#hilariously enough the gender thing was way easier

[prince-liest]

How did you figure out you're aromantic?

Oh, god, what a short question for such a long process, hahaha. First off, didn't figure it out until recently, age 27, but here was the approximate (and very truncated in the amount of internal conflict and introspection involved) step-by-step process:

Figured out I was queer in high school because I felt the same way about women as I did about men! Spent about 5 years thinking I was bisexual.

Figured out that I'm not actually attracted to men when I read a post describing the experience of compulsory heterosexuality and related with it intensely, which was a very freeing experience. Spent 6 years thinking I was a (nonbinary) lesbian!

Hooked up at parties a couple of times out of curiosity and then took up my best friend's offer to fuck and realized that I got the same amount of skin-crawling distaste about that as I did about sexual contact with men, thus realizing I was ace.

Let that domino tip over into the, "Actually, identifying as gay has for a long time given me the same anxiety as I used to feel when I thought I'd have to date a man, and also I'm 27 years old and have never, ever actually wanted to date another human being. When people ask me what my ideal partner is like, I start listing off ways in which they should not bother me or demand my time or be part of my life. Maybe I just don't want... anyone." domino, and the subsequent "I'M FREE!! (from trying to date women)" euphoria was identical to the "I'M FREE!! (from trying to date men)" euphoria, so.

That's where I'm at!

I'm a generally introspective person, but I'm also really great at gaslighting myself into ignoring my own discomfort, so largely it's been, haha, a diagnosis of exclusion. First I excluded men, then the discomfort with women grew large enough that I was able to exclude them as well. Reading about other people's experiences and realizing where they paralleled my own was immensely helpful! So was being close friends with a very poly person who slowly and fully unintentionally changed my perspective on how I view relationships in a very poly-and-relationship-anarchy-as-default way, which incidentally is extremely compatible with aroace queerplatonic ideals and definitely softened me up to be ready to accept that particular realization.

Also, please let this be a sign that just because you identify with one "thing" doesn't mean that you're committing to it forever! <3

[jellyfemmedyke]

I think people underestimate the effect of being fat on gender. Like tips and tools for passing for any gender often just don't consider fat people. Gendered norms don't consider fat people. Fat people are so often degendered and viewed as worth less because of it. This also affects trans people's ability to enact their gender or pass. I often see skinny trans people talking about their experiences and stuff and it's like a whole other world of experiencing gender and I don't think this is talked enough about as a significant intersection of identity (because of fatphobia and the rhetoric of weight being a choice). Like there will be the occasional mention of don't listen to passing tips that say to slim down or whatever but rarely a full nuanced discussion of how gender as a whole works differently for fat bodies

Thank you for putting into words the exact feelings I've had for a long time.The way my fat body shapes my gender is something that I can't ignore. I remember growing up in the early and mid 2000s where the titular "girl" were people like Hilary Duff and Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, thin and cute and and completely unachievable for me.

I remember having meltdowns at the store when I saw those little pink rhinestone shirts where the curves were preset. I remember going to hot topic and seeing the clothing that wouldn't even fit one whole boob if I tried to put them on.

It was devastating. Learning I was non binary eased this a lot, making me realize I didn't have to try so hard to pass as a cis girl anymore but Even still, trying to live as a man wasn't any easier, men have the same devastating weight standards.

With the talk of Gym bros having eating disorders and everything. They have same kind of toxic gender expectation, except now It's that you have to be big and strong. You can almost get away with it if you're "Strong" fat, but having visible breasts or a hanging tummy or soft face will degender you just the same. Fat people are not allowed to have a gender until we "lose an acceptable about of weight."

We're almost On standby mode, saying things like "when I lose weight I'll finally be happy, when I can fit into those clothes I'll finally be loved and accepted. When i lose weight I'll finally be the real me"

which is reinforced by media and those around you. We have to over perform gender to be even a little bit included, and then that might not even work if you're in a larger fat body. And god if this isn't 12000% reinforced when It comes to transgender expectations.

I mean you see it when people post about how sad and fat they were pretransition, and then become beautiful thin butterflies post transition. You can see it in how tgirl tummy tuesday is only ever thin or slightly fat girls. You can see it in the expectation of trans men to be either big and strong or thin waifish twinks, the only representation we get is conventionally attractive trans people Trans people get all the cruel gender expectations that cis people get, but doubled or tripled, and the fat people are left in the dust until we can lose enough weight to be included. I'm probably going to talk about this more because I have so much to say about it.

[batneko]

A short fic about Sanji and Reiju and gender.

-

It was not unusual for Reiju to find one of her brothers in her quarters. Even now, they had a lack of boundaries and a fondness for juvenile pranks. But none of it bothered her, really, and letting them get it out of their system got them out of her hair faster. So she didn't change her footsteps as she became aware of the presence in her bedroom, letting her heels clack on the floor and opening the outer door slowly enough that the hinges creaked.

She had not at all been expecting to see this particular brother.

“Sanji,” Reiju said, surprised. He was sitting at her makeup table, a handful of products in front of him, and when he saw her he shoved them aside and covered his face, though Reiju had already caught a glimpse of it in the mirror. “Are you… What are you doing?”

There was a pause, just a moment too long, and Sanji lowered his hands.

He was smiling, though it looked pained. “I thought it would be funny,” he said. There was lipstick on his teeth. “To- to see how bad I would look in your makeup. And I was right! It's hilarious, isn't it?”

His laugh came out like a sob.

“Who… who would ever think a man could wear this stuff? It's just ridiculous, isn't it? I- I should show the others. How funny it is.”

Bright blue eyeshadow was smeared across his eyelids, bubblegum pink lipstick on his mouth, and coral blush mismatched on his cheeks. Blotchy glitter highlights completed the look, such as it was.

Silence filled the room for several long seconds.

“Mm,” Reiju said, thoughtfully. “Yeah, makeup is pretty hard if no one ever sat down and taught you.”

She pulled over the poofy footstool at the end of her bed and opened a drawer, taking out a packet of wipes and a few little bottles.

“Let's clean all that off first, and start from scratch.”

“I just. It's just a joke.”

“I know,” Reiju said. She pulled out a wipe and took hold of his chin. “Close your eyes.”

Sanji obeyed, sitting there obediently as his sister cleaned his face. They both ignored the way his breath hitched with held-back tears.

“Okay,” Reiju said. “We'll start by prepping your skin. You're a smoker, and a chef, so you really cannot moisturize too much.”

“Men don't need to do that stuff,” Sanji muttered, words slightly slurred by her vice grip on his face.

“More men should,” Reiju said firmly. “They’ll age much more gracefully, and no one likes kissing chapped lips.”

“That… that's true…”

“Yes it is,” Reiju said.

She finished rubbing moisturizer on him, and moved on to eyes. “I like to do eyes before foundation, in case the eyeshadow drops on your cheeks. Today let's just go simple, is your heart set on the blue or do you want neutrals?”

“I- I don't care.”

“I'll use a cool-colored shimmer on top,” Reiju decided. “Eyeliner is optional for daytime looks, what do you think?”

“I don't care, this is… You decide.”

“Yes, then.”

After the eyes were done she moved on to primer and a sheer foundation, explaining each step, making sure Sanji learned every tip and trick - from pumping the wand to opening your mouth to make it easier not to blink. Sanji stopped protesting at some point, just sitting there and letting her use him as a dummy.

“There’s an advanced lesson on contouring if you ever want to learn that, but I think this is enough new information for one day.” She considered her work so far. “It's a good thing you and I have the same coloring. I'll let you know what products I use, but don't be afraid to experiment with new ones. And like I said, moisturize.”

“Okay,” Sanji said quietly.

“I'd do your lips but you're probably going to need a smoke soon, right?” She'd noticed his fingers shaking and gave him an easy excuse for it.

“I can wait a little longer,” Sanji said, surprising her. “Since. I'm already here, and you're already teaching me, so…”

Reiju smiled. “I like bold colors but you seem like more of a classical beauty type. Definitely go with a long-lasting one, maybe matte, but with the shimmer I think we want a gloss.” She grabbed his chin again, ignoring the bristles. “Open your mouth.”

When she was done, Reiju gave Sanji a quick powder, then surveyed the finished look. She sat back, and nodded to the mirror, indicating he should look for himself.

The fear in his eyes was almost painful to watch. This was her little sibling, the closest to her out of the pack of them, the one she'd already failed to protect once. If she hadn't pulled this off it might only hurt him worse.

Sanji swallowed and turned in the chair, facing the mirror.

His lips parted, slightly, and his inhale of breath wasn't quite a gasp.

“I… look…”

“Told you,” Reiju said, nodding. “Classical beauty.”

He swallowed again. “It's. It's not funny this time.”

“Of course it's not, you look great. Nothing comical about being a knockout.”

Sanji stared at his reflection for a long time, occasionally turning his head side-to-side to see the other angles.

“Do you want to stay here for a bit?” Reiju asked.

Sanji nodded, silently.

“Okay. I'm going to change in the next room, and then I'm going out.”

He nodded again. “If… I need to take this off before I go?”

Reiju got the wipes out again, and quickly explained how to use cold cream.

“Got all that?” Reiju asked.

Sanji nodded.

“Are you… good?”

“I'm okay,” Sanji said. He gave her a smile, awkward but more genuine than any she'd seen from him in a long time. “Thank you.” Softly he added, “For everything.”

“Any time,” Reiju said.

She hoped he knew she meant it.

[vroomian]

which would be funnier? hana in blue lock immediately or hana in blue lock AFTER her terrible i-want-a-refund KNB experience?

oh after knb would be funnier for sure. hana goes from 'wow i hate basketball' to 'wow soccer players are all freaks! take me back to basketball land please!'. Of course, by the end of hh i don't know that hana would even bother staying in the blue lock program because she has like, friends and a girlfriend and zero desire to play sports lol.

so if i was gonna do an au it'd have to be something like she never met kise (this is a same universe thing i guess!) and instead went through life alone. she's already tried to commit suicide by this point and her parents were so upset that she agreed to go to therapy. her therapist had her pick one hobby to try out and she decided on soccer at random.

naturally, she's really fucking good. hana definitely has the personality to be a striker lol. her life could've been so much easier if she just gave in to people's expectations of her instead of going 'how about i do what i want forever'. i think her parents were so thrilled that they pulled strings to get her into the blue lock program despite her gender. ego was interested enough that he agreed. She's not in the same group as isagi at first, instead, she is the only one in her group to make it to the second round. She made it by carrying her team lol.

then all the freaks start to come out of the woodwork and hana goes owo? whats this? like-minded peers to trash talk and bully? who are awful in a way that makes me look normal??? and her life gets significantly more hilarious.

i imagine that reo def knows who she is because they're in the same tax bracket, he tries to trash talk her on how she's only here because ego wanted her parent's money so he made an exception. and hana gets to go "Obviously, I'm an exception. Im exceptional."

and this is just a normal thing for a striker to say, god bless them :')

(hana probaly gets along most with nagi. they're both pretty chill)

[nanomooselet]

Episode Four: Hungry!

Full disclosure, it took me a while to warm up to Wolfwood.

I hadn't read the manga or watched the older adaptation. Didn’t know anything about him except his ridiculous gun and that he was a priest (hence the ridiculous gun, because anime). I couldn't figure out why he was present in the narrative, except... because he was in the manga and older adaption. It seemed a little indulgent; I wanted more time with Meryl. He wasn’t even a priest. Obviously Nick has plenty of homoerotic tension with Vash, but all due respect and sympathy to Vash/Wolfwood shippers, m/m pairings have always left me cold (to be fair, pairings generally do that irrespective of gender. Desire unfulfilled is more my speed).

Sad to say that I still don't ship Vash/Wolfwood, but I did definitely come to understand why people do and why they like the guy. Though am I the only one baffled that Vash gets cast as the virginal princess so often? After this look?

Whew. No wonder Wolfwood looks like he got hit with a two-by-four. Ahem.

This is a very necessary episode that feels maybe too "necessary", like they realised they needed to introduce everything it introduces and didn't leave enough time to integrate it all naturally. It's too tight, and Stampede is already a show so tight it squeaks. Still, I think blowing Wolfwood's cover before the day was out was, if not the only right decision, not a wrong one. Almost immediately this guy comes across as sketchy, half from that he's barely trying to act like he's not (which absolutely sends me; he really hates his job) and half that he's just... an awkward dude, angry and obviously hurt in a way he won’t admit to. And while we know there's more to Vash than his façade, it's hard to tell just how smart he really is, how perceptive, because this is Vash. Meryl is the type to show off her knowledge, because she's young and eager to prove herself. Vash is a creature of endless masks and insurmountable walls. He refuses to, as he sees it, burden anyone else with his thoughts.

So we do exactly what Zazie does in this episode: show Vash something wounded and vulnerable because he'd tear off his own skin if it would make things easier for someone else. Except instead Wolfwood is the one who feels a little too exposed, of course. It's so funny to me how obviously he didn't expect this? And how frustrated when he realises he'll have to drag this self-sacrificial lunatic all the way to July alive without becoming attached. I honestly think he failed in that latter part before they even got shot out of the Worm. Vash is just so loving, and so loveable.

Also, the Worm guys (as I mentally call them) might be my favourite minor characters next to Rosa and her offsiders. They're a hilarious audience to the madness. I’m glad they got so many dinners in one go.

And Zazie - what a great character, one I genuinely think is an improvement over prior incarnations rather than just being different from them. Nail game on point, entirely free of fucks given, and a sterling addition to the cast. I'll talk more about our buggy friend later, and I have more to say about Wolfwood besides that hitting him with the trailer forced me to pause the video until I stopped cackling.

Finally, the closing scene chills me in hindsight for a number of reasons, but what gets me the most is that it's a bookend. At the episode's start, Vash refused to eat. Wolfwood had to convince him to. And it's not that he can't use his Gate, it's that he's decided to keep it closed, so something will have to make him decide to lay bare his power once more.

And somehow, I can't imagine Knives asking nicely.

[infinitystation]

it's been a LONG time since i've made any sort of personal post but i wanna ramble a bit! i've never felt more relief than finally deciding to use the term aro for myself after fighting with it on and off for at least 5 years. i'm not sure WHY it's so relieving but it is!

(under the cut bc it's long, i genuinely havent spoken here in like. years. even stopped talking on my sideblog bc i feel a bit safer on a private twitter for personal posts...)

the way i found out was a little hilarious but i am Not going into all that here that's for my private twitter, long story short someone made a post along the lines of "romance is something you FEEL not something you DO" and i was like. wait what the hell you guys Feel a crush you don't just Make one?? OH THAT'S MAKES WAY MORE FUCKING SENSE- *(&$@#)*&%^* quickly realized i had spent my whole life trying to Make crushes oops. there's more to it but that's the extremely simplified version

i had a big relief when realizing my sexuality and gender too but this one was a lot different for some reason. maybe because i'm older now? i'm not really sure. could have also been because i've been fighting with it for so long. i did the same with gender stuff too but it never felt like this big revelation, it was a lot slower and easier to come to terms with. this one made me reevaluate my entire life and go "ohhhhh that's what i was doing wrong all those years" lmao

i dont think i've ever loved myself so much since realizing this. fuck the loveless aro thing (shoutout to you guys tho, just couldnt be me), i am SO full of love. now i realize what was wrong the whole time! trying to put people above other people and put them in the Special Love category was fucking me up, love doesnt need to fall into special categories with certain terms and conditions, it can just be whatever i want it to be and as strong as it wants to be without it ever leaving the "platonic" stage and i love that. realizing that my friends are the closest people in my life and that doesn't have to change has been so nice. no more "you'll find someone Even More Special" these are just my favorite people! i love them! we dont have to get into a relationship to make it The Specialest Relationship, what we have is enough

i am also having way more fun headcanoning characters tbh, that's a silly point but it's a fun one. i never fully understood the "giving your faves your identity" thing bc i just did whatever i saw fit regardless of whether it was MY identity or not, but making random characters aro is awesome. not all of them, i'm a big fan of fictional relationships (relationships are super fun from a distance i love smacking my guys together like barbie dolls). but taking my old inkling oc and making him aro? that has made me so fucking happy. rip to his boyfriend FKJHG

[3point14a]

HAHAHHAHAHA IM SORRYYYYYYYY SHES STRAIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT but also you wont ever guess what i say every time i draw her

her being straight is FUNNY ENOUGH relevant to her story. and i think thats hilarious. token straight and she's gnc, hilarious

AGSHIAOHSGJojakljagh ok so like... ok so like robin info out of my chest BEFORE i get sent to no power hell again: RRRROBINNNN is 25!!!!! i have another finished thing with her here and she is best friends with vincent AKA Owynn's older brother. The reason her relationship with chica is so strained because she and chica both had the same passion. Robin used to LOVE designing and making clothes and dedicated all of her life to it. and then suddenly one day she just stopped enjoying it.

She stopped enjoying every single aspect of it, she got burnt out and bitter and resented that something that she once saw as her lifes purpose now felt so utterly awful and that she couldn't do anything to fix it at all. Chica!!! is still going strong!! And it feels awful to see someone be filled with so much passion just like she was, she's envious and she's bitter that chica gets to enjoy it while she spins a wheel to find out what to do with her life now that she has lost such a big part of it. Chica is still her sister and she loves her but MAN it feels horrible to see her enjoy something she lost. Something that she GOT from Robin. On the other side of the coin Chica is scared shitless to end up like robin, absolutely terrified of being similar and also burning out to hell and losing something so big to her, and that doesn't really help with the whole lack of closeness

Robin has a lot of shit in her noggin, lost her passion in life for seemingly no reason, her dad dying (yeah their dad is dead, hence chica being half siblings with eak haha me when i remarry), and gender but in a weird cis way She hates looking femenine and she hates her curves and her chest and absolutely everything about it so she went "ok so i must be trans. or gay. or something" and then she wasn't! and that fucks her up! because she feels like it's easier to explain how she feels about this stuff if she had a community to fall back into, but she's just a straight woman who feels like no man ever will ever want to get into a serious relationship with because she simply does not "look like one". And does not intend to revert back into looking like one. rip anyways another reason why they are sort of tense around eachother is because all of that made Robin very prone to just have a billion breakdowns and yell at chica sometimes

very low quality drawing but yeah your sibling going through ten million identity hoops and being emotionally unstable leaves a BIT of a lasting impression on you She's a lot happier now, she got to take her chest out, and cut her hair and draw a beard on herself and she likes how she feels! There's still shit on the back of her head going "you'll never get a job as a doctor and you'll never find love if you dont revert back to looking at least a little femenine" BUT SHES BIG TIME IGNORING THAT

uh really strong change of tone but here's some extra stupid fake tweets of her because i think she's silly, also she and vincent have opposite bangs and i think thats so silly ur grown adults what are you doing matching

loops divulged the secret playlist (/JOKE) so ill just put it here why not im a free man

[bunbeeplays]

OC Questionnaire

Thanks for the tag @simslegacy5083! Since it took me a hot second to get around to, I'm doing a two for one deal with both my legacy heir and her spouse.

Name - Ophelia Marie Lemon

Nickname - I call her Feefs sometimes (from the ph in her name) but her most famous nickname is Lemon Cake, which is what her husband Xander always calls her. 

Gender - Cisgender woman

Star sign - I think she’d be an Aries

Height - Adult Sims are the same height but if they weren’t I think she’d actually be on the shorter side like 5’3”

Orientation - Pansexual

Nationality/Ethnicity - Ophelia was born and raised in San Sequoia but I feel like she’d have ancestry in Windenburg

Favourite Fruit - Ironically it’s not lemon, but açaí! She makes açaí bowls for breakfast all the time

Favourite Season - Spring

Favourite Flower - Lilies

Favourite Scent - Water-based scents like rain or ocean water 

Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate - Coffee, though she does enjoy a cup of peppermint hot chocolate every now and then in the winter

Average Hours of Sleep - she runs on coffee and determination so she only needs like 6 hours

Dogs or Cats - Cats all the way

Dream Trip - Mt Komorebi, she’s visited for a bit but she’d love to vacation there and ski

Number of Blankets - Just a light comforter and the top sheet is fine with her

Random Fact - Ophelia’s competed on a baking show! If you know you know

Name - Alexander “Xander” Amir Lemon (née Pappas)

Nickname - Pretty much everyone calls him Xander except his sister, Hilary, who usually calls him Alexander

Gender - Cisgender man

Star sign - I think he’d be a Sagittarius

Height - Adult Sims are the same height but if they weren’t I think he’d be 5’11”

Orientation - Pansexual

Nationality/Ethnicity - Xander was born and raised in Tartosa but his dad was Greek and his mom was Indian (we don’t have worlds in the Sims that represent those nationalities though, even if Tartosa has some Greek influences I consider it more Italian-based)

Favourite Fruit - He’ll say it’s lemon because it reminds him of his beautiful wife, but he’s not gonna sit around and eat raw lemons, so his actual favorite fruit is pineapple

Favourite Season - Summer

Favourite Flower - I feel like Xander wouldn’t know anything about flowers, so something basic like daisies

Favourite Scent - Nectar

Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate - Coffee, he autonomously makes it every day. 

Average Hours of Sleep - He gets like 6 hours of sleep a night but it’s enough for him 

Dogs or Cats - Xander likes both but cats are way less needy and with four kids, cats are just easier pets to have. 

Dream Trip - Batuu but Ophelia always shoots it down lmao

Number of Blankets - One, he runs hot at night 

Random Fact - I just downloaded Divergent Sims so we'll see if this is canon, but I always had it in my mind that Xander has ADHD but never got diagnosed because his parents, while relatively open minded about most things, didn’t really believe as much in stuff like that and thought he just needed to “focus” more in school. 

[asquared-ohgodnotthehorrors]

I have been infected with an idea and it needs to get out, so here’s my idea for a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon TTRPG campaign I wanna run someday. Also if any of y’all can recommend good systems to play Mystery Dungeon games in, lemme know please.

So, the name of it is “Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Plunderers of Lore.” It’s a pirate/sailor game, which for Mystery Dungeon is a fun route to take while also keeping things open for an RPG, and adds an easier way to make base building feel impactful.

The main idea is that instead of being explorers or a rescue team, the group for this Mystery Dungeon adventure is Treasure Hunters… slash cartographers slash salvagers, basically making the sea safer as long as it makes the crew richer. Mystery Dungeons on the ocean this campaign would take place on would have a high quantity of Mystery Dungeons, often popping up and disappearing out of nowhere. Islands, underwater biomes, and ruins happen, but where they most commonly appear are shipwrecks. The goal of the campaign is to find out why some of the PCs turned from humans into Pokemon (if any of them did), discover the mystery of this new expanse, and get rich!

There’s a small core crew I have in mind:

a Dewott captain that takes on the head of the team sort of role, just generally a good leader and nice guy, a simple approach to the whole “Wigglytuff” role.

A Houndoom first mate who takes on the “bully team”/“Chatot” role, perhaps with a lackey or two. However they’re more harsh than malicious, and are well intentioned enough but rarely show it, often contesting Dewott and the first to think of mutiny in a bad situation. Not the most trustworthy, but reliable if you’re sure he is. Also he’s a fire type and having a fire type second in command in the ocean is funny to me.

Next we have our Bidoof equivalent: a Pidove who desperately wishes to be a Pelipper delivery service Pokémon, but has taken and failed the examination several times each time for a different reason. The personality is self explanatory, with Pokémon I like to go tropey and typical rather than deviate from the formula too hard as that’s what Pokemon is at its core about.

Then a chill Swampert who lugs the boat (Pokédex), a Dhelmise most of the crew don’t really pay attention to who serves a sort of “Lapras” role of being a wise old sage and the oldest member of the crew having come with the ship, and a few other blanks I need to fill. I think having a Klefki lock picker would be fun but that may be better as a one off character not part of the crew than anything.

Now, the last and my favorite crew member is (taking a leaf out of Gates to Infinity, something you never want to hear) a Meloetta. She’s the waifish “along for the ride to life adventure vicariously because she’s too fragile for adventure,” while also being the navigator and morale of the crew. What with having bardic tendencies and being good in a sea shanty and all…

The thing is, she’s secretly this legend on the seas known as “Masquerade” while in her Dancer form, wielding a rapier and donning a fashionable mask. Think a Zoro or Dread Pirate Roberts type character, feared for her single handed plundering of entire ships (mostly through trickery, Sing is better in Mystery Dungeon typically). The joke here is that every NPC cannot see through her paper thin disguise, and I’m leaving it up to the PCs on whether or not they let themselves fall for it. So it can either be “OH MY GOD WHO IS COULD THIS MYSTERIOUS MASQUERADE BE!? ITS SUCH A MYSERY!!!! DUNGEON!!!” or it could be “Dude you have met this girl before that’s Meloetta” “we don’t know their gender” “SHE’S WEARING THE SAME DRESS!” “Dresses aren’t gendered.” And the fact it could potentially be both for the PCs is what’s most hilarious to me.

Now, here’s the fun part: this is just half of the campaign.

For as we resolve the first cut away scene of Masquerade taking a secret from a ship that learned too much, dancing across the waves into the night as we wrap up our first session… we won’t actually cut away from that ship. Not yet.

We’ll see a sleek silhouette, otherworldly flight landing upon the deck of the ship.

Metal on wood.

Glowing red eyes.

Amethyst carapace.

“This is Aqua, reporting to central command, target has vacated last known coordinates.”

“Affirmative. New objective: locate the target’s new coordinates. Observe from afar. Learn as much as possible and report back to base regularly. Understood?”

“It will be done.”

And as Genesect flies off into the night, we fade to black, and we see the title card. As it flashes, we see the alternate title of this story;

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Plunderers of Fate.

[transgender-png]

i didn't wanna tack this on my last reblog bc its so long and i didnt wanna take away from ranboos speech either but. theres some specific parts my brain has latched on to from that.

first off being bazoingas, them acknowledging how busty their vtuber and people's art of them was hilarious. i love seeing him explore his identity more, i love that he's comfortable enough to do that. it gives me hope and courage to do the same, and i see a lot of myself in ranboo in terms of gender identity and expression. and something about the phrase "young queer kid" and how we helped that queer kid makes my heart sing. like. they were a young queer kid. they were scared at one point. just like me. just like a lot of us. but if he can make it this far, maybe we can too

and although the whole thing is mostly addressing what the community has been doing wrong recently, i melted when he mentioned how much he appreciates us. bAcK iN tHe dAy, before live streaming and especially twitch became so popular, there was always such a big barrier between the content creator and their audience. you knew your favourite CC appreciated you, sure, but you were always aware of that barrier and how it would always be there. now tho, for better or for worse (thafs a different topic that im too migrainey to tackle rn) that barrier has become a little.. transparent? i guess? it's more like glass now. it's still there, and you're still aware of it, but it has become so much easier to make a real connection with your audience as a creator, and vice versa.

seeing ranboo talk about how he has fun with chat and appreciates us.. it makes me happier than i can accurately describe. ranboo always seems genuinely excited to meet fans and is so active in their own community. it's one of the things about them that charmed me when i was first getting into their content, is how much they clearly loved their community.

but it also makes me sad how much he's been having to correct the community lately. i wont pretend im not part of that issue at all, bc im not perfect and ive definitely broken a rule or two or crossed a boundary once, intentional or not.

but ive been stepping away from ranboos content recently. part of it was not being into their new content as much, as im not a huge fan of horror (but that has been steadily changing for me) but a lot of it was the community. ive watched a lot of great fandoms and communities go sour because people cared too much about the wrong things. i don't want that to happen to something/one that has helped me so much.

but i don't want to end this on a bad note. one of my favourite parts of being a boober is the community (and the name). ranboo fans are some of the most creative, supportive, passionate (even if the passion is misplaced) and welcoming people ive met. even though its easy to forget, especially with what's been going on lately, i try to remind myself and others that there are good people in this community. they can be funny and witty and talented and inventive and observant and so many other things!! this community is filled with good people!!

and at the end of the day, we're qll here for more or less the same reason.

we like ranboo. we enjoy his content and his personality. for a lot of us, ranboo has helped us through some dark times, and led us to make some great friends. some of us are here from the old enderian-platonic-husband days and some of us are here from generation loss and some of us are here for the variety horror games and some of us are just here for minecraft content and a million other reasons. ranboo has charmed their way into the jearts of me and many others. some of us consider finding ranboo to be one of the best things to ever happen to us.

ive never been good at wrapping up these things but ig ill end with. remember where we all came from, and why we're all here.

whether you're a long term fan, a new boober, or have stepped away as the content has shifted, we all were impacted in some way, hopefully positive, by this creator. he's helped a lot kf us, whether it's with mental health, starting our own content creation journeys, inspiring us to make art or mess around with how we present ourselves, or just made us laugh with their jokes and offhand comments, we're all here because of ranboo.

and idk about you, but the fact that so many people can and do come together all because of one person.. that's pretty fucking beautiful to me.

basically, live, laugh, love ranboo. <3

[soleminisanction]

Just saw an impossibly bad take, so to balance that out: in the past you mentioned a story where Tim comes out as a trans woman, what would that look like for you? Do you have any thoughts on making that into a fic?

I've had a lot of scattered thoughts about it but never been able to pin down any scenes concrete enough to turn them into an actual fic. But I love trans!Tim stories whether he's trans fem or trans masc so I've tossed the idea around here and there. Gonna be a little fluid with the pronouns here as Tim's thought process evolves but the basic idea here was:

The seed of the idea would get planted in Tim's mind just before War Games, specifically the one and only time he sees a picture of Steph as Robin. Along with the hurt and anger he expected, there's emotions he doesn't understand, a feeling of longing, jealousy, and desire; not for Steph herself, but for the way she looks in her new costume. For months he's been asking himself, "What do I want, for me?" and now the answer is staring him in the face: This.

But he keeps pushing it aside because there's always something "more important" going on. Worse, as things start to fall apart around him and he loses first Steph, then his dad, and then Kon, the musings about his gender keep getting mixed up in his feelings for other people, especially Kon.

Basically, take all the angst and pain of that era and make it even worse with disphoria and Tim being deep in both denial and the closet and feeling completely unable to open up to anyone about it because of how much it scares him to want something, something she feels like she can't have. Things like him not knowing if he's attracted to Cassie or if he wants to be Cassie, wishes his body looked and moved like that while still having so much strength and power. Fantasizing about how things might've been different between him and Kon, or him and Dick, or him and Damian, if only he'd been born a girl. Falling asleep in the cloning lab and having a nightmare about miscarrying Kon's child, then waking up to find the most recent clone has failed.

Through all that, the only person who has even a hint of what's going on is Cass. She reads it in Tim's body language while they're in Bludhaven together, but understands his fears and lets him keep his confidence. Even after things go to shit for her, she keeps that secret; even brainwashing couldn't get it out of her.

Then Final Crisis happens. Bruce "dies," Dick becomes Batman, Damian becomes Robin. Tim finds himself adrift, with nothing but this crazy-sounding notion of Bruce's survival to his name, and runs away from the Manor...

And this is part of where I stumble because I don't know if it'd be better for Tim to run into Cass at this point or for her to leave him her Batgirl costume and a letter. One way or another, Cass leaves Tim Batgirl, and that's the push she finally needs to crack her egg and start pursing a transition, socially and medically.

She avoids Babs for a few weeks out of shyness and embarrassment until Oracle manages to track this mysterious new Batgirl down, but once confronted she comes clean and Babs is instantly onboard to support her and also keep Dick and Damian out of the loop.

Dick thinks his little brother skipped town and is both confused and a little hurt that Babs won't trust him with the new Batgirl's identity. Damian takes it as a personal insult and starts going out of his way to find and harass said new Batgirl but then she kicks his ass and it turns out Damian shares Bruce's taste in women so now whoops he's got a puppy crush, which everyone who knows the truth about Tim finds hilarious.

Cass one way or another winds up being the one who goes on Brucequest instead of Tim and follows similar beats as Red Robin, minus Tam Fox or losing her spleen. Speaking of Tam, she has a much easier time finding Tim because while her dad does call her home from Russia to help with the investigation at least she doesn't have to globe-trot or get kidnapped by ninjas, she just has to hunt him down in Gotham, possibly while accidentally allied with Vicki Vale.

Tim enrolls in college under Caroline Hill's name and mostly attends to practice passing in public and live out some normal girl fantasies. Kon, Cassie, and Bart all learn what's up even though she's still taking a break from the Titans and of course they're on board and supportive.

And... yeah, that's pretty much the extent of my ideas so far. Broad scope but not a lot concrete to latch onto, which makes it difficult to convert into a fic, but I do love the concept.

[pretzelpizzapuppy]

Silly doodle of the peepaw for @sonic-oc-showdown ! plus the oc questions thing under the read more :3

Name: Ignatius

Species: Domestic Cat

Home: He travels wherever the wind takes him!

✨ How did you come up with the OC’s name?

I think I just looked up like, old people names LOL I don’t remember for sure tho.

🧑‍🦳 How old are they?

He’s in his 60s!

💞 Do they have any love interests?

Ehh not anyone specifically! Might make him a husband eventually.

🥞 What is their favorite food?

Hmmm... Probably belgian waffles with far too many toppings.

💼 What do they do for a living?

He’s a freelance detective! Sort of. He’s supposed to be retired but it’s hard to keep him in place.

🏐 Do they have any hobbies?

He loves anything to do with puzzles! Puzzle games, actual puzzles, escape rooms, murder mystery media... He also enjoys beach sports like volleyball but it’s a bit hard on his body now. He also likes to bake and mix drinks. He’s a jack of all trades honestly, he’s quite restless.

🎯 What do they do best?

Solving mysteries of course! He’s also a pretty darn good cook, if you’ll allow him to toot his own horn.

🥊 What do they love? What do they hate?

His one true love is puzzles, if it’s not clear enough yet! He also loves the beach and relaxing in the sun! He dislikes dreary weather, feels it makes him far too serious and stern! He’s also not one for stuffy museums, he’d much rather be learning from communities themselves! He’s a very knowledge focused guy but enjoys the experience of learning from enthusiastic people rather than textbooks. He really enjoys watching older shows too! MASH and ST:TOS being among his favorites. Imagine those in the Sonic universe however you please LOL

📸 What is one of your OC’s best memories?

Hmm... really, he savors the feeling of helping people! Each and every person he’s helped is slotted into his brain like a polaroid!

✂️ What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Yeesh, he’s too old to dwell on these things! If he kept track of every failed case and the homophobia and ableism he’s had tossed his way in life he’d have no time for the things he enjoys!

🏚️ Is their current design their first one?

Sure is! I tend to stick with designs once I make them. Little changes may happen here and there to make them easier for me to draw but typically, my designs stay the same! His fur pattern might be choppy or smooth depending on the amount of time I want to put into drawing it though LOL

🧠 What originally inspired this OC?

Sara was drawing Sonic OCs and I hadn’t ever really put the time into making one. So I sat down, grabbed a pelt pattern I liked, and took a LOT from Benoit Blanc from Knives Out. Someone in the tags of his poll said he’s got Columbo energy but I haven’t actually watched it so I can’t say for sure whether he carries those traits or not. My favorite color is purple so it tends to sneak into my designs. I made him about a month before the Sonic Murder Mystery game hilariously enough.

🎬 What genre do they belong in?

Mystery of course! Maybe comedy/mystery?

🏳️‍🌈 What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Gay for sure, trans maybe? I haven’t decided for sure and I don’t think he’s the type to really care too much for labels for himself. He uses He/Him mostly but won’t go out of his way to correct people.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 How many siblings does your OC have?

I haven’t really thought about it honestly. I’ll probably give him a sister. Feels right.

🧑‍🍼 What is the OC’s relations w/their parents like?

Not great. He was outed in his late teens and they. Did not react well. He already had a rough time from his undiagnosed autism and it never really got better. He’d liked to have improved things with them but he just... never really got around to it.

💜 What do you like most about the OC?

I just think he’s a silly guy :) I am pretty happy with his design too! I’m quite proud of how my skills have improved in that aspect.

🖍️ How often do you draw/write about the OC?

This is honestly the most I’ve done since making him LOL I work a full time job and my brain is more focused on Warriors atm tbh

🔪 Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

Oh absolutely not. I’m the type of guy who makes ocs for fun and to push them together like dolls! Maybe if I made him as a teen things would be different.

💀 Does your OC have any phobias?

Sort of? He’s got a lot of mental things going on about germs. Washes his hands a LOT and is very aware of just how much others don’t. Maybe snakes too since he’s a cat.

❤️‍🔥 Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

His own mind if truly his greatest enemy tbh. Turns out that constantly being on alert for clues can make you a little paranoid.

⏱️ How long have you had the OC?

According to discord, since January 17th, 2023!

[ladsofsorrow24]

anyway, just... some serious thought about gender and stuff for a moment.

i just watched this video by a very fun youtuber, you can check her channel here (her video on minesweeper is hilarious, i love it) where she talked about why representation matters. and when she explained her journey of relating to characters that are... different from other people's expectations, i feel so... seen.

she mentioned how every time she played a character, it always felt easier for her to relate to a female characters than their male counterpart, and i... i felt the same way too, just vice versa.

i never... felt connected much to the concept of femininity, no matter how much it's enforced on me. whether it's watching tv, buying clothes or even when i was talking to friends about what we all like, the concept of femininity never make me feel... comfortable much.

and at first i thought "maybe it's just trauma" especially the... things that happened to me last year. but when i met this girl at my workplace, getting close and confiding to each other about our lives and goals, it made me realized that it wasn't trauma or any of that.

i'm just like this, really.

hearing her talk about things that i never wished to experience (like getting married to a guy, bearing a child and all of the very... "womanly" concepts) really cemented in how, what i want isn't because i was broken by my trauma or anything, i just don't like the thought of sharing a space with men in that... way.

and no, i don't wanna say being a woman or a girl is only that, but there's also this... inherent concept that women, heterosexual women will desire most if not all of those things.

and honestly that just confirmed how not only i am not heterosexual, i am also not that much of a cisgender myself.

which is why, even if i don't present myself as very... gender neutral to some people, deep in my heart i am not a cisgender woman.

and that's enough for me to feel... okay with my body. to feel okay with how i feel. to feel comfortable with the thought that i'm just different than most people around me.

but yeah, gender euphoria is a pretty great thing, huh? i think everyone should experience it in their life. it'll make life so much fun to feel happy about themselves.

[violetren]

Blood of the Basilisk Chapter 11

It's taken me waaaay to long to really pick up on the cinderella/pretty woman like themes of this plot but this chapter really kinda made something click in my brain. Probably all the buying of clothes.

Hardly the most important thing in the chapter though. That actually happened right up front in the form of Pyter being a Proper Little Gentleman. He politely ate from Nadani's hand and didn't get his head stuck in the lemon curd pot this time.

It's hilarious to me how much better behaved he is for Nadani. I can imagine the logic of it being along the lines of "I like her but she's choosing to be here so I have to be nice. Momma however, is momma and never going anywhere AND she folds easier anyways."

I'm curious to meet the newly hired orc runner girl and glad to hear Lou is cool and practical enough not to have any elven superiority nonsense. I grinned at her "You've been very generous and I've been very stingy" comment.

I'm glad getting new clothes was a positive if a little overwhelming an experience for Nadani, and even gladder that it became another way to show how different Kota's generosity is to former owner's possessiveness/entitlement. Especially after the small double take that came when Nadani saw Kota had gifted her a knife.

It's not the exact situation but there's something that reminds me of poetry in the gifting of the knife. Giving someone a knife to defend themself even if the person they may feel the need to defend themself against is you (not that Kota ever intends to be, or seems to be in danger of becoming someone Nadani would have to defend herself from but she can't be sure Nadani truly accepts that).

Nadani's relationship with her body is definitely a point of interest in reading so far. It's not so much that she'd ashamed of it, its that she doesn't like what other people imagine when they look at it. She doesn't want people being lecherous about her but she's aware that with a body type like hers people are inclined to look if she isn't careful about wearing modest dress. It's a specific flavour of dysphoria where it's her ability to draw what she deems negative/unwanted attention that makes her dislike her body. I think its a pretty common experience in the trans and ace corners of the queer community as well as for people who have been abused or victimised for their looks for whatever reason.

There is a pretty clear cut reason why Nadani would be feeling that way what with her past being used as a sex slave, but the writing is just so that it kinda makes me wonder if there is also an undercurrent of Gender Stuff™. They aren't always mutually exclusive. Though it may just be giving me those vibes because I'm nonbinary and Molly (author) is trans so that feeds into my reading of the situation.

Kota's reaction to Nadani's body in that modest but slim fitting bodice was certainly fun. It was also very interesting that Nadani wasn't too discomforted by it and told Kota she didn't feel objectified by her visible bout of being a gay disaster. I wonder if its just because she's started to accept deep down that Kota does respect her autonomy or if its because of the way she's been developing feelings for Kota. More likely than not its some combination of both, but its gonna be a good time exploring either way.

[fluffydice]

One singular piece of motivation is enough for me to fight several wars

Lmfao I'm about to talk a LOT. This is just basic world building and which designations they all are:

Heats and ruts are a thing that exist, but they usually center more around forming connections and bonds with the pack rather than anything sexual. They're a chance for people to let their inner instincts run free, in a sense. They're a sign of health across all designations, no matter the age. The only thing is that, because it's a relatively vulnerable position to put one's self into, people usually won't go into them if they're unsafe, feel too stressed, or don't have anyone they trust around.

Alphas tend to be the ones to stay with people during heats or ruts, if only because their natural strength is good for making people feel safe. Omegas and betas are very nice for comfort, or even security if people have seen them in action.

Repressing them really isn't good. You're depriving yourself of a chance to relax and be loved and give love. People need a pack, or to at least to let their hindbrains unwind, or else their mental health starts to plumet.

Packs, too. It's possible for a puppy to not bond with their family for a number of reasons, most being that they're being mistreated in some way. This either makes it harder or easier for them to form packs outside of their family, depending on their personality.

Pack leaders are a thing, but they can be any designation, sometimes up to three at a time (think one alpha, beta, and omega). These people tend to be either the ones to keep the peace in the group or ensure their security and comfort. It tends to just happen, rather than some formal declaration.

The common stereotypes of all types still exist, but most nowadays don't really think much of it to see these tropes subverted. Obviously, a few more closed-minded people are on the more conservative side, but at the very least, they are all equal under the law.

Designations tend to be genetic. You'll get the most variation with an alpha and omega couple, but even two betas could have, for example, an alpha kid because it's likely in their gene pool somewhere. Alphas tend to be stronger than the other two, but obviously that doesn't limit the possibility of omegas and betas becoming ripped as well lol.

Attraction is kind of fucky tbh. Some people tend to like one designation over the other, while others are attracted to specific genders, and still others do not give a shit.

Okay, that's the basics. But here's the list of all the designations I have for people:

In the Saiki family, Kuniharu and Kusuke are alphas and Kurumi and Kusuo are omegas. I have more notes about their dynamic that I'll get to in another post.

Nendo and his mama are alphas, so was his dad. Nendo doesn't actually know this about him, but it's not really that important.

Kaido and his family are all omegas. None of them escaped that.

Kuboyasu and his parents are all alphas.

Hairo is an alpha.

Teruhashi is an omega. Both uses and abuses this to its fullest extent.

Yumehara is a beta. She complains about it sometimes, but mostly in a playful way. She's glad to be able to simply share heats/ruts with her friends without having to actually go through it.

Mera is a beta. She's still buff as fuck.

While I think it would be hilarious to make Saiko a beta or even an omega, his whole vague misogyny at the beginning of his introduction and growth from that is something important I'd want to keep. There's also the idea that he learns that the world he comes from (richer and more conservatives, believing the world is his to conquer) isn't one that his friends will let him stay in. Alpha, then.

Aiura and Toritsuka are alphas. Akechi is an omega. Despite this, he is clearly the one keeping the other two in check.

I'll even mention Matsuzaki, because why not. He's an alpha, and his natural urge to protect made him a teacher. Even high schoolers still have that puppy smell; while it's harder for them to smell it on their peers, older folk tend to be able to sniff it out pretty easily. Makes him a good teacher and counselor.

And this isn't even getting into their interactions with each other, omg...

It’s honestly embarrassing but I have so many ideas for an A/B/O Saiki k au like you wouldn’t even know.

[neckromantics]

Trips in the Regalia:

Chocobro Headcanons—

could be seen as platonic or not! whatever you want. :) SFW and gender neutral.

Went on a road trip recently so these just kinda popped into my head. Also I missed you guys. :)

Okay, so Noct or Ignis are in charge of driving, obviously. Poor Prompto is pretty much banned from ever touching the wheel unsupervised bc the one time they let him behind the wheel it ended in disaster.

You’re totally allowed to drive but you outright refuse to do so now-a-days because someone distracted you by standing up in his seat and you almost drove off into a ravine out of fright.

Ignis has been known to let one of you sit on his lap and steer just for fun. Sure it looks ridiculous, but he can not handle the puppy dog eyes that are sent his way whenever he's asked.

There’s a cooler in the back by your feet that’s stocked full of Ebony and tiny little seltzer waters just in case Ignis gets cranky or someone starts to feel a little car sick.

The glove box might as well be considered a medicine cabinet with the amount of curatives that's stuffed inside.

Long road trips ALWAYS become even longer road trips because no one in the car knows how to synchronize their pee breaks. You keep telling them to just go all at once but they never listen. Someone always insists they don’t have to go and then changes their mind five minutes after you’ve left the rest area.

Parking at the side of the road where said someone has to do the walk of shame to nearby shrubbery while everyone else stays in the car and talks shit about them.

The Regalia always smells strongly of whatever essential oil that’s been dripped into the USB powered diffuser Iris gifted to you guys. It's a godsend, especially after those particularly long hunts where you all could use a shower. If it weren't for her it'd always reek of sweat and desperation in there.

It doesn’t happen very often, but there have been a couple of times that you’ve miscalculated the distance to the next fuel station and had to push the car the rest of the way after running out of fuel a few miles away.

Now Ignis has to reassure you constantly that there's enough gas in the tank, but you still peer over his shoulder to check the fuel gage and start to nervous sweat whenever it drops below half full.

Prom’s always trying to initiate a game of I Spy and you’re the only one that will entertain it lol.

No one in the car is allowed to have the aux due to past music-based arguments. You all have a joint playlist on a music app that you take turns adding songs to, and it gets played on shuffle. The genre is almost never the same back to back, which makes things interesting and also ridiculous.

Naturally Prompto takes so many photos he has to bring what is essentially a briefcase of backup storage. Will crawl into the back seat when he’s bored to sit half on your and Noct’s lap to show you some of them instead of just handing the camera over like a normal person.

Whoever gets to be in the passenger seat has the privilege of feeding Ignis while he’s driving. Apparently, Iggy burns a crazy amount of energy at the wheel because he’s ALWAYS hungry up there. He could feed himself just fine, but where’s the fun in that?

Honestly everyone’s just always feeding each other for some reason.

At some point when Noct’s driving you sneak a carrot stick into his mouth instead of a potato chip and he tries to kill you. Like, I’m not kidding he slams on the breaks and throws himself across the car at you like a rabid animal. It’s not threatening at all because he’s mostly flailing around, but it does take all three of the remaining guys to pry him away from you. You are cackling the entire time.

Gladio spends most trips reading (and then re-reading) the book he brought with him. Will let you lean in close to read it if you ask nicely. Always waits for you to give him the go ahead to turn the page.

You, Noct, and Prompto play rock paper scissors to see who gets shotgun and somehow Prompto wins nine times out of ten.

Ignis is an excellent driver but for some strange reason he loves to do U-turns in the WORST places possible. Will miss an exit and say whatever posh equivalent there is to “My Bad.” and just do a complete one eighty like your lives mean nothing to him. Also? He will slam the breaks on if any of you start misbehaving and it’s hilarious.

Gladio likes to mess with people in passing cars.

He’ll do this blank, dead-eyed stare at them at red lights until they make eye contact with him.

If the top of the Regalia is up for some reason, he’ll roll his window down and motion for them to do the same only to immediately roll his window back up as soon as they roll theirs down.

There's a compartment in between the two front seats that has five sets of matching novelty sunglasses that Noct bought at the shop in Hammerhead. It also has some lip balm, sunscreen, and bandages for when someone inevitably scrapes their knee or something.

There's not a lot of room in the car with all of you inside, so naturally you're forced to sleep in the weirdest of positions. Half on one boy, half on another. An arm or leg hanging out the side of the car. Nearly upside down in the seat.

It’s safe to say the Regalia is like your tiny home away from home by now. Sometimes it’s easier for you to just to pull a blanket into the car and sleep rather than attempt to sleep in some strange, fancy hotel room. The bros will wake up wondering where you are, only to find you curled up like a baby in the back seat.