#pre-transition... but that’s not the case for everyone

[soup-mother]

do wish there was more trans media acknowledging that like.... when you probably didn't even grow up as a feminine boy (although in my case compared to a lot of guys I was cus i like....cook and clean and tidy up and stuff) and so the trans feelings kinda just come out of nowhere and overwhelm you and all the realising stuff is in hindsight. like in hindsight i always wanted to dress a certain way or be called a girl but i absolutely didn't know it at the time. like not everyone is that stereotype and a lot of the time you were basically a bit of a lifeless husk before realising you're trans and that makes it so difficult to navigate. like you have no aspirations, maybe 3 friends all of who suck and suddenly you're realising you wish you were a girl. semi related to how vitriolic people are about the very concept of trans girls who used 4chan and stuff. it's like... I guess a lot of people's ideas of what trans women are and were like is very different to a lot of our lived experience.

like a lot of the time, pre transition gender and personality looks like a mattress on the floor, instead of cute feminine always wanted to be a girl always played with the girls sorta thing (again, complicated in my circumstances and a lot of it was essentially not being raised as a Patriarchal asshole)

[drdemonprince]

Is there a polar opposite of transphobia?

Like I’m a newly transitioned trans man and suddenly everyone wants a piece of me. In a weird way. Like people have started asking me to join committees and talk to youth groups and shit so they have their “representation”. I’m now the token trans person. I live in a small lefty town. People either want to ask me allllll the questions or they are too scared to even talk to me in case they offend me. Suddenly everyone wants to be my friend. I feel like I’ve joined a club I did not agree to sign up to. Like is this normal? Is there a term for it? I have a lot of gay male friends who are awesome, no other trans people local. I’ve started connecting with people online.

I mean some people have been cunts for sure. But mostly it’s nauseating fawning. I know this is a stupid thing to be complaining about but I guess I’m curious.

I’m not that special, I’m actually just an angry little man.

My brother dear, what you are experiencing is a very common combination of the growing visibility & tokenization of being a newly out marginalized person, and the massive increased authority, social trust, social value that comes with being a man.

Welcome to male privilege baby, to put a spin on a far more undermining phrase that typically gets hurled at trans femmes. You will be considered a trustworthy authority on trans issues, a valuable contributor to panels and workshops, a needed (but also highly convenient to access) form of "diversity" for a workplace, a welcome attendee at all manner of events, and you'll be deferred to over women, especially trans women, for pretty much the entire rest of your life, if you continue to remain out about the trans side of things.

Guys like us are invited, centered, included, listened to, treated with respect, treated with WARMTH, viewed as intelligent, perceptive, sensitive, safe, trustworthy, reliable, and desirable to include. In the eyes of the cis public, we are a "safe" kind of trans person who does not make people uncomfortable to look at and who doesn't challenge their pre-existing understanding of gender hierarchy; when they listen to us, they get to trust in the certainty of a MAN giving them information, but they can also feel comfortable and safe around us as a kind of enlightened, sensitive nonthreatening figure.

We're men who can can explain sexism right back to women. We're trans people who went from being subjugated as women to being rewarded with privilege as dudes. In this way, trans men being positioned as an authority figure reinforces the existing gender hierarchy, which feels soothing and right to people's brains.

You will have to be conscious of this power differential for the rest of your life, around cis and trans women alike, because otherwise it plays out in a pretty traditionally sexist fashion: people (especially women) will go quiet when you start speaking, you will be given credit for ideas that were a collective effort, your emotions will be more likely to be taken seriously and seen as a sign of principle rather than weakness, and you will be regarded as special and memorable while dozens of other people and their concerns are passed over.

Another factor that is at play here is a phenomenon that is less specifically gendered, because it does happen to trans women too, and that's the phenomenon of cis groups making the newly-out trans person their token and educator, because typically it is the newly out person whom they have the most access to and power over.

The moment that a trans person transitions they immediately start getting singled out as an expert and resource on the trans experience, asked to lead workshops at their jobs and explain concepts to people and attend events and sit on panels. I think on some intuitive level cis people kinda *know* that the newly out are in a vulnerable, uncertain state and have fewer communities ties and less experience than more seasoned trans people do, and so they make the ideal "translator" of trans experiences to them as an audience.

In cis people's minds, you're not gonna push back, you're not going to complicate their narratives, you're not gonna be tired of answering offensive questions, and you will be freely available to them as a resource, because you've just come out. You'll put a friendly face on transition, one marked by newness and hope, rather than be jaded, complicated, or assertive at them. That's their expectation.

It makes no logical sense to make a newly out member of the community the arbiter of transness or the educator on the trans experience, but it DOES make sense that a powerful group would view such a disempowered and disconnected (relatively speaking) member of the trans community to be the most attractive to include.

Of course, this might not be true to who you actually are. But on a gut level, this is how the newly out trans person is typically seen: nonthreatening, moldable, convenient, so thankful to be included that they won't be angry. And you will be doubly rewarded for fulfilling that role if you are a man.

The only way to upend this narrative being forced onto you is for you to speak up, every single time you are invited to an event, and demand that just as many trans women be included in that event as trans men. Make sure to have a nice list of experienced, wise trans femme friends whom you can recommend as speakers and co-panelists in your pocket.

More often than not, you will be thanked by cis people and rewarded for having the brilliant idea of including women in a conversation about gender minority status. How the trans women in the equation get treated, well, you'll need to pay close attention to, and be ready to stand up and speak out the moment any passive aggressive exclusionary bio-essentialist fuckshit gets going. You can do it! And lots of times you ARE the person with the power to set things right. You're trans and you're being singled out, but you also are a man.

[uncuredturkeybacon]

𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 || 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚐𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

in which paige is a nervous wreck

you’ve known paige bueckers for years.

known her game, her favorite gummy snacks, her pre-practice playlists, the way her eyes light up when she talks about basketball, and the way they soften when she looks at you. you’ve known her in every way a person can be known—on the court, off it, during tough losses and quiet victories.

and you’ve been dating her for nearly four years.

so when she starts acting weird—like, real weird—you’re confused. not “she misplaced her socks again” weird. not “she spent twenty minutes looking for her phone while it was in her hand” weird. no. this is a whole other level.

paige bueckers won’t look you in the eye.

not once during practice. not when you handed her the water bottle, not when you passed her a perfect bounce-pass in transition, not even when you hit a step-back three and turned to wink at her like always.

nothing. she flushed bright red and turned the other way.

you notice the way her voice stutters every time she speaks around you too.

“y-yeah, uh, good pass,” she mutters when you catch up to her in a fast break. "y-you look g-g—good, today,” she says like it physically hurts. and when you bump her hip and joke, “you alright, bueckers?” she just about implodes.

her teammates definitely notice.

“oh my god, she’s malfunctioning,” nika whispers dramatically during a water break, pointing a finger in your direction like you’re medusa and paige is slowly turning to stone.

“hey, coach, we might need to sub in a new point guard,” aubrey jokes. “this one’s lost all motor functions.”

even coach geno gets in on it. “you get hit in the head, paige?” he asks mid-practice when she completely misses a wide-open layup. “or are you just lovesick?”

laughter erupts in the gym.

you try to be gentle with her. she’s your girlfriend, after all. you’ve spent years memorizing every inch of her — every curve of her smile, every freckle she tries to pretend she doesn't have. you know she can be shy sometimes, but this? this is like first-crush-level nervousness.

and the worst part?

she’s not telling you anything.

that night, after another long, unusually awkward practice and enough teasing to last a lifetime, you corner her in your shared apartment.

she’s curled up on the couch, hoodie too big and pulled halfway over her face, like she’s hiding. her knees are tucked to her chest, and her phone is face down on the blanket beside her. she looks up when you walk in, then immediately looks back down.

“okay,” you say, arms crossed. “what’s going on with you?”

she gulps. “wh-what do you mean?”

you raise an eyebrow, stepping closer. “you’ve been acting like i’m gonna murder you every time i get within three feet of you.”

“no, i haven’t—”

“babe, you stuttered when i offered you a sip of gatorade today.”

“i-i just—maybe it was too cold—”

“paige.”

she freezes. you sit down next to her. she fidgets with the sleeves of her hoodie, fingers nervously twisting the fabric. you don’t say anything for a moment, waiting.

finally, she blurts:

“i wanted to ask you out on a date.”

you blink. “what?”

she finally meets your eyes, cheeks pink. “i wanted to ask you out. like, properly. like, a date. i was gonna do this cute thing with flowers and that coffee place you like and—yeah.”

you stare at her. then you start laughing.

paige looks like you just slapped her.

“i’m serious!” she insists, defensive and adorable. “i—i got nervous! i didn’t know how to bring it up! and then everyone was making fun of me, and you looked so—so good—and—”

“paige.”

“what?” she mumbles, looking away again.

“we’re already dating.”

she pauses. blinks.

“wait. what?”

you’re still laughing, hand on her thigh, thumb rubbing slow circles. “you asked me out four years ago, remember? after that summer league tournament. i wore that stupid neon headband, and you said i looked like a traffic cone.”

paige’s jaw drops. “oh my god.”

“i said yes, by the way. in case you forgot.”

she covers her face with both hands. “kill me. kill me now.”

you grin, pulling her hands away gently. “why the sudden nerves, bueckers?”

she groans. “i don’t know! i just… sometimes you walk into a room and i feel like i’m seventeen again and you don’t know i exist and i’m terrified you’ll say no.”

you melt.

“oh, baby.”

you crawl into her lap, straddling her, hands resting on her shoulders. her eyes flick up, just barely, and you can see how flustered she still is.

“you’ve got me,” you whisper. “you’ve had me. you don’t have to ask again.”

she exhales, head falling back against the couch. “okay, good. 'cause i was literally sweating all through practice.”

you giggle and lean forward, kissing her forehead. “you’re such a dork.”

“but i’m your dork.”

you kiss her properly then, soft and slow, until she relaxes into your touch.

the next day at practice, paige walks in looking smug and satisfied, hand held tightly in yours.

the teasing explodes.

“oh look!” nika calls out. “she remembered they’re dating!”

“was the amnesia temporary or…?”

“someone call the ncaa, paige finally made a shot without combusting.”

even geno claps sarcastically when she nails her first three-pointer.

“glad to see your motor functions returned, bueckers. maybe next practice you can remember your girlfriend lives with you.”

you lean in and whisper, “you’ll never live this down.”

paige groans, face buried in your shoulder.

but you both know the truth.

she might act like she’s still trying to win you over—but that’s the thing about paige bueckers. she falls for you every day like it’s the first time.

and you love her all the more for it.

[communistkenobi]

By worrying endlessly about what makes men fight for their servitude as if it were their salvation, Western Marxism rigs the deck against ever becoming hegemonic. […] The celebration of transgression, so characteristic of queer theory, is incompatible with the struggle for legal sovereignty waged by movements of national liberation and people’s democratic dictatorships. […] Trans studies, infused with an ambivalence between gender-deviance and the desire to pass, cannot take up queer theory’s exaltation of transgression uncritically. Eastern Marxism simply does not valorize transgression as such, since its goal is hegemony, to function as a legitimate ruling party representative of the general interest, and the collective transgression of one norm in particular: imperialism.

— Nia Frome (2024), The Problem of Recognition in Transitional States, or Sympathy for the Monster

The author makes the case why 1) various strains of Eastern Marxism (MLism particularly) seem so compelling to transgender people specifically 2) how this is reflected within the tension between queer theory (what Frome describes as having a general preoccupation with the ‘exaltation of transgression’) and trans studies (what Frome describes as being more preoccupied with political goals of hegemony, eg gender-affirming healthcare, control of administrative gender data about ourselves, etc) is directly comparable to the West/East Marxist split, with the author firmly placing queer theory within Western Marxism’s anticommunist preoccupations and theories of state.

I think this is most compellingly argued when she points to the homonationalist (homo-imperialist?) commitments of western LGBT organisations, NGOs, thinktanks, etc. to ‘spreading democracy gay tolerance’ to the backwards Global South. One only need to refer to the photo of an IOF soldier standing in a bombed street in Gaza holding up a gay pride flag to recognise the academy’s role in ‘queering’ imperial pursuits. Now obviously this doesn’t mean trans studies is exempt from this (far from it), but what I think this essay does well is demonstrate why trans studies has been famously called “queer theory’s evil twin” and why more broadly the political goals of transgender people are on some level incommensurable with queer theory’s (and downstream of this, the western queer community’s) commitment to transgression as the primary mode of resistance and action.

And, ironically, why despite this desire for eternal transgression, the headline political goal of western gays for the past few decades has been marriage equality, a desire to be folded into pre-existing hegemony (perhaps another example of its Western Marxist tendencies?), in contrast to the transsexual goal of gender liberation and eventual abolition via the pursuit of using medicine and administrative state power to make ourselves our own frankenstein monsters, both scientist and creation (a goal that also necessarily requires a transitionary state, a “monster” state that is neither full capitalism (cissexualism) nor full communism (transsexualism), but an apparatus that gets us from A -> B. This description is blatantly one of both socialism and gender transition itself, and in this comparison it is revealed why the transsexual may desire Marxism-Leninism). This also reveals why transmedicalism - the desire to uphold cissexual, psychiatric, pathological conceptions of transgenderism as a mental illness and/or sexual perversion - is a dead-end, a forfeiting of even more power to those who already have it, and fundamentally different from the goal of free HRT, surgery, name changes and gender marker changes for everyone forever amen

[deer0skullz]

“Okay, maybe not every trans man, but if you go stealth you will receive male privilege”

Sure, maybe in very select circumstances, if a trans man is completely stealth and fully perceived as a cis man by his cis male peers, he could benefit from male privilege.

But, some people don’t seem to realise that being stealth isn’t a choice? It’s about how you’re perceived by other people, and you can’t just, choose that other people are going to perceive you as a cis man.

A stealth trans man still has a family and other people who know he’s trans or knew him pre-transition. So either

a) he could still potentially face misogyny from his family and people in his past or

b) he has to cut off everyone who ever knew him pre-transition, including close family members, in order to avoid losing his “stealth” status. That doesn’t sound very privileged to me.

Oh, and those old friends and family members can out you to others. It’s very easy to be outed no matter how stealthy you are, especially if you’re any sort of public figure. People find old pictures of you, people find old information on you that includes your deadname/ birth sex/ old pronouns/ etc, people find out you’ve had surgeries/ are taking hormones. And if you haven’t had bottom surgery, obviously having sex with anyone is going to get you outed, whether it’s just to them or whether they out you to other people.

Also, being stealth, for many people, is going to require full medical transition. There are obviously exceptions, but unfortunately for us transmascs, most perisex people who were AFAB are not going to be perceived as cis men without extensive work. So you can be stealth, as long as

you can afford gender affirming treatment

it’s not banned or restricted in your region

you aren’t going to be disowned/ abused/ etc for seeking it

you don’t have any health issues that would prevent medically transitioning

you actually want to medically transition

So if you have all those things, then you can probably receive some of that sweet sweet male privilege… Except that, (again, unfortunately) even people who have had surgeries and have been on hormones for years still get “clocked” and aren’t considered “fully passing”. So yeah, even fully medically transitioning doesn’t guarantee you’ll be perceived as a cis man.

There’s also another small issue… that many trans men don’t want to be stealth. Many of us don’t want to hide our identity for the off chance we’ll receive a small, highly conditional sense of privilege in a very select number of situations. Many trans men don’t want to “pass” and/ or have styles that are perceived as traditionally feminine. Many trans men want to engage with other trans people and get involved with wider trans and queer communities.

So yeah, this idea of the stealth trans guy who gets treated exactly like a cis man is in no way common or the norm. It’s impossible to hide that you’re trans in all situations, publicly and privately. And most people just don’t want to. So why are we using this near impossible, incredibly rare hypothetical as a key argument in transmasc discourse?

Disclaimer below because I’m constantly paranoid about being misinterpreted.

In case it wasn’t clear, all of this is from the perspective of a perisex trans man, who, unfortunately, does not know the personal experiences of every single trans man on the planet, so yes, there will be exceptions to everything I’ve said, but I’ve tried to involve as many perspectives as possible.

Also, I don’t want this to be seen as hate against trans guys who are stealth/ aren’t open about being trans/ want to “pass”/ want to be perceived as cis. More power to you and you have every right to be part of the community, but I feel this is just simply not the experience of the majority of trans men. And it shouldn’t be used as a “gotcha” by people who are trying to argue we don’t experience oppression.

And also, when I say “perceived as a cis man” I do mean the patriarchal perception of what a cis man “should” look like. Obviously, cis men come in all shapes and sizes like everyone else and the way you look should not be an indication of gender, but to discuss male privilege I have to discuss it from the patriarchal view of men and masculinity because that’s where male privilege comes from.

Also also yes, I used he/ him throughout this post but of course not every trans man uses he/ him solely or at all. I just thought since we’re specifically discussing binary, “passing” trans men it was more appropriate.

Sorry for the long ass post

[phoenixyfriend]

HELP I have a silly plot concept and IDK what to do with it Just holding it like. an potato

Basically I saw a "not like other girls" type of thing and it included a ref to the "because I am not like most people (I am a literally not human/I was raised by an assassin program/I am now a dude)" variant where the gimmick is that the reason they're not like other girls actually is really, really rare.

Aaaaaand now I'm thinking of what the best AU would be for Ahsoka to be Genuinely Not Like Other Girls and I've done "I'm not like other Jedi; I'm a soldier" time travel stuff where she is Kind Of Unnerving to pre-war Jedi so many times that it would be more fun to do it the other way.

Which is! Modern AU! Ahsoka is either:

1) A Red Room style assassin who escaped the program and is now Trying To Blend Into A Normal High School while being raised by Obi-Wan (dad mode) and Anakin (college student doing his best to older brother) and keeps having Confusion when her new school friends take her out for ice cream or shopping or something. (This is present in a lot of media but the immediate example in my mind is Season Three of Stranger Things with Eleven and Max going to the mall)

OR

2) Still an alien, but in a less cohesive galaxy, who crash-landed in Anakin and Obi-Wan's backyard and has a Special Watch that can make her look human and they just keep introducing her to people as their Cousin From Abroad, and hoping people are too polite to ask why she's poking the apples like they're going to bite her.

In either case, they may also try to excuse Ahsoka's lack of familiarity with the wider world as Grew Up In A Cult type shit.

Trying to remember who's actually her age that could go to school with her and I am blanking on basically everyone except Korkie? I think maybe Barriss could be a senior while Ahsoka's a freshman. Attempts to Big Sister at Ahsoka and it only sometimes works, tutors when Anakin is busy or bad at the subject, etc. Whoever Ahsoka's friend is, they're walking down the street together and someone tries to mug them and the friend is like oh! Must protect the innocent new friend who grew up really sheltered in a cult and doesn't know the ways of the world! And then she kicks the ass of the person trying to mug them and Very Carefully Does Not Kill.

New friend has stars in their eyes.

In the Assassin version, Plo Koon is her therapist/handler for transitioning into normal life. Government-assigned psychologist that she goes to see at least twice a week. He hands her plushies to hold during sessions, and A Plushie ends up being one of the first things she actually asks Anakin or Obi-Wan to buy for her that isn't purely practical (green owl).

[astra-ravana]

The Practice Of Demonolatry

Demonolatry, the communion, summoning, and worship of demons, is a complex and often misunderstood practice with roots in ancient history. While it's difficult to pinpoint the exact origin, early forms of demon work can be traced back to pre-Christian cultures, where spirits and deities were often associated with both positive and negative aspects of the natural world.

In the Abrahamic traditions, demons are typically portrayed as fallen angels or evil spirits, often associated with temptation, sin, chaos, misfortune, and death. However, in some occult and esoteric practices, demons are viewed as powerful beings who can grant knowledge, power, and protection to those who understand how to work with them. The word "demon" comes from the ancient Greek "daemon" which literally meant "divine entity" or "minor god". Many demons are, in fact, disgraced pagan gods who met with the limited understanding of early Christians. Due to events such as the crusades and prevalent witch hunts throughout history, information pertaining to demons was likely supressed or destroyed entirely.

The Renaissance period, however, saw a resurgence of interest in demonology, with figures like Johann Weyer and Reginald Scot challenging the prevailing view of demons as purely evil entities. These thinkers argued that many cases of demonic possession could be attributed to mental illness or other natural causes. In the 19th and 20th centuries, demonolatry experienced a revival within certain occult and esoteric circles. Figures like Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey and other practitioners of Satanism and Theistic Satanism incorporated demonic entities into their rituals and beliefs. These modern forms of demonolatry often emphasize personal empowerment, self-reliance, and the exploration of darker aspects of the human psyche.

Modern demonolaters such as S. Connolly, Michael W. Ford, and Satan and Suns are now helping transition demonaltry from obscure occult practice to every day magick. It is a diverse and multifaceted system, with a wide range of beliefs and practices. There is much to be gained when interacting with these powerful, otherworldly energies. Some practitioners view demons as literal entities, while others interpret them as archetypes or psychological forces. Regardless of their specific beliefs, demonolators often share a fascination with the occult, the supernatural, and the darker side of human nature (or the shadow).

Demonolatry as a practice or magickal rite is an almost unmatched catalyst for change, transformation, growth, knowledge, magickal ability and more. A connection to the demonic divine is a portal to the universe and understanding the true nature and origins of life. Doing your research is key, but there is no better teacher in this case than experience. Its hard to understand how natural and comforting demonic connection can feel without actually feeling it first hand. Letting go of preprogrammed fears and expectations to leap bravely into the dark may not be easy and it's not for everyone, but it is one of the most freeing and enlightening experiences one can have. So... What are you afraid of?

[kanguin]

Apropos of nothing, here's my top 15 anime and whether the story would be improved if you made the main character a trans girl:

1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - You can't transition Rimuru in a way that matters, but honestly if Rimuru did start to ID as a woman over time, that would be cool. Unlikely though considering his human form is the body of Shizu, so a fully fem form would feel pervy to Rimuru.

2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Well it'd certainly make the title funny if you made Edward into Edwina. And it'd make Ed/Winry into yuri. But honestly it'd change very little imho. Though it would be interesting to explore transition in a world where alchemy exists, but just in a different story. Might make for a fascinating post-canon fanfic?

3. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation - Oh god would it. The story is already focused on exploring identity and already has dysphoria when a god he talks to forces him into his pre-reincarnation body on the astral plane. Making Rudy into a polyamorous trans lesbian would literally be peak and elevate the story so much.

4. Kaguya-sama: Love is War - You know what? Yeah. I can vibe with making Miyuki Shirogane trans. It would add another layer of intrigue to the story AND make it gay. It could even be funny if Kaguya or Chica found out before Shirogane did. Wait. No. It would be hilarious if YU ISHIGAMI found out first, and just, assumed Miyuki was closeted, and not just, clueless. Yes this could add so much entertainment value.

5. Dungeon Meshi - Lord almighty get this autistic furry a choker and some estrogen, stat. I make it no secret how I feel about the Trans Touden Sisters interpretation.

6. Dandadan - Make Okarun and Jiji trans girls and make the main cast a messy polycule and sign me the FUCK up please! It would be so funny and so much fun. I NEED this version of Dandadan. It'd be even funnier considering how much is focused around Ken's junk and him being partially possessed by an old lady.

7. Overlord - NGL I'm not even sure anything would change if you made Momonga into a trans woman. She'd act the exact same, and so would everyone else. Interesting for sure, but fruitless, ultimately.

8. My Dressup Darling - Crack? Crack cocaine? Do you realize how amazing it would be to make this into a story about a gyaru girl pulling a closeted trans girl excitably out of the closet?! This would make this so much cuter than it already is, I think I'd EXPLODE.

9. How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom - It wouldn't change much narratively, but the world could always use more stories with polyamorous trans lesbians as the protagonist.

10. The Faraway Paladin - Wouldn't change much honestly, but it would be cool. Tbh Season 2 Will looks like a stealth/closeted trans girly already.

11. Mob Psycho 100 - Again wouldn't change much but would be fun. Put Mob on estrogen and watch her transform from anxiety autism failboy to anxiety autism failgirl. And then still be the kindest person in any room.

... Okay though, on second thought, getting to see her go ???% on a transphobe would be cool as shit.

12. One Punch Man - another no change case. One Punch Woman. She has boobs now. She probably transitioned in like a day somehow.

13. My Hero Academia - I think putting Midoriya on estrogen would fix the show actually. Maybe also put the writer on estrogen just to be sure. (joke)

14. Kill la Kill - Making Ryuko Matoi a trans girl would actually be really cool, especially with her challenging establishment, with the themes of clothes being a restrictive aspect of society, and with her gay romance with Mako. I've seen so many trans girls on Tumblr with Ryuko's exact shameless, confident personality, I just know it'd be epic.

15. Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious - It would change little about how Seiya acts, but realizing she's trans would definitely give Ristarte's bisexual ass a nosebleed. Though Seiya would probably be ultra mega hyper closeted behind numerous mystic barriers, so that'd be fun to explore.

[millidew]

random list of v3 opinions after experiencing all that again:

the death road of despair segment is the pre-trial highlight of ch1. so damn good. just a perfect microcosm of the game and kaede's flaws and conflicts

maki is funnier than i remember. but she’s at her funniest when she hits shuichi with a devastating insult, usually completely unprompted

ouma and maki parallels and foiling forever and ever. they HAAATE each other. but also it’d be cool to see them get along. the whole point is that they don’t see through the other and believe the other’s lies but still

maki saying she’ll work hard to make people trust her and her talent and that she wants to survive with everyone…ough…

ouma is so mad. he wishes that were him. also that moment where everyone ignores him and tries to comfort kaito after gonta's execution. he also wishes that were him but unfortunately he's been an asshole to everyone and no one likes him so

the only way i can enjoy saio/uma is one sided ouma->shuichi where shuichi is just not invested in the cop/robber dynamic ouma wants at all. it’s funnier this way + saimota inspires a visceral upset within him. he NEEDS to fumble both kaede and shuichi.

on that note i’ve been hcing ouma as bisexual for years partially out of spite

kaito’s obnoxious charm can’t be ignored. if you think you’ve successfully done it, it means it’s just entered an asymptomatic form. it'll hit you soon enough

ch2 pre-execution >>> KIRA BUCKLAND THE VOICE ACTRESS THAT YOU ARE. EVERYONE WONDERING IF THEY MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE BY VOTING FOR KIRUMI. KAITO GOING “IDC I WANT TO LIVE, OUR LIVES ARE IMPORTANT TOO!” KIRUMI INSULTING OUMA <3 EVERYONE CHEERING FOR KIRUMI TO RUN!!! TO LIVE!!!!!!!! GAHHHH SO COOL

kaito and himiko just blatantly lying through their teeth during their ftes. the liars who suppress their true problemsssss. also him shouting that he is NOT GIVING HER A PIGGY BACK RIDE!!! EVAR!!!!! is so funny

himiko I LOVE YOUUUUU. i love her getting overly familiar with people post-development and just accidentally completely overstepping boundaries by insulting kiibo and calling maki "maki roll." she's trying so hard you guys

KAITO IS SO FUCKING DRAMATIC. HE SHOULD’VE BEEN THE MALE LEAD IN A HIGH-SCHOOL THEATRE PRODUCTION AND ANNOYED EVERYONE IN THE CREW!!!! STOP BOTHERING MAKI SHE HAS A POWER DRILL

shuichi and maki doing sit ups and the camera slowly panning to show kaito laying there hands behind his head saying his usual bullshit is one of the funniest moments of the game

tenko and himiko agree that shuichi should transition into a woman. this is true.

I don’t accept tenko slander unless it’s specifically about her obsessiveness over himiko in ch1-2 in which case I can’t defend her

if kaito shaved he’d look 13. for this reason he is legally not allowed to do that.

tsumugi and the background of v3 are SO GOOD. ABSOLUTE PEAK. in execution there are lots of weak points but after thh, sdr2, udg, and the anime series, tell me a meta story about consumption, lies, and depression that ends with the cameos from entire main games’ previous casts doesn’t go hard

don’t deny that tsumugi loved her little ocs. do you not enjoy torturing your blorbos, putting them into situations, and giving them nice things just to take those away?? shipping them and dressing them up??? making silly aus (salmon mode, utdp, arguably dr:s)?

i just wish the writers utilized her more bc i love that so much. she should've wanted to get to get more involved with everyone (giddily see her ocs up close). she should've made even more thh/srdr2 references. players assume the writers are making for cheap nostalgia points, and they are, but it's true in-universe too...she should've been so overconfident that she'd get sloppy with the situational irony... tsumugi you little freak ily

she and rantaro were 100% s52's survivors and you can pry this from my cold dead hands. her dr fangirl self can be her pre-game personality

speaking of pre-game personalities, pre-game content is at best boring to me. how they write ouma is my litmus test. if he's not enough of a nuisance, just in a different way, then it's gotta go

maki is down for a training trio polycule, shuichi is in denial about everything and fears becoming an awkward third wheel, and kaito has been trying unsuccessfully to wink-wink nudge-nudge shuichi and maki into “realizing their feelings for each other” for ages

i still think maki should have short hair. initially I thought just shorter pigtails would be ok but I’m now in the firm camp of a pixie cut with one of her scrunchies on her wrist, with her orphanage-age flashback self maintaining the pigtails. she had to cut them off for practicality’s sake but one of her hidden desires is to be able to regrow it one day. another show of her loss of identity and past life, and how every aspect of her is controlled? such a simple desire at first glance but because hair is such a simple show of autonomy…even more tragic… maybe her doomed childhood friend yuri used to do her hair …hrm…

ultimates are public, influential figures. maki’s had to assassinate friends before (rip her yakuza friend that I didn’t know she had up until recently). maki went back to being an assassin in utdp after graduating. the hope’s peak class roster MIGHT just be a hit list

for someone who includes miu in her top 3 I haven’t talked about her at all huh. it’s been maki central up in here

miu is AWFUL but when her jokes hit, they hit good and hard just like she’d want them to. she’s completely insufferable and deserves to hit ouma (also insufferable) with 3000 hammers. kiibo too but he wouldn’t want to

look just because ouma said he was doing everything for a good reason, do NOT forget that at his core he is a little dipshit. he’s a JERK!!!

brief dip into maki time again. one of my favorite aus is that maki’s doomed childhood friend is actually miu. i'll expand on this in another post

once again: drv3 and rgu are shaking hands about exiting the narrative and the follies of playing hero. read my utenanthy!kaemugi post

v3 is FARRRR from a masterpiece, but it's a solid and fitting Ending to the main games, plus it's got an insane cast with infinite dynamics and a premise which i love to bits <33 and it was the game that got me into dr, so it'll always be special in my heart. also kaito momota luminary of the stars debuted in it which gives it 5/5 stars

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for accidentally outing my fiance?

I (27F) am engaged to a 24M guy. He is trans, but he doesn't identify as trans anymore - he's post-everything, passes 100%, lives stealth/as a cis man, and no one who didn't know him pre-transition knows him as anything but a cis man. I know keeping that up is very important to him, we've had a lot of conversations about how happy he is just being seen as cis and being able to pass. I know getting outed and 'found out' is also a big worry of his, for example for our upcoming wedding he's rushing around trying to make it clear to his family that they shouldn't mention him being trans or refer to him as she/her at our wedding because he has so many friends coming who don't know he's trans. It's not that he doesn't trust them or he's ashamed of being trans or anything, he's very supportive of his trans friends, but he just doesn't publicly live as trans.

We're in a big Discord server of friends that have been quite close for about a year now, enough that we've met multiple of them in person and two of them are going to be in his wedding party as sort of 'best man' equivalents (we're not really sticking to bridesmaid best man stuff just our mixed gender friends). He has kept his Facebook very private for as long as I've known him, the only people on there are IRL friends and family because he has in the past posted trans stuff on there, like transition updates, it still has old pictures of him pre-T or in early transition, etc. I knew he didn't want this found. He also hadn't told any of this group aside from the people he was especially close with and had invited to the wedding his surname and location in case they looked him up and found something.

People in the server were sharing their Facebook profiles and I shared mine so people could add me. My fiance messaged me right after pointing out that me sharing mine would dox him as I had him in my relationship status and friends list, but I unfortunately didn't see this message for a while as I was distracted and doing other things. By the time I saw, everyone in the group had already clicked and gone through my profile and found his.

He tried to go through and speed-delete everything he could find that was public that mentioned him being trans or showed him pre-transition, any comments from family referring to it, etc but pictures that were set to friends only were still popping up in previews on the side and some of his family have public profiles that show cover images with him pre-T and things like that.

Our friends were making jokes about finally knowing his surname, going through his whole account down to the time it was first made back in 2018, commenting on old statuses of his, so they definitely saw his profile and went through all of it. He was panicking because he had no way of knowing if they'd seen that he's trans or not and got super upset and freaked out about the possibility, and he couldn't ask without outing himself or making them suspicious.

I apologized and deleted the link but obviously by then it was too late.

I do think it's not a huge deal as much as he thinks because I know our friends would be supportive and wouldn't think of him differently, but I know it was still important to him. I'm not sure they did see because some of our friends are the type to have just blurted out "You're trans?!" in the server without thinking about it (not because they're malicious or judging it, but some of them aren't as online and don't really know how to talk about it sensitively if that makes sense) and they didn't say anything. However he thinks they did because they were talking about statuses older than the ones he managed to get to deleting in time.

Like I said i did apologize but I feel like he's still upset with me for not thinking before sending my profile. On top of that I have kind of a habit of doing things impulsively and without thinking (I have bpd and bipolar) and not always taking into account how it will affect him or what consequences it will have,which I've been working on for years but I worry this is just adding to that which I know already wears on him.

What are these acronyms?

[our-queer-experience]

I want to start off by saying I mean this not to be triggering or insulting in any way but I get really sad when I see people saying that the only way they'll ever be happy is with surgery. Or that they would rather die than not have surgery. I get the dysphoria sucks and it does so much that sometimes you contemplate doing it yourself but as someone who can't ever get surgeries because of past health issues I need you guys to know that it will not always feel that way. Put yourself in my shoes for a second and ask what you would do if you also couldn't medically transition because of other previous conditions. I do not get a choice. I will never get to know what that feels like. And at first that was very hard to accept. But I can tell you after years of this, not getting surgery and not being able to do hrt for whatber reason is not the end of the world and it shouldn't be a reason to kill yourself. I get having those feelings because I did to at once, but now that I've lived with my own circumstances for a while I am glad I didn't let it get to me that much. And on another side note I'm not really trying to sound snobby or rude but some of the things I see people post are a bit insulting towards people like me who cannot do these things. It's like some of you guys forget that there ARE trans people without hrt or surgery. Not always because they choose to! I know it sucks. Believe me I know. But it will get better and you have so much value just as a human that you should not let the disappointment from something like that consume you. You are stronger than that. If any young person who wants these things but can't have them and feels this way please don't think thst your life is less valuable than a surgery. You are more than surgery and always will be whether you have it or not. The surgery is not what defines you. You are. Same for hrt. You are so young and that is not the solution I promise. Having boobs forever might seem like a death sentence to some, it did to me at first, but I had to accept that. And if it wasn't that way and I didnt get the treatment that made these things unavailable to me, I'd be dead as a result of my illness. I know this isn't everyone's case but I just wanted to share so maybe someone in a similar situation knows that there are other people like them. I'm sorry this was so long :/

im tentative to respond to this because i don’t think you get to say that the way other trans people feel regarding their transition is personally targeting you and we need to get over ourselves. we don’t have to accept shit about fuck, to put it lightly.

i’m one of those “would die if i couldnt get on hrt soon” folks. being pre op forever would be a death sentence. me saying that says nothing about non transitioning people- most of my origonal posts are advocating for yall!! but a lot of us are never going to be comfortable if we can’t transition. we’re suicidally dysphoric and no amount of coping mechanisms will do anything but make it manageable.

your journey does not have to be anyone else’s. i’m happy you’ve learned to live in your body and be happy, and some parts of what you say are right, but insisting that all of us need to just feel better feels indistinguishable from the people who say “just be a masculine woman/feminine man! you don’t need chemicals to love yourself”

i’m sorry you can’t medically transition. i’m glad you’re able to be happy without it. but just as transition is not an option for you physically, not transitioning just isn’t an option for so many people mentally.

[mayosmultiverse]

Report Overview

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS UNIT

PRIMARY ARCHIVE: "Things That Hotch Would Prefer Not to Know About."

SECONDARY CLASSIFICATION: "How Not to Secure A Suspect: A Live Demonstration"

DOCUMENT TYPE: Unclassified Internal Report

PAIRING: Spencer Reid x BAU GN!Reader (Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn.. sort of)

WC: 1.9k (Again)

CASE STATUS: Refer to attached report. (No spoilers.)

SUBMITTED BY: J. Jareau

ARCHIVED BY: P. Garcia

CASE NO. 002 | The Houdini Gambit: A Lesson in Restraint

SUBJECT: A takedown turns into a handcuffed disaster after Reid becomes the star of a magician’s obsession

TW: Criminal minds stuff

INVESTIGATING AGENTS: D. Morgan, P. Garcia, Scout (Reader), S. Reid, E. Prentiss, J. Jareau, D. Rossi, A. Hotchner

Case 001 | Case 003 | Case File Index | Criminal Minds Masterlist

An unassuming day was something none of the BAU agents were used to. Quite frankly, with the nature of their job, it was something like a sighting of a blue moon.

Which is why today was no other.

It was the same drill. The same seats. The same dynamics.

Scout resided on their designated place, sandwiched between JJ and Spencer. Their seat was decided prematurely when they joined. JJ and Spencer at a glance were the royalty of giving comfort.

If only Scout knew about the chaos, they brewed inside.

Everyone was fully attentive to what was being presented at screen. 

Another day. Another serial killer. Another life cruelly taken away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and our very own doctor of wizardry. I present to you the works of 'The Magician' Vince Moretti which no self respecting Magician would ever call themselves if they were a serial killer. Leaves a bad taste." Garcia scrunched her face as the slides transitioned into various forms of utter brutality man could recreate. 

“A magician turned murderer, that’s new.” Prentiss raised her eyebrow.

“Not just any magician. It seems he worships the old school greats. Houdini, Thurston, Copperfield—but mostly Houdini. And not just ‘wow, cool tricks’ kind of worship. More like ‘this is my divine calling’ kind of crazy.”

“And now he’s killing people instead of pulling rabbits out of hats.” Morgan leaned forward, which was mainly shifting in his seat, clearly unimpressed.

“Exactly. Our guy believes ‘escape artistry’ is the ultimate test of human skill. He doesn’t see these as murders. He sees them as failed illusions.” Garcis replied grimly as she clicked through the crime scene photos.

“Each of the three murder victims was placed in an ‘escape challenge’ as in trapped in a situation where a real magician might have survived. Our fourth victim was the first to get out alive.” JJ noted. It is truly a marvel how quickly she caught on. In the total non sarcastic way (Love you, boo ~ Garcia)

The slide finally landed onto the victims. Three failed challenges. A glass tank. A fire rope. A locked coffin. 

“That’s terrifying” Scout muttered as they grimaced at the scene. Not quite used to the desensitised killers’ actions yet.

“The question is, does he want his victims to escape? Or does he want to prove they never stood a chance?” Hotch nodded, as he flipped through his file.

The somber moment was broken. Garcia’s face suddenly lightened up as she clicked for another slide.

“Oh, now for the fun part.” 

“There’s a fun part?” Scout’s question went unanswered. Sort of. (It had to be done sweety ~ Garcia)

“‘True escape is only for those with minds as sharp as a blade. A true challenger will find me. Someone who understands misdirection. Someone…’”

“Don’t say it.” Morgan groaned, already knowing where this was going.

“‘…like Dr. Spencer Reid.’”

“…Did you piss off a magician recently?” Scout blinked a bit. Then turned to look at Spencer.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” Spencer was exasperated at the amount of times this has happened. Not even rubbing his temples brought any relief.

“What can I say? You’re inspirational.” 

The whole team is staring at Reid, who looks mildly distressed.

“Okay, but objectively, this is kind of a compliment. He thinks you’re the only one smart enough to catch him.” Prentiss followed Rossi’s lead.

“Yes, because serial killer fan mail is always flattering.”

“Congratulations, Pretty Boy. You’ve got yourself a stalker with a flair for the dramatic.”

“He even called you a challenger. That’s, like, a villain origin story setup.” Scout nodded, mock serious.

“Please tell me I don’t have to personally go in after him.” Reid was absolutely done at this point. Only Hotch was his solace now.

“You’re not going in alone. You and Scout will approach first. Morgan and I will follow as backup.”

“…Fantastic.” It seemed Reid had aged a few years as the conversation progressed as he regretted his entire career path.

“Cheer up, Genius. At least he didn’t call you a sidekick.” Silver linings.

Scout and Reid were prepared to face Moretti. Well as prepared as they could be. Neither of them had experienced a Magician Serial Killer, even if the latter had years worth of more experience.

Very Reassuring.

Entering the quaint building did nothing to ease the building up stress. It had everything that horror movie does. Those ‘props’ or ‘scenes’ that scream run away. Far far away from here.

That thought was tied in with a creaking sound. Typical.

And like the most idiotic characters in the self made episode, the two followed. 

Spencer lead this dance and Scout followed behind him.

And in as they followed the sound to a dusty living room. Or what was meant to be a living room. There was nothing, absolutely nothing.

“Ah, the great Dr. Reid. The mind reader. The one who sees all.” Moretti appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The grin on his face was nothing but sinister. His hands were menacingly playing around a pair of cuffs.

Scout jumped at the sudden sound.

Why? They don’t know. For a magician they should’ve expected that. But it went unnoticed by the offending man. He was fixated by Spencer. 

His eyes unwavering from Spencer’s figure as he took a step towards Moretti. 

And Scout took a baby step, ready to pounce if the grand magician decided to try to unleash his last act.

“You believe this is a game of misdirection. But in reality, your illusion is unraveling.” Spencer’s face was as expressional as a board. Completely calm as he analysed Moretti. 

The only response he got was a booming laughter, bouncing at every crevice of the room. His manic energy was increasing. His grin, bigger. His eyes, excited.

“Oh, but the best magicians never reveal their secrets, Doctor.”

“Secrets are pointless when you are surrounded with no escape.” It was the first time Vincent Moretti’s crazed gaze landed on Scout. 

He didn’t respond. Just tilted his head and watched.

He didn’t respond and that was creeping Scout out.

He didn’t respond.. In words..

He lunged at Spencer. Scout only saw a struggle between the two and moved in to subdue the Unsub. 

But Moretti was one step ahead of both of them.

He grabbed both their wrists and snapped the cuff on them before any of them could react. Taking both their surprise to his advantage, he escaped. Leaving smoke behind to put insult on injury.

Scout looked down at the cuffs, giving it a firm tug.

“Did he just.. Ninja vanish?”

“That;s not even his best trick. He also picked my pocket.”

It was a tug of war and words between the two until the team came barging in. 

“…This is the best thing I’ve ever seen.” Morgan smirked at the sight.

“Garcia needs to hear about this immediately.” JJ already had her phone out to record.

“Okay, so tell me why my favorite little genius and my rookie in training are currently DEFYING STANDARD FBI PROTOCOL?” Garcia’s voice squeaked in the comms.

“Garcia, not now.” Hotch rubbed his temples. “Where is Moretti?” 

“He disappeared.” Hotch took a deep breath in. and out. And in again.

“Of course he did.” followed by a sigh.

“All right,” he said, sharp now, switching into command mode. “Morgan, JJ, sweep east of the perimeter. Prentiss, Rossi, check the warehouse exterior. If he’s injured, he’ll find cover. We move fast.”

And then his eyes landed on the two people still awkwardly linked together by cold metal and mutual regret.

“Scout. Reid.”

Scout straightened like they were about to be deployed into battle. Reid looked away, trying to casually pretend he hadn’t just suggested Moretti wouldn’t escape.

Hotch continued, tone flat.

“Go to the car.”

There was silence. Then:

“Wait what?” Scout blinked. “Are we being benched?”

“It’s not a bench,” Hotch said, already turning away.

“It's so bench. This is a time out.” Scout nudged Reid dramatically. “He sent us to the car like we’re toddlers who drew on the walls.”

“Technically, it’s more like administrative separation from the crime scene for operational clarity-”

“Okay, genius, we’re being babysat. Let’s just call it what it is.”

Spencer sighed. “We’re going to the car.”

“This is the most FBI version of being grounded I’ve ever seen.” Scout muttered under their breath as they started walking.

It was a while after they were joined by JJ and Morgan in the car. It might have been personal because Hotch decided on the seatings. Morgan chose to drive and JJ was not so subtly recording the two.

“Are you really going to make us stay like this all the car ride?” 

“Yes” The two were really enjoying this.

“So, how’s it feel, Genius? Finally outplayed by a magician?” Morgan looked at Spencer from the rear view with the biggest grin.

“…He didn’t outplay me. He relied on an unpredictable variable.” Spencer huffed, trying to cross his arms but the cuff and Scout not letting him.

“Oh, am I the variable?” Scout was now on the last leg of exasperated.

“Technically, you’re the assistant in the act.” Morgan mocked.

The car ride was silent after that. At least for the first five minutes, mostly because every attempt to adjust the cuffs ended in some form of passive aggressive elbow bumping.

Scout eventually gave up and leaned against the window. Reid was still trying to angle his wrist into a position that looked vaguely more dignified.

“Next time,” Scout mumbled, “I’m wearing a hoodie with zip ties instead.”

The SUV finally rolled into the garage.

Scout was out of the car before Morgan even finished parking, possibly to escape the humiliation, possibly just to get some distance from the world's most spatially unaware genius still rubbing his bruised wrist.

Reid stepped out after, fixing his cardigan with what little dignity he had left.

Now back at the BAU, Scout and Spencer were both freed from the piece of cuff. 

By the time they got back upstairs, the rest of the team was already pretending not to wait for them. Badly.

Garcia practically beamed from her desk the second she spotted the duo. 

“My little magical misfires return! Did you two enjoy your teambuilding exercise?”

Scout deadpanned, “I have seen my life flash before my eyes three times today.”

“You should’ve waved at mine while you were at it,” Spencer mumbled.

Morgan patted them both on the shoulder as if proud. “Tough day in paradise, huh?”

“Effective immediately, all field agents are required to review cuffing procedure.” Hotch didn’t even look up from the folder as he said it.

“That means you, Rookie,” Morgan added with a grin, nudging Scout.

“…This was still improbable.” Spencer rubbed his wrists in disdain.

“Not impossible though.” Scout responded flatly with their arms crossed.

“Next time, just buy dinner first.” Rossi walked pasted at this point unfazed by their antics ignoring the chaos that followed.

CASE STATUS: Resolved (With Added Embarrassment)

ADDITIONAL NOTES: INTERNAL USE ONLY

Vincent Morreti was arrested 6 hours after his amazing escape (a lot of self control was tested by Scout and Reid)

All agents had to go through lessons of handcuffs (They're salty about it)

Morgan and Garcia subsequently were called by HR from said lesson (They have no regrets)

JJ absolutely refused to delete the footage (It's good content)

Rossi somehow made it worse

Hotchner is half an incident away from having an aneurysm (He won't be going down alone)

TAGGED PERSONNEL: Contact author for notification requests

@princess-ofthe-pages

CASE SUGGESTIONS: Submissions for additional reports are open and under review

[taylor-titmouse]

can gnomes be trans??

i mean.

okay. look. the gnomes are first and foremost speculative bio, so their sociology is not the priority of developing them as a species. they are not meant to map to human ideas of gender and sex, because they don't experience those. you're essentially asking can bees be trans.

i would posit gnomes don't really know what trans is, because to them, there are queens and breeding males, and then there's everyone else and the babies. there is no functional difference between non-breeding males and females until males go into rut, and then you're a breeding male and you leave and you're not a real part of society. an afab gnome is not going to transition into a breeding male because that's not physically possible outside of extremely rare intersex cases, and there is no social gender to transition across anyway. you could castrate a breeding male/pre-rut male and he would be no different from a non-breeding female, but that's still not a transition, that's more just a perpetual prepubesence. there Is probably a cultural tradition of doing this to males who would be more useful to the colony if they stuck around, but i wouldn't consider them transgender anymore than i would consider a eunuch transgender.

basically no, gnomes can't be trans.

[anonymous-ace72]

Slightly back on my bullshit in regards to roman portraiture but also linking it to Trials of Apollo because why tf not.

So, quick recap for those who don't know: Roman portraiture is to be taken with a grain of salt; especially Imperial portraiture. These are not realistic pictures of the people they portray, but rather carefully crafted, idealized images that would have been pre-approved by the subject before they were shown off to the world. They might include some individualized aspects (Pompey's portraits are a good example) but we really don't know what they look like.

On the other side of things, we can't really trust written accounts from people like Sutonious either, because in the case of the Julio-Claudians, he wrote about them some hundred years after that dynasty ended, and whatever sources he might have used in his describing of these people have long since been lost, and probably greatly embellished. Really, we have no clue what these people looked like. We don't even have remains to do facial reconstructions of because I'm pretty sure most imperial Romans would have been cremated.

So, what does this have to do with ToA?

I know within the universe of the books, the triumvirate is described in ways that look very similar to their surviving portraiture, it makes sense, these are the only images of these men we have left, but I thought it would be kind of cool if they only started looking more like their portraiture, after they became minor gods. Stay with me for a second.

These portraits were widely circulated, usually made as a means for the emperor to stand in during official events where he would need to be present, as well as just to remind everyone who's the boss. Most people in the Roman empire probably never physically saw the emperor himself, only these portraits, so this is the image of him that they would have known. I doubt, with the triumvirate being only minor dieties, that they have the ability to change their appearance at will like a major god can, but maybe one of the things that happened from transition from mortal to god is their appearance changed to fit more in with the widely circulated images around the empire. With some individuality sprinkled in as well.

Just an interesting thought I had.

[onesidedradiostatic]

Do you think Vox arrived in hell with a color or black-and-white tv head? (And would his color vision be the same as his screen output?)

If one of his upgrades was to color, I can imagine both him and alastor geeking out over it together like mad scientists, before the friendship sank. The infatuation/obsession fuel of Alastor being one of the first things Vox sees in color in his afterlife… slo-mo bishie sparkle vision (“why is everything here fucking red?!”)

Or maybe Alastor wasn’t impressed by “living color” at all and it was the beginning of the end. A final dealbreaker would have been the upgrade from film cameras to electronic video cameras in the 70s/80s. Around the time Vox would have buddied up with Valentino. As if Vox’s devaluing of music and audio over video wasn’t already enough yikes

Oh no let’s get poetic, maybe that was the last time Vox saw Alastor without distortion, and MAYBE he still can’t see Alastor unless he’s looking at an image of him captured in the pre-digital days. Wait that’s a bit too angsty actually. Alastor literally being like ‘you have lost the privilege of perceiving me’… oof maybe as a deterrent if Vox got uncomfortably distracted/focussed on Al’s looks instead of the Art of Radio (reminds me of a time a guy I’d never spoken to asked our art prof to ask me if he could photograph me because I’d become his “muse”, and I shifted my setup so a column blocked his line of sight. Vision denied, Martin, no more perception allowed. jesus christ)

hmmm first colour tv came out in the 50s so it's entirely possible that when vox died it was already invented, so entirely possible he just spawned with colour already. idk if I want to begin to understand how vox's sight and his screen correlate with each other, does he KNOW what's on his screen when it's not his face???? I mean he knew velvette was calling when that came up on his screen. what the fuck does he see when his screen is not his face. I don't. I don't know. but I haven't actually thought about it necessarily correlating. but I do kind of like the idea of like him transitioning to colour for the first time and seeing alastor in the bishie sparkle filter that's so funny ksjdfghllf. honestly you can buy me with any context of vox seeing alastor in the bishie sparkle filter it's so funny.

typically I don't think vox's vision counts as video when it comes to alastor, mostly because I just NEED him to see alastor without distortion for the first time in 7 years. but it's definitely a sad idea if it did apply to him especially cause everyone else around him would be able to see him in-person without distortions cause they're not video LMAO, so he'd be essentially the only person unable to see alastor normally. NOT in my usual hcs because damn that's too sad even for me.... but it is something to think about if it was the case

[fantasyfantasygames]

Combo review: The Dark Room and Pitch-Black Time Machine

The Dark Room / Pitch-Black Time Machine, Rob Knight, 2016/2018

In 2016, Rob Knight released a thoughtful, investigative RPG entitled The Dark Room (TDR). In 2018 he released an extremely different game entitled Pitch-Black Time Machine (PBTM), using the exact same rules word-for-word. I figured I'd review both of them in one post.

In TDR each of your characters have walked into the titular room and found themselves with each other, despite entering the room in different years. When you exit the room, you're at one person's era. You try to resolve someone's issues (external and internal), and then walk back into the room and do it again in someone else's era. Once everyone's issues are solved, people can finally go back to their own eras. The mystery of the room's how and why is never resolved.

PBTM, on the other hand, is a party horror. Your inebriated characters cram themselves into a darkened closet on a combination of "seven minutes in heaven" and a phone booth stunt. When they tumble back out it's into a weirdly fractured universe where one of their issues has gone rampant, causing horrible trouble for everyone. Every time they confront one successfully, the world rearranges, until they finally end up in a world better than they left it and burn down the house with the closet. Tone-wise it's a mix of Buffy and Harold & Kumar.

There are three "layers" to the rules, and to the characters you build with them. The Issues layer deals with problems in the character's lives. It's the most innovative part of the system. Rather than just a description or a rating, Issues have mechanical hooks that let the GM generate opposition dice pools and relevant NPCs. They also provide the PCs with tainted bonuses, building negative effects even as they provide dice Success doesn't erase Issues, but instead transmutes them, turning down the negative side effects, healing weakness and building resilience.

Talents and Statistics provide more standard systems. You could run the game with just Issues, but Talents provide your character's background and anything that would fall under Advantages and Disadvantages in GURPS. Statistics provide the usual six modern attributes (str/agi/sta/int/cha/per) on a 20-80 rating and some percentile skills. The Statistics layer is either extremely phoned in, or is a reasonable case of whipping up a generic system when you don't need anything more complex. Honestly, you could run a game without the Issues layer and have a very typical older modern-era game, but that would be like using Unknown Armies without the shock gauges or Rolemaster with no crit tables. Issues are what make this system sing.

Overall I'm impressed by the difference in tone between the two games despite using the exact same system. The art does a lot to help reinforce that. Both are black and white line art, but TDR is thin-lined historical sketches and PBTM is thicker-lined and more cartooney, kind of caricature-ish. (I talk art good.) A little research revealed that it's the same artist at different points in their career, and pre/post transition, which is kinda cool. Even without the art, the text really conveys a very different game, and Rob did a great job finding two settings that precisely fit the same set of rules.

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