#cw: reference to the AIDS crisis

[laundrybiscuits]

(FINE I guess this is a series now. whatever.)

“He’s where,” says Steve. 

“Off to see the wizard, my dude.” Argyle passes him a pipe. Steve’s not really sure where it came from or when Argyle packed it, but he’s got manners, so he takes a hit and hands it off to Jonathan. 

“Murray,” elaborates Jonathan, on an exhale. “The…you know. Oh wow, I guess you’ve never met Murray either. That’s weird, right? I mean, you were there, you were just…”

“Babysitting, probably,” says Steve. “Wait, why is Eddie meeting this guy?”

Argyle gestures in a big loopy way. It reminds Steve a little bit of how Eddie waves his arms around. “Eddie’s on, like, a spiritual journey. A dream quest, but…real life. The realest.”

“Not spiritual like church,” adds Jonathan. “Like, gay spirit. Is that a thing? Shit, why doesn’t anyone know Murray.”

“I don’t know Murray either, man,” says Argyle. 

“Is…Murray a real person?” Steve asks. He doesn’t think it’s an unreasonable question.

“Yes! Jesus. He’s real, okay? Nancy knows Murray, we—yeah. Nancy knows him.” Jonathan looks kind of dour and depressed, but he always sort of looks like that. 

“How’s Nancy doing?” Steve doesn’t really want to know, but it seems like the polite thing to say. 

“We’re fine,” says Jonathan. 

“Okay,” says Steve, who hadn’t asked that at all.

“Everything’s fine,” Jonathan repeats. Argyle reaches over to pat Jonathan on the head, then takes the pipe from Jonathan’s hand. 

———

“Hm,” says Murray. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking behind all the facial hair and glasses. “Okay, I don’t usually do this, but…what the hell. Kiddo, you are way too young to be talking like that. Your life’s not over, and if you’re smart about it, it doesn’t have to be over any time soon.”

Murray sits back on the couch, kicking up his feet. There’s a hole in his left sock.

“You think happily ever after only looks like one thing? That’s the thought of a child. If you really want, you can make some kind of picket fence life for yourself, suburbs and all. But you’re a queer, so that means you don’t have to do that shit because nobody’s expecting you to anymore. You get to decide what matters to you.”

“I don’t know any way to be gay that’s not lonely as hell,” Eddie says. 

“That’s because you’re an idiot and an infant,” says Murray gently. 

“You don’t have a—a boyfriend.” It comes out a little too sharp and mean, but Eddie’s feeling cornered. 

Murray laughs. “Kid, what did I just say? I don’t want a damn boyfriend. Some guy coming over here all the time, eating my food? Hell no. We’re degenerate homos, we get to decide what to keep and what to shove down the god damn garbage disposal. I got some arrangements in place, and that’s the way I like it. The whole lovey-dovey romance shit isn’t for me.”

Eddie draws his legs up, wrapping his arms around his shins. His boots are probably leaving marks on the couch, but Murray can deal. “I think it…I think that is for me. I want that to be for me. Um. In general.”

Murray actually tilts his head down to give Eddie a scathing look over the top of his glasses. “No shit, Joan Jett. Your whole ooh please push past my defenses to prove you love me schtick is visible from space.”

“Fuck,” says Eddie, knocking his head against his knees. He closes his eyes, humiliated beyond words, feeling scooped-out and awful. 

“C’mon, it’s not that bad.” Eddie feels a tap on his arm, and when he looks up, Murray’s holding out a glass with about an inch of amber liquid in it. “We all go through something like that. It’s a rite of passage, just like it is to get so wasted you throw up on the stranger you dragged into a club bathroom. You’ll do that too. You’re gonna be messy and embarrassing anyway, so just enjoy the ride. And take the damn Talisker, it’ll help.”

Eddie takes the damn Talisker and knocks it back in one go, just to be an ass. Murray rolls his eyes but pours him another one.

“Ah, practical shit…” Murray scratches at his beard thoughtfully. “Been a while since I had to do this. Poppers are great, don’t overdo ‘em. Splurge on the fancy medical lube if you want but Vaseline or Crisco’ll do the trick just fine. And listen up, kitten, because you can ignore everything else that comes outta my mouth, but you can’t ignore this: always wrap it up. I mean always. I don’t care if he’s your soulmate, I don’t care if it kills the mood, I don’t care if he says he’s a blushing goddamn virgin. If he doesn’t want to wear a rubber, he doesn’t care if you live or die.”

Murray looks down at his own glass. For the first time, Eddie thinks he looks—tired. 

“I know there’s probably a big part of you that doesn’t care if you live or die, either. But you gotta remember there’s people who do. The kid who sent you to me. He doesn’t want to go to your funeral.”

“Yeah,” Eddie says. It comes out too quiet; he swallows and tries again. “Yeah. I know. I’ve—been to funerals too.” 

Murray barks out a surprised laugh. “God, you have, haven’t you? Think I was almost thirty, my first time. I’m sorry, Joan Jett, this isn’t a great time to be young and gay. Go make friends with some dykes, they’ll keep you sane.” 

Eddie, who has held Robin’s hair back as she ralphed into a bucket after losing a Peeps-eating competition with Steve, has his doubts, but he just nods.

Murray looks at him for a moment, then takes his face between two big hands and kisses him on the forehead. It feels neither sexual nor familial, but something beyond all of the easy categories Eddie’s known. 

“Now piss off,” Murray says. “Don’t get some crazy idea that this means we’re friends, or that you can start coming around whenever you feel like it.”

“So, just Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Sunday,” says Eddie, and ducks out before Murray can start cussing at him.

———

See, Eddie’s little crush on Steve is meant to be purely recreational. It’s fun to crush on unavailable guys he knows—way more fun than celebrities or whatever. It’s just nice, to feel his heart speed up a little when Steve’s around, safe in the certain knowledge that he’s never going to do a damn thing about it. It even feels good to hurt a little bit over it, achy and sharp, like pushing on a bruise. 

Yeah, Eddie knows he’s a little fucked up. But he figures this is harmless enough: a secret little vice that nobody’s ever going to know about.

Apparently, everybody knows. 

“Um,” says Jonathan, wide-eyed. “Was it…supposed to be a secret?”

“Yes,” hisses Eddie. “Because this is Hawkins, Indiana, and I don’t want to fucking die. Did we or did we not just have a conversation about the many and various perils this whole thing entails.”

“My dude, if you don’t want it to be, like, public knowledge, maybe don’t flirt with him so much?” 

“Betrayal!” Eddie gasps, staggering around like he’s been stabbed in the back, because he fucking has. “An unjust hit by Argyle the Assassin.”

“Argyle the Assistant,” says Argyle. “I’m assisting you, bro.”

“I don’t flirt with Steve!” Eddie screeches. “We’re friends! I flirt with you two dickwads more than I do with Steve, because I don’t flirt with Steve!” 

“You really do,” says Jonathan apologetically. “Kind of…a lot. Remember when we were out by the quarry, and you kept calling him princess.”

“As a joke!”

“Ohhh yeah,” says Argyle. “That was the day you, like…took his jacket, right?”

“I was cold!”

Jonathan grins. “Is that why you kept asking him how it looked on you?”

“As…a joke,” says Eddie, weakly. He’s starting to remember that it might’ve been even worse; the words do I look pretty in your clothes, Stevie may or may not have been uttered. 

“Hey, man, it’s no biggie. That was a million years ago and he didn’t say anything, so you’re free and clear. Totally righteous.” Argyle throws an arm around Eddie, who curls into him sulkily. Argyle’s tall and solid and kinda hot, so it’s a real shame Eddie can’t crush on him instead. 

Eddie sighs. “If Jonathan weren’t here, I’d ask you to make out with me until I felt better,” he says. 

“What,” says Jonathan. “You can’t—I mean, you can, and I, uh—support you? Should I leave?”

“Aw,” says Argyle, and ruffles Eddie’s hair. “That’s sweet, dude. If Jonathan weren’t here, I would.”

“What is happening,” says Jonathan. “I’m gonna—should I leave? I’m gonna leave.”

Eddie whines, “No, c’mon, stay, we’ll do that seance. That’ll make me feel better too. Maybe we can resurrect my deceased heterosexuality.” 

They don’t manage to raise any ghosts or any heterosexualities, but it does make Eddie feel a little better anyway.

#cw: reference to the AIDS crisis #fic: young man what do you wanna be #yup that's the new title. yup it's from the YMCA song by the Village People. #1) it's a gay disco standard 2) it represents the level of seriousness with which you should treat this series #I genuinely do not know if this will ever be posted on AO3 because I'm putting so little effort into making it a coherent story #instead of a vehicle for eddie + jargyle interactions #ALSO I do not actually know if pipes were super common in the 80s. I did zero research on any part of this. just go with it shhh

[sylvctica]

HEAD IN HNDS YSLVIE'S FUCKIGN BODYCLAIM DUDE HAS A TWITTER AND IM

(please please its not to be opened in public)

#[ WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ] #[ THANK U FOR THE FOOD SIR ] #[ ITS ONLY THANKS TO HIM SYLVIE'S BODY TYPE IS THIS NOW ] #[ HE HAS ART POSE REFERENCE VIDEOS ON HIS TIKTOK??? ] #[ im going to fucking explode excuse me ] #[ THIS IS LITERALLY SYLVIE'S BODY TYPE SO ] #[ im having a crisis right now ] #OOC // AID TALKS. #nsft cw

[weirdcat1213]

Conventional weapons and queer acceptance

I'm going through it rn so here's a really long post on a queer interpretation of Conventional Weapons.

Notes:

-Yes, I will talk about every song. No song is safe from me.

-No, I don't think it is the only/correct interpretation but its one that I've been thinking about for ages so leave me alone :D

-I know these songs were recorded separately and they don't have a linear story (like revenge or tbp) but for the sake of angst, I will treat the whole album as a queer journey where the speaker is the main character, also I will use they/them for them because the album itself talks a lot about gender.

-"Some of these are more about the system and protests rather than queerness" guess what? those go hand in hand even though it's 2023, life sucks.

-I will use "queer" instead of LGBTQ+. That debate does not belong here but I'm just giving a heads up.

TW: homophobia, transphobia, conversion therapy, unhealthy coping mechanisms (?), aids crisis, society just being shitty in general

Let's start :3

Album context: CW is not a concept album (sadly). The band had ideas for these songs since their TBP tour and didn't think it was fit for Danger Days so they only released them because Frank thought they were cool (bless his soul he was so right). Therefore, these songs' messages/perspectives/feelings may vary.

Boy Division:

*The first two songs have a handgun on the cover. This weapon is a small and distant weapon, portraying the distance the speaker wants to have with queerness since they're still in the closet*

From a queer perspective, this song is about the speaker's closeted life as a queer person. The song asks people close to him how would they react if they were to find out about they are queer. The speaker already knows the answer, people would be disgusted and reject them entirely, making the speaker mad. It can be assumed the speaker is at their last straw here and leave their home behind to live their truth.

"If all my enemies

Threw a party, would you light the candles?

Would you drink the wine while watchin' television?

Watch the animals and all the tragedies

And sell your arteries to buy my casket gown"

Enemies in this context are homophobic/transphobic people. If the speaker admitted to being queer, would their loved ones pretend the speaker is "dead"? Would they side with the homophobic/transphobic people?

"Well, it better be black and it better be tight

And it better be just my size

I'm stalkin' these metro malls and airport halls

And all these schoolgirls"

This may be a reference to the kind of stereotypes the speaker's loved ones believe about queer people. About how they stalk people in public and "try to convert minors"

"I'm not askin', you're not tellin'

He's not dead, he only looks that way"

The speaker not asking anymore if the people they know support queer people/if they would support them. The part about "him" not being dead could be how their relatives see the situation from the outside. The speaker is apathetic because of their situation but no one knows.

"Out nowhere, take me out there

Far away and save me from my

Self-destruction, hopeless for you

Sing a song for California"

They're in the middle of nowhere, and they wish to be in a more accepted place, putting California as an example (is this true? idk I don't live there)

"I bought my enemies

Rope to hang me and the knives to gang me

You can watch them stab me on your television

Stomp the halls, because the bathroom walls

Would have a lot to say

About the lines you're puttin' down"

This is the speaker's way to say he is one of the queers their loved ones hate so much. The speaker "bought" the rope by admitting their queerness and they might as well be the ones on the TV getting ganged up on because of their identity. When they mention the bathroom it could be a reference to how there are worst things happening that transphobic gatekeeping bathrooms, such as people doing drugs.

"Well, it better be white and better be cut

And better be just my size

Until my capillaries burst of boredom

I'll be waitin"

Instead of funeral attire, now they want to use wedding attire because they feel alive by coming out, hence the white. If we assume they were rejected by their loved ones, the speaker will wait for them to come around until they get bored. The speaker's capillaries are a symbol of their patience.

"I'm not laughin', you're not jokin'

I'm not dead, I only dress that way"

The speaker dresses as if they're dead not only because they could be at any time due to harassment but also because they feel dead being in a place they can't be themselves. It could also be a reference to gender expression and the speaker experimenting for the first time.

"'Cause we got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go!

We got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go!"

This could mean queer people (we) are fighting back society (the bomb) and the speaker feels inspired.

"Say a prayer for California"

A prayer for California so it can stay as a place the speaker can run to and be free.

Tomorrows Money:

This one is about the speaker's views about capitalism and taking a stand as an activist against corporations and rainbow capitalism. The speaker knows queer people aren't welcome and yet they're still used for profit, however, we could say the song's pov is from the speaker and the corporations. The song also makes an argument about how capitalism actively makes queer people's lives even more difficult.

"You fell in love with a vampire

Do you wanna get it for free

In this song, vampires are associated with queer people and their experiences (just like many movies about vampires and other monsters have done in history). Getting one for free would be to get to live the experience of a queer person instead of seeing it externally (in a movie, show, book, etc)

"Then say hello to the brush fire, baby

You gotta take it from me, I’m gonna take it from you

Say hello to the good times

And burning up in the sun"

According to corporations, the speaker can live out as a queer person, but they will have to face conflict against capitalism, a model that is mostly known for taking things away from people.

They’re sitting back on an empire

While the world lays back, puts a kid behind that gun

This is the speaker's view about capitalism and the world. Corporations and their owners are living comfortably while they leave the most vulnerable minorities to deal with the dirty work.

"If we crash this time

They got machines to keep us alive

When the mixtape plays

Choke down the words with no meaning"

This refers to how queer people can't seem to escape capitalism. If they get hurt while protesting or get sick, they will still need to get (most of the time in most places at least) private health insurance to get good medical attention. When talking about the mixtape, it can also be referring to the multiple products corporations do for queer people (see the "pride merch" on june). But when you analyze the final products, it is clear that it lacks meaning and it was only made for profit.

"I stopped bleeding three years ago

While you keep screaming for revolution

Me and my surgeons and my street-walking friends

We got no heroes, 'cause our heroes are dead"

Here the speaker is personally calling out corporations for their meaningless support. While they and other people have been protesting and taking care of themselves within their community, corporations keep shouting out their outdated "love is love" slogan and keep repeating their empty promises about equality. The speaker, the "surgeons" (people who focus and live to take care of the queer community as volunteers/nonprofit organizations), and more activists keep protesting for a better future but also for the people who came before them and died for the cause (for example multiple people during the aids crisis)

"Say hello to the program

We’re gonna give it for free

Hook up the veins to the antibodies

Got it with the disease, we’re gonna give it to you"

This verse could be considered queer representation in media and how it helps queer people even if it ends up being queerbating. Corporations give queer people the content and even if there are no official queer people in it, subtext and further readings into the media help people to see themselves in the story and/or characters, they work as antibodies against society.

"Say goodbye to the good times

You’re loaded up with the fame

You’re dressing up like a virus

But the words get lost when we all look the same"

The most popular and famous logo (and stand) corporations take in pride month is the rainbow. They don't specify anything and just keep it open to appeal to most people as possible. Although queer people have taken the rainbow as a general symbol for everyone when corporations use it is because there is no interest in other people who aren't the "classic" cisgender white gay male, there's no meaning on their rainbow. All the rainbow logos in June end up looking like a virus taking over for a month rather than support.

"You fell in love with a vampire, torch up for the empire

Say hello to the brush fire, the microphone's got a tap wire

You fell in love with a vampire, torch up for the empire

Say hello to the brush fire, the microphone's got a tap wire!"

In this verse, the speaker is possibly talking to a multitude. They make a reference to the vampire analogy but also says that if they want to live free queer people need to get rid of the corporations. No matter how many problems they face they have to be careful since they're still under capitalism and being watched.

"Because rebellion's not a T-shirt you sell

You keep your money, and I’ll see you in hell"

Many queer people have that reaction when companies don't support queer people's rights but sell queer products on pride month. The speaker rejects rainbow capitalism and will see the company in hell since, according to religious fanatics, that's where queer people are going.

*I find this topic (capitalism vs the queers) really interesting but I honestly don't know much about it but this is a cool video I recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xQVFYWvd3o&t=1449s)

Ambulance:

*The second disc has a picture of a small knife, a weapon of short range that requires the user to get really closer to the opponent. This represents the speaker's change from their involvement with the queer community; they went from keeping their distance to putting themselves out there as an activist*

Ambulance, under a queer context, is about the queer community and the love the speaker has for them since they have helped after they cut ties with their family in "Boy Division."

You don’t know a thing about this life, and we are up for

Everything it takes to prove we’re not the same as them

The speaker could be talking to someone new when it comes to activism. They want to motivate the new recruit but also be honest about what is like to constantly be on the line. The queer community will never be like the people who can easily thrive in a heteronormative society because the queer community looks out for every minority (let's ignore dumb organizations like lgb for this, they suck)

"And we will wear our masks again, out after dark

'Cause we are up for everything it takes

and we are not the same

'Cause we are not afraid

And we are not ashamed"

This part is about how they protect themselves while defending themselves and how they are not ashamed of fighting for what's right publicly.

"And if you save my life, I’ll be the one who drives

You home tonight

And if I ever let you down, I’ll be the one who drives

You home tonight"

One of the things that the speaker appreciates most about the queer community is how they take care of each other. If one of them gets hurt, they will help each other. No matter what happens everyone looks out for everyone.

"Remember once, you walked this kind of life quietly, I’ll sleep

Behind the wheel, and passing every face you see the first time

Singing every piece as you walk by proving that with

All of my mistakes, that we are not the same"

The speaker is comparing themselves to other people in their group who have been in their position but also have had a completely different experience. Other people may have cope in healthier ways than the speaker, which makes them feel kind of guilty.

"'Cause we are not the same

And we are all to blame"

When it comes to protesting or activism is it always is the activists' fault if something bad happens. According to conservatives if anything goes south (police brutality, hate crimes, etc) is the queer people's fault for not being closeted, for "indoctrinating people".

"'Cause you don’t know a thing about me

, you don’t know a thing"

This is from the speaker to the people who have helped them in their life. They don't know who they were before but the community still took them in as family.

Gun:

Honestly, there's not much that this brilliant thread hasn't already said. La (the twitter user) suggests that "the song's main theme is obviously a young person entering the military, which is known for having a strict structure and very precise rules to follow and roles to fill. in this case, I believe the military could represent the cis, heteronormative society"

See the rest of the thread here :D

https://twitter.com/zhongmcr/status/1560384799101124614?t=emxookpnkny0c5iYV4fmdw&s=19

Please read it and send @/zhongmcr some love for it.

The World is Ugly:

*The machine guns reflect more intensity as an attack. The speaker is going deeper in being vocal about the queer community on this disc.*

The world is ugly is, of course, a romantic song. When analyzing it through queer lenses, however, it can be about the speaker getting strong feelings for someone but still being afraid of confessing their feelings, even if the other person is also queer, because are traumatized by past experiences while in the closet.

"These are the eyes and the lies of the taken These are their hearts But their hearts don't beat like ours They burn 'cause they are all afraid"

The speaker usually gets that feeling of "them against the world", but it is different with the person they are interested in. The speaker feels they have a connection and they are together while being against the world.

"For every one of us There's an army of them But you'll never fight alone 'Cause I wanted you to know"

Conservative people are "afraid" of queer people and it has made their lives difficult but when they're together it doesn't matter.

"That the world is ugly But you’re beautiful to me Well are you thinking of me now?"

The heteronormative society is a pain for the speaker and the love interest but the speaker wants to make clear that their love interest is beautiful no matter what society says.

"These are the nights And the lights that we fade in These are the words But the words aren't coming out

They burn 'cause they are hard to say"

This part is more personal for the speaker. They reminisce on all the nights they have spent with their love interest and how on those they have tried to tell how they feel, but the speaker cannot say it out loud.

"For every failing sun, there's a morning after Though, I'm empty when you go I just wanted you to know"

The speaker comforts themselves with the fact that they can try the next day, but at the same time, they keep living with the pain of their love interest not knowing.

"That the world is ugly But you're beautiful to me Are you thinking of me Like I'm thinking of you?"

The speaker wonders if their love interest thinks about them the same way or if they have another kind of relationship.

"I would say I'm sorry, though Though, I really need to go I just wanted you to know

I wanted you to know I wanted you to know I'm thinking of you Every night, every day"

In this verse, the speaker implies they usually focus on activism and things that will help their community rather than their own feelings. They have to go and keep helping others but still wants to let their feelings come across.

"These are the lies And the lives of the taken These are their hearts But their hearts don't beat like ours They burn 'cause they are all afraid But mine beats twice as hard"

Because the speaker is really focused on others but also wants to be with their love interest, they are passionate about 2 things.

"Stop your crying, helpless feeling Dry your eyes and start believing There's one thing They’ll never take from you"

The speaker goes back to their "mentor mode" and inspires their love interest to believe in a better future. However, they also reference how the world can never take their love interest's beauty away.

"One day, like this We'll never be the same Never, forever Like ghosts in the snow Like ghosts in the sun"

This is the speaker dreaming of what their life could be only with their love interest. They would just be people exploring the world.

The Light Behind Your Eyes:

This song is about a guide saying goodbye to people or a person whom they have helped in the past. Under a queer interpretation, it could be from the point of view of an elder queer passing away who was really important to the speaker.

"So long to all my friends Every one of them met tragic ends With every passing day I'd be lying if I didn't say That I miss them all tonight"

The elder queer is possibly passing away and is thinking about the friends they got to make within the community. By saying their friends met tragic ends it could refer to the aids crisis or hate crimes.

"And if they only knew what I would say If I could be with you tonight I would sing you to sleep Never let them take the light behind your eyes"

Just like the elder queer, their friends used to help people in the community, and they would approve the last reassuring words of the elder. The elder wishes they would be alive and well to see a better future but for now, they can only hope people stop harming queer people.

"As we fade in the dark Just remember you will always burn as bright"

The older queer people may have passed away but they want the younger generations to have a good life.

"Be strong and hold my hand Time, it comes for us, you'll understand We'll say goodbye today And I'm sorry how it ends this way If you promise not to cry Then I'll tell you just what I would say"

This shows the elder was really appreciated in the community since they have people with them in their final moments. They wish they would not be leaving that way (probable aids) but they still think younger generations need to learn about the problem and be strong enough to face it.

"I'll fail and lose this fight"

The elder already knows their own fate.

"Sometimes we must grow stronger And you can't be stronger when I'm gone When I'm here, no longer You must be stronger and"

The elder knows it will be hard for future generations who still feel like they need guidance to survive, but they hope the people they leave behind get stronger.

"I failed and lost this fight"

The elder queer couldn't avoid their future, as if from the beginning, it was meant to happen.

When the outro keeps repeating it could reflect how those are actually the last words (or at least sentiment) of the elder, and it will stay present in the community for a long time.

Kiss the Ring:

*This disc has two axes on the cover. Additionally, from here on out there are 2 weapons on the covers, which means the speaker is not alone anymore, but with someone who shares their "them against the world" feeling.*

Kiss the Ring is another song about the speaker's feelings against the system. However, this one and the next song in the disc have more rage on them. The speaker starts to lash out at authority and politicians who keep failing queer people.

"We kill the girls to get paid And put the whole damn room on the edge of the blade You'll get far, stay clean"

The speaker is mocking society's standards for people. They set dangerous beauty stereotypes only to get women to buy their products, reject measures that could help queer people (hormone treatment, counseling, etc) even if they know people could die because of the lack of it, and attribute failure to substances such as alcohol and drugs. Some queer people will turn to those substances because of the lack of support because society keeps making it hard to live, but big institutions don't care.

"And if the world stops believing, I'll keep believing

That the world could make a change (All I know is I won't stop believing) And put the suicide dolls as the last ones to mate (All I know is I won't stop believing)"

Although the speaker still has faith in a better future, they are angry about society putting queer people in a complicated position. Queer people create their own communities because they are pushed by the people who refuse to let them live. They insult and make everything more complicated up to the point of giving queer people trauma and mental health issues. The queer people affected by this are the only ones left to help themselves and others. Queer people are left at the back where they find each other.

"Come hard, stay clean (You're the next if you don't stop your creeping) And singing songs for the damned now (You're the next if you)"

The line on the back "You're the next if you don't stop your creeping" could be the authority's opinion about queer people: you will get in trouble if you are out/"explicit". Additionally, the songs for the damned could be a metaphor for people who think praying/conversion therapy will work as a "cure" for queerness.

"Hail! Hail! 'Cause the king is gone And if you don't stop believing, we'll keep believing"

This part could mean how conservatives celebrate when something bad happens to a politician or anyone famous who is in favor of queer rights. They tend to believe that there is a leader (like the people who believe there is an ANTIFA leader), but queer people will keep protesting and believing in a better life for everyone.

"You put the record on And live the life that you're making, shots that you're taking"

"So grab the cash and run And let the suits watch each other kill one another"

This is the speaker starts to get reckless. For them, it has become a matter of taking back at society. They want to live their life the best as they can, so they let themselves enjoy music, drink, and commit crimes since they will end up in trouble anyway for being queer. They steal money because they need it but also to get a sense of power over their life. The "suits" in this case would be politicians, the ones who say they want to help queer people against the ones who want them dead. Even if someone is fighting the good fight the speaker doesn't care for them anymore.

It doesn't matter if the words don't mean a thing You gotta kiss that ring"

The words could be the empty promises some politicians do to queer people. Many of them beg them to vote to protect their rights only to back off when it really matters. Kissing the ring means the absurdity of respecting people, authority figures, and institutions (the government) who don't want to be held accountable for queer people's rights.

"Move like the wolves, keep the faith There ain't a dry eye left in the back of the place Is it hard to stay clean?"

The speaker warns their community about the government since politicians don't have empathy for them (dry eyes)

"And if you all keep believing, I'll keep believing That the world drives the saints (All I know is I won't stop believing) And put the shotgun shells in the hills it makes (All I know is I won't stop believing)"

In this verse, the speaker mocks how authority loves to praise "pacific protests" but will still kill them. Most of the time when queer people organize a pacific gathering, they are met with violent repression.

"So come hard, stay clean (You're the next if you don't stop your creeping) Because they don't give a damn, now (You're the next if you)"

The speaker believes after so many failures that no politician cares for queer people.

"You got your leather on And live the life that you're making, shots that you're taking"

This could be referring to what kind of clothing queer people "tend" to wear. The idea is to just wear whatever you want and live your life.

"Hail, hail 'cause the king is gone Hail, hail 'cause the king is gone Hail, hail 'cause the king is gone Hail, hail 'cause the king is, the king is gone

Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!"

Queer people celebrate a supposed leader that never existed because it is not about leaders, but the community.

"Fist up, head down Hail, hail to the king"

In this verse since the king is not "gone" it could mean the community is celebrating itself. They will keep fighting even if there's the risk of something bad happening, which is why they put their head down as a sign of being prepared for the worst.

Make Room:

Make Room is mainly the speaker setting the people who do not accept queer people or pretend to be allies as zombies. Queer people are most of the time used for gossip, instead of being treated as real people. The people who only care about gossip and getting to know who came out just to be disrespectful about it are people who do not have reasoning skills, making them zombies.

"Make room! Make room! Down on the coffin,​ there's a coffin or two Dead chic, so cool The cannibals are starving when they're looking at you"

This verse is about how dead queer people are seen just as numbers. The cisgender straight people's main concern most of the time is the funeral (what will people say, how to present the dead queer person etc), reflected on the line about the coffins. The dead girl represents dead queer people who attracted attention, making the zombies (society) wild to get the news and learn about everything that went wrong. They just want the gossip.

"Tank tops, jet stream Karate lessons with a killing machine White lines, nose bleeds I know you get excited when the cameras go Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta"

The speaker refers here to the kind of people who talk and treat queer people as means for gossip. They can be relaxed in their summer clothes with their private jets and do questionable things (drugs as mentioned with "white lines"), people with privilege. They get excited when a famous person reveals themselves to be queer and are able to get every single detail, however, they don't know (or don't care) that the spotlight can be stressful and harmful for famous queer people who come out. This is reflected by the "ratatata" the cameras make.

"Me and you, and all of this living dead Burning up in the sun, where the bodies add Sitting here with you, in misery Anybody gonna come and rescue me? La la la"

Here the speaker is talking with another queer person about how stressful people can be. They have to endure their questions and actions but even if they are miserable, they are together. The speaker's petition for someone to rescue them is mocking how some people "became" queer because the community pressured them into being queer.

"Make room! Make room! One day, you're gonna have explaining to do

Drag star, so cool There's only room for one man and the one is you, you, you"

This verse is just multiple wrong arguments that people make about queer people. A popular argument that homophobic/transphobic people use against queer people is how are they "going to explain" their identity or sexuality to others such as kids, elders, etc. Those kinds of people also have problems with drag artists. They may say they are letting drag artists live their lives, but they pressure them and their gender expression, reminding drag artists they are men and have to act like it. This argument is not only wrong because not all drag queens identify as men, but also does not consider drag kings.

"Got a taste for the cash and androgyny Anybody wanna come and rescue me?"

Androgyny is considered the combination of man and woman. This combination seems fashionable for multiple people and companies have decided to adopt it for profit. If it looks pretty it will sell. Multiple companies will present an androgynous person/model and show it off as their "queer representation".

"Well alright, well alright She's alright Everybody in the room is alright"

This could be a reference to the dead girl first mentioned in the song. Most people just want to pretend nothing bad is happening and that queer people are okay if comparing these times to years ago.

"Everybody wants to change the world Everybody wants to change the world But no one, no one wants to die!"

"We are never gonna change the world We are never gonna change the world 'Cause we are never gonna die!"

I see this as what the speaker thinks about activism after being vocal about queer issues during the whole album. They know protesting and being an activist is important for the queer community, and if they want society to change there will be sacrifices that no one wants to do. However, they also want to be happy and have a life of their own with the person they like. Maybe the change will be delayed and they will keep fighting for it, but not to the point of putting their happiness on the line anymore.

Surrender the Night:

*These last two songs have grenades on the cover because these ones are the tipping point for the speaker. They are done hiding their emotions and will explode at any second. It's a more aggressive weapon than the rest. The songs still talk about how society sucks for queer people, but the main focus for the speaker is the person they like and showing their feelings.*

Surrender the Night is a continuation (kind of) of The World is Ugly. If on The World is Ugly the speaker was afraid of confessing their feelings, on Surrender the Night they decide to be selfish and take control of the situation, take control of what makes them happy for once.

Everyone's a passenger, tonight Just another accidental on the freeway of this life

This night is important for the speaker, anything else doesn't matter.

We'll drive on and on and on and on We'll drive on and on And I'll remember this night when you're gone

The speaker and the love interest will leave everything behind, and the speaker wants their love interest to remember that night forever.

You surrender your heart I surrender every dream

Every weapon you've got Every secret that I keep

This is a deal the speaker proposes as a way to confess their feelings. If their love interest accepts being with them, nothing else will matter to the speaker. They will protect the love interest and will be completely honest with them.

You can fight this, all you want But tonight belongs to...

The love interest can fairly reject the speaker, but just for that one night, they will have to listen to what the speaker has to say.

Just another surgery, tonight Well, if you amputate the loneliness Anesthesia dims the lights

This is the speaker's opinion about their love interest. They are a complicated person who ignores their own problems by distracting themselves as if they wanted to disassociate from life and the pain. The speaker tells them they can do that, they can ignore their problems but by rejecting their emotions, they will also miss the good moments.

So dream on and on and on and on So dream on and on And I'll remember your eyes when you're gone

In this verse, the speaker encourages their love interest to follow their dreams instead of disassociating from life, and even if they don't end up together the speaker will remember them.

And I'll watch you in your sleep 'Cause tonight belongs to me You can fight this, all you want But tonight belongs to

The speaker will watch the other person sleep as a way to protect them and make sure they don't run away.

Sparks against the railing Distant phantoms wailing Through the windshield, sailing With these airbags failing

Here, the speaker is honest about how their lives will be if they're together. There will be chaos, people will talk, and they won't be able to control some situations.

But tonight belongs to me But tonight belongs to me But tonight belongs to me

The speaker reassures this to their love interest, expecting an answer.

Burn Bright:

And finally, we get to talk about my baby, the creme of the gays. This song in general is about finally accepting who you are, living as you want, and loving whoever you want; even if you know people are against it. If following the story from the previous song, this song is where they get together with their love interest and start a relationship. The speaker knows it won't be easy but they don't care.

So give me all you've got

I can take it

We walked alone in your city lights

Did you make it?

We lit the fire and it's burning bright

Did you take it?

Kissed all the boys in your city lights

Did you make it?

Left all the stars in your city nights

Can you fake it?

I lost my way in your city lights

Glad you made it

We stole the fire

And it's burning bright

Fire/stars/light is represented as strength the queer person has found in their identity, and it burns so brightly at the end of the album that they won't hide it anymore. Now that they have met another queer person and they are both out, the speaker trusts that it is possible to live as who you truly are, and they are not willing to hide anymore.

Not ashamed of what I am

I took the pills

For these empty nights

'Cause it makes me who I am

The speaker is not ashamed anymore of being queer but they still remember how it felt. How they had to cope with unhealthy copy because of the suffering of being against the world.

"They always told me that

"You never get to heaven"

With a love like yours

Well if you're lost little boy

The cameras pull you right back down, yeah"

Social/ expectations opinions are a heavy theme in the album, and it continues in the last song. It is not uncommon that society to treat queer people as little kids who don't know what they want or at least "should" want. Society will tell queer people that the way they want to love and/or exist is wrong. If a person dares to do something not straight or gender not conforming, society is there, like cameras, to judge that vulnerable moment and show it as a mistake. The speaker reflects on religion telling others "you won't get to heaven based on the things that you do" because people still use religion to discriminate against queer people.

"It's like a chemical burn

I'm peeling off your skin, yeah

And when you see your face

Well you'll never be the same again, yeah"

Queer people have to hear bad news, insults, misinformation, etc. every day. It takes a great toll mentally that can make people and that can be manifested physically, to the point that it hurts and/or to the point that people start noticing. Sadly, it's a kind of pain queer people have to live with for now until who knows when.

"Cause if you just stop breathing

I'll stop, stop my heart

I'll stop breathing too

[...]

Not ashamed of what I am

I'd trade the world for your city nights

'Cause it makes me who I am"

Queer people rely on each other, and the speaker relies on their significant other. The speaker would give up everything for the experiences they will get to share together.

"And though I missed the chance for this

I confess that I can't wait

Until it's gone

No I mean this every single day

Don't go if you got more to say

'Cause the world don't need

Another hopeless cause"

The speaker makes a small confession here. They are tired of society, of hiding, of fighting. They want the whole world to disappear just so they can be happy. They don't want to be part of "the fight" to make things better but they don't have any other choice. For them, the world cannot afford people doing nothing.

"Though it makes me who I am

'Cause it makes me who I am

And you made me who I am

And you made me who I am

Be afraid of what I am"

Although the speaker is done with people who don't do anything to fight against a society that doesn't accept them, they recognize that's who they were for so long. But now their significant other gives them the strength to leave all doubts and fear behind. The speaker is warning the world to be afraid of them because they are done being afraid of the world.

"We walked around in your city lights

'Cause it makes me who I am

I burned it all but im doing fine

'Cause I'll never fade away

If I steal the fire from your city nights

'Cause it makes me who I am

Who I am"

The speaker borrows strength from their significant other to go against the world, and in doing so they burn (jeje) relationships with other people, but they are okay with it. They will survive now that they are strong enough to stand up for themselves.

Conventional weapons sets someone in multiple stages of queer life and use weapons to portray life as a war with oneself, expectations, and society.

FIN

tldr: cw is gay af argue with the wall

#mcr #my chemical romance #conventional weapons #burn bright #surrender the night #kiss the ring #make room #the world is ugly #the light behind your eyes #boy division #tomorrows money #ambulance #gun #queer #lgbtqia

[flowercrowncrip]

whats the worst encounter of ableism you've had, online or irl?

whats the funniest encounter of ableism you've had, online or irl?

whats something you see thats overhyped in regards to disability or cripplepunk?

do you have an ideal mobility aid or ideal disability aid in general?

feel free to skip any/all :)

cw: suicide, ableism,

1-The worst encounter of ableism I've experienced was from a psychiatric nurse my GP referred me to during a mental health crisis. I told the nurse that I was having thoughts about ending my life and he told me that he felt sorry for me because my physical disability meant my life would never be worth living. Obviously "you're doomed to feel this way forever" isn't a safe thing to say to someone trying to get help during a mental health crisis. If he could have done more to help me end my life I think he would have, and this is one of the reasons I'm so afraid of the risks around assisted suicide for disabled people.

I feel the need to add that several years on from that appointment I'm so happy that I'm alive. I've had 15 months of therapy and I'm on meds that work for me, I have the right support and equipment to manage my conditions, an extremely fulfilling job, and an amazing support network. My disability is worse than it was back then but I feel so much more content with my life.

2- The funniest example of ableism is more a story of ableism in the sense that no one had thought properly about disabled access. Only the result was that me and some other students accidentally broke into a nightclub.

I was at uni making a video with a group of disabled students for disability history month. We were filming in the student media centre which was on the first floor of a shared building. On the ground floor and basement there was a nightclub. All of the organisations shared a lift.

So we go up the lift while the nightclub is selling tickets during the day, but in the time it took for us to finish filming, the nightclub had closed and locked up. We didn't know this, so just took the lift back down when we wanted to leave. Immediately as we stepped out the lift, the burglar alarm went off.

It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. It was so loud that it was totally impossible to think. All we could do was try to get away as quickly as we could so we went to the doors, which were obviously locked.

So we went back up in the lift away from the noise to figure out what to do next. We called the campus security and tried to explain what was happening but they didn't seem to get it. Eventually they told us that they were heading over our way anyway (because of the alarm) and would check in on us when they came.

When they arrived they were knocking on the lift door convinced that we were stuck in there. When we said we were stuck in the building, not the lift they didn't get it.

They looked at us, a group of disabled people including someone with a cane, someone using crutches and me, very obviously a wheelchair user, and told us if we couldn't take the lift we could "just take the stairs".

I had to awkwardly point out that wheelchairs don't go do down stairs at which point they became very embarrassed (which I won't lie was quite funny)

In the end we had to wait an hour or so for the owner of the nightclub to drive up to campus with the keys and alarm codes and it was all fine.

3- I think that the value of independence is overhyped everywhere, including in disabled spaces. I've seen a lot of disabled people state that they're somehow better than other disabled people who they view as less independent than them. Relying on mobility aids, medications, carers, family members benefits and other supports don't make you less strong, less deserving or less anything.

I really struggled with my own feelings around this when I was a teenager. I found it so hard to ask for help because I thought it made me a "bad disabled person", and seeing that insecurity reflected back at me from other disabled people online only reenforced it.

4- My ideal mobility aid would be a fully waterproof electric wheelchair. I'd love the sensation of rain or hail in my face without being stressed about my chair. Or be able to go to the beach along one of those mat things and into the sea.

#suicide mention #ableism

[carolmunson]

starting from zero, got nothing to lose (III)

part i part ii part iii a lil' sweet, a lil' sour -- but this chapter is sweet (and super soft) . the next one is sour (and sassy) we learn a little about where eddie is living, his favorite roommate, and a lil more about our bar gang.

power outage reference is to the big power outage that happened in the bronx december 30th, 1989. if you want to know more you can read about it here -- but you never know if this might come back later in the game. ;) cw: eddie munson x ofc, mention of AIDs and the AIDs crisis, mild violence

January 5th, 1990  Greenpoint, Brooklyn

The sun was down when Eddie stumbled into his apartment the following week, two grocery bags filled to the brim sagged in his arms. 

“Dose?” he called out into the dark apartment, hip checking the door closed behind him. He used his elbow to click the light on in the hallway, shuffling to the kitchen to drop the bags. 

“Dosia?” he called out, a little more concerned. He stepped back into the hallway, chains and keys clinking onto each other with each step. He turned the corner into the living room, the TV was on, but no one was on the couch. He leaned a ringed hand on the door frame of a bedroom at the end of the hall, his own across from it. The side table lamp cast a yellowed glow through the room, but no sign of – 

“Excuse me, mój drogi.” 

“O mój Boże!” Eddie jumped and held his hand to his chest, “Dosia, sweetheart, Halloween is over, you can’t keep doing this to me.” 

A very short, very old woman, with box dyed dark auburn hair chuckled below him, “Ah, but it is so funny to watch you jump!” 

“I don’t know how you do it, you get me every time,” he said, following her back to the kitchen. 

“Well, you know, I have a few years on you, you learn some things,” she put her glasses on and started taking the groceries out of the bags, “Your Polish is getting better.” 

“Just that one saying,” he leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms a little pink rose in his cheeks. Dosia shrugged, putting some of the produce in the fridge. 

“Are you staying for dinner?” she asked. 

“I wish,” he said, “I’m going back into the city. Made some new friends.” 

“Gratulacje, dear.” 

“I’ll take the trash out when I leave,” Eddie turned down the hall to his bedroom, “Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone, Dose.” 

Had you told Eddie in 1986 that he’d live in Greenpoint with an elderly Polish woman in three years, he would have laughed at you. But also, if you told him in 1985 that he would end up in an alternate dimension, shredding guitar, and almost getting eaten to death by demobats he also would have laughed at you. So, maybe ending up in Greenpoint wasn’t so outlandish in comparison. 

When Eddie was looking for apartments and for Help Wanted ads in the paper for work, he came across Dosia. Just an old woman looking for help after her son moved to New Jersey when he got married, discounted rent, and homemade Polish food pretty regularly. Not a bad deal, all things considered. What he liked about Dosia is that the first time she saw him, she wasn’t afraid. All she said was, “Please do not play your music during my shows, they are very important to me, thank you.”

They became fast friends. In good weather they’d play cards on the stoop, go on walks, or go sit in a park and feed birds. She didn’t make a sour face when he’d practice guitar, she’d just nod and smile (and sometimes if she was very into it, she’d clap). Dosia called him her second son, and honestly, it was the most love he’d felt in years. He didn’t mind running errands for her or taking her to appointments. He liked caring for someone, and god did she like caring for him.

His first Christmas with her was the first Christmas since he was a kid that he even got a present. Her son helped her find it, and it was so simple, but even just thinking that he might need a guitar repair kit made him tear up. (And the orange sweater he’d never wear but kept folded in the top drawer of his dresser to make her happy.)

“You wear too much black, you have autumn features mój drogi, wear something different,” she begged him. But even still, she offered to bring it to someone to get it dyed if he really wanted her to. Eddie wouldn’t dream of it.

He closed his bedroom door behind him, hearing Dose hum to herself while she got to work in the kitchen. It was…neat- ish. The room was a little bigger than his bedroom in Wayne’s trailer, with a small closet. It was decorated with much of the same, posters littered the walls, stacks of Heavy Metal Magazine on his bedside table. Miss Kitty and her little sister Lucy, a black and white Charvel he bought for himself for his birthday, were displayed proudly on the wall above his bed. 

He gave himself a once over in the mirror in the corner, and normally he wouldn’t care but he felt compelled to look good at Skid tonight. Eddie kicked off his Reeboks and slid into a pair of beat up Docs he stole from the locker rooms at Gleason’s. He figured if one of the guys left them there, they probably didn’t care too much about them. He pulled off his jacket and shirt, rummaged through his drawers for something clean and wrenched out an old Motorhead tee. Once he put everything back on, he looked back in the mirror and shook out his hair. 

“Whatever, it’ll do,” he said to his reflection. Eddie reached to the top of his dresser and gave himself a spritz of the nearly empty Drakkar Noir bottle sitting on the edge of it, another Gleason’s lost and found exclusive. He grabbed his leather satchel and hurried to the kitchen, gave Dosia a kiss on the cheek took out the trash (which he almost forgot), and headed to the train to make it back to the city. 

--

Eddie arrived at Skid with a bang, Tony was wailing on a guy outside while Rhonda pulled another man out the door by the belt loops. From the looks of this guy's face, he definitely was on the receiving end of one of her mean upper cuts. After a final punch, Tony got up and greeted Eddie with a warm smile. 

“How’s it goin’ man? Happy New Year!” he said, putting a hulking arm around him and guiding him inside. Ed looked over his shoulder and watched Ron throw the other guy onto the sidewalk and kick him hard in the side. 

“You can’t just leave her out there,” Eddie said looking back at Rhonda while they went through the door.

“I am never worried about Rhonda kicking someone’s ass,” he said, getting behind the bar, he gestured to one of the open stools for Ed to sit at, “Especially not some fuckin’ Nazi.” 

He nodded at Tony and took a seat. The bar was fairly empty aside from a couple of guys and their guitars over in the corner he sat at last week. 

“You get guys like that in here a lot?” he asked, his eyes flitting to the door hearing Rhonda’s muffled shouts. 

“They’re normally from out of town, think it's some punk bar that lets guys like that in. Hate when it happens so close to opening though, fucks up the whole night's energy,” Tone explained, “When Ron’s here I let her take care of it, helps get her rage out.” 

Eddie let out a small snicker, his attention snapping to the door as it opened and Rhonda stomping inside. She looked him over, red lips parting and then closing while she did, and her eyes fell on his boots.

“Hey, clown,” she said flatly, and got behind the bar, washing her hands in one of the small sinks at the end. Eddie wished he never changed his shoes, “Where were you this week?” 

“Did you miss me?” he asked, resting his chin in his hands and tilting his head to the side.

She rolled her eyes, “You come in on a busy Friday night, mess up my flow, get me in trouble, and you want to know if I missed you?”

“I already know,” he said with a smile, “Tony told me at the gym that you asked where I was on New Year’s Eve.” And I literally haven’t stopped thinking about that conversation since then, he thought to himself. 

“So I could avoid you,” she said. 

“Sure,” he smirked, “No, after that big power outage on Saturday it was kind of hard getting in and out of Brooklyn so I just stayed over there until things got worked out.” 

“Oh, yeah that was a shitty night,” she recalled, “We couldn’t even open. Can I get you a beer or something?” 

“Could I actually…get a martini?” he asked, “Dirty.” 

“How dirty do you like it?” Rhonda asked while reaching for a bottle of Tanqueray. 

“Filthy,” he replied. She got to work in front of him, still wearing her battle vest but swapped the jeans for disco pants. He let his eyes linger on her when she turned around to grab something else, the way she filled those pants out was a crime. 

“I didn’t miss you,” she put the glass in front of him, “Pretty let down I didn’t scare you away though, I’m pretty good at getting creeps out of the bar.” 

“I saw,” he said, taking a sip of his drink, “Why don’t you ever come to Gleason’s and train?”

“Tony goes to Gleason’s to train, and look at girls, and see you,” she said, “I don’t go to Gleason’s because I have better things to do than watch losers with 'roid rage pretend to fight. My girlfriend Hannah goes there though, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You know her? Hannah Lester?” 

Eddie choked on his martini, he knew Hannah Lester very well. 

“Nope, doesn’t ring a bell,” he lied, looking into his drink. 

“Hm,” she gave him a semi-suspicious look but shook it off quickly, “So what did you do on New Years?” 

“Worked,” he said, “Rang things in with my roommate and uh, then went out to a bar nearby. Welcome to the Nineties, I guess. I take it you worked too?” 

“I didn’t, actually,” she said, “I came here after but I spent some time at Roosevelt. Lot of those patients don’t have anyone doing holidays with them, so I wanted to help put something together.” 

“What patients?” he asked. 

“Oh, Roosevelt hospital, in the AIDs ward,” she said while wiping down glasses in the sink, not making eye contact with him, “I’m not a nurse or anything, I just volunteer there on my days off and in the mornings when I can. Like, being a candy striper but for emotional support and ice water.” 

There was a moment of silence and Eddie could tell she seemed nervous, “I think that’s really cool.”

Relief poured over her body at the affirmation, “Thanks for saying that, after the whole ‘Stop the Church’ stuff at St. Patrick's, everyone's been kind of on edge.” 

“I don’t think you’re running into a lot of Catholics here,” he muttered while taking another sip of his drink, “But – if it makes you feel better talking to me about it, the last time I got arrested was at the Wall Street rally.” 

Rhonda broke out in a smile and met his stare, “Me too.” 

“Cheers to that,” he said, raising his glass to her, “Tony was right, you are a bleeding heart.”

“Tone never knows what he’s talking about,” Rhonda retorted, “Like, ever.” 

“I’m like, four feet away from you Ron,” Tony said on the other end of the bar, “If you’re gonna say some wrong and dumb shit, at least do it quietly.” 

Rhonda laughed and leaned on the bar on her forearms like how she did the first time they talked. 

“Tone never knows what he’s talking about,” she whispered. 

“I think he does, and you’re only actually mean and scary at the bar,” Eddie whispered back, giving her a knowing look from under his bangs.

“I think, if you wanna stay another minute at Skid, you’ll stop agreeing with Tony before I knock all your teeth out of your mouth,” she whispered again. She stood back up and returned to drying off glasses, back to her regular tone  “And they’re good teeth, too.” 

He put a hand to his heart, “A threat and a compliment? You’re really going soft on us. Do you want me to go find that guy from outside?" Eddie gestured to the door with his thumb, "You can tell him how much you liked his jacket.” 

“Tone, when can I finally kick this clown out of here?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Oh c’mon, Ron,” Tony teased, “You were just asking where he was last week!”

#EDDIE MUNSON SMUT #EDDIE MUNSON FAN FICTION #EDDIE MUNSON FANFICTION #EDDIE MUNSON AU #EDDIE MUNSON X OFC #EDDIE MUNSON FLUFF #EDDIE MUNSON ANGST #EDDIE MUNSON #STRANGER THINGS AU #EDDIE MUNSON FIX IT FIC #EDDIE MUNSON FIX IT #STRANGER THINGS FAN FICTION #STRANGER THINGS FANFICTION #EDDIE MUNSON X READER #EDDIE MUNSON X YOU

[saint-bestial]

@ygoc-week - Day 4: Relationships

we can't talk about Sylvester's relationships without addressing the absolute elephant in the room that is him and Kiryu. yes they're dating. yes they're the best and worst thing that's ever happened to each other. welcome to hell shivshipping!!!

Kiryu liked to take his smoke breaks with Sylvester. he found it peaceful and Sylvester never nagged him about the habit. it was a nice way to escape from the others for a while. meanwhile, Sylvester would grapple with the odd feelings that bubbled up inside when he glanced over at Kiryu.

buckle tf up. (cw for violence, death, and abuse. nothing too graphic or in-depth though)

Sylvester and Kiryu met during childhood. they were each other's first actual friends. Sylvester basically hated humans and Kiryu had endured horrific abuse most of his short life. surely this is the foundation for a healthy, stable relationship. right. right??

yeah. no. by chance, Sylvester kills one of Kiryu's abusers. Kiryu, witnessing this, has a Formative Kiryu Moment and also becomes obsessed with Sylvester. Sylvester, who has zero frame of reference for what constitutes a relationship, does not realize the significance of this singular event.

during the Team Satisfaction era, Sylvester scouts out rival gangs and scavenges supplies for Kiryu. he isn't an official part of the team, in fact Kiryu doesn't let the others on to what he's doing until they literally track him down when he goes to meet with Sylvester. Sylvester is a source of friction within the group, and his later use to intimidate conquered gangs out of rebelling contributes to its dissolution.

this era is also where shivshipping gets its name. Sylvester, someone who enjoys making improvised knives, makes one for Kiryu as a gift and display of trust. it's something that clues Kiryu in on his feelings being mutual. also they're both fucking violent but. yeah. o yeah and Kiryu lets Sylvester call him by his given name at some point here. maybe before idk yet.

so Team Satisfaction dissolves, leaving Kiryu and Sylvester alone together again. bad idea. Sylvester aids Kiryu in his preparation to launch an attack on Security. and then just before Kiryu leaves on his suicide mission he FINALLY. finally. gets to kiss Sylvester. which. crisis time!!!!

Sylvester fucking regrets everything so bad. his fear of intimacy meant he couldn't even properly love Kiryu while he was around. his grief screws him up so bad that he gets sloppy, and he's eventually tracked down and killed by one of the gangs he'd once threatened on Kiryu's behalf. and then gets resurrected as a Dark Signer.

Kiryu, also a Dark Signer, feels a lot of ways about this. on one hand he's like holy shit i get to see you again. on the other he's like i thought you were going to come save me. because he became quite delusional in prison and convinced himself that Sylvester (who thought Kiryu died the day of his attack) was going to come rescue him. but then he sees that Sylvester is extremely happy to see him and is actually receptive to his advances so things smooth out pretty quickly. they do undead gay villain things. yay!

until the Signer War starts and Kiryu is ripped away from Sylvester yet again. and then Sylvester is subsequently confronted by Yusei and Aki, and falls to them.

so when the Dark Signers are revived Sylvester refuses to leave Kiryu's side. like he ugly cries when he finds him which is something Kiryu's never seen him do. and then Kiryu decides to go find somewhere to die. and Sylvester's like well. i'm coming with anyway. i can't fucking stand losing you a third time but i'll be with you. i can grieve while you're still alive it's fine. it's fine. (it was not)

at this point Sylvester is basically a physical manifestation of Kiryu's guilt. many of the scars on his body came from missions that he sent him out on. he had no regard for his safety and thought only of his own benefit. he treated him awfully at times and took advantage of the fact that Sylvester's isolation from people made his trust easy to abuse. even now by allowing him to come with he's just hurting Sylvester more. but because Sylvester has no where else to go, no one else to support him, it would be worse to leave him behind.

the time in Crash Town is absolute hell for Sylvester. sunsets aren't so beautiful anymore. maybe Kiryu will come back that night, maybe he won't. Sylvester does small things for him, like helping him with grooming habits. anything to maintain some semblance of control. it's a really weird phase in their relationship.

afterward they both end up living in the newly renamed Satisfaction Town together. they both slowly learn to heal and become better for each other. it takes a really fucking long time. they never formally get married, but it's obvious to anyone what their relationship is.

Bonus lightning round with some other characters!!

Yusei: Sylvester never ends up bonding with him, despite Yusei attempting to reach out. Sylvester keeps him at arm's length and tolerates his presence for Kiryu's sake.

Jack: they fucking hate each other. Jack, with his Signer Mark being present from birth, sensed something was up with Sylvester immediately. his mark burns and itches in his presence. he is extremely critical of Kiryu's relationship with him, maintaining that Sylvester is nothing more than an animal. Jack and Sylvester cannot be left alone together. there will be blood.

Crow: they don't know each other very well. Crow initially distrusted him but became far more open to him than Jack. he and Sylvester share a common interest in birds, opening up an opportunity for friendship.

Lua and Luka: both of the twins are terrified of him. with Luka's ability to see duel spirits, she can see Sylvester's soul trying to leave his body. this has many fun body horror effects. neither of them interact with Sylvester outside of the Dark Signer arc.

Aki: extremely close friends post canon. they bond over shared experiences of monstrousness and alienation. she also helps Sylvester with his relationship with Kiryu, as she is able to recognize toxic behavior due to her previous relationship with Divine. her psychic abilities allow Sylvester to manifest his dragon body outside of duels. do not fuck with them when they're together.

Dark Signers: the closest thing he had to a "human" support group. besides Kiryu, he was closest to Demak and Misty in particular. Sylvester is probably the only one who would describe his time with the Dark Signers to be a positive experience. he mourned the loss of this group greatly, something that caused some friction between him and Kiryu.

Pelican Immortal: (sorry i STILL do not have a name for this guy) Sylvester served under this Earthbound Immortal as a Dark Signer. it is also the one who devised the plan to put him in a human body in the first place. he trusted the pelican deeply. after the Dark Signer arc, it no longer spoke to him. Sylvester blamed himself for failing, making the god abandon him. for a time, he would pray and make offerings to it in hopes it would return to him. Kiryu did not like this at all.

#yugioh oc week 23 #yugioh oc #yugioh 5ds #oc x canon #my art #my oc #oc: sylvester sauvage #i had to cut out so much to make it concise #these guys have so much lore its insane #i think this goes over the basics of their relationship arc fairly well #shoot me an ask if you want me to elaborate on something i'm more than happy to do so #i probably forgot to mention so many things #this art took so long

[ask-swagger-dagger-trolls]

The Holy Giggle Church

Since Im working on Soyuka's full-body ref (like I did with Malara), I thought it would be nice to dive deeply into her church and some recurring trolls in the said church, but I will be posting the darker aspects of it on my Adult sideblog. Since the church used to be a brothel and all. I will put a Content Warning on this, so don't worry.

Let's start, shall we?

CW: Death mention, Abuse, Violence, Gore, Body horror, and Animal Death

The Church

The Holy Giggle Church, or The HGC for short, was part of a vast money laundering scam that grew so big and powerful that it put Alternia into an economic crisis! It grew so bad that the Empress had to get involved and investigate, but they knew how to hide their tracks very well, it was pure insanity that it got this bad. It was a low-down, drug-smuggling, troll-degrading, rights-revoking, trauma-inducing brothel hidden behind a religious mask. And this church spread through ALL parts of Alternia and other conquered planets. Each was run by Gadoom, the same asshole that murdered Soyuka's moirail before Taluco and Soyuka slayed his ass. Now, the church is going through reformation to rid it of its horrid past and to give aid to all the victims of Gadoom's cruel treatment. Soyuka was made the new preacher!

The Trolls

In the past, there was a special ranking system, which I will go into detail about on my side blog. Just need to know that these guys (Including Soyuka, Anleme, and Xylyno) were the top dogs. Introductions~

Kundam Latifa | He/She | 7'9ft | 10 sweeps | Rich Lilac #B666D2

AKA "Big Brother" to everyone, he is the tallest and most skittish in the church. Kundam was brought to the church a bit after Anleme joined, he was dragged there by Gadoom through intimidation and blackmail, which was the start of his fear of fellow Purples (especially clowns. His fear grew to its peak when, after breaking a vase by accident, Gadoom slaughtered his lusus and forced him to bury it. Now, even the sight of another Purpleblood sends him into a state of panic, Soyuka helps him through it by having him recite the names of feline breeds. The only Purples he's friends with are Aabdar and Soyuka. He has a strong connection with felines (his lusus was a Margay), which are always very protective of him once he meets a group of them, it's rumored in the church it might be due to his submissive aura. Chucklevoodoo: Can cause claw-like marks on victims with a swipe of hands, which can "explode" the minds of said victims

Aabdar Corbon | She/They | 6'0ft | 66 sweeps | Purple Plum #9C51B6

Aabdar is the oldest in the church, she is sometimes referred to as "The Purple Dolorosa", due to her motherly nature towards others. No one in the church has any qualms with her and is spoken highly of by others. Gadoom was her former lover, but he was very harsh with her, due to his deep-seated jealousy of her. He dislikes her open-mindedness and free will, he has accused her of cheating many times, though he was always proven wrong. It hit his breaking point when Aabdar was with grub (she is one of few trolls that can lay eggs), Gadoom was convinced she was cheating and pushed her off of the church roof, which cost her the loss of the egg and vision in one of her eyes. She fell into a deep depression and drowned herself in her passion: Stain glass. She used her own blood to stain color into her glass and make beautiful murals, each one tells a story that always ends tragically; no mural is the same. She is always seen covered in cuts and scars, the newer they are, the more recently she has been working on a new project. She is also skilled in blowing glass, so there might be a burn mark or two speckled on her. Her chucklevoodoo revolves around the glass, that is how much she loves it. She was the one that helped Soyuka get situated in the church, so they have a close bond, like mother and daughter. Chucklevoodoo: Can make glass-like barriers and deflect attacks and can turn her blood into sharp glass-like weapons

Joudas Nekane | He/Him | 5'9ft | 9 sweeps | Deep Purple #321C46

Being the youngest out of the group, Joudas makes up for it with his high pain tolerance, survival skills, and protective attitude. He (along with Soyuka) has suffered the most physical abuse in the church, but what makes him so different is the fact that no matter how fatal the injury he refuses to die, using his sheer will and spite. From a collapsed lung to an amputated arm, Joudas has taken it all in stride, even going as far as growing accustomed to pain. But, he hates seeing others suffer through pain, as he still remembers what it was like to feel pain. It wasn't good, it was never good, and some trolls don't have this numbness that he grew to have. Jhaye-Jhaye, as he sometimes goes by, took it upon himself to be the church drug man. He steals medications for church followers, or random Lowbloods in the streets, so they don't have to suffer through the anguish. Like Kundam, he despises other Purplebloods, so he tends to be a bit snappy at those that he doesn't know. "Just cause Soyuka likes you, doesn't mean shit to be, you are not a friend to me", a motto that he lives and will die by. Chucklevoodoo: Can conjure a phantom arm that with direct contact can cause burning, festering blisters to form on the affected area, and amplify the pain receptors in victims to the point of immobilizing them.

Rivven Chesil | She/Her | 5'7ft | 18 sweeps | Deep Violet #42005B

Rivven, AKA "Half n Half", is a very quiet troll who tends to keep to herself and stays out of conflict. Like Soyuka, she had witnessed the purest form of Gadoom's cruelty through the sacrifice of a quadmate, she came to the church with her Matesprite.

They were both circus performers before joining the church, but due to rebels attacking the circus and burning it down, they traveled to the west to seek great pastures. That's when Gadoom entered the picture, using his charisma and turn of phrase to convince them to join, only to be subjected to the same cruel treatment as the others. An incident occurred between Gadoom and Rivven's red, while Rivven was away on an "errand", the confrontation led to the Rivven having to bury their own red in the back of the church. The cause of death is only known to those in the church. Since then, Rivven fell into despair and coped by incorporating her red's fashion, mannerisms, and interests into her own. It grew so out of control that she forgot who she was before this coping mechanism, forgetting her own likes and dislikes, favorite color, favorite food, etc. She is now nothing more than a hollow shell of her once happy and cheerful self. Chucklevoodoo: Can mimic other Purpleblood's chuckle voodoo, but only for a short period of time, which is about 1 hour.

Kaelus & Wekasa Gunjog | She/They | 5'6ft | 24 sweeps | Russian Violet #350D6D

The Gunjog twins were once normal trolls living in the far North of Alternia, but after the death of their lusus, they moved to the West for a better opportunity. They met Gadoom and he offered a stay at his church, they declined, but Gadoom was very insistent. But, they both sternly declined his invitation, which lead to him taking Kaelus hostage and forcing them to join. They were very disobedient like Soyuka used to be, but did not heed her warnings, they continued their defiance against Gadoom. Their disrespect leads to Gadoom losing his temper and cutting down the twins with Soyuka's sword, it was a fatal cut, and the nurse at the time (Malara's friend) had only one choice in order to save their life. With her vast medical knowledge and secret medicinal herbs, she manages to sew the duo together and save their lives, but now they are forever together. Due to that Indigoblood saving them, they have a soft spot for them, especially Wekasa. Chucklevoodoo: Their voodoo allows them to separate for about 45 minutes at max. When they do, purple gum-like energy forms on them, acting as a lifeline for them. The line can stretch about 8ft. The line can also sap away nutrients of those that dare grasp it. Example:

#doodle #Info Dump #Soyuka Detoxa #The Holy Giggle Church #TW

[jaegckerman]

Masterlist

Attack on Titan

Eren x Reader:

As Day Breaks, NSFW, Oneshot, 2.7k

Eremika

Notes in Constellations, NSFW, Oneshot, 7k

Tokyo Revengers

KazuFuyu

Domestic HCs

Kokonui

Never Fades With The Days, NSFW, multichapter, very angsty and dark but it gets fluffier, heed the tags and warnings!

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Jotakak

tonight won't make a difference., NSFW, kinda angsty, cw: infidelity and emotional smut

on the tip of my tongue, NSFW, continuation of tonight won't make a difference, cw: internalized homophobia, homophobia in general, mental health issues, diagnoses, referenced cheating, explicit sexual content, referenced dub/non-con (past Diokak), references and discussions of the AIDS/HIV crisis and the trauma of coming to terms with your sexuality as a teenager at the height of it, pretty vivid descriptions of depression and mania

hypnotize me always, NSFW, enemies to friends (with benefits) to lovers AU, college senior Kakyoin and PhD candidate Jotaro as his TA (so slight age difference), the Joestar family constellation differs from canon; bisexual, half-Scottish and ADHD Kakyoin with piercings and Jotaro with tattoos because I'm allowed to be a little self-indulgent

#Bee's Masterlist #My trash writing #Figured I'd make one because I'm planning on writing so much more in the future #Because fun

[briarlovesginny]

my concepts for church prime prayers (possibly to be surrounded by a fic, btw)

cw// based off of c/tholic prayers (source), rel!gion, etc

some of these have been changed to fit the dsmp n stuff but the names of the prayers will be listed as I see them

will i Keep these as i write? probably not but you know it’s a worldbuilding/writing exercise

you are in fact free to use these just pls credit/tag me

yes it’s canon they all end in pogchamp

Prayer of Adoration: I bless with all that is You in myself; I give back the part of me made from Your gentle touch in endless gratitude to You, the Protector, the Parent of all joy. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Thanksgiving: I thank Prime, for staying the hand of the Mother of Death; for sparing my soul one more day and for providing it a body worthy of its host; for the food that I eat, the air that I breathe, and the ground that I walk on on my path to You. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Confession: Prime, forgive me, for [transgression] has blackened my soul. I wash myself with this holy water and in Your name redeem the shining stone of my heart. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Vows: Prime, by and on Your name I will [commitment] and do so with Your grace and by Your heart, which you have given a piece of to me and for which I can never repay. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Sub: Prime, Prime to me, for the passage to belief is free and simple as breathing. Pogchamp.

Prayer for Healing: I cast my blessing in full heart and in the entirety of my soul onto [person], for while You nourished my love I know that You wish for it to be given away. (Deeply committed extension:) If You were to take me away, punish me, smite me or use me for Your motives, to break every bone in my body, to drain me like sand into the Mother of Death’s hands, be it on the condition that [name] will feel no such pain, and that the flower of their life remains in Your garden untouched. Pogchamp.

Prayer for Deliverance and Help: Prime who watches over us, please grant safe passage and aid in this time of Your servant’s crisis. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Justice: Oh Prime, whose hand has hit down wrath upon our sacred land… whose retribution has always been straightforward and just… we know Your justice is swift and necessary and we thank You for its upkeep, while also bringing with us the spirit of Your forgiveness. Pogchamp.

Prayer of Enactment: Parent of Joy, Holder of the Scales, today call upon Your murder* to deliver a blow to [name] in our/my name. They have [crime], and I with all of the true emotion You have given me believe they deserve this punishment: [suggested punishment]. Let the Mother collect her child, the Sister play her tricks, let the Demon stay under the ground but tickle their feet. Pogchamp.

Prayer of New Blessings: Prime, whose hands bring upon all that can be viewed in the holy land, whose lips are the bearer of the final Rules, who holds us from the ultimate dangers of old and mythos: please redeem the sacrifice and toil I/we have given over [time worshipping] and credit Your eye upon [newborn or innocent creature]. To compensate for this prayer, I also pledge to look after the wellbeing and life of this [child/animal/etc], and to fulfill the identity of Parent alongside You and in Your image. Pogchamp.

(*referring to a collective of crows rather than the act)

#church prime #dsmp #dream smp #beth writes about the dsmp #tommy #i think abt religious tommy with such love and adoration #RELIGIOUS CTOMMY SUPREMACY #i am not immune to my own brain's religious tommy church prime propaganda #religious c!tommy #church prime dsmp #dream xd #is the main god here #mentions of mumza and drista and the dreamon(s?) #cw religious themes #cw catholicism #twitch prime

[johannestevans]

Friday Summary 30/04/2021

It’s now Saturday but I was doing a lot of prep for #MonstrousMayChallenge last night, alas!

As I’m sure you know by now, the Monstrous May Challenge is a collection of prompts for every single day of the month of May, all themed on monsters and monstrous explorations!

It’s been a quiet week for fiction because I’ve been doing a lot of admin for the challenge - I’m so, so excited now that we’re into May and the challenge can begin! If you’re a creator of any kind, of if you’re just interested in seeing what other people create, you can learn more about the Monstrous May Challenge here, and if you’ve enjoyed events with Doctor Sam Hirst‘s education project, Romancing the Gothic, before, you’re in luck!

We’re teaming up to run some events to go along with some prompts on Zoom!

on Friday nights, we’re going to be running Tea With A Monster events - these will be casual check-ins and discussions of our current progress throughout the month

on Tuesday May 4th, for the Iconic Settings prompt, Sam is going to run a mini class discussing Iconic Settings in fiction, especially gothic fiction, and a related writing session!

on Monday May 10th, for the “… and add a monster.” prompt, we’re going to be running a Monster Mash(-Up) - we’ll spin some wheels and match up some random public domain characters and monsters, and run a guided writing session with that monstrous roulette in mind!

on Tuesday May 18th, Angels & Demons, we’re going to be running a movie night! Movie is yet to be selected, but we’re thinking we’ll run a poll closer to the day.

on Saturday May 29th, which is also the day of the #RomancingTheGothic Day of Creation, an INCREDIBLE all-day event RTG has centred around prompting celebrating and prompting new creations, I’ll be running another writing session centred around exploring and building cultural differences!

Sunday May 30th is my BIRTHDAY, and as the ESTEEMED BIRTHDAY BOY, I’ll be giving a presentation exploring the themes of difference and isolation in classical minotaur myth, and discussing the ways in which the minotaur’s POV can resonate with queer and disabled readers!

and finally, on Monday May 31st, we’ll be running a celebration of the hashtag, encouraging everyone to share their work, and a final wrap-up of everything we’ve done, and all the fun we’ve had!

If any or all of the above events sound appealing, you can sign up to register for them here! The times for everything are still yet to be determined, so please make sure to log your interest with the times that would work best for you!

I’m very excited for new things over the course of the month - I’ve done some LEGO photography and I’ve some shorts and stuff for various prompts, not to mention some non-fiction!

Summary of New Works Published

Erotic Short: Pinned Down

A merman treats his angel boyfriend to his tentacles, but he has to earn them first. Erotic M/M short between a merman with tentacles and a trans male angel. 800 words. Includes teasing, pinning, kissing, orgasm denial, mild begging, and of course, the tentacles!

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

Serial Update: Powder and Feathers

Chapter Forty-Three: Powder and Feathers. The angels pre-drink for the Christmas party.

Content warnings: references to abusive relationships, stalking and obsessive behaviour, consent issues (especially around non-consensual forwarding of intimate photos), illness and death during the AIDs crisis, self-esteem issues, and the usual issues with Jean-Pierre’s bodily autonomy

Read on Medium / / Read on WorldAnvil

TweetFic: Steps Ahead

A darker one here about royal intrigue and manipulation, but with a hopeful ending!

CWs for parental abuse, manipulation and control, implied transphobia, implied tampering with birth control, mild violence

Read on Twitter

Erotic Short: Sensory Deprivation

Gerald Poole has a sprained wrist, and not being able to work, the boredom is getting to him. His lovers — Jack Wicks and Captain Thwaites, respectively — go to some efforts to keep him occupied. These characters originally appeared in this TweetFic, Gerald Poole and the Pirates.

Erotic short centred on one cis man. 3.2k. Contains D/s, bondage, sex toys, overstim, subspace, sensory deprivation, teasing, possessive behaviour, spanking.

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

Fantasy Short: Warden Gordon and the Angel in the Woods

Working in a magical national park, Gryff Gordon has a contentious relationship with a local angel.

Fantasy, romance, and light humour, with a bit of added sweetness! Rated T, about 7.6k. Featuring Warden Gryff Gordon and Perseverance-before-God at the Llallwg National Park.

Adapted from a TweetFic.

Content warning for mild injury.

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

Aaaaand that’s everything! See you next week with more monsters!

#as defined by dictionary #weekly update #weekly summary #MonstrousMayChallenge #Monstrous May Challenge #Romancing the Gothic

[salvatoreschool]

All The Vampire Diaries and The Originals Easter Eggs in Legacies Season 2

With so many unpredictable twists and such a lovable cast, Legacies is such an enjoyable series even if you were previously unfamiliar with the shared Vampire Diaries universe. But for those of us who did watch the flagship series and its first spin-off The Originals, Legacies is also a treasure trove of Easter eggs and references to our favorite characters and moments from the former CW dramas.

Legacies' first season was filled with nods to our fallen favorites like Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Klaus (Joseph Morgan), the reappearance of memorable items like Caroline's (Candice King) ballgown and reverse kyanite rings, and it built up the mythology of The Merge and nature's loopholes. While that was all fun and good, Season 2 raised the stakes (excuse our pun) with the returns of Freya Mikaelson (Riley Voelkel) and Kai Parker (Chris Wood), plus dozens of cheeky references for Vampire Diaries and Originals fans to pick up on.

As of now, Legacies Season 2 is on hiatus after production shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the show is planning to resume production on the remaining Season 2 episodes later this year. In the meantime, you can check out all The Vampire Diaries and The Originals Easter eggs and references in Legacies Season 2 so far below.

• We still haven't gotten our Caroline Forbes return, but the Season 2 premiere confirmed she was still off living in Europe, searching for a way to help the twins avoid the Merge and getting Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) the help she needed over the summer break.

• Alaric (Matt Davis) dropped the sweet reveal in Episode 6 that the reason Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) is no longer sheriff is because he's now the mayor of Mystic Falls!

• That same episode, Lizzie took Damon's (Ian Somerhalder) Camaro for a spin, revealing to Sebastian (Thomas Doherty) that Damon had given it to the twins for their sweet sixteen.

• When Josie (Kaylee Bryant) traveled to New Orleans in Episode 6, not only did TVD fans get a one-sided phone call with Caroline but Originals fans got a wall full of photos of their favorite characters when Josie looked in at Rousseau's.

• Of course, the best aspect of this NOLA trip was the very welcome return of Freya Mikaelson, who revealed that she and Keelin (Christina Moses) now have a son Nik, which is presumably short for Niklaus. We also got to see such an emotional Freya and Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) reunion, which has us wishing for more Originals cameos soon!

• In Episode 9, Hope made a casual reference to her old friend Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood), who once gave her advice on what to do about a mora miserium.

• And while this isn't a Vampire Diaries or Originals Easter egg, Episode 9 also showed us Lizzie and M.G. (Quincy Fouse) reading Crisis on Infinite Earths comics. This was a cute nod to The CW Arrowverse, which includes many TVD universe alums, including Stephen Amell, Rick Cosnett, and Chris Wood.

• Another TVD favorite got a shoutout in Episode 11 after Emma (Karen David) told Dorian (Demetrius Bridges) she needed to go help Caroline with the Merge problem, only for him to tell Emma that Caroline could call Bonnie (Kat Graham) instead.

• We also got a great little flashback to the video Kai recorded in The Vampire Diaries Season 6 in Episode 4 when M.G. needed the camera to film Lizzie and the then-invisible Sebastian.

• Of course, that little glimpse of Kai was only the appetizer before the show served us Kai's full-blown return when the Saltzman's got trapped in the prison world with him in Episode 12. Seeing Kai again provided ample opportunities for the show to reference some of the heretic's signature moves, like singing karaoke and leaving video messages — including one in which he shouted out Damon, Bonnie, and Katherine (Nina Dobrev). We also learned that not only has Kai's ruthlessness not changed since we last saw him, but neither has his love of Zima!

• There were a handful of other Bonnie and Bennett family references during Kai's two-episode stint on Legacies, including the fact that Bennett blood is key to escaping the prison world and Kai mentioning Bonnie's teddy bear, Ms. Cuddles, when Josie said she spelled the mora miserium to be invisible. And after Kai does get out prison world in Episode 13, he went searching for the ascendant which he found in a stuffed elephant, giving us yet another Ms. Cuddles reference. (This show, much like Bon Bon, just can't get enough Ms. Cuddles!)

• But as fun as it was having Kai back, the prison world episodes also reminded us of the pain he caused on Vampire Diaries when Alaric had to operate on Lizzie with the aid of a Laughlin clamp, which was invented by Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Once the Saltzmans escaped the prison world, Alaric finally got his long overdue vengeance on Kai for killing Jo at their wedding by beheading everyone's favorite villain in Episode 13.

• All the Kai references weren't the only blasts from the past in the prison world episodes either. It was enjoyable to see the Salvatore Boarding House refitted to look like it looked on Vampire Diaries and the actress who played young Josie on TVD, Lily Rose Smith, also returned for flashback scenes at the school.

• After the trauma of the prison world and everything else the Salvatore students went through, in Episode 14 Emma sent them into a noir simulation which she likened to a chambre de chasse, a pocket dimension used multiple times on The Originals.

• Caroline got another sweet shoutout when Josie explained in Episode 16 that her subconscious was a fairytale because her mom used to read them to her as bedtime stories.

• As Alaric pointed out, the spell Josie used to transfer her siphon ability into a coin in Episode 16 was the same spell her mother Jo used when she transferred her magic into a hunting knife to stop Kai from merging with her when they turned 22.

Legacies Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.

#Legacies #TheOriginals #TheVampireDiaries #TVD #HopeMikaelson #JosieSaltzman #LizzieSaltzman #LandonKirby #AlaricSaltzman #MG #RafaelWaithe #KalebHawkins #LegaciesSeason2 #MysticFalls #SalvatoreSchool #Malivore #KaiParker #FreyaMikaelson #CarolineForbes #JoLaughlin #VincentGriffith #DamonSalvatore #GeminiCoven #TheMerge #PrisionWorld #DarkJosie #NewOrleans #AlwaysAndForever #JuliePlec #TheCW

[erosisyournewbestfriend]

The Show Must Go On

In death, Rire smiles.

CW: implied past noncon, character death, elements of gore, heavy trauma references

Songfic very vaguely based on the Queen song by the same name. Obviously the song itself is about Mercury’s experiences in the AIDS crisis, and not about Rire. One is an LGBTQ+ icon, the other is a fictional monster. I’m just applying lyrics.

Important note: Rire has a lot of horrible opinions about recovering from trauma (that the reader insert accepts in their internal monologue). If you have experiences with overcoming traumatic events, know that what Rire implies is absolute bullshit - there is no winning and losing in trauma recovery. Your abuser does not “win” if you suffer.

Rire’s body is slumped, blood caking where you’ve sliced his neck. The stains cascade over his white shirt, marking it with his defeat. It’s perfect. Winning tastes good, like coffee after a rough night.

And yet, he smiles.

You’ve taken Rire’s voice, his source of control over people unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. No silver tongue to save him.

He’s smiling at you.

“What? What is it?”

He just keeps grinning even as his eyes lose focus, and you know you’ve made some grave, obvious mistake. His body shakes his silent laughter, mocking you without words.

“What’s so fucking funny?”

Rire just sits. Smiles. Lolls his head. Teeth catch your eyes, white and sharp and stained with blood.

“No more games.” You glare. It does nothing. “For fucks sake, you’re bleeding out! I can’t-”

“Games?”

The air is pulled from your lungs in a quiet gasp. His eyes don’t leave your face.

“The things I did to you...” Rire clears his throat, rasping the words. “They’ll still be there. Every night. You’ll dream — about how I touched you, how I — how I took every — part of your being.” He leans up, more blood pulsing out of his neck. “Killing me won’t change that.”

You’re frozen, heart racing and gripping you. This is exactly where you didn’t want to be. Exposed. Vulnerable to the man who took everything from you.

As life is breathed out of him, the last thing he sees is your defeat, and with it comes his final victory. A smile doesn’t seem like enough.

#cw: rape #cw: gore #cw: character death #btd rire #boyfriend to death

[karazor--el]

‘The Flash’ Showrunner on Season 6, How New Villain Bloodwork Leads to “Crisis”, and More

*Be aware that SPOILERS are discussed*

The CW series The Flash, now in its sixth season, not only has a new showrunner in executive producer/writer Eric Wallace, but it also has a new feel, with new storytelling devices and a new villain with interesting parallels to the show’s titular hero, and it’s all leading to the big “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. In the season opener, called “Into the Void,” Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candice Patton) are dealing with the heartbreaking loss of their daughter Nora, and Team Flash must, yet again, save Central City from their greatest threat yet.

After a recent screening of the Season 6 premiere, held at the offices of The CW, showrunner Eric Wallace answered questions about the episode, what’s to come, how it all leads to the “Crisis on Infinite Earth” crossover, and where they go from there. During the chat, he talked about how Barry and Iris will be dealing with the knowledge that Barry will die and how that will differ from when Iris’ life was at stake, the parallel in storylines between Barry and Bloodwork (Sendhil Ramamurthy), the first villain of Season 6, getting to see much more of Iris’ work as a journalist, Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) love life, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Killer Frost’s agreement, expanding the meta storytelling, the latest Wells (Tom Cavanagh), the return of John Wesley Shipp and Keiynan Lonsdale, and the science of it all.

Question: With The Monitor telling Barry and Iris that The Flash must die, how will they grapple with that, this season?

ERIC WALLACE: That would be the plot of Episode 602. “Crisis” turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to The Flash because it created an immediacy to things. We know that, on December 10, 2019, The Flash will die. He said it. We’re not messing around. So, as a married couple, they can count the number of days and weeks. The countdown begins next week. What kind of urgency does that give them? An extreme one. It turns the dial up to 10, and it makes them think, is every moment together our last? What can we do? Should we find this? Is it inevitable? Those are all of the things that they’re grappling with, for these next seven episodes. Episode 608 ends and it’s “Crisis” time. It’s time to go off to, literally, cosmic war. So, their relationship is strained, but it’s also going to bring them closer together than ever before because that’s what tragedy does.

In Season 3, Barry and Iris had a similar situation when they learned that Iris was going to die in the future. What did that experience teach them, that could help them now?

WALLACE: You should watch [Episode 602], when that exact question is asked and answered. That is literally the plot. What this story has enabled us to do is to look back at any other time, when somebody was facing life and death, and see how they reacted then. So, in the writers’ room, we had a lengthy discussion about it being the other side of the coin. We know how they reacted with Iris, but how will they react, in Episode 602? I will tell you that, it’s different. It’s not the same because of what they learn next week. That’s the great part of this story. The Monitor showing up and making a cosmic pronouncement drives them to extremes, in order to fight against or except the coming crisis. Episodes 602, 603, 604, 605 and 606, especially, are all about, do I accept death, or do I fight it?

This show seems to sort be setting up “Crisis”, in its own way. How did you balance telling the story of Bloodwork, while also setting up this massive crossover?

WALLACE: Fortunately, it worked out really great because “Crisis” is about grief, and about death, and about the end of all worlds. You have the Bloodwork villain, who is facing the end of his own world. So, from his point of view, who cares about “Crisis” because he’s more concerned about the immediacy of his own life. Now, does that mean he could perhaps live past “Crisis”? That’s the real question that he has to grapple with, and I won’t give you the answer. So, it turned out to be the most fortuitous set of story events possible, dealing with life and death, dealing with his death as a villain, and dealing with the death of all worlds. When all of the showrunners got together to talk about “Crisis”, I pitched them what Bloodwork does, and they were like, “Oh, that’s great!” And then, all of this synergy started to happen. The Arrow folks said, “Hey, we’re gonna do something crazy in Episode 801.” And I went, “Oh, that’s perfect!” It was this dominoes situation that fell. There’s a lot of cross collaboration. It might not seem like it, at first, but it all comes together very nicely in “Crisis”, our crossover event. It all feeds into itself.

How aware is the rest of the team about what’s going on with what The Monitor said?

WALLACE: You’ll have to watch Episode 603. You’re right on the money. We asked that same question in the writers’ room, so we made it an episode. You’ll get your answer in Episode 603.

Is Barry aware that Oliver Queen is also working for The Monitor right now?

WALLACE: No, and when they both find out, it’s good stuff. It’s so great. I can’t tell you when it happens, but I will tell you that is a scene that happened. It is a moment, and it is coming. Let’s just say that people might get pissed off, a little bit.

In the “Crisis” comic book story, both The Flash and Supergirl died, and there were variations of them later. What were your thoughts about that, when it was done?

WALLACE: I was the perfect age for “Crisis”, when it first came out, and it blew my mind that so many characters that were beloved died, and then they were re-booted. So, when we were approaching the writing of “Crisis”, obviously, we can’t just kill all of our number ones on our shows. That’s insane. You can kill a couple of them, and we do, but you have to find the balance. What it meant to me was that we should tap into that feeling that the readers in 1985 would have had, when reading that story, with the tectonic shifts in the comic world, underneath. When you watch the crossover, you’re going to feel those tectonic shifts, especially at the end. It’s not small. It’s game-changer, in the same way that the ending of “Crisis”, the comic book, was a game changer, and it opens up to a whole new world.

How much more of Iris, as a journalist, will we see, over the course of this season?

WALLACE: You’ll be ridiculously happy, this year. Before I even got here, as a fan, I kept asking myself, “Why isn’t this woman a journalist? I don’t understand. She doesn’t have a staff. She has no office. That’s a pretty crappy journalist. Does she work out of her house?” If we know, from Episode 518, that she becomes a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and that she has an empire, we need to start building those seeds, and we need to do it now. So, we have very urgently done that, this season. You will meet her new staff member very soon. The new staff starts in Episode 602. Why waste time? We just get to it. Depending on how the back season goes, because we have a budget, it might be a small staff at first, but it’s very much about seeing her take charge of what we refer to as Team Citizen. They will appear, and they will be getting into trouble, especially in the back half of our show because now we have a new way to bring in meta storylines, with her investigations. It doesn’t always have to be a bank robber anymore. It’s been the blessing, from the story gods.

Will Iris meet Lois Lane?

WALLACE: I’m not going to answer that, but I think you know the answer. Is that clear? I’m not saying a word.

Cisco’s relationships haven’t always been well-served on the show. Will it be, this time?

WALLACE: Yes. In fact, we love Kamilla. That’s why, when we skipped forward four months, we wanted to just rip the band-aid off and be like, “She’s already in the family. She knows Barry is The Flash, and she knows about Vibe. They’re doing just fine, and having a healthy relationship that’s not Barry and Iris. As far as their relationship ups and downs, and highs and lows, they won’t be having that kind of drama. They’re doing great. That’s one of the themes of his season arc that plays over all 22 episodes. Can you be happy, being human? Can you be happy, not being a meta? Can you be happy, not saving the world, every week? Yeah, you can. You can get a beer at the picnic, and maybe you do punch in nine to five and let The Flash handle everything else. That’s nice. That’s a big thing that Cisco will be struggling with, all season, and Kamilla is a part of that.

With Killer Frost and Caitlin coming to an agreement, what will we see from Killer Frost, trying to live a life?

WALLACE: Now that she has a life coach? It has been a pure delight, writing Killer Frost this season. She’s much more in the forefront than Caitlin is. That life coach stuff starts in Episode 602. It’s the second scene, and we honor the promise of the premise. We deliver, and it’s led to these hilarious situations. We talk of her almost as a teenager who finally got the keys to the car, but doesn’t know how to drive, and then she’s gotta drive to go to the store, or the movies, or wherever. Everything is new, through her eyes, which means she’s gonna make some mistakes, which is great. It’s going to lead to some more tears, but she’s also going to grow into something that didn’t exist before. Maybe you do lose that Killer. Maybe it’s just Frost, down the line. And Danielle is having a blast. I told her what’s coming in the back half [of the season], because that’s what we’re breaking. We’re at graphic novel number two, and the result of where she ends up, emotionally, in graphic novel one, gives her the strength to face what lies in graphic novel two.

Will we be seeing more meta storylines that show different types of metas that aren’t criminals?

WALLACE: Yes. It goes back to honoring the old of the first five seasons, but finding new ways to make it fresh. You should just watch Episode 602. There are two new story devices to bring in cases. One is that they don’t have to be a bad guy, and the second one appears next week. It’s a new way to get stories in because it’s based in character. That’s part of the fun. Let’s see different kinds of stories. Just ‘cause this show is The Flash, it doesn’t mean another main character can’t take center stage for an entire episode. Look for that, ‘cause that’s happening. We have such a talented cast, so why aren’t we using them?

The synopsis for Episode 602 mentions John Wesley Shipp. Which version of him will we see?

WALLACE: It’s Jay Garrick. Season 6 is a little more serialized now, which probably comes from me having been on Teen Wolf. Sometimes we pick up right from where something left off. We fooled the audience [with the premiere] because we did a direct pick-up, but then we jumped forward five months. But a lot of the episodes, especially Episodes 602, 603 and 604, end, and then, it picks up one second later because I want the immediacy that audiences get when they’re watching a streaming show that’s eight or ten episodes. That’s our competition, quite frankly. I want that same immediacy brought to The CW, and I love them so much for saying, “Do it. We support this.”

The Season 6 premiere talks a lot about getting to know a new version of Nora, eventually. Is there a pregnancy storyline bubbling for Iris, at all?

WALLACE: Not this season, but that doesn’t mean a huge hint about Nora isn’t coming, this season. There will be two. One will probably be misinterpreted the wrong way ‘cause it’s a deliberate misdirect. I like that, and I like mysteries, but it’s real. So, look for that. The comic book fans will be watching Episode 602, and they’ll see a particular thing and go, “Oh, my god, I know what that means.”

In the Bronze Age comics, we learned that Iris was actually born in the 30th century and was sent back in time. Is that a story that would ever be adapted to the TV show?

WALLACE: Yes.

Can you elaborate?

WALLACE: No, but I’m telling you yes.

What’s the process for honoring the stories that so many of us know from the comics, and yet presenting them in a way for modern audiences, where you can deviate a little for surprises?

WALLACE: As a Bronze Age reader, myself, I know what storyline you’re talking about, and I love it. The comics are so rich with wonderful themes and ideas, so that’s what we want to honor, every week, and draw from. But ultimately, what we have to do is tell modern, contemporary, grounded stories, so we have to find a way to mix them. Everything should start with, “What cool thing do I want to see? I just want to see that because it’s insane, or because I love it. When I was reading my Bronze Age comic book, this is what happened. And then, I’ll sit back and go, “Well, we do need Iris to get to this place, emotionally, and now this storyline supports that.” So, suddenly, we’ve got a piece of Bronze Age hard data, and we’re incorporating it into a story. That’s why it, hopefully, feels a little seamless, and it rewards the Bronze Age and Silver Age reader, and even the modern readers with Bloodwork. Bloodwork is a contemporary villain, who’s in the comics right now. That’s something I specifically wanted to do. I wanted to pull in a new kid who’s reading The Flash right now and goes, “Oh, I love Bloodwork. He’s so crazy!” I want him to connect to our show, too, and not just his dad, who’s probably my age and has had a long Flash connection.

We haven’t yet met the new Wells, so what can you say about Tom Cavanagh’s latest character?

WALLACE: He’s my favorite since Harrison Wells, the Reverse Flash of Season 1. He’s cool and suave. This is a man of adventure. This is a man who can get in a fight and old his own. We haven’t seen a Wells like that. There’s this completely unexpected side to him, which I will not spoil, that’s just wonderful, and he has a secret. It’s a secret that will be slowly dripped out in graphic novel number one, but which will really mess with his mind, literally, in graphic novel number two. It’s going to lead him to an emotional place that’s similar territory to one of the other Wells, and I don’t want to give a spoiler away, but it takes it in a completely opposite direction. It will be very apparent, by Episode 606, what his secret is. You all will ask yourselves, “Wait a minute, that’s like the other Wells, but I don’t think it’s gonna end the same way.” It’s a very emotional story that we’re very excited, and I know Tom’s excited about it. And he looks good in his costume. He’s having a good time, and I’m loving it. I’m laughing, as I write it, which is great.

Sue Dearbon has been teased a bit. Will we be meeting Sue, this season, and could you ever see Ralph and Sue in their own spin-off series?

WALLACE: I’ll answer the second question first, and yes, without question. We’re actually writing the episode right now, where Sue first appears, and boy, are we having a blast because Sue is such a delight. Sue Dearbon will appear in the back half. But sometimes what you see, isn’t what you see. Is that opaque enough?

Keiynan Lonsdale has said that he’ll be back this season. When might we see that?

WALLACE: We’ll start breaking his episode next week, and my nervous problem is that I’ve talked to him and he said he’s gonna be in it. I’ve heard that he’s still saying it, but I’m dreading the phone call of, “I’m busy. I’m doing another album.” I support, so much, his music career and his other artistic endeavors, which I think are terrific. But if all goes well, we should be breaking his story, in the next couple of weeks. I’m trying my best to honor that and get Kid Flash in for a couple [of episodes] because the story is so good. Kid Flash will now meet a classic villain from the classic days of the classic comic books, and maybe he’ll have to save The Flash’s behind, which is what I want to see. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s grown up.

How do you approach the science of it all, on this show?

WALLACE: I’m a science nut. I used to write a comic for DC comics, called Mr. Terrific, which was super sciency, to the wazoo. And I used to work on Eureka, back in the day, which was a science-based, family comedy-drama. I got in a habit, way back in the Eureka days, of just reading Scientific American and Googling websites and NASA sites, on a regular basis, so science is my friend. I like to use the Stephen King rules of writing, where you come up with the crazy idea, and then find the facts to support it. We’ll write the science in the scripts, in a way that’s very complicated and very technical, and then, we’ll do what we call a simplicity pass to make sure everyone can understand the basic concepts. And then, we’ll do another pass for how much we really need to explain because it is a science-fiction and fantasy show, but we don’t have 800 pages. We have 42 minutes, and the scripts will get too long, if you bog them down with that type of stuff. It is a balancing act, but I do like to put as much real science into the stories as possible because there might be young people watching this and going, “I wanna be a scientist, like Caitlin. I wanna be a scientist like Cisco.” Suddenly, maybe there will be one more scientist in the world, and that would be really awesome. So, I take it very seriously, the messages that the show is presenting to our young people and to people of color.

The Flash returns for Season 6 on The CW on October 8th.

Collier.

#The Flash #Crisis on Infinite Earths

[intravention-initiative]

*CW REFERENCE OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDE *

This is my testimony regarding my interaction with Minneapolis EMS personnel. This experience is what shaped the vision for Intravention Initiative. While reading this I believe it’s also important to keep in mind the various traumas one experiences during a mental health crisis. Consider attempt survivors for example, there’s the initial trauma that is the catalyst for the attempt, then trauma from the attempt, followed by trauma interacting with first responders, only for more trauma to continue when they arrive at the psych-ward. And the trauma experienced at the hands of psych-staff is a continuation of the trauma that begins with first responders.

*******

During the uprising last year, I was called upon by community to assist in intervening with an attempted suicide. Semi-conscious, we knew we needed to get them to safety immediately, but which method would be the right choice? The last thing any of us wanted was for our actions to cause more undue trauma.

It may seem like a no brainer to call 911 when faced with a life-or-death situation, but we activists were well aware that requesting an ambulance would subsequently mean involving the police. The police respond to every emergency service call, and more often than not they are the first to arrive on the scene. Could the risk of police presence outweigh any possible harm to our collective safety?

All too soon the situation went from us being able to make a harm reducing decision to the circumstances deciding for us. The attempt-survivor had gone from semi-conscious to unresponsive, their residence located on the upper floor was accessible only by stairs. Monitoring the situation and waiting on them to sober up from the comfort of their home was no longer an option. They needed to be admitted. However, attempting to take them to the hospital was no longer a possibility. None of us felt confident that we could maneuver and carry their unresponsive body down the stairs without injury to them, ourselves, or both.

The only option left to us was to call emergency services and request an ambulance, police presence be damned. Within minutes we had a full house consisting of paramedics, fire fighters, and police. While half of the EMS personnel genuinely wanted to administer aid and reassured us that they would take good care of them, they also didn’t check their counterparts who were more concerned with asserting their authority over the situation; unwilling to render aid until we kowtowed to their power.

Suffice it to say the interactions between us, the attempt-survivor, and EMS was volatile and an abuse of power. Due to our respective training, we were able to compartmentalize our thoughts and feelings, deescalate and move the situation forward.

The way that media portrays first responders as composed, essential, allies in a crisis is propaganda, and no one is immune. Not even I. This incident left me feeling ambivalent towards the necessity of emergency services, not only was our interaction with them violent, abusive, and traumatic, but it was also completely unnecessary. In the end I and another were the ones to transfer the attempt-survivor onto a strap-in chair that the paramedics then used to carry them down the stairs into the ambulance. Had we quick access to a wheelchair we could have safely transferred them from their place to a car, and then to the hospital. All without the power trip and posturing.



[smiggleninja]

A very unfocused and generic rant about queer things in Australia RN

I rarely post about political/opinion stuff, not because I don't have strong opinions, but mainly because I'm scared of debate (I'm just real bad at it) but I'm literally having trouble concentrating on my day so here we go. I'm not going to go into why the plebiscite is a terrible idea here, there are plenty of people out there explaining it much better than I could, so I recommend looking up those. Eg, Hannah Gadsby's latest post.

Also cw, mentions of mental illness, homelessness and suicide (purely in the form of statistics, not personal experience). I also apologise if anyone is offended by my use of the word "queer" - I use it in terms of being inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, intersex, pansexual, non-binary, and any other such sexual orientation and gender indentity. I also consider it a reclamation kind of thing, but I totally understand why some may take issue with it.

Now.

There are many people who think that waaay too much airtime and debate time etc is being given to the issue of same sex marriage - and I am inclined to agree. Same sex marriage needs to happen, I don't want to diminish the importance of that. Going back to the AIDS crisis when partners were not allowed to visit their dying loved ones in hospital because they weren’t “family”, to now where it complicates adoption, housing, insurance, and all kinds of other such issues, as well as simply giving us the same legitimacy in the eyes of the law as heterosexual marriages, it would be completely disrespectful of me to say that legalising same sex marriage is not of cultural and historical significance. (And btw the term "same sex marriage", as opposed to "gay" marriage, is vital because not all same sex-attracted people are gay).

However, with the incredibly frustrating length of time that it's taking to get it done, the emphasis on "fair debate" (I could write a whole other status-essay on why that is bullshit) and the cowardice of certain political leaders, I'm concerned that the more this specific issue gets thrown back and forth, the more people will think that same sex marriage is the ONLY queer issue worth discussing or that is important. I'm referring to both straight people and gay people within my own community who I would've thought would be much more open-minded and considerate. Once we get same sex marriage there are other things that have often gone ignored that need to be addressed. There are many other letters in this beautiful rainbow, after all.

Issues such as - why is mental illness and being queer so often intertwined?

Why do 16% of queer people attempt suicide before the age of 27? Why do 35% of trans people attempt in their lifetime? 35!! Why do such a disproportionate amount of homeless people ID as queer? (40% according to my last google search. I don’t know the statistics of non-homeless people who ID as queer but it certainly nowhere near that.)

Why am I still uncomfortable holding my boyfriend’s hand in public after being with him for over three and a half years?  Just the other day an extremely drunk man stumbling right out the front of our house asked us ‘Are you poofters?’ as we approached before going off on some unintelligible tirade. I have countless similar anecdotes that I may get into another time in other posts because it’s all being brought up lately.

I’m sure I’m only scraping the surface, and legalising same sex marriage will certainly be an excellent step toward tackling those issues, but our general cultural mindset about queer people needs to change.

Speaking of (and what I really wanted to get at) have the continued misunderstanding and sometimes complete lack of knowledge or awareness of trans people and people who are non-binary. That is another national conversation we need to start having so we can find the path to accepting and embracing these people the same way that many have embraced us gays. Hell, I’ve been lucky enough to be born cis, white, male, and into a loving and accepting family and I STILL get super anxious and self-conscious about my (frankly quite boring) sexual orientation, so I can’t even imagine what my friends tackling their gender identity and wider society’s resistance to it must be going through.

Genders that are not ‘male’ and ‘female’ have existed in many societies for centuries. We need to learn why correct pronouns are important, and how gender roles and stereotypes continue to shackle ALL of us (they can, of course, be liberating to some). As a cis man, I feel I can't comment much further on this but I welcome any trans or non-binary friends I have to chime in if they like.

Not to mention so many other issues that actually ARE so complex that they require debate after debate to come to a resolution. That is why we’re frustrated, because if the simple stuff is taking this damn long then how long will it take for the rest of it?

While I'm here, if I see the term "politically correct/incorrect" used as a way of negating respect for minorities, or as some bizarre form of riling up conservatives (I'm looking at you Mr Abbott) one more time I am going to scream.

Tl;dr – Don’t read comments sections of political videos because they will make you sit down for an hour and a half to write out your opinion so you can actually focus on your day instead crumbling into a pile of fury and exhaustion.

#queer #auspol #same sex marriage #plebiscite #LGBTQIA #australia #politics #cw suicide #cw mental illness #cw homelessness

[rubbertplant]

I made a playlist of pet shop boys songs that touch upon being gay in some way or another for pride month! you can listen here

cw: there’s songs that reference the aids crisis and death in case that’s a sensitive topic to someone

#pet shop boys #pride month #pride 2017