#we should not have to conform to what they want us to be and that includes accepting contradictory or outdated terms

[circusclownproductions]

not to #girlblog but shoutout girls who grew up like this on purpose and thru it all didnt really change

[great-and-small]

Speaking of breed standards, would you be able to give me some context on what the heck is up with the German Shepherd "stack"? I see a lot of GSD owners saying it's breed standard and therefore fine, but the slant looks so extreme in some dogs that I have some skepticism about it (and also because, of course, breed standards have nothing to do with animal health).

This is a pretty hot button issue and you’re right that there is a ton of bickering back and forth about it online. I’m happy to share my thoughts, but keep in mind that as a veterinarian I am biased towards function over form. I care way more about if a dog can do the things it wants/needs to do than how it looks. I won’t get into it here but I actually have real qualms with the distinction between “working line” and “show line” in some breeds.

My quick takeaway opinion- There are several orthopedic issues in the German Shepherd dog (specifically show lines) that have likely been exacerbated if not entirely caused by breeders striving for the classic “sloped back” look that is considered breed standard.

Now that being said, it is a fact that the three point stack (how a dog is positioned when standing) greatly exaggerates the angulation of the back and hind legs. You will often see comparison images like this one that show a dog in stack versus standing square and you can clearly see the top line looks more sloped when the dog is stacked. This image is from a GSD subreddit, a pretty dog here nicely demonstrating how the stance can change the appearance of the top line.

This phenomenon is what certain hardline GSD breed standard loyalists will point to when discussing this issue. They posit that the sloped back is essentially an optical illusion caused by aesthetic posing, and therefore a German Shepherd is no more prone to orthopedic problems than any other large breed dog. This is where I disagree.

You can easily find stark examples of a poorly put together dog in any breed or mixed breed out there, so when discussing my concerns with the GSD I will only use photos of titled dogs that are accomplished within the show ring. These are not random backyard bred shepherds, but champion dogs from acclaimed lines that will almost certainly be bred to pass on their genes. When breed clubs like the AKC award these dogs as exemplars of the breed, they tacitly endorse the conformation issues I’m about to discuss. So my beef is not with German shepherds or dog breeds in general, but specifically with breed clubs that refuse to examine whether their standard harms animals. An important disclaimer, not every breed club is like this and many take health concerns extremely seriously.

Dogs have a very different limb anatomy and gait to humans and a healthy dog is meant to walk on their paw pads. The “ankle” or hock should be upright and angled as you can see here in this nice-looking champion shepherd from 1902.

German shepherds can sometimes have a problem that is colloquially called “dropped hocks” where that joint is abnormally loose and in more serious cases can even be touching the ground, which is completely abnormal and something I would consider a serious physical flaw. A dog having dropped hocks/tarsal hyperflexion like this is proven to cause medical issues for these dog, but unfortunately the sinking joints also help to give the dog that “classic” sloping look that breed clubs love.

This dog “Ch Kysarah's Pot of Gold” won best of breed at the National dog show in 2015. You can see his hock is literally flat on the ground even when not stacked

And it’s not just one dog. Here is another champion dog (Cruaghaire Catoria), who got some controversy for winning best of breed at Crufts in 2016 despite an extremely abnormal gait.

Perhaps we could excuse the low hocks when the dog is standing as being the result of the stack, but it is glaringly obvious when she moves that this is no trick of her positioning. Her entire tarsus rests on the floor as she runs and in close ups you can even see bald patches there to suggest this is a “normal” gait for her. In this video, the announcers agree that this is the ideal gait for a shepherd. If I saw this gait in a friend’s dog I’d politely express my concerns for long term mobility issues and recommend an orthopedic consultation. To see it win best of breed is galling to say the least.

And lest you think the problem has been solved, here’s another from the National Dog Show in 2023

None of these dogs could charge athletically into a field and effectively herd sheep. If we are prioritizing aesthetic over function to the degree that a dog cannot do what it was bred to do, or more importantly that it cannot do the simple things that dogs love to do, then we have veered unforgivably off course. Not to put too fine a point on it but what the fuck is the point of a breed standard if it impedes the dog’s function in any way? We have no right. German shepherds are an incredible breed of dog that have stood by us humans in some of our darkest moments; I think the breeders and kennel clubs who claim to love them the most should work harder to ensure the “champion” dogs they are producing can live long pain-free lives. If we have to adjust our notion of what the breed is “supposed” to look like then so fucking be it.

This is too long already so I’m not getting into hip dysplasia, DM, carpal laxity, elbow dysplasia or other conditions that exist in the breed. If German shepherd clubs want to distance themselves from the notion that their breed standard is causing problems with canine health then they will need to stop publicly lavishing awards on dogs with medically concerning gait issues and start focusing on breeding dogs that can run around a ring without causing even the most casual of onlookers to realize “something’s not right there”

[beifong-brainrot]

Actually I WILL talk about Mai's seeming 'radicalisation'. With the upcoming comic, I can see why a lot of people are confused/caught offguard by Mai suddenly having a vested interest in reforming the Fire Nation's school curriculum.

However, I don't think it's as much of a heelturn as one would believe at first glance.

Mai is a difficult character to pinpoint on some levels, particularly due to her upbringing which stripped her of a lot of her self expression. I think most of the fandom underestimates the trauma and effect of Mai's upbringing. I elaborate on it here.

However, the long and short of it is that Mai was not encouraged to question, criticise or, god forbid, rebel against her enviornment. To the point where her parents scared her with stories of spirits that would kidnap her if she misbehaved.

Ukano's involvement in politics and relatively high status should also be taken into account. Mai would have grown up being strongly encouraged to conform to her father's beliefs and go along with his politics.

Mai : My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about.

We've seen the propaganda and indoctrination of the Fire Nation school system, how it uses misinformation in its curriculum and how it punishes deviance.

Most fire nation children won't have the tools to find the cruelty and danger in the philosophy of the Fire Nation. Zuko had to get banished from the country to even start his deconstruction. And he had Iroh at his side to guide him.

It's not shocking that Mai would not be able to see the flaws of the Fire Nation. Despite this, she still shows no attachment to the Nation's cause, either. In fact, she actively refused to take part in the war effort when she thought she could get away with it.

I don't think Mai had much sympathy to the other nations, nor will I claim she secretly harboured anti imperialistic sentiment. I simply want to state the fact that Mai was, from a young age, forced to do things she didn't want to do and conditioned by multiple parties, to accept this. Mai has been trained to be passive, with only the method of passive aggressiveness and gloominess to defend herself.

I think after the fall of Ozai's rule and the slow restructuring of the Nation, Mai got more freedom in her life. Ukano's political role diminished, so Mai was allowed to think for herself. She gets to discover the world more and develop her own thoughts and ideals, rather than the ones she'd been forced to conform to.

This line in the upcoming comic seems to confirm my thoughts:

Mai's upbringing is the underground and darkness. She was never given an alternative or agency in her life. And thanks to Zuko, she was able to see and experience a different world than the one she was brought up with. She is able to help to try and achieve it.

Initially, Mai is angry at Zuko's joining of team Avatar. She feels betrayed and upset that he did not talk to her in person, even if it was to protect her. And yet, she saves him. While I believe that most of her motivation was genuinely out of love for Zuko. But she also, ekther inadvertently or deliberately made the choice between Azula and Zuko. Between the two potential duture leaders of the Nation.

And she chose Zuko. Who is not only the boy she loves, but also the boy who can heal her nation.

There is an argument to be made about how Mai represents the Fire Nation itself and its relationship to Zuko, but that is a topic for another day.

The theme of Mai caring for the future of the Fire Nation can be seen expanding in the comics. As 99% of the fandom will tell you, the comics have their flaws, but I do enjoy their handling of Mai for the most part.

I think it's interesting that we are shown that Mai not only wants Zuko to be Fire Lord, but for him to be a good Fire Lord.

We see her dissapointed in Zuko secretly meeting with Ozai. At first glance, what she says to Zuko is that she is dissapointed in him keeping secrets from her, which is understandable, since the last time he kept a secret from her led to him joining the opposite side of a war.

However, with her next appearance, we see that Mai may have had another concern relating to Zuko's communing with Ozai. When Ty Lee informs her of Zuko also enlisting Azula's help, Mai exclaims 'so he really is turning into his father', which seems to denote that Mai has a distaste for Ozai and his rule, whether that be from the begining, or recently acquired.

Mai also criticises Zuko's callous and controlling restrictions over the frightened townspeople. This serves to further cement the idea of Mai becoming disillusioned with the similarly inclined authority figures of her past. Authority figures who were a symptom of the Fire Nation's utilitarian and imperialistic system. We see this disdain manifesting in its full force in the teasers for the upcoming comic.

I think people tend to not realise how restricted in her self expression and thoughts Mai was, despite all the puzzle pieces being laid out for us in the show.

Mai has gone through a very quick and yet realistic episode of character growth in my opinion. Not unlike a lot of people raised in heavily Conservative and restrictive households who peel off later in life, she's settling into her own mindset and motivations.

Ans I don't think it's an unrealistic idea for Mai to want to help change the education system. The Fire Academy for girls is where she met Azula, and as an all girl school alumni, I can tell you first hand how toxic and confining these enviornments can be.

While Mai may not be seen as a particularly empathetic or kind person (though I think this interpretation is flawed), she can sympathise with the young girls who will be placed in the shoes of her younger self.

She can want to not see these kids go through what she, Ty Lee AND Azula did.

[The panels of Mai glancing between the stifling interior of the school and the open window and choosing to go outside and lead the Nation's youth outside... ugh]

Not only is this a rather logical progression for Mai's character, in my opinion, but it also feels like a very big 'healing your inner child' moment for Mai. Since she was not really seemingly allowed to be a child, as most children in the Fire Nation appeared to have such restrictions placed on them.

I don't think it's much of a stretch of the imagination that Mai would want to have at least a small part in dismantling the system that harmed her and so many other children of the nation.

She is a young woman now, she has grown from the oversheltered, apathetic teen she was in the show. She has been able to make her own informed opinions about the state of the nation, has been able to hone her trauma into determination. And it seems we're going to see the fruits of this development in "Ashes of the Academy".

I have very high hopes for the upcoming comic, since what we've seen of it appears to make a compelling story, one I relate to deeply, as well as a good study of Mai, a character I find often misinterpreted by the fandom.

[multi-monstrous]

It’s genuinely fucking nuts, how much of nonbinary discourse is simply picking the bones and meat off the corpse of transmedicalism,

I know it doesn’t SEEM like transmed shit at first, but the one thing nonbinary people constantly talk about is what nonbinary people “want” they make the assumption that there is One True Nonbinary, that has one shared experience of gender the very concept of the Real Nonbinary is a literal phantom, that keeps us stuck in circular arguments and never getting to talk about important shit

OR sounds a little agender imo, I can’t tell cause it looks like they deactivated this might be why they said that “nonbinary isn’t a gender of its own” the way they worded their reblog kinda sounds like they’re projecting their experience of being nonbinary onto other nonbinary people as the True Nonbinary Experience, or even the Majority nonbinary experience

Not to beat a dead horse with a direct quote but-

“nonbinary isn't necessarily a gender identity in and of itself, so 'enban' isn't inherently validating to nonbinary people like it is for men and women. Being called 'person' is actually very validating to me, and and how I want to be referred to, and I think the assumption that all nonbinary people want to and like being called third/other gendered terms is an over generalisation”

Not wanting to be seen as a third gender is really valid, but we gotta get our shit together really, we think about being nonbinary in such a binary way, society tells us there’s only one way to be a man, and one way to be a woman, and for quite a while even binary trans people told us that too,

And so we rejected the idea that being nonbinary is inherently wrong and that we should conform to one gender or the other, but now we’re going around with the idea in our heads that there’s only one Real Way to be nonbinary and it just so happens to be the exact same way that We ourselves are nonbinary by pure coincidence and so so many of conversations we have go nowhere cause we still haven’t gotten past the idea that there is One True Way to be nonbinary, and that We Alone have Discovered It

I think we’re gonna have to revisit the definition of what being nonbinary is in order to actually make progress because so many people are still caught in the wording, somewhere in translation we’ve gotten lost, people have started to assume there’s one enbanhood but there isn’t even one womanhood or one manhood and it’s kinda fucking me up

The idea that enben should settle for being called 'person' when men and women get words that affirm their genders

this is exorsexism.

right? this feeling is so hard to put into words. binary people get so many words that are specifically for their gender and we usually get the one that also includes binary people, if we get one at all.

it's why i love calling myself an enby, a maverique or a maven as a noun, and why i love seeing people come up with terms for specific nonbinary genders or nonbinary people in general. of course people don't have to like or use these terms (there are some maverique terms i don't like/use, and i'm not a big fan of the term enban for myself), but just having the option is nice.

[hiiragi7]

I think that another one of my issues with AGAB language is that it doesn't quite capture the ongoing nature of gender assignment.

My gender assignment flip-flopped a lot growing up. At birth, the doctor decided one thing and my parents decided another. As I grew up, there were a lot of different opinions around what gender I should be and a lot of force used to conform to these ideas. I was assigned and reassigned multiple times.

Only referring to my at-birth gender assignments, for me, misses the bigger picture; I was assigned over and over and over again throughout my entire childhood, and attempts are still made to assign me a gender today. While gender assignment at birth is an event, gender assignment as a whole is a process, many events over a lifetime.

I think that, for others, it's assumed that there's not really a need to point this out or distinguish AGAB from other forms of gender assignment, because their assigned gender at birth was consistent with further gender assignments and expectations pre-transition (ie, most people who were AMAB were "raised as boys" and most people who were AFAB were "raised as girls") and post-transition assignments (including social gender assignments, ie "passing"/"not passing") are generally regarded as good if they align with the person's identified gender (ie, it's not called gender assignment in the same way that AGAB is because the right gender is being assigned this time). Our surgeries are called gender reassignments and yet it feels like we never really want to talk about any gender assignments besides AGAB.

When I say that I am trans, I am not simply disagreeing with a singular event of gender assignment at birth; I am disagreeing with a lifetime of gender assignments that have been forced onto me. So why is it that we place such an unfair level of importance onto AGAB specifically, when this is just one of many gender assignments we experience?

[genderkoolaid]

tbh my opinion isnt so much that trans men cannot have male privilege. its that the way we understand male privilege is based in cis women, specifically otherwise privileged (esp. otherwise-gendered privilege, i.e gender-conforming/straight/perisex) cis women's understanding of gender as something static and inherent to who you are, rather than something fluid which is, in part, constructed by society and placed onto you separately in every moment.

can a trans man experience (cis) male privilege? yes. can a trans woman? yes. and so can a cis woman! hell, a femme perisex cis woman with a gender neutral name could if she's assumed to be a cis man on a resume. male privilege is not an on/off switch. the idea that it is stems from cissexist understandings of male/female as entirely separate and static categories which everyone can and must be understood through. trans people in feminism are expected to constantly defend and deflect accusations of being Privileged Male Oppressors by promising cis perisex women that our experiences are just like theirs! we don't have any scary opinions that don't align with their worldview! we swear we won't ever make them have to reflect on how being cis+perisex has biased them and potentially made their analysis of gender at all inaccurate! trans experiences are only considered valuable to cisfeminism to the extent that they reaffirm what cisfeminists already hold true. thats why they only ever want to talk about a very simplistic narrative around wages pre/post-transition. its extremely unthreatening to cis people because it presents transness in patriarchy as just going from one cis role to another; it doesn't ask cis feminists to expand their paradigm to include the ways in which trans people are treated as a class and their own complicity in transphobic oppression.

which is why trans men have been getting fucked over by trans-affirmng cisfeminism. because by virtue of having our gender acknowledged, we are expected to forfeit our place in the feminist movement and adopt the role of outsider along cis men*. and its also why trans women and MTX people get fucked over the minute they cannot or refuse to describe their experiences through the one or two approved narratives. cisfeminism cannot tolerate transness-as-transness. it has to be compressed and reduced and diluted into something that fits within a cis-centric framework. we aren't allowed to have nuanced and intersectional conversations about trans men & other trans folks relationship with male privilege, the things we have to sacrifice to there, how fleeting it can be, the fact that for some of us being read as "biologically male" is actively more dangerous than being read as female... if it isn't familiar to cis women, then it means you aren't really oppressed.

*cis men should not be outsiders in feminism either btw but thats another post

[creature-wizard]

How the "divine feminine" and the "divine masculine" perpetuate patriarchy - and what we can do about it

One thing the occult is very good at is coming up with systems to categorize and conceptualize things. These can be incredibly useful to us in various ways. But we also have to remember that these systems we come up with are mere constructs, and the actual world itself probably doesn't conform to them as we might like. As the saying goes, all maps are wrong. But as the saying also goes, some maps are useful, and some are more useful than others.

One thing that often comes up in esoteric and occult systems are various forms of binaries or polarities. This often makes sense; for example, without light, you have dark. Without heat, you have cold. One party gives, the other takes. Creatures are born, and eventually they die.

But we can run into problems when we start trying to lump all apparent forms of polarities and dualities together. Here's an example: Life/Death, Masculine/Feminine. In doing this, we create an association that might lead us toward some terrible ways of thinking about real people. If we associate masculinity with death, we can find ourselves thinking that waging war and inventing weapons of death is just what men and masc people do, but women can always be counted on to be diplomats and peacekeepers. Or if we associate femininity with death, we might find ourselves more inclined to think that women and femmes have a natural desire to commit infanticide and tear apart societies, and they must be carefully watched and their freedoms limited so they don't upend civilization and endanger the human race.

These are of course extreme examples, but they are real ways that some people think. And you might think to yourself, "well, I don't polarize genders this way, I think people should try to be a healthy balance of masculine and feminine." And if this is you, I want you to ask yourself why you're so attached to categorizing traits as "masculine" and "feminine" at all.

If you're like most people, you probably just came across this in some form of occult or spiritual literature and just adopted it without really asking yourself too many questions about it. When we see something framed as ancient or higher wisdom, it's pretty easy to take it fairly uncritically, especially if it aligns with our unconscious biases in some way. It often doesn't cross our minds to ask where these terms really come from, and what they signified in their original contexts.

You may have heard that male/female stuff has roots in alchemy, which is true. But the thing with alchemy is that it was using familiar terms and concepts to describe chemical processes and reactions. Think of it a little bit like how we use terms like "male plugs" and "female plugs." While old-time alchemy did have a spiritual component to it, it was more about believing that you had to be spiritually pure to make your desired alchemical reactions happen. When alchemy gave way to chemistry, and people began to realize that your spiritual condition had nothing to do with your ability to make things happen in the lab, certain people began to seek more mystical meanings in the works of alchemists, and this idea of masculinity and femininity as transcendent mystical forces unto themselves really started to emerge. It was an incredibly easy concept to project on all kinds of mythologies, because a lot of myths have male and female figures interacting in various ways.

Now the thing is, having myths with male and female figures doesn't mean seeing masculinity and femininity as discrete forces or powers unto themselves. It can mean that they simply personified various figures as male or female depending on what their own experiences and cultural biases suggested to them. For example, straight men tend to think of love and lust as something they experience when they see a beautiful woman. In a patriarchal society, where men are calling most of the shots in conceptualizing the divine, a love deity is thus likely to be personified as a beautiful woman. Straight men can also see beautiful women as a source of discord and strife, so it makes sense that love goddesses would have war aspects to them.

A society where men are sent to war while wives are left behind to raise the children and tend the farm is going to produce an association with men and violence, while the act of nurturing will be associated with women. Men who deny higher education to women are going to produce a society where intellectual pursuits and higher abstract reasoning are associated with masculinity, and intuition and practical knowledge are associated with women. A society where men are seen as bringers of social order and upholders of civilization while women are viewed more like forces of nature than rational actors will associate men with civilization and women with natural, wild spaces.

In continuing to associate these characteristics with the "divine feminine" and the "divine masculine," we preserve and perpetuate the implicit biases created by these patriarchal societies. And while there is absolutely value in saying, "hey, these 'feminine' things are actually valuable and worth respect actually," framing them as intrinsically feminine in any sense - physically, psychologically, or metaphysically - will undermine any effort to dismantle patriarchy and bring true equality.

So what can you do? I would suggest being more specific.

Do you mean passive/active? Then just say it.

Do you mean giver/receiver? Then just say it.

Do you mean harmonizing/disrupting? Then just say it.

Whatever you have filed under boxes labeled "masculine" and "feminine," you can simply take them out of those boxes and find better categories for them.

[gor3sigil]

I’m Trans and Insane and I’m doing fine.

[TW Psychosis, transphobia, psychophobia, medication, psych ward]

“Are you sure ?” she asked.

I remember looking back at her in disbelief, because that was certainly a question I never asked her when she came out.

“Why do you ask ?” I say.

“Dude, I’ve seen you go into depersonalization so hard you even thought you were a human soul in a robot vessel and now, you want me to trust you when you say that you, too, are trans ?”

That’s the memory that comes back to me as I fold and put in my bag my psychiatrist’s note attesting that I suffer from gender dysphoria, NOT LINKED to any psychotic symptoms. Here it goes in my folder with my prescription note, an increase - again - of my anti depressants and Xan, and my endocrinologist’s HRT prescription, increased too - finally.

I go to two separate pharmacies to pick up each prescription for two reasons:

There is only one in this godforsaken town that always had testosterone in stock.

I can’t explain to you with words the look you can get when you give back to back, to someone who, despite not being a doctor, works in healthcare, a note for trans HRT and then a note for psychiatric meds.

And I’m lucky, because I’m not taking antipsychotics anymore. Contrarily to what you could think, it doesn’t magically makes the voices and the shadowy people disappear, but it can make a mess of your head pretty bad and my doctor and I both agreed that I didn’t need more damage up here than what I already had. And no, it doesn’t make your delusions vanish magically too: in fact, I was still pretty certain that I was talking to my soul family out here in Argentine telepathically about my mission on Earth, the meds just made it more difficult to understand their voices, but the belief was still solid.

Anyways, I’m back home with the Hoy Grail I fought tooth and nails to get: a letter from the Sacred Council of Mental Sanity also known as Psychiatry that I was, indeed, a bit delulu, but also trans, and that both things didn’t play into each other. My transness wasn’t a delusion, my delusions didn’t have anything to do with being trans.

Or did it ?

Chicken or egg, you know the drill. Did I have my selves fractured before and one of the piece that shattered my brain happened to make me trans or was I just trans with a shitload of traumas in the back that made me insane ?

But don’t worry, at least, trans people when we’re together, we have each other’s back ! Right ?

“Transidentity ISN’T a mental illness !! We don’t DESERVE to be FORCIBLY LOCKED UP and MEDICATED and MADE TO CONFORM FOR OTHER’S SENSE OF SECURITY !!”

Neither do I, RIGHT ?

Oh

Or do I ?

Remember what she said, my girlfriend, right at the beginning ?

How I can’t be trusted about myself when sometimes I don’t even have a sense of self anymore or I have too much selves who fight against each other ?

And what do we say to that ?

Get treatment. Get in-patient. Take medication. And for the love of God, shut the fuck up about it, you’re giving us a bad name.

Because being trans and crazy can’t exist. It’s absurd. You have to fix one of these two things. Choose which jacket I’ll wear, and they call it a straitjacket for a reason it seems, so am I queer or am I insane ?

All I know today is there isn’t a universe in which I’m a trans without any mental illnesses, or mentally ill without being trans. And yet, I can’t tell you how many time I got asked “do you think you’d be trans if you never got through [x trauma] ?”. I. Don’t. Know. I’ll never know. And I deserve just as much agency as you get despite being mentally ill. If you don’t believe in that, don’t come yapping about “liberation for all of us”, but “if one of us is crazy they’ll all think I am too and that can’t happen”.

No LGBTQIAA+ person deserves to be told they need to be put away, to be cured, to be allowed out in the open only if they’re deemed “acceptable” by society’s standards. And no mentally ill people deserve to either.

No trans person should be going through years of counseling to have the access to HRT.

And I shouldn’t have had to threaten my own mother’s life to avoid being locked in an adult psych ward at 14.

If you ever think, for one second, that these two things have nothing to do with one another, you are far removed from history.

To hear queer people say “yeah but some mentally ill people are dangerous !” feels like you don’t even know where you come from.

And if I want to say, that me being trans is linked to me being mentally ill, or at least, that both are connected in a way, all hell breaks fucking loose.

So I’ll explain very carefully.

See, when I was young, my mind got shattered into a thousand of pieces I had to try to glue back on. All these pieces of myself broke further more down the line because I couldn’t catch a fucking break. And now, it happens that the final puzzle does not have the same face it had before. It happens that its shape changed over time, for reasons over the control of all of us who tried to build ourselves back. Now there’s a bigger picture, less pieces, a few other shadows, and me. Built from the shatters. With my own needs and afflictions.

And whoever you are, whatever your agenda might be, I will not let anyone take any agency away from me under the false pretext that I can’t know anything for myself. They say that about children, they say that about minorities, about physically disabled people, about the people they want OUT. And my trans siblings, you know that.

I came out for the first time 7 years ago, to my then girlfriend, who was the one asking the question that is the first sentence of this text. I came out a second time 3 years ago. Been on HRT, had top surgery, had psychotic breaks, got my meds changed, switch therapist.

Because I am trans and crazy. And yet, all these choices I made, I made myself. It didn’t have to be that hard to get the basic care I needed. It didn’t need to be. But it WAS. And I’m part of the lucky crowd of people who had access to out-patient treatment, who never have been locked up in ward, who managed to stay alive through meds withdrawals without medical assistance when I had no therapist.

Be very careful of when you start to put conditions on the rights you think you deserve. Be very, very careful about your definition of sanity and of how it warps the way you see people. When you start to say “I have access to that, but there’s people like X or Y who shouldn’t BECAUSE”, pause and ask yourself what led you to think this way. More often than not, you’ll find yourself playing the same mind games as the ones you swore to fight against, and when it gives them the upper hand, they won’t hesitate to come for you after that.

[koalatysleep]

The Residence: Self-Acceptance & Embracing Different Ways of Being ❤️

Contain Mild Spoilers that doesn't reveal the murderer! 🤣

One of my favourite scenes in The Residence is the birding trip that Cordelia takes her nephew on, where she tells her nephew that every birder makes sense of what they experience differently:

Just like everyone makes sense of Life differently and there's no single "universally correct" way to Be, even if others, including those you love, don't understand your Way of Being and label you "unhealthy, single-minded, obsessive, difficult, stubborn, uncompromising", just because your way is unusual or frustrating for them:

Even though the natural differences in our Ways of Being can cause friction, as well as hurt & frustrate us in turn when others label us negatively, it doesn't necessarily mean that we need to change our Ways of Being just to fit into the "norm", because our so-called "flaws" (which are really just differences in Being) can be a great help to others when applied to the right Context.

Which we saw when Cordelia used her unique gifts to find her sister Aimee's missing strawberry sock that their late brother had gifted to Aimee, so Aimee can feel better after their brother's recent passing (this was why Aimee was so upset by the missing sock, coz it felt like she was losing a piece of her brother who they'd already lost).

Just like finding the missing sock was what Cordelia could do for Aimee, accepting ourselves and each other to embrace our unique gifts is what we can all do for each other, so we all have the space to be our authentic selves while connecting with and helping each other despite our differences, and oftentimes because of our differences.

When we can do that, when we can embrace the Diversity in our Different Ways of Being, we may find that what are commonly considered "flaws", "weaknesses", or "undesirable, inconvenient traits" can turn out to be our greatest collective strengths 🥹❤️

I find this message of Self-Acceptance and Embracing Diversity in Ways of Being a very very moving message in a world that tends to label neurodivergent and non-conformist people negatively by default 🥹❤️

Not to mention, even while Cordelia's her unapologetic self throughout the case, she tempers her Nature where she needs to, such as when she drops her investigation immediately when Chief Dokes, the one person who's been in Cordelia's corner with unwavering trust & support throughout the case and her career, needs protecting from the fallout to his job.

Which shows us once again that Cordelia was never the "difficult, uncompromising, stubborn" labels that people different from her slapped on her, and she didn't let those labels stop her from being her True Self to help others 🥹❤️

Coz let's not forget Cordelia's great Heart, which is evident when she solved her first case of the missing strawberry sock, not coz she's "difficult or uncompromising", but coz she loves her sister & doesn't want Aimee to be sad 🥹

Ironically, it's probably the rest of the world that's more "uncompromising" than Cordelia when it comes to accommodating Different Ways of Being, coz unlike "normal" people who tend to want others to conform to their "normalcy" as alluded to by Cordelia's phone conversation with adult Aimee who reminded Cordelia her son's not like Cordelia, to which Cordelia replies she knows that and she isn't trying to turn her nephew into her, she just wants to make sure he's a little less like Aimee and more like himself (which tells us Aimee's parenting is probably quite prescriptive), we see Cordelia giving her nephew freedom to be himself while she tries to find the bird he wants to see, and she even tells him "you can do it how you want" when he asks what he should write in his own birding book 🥹❤️

It's precisely because Cordelia wasn't accepted by general society for her differences that she innately understands "everyone does it differently", even supposedly "normal" folks, and it's more important for us to accommodate Different Ways of Being rather than to enforce some universal false standard of "normal" on others.

Coz just like it was never about "us versus them" in AB Wynter's mind or in Cordelia's, in Life it's not about "us versus them" either.

It really is just Us.

That is why I L❤️‍🔥VE Cordelia Cupp and this show 🥹❤️

[ixenarcaniss]

Some thoughts because I finished rewatching Steven Universe. I don’t really think this is a new original idea, but I’ve never seen anyone talk about it before so I thought it might be worth sharing.

By this point it’s pretty commonly known that the show offers no one conclusive way we should feel about Rose Quartz. She was a complex, flawed person who did good things and bad things over the course of her life. You can love her or hate her or be completely neutral on her and it isn’t per se wrong. Personally, I still really admire Rose for her continued effort to be better, despite her mistakes, and despite her upbringing as a Diamond.

That said, her upbringing as the littlest, and most immature Diamond meant that she began her life as an entitled, petulant child. We don’t really know anything about the Diamonds’ origins, so we don’t know their relative ages, or if they came into the world pre-programmed with an identity and purpose like other gems, so it’s hard to say whether Pink Diamond was supposed to be the way she was or not. All we know is that she was functionally the child of the family. And as the child, the other Diamonds loved her, found her at times endearing and entertaining, but also they were annoyed by her, and punished her for her spontaneity and disruptive behavior.

For other gems, undermining the Diamonds’ image of flawless authority, or getting in the way of their violent intergalactic conquest would result in proper, dictatorial punishments—being separated from loved ones, being forcefully reconditioned and repatriated, or being killed outright (or shattered in this case), among other penalties unspecified to us as the show’s audience. But for Pink, she was a Diamond. She was family. It would be a bad look for the Diamonds to disappear one of their own, or revert Pink to factory settings using a rejuvenator. And of course, they did care for her. No matter what she did, punishment would have to fall short of the unthinkable act of breaking her.

So, the Diamonds handled Pink in other ways. When she made a scene, she could be locked away in an empty tower—a very cruel, high profile form of being grounded. And when she was simply in the way, she could be placated with distractions. A Pearl—literally made to serve as her personal attendant and entertainer—isn’t enough to hold her attention? How about a gem literally made to be her best friend. Spinel. A similarly childish and cartoonish little playmate to keep her busy playing games and having a laugh so the other Diamonds can rule and forever grow their empire without their annoying kid sister to bother them.

And so, at the same time, Pink Diamond was both cruelly punished for her immature behavior, and encouraged to indulge in it. To spend her time goofing off in the garden so long as she was out of the way. A confusing upbringing to say the least. But this is exactly why Pink would eventually become the first gem to meaningfully resist the Diamond authority, to resist the idea that gems must serve and conform to their intended purpose, and to resist the idea that life is worthless or lesser without that kind of purpose. Pink’s environment drove her to change. She was the only gem that the Diamonds actively wanted to change, and the only gem that they would be unwilling to break for daring to try.

Pink was still very childish and immature when she began begging for her own colony, to the point of throwing tantrums when the other Diamonds naturally refused. To the point of carelessly breaking one of her toys—that is to say, her Pearl. That may have been a bit of a wake up call for her, or at least reason to be a bit more self-aware, and careful with her thoughts and feelings. Her replacement Pearl—the Pearl we know as the rebel Crystal Gem—never knew Pink Diamond to throw tantrums or break her things. Instead, this was the Pink Diamond who could convince the Diamonds that she could handle a colony.

This version of Pink still played with Spinel, but seemingly tried to hide her more childish nature from the other Diamonds, and, based on a scene from Steven Universe: The Movie, may have been a bit embarrassed by Spinel. As Pink was trying to be more mature and take on more responsibility, her friend who was made to forever indulge her childish nature may have become an annoyance, or even a mirror reflecting everything that Pink was ashamed of being, and trying to grow out of.

Evidently, Pink’s mission to grow into a Diamond worthy to rule her own colony was successful, and she was tasked with overseeing the colonization of Earth. Soon after, Pink’s new Pearl, eager to please her sad, bored, and lonely Diamond, indulged Pink’s desire to see her planet with her own eyes, inadvertently encouraging her to take the shape of a Quartz to safely do so without getting in trouble. As the two toured the planet together, Pink began to realize the beauty of the natural life on Earth, which her colony would inevitably destroy. She began to realize a love of the Earth, and her freedom to roam its surface as Rose Quartz.

The protection of the Earth and its life became a new, self-chosen purpose for Pink. And as hard as she tried to convince the other Diamonds that her colony couldn’t and shouldn’t be completed, they still only saw her as childish, disruptive little Pink, making a scene. Of course she couldn’t handle her colony. Of course she was getting hung up on every little problem. Nothing to be done but placate her so she can at least finish what she started. 

Struggling to be heard, but determined in her cause, Pink used her new identity as Rose Quartz to publicly resist the colony’s development. If the Diamonds wouldn’t take her seriously as a fellow Diamond matriarch, they’d have to confront her as an actually punishable rebel threat. As she fought for Earth, she’d spend time as a “lesser” gem amongst other “lesser” gems, gaining new perspective on their lives and feelings. After meeting the fusion of two different gems, a common Ruby and a rare Sapphire, she would come to fight not just for the Earth, but for gems. For their freedom, for their right to self-determination, self-expression, and solidarity, even if their bodies or choices are considered “wrong.”

It’s unclear whether Pink Diamond abandoned Spinel in the garden before or after she made the choice to stage her own shattering and live as Rose Quartz. It could have happened at any point between Pink being granted a colony and Pink going through with her plan to appear shattered, so we don’t know how much she’d yet matured at the time. Maybe she’d left Spinel with the intent to come back and brag about her new colony, only to forget about her as she focused on her rebellion. Maybe she grew tired of Spinel who couldn’t understand Pink’s rebellion or take it seriously. Maybe she cared about and remembered Spinel, but only thought to go back for her once “Pink Diamond” was gone, making it impossible to do safely.

Whether or not she cared for Spinel back then, and whether or not she realistically had the chance to go back for her, Pink loved all life, and was inspired by others to grow and change. She sought to leave her old life behind and never look back, but it’s doubtful that she would not have some remorse for her treatment of Spinel in hindsight. She never would have wanted Spinel to suffer the way she did. She can’t have expected that the garden would be untouched and unchanged for around 6,000 years in her absence, and after becoming Rose Quartz full time, all she could have hoped for is that Spinel would have moved on without her in some way. And after the Diamonds launched their final attack on Earth, all Rose could do was protect those closest to her, and continue to protect her now permanent home of Earth.

Rose was no saint or beacon of maturity even after that point either. She lied about her true identity, likely to run from her past and protect herself from judgement. She’d left Bismuth bubbled for thousands of years, possibly because she couldn’t bear to face her, knowing her wish to shatter the Diamonds—herself and her family—to prevent the kind of attack that ended the war. Yet despite her shortcomings, Rose still tried to grow and be better, to make the most of the life she’d made. She bubbled corrupted gems to keep them safe and free from suffering. She took in Amethyst and welcomed her as a Crystal Gem. She fell in love with Greg and learned to appreciate humans for who they are and the lives they live. And ultimately, she chose to give her life to create a new one, able to grow up in the way she struggled to all her life.

Whatever you think of Rose, she was trying to change for the better. No matter how cruel the Diamonds were, they were the ones who pushed her to change. No matter how slow and imperfect her change, Rose’s dedication to becoming better, defying her nature as a gem and her purpose as a Diamond, is what brought Steven into the world, and by extension, what laid the groundwork for gems across the universe to be freed. Rose was complex and flawed, but she did her best to be better anyways. And that’s all any of us can really do.

[eve-was-framed]

tbh I don’t think I’ll ever really forgive the trans movement for indoctrinating so many people into the belief that women speaking about our sex-based oppression is “terfy” and shouldn’t be allowed and any woman who does it wants to genocide trans people. even if they back off of this stance, the damage is done.

me saying “women are oppressed on basis of sex, not gender identity, and we cannot identify out of that oppression” does not mean I think it’s okay to kill or hurt trans people. it does not mean that I agree with right-wingers when they say gender non-conformity is destroying civilization. It does not mean that I am going to vote for politicians who think all gay people/gender non-conforming people are groomers.

it literally just means you cannot change your biological sex (which was never a controversial statement, even among trans people, up until like 5 years ago) and females should have special protections and spaces since we are constantly being preyed upon by males who see us as subhuman sex objects. that doesn’t mean I think all trans people are predators, it means that enough males are predatory toward women that we deserve to have spaces away from them (especially spaces where we’ll be not fully clothed).

we deserve to be able to talk about female-specific oppression without being told we’re evil genocidal nazis. and the fact that they constantly have to misrepresent what our actual beliefs are tells me they know we’re right and it scares them.

[queeleronwheels]

I saw a post talking about how Mike's love at first sight confession was bogus because the only reason Mike grew close to El in the first place was to use her as a tool to find Will.

While I 100% agree that Mike did not, as he claimed, love El since the moment he saw her, I think the beginning of their relationship is more complex than that, and I think acknowledging this lends more credibility to the idea that Mike doesn't, and never did, love El romantically. Hear me out:

Mike loves to be needed. It is the very essence of his character, and moves beyond just subtext in S4 when he says to Will in the van, "What if after all this is over, she doesn't need me anymore?"

El was all alone and on the run when she was first found by the Party. She needed to be hidden, to be protected, and Mike latched on to the role of protector immediately. He especially liked being her guide through an unfamiliar world, and in doing that, they did grow close, and they did grow to care for each other, outside of anything to do with Will.

That alone didn't push Mike to turn their relationship into something romantic (because yes, it was Mike's decision; El was very vulnerable, unfamiliar with how the world worked, and looked up to Mike to show her the way. Not a great foundation for a romantic relationship, and all the more reason El should end up single and on a journey of self-discovery and independence in S5). The beginning of their romance was a result of Mike's need to be needed in combination with him being a young boy in a heteronormative society that thought “oh, and she’s a girl too, so I guess I’m her boyfriend."

For Mike, kissing El was taking advantage of the fact that there was a girl in his house and she relied on him and according to Ted Wheeler and the rest of the tiny suburban bubble he lives in, that's the stuff of picket-fence romances right there! Off to the Snow Ball they go!

In S3, as he grows more in tune to his feelings and less naive about how romantic relationships actually work, his relationship with El becomes about waiting. He is waiting to finally feel about her how he "should", especially as they become more hands-on and El begins to expect boyfriend-y things of him. He even tries it on for size with his whole "I love her and I can't lose her again" blunder, because no doubt he does love her, but it isn't the way he wants to for the sake of conformity. Maybe if he professes it out loud for the whole world to hear, it'll hit different (it doesn't—it's portrayed comedically, with no swelling music or relieved laughter or running into El's arms. In fact, go watch it again—the music literally dies once he says it).

By S4, he knows it's not going to happen, the feelings aren't going to come—he very visibly realized this when El kissed him and told him she loved him at the end of S3—but he's motivated to keep up the act because in his mind 1) he can't be gay if he's with a girl and 2) he really does still want to be needed by her. That part wasn't a lie, as we know from him saying it to Will in the van. If she still needs him, maybe this could still work even if he doesn't love her romantically. Without that need, he has nothing to offer.

The real substance of Mike and El's relationship is platonic, sibling-like love (they established this the second before they got together in S1 with the "Will you be like my brother?" line, which is a hell of a weird springboard for a first kiss between your central couple, even if it's a chaste one between kids).

It was never love at first sight—it was forced heteroromance at first convenience.

Mike's relationship with El suffers in S3 and S4 because El begins to want more from him romantically, and Mike is not romantically attracted to her. His S5 arc is going to at the very least be about him accepting that for what it is and why (🏳️‍🌈). Personally I think when he learns that Will has feelings for him, it will make the idea of him having feelings for Will potentially less scary in his mind, and that's what will hurtle him toward the end of that arc. That's my hope, anyway!

[dollfaceirene]

"but it's not here yet :("

What if i told you that your imagination (a.k.a your 4D) dominant thoughts = your reality and should be your source of validation, not the 3D.

Now i understand that you've been used to the 3D being your whole life, heck, we were told that circumstances were out of our control. I understand how changing your belief of the 3D being your main source of validation to your thoughts can be odd and confusing.

But now that you know about the law of assumption, you now know that your 4D dominant thoughts = materialises your 3D, not the other way so absolutely nothing can stop you from getting what you want (because how can anything take away what's already yours?)

Now lets talk about persisting, what is persisting you may ask?

Persisting: continue in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition (stolen from the google definition)

The act of persisting, in terms of manifestation, is staying true to your desires and acknowledging/affirming that you have whatever you want.

So let's connect all the dots from this post. Since the 4D is your source of validation (not your 3D) and you should persist & stay consistent to whatever your manifesting, why are you seeking validation from your 3D?

It can be hard to stop seeking validation & evidence of your desires from your 3D so think of it this way, (the classic mirror anaology by riyaama on desired reality cherry amino)

Clothes = your desires/thoughts Mirror = 3D (a.k.a a reflection) You changing your clothes = 4D

Whatever you change your outfit to, your outfit will always be reflected NO MATTER WHAT. Notice how it's not your reflection influencing you to chose your outfit. The mirror didn't decide it, it was YOU who decided it and it was reflected in the mirror.

The 3D practically conforms to you like an obedient child, you are in control, it was neverrr the 3D.

Okay so this is the end of the post and what i want you to get from this post is that you are always in control and you should start seeking validation from your 4D.

Finding it hard? Here's some tips

⋆ work on your self concept

⋆ affirm on you seeking validation from your 4D (e.g. affirming you only seek validation from your inner reality)

⋆ keep persisting! remind yourself it's all worth it and that if other people can manifest whatever, than so can you. You are not an anomaly

⋆ you will still be manifesting regardless so wouldn't you rather persist in thoughts that will actually benefit you and manifest your desire?

stay limitless yall! xoxo, irene

[synthral]

From the moment we’re born, we’re brainwashed. Fairy tales, rom-coms, religious institutions, family expectations. They all whisper the same lie, that life culminates in marriage, in a white dress, in a house with a husband and three kids. That this is love. That this is fulfillment. That this is natural. That this is what YOU should want and it is what you need.

But if we are being serious, there’s no inherent reason for a man and a woman to be together. Heterosexuality isn’t some divine truth, it’s a construct, a tool of control, designed to uphold a patriarchal system that thrives on women’s subjugation. It’s the invisible leash that keeps people trapped, convincing them that their desires, their futures, their very selves must conform to a life of servitude, serving a man, birthing more people to serve more men.

Marriage at its core, is coercion. Not just socially, but historically and legally. It was never about love. It was about ownership, about ensuring women remained dependent, about securing lineage and property for men. Even today in its supposedly “evolved” form, it still reeks of that same expectation of monogamy as a duty, of reproduction as a requirement, of sacrificing personal identity for the “sanctity” of a bond that has always served men more than women.

And what about children? The world doesn’t need more of them. Antinatalism exposes the truth that procreation is not a moral duty but an ethical dilemma. We don’t owe the world more people, in fact, with the state of things, climate collapse, economic instability, rising fascism, we owe it to ourselves not to participate in the cycle of suffering. But of course the nuclear family needs its sacrifices. The system needs fresh bodies to keep capitalism alive. So we are pressured, manipulated, gaslit into thinking that having children is an inevitability rather than a choice, one we were never meant to question. If you cannot comprehend the concept of anti natalism you have to rethink your life, even my hardcore Muslim mother can understand it.

What about gay marriage? Same-sex marriage is a hard-fought and deeply meaningful right for many, it still exists within the larger framework of marriage as an institution of control. The fight for marriage equality wasn’t just about the right to marry, it should have also been about questioning why marriage is necessary for basic rights like stability, protection and legal recognition. Homosexuals have always found ways to build love, family and community outside of traditional structures and we deserve systems that honor those connections without forcing us to conform to an outdated institution. Love doesn’t need state validation to be real and the fact that marriage remains the ultimate legitimization of commitment shows just how deeply ingrained this illusion is.

None of this is inevitable. None of this is natural. It’s all a structure, a narrative forced upon us from birth. And if we can be programmed to believe in the heterosexual fairy tale, then we can unlearn it, reject it and build something better. Because we deserve more than the life we were told to settle for.

We must dismantle the patriarchy, tear down the institutions that keep us bound with patriarchy and males, we must build something that was never meant to serve men, but to serve us.

[timkontheunsure]

Prophetic stars & dreams

Stolas was born to read prophecies from the stars.

And it's the job Via was born to replace, if Stolas couldn't be controlled.

Both of them seem to pick up small glimpses of the future outside of this work, about important things in their own lives.

And don't seem to really understand that's what's they're doing.

Feeling more like they get hints and nudges; that aren't always in the right order, can get confused with other similar events, and even are clouded by the emotions from their future selves.

The 11th birthday

Stolas starts getting prophecies as soon as he's handed the book. Putting these hints with his gut instincts as soon as his life's purpose is named by Paimon.  

He takes one look at Stella and goes all the nope.   

He sees Blitzo, and isn't just smitten; but stays that way for 25 years.

Blitz is important.

And out of all the teddies they could be playing within that room; Stolas wants to share his more important possession, knowledge, with his new friend. 

He has a small idea that he should share his books with his first friend.  Like he will do with the grimoire later.  It's important to do.

He knows Blitzo will be a good boss, and is very supportive of Blitz dream.

But Stolas does has a couple of questions about their conversation. 'A office for a circus business?'  Seems like he's got a feeling that it's not the right business plan.

The other thing he questions is if Blitz will really hire him. And this feels like it gives us a clue to how these powers work.

Stolas is only hired after his powers are stripped.  Seems like it makes it much more hazy for him to see. But he does think it would be a good thing to happen.

Via's nightmare

Octavia's had one unshakable fear for years.  That her dad will disappear from her home one day, and she won't be able to find him.

This is the same night. We see what scared tinny wee Via so much in Loo loo land. She saw what was happening in I Will Be Ok in Sinsmas. 

This is her nightmare.

Via's see her home after Stolas' banishment, and it becomes her biggest fear.  

No promises can make her forget it.

  This vision is why she's so sure that Stolas will leave her, running off with Blitz. 

She's been waiting for the other shoe to drop since he turned up.

And she's not the only one worried by this nightmare.

Stolas' assumed earlier death

Between the mandatory precautionary aire, the chronic depression, and the abusive wife; Stolas always appears to have expected to died young.

But it's likely that on some level he tuck Via's nightmare as conformation. With this being reflected in the lullaby he sings her back to sleep with.

He didn't expect to still be around when she's grown. But knew she'd physically be 'ok', and he tuck comfort in that. (It appears Stolas made sure that Via would have some level of independent, from Stella, as well as everything thing he owns; in the event of his death).

Again, this feels like he can't see properly see past having his powers striped. And appears to have assumed that ment he'd be dead before Via turned 18.

They both saw him as gone after all.

Think this is why Stolas is so extremely surprised Satan didn't just kill him. (Not just that he's unaware of his own privage. Those he definitely is that lol. These visions are only tiny glimpses acting as gut feeling after all).

And even when Stella tries to kill him he's pretty resigned to it. He doesn't want to die, but also doesn't seem to think he'll have much to a choice in the matter.

Home doesn't feel like home anymore

Via next vision gives her more information about her dad disappearance.

She gets 3 tiny pieces of information about it for her future self. And they cement in her mind that's it'll Blitz who'll take her dad away, because that's how Sinsmas Via sees it.

1 That home isn't home anymore.

That moment when she looks up and sees how different the palice is without her dad. There's no warmth or life anymore. With even her dad's pet plant dead.

2 And that Stolas will run off with Blitz

It's the first time her dad introduces them, in place that's ment to be comforting familiar; but it's understandable that she's scared.

Yer it's all coloured by how she sees and understand it at the time. Both for how she feels it now crying at Loo Loo Land, and how she feels in Sinsmas. All making the kid scared and anxious about the future.

3 Stolas will go somewhere she can't find him.

And there is a time where she can't find her dad.

I think Via comforted herself that she knew where her dad was.

Ok, he's not allowed the the palace anymore; but she could just go to IMP any time and there would be her dad with his shitty boyfriend. Safe, just waiting for her to come around.

And when he's not there, and he's not safe because he hasn't got his antidepressants; she gets terrified. Enough for it to be part of what she has sees will happen.

The horse stars

Oh and another cute one before we get more trauma.

Stolas's grimoire trys tell him about Blitz, the day the met as adults. By turning Ursa major into a horse, just as Blitz is trying to attract his attention at the window.

But Stolas has his eyes shut and doesn't notice either.

It's sweet that his magic tried to point out the love his life though it.

Via's rejection

She also sees that she's going to have the opportunity to see her dad, that he will reach out to her.

As well as that she will be too angry with him to take it.

Stolas' ways

Stolas was definitely bubble scrys to find out where Blitz is in Truth Seekers, and then he only steps in when IMP are out of options.

(Stolas uses Blitz's advice when captured by Striker, so he was very likely watching a while there).

But I've gone back and forth on Stolas' reason for checking in the first place.

I think he's definitely put a curse on Blitz to make him practically bullet proof (Blitz hasn't ever gotten shot since Stolas hand glowed red in Ep1), and stop his guns being used against him.

Making them heat up and misfire, taking out the guy tried to use Blitz's stolen gun.

I'd assumed he'd had some sort alert for Blitz being in shit he can't get out of. Like when he and Moxxie were captured by the Dhorks.

But it did make me wonder why Stolas wouldn't turn up in chupacabra. When we now know he does in Mastermind, so it's not the heartbreak that would stop him if Blitz is really in stuck.

It's that Blitz could get himself out of there (with the help of a cute goat), so Stolas didn't get the urge to check.

This leads up on to...

Andy's ways (not the worst plan)

Andy says he's a similar job a power set to Stolas. This is why he can be fairly certain that not summoning him to the court, but having Satan broadcast the execution; will get Stolas to see what he wants. And only what he wants. (Not the fake rape accusation, or that Blitz now apparently paid Striker to kill him 🙄).

Otherwise it's a very dumb plan.

While lower class demons TV's turn on, and automatically play the trial; Stolas' doesn't.

Stolas is already got the TV on and is actively channel hopping before Andy's scheme makes it mandatory viewing for anyone. And Goetia aren't included in the Satan's power play.

Stolas even skips past his favourite show, helluva novella, twice to see Blitz's execution. He's got a little itch telling him he's need to flick over.

But because Andy does have a similar magic he can be pretty sure that Stolas will see it, and come running to Blitz's aid.

Knight in shining armour

Stolas has a fantasy about being rescued by Blitz, his knight in shinning armour.

It's a rock solid believe for him. To the point that he trys to make it happen twice, to a greater and lesser extent. (Only being shaken of it after Striker's torture).

First by hiring Blitz as an unnecessary bodyguards, to introduce his lover and kid.

And second by phoning Blitz to please rescue him when Stiker had him kidnapped.

While Blitz does save him, it doesn't happened either time Stolas was expecting it to.

It happens after his powers are striped; and he isn't expecting anyone to help him. He was expecting Andy to kill him.

(Stolas was going see Via or die trying).

And Andy would have if Blitz didn't realise where Stolas had gone, and take IMP and Via with him.

Gonna chalk this is up to a combination of similar things similar things happening make it much harder to understand when things are going to happen. And the full knight in shinning armour moment doesn't happen till after Stolas is striped of his magic.

Hummm actually Stolas specifically tries to make it happen Twice.

And Blitz is his big romantic rescuer twice. Guess him seeing it twice could explain why it's such a rock solid believe.

Stopping Stiker in Harvest Moon Festival could count, but Stolas doesn't find out till Apology Tour.

And that's a really shitty way to find out Blitz did that, because not telling Stolas someone wants him dead nearly got him killed.

Like Via's emotions from her visions are colour how she feels, so do Stolas'. Stolas is definitely a dumbass feeling it has to be Blitz savings him, but it might explain a little why he's so stuck on the idea.

(He's a daft salty bitch lol, but we love him).

Striker's demise

Think both of these are hints on how Striker will die. That Stolas will destroy Striker if he hurts Via. Which seems certain he'll do.

But even though I do think at the start of this scene Stolas believed Blitz would come for him; I think he'd given up all hope by the point Striker's asks for any last words.

The rest feels like was going to be "Blitz...will... kill you".

Thinking this means that both dads will fight Striker together to save Via.

Like how M&M fought together to save Stolas. We've only seen them fighting singularly before. I think it would be amazing to see them together fighting to keep her safe and sound.

With Stolas having the last hit to protect is little girl, and the dead blow.

The flames of rebellion -Stolas' last prophecy

Stolas tries to warn the court that treating Blitz badly could spark revolt of imps.  

Then Satan call Blitz a pawn, and throws him out like trash. Completing it by saying on live TV that his life doesn't have matter compared to a goeita's. 

 This is after Andy already stepped on Blitz's face, telling him he should know his place.  

It would be funny if Stolas' last official prophecy was predicting imp rebellion, because of their ill treatment to his lover.

[doberbutts]

i think people mostly just have an issue with the persistent centering of men when it comes to feminist issues. sure, men often suffer under the patriarchy as well, but they dont suffer as much as women do and actually have much to lose from dismantling the system (compared to what they would gain from doing so), so just highlighting this fact doesnt do much to further feminist goals

that being said i do think its something that should go acknowledged lest we fall into the manhating hole, which is obviously counterproductive

Personally I don't think it's "centering men" to acknowledge the ways the patriarchy wields misogyny as a weapon against the very people who benefit the most from misogyny in the first place, because if nothing else it can show everyone that maybe beating the shit out of little boys who try makeup and nail polish and teaching them that anything feminine is a sign of weakness is also having a direct impact on creating adult men who want to kill any sign of femininity in front of them and who think anyone feminine is less than human.

It used to be pretty common theory to acknowledge the cause-and-effect happening here, and to strive to treat the next generation of little boys with more openness towards femininity alongside the little girls learning that they did not have to conform to gender roles. Not just having well-written female protagonists but also making sure that it wasn't just girls watching and reading, to show the boys something more than the sex dolls only existing for wank material in other media.

That's not centering men. That's making sure that we're addressing the full problem instead of only half of it.