#and not in a ’hes a twink’ or ’hes the feminine one’ <— he’s neither

[quillkiller]

”and what will you do with your bachelors degree in film?” a wife will graham study through the gender narrative of his character arch. thanks

[eff-plays]

People get really defensive about "writing Astarion with women" when what people are actually annoyed/upset about is that people are putting him in heteronormative relationships with women.

And it's not like, "YOU, INDIVIDUAL WOMAN, WROTE HIM WITH A WOMAN? A POX ON YOUR HOUSE!" and more like "a majority of fandom is writing him in this specific way with this specific type of character that doesn't really reflect who he is in the game and shoehorns him into a generic booktok dom daddy."

Which. Yeah. People are allowed to feel annoyed/alienated by that type of trend. I think. Maybe. I've seen several fics where Astarion being with big burly men (implied to have been penetrated) was portrayed as traumatic, while being with little virginal female Tav was "healing". And yeah, you're technically acknowledging his pansexuality ... But the implications aren't great. Ya know?

And there's a LOT of conflating domming/topping/being on top. Which ends up only highlighting the heteronormative approach to a lot of fic about him. "He gets on top > so he always tops/penetrates > so he's a dom." Because for some reason penetrating others is less traumatic to him than to be penetrated? Which is a whole bag of worms that people seem reluctant/unable to unpack.

Now, the other side of this argument are people who go "lmao those delusional wamen think this homosexual twink would top them" which is. Also not great? But in the end reflects the same type of reductive and heteronormative argument, it's just coming from the other side of the spectrum. He's flamboyant and pretty so he MUST be incapable of putting his dick into someone else. And he's MORE feminine than the women he gets paired with, so obviously that's unrealistic and he must be paired with a big strong man instead. Which is like. Well you're paired him with a man but you're still being just very heteronormative about it. Even gay relationships must have a "man" and a "woman", is your argument? And Astarion, being beautiful and a presumed bottom, is "the woman"?? Hmm. Don't like that.

Maybe. Astarion is. Pansexual. And can both bone down and be boned down. Maybe he does have a preference. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he doms, maybe he subs. Maybe he switches depending on mood/partner. Maybe he likes different sex positions where he's on top and ones where he's below. Maybe he's down for whatever as long as it's with someone he loves. Maybe he's neither "the man" nor "the woman" in a relationship and he's simply Astarion, a man in a relationship. Maybe in the end it doesn't fucking matter and putting him into rigid binaries is doing him a disservice.

Anyway. My nonbinary Tav's gonna upgrade his gender to Man+. Cis premium. They're gonna explore his gender and preferences and expression together. I think that might be fun and freeing maybe. And they're gonna take turns topping and bottoming and both will be soooooo healing because um. They're having consensual sex and are in love. So it's healing by default. Regardless of who's putting what where.

Well. Anyway. All I'm saying is. Stuff.

[jasontoddspussy]

why dont you make more jaytim content? if you like trans guys so much tim would be perfect for you to make shipping content of. hes a total twink.

...What

..Okay, feel like there's a lot of things to unpack here.

So let's start with;

Jaytim "content"

Now I'm just gonna tell ya right here that I don't create ''content''. I create ''art'' - be it my writings or artwork.

I do create Jaytim work, still. However, the way I enjoy the ship isn't the way I see alotta other people enjoy it. It's cool that there's so many ways we can all play with our characters::,)

I'm not just creating Jaytim stuff tho. I really like Jaytimdick, or dickjaytim, or timdickjay, whatever the hell the name actually is, I sure as hecc don't know lol - because

1) Jason's my blorbo. I love him, he's my fave and I want to see him be loved. He deserves it.

2) I enjoy jaydick's dynamic in that there's a lot of angst potential. I don't believe they're in love with each other. The same goes for Jaytim, tho. I believe that Tim *could* have a crush on Jason, but tbh I think he's more likely to have a crush on Dick.

3) Tim isn't actually a fave of mine. I really don't like the majority of his characterisation in this fandom, and that means creating my own works where I do like it. Fandom is a conversation, and I want to share what I love and why I love it. Sadly, not many people share my views of Tim, and thus it makes it.. harder for me to create sometimes - Fandom, fanfic, art, is a conversation, and it's.. Not exactly fun talking when no one is replying.

I don't blame anyone for not enjoying or sharing my views! That's totally fine, but that makes me less likely to focus on tim-works, such as Jaytim-only stuff.

On that note, lets move on to "Tim content"

Specifically, "trans tim". To which, as you say "would be right up my alley"

And to some extent, it is. I headcanon him as genderfluid, using he/she depending on what earrings he's wearing. Sometimes he's a guy, sometimes he's a girl, sometimes he's neither, cool. However, and this isn't really important, to me he's AMAB. Dick'n'balls.

A lot of people headcanon him as transmasculine or just a trans guy. Which, kudos to you!

I personally don't do that. I headcanon Jason as a trans guy though. Which...A lot of people don't lol.

I wouldn't say I dislike this headcanon of Tim. However...

As you yourself said, he's "a twink" (although he's not a twink in my head), and I personally find that a lot of people tend to headcanon characters who "are twinks" because they look more feminine. Not to say that transmen can't be feminine, but if you headcanon a character as a trans man *solely* because he looks fem? Yeahhhhhh that's... I'm not really into that.

It's why I tend to headcanon larger, burlier guys, as transmen. Because we rarely see those in fandom.

I used to like Tim, but honestly seeing how fanon turned him into a wimpy sad kid who hates himself took away some of the enjoyment of him. I block tim-centric, and a lot of tim-related tags on Ao3 now. Again, no shade if this is something you enjoy, it just means I'm making my own stuff.

Which brings me to my conclusion, and basically the answer;

I want to have fun with these characters. To me, they're so... Much more complex than what you see in other fanworks. I'm not gonna say I'm perfect and that my interpretation is the only correct one, of course not! But it does mean that my peculiar taste isn't really popular.

I have a bad habit of being hard on myself, and when I see how none of the works I really enjoyed working on is all that popular, I sorta lose motivation. Again, it's a conversation but there's no one to talk to.

So I'm just trying to make what I find fun while this hyperfixation still lasts. I want to write Jason-focused stories. I want to write more Jaytimdick stories. Even if it's not popular, or what you want in particular, anon.

But hey, if you don't enjoy what I'm making, you can always make your own stuff.

[davekat-sucks]

"You can still think he is bi and ship him with whatever girl you like. Fuck what the fandom thinks. Just do what you like." Another banger from davekat-sucks. Sometimes I feel like you're the most sane person in this fandom, I swear to god. Unpopular opinion on Dirk's sexuality and identity: He canonically does not like to label himself. It's in the comic and in his own words. People can cite him saying that he felt like Jake was the only option and Roxy calling him the gayest man in the universe or whatever, but neither of these things means that the man is 100% homosexual. Maybe he felt like Jake was the only option because Jake was just plain the only one he felt a romantic attraction to. Maybe sometimes friends say shit like "you're the gayest person ever" as, like, a joke, or maybe it could have been wishful thinking on Roxy's part since him not being gay might make his rejection of her hurt more. I don't know. It's never explicitly stated. Isn't it possible that Dirk is homoflexible, or maybe even pan? I just don't get people being mad because someone wants to imagine Dirk and Jade kiss or something. It's also funny to see people being all about headcanoning him as transfem/genderqueer or turning him into the daintiest sluttiest girliest twink of all time while pissing their pants about stuff like this. Isn't hypermasculinity and being a man a big part of who he is? Why is making him a woman/feminine okay, while making him hold hands with Kanaya or something is a homophobic hate crime? If we're playing in this space, is it not a little hypocritical? If shipping him with a woman is homophobic why isn't it homophobic to make "the only canonically gay man" into a girl or a flamboyant stereotype? On a smaller note, I know that you've talked about this before, but the same people who freak out about this stuff are the people who totally erase Dave's identity as a bisexual man and say that he's completely gay. He's expressed interest in women (an understatement), and he's dated them. I'm starting to think that people just hate bi men. I want to understand the logic that these people are using.

Yep, Dirk did say that when speaking with Roxy.

Another reason for him to say this as well is to try and remind the readers that both Roxy and Dirk are in an apocalyptic setting that caring about terms of sexuality, is pointless if they don't want to be dead. The world has gone to shit, so things like that don't mean anything anymore. I bet Hussie was trying to point that out when the fandom would only talk about the kids' sexuality despite the bigger shit going on in the plot, but sadly, it was lost on readers back then. Part of Dirk being masculine is also in part because he looks up to Alpha Bro, DAVE STRIDER. If people want to blame anyone for making Dirk manly, blame Dave himself or another version of himself, for only portraying himself as this that Dirk thinks it is right to try be in that same standards. People had blamed Bro for this with Dave, so why don't we do the same for Dirk and Alpha Dave? The fandom stereotyping Dirk into the stereotypical effeminate gay guy, is hilarious when they are the same people that bitch about being in other media. They want their supposed LGBT rep to be taken seriously and not used for a joke. And yet they would apply it to other characters that don't act like this in different series. At this point, what more do these fucking people want? Another is that most of the fandom probably wants to have that 'gay best friend' because they think they can be cool with them and also have them as their excuse of why they aren't homophobic this or that. Kind of like how claiming to have a POC friend doesn't make you racist. The Homestuck fandom, or fandoms in general in this modern time, just hate bisexuals in general. Any sign of straight couples from character(s) that are comfortable in both sexes, pisses people off. Some claiming that two persons of same sex being close only for not to end up together, is queerbait. Whether or not evidence was there in the first place. I even recalled the Steven Universe fandom was livid when they heard Rebecca Sugar, the creator herself, was bisexual. People assume she was lesbian because of the TV show she created. The thought of her still liking guys infuriated them. At that point, I wonder what does the B in LGBT means if said people who claim to be all supportive for LGBT, hate bisexual relationships. Just because a bisexual person chooses to be with someone of their opposite sex, doesn't mean it automatically means they are straight and can't go back to bisexual. It's ridiculous. That kind of one way street thinking is stupid.

[sneezemonster15]

Hello I know its a dumb question and most gay people switch but who do you think is most likely to be the top or the bottom between Naruto and Sasuke 😂

Ah the question that everyone wants to know the answer of. Well, seems like Kishi prefers NS. And no it's not a coincidence.

Kishi keeps (or used to at least) track of the fandom which is pretty common for creators who amass a significant fan following, as in who is the most popular character and why, who isn't and for what reasons, and I am positive he not only knew about the popular ships but he also played around it, trolling everyone. Lol, that jerk. Regardless, he certainly drew and wrote Naruto as an impish punk ass troublemaker. And Sasuke as the dignified, sensual and stylish avenger. Quite a lot of canon art consistently portrays Sasuke as the feminine counterpart to Naruto's masculine energy. Since they also represent yin and yang, yin represents feminine energy while yang represents masculine in Chinese philosophy. The SNS tropes also depict Naruto as the hero and Sasuke as his heroine is this classic and epic love saga. Also, Sasuke is designed after the archetype of a bishounen, who are written as typically lusted after by men to possess. Bishounen archetypes are typically bottoms. From what NS characterization I have read or seen, it is not always entirely accurate. A lot of NS fanfics are also pretty dissatisfying, and some of them, even the popular ones, are pretty inaccurate and poorly written. But most SN fics are more overtly shit. All in all though, I have seen NS characterization portray SNS much more accurately than SN. SN theories anyway are pretty rubbish. What with their faulty sun and moon allegory and the filler shit they rely on.

This top bottom thing honestly has a lot of pointless mystique about it. It's not that mysterious. Or even important.

It's not like Sasuke is some delicate twink and Naruto is some bear. In the manga itself, neither Sasuke nor Naruto come off as overly masculine or overly feminine, they are still very young, still coming into their adulthoods. They are still in the process of self discovery. In part one, Naruto is more childlike and Sasuke is like a jaded adult already, led by trauma, although Naruto relieves a lot of his tense lines heh. In part two, Naruto is adulting but his childlike spirit breaks out now and then. While Sasuke acts like a femme fatale around Naruto a lot of times. He is also quite bossy and take charge. Which annoys Naruto, but it's just an act by that time. He not so secretly enjoys it. Hehe. Which does remind you of other couples, as in how Shikaku's wife is bossy but Shikaku likes it secretly. Or how Kushina is bossy and take charge but even though henpecked Minato is sometimes exacerbated, he still loves it on Kushina. He adores her, just like Shikaku adores his bossy wife. Similarly, post Shippuden, it feels like Naruto is the henpecked husband who adores Sasuke, and even though he sometimes complains and makes funny faces at Sasuke's bossiness, he secretly loves it and simply won't have it any other way. Sasuke also knows that he can be himself around Naruto as much as he wants and Naruto would like him just as he is. He also knows that Naruto himself has a good head on his shoulders and both respect each other's abilities and belief systems.

[selenekallanwriter]

Watching Yentl with my mom as an adult was such a funny experience. Like, I have no idea if the creators intended to make such a queer movie, but by Morrigan, they did. Mom and I had watched it when I was a child, and a lot flew over my head, but as an adult? Damn.

I started giggling when Avigdor and Anshel were doing their academic flirting thing. "What?" Mom asked. I pointed at the TV. "You realize they're flirting, right?" "They're not. They're friends," Mom argued. I laughed. "Uh-huh."

Then there was the tickling. And The Lake Scene. "Okay, I see it now," Mom said with a frown. I downright cackled. "Anshel and Avigdor sitting in a tree…" Mom rolled her eyes. "More like in the grass."

I squealed. "Yentl totally has a crush on Hadass now, too! The way she's looking at Hadass. Priceless." Mom huffed. "Hadass is gorgeous. Yentl is just… acknowledging Hadass' beauty." I was giggling non-stop. "Yeah, right. Is that what they called it in the 80s?" Mom shrugged and smiled. "Probably."

I was about to burst at this point Mom blinked at the screen. "They fell in love with each other." "They totally fell in love with each other! And you know what? If I'd been Yentl, I would have stayed with Hadass." "There were a couple of things Hadass would have noticed the next time she tried to debauch Yentl." "Was that a Mulan reference?" Mom smirked. "Yes. It fits." I laughed. "It so fits. And, eh, I bet Hadass would have eventually not minded Anshel-Yentl was her wife and not her husband." Mom hummed. "I'm not so sure." "Everybody's bisexual here, Mom. EVERYBODY." "What about when Hadass never got pregnant?" Mom asked. "People would have asked questions. Their community was too nosy." I shrugged. "Yentl could have said either of them was infertile." "Hmm."

"Bullshit!" I yelled. "Buuullshit. You were totally into the cute Twink, Avigdor. Own it!" "What's a twink?" Mom asked. "A pretty gay man." "Ah. But no. You're wrong. Avigdor could sense Yentl's femininity," Mom deadpanned. "With his sixth sense." "… You're kidding right?" "No. Avigdor has a sixth sense for this stuff, I tell you," she said, serious as can be. (She's eerily good at that.) "You are kidding, right?" I asked. Mom huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. He was gay for Anshel-Yentl." I nodded. "Just like Shang was gay for Ping." Mom nodded. "Yep."

"You know what?" I said when the movie was over. "I changed my mind. They should have all stayed together and been a throuple. Anshel-Yentl could have easily explained their friend Avigdor coming to visit all the time. They were all in love with each other. It makes perfect sense." Mom scoffed. "Pervert." "I'm right, though. They could have moved to America together." Mom thought about it. "But Yentl wanted freedom. She wouldn't have gotten that tied to Avigdor." "Good point. Though, the way I see it, Yentl would have been the throuple leader. She's got bigger metaphorical balls than Avigdor could ever dream of having." Mom shrugged. "Alright. True." "I can't believe you didn't notice how queer this movie was when you first saw it," I said, shaking my head. "Neither did you." "I was seven. What's your excuse?" "I was in church and was taught everything gay was evil. And I just didn't notice." "It is pretty subtle," I conceded. "Maybe the ones who made the movie didn't intend it to be so queer. Or they knew how oblivious the straights are." "Or maybe Avigdor has a sixth sense that allows him to discover women in disguise," Mom said sarcastically. I snorted. "Yeah. It's called a nose. I bet Anshel smelled better than any other guy." "Like Mulan." "Yep. Or maybe Avigdor was bi as hell." Mom sighed with mock wistfulness. "I guess we'll never know." "Never."

BONUS:

Me: OMG there's only one bed. Mom: And Yentl is falling off of it. Me: 🤣

[lunarsilkscreen]

Queer Zelda

Miyamoto designed the hero of the game to be androgynous so that anygenderbody could imagine themselves as the Hero. (Well. Bi-gender continuum Hylian people anyway. That's why Ganon's the bad guy, he's neither Hylian nor on the bi-gender spectrum. #joking #orAmI)

There's a lot of topical things that can be said about the Zelda series, so I try to limit my scope when I write posts like these. I could fit so many tangents into this baby otherwise.

Everybody knows about Sheik and Girl-Link--Not to be Confused with Linkle, who is also a girl-link, but not Link in girl clothes. Even though she happens to also be wearing Girl clothes. I have theories about her, how she might be a maiden, or Zelda in Green clothes instead of her standard Hylian Blue. (And sometimes Pink. [Trans Zelda?]) And she's not to be confused with Tingle (or Twink-le, which is either how you describe starlight, or a whole NSFW section of the internet.)

Speaking of tangents...

Let me point out the scene where Link meets Zelda in Z64. "I hope he didn't see me/us." This could be interpreted as queer representation young children. Peter Pan is often played by young women in school plays, and then there's the whole interpretation of *only* queer kids enjoying theater in any aspect. AND then there's the whole spectrum of interpretations you can give to Peter Pan as a whole.

And then there's the hair-cutting ceremony in Japan. This started with Samurai who would cut their hair to depict the end of an era. Or end of their old life.

Life is measured in how long your hair is allowed to grow. And cutting it symbolized stepping into a new era.

But this is also depicted in a lot of Japanese Fiction as women growing out of their innocence. Because women with children also cut their hair to symbolize the *new life*.

This is a willful stepping out of the *girl roll* into the *man roll*.

In this context, Girl *is* childhood, and there is no difference between man and woman as older being. Which is a stark contrast to more western beliefs that suggests a clear separation of boy to man and girl to woman.

For women, this has a deeper context, that they (being women) have the option to stay in *girl hood* as a benefit given by biology and sociology (or the divine, depending on interpretation)

This is arguably why Peter Pan, is the boy who never grew up. He refused to take that *man hood* role in order to be a provider. To be a caretaker for the other *lost boys*.

(War is a terrible things that kills parents and leaves children without them)

That was a lot more than I thought I would have to explain to get to the next point:

Trans Ganon.

The Gerudo are depicted as a community of women led by a single ruler. And that one ruler is *allowed* to be the *only* man. Because only a Man can rule in a Patriarchy. And there isn't a benefit to multiple rulers *except* to cause infighting. So everybody else *must* be women.

This is why Girl-Link is allowed in the Gerudo city despite not technically being a Girl, and the Gerudo *already* know what's going on with him. Because dressing as a women, being a women, denotes subservience to the ruler. Who is the only Man allowed.

This is the masculine/feminine depiction in the yinyang and in the Bible. Why tribes were depicted as being *one man* the leader. And why tribeless "men" were remembered, despite being put through tortuous situations.

Because they didn't submit like the women did. (Note, women in this context is the negative use by masculine leaders who had their own way of thinking, not how I think the world should be. )

They didn't need to be taken care of by the systems in place, and like Moses, instead provided care and salvation.

(If I ever get any sort of notoriety, I'm going to be so cancelled.)

Speaking of Tangents...

So the Gerudo have a forced gender caste system. Where only the one ruler is allowed to be a Man. Zelda doesn't have any specific Gender, and can be either Man, Woman, or Shiek. Because all maidens, princes, or Princesses are Zelda.

This has a more complicated history that, from the perspective of the common people, all royalty are really men trying to be women (You know; "Liberals") But in all honesty, it's the stupidest thing based entirely on clothing and make-up.

But that also mirrors what the Gerudo do. All Gerudo are Ganon. All Hylians are Zelda. But there's always one who is neither Man, Nor Woman, Nor Shieka. (Not Ganon, not Zelda, Not Shiek)

And that is Link.

Despite being given he/him pronouns, Link is never given a gender. Because he is inherently Genderless. He is the *anybody* a stranger who hears the call to action and acts. The one who takes sword to the powerful, shields the weak, and cares for those who need it most.

The balance between both the Feminine that Hyrule depicts, and Masculine Ganon depicts.

(oh there's more)

[scarlet--wiccan]

I never really understood where the confusion between Billy's power being magic or reality warping came from? Heinberg explicitly states that he's a mage, in the original run, his behind the scenes notes on the original run, and in Children's Crusade. I think it's just that he has a very nontraditional approach to using magic that often LOOKS like reality warping. Even if it's been mentioned a few times that he actually has had formal training in multiple styles of magic from Loki and Wanda (and sometimes Stephen?) he still sticks with unconventional methods. Loki is the one who initially calls it reality warping but it's like. With the definition in this specific context being "untrained vast magical power that needs refinement". And I've seen both Loki and Wanda referred to as reality warpers, but people always seem to understand that their magic is what allows them to warp reality- we generally accept that "reality warper" can also be code for "extremely powerful magic user"- so I don't get where the confusion with Billy suddenly crops up.

It's three things.

During Ewing's run on New Avengers, Billy experiences a lot of doubt about his powers, the Demiurge situation, and even his codename as it pertains to his religious and magical affiliations. These things are all repeatedly called into question, but neither Ewing nor Billy reach any actual conclusions about them. As far as I can remember, this is the only time the text has ever questioned whether or not Billy's powers are actually magic. It clearly had a lasting impact, even though Ewing himself walked it back in later stories.

Chaos magic has been haphazardly conflated with reality-warping ever since Disassembled. Most of the time, people are able to accept that it's still magic, it's just... magic that warps reality. Most people, that is, except for Brian Michael Bendis, who insisted throughout Disassembled & HoM that chaos magic was fake, and Wanda's powers had always been purely mutant reality-warping. That's bullshit, and it was swept under the rug pretty quickly, but comic readers, especially X-Men fans, seem to lose all media literacy when it comes to HoM, so it's a discrepancy that still occasionally haunts Wanda. I assume that this is what Ewing was drawing from in New Avengers.

This is a personal opinion, but I suspect that people have gender-related hangups about Billy being a witch and a legacy character to Wanda. In Young Avengers (2005) and Children's Crusade, Billy identifies as a witch and is given overt parallels and connections to his mom. More recent comics, however, go to great lengths to avoid that language/affiliation, and I think that's because people are trying to avoid projecting anything ostensibly feminine onto the character.* "Witch" and "mage," then, became "reality warper," or the infamous line, "angsty chaos magic user"-- and chaos magic, as I said, gets treated like non-magic by people with HoM brainworms. Between that, and New Avengers, there was a moment in the 2010s where Billy's vibe was a lot less mystical overall. I'm glad we've moved past that, and I hope we never go back to it.

*This isn't indicative of every writer or every artist. There are plenty people who don't have any problem bringing a gay, fem, or gnc sensibility to the character. It's the inconsistency and variance that create kind of a weird tension where Billy is sometimes a cute twink with dangly earrings and nail polish, and sometimes he's the most run-of-the-mill cisgender man you've ever seen in your life. Both of those characters are valid representations of gay men, but readers complain more about the former than the latter and I find that telling.

[britcision]

Okay I’d argue that the dwarves definitely have more sexual dimorphism than the elves, but not the usual fantasy way

Per the Adventurer’s Bible:

The dwarves pretty clearly have some different body fat distribution averages, and while it is technically true that afab dwarves can grow facial hair, so can tallmen and gnomes

(That’s a mammal thing, the elves do too they just only get shitty facial hair I guess)

The elves…. Basically have none. At most 5cm height difference on average which for some reason seems to be mostly in the neck? Both sets of shoulders are around 125cm, both have a snatched waist, you could stack these two and not see a difference

Apropos of absolutely nothing, the gnomes also don’t seem to have much of any sexual dimorphism either, but we only have one named lady gnome in the series, so it never comes up

(Technically we don’t know which of the Tances carried their kids, and per this chart we have no way to tell, so enjoy that)

I’d actually argue that the whole reason for the changelings being the only real recurring “monster” is because Ryoko Kui had a fucking fantastic time playing with different expectations of masculinity within the same character

(Elf Senshi my beloved)

(Ogre Mithrun holy shit)

Someone else pointed out that part of the reason people assume a lot of men in Dungeon Meshi are women is because they aren’t hyper-masculine caricatures - they just look like normal people you’d see in the street

Laios is the only one with what you might call a typical dungeon crawler’s male physique, built like a dorito - and that is sooooooo intentional

He’s the protagonist, he’s a stereotype in a lot of ways which are also actively subverted by his personality, and he’s visually distinct because yeah, he’s the only one with that classic silhouette

And yeah, to Senshi, he’s a delicate little twink, just like Chilchuck sees Senshi as a paragon of masculinity 👀

From our perspective, all the elves are default twinks and the only reason Otta reads as easily butch is her short hair - and that in world confuses people, despite none of the elf men wearing their hair short

OP’s right, Kui has done a lot of intentional world building with the different people in her world and the different ways masculinity and femininity are constructed, playing with common fantasy tropes in interesting ways

The dwarves are paragons of masculinity to everyone else, and while the two dwarf women we do see (Namari and Daya) are both distinctly more feminine than Senshi, neither of them have body types you’d usually see in a dungeon crawler, and it’s wonderful

By contrast, any elf not wearing a shirt with some kind of cleavage is basically a coin flip; they all have the same long hair styles, none of them have facial hair, and they seem very feminine to us because they’re not musclebound doritos

(Genuinely fucking incredible that the only elven man not a secondary antagonist is Lycion, who is literally running around tits out the entire time and is still canonically mistaken for a woman in-world

The length of his hair and gentle disposition are used more as gender markers than a flat chest that is literally in your face - literally none of these are reliable indicators and Lycion is here to prove it

How the fuck do the elves even guess at each others’ gender. Do they have tertiary pronouns for anyone who hasn’t told you theirs. They’re also fucking up Otta and Lycion’s genders is it not visually based at all are they fucking scenting each other???)

Kabru’s only twinklike when stood next to Laios, because it highlights that he’s not built like a comic book dorito - which is why he gets especially twink-ed by Labru fans, because the whole point is to put them next to each other and I support that

But Kabru next to basically anyone else in the series is pretty clearly a fighter, he’s larger and more solidly built than every single elf and most of the tallman women - put him next to Rin or Falin and he’s pretty clearly more masculine

(Falin being large and powerfully built like her brother gives me fucking LIFE though I live for a buff healer girl, love that all of the human women are also not your typical dungeon crawler waifs)

Kabru’s shorter than Shuro by about 10cm, but they’re pretty similar in build, and no one’s calling Shuro a twink

Gender, masculinity, and femininity pretty clearly mean different things across all of the different people in the world of Dungeon Meshi, and best of all the different cultures have all! Influenced! Each other!

The half-foots idolize dwarven masculinity, the dwarves think literally everyone else is a twink (and they are right relativistically), the elves are anyones’ fucking guess and a lesson in not assuming on appearance if you meet a cranky one

There’s a whole comic of Laios and the orc chief discussing how tallmen and orcs have very similar ideals about feminine beauty even though their women look totally different and express their femininity with different styles and ideals which is played for laughs but also so real

I feel like it does a disservice to the story to treat a lot of the male dungeon meshi characters (especially kabru and mithrun) as twinky femboys when they're objectively considered masculine in the context of the story and within the cultures they're part of.

like. according to senshi, LAIOS is a twinky femboy.

it's interesting how dwarves are just as androgynous as the elves are, but no one seems to talk about them that way 🤔

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Some of this is copy-pasted from my response to a comment on one of my fics several months back, so sorry to anyone who read that and will now have deja vu.

These thoughts are based on my perception/headcanon of Sherlock and Liam as an allosexual couple. I’m totally supportive of people who like to ship pairs as ace/queerplatonic/etc, but with these two I do find it a liiiiiitle bit of a stretch...have y’all seen the train scene? They have the horniest of energy, good golly. But that’s in my opinion, and anyone who sees it differently is absolutely valid; we’re here to have fun, so have fun with it!

Okay, disclaimers out of the way: the more canon Sherliam gets, the more I love that they don’t meet typical BL seme/uke cliches. I do catch myself borderline feminizing Liam on occasion, primarily because I want him to be held, and engulfed in too-big sweaters that smell like Sherlock, and tucked into comfy armchairs with blankets and books: and alas, gender stereotype nonsense makes that feel like feminization even though it really isn’t. And that’s totally separate from the way I perceive their potential sexual dynamic, which is basically: switchy as hell, but Liam is more prone to being a bit dommy.

But like...They're the same age and height and even weight to start with. There are no particular inequalities in their education or unbalanced power dynamics. Sure, the Lord of Crime is puppeting Sherlock around, but Sherlock knows that, and though he doesn’t feel he’s truly on equal footing with Liam until right before the fall, it doesn’t feel...skeezy. Liam never actually lies to him (*glares at English manga translation*). There might not be outright spoken honesty between them, but there’s a mutual understanding of the game they’re playing, and overall their energy is incredibly nontoxic for an “enemies to lovers” dynamic (not that they ever really managed “enemies” to begin with).

(Another disclaimer: I don’t have a problem with shipping toxic pairs, Hannigram is one of my all time fave ships. But the older I get the more I’m drawn to happy stories and healthy representation and boy oh boy has Yuumori been delivering.)

Anyway, back to avoiding BL standards: Liam is pretty and fashionable and a scholar but sometimes exudes such dom vibes. Sherlock is an athletic borderline himbo, vaguely wrong-side-of-the-tracks, but gets blushy and flustered easily. Liam is the damsel in distress saved by his dashing hero: but he is also the criminal mastermind taunting his rival. Liam is rich to Sherlock's working-class, except nope, Liam is an adopted East End kid and Sherlock's family is running the country.

So many gay stories, with BL being probably the worst offender but far from the only one, blatantly signal top/bottom, feminine/masculine. They practically put a giant flashing arrow over one guy’s head that says “HE’S THE GIRL IN THE RELATIONSHIP.” And as someone who is neither a gay man nor prone to entering relationships at all, I can’t really speak for the realism of these things; I know there are people who strongly align themselves with presentations like twink, bear, etc. And I’m sure many people have a strong preference for a particular role in the bedroom, especially in a dating scene dominated by hookup culture: but it also feels so disingenuous to me that anyone, particularly in a long-term partnership, would be like, “This is the only one thing I ever do.” Even in a straight relationship that sounds hella boring.

And Sherlock and Liam sidestep those assumptions so neatly, which up until chapter 67 I would have said is simply because...it’s not BL. But now we’ve got chapter 75 and they’re practically married. Mix together the almost undeniable sexual charge of their early interactions with their more recent LITERALLY VOWING TO SPEND THEIR LIVES TOGETHER and it seems reasonable to assume that sex is on the table. Yet nothing about the way they look or act demands the reader assign them certain sexual roles. They don't feel like a collection of stereotypes signalling top and bottom, they feel like an actual human couple who probably have preferences in bed but also like to switch things up and try new things.

I appreciate that.

[awkward-gay-bro]

Twink Wolf (Part 3)

“What are you doing here, Lahey?” Isaac shoved his way past Theo, entering the room. 

“Scott sent me. We haven’t seen or heard from Derek in days. You wouldn’t happen to know anything, would you?”

“Do you seriously think I had something to do with this?” Theo couldn’t believe after everything he’d been through with these people that they still blamed him whenever anything bad happened. 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to check. Especially with your history.”

Theo started to get angry now, “I think I have more than proven myself. Derek is probably just off sulking somewhere. The guy’s got issue.”

Meanwhile, across town, a muscle clad Jackson Whittemore began stroking his newly acquired totem. The rhythmic sounds of Derek’s moans poured in from the other room as Ethan slammed in and out of the tiny wolf. 

“Music to my ears. And it’s all thanks to you.” Jackson wanted to try something new with the totem, so as he stroked it, he closed his eyes and began picturing someone in mind. The crimson red smoke began pouring from the statue’s mouth. As it spiraled around the room it began taking on a bubble gum pink hue. As quickly as the hue changed the smoke escaped the room anyway it could, seeping through the windows and under the door. 

Theo was still defending himself to Isaac, getting angrier and angrier that he was still having to work so hard to prove he’d changed. As the two men spoke, they were so preoccupied they didn’t notice the pink smoke seeping in through Theo’s window. 

“People don’t change, Theo.” Smoke began spiraling around Isaac’s feet as he turned to leave. He only made it one step before he slipped on his own pant leg, falling to the ground. 

“Are you okay?” Theo said, extending a hand to the other man, once again trying to prove he’d bettered himself. But as he pulled Isaac to his feet, he let out an audible gasp. 

“What the fuck?” Isaac shrieked, looking up at the other man. Isaac had always been the taller of the two, but from where he stood next to the 5’8 werewolf in front of him, he had to have lost a foot in height. 

Smoke began circling rapidly around the shrunken man as his pants fell to the ground. “What the hell is this?” Both men finally seeing the pink smoke as it compressed the smaller man even further. His legs now visible, they could clearly see his muscles smoothing away into soft and supple flesh with no sign of hair. As his shoulders narrowed and his arms gave way his shirt had become more of a dress. 

“It looks like those clothes aren’t gonna fit you little guy” Theo chuckled as he lifted Isaac’s arms above his head and pulled the flowing shirt right off. “I think some of my old sweat pants might fit you.” As Theo dug through his dresser, Isaac got a full view of his bulge dwindling away. He’d always been proud of his manhood but as he grabbed hold through his loose boxer briefs he felt the last semblance of masculinity on his body wither to a tiny nub. 

Theo found the sweat pants in the bottom of his dresser and turned around, tossing the pants to Isaac. He instinctively caught the pants, letting go of his shrunken member. His hand no longer holding up his underwear, they fell to the floor like the rest of his clothing, giving Theo a full view of his hairless nub. 

“Oh wow, I’m guessing that didn’t always look like that?” 

“Do you think this is fucking funny? Did you fucking do this?” Isaac’s hand jolted to cover his mouth as he heard the feminine lisp his voice had become. He felt his lips begin to fill as they pressed against his hand, softening and becoming hyper sensitive. As he pulled them away, it became clear to Theo that Isaac’s lips had not only grown but become a rosy pink. 

“How would I have even done this?” Theo laughed. “And it’s not funny, kind of cute, though.”

Isaac blushed at the statement. He’d never noticed Theo’s looks before, but he started to feel a strong attraction to the other man. The muscles. The smile. He tried to shake it off, but his nub shot up to its full two inches. Confused and embarrassed, he quickly pulled the sweat pants on to hide his shame, but once he got past his legs, he couldn’t pull the sweats up any farther. 

“Need some help with that?” Theo reached placed his hands on the elastic of the sweats and helped pull them up, discovering the source of the problem as he did. “Holy shit, your ass is huge!” 

“What?!” Isaac yelped as Theo grabbed a handful of the new ghetto booty. Isaac reached back and felt it himself. His perky bubble had blown up into two massive mounds of jiggling fat. Theo used all his strength to pull the sweats over the gargantuan cheeks, pulling the smaller man into frame. Their bodies pressed together, Theo felt the rock hard nub against his leg. 

“Need some help with that, too?” Theo ran his hand through Isaac’s wavy hair, watching it lighten as he did so. Isaac tried to fight his feelings, but the other man’s tight, muscular embrace was too much for him to resist. Theo slowly caressed his hand down the smaller man’s frame, settling with a firm grasp on his giant rear end. Isaac arched his back and began gyrating his cheeks into Theo’s hand before spinning himself around and grinding into the stronger man’s crotch. 

“Looks like it worked. Welcome to the pack, Isaac,” Jackson laughed from the doorway. But neither of them noticed, completely lost in each other’s bodies. They moved to the bed as Jackson continued to watch. As Theo entered between Isaac’s massive cheeks, the spiraling pink smoke drifted away from the tiny twink and began to engulf Theo. 

“Enjoy him while you can, Theo. You’ll be joining the pack soon enough.”

[jgnico]

Okay, I'm going to elaborate on my earlier post and to do so I'm breaking this down into two very important sections:

1. The JJK fandom's feminization and fetishization of Gojo as a character and in his relationships, and

2. The general issues with racism when portraying queer poc characters in relationships that happens in fandom culture.

PS: I'm not touching the topic of why male ships shouldn't be characterized in terms of sex or why saying one character is a bottom vs another is a bad thing. If you want breakdowns about that, I guarantee that there are resources and posts that you can find through google. It's a well-known debate and I'm only here to talk about the issues that come up with Gojo's portrayal in fandom.

Staring off, I'm gonna to remind everyone that Gojo is neither skinny nor pale. He's an Asian man that's not only well into the 6'3 range, but he's also extremely fit. He is not skinny. He is not a twink. He has never been portrayed within the manga as such. In fact, if you want a clear picture of his physique, Gege has given that to us in the most blatant way he ever could.

Gojo's a big dude. He has a broad chest, straight shoulders, and big hands. There is absolutely nothing slim about him.

Even if you wanna go strictly off the anime, he's still larger than pretty much every other character in the show. I think the only character that possibly has him beat size-wise is Todo, but they're still the same height (give or take a cm) with Todo having a more obviously muscular build.

But let's look at some official art for the anime as well.

If seeing him beside Geto and Kuroi doesn't make this obvious, I want you to look at Gojo in comparison to literally everyone else in this picture. (We're not counting Panda, because Panda's literally a bear.)

The only reason that Gojo looks "skinny" is because he dresses in clothes that fit his body type without clinging to him. They sit comfortably on his frame and give off a more lithe impression of his build. (Which I would hope that they do because his shirts cost more than my car and that's how any properly fitted/tailored outfit should look.)

When he's not in uniform or more formal attire, he tends to wear hoodies/jackets over loosely fitted shirts and pants, which gives him the same effect while using a different method.

So he's not a twink. It's just the clothes.

Now, I don't think that I should have to point out why he's not white just because he has blue eyes and pale hair. I don’t care if you can’t picture him as Asian, because that just means that you have your own issues to work through with someone more qualified than me. 

He's Japanese, end of discussion. 

That being said, the problem that we run into with Gojo despite all of this is that fandom thinks of and portrays in him the same way that they would any white twink character. He's described effeminately when nothing about his personality or physique are "feminine" in nature. A lot of his canon qualities and traits get left out or out-right contradicted (such as describing him as "slim/boyish" or “timid/coy" when he's none of those things) in an effort of making him fit the image that's been assigned to him, regardless of if it's true to canon.

And you see this very clearly when you look at the role he's given in fanfiction vs Geto, who has more obvious Asian features and a darker skin tone.

This is without any additional filters (as in no specific ships, ratings or languages, etc. No filters!) and while, yes, you can make the argument that Geto hasn't really been in the anime yet, it's a trend that continues and is a point I'll touch on later in this post. So bear with me. 

Note: I’ll also go out on a limb and say that the majority of the bottom Gojo fics are written from his POV vs the POV of the person that he’s with.

The reason that this is a trend is because Gojo looks like a "white" character. He has a lighter complexion, pale hair and blue eyes, which makes it easier for mostly white, female author's to put themselves in his place when they write him. And this is something that's been an issue in anime fandoms for a long long time. But broadening out into fandom culture as a whole, it's also how we get situations where white ships with white characters gain way more popularity than poc ships with one or more poc characters.

Fanfiction and fandom as a whole is dominated by white female content creators. They make up the majority of authors and artists, and always have. But this issue becomes even worse when you bring in poc characters, because you run into the problem where the character with more ethnic features (darker skin, darker eyes, etc) becomes the "male" stand in of their ships, regardless of personality or body type or age.

The top or bottom role that's assigned to characters often has absolutely nothing to do with those characters themselves. Its a form of self-insertion without being obvious and if you were to ask most writers/artists why they've given the characters the roles they have, they often won't have a solid answer other than a general feeling or their own preferences.

In contrast, a lot of poc content creators will fall to the other end of the spectrum and advocate for poc or more clearly ethnic characters to be portrayed in the same way as their white or white-passing counterparts. But they'll ultimately get shut down by white creators for "fetishizing" minorities. I've seen this happen so many times in the 10+ years that I've been in fandom and I know other poc creators have run into this issue as well, but if you point this trend out to white people in the fandom, they either won't agree with you or they'll be shocked that its a problem because its never occurred to them.

Which leads me to Gojo's ships.

While, I can't speak for Nanago (and won't speak for Gofushi/Goyuu; I'm not touching those ships with a ten foot pole) I'm going to take a wild guess that most explicit fics boil down to Nanami being Gojo's dom and any non-smut fics still mostly keep him in this role in a less obvious way.

So we still run into the self-insert through canon characters issue, but it's probably not because one is more obviously Asian that the other like we see with Satosugu.

I want to reiterate that this is with no additional tags other than the one for their ship. I haven't filtered out anything else. 

Even if you take away the "bottom" tags, the majority of their fics place Gojo in that role anyways. Despite Geto having more traditionally "feminine" traits that in a fully white ship would typically lead to most people making him a bottom (such as a more empathetic personality, tendency to crave familial bonds, and a more reserved demeanor on top of being smaller in stature to Gojo) he tends to get slotted in as the top in the relationship, oftentimes at a cost of those very qualities.

Note: Again, with most fics being from Gojo’s POV, just like what I’m guessing we see with Nanago.

I cannot begin to stress how many time I've seen Gojo and Geto described through actions and speech that don't fit their characters at all and while, yes, I completely agree that having certain qualities doesn't mean that you should fit into a certain role when it comes to sex, there is an issue that comes up when the default work around to that is "pick the pale character." Especially when you add in a heap of mischaracterization and physical descriptions that don't fit that character.

I guess to reiterate my original point, stop portraying Gojo as a twink, or worse, a thinly veiled self-insert that came with a backstory.

I genuinely don't care if you prefer him as a top or bottom. Do whatever you want with that because I can't dictate your preferences. I just ask that if you find yourself always putting him in a certain role or enjoy consuming media that does, try to do so in a way that fits him and is faithful to his character.

[othystt]

connor is a strong and independent individual who has the mental capacity to properly handle a gaggle of 19 year old boys with no life experience without losing his shit AS one of those 19 year old boys. one of the reasons i think the fandom treats him like hes incompetent is because 1, he's gay, has a song talking about how he represses his gay thoughts, and wore pink once, and you know to people that automatically clicks as "uwu gay feminine twinkboy" and 2, because realistically connor is in a depressive state during and post canon (that he is fantastic at masking because hes been doing it since he was a kid, presumably around 11 if we're going with "fifth grade") because he has been taught to repress his feelings that he cannot control for his entire life and hate himself and his identity. a lot of people ive noticed are bad at properly understanding how depression really works and how it affects a person—not to mention the different types and how it will impact everyone differently depending on how they deal with it. as someone who used to be an avid Sanders Sides fan, i can tell you that the same thing is done to virgil because he is the embodiment of anxiety/depression, and in a lot of fanworks i remember he was turned into an incapable boy who couldnt do anything but cry.

im not saying EVERYONE is like this and not everyone characterizes connor this way—some people write him relatively well—but what else ive noticed (and i complain about it a lot so people will know) is that if he isnt turned into the little uwu boy he's a twink wine mom who is obsessed with sex. neither of these are connor.

tl;dr people are like this because gay+pink+depression=twink boy who needs a big strong knight in shining armor to save him

why do people (esp the old fandom) treat mckinley as a trophy wife and kevin like some sort of chad. Connor is literally the always on top leader of an entire district while kev is just some dude with a coffee addiction.

[volfoss]

Omg can u pleaseeeee rant about fanon prosciutto 🥰 I already do every day but I love the salt. Also fanon Kira 🤨

omg <3333 ok <3

prosciutto:

ENOUGH OF MAKING THIS MAN A DADDY!!! ENOUGH OF MAKING HIM CRAZY DOMINANT!!!!! HE IS ANCIENT!!!! as someone who (unfortunately) consumes a lot of LS content and regrets going into the tag, its SO bad. people really just kinda? treat him like hes insanely kinky and weird about shit (i mean they do w like ALL of la squadra but <3 this is about prosciutto rn). i HATE suave prosciutto too like literally where in canon is he smooth talking or even really anything other than giving his little awkward pep talks to pesci/talking back to bruno. neither situation really feels like hes suave or would... well, be like how people treat him in fanon? like i rly rly think people take ONE aspect of his personality and run w it, which ig is understandable for him showing up for 2-3 episodes but also like think critically!! also omg i nearly forgot about sexist/misogynistic prosciutto which is SUCH a bad take... girl why are u writing abt ur fave and being like "wow he beats women 😍". i THINK its all derived from the ONE line towards trish (at least in the dub, i dont remember how he acts in the sub or manga off the top of my head and quite honestly i do not care enough to rewatch/reread) and people just are like omg hes so so full of hatred towards women. he literally never interacts w a woman like?? the entire time hes shown??? but yeah sure lets make his ONE trait be hates women. or that oh wow he REALLY hates pesci when its literally just a mentor mentee relationship! u literally DO NOT have to make them hate each other!! or make it so wow prosciutto hates spending time around him or like wow prosciutto is MADLY in love with him. there are literally other ways of viewing a relationship other than wow theyre best friends and they hate each other!!

also omg ship time!!!!! i hate rispro <3 and brupro (and obvi propesci) tbh. so uh lets start w rispro! ENOUGH of shoving the smaller guy into the mommy role!!! enough of being like wow prosciutto is such a twink!!! literally stop forcing two men into hetero-normative roles but sure ok <3 also literally?? they rly dont interact a lot in canon but the jojo fandom LOVES to ship small guy x kind of intimidating big guy (cough cough jotakak) for no reason so its not rly surprising. rispro makes prosciutto very feminine for literally NO reason, in the way that they have to contrast with how big and strong and so so scary risotto is. like theres art of them out there thats just like prosciutto tiny as shit and risotto towering over him when theres like what? 3 inches of a height difference in the anime? to me it rly feels like a ship for people that don't really think about either characters differently than the common fanon perception.

brupro time omg <3 so bruno is 20!! important factor for the jojo fandom who doesnt rly like to check ages for characters <3 and prosciutto doesnt rly have a canon age but definitely seems older than bruno (idk i feel mid to late 30s). and the common dynamic ppl put them in is wow ex bfs/divorced. all important info before i get into my problems with it. to me it feels rly rly weird bc bruno is young (and as someone who is 20 it feels weird as shit for people to be like omg divorced esp w the age of marriage in italy being 18 iirc) and like?? you just want enemies to lovers when they fought once and again!!! barely interacted!!! its literally not interesting or fun, and people just rly rly dwell on their dynamic being either divorced or idk pta moms (😒). like its literally so so boring bc again they literally barely interacted and its just?? rly rly dumb.

anyways to conclude- fanon pros is SO bad and like one of the worst fanon receivers for LS and i am literally so sick of any ship w him!!

kira:

prefacing this with i do not consume a ton of fanon for him bc i am SURE it is mostly rly bad. from the little ive seen, its a lot of either wow hes the worst (true as fuck! but hes also more nuanced than that side of the fandom perceives him) or wow omg... best dad and husband ever. taking the first half on first, i think its genuinely a lot of perceiving him as rly just a villain and not as a character if that makes sense? not saying that they dont really understand him but it feels like on a sliding scale of sympathetic nice guy -> completely irredeemable villain, people go to the opposite ends without realizing there can be nuance in his character. he is literally just a little loser that kills people and sucks!! onto the other half because holy shit the dad kira and wow husband kira so domestic stuff is so so prevalent. the good dad thing is so??? guys... guys listen to me. did we forget the entire second half of DiU? where he literally killed hayato and trapped him in a death loop? but yeah sure he would be SUCH a good dad, wow i cant believe that trying to kill your kind of son is such a good dad move omg... like again i KIND OF get wanting to make a dad thats in jojo be good but also literally he is the LAST candidate for being a good dad. and as for being a good husband, he literally only showed care for shinobu once (when she nearly died bc of stray cat) and everything else was literally all manipulative. he wasnt kissing her before work on the time loop day because he wanted to, it was LITERALLY a powermove over hayato. it wasnt because he actually loved or cared about her. genuinely he uses the people around him, he isnt a nice guy like remotely. i understand wanting to romanticize stuff but this guy literally thinks about (and nearly does) strangling her multiple times?? but yeah omg wow best husband ever award.

[darkverrmin]

Do You Like It? Pt. 2

Link to Part 1:

warning: people saying mean stuff to Jaskier, mentions of homophobia, light smut.

They walked out of the tavern and turned to a narrow path, shaded by trees. Jaskier chattered about nothing in particular and Geralt found his voice soothing. Their shoulders occasionally brushed by accident and it sent shivers down Geralt’s spine. Geralt sneaked glances at Jaskier when he thought the bard wasn’t paying attention. The Witcher still couldn’t calm himself about how good Jaskier looked with that black eyeliner and the unbuttoned shirt, revealing his chest hair. It was an odd mix of masculinity and femininity that sent a wave of arousal through Geralt’s body. When Jaskier caught him looking and smiled at him, Geralt imagined himself pushing Jaskier against a tree and kissing him breathless. But in reality, Geralt averted his gaze to the ground, his face hard and impassive.

They walked like that for half an hour, Jaskier talking and Geralt deep in his thoughts. They were already close to the inn when they passed a group of five men, leaning against a fallen tree trunk and talking loudly. Geralt glanced at them briefly, looking for any signs of danger. He instinctively took a step closer to Jaskier, ready to drag him away if anything went wrong. The men stared at them, but didn’t make any moves.

Just as they passed the group, a drunken voice called them from behind.

“Hey, pretty! My friend here is wondering how much you take for a blowjob!”

They stopped. The men burst out in loud laughter. Geralt felt a wave of rage washing over him. Jaskier turned at the offender, regarding him with a dismissive look, before rolling his eyes and turning away. “Such clever words from such a clever man. Let’s go” he addressed Geralt, resuming their walk.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! The twink with the makeup! Why won’t you come over here and we show you how a real man looks like!”. The men laughed again and someone whistled. Geralt glanced at Jaskier who raised his eyes to the sky, his expression showing exasperation and half-amusement. “Thank you, dear” he threw over his shoulder “But I like my men a little less thick headed”.

Some of the men laughed again and Geralt noticed from the corner of his eye that the offender launched in their direction, his face furious. “What was that, you little fucking-”

Geralt turned on his heels to grab the man, but he was too late. Jaskier gave him a firm kick in the groin, sending him to the ground howling. The other men jumped to their feet and one of them tried to grab Jaskier by the throat, only to be punched in the face by Geralt. Geralt shielded Jaskier with his body and growled at the men. One of them took a step backwards, whispering to the others “shit, it’s that damned Witcher”. The others lowered their fists and weapons, slowly backing away.

The offender stumbled back to his feet and tried to slip away from them. Geralt grabbed him firmly by the collar of his shirt and pushed him back to the ground again. The man tried to get up, but Geralt stepped on his shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain.

“Geralt!” Jaskier was staring at the scene with wide eyes. “Geralt, it’s not worth it!”. But the Wicther wasn’t listening to him. He pressed his boot harder against the man’s shoulder, causing him to groan.

“Apologize” Geralt growled. The man turned his head to look at Jaskier, blinking rapidly. “I-I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”. Geralt turned his head to look at Jaskier. “Do you accept his apology?”

Jaskier looked at Geralt before looking back at the man on the ground and nodding. “Yeah, I do”. Geralt stepped away from the man, still glaring. “You’re pathetic” the Witcher snarled. “And about being a man... You can be sure that he’s ten times more of a man than all of you will ever be, combined”. Jaskier almost gaped at those words, remaining silent.

Geralt walked away, shouldering past Jaskier. “Let’s go”.

Jaskier stared at the man who stumbled to his feet for another second, before turning away and following Geralt into the dark.

***

Geralt walked at a fast pace, his fists clenched at his sides. Jaskier caught up with him quickly, walking beside him and looking at him worryingly.

“Geralt”.

No response.

“Geralt, please slow down”.

Geralt ignored him, continuing at the same pace. Jaskier jumped in front of him, grabbing him by the arms. Jaskier’s forehead bumped painfully against the Witcher’s nose.

“Ahh, fuck” Jaskier groaned, rubbing his face. “Sorry”. The Witcher dropped his hand from his nose, still glaring. “What, Jaskier”.

Jaskier sighed, tilting his head to look into Geralt’s eyes. Geralt felt something stirring in his chest. Jaskier sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground. “I just wanted to say thank you, for what you did back there… And also, I’m sorry”.

Geralt blinked at him. “What the fuck are you sorry for?”

Jaskier still wasn’t looking at him. “Should’ve kept my mouth shut. Ignored him”.

“He was calling you a whore”.

“Well, it was kind of expected”.

Geralt blinked again, exasperated. “What?”

“I knew I might get shit from people if I walk around looking like this”

“That doesn’t make it okay for someone to speak to you that way”. Geralt paused, sighing quietly. “You know that, right?”

Jaskier shrugged, looking at the buttons of Geralt’s shirt. He realized he was still standing very close to the Witcher, so he took a step back. “I guess” he mumbled.

Geralt tilted his head to the side, incredulous. “You guess?”

Jaskier shrugged again. “I guess I’m just used to it”. When Geralt didn’t respond, Jaskier continued speaking. “I got a lot of shit like that when I was a child. And a teenager. Even in Oxenfurt. Playing the lute isn’t exactly considered popular among young men”. Jaskier paused, sighing and scratching at his cheek. “Neither does being with other men”.

Geralt gulped. “Being with other men?”

Jaskier rolled his eyes. “Being. Sleeping. Yes, I sleep with men, too. Want me to spell it out for you? I think you understood me well the first time”.

“I didn’t know that” Geralt muttered quietly. He felt a knot of anxiety tying itself in his stomach.

Jaskier chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t exactly exclusive about it. But I thought you figured it out by yourself already”.

“No”.

“Right. Um, okay. Well, um, now you know. Hope it doesn’t change your opinion about me”.

Geralt sighed, getting angry again. “Why would it change my opinion about you?”

“I don’t know” Jaskier’s voice sounded small and Geralt immediately regretted raising his voice at him. “You aren’t exactly easy to read, Geralt. I was worried you’d think something bad of me because of the makeup”.

“It looks good on you”. The words came out of his mouth before he realized what he said.

Jaskier gaped at him. And then his face lit up. “Huh. Wow. Thank you. Sorry, caught me a little off guard there... Unless you’re lying”.

Geralt rolled his eyes. “I’m not lying, Jaskier”. Geralt met Jaskier’s gaze, who was looking at him softly. Geralt felt his heart hammering against his ribcage.

“That’s very sweet of you, Geralt”.

“You don’t need my confirmation to wear something you like”.

“I know, but it’s still nice to hear. Especially from you”. If Geralt had looked away in that moment, he wouldn’t notice Jaskier’s gaze flickering momentarily to his lips. But he didn’t.

Realization struck Geralt hard at that moment. Jaskier liked men. Jaskier was staring at him softly, calling him sweet. Jaskier was looking at his lips.

Geralt stopped thinking as he walked over to Jaskier. He went with his gut. Jaskier slowly uncrossed his arms, dropping them to the sides of his body. He stared at Geralt with raised eyebrows, but didn’t move an inch, when Geralt stopped right in front of him.

Feeling brave and stupid, Geralt slowly raised his hands to cup Jaskier’s cheeks. Jaskier closed his eyes momentarily, leaning into the touch. He opened them again, staring at Geralt with expectation. Geralt hummed softly, stroking Jaskier’s cheek with his thumb.

“I lied” The Witcher murmured, leaning in closer, his lips almost touching Jaskier’s. Jaskier let his eyes fall half closed, parting his lips slightly. “About?” Jaskier whispered.

Geralt looked at his lips before looking back to his eyes. He moved one hand from Jaskier’s cheek up to his hair, fingers tangling themselves in the soft, brown locks. Jaskier sighed quietly in pleasure.

Geralt titled his head to the side, his nose brushing against Jaskier's. “I don’t think you look only good like this. I think you look beautiful”. Jaskier closed his eyes and leaned in, brushing his lips softly against Geralt’s. Geralt responded by gently catching Jaskier’s lower lip in his mouth, sucking on it lightly. Jaskier pressed his body against Geralt’s, tangling his fingers in the Witcher’s long hair and tugging lightly.

Geralt was sure at this point that he was dreaming.

He licked at Jaskier’s lips and Jaskier parted them, allowing Geralt’s tongue to explore his mouth. When Geralt’s tongue met his, Jaskier moaned into the kiss and the sound of it drove Geralt crazy. He slowly walked Jaskier back, pressing him against a nearby rock. Jaskier responded by sitting on top of it and wrapping his legs around the Wicther’s thighs, pulling him even closer. Geralt groaned into Jaskier’s mouth as their erections pressed together. Jaskier started to feverishly unbutton Geralt’s shirt, his hands slipping over the Witcher’s broad chest. Geralt responded by gripping Jaskier’s ass and grinding against him.

“Fuck,” Jaskier gasped. “I want you. Here. Right now. On the grass”.

Geralt chuckled low in his throat, moving down to kiss Jaskier’s neck. “Not here. Too dangerous”.

“I am not waiting all the way back to the inn, Geralt”.

“Why not? It will give us something to expect for, once we arrive”.

Jaskier pouted at him and Geralt looked up and felt his heart melting. He stood up straight, leaning his forehead against Jaskier’s, his eyes boring into his. Jaskier chuckled, sneaking an arm under the Wicther’s shirt and stroking his hip bone. The touch made Geralt visibly shiver.

“I should’ve worn makeup a long time ago” Jaskier murmured with a smile.

Geralt rolled his eyes fondly, kissing Jaskier again. He pulled away momentarily to say “You’re a fool to think that this is just because of the makeup”.

He gave Jaskier’s ass a firm squeeze, causing him to gasp into his mouth.

“You. Me. My bed at the inn. Now”.

(to be continued!)

[nitrosplicer]

“In “The Invention of the Neuter,” the French historian Laure Murat situates the emergence of a third sex, understood as androgynous, neither male nor female, in interwar Paris. Murat locates the emergence of a “neuter sex,” the pejorative term for “women of indeterminate sexuality . . . who did not identify with the image of the butch/femme couple.”[6] The language of neutrality, a kind of neither/nor, also appears in Cahun’s written work. In Aveux non avenus (1930), Cahun famously directs the reader, “Shuffle the cards. Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me. If [a neuter gender] existed in our language no one would be able to see my thought’s vacillations. I’d be a worker bee for good.”[7] As Alix Beeston notes in her reading of these lines, Cahun “is for saying and not saying, for masking and unmasking, an infinite equivocation that finds its basis in what she called ‘the void bang down the middle’ of the self.”

Beginning in the 1990s, artists and activists began to seize on such claims, positioning Cahun as an icon of transgender history. Cahun’s rediscovered portraits and biographical personhood appear in these tributes transformed: as a coping mechanism in a world hostile to trans survival, a point of visceral overattachment, a twink crush, a tumbler collaboration—or, more sincerely, as a mirror image of the nonbinary author, uncannily prefiguring 1970s goth/punk grunge. An incongruent, little-noted tradition, this body of life writing, zines, and graphic novels features Cahun as a trans elder and nonbinary ancestor. In the 2009 book Absence Where As (Claude Cahun and the Unopened Book), the poet Nathanaël includes a portrait of Cahun alongside a selfie of the author, as one way to describe a broken lineage: “In her, I resemble myself. Not: I recognize myself. But resemble myself.”[8] In a footnote, Nathanaël notes, “She, when referring to Cahun or to myself, might just as easily be he, splitting (apart) the binary with annulling reversal. For when the two correspond, here, disappear, when their I’s touch, I like to think that one and the same turn into some other, nameless, name. I keep to her for the sake of unconstancy” (Absence, 27). In this book, Nathanaël’s writing works through two languages, English and French, as a way to reconfigure this pronominal inconsistency through the paradoxical qualities of Cahun’s portrait: “It invites and repels. It evokes and crosses out. There is not only encounter, but collapse. There is casting and recasting” (29).”