#GUESS WHAT SUCKERS

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

A guy doing marine research into phytoplankton is far out to sea and waiting for the samples to be ready when he spots a fast-moving ripple in the water up ahead.

Fully aware that this spot is home to a migratory orca pod, he assumes he's stumbled across an orca hunting a seal and settles against the railing to watch, because it's not every day you get to see that.

The ripples get closer, the shadows in the water more defined, the water choppier, and suddenly the orca and its unfortunate prey are zooming directly towards the boat and he's waiting, breath held, for them to duck right underneath--

When the water breaks, the ocean sprays, and he's suddenly smacked fully in the face by a very wet, very confused, and very pretty merman, throwing them both down onto the deck while the boat rocks as a confused and now quite hungry orca dives beneath it.

The merman, it turns out, thought that the boat was an ice float and didn't realise his mistake until it was too late. But he's very thankful for the impromptu rescue, and wow don't you have nice arms, and holy shit you've got legs, can I touch them? Is that weird? Can I touch them anyway? And your hair--

So of course they get to talking because they're both utterly fascinated with the other, and soon the sun has set and the samples are long-since ready and the moonlight is making the ocean look black and they part with the knowledge that they'll never meet again, and a kiss, and a lingering look over the shoulder for all the things that can't be...

And the researcher gets back to land, moors his boat, readies his samples. He packs up his things, shoves them into his bags, and prepares to go home. He steps onto the jetty boards and thinks of the merman and the solid wood beneath his feet seems to sway for more than one reason.

There's a splash. He turns, pulled as if by the tide, and there's a ripple in the water. A face. A pair of eyes made black by the moonlight.

And this is how the researcher acquires a merman boyfriend who helps him find samples and the merman acquires a human boyfriend who rescues him from whales.

[insomniac-dormouse]

He’s fucking beautiful

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

(DATV thoughts with spoilers ahead; i think my tags will keep it filtered but just in case it doesn't since i dont want this in the actual game tags)

i just... man. i don't have a well formulated thought for this yet (and its my PERSONAL OPINION and other people can feel as different as they want, this is not an attack) but it keeps bouncing around my head, so. i know the popular thing right now is coming up with in-universe justifications for The Pantry Almost-Kiss Scene in ways that imply Lucanis didn't mean it/it doesn't represent him as a person/he was Faking It.

and i just don't like any of them. they make me sad!!!!!! i don't like the idea that one of the like 4 romance scenes we get in this game is him Pretending in some way, even if he does at that point like Rook back at least somewhat. None of the justifications i've seen make me feel Better about that being the point where we declare him as a romantic interest, which is what it is in the game, functionally. It doesn't lock you in yet but that point IS where the game says "they will take your flirting more seriously now". I did those same scenes for Davrin, Emmrich, and Taash and this is the formula the game uses (the "interrupted almost-kiss/confession" happens for almost all of the companions).

so if the answer for Lucanis' is "actually he stopped because he Didn't like what he was doing/feel that way yet" or that he felt he had to pretend for Rook's sake... it's kind of a letdown you know? esspecially when it comes right after what seems like an actually authentic moment (dispelling his "perfectly gathered clouds of doom"). Because, at that point in the game from my/Rook's perspective, it was like he finally was reciprocating. It made me hope that he'd acknowledge whatever was between him & Rook more in future scenes, especially because you get so little else from him at any other point, in terms of flirting back/showing you he IS interested. like up to that point I felt kind of bad for continuing to flirt at him, when he'd just change the subject right after! if someone did that in real life i would take it as a hint to stop. This is pixels and not real people so I didn't but they have done "reluctant/fearful interest" better in other characters if that's truly what they were going for in this one.

so after finishing the romance and getting the rest of content... idk. I don't like saying "one of the major chunks of characterization we get needs to be Thrown Out Actually because he was Pretending". because it's not like he or Rook ever actually address it in game--you just don't get to talk about feelings until some dialogue choices only in the act 3 romance scene, and then his speech at endgame (not even a full conversation, so much as his personal declaration). like it takes until the VERY end of the game for him to say the thing about "he was afraid to want you", but that comes after you've already hooked up, even.

I think truly what annoys me is that it's a story choice that can only make sense in HINDSIGHT not AS PLAYING. Only once you have all the scenes can you say "this one is out of character" and then you either have to accept it as bad writing, or come up with some in-universe justification to explain it... and so far none of the in universe ones feel good to me. i wish they did because maybe then I'd be less annoyed, rip. but at the end of the day i think even if there was some intent there, it was a poor choice for his story arc, because it doesn't effectively convey anything... and the reason why we can project a lot of different explanations onto it is simply because it is never addressed again (and again, Lucanis Dellamorte is NOT A PERSON he is a CHARACTER used to further a story for you the player, and so the reasons I don't like this choice are story-level and not a dig at how real life people feel or act).

So yeah at the end of the day. that is simply not a narrative device I would ever personally use in this way on a player/reader. certain kinds of hindsight revelations have their place (see: what the devs tried to do with Varric though I also think that falls apart on close inspection, but at least it has justification in-universe), but for a romance it just makes me embarrassed for Rook. In a game where you don't have nearly as many back-and-forth conversations with characters and have to resort to eavesdropping on them talking to each other, it's sad that one of the like 5 times you actually get to talk to Lucanis one on one we're maybe supposed to believe he wasn't being authentic, and also that Rook can't respond to this ever. It would be different if it had any kind of follow up, imo. or honestly as i've said before i would rather it have been swapped out with something entirely different or where we get to talk about their feelings instead, before i get labeled as one of the "people mad he's not Zevran 2.0/a sexy latin sterotype".

But having to step back to player-level analysis versus in-character analysis when looking at his whole romance arc just feels sloppy. but i'd much rather stick to "bad writing" than "intentional character choice" in terms of how to interpret the scene I guess, at this point, for poor Rook's sake. and i know people disagree with when I've said that before bc as much as I love Mary Kirby in other areas, she has said many times that she doesn't like writing romance, and I think it really does show here. As much as I love Lucanis and the scraps we got I wish I didn't have to do so much filling-in-the-blanks on our own.

[daftdrac]

Hey so I was scrolling YouTube and clicked on a life steal video without knowing it was life steal. It was a Pentar video, entitled "I Created A Secret Minecraft Civilization" obviously based around creating a secret 'team' of sorts, behind the back of his teammate, ECorridor, as revenge because he believes he's keeping his own secret from him after the two made a pact not to lie. I spent an hour and fifteen minutes watching this video, engaged in the idea of the betrayal one might feel to lead them to do something like that, only to get a gayass speech at the end from ECorridor about how he's not actually immortal because he died with only one witness and kept it from everyone, including Pentar, for months, because he felt guilty about dying after Pentar had put so much effort into protecting him.

Someone tell me why I clicked on this video expecting silly shenanigans and walked out of it carrying two more absolutely ridiculous gays in my little belt bag of queer ships /silly

[cerealbishh]

"You really care about me."

"Yeah. I really, really care about you."

"I- I really care about you too."

"No, but... I like, really, really care about you."

[captainhysunstuff]

Uh oh. I dreamed about RadioApple/AppleRadio (Alastor x Lucifer Morningstar and vice versa) from Hazbin Hotel. I’ve been infected. 😅

[anniflamma]

I ain't sorry

[sexynbgaming]

Reading your discussion about transandrophobia I can't help but feel that you might actually be granting too much to the other side. Whipping Girl did not establish a "theory" of transmisogyny, it merely coined a name for a specific kind of stigma. The "theory" of transmisogyny that has sprung up in its shadow does not actually have good explanatory power, and at times it borders on "radical feminism but for trans women this time." The concept of transandrophobia is not deficient for not having this shadow.

You have some great points here. I'll admit to not reading whipping girl so I can't comment on how scholarly/rigorous it was or not. Regardless of its rigor it has added key terminology with at least a general definition to part of the overall culture. This was great for shining a light onto the specific struggles of trans women and really has lead to more fully rigorous, scholarly articles being published. A couple examples I gathered quickly include: a generic look at transmisogyny and an application of transmisogyny to state legislature (not to claim these articles are perfects but simply more has been discussed because of the book).

I believe transmisogyny does have some good explanatory power, but as I said it's also young so still not too much. Most of it's power comes from applying feminism and misogyny frameworks to the specifics of trans women's struggles. Because feminism and misogyny are so fleshed out it's easy to build a fully complete thread such as "Trans women get more callout posts because of the fusion of 'queer man=predator' conservative thinking and how women are held to a higher moral standard then men". Transandrophobia theory is unfortunately at a distinct developmental disadvantage here because misandry (whether you believe it exists or not) is simply less studied.

I do want to be careful not to conflate transmisogyny theory with the people who use the term transmisogyny the most on tumblr. I have also seen many people use transmisogyny in their trans-women-inclusive radical feminism but this is no different from a usual terf using misogyny in their arguments.

I truly agree with your idea "the concept of transandrophobia is not deficient ..." not only in your original reasoning but also because both transandrophobia and transmisogyny are just far too new to judge. No criticism should be used to discount either of these theories as a whole because no one knows what either theory is fully yet.

[rystiel]

imagine sending your kids to visit their great uncle for the summer because you’re about to get divorced and they come home with a whole ass pig. like what do you even do in that situation

[triglycercule]

dust and horror angel and demon themes,,,, they could totally parallel each other...... :3

dust=angel of death described in the delta rune prophecy (self declared) (i DEFINITELY elaborated on this one waayyyy before but anyways dust with a fucked up savior complex SAVE ME SAVE ME.... death is a blessing ass guy. life is torment and he will be the one to liberate monsters from their bodies and with the strength they provide to him be able to take down evil evil creation of pure misery that is the human ✨✨✨ dont worry his evil cackles are to HIDE HIS PAIN of saving everyone....... trust)

horror=demon that dragged everyone in horrortale into hell (as perceived by everyone else) (i think it would be a cool hc if everyone outside of snowdin viewed horror as literally a demon. maybe undyne preaches that. anyone outside of snowdin might be WAYYY worse because they starve for longer and literally take part in cannibalism so they might not have the same sort of mild sanity that snowdin residents do,,,, besides he DID kinda bring them all eternal suffering. kinda. nobody but undyne knows what happened at the core so she could totally just paint the story to blame horror fully)

ANYWAYS i like the possible dynamics this could have :333

dust to horror (please let me kill you PLEASE let me kill you i can end it all so peacefully wouldn't it be nice??? i promise ill make it quick just for you),,, horror to dust (i want you to live and suffer with what youve done i want you to watch all of your choices hit you one day and i'll be there and laugh at you. i'll keep you alive just to keep you suffering ok?)

OR dust to horror (you dont deserve to die you dont deserve to even be hurt by me. not because youre the exception but youre the Exception i absolutely loathe you so youll never get the sweet release of death :3) and horror to dust (just let me die already i dont wanna be here. youre supposed to be a savior right??? an angel?? then why don't you save me already when i need it more than anyone else)

[gardenoblues]

Woe...what a night.

The relief in his eyes when she said she wouldn't judge him so easily. The delight in his face when she said she would've taken it further.

The curious tilt of her head, thinking how he knew she got expelled, and with no hesitation she'd do it again. His reaction to it; the evident joy that he couldn't hide.

Then all goes to hell when he says;

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Her face softens as he says it. Thee Wednesday Freakin' Friday Addams.

It sealed it. A validation.

Someone liked how unhinged she was, a normie even, accepted her for who she is. He was different from the snobbish, insufferable elites she had met in the school she didn't want to attend. He gets his hands dirty and not like the Nevermore brats too spoiled to know how a coffee machine works.

And it all made sense at the end why she was so into him too.

Him being a normie was fine.

She couldn't have foresaw or imagine him as an outcast.

But him being both of two worlds was so unexpected, it stung. Everything he did was a mockery of her shortcomings, and they both knew it. Him more than anyone else.

As much as she couldn't stand the fact that being a psychic, a raven, and missing the most crucial part of the puzzle humiliates her to the bone, it didn't change the fact that, yes.

Yes. All was done, blood was shed, tears were wasted and lives were taken.

He was suddenly the monster wreaking havoc in town. Disemboweling bodies in the woods, lying as if it were walking, killed his therapist boy-monster.

He wasn't just Tyler Galpin; a part time barista, and a wide eyed boy ready to comply with her whims.

He was, and is the Hyde.

Walking freely in town wearing the same innocent face that managed to fool her and stayed out of her radar. With his bigot, normie, sheriff father.

All smiles and sunshine in the daylight, but at night the shadows consume him.

"Of course the first boy I'd kiss would turn out to be a psycho killing monster. Guess I have a type."

Yeah girl you have a type.

And it's a temperemental beast with a mind of its own.

And it all started with a cup of coffee he had made for her. And those damn words she held in the back of her mind every time she does something unpleasant or disappoints her family or the head of the wretched school.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

But this time, it wasn't Tyler Galpin's voice echoing in her shabby mind.

It was her voice that she tried to suppress as her ribcage claws out of her chest. Denying any hint of affection.

There is always an explanation why things are the way they are, and why people act the way that they do.

And it was in front of her all this time.

Even now that Tyler is splayed bloody in the open.

There it is.

The reason why she liked him.

[petrichal]

Saw a tweet post from the official OP account where it's a pic of Koby among Cobra and Sabo (basically everyone who's involved in the arc outside of Egghead in the anime atm) and the main caption was "A major event that will shake the world." - and it's not something we haven't heard of already but it really hits home that while the Strawhats are on an adventure (like for now, Elbaf), things are actively moving in the background, islands going into riots and Celestial Dragons slowly losing their resources, the world as we know it has shifted into a state of impending turmoil that it's culminating into this overall sense of dread.

[particularly-pyral]

"Being good means telling me what you want, so I can tell you what you need." - 🧡

[arcane-vagabond]

I’ve gotten more done since I took this last night, but progress report on the new project!! There’s like seven shades of red there already with more to come lol

[freshprinceofverone]

This weekend at my uni there's a series of theatre conferences and one of the panels features discussion of "musical adaptations of Gone with the Wind"

So yeah I'm cancelling all other plans this weekend to see if they'll talk about Autant en emporte le vent, Presgurvic, 2003 (if they don't I will riot but on the other hand fair........ what even is there to say about it, aside that they didn't need to have a white guy say the n word in the first minute?)

Anyway I'm back in uni and I will make it everyone else's problem

Also they have a whole panel on Elisabeth, and other stuff about trauma in Hungarian musicals, and more German musicals....... I'm so excited

[onedayfandom]

Going from Funger to reading Beserk for the first time is really funny actually

It's like slowly peeling away the layers of reskin and whenever you think you're done it's just: Ha HA! Fantasy Vatican is from Beserk too!!

Love it, this is deeply improving my reading experience :D