#like idk what to tell u

[gold-rhine]

you know that post thats like you need to understand the rules of something before you can meaningfully break them? you need to understand the rules of classic tragedy to understand how genshin is purposefully breaking them with furina.

i've seen ppl complaining that furina doesn't have agency and should've stayed an archon when like. first of all, thats the point, tragic heroes don't. doomed by the narrative, all that shit. this is why a lot of tragedies use prophecies, which genshin references as well. like not even getting into how furina is playing off little mermaid narrative, its hard to miss that she's opera themed.

but where it starts subverting the genre, is that furina KNOWS she is a tragic hero. she is given the choice at the very start, focalors told her that she will need to suffer and PERFORM in order to finally save fontaine from the prophecy. Furina is a tragic hero who is given knowledge that she IS IN TRAGEDY PLAY and also given AGENCY TO CHOOSE TO PERFORM. bc it's not a single choice at the start, she has to keep choosing it again and again every day, the game focuses heavily on her distress and she could break the role at any moment, but she doesn't. there are so many moments of game showing her conflict! her confrontation with neuvillette, her grief in Poisson, her wavering at the traveller's offer bc it can be a loophole, then the trial, where she went all the way, where she put her hand into primordial water, thinking it will dissolve her. like! she had so many moments where it would be understandable for her to break, but she didn't, she stayed true, and it was not easy for her at all. that was a choice, a dedication that she had to make again and again, and it only became harder and harder

but where genshin really gets into breaking tragedy rules, is that it lets its tragic hero cheat death using the rules of tragedy itself. this is why i referenced an essay on classic greek tragedy here, because in tragedy, gods have absolute power, but they are also immutable, unable to change, while humans are weak and fickle, but they CAN grow and change. as an essay says, tragic hero achieves something like divinity in a moment his face solidifies into an unchangeable mask, and that moment is death.

fontaine arc is breaking the tragedy rules without disrespecting them, because it does not diminishes the sacrifice and heavy price of death, but instead allows furina to escape bc in the moment when she should have died, focalors put herself into spotlight instead, and she already had an unchangeable death mask of divinity. and her death, her sacrifice allowed furina to achieve greater agency to choose to live how she wants. she escaped the tragedy! she was saved from the narrative! she's a little mermaid who didn't have to die to receive a human soul.

and tbh saying that furina should have stayed an archon is first, conflating power with agency, and second, disrespecting her own choice, because the game goes to excruciating length to show that she hates ruling and being a movie director makes her happy. furina wanting to self-actualize through art is not somehow lesser than her being a ruler.

[poems-of-a-lover]

i love spiderman perching in random places. the SpiderMan Sit is a crucial part of how i live.

[plum-pitt]

bro ain’t foolin nobody w/ that color scheme, the zest fest follows him even in dragon form

Knight.

When your kids go missing, you'll be tearing up the whole multiverse to find them. Right after you prepare yourself ofc.

First Dad up, Next will be the one in red, then purple and orange. Why? Cause Usagi gets a special treatment. U.U

Would you all like it if usagi had just a small army of dragons or became one? I'm personally leaning towards the former cause I think it'd be badass.

Size reference ^^^ I hate keeping consistent sizes as much as I hate doing perspectives and backgrounds-

[lemon-wedges]

Im gonna be honest, i watched The Menu last night and all that been on my mind since then is getting a cheeseburger

[adriles]

when we’re done with our overwhelming grief we’ll eat i guess

[inkskinned]

we were sitting on the floor and i was cutting out tiny pictures to make a collage for a friend's birthday. you were on your phone and you laughed about something, and i was still in love with you then, so i asked what had you giggling.

"sorry. i was just..." you took a moment and went back to texting. "i was telling someone about how you're afraid of the dark."

i'm afraid of the dark because something bad happened. "oh." i felt a little slinky of shame crawl down my throat.

you glanced up, and maybe it showed on my face, because you rolled your eyes and held the phone to the side casually so i could see the group chat. "what? was it a secret?"

i looked down to the scissors in my hand. "i just..." no, it's not a secret. it just felt like something private, something serious. saying why would you tell someone that just feels like an accusation. it's unfair. i honestly am not even ashamed of it, it's just a fact about my person that i don't usually share.

what a strange experience. is this a human thing or a generational thing? for our grandparents: did they need to worry about how quickly someone can just... share your personal information? again, i didn't even really have a true objection. what could i say? i want any person in my life to feel they can be honest with their friends. it's not like i said don't tell anyone this.

i cut out another letter to complete the rainbow happy birthday, started hunting for the exclamation mark. i heard you sigh dramatically.

"don't make a big deal about this," you said.

this entire conversation was a pattern for us, and this was when we got to my least favorite part of the pattern. i would get my feelings hurt in some oblique not-technically-terrible way, and then it would be making a big deal about something. you'd get frustrated for me for being soft, but i was born soft. you knew i was soft when you pierced me. it's one of the things that made controlling me so easy.

"i'm not," i felt my voice crack. the question came without my wanting. "why are you guys talking about me?" and why are you saying that thing? why not like - i'm telling them how you're generous and kind and pretty.

you let out this low, tragic groan. "oh my god." you tossed the phone away from your body. "there, see? i just won't talk to them if you don't like it."

the rest of the hour went the way it always went, between us: i said i don't actually mind if you talk to your friends but -, you found a way to call my minor expression of discomfort "being dramatic." you got upset that i had been offended. i ended up apologizing, even though i hadn't actually done anything.

afterwards, you picked up the phone again. after texting for a little bit, you snorted. "okay," you said, "but it is kind of funny you're afraid of the dark. i mean, when you think about it."

[hinamie]

sidelong

[shouyuus]

hi. thinking about painting vi's nails in arcane canon, and how she's so expressive with her hands, and how it's her main love language, how much she'd have to trust you to trust you with her hands, but you're so delicate with it, holding them so gently between your fingers as you layer thin coats of the bright pink polish over them, blowing on each layer to help it dry faster.

how she'd be staring at you the whole time, instead of what you're doing to her nails, because you're so focused, so intent on getting it perfect (she wants to lean in and kiss you, but she doesn't want to distract you either; a part of her wishes that she could stay in this moment forever, just you holding her hands, your knees pressed against each other on the rumpled sheets of your shared bed, the air between you liquid with warmth).

"and... done -- now you have to let it dry." you lean back, grinning to yourself, looking way too pleased.

vi looks at her freshly painted nails, holding them up, fingers apart, a grin teasing at her lips.

"they look good, princess. thanks."

you crinkle your nose, and vi feels the familiar tug behind her navel as she resists the urge to lean forward and jerk you to her for a kiss (she'd ruin her nails though, and she thinks she wants to keep them perfect).

"you have such pretty hands," you say, capping the nail polish and plopping it onto the bedside table, "and now they're even prettier!"

"mm... kinda sad i can't use them for a while though," vi says, curling her fingers in to stare at them again. her smile goes lopsided as she hears your breath hitch.

"i-it's just till they dry," you say. but already, you're biting your lips, and it takes every modicum of self control in vi not to pin you to the bed beneath her.

"yeah? how long's that usually take?" she asks, inching forward on her knees and pressing her palms against the wall as you back up against it. you lick your lips.

"u-usually like... an hour but --!" you cut off as vi's mouth falls open --

"an hour?"

"i used a top-coat so it's only like... five to ten-ish minutes... supposedly," you amend hurriedly.

vi cocks her head, "that's... better." she glances at the slightly cracked alarm clock on the bedside table before her eyes slingshot back to you, still backed up against the wall, her palms on either side of your face.

"so, how long do you think it's been, hm?"

[puppppppppy]

good morning sifloop nation

[skipblebee]

Bingqiu they could never ever make me hate you

[bingsoo-jung]

I said this in the comments of someone else’s post, but I’m going to say this here. Taash identifying as non-binary is good actually, and in fact better than the dev’s making up some new term for them. Let’s get into it.

So for a bit of background, I’m non-binary and Thai. If you don’t know, Thai has specific terms for different gender-sexual identities, they’re quite old, they date back a few hundred years. However, the thing about culturally specific terms is just that, they’re culturally specific. The reason you use them is because you are tied to the culture in such a way that you gender-sexual identity cannot be disassociated from it. Because, to be clear, these terms are never just about your gender or sexual identity. They encompass a role you play within society itself.

For instance, in Thai culture we have tom/tomboys. These are AFAB folks who occupy a masculine societal role and date women. If you’re AMAB you cannot be tom. If you’re transmasc and feminine? You cannot be tom. If you’re transmasc and not attracted to women? You cannot be tom. If you’re transmasc and mostly date men? You cannot be tom. If you’re transmasc but don’t particularly feel like taking care of the girl you date, taking her out, being the ‘man’ in the relationship? You can’t really be tom.

Because the thing about culturally specific genders is that they come with a lot of rules. Being tom isn’t being non-binary. There are cis women who are tom, and there are non-binary people who are toms. You do not get eschew gender roles in these cases. You are quite literally taking one on. You have a role and place in society that has been made for you, and you are expected to carry it out.

Because of this, none of these terms are a one-to-one for other identities, and nor should they be. Being kathoey or hijra is not the same as being a trans woman or non-binary, and visa versa. You can be kathoey and not be trans. You can be trans and not be kathoey. Being aqun-athlok or any other specific term shouldn’t be either. The idea that it is, is more ahistorical and inaccurate than the word non-binary itself. Giving Taash some new, culturally specific term, would inherently tie them to a culture, and one perhaps that they didn’t feel apart of. Especially since Taash’s entire story is about struggling to figure out where they belong. Arguably the biggest issue with their story is that you have to make them decide, and fundamentally tying them to a term would’ve compounded that problem.

The reason I identify as non-binary and not a tom, is because I am not occupying some specific role in Thai culture. Despite living in LA, I rarely interact with other Thai people who aren’t my family. I do not live in a cultural context that would allow me to identify as a tom.

The thing about terms like non-binary, or trans, or agender, is that they’re meant to be acultural terms encapsulating the concept of truth to oneself and ones identity. Whereas culturally specific terms aren’t, they’re about the role you hold in society and where you fit in. It’s about your identity within a status quo. Taash is a character who is eschewing societal roles, and breaking the status quo, giving them those terms just wouldn’t work.

And finally? Using non-binary itself allows the writers to very specifically say where they stand. There is no space given to transphobes. You either accept that DA is queer-friendly or bust. And that’s a very important stance to make in an era where trans and non-binary folks are being actively targeted. There’s no ‘well Taash isn’t actually trans or non-binary they’re [insert term here]!’ Because people would’ve done that, we know they would’ve. This means people can’t do that. They have to just say that they have an issue with the term, and thus we can call them for what they are. Transphobes. Plain and simple.

So yeah, Taash’s identity does have nuance, it has a lot of it. And to be honest with you, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trick Weekes, a non-binary person whose wife is First Nations and thus from a group with culturally specific gender identities, knows about the difference between something like two-spirit and trans. And to be honest with you, using something like non-binary has nuance I doubt was actually afforded to Krem, considering they cast a cis woman to play Krem.

So yeah.

[allgremlinart]

breaking my silence, HATE when fanon or canon or canon fanon depicts all aspects of Vulcan culture as miserable for everyone involved. like it was miserable for Spock because he was half-human and gave himself no grace whatsoever.... that doesn't have to mean it doesn't, like, work out pretty ok for other Vulcans. Star Trek is "humanistic" sometimes to a fault because embrace the alien-ness of this worldbuilding YOU made, damn it!!!! Anyway

[godlessyaoi]

ok now make bpd jake

okay anon here's the alternate comic or wtv . so obssesive Jake!!

[wontonhasradsocks]

[adelinamoteru]

I’m a big believer in robin jason and red hood jason loving each other. they would kill for each other. they are SO understanding and protective of each other. I genuinely refuse any other pov sorry

[temeyes]

hiii half-assed volleyball au doods