#in universe what happens is Ed signs a paper with an x either because hes illiterate or because he doesnt want to sign it

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

And another thing! Literally any queer story that takes place during the colonial age would have a huge gaping hole in it if it didn't have anticolonialism as a theme. Especially one that centers indigenous people. Like the reason that every culture had their own concepts of gender until something happened and then suddenly the gender binary was ubiquitous is because western European colonial powers made their view of gender the only acceptable one as part of christianizing and colonizing the world. You're not gonna have a show set in 1717 in the Caribbean where the love interest is a gay Maori man and the main deuteragonist is a non-binary mestizo catholic and just skip over colonialism. Like these are exactly the people who western gender roles are being forced on at fucking gun point during this era. Jim and Ed are both mixed race characters who's gender and sexual identities are in active defiance of the colonial powers that be. And this is the fucking Stede Ed and Jim show.

And there's something to be said for the fact that Stede's toxic masculinity plot line is internalized and Ed's struggle with toxic masculinity is largely external in the form a white guy who rubs elbows with the British Navy when Ed doesn't behave to his standard of masculinity. That choice didn't come out of nowhere and it shows a deep understanding of where homophobia comes from. That's not to say that precolonial communities of color were paradise for people that we today would consider queer but the rich tapestry of sexual and gender expressions that existed in those communities were erased in the name of colonialism. That's going to affect literally any queer person at the time when OFMD is set. These two things are inextricably linked.

Like when David Jenkins says a lot of what we're taught about being men is wrong, motherfucker who taught us what a man was. Who taught Ed what a man was? Who taught Stede what a man was for that matter? It's the white dad with the English accent who is violent (derogatory) and overbearing.

Like you get what I'm saying right? Like it's a silly little rom com but also it must necessarily be that deep because of who these characters are and when and where they exist.

#ofmd meta #Our Flag walks the line like a fucking tight rope acrobat and I'm not gonna let fake fans sleep on that #like they depict things aesthetically without actually depicting them sometimes #ill talk about the aesthetics of episode 9 all fucking day #in universe what happens is Ed signs a paper with an x either because hes illiterate or because he doesnt want to sign it #and is resting on the assumption that hes illiterate to get away with not signing it either as longform fuckery or to soften the blow #and he signs it to save his white boyfriend from getting fucking shot #and then he goes to a privateering academy where he does enjoy folding socks and he's liberated from his black beard and hes cool with that #everything is more or less his choice which makes it palatable and doesnt completely take the tone somewhere dark and harrowing #BUT ALSO what were seeing is the British Military forcing an indigenous man to sign a document and he does so with an x #and then taking him to a secondary fucking school ass school away from his community where hes forced to change his appearance #but also they let him keep his hair so that they dont step on that particular trauma #im vibrating what the fuck is this show #how do they do it? #Like seriously this has been a comedy show????? #And don't tell me I'm reading into it too much episode 2 primes us to think about colonialism

[masterthetackle]

A Magical (or not) Academia

A Various Magia Record x Male!Reader Fanfiction

One: The First Day

Word Count: 4,732

A two hour train ride to your new home for the next four months. Honestly, you just wanted fresh air at this point. 

Kamihama City University was your first choice when it came to universities across the country, although there were ones much closer to home. A change of pace is exactly what you needed though, and you couldn’t be more excited to step on campus. Luckily, the university had graciously provided you with most of the essentials in order to stay in the dorms, so all you really had to bring was a few things from home. Instead of having a problem with necessities, you had a different problem on your hands.

Being that you were a two hour train ride away, none of your friends from back at home went with you. All of the other campuses around your home city would be filled with your friends, but you were the sole attendee from your graduating class. Unfortunately for you it meant that you had no friends, at least not yet. Hopefully over the week you’ll get acquainted  with a few other freshmen from your class. That’s why the campus had implemented a week-long event for the freshman to come on campus early and experience what life is like before classes officially begin for the semester.

And boy, would that be a blessing.

As much as you wanted to have a roommate, you decided against it. There were plenty of single rooms left in your dormitory, plus your parents were gracious enough to pay for your housing when your scholarships wouldn’t; you’d have a room all to yourself, but you didn’t mind. It just meant more private space for you to do whatever you wanted with. The only downside (or upside, depending on how you look at it) is the dormitory being co-ed, meaning there’d be quite a few girls living on your floor across the hallway. 

The only thing you were really worried about was making no friends and having to be alone most of the semester. 

Oh, Kamihama is the next stop, you thought. The beautiful scenery from before was gradually changing from fields to a cityscape, like a panorama. Skyscrapers, a radio tower, restaurants galore… there were so many things to like about the place. You’d only been there a handful of times with your family, and once alone whenever you initially visited the campus, so you’d hadn’t explored certain parts of the city. What better time to get well-acquainted than the extra week you’ll get?

The train came to a halt as passengers started getting off, and you did the same, small suitcase in hand as you maneuvered through the crowd. The station was quite busy, a few workers getting ready to board while others were getting off to go to work. The way to get out of the station was simple enough, and soon you found yourself breathing in nature once more. 

“Ah, it feels so good to be out of that cramped train!” Smiling with arms stretched wide, you cracked a wide smile. However, it soon faded once you realized your predicament. “But really… I still have to trudge to the campus. Well, I guess having my smartphone handy was a good idea.”

There was a lot to see along the way. Children were still on their breaks and were running around with each other, enjoying themselves to the fullest with the biggest smiles on their faces while their mothers were trying to round them in for lunch. Stray animals crept along the sidewalk and played Frogger trying not get hit by the incoming traffic, mostly cats. They all had one thing in common, though; they weren’t alone.

And then there was you. 

The Satomi Medical Center was your first indication that you were walking the right way. Being a ten minute walk from the school campus, it was definitely the first place to go if you had a life-threatening injury, although there was a smaller branch located on the campus in case of immediate assistance. Rumor has it that the director’s daughter was going to be attending Kamihama City University as well, but it hadn’t been confirmed as of late. Maybe you’d see her around.

Ten more minutes until I step on campus for the second time. Your mind was in a jumble, wondering what sorts of people you might meet on your first day of orientation. Surely you wouldn’t be the outcast trying to find his way among the others? There had to be somebody, anybody who’d be your friend in this new, strange environment. Looking around, there weren't many others your age out and about at this time, which was a bit out of the ordinary to you. More than likely they were out working their jobs or even setting up their dorm rooms. 

You were so lost in the head that you didn’t pay attention in front of you and ended up bumping into somebody. Falling down on her butt, the girl looked up at you and blinked. Speak of the devil, a girl that’s actually my age! 

“I’m so sorry about that, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and accidentally bumped into you.” Smiling, you offered her your hand, which she graciously took and stood. Dusting off her skirt, she took a moment to compose herself before speaking. 

“It’s fine. You don’t look to be from Kamihama, what with your smartphone out while walking absentmindedly.” Getting a good look at her, the woman in question had blue locks that fell just a few inches past her shoulders and piercing blue eyes to match. “If I had to guess, you’re on your way to the university?”

“Oh, yes. I just got off the train about fifteen minutes ago and I was on my way to drop off my stuff at the dormitory…”

“That’s quite the coincidence. I’d just left some of my housemates at the university for orientation myself.” She moved a strand of hair away from her face as she spoke, surveying you up and down. “Anyways, that’s not the point. What is your name?”

This was the perfect opportunity to make a potential acquaintance. I can’t mess this up.

“It’s Y/N L/N. No formalities though, just call me Y/N.” You outstretched your hand for her to shake, hoping that she would at least do you that much.

“Yachiyo. Yachiyo Nanami.” Yachiyo’s soft hand clasped over yours and she shook it firmly, looking you straight in the eyes as she did so. “Anyways, I apologize for having to leave so soon, but I have to get going. I have a photoshoot that I need to get to.”

Photoshoot? What is she, a model? “Oh… well, it was nice to meet you regardless of the ill timing. I’m sure I’ll see you more in the future.”

“Probably so. Well, I suppose I’ll see you later, Y/N.”

“Yeah.”

Letting go of your hand, Yachiyo started walking the opposite direction that you were supposed to be going and leaving you to yourself yet again. Dammit. Moping about it wasn’t going to do you any good, so yet again you were walking towards the campus. The amount of people around started to pick up drastically when you were in the vicinity of the university in question. Young adults were scattered about and talking with their friends, others were carrying boxes to move in. 

To think that you were one of them now. What a curious thing indeed.

There was around an hour until you had your first official event for orientation, and you still had to grab your dormitory key and place your bag there. An hour should be enough time to get my stuff sorted out. Students were loitering about and busied themselves with one another as you walked into your particular dormitory. One of the Resident Advisors was handing out keys to the first floor, which thankfully you happened to be living on. Smiling, he looked to be enjoying his duties. Either that, or he was just dreading it so much that he didn’t want to come off as rude or boring.

“Hey there! You must live on this floor, right? What’s the surname?” On the table in front of him were the keys placed in a flourish, probably for show. His fingers tapped on the wood harshly, waiting for a response from you.

“Oh, sorry. It’s L/N.” Monotonously and with no feeling, you bore a stare at him, awaiting your key. It’s not like you couldn’t see it in plain sight, but a few forms were slid in your direction along with a pen.

“Okay, so you’re just going to have to sign this paper saying you got the right key to your room, and then this other form says that you got the right key to your mailbox. I’m surprised they’re letting you live in the room by yourself, though. Usually you’d have a roommate, but they must have made some sort of exception for you.” 

“Nah. I mean, since I guess the other guy who was supposed to be rooming with me bailed at the last second, my parents decided to pay for the rest of my room so I could have it to myself…” 

“Ohhh. That’s quite lucky, I suppose!”

Smiling with a hint of malice, you snorted. All you really wanted to do was finish signing the forms, but he made it really hard for you to concentrate on writing your name because of how much small talk he was trying to make. Not responding to his previous sentence, he didn’t try to speak up until you were nearly done. One last stroke-

“Don’t forget about the floor meeting tonight. It’s mandatory, since there’s gonna be another form to sign and all.” This time you did look up, glaring daggers straight into his soul. “S-Sorry, I should have let you finish before speaking up.”

“No… it’s fine. It’s not like I messed my name up or anything.” You hissed your words through grit teeth and accepted the exchange of forms for your keys, picking up your bag from the ground and trudging to your room without another word. The hallway was quite narrow in retrospect to the building, the only ‘decorations’ on the walls being the emergency exit routes and flyers talking about the different resources the university has to offer.

But none of that matters right now. All you wanted was to get to your room and throw your bag down so you could go attend the events outside. 

Making it to your room labeled one hundred nineteen, you made sure you had the right key in your hands before slipping it into the door, opening it. The first thing you noticed was the light breeze that was brought into the room by the open window on the opposite wall. A dresser was leaning against the adjacent wall next to the door to the small personal bathroom, a complimentary television sitting right on top of it with the remote placed beside it.  Your bed was simple, linen sheets laid atop it for you to put on yourself along with two standard pillows. It was in direct sight of the television, making easy viewing access. Canvases with inspirational quotes such as ‘not all who wander are lost’ and others of the sort were hanging up above your desk to make the room feel more homey, akin to your room back at home. Not to mention the plug-in internet that you thankfully brought an Ethernet cable for was placed conveniently close. The finishing touch was a small succulent in the corner of the windowsill, sitting there with as much sunlight as it could possibly get.

So, this is going to be my home for the next four months… You almost had the nerve to say those words out loud, but what good would it do? There wasn’t anyone in earshot who could hear you, save for the neighbors and one girl who was struggling to get her stuff down the hallway. It was no wonder, given that she couldn’t even see in front of her.

Maybe I should help her. It could be my good deed for the day to make up for running into Yachiyo earlier.

Quickly doing what you intended to do earlier and placing your bag on your bed, you shut and locked your door at an alarming speed before bolting down the hallway towards the girl. 

“Hey, you look like you could use some help. Let me get one of the boxes for you.”

“O-Oh, um, I mean, if you really want to help me, I would appreciate it! My roommate would, but uh, she says she doesn’t have time because she has her own stuff to unpack before orientation starts.” She grunted, clearly struggling to keep hold of the cardboard. You took no time slipping the top box off and into your grasp, and you were finally able to get a good look at her. A petite girl with a small blush on her face, probably out of embarrassment, was looking back at you with golden, almost honey brown eyes. 

“That’s a shame that your roommate didn’t want to help you. Not to offend you, but you look smaller than other girls I’ve seen.” 

“I’m not offended in the slightest. I mean… you didn’t seem to mean anything rude by it… I think?” 

“So, where’s your room at?”

“One hundred seventeen should be the number on the door…” 

Making a mental note of the number, you started walking back down the hallway towards your own room. To your own surprise, one hundred seventeen happened to be the room right across from your own. Lucky coincidence, or possibly fate? You didn’t know.

The door was already ajar from a box keeping it in place. Instead of barging in without consent, you waited a few seconds for your companion to catch up to you so she could enter first. When she did, you were surprised to see how much more thought and decoration was put into their shared room. Just as she had said earlier, her roommate was unpacking everything that she could out of totes and boxes, stacking most of the contents on her bed. Her light blue hair contrasted with the other girl’s reddish brown locks, but you were more interested in the glare she had when you stepped in the room.

“Who’s he?” was the only thing she could muster to say as she haphazardly kicked an empty box across the room and towards the recycling bin. 

“It’s not nice to be rude, Rena… and he helped me carry the last of the boxes down the hallway that you wouldn’t!” Huffing, the girl whose name was still unknown to you gestured to an empty spot beside her. “You can place it here, um…”

“Y/N. Just call me Y/N. And by the way, I live right across the hallway from you, so if you happen to need help again… don’t hesitate to knock on my door. I’ll answer if I’m there.” Smiling, you set the box down exactly where she told you to put it, and you were met with an equally broad smile. 

“I’m Kaede Akino, and my roommate over there is Rena-”

“I don’t need you to introduce myself to him.” Placing one last thing on her bed, Rena turned to you with a flat expression. “Rena Minami. I guess I should at least try to get along with you if you’re going to be across the hall. Heh, maybe if one of our neighbors makes a lot of noise, we can just file a report on you since we actually know your name.”

“Rena, that’s not nice! Y/N wouldn’t do anything like that… right?”

“Right. There’s nothing to worry about.” Giving Kaede and Rena a thumbs-up, you took out your phone to check the time once more. Thirty minutes until orientation… “It was really nice to meet you two, but I was planning on trying to… socialize a bit more before orientation actually started.” 

“You could have said you were going to go take a nap and I still would have bought it. Whatever.” Rena rolled her eyes, which seemed to be something common for her as Kaede looked to be used to it by now. They were probably one of those freshmen who went to high school together and decided to be roommates so they didn’t have to get to know a stranger. 

“Oh, um…” Kaede looked like she wanted to say more, but shook her head at the last second before giving a polite wave. “I’m sure if we don’t see each other during the day that we’ll see each other at the floor meeting. It was nice meeting you too!”

Taking one more brief glance at their room, you stepped out and, putting your hands in your pocket, started making your way out of the dormitory and back onto the main part of the campus.

You never really got a good look at it before, but the lavish greenery spread around really did liven up the place. Some took advantage of them, sitting under the trees as the branches shielded them from the sun, while others were just gathered around to take pictures in front of the massive beauties. There was a part of you that really wanted to do it, too. Stand under the tree with friends and take a picture together for the hell of it. 

But… in reality, you still had nobody to call your friend. They were all acquaintances, nothing more. You were still, in a sense, utterly alone. You hated this, so much in fact that you kicked a loose pebble on the ground and hit someone else’s shoe. He didn’t seem to notice though, which you were thankful for. But, really… you were one out of thousands standing around on campus, but you were the only one in sight who was by their lonesome. There wasn’t an empty table for you to sit at and mope, nor a bench. 

Guess I have to do this the hard way. 

Walking forward a few more steps past the front doors of the dormitory was a challenge in and of itself. You weren’t normally a sociable person when it came to strangers, and the only reason you happened to talk to others today was by accident and by courtesy, nothing more. If someone asked you, ‘Hey, can you go ask this person a favor for me?’, you’d probably freeze up and not be able to say anything, thus making you look like a complete idiot. Why couldn’t you just be a normal guy like everyone else and just… well, talk to others? Anxiety, you think it is. But isn’t it natural to clam up in social situations?

You didn’t seem to notice the hand sitting on your shoulder until now, and the surprise mixed with your thoughts from earlier came crashing down and caused you to jump and move forward. Turning around, there didn’t seem to be anyone there, or anyone who looked guilty of pulling a prank you should say. 

There it was again. This time you kept your hand on the other persons’ and turned around, keeping a vice grip on it until you saw exactly who it was. An unfamiliar face nonetheless, but a woman. You let go out of embarrassment from the situation, and all she could do was let out an excited giggle. Her brown hair was tied up to the side in a ponytail, with bangs framing her face and orange eyes that seemed to mimic flames… whatever that was supposed to mean. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you the first time, but when I got that reaction out of you… I just couldn’t help myself to do it the second time!” Pointing her thumb behind her, she stopped her giggles and smiled. “My friends thought you looked a little bit lonely just standing there, but I was actually getting ready to leave the campus myself and thought that you could keep them company in my stead!”

Does she really have to be so loud? You could feel your eardrums wanting to burst just from this woman’s apparent volume control, or should you say lack thereof. Grimacing, you nodded your head without even thinking of the real reason she said that. Looking behind her, you saw a group of three girls: a blonde, a pink-haired, and a mint-haired girl. Wait a minute, her friends were just a bunch of girls! 

“Thanks a lot! Truth be told, I just decided to stick around because somebody didn’t want to… well, actually she had something to do, but that doesn’t matter! I’m not even supposed to be here since I’m not a freshman!” As if you thought it couldn’t get worse, her giggle from earlier turned into a hearty laugh. “Anyways, have fun!”

She turned around without a second thought, nearly running into someone before turning back around. This woman is full of energy. 

“Oh wait, before I forget,” she started, thrusting her hand forward for a handshake. With the force of it, she probably could have knocked you over if she tried hard enough. “Tsuruno Yui, the Mightiest College Student! Pleased to meet ya!” 

The initial shock of the situation before you left you speechless. You just stood there and looked at her outstretched hand as she waited, an unwavering smile plastered on and refusing to turn into a frown. It had been at least ten seconds now and she still waited for you to shake her hand without skipping a beat. Prolonging the situation would only make you look like an ass, so you gave her hand a firm shake before pulling it away.

“Y/N.”

“Y/N? I’ll be sure to remember that! Okay, this time I’m gonna leave for real, but my friends can definitely keep you company!” Once again turning on her heel, she made quick strides in order to step off the campus, waving at her friends quickly as she ran past. You followed her only up to said friends, who were watching the entire ordeal go down with mixed reactions. 

“I’m… really sorry about Tsuruno,” the pink haired girl said. “I didn’t think she was actually going to go up to you so easily like that. We just thought you looked a bit lost. Are you from Kamihama?”

“No, not really. If I was, I probably wouldn’t have ran into that woman earlier and caused her to fall as I was looking at my phone for directions to get here…” Sighing in defeat, your shoulders decided to slump down on their own. “I don’t have any real friends here. All of them went to universities closer to home.”

“That must be hard…” She glanced over at the blonde, who started pestering some of the nearby wildlife on campus while she wasn’t paying attention. “Felicia, don’t pick on the wild animals like that! They didn’t do anything to you!” 

“Whatever, Iroha! Don’t look at me like they won’t come at you at a moment's notice if you have your eyes closed!” Felicia pouted, crossing her arms and walking back over. 

Noticing that the only other girl left hadn’t spoken up, you turned to face her. It didn’t seem like she wanted to talk, at least not yet, as she had clung onto Iroha without a moment to spare. Even though she was your age, you had to wonder if she had somewhat of a sheltered lifestyle, or maybe even some emotional trauma that made her this way.

Iroha and Felicia continued to have their own debate about the wild animals as you and the girl had a staring contest of sorts. Her green irises stared you down, but her lips remained tightly sealed as she examined your figure. Deciding to break the silence yourself, your lips moved on their own.

“Are your friends always this way?” A small question was the best way to break the silence, and it seemed she agreed, as her lips finally opened to formulate a response.

“Sometimes… but usually it’s Felicia and Tsuruno and not Iroha... “ Quiet, yet refined. She was a nice breath of fresh air compared to Tsuruno, who wasted no time both scaring you and making your ears bleed in less than two minutes. “Sometimes I wish they wouldn’t argue or have debates, but they usually don’t listen to me. It’s… almost as if I’m invisible to them when they do that.”

“I understand that feeling. Trust me.” 

A gentle smile for a gentle girl. It made you crack a smile of your own, though it was short lived as Felicia broke the small silence. 

“We have ten minutes to get to that huge auditorium and take a seat! We need to hurry before we have to sit all the way in the back!” This seemed to have startled your potential friend, who jumped in response to the sudden change in tone. Felicia noticed this and waved her hand. “Sorry, Sana!”

“Felicia’s right. You should come with us, Y/N.” Iroha clasped her hands together in a warm gesture. Tsuruno was loud enough for the entire world to hear, so it was no wonder Iroha knew my name without having to ask. I’ll have to wait for a formal introduction, though. Right, because the three girls were already making a small move ahead of you and towards the auditorium in question, leaving you in the dust. Probably Felicia’s idea, if you’d have to guess.

It only took a minute to arrive in the auditorium, and you took a moment to glance around and observe your surroundings. Thousands of seats in a stadium-like fashion lined the space, as well as a top balcony with extra seating above in case they ran out. On the main stage, a podium stood in front of rows of foldable chairs, seated with staff who wore official clothing prepared for the ceremony. A banner with the mark symbolizing Kamihama City University hung from said podium, which made the small welcome speech they were going to give for orientation seem all more official and real. 

Even though seats were filling up quickly, the four of you were able to snag seats in the middle section about fifteen rows back from the main stage, making it easier for you to see. With only three minutes to spare, too. Felicia and Iroha sandwiched Sana in between them, while you sat on the edge of your group beside Iroha. There was another girl next to you, but you weren’t able to hear what she was saying to her friend beside her in the midst of all the talking. Iroha and the others were having a conversation of their own at the moment and you didn’t want to be rude and interrupt them, so yet again you were contemplating your thoughts.

It was nice to feel like others worried. Even if Tsuruno did it in a way that you couldn’t explain, she still thought you could use a friend or two just to get by. As you glanced around you spotted Kaede and Rena, who were chatting up a storm. You could have gotten away with going with them and even helped Kaede unpack her boxes. I wonder if she even got to unpack any? Although… amongst the handful of familiar faces, there were still thousands around you that you didn’t know. Most of them you didn’t have to know, but yet they were still in your class, so you had to at least acknowledge that much, right?

No, you thought. It would be a struggle to keep up with so many people. Only a handful. That’s all. 

The eerie sound of someone testing the microphone placed upon the podium shook you out of your trance, and you looked up to see that the president himself was getting ready to speak. Sitting up straight, you were ready to hear the first words come out of his mouth, expecting them to be stale and tasteless. The words he used to open the ceremony with reminded you of where you were, and why you were here. They were simple words, really, but through his diction you could understand the emotion behind them.

“Welcome to Kamihama City University.”

#magia record #magia record x reader #various x reader #madoka magica #madoka magica x reader #pmmm #pmmm x reader #a magical academia #fanfiction