#I'm pretty much an open book and you find out plenty about me from my blog but as a matter of principle

[partypuppynastja]

OK, are you AFAB or AMAB? I'm guessing you're AMAB if you're trans and a woman but there's no need to be evasive I don't mean any offense

No, I'm not AFAB or AMAB. I'm in my 30s.

#Ask #Anon what do you think the ''AB'' part stands for? #Do you think I am ''AB''? #I get what you're trying to ask but this is a pet hate of mine #You're very focused on my birth‚ what are you‚ the registrar? #I'm pretty much an open book and you find out plenty about me from my blog but as a matter of principle #But you're asking the wrong questions because your perspective is wrong #About me #Transgender

[bridgyrose]

“I thought you were going home for the break.” 

Blake looked up from her book to see Ruby standing over her. “I… decided to stay here for winter break. I’m still a bit nervous about trying to go see them.” 

Ruby sat down with her. “Yeah, but, dont you think you’ll have to talk to them at some point?” 

“I do but… only once I’m ready.” Blake closed her book and sighed. “And right now, I'm not ready.” 

“Anything I can do to help?” 

Blake shook her head and got up, stashing her book back into her bag. “I’ll figure it out on my own. Though I thought you’d be with Yang and your dad.” 

“Dad and I arent exactly in… talking terms right now,” Ruby said a bit nervously. “He’s still not exactly thrilled about me being at Beacon, especially with what we did at the docks.” 

“I figured he’d be proud of you guys.” 

“He was, but, well, you know how parents are, right?” 

Blake sighed and looked away for a moment as she thought about it. “I… I should get back to the dorm.” 

“I’ll come with-” 

“I want to be alone.” 

“But you’re my teammate, I shouldnt leave you alone.” 

Blake paused for a moment as she looked at Ruby, struggling to find any excuse to be alone. It wasnt like she could just tell Ruby not to come back to the dorm, nor could she just stay with team JNPR when the rooms are already pretty cramped, but it wasnt like she had anywhere else she could go or stay for the couple weeks that break was. Finally she let out a sigh and motioned for Ruby to follow. “We can have a quiet day then, right?” 

“Of course! No adventures, just us, homework, and a good book.” 

“You know I do more than just read, right?” 

“Well, yeah, but its a cold day and its not like we’re going to be going outside or going to have classes. And while Weiss and Yang are away, we dont have enough people for a board game without asking Jaune and his team, but then that’ll give us too many.” 

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this, didnt you?” 

“I dont think anyone should have to spend break alone.” 

Blake smiled a bit at hearing that, watching as Ruby got up to follow her. “Then, maybe we can do something else. Besides read or play games.” 

Ruby looked at her. “And what do you have in mind?” 

“We could talk about the people we like.” 

“Talk… about the people we like?” Ruby asked with a blush. 

“You know, talk about boys or girls we have a crush on. Maybe even do some of that girly stuff that Weiss likes like doing our nails.” 

“I didnt think you’d be into that kind of stuff.” 

“I’m not normally,” Blake admitted as she opened a door for Ruby. “But the way Weiss talks about doing her nails like its some sort of intricate ritual, I think it’ll be fun to try. Besides, I’ve realized that we really dont know much about each other beyond liking to read.” 

“We know plenty about each other.” 

“Like what?” 

“W-well, you uh… you… like to be alone.” 

Blake giggled a bit as she watched Ruby fumble around a bit while trying to find anything else she knew, blushing a little. While it wasnt exactly uncommon to see Ruby like this, it was different to see her be so uncertain of herself and a bit more shy while she tried to think. Just another thing that made her fall for her leader the same way she had started to fall for Yang. “You arent completely wrong.” 

Ruby sighed. “Alright, maybe you arent entirely wrong that we dont know each other that well.” 

“We have been spending a lot of time with your partners. Weiss drags you around where she wants to go, and Yang and I have been trying to get a bit closer so we can figure out how to work together like you and Weiss.” 

“I wouldnt take Weiss and I as a… good example to follow. We still argue a lot and the only reason we seem to be working well together is because Weiss has decided to try to follow my lead and take a step back from trying to be the leader.” 

“And yet, you both seem to be able to work with each other almost as if you’ve known each other for years.” Blake sighed and opened the dorm door for Ruby, letting her in first. “I envy that. Yang and I still have to call everything out and even then, its hit or miss if what we do works.” 

Ruby sat down on Weiss’s bed and took her shoes off. “And you dont see the training she puts me through. Sometimes I wish she’d lay off trying to get everything perfect. Though, I have to admit, having a silent signal for what we want to do has made things a bit easier.” 

Blake closed the door and went to her own bed, taking her book out of her bag to set down on her pillow. “Still, it all seems to be working for you.” 

“You and Yang arent exactly slouching either when it comes to working together. I’m a bit jealous with how often the two of you go off together.” 

“Jealous, huh?” 

“W-well, not exactly too jealous, just… well… you know, the two of you are always going out to eat together and she knows you a lot better than Weiss and I do, so… you know…” 

Blake smiled a bit as she watched Ruby try to hide her own blush as she fumbled with her words. It was refreshing to see her just as nervous as she was, even if it may have been for different reasons. “Yang told you I wasnt going home, didnt she?” 

“...yeah, she did.” 

“Well, I guess now’s a better time than any to get to know each other better.” Blake smiled a bit and pulled out a bottle of Weiss’s nail polish and sat down on the floor. “We can start simple by playing twenty questions. You start.” 

Ruby nodded and sat down in front of Blake. “Alright, what’s your favorite color?” 

Blake uncapped the bottle and made sure to get the excess nail polish off the brush before carefully painting Ruby’s nails blue. “Violet. And yours?” 

“Blue.” 

“I figured it’d be red.” 

“I like red, especially strawberry red, but its not exactly my favorite color.” 

“With how much red you wear, everyone thinks differently.” 

“The cloak my mom made for me when I was younger was red, and I never could find a blue that matched it,” Ruby answered, keeping her fingers still. “And once I started sewing my own clothes, it was easier to get ahold of black and red fabric than it was any other colors.” 

Blake paused for a moment. “You sew your own clothes?” 

“I thought it was my turn to ask a question.” 

“R-right, it is.” 

Ruby took a moment to think. “So, what made you want to be a huntress after you left the White Fang?” 

“I… wanted to do something to fix the damage I’ve caused.” Blake dipped the brush in the nail polish again before starting another finger. “Before I realized how far Adam was willing to go, I… I thought following the White Fang was the right thing to do, that those that left were just cowards willing to give up on changing everything. But after a few years, I started to realize that we did a lot more damage than good. It didnt take long for me to start looking for excuses to avoid missions or to start looking for other ways to get the job done while hurting as few people as possible. After I left, I told myself I was going to fix things the right way.” 

“Sounds like you’re on the right path now.” 

Blake nodded and slowly started to move onto a third finger, making sure to be careful not to stain Ruby’s fingers. “I hope I am. Though, there are some days that I think what I’m doing isnt enough.” 

Ruby moved her hand away for a moment to let the nail polish dry. “Your turn.” 

“So, who taught you how to sew?” 

“I learned on my own.” 

Blake smiled a bit and moved Ruby’s hand back towards her to finish off the rest of her fingers. “Seems a bit tough to learn on your own.” 

“It was.” Ruby held herself still again, letting out a soft sigh as she kept a smile on her face. “Yang taught me how to cook and build weapons, but when it came down to sewing, that wasnt something she was good at. And dad… well, he threw himself into work often, coming home late and usually a bit too tired to do much else beyond making dinner. So I’d look up how-to videos and learned to sew. It didnt take long for me to start sewing my own clothes and making my own style.” 

Blake paused for a moment as she listened, Ruby’s story sounding a bit different from how Yang would describe life when she was younger. Not that Yang really said much, but she always made it sound like she was the one who taught Ruby everything and that their dad was there more often than not. Still, she couldnt look away from the smile that Ruby kept, even if the smile wasnt as genuine as it could be. “Still sounds like a great skill you have.” 

“I wouldnt have made my own combat gear if I hadnt learned. Any hobbies you have besides reading?” 

“I… never really got myself into much.” Blake finished Ruby’s left hand and started to paint the nails on her right. “My mom taught me how to cook and my dad made sure I could live on my own if I ever needed to. But after I ran away, I… didnt exactly have a lot of time to pick up anything else. Most of everything else I learned to do was on the fly by other members of the White Fang. Lockpicking, basic hacking, pickpocketing… mostly things that were needed to get the job done.” 

Ruby smiled a bit. “Maybe you can teach me a few things.” 

Blake went quiet for a moment as she finished painting Ruby’s right hand, giving a small smile as she pulled away. “So, what do you think?” 

“I… think I dont quite understand why Weiss likes this,” Ruby answered. 

“Once your nails are dry, we can remove the polish if you dont like it.” 

“Let’s keep it on. Besides, we still need to do yours, right?” 

Blake nodded and passed the bottle to Ruby, holding out her left hand for her to paint. A blush crossed her cheeks again as she felt Ruby gently hold it still as she painted her nails. “So… anyone you like?” 

“Well, I like you and Weiss. Then there’s Penny and Jaune, Nora and Ren are pretty fun to hang around as well-” 

“I meant as a crush.” 

“Oh.” Ruby paused for a moment. “I… havent actually thought that far yet. Part of me thinks I might be a bit broken because I havent had a lot of interest in people like that.” 

“I doubt you’re broken.” 

“I tried dating a guy at Signal and I… couldnt do it.” 

“Maybe you need to find the right person.” Blake blew on her nails as Ruby pulled away to dip the brush in the nail polish again. “Or get to know the right person.” 

Ruby shrugged and pulled Blake’s hand back to finish her nails. “I think I’ve met someone that I might be able to make things work with.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Isnt it my turn to ask a question?” 

Blake nodded. “I guess I am getting ahead of myself.” 

“What about you? Anyone that you like?” 

“I-” Blake paused for a moment as she tried to figure out how to answer the question, her blush started to grow a bit. “There… might be someone on our team that I like. And I hope I can get to know her a bit more.” 

Ruby smiled a bit and finished painting Blake’s nails. “Maybe you’ll have a chance to.” 

Blake nodded and pulled her hand away, smiling as she looked at her now black nails. Then, she looked up at Ruby, relaxing a bit as she let out her breath. “Would… you go on a date with me? Nothing fancy, just… a trip around town and maybe you can teach me a thing or two about sewing.” 

Ruby paused for a moment, hand shaking as she put the nail polish away. “I… I think I’d be up to that. We can go tomorrow if you dont have anything else to do.” 

“I’d like that.”

#rwby #drabbles #blake belladonna #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #ladybug #rwby ladybug #ruby x ladybug

[sheydgarden]

Question: I am ethnically Jewish, though not culturally (complicated family history). I read your book on the roots of Antisemitic origins of Solomonic magic and wanted to ask:

If working with the Ars Goetia as entities themselves may be problematic: could reframing and restructuring the paradigms to re-imagine the listed demons and create new demons to work alongside be a better solution? I do enjoy the recent demonological work I’ve started but seeing some of the origins, it makes me wonder if my workings could be adjusted by basing my rituals in values I personally have and reframing it away from the work found in Solomonic Texts.

You had said in your Zine you yourself had worked to strip the Antisemitism from the Solomonic Imagery and parts of the practice and I was wondering if you had any advice on that process because I do find it fulfilling to ritually work alongside entities like this but am wondering how to do it in a better way?

hi! i'm gonna answer this one publicly so that i have something to refer folks to here when they ask me this same question (which i've gotten before), hope that's cool! also, apologies for the length of reply, but that's what happens when you open this particular box with me, haha.

i'm just gonna give it to you straight (and this is my opinion, of course, i know there are plenty who disagree with me! but you asked me) - i don't think there's anything you can do to "Solomonic" magic to render it not antisemitic. the antisemitism isn't a nasty veneer you can scrape off to get at some good stuff underneath - it's baked in. the entire premise of a book about a "powerful Jewish magician" who worked with Christian demons (who themselves are just a mish-mash of names & concepts from various cultures) is antisemitic. in the case of the Lesser Key specifically, we're talking about a book most likely written & distributed by Christian clergy (that's who had access to the education & tools required!) who were at the same time actively contributing to Jewish genocide. it's the foundation of the thing.

when i talk about my sigil artwork that uses grimoire-inspired imagery, i'm talking purely about holding onto an aesthetic, a visual language of lines. i can take out antisemitic visual signifiers easily because i'm only working with an image out of context. i don't think it's possible to remove antisemitism from the concept or the practice of Solomonic/ceremonial magic, at least not without completely altering it at its core - and then why bother basing anything on it at all? (i'm a Jew, not a western occultist, so i haven't tried)

i think really considering what exactly it is you've been getting out of this might make things clearer for you in terms of how you want to proceed. if it's the "Jewish" flavor, there's a whole world of actual Jewish folklore & mysticism, complete with demons of our own - you mention having Jewish ancestry, but not being culturally or religiously Jewish, so i would definitely recommend making a connection to Jewish community & learning a lot before you dive into any kind of Jewish spirituality. if it's just the concept of calling on entities via ritual work - why these? why not your own inventions? the demons listed in the Lesser Key were pretty much invented during the Renaissance, even if some of their names come from older sources. occultists combined, embellished & invented them to fit into a Christian theology, using a faux-Jewish origin story in order to lend them both more credibility (in a time when Jews were literally equated with demons!) and some spicy exoticism. i'm pretty baffled as to why so many folks still want to base a spiritual practice on that, beyond the fact that they're considered cool and/or sufficiently edgy if you grew up Christian.

if i'm being more blunt here than i was in the zine, it's because we're solely in "personal opinion" territory, and my honest opinion is that whatever folks find enjoyable about ceremonial magic could be better put to use in a framework that leaves Judaism alone entirely (and either honestly calls itself Christian - which it historically is - or creates a new cultural/religious system to operate under). i hope this was helpful - thanks for taking the time to read it!

#asks #antisemitism #FYMA: a lesser key

[titanrpg]

how i learned ttrpg design, part 3

you can check out part 1 here and part 2 here

as always, this is about my personal experience learning ttrpg design, and i claim no particular expertise or authority on what constitutes "good" game design

3

so far, i've discussed the games i drew on for the start of my ttrpg education. now let's talk about how to improve (when you need to/if you want to). now, i'll say i don't think "improving" is a great way to think about it. i prefer to think about it as "how to be aware of the tools you need to accomplish your design goals"

for some people, the three games i've discussed are plenty for them to get started. these people tend to like experimenting for themselves and then doing more research when they need help. (i fall in this category.) other people may want to read more before starting in earnest. this is also a smart way to go. (obviously you can go overboard with researching so much that you never actually start, but we are far from that place here.) either way, at some point you'll need more information than you currently have.

how do you find the wisdom you seek? the best answer is simply asking for help from people you look up to/trust. but i've never been good at asking for help, so uhhh this post exists

quick story time. i recently visited maryland to go to my partner's sibling's wedding. in a local comic shop's manga section, i saw this book. i was like, oh fun, it's a manga about kids playing a goblin slayer ttrpg.

but then, when i opened the book...

mechanics!!

it's a TTRPG!! i don't know anything about goblin slayer, but now i'm combing through this book for cool tech. of note so far: at the end of every round of combat, each player has to make an attrition check. fail that, and your fatigue score goes up. at 4 fatigue, you fall unconscious. at 5, you die. punishes long fights and incentivizes players to find alternate solutions. it uses only d6s. and there are sections of fiction illustrated with beautiful manga art. these choices feel old school to me, but it came out in 2019. now i'm really excited. i'll get to see what japanese osr is like!

to me, this pursuit of ttrpg tech feels like discovering an ancient library and searching through old tomes for the power i seek. and there's an online version of this that anyone can dig through for ttrpg tech: osr blogs

old school renaissance/revival, or "osr," as far as i understand it, is a ttrpg genre/design paradigm, typically along the lines of old school d&d. i'm not the best person to explain this, but the way i think about this school of design is it tends to prioritize player skill over character skill. it's the difference between solving a puzzle and rolling to solve a puzzle. because of this, they often make really cool mechanics for challenging players that don't just amount to "roll a 20, do the thing." they also tend to share their thoughts on traditional blogs.

here's an amazing, meticulously catalogued library of keystone OSR posts

by marcia b., @/traversefantasy on twitter, who has an OSR blog of her own using marxist and freudian frameworks for analysis

rise up comus

by josh mcCroo, who's working on a game called his majesty the worm. pretty sure i don't have to say anything else

permanent cranial damage

by ava islam, whose assertion that "Armour Class and Hit Points are the same thing" blew my mind when i was starting out

goblin's henchman

which is where I found the hex flower tech that i adapted for HEXFALL's main mechanic

and one non-OSR blog, that of jay dragon

yes i am a possum creek fangirl. this blog is bananas good. if you haven't read up on playground theory, oh boy you're in for a treat

final takeaway: you never know where you'll find new tools and ideas!

obviously credit people and don't use what's not yours. but have fun and share cool tech with others when you find it!

hope this was helpful <3

p.s. another place that apparently used to have a ton of ttrpg activity was google+. every so often i hear whispers of digital libraries filled with all sorts of salvaged g+ ttrpg treasures. never seen an invite link with my own eyes though. if you hear anything, let me know, will ya?

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #how i learned ttrpg design

[alltoolewis]

All Nighter- Mason Mount ✨

Thank you so much for all the love recently on my writing! My heart has literally burst with happiness over the past week 😥 I can't wait to write even more things for you guys & if anyone has any questions, requests or ideas please send them in... my inbox is always open 🤍

Summary- Mason finds you cuddled up on his sofa after waiting for him to come back from an away game despite it being exam season...

Prompt- "You waited up for me..."

If there was anything someone should have warned you about when you first started dating a footballer, it would be the number of restless nights you'd have when they weren't by your side... it was a killer knowing that they were out and about traveling after a tiring 90 minutes to get home to you, while your suppose to sleep peacefully in your shared bed like nothing was happening! When Mason first asked you to move in a month ago, you made a secret pact to yourself that you would never let him come home to a quiet sleeping house, no matter how tired you were! However, you had yet to have a proper chance to stick it out as most away games he'd had were in London... that was until tonight!

"I'll call you later yeah?" Mason whispered, crouching down in front of the couch as he pecked your cheek softly not wanting you to get too distracted with your exam only being 2 days away. Looking up quickly, you grab his hand pulling him back down to you to give him a proper kiss "score a goal for me..." You mumble on his lips, causing his lips to tug into a smile "I'll try my best darling..." Giving your mouth one last peck, he got up grabbing his bags as he gave you a final wave "Make sure you get plenty of rest after studying... I'll see your pretty face in the morning!"

Giving him an untruthful nod, you smiled "I will do handsome... good luck! I love you!"

"I love you too... make sure you have something to ea-" Rolling your eyes you leapt off the couch, practically pushing him out the door as laughter filled the room "I will be fine you big softie..." You giggle, pushing him fully out the door making sure he had all of his stuff as you run your hands through his hair "Your going to Liverpool not Australia... calm down, I'm fine..."

"I'm sorry." He sighed, taking your hands in his "I just now how stressed you get when studying and with your exams being only 2 days from now, I don't want you to neglect yourself again... not like last time!" Your last exam season was so bad that you ended up in the hospital due to a lack of sleep and nutrients you had. It broke Mason in two seeing you lying there with an IV drip attached to your arms feeling like he could have prevented it all somehow, so he promised himself that he'd always be there to make sure you'd never get that way again.

Cupping his cheeks in your hands, you kissed his lips "I promise you I will never let it get that bad again, Mase. I'll have my dinner, study a little more than & then I'll have some rest... stop worrying!" Mason felt a rush of relief from your words, knowing that you always tried 100% to keep a promise!

"I'll believe you I suppose..." Mason smiled, pecking your lips before pulling you in one last hug "Love you honey.."

"Love you to Mase... See you later!"

As soon as the door was shut and Mason's car was gone from the driveway, you bolted straight up the stairs. Immediately grabbing all of the blankets and pillows you could for your midnight stay up. With the game only being in Liverpool you knew there was a high chance of him being back before midnight, but with the press afterward and then commute back up to London you didn't want to take any chances.

The rest of your evening was spent hunched up on the couch, studying books in hand as you watched the lead-up to the match. Your cheeks flushed pink every time they'd mention his name like you were some love-struck teenager who can't even see their crush without getting all giddy! Keeping at least one of your promises, you finally pack up your books once kick-off was only 10 minutes away, running into the kitchen to make yourself some quick dinner and coffee before vacating back to the couch where you sat intrigued for the next 90 minutes. Before dating Mason you hated football, not finding the idea of watching 22 grown-ass adults kicking a ball around a field entertaining at all. But with attending the games and Mason always having them in the background, you grew to adore it! Now spending most of your spare time finding out transfer news and keeping updated with different games across the globe... you have to admit that at first you did it to talk to Mase but now you turned addicted for your own self!

Throwing your hands in the air when the whistle blew full time, you cheered along with the crowd as Mason once again got another goal & assist! Obviously taking your little comment before he left very seriously! Your heart burst with pride every single time they would show him on the screen, the familiar redness on cheeks and his chest puffing up and down after another 90 minutes of non stop effort from him!

Pulling your phone out you sent him a quick 'so proud of you🤍' before switching off the game, instead opting to put on a marvel marathon that you knew would help you stay up for the next couple of hours for your boyfriend's return! & it was actually a lot easier than you thought!

You were too engrossed in the scene in front of you to hear the door slam softly shut. Mason thought it was unusual that the living room lights were on when he pulled up, you were the type of person to check everything 10x before you went to bed which told him that you might not have actually taken his advice about resting. That was confirmed when his head popped into the living room, finding you in the same position as you were when he left watching the same film you seen millions of times with the same shocked expression on your face.

Feeling a stare upon you, you looked up. Finding Mason leaned against the door with a goofy grin on his face, immediately opening your arms out for him to climb into, which he accepted without hesitation. "I'm so proud of you, Mr goal scorer.." You whispered in his neck as he held you tight to his chest, continuously pecking your temple with a big smile on his face "You waited up for me..." Mason smiled, causing you to lift your head up to look at him with a matching grin on your face "I thought I told you to rest darling... it's midnight!"

"In my defense, I stopped studying just before the game.." You smirked, pointing across the room to your packed up books "I haven't been doing anything for the last couple of hours apart from resting, watching Tom Holland, and seeing my super talented, hot, gorgeous boyfriend kill it in Anfield!"

"Thank you, baby..." Mason mumbled on your lips, pulling away from you to lean his head on yours "Still think you should have rested like I told you to instead of pulling an all-nighter..."A part of him was a little mad at you for not taking his advice and resting, but as he saw that goofy little smile on your face his anger was quickly placed with nothing but love instead "It's good job your adorable y'know!"

"It's one of my many charms" You smirked, pecking the bridge of his nose before cuddling back into his chest "Now stop talking, it's the best scene!" Mason chuckled as your eyes went back to the TV to watch your favourite scene of the whole film "I suppose we're not going to bed yet are we?" Mason laughed as you looked at him with a disgusted look on your face. "Of course not! At least not until this has finished!" Looking up at him with soft eyes, you brushed his hair "Unless your tired then of course I don't mind..." Mason's heart burst at how you always found away to think of him, even when your in a goofy mood. Shaking his head he pulled you back down to him...

"Nahh sweetheart, ." Mason smiled, kissing your temple "I'm never to tired to spend time with you.."

"I love you Mase.." You whispered into his chest, your words going to straight to his heart. "I love you so much more... missus all nighter!"

#mason mount #mason mount imagine #mason mount one shot #mason mount x reader #chelsea blurb #chelsea #mason mount blurbs #mason mount imagines #mason mount blurb

[butch-with-a-deep-voice]

Hello! I recently found your blog and wanted to thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us. Your posts about your journey in learning to embrace queer masculinity and your butch identity have been an absolute Goddess sent. If you have the bandwidth and are open to sharing, I would love to hear more about your process of separating masculinity from manhood and embracing queer masculinity. As a fellow trans femme trying to figure out if Butch works for me, I keep hitting roadblocks in learning to appreciate and embrace those masculine/chivalrous traits without identifying them with my formative experiences. I'm Colombian, and chivalry (unfortunately wound up with a lot of machismo) was essential to my upbringing. I resonated a lot with what you shared about pursuing hyperfeminity to leave behind masculinity, and I have reached a point where I can't sustain the hope of waking up and looking like Barbie one day and working toward appreciating the mortal coil I have and stage of transition I'm in. I apologize this got so verbose but I hope it made sense lol

Hey! So this was sent in a few days ago and I wanted to give time to sit on it. This is such a complicated and honestly deeply personal process. One person's relationship to masculinity will look entirely different than another.

It's been a process that I've been working through honestly most of my adult life, even before transitioning. I think there are two major factors that proved the most important, and they're pretty linked with eachother.

Find examples of healthy masculinity that speak to you.

I will preface that due to the nature of media, these will primarily come from men still. It's gonna happen. That is okay actually, it will lead into point 2. Finding healthy examples of masculinity was so necessary for me because masculinity was so wrapped up in just constant negativity. The harm so many men cause to women/queer people. Toxic masculinity and how those who perpetuated it shaped nearly every waking moment of my childhood/adolescence. The entire "anti-men" issue that fully plagues feminist and queer spaces, and how in most of those spaces men are hated on so casually you're looked at funny if you call it out.

Finding examples of both manhood and masculinity that were healthy and safe was so important in being able to reclaim masculinity. As a trans-feminine person I was never going to be able to even start to look at the process of first separating masculinity from manhood, nevermind reclaiming masculinity, if I wasn't able to first view both as not inherently bad. So, I'll provide three of my top examples of healthy masculinity that played really integral roles for me during the early phases of healing my own.

Lord of the Rings Now this is pretty much everyone's go-to, especially if you're a nerd like me. But there's good reason for that. While Tolkien has his slew of problems, from lack of women in the books, to the racist undertones of Orcs/Goblins, his works provide plenty of examples of healthy masculinity. No one would ever say Aragorn isn't masculine, he's peak "manly man". And yet, he's gentle. He's a healer. He recites and writes poetry (to the point that Bilbo goes to him for advice on how to finish a verse). He loves flowers and art and history. He's masculine, but he's unafraid of being soft, and he uses his masculinity to protect. To lead. To love. Not for malice. Samwise Gamgee is frankly a rolemodel to me. I used to joke he and two other fictional characters were my type in men, when in reality, they were my butch-coded role models (Malcolm Reynolds and Milo Thatch). Samwise is still firmly masculine. But he's the softest sweetest man out there, and I hope I can live up to the healthy masculinity he performs daily.

William Prince William is an Indigenous Canadian folk/country artist, who comes from the same neck of the woods I do in terms of region. His music has gotten me through so many tough times I can't even begin to express how important it is to me. One of the biggest reasons he is on this list is so much of his music explores being a man in a healthy way. Whether it is being a father, to the importance of healing your trauma before it hurts those you love, to the importance of being vulnerable as a man in general. Top three songs for some great healthy masculinity imo are "The Gun", "That's All I'll Ever Become", and while it isn't necessarily masculinity focused, "Run". My only other note with him is just uh. Don't listen to the "Gospel First Nation" album. He went a little "born again" during Covid and it nearly killed his career.

Arcane The writers of Arcane wrote gender so well it's ridiculous. You will find plenty of people on tumblr discussing how well it did women, but I think there isn't nearly enough praise for how well they wrote the men in the series. I could go into it more, but honestly, this video essay by my favourite video essayist Schnee details it beautifully (I'd also watch the sister video to this one about women in Arcane, it's pretty great). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBNUgGhPZzY

First and foremost finding healthy examples of masculinity in your life and the media you consume is so important. Find ways to separate those masculine traits you know you want to embody from the toxic ones like "machismo" as you put it. That way you can get into the next part.

Address Internalized Shame Surrounding Masculinity

This one is a doozy. I'm still working on it if I'm being honest. (I would also like to note that a lot of internalized shame work should be done with a professional if you can access one). Shame rules our lives if we let it, not just with gender. It affects everything. Work, family, food, hell shame makes people feel shameful about getting an extra hour of sleep here or there. It makes us hate when we want to just. Relax. It makes us hate when we ask for our needs to be met. Shame work is something EVERYONE should do, ekosi.

But as a trans person, whether or not you decide to claim butch, you MUST eventually look at that big ugly stain that is your shame with masculinity. Even the most hyper feminine of us trans-femmes must do so. Hatred and shame of men and masculinity will continue to fester if left unchecked no matter what. Yes, many men have done terrible things. Yes, we live in a society that favours men to the umpteenth degree and perpetuates toxic masculinity and patriarchy. Yes, as trans-feminine people we were and sometimes still are, associated with a lot of those perceptions and beliefs. It's an awful feeling and it makes you hate yourself. Part of why I went hyper feminine is because of how much I hated my shame. I was so shameful of being born male. Shameful of the fact that I was a "threat" in feminist spaces purely for existing. Shameful of how intimidating I would become if I ever raised my voice because of how powerful my diaphragm is, on top of my already large demeanor. That shame will eat you alive if left to persist, regardless of transition.

That shame must be dealt with. Masculinity cannot be shameful. I'm a complete buzzkill in a lot of queer and feminist spaces because I shut down sarcastic anti-men jokes pretty damn regularly. I shut down the joking perpetuation of the bi "all women and one (1) man" stereotypes. I shut down "ugh men" jokes. Whether or not people who make those regularly realize it or not, those jokes continue to tell men, cis or trans, they are unwanted in queer and feminist spaces. That their very existence is worthy of shame. (and no, the "trans men are an exception" thing doesn't provide an out. They're men too.) It is biphobic, it is transphobic, and it perpetuates colonial patriarchal systems still in place. That cannot be the case. Part of feminism is making masculinity a healthy thing. Part of why it is okay if your personal examples of healthy masculinity end up all being men is because men performing healthy masculinity adds to the overall de-shaming of it. Gender stops mattering when you de-shame masculinity. What matters is healthy masculinity as a whole. Once gender no longer matters for healthy masculinity, the next step of separating it from manhood kind of already did itself.

While there are other small things I've done throughout my life that helped with the overall separation of masculinity and manhood, that in turn allowed me to claim butch for myself, those two steps were absolutely integral in the process. I hope you're able to find things that work for you, and that these examples of mine were helpful to you. Thank you for the wonderful ask 💕

#this is one i'm a lil worried the terfs are gonna sniff out but fuck em #they aren't welcome here anyway #bite me #ask nomi #transgender #trans #two spirit #butch #trans butch #butch lesbian #trans lesbian #gender #queer #queer community #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #lgbt

[spaceless-vacuum]

What if the zeldas from the links like sun and sky being yandere for reader too.

Would they Ally with their links are not are would they break those ally with their links if we're to have reader in their hyrule.

Zelda from koridia game is a savage

So I watched all of the t.v show episodes and I can finally start adding some of my opinions on this, starting with Courage and (I don't think she has a nickname yet I think I’ll just call her Wisdom because it matches her Link’s name but correct me if there's a better one).

. . .

To begin, both of these two can Fight! Wisdom often goes along with Courage to the underground realm where Ganon’s lair is and will help him save the day. While she doesn't like to get her hands dirty if she doesn't have to, she refuses to sit around and do nothing when there's work to be done. She still keeps a strict line between her princess duties and that of a knight. She isn't as competent of a fighter as Courage is so she leaves the heavy hitting to him. She stands back and helps out and manages to keep herself out of trouble just enough that her friend doesn't have to worry about her too much. She doesn't want to be overwhelmed or kidnapped after all.

During her time Hyrule is not as powerful or as present as it once was, and only two pieces of the triforce have been found (in the show they just dismiss the triforce of courage and never mention it so i'm going to assume it’s lost, same with the master sword because they never call Courage’s sword by name and it doesn't seal Ganondorf it just takes him away for awhile.) As such it’s hard for Ganondorf to win; but they also can't seal him away just yet. This means Hyrule for her is a peaceful zone until it isn't for a few days and then it all goes back to normal. Action isn't uncommon but most people live peaceful lives thanks to the efforts and worries from the princess and the triforce’s Guardian.

When you roll into town it isn't under attack but there's still evidence of the terror that rampaged through just a few days prior. It’s clear something bad happened but not bad enough to put a damper on the good peoples spirits. You just finished up booking a room in the inn for the night and you're walking around town trying to figure out what to do when Courage spots you from afar. He stops his morning walk in its tracks just to get a good look at you. A new stranger in town is always newsworthy and he just has to know what you're up to, it might be no good and he reasons that such a pretty thing like you shouldnt be left around with no one by your side. He walks over to you and the conversation is friendly enough, but then he finds out you're an adventurer.

This strikes him as funny because Courage used to be an adventurer like you before he got stuck with a job in the castle. It’s been so long since he's been on the open road and he really misses it. He invites you over top of the castle for some tea and before you can reply he points out that it’s just ahead anyways. You have no choice but to accept as he takes your hand and practically drags you along for the ride. Following him down the brick path through the wide open gates into a stunning and painstakingly kept courtyard the stone brick of the castles waits and beckons you to explore.

He walks down the hallways very casually and asks you lots of questions about where you're from, what you're doing here, how the roads were like, and what your favourite food is. The conversation goes from regular chatting to flirting very quickly. He can't help it seeing such a sweet thing like you all by yourself means you must have plenty of stories to tell and he just can't wait to hear them all.

Wisdom bumps into you two not far from the entrance. She was just about to follow Courage to make sure he wasn't going to shirk his duties as a knight. They didn't have many knights around so it was all hands on deck for this one; and then she sees you. A beauty walking into her castle and where were her manners. She looks more smitten than the hero was and quickly resumes the neutral mask as her role as a princess and takes over interrogating. Where are you from, is this your first time in their kingdom, oh it is? Well you just have to stay for dinner and tea! She’d be more than happy to show you around if you’d be so gracious.

Courage follows behind the two of you as Wisdom takes over the talking. He has to admit that she has a way with words. Watching you two he can see Wisdom slowly sink her fangs into you. One hand is placed gently on your back and he can see an unusual tension in her body. It isn't hard for him to realise that he may have fallen for you but she fell harder. The three of you walk to a side room with a table and you all gather around and swap stories. Courage tells you about his adventures, Wisdom talks about the kingdom and what’s going on with Ganondorf, and you fill them in with how you came to wind up here.

All in all Wisdom offers you a place to stay at the castle as it would be a better spot than any for resting after such a long journey. It is hard to turn her down with how sweet she’s being and she's absolutely right about it being much better than the inn you were going to stay at. Courage goes to collect your bags from your old spot and offers you a room by his. Just in case anything happens, that way you'll be safe. Wisdom tells you not to worry as Ganondorf never attacks so soon but agrees that you should stay close to him. You thank her again and she spends some time talking to you before showing you to your room.

Oh true, it is not befitting of her to marry someone of a lower station but she can't help but be mesmerised by you. Somewhere between the tough and gritty shell of an adventure she can see the soft soul of someone like her. A mixture between gentle and heroic; kind and able to get the job done. It just draws her in like a moth to flame but some part of her knows it is in her duties to one day marry for the good of the kingdom. If it’s in her luck they will be much like you.

Not that taking a consort was so out of the question but it's at a time and place in history while Hyrule is starting to rebuild again and she has to plan for the future. When Courage gets back she talks to him about her feelings. She can see how hurt he is at first when she begins talking; but he doesn't say anything as the two have been friends for ages at this point. Even if he does flirt with her and they do fight from time to time nothing can separate them and they know that. The kingdom rests on their shoulders and more than that protecting and retaining the triforce is key for the future of all of Hyrule. 

It isn't until she talks about her final thoughts and feelings; about how she wants you here but can't take you for himself that he realises what she’s after. He jumps in joy when he realises he gets to keep the cake and eat it too. He asks offhandedly if having you here means that he can't ask her for kisses anymore and she laughs before lightly punching his shoulder. Joking about how uncivil he can be before relaxing and asking that he keep you here in the castle, that is both a request from a friend and an order.

Courage looks a little taken back and Wisdom lightly lets him know that she wants to see the two of you happy together and doesn't want to take any chances. The endorsement of your relationship seems to be more of a way to have her cake and eat it too and Courage doesn't believe she is as serious as she seems at first. He gets to have you but by him having you she gets you as well? The concept goes over his head and Wisdom has to gently reexplain the concept several times before he comes to understand what's going on.

The aftermath is both of them taking things lightly while whisking you away. You can defend yourself and they often take you on their journeys together. This is an open relationship where you and Courage are officially dating while Zelda gets to keep you in her life and enjoy sweeter moments and company from you. Courage doesn't mind at all and finds himself happy to share, you're his in the end anyways. You and the princess are seen as especially close friends. Of course your willingness to defend the princess in battle is commendable and from the outside all seems calm and normal. You're just another helping hand and dating the hero. Nothing strange is seen.

. . .

I wrote more for those two than I meant to, anyways here's a flash round of how I think the others would go!

. . .

Dot would love for you to join the knights of Hyrule. This keeps you and Four by her side, while allowing the two of them more time with you. You get personal training from Four and to all outsiders you're just another personal guard who spends all their time guarding the princess, as a good knight should. Why all that time seems to be in her chambers and acting more like a pet than actual knight is rumoured but no one can confirm what’s going on as you are rarely seen. When not with Dot Four has you by his side in a chain that matches your armour. All that training doesn't seem to save you from anything as you're in more of a political bind than physical. It keeps you still more than any physical chain can after all. I’m not sure if Dot and Four would also have feelings for each other, rather I see them as close friends with a shared love interest and they never even have to go through that awkward phase of ‘we both like the same person dont we’. They both just nod at each other and understand that it’s not an issue for them.

. . .

Sky and Sun have a house for you! And if it’s not a house out in the woods it's a special room made in the castle that was renovated with a door that locks from the outside. With all the chaos going on on the surface many people soon forget about the strange room that the queen asks for, and it's only there for when you forget your role by their side. Sky, you, and Sun are a power throuple and everyone in the kingdom knows it. You help Sun rule the kingdom by making sure she takes care of herself and her and you often spar together while Sky watches. You don't join the knights because that would mean going out and doing dirty work, rather your job at the castle is more of a personal friend borderline assistant. It crosses the fine line between royal lover and pet but between the two of them always cooing over you and each other you're being so smothered in love it's hard to tell where one line ends and the other begins. Everyone knows all three of you are in a relationship and everyone is cool with it.

. . .

God Artemis and Warriors… Ok so for this one I think they would have a huge rivals aspect to it. Not in a ‘i hate you way’ rather a ‘I can make them swoon way harder than you can’. Both find it funny and it's all in good faith. You for your part are so confused about how you got these two wonderful people suddenly fighting very hard for affection but it soon gets to be very overwhelming. Openly no one can see what's going on, just more banter between the princess and the hero. I don't see them sharing you together rather one will take you for a while before the other will spirit you away. I can see you being a soldier or messenger during wartime; your position is high enough to draw attention but not so much so you're in the active line of duty. Safe enough to not worry them too much while close enough to the fight to make your presence known. This is what sparks envy in them as you aren't close to either of them but they're both keeping tabs on you. You see none of the behind the scenes but Warrior is asking everyone you've ever worked with what they know about you, what your secrets are, where you live, and he passes it all under the rug as official business and your comrades are all too happy to give you up if it's the captain asking.

Meanwhile Artemis just pulled up your records and got all the information from that. Warrior shows up in her office to brag and she's just sipping tea while calmly explaining she already knows all of that and didn't have to work for three extra weeks to find it out. Trouble ensues.

Warrior gets you when he's not on active duty, and after the war he gets to have you when he returns from his missions. Aremis dresses you up in the finest of clothes she can find and leaves you for him as a present; he deserves to come home to his precious darling after all he's been through. He returns the favour by presenting you in much the same way before he leaves to go take care of business; he also handles any of the dirty work such as removing rivals and taking care of punishments that she can't handle herself. The two share you separately and take on the responsibilities of keeping you quiet together.

. . .

Flora Can see you and how close you are with Wild. She swatches from afar as you two grow closer and she feels a little strange watching how closely you two are. Of course she agrees that you are the most precious gem in all of Hyrule and is so thankful for you; both for your huge heart in helping to restore Hyrule to what it once was and also for helping Wild. She knows she can not be there to comfort him like she wishes to be so having you there to be a shoulder to cry on is so sweet to watch. She just wishes to be there too. Her time alone leaves her with a lot of time to simmer over her feelings and she often finds herself wondering if she can make the three of you work out. She wants you by her side and wants him too, god shes so head over heels and knows that he must feel the same way. If only she was there now, please don't make her wait…

When she is rescued she reunites with Wild, and the two of them talk and are so happy. She avoids the subject of you. Rather she already knows you were safely left at his house in Hateno and wants to say hello to Wild first before making the journey there. She has to test the water and say hello to her close friend first. By the time they make it to the village it's nighttime and you are sleeping peacefully. She goes upstairs to check on you and Wild follows behind. It's not hard to tell from the look on her face to know what she is thinking about. All it takes is one look at each other and the two of them know, in the way only two destined to fall in love can know, what the other is thinking.

For this one it’s a slowish burn between Wild and Flora while they also love you. Another polycue that will only have to face more troubles as a rejuvenated Ganon is on the horizon.

. . .

Fauna and Calamity i'm on the fence over. Some people write him as hating the nobility and his involvement in the war and having a sore spot over how he was treated, and while I have to agree I think he's also a forgive but never forget type of person. Like it still hurts but he wont let that change how he acts around others. This relationship is rough but I can see it having a happy ending. With Fauna and Calamity never ending up together I can still see them reaching a conclusion and sharing you. Especially since after all is said and done Calamity is still a knight beholding to Hyrule and the Princess. Him and Fauna can work together to keep you in the castle, but this is where they start to disagree.

Fauna wants to show you off. She wants to have everyone see you hanging off of her arm so they know you're taken. This sets Calamity off because he's the type to want to hide you away from others instead. This results in a fight between him and Fauna and it isn't until she points out that it's smarter this way; as now everyone knows you're taken and they won't be able to make a move on you because of her power. You Are Safer because you've been marked as off limits. Once he hears this and really processes it he relaxes and realises that she's right. She can do things he can't and after this the two have a heart to heart. What happened during the war was the hardest time of his life and he's always been training to be the perfect soldier and now that it's over he's finally healing. He has a life now and no matter what you’re the make upon it. She agrees wholeheartedly and swears she never wants to take you from him. She wants to see him happy and won't ever cross any line without good cause and reason. They both need and want you and even if they go about it in different ways they both agree that the other's way isn't bad; in fact it blends quite well.

When the loud drum of nobles and the castle becomes too much for you Calamity and Fauna will go on a trip to a quieter part of Hyrule and work out well for all three of you! They need to get out and make sure the rest of the country is recovering well and everyone is always glad to see the hero and princess again. It means a lot to the both of them to take you out and about every so often, even if you are now stuck inbetween the biggest power couple in Hyrule that isn't even a couple.

This matchup is funny to me because I can see Fauna and Calamity healing from everything and reforging their friendship afterwards and being really close physically; being touchy and feely but both agreeing there's nothing romantic about it. You can often find Calamity passed out in the lap of the princess and he stands guard over her so happily that everyone assumes it’s them dating, and in reality they are just extremely close and it's you dating them. They love to gush about you to each other and the kingdom just accepts the princess and her knight have a thing for you, and that she's dating you both but nothing has been made official yet. They saved the kingdom, let them do whatever they want.

...

To be honest I headcanon that polyam is accepted in loz because why wouldn't it be, and also its a bit of a matriarch because its the three golden goddesses and Hylia is the patron goddess to Hyrule, and even in Lorule i'm assuming they also have goddesses? To be honest It’s a very female ruled kingdom as well because it’s Zelda’s blood that holds the power to seal the darkness and also she rules the kingdom. So needless to say no one minds Zelda doing what she wants especially when it's an era with a hero, they saved everyone for god's sake let them have some peace.

. . .

Ok so for the others we have Dusk/Twilight, Wind/Tetra, Fable/Legend, Hyrule/Dawn/Aurora, Lullaby/Time, and Koridai/(I haven't thought of a good name for her yet…) and I will get those done on a later date because this is so long as it is. I know I went hard into the Wisdom and Courage part but in my defence I just finished watching the show and I thought it was goofy and fun!

#eye write #request #man I love Zelda #i need to write for her more #especially Artemis and the Four/Dot combo really got to me #Artenis coming home after a long day and destressing by having you lay acorss her lap while she complains about her day #youre quiet and she holds you there #yandere woman who force close proximity to you so all you can smell is their perfume and it lingers even after their gone #idk my wisdom teeth medication is makong me goofy and whimsical in the tags again #i need to make this its own post hold on #yandere zelda x reader #yandere link x reader #yandere courage #yandere wisdom #yandere sun #yandere sky #yandere dot #yandere four #yandere artemis #yandere warrior #yandere wild #yandere flora #yandere calamity #yandere fauna #tw stalking #cw kidnapping #cw manipulation

[writingwhimsey]

Congrats on your milestone, Whimsey!!🥳🥳🥳 I'm so happy for you! TwT May I request the NSFW HC number 1 + Arthur, Leonardo, and Mitsuhide, pretty please? ♥ May more readers come your way~ ♥

Thank you so much for the encouragement and for the ask! This one was fun to write. I hope you enjoy!

ikevamp: Arthur & Leonardo

ikesen: Mitsuhide

NSFW prompt 1: Suitors react to an MC/reader who writes smut

NSFW 18+ content

Arthur:

He had seen you writing plenty of times. You never shared your writing with him, but he understood how that could be.

One day, you had left your writing paper out while you had to go run an errand with Sebas.

Arthur came back to the room and saw your paper out. He went to close your notebook. At least that’s what he told himself he was going to do.

He hadn’t planned on reading your book, but he couldn’t help himself. Once he happened to just glance at your page…and he sees what you have written.

When you return to your shared room later, you almost drop the coffee you’re carrying when you see Arthur sitting on the bed, your book sitting open in his lap.

He looks up at you, smiling.

“Luv, why didn’t you tell me what you like to write?”

Your cheeks are red. “It’s…uh…just…a little embarrassing…” You confess.

“You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about, luv. Your writing is good. I especially enjoyed this part.” He then gestures to a particularly spicy section.

You blush even further. “I…uh…”

Arthur is reaching for you and pulling you into his lap. “Your writing really is good. Not just the spicy stuff, but the plot and structure…you can really feel the love between the characters. So it makes the spicy parts even more rewarding.”

“So…you really liked it?” You ask.

Arthur nods. “Of course, luv…now how about we recreate this scene…and all the other spicy bits.” He’s then capturing your lips and taking you on a personal tour of all the love scenes from your own book.

Leonardo:

When he stumbles upon you sound asleep with a book in your lap, he thinks you look so precious. He goes to move you into a more comfortable position and then picks up your book.

He’s curious as to what his cara is reading so he begins to read over it.

That is when he recognizes the writing as your own.

At first he thinks it’s a journal and goes to put it away, wanting to respect your privacy.

That is until he reads a few sentences.

His eyes widen when he comes across a sentence that is the beginning of a rather explicit scene.

He soon finds himself sitting down and reading the words, unable to stop himself.

He wasn’t sure how much he had read when he hears you gasp. He looks up and sees your red cheeks.

“Scusa.” He says not at all apologetic. He’s then setting the book aside as he comes over to you. “I had no idea my Cara had such naughty thoughts in that beautiful head of hers.”

“Well…they’re all inspired by you.” You confess, your cheeks reddening.

“What am I gonna do with you, my naughty girl?” He says before gently pushing you back and climbing on top of you. “How about I give you more inspiration, Cara Mia?”

He’s then spends the time taking you to new heights and giving you new things to write about. Though it may take you a few days to be able to even think of doing anything else again.

Mitsuhide:

Mitsuhide returns from a long mission to find you asleep at your desk, brush having fallen from your hand.

He chuckles to himself as he gently moves you to the futon and covers you up. He then goes to clean up your paper, brush, and ink. He was curious as to what you were writing, thinking it must have been a reply to the latest letter he had sent for you.

Amber eyes widen in disbelief at the words he sees written on the paper.

You’re soon being woken up by Mitsuhide’s lips on yours. 

It takes you a few moments to process what’s going on but soon you come to full awareness.

There’s a teasing light in Mitsuhide’s eyes as he looks at you and that’s when you remember what you had been writing before you had fallen asleep. You blush deeply.

“My, my little mouse.” He says. “I never knew you were one to have such lascivious thoughts.”

You blush as you explain that you used to write such stories all the time in your original time and people really liked them.

Mitsuhide gives you that handsome devilish grin. “Oh, little mouse…that is most excellent news… now why don’t we have a little fun and work on new material for you?”

You then spend the night, Mitsuhide treating you to your wildest fantasies you had written. Though you definitely can’t walk for the next few days.

#whimsey answers #200 follower celebration #ikesen headcanons #ikevamp headcanons #ikevamp arthur #ikevamp leonardo #iksen mitsuhide #ikemen sengoku #ikemen vampire #cybird ikemen #ikemen series #cybird otome #otome boys #ikemen headcanons #headcanon

[majorbaby]

Isn't Trapper's nickname a euphemism for rape. I think that could have been explored more in depth in the show. And Hawkeye's hookups aren't always the paragon of enthusiastic consent either.

CW for rape mention and sexual harassment

I haven't read the MASH book and I'm not sure how it is represented there but in the movie:

John McIntyre, Trapper John. Only man to find fulfillment in a Boston Maine Railway, in the- in the ladies can! Conductor opened the door, the girl looked out and yelled "Oh, he trapped me! Omigod, he trapped me!"

Unless I'm missing some historical context for the term that's used, "trapped" I don't know that this is rape. With that said, Trapper (and Hawkeye) in the film sexually harass Margaret, no two ways about it, so I can't say it would be OOC for movie Trapper. I'm not sure where the word "rape" came from in this instance but in my opinion, it's ambiguous. I'm totally open to being wrong if there is concrete evidence.

The incident is retconned out of the show, along with much of the cruelty they subject Margaret to - the primary target of public humiliation and shaming in the show Frank Burns (who in the movie is Margaret's only ally and exits the movie halfway through) and with how much character development Margaret gets, to me it seems a deliberate choice to reduce the volume and severity of abuse her movie counterpart endures. You would never catch movie HawkTrap helping Margaret sober up (Hot Lips and Empty Arms) or hide a body (Iron Guts Kelly). In Bombshells Trapper pointedly respects Margaret's "no", that's the crux of the whole episode. He also doesn't seem to enjoy or return her advances when she's blackout drunk in Hot Lips and Empty Arms.

Personally I don't see the value in this stuff being explored in the show. It's sort of addressed in Hepatitis when Margaret asks for "respect" and Hawkeye folds.

I'd actually argue there's more canonical proof from the show of Hawkeye not respecting consent than Trapper. They both kiss Margaret without her consent, Trapper in Rainbow Bridge and For the Good of the Outfit, Hawkeye in Dear Dad and There's Nothing Like a Nurse. I can't think of any more wrt to Trapper but Hawkeye kisses Frank once on the lips without his consent (twice if he caught him in For the Good of the Outfit - it's still sexual harassment even if he didn't), in Ceasefire Hawkeye seems to have promised himself romantically to multiple women, deceiving them so they'll sleep with him.

(I just wanna note that the Ceasefire example seems like a misstep - he's never actually shown misrepresenting himself that way, he's normally pretty up front with his casual hookups, and it never happens again. Seems like a bad subplot rather than something I'd call a recurring flaw)

I know we all love the 'pegging scene' in Carry on Hawkeye but making a big show of dropping your pants so your female coworker can give you a shot is harassment, he does it because he knows it'll make Margaret uncomfortable and he does the same thing again in Hepatitis when she calls him out.

But honestly I can't think of a single example other than Ceasefire where his hookups aren't enthusiastic on both sides. Like part of my problem with the Ceasefire example is that Margie Cutler is one of the women who thinks she'll be marrying Hawkeye after the war she flirts with both Trapper and Hawkeye in Requiem for a Lightweight, pimps out Hawkeye to her friend in Edwina like... girl you knew what this was??? So prior to that episode, she seemed to be pretty enthusiastic.

And honestly I push back pretty hard against the hookups being seen as unenthusiastic. There's plenty of nurses who happily make out with Trapper and I don't believe they're all unaware that he's married, he talks about it openly in OR - yeah that's infidelity and it's morally wrong but it doesn't mean there aren't two consenting adults.

Similarly I have a hard time believing that the nurses don't see Hawkeye with a different girl on his arm every week, they know what they're getting. One of the things I like a lot about early MASH is the sex is enjoyed by all - I value positive portrayals of female sexual pleasure in the 70s over fidelity to offscreen wives because of the historical context. Hollywood is still terrified of portraying cunnilingus and Hawkeye is constantly shaving for his dates. Could it be because he's very enthusiastically kissing women? I suppose. But knowing this show and Alan Alda in general, I dunno.

MASH did try to explore misogyny, it responded to early criticism and dropped some of flourishes it relied upon. That's good and bad imo. It's nice to not hear so many 'honeys' and 'sweethearts' in the OR, but I miss the casual fucking and sucking when it goes away.

We have Inga which gives us a very OOC Hawkeye imo being put in his place. Hepatitis which muddies about with some comparison of Hawkeye to Margaret's in-laws but is ultimately a sweet moment for Hawk-Margaret (really he comes to respect her over a longer period of time but I'll take it). Who Knew where Hawkeye whines about sleeping with Millie in lieu of acknowledging her interiority as though these are two entirely mutually exclusive things - a swing and miss imo. But then you have season 10's Cementing Relationships where Margaret spends the whole episode being sexually harassed and it's played completely for laughs - just because it isn't Hawkeye doing it anymore doesn't mean it's not wrong.

I do appreciate the attempts at addressing misogyny, even though I think it led to some big missteps, but I don't personally feel I missed out on anything by there not being an in-depth exploration of sex and consent. Sex and romance aren't really given much focus in general, so I don't think it would make sense to explore it very deeply.

#replies #re: mash #if you read all of this... good job #rape mention #harassment cw #glad i watched the movie so that i could actually reference it because you can really see the choices they made #made me appreciate the show more

[ectonurites]

Hey I noticed you saying you weren’t a Geoff Johns fan, and I was wondering why? I love his Flash, GL, and Justice League work, amongst others although I haven’t read his Teen Titans, and I’d defer to you as the expert on the core four anyway. So I was wondering, is that run just bad or is it something about his writing as a whole? Obviously not an issue you dislike Johns, just curious why.

AH YES okay so. Yeah, my problem is more specifically about his Teen Titans run rather than necessarily Johns as a writer in general. (Which I can understand not being 100% clear from the context of what I recently said. My point was primarily 'it's frustrating talking about this run with a Johns fan who blindly defends that run's characterization of the core four despite how drastically Johns had altered things')

Frankly, I don't even think I've read all that much of his work to even try to make super general comments/form general opinions on him as a writer. His Teen Titans run often incites a fiery rage within me if I try to think about it too hard/don't just joke about the funny (not intentionally funny, just turns out that way funny) parts, I was Not a fan of Three Jokers after the first issue, I did enjoy Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., I do really enjoy Superboy: Boy of Steel, and Infinite Crisis was like, interesting. Those are the main things that come to mind that I've read from him, so like, there's definitely varying opinions there—it's not all negative. Just the negative feelings are Strong when they occur.

Anyways, to TLDR why Geoff Johns Teen Titans bugs the shit out of me: it just shows a blatant disrespect for the history and prior characterization of the Core Four! It's not even that I think the book is entirely bad, there are plenty of elements of plots I like (though it's a lot of... 'cool idea, i do not like this execution') and it in general does have some good moments... BUT I think that time where within a three day period I did a full read through of Young Justice (1998) -> Graduation Day -> Teen Titans (2003) thus within a pretty short period of time consumed about 13 years of content that pretty consistently featured at least some combination of Tim, Kon, Cassie and Bart... well it was just eye opening and showed how little care was put into many choices made with how those guys would get portrayed when they transitioned between teams.

Now, at this present point in time, it actually has been a while since I've given Teen Titans Vol. 3 (or even just Johns' run of it, so #1-50 barring a few issues with guest writers) a full reread, so I'm maybe not in the best position to articulate all my thoughts on this subject. Though I did find this post from pretty freshly after I'd done that big mega reread talking about my frustrations in how Cassie was handled.

Just seriously, look how he massacred/yassified my girl….

(Teen Titans Vol. 3 #25)

Now, one thing about me though, is that when I approach these books, even when I have problems with them I don't like to ignore them (the ‘reject the canon you don’t like’ approach to fandom simply does not work for me personally outside of situations where canon literally has conflicting info you need to ignore some of to try to reconcile things OR things get rewritten over like by reboots/retcons).

I like to try to find ways to rationalize/make sense of the things that occur, I try to put pieces together and still find something enjoyable out of it even if it’s far from what the author(s) intended. That’s how I manage to feel as negative as I do about TT Vol. 3 while then also enjoying Boy of Steel—because many of my problems with TT Vol. 3’s approach to Kon come from how changes with him were made and handled… but when I approach Boy of Steel accepting that those changes happened and taking that story in not just still being mad about the previous stuff, I do really like it. I contain multitudes.

Anyways I rambled far more than you probably needed me to, but uhhhh. yeah!

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

"I used to be all about the final girl standing on top of a pile of the dead at the end of the movie, her face dripping blood, her chest heaving, her eyes fierce. Now I'm all about holding the door of the slasher-proof shelter open, so everybody can duck in, ride this out."

Year Read: 2024

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: I put this off for a bit because I wasn't ready for the trilogy to be over, and I'm pretty emotional about this horrific, blood-drenched, heartfelt series as a whole--which honestly tells you a lot about me and it. Fans of the first two books will find plenty to love about it, and the character development for Jade throughout the series is really good. I adore her as a main character and a final girl. She's the beating, bloody heart of these books, and I'm excited that she'll live on in slasher history for girls to look up to and see themselves in and celebrate alongside Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott as peak examples for the genre. There's a lot of her trying to manage her own trauma in this book, which typically isn't something we get to see a lot of in horror. While I felt the narrative was tighter in Don't Fear the Reaper, this one falls back into some of the habits of My Heart Is a Chainsaw, where it sometimes feels like we get a bit lost in her internal monologue at the expense of what's happening. It feels intentional--the very real consequences of a trauma spiral--but as a spectator it's occasionally frustrating.

It's up there with the first two books as far as gore and body count, and I enjoy the fact that no matter how much I know I'm in a slasher, I'm still surprised when the violence explodes out of nowhere from the least expected directions. Jones has a talent for dreaming up horrific mass death scenes, usually not once but several times in a book. The killers are a little all over the place in this one, no looming specter of Dark Mill South to ground the book, but I think it works. It dips into some seriously dark territory at one point, but I like the way it's all pulled together by the end, the lore of previous books coming back to shape this one. While Don't Fear the Reaper is still my favorite (weird, right? way to go all Catching Fire with it), I enjoyed the series a lot overall and will be glad to return to Jade and Proofrock in future rereads. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Saga Press.

#book review #the angel of indian lake #indian lake trilogy #stephen graham jones #horror #horror fiction

[beautyofsorrow]

2, 4, 7, 18, 46

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

evil. evil question. why would you make me think about my multichaps. ok so i tried the intensive outlining thing, i really did, and it flopped so bad because i'm pretty sure i have adhd which, among many other things, means i need novelty in order to stay interested in a thing. but i also need STRUCTURE so i know where i'm GOING or i'll never FINISH so i have started doing this thing where i have the vague outline of what happens and then go from there. for without anesthetic, i had a pretty good idea of what i thought the first four chapters entailed before i ever sat down at the word doc, just so i'd have a measure of security behind this wildly ambitious idea. turns out it was only enough for three chapters and i am spinning my wheels a little on the fourth/fifth/sixth, but it's going so much better than my last multichap did, and i haven't abandoned it like my first. so yay! it's my own version of what i call the ann patchett method of drafting (see "the getaway car" in this is the story of a happy marriage for more details on that, dear mutuals who are not zanna). more adhd, but just rigorous enough to keep me from walking out. this seems to be working, but it's also nerve-wracking because oh no, what if i get ?? chapters deep and i've written myself into a corner? (the answer: girl calm down, it's fanfiction and you're supposed to be having fun)

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

i rifle through the fridge at 10pm looking for a very specific food that does not exist and then get mad at myself when i realize i am gonna have to write it into existence.

see also: my love for the characters (/horny and emotional). a desperate need for non-romantic sexually intimate relationships in media. upsetting plotholes in canon. deranged character dynamics. weird takes on popular tropes. religious trauma. family estrangement. being queer. i also read a lot of books and find plenty of sparks ideas juice inside them, usually in their style and execution. i looooooooove studying form and how it influences a book's plot.

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

whatever best serves the story! and/or whatever i feel i can handle best in a given moment. for example, the first time i tried my hand at sex pollen (drown me in glitter, glitter and gold) i had no fucking clue how to write from a sex-pollened person's POV, so the answer was to stay in la'an's head the entire fic. that let me get really comfy with the story so that by the time i had to write her being all high on horny juice, it flowed much more easily than if i had started in una's POV, who's dosed from the start. also, it was a much better, funnier, and stronger fic that way. la'an's mortification really came through and allowed me to hit a lot of comedic beats i wouldn't have been able to hit due to una's temporary plunge into angst.

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

i do all three lol. mostly during and after. sometimes i'll have one from the start and it will stick; other times it will change to something else halfway through. many many times i will come screaming into ur DMs complaining about being done with a fic but not having title tags or summary. i started keeping a file in my notes app of lines of poetry i love, and i'll occasionally plunder them for titles. i'll also yoink song lyrics (just give me trust and watch what'll happen), riff on character quotes or episode titles (without anesthetic, ad astra), or rotate the fic in my head until something appropriately vibe-y presents itself (dress me down and hold me open, aces wild, stitch)

46. How would you describe your style?

contemplative, lyric and/or comedic (depending on the fic), & character-driven

#that fanfic lyfe

[newgenog]

REVENGE

Notes: I'm not done guys, but I'm making progress! 😭 So, I'm claiming it. This is the last teaser from chapter seven, dammit. 

If you're just stumbling across this, and haven't already done so, please stop and start by reading chapter one. 

This #Batwoman AU is based on the ABC tv series #Revenge. Ryan Wilder had just about everything taken from her when we met her, and she was doing her best to get it back. In this version of the story, that means taking some people down along the way. And, she's definitely no hero.

It's getting really hard to find teasers that won't spoil the fun too much. But, I can't leave you guys hanging. You've been holding me down for too long...I feel like we're really in this together!

So, thanks for the patience and good vibes, and happy teaser reading.

CHAPTER SEVEN SNEAK PEEK

Ryan sees Tommy Elliot standing in front of the chrome elevator doors, waiting for them to open and presumably take him to the same place she's headed. She doubts Kate’s expecting him, because she didn’t mention being double booked. And, even though Kate’s primary purpose in Ryan’s life is to get her access to the people who took her young life from her, to Robyn Wilde, Kate has become a close confidant. So, Tommy will need to quickly clarify if he’s here as friend or foe.

Ryan: “Surprise visit?”

Tommy tries to fight back the unexpectedness of hearing Robyn's voice with a small smirk. 

Tommy: “Kate’s used to my drop-ins…She’s had plenty of visits from me.” 

Ryan: “Because someone tolerates a lack of boundaries doesn’t mean they prefer them.” 

Tommy: “We’ve always had a very candid relationship. I’m sure she’d tell me if she wanted me to do something differently.” 

Ryan: “Fair enough. I have no doubt Kate’s the honest one in your friendship.” 

The doors open, and Jacob Kane is standing inside of the elevator. Neither of them walks into it, right away.

Jacob: “Tommy! It’s been a while…"

Tommy: “Yes, sir. It has been a while. It’s not the same without you around the house.”

Jacob: "Yes, well, hopefully I’ll be back soon… And, Robyn is it?”

Ryan nods, and offers a small smile as he steps out.. 

Jacob: “Do you both have a meeting with Kate?”

Ryan: ”I do, and I have to get back to Luke right after. So, I should head up.”

Tommy: “I was in the area and thought I’d stop in to see my friend.”

Jacob: “Well, if you have a moment, I’d like a word.” 

Tommy: “Sure…” 

Ryan takes the opportunity to get a head start, hitting the button to the top floor, and smirking at Tommy as the doors close in front of him.  

~~~~~

Ryan: “You’ve got company, and it isn’t just me.”

Kate: “Wow! Busy day. Who else is coming up?”

Ryan: “Oh, just your bestie.” 

Kate frowns, and then remembers.

Kate: “You don’t mean Tommy?”

Ryan: “Oh, but I do…”

Kate: “Okaaay…this should be interesting. Did you see him checking in, or something?”

Ryan: “Actually, he was here before me, but your dad wanted to talk to him, so I came up to warn you.”

Kate: “Thanks for that, and while I'm at it, thanks for the connection to Julia. My dad came by to tell me about their meeting, and to check on things with Luke… and apologize.” 

Ryan nods, trying to limit her words in reaction to Jacob Kane’s organization’s part in making Luke unconscious.  

Ryan: “So, are things going to work out with her?”

Kate: “I think so…but I also think he’s about to keep her pretty busy. I hope that’s not going to interfere with anything you needed.” 

Ryan: “So far, my stuff has been pretty easy. Simple contracts. I just wanted someone I knew I could trust involved. I can wait for her.” 

The elevator doors chime, and Tommy walks through them. Ryan glances over her shoulder, briefly and then takes her seat at Kate's desk. He tries not to be ruffled by her presence and smiles wide at Kate.

Tommy: "Kate…I've missed you."

Kate: "What are you doing here, Tommy? Shouldn't you be somewhere worshiping Catherine and trying to fast forward through the corporate ladder?"

Tommy: "I did start my internship yesterday, and it's great so far, thanks for asking."

Kate stares at him, already completely over his audacity. 

Kate: "So you're not here to make amends, but to gloat?"

He glances down at Robyn who hasn't looked back at him. He hates that she's here, and would much rather do this privately. But he made a commitment to Catherine and Evan. So, he decides to make an example out of her presence instead.

Tommy: "You're upset because I wasn't more honest, right? Consider this me turning over a new leaf."

Kate: "Seriously Tommy, as you can see, I'm busy. So, whatever you came for, can you get to it already?"

Tommy: "Okay, I can see your sense of humor is on limited supply, so I’ll cut straight to it. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I don’t want my recent behavior to ruin that. And, in the spirit of being more forthcoming, I’ll add that I was present when you texted Evan. I’m concerned that what’s been going on with us has had an impact on the two of you. I don’t want them caught in the middle, so if there’s anything I can do to improve our situation, let me know."

Kate looks down at Robyn, who she hasn’t shared the full story with, but who has been more supportive lately than her supposed best friend. Robyn looks back as if to say, ‘this choice is all yours.’

Kate: “I have a friend in the hospital, and my family is a wreck. I really don’t need any more drama in my life.” 

Tommy: “I was hoping you’d feel that way.” 

Kate: “Let me finish. If you’re going to be in my life, I’m going to need you to bring something positive to it. From where I stand, you’ve been using us and judging us, all at the same time. And because you’re my friend, I would have helped you if you’d just been honest with me. But because I’m your friend, and it seems you’re going through a hard time right now, which has evidently made you bitter and desperate, I’m going to forgive you. I don’t forget though, and I’m not huge on repeat chances. So this is it. I can’t really handle another thing…” 

Tommy drops his head, because that dig stung, but he’s also not surprised that she’d take the chance to get a lick in. He’s getting his way, and if that means he has to take a small verbal beating for them to move forward, he needs to find a way to do that. When his eyes return to hers, his expression is amicable. 

Tommy: “Understood. I’ll limit the drama. But you know us divas come with a little extra pizzazz.” 

Kate shakes her head, accepting his agreement, knowing that’s probably the best she’ll get from him. 

Kate: “Is there anything else…? I think we’ve kept Robyn waiting long enough.” 

Tommy: “Right. You two have a party to plan?”

Kate: “A fundraiser, but it’ll be a good time.” 

Ryan completely distrusts Tommy. She can tell he’s fishing, but if Kate wants to indulge him as a way to mend their bond, she doesn’t want to be outwardly discouraging. So when Kate smiles down at her, she simply grins back.

Tommy: “You’ve got the best in Gotham helping you with your plans, but if there’s anything I can do…” 

Kate: “I doubt Catherine is going to share two people from her team with us.” 

Tommy: “After all you’ve done for me, I’d figure out how to manage.” 

Kate: “I appreciate the offer.” 

Tommy: “Well, I’ll leave you to it, but maybe we can get a drink or dinner soon?” 

Kate: “We can do that…” 

Tommy nods, and then turns to leave. When they hear the elevator doors close, they give each other exasperated looks. Then Ryan shifts hers to one of sympathy. 

Ryan: “You okay?”

Kate: “Are you? Is okay even within the realm of possibility right now?”

Ryan: “I guess not…which makes me want to say thank you, again, for still wanting to do this right now.” 

Kate: “No, really, I’m grateful. It’s good to do something…good. I think Luke would prefer it too.” 

If only Kate knew how true that was. Luke has committed too much of himself to Ryan for her to squander his time and efforts because he wasn’t in shape enough to help her. If ever there was a time to rise to the occasion, and show how much she valued him, it was now. Kate’s gaze shifts to one of greater concern, and Ryan wonders if she’s shown too many of her cards.

Kate: “Can I ask you something off the cuff?”

~~~~~

To be continued...

What's Kate going to ask Ryan about? 😁 See you next week (ideally with a finished chapter)! 🤞🏽 Support the Writer and Actor strikes. #wgastrike #sagaftrastrike #StopCancellingDiverseShows

#batwoman #wildmoore #ryan x sophie #wildmoore week #ryan wilder #sophie moore #save batwoman #fanfic #lgbtq #wmw23

[coyoteprince]

more of an open question but what are some fun worldbuilding things you can think of off the top of your head? I want to hear more owo

Sorry for this novel

Waite has a grey (the kind that looks white) mare named Seraphim, who will make a minor appearance in comic. She's based on a Suffolk punch and Narragansett pacer.

All horses within Widderwood story have a dorsal stripe, no matter if theyre earthly or fae or whatever breed.

Likewise, almost every fae within Widderwood have ear tufts

Degare got his hat in a trade for sex from a Darlington priest, though it is a farmer's planter hat. His shoe style is also called a winklepicker.

Every person's soul is represented by a flame and each person has their own lantern (or lamp, or candle holder...) in Sandman's garden. From a design point, his garden has two principals: the light must always be a flame (no electric light), and time doesn't matter so modern lanterns are okay to depict, but only in this space.

Widderwood is technically steampunk, but I don't think it's going to be super obvious in comic unless you look super closely? Time rules are also funky: I've delayed invention of something yet moved up other things. It technically takes place during the 1880's, but plenty Edwardian and even modern day things pop up. No cars, but gramophones will soon be released. Coal is starting to die off in use and steam and some electricity are quickly becoming king. Prosthetics & aides are heavily decorated and become a hot tool to customize and be proud of. Women wear pants (though high society finds this disturbing) and can own land. Queerness & gay marriage isn't outlawed but its pretty weird to traditionals and queer identity is refered to as "the third sex" as is historical for that period. Those sorts of things

Primary community of Darlington is Caucasian, Black, and Native American, but all manner of people pass through thanks to the nearby port city

What is equivalent to the americas in Widderwood is made up of "territories", which I've been leaving vague because I cannot manage to care about building political empires, I just want two dogs to kiss. Either way, Darlington is ruled by English-equivalent, but original England-equivalent got overthrowed and wiped off the map. Southern state-equivalent, Eastern Canada-equivalent and some of the plains are under similar but different self-governing rule. Much of the western territories are aboriginal-ruled and the entire continent is much smaller than our world. These territories are all mostly on good terms with each other because this is just background flavoring. I'm trying to figure out a naming system for these territories or if it even matters since this story is pretty contained.

My partner bought me a vintage prosthetic leg from a firehazard of a thrift store just so I can use it as reference for Simon's false leg. It literally floats about the house in different spots and we just call it "Simon's leg"

Speaking of Simon, partner also bought me a Victorian book all about prosthetics which surprisingly is very empathetic and includes sentiments from actual disabled people of the time. I used this book to help me figure out what exact style of prosthetic Simon has, as well as his injury. His amputation took place mid calf and despite some mobility issues and how he looks, he's decently strong and has good endurance.

Waite is an Aries with pisces moon & taurus rising, Degare Gemini with scorpio & leo, Simon is Capricorn but idk his moon and rising. I don't give much thought to astrology but I think using it to build character personalities is very fun.

Widderwood mermaids are a combination of selkies and mermaids. They have front & back flippers and inhabit the same role as selkies in that there's many stories of marrying humans and their spouse stealing their skins.

Nuckelaaves are essentially slenderman to fae and no one knows what exactly they are

Darlington is known for their abundance of daisy wheels as a symbol of protection, which comes directly from my colonial cemetery special interest. They often top the margins of colonial tablet graves and have been historically used as a protective symbol against magic worldwide. In my personal practice, I've reclaimed them and they act as my main "religious" symbol, much in the way a cross or pentacle works, and despite the fact they were once used against witches

Darlington & Sullivan Forest geography is set in fantasy Massachusettes with influence from the entire region of New England and forests in Northern Georgia. Locations & buildings in the story will be based on a variety of locations I've visited and documented in person including: Salem Witch House, Bulloch Hall, Root House of Marietta, Atlanta History Museum Gardens & internal exhibits, and Allen County Historical Society & House Museum (the most important museum in my life and the reason why I am the way that I am today). I'm still picking the cemeteries I want to base on, but will likely be a mix of a cemetery I accidentally ran into outside of Salem and a variety of local Georgia + Ohio cemeteries from my childhood. I am hoping to visit Colonial Williamsburg as well as Historic Westville as further reference for town scenes. Yes I am really that intense that I've traveled states wide just to gather research for my gay dog boy webcomic

I have much more I could give, but I need to be careful with what I share to avoid spoiling all my work.

#widderwood

[athousandotherfaces]

kynesgrove, morthal, and markarth for the skyrim asks!

Thank you for the ask! Heads up, I've thought about some of these things for the better part of a decade so there's rambling. Enjoy the scroll!

Kynesgrove: What's your favorite non-major city/town/settlement?

Rorikstead! I think that it has such an intriguing position and a narrative that isn't explicitly explored; it's just hinted at through ambient elements and some PC/ NPC dialogue. I really love that it feels cozy, but slightly unsettling if you stop and think about it.

There's the lack of almost any grown women among the residents, aside from one elvish woman in town. It's positioned close to two known Forsworn camps/strongholds (Serpent's Bluff Redoubt and Bleakwind Bluff respectively) Which, hey, yes they could've popped up after the town was established. (which is another strange point of interest: Rorik lives in town and says he founded it: but it's also mentioned as having been founded literal ages ago in written records) The residents mention they haven't had a bad harvest in years. Years, despite war, hardly any work force to harvest things and being easily open to raids from bandits, Forsworn, what have you. Jouane, the healer, has several books on daedric worship in his home, and has an ambient dialogue with one of the young girls not to tell anyone about their 'little secret' when she asks if he can teach her magic. These facts taken together make me think there's a deal between the townsfolk of Rorikstead and the Forsworn that entails ladies of a certain age be sacrificed to ensure these unfailing harvests. Given it's location Rorikstead is isolated from a lot of the protections of Whiterun Hold and it's mentioned by some of the NPCs- they're essentially on their own. It's also pretty close to a dragon burial mound and a vampire den. Which I think is also meant to further highlight that the village is basically left to fed for itself (without much scrutiny) because it is so far from Whiterun. Dialogue from guards even mentions that Rorikstead is more susceptible to a dragon attack because of its location, low martial population and lack of defensible space. All this, plus you can find Erik the Slayer, probably my favorite follower here: Visit Rorikstead!

Morthal-Do you enjoy exploring dungeons and ruins? Why or why not?

I do! I've done so many different dragonborn builds that each time I do dungeon diving it feels fun. Now that's not to say I don't find it repetitive after a bit. I've played plenty of hours of Skyrim and Dragon age 2 (a game not gracefully noted for diverse dungeon maps); I really think, and this isn't to let things off the hook, but as a rpg fan you gotta make your own fun after a bit. I will say some ruins are more engaging than others and some feel like they are meant to break you of the impulse to get in and out quickly, while others are more of a see-if-you can-outlast atmosphere (I'm looking at Forelhost, Labyrinthian, and several Dwemer ruins). I'm a huge fan of the set dressing and narrative elements the dungeons and ruins have. I also really enjoy using followers. I have my go to followers but I do try to swap in new faces too, both vanilla and mod added followers.

Markarth-If you could rewrite one questline in Skyrim, which would it be?

Ooh, that's a tough one. Really tough.

I think if I had to pick one I would say it would be more of an additional pathway instead of a complete rewrite. But I thought for the longest time that if a few choices were made throughout the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild questlines that there should be a hybridized questline added for a dragonborn who becomes Listener for the Brotherhood and Guildmaster for the Thieves Guild that deals with Maven Black-Briar & her hold on the DB & Thieves Guild after you get into the top spots.

If I remember correctly you can in both questlines tell or hint to Maven Black-Briar/her loyalists that your cooperation as her pawn as you go up the ranks is wearing thin/will cease once you're in sufficiently with the groups and they're restored to their proper glory. I would really love for there to have been an attempt by Maven (especially if she's made jarl through the civil war questline) to try to have you framed for a major political crime or just outright attempt to have you assassinated by the Morag Tong (or just frame the Morag Tong since they're not friendly to the DB and it could easily lead to inter-assassin guild fighting allowing Maven to attempt to take them down in a bid to extend her reach and consolidate power). Maven just never struck me as someone who tolerated the idea of power being wrested away from her, or just the appearance of losing grip on power like the guilds command. So some upstart dragonborn suggesting they'll be doing just that felt like it should have a pretty strong response from her.

#Skyrim #thanks for the ask! #@naturalbornlosers

[triforceangel13]

A Service to the King Ch. 3 (A SidLink Omegaverse Story)

Chapter 3: Preparations

Link felt as if he was in a daze. He couldn't believe what had just happened not even an hour before hand.

That tension was in the air, Sidon had loomed over him, caging him in the very chair he sat in, gold eyes glazing with intensity.

He had wanted him. He had made it very clear.

Though Link was hoping that when he meant by wanting to do those things with him, it meant that he was the one that Sidon had fallen for.

He was too afraid to ask.

What if there was another and the smell of an omega in his...current state had just set him off and ran his mouth like that?

His fingers ran through his blonde locks. First thing was first though, he needd to change his trousers. He was more than embarassed that he had slicked them so bad that they had grown a tad soggy....and cold against his skin.

No doubt others were gong to smell it as well and that just had been embarassing.

He swallowed as he thought of what had brought it on. Aside from being near the king and thinking of doing things with him, he nearly had done something with him then and there.

Sidon had leaned in, a breath's kiss away from devouring his lips with his own when there had been a knock on the door.

Link had never seen Sidon move that fast away from aside from being in battle with the king like against Ganondorf's phantoms.

Just one kiss had nearly had him acting in a not so champion/hero of hyrule like way.

Sidon had been called away to do something and Link had been pretty sure that his chance had slipped through his fingers.

But the king had paused just at the door and told him a few things.

“Loose clothing, and a container,” he had said. “And plenty of elxirs and lubriants. Meet me at my chambers.”

If that didn't tell him completely of what Sidon needed them for then he wasn't sure what else would have been the option.

Again however, a change of clothes was necessary.

He stepped into the shared inn room, spotting Zelda sitting on her bed reading one of the books she had come across in their journeys.

She had seen history play out right in front of her eyes. She had wanted to read so much about it and compare to what she had seen.

He was sure it wasn't the healthiest thing for her to do given the slightly broken state of her mind, but it kept her calm.

“Link,” she said warmly with a gentle smile. “I was wondering when you were going to come back. I was thinking we could make plans for dinner.”

Link rubbed the back of his neck as he went to his bag and started to dig thorugh the clothes that he had in there. He should go back to the house he had made near Tarrey Town and wash them up and get some new ones soon.

“I actually have another...engagement,” he said.

Zelda smile was gentle. “Is it with the king? I'm glad you two were at least able to reconnect. Perhaps you can find out what ails him? Though honestly I still don't think this is quite a good idea.”

Link shrugged. He didn't want to give her details. She would talk him out of this and he honestly really,really, wanted to help him this way.

When had he become so desperate?

“That's if he decides to open up to me,” Link said, taking a fresh pair of loose clothes to the changing curtain and stepped behind it.

Zelda was quiet a moment as Link pulled off his clothes to change, wincing from how much his underwear stuck to him. He assumed this was from Sidon but also from the fact that Link hadn't done anything even to himself in a long time.

When you were saving Hyrule so much you really didn't have the time to do it anything like this. No wonder his reaction to Sidon was so aggressive.

He shivered a bit and swallowed, noting that Zelda was still quiet.

“You okay?” he asked her. Ever since she had come back to them he always made sure to do an occasional check in with her.

He wanted to always make sure she knew that she wasn't alone. She didn't have anyone for thousands of years, watching things happen and not able to do anything.

The timeline had to remain the same...and being a dragon didn't exactly make communicating with others easy.

“Yes, I'm fine,” she said to him softly, her voice sounding closer to the curtain. He pulled the new clothes on, glad that they were looser and making him feel better than what he had been wearing before. “Are you alright Link?”

“Why do you ask?” Link asked with a frown pulling back the curtain.

“That smell,” she said, her eyes flicking down to the clothes that Link had balled up. She let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know you didn't go swimming with him. What in the world happened...you didn't...did you?”

“No,” Link sighed heavily, leaning his head back. The more people that knew what was going on the more likely someone would have to stop him.

Zelda was looking out for him, he knew that. But it was hard to tell her that he wanted to do this despite what they talked about

In her mind he was willing to risk getting hurt. In a way he was, but with Sidon sort of confessing to him Link figured it would be a good indicator he should do something.

“I've got it bad for him okay?” Link asked with a heavy sigh. “Now can we drop this subject? It's really embarassing.”

Zelda nodded her head, watching as Link gathered a bag with a couple of things, noting the elixrs and the chu jelly that he had packed in there.

“Are you going to do that now?!” She asked in shock. “Link are you serious? What makes you think that this-”

“With all do respect princess, allow me to have one thing to myself?” he snapped at her. Her eyes widened and she stepped back.

“Sorry...” she sad softly to him.

Link's anger melted quickly when he realized he had gotten angry.

“Look..” he sighed. “I'm sorry. I'm just tired of people telling me what I can and cannot do with my life. I know it'll hurt, but right now in a way he wants me...”

Zelda swallowed a bit and nodded her head. “I'm only looking out for you... But I understand. You are the one to make your own descions.”

Link approached the princess and he hugged her gently to him. She hugged onto him, resting her face into his shoulder.

“I know Zelda,” he said to her. “You're like a sister to me and I know you're only looking out for me.” He pulled back from the embrace and smiled at her. “But this is a possible disastor that I have to learn for myself.”

She pat his shoulder lightly.

“I'll always be here for you no matter what,” she said to him. “If things don't go well, you know you'll have at least me.”

Link swallowed a bit at that and he hugged her again.

Now he was nervous.

*

Nerves digging into his very being Link made his way to Sidon's chambers. Sidon had told him that despite being married he and Yona didn't share a bed chamber together. And from being invited in he was pretty sure she wasn't going to be present.

Link held onto his bag strap as he stood there, swallowing a bit as he came up to the door where one of the guards stood stationed.

Goodness was he going to stand there all night and hear what they were going to be doing? He had thought that they were meant to keep as many people from knowing as much as possible.

“Ah sir Link,” the guard said, bowing his head. “Are you perhaps looking for King Sidon? He has retired for the evening. He hadn't said anything about expecting guests.”

Link froze. How did you explain to someone that he was there for a very particular reason.

“Oh, I had...thought he was expecting me?” Link said, gripping the strap of his bag even tigther once more.

“No-”

The door opened to Sidon's room and the red zora popped his head out of the door.

“Ah Link, there you are,” Sidon said and one look at Link's face and the guard he realized what was going on.

“Ah, your highness,” the guard said, bowing his head. “I had not been aware that you were expecting visitors after you retired.”

“Sort of,” Sidon said, thinking quickly on his toes. “I had thought I would give the guards a chance to rest for the night. Link had offered to take over the guard duty.”

The guard seemed to smile and nodded his head.

“Of course your highness,” the guard said and turned to look at Link. “Thank you very much Sir Link. We do appreciate the break.”

Sidon relaxed as Link nodded his head, taking the hint.

“Of course,” Link said.

“You are dismissed,” Sidon said. The guard bowed to the king and then left his post, leaving the two of them alone in the hallway.

Link let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Sidon offered his hand to Link. Link rest his palm in his large hand and allowed him to walk him into the room.

“Thank you for coming. I was starting to think that you weren't going to come by. That I had scared you off,” Sidon mentioned.

“Nothing could scare me off from seeing you,” Link said, feeling his breath hitch as he heard the click of the lock on Sidon's door as it closed.

“Here, allow me to take your bag for you,” Sidon said, taking the bag from Link's hand and set it aside the large four post bed sitting in there.

The sheets were a deep blue with silver embellishments. A bowl of fruit sat on the bedside table as well as a pitcher of water.

“So um...does Yona know what's going on?” Link asked, unsure of how to begin this.

“Not the full details. All she knows is that I am...collecting this and that I will be giving it to her some how,” Sidon explained. “She does not need to know that you are the one helping me.”

Link nodded, swallowing as he turned to watch Sidon approach the chair that sat near the bed, getting himself comfortable.

Link's eyes roamed his body, noting how relaxed he looked not wearing any of his adornments or his crown.

“Now,” Sidon said to him, beckoning Link closer with the crook of his finger, gold eyes blazing with desire. “Come service your king.”

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#tears of the kingdom #sidlink #a service to the king