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creature-wizard · 2 months

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Looks like it's time to talk about starseeds and the New Age movement again.

Since I'm seeing more starseed content being posted, I'm gonna make another post on why the whole starseed thing and the surrounding New Age belief system are... not good.

So for those who don't know, New Age mythology is essentially a hodgepodge of cherrypicked and distorted myths from various cultures, racist pseudohistory, and far right conspiracy theories. To put it very briefly, starseeds are supposedly here to help Earth resist the reptilians, a race of politics-manipulating, war-starting, media-controlling blood-drinking aliens. For those who don't recognize the tropes here, these are basically all antisemitic canards. The reptilian alien myth as most know it today comes from David Icke, who ultimately cribbed a bunch of his material from The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, a Russian hoax created to justify violence against Jews. He was also influenced by the work of people like Fritz Springmeier, a hateful crank who based much of his work on other hateful cranks.

(David Icke, by the way, also claims that transgender is an evil reptilian conspiracy. You'll never find just one form of bigotry with these people.)

There are supposedly numerous alien races out there, and one of the most prominent among them are the Pleiadians, AKA Nordics. While modern depictions of the Pleiadians give them more variety in skintone, there's no denying that older Pleiadian mythology basically pictured them as Aryans In Space, even associating them with the swastika.

You see what's going on here? "Good" swastika-loving Aryan aliens versus "evil" Jewish aliens? Sound familiar?

Racism isn't just a tangential part of the starseed myth, either. It lies at its very core. It's inextricably tied in with the ancient astronaut hypothesis, which has a history of racist motivation behind it. The TL;DR is that a bunch of white people couldn't believe that non-white people had built a bunch of things they couldn't figure out how to build themselves (EG, the Great Pyramids), so they proposed that the real builders were anyone from Atlanteans to aliens. (Atlantis, by the way, never existed; it was a literary device created by Plato.)

One supposed purpose of starseeds is to help the world "wake up to the truth," which basically just means "convert people to New Age spirituality." New Age believes that world peace is contingent on a majority of the world being converted to New Age belief, and that resistance against their belief system is ultimately the work of the aforementioned reptilian aliens.

To put it another way, New Agers think they understand other cultures' spiritual traditions better than the actual members of said cultures, and think that anyone who disagrees with them is being manipulated by the conspiracy, or is an agent of the conspiracy. This includes Indigenous cultures which are already endangered from white Christian colonialism.

Essentially, endangered cultures cannot speak up for themselves and resist New Agers' efforts at cultural assimilation without being labeled a problem and an enemy. It's basically white Christian colonialism repackaged as "spiritual, not religious."

Again - if you heard from these people that some ancient text or myth describes extraterrestrial beings visiting our planet for one reason or another, you heard misinformation. They twist and misrepresent literally every myth and text they get their hands on. For example, you may have heard that the vimanas from Hindu traditions were actually alien spacecraft. They were no such thing. Or maybe you heard that the Book of Enoch describes aliens performing genetic experimentation on humans. It literally does not. At best, all of the stories they cite just kind of sound like aliens if you ignore most of their content and pay no attention to their cultural contexts.

The starseed movement preys on alienated people, especially autistic people and people with ADHD. You can look up nearly any list of signs that you're supposedly a starseed, and many of them will align perfectly with characteristics associated with autism and/or ADHD, or that people with these conditions commonly report. Some people within the movement even go so far as to claim that ADHD and autism don't even exist, but were actually made up by the conspiracy as a cover to suppress and control starseeds, which is some yikes-as-hell ableism.

So basically, people are being told that if they have these certain characteristics or symptoms, that means it's their job to spread New Age spirituality to defeat the conspiracy and help others ascend to the fifth density.

And what's the fifth density, you might ask? It's supposedly humanity's next evolutionary level, because New Age is also based on biological misconceptions. Supposedly once everyone's DNA "upgrades," they'll essentially morph into an aetheric form. Supposedly, this is preceded by a number of "ascension symptoms," including depression, headache, gastrointestinal issues, and any number of other symptoms that could indicate almost anything, including stress.

What many of these people don't realize is, this prediction has already failed. Back in the 2000s and 2010s, experiencing "ascension symptoms" was supposed to precede ascension to 5D beginning December 21, 2012. One lady, Denise Le Fay, was convinced that the hair loss she was experiencing in 2008 was an ascension symptom. As we can see by looking her up, she's very much still with us on the 3D plane these days, repeating the same tired old scripts New Agers recycle endlessly.

By the way, everything you near New Agers saying today about old systems being dismantled, dark forces being arrested or kicked off the planet, and new economic systems on the horizon? They've been recycling these scripts for years now. Take a look at this page written back in 2012. You got stuff about the complete dismantling of an enormous network of sinister forces," "the arrest and removal of a world-wide cabal," and a "new economic system."

("Cabal," by the way, is a dogwhistle term for "Jews.")

Furthermore, people in this movement are often encouraged to try and access past life memories through dreams or hypnosis, which makes the whole thing feel even more real to them. But the thing is, you can have incredibly vivid experiences about literally anything you put your mind to - the people in the reality shifting having vivid experiences of living another life in the Harry Potter universe are a great example of this. Just because you have vivid experiences, doesn't mean they have any bearing on anything happening in this reality.

So yeah, the starseed movement and the larger New Age movement are both extremely harmful. They promote racist pseudohistory, medically-irresponsible pseudoscience, conspiracy theories that target numerous marginalized groups, and functionally target aliened people with ADHD and autism to convince them that spreading its beliefs is their job.

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animentality · 1 year

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You know that scene in John Wick 2 where he (John Wick) gets hit by a car and then he immediately fights the assassin driving that car, Cassian, and then they battle for like sixty minutes on the streets of Rome, shooting over cars, knife fighting, falling down a whole flight of stairs, and then grappling and grabbing each other on the cobblestones, yelling and grunting like a bunch of dudes having good old fashioned fun, and then finally they end up smashing right through a window and coincidentally landing in the assassin hotel "safe area" where they're not allowed to fight anymore...

and then they go and have a drink together?

I thought they should've fucked.

So I wrote a book about assassins who do that sort of thing regularly. Check it out here.

But I added what the scene was lacking, besides the fucking part...

Demons.

The scene for anyone who doesn't remember or doesn't know it.

This book has:

an improbable amount of badass, LGBT, demon summoning assassins (the absolute best of the best being transgender).

a scott pilgrim style plot, involving one pansexual demon summoner having to fight all 7 of his exes for the sake of his newest contract.

a nonbinary weather controlling demon, trapped on earth. also, one of the exes.

a blind smartass with a nasty mouth and nastier eye-related powers.

a city on the brink of annihilation, trapped by forces unseen and unheard and unknowable.

the most bombastic and ridiculous magic system ever constructed by man.

and maybe...just maybe...an angsty gay time loop romance (the best narrative trope) but you didn't hear that from me.

It's dark, it's humorous, it's romantic, it's riddled with absolutely insane fight scenes, and most importantly...

It's unabashedly queer and unrealistic and silly and yearn-y.

And I'd really appreciate if you'd help an indie author out, with a sale or a reblog! Agents and publishers told me that it was too queer for regular audiences...and that the concept was just not very compelling.

They might be right, but it still had to exist. I still had to make it, anyway. You know. You have to make the art that you want to see in the world.

Anyway.

Sorry for the long post...you can check out my website for future releases.

And last thing: Character commission of the MC, our lovably slutty pansexual assassin Sebastián Monterey:

And cheers! Sorry for the long post. Have a good night.

#spilled ink #writing #writers on tumblr #digital art #illustration #art commission #fantasy #urban fantasy #bookblr #literature #litblr

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263adder · 5 months

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The Horny Bisexual Trope

Eleanor Shellstrop, The Good Place

"[In a research paper by The Journal of Sex Research] researchers found that bisexual women, compared to lesbians and heterosexual women, were evaluated as more confused, promiscuous, non-monogamous, neurotic, extraverted, and open to experiences. Bisexuals were also evaluated as less agreeable and less conscientious." Psypost

Lisa Palmer, Santa Clarita Diet

"Though LGBT+ representation in the media has been improving in recent years, it is still rare to see positive portrayals of bi characters on television. Characters are usually assumed to be either gay or straight, depending on which characters they are interested in romantically. Even if a character is portrayed as being attracted to both male and female characters, they rarely identify as bi, instead claiming to “not need labels.”

"Bi characters are typically villains, promiscuous characters, or untrustworthy." Soapboxie

Nick Scratch, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

"A common and inaccurate stereotype is that all bisexual people do not want to be, or cannot be, monogamous. It is inaccurate and harmful to imply that bisexual people are categorically more “promiscuous” than others. People of all sexual orientations can be monogamous for some or all of their lives, or they can choose other types of relationships. This decision is entirely separate from one's sexual orientation." GLAAD Media Reference Guide

Klaus Hargreeves, The Umbrella Academy

"Pansexual people are [also] commonly faced with [this] stigma, fuelled in part by some people's belief that they lead hypersexualized lives. This infers that pansexual people are more likely to cheat and be promiscuous because they are "available to everyone."

"This misconception has led some people to assume that pansexual people are wanting to engage in any and all sexual activities, negating the need for sexual consent." Very Well Health

Irene Adler, Sherlock

"The hypersexualization of the LGBTQ community has taken many forms. Not only are gay men and transgender women framed as sexual predators, but lesbians are objectified and fetishized by straight men, and bisexual and pansexual people are assumed to be constantly sleeping around." The Under Ground

Bisexuality on screen is used to indicate sexual experience and promiscuity. This feeds into the misconception that bisexuality is used as a way to appear more attractive and "bisexual people [are] just attention-seeking nymphomaniacs – or that bisexuality was, in the words of Carrie Bradshaw, “Just a layover on the way to Gay Town.”" Fashion Journal

Margot Tenenbaum, The Royal Tenenbaums

"The way its [bisexuality] been commodified, that was always going to happen… there’s a whole sort of discourse around bisexuality, its exotic… that bohemian angle, it masks the actuality of being a bisexual person even in this day and age." University of Huddersfield

Bisexuality is used to add to the mysteriousness of an already mysterious character. It's not undisclosed for privacy; it's hidden to feed into a "not like other girls / guys" trope.

Willow Rosenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Bisexuals talk about “coming out twice"—once as gay or lesbian in a heterosexual world when they acknowledge their attraction to their own gender, and then again when they acknowledge their continuing attraction to the opposite sex." Psychology Today

The common depiction of bisexual myths is one of the reasons bisexuals feel they have to come out numerous times or don't come out at all.

"Three in ten bi men (30%) and almost one in ten bi women (8%), say they cannot be open about their sexual orientation with any of their friends, compared to two per cent of gay men and one per cent of lesbians." Stonewall

Not all visibility is good visibility.

#bisexuality #bisexual #lgbtqia+#queer representation #bisexual representation #the good place #santa clarita diet #the chilling adventures of sabrina #the umbrella academy #sherlock #the royal tenenbaums #buffy the vampire slayer #willow

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peridot-tears · 5 months

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Quick & Sloppy Analysis of Blue Eye Samurai

Mizu is from a time period before western ideas of gender took hold in Japan. A lot of the discourse around Mizu's gender seems to stem from what people think transgender identity is in a 21st century, western context.

They were born as a woman but had to live as a man. The rub over whether or not this makes them trans seems to come from these two points.

Many people transition because they have always known they were another gender born into a body that does not reflect that gender. If they were forced to live as another gender, that doesn't count as trans.

Many people are transgender because their sex and gender are different. Mizu was physically born in the body of a woman, but functions in society as a man. Regardless of how they came to be, they are, by gender, a man.

Mizu themself did find happiness as a woman, but had it snatched away from her by a man's insecurity over being bested by his wife. Mizu found comfort living as a boy under their Swordfather's care, but felt shame for hiding his true sex from him.

I think these two periods of their life are not about which slot in society they fit in, because obviously they don't fit perfectly in either, but acceptance by the people they choose to love instead. Mizu was forced by filial duty and love for their mother to become a wife, but fell in love with Mikio when he began to accept her as she was -- until he didn't. Master Eiji accepted Mizu as a boy, and raised him as he is. He stopped Mizu from confessing his sex not because he couldn't accept it, but because it didn't matter. The most telling scene to me is when Mizu says that they must be a demon, and Master Eiji tells him, Yes, perhaps they are, but that is only one part of a whole.

The show is social commentary on our expectations for people of certain classes, genders, and racial makeup. One of the biggest themes of this show is about the limits of living as a woman during the Edo Period, and the creators refer to them as "she," as she is based off of their daughter.

But we are free to interpret Mizu's gender as we wish. The whole point of their existence is that there is a question of culture and identity in our modern, globalized age, and instead of a yes or no answer, we are given a whole person and the story of their life in a completely different culture and era to draw our own conclusions.

The debate over Mizu also reminds me a lot of how westerners will point to certain historical figures throughout history as examples of genderqueer identity having always been a thing. Chevalier d'Éon of France and Bíawacheeitchish (Woman Chief) of the Crow Nation come to mind. How they identified may not fit the 21st Century English-language phrases we apply to them, but the idea is still that they lived outside of the social expectations of people born in their bodies.

Sidebar:

Mizu's reveal as someone born into the body of a woman surprised me, actually! As someone who grew up on East Asian media (primarily C-drama and anime and K-pop, with full cultural context for the former but only what I learn from my friends for the latter two), I'm very used to androgynous characters! My whole thought process throughout the first few episodes was, "Wow, they really took C-drama tropes and put them in an American show!"

Even after the reveal, I was like, "Oh, they took the other trope!" where in C-dramas, male characters played by female actresses turn out to be female characters disguised as men in order to roam with more freedom.

This whole show felt like I was watching a C-drama turned into a western cartoon, and because one of the creators is Japanese American, it made me realize how many tropes must've carried over from our Chinese and Japanese storytelling, and our cultures' influence on each other.

#this post brought to you by a second gen chinam #tears falling like peridots #bes #blue eye samurai #netflix blue eye samurai #netflix series #mizu blue eye samurai #mizu

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decepti-thots · 1 year

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i would be super interesting in hearing your thoughts on the first trans tf character actually! transgender, textual and subtextual, in transformers is something i've been thinking about a lot recently

Personally, I do count it as Classics/Recordicons Howlback- for those not aware, the strip I'm referring to is this one.

...oh god this got longgggg, i will cut this to save all your dashes.

Willis actually talks about it here on Tumblr, basically saying he had been avoiding female characters in writing those strips for a while because while there are a couple of lasses in that continuity, the general rule of thumb was that everyone was supposed to be 'genderless' (which unfortunately in Classics continuity was actually just 'man as a default', because of course it was). And then he decided this was pretty daft of him because why couldn't a 'genderless society' just. Like. Decide 'hey, being a girl sounds neat' or whatever and then Be A Girl if they wanted. Which is pretty much what IDW would eventually retcon in as an explanation for how a robot species conceives of gender.

But since this is basically just a word of god situation, some folks argue this doesn't 'count'. Personally, despite not usually paying much attention to 'word of god', I count it because I think you have to give a certain amount of leeway when looking at the context it was being done in; if a creative wants a queer character or concept in there for a franchise where asking permission for that is required and yields uncertain results, insisting 'word of god doesn't ever count' strikes me as ungenerous. But true, Howlback is never canonized on panel as trans, so I see what people mean.

And then one elephant in the room in this whole discussion is... IDW Arcee. Spotlight Arcee is not a 'trans narrative' just because it leans on some very, very nasty transphobic tropes, and for many years IDW Arcee was not really treated as trans even by writers trying to do better by her than that shitty-ass comic. But as of the last ever issue of IDW1, and yes I really mean it was made 100% confirmed in the last ever comic for folks who didn't read exRiD btw, Barber managed to retcon it so Arcee was definitively, in-universe trans the whole time. And the Jhiaxus stuff didn't even have to be thrown out to do it. So is Arcee the 'first canon trans character'? Do we go from the date of OP #25, or from her Spotlight appearance? I personally go somewhere in the middle- Barber functionally treats her as trans throughout exRiD, he just never quite finds room to fit in an unambiguous mention- but that muddies stuff a lot. Some people argue IDW Arcee is the first canon trans character because she is both on-page trans and was introduced earlier, even if the confirmation of her as trans came way later, and very much in spite of what happened at the beginning.

And of course in between Barber taking over Arcee and him canonizing her as For Real Trans, we have Lug and Anode in Lost Light. This is on the page, it is explicitly unambiguously trans, and for some folks both of those things are needed for First Trans Character credentials. Meaning that they feel Lug and Anode, in 2016, were the actual honest-to-god first trans characters in TF, since they may not count Arcee's earlier appearances since at the time they were written, she wasn't yet trans. (Edit: amendment regarding a precursor to them is here.)

But then, what about the AVP stuff? Well after Howlback was word of god-ed as trans and before the above from Barber on the page in IDW, back in 2015 AVP, which is considered canon material, got asked about if any characters were trans. And answered in the affirmative! Notably, these are all little nods to characters who for various reasons have Stuff going on with their canon genders, e.g. G1 Overlord being nodded to as genderfluid because that character in the anime he originates from is basically 'created from' a man and a woman who are a married couple. (G1 Overlord is weird.) Also, Archadis was originally designed to be a female character and then swapped to male, which gets a nod as a trans man character, that sort of thing. These are technically not 'word of god', as AVP, despite functionally being a way to canonize word of god stuff, is in-universe fiction of its own and considered as such. I have seen at least one argument, therefore, that the 2015 AVP stuff constitutes the first unambiguous in-fiction depiction of explicitly trans characters in TF, as it predates all the above bar Howlback, who they don't count. But I've also seen some people say AVP is actually just a word of god machine and not canon as a result! So some people say none of the trans stuff in there is Real Canon!

...and you could really take it further and therefore look at which of those characters would be the earliest to debut in-fiction and I think that means you could make the claim the first ever canon trans character in TF is indeed G1 Overlord, which would be mostly very silly to do, but funny, so I think someone oughta.

Anyway. All this is to say, there's a lot of contenders for who is first, and probably more characters you can definitively call 'trans' in SOME context than many folks realize!

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lokiinmediasideblog · 8 months

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On "Lady Loki" PSA: You mean Loki being Femme?

“Lady Loki” is NOT Loki being genderfluid. The name is a mixture of “Lady Sif” (because Sif’s title is “Lady” like “Lord”) and “Loki” because Loki stole Sif’s body after Ragnarok ensued, and trapped her in a dying old lady’s body. Loki first shows up possessing Sif’s body in Thor Vol. 3 # 5 back in 2007. Loki continued to use male pronouns in Sif’s body, but just gets misgendered by everyone else. And as much as I love aspects of Loki’s characterization in that era, having that plotline in this political climate would be awful, incredibly damaging, and way more problematic than anything the Loki show gets accused of. I need people to know what the fuck they’re talking about before they refer to wanting "Lady Loki" in the Loki show because this is what you're talking about.

I will be open and say I am not a fan of much of the majority of Thor comics. They are fucking annoying and read like some Gary Stu male fantasy because they’re always going off about how Thor is the fucking best and his plot armor makes him the only and best choice to be Asgard’s ruler despite there being other characters with similar qualities in Asgard but Thor’s “just better”. The misogyny is off the charts in these with all the ridiculously and impractically scantily clad “warrior” women that all want to fuck Thor and have little personality past that. I also loathe the “Loki’s just evil” crap. My fascination with them is more like gawking and wanting to be pissed off. Plus, I find pre-reincarnation Marvel comics!Loki to be a fascinating study of a Comics Code Authority/Hayes code era villain (and I kinda root for him because the narrative annoys me). He’s up there with all the Disney villains despite not originally being Disney.

In those pre-reincarnation comics that often piss me off, Loki is meant to evoke disgust and to “disturb” through his failure to be the epitome of manliness. Marvel has tried to distance themselves from that once they had their “Are we the baddies?” epiphany by retconning Asgard to be more progressive. It kinda annoys me because panels exist where they’re being queerphobic to Loki. To me, it’d feel more organic if Asgard was shown going through societal change rather than “We have always been progressive, what the fuck are you talking about?” But that's just me.

I remember when Loki was about to come out as bisexual in the comics on 2013 after becoming very popular largely due to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (Young Avengers #13 where he flirts with Prodigy, followed by Agent of Asgard revealing he's a genderfluid shapeshifter in 2014), queer organizations expressed concern over the whole “queer-coded villain á la Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.” If you are not familiar with Buffalo Bill, he is the main antagonist from Thomas Harris’s very copagandic and transphobic book, Silence of The Lambs, the book with Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins who plays MCU!Odin lol) where he’s like “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. T-sss-tsss-tss.”

Buffalo Bill is said to not be a “real transgender”, whatever the fuck that means especially with all the policing around bodily autonomy, and some statistic about how transgenders are the least likely to be violent is shoehorned in, but everything about the character ends up being a queerphobic trope. The “difference” is that Jame Gumb “thinks” he wants to be a woman but doesn’t actually want to be (the transphobia in this book is off the charts).

I am glad Loki has gotten redemption arcs of sorts, because a lot of the tropes employed on comics!Loki just pissed me off. And I am glad MCU!Loki never went through the transphobic possession storyline in the name of being "comics-accurate".

The easiest way to represent genderfluidity in the MCU with a casting choice that predates Loki's coming out in comics would be through dialogue in the magic-less TVA. Have Loki say that her pronouns are she/her while looking the same because people can't shapeshift in real life.

I have seen criticism about the comics' "Genderfluid Shapeshifter" trope not being accurate. But even if it's not "accurate" to the real world, from what I've been told, Loki being a part of the genderfluid shapeshifter trope or that trope in general is not an issue, because lots of genderfluid and trans folks enjoy that kind of fantasy. And Marvel's Loki is based on a shapeshifter of the same name from Norse mythology that is most people's first introduction to the concept of genderfluidity (myth!Loki was my first exposure to the concept and they're a shapeshifter).

#mcu!loki #comics!loki #loki series #marvel comics #thor comics #lady loki #comics!sif #hot takes #LokiInMedia #because i see too many people using “lady loki” to refer to loki's genderfluid identity #genderfluid shapeshifter trope

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ashe-hallows · 9 months

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HI I haven't played any games outside of the three first aa ones but I'm really interested in uendo toneido (I hope I spelt that right)! I'd love to know the things you like about them and stuff :) also no need to censor spoilers because I love spoilers. And also hi again <3

first of all anon i love you forever

the thing about uendo is that i love everything about him so im gonna give you my Uendo Infodump™️ (also im not good at answering vague prompts 💜)

uendo toneido is a character from Turnabout Storyteller, the 4th case in the 6th ace attorney game (Spirit of Justice). they work as a rakugo performer with the Toneido Troupe! their whole gimmick is that they play different characters on the stand, like a rakugo performer would. except, part way through the trial, its revealed (thanks to athena) that they were never playing characters at all, they have DID!

left to right, its uendo proper, patches and kisegawa! whos that last one? dont worry about him i'll get there

upon being given the chance to properly introduce themselves, it goes as follows: uendo still a rakugo performer, patches introducing himself as a jester and kisegawa as a courtesan! also kisegawa is a lady :] which makes her as close to canon transgender as we're probably gonna get >:] she is also entirely respected as a woman, everyone refers to her with she/her and feminine terms (she even uses the feminine voice beeps!!)

so that last guy, throughout the trial uendo and co have been vehemently denying the existence of someone named "owen". athena has come to the conclusion that theyre hiding an alter, and manages to force them to switch. by now the player has resigned themself to another instance of the "murder alter" trope. except, when owen is asked to introduce himself, he begins to cry and announces himself as five years old. hes a little, a very nervous and soft-spoken one at that! he is so very clearly made to subvert the murder alter trope!! its so fucking cool! i forgot how i was gonna end this!

basically i love the rakugo system. check their tag on my blog ive drawn them a lot 🫶 i'll talk about them all day long if im given prompts

#uendo toneido #aa6 spoilers #<- for my spoiler free friends #answered #anonymous #ashe's chatter

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biandlesbianliterature · 1 year

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I posted 67 times in 2022

50 posts created (75%)

17 posts reblogged (25%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@biandlesbianliterature

@sapphicbookclub

@lgbtqreads

@lesbrary

@shiraglassman

I tagged 50 of my posts in 2022

Only 25% of my posts had no tags

#queer books - 38 posts

#sapphic books - 34 posts

#lgbtq books - 33 posts

#reviews - 26 posts

#wlw books - 23 posts

#lesbian books - 15 posts

#sff - 12 posts

#author of color - 9 posts

#fantasy - 8 posts

#romance - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 30 characters

#getting the band back together

My Top Posts in 2022:

143 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars is one of the best books I read in 2021, and it is also one of the weirdest. It centers around three women: Shizuka Satomi (a violin teacher who made a deal with a devil and must deliver seven violin prodigies’ souls in order to save her own), Katrina Nguyen (a transgender teenage girl, wildly talented on the violin and deserving of so much more than she has been given), and Lan Tran (a retired interstellar space captain who runs a donut shop with her four children). When Shizuka discovers Katrina in a park, she immediately knows she has found her final soul, but Shizuka’s growing feelings for Lan may change her perspective on everything.

If you think that summary sounds like a roller coaster, wait until you read the book.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki was reviewed at the Lesbrary

155 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

Would you believe that more than 26 sapphic books come out this month? It’s true! Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find out which books have queer representation, or what kind of representation they have. So here’s a big list of bi and lesbian books out this month, sorted by genre.

26 Bi and Lesbian Books Out November 2022!

217 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

If you want a teen romcom in an F/F YA book, this is the read for you!

It’s enemies to lovers and fake dating! It is very much like a teen romcom movie: the two of them get to know each other over their music choices on the drive. They have miscommunication. They both open up about their insecurities. Scottie realizes that, despite being hung up on her toxic ex, maybe the girl she’s been looking for has been right in front of her this whole time. There’s also the “only one bed” trope. They even discuss teen romcom movies!

I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was a quick, fun listening experience! It’s cute, and the ending is cathartic and sweet.

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen was reviewed at the Lesbrary

267 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

When I say I want sapphic romcoms, this is what I want. I want sapphic romcoms that pack an emotional punch. That present the diversity and the affinity of queer womanhood. That have queer women who call themselves queer with no explanation and bi women who have loved men. That have complex family dynamics that both are about queerness and absolutely are not. That feel like romance novels with romance tropes and everything that we love about romance and are at the same time fundamentally, intrinsically, profoundly, and lovingly queer. Romcoms that f*ck and also fall in love. Romcoms with real, wild emotions and feminism and humor on every page. Romcoms that were written for queer women about our own lives, to be enjoyed only secondarily by everyone else. When I say I want sapphic romcoms, I mean I want this book.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake was reviewed at the Lesbrary

275 notes - Posted March 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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cybergoth-damsel · 7 months

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Keep deleting condescending replies to my one vivian post that are like "nintendo's not gonna fix it cuz they don't like queer themes+characters🙄".

I assure you I'm well aware. Why do you think I gave Vivian an intimidating gun fireball?

Even acknowledging Super Mario RPG or TTYD has been an assumed impossibility until this year, they've suddenly become way less predictable to me than this time last year. IPs that were previously heavily protected like Mario and Pikmin are now taking weirder risks than they have in years.

The weird half-compassionate way that Intelligent Systems painted Vivian in TTYD is something that they still like to do wrt crossdressing/gnc characters. The character "Forrest" in fire emblem fates (2016) is a similar character of theirs that didn't get censored through translation - even if the end result is kind of baffling when you try to understand it as "representation". There are good reasons to feel otherwise, but I personally think the net value of acknowledging that Vivian is not perceived how she would like to be is worth the baggage of the original writing. Even they fumble the language around it big time. It doesn't matter to me if her experience isn't adjusted to be exactly analogous with western ideas about gender identity as long as it like - exists as a topic for her. Even at its worst it wouldn't be the first thing that TTYD writes poorly.

Also, the whole "she's not really transgender it's just a japanese trope thing" is a sneaky little rhetorical move but I think it's largely pedantic. Positioning gender non-conformity in the west as a monolith of experience (which it very much is not) that seeks to colonize eastern ideas about sex and gender is deliberately reductive and reactionary. There are certainly nuanced differences between how our cultures view sex and gender, but it's disingenuous to presume that all western fans are asking for Vivian to walk onscreen handing out a carrd link and listing her pronouns. Btw I'm not even saying I think it's likely that Nintendo will do this right, but I'm annoyed with every tag and reply in my notifs being doomers assuming I don't know better TT' A ''TT

#Sorry for writing a novel about this I happen to have written a lot of analysis about Vivian that I've never let see the light of day LOL #So a part of my brain is like 'FINALLY! MY TIME HAS COME'#lab grown media #research.txt #paper mario #mario #long post

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monsterblogging · 7 months

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So I'm gonna talk about a thing I've been noticing in media and American culture in general for awhile now, that's been driving me up the wall. Specifically, it's the myth of Good American Nationalism vs. Bad German Nationalism.

For context, I am a white, queer, disabled German-descended American ex-Christian who was raised as conservative, was exposed to a significant amount of Evangelical American Christofascism growing up, and continues to research Evangelical American Christofascism today.

This myth is the whole idea that the Nazis are primarily evil for wanting to take over other countries and take away their "freedom," which in this context pretty much just means "national identity." It's this whole idea that Nazis were primarily defeated by Good Patriotic Americans who Loved Their Country Oh So Much. The horrific atrocities inflicted upon Jews, Romani, disabled people, queer people, etc. take a back seat, if they're even mentioned at all.

There's a number of ways media upholds this myth, including the use of specific tropes or the careful omission of historical facts.

You can probably think of any number of media that brings up or alludes to the heinous "scientific experiments" Nazis performed on human subjects. You might also notice that this media tends to omit the identities of the victims. The average white American Christian conservative never has to think about the fact that the people they hate and the people Nazis hate are the same people, much less reflect upon what that says about their personal values. Instead, they are allowed to imagine that they or their children might have been the ones experimented upon.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of media (whether WWII is the primary focus or not) tends to divide Germans into Evil Scheming Nazis and Good Jewish Refugees? This trope absolutely helps uphold this myth. Not only does this trope erase the other minorities Nazi targeted, but it's often used to paint America as the Good Generous Savior of the Jews. It erases what Americans were actually saving Jews for during the war - specifically, access to scientific data. The fact that they were just as happy to take Nazi scientists on board after the war is just brushed aside. So is the fact that America initially turned away thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Germany.

It also glosses over the fact that American nationalists have a really gross, fetishistic view of Jews. These narratives act like America welcomed Jews into its arms out of the goodness of its heart, when the reality is that conservative Americans tolerate Jews because they see them as instrumental in starting the apocalypse and bringing Jesus back.

The myth treats German nationalism as if it's an inherent trait of simply being German. (German Jews were never seen as truly being German, of course. Just as American Jews aren't seen as being truly American. When conservative and liberal Americans alike aren't trying to convert them to Christianity or culturally Christian atheism to try and make them "real" Americans, they are at best treated as temporary "guests.") America, on the other hand, is assumed to be naturally immune to this sort of thing; so long as we keep being good patriotic Americans, we can never be Nazis. Meanwhile in reality, Hitler was inspired by America's very own Jim Crow laws, and America went on with its own eugenics program. Lebensraum was influenced by America's own "Manifest Destiny."

Because the myth of Good American Nationalism versus Bad German Nationalism downplays if not outright erases who the Nazis were targeting, it allows American conservatives to turn German Nazis into boogeymen they can project their fears onto. And so there are a number of American conservatives who actually believe that Nazis were burning Christian Bibles and pushing transgender and homosexuality, when the reality is that Nazis were burning books on queer research and killing queer people.

In closing, I'm going to say this: If your allegory or depiction of Nazis or German nationalism leaves out anything that might challenge a conservative white American Christian, it's a bad depiction or allegory. In fact, it's worse than bad; it's dishonest and makes you complicit in historical erasure, and complicit in ongoing violence against marginalized people.

#nazis #history #nationalism #fascism #tropes #media #writing

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bandedbulbussnarfblat · 24 days

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y'all, I'm so high rn, but I think I wanna write something in omegaverse. It would be my own twist on it, of course.

Imma put the thingy cause I got a little ramblelly

Bc I think like the trope itself could be so fun to examine through a world building aspect. Having a secondary sex, (or gender, that's something else I'll get into) is such an amazing thing in and of itself. There would be whole new ways to be transgender and/or queer.

So, would transgender people really be treated differently? When they have to be pretty common, like say statistically 30% of the population, at bare minimum.

But back to the sex thing. Like, assumably, you could still reproduce with your primary sex? So, theoretically, you could be the biological mother or father of your child. That means in a society like this, gender roles about parenthood could be virtually none existent.

And your secondary sex (I'm calling it a sex bc it aids in reproduction) is also sort of an assigned gender. Like, in fic, that I have read (bc sometimes when you got a rare pair, you gotta step outta your comfort zone) omegas are sort of looked down on, and alphas are looked up to. But what if you're born physically an alpha, but you feel like an omega? And is being alpha/omega rare? And aren't they sort of expected to go together? So what would people think of alpha/alpha pairings, or omega/omega? I imagine being beta is like, the equivalent of being cis het here, in terms of commonality.

And then there’s that scent thing. Apparently, it makes you very attractive to your...idk how to explain this gender split stuff rn, bc I'm like, so baked. Like how irl some people still think men/women are opposites, in omegaverse people think alpha/omega are. Attractive to your opposite sex/gender.

But like, if alphas are supposed to be this charismatic idol, then naturally, they make it to the top. But what if that scent thing also works on all people attracted to alphas?

And the omega scent thing is also supposed to be all sex and shit. But also like, protective? Like it gives you this urge to keep them safe or some bullshit? Bc they might be pregers. And it works on all people attracted to omegas.

And like there could be people omegas attracted to other omegas. But they might be able to get away with it if they're male/female bc that's always been the expected thing. (Bc obviously, if betas are in charge, they aren't going to think about the needs of alphas/omegas.)

(Though it could be entirely the other way around, with alpha/omegas being the norm, and betas being looked down on bc they only had one method to breed.)

See? There's so much you can do with it. But usually, all you see is the sex stuff. Which is cool if that's what you're looking for.

But I want a political intrigue type drama where the different genders play against conventional roles. And also there's a lot of smut.

But like the being in heat leaves you coherent enough to say yes or no. Or that their scent starts to smell bad as a self-defense mechanism. Oh, I like that, actually. But anyway, I don’t like dub-con like this. For like, personal reasons.

So there is a lot of smut. That is at least a little queer every once in awhile. But tbh that's just bc this gummy got me horny af. Except I'm also asexual af and the thought of myself in any sort sexual scenario makes me want to have a panic attack irl.

Anyway, you could write it as this gender equality utopia.

Or you could right it as the way it probably would be--humans always find a way to build culture, to make a society. Societies have rules to keep the status que. There will always be those who are by nature against that status que and will be seen as different or other.

Ok, I think I have accidentally done like, some of my world building here. That makes this a sacred post.

Wait shit. Am I actually going to do this? I don't really think I can. Unless I write it on my phone, bc the shitty ass laptop is too far away.

#high posting #rambling #omegaverse speculation #like it's not my thing #but I'll read it if I'm dumpster diving for anything #with the idea that one man's trash is another man's treasure #but like it is so much fun to speculate on. what is society like? what are the gender norms?#omg i think I'm going to write something omegaverse

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causewealwayshaveeachother · 10 months

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📓📓📓

damn THREE books...

1 tattoo artist/reference desk librarian

what if a tattoo artist and a reference desk librarian fell in love...

reggie: a tattoo artist with a passion for reading dense academic textbooks and their bibliographies and a crush on the reference desk librarian who always seems to be on shift when he goes in

alex: a reference desk librarian with a hobby for gossipping about frequent patrons and a massive crush on his favorite grad student - though for what field he's not yet certain

the plot: reggie is a frequent visitor of alex's library in search of literally just random shit he's interested in learning about. alex is utterly convinced he's a student at the university (don't worry about what the relationship is between the library, the university, and the public) and is determined to figure out what his field of study is without asking, through the power of gossipping about it with his friends

reggie and willie have a tattoo shop together. the tattoo shop is called Sparkwheel's Tattoos and Piercings. it is named after ur nicknames for reggie and willie for each other being sparky and wheels <3 it's also named after the fact that in this fic their last names are both sparkwheel. also they have matching sparkwheels tattooed on their heels <33

"Oh, we're not married," Reggie said. "We just have the same last name for way weirder reasons."

2 the soulmate goose of enforcement

my discord avatar is dex from check please. read this

the world: what if instead of any one soulmate au, it was all of them? luke lives in a world where your 16th birthday coincides with the reveal of how, exactly, you're going to find your soulmate, as anticlimactic or exciting as it may turn out to be. he was like 100% certain he was gonna get something music-related. instead he got a goose.

luckily, he meets his soulmate pretty soon after that! unluckily, the goose does not go away as planned. weird.

and thus begins the ever-expanding quasi-platonic polycule of luke's soulmates, their soulmates, their friends, and etcetera. he does eventually find a romantic soulmate too. unfortunately by that point he's too used to everyone ending up being platonic soulmates to realize

oh yeah also it's a royalty au bc it was inspired by a round of troped. remember troped? man.

3 the pirate willexie one where i steal a country name from fete for a king even though i'm only on chapter 6

reggie, fleeing a shitty homelife and following in the footsteps of his best friend, fakes his death for the life insurance payout and becomes a thief. an indeterminate amount of time later, he finally returns to his hometown to retrieve what was left to him in the finally-unsealed will of his missing-presumed-dead best friend. unfortunately, he's super recognizable to like, everyone in the house at the time. and robbing it. time to flee! oh no he's been cornered at the docks! time to jump on a boat as it leaves!

willie is the captain of a transgender pirate ship weilding a leverage-ass understanding of what an EMP cannon is or how it functions. his crew includes: - julie, the first mate/medic/musician -flynn, the tech guy/navigator -luke, the munitions guy/musician -bobby, the head cook -nick, who's just kind of there it's a very exciting time when reggie jumps aboard fleeing the cops. willie loves fleeing the cops and he loves cute boys and he loves having an extra hand on the boat so this whole situation is a win-win-win

alex ran away to sea, is now missing presumed dead. sad!

this fic features: transgenderism! flynn and luke being aro besties! my anger at the concept of a child star! small european countries! a lot of research into what the letters before boat names mean!

#tattoo artist/reference desk librarian #soulmate goose of enforcement #a classic where are they now #reggie's genderverse #s.s. stands for a very specific thing which is not what a lot of fictional s.s. boats are. and it's not Sailing Ship #sailing ships are actually denoted by s.v. for sailing vessel #km #asks #jatp

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mrsfrecklesmarauders · 2 years

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Little Freak

This is an idea that I have for a possible AU. It is all I kept thinking about for the last couple of days. And honestly I am in love with the idea. I am a bit obsessed.

Give it a read and let me know what you think. Perhaps, maybe if people like it, I will create a blog dedicated to this. I don't know.

Enjoy!

Pairing: Sirius Black x Trans FTM!Remus Lupin (Wolfstar)

Muggle Modern AU.

Trope: childhood friends to strangers to friends to lovers.

Content Warning: Mentions of transphobia, mentions of self harm, mentions of bullying.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sirius stared at Remus' text for what felt like hours. His body was sweating, his heart was beating fast, his mouth was dry.

Remus: Let's meet up in person, shall we?

Meet up in person. Sirius didn't know if he could do it. Just thinking about it, made Sirius' tummy twist. It was the same sensation he got when he rode a rollercoaster for the first time when he was fourteen, when James took him. Nervousness and anxiety but at the same time, the thrill of wanting to do it so badly, that the negative feelings didn't quite matter.

Sirius hadn't seen Remus in person since they were ten, eleven. Sirius didn't remember. Remus was a different person back then. He had a different name. He had longer hair. He wore dresses and sweaters. He was a girl. Not anymore.

Rosie. Rosie. Rosie. Rosalind Lupin.

Rosie used to be Sirius' favorite person in the world. Years ago, The Lupins used to work for his family. And Sirius befriended their daughter who was the same age as him. Because he felt lonely. And he was an extrovert and energetic kid.

They did pranks together, they got into adventures with Regulus. They pretended to be pirates, warriors, sailors, wizards, aliens. They shared secrets. They talked through walkie talkies until very late at night. They made bonfires. They watched horror movies that were supposed to be for adults. And when everything was too much with Sirius' family, as it always had been, Sirius would sneak to the little cottage The Lupins lived. Inside The Black's property. Because being with Rosie comforted him.

Rosie and her books. Rosie and her little freckles across her nose. Rosie and her light brown curls that she always tied up. How Sirius loved to take the the hair tie to losen her hair, because Sirius liked how it floated in the wind. How Rosie got angry, or rolled her eyes. Rosie wearing her father's old sweaters than were too big for her. Rosie coming up for the perfect plan or prank. Her mischievious smile. The time she ran her fingers though Sirius' hair after she found him crying because of his parents. Rosie's nice father, Lyall. Rosie's cool mum, Hope.

Sirius sighed. It was Remus now. Remus had come out as a trans boy a year ago or so. Sirius had respected the change of name, the change of pronouns, the testosterone Remus began using, everything Remus had told him about his transition process.

Remus: This is me, Sirius. It had always been me. But now... Now I am finally being myself.

Sirius: I totally respect that. Whatever makes you happy, Remus :)

Remus: Thank you...

Sometimes Sirius felt that Remus was a whole different person though. Or maybe that was what Sirius was afraid of. He was afraid that Rosie would be forever gone. It was silly. It was stupid. Sirius was being an idiot that didn't understand transgender people's issues. And he was being selfish. He shouldn't think that way.

Rosie-Remus... They were the same person. Sirius' friend.

After The Lupins were fired (Sirius still didn't know what had happened or why his parents were so angry with Mr. Lupin), Sirius and Remus stayed in touch. Only through emails, then phone calls (very long phone calls), and then over the years, only texts. The last texts weren't very often. They weren't very retailers in them like before. Sirius was afraid that they ran out of things to talk about. That things weren't the same.

Sirius had been very busy with school, with The Marauders (his best friends in the world), with parties, with girls, stupid things that a sixteen year old teenage boy would care about. And perhaps Remus had been the same.

So yeah, that text...That text gave Sirius shivers down his spine.

Sirius: Sure Remus...

Sirius: Is everything okay?

Remus: Does something have to be wrong for me to want to see you?

Remus: :)

At least that gave Sirius hope. And he smiled.

Sirius: Just checking...

Sirius: Where do you want to meet?

Remus: I know the perfect place

Remus: They sell the best milshakes

So Remus remembered how they gulped milshakes from different flavors when they were kids. The more sugar they had, the better. Walburga detested that her son consumed such things.

Sirius: Sounds wonderful

Sirius: Are you free this weekend?

Remus: Yeah, how about Saturday, 5 p.m

Remus: I'll text you the adress

So it was happening. Sirius was going to see Remus. He had seen a few pictures, but most of his face was covered, and the curls covered most of the frame. So Sirius didn't know how much Remus had changed.

Sirius felt an urge to vomit.

Sirius: Sounds good.

Oh Fucking Hell.

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

Sirius' palms were sweating. Sirius' armpits were sweating. Sirius' genitals were even sweating. So he took off his leather jacket. He ran his fingers though his hair, and he realized how sticky they were. So he wiped his palms on his trousers.

Sirius began moving his leg. At least that was calming him down a bit. Sirius looked around. A group of girls were looking at him. He smiled politely and they dissolved into a pack of giggles. Sirius looked away.

If only they knew he was dying. He was so nervous. So so nervous.

Ping. A text.

Sirius took out his phone thinking it was Remus. Probably cancelling. Probably telling him he had arrived. Sirius didn't know.

James: Video games and pizza tonight?

James: Wormy is already here

None of Sirius' friends knew about Remus. Sirius liked keeping him a secret. Sirius didn't know what was going to happen with Remus, so he didn't answer. And he was too nervous to type anyway.

James: Pads?

Sorry, James. Not now.

Sirius locked his phone and he was pocketing it, when he heard a voice behind him. A male voice.

"Sirius?"

Sirius froze only for two seconds but they seemed like hours. He turned slowly. A tall skinny boy was standing in front of him. Remus. Remus had the same soft brown curls but he kept them short above his head. He had the the same freckles across his nose. The same light brown eyes. He was wearing the same big sweaters he used to wear and some jeans and converse.

Everything was the same. But now Remus was a teenage boy. A very cute teenage boy.

And when he smiled, Sirius figured that his smile was the same.

Perhaps Sirius had been looking for too long. Because Remus looked down embarrassed. He began playing with his sweater sleeves. He used to do the same when he was a child.

So Sirius decided to react and cleared his throat. He gave Remus a nice soft smile.

"Remus..." he stood, up nervously "You look... Amm... You look...."

Remus looked up and his mouth twisted into his iconic mischievous smile. It was the same.

"Different?" Remus tried, giggling.

Sirius chuckled, he rubbed his neck.

"Sure" he said "You are so much taller. You have grown so fast"

Remus used to be taller than Sirius when they were kids as well. Sirius always thought he would become taller with time.

"And apparently you stayed the same height" Remus joked, looking at him upside down.

Sirius gasped. All of his friends bothered him because of his height. Same height that most girls. Only Peter understood his struggle.

"Very funny, Remus" Sirius tutted, as Remus laughed. His laughter was the same. But deeper.

Sirius took a seat again, feeling more relieved. And Remus took a seat in front of him in the booth.

"I missed teasing you"

Sirius pouted "You teased me a lot over texts"

"Not the same" Remus snorted. He hid his hands into his sweater sleeves. He put his elbows on the table, covering his mouth.

Remus was doing exactly the same that Sirius remembered.

There was a brief moment of silence after that. Sirius kept smiling like an idiot he didn't know why. His eyes were focused on Remus, but his brain moved them away, perhaps thinking it wasn't appropiate to stare.

Remus hid his smile behind his sleeves. And he was staring at Sirius openly and without discretion. So Sirius decided to break the silence.

"How have you been?"

"Great" Remus cleared his throat and moved in his seat.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"How...how..." Sirius began playing with the sugar can "What have you been doing this summer?"

"Working..."

"Oh that's a bummer..." he turned the sugar can without noticing that he was pouring sugar on the table. Remus observed amused "Oh shit...." Sirius noticed "Shit...." he began cleaning everything in with his hands.

Remus was softly laughing.

"Very nice, Sirius"

"Oh shut up!" Sirius smiled "This is you fault, actually" Sirius put his hair behind his ear.

"My fault?" Remus snorted.

"I am nervous" Sirius confessed "I am nervous and I am playing with sugar cans like a fool"

Remus giggled.

"Even the lady at the counter is looking at me"

Remus laughed because it was true.

"You did that on yourself" Remus tutted.

"Because I am nervous!" Sirius put the can back, and crossed his arms.

"Why are you nervous?" Remus smiled.

"Because..." Sirius snorted, he began laughing softly "Because I haven't seen you in five years?"

"Yeah"

"We've been texting and all" Sirius began playing with the menu now "But it is not the same"

"I know..."

"And you look different.... Like like...."

"A boy?"

Sirius nodded.

"Maybe I look ridiculous...."

"Ridiculous?" Sirius asked "No no..."

"No no?"

"No no"

Remus giggled.

"You've been busy" he said softly "You've been always busy"

Sirius sighed. It was true. Marauders' hang outs. Family stupid dinners and gatherings. Parties. Birthdays. School.

Remus had asked him to see him before. But Sirius used to have every excuse. Until Remus stopped asking. And Remus asked again this time. And Sirius finally agreed.

Sirius swallowed "I am sure you'd been busy as well"

Remus nodded.

"With school" Sirius continued, smiling "And friends..."

Remus snorted.

"And Hope and Lyall..." Sirius gasped "How are Hope and Lyall?"

Remus licked his lips "Divorced"

"Oh..."

Remus giggled awkwardly.

"You didn't tell me"

"It's recent... They are making the papers... Talking to lawyers"

Remus looked down sadly. The difference between them was that Remus had had a great relationship with his parents. While Sirius hadn't. Or that's how Sirius remembered it.

"I am sorry" Sirius sighed.

"Yeah it is fine" Remus sniffed, playing with his sleeves "I just..." he put a lock of hair in his eye away "I reckon maybe it is my fault"

Sirius' eyes widened.

"Why?" Sirius shook his head "Why do you say that?"

"Lyall...." Remus hissed "Lyall is not very okay with me being a boy... Hope is. They used to have pretty nasty fights about that"

Sirius touched Remus' elbow before he could stop himself. Remus observed that and smiled. Sirius didn't dare to take his hand away.

"It is not your fault" Sirius said "That is their issue, really"

Remus pouted. Sirius smiled.

"You are doing a great job as a boy"

Remus raised an eyebrow. Then he laughed.

"Thank you?" Remus leaned in "How does someone make a good job being a boy?"

"I...I don't know" Sirius snorted. Remus giggled "But you are doing it great.... You are doing it great, sweetheart"

Sirius winked. Remus' cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Thank you, sweetheart" Remus snorted. He covered his face again.

"So....Yeah..."

"How's Reggie?" Remus asked.

Sirius sighed "A pain in the ass"

Remus laughed.

"He is fifteen... He sometimes acts like a 50 year old man. You must remember"

Remus nodded "I remember"

"He is not fun anymore"

"I am sorry to hear that"

Sirius didn't want to talk about Regulus. How Regulus had become ashamed of him. How Regulus had become what Walburga and Orion had expected.

Although he was covering him that afternoon...

"So how are your.... Mmmm...." Sirius crossed his legs "Milkshakes!"

Remus frowned "How are my milkshakes?"

Remus was the only one that made Sirius talk and talk like an idiot. Sirius was trying to ignore how his heart was jumping with joy, because little by little, it was getting easier again with Remus.

Sirius smiled as Remus giggled.

"Not like..." Sirius pointed to the counter "We haven't ordered anything"

"Oh..." Remus nodded "I love their Hersheys milshake" Remus grabbed the menu.

"Chocoholic still?" Sirius smiled.

Remus smiled back "Always" he said "What do you want?" he asked giving Sirius the menu.

"Amm..." Sirius took it.

"Probably something disgusting like tutty fruity.... " Remus smiled. Sirus gasped, making a pout "Or something"

"Okay... I am a fan of trying new flavors and things" Sirius gave Remus' head a soft hit with the menu "You know me pretty well"

"Oh... Yeah" Remus nodded "Like the time you decided to invent the toothpaste milkshake flavor by adding actual toothpaste to the milk"

"It was good!" Sirius protested. Remus laughed.

"It tasted..."

"Minty!"

"Disgusting!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, looking at the menu. Remus observed him smiling.

"Strawberry... And passion fruit"

Remus made a disgusted face.

Sirius stood up, indignated.

"I am gonna order that..." Sirius said. Remus nodded "And you are going to try it. And you are going to be jealous of my milkshake"

"I don't think so" Remus shook his head.

"You will, wanker" Sirius snapped. Remus laughed "You will"

Remus smiled. He wanted to stand up but Sirius stopped him.

"I'll pay for them" Sirius stopped him "The milkshakes are on me"

"You sure?"

"Let me buy you milkshake!" Sirius put out his tongue.

"Aren't you gonna buy me chips too?"

"Chips it is"

"I was joking!" But Sirius started walking towards the counter "Sirius!"

Sirius turned. Remus had a wide smile on his face. His face was quite red. He looked happy.

"I... I fucking missed you"

Sirius smiled. But he turned before Remus saw his cheeks going red. He took a deep breath. He was so happy to see Remus again.

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

Sirius' first reaction was to make a face. But it was only because he had expected the shake to be sweet. But it was kind of sour. The taste was terribly wrong at first. But once one's tongue got used to it, it wasn't that bad.

Remus on the other hand, was enjoying his Hershey Milkshake like a kid. He was smiling as he slurped the straw.

"It is actually not bad"

"You're lying"

Sirius scoffed "I am not lying, Remus" he said "Here..." he pushed his glass toward Remus "Try it"

Remus shook his head "No thank you"

"Let me try yours"

"No thank you"

"Remus!" Sirius protested.

"Sirius!" Remus used the same tone. He smiled.

They looked into each other's eyes for a while. Sirius noticed Remus' freckles. And how his eyelashes were too long to be true. But they were cute as Remus blinked.

Then Sirius tried to reach Remus' milkshake. But Remus tried to stop him at the same time.

"Just give me a tiny sip!"

"No! Sirius!"

"Please Remus!"

"It is mine! I ordered it first!"

"Come on!"

"It is not my fault that your shake is horrid!"

"My shake is not horrid!"

Remus was laughing as he held his glass tight. Sirius was trying to pull towards him.

"I want to try it!"

"You are gonna spill everything up!" Remus giggled.

Finally Sirius managed to take the milkshake.

"HA!" But as he took a sip, he moved his elbow and his own shake fell and all of it was spilled over the table, over the chips.

Remus gasped, covering his mouth. And then he began laughing.

"Well..." Sirius said as he slurped Remus' shake "It was awful, anyway"

Remus began laughing, covering his mouth. And his laughter was so contagious that Sirius began laughing as well. They both laughed loud and openly now. Dropping their heads back like kids. Remus bended down because his tummy began hurting of how much he was laughing.

"This is mine!" Remus tried to get his shake back but his sleeves touched the spilled milkshake. And he groaned.

Sirius showed his teeth. And Remus put it on Sirius' face, covering it with milkshake. Remus started laughing again, as Sirius gasped and cleaned himself.

People were looking at them like crazy people, so Sirius noticed. Especially the lady at the counter. Especially the girls from before.

"Hi!" so he waved at them, and smirked at the way Remus was laughing.

They laughed until they both got tired. Then all that was left were soft smiles and them catching their breath again. They both leaned back in their seats, appreaciating each other's company like that.

Now, you have a general idea of how it used to be back then. Sirius and Remus used to have so much fun together. Sirius and Remus used to be so silly together. It was all fun and games, yes. But there were also soft times of silence. Like the one right now. They stayed in silence, enjoying each other's company. There was no need to talk. It was pure comfort. Sirius felt in peace. Like everything was happiness and harmony. Until Sirius started talking and they got back at being goofy again.

That was why Sirius loved to have Remus in his life. And Sirius didn't know how he spent five years without him. Sirius was feeling a warm sensation on his chest. Like something burning inside. He felt the same when Rosie ran her fingers through his hair. He felt the same when Rosie smiled at him after a bad fight with his mother. And Sirius was feeling the same now with Remus.

It didn't matter the name. It didn't matter the gender. Girl or boy. This was his Rosie/Remus. The one Sirius used to adore.

"I need to tell you something" Remus whispered now.

Sirius smiled. Because he wanted. Because he could.

"Yeah?"

Remus sat up straight. He looked into Sirius' eyes.

"I've been...." Remus bit his lip "Partially lying to you"

Sirius sat up straight again.

"What do you mean?"

Remus looked down. He shook his head.

"I don't have friends... My life is pretty miserable at school"

"Oh..." Sirius didn't expect that.

Remus sighed "Everyone had been making my life miserable since I came out..." Remus sniffed, putting his hair away "They call me a confused lesbian. They say that I am sick. That I need help...."

"Remus..." Sirius didn't know what to say.

Remus moved his mouth "It got to the point that it became very dark... I started hurting myself...."

Sirius couldn't hear that.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was embarrassed" Remus swallowed "And you had your friends and your life"

Sirius shook his head.

"My mum said that enough was enough" Remus continued "And... that I should change schools"

Remus smiled. Sirius didn't know why. He felt guilty. He felt guilty for practically ignorning Remus like that. Maybe if Sirius had been more pendant...

"She said that I should go to a private school this time" Remus added "That the money doesn't matter, that if we worked hard we could afford it"

The Lupins had always struggled economically. Sirius remembered he used to see the little cottage they lived in, the little things they had and compared it with everything that The Blacks owned, and sometimes wasted. It wasn't fair.

"And..." Remus smiled, poking Sirius' arm. Sirius tried to smile and not feel guilty "I suggested mum and dad your school"

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"You are always talking about how much you like your school and your friends... What was it's name? Hollywarts?"

"Hogwarts?"

Remus nodded "The very same" he snorted.

Sirius was speechless. Or maybe he was still thinking about Remus being alone.

"So with my mum's savings, my savings and...." he rolled his eyes "Lyall's savings... And the jobs we have...." Remus licked his lips "I think I would be able to go to school with you this September"

Remus finished giggling awkwardly, because Sirius wasn't saying anything. Sirius was busy blinking and processing the information.

"Sirius?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

Sirius nodded. He finished nodding and he nodded again. Just because.

Remus bit his lip.

"Blimey... You hate the fact that I...."

Sirius stood up and he took a seat in Remus' booth, next to him. And he wrapped his arms around him, giving him a hug. Remus was soft, cuddly, he smelled very nice. Soap, chocolate, and men's cologne.

Sirius' eyes filled with tears. He was glad Remus couldn't see that.

"I missed you so much"

When Remus left, Sirius cried for five nights. Sirius felt very sad and lonely for weeks. He hadn't told that to anyone. Not even his soul.

"I missed you too"

Sirius snorted, swallowing his tears. Then he pulled away, grabbing Remus by the shoulders and smiling at him.

"You are going to my school?" Sirius chuckled.

"Yeah" Remus smiled "We are going to be classmates"

"Woow"

"And see each other everyday"

Now Sirius made a face "Woow"

Remus hit his arm, playfully.

"I am so glad!" Sirius snorted, biting his lip "You are gonna love Hogwarts! You are gonna love the teachers! We can do pranks to them together.... And...."

Remus was smiling.

"OH!" Sirius' eyes widened "You are gonna The Marauders!"

"The Marauders?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"That is the name of my friend group...."

"The Marauders?" Remus asked again, teasing.

"Oh shut up!"

Remus giggled.

"Maybe you can meet them today!" Sirius beamed remembering James' text "We can go to James' after this... Videogames and pizza"

Remus shrugged "Can't... I'm working"

"Oh..." Sirius made a pout "Bummer"

Remus smiled "It is okay... My job is cool"

"What do you do?"

"I work in a Library"

"Oh...." Sirius teased "I forgot how nerd you were..." Remus rolled his eyes "You are...."

"Shut up, you wanker!"

Remus smiled.

"I work there in every afternoon" Remus stared at his watch "I actually have to be there in twenty minutes"

Sirius sighed. He didn't quite want to say goodbye. That is when he realized how close he was of Remus. And decided that he didn't mind.

"When can I see you again?" Sirius smiled.

Remus shrugged "Complicated and busy summer.... Work, work.... And more work"

It wasn't fair that Remus had to work hard to go to a decent school. Sirius would offer to help. But 1) He couldn't touch his funds until he turned eighteen, 2) He could not tell his parents about Remus, his father flinched someone mentioned Mr. Lupin, 3) Remus wouldn't accept his help.

"See you on September, then?"

Two weeks left. Just two weeks left. Sirius hadn't been that desperate to go back to school.

Remus smiled. Then he nodded.

"See you on September"

#maraudersera #marauders #marauders headcanon #marauders au #marauders muggle au #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #trans remus lupin #trangender #sirius x remus #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #female to male #ftm

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betweenlands · 1 year

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remembered we were going to do this a while back and figured we should do it now rather than never! for anyone who has read prior literature and/or wants to know more abt our plural!viking headcanon, here’s a semi-collated list of all the sections in it (by number, not appearance order)

featuring: stuff that was originally only in our dev document, stuff we implied but never said, and some info on how the system functions!

Very Long Post below:

general info:

all the vikings are called “sections” because they’re numbered by which “section” of the Omega Forbidden Necronomicon-Ass Book they have memorized/are associated with.

(the only one that breaks this pattern is epilogue, although some of him have theorized there may be a table of contents or index that operates the body on autopilot and is the reason they can function while arguing/know instinctively who’s memorized which rituals.)

there's no one section that is “the real viking” or “the original viking” -- they all are, as parts of a whole and individuals, both aspects of the real viking and the Whole Entire Viking

(this is why all of them are described visually as being definitely viking, but with at least one key detail altered)

there is also no “evil viking” or “insane viking” in any sense of that trope. they’re all weird and morally grey in their own ways. they’re all just dudes

in total we’d like to think there’s ~151 of them? this is a pokedex joke but it also seems like a solid number.

system specific stuff:

viking as a system uses plural he/they; different sections will individually use different pronouns

(if cc viking wants to steal pronouns/genders then by gods these sections will transgender. none of them use neos as of time of writing but that is a failing on our part)

some sections refer to the system as a whole as “we”, some as “i” -- it depends on their outlook on being plural, really.

multigenic system (ie -- system originated from multiple things/in multiple ways). maybe polyfrag (large member count, more prone to having new system members form), except for the fact that i’m not sure if that would make sense given all the sections are specifically tied to, well, sections?

headspace manifests as the members overlayed in the physical world around them

(this is a different thing from one viking “hallucinating” the other vikings, though we guess it could overlap in some places?)

the vikings do not have a system host in the traditional sense; while epilogue would technically be the closest to the “original”, front (who’s in control of the body) generally rotates between 3-5 system members at any given time, often rapidly, and there’s no real bias towards any particular section being in front On Purpose

the sections listed aren’t the only sections! rather, they’re just a handful of ones we wrote for prior literature -- some of them are probably around a lot, some of them are only there once in a blue moon, and probably there are even some sections that aren’t listed that show up very frequently.

[claps hands together] specific vikings time! in the original plotting document these were broken down into descriptive sections but we’ve taken the liberty of making these be bullet points instead, since half the descriptive bits on half the sections weren’t fully filled out

section 1 (it/no pronouns)

should look exactly like the body, but something is Wrong and none of the other sections can agree on what.

(fic narration does not like describing it -- “no viking/no section/nobody” often gets used to describe it)

99% nonverbal other than being able to laugh and make other vague sounds. can still impart Feelings and Vibes towards the other vikings by its presence when it wants to get something across; this includes information on its book section if needed.

generally just stares at other people from a distance when it’s in front, doesn’t talk to them (obviously) but might laugh softly at a joke or something

(we swear to you, we wrote this description out before shadowmech started kind of doing this bit)

most of the other sections are kind of creeped out or at least concerned by it; its vibes are RANCID tbh

some of them think it’s a demon, some think it’s a physical manifestation of the book, some think it’s just a guy with really weird vibes.

NOT EVIL i cannot stress this enough -- just so fundamentally different from humanity that it straight up does not communicate in the same way.

section 15 (he/him)

sort of a very faint impression of viking, colors faded. kind of skinny, gaunt to the point of looking malnourished, and rather tall.

friendly and matter-of-fact towards other dominion members, one of the easier sections to get along with.

constantly twitchy and really wants to be Doing Things, and will kind of disregard the emotional aspects of some situations if it suits him.

tries to keep order insystem if he can, he’d really prefer to talk to other people that aren’t the sections. needs friends.

section 23 (he/they)

black sclera and black-stained fingertips, looks otherwise similar to the body.

is almost aggressively cheerful and polite towards the other sections and the other dominion members, generally tends to toe the three-way line between friendly, hyperactive, and manic.

thinks it’s funny to jumpscare people. like he just thinks it is HILARIOUS.

relentlessly cheery no matter what the subject matter is, and sees no difference in seriousness between stuff like “someone is building a little statue for funsies” and “the queen is possessed and we have to exorcise her”

because of their lack of understanding stakes, they tend to kind of inflict tonal dissonance on others. legitimately does not see the difference between “stick sleeping person’s hand in a bowl of warm water” and “roll sleeping person off a cliff” -- both are Fun Slumber Party Pranks to him

is the one that has the restoration ritual memorized, among other things.

(fun fact -- the materials list is a reference to the Vengeful Heart of Ender boss arena from minecraft dungeons, since that’s like. a Rebirth Pit)

section 35 (no pronouns)

a humanoid figure with sharp claws, wearing an opaque burial shroud with blue and gold flowers.

i will just say this straight up. section 35 is the closest to a “persecutor” type system member we wrote, but that does not mean 35 is the “evil one”. as mentioned before in general info, that’s. that’s not a thing with the way we write viking.

(actually, section 35 is based on the early stages of one of our persecutors deciding to stop being a bad person, so... yeah! 35 sucks but like. in a way that sometimes people just do suck. just a bit more supernatural about it.)

tends to antagonize the other sections, doesn’t talk to anyone outside the system much

is tempted to suggest that they sacrifice taneesha to make the memory ritual go smoother. however, doesn’t do that because 35 is very aware this would upset the other vikings

see, section 35 cares about the other vikings and also is self-preserving to a fault. ultimately what 35 wants is to not die or be killed.

unfortunately 35 also has a pretty busted moral compass and is kind of doing it all from scratch.

section 42 (it/they)

is a floating orb of blue-gold gradient color.

very friendly for a weird floating orb!

tends to elect itself representative of all the sections and kind of speak for them, whether or not they actually share the same opinion

honestly, whether or not you like section 42 is entirely dependent on your experiences with people/system members who present opinions as “this is what everyone in the group thinks” -- it’s really just up to whether you’ve met more people like that who do a good job of advocating for everyone else, or if you’ve had more sour experiences with being talked over

we personally would actually consider 42 one of the more morally grey sections; it’s just that the moral grey area is entirely its internal communication, as externally they are very pleasant to be around

section 57 (”he/it but if you ask he’ll just laugh nervously”)

semi-reversed color scheme (rust/silver), looks otherwise the same

if you were to go up to a dominion member, tell them there were multiple vikings, and ask them to pick “the insane one”, 57 would be pretty likely to win that poll.

(remember, this isn’t actually how it works, but it’s important context in this case!)

he’s the one that does the Panicked Evil Giggle, and it is mainly because he is incredibly stressed out all the time. constantly dealing with the web of lies of both the other dominioners and the other sections has him at his wit’s end more or less.

prone to accidentally saying extremely concerning things, as he tends to just speak from stream-of-consciousness when he gets stressed out and therefore loses most of his filter in the process

constantly has low social energy. cannot catch a break. needs a fucking nap so badly

one of the few sections who will consistently refer to the system as plural, regardless of the circumstances

section 61 (they/them)

looks rather like regular viking, but with phantom wings! appearance more or less directly inspired by this art by @mastasof-ravenkroft.

cares a lot for people, both the other sections and the other dominion members.

panics and startles easily; section 35 thinks they’re a wimp and in general tends to target them a bit.

is not only great at consistently referring to the system as plural (like 57 does), but has also gone to the effort of memorizing which vikings are which section numbers.

section 84 (he/him)

blue/yellow cloak, bisected gold/silver crown.

sick of the other vikings. exclusively refers to them as “headaches” and doesn’t address them by any other name. probably doesn’t even believe he’s part of a plural system.

thinks he’s the original (he’s not) and is just hallucinating the other sections (he isn’t) and therefore should have the sole claim to a physical body (he shouldn’t).

speaks extremely bluntly and plainly, as if everyone else is a waste of his time.

look. honesty again from your local authors the solar system. this guy sucks. we have written him intentionally so that he sucks. that doesn’t mean you suck if you like him, rather, he’s written based on the unfortunately sometimes common trend of “system hosts” who are shitty to their system members and consider themselves better or more real than their fellow system members.

not irredeemable but good lord if that redemption arc hits he has a LOT of apologizing to do, especially to the other sections.

section 98 (they/any -- doesn’t care about pronouns)

blue and yellow hoodie; no logo on the back, no fluffy edges, very plain-looking.

“doesn’t care about pronouns” in a distinctly nonbinary way (as opposed to, like, the joe hills college of “i don’t care enough to tell you what to call me -- what am i, a cop?” -- not that that’s invalid, just that there’s a difference in this case)

a guy other dominion members could chill with, probably. speaks clearly and evenly and seems very level-headed.

internally it is not that simple. they’re very level-headed, but to the point where they are way too calm even in situations where you really should be at least a little rattled.

no matter what the other sections are discussing, 98 is capable of chiming in with some comment in that completely even tone of theirs. this has lead to some of the other sections being... a little unnerved by them.

by no means the most spooky viking, but there’s a matter-of-factness to their demeanor that can come off as unsettling.

the only section besides 23 that we listed some of the Book Knowledge for, and for some reason that information is just written down as “this is the one that knows how to steal souls.”

epilogue (they/he)

invisible and/or too far away to see.

some consider them the “original” or potentially think he’s the “index”, while others don’t even know if and/or believe that he exists.

(is no more the original than any of the other vikings, though they’re the closest the system gets to having one)

does not front. has never spoken to any other vikings, and almost all of them have never seen them.

(some of the sections claim that they’ve listened closely while it’s quiet inspace and have been able to hear him crying/laughing distantly)

probably wouldn’t be able to function if somehow he was the only one restored to the body, as they also believe they cannot affect reality in any meaningful way

completely broken as a person, either by the full weight of the book or the small weight of the human kindness in the postscript (”If you are reading this, I am sorry”)

might possibly be more closely tied to the book than the sections? who knows? not us

#vikingpilot #dominion smp #solar scraps #solar scrawls #dominioners #yt #txt #orig

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