#gender blind theater

[elliwiny]

TLDR The Musical Chicago Taught Me About The Terrible Societal Pressure to Perform Gender Way Before I Really Understood What That Even Was

So it's Pride Month! And I've been listening to Chicago basically every day because it's exactly the length of my commute right now so I wanted to write about it.

I didn't grow up questioning my gender, and I guess my sexuality was 'I'll worry about that when I'm older' - until I got to my 20's and hit the 'oh shit, I haven't got the feelings I'm supposed to have, is something wrong with me?' phase of my existence.

Bringing it around to Chicago - I mean, look at her! It's Catherine Zeta Jones! Everybody is a little attracted to women, right? They're supposed to be hot! That's just how it is!

Hahahahaha.

But other than my hilariously delayed lesbianism I think Chicago stealthily gave me a primer on the fucked up ways our society enforces gender performance. Because you don't have to be trans to be in a situation where your life depends on giving 'em the ol' razzle dazzle.

The protagonist, Roxy Hart, is an asshole, a murderer, and kind of a ditz. Most of the criminals are right assholes, some are more sympathetic, and one is even 100% innocent! Aside from the innocent Hungarian, the thing the prisoners have in common is that they were boxed in, and were driven to violence after being pushed too far.

Whether 'too far' is justified is immaterial to the point. They became outlaws, and must perform womanhood to win over the court of public opinion and earn their 'not guilty' verdicts. And it's not just the kind of performance where you have to color inside the lines to not come off as weird, it's the kind where you dance and contort for the entertainment of the people who get to decide whether you get to live or die.

In Roxy's case this is kind of awesome. She's always wanted to be a star and with the power of hot-headed cold-blooded murder, she's stumbled ass-backwards into an unexpected avenue of fame and attention. She's determined to do this well, not for her survival (she doesn't appreciate the gravity of the situation, yet) but for a way to launch a career as a singer.

I mean what's Roxy's other choice? Go back to Amos? The guy who affectionately puts her on the same level as a housecat in his song? He's not the one who 'pushed' her, poor guy can't push anybody to do anything, but that's not even an option she entertains. I used to think he was one of the few good people in this movie/show, but it became pretty clear to me that devotion isn't the same thing as love.

Anyway, enter Billy Flynn, famous lawyer and expert ringmaster. In the song where he talks to the press, they do this cool thing where the reporters' initial questions don't follow the melody at first. As Billy crafts Roxy's story they quickly fall into the structure of the music, too. They draw the conclusions he wants them to, too. "Understandable! Comprehensable! Not a bit reprehensible, it's so defensible~"

Roxy's cover story is absurd, by the way, but it ingeniously plays to her type. She's a ditz but she's not naive, she has incredible natural instincts for the game she's playing. (Well, when it counts. She is resistant following the script, which sometimes gets her in trouble)

Roxy's innocent veneer plays contrast to the Hungarian, who becomes the first woman in the county to be hung for murder. She can't speak the language, literally, which locks her out of being able to play the game at all. In the framework of Roxy's imagination, we see the Hungarian's death as another performance... Because it is!

If you cannot perform, a narrative will be assigned to you and we will cheer for your pretty corpse. The metaphor could not be more clear. This is when shit gets real for Roxy, too.

Velma Kelly is also a good performer, who knows the game, but she has a disadvantage to Roxy. Her story just isn't as good. Nobody really believes she didn't do it, she's already so entrenched in the circus of jazz and liquor and sin that sentencing her is the least interesting outcome. I think that's why she gets away with shit like 'oh I blacked out I can't remember a thing' and getting her charges thrown out in exchange for her testifying against Roxy.

After all, she can't do it alone ;) if she didn't suck up her pride and embrace the pivot to playing the heel in Roxy's story, I bet she'd be hanging, too. Or at least, destitute.

They're both discarded by the public as soon as the verdict is passed and there's fresh blood to gawk at. The only way they survive as independent women cast outside the protections offered as stifled housewives is to embrace the world of Jazz, liquor, and sin... and most importantly, the narrative of the rivalry that they perform for those roaring ding-dong-daddies.

And it's not so bad, because that's what they both wanted, anyway.

[arijackz]

PICK A CARD: Your FS' Secret Kinks

❦ “She lowered her lashes until they almost cuddled her cheeks and slowly raised them again, like a theatre curtain. I was to get to know that trick. That was supposed to make me roll over on my back with all four paws in the air." - Raymon Chandler, The Big Sleep

Disclaimer: This is a general reading, take what resonates. This is a gender-neutral reading, change any pronouns to apply to you.

p1 → p2 ↙︎ p3 → p4

✦ Pile One ✦

Poor lil pooh pooh. This person struggles to “fill their cups up” so they get off on denying themselves pleasure. They secretly like the feeling of hitting whatever rock bottom looks like to them. Honestly, they want to be saved. They are wallowing at the bottom of a well, waiting for their savior to swoop in and throw them a rope. 

In a more literal sense, they want a person to be their reason to live. Their reason to feel daylight on their skin again. Everyone and everything around them is unsatisfying and “fake”. They want something real to coax them out of their hell and entice them with all the thrilling things life has to offer. 

However, they also like this dark and brooding side of themselves. They have a bit of a corruption kink.

They fantasize about a virginal angel coming down to save them, but they end up convincing the angel to sink down to their level. 

They like exciting, spontaneous people who are willing to jump up and run out the door to do something fun at any moment, but think innocent fun. Like going to the movies to theater hop, and getting away without paying. Or, running around the Target parking lot in shopping carts and trying not to bang into cars. Maybe even steal a few street signs. 

Innocent childhood fun that you’d see in early 90s movies. But add a sadistic twist to it that only they are aware of. 

You would be the innocent virgin (doesn’t have to be true, it's their fantasy) who is unknowingly leading this beast (also not true, they are just extremely self-deprecating) to your pretty little happy places which they plan to desecrate.

They want to fuck you in your family home and make a mess of your childhood bed, making you scream so loud that you’re family starts to look at you differently. They want to take you to your favorite movie spots where you usually chill and hangout with your friends and turn it into a place where all you can think about is them covering your mouth in the back of the theater while you’re squirming in their lap, trying to escape out of their grip as they edge you to the new Marvel release. 

They have a kink for turning all of your innocent, fun moments into their very own filthy fantasies.

Ps. Fisting came out of the blue so lube up!

Come To Me, My Senseless Angel

✦ Pile Two ✦

I don’t believe this is a future spouse, to be honest. This might be a situationship you need to move past. They seem emotionally immature, or at least this is a side of them that exclusively comes out when they’re aroused. 

They can be quite abrasive and feel like they are constantly under attack so they’re incredibly defensive. They have a history of lashing out at their loved ones when they feel overwhelmed and get so blinded by their emotions that they disregard their affection for their partners and say really unforgettable, harmful words which permanently alters the connection for the worse. 

They carry guilt from these actions and are in a constant state of regret. In this state, their sense of pleasure is a little twisted. They get turned on by causing a genuine issue in the relationship. They like the idea of pushing you to your limit where you’re this 🤏  close to your breaking point and at your absolute lowest. It’s when you reach your rock bottom and realize the need to move away from this person and you scream out, “I DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS.”

They like to grovel. You know that cycle where somebody fucks up and then they’re in the dog house buying flowers and being extra fluffy just to get in the victim’s good graces so they can do the same thing over again. So far, pile one and two’s respective partners like to feel like shit. They secretly like the moment where they completely fuck up a relationship and have to beg on their hands and knees to get their person back orrrrrr they get off on emotionally tearing someone down to the point where they get on their knees to bed for this person’s attention. 

Either way, there's a lot of fucked psychological issues underneath this fantasy that I’m not unpacking here because it differs from person to person. 

In its best light, this person glorifies struggle love. At its worst, this person is purposefully emotionally abusive with the intent to tear their partner down for their own sexual gratification. 

They’re conscious enough to know their actions are toxic but don’t have the emotional maturity to work past their actions. They’re at the phase where they’re just aware and are like “I know I’m shitty but that’s just who I am. If they stick with me and the sex is good, it’s meant to be.”

I’m honestly getting twitter relationship hypotheticals with this one. Iykyk.

They’re also an edgelord. Less in an internet cockroach way and more in a witty- can be funny if done well- way, but they get pleasure from shocking people nonetheless. This energy can be directed toward you to piss you off and annoy you with the intent of getting in your pants later. 

I’ve been guided to switch the conversation briefly: If this resonates and is someone you are dealing with. It is time to move on. This person gets gratification from hurting you and will not get past that high of tearing down a relationship and then having a messy recovery. They have their own issues to work through and cannot see how they are hurting you. There is no future with this person, they came into your life to teach you a lesson about your self-value. That cycle has run its course and it's time to move on.  

To be honest, I’m not a fan of this person and don’t even want to list the explicit kinks that came out but I will just in case this message is for you but you’re not sure.

Random messages: Hot tub/pool sex, hair pulling, break down crying, interracial, milk, broken condom, “i fucking hate you”, “whore”, mirror, drunk sex, complaining, smack a bitch, twitter

P.S. You’re too sexy for the bullshit! There is bigger and greater out there, you just need to believe that for yourself!

This person will not get a mood board out of me.

✦ Pile Three ✦

Okay, so this person has some deep religious guilt. This is a male presenting person. I am being clear with their sex because it plays a role in this reading. They have some majorly repressed feminine energy. They may even be attracted to the same sex. 

This is a fs reading, so they are likely bi, pansexual, or trans. Either way, their family is close-minded and is not supportive of them. They were forced to leave home so they could finally live their truth. They have lived their entire life fitting somebody else’s narrative. They were the hypermasculine bro type to “cover up” their femininity. 

So, they have a kink for hyperfeminity. It’s almost to the point where they obsess over the caricature of girlhood. I see lots of pink, high heels, full-glam, all-day mall shopping, pinup curls, flashy jewelry, sleepovers, day spas, that scene in Scott Pilgrim where that girl is like “SHE’S PROBABLY LIKE 25!”, and everything else that gets associated with “girlhood” nowadays. 

They fantasize about you in your receptive energy, being waited on and cared for hand and foot. They like to observe the way you move. Everything about you and your feminine aura is incredibly alluring to them. The way with each breath your breasts fall, the way your hips swat with each step, the cute way you match your accessories with your outfits. They notice everything about you. 

You know those paintings of wealthy women lying on their sides and being fed grapes? That. They’re not in the serving role, they're the painter. Their kink is capturing you in those everyday moments where the world seems to be waiting on you like you’re the collective’s queen.

They see femininity in a higher light than the general population. They see women as automatically deserving of this type of care, they also want this care. 

They have a secret hard-on for pregnant women and women with swollen breasts. They have a lactation kink. They fantasize about cumming in you over and over again. They see you as a Goddess, so they want to see you masturbate at church on an altar, like you're waiting to be worshipped. 

A lot of their fantasies, they’re not even included in. It’s just you looking God-like and being worshipped by the world around you. This person may hate when you wear clothes. They act like the fabric is committing a sin by covering your body. They just want to capture your essence. Like an admirer and a student.

P.S. Dick game goes CRAZY. They watch a lot of women-focused porn to study what gets a woman off. Like Maddie in Euphoria, here is there to study.

Pretty In Pink

✦ Pile Four ✦

WE GOT A PLEASURE DOM IN THE BUILDING Y’ALL STAY CALM. As my mama would say, they love your dirty drawls!

You could do no wrong in this person’s eyes. They’re the golden retriever type. Head empty, leading with heart and IN LOVE>>>>>

You are the pot of gold and the end of the rainbow they’re chasing. They appreciate a good fling but they’ve never felt this before. The emotions you stir in them are unprecedented, this is puppy, sandbox love that most people lose touch with after life jades them.

This is raw love at its most unprocessed. I taste honey. 

They have a kink for the power you have over them. It’s like you have a carrot on a stick and they’re the pig being led to a love den they can’t escape. And they’ll happily be the squealing pig in every lifetime they get with you. This is a soul yearning. 

You will know this person because they will proactively pursue you and they will have no doubts in their mind about it. They are really attracted to your physical form, your curves. Even if you’re on the slimmer side, they like your structure and the dips in your spine. They’ll stare at you when you’re talking and zone out, thinking about how attractive they find you. 

They’re not used to having to try to get someone to sleep with them. They have to put effort towards you and they like that. This person is downright thirsty and craves intimacy with you.

Their fantasies aren’t even dirty, they’re passionate. They want to put you in a mating press, with your knees pressed all the way up beside your ears. They want to penetrate (could be with a toy) deeply and touch that gooey part of you that makes you see stars. 

They want to see an imprint of them in your lower belly. Any position where you’re in their arms is a go for them because they like having you. They want every moment to be just you and them away from the world. So very sweet and intimate. They also love marking you, expect lots of hickeys.

Ignore them from time to time too (healthily, these conditions should be discussed beforehand)! They see you as the ultimate prize, so if you delay their satisfaction, they’ll feel like they’re chasing again, which gets them off. They like to feel like they’re convincing you to sleep with them. You both are consenting, but they like the idea of you having better things to do and they’re trying to convince you to stay and party with them. 

They are very action-oriented and love movement. Anything that involves an adventure together, they are down for. 

PS. Surprise them with a bubble bath together, they’ll love that. And tease them while pulling their hair a bit!

Ode To My Darling Sun

[irisbleufic]

REVIEW

Gatsby: An American Myth (Welch, Chavkin, Bartlett, Majok, & Tayeh; American Repertory Theater)

Something that most adaptations of Gatsby get wrong, whether film or stage, is the treatment of characters as archetypes rather than individuals. Symbolism drowns out most genuine attempts at capturing emotional connections and conflicts of personality. They forget that this story is not only a failure of the so-called American Dream; first and foremost, it’s a tragedy of failed roles and relationships. Almost every one of the players is attempting to be someone they are not, and even as they reach for what they believe they should want, they reveal with increasing fervor what they actually want. This is the heart of what makes Welch’s new adaptation so devastatingly, disarmingly unique, so true to its source.

The set design is literal wreckage. Crushed and warped automobile chassis scaffold the moving staircases, and concealed trap doors. The backdrop shows no clear incorporation of the infamous Eckleburg billboard; rather, it is made up of a dotted grid resembling headlights. These play out effects ranging from a downpour to camera flashes to, briefly and only once, a pair of eyes that make no effort to hide behind the owlish frames of glasses. The only thing infusing this jagged framework with meaning is the people who move through it.

The lighting design works with the set’s incongruences, deepening or excavating shadows as needed. The brightness, when it flares, is blinding. Jewel tones either enhance or diminish a costuming scheme that is composed of either very pale or very dark shades, no in between. And whether it’s the post-apocalyptic black and gray cabaret garb of the ensemble or the wealthy protagonists’ pale suits or the gunmetal and gray denizens of the wasteland, everyone’s trouser and skirt hems are conspicuously rimed with reddish dust. The visual effects are nearly impossible to describe without sounding like I had some kind of desperate fever dream.

So far, I realize that these descriptions of the set and lighting design sound like this production is about to fall into the trap of overplaying symbolism, but please bear with me. With all of that established, I can focus on what’s truly extraordinary here, what’s meant to and does shine unhindered. The acting, musicianship and vocals are all so precise that it was hard for me to believe this show is still in previews. It feels Broadway ready, West End ready, major international tours ready. If I was the production crew, I’d turn this loose on a massive scale from the get-go without a second thought.

Much like with Hadestown, the musicians are not down in an orchestra pit. They’re characters in their own right, present on the stage from start to finish on tiered risers that run up from the center on each side from one of the catwalks. I’m sure Chavkin’s involvement as director has everything to do with why this show feels so much like, moves so much like Hadestown. The company is on an equally small scale, about 23 - 25 people including the principals.

Costuming among the ensemble is delightfully gender agnostic. I mention a cabaret aesthetic earlier in this review, and I’m not kidding. If you had shown me the ensemble costume designs without showing me the principals’ designs, I would have assumed I was looking at a Cabaret revival. They’re the most talented dancers I’ve seen occupy one stage in more than a decade. The choreography relies on movements in eerie unison for a significant portion of the show, but not without allowance for individual flair within those constraints. The guy sitting next to me, when I spoke to him at the intermission, said he works as a choreographer in regional theater, and he’d never seen anything like this. I couldn’t agree more; the dancing is singular, and as impressive as the musicianship is, the dancing and unusual body movement are maybe the greatest achievements of this show on the living, breathing end of things. I could have watched the dancers for those three hours without any dialogue or vocal intervention and still understood the story. That takes so much fucking doing.

As for the principal cast, they’re constantly among the ensemble; when I say these are all triple threats in the purest sense of that terminology, I really mean it. You always expect a few of the principals to be less dance and movement focused, more polished on the acting and singing side, but this show gives you terrifying proficiency from every angle. Even the guy playing Meyer Wolfsheim is at the center of what I think is the most memorable dance number in the piece. I’ve just never seen such versatile principals all in one production. What’s even more extraordinary is that I had never heard of or previously seen any of them, and that takes some doing given how much live theater I’ve consumed in several decades of life.

Ironically, the musical composition is the one aspect of this production on which I’ll be spending the least time. I need not tell you why Welch and Bartlett were perfect for this job. They understood the assignment, and then some. There’s not a single weak number among the track listings, and I desperately hope they release a recording soon. The standout numbers all have something in common: they showcase Soleia Pfeiffer as Myrtle Wilson. You can tell that’s the role where Welch sank most of the sound that’s considered her signature style. I don’t even need to describe it; you already know what I’m talking about. What’s impressive otherwise is the restraint, the lack of over-reliance on that signature style.

The principals are fucking perfect. I’ve kept this review tautly professional without meaning to thus far, but from here on out is where I start bleeding feels all over the post. If you don’t already know who my blorbos are due to my writing history with a Gatsby-related novel (The Pursued and the Pursuing, 2021), you’re going to know by the time you’re done reading this. You’re going to know exactly who I love and why, who I hate and why, who I ship and why. But you’ll also know that I approach all three of those elements from a place of enjoying every moment of those characters, even the ones I hate. Nobody’s performance put me off or struck the wrong tone when taken in context of the novel and how the tragedy of how their relationships play out.

For a long time, I’ve been saying that there are certain support roles, certain sidekicks, that make or break the higher-profile person to whose side they’re stuck, ride or die, until the bitter end. Horatio is a great example that I’ve ranted about before; if your Hamlet production has a lackluster Horatio, then it doesn’t matter how good the Hamlet is. You have nothing if you don’t have the binary star system at the heart of that harrowing universe. I’ve seen other adaptations of Gatsby consistently fall apart because Nick Carraway is treated like the kind of voyeur who doesn’t matter, the kind of voyeur who serves as the audience’s eyes and ears, and nothing else. Anyway, this is all to say: Ben Levi Ross as Nick might be the most compelling argument I can make for the fact that the creative team behind this show understood the assignment. He’s awkward, warm, sincere, and reactive in all of the ways you need Nick to be. He’s not a passive observer; he’s in the middle of everything, and he knows it. There’s a self-deprecating response he makes when one character, Jordan if I’m not mistaken, quips that maybe he’s the reason for Gatsby’s parties for all he knows. “Maybe I am,” he says, and the tongue-in-cheekness belies a gutting meta-sincerity. We believe Daisy is the point, Gatsby believes Daisy is the point, but what’s borne out every breathtaking moment of this production is that Nick is the point. He always was. He’s also given his due as a gay man in context of the story for the first time ever. I might make some folks mad when I say Nick has always been gay; I’m going to point you to Myrtle’s apartment party and the hookup with Mr. McKee as textual evidence in the novel. The kiss with McKee, the hookup with McKee, is unapologetically here. His lack of belonging everywhere else he’s ever been, because he is gay, is unapologetically here. One of the most memorable numbers in the show hinges on the hope feels at being able to be himself in New York. Queer fans of Gatsby have been waiting a long time for this. Anyone who’s read the text closely and understood him has been waiting a long time for this. I’ve been waiting several decades as a reader, and I would’ve waited forever to have Nick so fully, lovingly realized.

One of the other things that Gatsby adaptations have persistently gotten wrong is the titular character himself. The invention of Jay Gatsby hides the underlying James Gatz, makes it feel as if that old self is truly subsumed, as if it never mattered. But Isaac Powell gives us a Jay who’s exactly as he should be, who can’t hide beneath his own attempt at artifice and reinvention worth a goddamn. He’s young (as young as Nick; they’re 32 and 30 respectively both in the novel and here), painfully earnest, and just barely keeping a handle on the criminal shit he’s had to do in order to get where he is. When he says old sport to Nick, it’s not an affectation; when he says it to Tom, it becomes a biting insult. This is a Jay who knows where and why he’s vulnerable; he latches onto Nick like a not because he sees a man close to Daisy that he can exploit, but because he sees another young man who’s equally vulnerable, equally an outsider, equally haunted by the things they had to do in the war. From the moment they meet, they are almost always touching—a hand on the shoulder, on the back, getting in social harm’s way for each other, eyes seeking each other without cease in the most crowded of settings. When Jay takes Nick to lunch to meet Wolfsheim (who has in this production taken on the function of Dan Cody as well), it’s not to have somebody else vouch for the artifice of who Jay Gatsby is. It’s taking Nick to meet his fucking father-figure, and all of the messy, sincere “if you hurt my boy, I’ll kill you” sentiment that Wolfsheim aims at Nick was the moment I knew just how much the Nick’s loss by the end was going to hurt. Jay’s love for Daisy is a ghost of itself, even if as painfully earnest as everything else about him. Meanwhile, his attachment to Nick is so disarmingly genuine from the start that you understand the true tragedy you’re about to watch untold: these men who need each other, maybe even were made for each other, each prove unable to step outside their parallel distractions from what they truly are to each other. Jay’s interactions with Daisy and Nick’s interactions with several male and/or gender ambiguous members of the ensemble have something in common, which is a shocking level of physicality. This show had an intimacy coordinator; that’s the level of no holds barred we’re talking about. When you look at Tom and Myrtle, you can see why that was merited, too.

Speaking of Tom (Cory Jeacoma), the treatment of him here is every bit as scary as it should be. There’s no attempt to make him palatable, unlike what I’ve seen done with him in other adaptations. He towers over everyone else in the cast, I mean everyone, to a physical degree that’s uncomfortable. The way his wife, lover, and friends all flinch when he gets too close to them speaks volumes to the fact that he’s an abuser in every sense of the term. Even Nick, the prodigal college friend from Yale, is on eggshells around him (which, by the hotel blowup at the end of the show, becomes a sneering, reckless contempt, one of the driving forces that drives Nick to put himself between Jay and Tom whenever real harm is on the table). At the same time, this is a Tom who sincerely loves his wife and was only ever using Myrtle as a fling. You can tell he never meant any of the promises he made Myrtle. When Daisy tells him she didn’t stop the car on purpose, it’s as if his wife’s unapologetic act of manslaughter (“It was her or me!”) is the thing that wins him back. They aren’t careless people; they are people who consciously choose, day in and day out, to use others until they’re bored or done with them. The ruthlessness of Tom and Daisy as a couple is impressive, played up to a level that I feel more adaptations should do without fear of exaggerating the text.

As mentioned above, Daisy (Charlotte MacInnes) is no delicate, nervous creature who can’t help her actions under duress. She knows what she’s doing every bit as much as Tom knows what he’s doing. They use people, hurt people because they get bored and restless and enjoy it. I respect a Daisy who’s in control of her actions every step of the way even if I don’t like her; it’s better than trying to depict her as weak and at the mercy of the men around her. She’s a pragmatist and a survivor. So many of her songs are about choices and being conscious of those choices. She is a person you should fear every bit as much as you fear her husband, and even Jordan knows she’s not safe in Daisy’s orbit.

As Jordan, Eleri Ward is one of the neatest personalities on stage. Like Tom, she’s noticeably taller than most, which gives her a commanding physical presence. She has no romantic interest in anyone; I fucking love that this production show her and Nick bonding on the basis of being queer and tired of everyone else’s shit. This is a more likable, relatable Jordan than I’ve seen in the past. This is a Jordan whose relationship to Gatsby is much more familiar and warm, much more akin to the friendship she forms with Nick. In fact, the queer-and-tired vibes that roll off several of the principals in this production are palpable.

Myrtle and Wilson (Matthew Amira) aren’t always played as effective foils for Daisy and Tom, but here? They unquestionably are. They do actually love each other in spite of the things they’ve done to hurt each other, and it’s a constant dance of daring each other, challenging each other. The most memorable duet in the entire show is between them, during Act II. The confrontation is positively electric. These are two people with deep, complicated history. Of all the couples in the show, they feel the most real, the most alive. It makes the loss of Myrtle so much more wrenching; she’s not just a plot device emblematic of the bad choices they’ve all been making. She’s not shallow or frivolous or anything like that. She’s a shrewd woman with complex motivations, and for the first time ever I find myself loving her and caring what happens to her. She’s thrust even further into the action in that one of her part time gigs is working as a maid at Gatsby’s parties, a conceit that works shockingly well and hastens the devastating consequences of her affair with Tom.

I’ve made mention of Meyer Wolfsheim’s (Adam Grupper) uniquely enhanced role previously, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on him again. This is a man who does, in fact, seem to give a shit about Jay above and beyond using him as a tool in his criminal empire. It’s not necessarily a healthy father-son dynamic, but Wolfsheim is usually played as ruthless, opportunistic, inhumanly calculating. Here, he’s a charming, but unquestionably dangerous man moved by a young soldier’s plight. He seems conflicted between his love for Jay and his need to have Jay continue to hold the party line within their business relationship. Wolfsheim is deeply conflicted about Jay in a way that I haven’t seen any Wolfsheim be played previously. And, as I mentioned earlier, the actor has a showstopper of a song and dance number. That may be the #1 “I wasn’t expecting that, but I’ll take it!” moment for me in this show. And I say “may be” only because the moment that truly stopped my heart, will stay with me until everything else fades from memory, is perhaps only understandable in the context of my engagement with the text of Gatsby as a writer of transformative works.

Daisy’s and Tom’s daughter, Pam Buchanan doesn’t always appear in adaptations because she’s a toddler. Even in the novel, she a throwaway mention plus a single scene near the end where the nanny brings her out to meet Jay and Nick. She’s most often left as a throwaway mention without even grave of the scene where she appears. The scene in the novel, however brief, is memorable—and has been captured in all its fragile beauty for the first time in this adaptation. Jay and Nick both pay bewildered, wondering attention to this kid when she’s brought out. Jay drops to his knees and takes her hand when she greets him while Nick looks on in a moment of singular focus on both of them. The child who plays Pam here has a spark, an expressiveness that made me choke up even though she’s only on stage for a few minutes, if that. The tableau is one in which you can feel the shock of reality, however brief, touch on these men—Daisy’s and Tom’s reckless actions may yet do harm to someone who’s barely even begun to live her life, but who is just conscious enough to be a participant in it. They recognize that they, like this child, are probably in for a word of ruin—and that they have let it go on for so long that there’s now nothing they can do about it. For me, the deepest tragedy was watching Nick and Jay throw off that moment of heartbroken, horrified recognition prompted by Pam and return to the parts they’d decided to play out until the moment one of their hearts stopped.

Speaking of grief, of Nick’s grief since he’s the one who loses so much: there is only one person who loses more, and that’s Mr. Gatz, Jay’s father. They preserve his arrival at the house when Nick is the only person who stays around to carry out Jay’s funeral and burial. And when he arrives, the visceral shock of seeing his dark skin, braids, and beaded elements of Native regalia in juxtaposition with his otherwise period-typical Western garb underscore the tragedy of what young Jay was running away from, of what he never quite succeeded in erasing from himself. The burial scene shows Nick reverently bringing several of Jay’s folded shirts from the house and handing them down into the grave to Mr. Gatz, who places them reverently as possessions to accompany his son into thereafter. The cultural ramifications are all at once understated and devastating. Nick has moments with each of Jay’s father figures that are among the most complex and moving in the show. The program does not make clear the name of the ensemble member who takes on this most memorable of all Mr. Gatz appearances, and this erasure in and of itself is both unfortunate and telling. This is a world that never belonged to the majority of those who inhabit it, and Nick realizes it with heartbroken clarity after having this final interaction. Even though he’s an outsider, he’s part of a world that has erased and betrayed the man he loved so much at every turn.

The closing number, “We Beat On,” felt like it needed something more, but it utilized the final line of the novel to a deeply moving effect. The lights go down suddenly as the last word is sung; it feels like the song is half finished. When the lights came up, Nick and Jay were center stage in each other’s embrace, just withdrawing from each other as the entire company transitioned into final bows. That’s how I’ll remember them, always: touching even when they’ve already lost each other, borne ceaselessly back into each other’s arms. If Nick is Orpheus, then I have no doubt that he, too, will tell this story again and again until someday, somewhere, something gives.

[autisticsupervillain]

Autistic Avatars not realizing that they're Avatars because they're just "like that": a thread

The Eye

Special Interest in the supernatural = constant food for The Watcher

You know about Interest? TELL ME EVERYTHING

"Hey man listen to me infodump about this horrifying ghost story I read for twenty minutes, alright?"

I need to Know everything about something before I partake in it.

"How did I Know that? Eh, I probably hyperfixated on it at some point."

I cannot be misunderstood so I'll beam the facts into your brain.

The Web

I must plan everything 200 steps in advance before doing anything.

I have prepared for all possible outcomes, I can now have this one conversation.

If I set up all these variables long in advance, then I can do everything correctly and Win the social interaction.

I cannot do anything before The Plan says to.

"I practice my social skills by talking to my spider friends." -Martin "Autism" Blackwood

The Stranger

I cannot socialize without being Uncanny.

If my socialization seems like an act, that's because it is. I practice it in the mirror every day.

Theater Kid

How do you Normal Human?

The Anatomy Class.

Assuming fellow Stranger Avatars also just have the 'Tism. They're not trying to be creepy, honest.

Can't do faces. Doesn't notice when you get replaced.

Being subtly off is too subtle for me.

The Lonely

"I have failed the social interaction. Let the fog reclaim me."

Talking to people is draining my batteries even faster than ever. I need to be alone for approximately 384,400,000 years.

Nothing can overstimulate me in the cool, blinding fog.

Nothing unpredictable can happen in the fog.

The fog is your friend.

The known connection between autism and depression feeds the fog.

The Dark

Why is the sun so god damn bright? I'm going to blow it up I swear.

Night Owl.

Everything's decently quite at night and people leave you alone.

Same overstimulation preventatives as the Lonely tbh. Dark and fog are good concealers.

The dawn is your enemy.

The dread florescent lights shall never bother me again. They break upon my arrival.

Can and will infodump to the monster under my bed. Even now it feels like it listens.

The Spiral

Autism makes getting other mental illnesses recognized hard.

Autism dissociation from body and mind. When did it become 3 AM and why do I hurt? Why am I grumpy? What vital self care task did I forget?

Literal mind doesn't often match reality. Reality is specifically unspecific.

Spaced out and wandered off. Where the fuck am I?

I'm not a mental baby, please stop treating me like it.

I'm not inherently dangerous, please stop treating me like it.

Memory problems my beloathed. Did that happen? I dunno.

What Is Time?

What Is Me?

The Gender

Why do things only make sense to me? What does no one else make sense?

The Flesh

Autism Genderfuckery = Flesh fueled dysphoria.

Meat is the only texture that's palatable. Especially the Mystery Meat.

Will never try any other foods. Too picky.

Infodumps about the horrors of meat processing at dinner and ruins the meal for everyone. More steak for me.

Hates PETA.

Double the arms means double the stim. You weren't using them, right?

Working out is a great stim.

The Corruption

Practices social interaction with the bugs who live in my walls.

"Insects are disgusting. I love them!"

Will protect endangered insects by any means necessary.

According to all known laws of aviation-

Relationship boundaries struggles.

Difficulty noticing sickness symptoms.

Is that nausea or am I overstimulated? *Accidentally causes supernatural plague outbreak*

Difficulty getting diseases diagnosed because of both Autism and noticing too many symptoms so the doctors assume they're faking.

Forgot vital hygiene needs.

The Bugs Are My Friends! They keep me company when I'm sick!

The Buried

Weighted blankets are insufficient, I need the Earth to reclaim me.

Avoid social interaction by tunneling everywhere like a mole.

101 facts about worms.

Forgor hygiene again. Time to become dirt.

Digging a hole is good stimming.

That guy who had to be buried alive to sleep properly. What do you mean you don't want to be buried?

The End

Aradia Megido from Homestuck.Com

That's it, that's the list.

The Desolation

The Autism Temper.

Losing relationships and friendships to ableism and your own disability constantly.

The Fire is a wonderful stim board. Watch it crinkle.

Just watching candles melt for hours.

The fire and thrill gives my life passion again.

Jude Perry.png

The Vast

Accidentally terrifying people by infodumping about the horrors of nature.

The stimulus of falling.

Nature/Space/Weather Documentary on in background always.

Okay, but from how high did you fall? I want to calculate your velocity as you fell through the void.

Weirdly enough... power scaling?

Power scaling is just the art of determining how easily your favorite characters can destroy mankind so... yeah, I can see it.

Brain empty, only terminal velocity.

The Hunt

Cat Autism

The inherent hyperfocus of the hunt. The chase. Your prey.

Studying the habits of your latest hyperfixation/Hunt assigned prey for days at a time.

I've spent so much time hunting in the woods that I forgot about human society. The Missing Person's Bureau have written you off for dead.

Returning to society to sell your wears and realizing you aren't human anymore.

That's okay. Social interaction is random. The Hunt makes sense.

It's black and white. Predator and prey. Humans hunting monsters. It Makes Sense.

The Slaughter

The incredible human WW1 documentary.

"Did you know?" *Describes horrible historic warcrime*

Takes apart puts back together guns from their collection.

The list of known casualties from this war is incomplete. With my help, they can expand it. :)

The Extinction

The world is spiraling towards its end and only you seem to care.

It hurts to be this passionate about a lost cause.

You Will Make Them Care.

[dynared]

So to sum up the films that hit the theaters and streaming this weekend -

Barbie - Gender-based superiority of any sort is inherently a bad thing, regardless of what side you're on.

Oppenheimer - The road to hell is paved with good intentions and our pursuit of power and glory often blinds us to the terrible consequences such a pursuit will unearth.

Shin Masked Rider - Human happiness cannot be boiled down to an algorithm or an equation, and the suffering of people with the vague promise of human happiness later is not a deal we should take.

They Cloned Tyrone - Systemic injustice is just that, a system, and only by attacking those systems can we can be free from systemic injustice.

Isn't it nice to see that films, even if they aren't perfect, especially in an era of overbudgeted franchise sequels and remakes designed to piss people off to get others to theaters, actually want to say things? This could easily be my overestimating movies, but in a year with stuff like Quantumania, The Flash, and Dial of Destiny, these four feel like well-deserved breaths of fresh air.

[omgauplease]

Feeling down? The fantastic works from our Day 5 creators are just what the doctor ordered!

What You Will - Rated T - 8,251 words

Featuring: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann

Summary: TWELFTH NIGHT OR, WHAT YOU WILL SAMWELL UNIVERSITY Director: Jack Zimmermann Stage Manager: Denice Ford

Audition Information

Date: Thursday, August 31, 2014 Time: 2pm - 6pm Where: Room 217 of Theater Building

Please bring a headshot and resume, as well as any known conflicts with weekdays 6pm - 10pm and Saturdays 12pm - 6pm from Monday, September 4, 2014 - Sunday, October 6, 2014.

Prepare two contrasting monologues, one of which must be comedic.

The casting for Viola/Cesario is gender-blind.

Callbacks will be posted no later than Friday, September 1, 2014 on the callboard.

.💊💊💊.

Won't Eat Crow (But It Might Eat You) - Rated T - 6,792 words

Featuring: William "Dex" Poindexter, Denice "Foxtrot" Ford, Tony "Tango" Tangredi

Summary: There was a woman covered in blood standing at the front of the room.

The sight of her was intense. It was grotesque. It was dramatic.

It was distracting Dex from his biology quiz.

For the Prompt: Where Dex is being pursued by an Irish deity very interested in working with him - either Brigid or the Morrigan off the top of my head, but I'm sure there may be others that are a good fit.

.💊💊💊.

nobody knows the trouble i've seen (glory, hallelujah) - Rated G - 5,468 words

Featuring: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, Kent "Parse" Parson/Jack Zimmermann, Eric "Bitty" Bittle & Jack Zimmermann

Summary: Where the red string of fate is something more like a noose, somehow they still find each other.

{A Southern Gothic AU where Jack died back in 2009 and Bitty can see ghosts - under narrow circumstances.}

.💊💊💊.

the whole world is all yours tonight - Rated T - 2,928 words

Featuring: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter

Summary: Will would not describe the vibe backstage as chill, despite Derek’s numerous claims to the contrary.

Or, The Frogs are a boy band and it's opening night of their first national tour.

.💊💊💊.

[Podfic] Special Delivery - Rated T

Featuring: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann

Summary: Mailman Jack Zimmermann is used to attention from the little kids on his postal route. Being asked to attend a Mailman Jack-themed birthday party, well, that's a first.

Inspired by this Shitty Check, Please AU prompt: "jack is bitty’s mailman and bitty’s 6 yr old is in love with jack and always wants to greet him when he delivers the mail. recently divorced bitty has to pry his daughter away most days, even tho he himself feels the same."

Podfic of Special Delivery by RabbitRunnah.

.💊💊💊.

A reminder to all creators whose works are revealed today to please update your publication date to today so that your works are shown at the top of the feed on AO3.

Please also remember to show love through kudos and comments to our creators when you enjoy their work! ❤️

[nikkiiiscute]

Sally Starlet Character Analysis !TW!

Guess who's back baby gurllll. For some reason why tf is everyone keeps theorizing the "Sally is fucking s4t4n" theory but i don't buy it. Alright lets get on the analysis already.

Home's Blind Spot - So I theorized in Julie's analysis that eddie/frank's house and sally's theater are home's blind spots so ofc the three of them survived.

Theatre manager / actress - So as you all might already know, Everyone (Except Julie) has a job like How eddie's a postman, Frank as an Entomologist and Sally being a manager / actress. Her being a Theatre kid isn't just a hobby non non, She is a bonafied actress, i mean we already knew this so, I think this might be Julie's favorite place to go to see Sally go (and also see her probable girlfriend).

ASIDE ALERT!!! - Okay, Did y'all notice this? but why is the neighborhood "gender" segregated? Ummmmm, Atleast the non - binary umbrellas are right next to eachother.

Unwanted Relationship???? - So y'know how Sally is so sassy to Eddie? i think it's bcuz just like frank and julie, they were shipped together and long story short the ship sank. Alright here's my headcanon, Sally hearing about this was disgusted, Cuz she's already dating julie and Eddie's already married, So why the fuck would the crew ship them together when both of them are already taken?

Ofc she's still kicking - So y'all know from The Happy Haunting Boobs and i don't remember the damn name that she's still alive, also she's that powerful? i mean no shit, she's a celestial being.

Ethnicity Analysis Time!!!! - I think Sally's Korean / Asian American, I'm a Social Studies student so let's dive in mythology shall we? I made a connection between Sally and The sun god Haemosu, Believed to descend from the heavens in a majestic chariot, Haemosu listens to the concerns of the people before ascending at sunset. i like to believe that one day after sally completed her dream (spreading her stardom to earth), she would ascend back to space.

Possible bipolar / D.I.D.??? - Pantheons outta the way let's go to mental health, wooo! Sally might have some sort of personality disorder as she has a hypothesized Alt (aka Moon version of her). Cuz her design is similar to a kids potrayal of the sun, so if she's the sun then where tf is the moon??? Plus, Her Door, The town clock and her outta place blue eyelids suggest that there is a moon alt somewhere inside her, I'm excited to see Moon sally, What's their name tho? Mimi?

Sally's story - 별 처럼 (Byeol / Sally Cheoleom) was born in 1944, Even as a toddler she grew a love for Things dramatic and theatrical. She made friends with her amazing acting and became besties / childhood sweethearts with Julia Alegré / Julie. She excelled in Theatrical Arts but a bit of a rebel and she dated Julie. She got a job from a theater and rose the ranks immediately and all of a sudden she now owns her own theater and in october 11 1969 she, julie and friends you know got isekai'd in Welcome home and then gets murdered four years later

Sorry if this is rushed, i'm just damn tired

THANKS ALOT MATH QUIZ D:<

[madmonksandmaenads]

It's been nice to see all the supportive messages. It's heartening to see people come to the defense of trans women and our contributions to this community. Community and art have been what I've really come to value over the last few years of struggle. I'd like to remind everyone to take this positive attitude you're cultivating and show some support to trans artists. I recommend looking into local art scenes, the support on the internet is vital for many artists, but going in person to see art(at a gallery, art fair, live performance, indie film festival, theater, etc) has such a direct and immediate impact on artists. This is even more important for trans artists, being an artist in public means putting yourself out there with all the risk involved. Show them that it's worth the risk.

(And if you're a producer, consider what you can do to make your production more trans inclusive, for theatre a gender blind audition process can be a lot more welcoming)

[sydneyofalltrades]

okay bc @toooliix can’t let me have peace, y’all get the complete comprehensive dream roles list

(yes this was an old draft FUCK OFF)

trust me this is very long so if you don’t wanna see it just skip it 😭

1. jane doe/penny lamb from ride the cyclone

reasons why i want to play this character:

she’s ghostly and silly and deep

her song is fucking AMAZING

i wanna be a scary baby girliepop doll head

could i play her?: i can sing tbojd effortlessly and i’m a pretty decent actor. i may be poc but what’s that to a doll’s head

what’s stopping me?: i’m a teenager with absolutely no community theater doing this show

2. ricky potts from ride the cyclone

reasons why i want to play this character:

HE IS LITERALLY GENDER?? LOOK AT HIM

singing space age bachelor man every night would definitely heal some gender dysphoria i have

he’s a scrunkly goober who wears a super sparkly costume

i am genuinely an irl ricky (without the disability)

could i play him?: i can sing space age bachelor man and i’m masculine enough?

what’s stopping me?: afab and not physically disabled (i’m neurodivergent but no physical disability and i would never want to mischaracterize him)

3. noel gruber from ride the cyclone:

reasons why i want to play this character:

he is. my favorite.

he and i are lost souls

gender?? like hello??

could i play him?: i can sing his song and act his part. but i have very little confidence in my gender fluidity

what’s stopping me?: lack of confidence. and also afab

4. veronica sawyer from heathers the musical:

reasons why i want to play this character:

my dream role since i first got into musicals

she makes me feel confident in my own horrible love life and bad decisions

she’s a badass. point blank

could i play her?: DEFINITELY! gimme a day to learn the script and two hours for choreo and i will be ronnie sawyer

what’s stopping me?: lack of practice, money, and genuine resources

5. jason dean from heathers the musical

OKAY HEAR ME OUT

reasons why i want to play this character:

gay gay homosexual gay

genderbent jd means toxic yuri which is always appreciated

a sapphic meant to be yours would genuinely break me so why not be the one to do it?

could i play him?: even with being genderbent, i think i could give it a shot! his insane spiral might be challenging to play out but i love challenges!

what’s stopping me?: afab, lack of genderblind productions, broke as a bitch

6. whizzer brown from falsettos (specifically the 2016 revival)

reasons why i want to play this character:

HIS CONFIDENCE?? makes me skyrocket honestly

andrew rannells. that’s it

honestly would be interested in taking a gender blind take on him

could i play him?: with a binder, proper choreo, and a decent haircut sure! i surprisingly fit in the range and he’s been a dream role forever! i would do the show in the original script because his story is best told the way he is

what’s stopping me?: afab. also not jewish and couldn’t think of mischaracterizing

7. super swing from six the musical

reasons why i want to play this character:

any role in six has been a dream since i was 13! so why not dream bigger and want to cover ALL SIX!

since every queen is so diverse, i wanna have the chance to express myself in them all because honestly that would be phenomenal

in case i must reassure you, i actually can sing. and six the musical is my favorite to sing on occasion so i’m prepared

could i play this role?: in a couple years with a little experience under my belt maybe! super swings are becoming less and less of a need in theater so i’m not sure but one can hope

what’s stopping me?: too young, no super swings in the US

8. christine canigula from be more chill

reasons why i want to play this character:

christine is just like me! a neurodivergent theater lover!

she’s a ball of energy and a ray of sunshine, who wouldn’t want to play her?

i actually see myself in christine, and she’s an independent and kind and funny character i’d like to reshape

could i play her?: um? YES! no script needed, i can just jump right into it without delay, it would be fun and i have her memorized to a t

what’s stopping me?: no experience or opportunities

9. the s.q.u.i.p. from be more chill

another hear me out, y’all

reasons why i want to play this character:

gender. that’s it. it’s so gender

the pitiful children has been my favorite song from bmc the moment i first listened to it, if i could perform it once, it would be a dream

i’m an oldest sibling, i can boss people around without remorse

could i play it?: ALSO YES? lemme learn the five sentences of japanese and i will jump right in without fail. i actually have several of my own thoughts about performing as the s.q.u.i.p.

what’s stopping me?: afab (it looks like keanu reeves and i.. don’t), no experience, probably would be too excited

10. eurydice from hadestown

reasons why i want to play this character:

she’s my comfort character and her songs are so solemn and beautiful

always a pleasure being a leading lady, and having a mainly poc take on a character is always amazing

eurydice is such a complex character and i’d love to portray that

could i play her?: i’m really confident in my abilities! i sang a cover of flowers you can check out here, and it’s always fun getting to sing her lines in my room.

what’s stopping me?: well. money. and lack of experience

and that’s pretty much all of them! so there you have it!

[canon-vi]

Prepare for mistakes, I finished this at 4 am and am going to bed

ROZKA, I MADE A GUY, THIS IS AN EXCUSE TO GET FUCKING DRINKED, YUHUUU!! 🎉🎉🍾🍾

I overcame myself and now I won’t create guys for another 100 years

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

Name: Selena

Gender: girl

Age: 9

Height: 150

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

• is the youngest

• she covers Elius and pulls her brother out of each ass

• is mentally older

• even though she is smarter, she also causes trouble with her older brother

• kicks Elius

• she likes her brother's eyes better

• hates it when her brother calls her an angel with visible affectation

• wants to become a knight

• name meaning: Moon

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

Name: Elius

Gender: boy

Age: 9

Height: 151

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

• older twin

• always finds adventures for the ass

• initiator of the destruction of the castle from the inside

• while Selena likes Elius's eyes, he likes Selena's

• just like his sister, he wants to become a knight

• praises his little sister as an angel... a dark angel—

• he will soon have prints of Selena's soles as a brand

• name meaning: Sun

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

Relationship between Selena and Elius:

They get along well, although they fight, but the fights don't go too far, these two are the ones who like to dress almost the same, give them the opportunity and they will do everything possible to look the same

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

Selena's attitude towards others:

Adults:

Dream:

I love dad, he always knows what I want! How he does it?

Cross:

My father is very sweet in life and very strict in training, while training with him I already doubt whether I want to be a knight

Hope:

Miss Hope is the best! Spending time with them is a great pleasure! We go to the forest, to theaters, to circuses, they takes us everywhere!

Ink:

Brother Pallete's mom? I heard she’s beautiful, maybe my brother will introduce us to her someday?

Error:

All I know about him is that he is Pallete's mom's husband

Nightmare:

Just hearing his name gives me goosebumps, he’s so scary! He also killed his sons! I can't let Elius meet him!

Killer:

King Alphonse's wife is truly beautiful, together they look like beauty and the beast

Dust, Horror:

My father speaks quite well of them, but I wouldn’t want to meet them

Children:

Lux:

Sister is very beautiful, it makes me so sad to look at her blind eye, but even with it she remains beautiful!

Pallete:

I feel so bad for him, especially when he's bothered by Starcross

Starcross:

If he had not tormented Pallete, then I would have loved him 100 percent, but he is unfair to treat, even if only half, our older brother! But he's still a lot of fun!

Drop:

She cries so much, why? Is it just me, or is she afraid of Starc? What has he already done?

Crescent:

A priest from another empire, so what? I don’t know him, and I don’t go to church

Bonus:

Artemis - Mist (by: @itzcherrybonbon ):

She, he..? I'm confused... He? Compared to the old photographs, he has changed a lot, I like how he turned out, now he looks... Alive?

Angst (alive):

I know practically nothing about him, just rumors

Merciless (alive):

Big sister is apparently in love with him... I like his scars, I also want to get scars in battle!

Vivi:

Sister constantly walks next to sister Lux and is afraid of something, she never plays with us

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

Elius' attitude towards the others:

Adults:

Dream:

How does father differentiate between us? We are the same! Is he a sorcerer??

Cross:

Dad is the best! He makes delicious baked goods and teaches my sister and me how to fight!

Hope:

Although walking with Miss Hope is tiring, they are excellent in everything else, when I grow up I will marry them!

Ink:

Father's ex-wife? I heard that Pallete goes to her, but I don’t know her at all

Error:

I've never seen him

Nightmare:

He's scary, but so cool! Have you seen his armor? I want one for myself in the future!

Killer:

When she stands next to King Alphonse, they look like opposites, like fire and water!

Dust, Horror:

I don't know, dad said something about them, but I didn't listen

Children:

Lux:

Big sister is truly an angel! She looks so much like a dad, I love her!

Pallet:

He looks just like father, sometimes I want to eat his hair, it looks like honey, I wonder if it tastes good?

Starcross:

I love playing with him and causing chaos in the castle! He's a lot of fun!

Drop:

When I grow up, I will be a knight and begin to protect Drop and Starcross from all troubles, then Drop will stop crying and being afraid?

Crescent:

Is this the same priest from another empire? Son of King Alphonse?? Why is he here then, and not in his empire??

Bonus:

Artemis - Mist (by @itzcherrybonbon )

I wonder if he grows his hair, will he look like those Chinese people from the anime?

Angst (slive):

All I heard about him is that he sits at home all the time, that’s all

Merciless (alive):

Where did he get these scars? Did he fight a lion? When I grow up, I will also fight lions!

Vivi:

It's boring to be with her and she's constantly afraid of something, I wonder what?

--------------------------🦊----------------------------

E. L. A. WIA by @anotherrosesthatfell

E. L. A. Mist by @abloomingsunflower / @itzcherrybonbon

[itsbubbleteataro]

If your requests are open, would you mind writing a fallen!reader (4 wings) x Chaggie (platonic, of course). Like maybe reader knew Vaggie in Heaven and after ep 6 and the finale, reader starts questioning and pushing Sera for answers (though they tell Emily to not follow what she does) and Sera casts them out as a result?? Then Vaggie or Charlie finds them beaten and broken in Hell, and they get brought to the hotel and just a lot of hurt/comfort and fluff please??

I left reader up to your interpretation for gender!

Hope you enjoy! Sorry it took so long!

What I know Now

The pearly gates, a staple in heaven. The pastel covered buildings, stretching higher than some folks can fly, the clouds beneath people’s feet, something you were proud to call home. You died many many years ago. Arriving in heaven thanks to using your limited medical knowledge to help those in need, often operating out of churches.  

The whole place was buzzing, having heard the news that Charlie Morningstar, the daughter of THE Lucifer Morningstar, notorious for being cast out of heaven, would be arriving for some sort of meeting. Naturally, being curious you decided to fly to the courtroom.

Being the same rank of angel as Sera and Emily made it easier for you to gain access, even if you were not needed that day. Your hair was covered by a nun-like veil, wearing a dress very similar to Emily, your halo matching the two of them. Court was already in session as you stayed on the ground level and peaked your head around the corner, white fluffy wings pressed to your back.  

Vaggie looked back at you, gasping softly. You gave a shy wave, one she returned. You had never thought Charlie Morningstar’s girlfriend would have been an angel, you thought it was cute. Keeping quiet you watched as the two parties started to sing to each other, something you were not unfamiliar with. Seems no argument is safe from the grapes of musical theater both in heaven and in hell. 

Your eyes widened, the multiple eyes you kept hidden opening wide as well when Adam revealed that Sera was in on the extermination, even allowing them out of nothing but fear. It was awful. You left the courtroom, mentally siding with Emily. You wanted to bring it up to her, you really did, but you heard the stories of Lucifer. You did not want to fall or be cast out like he was. So you stayed silent. 

An entire extermination took place as you sat having tea with Emily and Sera. You nearly spat out your tea as this blinding flash of light beamed up this snake looking former sinner. He looked around, before waving shyly at Emily, who squealed out of happiness while Sera looked horrified. This was it, this is the perfect time to bring up what you saw at the trial. You stood up abruptly, placing your teacup down on the saucer. 

“Sera! It works! Call off the exterminations. Sinners can be redeemed”

“(y/n) watch your tone with your elders”

“Sera, this is about innocent souls. We were wrong. It's time to make things right. Sinners can be changed, redeemed, so why bother killing any more innocent souls?!” 

You kept questioning why Sera even did the exterminations in the first place, resulting in her snapping, all of her eyes opening as she glared at you.

“It was to protect you and Emily!” she snapped.

“Sera! We don't need protection. We are in heaven! This is something to be shared! Not kept to ourselves” 

That seemed to be her last straw, as with a flick of her wrist, she opened a portal to hell. Emily and the snake-like sinner stood still, eyes wide and in shock. 

“If you think they are so safe, go live with them”

With that, Sera pushed you through the portal, all of your eyes open, four wings open in an attempt to catch your fall, hands trying to grasp to anything to keep you in heaven. You hit the pavement so hard you blacked out. 

You woke up an unknown time later, whimpering in pain as you sat up, looking around. You stood up and walked with a limp, you could tell you had hurt your wings in some manner, as it hurt to even move them. You hobbled over to a window to get a look at yourself and look for possible injuries. You gasped.

The crown all Seraphims have changed, becoming a shade of orange, the eye in the middle permanently open, the whites of the eye a red and the pupil yellow, reflecting the rest of your eyes. The fourth and final eye was on your chest, spanning from shoulder to shoulder, the lashes long. Your wings looked awful, turning black, feathers matted and no doubt about it, you had broken one of them. The veil over your hair was gone, your own hair shining through. The rest of your outfit changed as well, your dress turned gold in color with black accents, still held its modest shape. However instead of flaring out and being poofy, it hung straight down, huffing the curves of your hips before relaxing. Your thoughts whirled in your head, only being broken out when a certain gray skinned woman placed a hand on your shoulder. 

You turned around, all four of your eyes widening in fear, only relaxing after seeing it was only Charlie's girlfriend. The eye on your chest closed. 

“Um, hello? Seraphim angel, i-im Vaggie and I think I saw you at the trial? Um, you're hurt, let me give you a hand?”

“Yes! Thank you Vaggie! I honestly was hoping to run into you. Please, drop the formalities. Im (y/n)”

“Your welcome, come, I know a place, we just finished rebuilding as well”

You nodded and eagerly followed Vaggie to the Hazbin Hotel. The building is tall and wide, with many rooms. Two towers are on either side, one shaped like a radio tower, the other like a large apple. She led you inside, sitting you down as she went to go get Charlie. Your eyes scanned the lobby, settling on the large portrait of the same snake-like sinner in a neopliniatic era military uniform. The place underneath held the name, Sir Pentious. It clicked, that was the sinner who was redeemed! How exciting. You stood up before wincing. 

Vaggie returned with a whole crowd of people who seemed various degrees of excitement. 

“(Y/N), this is Charlie”

Charlie waved and took a seat next to you as Vaggie started to administer first aid. She looked at your wings, unsure how to properly treat as a man in a red pinstripe suit sat across from you all, watching. 

“Hi! You must be (Y/N)! Oh I have so many questions! Oh! Right, I should introduce everyone! This is Angel Dust, Nifty, Husk, that one just watching is Alastor pay him no mind, Oh! And that’s my dad!” 

Everyone she spoke of waved, albeit Lucifer seemed to be the most shy. The man was eyeing your wings, then at Vaggie. It clicked, the short man who looked like he was a ring master was Lucifer Morningstar. You wanted to move, to get up and bow but your injuries prevented you from doing so. 

“Lucifer Morningstar! P-pleasure to meet you sir! Oh Charlie! I have news! Oh right how I ended up here would be the best way to start things off. W-well” You started as you faced Vaggie, Lucifer and Charlie, “Sera kicked me out. Charlie, your hotel works! I saw him! I saw Sir Pentious up in heaven! He was sent to the room where Sera, Emily and I were having tea. I confronted Sera, told her the exterminations were wrong and we are just harming innocent souls. She cast me out for that” 

You rubbed your arm as Charlie placed her hands on your shoulders, eyes sparkling with joy. Lucifer rounded the back of where you were sitting, starting to care for your broken wing as if you were just some bird who had a bad fall. 

“Oh My God! It works! It really works! FUCK YEAH! Oh wait I mean not to your fall, no that's really bad we gotta get you back into heaven but Oh my god guys the hotel works!” Charlie squealed as Vaggie sighed. The residents of the hotel minus Alastor looked relieved. Alastor only cocked an eyebrow, more curious than anything. Lucifer just about dropped the roll of bandages in his hands as he heard the news. You  just smiled, finding her excitement charming at least. 

Charlie  pulled you to your feet, and enveloped you in a hug, one you returned. 

“Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel (Y/N)! Let's get you a room so you can have some proper rest and heal! You are going to love it here!”

FIN

[vital-information]

It’s past time for Uptown Girls, almost universally panned when it first hit theaters 20 years ago, to be widely reconsidered and celebrated as a Y2K New York City fairy tale. Sure, the plot is far-fetched, and the ending in particular is wrapped up in a nice, convenient little bow, but Uptown Girls is a unique story about what young women can learn from each other.

Uptown Girls goes to darker emotional places than most other light hearted “chick flicks” of the early 2000s, and features career-best performances from Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning, as well as cameos from aughts superstars Mark McGrath and Nas. Uptown Girls was shot by legendary New York City cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who has also photographed the city for heavyweights like Martin Scorsese and Mike Nichols. In his 3-star 2003 review, Roger Ebert defended the film against its haters, dismissing “all cavils about the movie’s logic and plausibility as beside the point,” asserting that “this is not a movie about plot but about personalities.” Ebert was able to see and hear Molly and Ray as vastly different, but equally emotionally complex characters, in a way that his peers were blind to at the time.

…

Molly’s unflagging brightness and Ray’s grim cynicism are both completely earnest reactions to having been pushed into a position where they must parent themselves throughout childhood, and into young adulthood, in Molly’s case. Molly has chosen to never grow up, postponing adulthood for as long as possible, whereas Ray grew up too fast. What makes Uptown Girls so compelling is watching Molly parent her own inner child through parenting Ray, which comes to a head in the infamous Coney Island spinning teacups scene.

…

While not the only contemporary critic to be positive on the film, Ebert was able to see beyond the glitzy surface, bravely standing apart in his refusal to rely on gender bias to express disapproval of a film. Maybe the most significant thing Ebert praised about Uptown Girls was its performances; specifically, he compared Murphy’s comedic talents to those of Lucille Ball. “Molly Gunn is a comic original, vulnerable and helpless, well-meaning and inept, innocent and guileless…Murphy’s performance has a kind of ineffable mischievous innocence about it.”

Indeed, one could imagine a scene in I Love Lucy where Lucy attempts to get a job at a luxury bedding store, and consequently falls asleep on one of the beds, as Molly does in Uptown Girls. Murphy’s face is pure Ball as she realizes (too late) that she’s about to get smacked in the face with a swinging door, in a moment where she needed to look particularly dignified. Thankfully, Ebert was able to recognize that an actress’ performance should not be judged solely on “likability,” but on its more palpable merits, such as comedic timing and vulnerability. Ebert was also more favorable than most critics toward Fanning’s performance. He wrote that “Ray does seem prematurely old…in the case of Dakota Fanning, I think we are looking at good acting.”

...

Uptown Girls might still not be taken seriously today by the larger community of serious film critics and historians, but the film has found its audience of lonely young women trying to find their place in the world. If you search “Uptown Girls” on social media, you’ll find a sea of girls posting about their emotional connection to the film, and of course, their love of Murphy’s performance. Some of this could very well be written off as 2000s nostalgia, but a lot of love for Uptown Girls comes from a place of deep sadness, both for the girls that we once were and the girls we could have been.

— Katarina Docalovich, “Uptown Girls Reminds Us to Connect with Our Inner Child, 20 Years”

[chaoscheebs]

So I've gotten into visual novels a bit more recently, do you have any recommendations? I've been a gamer all my life but vns are kind of a blind spot for me. Maybe some of the more popular ones on the DS and a handful of PC ones are about all I know.

Most of the ones I've played are adult ones (i.e. have sex scenes in them), but I can give some recs if that's not an issue.

All Ages:

-Jack Jeanne for the Switch is a really solid one and for something that includes hiding the protag's gender (she's in an all-boys school for theater), it doesn't fall into weird/horny tropes about it? Like no "oh no someone walked into me changing oh me oh my" nonsense, for example. Plus there's some characters that read very trans/gender non-conforming and I am living for it.

It's very slice-of-life, very pretty, and if you like/can work with stat-building dating sims and the rhythm game sections, I'd recommend it!

Guys Who Like Ladies (not all-ages):

--Princess Waltz is like my favorite VN of all time, it's so fucking good. It's about this (seemingly) normal dude who ends up entangled in this other magical world's tournament to pick a bride for the prince of a country in said other world, and boy howdy for something that is aimed at straight male audiences it is REALLY GAY (affectionate/positive).

The main "girl"? The prince. Who reallyreally comes off as a trans dude. It is awesome.

There's all sorts of cool fights, girls in cool/cute outfits, the "token loli" acts her actual age and is probably one of the most mature of the lot (god i love Suzushiro), it has Lun-Lun, the second best proper girl, yaoi fangirls, and a cute lil' dragon man.

I will provide a quick warning tho': it contains (accidental, they had NO IDEA beforehand) incest, potential adoptive sibling banging, and depending on how you see Chris, potentially misgendering. :c

If you can get past that, tho', it's fantastic and has a bangin' soundtrack.

--9-nine is a urban fantasy-ish multiverse-spanning mystery series in 5 parts: 4 for each girl and one extra epilogue game that wraps up the loose ends nicely. It also contains cool action scenes, has a great cast of characters, and even makes a Wild Arms 2 reference, which cements it in my heart forever.

Each game is a route, and while you could skip one and still get the story (and you might want to, one of the games focuses on the protag's main full-blooded sister who, uh, yeah, they eventually bang), but each part connects to the next and gives you more information to piece together, and it all comes together wonderfully. ;A;

Also, the male lead has a face, is voiced, and has a personality, which is a rare triple-crown in the VN world when it comes to het-focus stuff.

9-nine also has an "all-ages" cut, which can be found on Steam, if that makes a difference.

QUEER SHIT FUCK YEAH:

--Ne no Kami is a yuri VN which is in two parts (with a loosely-connected "prequel" that is plot-light called Sacrament of the Zodiac and has a successor plot-heavy series that has one part out called Watamari, all of which are yuri stores) and IT. IS. SO. FUCKING. GOOD. It and Princess Waltz battle for my heart for the number 1 spot.

The protag is a "normal" girl named Len, who gets drawn into this secret war against the ayakashi thanks to a mix of her childhood friend coming back into her life and her parents up and disappearing on her, and it gets... the actual images are never graphic in the violence sense, but it gets a bit brutal in the fight scenes. Which fucking rule.

It's a good balance of slice of life and battles (and girls kissing other girls of course) and the music fucking rules.

There is also an "all-ages" cut on Steam.

--No,Thank You!! is a BL VN, and it is also really good, but really fucking heavy and I have to give several caveats before recommending it. There is references to (and at least one on-screen instance of) rape, references to in-universe snuff films, non-consensual body modification to the point of body horror, drugs, and child trafficking, tho' everything mentioned past the rape is never shown on-screen.

If your can get past all that, you're in for a wild fucking ride. Haru is the (openly bi!!!!!) protagonist, who seemingly got amnesia in an accident saving this middle-aged man, and so the middle aged man, who is the protag of his own story that's interwoven in the background as he searches for his missing son and dips his toes into some Serious Shit(tm) as a result, sees to it that Haru has shelter and a job until he recovers.

Also, yakuza and a secret underground society that does Seriously Fucked-Up Shit(tm) are all interwoven into the plot, especially the latter.

Also Hiroyuki is best boy I make the rules.

--------

Anyway, that should be a pretty good starter kit. I'd also throw in Yume Miru Kusuri, which is a more grounded in realism story, but also it's really meta and not a good starter VN (... although it was MY starter VN, please give me a route for the canon gay dude in a fan disc I am begging you). It also. Um. Deals with heavy subjects (bullying, drug use...). So maybe see how you feel about these before that.

[dating-agoti]

Horror Movies got me to Second Base - Agoti x Fem!Reader

You're having a horror movie marathon with all your friends and you're uncomfortable about a few things. This story is obviously a little nsfw. Just a smidge.

"BOOBS!" Pico yelled that every time there were some on screen. Considering this was a horror movie night, that happened a lot. You sighed, rolling your eyes at the gratuitous nudity and leaning against the arm of the couch. Girlfriend was next to you, giggling at her boyfriend's reaction to the screen. "Nice- Those are fake as hell."

"Still nice." Carol commented. She took a fistful of popcorn from the bucket Whitty was holding and he snickered. "Whitty, check out those knockers."

"Yeah, I see them... Yeah, they're fake-"

"She's Hollywood Approved to be naked on screen."

"Yeah, she has those preapproved titties," Aldryx commented. The digidevil had his own popcorn, not sharing it with his brother who was on the loveseat with him. You glanced over at Agoti, particularly interested in his reaction. "They're still hot. Fake or not, I support the queens who are comfortable with their body. I couldn't do a nude scene."

"Men are pigs." Girlfriend joked, immediately getting nudged by her boyfriend.

"Any gender can appreciate a rockin pair of tits." Carol defended, further amusing her boyfriend. "Ayana, back me up here."

"I'm dating a woman-"

"That's how I know you'd back me up-"

"I have no gender and think they are lovely!" Hex added. Whitty pursed his lips to avoid being a dick about that. "I wish I had some."

"I don't know how girls can have boobs, man," Pico started, muffled by his mouth full of junk food, "I'd be touching them all day."

"Carol does that," Whitty ratted out his girlfriend, immediately getting a playful push in the chest, "It's apparently therapeutic."

"Quit calling me out, you big meanie."

"Kiss me and I'll think about it-"

"Will you two shut the fuck up? Some of us are single." Agoti scoffed, earning some snickers from the 'theater'. You even managed to smile. The movie was taking too much pleasure in its well-endowed actress and you tried not to watch. "She's gonna die. No one with nice tits survives."

"Probably," You mumbled. You shouldn't have even spoken. Agoti glanced at you and an uncomfortable heat rose to your cheeks. Agoti was going to comment but your discomfort was seen by someone else.

"See, Y/n likes the titties." Pico's comment made some of your friends look at you and your nerves got some snickers and chortles. They would never hurt your feelings and didn't mean anything by it. They were just having a good time. You offered a strained smile and everyone was back to looking at the movie soon enough.

"I'll be back," You only looked to girlfriend when you spoke, even though this movie night was at Whitty's house. He was too busy dumping popcorn in his mouth.

You headed to the kitchen, relieved when you rounded the corner. The kitchen was dark and you didn't bother turning on the light. The only light was coming from the hallway that connected this room to the living room. You were so accustomed to the dark and the dim hall that the light in the fridge blinded you as you reached in. You winced, grabbed a soda and quickly shut it.

"Hey, grab me one." Agoti caught you off guard and you stood perfectly upright. Once you registered his request though, you dug back into the fridge.

"O-Oh, yeah, okay-"

"You alright?" He leaned against the fridge and when you handed him his soda he just placed it on the closest counter. When you closed the fridge, you lost his features in the dark. You couldn't tell what the point of this was. "You seem kinda out of it."

"Um... Just, not feeling it."

"You can tell me anything Y/n. We're friends. I'm here if you want to talk."

"Nothing...I'm just a little uncomfortable with how much nudity they cram in horror movies these days..." He could tell that wasn't all and the way you avoided his gaze confirmed that. He kept staring you down and eventually you relented with a click of your tongue. "...Okay, I'm a little jealous of how insanely hot horror movie sluts are-" His laughed cut you off and he physically cut you off before you could storm away. He composed himself quickly.

"No, no no, Please. I'm sorry- You caught me off guard. I didn't mean to laugh, it was how you said it-"

"Just drop it okay-"

"You don't have anything to be jealous of." He whispered. You stopped trying to escape his grasp, which quickly turned into a hug. He sighed, a little smirk growing on his face. "You're... You're really pretty, okay? You don't have to look like they do to be hot... I uh," He was less confident, stepping away a little to give you some space. "I... think you're already pretty hot..."

"....I don't know. I mean, did you see them?"

"I mostly just saw boobs, that's what the movie wants you to focus on," He admitted. He was already poised to say his next point and his brain couldn't stop him before he said it. " I mean, you've got a nice rack-" He bit his tongue and the digidevil promptly shut the fuck up.

"...Agoti... when have you seen my chest?"

"N-Never! I swear- I mean, I look at them all the time but uh- Like- Not bare or anything. I swear." He was stumbled, taking a few steps backward. "I mean, I'd like to one day- I should just stop talking right?" He devolved to nervous laughter and you were busy taking in his confession. You were sure he was telling you that you were hot just to make you feel better but this encounter was undeniably genuine... and you were sure that if you didn't make a move now you would never get another chance.

"...Do you want to see them?" The invitation broke him. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn't even know how to accept that invitation. He coughed and tried to play cool.

"Uh- I mean... Only if you want... I'd... love that, yeah." You bit your lip. You looked back to the hallway for a second. He glanced over too. "...Maybe seeing them is too risky right now... but... uh." You leaned on the counter opposite of him and he switched so that he was right next to you. He took in a deep breath before snaking his arm around you. His hand slid up your shirt, groping your bra so quickly that you squeaked. You leaned against him. "I can't believe you're letting me touch them. They're probably so fucking gorgeous."

The digidevil couldn't get over the feeling of your skin on his fingertips and tried to think of a comfortable way to get your bra out of his way. He licked his lips just thinking about it.

"Did you mean what you said? That you look at me all the time?"

"I... Yeah... I mean.. I've always really...liked you." He looked back over his shoulder one more time before his fingers slid underneath your bra. Feeling the chill of his skin on yours made you scoot a little close to him. His eyes practically turned to hearts as his fingers grazed past your nipple. "H-Holy shit."

He wanted to say more. So many praises were clogged his head. However, you were out of time. He could hear someone else coming. He broke away and you got it immediately when Whitty came in with a bunch of empty sodas and bowls in his arms.

"Oh, here's where you two went. Everything alright?" He was mostly asking you. You offered a sweet smile before kissing Agoti on the cheek. His tendrils curled and he felt weak as a result.

"I'm alright... thanks to Agoti."

"huh, I didn't know you two were a thing."

"It's new."

"This is the greatest night of my life." Agoti sounded so out of it and after depositing all the trash Whitty just shook his head and laughed. As he left you both in the kitchen you and Agoti looked at one another. "...So...Do you want to... get back to the movie? We can sit together."

"...I don't know," You looked away, hugging yourself. "I mean... just because other people think I'm attractive doesn't mean I don't still feel weird seeing those beautiful people."

"Look, actresses are, like, professional naked people. Shit, I'm sure I'm not as hot as those guys with 20 abs."

"Of course you are-" You surprised him with that and all he did was smirk. He poked your nose as he continued.

"See? It's a matter of taste. You're more of my taste... and thank fuck I'm yours... If you don't want to watch though, we can bail. I'm sure we can think of... more fun things to do."

[coochiequeens]

Well this is an interesting turn of events

By Nuria Muíña García February 21, 2024

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to one of the parties in this case as a “woman.” This article has been amended after new, previously-unavailable information was released clarifying that both parties in the case are in fact trans-identified males.

The Barcelona High Court has sentenced a trans-identified male to six months in prison after he was found guilty of committing a crime “against fundamental human rights and public freedoms” for posting “transphobic” comments on social media. The man, who has not been named, has also been ordered to pay a fine of 3,850 Euros (approx. $4,161 USD).

The comments were made in 2020 when the man, who will be anonymously referred to as P.O., took to social media to complain about a transgender influencer. While Spanish media did not release the influencer’s name, Reduxx has learned he is Violeta Ferrer Micó, an ex-prostitute and trans activist.

Last summer, Ferrer Micó organized and led a tour of Barcelona, called a “Trans Whoretour,” highlighting key areas where the sex industry had thrived. The tour was organized with the support of the trans theater company TiritiTrans Trans Trans Trans.

In his post, P.O. called Ferrer Micó a “prototype of a faggot with tits,” and stated “he can’t stand that I’m a woman and has a pathological dislike for me.” P.O.’s contention was that he believed he was a “real woman” because he had undergone genital surgery, while Ferrer Micó was not “genuinely” transgender because he had not.

The post reached Ferrer Micó’s work WhatsApp group and he claims that he was “outed” by them and suggested that no one had known he was transgender prior to P.O.’s remarks.

According to statements Ferrer Micó made to Newtral at the time: “From then on, I felt I had to give explanations about my gender identity. Everyone at work found out through Twitter that I never had genital surgery.”

Violeta Ferrer Micó.

Ferrer Micó reported P.O.’s post to X (formerly Twitter) and then filed a criminal complaint.

A Barcelona court ordered an “internet radicalism” task force to investigate P.O.’s social media and analyze his comment history to find further “publications that indicate animosity towards the group to which the victim belongs.” The subsequent report determined that the accused man was “not only belligerent with transgender women who are not operated, but also with the LGTBI collective.”

Their evidence included statements he had made in opposition of the Trans Law, which was legislation recently implemented in Spain to make changing an individual’s legal name and gender marker significantly easier. The investigation also found that between February and October of 2020, P.O. had posted several statements on Facebook, Instagram, and X in which he “denied transgender people without genital reassignment the gender with which they identify.”

Other messages that were found to be criminally transphobic included him stating that “there are only two sexes,” and that “transwomen are transvestites.” P.O. also said that “[the trans] community makes me feel infinite disgust.”

The court ruled that the “transphobic messages” had resulted in Ferrer Micó being “exposed” to his friend and work circle as a trans-identified male, suggesting that it had not been obvious or known before.

Spanish women’s rights advocates have cast doubt on that aspect of the case on social media, with one user, @OcheRadfem, asking “does anyone believe that they didn’t know he was a man? Are all the people he works with blind and deaf?”

When handing down the sentence, as reported in El Periódico, the court ruled that “the derogatory statements regarding gender identity … reflect the contempt [he] feels towards the group of transgender people who have not undergone genital reassignment surgery, and show, by questioning the gender (of the victim), a clear desire to inflict ridicule, and managing to generate [in the victim] feelings of humiliation to the detriment of [his] dignity.”

P.O. accepted the sentence imposed after coming to an agreement with the prosecution and declining to defend himself.

The court decided to suspend his six-month prison sentence on the condition that he pay the victim 3,850 Euros in compensation for the “emotional damages caused.” He must also take a course on equal treatment and non-discrimination. Failure to do so could lead to incarceration.

In addition, P.O. is disqualified from holding employment in any profession in the fields of teaching or sports for three and a half years.

The law firm who assisted in the man’s prosecution boasted of their victory on social media. The firm, Olympe, specializes in LGBTQ+ matters. According to their website, they identify as feminists, LGTBIQ+ and antiracists.

Speaking to Reduxx on the case, Spanish psychologist and author Carola López Moya, raised concerns about the fact that the media had previously referred to one of the parties in the case as a “woman,” stoking confusion and outrage. Moya is the author of “The Sect,” and was previously sued by trans activists who sought to have her removed from her profession for 5 years.

“This is an example of how the use of language far removed from biological reality generates confusion,” she said. “News media should have been talking about two males who self-identify as women from the beginning.”

On the case itself, Moya disregarded the argument between the two men as nonsensical.

“That a man believes that by amputating his genitals he is a woman… it is a sample of the dissociation that this doctrine fosters,” she said. “It instills in people a belief that it is possible to truly change their sex, and it is not.”

[a-student-out-of-time]

And to think that Chihiro was the most controversial character. Then again that character probably still is because at the very least the Hiyoko drama is limited to one person. Chihiro involves multiple people.

//Someone came to me about this a while back, about how their friend hated Mondo for what happened in Chapter 2, and I feel bad I never responded to them. I'll do my best to try and explain it here, since we're on the subject:

//Much of the controversy with Chihiro really comes from a misunderstanding about his personal identity, which I don't blame Western audiences for not getting, since it's a Japanese thing.

//Yes, how it's presented does come off as uncomfortably transphobic, especially now in 2024. However, nothing in the narrative ever suggests that Chihiro is trans. I have gone through DR1 several times, and I can tell you that everything points to Chihiro himself identifying as male.

//While it would be easy to dismiss that as poor handling of a serious topic, the fact that DR never even references Chihiro's gender outside of judgements about him not being tough and manly, and explaining to Makoto at the end of Salmon Mode that he's actually a boy, all lend credence to the idea. He never says he wants to be a girl, never uses different pronouns, and distances himself from other girls while they're trapped, such as turning down Sakura's offer to have them workout together.

//It's also important to keep in mind that the DR1 cast are all based on different Japanese subcultures- Junko's a Gyaru, Mondo's a Bōsōzoku, Sayaka's an idol, Hifumi's an Otaku, etc.- and Chihiro is no different. He's a reference to Otokonoko, a male who engages in crossdressing and presenting as female.

//This actually has a long history in Japan, even as far back as onnagata, where male actors would portray female characters in kabuki theater. Crossdressing is not seen as culturally strange in Japan, hence why it's also very common in manga and anime.

//Furthermore, Japanese has more of a loose relationship with gendered words than English does, and there's always going to be translation gaffs when something is localized and given a more literal meaning. That's why a lot of games from Japan can have such awkward line delivery when removed from their cultural context.

//And most importantly, Chihiro's story isn't about transphobia, it's about unreasonable expectations about him being a man. He was bullied because he was very weak growing up, told that's not what a boy is supposed to be like, and so to escape that, he started crossdressing. It's a bit out there, but DR is no stranger to ridiculous plot points and this is at least a more grounded one.

//Meanwhile, Mondo was subject to the same but from the other end. He internalized the idea that a man has to be strong, which means burying all his feelings of sadness and guilt over his brother's death, which only festered over the years and probably fed into his rage issues.

//Mondo doesn't kill Chihiro for being a boy who dresses like a girl, but because Chihiro being willing to confront his own perceived weakness with the desire to change made him feel weak by comparison. That set off a moment of blind fury and, without even intending to, he killed Chihiro. Both of them were victims of toxic masculinity, which was and still is a pressing issue in Japan and the West as a whole.

//I'm not saying it was presented perfectly, but in that cultural context, it explains that a western localization doesn't properly convey and has thus given people the wrong impression.

//I can understand anyone who still wants to assign Chihiro a status as LGBTQ as part of their headcanons, and that's totally fine. I personally like shipping him with characters like Makoto and Kazuichi.

//The problem is, when we don't examine the cultural context that characters like this emerge from, it can give us the wrong impressions. Impressions that have lead many to read Mondo's actions and Spike Chunsoft's writing in this Chapter in bad faith, which does far more harm than good when dissecting its flaws.

//I hope this at least manages to clear some things up.