#I literally see pride flags everywhere

[tessalation]

Losing my mind over the casual pride flags in the new season of the dragon prince

[toxinoire]

More Mean Girls Headcanons

• Regina definitely got bangs (The Reneé Rapp bangs💖) post canon

• She has a faint scar under it from the bus, because while her back is her main thing, she did gash her face.

• Karen can quite literally guess your entire personality with the sweetest and kindest smile in existence

• She'll just end up giving you an existential crisis while being all :D

• Janis has a stash of candy everywhere she goes

• She's a fucking sweet tooth

• Damian has to make sure she brushes her teeth

• Gretchen actually has the best immune system out of all of them

• And then when she does get sick, she cannot get out of bed

• Cady is feral as hell

• Don't be fooled by the height and the charm

• Seriously if you even think of being a dick to her friends she will punch you, no hesitation

• Damian and Gretchen became besties immediately

• After everyone made up, Cady's first initial reaction "AW YISS A REAL FRIEND GROUP"

• And then Janis painted everyone

• Gretchen cried

• And then Cady cried

• And then everyone cried

• "What's so great about literature-" And then Regina emerges from the shadows like "Sit your ass down and listen to me go off"

• Janis and Regina once got into a debate with five people about the nuances of the Iliad and The Odyssey

• Damian is sure someone pissed their pants

• Karen's just happy and generally just excited about fluffy blankets

• Sometimes, Regina and Cady take turns calling Gretchen at around 8 at night to gently remind her to sleep

• Gretchen forgets to sleep because she overthinks what she should do the next day

• "Gretch, I know you're anxious, but we're here and we'll help you. Now go to sleep so you have energy tomorrow."

• "Please go to sleep. Nothing is predictable. Things will go off the rails. On the bright side, we're stuck with you and we are now automatically going with you when it does."

• Both of those actually help

• Janis and Damian once made everyone mini pride shoelaces with their respective flags

• So every pride month, you see six teens in white shoes with shoelaces have whole ass gradients of different pride flags

• It's iconic really.

• Regina's vocabulary is either "Fuck off" or "Your presence is like a fucking housefly circling all the food on the table, leave me be" depending on her mood

• The first time they ever saw Karen be so utterly terrifying at someone was when someone catcalled them.

• The boy cried

• Cady likes to literally poke people for fun

• She also has a collection of dinosour figures

• "What if I-" "No."

• Janis collects FNAF plushies like they're pokemon

• She has multiple plushies of the same animatronics

• Her favorite is Lolbit

• She has six animatronic plushies in particular standing on her highest shelf sitting next to each other with handmade nametags of her and her friends on each one on who she thinks could be who

• She's Lolbit, Damian's Bonnie, Cady's Funtime Freddy, Gretchen's Glamrock Freddy, Karen's Chica, and Regina's Roxy

• Gretchen and Karen are everyone's hypewomen

• They'll be screaming like soccer moms whenever someone in the group has an achievement

• Cady normally sucks at history but she loves medieval history

• She got so into it so much that she got into weaponry

• This child can very much use a bow and arrow

• And a sword

• She got Regina into swordsmanship

• They duel. A lot.

• It scares the others sometimes

• Gretchen's way of threatening Janis is "I'll use your favorite paint to make the worst color gradient in existence."

• It works

• Damian has a love/hate relationship with the insanity in this friend group

[hyperfocuscentre]

so following on from this post

more solangelo as parents!

Nico’s job would literally just be doing stuff for Hades. He doesn’t really get payed in the conventional way, but he has access to all Hades’ riches so they live a comfy life.

Will becomes a doctor. I don’t think he went to college or university, mostly because it didn’t appeal to him and the idea of learning something he’d been doing from a very young age felt belittling. Instead, he convinced Chiron to forge him some papers and with a bit of mist manipulation, he got straight into doctor training at a hospital or however that works (foundation program or something?).

They have twins, because I love twins. A girl named Bianca and a boy named Michael-Lee (shut up i think it rolls of the tongue).

ML (i’m not writing the whole name everytime) is trans so he wasn’t always called this, but he wanted a name that was important to his parents and he wanted them to name him so that’s what he ended up with. He loves it, he says it feels like a pop star stage name.

Nico definitely cooks the food, his signature dish is pasta. He makes it from scratch because he says the store packages are disgusting and processed junk.

Will is the one who kisses their injuries and tucks them into bed at night (although Nico obviously says goodnight and love you’s too).

I feel like they both deal with the nightmares but most of the time, it’s Will because Nico is harder to wake up. He sings them lullabies and has actually started to appreciate his voice a lot more because of this. However, Nico can be found sometimes cuddling one or both of the twins close, wiping their tears and even sometimes singing Italian lullabies that he vaguely remembers from his childhood.

I feel like Nico plays rough with them, things like violent pillow fights followed by lots of exhilarated screams and giggles. He’s never too rough though, and he’s never hurt them. He can easily tell when to stop and when it’s time to calm down and take a break.

Nico is the soft touch, he acts like he isn’t but he is. He’ll say snarky things and talk to the twins like they’re adults from a very young age (in a funny way, not a weird way lmao) but he can’t handle seeing them upset or crying. Both of them are very spoiled and any shopping trips with Nico end with them coming back, hands full of toy boxes and faces stretched into beaming smiles.

Will is the more tough parent, but honestly he’s a silly too. He may know how to discipline them when he has to, but he also jokes with them and geeks out over their favourite films and shows with them.

Apollo loves that they have twins, and often compares them to him and Artemis (mostly because Bianca has dark, auburn hair and ML is a blond).

I feel like they live in a white, picket fence area but none of their neighbors like them. They painted the white fence a soft yellow and have a giant pride flag wafting on the front. There’s exotic, brightly coloured plants everywhere and the only reason they live is prayers to Persephone and the fact the goddess herself sometimes visits.

Persephone has basically claimed those kids as her grankids, she loves coming over to play with them and loves that she can without breaking any stupid divine laws.

Hades acts unbothered but he’s been caught smiling softly at the twins or even simply at Nico and Will being disgustingly domestic. His Christmas gifts are always huge and the first thing the twins open.

They tried to take one of those professional family photos when the twins were toddlers; it didn’t go so well. Nico is blinking, Bianca is screaming, Will’s face is basically a blur and ML is growling at the camera but the glint in his eyes says he finds himself hilarious. The photo is hung up above the fireplace.

They join their names which means ML’s name is a mouthful. Michael-Lee Di Angelo-Solace. He probably has a middle name too, although i’m not sure what. Maybe Lester, for the jokes?

[kissvamps]

shuriri headcanons

shuri and riri headcanons for the first day of pride month!! beacuse they are my favorite gay people and im getting an immense amount of brainrot, i haven’t been sane since bpwk came out last year

• sometimes shuri will talk to herself and get mad at griot for responding💀

• riri has bonded with griot since stealing him and due to this, she gets on shuri for treating him like a dog

• ‘shuri you can’t be talking crazy to my son like that’ ‘he is not a real person, riri’ ‘how do you think hearing you say that makes him feel?’

• true to her girlflop nature, shuri can’t cook for shit

• says that she’s literally a genius so not being able to cook isn’t that important

• ‘even griot can make pasta, it’s really nothing special’

• riri and shuri made lab playlists for each other

• whenever they’re working in the lab together listening to music, riri will drop everything when usher comes on and serenade shuri

• “i’m ya number one fan, give me your autograph, sign right it here on my heart” and riri be singing down, trust!

• riri loves tupac like idk what tell you

• they love tems so bad, one time they went to one of her concerts and shuri was literally in tears

• ‘we shared a moment when she sang interference, riri, i’m so sorry you had to find out like this’

• shuri discovered hello kitty thru a brief mention of her in a conversation with riri and she’s been a bit obsessed since

• ‘what you doing wit all this paraphernalia?’ riri asked when she visited shuri and there was only a corner of her california king size bed not covered in hello kitty plushies

• riri indulges the obsession and surprised her with a hello kitty lego set

• shuri can’t tell when people are fliriting with her for the life of her so riri does a lot of damage control

• ‘your tattoo is so beautiful, what does it represent?’ ‘that she got a girl, keep it pushin’

• shuri loves getting things for riri and considering the fact that riri literally stole her ai (that will never not take me out💀), she has no qualms with it, though it does still shock her sometimes

• ‘i got you that think you’ve been talking about’ ‘my nigga, a new car?’

• they both have autism like it’s actually canon

• sometimes they bite each other, most of the time it’s random but sometimes it’s literally how they greet each other

• riri tried to make a case for okoye to drive them to pride but shuri said it should be griot instead

• ‘it would be most efficient, besides, it’s not like he has anything better to do’ ‘never a moment of rest for my son’ ‘riri, he is a mass of coding’

• also!! they went to pride wit ayo, aneka, okoye, and nakia too (the wakandan flag doubles as a pride flag omg just gay niggas everywhere)

• and m’baku!! ik it’s sum sugar in the jabari tank

• that fanart @t00thpaste33 made where little t’challa asked shuri why riri calls her babygirl is based on true events, riri laughed for several minutes straight in front of a very unamused shuri when she told her what happened

• ‘my bad, no more spitting game in front of nephew’ ‘you are not funny, riri’

• speaking of lil t’challa, shuri and riri spoil that boy like nobody’s business, nearly half of the projects they work on together are for him and the gifts always baffle nakia

• ‘we brought you something!!’ and it’s his own pair of gauntlets, they look a lot like the ones on shuri’s panther suit except all the detailing is silver

• t’challa’s eyes light up meanwhile nakia is looking and riri and shuri in disbelief

• turns out the gauntlets just blow bubbles and read stories to him (i’m so sick i love them so bad)

• shuri and riri both like horror movies but shuri likes the really bad ones from the 80s with the terrible special effects and riri likes the scary ass ‘based on a true story’ movies even tho they leave her scared shitless

• ‘see it wasn’t that bad’ ‘you refused to go to the bathroom at night without me’

• shuri gets a phone just to talk to riri and because iphone tech is archaic to her she sounds like a grandparent in text messages which typically leads to her sending voice messages explaining mistakes

• ‘um, why i get a text from you saying ‘you look like poop emoji wit the smiley face emoticon at the end’?’ ‘you look like thee shit, thee shit!! i hate this fucking iphone, i hope steve jobs died of suicide!!’

• shuri gives riri her own set of kimoyo beads after a few more text mistakes like that for her own sanity and cuz it’d be so much easier to communicate with riri

• they be blowing each other’s kimoyo beads up like i mean blowing them to pieces

• shuri customized the notifications from riri so now her kimoyo beads and griot just chant ‘pookie alert! pookie alert!’ whenever riri contacts her

• shuri will literally be in the middle of a council meeting and her kimoyo beads start chirping ‘pookie alert! pookie alert!’

• ‘i’m sorry, this is a very important call i have to take this’

• riri turns into the most annoying nigga alive after getting her kimoyo beads (real), grinning like the cat that got the canary telling everybody in wakanda about what her girlfriend made for her and shuri’s right behind her, giggling and shit (they’re so pookie im gonna be sick☹️)

•okoye is so tired of them

• ‘guess what my baby got me? ‘guess, okoye, guess!!’ ‘a muzzle, bast-willing’

• in general, they frequently antagonize okoye and she occasionally finds them funny

• shuri LOVES minecraft

• riri actually got really into crocheting when she went with shuri to haiti and picked it up from nakia so now she’s always randomly sneaking up on shuri with a measuring tape

• she’s literally the ‘what size titty are you’ meme

• shuri and riri go on roblox dates literally every week they possibly can

• shuri be hogging the fuck out the covers but it’s fine cuz riri’s the big spoon anyways

• part of why shuri hogs the covers is cuz she gets cold really easily and riri has really cold feet

• ‘bast, do you have literal ice in this bed?’ ‘those my feet and you know that’

shuri and riri actually make me physically ill i love them so bad, i wish gay people were real☹️

[pitofpurple]

We’ve all seen Sun Wukong and Macaque being unapologetically queer in fanworks but have you considered Sun Wukong and Macaque being heavily closeted and in denial because of literally hundreds of years of internalized homophobia and fear of being hate crimed.

What about Sun Wukong and Macaque dated for a while but had to keep it a secret and they were scared to be affectionate in public because “what if they find out,” leading them to act distant when away from home.

what about Sun Wukong and Macaque finding labels that feel comfortable for them in the modern age and experiencing intense joy at the prospect of being able to marry and be whoever they want.?

What about MK coming out to Sun Wukong and Sun Wukong being terrified for his successor before slowly learning that the world is much kinder than it was?

What about Sun Wukong coming to tell Macaque that they can be openly queer now and Macaque not believing him until he learns what a pride flag means and suddenly sees it everywhere?

I think you get the point but if you have anymore ideas please share

[khionefr0st]

This June we're seeing less companies openly express support of the lgbtq+ community possibly because they're caving in to right-wing demands and it sounds like a canary in the mine.

Because I'm gonna be honest with you I didn't give a single shit if the companies were changing their logos to rainbows or making queer products because they were "performative" or because they had a "better" reason. In the end it was a net good and had an overall positive impact on the queer community because we were receiving mainstream support and people were getting more used to seeing us. Every June the pride flags are everywhere. Every June we are normal.

What happens to us when that support starts to slowly disappear because not only do we refuse to encourage it, we're also talking about how performative it is instead of addressing actual issues?

You really want to critique companies? Criticize them for their working conditions, their refusal to pay their workers right, their outsource of labor to underdeveloped countries that employ children and exploited people and pay them pennies. Again. I literally cannot give less of a shit if the company having a rainbow pride flag logo for June and only June is performative or whatnot. Rainbow Capitalism is some of the most useless and most online discourse I have ever encountered.

You really want to help the queer community? Talk about sexual discrimination in schools, lack of queer resources and the active suppression and banning of books about us, about how we are still socially and in many places LEGALLY persecuted for being queer.

Discourse about harmless performativity is often performative in itself because in the end it talks about things that are not issues. It is frustratingly pointless and I hate the way some of you spend so much time talking about it compared to other issues out there. You speaking about how performative they are has less of a positive impact for the marginalized community than their performativity. I'm gonna say this - seeing companies cater to, accommodate, and yes, MARKET AND CAPITALIZE AND ADVERTISE TO QUEER PEOPLE, JUST LIKE CISHETERO PEOPLE HAVE ENJOYED FOR DECADES, is what some people have been wanting and fighting for for years. Until very recently, it was a win. Now we might be slowly losing it and all some of you can say is "good, I didn't want their performative support anyway".

There are people who want us dead. I'd rather we talk about that and all the reasons behind it rather than about why some companies only have pride logos during June.

[theauthor27]

I see pride flags everywhere I go now and not in a "Oh I could color pick that" way I literally hallucinated the pan flag on the side of a truck a few days ago.

[helpmeimblorboing]

Transphobes when they see a trans person in media : OMG THE TRANS AGENDA IS EVERYWHERE. OMG MUH CHILDREN (rapidly packs up abused and beaten children in a blanket) MUST PROTECT MUH AMERICAN RIGHT TO FREEDOM AND FREE SPEECH!! (quickly takes down Confederate flags hanging outside).

Transphobes when they meet a trans person : OMH NO ONE BELIEVES YOU'RE ACTUALLY TRANS !! 43 % !!(harasses a teenage child to suicide) YUR WEAK !! JK ROOLING WILL SUE YO ASS !!

In their eyes, trans people are simultaneously overwhelming and pathetic. As Umberto Eco once said in his essay "Ur Fascism", "Followers (of fascist movements) must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak." Transphobia is literal fascism, by definition.

"Fascist groups often appeal to these individuals by offering a simplistic and seductive worldview that blames certain groups for their problems and presents a vision of a powerful and homogeneous community that can restore order and greatness."

A simple idea of how fascist groups attract new recruits

Sound familiar ? It should. That's exactly what GCs (Gender Criticals, or as I like to call them, Genital-obsessed Creeps ) do to attract new recruits, blaming the "trans agenda" for everything

"Another factor that can contribute to the adoption of fascist beliefs is a sense of fear and anxiety about the future. This can be exacerbated by real or perceived threats to one’s security, such as economic instability, social unrest, cultural change, or terrorism. Fascist movements often exploit these fears by offering a strong and authoritarian leader who promises to protect and defend the community from perceived enemies, both internal and external.

In addition, fascist ideology often relies on a narrative of victimhood and a sense of historical grievance, which can appeal to individuals who feel disempowered or marginalised in some way. This narrative portrays the group as having been unfairly oppressed or humiliated by other groups or forces, and seeks to restore a sense of pride and dignity by reclaiming power and status.

Finally, the process of radicalization into fascist beliefs can be facilitated by socialisation and exposure to extremist propaganda, whether through online forums, social media, or face-to-face interactions with other members of the group. This can create a sense of belonging and solidarity, as well as reinforce the group’s ideology and worldview."

Again, all things actively used by TERFs to spread their worldview. A common fear is seen in them. A fear that is perpetuated by the more obsessed amongst them, who were once homophobes, who simply shifted gears, and changed the word "gay" to "trans". A fear that was last seen during the anti-gay crusades, peddled by priests and Christians, and is seen again today. This fear is often fueled by media coverage of cases of violence or abuse perpetrated by individuals who identify as trans, and by the portrayal of trans activism as a totalitarian movement that seeks to silence dissent and impose a new orthodoxy. A lie, but one that is widespread (Again, setting the stage for recruitment)

"This can lead to a sense of moral superiority and a willingness to use extreme tactics, such as harassment, doxxing, and censorship, to silence opponents and defend their views."

All things TERFs have done and are doing

I rest my case

Additionally, a message to any TERFs reading this

A common thread in fascism is that it is never about the message itself. The message is merely a cover for self-glorification. The original Fascist movement was not there for the reasons they claimed. It was there to glorify Mussolini, with everything they did playing to that end goal. The same with Nazism, and the same with TERFs.

Please remember, we are not your enemies. We do not want harm to befall you. We do care about you, but your leaders don't

TERFs do not care about women. TERFs care about hatred

[urfavnegronerd]

I just found another Miles smut

They literally “aged them up” because it was like hcs ig and said that MINORS WEREN’T ALLOWED TO INTERACT

Literally barfing

i hmm this is such a convo

bc which miles? comic miles (ew)? itsv/atsv miles? PlayStation miles? i lowk hope it was play station miles bc that one is 17, and while he still is technically a minor, in a lot of places 17 is considered an adult. its still gross but slightly less gross? i'm-- so many thoughts about this.

its not like i don't condone smut, its just hard to figure out where the disconnect is with smut writers. below 18 in the u.s is considered a minor, however in different places its different. for example, in s. korea 19 is adult, not 18.

so likeeee very multifaceted in the sense that laws are different everywhere, and atsv was released in most countries.

bc i was born in the united states w a v rigid view on adulthood, yes this shit is fucking disgusting literally let him be a black boy not a fucking man. that's gross and rooted in racism bc i fine boaf miles' fine but i ain't never once thought about fucking them hello?!? i am also fairly certain that the people writing them are either a) sheltered or b) white. the sheltered thing i can understand because im first gen and my version of the sex talk was when i was really young at an art museum w some paintings of nudity with my aunt (who attended catholic school) who told me to 'hold an aspirin between your thighs', and i also didn't get sex ed in school. so i understand the 'draw' of writing taboo shit and consuming it but. baby. come awwwnnnnn. like yeah, good on you for acknowledging ur very human sexual desires, but what the fuck miles is a minor please stop.

i love love love that this fandom has opinions/ visions for characters but yall needa chill. that 'hobie is in love with miles because he turns pink!' is cute when its just your opinion, however the color doesn't necessarily dictate his emotions (at least we don't know for sure, we don't know much abt hobie), and he also turned from yellow to pink while holding mayday. the pink can symbolize adoration if u will. that's not to say you cant have ur punkflower hcs, js don't PUSH it yall. ur human, okay? a lot of people have sexual desires which is cool but stop pushing ur horny on a minor and animated character. its not cool, does not pass the vibe check.

unrelated but in the same vibe as the previous rant-- gwens character. there's a lot of discourse rn about her possibly being trans WHICH IS COOL but I've seen people attack others for politely disagreeing. i love that a lot of people are feeling comfortable and recognized with possible hints towards peoples identities, but please calm the fuck down. it was never that serious, never that deep babes i promise. because, yes, representation is quite wonderful (speaking as a queer black girl) but it doesn't always spark change, sometimes it causes the latter. and in this instance of yall projected ur opinions to the absolute max, is not inciting change. its inciting anger, disagreement, and toxcity. i'm not gonna lie, i'm on the side of lets js leave things where they are until animators disclose something. but rae their color schemes-- yall do know that pride flags were also created with aesthetics in mind, right? blue, pink and white go pretty together, AND they compliment lighter skin tones (like gwen). purple blue and pink go good together too, and we see a lot of that in miles' palate. BECAUSE IT COMPLIMENTS MELANIN. i love love love how people are incorporating themselves and their identities into this movie, shit i even do this, but can yall CHILL? for the love of god.

moral of the story: stop and think for a sec, okay? i promise your brain has good thoughts, but not everything has to be shared with the world.

[lhrry]

I've been screaming in quite a number of different posts, but I think it is worth summarizing and collecting in one post, so, here we go. 

as you probably know because I can't keep quiet about it, we did a big pride flag push for Lights Up for HSLOT Prague, which I started preparing less than a month before the show and was then joined mainly by @nauticallyrics​, while another rainbow project (sectored rainbow lights) was planned for TPWK and we coordinated with the organizers. While @nauticallyrics and I managed to buy larger packs of flags on amazon, it was not easy to get flags in Czech rep, order them so that they'd get to people in time for the show etc., but the project was locally met with unbelievably positive reactions and people started printing flags and gluing them to paper straws or sticks, a lot of flags were painted and drawn (someone even glued stripes of coloured paper together), so many people were working on making hundreds of flags like that and it was absolutely unbelievable that people came together in such a way. When we got in front of the venue, there were so many rainbows already, big flags and small flags and at some point our volunteers even struggled finding people without flags. And so many people were distributing flags as well! In the end we managed to hand out all of the flags that we had. You can get a pretty good idea of what it looked like before the show here. 

Harry in Prague on July 15.

I've been talking about the way people were working so hard to make this work here a lot, the project instagram was very active, sharing people's photos of the diy flags, encouraging others to do the same, we were pushing it on tiktok as well which helped us a lot, and we also talked about people bringing big flags for Harry to pick up during the song, because it would be sad if he didn't when we were doing such a project, and I mentioned that several times here as well. The thing is, Harry seemed to know that the project was coming - we have no idea where he knew from or for how long he has known, but he surely did and there were a few indicators, the most evident one of them was the way he made sure to get a flag. The video which I'm referring to is here. Those of us who were in the pit actually saw this happen - a flag landed on the stage, Harry was walking away and then came back for it and held it folded up in his hand before the song even started. This was a moment in which many people started reaching for their flags as well, telling each other to get ready, I started undoing my big flag etc., and I actually saw he joined us - he quite literally joined us in getting ready for the project. But it was dark and seeing the videos taken from the sides, most people would just see him with a flag in his hand when the lights went up as the song was beginning. Given the fact that he hasn't picked up a flag during Lights Up at the following three shows even though two of them had rainbow lights projects for it, it seems that this was absolutely deliberate. 

He then went on to say “Prague, do you know who you are tonight?” with the flag still folded in his hand, then he hesitated and smiled a bit and finally said “Let's go!” but it seemed like for a moment he was going to say something else. You can see that a bit here and here. Again, the little smile and the hesitation seem to us to suggest that he knew what was coming (and perhaps almost said something that would give it away more?). (Depending on the way he found out, he might also have known what we looked like, and he did definitely see us both and he interacted, but that may very well be a coincidence, which I'm going to choose to lean towards, but thought it worth mentioning.) 

The project worked wonderfully, the flags were everywhere and I have no videos of my own because I was absolutely mindblown by how many flags there were. Harry looked so genuinely happy and pleased and you can see him dimpling and having fun in many moments which are just now surfacing, because we were all so focused on the project and on the flags being there and not many people filmed him. As you can see for example here, he also told us: “Put your flags up!” and encouraged us and acknowledged the project explicitly. After the first minute of Lights Up, he turned to the band and he smiled at them, and that smile showed everything, really: 

gif by @kiwikiwiandkiwi​ (original post here)

Videos of this moment: x, x, x, x.

But he was so happy the entire time, you can see him quite overwhelmed in one moment as well, and also, as a bonus, he caught a sunflower and a cowboy hat, which he managed to catch onto the sunflower stem and was very entertained by it haha. (see here)

Most importantly, though, the project worked out wonderfully and there must have been thousands of flags in the venue, which seems absolutely unbelievable to me given how small our team initial was and how hard they were to get by, but you can see they were in every sector and section, on the pit there was a sea of rainbows and it was the same on the sides, and the “nosebleed” sectors, even the restricted view sectors had so many flags. It was really Louis level of rainbows and it created the environment we strove for - so many people told us they felt safe and happy and loved, including myself. It was incredible! The fans worked so hard to make this happen, he knew, he participated, he encouraged us, he loved it and he seemed almost as happy as I was that we made it!

Some of the videos of the project: a video where his smile and the flags in the pit are very visible,  Liz's video , a compilation of the project from different povs, the entirety of Lights Up in Prague, another moment where the flags in the pit are especially visible , the flags on the big screen and Harry smiling so hard you can hear it, the LOTPrague instagram highlights collecting most of the videos , the project TikTok , final compilation on the project TikTok

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

From here on out, just assume a running content warning for ableism and racism/eugenics. I will flag anything new or out of the ordinary, but this is a book about ableism and eugenics, so those threads pop up everywhere.

Okay, we're back at it. We pick back up with chapter 8, when Eric and Kilmeny have their arranged meeting. Kilmeny is still being described as a child every other sentence. This is a thing LMM does when she wants to convey ~innocence~. Cecilia Gay (you know, a 26-year-old woman who'd had a child) was also constantly described as childlike and innocent. It grates on my more modern sensibilities, but it does feel more like literary shorthand than like LMM literally saying Kilmeny is a kid.

We waste no time re-establishing Eric as a jerk. "Somehow Eric did not like her references to Neil. The idea of that handsome, low-born boy seeing Kilmeny every day..." Neil, of course, has committed the dastardly crime of having the Wrong Parents. Eric can't just be jealous of Neil because he has a crush on Kilmeny and so is jealous of every single man who sees her (already an unpleasant character trait), Eric has to be superior and condescending about how Neil is the Wrong kind of people to breathe Kilmeny's air. 

Anyway, so Kilmeny is magic:

"What divine music she lured out of the old violin—merry and sad, gay and sorrowful by turns, music such as the stars of morning might have made singing together, music that the fairies might have danced to in their revels among the green hills or on yellow sands, music that might have mourned over the grave of a dead hope. Then she drifted into a still sweeter strain. As he listened to it he realized that the whole soul and nature of the girl were revealing themselves to him through her music—the beauty and purity of her thoughts, her childhood dreams and her maiden reveries. There was no thought of concealment about her; she could not help the revelation she was unconscious of making."

Kilmeny is entirely self-taught -- she said previously that Neil taught her how to hold a bow but everything else she figured out on her own. Given that the violin is one of her primary methods of communication, it does make sense that she would have figured out how to convey meaning through the music. It's less logical that Eric, who doesn't know her, would immediately pick up on the nuances of that communication instead of having to get to know her better, but it's a romance novel so fine. Whatever. Eric and Kilmeny have a spiritual magical connection and understand each other instinctively.

We learn that Kilmeny can laugh aloud, even if she can't speak. Eric asks about it, and she says that she can only make sounds when she's not thinking about it. When she is caught up in the moment she can laugh or make noises of fear or surprise, but if she tries to make sounds on purpose she can't. She also says this: " I asked mother once and she told me it was a judgment on her for a great sin she had committed."

Kilmeny doesn't notice that Eric only sees her as an extension of himself because all her life she has only ever been seen as an extension of her mother. She has been punished for Margaret's sin. (And, by the by, why is it Margaret who is being punished when it's Ronald who lied to her? Kilmeny said last chapter that on her deathbed Margaret regretted never forgiving Ronald or believing him when he said he didn't know his first wife was alive. Is that her sin?

Ew. I just realized. Margaret's sin is pride and her punishment for that sin is having born a disabled child. I hate it.)

Eric does have a good moment when he asks Kilmeny's permission to ask her about her muteness. As ever, Eric is poisoned by the fact that we can see his thoughts.

" Do not look so sorry, my friend. I am very happy and I do not mind so very much not being able to speak—only sometimes when I have so many thoughts and it seems so slow to write them out, some of them get away from me."

Kilmeny has the most healthy attitude on her disability we have seen thus far: it isn't hurting her, it is sometimes kind of annoying, but mostly she just lives her life. It's other people who make a big deal about it.

So Eric wishes that his friend, who conveniently is a nationally renowned throat specialist, could examine Kilmeny. On the one hand, sure. On the other, I wish he could take her at her word that she doesn't particularly mind and leave it alone. He's not doing it because he thinks it will make her happy, he's doing it because he thinks she is defective.

Ew.

(Also, as a sidenote, it's been a minute since we heard anything about Eric's students. The man is definitely not cut out to be a teacher, is all I'll say.)

[most-annoying-sponsorship]

Any submitted propaganda under the cut

Raycon - 10

God awful earbuds with 3 times the price of similar quality with the same script every god damn time at least allow creators to do something with it. Not an active scam product but they try so hard to market themselves like one and I don't understand.

1. It's been a while but at it's height, you couldn't get through a video without seeing someone shilling these subpar earbuds. 2. They're literally earbuds bought off of alieexpress with a fancy brand slapped over the top 3. They're garbage earbuds. DankPods did an excellent breakdown of why they're awful 4. Now everyone I know thinks Raycons are great despite them being as expensive or more so than actual established brands that work hard and take pride in their sound quality

I used them for a while actually but they just didn't work out for me so at this point I'm not going to start buying them again and I don't need to hear about it anymore

they’re everywhere. everyone i watch (which is a fairly diverse list) has a sponsorship. i also know zero people in my life who own them.

There are so much better earbuds that are also cheaper. Plus I don't wanna hear YouTubers awkwardly explain and show them being used, it's just dumb.

they wouldn't even stay in my ears plus the look like they go right up against your eardrums. red flags all around plus i hate wireless shit the battery lasts like two shakes at best

Cerebral - 1

Ok sorry this is gonna be an essay with some snark. So for some important background, at last report Cerebral is under investigation by both the DEA and DOJ for essentially being an online pill mill. This tech bro startup took advantage of a temporary measure meant to help patients keep their EXISTING prescriptions during the pandemic -- the usual rule is that controlled substances can only be prescribed after an in-person appointment, to avoid the exact kind of situation I'll describe, but of course when lockdowns made in-person appointments much harder then people who have been taking stimulants or w/e for years shouldn't be left hanging. But then, in comes the Cerebral tech bros who decide to build their new business off prescribing stimulants to NEW patients... to "95%" of new patients, to be exact, because one of them actually admitted "100% would be a pill mill". (Oh yes, 95% is much better, not just a malicious loophole at all /s) Basically, a patient would have a single 30-minute video appointment, take one quiz that's meant to be a SCREENING tool (not a diagnostic tool! if you get a high score that's an indication you need MORE testing to confirm a possible diagnosis!) and then immediately get prescribed stimulants with no physical exam (no EKG, heart rate, or blood pressure, just for starters that any RESPONSIBLE doctor would do) and no further questions asked.—

—That would have been bad enough, but the advertising and shilling. Oh god, the advertising and shilling. Cerebral put out ads deliberately overstretching "signs you may have ADHD" in such a way that would put Tiktok influencers to shame (and we'll fucking get to that.) Like one ad implying that overeating sweets, something that literally everyone does at one point or another, is a sign you should make an appointment with Cerebral to get that sweet sweet Addy! And as for the real treat, the actual sponsorships. They had a fucking AFFILIATE CODE PROGRAM. Tiktokers would be like "use my code to get $30 off your first month!" for PSYCHIATRY. Not only that, but for psychiatry prescribing stimulants which are addictive and can kill you if you're not being carefully monitored for heart problems. Tiktokers and ads would also describe this service as a "life hack" and emphasize how easy it is to get stimulants through this one neat trick! Medical ethics is dead and we killed it. It got to the point that major pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens started refusing to fill prescriptions originating from Cerebral, because if/when a pill mill gets busted, pharmacies that filled the prescriptions can also be held liable. Think of the opioid epidemic for examples of the situation they were trying to avoid. They noticed how suspicious it was that ALL THE SUDDEN there was a huge flood of prescriptions for addictive drugs, ALL originating from the same few healthcare providers (mostly Nurse Practitioners rather than Medical Doctors, because MDs were more likely to call out the ethical/legal violations, but even many of the NPs who worked for Cerebral described feeling pressured by the corporate higher-ups to increase prescriptions and discourage waiting or further testing) Once this all came to a head Cerebral tried damage control by no longer prescribing stimulants to new patients. I haven't heard any updates on the regulatory investigations since then. But you know what I haven't seen that's even more telling? Not one, not a SINGLE one of the content creators who shilled for this company EVER apologized. For all they know they could have contributed to getting someone killed, not to mention life-ruining addictions, all for that sweet corporate sponsorship cash. Even if you argue they might not have known better at the time (to which I say bullshit, it's your responsibility to at least google the company to see if there's any red flags, Cerebral had more than a communist parade) even AFTER all this started making national news, it was just dead silence and moving on to the next corporate sponsor. But hey, if you're struggling with Adderall addiction, I know just the thing to help! Sign up for BetterHelp using code "SHILL" to get $10 off- *dies*

[bondew]

Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk

Chapter four.

I didn’t really want to go to this party but after Chelsea texted saying she was I started getting ready as soon as I got home. I didn’t tell my parents the news instantly, I was kind of still in awe and shaking so it wasn’t really the best time. Maybe at breakfast or something? I put on my signature outfit, some grey parachute pants that make way too much noise and a little black tank that honestly sometimes makes me feel quite insecure. I tend to try and block that all out. Well block it out of everyone’s view atleast. As I apply makeup to cover my acne and blemishes phoebe bursts through my bedroom door, she’s wearing a beautiful blue, sparkly suit and her hair is curled, I didn’t think she was one to dress up but honestly she can. Pulling my shirt down so it covers my stomach I shove on some white ankle socks and my sparkly crocs. I put on my pride pins and as she watches she starts to dig in her pocket. I turn to see what she’s doing and notice she is now adjusting an aroace flag pin on her blazer. We both smile and she jingles her car keys as we both run out.

“You wear that outfit everywhere Dew!” She laughs as she turns the key.

“Ahem it’s either this or overalls so deal with it!” We both laugh and drive off.

As I step through the front door I instantly recognise the house, it’s Harry’s. Harry Greene’s. This knot in my stomach instantly tightens and doesn’t until release Phoebe and I find Chelsea. I hold her in a hug that probably lasts more than what is socially acceptable. Finding the group we all go to find ourselves some drinks and snacks. I see a few familiar faces, Tori and her lot, some theatre kids, some of Aled’s friends too. His friends from Truham are instantly recognisable, mainly because they are the only openly gay couple in like the history of the school. I like them. I haven’t ever talked to them. I wish I could though. The knot in my stomach returns as we walk through the sweaty crouds. Despite it being quite cold out the house is so packed that everyone is all hot and sticky. Tying my hair into a little half-pony I nod to my friends that I’m going to get some air. I find myself in the observatory sitting on a lounge, there isn’t many people in here. It’s kind of the only quiet place in this giant house. Swiping up on my lock screen I frown as I see no messages. I usually expect to see some but with false expectations every time it honestly just makes me feel shit. This is a dumb thing to complain about when I literally leave anyone who messages me on read anyway.

I look up to see all the drama kids kinda crowded together in a huddle on the floor. I only recognise a few, I don’t have any friends In theatre, although it’s been my class for four years now. They hurry me over and I sit down to see a bottle.

“We’re playing truth or dare come on!” A bubbly girl butts in. She has frizzy orange hair that’s all curly. She starts off by spinning and I don’t know if someone is praying on my downfall or just by chance it’s me.

“Uh truth?” I say, starting to pick at my nails.

“Oo! Who do you like?” She sits up on her knees and now the whole circle is staring.

“Nobody..?” My voice trails off as I scan at everyone’s faces. The only one I really recognise is Kael’s, he’s the boy playing the Beast. I shrug and pull my gaze to the floor. After playing a couple rounds I insist I go.

As I try and find my way back through this maze of a house I run into Harry Greene.

Instantly covering my pride pins he steps towards me. “Enjoying the party Shaw?” He says like a drunken idiot, well he is.

“Uhm it’s fine.” I manage to come up with. Harry Greene is the definition of a “British chav”, he’s a rugby lad and consistently uses “mate” in every sentence. I try to leave the conversation, usually when he talks to me it’s just to torment, tease and even bully.

“Found any ladies to kiss yet?” He laughs to his lot.

I tower over him and cross my arms, “More than you’ve ever in your entire life.” I stand my ground but he continues, I just stand there. As he continues I notice I start to care a bit more with every word he says. In a daze of a teenage, overthinking mind he suddenly gets cleared out of view. I snap back out of a messy thought and notice he has been completely pulled to the floor. Nick Nelson, one of the two opening queer boys at Truham is staring at me, smiling. I shake my head to remember what’s going on and instantly start thanking him. Pulling my hand off my chest to wipe my damp eyes he pulls me into a hug, I honestly don’t know what is going on. All I can think about is everything Harry said. Just then and in the past. Everyday of year 8 comes back, him bullying me constantly everyday after school. Having to hide my red under eyes from my parents, crying myself to sleep, repeating everything he said to myself in the morning to remind myself I suck. I pull out of the hug and run outside. I knew it was a shit idea to continue going inside as soon as I recognised the house.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

[twopoppies]

Seeing that interaction with those fans and the pride flags makes me so sad that fans don’t bring as much pride to Harry’s shows as they did during live on tour. There used to be a rainbow lights project for ftdt/sweet creature/sott every single night, and there were pride flags literally everywhere. The environment was so completely different than what it is now, much more open and accepting. Now shows have a more mean girl toxic energy, at least from my experience of attending recent shows and hearing fandom discourse. I wish we could go back in time sigh

Hi sweetheart. I think the early shows last year were like that—gross sexualizing signs and aggressiveness towards queer fans (I fully blame Watermelon Sugar and HSHQ), but in my personal experience and from what I’ve seen online, there have been lots of people bringing flags and there have been some great fan projects. But yeah, it’s much different when you have a small venue and your fans are very united. His fandom in 2022 is wildly different than it was in 2017.

[causesciencethatswhy]

Tbh I'm very skeptical when someone relates using pink/purple/blue colors to being bisexual. I use this palette everywhere (I literally used to run a pink/purple/blue aesthetic blog) and I'm a lesbian. Yes I'm aware that they are the colors of the bisexual flag but that ain't gonna stop me because I simply like them. Not saying it *necessarily* means nothing but realistically most people don't really care, they just see a pretty palette of colors not a pride flag.

You're not wrong, I think I didn't really do a good job of explaining why I think he's bi. I don't think he's Bi just because of the colors, but the colors make a difference when taken in correlation to all the queer things he's done. There have been a lot of signs that he's someone whose in the lgbt spectrum. Whether its the obvious crush he talked about having on Joon when he was a trainee multiple times, the insanity that is whatever jikook are up to, his emphasis on wanting to be his most authentic self and not be boxed in, the whole Troye Sivan phase in 2015-16, there's just a lot there and better bloggers than me can give you better examples. As for his attraction to women, im simply just taking his word for it, on the times he has explicitly talked about liking women. I think the colour schemes and flags matter once we establish the assumption that he is a queer man (possibly in a queer relationship).

In isolation, yes the colours don't have to mean anything, but if u do believe that he's a queer man, then I don't think it's too far off to believe that he would be aware of the flags used for different sexualities and might use those colours to identify himself with yaknow? So for sure, he could just like the color scheme without it meaning anything really. I just think there's room for speculation. At least we can agree that the Bi flag won the prettiest flag combination competition if there was any djdjjd

[explosionofdisbelief]

today i woke up and opened instagram, like i usually do, and the first post on my feed was from the Anti-Racism Daily (@/ardtakeaction) account posting about a nightclub shooting at a queer club. in my own city. it was a shocking way to learn about the news because for one, i never think of my city as being that noteworthy to end up on national outlets, and two it was a huge gut punch of a reminder that my little bubble is very far removed from the daily realities of life in my city.

i may have a skewed perception since i've lived in colorado most of my life, but it seems that we've had more than our fair share of mass shootings. first columbine, then the movie theatre shooting in aurora, and now this one. last night's shooting hits closest to home in more ways than one. literally, since it's a short drive from where i live. and also because it was a very targeted attack against the queer community.

i have never been to the club where the attack happened, but that doesn't matter. it was a safe space for queer people, one of few, in a city that is full of conservative evangelical spaces. at one point, this city held the headquarters of over 500 religious organizations. i don't know if that's true anymore, but that is a staggering number. it's also something that, living here day-to-day, is easy to forget. it's normal to see churches on every corner and get asked at a fast food drive-thru if you have a relationship with jesus (yeah, that happened to me once). for someone who's not religious, it's a bit of a trip sometimes.

i have to admit, i forget what colorado springs looks like to outsiders. and i get frustrated that the media's portrayal of this city is a one-note story of conservative evangelicalism and extremism. even the post where i found out the news about the shooting. because yeah, while colorado turned blue when obama became president and elected the first openly gay governor, colorado springs has always been red. and i understand that is what everyone sees from the outside. but i want to give you another angle. because that's not all that this city is.

i decided after hearing the news this morning i needed to get out and not just sit around and stew in my feelings. i was upset, and i knew just sitting and scrolling wouldn't be good for me. i live downtown, which is a bit of a liberal/queer oasis in this city, and if you only know colorado springs from what you hear on the news, you would never think this was the same place.

almost all the shops downtown are locally owned and many of them, including my favorite coffee shop, have pride flags hanging in their windows all year long. (this photo is from earlier this year, but there are still flags everywhere.) i went there today, and spent about an hour reading, which is something i do often. i saw many visibly queer people come in and out, as usual. but today i was more aware of them. most people probably wouldn't guess i'm queer just by looking at me (especially here), but i do feel a kinship with queer people i see out in the wild, even if it's just one-sided.

there is a queer club downtown as well (which i went to many moons ago before i knew i was queer myself), a burlesque club that hosts drag shows, a theatre that (before the pandemic) regularly hosted interactive showings of rocky horror, and a huge park that hosts the pride festival every summer. there is probably more, but i am very much an indoor girl so i don't know half of what goes on.

after i left the coffee shop i visited the tattered cover, one of my favorite bookstores, to pick up some books i had ordered. on my way in i almost ran into a very large, intimidating looking white man. he startled me (not hard to do), but then i saw his shirt. it was a pair of hands making a heart shape with a rainbow heart inside. i almost burst into tears right in the middle of the store 🥲 (i'm very emotional today, i can't help it). it felt more meaningful today than it would other days. i don't now if he was queer or not, but it didn't matter. the fact that he made the choice to wear that shirt today, in public, was a statement of support. a loud one.

after i picked up my books, i left right away to avoid any temptation of buying more 👀 (i have a problem)

but i want to mention one of my favorite things about this tattered cover location: in their romance section, they have a special subsection for lgbtq+ romance 🥰 they know their audience and make it easy for us to find the books we want! the first time i saw it, it made me feel so welcome. it's such a small thing to do, but makes such a difference to customers like me.

on my way home, i always people-watch. i put in my earbuds so i don't have to talk to anyone. today i was listening to a queer romance, because i needed something happy. i've been on a bit of a horror kick lately, and while i love it, today was not really the day for that

i crossed paths with a queer couple on the sidewalk. two women, holding hands and laughing, cuddling close together because it's cold today and neither of them had on a coat. i couldn't help but smile because they were so absorbed in each other. and of course, i almost started crying again (i really am a mess today, guys).

because even when the worst thing happens right in our own city, when we are targeted just for daring to be who we are, queer people still aren't afraid to be loud and proud.

i know a lot of the news you see today will focus on the hatred and the evangelicals and the maga crowd and the reason this tragedy happened in the first place. and that is important. because this didn't come out of nowhere. but i just wanted to offer a few little humanizing moments of my city to remind everyone that we are more than just that. this city is more than the hate-filled people that put us on the news, even if we are in the minority. we're still here.