#honestly they are so gender

[laur-the-cat-prince]

[acarillustrated]

thinking about mizu from blue eye samurai. thinking. thinking so much. thinking about how mizu operates outside of gender. like we joke about her gender being revenge but straight up? it literally is. like she grew up as a boy and is most comfortable being a man, but behind that is the feeling of betraying himself because he isn't being honest about who he is and he lives in fear of being discovered. and when he lived as a woman, she found joy there as well. she fell in love, and though she wasn't good at it, she liked being a wife and enjoying a simple life. but in that life too, she isn't being honest about who she is. and when she reveals her true self, it's not a woman, she's a demon, a weapon. she's to masculine to be a woman, and too feminine to be a man. ultimately, mizu is most comfortable when they are being a murder machine. that's when they feel they are being the most true to themself. like a sword, they are neither man nor woman, but a blend of both, which makes them stronger.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Reasons to play In Stars and Time: Canon Pronoun Warfare.

[nothorses]

What do you think gay men are attracted to in men that they can’t be attracted to in women?

It can’t be anything about femininity or masculinity obviously. That’s both sexist, and cultural so can’t be what drives men-only attraction.

It can’t be anything about stated identity because someone could lie just as easily as they could tell the truth in such a statement, and it makes no sense because homosexuality and heterosexuality exists in other species with no stated identities. It’s not like other animals without gender are all pan.

Saying idk it’s the vibes or some indescribable trait men have that women can’t but “I can’t explain” is a nonanswer.

Soooooooo what is it? Or do you think any sexuality but bi/pan is just cultural performance or an identity rather than an inborn orientation?

- [ ]

I think trying to find one perfect answer that applies universally is the critical mistake here. I mean, I am a gay man. I say this because as of yet, that's the clearest answer I have for myself personally; maybe there's a possibility I experience attraction to a woman at some point (maybe I already have???), but I don't really have clarity on that right now, and it doesn't serve me to shape or explain my identity around "maybe"s.

Trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that attracts me to other men, specifically, is also like... not that useful. I used to find myself really attracted to feminine men specifically; not feminine women, not masculine women, not masculine men, not androgynous anyone, but feminine men. Specifically, men who were feminine in a very particular, long-hair-certain-attitude kind of way.

Recently, I have found myself appreciating, more and more, a certain kind of masculine body type and gay masculinity that I was never really interested in before. I find it incredibly hot. A lot of that coincides with things I appreciate about my partner, too, and things I find myself appreciating more about my partner as time goes on- as well as things my partner expresses appreciation for about me!

And I haven't even touched on attraction to nonbinary folks here because, like, it's a massive spectrum. "Nonbinary" means something different for every individual nonbinary person. To my mind, of course there's a possibility I experience attraction to a nonbinary person; how they identity, present, and what attracts me to them are all even more impossible to know for certain than the "maybe"s and the "why"s around my attraction (or lack thereof) to men and women.

My relationship to my own orientation was vastly different pre-testosterone versus post-testosterone, too. I was much more reserved and uncomfortable with relationships and attraction before I started T, and the only dynamic I ever felt was even a little bit tolerable was one where I was the "masculine woman" in a lesbian relationship. I didn't realize until very shortly after starting T that, actually, I like men. A lot. I felt comfortable with my body and my masculinity in a way I never had been before, and I felt comfortable in relationships with men; I no longer felt like I was The Woman By Default in contrast.

And that's all just me! This is my personal, specific, individual relationship to attraction, and how gender- both others' and my own- factors into my relationship with orientation.

I don't think it's necessarily inborn, or completely unchanging for everyone. I also don't think the same factors apply for everyone. I think a lot of different things can be true for different people, all at once, and it's not really useful to try to pinpoint a specific, universal explanation for orientation.

Everyone has a different relationship to orientation and gender; everyone will be influenced differently by cultural factors, by their own ways of processing and understanding the world around them, by the ways different aspects of their culture, identity, personality, and inborn traits and how they all interact with one another, and sure, maybe even by biological factors and tendencies.

Trying to solve this puzzle for the entire world of diverse human beings isn't going to make it any easier to understand yourself. Focus on what this all means for you, personally, and accept that you will never, can never, fully and perfectly understand anyone else's internal world and workings. Things get a lot easier when you can let go of that & just appreciate the diversity of human experiences, y'know?

[negativecity]

scary girls

[kthulhu42]

Okay! Correct! Now extrapolate from that answer: a trans "woman" is a biological male. That's why they can't get pregnant. An infertile woman is not a man.

[iceunhie]

[6:21 PM.]

you hate dr. ratio. you hate him; he's pompous, narcissistic, disagreeable, utterly intolerable. you can't tolerate him at all. out of the numerous possible reasons why you despise him though? its how he never fails to get you all up in a bind about him.

mhie's notes: i got l+ratio'ed by dr ratio insert laughing emoji anyways reader is so me (we're haters /silly)

If someone would ask about who in the Intelligentsia Guild is the number one Dr. Veritas Ratio hater, chances are someone from said guild will promptly give them a shake of the head, a pat on the back, and direct them to none other than you.

The reason why?

"Well, isn't it obvious? He's an asshole!"

It's no secret to anyone in the Guild, actually, scratch that— to anyone in the universe that you absolutely despise the dark-haired genius that is Dr. Ratio. Loathsome man that he is, you've never enjoyed just how biting his words have been to fellow members of the Guild have been; would it kill him to be just a little more encouraging to them?

It doesn't help that he's horribly attractive, and he knows it. It's how most of the members in the Guild get tricked into entering one of his 52 lecture courses in his various academic programs at the premise of being able to be taught by his oh-so-radiantness, only to absolutely end up getting their self-esteem crushed into stardust. What's more, he can get away with it! Despite his notorious reputation for being a strict and short-tempered teacher, people still flock to him in droves. It's irritating, annoying.

"Did you think that this subject would be a mere place to ogle at me? That's the very picture of idiocy."

It's totally annoying to you because of that, and not because there's this sickening churn of discomfort in your stomach whenever a colleague of yours fangirls over him, no. You were most definitely just irritated because he was just that insufferable, and not because something about his well-kept hair and sharp eyes didn't draw you in like a moth to a flame, nope. Definitely not.

And you most definitely hated him solely for the fact that he was just a genius who prided himself above others, and not how he sometimes, rarely, once in a blue moon at that, lets his more amicable personality traits slip beneath the no-nonsense facade of his. How sometimes, he would often sigh at his students, voice still chiding, as he would reluctantly teach them another lesson. How he would smile, a genuine one, not like a sarcastic and lifeless smile of his - when his students would complete their task flawlessly and thank him profusely.

How sometimes, you can't help but be awed at how diligent and just how much he does want his students to succeed, as hard on them as he is. How he doesn't want them to go down the path of 'ignorance,' so he makes up for it by brutally scolding them and bringing them up from their slump. How no matter how challenging he may seem, he relishes in the pride he feels to be able to help others pass on and gain knowledge.

He's a complete enigma to you, and yet you can't help but feel drawn to him anyway.

So if someone would ask about who in the Intelligentsia Guild is the number one Dr. Veritas Ratio hater, ten times out of ten, that title would go to you.

Oh, you definitely hate him, alright. Definitely.

[visenyaism]

we’re seeing levels of genderweird here previously thought impossible

[uncanny-tranny]

Something I really love about queerness is how somebody's sexuality merges and bleeds into their gender.

I think for some, it can be, in part, a reclamation of the idea of being punished for not truly being your gender or not being enough as-is. A lesbian who's punished for not being a "woman" by cishet society can reclaim themself by declaring they aren't a woman but a lesbian, lesbiangender, in short.

Queerness in any capacity is often (though not always and not across-the-board) punished as a failure in some way. You're a second-class man or woman, a second-class person, depending on many factors. Reclaiming that can be really relieving and cathartic

[shortkidenergy]

i love gem's confidence i love cleo's snark i love pearl's goofy humor i just really really love women being unapologetically themselves

[veronicathegoddess]

being told "muzzle it" instead of shut up >>>

[mearcatsreturns]

I have a bookstagram, and I recently followed someone because they posted about the overconsumption issue that most bookish social media seems to have. Today, though, they posted another controversial "opinion": that listening to audiobooks isn't reading, and people who claim to have read a bunch of books that they listened to as audiobooks are lying and/or deluded. Listening to audiobooks, she said, is just consuming books.

I disagreed in a fairly politely worded reply, and I intend to unfollow/block, because I find it unlikely this person will change their mind, especially since I'm far from the only person to point out that this is exclusionary and ableist. But this is tumblr/my house, and now I'm going to be as blunt as I want to be.

I'm a librarian and archivist. So much of the work I and others in my field do focuses on making books and reading more accessible and less exclusionary. It is, in fact, incredibly ableist to negate how important audiobooks are for people who have certain disabilities or challenges, and I would in no universe say they aren’t reading. For that matter, a busy person who only has time for audiobooks and for people who just prefer them--it still counts, as far as I'm concerned.

See, there's a difference between an audiobook and a podcast or long song or radio program. An audiobook is still a book--it was written with a particular narrative structure, and the author plays a defined but limited role (once the book is written, it's written; the author isn't tuning in next episode with comments and corrections based on what listeners said). An audiobook is a book, ergo, listening to one is reading. Using braille is reading, and listening to audiobooks is reading.

The part that has me in full Captain Raymond Holt "apparently that is a trigger for me" mode is that this bookstagrammer called listening to audiobooks consumption. In the context of her other posts about overconsumption as an issue in the bookish community (again, agree, but also...mind your own business), this seems particularly insidious to me. Conflating influencer-driven (and capitalist hellscape) consumption with listening to an audiobook (again, a massive boon for the visually impaired and those with disabilities like ADHD, dyslexia, etc.) is rude at best and dangerously exclusionary at worst. Stop letting comparison be the thief of joy; mind your own business and stop looking at the pages that bother you. Focus on the kindness of leaning towards inclusion, meeting people where they are, and leaving judgment behind.*

*This person also said "feel free to comment if you disagree but please don't be mean or judgmental," as if they hadn't just posted the most ableist and judgmental sludge I've seen today.

tl;dr: don’t be a gatekeeping shithead, mind your own business, and

(gif by matalyn on tenor, couldn't find on tumblr)

[it-happened-one-fic]

Undying Devotion - Sebek

Author Notes: Ah, hand kisses my beloved. I actually stole this hand kiss from a Trigun manga panel I believe.... But anyway, this fic has actually been sitting and gathering dust for quite some time. In fact, I had this written before I started posting my Strictly NRC Dancing series, but I'm pleased to finally be sharing it with you all now. This fic was also edited to "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran. As per usual, Reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-neutral reader, fluff, flirting occurs, romance heavily implied

Word count: 922

Sebek walked silently beside you, the perfect image of a stoic bodyguard with his arms behind his back as he carefully listened to you. 

His eyes were riveted to your form, even though all you were doing was prattling on about one of the many books he’d recommended to you.

A knightly romance. The sort that he adored even though he would never admit it. 

After all, he’d only recommended it to you because he thought YOU would like it. Not because he himself had enjoyed it.

“Hey Sebek, you know more about knights than I do. Why do knights always kiss their lady’s hand?” You tilted your head to look at him as he somehow managed to straighten even more at your question.

 A preening smile appeared on his face as he realized that you’d just acknowledged the fact that he did know more about something than you did. “It’s simple, human. But remember that they do not only do this for their lady love. They also do it for the lords to whom they owe allegiance.” 

He glanced at you, making sure you were listening even though you were the one who’d questioned him in the first place, before he continued, “Kissing the ring on their lord’s finger is a show of undying devotion to that ring, which almost always signified the lord’s throne. Naturally, the knight’s undying devotion is extended to the person wearing the ring.”

A smile crept onto your face as you put two and two together, “Awww, so they're promising to be eternally devoted to their love when they do it for the lady?”

Sebek nodded, a quick, short motion that matched his single-word reply that was totally at odds with your pleasure over your revelation, “Theoretically.”

You were grinning now, seeming pleased with the discovery you’d made, which had Sebek tilting his head. 

Presumably you thought it was an incredibly romantic gesture, and that was why it made you so seemingly giddy.

But then your smile faded and you frowned, stopping in place before you turned to face him fully, “Then why doesn’t the lady ever do the same for the knight? I mean if it’s just a pledge of devotion, why don’t they make the same pledge?”

And there it was. Your infuriating ability to make him question the very same thing you pondered. But Sebek had been raised in the knightly manner, so this was one of the things he staunchly refused to question.

And, just like he usually did whenever you had him questioning something he’d always taken for granted, he found himself sputtering out a characteristically loud reply, “BE- BECAUSE THAT JUST ISN’T HOW IT’S DONE! THE LADY NEEDS NOT MAKE SUCH A PLEDGE BECAUSE HER KNIGHT HAS ALREADY DONE SO! IT IS NOT AS IF THE LORD WOULD PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO HIS KNIGHT!”

You were still frowning slightly as you eyed the green-haired young man, “Yeah, but it’s sort of different when it’s between a lady and her beau….”

Your hand caught his in a surprisingly gentle grasp as you smiled at him, confusing the young man as he watched you lift his hand that was now clasped in yours, “I think it’s only fair that she make the same pledge as he.”

With those words, you pressed your lips to his knuckles in a featherlight kiss. Causing Sebek to freeze with a quiet intake of breath as he stared at you.

 Either unable or unwilling to yank his hand away from yours, as you silently and gently kissed his hand. 

A hand that was already scarred from his training but that had not yet faced the great trials of this world.

You withdrew with a smile, and it was like Sebek had suddenly started working again as he jolted slightly before hastily yanking his hand away from yours as you started laughing, “HUMAN! How DARE yo-”

“Relax, I’m just teasing you,” Laughter bubbled out of you as you continued to giggle at the now-flustered knight until your phone made a quiet buzzing sound. 

Your eyes widened in an almost comical fashion as you glanced towards your pocket and then back to Sebek, “Oh crap! I’ve gotta go, or I’ll be late for the unbirthday party! Bye Sebek!”

And just like that, you were off. Trotting away from him and towards the mirror chamber that would take you to the party that you were apparently about to miss, like you hadn’t just flustered the young man beyond all reason. 

But Sebek wasn’t looking at your hastily retreating form or pondering the party to which you were headed.

 Instead, he was silently staring at his hands. The ghostly sensation of your lips on his knuckles leaving him stunned even now.

Truthfully, Sebek did not recall moving his hand but found himself thoughtlessly pressing his knuckles to his own lips in the exact same place that you had kissed anyway.

His eyes were closed, as if he were deep in thought, before he at last pulled his hand away from his mouth. A curious expression on his face as he finally looked up in the direction you’d long since disappeared.

“A pledge of undying devotion….” Despite himself, his lips twitched up into a slight smirk as he turned to head back to where his lord and master awaited his return, “Preposterous.”

But despite his words, Sebek could not deny the warmth in his chest as he pondered how you would react if he responded to your silent, if joking, vow in kind.

[public-trans-it]

Man, I genuinely owe my life to FtM Girlies. Without them I wouldn’t have figured out my gender shit anywhere near as well and would probably still be going “Yeah I’m a trans gal. That’s… close enough. I’m happier as that than a Cis guy so I must be, right?”

Without them I wouldn’t have really taken the time to sit down and realize just how fucking weird gender can be, and the kind of things you can do with it.

I will forever remember the moment someone I was chatting to was discussing their pronouns, and pulled out a damn FLOWCHART. It could more or less be summed up as “Cis people: I am a trans dude, I use He/Him pronouns. Binary trans people: I am nonbinary. I use They/Them pronouns. Everyone else: Use whatever weird shit you think applies best to me.” and looking at it forced my third eye open and allowed me to realize just how vast the potential of gender was as a means of self-expression and identity, and how much of our identity rests in our relationships with others.

That was the moment that made me take a step back and go “Well now hold on a second. DO I want to be a girl? AM I a girl at all?” Sitting down and questioning “If I was AFAB, would I be cis?” And realizing that the idea of being a cis girl was just as revolting to me as being a “cis” guy for so much of my life was. Had I been AFAB I absolutely would still end up as trans! Which got me thinking about what my transition goals actually WERE.

Even now years later I stilled haven’t explored the full extent of my gender, and the potential that still lies within it. It’s become so tangled up in my relationship to DID as well as my views of animism. It’s something deeply personal, and I’m not sure if I’d ever even be capable of sharing the full extent of it, though am happy to try for the curious.

The more I talk with friends, the more I realize I’m not alone in this. Bespoke genders are AWESOME and incredibly common actually! Even my ‘cis’ friends that I’ve talked to, when we really explore it, and up saying stuff like “Yeah I’m like 90% cis. There’s certainly SOME complex stuff there but it’s small and not worth the hassle”, but even as they say that I can see that bit of joy of not HAVING to bottle up that tiny bit anymore. And it’s beautiful!

EVERYONE should be comfortable exploring the full extent of their gender. Everyone should take pride in that little tiny sliver of gender fuckery dwelling inside them!

Fucking… reply or tag this post with what your own personal brand of genderfuckery looks like! I wanna hear it! I wanna give everyone that outlet!

[platypuslappy]

my everythings….

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Sunny my life my love my deranged little puppet from my brain