#ramona is trans though

[trashiesttrashboy]

It's toxic t4t yearning hours

[softness-and-shattering]

Two mini reviews, partly brought to you by tumblr autosaving - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I wasn't sure what to expect; I really liked The Sunbearer Trials (Ive not yet read the sequel), and DNF'd Lost In The Never Woods because it was the wrong type and intensity of dark and spooky for me at the time. Cemetery Boys is a freaking delight. Maybe my least favourite part was the villain reveal, it made sense but either it wasnt foreshadowed enough or I just wanted better for that character? idk. But this isnt primarily a plot book, its a romance, and its a story about community and acceptance, and figuring out how you fit into the world when you're not the shape you're expected to be. And it did really well with both those aspects. I also appreciate that with so many stories, real and fictional, about people who have to leave their communities to find themselves, I appreciate a story of someone who never once thinks maybe I need to leave, and instead forges on to create space for himself in his community and his heritage. That's not everyone's story and thats totally fine. Our experiences are diverse and we deserve diverse stories. Its all good. As for the romance, its really believable. Its quite an opposites-attract situation, from Julian's aggressive queerness and non-issue with Yadriel's transness making his albeit and unexpected presence a breath of fresh air to Yadriel, to their growing understanding of each other's lives and admiration for the strength of each others convictions. (When Julian is upset about his friends and Yadriel nevertheless pauses to set that boundary about ghost-safety, that was hot.). And the ghost aspect! (this is not a mini review anymore lol). I was not really sure how that was going to go, and then cheering for them, and then wondering what the heck they were gonna do about ongoing ghost-itude and the finiteness of that situation, and actually I really liked how it went. The romance and how they push each other and grow to understand each other is fun, romantic, sexy, heartfelt. Remarkably sexy given that one of them is a ghost who cant be touched. (Spoilers for a sec - the scene on the car where Yadriel reaches for Julian's jacket to pull him closer and there's nothing there to grab? Oh that feels like grief.) The book is quite a bit about grief. Missing parents, missing support networks, missing opportunities to be yourself and be accepted. Its about a guy who can communicate with ghosts and its set around Dia de Meurtos, there's grief themes.

I also really love Maritza, showing off another aspect of (gender) non-conformity, that its not only trans people who have trouble fitting fairly strict defined roles. (Julian's friends do so similarly). Almost all the Spanish I picked up from context, but how Julian refers to Yadriel at the end I knew I had to look up that word specifically and oh my heart. Overall really enjoyed. probably 9/10 second, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I havent read the books/comics, I have seen the movie. This show....for at least the first half I had no idea what the rules of the universe were or what exactly was going on or what themes exactly were being explored. I was definitely entertained though. The last few episodes manage to make sense of the first few and deliver on those themes in ways I quite liked. I liked that Ramona is the "manic pixie dream girl" and then almost immediately gets upstaged for that role by Envy Addams. I normally am annoyed at stories in which some boring guy "gets" the manic pixie dream girl and certainly doesn't appreciate her - you know the kind who goes on reddit and complains that she wont stop talking about slugs or decorates their whole house in anime? And I know scott pilgrim is a comment on that trope. I like how its about scott but its not really about scott. Largely its about Ramona and her friends (and her exes). And the others recognise that scott isnt so great, or so smart, and also that if Ramona likes him thats cool. He can be a "lovable idiot" and shes not automatically making a mistake with him. If they're happy they're happy. (and of course the ways that *could* go wrong, but arent destined to). Plus the music is fun, the visuals are bright and pretty. It might lean overstimulating for some people, I had to stop and think about my spoon levels between episodes. Thats what I got for today. Two very different fun stories I recommend like 8-9/10, not perfect but a damn good ride.

[losergendered]

ID: a set of 68 images in 34 pairs. each has one image of the listed scott pilgrim character, with a white outline in front of their corresponding flags, and a second image which is a blank flag splice. END ID

Scott Pilgrim might be bisexual, might be a trans lesbian, but currently just thinks of himself as a straight guy!

He's dating Ramona Flowers, a bisexual trans girl!

Ramona also has a slight crush on Scott's ex, Kim Pine, who's a closeted lesbian and into Lisa Miller, who's a closeted femme ply lesbian!

Scott's roommate, Wallace Wells, is gay, polyamorous and arospec and has a crush on Stephen Stills, who's a closeted gay bear! Wallace's boyfriend, Mobile, is gay, and so is his best friend, Other Scott, who's specifically a femme otter!

Stephen's boyfriend, Joseph, is a gay bearish otter, and his roommate, Hollie Hawkes, is currently bicurious and will later realize she's a bi lesbian!

Stephen's roommate, Neil Nordegraf, is a transheteroflexible autistic guy who has a crush on Scott's sister, Stacey Pilgrim, who's bi! Her ex-boyfriend, Jimmy, recently realized he's gay!

Crash Wilson is a bisexual guy who has a crush on Young Neil! His friends, Joel MacMillan and Trasha Ha, are straight and autistic respectively!

Julie Powers is a mostly straight girl, though she also considers herself heteroflexible, because she used to have feelings for Envy Adams, an aroace bi lesbian!

Julie's friends, Sandra and Monique, are both closeted and secretly dating! Sandra is bi and Monique is a lesbian!

Jason Kim and Simon Lee are both bisexual, though Jason has a female preference and Simon's bi gay!

Stephen and Kim are close friends with Knives Chau, who hasn't yet realized that she's a nonbinary lesbian! Her best friend, Tamara Chen, is sapphic!

Matthew Patel, is a bi gay guy!

Lucas Lee, is unlabeled!

Todd Ingram hasn't yet realized that he's gay! His former bandmate, Lynette Guycott, is a transfem homoflexible lesbian!

Roxie Richter is a lesbian!

Ken Katayanagi is arohet and his brother, Kyle Katayanagi, is gracehet!

Gideon Graves is bisexual, but he doesn't like to think about it!

Stephen and Scott's coworker, Dominique, is bisexual and their other coworker, Crystal, is a closeted nonbinary gay guy!

Everyone's friend, Michael Comeau is pretty much straight, but he has occasional bisexual tendencies!

[happysadyoyo]

Have you read Manhunt yet? What're your thoughts on it :0c I read it and as a baby trans I DID find relatability and solidarity in both the transfem mc's relationships with their masculinity and femininity and fears of transness etc. I wish more attention had been paid to Robbie's experiences via having to go off of T and experience villainization and harm by terfs.

I thought that the way Felker-Martin wrote the thought processes of the terfs in the book was somewhat insightful and the final realization of Ramona towards the end (despite feeling rushed) was cathartic and relieving and bittersweet. I really loved the writing of fat characters and the discussion of our relationships to fat bodies, that was good!!! Imo at least jghsdf.

Sorry for rambling in ur inbox this is very friendly intentioned I just wanna hear your thoughts!!

I think that the "High testosterone levels create rapist zombie werewolves" plotline was,,,,, Questionable :')

But I've also talked with the author thru dms personally and she was very kind and compassionate, and spoke to trans men building a kinder version of masculinity which she admired and respected deeply so whdgsjf idk!!! Tell me ur thoughts if you want to!! No pressure though!! If you haven't read the book yet you can ignore this or just give input on what parts u do know of etc!!! I'm just curious on other transmasc folx's views on the book atm.

As a matter of fact, I have read it. I didn't like it very much.

[windingcorridor]

Manhunt is a life-changer, the kind of book that shifts your insides around and makes room for itself. I finished it at 3am last night, and have been wandering around the house since. I feel hollowed out. I want to- need to- read it again. Christ.

This book has a ton of Content Warnings, some stemming from genre, most stemming from its premise and perspective. CW: transphobia, dead-naming, cannibalism, dysphoria, rape, implied incest, fatphobia, public execution, slavery, torture, body horror.

Disclaimer: I'm writing this review from my perspective as a man exploring their gender, folding in They/ Them pronouns with my He/ Him. While I have considered in myself whether or not I am a woman, I don't think I am. Do with that info what you will.

I found Manhunt on a recommendation shelf at my local bookstore- shout out to Eagle Eye Books in Decatur, GA- and its cover grabbed me instantly. It's a shocking image, blunt in its implication and color. It's a fitting one, too, echoing the words inside. You're going to get grabbed and the story isn't going to let go until the last.

You can get a synopsis for the thing anywhere, so no need here. Just know that Fran & Beth's story starts with the punchline- "What if being a man turned you into a rage zombie?"- and runs red with it. Being a trans woman is already goddam hard in the real world- now imagine people looking at you the same way people in zombie movies look at people who have been bit. It's a fantastic grounding device, with Felker-Martin using it as a jumping off point to point out how fucked transphobia can get.

Speaking of rage, this book is so full of anger and hatred, righteous and otherwise. It smacks you, not just inside the content but with its construction. Felker-Martin hates transphobes, trustfund child-adults, people who will put a hashtag on their twitter profile but never do anything. She never writes this out explicitly, but the way th`e story is told? Buddy, she makes that very clear.

The characters are deliciously complex. You start with easy sketches- the pretty one, the strong one, the fat one, the TERF, the trans man, etc- but you hop from perspective to perspective often enough that things begin to mold into a rich picture.

(If I have any criticism of the book at all, it's that, occasionally, we shift perspective so fast and often that timelines can get wobbly. I'll think it's only been a few hours in-story, but then a character will mention it's been a few weeks. It course corrects cleanly, though, and never became too much of an issue.)

One of the perspective characters- Ramona- is a part of The Legion, militarized TERFs who have taken over huge swaths of the US in name of eradicating "men wearing womanface." Thing is, Ramona has a thing for trans women. By day, she's an XX chromosome tattoo wearing Nazi, by night she's sleeping with a trans lover in a secret brothel. She hates her hypocrisy (so many of the characters ooze self-hatred), but she is so caught up in the fervor of her movement that she can't slow down.

These contradictions cover the whole cast. At times, I hated them. Others, I loved them. By the end, all I wanted to do is spend more time with them.

It's here I want to say- I love you, Beth. It's obvious that the author loves you, too. Not in the "here's-some-plot-armor" way, the book isn't cheap like that. The author writes Beth and all of the other trans characters with so much empathy, personal history, and heart, it's difficult not to see them as breathing, beautiful people.

When you have a book like this- one that moves at so much force- you worry that there isn't a way in hell that it will stick the ending. Happy to report that as much of a power-drill the last act is, I left the book satisfied. I, alone in my living room, warm forgotten beer on the coffee table, wife and daughter asleep in the next room, muttered, "Whoa," when I read the last paragraph.

So, yeah. Read Manhunt. It isn't for everyone. The best art never is. But if you allow yourself to be taken by it, hold on.

Nick <3

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken

We’re getting a trailer for the movie in about a week.

Who made the movie?

The film, which had been made under the working title of Meet the Gillmans, is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kirk DeMicco (Vivo, The Croods, Space Chimps) and produced by Kelly Cooney Cilella (Bilby, Trolls World Tour). Faryn Pearl (storyboard artist on The Croods: A New Age, Trolls World Tour) is co-directing.

I know those movies aren't most populations favorites but I'll wait for the trailer. I expect it to be on a funny and silly side.

Voice cast:

Lana Condor (She was in those terrible To all the boys movies.), Toni Collette (I haven't seen anything she was in.), Annie Murphy (I haven't seen anything she was in.), Sam Richardson (A comedian actor who was in so unfunny productions like Velma and HouseBroken.), Liza Koshy ( I know nothing about her or her work.), Will Forte (Again, I know nothing about him or his work.), Colman Domingo (He's fine. I never watched anything he was in.), Jaboukie Young-White (He was in the Disney's Strange World as a token gay.), Blue Chapman (Blue is a trans boy who is best recognized for his role in the series Council of Dads where he plays a transgender character named JJ. By the way he's only 13 and was way younger when transitioning! I don't care if it's offensive to you. It is creepy and wrong!), Eduardo Franco (He's an actor known for his comedic roles and being in Stranger Things. I haven't seen anything he was in.), Ramona Young (I haven't seen anything she was in.), Echo Kellum (He's apparantly a comedian and was on Arrow. You know, that terrible CW show.), Nicole Byer (Unfunny comedian I've never heard before with a terrible book.), and Jane Fonda (The bitch who called for the murder of Pro-Lifers.).

So what? The voice actors are their own individuals with their own opinions. Just because an actress is a piece of human garbage doesn't mean the whole company shares her views. And it's not like a movie will be talking about her political opinions.

It's a great opportunity to see if those people are any good. It's the script that matters! But the history of the cast isn't getting my hopes up or fill me with any excitement. As long as they'll say their lines and won't be too annoying it will be fine.

I want to say this. Even though I'm pro life and don't agree with transitioning kids who are way too young to know the consequences of their actions I would never call for murder or any harm for those people.

What's the story?

The story follows a shy 16-year-old named Ruby Gillman (Condor) who learns that she is the next in a legendary line of royal sea krakens. Despite her lofty destiny, all Ruby wants to do is fit in. At school, she falls for a skater-boy that she’s tutoring who shows no indication of feeling the same way about her. Ruby struggles even more to fit in because her mother (Collette) forbids her from going to the beach with any would-be friends. But when Ruby decides to disobey her mom’s instructions, she learns that she’s descended from the warrior kraken queens and will one day ascend to her grandmother’s throne (Fonda) as the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.

In the film, the krakens are a race sworn to protect the world’s oceans from the vain, power-hungry mermaids, and the two sides have been battling for eons. The generational confrontation comes to a head when a popular mermaid named Chelsea enrolls at Ruby’s school.

I really hope this movie won't go the ''Pretty girls are mean and superficial. I'm shy and not like the other girls. That boy just has to learn to not judge by the appearances.'' I believe that Dreamworks is better than that and will make great deconstruction of that trope. In The Croods New Age they had the chance to make stupid love triangle drama but didn't.

I'm worried about the lack of male characters. The plot only talks about female mermaids and queen krakens. No mention of males even in art. I hope it won't be the case that males don't transform because that would be such a waste.

Here is the link

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/teenage-kraken-dreamworks-kirk-demicco-226970.html

I hope it's reliable. But if it's just some fun made think and I got played well I guess only time will tell. And if that's the case I will just make another post.

[boobachu]

I had a dream I was reading this queer book and in the middle was a cut Scott Pilgrim chapter that was in full color and it involved Scott discovering and talking some pills Ramona has and he started feeling better but also would get in distress and things like his beard and chest would glow and thats when other people started noticing and it turned out Ramona was trans and Scott got into her E pills and the glow was a way to show isolated dysphoria

There was also reference to a book that this book was a sequel to and I think Niel turned out to be trans and Scott was like "you're no longer Niel"

Also there were some chick tracks and one was a trans girl got a cat stuck inside her because aunno when she grew a uterus the cat was on her lap and she was like "oh the cat's stuck again" and it was so stupid I had to alert the internet but then I woke up

Though glowing parts is an interesting way to show something as a background irritation so I might try that...

[fiberglassandflowers]

okay yeah. happy pride take this gender sexuality masterlist 👍

vannie: bigender aromantic

trip: unlabeled guy-adjacent i don’t even know tbh

laplace: agender aroace-spec

mina: aroace-spec trans woman-adjacent

walter: cishet man [he's probably transfem but give her a few years]

dotty's trans also <3

lia: lesbian [probably aroace-spec idk i just know she likes women]

warren: transfem + cupioromantic

marsha: grayromantic asexual, mspec prob

norman: bisexual trans man

mortimer: aroace + agender

fern: bisexual trans man

miranda: transhet or something. idk thats a bug

cotard: transfem + idk she's something though

ramona: idk she's arospec somewhere

dr sunshine: idk <3

im not even adding debbie. cishet + homophobic

colin: demiromantic demisexual + sapphic probably

laplace: who cares about him [aroace + agender]

[dragongirltongue]

do your heroes have secret identities? if so, how do each of them manage it? alternatively, if there's a break from their hero work, how do they fill the time?

So while furry tends to carry a little more variety in the individual this setting still works on the superhero rule of just putting on a domino mask will make you instantly harder to recognize somehow. With that explained let's go down the list.

Weightless, AKA Ramona Knight. She started out having a secret identity 6ut over time decides to 6ecome a full time Superhero and unmasks herself for the world to see. Due to some events in her 6ack story there's no draw6ack to this choice as her history effectively does not exist.

Ramona spends her off time resting really. Once the team and HQ are esta6lished she helps out around the 6ase. Sometimes the rest of Safeguard force her to take a nap.

She's also got this from 6eing an allegory for my own transition, she's also canonically trans herself uwu.

Tectonic, aka Samantha [lastname] She's got one, she was Ramona's roommate when the dragon first showed up in San Francisco. She felt that her hero 6usiness could endanger her friends and the union she's with as a construction worker so she keeps her lives very separate. Weightless is pu6licly in a polyamorous relationship with Tectonic and Samantha to help keep her cover.

She'll either 6e working her day jo6 or actually finding some time to relax, she's got a few places she'll drag Ramona to like 6ars and such, just trying to help her 6estie/GF cut loose.

Upright AKA Quinn [lastname] She's got one too, given her ha6it of 6reaking and entering 6uildings for fun 6efore she decided to 6ecome a superhero she's got a few things to hide, she's more casual a6out it as time goes on 6ut she's got no intention to 6ridge the gap like Weightless did.

After 6ecoming Upright she stopped her more criminal 6ehavior mostly 6ecause hero work gave her the same thrill, her off days are spent pretty lazily too, mostly trying to find ways to rest her 6ody in spite of her curse.

Breakout AKA Lucas Jackson God he wishes, he would love to 6e a6le to just 6e some guy sometimes 6ut given how his powers work he can't really hide his face when he's doing the superhero thing. Even if he could the la6 that gave him his powers have his personal details on record and could out him at any moment if they wanted.

As much as he'd love to cut loose and have fun, most of his off time is spent trying to find ways to control his mutation 6etter, not wanting to 6e rid of it 6ut desperately wishing to not have to worry a6out it. Quinn sees Lucas' life style as a challenge and tries her 6est to make him relax.

Glitch AKA Lolo_13 Glitch maintains an online identity as a living 6reathing [human] with flesh and 6ones 6ecause while she may 6elieve that 6eing a digital god is a 6lessing, she does miss the mundanity of 6eing [NameMissing] and is happy to live that fantasy on social media and online games. If you get the reference in her name you get a high five 6tw.

As mentioned her off time is spent posting online and trying not to 6e caught as a 6ot in online games despite her digitally superior reaction times.

She also makes a game out of fucking with rich people until they agree to donate large sums to the charities of her choice, she considers this to 6e hero work though so it doesn't count.

[femgineerasolution]

10 characters, 10 fandoms

Thanks @boggartbae for the tag that I'm slowly catching up with ^^;

Gideon Nav - The Locked Tomb (aka my fav lesbian necromancers in space)

Shallan Davar - The Stormlight Archives (though it's hard to choose between her and Wit)

Ramona Flowers - Scott Pilgrim (I dream of being that cool)

Excel Excel - Excel Saga (one day I'll read volume 27 and accept it finished, but not yet)

Yasha Nydoorin - Mighty Nein/Critical Role campaign 2 (I've never cosplayed and don't know if I could, but if I did it'd be her)

Lain Iwakura - Serial Experiments Lain (I am forever one problem away from her haircut)

Samus Aran - Metroid (honestly more for the art people make than the actual games - I am not immune to 6'+ hench women)

Seras Victoria - Hellsing (I am also not immune to the way bloodlust makes women look)

Ouyang Yuanzi - Soulmate (I don't think diabetes works like the author thinks it does, but this still made me cry a little)

Claudia Donavan - Warehouse 13 (geeky tinkerer I discovered as I was realising I was trans and latched on to)

Bonus fandom without a character because it's been too long and I don't remember their names - The Night World, which I discovered around age 8, and have been waiting for the final book for over 20 years now. Beginning to think it might not be coming out...

Tagging others to get in on the fun (if you want to!): @lillyofthewoods @cindernet-explorer @nicolemakes and anyone else who wants to ^^

[royalrebelpropaganda]

(NHA here!! hi!!) you say Duchess trans, yeah? Well, I propose to you either 2 things (or both): A) Trans Sparrow or B) Trans Justine

currently reading Phoenix by The_Lavender_Creator on ao3 which is t4t Sparrow/Cedar and is very cute !!! however I do not necessarily headcanon Sparrow or Justine as trans and therefore cannot add my thoughts to this </3 Sparrow has the most cishet energy in the world to me which isn’t to say that I don’t love and adore him ‼️‼️ but you know how it goes. Ramona could be trans though >:) I could see it

(also omg hi you’re off anon !!)

[ihopethisendswell]

Zee and B ( Zara and Bo).

Zara on the left, Bo on the right. At some point I told myself that I would change their names. Then I made a tag about them. Oh well. Zara walked so Ramona could run lol. Yes, Zara and Bo came first. In fact they cake before/ around the same time as the swsh ocs!

Much like a lot of my own oc stuff here, there's no real plot, but it's fine since I see the cast as a slice of life type anyway. This isn't the first time I'm showing y'all the two siblings, but who cares lol.

Zara is a young witch( 16), daughter of Grim Reapers ( they're not really grim reapers, but she thinks the title is cool ), who lives with her older Bo. Despite her look, she's actually attuned to plant magic....though that's kinda hard when you live in the big city. And when you're magic tends to just not work how you want it too.

Bo is Zara's older brother (25) and guardian as their moms do official "grim reaper" stuff. He's not a witch,in fact he wasn't born with magic at all. It was an oddity, given his eye color, but low and behold, Bo turned out to be a Null, beings that can't be affected by magic. As a provider for himself and Zara, he works a multitude of jobs, including the magical supermarket and bounty hunting for cursed artifacts ( since he, you know, can't get cursed). Rent doesn't pay themselves.

As for the two moms( Victoria and Irene)..... they're great! Work is demanding as hell, especially dealing with wayward souls. The last thing they wanted to do was make Bo Zara's provider as they work. But he insisted, all three knowing how much more dangerous if Zara stayed with them, especially with her untapped magic. They do send money home, of course, to help Bo not overwork himself ( it... doesn't work), and Irene is planning on taking a "work at home" position, to lessen the load for Bo :)

The families last name is Flores! Until I change my mind, but that's the surname I've used for them since the beginning.

Zara is an aroace demi girl ( she/they)

Bo is gay and trans

Silly fun fact:

Zara is so fucking tired of everyone and their mother coming to them to tell them that Bo is hot. So fucking tired. " Woah, Zara you're brother's hot-" she's banging her head into a wall. She's so tired. She will do arson in retaliation.

And.....yeah. Yet another Zara and Bo post. Cherish it, it may be the last/j

Picrew

[boy-in-the-stars]

Scott Pilgrim has known that Wallace has done drag since college, though he’s never seen it in real time. Just through crappy Polaroid pictures, makeup stained wipes in the garbage and the various outfits and wigs his roommate has accumulated. Wallace isn’t super open about it, but he’s not ashamed… he’s more just concerned that it might make Scott uncomfortable; however, he finally bites the bullet and asks his roommate to come to one of his shows. To his surprise, Scott agrees and they make a night out of it. Blah blah blah, it’s a good time and Scott Pilgrim might just be into Wallace Wells in drag.

Idk I just like the idea of Wallace being a butchy queen whose gimmick is that she’s lowkey an alcoholic and looks like a masc lesbian with a mullet similar to Ramona’s (just less girly.)

OR

Maybe a gender swap universe? If you’re comfortable with writing that.

Live Laugh Love the headcanon that Scott is trans you can implement that into any prompt easily tbh.

OR (x2)

You can never go wrong with crossfaded college Scollace shenanigans.

i like number one, i might write wallace more femme for some reason bc he’s just like me fr

[iosun]

gonna be honest i do not see the appeal in scott pilgrim every time i see footage of it it just looks like the most grating media ive ever seen idk what about it is resonating with so many trans people i know. ramona's cute though

[a-tale-of-legends]

R.B's friendship with Team Star cause I know it in my heart they are friends.

Giacomo - Was surprised by how chill he was. Was kinda wary about him, hearing about how he used to be class president and also a bit of a bully himself. However, seeing how he chilled out and how he constantly seems to worry about his own position in power ( worries that he's taking too much and not being fair), she went " okay you're cool". They are kinda alike, both are pretty smart, and can easily joke around with each other. Of the team star leaders, his base is the one she hangs out with the most.

Mela- Two goth girls with a bit of a temper. Mela more than R.B. I feel like the two bicker a lot, with R.B's snark and Melia's temper. That being said, they are ride or die for each other, Mela getting really heated when people talk shit about R.B, and R.B using her cold intimidation to get advantage when people talk smack about Mela. They like hanging out and trying out new makeup items with each other. Mela jokingly complains how Giacomo is hogging R.B to himself ( she always makes sure to reassure him that she doesn't think he's doing that, and that she's joking)

Atticus- It takes R.B a minute to fully understand what he's saying, but overall, I think the two have a very sweet relationship. R.B is a very good listener and often listens to Atticus' discussions of ninja culture or whatever fashion he seems to be interested in. Truthfully, I think R.B admires how Atticus seems so comfortable in his own skin, something that R.B sometimes struggle with herself. Atticus is also really sweet, giving her a shoulder to lean on if needed, and always finds a way to compliment her. Ramona, who is still getting used to getting genuine compliments, gets flustered every time.

Ortega- I'll be honest, Ortega is more close to Luca than he is to R.B, but I think R.B loves getting on his nerves. Usually doesn't take most of his bravado and gives him a good noogie for the fun of it. Most of her information about Ortega comes from Luca, so she at least knows his interests and boundaries. She does like talking to him about machinery though, and greatly encourages him to pursue it if that's what he truly wants.

Eri- Oh Eri is a sweet heart and leaves R.B a mess with how genuinely sweet she is. Again she is still getting used to people actually giving a shit about her, and Eri is just so sweet that it takes her off guard so much. She may have cried when Eri pulled her aside once to ask her if she was okay. I think they're shopping buddies ( with Mela of course) and Eri helps train R.B!

Penny- Bc of the main plot, these two are very close. I think they had a rocky start, with Penny being a bit intimidated by R.B at first, but after everything they went through together, they're two peas in a pod ( trans girls in STEM). Penny absolutely introduced a shit ton of anime and video games to R.B who never really got to experience that fully before. They honestly match each other's snark very well ( much to the pain of Arven lmao), and really Get™ each other. Much like Atticus, R.B admires Penny a lot. She admires how Penny tried to create a safe space for those who were bullied, even if it ended up a mess. She wishes that she had that back in her old schools- maybe then she wouldn't have felt so alone. Vice versa, I think penny admires R.B for how she was so resilient through everything. The world constantly gave her a shitty hand and yet she was still standing, not running away. I really think these two are close friends :)

[esevik]

Chapter 2:8

So the rich girl/woman in charge of the bunker is not only selfishly ignorant but also downright monstrous and litterally commits deadly human testing on other people with barely any guilt (she showed a smudge of guilt after being punched in the face and called out on it). And for what? To have her own "family"? She could have adopted or used a sperm from the number of trans women she has working in her pleasure hall but no, she has to carry this one specific infected man's child. And then she makes it everyone else's problem. I honestly don't understand how the people working with her just accepts this. I agree with Indi that this place needs to go, though I would prefer if they could break it down and redistribute the resources/food to those in need.

Ramona apparently did not recognise Fran what-so-ever since she's not having a single thought about her. She's too worried the head terf will figure out she's a chaser and takes out her stress by being a fairly typical abuser. I don't understand why the person she's kind of-sort of seeing stands to be around her. I assume the only reason she's still able to access the building despite all her warnings is because they're afraid she'll call a raid on them if they actually refuse her. Ramona very clearly goes in circles of: I like you. -> What will people think about me liking you? -> You're disgusting and horrible. -> I'm sorry, I won't do it again. -> I like you.

It's painful to read and I hope the cycle will break soon. Despite all her hypocracy she's clearly chosen the terf's side again and again - it's what she wants and she regards her chaser tendencies as a weakness. She's also getting a bit more violent every time she's down in the dums and I fear she's going to kill this partner of hers.

Beth might get sold into slavery. Robbie is informed about this and wants to learn more/stop this from happening but when he tells Fran she refuses to believe him. Fran is clearly caring more about herself and the fact that she's finally feeling comfortable rather than making sure her "friend" is ok. Currently it feels like Fran only cares about Beth as much as she's obligated to. If she could choose to stay with the top of the people in the bunker safe and secure for the rest of her life if Beth went away she'd probably choose it.

There seems to only be two decent characters in this book, Robbie and Indi. I don't count Beth since she's currently an abused and depressed blob floating around in the background.