#being gay on main at your own art

[twelve-forfend]

Well, I did say this was a multi-fandom blog... Alright, let's do this.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord's Bamboo House

(and the symbolism therein, as recorded in the donghua)

I was snooping through the establishing shots of the Qing Jing Peak Lord's Bamboo House, and had to laugh as I always do at all the gay symbolism that managed to sneak its way inside. But then I looked a little closer, and was floored by just how much passive storytelling was packed into background assets. I talked about it at length over discord, and at the urging of others decided to make a shareable post on social media as well.

First, the shots which first piqued my interest in this topic years ago:

Shen Yuan transmigrates into the stallion-genre webnovel entitled 狂傲仙魔途 (translated as Proud Immortal Demon Way). The author's and his own usernames are dick jokes.

Notice the chrysanthemum vase, the cock vase, and the stallion statuette.

The stallion and cock are obvious nods to these jokes on their own, but for the uninitiated, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of gay sex between men, as the asshole itself is often euphemistically referred to as a chrysanthemum. This should have been Shen Yuan's first clue that not all is as it seems here! These are the personal quarters of Shen Jiu — the original Shen Qingqiu!

But let's move to the main room you first walk into upon entering the bamboo house.

There it is: the writing on the wall.

As the Peak Lord of strategy and the scholarly arts, Shen Qingqiu would naturally have calligraphy and paintings hanging everywhere! So let's break it down.

On the top we have 道㳒自然 ("Dao Follows Nature"), which comes from a Dao teaching by Laozi (founder of Daoism) meaning that life, death, the entire universe, the heavens and earth and everything outside and inbetween, all follow a set of laws referred to as the nature of things. Although unrelated to the Buddhist couplet below, it's certainly relevant!

Originally hanging in right-to-left order, I've arranged them to read left to right here to make things easier to keep track of. The calligraphy reads 西方竹葉千年翠；南海蓮九品香 and is a couplet commonly found in Guanyin temples. My classical chinese is not as strong as I'd like, but this translates roughly to "The bamboo leaves in Paradise are green for a thousand years / The fragrance of lotus flowers in the South China Sea is as thick as 9 sticks of incense."

The character 西 for West is used to denote the destination of enlightenment/purity: the buddhist Paradise (think Journey to the West). The South China Sea is where Guanyin was born. Upon the Lotus flowers is where Guanyin is commonly depicted as sitting. The "9 sticks of incense" though literal can also refer to the 9 tiers/grades of reincarnation lotuses with the 9th tier being the lowest, meant for those who in life committed the most evil of crimes — the 4 parajikas — and who can only manage a sincere Amitabha recitation 10 times and no more than this.

To put this in context with Shen Jiu (the same jiu as in 9/九), the 4 parajikas committed by the 9th Tier Lotuses Reborn (officially entitled the Lowest of the Low) are:

Sexual Intercourse

Stealing

Murder

Claiming attainments of stages of pure mental concentration that have not been achieved (in other words, rushing or lying about your cultivation/enlightenment, or maybe even becoming a Peak Lord without having formed a golden core beforehand).

From what we know in the context of the novel, Shen Jiu is innocent of at least the first of this parajikas, but the overall view of Shen Jiu in the eyes of others in the story is that he is guilty of them all. This calligraphy can be seen as a condemnation or a reminder for the character Shen Jiu, who even as the Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu is widely thought of as a scum villain and the lowest of the low.

Phew! That's a lot to unpack.

But if you turn your gaze to the original screenshot, you'll see to the right that there's a vase painted with a blue bird. This vase appears in several rooms of the bamboo house, and seems to be the image of a qingniao (青鸟; lit: Qing bird, wherein 青 can mean blue/green/clear-but-brackish black).

These qing-coloured birds are messengers and foragers of the Goddess-Mother of Paradise (Xiwang-mu 西王母, the "west/paradise" character from before, lit West-King(unisex)-Mother). They're a highly intelligent species who are exceptional in song (a good representative for Qing Jing's scholarly arts and pursuit of qin!), and the older ones might learn to speak human tongue. As a subspecies of luanniao (鸾鸟 lit: luan bird), they're thought to be related to The Phoenix and indeed thought to be the lifetime/samsara just before being reborn as a Phoenix.

If given to a "master" they don't like, the qingniao may refuse to pass messages or sing until they're set free, but if they do get along with you then they're loyal to the end.

As a point of interest, the Qing generation of Peak Lords uses the character 清, which is 青 ("colour of nature; brackish black, blue, green; young) + the radical for "water," resulting in the meaning of clear (as in water or heart; see-through); distinct; quiet (as in still); just and honest; pure; to settle or clear up; to clean up, expunge, or purge.

And as a bit of trivia, Liu Qingge's sword Cheng Luan 乘鸾 means "to ride the luan, take flight on the back of a luan." (Relevant, because the qingniao is considered a subspecies of luanniao).

With the Lords of both Qing Jing and Bai Zhan referencing this bird, I really wonder about its significance! It's spawning plenty of theories and headcanons for me.

Heading back outside for a moment, you'll find that in the Quiet Pool (清静小池 qingjing xiaochi (yes, the same Qing Jing the peak is named for)), there are lotuses, and on land there are flower shrubs which are either wide-petaled chrysanthemums (gay bottom jokes ahoy), or a type of peony, the king of flowers demarcating wealth and prosperity. Either way, a blossom fitting of our Qing Jing Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu!

My one regret is that I cannot get a clear shot of the fan hanging on the wall to try and translate the calligraphy on it. If anyone can snag one, please tag me! I also couldn't translate the paintings with poems hanging in Shen Qingqiu's bedroom (it's just too small and blurry for my bad eyes to make out). If I make another post attempting these things, I'll append them to this initial post in an edit afterwards.

#svsss #shen qingqiu #liu qingge #i started writing this at 3am #and now it's 8am #what am i doing with my life #who have i become #qing jing peak

[milkymoon-ramblings]

Hazbin Hotel, and a list of criticisms

Hi! You can call me M, and I recently watched Hazbin Hotel. I used to be a fan of vivziepop, but I'm not anymore, after learning that she's transphobic and having Helluva Boss leave a bad taste in my mouth. Here is all of the strange areas I noticed, free of anything I've seen already. This is only hidden under a keep reading because I think this'll be a long post and I don't wanna waste space.

The show is way too fast-paced for its own good. The show was on episode 6 of 8 and STILL introducing new characters. I swear the show doesn't know how to pace itself.

Why have Adam be the main representative of heaven? I know that Eve was technically the first person to sin, but Adam sinned as well, and I highly doubt he'd be put into such a position of power after dying.

Why have Lucifer's character design be the way it is? If he's so old and a fallen angel, why not have that represented anywhere? God he looks like a middle schooler but with a horrendous colour palette.

Despite being named after the hotel, it barely serves more than a backdrop. There are no new guests other than Pentious, and there's no reason to have it around at the point of episode 8

Episode 8, after the fight with the angels. They fix the hotel, and say they'll get new guests. The main cast still has no idea how to redeem sinners other than what Adam said in court in episode 6. Why continue on this idea without even knowing if redemption is a possibility? Charlie hates the idea of instilling false hope into people, yet she still advertises the hotel as a way out, without any knowledge of how to leave.

There's barely any interesting representation in a supposedly queer show. When Angel Dust is on-screen, he's essentially the promiscuous gay guy stereotype. When Vaggie and Charlie act like a couple, it feels wrong. Alastor is supposedly aroace, but the only mention is a barely-characterized cannibal he supposedly goes way back with calling him an "ace in the hole", which means next to nothing.

Alastor isn't scary. Not one bit. He's said to be scary, but nobody in the main cast is afraid of him. Sure, Charlie is higher in power than him, and she doesn't seem afraid, but there is NOTHING showing that anyone is even slightly bothered by his threats, other than Husk, and he's revealed to be OWNED by him. Angel Dust even flirts with him in episode one. EPISODE ONE. The only slightly scary line from him is "This face was meant for radio", and even then it's undermined by how it's treated.

Pentious means nothing to the show, and I'm fairly certain means nothing to the cast. His only characterization is that he's a coward, and he's an inventor. Then he's fridged. Not even kidding. He dies to get a big reaction out of another character.

Charlie is strange. Despite being a princess of hell, she acts like she's never seen bloodshed before. She acts like a naive child until she starts swearing, and even then it sounds wrong with her characterization.

We never learn, in-show, how anyone died. We're assumed to know almost everyone.

New characters are introduced constantly, and most of them are treated like we already know them. It's like Spiderman: No Way Home, where they show off new characters, but the story acts like we're supposed to point at them like "OH, IT'S THE GUY FROM THE THING!".

Genuinely had this thought out loud, "If your character is named Cherri Bomb, why have her as a normal sinner?" Like, I know it could be a nickname. I don't care. It makes no sense to have her just be someone normal. She's like, the only character shown to use explosives. Why not have her use it as a main power.

Why is the art style inconsistent with noses? Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, and Mimzy have noses, as well as others, I'm not sure, but others don't.

On the topic of designs, there's so much clutter, and they all use basically the same colour of red, except for Angel Dust, who I suppose is Vivzie's special little boy. They're all so sharp and uninteresting, there's barely any variation.

Mimzy's introduction is a nothing burger, and is barely anything more than an opportunity to make Alastor look more powerful. She adds nothing to the story, and does nothing other than attract supposedly dangerous people to the Hotel.

I've said it before, but so many storylines are rushed. The episode about heaven could easily have been, like, an entire season's worth of content. It could have been slower, introducing us to the general feel of heaven before slowly showing the cracks, like how nobody really knows how they got here, or how angels don't know much about Hell or the exterminations.

How do the exterminators not know that they can get hurt or that they can die? And if they don't, how come Lute knew that she could remove Vaggie's wings and harm her?

Vaggie says that she didn't know angels could be hurt before finding out about the dead angel. The writing must've been so out of wack, because SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN EXTERMINATOR. An exterminator that was WOUNDED in order to not come back. What in the nine circles of hell.

So much is assumed that the viewer already knows. I used to be a fan of Helluva Boss, so I know probably a lot more than the casual viewer, but if I were to go in blind to this show, I would know absolutely nothing.

This show feels more like Vivienne's character showcase than a story set in Hell. Barely anyone associated with common Christian theology knowledge is part of the story, and even then it's written so incorrectly.

I'll admit, I am slightly biased, as I've read through the vivziepop critical tags, but there's so many small holes in the story.

#vivziepop critical #hazbin hotel critical

[hiranospiercing]

shounen ai mangas that should be a part of your reading list if you enjoy reading healthy and plot driven romances- part 1.

I've been reading bl for years now, the reason why i indulged myself into reading this particular genre was simply because shoujo as a genre is too repetitive, most tropes are overused and it's honestly really hard to find good stories once you've finished the easily accessible popular franchises.

boys love is divided into two sub genres, yaoi and shounen ai, I personally do not enjoy reading smut, it's a different story if intimacy plays an important point for the character development of the characters in the story, but i'am not a huge fan of the porn being used as the plot device for the entire manga and hence i won't be including yaoi mangas in this list.

1. Sayonara, Heron.

Sayonara, Heron is one of those mangas that remain ambiguous and non-linear for the majority of the time but gradually intensify itselves once the ending is near without losing it's delicacy, i won't be talking about the plot since i want you to experience this 7 chapter long manga the way i did, without knowing anything about it, but it's simply about family and relationships, the art style is so pretty, the rooftop, the cigarettes, the kisses, everything. I do not see enough people talking about it and maybe you should help me change that.

2. We're still in the spring of life.

Academics, Aerospace and Adorability, everything about this manga is so heart warming, the hesitation in the beginning of a friendship which ends with a comfortable yet passionate relationship, the naps, the math equations and the confessions, this manga is simply about two boys growing together by simultaneously relying on each other. Also the rocket metaphors have my heart, read it to find them out.

3. Our dining table.

I've always been a huge fan of child care as a separate genre on it's own, but this manga is one of the only romance mangas where the child care part of it actually plays a huge role for the development of the characters, it honestly isn't forced like some omegaverse stories rather it's comforting and actually heart warming to read, the food being used as a love language, the friendships and the bonding amidst the family and the main character is beautiful, give it a go if you want to experience legit therapy lol.

4. Blue sky complex.

Blue sky complex is one of the few shounen ai mangas which seems authentic and raw because of the awkwardness of the characters, the relationship between the characters is easily connectable in the sense that you get the insight of how their head actually works and makes those decisions, it explores gay relationships in a very interesting way, and honestly is very close to my heart because well it's the GLASSES GUY X GOOF BALL trope yet again.

5. Yuki no shita no qualia.

Now, this manga vaguely reminds me of sayonara, heron but honestly is a lot more strong with what it wants to explore, it's one of those mangas that will accidentally make you cry because of the beauty of it's characters and the development of their relationship.

"i think you make me kinder," is better than any "i love you".

#bl manga #shounen ai manga #hirano to kagiura #sasaki to miyano #given #doukyuusei #seaside stranger #blue sky complex #our dining table #sayonara heron

[atopvisenyashill]

seeing how some greens act like rhaenyra being groomed by her uncle, and subsequently being unable to let go of him, is HER personal failure turned me into a rhaenyra extremist when i simply enjoyed her character beforehand.

im really glad you're speaking about it because even though it's fiction, it still perpetuates a very dangerous rhetoric

wait this gives me an excuse to ramble, pls excuse me if i phrase things maybe a little crassly here, it’s a delicate topic i’m speaking indelicately about but also, i think i should be allowed bc [redacted] BUT-

obviously i don’t like, love, some of the changes to the show but i think the first half does a great job of setting it up to where you can see both alicent and rhaenyra are surrounded exclusively by much older men who want to fuck them, and have just no way of knowing who is being genuine with them. because no one is really! so you have episode 4, where alicent is sleeping in a room with pornographic art on the wall and being called to her husband’s bed and she can’t say no, and he’s not going to do anything to make the whole thing even marginally easier for her. and then you have rhaenyra, pulled from her bed by her uncle to a brothel, and she’s completely exposed, and she’s experiencing new things, and he’s purposefully trying to make this feel good but also overwhelming for her, then abandons her drunk & confused & half naked. this is The Same Thing - they’re both being used and manipulated by a much older man, but because that manipulation looks different, they react different. but it’s still manipulation.

yes, the type of abuse is different when it’s like, your ugly ancient grandpa grooming you vs a handsome 30 year old stranger you met online that you tell all your high school friends is your boyfriend, but ultimately, both the grandpa and the 30 year old boyfriend are abusers but more importantly, the granddaughter and the high schooler are both victims!!! i think a lot of people when analyzing this whole thing, will pin daemon as a groomer but then completely forget that this also makes rhaenyra a victim. some people will even hee hee haw haw over it because “oh your feminist icon would rather marry her groomer uncle than her gay cousin in the book” DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF. could it possibly be that rhaenyra prefers daemon to laenor because daemon has manipulated her into thinking she is only free with him? she is only safe with him?? could it possibly be that he has been giving her gifts and taking physical liberties with her for her whole life, and being the Good Cop, Sweet Confidant to her parents Bad Cop her whole life, that she feels taken in by him because he is all she knows???? in the same vein that alicent just swallows all the poison and bullshit from otto because that’s her father, and his protection is all she knows????

honestly part of like ~the discourse~ that’s most frustrating is that most greens just refuse to see rhaenyra’s pov or see that she’s also a grooming victim grasping for power to protect her own children, again just like alicent, but on the flip side, most of the analysis from the blacks side is like “if you think nyra is a victim of grooming you are just as bad as the people calling her a whore for having children out of wedlock” and like, how do you even engage with that. with either of those opinions. you can’t wksjd so if youre, ya know, like a normal fucking person who can see how both girls are being manipulated, but you have like a fondness for nyra specifically, it’s just constant bad takes. there’s nowhere to go to escape the bad takes.

i thought we had already hashed out this idea that being aware or unaware of your victimhood doesn’t suddenly mean you’re not being oppressed during the main show with arya and sansa but no, we’ve actually just taken this exact same annoying fandom discourse about which teenage girl is dealing with being abused in the most acceptable way and made it a thousand times worse.

#and like the ~analysis~ side will be like ‘nyra is a dumb bitch for trusting daemon’ but if you said that about ali and larys you’d get shot #and i’m not even exaggerating the way people talk about her it’s always this ‘she should have known better’ HOW #if u get that ali couldn’t have ever known better when it comes to her own kids. why does this not apply to nyra. #perhaps………….it is bc you cannot concieve of her as anything but the aggressor. #asks #anons

[sassy-bi-latina]

I have a new ramble incoming that might get me in deep waters with some bl stans. I'm sorry, I TRULY mean this with no hate.

First and foremost, I want to say I in NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM mean hate towards Fourth nor Gemini

Context:

If you know me, you know I'm a ff reader, if you don't know me, well now you do. I mainly use AO3.

I'm currently watching 23.5 degrees, I love it so I went to read some fics.

There are 115 fics under the show's tag. I got excited thinking people work fast, absolutely not realizing the pilot trailer was out in 2022. I knew I've been waiting. I just didn't realize how long.

Previously to 2024, there were only 3 Ongsa fics.

Okay I'm rambling here and I'm not gonna edit the post. I write as I think.

So this is the context. Which brings me to my point.

I'm actually happy Fourth and Gemini are not part of the project anymore. I don't know them as actors. But I'm sure they would have done great. But I'm glad they aren't here.

As I said, there's 115 fics in total as of right now, Sunday 31st of March, but once you filter out Night/North you are left with 37, and that still leaves you with some other mlm tags. If you filter those out, you're left with 22. TWENTY. TWO. fics in TOTAL. And excuse me but I find that sad. And you might think, oh maybe you filter out some Ongsa/Sun fics when filtering everyone else. Yeah, I did, like 3 where they weren't main. And not even the ones left are only theirs but they're sapphic ships of the show. It's 25% of the totality of the fics made, in a show THEY ARE STARING.

Look, I'm the first to say, ship whoever you want, don't let canon cut your wings. I'm okay with people shipping, I'm happy people love something so much they decide to make art about it.

And this post isn't about going against these two actors or their fan base. It's mostly a I'm tired post.

I'm tired that sapphics in media always come second or third or whatever place but never first. Not even in their own shows. It's discouraging.

I'm tired of popular sapphic shows in western media getting cancelled left and right. I'm tired of barely there rep in the asian countries' media I watch. I'm tired of being shadowed by the latest pretty mlm couple.

So yeah, I'm happy they're not here. I know their fans could have brought more views which is a bonus. But I feel we would have media flowing with people talking about them and we want companies that GLs can have the same pull.

I'm happy that we still have gay men rep because I don't want that being pushed aside. But I prefer this approach where the focus are not one but two sapphic couples.

I also like that the boys aren't models and that they look nerdy. And soft and just, I just like this approach better.

If you read all this, thanks!! If you read all this and you're a fic writer. Continue that fic you left forgotten or are unsure to finish. You're marvelous and I love you. Y'all kept me sane during hard times.

Final note, I want to remind, once again, no hate to the actors nor their fanbase.

I also don't know how much sense this all made. Sorry for that.

#23.5 the series #23.5 degrees #23.5

[eleanorfenyx]

I have finished Mysterious Lotus Casebook, and here are some of my thoughts! (Obviously not spoiler free)

The cases are absolutely batshit insane and I loved it every single time they were like 'we totally collected this evidence that incriminates a secret suspect, just believe us and also don't question when the fuck we had the time to do this or when we figured out that we needed to look for it'. 10/10 no notes, that's a hilarious way to have a genius detective. Show us nothing, tell us everything, YES king.

That being said, I could have done with a lot less standing around having the supporting cast repeat whatever Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing announce, maybe in an attempt to make sure their genius is clear for the audience? I get it, but at the same time it felt a little too hand-holdy for me, especially in scenes where LLH and FDB had already discussed their findings between themselves before presenting them to the concerned bystanders. I can read between the lines (or else understand what has just been explicitly stated) without having every conclusion filtered through a slightly different sentence structure to make sure I got it.

Di Feisheng amnesia arc my fuckin beloved

Di Feisheng destroying his 'father' and freeing everyone in Di manor in a vicious act of catharsis that tied nicely into the main Nanyin bug-mind-control-thing narrative my beloved

Di Feisheng my beloved

The amount of times I was like...genuinely surprised he and Li Lianhua didn't kiss is both embarrassing (because I do in fact understand censorship and what I sign up for with these dramas and yet and yet) and numerous enough that I could...possibly...theoretically..write a 5+1 fic of every time I want them to kiss about it. No one hold me to that but it's something I think I'd like to do.

Re: the above point: because what the FUCK was that ending?!!! EXCUSE ME?! I gotta FIX THAT SHIT.

There will come a day when the strength of my hope for an unambiguously happy ending in a queer(-coded? is the source originally bl or is this its own thing?) wuxia drama is rewarded....but it is not this day. I must fix this myself.

Jiao Liqiao's laugh is one of the most annoying things I've ever heard. I was reaaaaally hoping someone would just up and stab her during one of her little evil laughing fits. At one point I was shouting "KILL HER, KILL HER" at my screen because I could NOT take anymore of her (unfortunately, I did in fact have to take more of her).

I still think her insistence on being obsessed with DFS is hysterical when he is so VISIBLY only interested in LLH. Explicitly STATES that his only life purpose is to fuck fight LLH again. Babygirl (derogatory) he is so fucking gay let's get you a nice knife to the gut instead, okay?

I thought the whole Shan Gudao plot was interesting, going from looking desperately for his body -> putting him to rest -> hunting for his murderer -> finding out he's alive/the mastermind behind everything going wrong (which I was proud of myself for realizing before the reveal, I'm normally bad at that) -> thwarting him with sass and superior martial arts at every possible turn -> killing him stone fuckin dead with beginner level skills because he's so up his own hole he can't see that's what's happening - was really fun!

He also has a SUPER annoying laugh he can fuck off

OH OH OH MARTIAL ARTS SKILL OF TRANS YOUR GENDER?! I MARRIED HER SO HER AFFAIRS ARE MY BUSINESS NOT YOURS??? ASKING YOUR WIFE FOR HER FORGIVENESS AND UNDERSTANDING AS YOU LAY DYING AND SHE GIVES IT TO YOU?????? OKAYYYYYYY

The twist at the end that LLH is the one with royal blood was so funny to me. Like it's a good twist and I love that Shan Gudao was just quite literally always a fuckin try-hard loser in ways he didn't even know, but also it was SO funny. Granny coming in clutch at the last fuckin minute with secret knowledge she just literally never shared.

LLH is such a smooth motherfucker. Shame about his insistence on dying when quite literally everyone (bar the people who suck) is begging this man to just live. Just LIVE DAMN IT!!!!! I really liked it when FDB begs him to just consider his own life as important for ONCE and remember that people care about him because YES his self-sacrificing and committment to Chilling Out Farmer Style was not the mercy he thought it was!

LIVE AND GROW OLD WITH DI FEISHENG YOU DAMN IDIOT (the likelihood of me resisting the urge to write at least the one fic for them is zero to none)

Unironically love spitting up blood as a plot device and this show is no different. The Drama. The Panache. The desperation of everyone around you because you have BLOOD coming out of your MOUTH and you are FAINTING. Poison acting up? Spit blood. Someone bitch slap you with their magical palm ability? Spit blood. Get stressed? Spit blood. Get stabbed? Spit blood. It's always good!

Okay I think that might be all I've got for now, if I think of anything else I'll add them in a reblog. I thoroughly enjoyed it, would definitely recommend!

#mysterious lotus casebook #my thoughts #for whatever they're worth #it was nice too because unlike say Word of Honor I didn't mind the overarching plot about the jianghu #and the magical cures/objects that everyone is racing/fighting each other to get to first #WOH was just plain boring outside of the interpersonal relationships in my opinion #but in this there were only a few times I really just did not care about the latest fetch quest and wanted to get back to the relationships

[unknownanomoly]

Every single Rainworld artist, new or old, please read!

So while this is on my mind, I just thought I would say something at the moment. I have seen so many, so many, artists copy or very closely copy a design from another persons since they really like their style and hope that if their style looks like this famous artists then they will get the same attention. This is slightly annoying to me, now drawing other peoples art or practicing design by using someone else's design then somehow in anyway making it super original is perfectly fine by me, it's really good to do that! But when you copy someone's design so closely that is looks like your trying to rip off their designs, that's not ok. another problem i see is people hating their designs cause they are not "detailed" or "pretty" or "different" enough from others. Now this post is gonna be about how you can make your own character with existing characters WITHOUT using someone else's design and not making the character "look boring" to you and others. Now no character is boring, everyone's different styles are amazing, this is not suppose to be a bad thing, this is just suppose to help other artists think better with making canon characters look original. Im gonna use Hunter as an example since I was drawing him when i thought of this. So hunter, let's take this step by step: Step 1: Do NOT look at a canon photo unless it's necessary for like a certain iconic scar or eye color or color or anything else like that, but completely IGNORE that canon design. Step 2: Break up what the canon character looks like into words. EX: Hunter is a slugcat with his color being on the red scale. He is being infected with the rot and is NSH's messenger. Now with this description a thousand different ideas can be made, I mean on the red scale could be red, pink, or all the way to a brown even! Then infected by rot? He could be fully infected by rot or he could be partly or be halfway, maybe he was cured from rot. And NSG's messenger? He could have a weird marking resembling that, or always have a green neuron with him, or have green eyes or green clothing or green markings, really anything! Now wasn't that easy ^w^ Step 3: Sketch/Doodle Do NOT instantly make a design choice unless you have one in mind right away, start doodling first, either digital or on paper and see how you like the design first, and if you like it then there you go! Now you ofc can change your design later on but it's better to have a main idea instead of posting something right away then regretting it since you don't like it. EX: For my Rivulet I first had him being a little more like the true rivulet design since the lore for my AU was different then, but when I was finally drawing him I didn't like his design and so I started messing around with it and finally I came up with my water bat design for him. Step 4: Finally, you have made it this far into the steps, you may now draw it completely, make a ref sheet or don't, join in on character group drawings and yada yada, you have your own design and you like it and that's all that matters! Step 5: Have fun, you are not limited by the canon design. Design however you like, give them any lore that probably isn't canon if you want to, make them aroace or gay or lesbian, change their gender, mess around, make them siblings with random people that shouldn't be their siblings, mess around with families and personalities, do what YOU want, no what others want or like ^w^ Hope this helped anyone who needed it!

#mistaken #rain world art #rain world #rain world downpour #rw #au #rw slugcat #my au #rainworld #rainworld hunter #rain world hunter #rw hunter #rainworld rivulet #rain world rivulet #rw rivulet #rivulet #hunter #art help #art #charcater design

[mariacallous]

(New York Jewish Week) – When Michael Witkes arrived at his bar mitzvah party, he knew he couldn’t enter to a musical theater song, his preferred genre, because he was already being bullied for being too effeminate and flamboyant. So, he simply told the DJ to just pick any song that matched the vibe of a bar mitzvah entrance.

The DJ picked “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross. 

“This day that is supposed to be completely celebratory became this kind of tragic, camp event, where I had to wrestle with getting bullied because of this,” Witkes said. “I was just trying to become a man, a Jewish adult, and then I was suddenly getting outed at my bar mitzvah.”

Eighteen years later, Witkes, 31, is a professional drag queen in New York City, performing as “Pink Pancake.” This week, he will revisit that troubling coming-of-age moment in his first ever one-woman drag show, “Today You Are a Man!” at The Tank NYC.

“I take that moment of tragedy and I flip it on its head and I turn it into this play about self discovery and coming into your authenticity as a queer person and as a Jew,” Witkes told the New York Jewish Week.

Witkes first began developing the show, which runs for 50 minutes, two years ago as a four-minute lip sync for a “Hanukkah in July” drag performance. Since then, he’s partnered with director and queer Jewish art and events curator Stuart B Meyers to flesh out a full-length performance. 

“The show gives an earnest portrayal of the horror of that experience, how awful it was, and is, to be bullied for being gay and femme, yet also lifts and celebrates the story of who Michael has become through drag,” Meyers told the New York Jewish Week. “So what’s really interesting is that the piece is about his bar mitzvah of the past, but in a big way, it’s also a bar mitzvah in and of itself, because it’s a celebration of his own very Jewish process of coming into this next chapter as Pink Pancake.” 

Ahead of the show, the New York Jewish Week caught up with Witkes about what it was like to make the show and revisit his bar mitzvah experience. 

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What would you tell your 13-year-old self about how far you’ve come?

It’s funny because I think if I told my 13-year-old self, “Hey, you’re now a drag queen in New York, and you’re making a living pursuing this queer art form,” I think that my 13-year-old self would be horrified. This might be my biggest fear at the time, realized. 

First, I would give my 13-year-old self a giant hug. I think I would say, “You are wonderful as you are and just let your inner star shine. At the time, I did everything I could to make myself smaller and to try to hide the fact that I was gay, even though I was just naturally more feminine and flamboyant growing up. I did everything I could to hide that, with my clothes, with the way I walked around. Everything was a performance. I would just say, “Hey, baby, breathe, let it all out. It’s gonna be okay. Own who you are.”

What does it mean to you to have your first full-length one-woman show center on a Jewish narrative?

I grew up in a pretty Jewish suburb of Philadelphia, on the Main Line. I feel like growing up, I kind of took my Judaism for granted. In seventh grade, there was a bar or bat mitzvah every single weekend. Judaism was so prevalent that it wasn’t a huge part of my identity. 

But now we’re in a time where there is this rise in antisemitism and you can feel it. In my other gigs, I have made some self-deprecating jokes in the mic about being Jewish — as Jews do with Jewish humor. Before it was just a part of my act, but now I have this inner voice in the back of my head saying “Is it safe to say this? Is it safe to make these jokes? Is it safe to be openly Jewish?” Since coming out and embracing myself fully, I’ve been really proud to be queer. Now I feel like the show is helping me be more proudly Jewish. It’s been wonderful working with Stuart Meyers, who has done a lot of queer Jewish work and queer Jewish art, because he’s kind of pushed me to embrace my Judaism even more and pull things out in the show in relation to my Jewish identity even more, so it’s been really exciting. We have to continue to be visible and proud and continue to advocate for ourselves and everyone that is marginalized in the global majority.

Do you feel like making this show has helped you process the trauma from your bar mitzvah party and given you a second chance at celebrating?

That is the structure of the show in a way, where I have the chance to do it all over again. It’s a queering of this Jewish rite of passage. The whole show, in a way, is like a redo of my own bar mitzvah, but now I’m in drag as a woman — but I’m not a woman, and I’m also very gender-queer. It’s a beautiful way to explore what it means to be a man and to explore your gender identity and sexuality. 

This has definitely helped me process my bar mitzvah and re-own this moment that was kind of tragic. In general, my bar mitzvah was a wonderful event — this moment just clouded it. I think that wounds can continue to heal and come back and they can surprise you like, “Oh, I thought I got over that.” So revisiting this moment has definitely brought some things up to the surface that I’m able to now heal from. 

I rewatched the video of my service many, many times while putting the show together. I had a wonderful support system in my parents, but I don’t think I fully realized that at the time because I felt so alone and othered in school. So it’s really healing to be able to look back and listen to the speeches that my parents made at my bar mitzvah. Watching myself in the video, I look awkward and I don’t like that my parents are saying nice things about me and I’m probably not fully paying attention and kind of dissociating because it’s uncomfortable. But to look back now — my parents are so sweet. My dad said that he appreciated how sensitive I was and how gentle I was. These are things that I was bullied for, because they’re not “masculine.” But at my bar mitzvah, he was saying you’re a man because of all of these things. That’s just so beautiful. 

I’m excited to bring it to an audience. I’m sure that healing will happen even more when it’s in front of a live audience and I’m hoping that the same thing will happen for them as well. I hope bringing the specificity of this event to my show will allow people to bring the specificity of their own moments growing up Jewish or growing up queer and find healing and celebration.

What else can people expect at the show?

There are going to be too many costumes in a short amount of time. I’m really excited for all of these wacky costumes I’m bringing. It’s going to be heartfelt, it’s going to be drag. It’s a full production and I’m so excited to finally bring this to life after sitting on it for all this time. It combines drag lip sync with multimedia — video projections of my bar mitzvah and lots of other very fun, funny things. Of course, I have two backup dancers — it’s a one-woman show, but it’s a one-woman drag show, so that means that you need to have two backup dancers. It’s a fully realized show with a plot and a beginning, middle and end.

“Today You Are a Man!,” is playing at The Tank NYC (312 W. 36th St.) Jan 18-20 at 9:30 p.m. and Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $15.

[hayweerc]

🦔Pinned Message

Please read about me, my content, and my AU before continuing:

*Name: Haywee, it's my only name.

*Age: 29, I post my age everywhere.

*Pronouns: They/Them preferred

*I am a self taught artist/writer.

*I love Sonic the Hedgehog Media too much.

*I'm a multishipper with Sonadow and Espilver being my priority. I like Gay ships.

*My Fanfics of the AU are posted on Ao3 👉here

I have content on multiple platform. If you have seen me there, Hello, nice to meet you again.

I like to make AUs with the main cast being older, above the age of 18 because that is how I view and depict them. I like my characters to be closer to my own age. They are mature and fit into my mature stories/settings. 

My AUs are “Bound by Chaos” and “(Y)Sonic” But I will be mostly, if not exclusively, be posting about “Bound by Chaos” here. 

MY AUs contain mentions of blood/mild gore and injury, typical cartoon violence, hemocraft, mentions of self harm, adult/suggestive themes, multishipping, shenanigans, cringe, and sonic characters.

I do write fanfiction for my Sonic AUs that are made for more mature audiences. 18+ with warnings on each chapter when needed. I write the scenes about anything “in the bedroom” to be more vague and with time skips.

The content of my drawings are depicted as 18+ as a cautious warning, because I'm an adult and my content may lean more that way. I do place warnings on my drawings if it contains anything like shipping, blood, violence, or suggestive themes.

Most of my drawings are SFW besides the occasional kissing and touching. 

Most of everything I draw is canon to the stories I write of the AU in some way. Sometimes I just like to draw them modeling or being shipped together on top of the AU story stuff.

*****

🐺🩸🍃Bound By Chaos:

Set is a fantasy world that is heavily inspired by attributes of DnD. (And other RPG fantasy realms)

🐺Name: Sonic the Werehog/ Race: Werewolf/ Age: 26/ Class: Rouge-Thief/ Powers: Werehog strength and durability, Melee Attacks with knife and claws.

🩸Name: Shadow the Hedgehog/ Race: Mobian/ Age: 27/ Class: Bloodhunter-Profane Soul/ Powers: Hemocraft Abilities -enhancements and poisons, Ranged and Melee Attacks Vary

🍃Name: Silver the Hedgehog/ Race: Mobian/ Age: 24/ Class: Druid-Circle of the Moon/ Powers: Plant Growth and Healing Abilities, Ranged Attacks

Shadow (a blood hunter) had an encounter with a rampaging werewolf with the intent to slay it. The blood hunter and the werewolf, who turns out to be Sonic (a rogue), were on the verge of death until they were healed by Silver (a druid) with a shard from the master emerald. Accidentally, Silver may have also placed a curse on the pair. They cannot be separated and are bound to each other’s presence. Shadow isn't too happy with the situation, and learns to cope as he journeys with the two- encountering other characters and monsters as they search for a way to break their curse. Not long though, Shadow starts to see the weight of the trauma held on Sonic's shoulders as he struggles to contain his werehog form.

Fanfic on Ao3 👉📖 Bound By Chaos

*******

Fanart rules:

Must credit and tag me -NO suggestive or NSFW fanart-Please be aware of the au characters and my content-Make it because it inspires you or helps develop your skills

‼️Do not come to me to cause discourse. I will ignore you. If you don't like my content or me please scroll past and ignore. I understand my stuff isn't made for everyone and that's ok.

‼️ Do not copy/steal my art. Be respectful of all artists that request this! 

‼️I do not take requests on my AU, and I'm not comfortable answering all questions about the AU. I will do my best to reply to give more details of the AU without spoiling the story that is written for it.

‼️please provide your age before speaking with me in my inboxs or dms. I'm not comfortable talking to younger audiences.

🩶Sorry my posts are desaturated and gray, it's easier on my eyes

💙Spread Love and Kindness Everywhere You Go

(I may update this info as needed. I'm still new to Tumblr)

#pinned message #sonicau

[atomicfroot]

"More cries, Tonight I loveit, ha ha ha, Drown your laughter in the battery acid."

PART TWO OF MY BINAH X AYIN POST

The song is Love Eat -Dear Maia-

I've shared this Binah x ayin au with my friend, and AHHHH, just talking about it, had gotten me more in love with this au. Where Ayin and Garion are essentially the only ones left (aside from angela) in the facility (Benjamin had left), so basically, it's just Ayin keeping Garion as a prisoner after the attack. heavily emphasizes how pathetic Ayin has become after his friends and colleagues have died and his abandonment issues are at a all time high. Garion, being the only one around, he essentially latches himself onto her as a source of comfort (horrible idea, but it's ayin so yknow)

Garion finds him pathetic to cry to his very own prisoner, but she does lend an ear. She saw him as an interesting specimen due to how determined he is on a failing cause. How he stood up to her like no one else has. Somehow, this guy had wormed his way into uh...her heart?? Or whatever.

Also, with Angela being added onto the mix, she would essentially see Garion as another parent/mentor figure since Benjamin had left. So her just learning after Garion (ANOTHER TERRIBLE IDEA LMAO). One of the main reasons why Garion keeps her alive is to drive Ayin to a corner. Ayin always comes down crying and begging Garion not to kill or even hurt his daughter angela (which even surprises Angela and Ayin himself) since Angela is the only thing he has left of Carmen and Benjamin. SOOO essentially, Garion does try to force ayin to have a better relationship with angela

Their relationship in this au is a bit fucked up than usual but tbh I love these songs and I thought of them while listening. Basically Garion does take the place of the guy here, but like the guy in the songs, she is actually the one who pulls the strings now. Plus crybaby ayin on this au is a little silly but he deserves to cry... these bitches gay as hell in my heart

#lobotomy corporation #binah x ayin #ayin #binah #garion #lobotomy corp #project moon #girlboss and malewife #art #my art #ship #ship art

[flintawakened]

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴍᴀɴ'ꜱ ʙʟᴏɢ

I will update this every once in a while! So check out my blog if you're confused or need help!

Hello and welcome to the Wonderful Whirring Steam Powered Blog...

I go by Cogsby, Clicks, Gearbox, or Nova! I do prefer the previous three, though.

I go by... A lot of pronouns. I'm a gender hoarder. But here is my main cluster at the moment,

Gear/Cog/Steam/Rust/Smog/Brass/⚙️/He/Them

Preferences on Cog/Gear/Rust please!

MY REQUESTS POST AND INFO!!: Request Info

Carrd

DNI, BYI, TAGS, AND USERBOXES BELOW CUT

ＤＮＩ

Anti-LGBTQ+, Anti-MOGAI, Anti-Nonhuman, Anti-furs As someone who identifies with all of the previous, I will kindly block any hate or absolutely demolish your argument with kindness.

Misogyny/Sexism, Transphobia, Homophobia Yet again, as someone who identifies as trans and under the gay umbrella, I will either block you or kill you with kindness.

Racism, Xenophobia, Zionism I don't believe in discriminating against race or anyone different then us and I find it disgusting when people do such. You will be blocked. As for Zionism, I stand with Palestine, you will be blocked.

Ped0philia, Z00philia What can I say, this is honestly just disgusting and abusive. Blocked and reported.

Ableism, "Differently Abled", Using R-slurs or Derogatory Words As someone who is disabled I find all of this incredibly insulting and will try to educate you but end up blocking if you don't respond.

DSMP, Problematic Content Creators I have nothing against MCYT fans, but I kindly refuse the Dream SMP fandom as I've had some very distressing instances with people in the fandom. As well as some problematic content creators.

ＢＹＩ

I am autistic and have an unspecified attention deficit disorder! I do need tone tags once in a while. I also might take a while to respond because I just... Forget-- I'm really sorry about that, but it's just how I am.

I have highly suspected MaDD. MaDD is a disorder in which the person cannot stop daydreaming, they have in depth worlds in their heads about characters with their own personalities and backstories. This was developed as a coping mechanism while I was in a very abusive household. If you see me typing relatively nonsensical gibberish in a post, someone probably exploded in my head or something.

I have screentime limits! As someone who is still in their teens, my parents monitor my screentime. So if I don't immediately respond to your message, or forget to answer your ask before my time limits are up, don't take it personally!

I will never actively feed or engage in discourse or syscourse. These situations are deeply distressing for me and evoke a lot of harsh memories from my trauma. I have been online for too long and was raised by the internet, unfortunately. I have seen a lot of discourse in my time and will try my best to avoid it at all cost and will block freely if I see someone feeding this discourse.

ＴＡＧＳ

#✰steam man rambles: This will be my tag for talking about my alterhumanity, special interests, and other various updates, information, and tidbits

#╰➤✮steam man reblogs: Exactly what it sounds like! I'll use this tag for whatever I reblog.

#⛤steam man's craft: This tag is for my Wiccan practice. There probably won't be as much under this tag because it's personal, but there may be information or spells!

#✐ᝰsteam man doodles: Art by me! I'll use this tag for when I draw something I'm particularly proud of.

#⋭steam man replies: This will be the tag for answering asks, I love being asked things, so please, ask away!

#⚠steam man sighs: Trigger warnings/Content warnings will be included on these posts as the will be about any struggles or hardships I'm having.

ＵＳＥＲＢＯＸＥＳ

#pinned post #intro post #alterhuman #nonhuman #foxkin #rabbitkin #robotkin #MaDD disorder #actually autistic #attention deficit disorder #neopronouns #mogai #lgbtqia #wiccan #witchcraft #steam powered giraffe #spg #spgiraffe #special interest #actually disabled #dni #byi #carrd #✰steam man rambles #╰➤✮steam man reblogs #⛤steam man's craftl #✐ᝰsteam man doodles #⋭steam man replies

[vacantgodling]

re. about

you may call me: ren, renjamin, rimz, r.a.a, or vacant

refer to me with he/him pronouns (masculine nicknames like ‘king’ & terms of endearment like ‘dear’ or ‘sweetie’ are also good. just nothing overtly feminine like ‘queen’ is the gist)

i am 26 and my birthday is october 2

i am black, transmasc, neurodivergent, and queer (achillean or yknow gay if you want to be specific. i’m a fag ok.)

as a psa: i don’t care if minors follow me but i’m not your parent so proceed at your own risk.

aside from writing i like: playing video games (mostly overwatch, my special interest for a ridiculous amount of time. but also, legend of zelda & the sims), drawing (when it’s not annoying me), gothic literature & older books with flowery prose, the colors pink, black & gold, history, anime (older anime+demon slayer really), and i’m learning japanese (to the best of my ability. むずかしです)

re. wips

find a list of all my wips HERE! i work on them sporadically when inspiration strikes. find a wip sampler where i show off a piece of prose from the work to give you a sense of its vibe HERE!

if you’re interested in being on my taglists, fill this form out!

my 2023 year in review!

also, for ease of access: current tag games i’m doing (i want to keep track of it this year)

last line tag 2024

wbw 2024

ask games 2024 (general)

tcol character tournament!

re. connect

here are other places you can find me:

bluesky || cohost || instagram || pinterest

my partner yves and i make stories together, which is here -> @mothgrudge (i also rb a lot on @babylonsfalling)

i have a discord so if we’ve spoken feel free to ask for it (however i don’t really do servers. maybe one day, but for now no)

maybe this year i’ll work on an actual website & i’d love to make a youtube where i just talk about shit so… maybe, we’ll see...

re. navigation

talking -> musings and personal thoughts

about renjamin -> insight to me / who i am

ren analysis -> when i get meta about my wips

ren mix -> a treasure trove of my music taste

ren polls -> any polls i make

ren reads -> for my ramblings and analysis as i try to get back into books

friends tag -> talking with friends or boosting my friends work

others work -> boosting other writeblrs work

hall of fame -> praise / things that make me happy that i want to keep

ren writing -> all of my writing in one place

ren poems -> all of my poems in one place

short stories tag -> micro or flash fiction bits and bobs

ren art -> all my art

q eh you eh -> queue

sex mention -> tag for any sexual content.

worldbuilding -> all of my worldbuilding notes across all my wips

ren hot cakes -> specifically for my overly opinionated opinions

to read -> others works that i need to get around to reading

rens ocs but sims -> for when i make my ocs in the sims lol

ren plays -> me talking about video games but it’s usually overwatch

ren is jopping on main -> for the rare occasions where i talk about kpop

character stats -> when i decide to compare and contrast my ocs to see trends

#writeblr intro #about renjamin

[constant-and-immovable]

What are your thoughts about the PoTC cast in Back Sails?

AHAHAHAHHA! I kept meaning to do this!

this ended up INCREDIBLY long...

Elizabeth is either killed early on, or makes it to the end, there's no in between. I imagine she would be good friends with eleanor but eventually they'd see they're in this game on different sides and there's a dramatic moment where Elizabeth betrays her. Its framed as a "see she's not purely good either" moment, meant to reflect that everyone here is technically a criminal, but the fandom hated Eleanor enough by then that Lizzie becomes part of a bunch of annoying Girl Boss memes .

I'm gay, so I want a scene where Anne teaches Elizabeth how to use a knife. Also a scene of her and Will sparring, since we're told he taught her how to sword fight, but NEVER SAW IT...

Will does okay! He survives most of the way through, and really would have gone longer, but gets killed off for Elizabeth's character development. Most of his involvement was with finding the treasure and assisting in the defense of Nassau. OR he ends up opening a blacksmith shop on the island. There's an emotional moment where Flint applauds his fine work, but tells him it's all fucking worthless. They need strength and quantity, not high art. Will doesn't get to show off his artistry again for a while. Billy and Will remain the Token Straight Men of the series, and even though they never speak and only share one frame, there are hundreds of fics about them.

Jack...depends on which one. The guy who played comic relief and court jester throughout the other films? He's shot in a brawl he didn't even start his first time in Nassau. The guy who carried around a pistol with one shot on a mission of cold revenge? The guy who didn't even flinch at the idea of trading souls for his own? The guy that laughed at his own hanging? Yeah, he would make it at least as far as Charles Vane did. He gets killed, naturally, because he ends up a fan favorite. He gets on Silver's nerves immensely, despite the fact that they have a weird chemistry. Flint only exchanges a few words with him, one of them being essentially "Get the fuck off my ship and if I see you on it again I will shoot you."

Either that, or they end up with a Picard/Q dynaimic.

Tia Dalma kicks ass and takes names. She's given a weapon. If she has supernatural powers in this, that becomes a major plot point to convince her onto their side. She outright (violently, graphically) gets people killed by some kind of magic trap trying to get to her island, or else we just see their bodies mangled on display leading up to her cabin. Madi becomes the person to suggest going in from behind the main entrance to the island where the traps are, and gets in alone, and convinces her to assist--but only if they can deliver to her the heart of Davy Jones, which becomes the main collateral of the series instead of the Urca gold. Idk, Jones buried instructions for her release in it or something.

Barbossa does extremely well, and while he's at the forefront of most of the battles, he somehow survives to the end, he, like Anne & Rackham, sails under the black still despite the supposed end of piracy on Nassau OR his epilogue piece is him sitting in an office above the tavern on Tortuga, establishing a second pirate base there. He doesn't get the Pearl in this version, but manages to sail off with The Fucking Warship. He, Flint, and Blackbeard hate each other, deeply, but also have the most experience and end up collaborating throughout the show for a few of the major battles.

Anna-Maria almost gets involved with Anne, but doesn't. She doesn't like how much they have in common, a rough past, a shaky relationship with a Jack (I assume we unfortunately have to see pretty much everyone fucking someone at some point, since it's Starz, and there's no way the writers wouldn't have gone the easy route of her and Jack), but she does save Anne's life at one point. Max thanks for her it, upset that she wasn't there, and post break up with Anne, Max finds her again, offers her a position on the new Nassau which she says she'll consider. In typical fashion of the show, we're never given a definite as to whether or not the two women ever get together. She survives but only because I said so, otherwise she's a minor character and therefore easy cannon-fodder (possibly literally) for an early series death.

Norrington ends up playing a major role in the early season, betrays the English at one point for Elizabeth's protection (he tells them that he's doing it to doublecross her, he tells her he's double crossing them, he doesn't know what he's doing). Will and Elizabeth were fighting Because Drama and This is Starz, so at some point she marries him, but it cements him onto their side (opposite of Eleanor and Woodes in the later seasons). He's good with strategy until it's personal (remember in his own canon he's the one who chased Jack around the world, got his crew killed), but a personal stake in things is what makes Elizabeth hone in on her best ideas, and they level each other out.

Season two finale he's killed by a random English spy on the island who was sent to be sure Norrington was doing what he said he would. With Eleanor's approval, Elizabeth tortures the spy for information, but after he gives up with little useless nonsense he knows, she still kills him, dumps the body, lies and says their information source escaped. When he washes in with the tide, Will claims it was his actions. He and Norrington were not close, but they were from the same town, and (he lies) he respected him. He knows Elizabeth did it, but also knows that he'll get much less flack for it, if any; and Elizabeth nods a thank you. It's the start of them communicating again.

Gibbs, as a storyteller, is given protection by the narrative, as it knows that it needs him alive to exist, and therefore he lives.

#potc #black sails

[gascon-en-exil]

Sorry if I sound rude Saying this but a woman wearing a short skirt and a cleavage isn't sexualized and acting as if thighs belly button and chest are sexual when they are just body part is the main problem of women not being able to dress how they want and to have t hide some body parts to not excite the male gaze. I agree that FEH is indeed using fanservice but saying that a woman wearing outfits exposing those body part is itself fanservice is wrong beyond limit, especially regarding the Edelgard design since it's very modest and anatomically wrong

Say it with me now:

Fictional characters are not people. They are tools.

What these units wear says nothing about what women should wear, but it does say quite a bit about FEH's artists and their target demographic. If you'd actually paid attention to that post, I was advocating for hornier male character art because that would allow FE's tastelessness to at least feel consistent.

Also, Zettai Ryouiki is the trope I was thinking of - sexualizing the gap of bare skin between a short skirt and stockings. I'm not going to pretend to understand why that's a thing - maybe it's sort of like the joke that Victorian Anglos got horny for exposed ankles? - but it apparently is, and winter Edelgard's got plenty of it.

I realize that part of Edelgard's sexual/romantic appeal is, ironically, that she's "modest" and unavailable to anyone but you the player(-as-Byleth), because straight men have that whole Madonna/whore complex thing going on where women or female characters who are perceived as too sexual or too experienced are somehow threatening or, worse, "used." There's also a TV Trope for that. Given my own experiences and the total absence of that sentiment in gay male culture, it's little wonder that some of my favorite modern FE female characters are Camilla and Manuela - because they've got obviously sexualized designs but are also written to be aware of their own appeal and how they make use of it.

However, you've really got to let go of that "My Girl Is Not a Slut" thing with Edelgard, because IS has no such reservations. Never mind the thigh gap winter alt, we've got

boob armor where previously there was none, for the alt players actually voted for,

a much softer and more human take on the Hegemon,

lying supine in a nightdress, and more exposed thigh courtesy of Cipher,

more exposed skin and basically a camel toe; I also know that Reddit threw a fit over this one in particular, because she's not muscular and/or scarred from the Agarthan experiments,

and an upskirt shot from Azure Gleam that lasts for two whole seconds, in the middle of a scenario where Edelgard is made to take orders from two older men and then reduced to a babbling child.

In the midst of any outrage over my pointing out more examples of IS treating Edelgard like a sex object, I'd like you to turn that feeling around and ask instead: Why does the camera never lovingly linger up a male character's clothes? Why are possessed male characters (ex. Conquest Takumi) never treated like helpless children? Why are there no Cipher cards of any male characters lounging around in nightwear giving the viewer bedroom eyes? When male characters become monsters (ex. Lyon with Fomortiis), why do their FEH versions look the same or even more monstrous?

Oh, wait. Is it because of this? I assume you also sent this.

Funny how when male characters are actually objectified in the same way, then and only then does it become stupid.

People get horny over Edelgard, and IS knows it. People also get horny over naked and mostly-naked men in ways that do not necessarily cater to straight male comfort, although fortunately for you I imagine IS doesn't seem to know or care about that. Take your wins where you can get them, and let the rest of us have our fun.

#Fire Emblem #FEH #Fire Emblem Heroes #FE16 #Fire Emblem Three Houses

[vicbutnotactually]

PLEASE give me any world building ideas you have for the caseynardo au!! That art was gorgeous, I’m so curious about it now 👀

Pssst ive got your Elder Gays fix >:]

First off, some lore on various phases in the Husband’s lives courtesy of @lucatea

- The guys have their own loose knit clan of scavengers, but that clan also has an enemy clan, competing with them over territory mainly. This other clan has a tendency of being violent, yes they’re basically the evil dudes in this AU.

- in a tasty parallel to Splinter’s human life, this enemy gang does burn down the boy’s first home, with Leo getting trapped in the burning house and almost dying, for some context a tangent:

- The Gays have a divorce era >:] 💅 it was inspired by rewatching Road to el Dorado and the melodramatic gay breakup in the movie with a song by Elton John ft The Backstreet Boys (slay.) After some time stranded in this new dimension, Leo starts to think that no one is coming for them, while Casey holds on to hope, they are pretty young here but they have already started scavenging. This entire time, they have been mainly looking for portal tech in order to try to get home (the tech does exist, but it’s very very difficult to find and there are just tiny fragments, which makes it very difficult, especially since these guys have no idea what they’re doing.) Leo falls into dispair and grows tired of searching for tech and wants to give up, while Casey wants to keep looking; so they fight, and split up, which is the first time they’ve been in their own, since they stuck together the entire time they were there. Tangent over, back to the fire 🔥

- They spend some time bitter but also worrying about each other. Meanwhile, the enemy clan has noticed that Leo is on his own now and has decided to take him out, cue housefire. Meanwhile, Casey decided to come back, realizing that they need to stick together, and while he’s not far from their house, he’s pacing back and forth, deep in thought, trying to figure out what he’s going to say to Leo and doesn’t notice the orange glow in the distance and the smoke rising from where their house is. When Casey runs through the woods towards the house he goes from the dark and calm woods to looking up at a raging inferno. He runs in and tries to get an unconscious Leo out, but part of the house collapsed and is pinning him down, with most of the weight on his right leg. With the flames closing in and the house filling up with smoke, Casey makes a heat of the moment decision and cuts off Leo’s leg at the knee (which wasn’t too hard since the bones were mostly reduced to shards.) He gets them both out alive (barely,) and manages to stop the bleeding. During the ordeal, Casey sustained many burns (but Leo not so much, the brunt of the flames hadn’t gotten to him, just the falling rubble,) mainly on his arms and back from shoving away the burning rubble.

Casey barely has time to breathe when he has to take Leo and make a run for it, since he can hear the enemy clan coming for them. Adrenaline is the main thing that gets him out of there, considering he’s trying to carry a still unconscious Leo on his back. He flees for who knows how long, trying tend to Leo’s wounds and being paranoid that he might die or that the enemies are still after them. Eventually, they come across an abandoned base, which becomes the home in that painting I did.

Leo pulled through, but Casey felt incredibly guilty about cutting his leg off, so he hyperfocuses on trying to make him a prosthetic which leads to:

- Casey made Leo’s prosthetic. I think that after a learning curve, he’d actually figure out how to make stuff out of the ancient tech, since he is kinda mechanically inclined in the show, with fixing cars and making himself gear and stuff.

He’d be running around putting himself in danger to find parts and worrying the hell out of Leo. But he’d have to constantly worry whenever he’s away that something might happen to Leo (who’s still at the base,) like he’s going to come home and find the place on fire.

- The boys have pets. This world has a domestic Horse-sized dog species. At some point, Casey finds a stray and brings it home, Leo disapproves but Casey does puppy-dog eyes and gets to keep it. But are you ready for the best kind of pet?

Grabcrabs:

Grabcrabs are very smart chihuahua-sized crab creatures and are the most common type of pet. They are child-like and very empathetic, as well as handy. Grabcrabs often have hobbies or jobs, and can be taught to do most things, but are not capable of language. Grabcrabs like accessories and normally wear something reflective of what they like to do. Grabcrabs are often helpers and therapy animals at places like hospitals (they wear little nurse hats.) A Grabcrab cannot be bought or chosen by a person, a Grabcrab chooses you. They can be very mischievous too, but never cause real harm because they feel bad when they do. They are pure little guys and it’s despicable to hurt a Grabcrab. The relationship to these little guys is different depending on what society they’re with; they can have genetic differences because when inside a city, their populations are mostly isolated, and their social roles can be different, with some cities even considering them equal to people while others even worship them.

At some point, they notice a little crab creature following them and after trying and failing to get him to go away, Casey names him Ricky and they now have a crab toddler. Ricky learns basic first aid, and he likes to garden so he has a little sun hat.

Ricky is the best boi. He plays a big role in saving Leo from the fire. When Ricky saw that Leo was trapped, he ran out for help and alerted Casey to the fire by freaking out and running circles and tugging on his pant leg. And when Leo is alone at the new base, Ricky tries to stand guard with a little stick, but Casey eventually gives him a knife. Ricky loves mischief but is also very protective and caring

Ok enough Ricky, we need some angst:

- At some point, Casey gets kidnapped by the enemy clan and he is held prisoner / hostage for some time (a month or two maybe?) during which Leo is losing it. He is furious and will stop at nothing to find him. Over the time Casey is missing, Leo starts to fear that he’s already dead or that they’re hurting him (since these bad guys are very much evil assholes,) so when he finds the enemy base he rips that place up and goes on a rampage beating the crap out of everyone there. He finds Casey chained up in a cell with all his gear gone and in poor condition.

After they escape, Leo takes care of him and he seems to be recovering before he takes a sudden turn for the worst. It was the point where he was walking around normally before he suddenly collapses. He gets very sick and gets close to the brink of death. He makes it but he gives Leo a good scare.

Random tidbits:

- the guys go on date night inside the cities, most often the restaurants or festivals. The cities hold different kinds of festivals yearly, and Casey drags Leo there.

- Casey is better with tech than Leo is.

- The way their house is depicted in that one painting I did it looks very peaceful. That’s because they’re above the treetops, but everything below is a jungle/forest hellscape. They have a massive barrier or electric fence of some kind surrounding their house to keep things out, specifically dangerous animals. In this world, the higher up you are, the safer you are, cities are often built high up in mountains or trees, although some take the other route and try to go underground instead. Most of the dangerous megafauna lives at sea level.

- around that world, you can find ancient remnants of various kinds of tech, mostly being giant destroyed mechs made for fighting. There are also rare labs and facilities that can be found (most are buried underground.) in these facilities is where most kinds of advanced tech can be found, as well as power source crystals (like the Kraang Crystals but smaller,) while the above-ground tech are mostly just rusted hunks of metal.

- the most peaceful times outside of the safe zones are the daytime, mainly early morning or afternoon. Night time is the most dangerous, with midday being close second, since most predators hunt at these times. Midday is also dangerous since it’s when the weather becomes the most extreme, with intense heat waves in the summer.

- Casey kept up his graffiti and now likes to do murals in their house.

- The jungles where they live have many Cenotes and underwater cave systems. The issue is that there is a species of vin that grows across these in a thick mat, covering them completely. It’s easy for someone who isn’t paying attention to fall through the vines and into a cave/cenote/pit, basically any hole in the ground, the boys fall into these a lot when they first get there.

I you have any questions or ideas, don’t hesitate let me know!

#i need to draw more affection between these two #tmnt 2012 #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt leonardo #casey jones #tmnt 2k12 #leocasey #caseynardo #disaster husbands tmnt au #disaster husbands au #sorry for the massive block of text lol #tmnt 2012 leo

[rapunzelforlorn]

I made my friend watch heartstopper and I got his reactions for you to all enjoy

Ep 1

Fuck Ben!

Elle actually trans?

FUCK BEN!!

Rugby bros nice & accepting

Charlie is him

FUUUUUUUCKK BEN!!!!

Is ig the main communication method?

Does "x" mean more than kisses?

Ep 2

Charlie is just so supportive

Ben gives the ick

Let people have crushes

Why do school dynamics in shows never feel like they do in real life?

Tori's an odd one

Upset we got robbed Charlie getting his haircut and stressing too the barber

Nellie's barks fake??

What friends play in the snow like this?

Nick's mom read him like a book

Rocketman can't play drums lol

WHY'S THE TENSION SO GOOD 😫

Loving the comic effects

Tori is SO weird

Floor person confirmed bi

Ep 3

Nick going through the queer rabbit hole, fuck that's depressing 😔

Do we like Imogen?

Feel bad for Tao 😔

What's with the sequined clothes?

Tao's a bit dramatic

Fuck Harry

Fuck Ben again!!

Good on Charlie standing up to him

Tao IS dramatic

Imogen is a bit much but not bad?

Who throws parties like this??

Is this a hotel?

The sneaker squeak breaking the silence

God I miss this nervous tension

Nick absolute Golden retriever

Ep4

A boy, talking about his feelings?!?!

Nick never got that jumper

Imogen is too much lol still not sure if we like her

Tao & Elle?

Does this art teacher have a name??

Mr. Arjiya?

Gay people sport

I really want one of these rugby boys to step and be supportive of Charlie being on this team

Imogen...kinda annoying

ANNOYING

Ally 🤣

Tao🤜vs🤛Nick 🙈

Harry's a twat

Nick looking genuinely upset about being "friends"

There's nothing wrong with worrying about your teammate¡!!!!

Nick being ambushed, not cool

Not sure Imogen is bad, annoying yes, but doesn't know better

Ep5

Fuck monopoly

Not Imogen's dog 😭😭😭

Nick's so conflicted and it hurts

Saturday came so fast??

Tao's hair flaps gets me everytime

Wait...what about imogen???

Tao's overprotective, heart in the right place

Not the strongly worded DM 😭

Tao quick to judge

Smooching!!!

Tao & Elle 😏

Imogen, good friend?

Ep6

Nick has good taste in pirate movies

PotC confirmed Bi movie

Bi panic

Friends to lovers pipeline

Why does it always happen in band rooms?

Girl, with very queer haircut - "never would've guessed you were gay"

The ice cream truck song?

Anti-homiphobia cheese

Picnic bants

Shout out to this vlogger

Tara is SUCH a good friend

Such a supportive group

Charlie's excitement for the official date!!

What is this magical milkshake shop???

Where do they get date money?

Tao being oblivious 😐

A concert after all that dairy?!?!

Nick saying he might be bisexual and then saying I'm not sure feels very bixeual

Poor Tara

Tao having the longest legs and being the slowest runner

The subtle carhart on Nick's coat 😂

Ep7

Why is Tori so weird??

Charlie needs to work on standing up for himself

Rugby lad 😂

Sweet popcorn 🤢

Char?

Harry needs to piss off

Ben's a fucking creep AND a pos

Nick standing up to Harry, mint

Nick's mom know? Motherly intuition?

I really need Charlie to stand up for himself, love that he has people in his corner but I need him to step up

The "s" word

Art teacher complaining about crumbs like the counters & cabinets aren't stained with paint

Tao 😔

Elle's fits tho

Tao holding his own against Harry 👀

Tao & Charlie 😭😭

Ep 8

Harry's a twat, Tori confirmed

Tori still weird but good sister

Issac has been unbothered and in his lane all season, we stan

Don't you have to fill out papers to quit a team?

Nick & Tao bonding

Tao is good friend

Seeing the "typing..." appear & disappear is such a relatable agony

Elle is her

Why don't we have a sports day?

What's the point of all girls/boys school if they're seemingly right next to each other and constantly intermingling

FUCK OFF BEN

Charlie...STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF?? 👏👏

Charlie & Tao hugging it out 🥺

Kinda want more Issac

Tao & Elle 👀👀👀👀

Kith? No kith 😖

The principle over the intercom 🤣

Nick & Charlie locking eyes in the rugby match

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

The walk off!!!!!

Issac still unbothered and in his book lmao

"I believe you" 😭💜😭💜

Seagulls do not mean beach but okay

Proper date antics 💜💜

The beach is all rocks?

"In a romantic way, not just a friend way" 🤣

And they were boyfriends

We love a supportive mum

Ending with a montage, love to see it

All in all I think he formed the correct opinions but don't worry I WILL be educating him about baby angel Tori and solitare.

#heartstopper #nick nelson #charlie spring #tara jones #darcy olsson #elle argent #tao xu #tori spring #narlie