familiarity of the situation is exactly the thing that gives this episode that fun, cozy, President-in-a-sweatshirt feel. We’ve done the defcon 1 “can you believe it?!” active shooter plot before, so now we’re able to have some fun with it (“fun” on The West Wing is a relative term).

The secret service herds Toby, CJ, Will, and Josh into the oval office to make sure there’s eyes on everyone. Charlie and Debbie are already accounted for, but they don’t have code word clearance, so they’re not allowed in the Oval, where the spy plane discussion is still ongoing. At least, according to the Secret Service. Bartlet good naturedly explains that “if Charlie heard there were bullets, he’s gonna overpower whoever’s trying to—” and he’s cut off by Charlie, sure enough, bursting into the room. The President grins, we grin, he pulls Charlie in close and promises he’s okay. Satisfied, Charlie marches right back out. Then Bartlet says “I’m surprised you guys managed to keep Fiderer in her chair, I’d have thought she’d be the first one to- oh no here we are!” as she too fights her way in the room, looking the President up and down and declaring that she will be back to take his blood pressure shortly.

In a beat amidst the commotion, CJ asks Toby if he knew that a day on the moon and a year on the moon were the same thing. He did. The moment hangs there. Then she says, “I thought my reflexes before, in the press room, were cat-like.” And then we cut away. I love how little we have to say in this episode, and it’s our familiarity with these people, these rooms, and this situation that really let us all just play here in “Evidence of Things Not Seen”.

And nowhere is this episode having more fun than it is with Josh and the unexpectedly incredible chemistry he has with Matthew Perry’s Joe Quincy. Throughout this entire episode he’s back and forth between advising the President and interviewing new associate counsel Joe Quincy. Joe is quiet, collected, funny, and overqualified, but something is off about him, and Josh can’t figure out what. In an aside to Donna, Josh muses that “it’s the strangest feeling. It’s like… a really good baseball player is standing in the other team’s locker room for the first time.” To which Donna says, “I don’t understand, are you writing poetry about this now?”

But his gut is onto something, and he’s trying to figure out what- amidst it all, though, he’s also starting to like him. Josh is amused that the vetting team made Joe fill out the psychological part of the questionnaire- something he can relate to, and I’ll come right back to that in a second. Josh asks a question I think we all probably wonder when filling out forms like this but have never thought to put into words:

“Question 1: a) I do not feel sad; b) I feel sad; c) I am sad all the time and I can’t snap out of it; d) I am so sad or unhappy that I want to kill myself. You chose a) I do not feel sad.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Ever?”

“No.”

“No, you don’t ever feel sad, or…?”

“No, there are times when I feel sad.”

“Yet you checked the first box, why is that?”

“It said, ‘I do not feel sad’ and I didn’t at the time I checked it.”

This exchange, and their whole dynamic, feels both funny and poignant, but the tables turn when the shooting happens in the very next scene. Donna is instantaneous in checking on Josh, worried about the shooting stirring up his PTSD and telling him, against his wishes, that she is going to be giving his therapist a heads up that he might be calling later. 

When Josh explains the building crash to Joe, he says he didn’t hear the shots, but “I heard a brass quintet playing The First Noel, so I just assumed someone somewhere was locked and loaded.” Joe doesn’t hesitate to reply with “You know, not for nothing, but the people that I talk to don’t believe that story, and the people that you’d like don’t care.” He doesn’t say it unkindly, but like I said, funny and poignant.

But it’s not only the sentiment that throws Josh off, it’s the wording. Finally, Josh puts it together- Joe is a republican. Once his secret is out, Joe explains that he’s gotten himself in bad standing with the rest of the party by voicing an unpopular opinion, but he wants to work at the White House because, of course, he has a sense of duty. The whole thing is a soft, respectful, and incredibly loaded homage to both Ainsley Hayes and arguably the show’s best episode, “Noel”. And, just like Ainsley, Joe finds himself fitting right in, even as Josh tries to fight it. He recommends him to Leo and gets him the job.

I really love this episode for all the same reasons I think it often flies under the radar of West Wing greatest hits. It’s not remarkable, it’s not doing anything we haven’t done before, but it has its finger right on the pulse of every one of these characters. It’s exactly our deep familiarity with everyone and everything that lets the slightest touch hold so much significance, depth, and humor.  It just takes half a sentence for a character to say something profound about another, or to call back to nostalgic characters and plot points.  And I almost forgot to mention- we end with CJ standing an egg on its end. I well up every time.

#the west wing #evidence of things not seen #matthew perry #joe quincy #bradley whitford #josh lyman #allison janney #cj cregg #richard schiff #toby ziegler #martin sheen #jed bartlet #tww #josh malina #will bailey #tv criticism #tv review

[numberonesnarkfan]

This is the story of a being named The Narrator.

Many religions and spiritualities have invented concepts and nomenclature that closely describes the type of being The Narrator is. For a western listener to understand best, the closest definition would be that it is a type of ‘spirit’.

The Narrator, as you know it, is a spirit not bound by laws of physics as you are, but bound by laws that govern a realm invisible to humans. One of these laws that applies to The Narrator specifically, is that it cannot refer to itself with a name or pronoun that is not given to it by man. The Narrator never referred to itself at all for much of its life. Even ‘it’ is a new pronoun to it. It knew the pronouns ‘ham’ and ‘den’ from the ancient Vikings, ‘to’ and ‘afton’ from the even more ancient Greeks. ‘The Narrator’, too, is a new name, given to it only in the 1600s. 

The last cult who discovered and committed themselves to it called it him, and named him Mikonaxas. The last cult of Mikonaxas was only formed ten years after the turn of the millennium. They operated for three years, dutifully serving the spirit. Mikonaxas told his cult that he embodied story. In ancient times, he would speak to bards and philosophers and tell them things that would change the course of history, if only they would appease him. In this age, Mikonaxas grew bored of his role as a spirit existing only to aid man and instead desired to join them in their feasting and revelry, and in their glory and toil. He wanted to feel firsthand the emotions and desires that he had studied closely, that could only be felt by one in a corporeal body.

“What type of body do you desire, Mikonaxas, my lord?” a member asked, bowing his head to the spirit, its form only visible as a dark cloud. Jim held his breath. He hoped truly that the being would not want for a body that matched his own. He dreaded what the spirit might do to him.

“I’m thinking…” Mikonaxas mused, “tall and fat, a symbol of my power and prestige. I want to appear old and wise, yet a youthful spark in my eyes, yes… Do you know of the appearance of the ancient daemon, Pan? Something like that. But I don’t want my body to be only human, heavens no. I must embody divinity, I must exist beyond the limitations of man. Perhaps endowed somehow with your new ‘recording’ technology, so that my stories can live forever. Can you do that for me? I’d love that.”

Jim released his breath. While he was getting old, his previous lifestyle had rendered him quite particularly gangly. He didn’t fit the bill. He glanced nervously around the near-empty ‘church’, which was in fact built in the basement of an abandoned house. There was one man who he knew fit Mikonaxas’ request.

This is the story of a man named Angelo.

Jim had known Angelo for a number of years. In fact, he had once had a relationship with him, before he had become Angelo when he transitioned to identifying as a man. He had cut ties with his family, who did not accept him anymore, and named himself after his great-great grandfather, who had also faced persecution for his identity. Angelo lived in a small suburban home, with no company other than his two cats. Angelo remained friends with Jim after their amicable break-up, when Jim admitted that, in respect of Angelo’s transition, he was no longer attracted to him. Angelo, rather than being angry, felt grateful to Jim for treating him truly as a man. Now, Angelo was a friend of the cult through Jim.

Jim felt a pit in his stomach. Among gods, or beings who were worshipped as gods, Mikonaxas could sometimes be cruel. He had an explosive temper. If Jim failed to deliver him his desires, Jim didn’t know what he might do to him, or to the cult at large. Jim bowed to Mikonaxas and turned to return to his quarters.

In the days following, Jim found himself faced with a ‘trolley problem’, of sorts. One potential loss of life, or the potential loss of the lives of the entire cult? In truth, Jim didn’t know what would happen to Angelo’s body if he were given to Mikonaxas. But if he had to augment it somehow to make it ‘exist beyond the limitations of man’, that couldn’t be good for Angelo’s general health.

That night, Jim made up his mind. He called the cult to a meeting and described to them Mikonaxas’ request. Stefan, a nurse, piped up that he may be able to help, as did Lucy, who was part of a team who built robots for work and fun. Over months, they devised a plan and built a prototype. They presented it to Mikonaxas, who liked it, but proposed a few changes. After more months, they had a final version.

They would harvest parts from a computer and a professional microphone to implant into Angelo’s body. Some of his organs would need to be removed or replaced. The replacements and the parts were ready, now only one part of the plan remained: Angelo himself.

Jim was dispatched to Angelo’s home a few nights later. They had agreed to have dinner there, simply as friends. Angelo had prepared a beautiful meal and Jim had supplied the wine, along with a certain secret ingredient.

Angelo greeted Jim and allowed him in, motioning for him to sit down at the table. Angelo was on the older and heavier side, with long silvery hair that was often tied in a bun, as it was tonight. He had thick black eyebrows, the only visible hair on him that hadn’t been turned grey by the test of time. He had a square jaw and pale skin, his fingers now rapping on the edge of the table. Jim sat across from him and smiled.

For an hour, they talked. Angelo asked about the cult and Mikonaxas and Jim assured him that everything was going fine. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Partway through their meeting, Angelo excused himself to the bathroom and Jim dropped his ‘secret ingredient’ into Angelo’s wine: a powerful sedative.

Angelo returned from the bathroom and took a sip of his wine, none the wiser. It didn’t take long for the drug to take effect. Angelo didn’t want to be rude to his guest, so he fought to keep his eyes open. Around half an hour later, though, he told Jim that he was awfully sorry, but something must be wrong. Jim responded that he could take Angelo to the hospital if he wanted, but Angelo insisted he would just sleep it off. When he could barely get up from his chair, however, Jim insisted and took him out to his car. Angelo didn’t fight as Jim strapped him into the passenger seat and got in the driver’s seat. Jim started the car and watched as Angelo started to fall asleep.

Angelo didn’t wake up even when he was dragged out of the car and into the basement of the cult’s house, or when he was hoisted onto the table, or when he was tied down, stripped and duct tape gagged. Only when Stefan started to cut, did he wake up. He surely would have fought to escape, had he not been thoroughly tied down. Jim felt his heart sink as Angelo’s wide and teary eyes landed on him.

Stefan, though he was a nurse, was not at all qualified for a surgery of this type. Mikonaxas lended some aid through some kind of mysterious magic, allowing wires and parts to be laid in Angelo’s body, along with a vessel for himself, a small jar in Angelo’s midsection. Even still, when his eyes stopped moving, Jim knew that Angelo was dead. Mikonaxas instructed them to continue, though, and so they did. The final touch was the large microphone stand that protruded from his back, arching up over his head to dangle a recording mic in front of his face.

Finally, Angelo was reclothed and laid down, rigor mortis beginning to set in. Jim held his breath as Mikonaxas lowered himself into Angelo’s now vacant body. He watched as the last slivers of his dark, smoky form disappeared through the skin. All was silent for a moment, before Jim heard a sound like a computer whirring to life. Angelo’s eyes shot open, his irises now bright yellow, split by a slit pupil. 

With Mikonaxas’ deep, bassy voice, he spoke;

“N-no. This isn’t right.”

Blood began to dribble from his mouth as he got up from the table on shaky legs. He stumbled, then turned to face the cult.

“This isn’t–” Angelo - or rather, both of them, doubled over in pain as Mikonaxas rammed at the walls of his vessel, trying to get out. Wounds began to reopen, blood quickly seeping through his bandages and reddening his clothes. 

Wind started to whip and howl at the house, threatening its structure. Jim heard wood creaking before the sudden smash of a window upstairs. The cult members began to panic, but Jim’s eyes stayed on Angelo. 

Jim watched in horror as a black cloud exploded out of Angelo. It filled the room quickly. It felt like burning and freezing at the same time. It felt like falling and rising, like being turned to dust.

This is the story of two beings, known together as The Narrator.

The Narrator felt the dark explosion trickle back inside of him. He slowly stood up straight and looked around the room. The walls and floor were blackened and everything that had been in the room - the table, the altar, and the humans, had been reduced to dust, or perhaps soot. He felt the life draining from him again. Something inside him roused; a deep-set human instinct. For the first time in his life, he feared death. He refused to die.

The Narrator forced himself to move, stumbling through the room and up the stairs. The wind still whipped at the house, the support beams creaking. He limped out of the door, now ripped off of its hinges by the storm. He stepped out into the wind and rain and headed slowly for the closest building. It was a large office complex. The moon was nearly full, the office was the only building with its lights on in an immediate radius.

It felt like hours he was forcing himself to walk. His strength was waning as he pulled himself through the door. The receptionist didn’t appear to be present, so he stumbled through the building, tracking blood all over the carpet. He stopped occasionally to lean on a wall and throw up blood as he searched for signs of human life. The implants in his skin were starting to threaten to fall back out. His vision was blurring.

Finally, he came across an office with the sound of typing coming from inside. He pushed the door open. A man turned to face him as he entered, his face whitening in fear and shock. He was tall and lanky, with brown hair and arched eyebrows, with matching brown eyes. He appeared frozen to his chair in shock as The Narrator approached him.

The Narrator grabbed Stanley by the shoulders. He didn’t say anything, there was too much blood in his mouth for that, which at this moment was dripping onto Stanley’s legs. A horrible crack and a spark came from him before all of the lights in the complex went out. 

Stanley opened his mouth to yell.

The Narrator screamed over him as a black cloud exploded out of him. 

Then, the cloud began to whirl and implode. The wind picked up hard enough for trees to be pulled over outside. It was like a black hole. It was a black hole. Stanley was sucked in first, before it grew, taking more and more of the offices with it, then the entire building, before, in a flash of light, it suddenly vanished. 

…

.

..

.

The Narrator cleared his throat,

“This is the story of a man named Stanley.”

#story #writing #tsp #tspud #the stanley parable #the stanley parable narrator #tsp narrator #narrator tsp #tsp oc #tsp Jim #cw kidnapping #cw violence #cw violence against a trans person #cw cults #tsp fanfic #tsp story #the stanley parable ultra deluxe

[losergendered]

Bob Belcher from Bob's Burgers is a neurodivergent, autistic, bisexual, polyamorous man!

His wife, Linda, is an auDHD, dyslexic, neurodivergent, straight, polyamorous woman!

Both Bob and Linda are in a poly relationship with Teddy, who is heteroflexible, bisexual, polyamorous, and has ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and is a medium-support needs autistic!

Tina Belcher is an autistic, fanfictiongender, fanfictioncomfic/fanficcomfic, equusagender, horsegender, bookgender, weirdgirl, demigirl, straight/heterosexual, polyamorous girl! She has a special interest in horses and fanfiction, and she is dating Jimmy Pesto Jr, Zeke, and Darryl!

Gene Belcher is a genderfluid, musicgender, vaporwavic, gay boy, with auDHD! His special interest is music in general! He is dating Alex Papasian!

Louise Belcher is autistic, ADHD, narcissistic, borderline, and bipolar! She is trans, bunnygender, knifegender, nonbinary, aromantic, and identifies as both a lesbian and a lesboy! She has a special interest in lock picking, Burobu card collecting, Hawk and Chick movies, and her Kuchi Kopi nightlight!

All three kids support their parents and have adopted Teddy as their new parent, and Teddy views the Belcher kids like they're his own children!

Bob's and Teddy's friend, Mort, is a ply straight man who support his friends' relationship!

Bob is sorta friends, but mostly enemies with Jimmy Pesto Sr, a pansexual, pan straight man with NPD and HPD!

Jimmy is best friends with Trev, a gay man!

Trev is in a relationship with Butcher/Deli Guy, a canonically gay man!

Jimmy Pesto Jr is a bisexual, gay, straight, bi straight, bi gay, bi straightcian, and monoflexible! He is autistic and speaks with a lisp! He is dating Tina and Zeke!

Zeke is an auDHD, bipan, bi straight, bi gay, pan gay, pan straight, bi straightcian, pan straightcian, and ambiam! He is dating Jimmy Pesto Jr and Tina!

Darryl is an omnisexual, omni straight boy with autism and he is dating Tina!

Calvin and Felix Fischoeder are both abrosexual, abro straight, demiboys! Both brothers are neurodivergent and have NPD!

Linda's sister, Gayle, is a straight woman with agoraphobia, ADHD, schizospec, high-support needs autistic, and experiences delusions!

All the adults are friends with/know Marshmallow, a canonically trans, femme, polyam, lesbian with autism and hypersexuality!

For @dead-dog-dont-eat !

#long post #many flags #fanfictiongender #fanfictioncomfic #equusagender #horsegender #bookgender #musicgender #vaporwavic #bunnygender #knifegender #lesboy #ply straight #pan straight #bi straight #bi gay #pan gay #omni straight #abro straight #mogai #mogai headcanon

[jasontoddssuper]

My Lgbt headcanons for the Batfam

Inspired by my lovely and close friend @genderfluid-bat posting his!!!

Bruce:Bi aroaceflux,trans man who presents androgynously because of being goth and thinking gender roles are stupid,he/him only or he'll start biting people.Also!!Harvey was his first boyfriend :]

Alfred:Gay and the token cis but The Ultimate AllyTM,he/him.Married to Lucius

Selina:Canon bi queen <3 Trans woman who if asked will say her gender is 'Catwoman',she/they and switches preferences for them every other couple of days.Is 100% supportive of Bruce's aspecness even though she's not on that spectrum herself at all(now the autism spectrum on the other hand)

Dick:Gnc nonbinary trans woman who identifies with 'tomboy' over butch because of her egg cracking so early(I'd say when she was about one year into being a Teen Titan),bidemi,she/her only.That last part is in my DC rewrite buf if we're talking in canon,she comes off to me as surpressing her womanhood because of all her trauma and the expectations put on her.Also people refer to her as 'The Boy turned Girl Wonder' and it makes her chuckle

Jason:Agender trans man who says his gender 'mostly nonbinary but being a guy makes things funny as hell',uses bi and pan and demi for his attraction labels,he/they/xe.Eddie was his bi awakening and he's been presenting as a boy since before he even became Robin

Babs:Demiwoman who like Dick defines her gender as 'tomboy',lesbian,she/they.Married to Dinah

Tim:Canon bi!!!Agender and transmasc like Jason but i can see the transfem hc too and also autigender!!He/they/she

Stephanie:Transfem demigirl,bipan romance wise and also demisexual,femmegender and autigender and she/they/petal/scale(i hc her as having dragons as a special interest!!).Dating Cass and they plan to get married one day

Cass:Butchgender and autigender trans woman,wlw(i can see lesbian and bi equally!!),she/they/bat

Duke:Transmasc genderfluid and bigender with a mix of fem and masc presentation,bipan and demi(love me some projection onto my faves),he/they/sun.They're that post that says 'Fuck passing,i want people to be so confused on what gender i am they explode'

Damian:Trans girl,lesbian,she/her only.Her egg cracks in her mid-teens and she becomes Batgirl

Kory:Trans woman who hoards femme xenogenders,pan,she/they.Dick's wife

Terry:Autigender trans guy,bi and pan,he/they/bat.Is a t4t couple with Maxine

Maps:Autigender trans girl(with a 'kidcore' and 'girly girl' brand of autism specifically),bi,she/they/fae.Her and Damian are childhood best friends to lovers and she helped her egg crack by giving her a mix of a crush and gender envy

Don't rb if you're gonna say dumb shit,especially if you're cis :)

@peachyblkdemonslayer @fandomunsexyman @nogender-onlystars

#bruce wayne #battinson supremacy #alfred pennyworth #alfred x lucius #selina kyle #zoelina supremacy #batcat #dick grayson #dick grayson:trans woman extrodinare #jason todd #jayeddie #barbara gordon #dinahbabs #tim drake #stephanie brown #stephcass #cassandra cain #duke thomas #damian wayne #koriand'r #dickkory #terry mcginnis #terrmax #maps mizoguchi #damimaps #batfam #t4t #💌 #letters from summer #autistic girl summer

[saintsenara]

ship ask game, Boring Edition, because I truly don't think you could be boring if you tried.

Hinny?

having rashly promised you i was going to answer this weeks ago, here is now is...

i have now found myself friends, entirely by accident, with lots of hinny girlies [shout out to @whinlatter, who's in the trenches]. you are all trying your best to win me over, but i will not be moved.

so let's do this.

why don't i enjoy hinny?

let's get some common objections to the pairing out of the way, because i think a lot of them are quite unfair and i can see why they bother hinny fans:

i don't think there's anything inherently less interesting about liking canon ships. the fact that hinny are endgame in the books doesn't make their fandom less imaginative or talented, and i think those of us who prefer non-canon pairings need to get over the superiority complex about our creative genius which i have seen a lot of. i like many of the other canon couples a great deal - romione, remadora [which, in an unpopular move, i actively prefer to wolfstar], bellamort [if ya nasty] etc.

similarly, i have no objection to het ships [see above], and i do think those of us who largely read and write slash need to be very careful to avoid a tendency to portray queer pairings either in a tokenising way or a heteronormative one, particularly if we want to say queer ships are just as plausible or supported by canon as the books' het pairings. that said, i do definitely prefer stories in which harry identifies as queer - the fact that he's bi/pan is canon, fight me - and, while that could [and should!] feature in het pairing stories, it almost never does. hinny authors are not the only - or the worst - offenders on this point [i've had some really illuminating conversations with remadora enjoying friends about the way that anti-wolfstar feeling has erased both lupin and tonks' queer-coding in their fandom], but i think hinny is the main victim on this point of my active refusal to engage with harmony.

come on lads, harry doesn't have an oedipus complex. red hair comes in more than one shade, and since lily doesn't have a personality in canon it's impossible to say whether she and ginny are alike. harry does have daddy issues though, which might lead him into the path of men who are also tall, thin, and dark-haired...

ginny is not a deranged fan who stalked harry. she was eleven with a crush and she acted embarrassingly, exactly as - i'm willing to bet - the vast majority of us did at that age. by the time she was fifteen she was out of her blushing era, and good for her. i loathe the way she gets slut-shamed, both in the text and the fandom, and i hope when her relationship with harry ends she fucks literally everyone in sight.

now, the big one: their relationship doesn't come out of nowhere. there are signs even in order of the phoenix that harry has started to notice ginny, and ron has been shipping it for years before they get together - but, also, even if it does start very intensely, that is the case for lots of teenage flings.

so, why don't i back hinny?

well, a lot of the reasons are to do with harry. none are canon, but i do think they can be justified by the text in a way that allows the crashing-and-burning of harry's canonical great love to feel logical, even in otherwise canon-divergent fics:

harry spends the books never seeming to see ginny as a real person. and sure, teenage boys are self-centred, and he may very well have matured as an adult, but it's incredibly easy to write a hinny break-up where she points out that he's only ever seen her as "harry potter's wife"; that he's paternalistic [i'm thinking here of a great conversation with @ashesandhackles about how harry never seems to acknowledge that ginny spends deathly hallows as a resistance leader in her own right - and if i were her i would never forgive him for not including me in plans for the horcrux hunt]; and that his saviour complex canonically drives him to reject other people's input and feelings [even as he matures across the series].

the trio are intensely codependent, and while i think it's plausible that they expand to a quartet/ginny becomes harry's priority once they're together, it's also entirely - and i would even say much more - plausible that they don't.

in canon, ginny is the person who generally initiates their romantic encounters. sorry, babe, he's just not that into you.

harry's all-or-nothing approach to life means that he could very easily become suffocating or neglectful, depending on how you want to write him. the idea of auror potter spending the majority of his time at work, because he won't let evil roam free, leaving ginny at home, makes sense, i'm afraid to say.

and a tomarry-specific reason, because why not: harry literally doesn't give a shit about ginny's experience with tom riddle. i know, i know, he remembers it in half-blood prince, and that's progress from order of the phoenix, but he still sees ginny worrying about the prince's book and totally ignores her concerns. if you're the sort of person [gestures at self with thumbs] who wants to take harry's canonical interest in the mystery of voldemort, canonical belief that he understands voldemort, and canonical belief that his connection to voldemort is a good thing [snape’s right - harry does think it makes him special!] and run with it, ginny is going to be pretty rightfully pissed, and, even if you're not, harry's lack of interest in ginny's own trauma isn't a great foundation on which to build a relationship.

ginny deserves a hot quidditch star partner with precisely one braincell, and i will always make sure she gets them.

they're just never harry.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #hinny