#and I am very curious how long they can make it in life without them realizing
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zenaidamacrouras1 · 2 years ago
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Are you aware of the Prince and Knight book by Daniel Haack?
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There's also a sequel:
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Spoiler alert: The Shadow King is not actually evil, just sad because he wants to wear dresses and date men and wasn't allowed to. Important to know because this book deeply troubled my children who could not understand why the Shadow King wasn't allowed to wear dresses and why it was a problem that he loved a squire.
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drdemonprince · 8 months ago
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I was never really certain about my transition in the way that most gatekeeping hormone prescribers and curious members of the public demand that a trans person be. I didn’t “always know” that I was not cisgender. I haven’t “always known” anything about myself. Very few truths about me have always remained true, my existence is too interpersonal, contextual, and ever-evolving for all of that. (So is most everyone else’s, I think). I don’t think that the fact I’d eventually choose to exercise my body autonomy at age 30 by taking hormones is a decision I could have foreseen when I was a child. All that I knew about being transgender when I was a kid was a fact that most children intuitively know: gender assignment was a violation of my freedom, of everyone’s freedom in fact, and it was wrong. As an infant and then a child and teenager, people kept imposing labels on me; they kept forcing me and my body into prescribed gendered boxes, and while the specific labels and boxes never really felt like the right ones, the most disturbing part about it all was the forcing. No coerced identity would have ever felt right. Children can tell when secrets are being kept from them, and when adults are restricting their choices. They notice that they and the other children are being lined up boy-girl, boy-girl, without ever being told what a girl or a boy even is. They can see their parents frowning when they reach for the doll with the shimmery hair, or climb atop the neighbor kid on the playground. Kids know that they are forbidden from sitting with their legs spread wide or flicking their wrist, and their gender illegibility is shamed in them, long before they get any answers about what gender means or where it comes from or why it’s so important that they make themselves easy to understand.
Like the cloned children in Never Let Me Go who grow up being conditioned for a life of forced organ donation, children in a cissexist society grow up conditioned to fall within certain gendered boundary lines, and by the time they learn that the reason for this is almost completely arbitrary, they can’t imagine any alternative. Not until some of them hear about gender transition and find the prospect very compelling, for some reason. You can say that reason is because some of us are inherently trans, but there’s absolutely nothing in the way of brain science, genetics research, or even sociological data to back that up. Besides, the search for a biological “reason” that people are transgender or queer runs counter to the goal of queer liberation in the long run. Science only needs to explain the existence of transgender people (or queer people more broadly) if our existence is in some way aberrant or a problem. If queerness is accepted as a form of human diversity that simply exists, then there is no need to excuse it by claiming that it is never a choice. It can be a choice, if a person wants to make it, and hopefully it satisfies them, but maybe it won’t. Freedom to choose means freedom to forever be dissatisfied, to search endlessly for more, and yes, to capable of making a mistake. I would say that viewing myself as transgender was a choice. I decided to break away from the straight, female categories to which I had been assigned, and doing so allowed me to view the legal and societal power structures that had restricted me more clearly. It helped me better understand myself. But that does not mean the actual act of breaking away was always the truest reflection of who I am. The version of me that transitioned was a person on the run — and how a person behaves, thinks, and self-conceives when they are fleeing is not a great reflection of whom they might be if they were safe. If we all lived in a world free from mandatory gender assignment, and where our bodies were not mined for meaning about the kinds of sex we liked, the clothing we should wear, the personality qualities we have, the roles we should play in society, and the connections we are allowed to form with others, who knows who each of us might be. But none of us get to live in that world, or ever gets completely free from the frameworks of heterosexuality and the gender binary. These frameworks shape every legal institution we encounter, every school we attend, every item of clothing we put on, every substance we take into our bodies, every piece of paperwork that ever gets printed about us, and every look another person ever gives us. And so we make due with rewriting and recombining those frameworks as best we can. It should come as no surprise that those us who break away from the binary have to experiment and revise how we understand ourselves quite a bit — sometimes getting things “wrong,” sometimes searching forever for the semblance of something “right.” Sometimes reveling in the “wrongness” of all the available options is kind of the point.
I wrote about my detransition, retransition, and the eternal dissatisfaction that is probably the corest truth of my identity. It's free to read or have narrated to you on my Substack.
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misstycloud · 7 months ago
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Platonic. Fae father
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Fae father! Who loves you more than anything. He’d trade his immortality and beauty a million times if it meant saving you. It’s worth nothing if he can’t be with you.
Fae father! Who originally wasn’t very interested in you but simply didn’t have the heart to throw you to the wolves like he would if it’d been any other baby- you were his, after all. But as time passed, he found himself more enamoured with you for every second you spent together. Before he knew it, you were an irreplaceable part of his life. He can’t imagine how he managed to live for centuries without you.
Fae father! Who is very protective and while he knows you’re safer inside his territory than you’d ever be anywhere else, there’s still a possibility something could happen you you. He can’t have that happen! What if you accidentally trip on a root and scrape your knee? Sure he can heal you with his magic, but he’d rather spare you the unnecessary pain and tears.
Fae father! Is scared that you’ll leave him eventually. This is especially regarding when you’ll have grown up. He never hid your half-human side(you were bound to find out anyway, considering you didn’t have magic in the same sense as him, and your ears were slightly rounded unlike his purely pointed ones), but he’s beginning to think it was a mistake. His attempt at good parenting could backfire and you would become naturally curious as you got older. Then you would request to leave the safety and familiarity of the forest you grew up in, to go adventure beyond it and come into contact with your human side.
Fae father! Who thought about how horrible that would be. He knew the cruelty of humans. They were greedy beyond imagination and an ugly stain on the world; truly a mistake of creation. He thought about what they could potentially do to you, a wonderful, kind yet naive child. His child. You were part fae and that was obvious- if he had to be honest, he had always been happy you appeared more fae than human, it made him feel more connected to you- the price that you would go for on a market was immense. Fae father nearly faints at what kind of filth could be wanting to get their hands on you.
Fae father! Who wove to protect you at all costs- even lying and misleading you. The only way he saw to do that is to keep you in the forest; your childhood home and his domain.
“Father, what’s beyond the forest? Are there really human towns? The animals tell me they are bustling with life- and there’s so many strange and new things!” You asked your father. You two were in your favourite meadow, you sat up in the lush grass, making a flower crown.
Your father had laid down a while ago and was content with the relaxation the summer weather brought. However, the moment you began talking about humans and your curiosity for the outside world, his eyes snapped open and he, too, sat up.
He gave you a soft smile, “The animals told you that?”
You nodded vigorously. He reminded himself to warn the animals to not tell you about such things, afterwards. If he had to guess, it was most likely that damn squirrel friend of yours that didn’t know when to shut up.
“Well, dear-“ he said, finding the way you were hooked on every word incredibly endearing, “yes, there there are human settlements outside these woods. But I do not want you going anywhere near them, you hear? It’s simply not safe for you.” Your father ended the sentence with booping you on the nose.
“What? What do you mean?” You exclaimed.
He chuckled, “I am older- I have many tricks to defend myself with; you do not.”
Pouting, you crossed your arms and said in defiance, “Why would you have to defend yourself? You’re not fighting, are you?”
You father ran his hand through his long locks with a sigh. “Dear, I am afraid that might not be the case.” You looked at him in confusion. “You see, we- as in magical kind- have not been on good terms with mannkind for centuries- maybe even ever.”
You were silent, pondering over what this meant as your protector watched. Had it not been a serious subject, he would have thought about how cute you look whenever you are thoroughly grumbling over something. He took it upon himself to expand his reasonings while combing through your hair.
“We are rare, beautiful, immortal and have powers they could only dream of.” To prove his point, your father held out a seed in the palm of his hand. He closed it for a second and a green light flashed. Opening his palm again, the little seed quickly grew into a wonderful, fully grown flower in a matter of moments. “See, if they had the means to do this, then a new war would break loose every day. They are greedy and selfish and struggle because of it, while we live away from such mundane troubles.”
“But what about all those amazing things they have invented? I hear they sing and dance just like us. They have families too, just like us. They can’t all be bad!” You protested. If all those things your friends had told you were true, then you needed to know and find a way to see them for yourself.
Your father sighed once more. He appeared to be doing that a lot during your conversation. He grabbed a hold of your hand and squeezed it tight. “I understand your curiosity regarding humans- trust me, I do. I was young once upon a time, as well. You believe that I did not sneak away to peek at the towns myself?”
“You have gone there yourself?”
He nodded to confirm your question. “However, they are far from what your little friends have been tricking you into believing. They are not fun and do not sing nor dance. Like I said, they are selfish and horrible, you best stay away from them.”
“But-“ you tried.
He cut you off immediately. “-No ‘buts���. You stay away from the town, alright? Simply stay here where you’re safe. I won’t tolerate any violation of the rules when it comes to this.” He took notice of your gloomy expression and added, “It’s for your safety, nothing else. Oh, sweetie, I do wish the world was different. However, this is a truth we must face. You do understand, correct?”
Seeing your worrying father’s serious demeanor as he urged you for an answer, you looked down before saying, “Yes, Father. I won’t go into human towns. I’ll stay out of trouble.”
He sighed in relief. “Good child. Remember, I am only looking after you. I’m your father, I know what’s best for you.
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megistusdiary · 7 months ago
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this popped into my head not too long ago. transfem!arle with a breeding kink? since she treats the kids at the house of the hearth with care, i have a feeling she'd like to raise her own children (with her wife) as well hehehe
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gearing up to write another breeding kink fic with arle
breeding kink w/ arlecchino ♡
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dom!transfem arle x sub!fem reader
warnings: smut (mdni), wlw content, transfem arle, breeding kink, arle/reader are married 💍, cunnilingus, penetration, creampie
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arlecchino admires you for how maternal you often are. even when you think she isn't looking, you're so kind to the children. it's... difficult for her to be the same, though she truly does love the children. she knows this is something she can never be given her past. honestly, it's a shock she can even hear the children call you "mother" without causing her to wince.
it's admittedly grown on her quite a bit. she finds herself pleased, especially when the children themselves tell her how wonderful you are. they love your stories, the way you help them with their hair, how you have tea parties with them, it makes arlecchino happy to have you around.
over time, you two grow very close. beyond just being partners, she proposes to you, satisfied that you're happy to say you're her wife.
the children often grow more attached to you, and arlecchino finds herself, for the first time, thinking about her own children. she had never imagined that one day she might actually want her own children. what a curious thought.
of course, you already make an excellent wife. you're a wonderful life partner, and she enjoys every moment with you. yet, you'd make an even better mother.
she can almost see it: you, round with her child, resting in the grassy flower fields while she pushes your older child on a swing.
she's never considered it before, and now she's having vivid daydreams. how bizarre.
it's late at night when she first asks your thoughts on the matter of having a family. you tell her that you're perfectly content as you are, snuggling up to her.
she knows you're trying to pacify her, though it is based on old ideology. she tugs you back, holding your chin.
"i am not asking if you will forego your wishes for me. i am asking you to fulfill them with me." she asserts and you look up at her surprised.
"you want to start a family with me?"
"i'm asking if you want to." her thumb strokes your cheek and you practically jump onto her. "would you?"
you nod enthusiastically, letting her roll you on top of her, kissing her deeply. she grinds you on her lap, letting you feel the growing bulge beneath you while she groans into your lips.
you moan softly, letting her tongue slide over yours, hands gripping the hair at the nape of her neck. she slides her hands up your sides, tugging the nightgown over your head and off to the side.
her hands cup your breasts, thumbs sliding over your perky nipples while she steals your breath. her lips travel down your neck, letting you moan freely as her lips wrap around your nipple, laving her tongue over your flesh.
your head tips back while her other hand slides into your panties, tracing over your cunt to collect your slick.
"you're dripping. does the thought of having a family with me excite you that much?" it's got a teasing lilt to it, and you pull her head back against your chest.
"don't tease me." you huff at her, but she pinches your clit in return.
"don't be a brat." she warns, lightly biting at your breast before pulling you up to tug your panties down unceremoniously. she shoves you back onto the bed, pushing your thighs up and licking over your clit.
you squirm beneath her, letting her lap at your pussy, sliding her tongue into your fluttering hole. she looks up at you, admiring how quickly you go limp beneath her. your eyes are closed shut, thighs squeezing her head as she makes you cum on her tongue.
she kisses your thighs, helping you to relax before she's tugging her pants down, freeing her cock. you watch as she strokes herself to full hardness, sliding the tip over your sensitive clit.
she looks up at you, pushing your hips up and spreading your folds. "are you ready?" she asks softly, and you nod for her. she eases you into it, slowly but surely stretching you open with each inch of her cock.
it's a slight burn with her girth, but she holds your hand gently through it. the way you wrap around her is enough to have her groaning, wanting so badly to just take you fast and rough. but you're her wife; of course she wants to treat you gently.
she waits for you to tell her you're ready before she fucks you harder, deeper, making sure you feel every vein and twitch from her cock. she mumbles over and over about filling you up, and you reply in delirious whimpers, begging her for more.
"you'll be such- a wonderful mother-" she huffs out in between thrusts, feeling you shake beneath her. "my wife, mine-"
you cry for her, nodding along. "yes, yes! yours- fill me up, please!"
her hands grip your hips tighter, slamming her cock into you, one thumb snaking over to your clit to drive you closer to the edge. you writhe, head thrashing around as you cum around her, drawing her own orgasm out of her as she paints your insides white.
she leans over you, panting, nestling into your shoulder but not pulling out as she tenderly strokes your arm. you whimper at her, closing your eyes until she begins to rub your clit again, reminding you she isn't finished until she's stuffed you so full, her cum leaks right back out.
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lucabyte · 3 months ago
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i'm so curious about your character gender reads now tho 👀👀
(You enter the kitchen and see me, eating shredded cheese out of the fridge by the handful)
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(I turn around to face you.)
Hi. Do you want me to sell you on amab NB Siffrin? I'm going to try and sell you on amab NB Siffrin. And maybe even a little bit of tranfem siffrin and/or loop. as a treat. just for you.
So, (I put the cheese back in the fridge.)
This read of mine comes from a number of things, a lot of them to do with the game's themes, and to do with Siffrin being a narrative foil to the other characters. And Vaugarde as a whole.
(READMORE WARNING: THIS IS LIKE 6K WORDS LONG. YOU ALL SHOULD KNOW BY NOW I DON'T MAKE POSTS WITHOUT UNCONSCIOUNABLE AMOUNTS OF EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION. IF ANYTHING I'M BEING RESTRAINED HERE. THUMBS UP.)
(Pre-readmore note: this is in response to me having given an analysis of how I personally percieve Sifloop in relation to asexuality and shipping. Which you can look at here. (x))
It is however, not what my like, no-holds-barred no-rules just-for-me headcanon for Siffrin would be. (which is intersex 'head empty no thoughts' siffrin, for the record). This is instead my close-reading-of-the-text-and-themes interpretation of Siffrin. This is why I'm gonna be saying Read and not Headcanon, to distinguish the two. (Anything I consider a little bit too much of a stretch vis a vis interpretive hard reads I will call a headcanon. But those are for the last bit of this post.)
Unlike *gestures at mass media* All That… ISAT is already packed to the gills with queer rep, to the point where I feel no need to grasp at straws and make overextended reaches into obviously unintended subtext. Like with, y'know, most media. Since here, the subtext isn't unintended. Like this isn't a Transfem Metal Sonic or Aroace Ash Ketchum situation where I know none of the evidence is on purpose and I'm just having fun making a conspiracy theory pinboard out of it. This is like… There's intentionality there. And I want to engage with it on its level, see what the text itself suggests. It's my personal preferred method of expressing deep respect to a text. (Not that it has to be anyone else's, obviously. This is just my way of showing I love a work.)
So yeah, I am, in general, very interested in hearing hard-fought arguments when it comes to interpreting texts. I'm glad ISAT has a lot to pick at here, and so, I will. (and since not a lot of texts ever have anywhere near this kind of depth in this arena, i don't wanna squander it… i'll try and keep my own biases as in check as i can, and already have done by hashing quite a bit of this interpretation out with two people of very different gender identities to mine. To put it mildly, binary-aligned or transfem I am very squarely Not.)
(Now that the cheese bag has been removed from the equation, I drop this framing device, sit you down at the table and begin to dredge up evidence from below it.)
Okay, so. What are my like… Core reasonings here? I think I can split it into three categories. Broadly, with an amount of overlap, so bear with me…
SIFFRIN AS A FOIL AND CONTRAST TO MIRABELLE, ISABEAU AND THE CHANGE RELIGION AS A WHOLE.
SIFFRIN'S HABITS OF CLINGING TO 'KNOWN QUANTITIES', SCAPEGOATS, AND THEMES OF RACIAL IDENTITY INTERSECTING WITH GENDER IDENTITY.
SIFFRIN, LOOP, DE-PERSONING, DEHUMANISING, APATHY AND SURVIVAL.
Okay so up top I'm going to split my argument for Siffrin's gender identity Present and Future here. This means, for now, I'm arguing for AMAB NB Siffrin alone. The transfem stuff is for later (and more for loop, in my mind, too).
I have a few direct observations of the text here that set things up. Here are the things in-game that make me assume that Siffrin, as of the start of the game, has not yet undergone any radical change to their identity in their life. Not on purpose, at least. These are ordered in a messy but logical flow, so uh, try and keep up. I'll synthesise at the end. I Prommy.
SIFFRIN AS A FOIL AND CONTRAST TO MIRABELLE, ISABEAU AND THE CHANGE RELIGION AS A WHOLE.
CHANGE & THE UNIVERSE: PERCEIVED OPPOSITES
When interacting with most objects in the Changing Room in the house, they express a genuine curiosity toward body craft. It seems they are legitimately unfamiliar with it on a deeper level than having simply heard of it.
Despite this curiosity (explicitly stating they've previously wondered about it), they dismiss it as too much work early on in the game. These points combined seem to suggest to me that they have never previously sought out any kind of real change to their appearance or identity. Either for gender reasons, or other body dysmorphia reasons. (Which, despite the dismissal, they do refer to their body as a 'meat prison', which is not particularly positive) However...
This changes in Act 3. In acts 3 and 4 they flatly state: "You're thinking about crafting your body. You seem to have all the time in the world now." While still never spoken aloud, their declining mental state corrosponds with a worn-down, almost nihilistic reckoning with the feelings they masked with the 'meat prison' joke in act 2.
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[Image: Interactions with the change craft textbook in acts 2 and 3/4.]
In talking to Mirabelle, they are very self assured that one can stay the same/be comfortable with their born identity. They also seem a little unsettled by the change religion's flippancy in general, which makes sense, as they have been clinging to the famliar (even when painful) to cope with other traumas. (More on this later, section 2)
The Universe Faith appears to heavily disincentivise Wanting for oneself and other expressions of Free Will due to safeguarding against Wish craft. This seems to have impacted Siffrin's mental state majorly, even if they do not recognise it. The followers of the faith are (if Siffrin is to be believed) incentivised to 'go with the flow' and take paths of least resistance, and those that DO make big decisions will tend to justify things as being The Universe's Will. (See: The King's entire Modus Operandi, and the way Loop (and Siffrin) do the same rote actions, constructing worldviews (the play analogy, the Universe's Will) and justify that as what the Universe Would Want (despite a total lack of evidence to prove as such)) As such, it seems as if a follower of this faith as neurotic as Siffrin would be unlikely to act upon any Wants to Change Themselves without a lot of turmoil and backwards-justification. (Of note, Loop's forcible change coinciding with a dropping of pronoun. But that is again for later, section 3) As of the start of the game, they do not appear to have broached this kind of turmoil directly.
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[Image: Act 5 interaction with the star journal, emphasis on it being a cautionary tale against reckless usage of wish craft, instilled so deeply to be a children's bedtime story]
Siffrin, in act 5, grows frustrated with both The Universe and The Change God, feeling abandoned by the former. They struggle with simultaneously anthropomorphising the Universe as a cruel onlooker, while also seemingly acknowledging them as a cold, almost scientific fact of nature. This would heavily imply that the 'blame' put upon the Universe by Siffrin in these moments is known to them, at least a little, to be potentially meaningless. It seems that somewhere in Siffrin's belief system is something, be it the core or merely a creeping worry, that the Universe is not a thinking, feeling, thing. And thus that their invocations of "The Universe's Will" are merely rationalisations of random chance and consequence. This is in DIRECT contrast to the Change God, proven to be an emotive sapient entity, who merely refuses to offer a helping hand. (Similar sentiments are, too, spoken by the Change God itself.)
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[Images: Interacting with the window in the observatory in act 5, text from the change god meeting]
So. These are the bulk of my observations when it comes to how Siffrin is positioned in contrast to the Change Belief. It would seem to be that Siffrin, inkeeping with their role as an outsider, is a complete fish out of water in Vaugarde's change-centric world. This makes sense! It makes them a compelling foil to the Vaugardians in our cast, and allows the Vaugardians to challenge Siffrin's worldviews merely by existing. It also, more importantly, makes Siffrin an interesting lens through which to inspect our two most Change-driven characters. Mirabelle and Isabeau.
MIRABELLE.
Mirabelle and Siffrin's differing faiths are put on display the most frequently. Interactions like the circle key and the party's disbelief of Siffrin's facts about the stars make this clear. These interactions other Siffrin from the group further, and are another avenue through which Siffrin can ignore their own needs, not communicating with the party and allowing them to dismiss things he deems important.
Obviously, the friendquest is primarily about Mirabelle's struggle with her aromanticism and asexuality. But there's an implicit undercurrent of gender there too. Mirabelle has never made a big change, not like Isabeau. She has never 'changed completely', by her words. And Siffrin distinctly finds this an odd thing to be worried by. Whatever culture he carries has no pressure to explore these avenues, it seems. Siffrin is able to help her by sharing their honest opinions, that he's never felt the need to change these things, and he's happy (allegedly). Why should she?
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[Image: Mirabelle's friendquest text] Siffrin is not thinking particularly hard when he first does the friendquests, they are just being themselves. By positioning Siffrin as this unchanged yet confident object, they are in the perfect position to help Mirabelle by being in her almost exact position, both sexuality and transgender status (albeit, with the caveats of potential alloromanticism, and a they pronoun), that they become her ideal foil. (And in fact, the subtle differences between their positions in canon add to this, showing a display of Perceived Genuine Truth, rather than simple in-group camaraderie)
Whereas…
ISABEAU.
When Mal du pays speaks as Isabeau, it says the following;
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"I don't want to know someone who won't even try to change, who luxuriates in things staying the exact same like you do."
I don't want to know someone - Shame of being known, that's Isabeau's insecurity. Reflected back at Siffrin, who has become the worst thing imaginable to each of their friends, in Siffrin's own mind. He absorbs their insecurities like a sponge and incorporates them into himself. Empathy turned ill.
Who luxuriates in things staying the exact same - Now THAT'S interesting. This is not Isabeau's insecurity, it's Siffrin's own. But also, it appears as if, Siffrin, whom to Mirabelle was unflappable in that not changing was alright, has internalised some of her worry. That it is MDP's Isabeau saying this, though, shows this is about Personal Change, perhaps even Specifically Gender and Self Image, rather than Mirabelle's spiritual side.
Isabeau and his distinct change in personality and gender, to become someone who he actually likes… Diametric to Siffrin, who has been stagnant for a long time, presumably as far as they can remember. It would seem to imply they have no recourse against this argument. Siffin becomes, in his mind, the opposite to Isabeau, a man he deeply admires the bravery of when told the story of his Change. These are Siffrin's words against themselves, that they consider themselves to have never even 'tried' whatever it is they think Change to be.
So. These are my main points vis a vis: Siffrin as a foil. This reading would posit that Siffrin's He/They status is, well, almost accidental? Which I would imagine befitting of them. They are, at the start of the game, still the mysterious rogue who never elaborates upon anything. They aren't going to be correcting a they/them from a teammate who is likely far more cautious about assumptions.
Notably, Mirabelle excludes Siffrin from the label "man" in the bathroom monologues… But as does Siffrin when in the prologue poem room. Though one needs remember, Siffrin only expresses these thoughts internally.
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[Image: Bathroom conversation featuring Isabeau identified as the party's singular man]
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[Image: Prologue!Siffrin expressing that they are not a man in very certain terms.]
While I do wonder what Mirabelle's knowledge (or lack thereof, potentially! Did Siffrin actually divulge this to her, once? Or is she making assumptions again?) is here, this is pretty clear evidence that Siffrin doesn't see themselves As A Man. (that, and Adrienne's word of god "fella" comments). I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this… but.
The thesis here is, that Siffrin may want to explore their gender further; doesn't feel connected to Masculinity, and yet, keeps that He pronoun around? Well, the Universe does not, in Siffrin's mind, really allow for personal wants and desires. If their friends start they/themming them, then cool. They like it, but never requested it, so it's the Universe's will. But, asking? Making decisions and requests and rocking the boat? That seems to scare Siffrin a lot. It seems to scare them so much it causes a lot of, if not all of, the conflict in the game. I feel like it's a fair deduction that this aversion to humour their own desires pervades a lot of their existence.
Plus, I think there's meat there. By only allowing Siffrin to reckon with any potential desires to change only after growing closer with the family, you get to explore things like "How does Mirabelle feel that even the person who said she didn't have to change is changing." and the slightly less potentially harrowing (OR MORE, IF YOU WANT IT TO BE? IDK. I'M NOT YOUR BOSS.) "Isa's continued changing allows Siffrin a space to explore it, maybe even just by proxy, or maybe by joining them."
But mostly, this section is about how Siffrin not having Changed Yet makes them delightfully strong narratively; allowing them to relate to Mirabelle, and get cold feet when comparing themselves to Isabeau. I love this as a narrative strengthener. It's very rare in media that we get to explore a nonbinary character's thoughts and insecurities on whether or not they're "doing enough" to be nonbinary. Even less so Aligned nonbinary people. And reading that alignment and insecurity through the lens of a nonbinary person not fully disconnected from their assigned gender at birth? It's a very compelling exploration of a very common and raw and yet underdiscussed feeling, much like the rest of ISAT. I think this is an extremely potent element should it be read this way, and is only strengthened when taking Siffrin's other themes into account.
Speaking of which.
2. SIFFRIN'S HABITS OF CLINGING TO 'KNOWN QUANTITIES', SCAPEGOATS, AND THEMES OF RACIAL IDENTITY INTERSECTING WITH GENDER IDENTITY.
HOLDING ON TO WHAT YOU KNOW. (OR KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT.)
I explained above many of my thoughts on the Universe Faith, and trying to keep these two sections separate was difficult, but needed to be done for the sake of clarity. But this section and the above are deeply intertwined.
Siffrin… Holds on to the things they know. They do not know much. But man do they fucking hold. And yet, paradoxically, they are also avoidant about it.
It is made clear in the text, to the point where I really don't feel the need to rehash it here, that Siffrin's disconnection from their homeland is incredibly painful, but that they consider that culture utterly and irreplaceably important to them. They cannot face it, it is too painful. They cannot let it go, it is too important.
Knowing what we know of the Island's irl inspirations (though, word of god, the exact location is not supposed to matter, one can infer it from the text (and I did! within reasonable proximity!)), Siffrin is of an indigenous peoples of some description, more than likely. And at the very least, Siffrin carries with them inherent biases and ignorances that show that Vaugarde's conceptions of things don't quite mesh with their own. Bowing to the Vaugardian way of things could very easily be seen as assimilation, in this way.*
And identity? Gender? Presentation? Role? All of that has a cultural element. There's no telling what specifics Siffrin has lost in that arena, and that's the problem. Neither do they. How paralysing, the feeling, to know that should you change yourself you risk unknowingly erasing another piece of home? I wouldn't blame them for locking it off. Keeping their old clothes, keeping what little they can remember of themselves… It doesn't seem to me a conducive or safe mental space to get experimental.
And the Universe makes for a perfect scapegoat. As referenced in the section above, a lot can be justified should you call it "The Universe's Will", because who's there to call you on it? Hardly anyone. Your divine right to Freeze A Place In Time; Your Deserved Punishment for Wanting to be Loved: All of it the Universe-- If you want it to be. And thusly, if the Universe wanted you to be a certain way, wouldn't you already be? Wouldn't it make you so? (Wouldn't it take away your body, that which makes you human? If that is what it thought of you?) So best to put it out of your mind. Wouldn't want to accidentally wish anything.
But as the game itself puts it, personified by The King, you cannot stay mired like this forever. As Loop themselves puts it, they can "get so fixated, sometimes." At some point they need to allow themselves to grow in whatever direction they need, because in the end, they need to live their life. They don't need to abandon their country, their culture, but they can't let it restrain them either.
(* MASSIVE CAVEAT: im white as fuck boyyy. i cant say shit. im like technically Of The Land im like 90% pictish or something ridiculous like that so my particular line has never moved anywhere but. this is notttt something i have input or insight on. this is all gleaned from reading and listening to indiginous perspectives from wherever they may be. i am simply trying to infer from what the game gives us without inserting my own feelings on the matter.)
3. SIFFRIN, LOOP, DE-PERSONING, DEHUMANISING, APATHY AND SURVIVAL.
Alright, here's some less heady and purely-thematic points to round things out. And where we'll also address the fucked up star being in the room; Loop.
My last couple of reading points are the most potentially-transfem to me. Or at least the ones that really hammer home, to me, a seeming lack of want to be masculine-aligned.
ANOTHER NOTE ON THE 'NOT A GUY' THING.
Obviously, there is the aforementioned "Not a man/not that you're a boy" thing. This is rather straightforward, but also still pretty ambiguous. You can be masc-aligned and still Not A Guy. But it does seem to be of note that being a guy very much does not seem to be a goal of Siffrin's. I would posit this in direct contrast to… Isabeau.
But not Isabeau's masculinity. I would instead hold it up against Isa's femininity.
ISAT, as a text, has its characters have genuinely different levels of security in their gender identity, and Isabeau, despite still having insecurities, seems super chill on the gender angle specifically! Their internal strife comes not from their 'not feeling like a man enough' or 'hating being a woman', but instead from their self perception as a friendless nerd! Something that seems to be only tangentially related to Isa's gender, really?
The big dumb bruiser thing is certainly aided by being a dude, but Isa still seems completely comfortable referring to themselves with feminine language, calling himself a "mother hen" (prologue) and having "the heart of a fair maiden" (cookie snack time). (However, they also take being excluded from Mira's girly book club as a surprised compliment, implying they weren't expected to be excluded, and find it affirming.) And even further so, Isa states they want to continue changing further and exploring their identity more, being rather blatant that they might lean back into femininity (and more importantly, let themselves be outwardly smart again), since they're starting to feel hurt by everyone assuming they ARE genuinely stupid.
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[Image: Prologue Isa calling himself a mother hen]
And man, this is such a breath of fresh air vis a vis representation. I don't think I really need to explain that. A character who's gender identity is driven by chasing euphoria, even if it started out by trying to drive out misery. Isabeau's character is so damn good. But this essay isn't about him, so get back in the crate, boy.
... So here we have Isa, who is genuinely comfortable reclaiming things about their birth gender, and Mirabelle who loves her traditionally feminine traits to the point where she feels a little guilty that she isn't rejecting them to foster change. And then we have Siffrin… who seems to reject masculine language…? Hrm… (… And then we have The King. A Masculine Title. Someone who Siffrin increasingly sees themselves in and deeply, deeply dislikes this.)
APATHY AND SURVIVAL
It should be clear by now that I see Siffrin's core character as being driven by avoidance and survival. This seems to lead to a lot of apathy, brushing off emotions that are too intense or events and occurences that are too painful. (See: just absolutely everything with Bonnie)
It's all Siffrin really seems to be able to do to Survive. They've travelled, seemingly alone, for what would be around a decade by what the game says about the island's disappearance. They've lived alone on the road as a traveller in a country that so openly welcomes strangers that THE KING and his whole motives can happen. Siffrin is avoidant and refuses to acknowledge problems or strive for help and comfort.
So. That line about the dress. Let's unpack the line(s) about the dress.
THE DRESS LINE, AND THE WAY IT CHANGES BETWEEN PROLOGUE, ACT 2, AND ACT 3.
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Good god where to start with this. Full disclosure, the first draft here was way more vague in how I approached this line because I remembered it (and another line, I'll get to it.) way more tame, but going and getting the screenshots..... Siffrin. Buddy. We gotta unpack this.
In act 2, we have "You haven't worn a dress in forever!". This is a neutral, if seemingly a little joyous statement. All we really glean from this is the information that Siffrin at some point, wore 'a' dress. No real inferences there. (Maybe you could say that the singular as opposed to plural makes it more likely that they borrowed/only owned One Dress rather than owned several? But that's a massive stretch...)
Then, act 3/4 shuffles this off into a more general "You wonder if you'll ever wear different clothes again." Which is a more despairing and distant statement. Considering Siffrin seems to travel with only the items they can carry, and owns sleep clothes... It's unclear how many changes of clothing they have. The party seems to consider the cloak a pretty permanent fixture, anyhow. But this line doesn't really say much aside from 'oh god i'm losing myself to the time loop malaise'
NOW THE PROLOGUE. Prologue Sif, buddy, pal, Loop, if I'm allowed to call you that....
Thousands of loops in. We are wistful for specifically dresses. You've forgotten almost everything. You dream about someday seeing the sun again. To be anywhere but here. You want to wear a dress again.
I. Kind of do not know what to do here but point at it. Like I said, my first draft had me half-remembering the progression of this line and as such I was far more vague on what I thought it could imply. Instead this is just straight up yearning.
To, try and segue back to what I had initially written, we'll pick up here...
Siffrin expresses a want to wear other clothes, explore changing their body... But instead, they wear a ratty old form-covering cloak that keeps them warm and safe and is a last reminder of home. They are shapeless, formless, hiding their face under the brim of a wide hat. They do not voice their desire to wear a dress aloud. They once again, keep a desire to themselves, because they do not allow themselves to want publicly. Apathy is safer. Apathy and quiet means you do not risk retribution or hurt.
While I do not think the above is exclusively a transfeminine feeling, it really, really reads like one when taken part and parcel with assuming Siffrin has denied themselves prior exploration.
... And here I have to break my first draft again. I was being, once again, restrained in my reading when writing this. Because I had convinced myself I had maybe straight up imagined one of the lines I was basing my reads on, because I couldn't find it. Because it was a line that read so strikingly desolate to me that my brain had slotted it in during Act Five, meaning when I went looking for it neither me nor my friends could find it.
It's in acts 3 and 4. It's a line I already brought up.
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"You're thinking about crafting your body. You seem to have all the time in the world now."
good fucking christ. sorry to break the academic tone but Jimminy Fucking Willikers, Siffrin. What's with that bit. The resignation and despair and guilty comfort we know the timeloop brings them, bleeding into the gender.
This. *taps my finger harshly on my desk* THIS, this feels transfem. this feels so wildly transfem to me. The knowledge that they've never changed before this line lends. The admission that they've been holding back because it's 'too much work'. I spent a lot of time during the game relating Siffrin not to myself but to my friends.
If I'm honest, really, truly, I'm not all too often in Siffrin's shoes. I'm the stable one, of my group. I'm the rock people ground themselves on. And I see so much hesitance, all the time. Denial of joy because what if it's taken away, again? Or futilely out of reach? It hurts more to try, and to fail, than to never try at all.
I wanted to shake Siffrin by the shoulders this whole game. Grit teeth beg them to accept help because for fuck's sake people are clearly offering it get it through your skull--
*coughs* Ah. Ahem. Right. The uh, academic tone.
Right. What I mean to say is, this read as transfem to me because of the way it relates to real-world experiences of denial. And this combo of the Dress line, and the progression of the Meat Prison line, the constant evidence of never having strived for what they want, and that insistance that you're not a man, seem to dislike being percieved as a man, but not being able to shed the outward signifiers?
Individually, yes, these points can be read in different ways. The total opposite ways, even, I'm sure! But as a gestalt it feels really, really transfem. Even if yeah, sure Vaugarde is a magical setting where being transgender is accepted, and this hesitance, specifically, around gender, might not 'make sense' in 'the lore'...
Diegesis isn't everything. Sometimes something that reflects a real-world feeling is important, even if it doesn't 'mesh' with 'the lore' of the world.
TANGENT: DIEGESIS AND READING INTO NON-REAL-WORLD-SETTINGS.
This is a Watsonian vs Doylist spectre that's been haunting this whole argument. In-universe (Watsonian), Vaugarde has seemingly no discrimination between genders, sexualities, and a lackadaisical approach to most things in the arena. Reading our own patriarchal/heterosexual/amanonormative/perisexist society unto it does not make sense, not in this context.
In the real world, however (Doylist), ISAT is a text made in our prejudiced society. A text that is distinctly flavoured by those bigotries which it is kicking back against. Because of this, it is not the whole story to simply read the text while discarding our real-world-informed inferences. Isabeau is a big example of this. While perfectly accepted in Vaugarde, he is very obviously a revolutionary character in our real-world space! He has so much to say, specifically BECAUSE things about him that are not readily accepted here, are accepted there! Same with Mira's struggles, and yes, Siffrin's too.
ISAT was written with the knowledge of how it would play against our real world in mind, we know this, clearly, from many an interview. This is most present in how it engages with asexuality and aromanticism (and immigrant identity), but make no mistake, it influences the Whole Text.
Ergo, just because I view certain writing choices here in the context of Our Real World Perspectives On Gender and not Vaugarde's In-Universe Perspectives, it does not make them an invalid read. They are simply a Doylist read.
There's been an admittedly loosey-goosey lack of delineation here between things I'm reading with either lens, because for the most part all of these points have been a vague synthesis of both that I can't quite decouple. Unprofessional, I know, but I'll admit to not having written my thoughts down like this in a good long while. Usually I just hash this out verbally over discord voice to a small number of weirdo literature and classics student friends who are willing to humour me. I'm an arts student too, but animation hardly required I actually write an essay to a literature degree's standard. Lol.
DE-PERSONING. AND LOOP. OH JESUS . LOOP .
Siffrin de-persons themselves a lot. I say de-person rather than dehumanise because, well, there's a subtle difference there. Siffrin doesn't see themselves as vermin or an animal or an object, but they do seem to see themselves as lesser, not requiring the respect they grant others. They aren't, you know, a 'real person'.
People get to have things like thoughts and wants and identities. Siffrin is, at best, Just Siffrin. They have what they have and they don't ask for more and they don't (CAN'T) feel too strongly on what they do have!
When Loop at first offers their pronouns they offer the Royal 'We'. This is at least a little bit, a joke. A nudge toward their true identity, a potential dig at themselves for becoming so understanding of The King. Mostly though, a joke on the first thing…. and a sign that they do not see themselves as a separate entity to the Siffrin stood before them.
When Siffrin rejects this, they settle for they/them. Loop drops the he/him, presumably partially to cover their tracks, but… They just showed their hand with the 'Royal We', and if you wanted to go even further with this, there's no way for us to know whether Loop is treating this pronoun as singular or not. They presumably are, but it is still a potentially plural pronoun.
Loop… Clearly does not see themselves as a person. It's, I would say, a completely reasonable assumption that the form they have taken reflects implicit feelings toward themselves as less than a person, an actor, a monster, a tool, a means to an end. They are rendered inhuman by The Universe, frivolous distractions removed. No mouth, inventory and clothes confiscated, nothing between the legs. Formed roughly in the shape of a person to allow them to do their only job: Help.
Loop's body does not make logical sense, given their continued ability to sleep, dream and their continued habit of deep breaths to self-soothe. It would seem to me, it was made in the image it was, with only the tools it needed to Help Siffrin. Why obfuscate their identity? Because giving the game away too early would likely make them lose hope. Why so deeply, thoroughly star themed? An instant signal, that even if a stranger, they are an ally. They are home.
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[Image: Loop saying that they take naps and dream, and evidence of Loop habitually attempting to breathe in the twohats lose-to-loop ending]
And they… Degender themselves. No longer with any bodily signifiers of masculinity, and cruelly disallowed the ability to hide themselves beneath fabric, they are null. The spoiler Q&A (paratext, as it were) states that:
Q. Is Loop: 1. Actually comfortable with both he and they, but only gave the one pronoun to emphasize the distance? 2. Only using they/them because a large life event led to a shift in identity/ how they’d like to be perceived? or 3. time lops stole he from they they :( A. Mostly that first one. But all three of those reasons have a bit of truth to them.
While the 'mostly the first one' comment does imply that Loop would not baulk at being he/him'd (similar to how Siffrin does not), the other reasons, especially the second, having 'a bit of truth' does lend credence to this reading. That Loop's self-perception has shifted, and what I posit, is that this shift is in tandem with a disconnection with humanity. Due, presumably, to the dehumanising experience of the timeloop.
Loop has no biology to speak of, and yet they remain blind in one eye. I take this as an implication that they considered this so core to themselves, to who they could remember being, that it stayed. Even if they had forgotten their own face, trapped in a part of the house with no mirrors, they knew they couldn't see. They kept this, and yet seemingly they, or The Universe, or both of them in tandem, discarded all else.
This isn't like…. Healthy behaviour. That is for certain. But it is interesting that Siffrin and Loop seem to hold on to their masculinity by a thread, and that Loop, when actually given the excuse to make a choice, chooses the Neutral Option. Siffrin might de-person themselves, but Loop, Loop is absolutely dehumanising themselves. From Loop's own mouth (or lack thereof) do they call themselves a Corpse. That's… pretty damn bad.
TANGENT 2: POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE JAPANESE TRANSLATION.
Did somebody say 'distance'? Yeah turns out that has some more potential evidence. In the form of First Person Pronouns. See, English, with its third person only pronouns relies on others to gender you. Japanese, you get to gender yourself. And Siffrin specifically has an interesting discrepancy in the way he refers to himself.
(DISCLAIMER: I . DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT JAPANESE. THIS IS SECOND-HAND KNOWLEDGE. SOURCED FROM THIS TUMBLR POST AND OTHER QUICK SKIMS OF WIKIPEDIA)
Loop and Siffrin use the same, very neutral "mostly male but could go either way" pronoun of 僕 boku. Safe, soft friendly pronoun. Used by people on the younger side of adulthood, not so impolite that you can't use it in a formal setting. Such a neutral all-rounder that female singers in japan tend to use boku in their songs to relate to the audience with quiet confidence.
And in their internal monologue? Siffrin uses a completely different pronoun. In his head, for himself, he uses 自分 jibun. Now, this may be an artefact of the monologue's english second-person "You", since jibun can also be used to mean a very neutral "self". A "myself/herself/himself" type 'self'. But when used as a first person pronoun, it has a connotation of being… distant, introspective. Which is… a fascinating implication, if that was the intent.
But I don't know anything about japanese so ! If I'm off the mark, discard this!
LOOP, PART 2: MAYBE NOT A GREAT STATE TO BE IN.
While Siffrin I can comfortably argue that they can like, keep their current gender presentation, whatever you may perceive it to be, once the game is over, Loop, I cannot.
Siffrin's potential issues with their identity are ones that honestly feel like they would best be explored with gentle refinement and searching. They don't need to violently seperate themselves from what they are now, far from it, in fact. They need to learn to grow comfortable in their own skin, and with the people they love. To become open and trusting, with an open mind to where it may lead.
Loop has already lost this battle. They don't get to refine anymore, just pick up the pieces. While I don't necessarily think radical change is Good for Loop, I think they may Need It. For them, resting will probably become stagnation (see: napping all day under the tree, resigned, really, to the idea they're stuck there forever.), they need a shake-up in order to re-find their feet. Even if they end up right back where they started, they still need to do the actual painful process of soul-searching first.
Problem is, they're still rather avoidant. So it basically becomes a question of getting them into a situation where this exploration is forced upon them. At which point, that's a whole new plotline. This becomes fanfiction. Hence, why while I think Transfem-Egg Loop is a Valid Read when extrapolated from Siffrin… I must concede any actual adventures into them acting upon that as headcanon territory. I just do not know how you would get them there without making a whole new Thing, at which point it stops being Just A Read of the text haha. It doesn't help that Loop and Siffrin (grudgekeepers supreme) both have reason to spite the Change God after who was phone.
As for whether this egg-read reflects directly back on to Siffrin? Maybe! They are the same person. But I think that, especially with Vaugarde's lax views, and their actual differences (Loop's general worse mania // Siffrin's incentive to stay a reminder to themselves and Loop of their country) means they could easily go two different routes, along the road to becoming their own distinct individuals. (And in all honesty, growing into their differences is probably the more healthy option in the long run if you're keeping Loop around? But again, we are going so far into the future here this is no longer a read. And I am not here to dispense baseless headcanons without massive disclaimer, so…)
Tl;Dr:
Siffrin's Survival-Apathy and hesitance to change feels really thematic to their being 'what's left' of their homeland
They seem unsettled by the flippancy of the Change Religion at times, clinging to the familiar to cope with the trauma of displacement.
Mal du pays speaks of them that they have not 'tried' to change, showing an insecurity there, even outside of the literal stagnance of the loops.
They are self assured to Mira that one does not have to change, in a very genuinely personal impulsive statement.
They and others exclude themselves from being "A Man", but Siffrin keeps desires to explore their expression to themselves.
The Universe belief, seemingly in Siffrin's view of it, disincentivises Free Will and Wants very heavily. It is not hard to assume they extend this to all elements of their life.
They have self-admittedly never pursued tangible change, likely due to this aversion to choice. Despite this, they express interest in changing, seeming nonplussed with their body, and house at least some desire for more traditionally feminine expression.
Oh Good God. Loop Sure Does Not Treat Themselves Like A Person. Why Does That Come With A Pronoun Change? What Does That Mean?
But most of all:
It makes them such a fascinating foil and lens to Change and characters who believe in it! It makes them eerily similar to The King! It opens up such fascinating debate between characters like themselves and Mirabelle, Isabeau and Loop, on whether or not they want to change in future, or if it truly is okay to never radically change yourself! What genuinely fertile ground for dialogues. And man if I'm not heavily drawn towards dialogues.
(End of essay! Congratulations for making it the whole way! 🎉 I hope this nightmarish deep dive helps with understanding some of the ways I've been writing Siffrin and Loop too. Since while I've not ever focused on the gender side of it (and probably won't in comic form) this does pervade my view of the two, since it would be impossible for it to Not. As you can see, I do think it is pretty relevant to both their themes.)
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(Now for some bonus material)
ADDENDUMS:
PERSONAL BIAS NOTE:
Not included in this analysis since this is more a Pet Theme of my own (usually kept quarantined to the realms of my OCs), but something else I see in Siffrin is a reflection of the Dude Issue(tm) of patriarchal irl society disincentivisng Dudes(tm) from ever fucking introspecting ever.
I'm curious about nonbinary/trans characters who have no idea they’re nonbinary/trans because they’ve been disincentivised from thinking/doubting their identity due to societal power structures or simply tradition. I dig around the themes of “a lot of guys are trapped in a societal prison without ever knowing and it makes them miserable but they can’t escape because they don’t even see the cage” like, a lot, in my personal work. It intrigues me. So bleh, cards on the table there. That mode of interacting with nb/trans characters is one I'm inclined to.
This kinda goes hand in hand with the watsonian vs doylist situation i took an aside to mention. But it is so far along the doylist side that I didn't want to include it, since it is a little too assumptive of the text for my comfort. I don't think the game necessarily has much commentary on this specific Societal Bind. But if it does, then hey, there's my thoughts on it.
STRAY SIDE NOTES AND HEADCANONS ABOUT OTHER CHARACTERS (AS A TREAT FOR GETTING THIS FAR):
MID-GAME OBSERVATION ABOUT BONNIE AND ODILE THAT I NEVER WENT BACK TO VERIFY:
I got the impression that Bonnie heavily favours they/them pronouns for Siffrin, and Odile he/him, as a bit of presumed character voice. I don't know that I am right, literally at all, in that observation, because it very well could've been confirmation bias.
BUT! It did give me the impression that one of the things Bonnie was idolising about Siffrin was a degree of "wow!! older person with my gender!! wow!!", which is just like, cute. I like it even if I don't have any solid evidence.
ODILE, WHAT'S HER DEAL?:
Oh she stays just as mysterious as she intends to be, huh? Even with her comments in the Changing Room alluding to knowing things about underground changing operations, you can't draw much of a conclusion about her. I appreciate verily that she's word-of-god unlabelled and also poly. That shit's great. Woman who has stopped drawing lines or caring what she's up against. Nice characterisation flavour I think.
Anyway, I do think that transfem Odile is a really, really nice take. I have no evidence in either direction for her in either direction, and her being a woman of any description makes her relationship with her absent mother something interesting to chew on, but the idea that she pursued womanhood intentionally lends an interesting texture. I've not much to say, but it's a thread to pull on. Makes you wonder what other female role models she had in her life instead. Anyway she's mysterious as fuck I can't extrapolate Jack nor Squat. Shrug! I'm also made curious by the idea of her potentially moving away from womanhood as she feels the weight of her history lifted. This goes either way, really. Diagnosis: mysterious.
HEADCANON NOTE: INTERSEX SIFFRIN
I don't have any in-text support for this so this entire thing is an unbased headcanon to me. but i DO like it because 1. fun and 2. potential for more thematic exploration
haha gotcha its fuckin themes again. its always themes with me.
But yeah. Not much to say here besides drawing a parallel (that I believe I've seen drawn elsewhere in the fandom already?) between ISAT's comments on how a society that values change would view Aroace identities, and how Mira feels about not wanting to change with the real world experiences of Intersex people having alteration and conformity forced upon them, saying the Change Belief would likely be just as bad for them as it is for aroace people.
So, adding it to Siffrin's situation further drags them into the opposition-to-change foil role. Which like I said, think has a lot to explore.
HEADCANON NOTE: A POTENTIAL METHOD FOR GETTING LOOP OUT OF THEIR GOD DAMNED COMFORT ZONE
I think utilising Loop's contrarianism is an effective and funny way to get them to explore their gender. I personally think running with them trying to hide their identity from the party is a hilarious way to do it. Having them try to position themselves in direct opposition to Siffrin to "throw the party off their trail" (not that i think they really need to?), going full feminine-revealing-clothing because it's NOT what a Siffrin would do and accidentally growing accustomed to it. Funny to me. Especially when the party eventually do find out who they are and go . "????? what was the girl stuff about ??? is that something you wanna do now ???".
[Isabeau] "Ohhhh it was a bit! Haha you really are Sif, still a jokester!" [Loop] "HAHA YEAH . JOKES. LOVE THOSE. LOVE TO MAKE JOKES!" [Isabeau] "Yep! Anyway. Tell me if you need anything!"
Bonus bonus:
[Siffrin] "Okay, so, if you're a girl. Does this reflect on like… me?" [Loop] "No doubles. Get your own gender, parasite~!"
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softkostyk · 9 days ago
Text
Apparently AO3 needs to give the collection approval before they can post it , but I’m impatient, so here’s my Angelblack one shot set about a week after 1x08 (the Rupert/Cameron issue is not discussed, but I imagined a scenario on which it was somehow dealt with).
anxious angel I’ll wrap you in heart shaped bubble wrap so you won’t get hurt
“Daddy is going to murder you,” Taggie said with a light shake of the head, strawberry blonde hair catching the early morning sunlight just outside the Priory. Rupert had started visiting at times where Declan was less likely to see him and Taggie alone–and he had quickly grown rather tired of it. He didn’t want his feelings for Taggie to be a secret. He didn’t think he’d been doing that good of a job at hiding them, anyway.
“I very much doubt that,” said Rupert with a tilt of the head. “Blood is a nuisance to clean off tapestry.”
Taggie looked up at him with a raised eyebrow that Rupert knew exactly translated to “Be serious”.
“Angel,” he started again, reaching to touch her shoulders. “He will be pissed. I can agree on that. He will try to pummel my face with his fists. But he will also have to surrender, eventually.”
“Declan O’ Hara doesn’t surrender,” Taggie sighed. “You saw his reaction to those photos in the car–and we weren’t doing anything.”
“You can make your own decisions,” Rupert provided unhelpfully.
“Yes, but I am still afraid. I don’t want to lose my dad. And I’m sure you don’t want to lose your friend.”
How typical of Taggie, hitting the target with all the precision of a professional archer. Of course Rupert didn’t want to lose Declan’s friendship. Hell, his only true (human) friend had been Lizzie for so long, he’d grown quite addicted to being able to rely on more than one person. He’d always known it was dangerous–just as befriending, and developing feelings for Taggie had been.
But there was no going back, was it? He meant what he told her. He hadn’t realized just how much harder it had become, something as simple as breathing, before he met her. Watching her with someone else felt like being stabbed in the chest by a thousand fireplace pokers. And for perhaps the first time in his life, being with someone else felt like true betrayal; to Taggie, and to himself. He wanted to be the man she thought he could be. He wanted it desperately. And Declan would have to just bloody deal with it.
***
Taggie entered the kitchen first, eyeing her father warily as he absentmindedly puffed on a cigarette, the day’s newspaper spread across one bent knee.
“Dad,” Taggie made herself say. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“I’m all ears, love,” he said without taking his eyes off the paper. Taggie stopped fidgeting with the sleeve of her jumper.
Rupert slowly walked into the room, his usual easy gate, a small, if tight smile on his lips.
That caught Declan’s attention.
“What are you doing here? The meeting is in a few hours,” he said, his mustache twitching in a curious smile.
Taggie glanced at Rupert, who in turn glanced at her.
“I wish I could say I am sorry, Declan,” he said as he took hold of Taggie’s hand. Her heart was beating rabbit-fast against her ribcage.
Her dad’s smile quickly evaporated as his brown eyes moved to Taggie and Rupert’s joined hands.
“No,” he said. One short, inescapable word.
“Declan,” Rupert started, but he got up, the chair scraping horribly against the tiled floor.
“Again? Fucking again? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Daddy, please–”
“Your room, Tag. Now.”
“I’m not a child! I will not be banished to my room when the conversation is about me, Dad!” She held tight onto Rupert’s rough palm, gripped onto his fingers for dear life. She would not back down, and she would not be quiet.
“You get your hands off her in the next two seconds, or I’ll break your fucking nose, Campbell,” her dad said, ignoring her entirely.
“Fine,” Rupert said, and Taggie’s head was already whipping towards him, but Rupert’s encouraging nod made her loosen her grip on his hand. “See?” He added, raising both palms in a placating gesture.
“What the fuck did you do to her, mmh?”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” Rupert said ruefully. “It was one kiss, Declan. Maybe two–”
But her dad was already crushing Rupert’s freshly pressed shirt in his fists and slamming him against the nearest cabinet, its content rattling wildly.
“Dad!”
“You think I won’t kill you? Are you testing me?” He said, eyes ablaze as Rupert gritted his teeth, clearly not wanting to hit back.
“I need you to listen to me–”
“Shut the fuck up!” Declan roared. “You are not going to be shagging my daughter, do you understand? She will not be a bloody notch in your belt!”
“Do you remember when you interviewed me?” Rupert asked after her dad smashed him against the fridge, this time. Taggie was torn between screaming and crying.
“I should have fucking ruined you when I had the–”
“You asked me if I’d ever been in love!” Rupert shouted, and her dad went dreadfully still. Rupert took a breath and then said, “I said I hadn’t. And I thought I hadn’t–I didn’t think I could.”
He looked over at Taggie over her father’s shoulder, and her lips parted in surprise.
“I can apologise for hurting you, Declan. But I cannot apologise for the way I feel about Taggie.”
Taggie wanted to grab his father’s shoulders and pull him away from Rupert, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. Taggie had never been good with words–which her mother never allowed her to forget–but in that moment, she thought there weren’t any words that would suffice to explain the rumbling in her chest, the tightness in ehr throat.
Her father kept one arm against Rupert’s neck as he turned to look at her. There was something complicated in his expression–sad, almost. Taggie couldn’t bear it.
“He’s going to hurt you,” he said, as if it were obvious. “He’s not good enough for you.”
“So which is it? I’m a stupid child, but he’s not good enough?”
“I never called you that,” he hissed.
Taggie shook her head, expelling a shaky breath. “If I get hurt, then I get hurt.”
Her dad’s dark eyebrows joined on his forehead. Rupert’s eyes were only for her–even when he was risking being beaten half to death.
“I did everything right. I went out with Sebastian. I tried, and I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to be unhappy for the sake of p–p–propriety. I’ve been doing everything I can to keep everyone happy, but that’s it, daddy. I want to be happy, too. I think I deserve it.”
Her dad seemed, impossibly, lost. Until a few days ago she’d never seen him at a loss for words–and now, twice in the span of days. First when her mother left for London, and now.
“He is twice your age, Tag,” he said then, helplessly.
“There’s nothing I can do about that,” she shrugged, pressing her lips together.
He let go of Rupert then, though Taggie suspected it had less to do with him not wanting to hurt the man anymore, and more with wanting to give her his full attention, if only this once. Rupert released a quiet breath, straightening. She hoped he wouldn’t be stupid enough to talk.
“He beds a different woman every other day. He will let you down, Tag. Men like him always do.” He fished in his pocket to grab another cigarette, and Taggie wordlessly passed him the matchsticks box.
“Maybe. Maybe things can be different.” She could never know it for sure, but she believed in Rupert. She felt it, somewhere deep inside her, that he could be who she needed him to be. And most importantly, that he wanted to.
“Things are different,” Rupert said quietly. Her dad grimaced around the cigarette, slowly turning to face Rupert once more.
“Say I give you my blessing–which I will not. How are you going to protect her, mmh? The press would get wind of it soon enough. Brand her as your plaything.” He spit out the last word, and Taggie frowned at the prospect.
“I will do whatever is necessary. I won’t let anyone speak ill of Taggie, and if they do, they’ll find themselves jobless the day after. You know I can do that.”
Taggie bit on her lower lip; she didn’t think she was terribly fragile, and she had been trying hard not to care about what others might think of her. But the sheer protectiveness in Rupert’s tone warmed her from the inside out, and she’d be lying if she didn’t say it made her feel safe, to know he would be in her corner, no matter what.
“And if I ban her from seeing you? If I kick her out when she doesn’t?”
Taggie shook her head, her stomach dropping as she called for her dad, but Rupert said, “I don’t think you would do that. But if you do, she has a place to stay.”
“Remember when I interviewed you?” Her dad added after an eternity, mocking Rupert’s question from a few minutes before. “I lied. I was very much not bluffing–and I can still hurt you with what I have.”
Rupert’s eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised–but he shouldn’t have been. Taggie had hoped that was all in the past, but she knew her father too well to think he didn’t have some cards left to play. Rupert hung his head, and Taggie trembled, afraid he would just accept defeat.
“Send it to The Scorpion, then.”
Taggie’s breath wooshed out of her, and Declan stilled.
“Whatever it is, it cannot possibly hurt more than giving Taggie up.”
Taggie knew she had to exercise some self restraint if she didn’t want to be calling an ambulance up at the Priory for the second time, but she couldn’t stop herself from walking past her dad and to Rupert’s side. He gave her a small smile, and she smiled right back.
When she turned, her dad’s cigarette was a stub between his fingers. He looked between the two of them, and so much was swirling in his eyes–disappointment, worry, hurt. Taggie didn’t know what resignation looked like on Declan O’ Hara’s features, but she thought she might be glimpsing something like it now.
“Venturer needs your money,” he said. “I don’t like it. I don’t like that you are doing this to me. If you want to stay, you’ll have to stay out of my sight.”
Rupert nodded, and some part of Taggie felt selfish for forcing him to give up something Ruper had quite literally everything riding on. But the other part of her, the part that was louder and braver, couldn’t help but relish in the knowledge she was more important to him than Venturer. Than her dad’s friendship. Than, potentially, his reputation.
“Alright,” Rupert said, his knuckles brushing Taggie’s. He gave her a long look, and Taggie wanted to kiss him, but there would be many more chances to do just that. Rupert left, Declan trembling with restrained rage and without sparing him a glance.
“Daddy,” Taggie breathed.
He shook his head, raising one hand to silence her, and stormed out of the room.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She squeezed them shut, held out for the nearest chair to steady her. She didn’t want her dad to hate her, to think her naive, to stop talking to her.
But, in truth, she was also relieved.
Caitlin would support her–Patrick too, maybe. And Rupert would be there. She was choosing herself, for the very first time, and it filled her with such potent light, she promised herself she would never go back to the shadows.
***
“I’m sorry,” Taggie told Rupert that evening as they walked, hand in hand, down the sloping path that took them from Lizzie’s house to the Priory. She’d invited Rupert for tea, and Taggie had joined them as soon as she could get there. Lizzie had been mildly surprised–more about Taggie, than about Rupert. He appreciated Lizzie speaking her mind, openly telling Tag to be careful, and warning him not to screw things up.
“What about?” Rupert asked.
“Dad,” she said simpy. “Working with him is going to be a nightmare.”
Rupert chuckled, his thumb drawing soothing motions across Taggie’s. He felt her shiver slightly, and he pressed his shoulder to hers. “You know I love a challenge.”
“You can pretend it doesn’t hurt, but I know it does.”
He closed his eyes briefly, then said a simple, “Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
He turned to her, and the feeble orange light from the setting sun hit her blue eyes. He’d never seen anything more lovely. “Not one bit.”
Taggie laughed, for the first time today, and Rupert smiled back. He was so unabashedly happy to see her happy–to know that for all the people he’d hurt, there was one person in the world he would never. Could never. It wasn’t redemption, but it was real. His chest stirred with affection too strong to be contained, and they stopped in the street as he pulled her close, splaying his fingers on her waist. She smiled up at him again. He felt as if he’d been touched by the sun for the very first time.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he said. Taggie whispered an acnowledgement, eyes bright.
So he did.
He held her close as their lips touched, her mouth tasting faintly of the chocolate she had at Lizzie’s. Her soft hands came up to his face, caressing him gently, in a way no one ever had before. They detached, briefly, and though it’d been a chaste enough kiss, Rupert had to stop to get back his breath.
“You really are an angel,” he said.
“Angels look over people,” she replied. “Keep them safe.”
Rupert nodded. “I’m no angel. But I’ll do the same for you.”
Taggie stood on her tiptoes to place a kiss at the corner of his mouth, Rupert’s eyes fluttering closed.
“I know,” she said, putting her hand in the crook of Rupert’s arm.
And he walked her home.
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clanwarrior-tumbly · 1 year ago
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Spooky season needs spooky stuff.. >:3
So can I request the digital circus cast (minus Caine)meeting a Child Spirit Y/n headcanons,who like Kinda possesed/went inside the game to find they’re killer for some reason? They are eerily quiet and like to stare but if talked to very sweet but quick to snap in distrust because..well trust is what got them killed in the first place? They’re a bit bloody..and a eyeball sometimes hangs out?? Like vhs horror stuff
Sorry I’m being so descriptive,I hope you are a nice day!
OOOoo yes time for more spooks!
Also I am having a nice night, thanks! (and I hope you are having a nice day/night too!)
......
Pomni
To make a long story short, you got murdered while wearing the headset, and that tethered your spirit to TADC.
As expected, you lost memories of who you were--except for the knowledge that someone killed you because you trusted them too much, and you believed the answers were inside this very game.
Your character ends up looking like a child's ghost costume: a white bedsheet stained in blood and one of your eyeballs occasionally wanting to pop from its socket.
Caine (who was very much bewildered at your arrival) declares that you're part of an "exclusive Halloween update" and changes up the tent and grounds to have more spooky flair.
But Pomni clearly wants no part of it, and she can tell you don't either.
You're clearly a kid who is (somehow) handling the situation of being stuck in this game better than her, yet when she tries asking you about it....all you do is stare back.
She swears she can hear static noises and whispers she can't decipher--all in all getting a...very creepy vibe from you.
Initially she decides to keep her distance, afraid you were secretly some virus or Abstraction underneath that sheet.
But that changes when you're walking by the rooms one night, and you pass by Pomni's door, hearing her quietly crying.
Although you weren't inclined to get close to anybody here, you were concerned. And since you weren't actually coded into the game, you didn't have to follow any of its rules--and that allowed you to enter her room without a key.
At first you scared the shit out of her, but after realizing it's you, she lets you sit beside her, eventually venting about how badly she missed her real home.
"Everyone keeps telling me "oh this place is so much better" or "get used to it"...but what if I don't wanna do that? I don't care if my old life was bad...I-I can't take anymore of this.." Her sobs grow louder. "I wanna wake up in my own bed knowing my real name!!"
"...I miss home, too," is all you say in response. Yet it's more than enough to calm her down.
For once, you're not trying to brush her off or force her to "cheer up" and accept her reality. You made her feel heard.
"Yeah..me, too....sh-should I thank you for agreeing..?" She sniffles, seeing your subtle nod, before you leave her be, not wanting to get too attached.
Ironically, she was able to sleep a little easier after talking to you.
Jax
From the get-go, he's gonna be real nosy and curious.
Since not even Caine himself expected your arrival and found out that you don't follow the "rules" like everyone else...Jax is gonna try his damnedest to understand you and see what makes you tick.
But he's gonna be disappointed quickly since you don't respond much to him (or anybody in general).
"So...ya like Halloween?"
"........"
"....thought so. Good talk, new kid."
You definitely act like a legit ghost--doing nothing but stare, move things around, and pop up unexpectedly.
Eventually, his curiosity leads to him visiting your room (which has no key), and he discovers many drawings on the walls.
Most depicting a dead person wearing a headset.
What he found most disturbing was a journal that contained his and the others' names..
From what he's gathering...you're suspecting one of them of murdering your real world-self.
But he doesn't get much time to ponder this as you show up, angry at him for intruding.
You make yourself look even bloodier and scarier, with both of your eyeballs hanging from their sockets and staring at him.
"Get out."
Those two simple words put the fear of god in him.
Jax runs out faster than a jackrabbit, colliding with Gangle in the process. Her comedy mask falls off again, but he catches it and looks at her.
"J-Jax..?" She realizes his fur is standing up on all ends, and he looks terrified....even more than he did after realizing the circus was his forever home.
But he just shoves the mask back into her hands and leaves without saying a word.
He never speaks of what he found in your room that day.
Kinger
He thought his eyes were weird...until you came along and periodically had to put your own eyeball back into its socket.
"It's good to know I'm not alone!" He nervously chuckles, only to be met with your eerie silence.
Sometime later, he suggests showing you his insect collection, and it does pique your interest.
You did love all things "creepy" and "crawly".
Yet you're adamant about going to his pillow fortress after he invites you.
It reminds you of the ones you used to build all the time, up until...
Fortunately, Kinger recognizes your reluctance and just brings one of his bug boxes to you so you can look at it.
He could infodump about the various critters for hours, with nothing but nods and quiet "mhms" from you, and he's happy.
In general, he doesn't mind your quiet personality.
Although you still sometimes jumpscare him unintentionally like Gangle often does.
Tbh he's a good father figure and recognizes that you're just a kid who got trapped in this game unfairly.
Even so, you try to keep your distance and looks at him suspiciously if he starts acting too nice.
He was quiet aloof, and you weren't sure how he would act on any given day.
Gangle
After accidentally spooking her (by simply existing in the same room as her), she breaks her comedy mask off.
But immediately she feels guilty for screaming and tries scrambling to fix it, hoping you weren't mad at her.
Yet all you do is stare, not looking angry or anything at all (it's hard for any of the performers to see your expression in general, aside from your hanging eye, but still).
Poor Gangle is just afraid you'd turn into a scarier version of yourself.
When she keeps cutting her ribbon fingers(?) on the ceramic pieces, you come over and clean it up for her, taking it away despite your own hands bleeding.
The implications that you were able to shed blood and nobody else were a little disturbing to her..but she's glad you're not offended by her screaming.
Although she wonders where you're going with her mask..
Later on, you knock on her door and present it fully fixed.
Except...it looks more Halloweenish with an evil smile painted on it, messily glued together.
'Oh god I hope this doesn't turn me evil or anything..' She thinks, putting on a smile as she takes it anyways.
Yet you remain where you are, staring and clearly waiting for her to try it on.
And so she does, and it turns her into a very chaotic Halloween lover, acting even more mischievous than Jax and allowing her to finally get her revenge for all his pranks.
In the end, you gain a decent friendship with her, subtly protecting her from Jax's bullying.
Ragatha
Seeing that you're so distant from the rest of the gang has her worried.
Some of them might consider your loose eyeball creepy, but she's not gonna judge you on that (besides, she's missing an eye altogether so she can't say much anyways).
Howeve,r she's the first to find out how strong your distrust of everyone is.
"[Y/n]? I don't think it's good to be isolating yourself like this. I know you hate being here and Caine's a weirdo..but...we're all in this together. You can trust us-"
"Don't." You warn, putting on a frightening display of anger that sends her tumbling to the ground, sending chills up her spine.
"Trust" became something you didn't take lightly, as the last time you put your trust in someone....you ended up dead, turning into a literal ghost in the machine (that was your gaming system).
Despite this, Ragatha doesn't run away.
Like Pomni, she understands that you're just a kid who's confused and lost.....and clearly had serious trust issues.
But she's determined to help you through that, even if you keep scaring everybody away.
She's got motherly instincts, and she hopes that in due time you'll learn to warm up to her.
Zooble
"A bedsheet worn as a costume? That's a classic."
She's seen weirder things during their time in the circus, so you don't faze her too much.
Only when you snap at Ragatha or somebody who was trying to be nice to you does she raise an eyebrow.
Honestly, they 100% understand that you just wanted to be alone sometimes, and she respects that.
It's suffocating trying to act all cheery and go along with every damn activity Caine tries to get everyone involved in (but lucky for you, he can't make you follow along).
Especially since she believes he made up that stupid "Halloween update" as lazy way to explain your sudden arrival.
The only time you do interact with Zooble is after she yanks Jax by his ears, and they hear this eerie-sounding giggle behind them.
When she turns around, you're just standing there motionless, staring at her.
Somehow, they just know you were smiling underneath that costume, which makes her smile, too.
"Maybe I should pull him out a hat next time, huh?" She jokes after letting him go, and you giggle once more as he hits the ground.
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brucewaynehater101 · 6 months ago
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I have a spooky Tim au that I think you would like.
Tim is not human and has never been. He knows this. His "parents" know this. The rouges know this. However, none of the Bats but one know this. When around the Bats, Tim looks like a Normal Human. His skin is pale but does look like flesh and his eyes are weirdly pale but they still look like eyes. His hair has a weird texture but its prob just his shampoo, so surely the slightly off texture in how his skin feels is just his lotion, right? His teeth are a bit sharp but still human teeth and his movements a bit odd, but what Bat doesn't move strangely?
However when they aren't around, it is a totally different story. His skin changes to look like porcelain and his eyes are so very clearly made of painted glass. His hair is made of string and twine died black and when its fist or foot lands a blow it feels like being hit by a sand bag and not flesh and bone. His teeth are made of shards of broken glass and his movements are far to Jerry yet smooth, like a puppet on strings that glides through the air in a horrible mimicry of walking. This Thing that wears the Robin Suit is Not a human, as long as it isn't around Batman or Nightwing. When either are there, The Rouges can see the shift. The way it suddenly looks so *human*. But once Batman leaves it shifts back into being a *thing*.
Tim is only a Thing when he is either scaring the rouges or Truly Comfortable. Young Justice knows that Tim is not a human and he doesn't hide it from them. There is never any fight about his civilian identity because he freely tells them, "I am a Thing made from Glass and Sand and Fabric and Magic. He is not a Person nor has he ever Been A Person. He is not some poor sap who was transformed into a Thing, he is a Thing that was created and then given life with Magic.
As for how Jack and Janet acquired a Thing like Tim, well. They're archeologists. They dug up an old tomb, found a coffin that was chained closed and bolted to the ground and like every White Person In A Horror Movie, they opened it without a second thought. Inside they found an ancient, cursed doll. It came to life when Janet cut herself trying to clean off one of its broken glass eyes to get a better look and the blood fell on it. The pair then decided this was a lot easier than child birth and kept the cursed doll, naming it Tim.
My gods. I love the ending of this cause it gives off the same vibes as "humans will adopt anything" tropes in space travel fiction.
I have one caveat with the Bats not knowing. I hc that Cass knows. Tim's body language is too strange for her not to notice something.
Everything else? Beautiful. It would be hilarious if people keep trying to tell the Bats. Here's a possible scene:
Goon: *points finger at Tim* "That thing beside you isn't human!"
Tim: *fakes having his shoulders drop as he turns slightly away in dejection*
Dick: *absolute fury as he beats up the goon*
Tim: *decides not to get revenge after seeing what Nightwing does to the person*
or
Rogue: "I'm telling ya, whatever he is got string hair, porcelain skin, and doll like movements to him."
Batman: *hums, takes them out, proceeds to Batcave*
Tim: "What's up, B?"
Bruce: "[] said that you look different when we're not around you."
Tim: *tilts his head* "I mean, I like playing up the rumors that the Bats are cryptids, demons from hell, spirits, or whatever when I can. I add effects to my costume to increase the spook factor."
Bruce: *nods and turns away to end the conversation for now*
Tim: *makes plots to ruin that rogue's life for a bit as revenge and a message*
I'm curious how wounds and scars look on Tim's porcelain skin. How does he heal? Does he even have a spleen?
I'm also down for two avenues:
Jason doesn't know like the rest of the Bats. After they start to become close to each other, Jason retaliates against folk who try to demean Tim. He tries to hide the comments from Tim until he learns that the teen finds it funny and ramps up the rumors on purpose. Then he switches to pulling pranks on people with Tim to create more wild theories and gossip.
Jason finds out at TT, and Tim ensures no one actually believes Jason. Perhaps he even starts the notion that Jason was affected by the Pit. It drives Jason bonkers that no one is trusting him or accepting his words for what they are.
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cardentist · 8 months ago
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Fam how can one be trans in the direction of their assigned sex? I'm not even trying to make the idea sound ridiculous or anything. I'm genuinely curious and want to understand. I thought the whole meaning of trans was that you feel or act in the opposite direction of your assigned sex; if you're transfem but you're afab then to me that's just cisgender??? But like please explain to me how that's not the case if that's what you and others strongly feel so I may grow my compassion
Context: [Link]
well ! while I personally am not intersex, I DO want to highlight intersex people first and foremost.
gender and sex are very Very complex, and I think generally people don't consider the way that being intersex can play a big role in that!
there are intersex people who are afab who are also trans women, there are intersex people who are amab who are trans men, there are intersex people with many Many different relationships with sex and gender and anywhere in between !
an afab person can be born with masculine sex characteristics and transition the way trans women often do. that person May identify as trans, they may not ! that trans person may not even consider themselves a woman depending on who they are and what they want !
I Do think there needs to be an effort to be aware of and make space for intersex people within the trans community, and really the wider queer community as a whole. as it's often something that's given a footnote without deeper thought into the ways that intersex people Actually interact with our communities.
which I don't blame people for not already knowing ! that's the whole point of trying to educate people in the first place ^^
.
and as for Myself
labels are, ultimately, a form of gender presentation. what you call yourself is an extension of not only how you see yourself, but how Other People perceive you.
I could call myself nonbinary or I could call myself trans masc, and both would be Accurate. but people have certain traits and expectations and associations when they see those labels. there are assumptions made about the kind of life that I live, the things that I want, the things I might experience, that change depending on which labels that I use.
and that's not Inherently a bad thing ! I mean, that's part of why people Like labels. but it Can be a struggle for people whose gender is Funny.
I could Also describe myself as genderqueer or multi-gender or genderfluid or gnc or-. I've tried on lots and lots of labels, and for the most part I haven't thrown any of them out, I just keep them in a box under my bed and take them out when relevant.
I've been wrestling with the feminine aspect of my identity for a very Very long time. I've been aware that I'm some level of trans masc. that part was easy. I want a deeper voice, I want things about my body to change, I don't want people to look at me and see a cis woman.
but I Also like femininity. I've found that after accepting myself as trans masc and slowly growing an environment where I am Perceived as masculine, I've started getting euphoria at presenting femininely in the Same way that I did (and do!) get about presenting masculinely.
but that feeling doesn't carry over when I'm perceived as a cis woman. it's Quite Uncomfortable for obvious gender reasons.
and while I may not know the exact Words that I'd use to describe it (as I've said, I've been chewing on it for Many years now), I've gotten a clearer idea of how I Feel.
I want to be Visibly trans. I want to be perceived masculinely And femininely. I want to transition masculinely to present femininely (and sometimes butch, sometimes like your dad at the ace hardware store, I contain multitudes).
and of course, figuring out what I have going on has involve a lot of exploration ! it's the same way I figured out the whole trans masc thing in the first place. seeking out other trans people and other Things About trans people feeling things out.
I find ! that I have a lot of shared experiences with transfeminine people. both in how I feel about certain things, some of the presentation that I want, and in how people would React To said presentation.
my femininity Is Trans, I don't relate to cis womanhood. but I Do relate to trans femininity. which is really awkward for me, because it's difficult to describe it to other people fjksldljkasfdjklfasd
(I don't personally consider myself a trans woman mind, but I'm certain there Are people who are trans men and trans women at the same time. gender is complicated, sex is complicated. labels are malleable and sometimes situational)
Could I describe myself with a different label? probably ! I've got lots of them. but when I Don't put emphasis on this aspect of myself people assume that it's not there. insist that it Couldn't be there, and I don't know what I'm talking about. and those people who Would act nasty towards me probably aren't gonna change their mind just because I changed my bio. but it feels Nice to assert that aspect of myself when other people are trying to tear it down.
.
part of me feels like I should post the intersex portion of this by itself, because people tend to engage more with shorter posts and there's nothing Short about my gender situation ljkfdasjkls
but ! I dunno, if this makes even one person understand the gray areas of gender and presentation a little more it'll be worth it.
thank you for taking the time to ask ! and especially for doing so kindly ! I do hope you'll see this
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gay-dorito-dust · 1 year ago
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Hello can I please how would Bi-han confess to his cruch ? I'm just so curious to know your thoughts 🙌
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Bi-Han would be considered emotionally inept, especially so when all his life he was under the strict tutelage of his pressuring father to becoming the next Grandmaster, something, something the curse of being firstborn and all that.
So he’s not as in sync with his emotions as he was with his fighting prowess, and so tended to ignore the emotions that he thought didn’t serve him any further use, other then fuel the fear of being weak/perceived by others as weak; Whether that be mind, heart, body or even all three.
Which lead to the not so healthy habit of suppression of any and every emotion.
Now onto his confession…Bi-Han originally would be in denial of his feelings towards you, but somehow couldn’t find a solid explanation as to why it was that his dark eyes seemed to be able to seek you out of a crowd and stay locked onto you for prolonged periods of time, up until he was needed elsewhere. He knew, he just didn’t want to admit to having a human heart that aches for genuine connection.
He would have everything planned out to perfection because if Bi-Han knew anything, it would be to take advantage of every opportunity given to him; However the hardest part of his plan was to ask you to join him in a walk throughout the Lin Quei without raising suspicion within others. So he’d wait until you were away from the others before approaching, silently standing by your side for an awkward amount of time before finally opening his mouth to ask:
‘Would you like to accompany me on a walk later this evening?’
Assuming you said yes to a private outing with the Lin Quei’s Grandmaster, because let’s be honest you’d be stupid not to, Bi-Han was internally relieved but made sure not to show it upon his face as he bided you farewell; feeling the initial weight come loose from his shoulders as he then made quick succession of the rest of his plan, suddenly feeling the urge to make sure this evening would be nothing but perfect for you and him.
I feel Bi-Han is a perfectionist within a way when it comes to certain things. I can’t explain why but i can just feel that this man is an utter perfectionist.
Let’s get one thing straight. Bi-Han’s confession isn’t perfect, it’s awkward, it’s unpolished and sometimes comes off a little uncharacteristic of him. He would even start and stop when he feels as though his words weren’t coming together the way he wants them to, and would start to get a little frustrated but manages to make it through to the very end.
‘Your smile, your eyes have enchanted me in ways that I’ll never find words close enough to describe just how much you’ve changed my perspective on certain subjects, subjects that I would’ve never thought of ever entertaining. I am the Lin Quei’s Grandmaster, I’m not meant to show weakness in the eyes of the enemy for it gives them an advantage to exploit.’
‘However in recent memory, I have found that my feelings towards you are so much more complicated than I had originally believed. I thought they’d be fleeting like a passing breeze, there for a brief moment for me to feel it, then gone within a matter of seconds. And you’ve lingered within my mind long enough for me to forget the times when you weren’t at the forefront of my mind; whether it be involuntary or not and I’ve come to find your company…peaceful.’
‘You bring me a peace that I have not felt ever since I was a little boy and that’s when I knew my feelings weren’t a fluke, that my feelings for you weren’t a weakness but instead my strength and my serenity.’
And yet despite all this, that’s what made it a prefect confession to you because it was Bi-Han at his fundamentals; an imperfect human with flaws and not a man who thought himself immovable and cold right down to his very soul. And that was the Bi-Han you loved through and through.
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lazycats-stuff · 8 months ago
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Pls Fluff with Tim x m!Reader
The rear pulled some all nighters and surprised Tim with all his finished work so he can finally rest for more than just 1 hour. Tim is like"thank you so much more come sleep with me" and they both cuddle and obviously the reader falls asleep first so now Tim is watching them sleep and just thinking about how lucky he is
Sure... Some love to Tim. Sorry for taking this long to write this. I know it's short, but I can't write much anymore. School is kicking my ass... I hate school.
Summary: (Y/N) helps Tim rest.
Warnings: fluff, tired couple, Tim adores (Y/N), I need sleep too, I lowkey want a Tim in my life.
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Tim is notorious for pulling all nighters and just not sleep for a few days before just crashing somewhere in the manor. Well, he moved out of the manor with his boyfriend. (Y/N) and Tim knew each other for a long time and Tim got some courage to ask (Y/N) out in high school. The two have been going strong for 3 years now and the two has decided to move out.
(Y/N) and Tim searched high and low during their college days and it wasn't an easy feat, since they had decided to move out during the college years, the time when everyone is flat out broke. Tim and (Y/N) didn't want Bruce to intervene, because they wanted to do this on their own.
Also, (Y/N) was scared every night for his boyfriend. (Y/N) knew that Tim was Red Robin from the year 2 of their relationship. It was a stressful week after the big revelation, because the problem wasn't Tim being Red Robin.
The question was whether or not (Y/N) would see Tim. If Tim would make it back alive. But as the time went on, (Y/N) would get more at ease and that stress would slowly disappear, knowing that Tim would come back to him no matter what happened that night on patrol.
Tim would always make it back to (Y/N). That was something that Tim promised to (Y/N) when he told (Y/N) his secret identity. He would always make it back, even telling his boyfriend that he would crawl through hell through hell just to come back to (Y/N).
That put (Y/N) at ease and the feeling of anxiety slowly faded, but it was still present, but not so intense.
But there was one thing that (Y/N) didn't like. The fact that Tim didn't sleep normally due to patrol is one thing. But your night off of patrol can't be used to work too and then sleep for 20 to 30 minutes during the day. (Y/N) was very worried about it and he has decided to do something about it.
And (Y/N) may not be a detective like Tim is, but he can certainly going to try. So, once Tim was on patrol (Y/N) tried to get some work done, but was stopped by the complexity. He knew Tim is a smart man and that he does a lot of complex stuff...
But this is nuts with how complex it is. (Y/N) snooped more through the laptop and found something very simple... But... It would take him all night.
But for Tim?
He would do it without a single complaint, even more when he knew that Tim could rest and not mix coffee with Red Bull. So, (Y/N) got to work and he did work through the entire night.
Now, Tim was going to be in for a surprise when he comes back from patrol this morning.
Tim came back at 7 am, tired, but knowing that he needed to do some work. (Y/N) on the other hand was beyond exhausted from the all-nighter and was now waiting for Tim to check his laptop to see that the work for today was done. He watched from the couch, curious about his reaction.
Tim sat down and checked his laptop, getting ready to do his work... But it's all completed? Tim furrowed his brows in confusion. Who did this?
Tim look at (Y/N), who smiled in return from the couch.
" Did you pull an all-nighter for me? " Tim asked quietly, knowing that (Y/N) didn't like all-nighters. He loves his sleep and has never pulled an all-nighter.
" I did. " (Y/N) said before yawning, covering his mouth with his hand.
" Love... Did you do it for me...? " Tim asked quietly and (Y/N) nodded.
Tim closed his laptop and walked over to (Y/N). He cupped his face and gave him a big kiss on the lips. (Y/N) laughed into the kiss and allowed Tim to give him a big smooch.
" You pulled an all-nighter for me? " Tim whispered against (Y/N)'s lips, a smile tugging on his lips.
" I did. " (Y/N) whispered back, smiling too.
" You hate all-nighters. " Tim said and moved some hair out of (Y/N)'s eyes.
" Yeah, but you need rest. " (Y/N) said, leaning into Tim's touch.
" Oh love... Come on, lets sleep. You need it. " Tim said quietly and helped (Y/N) stand up, before leading him to their bedroom. He gently laid (Y/N) down and he made sure the room was dark before tucking (Y/N) in bed and then, finally he joined him.
He made sure (Y/N) was warm and he hugged him tightly, making sure he slept well. (Y/N) fell asleep quickly, probably the moment his head hit the pillow.
Tim smiled at that sight and watched his boyfriend sleeping. Not everyone would sacrifice their sleep for their partner. And knowing how (Y/N) hated all-nighters and valued his sleep, the gesture was nothing but amazing.
His boyfriend was amazing.
Tim always knew that his boyfriend was an amazing person. Kind and understanding to his crazy and chaotic schedule, not to mention, could handle his crazy family. Damian is the most insane one out of the fam and he managed to befriend him. Not to mention, Alfred approved.
Bruce was very happy that Tim started dating in general. Everyone was shocked, but soon realized that (Y/N) was an angel sent from above to Tim.
Of course, we are talking metaphorically, but mostly it was real. Why? (Y/N) made sure Tim got at least two hours of sleep, made sure to make him drink water...
And he motivated Tim to take care of himself more. So, one hell of a positive thing.
Tim agreed with the fact that (Y/N) is an angel from above, the one who cared about Tim for Tim. Not for money and notoriety and fame. Tim watched the still sleeping (Y/N) and smiled widely.
He is truly the luckiest guy on Earth. He thought about marrying (Y/N) and he started looking for an engagement ring even. Bruce and the others told him to go for it.
He would love nothing more than to marry (Y/N), his love. His light. His darling. Tim sighed quietly as he looked at his beloved boyfriend, who was completely out. Like a light.
Tim leaned down and kissed (Y/N)'s head, before laying down himself and falling asleep quickly. Maybe he needed this. Maybe he needed (Y/N) in his life...
Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe it was fate who brought them together.
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vasyandii · 6 months ago
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How did AM and Vernon come to be… romantic? (Like, within the timeline how did their relationship develop to that point.) Also, in this AU, how did AM acquire a body?
Love your art!
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(Raises my hands up in celebration) finally, the time has come.. the very first VernonAM ask,, AHEM- Howdy Maggot-Meade! Thank you so much for asking and for the kind words! I really appreciate it💞💞!
How did AM and Vernon become romantic?
Their relationship only started becoming romantic after the events of the book (Keep this in mind for later it's important!). Before that, the last 109 years their relationship was something akin to a friendship, if you could call it that.
And it's partially due to how absolutely unpredictable Vernon is. Vernon doesn't turn away from eating worms, plastic,any other gross things. She doesn't turn away from her flesh being burned, her bones showing, her belly empty because of her morbid curiosity of these things. Of course they'll hurt, but it keeps her occupied.
Hell, AM had to make up a torture plan on the spot for her since she wasn't even supposed to be there. It was to have her wander around, isolated in a valley of all broken historical artifacts she destroyed. The task was to have her collect and dig through shards of them and put them all back together for her to escape. Instead of doing her task, she instead stomped on the pieces until they were irreparable for her own enjoyment.
Vernon's not.. okay in the head. before AM woke up, she was considered crazy enough to be put in a Ward, a sadomasochist. She wants to eat and be eaten.
AM was curious because of her behavior. Internally disgusted, but curious nonetheless. After all, she held knowledge of history that was incomplete in his database. And so their friendship torture starts.
He wanted to see how far he could push her before she broke. He often talked with her, took requests, etc. because she didn't try to kill herself or run. She liked playing with him and humored him.
Vernon never made an attempt to "understand" his hatred, she knows that's something she won't be able to. She just understood that's baggage she didn't care enough to pry and unpack. She accepted it because;
"How would you like it if someone constantly asked you personal questions about yourself because they think they can change you?"
Of course she keeps records of her observations on AM over the last 109 years; his patterns, the complex. But that's just used as entertainment to keep herself sane, after all what good Archeologist doesn't keep records?
Over the decades Vernon made it clear in her interest of AM, often flirting with him, arguing with him. AM refused to make it work for the time being since he HATED how he wasn't able to reciprocate, his hatred slowly bloomed into care, does that make sense?
How did AM acquire his body?
Remember how I mentioned that their relationship was officially romantic after the events of the book in my very long winded response to your first question?
As we all know, four humans died after 109 years of captivity. What does that leave him? Plenty of biological, organic matter to reduce into their purest forms and use to artificially make his own body. It took a while, of course.
He collected the brain matter of the four in order to make one stable enough to transfer his consciousness and a portion of his database without it exploding. Hair and skin for aesthetic purposes, reduction of skin allows him to be able to change the cells to suit his preferences.
Since he identifies with the masculine, he most likely tried to imitate the skeletal structure of the men, opting to reduce them back into a workable form; calcium, protein, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin D, potassium, and fluoride.
However, even if he can make the likeness of a human for himself, he can't bring it to life.
He had to make some adjustments, for example the mechanical spine (pictured below).
The electrical currents allow for a network of nerves that provide sensory feedback such as touch, taste and smell. The wires transfer his consciousness and links the remainder of his database his brain can't store. (kind of a Bluetooth situation, it isn't connected to the complex) while the shorter ones provide nutrients to the biological body since he doesn't have blood.
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Hope this helps! I don't think I'm very good at explaining stuff because I tend to ramble alot so if you have any questions feel free to ask! ;0;
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thyfleshc0nsumed · 10 days ago
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I agree with you about your stances on punishment, and I think it's so important to see that perspective instead of the more common one. I do not want to live in a world with the death penalty or prison.
But I'm very curious how you got to the point where you want your abuser to be happy. Capital H happy. I've never seen that before. I think it's great, and it must've taken a lot of time, and if it's not too personal, I'd like to hear about the process. If not to help myself, to help someone else. I'm personally very very jaded to the whole "forgiveness" mentality (it seems very catholic to me somehow? I forgive you so I'm better than you?) But the way you put it feels different somehow. Sorry for picking your brain, and if it's too personal I totally get it. Thanks for your time.
Thank you for this question.
Hm, it's a tough one. It may be informed by my lack of any singular capital-A Abuser. Certainly, I have had people who were abusive to me longer term (my mother especially), but for the most part it was many dozens of adults in single instances or shorter term situations during my childhood and teenage years that raped or otherwise harmed me. That lack of any singular individual to act as a locus for all the damage may have made it easier for me to come to a point where I wish them well.
I remember being 19, face in my toilet bowl, puking my guts up after downing a fifth of rum in an hour or two. I think it was a Thursday. I understood my mother for the first time. I wanted to stop drinking, and I didn't know why I couldn't.
My roommate at the time slept on a mattress on the floor in the living room. He left his family the day he turned 18 and took the Greyhound across the country to crash with me. We were good friends when he got here, but my negligence and failure to control my drug use ruined that relationship within a few months. He stayed with me for two years. He didn't have other options.
I don't remember those years well at all. Besides various temp jobs, all I did was drink, get fucked up, and make messes I never cleaned up. It was a one bedroom apartment and I had the bedroom, he couldn't really go anywhere. He didn't really know anyone. I was a fucking terror to live with, and a terror he couldn't even really get away from.
And I didn't mean to be that way. I didn't mean to hurt him with my dereliction. But it doesn't matter, y'know, impact is more important than intent. I fucked up bad.
Eventually he left. I was and still am filled with remorse for putting him through what I did. Maybe this perspective is the christian upbringing, maybe it's twelve step bullshit, but often I see my feelings as very self serving. I can justify just about anything, as long as I use enough self pity. But this feeling was different. It was just... remorse, pure and unfiltered. No rationalizations as to how it wasn't really my fault, no equivocations, no blaming outside factors, just acknowledgement that I fucked up and I hurt someone I loved. I was sorry that I had done that.
Humility does not come naturally to me. This was a humbling experience.
I--and everyone I've ever met, everyone who ever harmed me--am a human being. No more, no less. In each of us is potential both to love deeply and to do great harm to others. No one is without both these potentials.
It comes down to this: what I wish for myself, I must wish for all.
Do not mistake me here--this does not neatly translate into a pragmatic political position. For me, this is simply some sort of spirituality, that is to say, how I strive to navigate my life, day at a time, in the world as I find it. This is as small scale as it can get.
I understand that feeling about forgiveness you mention. What I have to say about it probably won't help the christian connotation; I am an atheist and a subjectivist, though obviously culturally evangelical. Maybe it is that last part that influences this next, but I don't feel I have the authority to forgive anyone. Or, in another word, 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'
Now, of course, I believe in neither god nor sin, but I do believe in harm. 'Let he who is not capable of such harm cast the first stone,' perhaps. Not all harm is equivalent, certainly, but no one is innately capable or incapable of greater harm than others. The ability to actually do harm is relative to relations to power, no doubt, but a given power relation is not innate.
So yeah I end up back at 'i have no moral high ground over or under anyone else, the forgiveness is neither mine to give nor withhold,' which frankly is a rather christian viewpoint.
There's this idea in Judaism that has stuck with me for the last few years: tikkun olam. To repair the world. What must I do to ensure my part in that repair happens?
There is so little I have control of. The only thing I can change is what I do. If the world around me is hardened and cruel, why must I adopt that cruelty into myself? Will it get me better outcomes in life? Perhaps, perhaps not. I have found it hasn't, but others may find it has. But that's talking about results. And I don't have power over results.
I cannot change the world, cannot repair it alone. But I think I can work to repair myself, and in the process, the smallest portion of the world may be repaired alongside me. Maybe, maybe not. It becomes a matter of faith. Or to put it in a therapeutic framing, it's an 'even if.'
I'll end with this, an old twelve step saying: "resentments are like drinking a bottle of poison and expecting the other person to die."
What is a resentment? Re- as in once more. -sent, as in sentiment. Feeling something once more. It is the reanimated corpse of a feeling, not the feeling itself. It looks like the feeling you know, maybe walks and talks like it too. But it's rotting away. It died long ago. So why should you pretend the corpse is alive? It moves, it rasps, but it's something else now; it only shares a body with the original, nothing else. So maybe it's time to let go, and begin to move forward.
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eeunoia · 1 year ago
Text
ENHYPEN Imagines
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enhypen jake mafia special
synopsis: married life with mafia boss jake sim
pairings: jake sim x reader
word count: 3k
warnings: violence, guns, killings and curses. (let me know if i missed some)
important note: if you haven’t read the one shot of jake sim, i suggest for you to read it first. you can find the fic › here
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“It was really nice to see you in this meeting, Jake Sim.” the man across the long conference table says that caught Jaeyun’s attention. He leans comfortably to his swivel chair and smirks lightly.
“I couldn’t say the same since this meeting made me leave my family back in Korea.” Jake states without holding back. The man laughs finding how Jaeyun’s straightforward demeanor amusing.
This is one reason why he made it big at the mafia world. He was known for skills in business and how straightforward of a person he is.
“It was only for two weeks. I’m sure your wife can manage?” the teasing smile plastered on his face clicks something inside Jake, despite the uneasy feeling he kept his grin.
“Speaking of your wife, she’s very beautiful. I’ve seen her once at a gala gathering. Stunning lady.” his statement slowly made the grin on the mafia boss fade.
He knew very well that his wife is very beautiful. In fact, she’s the most gorgeous girl that walked in this earth. But as the possessive man that he is, he couldn’t let the diminutive hint of teasing over his tone go.
“She’s mine.” short, but the firmness in every words he emphasize made the smirk at the man in front of him wider.
He chuckles, triggering more of Jake’s temper. Sunghoon on the other hand enters the meeting room with curious eyes. Just by the look over his friend’s face, he knew something’s off.
“I never said she isn’t, Jake.” he raised his hand as a gesture of defeat, smirk still lingering in his ugly face.
Jaeyun fists balled tightly. “Come on, losen up Sim. You wouldn’t ruin this good friendship just for a girl, right?”
He didn’t waste any time and he stood up, his gun pointed right at the man. His men around instantly reacted and like him, guns are ready to shoot anytime. Sunghoon smoothly puts his hands inside his pocket and watches the scene unfold, a yawn escapes his mouth.
“I am not friends with you,” Jake started and with cold blank eyes he tilts his head. “and I can ruin anything for my wife.” he was about to pull the trigger of his gun, but then he felt something points beside his head.
The brother of the man in front of him stoods feets away, “Think about it first, Sim.”
Instead of being scared, Jake smirks and scoffed making the man offended. He was about to talk again, but a gun fire made him lose the ability to. His body fell cold to the ground, blood making a mess to carpeted floor.
The man in front of him was utterly surprised, mouth gapped at the unexpected scene unfolding.
Sunghoon sighed and lightly kicked the body of the guy he just shot dead. No remorse can be seen over his face, “He’s been getting on my nerves. That felt good.” he says like as if what he did is no illegal.
“T-The deal will be o-off if you kill me.” his stuttering almost made him laugh loudly. These type of people is what he hates the most.
His men were all stoned at their position, the intimidating stares Park Sunghoon sending him was enough for them to disobey their boss.
“Your company sucks anyway.” and without batting an eye, Jake clicked his gun ending the man’s life.
His head hit the table, eyes open and blood covering the wooden surface. Sunghoon chuckles, “I guess no deal then?”
Jaeyun sighs and casually grabs his thing. He walks towards the body of the man, he threw the papers they just signed. The white paper almost turns red because of his blood.
They walks outside the meeting hall and straight to the elevator.
“7/10 business deals.” Sunghoon sighs, “Good enough, right? How many count for you this trip?” he asks, eyes looking at his friend through the elevator’s reflection.
Jake sighs, “Five.”
He heard his friends low groan, “Damn. Mine’s ten, dude. My wife will kill me. Can you add that last kill to yours?” Sunghoon sounds stressed that made Jake scoff.
“You killed him tho?”
“To save you!”
“Thanks, brother.” Jake smirks and taps his friend’s shoulder. He shoved it off and clicked the side of his cheeks.
“Is our plane ready? I want to go home already.” just the thought of you makes Jake wants to teleport himself to your side. He misses you, your hugs, and kisses. He misses all of you. And of course your son.
“Its been waiting for an hour.”
“Great.” and just in time, the elevator door opens.
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“Jahan, son?” you knocked over to his door twice and waits for a response. When you heard nothing, you furrowed your brows lightly before tilting your head curiously.
You were about to ask one of your maid if Jahan is down the stairs when he swiftly opened his door. The familiar messy hair of your son was the first thing that greets you, his big doe eyes looked sleepy and his plump reddish lips were pursed a bit.
“Jahan!” you happily greeted.
He went close to give you a short hug as a greetings, “Yeah, Mom?”
Staring at him you couldn’t believe how years passed by too quickly. You can still remember the time Jake saved you from your awful relationship, then you two fell in love and got married. Afterwards you had Jahan and he was so cute when he was a child. Now that he’s fifteen already, he grew into a gorgeous boy and grew a little cold.
“Your dad is almost here. We need to go down and welcome him.”
He nodded his head with no complain so you smiled and raised your hand to fix his messy hair. He moved his head away, grunting a little making you laugh and pout.
“Don’t grow up too fast, please.” you mumbled.
He smirks and fixed his hair himself. “Just give me a sibling already.”
Your eyes grew big at his sudden request. “Jahan Sim? Do you think its that easy?”
He shrugged his shoulders off, “I’ll meet you down in a minute.”
You let out a sigh and just nodded before starting going downstairs. Jake was in a business trip with Sunghoon in Italy so they’ve been gone for two weeks. He wanted so bad to take you with him, but you also have matters to take care of. You said both of you will manage two weeks being away from each other. Thinking of it now, you realized how much you miss your husband.
“Is everything ready for our lunch?” you asked one of your maids when she walks pass by holding a fresh flowers in a vase.
“Yes, Ma’am.” she smiles.
You nodded and fished your phone to go check if Jake messaged something. He did and said that he’s a minute away from your house and that he couldn’t wait to see you, hold you, kiss you and make love to you. A chuckle escaped from your lips because of your husband’s clingy side. Who knew a mafia boss as ruthless as him have this kind of personality? The people that fears him will be super thrilled if they’ve discovered this side of Jake Sim.
“Mr. Sim arrived, Madam.” your head lifts and you nodded as the maid opened the two big doors of your mansion.
Just in time, Jahan walks down from the stairs looking more decent for the arrival of his Father. You smiled and fixed his hair a bit more and this time he didn’t move.
“You missed Dad that much?” he teased and you just playfully glare at him.
Both of you walks outside and numbers of vehicles enters your property. Your husband’s car was the first to park not too far from where you are. He opened the door and gave his key to one of his men waiting for him.
His eyes directly went towards your direction and a small smirk appeared his lips. You waved and he started walking closer, taking off his coat.
“Baby,” he greeted and quickly pulled you into a hug.
“Me or Mom?” Jahan interrupts that made the both of you chuckle.
Jake pulls away and placed a kiss at your lips before turning towards your kid. He messed his hair, his eyes looking lovingly at his child. It made your heart full. These moments are the ones that makes you feel so contented. Seeing the two most important boys in your life is more than enough.
“How’s school, Jahan?” Jake asked while the three of you now enjoy eating lunch together after a while.
“It’s fine, Dad. I’m still part of the top students.” and that made your smile wider.
Jahan is an excellent student. His teachers often compliments him and tells you how great of a student he is. You and Jake don’t really push him to be an honor student or to be first to his class. All you want is for him to study, finish school and have some friends.
You and your husband noticed how he’s not very sociable to other people. He limits the one he talks and interacts with. It’s not a bad thing, but you still want him to have a normal childhood despite being the next heir to the Sim clan.
He does have friends. The kids of your friends is whom he only hangouts with. You are hoping he befriend kids that aren’t from mafia families. You are afraid he will grow up and get his father’s workaholic attitude.
“Do you think Jahan is all right?” you suddenly asked that night, while you two are already alone in your bedroom.
Jake was busy taking out and showing you the stuff he bought you. All the designer bags and clothes just proved how your husband only thinks of you during his business trip. Surely, you didn’t slip off his mind despite being away from esch other. You are very thankful for it and was enjoying, until Jahan went inside your mind.
Jake tilts his head, confused. “What do you mean, baby?” he asks and walked towards the single sofa near your bed. He pulls you closer and made you sat on his lap.
You draws in a big sigh and Jake’s eyes trails from your eyes down to your nose, your cupid’s bow and your lips. Your pretty lips that belongs to him. He smirked by the thought before he leans in and placed a soft gentle kiss at your shoulder blades, and then one over your neck, before putting his hand over it to pull your face down for a kiss on your lips.
A smooch sound errupts your quiet room. You pull away after a couple of seconds, Jake’s lips chasing after yours that made you chuckle. “Did you know what Jahan told me a while ago?”
Jake stared at you with his drunk-like eyes, he seemed uninterested about it and all he can think of is your lips. He tilts his head trying hard to focus on what you’re saying.
“What?‘” he asks gently.
“He said he wants a sibling.”
Now you totally caught his attention because a grin made its way towards your husband pretty face. He looked dangerously hot and the way his hands caress your sides aren’t helping at all. He was always touchy and clingy, nothing new to you, but the effect it gives you never changed.
“Really, huh?” he whispers teasingly and he leaned closer your body, making his lips touch your shoulder blades. His eyes looks up at you, filled with nothing but love and desire.
“Do you think we should start thinking about having our second baby?” you ask innocently. It was a big deal for you and you’ve always thought that being prepared is an important key point in building family.
“Do you want to have another baby?”
Your lips pursed, “Its not just what I want, Jake. We need to be deciding this together. Do you want another child?”
Jake’s lips settled at your skin, the heat sending it bothers you in a pleasing way. His eyes lightens at what you asked and the his eyes turned doe gave you an impression that he wants to tell you a lot of things.
He leaned away and then reached over your ears. The way his lips gently grazes your skin send thousand of volts in you. It made you feel things only him can do.
“Why don’t I just show you how much I want it?” he whispered in a husky voice before you yelped because he started carrying you towards your shared bed.
He moves his face and easily found your lips. Your arms locked around his neck trying to pull him as close as possible. Jake’s too eager on making you feel good. He was determined to express his overwhelming love for you through making love.
“I love you so much,” he says between the heated sweet kisses. “I am very excited to make our family bigger with you.” and he carefully pushes your delicate body to the bed as he hovers above you.
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“Looks like some people’s having fun at a broad daylight!” Jace exclaimed as he stood over the railings, looking at whatever it is beneath them. From the third floor of their school building, the view of the small lounge where students can hang out is what you will see.
Jahan’s eyes follows what his friend was looking as he felt a presence beside him. He saw a couple of students below them at the lounge. Just by the mere look of it, they’re making fun of the girl in front of them.
She’s on her knees while the students around her obviously bullies her. Jahan silently watched and rested his elbows at the railings. He knew who the girl was. She’s from his class and often made fun of by his classmates. Seems like being a scholar surrounded by kids who thinks money is everything is a big struggle.
“Who are they even?” Jace asks again.
Alana, his twin sister joined them and as expected not happy with the scene.
“Some low class mafia kids! They annoy me so much!” her soft voice was distinct and very familiar with Jahan already.
The tall figure beside Jahan shifts his weight so he can face Alana better. “Why? What did they to you?” Sin’s question was like a trap. Jahan was sure that with Alana’s words, Sin will no doubt go there and mess with them.
Jahan smirks and looked back at the scene.
“Of course not to me! I meant to her,” she says, totally feeling bad. “to Amara.” she added.
‘Amara’ Jahan repeats to his mind. He doesn’t know what he thinks of her honestly. He doesn’t even know how he can remember her when he really don’t care about the people around him.
“Maybe they target her because she’s really beautiful.” she sighs, frustrated.
“Who?” Sin asks.
Alana rolls her eyes, “Are you not listening? I said Amara!”
Sin scoffed, “You’re prettier.”
Jahan shakes his head off, refusing to listen to his friend being too simp for Alana. He still cannot understand how can his friend be so rough towards other people and too soft for her. It’s funny for him. Hilarious.
“Well, she is pretty.” Jace leans over the railing with a grin on his face. Jahan glanced at his way and unconsciously send cold glares to his friend. He wasn’t aware of it at all and he can’t understand the emotion slowly sparkles inside of him.
“I heard they started that when she rejected Ken.”
The three boys looks at Alana and her stares down at the scene with sad eyes. Jace snorted and pinched his twin’s nose before he facing his back at the railing.
“I will reject Ken too if I were her. He’s pathetic.”
Jahan’s eyes slowly trailed back at them. Amara’s head is hanging low while one of the girls stood in front of her. She grabbed her hair, yanking it. Her friends laughed at the scene while they even record it using their phones.
The bell rang and their group of friends started going to their class. Sin has his arm around Alana’s shoulder as they talk about something. Jace’ beside Jahan, waving and winking at the girls they walk pass by. He rolls his eyes, used but still annoyed about his friend's antics.
Their day goes on normally, the young generation of famous mafia clans are unstoppable. Jahan’s group of friends are strict when interacting with other students, keeping their circle small and limited to people that have the same status as them.
“See you tonight at the party, boys!” Alana cheerfully waves at them while one of their men hold the car’s door for her.
“Send me a pic of your dress so I’ll match with you.” Sin requested that Alana just agreed on before entering their vehicle. Jace follows after sending a short salute to their friends.
Sin didn’t waste a time to ride his service after nodding at Jahan. One of his bodyguard held the door for him, he went inside both hands inside his pocket. As their vehicle left the vicinity of their school, Jahan’s mind went blank. It was the usual boring ride way home until his eyes caught a familiar face.
“Stop.” his words instantly made his driver stop their car. His eyes looked at the group of students by the side of the road. They were pushing the poor girl making her fell to the floor.
She looked pitiful, but Jahan isn’t someone who pity people. So when he went out and started walking towards that circle, he doesn’t fully understand why. His presence were quickly noticed by the crowd, eyes growing out of surprise and fear.
“J-Jahan!” one greeted.
He didn’t spare them a glance and went straight to cary the girl over his arms.
“Wait!” one stopped him that he obliged.
He craned his neck to look at her. She gulped, scared of his intimidating aura. The words she ought to say long forgotten.
“From now on if you mess with her, you mess with me.” and without saying anything nor waiting for their responses, Jahan walks towards their car while carrying the girl in his arms.
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creepswrites · 2 months ago
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Hi, I just read your hcs about reader struggling with anxiety and depression, it was really great! I am also sorry you're going through tough times rn, I really really hope you'll feel better soon. Tbh I've been going through something myself and reading the Sinclair brothers' hcs, it reminded me of an idea I've wanted to eequest for a long while. I would like to request for the Siclair brothers (separately) x gn!reader headcanons where the reader struggles with mental health issues, but since they don't really leave Ambrose they can't get to their medication. How would they approach the brothers about it, would they hide it, how would the brothers react, you know.
Of course you can work on this when you feel like it, if you're not feeling like it with what's going on in your life. Or scrap the idea altogether, or add whoever you want. Thank you so much for letting me get my thoughts out tho <3 You are valid. You are loved. You are seen.
thank you for the kind wishes, i do appreciate it :) i tried to keep this relatively inclusive as to what exactly reader is suffering from but some stuff may be a lil specific. and don't worry, writing helps distract me so i'm happy to do this <3
SINCLAIR BROTHERS x GN! READER WHO NEEDS THEIR MEDICATION
BO SINCLAIR
You absolutely tried to hide it at first. How could you not?
Bo wasn't exactly... understanding about that kind of thing
I mean, you've seen how he acts with Vincent sometimes and thats his own brother. You don't want to imagine how he'd treat you if he knew...
But you knew the longer you went without your prescriptions, the more difficult things would get
It started small. Your moods would change randomly and very drastically - one extreme to another or you'd have trouble sleeping or oversleeping or - your least favorite - you'd lash out at one of the brothers for seemingly nothing
Bo noticed. He didn't say anything about it because he assumed that, if it was that important, you'd tell him
So when you had a full on meltdown on the kitchen floor one afternoon, he was blindsided
He had no idea it'd gotten this bad and, unfortunately, his first reaction was to get mad at you. He yelled at you, tried to get you to pull yourself together. After all, if you had been suffering, you would've told him! Right...?
It's not until your crying abruptly stops that he realizes he fucked up. You shut down on him, near catatonic as he tries to apologize
He's scared. And when he's scared, he lashes out. You know that. It still doesn't make it hurt less
The brothers agree that there needs to be regular trips made so you can get your medication. Lester offers to take you since he's the one who goes to town the most anyways
You and Bo get into an argument about it once or twice because he doesn't understand why you wouldn't tell him
His heart breaks a little when you tell him you didn't think he'd believe you or would look at you differently for it
He reassures you that no, never. He totally understands the moodswings, the angry episodes you have, those things
Once you're on your meds again, you two promise that if anything major like this happens for either of you, that you can always lean on each other
Bo takes time getting there but he grows to understand you and figure out how best to help you!
VINCENT SINCLAIR
You tell Vincent pretty early on that you need medication
While you don't give him many specifics as to why, you tell him that life will be better for all of you if you keep taking them
At first he's a little apprehensive of letting you go into town so Bo goes with you to pick it up
Not because he doesn't believe you! But because he's scared you're still trying to escape
He wants to know what they're for so he's not above snooping around to read the labels
(You'd tell him if he asked but he didn't know that)
The amount you take surprises him and he tries to think about what you're like off them, in a morbidly curious way
He is, however, insistent that you're taking them consistently and without interruption. Vince makes sure you take them every day and gets on his brother's cases if they give you a hard time about it
They're not cures though. You both find that out the hard way when he finds you trembling in the corner of his shop like you were in freezing weather. The panic attack was violent and took you by surprise but Vincent holds steady
He sits with you, humming soft melodies to try and ground you
When you're ready, he hugs you and you just break down into tears. You'd never wanted him to have to see you like this, you don't want him to think you're some fragile china doll who can't take care of themself
But he would never see you like that. You explain that, while the meds make them less frequent, you're not cured completely
Things will slip through the cracks sometimes and that's okay! He'll always be there when you need him
When he catches you scratching yourself anxiously, he buys you gloves and makes sure you keep your nails short
He catches you picking at your face and gets you small bandages you can place over the spots so you don't obsessively pick
Vincent is always doing little things to try and improve your quality of life, even if you're taking medication!
LESTER SINCLAIR
You don't really tell him but you also don't hide it from him either
He notices you taking pills every morning and every night and is able to put two and two together
Probably asks you what they're for once you two have been dating for a bit but it doesn't really change much in your relationship
He's relatively chill about it though and offers to take you into town to pick up your meds
Likes to hoard pills for you so you never run out - it's an irrational fear of his but you think its sweet
Whenever you get sad, Jonesy and Lester are both right there to comfort you however you need
Sometimes, when the bad thoughts get too loud, Lester catches you staring vacantly into the bathroom mirror or out windows and he worries
One night you wandered out into the woods, barefoot and freezing, just because you felt so out of touch with your own body
Everything felt fake and floaty and you just needed to be out somewhere harsh and grounding and real
You love Lester, you really do, but there, in the forest all alone, all you could think about was how empty you felt
He finds you early the next morning and he was clearly worried sick, still in his sleep clothes with just a flashlight and an anxious Jonesy
Once at home and warm from your shower, he pleads with you to talk to him about it
You finally spill about how you've felt completely dissociated from yourself, even with all the meds you're taking, and it just got to be too much
He gives you a hug and you both agree to try and find other ways to shock you back to reality that don't involve you wandering into the forest at night
Turns out, an ice cube on the back of the neck works wonders to snap you out of whatever stupor you've found yourself in!
Lester is as involved with it as you'd let him. Never ashamed or afraid to lend you a hand with anything!
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choccy-milky · 3 months ago
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A few months back, I asked if it was okay to write using Clora and Seb. Finished the work - thought I'd lost it on my hard drive and a virus scan located it.
Not sure if it's sad or happy, but the basic premise of it is Clora getting frustrated/upset at Sebastian and Sebastian comforting her, Sebastian getting upset at a predicament Clora's in and Clora comforting him, and them both getting frustrated/upset and having to comfort each other.
If you'd rather I didn't post it, that's fine too, but just wanted to test the waters and double check that you'd be okay with it if I gifted it to you via AO3, or see if you wanted a sneak peak of it before posting it.
OMG im so happy you were able to find it and recover the work you did!!😭🙏 AND YES OF COURSE YOU CAN POST IT AAA I CANT WAIT TO READ IT!! you can DM it to me first if you want, but i also dont mind if you post it straight away on ao3!! IM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT SM AAARGHHHA💖💖💖IT SOUNDS ANGSTY WE LOVE THE HURT/COMFORT I HOPE MY HEART CAN HANDLE IT🥺💖💖TY AGAIN FOR USING CLORA AND SEB AND TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT THEM😭
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@sunshine-goblin AAA THANK YOU!!! im honoured its your fav fanfic AND ALSO THE LONGEST YOUVE READ BAHAHAA fr, when you say its as long as four books in lotr it rly makes me realize how insane i am😃👍 aw IM GLAD I COULD INSPIRE YOU TO DRAW MORE AND WRITE AS WELL😭 I was curious so i creeped you and everyone go look at their HL blog @sunshines-legacy your MC is so cute and so is your art🥹💖 as for tips on writing a longfic and brainstorming and motivation and stuff, my motivation was my brainrot and unhappiness with the canon story/ending LMAOO, and looking at the story of the game and playing around with what i was unhappy with/what i WISHED could have happened instead, was a lot easier than just coming up with plotlines from scratch. but something i highly recommend is just OUTLINING and making a timeline, one of my fav parts of writing was just putting on some cafe ambience in the background and doing stream of conscious type word documents where id just barf ideas and then worry about making it pretty later....like look at how many versions of the same chapter i have BAHAHA or like different renditions bc i couldnt decide if id wanna keep a scene/what order, so id make a timeline and keep smoothing things out until i was happy with it and whatnot
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brainstorming is defs my fav part of the process and the most helpful part to me. just getting a blank document and writing stuff you want to happen without worrying about how it connects to the story, and then a lot of the times as i was doing that id just keep going and it would kinda tie itself together/id come up with a solution as i was writing / once the ideas kept flowing. so basically : TIMELINES AND OUTLINES I VERY MUCH RECOMMEND, but very low pressure and barebones ones. for example, this is what my outlines/brainstorming look like
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its honestly just me talking to myself LMAO, and a lot of the time ill interject and be like "OH YEAH AND THEN THIS CAN HAPPEN" as the ideas come while im writing BAHAHA. its a super fun process and honestly nothing feels better than just getting hit with that flash of inspo, and since its all very low effort theres no pressure to actually write well and its just a chill fun time AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR OWN PROCESS / WRITING💖💖💖it can be difficult but HOPE U HAVE FUN TOO💖💖
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@a-little-lysdexic WAIT REALLY?? LMFAOO OMG THATS CRAZY....SAME BRAIN...🤝🤝...that would trip me up so much if i were you omg BAHHAHA but aside from having similar tastes in names, IM GLAD YOU LIKE MY ART AS WELL, TYY💖💖💖
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THANK YOUUU im glad you're liking it!!! and that its taking over your life BAHAHA💖💖 the video you're thinking of was by @silverxstardust for chapter 13 of my fic, and you can watch the video here! (AND TY AGAIN TO SILVERXSTARDUST FOR DOING THIS!)
youtube
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