#just love it when a gay guy has a lesbian company (this is me saying topaz is growing on me) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pigdemonart · 1 year

Text

Battle Subway Depot Agents (by pig-demon)

When I made designs for these guys last year I didn’t really think they needed colored references/master post, but since then I’ve drawn them a lot! Also people have added them to their fanfics and drawn fanart! So I figured it was time I made a post for easy ref. :]

These designs are obviously free to use, just give credit (and link me your work if you're comfortable, because it makes me happy to see!) All I request is to stay respectful to their pronouns and skin colors, ya knooow… 👍 note: The pokemon on their cards are all companions, not the ones they use on the Battle Subway. Except Jackie...the litwicks are just there to fill space/give them company.

More info under cut:

Edit: Important disclaimer:

These are again my designs/interpretations for the agents. Please don’t treat them as canon or as the only, quintessential designs for these literal background npcs. Many people have done takes on them before and after me, even back in 2010. It feels silly to ask, but due to past experience, I ask that you please DONT hunt down anyone that does a different take on the depot agents!! 👍

Tags:

I'm gonna start tagging them individually, but for now all Depot Agent comics and art on this blog are tagged under Depot Agents.

Height chart:

I’m not too strict about heights, so I don’t really care about actual measurements. Here’s an approximation of what I tend to visualize though:

Sexualities/Gender Identities: I don't have official labels for each and every agent because I like keeping things fluid for characters to develop these traits on their own. However, as a queer person, I enjoy designing characters who are also queer, therefore I can safely say none of these characters are straight. The ones who are set in stone are Ramses (gay man), Cloud (lesbian woman,) Jackie (non-binary.) Furze uses he/they pronouns but their gender is undetermined. I also welcome anyone giving the agents a different gender identity to suit them (as long as it's done respectfully.)

Notes about each agent...

Cameron:

- Cameron dyes parts of his hair blonde and keeps other parts in black. This is because he is a big fan of Elesa and her fashion choices. - Though there have been a few occasions to meet his idol, he is always way too nervous to approach her, feeling deep down that he'll mess up somehow. - He practices modeling poses in secret. He loves flourishes and flare, but is simply too insecure to put it on display. - Of his coworkers, he gets along the best with Furze. He's the easiest to talk to because Furze will do most of the talking. - Cameron is easily intimidated — even mean Pokémon can make him nervous. Though, his two worst fears are being left in a room alone with Jackie, and being left alone in a room with Isadore. - He takes advantage of his height to sometimes hide behind some of his coworkers. - Cameron is much better at Pokémon battles than he gives himself credit for. Emmet and Ingo were pleasantly surprised by this, since Cameron was promoted to fit a temporary role on the Battle Subway. They happily made him a permanent member when he proved himself capable. - His Dwebble (Pebby) is secretly very strong, and rushes to protect Cameron when it can. Cam sometimes thinks Pebby helps him feel more confident in himself too. - If he stumbled into any of his coworkers outside of work, he would simply explode of embarrassment. - He is the youngest child and only son of his family. He lives in his own apartment in Nimbasa.

Cloud:

- Cloud (like Ramses) knew the twins when they were very young. - She used to be an ace trainer in her youth, even going so far to compete in the Pokémon league. Winning and becoming the champ was the most important part of her journey, but something happened along the way that changed that outlook. - It seems with age, her competitiveness has mellowed out. However, she maintains an intense energy when battling. - Her favorite types are Psychic and Flying types. Swoobat (Sweetie) is her ace. - Her favorite hobby is baking, and she often bakes sweets for the crew. She knows all their favorite flavors by now! - She prioritizes keeping a friendly relationship with all her coworkers and thinks of them fondly. She considers Ramses family after all the years of working together! - She is a big fan of Brycen's movies and can recite the lines. - She lives with her wife in Anville. - Cloud loves doing maintenance work both at home and in Gear Station. She enjoys bringing her own tools and industrial flashlight.

Furze:

- Furze only has one volume setting (mid loud,) but he finds himself feeling right at home when talking to either one of the twins. - Furze has ADHD, and this is reflected in some of his habits, most visibly is his fidgeting when sitting still for too long. - He rides a bike to work every day. When he is late, Cloud clocks in for him so he doesn't get in trouble. - This is a kind of a guy that sits crouched gargoyle style on chairs. Only outside of work, of course. Bad posture could get him in trouble. - While working on the Battle Subway, there will be times Furze feels sorry for his opponents and offers to quietly let them pass anyways. This...has also gotten him in trouble. :[ - He went to the same elementary school as Isadore in Castelia. Though Isadore seems to have forgotten their short-lived acquaintance, Furze has not. This is part of the reason Furze claims they are in fact good friends!!! - Furze is the middle child of a big family. He lives with his mom and takes care of her, along with his many Darumakas and Darmanitan. All of his Pokemon have famous trains names. - He collects model trains. Naturally.

Isadore

- Isadore had plans to become the station master the moment he was hired as a depot agent, but alas... (sad trumpet sound.) - As a youth, he was more interested in science and engineering over Pokemon battles. He enjoys the strategizing aspect, at most. Not so much the competitiveness. - In addition, his Pokemon are all rescues and not used for battling. He's had his Watchog (Winston) since he was in his late teens. - His Electrode (Gregor) and Voltorb (Leonard) were rescued from the likes of Team Plasma. - Isadore admits he understands Pokemon better than humans. This has been apparent his whole life. - In spite of acting like a sitcom villain, Isadore cares about the management of Gear Station and the safety of the passengers to an incredible degree. He sees it as a personal life goal to assist in the management of Gear Station, as well as the success of the Battle Subway. - Though it pained him to become a subordinate to the twins, he begrudgingly accepts it for the greater good. - His almost militant efficiency certainly made up for his years of antagonizing the twins before they became the bosses. Ingo and Emmet understand this better than anyone. - Isadore keeps tabs on all of the staff members. So he very well knows all their birthdays and makes it a point to celebrate it. This is by no means a -happy- or -festive- event. It's just customary. - Like Furze, he was originally from Castelia, but now resides in Nimbasa. Isadore's only family is his mom and she lives in his childhood home with their Stoutland. - Isadore would have probably been voiced by every glasses guy ever J. Michael Tatum had he not already been cast as dear Emmet lmao

Jackie

- Jackie is a mystery and they like keeping it that way. When they talk, it's practically impossible to determine what is a lie or truth, especially if the subject is themselves or their background. - They love scaring Cameron the most and will ask to be paired with him whenever possible. They claim Cameron is their "favorite coworker," while Isadore is the least favorite. - It's plain to see why -- Jackie is the only one that doesn't passively tolerate Isadore's tirades. - Though my comics sometimes may allude to Jackie being a ghost/supernatural, this is not confirmed nor canon. I just personally enjoy toying with the concept. : ) That being said...

- Item #: SCP 7453

- Object Class: Euclid

- Special Containment Procedures: The ████ ██████ is ██████ within ████-██████. - Ingo and Emmet choose to not question anything about Jackie, since it's clear they're one of the more efficient workers. However it can be a safety concern... - Cloud and Ramses have worked with Jackie for a long time, though they've forgotten somehow. They believe Jackie is a new hire since they appear to be young. - Anyone trying to make sense of Jackie's employee records simply can't bring themselves to any conclusions. It's better to ignore the inconsistencies. - Jackie has never been seen to leave Gear Station. Jackie has never been seen in anything but their uniform. Jackie has never been confirmed to eat, drink or blink. Jackie knows your secrets. Jackie thinks it's... amusing.

Ramses

- Ramses sometimes misses having a full head of hair, but he thinks his signs of age make him look distinguished. (he is correct.) - Ramses is sort of the "mom friend," making sure everyone's concerns are heard, as well as trying to keep the peace whenever a conflict might arise. - If another coworker is feeling low, Ramses will try to cheer them up with a lighthearted joke or offer advice if they'd like it. - When the twins were promoted to bosses of the Battle Subway, Ramses cried because he felt so proud. - In most circumstances, he is a very simple and logical man. He is quick to find solutions and tries not to fret over the little stuff. It's not good for his heart after all. - His ace is his Pikachu (Musa,) though the mouse is more of a lap pet now. At home, he also has an Audino (Sara) and a Manectric (Nubi) who keep Ramses' husband company. His Klinklang (Moli) is the only one of his personal pokemon that accompany him to work nowadays. - Ramses considers Cloud family. They are best friends and love having family gatherings outside of work. They also gossip a lot, and don't mind when Jackie decides to join. - Ramses jokes about looking forward to retirement, but really doesn't want to leave until he is physically incapable of working anymore. Gear Station is like a second home to him.

In-Game Quotes

The most important reference of all are their in-game quotes, of course, so I'm adding it to the post. A lot of their personality traits can be extracted and interpreted from these few lines. And I personally love that about Pokemon NPCs -- there's a lot of room to explore and play with. Some appear very obvious. Cameron practically announces that he isn't ready for the battle that's about to ensue and seems genuinely surprised to win. Furze comes out the gate talking about the subject they actually care about, which is their job and their love for trains. The two of them are very easy to understand. Now, Ramses lines allude to a gentle and simple personality. He views himself with humility, and maybe even with a bit of humor comparing himself to a train and to his opponent to a station. If he loses he shows no signs of disappointment, he just accepts defeat with one last honest quip. It s also amusing to see the Depot Agents all use train metaphors to describe themselves since it falls in line with how Ingo and Emmet talk.

In comparison, Cloud does the same thing calling herself the terminal instead. Immediately, she is way more daring, though still keeping a sense of professionalism. To me, it's obvious she is competitive as she even admits she was expecting to win ("Ah...I didn't see it coming.") Jackie's lines are fun since it's up to interpretation if they are being literal or lying. It's almost like they are more interested in confusing/creeping out their opponent than actually beating them. To me, it gives off a mischievous vibe. Isadore's opener "There are only two roads in life." is a curious one because it almost feels like he is trying to be philosophical. Definitely a guy who views himself as an intellectual, regardless if that’s true or not. I like to think it's a saying he really believes in, and it applies to his life. The road he likes (long route) vs the road he hates (shortcut) -- fighting tooth and nail to become boss vs biting his tongue and accepting Ingo and Emmet as the Subway Masters.

Those are just my thoughts on how I write these characters. Please have fun playing with these lines too!

#depot agents #depot agents master post #my art #submas #submas adjacent ahaha #will probably edit as time goes on but who knows really #if you spot any typos no you dont kiss kiss #cameron #cloud #furze #isadore #jackie #ramses

2K notes · View notes

found-family-tournament · 8 months

Text

Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 9 Group 42

Propaganda and further images under the cut

Wright Anything Agency (& Company): Phoenix & Trucy Wright, Apollo Justice, Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, Pearl Fey, Ema Skye, Kay Faraday & Sebastian Debeste

221B Fam: Ryunosuke Naruhodo, Susato Mikotoba, Herlock Sholmes, Iris Wilson, Wagahai (& Gina Lestrade, Yujin Mikotoba, Kazuma Asogi, Barok van Zieks)

Wright Anything Agency (& Company):

THEY MEAN THE WORLDDDDD TO MEEEEEE for some reason a lot of people in the fandom don't play Ace Attorney 5 which is fair since it's kind of messy BUT. BUT. IT INTRODUCES ATHENA AND DOES SOOOO MUCH FOR THE WRIGHT ANYTHING AGENCY. In AA4 we learn that Trucy Wright made the Wright Talent Agency into the Wright Anything Agency in order to bring Apollo in as a lawyer when before it was just her (a magician) and her adopted father Phoenix (a poker player). and AA5 is all about Athena joining and Apollo learning how to trust her, at least it is to ME. they're so gooddddd aaaaaaa like you've got Phoenix and Trucy who are weirdos who love to scheme and you've got Apollo their longsuffering guy who deals with it all, and Phoenix is the mentor... and then Athena comes in and she has a lot of light and determination and trauma (just like the rest of them lol) and she's SO determined and I like her a lot!! And Trucy is my favorite and Phoenix cares about her SO much but he also has his other found family in the Feys!!!!!! Mia dies in the first game but her ghost stays with Phoenix and her sister/cousin Maya and Pearl are SO IMPORTANT TO HIM he loves them so much that's his sisters to me ;-; he would do anything for them and Trucy and he's growing as a mentor to Apollo and Athena too as the game progress... They don't write them all perfectly but they sure do a lot of things I like :) also feel free to split this up into their Wright Anything Agency or Phoenix + the Feys or Phoenix + Trucy if you need to I won't mind I just love AA's found family a lot

Picture this. You are a attorney in your mid 20s and somehow find yourself surrounded by weird little girls with every case you take on. You officially adopt one but really, all of them are either sisters or daughters to you. Especially your loud, burger-loving lesbian sister. Your childhood friend turned rival turned lover, who has a whip-wielding adoptive sister of his own, goes on a series of investigations while messing around with a furry for a couple of weeks and returns with two 17 year old children, a thieving lesbian and a child with a narcissistic murderer for a father who should've kept him back in school a few grades. Your lover has each of them under an arm, and they are appended to your stable of weird little girls but are very much hidden in the back. Then you find out that your daughter, the official one, has a 22yo trans half-brother with a musical diva mother and was half raised as a prince in Khura'in, so you divorce his boss (who is not your official lover, you just had a weird thing for a while when you were in your alcoholic phase, maybe while your actual lover was still messing around with the furry) very publicly while sending him to prison for murdering your daughter's father. Oh, but you have been disbarred, so you make your daughter's son send his own boss to prison, by planting false evidence on him. Of course the young man punches you in the face. Needless to say he works for you for a couple of years and never finds out that he's related to your daughter because that would require a straightforward conversation, now wouldn't it?

only one of them has never been arrested. only two of them arent lawyers. theyre all gay

Theyre very weird and misteruous and kinda fucked up a bit and they were through a lot but phoenix did his best and trucy well she's still just a kid but oh she's trying so fucking hard and always trying to wear a smile and it's breaking my heart the two of them. Also theyre weird i already said that but let me say it again they are WEIRD. and we love them<3 (the ace attorney fandom)

221B Fam:

I dont have much to say i am just constantly rotating them in my mind BUT i have to say the the last image i attached contains like MAJOR spoilers lol i just wanted the canon images in there

Ace Attorney has some wonderful found families, but this one's particularly special because of their circumstances. An exchange student and his unhinged weirdgirl assistant from Japan feeling so out of place in turn-of-the-century Great Britain, yet finding a completely batshit insane family during their time there...it's just so <3 <3 <3 Also Ryunosuke calls them "the greatest family in the world" and it makes my heart happy. Also they commit lots of crimes

568 notes · View notes

skrunksthatwunk · 7 months

Text

one kill la kill detail that's particularly dear to me that ive never seen anyone talk about is how blatant mako's crush on ryuko is from the get-go

like, mako doesn't really go out of her way to make friends. she's sometimes friendly with people, especially when she happens to be around them (i.e. maiko, gamagori, satsuki), but we don't really see her seek out friendship in the way she does with ryuko. they meet briefly before school, but ryuko doesn't even say a word to her. but then mako does stuff like immediately eagerly waving ryuko over in class, trying to tackle-hug her, declaring them besties because they're desk neighbors. do you think she and that guy ryuko replaced were bffs bc of this? or any of the other people mako has sat next to? no. and while one could argue that maybe she tried and failed with everyone but ryuko, her persistence when it comes to ryuko (which ryuko herself comments on and which is evident before ryuko really accepts her company (i.e. before she moves in with the mankanshokus)) doesn't seem to be present with anyone else. mako knows what it's like to be lonely, but she has no reason in particular to latch on to ryuko, other than, perhaps, that shes someone she hasn't tried yet. but she meets new people pretty often, and that doesn't lead to much interest on her end.

it seems more likely that something about ryuko caught her attention from the jump, likely how cool and pretty she is (something she talks about a LOT.) she talks (with her family) about how hot ryuko's body is, how good her old pajamas look on her, compares her tit size to satsuki's (which means she was either staring at both of theirs or that she simply feels that ryuko's are bigger, likely out of loyalty or respect for her (think big dick energy)), etc etc etc. like she's always fawning over her and cheering her on and showing her off as her "bestest friend" to mikisugi and aghhhghdfhgdjdjdh she's so gay man. what the fcuk

this isn't really present throughout the series, but she's often seen blushing or sprouting nose bleeds or ogling ryuko in early episodes. like any time there's a WOAH!!! HOTTIE BOOBA NAKED crowd reaction shot there'll often be a little mako alongside the horny guys blushing or peeking between her fingers or whatever like. she checks her out

she also is immediately very welcoming and supportive of ryuko. she tells her family to leave her alone when she's talking to senketsu and that it's not that weird, defends her in the fight club episode, literally invites her to uhaul on day one (classic lesbian maneuver) like. and she's also always talking about how close ryuko and senketsu are, that ryuko and senketsu are closer to each other than anyone else, that, while she's in ryuko's corner, she never really asserts herself as ryuko's best friend, even though she's very clear that ryuko is her best friend. she thinks she comes second. she's a very good sport about it, but something about that natural assumption that she's not her #1 is a little sad to me, though maybe she's just giving ryuko space and understanding in a very generous way. again, she's very supportive. like she's always doing what she can to cheer ryuko up or help her along, like bringing her lunches and standing up for her when the students of honouji bend the rules in their favor (like in the tennis episode). she's very "ily!!!! no pressure. but you're great :D" and i love that for her (though occasionally when shit gets dire she'll put her foot down, especially as the series goes on, i.e. rebelling against satsuki, the wedding dress scene, insisting this and that about the ryuko she knows (esp right after the time skip)

she's also got her cuddly streak. about half of it's reserved for hallelujah moments but there's also the scooter ride and her calling back monster-ryuko and the post-recovery nuzzling (i love that scene ehehhehdhdhshdgcvzkzh) and the epilogue moments and her GLOMPS

anyway my point is she loves ryuko and she does from the jump and she's great and i love her and ryuko loves her too but that's a separate post and yeah!!!!! girlfriends <3

#klk #kill la kill #ryumako #theyre my favorite sapphic ship idk why they just hit different. theyre so cute and they love each other etc #mako mankanshoku #ryuko matoi #i wish i could provide screenshots of the early episode blushing and whatever but alas i am. lazy. someday hopefully i will #anyway shes down bad for her lol #just gotta ramble about them sometimes. i should do that more often i like klk a lot

316 notes · View notes

kingofanemptyworld · 1 month

Text

Rin, identity issues, and the complications of being an isolated, alienated teenager

It feels sort of weird to say but I generally don’t head canon characters as having particular sexualities. Whatever people go for in fics is usually fine with me - gay, lesbian, bi, pan, something more general like queer. As long as it makes sense for the story they’ve built and the character they’ve shaped to fit it, I’m good. Unless you’re ignoring a canon LGBTQ+ sexuality, in which case, yeah, I’ll take issue with that.

But anyway. Rin.

I’ve got my personal ship for him (BonRin my beloved), but regardless of the pairing I see him as bisexual. He’s so open with his infatuation with Shiemi, and okay, sure, fandom likes to ignore the love interest in shounen for the most part because we’ve got gay ships to peddle. But I don’t see the point in that unless it really reads like it’s a front, or a result of a character suppressing themselves for one reason or another. And with Rin, I think it’s pretty clear his affection for Shiemi is sincere. You technically have the in-universe evidence of the demon that brought out his true desires to back that up, but even without it, Rin likes her. It’s complicated because of Yukio and Shiemi’s own inexperience with romance, and yet I never once doubt he really likes her.

That being said… he’s very appreciative of the guys in his life, too. (Peddling my gay ship here) Bon in particular, considering he’s often admiring how cool he thinks Bon is, that his haircut suits him whether it’s the blonde rooster look or the undercut. If you don’t want to see it as romantic interest, that’s your prerogative, but to me Rin comes across as seeing cool and cute as different traits he finds attractive (in Bon and Shiemi respectively).

I also think his bisexuality would fit neatly into his narrative struggles to “pass” throughout the early parts of the series. Rin has grown up as the neighborhood problem child, ostracized for being violent, and eventually he decides he’s fine with just his brother and his father — and the rest of the monastery, presumably — for company. (Except that’s absolutely not true and clearly he’s starved for friendship and support.) People looked at him and saw a monster, even before his demonic heritage made an appearance; why would he bother giving them even more ammunition when it comes to reasons to hate him? So no matter when he figured out his attraction to guys, he’s not going to lean into it, because he also likes girls, right? (Ignoring for a moment that bisexuality is a lot more nuanced than that.)

Rin likes girls, Rin is human — that’s what’s going to get people to like him, or at the very least tolerate him. That he likes guys, that he’s half demon, he can shove that shit down and pretend it doesn’t exist. Lock up any stray thoughts and keep the sword sheathed around anyone who doesn’t already know.

(Excuse me for being amused by Rin wielding his humanity and supposed heterosexuality as a sword and shield.)

The problem, of course, is that he can’t keep up the facade forever. The narrative won’t let him. Rin has to embrace his demonic side, because it’s the only way to move forward and to continue to help his loved ones. And once he’s moved past the issue of his friends being upset over the deception, when they understand he’s still Rin despite what he’d hidden from them, Rin is finally allowed to be himself. He uses his flames, he lets his tail move freely in the open around the Cram School kids. Rin still doesn’t like this side of himself — it’s inextricably tied to every moment of pain and isolation he’s dealt with his entire life, including the death of Father Fujimoto (and, y’know, his mom). But he is moving forward, he’s trying to adapt.

And isn’t that some great fucking subtext for his bisexuality, too?

#king’s court #blue exorcist #ao no exorcist #okumura rin #rin okumura #bonrin #because I love them #anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk #I probably made more sense in my head than I did writing everything out #but oh well #there’s a similar conversation to be had about yukio and his suppression/obsession that develops #but I am not qualified for that one #also I promised myself when I made this blog that I’d try to be engaged with the fandoms I got into #because the one I’d sunk a lot of time and effort into on my main no long brings me much joy and I miss interacting with people #so. uh. here I am I guess #god this is probably less compelling than my season 2 analysis of bnha seven years after it aired

48 notes · View notes

ladykailitha · 1 year

Text

The Subtleties of Steve Harrington Part 3

These next parts a little on the rougher side emotionally. But his friends aren’t trying to be malicious they just don’t have all the facts.

Part 1 Part 2

The morning before

“Come on, Nancy,” Robin said. “It’ll be fun!”

“It’s a gay bar, Robin,” Nancy protested. “Only you and Eddie will feel comfortable there.”

Jonathan scoffed. “I’ve been to a gay bar before. You might have to fob off a couple of advances but just tell them you’re in a relationship and they tend to leave you alone.”

Nancy frowned. “When did you go to a gay bar?”

“Out in a California,” Jonathan admitted. “And it was by accident. But yeah. It’s lots of fun.”

“I guess it’ll be okay,” Nancy sighed. “At least I’ll have Jon and Steve to keep me company in being straight in a gay bar.”

Jonathan who had been taking a drink, spit it out.

Nancy came running over patting his back. “Are you all right?”

After he had finished coughing he gave Nancy a hug and kissed her temple. “Love, Steve isn’t straight.”

Nancy pushed him away. “Yes, he is.”

“No. He’s. Not,” Robin said and then turned to Jonathan. “I didn’t realize he had come out to you, though.”

Jonathan just chuckled. “I never said he did. But it’s really obvious has a thing for both.”

Nancy frowned. “But I’ve only ever seen him date girls.”

“And when would he have been able to date guys?” Robin asked. “It’s scary enough being a lesbian, but believe me when I say that right now, being a gay man is a death sentence either from within or from without.”

Jonathan nodded. “He’s got a crush on Eddie, love.”

Nancy’s frown deepened, now faced with proof she went digging through he memories. Starting with the Upside Down bullshit.

“Oh.”

Robin cocked his head and grinned. “Yeah. Oh.” She gave Nancy a hug. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t see until I was told either.”

Jonathan’s eyebrows shot up. “How?”

Robin blushed. “Let’s just that Steve’s gaydar is way better than mine. Mine is practically broken.”

Jonathan just shook his head.

One Week After

“I’m telling you, dumb ass,” Erica growled at Lucas, “there is no way that Steve is dating Eddie.”

Lucas threw his arms in the air. “What would it take for you to see it?”

El tilted her head to the side. “You can like boys and girls?”

Erica rolled her eyes. “Well, duh. Of course that’s a thing.”

“Hey!” Max growled. “She didn’t know.”

Erica mumbled her apology. “It’s just Steve. The man is the slut.”

Max rolled her eyes. “And that precludes him from liking guys, how?”

Erica sighed. “It doesn’t. Honest! But Eddie? Eddie is one and done kind of guy. I just can’t see them together.”

El tilted her head. “Not true.”

Erica raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

El smiled sweetly. “Steve may like sex, but he is clearly is a romantic. If he found someone who loved as deeply and as strongly as he does, he would be a one and done, too.”

Erica grumbled. “Yeah, I guess.”

Max rolled her eyes again. “Look, Steve has never been straight the entire time I’ve known him and the fact that he and Eddie are together is super cute.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Thank you for the assist, but holy hell, how did you see it and I didn’t? I had to told.”

Max looked down at her hands. “Billy.”

Lucas sat down hard. “Oh fuck.”

Max lifted her head and waved her hands. “He wouldn’t, he didn’t. But I could tell Steve would have been down to fuck. Like once: to get it out of his system or whatever.”

“But, it’s Billy...” Lucas said, anguished.

“You can hate someone and still find them attractive, love,” Joyce said from the doorway.

Lucas looked up. “Hey, Mrs Byers.”

Joyce smiled softly at him.

“This doesn’t get out this room, you hear me?” Max said. “Steve doesn’t know I know about Billy. It would kill him if it got out. He hates the fact he was attracted to Billy.”

“And I don’t doubt,” Joyce said gently, “that after getting his had bashed in by the guy that whatever feelings he had went up in smoke. Because he would pick you kids over literally anyone else.”

El looked up at her and smiled. “Except Eddie.”

Joyce softened even further. “No, baby girl. I think even then. If Eddie asked Steve to chose between you kids and him, Steve would pick you kids every time.”

“But Eddie would never ask,” Max said firmly.

Joyce smiled. “No. He never would.”

One Month Later

Jim Hopper was used to having his world rocked. Ever since Sara died, he had taken hit after hit. He should be used to it by now.

But no, it seemed the universe had one more surprise left for him.

They had been having barbecues at Steve’s house all summer and Hopper wanted one at his new place (oh so wonderfully supplied by the US government).

So on a lovely July evening he invited everyone over. Even the Munsons. Not that Hop had a problem with Wayne Munson, not exactly. Wayne was a good man and really tried his best to raise a troubled kid all on his own. And now that he had El, he could sympathize a lot more.

No, Hop thought with a heavy sigh. It was Eddie Munson that was problem. He was all too familiar with Refer Rick and his favorite dealer.

And it was because said dealer was dealing the night Chrissy Cunningham died that he got roped into all this shit.

Of course, Joyce had wheedled him to inviting them. Because the kids loved him. Eddie Munson was the Pied Piper as far as Jim Hopper was concerned. Sweet and charming. Laughing and playing with the kids. Letting them be kids. Immediately treating El and Will like they had always been a part of the group. He did take a little bit longer to warm up to Jonathan. Though admittedly that had been a two-way street on that one.

Steve, Dustin, hell, even the kid himself had all told Hop that he didn’t deal anymore. He had been scared literally straight.

But the inner cop in Hop had trouble believing it.

But he had promised Joyce and El that he would play nice and limit the growling to things he was actually doing wrong and not just growling in general.

This though? This was the last straw. He had finally been proved right about the kid when he caught Eddie cornering Steve behind the tree.

Hop grabbed Eddie by the scruff and hauled him off of Steve.

“Hey!” Eddie and Steve protested.

Joyce and Dustin came running, both hoping to defuse this before anyone else came over.

“Jim!” she hissed. “Put Eddie down.”

Hop looked at everyone’s faces and started to wonder if he misread the situation.

“Yes, Hop,” Steve through gritted teeth. “Please unhand my boyfriend.”

Hop glared at him. “Boyfriend?”

Joyce sighed. “I think you forgot to tell Jim something, love.”

Steve and Eddie blinked as Dustin threw his arms in the air.

“You, doofus,” he said, fondly and then turned to Hop. “Steve and Eddie have been dating for a month.”

Hop’s jaw dropped. “Steve’s gay?”

“Bisexual,” Steve explained. “I don’t know how people keep having that reaction, honestly.”

Dustin grinned. “Heterosexual goggles.”

Eddie laughed and ruffled Steve’s hair. “This should have been the first clue our Stevie liked the boys.”

Steve yelped and darted away as everyone but Hop laughed.

“You could do so much better than Eddie Munson,” he said, looking up in frustration. “Why?”

Steve shook his head. “No, I couldn’t.”

Eddie blushed. “Babe, you’re just saying that.”

Steve pulled him close. “No, I’m not. Everybody keeps looking at each of us with such blinders on. Seeing what they only want to see. For me, it’s a rich, straight, Christian white boy with a silver spoon in his mouth and the world at his feet. Instead of what I really am, a bisexual disaster with a minimum wage job who only knows how to protect kids from monsters.

“And then there’s you, sunshine. People see you as a criminal, Satan-worshiping cult leader, instead of the sweetest, kindest, most loving person I’ve ever met. I’m happy you’re mine.”

Eddie blushed. And Hop, he flushed red too. But his was from shame. Because Steve was right. He had seen both boys that way. Let his prejudices cloud his judgment.

Those two boys had done more for this town than pretty much the entire population had it’s entire history. They deserved his respect if nothing else.

“I’m sorry I misjudged the situation and both you boys,” he grumbled. “But next time, go somewhere more secluded to make out. Please. For my sanity if nothing else.”

Eddie and Steve shared a guilty glance.

“Yes, sir,” Eddie mumbled.

“Yes, Hop,” Steve murmured.

Joyce beamed at them. “Now that we have that settled, let’s go get something to eat.”

Hop watched Eddie and Steve walked off holding hands, Eddie dancing in front of Steve.

“Sap!” Eddie called playfully.

Steve yanked on Eddie’s hand, causing the two boys to stumbled together into each others’ arms. “You love it.”

Eddie’s face got soft. “I do. I love you so much, Stevie.”

They kissed so softly it made Hop’s heart ache. It was a truly fucked up world where these two boys had hide themselves from the world to be happy.

Because, fuck. Yeah. These boys were perfect for each other.

Part 4

Tag List: @awkwardgravity1 @maya-custodios-dionach @spectrum-spectre @wonderland-girl143-blog @estrellami-1 @evix-syne666

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #coming out #ladykailtiha writes

319 notes · View notes

purplepuddlesuwu · 8 months

Text

(Minor spoilers for Mortal Kombat 1)

Okay okay I had no damn Idea that a lot of men found mk11 Fujin attractive (Mostly because I wasn't all that into MK11 at first nor aftermath cause college and all that)

But a lot of people believe that Fujin has been genderswapped because Kung lao mentions Raiden's SISTER.

And I personally just don't like when companies gender swap characters but only because sometimes they either change their whole personality or they only do it to please a certain group of people rather than the character or the story or the lore and all of that whatever.

I personally like Fujin as a dude because there's honestly not that many dudes who show as much compassion for others as well as be a bad ass at the sametime... So when I found out that he possibly could be a woman in the new timeline I was and still kind of slightly annoyed because hell I don't know I like seeing a guy that can kick ass as well as be compassionate and kind and be sassy. THAT'S HOT!

But now thinking they may gender swap him it just makes me a little sad because it makes me think they are either doing it because of his personality or because of men thirsting after him but then being like "but I don't like men/I'm not gay". Like bish you can find men attractive without being gay. Just like how women can find woman attractive without being lesbians and Asexual people can find people in general attractive without wanting to have sex with them or have a relationship with them.

But I don't know. This was kind of the reason why I was chill about Fujin not being in the game because they are already doing some wacky shit and shit that didn't really need to be changed but they did it anyway because :T... Hell I don't know

I'm gonna wait until the game comes out to see what the fuck is going on there. I would still love him if he was a woman or a non binary person. He's my baby girl after all. But if they fuck up his personality and his design I'm gonna Mcfricken lose it.

I'm not buying the game my boyfriend did al I'm just gonna kinda watch him play and probably get in his nerves about thirsting after Kung Lao, Raiden, Bi-Han, Kitana, Mileena, Johnny Cage,.... Sindel.... Basically everyone :T

But I just had to get this off my tits because when I heard about it I was just like "But why?"

Like I know in his ending he said he went through different life times to experiment which good for him, good for him, but was this not Liu Kang's doing? I mean I guess you could say "The timeline where he was a woman was the one Liu Kang was like 'yeah we keeping that'" BUT HELL I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

They also believe there is gonna be a female Nightwolf which once again I was just wondering "Why"

But I'm not the developers or the writers I just kinda don't understand why gender swap them... If that's what they are doing nothing is confirmed yet so I'm just sitting here BBQ on my titties confused as hell....

Anyway I'm gonna go back to playing that one new RPG game that I can't spell :T

#mortal kombat fujin #mortal kombat fandom #mortal kombat 1

15 notes · View notes

assorted-queer-thoughts · 2 years

Text

My Thoughts On: Lightyear

Ok, I've been hearing a lot of things recently about this movie, and even from my own parents, who aren't sure if they want to let my little siblings go see it. It was even banned in 14 countries, but why?

There's a lesbian.

That's right, there's a canonically lesbian character in a stable, loving, long-term relationship in a Disney movie. Surprised? Maybe you weren't, but I sure was. That is, of course, why my conservative parents aren't sure if they want to take my younger siblings to go see it. They very strongly disagree with queer representation in general, and they think that "Disney is trying to expose as many young kids as possible to LGBTQ+ lifestyles, and they're really pushing that agenda". Additionally, they're quite displeased that Tim Allen is not returning to voice the character of Buzz Lightyear, saying that "Disney has kicked him to the curb for his conservative political views".

Now, if you've done any reading on this subject, you'd know everything that I've just written is wrong. Recently, there's been a large portion of Disney staff speaking out against the company that claims to be queer-friendly, but still censors most of their content, and has also recently taken a lackluster stance over Florida's "don't say gay" bill. Pixar creatives have said that they've seen many beautifully diverse stories sent to Disney review boards and come back almost entirely stripped of the representation. One of these things was a lesbian kiss in Lightyear, which was removed for unknown reasons. After this speaking-out by queer employees, the kiss scene was actually added back into the movie, showing not only that the employees voices have been heard and are making a difference, but also validates their claims of censorship on Pixar films. This scene's return has sparked international backlash, banning the movie in 14 countries, and earning some hate from conservative parents like my own. While Disney is making progress in their representation, the fact it became a talking-point at all is just sad. Disney tried so hard to subtly censor things like this, and the employees have finally decided to speak up about it and come against it. It makes me so happy to see our community stand up like this. Disney is not as queer-friendly as they'd like to seem, but they're making progress, and progress is the first step.

On the subject of Tim Allen, he was NOT "kicked to the curb" for his conservative views. Disney hasn't been cutting him off. In fact, he just signed on to produce a Disney+ exclusive show based off of his The Santa Clause movies he did with Disney. I don't know about you, but signing on to do a new show worth millions of dollars doesn't exactly seem like getting "cut off". The creative minds behind Lightyear have already commented on this, explaining why Allen wasn't asked to voice Buzz Lightyear. They said that in the initial stages, there was confusion between Buzz Lightyear the toy, and Buzz Lightyear the Space Ranger, so they decided to make the two characters as separate and distinguishable as possible. While Tim Allen perfectly captured Buzz Lightyear the toy as a goofy, fun guy who serves as a sort of comic relief, they wanted Lightyear, the action movie that inspired the toy, to have a more serious tone, so as to not undercut the drama. To do this, they asked Chris Evans to voice Buzz Lightyear the Space Ranger, and his voice is perfect for the role they wrote. Tim Allen himself has not commented on this yet, but there's enough information here to make it obvious this choice was creative and not political.

Ultimately, there's an underlying factor of hate and bigotry here. When conservative parents condemn Disney/Pixar for trying to "normalize LGBTQ+ lifestyles", they do two things. One, they marginalize queer people as a "lifestyle", like being vegan or having a regular exercise regiment. Being queer is not a choice, is a part of who we are, and how we were made. It's not a lifestyle, it's a fact of life. We are here, and we won't go out of fashion like some people want us to. Two, they confuse "normalize" with "accept". Maybe this is just me, but there's a huge leap from seeing something all the time, and accepting that thing and being okay with it. We see crime all the time, it's a normal thing to hear about, but we don't accept it as alright in our society. If these people aren't going to "accept" us, that's on them. However, the first step to providing more safe spaces for queer individuals is making it a common thing to see queer people. Decades ago, the same thing had to be done with African-Americans as segregation was ending. Lots of conservatives (and conservatives who claimed to be "Christians" despite their clear contradiction of Christian values) acted out socially and physically against African-Americans and their integration into society. Everyone had to adjust to seeing them out and about in places that were previously reserved for white people. Even though not everyone accepted them (and some still don't today), they normalized the African-American in everyday life. I don't think there's many outspoken Christians (or "Christians") who would say that racism is okay, but they did back then. The first step to correcting bigoted beliefs was normalizing the people being hated. Once you can see the person as a human being, and not just an object of your hate, it changes your view. It changed mine. It's changed the view of countless Christians who fought against racism, and now fight against homophobia and transphobia. Love is beautiful, and as Christians we are called to love. Where do people get off spreading hate? Step one to revising that view is normalizing.

I hope I didn't come off too preachy. This subject came up very suddenly, and I felt I should say something. Sending prayers and best wishes to everyone out there, that these issues will be resolved in a loving manner, and that in the end love will win! Stay safe, stay hydrated, and God bless!

~Alex

172 notes · View notes

rosetheex-editor · 6 months

Text

[Video transcript begin.]

[The transcript begins from a bedroom floor, someone can be heard hammering nails into something. Before propping the phone up to show a metal torso, with one arm. And a lady sitting on the floor. The woman doesn't speak but a voice is heard in the background.]

?: Rose? How long have you been up?

[Voice identified: Henry.]

[The other person responds with something out of frame, causing Henry to gasp.]

H: ROSE YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT? YOU SHOULD HAVE ISN'T PR COMING OVER TODAY?

[A sharp knock can be heard, along with giggling.]

[The other person speaks pointing at the metal torso. Her voice sounding like it was put through a cheese grater.]

R: h- hide buddy…

H: Yep.

[Rose grabs the phone and slowly gets up, grabbing two crutches before moving to the door.]

R: o- ow… my throat…

[Rose opens the door slowly.]

[Behind the door stands a group of women. All smiling. Ness is there with the leader, who happens to also be the tallest.]

?: OMG! Hey girl!

[Voice identified: Ophelia.]

R: tall…

?: Yeah… she's very tall and a lesbian… Brain why?

[Voice identified: Ness.]

R: n- nobody in… pr is straight.

O: Damn straight! I mean. Um. Damn gay!

[Ophelia giggles, the volume of her voice increasing. Seemingly by accident.]

O: So! May I come in?

?: Before you do, can I just say, Rose. Your voice sounds like shit.

[Voice identified: Eden.]

O: Eden! Be nice!

R: hi… evely-

[Rose cuts herself off, Ness looking worried by the second.]

R: eden.

Ed: Yeah. Thanks for getting it right this time.

[Eden clacks her teeth together, showing off the fangs that had sunk into Rose’s arm just over a month ago.]

R: t- that reminds me…

[Rose lifts her arm into frame, slowly removing the bandages and showing the scar to the PR members and Ness.]

R: s- still alive bitch

?: Woah! Eden, you can just. Give scars like that now? Awesome!

[Voice registered, awaiting name…]

Ed: Oh, shut up, Becky!

[Name registered: Becky.]

Be: Fine! We’ll be talking about this later though. That’s cool as fuck!

R: not so… c- cool when you’re in a hospital bed… f- for almost a month.

Ed: I’d do it again in a heartbeat, dicknips.

R: a- and i'd be happy to bash… y- your fuckin head in bitchlips.

O: Okay, I totally love mixing swears together as much as the next gal, but we have a few things to work out, don’t we?

R: eden… isn't coming in.

Ne: Rose just.

R: Eden. i- isn't. coming. i- in.

Ed: I didn’t want to, anyway. Lived here for weeks, I’ve seen enough.

[Before anyone can delay her entry any longer, Ophelia steps in, grabbing Ness and Becky, pulling them in after her. Her grip on Ness’ arm is tighter than her grip on Becky’s hand.]

Ne: OW! Ophelia my arm-

O: So! Where’s Adam? I’ve been so curious about him since I heard about the little guy!

R: d- don't know. nice dress tho-

[Rose is cut off by Henry screaming and a cat meowing.]

H: MY TOE!!!!

R: i- ignore him. nice dress ophelia.

O: Aw! Thank you! I actually… Oh, where is my bag! Adelia? Where’s my suitcase?

[A distant voice is heard, presumably Adelia.]

Ad: Right here girl! Sorry, I had some trouble with it.

[A suitcase is rolled into the apartment. Ophelia grabs it and opens it up. Revealing a ton of shopping bags.]

O: I felt bad about taking Ness out of the country without permission. So I got you some things to make up for it!

[Ophelia beams at Rose. Almost eerily. But the rest of her face and tone is friendly.]

R: n- none of this is gonna… spy on me right?

O: Of course not!

R: a- and speaking of ness… i… s- see y'all gave her… a b- bit of a makeover?

O: Yep! She bought that on her own, though. Amazing what a Showfall company card can buy you!

[Rose turns to only face Ness, She has on a long purple dress with red roses, a red bow is placed on her short green hair. as well a fancy necklace is placed around her neck.]

R: y- you good ness?

Ne: Oh yeah! They took care of me, don't worry! Right Ophelia?

O: For sure! Yeah! Ness was a great addition to girls night.

R: d- don't hurt her and… m- maybe if you want she can tag-

[Rose is cut off by another scream, causing her to scream in return.]

R: GIVE ME A MINUTE!

[Rose coughs.]

R: keep her safe… she c- can tag along again i guess… just don't hurt her.

O: Of course, Rose. Why would we ever hurt her?

H: ROSE IT’S ON MY FOOT!

R: give me a minute!

Ne: Wait what's on henry's-

[Rose sets her phone on a counter in a way everyone is visible, before running off.]

Ne: -foot.

O: She’s nice!

[Ophelia elbows Ness, a smug grin on her face.]

Ne: Ow! what was that for!

[Ness laughs, clearly joking.]

O: You’ve gotta shoot your shot, girl!

Ne: WHA- I- UM-

[Ness' face turns a bright red, she hides it in her arms.]

Ne: I… was already gonna do that actually.

O: Well hurry it up, buttercup! You’re going to lose her to some other girl if you don’t act fast!

Ne: I WAS GONNA DO IT TONIGHT-

[Ness cuts herself off before falling to the ground, As soon as that happens A brick comes flying through the window being caught by Ophelia. Attached is a piece of paper.]

[Ophelia stares at it, before showing it to Ness.]

O: Look. Seems like your secret admirer wants to give you a gift.

Ne: 'You won't get the chance, you'll lose your head'? What the fuck?

O: Oh well. Doesn’t matter.

[Ophelia grabs the note and shoves it into her mouth. Swallowing it.]

Ne: God… I really hope y'all find this person… But um yeah… I was gonna give Rose a literal Rose tonight and do this whole thing…

O: Awww! That's so adorbs! Let’s get this wrapped up so you can go do that, eh?

[Rose can be heard sighing.]

R: s- sorry… a project of mine… f- fell on henry's foot.

Ne: IS HE OK???

R: y- yeah… laying with luna right now.

Be: Hate to interrupt. But… Adam? Can we see him?

[A man sneaks far behind the women, fire extinguisher in hand.]

Be: And Leon, you can put the fire extinguisher down.

?: How the fuck?

[Voice identified: Leon.]

Be: Hey! These enhancements aren’t just for show!

[She motions to her mechanical antennae.]

R: ugh… I'll get him. he's not moving though.

O: Wonderful, bring him here.

[Rose slowly walks out of frame, returning after almost a minute with Adam.]

R: h- here… j- just don't hurt him.

[Before Ophelia can take the arm, a robotic voice rings out through the apartment.]

?: CALIBRATION COMPLETE.

[Voice identified: Adam.]

O: Oh?

R: ADAM?

A: VIRUS WIPED. POWERING ON.

[The arm whirs into motion. Moving each individual part one at a time. Before turning to face Ophelia.]

R: ADAM OH MY GOD YOUR BAC-

[Rose's voice stops as she enters a coughing fit, coughing blood visible on her bottom lip.]

A: You.

O: Hm?

[Adam lunges at Ophelia, wrapping himself around her neck. She yelps in surprise.]

R: a- adam no! stop!

[Ness tries to remove Adam only to fail.]

R: ADAM GET OFF!

[Rose coughs some more.]

Ne: ADAM ROSE IS HURT! GET SOME WATER!

[Ophelia laughs, seemingly unaffected by Adam’s attack. Until he curls the tips of his fingers inwards, and she stops laughing. Instead grabbing for the base of the prosthetic.]

R: DON'T HURT HI-

[Rose coughs even more.]

Ne: Adam now!

[Ophelia yanks the arm off of her neck, red now dripping from a few spots down onto her dress, she pouts a little, and holds Adam away from her.]

R: d- DON'T YOU DAR-

[Rose makes a noise that barely sounds human, Ness turns pale and starts screaming at the people in the room.]

Ne: I'LL GET THE FIRST AID KIT ONE OF Y'ALL JUST GET HER SOME WATER!

[Ness runs out of the room.]

O: Now, what was that for?

A: You know. Bitch.

R: a- adam… what are you talking about…

A: PR. Virus.

[Ophelia rolls her eyes. And stares at Adam, smiling slightly.]

O: You’re upset about that? Jeez, dude! Way to hold a fuckin’ grudge!

R: adam. bat.

[Rose slowly stands up, using her hand to wipe the blood from her mouth.]

O: Don’t.

R: w- what's stopping me?

A: Me. Sit. I need to. Converse.

R: f- fine…

A: Thank you.

O: I feel a little goofy holding you up like this. Can I put you down or are you going to attack me again?

A: Please place me down.

O: Alright.

[The arm is set down, Ophelia tilts xer head at him.]

A: Why.

O: Why what?

A: Why put the virus. In there.

O: Buddy, I don’t know the reasoning, I’m not the one who did it.

A: Caused me to hurt. People. Immensely. Why would you do that.

O: I’m trying to think like Cass, here. A distraction? But from what? Hm. Yeah, I have no clue.

R: j- just a guess… m- maybe from… eden

O: Maybe. But you don’t have to say her name with such disgust, Rose. That’s mean. She was just doing her job, you know.

R: i… t- trusted her… t- thought of her like m- maybe a sibling… a- and she put me in the… h- hospital for almost a month.

O: That’s on you for doing that, girl. There were tons of people warning you. I remember seeing all of that and sweating bullets, but you just wouldn’t believe them.

R: i… i g- guess i've always… d- done that…

O: Mhm. You need to trust people way less. I learned that the hard way 75 years ago. Anyway. Adam. I have no idea what to tell you, dude.

A: Liar.

O: Hm.

[She leans in, and whispers something that the phone can’t pick up. Her volume lowering to a near silence. Despite being metal, Adam seems to tense up.]

A: I hope you explode.

O: Alright, man. Uh, so… can I get some water? Please? If you wouldn’t mind.

[A friendly smile can be seen plastered on her face, she looks directly at Rose. For just a second too long. And then looks back at her suitcase.]

O: Oh! Right! Gifts! Hold on, I’ll get them out!

[Rose continues coughing, out of frame enough where it isn't visible what's happening. She speaks, her voice now even more messed up.]

R: f- fine. g- get a glass… g- get the tupperware of food… too.

O: Alright!

[Ophelia bends down to rummage through the suitcase with one arm, and the other extends over to the cupboard, which is fairly far away, and out of frame. The tap can be heard turning on. A few moments later, it turns off, and her arm retracts with a glass of water in hand.]

Be: I keep forgetting you can do that. Scares the shit out of me every time.

O: Ha! Yeah, sorry, Becks! Now, where did I put that…

[Ophelia pulls out a few bags. And hands them to Rose, not getting up.]

O: Open it! I made sure to get you something you’d like.

R: g- give me a second…

[Rose seemingly points at something out of frame.]

O: Do you need help cleaning that up? I’m an expert, you know. I’d be happy to clear all of that up for you.

R: w- we have a mop… w- where? uhhhhhh s- shit where did dad… put the mop…

[Ophelia looks at Rose for a few seconds, her expression softening for a small moment, before snapping right back into place. xe gets up and starts looking for the mop.]

R: d- don't worry about it… j- just… i- I'll open the bags…

[Rose opens the bags one by one, pulling out multiple shirts and jackets. Each one looking as if they were taken from the 80s and 90s, many of them having pastel colors. Rose sets them back in the bag before slowly standing up.]

R: t- thanks… i guess…

O: Do you like them? I really hope you do, I’d feel terrible if they weren’t to your liking.

R: i… like them…

[Rose coughs again, this time the blood falling from her mouth is visible. As Ness walks back into frame.]

Ne: Hey adam. Uh Ophelia I got the first aid kit.

O: Thanks!

[Zey extend their arm to Ness, grabbing the first aid kit, and retracting it back. Beginning to bandage her neck.]

O: Today’s visit has been wonderful, thank you for having me over!

Ne: Um… Did anyone get Rose water? Like I asked?

O: I took care of it, don’t worry.

[Rose drops to the floor again, the coughing continuing.]

R: s- son of a BITCH!

Be: Ooooh. That doesn't look good. Does she have tuberculosis? We have a bit of experience with that. Remember when Cass had it? That wasn’t fun.

Ne: No um… I actually don't know…

R: n- none of your business… j- just know s- showfall t- tried and f- failed… t- to get me back…

O: Hm. Ness, keep an eye on her, not like you haven’t been, but… yeah.

Ne: I mean… It probably doesn't help that she screamed bloody murder for god knows how long… When Edgar… Y'know and um…

O: We should get going, but before we do, I have another thing for you guys!

[Xe takes another bag out, and places it on the counter, closing her suitcase. Before rummaging around and grabbing a tupperware container. She takes a step towards the door.]

Ne: What's that?

O: We forgot you didn’t have your ears pierced… so we got these. They’re real diamonds, by the way. So don’t lose them!

Ne: Huh?

Be: Ophelia, you can tell them upfront!

O: But that’s no fun!

Be: Ugh. We got you diamond earrings, but we forgot you don’t have your ears pierced. So we had to get you the necklace.

Ne: Oh um…

[Rose can be heard seemingly talking to herself.]

R: m- mai… y- you really couldn't wire anything right… i said that outloud…

O: That’s a little deeper than I want to go today! There’s a few more pieces of jewelry in there, too. Just as a fun treat. Some of that stuff is from my own jewelry box!

Ne: Oh um… Thanks!

O: Only the best for our very own honorary PR member! Now, we should really get going, have fun, you two!

[With that, the PR members finally leave the apartment, their giggling can be heard retreating down the hall, along with a few giddy shrieks. Possibly from gossip. They finally fade. Leon stands up straight, having been crouched in the corner for the whole visit.]

Le: ‘Honorary PR member’? Ness. You have some explaining to do.

Ne: I know I know! Right now can one of y'all get Rose her medicine while I find the mop?

Le: Alright. [Aside.] Coast is clear! Y’all can come out now!

[Leon goes to rummage through some cabinets while Liam and Katherine emerge from a room.]

R: h- hi… m- mom… l- liam…

?: Hey, I heard the commotion from in there, are you okay?

[Voice identified: Katherine.]

[Liam waves, but says nothing.]

R: B- besides the blood… and whatever e- else… y- yeah… j- just wish that wasn't one of the side effects from… y'know the night that task m- manager tried to get me back…

K: I know, you’re going to be fine, though. You’re going to have some medicine, and maybe a bit of rest. Alright?

R: a- alright… i w- was… working on buddy all n- night so…

Ne: [Distant.] Who the fuck is "Buddy"?

R: r- robot me and henry a- are… w- working on for sparrow…

[Katherine walks over and picks up Adam.]

K: You’ve caused a lot of panic in this apartment, you know.

A: Do not. Focus on me. Other issues. All software and hardware is in perfect condition.

Le: Found it!

[Leon walks back into frame and hands something to Rose.]

R: t- thanks…

[Rose takes something out of the bottle, presumably medicine.]

R: s- soda?

Le: Won’t the carbonation hurt your throat?

R: d- damnit… kool-aid?

Le: Yeah, of course. I can do that.

[Leon walks back out of frame. Just as Liam walks over with a piece of paper.]

R: 'I’m g- glad the blond one wasn’t here. b- but I don’t like that any of them were in here in the first place… t- they killed my dad. I d- don’t like them'… i k- know liam… i k- know…

Ne: [Distant.] Sorry about all of that by the way…

[Without saying anything, Liam hugs Rose. Then retreats back into his room.]

R: i… feel so b- bad for l- liam… g- god…

Le: Yeah. He’s just a kid. He hasn’t even graduated… high school– FUCK WAIT. HE HASN’T BEEN GOING TO SCHOOL.

R: o- oh… fuck…

Le: LIAM. PLEASE TELL ME YOU WERE HOMESCHOOLED OR SOMETHING. PLEASE TELL ME WE HAVEN’T MADE YOU MISS MONTHS OF SCHOOL.

[Liam’s hand pokes out of the room in a thumbs down.]

Le: FUCK! SHIT! WE NEED TO–

K: Leon, calm. It’ll be fine.

R: i n- never got… t- to graduate… a- and i turned out f- fine.

[Liam pokes his head out, a neutral expression on his face. He goes back in and then returns with another note. A linear equation written out on it. He hands it to Rose.]

R: s- seven times five… equals fifteen… um… um…

Le: Rose.

R: Um… x equals… um…

[Liam grabs the paper, and writes something down on it. Showing it to Rose.]

R: I WOULD’VE GOTTEN IT!

[Rose coughs again.]

R: ow.

[Liam shakes his head, then walks over to Leon, the two of them having a conversation via Liam’s paper. It fades into the background.]

[Ness runs in with the mop and a bucket.]

Ne: Katherine I'm really sorry about PR coming in I swear on m-

[Ness cuts herself off.]

Ne: On Mari's mother. I didn’t mean for any of that!

K: It’s fine. We’re just mad that you let them take you to the fucking Bahamas without even CHECKING IN FIRST.

Ne: In my defense. Alcohol blood loss and 5 hours of sleep do NOT mix well.

K: The hell even happened on that trip?

Ne: Apparently I sang 'Copacabana' on top of a table… Uh I don't remember much else.

K: I’m going to guess we’ll get a detailed description from one of them on that blog.

Ne: Yeah probably… Um…

[Ness shows Katherine her hand, missing ring finger and all.]

Ne: That happened.

[Katherine shrieks, grabbing Ness’ arm and inspecting it.]

K: What the fuck did they do? Was this during the trip? Is it infected?

Ne: Me and Eden got in a fight in the park. I'll explain if you ask. No. And also no.

Le: Oh yeah! There was a transcript!

[Katherine turns to where Leon’s voice was heard from, a look of disbelief on her face.]

K: This is why you shouldn’t confiscate my phone, LEON. I would’ve liked to know about that!

Le: Sorry!

Ne: I did more damage to her than she did to me… Stabbed her with a spear and almost broke her nose.

K: Your finger is missing! We– hold on, what's in that bag on the counter? Have you opened it yet?

Ne: No? But Ophelia said it was filled with jewelry.

K: I… we should open it, I think.

[She grabs the bag and opens it after walking back over to Ness. She yelps, and nearly drops the whole thing. Shoving the bag into Ness’ hands.]

Ne: What?

[Ness looks in the bag and slowly turns her head.]

Ne: Oh… There’s my finger…

Le: Guess it’s not missing, then! Sorry.

K: Of course they’d do that.

[A loud metal crash coming from one of the rooms, followed by a cat meowing.]

H: [Distant.] Buddy fell again!

Ne: WE'RE BUSY!

K: HENRY GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE. NESS IS MISSING A FINGER.

H: BUDDY FELL ON MY FOOT I CAN'T WALK!

K: IT CAN’T BE THAT FUCKING HEAVY, CAN IT?

R: t- torso is like… a foot tall i think? and made of three inch thick metal… s- so yes it can.

K: Henry, you’re weak as fuck. You can walk. Don’t make me drag you out here.

[Henry walks into frame with a limp, His hair is messed up and his eyes are red.]

H: What?

K: Ness is missing a fucking finger!

H: Oh god damnit… Ness what school jock did you piss off this time?

Ne: I DIDN'T PISS OFF A JOCK THIS TIME! EDEN BIT IT OFF! Damn you get into one-

[Henry cuts Ness off with a cough.]

H: You went to the school nurse almost every day FOR A WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR! fighting the school football team. It was more than one.

Le: I had a friend like that back in the 80s!

K: Who?

Le: … Do I really need to say.

R: d- dad?

Le: Yeah, it was always something with that guy. One time he broke a water fountain after tripping into it. They gave him ice and he was back in class within 30 minutes.

Ne: Sounds like edgar. Anyway this is nothing! One time one of the members of the school football team hit me so hard into a locker, Like three of my ribs cracked!

K: Ness you’re missing a finger.

Ne: I still have nine more!

K: God, you guys are impossible! Since you won’t take your injury seriously, let’s change the damn topic before I bite one of them off. What day did you say those tickets were for?

Ne: The 28th? O H S H I T-

R: i- I'll get changed… e- end the transcript. wait… that's not the command…

Le: Wh– did you have one going on PURPOSE?

R: n- nope. i just know it's recording… b- because when the fuck is it not?

A: On. it.

[Adam skitters up to the phone.]

A: Goodbye chat.

[Transcript end.]

#((OOC) TW: blood)#showfall ask blog #encoreverse blog

7 notes · View notes

doobnnoob-tf2 · 2 years

Note

Sitting with this ask open until I can think of something to ask you because I love your takes.

OKAYOKAY uh. I always imagined Spy and Pauling being total girlfriends [/p], like they shop together and gossip about everyone and get coffee or get their nails done. What do you think? Also i’m new, so you can call me Ink :]. I use any pronouns including neos but she/her so go wild :D

gasp! a new challenger.. welcome to the team, Ink! you share the same name as my favorite band (well acronym!), I already like you. and I, too, am a fellow enjoyer of Pauling and Spy being besties

Spy despite playing himself off as a super suave, cool guy is a sucker for gossip; both hearing AND telling. he gossips with Medic and Sniper weekly and he absoLUTELY will gossip with Pauling too over a bottle of wine

Spy’s the only one who knows Pauling is a lesbian, and he often teases her about her choice in women. but it’s okay because she teases him about his choice in men (I headcanon him either as bi or gay)

Pauling usually picks Spy for “special missions”, which always turns out to be him following her around when she goes on dates to make sure things are going well because she’s never sure if they really are or not

Spy is extremely protective over Pauling. she’s his friend, but also her being in danger or being upset triggers his Dad Mode. she’s almost like a daughter to him more than anything. if anything happens to her, he will destroy everyone in this room

they joke a lot about Scout’s crush on her, and they have an ongoing bet on when he’ll finally realize she doesn’t swing that way. Pauling says never, Spy thinks it’ll eventually click

Pauling, like Scout, comes to Spy for advice a fair bit. whether it be calls just so she can vent about something while she’s doing a job, or taking him on missions with her because she needs someone physically there for her

Spy hates how much she works, he respects that she’s just very work-driven and prefers to be doing something at all times but he doesn’t like it. he thinks that she should have more time off for all the work she single-handedly does for this company

Pauling is a nail-biter and Spy keeps taking her to a nail salon to try and get something on them to deter her from doing that. it always ends up in Spy getting a manicure and Pauling just spinning in a chair next to him, ranting about her day

Pauling drunkenly told Spy once that she thinks Scout’s Ma is hot but she has no memory of that night and he doesn’t plan on ever thinking about it again himself, thank you

Spy takes her shopping when he gets the chances to, he knows she won’t go otherwise and it gives them time to hang out that isn’t work-related. she’ll follow him around and talk while he picks out things for her to try on in the dressing room

a lot of their friendship is Pauling talking 90% of the time because she doesn’t have anyone else she can talk to and Spy just listening while they do things together. she’ll talk about anything; venting about something, to mundane everyday stuff, to just nothing in general she just wants to talk because it’s been days since she’s seen another living person

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #tf2 spy #tf2 pauling #handsome rogue #one day off a year #//Ink Anon

80 notes · View notes

c0rpseductor · 1 year

Text

also like its kind of funny bc in terms of video game franchises dragon age actually DOES do fairly (?) well when it comes to representation of lgbt characters. at least by sheer volume. and a lot of games whose writing i prefer fall extremely flat in comparison. so it probably seems silly that im so much more ready to tear da apart

like in ffxiv, emet-selch isn't actually gay despite how many posts i make about his loving joan crawford and dolly parton. he's heavily queercoded (ESPECIALLY in the localization) in order to remind you he's the bad guy. like, it's cheap; the best xiv can do in terms of lgbt rep among its cast is Heavily Imply a relationship between ryne and gaia, and i don't deny that it's really great that they did that, but it's also like...not much. and i think it does suffer from this pitfall of like, "we intentionally chose pretty teenage girls in a very chaste relationship to Imply Homosexuality About, because male homosexuality is gross." like i'm not saying Less Lesbian Rep Is Good or something or that it's a contest or some shit like that, i just think it's clear in this case they made this choice bc the devs have kind of evinced a bit of disgust toward gay men. most of the time (not all the time!) when male homosexuality or homoerotic imagery with men is brought up in the game i think it's sort of as a gross-out joke. also, as sort of an aside, transmisogyny is like. A Gag That Happens Way Too Much. However i think xiv is a much better-written game/series as a whole and i will be sucking it off until the end of time.

dragon age is like, nominally a lot less homophobic and transphobic, but i feel a lot more critical of and less generous toward its representation of lgbt characters because this is also a Big Selling Point for them. bioware i think has sort of built this image as like a really character-driven sensitive liberal crunchy kind of studio (i just really wanted to say crunchy lol) and seem to kind of pride themselves on having this really deep tactful groundbreaking lgbt rep. so if it falls short of those standards i'm going to be mad at being ripped off, naturally, and at bioware for patting their own asses for doing ultimately very little.

ffxiv did not at any point try to sell me Gay Rep. ffxiv did not say "hey, we're square enix and we're a really cool progressive company, we're going to make an mmo for the gays!" square enix looked me in the eyes and said "we have an mmo. our character creator has catgirls, and almost every single outfit in the base game is unconscionably hideous," and i said "HOLY SHIT CATGIRLS!!!" and have been playing it for nearly a decade now. i've never felt cheated out of sensitivity square promised me. i kind of know the score with them, as a company they can be pretty regressive and that often reflects in how they handle real-world issues in their games.

to use a food metaphor here, if i'm told i'm going to be given the most enormous delicious tasty stake ever and then it's like...good enough but ultimately very average, i'm going to feel a little cheated and probably be meaner about that steak than i would if i were simply told "i made steak. have some." i might even appreciate a kind of middling or even Not That Good steak without complaint if i'm not hyped up for no fucking reason first. this is kind of my feelings.

6 notes · View notes

fuzziekins · 1 year

Text

Disney Say Gay Pt 4

Happy Asexual Awareness Week to my fellow aces! It may not be much, but i wanted to continue my Disney Say Gay series with just a couple of potential asexual headcannons. It’s hard enough to have gay representation in Disney as it is, so to expect or for them to share any ace characters beyond the two that are confirmed - not even by the company but by the creators specifically - is unheard of. It’s not much here, but the reason i even do art now is to incorporate pride flags. So that people can see themselves and feel good, or like they’re not alone. And whatever you’re feeling right now, wherever under the ace umbrella you are, i’m here with you. I see you. And I have enough pride for all of us. This is for you guys. 💜

Mulan has been tasked with saving a damsel in distress. But, as we now, Meg may be a damsel and in distress but she can handle it. She doesn’t need some Wonderperson to come save her butt. She doesn’t get close to anyone anymore. But the longer they’re together, the more she gets to know Mulan, the more they go up against, and the more they do, Meg starts to wonder if there really is more to this Wonderperson after all. Mulan is a non-binary/genderqueer/gender nonconforming/etc icon and we all know it. But when you look at Meg, it obviously took a lot of effort for her to get close and open up to Hercules. And it was so damn hard for her to admit her feelings...she had a whole song about denying it. And we all get it; her last relationship was more traumatizing than she let on, she says she’s learned her lesson and sworn off man-handling; she can take care of herself. And she hides her emotions and vulnerability behind sass and sarcasm. It gave me major demisexual vibes, because of the time and effort and connection it took for her to really feel comfortable around Hercules and accept her feelings. And that happens to be the case with Mulan here as well. After all, there’s not technically any man-handling here....

Elsa may not understand Anna’s penchant for romance, but she does want to see her sister happy more than anything. So Elsa attempts a role at matchmaker to set Anna up with Ariel. And it looks like it’s going well. Anna is definitely captivated by Ariel, though Ariel is visibly more on the nervous side. So much so that she might’ve even lost her voice! This idea was inspired by the concept of bi/lesbian/ace solidarity. Elsa obviously fits the ace vibe as a queer icon (and, come on, she’s totally ace and/or aro (although i still say she’s an aroace lesbian)). Anna, in the bi role, doesn’t care about who people are or how they identify, she likes them for who they are and always looks for the best in them regardless. Ariel as the lesbian in the picture is inspired by the queer undertones in Part of Your World; being stuck portraying someone you’re really not and you have to keep the person you really are secret. As an added bonus, the only person’s clothes we get a glimpse of is Anna’s. At first glance, you’d think the grey and purple on her jacket is a nod/support to her sister. That is, unless there’s maybe something else we don’t know about Anna yet...? While the inspiration for this drawing came from an idea of solidarity, looking at it from the perspective as an ace is also a commentary on how romance and relationships are so much at the forefront of everything; media, stories, an “ultimate goal”.... No, it’s not officially Ace Week without including a nod to my favorite ace headcannon, but she is obviously not the focus of this drawing. Like Elsa, we want to see the people we care about happy and we do have love and support for them. But the way we experience actual love or relationships or the expectations put on us is very different. No, we’re not necessarily different; at the end of the day we’re all still people. And we’ll always have our place in the community alongside our queer friends and siblings no matter what. But it’s so easy for us to feel pushed to the side or forgotten or being treated as if we don’t exist because we don’t want this “normal” things or we experience these things so differently. While there’ll never be anything wrong with who or how we love (or don’t love) or who we are, we are not less than. We’re not made up. We’re not special snowflakes. We are still here. We still exist. We still matter. And, so much like Anna does for Elsa, the people who care about us will make themselves known and want us to be just as happy as they are...though maybe without chaperoning their first dates!

On a trip through to the Human Realm, Lilith comes across this strange, stupid creature. Intrigued by it, she decided to take it back to the Demon Realm with her and raise it as her pet. The green of the jacket as well as the grey mittens are also a nod to Lilith being aromantic. It’s not so much a story with this final drawing as it is inspiration and appreciation. There didn’t need to be anything thought over or looked to with this because there was nothing to think about. Both characters have been confirmed as asexual by their creators Dana Terrace and Dan Povenmire. It feels so unheard of in Disney for asexual to even be a thing because it takes so much for them to even confirm a character might be gay or bi. Never mind anything other than cisgender on top of that. Saying a character is asexual is admitting that sexual attraction does exist (or, in our case, doesn’t) which, as a company directed at kids and families, god forbid Disney do that. It had to be confirmed out of the show and through the creators specifically. It was during Dana’s Be Gay and Do Withcraft Charity stream that we were privileged to hear a recording of Lilith herself admit she never had feelings for anyone before. To hear that coming out of the character’s mouth, for it to be confirmed that she’s aroace, made my jaw drop with excitement. She is a character i wish i could’ve had as a teenager. Or even in college. Instead of not knowing anything as a teen and, after vaguely reading something on Tumblr in college and putting off figuring out my identity for seven years, a door could’ve been opened so much sooner and i wouldn’t have spent so much time questioning. I can only imagine what she and Perry are going to do for kids and teens now. We are given this incredible character arc from Lilith and see not only how she develops friendships and grows as a person, but how meaningful the relationships she does have are and that nothing has to be romantic for happiness or accomplishments. And, as a clearly older character, Lilith proves to us that there is more after our ‘prime’ and ‘family growing’ time, that we can be successful and happy later in life. And Perry’s whole story revolves around his work and his love for Phineas and Ferb. Those kids are his family and he cares about them more than anything else. And not only does he kick butt as his job as a secret agent, he also builds a meaningful friendship with Doof in the process. Perry gives us strength and reminds us that, even if we seem ‘naive’ or ‘childlike’ not to be underestimated or looked down on because we are capable of so much. It may only be two characters and odds are we’ll be damn lucky if we can even get a glimpse of others like them. But the important thing is that they exist. They are reminders that we matter, we’re not broken, and, most of all, that we’re not alone.

🌈

I wasn’t sure if i was gonna do more of these. But i felt like i had to do something for Ace Week. This is part of who i am and i’ll never be ashamed to share that. If this helps show other aces that they’re not alone, that there’s other people like them, that we can see themselves in any characters, and that we matter; if it helps anyone questioning to see these; if there’s anyone who’s closeted or afraid or not ready to come out; that’s what these drawings are for. And i hope that one day, it won’t just be us hoping or self-projecting or nit-picking. That these headcannons can be more than just headcannons. We and multiple characters will be able to say We’re Here and We’re Queer.... Or, in this weeks’ case, We’re Here and We’re Ace 😆 Parts one, two, and three.

12 notes · View notes

found-family-tournament · 1 year

Text

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 20 Group 100

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Reds and Blues: Grif, Simmons, Sarge, Donut, Lopez, Doc, Caboose, Church, Tucker, Agent Washington, Agent Carolina, Locus

Wright Anything Agency (& Company): Phoenix & Trucy Wright, Apollo Justice, Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, Pearl Fey, Ema Skye, Kay Faraday & Sebastian Debeste

Submissions are still open!

Reds and Blues:

My babies are all assholes but love each other deep down

Wright Anything Agency (& Company):

only one of them has never been arrested. only two of them arent lawyers. theyre all gay

89 notes · View notes

trans-zhongli · 2 years

Text

imma drop my genshin HCs and no one can stop me here it goes:

aether (traveler):

- trans guy, identical twins with lumine b4 hormones, pan

- appears 18 yrs old

- i ship him with everyone (playersexual) but he and xiao are bfs :)

lumine (abyss twin):

- cis, pan

- exes with dainsleif (as the MC i ship her with ayaka)

- appears 18 yrs old, the older twin

childe:

- bi, cis

- has freckles

- engaged to zhongli

XINYAN & CHILDE FRIENDSHIP RIGHTS

- 21 yrs old

- area man loses virginity to geo dragon god

zhongli:

- pan, genderfluid

- was married to guizhong (he didn't actually know what marriage was at the time he just knew it was a mortal thing with love and shit and guizhong was very happy that he was participating in mortal culture), now engaged to childe

- appears 27

- exuvia is his true form, he can have half dragon features bcuz im a slut for dragons & zhongli with a dragon tail is fucking adorable. in any form, those white diamond-shaped pupils he has are slit pupils like a lizard

- god he and childe are so fucking horny 24/7 and their oblivious sexually-charged slow burn killed the brain cells of 90% of liyue harbor

skirk (yeah i have skirk headcanons):

- appears 19. if she were a playable character she would use the medium female model

- not decided on sexuality/gender bcuz she hasn't actually been in the game yet but i wanna say ace nb lesbian

- originally from khaenri'ah, avoided curse by being in the abyss, she does not give a shit about the abyss order and wants nothing to do with them

- i don't ship her with anyone, but childe was her only "friend" in the abyss and she regrets ever letting him leave

kaeya:

- nb he/they, pan

- dating albedo :)

- 23 yrs old

yanfei:

- appears 20 yrs old

- trans lesbian

- married hu tao after they dated for only 3 weeks. neither of them regrets it. she made hu tao sign a prenup

- madam ping is basically her grandmother. i know that's canon, but still

- she talks too much and a lot of people think she's annoying. has a mischievous side

xiao:

- has never concerned himself with sexuality or gender labels. he is what he is

- dating aether but it was a very long slow burn

- will actually eat anything cooked by aether

- appears 20 yrs old

ei:

- thinks it's funny to pretend to be the raiden shogun sometimes, but everyone sees right through it

- appears 28 yrs old

- she and miko have been girlfriends for a very very very long time

- cis lesbian

miko:

- cis lesbian

- hopelessly tenderly in love with ei, which she masks behind 50 layers of irony

- appears 29 yrs old

- she jokes about scaramouche being her step-son. gets along really well with venti.

diluc:

- cis, gay

- there's no label for what he and venti have but it's definitely romantic. he's hopelessly in love and hates it. he never actually makes venti pay his tab and pretends he doesn't notice venti stealing from the dawn winery. LOW-KEY his sugar daddy but neither of them realize that's what's going on

- 25 yrs old

venti:

- appears 18 yrs old

- nb gay, he/him

- kind of oblivious to his own relationship with diluc but it doesn't stop him from being a flirty bastard to him

- besties with kaeya, was once besties with guizhong, he and zhongli are "friends" but it's the kind of friendship where venti is constantly on the verge of having a mountain thrown at him (but zhongli secretly appreciates his company, when he isn't doing things that deserve a mountain punishment)

hu tao:

- cis lesbian

- married to yanfei, spent 2 months before they met running away from her every time yanfei tried to approach because she was intimidated by how gorgeous yanfei is. the Liyue Besties had to literally tie her to a chair to get her to meet yanfei and stop pining

- figures out zhongli is an adeptus IMMEDIATELY. hired him because she thought he was hilarious, the fact that he's good at his job is a coincidence

- 19 yrs old

#genshin headcanons #if you have opinions on this no you don't #if anyone is interested i could make childe and zhongli their own headcanon posts i have so many #when it comes to shipping aether my 'real' ship is xiaother but im also kinda into childe/aether/zhongli

14 notes · View notes

thegeekyartist · 8 days

Text

I finally saw the new genderbent version of Company and I have some thoughts... (the Let Bobbie Be a Lesbian essay)

I want to preface all of this by saying that I love this musical and there was so so much of it that I enjoyed (which I'll get to). I LOVE the move to make Bobby/ie a woman. I think that it opens the door to a lot of incredible interpretations of an already fairly open-ended text.

However, so much was lost because of the other changes made to the text to force it to work.

The new lyrics felt so clunky. ("Bobbie really ought to have a fella"???? Why not "husband"?? Just ugh.) There are also new nicknames for her in the Company motif that I still can't figure out. I also find it odd that they chose to have the husbands sing Poor Baby and the wives sing Have I Got a Guy for You. Not that I necessarily think it was bad, just that I didn't think it was necessary. The lyric changes in those were strange as well (for example, why can't the husbands be "the only tenderness she's ever known"? Why change that to "comfort"?). I can't remember all of them but there were plenty of moments like that that just felt disjointed with the change.

They also removed the implications that Peter was gay - which I totally forgot about until my partner reminded me. If memory serves there's a little bit of flirting with Bobby in the original (?), but they could have mostly kept those lines and implied that he and Susan had divorced to form a more queerplatonic union, a look into a different type of lifestyle for Bobbie to consider - which leads me to my main point.

So much of this clunkiness could have been avoided if they just let Bobbie be interested in women. Assuming that this version of the musical is set in the present, Bobbie is a late millenial who grew up in a time when casual homophobia was *everywhere* and being out and proud was still very taboo, with possibly the only exposure to queer living being some very imperfect queer representation in media. She watched gay marriage become legalized. It's still NEW. She has so much internalized homophobia to work through, and I think that could play a lot into her avoidance of committing to someone and settling down.

This also brings life back into the girl/boyfriends, and how each of them gives Bobbie a different look into what her life could be. Look at Martha/P.J! Martha would be an excellent bit of lesbian representation -- a way for Bobbie to experience a world in which she's allowed to be loudly queer and part of the pulse of the city. Kathy is an example of a queer woman happily falling into a traditional lifestyle, one who just wants to act like and be treated like people in heterosexual couples. April is a little tricky (I actually loved turning her into a self-aware himbo vs. ditzy and naive woman). But! Given April's wounded butterfly story, she could be interpreted as another baby gay trying to accept who she is and heal from previous relationships that didn't treat her the way she deserved. She's someone who already decided she wants something more, someone who IS ready to dive in, which is why she's so clingy at the end of their scene (Barcelona).

I also HATED that Joanne's come-on to Bobbie at the end of the play was changed to her offering up Larry instead. If Bobbie has spent the whole play struggling to come to terms with her sexuality as well as a desire for more than just physical intimacy ("Who will I take care of?") I think this makes Joanne's "I just did someone a huge favor" line even more poignant. Bobbie has fully accepted not only herself, but that she wants love and companionship for real.

So why not just make Bobbie bisexual? Keep some of the changes but allow for some of the original text to return? I appreciate the forethought to avoid Bobbie falling into the indecisive bisexual stereotype, however! I think a major part of Bobbie's character is that she is terrified of making the wrong decision, and what those decisions mean for the life she's currently living and (mostly) content with. There's such a huge level of biphobia in our society (yes, including lgbtqia spaces) that we insist that if a bisexual woman marries a woman, she's actually just a lesbian. And if a bisexual woman marries a man, well then obviously she's just straight and saying she's bi for the attention. This could be a huge barrier for Bobbie to settle down, that fear that an entire part of her identity will disappear with it. While I don't necessarily think this is a better reading than a fully lesbian Bobbie, I do think there could be interesting changes to explore there, as well.

What I will say!!!!!!! Is that there were plenty of things that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I think changing "Tick-Tock" from a ballet while Bobbie and April/Andy have sex into a fun nightmare of Bobbies speed-running a traditional marriage while our Bobbie was forced to watch was *awesome*. I almost wanted even more Bobbies running around to make her feel even more suffocated.

I also loved swapping Jenny and David's lines, making David the doting, nervous husband while Jenny is this woman who has lost her individuality to being nothing but wife/mother. Watching him get stoned and climb over the set and struggle to say "bitch" was hilarious.

AND ABOUT THAT SET!

One of my favorite things about Company is that it's a concept musical -- there's no set timeline, the plot is entirely comprised of unrelated vignettes. I think they could have played WAY more into this using the set, but let me start by saying I LOVED the grayscale. I loved that it gave everything this manufactured, fake feeling. And seeing Bobbie's bright red outfit in contrast was so nice and striking. Plus, seeing how small and crowded Bobbie's apartment was on such a large stage was an incredible visual (when the whole cast squeezed in for the first "Company"?? awesome)

I was GAGGED in the very beginning when Bobbie was pulling on all the doors of her apartment and couldn't escape, only for the set to shift and move so that when she could finally open a door, it led right into Harry and Sarah's apartment. Why didn't they do more of that??? I wanted so badly for them to always have Bobbie in this forced unreality of "how did I get here? Have I always been here?". Then each time she does finally escape a scene she'd find herself stuck in another one. I feel like that tension could have built beautifully throughout until the final "Company" motif when she finally breaks and interrupts them (Being Alive). It's not like they *didn't* do this (for example, the Peter and Susan's balcony lowers on her in a way that shows she wasn't expecting it), but it could have been a much, much bigger part of the overall theme had they really pushed it.

I did also really like the repeating 35's in the background of all the scenes, like it was a constant reminder for Bobbie that she couldn't escape. I wish there was even more of that, too (the balloons getting bigger was a vv nice touch, for example).

I also appreciated that in the scenes where the songs are sung as asides (Poor Baby, The Little Things You Do Together), Bobbie gets to interact with the singers while the rest of the cast is frozen. That's a great change, and once again plays into that idea that Bobbie feels stuck and is trying to escape/work through all these issues in her head throughout the play.

*************************

I know this got long, I guess my point is that with all the fun, incredible changes they made (The Amy/Jaime scene was hilarious. And I didn't even TALK ABOUT all the hidden passages in that set!!), they fell short of making the choices that would have really caused this interpretation to shine. An issue I always have with Company is that I never *really* root for Bobby. Every time he makes a poor decision it's like "well, there he goes again". I think keeping a lot of the changes, changing Bobby into Bobbie, and allowing her to be a lesbian trying to come to grips with her sexuality while also giving herself permission to open up her heart to what a serious relationship could be, would make this a perfect re-imagining of the original text.

#please enjoy my essay this is like my thing and I have no one to talk to about it #i have THOUGHTS #company #company musical #company 2018 #stephen sondheim

1 note · View note