#if i forgot to expand on something ill add it back in later

[kiwibirdlafayette]

chaos and balance- the capsize

"i don't think you understand what's actually happening here. If you'd just open your bloody fucking eyes, it's pretty obvious."

Chaos and Balance is a narrative playlist that basically comprises, in a chronological order, my headcanon for the progression of cTom Syndicate and cJordan's relationship through the course of S1, S2, the divorce arc (post-canon part 1), Mianitian Isles and the Aftermath (post-canon part 2, aka Gays on A Boat, Aitheaca, etc.) It started mainly because I really love the potential of using music to tell stories, and how lyrics can be representative of feelings seldom expressed any other way- based on both canon moments, moments I've interpreted as significant to their relationship/overall arcs, and little interludes I've written that take place in between episodes/"off camera" that connect things together in my head. All this being said, it is primarily headcanons, and is purely for fun. dont like dont read lmao

This specific being how keeping in the canon nonsense of capsize x jordan plays a role in cSyndisparklez from my pov :] enjoy!

(Red lyrics are representative of Jordan’s voice, green is Tom! Bolded black is both of them)

The shenanigans of Capsize happen just after falling for the villain,

in which Jordan is forced internally for the first time to come to terms with the fact that yes, he is in love with his friend/enemy/however you wanna put it. Despite how much he annoys him, despite all of his questionable behavior, despite it all, he has fallen head over heels for this absolute bastard of a man, and hates to admit it, but deep down has longed for a kind of affection that he could have.

I'll take my timeI'm not the forward thinker; you read my mind-

But a part of him still remains hesitant, and for one reason or another, refuses to give in, to openly admit it to not just others but himself. It’s at this point (I’ve written in) that Tom’s kissed him twice. The first, just a little peck on the lips he was able to brush off as a joke, just a hahaa ok cool bro that's funny. But the second time, as a cheap play by the zombie to get a purge kill having already caught the Ianitee off guard. It's irritating for sure, to have him weasel his way into free points by taking advantage of a distraction that worked a little too well, but why could he not get it out of his head? It hadn’t felt so wrong, actually, and… he had almost hoped it had been genuine. If it had been genuine, maybe he would have returned the gesture.

Better to leave it unsaidWhy can't I leave it unsaid

Instead they dance around it in banter, blathering on and on to one another in often complete nonsense, refusing to address what’s really on his mind. (You know I talk too much) He could confess, sure. But what happens then? All the meanwhile, Tom is scared he’s losing him. (As I hold your face, I can't find the words I need, and soon the opportunity is drowning)

Never someone all that good with words, he kind of hopes that Jordan will catch on. He has to catch on, sooner or later.. Right?Z

And then Capsize and the Ianitee pirates show up. To Jordan, it seems like she’s interested in him beyond him just being another follower of Ianite, and there’s his escape. Play along, play the part and maybe- maybe he’ll get over this.

You know my type, tightrope across the table I can't keep holding my breath

She seems to be into it. She’s responding to his flirting at least. See. He doesn’t need Tom. An Ianitee and another Ianitee seems more acceptable to him in his head, and maybe would be easier. That about, he’s not really sure.

New wave, no time Red velvet under pressure

But what Jordan does know is that he’s drawn to her. To him, it could be a way to forget about Tom. To the varied onlooker, it could just be that he’s happy to have another Ianitee around. Someone who can relate to his experience, someone who’s out to find their goddess just as much as he wants to. But he continues to conflate the two and pursue her in a way that he won’t realize for years is less than ideal.

It sparks my memory when we parked aside the shore, I kissed you there, the ocean air enchanting It escapes me quickly

Tom on the other hand, is for lack of a better word furious. Not in like a “I’m gonna murder this pirate captain for stealing my man” (because if he’s honest she’s one of the coolest people he’s met and he’s gonna befriend her whether Jordan likes it or not, with him claiming it to be ‘Mr. steal your gal’ which is??? Because does it really seem like he wants Capsize, if not as a spiteful thing)

When Jordan’s not around, Tom and Capsize hit it off, as she finds this zombie who doesn’t want to flirt with her at any given moment a lot more of an interesting person. As a Dianitee, he’s supposed to be their enemy, but for someone so supposedly dedicated to his god, he knows how to carve his own path away from being more than his god’s messenger- something she’s always admired in champions.

You call me poison, but you won't stop coming around- No, you won't stop coming around

For the purpose of perhaps getting Jordan to get the hint, Tom plays into their supposed love triangle, pretending to do things to ‘steal away Capsize’, only feeding into Jordan’s confusion. *Now Tom’s interested in her too? Is he trying to move on from me too? *- clearly to dense to realize Tom’s trying to get his attention back. She even admits to Tom that it's amusing that men seem to keep coming after her, when she’s very much more into women (abridged, but direct quote)

All I want is you- Your violet disposition, My unsound intuition

It all sort of culminates in that moment on Jordan’s ship where Tom, annoyed from his perch, watches his friend make an absolute fool of himself over Capsize, and decides to intervene, taking on the role of “fighting” Jordan over her. Capsize in a way is having a good laugh watching them roll around on the deck of the ship (I’ve drawn this, this is where it all started), starting to see it all sort of come together as to where Jordan could be coming from. At some point, Tom’s got Jordan pinned to the deck, and as one last desperate attempt at trying to communicate what he’s been trying to all along, he kisses Jordan, and much to his surprise, he kisses him back. They pull away, to Capsize’s approving nods, and it's all over.

(Jordan’s attempts at saving this are my interpretation of this conversation, aka one of my favorite chat threads of S1)

In the aftermath of all of that (If I had any semblance of a memory I’d pinpoint when exactly this interlude takes place, but im just ballparking it somewhere after Jordan dies in Tom’s vault bc Capsize doesn’t save him); in which he’s still thinking about what happened that day. Jordan reluctantly confronts Tom who spills it all. He tells him how much and how long he’s been in love with him, and how frustrated it made him that every time he kissed Jordan, Jordan never seemed to reciprocate no matter how obvious his feelings were. He’s tried so hard to make it clear that all he wants is Jordan, he wants to be loved back, he wants to be able to call him his lover. He did what he did in front of Capsize cause the fake ass courting set him over the edge because it pissed him off that Jordan would so quickly go after someone he just met just because she was an Ianitee or whatever to get away from him, because was he really that bad that Jordan had to try to hard to stay away from him? Tom knows he had himself to blame as well, but it felt like a step too far.

Always been looking for something to lose, when I needed something to hold onto.

(This sequence is followed by Pull Me Up, which. If you haven’t seen my CMV that’s the one xD)

Note. For my sanity I choose to perceive that any capsize x jordan moments following are more related to Jordan’s ‘holiest of all Ianitees’ attitude and feeling like he has to be her savior (which is a different aspect of his character arc from the romantic side, which is what I mostly wanted to focus on with this ramble, but i do touch on it a little. It's not as ever present as it could be because I haven’t found the right song to incorporate it into outside of Violet and Talk Too Much) But there is definitely more. This is from what i have notated in my stuff for these two sequences :] enjoy!

[uwurakax]

ー　Ｈ２Ｏ　「 ＨＡＩＫＹＵＵ 」　♡

-> saw a post about mermay and recently got my friend to watch h2o just add water (my favourite ofc) and obviously my inner aussie needed this drabble. i might expand or elaborate, i’m just a bit sad atm so this made me feel better xx

(( not proofread, 1am, aint nobody got time for that ))

h2o + hq masterlist here

okay so imagine this:

you’re not too sure how it’s happened, an off chance exploration to cure your boredom while you were on holidays with your family. you didn’t know how it happened, but the hidden and untouched cave you somehow managed to stumble across felt worthwhile.

you’d always felt close and at home in the ocean, but for the first time you felt terrified. one minute the water was so blue, so calm and crystal clear, and the next it turned rougher, warmer. the bubbles surrounding you abnormally. unnatural.

and once the bubbling around you stopped, you came to notice a scaly tail where your legs should have been. it didn’t take long to realise that when you were wet, or had gotten wet, your legs were traded for a orange, fishy tail.

you tried so hard to forget that holiday, putting that memory and water behind you. actively avoiding it like the plague, you wondered how big an impact this would actually have on your life. surely you could manage?

so what’s a few extra minutes added to your shower routine? so what if you had to take extra precautions around something as basic as taking a drink? so what if you had to faint and fake illness when it rained? and so what if you had to give up on the sport you loved most, lest you pop a tail and be the next main attraction at sea world?

you weren’t going to lie, it utterly sucked and you had no idea what to do with yourself. that was until you were offered a spot as manager for your schools volleyball team.

you weren’t too sure how you felt about it honestly, not really knowing the details or even rules about it. somehow though, you found yourself back the next afternoon, chatting with the coach and officially becoming part of the volleyball team.

was it the cute players? did one catch your eye? whatever it was, you soon became a part of the little squad, and the hole in your heart that was left from the incident started to heal. slowly but surely. you had managed, somehow, balancing your life and secret to a point where you almost forgot about the freak that you were. months had passed, and the normality that was taken for granted started to come back to you. but like all good things, it couldn’t last forever.

you knew he didn’t mean it, accidentally bumping you as you carried the drinks causing them to spill all over you. you dropped everything, quickly noticing that the towels had soaked and you had to leave now!

you’d reassure him later, hearing the tone of his voice as he called out to you, trying to profusely apologise. under normal circumstances, you’d have laughed, waved away his worries and told him it was okay, that it was “no big deal, and you could wash your shirt anyway”.

but this wasn’t normal circumstances, and you weren’t normal. not anymore.

you wished you could’ve had time, to find some decent place to run to, but alas life seemed to love giving you the short end of the stick, and now here you are; in the boys’ locker room showers, on the floor with the shiny wet tail behind you. it was hard to push, hard to move, and anxiety increased within you.

what the hell were you going to do now?

looking around, you tried to find something. some towel or cloth that could help you dry quickly enough to go back to normal. you thought better of it though. you were already on the grungy floor of the boys locker room, were you really that desperate for a towel that most likely sat used?

you so badly wanted to say no, that it was gross to all hell and you’d sit there and wait to air dry off. that didn’t last long though, and soon enough you heard the voices of the team behind the door, calling out to you and wanting to know if you were okay.

you yelled out that you were just fine and for them to go and leave. there was hushed whispers, and soon enough the footsteps retreated. breathing out a sigh of relief, you plopped your head down onto the ground in your arms, mentally exhausted at the close call. you felt bad, you really did, and you’d apologise to them soon enough.

you didn’t last long in your stupor though, anxiousness growing once again as you heard him softly call out to you as you turned and watched in horror as the door handle was pushed down.

[queerchoicesblog]

After The Storm

Folks, here’s the second suggestion (thanks a mill @scottishqueer) for the wlw writing project. Inspo is fleaky lately but I want everyone who sent ideas to know that I’m working on them: I’m just a bit slow to write! But I hope you will enjoy this.

A little note about this series set in the Italian Renaissance. I chose a location very dear to me and - hopefully - a bit unusual: Ferrara, the city where my grandparents lived and my mom was born. I love that place and I’ll probably go back there in August: I still remember my grandpa taking me to the Castle (I have a picture showing little me proudly sitting on a pile of cannonballs in the internal stone garden on a sunny day), the Cathedral and the palaces around town. I incorporated them all in the story.

Ferrara was also one of the capitals of the Italian Renaissance, a Duchy ruled by the House of Este, a princely family, linked with several contemporary royal dynasties, including the British royal family. They were notorious patrons of the arts and innovators (through architeractural projects like the one called “Addizione” they were precursors of modern city planning); Duke Alfonso, who makes a cameo in the story and was the third husband of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia, was a patron of Ariosto, a famous poet to whom - ironically - my high school was dedicated. So yeah, I added a personal to this miniseries.

If you do happen to like this miniseries, please consider spreading the word!

Previous series: Ancient Greece

__________________________

The rain has finally subsided. When I wake up at the very first lights of dawn, only a faint rattling against the windows can be heard, a testament to the storm an unkind wind blew from where the sea lays and roars. I cherish the feeling, the newfound sweet peace after the howling winds of the night. My beautiful little boy is resting by my side. My poor Tommaso: my little angel has been unwell for days, I have never seen him shed all those tears since the day he was born. He cried and cried until his screams of fear and pain were barely audible and none of us knew what to do. Even Riccardo, my ever-absent, ever-busy husband, worried and urged the presence of a physician with great haste, concern written all over his face. I've never seen him like that before. Tommaso is our only son, too beautiful and young to surrender to a hideous disease and leave this world. If I allow myself to dwell into these thoughts, oh that would be enough to kill me! Seeing my boy suffering was almost unbereable: his desperate cries pierced right through my heart as I held him close, impotent yet hopeful that my presence could provide him a little comfort. Mum is here, my love, fighting and suffering with you.

It's an indescribable joy and relief to wake up this morning and see him sleeping peacefully after the agony and the storm. Tommaso is afraid of thunders and dark skies, I hated the rainstorm for being so unmerciful and throwing new fears to my troubled little prince. I wish I could have blown it away like Aeolus but I do not detain such power over the natural elements.

I gently stroke his head, a feather touch: God forbid I wake him! I almost cry but I manage to refrain myself: my sobbing could disturb his heavenly slumber and I don't want him to see me crying. I'll greet him with a smile when his eyes open up again and nuzzle his belly before covering him with kisses from head to toe. Tommaso loves it and I'm sure Riccardo won't object for once, not after what we've been through. I really thought I would lose my angel.

Thankfully, Lady Death spared him or so it seems. When he wakes he looks back to his usual self, no sign of the cruel pain torturing him. He gets all happy and excited underneath my kisses and eats with a good appetite. He simply looks a bit more abashed and tired than usual but it's understandable. I'll follow the physician's advice and ask my maid to get eggs and cook one of those soups and creams I had too when I was recovering from giving birth. That will hopefully help.

Seeing him happy again makes me forget about the events and mundane meetings I have missed over the past few days since he got ill. I love attending them but it all became suddenly so meaningless when my son lost his light and health. I must remember to save a prayer and make an offering for his miraculous recovery. And I can get the report of the latest happenings at court from my dear friends. They sent notes inquiring about Tommaso and I am glad to let them know the fortunate turn of events.

They visit me the day after. I have many friends here but Maria and Virginia are special companions to me. Maria is the oldest of the group, she has two sons already in marital age, but she has been good to me since I first walked into the castle. She comes from one of the wealthiest noble families in town: she's an institution at court and it meant so much to me that she took me under her wing when I was the new girl here, the young bride of "the most skilled diplomat that has ever served the House of Este". She has her ideas and a temper, of course, we don't agree on everything but she's been a sort of mentor to me and I will always be grateful to her for that: all I know about properly living at court, well I owe it to her. Virginia is about my age, another "pupil" of Maria. I like her: she's a bit shier and meeker than our friend and she has a little boy too so I'm sure she fully understood my anguish.

Apparently, I didn't miss anything important as I guarded Tommaso with my life. Same old rivalries between dames, the yet unconfirmed gossips about the Duke marriage plans, how displeased the jealous favourite looked even if she denied her irritation. Good old court life. I comment that there is still so much going on in our fair Ferrara: the Addizione is proceeding and rumour has it, the palace the previous Duke commissioned for court entertainments, Palazzo Schifanoia, is being renewed and expanded. It goes without saying that it is bound to be a work of unprecedented beauty. I don't remember who was saying so but I know the Duke and his passion for the arts so I find it hard to doubt.

Virginia claps her hand and notes that actually yes, I missed something. Speaking of arts and artistic projects, do I remember when rumours of an external artist joining the enterprise spread? Well, it happened! Now, that I think about it, I remember...Riccardo mentioned it one night as we came back from a music gathering. Apparently, our most brilliant architect, Biagio Rossetti, the genius in charge of bringing the Duke's vision to life and into art, requested another artist to join his brigade. If I got it right, it should be a talented colleague from Florence, Sir Davide whatever...I forgot his surname. He served the House of Medici and excelled so brightly that our fair Biagio summoned him as his right hand. Allegedly, our architect - or , God forbid!, the Duke himself - is unsatisfied with how the projects are proceeding and firmly believes that a fresh set of eyes and hands will benefit the future glory of our Duchy.

"The new architect arrived - when was it? Oh yes, the day after you informed us that poor Tommaso was ill, you definitely missed" Virginia explains.

He looks nice: a handsome man, who knows how to behave himself at court, a true gentleman. I tease my friend asking if she has already put her eyes on him. Virginia blushes a little before protesting: of course not, she would never do anything like that, not to her Carlo, she's a married woman and loyal. Maria interrupts her.

"Oh stop it: as if that would be an impediment!"

"Well, ideally it is!"

"Yes, but only ideally, as you said" Maria laughs. "My young girl, you should know that everyone at court has affairs sooner or later. We'll get you a lover too one day"

"Maria, you're incorrigible!" Virginia giggles, pretending a shyness that is no longer there, replaced by a hint of mischief.

Maria just shrugs, picking up a cherry from the bowl my maid laid on the table.

"Just experienced. So believe me when I tell you we all need the thrill of a secret affair in our lives...otherwise what is left to us? We would die of boredom!"

"I cannot vouch for Maria's theory but you said it yourself, the Florentine architect is here now and he's a handsome man..." I add, winking, to join the conversation.

"You'll vouch for my theory too, dove. Give me time and I'll get yourself a lover too" Maria exclaims.

"...Before a fair lady of the court catches his eyes and bewitches his heart" I continue, addressing Virginia as I prevent Tommaso from climbing up the table on his hunt for cherries.

My friends exchange an amused look.

"Oh but he's married, Emilia!" Virginia explains. "He didn't travel alone, his wife followed him here too. We met them both"

Ah, that's unexpected! I have already pictured a handsome bachelor joining our court but that's good to hear. As much as I enjoy the company of my friends and the other dames, I have noticed though the years that new companions are a blessing. A little novelty, even if momentary at times, could have the same effect of fresh air on a hot summer day. Otherwise, we would die of boredom, as Maria said, referring to lovers. I wouldn't go that far but a new lady in town could be good news.

"Oh, nice! A potential new friend. We should invite her to join our next sewing meeting and get to know her. As well as the hottest gossips from Florence, that is! What do you think?" I smile.

Surprisingly, the expression on my friends' faces is unreadable. Did I say something wrong? Was I too straightforward? Oh gosh, I hope they didn't take my enthusiasm as personal displeasure of our sewing meetings or their company! I better get this right.

"So, how's the new lady?" I inquiry nonchalantly as I prove myself in the funniest faces I can master to make my child laugh.

I succeed: Tommaso claps his tiny hands and laughs until he's out of breath.

"Oh, don't even get me started with her!" Maria dismisses my question but I know her long enough to know she can't wait to tell me what she thinks and maybe more.

"Nothing much, she keeps to herself. Not quite the talker" Virginia shrugs.

"Ah, she's way more tolerable when she keeps her mouth shut anyway!" Maria intervenes again and I'm sure she's not done with just that.

"My my, it seems you took quite a dislike for her" I giggle, exchanging an amused look with Virginia.

"I couldn't help myself, my dear" Maria continues, fanning herself as if to cool down her mounting anger. "Another boorish yet arrogant Florentine"

"The Florentine are always so full of themselves" I concede, cradling my son in my arms.

"Then she must be the Queen of them all" Maria barks a throaty laughter. "She looks so...so high and almighty: 'oh no, I'm afraid we don't play this game in Florence', 'I don't know what it means, we don't have this word in Florence', 'Florence here and that'. Believe me, sweetheart, we were trying to be kind to her but she's impossible! She acts like royalty but she's the wife of an...architect"

She pronounces the last words with evident displease. I can't refrain laughter: she's always been such a snob! I comment that she certainly sounds like...something.

"Oh but you'll have the disgrace to meet her soon enough!" Maria exclaims. "You know that our Duke is so fond of artists, he will certainly invite them again at the next dinners and balls"

"Speaking of the ball" Virginia intervenes to prevent her from keeping ranting. "What will you wear at the Masquerade Ball next month? I ordered a most extravagant costume yesterday, I can't wait to show you-"

We spend the rest of the afternoon discussing the upcoming events at court and the latest trends, gossiping about what we suspect the other dames will wear.

Ah, I missed my friends and our conversations...

[mistyechoes]

oKAY so basically i really wanted to just. talk about fangan stuff that might happen because im going to be making major revisions to like. everything and everyone. so here we go!

okok so i think i had a theme a while ago but i completely forgot it. so... let's think of some!

(bold is for ones I like, italics is for ones i like but probably couldn't execute, both is for one i really really like)

brain/heart (thinking with logic/emotion) - was expanded upon in v3 a lot, so idk

life/death - it's kinda the general theme of all the games and some other fangans have it

positivity/negativity - like viewpoints on life? i kinda like this one honestly?

give/take - ooh. oo i like that. i like this one a lot

accidental/intentional - nahh that's so like. just for murders y'know?

carefree/afraid - hmmm...

okay well, that's all i can think of for now. since i liked it the most, let's go for give and take.

!!i can always change this if i lose interest!!

so. give and take. i think this could be good for characters and things that happen in the story. it could also provide a lesson that you should always set boundaries.

so, these characters will most likely change soon, as im not at all sure of if they give too much/take too much/have good boundaries.

it's also good to think of personality traits to go with this. for example, i know im going to have a rival! so the obvious answer is to have them take too much, right?

while that could be fun and a lot easier since hamako fits with that, i think it'd be a lot more interesting to have a rival who gives too much. this would be very difficult to execute though, soo... i hope i dont just go for a rival who takes too much lol

honestly this could provide an opportunity for other characters to be a rival. for example, sofia. im not terribly sure if she'll stay in the fangan but she'll definitely stay an oc.

so she's definitely someone who gives too much. she's influenced very easily by people because she thinks she's a terrible person and that her abuse was justified, so it could be an interesting concept... that i probably won't go for.

haruka is a character that has boundaries. she's like. the only one here who has a stable mental health. it could also be interesting to have this absolute ball of sunshine as your rival.

aaaa this is hard to think about, so i think ill think about the murders.

i read that it's important to have a sort of different theme in each case, so ill have to think some things up again huh...

okay but first: the original murders!

izumi killed hiroshi - complete accident, in sofia and his panic from the fire they got the water that monokuma mentioned was poisoned

sofia killed hamako - not sure but in my original notes i had it down that hamako would somehow influence her that murder was the only way for people to see her as she "truly" was. so she killed her as a pro gamer move

kaiya killed haruka - this was the most brutal kill i think. don't remember the reason at all lol, but kaiya ended up shredding her body up to her head in a bath tub.

namika almost killed daiki but he killed himself - the motive was something to do with saving the group, like in every other chapter 4. daiki was alive after namika attacked him, so when she left he stabbed himself.

(id like to mention that monokuma made it clear after the trial that suicides don't get class trials)

yami killed reiko - either another "we need to save everyone!!" kill or a mercy kill.

save killed tashio - if you didn't know tashio is/was the mastermind. save is/was his partner but she didn't want to be. after all of that stuff happened she decided she had had enough and bargained with monokuma enough so that she could kill him. she painted it has a suicide and got away with it since nao agreed with her that none of them would've killed. save is executed right before everyone leaves.

so. yea you can see that i didn't have a theme at all right? yikes. i really need to revise some of these.

anyways, back to chapter themes.

ive been told not to ask for help for this thing but im like. oof on this one.

ill think of different murders first.

a suicide...? - a murder that's framed like a suicide. this is from the earlier ideas actually. sofia killed hamako and then hung her up on her noose. she also stabbed her and then hid the knife to throw them off even more, but we don't have to include that.

ok. so. ill add to this later. this is hurting my brain

[dark-and-kawaii]

I’m with you on the uta x human train. Give me the deets on this kiwi and I Love you’re expanding your fandoms! The world needs to know about you 🥰

“Fem please I forgot to add that”

Jeez!!! Such wonderful feedback!!! I wasn’t expecting this honestly!!! And wow 0-0 the world huh??? I don’t know if the rest of the world is ready for all this *motions to you guys and all the lewd writing* we might scare the world hehehe!!!

Thank you for asking about Uta!!! He’s in my top husbando list for sure!!!

Uta

Okay picture this,

Uta falling in love with a human girl, also known as yourself...

He knows it’s wrong but he’s all about living on edge, right? You come to his shop one day hoping to find a mask. You’ll look around and notice no one is in the shop. “Excuse me… is anyone here” your faint voice could easily be heard, yet, there was no reply. You’re ready to head out until you notice a sheet hanging over something on a stool.

Out of curiosity you go over to it and take the sheet off. “Boo.” He speaks with an expressionless tone and face. Frightened, you slip on absolutelys nothing but before you can fall Uta quickly jumps off the stool to grab you...

His left hand currently on your back while his right hand is holding your very own, and in his head he’s thinking ‘Cute’.

Intrigued by you he ends up following you around the city until one day he finds you being attacked by a male human. This bothers him greatly...

Acting hastily he goes to your rescue without thinking, ending the males life without even releasing his kagune...

However when he turns around instead of running away you simply stare at Uta in awe.

“I hope I didn’t frighten you miss.” He says nonchalantly... Most would run, or stutter as they attempt to speak, but instead of replying with words or running away... You replied with your body instead, hugging him tightly, you thank him for saving your life... He’s a bit caught off guard but after a few seconds, Uta would hug you back tightly resting one of his hands atop your head. After a minute you’ll pull back so you can look up at him, “Your eyes... they- ... they’re so beautiful”...

And that’s when Uta realizes... He had forgotten to wear his sunglasses...

He REALLY knows he shouldn’t but he ends up befriending the you despite their differences. He knows this could be dangerous for you, and himself if he’s not careful... not because of him, but other ghouls.

Everyday you would bring him coffee along with every other weekend you would bring him freshly wrapped meat you obtain from your friend at the hospital.

One night Uta can’t control himself giving in to his urges. He ends up pinning you down, staring down at you he confesses that if you accept this relationship it could mean your life one day. Knowing the costs you still agree to it anyway.

A year later by some miracle you end up getting pregnant. Everything goes smooth until about 5 months. You become ill, barely able to walk and near death Uta tries everything but realizes that Yoshimura is the only one who will be able to help.

Yoshimura explains to Uta that you need a ghoul organ in order to survive, however Uta does not wish this life for you. Nor does he wish for you to become what he is. He fell in love with a human, and wanted to continue loving one.

They end up coming up with a plan, to feed you human meat, and drink blood in order to keep everything at bay. To Uta’s relief it ends up working, and you no longer need to become a ghoul.

Nine months later you walk in on a sleeping Uta holding yours and his half ghoul half human baby girl on the bed with a precious smile on His face.

~ Love Kiwi xoxo

[modesty-blaise]

Since I'm curious, what caused you to become very possessive of your gifs? Not out of rudeness but curious, since no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr which automatically credits you at the bottom of the gif.

Hey. Tbh, at first I didn’t wanna bother with yet another anon but since I see no ill intent behind this, I decided to go and answer it. Unfortunately, half-way through I realised my reply is turning into incredibly long semi-bitter rant and expands well beyond calling out just one person in Psychonauts fandom (and yes, this is related to Psychonauts fandom – you do know that these anons are not really that anonymous, right?) so… buckle up! All that beneath “read more”.

I’ve been on this hellsite for like…7-8 years? Maybe more? Can’t really tell cause I moved blogs and my old blog now consists of only 4 posts I’ve made close to leaving so I honestly have no idea how much time I’ve spend here before moving. Anyway, during those few years I’ve spent on my first blog I’ve met a lot of creative gifmakers who enjoyed sharing their love for fandoms they were in. I��d like to point out that this was waaaaay before tumblr created that insert-gif option so, back in the day, the only way to add gifs to your post was to: 1. make them yourself 2. take them from someone else. And a lot of people were taking them from someone else which resulted in many gifmakers giving up on making gifs and leaving fandoms and/or even leaving tumblr – and I’ve had many of my friends give up on what they love and have their games/shows/movies/whatnot ruined for them cause people would not stop stealing from them. And many of my friends eventually left tumblr cause they couldn’t deal with it anymore.

Tumblr adding insert-gif option, in my opinion, honestly, just made it worse for gifmakers. Cause now people had the opportunity to use gifs for their posts, with or without creators’ permission/knowledge, but it was alright and it was perfectly fine cause creators were credited. There’s their name at the bottom. It’s alright. Like… it doesn’t matter if they’re actually okay with people using something they’ve put hours into making or if they’re not – tumblr gives them credit so they SHOULD be okay with it. Simple as that.

Well, we’re all different and some people are not okay with that. I’m not okay with that. It took me weeks to figure out how to use photoshop correctly. Took me countless hours of looking through different tutorials and basically trial-and-error-ing my way through the process. Whenever I make gifs, it takes me hours to record videos and then hours trying to achieve that 3mb limit on gifs (thank lord these days we’re beyond 1mb limit). After all that effort I put into creating gifs for games that I love and enjoy, someone is going to make 2 clicks and have that same gif added to their post, without even asking. So how is that okay?

Back to your question. Yes, “no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr”, that is true and that is something I was aware of when I saw you-know-who announcing they would be starting 30 days Psychonauts challenge. So, hating to see my gifs used against my will, and not wanting to start any unnecessary drama and threaten people in advance with reporting them if they do use them, I’ve made my blog as private as I could. It was only accessible through the dashboard, it was not showing in ANY search engines inside and outside tumblr, and my gifs were impossible to find through insert-gif function – I’ve made sure. I did all that cause I just knew that during those 30 days, someone would use my gifs and I would get mad and I desperately wanted to avoid that (hence going extreme). And you know what happened? You know what creator of this challenge (who prevously already reposted my gifs) did? *drums* They used my shit anyway. :3 They just uploaded it from their computer, where they’ve saved it earlier.

And like… a lot of people see pretty pic and decide to save it - I mean, we all do that. Heck, even I have a folder full of shit I saw online and liked it – but i’m not uploading it online cause I haven’t made it. It’s not mine to share.

But some people are not like that.

Some people see fanart of something they like and they want to share their opinion on it – and instead of making their own post, maybe drawing the fanart themselves, they decide to use someone else’s art for their post. Do they know who made it? Do they have creator’s permission to share it? If the answer is NO, then they should be a decent human being and not do that to creators. Oh, they shared it anyway but now people in fandom are calling them out BUT this actually happened on accident? They know who the creator is but, somehow, they accidentally forgot to credit them? OK, well, it’s possible, shit happens, but they better make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Then sometime later these same people decide they want to make a post appreciating their fav character and they want to include pics cause duh, you can’t have character appreciation post without pics, right? Now they have several options: they can get their own screenshots, make their own gifs, maybe draw something… or they can just take someone else’s creation. Do they know who made it? Well there’s my fuckin name on it, and since they’ve stretched it from 245 to 500px, it’s really hard to miss, plus it’s not like there are that many people making Psychonauts gifs. Do they have permission to share it? Hmmm, nope, didn’t ask me. Is this also an accident? Could be. I mean, I’ve seen stranger things happen, so accidentally forgetting to credit content creators twice… kinda suspicious but still possible. Who am I to say?

Now if these people then decide to make a post appreciating their fav ship and they want to add a cute pic of the loving couple – yup, you guessed it! They can either create something or take something. Again: they know who did? They asked for permission? Got the permission? No?!?! But they posted it anyway?!?! :o Could it really be, that after being called out publicly, after being told that reposting is bad (something that’s very easy to understand), after even having tumblr staff intervene and remove stolen shit from their blog, after all that - could it really still be an accident?

Nah, man.

They just don’t give a shit.

Cause if they did, they’d stop with that crap first time they were called out.

(and if you think Psychonauts fandom is their only fandom and that they’re not doing this crap in other fandoms too - hoooo, boy, do I have some bad news for you! Do you know how many stolen and butchered HP fanart is on their blog? Hobbit stuff? They seem to be one of the most accident-prone users on tumblr. And honestly - it’s a real miracle their blog’s not been terminated.)

Back to what I was talking about - I’m not okay with people using my gifs and I’ve made it very clear. I literally do not give a shit if I’m credited or not, I’ve made it very clear that I don’t want my gifs used without my permission. If you like them and want them on your blog, there’s a fuckin reblog button. It’s sole purpose is to allow you to share other people’s creations. Or shitposts, cause lord knows we all love those.

So that’s why when someone spends hours going through my Psychonauts tag and goes as far as to send me “I love your gifs” anonymous message, but the very next day makes stim moodboard post including one of my gifs, now cut and resized to fit 3x3 format they’re going with, I get mad. And that’s why when someone uses one of my gifs to promote their RP blog, butchering it to fit their aesthetics, and later when confronted going as far as blaming their good friend on it cause god! they’ve had no idea it wasn’t theirs, I get mad. (makes you wonder though: if they friend has such skills, why not making them gifs themselves?)

Like…. I’ve had my gifs stolen plenty of times. I’ve had them stolen for roleplaying, for headers, for imagines, just for notes… I’ve had them stolen by people claiming to run official fan sites (that’s a real wild story but I won’t get into that now)… I’ve seen them on pinterest, weheartit, FB, all those random gif sites… and I’ve seen EVERY. POSSIBLE. EXCUSE. ranging from: “well i found it on google so why should i credit you” “lol dunno who made this but its pretty so im posting it” “ive had it on my computer for years so i don’t remember where i got it from” “i dont know how to make gifs so im using weheartit as a source” “credit to whoever made this” (that’s my fav) to “its just a gif so who gives a shit” (it’s not – it’s hours of creator’s time and lots of love that you’re now shitting on so thanks) and “i have an /illness/ and getting notes makes me feel better so dont u dare blame me for stealing” (I don’t remember exact excuse but it was something along those lines and like… how do you even respond to something that without looking like an asshole?).

And sometimes it really is just an accident. Sometimes people really do forget to credit you and/or ask you for permission. And I’ve had my fair share of those accidents. People in Psychonauts fandom have been using my gifs for various crap but, when approached, they’ve removed it and apologised. And it’s something I really appreciate. (if they actually bother reading this and they recognise themselves: i’m really grateful and thank you for not being an ass)

But you know what I don’t appreciate? People making a call out posts about me, asking about my gifs when they know very well they’re the main reasons why I’m not making those gifs anymore, at the same time failing to address any of the issues I have with them and instead rather explaining to others what happened BUT explaining only the parts that make me look like a villain cause how I even dare be mad about them stealing? How I even dare call them out on it? That is so ridiculous and criminal of me, and it’s so so sooooo bad that they need to call me out. I deserve to be called out by the very same person who’s been stealing my shit.

And their explanation is…well… it’s something.

They were sympathetic and polite? When did this happen? Did I completely missed that part? Please someone fuckin enlighten me with such post/message where they expressed their sympathy and politeness and I’ll apologise right this second.

I told them to “literally fuck off”? Yeah, that did happen, I admit that. Did they bother explaining why I told them to fuck off in the first place? Did they say they were caught stealing from me and had tumblr stuff remove my shit from their blog? Did they get into details of how they demanded the proof of my so very wild and obviously false claims but then when I showed it, they just deleted that “how dare u call me out cause I would never do such thing” post? No, they didn’t and geee, I really wonder why.

Instead, what did they choose to address? Out of all the things I’ve said. Hm? What did they choose? Me telling them to fuck off. Me dropping the F-bomb on them, rudely rejecting their obvious kindness and politeness. Nothing else.

Back to what I was talking about before I got derailed again: no, I’m not mad cause this person used my gifs without crediting me. I mean – I am, but that’s not my main issue with them (and they know it). My main issue is that this is someone who will continuously lie and steal and still deny any of it, even when there’s plenty of proof (and you can always count on me to show up with proof tbh), and then go as far as to publicly ask about my gifs and try to call me out. Like me getting mad that something I’ve put hours of work into, and something I’ve made cause I love the game and I want to share my love and appreciation for it, is now being shared against my will and my knowledge - like me getting mad over something like that is so unreasonable that they need to make an entire post about it while pretending they have absolutely no idea why I’m even mad and why we have issues.

And I have every fucking right to be mad. 3 times is not an accident. 2 times to the same person is not an accident. They know it. But yeah, playing stupid is their defense so it’s not like I expected them to actually address their actions this time either.

And you know what? Just because I swear a lot doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Doesn’t mean there’s no solid ground for my claims. People on tumblr have always been and always will be stealing shit. Sometimes they will credit you, often they will not, and that’s just how it is, doesn’t matter if you’re okay with it or not. But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna sit quiet and accept someone’s shitty behaviour. Especially when it’s directed at me.

TLDR: giving credit =/= having permission

but my previous posts leading to this ask were not about that

you knew that already

[keelyc-s]

Evaluation of Final Outcome

My overall theme of ‘Dog Breeding’ differs greatly to what I initially thought I would base my work on. I initially thought that ‘Animal Rights’ would inspire me to create work on farm animals and use the abattoir as a setting for my work as that is where the most violence and loss of life occurs in animal related industries. Instead, I wanted to focus on an issue that does not as obviously link to animal rights and that as far as I know has not been covered by artists which is ‘Dog Breeding’. Being inspired by George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, I took the themes of power, vulnerability, business and man-made infliction as opposed to the subject of farms and farm animals. I nave not researched a lot into the theme of ‘family’, a theme that I thought would be prevalent in my work due to its emotive connotations, but instead researched into the themes of health, competition and business. Consequently, my work came to not focus so much on catharsis, but instead to reflect the current dog breeding and dog show issues as awareness. I hadn’t thought about dog shows as ’garish beauty pageants’ or the health problems many pedigree dogs suffer so I felt motivated to research the issues and gain a lot of knowledge from it. I have still  used ‘Speciesism’ as an issue subtly in my final piece as my dog show pageant rewards only pedigree dogs: the British Bulldog; King Charles Spaniel; Poodle; and Pug; not mongrel dogs. My research has touched on eugenics and the Aryan race to show similarities between how The Kennel Club sets out criteria for ‘desirable’ characteristics in dog breeds, as did Hitler in Nazi Germany for the ‘perfect’ race;or in The Kennel Club’s case, the ‘Breed Standards’. I have supported my Project Proposal by using both 2D and 3D medias in my final piece, something that I planned on doing in my Project Proposal to create more detail in my work. 

In my opinion, all of the research that I gathered for my project was relevant even if it did not link directly to dog breeding. At the start of the project, I kept my research broad into ‘Animal Rights’ generally, so researching animals in entertainment, food, animal testing etc which allowed me to gain a broad insight into the injustices of animal treatment and their vulnerability, being victims to human dominion. My research at that point was mostly from articles or photos on the internet or reading chapters in literature or philosophy books for intellectual insight into the the issue. My research started to focus on dog breeding when i decided that producing artwork on dogs and their rights would be interesting as it is not widely researched so I gained very relevant primary research by visiting the RSPCA in Derby where I learnt about their reasons for being there and their experiences. Only then did I decide that ‘breeding’ would be a fascinating and unique topic to focus. looking at the consequences of overbreeding on dogs quality of life and standard of living. I took many photographs at the location of the dogs which I used in my experimental pieces of work, but the whole experience made me want to create work that exposes the suffering and helplessness of many dogs as I found the experience sad and overwhelming. As a result, this research moved my ideas forward because it inspired and motivated me to research deeply into dog breeding which linked to dog shows, The Kennel Club, Crufts, pedigree dogs and health defects.

One of the main problems when creating my final piece was time management. It took me longer than I expected to finalise my final piece plans as I was still experimenting with ideas and materials. However, what helped enormously was the weekly plans and frequent evaluations that I did which really helped me to organise my timing and preparations for my final piece, especially in the last few weeks of my project where my schedule to get parts of my project completed was hectic. Another problem that I encountered was experimenting with materials at a late stage which was to be used specifically in my final piece that I hadn’t used before. For example, making my own canvases using wood, canvas sheets and emulsion paint, or even combining 2D and 3D pieces in my work which I hadn’t done previously in my experiments. Making the rosettes out of ribbon was part of my final piece that I hadn’t tested out before, therefore I was unsure about whether it would suit my final piece, eventually deciding that it added to its garishness.  I resolved making my own canvases from scratch by asking one of my lecturers to give me a tutorial on how to make one which I carefully noted so that the canvases I made were of good quality. I did worry to begin with whether the canvas sheets were stapled tightly enough to the wood, however, I adjusted them by stretching them tighter over the back. I resolved my lack of practice into combining 2D and 3D elements in one piece together by gathering 2D and 3D experimental pieces and roughly positioning them over each other. This was where the thought of adding 3D protruding eyes for each dog came from, and also the thought of using mod rock for skin disorders came from. I also did a little research into artists who use both 2D and 3D elements in their work which made me feel comfortable with what I wanted to produce and the effect that it could give. Overall, I am glad that I did make my own canvases as it feels more personal to me and part of my art, as well of being of better quality than a shop-bought canvas. I am also happy with my combination of 2D and 3D elements in my final piece as I feel it gives a greater grotesqueness and realism to my work.

I played to my speciality of painting for my final piece as I felt that it would overall be of better quality if I did. I think that I developed as a painter when painting my final piece as looking at my overall portraits, (specifically the Bulldog and King Charles Spaniel) the finish on them looks quite professional. I think this is because I learnt to add water to acrylic paint which gave a smoother and more blended finish. Although I did not build on as many skills in painting my work, I did develop many skills in 3D / sculptural pieces of work. I had never made eyeballs out of newspaper, tissue paper and embroidery thread before, nor had I ever made rosettes out of ribbons so in my opinion I have developed greatly in 3D work and in learning how they compliment 2D pieces also. I was experimenting with materials even when I was creating my final piece which was risky as they were to be used in my final piece. Although it could be seen as disorganised, I think that is how I personally work and am confident that my final piece will look accomplished when I have a clear vision of what I want my final piece to include. I worked in this way for the Sudbury Hall project which I felt brought more imagination and creativity to my work. For this project,  I didn’t plan to make my own canvases but it has really expanded my practical skills and has added more individuality to my work as they are the exact size that I required and slightly rugged as well which shows they are homemade. I did adapt my work to an extent when considering the experiments I carried out for the final piece, however, timing did make it difficult to change too much of my final piece plan, so I just had to make the best quality work I could out of my current final piece idea.

I think that I managed my time well to begin with in the project as this was the experimental time and the weekly action plans certainly did help me organise the current week and week ahead to get as much work done and supplies gathered as possible. However, despite having the plans later on in the experimental period, I feel that I got a little carried away with experimenting and not planning early for the final piece because there was so much in my research on dog breeding that I still wanted to explore in my art. Nevertheless, I  became more strict on time management when I started my final piece as I wanted to make sure my work would not be rushed and be the the best quality possible as I was aware that the size of my final piece was quite ambitious, especially with them being detailed paintings. I used my journal continuously to record the development of my project, however, when my action plan sometimes got quite chaotic, I tended to reflect and develop and organise my work in my head, so forgot to fully evaluate my work at every stage. Nevertheless, I would catch up with the reflections and evaluations in my journal after the chaotic schedule so that all my thoughts and plans were recorded throughout.

Overall, I think that my final outcome is successful in terms of its appearance and effective in conveying the message that I wanted it to. The detail of my work is good as I don’t think I have spent so long on a single piece of work before and so I am very proud with the scale of it and its appearance generally. The 2D and 3D pieces give it an inventiveness that it would not have had without the 3D pieces. I think that the meaning of my work is easily translatable also as it shows the contradiction of ill/ deformed dogs being rewarded in a Crufts show which demonstrates clearly that I am showing the negative aspects of Crufts and dog breeding. Looking at the final work, there is a good balance of grotesqueness, detail and meaning. I wanted to stay clear of creating work that was too gory as I am sensitive to such material and I did not want the meaning of my work to be ignored/ overshadowed by the overwhelming grotesqueness of it. Furthermore, I am a little dissapointed that my last two portraits (the Poodle and the Pug) are not as detailed and have less of a professional appearance then the other two portraits. I think this is because time became an issue and the pressure was getting to me to finish soon at that stage.

Overall, I think that my work has been a success in its appearance, scale and meaning, which will hopefully be supported by the feedback in the exhibition.

[dulwichdiverter]

A directorial debut

A local director’s first play fuses difficult decisions with dark humour to explore the turmoil of a young woman facing an unwanted pregnancy alone

Words by Elizabeth Rust

What’s it like to physically and emotionally go through an abortion? What are the steps? How much waiting is involved? These are the types of questions the play A Womb of One’s Own addresses when a young woman faces the decision to have a termination.

Directed by 20-year-old East Dulwich resident Holly Bond (pictured above, in the centre), the play follows an 18-year-old student who, through a journey of sexual discovery, goes on an emotional roller coaster of an unwanted pregnancy.

The play itself is creatively directed to explore the issues of abortion, sexuality and religion. Its main character, called Babygirl, has just started university. She’s escaped her crotchety, old-fashioned grandmothers and is learning how to explore her own sexuality.

But after her first sexual experience, she gets pregnant. Without a support network around her, she has to come to terms with the isolating decision to have an abortion. The play follows her path as she navigates life as a newly independent woman.

A Womb of One’s Own is a dark comedy, which might seem an unexpected genre for a play that explores such a sensitive topic. But according to Culturised reviewer Alex Killeen, it works, initially by helping audiences bond with Babygirl.  

He adds: “Later, when events take a darker turn and emphasis is placed on the stress, panic and trauma involved in the process, comedy is well utilised to ease some of the tension of the play without trivialising the issue at hand.”

“A few jokes are meant to make people feel uncomfortable,” admits Holly, who is studying English and drama at Goldsmiths. “We don’t hide away from graphic images. We want people to realise how painful it is.”

A Womb of One’s Own is loosely based on the play’s writer Claire Rammelkamp’s own experience. Like Babygirl, Claire was single, studying and unemployed when she had a termination, but unlike her protagonist, she wasn’t alone.  

“I have a supportive mum,” she says. “But this character is Catholic, and dealing with guilt. She was raised by her grandmothers and doesn’t have a maternal influence to guide her. She’s also just gone to university, and doesn’t have any firm friendships.”

Claire and Holly met at the National Youth Theatre last year where they were on the theatre’s first ever all-female epic stages course. They bonded over ideas about feminist theatre and decided to start their own production company, Wonderbox.

Their aim is to challenge taboos and showcase untold stories. But while searching for a script, Claire realised she had her own untold story about having an abortion, which she says she compartmentalised and forgot until she was brainstorming with Holly for ideas.

Holly supported Claire in her decision to write the play and she initially penned a 15-minute script. “We thought the 15-minute piece had some legs,” she says, “so I started writing more.  

“I wrote in the letter in the programme that [the play] had the growth process of a baby, because it kept doubling in size and grew in this month-to-month period to become mine and Holly’s baby.”

Four actresses play the role of Babygirl – Claire, Danica Corns, Larissa Pinkham and Carla Garratt, with each actress taking on different and often conflicting aspects of her personality.  

Claire wants audiences to empathise with women who have had an abortion. She insists that A Womb of One’s Own isn’t a man-hating Alanis Morissette-style rant. “This is not about men. Not everything is about men,” she says.

Instead this is a play about a young woman feeling alone, and how she copes with that isolation. Men are very welcome to see the play though – perhaps to learn how to support someone going through an abortion.

Once Claire had finished the script, Holly’s job was to turn the words into physical art. “I knew the play had to be over the top. Sharp and quick. It had to hold people’s attention,” she says, explaining that it is meant to be as educational as it is entertaining.

In her directorial debut, she learned quickly how to work with actors. She read Directing – a Handbook for Emerging Theatre Directors by Rob Swain, but eventually she just had to trust her gut, making hundreds of decisions about set design, lighting and sound.

Some decisions took her actors by surprise, like when she pitched the idea of them coming on stage wearing giant, unflattering knickers. “The concept was to show how vulnerable and awkward people feel on a first date,” she says. “But it wasn’t sexy,” she adds, saying that she’s keen to show the true female form.

Other decisions were much easier, like finding somebody to design the play’s programme. Through her network at Goldsmiths, people jumped at the chance to get involved.

Much of Holly’s time was spent listening and understanding her actors’ needs and ensuring their portrayal of Babygirl’s experience was believable. She also used improvisation techniques to get the cast to think outside the box.

Claire loves this about Holly. She loves that she’s not afraid to experiment. She especially loves that she can go away and then come back with a completely new and interesting idea.

“She’s very sensitive to my work as a writer. She doesn’t trash it. But she seeks to improve it and give it an extra spark of life,” she says.

Nevertheless, both Holly and Claire are also very aware of the topicality of the play, especially since the Conservative government formed a coalition with the anti-abortion DUP.

In the United States, president Donald Trump has expanded the global gag rule to eliminate US government funding for international health organisations that provide counselling, referrals or services for safe and legal abortion – even with their own cash.

No form of contraception is 100 per cent effective, and having an abortion is something one in three women will face during their reproductive lifetime according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.  

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 190,406 abortions were carried out in England and Wales last year, and of these, 4,810 abortions were performed for non-residents of those two countries.  

Yet there’s still a stigma attached to the word abortion, even for those who are pro-choice. “People flinch when they hear the word. Our aim with the play is to get away from that flinch,” says Claire.

“If someone has had an abortion, I really want them to feel a sense of camaraderie – this is quite a common experience. And if someone hasn’t had an abortion, it would be nice to emotionally prepare them for it.”

The play debuted at an all-women scratch night in Clapham. It’s a night when a new piece of work is tried out in front of an audience. Once Holly read the feedback forms, she decided to scrap a couple lines from the play.

“They just weren’t necessary, they made people tense up,” she says. They also made the decision to expand on a lesbian relationship that develops before Babygirl has an abortion.

After workshopping the play a few more times they decided to take it to regional theatre, performing it in Birmingham and Bristol. In August they finished a week-long run at The Space performing arts centre on the Isle of Dogs in east London.

Critics have been positive about the play, with the University of Birmingham’s student newspaper, Redbrick, saying: “This is a production of filthy comedy and hard-hitting politics.”

Reviewer Becky Bryant added: “It is powerfully thought-provoking, exploring controversial issues, including religion, sexuality and abortion, prompting the audience to think and talk about these topics long after the production is over, breaking the taboo.”

Actor Paul McGann, who is famous for his roles in Withnail and I and Doctor Who among others, saw the production earlier this year and said: “I loved this. Skill and daring from a really promising young company.”

So what’s next for Holly and Claire? They hope to show the play in Northern Ireland, especially during the abortion debate. Then next summer they want to present at the Edinburgh Fringe. But all this costs money, so the duo are applying for arts funding.

They also want to continue working together. Claire is currently writing two scripts: one about a couple who stay together because they have the same illness and another about a women’s mental health support network that turns out to be a group of modern witches.

But it’s clear that these two have a firm artistic relationship too. “I hope she directs all my plays. I love working with her so much,” Claire says. “Holly really is my creative soulmate.”

..........................................

Any Dulwich resident in need of advice on the issues mentioned above can turn to their GP or the Camberwell Sexual Health Centre, 100 Denmark Hill, which is part of King’s College Hospital. Call 020 3299 5000 or visit kch.nhs.uk/service/a-z/sexual-health