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bokettochild · 3 months

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Demon In A Bottle

Took me bloody well forever, but I'm off work now, so here we go!

Febuwhump: Day 1 - Helplessness

Word Count: 5,395

Summary: In the wake of a battle with a demon, one that's abilities allow it to dredge up old miseries, Sky must hunt down their straying captain to try and stop him drowning said old miseries in whiskey.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Alcoholism and Substance Abuse

notes: quite frankly, the theme of this fic is in no ways lighthearted, but while the title jumped out at me from the story, I find it also makes me laugh. I can’t help thinking of the tweetle-beetle-bottle-puddle-paddle-battle-muddle from Fox in Socks and I don’t know if I hate myself for it or am just glad I can giggle about something related to this story!

If there’s one thing heroes are supposed to be able to do, it’s save people. By definition, a hero is someone who helps others, but in meeting the rest of their chain of heroes, Sky has since learned that the title of hero means something else too.

The Hero is a man or child clad in green who appears when Hyrule is in danger to fight away monsters and evil and restore peace to the kingdom. The fashion in which they do so differs of course, as he’s slowly learning, but the fact remains that a hero still has a duty to his people and his country, and while it’s not always something thrust upon them, each one of his brothers bears that burden. Some of them let it drag them down, the weight of the world on their shoulders an inescapable duty, others shoulder it as a life purpose, a defining role, something that they’ve built their whole being around, and others, like Wind, regard it as a natural course of action.

It’s strange, learning that the title is so commonly used, that so many men and boys have borne it since it was given to him what feels like ages ago. In a way, it’s nice knowing that there are others, that there are people like him who understand things, yet in the same breath, they’re all so different, and with such varying experiences that really, in the long run, they’re as different as night and day sometimes.

As if to prove it, Legend’s blatant lack of trust in knights clashes with the fact that so many of them bear the honor of knighthood with pride. Warriors is a polished, well-spoken soldier, trained in the ways of combat, and Twilight is a ranch hand hailing from the country village of Ordon, brash in many ways that clash with the captain. Time is quiet, distant at times, and Wind is warm, welcoming and an ever-present ray of sunshine at their sides. Where Hyrule is unpolished and unassuming, the majority of their group stand out in a crowd. Wild can cook. Truly, there is such variety among their number that it’s a wonder they can all be classified by the same singular word: a hero.

But just because the title is there, doesn’t always mean it always feels like it fits.

Sure, Legend’s whole being is built around his life as a hero. They're not sure how long he’s been doing it, but they don’t call the young man “veteran” for nothing. It’s clear he owns his title without shame, living out each day in the effort of following the destiny given to him. Sure, Wild has taken to heart the burden bestowed on him, striving to be the best he can be and own the title. Sure, Wind accepts it like it’s just another truth about himself, just the same as his golden hair and ocean blue eyes. Yes, the old man seems to characterize what any child might think of when asked to describe a hero. But Sky is not Legend or Wind or Wild or Time or any of the other heroes. They are of the same spirit, and some of them apparently share blood (why had Twilight and Time told no one?) but they are each their own separate selves, each with his own life and person, and unlike them, Sky feels the weight of their shared title acutely.

It was his duty to save Zelda. The weight of the future was on his shoulders. His duty was protecting the people of Hylia and restoring peace and safety to the surface. His whole world expanded in one day from a smattering of islands high above the clouds to a whole huge land full of people and animals and duty.

Duty. What a heavy word.

It follows him. Even with the sword now silent, Fi having gone to rest with the assurance that he has accomplished what he must and no longer requires her aid and guidance (even though he does, he still does, please, Fi, some advice would be great from time to time) his mission isn’t over. No, because now that he’s defeated the god of evil, now that Zelda is safe, now that Impa is dead, he is the one Hylian out of all of them who knows enough about the surface to guide the other in surviving there. Yet, in the same breath, he’s still the youngster who barely graduated Academy, never mind being properly knighted. He’s still young enough that the elders sometimes doubt him, but experienced enough that they know not to treat him like a child. He’s ‘too young’ to understand the Knights of Skyloft, but has seen more of the world than they ever have.

It’s strange, being caught in such an imbalance. People expect so much and yet so little of him. They want him to know what’s happening but doubt that he does. They ask for advice but question anything he gives them.

It’s exhausting. He knows Zelda used to tease him before, but the nickname “sleepy-head” never felt so accurate.

At least with the chain though, he doesn’t need to worry about it. Call him selfish, but there’s a certain kind of relief that comes from allowing someone else to take the lead, knowing that everyone else understands the world around him better and knows what to do. He doesn’t need to babysit them around new species or warn them about dangerous conditions or fauna. He doesn’t need to even be on guard, instead free to drift along at the center of the group, knowing that Twilight’s sharp ears and Legend’s acute sense of danger will provide ample warning if anything does come upon them.

He’s free to sleep for the first time in what feels like forever, without someone busting through his tent in a panic because they heard keese for the first time or realized that rain existed. In fact, he’s allowed to even sleep in sometimes, no plans or defenses or responsibilities waiting for him when he wakes up, just simple easy to follow orders of get up, get ready, walk, fight, and make camp.

Call him crazy, this adventure has been almost a vacation if it wasn’t for the fact that Twilight almost died on them a month ago! Or then again, there’s been a lot that happened since then, but even with that in mind, at least he’s not the sole one responsible for the safety, care and guidance of his fellow heroes. More often than not, actually, they’re the ones looking out for him. Honestly, he doesn’t know how he’ll thank Legend for teaching him about the poisons on the surface, or Wild for letting him peek at the champion’s slate to read what he can about monster types, weaknesses and whatnot. The other heroes have this and that to add, of course, but those two have been the most helpful, seeking him out in order to show him things first hand when they can, so that while Wild and Hyrule often go to muck about, he and Legend find their free time typically spent with the veteran teaching him everything he knows about the surface world, survival, and even matters beyond that; matters beyond being a hero and more about just being. It's nice learning things for the sake of learning, not for the sake of staying alive, and Legend talks with a similar cadence and manner to Fi when he’s caught up in expounding on this point or that, uninterrupted because Sky very much appreciates both the effort and the guidance.

For all Legend has to share with him though, the vet isn’t exactly someone he can turn to when it comes to problems with people. Honestly, sometimes it feels like he returns the kindness shown to him by the younger hero by covering Legend’s ass when it comes to social interactions, at least among their group. The vet’s left a terrible first impression on most of them, and since it seems everyone else is equally bad as he is when it comes to communication, there’s still many in their group under the impression that their vet is a total asshole.

So yeah, Legend is not the best person to ask for help when it comes to people issues. Time either. Time and he aren’t close by any exaggeration of the word, and while the older man is willing to offer advice here and there, Sky’s not certain he feels comfortable seeking it out. Typically speaking, he’s found that Warriors is the best person to ask about these sorts of things, being as he is a man and not a child and possesses the social skill necessary to address this sort of thing, only....

Only, it’s terribly hard to ask someone for advice on how to handle their own stupidity.

He is not blind. Okay, well, maybe, and to some things, but missing Time and Twilight’s relationship is likely more a matter of him not being close enough to either to really put much stock in their interactions. Their leader’s fondness for one of their number wasn’t too shocking considering how attached he himself has become to all of them in such a short time. He'd just assumed that Time moved slower and had begun to warm up to them one at a time, starting with the rancher and moving on to the sailor. He'd thought they’d all follow in time, not that Time just ultimately had favorites.

Despite missing that though, he’s not entirely incompetent. He sees his brothers, and much as they might have all assumed he was simply the tired, quiet one, just because he doesn’t speak up doesn’t mean he’s not paying attention. No, he sees what happens in camp. He sees Legend’s tentative bids for connection, Wild’s withdrawn attitude that hides behind the smile and the laughter. He sees Wind’s worry and Time’s stress. He knows Twilight is wrung out and confused after his secret was exposed and the rest of them have had to accept the fact that their silent, furry companion was, in fact, one of their brothers.

He knows that there’s a breach of trust there, or at least a perceived one. Those who didn’t regard the beast as a threat have often sought the company of their wolf companion in order to express troubles or thoughts that they didn’t wish to share with anyone else, including the rancher himself. Not knowing, they’d told him things, thinking he was just an animal and incapable of sharing them, told him things they didn’t want Twilight to know, things they thought or felt. Now, knowing that Twilight is privy to so many of their secrets, it’s perhaps natural that their barriers have been thrown up, their brothers guarded and wary of what he’ll do with the forbidden knowledge he possesses.

He knows it hurts the man, but he understands. He’d never shared his own feelings with their wolf companion, but if Crimson were to one day take hylian form, he’s sure he’d be at least the slightest bit worried about it, maybe even betrayed. Not knowing a dear companion could speak if they so wanted, could be like yourself, would be hurtful. To know they didn’t trust you when you poured out your heart to them...

Yes, he understands.

Unfortunately, that also means that Twilight is, very much, also not in the category of people who he can come to about things that are worrying him. Sadly, it seems none of them are. He’d never dream of asking the younger ones; Wind is a child and should not be burdened with such things, Hyrule is still struggling to make his own connections, Wild may or may not understand and most definitely has enough on his plate already, Legend is Legend, and he’s never been very close with Four.

Which leaves Warriors, who is, again, the course of his frustration.

Because, unfortunately, despite being a hero, and despite killing an actual god, Sky finds himself helpless to face a mere vice, a common demon that seems to have taken hold of one of his brothers.

It started simple. A night after a tough battle, one where he couldn’t sleep and had wandered downstairs from the inn-room he’d shared with a few of the others, a room where Wind was being kept awake for the sake of his earlier concussion from a battle. Stress was high across the whole group, and he’d needed the space so it was natural that he’d wandered downstairs, hoping to sneak outside and catch some fresh air like he used to on Skyloft.

Like on Skyloft, the awful visions that woke him up that night were also cause for his slipping from bed.

His intention had been to step out, to catch the breeze on his face and maybe watch the stars for a bit. Legend often says that the stars hold comfort and assurance, and while he doesn’t know nearly as much about them, or the stories and figures the vet can pick out from the heavens, he does know that cloudless nights remind him of home, and bright lights twinkling above had quickly become the only familiar thing between every place he’s gone.

Maybe that’s why Legend likes them so much; they’re an unchanging constant no matter where you go.

At any rate, he’d needed the space. He hadn’t expected to find any of the others up as well though, much less the captain. In the end, he never made it outside, instead sitting up and talking with the other.

He’d thought little of the nearly empty bottle of whiskey at the man’s side, too busy with his own thoughts and worries.

He’d thought nothing of it either when, after a terrible battle that nearly saw the loss of the traveler and ended with a passed-out Legend and a very bloody Four, he’d found the captain up stewing quietly over ill thought-out plans and reckless behaviors. The off-handed “I need a drink” had been something to just smile and shake his head at.

But then he’d begun to catch on. Rough battles, difficult nights, sleeplessness from worry, from pain and in his own case; from visions. It had resulted in many a night spent up in each other’s company. More worrying still was the constant presence of a little silver flask, held tight in fainty trembling hands as dulled blue eyes would linger over their younger ones.

He’d thought it strange, but it was Wind’s worried “has the captain been drinking again?” that really caught him by the ears and shook him. He’d thought it a passive thing, hadn’t paid it much attention because there was no true way to know what was in that little flask (Legend has one too, but it’s got some kind of sweet, spicey juice in it). The sailor asking about it though had changed that. It had revealed that, no, it wasn’t simply a passing thing and was very much a longstanding issue. It was not at all what he was hoping to find out. More so, the youngest can’t even say anything about it, because the captain knowing that his former charge is aware of the vice apparently would have some very, very bad results.

So, Wind can’t say anything without potentially making it worse. None of the others know or have seen it enough to realize the weight of the issue, and he’s left the only one who not only knows and witnesses it but has nothing he can do about it.

Long nights, dark eyes and pain, so, so much pain in the captain’s face and voice have left him stumbling. The quiet admission of how their elegant captain’s own stepfather was a miserable drunk isn’t any help either, although that conversation had rather quickly turned from him trying to bring up the issue and into the both of them commiserating on the lack of decent father figures in the world.

From there. It just... keeps happening.

He’s watching, trying to say something and so, so easily letting pretty words and prettier eyes distract him into talking about something else. Quite frankly, it would be terrifying if it wasn’t so impressive how the captain manages to dodge his every quiet attempt by redirecting him onto something else, turning the matter around or simply accepting his concern with a smile and an easy, gentle, so very believable dismissal. Yet, he sees the results. He sees the stress and the tension. He sees the misery that before had hidden so prettily behind a polished mask, but which now spills from time to time into a slippery mess before him, catching him in its mire and leaving him floundering, breathless, and scared.

He’s the hero, the one meant to save those around him from trouble, but he’s failing a battle with a bottle that’s he’s not even touching.

Watching the result of that failure, the downward spiral, it hurts. It hurts more than blades or arrows or even poison. In a way, it is a sort of poison; a slow working thing that, while he never touched it, has infected not only his own life but those around them.

As chaos sows itself across the kingdom, poison spreads within their own number. The attention of their brothers, and indeed, most of his own, is fixed on the protection of their home, on defeating the newly risen foe, on ending things so that their lives can return in some small manner to a semblance of normalcy. And somehow, he lets his worries fall to the background, let’s his mind turn to the struggles spawning up around him with the others, with himself, with things that are ever so much more prominent than a little silver flask. Even the yelling match that sprung up between the vet and druken captain hadn’t refocused him, his attention more fixed on other things in the aftermath; Legend’s behavior, his own aggression when shouting at the captain to just cease and desist with beating the dead horse before he’d marched off after the vet.

Fighting and travel have kept him busy since, but failure is as sure a trigger as anything, or so he’s learned. Even now, he watches as the others retreat to lick their wounds, to hide away in their inn rooms, silent and mournful, blood still staining their clothes. He’s sore himself, tired, weary, too worn from the events of things over the last couple of months to actually want more than to lay down himself and sleep, but he doesn’t.

No, because when the rest of them go to hide at the inn, the captain goes off alone, a cold, dangerous, dark look in that drawn and tired face, and worry gnawing at the skyloftian’s own heart will not allow for him to even entertain thoughts of sleep, not when he’s learned to know what that look means. He lingers only as long as he must to ensure all the rest are settled, safe and stable, before darting back out onto the streets.

Watching is hard. Seeking is harder.

There’s an awful sort of feeling that comes over him at the realization that the nearest bar is mostly the new location of his straying brother but finding it in the dark is nearly as difficult as dragging himself towards it, knowing full well what he’ll find inside. He does though, he does because he has to and because it’s the right thing to do. He does it because it’s what a hero would do.

Heroes save people when they’re drawn into danger, and the devil in the bottle is slowly urging his beloved brother and friend in. A steady hiss or whisper or however it’s call manifests for the captain, and one that, if he doesn’t make it in time, he won’t be able to stop from taking hold.

He can whisper a begrudging thanks to the heavens that Warriors is a gentle drunk most of the time.

The bar-room's floor is shockingly clean when he enters, considering it’s a farming town they’ve stopped to stay in at Time’s suggestion. Faint, dusty footprints from one or two people scuff in and out, but he can see where thick ash and dirt have clumped and marched across the floor, and following the trail is the easiest thing he’s done today after fighting a far larger, far more terrifying demon.

In his mind, Sky steels himself; if he can fight Demise and come out alive, he can face up to the captain about this most worrisome coping technique. The key is simply not to let Warriors distract him with something else, so at the first mention of anything that’s not the man’s own issues, he needs to start to redirect.

Hylia above, why couldn’t those cursed goddesses have granted him even just the smallest piece of Wisdom? Charging in is the easiest part, getting through the battle with a silver-tongued soldier is the thing it seems he can’t do properly.

Glass taps on polished wood, a heavy and familiar sigh following. Trailing his eyes towards the back corner of the room, he can easily make out the bloody and worn form of his brother, slumped against a small table and already with a hand ploughing through his ash dusted hair. Warriors looks like hell. Dark bruises beneath darker eyes, face drawn and still stained with the remains of their defeat. The usually proud appearance has been crippled, uniform torn and filthy, and blood still spattered over armor, leather, and skin. The man doesn’t so much as spare him a glace as Sky settles across from him at the table, keeping the barrier between them for both their sakes.

“Hey.”

A long, drawn-out sigh sounds off the wood of the worn bar table.

Sky waits. Pressing any of his brothers is counterproductive. Sitting quietly, taking in the situation, is the best approach, letting them determine whether or not they’re ready to speak yet. He won’t push either, he just sits and rests his arms on the table, glancing the empty glass and the blessed lack of a matching bottle.

“What d’you want, Sky?” Still not even a flick of dull eyes up towards him. “Shouldn’t you be with the rest?”

He shrugs, stiff, as though he’s not being eaten up a bit with guilt at leaving them. The other adults can keep an eye on things though, and Wind was already doing a marvelous job of talking them out of their heads. It’s up to him to handle the captain though, as the sailor may or not have even been allowed inside the bar. The kid shouldn’t be here anyway, for the captain’s sake and his own.

“I didn’t feel right about letting you go off alone.”

“The kids need you right now.”

“They need you too,” he challenges, leaning a bit closer and trying to catch the turned away eyes of the other. “And I think you’d do yourself some good to be around them.”

A twitch of the fine-featured face before him is his only answer as sooty fingers toy with the empty glass between them. It’s lifted briefly, before the other man seems to check himself and realize it’s empty.

Sky needs to prevent it getting refilled. Hopefully, he can drag the captain’s ass out of here and back to their brothers before then. The key is just getting through to him, and though it feels like ages since he’d looked at the other man and found only unreadable smiles and perfection, there’s still a barrier that stops him really understanding what the captain might be thinking. Goddesses above, how is it that even Legend is easier to read than this man?

“Wars, you’re worrying me.” He tries. Slowly, softly enough that no other patrons in the place will hear him, but it seems the captain doesn’t hear it either.

No, the man just taps his glass against the table-top, distracted, and sigh so heavy he seems to shudder. “Go back, chosen.”

“No, captain.”

In battle, maybe blue eyes hold the flames of the goddesses themselves, but in the dim light of the bar, there’s only a dullness and flickering darkness that makes him want to shift and draw away. He doesn’t though, doesn’t dare. Instead, he sits under that stare for the brief second it's spared, and then the soldier is shutting his eyes with yet another heavy sigh. “Rest, you need it.”

“I can’t.” You’re here, he wants to add. You’re out here and you’re worrying me, and I can’t sleep easy until I know we’re all safe.

Fine features twitch, shifting into a frown that would be very terrifying indeed if Sky hadn’t gotten used to all the harsh looks of his team over the last while. Time’s dark looks and Warriors’ disapproval aren’t nearly as weighty all things considered, and he carefully doesn’t respond when the other looks up at him again, brows drawn low and tightly together, jaw twitching slightly. “Sky-”

“Link,” he returns, sharp to match the look he shoots at the other. Their given name slips strangely off his tongue and earns a twitch of the brows in answer. “No. I’m not letting you sit alone a stew.”

“Even if I want to?” The glass taps loudly against the table, a sharp contrast to their low voices. “Does that matter at all?”

Okay, that’s just a bomb-burr waiting for him to walk too close. “Link, please,” and the use of their shared name seems to have fingers closing tighter over the mouth of the whiskey glass, “we both know what will happen if I leave.”

His words are proved by the lack of verbal answer, instead the tapping of the glass back onto the table as dark eyes meet his. They’re blank again, impossible to read past that closed off, stern expression. It's not one he’s used to facing much these days, but he’s seen it turned on the younger ones plenty of times.

“I leave,” he presses, “and you’ll drink.”

There’s the faintest tightening again around the glass still clutched in sooty hands. “It could be worse.”

“You’re right,” he agrees, nodding slowly, “it could. I could keep ignoring it and you’ll keep getting worse.” He steels his own jaw, folding his hands if only for something to do with them before he meets the stare now fixed, heavy and harsh, on his face. “When we all met, you hardly touched the stuff save maybe after a bad battle, and I mean a really bad one.” The same as Time here and there. The same as any man likely might. A really bad day is fair enough excuse for one drink, but Warriors used to stop at one, and now he doesn’t. “Now it seems every time our backs are turned...” he motions to the glass, watches as blue eyes dart down to follow his gaze.

The captain’s hands aren’t shaking like they normally do. They’re perfectly still as he clutches hold of the empty cup.

He doesn’t like it. The tremor is normal, it is a sure sign of ease. He knows the after effects of their last battle, the magic in it, the illusions cast around them of the worst they’ve seen, worst they’d imagined, used as a distraction shook all of them, but seeing the man still so tightly wound, still so caught up in his head that his body is still responding as though he’s in immediate danger, it doesn’t sit well with him.

“Come back to the inn,” he begs. “We all-”

The sudden shriek of the chair as the soldier stands might be what cuts him off, the cold look in closed off eyes definitely is though. “I don’t know what that demon showed you, chosen, but know this: you can fight gods and you can win, but some of us have fought men and believe it or not, there’s something quite different and more terrible about that.” It’s the clipped soldier’s voice that speaks to him, resounding enough in the bar that everyone else present has fallen silent and tense, looking up from their own conversations to stare. “So go back to the inn, get over what you saw, and let me do the same here so we can face the demon again in the morning.”

“Wars-”

The other turns, heading back to the bar and no doubt with full intent to refill the glass he holds.

Sky darts after him. “Please, Link! This isn’t good for you!”

“Well, it isn’t exactly hurting you now, is it?” Is the sharp answer as barkeep approaches the two of them, wary.

For a moment, Sky debates between telling the barkeep to not serve his brother and telling the captain to just walk away. Caught betwixt, he misses the opportunity for both, too distracted, too unfocused, to slow, and when his brother motions for the bottle in the hands of the barkeep, it’s only then that he gets his wits about him enough to catch hold of the thing himself.

The barkeep darts away, no doubt eager to avoid the mess as snapping eyes fix on storm cloud blue as Sky’s voice rumbles low like thunder between them. “You doing this hurts everyone that loves you. We can’t stand to just sit back and watch anymore.”

“Well no one asked you to watch,” the captain bites, “or care.”

“But we do,” he answers back, trying desperately to catch those eyes again, “we chose to be your brothers, and thus we chose to stad beside you.”

“Then don’t blame me when your choices get you hurt.” The hand he’s set on the bottle is knocked away as, once more, Warriors turns his back on him and heads back to his table.

He’s not sure if he should chase or walk away or give up. He’s left standing for a moment before darting after, again, unable to stop the other as a finger of amber is poured and knocked back without so much as a flinch. Well, not a flinch from Warriors, he finds himself recoiling just the slightest bit as he watches.

He tries again, this time not daring to push further by touching the forbidden poison, but instead trying to break through and get the other to just look at him. “Link, please, you’re killing yourself like this.”

Dark eyes are empty, lifeless, as they turn upwards to look at him, like visions of the sealing grounds were once, thousands of years ago; barren and ruined by battle and death. “Good.”

And then it’s gone, another glass knocked back and Sky left standing, only able to watch.

What else is there to be said? What argument is left to beg, to plead, to convince? He’s the hero, he’s good with his hands, his blade, his strength. He sees foes and he crushes them. He sees allies and he aids them. But when an ally embraces the foe, what then? What’s left for him to do? What course of action is there left save to beg? And when even that fails there is nothing.

Nothing but watching, unable to go back without fulfilling his mission and unwilling to let his brother be left alone in the weakened state the quickly emptying bottle will leave him in. All he can do is watch as golden poison flows, as sooty, bloodied, burned hands lift and toss back, as glass clacks against the tabletop again only to be refilled once more. There's nothing else he can do or say. There may be other arguments, but they’re lost to him, buried instead under that horrible stare and the cracked and shattered soul that had glinted through on that single, devastating ‘good’.

It’s not the first defeat he’s faced today, but between the two, this is the one that leaves him truly helpless in it’s wake.

#febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu warriors #lu sky #ketto writes #technically #tbohh #the blood of heroes' history

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transmascpetewentz · 5 months

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A Short Guide To Writing Gay Trans Men

So a few disclaimers before I start:

I'm not going to talk about anything sex-related here because 1) people have made other guides and google is your friend & 2) I'm not very comfortable with it.

I am just one person, and due to the fact that I am white and thin and perisex, I will definitely have blind spots. If you want more information about intersections that don't apply to me, ask someone who it does apply to!

I did get lots of messages from trans guys giving me advice on this, but nonetheless I do not speak for absolutely everyone.

There will be very little info here on how to accurately write medical transitions because that's not something I've experienced. Google is your best friend on this one.

This is not a complete post. I will keep adding to it as time goes on. If you're seeing this post reblogged by someone else, click on the original to see if I've made any additions or corrections before you send me that anon hate and/or comment telling me to kill myself.

What Not To Do

When there is a trans male character written by a cis person, especially a cis man, there's a very solid chance that he is going to check off at least 9 of the following boxes:

Thin

White

Able-bodied

Neurotypical or LSN neurodivergent

Binary

No nuance given to his identity and expression

Sexuality not specified or elaborated on

A cis person's love interest

2 dimensional transmasc stereotype

Usually small and feminine, but not actually femme

Gay transmasc characters written by cis people are very difficult to find because cis authors will often not specify the sexuality of the trans man dating a cis man or elaborate on his connection to the MLM community. This is because many cis authors believe that writing a gay trans man is just writing a woman but switching one of the genders. This is, of course, not true, and there must be more care taken to provide nuance and create a more accurate (and non-dysphoria-inducing) representation.

Moving Past The White Twink Stereotype

This is one of the most basic bars to clear for a cis person writing a gay trans man, and yet so many continue to fail at this very simple task. Ask yourself: is your gay transmasc character a white, hairless, thin person? If the answer is yes, that's not inherently a bad thing, though it may be good to reflect on why you want to create a character like this if this is the only type of transmasc representation you write.

The biggest thing you need to do here is to give him a set of defining traits. Not physical traits, not even gender expression traits. Just personality. What kind of person is he? How does he cope with the transphobia in this world (unless you're writing a fantasy universe without transphobia)? How does he act towards strangers? How does he approach people of different genders? What is his outlook on cis people? Once you have the basics, it's time to think about his physical appearance & expression and how that has impacted his life and his personality.

You also want to avoid the trope where a gay trans man's personality is undeveloped and he is treated as an object for cis men to help them advance their character arcs. It's fine for trans men to serve a purpose like that in the story, but they need to be their own individual humans.

Writing Sexuality

If your trans male characters date men, and I cannot reiterate this enough, make them be open about their homosexuality or bisexuality. Give them a sexual orientation and make them be proud of it. Of course, not every gay trans man is going to identify heavily with a masc/fem role in gay male relationships, but you should seriously consider whether or not your character would.

Additionally, don't follow the flawed line of logic of "trans man -> vagina -> bottom -> fem/femme." It's fine to make your gay trans male characters fem but please, I swear to god please give them a good reason for being so. If you do make your character femme, be very cautious to use language that doesn't trigger actual trans men's dysphoria. Don't constantly point out the character's physical features that may be associated with femininity unless you're making a point either about his dysphoria or about how society treats him or maybe about how he comes to accept his body. However, please be extremely careful with the last one as this trope has been used in so many transphobic portrayals.

Have your gay trans male character exist in gay spaces with other gay men (both cis and trans). Have him be open about being a gay man specifically. Give him cis gay male friends. Give him trans gay male friends. Don't allow your reader to ignore the fact that he is very much a gay man.

Dysphoria

For the love of all things good, please do not write your gay trans male character's dysphoria as "from the day I was born, I knew I was born in the wrong body. I have had no internalized shame or guilting into making me doubt my transness, and it was obvious that I was not a woman." That's not how anyone's dysphoria works, even if they did know from a young age that they were born in the wrong body.

For gay trans men specifically, most of us end up realizing we're trans around either age 12 or age 20. This doesn't mean he has to be exactly that age, but that's generally the safest age to have your character's egg crack. Of course, you can sprinkle in signs that he's trans since he was a young child, but I know a lot of gay trans men and I have yet to meet one who has known since birth and has had no doubt in his mind about it. However you can and should write older gay trans men, even some who find out they're trans in their 40s or older. Representation of older trans people is seriously lacking compared to how many there are.

Don't make your character the stereotype of a straight trans man who doesn't face the specific intersection of being trans and gay. Facing this intersection does affect something even as personal as dysphoria. Many of us will have self-doubt, believe that we're disgusting fetishists of gay men, or simply exist as women in gay spaces for a time. You also have to take into account gay beauty standards & your character's upbringing to figure out what they're likely to be most dysphoric about.

hi :3

That's it for now. I'll keep adding to this post as I get feedback and suggestions. If you want more advice, feel free to send me an ask. When I get enough asks about things, I'll make an FAQ post answering some of them.

#wentz.txt #transmasc #writeblr #long post #extremely long post

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gaia-prime · 9 months

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op turned off reblogs because she didn’t like what @she-is-ovarit had to say in response:

I am not saying this with the intention of stirring controversy, but this is similar to being gender critical while having trans-identifying friends, except where you consider for yourself to be a lack of relating to or understanding gender identity, for me it is this plus a lack of belief in it.

"Gender ideology" being a term for the mainstream belief system currently within trans populations and "LGBTQ+" groups surrounding gender identity.

I do not "hate trans people". I simply do not believe in gender ideology or some concept of an ethereal, metaphysical gender identity. It reminds me of astrology or zodiac signs taken to an extra level. Sex-based stereotypes and fashion aesthetics internalized. A person doesn't even need to believe in gender identity (how the term is commonly used today anyways) at all to consider themselves trans or transition, technically. I've even met a few trans-identifying individuals who go by the pronouns associated with their sex.

no like I genuinely believe you that mcwilliamsburg kids are posers and forrester-smith-tailor students are snooty potheads, but I have no way to apply and no reason to internalize this information

If snooty potheads and posers represented gender identities, aka someone's interpretation or meaning they placed on the "vibes" of certain schools, I don't believe that McWilliamsburg kids are posers and Forrester-Smith-Tailor students are snooty potheads, because that's your own perception of your reality (royal "you", not you personally OP). That's the lens in which you see your world and the meaning you place on it. I believe in material reality that these schools themselves exist (aka, biology/sex). I believe that your emotional experiences are real (feeling discomfort or a lack of relation to sex-based norms, stereotypes, roles, aesthetics; or feeling more of a kinship with people of one sex or the other). However your truth isn't mine, and I simply do not see or define people as snooty potheads, posers ("non-binary", "transfemme", "cisgender") etc. I don't believe that a student from McWilliamsburg can call herself a "Forrester-Smith-Tailor" student and this makes her one. It's an imperfect example because transferring schools exists or whatever, but unlike transferring schools as a biologist I have learned it's not actually possible to change one's sex.

I have no way to apply and no reason to internalize this information, and this all makes me feel like I'm in some sort of church. If I were to say, "well, I perceive reality differently and I don't think god exists and I'm homosexual and I won't be having sex with men ("AMAB/OMAB") regardless as to what they believe in and how they perceive themselves", the response is generally, "She's evil ("terf/bigot"), she's a sinner ("genital fetishist"), she's going to hell".

"Gender critical" is just gender ideology atheism. And then in addition to this I just believe in women's rights and gay rights and these two things inform my perspective/lens in which I view my own world in addition to my own experiences. Just like how as an atheist I don't want to "kill all Christians" or think "Christians don't exist", I don't want to "kill trans people" or think "trans people don't exist". Sorry - the astrological gender identity belief system doesn't make sense to me, I already tried unsuccessfully to brainwash myself into believing in it, and honestly it's built off of concepts and beliefs I personally consider homophobic and misogynistic. The threat of persecution, name calling, or the fact that this belief system is considered status quo or the pathway to heaven acceptance doesn't change that I don't believe in this. I can't make myself believe in what I don't believe in.

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edonee · 1 month

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You asked yesterday for someone to explain what trans people mean when we say we do or don't feel like a gender or sex. My comment is too long to put in the replies to I'm answering here instead. I don't really think this will change your mind at all, but this is the best way I can explain what it feels like to be trans masculine.

Seeing myself and having others see me as a girl was painful. I felt a deep sense of wrongness when people called me "she" and when people described me as a girl. It sometimes made me throw up, it made me cry, it made me dissociate. When I transitioned and people called me "he" or "they", I felt an overwhelming amount of joy. I felt like they were seeing who I was, I felt right. I felt this deep sense of wrongness in relation to my body as well - I couldn't stand seeing my breasts, I couldn't stand having a period, I hated the way my face was shaped. I also often felt uncomfortable when doing things or wearing things considered traditionally feminine, but I think that was because I hated that people used those to associate me with being a girl. Now, I often enjoy wearing clothing or activities that fit feminine gender roles. My point is, my dysphoria and my experience of gender is almost entirely based on how I feel most aligned with the gender designation of man, and not at all aligned with the gender designation of woman - rather than what aspects of those gender roles I wanted to participate in.

I don't think there's one simple explanation as to what it means to feel like a woman or a man or any form of gender that does not fit within the binary. I personally believe that we all have unique experiences of gender, and most people's match up with how they are perceived by society, but others make them feel dysphoric. I honestly agree with the idea of gender abolition - as long as we don't divide people by sex either. It would be great if we could all just exist as people without these arbitrary categories acting as defining characteristics of who we are.

I can't answer if, in that hypothetical society where we don't have genders, I would still experience the dysphoria I've felt about my body. I don't know - I'm sorry. I get that there are a lot of confusing things in play when it comes to gender and trans people, and I think it's great that people like you want to understand, and I get that it can seem suspicious when there are some things that we can't answer.

But I don't think that those areas where there's a lack of clarity need to push you away from supporting trans people. We are not claiming to be trans for some manipulative agenda, or just very swept up in internalized misogyny. Most of us are people who suffered a lot trying to exist as the gender that society ascribed to our sex, and now that we've found another way to exist, we feel freer. I feel like a man because I don't feel wrong when I exist as a man. I don't feel like a woman because I felt wrong when I existed as a woman. I don't see what in that is a threat.

Thank you if you bothered to read all of this! Have a lovely evening.

Hi ^^ good morning, I just read this and I'm going to try to make my point as linear as possible. I want to start off by giving you a definition of sex and gender (just so that there's no confusion over what I'm talking about) I've simply taken the definitions from The World Health Organisation as I find those exhausting and agreeable enough:

Sex is defined as the different biological and physiological characteristics of males and females, such as reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones, etc

Gender is defined as the (of course variable based on place, culture, and historical period) socially constructed characteristics of women and men – such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men.

I want to start by addressing what you said at the very beginning of your argument: you said that people perceiving you as a girl distressed you even to the point of physical sickness, whereas getting gendered as a man made you feel seen as your true self. First, I want to say that your "true self" can't be the social classification of characteristics attributed to either sex. Gender is, by definition, purely constructed, therefore any identification with either gender comes from a personal sympathization with its elements and not from an innate connection to a system that is man-made and cannot therefore borne any biological bond. Secondly, I don't want to make a diagnosis out of your experience, but that simply sounds like an extreme result of growing up as a female. With the way girls are treated in every society it's no wonder that the passage from childhood to girlhood is burdensome. When a male child grows up he becomes a person, whereas a female grows to be a woman. Very trivially, the reason why I used to identify as non-binary when I was around 13-14 was that I felt too complex to fit into something as shallow and one-dimensional as womanhood. Of course I'm not saying that's why you specifically feel this way, as there could very well be another reason personal to you that has shaped your mind and put you in a psychological condition where you feel alienated from your body. But even in that case, the argument of transgenderism still doesn't hold up. Gender is not biological, so of course anyone can identify themselves in and out of it as they please, but that doesn't change two things:

1) the structure of it remains the same

2) a female who identifies as a man is still female and vice versa

You also go on and say that your experience with gender comes from feeling aligned to the “gender designation of men – rather than what aspects of those gender roles (you) want to participate in„

I find this definition quite feeble, as the "gender designation of men" is exactly equivalent to the gender roles linked to it, and nothing more. Again, I can't help but get the idea that the motive of your discomfort with femaleness stems from an underlying uneasiness with the poor way women are treated in a misogynistic society rather than an abstract and impractical affinity with the male sex.

Now, toward the end of your argument you hypothesized a world where gender has been erased, leaving sex as the only undeniable distinction between people, and you said:

"I can't answer if, in that hypothetical

society where we don't have

genders, I would still experience the

dysphoria l've felt about my body"

And, although I don't know you personally, I'm quite confident that the answer would be no. Feeling discontent over your body is not innate, it's learned (subconsciously or otherwise) through socialization. If you feel envy towards the male body and hatred towards your female body it is not because there's something inherently wrong with it, but rather because you aspire to the male gender class. Without sex discrimination & gender existing in the first place, there would be nothing that would make you resent your female body.

However, we clearly don't live in a word free of gender, so does that mean that we should endorse transgenderism for the sake of those people who suffer from dysphoria? The answer is no. Dysphoria is a direct result of gender, therefore the solution is to question the very construct of gender, and not to go through medical procedures to change one's sexual characteristics in order to "be your true self". Just like anorexia can't be cured by starving, but only by deconstructing the underlying fixation with thinness and body image. Not to mention the idea that gender is actually real is harmful to feminism. It does not only solidify gender stereotypes, and promote the definition of certain behaviors as either masculine or feminine, it also strips words away of their meaning, making the fight for female liberation a nebulous movement that stands up for the rights of – who exactly? Females? Anyone who identifies as female? Men who say they are women?

I'm genuinely sorry that there are people who suffer to the point that they want to be the opposite sex, but I refuse to advocate for the idea that you can be born into the wrong body. Believing that your body is wrong is a fucking miserable way to live, and it's also simply not true.

Let me know if you want to ask me anything else, have a good day

#radblr #radical feminism #radical feminists do interact #radical feminist safe #terfsafe #terfblr #radical feminists do touch #personal #transgender #nonbinary #gender critical #gender abolition

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the-delta-quadrant · 6 months

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interesting how people always say they are x identity before y identity and it's fine but if a nonbinary person says they're nonbinary before we're trans we're evil. exorsexism really fucks with the brain.

somehow other people are allowed to feel connected to some part of their marginalised identity than others but if a nonbinary person dares to feel more connected to nonbinary people than trans people as a whole then we're demonised.

because we don't like the most favoured term as much as we like others: what a ridiculous reason to give someone shit.

especially considering how explicitly and implicitly exclusive of nonbinary people the trans community was and still is.

i'm also asexual before i'm bi for similar reasons. fight me.🤡

i see so many people say they're aro before ace or they're trans first or they're autistic before they're ADHD or they're queer before any specific label and there are so many reasons for someone to feel this way.

but with nonbinary it's especially fucked up because someone is basically giving me shit for... wanting to be seen as my gender rather than be constantly defined by how i relate to my agab. i know you wouldn't say this shit about trans men and women who identify as men/women before they identify as trans, but nonbinary people are expected to make ourselves invisible and either be cis or blend in with binary trans people and shut the fuck up.

and people hate if we refuse.

i'm sorry me being more defined by my actual gender rather than my relation to something that happened over 2 decades ago offends you so much.

#lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #mogai #queer #nonbinary #trans

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mmikmmik2 · 1 year

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Book Two of Infinity Train constructs the passenger-denizen relationship as a metaphor for gender essentialism, in a form that especially reminded me of complementarianism.

To briefly explain my layperson's understanding of complementarianism: this is a theological/spiritual belief (I'm only familiar with it existing in fundamentalist Christianity, though it could exist in other religions) that men and women were created with fundamentally different natures because they are intended for different divine purposes. You see, it is the feminists who are truly anti-woman, because they think it is demeaning for a woman to be owned like property by her father or husband for her entire life, when actually that is God's sacred purpose for all women.

Although this exact formulation of gender relations is pretty extreme, and I think the actual beliefs are more specific and elaborate than I'm describing them here, a lot of the basic premises of complementarianism are widespread. Ideas like: At birth, everyone is assigned one of two genders, which corresponds to a fundamental existential difference in who they are and which traits are the most admirable/aspirational for them. In a romantic and/or marital partnership, there is a certain role for the man and a certain role for the woman. Men exist to do things and women exist to help them.

From The Black Market Car:

One-One: But always remember there are lots of denizens along the way to help you on your journey.

From The Mall Car:

Simon: You two are only as good as you are useful.

From The Number Car:

One-One: You're exactly where you're supposed to be. [...] No, you'll stay and keep helping. You're so good at it.

Can you see it? It's the idea that denizens, and Lake specifically, are supposed to be helpful to passengers. It keeps coming up over and over. Something that didn't even exist for Lake until they befriended Jesse - like because the two have a relationship with each other, Lake is suddenly defined in terms of relation to him, in a way that is deeply dehumanizing and opposed to the actual real bond the two of them share that exists outside of the passenger/denizen false dichotomy.

From The Map Car:

Marcel: One person guides. One person follows. It's a system. It's great.

This is the part that reads the strongest to me as about complementarianism specifically rather than just gender essentialism in general.

From The Lucky Cat Car:

Randall: Passengers get preferential treatment because they have a greater need to exit the car.

Jesse and Grace automatically getting more points than Lake at the fair is a super obvious reference to the wage gap, especially since One-One specifically brings up the wage gap later. I think Randall's comment here is a reference to the idea of the breadwinner - the conceptualization of the husband as needing to earn a wage that can support their entire household while the wife takes care of the kids.

I think it's pretty obvious how the gender essentialism interpretation of the passenger/denizen stuff lends itself to queer readings of Lake's character arc, and especially a trans/nonbinary reading. I mean, this season isn't about Lake being like "I hate the expectations that are put on me as a denizen", it's about them literally not being a denizen and literally escaping from the denizen/passenger relationship forever.

#infinity train #lake it #this is one of the reasons 'the mirror world is a train construct and isn't real' has fallen out of my favor #even though i love how existentially terrible that would be

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faelapis · 1 year

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Is there any story trope you personally dislike aside from redeemed by death/ the ultimate evil?

oh sure, plenty. everything is context sensitive, there's very few i'm gonna straight up say is bad in every iteration, but here's a few that stand out to me as "usually a bad sign":

brainwashing. if the central conflict between the characters is just due to your friend being brainwashed rather than having real disagreements with you, thats typically weak.

hate sink-characters. the more "emotional" a trope is, the more difficult it is to define... but sometimes you can just. tell. that the author despises a character and wants the audience to feel nothing but hate towards them. this can be so pushy and exaggerated in the narrative that i defiantly find myself doing the opposite - removing all emotion, analyzing them from a purely meta perspective of what, exactly, makes them "hated" by the narrative.

torture porn. what it sounds like - excessive, gory violence which is so uncomfortable to look at it distracts from the story. this is, of course, appealing to some, its just VERY not for me. and if it focuses on the bodies of female characters, it oft becomes the more general societal ill of sexualized violence, which is its own can of worms.

can be deconstructed or reframed to call attention to sexism and the violence against women, such as in works like the handmaids tale. however, these tend not to be sexualized violence in the same way, because they're not framed to be tittilating.

strong woman = femme fatale. aka "badass woman as written by horny man." i tried to not pick too many tropes that are just "sexism", but i had to say something about this. and yes, i know there's plenty LGBT+ fans of this trope. i know that its not always bad to see sexualized characters. even if those characters are mainly women.

but there's just... something very annoying, when a male author is trying to do female empowerment, but it HAS to be in relation to her sexuality or attractiveness. its just such a "tell" that that's your main lens of looking at women. like ok. good to know "using your sexuality to lure men" is the only way you can conceptualize women as active characters. definitely doesn't just mean you need every female character to be hot.

characters being too smart / self-aware. by that i don't mean being "mary sues" or whatever. i mean when theyre so self-aware of their own flaws and issues that you don't really buy them as characters. this can work in a comedy, but it can be frustrating when employed in drama and works against the conflict.

a reason i can only "like" but not "love" atla is that i feel the characters would do this a bit too much. like when zuko explains directly to the camera how even at the age of 12 he totally knew the fire nation was evil and bad, despite all his cultural socialization and education pointing to them as rightful rulers and liberators.

think also when characters speak like their own therapists - totally aware of their own flaws and insecurities, like they were objective outsiders with writer clairvoyance rather than someone actually living through those problems. this CAN be earned, but often, its not.

endless escalation of villains. especially in relation to redemption.

i wrote this one last because i have a lot to say here. what i mean by "in relation to redemption", is this: lets say you want to redeem an antagonist. but you also want that former antagonist and the good guys to go on adventures together.

what do you do? you write in a BIGGER, BADDER antagonist, who is higher up / more powerful than the last one.

and if you defeat or redeem that one, you write in an EVEN BIGGER, SCARIER villain to be the True Evil, who is not afforded any of the humanity of the "lesser" villains and exists to be hated. usually someone who abused the previous antagonists.

i was actually a bit worried steven universe was gonna do this for a while. namely, when peridot had her confrontation with yellow diamond, and when it was revealed pink diamond was abused by the other diamonds. but thankfully, the show was consistent enough to humanize even its "worst" antagonists. it understands that the point of a "cycle of abuse" story isnt to destroy the source, but to see how everyone are products of their environments and capable of change.

unlike horde prime in spop / the fire lord in atla / the storm king in mlp / the core in amphibia / bill cipher in gravity falls / the beast in over the garden wall, etc etc etc.

its not that this trope can never be done well. its just that its an overdone cliche, and when continued in perpetuity, gives the impression that the only way redemption is possible is if there's someone "even worse" out there you can blame everything on. it reinforces black/white morality "but with rare exceptions" if you were a sad abused woobie rather than a true villain.

#not su /#(well not mainly)#tropes #writing

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nightswithkookmin · 1 year

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A LITTLE LIL NAS METAPHOR COS I'M GASSED UP FOR REAL

Sometimes I try to mind my business and let shit go but really all I want to do is throw rocks at som of yall.

This is Lil Nas X. Iconic beautiful SLAY.

Certainly he made a choice to go out on the carpet because he's bold and he doesn't give a fuck what people think about him. Right?

Now of course it got most conservatives raging mad while others thought he is iconic- Just like Jungkook's Dorothy Explore moment at the premiere.

Yet there are those of us who saw that Lil Nas moment and immediately thought it was hilarious he pulled that stunt and went ahead and made memes of him- memes he willingly participated in- right?

Now supposing Lil Nas got all flustered on the stage and started giggling and acting coy, shy and I came out here as a Nas Stan and said well he's PROBABLY shy because he's conscious of all that air blowing through his ass cos his Naked bum in a room full of judgemental eyes- would that be shaming him?

How do you go from A to Z. How do you draw that conclusion. Makes no fucken sense to me.

If you don't like me making memes out of BTS and joking about them- IT'S A YOU PROBLEM.

It's only offensive if it's ill intended or makes the boys themselves uncomfortable. But I promise you, there's nothing I say here that I can't say to them in the face. I promise you- may be not the part I ship them that's wild but still.

And the tuktukker syndrome some of yall have- yall need to fucking stop. It's ew. Gross and disgusting. When you make assumptions about people and they tell you to the contrary you don't go telling them they lying mother fucker stop. It's unhealthy and immature.

It's how these empty headed hooligans keep calling JM a liar because he presents statements that contradict their delusional takes and assertions.

I take being called out pretty seriously because I'm not perfect and I don't know everything as relates to others and their culture and what not. If I am making insensitive jokes or comments about these men I do want to be corrected on it. You know? Because I would hate to be the source of their pain.

You don't know this but two years ago JM made a comment during live and from that moment I slowed down on making those in depth near psychoanalytic analysis. And when I have to do it, I try to keep it as respectful as possible.

I don't see anything wrong in correcting people. Some might be naive and ignorant or might be hurting people inadvertently. There's no need to be defensive about it.

Take the recent moments in this community where Chikoorita came under fire for defending some other account- don't know them don't care.

It was disheartening to see people go from trying to point out to them the errors of their ways to blatantly being nonbinaryphobic towards them, ridiculing them, invalidating them, and quoting Blaire White of all people as justification to call them a pronoun they preferred for Chikoorita.

I reached out to a few accounts to try to educate them on why this is problematic. Nobody knows the person behind Chikoorita's account. If they are telling you they prefer to stay "gender anonymous" there's nothing wrong in choosing to respect that.

Yall hide behind anonymous blogs all the time and each time you choose to use an anonymous Ask you are choosing not to define your gender as well. And even that, we respect you and do not assign a gender to you.

Would be weird if, we kept using a he pronoun to address an anon especially when they have pointed out they was a she or preferred not to be gendered at all.

Point I'm making is I am not above correction.

And I do take sentiments of that nature seriously.

But you better make sure it's not based on your feelings of what is right and wrong because feelings can be subjective.

Here's my feeling of your feelings

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wearethewinx · 1 year

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I didn't want to title this 'Diversity Scorecard For My AU' but. that's kind of what it is fjdkafj;das

Bloom: bi lesbian, autistic (diagnosed). her autism contributes to her feeling a little disconnected from the modern idea of sexuality as a thing you Are, and she relates a lot more to more historical ideas of sexuality as a thing you Do

Stella: pansexual, ADHD (undiagnosed)

Musa: arospec and ace, which separate from but also tangled up with her reluctance to be vulnerable and form bonds

Aisha: lesbiab. oldest sister disorder despite having no siblings (diagnosed)

Flora: Token Heterosexual (in translation) and intersex (in translation). 'intersex' and 'sexual orientation' are not concepts in the same way on Linphea, but she explains herself with those terms off-planet

Tecna: brain: autistic (diagnosed), gender: autistic, sexuality: autistic. she thinks Timmy is hot af and that's all she needs to know

Roxy: trans girl, and like. vaguely aspec but questioning

(specialists and witches under the cut)

Sky: cishet, asshole (diagnosed)

Brandon: WHORE (affectionate)

Timmy: "obviously I'm straight." "but you've been with multiple men??" "you got me there!"

Riven: gay (undiagnosed) autistic (undiagnosed) asshole (diagnosed)

Helia: "who are we to place labels on the infinite complexity of our souls? the vanity! do sponges in the ocean define themselves by where their ghostly clouds of seed come to rest? do stars in the sky sort themselves by what color they shine? how we reduce ourselves by participating in thi

Nabu: I'm actually reneging on him being a trans girl I changed my mind. idk what this guys deal is but I think he's like. heteroflexible

Icy: Mean LesbianTM, not very self-aware about it though

Darcy: Mean BisexualTM, does not feel romantic love, DOES feel romantic hate

Stormy: Dragon AsexualTM, got a touch of the ADHD as well. What is a gender. very panromantic tho imo

Lucy: trans girl, Gay (blanket term) and tbh maybe BPD?

Mirta: literally while writing this post I abruptly started getting powerful transmasc vibes from Mirta. this calls for further research

#winx club #winx #lost planet au

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adam-raki · 7 days

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I wanna have a quick rant about Adam (2009). Yes, there is a TL;DR at the end.

Now, I love this movie. It means a lot to me. It's probably very obvious due to the way that I've dedicated my whole account to it. Still, I think people tend to fundamentally misunderstand this movie - and I wanna talk about it.

Let me first say that it isn't perfect. A better movie would have, for example, employed an autistic actor (despite how much I adore Hugh Dancy's performance) and made various other changes that I will not be bothered to list. Is it a perfect representation of autism? No. But, is there a better representation out there? Personally, I don't think so. It's hard to define what 'good representation' is.

I've actually heard this reviewed as a 'bad' or even the 'worst' autism movie ever, which I think is an unworthy assessment.

A lot of criticism of this movie boils down to people just not relating to Adam's personal experience as an autistic adult - and that's fine. Having autism is such a diverse experience, and I can understand the frustration of the representation being almost exclusively cishet white men who like STEM (trust me, it infuriates me too). Still, some autistic people ARE like Adam, and that's also fine. Some of us don't find his character exaggerated at all (like me, who found the shot of his multiple boxes on cereal in the cupboard painfully relatable). A more varied set of autistic characters need to be seen in cinema... including ones like this.

But, the reason why I have a problem with this movie is also why I love it so much; it's uncomfortable. I haven't re-watched it in so long because it genuinely makes me upset. It's uncomfortable to watch Adam mistaken as a predator and watch the miscommunication between him and Beth (per the "were you excited?" scene and the fakeout where you think he's pestering her for sex, but he just wants to practice for his interview). It's uncomfortable to watch him continually shut down by the people around him. It's uncomfortable to watch him misunderstood, mistreated, and left on his own when his partner couldn't be bothered to understand him. It's raw and a little bit ugly.

Was this what the movie makers were going for? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it really was meant to be a 'pity the autistic' movie for neurotypicals, but I think that would be reducing it to something that it isn't. Yes some of the scenes are jarring to watch. It's less so romantic and comedic than it is awkward and kind of heartbreaking. But maybe that's the point.

Adam 2009 is very much a product of its time. I mean, it's roughly 15 years old now so I wouldn't have expected much. Yet still, it manages to be nuanced, showing the flaws in both sides of Adam's and Beth's relationship and how it ultimately doesn't work out (literally, almost exclusively because of Beth, not Adam).

I'm not telling you if you should or shouldn't like this movie. I happen to really dislike a lot of movies that are praised by viewers and critics. I don't even particuarly find this movie to be all that impressive in the narrative sense - but it hits hard. At least to me, it's the most authetic experience of my own struggles as someone on the spectrum. I hate how accurate it is, and I hate how much I see of myself in Adam sometimes. It's difficult to watch. And I love it.

TL;DR for this - Adam 2009 is flawed as a movie, but many of its facets are misinterpreted as bad representation unduly. I think it's supposed to feel awkward and uncomfortable. Some of us on the spectrum relate to that and good representation can't possibly cover every single autistic experience.

Anyway - if anyone has thoughts on this, I would love to hear them! You don't have to agree with me. Just be nice (or I'll be upset).

#adam 2009 #adam raki #rant

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daughter-of-sapph0 · 1 year

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a question to all terfs:

what is womanhood to you, besides the ability to make babies?

no seriously, I'm curious. are you actually happy being a woman? is there any meaning to your gender? do you feel any actual pride and joy? or is the only thing that defines an entire aspect of your whole personality and life and identity just the fact that you have a womb?

like, you're allowed to be a cis woman and enjoy being a woman. you know that right? so do you? do you actually enjoy being a woman? if so, please name one aspect that doesn't relate to baby making that you like about womanhood. name one. please. because if the only thing you like about being a woman is your ability to pump out babies, you literally see yourself the same way sexist cishet white abusive men see you. and honestly, if you hate yourself that much, you desperately need therapy.

"but woman isn't a feeling! woman isn't a performance! woman isn't blah blah blah" okay then what is it. you spend so much time wrongly saying what being a woman isn't (despite the fact that womanhood is different to literally everyone) that you don't actually have one single thing that being a woman is. what is gender if not your outward expression and how you portrait yourself?

tbh I don't expect a serious answer from people who want to segregate society into two groups (and also say they want to commit genocide against one of the groups) based on a small body part that doesn't even have two distinct versions. imagine if you tried that with any other body part.

"okay, so let's separate society into people with blonde hair and people with brown hair. people with different colored hair don't exist. I say that I want to kill people with brown hair, but actually I'm talking about people who dye their hair. now let's make it require 5 years and 20 doctors if someone wants to dye their hair. and let's also call all people with dyed hair pedophiles and groomers with no evidence and do everything we can to inspire people to commit hate crimes and murder. this is honestly the best way for society to function." that's literally what you freaks sound like.

so please, I'd love to hear your answers to these questions. what is one thing that you love about womanhood that doesn't relate to the process of reproduction? because it seems like that's the only thing you can think of, simply because its what you think separates you from trans women (even though with uterus transplants, it would be possible for trans woman. not to mention the existence of infertile women or women who don't want to have children)

#dostxt #transphobia

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diedraechin · 1 year

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Io has been editing like gangbusters! And actually is indeed almost done with editing the next chapter (reminder, only half of what was going to be the next chapter).

Which means it's time for another sneak peek. I'm thinking: "Yuuri introduces LOVE-ly to Murata and his boyfriend". I was thinking about "Viktor opens his birthday present", but then that would ruin the surprise of what's in the box, and I don't want to be too spoilery in these sneak peeks.

Yuuri gave her a curious look, but Yuuko just waved it off — she didn’t want him worrying about her — so he turned to his friends. “LOVE-ly, you’ve already met Yuu-chan briefly before. This is Murata Akira, silver medalist in Men’s, and…” He paused, since he hadn’t yet met Shiga himself.

“Shiga Ichiro. It’s so very nice to meet you.” Shiga-san bowed quite low while the girls gave him their best cute, media-ready smiles.

“This is Noda Haruka, Yoshida Fumika, Ito Erika, Isobe Satomi, and… Kanon.” Yuuri paused with a frown, digging his toepick into the ice. “I’m not being weird. I’m not supposed to use her last name. I probably should have gone with just first names for everyone, but too late now.”

Laughing, Kanon shook her head and stepped forward. “It’s fine, Yuu-kun.” She looked at the new arrivals, her smile a bit more genuine now. “I just don’t use my last name professionally. It’s very nice to meet you all.” She bowed alongside the rest of the group before looking over at Yuuri. “You’re getting better, Yuu-kun. One day you might actually be good at this.”

Yuuri shook his head. “Where is the bubbly? Keiko told me last night that your personality type was cute and bubbly. I was expecting bubbly.”

Shiga-san stepped forward. “Kanon-chan is cute and bubbly, Katsuki-san, but Kanon-chan also has a secret mysterious side.” His expression was so earnest that Yuuko had to hide her blossoming smile behind her hand. The excitement at meeting some of his favorite idols was definitely evident.

By contrast, Yuuri’s expression was unreadable: he looked straight down at the ice for a second before turning his attention to Kanon. “Is ‘mysterious’ code for ‘skipped a handshake event because you weren’t happy with what the producers did with that one single and decided to fix it yourself’?” he stage-whispered.

“No. It’s code for ‘I don’t use my last name’.” Kanon replied, smiling at him.

Yuuri hummed. “I thought you didn’t use your last name because your mother is the head of a legal department for a multinational.”

Kanon lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “There is that, since my mother was hoping I’d get the modeling and singing nonsense out of my system and settle down and go to university after I graduated from Fukuzawa. But we all know that was never going to happen. So now it’s just ‘mysterious’.” She tilted her head to the side and gave him a small smile. “Don’t you think I’m a little mysterious, Yuu-kun?”

From where she was standing, it was easy for Yuuko to tell that Yuuri was biting the inside of his cheek to try and stop blurting out his initial reaction. “Well, it’s probably a better defining type than just ‘bubbly’. I mean, bubbly? How is ‘bubbly’ at all related to argumentative?” he remarked, forcing Sattan and Erika to hide their giggles behind their respective hands.

Kanon pursed her lips and drew in a deep breath. “I’m argumentative? You’re the one who is so competitive that–”

“Would the two of you stop?” Haruka-chan cut Kanon off, shaking her head before turning to smile at Yuuko. The rest of LOVE-ly were still tittering, but Haruka-chan seemed to be pretending that they weren’t. “Yuu-kun has told us a lot about you, Yuuko-san. It’s very nice to see you again.”

Yuuri groaned. “I hate this sort of small talk, and now I’m no longer allowed to argue with Kanon-chan about what exactly makes her 'mysterious' because No-chan says so. I’d rather skate and leave you all to talk or whatever, so that is what I’m going to do. No-chan, if you all wanted to be super nice to me since I’m doing you a favor… Shiga-san might like a photo or autograph or something. You know, idol-y things. じゃあね。(Ja ne)” Yuuri took off before anyone could say something to stop him, skating straight for the far end of the rink.

However, Kanon apparently had one more thing to say, leaning forward onto her toes and calling out at a volume that Yuuri couldn’t hope to miss, “Does anyone have a one hundred yen coin? I need to test a hypothesis.” This sent Yuuri spinning on his skates to stare at the lot of them, his face suddenly an astonishing shade of crimson.

#bysoti(d)#bear your soul on the ice #sassy writes #these chapters are filled with idol nonsense #there's also some Yuuko and Takeshi stuff #And of course what is Viktor's birthday present and what does he think of it #But for now enjoy idol nonsense #and the 100 yen question #and mom-friend Haruka #there's actually a lot of fallout/Viktor stuff #but again that would be the spoilery stuff #this scene is just nonsense and silly

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anthraxplus · 9 months

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the cultural phenomenon of barbenheimer has taken over my mind

i did barbenheimer with a friend yesterday and it really got me thinking.

first off - it was so weird having my local theatre be so busy. it's usually the theatre you can bet on being able to sneak anything into, and while we still definitely did sneak in a buttload of snacks, they had people actively waiting in the wings as ticket checkers. so it kinda sucked that we couldn't just do the whole thing for free. but that's a bit beside the point. the theatre was the busiest ive seen it in nearly 10 years. and i'm not gonna lie, seeing a "cultural event" happen in front of me was more jarring for that reason. and as the day went on, that image in my head stuck with me. the image that all these people showed up to watch barbie and oppenheimer.

we saw oppenheimer first, in a nearly empty theatre. we sorta did this by design - we started at 10am and picked oppenheimer first because less people would choose to be that insane. i was high and trying to get myself into an impartial mindset (even though i didn't think i would end up liking it). and i think all i should really say about oppenheimer is that it's 3 nearly endless hours that doesnt give anyone any time to breathe and ends up saying a bunch of confusing, disappointing, and outright false things. seriously, the amount of times the movie brushes off the fucking truth of the situation is absolutely disgusting. obligatory linking of shaun's video on hiroshima and nagasaki. i think everyone in the movie should be forced to answer why theyre proud of making 3 hour bland ass shit boring nuclear bomb apologia. this isn't even getting into how the famous oppenheimer quote is introduced by a manic pixie dream girl (who in reality was a stanford graduate and psychiatrist, neither of which i believe are ever touched on or expanded in the film) who hops off his dick mid-fuck, walks over to a bookshelf, picks the bhagavad gita off the shelf, opens it to the exact page and verse of the famous quote, asks him to read, and slides back on his dick between "now i am become death" and "destroyer of worlds." this movie released to critical acclaim. some are calling it a masterpiece.

after some burritos for lunch, my friend and i went to barbie. this was a packed theatre and mostly everyone was wearing pink. the red in my hair has faded to a pink, so i felt like i was part of something. kinda. anyway. some little kids were loud in the front but it wasnt much of an issue. i kept thinking of them whenever the movie would say something about the struggle to find identity in a world that hates you no matter what you do. did those little children listen to margot robbie say that she doesnt have a vagina? did they parse that? it was a great movie, if a bit scattershot. it shouldve been longer, if only to fully flesh out a couple ideas and help the movie feel a little less cramped. but they would never make a 2.5 (let alone 3) hour barbie movie that talks about not just what it means to be a woman, but what it means to be human in a world that is so often contradictory hostile and praising of you. what happens when the Other we defined ourselves by isn't static? do we become different as well in relation to them? do we stay the same? do we do both? what are women supposed to do in the world when everything they do is wrong but they're never allowed to stop doing anything? how do men develop their own identity when they are so often raised into mindsets where their individuality is replaced by similarly contradictory standards and a definition that only exists in relation to women? what did ken mean when he said he had "all the genitals?" barbie is far from perfect, but it manages to ask more honest and thought provoking questions (and offers its own interesting answers) about the nature of reality than oppenheimer does.

i'm struck by the dichotomy on display here. barbie may be the more financially successful of the two films, but it is not treated the same critically. for all barbie says, it seems to get overlooked for its (still impressive) design and acting. its metacommentary is mentioned but never discussed. its "witty meta humor" is listed as a huge selling point. oppenheimer, in contrast, is a vain and shallow film that says nothing and looks somewhat cool doing it. i wonder if there are any parallels here.

i worry for what this means for movies. a nearly empty theatre for a self-important movie that lists itself as its reason for existing is treated as if it says anything at all, and a packed theatre for a movie with a script similarly packed with commentary on our very state of being gets boiled down to "cute sets and witty banter." what did the audience members take from their barbenheimer experience? my area is not very progressive, and in my experience not very invested in growth of any kind. when america ferrera delivers one of the many theses of barbie in a tear-inducing frustrated monologue on how she's never seen as good enough no matter what she does, did the audience members feel seen? did they feel understood? or did they want her to stop talking so they could go back to looking at the cool barbie dream houses? when oppenheimer breezes through the discussion of which innocent cities to burn in an unholy fire with all the tact and deliberation a group of friends has when deciding where to have lunch, did the audience feel slighted? disgusted? or did they just want to see einstein on screen again like he's an iron man cameo?

i dont know where we go from here. it feels like a tipping point for what we want from movies, and i'm not sure audiences learned anything from the past 10 to 15 years of set-ups, tie-ins, and spin-offs. i want to believe something will come of the fact that so many people are seeing barbie. maybe, hopefully, something in it sticks with people and inspires some sort of change. just the smallest amount of evolution. right now i too feel like barbie when she sits in a park and looks around at everything the human experience has to offer, and starts crying from both joy and sorrow. a woman who is so often seen as disposable and empty understands the human condition in a way she cant express, and is overwhelmed by the crushing beauty and fragility it all rests upon. she is a human before she knows she is. she doesnt know who she is, but she knows she still Is. existence is confusing and no one knows what to do about it, and the least we could do is support each other as we figure out who we've always been. i hope this is what sticks with people instead of some half-audible dialogue about how hiroshima and nagasaki were justified. time will tell, though.

#more like 'i am beCUM death' am i right?

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peachie-kittie · 1 year

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So.

I have thoughts.

Sex and gender and transphobia.

Cw for talks of like- biological sex, in case that would cause dysphoria for anybody. The practice of shaving. Transphobia. TERF talk. Keep yourselves safe. 💕 also jsyk I will be speaking from a western, cis standpoint. PLEASE don't take my word anywhere near the final say.

Also, I'm not sure if this is quite a debate post - I don't doubt it may cause discourse if it blows up. Just me sharing thoughts on shit.

God I don't know where to start??? I guess the easiest part would be giving a brief overview of the goal of terf ideology for anyone who doesn't know like- the basic basics.

The simplest terms I can define it as is the belief that gender is totally made up (understandable) and the current patriarchal uses gender standards to uphold harmful standards (specifically for women) and it should be totally dismantled, along with the systems that support it, so men and women are on equal playing fields.

Neat take. Don't hate it. Dare I say it - sounds progressive.

Something to note before continuing on - terfs say they do not "see" gender. Since they believe gender is completely made up, they choose to see things strictly in regards to sex.

I'm not stating this is a good or bad thing yet - just making note of it. The reason why, I feel, a lot of the arguments go nowhere is because terfs and non-terfs usually have this crucial divide in thinking where one see themselves as gender-blind while the other acknowledges it. Like- terfs will acknowledge gender the same way you might acknowledge a bird flying overhead. Ranging from mild (if not uninterested) amusement, to apathy, or even disgust if you hate birds (or in terfs case, gender as a concept). Sorry if that's a weird comparison it's the first one that came to mind

Okay. That aside.

With this, we can start to understand their viewpoint. Since terfs only "see" sex, and there in society, there are two main sexes considered - male and female - one is the oppressor class of the patriarchy (male) and one is the oppressed class, the victims (female).

Another aside here - this is more a theory than anything, but I believe most terfs see misogyny as strictly hating women. A lot of people I know personally, however, would define it more as the hatred of "feminine" actions/things/labels. Since the female body is feminized (WHICH I DON'T THINK IS A GOOD THING, I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY), anyone with female anatomy falls under that in current society.

Okay, before continuing on any further, I wanna define some things - like. A common right-wing argument in general is "how can gender both be intrinsic and a social influence at the same time??"

So here. My personal understanding of these things.

Gender: Someone's natural lean towards what may be considered fem, masc, and/or androgynous labels/actions/presentation in modern society. In this specific definition, I'm leaning towards labels as gender expression is labeled two paragraphs down. Fluidity in identity varies from person-to-person, and SOME peoples' identities MAY be influenced by outside sources, although it seems uncommon. (Often relating to xenogenders, which is not the primary focus here).

Biological sex: The biological traits you are born with - most frequently, these traits are vulva, breasts, and a uterus + ovaries for AFAB bodies and testes + a penis for AMAB bodies. In my opinion, sex should be COMPLETELY NEUTRAL. Being of one sex doesn't make you inherently more feminine/masculine than someone else.

Gender expression/presentation: This is a tricky subject. The easiest way to describe it is someone's external presentation of their "gender" - whether it "contradicts" the label they've chosen or goes with it! It is not a requirement for someone to dress/act the way their gender's lean is "supposed too" (HEAVY QUOTES THERE) for them to be valid!

Gender/sex roles: The (often harmful) expectations set upon us as people by higher society - and admittedly, the patriarchy quite frequently - to act in the way our sex determines we do to be a "successful man/woman". I gave two parts here as I believe there is good in separating the two.

Sex roles - Any stereotype that can be attributed to reproduction, sexual habits, libido, and "roles" during the act.

Gender roles - Anything that isn't those things, for the most part. Of course, there is some overlap - "boys will be boys" can be used both in the context of boys being called "natural roughhousers" when getting into a fight in elementary school and when a teenage guy sexually harrasses a peer - but it isn't always one in the same.

Another thing I wanna make clear now is how I feel about gender and gender labels and just- things being considered feminine and masculine and androgynous.

I do not believe that it is inherently bad for certain things to be labeled certain ways. With the exception of the human sexes, because those are just bodies we were born into, I do not think it is inherently harmful for certain products or words to have a gendered leaning.

With that said, since gender and gender expression vary widely, we should allow room for multiple interpretations of the word. For example, what I would consider a generally satisfactory description of the word woman below:

"A term most frequently used by those who prefer/don't mind feminine gender expression, although it doesn't exclude those who prefer gnc or masculine expressions"

And vice versa for the word "man".

And for non-binary identities, it would be something alone the lines of "a label used by those who prefer either a mix of multiple gender expressions or wish to totally disconnect; this varies widely, and some may present traditionally masc/fem for a plethora of reasons"

Also, to any terfs who may be happen to be reading this post: surprised you're all the way down here - if it isn't obvious I don't believe that woman = female. Leaving it at that.

Anyway.

So. What was- all of that??? Why did I type all that bullshit out???

So, let's just start with the idea that started this whole fucking post:

A post that essentially said terf ideology boils down to terfs think they know you better than you do.

And like- I can't really disagree but there is some fucked up nuance there. Like, yknow when someone you don't usually like makes a good point?? That's what terf beliefs can feel like - especially if you don't have the mind to really pick apart what's being said.

In the comments of the post I mentioned I saw a lot of things from terfs that essentially said:

"Not really lol we just want people to critically examine their thoughts and the structures around them"

And therein lies the interesting, progressive part. I won't lie - it is crucial that we do encourage meta-cognition (I believe that's the term, anyhow). Analyzing the reason why we believe things, why we want certain things, and why we are the way we are is DEEPLY important, especially in a society where values are often shallow and/or patriarchal in nature.

Hell, dare I say, I believe it's important that people introspect upon their feelings regarding things like femininity, masculinity, and androgynous expressions as there are tight standards to them that deserve to be broken out of. Moreover. those who abide by traditional roles willingly should be cautious as to not accidentally shame others who may differ from said expression.

But then the issue is, how much introspection is necessary?? What is the goalpost??

Speaking from the perspective of someone with OCD - sometimes things or people just...are. There isn't always some secret underlying disease, motive, or influence. Like, literally, gonna be real, you know how with intrusive thoughts they're just Fucking Thoughts™? I think some aspects of identity are Like That™. We don't need to nail every reason we have for doing or feeling a certain way.

And even if there is, that doesn't inherently make the person bad or like- invalid. Like, example: people who prefer women without a lot body hair may have gotten that preference from society, sure, but if they are actively fighting against natural beauty-standards and don't shame women for NOT shaving, then it's not a fucking issue.

Let me say that again

An individual having a preference that was influenced and/or that happens to line up with societal expectations (whether or not it has the potential to cause harm) does not matter if-

They are AWARE that said preference may have been instilled in them/CAN be harmful, not WILL BE.

If said preference has been harmful, they are careful not to push it on others and (preferrably) are actively fighting AGAINST THE NORMALIZATION OF SAID HARM. Like, going back to the shaving thing - shaving itself isn't fun per se, and ofc it can cause the occasional nick or ingrown hair. But other than that, the act of shaving isn't the issue - it's the glamorization/idealization of the hairless female body. But I feel like, in an alternate world where the female body wasn't sexualized, the preference wouldn't be an issue or talking point at all. Of course theoreticals can only go so far, but still - individuals having a preference isn't harmful in itself unless they are PUSHING IT ON OTHERS.

And that, if in a relationship with someone, they will not try to manipulate or be shitty towards the person if they don't shave. And if they do shave, good foe both of 'em!

I remember this one kind of late too but like- I think about another post I saw where a terf went on a whole rant about how like, everytime a woman shaves and another woman sees, it's essentially that woman contributing to The Patriarchy™ and turning against women to hurt them, which??? Like I understand there is a lot of nuance but the general takeaway is woahhhhh you're saying that women who shave can't wear short clothes or the endorsing the patriarchy. Kinda sounds shitty if I'm being real - like, I get that individuals contribute and all but there's only so much you CANT contribute to such stereotypes in the west. There are so fucking many.

Point is that a lot of terf arguments, while progressive in theory, often do kind of have this "I know you better than you do yourself" air to them and they hide it well underneath the disguise of "meta-cognitive thinking".

How this relates to trans individuals should be obvious - it's essentially the belief of "I actually know what labels you ARE/ehat you PREFER you're just acting otherwise for x/y/z reasons"

For trans masc people, it often boils down to "you want the power of your oppressors". Which...oh boy. Like, again, understand the logic - but I don't think other people who have lived the percieved-woman-experience (esp. if they're transitioned in late teens/adult years, when they've probably had years of BS under their belt) would want to do actively hurt women. And that's not to mention the idea that it strips autonomy away from trans masc folk about their own minds. Of course, with younger trans masc folk, I do believe it is important that we do take some precaution - I'm not saying we misgender or deadname if they have chosen a new name/pronouns-

DO NOT DO THAT. IT WON'T DO ANYTHING EXCEPT STRIP AWAY THEIR AUTONOMY WHICH WE'VE ESTABLISHED IS NOT FUCKING GOOD FOR THEM.

But just discuss why they feel the way they do. It's a very fine balancing act and one that deserves a conversation, but not one that I feel super qualified to talk much about in-depth. I just know that misgendering snd desdnaming a young teen (no matter if they turn out cis or trans) is not. cool.

And as for trans fem folk?? Oh boy. The rhetoric is "entitled men want access to female spaces to harm them".

So lemme say this-

Do we earnestly believe in a society like this, where the Patriarchy™ (that thing terfs love to talk about) is super strict about the pigeonholes men have to be in to fulfill the role of being a True Man™ would allow for trans women to safely be in a male space? In a society that encourages blithely ignorant harassment at best and excuses (sometimes exual) violence at worst, do you earnestly believe a trans woman (unless they are still in the closet socially/dressed in abmasculine way that makes them look cis) could enter and exit a male restroom or locker room with guaranteed safety??

I'll give you a hint; the answer is no. And before someone leaves a remark about explaining they may just be cross-dressing or doing drag, don't forget that those practices are also being criminalized.

Not to mention the very real argument of "woman's spaces" not exactly like - fucking guarded. Unless it's a prison, psych ward, or shelter, but then those require more conversation!! Bathrooms arguably would be better guarded if they could be bigger with sinks in each stall! And the thing is-

No matter the sex or gender of somebody, you can always take them to court if they assault you. And before I hear some shit about "male privelege", I want to remind you that trans people are, in general, subject to higher rates of violence than cis people. I think to trans woman to court would not only work out in the cis woman's favor, but also end up becoming a big hit that ends up in another terf list of the shitty people who happened to be trans women.

I have so much more I wanna say but this is already a million years long. I might make a few more posts bc I've been ruminating (OCD's a cunt but at least I get times to think things through, like the terfs like) on this shit. And yknow what??

Trans rights babey!!!

Have a good day - and to my trans siblings, friends, and my lover if you happen to read all this shit-

Stay safe. You deserve to be happy. 💕🪷🏳️‍⚧️

#important #trans pride #transgender #trans rights #trans safety #tw transphobia #tw transandrophobia #tw transmisogyny #tw sex mention #tw dysphoria #hsbsbsbs i hope this was good!!#tw terfs #love yall 💕

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