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tanadrin · 6 months ago

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I would love to hear the rant about social media doomerism and conspiracy

I’m on my phone right now but the summary version is something like:

Humans are bad at integrating information into their worldview accurately bc of various cognitive biases

Social media incentivizes us seeking out content that excites fear or anger or irritation

Social media thus causes us to form negative impressions of the world bc it mediates so much information consumption and discourse these days

This general negative affective impression is subject to high confirmation bias and ppl in general are really bad at divorcing an affective impression of a thing from their dispassionate reasoning abt a thing

(Bc one of the functions of an affective impression is to “cache” our conclusions about a topic to save time and effort later)

(In general if you are a cynic and pessimist you can fall prey to these biases w/o social media but I think social media makes more ppl susceptible to them)

People don’t want to be dupes so they seek refuge in cynicism. We treat cynicism as wise or worldly when in fact cynicism makes you a dupe and an easy mark for grifters. Cynicism and low trust foster conspiracism, paranoia, and antisocial politics

(This is why so many congenitally contrarian folks seem to flit effortlessly between the far left and far right; it’s not horseshoe theory, they’ve just cooked their brains on this stuff)

This is a world where populist anti-social politicians like Trump and the AfD thrive, bc they will lie about how everything is terrible and people will nod along, bc it explains why their social media is full of awful stories of, like, immigrants eating pets and shit

But it doesn’t just have to be insane lies only a moron could believe. It can be any impression about a fact in the world that it is difficult to personally check and which is vulnerable to being swayed by anecdote

This is how we get a word where people think crime rates are higher than they’ve ever been when in fact crime is falling

Or child predators lurk around every corner when in fact children are safer than ever

Or the American economy is in a recession when in fact it’s doing historically well by just about every available metric (now with full employment AND low inflation!)

Because in a big world even where things are in general good and getting better you can always produce infinite individual examples of shitty things and pipe those in a steady stream into people’s eyeballs, and then point to that and leverage people’s low trust attitudes and their cynicism which tells them they are smarter than the experts and go “statistics is just a fancy way to lie! The world is secretly terrible! Every bad thing is even worse than you thought and every good thing is a lie!”

(Nevermind the whole phenomenon where anything that is complicated or that someone does not themselves understand gets treated like it’s actually secret and a conspiracy.)

And here I know I have to include some disclaimer about how this is not to discount individual cases of suffering or struggle, which are real, or that there are indeed some really awful things happening in the world right now, which there are, but you know what?

I’m tired of doing that. People with reading comprehension operating in good faith ought to be able to deduce that general statements do not obviate particular exceptions, and people who cling to their doomerism as a kind of emotional life raft do not generally argue with me in good faith.

Sometimes doomerism is a load-bearing pillar of their politics, which I think is dumb—I think you can be a leftist or a progressive without being a doomer! In fact I think doomerism is antithetical to useful politics!

Sometimes they are just depressed and treatment-resistant. Sometimes they are just angry misanthropes who want to feel justified in their misanthropy. Some doomers are themselves in bad circumstances and feeling hopeless about that—to them I am enormously sympathetic. Though a lot of doomers will admit they personally are doing OK—this does not seem to be most doomers.

But I think in general cynicism and doomerism and a worldview dominated by a general nebulous air of Everything Is Awful and by abstract nouns with threatening auras is not conducive to wisdom or understanding or useful politics or leading a happy and fulfilling life.

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radiotheradio · 2 months ago

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Hearing about Shadowvanilla discourse (or any ancient x beast shipping discourse really) from one of the purgatory websites like TikTok or Twitter (I’m not calling that shit a single letter. He deadnames his child I deadname his website) is so fucking wild because like. This is some basic ass enemies to lovers. It’s not even that toxic. Like a 6 out of 10 at most. 4 out of 10 if we’re being realistic. 2.5 if you’re freaky.

Like they’re such fucking obvious ships too (except Dark Cacao x Mystic Flour. I respect it of course but that man has never had sex and if he did it was to create his son only. Can you fucking imagine how many tries that would take if you really just weren’t into it tho? He also doesn’t have the emotional space for romance he’s too busy standing there looking very serious. My Aroace king unless it’s funny. I’m getting off track-).

And y’all are getting DEATH THREATS??? Say fucking WHAT NOW! Maybe I just have too much of a life and touch too much grass but even getting a “hey that’s weird,” would be fucking perplexing. Yeah I like this because I like when stories have conflicts and themes, as stories are wont to do. I like when the narratives foils have even more to narratively foil about. This really is not hard to understand.

Like Shadowvanilla is fucking awesome, Burningcheese is right up my alley too, Eternalberry seems awesome but since we don’t actually have their interactions yet that’s only a hypothesis. All these make for super awesome stories I don’t see what the problem is. “It’s abusive!” I sure hope so? How’re we gonna get from bad to good if we don’t start at bad? I want a problem, a struggle, a climax, and then a resolution. I’m trying to read a story here, not a weather report.

Is it just that these are (mostly) child friendly pastry people so it’s probably mostly teenagers and tweens who are in the “forming identity and opinions” stage of their life that are starting this shit? I think it’s that. Anyway I haven’t used Twitter in literal years now and you could not pay me money to make a TikTok. Get off those websites they’re bad for the soul and the mind. Or don’t I’m not your dad.

Aaaaaaaanyway God x God + Enemies to Lovers + Soulmates + Narrative Foils is just me bait. Catnip for a lil freak like me. BTW if you like that check out hit indie game Cult of the Lamb. I promise you Shadowvanilla and Burningcheese shippers, there’s an 85% chance you’ll like it.

Edit: changed my mind. I ship Mysticcacao too now. Fuck with me.

#discourse #crk #shipping discourse #cookie run kingdom #burningcheese #shadowvanilla #eternalberry #tv.post #tv.txt

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deer0skullz · 3 months ago

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“Okay, maybe not every trans man, but if you go stealth you will receive male privilege”

Sure, maybe in very select circumstances, if a trans man is completely stealth and fully perceived as a cis man by his cis male peers, he could benefit from male privilege.

But, some people don’t seem to realise that being stealth isn’t a choice? It’s about how you’re perceived by other people, and you can’t just, choose that other people are going to perceive you as a cis man.

A stealth trans man still has a family and other people who know he’s trans or knew him pre-transition. So either

a) he could still potentially face misogyny from his family and people in his past or

b) he has to cut off everyone who ever knew him pre-transition, including close family members, in order to avoid losing his “stealth” status. That doesn’t sound very privileged to me.

Oh, and those old friends and family members can out you to others. It’s very easy to be outed no matter how stealthy you are, especially if you’re any sort of public figure. People find old pictures of you, people find old information on you that includes your deadname/ birth sex/ old pronouns/ etc, people find out you’ve had surgeries/ are taking hormones. And if you haven’t had bottom surgery, obviously having sex with anyone is going to get you outed, whether it’s just to them or whether they out you to other people.

Also, being stealth, for many people, is going to require full medical transition. There are obviously exceptions, but unfortunately for us transmascs, most perisex people who were AFAB are not going to be perceived as cis men without extensive work. So you can be stealth, as long as

you can afford gender affirming treatment

it’s not banned or restricted in your region

you aren’t going to be disowned/ abused/ etc for seeking it

you don’t have any health issues that would prevent medically transitioning

you actually want to medically transition

So if you have all those things, then you can probably receive some of that sweet sweet male privilege… Except that, (again, unfortunately) even people who have had surgeries and have been on hormones for years still get “clocked” and aren’t considered “fully passing”. So yeah, even fully medically transitioning doesn’t guarantee you’ll be perceived as a cis man.

There’s also another small issue… that many trans men don’t want to be stealth. Many of us don’t want to hide our identity for the off chance we’ll receive a small, highly conditional sense of privilege in a very select number of situations. Many trans men don’t want to “pass” and/ or have styles that are perceived as traditionally feminine. Many trans men want to engage with other trans people and get involved with wider trans and queer communities.

So yeah, this idea of the stealth trans guy who gets treated exactly like a cis man is in no way common or the norm. It’s impossible to hide that you’re trans in all situations, publicly and privately. And most people just don’t want to. So why are we using this near impossible, incredibly rare hypothetical as a key argument in transmasc discourse?

Disclaimer below because I’m constantly paranoid about being misinterpreted.

In case it wasn’t clear, all of this is from the perspective of a perisex trans man, who, unfortunately, does not know the personal experiences of every single trans man on the planet, so yes, there will be exceptions to everything I’ve said, but I’ve tried to involve as many perspectives as possible.

Also, I don’t want this to be seen as hate against trans guys who are stealth/ aren’t open about being trans/ want to “pass”/ want to be perceived as cis. More power to you and you have every right to be part of the community, but I feel this is just simply not the experience of the majority of trans men. And it shouldn’t be used as a “gotcha” by people who are trying to argue we don’t experience oppression.

And also, when I say “perceived as a cis man” I do mean the patriarchal perception of what a cis man “should” look like. Obviously, cis men come in all shapes and sizes like everyone else and the way you look should not be an indication of gender, but to discuss male privilege I have to discuss it from the patriarchal view of men and masculinity because that’s where male privilege comes from.

Also also yes, I used he/ him throughout this post but of course not every trans man uses he/ him solely or at all. I just thought since we’re specifically discussing binary, “passing” trans men it was more appropriate.

Sorry for the long ass post

#anti transmasculinity #transandrophobia #transmasc rant

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loredrinker · 1 month ago

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Could Solas Kill Inky in Place of Varric?

I saw a poll making the rounds days ago asking the age-old question: could Solas have killed the Inquisitor if they, rather than Varric, had approached him during the ritual? I voted no - and now I’m driven to explain why.

I’m not claiming any kind of authority here. Fandom discourse can be sensitive (especially around headcanons), so let’s just agree this is one interpretation among many. And no, this isn’t denial or wishful thinking (though I’m sure some will roll their eyes). I’ve tried to keep this grounded in what the games present and build a case based on narrative structure, context and character logic.

I’m also not saying Solas couldn’t ever harm the Inquisitor. Under the right conditions, it’s possible. But the question is would he have done so in that moment - at the ritual site, in Varric’s place? And for me, the answer is no. Based on where Solas is emotionally and narratively at that point, I don’t believe that outcome fits.

This post focuses on a Friend and Romanced Inquisitor - those the story frames as emotionally significant to Solas. (I’ll address the low-approval path at the end.)

For this, I want to start with the progression of Solas’ relationship with the Inquisitor as shaped by the events of the games and supporting material. (And of course, the prerequisite disclaimer: these are just my thoughts and interpretations.)

Apologies, it's a bit long.

Emotional Bonds: Solas’ Relationship with the Inquisitor

In Inquisition, Trespasser and Veilguard, we see Solas emotionally compromised by his bond with the Inquisitor - whether friend or lover - through a series of consistent narrative beats.

With a high-approval friend Inquisitor, the connection is built on deep respect. Solas says, “You show a wisdom I have not seen since… since my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the Fade,” and adds, “It means that I respect you deeply, Inquisitor.” That word - deeply - is important. Solas doesn’t offer praise lightly, and considering what we know of his guarded nature and history, that line should be read as significant.

After Trespasser, he refers to revealing his plans as a “moment of weakness” (The Dread Wolf Take You), yet chooses to confess anyway because part of him wants the Inquisitor to know. When he meets with Charter, it's because he's learned the Inquisition is involved and knowingly risks exposure by appearing in person. And his message: "Tell the Inquisitor I’m sorry" in a faltering voice further underscores that the Inquisitor has a sort of hold on him.

He admits to Rook that during his rebellion, it took him centuries to build bonds with others - but within the Inquisition, he formed bonds within a year. This is yet another beat that tells us that what happened during the Inquisition was exceptional to Solas - it had immediacy, intimacy, and impact.

Strong evidence of the unique role of the Inquisitor comes from the romance path. Solas prepares to reveal everything but retreats in fear. Yet even after ending the relationship, the connection lingers through multiple narrative beats: dream visits, refers to never forgetting her, his letter, cherishing their time more than his victories. The Crestwood scene is most telling: “You are unique... I never expected to find someone who could draw my attention from the Fade. You have become important to me, more important than I could have imagined.” For Solas, the Fade is his sanctuary - where he finds clarity, control, and truth. That a romanced Inquisitor could pull his focus from it is the narrative explicitly telling the player they disorient him. Their emotional gravity is strong enough to draw him away from the only place he’s ever truly longed for. That’s why he runs. So when players ask whether he would have reacted the same way to a romanced Inquisitor at the ritual site as he did to Varric, I feel that dialogue reveals a lot. If they could pull his attention away from the Fade, then it stands to reason they could break his focus mid-ritual. Their appearance could have destabilized him again, just as it did before.

But perhaps what I find to be one of the most compelling pieces is what Veilguard itself tells the player: “The Dread Wolf could not foresee what it would mean to fall in love.” Note the use “the Dread Wolf” here - not Solas. The Dread Wolf is the myth, the feared manipulator. He is supposed to be above mortal emotion, detached and resolute. And yet, the Dread Wolf - not the man beneath the name - is the one undone by love. (How interesting the cut dialogue from Morrigan aligns with this: “And so the Dread Wolf is stopped by, of all things, love.”)

Solas’s Actions Toward Varric Were Not Premeditated

When Varric approaches Solas at the ritual, Solas doesn’t strike him. He disables Bianca, which Varric has pointed at him - choosing non-lethal intervention - and turns back to his ritual. He speaks to Varric, is composed, focused. There’s no bloodlust or intent to kill. It’s only after Rook topples the statue and Varric lunges at him that Solas stabs him. It’s fast, instinctive, defensive - his control breaking in the middle of a complex, high-stakes spell. And while it’s clear Solas was prepared to incapacitate Varric if necessary, I don’t believe his intention was to kill him (if he truly wanted a fatal outcome for Varric, he would have turned him to stone). I interpret his expression afterward as much: he tilts his head down, his eyes/face fall. This wasn’t premeditated or cold-blooded - it was a response to immediate, physical interference in a moment where precision and focus were everything. Unfortunately, his aim was fatal.

The Inquisitor Would Not Approach the Way Varric Did

Okay, maybe this part is more subjective, I can admit that - but do many players believe their Friend/Lover Inquisitor would have charged Solas the way Varric did? The Inquisitor is not Varric. Across the games and extended media, they’re portrayed as strategic, influential, and focused on the long game (as I write about here). Varric made an impulsive choice - physically lunging at Solas in the middle of an intense, years-in-the-making ritual. His reaction triggered a defensive response. That’s who Varric is: brave, loyal, emotional - but not really all that strategic.

By contrast, a friend/lover Inquisitor would most likely approach differently. Look at the atonement ending in Veilguard: they approach slowly, hands out, knowing exactly how dangerous the situation is, yet still choosing to reach him emotionally, rather than physically. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that the same Inquisitor, placed at the ritual site, would do the same?

And really, we only have one canonical example of an Inquisitor confronting Solas directly: Trespasser. Just the two of them. And even when the Inquisitor is angry or feeling betrayed - not even a low-approval one is harmed. What that shows me is simple: when the Inquisitor is the one standing in front of him, Solas responds differently.

Solas Had Already Changed His Strategy Since Trespasser

By the time of Veilguard, Solas is no longer fully committed to the most absolute, destructive version of his plan as originally told to the Inquisitor. In The Missing, he tells Varric in a note that “what must be done, will be done cautiously, and I will limit the damage as best I can,” At the ritual site, he again tells Varric that he has taken precautions to minimize the damage, In the Fade prison, he confirms to Rook that he had a host of spirits ready to help minimize loss of life. And while some players may dismiss this as manipulation or self-delusion, it’s worth noting that Emmrich affirms the spirits still think highly of Solas and continue to support him - suggesting he hasn’t lost their trust. Taken together, these are not throwaway lines. They form a consistent pattern.

This isn’t about excusing Solas - it’s about acknowledging the material the game presents. Across multiple sources, the narrative signals that Solas’ internal direction has shifted. He’s no longer blindly pursuing a path of total destruction. Since Trespasser, he’s made a conscious decision (however flawed) to try to control the outcome - to do less harm. Whether or not he’s lying to himself is a valid question, but the story shows that he believes he’s acting with restraint. That belief defines the version of Solas we meet at the ritual site: conflicted, calculating, and trying - however imperfectly - not to repeat past catastrophes.

The Killing of Felassan Is Not a Useful Comparison

Some players point to Felassan’s death as precedent for the idea that Solas could kill the Inquisitor - but in my view, the circumstances are entirely different. At the assumed time of Felassan’s death, Solas is either still in Uthenera or has recently awakened from it into a world made tranquil by the Veil. He was still reeling from Mythal’s murder and the consequences of his own actions. His psychological and emotional state was unstable to say the least, shaped by disorientation, grief, and urgency. Felassan, by contrast, had centuries to adapt to this changed world, to mourn Mythal, and to forge new connections. Solas had not.

If we look at Solas’s perspective, Felassan didn’t just disagree - he disobeyed a direct order at a critical time, likely seen as a betrayal not only of Solas’ plan, but also of Mythal’s memory. I also don’t believe Felassan’s death was premeditated, it fits a pattern of how Solas reacts when he’s desperate and his control is slipping. (And don't take this as me agreeing with Solas, I'm simply attempting to provide context.)

I think it's worth noting that Felassan’s death may have changed Solas. One of the regrets Rook confronts in the Crossroads is The Betrayal of Felassan, suggesting the moment haunts Solas. It was a personal failure that may have contributed to the caution and restraint we see from him later.

The Flemeth/Mythal Scene

Some players also cite the end of Inquisition - when Solas absorbs Mythal’s fragment from Flemeth - as proof that he’d kill the Inquisitor, because he kills Mythal. But that reading feels overly simplistic and overlooks what the scene actually depicts, both in Inquisition and its altered version in Veilguard. And maybe this is where I’ll get the most eye rolls, but here it is: Flemeth is not Mythal - she carries only a fragment of her. And in both versions, the visual and narrative cues strongly suggest she anticipated this outcome.

Yes, it does seem cold that Solas has to kill Flemeth to gain Mythal’s power - taking the life of this powerful woman who has influenced and shaped Thedas. But that’s precisely what makes her lack of resistance so fascinating. She doesn’t fight or flee. She reaches out to Solas, touches his face, and calls him “old friend.” So I have to ask - why? If Flemeth or Mythal truly objected, would someone of Flemeth’s immense power (especially when Solas is still regaining his strength) have allowed it? The most reasonable answer is that she didn’t make this decision alone. As the vessel of Mythal’s fragment, it’s entirely plausible that Mythal’s will/memories/essence - her understanding of what must happen - guided the moment. That doesn’t make it easy, or even ethically clean, but it reframes the act as one of grim necessity, not aggression as it wasn’t positioned as theft, but a sorrowful transfer of power.

And we see this tension captured in a single line of dialogue from Mythal: “While the prison is important, it is not the only goal you seek.” She doesn’t reject Solas’ reasoning - she acknowledges the prison’s importance, and by extension, his need for power to do it. But she also makes sure to take this moment to challenge him. She allows the transfer, as she calls him out about why he wants it. Again, Flemeth’s death doesn’t serve as precedent for Solas using violence against the Inquisitor.

The Atonement Ending Reaffirms the Inquisitor’s Unique Emotional Bond

By placing the Inquisitor alongside Mythal in Solas’s path to atonement at the end of Veilguard, it felts like the writers made a deliberate narrative choice. Mythal - the immortal who shaped Solas and his ideology - and the Inquisitor - the mortal who affected his heart - stand together because both are essential to who he’s become. This pairing is symbolic in my eyes as the Inquisitor is framed as Mythal’s equal in emotional and narrative influence over Solas’s fate. They speak before and after her, effectively bookending the moment that changes everything.

A character granted that level of symbolic and emotional influence in Solas’ arc is not someone I feel Solas would plausibly kill at the ritual site.

Conclusion

All of this has been my attempt to lay the groundwork - to trace the story’s emotional and narrative architecture - behind why I believe Solas couldn’t have killed the Inquisitor at the ritual site at the beginning of Veilguard. Could he hurt them later, in a moment of desperation or collapse? Yes, there is the possibility, but I don't think intentionally, likely through an accident scenario. But in that moment at the ritual site? I don’t believe he’s in that place yet.

And there’s also this: Solas never kills Rook. Even when he manipulates them in the Fade and tries to use them to take his place, he doesn't physically harm them. At the end, he tells Rook he doesn’t want to fight them and only attacks when Rook strikes first. So to suggest he would kill a high-approval/love Inquisitor - someone he has a deeper, longer, and more emotionally complex bond with - while sparing Rook doesn’t hold up, narratively or thematically in my mind.

Call it delusional or coping - but nothing I’ve presented here is headcanon (if anyone feels it is, please point it out, happy to expand!). I’ve done my best to stay rooted in the material the games and extended lore provide. And as always, I’m open to counterpoints, things I've not considered and happy to keep the conversation going!

..........

Low Approval Inquisitor

Ok so what about a low-approval Inquisitor? The one who rarely brought Solas into the field, frequently antagonized him, or made decisions he fundamentally disagreed with? That doesn’t mean they were a bad leader necessarily. In fact, it’s entirely possible this Inquisitor maintained high approval with other companions and made principled choices. But from Solas’ perspective, that relationship never deepened into an emotional relationship. In Veilguard, he remarks that such an Inquisitor was "useful" - a cold assessment - before shifting focus to bonds that mattered to him, like his friendship with Cole.

Without shared understanding or personal rapport, this Inquisitor might register to Solas as someone capable of interfering, but not capable of reaching him. If they had approached him at the ritual in a moment of volatility - the outcome could have been very different. I can’t speak broadly, as I’ve only played a low-approval Inquisitor once, and even then it was more of an across-the-board low approval run. But I do think it’s more plausible that this Inquisitor would have been at far greater risk of sharing Varric’s fate.

That said, there’s a counterpoint worth considering. By the time of Veilguard, Solas has made efforts to minimize harm - he even helps to stop the Qunari invasion in Trespasser to preserve some peace in Thedas till the veil comes down. In that light, killing the Inquisitor might risk triggering unrest, something he seemed to want to avoid until his ritual. Whether that restraint would hold in the heat of the ritual is debatable - but it’s a possibility. I’d love to hear other perspectives on this as I know I'll think on this one further.

#solas #the inquisitor #friend inquisitor #romanced inquisitor #ah the question of our DA time #I hesitated posting this #had some help from some friends to make sure it made sense #and was rooted in logic not personal emotion #did my best to remain within the canon and materials of the stories #but of course this just one interpretation #dragon age inquisition #dai #dragon age veilguard #datv #dragon age trespasser #solas meta

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boreal-sea · 7 months ago

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I will never in a million years claim I’m personally immune to being radicalized. I’m certain I could be, given the right circumstances, because we are ALL vulnerable to it.

So let me tell you a time I got frustrated with pro-choicers, briefly became a pro-lifer, and ended up as a pro-choicer again.

Years ago I was on a pro-choice forum. This was circa 2010. I was so active I ended up a moderator. Pro-lifers were “welcome” in the sense that they were, quite frankly, used as punching bags. This was not a place of reasonable debate and discourse. And when I tried to apply the rules equally, I was literally banned from the forums. I’d been expressing empathy for the pro-lifers as, you know, real human beings, and that didn’t fly in this space.

So I went and checked out the pro-life forum. I experienced a period of welcoming from most of the members, and the debate there actually seemed a lot more nuanced than on the pro choice forum. Like, these folks were actually discussing their personal nuanced feelings about exceptions for rape and life of the mother! The pro choice forum had no nuance: abortion was always the mother’s choice (remember, this was 2010. Trans people weren’t even on the forum).

But eventually they turned on me, too. Turns out that they welcome you in, then slowly turn up the heat with the eventual goal of getting you to agree that in no cases is abortion acceptance. Unsurprising, back on the other side. But it’s not like the pro choice forum didn’t do the same thing in the opposite direction: bringing people in with the exceptions, and then convincing people it was acceptable in all cases.

As for what deradicalized me, it was mostly getting doxed by one of the pro-lifers. They really slowed me that as awful and as cruel as the pro-choicers in that particular community had been, stalking someone across the internet would never have crossed their minds as something ok to do. I think.

Now - for the record, I’m 200% pro-choice. I learned a lot from going to the pro-life side, though, and to be quite frank I don’t regret it. The biggest thing I realized was at the end of the day, literally nothing else matters except personal autonomy. That’s the root of it, for me. Do I have an unrestricted right to control my body, or not? And that’s the basis of my feelings behind everything from trans rights to religion.

BUT - and this is big too - I don’t like or support either of the communities I was in at the time. They were both radical, in opposite directions.

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blackthornwren · 1 month ago

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Why Wicca Matters

If you’ve seen me comment on any kind of witchblr discourse, you’ve likely seen me defend Initiatory Wicca, or you’ve seen me criticize others who tear down the tradition while not being a part of it, or examining their own practices and where they originated. There are specific reasons for my doing so, and I’m going to elaborate on those. First, let me preface by stating that I live in the United States and as a practitioner, I actually owe a lot to Wicca, as does anyone who considers themselves to be a witch or pagan or something adjacent while living in the United States.

So, Wicca began to truly gain ground in the 1950’s. Fear not, I know Gerald Gardner is no one’s cup of tea and I don’t intend to rehash the origin story of The Wica. However, let’s consider the time period.

The Witchcraft Act of 1735, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, was not replaced until 1951 when the Fraudulent Mediums Act took its place. But until then, it was literally a crime for anyone to claim that they had magical powers or practiced witchcraft. From 1951 onward, the Fraudulent Mediums Act was instituted; making it no longer illegal to claim to be a magical practitioner, but illegal to claim it while attempting to make money from related services - with the provision that the buyer be informed that any services rendered by a magical practitioner were for entertainment purposes only.

Are you still with me? I love reading about old laws but they can be dry as hell for anyone who doesn’t have a special interest. And I’m not even going to touch on the 1950’s and what a fun time they were for anyone who was a little different, didn’t conform to the norms.

Now, let’s take this movement to the states. Wicca paved the way for the protection of paganism and witchcraft practices in the United States through the landmark case, Dettmer v. Landon. Not only did this case set the standard for officially recognizing Wicca as a religion in the United States, it also entitled pagans, witches, and others claiming under nature-based religions to the protections granted under the first amendment.

Because Dettmer v. Landon was centered around religious expression for a prison inmate, this trial also set a precedent for prisons acknowledging and ensuring that inmates were allowed to practice - not just for Wicca or witchcraft, but other non-mainstream religious traditions as well.

Furthermore, it wasn’t until 2007 that the pentacle was accepted as an emblem for US military headstones or grave markers. The groundwork for this all began with Patrick D. Stewart, a US service member who was also a Wiccan. Sgt. Stewart was killed in action in 2005, and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs initially refused to allow the pentacle to be marked on his headstone, despite his widow's best efforts. It was a combination of the cases of Stewart v. Nicholson, and Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson, that won Wiccan military members the right to have their headstones marked with a pentacle.

Sure, that’s great for Wiccans, but not all witches are Wiccans - yes, yes, I know. Except, because of these cases, the US Military later added Mjolnir and the Awen as options for service members to mark on their graves.

I know, you may be thinking, “that’s nothing” or “that really hasn’t accomplished much” and that’s fair enough. But let’s consider that Wicca is a religion still in its infancy, not even a hundred years old (despite what old Gerald might say). This is a lot of movement in the United States for a religion that a growing demographic of Christians see as a direct threat to their own beliefs. In fact, it’s momentous.

Now, that’s not to say that there are no issues with this religion. My personal gripe with this is that criticism aimed at Wicca tends not to be about the current issues, but snapshots of things from 20 or more years prior. As I said before, this religion is young but evolving quickly - filled with members who can appreciate the past for what it was, but also learn from it and work to make the changes so that it isn’t just an outdated fertility cult. Wiccans are actively putting in the work in real time to make their religion and their covens inclusive and strip away appropriative and abusive behaviors propagated by the past.

Finally, after spending a decade on this site, it’s almost become part of the witchblr wheel of the year to hate on Wicca while, in the same breath, recommending authors like Gemma Gary, Nigel Pearson, Michael Howard, Andrew Chumbley, Robin Artisson, and Roy Bowers (Robert Cochrane). Authors who are known for saying that they’re writing of the “old” tradition, while giving their audience an awful lot of material that looks like basic Wiccan rituals. And of course, in studying these rituals, we can see the immediate influence of Crowley and other occultists of the time, as well as the Freemasons, and how their practices laid some of the foundation for Wicca.

#wren rambles #traditional witchcraft #witchcraft #wicca

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arodabi · 1 year ago

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Just to say it one more time: I’m aro and that makes me queer!!!

I will never let that go. Back when the first round of ace discourse was kicking up, i remember the first debate i saw wasn’t “aces aren’t lgbt” or “aces aren’t oppressed” it was specifically that aros and aces couldn’t reclaim the slur word queer because it was never used against us. And i saw that argument used as a wedge to further and further separate aspecs from the queer community. Eventually they just came for the word itself, that’s how the “queer is a slur” bullshit popped up at the same time. “Queer was a horrible horrible slur that nobody, least of all weirdo straights aros/aces, could reclaim.”

And that showed that the people behind spreading ace discourse, namely terfs and all the other exclusionary assholes, were the same people trying to squeeze the freaks out of the lgbt community. We know terfs used as discourse as a gateway to get people to hate trans people and trans women specifically. If you can convince someone that one group of queer people are horrible straight invaders who only want to destroy gay culture, then you can convince them that another group is too. So many of the common arguments against aspec ppl at the time stemmed from old school homophobia even. “Ace people are just mentally ill and need to be fixed” “ace people are pedophiles who want to make the children like them” “ace is a new fad that popped up, not something with any history” who benefits from that except terfs and their alt right sympathizers.

If you really want the community safe then why the fuck are you fighting those ppls battles? The same people who would kick you to the curb as soon as they finish with their current targets?

We can’t do another aspec discourse. We need to remember that the last one wasn’t just “ace ppl are cringe” it was an attempt to silence and destroy a whole group of queer people. And if they do it to aspecs, they can do it to any other group.

#long ramble that i hope makes a little sense #idk #void screams #aromantic #aro #ace #asexual #queer #lgbt #lgbt+#lgbtq #lgbtqia

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totallyboatless · 3 months ago

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Is anyone else noticing headcanons about which character is the top and which is the bottom in mlm pairings is straying away from subverting expectations by having the more “effeminate” dude top and is getting dangerously close/crossing the line into “being a bottom is inherently effeminate in and of itself so we can’t put the effeminate character in that position because it’s insulting” ?

It feels like it’s calculating Masculinity Points and determining top/bottom roles from there based on what would “subvert expectations” most just for the sake of it instead of considering what would influence a character’s psychosexual behavior

Like right now I’m thinking about Spartacus (bc these days I’m always thinking about Spartacus) and (granted, years old) discourse about how Nasir should have been a top bc it’s insulting to assume the smaller, “more feminine” long haired guy would bottom

Except if you think about his character for more than a few minutes, that makes zero sense *at all*. Firstly, Nasir has a beautiful arc around his relationship with masculinity and anger, and finding ways to become empowered through getting stronger and learning to fight

As a trans dude, his arc means a lot to me personally

So when I see people insinuating that him bottoming takes away from the relationship he forms with traditional expression of masculinity, I find it pretty frustrating and honestly kind of insulting

Okay we’re here, I’m writing Spartacus meta for 10 people on this site I guess. Here’s my analysis of Nasir’s and Agron’s psychosexual motivations that would lead to their particular dynamic:

Nasir:

- a sex slave when we meet him, but the *only* evidence we have from the text itself is his Dominus asking to be fucked *by* Nasir. Sure it’s fair to assume bottoming could have happened in turn, but all fic I’ve read ignores the truth that the only concrete info we have on what was asked of Nasir is him being forced to top

- related, this is a man who has only ever known what it is to serve other people sexually, never allowed a passive role of receiving pleasure (even if he was bottoming, his experience still comes from an active place of service)

Does this not sound like a man that would get pleasure from allowing someone to take a leading role focusing on pleasuring him? Someone who would find comfort in being allowed to turn his brain off?

Agron:

- a man whose entire motivation when we first meet him is taking care of his brother (I AM NOT GOING IN INCEST DIRECTION—I know that’s a fandom thing but personally I get squicked by incest, and psychosexual behavior is often influenced by things that aren’t themselves inherently sexual). When his brother dies, Agron goes off the rails. He’s lost a sense of purpose. Even as aggressive as he can be, ultimately his core is to be a caretaker, and so when he loses that outlet he becomes the most violent shadow of himself

- Until Nasir, his only outlet for caretaking was violence. With Nasir, he finds an ability to express his caretaking desires through another form of passionate physicality: topping

Does that not sound like a dude who would specifically find pleasure in being in control of giving someone else pleasure? Does this not sound like a service top?

All this to say, I do get it when people want writers to think outside of stereotypical optics of “who tops and who bottoms” in male relationships. But some people are telling on themselves by still boiling men down into strict roles that can be dismissive of character motivations in the name of progressive writing that ultimately misses the mark in a similar way

I’m dancing around TMI, but it’s empowering for me to see characters I relate to forming relationships to masculinity that isn’t “diminished” by enjoying a “feminine” sexual position. So i’m likely projecting a lot, but this is my lived truth as a queer man. I’m curious if other people relate.

Thank u

[exit]

Bonus:

Like COME ON

#spartacus #mlm pairings #spartacus meta #is anyone in that tag at all right now??? lololol #nagron #nasir x agron #agron x nasir #i dunno what else to tag this

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jewish-sideblog · 10 months ago

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the rise in antisemitism comes from the same legacy as the queer discourse wars and I’m so serious about that. at some point the internet stopped being a place of collected human knowledge, and started being a place where people could pretend they were experts in subjects they’ve never studied. Every single shred of queer discourse that’s ever been hashed out on this website had already been solved by Queer scholars and advocates by the 1990s. And it’s all being hashed out again on X and TikTok today.

Suddenly everyone has an opinion on Israel and Palestine which is real fucking interesting! Because they’re not suddenly experts in international conflicts or middle eastern studies! There is no great wave of awareness concerning Nagorno-Karabakh. Any shred of knowledge about the actual behavior of Iran’s proxies would prevent any leftist with a shred of dignity from flying the flag of the Houthis or Hezbollah. Yet these people somehow seem to think they know more than the judges on the International Criminal Court.

The internet has become a place where people would rather be right than be accurate and truthful. And often, in order to be completely right, you have to distort the truth. We’ve had all these conversations already. We came to a consensus and a conclusion. There’s no point in arguing these same tired points over and over again for all eternity, except to make the undereducated feel superior.

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jikooklove9795 · 29 days ago

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Jimin & Jungkook: We're the plot. Try to keep up

it is interesting how the printed lyrics place ? throughout the song and yet in the MV version, they are no ? in the CC subs except at (1:57) (2:01)

When the screen falls(2:12) who is my heart waiting for is a statement in the sub

then we briefly see (who is my heart) in parenthesis

at the same time see" rewind" "LP" and a running timer.

We have seen so many analysis of this great MV of JImin's. Love it. Who knows if Jimin had a hand in the subtitles and the thought processes of the set design et al....it is well executed and he is beautiful...absolutely stunning. Lucky JK.

thanks for listening to my discourse..LOL It is a Sunday here and hot outside. Enjoying my Hilo Lychee sorbet.

thank you for your excellent and enjoyable posts!! I miss those two...they have 16 days left as it is May 26th in Korea.

Hi there 😊

That's so sweet of you to say! Thank you I'm really touched!

Coming to your ask, I’m not sure I fully got it (the part about the subs). But I think you meant that ‘who is my heart waiting for’ had a question mark in some timestamps and not in others you quoted above? Is that it? For me though, the CC subs showed it without a question mark throughout the song.

Now onto the second part of the ask, you're right! I agree!!!

At the 2:10 mark, when Jimin sings 'who is my heart waiting for,' you can see all the dancers—both male and female—walk away, while Jimin moves toward the screen. A board then falls onto his path, like an answer to his question.

On the board, we notice three things. The upper part of a person’s face, the words 'keep going,' and 'Who.'

Throughout the song, Jimin sings about finding a woman but the face on that board is unmistakably, undeniably that of a man. It’s plain, clear, and simple. And Jimin didn’t make it hard for us to figure out who it is either. It’s the eyes that give him away—Jungkook’s most striking feature. Those wide, doe eyes that stand out even in a crowd, even when he’s completely covered sans a sunglass. That’s the giveaway. And Jimin made sure we caught the message when he chose to show those exact eyes on the board, didn’t he?

The 'Who' on the board, placed right next to the face, works like an arrow or a pointer—as if saying, "This is the person in question", just in case it wasn’t already clear.

Now moving on to 'Keep going.' Be honest, who pops into your mind when you hear that? For me, it's always Jimin. Like clockwork, there's this automatic voice in my head every time I hear those words. It goes like this:

That was his response to this question:

So, the 'keep going' in the board represents Jimin. And it's like he's saying "This is the one my heart was looking for. Its him".

By quoting this exact phrase, a phrase he wants to tell his debut self maybe he's also implying that that's when it all started. From the time he met Jungkook. We all know he had a very soft and affectionate side towards Jungkook.

The song goes on, and as 'rewind' appears on the screen, he sings, "Who is my heart waiting for?" Is he asking us to rewind to find the answer to his question? Because when the footage plays back, the person on the board becomes the quiet answer to his question—revealed through the rewind.

And now to talk about LP. From a music point of view LP is the short form for Long Play. It refers to a full length album as opposed to EP (Extended Play) which is shorter.

Now let's infuse "Who is my heart waiting for" in the context of an LP.

"Who is my heart waiting for"? in a Long Play/LP Setting can suggest:

1) His heart is on a long emotional journey, not just a quick fling or fleeting feeling.

2) Love, for him, is something slow-building, meaningful, and lasting like an LP that unfolds track by track.

So this line becomes more than a question. It's a longing woven into a life-sized love story, with patience, depth, and emotional build-up, just like an LP.

The backward running timer probably has the same meaning as rewind.

I hope I have touched all the points mentioned in your ask.

While I’m at it, I want to touch on something else. I’ve got a few asks about whether the sexy choreo in the MV symbolizes Jimin’s experiences with women, specifically, in a sexual sense.

This is my own opinion based on his own words and what I’ve come to understand over time.

I truly believe Jimin’s first serious relationship has been with Jungkook. He moved to Seoul in May 2012 at just 16. He only had six months to train before debut. His focus back then was razor-sharp—his only goal was to chase his dream, debut, and build a career.

We’ve seen how intense he gets when he sets his mind to something—just look at how he poured himself into his solo album. Remember when Jimin said in an interview that he was so determined to succeed, even if it was not with BTS? He was referring to his trainee days because he was always on the edge of getting eliminated.

Dating, whether casual or serious, just didn’t seem to be part of his world back then. And with the way he was sacrificing sleep (he said he only slept for 2.5 hours), going on dates probably wasn’t even a possibility.

I remember him once saying that in high school, he had a crush on a girl and that he wanted to talk to her but he got so nervous he started sweating and couldn’t get a single word out. This is also something he said:

He said this in 2014. This is not something a guy would say if he's had lots of dating/sexual experience.

Also, Namjoon and Hoseok named Jimin as the member who was the most innocent when it came to dating. This was in a radio interview from 2014.

He himself said that the macho guy image he had in front of the cam was because of the role assigned to him.

Even after he debuted I don't think he had the time to go out and meet new people even if he wanted to. Jimin and Jungkook themselves have said how both of them used to lay a blanket outside and sleep there while other members slept in their own beds. This is because they wanted to get up early for practice. Their schedules were very hectic like that and on top of that they both are perfectionists who set high goals and expectations for themselves.

Also, probably by this time he started catching feelings for Jungkook.

Jimin has said that he's attracted to cute and weird charms and here is a very short compilation of Jimin saying that Jungkook is cute:

And when asked to select a member to date he picked Jungkook:

He’s also said he wants to love one person and spend forever with them. I think people with that mindset tend to wait patiently for the right one, rather than jumping from person to person without really caring if it’s something lasting.

Hope you had a lovely Sunday! I’m writing this on a rainy Wednesday. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. And a heartfelt thanks for your kind words.

Credits to the owner of the video

#jikook #kookmin #jungkook #jimin #ask

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linearao3 · 6 months ago

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I don’t have a new Publish or Perish chapter and probably won’t any time super soon because I am very tired and also I hate that I am being accidentally Relevant due to H-1B Discourse. So please accept this tiny little interstitial — probably the only Kaz POV I will provide for this fic. You could say there are spoilers but I think it’s more like foreshadowing? This might not even be canonical to the fic. Who can say. But please enjoy.

—

He reaches for the phone out of habit, because that’s what he does now at night, look and see if Inej has texted him. And yes, she did just leave, but you never know.

She hasn’t texted. She just left; of course she hasn’t.

He thinks vaguely that he might have read somewhere that you should ask people to text you when they get home safely. He can’t remember if this was etiquette advice, or a devious way of making sure they kept thinking about you.

He’d had some notion, in his head, that after he kissed her, she might turn in the doorway and close her hand around his jaw, pull him down to kiss her. She is so warm, and her mouth is warmer, and he imagines — imagines too much, with too much of his time and too much presumption that he’ll ever find out — that it’s even warmer than that in her cunt.

He’s jealous of the stupid toy. He’s so smug that she likes it.

He types

Sex is so strange. I had all these notions of what I wanted to do, and I didn’t do any of them, and what I did do feels like the only good thing that has ever happened to anyone ever. That’s how I felt when you came to my office, too.

He never texts her first. He likes knowing she chose to start it, that she wants it. That she’s lying in bed thinking about him. He keeps typing.

The thing is that my brother died. And that’s the only thing that ever happened to me, really.

He’s forty — okay, no, he’s not forty, but he feels like he ought to be forty — and he’s tried to have sex exactly twice before now, once with Jesper and once with Imogen and they were both so disastrous he tries not to think about it. But he’s forty or thirty or whatever and he’s coming to the end of his debt and he will take care of Rollins soon, soon, pull out the brick of Marya Van Eck and everything will crumble. And then he’ll just be — a professor, he supposes. A professor with a good salary who could get stupid nice small things and could have friends over for dinner and could have a girlfriend. Because why shouldn’t he? Except that there’s a gaping savage maw where his heart ought to be.

I do still want to fuck you. I bought some condoms. I imagined you putting one on me, like a horny sex ed class with Dr. Ghafa, and I’d be so hard in your hand.

He jerked off before she came, with the idea that he might last longer when she was actually there, and he doesn’t know if he can physically manage three in a night but his body seems interested in trying it.

He was never really a teenager, he thinks— he woke up in the hospital whatever thing he is now, which wasn’t a child and has maybe never been an adult — so maybe now he’s doing adolescence as a crash course, an intensive study in constant graceless horniness and short-sighted stupidity.

You’re never going to forgive me. I want you to. You shouldn’t. It’s just that I’m selfish. If you asked me I’ll say that it’s because I promised you but it’s really because I just want to be able to see you sometimes. I want to be able to give you things. I’m not going to send this. I just got so used to telling you things. You are so beautiful and I want you so much and I am so tired. I’m going to sleep. Sleep well, Inej. Come and talk to me.

He force-quits the chat application, drops the phone, and falls asleep. He dreams Inej smiles, bright and vicious and righteous, and tells him he did everything just right.

#publish or perish #kanej fic

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thirdwheelravi · 4 months ago

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hi sibyl! a friend of mine sent me your post earlier and if you don’t mind — i kind of want to pick your brain about one particular thing bc it’s a perspective that i hadn’t considered.

i swear i do Not mean this from a buck woobie pov, but personally i didn’t read that last scene as buck understanding how much he matters to eddie, i read it as him understanding that their relationship (understandably) isn’t the priority right now, and realizing that he wants to do everything he can to help him get back to chris even if it means accepting that eddie needs to leave and that things will change between them from now on. sort of an ‘i love you, so i’m letting you go’ kind of thing a la s7 eddie, except he doesn’t think eddie is coming back and he feels like he needs to make peace with that. so i’m curious — what made you interpret buck’s sense of security differently?

tbh if this was seasons 5-6 i think i definitely would’ve seen it same way as you, bc i was under the impression that the will scene really did make buck realize how important he is to the diazes, but the writing for them has been a little different since tim came back and my opinion has changed a bit.

(if i read your post wrong, please let me know! i’m not discoursing at all here — i’m just interested in your perspective bc i enjoy reading your takes!)

— rae wellcollapse :)

i think I largely agree that the scene is mostly about Buck setting aside his abandonment issues and realizing what really matters to him is Eddie & Chris's happiness (even if that means they are Away from him).

I guess my perspective is that Buck, when he's actually thinking rationally, doesn't need to realize or understand that he matters to Eddie at this point. While I'm sure it would be welcome, he doesn't need Eddie's reassurance. They've been BEST friends for seven years and Eddie has told/shown him through words and actions and just being there for Buck numerous times. I guess I just struggle with the idea that after all this time Buck doesn't know or understand that he's important to Eddie when we haven't REALLY seen evidence of that--we've only seen evidence of his existing abandonment issues getting triggered and then Buck ultimately getting over that. We've also seen evidence that Buck considers Eddie a safe place (s6 and s8a), considers himself not a guest in his house (s3 and s8a again), knows that he's the FIRST PERSON Eddie calls in times of crisis (s5 and s7), knows that he's the person Eddie would want to raise Chris in the event of his death, knows that Eddie opens up to him and relies on him and goes along with his schemes and consistently reassures him and generally treats him like someone that matters to him very much.

I don't think that, at this point, Buck has a fundamental insecurity about their relationship as it stands. And while I guess this is just me reading into the situation a little, I feel like when he hears Eddie say "everything that matters is in Texas" while his triggered self takes that to mean I don't matter to him, the rational Buck already knows that Eddie doesn't really mean it given the seven years of their relationship that disproves it. And what was really impressive to me from a character growth standpoint was to see Buck recognize that he was simply feeling triggered and did not ACTUALLY believe that he doesn't matter to Eddie.

That said!!! I DO think that it's a separate question of whether Buck knows/believes that he means as much to Eddie as Eddie means him. And that's really the question that remains in part because Buck still needs to grapple with what Eddie means to him! So it's not a question that can even be asked until Buck actually understands the true depth of his feelings for Eddie (and, you know, if we're right, that those feelings are fundamentally NOT platonic). And at that point, yeah, I do think it's possible that he comes to the conclusion that no, he DOESN'T mean as much to Eddie as Eddie means to him. Which is the exact tension that needs to be laid on their relationship for the payoff of Eddie finally telling him that OF COURSE Buck means as much to him as Eddie means to Buck. and then they kiss or whatever!!!

And, you know, possibly I am wrong and Buck DOES still need that reassurance from Eddie...which I sense he will get in their actual goodbye scene. I hope that makes sense and genuinely thank you for the ask!!!! You know I deeply value your perspective and opinions 🫡

#sibyl answers #wellcollapse

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fameandfiction · 2 days ago

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IMAGINE PART I: “Tweeted From the Lap of the Woman I Fear” — Reneé Rapp x Reader

— Everyone Ships It Except Them (Allegedly).

You weren’t trying to start discourse.

You weren’t trying to come out.

You were literally just sitting in Reneé Rapp’s lap, trying to find the charger under the couch without dislocating a rib, when your thumb slipped, and you sent the tweet.

[@/you] PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

No context. No thread. Just… vibes.

And it would’ve been fine.

A normal tweet. Maybe even brave. Maybe people would think you were finally stepping into your truth—after years of dodgeballing the question with ironic astrology memes and chaotic fanfiction—and they’d clap, send flags, drop the gay-flag-heart emojis like it was digital confetti.

Except.

You weren’t done.

You just typed too fast.

[@/you, reply] SORRY I TYPED TOO FAST I MEANT PROTECT ME FROM GAY MARRIAGE 🚫🏳️‍🌈

Silence.

Then: the internet explodes.

You don’t even notice the chaos at first because Reneé is literally under you, laughing so hard she chokes on the cinnamon popcorn she just tried to sneak from your bowl.

“There’s something so psychotic about tweeting that while sitting in my lap,” she wheezes.

“I was unwell,” you mutter, scrolling with your other hand. “And also, your thighs are not structurally made for tweeting.”

“Excuse me—”

“You jiggle. My accuracy was compromised.”

Reneé tries to toss a kernel at your head but misses and hits her own knee. You ignore her.

Instead, you glance at the tweet again and that��s when you see it.

Over 1,500 likes in under ten minutes. Quote tweets rolling in like a tide of unhinged sapphics and confused allies.

“The bisexual urge to fear both commitment and women.” “no bc what does she MEAN by this 😭” “why is she literally sitting in Reneé’s lap in the tagged pic while tweeting this 😭😭😭” “girl WHAT” “this is what compulsory heterosexuality looks like y’all” “someone check on Reneé.”

You lower the phone slowly.

“I fear I may have tweeted a little too strongly.”

Reneé snorts. “You sound like a southern grandmother.”

“I have scandalized the timeline. They think I’m either a raging internalized homophobe or someone who wants a gay wedding with you but not too soon.”

“They’re not wrong.”

You side-eye her. “Which part.”

She shrugs. Grins like a gremlin.

“The wedding. I’d let you fake-cancel on me three times before we get married in a lesbian Home Depot.”

“That is oddly specific.”

“I’ve thought about it.”

You blink. Her hand is still on your hip.

You shift slightly on her lap, definitely not because your heart did something stupid and fluttery. Definitely not.

“I’m not gay,” you say flatly.

“You’re literally wearing my shirt.”

“This is just laundry efficiency.”

“You’re straddling me.”

“Because the remote is right there and I didn’t feel like moving around you.”

“And you tweeted about gay marriage while seated on me like a throne.”

“…It’s called nuance, Rapp.”

Your phone dings again.

Another quote tweet.

“not her sitting in Reneé Rapp’s lap typing ‘protect me from gay marriage’ like she hasn’t already emotionally married that woman four times and divorced her six”

You show it to Reneé.

She howls.

“No because that’s SO true,” she gasps, tears in her eyes. “You literally filed emotional divorce papers after I didn’t watch your favorite movie on your birthday.”

“Because it was Jennifer’s Body and you aggressively said Megan Fox was mid—”

“I was trolling! I love hot women!”

“So love me properly, coward!”

You’re yelling now. Over popcorn. From her lap. Your legs are tangled with hers. Your phone’s somewhere in the cushions, buzzing like a broken bee.

The timeline is full-on spiral mode now.

People are making memes. Screenshots. Threads dissecting your dynamic like it's queer theory in real time.

One of them posts a screenshot of your tweet with the caption:

“can’t decide if she’s closeted or just mentally unwell in a gay little way”

And honestly?

You retweet it.

Because yes.

It’s not like you’ve ever said the words. Not to your family. Not to the public. Not even to Reneé. You just kind of... existed. Drifted into her life like a post-credit scene. Fell into routines, jokes, glances that lingered. You don’t know when she became a constant. You just know she is.

You don’t need to define it.

Not when you’re like this.

On her lap, in her hoodie, screaming at your own tweet while she wipes popcorn grease from your cheek.

She leans in eventually.

When you’ve both stopped laughing.

When the room has settled.

When the sun’s nearly gone and your phone’s face-down.

“You scared of gay marriage?” she asks softly.

You smirk. “Only if it’s not you.”

Her mouth twitches. “So you admit it?”

“I admit nothing.”

She nods. “Okay.”

Then:

“But you do realize that typing ‘protect me from gay marriage’ while my hands were literally on your waist is kind of the funniest way to not come out.”

“You say that like I’m hiding something.”

“I say that like I know something.”

You look down at her. She looks up at you.

She doesn’t kiss you.

But her hand does slide up your thigh, warm and steady.

And you don’t stop her.

#fanfic #fanfiction #imagine #imagines #x reader #Reneé Rapp #Renee Rapp #Reneé Rapp x reader #Renee Rapp x reader #RPF #Real People #Real Person Fiction #Real Person Fanfic

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