#and they bring their own political beliefs into the conversation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

communistkenobi · 1 year

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this might make me sound ignorant but is the radfem part of term not about hating men? they hate trans people, they hate men and they view both as predatory, obviously men are not their primary targets but I feel like it would be incorrect to say that they don't hate men, especially since many of them believe in gender separatism (which is bs for numerous reasons). it's wrong to bring up men every time someone talks about the transmisogyny terfs spew bc that would be derailing the conversation but can men (trans/cis/whatever) not express how they've been hurt by terfs in their own posts or conversations? apologies if ive completely misinterpreted what you were saying I just want to understand the topic better

I’m not disputing that terfs hate men. However, I think it’s an error to highlight their hatred of men as ideologically significant. Sure they talk about hating men, but their political alliances reveal that dismantling patriarchy, or a desire to oppress men, is not a concern for them, given that they support the criminalisation of sex work, the state enforcement of sex as biologically determined, and are allied with the same right wing groups (such as the Heritage Foundation in the US) that want to criminalise abortion and reinstate “traditional” white western gender norms. If you view terf political goals through the lens of hating men, then their political efforts have overwhelmingly been a massive failure. Which I don’t think is very useful analysis!

A hatred of men is also not politically useful in general, because there is no money to be made or political battles to be won hating men. Hatred of men is not a systemic issue because men are not oppressed as a social group on the basis of their manhood. There is no political or financial infrastructure built on the foundation of hating men, nor is there infrastructure dedicated to maintaining a systemic hatred of men. Hating trans people, however, is extremely financially and politically lucrative, particularly hatred of trans women/transfems, because of how transphobia and misogyny intersect with and reinforce one another. There are ample political, financial, medical, and social institutions that operate on the maintenance of patriarchy, many of which terfs share a political platform with. So terf hatred of men is clearly not that big a deal given how willing they are to ally with right wing groups and fascists, who are the last people on earth to tolerate the oppression of men as a political goal.

This is why people (myself included) take umbrage with the continued insistence that terfs hate men as a central foundation of their beliefs. It’s not incorrect to say that they hate men, but hating men is not the problem with terfs. Hatred of men is not an inherently reactionary position anymore than hating cis people is. The problem is the way terfs conceptualise gender, and the political goals that flow from that conceptualisation, which affects all trans people but primarily affect trans women/transfems. The spectre they raise about bathrooms, about sports, is always the age-old transmisogynistic conspiracy of “a man in a dress” “invading women’s spaces” because the historical legacy of transmisogyny looms large in public consciousness, and reinforced by medical/psychiatric institutions in particular, in a way that hatred and fear of trans men does not (autogynephilia exists as a mental illness but autophallophilia does not, for example. Julia Serrano talks about this in Whipping Girl if you want to read more on the subject). Terfs don’t care about trans men in men’s sports, they don’t raise the counter-spectre of trans men being mass assaulted in bathrooms by cis men who discover that they’re “really women” - these are not rhetorical moves that are interesting or useful to them, because it does not position them as victims. Trans men are hurt by their transphobic rhetoric, suffer under transphobic laws that are passed, and face transphobic discrimination from people in their lives as a result of how mainstream transphobia is (and I am speaking from significant and traumatic personal experience on this front). We are not, however, the face of the transgender boogeyman, and we are not the primary target of terfs. We are targets because we are trans, not because we are men. To be dismissive of the claim that terfs hate men is not a dismissal of the pain and violence transmascs go through, because our oppression is not founded on our manhood.

So when you see terf political efforts and terf rhetoric, their obsessive focus on trans women as arch villains who need to be destroyed, and you come to the conclusion that a hatred of men is the animating force behind terf political activity - that is a transmisogynistic conclusion, both because you are framing their transmisogyny as something that is primarily informed by a hatred of men, and because “terfs hate men” is a non-sequitur in discussions about the political and social damage that their beliefs cause. If terfs hate men, they do so as a hobby, and I don’t really give a fuck about their hobbies

#asks #even old new york was once new amsterdam #transmisogyny tw #transphobia tw #book club #I haven’t read all of whipping girl btw just excerpts #I need to read it though lol. I’ll add it to the pile #note hell #effortpost

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lvrdrafts · 9 months

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Rescued by Love Part 2

★ Summary: Your brother Steve always hated you after your mother's death and when he finally gets the family's empire he is ready to sell you off to some toxic marriage but will the knight and shining armor save you or make it worse?

★ Pairing: Bucky x f!Reader

★ Warnings: Arranged Marriage

★ Genre: Angst/ Fluff

Masterlist

The prospect of an arranged marriage had always seemed like a relic of the past, something that belonged to a different era. Yet here you were, facing this reality head-on as you prepared to meet the parents of the man you were about to marry – Bucky Barnes.

At first you were very nervous meeting them but as the conversations flowed, you found yourself laughing at Mr. Barnes' witty anecdotes, and Mrs. Barnes even shared a few embarrassing stories about Bucky's childhood. The tension that once hung in the air seemed to dissipate, and for a while, you allowed yourself to believe that things were changing for the better.

As dessert was served, Bucky's father leaned back in his chair, a contented smile on his face. "I must admit, I'm surprised. You've managed to bring a certain charm to this place. I can't believe Bucky was able to find someone" he says and you laugh.

"I'm just happy my son brought a decent girl to marry." Bucky's mother says with a smile. With all these compliments you felt as if this arranged marriage wouldn't be that bad.

After some time, you excused yourself to use the bathroom, a small smile playing on your lips as you left the room. As you walked back, your footsteps light, you couldn't help but overhear a conversation that left you frozen in place.

"You know," Bucky's mother voice was hushed but still audible, "She's charming, but not exactly what I expected"

Bucky's father's response was just as cutting, "Well, she may not be that pretty, but if she can bring us a lot of heirs, that should make up for it."

Your heart sank, the weight of their words pressing down on you like a heavy stone. The moment shattered the illusion you had dared to hold onto, the belief that you were making progress in winning their approval. And then, Bucky's voice, his tone almost resigned, "I'm marrying her because of necessity, not because of her looks."

Tears stung at your eyes as you grappled with the realization that the warmth and acceptance you had felt might have been nothing more than a facade. The hurt cut deep, and you struggled to hold back the wave of emotions threatening to overwhelm you.

You took a deep breath, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, and pushed open the door. Entering the room, you did your best to compose yourself, your emotions hidden behind a practiced smile. "I hope I didn't miss anything important."

Bucky's parents exchanged glances, their expressions revealing nothing of the conversation you had inadvertently overheard. "Of course not, dear" Bucky's mother replied, her smile almost too sweet.

And so, you resumed your place at the table, the weight of their words heavy on your heart. You engaged in the conversation, playing your part in the façade, all the while feeling the distance between you and the family grow.

As the evening drew to a close, you exchanged polite goodbyes, a sense of emptiness settling within you. The illusion of acceptance had been shattered, and you were left to grapple with the reality of their expectations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After the whirlwind evening at the Barnes estate, marked by both fleeting warmth and heartbreaking revelations, the days that followed were a blur. The weight of impending changes hung over you like a storm cloud as you and Bucky moved forward with the marriage arrangements. The papers were signed, sealing your fate within this complicated alliance.

A few days later, you found yourself standing in your own home, surrounded by half-packed boxes. The reality of leaving your life behind to move into Bucky's home felt like an overwhelming prospect. You folded a shirt, your mind wandering between thoughts of the past and apprehensions about the future.

And yet, the past was a shadow that refused to fade. Every item you folded seemed to hold memories – memories of the years you spent with Steve a man who had harbored resentment for as long as you could remember.

While in your thoughts you hear footsteps and you turn around to see the man himself. "I'm happy you're leaving. Maybe now I can finally have some peace" Steve's voice, filled with bitterness, echoed in your mind as you folded a cherished sweater.

Tears fell onto the fabric, as if your sorrow had seeped into every fiber. The weight of his words pressed heavily on your chest, and it felt like you were carrying the weight of his blame as you placed the sweater in the suitcase.

"This is a blessing in disguise – well, for me, really. At least I won't have to see your face around here anymore." Steve says chuckling at the sight of your tears.

The words struck like a dagger, reopening wounds that had never truly healed. "Steve, I didn't ask for any of this. I lost her too, and I've carried that pain with me every day."

He scoffed, his eyes narrowing in disdain. "You think your life is hard, well its not harder then mine. You may have lost her, but you didn't suffer like I did. You didn't have to watch her die."

Tears spilled down your cheeks as you struggled to contain your emotions. "Well at least you didn't lose your mother, and your brother you asshole!" you scream.

Steve looks at you with no emotion and you can't see if you hurt him that badly or he just doesn't care that much. "Get the fuck out of my house and I don't want to see you again" Steve says walking away.

As he walked away, you took a deep breath, trying to steady your trembling hands. The room felt emptier now, your belongings neatly packed and ready to leave behind the pain and resentment that had defined your relationship with Steve.

Taglist:

@cjand10 @blackwood-bodecker-housewife @marvel-ous-miss-maisie @hereticdance @kentokaze @bruher @tupperwarefullofdirt

#bucky x reader angst #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #winter soldier x reader #winter soldier x reader angst #bucky x reader fluff #bucky barnes x reader angst #mob bucky x reader #mob bucky x reader angst

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princess-sof-time · 10 months

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Hi I Can Ask Marinette, Adrien, Felix, Luka, Alya And Kyoko With A Male S/O Using Their Miraculous.

How would they react to the fact that the transformation left a very provocative costume leaving a good part of the skin exposed?

How would they deal with the fact that the S/O is much more skilled and stronger when using the Miraculous than they are, to the point of being able to use it infinite times without detransforming?

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ──────

🄼🄰🅁🄸🄽🄴🅃🅃🄴 🄳🅄🄿🄰🄸🄽-🄲🄷🄴🄽🄶

• Marinette, known for her fashion-conscious nature, would indeed be initially taken aback by the revealing costume that her male S/O's transformation creates. As a designer and someone who pays attention to modesty and practicality, she might feel a mix of surprise and concern regarding the outfit's suitability for crime-fighting. The revealing nature of the costume might not align with Marinette's sense of fashion and her desire to create outfits that are both stylish and functional.

• However, being a compassionate and open-minded person, Marinette would quickly remind herself that the transformation and the resulting costume are a direct consequence of the Miraculous powers. She would understand that her S/O doesn't have control over the design and appearance of the costume, and she wouldn't judge them solely based on their outward appearance. Marinette would recognize that their true value lies in their actions, character, and the virtues they display while using their Miraculous.

• Marinette would take the opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with her S/O about their feelings regarding the costume. She would assure them that she understands their concerns and that she values their comfort and well-being. Together, they would brainstorm ideas to modify and improve the costume, finding ways to make it more practical, functional, and aligned with their personal preferences.

• Furthermore, when Marinette realizes that her S/O is more skilled and stronger with the Miraculous than she is, she might initially experience a sense of inadequacy. As a determined and ambitious individual, she might question her own abilities and feel a tinge of self-doubt. However, Marinette's innate strength lies in her resilience and ability to turn challenges into opportunities for growth.

• Rather than being intimidated or threatened by her S/O's skills, Marinette would choose to embrace their strengths and view it as a chance to learn from them. She would recognize the potential for their partnership to become even more effective and powerful with their combined abilities. Marinette's dedication to justice and her sense of responsibility would motivate her to support her S/O in any way she can.

• Marinette would actively collaborate with her S/O, pooling their strengths and expertise to develop new strategies, tools, and gadgets that can enhance their crime-fighting efforts. She would involve herself deeply in their training, seeking to improve her own skills while also providing a supportive and encouraging environment for her S/O to flourish. Together, they would become a formidable team, combining their unique talents and perspectives to protect their city.

• Throughout their journey, Marinette's unwavering belief in the power of teamwork and her dedication to upholding justice would shine through. She would continuously inspire and uplift her S/O, appreciating the growth they bring to the table and reminding them of their importance in their shared mission.

• In the end, Marinette's willingness to adapt, learn, and support her S/O would not only strengthen their relationship but also lead to even greater achievements in their fight against evil.

🄰🄳🅁🄸🄴🄽 🄰🄶🅁🄴🅂🅃🄴

• Adrien, renowned for his reserved and polite demeanor, would undoubtedly be taken by surprise when confronted with the revealing costume his male S/O's transformation creates. As a fashion-conscious individual himself, he would find it challenging to reconcile the provocative nature of the outfit with his own modest and refined style. The sudden contrast might momentarily cause Adrien to feel self-conscious and uncertain about how to react.

• However, Adrien's compassionate and understanding nature would quickly prevail as he reminds himself that the costume is simply a consequence of the Miraculous' powers and not a reflection of his S/O's character. He would actively choose to focus on the person behind the costume, valuing their bravery, dedication, and selflessness as a hero. Adrien would see beyond the superficial appearance and recognize that his S/O's true worth lies in their actions and the goodness of their heart.

• Upon discovering that his S/O is more skilled and powerful with the Miraculous, Adrien would experience a mix of surprise, admiration, and perhaps a slight blow to his ego. As someone who has trained extensively to become a competent hero, it may initially challenge his perception of himself and his abilities. However, Adrien's kind and supportive nature would swiftly override any negative feelings, and he would wholeheartedly embrace his S/O's prowess.

• Rather than feeling threatened or jealous, Adrien would view his S/O's enhanced abilities as a valuable asset to their partnership and the entire team. He would find genuine joy and excitement in learning from their expertise, appreciating the opportunity to grow as a hero alongside them. Adrien's innate humility would enable him to set aside any ego-driven concerns and prioritize his S/O's success and well-being during their heroic endeavors.

• Adrien's admiration for his S/O's abilities would shine through his unwavering encouragement and support. He would be their biggest cheerleader, always celebrating their achievements and providing a constant source of motivation. Adrien's eagerness to learn from their skills and experiences would create a strong bond of trust and collaboration between them. Together, they would explore new strategies, combining their unique perspectives and strengths to devise effective plans.

• Adrien's dedication to his S/O's safety and well-being would be unwavering. He would go above and beyond to ensure their protection during missions, always keeping a watchful eye and stepping in whenever necessary. Adrien's natural instinct to prioritize the needs of others would extend to his S/O, fostering an environment of trust and dependability.

• In the end, Adrien's growth as a hero and as a person would be shaped by his S/O's influence. Their partnership would become a source of inspiration for both of them, allowing them to exceed their individual limits and achieve greater heights together. Adrien's kind-hearted nature, coupled with his willingness to learn and support his S/O, would make their bond unbreakable and their heroics all the more impactful.

🄵🄴🄻🄸🅇 🄵🄰🅃🄷🄾🄼

• Felix, known for his reserved and serious demeanor, would indeed be visibly taken aback by the provocative costume that his male S/O's transformation creates. As someone who values propriety and modesty, he would find it challenging to accept the revealing nature of the outfit. Felix might struggle to conceal his discomfort, his stoic facade briefly faltering as he grapples with the unexpected nature of the transformation.

• However, as Felix grows closer to his S/O and witnesses their heroic efforts firsthand, he would gradually come to understand that appearances are not everything. He would begin to appreciate their bravery, dedication, and the selflessness with which they approach their role as a hero. Felix would realize that their actions and intentions matter more than their attire, and he would shift his focus to what truly defines them as a person.

• In time, Felix would learn to look beyond the costume and see the virtues that lie within his S/O. He would appreciate their unwavering commitment to protecting others, recognizing that their strength and bravery come from within, rather than the clothing they wear. Felix's perception would evolve, allowing him to value their character and the sacrifices they make to keep their city safe.

• Discovering that his S/O is more skilled and powerful with the Miraculous might trigger a mix of emotions in Felix. On one hand, his competitive nature might ignite a sense of rivalry or even a tinge of inadequacy. As someone who takes pride in his own abilities, it could be challenging for him to accept that his S/O surpasses him in certain aspects.

• However, Felix's admiration for their abilities would gradually overshadow any negative feelings. He would come to appreciate their talents and the unique strengths they bring to the team. Felix would recognize that the success of their missions relies on collaboration and a shared goal rather than individual achievements. He would find solace in focusing on his own unique strengths and contributions, knowing that he has an important role to play in their partnership.

• Although Felix might be reserved in expressing his admiration and support, he would quietly learn from his S/O's expertise. He would observe their techniques, strategies, and decision-making, seeking to improve his own skills through their example. Felix would work alongside them, ensuring the safety and success of their missions, using their differences as a way to complement and strengthen their teamwork.

• While he may not openly express his admiration, Felix's actions would speak volumes. He would prioritize their well-being and lend his unwavering support, even if it means taking a step back and letting his S/O take the lead. Felix's steadfast dedication and determination to protect their city would align with his S/O's own resolve, forging a powerful and effective partnership.

• In the end, Felix's growth and acceptance would not only strengthen his bond with his S/O but also contribute to their shared success as heroes. Together, they would overcome obstacles, learn from one another, and ultimately inspire those around them with their unwavering commitment to justice.

🄻🅄🄺🄰 🄲🄾🅄🄵🄵🄰🄸🄽🄴

• Luka, known for his calm and empathetic nature, would readily accept the provocative costume that his male S/O's transformation creates. Understanding that it is a direct result of the Miraculous' powers, Luka would see beyond the outfit and perceive the true character and intentions of his S/O. He would be quick to offer reassurance and emotional support, reminding them that their worth extends far beyond their appearance and lies in their actions and the goodness in their heart.

• Luka's unwavering belief in the power of inner beauty and the strength of one's character would help him navigate any initial surprise or discomfort caused by the revealing costume. He would prioritize understanding and appreciating his S/O for who they truly are, rather than judging them based on their outward appearance. Luka would remind his S/O that their actions as a hero, their selflessness, and their determination to protect others are what truly define them.

• Discovering that his S/O is more skilled and powerful with the Miraculous than he is would genuinely impress and inspire Luka. He would feel a deep sense of pride in his S/O's abilities and strengths, recognizing them as an inspiration and a valuable asset to their crime-fighting team. Instead of feeling threatened or insecure about his own capabilities, Luka would embrace the opportunity to learn from his S/O and grow alongside them.

• Luka's genuine humility and open-mindedness would enable him to appreciate his S/O's guidance and expertise in using the Miraculous effectively. He would eagerly seek their advice and willingly incorporate their insights into their crime-fighting strategies. Luka's receptive nature and genuine enthusiasm for learning would create a harmonious dynamic where they both benefit from each other's knowledge and experience.

• O apoio de Luka a seu S/O seria inabalável. Ele os animaria de todo o coração e celebraria suas conquistas, reconhecendo que seu sucesso contribui para um bem maior. O incentivo gentil de Luka e a crença inabalável nas habilidades de seu S/O criariam um ambiente de confiança e confiança, permitindo que eles prosperassem como uma equipe.

• In the face of any challenges or setbacks, Luka would be a pillar of support, offering his understanding and empathy. He would be there to provide emotional reassurance and comfort, reminding his S/O that their worth goes beyond their skills and achievements. Luka's calming presence and empathetic nature would help alleviate any pressure or self-doubt they may feel, allowing them to regain their focus and continue their heroic journey.

• Ultimately, Luka's relationship with his S/O would be characterized by a deep sense of mutual respect, admiration, and growth. Their bond would strengthen as they face challenges together, with Luka's gentle nature and unwavering support serving as a foundation for their shared experiences. Together, they would form an unstoppable team, embodying the true essence of heroism and making a positive impact on the world around them.

🄰🄻🅈🄰 🄲🄴🅂🄰🄸🅁🄴

• Alya, known for her insatiable curiosity and adventurous spirit, would undoubtedly have an initial reaction of excitement and fascination towards the provocative costume that her male S/O's transformation creates. As someone with a keen eye for fashion and a love for all things unique and eye-catching, Alya would appreciate the boldness and individuality of the outfit. She would recognize its potential to capture attention and spark conversations, making her S/O stand out among other heroes.

• However, being a responsible journalist and a carin girlfriend, Alya's enthusiasm would be tempered by her practicality and concern for her S/O's well-being. She would consider the practicality and safety of the costume, ensuring that it allows for ease of movement and protects her S/O during their crime-fighting activities. Alya would collaborate with her S/O to make any necessary modifications or enhancements to the outfit, ensuring their comfort and security while still maintaining its unique appeal.

• Discovering that her male S/O is more skilled and powerful with the Miraculous than she is would initially surprise Alya. However, being the supportive and encouraging friend that she is, Alya would quickly recognize and appreciate the value in their abilities. Rather than feeling threatened or jealous, she would enthusiastically cheer for her S/O, genuinely proud of their accomplishments and talents. Alya's natural curiosity would kick in, and she would seize the opportunity to learn from her S/O, eagerly seeking their guidance and expertise in using the Miraculous effectively. She would see their partnership as a chance for mutual growth, viewing it as a collaborative effort where they can share their knowledge and experiences to become even more formidable heroes.

• As the owner of the Ladyblog, Alya would also use her platform to showcase and celebrate her S/O's incredible talent. She would document their heroic journey, highlighting their achievements, and sharing their stories with the world. Alya's passion for journalism and her commitment to truth and justice would drive her to create impactful and inspiring content that not only informs but also motivates others to take action.

• In summary, Alya's initial excitement and fascination towards the provocative costume would be tempered by her responsible and caring nature. She would prioritize the practicality and safety of the outfit, ensuring her S/O's comfort and protection during their superhero activities. Discovering her S/O's superior skills with the Miraculous would not dampen her spirits but rather fuel her enthusiasm to learn from them and improve her own abilities. Alya's support and dedication to their partnership would be unwavering, as she sees it as an opportunity for growth and collaboration. Through her work at Ladyblog, she would amplify their achievements, using her platform to inspire others and create a greater impact in the world of heroes.

🄺🅈🄾🄺🄾 🅃🅂🅄🅁🅄🄶🄸

• Kyoko, known for her disciplined and competitive nature, would undoubtedly be taken aback by the provocative costume that her male S/O's transformation creates. With a strong sense of modesty and a preference for more conservative attire, she would find it challenging to accept the revealing nature of the outfit. It would contradict her own personal style and sense of decorum. Kagami might initially struggle to reconcile her values with the costume's design.

• However, being someone who highly values strength, skill, and dedication to justice, Kyoko would quickly recognize and appreciate the abilities of her S/O. Despite her initial reservations about the costume, she would respect and admire her S/O's commitment to their role as a hero. She would see beyond the external appearance and focus on their character and actions, acknowledging the bravery and skill that lie beneath the costume.

• Discovering that her male S/O is more skilled and powerful with the Miraculous might trigger a mix of emotions in Kyoko. On one hand, her competitive nature might ignite a sense of rivalry and a desire to improve her own abilities. She would see their superior skills as a challenge and a motivation to push herself further. Kagami's determination and relentless pursuit of excellence would drive her to train harder, seeking to match and even surpass her S/O's level of skill and strength.

• On the other hand, Kyoko would also possess the maturity and wisdom to acknowledge and respect her S/O's expertise. She would recognize the value of their abilities and view them as a valuable ally rather than a threat. Kyoko would eagerly strive to learn from her S/O, taking every opportunity to train alongside them and absorb their knowledge and techniques. She would see their partnership as a chance for mutual growth, understanding that they can push each other to reach new heights.

• Despite any feelings of competition, Kyoko would wholeheartedly support her S/O. She would be their biggest cheerleader and advocate, offering encouragement and praise for their accomplishments. Kagami's loyalty and dedication would extend beyond the training sessions, as she would stand by her S/O's side during their heroic endeavors, ensuring their safety and success.

• In summary, Kyoko initial reservations about the provocative costume would stem from her strong sense of modesty. However, her admiration for strength and skill would lead her to appreciate her S/O's abilities and dedication to justice. The discovery of her S/O's superior skills with the Miraculous would trigger a mix of competitive drive and respect. Kagami would use this opportunity as a motivation to improve herself, while also recognizing the value of her S/O's expertise and viewing them as an important ally. Through their partnership, Kagami would strive for mutual growth and support her S/O wholeheartedly, both in training and in their heroic pursuits.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ──────

#miraculous x reader #miraculous ladybug x reader #marinette x reader #adrien agreste x reader #luka couffaine x reader #alya cesaire x reader #kyoko tsurugi x reader #felix fathom x reader

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akechiguro · 1 year

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how hogwarts legacy boys would react to meeting your parents 💗

headcanons / imagines

Synopsis | various of Hogwarts Legacy’s boys reactions and scenarios to meeting your parents for the first time.

Included | sebastian sallow, ominis gaunt, garreth weasley, amit thakkar.

Word Count | 1217.

Content Warnings | gender neutral reader.

Author’s Note | please let me know if you would be interested in a female version <3

sebastian sallow:

“Hello! I’m Sebastian Sallow. I’m sure you’ve heard of me?”

-he’s very respectful and makes a point to show up with some sort of gift. he believes flowers are too impersonal, so he makes a point to get something that feels more homey than flowers that will inevitably die.

-he brags a LOT, not obnoxiously, but to prove to your parents that you’re in good hands. your father is very proud that you’re dating Hogwarts’ best duelist and your mother is very impressed that, despite being from Feldcroft, he’s a very polite boy.

-he offers to help with cooking dinner. solomon usually cooked for him and anne, but after she was cursed, he helped as much as he could— meeting your parents is no different. if all worked out, these would hopefully be his parents by law in the future, he needs to show them that he’s capable of more than dueling and adventuring.

-if you have little siblings, he’s very kind to them, even playful. after helping with dinner, he offered to watch the little ones, despite not being…amazing with kids. he showed them Levioso and Revelio as long as they promised not to tell anyone, and continued to answer any questions they had about magic; granted, with a bit of an exaggeration.

-after dinner, he bid farewell to them and brought you out of the house for a bit of late-night fun. an adventure was due after such a big event, even if it got his nicest suit dirty.

“Your parents are lovely! It’s no wonder you turned out to be such a gem.”

ominis gaunt:

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. [L/N]. I’m Ominis Gaunt of House Gaunt. It’s lovely to meet you.”

-contrary to Sebastian’s beliefs, he insisted on bringing a magnificent bouquet of flowers. his parents have money and he’s fully making the most of it. the flowers he chose consist of daffodils, yellow roses, sunflowers, and yellow tulips. all to symbolize the new, positive relationship between him and your parents.

-he keeps his conversation respectful and professional. he doesn’t ask anything too personal of your parents and tends to deflect any questions regarding his family. they’re apprehensive due to the rumors of the dark arts they use, but his silver tongue eases their worry.

-though his disability prevents him from being able to help with anything around the house, he still entertains any requests your parents make— within reason. if whoever is cooking needs an ingredient they forgot, he’ll grab it for them. same with any tools or miscellaneous items they may need.

-he’s very awkward around little siblings. they’re too high energy for him, but he still makes an effort to keep them entertained. his near-sentient wand fascinates them, so he plays it up like there is a wizard trapped in his wand and he’s just keeping him hostage for his own service. he also tells them about the mermaids outside the Slytherin common room, in the event any of them get sorted into it. they find this all very, very entertaining.

-his parents are so sad to see him go, and make a point to tell you how lucky you are to have him after you leave, saying that inheritance money is going to be life-changing. you roll your eyes at this and leave to hang out with ominis before he officially has to go home. he says he loves your parents, and that you won’t love his; but he’s enjoying the moment while it lasts.

“I adore your parents. I’m looking forward to what the future may hold for us.”

garreth weasley:

“Hey, I’m Garreth! Garreth Weasley? Have they talked about me at all?”

-he brought sparkling cider for dinner after you convinced him not to bring a potion of his own concoction. he explained to you that the potion was supposed to make any food item taste better than anything you’ve ever eaten in your life, but after he said he’d never tested it, you concluded it was a bad first impression present.

-your parents fell in love with him immediately. they’re obsessed with his charisma and his overall energy and listen very attentively to his tales of potionmaking. they do worry about your safety, especially after hearing about how many of his potions end in disasters, but he assures them it’s nothing to worry about and he would never do anything to harm you.

-he’s actually very bad at cooking! he tried his hardest to help whoever is cooking with dinner, claiming he knew a “probable shortcut” (his words), and almost burned your house down. he lost favorability with your parents but made up for it by covering the cost of buying dinner from a local market…his aunt Matilda was not happy about this.

-this boy is a wizard with kids. your little siblings are naturally drawn to him and he’s excellent with them. he has a whole bag of tricks and treats to entertain them with if his already childlike personality isn’t enough. your siblings argue with you about sitting next to him at dinner because they like him so much.

-your parents invited him back home as soon as he left. your little siblings cried and begged him to stay. he came back after 10 minutes because he forgot his wallet. all is well.

amit thakkar:

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. [L/N]! I am Amit Thakkar. I have heard so much about you!”

-like Ominis, he also brought flowers, but rather than fully putting thought into the bouquet, he brought stargazer lilies as an immediate icebreaker; “I’ve brought you stargazer lillies because my favorite hobby is stargazing!” your parents love his dorky charm right off the bat.

-though his initial conversations with your parents are very awkward, he doesn’t say anything to make himself look bad. your parents were mostly interested in his story of how you met and asked to see the famed telescope that brought you two together. they’re entranced with the thought of him being fluent in gobbledegook, and since neither of your parents have had an authentic encounter with the language, they’re very impressed.

-he cooked beforehand and brought a side dish, Scottish Rumbledethumps. he was so nervous to make a good first impression that he didn’t want to overcrowd your kitchen while cooking that he went ahead and made his own. your parents, once again, fell in love. your mother told you that this boy is a keeper immediately after he revealed he brought food.

-your little siblings do not like him. he’s far too awkward to do anything that will make them like him and they’re far too ruthless to even try and get along with him. putting them in a room together led to a couple minutes of excruciating silence followed by panicked screaming from your boyfriend and the distinct sound of war-cries from your siblings. you had to go in there and save him– though, some relationship between them was salvaged when he started to point out constellations.

-of the boys, your parents love him the best. he’s very respectful and very smart, and absolutely adorable, ultimately just the perfect boyfriend. before you left to finish the date with a bit of stargazing, they joked that if you didn’t marry him, one of them would.

#harry potter #hogwarts #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #harry potter fanart #hogwarts legacy fanart #gaullow #hogwarts au #hogwarts legacy spoilers #garreth weasley #amit thakkar #sebastian sallow x reader #ominis gaunt x reader #garreth weasley x reader #amit thakkar x reader #x reader #gender neutral reader

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alasse-earfalas · 10 months

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Let’s clear some things up.

"omg you hate queer people!!"

No, we don't. There's several queer people in the server and we've all gotten along just fine, in fact we've had some wonderful conversations discussing our different views. The reason we marketed our server as a “conservative Christian server” is because that’s primarily who we’re trying to find. Other people with different beliefs and ways of life are welcome to join so long as they’re respectful.

"but you said you're anti-Pride!!"

Admittedly, this was due to a misunderstanding of what that term means to a lot of people. The "pride movement" and LGBT people are not the same thing to me. Clearly they are to a lot of people, so I understand the confusion. I used this terminology because I’ve seen others in the LGBT community make this distinction in terms, but I understand now that this distinction is not as widespread as I thought it was.

Allow me to clarify: When I say we "don't support the Pride movement", I'm talking specifically about the political movement that advocates for giving porn to young kids in school, putting them through medical procedures they are too young to consent to, and viciously attacking, harassing, and silencing anyone who brings up concerns about these things. Obviously this is not all of the LGBT community, nor would I ever insinuate that. But it is a very vocal and nasty subset of it, and it's a subset we want nothing to do with.

"queered into oblivion"

If it's wrong to straightwash queer characters (and I believe that it is), then it's wrong to queerwash straight characters. Many of the Links are canonically straight in the games, and all of them are portrayed as straight in LU (I don't have the time to go into all the evidence for this right now, but it's there if you look). If you want more queer representation in media—which is totally valid!—go make your own queer characters and give them an engaging story. I've seen it done and it's great! Queerwashing established characters is lazy, disrespectful, and just as offensive as straightwashing. So we're not allowing that in our server.

"youre banning people just because they're queer!! I was banned and I didn't break any of the rules!"

If we banned people just for being queer, we wouldn't have any queer people in the server, and I've already debunked that.

As for the second point: Yes, I have banned people wrongly and I apologize for that. This is largely thanks to a constant bombardment of malicious trolls, many of whom pretend to come to us with good intentions, only to wreak havoc once they're granted access to the server. So I am being a bit overzealous with the ban hammer at the moment because we've been burned too many times. It's hard to tell anymore who wants to have a civil discussion and who's just biding their time. If you feel you were banned wrongfully, please reach out to me in dms and we can discuss the matter.

Another quick point I want to make is that our current server rules are due for revision. Now that we've spent some time open to the public, we have a better understanding of what kinds of rules our server needs. So, yes, we're not going to be strictly sticking to our rules right now because we're in the process of tweaking them. I understand that’s frustrating but there’s only so much we can juggle at once.

"the people in your server are so mean! You don't even talk about loz stuff!"

It's kinda hard to relax and nerd out with your buddies when raiders are lighting your house on fire. We've been burned and we're on edge. I won't ask for anyone in the server to be excused for bad behavior, but I will ask for patience.

Part of the reason I'm bothering to write this whole thing out in the first place is so we can stop repeating ourselves on these points. Many of the trolls we've dealt with have started out "respectfully disagreeing" with us only to turn nasty and crude. So now whenever there's a disagreement, it puts everyone on edge.

Before we opened this server up to the public it was just a private little place for me and some friends, and we all happened to share similar beliefs so it turned into a bit of an echo chamber. Please don’t take our old conversations as representative of the current people in the server. We did talk about LoZ stuff, and we still do, but we’ve also got two general chats and a place to discuss controversial topics. And, as I already mentioned, we’re a little preoccupied with the trolling situation.

Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, here’s a non-exhaustive sampling of what we’ve been dealing with over the past few days:

typical troll spam: inappropriate images, death threats, etc.

sleeper trolls: people who come into the server pretending to be there in good faith in order to gain access to the server, and then wreaking havoc. Several of these have been… obnoxiously “Christian”, to the point where I was in the middle of typing up a “knock it off” message when they decided to oust themselves.

false accusations and even outright lies from people on tumblr who’ve “checked out” the server and then left. Idk why people do this. We’ve been baselessly accused of antisemitism among other things.

vicious asks about this issue sent to tumblr blogs who have no affiliation with our server.

I’d like to point out here that for being such a “hateful” server, none of the mods (I can’t speak for the other people in the server obviously) have ever done any of this, to anyone, nor would we. I’ve spoken about people using their (real or perceived) victim status as a cudgel to beat others with, and this is a fine example of that. You wonder why we’re trying to make a safe space? Because this is what happens when we share what we believe. You claim we have “institutional power” or whatever and yet we can’t set up and advertise a freaking discord server without people going on a witch hunt.

I have had a few people reach out to me in kindness, and I want to let those people know that it’s really meant a lot to me. I expected trolls and some lashback but the maliciousness has been something else. I’m sorry to anyone on tumblr who’s been attacked over this, I don’t know why people are going after blogs that have no affiliation with this server, it’s disgraceful and disgusting.

Hopefully what I’ve written here clears up some of the misunderstandings. We appreciate anyone who’s willing to hear us out rather than jumping to conclusions. Take care everyone.

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu #discord server

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eldritch-spouse · 10 months

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I have this really corny but oddly cute idea of Daddy Dorem with a mortician s/o, like someone who’s become familiar and comfortable with the whole concept of death and sees it often- but still isn’t sure about what really happens after 👀

[Oh, that's kinda cute.]

Dorem is drawn to the dying, freshly deceased and long dead naturally. It makes sense that he would sometimes, when bored, visit gravesites, cemeteries, thombs, crypts, cremation locations, and especially mortuaries. (Sometimes hospitals, which is a bit creepy, but then, wraiths and all sorts of undead tend to hover there as well.)

It'd be extremely funny if you were just doing a late night shift, alone as you usually are, and venture into one of the halls, maybe leading to the body storage, and just find Dorem casually evaluating the dead.

Naturally, you're in for a massive meltdown or two, but Dorem is wholly unconcerned with your shenanigans, ignoring you entirely aside from a quizzical, tired side-glance that reads "I did not bring enough smokes to deal with this shit.". No, he's a lot more concerned with collecting the stubborn souls that seem reluctant to leave their husks. For some reason, there's a large concentration of them near where you work, it bothers him. Instinctually, if Dorem had to describe it, it's like a persistent notification that keeps pinging him every ten minutes.

Your relationship with the god of Limbo is a bizarre one. Neither of you acknowledged each other much at the start of this. Part of you probably didn't want to believe he was there, especially when it seemed as if your coworkers never saw him. You began to believe that maybe you were having psychological issues which only manifested at your workplace. But life had to go on regardless, so you merely stared at Dorem from afar whenever you spotted him, eventually coming to understand that the strange, dark being wanted nothing to do with you. He didn't desecrate bodies or steal anything, but he did release some type of energy from these corpses, something that had you ever intrigued. This being was connected to the stages between death and rebirth, you were sure of it.

And it was that realization that had you standing closer to him each passing night. Sometimes Dorem would cast more side-glances at you, other times he's physically tug you aside by your clothes so he could access a body. The brief glimpses of eye contact you had with him felt like entire unspoken conversations in their own regard.

You found him smoking sometimes, face torn, which was as ridiculous as it was almost... Understandable. He looks morose all the time, for some reason. Maybe because he's always around the dead? You doubt it's very cheerful.

Everything started to change when, one day, you offered him a cigarette.

The tall, gaunt entity observed you in silence for several anxiety-inducing moments before, finally, taking it from your small hands. It lit up with a burst of greenish-blue flame from his chest, and he put it to his teeth. " Thanks. " He had said, voice shockingly hoarse, deep, and you replied politely.

It felt like a step in the right direction. So you felt brave enough to try to converse with him the following nights, taking breaks in between your work, to watch his. Dorem wasn't very talkative, giving curt responses, or condescendingly implying you're too much of a numbskull to be worrying about certain concepts. He's firm in his belief that you don't need to understand the afterlife.

Outwardly, it appeared as if Dorem was very ambivalent to your presence, but you started to note that he would sometimes stop by even when there were no "remnants" for him to collect, walking around the mortuary while occasionally coming back to you and your "pointless questions". He seemed to seek you out, looking mildly aggravated when you showed up late to work and chiding you to go home past a certain hour. He was warming up to you, you could tell. Although the large, terrifying undead would roll his eye-lights and call you naïve when you subtly jabbed at him liking a little mortal.

At some point, the two of you would just spend your nights talking. As much of a depressed grump as Dorem could be, he also had a very morbid sense of humor, and enjoyed hearing some corny jokes. The first time you heard him laugh was surprising enough to have you staring at him almost slack-jawed. He coughed awkwardly, almost as if he didn't know how to be happy and comfortable anymore.

You knew it was dangerous to touch him, he had told you so himself at one point. But you felt compelled to grab his hand, and speak without words, tell him how much you appreciated making his acquaintance with a gentle hold of his freakishly bony and spidery hand.

Dorem was fixated on the image of your entwined extremities for a long pause.

One time, you wake in the middle of a dead sleep, greeted to the sight of Dorem seated by your side of the bed, staring intently at your figure. Before you could utter a single word, he rasped in the silence.

" Your soul is the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. "

#Dorem oc #yandere monster #yandere teratophilia #monster x reader

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just-a-little-radish · 26 days

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So I had this interaction a few days ago and another post reminded me of it so I thought I’d see if the person had said anything further I missed, aaaand:

Yeah they deleted my reply and their interaction w/ me, turned off further replies, and as far as I can tell also blocked me (not sure how to confirm not that I care). This just goes to show the state of conversation in hard leftist neo-liberal politics. As soon as someone brings up flaws and contradictions in their beliefs, instead of continuing the conversation and trying to learn or even continue pig headed arguing their bullshit, they ignore and delete all evidence, b/c it’s the internet and they can. Willful ignorance ain’t cute. If you’re not able to hold your own in the face of reason, maybe stay silent until you understand and can hold your own in a civil conversation instead of hiding your failures.

#Cowards i stg #Just delete the post at that point why leave it up when I proved it was so moronic #If you can’t defend your stance maybe you need to reevaluate your beliefs #Or at least educate yourself on where other opinions are coming from bc your false assumptions make you look dumb #radfems do interact #radfem #radfems do touch #radfem safe #pro radfem #radblr #libfem bullshit

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rainbowsky · 2 months

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A word on the politics

I decided to pull this out into a separate post from the one about GG and DD and queer representation, because it's long-winded and somewhat off-topic. It also complicates my ability to properly categorize the post.

This is part two of a post about GGDD and queer politics. Part 1 can be found here.

I want to talk a bit about the broader political values that are often connected to these types of issues. First and foremost I want to make it clear:

Hate does not come from the people being hated or from anything about their behavior, it comes from inside the hater.

As I am constantly saying, everything we say, do and think can only ever be a reflection of ourselves - it can never be a reflection of anyone else. Even when we’re talking about someone else, everything we say comes from our own values, experience, perspective, etc.

So when haters speak ill of someone or something, everything they say comes from inside of themselves. It’s got nothing to do with the topic they think they’re bitching about. That’s how people end up telling on themselves - by showing what’s inside them, and showing how poorly tended and rotten they’ve let their hearts and minds become. How little interior work they’ve done.

Make no mistake about it, when someone piles hate onto a targeted or marginalized group, they’re choosing to do so because of the hate that lives in their hearts (and yes, many religious groups are deeply hateful). Nothing marginalized and targeted groups say or do will take away that hate or stop the attacks. The only ones with any power to stop that hate and those attacks are the haters themselves.

Tone policing is a tool of oppression

The idea that someone who is being oppressed should be 'nicer’ or more 'delicate’ when speaking out against that oppression - that’s what’s known as 'tone policing’.

Tone policing is a tool of oppression. It is one of the many ways that people in positions of power ensure that marginalized and targeted groups are kept 'in their place’. Focusing on the tone of a message rather than the message itself prevents the deeper issues and oppression from being addressed.

Tone policing is when someone (usually a privileged person) in a conversation about oppression shifts the conversation from the oppression being discussed to the way it is being discussed. Tone policing prioritizes the comfort of the privileged person in the situation over the oppression of the disadvantaged person. - Ijeoma Oluo

Tone policing is a power grab that automatically gives the oppressor the upper hand in any exchange, because it creates a perception that the more reasonable party is the one that is able to remain more emotionally detached. The people being oppressed - the ones crying out in anger or in pain - take on the appearance of unreasonableness due to their inability to remain calm.

The tone of the discussion is framed as more important than the oppression itself, which further marginalizes the issues the targeted group is trying to bring attention to.

All of this is about conformity. This is at the root of all of it. The belief that there is a right way and a wrong way to be and live, that we must all adhere to that path if we want to have any hope of being accepted and acceptable. You can only ever be on the inside or on the outside. If you happen to be on the outside, you are the enemy.

How convenient for the oppressor. If you’re an outsider you’re the enemy, and yet it’s the oppressors who get to decide who is an outsider and who isn’t.

This is the bottom line of all queer activism (and really any activism). People in power use their power to set the terms of engagement in a situation, and then they use those terms to perpetuate oppression on targeted minorities.

So if our reaction to someone’s unrest over the oppression they’re experiencing is to think that they should calm down, or to think that if they were a bit 'nicer’ their message would be better received, we should ask ourselves some tough questions about our role in the situation, our relationship to power and what we stand to gain by shutting that person up.

Are we trying to save our own asses by aligning ourselves with the more powerful side? Trying to avoid sticking our necks out by showing our allegiance certain social norms? In what ways do we benefit by keeping things the way they are?

Status quo people have a tendency to attribute the maltreatment a targeted minority receives to something that minority said or did, or to their general existence, rather than to the oppressors who are harming them. This is a very commonplace reaction.

There are some complex reasons for this, but in the end it more or less boils down to the status/importance that is attributed to various classes of people, and who is considered the protagonist of a situation vs who is labelled as the antagonist. Whose needs tend to be accommodated by society, and whose needs tend to be deemed unimportant, or even harmful.

[TW/CW discussion of racism and sexual assault in the next few paragraphs - skip the indented portion below if those topics are sensitive for you]

For example, in all but the most progressive of spaces, when a person of color points out that a remark someone made is racist, 9 times out of 10 the room will rally around the person making the racist comment, saying, “He didn’t mean it that way!” “Joe’s not a racist, how can you accuse him of being a racist!?” etc. etc. rather than rallying around the person experiencing racism. That’s just the state of social power in the world. 'Calling someone a racist’ (otherwise known as 'simply pointing out racism’) is widely considered a much worse crime than doing or saying racist things. This helps maintain the status quo, and ensures the unfair power dynamics remain in place. Change can’t happen if the things that need changing can never be reasonably addressed and critiqued. If a woman is raped, quite often the first thing people want to know is what she did to make it happen. Was she drinking? Was she out alone at night? What was she wearing? Did she fight back and scream for help, or 'just allow it to happen’? These reflect common rape myths, and in societies where men are given more status than women (basically all societies on the planet), people are going to place the blame for a man’s bad behavior on the woman he’s harmed rather than face the tough reality that their culture facilitates harm. 'Accusing someone of sexual assault’ (otherwise known as 'simply seeking justice’) is often treated with more suspicion and skepticism than being accused of sexual assault. The default is to assume the person in the higher status position is the real victim. The default is to assume that woman is seeking revenge on him or trying to get money or attention rather than to accept the possibility he really did assault her. Incidentally, this misogyny has serious implications for male accusers in high profile sexual assault cases as well. The whole Kevin Spacey thing shows just how far away we are from a world where men can be taken seriously as victims. More than 30 men came forward with allegations against him (including a mother who accused him of assaulting her teenage son), and he was acquitted of all charges by a fucking jury. Even in situations where men are convicted of sexual assault, they’re often given light sentences because the consequences of a heavier sentence on their lives and well-being are deemed more important and worthy of concern than the irrevocable consequences of their actions upon the lives of their victims. An example is the case of a Stanford athlete who was convicted by a jury for sexually assaulting a woman behind a dumpster (he had been caught in the act and held by passersby until he could be arrested). He was sentenced to six months in prison (only serving 3 of those months 'for good behavior’), because the judge felt that a longer sentence would have a negative impact on his otherwise bright future. (The judge was later removed from his position by outraged voters who staged a recall, but the damage was already done).

All this to say:

Speaking up about injustice and/or showing support for the causes we care about will definitely result in backlash. That’s how people are kept in line.

The person who points out a racist comment will get backlash. The person who speaks up about sexual assault will get backlash. The person who stands up for human rights of any kind will get backlash. Often the closer we are to progress, the bigger the backlash.

But that is not a reason not to speak up. Quite the contrary, it’s why we must speak up. We must push back against the unfair power structures that are standing in the way of change. If we don’t speak up, then progress can never happen. It’s really that simple.

People are not going to just give up their unearned privileges out of the kindness of their hearts. People who’ve been languishing in positions of power and status in society are happy with the way things are and don’t see anything wrong with it (and/or they exaggerate in their minds the degree of progress that has been obtained, and are in denial about their own role in the oppression).

In fact, those trying to make change are seen as 'the problem’ and as 'troublemakers’, and treated accordingly.

Social change never happens without a fight, so any implication - however unintentional - that we should 'be delicate’ about how we approach issues of injustice goes against everything I believe in.

All this long-winded babble to say what?

People frequently focus on things that are easy to demonize and condemn, rather than focusing on the tough problems or injustices in the world. People frequently focus on tone rather than on content.

Anyone who speaks up against social norms is going to be framed as a lunatic. Anyone from a targeted minority who speaks up against the oppression they’re living under is going to be attacked for it. This is how unjust power structures are maintained.

There are a lot of different forces at play, and if we truly value equality and freedom for all people we have to be prepared to recognize, critique and challenge existing social structures. We have to exercise discernment in how we assign responsibility in any given situation.

We have to recognize that if we truly want to support important causes, that will mean sticking our necks out socially to stand with and boost oppressed and targeted groups. We don’t get to simultaneously maintain our privilege AND work toward progress. We have to let go of one in order to ensure the other can happen.

Anyway, that’s my two cents (or more like $50) worth. Some of it might resonate with you, some of it might not. I hope that at least some of it has been helpful to you.

Just as an aside, I want to rant a bit about religion and hate, and about how fucking sad and depressing it is that Greece of all places (FFS), STILL doesn’t embrace LGBTQ rights.

My early days as a queer lad were spent deeply immersed in Greek history and mythology. In fact, I even spent some time learning Greek (long forgotten, sadly). It brought me so much comfort and joy to know that queerness was an ancient, beautiful thing. Yet here we are with the situation today, all thanks to the religious proselytization of a few early pricks.

#lgbtpride #off-topic #your political disengagement is a weapon against you

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blackswaneuroparedux · 1 year

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However grand our sacramental downsittings and updressings may be, they remain only and precisely sacraments: real presences, under particular signs, of the happier order that faith can discover under any and all signs. They're a bit like the church. As long as we see them as an earnest of the kingdom, they're all right; when we put on airs and act as if they were the kingdom itself, they look just silly.

- Robert Farrar Capon

So I get asked about how to do a more formal dinner party by my followers. I don’t know what impression I’ve given to make people think that I am an expert but I shall endeavour to present some thoughts around my own beliefs and experiences. I’m sure there are some things I have left out or have temporarily escaped my mind, so do please bear with me.

It is sadly the case that the age of the formal dinner might be over for some but for others they bravely soldier on flying the flag for civilised discourse over dinner.

Yet the reality remains that for many, eating at home with friends or family, or even a volatile mix of the two, is still hugely popular and important. Even if one is throwing a casual dinner party with a laidback “I’m just doing a bit of food” nonchalance, it still needs to be navigated with careful sensitivity.

My rough guide to a good dinner party:

Don’t become a victim of vaunting ambition. Assess your culinary skills and budget before tailoring your social dinner occasion to fit your capabilities. Under no circumstances attempt a maiden voyage. It might seem like a good idea to try a new recipe for your guests, but there are few things sadder than realising that the pork was supposed to have been butterflied by a butcher or rest for four hours...45 minutes before guests arrive.

Send invitations if you can. The more formal the dinner the better you should send an invitation. Make clear (on the invitation preferably) on the time of arrival so that guests are punctual. Except if you’re hosting a dinner party in France then expect French guests to arrive 15 minutes late. While in many countries this may be considered rude, in France this is a golden rule. It’s an unspoken agreement between the host and the guest because the host might be a little late preparing everything and the guest won’t want to embarrass the host by arriving early. Strangely this rule only applies to dinner parties and not for dinners at restaurants. Hmmm.

Make the nature of the dinner event absolutely clear to your guests. They will feel understandably annoyed if they turn up to a formal dinner in jeans and sneakers.

Make sure your drinks cabinet is well stocked. Don’t ever rely on your guests to bring anything. Make sure you choose a different wine to go with each course you are serving. But don’t get too hung up on the food and wine pairing - one can always ask the wine merchant who is both helpful and is dying to show off his knowledge.

Work out your timings. Don’t let drinks go on too long and ensure that food is ready when you call everyone to the table.

Always have a seating plan. Even if it’s an informal one in your head, explain to your guests where you would like them to sit. Chemistry between guests is everything. Choose wisely.

Don’t apologise for the food being served. You made it. You own it.

Remember that your primary role is to be the host/hostess. Attend to your guests at all times and don’t allow yourself to be drawn into an intimate tête à tête with someone. It’s rude to give one guest all the attention at the expense of others feeling a little adrift in their seat.

Play the diplomat at dinner. Lively conversation will no doubt wander to the realm of politics, and whether it’s divisive or just plain dull, a good hostess can re-route a boring or inelegant conversation deftly and effortlessly. The best way to steer the conversation if it strays too deeply into politics, religion, or someone’s burgeoning sex life is to politely interject and offer, “Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if I could get everyone’s opinion on X,” and people will be happy to oblige. You invite people into a topic that’s about you and it’s a clear note to the offenders to change course. Important to note also it is perhaps the only time you ever make yourself the subject of the conversation. The role of the hostess is to move the conversation along effortlessly without becoming the centre of attention.

Deploy subtle hints by asking if anyone would like: cups of coffee, offers of taxi service or spare beds, if the evening is going on too long.

Don’t let the guests do dishes - unless they're related to you or they're psychotically compulsive. If they are neither, you might be calling their bluff on an empty offer, and then you've made your guest use your ratty sponge, which is not a very gracious experience.

Most of all, breathe and relax. It will all go swimmingly. Just enjoy yourself.

Bon appétit!

#dinner party #manners #society #culture #food #friends #family #guests #host #menu #etiquette #social etiquette #dining #capon #quote

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avionvadion · 10 months

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Gods, I’m sleepy and my head hurts too much for me to be thinking about this, but I’ve been reading peoples’ thoughts on Ganondorf and Rauru, and I’ve rewatched the Show of Fealty memory like five times now.

And it’s- like, it’s super interesting, but also just scratches my brain because,

Here, we see Ganondorf surrounded by a guard of his fellow Gerudo- warriors, citizens, subjects who are still following him.

At this point in time, he is still respected and revered as their king.

Whether or not they are aware of it, Ganondorf bending the knee is merely a show, a facade for the Hyrulean royal family. Granted the Gerudo themselves don’t look necessarily happy to be bending the knee themselves to Hyrule, which is what brings me to the interesting bit.

Ganondorf says here that Rauru has sent him “repeated” invitations.

Meaning that Rauru has tried multiple times to get the land of Gerudo to swear fealty, rather than simply allying with Hyrule.

The Gerudo have been shown through several games to be very independent. Bowing their heads to another nation is not something they are particularly willing to do.

They have plentiful amounts of food to hunt in the Gerudo Highlands as well as to forage (hydromelons are everywhere, so much so that merchants are selling them) in the desert.

Granted, water may or may not be scarce- as I have a firm belief this predates OoT, and the Gerudo town in OoT was much drier in comparison to the Gerudo town in BotW, which has fountains of water running throughout their town- that would potentially make the hot days in the desert highly dangerous.

This coincides pretty well with Ganondorf wanting to obtain the lands of Hyrule, as it would get him and his people out of such a dangerous position. However, Ganondorf is proud- terribly so. To surrender is to admit defeat, and for someone to hold power over him. He was born and raised a king. This does not sit well with him.

Ganondorf would rather wage war than to earnestly pledge fealty to another kingdom.

Which makes this whole conversation/back-and-forth between Ganondorf and Rauru more interesting. They’re both speaking politely, but with venom laced beneath, neither truly trusting one another, viewing the other as a threat that must be dealt with as swiftly as carefully as possible.

Rauru brings up the fact that Ganondorf is a rare being- a male Gerudo, that of which is only lucky enough to be born once every century- and was crowned king because it is Gerudo law.

Rauru says it is reassuring.

This is a very thinly veiled threat. It would be a shame to deprive the Gerudo of something so fortunate. Ganondorf is the first male Gerudo to be born in nearly, if not over, a century, and as such is their first king in years. His birth was seen as a cause to celebrate, as a sign of salvation, and he became a hero to his people as a result.

Rauru is warning Ganondorf here, telling him behind pretty words that though he would not like to do so, he will get rid of Ganondorf if he acts on his greed.

So Ganondorf responds in kind with something even more interesting-

The Zonai came to the earth a very long time ago. So long ago, in fact, that their people have all but died out. Why? What happened? Was there a war? Did they descend to the earth because of a war, and only Mineru and Rauru’s ancestors survived, before dying off too, leaving them on their own?

Furthermore, we know that Rauru is the first king of Hyrule. Before marrying him, Sonia was a priestess of the goddess.

Why did Rauru create the kingdom, when it was most likely functioning fairly well without a monarchy? It’s implied through Sonia that the descendants of the goddess have been acting as priestesses ever since Skyward Sword, and they had no such need of a monarch.

Was it because there was a war that killed the Zonai? Was he attempting to bring the nations under his rule so as to prevent another tragedy? He, too, was clearly seeking power, and decided the way to obtain it was to become king and convince other nations to bend the knee. Sonia seemed to think his thoughts, whatever they might have been, were just, because she agreed to become his queen.

But how does that make him different from Ganondorf?

Ganondorf wanted to protect his people, too, at least at first.

The desert days are scorching hot and the nights are blistering cold. They may have had plentiful sources of food, but without a strong supply of water it wouldn’t be hard for them to suddenly start dying out. Although hydromelons might be able to solve that…? I don’t know.

As I said, I’m sleepy and my head hurts. This Ganondorf is definitely different from OoT and WW Ganondorf, but I’m fully convinced their motivations started out the same. Especially since if that was OoT/WW Ganondorf’s motivation before he became corrupt, then TotK Ganondorf probably grew up in even worse conditions considering the time period being even farther back. So maybe hydromelons weren’t even a thing yet.

Anyways!

I forgot where I was going with this…

Long story short, Rauru and Ganondorf are two sides of the same coin. Both were greedy for power, for rather similar reasons. One was just coded as good and the other as evil.

Rauru is a very flawed ruler, despite his kindness towards the constructs and our Zelda/Link duo, and despite his love for his people. He did all the wrong things for the right reason, whereas Ganondorf also did all the wrong things for the right reason. They wanted to protect their people.

But they got arrogant (which Rauru admits to) and disaster befell the land anyway.

Rauru was just coded as inherently “good” and Ganondorf as inherently “evil” even though the latter wasn’t even villain coded with his design compared to previous iterations of him. This cutscene spoke volumes, I think, for Ganondorf’s motivations and character, and he made a very obvious foil for Rauru.

The writers just did him dirty by deciding to make him evil for the sake of being evil afterwards, as if forgetting this cutscene even existed 🥲

#this got so long but. anyways. I love both Rauru and Ganondorf #Ganondorf deserved better though #totk #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #totk spoilers #totk ganondorf #totk rauru

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a-queer-seminarian · 10 months

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A queer look at the sacrifice of Isaac

content warning: political & religious transphobia, family rejection.

Detail from "Abrahams Opfer" by Adi Holzer Werksverzeichnis.

Genesis 22:1-14 is one of scripture’s most disturbing stories. In it, God seems to command Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Abraham exhibits an unquestioning obedience, even to this most cruel command.

If this is a test of faith, did Abraham pass?

…Or did God want Abraham to ask questions, to demand to know how such an atrocity would glorify the Divine?

After all, this is the God whose heart will be won some generations later by Jacob the god-wrestler; who will inspire psalmists to bring all their naked, honest anger and hurt and fear into their worship-songs — as in this Sunday’s Psalm 13: “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”

Let’s look at God’s response once Abraham has done as commanded, taking Isaac up to the mountaintop, tying him to the altar, readying the blade — God now cries out, “STOP! Do not lay your hand on the boy! Don’t do a single thing to him!”

We find that God does not thirst for children’s blood. God does not trade human lives for blessings.

God makes it very clear here: You may not sacrifice your children on the altar of your religion.

How does this relate to the LGBTQIA+ community today?

In their sermon titled "No More Sacrifices," Kate Davoli connects Abraham's belief that God wills his son's death to the treatment of LGBT children in our own era. The rest of this post is drawn from their sermon.

Anti-LGBT preachers and politicians have been offering up our lives as sacrifice for decades now.

They convince parents that their children are doomed to hell if they turn out to be queer. The kind and holy thing to do, they say, is to try to make your child cis and straight — in spite of study after study proving that conversion therapies and lack of acceptance kill.

In spite of a God who says, “Do not lay a hand on the boy! Don’t do a single thing to him!”

If a child persists in being anything but cis and straight, the "Christian" thing to do is disown them, kick them out — sacrifice family ties to a hateful God.

They only preach the first half of the story: God’s command to sacrifice a child — and expect unquestioning obedience from parents.

Some go even further, offering up the suffering of transgender children as a sacrifice for national security:

“For the good of society … transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely… National decline is not inevitable…for a moral and religious people.” — CPAC speaker Michael Knowles, March 2023

The growing wave of anti-trans bills that deny children spirit-saving medical care, attempt to wrest them from supportive parents, and lead to depression and even suicide, is an attempt at cultural purification in the name of God.

“Come,” they are saying, “Let us take your children, your precious children, whom you love — they are already doomed to hell, so we will sacrifice them on the mountain God has shown us and it will mean prosperity for the Land; it will turn the nation back around to receive all the wealth and security God promised us.”

That, friends, is blasphemy: it’s a lie about who God is and what God wants.

God makes known throughout scripture that Their will is abundant life for all, and particularly for the most vulnerable. Anything that harms children — that leaves them feeling broken and unheard, that puts their physical or mental health at risk — is not of God.

Call to action:

What will you do to fight against the sacrifice of these little ones?

How will you ensure that our fellow Christians who counsel “sacrifice,” and who call sinful what God has declared good, are not the only Christians speaking about “what God wants”?

How can you and your faith community show up for transgender children, and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole?

#queer bible study #queer christians #genesis 22 #sacrifice #isaac #abraham #bible study #log #summer 2022

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