#ma event

[queeryouthassemble]

[ID: A light purple rectangular shape that takes up about half of the screen contains black text that reads: "Massachusetts! Join us for our 3rd annual Let Trans Athletes Play protest!" in all-caps. Taking up the other half of the screen, there are drawings of four queer youths (left to right): one with medium skin, brown hair, and brown eyebrows wearing a blue-ish grey t-shirt with the number 10 in light blue over a dull green and dull purple striped long-sleeve shirt that is holding an orange ball, one with tan skin, light brown hair, and light blue eyebrows wearing a light yellow cropped t-shirt and dark purple pants that is holding a dark peach ball, one with light skin, mauve hair, and black eyebrows wearing a light green cropped tank top with the number 5 in yellow and blue-ish grey pants, and one with dark skin, sage green hair, and sage green eyebrows wearing round black glasses, red heart earrings, and a dark orange t-shirt that is holding a light green ball, an American football, a baseball, and a light blue ball. End ID.]

[ID: A light purple oval-like shape at the top of a dull purple background contains black text that reads: "What is LTAP?" in all-caps. Below that oval, more black text reads: "It's time we take back our sports. LTAP, or Let Trans Athletes Play, is a nationwide movement to end transgender sports bans. We blend sports, protest, and education to create a space where anyone, not just queer & trans youth, can get involved. QYA will be hosting games of kickball and an art raffle at our upcoming protest! This is a great opportunity to pick up some new gear at our merch stand!" In the bottom right corner, there is a drawing of a queer youth with tan skin, blonde eyebrows, and blue-ish grey hair wearing a dark purple jacket over a dull pink shirt, light green pants with yellow flowers, and grey and white tennis shoes that is holding an orange ball. End ID.]

[ID: A light purple oval-like shape at the top of a dull purple background contains black text that reads: "See you there!" in all-caps. On the left side of the screen below the oval, black text reads "Mayor Danehy Park* in Cambridge, MA on August 19, 2023 from 12-4pm Don't forget to wear sunscreen and comfortable clothes! Please contact us at atlascb@queeryouthassemble.org if you have any questions!" The asterisk () signals toward text at the bottom left of the screen that reads: "99 Sherman St. Cambridge, MA 02140" On the right side of the screen below the oval, an abstract round shape contains a map showing Mayor Danehy Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Below the map, another light purple oval-like shape contains black text that reads: "Join us at St. Peter's field!" End ID.]

[goryhorroor]

"we all go a little mad sometimes, how about you?"

[owly-lumi]

I wanted to do this meme since I saw the S2 of Earthspark, but I had the inspiration after complaining about It with @sketchy-mf . so:

(ok time to going back to Ao3 reading Fanfiction pretending they're canon in my mind 🙂)

[espiritogato]

See You There! 🏳️‍🌈

[ask-the-biggering-onceler]

Hrmmm…

…The ball’s happening, it’s finally here. Sigh. I’m just so glad it worked…once I announced this thing the ask box toned down a bit, thank God…

Welllll…I’ve got time, no? I’ve already got my good suit on, and not TOO many people have arrived yet. I could just make a quick pit stop to my office then head right on out to the ballroom.

Fashionably late, of course~!!

[askblueandviolet]

Nice kitchen what secrets does it hold? I honestly didn’t think macaroni could cook enough to have this set up. Mayor yea probably but I would 100% believe it if somebody told me mac gets all his food from dumpster diving. Menace of the Denny’s dumpster or something.

[supafd07]

[alectoperdita]

Uplifting Spirits by Alecto

Written for the #2024 Kaijou Summer Event

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto Characters: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Kaiba Seto Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Romance, Light Angst, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Gods, Kitsune, Foxes, Summer, Summer Romance, Slice of Life

Summary:

The sleepy countryside town was worlds removed from Domino's hustle and bustle, but Katsuya didn't mind it. In fact, he was grateful for the change of pace. House sitting for his grandparents guaranteed a roof over his head for a few months, and after that—well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. No reason to push his luck any further, even if he could really use more. He expected a quiet summer, reminiscent of the ones he spent here as a child, before his parents split. But his life changes forever when he meets the local fox god, Seto.

---

Don't miss other fabulous entries for the event in the #2024 kaijou summer tag!

[ash-and-starlight]

things that have me fine and normal on this friday evening

[thecryptkeeper]

ik art history is a completely different trajectory but the school of art is two steps from just locking us in a basement to hide us from being actual school of art students … ive seen the benefits and amenities available to the MFAs and i try to swallow my jealousy while in the small windowless room appointed to my whole department

[poisoned-pearls]

YEEEE you always have the correct thoughts I'm interested 🔥🔥🔥🔥

AUAUAUGHHH OKAY SO

Jamil’s voice actor has said himself that even he believes that Jamil and Azul could be close friends- I wanna point this out because that man definitely has some of the best understandings of Jamil EVER because he’s not only seen most of his voice lines, but he also gets the background notes we don’t get to see to add the correct kind of flavor to the voice acting- ANYWAYS

Jamil and Azul DO get along!! very well, in fact! If they are put against a common force or just, generally in an event together they do work well and even joke like close friends would!

Like, even when Jamil is being mean, he’s not malicious. He’s snarky, not actually trying to hurt Azul’s feelings- and they both KNOW how smart the other one is, and both aren’t afraid to mention it

(usually it’s Azul, but Jamil also consistently gives Azul credit as well. He doesn’t ever really downplay Azul’s merits and abilities)

And the funniest bit is- no matter how mean Jamil is to him, even with what some WOULD consider as bullying, Azul does not stop.

Which is WEIRD AS HELL FOR HIM. He was heavily bullied as a kid, so much so that it’s very obviously hinted at that he had/has an eating disorder (he wears the same size as Epel and Riddle, people who are a good ~20 ish cm shorter than he is- this is besides the point-) so to him, the reward of getting Jamil on his side is worth the thing that literally controlled his entire life and caused his overblot. That is how important getting Jamil is to him. (which also begs the question, why Jamil? Sure, some of it is definitely because he sees himself in Jamil, but since this is MY post, I also believe it’s because he has a crush on him.)

And he is CONSTANT about it- it’s almost hilarious how fucking often octavinelle or the lounge or even just himself comes up in his conversations with him.

And sure, it is a little weird that he seems to disregard Jamil’s constant no’s- BUT he also understands and watches Jamil more than anyone else, so I think he does this precisely because he knows that Jamil holds himself back.

Jamil can’t reasonably Say yes to him, because of kalim and his duties, but it’s the same thing with Jamil’s lab vignette, he so desperately wants Jamil to do his best, to succeed, but because Jamil will not let himself, he pushes and pushes to try and get him to fold and do what he really wants. To flourish. And Azul wants him to do it with him.

and the reason why Jamil is always so resistant to it isn’t because he genuinely wants nothing to do with it, it’s because he cannot understand or comprehend a relationship like that where they are equal.

He doesn’t want to be under Azul’s thumb, but this is exactly where their animosity comes from- the misunderstanding of their friendship and the dynamics with it. He doesn’t want to go to octavinelle, to work at the lounge, because he despises being a servant.

But master and servant is the only real dynamic he knows- he legitimately can’t understand how it would be any different, and because of Azul’s reputation and persona, he wouldn’t trust Azul’s word on it either.

(It is also very ironic that Azul’s persona, which was made to protect him from bullying, is the exact reason Jamil is so hostile towards him in the first place)

But here’s the thing- consistently, Jamil always makes note of Azul. He pays attention to him, (‘you sure love your cryptic little asides’ means that he’s actually paying attention to Azul to notice said asides and notice the frequency of them-) and he acknowledges him first.

I cannot stress enough how fucking insane it is that he not only acknowledges Azul first, but by full name. He is in basketball club with Floyd, he should know him well enough to say him by name, and hypothetically be more friendly with. Floyd is genuinely the safest person in octavinelle for him to hang out with precisely because he doesn’t scheme, so why in the world is he acknowledging Azul?? He’s already fucking suspicious of him and wants him off his back, so why not go for what should be his safest in?? Sure, it makes sense for him to actually talk to Azul because, classmates, but to completely disregard Floyd and put Azul first? Azul stands in the middle of them no matter what reading direction would be normal for Jamil (like if he speaks Arabic then it would be right to left/) it wouldn’t make sense to point out the one in the middle. Genuinely when people say hello to a group they know usually they go by name in reading order-

Okay genuinely not being insane about one moment in dialogue for a moment

Jamil and Azul, work so, so fucking well. They are just similar enough while also being opposites in the most complimentary way it’s crazy.

They work well as friends and as business partners and as people fighting together and as a couple, they flow together and it is always in my brain

Because all it takes is for Jamil to realize that Azul is not lying. He is not trying to trick him or butter him up he means every single word of praise he says and he will continue to say it because to him Jamil is worth the pain. THAT is why they’re soulmates to me

Because all Jamil has ever wanted was freedom, and to catch a break. To not be the one serving, but to have someone serve him, to understand him. and Azul does. Azul wants to serve him and to hold him on equal footing and he already DOES understand him

(And he understands Azul, as well, even if he doesn’t admit it. In all of those lines he notices things about Azul you wouldn’t if you actually hated someone. Azul gives him a sense of hope, in a subtle way)

[apavorantes]

BISHOP’S LOOKBOOK: O AMOR ESTÁ NO AR ©

Após as boas risadas com o convite de Kaito — que aceitara, aliás —, Bishop teve de encarar uma terrível realidade: não poderia usar preto no baile. Pior que isso, tinha que usar o que quer que Afrodite escolhesse para ela, e não estava certa de que a deusa atenderia aos seus gostos. Contudo, ao abrir a caixa em cima de sua cama, Bishop teve uma surpresa agradável. Nada naquela combinação estava em sua paleta de cores, mas as roupas em si eram exatamente seu estilo, das botas cano longo e o vestido longo rendado, com uma cauda que se arrastava no chão, até o colar de flor e os brincos e anéis prateados. Até tentara fazer uma maquiagem mais rosada para combinar com os acessórios, mas jamais abrindo mão dos tons escuros de batom e sombra, e o cabelo foi preso em um penteado cheio de cachos. Agora só precisava sobreviver à vergonha de ser vista em branco e rosa.

[enby-rodimus]

listen.

i'm aware the earliest example of where blaster stands when it comes to functionism is hinted at/shown in all hail megatron where he talks about how perceptor defiled himself to become a sniper.

however.

despite the autocracy trilogy being a huge mess, the blaster they introduced is my most favorite characterization in the continuity and to me it makes sense. blaster as a reporter who tries to bypass censorship, is at conflict with authority such as enforcers like orion pax, because while he may have stormed the senate and publicly called them out, he went right back to working for them under zeta, which blaster called out, and continues to question the newest iteration of a violent, flawed government interests me. he's not blind to the flaws of the institution and it's put him at odds with it. hell, it seems heavily implied he's even critical of functionism despite the writers failing to properly write the early days of the war and the motives of each faction.

basically, i wish blaster had his anti-autobot characterization from autocracy and circumstances forced him to join the autobots

[espiritogato]

Yay! Westport, Massachusetts finally has its own Pride Festival coming to town. Please show your support by liking the page. Hope to see you at the event. 🏳️‍🌈

Westport Pride Fest 2024

[mirror-ralsei]

The Sound Test is hands down my favourite piece of horror in Undertale.

Yeah, sure. Photoshop Flowey is a great spiritual successor to Giygas, and Gaster to Uboa. The Chara jumpscare is disturbing, as is the entire No Mercy run. But the Sound Test is a masterfully crafted anecdote that deserves more appreciation.

So to recap, Fun event 65 begins when you walk north in the crossroads before Snowdin. The music cuts out to transition to text on a black background.

It starts off positively: “Welcome to the Sound Test! Listen to all your favorites. Press Left or Right to select. Press Z to play a song.” The friendly terms fade in calmly, offsetting any disturbance caused by this sudden interruption by easing into it. We also need to note Undertale was designed as a niche RPG for RPG fans, which intentionally played with their expectations.

With that audience in mind, the player also likely has an expectation here: contemporary sound test rooms are typically a cool bonus for players, unlocked either through the progression of a game or its completion, or sometimes only through codes or developer consoles. They provide a list to play of all the sound files in a game, or at least the OST. This is a generally beloved feature when provided, allowing players to jam out to their favourite tracks. “Listen to all your favorites” seems to confirm this, reinforcing the brain to glaze over any specifics and autofill an expected experience here.

So we dive excitedly into this bonus feature (if maybe a little bit confused). Sound tests typically are accessible from main menus, and we were just interrupted while playing the game, but whatever, this game is a bit weird anyway. What songs do we have? You can cycle through them, but more likely people will play one by one in successsion.

We start with “Happy Town.” There hasn't been a “Happy Town” location yet that we've seen, but this is probably an area from later in the game or something. We click on it, and it's... short. It's just a simple loop on two channels, too. The melody itself is rather boring. Okay. Maybe this is just an intro track, so on to the next one.

“Meat Factory.” Uhh. This is definitely from later in the game... probably? When you think on it for even a moment, you realize this grim title sounds very tonally out of place in a game that's so far been pretty fantastical and friendly, and that makes it immediately unsettling. Clicking on it immediately confirms this. Where Happy Town was pretty noncommittal, Meat Factory's 8-bit loop is even shorter and almost oppressive in its relentless, growling two notes, repeating at an alarming pace, as if approaching with deadly intent. Why is something so disturbing and almost industrial in a funny little game?

You quickly switch to the next song. “Trouble Dingle.” A “dingle” might imply something a little bit lighter, and “trouble” sounds maybe a little more whimsical than “doom,” but there is no relief here. This loop is longer, but distorted and chaotic. It sounds corrupted. There's no trackable melody, it loses the 8-bit instrument, and like Photoshop Flowey's fight or the unpredictable melody of “Amalgamate,” is generally throwing away all sense of safety in favour of absolute disorientation.

At this point, you have likely forgotten about the context and are trying to find one song that's not incredibly disturbing. Maybe you've even realized by now that there is no way to even exit this unsettling “room.”

It's an auditory chase scene. The pressure increases with every song. Something is approaching, and fast.

Enter “Gaster's Theme.”

The hunt is over. The music has caught you. Suddenly, no matter what you do, you are trapped, forced to listen to this piece, this theme of a character you do not know, which starts off curious before dipping threateningly into the minor key. You rightfully may get the impression that this character “Gaster,” whoever they are, exerts some terrifying control over you, to be able to freeze you like this, able to writhe around between song tracks but change absoutely nothing, escape utterly futile.

You are only free when this music chooses to let you go. It cuts off abruptly. “Thanks for your feedback!” it says cheerfully. Then:

“Be seeing you soon.”

It's an incredibly compelling little horror piece and potential villain introduction that I find even more unsettling than the 66 mysteryman door itself. It's short but sweet, toying perfectly with expectations and making us deliberately uncomfortable at every turn.

[serach-bat-asher]

i feel like a lot for me is clicking and i just can't with the AZ world anymore. the response to the p*ger thing has been balls to the walls insane