#tragic yuri except not

[nuzipilled]

commission for @kylelily123abc4 (:

[themintman]

N e ways here's Jack's actual design for the au I posted about the other day lmao

Love this sorrowful lizard.

[hyacinths-in-a-storm]

Atla Character Lore Drop because I can

Firelord Sozin’s Reign:

Firelord Sozin- Born in 42 BG and the son of Firelord Zenzo and Firelady Turan and older brother to Princess Zeisan. Former companion of Avatar Roku. Sozin ruled from 21 BG till his death in 20 AG. Sozin and Zeisan had a rocky relationship but reached a peace treaty in their early twenties as most siblings do. Sozin wanted to rule the world, but since Roku refused to let him throw the natural order of balance Sozin was unable to do anything until he left Roku to die in 2 BG. Two years later, during Sozin’s Comet he killed all the Air Nomads and on the other side of the world his son Azulon was born. Sozin died of natural causes and Azulon was crowned the next Firelord.

Princess Zeisan- Born in 40 BG as the daughter of Firelord Zenzo and Firelady Turan and younger sister to Firelord Sozin. From a young age Zeisan was her father’s favorite until she was revealed to not be a nonbender. After this she and her brother were pitted against each other until their father’s death in 58 BG. After her brother was crowned Firelord Zeisan moved North where she met an airbender by the name of Amala. After Amala’s death Zeisan moved back to the castle to raise her infant nephew Azulon, after his mother was deemed too unstable to raise him.

Firelady Nagemi- Born in 39 AG and the only daughter of a high-ranking official, Nagemi was promised to Sozin from a young age, they just ignored until she finally turned 19 and both their fathers insisted they get married. Luckily for them Zenzo ate shit and died like two years later so they never had to interact with each other very much after that except in the interest of their only son, Prince Azulon. After a family trip gone wrong, Nagemi was always interested in death and loved performing autopsies on animal carcasses. When Zeisan moved back to the palace, Nagemi had a strange fascination with her as she claimed she “had death clinging to her flesh”.

Amala (alias Rioshon)- Born in 40 BG in the Western Air Temple, Amala is an airbender. Being a late bloomer she received her tattoos at 19 and afterwards she joined the Guiding Wind, a rebel group of Air Nomads. She was traveling through the Fire Nation under the alias of Rioshon when she met Princess Zeisan. Amala is the one who first introduced Zeisan to Khandro, the leader of the Guiding Wind. Zeisan dragged her feet when it came to joining the Guiding Wind, but she trained with them and became close friends with Amala. There was a slight rough patch in their friendship when Zeisan tried to marry Khandro as a tactic to destabilize her brother as well as cause a law-binding contract so Sozin cannot attack the Air Nomads. Unfortunately before this could be officialized Sozin’s comet happened and most of the Air Nomads- including Khandro were killed. While Amala survived the initial attacks on the Air Nomads she died a few months later due to sepsis from the untreated burns.

[microwave-core]

Memento Mori

Diantha x Fem! Reader

In retrospect, perhaps there was a reason why Kalos’ champion was missing when the region seemed to need her the most.

It should have been simple. It should have been any other day. The morning was simply divine, as Fletchlings perched on the open window sills and tree branches, singing their wonderful, off-beat tune as you woke and got up like usual. Morning tea and casual conversation with your love followed through like always, as she told you about a new café she wanted to try, telling you to meet her there at noon for a short and sweet date, trying to squeeze in as much time together as possible while working around her jam-packed schedule. 

You parted like always, wishing her luck for the on-coming day, at least until noon passed, where you could renew that wish of luck again until she came home in the dark of night, where you’d revel in each other’s presence until the morning came, where everything would happen all over again.

Perhaps it was a bitter sweet cycle, as each meeting meant an eventual parting, where you would be separated for far too long for either of your likings, but every parting meant you’d eventually meet again. (You’d call that kind of prose overly dramatic, but perhaps that's just in your lover’s nature.)

Lunch dates throughout Lumiose were relatively common for you both, so preparing for them was as second-nature to you as preparing in the morning, and so was the struggle to find the dreaded place she’d ask you out to. It seemed like you were always a bit late to these meetings, but she never minded. Not everyone is well equipped to traverse such similar looking streets on the daily, after all.

It seemed like, no matter how hard you tried, you could never get there before her, always taking a wrong turn somewhere along the line. So when you arrived at the given destination with her nowhere in sight, you immediately felt off. You checked the address she had texted to you, ensuring that this was the right place. Maybe you had just gotten lost again, and ended up somewhere else?

Yet it was correct. You were here, so where was she? You approached the barista and asked if they had seen your love (average height, dark gray hair in an elaborate up-do, blue eyes… you held back on asking by name, not wanting to draw attention to you both), but nothing. So you sat down, thinking that maybe she was just running a bit late. Maybe she had reshoots that went longer than expected, or maybe a challenger arrived just as she was leaving.

You check the address one, two, three times more before texting her. If she was running late, you didn’t want to hound her, didn’t want her to feel bad about not being on time, but if something was wrong… Surely, everything was fine, surely, but… what if it wasn’t? She had never been late before, and, knowing Diantha, she surely would have texted you if something held her up.

…You could always just, you know, check her location. She never turned the setting off, and, even if it felt a little dirty and the slightest bit intrusive, it could be excellent reassurance. You could just take a quick peek, see she was at work or the league or on her way over, and your nerves would be sated, and you could gently tease her when she arrived, just as she’d tease you. Yes, it would be worth it, and you most definitely weren’t just stalling in the hopes that she would arrive and take the seat across from you while your eyes were glued to the screen.

But how odd… It seemed that she was in Lumiose, but at the opposite end, in a different cafe, stationary�� maybe you did just get the address wrong. Despite checking over and over and over again, maybe you did just misread something, and she was waiting for you patiently. Yes, that had to be the case, and whatever unease had settled in the pit of your stomach was misplaced, despite it remaining as you stood up and left.

Everything would be fine, and the air of wrong hanging over you like an ever-darkening sky threatening to unleash a torrential downpour at any moment, would clear when you saw her face. It didn’t matter that every step felt heavier, it didn’t matter that she was radio silent, and it certainly didn’t matter that your phone threatened to snap under the ironclad grip it was held in as you sat in a cab.

Stepping out, your eyes immediately spot it: a glaring red exterior nestled within the alley. You have to fight the urge to stay seated, as the fear settled betwixt your bones wanted to keep you anchored down. Perhaps you would have given into that desire if it weren’t for the odd look the driver gave you as you remained seated in his backseat for far longer than necessary, which promptly got you up on your feet along with a healthy tip and rushed apology.

Deep breath, everything is going to be fine. Diantha had mentioned this place to you before. She knew the owner, apparently, which wasn’t too out of the ordinary for her, but she had never brought you here despite that. Looking back, maybe she was actively pushing you away from this place in fear of… something or other happening, but maybe you’re just being paranoid, overthinking.

The door, regularly propped open during operating hours as is the same for every cafe in the area, was slightly ajar, with light spilling out into the alleyway, the space of which darkened from looming buildings overhead despite the bright sunlight beaming down from above. She’ll be there, everything will be fine.

Walking in, you internally remark about the… odd decorative choices. The red walls and flooring and tables and… everything, really, certainly matched the outside. The cabinets behind the counter, devoid of employees, did seem to contain rather high quality goods, so perhaps the sophisticated aura they oozed was supposed to smooth over the feelings of unease brought on by the environment. The cabinet at the back of the room contained similar, eye-catching items, although they did seem a bit out of place, as if it had been jostled recently. 

The cabinet also looked too far over to the right, casting a shadow just to the left that appeared to be a gaping void, a doorway tunneling further into the unknown… You step forward, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand, peering further into the wall to tell if you were out of your mind or if the darkness was a genuine doorway leading further into the building.

Perhaps now was the time to finally address the alarm bells blaring in your mind that you’ve ignored up until now. This place couldn’t be normally. Odd stylistic choices aside, a cafe that’s completely empty during peak operating hours with an ominously dark open doorway in the back couldn’t be normal. Maybe if you listened to your instincts sooner, you wouldn’t be standing here, in a strange cafe that suddenly seemed darker than when you walked in.

Maybe, if you took care to trust your gut, you wouldn’t have been subjected to a heavy blow to the back of the head, out cold before you could even hit the tile below.

A sudden, burning feeling washing over your body shakes you awake. When or how you fell asleep was beyond you. Maybe you had fallen asleep in the back of the cab, and all of this business with a dominatingly red building was just a strange dream. A cab driver likely wouldn’t violently throw you out of their back seat, though, and it wouldn’t have left you feeling so weak and drained.

And, if that had been the case, Diantha wouldn’t be leaning over you, yelling at someone in the distance. Her hair disheveled, the pristine nature of her clothing sullied by wrinkles and dust, and her expression panicked, not that you could make her out all that well. The figure at the end of the darkly tiled room, imposingly large and red… or maybe orange, it was hard to tell, seemed to be looking in your direction, but you couldn’t make out his face. 

You felt like you were being held underwater. Your vision was blurred, taking in your surroundings as blobs and splotches of color rather than finely defined shapes. And everything sounded as if it were miles away, like a distant echo in the background, where you can feel how loud the voices must be without being able to make out any of their words.

All you knew for certain was the terrible pain racking through you, and the gentle touch of Diantha, as if trying to soothe the discomfort in your veins. The words flying out of her mouth were panicked and resentful, a combination of emotions that you’ve never heard from her before.

The bleariness long set into your subconscious prevents you from paying attention, prevents you from piecing together what was happening. How long you’ve been here, where here was, and why Diantha was here, cradling you gently, were beyond your realm of understanding at this point.

Her eyes dart down to your ever-crippling form, eyes widening as she realizes that you're somewhat conscious, almost as if she thought you’d never wake. She clutches you closer, curling around you as best she could, breathing unevenly as she mumbles out half a dozen curses and swears, simultaneously cursing out those who brought you harm and pleading to whatever forces may be above to help. The man she was yelling at seems to have all but vanished.

“My love? Can you… can you hear me?”

She pulls away ever so slightly, just enough to look you in the eyes. From this close up, you can make out her expression. Her face is a mix of terror and relief, as the makeup on her eyes, the elegant eyeliner and eyeshadow, appears to have been smudged, although it’s clear the tears welling up in her eyes have yet to fall. You can only nod in response, as the words on your tongue die as they pass your lips.

“Good, that’s good. You should save your strength, love, just focus on me, alright? Everything will be alright.”

Diantha wasn’t convinced by her own words. She had no idea how long you had been here, or how Lysandre and his incredulous goons managed to get their hands on you, but they did, and they knew full well what kind of leverage they had when you fell into their laps. That didn’t matter right now, though. 

It was her duty to protect the region, to prevent Kalos and her people from being harmed. It’s how she was roped into this dreaded place. She should have taken action sooner, made an effort to snip Team Flare in the bud before they got out of hand. Too bad it took you getting mortally injured to realize that…

She takes one of your hands in her own, although the grip isn’t quite comfortable due to the clamines of your skin. You didn’t realize that Diantha’s hands were stained red, having been dyed by the angry gashes lining the back of your neck and head, nor did you realize how it had seeped into her clothes. 

Pressing a kiss to your cold lips, she lets out a shaky sigh, trying her best to stay calm and composed while gently pressing her free hand to the back of your head. She didn’t want to inflict any more harm to your already sensitive wounds, but she had to at least try to stop the bleeding, even if you’ve lost so much blood already.

“Just keep your eyes open for me, alright? Stay with me as best you can.”

“...I’m sorry.” Your voice comes out raspy, quiet, forcing out the words to be as fully formed as possible instead of letting them collapse into gibberish. Simple words were never so difficult to say before.

“No, no, don’t apologize to me right now. None of this is your fault, if anything, it’s mine. I should have told you I couldn’t make it instead of assuming I had time.”

Technically the truth, not that either of you knew it. If she had texted you to say she couldn’t come, even if she didn’t say why, you wouldn’t have stumbled into the boss of Team Flare’s cafe to be bludgeoned over the head and thrown to the feet of the champion to debilitate her, cripple her emotionally to get her off of their backs.

“That doesn’t matter right now, love. All that matters is that we’re together, okay? It’s just you and me right now, it’s safe.” You nod again, leaning further into her touch, although it’s difficult to move. Despite the pain, you feel somewhat serene. Diantha’s warm touch against your skin felt wonderful, and her words felt oh so comforting despite her worried and hushed tone. Perhaps you simply hadn’t realized you were resting upon death’s door, or maybe you had already accepted that it was knocking.

“It’s going to be okay, alright? Everything is going to be o-kay.” Her voice cracks, as tears begin working past her eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, I love you, things are going to be alright. Me and you, we’re going… we’re going to be fine. We’ll get you out of here, and we’ll, we’ll…” She’s cut off by a sob, words turning into baselass rambling, filled with “i love you” and “everything will be fine” over and over and over again till words start to slur together,, or maybe you were just becoming less and less coherent. 

You close your eyes slowly, paying attention to Diantha and Diantha alone, knowing that everything would be alright. You would slip into an abyss of sleep, and you would see her again whenever you would wake. 

“It’s going to be fine, Diantha… everything will be fine.”

You can’t help but smile despite Diantha’s pleas, begging you desperately to keep your eyes open, to stay with her for longer, as your hand goes limp in her hold.

[pumpkincentaur]

ok the soul vow/getting reincarnated together thing has me SO intrigued. what made them decide to do it in the first place? and what made things go bad between them? im so 👀 from those tags lolll

so these three relationships kind of span three different wips/ideas i have kicking around in my brain that all take place on the same fictional planet, just across a very long timespan...

the first one chronologically being the lady dressed in blood and the rest of the fleshwitch trilogy, that's nessian and sevka. at this time the religion of their country preaches reincarnation as what happens after death. the soul oath (I need to come up with a better name for it but I haven't gotten that far yet) is considered to be even more binding than marriage in their faith--many people get married and love their spouses without even considering swearing one. the idea of it is that by swearing a soul oath, you and the one (or ones) you swear it with are tying your fates together for eternity. your souls will always be connected, for better or for worse. you will always mean something to each other. there will always be a tie there.

for sevka and nessian, who by the doctrine of their faith are doomed to disintegrate into nothingness after they die (they're mages and their faith doesn't like that), this is kind of like saying a big ol fuck you to destiny. their souls are supposed to disappear once they're dead, so it shouldn't matter, but they love one another enough to swear this oath anyway. it's actually sevka's idea, even though nessian is usually the one who does insane shit for her, and not the other way around.

however (spoilers -- not really because the opening of tldib just comes out and says it) this doesn't go well. they stage a rebellion. it doesn't work. they die. they die for each other, but they die in the end, and they aren't able to change the world the way they wanted it's all very tragic, and they're very much doomed from the start, and also they maybe sort of indirectly cause a light apocalypse. but on a metaphysical level, the thing they were taught all their lives about their souls being doomed doesn't turn out to be true.

a lot of time passes. i'm not committed to the characters of fenrissa and njerra being the same souls in different people because it might violate some of the metaphysical laws of this fictional planet (that's one for another post), but denna and khosa are definitely sevka and nessian.... or, rather, nessian and sevka, in that order. more than two thousand years have passed since tldib, and nessian and sevka's souls are still here, in two very different people who live so long after them that no one living even speaks the language they spoke, let alone remembers their names or the gods they thought had abandoned them.

things never really went bad between nessian and sevka, per say, but denna and khosa aren't the first time they've been reborn, and even though they share the souls of nessian and sevka, they aren't the same people. but there's still that tie that alters their fate, and brings them together even across what should be an unimaginable distance and a very large cultural gap.

this very much has an effect on their story, and the world they inhabit, thousands of years removed from the world sevka and nessian lived in. all because two people that no one* remembers decided they loved each other enough to give destiny the middle finger.

[myledyba]

Somthing funny I noticed about dunmeshi getting popular in the west is the amount of people watching/getting into it for the falin/marcille romance, BUT (to be completely and quite frank with you) I don't remember there being much of it to warrant the attention it gets? It's cute obviously, and I do love it, but also how are you not getting into it from seeing taiwanese artists draw the juiciest slab of meat in soup and a little laios on the side

[today-i-am-thinking-about]

tragic yuri

[yuri-is-online]

oof that's a really good morally grey pwp idea... if darkwick tells mc her curse cannot be lifted but can be passed on to a child -> the new cure is for her to be impregnated by a ghoul (better chance of whatever makes them ghouls overpowering whatever makes mc cursed), give birth to that child and for darkwick to kill the newborn immediately... but to prevent any of the ghouls from forming a real attachment to the fetus and somehow busting into the delivery room to save it, they can't know who the father is -> cue a multichapter pwp fic (with the exception of rui)...

(sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, please delete if so!!)

( • ̀ω•́ )✧ fufuufufufu no I don't mind this, I lack the technical skills to write it but yes that's a really good pwp idea. Poor Rui this might be enough to make him actually lose it, can you imagine being someone whose main character trait is being a whore, but being denied your godgiven right join the school sanctioned gangbang? They're even encouraging you to hit it raw fuck this stupid baka life he's done. I also like how you excluded Rui but not Zenji because that would make it even worse... the ghost gets to hit it but he doesn't? ED GETS TO HIT IT BUT NOT HIM?!?!?!!!!

I was thinking about smut when I typed that of course but I didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about the plot because I was too busy inventing new ethical questions. Would Taiga want to eat the baby? It is technically part anomaly... he doesn't want to eat Ed or Lyca so I would guess not but still. What about guys like Romeo, Ritsu, or Jin? Would they even agree to participate in something like this given how important children are to rich fussy families would they see making one like this extra wrong? Or would the horny kick in and they not want to allow the chance for MC's baby to be anyone other than theirs? Oh and on Ritsu, I feel like he'd be making a bunch of weird legal arguments trying to justify wanting to get the mc pregnant. He's just repressed, the arguments don't matter, but would he then try to make a bunch of arguments to keep the baby alive? Is there a legal standard of personhood in Japan and do I even want to research that-

Speaking of personhood, Lyca, Ed, and Zenji. I feel like Lyca wouldn't be able to let go of the idea of MC as his mate and that child as his baby. He wants to live with humans and be human, part of that seems to be him wanting a real family so if he was the baby daddy this would just be extra cruel. His instinct and desire is to love and protect, and even if he didn't have that he knows what Darkwick is like. Danger or not he doesn't want them killing you or the baby. Ed probably just wouldn't see what the problem is. Yes, his baby is an abomination from hell part vampire part Kyklos (so little human he doesn't need to mention that). No, he will not be letting Darkwick kill them and yes he will know if the baby is his, he has a sixth sense for these sorts of things. Now now don't cry, he might be an old man but he's not above taking responsibility, Japan was getting boring anyway. He can drop you off in whatever hole he crawled out of to can rest and recover while he watches the baby and shows them man made horrors beyond their comprehension (conspiracy youtube videos). I brought up Zenji just because the image of MC wanting to get dicked down by a ghost and conducting a dark ritual to let him do it. Also idk Zenji feels like another extra tragic because he also is someone who values family so I don't think he would want to see his child die, but also if it could save MC he'd really want to try and help.

Yuri would be very smug about this being a solution, volunteer to help, realize that everyone thinks he wants to fuck the MC, and then pass out from screaming denial and the mental image of her bare neck. I feel like he'd be one of the "worse" choices in Darkwick's mind because he would probably want to keep the baby to experiment on, but be completely unable to see them as anything other than his child and devolve into the same desperate search to cure them as he was on with MC. And he expects child support! He will not be a single father, MC get back here and take some responsibility for your actions!!! Jiro also feels like someone who would volunteer not realizing the method he was volunteering for but unlike Yuri he just rolls with it. He's so unashamed of nudity, yours or his, and what is sex if not nudity with some extra steps-

(My mind more went towards artificial insemination, so Rui wouldn't be excluded from the pool and there was no chance for the ghouls to form an emotional connection to either the MC or their potential baby. Oh I also don't think Darkwick would tell MC or the dad that the kid is going to be killed. They would probably lie about it and act like the child would be fine, just maybe an anomaly they would need to keep an eye on. And then they lie to MC and say the baby was still born but they just keep them in a little padded room and experiment on them their whole life, which just starts the Kyklos cycle anew except this time the monster is sentient and out for blood with intent.)

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Finals

[Mistake poll, go vote in the new one]

Propaganda below cut

Arlecchino:

Hot Evil Woman.

#the duality of arlecchino is so well done #Also her design is insanely attractive (via @rinrinlovee)

#women driven by their own agenda #implied to be fucking insane #people were disappointed she didn't actually kill the kids in her story but listen #that would make her no better than dottore #she's a bad bitch she refuses to run the house on anyone’s terms but her own #i love morally grey characters guys #arle has mystery and intrigue there is no telling what her next move might be #and she has her fair share of tragic yuri #the fact that she is harsh #that there is inherent immorality in her character since she trains orphans to be child soldiers #but the fact that she still cares deeply for her charges #and arle thinks the doctor is despicable and refuses to make deals with him #except one that allowed her to set the children free to take their own path #like i cannot emphasize enough how much depth is in her character #freminet reports that she doesnt like when the children cry #but she still brought him back an emblem of his mother #and told him the truth about why he is in the House #in fact she's deeply appalled when she finds out he's been lied to and told his mother no longer wanted him #she is incredibly perceptive and forward thinking #and fine ill say it shes hot #and she's ridiculously powerful #in her boss fight we dont even kill her. we don't even come close #she was just entertaining us as a test #also i really enjoy a character who can suffer such tragedy and carry it with her in her life #but then is afforded the agency to make it better for herself and everyone who comes after #no child will die for wanting to choose their future #wanderer saying that those who have seen through her cordial facade have disappeared #like how can you NOT be interested in her #i want to know desperately what her grand plan is #i think we as a fanbase moved on way too quickly from the fact that teenage arlecchino #KILLED A FUCKING HARBINGER #also the question of where is arle actually from still remains #what exactly *is* she? (via @stormyrainyday)

Furina:

girl deserves therapy and hugs and the best life in the WORLD because she went through a lot!!!! wouldn't pretending to be a god for 500 years with no support mess you up? and yet she still kept on going for her people!! she wanted to save her nation from a doomsday prophecy and she DID

After act 5 she deserves the world :(

“If all the people of Fontaine are on one side, and I am on the other…is it not obvious where the scales of suffering should tilt?” NO IT ISNT YOU’RE JUST ABNORMALLY SELFLESS AND INCREDIBLE AND PERSISTENT. Even the Archons praise Furina’s name and say she is a human with strength and capability worthy of an Archon. That’s not even to speak of Focalors. She snapped at Arlecchino when she implied that Furina had done nothing to preserve her people from the flood. Meanwhile every minute she was working to prevent the prophecy. A month after we took her to court and almost got her killed she agreed to help us direct a play, a favor for a favor

Guys, she deserves to win. She endured 500 years of torment and suffering. No hope in sight, just the knowledge that a trial, any trial, might signal the start of her life as herself. She sacrificed herself again and again: her reputation before the people of Fontaine, her happiness during the 500 years of her rule, and her very own divinity. Her trailer is literally just her worst nightmare coming to life. She is finding the joy in life again, slowly. Let’s be a part of that joy. Vote Furina!!!! 

Your honor, they're married and Arlecchino would want her wife to win.

HAVE YOU SEEN HER? SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL OH MY GOSH AND HER VOICEEEEE MY QUEEN MY GODDESS MY EVERYTHING WE NEED TO HAVE HER WIN THIS SHE IS SO PRETTY

she literally gave up her entire sense of self and sacrificed everything just to save Fontaine… all without ever knowing that she was the human side of the archon. She did everything because of her own sense of justice, because of her love for the people, because even she had to do her all for a chance for them to live on. Furina is the perfect example of what a leader should be, while also being so so very fragile and just…so very human. needless to say, Furina is perfect through being imperfect. So she absolutely deserves this win FURINA SWEEP REAL!!!

she managed to fool an entire nation and even the hydro dragon for 500 years. She literally put up the greatest act in all of history. All for one singular goal. The survival of Fontaine. And what did she give? Everything. Her soul. Her life. She is the epitome of the most amazing character design. And so she absolutely deserves this win!!

she literally was almost assassinated by the one she is up against right now. She literally almost was killed by arle. Literally WHY would you let arle win over our beloved queen Furina? Furina is a victim who is suffering trauma from her. She deserves the win more than arle! Payback for arle traumatizing sweet, innocent Furina…!!!!!

(image via @deityofhearts)

[tigers1o1]

Yall really liked part one

PART TWO OF WHAT YOUR FAVORITE JRWI RIPTIDE SHIP SAYS ABOUT YOUUUU

(except this time I’m not putting pictures so i can do a longer post)

PC/NPC

Pistolwhip (jay/lizzie) - if you’re all the way caught up, you are HERE for the angst. That toxic, fucked up yuri. If you havent watched 101 yet, you think they girlboss. And honestly, you girlboss too.

Sharpshooter (jay/kira) - childhood friends to lovers FUCKS you up. You probably didnt have many close connections as a kid and yearn for the kind of love that can only come from knowing someone for years. You also really like the “lovers on opposite” sides trope, but maybe not quite to the “hero/villain” trope or enemies to lovers. Just tragic romeo and juliet types.

Clockwork rivals/ women in STEM (jay/ensa) - you’re probably a STEM major too to be honest. You’re hella chill, and i know that for a fact. You are also in love with ensa. You’re also probably a cat person.

Jay’s Harem - Jay is your favorite, you’re pissed that so many people over look her and you hate your dad. You’re probably a lesbian/sapphic. You think she deserves everything. You’re probably in either a very stable relationship, or chronically alone.

Swordfish (gillion/caspain) - i feel like you’re probably a fairly lonely person who seeks comfort in those with similar backgrounds/identities to yours. You just think theyre neat :3

Scarlet Captains (chip/jasmine drake) - BOY KISSER 🫵. No but in all seriousness you LOVE the flirting, the tension. You’d probably turn into a blubbering mess if someone flirted with you the was Jazz flirts with Chip. You’re down bad for Jazz, dont lie.

Chiptune (chip/queen) - queen is your favorite character, and you’re just a littol guy. You want to be wrapped in a fuzzy blanket always and have a sweet tooth like none other. You love fluff, and are probably obsessed with the character cinnamoroll

Fnfnc (gillion/caspian/chip) - you’ve been here for a while, havent you? I feel like this one was more popular in the earlierish days, so if this is still your favorite you’ve got some DEDICATION. You are loyal to a fault and you are not afraid to fight someone if they hurt one of your besties.

Sea sharp (gill/chip/queen) - you just like them being silly together :> you also probably want to be at the middle of a cuddle pile. You think highly of your friends and you’re probably on the quieter side.

Greater mana polycule (whatever that means to you is correct) - you’re autistic and when you were a kid, you had more stuffed animals than room on your bed because you felt bad leaving anyone out

NPC/NPC

Waning crescent/ frigatebird (lizzie/ ava) - oh so you like to cry. You like tragic yuri. You liked doomed timelines. You like MCD, you freak /pos. You fuck heavily with the “hero/villain” trope but ONLY when its messy and complicated and there are no heroes and villains and they love each other but they can never have each other and- yeah thats all i need to say. You know who you are. Also props to you is you shipped it before 101. There were like 4 of us, i fear

Rosewater (lizzie/caspian) - you are LOYAL. You know who your friends are and you will defend them until you DIE. Youre also a CHRONIC overthinker. You’re probably in a strange found family relationship with most of your friends and I’m willing to bet you’re ace. You love undying loyalty in relationships, and unconditional love through extremely tough times. You probably elect to ignore the “Caspian is a traitor theory”, and if you dont, you love it for the fucked up angst potential.

Cattlepunk (drey/ ichabod) - you are ride or fucking die for this ship. You scrounch up anything there is for this ship and if you’ve consumed it all, you make it yourself. You have a thing for cowboys and pray to grizzly every day that he beings jonah scott back.

Drearl (drey/earl) - oh you’re fucking OOOOLD. You’ve been in those fandoms since the days before they deleted fated. Also. If THIS is your favorite ship? What the fuck. But its almost definitely ironic, and for that? You are iconic.

Star crossed survivors (star/ zamia) - you’re adorable, probably a lesbian, and really like happy endings despite tragedy. You want to live in the woods with 4 cats, 2 horses and your soulmate. Your favorite barbie movie is/was Barbie and the Diamond Castle

Let me know if I missed yours!!

[ruporas]

Hey sorry if I’m being annoying but. I see posts of dungeon meshi every so often and I came across your harpy piece (which is AMAZING btw) but why does falin (I think that’s her name) turn into a harpy?? If you know please spoil me I just I have to know if it’s doomed yuri or not

haha not annoying at all! here’s my debrief of it

important thing to note is that Falin dies in episode 1, like first minute, she is dead and the entire journey is about defeating the red dragon that killed her in order to revive her before she gets fully digested. long story short, she DID get digested with only her bones and strands of hair as her remains which makes standard resurrection impossible, but marcille is then revealed to been studying ancient/black magic and is able to revive falin using monster parts aka the now defeated and dead red dragon. falin gets revived, they’re happy for a night and talking about going back to the surface with the rest of the party, yay!

the dungeon lord senses a disturbance after his red dragon is killed though and shows up. in resurrecting falin, the red dragon’s soul had intermingled with hers so she ends up being overtaken by the dragon’s soul upon the dungeon lord’s appearance and strictly follows his orders from then on. next time she shows up in front of the party, she ruthlessly kills/injures half the people they were with and showed basically no falin-ness in battle except for a brief moment with laios (which i assumed was bait).

that’s how falin gets turned into a chimera! there were harpies that showed up with her in the recent ep, but she herself is like. a weird dragon chicken thing.

i should also note marcille and falin are childhood friends, they’re very close to one another and marcille, despite the odds, adamantly joined laios in getting falin back. i think the importance falin has in marcille’s life has been enforced so falin becoming half monster, alive but not as herself entirely and becoming wrapped in a situation where they must defeat the Dungeon Lord in order to get her back (potentially) is kind of devastating. and in the recent episode, laios nor marcille knew how to approach falin, they just knew they didn’t want/couldn’t hurt her. this entire situation is new in their world, it’s not certain whether falin will ever return to herself. they’ll continue onward in the journey, but everything is probable! so not 100% doomed, but still, devastating.

the manga is finished so i highly recommend reading it if you’re curious about what happens. i feel like the yuri is better enjoyed if you know more about the world and of marcille’s character too, because her goals and desires makes everything she has to experience a bit more tragic. if not the manga, then definitely the anime!! watching it is very fun and i believe they’ll stop the anime at a good point. but anyway i hope this answers your question! ^_^

[yurimother]

Yuri of Absence and The Chair of Yuri: Combining Lesbian Manga and Science Fiction - The Secret Garden

This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.

In the “olden days” of Yuri, which is really to say anything in the ‘00s or earlier, there was not much variety in the mainstream Yuri market. If you wanted to read a manga about the romance between two women or watch an anime with clear lesbian elements, choices were between a sweet school story or a classic tragic school Yuri story. As I have mentioned many times recently, one of the most significant advancements in the recent Yuri genre is the advent of sub-genres. Once considered an element or subgenre itself, Yuri hosts various works from isekai to feminist literature. However, one of the most curious and certainly most well-known subgenres is science fiction.

Yuri science fiction is in the spotlight right now, with everything from visual novels like Synergia to webcomics like Ratana Satis’s Soul Drifters. However, one of the most prolific and rightly celebrated titles is Iori Miyazawa’s Otherside Picnic. The series began publishing under Hayakawa’s Bunko JA imprint in 2017, and over the past few years, it exploded onto the scene.  It has an upcoming sixth book, a manga adaptation serialized in Monthly Shounen Gangan, healthy overseas publishing, and of course, an anime adaptation helmed by Kase-san and Stiens;Gate director Takuya Sato. It has garnered praise from critics CBR, Anime News Network, and Erica Friedman of Okazu. I wrote glowing reviews for the first few books, complimenting its worldbuilding, pacing, and characters. However, Otherside Picnic did not spring out of anywhere. Indeed, it is the product of gradual shifts in Yuri and sci-fi storytelling and Miyazawa’s genius theories and knowledge of the genres.

The mixture of Yuri and science fiction is not anything new; it predates most other forms of Yuri save Class S school romances. You may not picture many of these when you think of modern Yuri sci-fi, but as early as 1975, we had Yuri stories like Boku no Shotaiken that included small sci-fi elements, in this case, transferring the mind to another body. Over the next two decades or so, a time during which so few Yuri titles surfaced, it is occasionally referred to as Yuri’s “era of Darkness,” multiple titles sci-fi titles including Dirty Pair, Project A-Ko, Bubblegum Crisis, and Iczer featured science fiction settings and Yuri elements. At this time, Yuri was not much of a genre as we think of it today, but more of a factor inserted into a larger narrative. Think of Yayoi and Shion from Psycho-Pass for a more contemporary example. In fact, except for Iczer, none of these titles feature any outright lesbian characters, just female casts with “Yuri-ish” moments of women standing close together and being companions.

These titles feature two key elements that many current series have shifted further away from, soft sci-fi and Weak Yuri. Soft, as opposed to hard science fiction, is the more established of these two scales. Science fiction can be separated between outlandish and impossible ideas, sometimes known as science fantasy, and those based in reality, research, and the hard sciences such as physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Sorting works between these two labels is, ironically, not an exact science, and fans and critics alike argue about their precise definitions. However, let us consider soft and hard science as a spectrum, with outlandish premises like Dragonball on the soft end and the reality-based concepts of Space Brothers at the other. One can sort most titles along this continuum. M Alan Kazlev does an excellent job dissecting this scale in further detail. Many of the titles we enjoy today, including Otherside Picnic, inhabit this transitory space, as it is not fantasy. Still, its reliance on anthropology and psychology’s soft sciences may put it a small step below more grounded hard sci-fi. Still, it is far above the aliens and superpowered robots in ‘80s anime, so we shall consider it hard sci-fi for the sake of this argument.

*Note: Many science fiction circles use the abbreviation sci-fi for soft science fiction and SF for hard science fiction. For ease of readability and common vernacular, this article uses “sci-fi” for both instances.*

Sci-fi Yuri did not break out of soft science fiction territory until very recently. In the 1990s, Yuri underwent dramatic changes thanks to Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, which helped reform it as a genre rather than a feature. Maria Watches Over Us revived S Yuri traditions, and new titles were set in schools and focused on modern girls’ lives. In the 2000s, Yuri magazines began serialization and featured stories such as Kisses, Sighs, and Cheery Blossom Pink and Strawberry Shake Sweet (both serialized under different names). Despite being primarily aimed at adult women, the magazine found success with male audiences, prompting new stories appealing to men and boys. These works reintroduced action and science fiction into the genre with pieces like Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden, Blue Drop, and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl (Yuriboke does a better job breaking all these down). However, all these were still vehemently in soft sci-fi territory, with Kashimashi’s only surreal element being an alien because the author was, to simplify grossly, unable to fathom the existence of transgender people (coming full circle from Boku no Shotaiken). Possibly the only contemporary mainstream hard sci-fi title to include Yuri and enjoy a modicum of success was Qualia The Purple. However, this series did not have the genre-defining power that later works would.

However, what changes between these series and those mentioned earlier is the Yuri itself. The relationships become much more explicit and central to the plot. You can deliberate whether or not Bubblegum Crisis is sapphic, but just try sitting someone down and arguing that Kannazuki no Miko is not built around the crux of two women holding romantic interest in each other. Yuri science fiction author Gengen Kusano proposes a dichotomy similar to soft and hard sci-fi to analyze these titles, Weak and Strong Yuri. He explains it in his own brilliantly convoluted and philosophical way, but in short, Weak Yuri relies on using logic and the mind to make the real imaginary, while strong Yuri is about emotionalism and realism, making fiction into reality.

Strong Yuri is Yuri that focuses on realism through feelings and emotions. Kusano describes it as fiction characters having real emotions. They have strong connections and affection for each other that are real and powerful. The audience experiences the feelings between the characters as they are felt and portrayed. Think of how emotional the exclamations and love, sorrow, confusion, and affection are in titles like Bloom Into You and Citrus. In a sense, they can be so strong that they transcend their fictional confines and become real, as they are experienced by considers, a stage called “radically Strong Yuri.” Most explicit Yuri, which is not subtext or suggestive content but in-your-face lesbianism, is Strong Yuri, although not all Strong Yuri is outright depictions of lesbianism; it is a square rectangle situation, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles.

Weak Yuri is cemented in the areas of thought, logic, and epistemology. It deals with the theory of mind, the ability to attribute mental states to others or ourselves. For example, when we see someone smiling or laughing, we may not feel their emotion ourselves, as we do not have direct access to their mind, but we recognize that they are happy. In Weak Yuri, one uses their theory of mind to observe facts and deduce the existence of a Yuri relationship, even if one is not present. So-called “Yuri-ish” titles like Yuru Camp or K-ON! do not outright state or depict romantic or sexual attractions, but is attributed by the viewers onto characters.  Said observer witnesses the interactions between girls and, using that factual and observable data, puzzles out a lesbian attraction they prescribe to the subjects, whether real. Shipping culture relies on Weak Yuri’s logic Kusano’s most extreme, “Radical Weak Yuri,” the relationships of real people, like idols, become imaginary through these projections.

Blue Drop and Kashimashi may have been soft Sci-fi, but unlike the soft sci-fi, Weak Yuri series of the twentieth century, they featured Strong Yuri and placed it more as a central aspect of the work with other elements built around, rather than as a side element. The next revolution in sci-fi Yuri came when hard sci-fi titles began production. A few of the principal players here are Kusano himself, Otherside Picnic Creator Iori Miyazawa, and editor Rikimura Mizoguichi, all of whom feature in the viral Yuri Made Me Human interview of Miyazawa. Most of the theories and ideas discussed in this article, including Kusano’s Weak and Strong Yuri arguments, came from these seminars.

It all started with Kusano’s existential widescreen Yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi Love Live AU fanfic of the popular ship NicoMaki, consisting of Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino. The revised edition of this story, Last and First Idol, was published in 2016 and became the first debut title to win the prestigious Seiun Award in 42 years. Satoshi Maejima’s post-script essay at the end of the Last and First Idol collection gives far more detail into these works’ history. However, Idol was the first prominent story to feature Yuri in a hard sci-fi narrative. It was not perfect. In fact, in its push to feature gruesome content and insane hard sci-fi that Yuri is pushed to the wayside during most of the story.

*Author’s note: The first time I read Last and First Idol, I was completely unaware of its contents, which was a shocking experience; the story comes with a severe content warning).

Last and First Idol did not create a woven hard sci-fi, Strong Yuri narrative. However, it was a definite proof of the concept, a testament that the sprawling details and imagery of hard Sci-Fi could work with Yuri relationships. Kusano’s next short story, Evolution Girls, which would appear alongside Last and First Idol in the collection of the same name, saw the author focus more on emotionalism and create a Strong Yuri work. Nevertheless, Last and First Idol was a massive success. Future hard proof that Yuri hard sci-fi was coming in force came in December 2018, when Hayakawa Shobo ran a special edition of its long-running S-F Magazine featuring Yuri stories. The issue, planned by Rikimura Mizoguchi, proved so popular for the second time in its then 59-year history, the magazine had to reprint before release.

While Kusano was developing theories on Yuri and Hayakawa Shobo worked to push the public eye onto Yuri sci-fi, author Iori Miyazawa was refining his own Yuri premises, ones that, though he did not know it at the time, would not only see Strong Yuri and Hard sci-fi standing side by side in the same story but would synthesis the two into a unique product that could attract new fans and expand the borders of science fiction and Yuri. The work in question, of course, is Otherside Picnic. This light novel series about girls journeying to another world to hunt creatures from occult internet lore is to date Yuri science fiction’s best execution.

As Miyazawa admits, he strives to create Strong Yuri by focusing on emotionalism and realistic characters. However, such character-driven narratives are often at odds with hard science fiction, which requires dense walls of text to explain the complicated science behind its concepts and world. Miyazawa avoids this trap by utilizing Yuri tropes, specifically scenic Yuri and “Yuri of absence,” and integrating Yuri relationship into these explanatory literary lectures. Examining the latter first, rather than using narrative or exposition dialogue to unravel the intelligence behind the world or elements of science fiction, Miyazawa uses the relationship between Sorawo and Toriko.

In Otherside Picnic, explanations of the mysterious Otherside come primarily from two sources, dialogue and Sorawo’s inner monologue. When Sorawo and Torikko discuss a nuance of the paranormal creatures they investigate, it no longer becomes a large infodump but a Yuri scene about their relationship through their interactions and responses. According to both the strong Yuri theory and Yuri’s traditional definition, these emotions and discussions are the crux of the genre – stories about females’ relationships. Similar emotionalism fills Sorawo’s inner monologues, specifically in the frequent romantic admirations of Toriko. Thus, an explanation existing in that same space becomes Yuri, as it mirrors the same emotions and attraction. Merely by placing the usual exposition into interactions and relationships, Miyazawa was able to open hard science fiction to new readers, who may have been apprehensive before because of these text walls.

Miyazawa’s other secret weapon is, as he describes it, “Yuri of absence.” Relying on the principles of Strong Yuri, that Yuri is fiction made real through emotions, Yuri of absence extends these parameters outside of characters. As Strong Yuri relies on feeling, not observable data like characters, anything that invokes two women’s feelings together is Yuri. It could be a song, or an empty bench, as one can imagine two women on it and feel emotions tied to that. Of course, taken to its extreme, nearly anything can then be Yuri, as I have joked before, gesturing to an empty chair proclaiming, “Behold, a Yuri!” However, Miyazawa uses this Yuri of absence sparingly, rendering it closer to scenic Yuri’s intimacy.

Scenic Yuri, a particular type of Yuri of absence, focuses exclusively on setting and imagery, a feature that works particularly well in science fiction as according to Masahiro Noda’s “sci-fi is all about images.” Traditional Yuri uses character interaction and supplements it with images and sights that help communicate characters’ emotions and intimacy, like fleeting shots or descriptions of the sky. Take the shot from Kase-san and Morning Girls where Yamada stands by the bus stop. The distance between the girls, the tree in the foreground on Yamada’s side, and the pole on the right all invoke emotion and help tell the girls’ story, distanced by their differences and upcoming life paths. Now remove the girls, the scene remains, as does its meaning and emotions, whether the characters are present or not.

Scenic Yuri is employed vigorously in more male-targeted S Yuri (a minority of the Class S genre). Here, the imagery provides intimacy so that the voyeuristic viewer could look into the characters’ private and forbidden lives, specifically the girls in all-girls schools. Take the shot from Strawberry “Mo Man May Enter Here” Panic. The sweeping view of the Strawberry Dorms atop Astraea Hill, a place where men are forbidden, gives the consumer an exclusive inside look at the private home of its subjects. Otherside Picnic uses these same scenic Yuri principles in its descriptions. In this case, the intimacy does not come from a place where men are prohibited or a shot describing women’s relationships. Instead, the reports of abandoned ruins and deserted open fields where only Toriko and Sorawo exist provide extreme intimacy. It is an emotional view of two of the few women in this world with nothing but each other; thus, Yuri.

Yuri science fiction is easily the most exciting place in the genre right now. Its creators are experimenting with new theories and storytelling methods to expand the boundaries of what science fiction or Yuri alone could never do. The subgenre has undoubtedly come a long way from its Weak Yuri roots and continues to grow. Industry leaders like Miyazawa and Mizoguichi will continue to push into this excited and uncharted territory, using tactics new and old to bring together Yuri’s emotional and romantic core with science fiction’s epic and provoking imagery. I have few doubts that we have seen all these pioneers have to offer and that Last and First Idol and Otherside Picnic are just the beginning.

Sources

Friedman, Erica, and Kishiji Bando. “Shoujo Yuri Manga Guide.” Yuricon, 29 Mar. 2011, https://www.yuricon.com/oldessays/shoujo-yuri-manga-guide/.

Hanson, Katherine. Yuri No Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜: Sci-Fi Yuri Anime and Manga. 17 Feb. 2012, http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/02/sci-fi-yuri-anime-and-manga.html.

Kit, et al. Tomo Choco Podcast Episode 58: A Trip to the Otherside. https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/tomochoco5287491142565609/id/14974343. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Komatsu, Mikikazu. “S-F Magazine’s Yuri-Themed Issue Gets Reprints Before Release.” Crunchyroll, https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/12/18/s-f-magazines-yuri-themed-issue-gets-reprints-before-release. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Kusano, Gengen. “[R-18] #SF #矢澤にこ 【SF合同サンプル】最後にして最初の矢澤 - 節足原々（セッソクハラハラ）の小説.” Pixiv, https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=4992326. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

M Alan Kazlev. “The Scale of Hardness in Science Fiction.” Futurism, https://vocal.media/futurism/the-scale-of-hardness-in-science-fiction. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Masayuki Sakoi. Strawberry Panic S01:E21 - Like a Flower. Madhouse, 2006. tubitv.com, https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/558933/s01-e21-like-a-flower.

Maser, Verena. Beautiful and Innocent: Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genre. ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de, https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Miyazawa, Iori, et al. Yuri Made Me Human, Part 2. Translated by Kati_lilian, 24 Aug. 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/S1yjBCJgH.

Miyazawa, Iori, and Rikimaru Mizoguchi. Yuri Made Me Human — Interview with Iori Miyazawa. Translated by kati_lilian, May 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/SJA8KwjjN.

Moore, Caitlin, et al. “The Winter 2021 Preview Guide - Otherside Picnic.” Anime News Network, https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2021/winter/otherside-picnic/.167892. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Nicki “YuriMother” Bauman. The History and Future of Transgender Representation in Yuri - The Secret Garden, January 2021 | YuriMother on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/posts/45495024. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

---. “Yuri Is for Everyone: An Analysis of Yuri Demographics and Readership.” Anime Feminist, 12 Feb. 2020, https://www.animefeminist.com/yuri-is-for-everyone-an-analysis-of-yuri-demographics-and-readership/.

Pinansky, Sam. Interview with J-Novel Club’s Sam Pinansky. Interview by Erica Friedman, 1 Oct. 2019, https://okazu.yuricon.com/2019/10/01/interview-with-j-novel-clubs-sam-pinansky/.

Sarantos, Constance. “How Otherside Picnic Breaks the Yuri Genre Mold.” CBR, 10 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/.

“「SF冬の時代」は雪解けを迎えた 早川書房・溝口力丸 Vol.1.” KAI-YOU Premium, https://premium.kai-you.net/article/201. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Snapshot. https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Takuya Satou. Watch Kase-San and Morning Glories. Sentai Filmworks, 2018. vrv.co, https://vrv.co/series/GYQWD1X1Y/Kase-san-and-Morning-Glories.

Walter, Damien. “Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: What Is the True Definition?” Damien Walter, 7 Aug. 2018, https://damiengwalter.com/2018/08/07/science-fiction-vs-scifi-vs-sf-what-is-the-true-definition/.

YuriMother. “LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Otherside Picnic Vol. 1.” The Holy Mother of Yuri, 12 Dec. 2019, https://yurimother.com/post/189635367305.

This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.

[fluttervee]

do u ever think abt how the person closest to kipperlily was lucy frostblade and how everyone turned on kipperlily about the name rat grinders except for lucy who believed in the high five heroes just like kipperlily? do you think some of kipperlilys rage is because she lost the only person she liked in her party? how long do you think she mourned her friend (gay crush) after coming back, after accepting that rage, knowing that lucy made a more honest choice by refusing it? do you think kipperlily ever wishes she followed lucy into that unhallowed non-afterlife? anyway i think about this. tragic toxic rage lesbians. kipperlily cannot be straight

frostkettle toxic yuri is so real To Me. the resentment that she would rather stay true to her god than come back and be with kipperlilly? mmmmm yess

as someone who was a toxic angry closeted teen girl who wished Something Bad Would Happen To Me to justify my misery, i find KLCK soooo fascinating. like, what if you knew your feelings were shitty and stupid but then an adult said you were right actually, come with me and we'll fix this and make things fair. and your best friend who you're in love with isn't as excited about it as you are, but she's gonna be CHAMPION, she's going to be as important you know she should be, won't that be great?? but then it turns out she never wanted to be champion, she never wanted to be a part of it at all, she would rather languish in dead rage god purgatory than live for you and you thought she UNDERSTOOD but obviously she didn't. and now she's gone and the only person you'd want to talk about it with is the dead girl you're most angry with.

[ymechi]

I wana make a sagau fic except it's set 500 years before the game starts, before khaenri'ah fell. We get to meet Lumine and help her this time and travel around with her (except no one knows that reader/mc is the creator) and we get to meet Lord Rukkhadevata, Egeria, Makoto and other characters that were said to be alive 500 years ago. Except I would probably go off rails and make it tragic yuri ending with Lumine.

(I choose Lumine because Abyss Princess Lumine is badass)

[gayelderstourney]

OLD WOMAN YURI BRACKET ROUND 1

Propaganda:

Gertrude Robinson/Agnes Montague:

They are canonically soulmates thanks to a ritual Gertrude preformed to stop Agnes from causing the apocalypse. They both love arson (chaos granny’s for the win) . There’s this scene where someone points out Gertrude’s arsonistic tendencies and she unprompted just goes “remind me to tell you about Agnes sometime” in the most fondest tone EVER. And Agnes calls Gertrude her anchor. They’re very important to me

According to canon, they only physically met once. The canon is dumb and wrong They're bound together by a literal string of fate. One that prevents Agnes from fullfilling her destiny as the literal antichrist. She's probably grateful for it, she never asked to be born as the chosen one of the Cult of Lightless Flame. She can never have a normal life or touch another person without hurting her. Gertrude is a mortal human being and stubbornly remains so, even though she's so deeply tangled in the affairs of all the different eldritch fear entities. Yet she was able to save Agnes from her destiny by binding their fates together. I think they're both deeply lonely people, and there's so many narrative parallels between them. They orbit each other like twin stars. You can't tell me there's not something poetically homoerotic about them. This is yuri

Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay:

They are WIVES! They are part of a criminal family and they mean so much to eachother

They're like the Thelma and Louise of space crime. There's amnesia, there's prison, there's slavery, there's scifi decay of their bodies. But they find each other again. And they love each other.

i support women's right but most importantly i support women's wrongs. they met when they were young and did grand heists together as lovers, as a master thief and a master assassin. then something went wrong during a job and they both thought the other was dead. oops. but during the podcast's storyline they meet again, have a bit of a moment, save each other's lives, fix their relationship and fall in love again <3 no technically canon age but they are presumed to be in their 50s at least. also they're married and retired now

They have the most tragic story.. They’ve been thief partners for five years before a confrontation with the authorities, during which Vespa falls off a skyscraper and is presumed dead (by everyone except Buddy). Buddy was arrested and spent eight years in prison, and after being released she went to their agreed meeting place and waited for Vespa for years, almost dying from radiation poisoning (!). Vespa actually survived and was captured into slavery, during which she also suffered from radiation sickness. Eventually they are reunited, having not seen each other for fifteen years, and renew their relationship. Now they are married and retired together :)

[erose-this-name]

Paganism held a lot more social roles than monotheism ever can.

The priesthoods of each God's cults often acted as like-minded communities for certain Queer/neurodivergent people.

Transfem? Joining the all eunuch priesthood of Cybele was a great excuse to rid yourself of testosterone and wear makeup and woman's clothing.

Gay? No one cares, that's not a sin in most pagan religions, it's not even taboo. But, you'll never beat Apollo's record of tragic ex-boyfriends or be more of a twink than Dionysus. No one can out-gay the gods! Pagan myth has a lot of good roll models actually, did you know that myth-accurate Loki is a gender fluid shape shifter and has gotten pregnant multiple times??? He's not really "evil", either, just a lovable scamp who accidentally and causes Ragnarok in a horrible prank gone wrong

Lesbian / asexual? Become a Vestel virgin, now it's literally illegal for men to have sex with you! (Sadly not as easy to be openly lesbian back then as gay, but Sappho pulled it off)

Butch? Join the cult of Artemis, it has the same perk as previous except you can also go hunting and "act the bear" and shit. (I'd imagine these convents of "virgin" women probably had a lot of secret yuri going on)

Intersex? Um, you are literally the physical embodiment of Hermaphroditus and are sacred and also probably magic.

Schizophrenic? Those aren't 'hallucinations', you've been blessed by Apollo with the ability to see the future and talk to dead people! People will pay you to tell them whatever and they'll just believe it and get closure!

Autistic? Hyperfixate on mythology and/or history, being a walking encyclopedia is actually extremely useful for being a storyteller / oral historian.

Don't like civilization? Join the cult of Pan, god of wildness and nature, all his shrines are out in the middle of the woods somewhere.

Just wanna fuckin' get really drunk and high? The cult of Dionysus throws the best parties, talk to them.

You don't need to justify any of these alternative lifestyles to allo cis hetero neurotypicals if you can just threaten divine retribution if they try to fuck with you. (Granted, the fact you have to give up any other career options still sucks, but it's something. It still helps to normalize it.)

In a lot of cases, this benefited everyone because all these different cults were uniquely able to fulfill different social roles because they didn't have to suppress their diversity.

Nearly all of these kinds of communities and social roles are gone under Abrahamic faiths. Now neurodivergence and transness are fuckin' "demonic possessions". Being gay is sin. I guess if you want an excuse to not have sex you can still be a monk or a nun??