#I'm glad most of the people have acknowledged how creepy this is but

[bloomxng-per4wxnkle]

Ngl if aqua was the one doing all this instead of ruby...i'm pretty sure some of y'all wouldn't have made those excuses...

#I hate aqua okay #But good lord ruby #I'm glad most of the people have acknowledged how creepy this is but #Some are still making excuses for ruby #“she is still stuck in her former life” yeah okay cool but that is no excuse 😭 #i might be overreacting #But the past few chapters and then..this scene #I hope she realizes what this actually means #Idk tbh i need some sleep #Another thing is the villain lighting like #Ruby straight up looks evil im sorry😭😭 #oshi no ko

[miscellanyofmusings]

Rifftrax Sentence Starters

“______, didn’t I dispatch you to hell earlier?”

“ ______, shut up forever.” 

"Alright. That does it. I officially have no idea what we're looking at, why we're here, or even who I am anymore."

“And I pray that I never have to emote any more than I just did. I'm exhausted.”

“And if you're ready, _____, may I offer you a wide-awake nightmare?

“Aw man, I thought we could trust the slimy loser.”

“Being a creepy evil creep is a reward in and of itself.”

“Bland? I mean, honey? Can I make you some bland milk? I mean, warm bland? I mean, warm milk?”

“Careful, they might miss at you.”

“Die! Die in a fire! Live again and then die!”

“Did you guys just see that or has my brain fully melted?”

“Do you think you can do me the teensiest favor and just kill me now?”

“Feels like an NPR audio essay is about to break out.”

“Forgive me, Father. I killed like eight guys today.”

“Fuck you. Pay me."

“Having knowledge about things is not really my specialty.”

“He died as he lived: looking dumb as Hell.”

“He has all the fighting skills of a sock monkey."

“Hell is other people and stuff.”

“I’m condescending for no reason, got it?” 

“I've tried nothing—And it's not working!"

“I can’t answer your question because that would acknowledge you exist.”

“I can’t live with myself knowing there’s something out there I haven’t murdered.”

“I don’t want to oversell it, but it will fill you with sadness.” 

"I find words difficult because I can't punch them."

“I have a two part question. One, will I ever feel joy again? Two, what did I do to deserve this?”

“I hope you like really tough burnt meat and shitty scotch.”

"I love it when a plan sort of slowly congeals together."

“I thrive on your ignorance.” 

“I tripped and fell up five flights of stairs and landed here.”

“Is your torture basement even up to code?”

“It’s not what you said; it’s that you exist.”

“It irritates me too that I can defy logic, time, and physics."

"It is pleasant to be happy because it increases our amount of gladness."

“Let's carpe diem and mumble and mope like we've never mumbled and moped before!”

“Mind if I dial up the gay?”

"Never have I cared so little about so few for so long."

“Nothing calms a kid more than a poster of a deranged clown.”

“My philosophy is to see how many Pop-Tarts I can eat in two minutes.” 

“No, don’t, ____, please! Seriously! I will kill all your enemies! Please!”

"No good story ever starts with ‘so there I was, pouring gasoline all over the dead girl’s body.’”

"Oh good. Something else for the Gallery of Things That Should Not Be."

“Oh, thoughtless sociopath, you’re my best friend.”

“Okay, so I’ll take that ominous cryptic answer as a firm yes.”

“Our hero— again, fighting like a sociopathic four year-old.”

"Please don't ruin this moment by surviving!"

“Rush in blindly! A plan can only hinder us!"

"Screaming? Laughter? At this point, what's the difference?"

“So where do you think you’re gonna dump my body?” 

"So…You give up here often?" 

“Society as we know it would disintegrate if people knew the truth about whatnot.”

“Thank you, most boring sounding person in the world.”

“That’s a very friendly murder threat.”

“That sounded a lot more menacing and less gay in my head.” 

“This is my bullshit lecture!” 

“Wait a minute, I thought you said ‘pass the time,’ not ‘destroy all hope in the universe.’” 

"We are reconciled now through the cleansing power of violence."

“Well, that was neither fun nor interesting, but at least it gave us no new information.” 

“Well, time to pretend I know stuff.”

"Well, whoopty-shit."

"Welp... Forgone conclusion ain't gonna forgone conclude itself."

“Who can resist an asshole?”

“Women, right? Always like, ‘This seems fatally stupid!’ Blah, blah, blah.’”

“Yeah, I do feel my own mind drifting through thoughts of Socrates—in that I want to drink hemlock and die.”

"You're a lying liar who lies! You lie!"

“You're not allergic to severe acid burns, are you?”

“You taste like libertarianism and cigars.”

“Your evil is reassuring.” 

“Your violent, misogynistic criminal vibe lets me know I can trust you.” 

#rp meme #sentence starters #rp starter #meme #memes #murder /// #violence tw #chaotic sentence starters #rp prompts #roleplay prompts

[minimoefoe]

wild blue yonder thoughts

(initial live watch and next day rewatch)

live

- the very beginning for a second was giving me ascension of the cybermen vibes, like bright, green, really calm idk

- not sure if the newton stuff was funny or cringe

- all that happening bc donna spilt some coffee is so dumb 😭 like okay the tardis is weak as fuck

- the amount of cgi was mildly off-putting at times but also like obviously a corridor like that would need to be in large part cgi

- 14 may have just meant newton was good looking generally and also his 'is that who I am now' comment was probs more of a 'oh am I the kind of person to find ppl attractive/be open about it' rather than a 'do I fancy men now' moment (tho donna assuming it was kinda funny) but also I'm hoping 14 being kinda openly attracted to men is a sign for what 15 is gonna be like. like let's keep it going and have a male love interest.........?

- fake donna and fake 14 were so creepy like I stg right as fake 14 showed up to the way it was shot made me feel weird bc it just wasn't showing him and I was like well show him then and then it did and I was like oh he's normal okay but then it went down hill fr dt was v creepy

- the long ass arms and stuff was simultaneously unserious and creepy as fuck

- flux and timeless child mention ahhhhh I kinda am obsessed with it and I really hope it's a sign that rtd is gonna explore it a bit more (which based on xmas special info he seemingly is). I love the way it ended with 13 but there's defo room there to explore more about how the doctor really feels about it all and accepting it. bc it's one thing to decide you don't want the memories but it's another to actually come to terms with it all

- the vibes were kinda midnight-y, like monsters impersonating and tryna copy someone and replace them yknow

- wilf <333333

- I'm writing this up right after it ended and I haven't looked at what other ppl thought and I didn't type up my thoughts as I was watching so I probs forgot a ton of stuff that I had opinions on but anyways. I cheered

rewatch

- ppl getting mad that isaac newton isn't white is so predictable like omg I couldn't imagine giving a fuck. that scene is defo cringe tho but it's fine. I like the 'have you got the controls set to famous' line

- the tardis playing that song is so funny like she looooves the drama tbh

- I hope the mavity thing continues for a long time but I don't want it to get mentioned every episode bc that'll get old very quick

- 14 acknowledging that newton was hot and then being like 'is that was I do now' is defo a him being like oh do I notice attractiveness and be open about it now situation and not an oh am I gay now situation bc the doctor has BEEN fancying men. and it fits with the moments from the star beast where he says he loves people and is like oh do I say that now

- the let's go and kick it's ass line, and the way it's shot idk, is not very good

- seeing the outside of the ship was sooo weat/tdf vibes

- the doctor joking around with donna about dying is my fave I miss the doctor being like this fr (that's NOT a chib diss)

- the timeless child and flux mentions and the doctor finally being open with someone but then it ends up not actually being donna oh I'm gonna lose my whole mind I'm so obsessed with that scene and then meanwhile donna figures out she's with the fake doctor like the genius she is

- and THEN the doctor's little tantrum that I and most others was clowning on before the ep came out but actually it ends up being kinda harrowing liiiiike woah

- obsessed with the scene where they're separated by the glass wall

- fake donna in the tardis and real donna stuck out there.. ctate actor of all time

- I really did think for a second that donna was gonna die on first watch and how wild would that have been especially if the doctor didn't end up noticing fake donna and we were stuck with her for the giggle. probably woulda been a nightmare tbh so I'm glad it didn't happen but also idk

- donna saying the doctor timed getting back to avoid the awkward convo makes me think of all the times chib had shit happen to avoid having the doctor and (usually) yaz complete a convo, it used to drive me crazy it was so annoying

- wilf <33333

- I kinda wish we saw the toymaker in the background during all that drama that was going on at the end

#doctor who #dw txt #nataliechats

[thessalian]

Thess vs AI

So, the SAG-AFTRA deal with Replica.

I posted a link about this yesterday, and reblogged several more, but it's something that's massively on my mind. Mostly because it frustrates the hell out of me on so many levels.

Like, this came up in one of the subreddits I follow, and there was this one guy there going on and on and on about how he wanted this exact thing - he wanted to buy voices like art assets because he couldn't afford to hire voice actors and wanted to "realise his dream". And obviously he didn't want to turn around to uni students who might do it for a portfolio reel, some pizza and a promise of a cut of the profits (if any, because seriously, like fuck is this dude's asset-flip bullshit going to sell to any massive degree); he wanted real actors ... except not, because you're not getting real acting out of a computer. (And I'll go back to that point in a minute.)

But ... I have stories that I'd love to turn into games. Thing is, though? If I can't afford actual actors to voice this shit, I will do without voices! A lot of games have done that and done pretty damn well, all things considered! Hell, Dredge has, like, two or three acknowledging noises and the entire rest of the thing is text only. Being able to work within your resource limits to create something wonderful is just ... how you do it, when you're being creative. Everything from movies to cookery demonstrate to us time and time again. So expecting to be able to buy someone's voice off a virtual shelf and plug it into your game just because you can't "realise your vision" without a voice actor voicing a thing? That's just cheap cop-out bullshit.

Going back to the point about real acting - it really grinds my gears that voice actors aren't actually considered actors by a depressing percentage of people. Like, again we have Reddit (sometimes I have to see what the non-Tumblr version of the internet looks like so I can cozy back up into my blanket fort and be glad I curate my online experience so well) going, "There are only just a very few voice actors, right?" when stating how this is fine because it's not going to affect that many people. Which ... dude. There are only a few famous ones that you know about. There are a surprising number of people who make their livings doing "additional voices" in video games and three lines of "shop clerk" or "third soldier from the left" in Western cartoons and anime dubs. It's the same problem actors have - so many people think that the only actors that exist are the really famous ones, not the ones who are doing whatever bit parts they can to pay rent and hopefully find a line on a better role at some point.

Also ... I guess it's a bit like how too many people don't consider actors who are predominantly in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, anything that isn't "serious cinema" as "real actors". When I personally respect those actors an awful lot. I'm sorry - you've got people expressing a mix of fear and defiant rage while staring at the fucking tennis ball standing in for the big-ass demon they won't see until the final cut of the movie. How can you not give that props? Similarly, voice actors are giving those performances to a blank wall. To use our most recent epic example, you've got Astarion giving those lines - everything from debonair malice to barely-controlled terror-pleading to pure trust and gratitude - to a wall. In a little soundproof room. He made up all that - everything he needed to - in his head, and he gave those lines, and it was epic.

A computer cannot do that. I've heard some of Replica's AI voices. Gods, they're awful. Maybe - maybe - you could get that shit for "reactive NPCs" (although I'd personally hate that; even if it was done right, it feels creepy ... and I get a kick out of wandering around a major city covered in blood and nobody appearing to notice, thanks), but it'd still be awful. And you couldn't do it with main characters. Or if you did (and you know some of these awful companies would try), it'd be just awful. We're a long way away from a nuanced performance from a computer.

I respect artists because of the work they put in. Hell, I'm one of them. I see the phrase "AI DM" (yes, one of D&D Beyond's things was talking about a VTT with the potential for an AI DM), and I shudder because ... have they met a D&D group? Ever? At all? How could an AI determine "rule of cool"? Just ... ugh. The idea of an AI scripting TV shows or writing novels ... as a writer, it makes me sick. And actors? They hardly get any respect as it is unless they're some of the big names who do Serious Cinema (or make a hell of a lot of money); this is just shitting all over them even worse. What happens to the next generation of voice actors if greedy-ass corporations give the little roles that most VAs cut their proverbial teeth on to a fucking computer?

I hate it. I keep saying - the whole thing about automation was that it was supposed to let machines do the grunt-work while humans created art, and now it's the other way around as art is considered "just another saleable commodity". So ... maybe it's not that video games stopped being considered art, as I was thinking awhile ago. Maybe it's just that art itself stopped being art, because the money-makers are chewing it up into one big spitball of off-grey blech and throwing it at a wall.

#Thess vs AI #Yeah this is gonna be a thing now

[vyladromeave]

Hello it's me o7 apologies for the spam likes, I'm back on my mcd bullshit

I'm so glad most of the Og va's for the guys dipped asap when Jess started to go downhill. Afaik Andy and Pm Seymour (I honestly have no clue what to call him) are on to doing their own stuff now.

And my actual legit question! What do you think of Laurance and Garroth's characters slowly declining into like.. Nice Guy, kinda creepy behavior? Even watching it when it first came out ages ago made me uncomfortable.

Hi hi! no need to apologize for the spam notes, trust me when I say I get it a lot lol, I don't mind it at all.

The decline of Laurance and Garroth is literally what ruined the series, and Jess herself has acknowledged it before lol. Can't bother to find an exact quote right now, I think she mentioned it in a stream where she was talking about the state of Rebirth, but she's mentioned multiple times how she projected fan disapproval of Aarmau onto Garroth and Laurance at the time of writing, and as a result took the story in a direction she couldn't write in any longer. There's a reason all of S3 is privated on a second channel, and it's because Jess herself doesn't consider it + the ending parts of S2 to be fully "canon." (and at this point neither do I lol.)

I think I'm speaking for most people when I say that plotlines that rely on jealousy are overdone. IMO, they're boring, lazy, and were at no point in time ever good. Seeing them from two characters who straight up were not victims of this behavior until after it's established they wouldn't do it makes this even worse. Garroth gets the creep behavior long before the writing goes down the drain in S2. Every time I look back on the S1 finale and the moments leading up to it now I get sad because I know that the same character he had earlier in the season will never come back, and he will never be as interesting ever again.

A large amount of the people I see these days who hate Laurance do so because of his writing in late S2. I go back and forth on this a lot- I think ultimately Garroth got it way worse considering this sort of writing affected him way earlier than it did Laurance, making it unalterably tied to his character. But there is something incredibly heartbreaking about seeing two seasons of writing for what I think is one of the best-written characters in the series completely flushed away by a few episodes of clearly ooc writing. Garroth got less time than Laurance to develop considering his character was all but benched for all of S2, so in a way there's less writing for him to conflict with the weird jealousy angle they throw on later. This is absolutely not the case for Laurance, who has nearly two full seasons of screentime in the main cast, who emphasizes multiple times that he will still care for Aphmau whether she loves him or someone else.

I think a large part of what made Garroth, Laurance, and Aphmau's combined dynamic interesting was their mutual love for eachother, and how it didn't interrupt their friendship despite that. I've described it before as the fact that "They were still people beyond being love interests for her." (in this post here, in case I haven't rambled long enough for you and you want more on this topic) and I still stand by that wording pretty strongly. Not only did the jealousy nice guy angles ruin the characters for many, it ruined every part of their dynamics that was interesting.

Tldr me when im in a turning 3-dimensional characters into flat paper contest and my competition is Jess.

#sorry for the no thoughts on any of the VAs if im being honest i dont have many opinions on them as people. #i used to when i was much younger but have since realized a lot of that was parasocial soooo #i have problems with a couple of them now but honestly its nothing i feel like airing out here. i complain about mcd enough tbh #(I DO THIS BECAUSE I LOVE IT AND CARE ABOUT IT.) #mcd #ask #mcd meta #long post

[hardboiledteacozy]

Greetings!

I have just finished the second chapter of your „We Grow Accustomed to the Dark“ story, and I do have to say that I adore it! I think the game really lends itself well to exploring it in a gothic-inspired horror story. The whole atmosphere and build-up of the Professor case was very unsettling and much more intriguing than the finale itself. The little snippets were enough to paint an uncomfortable yet fascinating picture and let our imagination run wild (e.g. wax museum, graveyard scene, prison, a particular person writing their will, the music, the reminiscing etc.). Not to mention our vampiresque prosecutor who may as well be a protagonist in a Victorian era horror novel. I am very glad that someone actually acknowledges that creepy, bittersweet tone that a part of the game has. I really like the dynamic between Barok and Ryunosuke in your story. Barok the habitual gentleman who puts the well-being of others before his own. He sacrifices and risks so much by protecting the people he cares about. He’s sad, understandably, but still keeps moving forward. I had to picture Ryuu in Barok’s huge cape and how he probably had to lift it up so it doesn’t end up touching the ground. Adorable. And Ryuu ist just as awkward and endearing as in the game. I am looking forward to the next chapter!

Kind regards,

Zieksy

Thank you kindly for taking the time to leave this lovely letter right at my doorstep, Zieksy. It is most flattering <3

I absolutely agree, the game offers more than a few glimpses of a darker storyline, especially the events related to the Professor case, which deeply affected so many characters (our tragic figure of a prosecutor most of all). So it's been interesting to get to explore that trauma a little as a rather literal haunting, though that's turning up a lot more in the chapter I'm currently working on.

Funny enough, the one who gets to be the protagonist of a horror novel in this case is none other than Ryuunosuke himself. Barok is... well, he's dealing with other things 🤭 and he is probably too used to these phantoms to pay them any heed. At least, he will be until Ryuunosuke comes to shake things up (as usual).

And yes! Ryuu definitely had to keep the cape bundled up when he was walking around because he wouldn't want to drag such fine cloth through the mud.

Thank you once again, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the reading so far!

Jay

#ask and you shall receive #jay writes #jay writes about writing which is pretty meta I guess

[epicene-humanoid]

some trans Jeff thoughts:

he realized he was trans in elementary school and just went fuck it I'll just start introducing myself as Jeffery and see if anyone decides to stop me (as we know, jeff winger can get away with almost anything)

he got top surgery the second he could afford it (around the same time he started at his law firm), and probably bribed someone to keep it a secret

"I'm jeff winger and i would rather look at myself naked than the women I sleep with" are the words of a man proud of his transition

he's really insecure about his fashion sense, which is why he mostly dresses like the douchey guys at his firm in the start of the show, he thought you can't go wrong with the sleazy lawyer look

he will never admit it but he feels super good about the dean hitting on him, because the dean is a (cis) guy, acknowledging that Jeff is more manly than him

i think he starts out stealth and comes out to everyone one by one, probably starting with abed because he knows abed won't judge him and will probably just see it as an interesting backstory.

abed just says it's cool and maybe worth a prequel exploring Jeff's transition, and jeff asks him to predict how all of the members of the group will react to him coming out.

abed's predictions:

britta will be over-the-top supportive and do a ton of research about trans history, probably put together a slideshow just to prove how progressive she is, and jeff will be a little bit weirded out, but also touched that she did all that for him, though he would never let her know that

shirley will be confused, because she doesn't know how someone she trusts and knows so well could be part of a group she was raised to hate, but ultimately realizes that there's nothing actually against the lgbtq people in the bible, and, as a cool character development arch, starts to advocate against use of the bible to justify bigotry

troy will just think it over and decide that Jeff's physique and coolness are even awesomer knowing how much work he'd had to put in to be like that, and respects Jeff's manliness even more

annie will give him a hug, say something sweet about how she'll always love him, and worry about his health, because even she read somewhere that taking testosterone makes you more likely to have a heart attack, jeff will explain that the risk is still only as high a cis guy, and she'll be the one to always remind him to take his shots

peirce will say at best say "jeff winger used to be a chick?" and at worst call him a slur, either way there's sure to be a lot of misgendering from him, and pestering to know Jeff's deadname (needless to say, Jeff just doesn't tell peirce)

the whole group goes out of their way to keep their beach trips a secret from pierce (the girls don't want him there anyways, he's too liable to be creepy) even though jeff knows that even if pierce saw his scars, all he would have to do is make up a story about some childhood accident and pierce would never question it

sorry this ended up being super long. can I hear some of your headcanons for him?

YES ALL THIS!!! yes yes i’m fully accepting this as canon oh my god

i’m about to type a whole ass ESSAY at midnight because i have been DYING to talk about this for months ajfdksljk,,, this is going to be obscenely long and i might end up adding even more to it as i continue to rewatch the show because there is truly no shortage of trans jeff content (especially when you’re trans and see transness in every little thing ajdkslfkjs)

spoiler warning for literally everything about this show under the cut <3

i 100% agree, i feel like he realized he was trans super young, especially since in the show we see him as a little kid a couple of times. 

like look at little jeff with the oversized sweatshirt and little ponytail!! that’s childhood trans fashion. not to be dramatic but part of me thinks that jeff’s dad left before he fully came out to his family (which gives him even more angst about it, because until that one Thanksgiving episode, he’s never able to prove to his dad that he’s a better man), but part of me thinks that his dad left after he came out (which adds that spicy i-should-have-stayed-in-the-closet guilt that he has to work through). 

either way, because his dad wasn’t there, he had to base his concept of masculinity on something else, which was becoming a lawyer!! there’s some line that’s like “after the dust and divorce papers were settled the only man i looked up to was [the lawyer guy]”. like, replacing your father figure in your mind with the concept of “a job where you can talk your way in and out of anything and distort other people’s concept of reality”? that’s trans.

 and the fucking THANKSGIVING EPISODE... i struggle to watch it without crying hehe <3 yeowch! the dichotomy of willy jr. being the “wrong” kind of man because he’s “too soft” but jeff also not being enough despite adhering to all the social standards of masculinity... fuck!! this whole scene of him telling his dad “i am Not well adjusted” and talking about how he gave himself an “appendix surgery scar” when he was a kid and he still keeps the get-well-soon letters from his classmates under his bed? oh my god. the implication of people loving him not despite his scars but because of them?? trans. i can’t think about this episode for too long or i’ll start yelling.

OH and this scene? where he talks about how his mom got him a girl costume for halloween?? and everyone said “what a cute little girl” and after a few houses he stopped correcting them?? and “once the shame and the fear wore off, i was just glad they thought i was pretty”?? THAT’S TRANS... the man needs validation oh my god... and then in all the halloween episodes we see he has these ultra-masculine costumes (a cowboy, David Beckham, one of the fast and furious guys even though he never watched the movies, a boxer with his DAD’S boxing gloves... god) costumes are about becoming something else and he always chooses to be hypermasculine and that is trans.

THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION EPISODE!!!!!!! being uncomfortable during P.E. is a queer experience. period. but him being specifically uncomfortable in the clothes someone else is assigning to him? trans. “are we gonna talk about clothes like a girl? or use tapered sticks to hit balls around a cushioned mat like a man?” TRANS. and him eventually stripping in public? celebration of transness. and the fact that he eventually becomes comfortable in both the uniform and his own style!! trans!! god i love this episode. 

AND AND AND!!! the gay dean coming out episode!!! where it’s the three of them discussing the best way for the dean to come out as gay despite not entirely identifying with that label!! so we have both frankie and the dean who are sort of ambiguously queer, and jeff who’s a stealth trans man who’s probably only out to only the study group at this point. this scene where the dean and jeff have this like eyebrow communication while frankie is talking is just so cute. queer-to-queer communication. “I am so curious” “oh?” “intellectually.” “oh...” ajfdksljfk this scene just screams high school GSA to me and i love it so much.

and SPEAKING of the dean!! i totally see you on that. i feel like jeff has some internalized homophobia/biphobia (like he’d throw punches over someone else, but when it comes to himself he has a lot of shame). and also seeing the dean so confident in all his different outfits/costumes has a weird affect on him bc it’s like “okay, the dean, a cis guy, can do that, but i as a trans guy could Not because that’s Breaking the Rules”. which, like, throwback to the halloween thing. of course there’s no right way to be masculine, but mr. winger does not know that.

another thing!! the episode where their emails get leaked? that includes his emails with his therapist. fuck!! he was outed to the whole world in that episode!! no wonder he was so fucking angry!! this whole episode (and really any time he mentions his therapist) is so interesting when you think about them as a person he talks to about his transition. OH which adds to the thing with the dean!! “and you told your therapist you wanted to be alone this weekend” and “not you jeff, i know you’ll be visiting your dad” ”I told you to stop reading my emails”. luckily his study group has his back and just makes fun of him for emailing astronauts lmao

and WHO can forget “they’re giving out an award for most handsome young man!!!!” what else is there to say about this line besides: he’s trans. you know he didn’t get awarded enough for being a handsome young man when he was a kid, and no amount of compliments when he’s fully-grown can really make up for that. some people crash a kid’s bar mitzvah to cope with the fact that they struggled to be seen as themselves when they were a teenager <3

also his weird relationship with pierce? where he kind of hates him (understandably lmao) but at times has this almost-friends-almost-father-son relationship with him? especially in this episode where he’s forced to bond with him and ends up having a good time by accident (at a barber shop no less, the perfect place to Be A Man with your Man Friend). idk what to say about him besides the fact that pierce says his mom wanted a girl when he was born and made him dress like a girl (and his middle name is anastasia!) so if they’re gonna do any bonding over transness it’s gonna be that. 

okay one last thing and then i’ll shut up for the night. this episode kills me (and almost kills jeff hahahahelpi’mcrying). it’s a very Trans thing to not be able to visualize your future self, it just is. growing up trans at the time he did? i don’t know what kind of future he saw for himself, but i’m so happy that he ended up with a group of friends who became his family and love him the way they all do. i’m so emotional over this asshole it’s ridiculous. 

in conclusion:

they’re trans, your honor <3

#community #jeff winger #trans jeff winger #GOD i'm gonna make a video essay about it if nobody stops me #yall know that youtube channel AreTheyGay? i want to be that but AreTheyTrans #the videos would just b like... jeff community. neo the matrix. bill and ted bill and ted. audrey little shop of horrors. jo little women. #maybe i should start that youtube channel sjdfklsj #thank you for prompting me to talk about this because i think about it twice a day #i might end up reblogging this and just adding different responses jeff has had to casually homophobic/transphobic things that happen #in the show #like the episode that last photo is from when the dean is like #'spring transfer student dance isn't rolling off the tongue so we're calling it The Tr@nny Dance!' 'much more greendale.' #OH AND ACCIDENTALLY KILLING PIERCE'S DAD!!! HOW DID I NOT MENTION THAT EARLIER SJFKLSJ #'you LITERALLY killed a father!' 'well not MINE dummy!!' #alright i need to do my homework now ajfklsdjfl

[beth-march]

i'm not even half way through "sorry about the blood in your mouth" but I had to jump in you asks and just tell you that I am floored. remember how I said that you write so beautifully? well I just read about Lexi being pregnant in fez's dream and her body being a "swollen globe of love" and sometimes you read something that strikes you like lightening on the head and you remember what art is for and you thank god because life is good, because sometimes an artist peels back the layers of reality and shows you what life really is with a simple sentence. like, yes: women get pregnant and we all witness it. but then your fexi fanfic tells us, straight to our face, what is REALLY is: a swollen globe of love. and we all can say that we "see" pregnancy as it is, but you SAW THROUGH IT and described it and showed us what it REALLY is you know? and you knocked me out with a string of five words and this is what I always feel like when I read your works and they are so beautiful and the love that you depict between fez and Lexi is SOOOO soft and sweet and healing to read about and yeah. I'm sorry if this message is so freaking long and weird and maybe a bit creepy but I just had to let u know how grateful I am that I found you and you blog and your work!!!!! and im italian and this is message is written con tanto tanto tanto amore e gratitudine 💖✨💖✨💖✨

So, I don't even know where to begin with answering this...

I hope I never forget how I felt the first time I read it. I want to convey the gratification that overcame me, but I'm not sure that I even can! I don't know, like you dedicate your entire life to building on something that people first noticed you had a natural talent for when you were five, and it's like, this has always been what's mattered most to me, and to have it acknowledged like this - to have it called 'art', to say that I've floored you, that I've 'peeled back the layers of reality and shown you what life really is'? I can’t fathom it, it’s just so remarkably vindicating, in a way?

Thank you for calling my writing beautiful. I'm so glad that you enjoy my portrayal of Fez and Lexi - soft and sweet and healing, like what a tremendous set of compliments. I sometimes worried if I was writing them in too gentle a manner but I think canon fully supports it. Those two watch Little House on the Prairie and sing movie credit songs together; they get dressed up before they see each other and blush while holding hands. They're actually just like that, and I'm so happy that they are, because I've been writing them that way from the start and it's always how I'll see them.

This is the furthest thing from weird or creepy. This is so beautiful of you. This is the kind of message that authors fantasise about receiving and I know that I'll be going back to this for years to come.

Please jump into my asks as often as you want! 💗💕💓🌸💞

#asks #by the way what did you think of the rest of the fic?! #i was nervous about that first section ngl so i'm really relieved by this

[myrfing]

not very established/final but closing thoughts about endwalker and ffxiv in general. immense msq spoilers ahead of courase

ok there were a lot of things I didn't care about and then a lot of things I cared immensely about and so in my first walk catharsis addled brain I will elect to mostly weigh the things I care about and uh those things were. incredible. there were moments while playing where I thought "this is great but maybe not my favorite overall" (which I was okay with, I never worried about whether or not EW would "measure up" or anything) and then that finale swept me up and hit me in the guts multiple times zenos style so what can I say.

My absolute favorite things:

1. Getting to meet Venat/Hydaelyn eye to eye and thank her and tell her YES it was all worth it and that the world is beautiful. and how it is emphasized she has always walked with you. is my god lady creepy and/or wet. I CANNOT SAY HOW MUCH EVERTHING ABOUT HER MEANS TO ME and I'm going to miss her so much. also she's just fucking cool

2. THE FINAL AREA especially getting to know the dragons/omega deal up close. and this whole area's theme of emptiness and suffocating sorrow but even in each of these ghosts you could feel a faint glimmer of the things that made them beings that could be hurt in the first place because of how human they were. their curiosity or love or fear or doubt. also it really sunk it in how you really cannot save everyone and everything and yet you still have to just acknowledge all these things that are totally lost and keep going. but also just by having witnessed them even in their final and most despairing hours you kind of carry them with you for every happiness that you find then onward. by the way I thought the OTHER COSMOS i.e. omega's origins were not going to be touched upon in this expac and thought they would save it for whatever comes next so imagine my fucking surprise. also can I say the music building up from a disorienting ambiance and then there's a wind to carry the song and then everyone else and it turns into one of the best themes in the game I CANNOTTTTTTT STRESS how deeply I marveled when I realized what was happening

3. Getting to explore and meet new characters HAHAHEA. Thavnair is absolutely beautiful and getting to finally...LIKE. SEEING HOW MUCH LOVE WAS PUT INTO ELABORATING ON HOW PEOPLE LIVED AND WHAT THEY DID DAY TO DAY AND WHAT MATTERED TO THEM even garlemald who I feel...no less general dislike towards I absolutely ate that shit up. i just wanted to know everything about this world they made. AND WITH EACH EXPAC I AM SATED I will say I think the Sharlayan portions are some of the weakest in the expac but even then there were a lot of things I loved about it as well and I'm very glad we finally get to know where so many of our beloved characters are from. The environment designers outdid themselves again also; there were multiple moments where I just stopped to behold...the skybox the dirt on the ground the rise of ridges and EVERYTHINGGG

4. i habe to mention the wol treats. seeing your wol do stuff. now when does that ever get old. re: Gourd specifically like I wanted he's the most human he's ever been and getting to see him make certain choices or be happy or elect to be close to others and also be angry and sad and to offer his heart and to have people offer this back and wish for his happiness I DID NOT THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE TO LOVE THE WOL MORE

5. A lot of the ways I interpreted things were validated LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO YES I ENJOY THE VINDICATION. I'm happy hermes existed. & yes he was a megavegan overthinker destroyer of worlds but the fact that there were imperfections and that the ancients were really just....exactly human but lifted by their magic capability and resulting sense of duty and purpose. I'm happy that even back then someone said "who are we to judge if other people are worthy of existence" and—EVEN though it is unmistakably a devastating and tragic end—brought the whole thing crumbling down. I'm glad that emet-selch made it clear if it were his choice he would never have given up and that he would always have that fierce narrowminded devotion to his people but that he could not reconcile it with the way he connected to mortals still especially in his ever growing loneliness and guilt and longing. im happy hythlodaeus humored me and remembered me and was such an openhearted friend & well we will find out more about baby elidibus but *pointing* he looks like how I .

There were again a lot of moments where I felt disconnected to the values or narrative presented because of Who I Am & What I Think aka my little opinions but even then I think it was worth seeing. i do not believe in sacrifice and suffering as heavily as the writers do, I don't believe that your pain always means you should come out stronger nor do I imply that people are weak or unworthy for not being so, and I'm too like shit-hearted to be wholly on board for the themes of complete absolution and acceptance and whatnot that they wanted to get across here. a lot of the garlemald and even to some extent the idyllic elpis portions predictably (if you've listened at all to my rambling on twitter in the past 2 years LMFAO) annoyed me the exact way you & I would think they would. everyone knows I don't care about zenos, and I hate the special attention afforded to hades in the sense that I would have been much happier if he was treated as just another person you'd naturally remember on your journey in all the good and bad and not as someone so important to my wol. and these dudes took up a LOT of runtime.

...but also I was kind of at peace with that? And it did help that I do let up/consider it out of place to sit too heavily on my judgements when something is...already dead, the way garlemald kind of is, the way the ancients are, the way all those old civilizations are. So I was still enjoying myself even in those moments. the way I think about certain things will always be different from the xiv writers in particular but there are still points where what they mean not only gets across to me vividly and clearly but I can also acknowledge they wrote it trying to struggle to come to an answer themselves. & I'm glad so many people so wholeheartedly love this game and that we read this story and become invested in it and hope for it openly and appreciate it without undue reservation because I don't think it would be possible for anyone to write a story like this if they did not know it would be received thus.

errr yeag. I've said this about very few works but I genuinely think xiv is a masterpiece. maybe with far more polish towards the end but the entirety of it has been an honor to know and I would not cut a single fucking potion out you know me I've loved it since I was dying to shitty little tube rats in la noscea with ruin and because of my utter fascination with the universe...like just for having loved this game I feel rewarded. so thank you 2 CREATIVE BUSINESS UNIT III LMFAOOO I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE STILL RUNNING WITH THIS NAME LEGENDS ONLY

#6.0 spoilers #ffxiv #oh yeah. yes I do think it is my favorite expac now #though it's early to say lol but I was always predisposed to the. uh vibes

[bondsmagii]

do you have any spare Karla (from TTSS) headcanons, and if so, may I hear them

Also your fic "In Enemy Company" is my favorite Le Carre fic, it's so good

I was just talking about In Enemy Company the other day and honestly I cannot believe I managed to write 8000 words about Karla and George Smiley getting stuck in an elevator together. I'm so glad that other people enjoy it because it was honestly such a riot to write and to this day my partner and I will still randomly turn to one another and be like "do you remember the elevator fic?" lmao.

anyway, have a few headcanons that I haven't managed to work in to anything or mention enough yet:

Karla is absolutely 100% left-handed. he just gives me the Vibes.

he also has a son who does not have the same mother as Tatiana. he never knew Karla growing up but by sheer chance ended up in intelligence himself. he has seen Karla around and even worked under him a few times, but still has no idea. Karla, of course, knows.

Karla's time is very scheduled. like, creepishly scheduled. but it's not scheduled in any way that makes sense to anyone but him. this is for security reasons, because he can hardly be in the same place at the same time every day, but he wakes up each morning knowing his own day right down to the second. it's kind of creepy and definitely borders on some kind of neurosis.

the reason Karla has survived the constant purging is twofold: 1) he is very smart and knows who to befriend and when to keep his head down and who to denounce, and 2) he's very, very good at his job, and a lot of people know they would be fucked without him and end up in even more trouble.

he is often described in canon as dark-complexioned, and given the geography and territories of the USSR at the time I headcanon this to be because Karla is part Georgian.

Karla speaks a disgustingly impressive amount of languages and has a decent grasp of many, many more. he does not reveal what languages he knows when he can help it, which helps him get the scoop on a lot of things.

he's very nosy. not just in the line of his work, but like. he just likes to watch, and to know what's going on, and he gets a certain thrill from observing things unseen. this is probably the biggest allowance he gives himself in his professional life, because he knows he gets too close to the danger just so he can watch his plans unfold, and he knows there's no reason for him to be there other than to satisfy his own curiosity, but to him it's worth the risk.

he does not have any friends because he's deeply introverted, trusts nobody, and does not partake in any of the usual things people might do to socialise, primarily drinking or gambling. his only vice (aside from his nosiness) is his smoking, which he knows is excessive compared to others even during a time period where nobody was aware of the true dangers of smoking.

he's one of those people who can have completely zero presence in a room. you know how you can just sense when someone is around, even if you can't see them? Karla can kind of just switch that off, and yes he does use it for evil.

Karla kind of has a cat. he does not acknowledge her as his cat. he pretends that he could not care less. he points out that several other people living in the apartment block also feed this cat. however it is his apartment that the cat can most often be found sleeping in, especially during the winter, and he does not shoo her out. while other people have nicknames for her, he has not named her and claims he's following the example of Lenin. nobody can tell if he's joking or not.

nobody knows exactly how, but Karla found out that Smiley has a photograph of him hanging on his office wall. he found the news surprising, and then funny, but now he finds it a little funny but mostly just concerning. like, dude. are you good?

even among his own colleagues, he is a man of very, very few words. he never speaks unless absolutely necessary, and there are many people in his department who have never actually heard him speak at all. nobody knows why, some speculate it's a health thing, but really he just doesn't like talking much. also he's found that the quieter he is, the more others talk to fill the silence, and the more he learns about them.

he would never admit this anywhere, but while he remains a devoted Communist he is of the private belief that the USSR is a fucking shambles.

(for those of you who have read the aforementioned In Enemy Company) Karla's biggest Workplace Beef is with Kulik. they fucking despise one another.

#john le carré #karla #anon #asks

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Lily (from "Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus", what else?) and Lenin and maybe some other people? Watch "Heathers". Reactions? Or what they get transported there? Sorry, it's just that I'm in this Heathers-obsession phase and since I love your work so much (and the fact that Trotsky is kinda sorta like JD) I've been wondering about a crossover like that. I honestly have no idea what your answer to this will entail.

I’ve been musing on this one for a bit now but I suppose it’s time to dig in and answer.

First, I’m not usually a fan of the “X characters watch Y thing” so we’re going to avoid that. Also, to Wizard Lenin, it’d undoubtedly be yet another one of Lily’s weird 80′s movies that she loves so much and forces him to watch. It’s less gory than Predator, but dammit Lily, high school isn’t like this! 

Getting transported there is a similarly weird story. It’s such a muggle setting that it really doesn’t mesh well with the “Sisyphus” cast. Why would Lily and Wizard Lenin be stuck in this high school in Ohio? Would they even do anything besides go “That JD kid sure is weird” and “Wow, the death count here is higher than Hogwarts!”? Point being, I can’t imagine they’d get entangled in the true plot of “Heathers” and at best would be providing riff track commentary on this crazy high school. 

So, instead, let’s go the good old fusion route. Let’s make the world of “Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus” just a bit more like “Heathers” and see how it pans out.

Because “Heathers” is all about the destruction of society from within, we’re axing Voldemort. Sorry, Tom, you got stuck in a magical mirror, eaten by bears, or something after 1943 and are going to be Sir Not Appearing in this Universe. As a result, there’s no Voldemort, but the deep societal issues that Tom took advantage of very much remain and are flourishing. 

In this world, Lily is still a god, but is not immediately recognized as such by being the girl who lived. Instead, she’s just a strange, dangerously overpowered, nuisance that nobody likes. And her home life is trash.

I imagine in the world without Voldemort, Death Eaters, and a second war Lily and James’ marriage quickly crumbles. This is mainly due to the stress of marriage but also due to having a gifted, ridiculously intelligent, and creepy child. Within a few years, Lily Evans has the audacity to do what is never done: she divorces her pureblood lord husband and tries to vie for child custody. She loses, of course, as she’s a muggle born woman, and is basically banished from ever seeing her kid again.

James never really gets over this, Ellie looking so much like Lily Evans certainly not helping matters, and over the years grows very cold to her. She’s not a son so is useless to inherit, she’s nothing like him, and she’s just an all around disappointment. James very quickly gets remarried for political purposes, marrying a far less scandelous pureblood witch from pick your prestigious family, and they have a son meaning that Lily is no longer heir.

Lily thus attends Hogwarts as essentially the half-blood Potter. She’s for all intents and purposes a bastard child, one barely acknowledged by her father, and is also weird. As a result I imagine she’s bullied relentlessly much in the manner Luna is. For years.

I imagine Luna Lovegood is her only friend, as the pair have bonded over constantly having their stuff destroyed and being locked out of their dormitories. 

Enter Lily’s seventh year and thus the plot.

The outside world is looming and Lily effectively has no future. Despite being the daughter of Lord Potter, she’s in a similar position that Tom Riddle was. She won’t be hired into the Ministry or basically any position thanks to her dubious heritage as well as the fact that no one likes her.

Mostly, she just wants out. She wants out of the country where everyone knows exactly who she is and where she came from. Her best hope for this is employment with the goblins but she needs recommendations from a professor. Her best bet is Slughorn, but while he’s always been awed of her ability after seven years of Lily the charm has worn off. Lily has never received an invitation to the Slug Club.

Lily realizes that to get out she must become popular so someone can vouch for her to Slughorn. Not to mention her life might become slightly, slightly, less miserable. So, Lily approaches the Heathers. Much like in the film/musical, Lily offers her services to them for the fee of making nice, pretending to like her, and getting her an in with Slughorn.

This spirals out of control as the Heathers instead do the makeover and make Lily suddenly cool. She’s suddenly invited to parties, people talk to her, it’s a whole new world.

Around this time, Lily in the room of requirement happens to stumble across the diary (nevermind how he gets there, we’ll pretend Tom just never managed to smuggle him out of the castle). Tom has been trapped in there, dying, and Lily obliviously informs him that all his ambitions and sacrifices amounted to nothing. There was no dark lord after Grindelwald, she’s never heard of a Tom Riddle, and everything she describes makes it sound like nothing has changed.

Tom Riddle inexplicably vanished off the face of the earth leaving only the diary behind.

Naturally, Tom is very pissed about this, and sets about plotting how he can return, trying to get Lily to open up by asking her for help returning him to his body. Lily does him one better and just returns him to his body without any sacrifice, casually remarking that she’s always been like this as long as she can remember, fully accepting Tom to yell “SHE’S A WITCH! BURN HER!” to her face as everyone else does.

Tom, however, is floored and everything he’s ever known to be true is thrown out the window. He decides to make Lily his new pet project. 

Unfortunately for him, by this point Lily has a Slug Club to attend, only it goes horribly wrong. The Heathers have purposefully set about humiliating Luna, Lily’s only friend, and Lily has to very publicly break ties with them even though it means sacrificing her only real chance of leaving the country with gainful employment. Worse, the Heathers promise wrath the likes of which Lily has never seen before.

Lily, devastated and despairing, goes back to Tom and confesses all the shitiness of her extremely shitty life and how she doesn’t even know what the Heathers will do to her now. Tom finds this a little odd, as Lily has quickly proven herself the most powerful person on the planet, but he’s willing to play along. More to the point, Lily and Tom’s relationship goes from 0 to 100 as he is not only the first guy to show interest in her but he’s very very interested and very very hot. When Lily decides to beg Alpha Heather for forgiveness, Tom notes that he’ll come with, he’s better with people than she is.

Tom, having hit a low point of nihilist rage thanks to Voldemort having amounted to nothing, poisons Alpha Heather and dutifully covers for Lily by writing her suicide note. This works. There is an ecstasy of joyous grief throughout the school as staff and students alike confess how they never knew the true Heather. Lily is astounded, Tom is ecstatic.

Lily tries to return to life as normal, goes back to hanging out with Luna, but also has to introduce Tom to the school. Tom suggests she mind wipes everyone, that makes Lily uncomfortable, so she instead confesses what she believes is the truth in that Tom was trapped in an enchanted object. Dumbledore nearly has a stroke, but since Tom Riddle never became Voldemort, it’s more that this is a solution to an unsolved mystery and the castle is glad Tom isn’t actually dead. They’d thought he got hit by one of those muggle bombs during WWIII or whatever it was the muggles had going on. 

HA HA HA HA, but no, Tom says in response.

In the meantime Tom gets to witness Lily’s weird and strained relationship with her father, his friends, and her younger half-brother. Tom points out that Lily seeking out gainful employment is unnecessary. Lily doesn’t have to be a part of society, like all these worthless people around her, she’s so powerful that she can do whatever she likes however she likes it. She can simply leave the country, she could become a dark lord even, there’s nothing stopping her. Lily’s never thought of it like that before, to become a true part of society, to be accepted on some level by that society, has always just seemed like the obvious path to her. What else would she do?

Due to this, Lily and Tom’s relationship continues to grow as they’re really the first people to see each other as they are. Naturally, this is when shit hits the fan. Thanks to Tom, Lily’s invited to another Slug Club with him (Tom can still become minister even if he was trapped in a book for fifty years! Slughorn says). Lily gets hit on and nearly sexually assaulted by some of the boys there, Lily gets out, but the next day rumor circulates around the school that Lily was in a threesome with them.

Tom Riddle sets up a ridiculous scheme in which he fakes their murder suicide where they confess to being homosexual. Lily is increasingly horrified. The school, once again, is in an ecstasy of joyful grief over the loss of these two, beautiful, oppressed, gay souls. Lily realizes that Tom is A Bad Dude (TM) and tries to confront him. He easily confesses he cares nothing about these people and has decided he wants to watch society burn. These are the people who thought he had died in the Blitz and did nothing. They are people who cannot and will not change. They’re the absentee fathers who dote on far less powerful, pureblood, sons. Tom has officially, completely, given up on the wizarding world and now he will destroy it as quickly and horrifically as he can. Lily, not belonging to society, can pour the kerosene on with him.

This is getting a little too gnarly for Lily and she dumps Tom.

Unfortunately, he quickly becomes exceedingly popular thanks to his angelic face, his natural charm and charisma, and his understanding of people. He passes around a petition for suicide and bullying awareness that everybody and their brother signs. What they’re really signing is pages from the diary which, much like Death Note, promises him both their magic and their life force.

Tom confronts Lily and admits he’s going to murder everybody, an entire generation of wizards and witches gone in an instant, AND LILY CAN BE HIS DARK QUEEN! Lily and Tom get into a fight, Tom accidentally murders the shit out of her and is devestated, only of course for Lily to wake up later after he’s left because she was unwittingly immortal this whole time.

Rising from the dead, Lily hunts Tom down before he can blow up the school, and sucks him back into the diary. Upon graduation Lily makes up with Luna, still has no prospects and plans to go and be homeless in India, has hesitantly gotten in contact with Lily Evans, basically has no contact left with her father, and has a boyfriend diary named Tom who might be let out in fifty years if he promises not to blow up a school. 

#ask #anon #lily and the art of being sisyphus #heathers

[gtseven7]

Seven Princes

Summary:

Seven handsome travelling entertainers capture hearts of the crowd by their amazing voices and artisic dancing as they slowly drain their audience's inner soul magic.

A/N:

Okay so there's not much of the boys here in this chapter. Fear not! This is only the start and I'll be focusing on them more on the next chapters coming. The two characters appearing on this chapter is from my own original story Blood Queen (which you can find on wattpad and my writeblr: annieslibrary) because for me, the au exists in the same universe as them. This chapter and the chapters that has the two of them was only to build up the lore of the universe. They will not be mainly in the story don't worry. I promise next chapter will have all of the boys.

prev/next

--

2

It was a sunny afternoon, with light breeze flowing, gently blowing Rianon's hair. The ex-princess' black hair dances as the wind caresses her face. She daintily walks the crowded street with a bread in hand. It's a long way till they get to Condor, the center of all magic, and they weren't in a hurry anymore. She feels like she went in a vacation after everything that has happened, Rianon thinks a holiday is well deserved. Coming out of war barely scathed requires a great deal of rest.

Walking beside her trusted partner: Indulf, the ex-princess couldn't really ask for more.

[[MORE]]

"This is nice Indulf. I think taking our time to travel, see the world out there while we try to get to Condor was a great idea."

The lady hunter smiled at Rianon. She couldn't remember the last time she had relaxed, probably never. Since the fall of her small town when she was young in Dilfae; Indulf never really had a rest. This was probably the best time to do it, with the person she cherishes the most.

As they are peacefully walking, side by side, admiring the busy people of the market; ladies who seemed to be in a hurry bumped into the Rianon. She was no longer a frail woman, but the suddeness of the collision caused her to stumble a bit. The ladies shoved them out of the way to run over what seemed to be a gathering of masses from afar.

"What the...! Are you okay?" Indulf asked while helping the other regain her balance. Holding her arm, the redhead hunter glared at the women who bumped them. It was futile because they were out of sight as they have already been swallowed by the large crowd ahead.

"I'm fine." Rianon said off handedly, her interest already piqued by the commotion. "What do you think that is? It looks like a large tent." The ex-princess stood on tippy toes to get a better view, but to no avail, the large mass of people covered up her sight. "I don't know..." Indulf couldn't really care less about what the ruckus, she just wanted to stroll around the market, maybe eat some good food. But Rianon's eyes were shining with curiosity as she walks faster to get into the thick crowd. "Rianon! I don't think it's wise to get involved in that..." The redhead tried to stop her companion. Catching the arms of the princess didn't seem to stop her. She even stopped a woman running towards the crowd as well.

"Hey! Uhmm... What's with that? What's happening?"

Indulf wanted smack her head to her palm but resisted. Even after the bloodbath they have been through, Rianon's excitable child-like character did not cease. It's nice yes, but sometimes Indulf hoped it was gone.

"Oh! The Seven Princes are here!"

"The Seven Princes?"

The woman matched Rianon's excitement. Her eyes were shining and her mouth smiled too wide. It's kind of creepy on the stranger's face.

"Yes! They are seven handsome performers! You should watch them, this is their last night in town!"

And there it is: hook, line and sinker. Once the word 'handsome performers' dropped out of the woman's mouth, Indulf knew she'll regret it.

"Indulf! Performers! Let's go see!"

"Ugh. Why?"

Rianon pouted at her partner, trying to manipulate her into saying yes as she usually does. The lady hunter might say she is tough, but she melts like she always does whenever Rianon pulls out her best techniques. One of them including batting her eyelashes at her while she pouts.

"Please? I haven't seen any shows in a while! You know I love things like these!"

Of course she hasn't watched in a long time, with a raging war in their hands before, a show was in no one's mind.

And as always, Indulf said begrudingly: "Ugh. Fine. Lead the way."

-

A large mass of power was what Indulf felt once she set foot near the tent. Waves and waves of magic tingles her skin. The red magical stone dangling on her neck reacts slightly.

"There's a strong whiff of sorcery here Ria. Can you feel it?"

The other nodded, admiring the large black tent. It was glamorous, as gold shines in the linings of the tent's cloth. "They must be magicians. A group of travelling performers from Condor. Maybe we could ask them if they know how to fix us."

"Maybe... I have a bad feeling about this."

Rianon laughed slightly, a playful judging expression on her face. "You never really liked magic Indulf." With a feigned hurt, Indulf responded. "I do now! Look where it got me." A sly smile graced her mouth as she looked at the ex-princess carefully. Reading her face if she got what the hunter was saying. And she did. A slight tinge on her cheeks surfaced.

Soul swap may have been unfortunate on their first meeting, but by now both can say it was a blessing instead of a curse.

Their moment was interrupted when a tall figure of a man came beside Rianon. Startling the princess when he bent down a little to greet them. "Hey." His face full of sophisticated boyish charm as he grins at them. "Hey..." The two greeted back.

The man was wearing an elegant prince-wear. Black velvet adorned with gold pieces of jewelry. His face, posture and clothes screamed royalty. His eyes shines in different colors. Magic was strong in him and both women can feel it.

"I can't help but notice the two of you when I took a peek earlier. I must say you two are the most beautiful women in this crowd."

A charmer indeed and Rianon was weak for that as she stares at his face while Indulf stood in careful interest.

"Are you one of the performers?" asked the redhead. The man turned his blinding smile and alluring eyes towards Indulf. His eyes crinkling a little, emphasizing the small mole under his left eye. "Yes I am. You're here for the show right?"

"Yes we are!"

"I'm glad to hear that, come with me, I'll get you two the best seats."

He made a slight extravagant gesture of bowing and stretching his hands towards the backdoor of the tent. "We'll go in now? The rest of them are still waiting."

"Think of this as special treatment for special people."

Least to say, the lady hunter was suspicious.

Going inside the tent, both knew the difference the outer and inner structure. If the outside was glamorous, inside was just shining paradise. It was huge with lots of lights around and a stage in the middle of four staged bleachers. The extravagance of it was all magic and it did not escape in both ladies' eyes.

In the middle of it all, on the stage were five men looking as if they are royalty as well. Velvet red and black. They were looking at their other member walking towards them. If the man beside them was tall, the one beaming at them was taller. While the one they first met has slightly darker shade, the man that stopped before them was white. His skin looked as if it was dazzling. And like the first they met, the feeling of power was strong in him too.

"BamBam! You brought in the ladies already?" He smiled at them while teasing his brother. The man beside Rianon whose name was BamBam apparently only laughed. "Hello to the two of you. Thank you for taking interest in us."

Realizing that she was staring with mouth slightly agape, Rianon snapped out of her daze. "Yes! Well, hahaha, I love performers and magicians."

Both men raised their eyebrows as they heard her acknowledge their craft that no ordinary people can pick up on.

Both lead the two to the seat closest to the stage, still chatting them up. "Oh! I forgot to ask, what are your names?"

"I'm Rianon," then she pointed to her companion, "this is Indulf."

"Beautiful names! I'm BamBam and this is Yugyeom."

Indulf was about to ask them if they were performers who came from Condor as entertainers like them usually came from that place. They might me able to help them with their situation right now if they know enough magic. And it seems that they do considering the whole place. But she did not get the chance as both men were called back by the others so they retreated back and bid goodbye.

Indulf really is having a bad feeling about this whole thing.

#got7 #got7 imagines #bambam #kim yugyeom #mark tuan #jackson wang #im jaebum #park jinyoung #choi youngjae #magic au #blood queen #fanfic #got7 fanfic

[ghostbustermelanieking]

voyage to norfolk

set about a year and a half after msiv.

They drive to Norfolk in the late days of September, Mulder and Scully and their infant daughter and their grown son. Jackson is eighteen, a legal adult. He's staying in the spare room that they've slowly began converting to his. He restarted his junior year of high school a few weeks ago. Lily is nine months, expected to start walking any day now. She giggles and kicks her legs like a swimmer in her car seat, chews on one of her toys joyfully. She loves being in the car. (“Just like her dad,” Scully has said on occasion. It makes Jackson uncomfortable and he can't explain why. Maybe he doesn't want them to start listing traits he's inherited from them, even though he could make that list, easily.)

Jackson, Mulder, and Scully rotate between the driver's seat even though it's only a three hour drive. Jackson drives with a carefulness that surprises them, he can tell. (Mulder says it's because he inherited his driving skills instead of Scully. Scully privately thinks that it's because of Lily, and she would be right. He is overly careful when he spends time with his sister because he can't bear the thought of hurting anyone else. He's damaged too many people to do anything to this kid.) Mostly, Jackson just likes to drive. There's a peacefulness to being behind the wheel that he enjoys. Mulder usually sits up front with him, bickering companionably with him or offering unasked-for stories about cryptids he's encountered in the area that Jackson secretly loves. Scully sits in the backseat most of the time, quiet, playing with the baby, but he knows she is listening, enjoys listening. She bickers companionably with Mulder, too, as Jackson suspects they will someday bicker with the kid. They seem to be a companionable bickering type. (Mulder loves to bicker with him, but Scully treads carefully, an unshed habit except for when it's things like school or eating healthy or leaving for days and not calling. She seems to feel guilty about more.)

When they drive past the coast, Jackson is filled with a certain nostalgia. He misses the beach, he misses home, he misses his parents. He drives past the ocean with a lump building in his throat. Let me give you the tour, he thinks bitingly, flipping on his turn signal. Here's where my grandfather tried to kill me and here's where he sent the men to kill my parents. Here's where I caused a car crash just because to see if I could. And here is where my girlfriends almost killed each other because of me. He doesn't know why he wanted to come back here.

They go to the cemetery first. Jackson parks at the edge of the bright green lawn, pauses for a moment in the front seat with his hands clenched around the wheel. He can't do this. He hasn't seen his parents since last Christmas, freezing and shivering in the graveyard as rain pounded the ground and tears dripped down his face. He hadn't worn a coat and he tried to hear his mother's scolding in the back of his head. When Sarah had broken up with him and Bri hadn't ever texted back, he hadn't been able to ask anyone to come and check on their graves. He could've asked his old friends, he supposes, and some of them probably would've come, but it was somehow harder to face them than Bri or Sarah. (Not that it would've been any easier to face them. He was a fucking idiot, here in Norfolk, and now he guesses it's time to be a fucking idiot in Farrs Corner. But a different kind. The normal kind. One that doesn't leave anyone dead.)

“Want us to go with you?” Mulder asks gently from beside him, and it's only then that Jackson realizes that he hasn't moved in several long minutes. Hands gripping the wheel too hard.

Scully is watching from the back, Lily fussing against her shoulder. “We'd be glad to,” she offers.

Jackson shakes his head, his jaw tight. “No,” he says. Bringing them there would be like a betrayal, he thinks. Like spitting on their graves.

He climbs out of the car, pausing only to retrieve the bouquets of flowers from the trunk. He's halfway towards the plot where his parents are buried when he turns around, coming back to the car. He doesn't know why he wants to do this, but for whatever reason, he does. He doesn't want to go alone and if he can't ask Mulder and Scully to go with him, maybe he can ask something else. He opens the backseat and asks Scully in a low voice, “Can I take her?” Some part of him inside, some younger part who used to be excited for his parents to meet his friends, to see the two worlds meet, wants them to meet his sister. He can't explain it, but he does. And taking the kid, even if she'll have no idea what's going on, is better than going alone.

Scully hesitates for only a minute, brief surprise flickering over her face, before nodding and lifting Lily out of the seat. Jackson takes her in the crook of one arm, juggling her between the bouquets. Lily giggles, tugging on Jackson's overlong hair in a soggy fist. He grimaces affectionately at the kid; time for a haircut, probably. He bounces Lily once on his hip. And then he sets off again, the roses (his dad's favorite, what he always gave his mom on their anniversary) tickling his nose and the kid yanking alternately on his hair or earlobe like she's on an amusement park ride and feels she needs to hold on.

At their graves (the words loom large in his mind, like they're bolded and capitalized; he can't get away from them), he mutters in the baby's ear, “These are my parents, Lils. I'm visiting my other mom and dad.” Only, a part of his mind insists; it feels traitorous to acknowledge Mulder and Scully as the other. They gave him up, gave up their rights to that. But. They love him, and Lils, and he is the kid's brother. Unquestionably. He has been the kid's brother since he held her for the first time, since he sensed her presence in the back of his mind, the most trusting that anyone has ever been around him, and he'd thought, I need to make sure that what happened to me never happens to her. He can't be her brother and not be Mulder and Scully's son, even if he will never be the son they want him to be. And Mulder and Scully love Lils and him both. They've given him a bedroom, food, clothes, a life. Despite everything that's happened, all the lying and the seizures and the faked deaths and the manipulations. So. They are the other parents. He has no choice.

He feels the need to crouch on the ground before his parents’ graves and beg forgiveness.

He sets Lily on the ground and kneels by his parents gravestones, lying the roses on the ground. Presses his palm against one of them, traces his mother's name with his thumb. “I'm sorry, Mom,” he whispers. “Dad. I'm so, so sorry.” He's said that every time he's come here, and it still isn't enough. Maybe he'll still be saying it twenty years from now.

Lily gurgles cheerfully, yanking up grass in her fists. Jackson wipes tears from his face. He wants to curl up between their graves, the way he used to lie between them in bed when he was little. He wants to be small again, if only because they'd still be alive.  

He sits down on the grass, cross-legged, and stays with his parents for a few minutes. He doesn't talk because he doesn't know what to say, but he thinks that might be okay. They'd always been okay with sitting in silence. He hopes they understand.

When he is ready to leave, he scoops up Lily and whispers to his parents, “I'm safe. I'm okay. I miss you so much. I'm sorry.” The most vulnerable he'll let himself be. He wipes his face again.

“Gaaaaah,” says Lily, very seriously, like a little mini Scully. She's got that stern look in her face, the icy blue eyes that manage to be warm and steely all at the same time; it's kind of creepy. But the kid's Mini Scully Impression still seems sincere, somehow, like she's trying to express her care. Jackson waves goodbye to his parents before walking back to the car, letting the kid grip his t-shirt and smear it with grass stains all the way there.

Mulder and Scully are waiting outside, watching him carefully. They've knocked down most of the awkward walls and bounds between them (they even ground him now, go fucking figure, isn't he supposed to be an adult at this age?), but this is an area they all tread carefully around. The subject of his Other Parents. The only ones he's ever known.

When he suggested this trip, they'd both agreed without question. Don't want to cross that line, or maybe they wanted a real family vacation, no matter how fucked up. Whatever the reason, they're here now.

Mulder lifts Lily out of Jackson's arms instinctively, watching him carefully. Lily presses her tiny hands to his face and says, “Ahhh-guh-guh.”

“Yes,” Jackson replies, deadpan. He's remembering when he was five and he begged and pleaded for a little brother or sister. They'd tried to adopt a little girl but it'd fallen through. He wonders if it would've been like this. “Ahhh-guh-guh, Lils. Very observant.”

“You okay, Jackson?” Scully asks, a hand going to his back. “I know this has to be hard for you.”

“Yeah, I'm…” He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “I'm fine,” he says, but his voice cracks. He looks down at the ground, tears blurring his eyes. They buried his grandmother in this graveyard. He never thought they'd…

Scully steps forward like she can hear his thoughts—and that's right, she can—and wraps her arms around him. He doesn't wriggle away like he might have a year ago. He lets her hug him. He might hug her back. Mulder reaches out with his Lily-free hand and squeezes his shoulder.

As of yesterday, it's been two years since his parents died. Two years since Scully stood over his not-dead body and tearfully apologized to him again and again. They've come a long way since then.

---

He wonders sometimes if his parents would disapprove of what he's doing now. Living with his birth parents after everything that happened, everything he did. He would've gone somewhere else but there was nowhere else to go. He didn't have other relatives, anyone else to live with. He likes to think they'd want him to be safe, no matter who it's with, but his birth parents were the subject of several arguments, several tension-filled moments between the three of them. He wonders if they'd be upset, him living almost constantly with his birth parents and a new baby sister. His chest stings at the thought of it. He never wants to disappoint them again. They died because of him, it was his fault.

But that night in the hotel, lying in the room that he has to himself (that's Mulder and Scully catering to him, or maybe one grumpy kid is enough) and listening to Lily wail through the wall, he dimly remembers a conversation he had with his mom once. At six, he'd been angry and sullen, demanding to know why his birth parents had given them up, storming around his room and kicking toes over in a prepubescent rage. “Well, maybe they couldn't take care of you,” his mom had said gently. “And they knew that you would've had a much better life with us than with them.”

He'd pouted, flopping down on the couch with his arms crossed. “Then they must be pretty bad people then,” he said angrily. “If they couldn't have taken care of me.”

His mom went quiet, uncertain. She sat down beside him and pulled him onto her lap. “Baby, they must’ve been pretty good people if they could make you.”

Jackson swallows, rolling onto his side. He doesn't know what to say, how to apologize. But he has to believe that they'd be okay with it. He has to. His parents would want him to be safe and secure and happy, wouldn't they. And he doesn't know if he is that. Happy. But he likes to think he will be, someday. When he gets some space. When he starts over. And it's not as if it's a fleeting emotion—there are times when he's been sort of happy, with his new friends he's made in Farrs Corner at the job he'd insisted on getting or prowling the woods with the dog or at the dinner table with Mulder and Scully and the kid, when he finds himself reflexively laughing and realizes that he isn't trying to care about these people. (He doesn't have to try. It's hard, sometimes, but it isn't forced. Not anymore.)

In the morning, he goes down for breakfast and finds Mulder and Scully at a table, Scully with a plate of fruit and a bowl of oatmeal, Mulder eating a sticky hotel lobby waffle. Lily is dozing fitfully on his shoulder with a pacifier drooping from her mouth. “Hi, Jackson,” says Scully. “How'd you sleep?”

“Fine,” he says, sitting down across from them and resisting the urge to add, Better than you; he may not have actively heard Lily crying half the night, but he can sense the exhaustion emnating from all three of them. “Hi, Mulder,” he adds. “Hi, kiddo.”

Lily blinks sleepily at him, as grouchy as he's seen Scully on any given morning after a late night at the hospital. “Lils is a little grouchy this morning,” Mulder says affectionately, cupping the back of her head. (Surprisingly chipper for a guy who barely slept. “Insomniacs fare better with a new baby,” Scully had said tensely over a cup of coffee about six months ago. “Too bad Mulder wasn't around when you were a baby.”) “Meanwhile, your mother's headed that way. Those new kids Skinner assigned to the X-Files are stuck on a case, and they want our expertise.”

Scully's already rolling her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee; Headed? Jackson hears against his skull, prickly and annoyed, but more good-natured than six months ago. She reaches up to where Lily is and lets the baby curl her hand around her finger. “What case, Mulder?” she says in the soft voice she reserves for when The Baby Is Sleeping. “There is no case. They're stuck because there is nothing to find.”

Jackson raises his eyebrows, settling into his chair. He's heard this argument before and knows how to chime in. “Okay, fine,” he says. “What is it? I'll give my input and help you out.”

Mulder—usually the receiver of Jackson's inevitable support—grins. Scully mutters something about not knowing how much actual help he provides. So more or less a normal breakfast.

---

Jackson takes Mulder, Scully, and Lils to a restaurant that he describes fondly, remembers fondly. He'd spent half of his afternoons here, the night after he went to prom with Bri and her friends, dinner after dinner with his parents. He tells them a story of having his seventh birthday party here, laughing so hard that soda spills all over his shirt as he describes one of his friends trying to start a food fight with handfuls of his birthday cake. Mulder and Scully listen, Scully bouncing Lils on her knee. Jackson can tell that this is a little hard for them to hear, but they pretend well, listen attentively. They do care; they've asked him about the missing years a lot, want to know about him. He's been the same way, asking more and more questions as the months stretched on. He wanted to know her better, he'd told her two years ago. And now he does.

Across the restaurant, Mulder nudges Scully and points out someone that looks like Brianna. (They're probably trying to be subtle, but it doesn't work; Jackson doesn't know how Mulder managed to hide out for six years without getting caught.) Bri is watching them with a strange look on her face, like she might want to come over and talk to Jackson. Jackson pretends not to see her. It's been two years and he likes to think he's matured a little (even if not much). Lily smears Scully's food all over her face when she's not looking, and Jackson laughs as hard as anyone.

He takes them to the old playground he remembers from his childhood and pushes Lils on the baby swings. He goes to his old schools and looks around, tries to remember being a kid again. Mulder and Scully go with them, their eyes starry like they are trying to imagine themselves in this life. They go to his house, where someone else is living now, and he is unable to go to the door and knock. He wonders how many people in this town still think he is a murderer.

Mulder tousles his hair before wrapping his arm around Jackson's skinny shoulders. Scully holds Lily with one arm, but her other hand is on his wrist. They stand together for a moment and look at the house. The lights are off, no car in the driveway, but Jackson won't break in. He wants to, but he won't.

They go to the beach, a private spot that he loves. Mulder has inflatable water wings on Lily even though Scully won't let him take her any further than the shoreline. Jackson wades in up to his ankles, lets the saltwater lap over his feet. Behind him, he can hear Lily's laughter, can feel her happiness in the back of his mind. He smiles thinly. He hopes Lils will have a happy life, a good childhood. Better than him. And he thinks Mulder and Scully will be able to give her that. After all, there's no

Scully steps up beside him, her face turned towards the horizon. “You know we grew up on the coast too, right?” she says, her hand raised up to her eyes to shield it from the sun. Her hair is whipped wildly around her face in the wind. “Mulder in Martha's Vineyard. Me in San Diego.”

“Yeah, I think you mentioned that,” Jackson says. The wind is mussing his hair too, blowing it tangly. He really needs a haircut. He'll mention it sometime next week.

Scully smiles dimly, wiping her hands on her shirt. “I enjoyed seeing where you grew up,” she says, and means it; he knows she wants to know the kind of life he had without her. “It's a beautiful town.”

He swallows. He knows this trip couldn't have been easy, especially considering everything they'd gone through in Norfolk. “It is, yeah,” he says. He swallows again, his mouth dry. “I kind of… miss this place sometimes,” he says, and means something else. His parents’ graves on the bright green lawn. Maybe he'll come back at Christmas again. Maybe he'll call his friends tonight and see if they want to go out tonight. (But not to his old hangouts, the Chimera or the sugar factory; those are forever ruined.)

Scully rubs his back, the two of them looking to the horizon. “I know,” she says softly. And she does. The three of them, Mulder and Scully and him, understand loss better than anything. It's a shared language, one that he hopes Lils will not have to learn for a long, long time.

They don't turn until they hear Mulder's panicked, “Lily!” and the kid's delighted squeals. Jackson whirls, stumbling on the sand, in time to see Lily stumbling away from the water where she'd been balancing holding onto Mulder's hand. She takes a few wobbly steps before landing on the sand on her hands and knees. Mulder swoops in and scoops her up as if to comfort her, but the kid is laughing with delight. Scully is at their side in a second, kissing the top of Lily's head, an arm wrapped around Mulder's waist.

Jackson smirks; that kid knows exactly how to get everyone's attention. She's already spotted him over her (their) mother's shoulder. She waves her arms wildly as if motioning him over, giving him an insistent look. The feeling she's transmitting has no actual words, but if it did, it'd probably be something like, Get the hell over here, asshole, this is my moment.

Jackson goes, the waves crashing over his feet as he joins his sister and his other parents on the beach.

#i dunno what this is it just kind happened #but i wanted to write something about jackson so i did #xf fanfic #i wrote this

[ganymedesclock]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who despises the idea of Lancelot as a plot line for the sake of angst and suspense because, even if it didn't validate horrible stereotypes, it's just extremely uncomfortable to have to watch, probably even more so if some viewers traumatic experiences with someone preying on them in a sexual way.

Have some more reasons why I don’t like it, then! :D

The VLD writers have emphasized Lotor as a character who’s unlike his father, and this and the overall hype around him suggests Lotor is going to stand out.

Making Lotor in any way abusive, someone who throws power around to get what he wants when it comes to prisoners and desperate people who can’t defend themselves- really doesn’t make him stand out at all. It’d make him a slightly different flavor of the general controlling unpleasant jerk we’ve seen most of the commanders play into. It makes him another Morvok, another Warden, another Prorok.

I don’t think Lotor is going to be a sweet innocent puppy. I mean, with the promise that the galra political situation is going to get pretty dang interesting I expect to see that in order for Lotor to stay at least near the top of this suddenly headless organization, he’s going to need to be the type to roll up his sleeves and go for the kill. 

DotU Lotor was a very calculating character, but also one with his own standards. I understand there was a plotline where a villain separate from the drule (galra) was planning to extort the paladins for medicine they needed, and Lotor’s response was to attack him and prevent him from doing that, because what the hell dude? Allura is dying. 

So that’s going to be interesting if that’s a trait they boil over to VLD Lotor, and I swear I heard a writer interview mentioning that “odd sense of chivalry” is one of the things that appealed to them about the character. Which, bereft of the general abject sexism in DotU, “weirdly chivalrous” cannot coexist with “predatory romantic behavior” without the latter making the former seem like a palatable farce that has no actual deeper bearing on their character.

You cannot say “this guy’s predatory but he’s like. noble about it.” It doesn’t work that way. Chivalry at its core is respect for people and their autonomy and that covers people you find attractive. The whole concept of chivalry is “acknowledge that you have power and maybe don’t leverage that over defenseless people to get what you want at their expense.” They’re either playing chivalrous Lotor or they’re playing creep Lotor. You can’t have both. It ain’t gonna work.

The only reason that DotU… sort of, got away with that idea is because of, again, a lot of sexist writing, that humanizing and sympathizing with Lotor is no problem because they’re okay more or less sweeping under the rug what he’s done to Allura. And Force pretty much went the opposite way- throwing away Lotor’s chivalrous elements in favor of playing him up as creepy and controlling, which… I’m not a fan of since it feels like they chose to retain the less compelling side of his personality.

Honestly, a calculating person who’s spent their entire life raised in a semi-dystopic spacefaring empire trying to grapple with a strongly-held sense of personal morals would be really interesting to watch, especially in how it could create serious conflict, because there’s no way in hell Zarkon’s ideas about “weakness” and emotional sensitivity have not majorly affected his relationship with his son, especially considering in DotU Zarkon mocked Lotor all the time, and Lotor historically has been a very emotional person. (biggest reason why I think his heroic counterpart is most likely Lance, who’s the most emotionally free-flowing of the team!)

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Lotor #seasons-of-stories #anti lancelot /

[saotome-michi]

I'm someone who agrees with your opinion on yoi completely! A lot of my friends are big fans so I don't really have anyone to discuss my issues of representation with seriously, so I'm happy to have found your blog!!! Also, what are your opinions on Flip Flappers and their LGBT representation?

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, wanted to finish watching Flip Flappers before I answered your ask ;) also I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog and yoi criticism posts!

I’m not 100% sure what you mean by your question though. Are you asking whether I think Flip Flappers is LGBT rep? Or are you asking about how I think Flip Flappers depicts Papika/Cocona’s relationship?

If its the former, I’ve talked about how anime is a gray area when it comes to lgbt representation. Particularly shinya anime. It’s just not on the same scale as tv dramas or mainstream movies or books (that are not marketed as BL or GL). So while there are probably Japanese wlws who love Cocona and Papika’s story to most Japanese ppl it just doesn’t really “register” as LGBT representation, y'know? Especially since Yuri at this point is a well-established genre.

You can kind of see that in this interview with the Flip Flappers Director, Oshiyama Kiyotaka (https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/5m1p17/an_interview_with_flip_flappers_director_kiyotaka/) Note the way he talks about yuri, as something “viewers nowadays find easy to hook into” with its own rules and conventions that one shouldn’t break.

If it’s the latter that you’re asking about however, I can talk about Papika/Cocona and yuri references. I recommend that you first read a post I made on yuri media recently, including the article that I link to in that post.

Post: ( http://saotome-michi.tumblr.com/post/157599879119/i-got-these-two-similar-asks-so-i-thought-id)

Finished reading? Cool, let’s move on to Flip Flappers.

(SPOILERS!!!)

Flip Flappers is a moe anime with really obvious yuri themes and references for yuri fans. The setting has no boys who are Cocona’s age and few important male characters,and the Papika/Cocona relationship is sprinkled with romantic undertones.

The main theme in the anime is Cocona’s fear of making her own decisions and failing. For example, Episode 3 with the desert land has Cocona running into a goddess(?) who just oozes the ero sadomasochist yuri archetype. Her interactions with Cocona warn us of Cocona’s desire to submit. Not sexually, but just submit in every way possible by letting someone else take the reins and make the decisions for her, which foreshadows what Mimi does towards the end of the series. Similarly, Episode 5, which is chock full of Class S Yuri references, from the all girls school to the constant lily imagery, has Cocona and Papika fall into a loop where they become passive participants in the dimension.

Ep 7 is the fan-favorite episode for Papika/Cocona. I’ve seen meta posts here on tumblr saying that its about Cocona struggling to leave the closet which was ?? to me tbh. I can understand why people interpret it that way, but to me this episode was strictly about Cocona’s lack of confidence in herself and her relationship with Papika, placed in the format of a dating sim/otome game. At the beginning of the episode, Cocona is scared that her actions in PI have caused Iroha senpai to change. This causes her to lack faith in herself and Cocona, which is why the PI in this episode is a world that doesn’t change, where Cocona and the different Papikas can do whatever without fearing the consequences of their actions. However, after spending time with the different Papikas, Cocona realizes that such a world is not worth it. She’d rather stride forward, knowing Papika will always catch her, and live with the consequences.

Sidenote: You know that nail clippers scene in ep 7 that ppl on reddit/tumblr were saying was a sign of lesbianism? I actually thought of the Japanese horror legend thing that goes “Don’t cut your nails at night otherwise your parents will die and you’ll never see them again” especially with the creepy Papika in the scene (btw this legend freaked me out as a kid I never clipped my nails at night) Thought it was a hint that Salt was Cocona’s dad. But as it turns out, they literally just put the nail clippers there for fun lmao. No deep meaning to it at all, they just brainstormed what could be in the desk and someone suggested nail clippers and that was apparently the most interesting idea they had. Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/315ByFFK/status/819949388134957060

I’m not denying that a part of Cocona’s journey is acknowledging her ~sexuality~ but I disagree with those who focus solely on that. On a more basic level it’s about Cocona finding the courage to make her own decisions and Papika helping her do that, by assuring her she’s not alone and by pointing out the ways their world is fun. Hence why the PI at the very end of ep 13 is a dull, drab world- because Cocona thinks that its a world without Papika.

But now that I’ve finally finished Flip Flappers I’m wondering if there’s PapiCoco fic that actually acknowledges that Papika is mentally around 18 years older than Cocona and is besties with her parents. Where is that fic, I would like to read it.

#replies replies replies #pixiehearts #flip flappers #long post