#activism is about the real fucking world. about doing things within in. and that’s ESPECIALLY important for disabled ppl because +

[cindersfall]

Reading CxC currently (I'm real early on so forgive if any of this gets horribly jettisoned as false afterwards) and indeed Harper's terminal ennui towards her obviously very well off and free circumstances make her a gripping character for me. Especially how, as it's been progressing, you see more and more that she's just outright ignoring or seemingly unable to pay attention to that anyone else would be extremely concerned and attentive about. She works for a drone company. She mentions completely nonchalantly that she knows they bomb innocents and straight up assigns the same importance to this as the fact that her coworkers are wearing tshirts. She keeps talking about the end of history, but history is going on around her—within her hands—and she just doesn't care. Hell, given that she's helping the military drone strike people and the context of the 'history is ended' quote is mentioned in re: the Armenian genocide, you could argue she's the one ending history.

Makes it very interesting to me where this might be going thematically. Also, not only invokes ennui novels to me, as Bavitz has mentioned is an influence, but also all of those comics about people in dead-end office jobs which only have the moral 'work is boring' but only defines work as 'thing you do in a cubicle' and never actually mentions what any of the characters *do* (see: Dilbert and its many cousins).

Harper's circumstance seems to be commenting on that as like, "okay, work sucks, but what is that work? when we aren't just stuck within panels of desksitting and meetings, what is the world like around them?" and then it's complicity in mass murder and the expansion of US imperialism. which Harper *still* has The Dilbert Attitude about. And that you can be numb to your role and feel disconnected from its consequence and have that newspaper strip 'nothing ever happens' perspective but it doesn't prevent you from being an active agent in history nonetheless, whether or not you even notice.

So just think it's interesting from the view of like, yeah, Harper has this insanely privileged stable job and life, but can even that change her own apathetic perspective? And can her apathetic perspective change the realities of her job? Why, why not? I'm still early on so I can't say if all this ties together neatly but I think it definitely is engaging and helps introduce some themes I expect will be expanded upon and revisited more as I continue.

(Also aside, I have considered Harper as a sort of exaggerated parody of the audience surrogate protagonist. She's certainly the most traditional protagonist-y out of any Bavitz work I've started thus far, the guy who doesn't know shit about fuck and thus learns things at the same time the audience does, but her internal narration often skips over things that maybe should be explained, but does take the time to explain things like Twitter, Discord and the concept of commissions that everyone reading would already know. Her gaps of knowledge and the reader's gaps of knowledge just don't line up, making her a sort of subversion to this type. This is interesting to me too.)

im still not sure what the hell was up with part one, all i can think of is that bavitz wanted to warn their readers who, upon reading about the sordid lives of gramm and mimmy might be tempted to think "whew! what a mess! clearly the answer is to touch grass and have a normal life with a 9 to 5 job in a nice apartment, going to bars, dancing with friends doing excercise and hanging out with co workers!" and part one was him preempting that by showing how that world has its own issues, where its insipid, inane, lacking of meaning or purpose, where you are surrounded by people who are either robots or aliens, where eventually you just die and none of that mattered at all.

but then, is that actually true?

more than being authentic, harpers life feels less like a raw depiction of a middle class office worker and more just the artificial obverse face of gramms life. this is presumably what he is running away from, what he imagines his life would be like if you turned all the parameters of it to its diametrical opposite. it makes sense in how its the negative space of everything gramm is, but i dont know if it makes sense as a depiction of something real. and i say this as someone who managed to live the white collar wagiecuck life where i had to hang out with coworkers and got to conventions and do scrum meetings.

or perhaps its an exaggeration of it? a heightened caricature? but if it is its in a way unlike that of the heightened way in which gramms life is depicted, another lifestyle i am familiar with. gramms life feels real in a way harper's didnt.

and what is up with harper anyway, she became completly irrelevant to this story? was her purpose just to be an empty point of view character for the reader to use as an entry point into this world? much like many accuse harry potter of being? if she is she seems like a grotesque parody of it, a satire of the concept of the self insert protagonist.

[burst-of-iridescent]

Personally Kat.aang looks bad to me because Aang gave his most lightest skinned child special treatment 💀 there were air acolytes who weren’t air benders themselves but were still dedicated to keeping the culture alive so leaving Kya and Bumi out on account of them not being air benders is absolute bullsh*t. You don’t see Zutara shippers calling Kat.aang shippers racist because of it 🤔

yeah see this is one of those things that again ties back to bry.ke being totally oblivious about the implications of what they were writing because the optics of the kat.aang family are… troubling, to put it nicely.

the darker-skinned woman is a waterbender. the lighter-skinned man is an airbender. the nonbender is conveniently in-between. their clothing all correspond strictly to their individual elements (except bumi who gets chucked to red for the audacity of not being born an airbender — at least till he conveniently turns into one). if you knew nothing of these characters you’d never know they were biracial at all.

which is just… so disappointing. part of the reason i love zutara is how the fandom handles the incorporation of both cultures, and yet bry.ke couldn’t even be bothered to do the bare fucking minimum of at least having the kat.aang kids in blue and yellow clothes. if you’re going to claim that a significant aspect of this new, postwar world is the increased cultural exchange across nations then the kat.aang family of all people should be emblematic of that change! but no, instead of taking the opportunity to actually delve into and depict the intricacies of a blended household, we might as well just stick to the same shit we’ve been doing since atla because why think of something new, right?

it’s even more troubling that within the strange cultural division of the ka kids, it’s katara’s culture that gets the shaft. tenzin’s entire family might as well be air nomads through and through, and while bumi and kya seem to have been intentionally excluded from air nomad culture through no fault of their own, they don’t seem to know (or care) any more about their swt heritage either. the natural conclusion to draw from that is evidently that katara’s culture just doesn’t matter as much as aang’s in their family, and that paints a very disturbing picture of how aang views his wife’s heritage (especially with the worldbuilding of atla portraying the air nomads as ‘spiritually pure’ in comparison to everyone else).

i have no patience for the common ka defense that aang is a survivor of genocide so his culture should take more priority because a) katara is also a genocide survivor, as ka stans are so fond of pointing out until it doesn’t work in their favour and b) why are we acting like cultural integration is some sort of zero sum game? tenzin, kya and bumi aren’t going to run out of space for their air nomad traditions and practices just because they know more about their swt background as well. there’s no arbitrary limit on how much you can learn of your heritage.

yes, i know bry.ke didn’t intend for the ka family to come across this way. but whether the implications were purposeful or not, they still exist, and it’s fucking galling that the fandom will call zutara and zutara shippers racist all while defending the shitty writing choices of two american white men — and then pat themselves on the back for being progressive, as if genuine activism means harassing real poc in the name of fictional ones.

[total-drama-brainrot]

Alenoah AU, where Noah says this in London instead:

Owen: "Why don't you like Al? He's great!"

Noah: "I like Alejandro and I agree that he's great, but I still don't trust the guy."

Owen: "Why?"

Noah: "I have my personal reasons... One of them being that I don't like how he treats you, Owen... So, please be careful from now on..."

Owen: "Okay, Noah... You do have a point."

How would Alejandro react to Noah liking him, but not truly trusting him? 😲

See your first mistake is assuming Noah would ever give up an oppertunity to shit-talk someone. /j

But for real, if Noah did clarify that he doesn't dislike Alejandro but does distrust him, I can't see things playing out too differently from canon - save for Alejandro being a bit less openly hostile towards him post-challenge. Noah would still be eliminated, because having a teammate who distrusts him doesn't align with Alejandro's game plan.

Especially if Noah divulges why he doesn't trust Alejandro. If Noah tries to out the fact that Alejandro isn't as altruistic as he wants to appear, that makes Noah himself a direct threat to Alejandro's plans and schemes. Again, he'd be eliminated as soon as possible.

Regardless of any potential feelings between the two, Alejandro can and would always prioritise the competition over any budding relationship he has with Noah... at least in London. Further on in the competition, if/when the two of them have gotten to know each other better (and when mutual feelings have had time to grow and develop) it's a different story.

It would, however, mean there's a lot less bad blood between the two post series. At least on Alejandro's end. If anything, he'd probably have a smidge of respect for Noah, since he's one of the few people who had caught on to Alejandro's false geniality pre-merge and/or pre-elimination.

Meanwhile Noah would still be justifyably salty that Alejandro got him eliminated, but I imagine he'd pin most of the blame on himself. After all, it was his big mouth that once again dropped him into hot water with his team. Plus, in this scenario, Noah admits that he does like Alejandro, so even considering his elimination I doubt Noah would be too upset with Alejandro himself.

So, in the case of this hypothetical AU, I'd suggest that the main meat of the story here would be post-World Tour, which plays out canonically (or as close to canonically as you'd like). Alejandro gets Drama Machine'd, and Noah - as one of the few people in the cast who doesn't actively hate Alejandro - questions his whereabouts when he fails to show up on the cruise boat the Gen 1 cast are seen on at the beginning of RotI.

He's likely the only person to do so since, barring Heather, Noah's one of the select few who Alejandro didn't royally fuck over. Not directly, at least. And Heather's too preoccupied with the loss of her million to think about Alejandro's wellbeing. And Chris tells him straight; the robot on the cruise ship? Alejandro's chilling in there, healing from the lava burns in almost complete isolation.

Noah is understandably horrified. He's even more horrified when Chris reveals that the Burromuertos signed over custodial rights for Alejandro and disowned him, so Chris is full within his legal rights to keep Alejandro in the Drama Machine for however long he deems fit. Unfortunately, he's also sworn to secrecy about the whole deal; Chris can't have Alejandro's situation reaching the press, it'd be bad for the show's publicity. (Add some legal jargon here, or something about non-disclosure agreements being in the casts' contracts, or whatever.)

But he can't just leave alejandro to suffer in an indefinite mechanical imprisonment. So Noah bargains his way back into his old position as a PA, if only to keep tabs on Alejandro's wellbeing.

Something something you end up with one of those Assistant Noah x Drama Machine Alejandro AUs, which eventually evolves into a "Noah works as an assistant on All-stars" AU, or whatever.

[sporesgalaxy]

I’ve thought about it some more and I want to rephrase: the specific thing about the way Dungeon Meshi handles gender and autism that makes me bonkers is the blunt way the author states the differences between Laios and Falin’s treatment by the world. If Falin had been the one to try and carve out a space for the both of them, she would have been dismissed at best. But Laios was the one to try that, and for the crime of being a big autistic man, he was beaten for it. Many- most, even- aspects of this world and the real world favor men, when a gender or presentation is favored. Misogyny is extremely present in so many of our lives. But it is naive to pretend that there are no downsides to being seen as a man, especially one of color, or one that’s not neurotypical, or any number of things. Falin faces unique struggles as an autistic woman, usually internal, and usually to do with the social pressures placed on her to be seen as nothing but agreeable. But Laios faces unique struggles as an autistic man, like getting the shit kicked out of him or punched in the face or having people plot to kill him.

I’m super not trying to say that either has it better. Facing conflict because you are incapable of not presenting as exactly the kind of person you are isn’t inherently worse or better than being unable to present at all, trapped within yourself. But the way it’s presented in Dungeon Meshi is fascinating to me.

Ok so first of all I want you to know I GET IT. I HAVE SEEN HOW BAD IT CAN SUCK FOR AUTISTIC MEN IN A LOUD AND OPEN AND PHYSICAL WAY and how NO ONE FUCKING DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT because Guys Are Supposed To Be Tough and You Should Just Stop Acting Weird And Having Feelings and all that bullshit!!!!!!! I watched that happen to someone very close to me over the course of My Whole Childhood. It's fucking dismal and it makes me really happy to see a character like Laios where those struggles are front and center.

BUT! I also want to point out that your wording here, altho it is not your intention to belittle Falin's suffering, makes it seem like her/typical autistic women's suffering is wholly immaterial. Which is NOT true. It's not that Falin's emotional suffering is equal to Laios' physical suffering, it's that their autism/neurodivergence makes them both vulnerable to physical AND emotional abuse, but in different ways because of gendered social dynamics.

•••

(Quick aside: non-autistic men and women both experience physical as well as emotional abuse because of their percieved gender as well, btw. Yes, men get priveleges, but patriarchy harms them, too. You know what, this video discussing the strengths and weaknesses of The Barbie Movie actually explains it really really well. Anyways, back to the main point.)

Due to the different gendered social expectations placed on men and women, yes, men are more likely to escalate social conflict to physically fighting each other. But the same way that doesn't mean that there's NO emotionally abusive aspect to men's social punishment for being too different, the fact that women are expected to use emotionally abusive tactics to address social conflict does NOT mean that there is no physically abusive aspect to the ways that autistic women are mistreated.

The same way Laios' inability to hide his autistic traits puts him at risk for both getting the shit beaten out of him AND being lied to for purely social reasons, Falin's coping strategy of being agreeable puts her at risk for being shunned emotionally AND enduring physical harassment.

If Falin had tried to actively & forcefully carve out a place for herself and Laios in the world, dismissal is NOT the worst that could have happened to her. What Falin's childhood experience being subjected to folk rituals by her mother and rejection from the town REALLY shows us is that, if Falin was TOO unnacceptable to the people around her it would have become someone else's responsibility to "fix" or "cure" her. Her parents', or a doctor's, or a betrothed.

I'll try to find it later, but in one of the bonus comics where we learn more about the Touden sibs' relationships to their parents, one of the things we learn is that their mother tried to "treat" Falin's magical abilities using a variety of ineffective folk cures. Their mother felt pressured to do this by the townspeople's very negative response to Falin's magical abilities, which along with their father seeking advice from a Gnome, proves that the threat against Falin was not completely in Laios' head.

Falin says she saw this as quality time with her mother, but...I mean, girls with unhealthy relationships to their bodies often see childhood dieting and clothes shopping with their mothers as quality time, even if that "quality time" instilled in them a deep-seated belief that they should mistreat their bodies and view themselves as objects to be consumed. Just because Falin thinks of it as quality time now does NOT mean that there was no damage done.

In a world where her social and fiscal autonomy are already highly limited, Falin's physical autonomy is threatened by her neurodivergence, just in a more roundabout way than Laios' is.

[tossawary]

I'm interested in reading a nonfiction book specifically on the disabling nature of pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, and how this intersects with traditional gender roles and legal + financial oppression within many societies, but I'm also interested in reading about the intersection of feminism and disability more generally. (Preferably something that is not bioessentialist or transphobic nonsense.) Does anyone have any recommendations?

Let me ramble beneath a cut here on the area of interest I mean here. I promise I mean none of this in a weird bioessentialist or transphobic way, I've just been thinking a lot about how the physical realities (limitations, dangers) of reproduction affect our social structures, both in an activism way and also a fantasy worldbuilding way. I think "Dungeon Meshi" set off my thoughts on these things when it delved more seriously into the pain of long fantasy lifespans and the unavoidable violence of the food chain.

More generally (not talking about "Dungeon Meshi" any longer), I've taken note of fantasy and science fiction worlds which incorporate technological advancements for the author's convenience, allowing characters to act more freely and sidestep more realistic consequences of their actions, without apparently considering what these advancements mean for the shape of a society. These advancements include: effective birth control, effective protection against sexually transmitted health issues, relatively safe childbirth, relatively safe abortion, and substitute breast milk for infants. (And often menstruation is never mentioned.)

In most of these generic fantasy worlds I've encountered, the way that magic (or sufficiently advanced technology) shapes society is not the point of the story.

(Side note: I'm going to talk a lot about fantasy worldbuilding here, but I want to make it clear that I recognize this is a very serious topic and real people all over the world suffer from a lack of care regarding these issues. When I suggest that I find exploring these issues in fiction "interesting" or "fascinating", it's stemming partly from frustration in seeing these real and concerning issues represented so rarely in exploratory fiction meant to give voices to our nonfictional concerns, not that I find people's pain entertaining.)

A magic tea that keeps a character from getting pregnant exists as a device so that the reader can enjoy those sexy scenes without having to worry about birth control. An author might make a magical people "immune" to infections for similar reasons; now the audience can enjoy the "thrill" of unprotected sex with an incubus (impregnation kink) without having to think about the ick of getting syphilis. Magical healing exists to get our favorite character safely through childbirth, not because the author is interested in exploring what this might do to a world's birth rates. Magical infant formula exists so that our characters can look after an abandoned newborn, instead of dealing with the historic tragedy of infant mortality rates. And so on.

Many stories have alternate focuses besides this kind of technological + social worldbuilding for a variety of reasons! They just want to write sexy scenes or intricate political plots or sweeping adventures! That's fine! Sometimes, I also do not want to fucking think about the violent and deadly history of human reproduction.

And many OTHER stories DO deal with these things! I have read fantasy stories that say, "Hey, if magical healing is a thing, especially a thing that works as well or even better than our modern medicine, people would definitely try to control access to magic for power. And the religions of this world probably have lots of opinions on it. And it would generally effect the culture of this world on a foundational level, huh?" For some stories, this kind of worldbuilding is their whole thing. I have read some fantasy stories that do at least somewhat take into account what magical birth control and potentially reproductive autonomy might mean for the people there, though I might personally think that this kind of freely available technology would revolutionize society to a far greater degree than those fantasy worlds often depict.

See, I don't believe in gender or sex binaries, people are a lot more complicated than that, biology is a lot more complicated than that, and restricting legal rights and medical care and social roles based on either of those things is ridiculous. But I don't think it's unreasonable to point out that there are significant biological differences between groups of humans. (With blurry lines to these groups! Intersexuality is very much a thing!) Reproduction is necessary for the continuation of our communities, and in our reproduction, the pregnant parent bears a far greater physical burden and risk than the non-pregnant parent, which is really fucking unfair to everyone, but it's just the way that nature has it set up and we have to live with that process at the moment.

(Side note: no one should have to be pregnant or give birth if they don't want to. I also believe that, ideally, no one should have to care for a child if they don't want a child. This rambling may accidentally sound like "women are DESIGNED to have and care for children" nonsense, but 1) no human being or anything alive on this planet was "designed" for anything, that's horseshit thinking that's incredible harmful to people who physically cannot have children or are choosing not to have children so as to not pass on genetic issues, and 2) childfree people can do whatever they want forever. I may interchangeably use "pregnant people" and "women" because I'm switching off talking about physical reproduction and historical/modern oppression.)

(Also, yes, polyamory is a thing in relationships, and also people won't always live in partnership with the other bio parent of their children for whatever reason, but just go with me here for now.)

Historically, pregnancy and childbirth is a burden than has been borne by women. Currently, around the world, this is still a burden borne largely by women. And I've been wondering a lot about how much the oppression of women in our societies intersects with the oppression of the disabled. Even in ideal pregnancy and childbirth and childcare, without medical issues, it is a process that is at the very least temporarily disabling.

Some rare individuals can basically do hard labor throughout their pregnancy, up until the day they give birth, and then they're basically miraculously ready to run a marathon afterwards. Sure, whatever.

Most people do not have this experience with their pregnancy! Even if they do not experience more serious medical issues (which are a very real risk), a pregnant person is likely to at least get tired more easily and require more rest, to experience nausea and have specific dietary and nutritional requirements, to have achy feet and an aching back and other achy body parts, to have their mobility restricted by their belly and by looking after their belly. And so on! This is just scratching the surface!

By the end of their pregnancies, many people are unable to work. Many people are forced to work through draining pregnancies anyway, to get the supplies or money to survive, and suffer a variety of health issues later down the line. This inability to work leaves a significant group of people (the people who are producing the next generations within a community!) reliant on the compassion of their partners, families, or larger communities.

What if a society does not have a structure in place for those who cannot work? And who have no one to look after them? What if a person's partner or family or community is abusive? A physical and financial power imbalance is created by the unavoidably disabling nature of pregnancy.

And then there's childbirth, which comes with a very real risk of death or permanent health issues, to those with the best of modern healthcare and without. I don't feel like I need to get into this one too much.

But even if childbirth goes well, even if both parent and child are perfectly healthy afterwards, childcare itself restricts the formerly pregnant parent's ability to do things. Even waving aside the recovery period after childbirth, in a situation without infant formula or pumping + refrigeration, the breastfeeding parent is going to be stuck feeding the child multiple times every day and must stay close to them. In most situations, it makes sense that the breastfeeding parent is going to take on a lot of the childcare, and breastfeeding may go on for several years.

And though many people have done many impressive things with a child strapped to their back, an infant is both helpless and fragile. Toddlers are still fragile and still incapable of doing many things for themselves. Any human being, whether or not they were the pregnant parent, suddenly becomes limited in what they can do just by holding a baby. Caring for any human being, including the injured and sick and elderly, can be an exhausting situation and most carers are going to need help. Caretaking is work that will put limits on your ability to do other forms of work to survive.

And non-pregnant parents also deserve societal support! Especially if they have lost their partner for some reason or another and are now the sole caregiver for a child.

Thinking about all of this has underlined to me again just how much disability activism does for all "other" forms of activism. No one is better positioned to see how our societies fail to help and to care than those who need help and care to survive. What if a person cannot safely work? What if the work they can do is not enough to care for themselves and their dependents? What if a person cannot rely on the "compassion" of their local community? What would society look like if it was legally structured to provide unconditional support?

Reproductive rights and bodily autonomy seems to often become a high point of control. I'm not criticizing fantasy stories where magical birth control is readily available and it's just not an issue! It's nice to imagine that! But I do think it's worth thinking about how things like effective birth control and safe abortion potentially completely changes the way a society operates, giving people new control over their own bodies and futures. It's worth asking what power structures keep women (and other marginalized people) oppressed within a society when technology / medicine exists that could let them live freely. Is it a class issue? A religious issue? Can women legally tell men to fuck off or are they basically property in this setting?

(I think a lot about that one anecdote someone told about how their grandparents couldn't share a bedroom at one point, because though the couple loved each other very much and wanted to have sex, they just couldn't risk pregnancy again after all of the children they'd had and they had no effective birth control.)

(I also think a lot about the woman who tweeted about how birth control was good not just for "family planning" but because she wanted to have sex and didn't want children. She's the one who created / popularized the iconic phrase "die mad about it", I think. Amazing work.)

(I also think about how long it took for "marital rape" to be recognized as an issue and I want to fucking scream. It's STILL an issue in many places / situations.)

A society that does not freely provide medical care and childcare can never truly have "equality between sexes". Looking around at countries which complain about "declining" birth rates ("women choosing not to have children!!!") while also making it hellish (medically dangerous + a huge financial burden) to be pregnant or give birth or have children... I think I see part of their problem. Historically and into the modern day, pregnancy requires making yourself horribly vulnerable to your partner / family / community, and given the choice, even if they may want to be parents, a lot of people simply cannot afford the risk and burden of giving a child a good life. Pregnancy and childcare are often disabling and a lot of countries around the world treat disabled people terribly.

So, I'm interested in reading more about disability and feminism, as well as disability and children's rights, and disability and a lot of things, honestly. Or maybe something that just talks about childcare and pregnancy across a variety of societies around the world? Everything to do with "women are inherent this and men are inherently that" is bullshit, but there is an unavoidable power imbalance in reproduction (pregnant partner versus non-pregnant partner, which has historically been women versus men) which looks like it may have influenced traditional gender roles somewhat within some societies.

So, I'm looking for book recommendations.

[skrifores]

I have seen the point being made that you don’t have to be in a romantic relationship for some behaviour to constitute domestic violence. I’m seeing this said with regards to Our Flag Means Death and what some people perceive as domestic abuse on Ed’s part - that him not being romantically involved with Izzy shouldn’t mean behaviour between can’t be considered domestic abuse.

It is an excellent point that in many places, the definition of domestic abuse isn’t restricted to intimate partners! It is often widened to consider any violence, coercion and emotional harm taking place within a home environment. Under this definition, children can be victims of domestic abuse by their parents, it can occur between siblings, even roommates - especially with a live-in landlord situation. And of course, the Revenge as well as being a workplace is ultimately where the characters live.

I think it’s very clear that the show is a workplace comedy about pirates, but if you want to apply the definition of violence, coercion and emotional harm within a home environment to your reading to the show, that can be done.

Of course, I would be surprised if you genuinely view it that way and still made it as far as even watching Season 2, given the way what you consider to be domestic abuse in this fictional setting happens so very often with little to no moral consequence, and is often intended to be taken as a joke.

I mean. In the very first episode, the crew talk about killing Stede, and begin to plan for this, including lighting him on fire.

Jim threatens Lucius and actually physically locks him in a small wooden box in the second episode for what seems to be quite a long time.

I think in 4, Izzy pulls on Fang’s beard and it really upsets him. He also talks pretty openly about the intention to kill the Revenge crew, though I’ll let that go at this stage since he doesn’t really live there so much as being there for the purpose of murdering them and stealing their stuff. Still, poor Fang, that looked like it hurt.

While we’re on Izzy, he does also actively try to kill Stede by stabbing him, and he then he goes and does the olde worlde equivalent of calling the cops on him on the intention of having him executed, which seems pretty fucked up on the ‘violence’ part of our DA definition but also hits pretty hard on coercive control since he’s doing this to get Ed to behave differently.

He does prevent the Navy from executing Ed, which is nice, but he does point out that he regrets this, which, ouch, emotional harm. If we’re doing real world definitions, “I should’ve let the cops I called on you murder you” is the sort of thing that would make me feel pretty fucked up. And we all know what it means when someone tells you to watch your step.

But it’s not all about Izzy! (It’s really not, guys, there’s a whole TV show here!) Buttons bites Lucius - who ends up needing the whole finger gone! And he’s a visual artist!

Even my darling man Roach tries to eat the Swede, and I’ve gotta say, I don’t think they were on that island long enough to justify murder.

And who could forget Mary?? Wonderfully written character, love her, but, she does with malice aforethought attempt to kill her spouse in his sleep with a skewer. She was right to do it, in my opinion, but y’know, even without broadening the definition beyond partner relationships, murder of your spouse is pretty classic domestic abuse.

So, y’know, the point I’m getting at really is that if your definition of domestic abuse is violence and control wherein the perpetrator and victim share a significant aspect of their lives like living space - that’s a fine definition in real life. It is the one I use, in real life. But if you apply it to Our Flag Means Death, I really don’t understand how you stomached watching the first season or why you came back for more.

And if you only apply this definition with regards to Ed’s behaviour, but not the rest of the characters, I do wonder why that might be.

[armouredgoblin]

In regards to my previous post about Fem Custodes

I have a few points to make If I made you mad. That's not my problem. I still hold the opinion that they should not be a thing due to 30+ years of lore stating that they have always been men. I have heard a few arguments.

"Its always been political"

Well yes but actually no. Internally it has its own set of politics depending on which faction you look at. You can have politics that are separate to the real world. A good example of that outside of the Warhammer Universe is Helldivers.

Helldivers developers Arrowhead decided that they would not put anything that would represent the real world beyond the fact that humans exist. They rejected putting things such as rainbow capes and country based capes because it would take away from the actual internal lore and would cause division in the community.

The people that want these things tend forced into the media/lore to be the people who wont actually play it because they never wanted it in the first place.

"Its just a small change what's the harm?"

Its a step. One small step towards creating female space marines. If you can make custodes gene seeds work in woman; then you can make the space marine ones work in them too because who cares any more?.

Its an active attempt at slowly moving the Warhammer universe and turning it into the grey sludge that only appeals to the "Modern Audience" filled with the political messages that only goes one way.

I wanted to enjoy the lore as an experience separate to my own existence. I want to use this as an escape of this work but I am seeing it slowly being infiltrated and ruining the immersion.

"There isn't enough representation in Warhammer40k"

Who the fuck wants to be represented in the universe that is basically one constant war. Were the standard imperial guardsmen (of which contain both genders) eat what is called "corpse starch".

To be fair in the spotlight there is mostly the Space Marines which is an all male team of genetically altered super humans (the Custodes are further up that chain and are seen as even more powerful than the average Space Marine). Space Marines are barely recognisable as humans due to the effect of the gene seed.

However if people actually looked they would find there is plenty of representation within Warhammer40k. There are many factions outside of the Space Marines that have both female and males on the frontlines of this eternal war.

Factions: Eldar (Male and Female) Dark Eldar (Male and female) Imperial Guardsmen (As mentioned before) Sisters of Battle (All female) Sisters of Silence (All female) Not sure about them: Tau: I know they take from many species and I am not so sure what they have on the male and female ratio.

Errm: Tyranids: Alien bug species, fuck knows what they have. Chaos: They will defiantly have both, Slannesh will torture fuck you all.

Speaking of Slannesh While often referred as male, he actually can be both and neither.

"GW can do what they wish with their IP"

Yes. There is not much to argue with there. They could even pull a Disney Star Wars and state that everything from the next codex is now the true canon and everything before it no longer exists. In my opinion this would be stupid.

"Warhammer40k is for everyone"

Is it tho? You seem to be ready to throw out many people who don't immediately agree with you.

No media in any form is for everyone. People have a preference and can not like things.

Using myself as an example. I don't like sports games. Therefore I don't play them as it's not for me. I am not demanding sports games change the entire premise and add things to attract me to the game.

In short if you don't like it, don't force yourself into it. If you are interested. Experience it before making decisions. and especially before you decide that you can change the entire hobby to fit you.

Make your own thing.

Chances are there will be an audience however small or large it may be.

For those of you on the frontlines of the Gatekeeping Hold the line.

[holyblanchett]

I have been called to post this, so buckle up folks. Im going to need everyone front and center right now. This is one of my more serious takes and it might piss some people off and it will be the last time I speak on this utter nonsense.

Unpopular Opinion: I've seen so much drama across multiple platforms today its actually insane. Especially between the lesbians and gays that stan Agatha and billy/Joe. Some of the stuff I'm reading is wild. Yall do know this shit isn't that deep right? Like there are other things we could be arguing about but being blatantly homophobic or lesbophobic is certainly a choice and over a TV show and fictional characters is crazy please seek help.

Both sides definitely have been feeding into toxicity and using slurs. I personally don't see twink or dyke as a slur. But if someone finds it offensive they have every right to feel the way that they do and you should respect that. Personally none of that shit bothers me, you become desensitized to it all living in America and being a black, non binary lesbian going by They/Them pronouns. We don't have the luxury of being offended by something lol.

What I've learned from irl and activism in my own state is that the lgbt+ community can be very toxic towards eachother on and off the internet. Outside of pride month, let's be real no one gets along. It's every man for themselves in the real world. I've hosted vigils for trans women that have been killed and had twenty people show up. I use the same promo for a pride event and hundreds do.

Which is so insane because we all kind of share the same struggle? To be seen and heard? Some demographics more so than others are forgotten and pushed to the side and that's just the truth. Regardless, we definitely lost a sense of community within the community and with trump about to be in office again I'm going to need yall to get a fucking grip on reality.

Anyways, I said my peace, go touch some grass, stop being weird. And protect trans women. It is November and the 20th is transgender day of remembrance. Attend a vigil, volunteer, do something in your community that actually matters instead of arguing on the internet and look out for eachother. There are so many people hurting rn.

[nyoomerr]

Tips for writing shizun-is a teacher I wish to fuck blorbo Shen Yuan and 300 women but only truly want one man blorbo Bingge? They are so tasty but I want to characterize them accurately 👌👌

they are indeed the tastiest 😌🍴 and i'm glad that you enjoy my characterization of them enough that you trust me to give advice on them!

that said, i'll go ahead and add my usual sort of disclaimer when giving writing advice -- this is how i interpret these characters, and it's highly unlikely that everyone will agree with all aspects of my understanding of them. feel free to take/leave whichever pieces of this advice suit you personally!

(after all, i don't even take my own advice to heart all the time. there are always exceptions, especially in fandom / fic, where the guiding principle should always just be "do whatever is most fun!")

⬇ ⬇ all advice under the cut to avoid clogging ppl's dashes ⬇ ⬇

for writing shen yuan,

he's an asshole! i often see sy portrayed as kind and innocent as a heavenly saint, but this is the same guy who delighted in harassing the writer of his (not) favorite book. he's argumentative and a bit mean, and he enjoys being those things, particularly when it makes him feel as if he's "won" something. to write this part of his character,

within his own narration, i'll include casual insults directed at anyone/thing that causes him a mild inconvenience

in conversations between him and someone he dislikes, i try to ensure he's never the one to disengage first unless something forces him to, instead writing him as always wanting to get the last word in.

whatever quips/insults/methods of revenge he enacts, i try to ensure that they match his own image of who he is. when he's sqq, his bitchiness doesn't "win" anything unless the way he enacts it fits within his image as an aloof immortal. even when he's a NEET in his original world, he has an image of himself that he wants to maintain (i.e. "winning" on the internet means "people believe you're right.")

he can be sweet, but it's an attitude reserved for people/things he likes very much. even then, it only reinforces his bitchiness; i try to always write him as most mean when someone is attacking something he likes.

he's conditionally oblivious, not completely so. although oblivious!sy is super fun, he's really only "oblivious" to things that would be inconvenient for him to know/understand, and even then, it's less that he doesn't notice and more that he doesn't want to notice. to write this part of his character,

i still have him notice whatever is happening, but within his own narration he'll complete whatever mental gymnastics are necessary to reach a more convenient conclusion than the obvious one.

i try to portray these mental gymnastics as increasingly frantic / borderline panicked depending on how big the jump is between "what is easy for sy to think" and "what the reality is." kinda as if sy can tell that his own excuses are falling apart in real time and is desperately trying to cover it up.

a lot of "what is easy for sy to think" lies in his comphet, but not all of it. it's also easy for him to think that he's right - so when he makes a reasonable assumption, and then he learns new information that disproves that assumption, i usually take that as a chance to throw in some mental gymnastics, too.

when he does finally allow himself to understand, it's often because he's reached the tipping point of "what is easy for me to think is now actively harmful to me or someone i care about." i'll often write sy doing his mental backflips for chapters on end without any sign of stopping, but then very suddenly come to a halt and recognize the truth when he's faced with irrefutable proof that his assumptions are making things Worse (i.e., binghe is crying).

for writing bingge,

his motivation for chasing after a sy of his own lies primarily in the emotion of "this isn't FAIR" as opposed to a genuine desire to have a happy life with sy specifically. it isn't fair that he got a cruel sqq while bingmei got one that grew to care for him, it isn't fair that bingmei is happier in his life than bingge is in his ""objectively"" more accomplished life, etc etc. to write this part of his character,

he'll expect sy to treat him just like sy!sqq treated bingmei right out the gate, because sy doing so would make things "fair" for bingge. when sy fails to meet these expectations, i'll write bingge experiencing the frustration of a child denied the treatment their sibling got, not the distress of a man being rejected by someone he loves.

he has to learn to want sy romantically, and learn how that's different from just vaguely wanting "whatever bingmei had that i didn't." when he reaches this point, i'll try to write some key change in the way he treats sy in order to show that his mental framing of the situation has changed. often, i change the way bingge addresses sy at this point (i.e. calling sy with a diminutive instead of by his name).

he has very firm ideas about what is "good," and very little of them actually match what he wants. by the time bingge reached a position of power, he'd spent a lot of time reinforcing particular ways of thinking and acting because they were what kept him alive during difficult times. to write this part of his character,

he'll lash out at anything that has the chance to hurt him, because striking first is how he's survived. bc of this, i'll write him as very quick to lash out at sy or run away from their relationship if he gets even the slightest hint that sy might have messed up somewhere... but only after bingge has grown to like sy enough that he's emotionally vulnerable to what sy might do to him.

before that point, i'll write him as just mildly frustrated that this nice new toy he found isn't playing with him correctly.

he was only respected and listened to after he became powerful and scary, so he'll resist showing any other side of himself. i'll often use this as a point of conflict, highlighting how 'what makes a good romantic partner' has very little overlap with 'what makes a scary emperor' and forcing bingge to hesitantly change his habits.

i also have tips i wrote specifically about the bingmei-ification process here, if you wanted to check those out :>

anyway, i hope these help a bit! thank you again for trusting me for advice, it's very sweet of you. good luck with your own writing adventures, i'm sure you're going to kill it!!! 😤💪

[sawyer-is-eepy]

MaDD and plurality

okay so we're MaDD, right?? and we're also plural??

NOBODY talks about how freaking hard that makes communicating omg.

constantly i'll be trying to talk to someone and then i drift off and suddenly they are completely drowned out OR they're ALSO daydreaming!! it's so frustrating, because it means that to even semi-effectively communicate, i have to talk out loud. if i have to communicate something important and we're in a public place i just have to focus REALLY hard on internal communication and it sometimes STILL doesnt work.

on top of that, we have ADHD so it's even harder, and talking out loud still doesn't work that well because without another person physically here to snap me back to reality whenever i'm daydreaming, if i start daydreaming, i'm just stuck until i realize, which can be anywhere from within a minute to literally 20+ minutes. usually they're able to get my attention by that time, but it's hard because our communication is not easy for anyone but the host(me, who is ALWAYS fronting) to initiate, so unless i actively open myself to communicate with them, it's hard for them to get my attention. sometimes my daydreams even last hours, but that usually doesn't happen when i'm not actively deciding to daydream. so yeah, it's really difficult because i've already got issues focusing, and adding basically irresistable urges to daydream at random that get triggered way too easily on top of that, inner communication is SO HARD.

anyways, this makes making a tulpa really fucking difficult because forcing is really hard.

but here are my tips, for other MaDD, especially anyone making a headmate/alter/tulpa/parogen/whatever themself -

incorporate your daydreaming into the communicating/forcing. like daydream you and that alter hanging out and then communicate via that. this does not ensure that you won't start daydreaming about anything else, but it lessens the chances. if you try to force yourself to not daydream at ALL the urges are gonna be much harder to ignore, at least for me. if you're ALREADY daydreaming, and it gets interesting enough, minor distractions are gonna catch your attention less and less because you WANNA focus on this one daydream. it becomes much more enjoyable.

this kind of like the last one, but this is more specific to tulpa/parogen forcing. don't really view it as a chore, which i've accidentally been doing more and more. not a chore i dislike, but i've been viewing it like something i have to do every single day for x amount of time other wise it wont work and it'll fail horribly and everything will be ruined, when it shouldn't need to be that. it shouldn't be on a to-do list, unless that really works for you(which if that's the case that's freaking awesome and you should probably ignore this tip). idk about everyone else, but it's much easier for me to daydream if i'm treating something like something i need to do because it's so much more tempting to just go live somewhere else for a minute while i do things i need to do. i often daydream doing chores because it's not interesting enough to keep me grounded. so, to make sure it gets done, i drift off while i'm doing it, so i am doing it in the real world but to me i'm in another world or in one of my stories. but for forcing, to be able to do it, you HAVE to be constantly aware and present. if you view it like you're just having a fun little conversation with them, it becomes like whenever you're bored or lonely just like you would reach out to a friend, but instead you're getting some talking to your head friend in. even if it's not traditional forcing, it works and develops them more, even if it's just a bit here and there. idk about everyone else, but i think partially because of my ADHD and partially because of my MaDD, whenever i have a chore i need to do i kind of put it off if i'm already doing something. i don't really *want* to put it off, but i just can't get my body to move. especially when I'm daydreaming. because, why would i get up and do the boring thing when i can watch my story in my head ? it's so much easier to sit and do nothing. but as we all know, that ADHD paralysis is so so SO stress inducing, the best option is to always get up and try to force yourself to. idk if non-ADHD MaDD will relate at all though, because that paralysis is mostly exclusive to those with ADHD afaik, but for me, my MaDD makes it much worse. anyways, that probably didn't make much sense sorry

write down what everyone is saying. this makes it much easier to keep track of what they are saying and stay present, but it also documents the conversation as well. so even if you weren't that present during the conversation, or you're worried you'll forget something important, you'll have a record to read back on later if you need! and also with created alters/headmates, keeping track of their progress is always incredibly important!!

don't listen to music! this one might be a bit of a given but unless it's like instrumental music that you genuinely won't pay that much attention to but still helps you focus, DON'T listen to it. songs are an easy gateway into a daydream. ESPECIALLY songs with lyrics, even ones that you can't understand because they're in another language, which by the way for literally any other thing you need to focus on, that's a great tip, listening to music in other languages, because you can still focus with interesting music in the background but the lyrics arent grabbing you at all. anyways back to plural-related MaDD tips, yeah, don't listen to music. even if that song usually doesn't catch your attention. for me, if i'm talking, internally or externally, and there's music with lyrics playing, i reallyyy cannot focus on what i'm(or others, again, internally or externally) are saying. idk, might just be some sort of auditory processing issue related to my ADHD but i cannot focus on it, and because it's hard, i just need to pick one, and sometimes my brain picks the song and i just. stop talking. and start daydreaming.

idk what to do if you're not fronting and trying to communicate with whoever is fronting, because i've not switched(like i mentioned before, the host, who is me, has never not been the one fronting), but if anyone has any other tips either related to that or the ones i already have here, please feel free to let me know because i'd love to hear them and i'm sure others do too!! anyways, i hope i helped, idk this might be too specific to me.

[fluffabutt]

Rewrote this fic so many times:

Yandere!Laventon x Reader

Warnings: Reader is isekai-ed and unhappy about it, feelings of betrayal, injury, drugging

———————————————————

You’ve been through this before: being introduced to the Pokémon world.

Laventon is your Professor, which makes sense since he’s the first one you meet and wearing a labcoat. He says that you fell from the sky, and you’re content to believe you’re in a very realistic dream.

The air is clear, the sky is blue, and it’s absolutely fucking freezing in your shorts.

You go through the motions, meeting your rival character Akari, the tough boss Cyllene, and establishing your ‘home town.’

It isn’t until you manage to scrape your hands while catching Pokémon that you realize you’re not in a dream.

The blood running down your fingers makes you ‘wake up’ in a sense. Laventon rushes over to bandage your hands as you walk towards him and Akari in a daze. You look at them both with new understanding.

You’re in the Pokémon world.

These are real breathing people, not 3D models on a screen.

And you come to a new understanding of how you need to do everything you can to go home.

You open the mission on your new Arcphone.

There are people relying on you back home, they must be worried.

You can’t make them wait.

————————————————————————

You keep it very professional all things considered.

The Survey Corps members are all reasonably kind people, but you don’t have any intention of getting close.

You just keep your head down and finish as many Pokédex entries as you can without working yourself to the bone, occasionally joining Laventon and the other Survey Corps members for Potato Mochi to celebrate. Otherwise you keep to yourself.

Many people try to ask about yourself but you keep them at arms length. You can’t lose focus on your mission, and any time spent trying to connect with others is better off going into survey work.

You sometimes talk to Laventon or Cyllene, mostly on business but with your attempts to keep yourself from getting sick and keeling over you spend time with them.

Paperwork mostly, but Laventon goes out of his way to include you in the small gatherings that happen within the corps.

You appreciate it, really, but you don’t see much point in team-building when you intend to leave. Laventon often walks away with a strained smile when you refuse the invitation.

Besides, what could you even talk about? That in your world none of this is real? It’s a wonder the presence of your new phone isn’t a paradox in and of itself.

So no, you tell them about the most basic parts of yourself, leaving anything else in vague statements.

And cry into the pillow that came with your futon when you feel especially homesick.

————————————————————————

The frenzied nobles add a new quirk to the mix. The Alpha Pokémon were already terrifying in their ferocity, but the frenzied Noble Pokémon?

You think whatever put you here just is interested in killing you in more extreme scenarios by the day.

Running for your life desperately pelting Pokémon potpourri, so panicked you don’t even have the breath to scream when you get hit by the damned thing.

But you work through it.

Laventon bandages your scrapes with gentle scolding about your wellbeing, but you simply just sigh and crunch numbers in your head to catch up on how much time you wasted fixing the clan problems.

Laventon offers quiet nights so you can recover and get back into shape enough to go back. You say your thanks when he offers to brew a tea that helps you sleep.

He thankfully doesn’t bring up the nightmares you wake up from with a gasp during survey expeditions. You keep the fact that your nightmares persist into your house in Jubilife to yourself.

Laventon is kind enough to keep you distracted with research talk until you excuse yourself when your eyelids flutter and he walks you back to your house.

—————————————————————————

Though you do find somebody to cling to in the whirlwind of activity. One Warden Ingo who mirrors the lost look in your eyes.

Though yours don’t glow in near darkness like his.

Ingo is the first shuddering breath you allow yourself to take, where he opens up about the memories that linger outside of his reach and you feel compelled to talk about the people you miss everyday.

You tell Ingo almost everything though you have to leave out the entirety of Pokémon being fictional, out of fear his straining psyche would deteriorate.

Of course, the Pokédex comes first, but you make an effort to keep up correspondence with Ingo. Letters fly back and forth between you two, information on the native Pokémon and their habitats is precious to you and you offer a sound board for some memories he has of his time.

You wave off the weekly invitations to spend training with Ingo. Pokémon battling is a necessary skill for the wilderness of Hisui and genuinely you have a good time. Even taking offers from Ingo for help with the Pokédex in the Coronet Highlands.

The Pearl Wardens hear about your bonding with Ingo and offer their assistance as well, and you’re extremely thankful. You even take up offers to go by yourself with the Pearl Clan without the help of the Survey Corps, Ingo helping to escort you to a settlement and take you back to Jubilife after a week of work.

Laventon approaches you in a panic when you both come back to Jubilife terrified that you went and got hurt. But you wave him off explaining where you were, and happily hand him a few journals worth of notes and show off your haul of newly captured Pokémon.

It’s the first time you see Laventon so off balance. You feel terribly guilty as Laventon just quietly collects your research and turns away to walk back to Headquarters.

Ingo escorts you the short walk to your house before you separate, to which he asks if he can join you for dinner. You feel slightly deflated with what happened but invite him over anyway, happy for the distraction of what happened.

You go to Headquarters to give your progress to Cyllene, who looks impressed at your wide berth of work. It’s only when you turn to leave that Cyllene stops you.

“We were worried for you.” She says, her hands steepled as she levels her piercing gaze at you.

“Ah, my apologies. I will alert you in the future if I intend to go out on my own-“

“You are appreciated here. People like you.” She says, the weight of that statement makes your stomach churn

“Thank you.” You say, because you don’t have any idea of what else to say.

There’s a very telling pause that only makes you fidget with your hands.

“That’s all, dismissed,” she says with a sigh, something you’ve never heard from Cyllene, and goes back to the large stacks of paperwork on her desk.

You’re happy to be able to get away from the Survey Corps.

Though you swallow the hard lump in your throat and blink back tears as you trudge back to the house.

———————————————————————-

Ingo is mercifully quiet as you help each other with a dinner, you peeling potatoes while he chops vegetables. They’re combined into the hot pot as you carefully lay pieces of meat into the hot oil.

“You’ve made great progress on the Pokédex,” Ingo finally says.

“Yes, there’s about 30 entries left. Mostly just raising Pokémon.” You say back. You push the idea of the box Legendaries into the back of your mind before your migraine gets worse.

“You’ve been here for a month yes?” He asks.

“Yes, just about.”

“Have you told anyone else?” He asks.

“Told anyone else what?”

“That the Pokédex is your only way home.” He says.

You just stare at him, he uses his chopsticks to stir the veggies and flip the meat so it cooks evenly.

“Ah, so that’s a firm no then.” He says with a sigh, running his hand over his goatee.

You just turn to grab two clay bowls and the soju you keep in your small little cellar in the floor.

You hand Ingo his bowl and once everything is finished cooking, you both set down to eat. Ingo is mercifully silent, though accepts a few swigs of your soju as you pass it back and forth.

You place your bowl on the tatami mat, laying your chopsticks across the rim, and sit back on your hands as you try to gather the words you want to say. You look at Ingo.

“If…” You start, and Ingo meets your eyes, patiently waiting. “If you could go home, would you?”

Ingo blinks, fiddles with his goatee as he looks down. You watch his eyes focus on the floor, the quirk of his eyebrows, and the subtle tap of his fingers against the tatami floor in a rhythm you don’t recognize.

“I would,” he says, after he meets your gaze again.

“So would I. So to follow that, if you knew you were going to leave, would it be fair to get close to someone knowing you’re not going to stay?”

Ingo answers you with a deep sigh, his free hand moves to the brim of his hat.

“That’s why. I want to go home Ingo. I want to see my friends, my family… it doesn’t feel fair to get close knowing that the first opportunity I have… I’d leave this world in a heartbeat.” You say.

You get up to take your dishes and place them aside, you hand Ingo a little clay bowl with a lid for him to grab the leftovers.

“I see…” he says.

“So I’ve been told to finish the Pokédex, and I’m going to,” you say, turning to face him. “And as soon as I do, we’re going to go home.”

You offer your hand out to Ingo, and his eyes flicker back and forth, searching you for something. You know there’s nothing there but your honest feelings.

He clasps his callused and scared hand against yours and gives you the soft smile he reserves for when he loses.

—————————————————————-

You walk Ingo to the door and say goodbye after he puts on his shoes. Though he walks back in after immediately stepping outside holding a bamboo box.

“This was left on your stoop,” he says, shock overriding his typical neutral frown.

You take it from him and open it.

Fresh Dango on skewers, two in particular.

You gasp with pleasant surprise and offer one to Ingo. He tries to refuse but with mild goading he accepts the present.

“I wonder who could have left it…” he says, trailing off before enjoying a mouthful of the sweet dango.

“No clue.” You say, smiling as the man manages to stuff his face full of the sweet treat like a chipmunk before heading off into the night.

You enjoy your snack, though the sweetness makes your heart hurt, knowing even if you had a secret admirer you wouldn’t be able to return their feelings.

You wouldn’t be sticking around to find out.

————————————————————————-

From there everything swivels sideways, from Palkia and Dialga, to Volo and Giratina, you barely managed to regain your focus.

The way you were ousted from Jubilife struck you particularly hard, no matter how kind Cogita and the other clans were. You didn’t try to make friends, but when no one was able to stop your expulsion your resolve was cemented.

You were an outsider, clear and simple.

So with three legendary beasts on your team you ran yourself hard and fast to the finish line. During your exile you had the opportunity to get close with Diamond Clan members and their wardens so you had a vast network of people to rely on.

A vast enough network that you left Jubilife for the final time.

You send your data to Laventon with a Staraptor you trained for correspondence. The sweet darling had been a Starly for your letters back and forth to Ingo but the poor bird wanted to evolve once your correspondence evolved to Pearl Clan, Diamond Clan, and Jubilife.

You keep all your letters brief, though Laventon often made the effort to tell you about the goings on in Jubilife: how Akari was progressing, Cyllene getting startled by the guy with the Weedle out front, etc.

Laventon often sent you treats as well, which you thanked him for, but no matter how subtly he tried to reel you back in to Jubilife you stayed in the wilderness. You didn’t want to offer anything to Laventon you knew you couldn’t give.

You couldn’t offer a friendship you knew wouldn’t last.

—————————————————————————

You finish the last of the data Laventon requested, leaning back with a heaving sigh.

You set up camp in a former Garchomp den, long since abandoned, and if you were worried about the Pokémon coming back your Godlike attack dogs would’ve made quick work of the poor thing.

You set up a fire, and quickly manufacture dinner, small tears of relief being grossly licked off by your starter Pokémon. You shove the dumb baby’s face away with a laugh, and get back to your set up.

It’s when you lean back against your curled up little menagerie of a team you realize you’ll miss them. The god Pokémon in your team were friendly, but you knew they were there because of your purpose set by the god of Pokémon itself.

Though you would happily take the image of Giratina rewarding your well placed pets with the most haunting purr noise to your grave.

So you gathered up the fancy parchment you saved for the moment when you knew you’d leave. You started your farewell letters to Jubilife first: thanking Cyllene for her kindness in offering you meals and a home to stay in, and asking her to release your Pokémon in the stables. Telling Akari she was bright and would excel in Team Galaxy and wherever she set her sights on in the future, how she should have an open heart and an open mind.

Laventon… you wrote a sincere appreciation. Without his word, without his effort, you more than likely would have died out in the wilderness. You told him you were thankful for his kindness, that you wished you could’ve taken the time to grow closer. You give him your best wishes, and make sure to bundle the finished pieces of your research with his letter.

You send your Staraptor to send the letters off, giving the sweet ‘mon a Sitrus Berry for her troubles. You give her orders to drop the letters off and then come back immediately.

You wake up when your Arcphone buzzes and tells you that God saw and recognized your mission was completed and told you to head to Spear Pillar. So you pack up your stuff and your team, and head off towards your final destination.

———————————————————————

You try to take in the journey as you make your way towards Spear Pillar, you write to Iridia and Adaman, extending your gratitude from their kindness and willingness to support you at your lowest.

You write to Cogita as well, the beautiful older woman was given some golden nuggets to make up for her generosity in feeding you and letting you stay in her home.

You write to Ingo telling him to hurry to Spear Pillar, you promise to wait for him to summon Arceus as your way of going home, and you thank him for being patient.

After that it’s slowly releasing your Pokémon as you go, your Staraptor, your starter, and the legendary trio being the only ones left in your team. You feed the Noble Pokémon treats in thanks for them helping you one last time.

You get to Spear Pillar and set up camp, with the Azur Flute.

And wait.

————————————————————-

You wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It’s the start of the second day when you start to get restless.

You go to search for food with the help of the Noble Braviary bringing you to the base. Hoping to find Ingo in the wilderness… but you only find local Pokémon.

You pace at camp from then, focusing on feeding yourself and your Pokémon while you wait.

On the evening of the fourth day you see a shape in the dark as someone approaches you from the summit and you eagerly jump to your feet.

“Ingo?” You yell, waving to them.

“Ah, no! It’s me,” the ever enigmatic Professor calls back.

Your heart drops.

“Oh, Professor, what are you doing here?” You say, trying to mask the disappointment in your voice.

“I received your letter,” he says. He gently lets a leather bag down onto the dirt near the fire. “I didn’t want that to be the last conversation we had.”

He sits across from you, rummaging through his bag until he pulls out a familiar looking tin can, holding it with a triumphant smile.

“Care for a spot of tea?” He says, giving you a wistful look. “One last time?”

You can’t find it in your heart to deny him this. Considering the care he always showed you, you figure it’s only fair to take up his offer.

———————————————————————

You sit in the silence as Laventon sets up the kettle and the tea above the fire pit. Any time you hear a noise you quickly turn to see if it’s Ingo only to be disappointed every time.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Laventon asks.

“Yes, I asked Ingo to meet me here.” You say.

“Ah you two were quite close after the Lord Electrode incident.”

“Yup.” You feel bad, but the anxiety that Ingo stood you up overrides your need to be polite. You call your Staraptor, asking her to search for Ingo, and send the fierce bird off into the night.

Laventon pulls out a set of tea cups, pouring one for you and one for himself. You accept the outstretched cup with a sigh and hold it in your hands while you give it a moment to cool. He gives your starter a Jubilife Muffin, to which the darling happily eats up.

The wind picks up and sends a chill through your warm Survey Uniform, the night air is cold to begin with much less at the peak of a mountain.

Laventon clears his throat, and your eyes snap to him.

“Would you, mind terribly, if you could recall the Gods of Sinnoh?”

Oh. Right.

“Oh I’m sorry,” you say, quickly ushering them into their respective Pokéballs. “I’ve gotten used to them with time, I can imagine how intimidating they are.”

“Indeed,” he says with a good natured chuckle. “It’s not every day you meet a god much less three.”

You nod and slowly sip your tea. It’s bitter, but considering how tough luxuries like sugar are difficult to come by, you manage to push through it. You wish you had some honeycomb though.

“Then again, you’re not an ordinary, every day person.”

You just keep your eye on Laventon, goosebumps run up your arms but you chock that up to the chill.

“Please, answer me honestly,” he asks, and you feel all your nerves stand on edge.

“Did you ever… did you ever consider a future in Hisui?”

You wanted to avoid this.

“I told you in my letter I wish we could’ve had the ability to get closer to you-“

“So why didn’t you?” He asks, his mouth strains a neutral grimace, sounding clearly hurt.

“I couldn’t-,” you start to say, swallowing a lump of tea to ease the tightness in your throat from your nerves. “I couldn’t in good conscience be your friend knowing that I’d leave.”

The Professor sighs, crossing his arms.

“That’s what you told Ingo did you not-“

How did he know that?

“-You still wanted to be friends though, you wouldn’t have come to the Survey Corps parties if you didn’t…”

Your mouth feels dry as you just stare in confusion as the Professor continues to ramble.

“If you had just been honest from the beginning I doubt we would have gotten to where we are now,” he says with a sigh. “I’m afraid it’s too late to go back to how things were. Your resolve was too steady.”

“Professor,” you manage to say past a heavy tongue. “Were you listening to me and Ingo’s conversations?”

“Only because you refused to say anything to anyone else.” He says.

What?

“What?” You ask, feeling a heaviness settle on your body.

“I had thought… I had hoped with our relationship that you would have been able to talk to me about your plans. I admired your drive to finish the Pokédex, I had even hoped…” he trails off, and then looks at you with eyes gleaming.

You meet his gaze, feeling nigh paralyzed.

“I had hoped that you could possibly come to… reciprocate my feelings for you.” He says, with a woosh of breath like he’s just lifted a heavy rock.

“You’d hoped that my desperate attempts to go home was actually a sign that I liked you? What the actual fuck Lav?” You ask incredulously, your body starting to involuntarily shake with the stress. You stand with some difficulty, trying to keep your body calm, and stand away from the fire next your starter Pokémon.

You know your buddy would have been up on their feet by now, but one look over at your companion shows they’re completely unconscious.

He seems clearly shocked, his eyes follow down to where your legs shudder.

“You found me on the beach in my pajamas! You found me lost and alone in a world I didn’t know and!-“ You shout, throwing your hands up in frustration. “-and assumed that because I eagerly helped you with your career because I had a crush?!”

Laventon stands as well raising his hands in an attempt to calm you down.

“What of all the nights we spent putting the Pokédex together?” He asks, he takes a step around the fire towards you with a hand outstretched.

You stumble away from him trying to keep the fire between you.

“I spent time with you because I thought you were nice!” You say, throwing your hands up in frustration though it makes you dizzy.

You trip over your feet and fall, Laventon rushing over to help you. You just scream and call out to your starter Pokémon, trying to get to your feet.

The beast doesn’t even flick their ears at the stimulus and your heart drops down like an elevator from the top floor of the Hancock Building.

“Hey! You’re alright!” Laventon says, his hands land on your hips and you throw your weight as hard as you can away from him.

You feel heavy, like you’ve had weights tied to your limbs as you try to dig into the ground below you for leverage. You manage to pull yourself forward, but quickly lose steam, flopping to the earth.

You make a strangled yelp as Laventon slips his arms under yours and drags you back to the fire. You struggle as best as you can while you fight your eyelids closing shut.

He pulls your limp body onto your sleeping palette, and walks over to your starter. Poor thing completely unknowing to the world.

“Wait!” You yell. “Don’t!”

Laventon simply returns your Pokémon to their ball and turns around with an offended look.

“Did you genuinely think I would hurt them?” His eyes look misty as he turns towards you. “I’m a professor that studies Pokémon… I would never cause them harm!”

You can barely even keep your head up your body is so heavy.

“So you think drugging an unsuspecting person and their Pokémon isn’t harming them?” You manage somewhat coherently, the last of your words starting to slur.

“There won’t be any negative side effects, I’m a researcher first and foremost, I made sure.”

Laventon sighs, brushing the skin of your cheek as he sits by you on your sleeping palette.

“I wish it hadn’t been this way, I didn’t…” he sighs, you close your eyes unable to face his lies anymore. “I didn’t want this. But we’ll have a fresh start you and I, there’s a ship at Prelude Beach that will take us to Galar, my home region.”

You feel tears slide down your cheeks, even if you can’t budge your eyes open. Laventon just wipes them away with a handkerchief and soft coos of reassurances that make you want to puke.

“Ingo?” you warble, begging to God and Arceus that he’ll show up to stop this madness.

“Ah,” he says bitterly, a tone you’ve never heard from him before. “Don’t worry, Warden Ingo won’t be joining us.”

Oh god please.

Not Ingo.

He didn’t deserve that.

“You’re thinking the worst of me again, love.” He says, smoothing a finger over the quirk in your brow as you fight to remain conscious. “He simply never got your letter, I convinced your Staraptor to give me it instead.”

You let out a small gasp for air as your heart thuds harshly in your chest.

“So now it’ll be just the two of us. Making a future together… you will have to leave behind your flute, the Legendary Trio of course.

“Ah well we have an appointment with the ship captain at dawn so we must make our way down the mountain quickly,” he says as he gathers you up and onto his back, your arms dangling limply as he holds up your thighs.

“If you behave, you’ll get to wave goodbye when the sun rises.”

You slip away then.

Into the void.

Knowing you’ll never see Ingo…

or your friends…

or your family….

Ever again.

[godkilller]

@madestars: continued from here.

            “     it’s  Karin.   and  no,   he’s  not  around.   Ichigo’s  got  his  own  training  to  do.     ”          her  brother  may  have  fought  god but these make-up assignments and college applications have been kicking his ass,  apparently,  good grades or no.   not that Karin’s worried,  she knows he’ll do fine,  same way she knows that  @godkilller  won’t cause too much trouble.   at least from what she’s heard from Orihime,  combined with Ichigo’s experience and a bit of Toshiro’s,  Karin can conclude that he’s an okay guy.   chaotic and confusing,  a dump gasoline to the fire type of person,  but Karin doesn’t mind that;   not when she’s the type to carry matches.   so she doesn’t have her guard up,  not completely,  and regards the silver haired man with a curious tilt of her head.                she’ll give him this,  he knows exactly how to pique someone’s interest.   ah,  but it’s not that hard for a growing stubborn girl like her.   she has about enough of these exercises,  she’s more than ready for the real thing!   in her opinion,  the training is going too slow.   she understands the precautions her mentors want to take,  especially when it means dealing with the younger sister of Ichigo Kurosaki,  but she can handle herself just fine thank you very much!   and besides,  this Ichimaru fellow is making a terrific point:   there is no such thing as an unmoving target in a real fight.             Karin looks at the dummies set around the forest,  some of the trees themselves being marked in specified areas,  and then back at Gin.   the choice is easy.            “     fuck  yeah  i  do.     ”

TRUTHFULLY, GIN WASN'T ACTIVELY TRYING TO BE A BAD INFLUENCE. In his eyes, the coddling treatment of never having real experience could negatively influence her ability to take down an enemy efficiently. As someone who fought via a Zanpakuto that required good aim, Gin held some expertise in what worked best training-wise for such a fighting style. Karin was young, her big brother was typically faster on the draw when it came to any real threat, even small ones, coming too close to home. She has never really needed to defend herself from deadly threats, at least from what Gin understood. A few close scuffles originally, yes, but... nothing dire and with her own survival completely relying on her abilities.

❝ This ain't gonna be like shootin' an apple offa somebody's head, ❞ he warned, though he knew she was ambitious enough to not be deterred now that the possibility of real experience was presenting itself.

Gin was currently without the restrictions placed upon him by Central 46; good behavior (debatable, yet true) thus far had been sufficient enough to allow him to carry Shinso on him once more, at least for his trip into the World of the Living. Tensions still resided toward him, of course, and the dislike of him visiting Hueco Mundo solo was still potent. But he wasn't about to let that disapproval stop him. Besides, he wouldn't be alone, technically, and his missions to the World of the Living involved hunting down surviving Aizen-sympathizers within the Hollow population. This was indeed a hunt.

Gin beckoned Karin over -- but she could approach at her own comfort if she wished. He veered that remaining hand away, lifting to languidly gesture a dip of his wrist that proceeded to open a rip within the air. The Garganta opened with a deep yawning shudder, its agape mouth leading into a lightless abyss. Gin glanced back at her, smiling with a larger seethe of mischief.

❝ C'mon, we're gonna go on a field trip. ❞

[prpfz]

🦇🩸 | 18+ Only! Seeking a fandomless ( oc / oc ) mxm or mxmasc rp! I’m looking for characters who are perverted players, cherry hounds, play boys, guys with commitment issues, assholes or pieces of shit who also have soft spots, other criminal scum, big and bad dudes, cold and gruff guys, experienced fighters who can handle their own, guys who can scare others just with a stern look; I’d love for a dynamic of two guys stuck in a shit world ( dystopians anyone? ) or shit situation who have to rely on each other or find comfort and solace in one another, maybe they’re in the same gang with the same brutal leader who constantly treats them horribly and works them like dogs and in a violent fucked up world, the downtime they get with each other is some of the only things they look forward to, maybe they find comfort with each other underneath the sheets eventually. I’d love to have a tense, drama filled, angsty relationship, with complicated feelings for complicated characters — my guy being just as hesitant and scared for a real relationship as yours but oh so desperate for connection; but otherwise I’m all for post apocalyptic, vampires, manipulation and coercion, omegaverse, monster fuckery, viscous and twisted dystopians especially, and heavy dead dove plots with violent and dark themes ranging from murder, horror, crime, gangs, gorey violence, toxic or abusive relationships, incest, noncon or dubcon, age gaps, 🍪, etc. I have few limits to what I’ll write! The character I’m writing is trans just a forewarning incase that’s not your cup of tea. On that note I’m very much open to trans characters! My guy is no dom top but he’s not a shy, soft, darling type. He’s rough and rugged around the edges. ( Bonus shot in the dark but I’d love to do something inspired by Beastars with a wolf/rabbit dynamic. )

A little about myself: I’m a 21 y/o Transmasc writer. I only write on Discord. I’m CST timezone, but I work the night shift currently, so replies out of rp can be spotty. ( I also do my best not to check my phone at work as well. ) My writing ranges from lazy lit to novella. I need at least 3-4 good paragraphs to be able to work with. They don’t need to be luscious with details, but descriptiveness is much appreciated and preferred. I’ve been writing for around 9 years now, it’s a great passion of mine. I love the escapism of fantasy and made up worlds you can dive into. I don’t do rapid fire replies! And my activity can vary! I will always try to get rp replies in at least once a week though. I can get pretty busy, and rp is a hobby for me right now. ( Trust me if I could do rapid fire, believe me I would, I’d love to write all day long. )

A little about my character: A 4’10” - 5” ft tall street fighter who’s in a gang. Sammy has the body of a rabbit but the heart of a wolf. He’s an insolent, stubborn, younger guy who may be petite but he packs a hard punch and can handle his own to a certain point. His unwavering loyalty and obedience only lies within his gang leader. He might be his pet, but he is in no way tamed. He’s all fire and rage, he absolutely refuses to back down or bite his tongue. He’d find a way to give lip even if his tongue was cut out. All around his familial relationships are shit to say the least. He doesn’t trust easily, he’s paranoid, cold hearted on the outside, and violent. Like a mad dog he’ll snap without warning, his fangs are always bared, and his lips are always curled in a snarl. He’s hooked on cigarettes and booze, and he can’t last without his mood stabilizers. He works at an underground fight club and can be often seen sporting bars, even if he isn’t of age for a plot. The club is a front for the gang. I do often prefer to write Sam in a violent dystopian like setting where crime is rampant, bodies are in the streets, the city’s in chaos, etc. Think the purge almost. Otherwise, he’s just got a rough life on the streets in a gang. ( His age can vary for the plot btw! I primarily write him as 20 default, and 25 the oldest though. 🍪 is fine by me though. )

That’s enough yapping for this post, I can talk more plot in DMs! So if you’ve got some characters that match the energy I’m looking for or any you feel would vibe with my guy give a like and I’ll reply asap! Thank you for reading🫶

Leave a like, and anon will get back to you!

[poodle-anon]

☔️ for the ask? I love hearing about concepts! Especially the ones that’ll never hit the paper.

-miniscrew

OH BOY this took a minute to think on but I think I got one @miniscrew-anon

For the life of me I can’t figure out how to write it, but I really really want to explore Wild’s relationship with his dysphoria/lack thereof. I’ve genuinely tried putting it to paper more than once, but each time I can’t seem to get the vibe quite down in a way that resonates with what I enjoy about it in my head

Under a read more because it’s long, and has to do with HRT, gender dysphoria, panic attacks, discussion of needles, and trans!Wild having an overall Bad Time for a day within a 99.99% positive experience being trans otherwise. 

As a disclaimer upfront, I am transmasculine nonbinary myself, and feel that I have a right to depict explorations of that experience in combination with binary ftm experiences. Also, this is NOT a story about detransitioning or “forced feminization,” do NOT get it fucking twisted or I will hunt you down. I will find you. This is about euphoria and dysphoria and happiness with one's body but clothing/presentation causing issues.

So for background, in my headcanons, I’m pretty convinced that Wild normally doesn’t experience dysphoria at all - something that very much separates him from Champion, whom is a very binary trans man. Wild woke up in a very masculine post-transition non-op body, Champion had been very satisfied with himself and his transition, having begun it as a teen with access to puberty blockers prior to hrt, so he never went through estrogen puberty. Wild is at first pretty bad at keeping track of and administering his hrt shots, something that Champion was very strict about and pretty much never failed to keep up with. At first, the other guard boys had to help him with them when he did remember because the anticipation of a shot is TERRIBLE for wanting to get it done when you have adhd and it’s something you don’t really think matters in your own personal upkeep. Eventually, Wild just kinda gives up on it with a happy shrug and carries on his merry way in his very androgynous body, transness usually being a fun afterthought for him. Even when he starts retaining fat differently, and growing breast tissue through lazy estrogen puberty, he’s having fun with this new experience! Heck yeah more gender fuckery, he’s having a great time being a man while doing it. Nobody in his life invalidates his gender over it. Period.

However.

There is an idea that I must credit to Stormy for sparking but has been making me lose my mind (/pos) over ever since, wherein at some point Wild goes to the mall with one of the other boys (possibly Hyrule, possibly Wars and Sky, never been able to figure that one out) to shop for higher end lingerie. (I see this fic as separate from and kinda irrelevant to the second puberty concept, so disregard that point for now and play with me in this space.) And he picks out some really cute finds! He's very happy with some lacy little numbers that he knows will go well with his eyes or whatever, but you know how they make lingerie that comes in pairs with bras that are equally as cute? Well, he goes to try one on, and standing there in the changing room, looking in the mirror, the world kinda stops.

There’s this overwhelming sense of badwrongbad while looking at himself in a bra. He doesn’t recognize the person in the mirror, he doesn’t like that person, and has no real way of articulating it to himself why.

Now, bear in mind, Wild very technically is a dissociative fugue state initially brought on by a severe concussion, which is a WHOLE OTHER can of worms I hope to explore one day. As thorough of a personality change there is though, he’s not as stable of an existence as I think he presents

So something about how he feels about seeing this sets off a dissociative panic attack that is probably the closest thing that he’s ever come to Champion surfacing into active memory, bearing some resemblance to the one in The Brave that was set off by Time playing the ocarina.

But is the bra too small? The wrong material? Who knows. Doesn’t matter. He’s suffocating. His skin itches like hell. He needs this thing off now.

Once he exits, the guys he’s with immediately notice a shift. He’s uncharacteristically serious for a beat or two, maybe even recognizable if he’s with the guard boys, but if he’s not nonverbally putting stuff on the reject rack, Wild laughs it off as nothing being wrong. Either Wild or someone else points out they can go get a smoothie after Wild decides he’s not buying any clothes, and his day gets a little better. The temperature of it maybe makes his nipples a little hard and Wild doesn’t know why he’s so aware and uncomfortable with that right now, but the others might also notice that he’s still periodically itching where the band and straps were until they get home.

By the time they leave the mall, he’s more or less fine and all of the Overwhelming Dread has passed. That night though, he puts a blanket over the mirror in his room. And when he curls up in bed, there’s this shuddering sigh that leaves him. That kind where you're just on the edge of crying but don't.

Anyway thanks for coming to my TED talk :) 

[builtbybrokenbells]

ive stuck to posting mostly fic content on this blog, and i will remain doing so from here on out. but in light of a certain post made, I came here to air out some feelings, I suppose. not in attempt to draw the light away from anybody, but more like a reflection in response.

from the minute i discovered gvf it was almost like a breath of fresh air. in the time listening to them, as an aspiring musician, artist, writer, or whatever the fuck I am, I’ve found great solace and inspiration in the four boys we love so much. today, i found a piece of home within them, too, but more specifically, from Josh.

i grew up and, unfortunately, still reside in a little, homophobic town that is nothing if not dedicated to normalcy. it has been a devastating twenty years of life knowing that my existence is abnormal to others, including some family and friends, and they would prefer if i remain quiet about it. ive lost friends, family, acquaintances, you name it, just because i was born the way i am. just the other day, there were news reporters in front of my apartment building seeking opinions on a lgbtq+ bill for youth passed by the government. that’s right, opinion, on the human rights of very real children that walk on the same streets they were spewing their hate on.

I’ve always been quite comfortable with who am sexuality-wise. from a very young age, to now, it has never been a debate or shameful idea to me. I’ve been very loud and proud, and will remain so. my gender, not so much. less than a month ago, i finally voiced my proper pronouns to the first person ever, after years of struggle with it. i still haven’t told family, or properly ‘came out’ (because, if you know me, you would know that i think the whole idea of coming out is quite ridiculous) and i have no plans on doing so in any intimate manner. but, today, a bit of courage bled into me from one of the people I look up to most, and i told a bit more of the world about myself.

to say i am beyond proud of josh for his transparency is not enough. what he did, although some would disagree, was one of the most courageous things a person in any type of spotlight could do. i surround myself with only a few people, and i have yet to find the power within myself to tell the closest to me, who i am. what i am more moved by, is that he used his platform to not only make himself known, but vocally and actively join an ongoing battle that many believe is already over. he was already such a beacon of light and love, that i did not believe he could be any more so. today, i happily admit that the idea was wholly untrue. not because of his sexuality or anything like that; he’s still the same Josh he has always been. but because his own moral was so strong that he, without fear, showed an intimate part of himself to the entire world, and guided others on how to help the cause in the process. it is admirable to be proud of who you are, but even more so to educate and inspire others while doing it.

being so vulnerable, especially in the public eye, is terrifying. being a beacon of light and love in a world full of hate and darkness is also terrifying. he did both today with grace and strength, and as someone who’s been actively fighting this fight for my entire lifetime, i am beyond words. i said a lot of things here, but nothing can truly amount to how i feel. i cannot articulate the feelings accurately, and in place of that, i ramble.

basically, if you stuck through this, thanks. if you use this angels sexuality against him in any way, i will find you. if this changed the way you view him, you didn’t deserve him in the first place. together, these four boys have created a community of love and all things that come with it; if you are not willing to give it back to them, or right now, him specifically, this is not the place for you. remember, as proud/happy/whatever you’re feeling about this, he’s still a person. the same one who you knew months ago, who worked to create the community and music we love and appreciate. that did not change, and there is no need to view him any differently. im certain that if he’s been so private about this for so long, he does not want the world to see him only as such.

so, from the bottom of my heart, the message of my rambling is to say im proud of him, and that im incredibly grateful for the chance to live in the same time as him. I’m even more thankful that his courage has given me some, too. be respectful of him and his privacy, because he is deserving of such (and much more). and, if you also find a piece of his courage within you, im proud of you, too.

as always, be kind, thanks for reading, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes ;) 🫶🏻

[voidsentprinces]

Think more games should just start with straight, curly, wavy, and everything in between options from the get go especially if it supports PoC's representation in media and video gaming as a whole. Same goes with gender diversity and relationship diversity in media writing to allow for more LGBT+ representation in media. Ideally these things would be baked in from the get go. World might not be an ideal world but it shouldn't stop us as creatives from making it that way.

Its like that one post about if a kid smiles at you, you should smile back so we can make the world a kinder better place. Not so much that you would be getting anything grand out of it or life isn't cruel its that we should be working towards a place where life didn't always be cruel, it could be kind and pleasant, happy and mostly free of strife. Bad things would still happen, no one can predict or 100% deal with cancer, immune deficient diseases, or chronic pain to fully cure stuff. But, it doesn't mean we can't make the world gentler to those afflicted to such things and even those who aren't.

We live in a world resistant to change that the future requires and requests. I vaguely recall from the time period between when I went to Middle to High School. People being gay, lesbian, etc. was like you basically walked up to someone and killed their dog or something akin to the atrocity. There were entire fucking marches through my small town of no real note to keep gay marriage from happening. Even at the time I felt that was fucking ridiculous. The following ten years was making it okay for two women or men to hold hands or kiss in an animated television show. Cause lord won't you please think of the children.

Despite all the resistance this world provides us, at least in America, I dunno how Germany, the Netherlands, Chad, Angola, the Phillippines, or Taiwan feel about this subject or how they've been dealing with it, we should be making the world more welcoming and representative of all its people within the certain limits that we are not providing a platform for dictatorship and fascist ideals that will strip a person of all rights while glorifying the legacy and power of a singular man or group of men whose selfishness absorbs an entire country and causes its people to suffer intentionally through ignorance or apathy.

But, with the stresses of the today's world. We cannot all be made to charge the metaphorical beaches of Normandy for the cause. Some of us haven't the mental, emotional or even physical bandwidth to champion good causes in an active manner. But we still feel it strongly even if we do not have the words to describe it. And as social creatures, humans will be passionate and want to communicate it. If they cannot, we wish to at least be validated in causes we hold fast to even if we are not at liberty to fully express it for whatever reason.

So just like...break even with us and give people, particularly those of the LGBT+, People with Disabilities and PoC and their intersection representation in options of hairstyle, skin tone, romantic or lack thereof exploration/representation and the options to give people the option to like turn on a color blind mode or a certain control set up to allow stuff like...Dark Souls to be more welcoming to them.

I dunno exactly who I am talking to in making this post I just have THOUGHTS after the recent FFXIV Hairstyle Competition. And the thought was mostly, "Why did we have to hold a contest to get some of these hair styles? Why weren't they in the game to begin with?" probably resources. But like...still, ya know?

Sorry for the tangent. I think therefore I Void.