#I hope you like it;;;

[oathofpromises]

Starter for: @diademreigned

In a mesmerizing display akin to the celestial starshower, heroes hailing from distant shards materialized upon the first.Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue considering Stella and the Scions were summoned here but it was clear the ghostly heores purpose was singularly foucsed on one indiviudal-her.

Each one that they were able to bring down was more like slicing through the air. After considering it, Stella realized that these heroes were not fully summoned. Not even their souls, either; the only thing they craved was snuffing out darkness. Stella was all too aware at this point that the white-cloaked Ascian was intent on removing her from the picture. It was the only way to ensure that this shard would rejoin with the first and bring about the eighty umbral calmity. Elidibus had gained access to the crystal tower, using it to perform constant summonings. Who else could it have been? If it had been G'raha, he would not have used the tower in such a careless manner.

There they stood so close to the tower, yet more ghostly heroes stood in their way. There was no other choice but for the others to remain behind and hold them off while Au Ra made her way to the tower. If this kept up, how would that affect G'raha's body? His connection to the tower had prolonged his life. He had mentioned that when the tower bore too much burden, it would take a greater toll on his own body. Cleaning her first, she felt that familiar ache in her chest. These people had been through enough. Elidibus had twisted their pure intentions to help save this world into something twisted.

'Please save them...' echoed a voice deep within her heart. The words reverberated through her being, resonating with a haunting urgency. She could feel the weight of the plea, as if it carried the hopes and dreams of countless souls. It was a voice she had heard so often in her dreams, at least ever since arriving on the first. Reaching up, Au Ra pressed a hand to her chest. There was something stirring inside her, yearning to break free, yet a part of her felt like accepting it would only lead to further hurt. Shaking her head, she ran down the pathway towards the tower. She had no intention of stopping until she heard a familiar voice grunting in pain.

Stopping, she noticed both G'raha and Beq Lugg, who were lying on the ground. It didn't take her too long to piece together that the two had fled the tower. They didn't have much of a choice considering who they were up against. Aside from that, G'raha had been extending a lot of energy and time into finishing the soul crystals.

'It was all we could do—to raise a ward to hinder his steps... And so we fled... But he took it... The vessel with the Exarch's memories... Forgive me. Forgive me.' cried Beq Lugg. Stella's eyes were saddened, as that was the reason why the Asician was able to summon so many heroes here. She had already figured it out, but the pain in their voices was evident. They were clearly blaming themselves for this, when the person Elidibus wanted to hear was her. She was the problem, first with the radiating light, and now with this. It felt like she was creating more problems than she was solving here, but a part of her couldn't voice that. At least not right now; they needed her.

"Beq Lugg, it's not your fault. You both are okay; that's what is more important. I promise I will get the Exarch soul crystal back and return peace to this land, even if it kills me. You all have suffered enough for years."

Why did this feel so familiar—the way her heart pounded against her rib cage? Blurry images from the past flowed into her mind. For nights, the Au Ra struggled to make sense of them, but they all connected to one person—the Exarch. She could see an image of someone in his arms whispering words as rain poured down around them. Some light transferred from her body into his own.

"I'm just glad you're both alive. Make sure you stay that way. Lyna and the others are close by; I will send someone to come help you both."

Stella slowly started to stand and turned to make her way towards the gates, but froze as she felt the Exarch arm reach out and grab for her wrist. There was such a sad look in his red eyes, as the crystals on his body seemed even brighter than before. His pain intensified with each passing moment, bringing his body closer to complete consumption.

'If you mean to go alone, I won't let you. Not this time.''

Was he saying that to her or the Lady Exarch? Lyna had told her the story about the night the mother of the crystarium had died. For months, the Exarch locked himself in his tower, hiding any traces of her from plain sight. It was too painful to remember her, and if she looked so much like the Lady Exarch, did that mean that it caused G'raha pain to see her? He had mentioned that recalling past memories did bring agony, but maybe that was in part due to all that he had seen and lost.

"Why do you care if I go alone? I have fought by myself plenty of times. This is no different."Stella whispered, as her eyes looked up at the sky as the starshower. It was hard now that she knew the exarch was G'raha. Ever since that day on Mt. Gulg, she has been trying to find the words to tell him. For awhile, she had suspected that he was G'raha, but he had managed to convince her otherwise at every turn.Ever since that day, the two haven't talked as much to each other, only when they needed to. This situation had been equally difficult for Stella and G'raha. He had expected to sacrifice himself, and for a time, she thought maybe he needed time to think about things. There were moments when their hands would briefly touch, and they would both turn to the side. Being in the same area with him did nothing to calm the storm of emotions inside her chest.

'Do you love him?' Those were the words Thancred had asked her the night all of them had returned. It was pretty obvious she did, but G'raha's heart was with the Lady Exarch.

'I can't be her, even if part of me so badly wishes I was... I wish I could stop caring so much, but I never stopped loving him. Not once.' 

Then there was that tiny part of her heart that yearned to say so much to him. She always felt the words she couldn't say that day stuck in her throat. He loved someone else, and that was just a fact she would have to accept.

I want to love you, even if I can't be her. It's selfish, I know that but my tears haven't stopped falling since the day you sealed yourself inside the tower. I can't say that..not now. No matter how much my heart yearns to lay my feelings bare.

[koobiie]

shoutout to everyone who wants to infodump but cant string together coherent thoughts to form sentences and instead just look at you like this

[sylvies-kablooie]

i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.

[spineless-lobster]

I am not the divine masculine or the divine feminine I am the divine comedy and you will address me as such

[badolmen]

WARNING 18+

19

[hansoeii]

[endusviolence]

Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?

I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?

In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".

Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.

This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.

Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.

The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]

There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.

This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]

As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.

But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?

Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.

[corviiids]

my top bit of advice going into the new year: compliment people. especially strangers. literally everyone you interact with if you can. when you buy coffee in the morning compliment the barista's tattoos. when you're chatting with a coworker tell them that by the way you like their outfit. always find something they've chosen to do on purpose. nail polish, jewellery, tattoos, hair colour/style, statement accessory, outfit, etc are all good bets. things people hope will be noticed. things that aren't too personal so it doesn't make them uncomfortable (eg probably not their physical features). i've gotten into the habit of scanning everyone i talk to for something about them that i think is cool so i can tell them. it's a great habit because it makes me notice people and realise just how many neat little details there are in people's presentation of themselves that might pass me by if i wasn't paying attention. and it brings out so much joy. you'd be surprised how much it disarms people to receive an unexpected compliment from someone they don't know. it is the most sincere smile you will see all day long. it feels nice to make people happy but it also means you win the social interaction. establish dominance by complimenting a stranger's earrings and disappearing into the fog

[stil-lindigo]

frankly, the people whose kneejerk reaction to bisan asking for a global strike form the 21st-28th is to say that it takes years to organize a general strike are really unhelpful! no one is saying otherwise, but palestine will be a smoking crater if we all wait for years to do anything - bisan is asking us to do something now. Like are we only supposed to do something if we can do it perfectly??? At some point it’s a valid critique about the work that goes into social movement, and at another point I feel like some people are just trying to absolve themselves from not putting any effort into observing a week of economic inaction.

like idk! I get it, okay! People have bills to pay that don’t magically go away for a strike, we don’t have nearly enough social infrastructure in place to support people to fully stop going to work for a week. But fuck, dude! Stop immediately responding in such a defeatist way! Cut out unnecessary purchases! Try to shop local! Put more effort into promoting Palestinian voices online! Attend a protest, call a local rep, do something!

[fox-mulder-gets-pegged]

I just wanna say bc I KNOW you're somewhere on tumblr, to the teenage girl who attended Take Your Kid To Work Day at an office building in Ontario, Canada circa 2013 and had a conversation with a middle aged woman in which you showed her your Black Veil Brides fanart and fanfics and ship content and told her about different fanfic tropes including a/b/o verse bc she happened to know who Panic! at The Disco and Fallout Boy were and thus you felt the need to show her your bandblr ship art, that was my fucking mother and I had to clarify all that to her including looking my mother in the eye and trying to explain a/b/o verse without sounding like a lunatic.

It's been 10 years and I still regularly sent evil energies in your direction. Since you'd be probably two years younger than me and thus legally an adult now, please know if this post reaches you it's on sight.

[emberglowfox]

Keeper -- a short comic about an angel meeting a robotic lighthouse keeper that doesn't know the world has already ended. Made in about 18 hours for a 24-hour 24-page* black and white comic challenge (that I arrived late to, ha.)

*the actual submission does not include the cover, which was created after the fact for this post.

This was a really great learning experience as someone who's... never really made a completed comic. I ended up really attached to the story by the end of the project (possibly due to all-nighter deliriousness lol) and ultimately am very proud of what I made.There are some things I'd still like to change, particularly text placement, but in keeping with the spirit of the challenge I've elected to leave it as is.

[dostoyevsky-official]

this email could've been a wordless locking of eyes across the street

[divorcedwife]

chess inspired fashion

[theoldaeroplane]

worried that thing you put in your art or writing or game or music is too self-indulgent, too self-referential, too niche for anyone but yourself? fear not! you can do whatever you want forever. and you should.

[nikki-rook]

smitten | adjective | smit·​ten deeply affected with or struck by strong feelings of attraction, affection, or infatuation

[ruporas]

dragon meat, you, and me