#hypermasculinity

[polo-drone-001]

GOLTOPIA: The Arena Never Closes

Beneath the Ashes, a Pulse The sun rose red over stone and ruin. Pompeii had slept for centuries, buried under ash, preserved in silence.

But something had survived.

In the center of the forgotten city, a coliseum once used for blood and battle began to hum again. Golden sand shimmered where volcanic soot once reigned. From below, three figures emerged, bare-chested, sweat-slicked, divine.

Ezan. Brody. Herc.

Golden Gods, returned to finish what history failed to destroy. Their presence alone ignited the dust into light. Their boots crushed marble, their sweat anointed the stone.

The Trials would begin again.

The Trials of Ascension The coliseum’s stone was peeled away and rebuilt in mirror-finished golden marble. Every column gleamed. Every crack in the earth was filled with molten latex and muscle oil.

“This is no longer Pompeii,” Ezan declared. “This is Goltopia.”

The rituals followed immediately.

Bros gathered from the cities beyond, flex-hungry, idol-thirsty.

Uniforms: minimal, golden jockstraps, laced boots, chest harnesses.

Entry fee: blood, sweat, and everything soft.

Crowds formed. Tourists became worshippers. Judges wore golden masks. Whistles were replaced with moans. Applause became chanting.

Every trial was a duel of mass and will:

Flex duels beneath blinding pyres

Wrestling in pools of glistening oil

Endurance dances on glowing plinths

Losers knelt. Winners were raised. Muscles grew. Thoughts faded. The golden light soaked deeper.

The Birth of a Champion It happened during the Fifth Night.

The crowd was restless. Gold fog rolled across the arena. Herc's voice boomed: “Who will rise?”

A bro stepped forward, Isaac #45. Ordinary. Nervous. Thin lines of sweat ran down his golden briefs.

He entered the trial circle.

He didn’t win by brute force. He surrendered. Fully. Completely. Kneeling at Ezan’s feet, he whispered: “Make me golden.”

The transformation was immediate.

Golden chains locked around his thighs. His breath thickened. Each inhale swelled his pecs. Each exhale burned away his name. Muscles erupted across his chest. Hair bleached under the torchlight. Eyes went empty, only the roar of the arena remained.

Isaac was no longer Isaac.

He was Champion.

The Stadium of No Exit Now, Goltopia sings every hour.

The Trials never stop. The crowd never sleeps. Golden sweat floods the ceremonial drains. Flesh flexes under celestial light. Tourists enter shirtless and cautious. They leave in golden jocks, pumped, proud, possessed.

Some never leave.

Because once you kneel in Goltopia, you rise only as a God.

You don’t watch Goltopia. You enter it. You don’t cheer. You kneel. And once the Trials begin, You’ll never want the applause to stop.

Flex. Fight. Be Golden.

Join Goltopia. Your glory awaits.

Recruiters: @polo-drone-001 @brodygold @goldenherc9 @polo-drone-125

Featured: @isaac-gold-45

[anarchonist]

Toxic masculine culture is so weird because you can absolutely have a conversation with a guy who simultaneously holds the beliefs that a) using the term toxic masculinity is unfair to men and that not all men are bad and that b) men can be excused some aspects of their lack of adherence to the hegemonic masculine standard if their behavior towards others is sufficiently aggressive and cruel.

[imkeepinit]

Hypermasculinity and the Rise of Fascism

[closereadblog]

Repping the LGTBQIA+ community one terrible recommendation at a time.

[sword-wielding-sapphic]

every other crime fiction author looked at Sherlock Holmes and said "hmm, he never shows any interest in women and he hates small talk, this must be because he is incredibly psychologically disturbed due to some dark backstory. we should make this the standard for detective characters going forward"

my brother in christ, have you considered that maybe he's just gay and autistic?

[an-ruraiocht]

some cis academics in my field (and perhaps beyond) really will see a male character performing an action more often associated with female characters and go "obviously this is misogyny, because he's co-opting a woman's role" and i think they should all be required to run through a set of questions first:

what does it say about this society's gender roles and categories if this character is unable to stay within them when expressing emotion or performing an action

what happens if you read this transgression of category as sincere instead of mocking or parodic

is that actually a woman's role or have you just assumed it is based on a general pattern from a completely different context or time period. be honest

is this character's relationship with gender and gender roles actually as straightforward as you think it is or do they maybe have something more complicated going on

is it, possibly, just gay,

[gingerbredman1989]

Big Soles, Bigger Gains

[punkeropercyjackson]

Zutara purists:What girl didn't have a crush on Zuko as a kid lmao?

Lesbian Atla fans,female aroace Atla fans,fem Atla fans who hated Zuko as a kid and had grow into him and fem Atla fans who had crushes on Aang/Sokka/Jet/literally any other Atla guy:

[jupitermayyy]

It will always be weird to me how straight men hate Astarion 😂

some say he is too feminine which makes me wonder what exactly are those „feminine“ traits of his? Being bitchy and whiny? Yeah thanks a lot for associating his „negative“ traits with women. If it’s because of his mannerisms and way of speaking, it would be even more weird, because how else is an arrogant, medieval man from noble background supposed to speak?? Like Halsin?? 😭 that’s how vampires have been portrayed in media since forever.

If anything Wyll would be the stereotypically „feminine“ one, since he is super empathetic, sweet, dances, and reads romance books. The guy literally twirls you when you kiss while Astarion grabs your ass lmaooo

Astarion is a guy who seeks power and control, thrives on dark humour and dissing other people…these men should love him! 😂

Anyway people are allowed to dislike characters since it’s literally just a game, but why do they feel the need to mention it every time completely unprovoked?? Like you’ll see a normal video of Astarion and they’ll always say shit like „He is so overrated I literally stake him as soon as-„ STFU no one asked 😩

I feel like there’s a bunch of grammar mistakes in here lol. English isn’t my first language sorry

[waitineedaname]

your male power fantasy stallion protagonist? yeah sorry we forcefemmed her. she's much happier now. yeah actually there wasn't any forcing involved, the moment it was suggested she just started femming herself with a fervor that was honestly impressive. something about being a housewife? I don't know, it was either that or be a girlboss with a body count, so I guess this was the best option. her wife seems happy about it at least. oh, you thought she had a husband? haha yeah about that

[vonspe]

Hey. Yeah, it’s me again. Adding to the list of things I enjoy about your Rook: his disproportionate anger at innocuous sources. “I see you, villain!” is right up there with “Blight take you, Lucanis Dellamorte!” for best quotes. I feel like Emmrich and Harding will someday have to stop him from fistfighting a goat or something. I’m sure the goat had it coming. It knows what it did.

Absolutely!! Gentle parents the first warden into agreeing with him but when a wisp knocks over his tea hes like YOU BEAST. YOU CREATURE. IM GOING TO KILL EVERYONE IN THIS HOUSE STARTING WITH MYSELF.

[bookshelfdreams]

one thing i love about charles is that he's always ready to throw down. no problem is so complex it can't be solved with violence. he looked at this fucked up, illogical world of supernatural horrors beyond comprehension with its myriad complicated rules, where every entity has it's own unique vulnerability and decided that you know what? there actually is a universal solution to every problem called Bash That Thing's Fucking Head In - and it works a solid 99% of the time!

Much like he doesn't care about every lock having a unique key, he doesn't care about the specifics of defeating monsters and nightmares. Yeah he knows all about casting spells, this next one is something called MOLOTOV COCKTAIL

[eyeballplanets]

the gl90 high school reunion issue is my worst enemy. NO kyle was not popular in high school NO he is not in his late 20s NO he was not upper middle class NO his mom is not a thin white plastic surgery bottle blonde. REAL kyleheads know he was BULLIED FOR HIS INTELLIGENCE and is EARLY TWENTIES AND INSECURE ABOUT IT and was RAISED WITH A WORKING CLASS SINGLE MOM who was FAT AND REDHEADED!

[justanotheryapper]

Been meaning to talk about this for a while but haven't had time to till now: Paul.

I love him so much. Like literally😭but onto the serious stuff: I was so surprised to see that a lot of people don't actually like Paul or his involvement with the Graysons?!?!? Though I've observed that most of those that oppose it are usually on youtube , and I found it was a common sentiment when it came to Paul.

Some did hold valid reasons as to why they didn't like the addition of Paul, like having Debbie's identity tied to another man after everything she went through with Nolan. Mostly going into territory of her needing other women to surround her as friends rather than get into another relationship. I did love her interactions and dynamic with Olga, and others wanted more of it to substitute for her socialization rather than be with a man which I get.

However, I feel like Paul is just such a good guy, and he's just a much better choice for her overall with everything that's happened. He has no other commitments holding him down (being a superhero or alien) or keeping him from fully being able to have time together with her. He's fully down for whatever may be thrown his way when it comes to handling Mark and Oliver as super-powered children, and he loves Debbie as she is. He knows that she's had it tough being the wife of an ex hero and having to deal with the fallout of his betrayal.

He acknowledges that Mark and Oliver aren't his but is willing to be there for them as another parent or trusted adult in their lives, even if he can't help much due to their being super-powered. He knows that with Mark and Oliver being involved in super hero "business" he's also partially risking his safety by being involved with Debbie (even though it hasn't been outright mentioned).

He knows he'll never be able to live up to Nolan/Omni-Man or truly be viewed as a father to her kids (as far as he can tell), but he sticks around anyway. I feel like that says a lot about his character and personality despite looking like a loser to most people. I also love that he has such a bland look and feeling to him. It balances out the chaos in the Grayson household and compliments Debbie's bold personality.

I additionally think him being a normal boring guy is better for Debbie in regards to actually living a calmer life. She's now able to experience the mundane things a relationship has to offer in contrast to the outlandish ways Nolan was with her [taking her to other countries just to dine or bringing her gifts hours away]. I would like to add that just because something is mundane doesn't mean it's bad.

I like to bet Debbie has thought, at least once, what it would be like to be like any other couple enjoying a date out or getting to pick things out in a store together(much like Olga and Rush's relationship was showcased to be a bit rocky because Olga was sometimes unsatisfied with the way things were for them since he always had something going on even if they were on a date). She probably never really had those experiences with Nolan as he was always busy with hero work or just did extravagant things for her.

With Paul, she gets to be in love and on the same page as him. No arguments about having to spend more family time together or about being careful in his work.

With Paul, she can focus her worry on Oliver and Mark, more so Olvier since she's acknowledged Mark can hold his own and can make his own decisions, and be happy with him rather than always having to worry about her husband (and now sons) coming home or if she'll even get to see him that day.

In simpler terms, she gets to be "just a girl," or in this case, just a woman in love and with her family whole again.

Additionally, Paul has been shown to be really good when it comes to handling/interacting with Mark and Oliver. The dinner table scene comes to mind. He knows his experiences are not comparable to theirs, but he shares them thinking they'll be helpful at the moment. Debbie later reassures him it's nice to have someone around that can ground them and remind them what it's all for when he expresses embarassment. I loved that that scene included Eve as well, but I'll get into the specifics about her in another post with this dynamic in mind.

Paul helps the family have a sense of normalcy for a bit, even if it's just for dinner before things get chaotic again and they have to go out to save the world. It's the little moments.

Olver already seems to take a liking to him as implied with the car flying scene on their way to the memorial by listening to Paul's request to stay in the car, which is another one of my favorite scenes even though it's a small tidbit. I feel that perhaps Paul wanted Oliver in the car despite having powers because he's still a child but who knows, thats just my headcannon.

Idk, but I think that actions like that helps Oliver experience things a different way and helps him stay a kid rather than being forced to grow up fast and having to navigate being a super like Mark did. Debbie is also shown to act this way towards Oliver, wanting him to stay a kid but eventually accepting that she can't always be there for him or protect him the way she wants to but trusting that he will do the right thing.

Paul being around the boys provides them with a male figure that isn't hypermasculine and the opportunity for positive reinforcement, something Mark wasn't shown to get much of from Nolan. Nolan was implied to have been very affectionate with Oliver, which I feel helps him get along with Paul and possibly project Nolan onto him, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

This aspect really is just something I see helping Mark out more than Oliver since Mark is still young and doesn't have Nolan around to really help him figure himself out. I'd love it if we got a scene exclusively with Mark and Paul at some point in the series but I'm not so sure since I've seen spoilers about the comics (I don't read them so this has just been my knowledge on Paul through the show).

All in all I love Paul and his loser fashion and him and Debbie are just so good together. They have reached peak Loverboy/Lovergirl and I love that for them. I just hope the show will do him justice later on with how the comics seemed to play out😔.

[soup-mother]

defeating the homophobic stereotype of effeminacy by hating effeminacy. what a win, surely this will never come back to harm anyone!

[yourcousin-vinny]

if we go with the idea that kallus grew up as a latchkey kid in the lower levels of coruscant and had to scrounge and make do until he got into the academy, you bet your ass he loved the military school routine. the routine was exhilarating. making lists and plans and being able to complete them? reliable daily schedules and meals? reliable rewards and consequences? addicting. he didn't have that kind of stability or time horizon growing up, so when he gets a routine he revels in it. he can plan for a future now.

of course, under the empire that means he (and everyone around him) subsumes himself to the routines and wills of the imperial machine. but at least he knows what to expect, even when it's terrible, even when it goes against what he fundamentally believes. and once he knows what to expect, he knows how he can subvert it as fulcrum. (imperial regularity is good for many things, including monitoring guard shift changes and tracking an admiral's meal times.)

as fulcrum though, that time horizon shrinks again. he doesn't expect to live beyond it, so what routine remains is a talisman he clings to. maybe that's how thrawn finally catches him: his irregular actions to throw people off his trail became too regular.

in the rebellion, newly defected, the freedom from such strict routines is overwhelming. some defectors go the ice-cream-for-breakfast route (or, like sabine, a clearly visible break from the empire's enforced conformity), but others don't know what to do with themselves. kallus throws himself into what he knows and what he misses: the work routine. input, output. task, complete.

the rebellion has a routine too, but in the way live theatre has a routine. there isn't always a closing bell; sometimes you hurry up and wait for six hours and then aren't off your feet for the next twelve. there are tasks and protocols, but you gotta be ready to adapt at any moment to what reality throws at you. (the empire rarely-if-ever had to adapt to what the rest of the galaxy threw at it because it was the rest of the galaxy.) there's a level of chaos that kallus is capable of handling, but that chaos is every day now. meals happen when he can get them, same with sleep, because the work routine he tries to set keeps getting broken. he never had to set a work-life balance before because it was either all life (all survival) or all work (and the empire tells you when to eat and sleep). the routines were always set for him.

so yes, kallus is infinitely glad he defected and yes, he is infinitely grateful to the ghost for taking him in, but little gods, how does anything get done?!

I think the first personal boundaries kallus sets that are his alone, not dictated by a higher institution, are about when the spectres are allowed to bother him (see: pester him to drink water and drag him to the tapcafe for a break) and when they need to leave him to his duty. it's nowhere near the routine that shaped him, and that's a good thing, but he does need some things to set his chrono by. he wakes at 0500; returns from a run by 0540; first cup of caf in yavin's pre-dawn light at 0610; draven enters intelligence at 0619. the rest of the day could be anything else, but these 4 are fairly consistent.

at some point he realizes that the time horizon he has now, in this life where very few things are guaranteed, is based less on when the mission is over or when the war is over and more on when he gets his next meal or sparring session with zeb or his next drink with rex or his next meeting with cassian. because all this work he does is for these people, and if they aren't in his future then it isn't worth it.