'You don't count' is what Jean hears, letting his eyes fall shut as the Lieutenant pulls the smoke right from his lungs, the intimacy distinctly unromantic. Kim's hand holds his wrist fast to the wall, but he turns his face to the side, pushing the cigarette to his reaching lips, just managing another drag. The ember burns the hair on the back of his fingers, but he pushes the butt of it up with his thumb. And when he blows the smoke out again, Kim takes it from him just like the first time.
Jean's bloodstream fills up with all those delightful, nasty carcinogens, but he burns like the Astra hanging on for dear life between his fingers. He is intermédiaire, a convenient loophole through which the Lieutenant can break his sacred rules, and nothing more.
What does each star sign need to know about the month to come? Click the spoiler to learn more!
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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Aquarius (January 20th - February 18th)
TEN OF PENTACLES IN REVERSE + SEVEN OF WANDS + SIX OF WANDS IN REVERSE (Memento Mori)
This is very interesting- because the Seven of Wands came up in the reading for my Aquarius friends last month! January was a month of struggling to make things "work" for you, and it looks like this month you might be experiencing the crumbling of some foundations. Things you took for granted, or as a given, will be withdrawing from your life. As a result of this, you are going to need to really advocate for yourself and be specific in what is a need and what is a want. Honoring yourself, even when it may be difficult, is what you must do if you want to reach a point where you can really blossom into yourself and become the person you want to be.
What will help you in the month to come?
DEATH
Death is an inevitable cycle. Without death, some say that life would have no meaning. Death is merely a transference of energy. The electrical impulses cease, and the body is decomposed back into nature down an infinite number of avenues until that energy once again finds itself occupying a mortal shell of some sort. Try to have hope and curiosity for what energies you let go of this month, and what this will make room for in your life.
Pisces (February 19th - March 20th)
SIX OF CUPS IN REVERSE + ACE OF WANDS IN REVERSE + SEVEN OF WANDS (Mind's Eye)
You will learn or be shown something you don't want to know about another person. It will fundamentally change how you perceive them, and alter your opinion of them negatively. This perhaps used to be a person you had plans with, in some fashion. Maybe you were thinking of going into business someone, but you learn that they've defaulted on a loan with a previous business partner. Maybe you were considering making someone a bridesmaid at your wedding, but you find out she's been spreading rumors about someone else just to be nasty. Maybe you're considering getting into a serious relationship with someone, but they finally wave a huge red flag in your face. The choice you make? It might not be popular with everyone. You might find yourself with few allies in this time. But, that will not matter. You will do what is right because it is the right thing to do, not because it is popular.
What should our wonderful Pisces friends be mindful of in February?
FIVE OF PENTACLES
Don't let the haters get to you, my dears. I know it can be hard to go it alone sometimes, and to be pressured to succumb to the path of least resistance. But, going with the flow only makes a river wider and deeper. A force acting against the current creates a new stream. You are that force, and what you create is necessary. It will not be all bad in the end, and you will find people to help you and hear you if you seek them.
Aries (March 21st - April 19th)
THREE OF CUPS + SIX OF PENTACLES + NINE OF SWORDS (Memento Mori)
In January, you were encouraged to seek camaraderie and confide in those around you. We literally have a development from the Two of Cups to the Three of Cups! And, it looks like you have been successful in this mission. There has perhaps been much cause to celebrate, and you might be feeling like you found your "people." But- beware. When it comes to finances, do you find yourself footing more of the bill? If so, why is that? Are you maybe holding that against anyone? Or, is someone else seemingly overly generous? What are their intentions? Be mindful of the power dynamics within the group, especially where money is concerned. It looks like everything is not what it seems, and there is potential for things to go nightmarishly bad.
What should you keep a look out for?
KNIGHT OF CUPS
It looks like someone is going to be prone to moodiness, manipulation, avoiding accountability, and perhaps being overly sensitive to criticism as well. I will remind you: when people show you who they really are, believe them!
Taurus (April 20th - May 20th)
NINE OF WANDS IN REVERSE + STRENGTH IN REVERSE + NINE OF PENTACLES (Wild Unknown)
In January, our Taurus friends were presented with an opportunity to re-evaluate what governed their lives. In February, it seems some injury may have been sustained as a result of this. It is possible that you were met with blacklash from your choices, and now you are feeling defensive, doubtful, or perhaps even on the verge of giving up and relapsing into an old, unhelpful habit simply to get the complaining to stop. But consider: the bull does as it pleases. It does not ask for permission. And, anyone who thinks they can control the bull is mistaken. A bull merely chooses when it would like to cooperate. You do not need to defend or justify your choices to do what is best for yourself. To try and assert your strength and dominance is precisely what will undermine it. Allow yourself to occupy the energy of the bull: be the immovable object, and the unstoppable force. In doing so, you will open the window into living in a way that truly aligns with your needs and goals.
What should our powerful Taurus friends keep in mind this February?
TWO OF SWORDS
Sometimes, when others want to control us they present us with two choices. We can come, or we can go. We can have this, or we can have that. But there is a secret third option: it is to choose neither. You can stay. You can have neither. Be mindful of these types of situations this month, and when they arise do not feel pressed to make a decision or react to them immediately. It is okay to take your time, and look for the third option.
Gemini (May 21st - June 20th)
TEN OF PENTACLES @ 3 o'clock + JUSTICE @ 9 o'clock + NINE OF WANDS @ 2 o'clock
Karma is at play. It looks like this February, you are going to be experiencing a development in the foundations which have been laid down for your life. The Ten of Pentacles can be thought of as the status quo in this reading, which is to say that your status quo is going to be acted upon by forces from the past. The field that has been sown will be ready for harvest. Whether things do or do not go your way, someone is going to be getting banged up as a result. If this is you, apply adequate care to yourself and learn from your mistakes. If it is your enemy, consider if the right thing to do is to extend a helping hand. It never hurts to be the bigger person.
What should you be aware of this February?
THREE OF WANDS @ 9 o'clock
What do you need to feel like you're on top of the world? It looks like you might have a previous relationship with this idea that should be revisited and reevaluated. Your expectations might be too high, or it's possible you've not set them high enough and have been settling for less.
Cancer (June 21st - July 22nd)
FOUR OF CUPS + QUEEN OF PENTACLES IN REVERSE + TEN OF WANDS IN REVERSE (Tarot of the Abyss)
In January, my Cancer friends were haunted by a ghost from the past. In February, it looks like you might find yourself haunted by the present. This month, you will be offered... opportunities. Trouble is, you've got the feeling that these opportunities might really turn out to be burdens; burdens you're not certain you want to carry and be responsible for. You might be feeling a strong pressure from a maternal person in your life to carry on a family tradition of some sort: perhaps go into the same line of schooling as the rest of your family, to take point on continuing a family tradition, or to take up the mantle at the family business. There is nothing wrong with taking your time in making this decision. Whatever you elect to do or not do, it is important that you treat the situation- and yourself- with the care and gravity deserved. Consider making a pros and cons list to help you, and plan out what your life would look like one, three, five, and ten years in the future if you either took up this mantle or refused it. And if you decide to take on this challenge, consider making a plan well before you officially accept the metaphorical job.
What should my Cancer friends keep in mind this month?
THE DEVIL IN REVERSE
This really emphasizes the importance and gravity of what you will be facing! When the Devil card appears, it is a reminder to assess the rules you are living by. How many of them are just there to please other people? How many of them are in alignment with the way you want to be living? The Devil is an advocate for the self, a sign that you need to act in a way that empowers yourself. It brings to mind the line from Andrew Ryan in Bioshock: "A man chooses, a slave obeys."
Leo (July 23rd - August 22nd)
SEVEN OF WANDS @ 10 o'clock + NINE OF SWORDS @ 6 o'clock + SIX OF PENTACLES @ 12 o'clock
In January, you needed to advocate for and decide for yourself what you want in your life. You will be leaving the phase of having to fight for this, and will experience a reprieve from the struggle. For a while, you might have been feeling like you could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. But alas, there it is twinkling at you in the distance, becoming brighter and more expansive with every step. During this time, you should be tender with yourself. Treat yourself as the hermit crab does after molting: it is soft, and vulnerable. It needs time for its exoskeleton to develop, and so do you. During this time, it is okay to accept the help of others. However, make sure you really understand the parameters of that help before accepting it. When you are vulnerable, sometimes people will try to take advantage of that.
What do you need to look out for this month?
SIX OF CUPS @ 2 o'clock
Old relationships may be deserving of a little more scrutiny in this time. For example, you may have a friend from high school you haven't talked to in years suddenly reentering your life. That might be exciting, but you must also remember you don't really know this person anymore. Especially in this moment, don't give up anything which you aren't comfortable with never getting back.
Virgo (August 23rd - September 22nd)
SON OF CUPS IN REVERSE + DAUGHTER OF PENTACLES + THE HIEROPHANT IN REVERSE (Wild Unknown)
Last month focused on partnerships for my Virgo friends, and it looks as though this month will be remaining on that subject. The outlook appears to be more challenging in February, however.
One person in this partnership- whoever is the more forceful person- will be going through a dark episode. Their partner might notice them being more controlling or manipulative than usual, perhaps moody and unable to handle criticism. This may culminate in a short but intense outburst. The other member of this partnership should understand and accept that this is not actually a problem to do with them. And, do not tolerate it if they are accused to be at fault for the other person's actions. It will be very important to have a heart-to-heart within this partnership, establish boundaries, and to seek wise counsel. This could be in the form of reading a book on maintaining relationships, or even seeking the aid of a therapist. Whatever form this counsel takes, you will be seeking to establish a new and lasting method to carry the relationship forward (or ending it) without allowing this situation to repeat again.
What should our thoughtful Virgo friends be mindful of this month?
SIX OF PENTACLES
Be mindful of the give and take of your relationship. Do not let your idea of what is and is not fair be undermined or called into question. When you know something's not right, you know it! Trust yourself.
Libra (September 23rd - October 22nd)
ACE OF PENTACLES + THREE OF CUPS + ACE OF SWORDS IN REVERSE (Elysian Radiance)
The Ace of Pentacles appeared at the end of your spread last month, and appears at the start of the spread for this month. How interesting! You are still in the initiatory phases of creating something new for yourself. It is okay to take things slow and steady, and to build with intention. If you are to dive into the deep, it is a good idea to know what it is you're looking for down there, no? On this journey, you will have the help of others you are in close relationship with. Your hands will guide them towards a united and clear vision, and when the time is right things will move for you quite quickly. But, communication will be important. Just because everyone understands what the goal is, it does not mean that everyone is on the same page on how to get there. It may help you to have an outline written down that you can keep checking in on, and regularly scheduled meet ups to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
What should my wise Libra friends keep in mind for February?
THE EMPEROR IN REVERSE
You know what I like to say: to rule is to serve. When you are in a position of authority and delegation, make sure you are acting not only in your own best interest, but in the best interest of others.
Scorpio (October 23rd - November 21st)
PAGE OF WANDS IN REVERSE + STRENGTH + FIVE OF CUPS (Mind's Eye)
For us Scorpios, February looks like a month where we're just not going to be feeling it. We might have a lot of work we need to focus on, but we're not going to be engaging in it with the heart and interest we normally do. Our mind will be on other things. We are going to have a moment where we are vulnerable and true to ourselves, but in the process of this it is going to have an impact on a relationship(s) we have. It could be that you come out to someone you trust, and they react in a way that makes you wish you'd stayed in the closet. It could be that we visit old classmates at a reunion, only to find out a friend you haven't seen in ten years has died, or has otherwise become an entirely intolerable person. This is going to be something we're stuck ruminating on, and it will sap the joy and creativity out of our lives for a while.
What should we keep in mind for February?
QUEEN OF PENTACLES
Be kind to ourselves. Seek out the counsel and comfort of a trusted, older maternal figure in your life. If you have none, then imagine your ideal version of one. Speak with them on your situation. They might be the right audience to hear your story, allowing you to process this event.
Sagittarius (November 22nd - December 21st)
THE DEVIL IN REVERSE + THE STAR IN REVERSE + FOUR OF PENTACLES (Tarot of the Abyss)
Last month, my Sagittarius friends had a lot on their minds. Introspection was prescribed. Now, it looks as though you will be reaping the fruits of that introspective labor in February. Having become more aware of yourself, you will also begin to realize what rules you have been living by which have only been holding you back. February is the time to let them go. You might feel vulnerable and afraid doing so, at first. It is hard to let go of the familiar, even when it's something we don't particularly enjoy or benefit from. But, you must have faith in and care for yourself. Trust that investing in and saying "yes" to yourself is the best thing that you can do right now, and will put you on the right path. And, create and adhere to boundaries. After all, you don't want to just put yourself in the same situation all over again where you fall prey to a way of life that isn't serving your best interests. Don't be afraid to do what you must to make a stable foundation for yourself.
What do my beautiful Sagittarius friends need to keep in mind this month?
THE HIGH PRIESTESS IN REVERSE
Trust yourself! And, when you feel like you cannot, return to a state of introspection. Journal, meditate, analyze. After all, self-discovery is not a one and done process. The answers on what is right for you this month can come only from within.
Capricorn (December 22nd - January 19th)
SEVEN OF PENTACLES + THE CHARIOT IN REVERSE + QUEEN OF PENTACLES (Elysian Radiance)
You are beginning to see rewards for your efforts. Last month, you were advised to investigate a negative reaction you were having to a situation in order to lay a better foundation for your future. It looks like now you might be in the season of reaping some of those rewards. After the excitement of this however, you might feel as though your pace has slowed, and as though the direction you were headed in has once again become clouded and obscured. Understand that progress is not linear, and the more you worry about the direction you're headed in the easier it is to get sidetracked from it. Movement is gained through understanding and clarity, and so when you feel things slow down this is a sign to both turn inward and seek wise counsel. Find someone who embodies the energy of the Queen of Pentacles: a successful, gentle maternal figure who can make time and space for you. They may have advice to dispense to you, but often times just laying bare your heart around these people tends to help you put things into perspective on its own. And, if you do not know or cannot find a person like this, endeavor to be that presence for yourself. Listen to yourself without judgment and with patience, and consider what your wisest version of yourself would want for you.
What should you be mindful of this month?
KNIGHT OF WANDS IN REVERSE
Whenever you feel the fire within you begin to rise, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Follow the path the air travels through your nose, down your throat, into your lungs, and back out again. It's great to have passion! But, don't let them get the better of you this month. Think before you act, and the faster you think you need to act the longer the pause you should take beforehand.
bruh, no one was coerced into making donations. they ran the same donation drive they do every year at the same time. it's not coercive to say 'hey, we totally understand if you can't donate this time around' which is LITERALLY in the post they made about their donation drive. ffs, WIKIPEDIA is more manipulative with their language when asking for donations and i never see them called out. and it's a fact that ao3 was struggling over an increase in traffic due to the pandemic.
Give me one good reason why they needed to run the donation at all during a pandemic. Give me one good one. Because other places that run solely on donations, like maximum fun, which also have increased users during this, put theirs the fuck off because they actually give a shit about what’s going on in the world. Maximum fun also pays their contributors.
Donations are accepted year-round, the membership drives are held twice a year in April and October every year for like 10 years now. Every one of those years, something “more serious” happened:
2011: Fukushima
2012: POTUS election year, and two high-profile mass shootings
2013: 2700 people died during a coup d'etat in Egypt
2014: Ebola, ISIS
2015: 9000 deaths due to the Nepal earthquake, ISIS terror attacks
2016: POTUS election year, brexit, more ISIS terror attacks
2017: Hurricane Harvey, UK building fire, more ISIS terror attacks
2018: More ebola, 4300 dead due to Indonesian earthquake, California fires, “incel” terrorism
2019: Christchurch shooting, Sri Lanka bombings, El Paso shooting… I could go on really
By the “more serious” standard, the OTW should never have accepted any donations and thus none of its projects would exist.
So, I have seen a lot of people talk about Kylux in terms of queer fetishisation or even labelling it a “crack ship”.
The discourse has somehow made Kylux out to be this straight-girl fantasy where two men are simply shipped because they are white and handsome. Such an unfavourable interpretation completely takes away from many Kyluxers being queer and/or poc themselves as well as shaming straight people for seeing queer potential where it’s not canonically stated to be. Since the comic came out, there has been much elation because it finally “confirms” some of the things that appeal to Kyluxers, therefore justifying the ship. I don’t think, however, that Kylux has ever been anything but rather conventional in its queer subtext. Kylux falls in line with a long tradition of homoerotic aggression between two men. I will try to put this into words as eloquently as I can.
First, let’s talk about how Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Armitage Hux are queer coded on their own before moving on to their relationship.
Armitage Hux is almost comically queer coded. The act of feminising a villain to subtly convey to the audience that he is gay and therefore “morally reprehensible” has been a practice since the Hays code era (in some respects even before that -as the Victorian Age marks the beginning of our modern understanding of gender and subsequently, its subversion). He is seen to be physically weak, petty, moving and snarling and “bitching” in a way society would stereotypically ascribe to women.
His British Accent, at least from an American point of view, already marks his sexuality as ambiguous. This is not helped by the fact that he speaks in an abnormally posh way, alienating himself from the common people.Hereby, the movies draw a well-established line between decadence/queer and pragmatic/heteronormative.
In the “Aftermath” trilogy Brendol Hux states his son to be “weak willed” and “thin as a slip of paper and just as useless”, robbing him of his masculinity – no matter how ridiculous of an endeavour this is when talking about a four-year old boy. Hux is very early on criticised for not fitting into a socially expected form of manhood. This is especially evident when one compares him to his resistance rival, Poe Dameron. Now, Dameron has his own set of queer coding, but he is shown to be what is commonly viewed as “acceptably queer”. He is masculine, trained and proactive. When he ridicules Hux at the beginning of The Last Jedi, there is this juxtaposition of the helpless, feminine villain and the dashing, superior male hero. Hux is supposed to be judged as vain and arrogant while Poe takes risks and although reckless, is somehow to be admired. Further, Hux is constantly abused. He is thrown into walls letting out high pitched screams, runs away in the face of danger (as seen in the recent comic) and is pushed around by his own subordinates. His strength lies in being cunning and calculated, not stereotypically masculine virtues.
Hux’s destructive powers, his monstrosity so to speak, also follow a long-standing tradition of queer villainization. Harry Benshoff’s The Monster and The Homosexual articulates this as follows:
“[…] repressed by society, these socio-political and psychosexual Others are displaced (as in a nightmare) onto monstrous signifiers, in which form they return to wreak havoc […]” (Benshoff 65).
And what other, than a socio-political Other, is Armitage Hux - the Starkiller?
Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, too, is touched by the mark of queerness. It is no coincidence that despite his raw power and muscular physique, Kylo Ren has not been adopted by hegemonic masculinity in the same way Han Solo has, for example. When the logical is traditionally seen as masculine, the realms of pure and unfiltered emotionality is feminine. And Kylo Ren is unrestrained in his vulnerability, his tears, his pain – People make fun of the dramatic ways he gives words to his feelings precisely because it is regarded as weak, as whiny, as “womanly”. His long curly hair, full lips and dress-like costume only strengthens this impression. Kylo Ren is an amalgam of masculine aggression and feminine expressiveness. Some of his outbursts even remind of the pseudo-illness of hysteria. The gendered lines are blurred and unclear in Kylo Ren, diffusing any efforts to appease the binary. Benshoff describes this as a form of queer existence which does not only constitute itself in opposition to what is considered normal but “ultimately opposed the binary definitions and prescriptions of a patriarchal heterosexism” (Benshoff 63).
Both are not easily categorised. They are patched up by multiple, gendered signifyers. Kylo Ren’s masculine body in contrast to his femininized fashion. Hux’s slender body with his stiff and masculinised military get-up. Hux’s toxic tendency to avoid showing his emotions while also being shown as weak, womanly, cowardly. Kylo Ren is an excellent warrior, yet simultaneously being prone to emotional outbursts. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s famous work Monster Theory (Seven Theses) elaborates upon this further, while acknowledging that queer figures are most commonly depicted as the monstrous Other:
“The refusal to participate in the classificatory “order of things” is true of monsters generally: they are disturbing hybrids whose externally incoherent bodies resist attempts to include them in any systematic structuration.” (Cohen 6).
Nonetheless, many queer people feel empowered by these figures. Lee Edelman theorises in his polemic No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive about the nature of queerness as a force of cultural resistance. According to Edelman, the queer must always refuse societal expectations of a perpetual future and embrace the death drive instead. In this sense, queerness stands in direct opposition to futurity as it negates any meaning in sexual reproduction and marriage (cp. Edelman 13). When Hux destroys planets, when Kylo Ren proposes to burn it all down “The Empire, your Parents, the Resistance, the Sith, the Jedi”, they are not merely killing the past. They are also negating the worth of categories that make up future and present alike. They are resisting the heteronormative values of production.
Now that we have the puzzle pieces that illustrate how Hux and Kylo are queer figures in on themselves, it might be interesting to examine how they work together.
In her text “Epistemology of the Closet”, Eve Sedgwick talks about a common gothic trope where two men are caught in a feud full of mutual hatred. In this case, both men are mirror images of one another, making them especially vulnerable to the other’s advances: “[…] a male hero is in a close, usually murderous relation to another male figure, in some respects his ‘double’, to whom he seems to be mentally transparent.”
Kylo and Hux are very clearly mirrors of one another. Aside from the gendered oppositions I have already illustrated, they are each other’s double in every sense of the word. Born on opposite ends of an age-old war. Both caught in complicated relationship with their fathers whom both have killed out of opposite motivations (loving them too much vs. hating them with a passion). They represent the opposite ends in the binaries for logic vs. spirituality, restraint vs. wildness, control vs. sensuality, technology vs. nature etc.
This shot from The Last Jedi shows both of them mirroring each other visually, henceforth strengthening this impression.
They are “mentally transparent” to each other, because they are different sides of the same coin which Snoke tossed around to his whims. Even their aggression takes on erotic forms. It is hard to deny the homoerotic implications in choking another men to make him submit, forcing him onto his knees. The breaching of personal spaces and looming over each other, the obsessive need to prove one’s own worth to the male other with which one is engaged in a homosocial bond:
“The projective mutual accusation of two mirror-image men, drawn together in a bond that renders desire indistinguishable from prédation, is the typifying gesture of paranoid knowledge.” (Sedgwick 100).
And through all of this, I have not even talked about the collaborative potential between the two of them. Their instinct to protect one another despite insiting the opposite. How both of them could overcome their trauma by engaging with the other, who suffered so similarly under family obligation and Snoke’s abuse.
Works Cited:
Benshoff, Harry: “The Monster and the Homosexual.” In: Harry Benshoff (ed. and introd.)/Sean Griffin (ed. and introd.): Queer Cinema, the Film Reader. New York: Routledge 2004. Pp. 63-74.
For all you horror movie buffs out there… you know how you’re like “I probably know what most scary movies are like”? Midsommar is fluent in hubris and is your surprise prostate exam to prove you wrong. (Yes I am referencing John Mulaney in the review of a horror movie.)
An as spoiler-free-as-I-can-make-it review is below the cut.
