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ferretwhomst · 9 months

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Question about the transfem! Stans au: When did they figure out that they were transfem? Also, did they fully transition?

HMMM well. i like to think stan sort of realized sometime during the 10 years she was separated from ford in the 70s. for awhile in her teen years whenever she felt out of place in her body she covered it up with a facade of hypermasculinity in hopes that it would make the feeling go away. however a few years down the line she was traveling the country on her own and that gave her time to Realize Some Things 🏳️‍⚧️ about herself. but of course she was still in bad company and extremely self-conscious and vulnerable (not to mention full of internalized sexism) so even after she figured she was a girl she continued denying it to herself

i think only when she officially began living in gravity falls as stanford did she realize that it literally doesn't matter. she's living in a fuckall town in the middle of nowhere in oregon, everyone in the town is a little weird (not to mention the cryptids and anomalies everywhere) and nobody's gonna care if she officially accepts that she's a woman and starts transitioning

ford also probably realized during those 30 years in the portal. i think she wasn't really as troubled by her gender the way stan was growing up, it was just sort of a side effect of existing, but she never had any reason to call herself anything but a man even if it didn't feel Quite Right. however meeting people from different dimensions with different perceptions of gender made her realise gender is a fuck and she can do what she WANTS...... and then she comes out of the portal 30 years later some flavor of fem nonbinary

i have an incredibly shitposty version of the interaction at the end of nwhs (i guess it'd be nwss in this au) which goes

"That's the Author of the Journals- my brother!"

"I think you'll find it's 'sister' now, actually, Stanley."

"WH- YOU TOO????"

and later in atots:

"Oh thank god, I was a little worried I'd have to explain to you why I've been ordering estrogen supplements in your name for the past 25 or so years"

"You opening this portal tonight could've ripped open the very fabric of reality and that's what you were worried about-"

also re: their transitions, i don't think either of them would be that bothered with it? apart from the hrt, of course, stan might've briefly tried voice training; i imagine she puts on a marginally more feminine voice when she's being ms (mrs???) mystery and then at home or when she's not around customers she drops the voice and just sounds like how stan does in canon. i don't think she would go for any kind of surgery either whether facial feminization or bottom surgery or whatever; she doesn't care that much for presenting as feminine even if it gets her weird looks from some people. she's secure enough in her gender to validate it for herself <3

with ford it gets a little complicated. how much of a human's transition could've been completed while she was dimension hopping?? do they have estrogen in other dimensions??? if ford started doing hrt did they give her estrogen or like an equivalent??? so many questions and zero answers. if not then i think she would like to go on hrt after returning from the portal but like stanley would not care much for surgeries or voice training. both of them like their roughed up old guy voices too much to do anything about it

also entirely unrelated to your questions but i think spending time with mabel would encourage both of them to engage with stereotypical feminine things in a way that feels safe and comfortable and not embarrassing for them. like . for example imagine with me mabel teaching them how to braid each other's hair. (might be a pain because i imagine neither of them have very long hair but you know she tries.) like auughhhhh

#thank you for asking btw <3 #im like a vampire with my interests i can only talk abt it if someone invites me to sbdkwnfkwndkqmd #this was a pain to type out on mobile and it's late so I might've phrased stuff weirdly #anyways #asks #ferret rambles #gravity falls #gf #gravity falls headcanons #gravity falls au #stanley pines #grunkle stan #stanford pines #grunkle ford #trans stan twins #transfem!stans

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multimilfs · 1 year

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Artemisia x Fem!Reader: Unspoken

Summary: Artemisia + 42 — “How have you survived this long by yourself?”

AO3

Prompts found here!

A/N: I love Artemisia but writing for her after such a long time was definitely a bit of a challenge. That being said, I hope I was able to capture her character well enough!

Full Ficmas List

Tag List: @ghostsunderstoodmysoul @multifandomfix @escapetodreamworld @evil-feather @elenaguarnieri @imtrashinflames @nonbinary-cryptid-baby

Warning(s): Blood, Minor Violence

“Miss, miss, what about this? A beautiful dress for a beautiful woman.”

A richly colored dress is shoved in your face and you reel back, only the hand on your back keeping you upright. The vendors are nothing if not eager this year.

You walk past without acknowledging him and he moves on to the next woman who seems naive enough to suit his tastes. The goods are of fine quality, but the prices are enough to make even you balk. Perhaps your Father wasn’t so remiss in sending you with a companion.

“Do you intend on making a purchase, Princess?” Artemisia asks slowly, “Or will we circle the market again?”

You thought being so close to the water would bring her comfort, but she’s been antsy all morning. The market on the east dock is hardly the worst place she’s accompanied you to and her behavior gives you pause.

“Impatient, Commander?”

“Those willing to do you harm can do so easier if you follow a predictable path.”

“That’s what you’re for.” You offer a pointed look.

Normally, you wouldn’t take so long at the market, but you’re looking for a gift; for your very own companion, coincidentally enough. She would be leaving again in a few moons and you wanted to send something with her.

Jewelry was off the table; she had no use for it and it would only serve as a hazard when she fought. You’d briefly considered a new sword, but knew she was too fond of her current weapons. Going down the weapons route, you decided a small, concealable dagger would serve her well. The problem was finding the right one.

Every weapon you’d seen this far was too ornate. The hilts were made of heavy material or inlaid with a dozen gems that’d impede the point of being concealed. You need something functional that you can adjust just enough to make personal while still serving her well.

“Be that as it may, we shouldn’t tempt them just because I’m capable of defending you.”

“Why not?” You grin, admiring a stall of delicate chains in gold and silver, “I thought you liked spilling blood.”

Artemisia says nothing.

You chuckle and shake your head.

Your eyes catch a stall with a large man hammering metal in the center of countless weapons. It lays tucked behind everything that glitters, simple and cold in its nature. This is your third time around the market and only now do you notice it; it’s the only stall not shouting to draw attention.

Drifting towards it, the stall runner perks up. His eyes trace over you with interest. You can feel Artemisia follow close behind. She’s hardly ever far.

“Ah, a woman of taste. Come, come, let’s see—“ He peruses his selection and holds one out to you, blade first, “Try this one.”

Raising a brow, you reach out, only to find your wrist gripped. Artemisia glares at the man while hissing in your ear, “How have you survived this long by yourself?”

You’re shoved roughly behind Artemisia’s form. She rips the blade from the vendor’s hands, not blinking at the blood it draws from her palm, and holds it out to you. Her eyes pierce the vendor and he seems to tremble where he stands.

Taking the dagger from her hands carefully, you turn it over, inspecting it. It’s beautifully crafted, with a simple hilt and sharp, but ultimately doesn’t stand out to you. There’s an inscription along the blade that you try to read. You fail, coming to realize it isn’t a language you know.

“Use it.”

You look up, trying to place the voice. Artemisia is still glaring at the vendor, while he looks at you, but neither of their lips are moving. Turning, you find no one behind you either.

“Did someone say something?” You ask softly.

Artemisia turns, frowning. She shakes her head. The vendor doesn’t acknowledge your question, only stares, like there’s an answer he can’t understand without you. It makes your skin crawl.

“Kill him.”

Neither of their lips move. But you hear the voice all the same.

You want to drop the dagger from your hands, but you can’t. Your fingers are wrapped around it and unmoving. It’s like your body is reacting independently of your mind, refusing to respond to basic commands, the desire and bloodlust so strong it feels like it’s all you have.

The vendor's eyes light up.

Every warning in your mind is going off. Something is very, very wrong here. But you step forward and turn the dagger blade out. You want to scream, but can’t open your mouth. All you can do is watch yourself pull back with the intent of burying it in his chest.

Artemisia grabs your wrist before it sinks into his skin. He hisses and spits a curse at her, but she only rips the blade out of your hands, throwing it down at his feet.

“Come on, Princess.” She says.

When you don’t budge, eyes glued on the dagger, she takes matters into her own hands. You’re hefted over her shoulder. The action breaks you from your trance, shock overwhelming you.

“Commander, put me down.” You demand. When she continues to weave through the crowds as if she doesn’t hear you, you growl, “Commander!”

The Commander puts you back on your feet and shoves you backwards into an alley. Grabbing a couple of scarves off of the last stall she can see, she wraps one around your head. She uses the other to wrap over her own hair. You stare wordlessly up at her.

You’re pushed into the shadows and she leans against a wall. Her eyes are focused on the main path.

“Where did you go?” Artemisia murmurs, “When you held that weapon?”

“I don’t know…” You admit.

Her gaze turns on you. It’s dark and sharp, “You were going to kill him.”

“I was. I wanted to, but it wasn’t… me.”

She nods as if she knew all of this already. You can see her mind working a mile a minute, all while keeping a hard eye trained on the path. Dozens of people pass by before she looks away.

“Why did you stop me?” You whisper.

“You didn’t want to kill him.” She says simply.

“But how could you know that?”

“I know you, Princess.”

Artemisia says it like it’s the most natural thing to admit. You’ve never met a soul the Commander bothered to know. It warms you from the inside and makes a smile bloom on your face.

You lean up and place a kiss on her cheek. She stares at you and though she doesn’t say anything, you can feel the confusion radiating from her. The simple truth is that like Artemisia has never bothered to know anyone, you’ve never had anyone bother to know you. You’re a stepping stone to your brother or father in the eyes of the court or people; but not to the Commander, it seems.

How odd.

How lovely.

“Kiss her,” Comes that voice again and you freeze, “Claim her.”

When you look into Artemisia’s eyes, something clicks. You smile and grip the edge of her garment to pull her closer. The unyielding armor beneath her dress grounds you, stabilizing your mind while your heart races.

“Artemisia.” You whisper.

“Princess?” Artemisia asks automatically.

“Will you kiss me?” You ask, “Will you claim me?”

There’s a spark of recognition in her dark eyes. Her hands come up to rest on the wall behind you, arms bracketing your head as she does just that; claiming your lips and body and heart without having to say a single word.

#artemisia #artemisia x reader #artemisia 300 #300: rise of an empire #300: rise of an empire imagine #300 x reader #artemisia imagine #wlw #wlw imagine #dec2022 #multimilfswritings #multimilfsficmas2022

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formulatrash · 1 year

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Are you trans?

no. I'm generically queer in the sort of I-don't-conform-to-straight-concepts-of-gender sense and I absolutely will refer to myself as a boy in a way that means something but I have the same gender I was assigned at birth. for all the people super interested in genitals or whatever.

it wouldn't bother me if I was trans, except for the fact being trans is a full-on hassle because of nightmarish societal obstacles and prejudices but as it happens I'm not. I did experiment more with whether I might be when I was younger because it's hard to not feel fraudulent or like a monster in the thinly-veiled skin of a bad woman disguise when there's an overwhelming, all-consuming beauty industry trying to force you into a shape, face and role you will never fit.

but I didn't feel like a man. or a nonbinary person although that wasn't actually on the table as an option at that stage (to me, in a distant Welsh seaside town 16 years ago). I just felt like I was very bad at hiding I was some kind of cryptid who'd be exposed and chased back to the woods with pitchforks.

I still feel that way a lot because I'm too tall and too strong and too hairy and too low voiced and whatever and I know those are things that probably some trans people feel too. and grimly I do get a taste of transphobia whenever some Mumsnet type's in the ladies' loos these days. but I don't have to fight for my right to my gender and I don't get denied medical care or basic human dignity for it. there aren't any countries I legally couldn't be a woman in.

demolishing gender norms enormously benefits cis people as well as trans people and it's in the interests of every cis person to support trans rights.

#misc asks

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axemetaphor · 3 years

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im definitely not ripping off my friend by making a list of au ideas i have no siree //gonna slap this under a readmore cause i. well i say a lot. all of the time. i tried so hard to format this Good but tumblr fucked me up i am so sorry

so first-off i know i already have one WIP AU (Auckland) on ao3 so i wont talk about That one cause like. spoilers. i actualyl have it like 80% created so its likely gonna truly get finished for once and i dont wanna ruin shit

the other one ive posted about is something me and ben (catgirlrepublic) have worked on together its not at all close to done or anything but it's. a fun little crossover. Between jdate and my fuckinuhm. Original characters story “Untitled Villains Project”. the sketches of the comic version ive started is actually my pinned post 👉👈 its like the first chunk of the story, i think half of part 1? yea.

Tldr john fucking Somehow is able t oget into contact with a certain curious scientist from another reality who’d just love to study the Soy Sauce, most certainly not for her own nefarious purposes

John and Dave meet up with the scientist, her name is Boss, and her lab assistant, Toxic, and after a bit of a preliminary Vibe Check where john determines her trustworthy (which Dave doesnt agree with,) the two agree to be taken to the world UVP is set in. from there they stay in Boss’s lab (big old fucking abandoned military lab). John and Toxic are fast friends due to mutual love-of-chaos. John n Dave get to fuckin, camp out on an air mattress.

The day after they arrive, the two get split up, not exactly intentionally; big plot points of UVP are liek. Fueled by Boss sending Toxic to go fetch her “research materials,” which are usually important artifacts

Fuckin side note i guess i have to explain my dumb bullshit: Boss’s, uh, field of expertise so to speak is actually fckin, basically the scientific study of magic and superpowers n shit like that. This shit’s all real in that world. Toxic’s got fuckin superpowers, so do 4 other main characters, whatever. It’s got a bit to do with spirituality, iss Boss’s hypothesis. So she has Toxic fetch important artifacts that might have “energies” to them. The thing is actually way more fuckin complictated than that, this is just Boss’s initial hypothesis.

Motherfucking anyways. So Boss gives Toxic a job to do, and John get excited about how Cool that sounds, and ends up going with Toxic, leaving Boss and Dave alone. Neither is thrilled about this. But Dave and Boss get to have a bit of conversation (while Toxic and John are off bonding and having a good time) and come to a… mutual grudging understanding of some kind. They still dont like each other though lmao

Theres gonna be deeper shit going on but we havent sorted it out yet/tbh havent like Written For It in a while but i still like thinking about it a lot lol

Also pretty sure our endgame is john and dave steal toxic and bring them back with em lmao boss is kind of not nice and toxic would most certainly be better off in Undisclosed. Actually theyd fucking love it. Theyd become a local cryptid im sure. Undisclosed’s mothman is a teleporting spike baby.

I have. Another crossover AU that i might. Post something about for halloween? Maybe? If i have it finished?

Crosses over into, you guessed it, another one of my original-character projects. God, am i vain or something?

I promise this is just because i think blue and dave should get to team up to beat up some monsters

Quick briefing on my fuckinuh. Original character story, this one doesnt have a name (yet? Idk lol my work never actually goes anywhere sso who gives a shit). It centers around two grim reapers, Red (26, bi woman) and Blue (22, aroace agender asshole). In this reality or whatever, grim reapers function kind of like low-level office workers. They get told who’s going to die + when by some middle-management types, and upper management only involve themselves when punishment needs to be doled out. These Higher-Ups can be seen as analogous to Korrok; they’re decidedly not human, never were, and fucking terrifyingly powerful. Additionally, grim reapers are sort of .. designed to be “background noise” people. In reality theyre supernatural beings and, uh, look Real Fuckin Weird (the whole deal has a neon aesthetic im terrible at drawing uwu) but most humans just perceive them like extras in a movie. A body’s there but the camera’s not focused on it.

To the narrative: the shit starts when Red n Blue get relocated to Undisclosed. Relocation is something that just happens every now and then to reapers; they usually work in teams, but they get split up into different cities to avoid any strong bonds forming (a counter-union strategy from the Higher-Ups).

Red, Blue, John and Dave end up running into each other for the first time in a McDonalds where John n Dave are getting some 4am “hey, we just survived another horrific monster fight” celebration burgers. John and Dave are the only two people who can see how… strange Red and Blue are. Nobody else notices.

John unintentionally pisses Blue off, leading to Blue whacking him upside the head with a dildo bat. They all four get kicked out of McDonald’s. Dave and Red both are less than thrilled

Blue and John end up resolving their differences, somehow. Red and Dave briefly bond over their dumbass best friends being, well, dumbasses. They all part ways amicably.

somehow-or-other (idk yet) they end up running into each other a few more times, and eventually john invites them over to his place, and the four (plus Amy now!) get to know each other a little better

while there, Blue gets a text about some guy who's gonna die and John offers to drive them to where that's gonna go down. they take him up on the offer and get to have a bit of one-on-one conversation

after that ordeal though Blue has had Enough of people and bails, leaving John to head home alone

theres a sort of mirror-development going on with the five of em. Red, John, and Amy would all like everyone to get along, though theyre a bit tentative about it (John moreso than the other two, actually, jsut cause. well Red n Blue could still be Sauce Monsters). Dave and Blue on the other hand do Not like people enough for this shit, and Dave's not unconvinced theyre Sauce Monsters. he will not trust them until proven he should

the story's kinda nebulous but i got an idea for some Shit going down that involves both Sauce Monsters and also the Higher-Ups to have some fuckin absolute chaos go down.

Oops! All Trans

Everybody is transgender. Everyone

Ive actually workshopped this one both with ben (catgirlrepublic) and ghost (ghost-wannabe) lmao its a fun lil concept ive had from the get-go cause i mean. What’s an internet tran gonna do other than hit all their favourite media with the Everyone’s Trans beam

Dave transitioned post-high school and faked his death for it. People go missing in Undisclosed all the damned time, after all. He moved to the next city over, transitioned fully, then came back as a completely new man. Yes i know this doesnt exactly fit with the “everyone knows David from high school” thing alright, hush.

Anytime anyone brings up John’s old best friend (pre-transition Dave) John throws an entire fit like an overdramatic grieving widow. Full-on sobbing “why would you bring her up?! I miss her so much—” to the point that people just stop bringing up because Jesus Christ That Sure Is Uncomfortable KJHGFDS.

This is a scheme he and Dave came up with prior to Dave leaving, though Dave hadnt exactly anticipated John putting on this much of a performance about it— but it’s stopped Dave from ever having tto hear his deadname again, so hey.

Amy transitioned sometime in middle school/early high school. Her family was super supportive and loved her a ton and most people just know her as Amy. she was super shy her whole life really so. Yeah. people just dont think to bring it up lmao also i Feel Like big jim would absolutely wallop anyone who gave her trouble of any kind

John’s nonbinary (genderfluid specifically) and not exactly Interested in transitioning ? like hes fine with how he is. mostly.

he came out to Dave in high school but hes not out to anyone else exactly. Maybe his bandmates. Probably any other trans person in Undisclosed knows, too, cause theyre safe to tell lmao. Johns mostly a “he/him out of convenience” kinda nb who’s cool with any pronouns but does prefer they/them most. Dave and Amy use they/them when the trio are alone

Also this is a totally self-indulgent caveat that i think would be great, Dave’s actually agender but because he's transmasc and transitioned when he thought there were really only two options, and being Boy at least felt less weird than being Girl, he just kind of assumed he was a dude. It’s only through a lot of (like fucking years and years hes probably in his 30s/40s when he puts 2 and 2 together on this one) talks about gender with John that he realizes he actually feels like No Gender. Masc aesthetic with none gender.

I Just Think It’d Be Neat Is All Okay

Also Amy came out to Dave about being trans early on in them seeing each other and his response was to get very nervous before blurting out “me too” and then just being too embarrassed to talk about it for the rest of the day. Hes got a lot of hangups on talking about it actually it takes years for him to get comfortable in that

by contrast when Amy comes out to John about it his response is to yell “EYYY ME TOO” and give her a big ol hug lmao

I think itd be neatt if Amy ran a like. Transfem help/advice blog on tumblr. Kind of helped-with by John who can give her transfem nb insight for certain asks. I also just think that would be neat.

Cowboy AU - i put this one last cause its got drawings to it actually. Theyll be at the bottom

Basically just. Hey you ever watched a western. I think they look neat

This is another one me n ben have come up with lol

The soy sauce and all that shit still exist, im not sure where korrok fits in yet but ill figure it out

Theres no real like solid narrative yet ? but heres the barebones of everybody’s arcs.

John

Johns an absolute troublemaker, Of Course. Hes wanted in several towns for absolutely stupid shit. Hes a loner who shows up, causes chaos, gets drunk, does some drugs, runs away if people get too mad at him

He definitely had the same kind of deal with the soy sauce as in canon— he was at some kind of party, somebody offered it, he took it cause why the fuck wouldnt he, now he can see monsters and shit

Hes kind of a mooch also. Like. dont let him stay in your barn man he’ll never fucking leave and drink all your booze.

He runs into Dave when they happen to just, cross paths in the same town. the bullshit John stirs up ends up involving Dave in a way that makes it seem like it's his fault too, and they both get run out of town

after that he just tags along after Dave. hes decided this guy's Cool he wants to stick around. Dave is pissed at first, but not enough to shoot him or anything, and eventually, John grows on him

Dave

Dave also is a loner but unlike John hes simply so fucking awkward and bad with people. He doesnt feel like he belongs anywhere so he just travels

He’s the stereotypical Lone Ranger tbh. He wanders from town to town, solving their problems, though hed deny its out of any moral obligation (it kinda is, a little bit, tbh. He does like feeling useful). He shows up, fixes things, leaves. He's kind of a legend but most people think he's hiding something dark. other people jsut know him as that guy who farted real loud in the middle of the saloon and promptly skipped town out of sheer embarrassment. you know how it goes with Dave

He ends up involved with the Soy Sauce when a snake (not Actually a snake,) bites him. The snake’s more like the wig-monsters, really. Anyway, it injects him with the soy sauce, he fucking trips balls in the middle of the desert, he can see monsters now

He runs into John and shit goes tits-up, as said, but they become traveling buddies after that. he'd never say so, but he's glad for the company, actually. it's nice. hes not used to companionship but he feels a strange kind of easiness hanging out with John....

not sure how the Monster Dave concept will like fit in to this reality but like. trust me i want it in here. I'll Figure It Out.

Amy

Amy’s been living in a town John and Dave end up passing through and she is very curious about these two new Handsome Strangers who claim to fight monsters and just kinda. Persistently tags along til they let her join for real

Her family’s all dead, unfortunately, just like in canon, and she’s been living alone for a few years before meeting John n Dave. she had nothing left in that town to stay for, she'd been fantasizing about escaping on wild adventures for a long time and this felt a little like a dream come true. (Dave still gives her a spiel about how Difficult it is, but really, her fantasies were pretty grounded-in-reality already. i jsut think thats how she is, yknow?)

Shes the first person to react to the whole “we see monsters” shit with a kind of “oh, okay. neat” kind of response lmao

John and Dave fix whatever the fuck is up with her town (maybe that’s where the Korrok shit can fit, who knows) and Amy ends up being integral to that. After, she insists they take her with them because “they need her now” and Dave just cant really say no. John too is very much "the more the merrier!" and hes actually glad to have another person along he loves people lmao

At the start she has long hair but after she joins them she chops it short with a knife for convenience

also she still is an amputee. justt. idk. it was a wagon/stagecoach accident rather than a car accident lmao. just to clarify since i hadnt mentioned it, i wouldnt rob her of her ghost hand or yknow. all of the significance to her character that Missing A Hand has. although also now im going to have to research what was used as painkillers way-back-when, but im betting shes still got, like, her pain pills, they probably had those, maybe i wouldnt have to try too hard there. old timey medicine could be WACK though,

Shitload

Yeah hes in tthis shit mostly cause i liked designing his cowboy self lmao

Hes a kid (like 16, 17, technically i think in those days that was more Young Man than Kid but whatever. Hes Young i mean.) who got possessed by the Worms out in the desert and, by his family’s perception, just went missing!

Hes also a wanderer, but he ended up at the same town john and dave met in, at that same time, and starts following them after, already aware of who/what they are.

He keeps his face covered 24/7. actually he covers a Majority of his self for reasons. kinda want him to be a slightly more horrifying Worm Entity rather than human idk,

I kinda dont have much for this boy yet sorry Shitload

images !

with some editing notes for me cause im doing a very specific aesthetic with this lmao. i might change some lil details/colours though ...... idk

im also kinda 🤔 about shitload's colour palette. i want things assoicated w the sauce to be black'n'red predominantly but i think his palette might mirror dave's too closely. also im working on a korrok design i jsut am too busy to draw it now

#jdate #john dies at the end #aus #erh. tthe hell do i tag this as #rambles.txt #long post #well let me know if youd wanna hear more or. or something #send an ask. or whatever #yaknow #:jazz hands:

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abandonedabandoned · 4 years

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Schaurine -

A style of presentation (not just physical) based on what is considered Scary or Creepy by them or the cultures around them. It isn’t strictly gender based, and can be used by any marginalized group.

[ID: A semi-simple black design that resembles two semicircles layered over eachother in a way that resembles a parallelogram with two curved sides, with the curved sides extending outwards a small bit ending in a large dot. The semicircle on the left is a full semicircle and has lines that make it look like a toothy smile, and the obscured semicircle on the right has a large black circle to resemble an eye.]

I’m going to write this in the plainest words to try to explain this, cause my brain doesn’t function.

Fellas, have you ever been nonbinary, aspec, hella traumatized and abused, with like a personality disorder or a psychotic disorder? Or other things that are queer and or neurodivergent? Or any group that gets characterized as Weird and Scary and Bad?

Have you ever related a little too much with the “I don’t want to be seen as a man or a woman, I want to be seen as The Mothman”? To the point that if you could choose to be seen as a genuine cryptid, that would almost mean as much as being gendered correctly? Schaurine!

I just want to be seen as something that isn’t human in a way that unsettles people. Not too much, of course, but being seen as a Creepy Thing is a personal reclamation of every negative stereotype people have ever put upon me. Somewhat like a horrorcore voidpunk experience, so to speak.

Now, there is no flag for this, and I don’t care for there to be a flag for this. There IS however a symbol, which represents the eeriness one might desire. A symbol can be recolored to the colors of Any flag, wheras a flag is just a flag :)

@uncommongenders @lgbtqiarchive

Bonus transparent symbol under the cut!

#watch the sky

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powerandmagic · 7 years

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HEARTWOOD: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy is the newest anthology from P&M Press.

Across time and cultures, humanity has spun tales about the forest: tales of caution, adventure, rites of passage, and discovery. Some of those stories persist as the folklore and fairy tales that delight our imaginations today, and the forest remains a symbol for facing the unknown and emerging transformed.

This anthology is for everyone who’s walked through the undergrowth, in the silence of nature, and longed for an adventure of their own to unfold. These stories of modern-day sylvan fantasy will showcase the best non-binary cartoonists of our day, guiding characters like us into the woods and back again.

Submission Period

Submissions will be open to the public from October 16th - November 13th. (A line-up of preselected creators will also be unveiled throughout this period!)

Who Can Participate

We want submissions from people who identify as nonbinary, genderqueer, agender, bigender, neutrois, twospirit, genderfluid, demigender, trans fem or trans masc, and other genders outside the “man or woman” binary.

For team submissions, at least the writer must meet the above criteria. If two submissions are equally matched, the all non-binary team will be prioritized. Use #TeamHeartwood (Tumblr or Twitter) to find teammates!

Age Restrictions

All contributors must be 18 years or older. All content must be suitable for readers as young as 14 years old.

Specifications

Comics from 4 - 12 pages long

6” x 9” trim size (template provided)

Bleed? Yes.

Black & White or Grayscale (no screentones please)

600 dpi

Timeline

Selection Process (October 2017 - December 2017)

Project Announcement - 2 weeks

Open Submissions - 4 weeks

Final Selection - 2 weeks

Work Period (December 2017 - July 2018)

Creator Portraits - 1 week

Script + Thumbnails - 8 weeks

Pencils - 10 weeks

Inks - 6 weeks

Grayscale - 6 weeks

Letters - 2 weeks

Bios - 1 week

Kickstarter (Fall 2018)

Compensation

Contributors to our first anthology were paid $100/page plus Kickstarter bonuses. In keeping with P&M Press’ founding goal of increasing pay with each successive campaign, HEARTWOOD contributors will be compensated at $105/page plus any Kickstarter bonuses.

Contributors also receive a minimum of 10 complimentary copies of the anthology, royalties on all digital sales, and royalties on any print runs of the anthology after the first printing sells out.

Rights

Creators will cede exclusive first worldwide print and digital rights to their stories for a full calendar year from the date of publication, and non-exclusive worldwide print and digital rights in perpetuity. Ownership remains with the creators.

What We Want

Previously unpublished stories.

Forests. Jungles. Decaying structures reclaimed by nature. Trees, trees, and - oh yeah - more trees! Deep, lush settings that have character. (If you absolutely hate drawing backgrounds/characters interacting with their environment, you may want to sit this one out.)

At least one protagonist must be non-binary.

At least one non-binary protagonist must be human (they can be half magical-species-you-made-up, but their gender should not be portrayed as a “fantastical” result of that).

Stories set now-ish (a hard date isn’t necessary, but keep the human fashion and any tech to post-1990 and pre-2030).

Movement from one space to another (entering, leaving, traveling), literally and/or metaphorically.

Personified aspects of the natural world (e.g. whispering winds, walking plants, talking animals, etc).

Original fantastical creatures/beings.

Discovery and Understanding.

Tests (of will, wits, ethics, etc).

Person Allied With Nature.

A spirit of adventure!

What We DON’T Want

No fan works. No auto-bio. No prose. No one-off illustrations.

Stories that basically amount to “protagonist realizes they are non-binary and explains gender to the other characters/the reader.” Your character can come to understand their gender better by the end of the story, but there should be a plot beyond that.

Meet-cutes. (“Two people meet and crush at first sight, the end.”)

Horror: this includes horror tropes, body horror, classic horror monsters like werewolves or vampires, popular cryptids/urban legends like Slender Man or the Jersey Devil, and so on. Your story can use fear and danger as plot elements, but if instilling fear/existential dread in the reader is the overarching theme, this is the wrong anthology.

Tolkienian fantasy: no elves, dwarves, orcs, etc. We won’t freak out if you make something up that’s very loosely(!) inspired by any of these (unless it replicates the problematic elements of Tolkien’s work, in which case your work will not be accepted).

Cursing is permitted as long as words aren’t used literally (i.e. “Shit, you scared me!” as opposed to “Let’s go shit in the woods!”) and are used very sparingly when used at all. In general, we’d prefer not.

No porn. No references to specific sexual acts. No explicit nudity whether sexual or non-sexual (sorry, folks). “Consensual fade-to-black sex between legal adults” is fine.

No depictions of abuse (sexual, physical, psychological) whether pictorial or written. Characters may vaguely reference (in non-graphic language) abuse that they have suffered in the past if doing so serves the story or is integral to the character (i.e. maybe the story is about a survivor working on their agoraphobia by going on what they believe will be a brief, non-magical hike...).

No gore. People can get hurt, bleed, die, etc, but not in a grossly over-the-top way that fetishizes violence.

No slurs, no racism (not even “fantasy racism”), no misogyny, no transphobia, no ableism, no xenophobia, no white supremacist nonsense in general. (And please, no stories whose sole purpose is to teach that these things are bad.)

Ready? Here’s How To Pitch

Send us an email at [email protected] with the subject line “Heartwood Pitch” that includes the following information/attachments:

The name, pronouns, and role of everyone on your team (or just yourself for solo submissions). Give the name(s) you want used during communications with you, marketing of your contribution, and credits in the book (even if those are all different).

A working title and page count for your comic (doesn’t have to be exact).

A synopsis of your story, including a beginning, middle, and end. Spoil everything, but try to keep it under 500 words.

Preliminary sketches associated with your pitch: character ideas, important creature designs, environment concepts (the latter is especially important if your portfolio lacks strong examples of background art), etc. These don’t need to be final or polished pieces! Just detailed enough to give us an idea.

Links to any relevant publishing credits (whether you’re writing the comic, drawing it, lettering it, or doing everything yourself). Self-published works and webcomics count as credits! Choose examples that best reflect the style you intend to use for this comic. You may simply include a link to your portfolio if you have no pre-existing credits, but please note that folks with sequential storytelling examples will receive preference.

Tell us about yourself, your cultural and artistic background, and why you want to be in HEARTWOOD. Short and sweet is best!