"Merry Christmas my fair lady. My time with you has been short, but I hope you think I'm not too forward in getting you a gift... I saw this rose pendant in the window and couldn't help but think of you." Cheng Zhi leaned a little forward. "Think of it as a gift to represent our friendship."
Nunnally knows she should refuse. She shouldn’t accept such a personal gifts. It’s neither flowers, nor sweets, nor music sheets. Presents like that should be reserved for the members of the family; not even friends. These are the rules that a princess should follow (but also wants to escape); these are the rules that make her lonely. And she doesn’t want a life like that.
( “A friend…” ) – she thinks – ( “Does he really consider her a friend? Despite how badly she treated him before?” ) – Nunnally smiles: --
“Merry Christmas to you, too. It’s the most beautiful present I have ever received…” – she is not lying; she has never been given anything that personal. Nunnally lifts her hair up to allow him to put the pedant on her – “Would you mind…?” – she asks clearly suggesting what he is expected to do. She could perhaps do it herself, but for whatever reason the princess wants her bodyguard to be the one to put it on. Perhaps to feel his fingers on her neck. What a shameful wish! But would he honour her request?
But then faint pink creeps on her cheek. No, not because Cheng might actually do it, but because Nunnally realizes she has no personal present for him. She turns around and smiles; it’s a bit awkward, embarrassing smile. Perhaps because she isn’t sure about what she intends to do. Nunnally takes a step towards her companion.
“I also have a small gift for you. It’s nothing…much… So, I hope you’ll not be disappointed…” – she knows he will; after all he’ll know she hasn’t really prepared anything. She stands on her toes and places a small, quick kiss on his cheek.
“Happy holiday season…” – she says it again; as if to cover her real feelings – “…I…I’d appreciate if you could help me with my rose pendant...” - Nunnally still wants Cheng to put on this piece if jewelery.
“Cheng…” – her blue eyes now lock on him – “Thank you…”
@starsinshadows ( Kaz ) gets some literal sunshine.
the box was leaning up against the others like it was supposed to be there when Grace let them in to make delivery, & as her long time night baker, Clary hadn't really questioned it too deeply even though it contained absolutely nothing for the shop. it must be some strange thing her brother had ordered for Ash - that's the best she can think given it's clearly bespelled & therefore strictly out of her jurisdiction. apparently someone had come in & offered to buy it before she could even untangle the rest of the order - when Clary had texted back it looked like something that'd belong to her nephew, her night baker had turned them down & had set it inside the door up to Clary's apartment before Lucy could get in to put the order away.
that really should have been the first hint it was... significant. it shouldn't slide into the hands of their youngest coworker - still very much young herself, so why in the world would it be for Ash who was younger still? still, she had taken the box, slipped it into the back corner of her closet with everything else she needed to take over to Jonathan's, & promptly forgotten all about it. spring had started to break through - not that winter had really bared much of its teeth this time around - & that meant wedding season, to be summarily followed by graduations, & even more weddings, so some forgetfulness was probably forgivable.
Magnus had just finished re-applying the wards - a necessity given her apartment above the shop was the part time stopover for her nephew, & an expensive one at that, but it meant that she could rest easy as she went over the rest of the inventory & made sure they were set up for the rest of the week. she's so going over the special requests for a baby shower when she notices someone lingering in the shop. it's odd - she hadn't even heard the bell over the door but she's hardly been sleeping well; she'll chalk it up to her own exhaustion. wiping her hands on the vintage apron the shop calls its uniform, Clary offers an easy smile. ' sorry, I don't know how I missed you sliding in-- is there anything in particular you're looking for? '
Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?
I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?
In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".
Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.
This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.
Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.
The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.
[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]
There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.
This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.
[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]
As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.
But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?
Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.
ID: Katara and sokka in swimgear. in the first image, sokka is searching for something in the water. his hair getting wet. katara leans over to him saying "don't you think, its time for a haircut?" in the second image sokka rose form the water, a dog-shark creature in hand, swinging his hair in Katara face splashing her. smugly he says "no <3". End ID
i know its winter! i know it likley snowed by now on the northern hemilsphere! but... on the southern side is summer time right???
so... its fine.... this is fine!!!
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!!! please do not use or repost this artwork without permission!!!
i can't wait to be 30+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 40+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 50+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 60+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 70+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 80+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 90+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to look back on my life and know that i loved things deeply and passionately and was inspired to create and was part of communities with incredible people from all over the world brought together by the stories that touched us
I have been receiving requests for any songs that inspired Replica, so here, have my personal playlist. Sorry it’s not Spotify/Soundcloud but they don’t have some of these songs available so uh… guess you’re stuck with YouTube vids. For fun I'll include my personal titles for them (which might give a few hints of what to expect in the future/end).
Replica Main Theme - “Die for You” by Grabbitz
Like Father Like Son Like Brother (Omega and Shelldon) - "As Above So Below" by Alistair Lindsay
Mikey's Theme / The 1st Vision - "Suzume no Tojimari" by Nanoka Hara
Military (Mad) Dogs / Central Park Colony - "Imperium" by Madeon
Shanghai - "Icarus" by Madeon
Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuki
The Day the Sky Bled Red - "7 Seconds Till the End" by Nobuo Uematsu
Going Out Like a Boss (Raph and Leo) - "Agape" by Nicholas Britell
Remembering the Right Way (Mikey and Leo) - "The Souls of Many" - by Alistair Lindsay
Mystic Hands / The 2nd Vision - "Am I Dreaming" by Metro Boomin x A$AP
Book 2 Trailer - "Sea Dragon" by Covet
7 Years Later - "Iron" by Woodkid
Leo's Theme / Attack on the Labor Camp - "Ego Death" by Polyphia
Omega's Theme - "Touch" by Daft Punk
Flat Lines (Omega Alone) - "Die Toteninsel Emptiness" by 1000 Eyes
Spear - "Monsters" by Tommee Profitt
Final Protocol - "The Kraken" by Katie Dey
Rise / Epilogue - "Close in the Distance" by Masayoshi Soken & Tom Mills
I will admit, it's a little embarrassing since you can easily see the patterns of what I've been listening to for the past year or two. I swear I listen to more than just videogame OSTs, these songs just jive well with the story and I often find lyrics distracting when brainstorming scenes. Regardless, the music I listen to is such an important part of my creative process and some of these songs really defined the scenes I now have locked in my head. So I figured it was only fair to give them the credit they're due.
I will continue to add to this playlist, and will note in comic updates when one of these songs is applicable!
“Where's your sense of adventure, hm? Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now after we've come all this way?” Evan “whines”, bottom lip jutting out in a mock pout at the shorter woman. “The place is within spitting distance, Nunally. I promise.”
— but, despite said “promise”, he can still see the hesitation in her expression. She still looks uncertain about her surroundings, in his opnion, and he'd hate to have to turn around now. The man's attention drifts up to gaze down the street to their destination — a near silent, contemplative hum bubbling up in his throat — but it doesn't linger on it long and after a moment, he back to looking at Nunally.
“Look… You agreed to sneak out with me so might as well make the most of it, right?” This time, his expression is a bit more reassuring. “So, let's do that.”
“If it's not your speed and you still wanna go, we'll leave and I won't complain about it. Deal?”
Evan was the weirdest "thing" that had ever happened to Nunnally. She had never expected that a girl like her would be able to create a bond, let alone friendship, with someone like Evan. Not that she knew much about him, but she just felt they represented very different backgrounds. Perhaps even worlds. It’s not that she was all proper and perfect. On the contrary, Nunnally was always the one to explore on her own. After all, it was curiosity, willingness to take risks and some sort of boldness that made her father who he was in politics (and perhaps outside it as well), and what Nunnally inherited from him.
But Evan was showing her places she wouldn't expect to exist, not to mention to visit. But it was fun. He was fun. Nunnally considered him a friend. Perhaps the only one she had. But sometimes it was too much for Nunnally. Like this time. It’s not that she wasn't interested. It’s not that she did not want to see it. Experience it. But this time she was simply scared (although it did not happen too often) about her surroundings. What if she got lost? If she wandered away from Evan? This place looked like one she could not survive in. That it could consume her. She squeezed Evan’s hand harder.
“It’s…it’s okay. We can go…just please don’t lose me…” – no, she did not want to disappoint Evan. After all, it was her who asked Evan, in practice almost begged him, to take her with him when he mentioned the place. And now the young woman was not so sure anymore. But it seemed so unfair to destroy Evan’s experience as well.
She nodded in agreement, when he pointed out that she wanted to go with him. Evan was right. So, where was the hesitation coming from? His next words seemed more reassuring and she did not want to look like a little boring girl to him (as if she was not already).
“Thank you, Evan.” – she said clinging tighter to him – “But I would feel bad if you have to leave because of me. Let’s do it. Let’s do it together…” – saying that she moved her doe-eyed gaze to meet his dark eyes – “I won't pretend I am not frightened…” – she suddenly admitted – “But I have you to take care of me…”
“Right?” – her voice was shaky but there was also a bit of confidence clearly heard in her voice. That she should be, no! that she would be safe with Evan. She was not wrong, was she?