🌌

Y’all deserve to know which layer of Hell you’re going to

He’s established to be massively profiting from cleaning up the mess of his own battles. The injustice of this arrangement along with the carelessness in the actual management of this damage control provides the motive and means for the Vulture to become a villain, making this yet another marvel villain created by Tony Stark. Not that Stark is responsible for Toomes’s choices–but his own choices have consequences and this is one of them. 

In fact Toomes directly parallels Tony Stark by scavenging the wreckage of Avenger’s battles and becoming an arms dealer. (Think–Tony creating Ultron out of Chitari tech). 

He made a sexual comment about Peter’s aunt, which clearly made him uncomfortable.

He leaves Peter, a child who he has just equipped with a weapons-grade super-suit, to his own devices (under the light supervision of Happy Hogan to be fair) without communicating to Peter his actual expectations for him. He leaves him with the inaccurate impression that he might be called to join the avengers at any time, so when he is silent and distant, Peter, a child, naturally concludes that he must simply “work hard enough” to get his approval. 

When Peter starts tracking the weapons and trying to tell him about it, Tony acts dismissively–he tell’s Peter to drop it, but gives no indication that he takes Peter’s concerns seriously or will follow up on the problem. He states that the weapons–which come from tech that he is responsible for–are “below the Avenger’s pay grade.”

He did send the FBI, but honestly he sent those agents to their deaths at the hand of futuristic tech (again, tech he is responsible for safely disposing of!!) if Peter hadn’t been there to save them.  

He put a tracker in Peter’s suit without his knowledge or consent–yes, to be able save his life but also to monitor if/when he left the city. When Peter first asks about it, he distracts and evades the question. When Peter makes it clear he objects later, he is told that the choice is not up to him. At no time do they have an honest conversation about how closely Peter is or should be watched—this encourages Peter to keep his own secrets and to go behind their back. 

He programs suit he gave Peter to default to insta-kill mode at the drop of a hat. This feature was, admittedly deactivated under the “training wheel’s protocol,” but this only makes it clear that Tony’s idea of who Peter will become and grow into with experience is basically a killer who works for him on his Avengers team. 

So Peter get’s in over his head, and people could have died of the Ferry if Stark didn’t come save the day. Is it time for a lecture? yes. It’s time to finally  communicate to Peter that he is being heard, explain what his expectations for Peter’s behavior are, encourage him to ask for help when he needs it. It is not time to shame Peter, to place the guilt of all those endangered lives upon his (young) shoulders, to remove all the support he had initially given him, fire him with no warning or second chance, and tell him “I was the only one who believed in you–the other’s thought I was crazy for recruiting a kid” (as if??? everyone criticizing Tony’s Choice to recruit a kid into Civil War meant that they didn’t think that the kid had talent or potential?!?!)

There is zero (0) indication that that lecture and firing was the “tough love moment he needed to pull through” that Tony later spins it as. Nothing about that lecture inspired or motivated; Peter lost the will and the means to continue searching for the Vulture until it literally smacked him in the face by pure coincidence. Instead, it is pretty clear that in the wake of loosing Stark’s support Peter gains confidence in his identity as Spider-man and a hero independent of Stark’s validation and technology. 

So Peter saves Tony’s butt by preventing all his crap from being stolen and this earns him back Tony’s favor. So what does Tony do?? Well, he arranges to make Peter, a minor, a part of his team and move him up state away from his aunt and school without his aunt, his legal guardian’s, knowledge or permission. 

This is my gift for all of you, I hope you’ll like it ♥

/ Mod W

Tipping the Velvet 

based on the book by sarah waters (she has written many lesbian books!)

it’s a bbc adapatation

technically a mini series but i like to see it as three hours of lesbian content heaven

it’s about this girl who falls in love with an actress and she goes to see her at the theatre five billion times until the actress notices her (that’s just the first part, other things happen to the main so watch the rest for more lesbian content~)

the main character (nan astley/king) is like… my fave. i love her.

the book is very good too!!!

honestly i have so much love for this movie/book i get all giddy just thinking of it

Bound

lesbian gangster/mob movie do i need to say more???

the main actresses are cute af (one of them is a butch lesbian!)

it’s awesome and very cool

(gonna trigger warn for use of lesbophobic slurs used by some characters/some lesbophobic violence)

Below Her Mouth

meh plot with amazing sex scenes basically?

a lot of sex scenes

i mean it like half the movie is graphic sex so if ur uncomfortable with that you probably shouldn’t watch it lol

all female cast

willa from wynonna earp!

The Handmaiden

also based on a book by sarah waters (called Fingersmith, there’s a bbc adaptation of it too which you should totally check out as well)

good quality movie right there

(putting a trigger warning here for sexual and psychological abuse and abuse in general)

Kyss Mig

one of few good swedish movies

basically about two step-sisters who fall in love (they’re not actually related i promise)

But I’m a Cheerleader

baby natasha lyonne is in this one! also i have a crush on clea duvall in this movie lol

a very cute love story tbh

good aesthetic

you’ve probably heard of it before but idc cause it’s great

(it’s like a satire of conversion therapy so if that’s something you can’t watch i don’t recommend this movie for you in particular)

If These Walls Could Talk 2 

a bunch of famous actresses (like chloë sevigny, michelle williams, natasha lyonne, ellen degeneres, etc. etc.)

divided in three segments from three different periods in time

one segment is set during the feminist movement in the 70s and features chloë sevigny as a butch lesbian with a motorcycle do i even need to say more??

Anatomy of a Love Seen

this is about two actresses who were a couple when they shot a movie together and now they have to go back and re-shoot some love scenes but they’re not a couple anymore and it’s sad af

i have basically never seen this movie in any rec lists but it’s actually one of my faves and i cry so much to this movie tbh

Saving Face

this is a good one

also pretty funny tbh!

it’s about a doctor who falls in love with a dancer and the doctor’s relationship with her conservative mom

it’s kind of rom-comish

Lost and Delirious

warning: very sad like super sad?

it’s about a girl who goes to a boarding school and so happens to become roommates with a lesbian couple

teen angst squared and multiplied with gay panic

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls In Love

you may have heard of this one but if you haven’t it’s time you watch it

that woman who plays tina on the l word is a butch-ish girl in this one

VERY CUTE and chill

every time i watch this it feels like this movie is the director’s BABY like it seems like she cares about this story so much and it makes the movie feel so genuine and lovely

i want every baby lesbian to watch this, please, it’s my gift to you.

D.E.B.S.

you may have heard of this one too but if you haven’t seen it yet it’s definitely worth a watch!

lesbian spies!

the heroine falls in love with the villain (that enemies to lovers trope tho!!)

Desert Hearts

old but good!

i feel like this movie is on most of these long rec lists but people probably don’t watch it cause it’s old but it is actually pretty good!

your classic “oops i thought i was straight but that woman is hot” story

Margarita With a Straw

indian girl figures out she’s bi when she goes to uni in new york and meets a lesbian girl

cute, funny, sad, it has everything tbh

The Hours (actually one of my all-time favorite movies/books!)

The Intervention

The Kids Are All Right

The Children’s Hour

Blue is the Warmest Color

Elena Undone

(To be updated continuously. Please let me know if there’s anything I should add/remove!)

Note: While many of these are centered around Arab, desi (South Asian), or other “Islamic” cultures, it’s important to remember that not all people of these ethnicities are Muslim, and not all Muslims are POC.

Fiction

Books:

A Love That Disturbs by Medeia Sharif (young adult book about the relationship between a Pakistani-American Muslim girl and a prostitute, who feel trapped for very different reasons, tw: violence against women)

A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar (a book about growing up Egyptian-Palestinian in 1970s, protagonist is bisexual)

Bilal’s Bread: A Novel by Sulayman X (about a Kurdish-American refugee family and the secrets that one boy keeps) and Adventures of a Bird-Shit Foreigner (about a mixed-race Thai teenager who is kicked out of his family)

God in Pink by Hasan Namir (an Iraqi man deals with being Muslim and queer in the war-torn Iraq of 2003)

If You Could Be Mine and Tell Me Again What a Crush Should Feel Like by Sara Farizan (young adult books about Iranian/Iranian-American girls who like girls)

Loving You Wasn’t Enough by Fatima Warsame (romance with two college-aged Somali Muslim girls)

Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis (young adult romance featuring teenage girls in 1980s Iran and the dire consequences of their relationship)

Sex and Desperate Hearts by S. Akshash (a collection of two short stories about gay Muslim men) 

Sex and Desperate Hearts: Short Fused (features Fatima Thompson, an activist who talks about coming out and living as a Muslim in America.  Includes continuation of stories from first book.)

The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine is (a novel set in multi-ethnic, multi-religious Lebanon with mostly Muslim characters)

The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji (Pakistani-American protagonist navigating family and culture, minor gay character)

The Taqwacores by Micheal Muhammad Knight (novel about an “Islamic punk” subculture, featuring queer characters)

The City of Devi by Manil Suri (Indian novel with a gay Muslim man as one of the main characters in a love triangle)

Two Gay Muslim Couples by Ali (about two pairs of gay men living in the Muslim world)

The When We Wake series by Karen Healey (protagonist’s best friend is Muslim and attracted to multiple genders)

Other:

150 days by KnightJJ (webcomic where an Arab Muslim finds a Chinese prince in the desert and proceeds to fall in love with him)

Non-fiction

General books:

Assorted memoirs by Abdellah Taia (the first openly gay Moroccan intellectual, covers issues of culture, identity, and East/West relations. Most are in the original French)

Bareed Mista3jil (stories of LGBTQ+ Lebanese women)

Gay Travels in the Muslim World by Michael Luongo (tells the stories of both Muslim and non-Muslim gay men in the Muslim world)

Homosexuality and Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims  by Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle (scholarly work that challenges hetero/cissexist interpretations of scripture)

Hussein & the Nomad and Khalil & Majnun by Rahal Eks (memoirs from a gay Sufi man living in Morocco, exploring spirituality and love)

Illegal Citizens: Queer Lives in the Muslim World by Afdhere Jama (stories about queer people in countries where same-sex activity is forbidden)

Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle (personal stories of LGBTQ+ Muslims)

Love, Inshallah and Salaam, Love by Nura Masnavi and Ayesha Mattu (queer-inclusive anthologies about the love lives of American Muslim women and men, respectively)

Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism, compiled by Omid Safi (anthology of writings by various authors on progressive Islam)

Queer Jihad: LGBT Muslims on Coming Out, Activism, and the Faith by Afdhere Jama (a look at the lives of queer Muslims, mostly activists working towards ending homophobia)

Sex, Longing, and Not Belonging: A Gay Muslim’s  Quest for Love and Meaning by Balruddin Khan (memoir from a Pakistani gay man)

Wanting in Arabic: Poems by Trish Salah (poetry about trans and racial identity by an Arab author)

Shorter pieces:

“Brown and Queer in America” by Mona M. (about the intersection of brown culture and sexual identity)

Collection of articles on LGBTQ+ in the Middle East and North Africa (compiled by Muftah, which strives to provide a diverse voice in a Western-dominated media)

“Coming Out in the Muslim Community” by Ramy Eletreby (the author’s personal coming out story and how it affected his relationships with people)

“How to De-queer Your Apartment,” “A Very Queer Ramadan,” and “Not Your Tragic Queer Muslim Story” , “Yes, It’s Possible to be Queer and a Muslim at The Same Time,” “A Personal History of Islamophobia in America” by Lamya H. (”creative nonfiction”-type essays that delve into the author’s identity as a queer person and/or Muslim)

“Muslim, Queer, and Feminist: It’s as complicated as it sounds” by Aaminah Khan (reflection on the author’s journey to faith and intertwining of identities)

Scholarly works:

Assorted publications by Andrew Yip (studies about queer people of faith, many of which from 2004 to 2010 focus on Muslims)

“ Azima ila Hayati–An invitation in to my life: Narrative Conversations about Sexual Identity,” by Sekneh Hammoud-Becket (article about the concept of “the closet”, analysis here)

Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 by Khaled El-Rouayheb (explores the concept of homosexuality in pre-colonial times)

Desiring Arabs (Google Drive) by Joseph Massad (chronicles the Arabs’ change in attitudes towards their sexual desires, from the 1800s to the present)

Female Homosexuality in the Middle East: Histories and Representations by Samar Habib (traces the history of female homosexuality from the 9th century to today)

“Gay Imperialism: Gender and Sexuality Discourse in the ‘War on Terror’” (Google Drive) by Jin Haritaworn, Tamsila Tauqir, and Esra Erdem (relatively easy-to-read overview of gay imperialist politics and queer Muslim affairs)

“Gay Rights as Human Rights: Pinkwashing Homonationalism” by Maya Mikdashi (article on Western-imposed “rights” for queer Palestinians while they are occupied and denied other human rights)

“Homonationalism and the Death of the Radical Queer” by Haley O’Shaughnessy (discusses the gay rights’ movement search for inclusion rather than revolution, and how it is tied up with American homonationalism)

“Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society” (PDF) by Imam Muhsin Hendriks (overview of the arguments for a queer-supportive interpretation of Quran and Hadith)

Queer Beirut by Sofian Merabet (ethnographic study of queer lives in the Middle East)

“Queers of War: Normalizing Lesbians and Gays in the US War Machine” (PDF) by Hilary King (considers American sexual rights discourses in the broader context of imperialism)

“Seeking home: The lives of gay and transgender asylum seekers of the Middle East” by Nicole Crowder (article about Arabs cast out for their sexual/gender identities)

“Sodomized by Religion”: Fictional Representations of Queer Muslims in the West (PDF) by Ibrahim Abraham (analyzes the “hybrid identity” of queer Muslims as depicted in two films and two novels)

Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times by Jaspir Puar (examines the role of the white gay movement in reinforcing racist and Islamophobic attitudes)

Magazines/publications

Kaos GL (run by Turkish LGBT organization since 1994)

My.Kali (Jordan, online and in print bi-monthly)

Q-Magazine (Kosovo, bilingual: English and Albanian, sadly seems to be inactive but there are old issues available)

Roopban (Bengali, new magazine, contact on Facebook if you want a copy)

Totally Radical Muslims zine (pieces by queer and other marginalized Muslims)

Other

The Empire of Sexuality: An Interview with Joseph Massad (transcript where an academic challenges Western sexual identity politics & the imposition of the hetero-homo binary)

Yes, yes, I know. A lot of people have already said this and given their views on the matter, but I began re-reading Tokyo Ghoul and there was this one thing that made me convinced that there is definitely something special about Hide. What is that one thing? Nishio’s kick.

If you read the earlier chapters of Tokyo Ghoul, you’ll see that Nishio kicks pretty damn hard.

Let’s look at chapter #4. His kick literally whacked a ghoul’s head off of its shoulders:

It sent Kaneki flying across the street in chapter #8:

Nishio acknowledges the fact that his kick is strong as hell:

So how the flying hell did Hide survive it?

When Nishio surprise attacks Kaneki and Hide and hits Hide right in the ribs, how did Hide survive it? The kick kills ghouls. That kick should have broken Hide in half (or at least break his rib cage and puncture major organs). It’s not like Hide received immediate medical attention. He should have easy died from internal bleeding while Kaneki and Nishio fought. But what makes even less sense is that we later find out that Hide was conscious during the battle. He watched Kaneki fight and was awake when Kaneki almost ate him. How was he conscious after receiving such a blow?

Just look at Nishio kicking him:

Critical hit. No way can a regular human survive that.