APHRODITE AREIA

The Iranian Regime is going to execute rapper Toomaj Salehi for supporting protests of Jina Amini’s murder by the regime in his songs.

Iranian activist Elica Le Bon says, “Iranians in the diaspora picked up on the fact that the regime tends not to execute people who become known to the international community. We have seen many examples of prisoners that were either released on bail or had their sentences commuted through our “say their names to save their lives” campaign on social media, using hashtags to garner attention for their causes, and even before social media existed, through getting the stories of political prisoners to international media outlets. Once reported on, and once the eyes shift to the regime and the reality of its pending brutality, realizing that the action is not worth the repercussions, we have seen them back down and not execute. For that reason, this is part of an urgent campaign for readers to talk about Toomaj as much as you can, using the hashtag #FreeToomaj or #ToomajSalehi. Every comment makes a difference, and if we were wrong, what did we lose by trying?”

Look at her waist

Its Persephone's keepsake.

Personally, if I did a serious queer analysis of Eddie Diaz he'd probably fall on the ace spectrum.

The best thing about the show is its (main) character writing, relationship writing, song choices, themes, and how it makes me feel.

The worst part of the Buck/Taylor and Eddie/Ana romance is how the writing treats Taylor and Ana.

The worst part of the whole show is its copaganda (though they need to give Athena a strong storyline, it's a hard one I know) and its infatuation with traditional family structures. I really liked when Athena, Bobby, and Michael were navigating a non-traditional structure for that reason. I also hope they deconstruct this further with Eddie's storyline. (Exception being Maddie and Chimney, who're wonderfully unconventional. Their relationship is theirs and what they make of it, not a societal checklist).

The way Robert Jordan writes queer people into his world is such an interesting time capsule of how different things were in fantasy media just twenty years ago. Casually, almost every Aes Sedai on the page is probably bisexual. One of the Forsaken is a transgender woman. Many of the White Tower's male servants are gay men. But it's all so unobtrusive that it's kind of blink and you miss it---but catching it seems almost revolutionary. It's not anywhere near what we'd call "progressive" in today's world but somehow it still is, to see the attempt made. It'd have been just as easy not to include at all.

Idk it's just interesting

I love the x-men so much because that's just what leftist infighting is like! that's literally all it is! xavier is a sellout and they all hate him but he's the only one with any money. everyone complains about "they keep switching sides and dating each other it's so fucking confusing" like my dudes have you never been a part of any socialist organisation, ever. then people will go "magneto is so strong how has he not killed a bunch of teenagers" HE DOESN'T WANT TO KILL THEM! this started in a goddam basement over coffee he does not want to hurt them he just wants them to shut up and listen and will fling cars to do so

My dear friend Jonathan Harker is going to embark on his first work trip in 6 days. I hope it goes well!

So far there are only a handful of scenes where I got to feel like I know who Karen is at heart (beyond being Hen's wife/ mother to their children). When she gets drunk with Chimney (more of that please), when she talks Hen down from the proverbial ledge after they lose Nia to her birth mother, and when she confronts Hen's ex in order to move on. I like this Karen— sensible but insecure, sensitive but stubborn, impetuous and sneaky at times. I wish she had as much to do in the show as Michael used to.

The fact that homelessness is controversial tells you everything you need to know about conservatives.

Chimney and Buck have a lot in common. Maddie saw a cute, deflecting, goofy, sometimes wise, often lonely and lost man with abandonment issues and thought, "this song sounds familiar for some reason, why do I feel so warm, happy, and safe?"

What's the trope name for when someone finds out they're the Chosen One(tm) and is like "No, thank you" and goes and does something else

A melon 🍈

I will keep posting this video until people stop nohomoing queer interpretations of a narrative. There's no crisis of male friendship. It's the most explored relationship in storytelling.

When did a major ship between two male main characters become canon? What happened when they did? I can count on one hand but I'll use Queliot as an example. Quentin and Eliot slept together– they couldn't speak about it and it was handwaved as just a friend thing. They had a son together– they couldn't speak about it and it was handwaved as just a friend thing. The moment the story was allowed to stop tiptoeing around what Quentin and Eliot felt for each other beyond friendship, Quentin died.

Hoping two main characters with a homoerotic friendship don't become canon either because you want to punish their fans (petty and hurtful) or to sanctify male friendship (?) isn't championing queer narratives. Pretending television storytelling doesn't do this particular type of nohomoing time and again with their sexually ambiguous main characters relationships is willfully blind and not championing anything.

Where are the lines between friendship and romance anyway? I don't think they're as defined as people seem to want them to be. M/F romance is allowed to explore this question all the time but the moment a popular male ship is on the verge of potential realisation there's such a sudden concern for sexualizing male intimacy.

Here's the thing though, romance doesn't have to include sex to matter and sexual relationships can be unromantic in television storytelling.

What's more romantic, Quentin and Alice having sex then immediately sniping at each other or Quentin and Eliot's relationship amounted to the beauty of all life? Using Buddie as an example, what's more romantic for a man who's afraid of being used and abandoned, the time Taylor negged Buck into sleeping with her then immediately leaving or the time Eddie legally made Buck a key part of his and Christopher's life?

I get that fandom projection can be overbearing and if you ask me, "do you think Buddie becomes canon?" I'd say... not in my experience. A lot of their homoeroticism can be retroactively explained because of Buck's canon bisexuality and I don't think US television is brave or bold enough to make that kind of statement with two male main characters. However, if you ask me what I thought about Buddie in relation to the narrative journey I've seen play out for their characters? Then I'd say it's one of the best relationships on the show and they make the most sense together given their particular needs, fears, and anxieties around romantic relationships. To not want that kind of queer narrative catharsis out of spite is honestly alien to me.