#gay travel agency

[childofposiden71]

Hey good omens fans,

I know y’all! I’m one of y’all! I know you like Neil Gaiman related queer fantasy! So you all should watch dead boy dectives on Netflix. I promise you’ll love it.

From

Someone who needs a season two!

[gaytravelinfo]

Gourmet Traveler - Tours with Taste

Gourmet Traveler | 99 Pulaski Street | West Warwick, RI 02893 | 401-823-9620 Your Friendly Tour Agency In the summer of 1984, I put together my first bus trip. I had never done this before but it seemed to come easy to me. The trip was a 3 day Washington, D.C. tour and I arranged everything down to the last detail. The trip was a huge success, which launched me on to a new career. That was many…

[starcurtain]

I think one of the funniest things about the Sabzeruz event is that the devs choose to go with Candace, Traveler, and Paimon having a whole "Ooh, two mysterious men are going into an alley to have a 'private' conversation; they must be bad guys!" only to then go "Oh just kidding, it was only Alhaitham and Kaveh doing typical Alhaitham and Kaveh things."

Except the "Alhaitham and Kaveh" thing in question this time was talking about Mehrak, a sentient robot that Kaveh built using absolutely forbidden technology, and which he then whole-heartedly willed would develop a consciousness of its own, violating one of the central taboos of his nation's governing agency, committing what amounts to an inherent and extreme felony punishable by law.

Alhaitham and Kaveh: Listen, we're not bad guys discussing illegal activity here. We're just two men having a private, personal conversation. Happens all the time.

Paimon, Candace, and Traveler: Oh cool, they're not doing a crime; they're just gay.

But they were, in fact, doing a crime.

[fatebinds]

"you don't even have to bet. didn't you come in here to gag me?" he certainly doesn't believe it was to drink. maybe he's just trying to get some courage in his veins before he gives in to temptation. nothing wrong with that; it's only natural that max and his irresistible charms would be intimidating—he's a minor celebrity, after all. a little more exposure and he can start selling his spit on ebay! or facebook marketplace, at least. dante leans in. it shouldn't be as much of a surprise as it is, considering what his ego tells him, but here he's been expecting a little more back and forth before they get into the thick of it. maybe it's a doctor thing—they don't get enough practice with small talk. hopefully they're better on foreplay. "you want me to get on my knees and beg?" he asks, voice pitching lower. it's a good thing his boss won't care if he slacks. won't know, in fact. they're not here! "you're going to have to come behind the bar for that. it's a special."

There are questions that Dante has, mostly about his upbringing, some about his mouth as he seems to talk incessantly, not missing a beat as he seriously contemplates what he's about to do. On one hand, he could maintain some dignity, and yet on the other, it is his day off, and he's free to indulge in any bad decisions he might make for the next couple of hours. The beer tastes like shit, but at least he can zap himself with this cattle prod of a conversation.

"I bet there are," he replies, raising his eyebrow sharply. Leaning forward against the bar, he all but dares Max to make the first move. It's gay chicken. He wins either way, just to see the look on the man's face. And perhaps even amuse himself. "But I think you'd ask nicely first." There's a teasing tone, not lightheartedly, but probingly. Meanly. "You should always ask nicely, Maddox."

[yarrayora]

i like how falin being a maiden to be saved, a reward to be coveted, isn't a point to criticize in dungeon meshi. because we have various other female characters who are written as having their own agency

we have marcille, of course, whose story can be observed since chapter 1. how she's not depicted as the "girl team member" but "part of the team". when you're writing a protagonist group where there's only one female character among the male cast, you can always feel this sense of alienation in the writing, like she doesn't belong in the group as the story focuses on the rest of the boys. the way masashi kishimoto writes team 7 is a major example

but marcille is still allowed to be a "typical girl" who doesn't want to eat gross things and enjoy feminine clothing without forgetting the fact that she's a multifaceted person. she's a researcher who isn't afraid to get dirty when it's something relevant to magic and her goal, even though she's also grossed out at the idea of feces being used as fertilizer for crops

and when falin comes back as a monster who can't speak, it's still not a point to criticize. oftentimes stories involving female characters losing their speech (or, well, becoming disabled in some way) is meant to make her vulnerable, a fragile 'something' to be protected. but this is not an argument about how chimera falin is super strong, because that's a shallow way of thinking that ignores the fact that being a Girlboss doesn't ensure your female character is written as a fully realized person. this is about the fact that almost right after that Izutsumi joins Laios' party.

She joins late in the game, so it'll be easy for her to only be tacked on as an afterthought. A notable example would be Okumura Haru from Persona 5, where her character gets overshadowed a lot by the other party members' more colorful personalities, as if the writer wasn't sure how to integrate her into the already developed dynamic.

there's also how she's written as a sweet and shy girl yet the way her school uniform is designed betrays that image. it's heavily customized even compared to the trendy girl like ann which means it's impossible for her outfit to not go against school regulation. not something an obedient girl would have done. which makes me wonder if they couldn't decide on her writing until last minute.

but Izutsumi is different. her involvement and her own personal story arc eventually intertwines to the overarching plot. she hates having her options limited. she hates having responsibilities to uphold. she hates eating veggies! she hates that people expects her to do things their way! she wants freedom to do whatever she wants!

but in the end she learns that to have the freedom to choose, she has to uphold her responsibilities. starting from the simple things like taking care of her health by eating balanced meals, not just the ones she enjoy. she has to do work to get enough money for her food and travels. and she has to learn how society works so she can live independently. she has to learn which desire she has to prioritize that she can balance out with her responsibility as a living being.

her own self-realization culminates into her giving advice to laios that leads to him steeling his resolves to become king.

so you have Falin, who gets turned into a monster that cant communicate her desire and needs while under the mad sorcerer's control, and in exchange you get Izutsumi, the 'beastman' who knows exactly what she wants and throws a tantrum about it without shame, not understanding that what you want isn't always what you need. i think it's a really cool parallel!

this is a prime example of how tropes that get associated with misogynistic writing can be used as a proper tool that serves a narrative when you have more than multiple female characters having their own character arcs

in fact, you can apply this to pretty much every other things. when you're writing gay characters, having only one of them and they act camp can make people raise an eyebrow at whether this is meant to be a caricature of gay people or not. having two of them and one acts camp and one acts normie can be read as a bias against gay people expressing themselves. writing multiple gay characters, all with different personalities and desires will avoid accidental stereotyping.

even the minor female characters, be it the canaries or namari, help show that the way the narrative treats Falin isn't born from thinking that women are an alien breed compared to men. that her lack of agency means something for the themes involved.

[imaybe5tupid]

I’ve been listening to a lot of the James Bond theme songs at work and imagining this kind of movie

My ideas for the plot under the cut

Laios is the nerdy gay sidekick who turns out to have been the villain all along, and his plan is to use nuclear radiation to create a new world of mutants, and Falin (his top henchman, who has been pretending to just be his lab partner) is secretly the first person to have been turned into a mutant (there’s a big reveal of her chimera traits as well as her showing that she doesn’t really need her glasses anymore). Laios goes on a villain rant about how the people of him and Falin’s hometown rejected her, and he was rejected by the boys in school, the men in the military, and yes even YOU Shuro!!! YOU MOST OF ALL!!!! yadda yadda villain/spurned love confession rant.

In the climax, Laios gets shot but manages to run away into the nuclear reactor where he’s pursued by Shuro. He then rushes to mutate himself as well as Shuro who he felt such respect/adoration for, in desperation so they can share something together, and so he himself won’t die as a boring human. This attempt is a pitiful failure, as other agents have already shut down the reactor so Laios is like acting as if the buttons/switches he’s pressing are actually working (he’s fully aware but completely humiliated and trying to save face/convince himself), and like explaining the science of how the mutation will work, but Shuro is just kindly indulging him/playing along at this point. Shuro also reveals his real name to him. In his final moments, they share a philosophical, romantically/sexually charged conversation.

In the end, Shuro and Falin bury his body, but Shuro holds on to Laios’ glasses. Falin joins up with the secret agency Shuro works for, and she lives her life traveling with them, since their scientists want to study her (she’s developed a strange invulnerability to damage and resistance to diseases).

There is a postcredits bonus scene of everyone else in headquarters watching/listening shuro and laios yaoi conversation in the reactor core like a sports broadcast, bravern style, since even if shuro chivalrously turned his hidden transponder off, he forgot about the building security cameras

In future movies, there will always be a Falin deus ex machina moment where she shows up to cheerfully beat the shit out of everyone+ shoot them with her laser guns when all hope is lost. Everybody in the audience watching the movies are always like OMG FALIN YAYYY when she shows up, like she’s Spiderman. And she acts like Austin Powers.

[ghostsandmermaids]

Podcasts To Listen To If You Like OFMD

Today is the anniversary of the finale of Our Flag Means Death season 2. One whole year without our favorite pirates :( But if you miss OFMD as much as I do, I have some podcast recommendations I think you'd enjoy!

If you want more queer pirates:

Trice Forgotten

Trice Forgotten is a found-family, pirating adventure. Alestes puts her head down working as a merchant, couriering deliveries and carrying travelers to destinations across the seas. Only, her travelers gradually become permanent crewmates, until she realises her ship has become a floating museum, laboratory, vault of repatriated ‘treasures’ and chef’s kitchen. After spending most of her life with the understanding that nothing changes, no matter how hard you fight, Alestes is faced with a choice: Will she use her new network of allies to build safe harbour and potentially a future for her new community, or will she once again put her head down and drown in her sea of excuses…

Queer neurodivergent pirates of color! Found family! Homoerotic sword fights! What else do you want? (And they even talk about OFMD in one of the Below Decks episodes!)

The Ballad of Anne & Mary

It's 1721, and London is abuzz with news of notorious pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, currently languishing in Newgate Prison. It’s the perfect time for debt-ridden journalist Nathaniel Mist to exploit the public appetite and ghost-write a sensational (and hopefully best-selling) history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossips on the streets of London build myths around the blood-thirsty, perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonny & Read… Featuring musical sensation Christina Bianco, actress and comedian Sooz Kempner, Hamilton star Karl Queensborough, drag legend Le Gateau Chocolat, and more.

If you can't get enough of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, listen to this podcast musical about them!

If you want more queer comedies:

Welcome To Night Vale

Welcome To Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events. Turn on your radio and hide.

Okay, it's a horror comedy and can be creepy at times, but it's also one of the few shows that have made me laugh as much as OFMD.

Starship Q Star

When a space agency sends the “first all woman and non-binary crew” on a blatant PR mission to Mars, they inadvertently end up the last six humans in the universe. Lead by Co-Captains (and exes) Aurelia and Sim, Starship Q Star follows this madcap crew on their quest across the galaxy in search of a new home… which is basically one hilarious mishap after the other.

I suppose if you found the absolutely two perfect ex-girlfriends and sent them to Mars, then they could potentially… co-captain?

If you want more queer historical comedies:

Fawx & Stallion

London, 1889. When the residents of 221B Baker Street leave town for the weekend to solve one of their most famous cases, no one is left to clear a poor housekeeper’s name of a crime she didn’t commit. Well, no one except for their neighbors at 224B…

Tonally, this is probably the closest to OFMD. I started this podcast yesterday and fell in love with it immediately. If you like OFMD and Sherlock Holmes, please check out Fawx & Stallion!

The Kingmaker Histories

On the 19th of February, 1911, in the Valorian Socialist Republic, an assistant tailor named Colette Geise experienced a migraine that ruined her life. This is a historical account of what happened next. THE KINGMAKER HISTORIES is a steampunk weird fiction podcast about being gay and doing crime, brought to you by the freaks who brought you Less Is Morgue.

Alternate history + magic + comedy + queerness. Do I need to say more?

If you want more (queer) rom-coms:

Me and AU

When Kate “ACunningPlan” Cunningham sparks up an online friendship with a fellow fanfiction writer it seems like the perfect distraction from a summer stuck in her hometown of Kamloops, B.C., not to mention the coming terrors of her final year of university and the Real Adult Future beyond. (Seriously, please don’t mention them.) After all, Hella--Enchanted is funny, smart and writes canon-divergent werewolf fic like no one else. She’s everything a fandom could ask for. But… what if she’s everything Kate could ask for, too?

Me and AU is not only an adorable sapphic rom-com, but also a love letter to fandom! Go listen to this, it's so cute!

Life With LEO(h)

A sci-fi(ish) romantic comedy podcast starring a repressed lawyer, a criminal client, a pesky sister and her fiance, an infuriatingly sexy coworker, and an android in the mood for love. Jeanine Bell​ is a robotics intelligence lawyer whose laser focus on her career has come at the expense of her romantic and social lives. After successfully keeping AI genius Penelope Lane out of prison, Jeanine receives the gift of LEO(h),​ an android with Synthetic Sentience. LEO(h) is Loving, Empathetic, Optimistic, and (only sorta) helpful. He's programmed to love Jeanine. He’s also very, very illegal.

I'm only two episodes in and already so invested in this story! Jeanine and LEO(h) are absolutely adorable.

(Note: as far as I know, the main romance isn't queer, but there are other queer characters in the show.)

If you want more queer found families:

Hello From The Hallowoods

Darker than your dreams, and farther North than you remember, there is a forest where life and death meet… Come walk between the black pines! In this award-winning queer fiction podcast, a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected residents of the forest at the end of the world. It's a bittersweet story that explores queer identity, horror genre tropes, and finding hope in humanity's last moments.

Did I only add HFTH to the list because it's my all-time favorite podcast and I want more people to listen to it? Maybe. But I also genuinely think that if you like OFMD, you are going to love some of these characters. Check out my fandom manifesto if you want to learn more!

Starfall

Starfall is a fantasy audio drama about the adventures of the Carouvel Traveling Acting Troupe - a theatre troupe that uses magical items to create illusions for their shows as they move around the Falstenian Empire. The story begins as the troupe is joined by Leona, a young warrior with a mysterious past and even more mysterious powers. With their new guardian in tow, the troupe traverses the continent, encountering the dangers of humans, fae, and greater forces alike, all while still trying to put on a good show.

Remember Stede's fuckery play in S1E6? Now you can listen to a fantasy theatre troupe put on magical plays! How cool is that?

If you want more of the cast:

Kisses in the Dark

Against the bright lights of Blackpool, a supernatural killer is at work and a dark and dangerous love affair begins… A sinister, disturbingly romantic seven part podcast drama written by Marty Ross (BBC’s Catch My Breath & Ghost Zone and Audible’s The Darkwater Bride) and starring Con O’Neill (Chernobyl, The Batman) and Rhiannon Clements. A contemporary Gothic horror tale set against a background of life on the narrow edge between Pleasure Beach and wild cold sea, between secret desire and a deadly evil. Also starring, Kyle Rowe, Pamela Mayoss, Steven Gidwaney, Patrick Price & Ryan Clayton.

Con O'Neill plays one of the main characters!

What Will Be Here?

In What Will Be Here?, five friends send a rocket to space with a collection of recordings on it that document the world’s decline, the stories they want to tell, and their efforts in building this rocket to get their message to the stars. They wonder what their world will have become by the time their message is listened to. At its core, this show is about living and creating when things feel pointless. It's a story that came out of the pandemic, and the landscape in which this story was written and produced greatly influenced how it turned out. What Will Be Here? is set on earth 200 years in the future, where large-scale crises are fully normalized. But despite the bleak backdrop, this story is one of hope - of overcoming challenges, of making things that might be temporary, but also things that might be launched into space and continue on forever.

Vico Ortiz plays one of the main characters!

Dungeon Masters

Dungeon Masters takes a behind-the-curtain look into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, told through the lenses of the creator of the game, Gary Gygax, played by Wil Wheaton and of private investigator, William Dear, played by Jon Hamm, a swashbuckling tough guy in 1979. Gygax guides the audience through this incredible true story as our Dungeon Master, as we follow Dear on his quest to find Dallas Egbert, a Michigan State student, who supposedly disappeared in the steam tunnels under his university while enacting a real-life version of D&D. What Dear encounters on this journey and ultimately discovers, defies all expectations, and changes the culture as we know it.

Kristian Nairn plays one of the main characters!

The Diaries of Netovicius the Vampire

Neto is an artist first, an immortal vampire second, but for now he's being kicked out of his Beacon Hill apartment in Boston Mass. That's where we begin, but more than a year into this audio-series I can't believe the journey Neto, and me, the creator have been on. But that's a longer story than I can get into here. For now, I hope there is something in this audio-series for you. It's about vampires, but ultimately it's about recovery, from trauma, from alcoholism, even from cults. It asks: Does time really heal all wounds? Featuring VAs known for Valorant, Diablo IV & Overwatch

Written and performed by Hugo Pierre Martin!

The Cryptid Factor

Three best buddies - Rhys Darby, Dan Schreiber, and Leon 'Buttons' Kirkbeck bring you The Cryptid Factor - a podcast dedicated to all things weird that are yet to be defined by science. Since 2008 they have passionately (and often awkwardly) been discussing 'cryptids' and monsters like Yeti, Chupacabra, Bigfoot and Nessie - as well as weird news of the world, UFO's, Time travellers, robots and space stuff. Though they take these pseudosciences as seriously as they can, they struggle to take themselves seriously at all. Hosted by comedian and actor Rhys Darby, star of top rating podcast 'No Such Thing as a Fish' Dan Schreiber - and Pulling it all together is their best friend, 'Buttons'. If anything goes wrong, it is probably his fault.

Rhys Darby is one of the hosts!

Date My Abuelita, First!

From Executive Producer Wilmer Valderrama comes a dating show that proves abuelita knows best! Host Vico Ortiz alongside our resident abuelita, Liliana are ready to meet their match! Three single contestants will compete for a date with one lucky guest. Through speed-dating rounds, hilarious games, wildly silly and genuinely heartfelt introspections, and grandmotherly love, one contestant will either be a step closer to love or be sent back to the apps. Abuelita holds all the cupid power, so let the chispas fly!

Vico Ortiz is one of the hosts!

[waitmyturtles]

(Source)

The Lower House (House of Representatives) will be hearing Thailand’s marriage equality bill at 9:30 am Bangkok time (10:30 pm Eastern for those of us in the States). The bill, if passed, would still have to be approved in Thailand’s Senate.

(Source and source)

Below the fold is Bloomberg.com's report on the happenings (source):

Bill to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand Heads to Parliament

Bill is supported by most major parties, needs king approval

Thailand would be first in region to codify marriage equality

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat, March 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM PDT

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage could face a vote in Thailand’s parliament as early as Wednesday. If it passes, the country will be the first in Southeast Asia to establish marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.

The House of Representatives will take up the legislation, technically an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code, for second and third readings when it meets at 9 a.m. Lawmakers may vote later in the day.

The bill would legalize marriage for same-sex partners aged 18 and above, along with rights to inheritance, tax allowances and child adoption, among others. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration has made it a signature issue, and advocates say it would also burnish Thailand’s reputation as an LGBTQ-friendly tourist destination.

Taiwan and Nepal are the only places in Asia that currently recognize same-sex marriage, and recent efforts elsewhere in the region have had mixed results. Hong Kong has yet to comply with a 2023 court order to establish laws recognizing same-sex partnerships, and India’s Supreme Court refused to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it’s an issue for parliament to consider.

The Thai bill would change the composition of a marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals,” and change the official legal status from “husband and wife” to “married couple.”

Thai laws have protected LGBTQ people from most kinds of discrimination since 2015, but attempts to formalize marriage rights have stalled. In 2021, the Constitutional Court upheld the law recognizing marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. Last year, a bill to recognize same-sex civil partnerships failed to clear parliament ahead of elections.

Rights advocates have higher hopes for the bill pending now, noting that it has broad support from most of the major parties. If it passes, it will need to be approved by the Senate and endorsed by the King. Then it would be published in the Royal Gazette and take effect 120 days later.

Srettha’s government has also promised to work on a bill to recognize gender identity, and the health ministry has also proposed legalizing commercial surrogacy to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children. Thailand is seeking to host the WorldPride events in Bangkok in 2028.

Legalizing same-sex marriage could have positive effects on tourism, which contributes about 12% to the nation’s $500 billion economy. In 2019, before the pandemic froze international tourism, LGBTQ travel and tourism to Thailand generated about $6.5 billion, or 1.2% of gross domestic product, according to industry consultant LGBT Capital.

Formal recognition could boost the reputation of a place already considered one of Asia’s best for LGBTQ visitors, said Wittaya Luangsasipong, managing director of Siam Pride, an LGBTQ-friendly travel agency in Bangkok.

“It will become a selling point for Thailand and raise our strength in the global stage,” Wittaya said. “It will create a relaxed and safe atmosphere for tourism and help attract more and more LGBTQ visitors. We could also see more weddings by LGBTQ couples, which could generate income across industries and local communities.”

[sapphicteaparty]

remember how in 2015-2016 nearly ALL wlw ships on screen ended with the bury your gays trope? there was a huge backlash against that and it sparked conversations about why representation mattered which is one reason why in 2024 it's normal to have queer stories of all kinds that aren't just the BYG trope.

so when the first LIS game came out in 2015 it gave players the choice to subvert that trope (even if it wasn't perfect) and that was significant. it really mattered! and going forward the LIS franchise has always tried to be inclusive of queer characters and themes which is great.

i don't have a stake in this fandom any more but it feels very dismissive and out of touch to deny max and chloe a hopeful ending after all they went through especially when LIS1 gave us that possibility. their story mattered to so many queer fans. it was canon. why mess with that memory?

maybe player choice and agency at all costs isn't actually great game design. this is especially true for characters like max that aren't blank self inserts that players can project their personality onto. she's her own character with her own history and motives (like in the first game).

i think it's also a mistake to try and please everyone and try to appeal to the biggest possible audience. it's also telling that they chose this specific segment of the audience and fans (who they think are a minority) to throw under the bus, and then say that don't worry, max can have other romances in DE so it's still queer! kinda missing the point when these characters have become emblematic and they represented something.

but breaking up with your gf is REALISTIC! a poor excuse in a game where time travel and alternative timelines and universes exist. it just points to a failure of imagination. there's really no world where max and chloe could be happy together? really?? not one? maybe don't write a multiverse story then because this is terrible.

[blvvdk3ep]

Fellow Travelers was brilliantly written, don't get me wrong, but I have this one nagging grievance I just can't get over. I really wish Tim was allowed to be a more angry with Hawk in episode eight.

He tells Hawk that he has no more forgiveness left in the bathroom scene, but interrupts Hawk in the middle of his apology to absolve him and tell him that at least Hawk was his great, consuming love, and the only thing that matters is that he loved him. This feels like such an unfair thing to do to his character.

The times when Tim was angry with Hawk in the show were usually more tense, high emotional moments, where he was drinking, or seeming unreasonable/unrealistic or naive in his desires due to their situation (especially his desires for more affection amidst the Lavender scare dont strike as sympathetic as they could because Hawk's vigilance is more suitable to the situation).

So after everything, with Hawk playing push and pull with Tim, continuously calling for him knowing that Tim wants something he's never planning to give him, and then completely screwing him over, I would've loved to see a slow, raw scene at the end wherein Hawk apologizes for everything he did to Tim, and Tim is at least allowed to acknowledge and respond with seriousness lacking in hysterics, naivety, frenzy, or excessive sentimentality that yes, Hawk did hurt him, Hawk didn't have the right to do to him the things he did, and yes, he was furious at him for the hurt.

Tim deserves voice and agency, and I felt like it was plowed over to make room for this sweet ending where Hawk's guilt is vanquished because he was Tim's great love, and Tim is just glad for that. Tim deserves more than to be grateful that he loved a, frankly, shitty person. I wish he had been allowed to vocalize the damage it did to him and then choose to forgive. Because forgiveness, especially of the magnitude needed for what Hawk had done, does not come easily. It's a choice, and Tim's entire brilliant character and story is about him constantly making the difficult choice. He makes the difficult choice to turn over the photograph, leave McCarthy, go to jail, forgive himself and keep loving God, to leave the church, to come out to his family, to live as an openly gay man. He made the choice to forgive Hawk and feel gratitude for his life experiences and emotions regardless of what he got out of them. But like every choice it takes work to get there. I wish Tim's inner/emotional life, turmoil, and work regarding their relationship was something we were given privy to in that scene, and I feel that this was curtailed because the only way we really could've seen this is if he calmly pointed a finger at Hawk and called him out.

And honestly, something like that is more authentic to real, consuming love than just saying "all that matters is that I love you!" Real, consuming love can exist and exists most fervently where we can look at the other person and say yes, you nearly destroyed me, yes I forgave you, I forgive you, I still hold you in my heart.

[phoxey]

Abandoned

Monika Shin x fem!reader

cw: a good mix of suggestiveness and angst, also age gap (legal ofc) MDNI

words: 1393

AN: please be gentle with me, i'm just starting out as a writer, also this is not proofread

It has been quite a while since you have seen her. Monika, your teacher, your friend, your everything. You left PROWDMON right before the first season of Street Woman Fighter started. You never explained why. You just sent her a quick text, stating that you leave PROWDMON and Korea, that you are sorry and that she shouldn't contact you, because you would be travelling the world. You blocked her and the entire crew after that.

The reason? You were madly in love with her. But she was your teacher. She was ten years older than you. She was not gay. It pained you to always hear her talk about her wanting a man, a husband. You had tried to confess your feelings multiple times, but she always took your confessions in a friendly and sisterly way. After a while you just gave up.

You left Korea, like you said, and travelled the world, participating in dance battles everywhere and gave dance classes, mainly in America. Thats where you met Audrey and through her you joined Jam Republic Agency, who called you up when they were forming a team for Street Woman Fighter season 2. Your heart longed to go back to Korea, so you agreed.

You were happy until the judges were introduced.

"...PROWDMONs Leader: Monika!", Kang Daniel said.

You looked up in shock. And there she was. As beautiful as ever... and as unreachable as ever. She smiled and looked around, just before your eyes met, you lowered your gaze to the ground, trying to keep your tears from welling up. You swallowed hard and put on an annoyed and arrogant face as you felt her eyes on you. The dance battles started and you tried to ignore her presence, to have fun. You battled against Chocol, a friend from way back, Monika had introduced you two many years ago. You heard the voices behind you.

"She dances just like Monika-sseam."

"You can see that she spend a lot of time with Monika-ssaem."

"Y/N left PROWDMON right before Street Woman Fighter, do you think they fought?"

You kept your eyes on Shownu, when the judges showed their cards. One for Chocol, one for you... and Monika held both cards up, refusing to decide. You looked up from her cards to her face, and her gaze pierced you. It was as though she could look into your soul. There were so many emotions and questions in her eyes. She was an open book to you, she has always been. But what stunned you was, when her eyes suddenly became dark and cold, almost hateful. You didn't even realize for a precious ten seconds that the rematch with Chocol had begun, due to the tie. Not dancing for a solid ten seconds, earned you a 3:0 loss.

"What was up?", Kirsten asked worriedly, as the break begun.

You shook your head. "I don't want to talk about it.... I think i need to be alone for a moment."

You stood up, gave her a half smile and then walked to the bathrooms. You threw some water into your face and tried to calm down, you almost didn't recognize your own face in the mirror. Absently you dried off and turned around to go back to your team, but you stopped abruptly. Monika leaned, arms crossed, against the door, staring at you and you were sure, she wouldn't move.

The two of you just stared at eachother in silence for a little eternity. Your heart beat so loud that you were afraid she would hear it.

"Hey...", you cracked a fake smile, you wanted to sound like someone meeting an old friend, only the finger guns were missing.

"Don't 'Hey' me.", she just said coldly and took a step towards you.

You took a step back. "What?"

"Funny meeting you here, after you abandoned us."

"I didn't leave PROWDMON because I was afraid of being on SWF.", you said. "And abandoned is a harsh word."

"Is it now? What would you call it then? It surely wasn't a friendly seperation."

God, why was she so beautiful when she was angry? You could barely concentrate on your answers.

You bit your lip nervously. "Look. This is just how things had to be. I would have destroyed everything if I stayed."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

She had walked you so far back that your back hit the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. But now you were annoyed that you rolled your eyes. How could such a smart woman be this oblivious?

"I have told you a hundred times, why. If you still don't connect the dots, that's on you.", you huffed.

She seemed to think and with every passing second your heart broke into piece after piece. Hot and silent tears rolled down your cheeks. She still didn't understand a thing.

"I love you.", you whispered, but in the silence between you it seemed like you had screamed it.

"What?"

"I have always loved you. And I probably always will. Not as a student. Not as a friend. It's not admiration nor fondness. It is love. I suffered, knowing you could never feel the same for me. Every hug, every kiss on the cheek, every time you brushed my hair after a dance session, it felt so good that I wanted it again and again, but it also hurt so much every time. I can't have you, and I didn't want to watch you find a man and become happy with him. I'm selfish like that. So before I ruin everything for you, I left. There you have it, that's the reason."

"You love me?", she asked, and her eyes fell to your lips. That gaze alone made you throw all logic and reason overboard. You grabbed her face and pressed your lips to hers. To your surprise she didn't push you away as you put all your longing into the kiss, all the words you couldn't possibly say. After a moment the kiss faded out and you parted.

"I'm sorry...", you whispered.

"I should apologize...", she whispered back. "I think I always knew... but I was afraid..."

"What? You knew? Afraid of what?", you asked and blinked in confusion.

"Afraid to admit that I feel the same.", Monika said then.

You widened your eyes. Were you dreaming? This couldn't be reality. To test it, you turned her around and pressed her to the wall. "What do you mean, you feel the same?"

"I love you... sorry, that I only realize it now."

"Really?"

"Yes. But I don't think I would be a good partner for you.", she said but you weren't even listening anymore, you just pulled her into a kiss.

"...Y/N... I'm too old for you...", she almost moaned between kisses.

"Don't care...", you said, as your lips moved to her neck.

"what would the others think...?", she tried to argue.

"Don't care...", you said again, as your lips captured hers into a kiss.

You felt her smirk against your lips. "You're unbelievable."

Finally she gave in to her desires and kissed you back with the same passion, invading your mouth with her tongue. You melted into the kiss, your hands all over her body. You lifted her onto the counter with the sinks and stood between her legs, your fingers digging into her thighs.

She emerged first from the bathroom and went to get her make up refreshed. You did the same. The make up staff gave you a weird look when they saw something on your neck.

Kirsten looked at you weird, when you came back. "Girl, where were you? I was so worried!"

You just sat down and smirked.

"Apparently she had a good time.", Ling mused and pointed to a faint dark spot under a heavy load of concealer.

"A hickey????", Kirsten almost screamed.

"Shut the fuck up! There are cameras!", you hissed.

"Who did that? It's so big!", Kirsten whispered.

You smirked. "If you think that's a lot, then you should see her thighs..."

"Her thighs? Who?", Ling asked and followed your not so subtle gaze to Monika, who already sat with the other judges again and happily conversed with them. Her lap was covered with a blanket. She would say, it's because of her short skirt.

But we all know the real reason, don't we?

[remembertheplunge]

We cannot unsee what we have already seen--the 1980's

April 28, 1988

It’s now a Thursday—

Some post scripts from somewhere in the “last” night and from yesterday by Judge David Vander Wall “The 1970’s don’t seem that long ago. The 80’s are just passing me by…” DA Mike  Stone replied “The 70’s weren’t worth anything anyway.”

I watched last evening “a A Walk Through the 20th Century with Bill Moyer. The 1920’s" :

Flappers and fun flanked by Fraud and Famine. Poo Poe Pee Do! The truth was that the poor (in the 20’s) didn’t realize they were poor until long after they weren’t!. They had a general feel of contentment despite their financial situation.

What about us in the 1980's? In the KPFA Radio Folio program guide,Life in 1968 is compared with life in 1988. The 80’s were condemned as the 1950’s relived. 1988 Yuppies are the men in charcoal grey suits. Ahhhh! But, what bridged the years is the depth of awareness setting in. We cannot unsee what has been seen. We close only to heal and tp grow internally. The individual reform we know is the only true change. Only true “life” takes place on an individual basis. More and more we learn "..oh..when I had the Mercedes and miserable marriage I was poor. Now, I am…,Me!" 

To me, 1980 or 1981 were just about like 1988 in terms of styles, attitudes, money, etc. Pretty much the same. Music hasn’t changed much. Nothing has really. And yet, imperceptibly, everything has irrevocably changed, improved. Come a bit more into its own. 

Only you, the future, may be able to give it perspective. What, if anything, do the 80’s mean to you? Don’t forget us. We are a part of your past and thus a part of you.

I offer up this diary entry to you as a revelation of one person- traveler’s time notes written during  his time-space journey.

End of entry

Notes: 9/21/2024

I love the fact taht I included the line “We cannot unsee what has been seen” in the above 1988 entry. 

That has been my fight song passing through these turbulent times where the Republican Right is attempting to cancel our collective progressive progress. They can ban and burn our books and the Supreme Court can strip us of our rights. But. We have seen. We know. We will continue to live our lives and assert our  values despite and because of their orders. We have seen. We will act. We have agency.

I also think that it’s interesting that I said in the above entry that there was not much difference between life in 1980 or 81 and life in 1988. In 1980, I was not yet a. Lawyer, I was way in the closet and Aids was not yet publicly known about. By 1988, HIV  had been  known about for 7 years in which time it decimated many lives. In 1986, I began working as a volunteer helping men with Aids through their illness and death. I had been a lawyer for 7 years by 1988 .I had been emersed in the heavens and hells of criminal law defense. I had married in 1982 a woman who I left in 1984 as I began to emerge as a gay man. By 1988, I was fully out. So, actually I was a much more evolved person in 1988 than I had been in 1980. But, maybe because the evolution took place slowly over  years, I wrote about the decade as if very little had happen.

Judge Van Der Wall was a judge in Modesto California. I spent my 40th birthday in a murder trial in his court. His clerk, Linda, gave me a happy birthday cup cake that birthday morning in court! They have both since died. I just thought Judge Van Der Wall and Mike Stone’s  take on the 70’s and 80’s was interesting. Time was  just passing them by. Have you noticed the no one now in the mid 2020’s ever talks about the 20’s? I mean the 2020’s. We are living it . We can’t see it This now has no name . It just  is. But, I imagine in 20 years, they will be screaming about “The Outrageous 20’s!"

Flappers were the early forerunners of the women’s empowerment movement. They wore shorter dresses than their predecessors had and advanced women’s rights through word and action. 

Bill Moyers was a Public TV host. He did stories on interesting people and events past and present.

Per Oxford Languages Dictionary, a Yuppie was "a young person with a well-paid job and a fashionable lifestyle."

[devotioncrater]

not ted melancholy about leaving, sitting in the press room alone. not trent happening to find him there, "of all the press rooms." (it's funny because there's only one, but they're sad when they're laughing.) not them getting an actual one-on-one fucking conversation this season

Also, while ted's future's up in the air. I'm begging ted to also ask about trent's future. because trent's also on the precipice of leaving, with a big who knows the fuck what waiting for him (other than, like ted, his child). they've both found community at richmond, and they're both at a point where they might feel like they have to leave it all behind. just someone (ted) ask trent what he's doing after this book. and please let there be a good answer to that

all of this!! let them confide in and comfort each other. because they're both at this crossroads of What Is Next, sort of like that robert frost poem ted referenced in ep 7.

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

and i 100% agree, they need to have a one-on-one conversation again onscreen. an actual heart-to-heart, because we haven't been privy to that since episode 2.

of course we see them onscreen having these types of private conversations such as here:

and yet we the viewer are never invited in on them.

which is bonkers to me because these two are constantly implied & shown to have grown close to each other throughout the season.

ted letting trent sit-in on the parent-teacher conference.

"hello, ted" "hello, trent" with nothing for roy or beard

ted and trent participating together at girl talk with rebecca.

trent introducing himself to ted's mom

ted actively engaging & being endeared with trent's enthusiastic dork side

ted instinctively filling trent's mug with liquor first, trent instinctively holding his mug to ted. familiar-like, routine-like

we can see trent's crush on ted from space. he's practically singing about it. but on the quieter side, there are all these little heart eye moments ted has for trent, too. they add up. all of ted's gay praises on men & men's physiques (robert redford, oscar wilde, hair, facial hair, clothes, etc) can be read as a subconscious link to trent. it's subtle. it's all blink-and-you-miss-it.

which makes me wonder — since Ted Lasso is in ted's character viewpoint for his scenes — is the reason we haven't seen any of the one-on-one conversations he has with trent (which DO happen offscreen) a reflection on ted? what i mean by that is, are we not fully seeing trent, and the nature of ted's relationship with trent, because ted himself isn't ready to share? to come out? or to even allow himself to recognize what he could potentially be feeling? out of sight (offscreen), out of mind?

we see this storytelling technique be used with colin. how we don't see him come out to the team because that is not what he wanted as a character. his main concern wasn't "i'm gay" it was "how will the team react?". and so to honor his wishes, the team's reaction is what was shown onscreen. the show gave colin's character agency and it gave him privacy, too.

so maybe, hopefully, we will get another one-on-one scene with ted and trent. and this time ted will be ready to share, and this time we get to see their dynamic at full scope instead of these glimpses throughout the season

[noirettea]

Whether or not they are together, I think it's more likely that the dog is with pip, because he's always traveling from continent to continent, and she's apparently more of a local.

As for the anon who mentioned beards… it usually happens when the industry wants to cover a gay/bi actor, and we know there's been a lot of gossip about sam's sexuality for years. But that was before he became well-known. Since he's played several queer roles and is becoming more well-known, it's more likely that pip is a beard. He is attractive and talented, and it's often the agency's decision whether he should have a beard or not. We live in a sexist world. Women fantasize about actors like sam, and agency don't want that to change if that actor comes out.

Not long ago, two supernatural actors came out, and apparently they have been together for years and have left hints about it countless times. But the fans didn't realize it (or didn't want to believe it) because they were married/in a relationship, with women. This is what I'm referring to particularly with beards and when an agency wants to cover up an actor's sexuality. It doesn't matter how well known they are in the industry. These things unfortunately exist...

.

[hptrash-lookaway]

Personally, I’m a little bit annoyed in time travel fics whenever they make it so that Walburga is just. like. a victim of the Wizarding World patriarchy

Reasons it annoys me:

• I actually like it in fantasy when they move away from regular bigotry, it’s so funny to me when they’re like “you can be gay, straight, bi, trans, whatever, as long as you aren’t muggleborn”, like it’s fantasy, I want fantasy bigotry, I don’t want real life “women are seen as less” bigotry

• It feels like,,, infantilizing? Like how there’s such a pushback against women actually being villains, it feels like people don’t even want to let them be complex villains, they’re always like morally gray or victims of circumstance, like “oh no, girls can never be villains uwu all women are secretly too much of cinnamon rolls to ever do something bad and have no agency in their life and only do something if a man pushes them into it uwu” not a fan of it.

(I know some people probably feel the opposite because Bellatrix is usually completely villainized whereas other death eaters get to be more sympathetic in fandom spaces, but I think that’s just because of the ratio of women to men, like Pettigrew is never sympathetic in fandom spaces, but the impact of that isn’t as big when there’s so many other guys, meanwhile, the closest other female “death eater” (even tho she’s not actually one) is Narcissa, who usually is also seen as pretty sympathetic as a lot of people chalk up her involvement to Lucius pushing her into it)

(I guess there’s also a discussion to be had about how people are not sympathetic to Umbridge, but are sympathetic to Petunia, when both are cartoonishly evil (a cupboard. when they had a whole other room. you can’t justify this.), but that’s a whole conversation on fatphobia that I don’t feel qualified to breach, again tho, Petunia, to the people who sympathize with her for some reason, is once again seen as a wife who has no control over actions and how she treats children because of her husband)

• Walburga specifically being changed to be like a wife stuck in her circumstances annoys me, because we know from her portrait she’s a full on bigot who does not believe in being quiet

Like I think it would be fun to explore if she had a more complex relationship with her kids (I saw a post forever ago from someone implying that they think that Sirius might actually know how to remove the portrait, but doesn’t, because at the end of the day, that is his mother, and there doesn’t seem to be portraits of anyone else from his family, and that was an interesting concept)

But Walburga is infinitely more interesting as a prideful woman who put all her stock into the family name and brought it down due to her own actions by throwing herself into a cult and trying to force her children to do the same

Again tho, it’s mostly just a small annoyance, I can usually roll my eyes and keep reading, but I just wanted to put my thoughts out there, especially when Orion isn’t sympathetic, when in canon we get way more of Walburga actively being a horrible bigot to characters we love

[tex-now]

ENANENE AU LIGHTNING ROUND LETS GO

Mermaid gfs!! Idk how exactly they fall in love but they are smitten with each other and visit whenever they can <3 they can't always see each other and they can't live together because Nene is a sea mermaid and ena is a freshwater fish, but they make it work :> maybe through some magic landed to them by a friend? (Witch Haruka anyone?) Very Very nice I love them

Designer and her super cute customer :> Maybe ena is a famous model and she's doing a fashion shoot that requires some decorative chocolate looking props to be made, and ena finds this wonderful shop with super pretty designs- oh my God the owner is so pretty. Gay panic intensifies

I think they get closer because of nene allowing her to like. Have a say with what goes where I guess? Ena normally doesn't have any control over what she wears and what she gets to do, so nene allowing her to not only refuse certain things but also to let her have a PART in what she gets to wear touched her a lot. (Maybe... ena who never broke through her struggles with art and fully converted to posing and looking cute for social media who eventually got picked up by a modeling agency... and nene who reawakens her passion for art with her passion...maybe....)

Hermit artist who runs into the prettiest lady while looking for some supplies. She fumbles through a conversation with said pretty lady and ends up asking to draw her. Pretty lady says yes. They kiss at some point

I think this is like in a fantasy esque au but also if ena ended up becoming like her dad; successful and miserable. She doesn't go out almost ever, only ever when she needs supplies or when her annoying roommate (fes Mizuki)drags her outside. Nene I think is a high noble, who's known for her lovely voice. Neither Ena or Nene know who the other is (ena does not bring nene into her dusty ass studio). Ena gets a commission from the Kusanagi family and is like "THE KUSANAGIS? LIKE THE FAMOUS KUSANAGIS? THOSE ONES?" And she meets nene again and they're both like "THAT WAS YOU???"

Very meet-cute, very fluff slight comedic misunderstandings

I know nene is underwater ignore it. They're both flower nymphs who's flowerpatches bloom next to each other. Nenes flowers seem to hang from something so maybe one day she slips and falls into Ena's flower patch (she doesn't get hurt, thankfully) . Ena is initially apprehensive around her but the friendly human who takes care of both of their flowers (rui) encourages her to give Nene a chance. Nene is really shy but manages to visit Ena and strike up a conversation. Ena. Well. She falls in love like five minutes in. Gay panic once again. They get closer, nene coming down to visit Ena more and more and ena coming up to visit nene occasionally. They fall in love get married and shit this one is just really cute and wholesome, no stakes I think

Nene is a traveling musician along with her friends, Emu, Tsukasa, and Rui. They give shows not only to the people of the towns they visit, but also to the fairies and mystical creatures who decide to sneak a peak at what they're playing. Ena is one of these mystical creatures, a fairy who was drawn in by her beautiful voice. She never goes far kest she worry her friend, Mizuki, who despite their apprehension seems to be interested in the troupe as well... maybe because of a certain flutist?

Anyway. Ena gets a bit too sloppy one day and gets caught by none other than Nene, who is actually quite kind to her, which surprises Ena, as most humans would try to catch her. They become friendly quickly, and ena has a tiny crush (as if she didnt already have one) by the end of the night (can you tell I like a certain dynamic between them.) Nene eventually has to leave, but she promises Ena that she will come back one day. Ena simply can't wait for that day to come.

I love them so fuking much can you tell