Latest Posts by convallariamajolis - Page 6

Post is set for a week, let's see how it goes...

ₒ︎08Ɩ ʌǝɹd ǝʇɐʇoɹ oʇ ƃoןqǝɹ

so ugly thing

So today I want to talk about puberty blockers for transgender kids, because despite being cisgender, this is a subject I’m actually well-versed in. Specifically, I want to talk about how far backwards things have gone.

This story starts almost 20 years ago, and it’s kind of long, but I think it’s important to give you the full history. At the time, I was working as an administrative assistant for a pediatric endocrinologist in a red state. Not a deep deep red state like Alabama, we had a little bit of a purple trend, but still very much red. (I don’t want to say the state at the risk of doxxing myself.) And I took a phone call from a woman who said, “My son is transgender. Does your doctor do hormone therapy?”

I said, “Good question! Let me find out.”

I went into the back and found the doctor playing Solitaire on his computer and said, “Do you do hormone therapy for transgender kids?” It had literally never come up before. He had opened his practice there in the early 2000s. This was roughly 2006, and the first time someone asked. Without looking up from his game of Solitaire, the doctor said, “I’ve never done it before, but I know how it works, so sure.”

I got back on the phone and told the mom, who was overjoyed, and scheduled an appointment for her son. He was the first transgender child we treated with puberty blockers. But not, by far, the first child we treated with puberty blockers, period. Because puberty blockers are used very commonly for children with precocious puberty (early-onset puberty). I would say about twenty percent of the kids our doctor treated were for precocious puberty and were on puberty blockers. They have been well studied and are widely used, safe, and effective.

Well. It turned out, the doctor I worked for was the only doctor in the state who was willing to do this. And word spread pretty fast in the tight-knit community of ‘parents of transgender children in a red state’. We started seeing more kids. A better drug came out. We saw some kids who were at the age where they were past puberty, and prescribed them estrogen or testosterone. Our doctor became, I’m fairly sure, a small folk hero to this community. 

Insurance coverage was a struggle. I remember copying articles and pages out of the Endocrine Society Manual to submit with prior authorization requests for the medications. Insurance coverage was a struggle for a lot of what we did, though. Growth hormone for kids with severe idiopathic short stature. Insulin pumps, which weren’t as common at the time, and then continuous glucose monitoring, when that came out. Insurance struggles were just part and parcel of the job.

I remember vividly when CVS Caremark, a pharmaceutical management company, changed their criteria and included gender dysphoria as a covered diagnosis for puberty blockers. I thought they had put the option on the questionnaire to trigger an automatic denial. But no - it triggered an approval. Medicaid started to cover it. I got so good at getting approvals with my by then tidy packet of articles and documentation that I actually had people in other states calling me to see what I was submitting (the pharmaceutical rep gave them my number because they wanted more people on their drug, which, shady, but sure. He did ask me if it was okay first).

And here’s the key point of this story:

At no point, during any of this, did it ever even occur to any of us that we might have to worry about whether or not what we were doing was legal.

It just never even came up. It was the medically recommended treatment so we did it. And seeing what’s happening in the UK and certain states in America is both terrifying and genuinely shocking to me, as someone who did this for almost fifteen years, without ever even wondering about the legality of it.

The doctor retired some years ago, at which point there were two other doctors in the state who were willing to prescribe the medications for transgender kids. I truly think that he would still be working if nobody else had been willing to take those kids on as patients. He was, by the way, a white cisgender heterosexual Boomer. I remember when he was introduced to the concept of ‘genderfluid’ because one of our patients on HRT wanted to go off. He said ‘that’s so interesting!’ and immediately went to Google to learn more about it. 

I watched these kids transform. I saw them come into the office the first time, sometimes anxious and uncertain, sometimes sullen and angry. I saw them come in the subsequent times, once they were on hormone therapy, how they gradually became happy and confident in themselves. I saw the smiles on their faces when I gave them a gender marker letter for the DMV. I heard them cheer when I called to tell them I’d gotten HRT approved by insurance and we were calling in a prescription. It was honestly amazing and I will always consider the work I did in that red state with those kids to be something I am incredibly proud of. I was honored to be a part of it.

When I see all this transgender backlash, it’s horrifying, because it was well on the way to become standard and accepted treatment. Insurances started to cover it. Other doctors were learning to prescribe it. And now … it’s fucking illegal? Like what the actual fuck. We have gone so far backwards that it makes me want to cry. I don’t know how to stop this slide. But I wrote this so people would understand exactly how steep the slide is.

Pinned

gimmick blog for cataloging posts (videos, images, texts, whatever) that have altered your vocabulary in some way. adding a word or phrase, obliterating the tumblr linguistic biosphere, etc. you can nominate posts by tagging if you want to. i'm also gonna reblog posts of my own volition. this will result in some bias because my vocabulary is strange to begin with. i'm formatting it like you're picking something up to add to your inventory in a video game because funny.

whether or not i reblog a tagged post is up to my discretion. if it's one i haven't seen before but that i can easily picture Changing Something, it gets added. specific fandom references probably won't make the cut unless they're truly groundbreaking (such as miku binder thomas jefferson).

#outside nomination - someone else sent this in

#personal nomination - this one is all me

more info below the cut

other tags include #phrases, #words, and #characters. phrases and words are probably self-explanatory but for characters it's for when a person or other entity is made up and tumblr latches onto them/it for fun, such as cousin throckmorton or goncharov.

#bonus hit is for posts that permanently changed the way people talk on this side or stuff that is still being referenced years later. #combo hit is for if the entire post (multiple words/phrases/whatever) is insane enough to be referenced or thought about for years. if the entire post is one sentence or sentences that are unrelated to each other it doesn't get the combo hit tag because that is, by definition, not a combo.

main blog is nickel-alloy so youll occasionally see me reblogging posts from there if the source of the linguistic injection cannot be reblogged from for one reason or another. if i reblog from you it's likely that yours was the most recent clean reblog i could find without doing too much scrubbing.

yes i have autism. pronouns are he/they or something

HIT LISTS OF POSTS THAT ARE GOING ON THIS BLOG (as soon as i find them again):

stabby the roomba (long-standing character)

cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure (biosphere alteration)

the friendful visitor (arguable biosphere alteration)

death is coming. Death is coming. pass me a hot dog (i personally think about it from time to time)

los feratu (funny)

hear it hurgling (funny)

the grink (funny and true)

vanilla extract (arguable biosphere alteration)

eeby deeby (arguable biosphere alteration)

horse plinko (arguable biosphere alteration)

bidoof's law (biosphere alteration)

okay <3 yay <3 (arguable biosphere alteration)

My three girlfriends. And yes, they smoke weed.

me holding a gun to a mushroom: tell me the name of god you fungal piece of shit

mushroom: can you feel your heart burning? can you feel the struggle within? the fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. you cannot kill me in a way that matters

me cocking the gun, tears streaming down my face: I’M NOT FUCKING SCARED OF YOU

it's cold out there, reblog to give a trans man a cup of soump

*tucks everyone in bed, makes sure everybody is warm enough*

#...269...why...

The spirit of Diogenes is alive and well

love to purchase items but at what cost

Chapter2: The Last Sermon

The Last Sermon (Part One)

stupid freaking puppets

ITS HAPPENINGMWJWNSWLQ

New JoJo event announced for April 2025 - JOJODAY

JOJODAY, a 'fan festival' event celebrating the history of the JoJo anime, has been announced for the 12th April 2025 by the official JoJo anime twitter account. More information, including a link to a JOJODAY website can be found here: https://x.com/anime_jojo/status/1867495556572213641?s=46

We currently do not have any ticket information or further details about the event, but we do know that this event will be focusing on the past and future of the JoJo anime, with the Japanese voice actors for Jonathan Joestar (Kazuyuki Okitsu), Jotaro Kujo (Daisuke Ono) and Leone Abbacchio (Junichi Suwabe) appearing on stage at some point during the event. The venue for this event is the Yoyogi National Stadium. That is all the official information we currently have. In my opinion though, this is the closest we have ever been to a Steel Ball Run anime announcement - Stone Ocean was announced at a similar event (in April 2021 mind you), and with this event specifically focusing on the past and future of the anime it would be the perfect opportunity for them to announce a Steel Ball Run anime. One of the key art pieces for JOJODAY includes all of the old universe JoJo's looking back at someone. Could it maybe be Johnny..?

its so shiddy when u have to convince yourself to do your hobbies. like, its fun, you like it, why cant you just do it. do it. do it. but what if.... mindless media consumption instead....

beanie baby dragon is crossing your dash

I just accidentally made un-tea?????

I made green tea, but I forgot there was an old bag of chai in the kettle, so I mixed chai water with decaf green tea, then I mixed in like a half table spoon or something of that honey from the dollar store that they aren't legally allowed to call honey because there's too much corn syrup in it and some almond milk and a single drop of coffee creamer because we ran out and???? It tastes like??? Nothing????

It has LESS flavor than my tap water! HOW do you EVEN-

I think I made a flavor that's only perceptible to shrimp, that's the only explanation

one thing i love about tumblr is that u become friends with people without even knowing their name/their face/their voice...........like....i love u because of your dumb little thoughts thank u for existing

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN DECEMEBER GUYS. TRUST. PLEASE. I NEED ANIMATED DIEGO WITH A SHITTY ASS BRIT ACCENT. PLEASE PLEASE PELASE I NEED TO SEE THAT BASTARD OF A CREATURE

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO

Is Diego as bad as Dio?

From my time in the fandom, I often see people discuss Diego as 'a more humanized version of Dio'.

Well, what does that mean? Is he more sympathetic? Is he a better person? Why do some people prefer him over the original? Here are my thoughts on the matter! (sorry in advance)

This analysis will be more broken up than my previous ones, but I thought it'd be fun to do a close examination of Diego as a character to try and find the ways in which he differs from his counterpart. I'll be doing this primarily through analyzing his motivations and his dynamics with other characters. I didn't go back and reread Phantom Blood, so the comparison to Dio's character will be from memory. However, this essay will serve primarily as an examination as Diego, so hopefully not having a direct comparison to Dio won't affect the contents of the analysis too much.

Chapter 29: Scary Monster (Part 2)

Motivations:

Backstory: it's important. I think Diego's expanded backstory, in comparison with Dio's, is automatically a boon to his character. The beginning of Phantom Blood is very fast-paced; furthermore, although we're told about Dio's upbringing, we are only really shown glimpses of it. The placement of Dio's backstory at the beginning also means that the more heinous acts he commits, the more inclined we are to forget about the why; and the less with sympathize with how drastic his actions are.

Dio rejected his humanity, but somewhere in the Phantom Blood the why behind it was lost. Was it because of his hatred of people? His desire for power? Both? Neither? A desire for a sense of control? In my opinion, simply due to the execution of Phantom Blood (i.e. seven year timeskip) it becomes clouded as to what extent Dio's backstory factors into his actions and to what extent he was 'always going to turn out this way'. In my opinion, events in the narrative rendered Dio's tragic backstory, in a word, ineffective in terms of explaining why he acts the way he does. While his backstory is not necessarily forgotten, as Dio commits more atrocities it appears almost inconsequential to who he is and his motivations for seeking power. Speedwagon claims that Dio was 'born evil'. I'm not going to debate how true or not true that statement is, and again I want to say that while his backstory may appear inconsequential to his motivations later in the story (in the sense that, 'he was always going to turn out this way' or 'he has done more evil than was done unto him'), it's not. However, it is allowed to be forgotten about, as in Parts 1 and 3 the focus shifts more onto Dio as an antagonistic force than Dio as a character.

In my Paralleled Monstrosity: Dio and Diego post, I briefly talked about the differing ways in which Dio and Diego separated themselves from humanity by embracing that which is 'inhuman'. Dio 'rose above' humanity by taking the next evolutionary step into vampirism. He became faster, stronger, and better than that which he hated. I'll argue that Diego did the opposite; he 'descended' into monstrosity. Like Dio, he saw himself as above the people surrounding him; however, I think what helps to 'humanize' Diego, despite this descent, is that his cruelty is a reflection of his understanding of the world. He's self-centered and callous, but realistic in the sense that he does not go out of his way to commit evil to those who have nothing to do with him. More so, his values can be understood in the sense that he does not have a sense of compassion, and is apathetic at best in his treatment of those around him.

Chapter 30: Scary Monsters (Part 3) - The descent

With Diego we see not just what motivates him and the 'whys' behind his hatred, but also how that motivation affects his present actions - a character writing decision that, in my opinion, was lost with Dio (bar Part 6). After the beginning of Phantom Blood, Dio seems much more motivated by his hatred of the Joestars than the backstory we're given. And it's fine thematically and everything, good vs evil, but like I said it makes Dio's backstory feel almost inconsequential. Maybe it's supposed to be (fate and everything) but for me it doesn't work. Furthermore, Diego explicitly hates the society he's surrounded by. His goal is fairly mundane - gain a position of power and control the people he looks down on - though we see this goal slowly escalate over the course of the story.

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1)

Chapter 75: D4C (Part 8) - Johnny's words from Scary Monsters still ring true: Diego longs for 'authority' and 'eliteness'. But I think it's interesting that Diego says "I won't try to 'dress it up'", given his usual propensity for smooth talk.

Compare with Dio, where his motivations almost immediately changed from 'steal the Joestar fortune -> take control of england via vampires' when he learned about the power of the mask. Something similar happens to Diego when he learns about the Corpse, but the structure of Steel Ball Run, as well as the presence of a 'bigger bad', puts Diego not in the position of overall antagonist, but relegates him to rival / pseudo-protagonist (particularly during the D4C arc). If you're interested in a partial breakdown of why he's such an effective rival and oppositional force to the protagonists, check out my analysis of Catch the Rainbow. Diego's escalating goal makes it so that he is essentially on equal footing with Johnny and Gyro for the duration of the narrative. He doesn't need to be as intimidating or as much of an overwhelming force as Dio, because that's not his role in the story. All this to say, even in what is essentially Diego's introductory arc, a more in-depth backstory, motivations in-line with his actions, and a changed role in the story already puts him in position to be a worthy successor to Dio. Yet all these factors also mean that, at his core, Diego is a different character.

Even so, he and Dio are fascinatingly similar.

Character Dynamics:

Firstly, I want to examine Diego's first meeting with Valentine. Diego overheard everything Ferdinand spilled to Johnny during the Scary Monsters arc; however, it isn't until his loss in Catch the Rainbow that he swallows his pride and seeks out Valentine to do business.

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1) - Chronic yapper says "let me get straight to the point" then proceeds to have the most speech bubbles in the entire scene

Both Diego and Dio are very prideful characters; however, they are willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to fulfilling their goals. Dio hates the Joestars to his core, but he plays along for seven years to further his goal of seizing the fortune (despite missteps with Jonathan by showing his true nature during their youth). Diego similarly swallows his pride in order to accomplish his goal of defeating Gyro (not Johnny, for some reason), though notably he refuses to be 'partners' with someone. Diego explicitly says he wants a subordinate.

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1)

Diego and Valentine are certainly interesting to contrast as well. Despite losing his father, Valentine presumably lived pretty well, and enjoys many privileges as not just part of the political elite but as the President of U.S. of A. I also say Valentine lived pretty well because this is what he says about Diego's proposal:

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1) - 'it's a win-win situation! Give me Manhattan Island!' hes so funny for that

Or does Valentine hate Diego because he's British? Hm...

Despite agreeing to Diego's terms, Valentine has no intention of upholding the deal. And as a matter of fact, neither does Diego. I think they both know this about the other; hence why this standoff is so tense. I do think both Valentine and Diego being the type to go back on their word paints an interesting parallel in their natures as power-hungry people. Furthermore, this meeting foreshadows not just Diego's poor treatment of his allies, but also Valentine's attempted deal with Johnny. Funnily enough, Johnny the only one who sees through both of their facades and understands their true natures - he takes no shit and I love him for it.

For some more insight into Diego's thoughts on Valentine, and the elite in general, we can look at his interactions with Mike O.

Below is Diego's reaction to being dismissed by Mike O. Also, from the information Mike O. gives him, Diego for a moment thinks that Gyro and Johnny are dead; so the last panel of the first page doubles as a reaction to that news as well. I wonder why we get such a big panel of his closed-off expression?

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1) - Valentine calls Diego 'peasant scum', while Diego regards Valentine's subordinates and by extension Valentine as 'trash.'

Diego's partnership with Valentine inevitably turns sour. It wouldn't be wrong to count Valentine among the long list of Diego's allies that he backstabbed.

Chapter 70: D4C (Part 5)

To bring this post back to Dio and Diego, compare Diego's treatment of his 'allies' to how Dio treats his subordinates in Part 3. Neat parallels!

Now, the real reason I made this post: Diego is a total bastard and we need to stop pretending he's not. Compilation of him having zero empathy or compassion for all the people he fucked over! he's just a guy.

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1) - he dgaf

Chapter 62: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - does anyone know why Magenta would be so fucking convinced Diego is coming back for him. did he blow him or something. the jpeg was named 'what the hell is this'

Chapter 62: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - See: thirty seconds prior. Diego has the information he needs and dips. he still doesn't gaf

Chapter 66: D4C (Part 1) - 'lmao wekapipo wasn't that guy you killed your friend?' im criing. magenta he rlly did not gaf abt you

Most egregiously, his treatment of Wekapipo.

Chapter 70: D4C (Part 5) - this was actually so foul. Also another Diego + Valentine parallel. Compare Diego's dismissal of Wekapipo as Wekapipo being intended all along as a stepping stone for him, with Valentine's belief that Lucy's death will serve him well in fulfilling his goals of Pax Americana.

And, this is less obvious, but yes, Diego did intend to fuck over Hot Pants as well. These are the terms of their bargain:

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

The terms of their cooperation: Hot Pants will take the corpse, but Diego will receive everything he wanted at the time of A Silent Way (assets and a position of political power), as well as what he initially wanted even back in Scary Monsters: revenge on his father. But Diego, like Dio, wants it all. Hot Pants is not an ally, but another subordinate - a tool.

Chapter 75: D4C (Part 8)

Diego never intended to hand the corpse over to Hot Pants. Hot Pants' offer was enticing, but that's because it was easy. If things had gone Diego's way and HP had opposed him, I have no doubt he would have disposed of them too. In the event of a fatal disagreement, in all likelihood he would have simply set out on his own to track down his father. HP's resources would have just made it easier. I think it's perhaps a nod to Dio and Diego's natural charisma that HP seemed to believe Diego would follow through on their bargain. However, HP is also not naive, so the extent to which they had confidence in Diego's word, I can't say. It would have been interesting to see that confrontation play out.

There is only one ally of Diego's that didn't end up dead: Johnny. It was very brief, but Diego and Johnny did work together to take down Valentine in the parallel universe (Johnny also showed up in the base universe to help Diego, though he was unable to do anything). This team-up is the only time we really see Diego in trouble; in all the other team-ups, Diego is either hanging in the background (Soundman, Magenta), or in control of the situation (Wekapipo, Hot Pants). With Hot Pants, they planned the fourth fake Valentine as a tactic prior to the confrontation; however, Diego is still the one doing most of the work / controlling the situation in that confrontation. Diego relying on Johnny in Philadelphia is the only time he ever put his faith entirely in any of his 'allies'. I think we can read this incident as a parallel to how Jonathan was the only person Dio ever respected as an equal. It's not stated explicitly, but Diego relying on Johnny may imply something along those lines.

Chapter 70: D4C (Part 5)

I talked about this scene briefly in my Does Johnny Actually Hate Diego? analysis, but I just find this interaction so interesting. Especially when we're talking about it in the context of Diego's allies, and how Johnny is the only one who sees through him. When Diego kills Wekapipo, Johnny is a witness to it. Diego appears to feel some kind of way about this:

Chapter 70: D4C (Part 5)

But sadly, that last panel is only closure we'll get on their relationship. I DO want to point out, however, that after this point, Johnny's feelings towards Diego appears to have marginally softened - similar to how Jonathan witnessed all the atrocities Dio committed, but still found it in his heart to forgive him. Maybe it's not to the same extent, but Johnny now includes Diego as part of the 'everyone' collective working against Valentine :)

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

Chapter 76: D4C (Part 9)

My god this post is tangential as fuck. Anyway, let's answer the question: Is Diego as bad as Dio?

Chapter 74: D4C (Part 7)

Well, kind of. He certainly plays a different role in the story, and his motivations are perhaps more understandable / consistent (in the sense that they evolve and are not abandoned), but at their core both Diego and Dio are selfish, prideful people. I think Diego is just a bit better at hiding it, and is perhaps a bit more levelheaded.

Let me put it this way: Dio chose the mask. He desired power and to transcend humanity; he didn't want to control people through politics or climbing the social ladder. Dio rejected humanity in its entirety. He wanted to enact violence against them, and killed whenever it suited him.

Diego did not choose Scary Monsters. Nonetheless, he embraced it. Diego sought, above all else, control (an interesting contrast with Scary Monsters, a primal and instinctual ability). He wanted the power to give back as good as he got; he wanted to trample on those who had trampled on him. He condemned society and isolated himself, but he also blended in well, and played along when it suited him. Dio couldn't stand to keep playing along; Diego could. Diego didn't reject his humanity. He already saw the worst in people, and in adulthood treated people as they had treated him in his childhood: uncaring and callously cruel. Scary Monsters allowed him to act on the worst parts of himself and, like Dio, use violence to achieve his goals. Diego saw himself as above the everyone, and would do whatever it took to externalize that superiority, hence why his goals escalated from getting revenge on his father to seizing control of the corpse in the hopes of finally gaining the control of society he had chased for so long.

Dio may have had the generational hatred and the world-ending schemes, but Diego is perhaps a more realistic portrayal of everyday evil. Dio started out as a poor boy with something to prove; he, like Diego, was a victim of the system and an abusive father. But I think where Dio fails as a reflection of the evil that was done unto him, Diego succeeds. Diego lacks compassion and a desire to improve the world; rather, he just wants to be the one in control of the system.

If you read this far, thank you! Hope this was coherent!

What do you think?

I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3

Reblog to make the person u reblogged this from comfy n cozy

it’s okay if it takes you longer than it did everybody else. trust your own process and timing. you still have your whole life ahead of you. you’re not running out of time and you’re getting there ♡

Happy Thanksgiving Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Fans

Happy Thanksgiving.

I know this might sound corny but I'm thankful for queer representation in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

There's canonically queer characters (Gelato & Sorbet, Scarlet Valentine), androgynous characters (Squalo & Tiziano, Dr. Ferdinand, Mrs. Robinson, etc.), both (DIO), or trans characters (Dragona)

They'll never make me hate you, canonically queer Jojo's Bizzare Adventure characters.

I TOO PICK GAY SON

Pick your fighter, I’m choosing gay son

You all need to hear this:

1. You probably dont suck at your craft as much as you think you do, I bet a lot of people are amazed at what you can make, and

2. If you actually are the Literal Worst In The Whole Wide World at your craft... who the fuck cares? What are they gonna do, call the police on you? Keep making your shitty little things, youre the boss of you, fuck the haters.