6 albums I’ve been listening to a lot lately! Plus one track from each that I’m especially fond of.

I was tagged by @captainhunnicutt. Thank you!

The Mandrake Project - Bruce Dickinson - "Many Doors to Hell" I waited 18 god damn years for this album. And while Iron Maiden has released four albums in that time period, I'm actually a bigger fan of Bruce's solo material. This song in particular does hit on a lot of things I liked to write about around the time his last solo album was released. A vampire who wants to be human again. Not quite, but I did (and do I guess) like to explore the blessing and the curse of being a vampire.

Vessels - Starset - "Telepathic" & "Telepathic (Acoustic Version)" Starset was the band @telekinetic-issue recommended to me after I recommended Ghost. So the great music exchange of 2022 lead, what is currently, my favorite Starset album. This song hit very close to me I listened to it obsessively as it very much captured my feelings towards my former best friend, before I finally managed to let that friendship go finally even though we hadn't really spoken since 2015.

72 Seasons - Metallica - "Lux Æterna" Probably the first Metallica album since, uh, forever where I truly feel like they band tried to put out a quality song every track (don't argue with me about Load & ReLoad, there was ONE solid album if they made better track selections and had a bit tighter arrangement). As for "Lux Æterna," it's one of those pick-me-up songs that motivates me to try to get my life together.

Infestissumam - Ghost - "Year Zero" In terms of album, it was this for Prequelle, Meliora, Impera. Impera, burned out listening to and absolutely hate one song on that album. Meliora benefits by having the Popestar EP on it, and thus having "Square Hammer." Prequelle has "Faith" and "Miasma"/"Dance Macabre" (you really need to listen to these two tracks back-to-back), and "Witch Image." Infestissumam I listen to the most and regularly since it has my all-time favorite Ghost song, "Year Zero" and the "band" at this time was more focused on using religious imagery in such a dark way that hits the bitter ex-Catholic heart of mine in such a way that no other band can.

Once - Nightwish - "Planet Hell" Tarja's last album with the band. Probably their last great album (no disrespect to Anette Olzon, Dark Passion Play and Imaginaerum were good albums). But a song about the contradictory nature of humanity and the notion that hell is really simply planet Earth? Yeah, that's a song for me.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex OST + - Yoko Kanno - "Lithium Flower" Yes, I'm trash. I know this. I'm Tumblr. I came to Tumblr because of anime and manga. But this song is just 1. Amazing. 2. And based solely on one line, it's like the character song for my blorbo. But Yoko Kanno is one of those composers where, once you hear her work, you just bow to her brilliance. Her mixing of styles and finding singers to fit whatever vision she has is nothing short of amazing. But this song is one of those that when it comes on, just don't bother me because I will ignore everything to listen to the song in full.

And I'm no-pressure-tagging: @beardedladyqueen, @spoczkot, @anisaanisa, @albatrossisland, @connie-rubirosa, @byronicbi, @transgalvantula plus anyone else that wants to do this!

Edmund Reid + demisexual

“You’re not a freak, Reid,” Jackson said softly, fingertips trailing lightly across Reid’s shoulder, hoping to coax him to relax.

“Am I not? What kind of man feels as I do? What kind of man feels desire so sparsely, yet craves intimacy all the same?”

“There’s been scientific studies. Admittedly not many and not extensively, but I can show you what I’ve read on the subject, just say the word.”

—

Thank you for this one! I did some research because I was curious about what would be known about asexuality in the 1890s which I’ve popped below a read more cos I think it’s really cool but y’all may not care 😂

At this point in time, the word “asexual” had not been used to describe a lack of sexual desire (and certainly demisexual had not).

However, in the 1860s, the term “monosexual” was used to describe people who only masturbate and do not wish to engage in sexual relations with others.

In 1884, a paper was published talking about two male subjects who did not experience sexual desire and who appeared to be perfectly healthy. In 1887 the same person (William Alexander Hammond) published a paper about two women who were the same.

Then in 1896 Magnus Hirchfield published a paper that mentioned people without sexual desire and used the term “anesthesia sexual”.

In 1897 a paper by Emma Trosse was published where the author used the term “asensuality” to describe people who experience no sexual desire and even admitted to counting herself in this category.

I wholeheartedly believe Jackson would read these bc he’s a little nerd. Reid’s a nerd too but Jackson would be more likely to read papers on sexuality in my opinion.

top 5: fruits, favorite songs, works of your art :)

fruits:

evan buckley

strawberries

raspberries

peaches

pineapple

apples

songs:

your song - elton john

godlight - noah kahan

cleopatra - the lumineers

vienna - billy joel

roll me away - bob seger

my art:

mwah luv u 💖

ask me my top 5 anything ♡

Was feeling a moment.

The producer of HOD ripped women today. Sara Hess is confused why females online love Daemon. Which reminds me a little of the whole Chuck love. I think women in our society have a lot to work on still.

Okay I'm guessing you're referencing this Hollywood Reporter line item. But, okay, I read it bc I was curious, and I don't think she "ripped" anyone, she was just saying she didn't get it, because Daemon, though an interesting and complicated character, is not a good person, and has many qualities that are not...shall I say...desirable in a partner. And like, I agree with her tastes, but like the quote the article gives from Clare Kilner (one of the directors), I don't not get the appeal, because I think the sensation has a lot to do with the performance Matt Smith is giving.

and like, I'm not gonna preach to people what they should or shouldn't like. it's fiction. Daemon rides a dragon and goes cliff climbing for dragon eggs, he ain't real. And maybe it's reminiscent of the chip wiskers billionaire dream boyfriend effect (tm strideofpride), by a simplistic reading of the "bad boy" attraction parallel, but they just...do not read the same to me. maybe that's because I enjoy seeing Smith as Daemon on screen, and I get no joy in seeing the other guy.

The difference is Daemon is a well-written, complex, interesting character portrayed by an exceptionally skilled and talented performer. Chuck Bass had none of those things going for his character.

and I don't think people making memes and jokes about lusting after daemon is indicative of some moral failing in women. idk it's something I've thought about a lot, both here on tumblr and in discussions with friends about HOTD and other shows, that culturally we (in the royal sense of the word) are more secular than ever before, and in the absence of a religion to offload our moral weight-lifting to, we now do it with the media we consume and the media and characters we like, as a way to showcase our virtue. and therefore, liking a "bad" or, should I say, "unvirtuous" character, reflects poorly on us. but that's just not how stories work, or at least, not how they should work. To me, the only kind of bad character is an uninteresting one, one that I don't care to get to know or hear their story. and Daemon is not a bad character, and in the hands of an excellent writing and production team, and series of directors, and a world class performer like Smith, he's become one of the most interesting characters in the series. And, it's worth noting, several of the writers and directors of these first ten episodes are women. HOTD's story is women-led in a way GOT wasn't and I find that SO exciting!

shoutout to everyone who wants to infodump but cant string together coherent thoughts to form sentences and instead just look at you like this

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

Expertise can't help you here.

… I just needed an excuse to draw cursed cat Alastor before it dies out

Genre of character: submissive like a guard dog is submissive

boom boom boom boom i want you in my loom knit you into a sweater then sew it up forever

sometimes you just have to let yourself be a bit neurodivergent.

i hate going out, it gives me a lot of anxiety and sensory input that i dont like, and i am often forced to talk to people.

so i do this thing on more difficult days, or sometimes just for fun, where i "bring a fictional character with me". i walk and imagine Fictional Character walking next to me. they talk to me, reassure me, hype me up, whatever i need them to do.

today dean winchester came christmas shopping with me. he went over the list with me of stuff i needed to get, told me i was doing a good job every time i finished in a certain shop, reminded me to take a deep breath when i got a little overwhelmed.

and yea. its kinda silly. and i know its just me talking to myself in a different voice, but it Works! especially since all of my special interests/hyperfixations tend to be tv/movie related.

so do what you gotta do to Get Shit Done. stop holding yourself to neurotypical standards. if you need Fictional Character to tell you you're doing a good job, do it! if you need Favourite Singer to walk you to school, do it! yea it might feel silly but you're literally fighting against your own brain to get stuff done every single day. you can have a little self indulgent daydream, as a treat.

Friendly reminder that you should

Write that fic

Draw your OC

Redesign that blorbo

Plan that comic how you want

Create the content you want to see

Be cringe

Be free

The only thing that matters is you having fun! Not what others think!

i am a being capable of immeasurable love and whimsy

Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?

I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?

In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".

Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.

This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.

Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.

The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]

There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.

This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]

As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.

But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?

Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.