#acceptable form of a woman- but there IS no acceptable form of women. you cant exist as a woman without wanting to not be a woman in a cis

[whiskingskin]

I don't have much knowledge about transgender topics other than being transgender myself for the past 11 years.. but it seems pretty obvious to me than in a cisgender society, 'man'>'woman'. Duh, right? Stick with me.

But that includes transgender people. If you're aspiring to be a man, or masculine, you will receive lashback from transphobic communities. No doubt in that. BUT, since you are transitioning into something desireable- a MAN, then the backlash you face also includes a begrudging respect. At least you picked yourself up and made yourself better, right? At least you aren't a woman anymore. At least now you can force yourself into spaces you may not have fit before- if only by nature of being The Man in the room. Your opinion gains a little validity, now, because you are a man, and while men can be stupid, the most stupid man is better than the smartest woman. You become comfortable in this. You ask your coworker if she would mind dropping this off for you, just really quick, it wont take her long. The country, the world, runs on the mindset that Men Came First, and always will. This feels good. It is addicting to be looked at first when the room asks a question. It feels amazing when you can walk through the gym, headphones in, knowing you're just Some Guy now, and you can workout in peace, without constant stares. Things are difficult, but the grass is greener, right?

So. you transition to a more fem appearance, or to a woman. You will receive backlash from every community. The girls who adored you as their 'token gay friend' will despise that you want to be them- that your presence will no longer bring safety, but more violence, from The Men. You are no longer their fun, safe Man. You are now a weird an off-putting Girl. Despite popular belief, women are not raised to be sweet. They, we, are raised to claw our way to the top. To be the prettiest, the smartest, to be the responsible one, to rip your sails and patch her own. They will smell your fear, and belittle you, because doesnt everybody know This Is What Its Like to Be A Woman? It doesnt occur to them that our society hates women more than it loves anything else. She knows, deep in her bones, but she doesn't want to be Too Political. There are infinite ways a woman can be Too Much. There are very few a woman can be Enough, as she is. They hate eachother, in little ways they never voice but in a whisper to her mirror at night. Your friend shows you a good primer and foundation. She insists you need it. The desires of Men fill countless candy colored tubes in her makeup bag. She insists she does it for herself. You wonder about Pore Size, when before, the miniscule holes in your skin weren't even a concept that had to be thought about, much less adressed. Now, you cleanse and tighten every morning, because they won't yell at you, if you dont, but their eyes will flicker and twinkle at the difference between, and she'll ask if you slept badly, if you are feeling okay. You ask your friend to join you to the gym, for the first time, because the stares towards your new leggings make your skin crawl. You just want to train, and you keep an ear bud out, because you learned the first time that His footsteps on the floor are not enough warning for what He will do. In the most liberal spaces, you will face discrimination for 'choosing' to become a Woman, becoming what is viewed as little more than livestock. Why would you choose this? Clearly something is wrong with you.

[aliceinborderlandsquidgame]

The AIB Boys as Toxic Boyfriends

Notes: NSFW - MDI - Abuse - This is not love - Mentions of drugs and alcohol - Manipulation - Corruption - NON/CON -

Includes: Chishiya - Arisu - Banda Sunato - Tatta - Karube -

♤ Chishiya

As a toxic boyfriend Chishiya is manipulative and insensitive. He will use hard words on you, no filter at all. He also believes a woman should stay home and just be a mother. He has seen women working and on his words "it makes them whores".

His Manipulation is completly mental, he wont land a hand on you ever. But he knows tricks to keep you back and in check. I said he would use hard words on you, well he would also compliment you when you do something he wants you to do.

Like, make dinner for him. Because you are the woman of the house. First time you do it without him having to tell you he will praise you making your heart go fast and feel like the first time you two met.

If he sees that you are not 100% commited to stay with him then he will fuck a baby into you. Does not matter if you dont want one, he will take away your anticonceptive pills and tell you how he keeps forgetting to use a condom.

♤ Arisu

He wants someone who supports him. But to a degree where if you are not by his side or responding to him in second he goes berserk. Needs to know where you are all the time. If he is at college he must know where you are. May put a track on your phone just to be sure. Or may have to use his father influence and make you end in his college with the same classes as him.

If you want to go out alone forget it he is making himself part of your group of Friends (who believes he is nothing but a sweetheart).

Game nights will end being your friday nights the catch? You must be watching him play. So no, you cant have your phone with you while he plays. Will make you sit on his lap to be sure you are seeing and telling you to see how good he is at this.

Arisu is also insecure when it comes to sex, gets shy and flustered....and that ends making him jerk while you sleep besides him or him drugging you to fuck you while you sleep.

♤ Banda Sunato

Banda is a red flag. He may be the most toxic one. From not letting you out of the house to use you as his fuck toy.

He will break you slowly, liking how you put up a fight against him. However, he has not patience at all, first week and you are already with cuts. You will soon find out he loves knifes outside and inside the bedroom.

He also will insolate you, forcing you to end friendships and telling you how your family is bad for you. If you dont coperate with him then a punishment will come. It may be physical or mental but after a few of them you have just his contact info in your phone.

Knows your password, forget about privacy. He also ends knowing your period circle, because he is a nasty bastard and likes to fuck you when you are bleeding. Laughts when you tell him its nasty, you are so silly.

♤ Tatta

Tatta is sweet....to sweet. He does not have lots of free time so when he has it he is with you all the time. Its not like Arisu, he cant force you to be at work with him so his resolution may be sweet talking you into forming a family with him.

Oh, are you worried because you two are young and your economic situation its not the best? Dont worry darling, just keep drinking your wine while I explain you how I have everything prepared (no he does not).

Yes, would totally brainwash you to accept it. Once he gets you pregnant he is making sure you dont plan on leaving him alone.

If you were never against the idea no one will think its odd however if you have said you did not want kids and then suddendly you have one....people will ask questions.

♤ Karube

Karube its a physical one. He does not like seeing you with bruises from him but sometimes you just cant seem to keep you mouth close. Why dont you chocke on his dick instead or starting a fight because you want to break up with him?

Honestly, the relationship started as a one night stand and then you kept coming for more. Till Karube felt it was natural to have you by his side for his use (so no, he never loved you) and manipulated you into staying with him.

You are his stress relief and he knows how shit your other relationships are outside him so he is sure you wont be running away from him and even if you do, you will come back to him.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Question for you about the Disney villains! Which do you think have had at least one not-so-straight encounter before? Which haven't? How do they feel about it?

Here are some that I can think of!:

Captain Hook definitely!! ^^ I mean, logically speaking- Neverland is not flush with adults... especially adults that don't hate him... apart from his crew. My money is on the tattoo guy. Hook is okay with it, but no one is permitted to speak of it.

Chick Hicks. He has woken up in the bed of a dude a couple times... He is definitely attracted to to guys, and he absolutely comes out as Bi-- once he thinks it becomes 'cool', though. When he thinks he can get the right kind of attention out of it.

Cruella De Vil is a WHOLEEEE lesbian. She hates people in general, but at least women look beautiful in fur. She has been known to take lovers for very short periods of time (They're always her models).

Don Karnage is very!! Bisexual. And not in the way Chick is- he will be very out with it all the time. He loves loves loves his crew~~

Dr Facilier. Look, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Gaston has had people have not-so-straight feelings towards him... but I don't think he has experienced anything himself. He doesn't even recognise it when men are attracted to him in that way.

Greasy and Smartass Weasels. Look, some lines have been crossed- they don't talk about it. They're just good pals, right???

Hades. He's tried everything. He's proud of it.

Hans. I can see Hans in brothels... especially the more outlandish ones where even more 'taboo' stuff is accepted... he was unsure about it but he was drawn in one night to try a threesome (A lady and a man), and... you know what? It was great XD

Jafar. I can see him appreciating the male form~ Similarly to Hans, it happens in a threesome with a woman. Now he cant stop noticing men now, too.

Long John Silver has been known to flirt a little with a cute young guy. He hasn't gone further then that, but if the right guy came along he for sure would give it a try.

Maleficent definitely toes a fine line between threatening and flirty with Phillip... its the same with ladies. She's very ambiguous about her sexuality XD Likes to tease them all.

Mother Gothel has also been in threesomes before!! They usually involve a man but if she wants to get off, she will use whoever's around.

PRINCE JOHN!! Prince John Prince John Prince John- (And Sir Hiss). They're too flustered to speak of it 😅

Shan Yu. He has seen some of his men bathing in creaks, and it did something to him!!... and he is open to giving it a try one day, if anyone is willing.

Shere Khan for sure flirts with Bagheera.

Stupid Weasel has seen some things, going to bars and clubs with Greasy... and let me tell ya. He was very intrigued.

Ursula has had sex with women before and she will again. Very simple.

Wheezy Weasel has also seen some (Gay) things and got a boner from it. He was just like 'huh. didn't know we were into that, but alright'.

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

another thing that confuses me about the feminist debate around „pretty privilege“/beauty bias is that i see the same women say „attractive women face problems because they’re attractive“ but „beauty is subjective/not tangible“ like which is it? because either there are attractive women and they face issues or attractiveness is not relevant because its less tangible than other (more severe) dimensions of inequality. and do they really face these issues due to being attractive or because theyre women? because i dont see attractive men face the same issues. i would call it misogyny.

its possible to face misogyny and yet have advantages in other regards - from what ive gathered regarding attractiveness this is mainly related to social acceptance, attractive people having an easier time fitting in and making friends and being treated preferentially on the job market (with the infamous exception of women being denied for being „too beautiful“ which i would again attribute to misogyny rather than attractiveness). which can help build self-esteem and mental health (which does not mean attractive people cant develop mental issues for other reasons) and impact material reality.

dont twist my words now because beauty bias and white supremacy are not even in the same realm and also cant be separated because racism influences beauty ideals and perception, but if you can acknowledge that white women profit from being white, and lightskin women profit from that compared to darkskin women, while still facing misogyny for being women, it should be possible to imagine that attractive women profit from their attractiveness but it can „backfire“ because of misogyny, like it can for white and lightskin women respectively (for example when they are fetishised for their whiteness or being white passing). misogyny is inescapable but it doesnt mean there arent different positions within the system of patriarchy. consider that misogyny even backfires on men despite them having male privileges (for example being sanctioned for being feminine). and if you can acknowledge that fat bias exists it should be possible to acknowledge beauty bias too?

im a bit sad how the debate is going because i see a lot of potential for solidarity here, but for that we first have to acknowledge that there are differences, that attractiveness or lack thereof does create inequality, but that we are more connected because we are women than we are separated by attractiveness. women sharing experiences how they are treated because of their looks is so important. attractiveness is weaponised to separate us. and i would also like to see acknowledged that attractiveness is not just femininity (sociocultural) but it plays a huge part. guess i just miss some more nuance because i see a lot of takes that either claim attractive women dont face misogyny or less attractive women dont face misogyny when in reality misogyny just takes different forms.

i feel like a lot of backlash comes from the difficulty of distancing ourselves from beauty as value, even as feminists. its just not socially acceptable to call someone unattractive. the experiences of average looking and unattractive women are often dismissed because „no woman is ugly“ while the experiences of attractive women are dismissed because the empty promise of beauty was drilled into our heads.

[sexisdisgusting]

Oh my god the adhd post 💀

It's like with autism

watching every themlet anime fan selfdiagnose because they really like a certain show or game and its their "autistic hyperfixation" or flapping their hands "uwu stimminnggg"

meanwhile i hit myself in the head when i get overwhelmed, get stares in public for sounding and acting like the whole circus couldn't finish school cause it got me bullied and i started biting and can't even make proper friends online cause i'm just maladjusted and spergy 🤡 like man i got a caretaker that comes over twice a week to take me to appointments, i cant work because i will randomly throw caveman-tier rage tantrums that can be triggered by literaly nothing and have to live with my mom at almost 30 cause i cant on my own...

I'm not even in charge of my own early-retirement money cause the gov doesn't trust me to make wise financial decisions.

I can't eat majority of foods because the texture makes me gag and chewing in general is something i hate i can't be taken anywhere because of the ragefits i cant controll.

And im STILL highfunctioning.

I hate hate HATE how bored kids and narc adults will just selfdiagnose themselves with this fuckin hell curse and spread shitty videos of them handflapping and going "squeee kyaaa beep boop hehe" like its something cute and endearing.

Especially as a woman this shit is HELL cause i just am not able in any way shape or form to behave or look how society sees acceptable of me.

I'm not able to be quiet polite and meek, i am not able to just silently endure situations i don't like and i'm not able to wear makeup cause the oily film on my skin drives me insane and i compulsively pick at my face anyway and stubble makes me scratch myself bloody from discomfort so shaving isnt on the table either (not to mention i cant be trusted with razors due to a history of hurting myself) it is NOT CUTE or endearing or charming and it does NOT make you act like youre 5 or an anime girl i am boilinnnggg with rage

SORRY BUT I HAD TO RANT TO SOMEONE AFTER SEEING THAT POST ILY

YKNOW I AM ENRAGED BECAUSE I TYPED UP AN ENTIRE RESPONSE TO THIS BUT I HAD HIT POST LIMIT WHEN I WAS TRYING TO REPLY TO YOU

BUT BASICALLY, LET ME JUST SAY THAT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH ANONITA, PLEASE DONT EVER APOLOGIZE FOR RANTING TO ME!!!!

people are ESPECIALLY really fucking weird with women who have autism, especially because the autism diagnosis is soooo heavily male-centric

i feel for you, anonita, and i love you so much, thank you for coming to me with your lovely thoughts <3

[l-flyhight]

"Antihero po and shrew luthera"

Edgy panda

Loosly based of the original storyboard that had such a different vibe then what we got. Po was broody and often thought of himself as a failure.

In this au after being picked as dragon warrior he wasnt taken so kindly. Shifu couldn't train him like the five and instead po sought to train himself.

Him and tigress have animosity and often thought he was nothing but a failure. He broke tai lung. Smashed his fingers in. Broke his legs and bsnished him.

Shen met his end by po literally throwing a brokem mast at him and hitting through it to end him. "Eat some inner peace!"

Freed the remaining pandas. the inhabitants were wary of and shunned them even still. So po took leave with them finding that he no longer felt the need to find or wish for acceptance from the 5 or the vally.

The pandas live on the mountain outskirts of the vally. Not far. They built a sort of shanty/slum town. Po offering aid to those unfortunate enough to be outcasted from the vally. A huge polar bear warrioress being one such member.

He fights kai and masters chi like a weapon. Is able to use it to open his body for greater feats of strength and power. Po defending the town and begrudgingly the valley aswell. Ksi nearly takes his chi, as he is encased in jade the other pandas fought to help him. The 5 though spared thanks to po finially gave him aid. Much to kais surprise the jade cracks and explodes. Po stands before him and his chi burns so great its actually seen. A dragon takes shape from his chi.

Po beats kai to a pulp and uses a form that breifly takes chi only to send it back at the user double the force, rendering the soul from the body breifly.

"You talk of the evil and wrongs of the world when all i see is it looking back at me!"

The five try to make amends and hes had enough.

Later

Luthera is being beaten on a roadside but not down, fighting and stabing out an eye of an assailant. The knights of england are making an example of her. Shes a woman and must know her place. The knights and she a noblewoman - a diplomat set foot in china to apprehend the weasels for grievous crimes against the queen.

Po sees them beating on luthera but doesn't intervene. Watching and assessing the situation. He does eventually step in and breaks the arms of two.

They flee leaving a bloody Luthera. Still clutching her blade. Shes wounded bad. He takes her bsck to the village and shes just as vicious to him.

Eventually they form an understanding with each others pain and form bond.

"Where i come from women know their place. Put on this earth to kneel before their husbands. To birth sons for the realm. Nothing more.

I wanted to fight so i disguised myself as a man. It worked for awhile. However I was found out and lashed. Tortured and sentenced. I refused to be anyones breeding sow.

Being beaten doesnt hurt. Nor do the lashes. Not anymore. I will have my freedom. So saving me was rather pointless...

The panda froze. Realisation on her situation.

"You...wanted to die..."

"By my terms. If i cant have my freedom to do so as i see fit then give me that solace to die by my choice, saving me? You just prolongued the life that isnt worth a damn to anyone"

More edgy more violent. More sensative themes. Racism on pandas. More adult.

[mithliya]

Why is menstruation considered unclean in the middle east? (I do not intend to generalize, but I'm from latam and I don't know the many cultures and countries, I've just heard stories about women being unable to enter sacred places and even their own houses, so I'm curious) (also I don't intend to imply that in the west it's not also taboo, but at least I grew up with the idea that it is natural and healthy, so I just want to know what are the ideas thay women grow up with in the middle east, regarding menstruation)

do you mean in the muslim world and according to islam? bc i don’t think it’s necessarily viewed as unclean in the middle east in general.

the idea is that period blood is “impure” and it’s “pollution”. for that reason, women are not allowed to touch the quran (directly) if they’re on their periods, as it’s basically thought to taint whatever she touches i guess. no praying or fasting during one’s period either, i assume it’s mainly bc of how exhausting both acts are and periods making it more difficult to pray and fast tho. men are also not allowed to divorce women that r on their period.. no idea why but that’s a rule. period sex is also not allowed, bc again, women are considered to be “polluted” when on our periods. so one must wait until the period ends for sex to be acceptable. however, other forms of intimacy outside of intercourse are allowed. after one’s period, a form of thorough self-washing is expected.

there’s an implication that women on their periods should be segregated in the quran but hadiths are used to argue that it’s only in reference to having intercourse, rather than segregated fully. and from my personal experience, there’s stigma in the sense that we aren’t allowed to just talk about our periods. if u can’t pray or fast ur meant to come up w some bullshit excuse, u can’t say “I cant bc im on my period” when men r around. periods r considered dirty and to be tainting the woman but i haven’t seen that translate into serious mistreatment not present in the west’s form of menstruation stigma so i kinda view the perception of periods as dirty in islam & that perception in the west to be related.

[emeticheremetic]

"transandrophobia bros think you can experience the depth and breadth of transmisogyny from being mistaken for a trans woman on the street" i dont think thats what theyre arguing actually lmao. theyre saying that you cant be considered exempt from something that you experience, even if it isnt the totality of that thing. you could argue that passing white wealthy straight trans women who come from extremely supportive families and are widely accepted by their peers dont experience the totality of transmisogyny either. most people do not experience every single aspect of the oppression that affects them for various reasons. those people are not considered "exempt" from transmisogyny in this framework because they are still trans women, but the point is that all trans people potentially are affected by transmisogyny in some way shape or form, and ultimately any legislation that affects trans womens rights will affect all trans peoples rights, regardless of who the legislation is designed to target. because there is no world on earth where transphobes are fine with trans men transitioning and not trans women. almost all transmisogyny has a correlating form of transandrophobia (and transphobia more generally) as these ideas are, more often than not, lazily retooled by bigots to apply to the rest of the community

[namethatghostling]

theres been some really good writing by trans men and mascs about the unique level of vitriol they experience from cis women upon their transition, which means theres really no excuse for so many people to keep writing off this form of transphobia as women feeling Betrayed by the loss of a perceived woman exiting their shared gender, a theory that really only works if you take the words of radfems and other cis female transphobes completely at face value.

like any person thats been the gnc or Weird girl at any point knows from experience that cis women and girls learn from a young age that they can marginally improve their standing in the cishetero patriarchy by aggressively bullying and ostracizing the girls who dont or cant conform to its rules. cis woman transphobes dont hate trans men because they genuinely see them as traitors to feminism who chose to become men. they dont see them as men at all. they see them as failed women at best and a sort of non-person at worst, lower on the gender hierarchy and therefor an acceptable punching bag they can use to solidify their own standing on that same hierarchy. which is not-so-coincidentally the same way they view trans women.

[boy-that-says-hooty-hoo]

"#reminder that if you label all men as inherently cruel in nature not only are you condemning trans women" so far from the truth this hurts to read. you're the one who's falling victim to the terf ideology. a trans woman is not a man, a trans woman is a woman. You do not EVER talk about men and include "trans women" in your definition of men.

hi. im a fucking trans man by the fucking way. thought i should mention that since you clearly think its your job to dictate what i get to say on trans issues that affect me and my loved ones. i include myself in narratives about lesbians, women, men and trans women because we are all affected by the same struggles. if you had any reading comprehension you should realise that what i said means trans women are affected negatively by societal view of men, not ‘trans women are men so you should like men.’ though if you did interpret it correctly and STILL came to the conclusion that im a transphobe, i think you should shove a fucking log up your ass.

there are people iding as cis men who havent realised they are trans women or non binary. and, fun fact, you should care about those people and how your perception of men as inherently predatory affects them. viewing men as inherently predatory makes trans people question whether or not they are trans enough, that they might still be too much of a man and therefore undeserving of trans spaces. trans women are particularly affected by this and often delay realising they are trans for fear of invading trans spaces. which, mind you, is extremely significant for any trans person, and very traumatic.

the fact is that if you view the abstract definiton of ‘men’ as inherently cruel, creepy and predatory, that immediately affects trans women because they are not some separate entity from men and women, they are just as affected by gender roles and often grow up being socialised to be ‘men,’ or even end up experiencing both roles due to not conforming. trans people as a whole often have to go through a process of unlearning gender roles to even be comfortable transitioning. viewing men as inherently cruel perpetuates the gender roles that we as trans people have to constantly combat, it reinforces them for both us and cis people and divides us even more. which is not something we should want. we should want cis people to also be free of gender roles, which will lead to more trans people feeling safer, accepted and more integrated into society.

viewing men as inherently cruel and evil is also a roundabout form of gatekeeping trans spaces and reinforcing gender roles for EVERYONE. you lock out anyone who isnt trans enough because its simply ‘in their nature’ to be horrible, you affect cis people who want to unlearn their behaviours, young boys who haven’t yet experienced the full scope of cruelty that is pushed onto them, you exclude drag queens and men who are women (not trans women, men who are also women but still men, people who’s genders you cant understand but probably still have a big fat fucking stinking opinion about), you affect cis and trans lesbians who have to deal with people subscribing to the idea that masculinity is inherently predatory, you affect trans men who feel guilty in ‘betraying’ their assigned gender to horrible horrible bad disgusting men and masculinity. you lock them out, you stop caring for them.

trans women are not men. i didnt even remotely say that so dont come into my fucking inbox and ACCUSE me of being a terf behind your shitty little anon icon. this is extremely inappropriate. rather than trying to understand fully what i said you did a complete fucking tumblr and misinterpreted everything. dont get surprised and shocked that im angry, im not obligated to be kind to strangers that arent kind to me, condescending fuck. ‘you do not EVER’ do not ever what??? talk about subjects that affect me and the people i love deeply??? go fuck yourself.

[mi4011manuelasanchezmartinez]

A brief discussion on Yuri's Norstein's films that i will be using in my animatic.

'The Heron and the Crane' (1974)

This short film is based on a folk tale about the unlucky never-ending courtship of a male crane and a female heron. This is directed by Yuri and was produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio. It is his second film that he directed by himself; his first is the 'Fox and Hare' 1973. I decided to choose this film to start off with because i really enjoyed watching it, it is considered a visual and technical marvel and a positive start to Yuri's career as an animator and director. Many people praised this film because compared to the other films that were released by Soyuzmultfilm, it was one of the most impressive.

'Hedgehog in the Fog' (1975)

This short film is regarded as one of the best films ever made and uses an original script. Hedgehog is on a journey to visit his friend Bear-Cub, however, an owl begins to stalk him. When walking through the woods Hedgehog sees different animals but a thick fog is all around and so he cant be sure what is real or not. At the end he manages to reach Bear-Cub but Hedgehog is clearly changed by the encounters in the fog. The fog effects were created by putting tracing paper on top of the scene and slowly lifting it to the camera until everything behind it becomes blurry and white. I chose this film for many reasons, it's a massive turning point for Yuri and his career. Additionally, it was what intrigued me in the first place, I remember seeing the hedgehog and i loved the style.

Soviet-era children's animation was faced with the task of producing politically acceptable content. Anthropologist Serguei Oushakine recognizes this stating: "The main thing is the work of imagination, or more precisely, the terror and pleasure with which it is linked. The final scene of pleasure, to which these various phantasmal and/or realistic experiences should indeed have led, is not included in the plot." This is evident through the hedgehog's anxiety and fixation on the horse, even after he succeeds in meeting the bear for tea.

'Tales of Tales' (1979)

This is Yuri's Magnum Opus. Tales of Tales is an original tale that is heavily inspired by Yuri and Francheska's own upbringing in the soviet union. This not a narrative based movie and instead is aims to structure itself like a human memory. One of the main themes in this film is war and the losses the Soviet Union suffered on the Eastern front during World War 2. There are multiple characters in this film but the one i want to focus on is the little grey wolf.

In the film, we see the world through the scared little gray wolf, who acts as a guide through the story. At first you see different memories of everyday people doing ordinary things, like a woman doing laundry. But it is meant to show that despite attempts to bring life back to normalcy the pain and destruction of World War 2 never goes away. W also have a scene of women and their husbands dancing, when the next scene the women are all alone. This is meant to signify the men that would leave for the war and unfortunately never make it back.

An important musical inspiration is the following traditional Russian lullaby, which is included in the film in both instrumental and vocal form; “Baby baby rock-a-bye/On the edge you mustn’t lie/Or the little gray wolf will come/And will nip you on the tum/Tug you off into the wood/Underneath the willow-root.” 

'The Overcoat' (started 1981)

This is Yuri and Francheska's current animated film that after 42 years has yet to be completed. It is based on a short story with the same name by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol 1842. Unlike his other films, 'The Overcoat' will be the length of a feature film. To Yuri 'The Overcoat' is considered to be as important a work of literature as one of the chapters of the Bible. In 2004, around 25 minutes of the film was completed, which is 23 years since production began. In 1986, Yuri and Francheska were fired from Soyuzmultfilm studio. This is due to Yuri only completing 10 minutes of the film in the last 5 years. Luckily, there have been many supporters who help with the funding including, the Savings Bank of America.

[ghostrockband]

I wrote this whole long thing in the tags in response to this, but i want to maybe put it here to make it a little more direct. I hope to add to the conversation my own experiences with transmasculinity and gendered socialization and my thoughts as to why the response to an observation that the tweet is making, or others like it, is met with immediate vitriolic defense by the transmasc community.

I began my social transition at age 14. I adopted the behaviors of the boys around me to be accepted as one of them, to validate my feelings of disconnect from womanhood and female puberty and my feelings of alignment to masculinity and manhood. This was male socialization. Because even though my male peers viewed me as inherently less of a man than them i was still expected to act like them, to adopt their behaviors as closely as possible to prove that i was man enough, that i too deserved to inherit the privilege of being a man. The standard was set that performing reductive and harmful patriarchal standards of masculinity = being a man.

It seems hard to accept for a lot of transmasc people that to be transmasculine is to become socialized as male, or "male socialized". In order to live in this world as a man you are fulfilling the societal ideal and expectation of masculinity and benefitting from patriarchal systems. This can be a fact that is difficult for transmascs to reconcile with our experiences of being raised as a girl, with their experiences of being subjugated both as a girl and a child. We hold within ourselves the standard for feminine behavior and what a womans position in the world should be as defined by the patriarchal hegemony.

When the time comes that you become aware of your relationship to your assigned gender, when you realize that you dont align with that and decide to start living your life as a man or pursue being percieved as masculine there are gains and losses. In pursuing an idea of masculinity and what it means to be a man, you are perpetuating these long standing patriarchal power structures and benefitting from any privilege that conforming to those standards affords you. You are also losing the forgiveness that society has for women for what is percieved to be weakness in men. You are losing the grace that cis women (especially cis white women) are granted for wrongdoingd, for mistakes, for ignorance. Which of course is a grace that is condescending in nature and formed to uphold the patriarchal power structure but i digress. It is a grace that men do not allow themselves, do not allow to men who dont uphold hegemonic masculinity, and so the pressure is on for transmascs to uphold this cycle of misogyny and bad behaviors to prove themselves worthy of status as a man.

By the time i left high school and started forming my own identity as an adult i had to unpack the harm i did by trying so hard to conform to cisnormative expectations of masculinity. Its something i continue to evaluate because it really wasnt that long ago that i was performing harmful behaviors as a way to distance myself from being percieved as feminine. It is difficult to recognize and accept that i was perpetuating misogyny. I didnt want to fall into the trap of hiding this shame and excusing my behavior by giving into that cisnormative idea that there is this inescapable female core within me, therefore of course i cant be misogynist because i was once a woman myself. Its an attractive way to assuage the guilt of being complicit in misogyny but the logic holds no water. Because you are only "female socialized" up to the point that you start living as a man, moving as a man through the world at which point you have become "male socialized".

I think a lot of the angst and rage tme people feel about things like this is that its hard and painful to take accountability for the harm done by upholding patriarchal structures implicitly. It is easy to channel the hurt and the grief you feel from becoming linked to a harmful and opressive system into rage and to want to reconnect and align yourself against patriarchy by eschewing culpability under this excuse of gender essentialism.

If you are looking to engage with this sort of stuff more id reccommend watching Alexander Avila's video on male socialization titled "Did feminism FAIL men?" Its nuanced and insightful and does provide a transmasculine lense on like how we relate to gendered socialization. He does an excellent job of explaining it and put into words a lot of the things ive been feeling about my relationship to gender and masculinity. I know this whole thing wasnt so much about my experiences with female socialization, but i thought it more pertinent to explain how transmascs can and do experience male socialization since i believe that informs the way a lot of transmascs react to this discourse.

dude twitter is dire as fuck with the way half the response to this is bizarre transmasc rage. like a trans woman will say "cisnormativity says you have to stay as you are and tries so hard to ingrain this in all of us through gender, but our existence spits in this assumption; the brainwashing doesnt work and you prove it since you're not a woman as they want, if at all! there is no absolute authority in gendered socialization!"

and trans men and mascs who will never work on their misogyny crawl out of the woodwork to desperately try and misinterpret this in any possible way so they can feel insulted. why the fuck do so many people cling to this idea that they're indistinguishable from cis women?? why do you WANT to act like theres some inescapably female core of yourself when youre nb or whatever else? what the fuck, man?

[kingdoms-and-empires]

Hi! Thank you so much for creating such an awesome world and story and then sharing it with us! I always get sucked in whenever I play. You've seem to have thought a lot about how gender works in this world (like with the MC noticing that there seems to be different forms of dress for men vs women). I was curious if you've ever thought of making it possible for the MC to be nonbinary or agender? Or choose to be gender nonconforming in some way? Are those accepted things in any of the cultures of this world? Apologies if these questions have been asked before!

Awww thank you!!!

As for the seeming gender equality and differences, I'd like to point out that it happened for a reason. The Beltheans, as we remember, are in fact refugees from another continent.

They fled a brutal regime, and from that trauma, they...

Illegalized slavery and abhor it so much they consider Wars of Liberation valid Casus Belli (Latin term which basically means "justification for war"). Something very difficult for nations to do is the justification of starting a war of aggression and keeping the people on board with it.

Gender equality was a Belthean cultural specialty that spread throughout Nareth. Once again, the trauma suffered from back home helped pave the way for women in Nareth to become soldiers, to become leaders in government and war. The Belthean homeland was nooooot a happy place for women. This doesn't mean bigotry or sexism hasn't been eliminated in Nareth though. But the whole "A woman cant be a leader nor have martial learning!" has been thoroughly squashed.

As for your non-binary or agender question; I did not think of having non-binary or agender characters or MC's while creating the world and story. Afterward, when I found out people actually liked the game, that's when i thought about this question when i saw some peeps played as/are non-binary and agender. I came to the conclusion that KaE wasn't the right story for representing non-binary or agender communities.

If I added it in, itd be cheap and ingenuine. Since i didn't account for this, the worldbuilding and specifically what i have planned in writing wouldn't mesh well with it. It'd feel forced.

Not only would it feel forced, id have no idea how to go about it. Does the world not accept the MC and their gender nonconformity, making me have to write scenes where MC struggles? Is the world okay with the MC, meaning i have to explain more in the worldbuilding how it became accepted? Are there others? Would I need to write more differing content to account for non-binary content? (PS: Yes I would.)

The need for having a biological heir in this game. How would I go about it? What ROs would be available to the NB MC? All of em?

I already have a lot on my plate, this is something else Id have to do some research about and another thing to worry about not messing up (or getting canceled over lmao). Some may just say, "Just put it in, stop being annoying about it." But...no. Thats not how writing works. At least that's not how I work. I wouldn't write something like that in and never bring it up again in the story. As some may have noticed, the exact same issues are shared by the trans community and their representation in the story/game. All of the above apply to that community as well.

To reiterate, I came to the conclusion that KaE wasn't the right story for representing non-binary or agender communities.

If anyone has issue with this, then make your own game and story with all the features you like.

To dear Anon, i hope i answered your questions and explained myself and my reasoning. I tried being transparent and honest, but lets see if it was worth it haha

[queerticulate]

I gotta say the whole supposed moral panic about fetishizing gay men through fandom seems like a bit of a trojan horse for homophobia to me. People of a variety of sexes and orientations finding gay sex/romance appealing is not a bad thing. What is a bad thing is when women start harassing gay men to join them in the bedroom, or random people disturb gay "couples" in public with sexualized remarks on their displays of affection or lust for each other. Now I have been very active in my local and national LGBT scene for years now, and you know how often I've heard of this happening? Never.

You know what does happen a lot? This being done to queer women. I myself and pretty much all of my friends have multiple experiences of this happening. Men commenting on you when you're kissing a girl in a bar or nightclub, men whistling when you hold hands in public, men who become obsesses with trying to seduce you when you say you're a lesbian. I even was with a lesbian couple when they got sexually assaulted by a man during freaking Pride. So for one, I think the panic is really overbearing, and very misdirected. If you want to help LGBT people and protect them from harm resulting from being fetishized... direct your efforts at protecting queer women.

Absent of real life consequences, I gotta wonder how many people rage about the potential of people of a variety of sexes and orientations getting off on the idea of (attravtive) guys having sex or a romance say this, because truly they cannot cope with gay sex or romance being considered something attractive at all. A lot of homophobia that queer people experience is centered around this belief that we have to cower and beg to be accepted, that we have to present ourselves as the abberation to the perfect cishet folks. If we act like our lifes and loves are just as normal or in our eyes better than cishet stuff, we are often punished as being too much. Queer men especially face a lot of punishment for existing in public and expressing their sexuality. Any public display of affection regularly gets met with disgust, hate, or even violence. I know so many guys who are scared to kiss or hold hands in public. I also know several recent stories of gay men being beat up within my city. Male on male sexuality is also treated as something dirty. Immediately if you participated in it, no matter if you only ever had a 100% safe sex, in my country you immediately get signed up for more extensive health checks. You get barred from blood donations too, also for being in a gay relationship at all regardless of your sex pratices. Heck, even if I as a woman would have sex with a queer man I get the same treatment. So really, people in fandom creating some online buzz about 'wouldnt it be cool if these guys kissed/fucked/were in love' really feels like it does more against real life homophobia for queer men as i see it existing, by normalizing it, by lifting it up as desirable, than it seems to do harm. Cause the main problem is and has been that queer guys are told they cant exist, or need to be scared, or are dirty. All this talk online that so much attention going out to fantasized queer men's relationships is bad, that you're a dirty freak if you do that, i don't know, it mostly sounds like reinforcing the main form of homophobia queer men face.

Now the world is a big place, and i cannot presume to know about all local variants of homophobia and common queer experiences. Maybe there are places in the world where queer men publicly getting harassed as if they're sex dolls is a huge issue. In which case: your complaints are valid. I am sorry people in your life are going through that. I am sorry this post feels like another horror thrown on top of it. But maybe, when adressing a global audience... do as i do here... presume not the whole world works in alignment with your local point of view. Contextualize your complaints. Let your brothers and sisters in another country know you're fighting against stuff happening in your area, instead of just being another demon coming to reinforce homophobia.

[urstruly-ghst]

Hi, I saw that you had the applications open and I was wondering if you could do a vice-leaders scenario (minus Ortho) with a dear woman. Where they become women, and show it to their beloved suffers a bisexual crisis. You can ignore this if you want.

NOTE : this req was long ago, so im really sorry anon. on that note, this would be more hcs and a short scenario. !! assuming this is an alchemy accident !!

trey clover

Assuming this incident was harmless, even Crewel told the students affected, Trey wouldn't break sweat.

Crewel stated that the effects may just last a day, or even a few hours, it depends.

However he, rather she, was nervous on approaching several people, that includes his dear S/O.

Not as if he was shy or scared you'd reject his new body, but he felt a little embarrassed that you're seeing a new side of him.

He fears that you might not like his appearance anymore, that the charm he had as a male diminished when he turned female.

He brought up his concerns to Riddle and his friend was quick to understand.

Trey and Riddle were quick to develop a schedule to avoid exposure of his alchemy accident.

He has troubles in composing his usual tasks with the... lump in front of his chest. He finds it bizarre how it was bouncing at almost every move, its quite the pain.

Trey noted that he felt uncomfortable for some reason, the prying eyes the other students had when Trey and the rest walked down the hall was tedious.

Seeing you doing the same, made it less uncomfortable, but albeit still uncomfortable.

You blabbered on how you were sorry, how you shouldn't be eyeing Trey in such manner, but for Trey to be incredibly attractive in BOTH gender really got your feelings in a mix!

----

"Trey! I'm sorry for barging in, but are you okay?? I heard an acci—", you frantically said while opening the door your as you barged into a designated place that Riddle assigned for Trey's recovery. You assumed the worst, a broken arm, a third degree burn! All of the horrid things, not... a hot lady.

"Oh! Sugar, hello there", the lady said while scratching a part of her cheek sheepishly. She looked like Trey, her mannerisms were Trey's, and her eyes! Those sly eyes and love filled eyes, it was Trey's! But how???

"UHM.. hi?? Oh my", whoever you were talking to even had the sweet velvety tone Trey had. Were they related?? While you struggled to figure it out, Trey giggled before introducing himself, to you, as a girl.

"Trey? You're gorgeous! Like drop dead! And I am really attracted, not that I wasn't attracted to you as a male.. but! You and... And!!", You panicked as much, your blush not helping with the heat you felt in the room.

"Oh dear, I'm fine, but..", Trey let his sentence wonder off with the wind as you try to compose yourself. He cant help but chuckle as you are so cute.

"But you could tone down the expression, it's shocking. Appreciate your compliments, though, but clearly you forget who's the prettiest and drop dead gorgeous between us two~"

"Trey! Stop the teasing I'm panicking here!"

ruggie bucchi

Sadly, he got the wrong potion by mistake because of his hectic mind. He was scheduling some big gimmick, which made him drop the wrong potion in the pot.

He wasn't much affected, he had sisters, he is a hyena, making him very used to female features.. and females overall.

Though he didn't appreciate the men's eyes on him, he was nonchalant to it all, he still has a job to do!

He only realized the disadvantages of being one girl is the fact people try to score when he does his work!

Overall, he was flexible even with the gender swap. What he didn't expect from this incident was you.

He assumed you'd be fine with the form, you said you'd accept him no matter what, but he couldn't help but laugh at the flustered face you had.

He wasn't really endowed with the bigger bust, but the small but noticable bump on his chest was more than enough to get you riled up.

----

"Shishishishi! Neko-chan, you're heating up we so much!", Ruggie teased while he purposely hugged your arms while also rubbing it in.

"Ruggie! Its not a laughing matter!", You tried to defend yourself, the heat on your face spreading wildly as he continued to nuzzle his face onto your neck. He was sucking up the flustered gestures you had, as you seemed more flustered and engaged the moment he had a gender swap!

"Awe, you're so cuteee~ I begin to wonder if you don't like me as a man", he pouts as he forcefully put his ears down to make it seem believable. You, in turn, panicked while blabbering about how it isn't true. That you love him as both genders, but your feelings are in such a mess because you didn't know you could be attracted to BOTH.

jade leech

He found this incident quite the anomaly, and decided to experiment on the way how his life would change.

Unlike Trey, he notified Azul about the changes but wishes to exploit the opportunity.

A little bird told him that female servers attract more customers, so he and Azul devised a plan to milk out the opportunity of such.

Jade, even as a female, was domineering in every sense. The style and manners were still present, and the strength was still there.

He found it bothersome with the bust, due to his tall structure, his bust size is quite big.

The bust made him get a back ache once in a while, and the fact they just spilled out everywhere was a hindering feat.

In terms of meeting his S/O, he was excited! He wants to see their expression and possibly play with them, with a good hearty laugh.

He didn't expect your reaction of toppling over, but he welcomed it. After all, you are his S/O, and he loves every reaction he gets from you.

Jade would be teasing you, and he has some plans on what to do with you, in this form.

----

"My, my, sweet angel, what has gotten you into this twist?", Jade purred into your ear while you babbled on how you should get going.

You were visiting the lounge just to see if Jade was affected, and you didn't expect a seductive lady purring to you and how that lady was your Jade!

Jade welcomed you, while serving you the usual in style, but you couldn't help but trail your eyes on Jade's lingering touches, and soft voice.

You were melting as how incredibly attractive Jade is, even as a female, he manages to seduce you in such ways. Honestly, you felt a bit iffy on how he can do that.

"Jade, what are you doing?", You whispered as out of the corner of your eye, you saw Jade having that look you know all too well. It made you hot and bothered, so you really hoped that this event won't make you melt more.

"Oya? It's nothing, just thinking on my certain plans~"

jamil viper

He wasn't having any of it. Jamil, though calm, wasn't calm at the sudden change!

It wasn't as if he hated that he was female, but he hated the changes and change of wardrobe for an entire day catered to fit his new form.

Though, he's nonchalant for the most part, he was easily annoyed at the people eyeing him. The side eyes are suddenly increasing, especially on his... Fairly round mounds of flesh on the chest.

Jamil would and feel calmer in your presence, you always accepted him, however he couldn't help but notice your flustered gestures.

He rose a brow on how you stammered, how you feel warm and how the sweat seemed to make you sticky??

Jamil soaks up the compliments like he usually does, and he (on this rare occurrence) teased you for that.

Jamil laughs, he is carefree with you, and this expression of yours makes his own predicament less bothersome, but a fun and a teasing opportunity.

----

"What happened to you?", Jamil deadpans at you while you fidget in your sit. It was so hot in his dorm, then your partner right now is extremely distracting!

The way how you panicked and rushed to Jamil's dorm, in hopes to know what happened in Crewel's class that supposedly was affecting a good portion of the school. So, while rushing in to the dorms, you didn't expect such incident to bring... A lady that makes your heart spin.

"Ah, its nothing! Nothing at all! Haha!", you mused while sinking down in the seat, feeling the heat produced from your own body, and the dorm's sun. Jamil was provoking emotions you never knew about!

"Keep fooling me, you're warm and you seem nervous. You haven't acted like this since, you usually act like this when you haven't confessed yet. What, you falling for me again?", Jamil smirked while he saw how you yelped at the statement. Ah, he caught you red handed.

"Oho? So what I said is true, huh?"

"JAMIL NO-- I MEAN YEA! BUT WAIT--!", you retaliate at the statement. While it was true, you don't want him to just repeat it! Agh! What a tease.

rook hunt

Oh! What a magnificent way to explore beauty! Rook was basically vibrating in excitement at the notion to be beautiful in another gender.

Vil sucked up the opportunity too, he got Rook into a makeover too, quite meticulous than before, but it was due to a change.

Rook, though liked the opportunity, he didn't like the breasts much. Most likely because how it was straining on his part to hunt. It caused some pain.

What excites Rook the most, was this new thing to brag about to you!! While he tends to bind his bust around to hunt, he frees his bind around you!

He basically suffocates you in such, he wants such praise onto him, even if this form isn't permanent.

----

"Mon Amour! What a magnifique day it is, no?", Rook said as you and him lounge in Pomefiore for some reason. Rook mentioned about Vil, but you didn't quite pay attention.

How could you?! Rook Hunt, ever the beauty in his male form, turned even more attractive as a female!

While you zone out, Rook cuddled into you, while you stiffened up, heat surging through as you feel the bust squishing against you.

Rook was leeching onto your attention as you fail to compose yourself. Vil was supposed to be here any minute now, what has gotten the Queen late?! It wasn't that you don't want to spend time with Rook, but your flustered mind can't keep up with this!!

Ahh!! Rook, curse you and your beauty!

"Rook...?", You peeped as Rook seemed to stare at you. He was observing you?? Before you get to question such, Rook stole a kiss and you exploded.

"Oho! Mon Amour, bashful as ever!"

lilia vanrouge

Lilia was dumbfounded at the accident, but he didn't notice much of a change, nor did he mind the change.

He found it quite the treat, after all, he didn't find anything wrong into the accident. It happens!

Lilia, though with the bust small, he finds it challenging to hang upside down like before.

He pouts at that too. But what he finds a silver lining in the situation, like how cute he can be with a feminine touch!

Or, how cute his s/o is with the blush and how they stammer out all the words that they wish they can say.

He teases them, flashing charming smiles and teasing smirks~

----

"Dear, how do you like my new dress~?", Lilia smiled as he twirled in his spot, holding up the fabrics of the dress. You have to admit, it was a nice dress.

But you can't admit it, when you are panicking about how your partner is now a female and how you're strangely attracted by that!!

"Dear?", Lilia suddenly appeared next to you, making you jump in place. You flared up, trying to fan yourself to calm down from the fluster.

"Ah! Lilia! Its nothing, ITS NOTHING!!", You said while flailing your arms as you start to fluster more with Lilia's smirk.

Why was he smirking? What is that old fae planning? While deep in thought, you failed to notice Lilia sneaking up behind you, wrapping his delicate arms around while nipping your neck!

"Wha-!!?", You froze, all the while Lilia laughing, enjoying the fact you are flustered by the bare minimum~

[boytouya]

Can I request a todoroki x male! reader, and reader has a lot of fangirls and todoroki decides to kiss them on live television? Thanks! I love your writing! 💖💖💖

Thank you

thank you angel!! this is my third attempt writing it because tumblr has decided to delete everything i wrote !!twice!! but it’s done now, and much better than the first two times!

Work days were long and dragging you by the collar. It was hard to keep up with talk shows, obsessive fans, and promotions. You barely even had days off. But on the rare occasion that you did, you and your boyfriend, Shouto, would spend the day hidden from paparazzi and under blanket forts. He preferred staying at home with you, and maybe it was selfish of him, but he couldn’t stand the thought of other people having your attention when you were finally alone. Unfortunately, the twenty four hour hourglass always seemed to run out too fast.

Clearly, that seemed to have an effect on Shouto. There were always dark circles weighing down his eyes (that his agent told him conceal), and you were the only one who knew. He only seemed vulnerable with you and only you, as you were with him too. So when you fix his tie and give him a smile, his tired eyes lighten up and he smiles back. It’s small and reserved, your favorite kind. Usually, Todoroki’s lips are pressed in a tight line and he stays polite. He only ever speaks when spoken to (unless you’re the one he’s talking to), sometimes making a witty remark in a monotone voice that throws off an interviewer. Shouto knows it makes you laugh though, so he continues to do it whenever he can. Some say he speaks “a perfect amount” and you couldn’t agree more. Then again, you think everything about him is perfect.

The two of you were fortunate enough to get casted in a new project together, and it’s success was skyrocketing after your name appeared next to Shouto’s in headlines. The two of you had a large following, and although Shouto was the model, you were very popular among women. The collection of supporters led to the project being nominated for two awards, one of which you later win.

Walking into the extravagant building had been a hassle, there were no security guards helping the two of you pass through fans, and the only thing separating you from them was a gold railing. They took advantage of that gateway, swarming around you and Shouto to make contact with you in any way possible. On top of the uncomfortable grabbing and squeezing, photographers flashed photos straight into your eyes. Nevertheless, Shouto stays pressed against you, his lips folded down into a small frown. He knows better, to keep his composure and never crack, to hold his emotions in like a dam, but it’s uncomfortable for the both of you. He pulls you into his side and continues walking, even as broadcasters shove microphones into your face. A woman, wearing a dress that looks like it costs more than both of your networths combined presses the mic straight to your face.

“Oh, Mr. Todoroki! You and your friend, you’re here because you’ve been nominated for multiple awards. I notice you’ve become very popular to the ladies, and I’ll admit, you are much more handsome in person. I’m sure everyone is dying to know, any girlfriends, gentlemen?” She asks, although she’s staring into your eyes like the question was meant just for you, despite addressing Todoroki.

Shouto hates the question. He hates the way you squeeze his arm, whether it’s to remind him to stay calm or to tell him that you’re uncomfortable. He knows he can’t grab the mic and proclaim his love for you, that you’re very much in a relationship with him and in love, but he seethes anyway. It’s bad for ratings, if all the people who crush on you see that you’re taken they’ll move onto the next cute boy, but it’s taken so much away from you. You cant go out on actual dates, you cant kiss or hold hands in public. Any form of PDA was a no. He hates it.

When he lets that sink in, the dam breaks.

Ignoring the question, Shouto picks up his pace and walks into the seated room, finding your reserved seats. He doesn’t speak much for the rest of the night, but he does give you a small smile, which you can tell is genuine. To be honest, watching people accept awards and say the same thank you speech was tedious, but when you’re the one doing it it’s much more exciting.

When you register hearing your name after the winner of the category was called, Shouto is looking down at you with his hand out. Even in moments of high tensity he remains passive. You’d envy his ability if you didn’t know it was a trained response. There’s clapping and cheers, muffled by the sound of your heart against your chest as Shouto leads you to the podium on stage.

You’re first to give thanks and credits. It’s much harder to say than it looks, and although everyone says the same thing, it still feels exhilarating. Maybe because you’re the one saying it, but it feels unique. You move to give Shouto a turn, when you realize he never let go of your hand. At first, his speech mimics yours, but he adds:

“The last person I’d like to thank is very important to me... He’s always been with me. Some people say I don’t laugh but he makes me laugh. He’s much more than a pretty face and... He deserves more than what he gets,” He turns to face you, and there are hushed whispers coming from the audience. His tongue swipes his bottom lip. You catch yourself staring. “There’s only one way I can show my gratitude correctly, because I find showing is much easier than speaking.” He adds simply, but his thin eyebrows raise upwards, as if he surprised himself upon saying that. In the corner of your eye you catch the two of you being displayed for those watching the ceremony on live TV, and the room feels larger than it already is.

His hands, once on the podium, move to hold the base of your neck, and he presses his forehead against yours. Without a second thought, his lips connect with yours. It throws you off for a split second but his warm hands ground you and keep you steady. His thumb caresses the space above your jawline, and he pulls away, before whispering:

“Thank you.”