#bc to very many white queer people queerness is White. they can only view it through a white gaze

[iwtvdramacd18]

Ok no more white people can watch amc iwtv we've had enough we've reached the quota thank you....

[edwardallenpoe]

Hey. Just wanted to put my two cents in, like everyone else on Tumblr dot com is. (It got pretty long so putting it under a cut)

I don't really care about what you think should happen to the fandom. Like. If you are going to continue to engage in the fandom without giving Neil any sort of gain is fine. I'm personally still on the fence on what the fuck to do now. But let's not make that the whole focus, yeah? What Neil allegedly did was fucking terrible. Like. Objectively worse than what JKR did when things first came out about her. Let's forget good omens and sandman and coraline for a minute (don't care if you still engage with those things or burn your copies and remove your tattoos, let's just put it down for a minute.) and try really hard to think. Because we all hated JKR. We burned her reputation to the ground. For good reason. But we can't even decide if we hate Neil Gaiman yet? Guys. Please. We have to believe all women. Plus he's a rich fucking white dude who has admitted to using his power for gain.

And if it turns out (which this is a 8% chance) that this is all not what it seems to be, or even all of it is fabricated, and Neil is innocent, we still gotta stop worshipping this dude. This has got to be a wakeup call that he's not some Messiah. He's a human dude in power who does the same shitty things human dudes in power do.

And I get it. You want to continue to like your stories that he helped create (key-word 'helped' bc he was a part of a team with a lot of these stories, including Sir Terry Pratchett) but me personally? I would be a massive hypocrite if I metaphorically burned my Harry Potter stories to the ground and put HP fans in my DNI because of JKR but said "separate the art from the artist" with Neil Gaiman.

And this is coming from any other Good Omens fan that became way too attached to the story. Like a lot of people have said that story helped in very. Very fucking trying times. It was my rock, some days the only thing keeping me going. The fandom has been an amazing place of creativity and community and love.

But so was Harry Potter. If you think about it. If any Good Omens fans were previous Harry Potter fans you'll know just how wide spread and open and creative and deep the hp fandom was. And this may just be me misremembering because it was a couple years ago at this point (plus everything with Neil Gaiman is still such news) but because JKR was spouting rhetoric that directly harmed us (us being majority queer and poc people) we drop-kicked hp pretty fast and focused on the artist and her shittiness.

Can we have the same attitude towards Neil? Can we separate the art from the artist long enough to fucking focus on Neil? When I say separate the art from the artist I don't mean "remove artist, continue to enjoy art" I mean "remove the art and focus on the artist, and study that motherfucker". How many video essays are their out about JKR? How many books referencing her terribleness? Without giving so much as a hint to Harry Potter?

Separate the art from the artist and focus on the artist and bringing him to justice. And believe the victims.

And yeah I can see your arguments against the source of the information and who the victims went to tell their stories, I can understand those arguments, but let's look at the data, okay? Let's look at what Scarlett and K actually said with their actual words and their actual messages and separate the source from the material. What Scarlett and K talked about is scary. Terrifying. I couldn't even read more than a little bit before I got triggered. I wasn't caring about how the source podcast was talking about it. What Scarlett and K said with their own words should be enough. Make your own judgements. If you can't look at a story without being influenced by the storyteller's hidden agenda and not have critical thinking skills????? I'm sorry but that's going to be your downfall.

Or better yet, if you can't believe victims because they have political views that differ from your own (which, they probably don't. From what I can tell nobody really fucking knows what Scarlett and K's political views are but it doesn't really matter) you need to really study and look into what you mean when you call yourself a "leftist". Because it's not very progressive or helpful to not believe or help victims because of their political views. Sorry. Is that wild for me to say? Idk

Uh anyways. I don't really care what you do in your free time when it comes to enjoying the fandoms. I don't necessarily think it makes you a terribly shitty person for still engaging in it instead of burning all your Neil Gaiman stories, and also like a lot of people have said (and since I'm on the same boat) treating fans like the scum of the earth when a lot of fans have had good omens as a way to escape and has become super dependent on good omens and are justifiably horrified by everything and trying to ignore it is shitty. But I'm personally going to continue to follow this story because I care about the victims. Not because I want to be guilt-free reading a fanfic about an angel and a demon. Because I care about real life people.

[le-trash-prince]

I've been in a "watch 500 van conversion tour videos" mood lately so i'm just gonna post some of my thoughts (lots of complaining about YT and lifestyle minimalists here)

as always I hate YT's algorithm and how difficult it is to get past the wall of full-time influencers

Legitimately I hate when youtubers are like "here's an instructional video on how to do [thing i am doing for the first time]." This is something I genuinely think YT has damaged about DIY culture because ppl think that you can learn something just by watching a video. Like yes, you can receive instruction through a video, but you have not actually learned how to do something with your hands until you have learned it with your hands, and even then you shouldn't be giving people instruction on how to do it when you've only done it once??

I think the Malaysian food ep of Dish Granted is a really good example of this, when Steven is like "oh I'll pull chai while spinning in a circle the way the chaiwallahs do" and then realizes the hubris of that statement bc there is a high level of physical skill involved in what they do that simply watching a video simply does not magically gift you. I was really glad when Ronny Chieng basically called him out "sure the meal is good for a first attempt that you threw together but you can't pretend this compares to actual Malaysian street food. Like as street food it's crap lol"

in that vein I hate the videos that are titled "here's the best way to do xyz for your van" and it's like. the person's very first van build and they've never lived in a van before. like how do you know that's the best way? because you read about it on the internet?

anyways love this one tour video where 20 minutes into the tour, the dude goes "and here's my crockpot. because I really love soup." and then their camera guy who has been completely silent just busts out laughing and is crying "I rEaLLy LoVe SoUp."

one van had the BL sheets and I hate that my vision has been cursed this way

love the no-nonsense approach that the channel Cheap RV Living has.

also hate how hard it is to get past the YT algorithm of "wealthy white ppl doing xyz" and talking about the spiritual freedom it grants them to live more sustainably by getting rid of all their things that work perfectly well and then building an apartment's worth of furniture from scratch and cladding an entire van with virgin wood. did no one teach y'all about the thrift store.

every time someone is like "living in a van has enriched my life because it taught me how to be uncomfortable" i'm like "...... wait you guys were comfortable before?"

so many of the designer builds look completely the same but i will admit i do at least enjoy the current trends of interior design (warm whites, earth tones/natural wood stain, gold accents, the color green) as opposed to the whitewashed colorless shiplap trends of the 2010s. like yesss paint those lower cabinets green, go off girl. but also i have to wonder what the point of having something custom made is if it's just going to look like what everyone else has??? (aside from the fact that it garners views sure whatever)

at this point if it's a couple doing a van tour video i automatically skip it because i'm tired of the level of (fake?) cheerfulness it requires for 2 ppl to live in a 60sq ft space and talking about how "it's the best thing ever" in that social media voice. i say this but i haven't had any queer couples come across my feed yet so i could feel differently about that. I'd maybe watch videos from that lesbian couple in How to Build a Sex Room that were totally gunning for a threesome with the old lady designer.

take a shot every time a video is like STEALTH CAMPING and it's literally just someone hanging out in their van in the middle of the day watching TV before they go buy their groceries. i do that all the time, it's called "i don't want to get out of the car."

before someone even says what their previous housing status was, you can tell the diff between the homeless ppl and the rich ppl just based on who actually has stuff and is excited to talk about their stuff vs who is trying to emphasize their lack of material attachment while filming a video about their belongings.

also love the one dude who had a basic bed set-up in an otherwise empty van, went to IKEA and bought a metal folding table and a burner, set it up in the corner and had such genuine enthusiasm for having a kitchen in his car. like legitimately he was so excited and i was excited for him! vs the person looking like they were gonna murder someone bc they mismeasured a wood panel in their ~under $10K~ fully custom build.

[alchemicalwerewolf]

it’s time to infodump, me thinks.

⚠️⚠️DEAD BOY DETECTIVES SPOILERS AGEAD⚠️⚠️

Ok so, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but I’ve been posting about it a lot. I’m obsessed with this Netflix show dead boy detectives.

It’s based on a DC comic series created by Neil gaiman. It’s about two ghosts, Edwin payne (an Edwardian school boy who was killed by demonic sacrifice and spent 70 years in hell before he escaped) and Charles Rowland (an 80’s punk who went to the same school as Edwin but 70 years later, and died bc he stood up for a Pakistani kid. His friends threw rocks at him while he was in a freezing lake. He died of hypothermia and internal bleeding)

The parallels of their deaths is literally so scrumptious. Like both perceived as odd? Yes. (Edwin seemed queer, in both senses of the word. And Charles was seen as weird bc he wasn’t white and also had pink views and style). Both killed by people they thought were their friends? Yes. It’s so wonderful.

So basically, they run a detective agency together, where they solve mysteries for ghosts, that way said ghosts can conclude their unfinished business and move on. However Edwin and Charles are constantly running from death, because Edwin wants to help others, and Charles wants to stay close to Edwin. One of their cases leads them to a psychic girl named crystal palace. She can see them bc of her powers (also important note, people with near death experiences can see ghosts as well). She was possessed by a demon (who is anlso her ex situationship/bf(?) and named David. He anlso wears a fuck aas ugly fedora) and they helped her. But the thing is she can’t remember anything, so Charles being the sweetie he is tells her she can stay with them. Edwin doesn’t like this bc she is human and humans are “messy,” he is also jealous bc he can tell Charles likes her. Well, he pushes that asside and desires to just be catty towards her. Crystal’s powers lead them to begin a new case, across the pond, one might say, in Port Townsend Washington (for reference their office is set up in London I believe. So this is a long journey) they land and hijinks immediately ensue.

One demon named cat king, many cases closed, one Charles and crystal kiss, a lesbian butcher date gone wrong, one sweet yaoi loving Aquarius girl, a crow turned boy, an evil witch, a walrus turned man, a few constituents of death, and many repressed feelings later, Edwin finds himself ready to admit his feelings for Charles. Btw, Edwin didn’t even know his feelings for Charles was love until a certain crow turned man, kissed him and made him realize. But Edwin is about to tell Charles, when suddenly he is ripped back to hell by a spider made of babydoll heads.

Charles is obviously very upset about this, and he convinces a certain constituent of death to open a portal to hell, so that he can retrieve Edwin. She agrees, but only after reading his memories, and finding out how Edwin and Charles met.

Edwin was soaking wet and shivering in the attic of his boarding school, when he sees a boy dressed in an old uniform carrying a lamp. The boy gives it to him and Charles asks him questions about himself. This is Edwin and he reveals that he is dead. So they talk for the last few hours of Charles’s life. Edwin had literally just escaped hell, and felt he had to help a boy who had undergone something as, if not more, traumatic than himself. This is why Charles wanted to stay with him and help him solve cases.

After she sees this, Charles basically says “he shouldn’t be in hell.”

And he goes to find him. He guides himself with a map that Edwin had drawn in a notebook. When he finds Edwin in hell, Edwin is shaking and terrified. He reveals that his punishment is to see himself be ripped to shreds by this spider thing. He says he can’t make it out, and Charles is basically like “naw mate I’m here” and he throws an old timer bomb at the spider.

They run away and as they are running through the last layer of hell, the staircase back up to the mortal realm, Edwin stops. And he’s like “Charles so gotta tell u this in case we don’t make it. I love u” and Charles is like “yah i loc eu too ur my best mate” and Edwin says “no I love you as more than a friend, I fear.” My reaction to that: 😭😭 And Charles essentially says “is this some typa Orpheus and Eurydice type shit” and Edwin is like “bruh that story ends badly.” To which Charles goes “idk I didn’t finish it I was bored. Anyway, I can’t say necessarily that I’m IN love with you. But if we make it outta here, we will have like eternity to figure it out.

so they escape, and Edwin is like “I was rejected”

BUT DUDE. Charles literally said, I haven’t thought of my love for you as romantic, but we have time for me to figure out if I can love you like that.

And I think about that everyday 😭😭😭😭

This is a very simplified version of the story. There’s so much sad awful heartbreaking shit. But I cut it out for ur sake. This show is like addicting. Straight up crack.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my incoherent babbling. If u made it this far… congrats? Idk

Ok bye bye.

I did make it that far. That seems very interesting!

[buddiesmutslut]

I saw a post the other day about someone being pissed that people were calling Eddie gay instead of bi only because they couldn't handle more than one bisexual person on a show. Now, I didn't make Eddie gay/demi, he was born that way, BUT it got me thinking, because the whole crew feels very fruity? SO, I want to get your guys' opinions on what you think the rest of the characters are. (JUST the characters. We're not speculating on the actors. We all know this.) I'm going to put mine below & I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts :) These are by vibes only. As a definite demisexual and probable bi woman, idk how great my gaydar is, but sexuality is a spectrum & straight isn't the default, so let's go!!

Bobby - 0% fruity. That is a straight, middle aged white man (affectionate) if I've ever seen one.

Athena - Also straight.

Chim - Chim feels very straight to me, but that scene with the bachelor had me peering at him a little closer, because I've never watched the Bachelor, but it looked like Joey (I think that was the bachelor's name, right? I've never watched a single episode of that show so I have no idea) had been around before, so I couldn't tell if he was like, starstruck, or "Wow that's a pretty boy and it's making me feel things" -struck 😂

Maddie - I don't get many vibes from her either, but I also have a vague fic idea of Madney breaking up in s4/s5 and her ending up with Shannon instead, so idk, maybe she's just unlabeled but somewhere on the spectrum of queerness?

Shannon - Bi vibes

Taylor Kelly - 100% bi, I refuse to hear any other argument.

Lucy Donato - This is a pansexual woman if I've ever seen one, you cannot convince me otherwise. (Also, the most interesting AND likable of Buck's female LI's, argue with the wall. Lucy, they'll never make me hate you bby 🩷💛💙.)

Lena Bokso - Lesbian vibes, for sure. I don't think there was ANY romantic undertones with her and Eddie (Which, I'm not saying that's the only reason I think she's a lesbian. She can like men and not like Eddie. Even if she did, Eddie wasn't in a place to do anything with those feelings, but I saw a post about that pairing recently & wanted to throw my 2 cents in)

May Grant - May also gives off queer vibes, and I've seen other view her as full wlw, but I think she gives off more bi/pan vibes?

Ravi - This man is soommmeee kind of queer that I just cannot put my finger on. I've seen him HC'd as gay, pan, & ace in some way, and I can honestly rock w/ any of the 3 of them. All I know is that he is not a straight man lol.

Albert - Also unsure about him, but if someone were to tell me that he was bi, I could definitely see it. I think that's influenced by the fic that had him, Ravi & May in a throuple, which was genuinely so cute.

Ana - Dr. Flores doesn't give off queer vibes for me, but that could be bc she was criminally underdeveloped & we know practically nothing about her.

Natalia - See above ^^

Ali Martin - Same ^^ although I could see her just being queer and not being more specific than that. Maybe she's straight, who knows. I literally forgot about her until I was looking up actor/actress names 😂

M*risol - straight & homophobic lmfao

Abby - Literally could not care less about her, but I wanted to include her so I could talk about her possibly being Tommy Kinard's ex-girlfriend and her coming back to LA for whatever reason and finding her ex-boyfriends happy & having totally forgotten about her predatory ass.

Also, obviously not speculating about any of the children, bc they're still children, even if they're fictional. It's icky.

I think that's all the main/reoccurring characters that we don't already know about, let me know if I missed any.

Talk about being the gay firefighter show, how accurate lmfao.

[magicrainbowkitties]

Ya know, having grown up a fat girl who later realized I wasn't one, and now being a fat enby most people gender as a man, I really feel comfortable with postulating this here theory:

Fatness is reviled in society because it's "failed" gender.

A fat woman has "failed" as a woman bc she's unappealing and weird for men to be in the same space as her (not to mention she is literally, physically taking up more space), and thus she must correct her "failure" by whatever means necessary to maintain her image and her womanhood.

A fat man, by the same token, has "failed" as a man because he's "lazy" and unwilling to put the work on himself to be as strong and smart as he could possibly be. He must always be improving his physical prowess, not just necessarily for the "attraction of a mate" (as many internet weirdos I've seen put it), but because a man has to always LOOK successful and hard-working.

Granted this can go vice versa. But this is the larger mentality I've seen in regards to fatness. Either way, it's also important to mention that the way we view fatness and gender in society today finds its roots in white supremacy. People of color are similarly seen as a "failed" gender, and our conception of fatness as a moral failure in general is deeply rooted in hatred of black bodies specifically, especially those of black women.

The way it is right now, you are only truly succeeding at gender if you're white, skinny, and conforming. And that's a load of bullshit, obviously, but it certainly explains a lot of how misogyny, trans/queerphobia, racism, and fatphobia overlap and inform each other (thus also reinforcing why intersectionality is so important).

It also goes even further to prove that no matter how hard we try, no matter who we exclude, or how much we conform, we will STILL never be enough for them. I could try all day to "just not do trans shit" (actual words spoken by an actual person to me, a trans person, unironically), and yet by simple virtue of being fat, AFAB, and trans, I will still be on the chopping block bc I'm not gonna be able to succeed at playing the gender game correctly. Granted, I'm a very long way behind black trans folks in that regard, but it's still important for folks to realize that-

1. Non-queer gender is a game

2. You have to win the genetic lottery or you loose

3. Even if you win that, you loose if you step a toe out of line of what your agab is supposed to do/act/look like

4. Loosing means you've failed gender, which means you will be shamed and bullied and discriminated against until you can figure out how to not fail (you can't)

5. Things should not be this way

6. Fuck this whole game and do whatever you want forever

Would love to hear other marginalized folks' opinions on this, and do let me know if my analysis is lacking in some areas. I'm just trying to learn shit really XD. Thanks for reading, have a lovely day <3

[possibilistfanfiction]

(1/2) Yeah absolutely, I get what you mean with Ava just being blissed out by Beatrice. I guess I phrased it wrong, not necessarily about directly comparing B to a bro, but it's more like, I wonder if Ava - in the same way that Beatrice is allowed to explore her identity - if Ava allows herself be introspective and examine her own attraction and ~types, so to speak. But maybe it's not needed?

(2/2) Like is Ava in the gog so on the other side of identity acceptance that she can just be ~present with B and isn't really hung up on a needing to further explore herself within the relationship? Like that natural freedom she has to her helps her make peace with concepts comes to her much faster and more naturally than B? (Also thank u for ur time u legend)

ok i'm not Entirely sure what this is getting at but just to clarify a few things that i think it's asking:

1 ava's experience of/with queerness is profoundly different than bea's. i don't think that ava's ever struggled with being queer any more than she's struggled with not having the access to experience everything she wants. for ava, desire is so integral to her ability to experience what life is ('i want to live') without systemic, more than any, limitations, & so it makes sense that queerness would just be a part of how to fully access pleasure & want & love & safety. (there's so much more in here about how if ava had been given care & access then being disabled wouldn't have taken away any huge degree of pleasure from her life, but that's for another day! whew.) bea's experience with queerness is one of fear, of it being 'a flaw,' one that made her feel not valued, not worthy. so even just within their characters, i don't think that ava's exploration of queerness is internal so much as it is just... getting to feel the things that come along with love, especially queer love. bea's is allowing herself to be who she is, in whatever way that may be or look at the time. also, ava is white, & bea is Asian, & there's cultural & systemic harms that come along with intersections of identity (including ava's disability too, of course). so i think ava's queerness is an external exploration, in a way, & bea's is just like. letting herself feel anything at all, & then working for that to be positive.

2 listen... ava isn't on love island lmao.

she liked JC, maybe even loved him in a way, & then Fell IN LOVE with bea. even if she did have 'types' (which is like... beyond a little laugh, kind of weird in most cases), i really just do not fuck with the idea that masc of center women, especially butches & dykes, are in the same category as cis men. butches & dykes are like... god tier (so are femmes, y'all know i love u!). but like, even if ava DID have types, bea with short hair & a good pair of pants isn't anywhere close to JC in any categorization?? maybe if ava was like hmm soft butches?? hot.... bea, tasha cloud.... awesome. but bea & a boy. no. i think ava's 'type' is just people who show her patience & kindness & are funny & smart. beyond that, she's just glad she's hot & they're hot

3 there are so many ways — infinite ways!!!! — to be butch! & they're all beautiful & they're all hard to come to! i think i write abt bea's queerness bc a) i love writing abt being butch bc i love being butch lol; b) being butch is abt private decisions you have to make, all the fucking time! how do u want ppl to read you as a woman/dfab person who isn't a trans man but like... doesn't feel like a CIS WOMAN? do u feel safe to be masc? what does androgyny & masculinity look like TO YOU? butchness for me is actually so fucking soft, & wonderful. i don't picture (or write) bea as a stone or hard butch; there's a comfortable breath of an in-between there: cottons & linens & soft hair & clean skin, a big bed, a little mascara, the very rare suit but not often, & only for events. it's on purpose, bc i think ppl often have a p reductive view of masculinity & butchness, & femininity & femmeness, & all the gentleness that exists in being a dyke kind of gets lost. it's just... not femme. there are so, so many ways to be soft butch especially. & those are all decisions that have to be made all the time. like it is constant &, while having a partner who is truly just along for the ride is helpful, my wife being supportive of me hasn't made those decisions on my behalf. i have to make them, every day, every time i get dressed, every time i put on a watch or shoes, even just to like... go to the store. it rly is smth u are constantly figuring out, even without like hyper-homophobic parents fucking you up as a kiddo. so yeah, i think, if ava wants to try anything w appearance, bea wouldn't care at all, she would be just as happy. but like... the essence of being a dyke isn't abt appearance so much as it is everything, & aesthetic is just a way to reflect who you are. & i know i've written this, very clearly lol, but bea's queerness (& ava's, & anyone's) has absolutely nothing to do with who they date, or marry, or love, or fuck. being queer is a politic, an expression, a way of existing. being a dyke is those things in spades, with a very, very special orientation toward liberation throughout history.

4 w my life partner, & my friends, all i care about is that they're happy. like legit. are ur material needs met? do you feel loved by me? -- if those are both good strong yeses, then like... we are good. i cannot imagine loving my partner less if she wanted to do literally anything aesthetically other than maybe like... a giant face tattoo or something lol. but exploring expression? i would never feel less than proud or brave. do i have favorite stuff? of course! do i think my friends sometimes make decisions that are not the cutest possible? of course! so do it! bc i want to! bc i want to try. & so yeah, i don't think ava would ever think less of bea, & i don't think bea would ever think less of ava. it's not like, a lack of care abt being physically attracted to someone, it's like... u love that person, & their body is gorgeous. ava's disabled, too, so u know there is profound care that bea shows & has to grow into as that changes & shifts too!

anyway i still don't know what this was rly asking lol but... butches/dykes should not be in the same category as cis men at all ever lol; ava & bea are just horny & in love. rules of thumb

[spoonsforminutes]

So it’s gotten to that point. i’ve been receiving IOP from a mental health clinic, and my group trauma therapist is transphobic. Even more so, she’s been taking advantage of that fact that we unpack serious things in group settings, and I have a habit of dissociating to perpetuate her transphobic ideas in which it is my fault if i feel bad when someone misgender means. I have severe trauma from emotional abuse and neglect which only ended 6 months ago, at least in terms of my family having enough power and ignorance to believe that they were justified in the way they treated me, but i am still very much healing. I’m trying so hard to survive and get away from my abusive environment, but i’m realistic. i plan to move next year in jan, and in the midst of trying to pay all my bills and not go insane from the lack of financial freedom i have beyond necessities and bills, i’m trying to save as much as i can while also being nice to myself.

but today someone in my group was expressing distress over using a feminine term to refer to me when i’ve explained that i identify as transmasculine, and i was too busy doing something else, so my therapist took it upon herself to explain that it was my fault for feeling bad when people misgender me and that it is my responsible to correct people. which like, she’s a white cisgender woman who has trauma and is likely autistic so i’ve been giving her the benefit of the doubt, but no, she’s completely wrong. as a mental health professional currently in charge of my safety, she is directly endangering my health. i sent her an email after i processed what the fuck happened, and basically said this is your one warning to stop being transphobic and read up on all the ways your behavior threatens my physical and mental well-being, and if so necessary, i will seek legal action for discrimination. i have been gaslight a fuck ton so i have no confidence in myself, but my gut has been seeing all the news that more and more confirms the worst, and my c-PTSD symptoms are getting worse. history repeats itself, and i feel like i’m the one who recognizes the pattern except, you know, i’m part of the group that people currently want to see dead. and people praise me and treat me nicely bc they see an intelligent woman (which trauma-reinforced but also i fucking had top surgery last year????) but i think they view me as an “acceptable” queer person. which nooo, i did not spend so many years facing abuse literally just because i felt intense fucking pain that no one thought they could understand only for people in power to continue treating me like shit and then getting angry when i don’t roll over and die. i identify as a threat and a thing you do not want to cross. my years of sickness and illness mean that i don’t respect anything unless it has blood, sweat, tears, and defiance written all over it. you HAVE to feel pain to feel human, and all fucking pain is valid. i am so sick of watching a whole community of people being looked over and forgotten about, for even the “acceptable” ones of us having to beg for crumbs of decency. it’s inexcusable, and i legit do not give a shit for why we have to wait around for a bunch of people to decide that others get to live. i’m living NOW. DEAL WITH IT

[ilikekidsshows]

Not sure I agree with that last anon. First off, feminists are actaully the most likely group to listen to men's problems than any other group. Tbf not every feminist does that, like man haters and Terfs are a different stories, but feminist who know what they're talking about have a broader view than "man vs woman" and understand that everyon esuffers under patriarchial standards, just in different ways. Non-feminists and especially your typical "dude bro alpha males" will absolutely make fun of any man having any feelings that aren't anger. I'm a man and I speak from peronal experience here.

And honestly I'm so tired of people complaining about how feminism ruined the show bc Mari has more screentime than Adrien. Astruc wouldn't know feminism if it hit him in the face. He just fails to understand that feminism is not "woman strong man weak". Adrien is the focus of most plot lines because he's Marinette's main motivator to do anything. Astruc based her entire personality about liking a boy. Doesn't sound very feminist to me.

The Adrien abuse not being followed more is also not the result of feminism, it's just a quirky little accessory for Adriens character so the fandom doesn't entirely forget he's here. Hell, Adrien being an abuse victim is like the number one reason why he is so popular in the first pace. Gabe's an ass, Adrien is sad, the audience feels sorry for him. There's no substance, no complexity, no overcoming any complicated emotions. And that's not because feminism, it's because the writers have no idea what being abused actually means, especially how the actions of the abusers get constantly excused. Not only Gabriel, but also Audrey and Jagged who abandoned their kids get away scot free. The writers don't care about abuse victims or giving them a character they can relate to, they just use it as a character trait because they don't know how else to make a character likeable and symathetic. It has nothing to do with any narrative about how "white men are predators" or whatever.

I'm guessing you saw my posts as merely a chance to rant about fandom tendencies that get you peeved, but next time, please just say so, instead of trying to make it sound like I said something I didn't. Like, I get it, the Anon messaging me made it sound like they thought the Miraculous crew were radfems, which I also highly doubt. But also note that this message you sent really reads like you're saying I said or implied something like: "feminism ruined Miraculous" or "feminists treat male victims of abuse worse than other people", which I absolutely did not. I'm a queer feminist, but I'm not exactly running a social justice information blog here. Not everything I say is going to sound perfectly eloquent, but my response in that post was literally less than 200 words; you can spend more time reading it if you're going to send me an essay saying things I was trying to say but with more words and defensiveness and countering arguments I didn't make.

I should probably say this: you're not wrong but that doesn't mean I'm wrong either. Yes, feminists are more likely to listen to and advocate for male victims than other parties. HOWEVER, it is still an undisputable fact that many feminists (note: I never said all) hold the belief that men can never be victims, and that attitude is not only present in radical feminists. I don't like it either, but some feminists are jerks and we can't deny that fact. Still, the main point I was trying to make was that this attitude is not tied to feminism or anti-feminism to begin with; it's a more universal societal bias.

I agree with your point that Miraculous doesn't necessarily have anything to do with denying male victimhood, as I said: the writers don't need to villify Adrien in order to not focus on his story. I was merely stating that the subconcious bias around abuse makes it very easy for the writers to just go: "there isn't really a story here." It's true that the Miraculous writers really don't seem to grasp just how much parental abuse happens in their story, which means that the underlying bias we can see in the show might actually be about parental abuse, rather than male victims specifically. While Kagami is getting support over her situation, Chloé isn't, so it might not be tied to the victim's gender. Still, there is clearly a bias in the show's writing where the abuse present in the story isn't being taken seriously as abuse.

I even agree that Miraculous being a girl power show is not some great failure of feminism, even when some issues with the show come specifically from it being a girl power show. "Girl power" is just the most basic way of making a show that's designed to get girls to like it, and it often doesn't lend itself to nuanced storytelling. Girls being the target audience doesn't make this show feminist; it's just what the creators think appeals to girls.

It's just kind of pathetic that all these problems are becoming more prominent specifically in the seasons the showrunners are trying to tell us are going to be more mature and emotional. Not that raising the rating by one bar is that big of a difference, really.

[princeoftherunaways]

2023 book recs! (to read and to skip)

inspired by @deanmarywinchester's incredible rec list and general reading reviews!

RECOMMEND:

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: I love you autistic androids. forever and ever. I'm pretending the adaptation is not happening bc I don’t think the screen can do it justice so I’m simply enjoying every single page of these books before there’s inevitable show Discourse. I love the plots and the dialogue and just like murderbot I too wish I could be left alone to watch my shows.

Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Lavery: this book has a couple excerpts on here that make the rounds and piqued my interest and holy shit. if you are trans and queer and probably autistic. read this book as fast as you can. I felt seen in every word and also. Absolutely read to filth.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant (the masquerade series) by Seth Dickinson: I think I finally started this series because of my bestie @ofbowsandbooks (as is the case with so many things) but who's to say. either way I read this towards the beginning of the year and have not stopped thinking about it since. if you read it. please listen to so much (for) stardust by fob. I cannot recommend the specific kind of damage it does to you while rotating baru and tain hu in your mind. just. tailored to me in so many ways (fantasy story about imperialism and masks and lying and the terrible power of math) so I do admit bias there.

Settlers by J Sakai: If you can only read a book or two about understanding why colonialism/capitalism is at the root of all evil...read this book. It's at the top of my general list of political nonfic recs (next to capitalism & disability by marta russell and border & rule by Harsha Walia). I like to describe it as a leftist pov of us history that pulls apart some of the liberal/white "optimism" of People's History of the US.

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib: I think this was also based on an excerpt I saw on here. I finally started getting into memoirs/essay collections this year and WOW. I mean, even if that genre isn't your thing, you should still read this book. It's just so so good, and utilizes unique topics (particularly music, I love his FOB essay) to explore both small personal moments and larger existential issues.

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon: This is considered a staple of anticolonial movements & education for a reason. Definitely helpful for understanding the global decolonial revolutions of the 1960s.

Decarcerating Disability by Liat Ben-Moshe: An incredible study of abolition from a disability lens. Clear (if a bit repetitive at times) but overall an engaging read that definitely brings a much needed addition to larger abolition texts.

Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: I read this one after seeing @deanmarywinchester's posts about it. I read it in two days and it knocked me so hard on my ass. Especially as someone who was obsessed with the hunger games in middle/high school. Just. Wow. holy shit. we knew this already but abolish prisons police etc etc and also we have GOT to be done with tiktok. and alexas. and just being okay with casually reposting/consuming videos and images of violence against people of color and and and -

Exile & Pride by Eli Clare: transmasc disabled PNW crew rise up!!!! the trauma of growing up as all these things in a small rural town!!! I have very rarely felt so deeply seen and understood as when I was reading this book. It's heavy emotionally & topically, so warnings there. I did struggle a bit with it but only because of how deeply some of his story reflects my own.

Innocence & Corruption by Aiyana Goodfellow: This book and its author demand a fundamental shift from how we as a society view and treat children. If you are planning on having kids, have kids in your life, are a teacher, etc etc, cannot emphasize enough how important this book is to remind us that kids are people now, and they deserve autonomy, respect, and support.

Honorable Mentions:

he who drowned the world by shelley parker-chan : this was moved down a category only because the book before this one (she who became the sun) is literally just setup for this sneaky gut punch. So as a duology, could be stronger. this book as a standalone? Wow. There's some banger lines and concepts and characters in there. (Wang baoxiang. Just. Oh boy). Definitely fascinating in convo with baru cormorant, and I think a reason it's lower for me as well is because the lens of hwdtw is much more of an internal power turmoil than a study of imperalism, which I'm biased towards interest-wise. I read this purely because of @ash-and-starlight's incredible art, so please go check that out if you read the book - It is absolutely worth the read for their art.

the Black Jacobins by C L R James: I'm a french revolution bitch. it was a special interest of mine as a kid and got me invested in history. that said, we gotta talk about france's fuckery. which is to say, slavery/genocide/colonialism etc etc. This book is somewhat tricky to read at points, especially in keeping track of who's who, but a really incredible explanation of the beginning of Haiti's fight for independence. If you enjoy French or Caribbean history, anticolonial revolutions, and some of the nitty-gritty details of history textbooks, this is for you.

life under the jolly roger by Gabriel Kuhn: who here has seen black sails. (thee gay pirate show. Original edition.) strikes a good balance between an understanding of what pirates have/can/could represent, and absolutely clarity about their actual violence, legacy, and politics. Informative without being drawn in by the romanticism or dismissing its power completely.

the essential June Jordan: Politically relevant and also just lyrically beautiful poetry.

hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White: trans horror fans w/ Christianity beef, this is for you. I am NOT a horror fan, but it was so well done and resonant with me that I stomached the gore for it and do absolutely recommend. if that’s your thing

DO NOT RECOMMEND:

the invisible life of addie larue by ve schwab: I love VE and am a bit of an apologist for her prose over plot bc her worldbuilding is always so cinematic to me, but this was such a frustrating waste of a brilliant concept. It was just...boring? Neither Addie nor Henry are particularly interesting (Henry's relatable, but again, not engaging as a character) and for someone who's been alive for a long time, I expected more unique flashbacks and worldbuilding. I expected the ten thousand doors of january, but this was not that, although I think at its soul it wanted to be.

the lies of locke lamora by scott lynch - Been meaning to read this forever since it was recommended a lot on here if you liked six of crows. I would say a similar setup (dickension fantasy) but that's about it. Characters aren't that likeable or clever, the action is slow, and I take issue with the ending.

unwieldy creatures by addie tsai - I so badly wanted this book to be good. It was not.

a day of fallen night by samantha shannon - It was fine, it's just such a long book I think time is better spent elsewhere, ya know?

provenance - second ann leckie book that i've finished unimpressed. despite murderbot being top of my list, this similar vibe of sci-fi did not strike me as one with such a unique clear voice. It just felt like a more inclusive version of many average space books.

[ladyimaginarium]

Title: lemonade. Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt-Comfort, Slice-Of-Life. Fandom: TWDG. Characters: Clementine Maria Jasmine Cree, Isis Onyx ( OC ), AJ ( cameo ). For: Aja / @creolejesus !! Summary: For the first time in a very long time, she felt soft. Feminine. Fierce. Beautiful. Magical. All her life, it seemed like she had to fight, but now, she can simply… unwind for what appeared to be the first time in forever. This was what peace looks like, she thinks, and she prays to any god that would listen that this won't be taken away from her like all the others before. Rating: 16+. Warning(s): Clementine discusses her experiences with antiblackness & texturism as a child in non-explicit detail. Overall, this is a very uplifting ficlet. A/N: this was a concept ficlet i'd& written a while back for my& dear friend aja where back when i& was in the rpc, clementine & isis were basically like a mother-daughter duo where isis would teach her hoodoo & black history & black feminism in the deep south in a ranch area with horses nearby a bayou !! keep in mind that all this was approved by aja who is a afro-indigenous ( specifically black cherokee ) writer who i& always know would make sure i& write accurately should she ever see something that needs fixing. i& write clementine ( & as she is also an introject in our& system ) as a afro-indigenous chinese two spirit nonbinary girl; isis belongs to aja & she is a black creole rootworker & witch from new orleans louisiana with a mysterious past. i& intentionally left this vague whether or not this was in the canon universe of the apocalypse or this is somethin' else but this was actually inspired by the visuals of beyonce's lemonade album, poc cottagecore ( or ig more specifically black & native cottagecore ) & like. i& always hced clem as like always having to codeswitch especially around nonblack and nonnative folx so that mostly white survivors wouldn't view her as a threat ( bc. antiblackness smh ) & so when she's around isis, she feels like she can let those walls down & be authentically herself; i& do my& best to respect the language & aja said i& did a wonderful job at writing it so correctly & with respect as yt folx are really out here doing the absolute most & acting like it's a meme language when it's a language w/ its own dialect, rules, history & culture. i always got like. warm colors & black cottagecore / black witchcore vibes w/ isis & i wanted to reflect that in the visuals bc clementine eventually does do natural protective hairstyles in the future when she grows out her hair so i& think it would've been cool if isis was the one who taught her how to do her braids & stuff like that !! this is all mostly headcanon & exomemory based on clem's part. i& only ask that out of respect considering that this is a gift for a friend that only aja reblogs it but anyone can like it. if you enjoyed this content & you want to leave a tip, you can do that here, while far more importantly, if you want to support black folx, especially queer black folx on juneteenth, you can do that here !! happy juneteenth, black folx who read this, you're so loved!<3333

"Well, ain'tcha' as sweet as a peach, sweetpea!" Isis shrills as her hands complete her latest masterpiece and holds a handheld mirror up for Clementine to see.

The sunlight filtered through the window as Clem's amber eyes gazed back at her reflection, mouth parting with no words coming out, a smile blossoming upon her lips. Her dark brown hair had been tied up in two beautiful afro puffs. "Thank you, ma'am, it's beautiful." Clem murmurs, feeling safe enough to let down her walls that she usually kept around nonblack and nonnative people, so many who had tried to look at her funny even as a child for even speaking in her peoples' dialect. A deep inhale as her eyes flicker over to baby AJ who was suckling on warm milk and honey in a bottle.

"When I was a girl, kids used t' laugh a' me when I went on the schoolbus, call my hair "nappy", look at me funny like I was a clown or Booboo the fool or somethin'," her voice wavers for a moment, trying to hold back the river of tears that was threatening to break the dam before her breath hitches, "an' then I used ta' come home from school cryin' sayin' I was ugly. My daddy never forgot that an' raised hell for all the city t'know, including that school. He used t' tell me every mornin' that I was beautiful and capable of doin' anythin' I set my mind to. I tried... God above, I tried to believe that message but I guess after a while I forgot 'bout it. Hell, I don't even even think I believed him."

Isis listened to every word she said quietly before her lips press gently over Clem's forehead. "You know, your daddy was right, baby. Look at your reflection fo' me."

Clem did as the older woman asked her and as they looked into the mirror together, her voice gently whispered into her ear. "That face is your ancestors staring back at'chu'. They love you, babygirl. Your eyes are as golden as the sun and your heart is even brighter, sweetpea. They're proud that you're here still livin' and breathin' here with me and baby AJ. How many kids your age know how ta' fight like a soldier? How many grown ass adults have the power you got? You keep holdin' your head high and don't let nobody play wi'tchu' 'cause you are that girl and you can be whoever you wanna be. Don't let nobody forget that, don't let nobody play wi'tchu, babygirl, you are not the one to be played with. Black is beautiful and so are you, baby. You hear me?"

The younger girl can't help but smile in the mirror, feeling the warmth of a thousand suns fill her heart, before she turns to the older woman who may as well have been a mother figure to her. She hadn't felt this way in so long that she wanted to cry. "I wanna make you AJ's godmother, miss Isis."

A golden smile graced the woman's features, a soft laugh as sweet as honeycomb filling the room in all its glory as the sun filtered through the window and illuminated her ginger curly locks, "I can be that for baby AJ, babygirl. Now," her doe brown eyes glinted in the sunlight, "you got the herbs I gotchu' to get fo' me? Lemme see. I'm gonna teach you a bit more on herbs and then we gon' ride on horseback together. How that sound, sweetpea?"

Clem nods, a grin revealing pearly whites, "Yes, ma'am," before she stands up and gets her wicker basket and unveils the basket to reveal rue, palo santo and ginger root, her white dress trailing across the floor of the cabin. For the first time in a very long time, she felt soft. Feminine. Fierce. Beautiful. Magical. All her life, it seemed like she had to fight, but now, she can simply... unwind for what appeared to be the first time in forever. This was what peace looks like, she thinks, and she prays to any god that would listen that this won't be taken away from her like all the others before.

[ninetwelves]

my mom is bit unsocialized when it comes to some world problems and DEF when it comes to pop culture (the social problems has it pros and cons and all pros to the pop culture stuff) and she unfortunately encountered some strong black conservative viewpoints from a coworker of hers (i say black specific bc shes doing the whole “white people are trying ti make black people gay just pure out of touch bs” which im not fully equipped to go THATTT deep into that topics and only something i can understand just surface level upon being edgucated on it but to explain it theres right wing views in every community and its jusr really sad and hypocritical when minorities are right wingers bc they really do themselves disservices and leave out ppl who intersect in idenity from their acrivism and anyone who leaves out any minority group isnt left wing and minorities who are right wing just range from derranged and selfish if intentional and self aware, to out of touch if not

bc she was venting about this problematic worker at her workplace she has (shes on sick leave and im helping her out bc she physically cant keep up w her life rn) and i was hnnggg god im so sorry u have to listen to that

and i use problematic in a correct way here bc shes really shitty to the patients they help ugh :/

ALSO EXTRA IMPORTANT POINT

theres no need to dive that deep into like black community discourse if ur not black so many nonblack ppl and esp white ppl go so overboard and misunderstand it bc of their lack of experience and really poison the in community discourse by being racist jdbjdndnd just up this is a specific incident my unsocialized mom had to witness and was very confused about and thankfully ppl edgcuated me on it n talked to me about it but in so many cases theres no need to dive deep into it

like for example as a white person saying “BLACK PEOPLE!!!! STOP BEING HOMOPHOBIC!!!!!!!!!” ur genuinely gonna mess up the discourse bc in this world singling out black ppl to be the sole oppressors w out context n shit towards queer people is just cknfkd dangerous as fuck its so fucking dangerous it gives white conservarives an excuse to demonize black people, it makes black conservatives go OH LOOK BEING GAY IS RACIST THE GAYS R RACIST (which white gays this proves part of the big racism problem, u still are white before ur gay in this white supremecist world we live in its context we live in a white supremecist racist anti black world that is the context) but that feeds into some homophobic black conersertive points that HURT QUEER BLACK PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! u are not the sole victim of the within black community discourse, actually ur likely just not the victim at all!!! esp when u do this shit online for these movements to fucking black it’s irresponsible and stupid at best and racist at worst or maybe its all of the above always idk ive seen this happen hear from one white queer person to other white queer people stop fucking doing this its creating so many problems u think ur “fixing”

also similar to why slurs get reclaimed who says it…truely can make a fucking difference that pov is so important idk why yall just…cant think sometimes….

and this goes towards any white person w some minority status but its absolutely huge w white queer people like god….

[tarobytez]

disability in the Six Of Crows Duology; an analysis of Kaz Brekker, Wylan Van Eck, and the fandom’s treatment of them.

****Note: I originally wrote this for a tiktok series, which im still going to do, but i wanted to post here as well bc tumblr is major contributor to what im going to talk about

CW: ableism, filicide, abuse

In the Six of Crows duology, Leigh Bardugo delicately subverts and melds harmful disability tropes into her narrative, unpacking them in a way that I, as a disabled person, found immensely refreshing and…. just brilliant. 

But what did you all do with that? Well, you fucked it up. Instead of critically looking at the characters, y’all just chose to be ableist. 

For the next few videos paragraphs im going to unpack disability theory (largely the stuff surrounding media, for obvious reasons) and how it relates to Six Of Crows and the characterization of Kaz Brekker and Wylan Van Eck, then how, despite their brilliant writing, y’all completely overlooked the actual text and continuously revert them to ableist cariactures.

Disclaimer: 1. Shocker - i am disabled. I have also extensively researched disability theory and am very active in the disabled community. Basically, I know my shit. 2. im going to be mad in these videos this analysis. Because the way y’all have been acting has been going on for a long ass time and im fuckin sick of it. I don’t give a shit about non-disabled feelings, die mad

Firstly, I’m going to discuss Kaz, his play on the stereotypical “mean cripple” trope and how Bardugo subverts it, his cane, and disabled rage. Then, I am going to discuss Wylan, the “inspiration porn” stereotype, caregivers / parents, and the social model of disability. Finally, I will then explain the problems in the fandom from my perspective as a disabled person, largely when it comes to wylan, bc yall cant leave that boy tf alone.

Kaz Brekker

Think of a character who uses a cane (obviously not Kaz). Now, are they evil, dubiously moral, or just an asshole in general? Because nearly example I can think of is: whether it be Lots’O from Toy Story, Lucius Malfoy, or even Scrooge and Mr.Gold from Once Upon A Time all have canes (the last two even having their canes appear less and less as they become better people)

The mean/evil cripple trope is far more common than you would think. Villains with different bodies are confined to the role of “evil”. To quote TV Tropes, who I think did a brilliant job on explaining it “The first is rooted in eugenics-based ideas linking disability or other physical deformities with a "natural" predisposition towards madness, criminality, vice, etc. The Rule of Symbolism is often at work here, since a "crippled" body can be used to represent a "crippled" soul — and indeed, a disabled villain is usually put in contrast to a morally upright and physically "perfect" hero. Whether consciously on the part of the writer or not, this can reinforce cultural ideas of disability making a person inherently inferior or negative, much in the same way the Sissy Villain or Depraved Homosexual trope associate sexual and gender nonconformity with evil. ”

Our introduction to Kaz affirms this notion of him being bad or morally bankrupt, with “Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason”, etc. This mythologized version of himself, the “bastard of the barrel” actively fed into this misconception. But, as we the audience are privy to his inner thoughts, know that he is just a teenager like every other Crow. He is complex, his disability isn’t this tragic backstory, he just fell off a roof. It’s not his main motivation, nor does he curse revenge for making him a cripple - it is just another part of who he is. 

His cane (though the shows version fills me with rage but-) is an extension of Kaz - he fights with it, but it has a purpose. Another common thing in media is for canes to be simply accessories, but while Kaz’ cane is fashionable, it has purpose.

The quote “There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.” is so fucking powerful. Kaz does not want nor need a cure - its said in Crooked Kingdom that his leg could most likely be healed, but he chooses not to. Abled-bodied people tend to dismiss this thought as Kaz being stubborn but it shows a reality of acceptance of his disability that is just, so refreshing.

In chapter 22 of SOC, we see disabled rage done right - when he is called a cripple by the Fjerdan inmate, Kaz is pissed - the important detail being that he is pissed at the Fjerdan, at society for ableism, not blaming it on being disabled or wishing he could be normal. He takes action, dislocating the asshole’s shoulder and proving to him, and to a lesser extent, himself, that he is just as capable as anyone else, not in spite of, but because he is disabled. And that is the point of Kaz, harking back to the line that “there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken”. 

I cried on numerous occasions while reading the SOC duology, but the parts I highlighted in this section especially so. I, as many other disabled people do, have had a long and tumultuous relationship with our disability/es, and for many still struggle. But Kaz Brekker gave me an empowered disabled character who accepts themselves, and that means the world to me. 

Keeping that in mind, I hope you can understand why it hurts so much to disabled people when you either erase Kaz’s disability (whether through cosplay or fanfiction), or portray him as a “broken boy uwu”, especially implying that he would want a cure. That flies in the face of canon and is inherently fucking ableist. (if u think im mad wait until the next section)

Next, we have Wylan.  

Oh fucking boy. 

I love Wylan so fucking much, and y’all just do not seem to understand his character? Like at all? Since this is disability-centric, I’m not going to discuss how the intersection of his queerness also contributes to these issues, but trust me when I say it’s a contributing factor to what i'm going to say.

Wylan, motherfucking Van Eck. If you ableist pricks don’t take ur fucking hands off him right now im going to fight you. I see Wylan as a subversion another, and in my opinion more insidious stereotype pf disabled people - inspiration porn.

Cara Liebowitz in a 2015 article on the blog The Body Is Not An Apology explains in greater detail how inspiration porn is impactful in real life, but media is a major contributing factor to this reality. The technical definition is “the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability” - but that does not cover it fully. 

Inspiration porn does lasting damage on the disabled community as it implies that disability is a negative that you need to “overcome” or “triumph” instead of something one can feel proud of. It exploits disabled people for the development of non-disabled people, and in media often the white male protagonist. Framing disability as inherently negative perpetuates ideals of eugenics and cures - see Autism $peaks’ “I Am Autism” ad. Inspiration porn is also incredibly patronizing as it implies that we cannot take care of ourselves, or do things like non-disabled people do. Because i stg some of you tend to think that we just sit around all day wishing we weren’t disabled. 

Another important theory ideal that is necessary when thinking about Wylan is the experience of feeling like a burden simply for needing help or accommodations. This is especially true when it comes to familial relationships, and internalized ableism.

The rhetoric that Wylan’s father drilled into his head, that he is “defective”, “a mistake”, and “needs to be corrected”, that he (Jan) was “cursed with a moron for a child” is a long held belief that disabled people hear relentlessly. And while many see Van Eck’s attempted murder of Wylan as “preposturous” and overall something that you would never think happens today - filicide (a parent murdering their child) is more common than you would like to believe. Without even mentioning the countless and often unreported deaths of disabled people due to lack of / insufficient / neglectful medical care, in a study on children who died from the result of household abuse, 40 of 42 of them (95%) were diagnosed with disabilities. Van Eck is not some caricature of ableist ideals - he is a real reflection on how many people and family members view disability. 

Circling back to how Wylan unpacks the inspiration porn trope - he is 3 dimensional, he is not only used to develop the other characters, he is just *chefs kiss* Leigh, imo, put so much love and care into the creation of Wylan and his story and character growth that is representative of a larger feeling in the disabled community. 

That being said, what you non-disabled motherfuckers have done to him.

The “haha Wylan can’t read” jokes aren’t and were not funny. Y’all literally boiled down everything Wylan is to him being dyslexic. And it’s like,,,, the only thing you can say about him. You ignore every other part of him other than his disability, and then mock him for it. There’s so much you can say about Wylan - simping for Jesper, being band kid and playing the fuckin flute, literally anything else. But no, you just chose to mock his disability, excellent fucking job!

Next up on “ableds stfu” - infantilization! y’all are so fucking condescending to Wylan, and treat him like a fucking toddler. And while partly it is due to his sexuality i think a larger portion is him being disabled. Its in the same vein of people who think that Wylan and Jesper are romantically one sided, and that Jesper only kind of liked Wylan, despite the canon evidence of him loving Wylan just as much. You all view him as a “smol bean”, who needs protecting, and care, when Wylan is the opposite of that. He is a fucking demolitions expert who suggested waking up sleeping men to kill them - what about that says “uwu”. You are treating Wylan as a burden to Jesper and the other Crows when he is an immensely valuable, fully autonomous disabled person - you all just view him as damaged. 

And before I get a comment saying that “uhhh Wylan isn’t real why do you care” while Wylan may not be real, how you all view him and treat him has real fucking impacts and informs how you treat people like me. If someone called me an “uwu baby boy” they’d get a fist square in the fucking jaw. Fiction informs how we perceive the world and y’all are making it super fucking clear how you see disabled people. 

Finally, I wanted to talk about how the social model of disability is portrayed through Wylan. For those who are unaware, the social model of disability contrasts the medical model, that views the disability itself as the problem, that needs to be cured, whereas the social model essentially boils down to creating an accommodating society, where disability acceptance and pride is the goal. And we see this with Wylan - he is able to manage his father’s estate, with Jesper’s assistance to help him read documents. And this is not out of pity or charity, but an act of love. It is not portrayed as this almighty act for Jesper to play saviour, just a given, which is incredibly important to show, especially for someone who has been abused by family for his disability like Wylan, that he is accepted. 

Yet, I still see people hold up Jesper on a pedestal for “putting up with” Wylan, as if loving a disabled person deserves a fucking pat on the back. It’s genuinely exhausting trying to engage with a work I love so much with a fandom that thinks so little of me and my community. It fucking shows. 

Overall, Leigh Bardugo as a disabled person wrote two incredibly meticulous and empowered disabled characters, and due to either lack of reading comprehension, ableism, or a quirky mix of both, the fandom has ignored canon and the experiences of disabled people for…. shits and giggles i guess. And yes, there are issues with the Grishaverse and disability representation - while I haven’t finished them yet so I do not have an opinion on it, people have been discussing issues in the KOS duology with ableist ideals. This mini series was no way indicative of the entire disabled experience, nor does it represent my entire view on the representation as a whole. These things need to be met critically in our community, and talked about with disabled voices at the forefront. For example, the limited perspective we get of Wylan and Kaz being both white men, does not account for a large portion of the disabled community and the intersection of multiple identities.

All-in-all, Critique media, but do not forget to also critique fandom spaces. Alternatively, just shut the fuck up :)

happy fucking disability pride month, ig

[vegalocity]

A Place for Stories

I don't do Carrds or anything so i'm gonna level with you guys, this is a very simple post for me to pin up as general fandom information.

My name is Vega, I'm interested in a lot of things, I'm an artist/writer and I make dumb crossovers and sad AUs

I have several current projects and several complete ones

there's a lot of them so this is going under a cut, but here's my art tag and here's my writing tag and here's my AO3

AUs/stories i'm working on/have completed are for these fandoms

Boku no Hero Academia

Gravity Falls

Lego Monkie Kid

The Owl House

Miraculous Ladybug

Undertale

the status of any of these stories doesn't matter, if you're curious about literally any of them, or if you saw that i reblogged a prompt meme recently and want to see something in any of these AUs/stories

BNHA

The Magi Underground

On God I am still working on this. But it's what it says on the tin. Magical Girls and magical warriors still very much exist in the work of heroes and Quirks, they just have to be much more secret

Ships: Bakugou Katsuki/Hanasaki Momoko (Bakupeach) Miscellaneous other crossover ships

-in progress but it's slow bc there are SO many magical girl series i'm putting in here-

Undertale/Mister Peabody and Sherman

Twice Burned and Thrice Shy

Chara and Asriel were both revived, but Chara and Frisk have very... differing views on exactly who is responsible for some... certain timelines... And unfortunately for Chara, Frisk got to tell their story first. Chara ends up running into an unlikely dynamic duo, and finds before too long, that they aren't bereft of having people in their corner. Another human child, and the possible dog-monster that acts as his father are very invested in helping them out.

Ships: None

-In Progress but slow because this fic is too damn complex for speedy updates-

Miraculous Ladybug

Miraculous Rewrite

This is a project that had been hatched between myself and @gererrin, we rewrote the entirety of Miraculous Ladybug in the span of 4 seasons, serializing the narrative while also letting many episodes exist in standalone format, focused more on worldbuilding and character arcs, and also a healthy dose of queer characters, polyamory, and an actual sliding threat scale

Ships: So many

-Complete, spinoffs in progress-

LMK

Oblivion

if you know me for anything from LMK it's probably this fic series/AU Basis.

A second Porty Clone had been summoned and slipped away during a battle set in the indeterminate future, and comes into possession of a very dangerous magical artifact; a record with the ability to brainwash demons, and he's got his sights set on a certain fire demon he knows his creator is sweet on

(this is a psychological horror so mind the warnings, also there's a bad ending that's bore quite a lot of fruit)

Ships: Spicynoodles, but like, don't root for a happy ending for it

-on Hiatus-

Tyrant Prince

This is a splinter of the Oblivion AU, more specifically the Bad End version where Porty Clone was able to make Xiaotian believe that this whole thing is Good Actually.

You know what they say about absolute power

AKA the Traffic Light Trio deserve a villain au or two that aren't swap aus or possession aus

Ships: Spicynoodles, Freenoodles, Ironbull, Silktea (they're all like super fucked up though) and Cyberhunt (the only not fucked up one)

-in progress, being fleshed out by an rp with @unseelie-robynx so you can ask her for details too-

White Bone Amnesia AU

Xiaotian is the actual son of Sun Wukong, MK on the other hand doesn't remember much of anything of his own past from before he worked at Pigsy's Noodles, he's not the only one with memory issues.

Ships: Spicynoodles, MksDadsShipping

-Currently being reworked-

The Little Detective

This isn't TECHNICALLY an AU, but it's the main story for my OC, a six year old child detective named Wong Minyi, looking for her missing Father and getting into schenanigans in the world of Magic and monsters and solving some mysteries while she's there. (Syntax her father is Syntax this is not a secret) (also here's Minyi's general character tag if you just want more information on her)

Ships: None (though maybe some in the Minyi general tag bc she's a fun minor character to have in ship stories sometimes)

-in progress but its slow-

Animorphs AU

The Lady Bone Demon is replaced as the major antagonist with the Yeerk empire. a mishmash of Animorphs and Monkey Kid plotlines full of new allies new enemies, and the horrors of War and such

Ships: Tripsun/Tangsun/this ship has too many names, Pigsy/Tang/Syntax, Xiaojiao/Aximili, Spicynoodles, Ironbull

-In progress-

Theatre AU

Well it can't all be sad in here, this is my token patented Civillian AU, The Flower Fruit Theatre is one of the most popular shoestring budget theaters in the city, entertaining the masses with reasonably priced musicals with casts of college students and some old greats only slightly past their prime, they also find themselves in a one-sided rivalry with the most expensive hoity toity 'musicals are for fools' theatres in the city, the Bull King's Chambermen.

Ships: Spicynoodles, Peachtea

-not actively on hiatus but not currently being worked on-

Princess Bride AU

Its what it says on the tin, Red Son is Buttercup, Xiaotian is Wesley, the casting falls from there

Ships: Spicynoodles

-completed, getting additional scenes written up for the AO3 release-

Atlantis: The Lost Empire AU

On god i am working on this; summary to come later.

Ships: To be determined

-in progress-

Owl House

Prisoner Princess Luz

Belos has decided to adopt the human that's been causing him problems.

Her opinion on the matter is wholly irrelevant.

This is a dark one my guys.

Ships: Raeda, Lumity, Scarlow

-in progress, currently being reworked-

Gravity Falls

Equivalent Exchange

i kinda hate that i'm putting this here because it's so old, but for the sake of completion it's going here.

Gravity falls Madoka Magical crossover AU. Mabel Pines has been scoped out by the Kyubey, typical Madoka Magica dark things ensure

Ships: None

-completed-

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/9/21

ALMOST birthday problems

listening short ride in a fast machine, john adams. i listen to a lot of instrumental stuff throughout my workday and there are only so many video game soundtracks i actually like.

this version is nearly a full two minutes shorter than the version on spotify i liked best. this piece looks fucking exhausting to both play and conduct, and the comments are full of conductors complaining about it lmao

undefined

read the wiki page like “okay what is this About is it an experimental piece about spaceships bc that’s what i want this fluttering-adrenaline-pulse piece to be about” no! it’s about eighties sports cars. it does not sound like it should be about eighties sports cars. 

i know just enough about classical music to be dangerous. i know what i like, which is when people incorporate folk music into their style (copland, dvorak), music featured in the barbie ballet movies (tchaikovsky), and a very small number of bach chamber works (one specific doctors’ waiting room music). this doesn’t really fit into any of those and sounds more like a movie score to my (bad, deaf) ear but it’s a pretty cool four-minutes-and-change.

reading Has Witch City Lost Its Way? by Kathryn Miles for Boston Magazine

the author asks this question and then kind of shrugs at it. this was a weird one! i’ve been to salem quite a few times. it’s a very charming little town on the sea with good nightlife, you can take the train into boston, the rhythm and flow and concerns of a tourist town are very familiar to me, it’s almost the perfect place for me to live, and i could never ever live there bc 1) money and 2) i find it absolutely fucking insufferable in large doses. i think the intersection between queer people and astrology/witchcraft/woo is fascinating, and it probably is a great way for some people to reclaim the concept of religion, but please god get all that as far away from me as possible. i like nondenominational spookiness and vampires and that’s about it.

it’s very difficult for me personally to think of witchcraft without thinking of both queer people and terfs. it’s odd that the author did not address this, nor did she mention that many of the “witches” killed were people of color. the author does point out that hey! it is super weird to disneyify a place where atrocities were committed! but she also flinched away from any real criticism about the modern white witchy movement trying to make itself as palatable as possible though commercialization. except in a very oblique way, bc all her interviews were with people who have a vested commercial interest in “Witches Are Nice And Friendly Actually”

this is quite long for a puff piece, with several interviews conducted for background info, and i get the feeling there was a very heavy editorial hand here. massachusetts people are fucking terrified about losing out on tourism, since historical events are really the only thing the state has going for it (unlike jersey, where yeah tourists drop a lot of cash, but there’s a sort of indifference about how the state is viewed? they’re assholes and proud of it and massachusetts ppl are assholes and really defensive about it).

watching not quite a fallow week, but bouncing off a bunch of anime while trying to find something just okay enough to handsew. bouncing off things for very petty reasons, let it be clear. saving The Harder They Fall as little a treat for myself tonight, bc i have YET ANOTHER work call w/japan.

playing one cycle/playthough of The Remainder (act 1/free prologue) free on steam by Square Weasel Studios.

i like to keep an eye on the LGBTQ+ tag and this one is in fact gay, people have hair and pronouns. there's a sea-based magical and religious system! please pay attention to the psychological horror content warning up top!

art style is delicious- there's been a rash of "magical otome protag with amnesia" lately (the arcana is i think the most famous), and i do like how they're like "what do you look like? hah just kidding, this is u :)"

romance/otome/dating games have consistently been some of the most fucked up games ive ever played, for reasons of Genre that could be several theses on its own. i appreciate the content warnings at the top, but even though this is not a game specifically tailored for a fanbase (i think it would work better without the name customization, actually) it does have a beautiful tragic sadperson whomst i expect to see some cosplay/fanart/fanworks for. there isn’t a good gender-neutral term for sadboy. bear with me.

inside baseball industry musings, my company does not rep them, all thoughts my own &tc: i cannot immediately find a ton of info about this studio, other than they're canadian. this is odd, bc finding info about games and studios is literally my job, esp bc they are also doing all the Indie Marketing things right EXCEPT for social media- releasing a free teaser like this, doing episodic drops with completely different SKUs so they keep getting fresh eyeballs, and a very high-effort and polished art style. they also have a very well thought out steam page that properly sets expectations and gives a good teaser of the game. their thumbnail is fucking killer and drew me in in the first place, and the whole thing (aside from one! one singular typo in the actual game itself! very forgivable!) is very polished. this team knows what they’re about. i'm sad nobody's really talking about this, but we are experiencing an absolute glut of games right now.

it doesn’t really look like anything i’ve seen before, which is always very exciting. it’s got flashes of dry humor that i like very much and i probably will pick up the full game when it’s out in feb (ep 2 is out but i like consuming completed things bc i Never remember to come back to them)

making hey remember this bad boy? finally washed it on cold/delicate/with woolite and on the extreme-low-heat dryer setting, then absolutely crisped it again on high for a bit bc i am quite paranoid about moths and carpet beetles. i would like to hang this on the wall adjacent to my work desk bc there’s been a bad echo on all my calls lately, but this blanket is very hard to look at. so it is folded up small and thrown artfully over our maroon futon and they kind of cancel each other out.

the fringe is in okay shape, i started combing it out before realizing that’s an insane thing to do and i only have a limited number of hours on this here earth. the thing i DID do was reattach the fringe in the seven or eight places it was peeling off. i think it was originally machine stitched on, which makes sense. although if you hand-embroidered and hand-quilted a blanket of this size, a little bit of straight stitch is going to be Nothing to you.

teaser of next week’s tuesday again no problem, bc god willing i will have cleaned/deodorized/built a proper frame for this thing and hung it up

[vergess]

As a person of color that's also genderfluid, I have a critique regarding this post [Bruh the sheer ease with which people who think of themselves as queer allies will say shit like, “analyzing this disney character through a trans lens is racist because it strips him of his racial heritage” is wild. Like, buddy, pal, friend of mine. You understand that trans people of colour are a thing right?].

The experiences of a white queer and a poc queer are very different bc the cultural context is very different. I'm not well educated on Colombian queer culture, but there is a difference between Colombian queer culture and white queer culture, which the people making these headcanons often ignore. That's the entire reason people are annoyed by them. Additionally, focusing on queer subtext detracts from the nuance and dynamics of this well-crafted POC story, simply because poc queer culture and yt queer culture are different. For example, headcanoning Isabela as a lesbian assumes that poc only marry for love, which in many cases is not true. The film did a great job at representing these poc dynamics, but yt fans are not. That's not to say Isabela cannot be a lesbian, but when headcanoning her, you shouldn't ignore the cultural context the movie gave.

Additionally, I'm not sure if you support the trans Luisa headcanon, but since you posted on the topic of trans Encanto characters, I feel like this comment is relevant to my critique. Historically, woc have been stripped of their femininity because they don't meet eurocentric beauty standards. Also, in my opinion, headcanoning a character as trans simply because they're buff or have a deep message is problematic. Obviously, Luisa being trans isn't inherently problematic, but the problem is that it stems from racist and transphobic perceptions.

Sorry if this ask is very long, I just wanted to get my thoughts related to your post out, and I've been seeing a lot of the arguments to latine people expressing their views just being presented as homophobia. Tl;dr, most of the critique towards queer depictions is just about the lack of poc incluson and the erasure of the movies values/point.

Listen, you're trying to make good points about cultural differences but the youtuber opened with "I'm not trans, but," and couldn't be arsed to ask any trans people around her for input.

And, frankly, if you think someone headcanoning Luisa as trans "robs her of femininity" while she continues to go around in embroidered skirts etc, that is a you problem. You're the one who thinks trans womanhood is unfeminine. You're the one denying women their femininity because you don't think they're doing it right.

What part of a random trans person on tumblr identifying with the way Luisa presents herself manages to "rob" anyone of the way she appears in the film?

No one is fucking stealing representation by pointing out that they relate to the experiences a character has.

What part of a blogger thinking "Isabela seems like she might be exclusively sexually attracted to other women" makes her initial willingness to marry a man for her family line disappear? Does that magically erase the movie's entire plot thread for her? Because I can cue up the film right now and all those scenes will sure as shit still be there.

Or do you think that talking about the possible lesbian implications of her story makes her difficult for you to relate to because you find lesbians alienating in some way?

It does not "undercut the values of the film" if Isabela's feelings of obligation are tied to being used as a breeding cow by her grandmother, being obligated by a crushing case of Eldest Daughter Syndrome to carry on the legacy of superhuman excellence, AND not wanting to marry a man. These are additive fucking traits, not subtractive ones.

Every time someone comes in to talk about how the nasty little queermos are distracting from the wholesome tale of POC family dynamics as if queer POC don't live simultaneously in both those spaces, I become this much more militant.

Did I think Luisa was trans when I watched the movie? No. Do I think so now? Fuck yes I do.

Everyone is trans now. Mirabel is every nonbinary ADHD stereotype you personally despise. Antonio will grow up to be a they/them lesbian even if they have to invent the concept themself. Isabela is the bisexual man-hater of your fucking nightmares. Isabela and then Luisa magically transitioned at age 5 when she got her powers. Pedro and Alma are T4T and Pedro carried the triplets. Camilo specifically has as far opposite a gender as the person he is imitating while imitating them.

And if you don't like me tearing these characters out of your hands by relating to them on a fucking social media website, you're welcome to block me, because no matter what bullshit I say, the movie still exists and your personal interpretation of it has just as much fucking weight as mine.

Take your transmisogyny, your lesbophobia, your total disregard for the bredth and intersections of POC existence, and your need to attack random people of colour for not worshipping fucking Disney the exact same way as you, and get the FUCK OUT.