Charlotte’s Counterattack

"simple," replied the master. "through patience and long practice."

"but master," said the student, bursting out with impatience, "every time i go online i see people my age getting 50k notes, 100k notes!"

the master chuckled. "the self-assuredness of the 22-year-old lends itself well to the occasional callow foray into posting, it's true. but for posts of true substance, one must turn to the mentally ill 30-something tgirls. observe."

she pulled up a post on her phone. the student peered at it. he did not laugh. he said, "but master -- this post only has 12 notes. and it's not even funny."

But wait, there's more!

drawing lgbt headcanons until i get bored day 10: transfem anthy

Togata explains that people are defined by how others perceive them, and Agni proves him right. Agni is perceived as a God; when in reality he’s a pathetic, emotionally stunted boyfailure in an attractive, naked, flaming male body - but that doesn’t matter to the people who believe wholeheartedly that Agni is a benevolent, divine, messianic figure

Togata is a 300 year old trans man stuck in a body that he can never change. He will always be perceived as a woman no matter what, and nobody would take him seriously if he asserted that he was a man. Not only that, Togata said that if he asserted himself as a man in that world, he would be dead. He had a gay couple from Behemdorg under his protection, the world would have treated Togata worse if they knew he was trans. Togata is threatened with rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy multiple times because his body is and is perceived by others as female. Jack initially perceived San as female and was fully intending on raping him with his dogs, until he discovered that San was physically male, and freaked out

The only reason we the Audience even know Togata is trans was because he was outed by a soul reader, who added the cherry on top that Togata being closeted was just another malicious, self serving lie of his

Agni tells him to his face that he could never perceive Togata as a guy because he has large female breasts, so Togata goes on a huge monologue about his gender dysphoria and how it’s impossible for him to transition. He says that it doesn’t matter who you actually are, only how others perceive you. How others perceive you determines how you are treated forever. He lives in a world where he’s not only defined by how other people perceive his appearance and biology, he can’t do anything to change it

When Agni asks “would you prefer if I call you big brother”, Togata knows that it’s insincere. Agni is only asking him that to be nice, because he’s awkwardly watching Togata’s mental breakdown and gender dysphoria induced puking, not because his perception of Togata’s gender actually changed. Togata is 300 years old, he knows when he’s being humored and he doesn’t want that. He’d rather be a girl than be pitied

Wanting something requires dopamine signaling, but liking something doesn’t.

If you have a mental illness/disorder that affects dopamine, you might feel that you don’t want to do the things that you like. You do still like them. You will appreciate having done them.

Let your likes guide you.

(If you want to read more, here’s one experimental paper about it. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5171207/ This theory called the incentive-sensitization theory was originally created to explain behaviors in addiction but can be applied elsewhere as well)

"but what about hiding your-" I guarantee you women's clothes already does that, and you need it less than you think

"but what about adding padding to-" there are women's clothes that do that, also you need it less than you think

"but I don't think women's clothes will accommodate my proportions" I'm guessing that they will, and if you've been in HRT for any noticeable amount of time, they will likely fit better than men's clothes

Like I had my whole "femboy guide" pre transition, but that was a different vibe entirely.

If you want my advice on how to dress now, it would literally just be:

Take what you currently wear

Look at the woman's cut version of it

Size it properly

Wear it the correct way (eg, use the waist that women's clothes are made for)

There's a lot of clothes that's made "specifically for" trans women. Aside from very specific things (like tucking) I think most of it is garbage. Not to mention the absolute horrible ways that they're often marketed, rolling in trans women's everyday clothes with crossdressers and fetish gear.

When a trans woman first transitions, I've found that they're immediately BOMBARDED with "fashion advice" that is A, extremely othering and sometimes dysphoria inducing, and B, oftentimes outright garbage and uses old school crossdressing/drag advice that often fails to account for the effects of HRT, or doesn't come off as a more casual look.

I do think there's value in guides that are more in the zone of "hey, you've only been taught about men's fashion and clothes your whole life, here's the basics of women's fashion to catch you up to speed" but I've yet to find one that doesn't devolve into a weird "hide everything about your body, tran" kind of tone.

Quick preemptive Q&A

Are you saying that trans women CAN'T wear men's clothes and/or be butch?

No, I'm saying that women's clothes DOES fit and accommodate trans women's proportions, but most people refuse to believe that.

So you're a gender conformist then? Just molded to the binary system of fashion?

The last thing society wants a trans woman to be, is a woman. The most radical thing you can be is yourself, and sometimes yourself is a woman.

But what if I don't want to dress in women's clothes?!?

Your waist is high. Higher than that. It's over your belly button. Yes it'll feel high waisted. Yes it'll also feel good. If your hips are getting wider, this is where pants will try to sit naturally anyways, and anything else will be uncomfortable.

On that note, the lack of pockets on women's pants actually does have a functional undertone. Having pockets at the waistline creates a VERY uncomfortable "pivot point" between your stomach and your legs, meaning if you put your keys or phone in pockets of women's pants, they're gonna jab you in the stomach.

THAT SAID, if you DO want pockets, I'm not gonna stop you. But get cargo pants!!! Women's cargo pants look SO nice, and thigh pockets are a godsend. They're more functional and more comfortable with growing hips.

Yes, women's cuts actually do make a fair bit of difference, and yes, you will fit and look more feminine in a women's cut. Even if it's a women's cut of jeans and a t shirt.

"unisex" clothing is oftentimes just men's clothing rebranded. I'm sorry but it's true. A lot of it will drape over you in boxy ways, since the "visual size" of a men's cut is almost entirely defined by the shoulders and upper body. This looks bad if you have wide shoulders or large boobs. It looks REALLY bad if you have wide shoulders AND large boobs, like I do. (Side note, the solution to degendering this should probably be something along the lines of giving the two cuts neutral names, like "shoulder cut" and "waist cut")

Bra sizing is a mystic art. No chart, calculator, or online tool will get you anywhere close to just trying on a variety of them yourself. They're a necessary starting point, but they're not going to get it right. Doesn't have to be an actual fitting, doesn't have to involve another human being, just grab a couple and try them all on. Hell, order them online and return the ones that don't fit if you're too nervous about being seen at all.

Oh I actually learned some great stuff for this!

I usually buy mens shoes for more "useful" shoes, but there are ways to get women's styles:

Find a brand with unisex sizing conventions, eg, something with British sizing system. They'll have availability of all their styles in their full size ranges- if not in a store, you can try a different style in a store and then order the style you want online. Blundstones are a FANTASTIC example.

Did it seem like Anthy had agency in ANY of these episodes??? She's been treated as a possession for literally the entire show! Utena has a part time job fighting people about it! This episode is significant because we are seeing what might be some actual feelings and desires from Anthy!

And the old anime

And Gun X Sword

And - okay the problem with playing super robot wars is that I Am Not Immune To Propaganda and it makes me need to take a proper gander at like every show in it even the ones I've already seen and know aren't good (looking at you knight's & magic, the LNs are pretty neat and the manga was fun but that show kinda stunk tbh)