Kind Of A Big Deal

sorry I love this painfully mid media so much I could throw up

The women who desperately need Taylor swift to be gay are kind of indicative of a larger trend in gay stuff where people don’t want to seek out actual gay art or culture but want to consecrate all the normiest str8 culture as somehow queer in order to feel like they are participating, without having to actually do anything deviating from the lowest common denominator broadest appeal culture industry products

THE BEAR

OK, fine, the Brits can take this one W for once.

rare occurence: tfw a christian seems to have read the same book I did

Funniest bit: OP, who is deactivated, made this post expecting people to side with the corporations

Ideal work schedule:

Life in Code: A Personal History of Technology

by Ellen Ullman

a while back I made a post along the lines of "every STEM major should have a required 'history of science' course that's just all about previously wrong and bad scientific theories like sperm all containing homunculi and spontaneous generation" and I got a lot of responses like "but STEM majors already have gen ed requirements!" and would not understand why I was specifically asking for a course that would teach people about why science is not infallible and does not exist in a vacuum and THIS IS EXACTLY WHY ACTUALLY

if you're just joining us, george takei is having to educate jk rowling on holocaust denial

This is of no surprise if you know JKR has been hanging around with literal Nazis for years, while George Takei is a gay man who spent some of his childhood in an American internment camp.

I'm glad to see more of the disguise slip from JKR, but can only hope more people listen to George than to her.

[Edited to expand on this because a lot of people in the notes seem not to realise:] she is not being ignorant. She is not a benighted fool who didn't take her own advice and check the sources. THIS IS DELIBERATE.

This is a Nazi talking point. This is a technique for conversion and indoctrination designed to shame YOU into not checking your sources. After all, a famous person in a position of authority (whether we like that or not) is shaming the very idea that Nazis persecuted trans people, or that trans people have a history that goes back more than a few decades.

If you haven't watched Shaun's JK Rowling's New Friends and think talk of her hanging around with Nazis is hyperbole, this video is for you:

She is in deep. She is literally friends with known Nazis. She will have been told that the people saying Nazis burned books have unreliable sources. That is why she's saying this.

You'll note that George doesn't @ her. Apart from the fact that literally starting beef with her is likely not something he needs, he knows she is a lost cause. She is primed to dismiss the actual sources. He is sharing the true information, with sources, because her statements mean that other people will now be wondering about this and he's offering those people an alternative famous person authority AS WELL AS the facts.

Okay, sign me up immediately.

Ekti Nadir Naam, The Name of a River (2002)

Pardon me as I enter my ATLA phase…

In response to Ace-Astarion:

I think Astarion is likely a very sexual person, actually. There is admittance that he finds you attractive ("you're a vision!"), that he found your experiences together meaningful ("that's the problem"), and that he thinks sex is fun and enjoyable.

Saying "I don't want you to see me in terms of sex" doesn't mean "I don't like sex." It means: I am more than sex. I am more than what Cazador made me, which is the whole point of his story. He is elated when he finds someone who "wants" him for who he is, not who he was made to be.

It is, of course, possible that Astarion is on the asexuality spectrum. He may only want sex with people he cares for, but he is most definitely not sex-repulsed or sex-avoidant. He initiates while in the most vulnerable of situations (confessing his love, choosing his future), so it is clear that it is something he wants.

Considering his sexual trauma and disassociation during strictly sexual experiences (the drow twins), it is most likely that he only enjoys sex with those he loves, but we must be mindful that trauma does not create sexuality/orientation.

People can headcanon whatever - obviously - and it is an RPG fantasy, so like, if your Astarion is ace then that's great. But I don't think he was written that way, and I don't think it's cool to pressure the fandom into thinking he is.

I love how many people are interacting with this post! Thanks for the notes etc. Fair warning: this addition is heavy and full of real-life discussion of sexual abuse/sexuality. I was trying to keep my discourse on the topic fairly surface, but can't hold back.

So just cause I've seen this brought up in tags a lot: demisexuality is definitely what I was referring to with my claim that Astarion could be on the asexuality spectrum. Demisexuality is when someone is only sexually attracted to/sexually aroused by someone who they have feelings for; it can coexist with pansexuality because it does not have to do with orientation. People can be both demisexual and pansexual at the same time.

I, personally, consider myself demi-pan-sexual - and maybe that is one of the many reasons why I find Astarion so fascinating/relatable (and why I brought it up as a possibility at all). But regardless of Astarion's sexuality - I want to be perfectly clear on my main point:

Sexual trauma does not create sexuality.

You cannot be traumatized into becoming demisexual. You might lean into asexuality or asexual/demisexual tendencies because of the trauma experienced, but like every other aspect of sexuality, it is not a cause->effect relationship.

To explain further, relate it to the more understood aspect of sexuality: orientation.

You can't be traumatized into becoming gay just by surviving an abusive heterosexual relationship.

What happens instead is that the person may lean into other elements of sexuality or, more probably, avoid sexuality altogether as a coping/trauma response. However, it is not a switch that can be flipped: you can't suddenly be attracted to the same gender just because you want to avoid or have had negative experiences with the opposite gender. That is not how sexuality works and yes, it can cause incredible mind-fucks, disorders and self-harming coping mechanisms.

A problem I'm seeing from discussions on Astarion's sexuality is that some people are assuming he has become demisexual because of his trauma - but no, that's not the case, it should not be interpreted that way. It invalidates asexuality as a real sexuality by insisting there must be a reason behind it (such as trauma) and it also invalidates survivors of sexual abuse by implying that people's sexuality changes/has changed/must change because of things that happened to them out of their control. It is a stressful, disorienting and hurtful thing to be told to change your sexuality.

Don't do that to survivors.

Remember that, after everything, Astarion is a survivor.

fuck esports, the only correct way to play smash is the way my 7 y/o niece plays it: connecting 2 controllers, setting one as peach, setting the other as marth, pretending marth is peach’s boyfriend and then playing virtual barbie and ken with them

smash esports livestream but it’s just thousands of people tuning in to watch my niece make bayonetta marry solid snake on the zelda temple stage

esports commentator: now watch what she does here. shes crouching with snake to indicate hes proposing. blink and youll miss it: she uses down+b to place a bomb- this is the wedding ring. going back to bayonetta, shes going to ever so slightly tilt the left stick forward, now this serves two purposes: 1.) to make sure she doesnt set off that bomb when she goes to accept snakes proposal, which would obviously ruin the whole scene, but 2.) and this is a more subtle touch, to show bayonettas hesitation. that's something we know about bayonettas character, shes very independent, so thats the true work of a master to incorporate that into their gameplay

My friend Alicia made an ATLA meme

craziest phenomenon on the internet lately is people who will be like “cringe culture is DEAD be WEIRD be FREE have FUN cringe is DEAD do WHATEVER YOU WANT FOREVER!” and then immediately crucify anyone who is queer in a way they don’t like. or wants to kiss a fictional character. or thinks the computer is hot. like ohhh i get it you’re only okay with weird people you personally can tolerate. you are a tar pit

hello tumblr user. a week ago you reblogged a post stating “cringe culture is dead”, and today a post where a user calls an anime boy their boyfriend has come across your dash. if you reblog, reply, or vaguepost about this being “annoying” or “weird” or “cringe” the piranhas in the lake below you will bite your dick off. if you say and do nothing you can leave. good luck

Owls are very wise. This one in particular nose a lot.

reblogging this one again because it makes me laugh every time i see it