#no one cares but this is revolutionary stuff you hear?

[saysflora]

you know how there’s that “black cat x golden retriever” trope that sprung up a while ago?

‘92!javid are both black cats and livesies!javey are both golden retrievers, and that is the fundamental difference between them

[susansontag]

my guide to lesbian anime both canonic and subtextual

(won’t include every lesbian anime ever, this is a personal list)

the canonic-gay section:

revolutionary girl utena

nothing before or since has ever done it like this. trigger warnings for everything imaginable. loads of homosexuals in this one. gender commentary, fairytale allusions, a lot of kids who are having a hard time growing up and moving beyond their pasts. sword lesbians.

flip flappers

the problematic favourite, in that there’s at least one uncomfortable sexualised shot each episode (roughly speaking; some have none and one has even more, unfortunately), so be warned. but at its heart flipflap is about repressed cocona going on adventures with outgoing and expressive papika, and their exploration of various fantastical lands/inner worlds of people they meet. hugely inventive and pretty, and a core thread is cocona discovering she’s gay.

aoi hana (‘sweet blue flowers’)

the comfort lesbian show, with not a romantic relationship at its heart, but a friendship between two childhood friends who meet again, both of whom are gay (though only one realises this during the show’s run, as it’s based on a manga). one of them dates an upperclassman at her school, and there’s various gay and bi side characters. it’s just very wholesome, lovingly animated, sweet and sometimes painful stuff.

bloom into you

I controversially do not care that much for bloom into you, but as the best, high-production, non-skeevy yuri show in years - that is based on a manga by a woman - it’s worth mentioning. late-bloomer girl dreams of romance, though has never felt it, and finds affinity with a girl who similarly is disinclined to date. that is, until said girl says she fancies her. genuinely moving exploration of developing gay identity at times, only downside is my personal disinterest in the black haired girl. some weird ‘heightened’ moments that feel inauthentic and titillating do arise, but it’s very few - to the point where some would disagree with me on my reading of it, I’d imagine.

sailor moon

the bits which the lesbians are in, etc. it’s a classic. I haven’t watched all of it myself because I don’t care much nor do I have nostalgia for sailor moon, but it’s one of the most notable examples of a butch/masc lesbian in anime, so that’s nice.

o maidens in your savage season

nerdy teenage girls who are part of a literature club make it their quest to discover sex and dating, in various ways (unfortunately, not all of them dealt with well… teacher/student foolery that is fortunately abandoned before it gets worse but is nonetheless handled with mixed results, imo). mostly though it’s hilarious, sweet, silly, and there’s a gay girl in it, but I won’t spoil which one. adults predating on children is also handled much, much better in another of the show’s storylines, and I do appreciate it for trying to tackle that difficult subject matter.

oniisama e (‘dear brother’)

an oldie, based off a shoujo manga by one of the greatest (riyoko ikeda). there’s a central relationship to root for (better articulated in the manga), but it’s mostly just what if we were messy depressed lesbians at an all-girls school and we were also melodramatic and mean as hell.

revue starlight

what if we were at an all-girls dramatic arts school and engaged in utena-like duels to become the top performer? main implicitly gay couple with canonic side gay couples. it’s quite cute. also worth watching if you like takarazuka in any way (prestigious all-female japanese theatre troupe), because the main conceit of the school is very much based on that idea.

the gay-themes section:

sound! euphonium (season one)

in which director naoko yamada’s awesome legacy of writing lesbians and then saying “who’s to say though, ha ha” continued (she did it already with a side character in tamako market). this one is known as the gaybait to end all gaybait, but hear me out: the first, and best, season, is not only a fantastic self-contained story with many great characters and plot points, but it’s main character is undoubtedly lesbian-coded and even has a love interest you can argue about. frankly I think she’s gay-coded throughout the whole show (even when she dates a guy for two minutes), but this feels very “I wanted to focus on this compelling relationship between two female characters but the adaptation’s success meant we had to revert back to the source material in later seasons”. what we got from this is perhaps my favourite lesbian anime of all-time, following utena.

a place further than the universe

this show is about four girls who join an expedition to antarctica, and what if I told you they’re all great, believable dorky teenage characters, and they exist in a well-written and thematically satisfying show… and there’s nice lesbian implication between one of our adult female protagonists and her old (deceased; not a spoiler) friend who was the main teen girl’s mother. there’s some sad here, obviously.

puella magi madoka magica

the well-known, much beloved deconstruction of the magical girl genre is also pretty gay, as it happens (so gay in fact it started a trend of gay-coded pink+black magical girls). it’s not a particular favourite of mine, but it’s visually one of the most notable anime productions ever, so it’s well worth seeing just for that.

NANA

the 2000s manga+show about the two twenty-year-olds who meet on a train and discover they’re both called nana is also pretty gay! to the point where there are heated fandom debates about nana komatsu’s (pink one) possibly being a lesbian. they both have many relationships with guys, but it’s their bond that forms the heart of the show, and the bisexuality (or, who knows, homosexuality) of the leads is pretty undeniable. to the point where you’ll get blasted on the nana subreddit if you try and suggest otherwise.

the wild-card section:

keep your hands off eizouken!

this is a show about three oddball girls who start a club to create anime, but have to pose as the film club instead for various reasons. it’s not even subtextually gay, I just personally think that all three of the leads are gay and the whole thing feels like a very female-centred creative endeavour. hugely fun watch, and very high production values. you wouldn’t regret seeing it.

skip & loafer

these two you see here are side characters. this show is actually about mitsumi, the greatest female protagonist of this kind of shoujo-esque slice of life show, who moves from the countryside to tokyo for high school. here she meets many a misfit, including the pretty blonde and the nerd girl who have undeniable chemistry and form one of the most popular pairings in the show. it’s just a good time.

chihayafuru

I’d get in trouble for this, because the primary romance factor in the show is a famed heterosexual love triangle with chihaya at its centre and her two male childhood friends at the side. but go with me on this. chihaya is oblivious to romance and feminine socialisation, she is obsessed with a card game and with her equally dorky dark-haired rival… she’s anime’s greatest autistic lesbian lead. and you get more than what you pay for, because the two boys I mentioned? a lot of gay stuff going on there too.

the big-screen-cinematic section:

the adolescence of utena

revolutionary girl returns in the sequel of a lifetime, slightly older (sixteen, say) and gayer than ever, to escape this place with the love of her life. cue the impromptu dance sequence (with stars and rose petals)!

liz and the blue bird

the naoko yamada directed gay cinematic universe continues with a gorgeous film starring two of the side characters from sound! euphonium’s second season (not necessary to watch beforehand). that means it has plausible deniability whilst being so crazily gay it’s almost some kind of joke. this is a highly detailed, laser-focused character study of two girls in their high school band club and their ever more strained relationship. yamada never misses.

the summer

this is korean! it’s about two girls who meet at school and start dating in secret, what happens as they grow up and move to seoul, and how their relationship changes and strains when met with the conservatism of contemporary korean society. it was sweet and like aoi hana above for japanese girls, felt pretty frank to the experiences I’d imagine young korean lesbians might have.

puella magi madoka magica: rebellion

if you’re a fan of the show, you probably don’t talk about this movie. sure, it’s a visual feat, sure, it’s insanely entertaining, but it’s also frustrating and upsetting and potentially undermines the neatness of the original as a perfectly-crafted story. BUT. kyouko/sayaka becomes all but canon in it, and everything else aside, that’s all that really matters. but you should definitely watch the show beforehand.

[drdemonprince]

Hi Devon,

this might not be a question you can answer, or maybe it is! idk. this is about covid & alike

for context on myself, i’m a white gendrfucky trans guy who’s also autistic & an immigrant (so some cultural context is probably lacking)

as we know, we’re in a 2nd highest surge & the pandemic never stopped and it increasingly dangerous and disabling to so many

i wear my kn95 everywhere i go now, and while i tried last semester, it was a lot easier to abandon masking because of

1. others’ around me negligence

2. some classrooms being IMPOSSIBLY hot and close to unbearable with a respirator on

3. attending crowded events where people needed to hear me

i’ve reevaluated and am rebuilding my practices now, but what i’m finding really difficult is to get people i have in my life to wear a mask again

i feel so lost. i share the informational posts, i talk to my people, i offer masks- what else is there to do?? i know the exhaustion i feel is absolutely incomparable to what disabled and immunocompromised people feel, especially when they’ve done the work for years!

i just don’t understand how i’m supposed to keep moving through life. i mean ofc i’ll keep doing what i’m already doing but it’s so incredibly isolating to be the only person masked in a meeting of 20,30,50 people.

i don’t know how to make people care. i don’t know how to have conversations with my friends in a way that will let our relationship evolve with this new understanding of care. i don’t know how to not polarize people into defensiveness when i talk about the powers wreaking atrocities in falasteen being the same ones shortening an isolation period to 1 day.

i don’t know how to be eloquent enough to be listened to and firm enough where people take what i say seriously. i don’t know how to not start screaming WEAR A MASK anytime it’s a crowded (or even not crowded) meeting indoors with no air filtration.

idk how people don’t realize the “cold” they’ve had for 3 weeks is either covid or direct aftermath of it. idk how they stand for seemingly the right things and then come to work sick & unmasked.

i don’t know how to engage with most people in a meaningful way & find connections because the delusion, the “it won’t happen to me”, the “i don’t care if i catch it and die”, the “this is just the way it is” seems to be a wall made of unbreakable cement and i don’t know what will melt it.

i feel insane for having compassion towards the world and seeing how it can be better. i feel insane for being angry people don’t mask & downplay this issue. i feel insane for even trying to talk sense into people.

i’ve recently been called a lying phony by an account that talks about masking bc a lot of my recent pictures show my face without a mask. i archived the posts since, apologized and reflected. but a lot of pictures i take are in my own room so i am unmasked. idk

i feel like the gap between me and most people i know is growing wider by the minute and with every reading i do about interdependent revolutionary practices, etc.

i know that when one understands something, it is their responsibility to make an impact on their bubble of the world and transform it with their knowledge. but i doubt i’m the only one doing the reading and knowing what’s going on, i just seem to be the only one masking.

i don’t know. i’m sorry it’s such a long ask & i’m sure you have your own stuff you’re dealing with. i just don’t know who else to ask that might understand. i’m sure there are people around me who might but so many are in survival mode and i currently don’t know anyone with the capacity to hold space for this.

i guess it’s bold to assume you do.

anyway, i hope your day goes alright today<3

You are placing wayyy too much responsibility upon yourself as one compassionate and informed individual here, and expecting far too much perfection of yourself in ways that do not help you and do not help the cause. You've done a lot to unpack the terrible individualism that has led to anti-mask sentiment being so rampant, but you are in a way still applying that logic to yourself and your situation by imagining that if you, one humble person with limited power were able to be adequately persuasive, you'd somehow change the actions of thousands. That is not how behavior change works.

Persuasion almost never happens logically or instantly, almost never through one person's remarks. Behavior is shaped by a vast array of economic, sociological, emotional, and ideological factors.

It's also not helpful in my opinion to worry about the opinion of someone who would shame you for not wearing a mask at home alone in your bedroom, either. Obsessing over the optics of our actions and wanting all people to morally approve of us at all times is yet another consequence of individualism and Puritanism. as you well know as someone who masks in a crowd of maskless people, sometimes we gotta do what we know is right and disregard others' opinions.

What you can do, in my opinion, is this: keep masking. Your behavior reminds people of the need for masks and models socially responsible behavior. Bring spare masks with you. Offer them to your family and friends and the people standing near you in public. If they refuse, and you have a good relationship with the person where they have shown they respect you and listen to you, then you can tell them why masking around you is important to you. You cannot change the opinion of someone who has never shown you any respect so don't expect that to ever work.

Even if you do have a good relationship with someone, persuasion is a long, hard process. Do not expect yourself to change their mind. If you can get some people to mask at least around you, that is a victory. Perfection is an unrealistic goal here to expect of yourself, and for public health in general. Any improvement you can inspire is a victory. Even if it's just making one or two friends mask more often when they are with you. That still lessens risk. That still sends a visible signal to everyone around you. You have no idea of the impact you truly have on other people in the long term. It is both more modest and far larger and longer-reaching than you as an individual will ever know.

Please be easy on yourself. You are just a person. An average person with very limited power. So is everyone else for the most part. When you stop burdening yourself with the unrealistic responsibility of changing thousands of people's behavior, you will feel less resentful toward others as well. When we resent other people it always means we are doing too much.

And when you feel less overwhelmed and overburdened, you will be more effective in the conversations you do have with people about COVID too. People do not respond well to (what they perceive to be) guilt or intensity or someone presuming to know better than them. What people do respond to well is to be asked genuine questions, listened to, validated in their feelings, given help where they are facing barriers to action, and being treated with compassionate gentleness.

But to do that you have to work on believing that people who are flawed in their response to COVID have reasons for doing so that make sense to them, and that they aren't all foolish and lacking in compassion. As my friend @kim-from-kansas says, people do not do things that do not make sense. If a person's actions do not make sense to you, it is because you are missing a piece of their context. The sad fact is people have many reasons to think that masking doesn't work or is hopeless. People have been very heavily propagandized and trauma also makes many people value life less.

Convincing people to take COVID more seriously is a tall, tall order, but if you wish to do so, you will need to be more than correct. You will have to put real work into not making people feel judged, and you will have to make peace with not always (or even usually) succeeding. It sucks but that's how it is. Best of luck!!

[eerna]

Omg the way Eloise is written as a feminist character BOTHERS me. I can’t always put my finger on why, but a thing that sticks out to me the most is how she just says the most blatantly basic (for us 21st century viewers) things and idk it’s supposed to seem revolutionary… but it’s never clever. And it is never deep.

Anyways I saw your tag on the Eloise/Cressida post and I was curious to hear any elaboration of your thoughts on her feminist portrayal? (But no pressure!)

YEEAAAH EXACTLY! I have the same issue, Eloise just says 21st century equality stuff without ever having read a single feminist pamphlet (this is canon, she doesn't start reading them or attending discussions until she's 18). Somehow she developed a perfectly uniform idea of modern womanhood when she was isolated and raised to be a traditional lady. Her opinions should be WAY more half baked and full of holes because this life is the only one she'd ever known. That's not even mentioning the inability to discuss feminism without discussing class, something Eloise has No Idea About.

Then comes the issue of writing. This is a stupid show. No one looks smart on this show. So when Eloise drops a "smart comment", it is cringe and dumb. She is supposed to be eloquent and witty, but most of the time she looks like a mean snob belittling everyone around her.

Another issue is that everyone else around her is a horrible sexist caricature. Yes, she is snobby, but my god every other woman only cares about men and marriage and gossip so I can't even blame her all that much for it. Her friends don't really care about what she has to say and will always leave her to go chase a man. And even SHE starts fitting the description the moment she falls for a guy - she lies to her friend and puts everyone in danger, and 90% of the reason is a man with only 10% being her self actualization. You can't write a proper feminist if everyone in your story has the same goal, which is to find a husband. It doesn't help that we know Eloise is headed for marriage and babies because every time a character expresses they don't want one or both of those things, they are proven wrong by the narrative.

And finally, my last thing making Eloise a bad feminist character, is that she is SO PASSIVE. Sure, it might be the point of the show as Pen calls her out for it, but we still don't know if they are gonna fix it so I am putting it here anyway. She only talks and complains about her lot in life, but never acts against society. I was happy when she started sneaking out and hang out with The Working Class Feminists TM, but that turned out to be a short failed romance subplot instead of a character moment and she gave up on it almost right away, so it doesn't count. And now in s3 she decided to embrace society and its expectations, so I am not sure we will ever get to see that kind of rebellion again - I sure hope so! But idk.

As a "well written Eloise" character, I'd like to suggest Felicity Montague. She is a character from a 18th century romcom, a noble lady, aroace and trying to go to med school when her gender prevents her from getting an education. She doesn't use her screentime for long-winded monologues about the unfairness of the world, she ACTS on her thoughts and opinions so we know what they are. She switches covers of romance books and textbooks so she can study without being bothered, she runs away from home to try make her dreams come true, she finds alternative solutions. Her thoughts are never lauded as One Truth, in fact she is often called out for the blind spots in her opinions since she too grew up a sheltered noble and can't account for all experiences. She is surrounded by women who challenge her ideas and make her into a better friend and person. AND she is funny and reading her is just plain fun. You CAN do a feminist who doesn't belong in her era, you just have to be careful to also make her a good character.

[suusoh]

(repost because the og was bugging out ToT)

girlie are you are one of the top mommy johan fans rn and i am HERE for it!. Anyways have 13-ish paragraphs of me rambling why calling a man "mommy" is revolutionary and hot actually.

(tw: mommy kink, forced mother-daughter dynamics, infantilization-ish?)

the obvious ones of course being he does everything. I mean everything for you. Bathes you, brushes your hair, dresses you up by himself, hand-feeds you, etc. Will not let you do anything for yourself if he can help it. Even recreational activities, like watching TV or reading, he is finding a way to make it with his intervention such as holding the remote and he reading the book for you.

not an exact point where this stems from, but I have a small vision of Johan curiously played with one of his sister's baby dolls one time, or growing up with a mother and a sister (in some alternate universe where miss vera cerna got to raise the twins by herself), so maybe some of those things have passed onto him without him knowing.

You are his baby. that goes without saying. He'll call you baby from time to time, but not in a cutesy-couple petname way that one would imagine your average boyfriend would say it. He'd recite it like a healthcare nurse would. Won't be used as a common petname, it would come out when he feels especially a bit more motherly. other examples:

- clinical mutterings to himself ("baby needs to rest, they've been crying all day.") - maternal reflex and musings ("hm? no it's alright. baby doesn't need to worry about that, okay?") ("and why is my baby feeling sad today, hm? tell me.") - accidentally being condescending ("baby, you know that's not good for you.") - the last one is so weird to hear from him because the way he says baby isn't lighthearted or lover-y at all. it's so blank and emotionless. 💀

I think the tendencies are gradual. I love to headcanon that it starts out as your friend johan being a bit too doting at times. you even joke about it, groaning and calling him "mom" when he's being a bit too overbearing. Over time he becomes your boyfriend, one that coddles you a lot to an almost concerning degree (that's... normal right? people always fuss over their loved ones...). Next thing you know he's lulling you to sleep, conditioning you to to associate your sleepy time with his lullaby.

I don't think he's being fully delusional about it? He knows damn well that he's a grown man and you're a grown adult as well, unrelated with each other, and you guys are nowhere near any semblance of a mother-daughter. But that doesn't mean he won't impose the dynamic on you anyway. Thinks it's beneficial enough for both of you: he gets to care for you and you get to be taken care of. It works so well that it might as well be your permanent dynamic. (Or so he says. You crying and feeling yourself slowly lose a major part of yourself tied with your autonomy is just a natural part of sudden "changes".).

So he won't infantilize you to the point of actually getting baby stuff for you lol. he just wants to be your mother <3 and mothering also includes maybe discussing some topics over tea to see what your beloved daughter has learned today and seeing what you made today; a new painting? a new crochet project? making another science diorama? tell him. tell mom what you're proud of these days <3

WOULLDDDD wear the blonde wig maybe at times. Not that he associates long hair with motherhood. but it's just a thing he tries from time to time. maybe he's trying to emulate his mom to get more in-tuned with motherhood? Norman bates style? hot.

has a set schedule for you. reading time, feeding time, daylight time, etc. Though he can be flexible, your bedtime and eating time is a non-negotiable. you need your sleep and your food. Though I think he'd love it if you can't think for yourself and depend on him for everything, I think he'd still try to enrich your brain. So there's a time of day for mind exercise and studying: Reading together, watching documentaries, little games and puzzles to bond over like a good mother-daughter <3

speaking of food: endless spoiling duh. I think he'll even love it when you gain a few pounds from how well he's feeding you. it's another sign that he's taking care of you well. From takeout, to cooking for you, to filling he pantry full and giving you a snack every hour or so; he is stuffing you until you're full and sleepy. Will never let you go hungry. ever.

nsfw:

maybe.... maybe makes u latch onto his nips. breastfeeding and all that. hehe. will train you to start sucking on his nipples as a habit for you to calm down. Lets you suckle on his tongue as well if it'll help you go calm down <33 it's his substitute to a baby bottle. it's mortifying to you when you're sad and upset then you suddenly get the tingling on your tongue to just... orally fixate on something. it means it's working.

WOULD absolutely research how to induce lactation in men lol <3

loves loves loves using making you cum over and over again to leave you dazed, soft, and unable to be feisty. I think sex will definitely become a means to fix you whenever you become a bit too... "fussy" for his liking. Makes you cum over and over again until you're crying and pleading for no more, until you're passing out and unable to move your legs. He decides how many orgasms is enough already or if you need another round. And from what he sees? baby needs another leg-shaking orgasm from how cranky they were this morning.

overstimulation his beloved <3 thoroughly believes that sex is a form of taking care of you and making you feel good. and why wouldn't he want his baby to feel anything but good?

WILL fuck to sleep every night. sees it as the best way to get you to have the best sleep over (aka: you passing out to the point you might even wake up in the late afternoon). Vibrators are his best friend.

cockwarming. cockwarming. cockwarming. aaaaaaand- cockwarming. all while he's cradling you into his neck. will playfully rock his hips into you from time to time to enjoy the feeling of you squeezing around him for more. further proving you're always craving for his care.

~ that's all i got so far hehehehheeh hope u enjoy!

[thecorruption-thespiralsversion]

What Sign (Astrology) is what Fear (The Magnus Archive)

I remember in the 2010s, on the astrology side of tumblr. A popular thing to was take albums and assign each song to the sign they felt represented. This is inherently an imperfect practice (Astrology is actually a very complicated process.), but taken lightly it can be loads of fun.

Disclaimer, I researched this stuff a years ago, and like The Fear, I'm basing all this on Feeling. I am by no mean an expert.

Aries - The Sluaghter - As an Archetype, Aries is the sign of The Warrior. The "youngest" of the signs, it's often seen as impulsive and reckless. Angered on the drop of a dime, and always ready for a fight.

Taurus - The Flesh - They are creature of comfort and gluttony. A sign who will work hard now so they can sleep longer later. The Bull, sturdy, strong, and grounded. Somehow the laziest and hardest working sign. They are lover of food, and the physical pleasures.

Gemini - The Stranger - This one feel like the stereotype. All Gemini are two-faced, fake, childish/immature. The eternal child. There is a whimsy to The Stranger.

Cancer - The Corruption - This one is complicated. They're sweet, caring, and nurturing. The Archetype of The Mother, but not The Matriarch. Another Archetype is seen as The Prostitute. This is complicated because it's not about sex, but that of giving yourself for the nurture of another. It is a love that consumes in all ways.

Leo - The Lonely - The Lion, The King. When will you learn that to be on top is to have no peers, no fellows.

Virgo - The Web - Their stereotype is that of a controlling and obsessive compulsive individuals. The is the sign of order.

Libra - The Web - This is a sign often stereotyped as " my way or the highway". Now mind you this is an exaggeration. This is the sign of balance, fairness, and whatever one's perceptions of that is. Equilibrium and Order. The Diplomate, Soft power.

Scorpio - The Dark... The Desolation - Guess this is where the jig is up. There is no one to one. They aren't comparable!!!!! Appropriate that I brake patterns at the sign that actually represents Death. But not The End. I have found most esoteric practice don't regard Death as finality, more a transition. This sign is that of mystery and power. Of night and rage. The Dark Feminine. If I'd have it my way, Agnus Montague would be a Scorpio.

Sagittarius - The Hunt - adventures, philosophy, and discovery are all associated with this sign.

Capricorn - The Buried - The most structured of the signs. This isn't order, but rigidity. Stren and Stoic. They have always been the biggest sweethearts I have ever meet, but they scare me, it not a malicious fear, but that of a child who respects their father. They inspire that sense of "masculine"(not gender specific) discipline.

Aquarius - The Vast - I know many will argue The Stranger, and you're right, all this shit is subjective. But hear me out. The Revolutionaries! The sign that look towards the future, towards endless possibilities, to infinity.

Pisces - The Spiral - The sign closest to divinity, The end of one cycle, and the start of another. What was that about doing the same thing over and over again? But ever The Dreamer you take another turn, another twist.

Aries - The Sluaghter....

The End can't really exist as a concept in this cycle.

But I think The Eye would be all of them. We are all the observers of our lives.

I think therefore I am, we are I.

Archives to our existence. I think that's why I like astrology. It's us trying to observe ourself and others. Find connections, coincidence, and magic in what "I was ment to have for breakfast", and maybe I wasn't. But it fun, these games we play with everyone.

I hope you're all having fun

[moofahdrome]

In regard to your pin post, what games do you like to play? I'm always a sucker for hearing about other tabletops people enjoy.

Ooooooh thank you for asking!!! I'm a big sucker for easy to run character focused games like Thirsty Sword Lesbians or Masks: A New Generation, but I also love love love games with potential for really cool and creative combat like Eidolon: Become Your Best Self, Gubat Banwa, and LANCER.

My primary experience is with Powered by the Apocalypse games, but I'm looking to expand my horizons a bit in the future! Blades in the Dark is super cool, but other Forged in the Dark games appeal to me a lot, especially Brinkwood - The Blood of Tyrants, a super cool game about organizing a revolution against colonialist capitalist vampires.

There's really so many amazing games by queer indie creators out there - Apocalypse Keys recently had its full release, as did EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER the TTRPG! There's really something for everyone. I really need to play more Ryuutama for its lovely adventure vibes, Hard Wired Island for a return to true anticapitalist cyberpunk, as well as Flying Circus for amazingly accurate WWI-era plane action in a miyazaki-inspired setting! Other stuff I've had for a while but need to play are Monster Care Squad, Heart: The City Beneath, and Comrades, a Revolutionary RPG.

There's also plenty of nice, charming, slower paced games as well. Wanderhome is a beautiful pastoral journey game, where everyone comes together to heal a land and experience wonders. Our Traveling Home is inspired by Howl's Moving Castle and has everyone play a unique role as a queer found family. Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast just released, and it's an amazing episodic experience packed full of beautiful content!

One of my favorite game creators is Dinoberry Press, creator of fantastic titles like Justicar, What Waits Beneath, and GUN&SLINGER, a cool 2-3 player game where one person plays a magical gun and the other their haunted wielder. It's got a couple great extra modes of play, too, like SWORD&BEARER or MECH&PILOT !

And there's even more amazing games in development. Dinoberry's You're in Space and Everything's Fucked just funded, as did HELLPIERCERS: TACTICAL HARROWING ACTION. Guns Blazing and Wetrunners are really close to being funded, too, check them out! Some other great games that aren't fully complete but you can play right now are ICON, Bloodbeam Badlands, Red West, and In the Time of Monsters, all of which are some of the COOLEST things I have ever seen.

Feel free to ask more questions about any of these! I love talking about them and I'm thrilled to see interest in indie ttrpgs!!!

[newlabournewromantics]

okay so i'm not british (i'm just a teenage girl hungry for knowledge 😔✊) but i watched one video and as a result i've been consuming an insane amount of new labour media for the past week even though i've never been interested in uk politics besides keeping up with global news LMAO i genuinely wanna know more so where do you think i should start with books films etc 😭

hiii!! excellent question id be more than happy to help! this will be sort of an overview with general recs for newlab beginners (why am I treating this like its a profession omg) so just lmk if you want more specific recs + I've highlighted my favs

books (from the outside)

(by from the outside I mean written by people not directly involved in newlab, so historians/journalists etc)

the two classic newlab texts are servants of the people and the end of the party, both by andrew rawnsley from the observer. provide nice, extensive but not overly fussy histories of newlab from opposition to 2010. good balance of gossip and actual information!

my personal favourite is rivals by james naughtie (bbc reporter), I find the prose in it far more compelling than any other book on this list.

brown's britain (robert peston) is also very good!

you've mentioned that you're not from the UK, so I really really really would recommend reading a book/a few articles on the broader history of the British Labour Party, just so you can understand why newlab was so revolutionary. I quite like keeping the red flag flying

autobiographies/diaries/books from ppl directly involved:

(these will inevitably be more biased)

the new machiavelli by jonathan powell is my absolute favourite self-written newlab book - and you might learn some stuff ant machiavelli whilst ur at it so this is an essential imo

my life our times by gordon brown is another one I really enjoyed, although it's less gossipy than some of the other books on this list. admittedly I do agree with basically everything gordon brown has ever said so this is a very biased review, but I would give it a go!

obviously alastair campbell wrote a load of diaries. I would be careful with which volumes you choose to get - go for the ones published 2010 and onwards bc he made the choice to omit stuff from the first few volumes he published so that it wouldn't' hurt gordon's premiership. also, they're really long and really extensive, so pick which volumes you want to read based on which specific period of newlab you find yourself drawn to!

as a comms/polling fan (boo) I really liked unfinished revolution by philip gould, but this might not be the best book to start with.

damian mcbride's power trip (more diaries) is also interesting

big fan of point of departure by robin cook asw!

I found tony's books excruciating to read but that's bc im crazy and think I know the inside of his mind like its my own so they might be good for you. his new book is FASCINATING but only in the sense of it exposing how big his messiah complex is. don't read any of his books if you're not down to hear about sex and/or technology.

oh a note: mandelson has written books but I don't like him so im not going to recommend them <3

tv/film

tony and gordon aren't really all that into big heartfelt chats about newlab, esp not together, but a few good docs have been made

blair and brown: the new labour revolution (bbc, 2021) - this is a classic, it's where I got my newlab start as a tender sixteen year old politics student u can't beat it! watch this one first

the blair years (bbc 2007)

out of the shadows and we are the treasury (here and here)

blair's thousand days (1 2)

if you're into tbgb, please please please watch the deal. I don't like much of the michael sheen as blair content, but the deal (2003) is so good.

if you want me to rec bits of tv from the newlab years that I think r cool and worth watching then send another ask and ill tell u! but obv theyre not much use if you're just getting into newlab :)

alastair did interviews with tony and ed miliband 6/7 years ago. not all about newlab, but very interesting to watch and observe the dynamics!

podcasts

matt forde of the political party has done interviews with a lot of newlab figures, from tony all the way to the more junior spads. I especially like the joint one he did with ed balls and alastair campbell, and the first tony one. these r less good for actually learning facts about newlab but really like listening to them as a way to sort of get into these ppls heads and observe them in a more casual setting. also a gordon interview asw !

if you can bear listening to george osborne talk (I can but others r more sensible) then political currency is also a good place to get lil tidbits of newlab gossip, bc ed balls is one of the hosts and he's super messy he loves chatting abt gordon.

ideology/boring stuff etc!

ok u can ignore this section if you want but these r some books about the ideology that underpinned newlab - I think it's fascinating!

the third way by giddens (literally the newlab bible and I think the only theory that blair took seriously)

crosland’s the future of socialism!! influenced gb and caused so much internal labour drama so evidently its excellent

if you want a really interesting essay on Iraq I recommend this

podcast on centrism that touches a lot on clinton/newlab/blair etc

oh and just for fun!!!!! here's a playlist of all the songs written canonically actually irl about tony blair.

lmk if you want any other recs!!!!!

[herofics]

Feeling a little brave to finally ask instead of lurk, so is it alright to ask for some BNHA HC’s with a GN SO? Featuring Shoto Aizawa (Erasure Head), Nemuri Kayama (Midnight) and Rumi Usagiyama (Miriko).

Their SO is a somewhat ‘infamous’ revolutionary who is not only quirkless, but dislikes the Hero Society that’s been built around the powerful abilities. They don’t hate heroes and don’t agree with the villains, they just hate how society and economy has evolved to pamper the system.

They’re constantly helping with fundraisers, events, shows and doing volunteer work with those who have less fortunate quirks and other quirkless citizens.

Yet always trying to find time among all that to be with their partner.

A/N: Nice to hear you're feeling brave :D I’m being lazy and unmotivated, so I didn’t write Midnight, mostly because I couldn’t come up with enough stuff for her

~Rumi Usagiyama/Mirko~

•Rumi doesn’t come from money, and she spends a lot of the money she earns now for helping the less fortunate

•You were born to money, and have dedicated your life to helping people

•She doesn’t particularly care for the way the current hero society caters to the wants of the wealthy, rather than the needs of the those who actually need help

•You and Rumi met at one of your fundraisers, when it got crashed by a villain and Rumi captured them

•You thanked her, you got to talking, and you invited her to your next event

•Which actually happened to be a big cleanup/renovation event at one of the local parks

•Collecting trash, putting new benches in place, painting some signs and renovating the playground

•There were other heroes there too, but you worked mostly with Rumi

•You talked a lot, mostly about both your work, some light topics to start with

•She then asked you out on a date and you of course accepted

•Long story short, you started dating, but there were some bumps on the road to happiness

•Your philanthropist work keeps you very busy, but when you’re not doing that you’re spending time with Rumi, at least as much as you can

•There are of course some challenges, but you always try to find time for Rumi

•Your work schedules don’t always go together, so sometimes it can be days when you don’t see each other

•You might sleep in the same bed, but you might not even be awake at the same time, because Rumi’s work schedule can be kinda chaotic, and you work when you’re needed, which is almost all the time

•You take turns surprising each other with date nights, you take all the time you can get together, because especially Rumi is very aware that time is limited and neither of you wants to have regrets

~Aizawa Shouta/Eraserhead~

•You and Aizawa started reminiscing about what it was like when you met

•It was years ago, and you’ve both changed a lot since then

•You’ve both done a lot of good, him as hero and you as a philanthropist 

•You’ve helped impoverished communities and people in bad situations, especially younger people

•You’ve especially been doing a lot of preemptive work with kids, teens and young adults

•Aizawa actually got the idea to become a teacher from you, because he wanted to help the next generation of heroes be better than his generation

•He’s aware that there’s a lot of corruption and shitty things in general going on in the current hero society, so he wanted to help shape it into a better direction

•You’re always holding fundraisers, and organizing volunteer work and events

•Aizawa helps where he can, especially with giving his students a little extra credit if they take part in the volunteer work for your organization and stuff like that

•You and Aizawa always make time for each other, you make sure to see each other every day even if it’s just a few moments between work and sleep

•Midoriya is a bit of a fanboy of yours, and when he learned that you and Aizawa were together, he asked if Aizawa could get him your autograph

•One of the programs you funded was a big reason Midoriya got through middle school

[sashi-ya]

𝕰𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖞 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖞 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖆 𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖙𝖊 +18. Aizen Sōsuke x F! Reader

✦ requested by Anonymous for the free requests ➜ heyyy sashi^^ maybe some stuff about aizen, especially muken version? ➜ Of course! he is such an amazing character to me, the way he is written is pure poetry. I hope you enjoy this fic ♡ ✦ tw: playing with your mind. mouth restriction. bondage. suspension. violence (aizen pushes reader to the ground). fingering. vaginal penetration. deep mind fuck and feelings exposed. ✦ wc: 2.9k

“(Name)-san… I have to ask you to keep this in between you and I” Kyoraku Shunsui, General Captain of the Gotei 13 requests you with a serious tone.

“I’m not telling this to anyone, Kyoraku Soo Taicho. I’m extremely grateful for what you are allowing us to do, and I will never betray your trust” you say, bowing before the laid-back captain.

“Heh…betrayal is not a proper word to use in this particular case. But what’s fair is fair. However, kid, I must warn you… and forgive me for repeating this to you, but please be careful… Sosuke Aizen is the spawn of Hell”

The mustiness and the darkness of Muken hits you once the ten thousand locks let the doors open. They say this is worse than hell, and they are right. It’s endless. It’s dark, cold, humid, lonely. The sadness creeps through your bones. It whispers the inevitable destiny of going against the rules some have stated as fair.

But, you were a revolutionary. And so it was him. You always saw that man like the one who dared to break the pattern, the endless inhibitions, and the path of those he called losers. Aizen didn’t want to be mediocre… winners don’t ask how the world is, but how it should be…

Yet, he forgot that even gods have weaknesses. Solitude and love. There is, still, no higher being able to scape the unstoppable force of their own human nature, the heart that he thought he lost and the need for your skin… oh so sacred velvety flesh that once felt so soft on his palm, against his body melting with yours.

“Aizen-sama…” you whisper, in pure darkness. Kyoraku Taicho has already left -or perhaps it’s what you wish he did-.

Lights turn on, like the stelas that guide even the blindest person, on each side of an immeasurable scaffold. He is there, hanging, vertically. As if he had been crucified, like the God of some humans in the world of the living.

You can’t see his face; it’s covered in black ties. His arms, his wrists. There is no single showing of that skin you miss so much. Where have the sweet captain of squared glasses gone? Was that just a total façade, or maybe, in all that innocent play was at least a hint of his inner self?

“(Name)… why are you here?” he asks. You are sure he isn’t talking with his mouth. That’s most probably Kyoka Suigetsu helping him do it.

You gasp. Why is he asking? Isn’t he intelligent enough to understand the reason why you are here?

“Sosuke… I was allowed to visit you for what you have done for the Soul Society” you whisper, it’s enough for him to hear. “I couldn’t help it… I’m sorry”

You mourn in the silence he explicitly chooses to surround you with. The purple gaze of the lights that barely kisses his restricted face feels not enough to avoid you from shivering. You aren’t scared of him, you are scared of the immensity and wilderness this place has. Is this really necessary? He betrayed them, sure but… He helped them, right?

“You are thinking of how unfair this place is, right (Name)-san? You are mad because you believe I shouldn’t be in here… but, it’s just twenty thousand years… I’m immortal, you know that” he calmly informs you, as if you didn’t know… As if it wasn’t exactly the infinite pain that that brings you daily.

You fall down your knees. Your mind can only focus on that number. Stop repeating it, Aizen!

“Stand up. I can’t tolerate to see you kneeling that way” he scolds you.

“Aren’t you a God, Aizen-sama? Shouldn’t I pay you entirely and exclusively respect to such a higher being?” you ask. Was it really what you thought? Yes. Indeed, it was.

Your mind goes blank for some seconds. You don’t know exactly when it happened, but, you see Aizen breaking with his strong hands the seals that prevent him from scaping.

You gasp, in awe.

“Why are you here, exactly? Did I ever ask you to become some kind of devotee? Which God stands on top of the rests while being restricted and stopped from changing this unfair world?”

Was that Aizen just mourning about his current state?

He comes closer to you, so close that you can see the tip of his boots with clarity. They told you being even near him without at least one of the seals will make your soul body explode in a million pieces… but you aren’t exploding, much less can feel any reiatsu around.

Aizen’s gloved hand reaches for your chin, and with his index he delicately makes you look up at him. “Tell me, (Name)-san… are you that in love with the death?” he asks… Is he the Death?

Your pupils dilate, as big as the hollow that hold the hogyoku in the middle of his chest. “I adore you, Aizen-sama. I’d wait for you and even die for you” you tell him. You know, better than anyone that your life means nothing to him. He has never asked you to die for him.

Aizen caresses your cheek. His eyes look at you like an inferior creature, feeling pity for such an ignorant being driven by love… Oh, but how hypocritical he can be. Him, who had fused his existence with something that expresses the true desires of the heart. Didn’t he know that?

“Let me ask you again, why you waste your time in here? Waiting for me? I’m immortal, you aren’t. Are you that dumb?” Aizen inquires, helping you stand up.

You scoff. You have never laughed at him. You wouldn’t dare… but, this time… “Aizen-sama… you are still so naïve… you, a genius still can’t understand the most basic and yet beautiful feeling in this and all the worlds… Love”

It’s clear that you have offended him. How dare you call him naïve? How dare you doubt of his intelligence?

He pushes you back to the floor. His right eyebrow lifted; his chocolate brown eyes infused with desperation. He is not mad, he is just scared, like a little animal that’s been caged… you have exposed the only trait that still makes him human, the one he tries to reject, to deny from his own self… the one the who can’t recant of.

“Love? Do you think I am capable of loving? That’s the lowest form of humanity, and I’m not a human. Stop your daydream, (Name). You should get away, and never come back. Go live your live with someone. Experience what you call love with someone capable of” Aizen orders, but in reality cries.

You, who are now sitting on that cold floor, with your hands scrapped and your body like floating, smile kindly. “If you are incapable of love… why, then, are you asking me to leave? To live my life with someone else?”

He takes some time to think. Looking up and down at you, with his chin lifted and his head slightly tilted to the side. “Because you wanna be happy, there is no happiness in here…” he whispers.

This time your beam grows bigger. It’s all you needed to listen. He is, indeed, capable of loving you. “You want me to be happy, because you… care about me, Aizen-sama… and that’s called love”

How much he would have loved to contradict you. To go on a deepest raid of logical thinking, to debunk the basic thought that lead you to believe it’s that simple… but, indeed, even for him… it was so simple.

Aizen took the patch that covered up until now his right eye. The white cape over his shoulders ripped in a violent swing. The black, heavy coverings sealing him ended up in the floor and it seems to evaporate with the darkness around. There is nothing but pure infinite around a little spot of light that cover you two with its cold mantle.

His skin, oh… his skin pale and with the eternal marks of strong devices carved to stop his limitless power presented right before your eyes. Those same eyes that got flooded endless nights with tears, remembering the way it felt to watch him sleep right next to you...

His hair, dishevelled that has grown a little longer and now covers his nape. His lips, semi open, letting haste breathe come out of his mouth. His eyes, injected in fear and need, and pain and regret and pride, and every human passion…

“Come here, (Name)” he calls you, with his hand stretched to you. Those fingers that were once coated with your arousal are now calling you to touch them.

The god of death luring you to his grave. Oh, the deadly lust that could kill you. Oh, the deadly need that could destroy you.

Don’t touch Aizen. Don’t get any closer, they said. He could kill you if you dared to take a further step more than what it’s needed, they warned you.

But he needs me. Me. Only me. But he is so alone… he begs, he yearns, he cries for my touch. For mine, just mine.

“Come (Name)” “Yes, Aizen-sama…”

The grazing touch, the bare caress of your fingertips against his. Everything becoming dark again. A blink of an eye, and you are a few centimetres off the ground. Red seals have been carved on your chest and are holding you against a wall where he was. You can’t speak. There are black strands of heavy material covering your mouth, sealing your lips. A single tear runs through your cheek. Is this it? How is he even capable of doing this to you…

“Take my place and tell me… do you still think this is love?” he asks, knowing well that you can’t speak and barely emit any sound. But eyes speak louder than words.

You fix your orbs into his. This is love… Accepting my faith, for you. Taking your place, for you. Go walk free, go make them your devotees. Make them bow, crush their bones, their souls, pulverize them. You are free if I’m allowed to take your place. Yet, loneliness will ever, never go away.

Aizen swallows. His smirk has faded away. His eyes, that reminds you of a lamb walking into the slaughter, remain.

You close your eyes. You really don’t have the resources to comprehend this, but you understand him. After all, he has always ran away from the things he wanted the most… being alone pained him, and yet, he did everything to make his solitude even bigger.

A sudden touch that makes you jolt, or barely as you are immobilized, scares you. But there is no doubt, his scent and the delicate graze of his fingers cannot be mistaken for anyone else’s. Aizen hasn’t ran away this time, he has stayed for you.

You open your eyes, slowly, watching with blurriness the chocolate eyes you love the most. “You didn’t leave me here…” you think.

“Why would I?” he answers back, as if he could listen to your thoughts… of course he can.

He peels the coverings on your mouth, leaving just one over your lips. It’s the string that creates more pressure, separating your lips, carving marks on your cheeks. You let your hasty breath slip through it, caressing Sosuke’s lips that are so close, so near.

“You have come here. You wanted me so bad, and here I am” he murmurs, with that deep voice that’s both sexy and dominating and also intimidating and scary.

You nod, with whimpering noises that are ripped by Aizen’s hand crawling through your leg. You haven’t noticed up until now, the way your body was presented to him… you were completely naked, like a painting for him to enjoy like in a museum. You, his muse, and work of art, for him to appreciate while hanging on a wall.

“I missed your legs… I missed your smell. I missed your skin… have you missed me, (Name)?” he asks, with pleading tone that makes you shiver, that makes your skin turn bumpy and overly sensitive.

Tears run through the commissure of your eyes. It’s beautiful to hear him say that he missed your body, even if maybe it’s not true.

His lips reach for your collar bones, placing those sweet butterfly kisses that are probably as dangerous as a double-edged sword. It’s so tiring to submit to a man like him, who smiles and kills, who hugs you just to stab your heart… that is what it takes to love him… A big heart that you will need to lose a thousand times.

The tip of his tongue taste your nipples, getting hard, expectant for him to devour them. With a hand he squeezes one of your breasts; they are turgently presented to him as your arms are opened, stretched, and pinned to that wall.

You can barely focus your eye sight down to where he is. His caramel hair, absolutely dishevelled, the warmth of his mouth surrounding one of your nipples… He inhales your scent as he sucks, he nurtures from your moans and body spasms.

His free hand reaches for your core. Folds that drip, folds that can’t be ignored no more. You plead with your eyes for him to touch you, to at least graze you with his fingertips.

Aizen ignores your needs, or perhaps he plays with them, pushing you to the extreme where it’s even painful to your body. He enjoys the way your wetness create a tiny pool right under where you are. It is for him pure art, the way your arousal honeys submits to gravity, in litmus strings that reflect the poor lighting of Muken.

“You haven’t changed a bit, (Name)… which version of me do you prefer? The gentle one, the soft and loving captain, right?” he asks, so sure you have fallen for his lies.

You deny with your head. With the pressure of the seal on your mouth, you try to speak. “Thef realf you ~ ”

He smirks. He understands what you want. You want more of this torture, you want the real treacherous menace that both put the skies on their knees and then helped them stand back again.

A sexy scoff over your lips, a kiss that you cannot reciprocate. And a kiss that he places either way. The sudden intrusion of his fingers into you, hitting the deepest place where they can reach.

You moan, muffled by that tight seal. He inhales, he sucks the pleasure noises with his mouth open in an O shape. His chin against yours, the tip of your nose pressed against his fine one.

Beckoning motions, making you tremble, making you even wetter. His forearm also covers by a thin runny layer of your body’s orgasmic responses, pleasing the masculine side of his inner self.

“Come from me, come…” he commands, as if you were made to choose. You nod, desperately, panting. You plead, you wish you could say all the things you wish to say, but you can’t. Aizen, perhaps, also controls your ability to speak, to communicate. You have been turned to a simple being whose mind went blank and a body is a slave of his hands.

Hands, fingers, brutally burying in and out, back, and forth. It hurts how much you squirm, the ties around your body pull and carve deep into your skin. You can’t escape; you don’t want to either way.  

And without a single warning, without something that could let you know … or maybe yes, but you couldn’t hear, you couldn’t process- he impales you. The warm contact of his hardness with the velvet surface of your entrance, sliding inside of spasming walls. Lubricated by dripping honeys that pool in the base of his sex, he begins to pump in and out of you. It goes up and down, violently, brutally, pushing hard, making you jump.

“I’ve waited for this for so long… the tight embrace of your femineity. The way you mourn as I go so deep inside you. Are you mine, (Name)? Are you completely mine, (Name)?” he asks, in between the gasps and grunts coming from his throat.

“Mghhj… yes” you whine, feeling how your body gets freed from any seal, any material keeping you trapped. Your arms fall on top of his shoulders, like dead weight. You can touch him, every bump of his back, that soft manly muscular frame that you remember oh so very well.

Carved your nails into his flesh, your legs trap his waist as he holds you from yours. Aizen keeps fucking you until you feel like passing out, until you drool just a little from a brain killer pleasure on his neck.

His scent, the perfume of his skin. The warmth of his body against yours. The way his reiatsu is only perceived when his guard has been let down enough as his mind turns off and becomes a total slave of lust. The solitude of his eyes, that maybe there, in such short moments of connection, fades away…

“Don’t you ever go away, eternity won’t be ever enough” “I know, Aizen-sama… I’ll wait you forever…”

A sudden heavy touch on your shoulder wakes you up. “(Name)… were you able to speak to him? Are you ok?” Kyoraku Shunsui’s voice breaks the enchantment.

You open your eyes. The doors of Muken, right were you were the moment you step inside, appear open. The blinding lights from the outside hit your eyes.

“It’s only been a minute… but I was worried I couldn’t sense your spiritual pressure… Did he speak to you, after all?”

“He did, Kyoraku Taicho. Aizen Sosuke spoke to me”.

[kyros-tha-soldier]

CHAPTER 1011 spoilers

I'm back after two weeks of having stupid painful eyesore! Still not fully healed but lasik generally takes a while to heal, oh well... into the SPOILERS!

🌟The chapter's title is "Dear bonney", it's a reference to the letters Kuma has been sending to lil Bonney, but what about those letters? Are they important? Welp, let's see the rest of the spoilers and we'll understand more

🌟colorspread contains all the vegapunks!

🌟so, the chapter starts with A flashback INSIDE the flashback, with Kuma remembering how once he and Dragon were on goa and Kuma curiously asks Dragon abot why he knows a lot about Goa, and why does he always keep his eyes on one boy (the boy of course being our precious luffy)

🌟Dragon sternly answers "keep talking if you wanna die" (this might be a mistranslation since i heard somewhere else he said "if you want to kill me then keep talking" maybe as a way to show that the topic Kuma was talking about is too sensitive and dangerous Dragon) and honestly this felt so out of character for dragon to say to his comrade like...

Isn't he already on your team?

🌟Dragon drops s hot line to clear his "fraud dad" allegations and says "a child is a parent's weakness", strong enough that poor Kuma apologized and stopped talking

🌟mini flashback ends with Kuma entering mount Kolumbo and observes a 16 years old luffy practicing. He gets a call on his den den mushi and luffy ends up hearing it ring, and before he tries to check, we find that Kuma has already left. Luffy just shrugs it off as some very strong animal and continues on his shenanigans

🌟 the call was frim the world government about a merchant ship getting attacked by pirates. So basically they told him to give those pirates hell because that's basically his job as a warlord

🌟throughout the chapter kuma is writing bonney letters, he is narrating them and talks about how much he loves her, how much he cares for her and all the great and amazing things he saw while traveling and how bad he wants to travel with her.

h-he's so pure, my god he's such a gentle daddy! GOD ODA STOP GIVING YOUR TOUGHEST BATTLES TO YOUR MOST LOVING DADS/MOMS

🌟 however unfortunately for our favorite bearguy priest, his letters never reached Bonney since the nurse lady alpha, would get rid of them so Bonney won't read them because well... duh they might contain some sensitive info, and since they're trying to make this whole ordeal a secret away from bonney, she makes sure no letters arrive.

🌟Luckily, Bonney has queen connie on her side, and her being the amazing granny she is she tells bonney not to show her abilities to any of the cipher pol agents, saying that "a smart hawk must always hide it's claws!"

🌟 Kuma visits Vegapunk's lab for more pacifista stuff and meets stussy (the clone that was made three years ago) and she sarcastically tells him "i wonder who's more unfortunate, a human with no consciousness or a clone with consciousness" Vegapunk (now with the apple head) reprimands her and tells her that she's indeed a human...

But like

CUT MY MAN KUMA SOME FUCKING SLACK!!! Y'ALL BETTER START TREATING HIM RIGHT!!!!

🌟 Vegapunk explains to Kuma that his transformation will be complete soon in one year, and until then he won't have a single emotion or thought left.

🌟 we see Kuma helping the revolutionary army, however he's a lot more silent now since he has reached a point where the modifications have become a lot more radical. Dragon and the others sense that something isn't right with Kuma

🌟we go back to sorbet island where Bonney is celebrating her ninth birthday, she still didn't receive a single letter from the ones Kuma had sent her. Bonney is now 100% healed but Alpha won't let her out until she reaches her 10th birthday since that's what the deal with Kuma was about

🌟 however our precious and beautiful Qweenie, granny connie, tells Bonney that she heard from a local town bar that alpha and her "staff" aren't actually medical staff and are in fact world government agents. They realize how bad is the situation and the people of Sorbet as well as Connie prepare for Bonney's escape. They bring a pizza themed ship, Gyogyo, poteto and Totsu (the three guys we always see in Bonney's crew) embark with her to go find Kuma, and Connie switch clothes with Bonney.

🌟 however, alpha and her team find out about this and follow bonney. Alpha is using geppou and threatens bonney that if she doesn't come back she will beat her up and lock her up (way to be such a scum to beat a child)!

🌟 just then, Bonney imagines one of the instances where Kuma talks to her about Nika and she asks him what he looks like and he tells her he doesn't really know but his body is rubbery.

🌟 bonney uses her toshi toshi ability and warps herself into Nika, delivering a FAT punch right to the jaw of Alpha (that looked like a really painful punch in the panel)

AAAAAAAND that's all folks!

[communistkenobi]

okay i'm very curious to hear your thoughts on snowpiercer because i hated that movie when it first came out too but i haven't seen it since and i've been wondering lately if i need to reevaluate it

I was told that movie had an extremely basic and obvious premise, that the train was a metaphor for capitalism, that it was going to directly deal with climate change as a result of capitalism, so it was going to be one of those movies that hits you over the head with its theme. so I’m like ok cool I’ll watch it. But it doesn’t make sense as a metaphor for capitalism because it’s formulated in a fundamentally stupid way - the underclass, who are allegorised to be undocumented people (they boarded the train without a ticket) kinda just sit around doing nothing lol? They are provided for by the upper classes and are only occasionally called upon to do very particular types of labour (ie the guy who knows how to play a musical instrument). Yes their lives aren’t great, but they have a lot of free time to just like, plan revolts lol. That’s just like an offensively incorrect way to depict labour exploitation and wealth inequality. It’s also just kind of racist and weird about non-white characters, and I don’t like Chris Evans as an actor very much so I just was not a fan of that whole set up lol. Like by default I’m not going to care about a white guy revolutionary helping non-white people, and the movie did nothing to make that compelling. There’s other stuff I really disliked about the movie but it’s been a while since I watched it so I’m struggling to remember. I enjoyed Tilda Swinton’s character at least, she was really good at being an evil english politician.

And if it’s not about capitalism, if it’s just about some fucked up fictional society that lives on a train, then it’s a movie that says nothing and is about nothing, that ends with crashing the train in the frozen wasteland that is earth. It was just especially shocking bc I’d watched Parasite beforehand and enjoyed it, but Snowpiercer fucking sucks lol

[deathswcrn]

DA:TV spoilers ahead, mostly for early-game stuff and early Lucanis stuff. if you've played through his little shopping and coffee trip in Treviso you're all good. I know I said I'd keep my thoughts largely to myself, but man, I don't care what anyone else says. This game touched me in a way no other game made by a big publisher has. It has made me cry and it is now extremely special to me regardless of anything else going on in it.

as a transgender person i've fucking WEPT over the portrayal of trans people in this game. I mean, I knew ahead of time that people were being a little pissbaby about being able to play as a trans person, but I thought like. 'It'll just be a CC toggle. Or you'll be a little more freeform about CC. Even Starfield lets you choose the pronoun flag now'.

Saw I could mess with pronouns and choose my Rook's gender regardless of CC choices, thought that'd be the end of it.

And then Varric's shaving mirror. Hearing Bree talk about how much happier she is now she's chosen to be herself, and feeling myself BLUBBER because the way she talked about herself is exactly how I feel about my gender now. Got a little excited when I saw new dialogue options would open up. Kept my expectations low - maybe she mentions it offhandedly to someone or something? I knew Maeveris Tilani was in the game, maybe it comes up and Bree can 'me too' her?

Then, Lucanis talking about how he never chose the Crows for himself at Cafe Pietra, and being able to use my experiences as a trans person to offer him advice blew my FUCKING MIND. It's no longer a background detail, or a little private reflection, or a one-off mention. Being transgender is a way my Rook can interact with the world, it's a way she understands herself, understands others, it's a lens through which she processes things?

This game is fucking revolutionary. This is not lazy writing, this is someone who's thought through what being trans is. Getting this through a big publisher like EA, knowing the stink that'd get kicked up in it's wake?

I just.

I'm so grateful. To everyone who fought for this. Both these moments in the game, I sobbed, because it's exactly what I wanted from big RPGs and never let myself hope for because asking to see myself represented like this was never an option. Even Baldur's Gate 3 looks pale in comparison now where being able to make a trans character is concerned.

[punks-never-die205]

"Imprissont " marine Anon here

This turned into way to long of an "ask" so please don't feel pressured to answer this.

Now I have this idear for a story in my head but I also have to mane Wips on my Computer to work on. (TW: Kidnapping, abuse, torture)

A really join marine girl (16~18) who was forced to join the marines (historically there used to be a lot of reasons how someone could be forced to join the marines, so I think someone having no other choice but to join isn't all to unlikely in the one piece world and makes for an interesting story)

She has to face the evil the marines do and struggles with her part in keeping this organisation going, while also faced with the fact that stuff like deserting might cause serious harm to the people she cares about and force her to life a life on the run.

But then her crew gets defeated by pirates who take her prisoner.

She has to life through literal hell, being enslaved and tortured for fun.

But then, while she is locked up in the captains quarters( so he as easy access the next time he feels like doing horrible things to her) she can hear a fight going on outside.

The thrill of the hope to be rescued, for this he'll to finally end

Only to realise that the attackers aren't marines.

They do not use the shouted orders she is used to, and there are way to little gunshots shots for it to be marines who mainly use rifles as weapons.

And then the early silence as the fight dies down, only for her to hear footsteps come closer that she doesn't recognise.

There is no place to really hide as the door is busted open, and she is face to face with Captain Kid. (who has both arms as this is pre-timeskip)

There is no way to hide, and most of her wounds and bruses on full display, as she cowers in a corner of the room.

But still, there is something to mark her as a marine. Maybe she was forced to wear the tattered remains of her unfirm. Maybe her captors tatood the marine symbol on her.

And so she has no hope of being rescued by these people.

And while the kidnpirates plunder the slowly tilting ship she realises that they'll very likely leave her to drown.

Just as she has accepted her fait while the last pirates exit the room, Killer drops the keys to her shackels in front of her.

She gets off the ship just in time and is later found and properly rescued by someone.

Years later, she is once again confronted by the Kid Pirates. Maybe she decided to live a quiet life somewhere, work as a shopkeeper, maybe she rejoined the marines but now secretly helps the revolutionary army.

And in that moment arises the opportunity to save Captain Kid, although it might have some consequences for her own safety, but she still does it. Because in her eyes she owers Killer something.

And so she tells him " Tell your first mate that now we are quid" before Kid leaves.

And only as she mutters those words does Kid realise why 6 seems so strangely familiar.

Because she is that marine girl from that very first pirate ship he and his crew beat. The one he argued with Killer about later on, for setting her free.

Urgh, the drama, the moral dilemma, the hurt, the pain...the twist of her turning from the saved to the saviour...I hope I'll someday find the time to write this story properly

xD I hope you do find the time to write it properly, because you've got a good and proper outline here and I love it =3

It could even go on to where Kid gets a chance to save 6 again, and that ends up being the start of her time on the crew. And from there, all the world's your oyster. But you could also effectively end it as is, and leave her to live her own life.

[lezbianxion]

oh shit i forgot to send you the things back 🧡💖💕

🧡- What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

this is a hard one mostly bc i tend to not bother with theory stuff bc i just. don't care fjfs;kfsa or at least i don't care when it concerns brotherhood lmao. 💖 - What is an unpopular opinion that you have about the series? that it's not as progressive or revolutionary as everyone thinks it is LMAO. fma is, for whatever reason, a fandom that will act like you killed their dog if you dare to criticize the author's politics (or just criticize fmab in general). idk why fans are so resistant to hearing that arakawa's politics are shit, but they are. even today, i still see posts that unironically say shit like "oh well of COURSE you're not supposed to sympathize with the military, THAT'S THE POINT BC THEY'RE WAR CRIMINALS!!!!" (i won't say Which post it is but if you know...then you know) and yet.... the series makes you sympathize with the military characters lmfao, not to mention how arakawa villainizes scar but we been knew that. and more than half the fandom genuinely thinks the "mustang becoming furher so he can (somehow?) fix amestris and change a corrupted system fRom tHe InSiDe" plotpoint is good, when, real talk, it's fucking shit. it's very liberal-ish, if i'm being honest. you can't change a system that's corrupted. despite mustang becoming furher at the end, he doesn't change shit. none of them do. also, the way that mangahood is like "oh btw the REAL cause of racism and genocide in this universe is bc of the homunculi :)" and people eat that shit up and call it good storytelling.... like be fucking serious lmfao fuck outta here with that liberal-ass shit. if i had to give one piece of advice to any fma fan, it'd be to watch fma 2003. it's not perfect, bc nothing is, but it treats the ishvalan characters with respect, it actually tackles the reality of ed being a child soldier in the military and it doesn't really force you to LIKE mustang and co. if anything, 2003 is very explicit in the fact that amestris is a military dictatorship and (rightfully) places the blame of the ishvalan genocide on the amestrian military which is way more than i can say for the manga.

there's way more, but i'm gonna cut it short here lol otherwise we'll be here all day.

💕- What is an unpopular ship that you like?

ednoah!!!!! maybe some spoilers here bc idk if you've seen cos but the way that ed is so protective of her is fantastic, and i LOVE how he asks her what she wants to be called. you can tell he's come a long way and that he's grown as a person, and this is a definite sign of that. which is more than i can say for mangahood ed lol who's racist from the start to finish of the series but anyway--

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1090 - Initial Thoughts

Confusion

That was certainly the thoughts that arose upon hearing news of spoilers in a week that's meant to be a break. Honestly I thought it was fakes, attempts to stir fans unaware with falsities.

But lo, they do look very real. If they do become fake expect me to delete this one but the panels, the colour, it all seems to track. Of course TCB hasn't translated it yet so I've had to go back to my older sources, so the context may not be as good.

Spoilers for the Chapter, maybe? Still tentative, but support the Official Release of course

A very rare Kuro return...in the cover page, I do still wonder about the East Blue guys; Kuro, Morgan, Krieg, Gin, not Arlong though don't really give a crap about the shahaha man

We haven't recapped what happened yet, but we've picked up where we left off

Luffy's out with his regular introductions across the Den Den Mushi, which is kinda alarming with the Gorosei on the other side

He confirms to be allied with Vegapunk and uses York's safety to barter the fleet backing off

Embodying evil lads have you considered why humanitarian genius Dr. Vegapunk is allying with a Yonko against the World Government right now?

Ooooh Kizaru's not the only ones listening in, Morgans is too, which means Vivi's getting the scoop...Wapol's also there

The Gorosei engage in Monkey D. Luffy for the first time, asking about their numbers

Luffy goes to answer with 'including the injured' but Robin (identified by the Gorosei) shuts off comms

WHO HURT OUR ROBIN!?

Robin, bandaged around her bare chest, reminds Luffy not to give the enemy information

Through spoiler-talk I couldn't avoid a post saying that Robin was 'uncharacteristic' with people hoping that Devon had already swapped with Robin but this didn't seem uncharacteristic at all

Plus Luffy was hoping that giving them all the info would make the Marines back off, which Usopp points out is not likely

Saturn's already plotting though; they need to keep York, Punk Records and the lab for the Mother Flame (changed back to Flame by Stephen...who still won't fix Zoro/Zolo)

Vice Admiral Doberman does make a case for Lucci and the CP agents, which Saturn affirms is an option and he's just prioritizing the worst case scenario

Aaaaand there it is 'Humans are like insects, they will always reproduce'

Back to York, who uses her communication with the Gorosei to try and threaten the Straw Hats against harming her, only to be smacked by Nami

No seriously who hurt my queen, my wife, my light of the Revolutionaries? I will break them, they will wish they were never drawn

Of course Robin's baby boy Chopper is tending to her so she's in good hands, hooves, hand-hooves

Ah Kaku is also recovering, lamenting taking 2 of the Seraphim

Guessing that means S-Hawk and another (maybe S-Snake) went after Team Atlas/Chopper/Robin, meaning Kaku and Zoro must've engaged against the two since they were following S-Hawk, causing Robin to get hurt

Lilith also mourns Shaka, Pythagoras and the still-alive Edison

For all that aggression Lilith did care, even for Shaka

Lucci's reviewing the situation, which Kaku notices...sus

Usopp contacts with Underground, with the CP agents

They're living it up, dining for the first time in months, they've gone the way the G5 have with the Straw Hats

The Seraphim are also down there, with the CP agents, but trapped in bubbles

The bubbles are reinforced with the same stuff in the Mark 3 Pacifista, with some sea prism energy too

The Seraphim don't look too roughed up, though Snake and Hawk look additionally perturbed

Franky also thanks S-Snake for depetrifying them, which Vegapunk was curious about

Turns out that S-Snake carries the same weakness for Luffy, which Jinbe points out also having seen it first hand

Vegapunk does wonder about the Lineage Factor playing in, I guess he only got Boa's blood after Marineford

Atlas has gotten systems up and running, but the dome remains up, because York locked it in a password she kept from the Records

Stussy is also still here, reviewing the problem with the giant fleet, so she and the Stella look to Nami

The log hasn't reset, but they can still move to the ones active, they set their sights on one of them, which Stella confirms to be Elbaf

Visible shock from Luffy and Usopp, and surprise from Robin too, which leads to singing

Since they cannot escape from the coast, they must leave through the back, but there's still the matter of the fleet and the shield

The VegaForce can fly the Sunny but only out to Egghead's borders, but Franky reassures Vegapunk that they can Coup de Burst the rest of the way

As a result, Atlas, Edison and Stella plan to hack past York's password

With Lilith in charge of the VegaForce, she, Bonney, Luffy and Franky are off to the Sunny

Lilith seems excited, but Bonney and Luffy will miss the food

Bonney praises Sanji though, I wonder if something happened with her and him in the night to make her see him in a high regard

Luffy mentions she's cheerier now though, having given up on killing Vegapunk, since she was crying last night (almost a parallel to Morgans saying the same to Vivi)

Ah sneaky cat, Lucci has been contacting the Navy, that's why he was muttering before, he's given them the whole report

Kizaru and Saturn still feel confident that Luffy's cornered though, though I also feel like they're overestimating the crew

Saturn asks if Kizaru can bypass the shield, since he is light, Kizaru can but notes Sentomaru is down below

Interesting stuff though, even though Saturn suggests ignoring him, Kizaru refuses, he has his own ethics there and he refuses to ignore someone fighting for their duty

He does also pragmatically note that the fleet will be attacked by the Sea Beasts and Mark 3s

But Lucci already found the lab where the Mother Flame is made, which is concerning, York may not be needed at all

The Vice Admirals ready themselves, planning to assault the sea beasts first with intent to free the CP agents

Kizaru makes the move, and Sentomaru is braced for it

The pacifista are ordered to sink the fleet, so down below's gonna turn into a mini-warzone

And Sentomaru and Kizaru clash, the former's Ryou-based ultimate defense vs Kizaru's lightspeed kick

The impact shines bright underneath the labophase, and Luffy senses Kizaru's presence

It's a good chapter even if it is fake.

Taking the impression that it's not because it likely isn't, we do seem to be developing on an exit strategy from Egghead, whether that means direct confrontation with Kizaru remains to be seen.

On the one hand, Kizaru vs Luffy or vs another of the Monster Trio is considered to be the fight of the arc, but maybe it isn't the case? There's still that Blackbeard ship to consider after all. Plus with Saturn coming all the way here we have to expect some physical activity from him. It's not entirely clear how it will go, Oda likely baited a lot of fans with the nine Vice Admirals on the fleet but with Robin injured she may not be as handy in a fight right now. Lucci is still on their side too, and I would guess he plans to strike Stussy at the most opportune moment.

I think I'm most worried about this lab, because you can't make more Mother Flames without more catastrophic consequences. The Gorosei outrank Vegapunk when it comes to the Seraphim so they'd still have them on-hand too. I wonder if the Straw Hats, Vegapunk and Bonney can simply leave Egghead with all that there, plus all that cool tech they could use to upgrade Usopp and Franky, knowing that the Gorosei still get what they want. So we might be in for more delay from leaving, we are expecting an incident to occur after all. I also can't shake some Sabaody energy in this chapter, they say 'we're going to Elbaf' but now Kizaru's here, it's very much like 'we're going to Fishman Island' but now Kizaru's here...it took so long to get to Fishman island and it's taken so long to get to Elbaf XD Still excited though, doubt Shanks will still be there but you could get more Kid and maybe even Big Mom, maybe even Law because Bepo has to surface somewhere.

I am still hoping we track back to what happened the previous day, for the fights and for the Kuma memories, I still also hope Franky gets some shine before leaving the island of his hero. Also I need to put whoever hurt Robin on my list.

But yeah it's a weird spot, since my brain still says 'we're in a break, where did this chapter come from? It must be fake' but it also says 'it looks too much like other chapters to be fake, right down to the grain' so it's messing with my head a little. Either way we'll know next Friday, which means we're getting a week with no official chapter either way.