#they don’t acknowledge that they are crossdressing either

[rain-day-today]

This is so so dumb but here me out

Natsu and gray entering a costume contest together

Everyone thinks that they did it because of Erza or something , and that their entry gonna be some half baked random apart duo.

Then…BAM!

They walk in

Full on crossdressed (and crossdressed well might I add) . like Cancer magic long hair, fake boobs (the things are actually real they just pushed up their man titties), the whole shabang and then some

as Starfire and Blackfire

ITS PERFECT

Natsu & Starfire =pink hair + green eyes + FIRE + childish feisty personality

Gray & Blackfire = black hair + dark (violet/black?) eyes + siblings rivalry + sarcastic personality

Everyone would be STUNNED JAWS TO THE FLOOR

[crissiebaby]

The Padded Palace Act III: Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: This story contains diaper usage, crossdressing, inappropriate language, humiliation, masturbation/diaper sex, and other ABDL themes. Be sure to check out the link in the description if you need to start all the way back from the first chapter in Act I! I hope you enjoy!

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*CLUNK!*

A flock of birds chirped as they flew across the crisp morning air as Connor loaded up the last of Latasha and Skye’s luggage and slammed the trunk door shut. “Okay, you should be all set to go. Do you wanna run over your checklist again?” he said, pretending to be wide awake despite the fact that his eyes kept drooping every few seconds.

“Going through the list a fourth time would definitely be overdoing it,” said Latasha, chuckling at her own excessive thoroughness. She pulled Connor in for a hug, brushing the back of his hair and she held him tightly in her arms, “Oh wow, this’ll be the longest I’ve been gone for the Palace in a couple of years now. Feels almost bizarre.”

Leaning his head against Latasha’s chest, Connor enjoyed the last moments of bliss with his secret Mommy, especially since he was going to be left alone hosting a slumber party for the triplets of terror. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine back here, so go enjoy your diaper convention with Skye.”

“Okay, but you promise me you’ll call if anything goes wrong,” said Latasha sternly, breaking from her hug momentarily to get a nod of understanding from Connor, “Ugh! I’m already missing you.” She yanked Connor back into her arms without warning, smothering his face in between her boobs as she hugged his head.

Unfortunately, not all were as happy as Latasha was on an extra early Friday morning. Exiting the house with her My Little Pony backpack strapped to her back and a fresh diaper taped on under her multi-colored, pleated skirt, Skye scowled at the affectionate display that Connor and Latasha were putting on, having no energy for a poker face. Without acknowledging either her Mommy or her caregiver, she waddled around to the passenger side of the van and climbed into the backseat where her car seat was waiting.

“Uh oh, I think Skye’s a little grumpy this morning,” said Latasha, finally allowing air to re-enter Connor’s lungs as she spotted her precious angel’s pouty face in the corner of her eye, “Why don’t you go say bye to her. I might cheer her up a little.”

Scoffing lightheartedly at how diligent Latasha was, Connor responded, “You’re never not in Mommy mode, are you?”

“Oh, I have my moments. I’ve just got eyes like a hawk. Nothing, especially a crabby Little, can get past my perfect peripherals,” said Latasha, holding her hands up next to her eyes to mime a pair of side-view mirrors, “Now scoot, I need to grab my purse from the house anyhow.” She swatted the back of Connor’s pull-up, shooing him off in Skye’s direction before running back into the house.

Sighing, Connor slowly rounded the van, trying to wake himself up enough to put on a sunny face for Skye. Much like the angsty girl in question, he too was far from a morning person. Ironically, he was a tad jealous that Skye would get to go back to sleep once the car got moving. Meanwhile, he had to stay up and prep the nursery for the day without Latasha, which would be followed up by a full day of work and a sleepover to boot. Sliding open the van’s backseat door, he put on the best warm expression he could muster. “What? No hug goodbye?” he said, holding his arms wide.

With her head back and her eyes shut, Skye scrunched up her face and groaned. She didn’t want to open her eyelids, much less climb back out of the car, evident by the fact that she had already kicked her shoes off. However, the prospect of a hug from Connor was too good to pass up, no matter how tired still was. Hopping out of her car seat, she leaned out of the car and wrapped her arms around Connor’s torso without saying a word.

“Aww, such a sleepy girl,” said Connor, placing one arm around Skye to support her body while using the other to pet her hair, “You got Lyle with you, right?”

Nodding her head while still nuzzled up against his chest, Skye responded, “Uh huh! He’s ridin shodgum.” Breaking from the hug, she pointed to the front seat, where Lyle was sitting slumped over.

“Ooh, good call. Latasha’s gonna need a navigator,” said Connor, earning a playful giggle from Skye for his efforts. He helped Skye back into her seat and buckled her in before planting a kiss on her forehead, “Have a safe trip and make sure to keep Mommy safe, okay?” He offered his pinky to Skye.

Now wide awake thanks to the shot of energy Connor’s hug gave her, Skye nodded her head again, this time much more enthusiastically. “I will, I pwomise!” she said, locking pinkies with Connor.

Glancing over at the crumpled lion plushy, Connor shook his head as he stepped away from Skye to open the passenger door. As he did so, he made an exaggerated gasp. “Lyle! You’re not planning to ride in the front without a seatbelt on, are you?” he said, leaning inside the car and clipping on the stuffed lion’s seatbelt while Skye squealed and giggled gleefully in the back, “There. Safety first, Lyle.” He patted Lyle on the head as he shifted the plushies snoot over the waist belt. 

“Aww, isn’t this precious?” cooed Latasha, walking up behind Connor as he was fiddling with the strapped-in stuffy, “You giving me a front-seat buddy for the long trip? How sweet.” She placed her hand against Connor’s padded tushy, silently reinforcing his role in their relationship without tipping off Skye. 

Connor’s face turned as red as a fire engine as he remained crouched over the passenger seat. He cupped his mouth with his hand, keeping himself from making an embarrassing noise that Skye might overhear. He wanted to tell her that he was doing it for Skye but he knew he was far too flustered to address her casually.

Thankfully, Connor’s salvation came when Skye spoke up to ensure credit was properly given. “I puts Lyle dere! He’s gonsa be da shodgum! Connow was jus puddin on his seatbewt,” she said, wiggling in her seat and puffing her chest out proudly as she awaited praise for her excellent decision making.

“Why, thank you, baby girl. I need someone to pick the tunes, after all,” said Latasha, shifting from Dommy to Mommy in the blink of an eye as she moved to the backseat to pepper Skye’s face with kisses, “Happy to see you’re in a better mood now. Ready to go have fun at CrissCon?”

Skye was practically bouncing out of her car seat to let Latasha know how excited she was. As anxious as she was to be gone from Connor and her home for the next few days, she was also elated to be going to her first convention in over two years.

Shutting both passenger side doors, Latasha clapped her hands together, fighting off the morning coffee jitters as she smiled at her dutiful employee. “Well done with Skye. It usually takes a long nap and some candy bartering to cheer her up on a super early day,” she said, patting Connor on the back, “You’ve really come into your own as a caregiver. Well, for the most part anyhow. I’ve definitely seen you have your anxious moments.”

Not wanting to admit that the vast majority of his nervousness at work was because Stacy was constantly reminding him of both his padding and the blackmail she had on him, he forced out a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that. I…probably just need to stop second-guessing myself is all,” he said, coming up with a generic excuse.

“That’s the spirit. Ooh! Let me give you the key,” said Latasha, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her ring of keys. She twisted the pink house key off the metal coil delicately, “Keep ‘er safe. She’s yours for the next three days and I expect to find her as I left her.” Her fingers clung to the key for a half-second too long as she passed it off to Connor. It was the first time she’d ever entrusted her house to someone else and her apprehension was obvious.

Doing his best to be reassuring, Connor responded, “You worry too much. Everything will be fine. You hired me so you’d be able to do stuff like this, didn’t you?”

“One, if you ever pay for your own mortgage someday, you’ll understand. And two, yes, weekends like this are exactly why I hired you,” said Latasha, stepping toward Connor and bringing him in for a big bear, “Thank you, by the way. I’m glad I have someone I can trust.”

“Me too,” said Connor, maneuvering his arms around Latasha’s waist while tightly held within hers. The way her arms forced him into such a low position made him feel unbelievably small in the best of ways. Leaning into her chest, he felt a rush of energy not too dissimilar to how Skye felt in his arms, almost as if her embrace gave him all the strength he needed to power through this weekend on his own. His face was practically glowing as the pair broke from their hug, setting both of them on the path toward a very unforgettable weekend, “Love you, Mommy. Have a safe trip.”

Ruffling his near-shoulder-length hair, Latasha replied, “I love you too, Connie.” It had been an interesting two months, for sure, but nothing filled her with more heartwarming bliss than hearing Connor call her Mommy so casually. That was their normal relationship now and she couldn’t have been happier. She pressed her face to his tangled hair, nuzzling against his soft curls. “Your hair is getting so long and fluffy. Bet that makes Baby Connie feel all fuzzy inside.”

The blush on Connor’s cheeks was amplified to new heights. He couldn’t deny that he loved the way longer hair softened up his facial features and tickled the back of his neck. As per usual, Latasha always had a way of locating and striking at his most vulnerable weaknesses.

*HOOOOOOONK!*

Connor and Latasha both jumped as the car’s horn brought an abrupt end to their hug. Leaning over the center console with her seatbelt unclipped at her side, Skye was mercilessly slamming her palm into the steering wheel as her way of asserting her disapproval of their lengthy embrace. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way Latasha saw it. “Welp, I think I’ve kept Skye waiting for long enough,” she said, snickering at what she perceived as nothing more than a Little’s impatience.

“Better get a move on before she wakes up the whole neighborhood,” said Connor, giggling alongside Latasha. The two shared one last brief hug before dashing to the driver's seat to put an end to Skye’s ruckus.

Watching his Mommy wave goodbye as she and Skye drove into the distance, Connor felt a twinge of sadness in his chest. He hadn’t been alone in quite some time and the energy of the house always cranked up to eleven with so many Littles running around. So, as he stepped back inside the house to find a completely quiet house, his heart ached a tad. At least he knew it wouldn’t be long before the halls of the Palace were filled with the obnoxious voices of Ellie, Riri, and Stacy. Placing a pair of earbuds in and turning on some music, he got to work setting up for the girls to arrive, doing his best to distract himself from the quiet.

TO BE CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT »

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Edited by AllySmolShork

[teenyweenyeenymeeny]

How does it feel to carry the agere Jumin Han community on your shoulders? 3,5,13,14,15,17,19 for him.

Hm… heavy!!! [silly] but sooo worth t 🤍 so many for him!! Wow!!!! K lso I wll. Not answer in order 🤍

14 - Do they wet the bed?

Y. Yea </3 Not usually when he is at home!! But on overnight business trips when he is away from Elizabeth III he has to follow a Very strict routine and if anything is at all wrong then. Uh oh! He did bring it up to a doctor and doctor said it is just a stress response and he should relax more often but that is not an option he is a very. Busy man!!!! ← his thoughts

13 - Have they ever had a daytime accident?

ONLY when he is little and he is NOT a fan. It is like. “Oh so if I’m too stressed I have night accidents but if I let myself relax too much in the day I have accidents then too? NOT fair” but. Since it only happens when he is little the only person who has ever seen him have an accident is V and of course he would not tell anyone!!

3 - How do they feel about wearing diapers? (shy? angry? chill?)

Well. He used to only wear them. Overnight when he is away from home! And at that point he did not Like them but he had accepted them as just. Something he needed! He reasoned that. It would be worse if he Didn’t wear them! Oh but then when he is getting more Used to letting himself be taken care of by V he starts wearing his diapers when they get together because he keeps worrying that he’ll have an accident! He wants his diapers to be a secret but V Does notice and has to reassure Jumin that it doesn’t matter to him and. If he is okay with it, V will help him with them! Like changing and stuff! But Jumin still feels weird about acknowledging them so he Rarely takes up that offer

5 - What are their favourite patterns/designs?

Kitties!!! Jsjsjs before he started accepting his regression he refused to buy diapers that were at all cute in case they started making him feel little or just. Being something he Liked at all [“they serve a purpose and that is all they have to do. They shouldn’t be something I Want to wear”] but!!! As they become part of his little Experience it is only fair that he wears ones he likes!! A lot of the time [especially for bed] he still wears generic adult briefs but. Sometimes he indulges himself and buys cat related patterns 🤍

17 - What’s their favourite thing to wear over a diaper? (pants? skirts? diaper cover? nothing at all?)

EXCELLENT opportunity to talk about another headcanon I have been thinking about recently but haven’t known how to address I think!!! That Jumin wears skirts when he’s little!! In the game there is a bit where you can ask him if he would consider crossdressing and I think that. He isn’t against it he just says that he doesn’t have the right look to pull it off. And!! I disagree of course I think he should get to at least try on a skirt ๑❛ᴗ❛๑ neways. I am giving him. Similar sensory issues to my own!! [lovely gift I know!! You r welcom ๑❛ᴗ❛๑] I will not. Be detailed but pants can be very. Uncomfortable! And when he is little and more sensitive that is when his sensory issues really. Are Issues for him [big Jumin is sooo brave and powerful… but no one can ignore sensory issues forever 🤍] and I think he wears skirts Sometimes when he’s not regressed but. Almost exclusively when he is. And!! I think this is especially true when he is wearing a diaper! In the game there is a bit where Jumin says that he likes the tension of more restrictive clothes and of course this is still true when he is little [weighted blanket fiend…] but!! The issue with wearing tight pants over a diaper is that it would make him Extremely Aware of the diaper which he. Is very uncomfortable with!! Neways. A skirt gives him the restriction he likes without making his diaper too obvious [either visually or. Like sensorily (I KNOW sight is a sense I don’t know how to separate it but. I mean touch specific and I don’t know the word)] and he likes that ๑❛ᴗ❛๑

19 - How does their CG feel about the little one wearing diapers?

V is very nice about it!! He noticed that Jumin wore them. Shortly after he Started doing it around V and V does his best to make it feel like not a big deal 🤍 if they are already talking about the diapers and Jumin is upset, V is good at calming him down and giving him lots of love BUT that is not what Jumin usually needs!! Usually all Jumin needs is for V Not to bring them up and V understands that!! Even if he can see Jumin’s diaper or if he is in a similar situation he doesn’t point it out because he knows all that will do will upset Jumin.

15 - Who changes them? (their cg? anyone who’s comfortable? only themself?)

If Jumin is at all capable, he changes himself. The only reason he might not be able to is because of his dexterity! I think that especially when he is little his dexterity is Not very good and it can be hard to change himself! This is part of the reason he tries to get pull-up style diapers because they are much easier for him but if he’s little enough even those are hard to get on right!! AND sometimes a certain design ONLY comes on diapers with tapes so he has to struggle a bit more getting them on and off. When he is having a really bad time, he lets V help him but he still gets upset as he’s being changed and V makes sure he assures Jumin that this is a normal thing to need help with and that he doesn’t mind helping!!

W. Wow so much I said!!! Hope all my thoughts r. Communicated Effectively hehe I have So Many. Not that you could tell [silly]

[luzeni]

lupin is a franchise in which “death of the author” can be observed. The people who created those episodes no longer work or benefit from the show. It’s important to acknowledge that the origin of those “jokes” are transmisogynistic, but the nature of this particular show’s status means individuals can rewrite those parts into something that represents them. There are undercurrents of coding, intentional or not, in Lupin’s character from the very beginning, that make some of us lean toward interpreting some of his disguises as drag queen or genderfluid. (Lupin’s character in particular has this, but I haven’t seen much to suggest the same with the other characters. At least, not in the same way. Zenigata’s “crossdressing” bits definitely just come off mean-spirited with no saving graces, headcannons or otherwise.) that said, most people in the fandom are far too lax with their handling of these issues, and need to respect that many others don’t want to see it. I would like to stress that I am definitely not excusing the horrid “jokes”. I’m not rly sure I worded any of this right. I say all this to tell you, some of the gross handling of the fandom is due to ignorance, not malice, though they are indistinguishable without context.

if i'm being completely honest, it sounds a bit like you're talking down to me. to clarify, i'm not saying u can't view lupin characters through a trans/genderfluid lens, i'm saying that u have to be careful abt how u do it and consider the original context, ESPECIALLY if ure tme

the writers didn't make these jokes bc they "worked for/benefited from" the show, they made them bc they thought they were funny. lupin iii is flawed. the earlier installments are a product of their time and need to be recognized as such. rewriting the transmisogynistic jokes to try and twist them into "good rep" is thinking uncritically bc it ignores the original context-- pretending they aren't being told at the expense of trans women in some desperate grab for lgbt rep IS transmisogyny. yes, coding is and has been a thing all throughout the series, but that doesn't mean it wasn't done with harmful intent

death of the author doesn’t work here either bc i know u cannot tell me with 100% certainty that monkey punch HIMSELF was the one who wrote those jokes into the episodes/movies. he may have started it with how he originally characterized lupin, i'm sure, but at a certain point u can’t keep using him as a scapegoat when other people are perpetuating his bs (namely those who worked on part 2). he was not the only piece of shit who wrote for this franchise

i'm not condemning lupin iii-- it's nearly 60 years old at this point, ofc there are going to be issues-- i'm just saying (and i genuinely can’t believe that i even have to make this point in the first place) that people need to be critical of it -_- 40+ year old transmisogyny is not a #lgbt win no matter how cute/funny/etc u think ur favorite anime protag is . lol. it doesn’t matter if it’s done out of malice or ignorance; u can’t reclaim transmisogyny if u aren’t transfem to begin with. if u send me another ask abt this i will screenshot it and send it to my friends so we can laugh at u again ❤️

[transmascjfk]

i'm,, trans and hc chihiro to be a male..

i'm sorry, but i don't quite understand how that's transphobic. could you please explain how chihiro is transmisogynistic? (sorry if i come off as rude - that's not my intention and i genuinely just don't understand, though i would like to!!)

What is transmisoginy?

"Transmisogyny is a distinct category of transphobia in that transmisogyny mainly focuses on trans women and other transgender individuals who demonstrate femininity, whereas transphobia is a more general term, covering a broader spectrum of prejudice and discrimination towards transsexual and transgender individuals. Julia Serano states in Whipping Girl that "when the majority of jokes made at the expense of trans people center on 'men wearing dresses' or 'men who want their penises cut off' that is not transphobia – it is transmisogyny. When the majority of violence and sexual assaults committed against trans people is directed at trans women, that is not transphobia – it is transmisogyny." "

Chihiro is written to mock trans women, to say that in reality trans women are secretly men, she is a man who is weak and uses being trans as a way to escape her problems, this is a thing that is also said to trans men a lot, that theyre just trying to avoid the hard parts of being a woman by becoming a man. Even if the writters intended it to be like that or not (which they probably did because transphobia is a big thing that happens a lot, obviously) it's still transmisogynistic. Thats that on that

This is a pretty common transphobic trope actually, the "Turns out this one character was actually from the opposite sex??!!", theres more examples of this in other games outside Danganronpa.

But also her experience is pretty different from other examples, her experiences are way too similar with trans womens experiences.

This is mostly for the cis people who call her a crossdresser and refuse to change their mind, on it, sit down.

Written by a trans man.

Don't tell me whats transphobic and what it's not transphobic if you're cis. Just sit down and read.

Tw: transphobia, transmisoginy, death mentions and blood in the pictures.

The game implies a lot of stuff with her dialogue, it doesn't straight up says "I don't want to be a woman anymore, I'm a man" like everyone claims it does.

[ Alt text 1:

Chihiro Fujisaki: I'm going to get stronger...and accept who I am... ]

[ Alt text 2:

Chihiro Fujisaki: Strong enough so that when someone says "even thought you're a boy" I'll be okay. I'll get better! ]

[ Alt text 3:

Chihiro Fujisaki: I wrapped myself in lies. I'm weak. I want to destroy that version of me forever! ]

[ Alt text 4:

Chihiro Fujisaki: ... I want to change. ]

[ Alt text 5:

Chihiro Fujisaki: I have to change. I don't want to be weak anymore ]

She goes to Mondo not because hes masculine, but because she admires him and his strength. She never once says it's because shes a man or because Mondo is a man.

[ Alt text 1:

Chihiro Fujisaki: Maybe talking to Mondo about it will help give me some courage... ]

[ Alt text 2:

Chihiro Fujisaki: I admire... your strength... ]

These dialogues can be read in two ways, the first one being the one the game tries the hardest to put in your head thats shes a man, all of this guessed by other people btw not what she herself says. Which is really transphobic, because she was written as a trans woman and then theyre like "uh no actually hes a man, because he was born as one but hes a coward so he started to dress as a woman to hide from his problems. Because thats what people do right? People who dress as their oppossite gender are so pathetic, specially men amiright? Ahaha"

Reading it in this way really weird, you're doing a lot of mental gymnastics because you would literally call her a trans woman with all of this if the rest of the trial, that consists of cis people assuming shes a man, didn't happen. And sadly you're following transphobic ideas by this. Because the canon is transphobic and transmysoginistic.

And the other way is just read what she says, that she just wants to be stronger and stop lying to everyone, basically about being cis, because shes not, shes amab (assigned male at birth) and thats probably what she said to Mondo, but most people when a trans person who already passes or is in their transition comes out many people tend to think "oh so youre your gender assigned at birth and not the one you claim to be?", because they don't get what being trans is and they think only "biological gender" is a thing. Basically, misgendering and invalidating the trans person.

I can guess all of this just because of how vague they decided to make her dialogue, not even showing how she tells Mondo about being amab.

What did she said to Mondo? "I'm trans"? "I'm a man"? "I was born a man"? We dont know, because they didn't show it and she died right afterwards and then everyone was like "Chihiro was secretly a man" to solve the case and thats it. A lot of people in the discourse get their information from Monokuma who isn't either Chihiro or even Mondo. Monokuma knows many things but he can't read minds to know if she was really trans or not, only she could say it but she died so she couldn't explain if shes trans or not.

[ Alt text:

A youtube comment by Gail Frisbee, posted 4 days ago, this comment was edited by the autor. The comment says:

"It's honestly increible to me when people try to argue that a scene in which a female-presenting character gets their genitals groped and then is posthumously referred to as a male from that point on can't be transphobic just because that character calls themselves a boy in some other side content later. It's on about the same level of intellectual honesty as claiming that Quiet from MGS5 isn't really fanservice because she totally breaths throught her skin you guys.

As it turns out, if you really dig down deep into the lore, Chihiro is a fictional character and the same people who wrote the genital investigation scene also wrote the lines that character says in the game as well. It's a shocking twist, I know." ]

Her fears of being outed and people founding out her secret (being trans) or being transphobic is used as a gross big twist. A trans woman being used as a mockery of trans people? Great totally normal (/sarcasm)

Read this post made by a trans woman. I'll be using this only part but it's still a great read.

[ Alt text:

So. There is a lot to unpack here, but I want to start with something that specifically hurts me as a trans woman, and that's how the game flippantly uses real world horrors trans people face as shocking reveals and twists. You can go down the list for "worst nightmares" of trans people incluiding:

Threatening to be outed against your wishes

Outing yourself to a trusted friend and being met with rejection, or worse, violence

Having your body and privacy examined and invaded

Having your deadname used and being misgendered after death, when you can't correct them ]

Now, let's go to her backstory for a bit. I will be using the wiki for this. (Which sadly uses he/him for her 💔)

" When Chihiro was a child, he became the subject of harassment and bullying. He was always told to "be a man" and that he was "so weak despite being a boy", and because of that, Chihiro slowly but surely began to develop a "weakness complex". In order to escape the bullying, Chihiro began to dress as a girl so that people wouldn't bully him as a weak boy. "

This doesn't sound like a normal crossdresser, this sounds like a trans woman who was bullied for being different when she was younger, like many trans people, and then she decided to transition because she's a woman, she wanted to be more feminine and stop being seen as a person shes not. Specially after so many people tell her to basically man up when she doesn't want that, because shes not a man.

Have you ever heard of the classic stories of "since I was little i knew i was different, i was a boy who liked playing with dolls and was more feminine than the rest" or "i used to be a tomboy when i was little, i had mostly male friends, i liked playing with car toys and was more masculine than other kids" coming from trans people? This just sounds as these types of stories to me.

People also like to say that alter ego uses he/him pronouns and says shes a boy. Many trans people can misgender themselves for personal reasons too guys, she could've been trying to misgender herself because she didn't felt like she wasn't enough to be a real woman, this happens a lot to trans people. If people constantly tell you that you're not actually transgender or you just feel like you're faking it then you might actually believe it, thats were most "detransitioners" come from. And thats basically what they made her, a detransitioner.

Some of you might also don't get how shes trans because you think she doesn't perfect or exact trans stereotypes. Trans experiences can be similar on the feeling of not fitting in, dysphoria, etc. But trans experiences, stories, transitions and complete lifes can be very different, because we all (including cis people) live different lifes, experience, process and cope with things differently. So i can understand why you might not get her being trans coded at first, don't worry. But try instead of just not caring because you don't get it at the first try, to see what trans people say.

This whole discourse its mostly cis people talking over trans people about their own experiences (incluiding the dead trans coded characters experience) saying if theyre valid or not and denying stuff not wanting to learn anything, completely refusing to it because "In canon hes a boy" ok then in canon shes written in a transphobic way too but most of you don't care about that. You would rather call her a crossdresser than try to acknowledge how obviously trans coded she is and how thats used as transphobia.

The way most cis people act in this discourse is very transphobic to me to be honest, if you think you're a good ally but act like this then you should get more educated on the topic as a whole and about trans people too.

-the trans Chihiro flag to finish this up, she has a bit boobie! good for her! good for her.

[justimajin]

It’s a Reverse Basket ◍ Part 9

⇝ Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

⇝ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ Basketball AU, Crossdressing AU

⇝ Words: 4.8k

⇝ Summary: Basketball is your everything; your passion for it running deep and wanting nothing more then to play the sport. Problem is, the sport isn’t offered competitively to girls and with that, all your hopes immediately fizzle away…  …but who ever said that was going to stop you?

⇝ Warnings: pg13 (please check out the disclaimer on the first part); none

gif credit.

⇝ Previous Parts: Moodboard Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 

⇝ Next Update: Tuesday, May 12 

It’s quiet; save for the small snores leaving your lips and the occasional tumbling of your blanket, dragging its warmth closer to your shivering body. Your eyes are sealed shut, the exhaustion of long practices, training sessions and classes forming into dark circles underneath your eyes, muscles aching at your every movement. 

That’s when the spiking ring blares out into the room, causing you to immediately jump up and rummage around for its location. Once you find it, a deep exhale leaves you when it finally goes silent.

Blinking sleepily, you narrow your eyes onto the luminescent digits brightly glowing at you, eyes widening when they alert of bad news rather than good.

Scrambling up, you hurriedly open your door and glance around, wondering why Jungkook and Taehyung didn’t wake you up.

When you crack open Jungkook’s door, the answer is right in front of you.

“Oh no…” You whisper, quickly crouching down and shaking his arm. “Jungkook! Jungkook!”

He seems too caught up with his drowsiness, face turning in the opposite direction from you. With a sigh, you know you can’t really blame him for being like this, recalling how intense practice had been yesterday and how all of you had been wishing for the day to end soon so you could just go back to the dorm and sleep.

You wonder if you’re overstepping it, but then thoughts of Yoongi’s expression at your tardiness comes into mind and suddenly there seems to be no boundaries. 

You push him off the bed.

He immediately wakes up, appearing frazzled until you reach out and show him the time. His eyes widen and he goes through something similar to you, before his arm shoots out to grab onto you.

“Taehyung.” He mumbles, causing the both of you to stare at each other hopelessly.

After being roommates with Jungkook and Taehyung for nearly a month now, you’ve discovered that waking up Taehyung is harder than having to endure your rigorous training. As if Jungkook knows instantly as well, he follows you when you dash over to the farthest room.

Barging in, something tugs at your feet and you let out a shriek when you’re being pulled down, smacking onto the ground.

“Y/N!” Jungkook moves to help you up and you untangle yourself from the empty box your foot managed to get caught up in. Whirling around, you spot your target.

Taehyung remains snoozing away, arms tightly wrapped around a pillow and head lolling off the side of the bed. Jungkook roughly pokes him, waiting for a reaction but Taehyung simply stirs in his sleep, unfazed from the action. You opt out for trying as well, shaking Taehyung’s shoulder only to receive a similar reaction to Jungkook.

An idea sparks in your mind when you shrewdly eye down the pillow encased in his arms, hands tugging on the corner. What you fail to understand though, is that Taehyung’s grip is a lot stronger than you had expected – which is why when you finally manage to yank away from his grasps and face Jungkook in exasperation, you are very close to giving up.

“What do we do?” You’re left resorting to staring at Taehyung’s dormant form feebly, shoulders slumping down.

Jungkook crosses his arms, a bleak gaze in his eyes.  

 “Can you hold the back of his head for me?”

You don’t have a chance to ask why when Jungkook leaves, not sparing either of you a single glance. Scampering to follow his instructions, your hand rests against Taehyung’s head as you patiently wait, eyes unconsciously drifting over to the looming way seconds keep ticking by on Taehyung’s clock.

Jungkook reappears in no time, a large rounded bucket in his hand. Before you know it, there’s water splashing all over Taehyung’s bed and floor, having nearly drenched you if you didn’t pull back in time.

Taehyung snaps awake, a look of pure shock and utter rage taking a hold of his features. When his eyes meet Jungkook’s, he opens his mouth as if to unleash a brewing storm, but with a mere couple of words – it fizzles away just as fast.

“We’re late for practice.”

He takes a faltering step, hand coming to cover his mouth.

“Oh shit.”

You watch in surprise as Taehyung scrambles around for his clothes, frantically darting all over the place until his field of vision lands on you and Jungkook. “Hurry up and change out of your pajama’s guys!”

You can only stare at Jungkook impressed after that, quickly following after him. “I can’t believe that worked and he wasn’t mad at you.”

“Nah.” He rushes over to his room’s door, sending a smile at you with words that startle you, “Yoongi is the one you should be scared of when he’s mad.”

***

The door to your dorm is pushed open as you drag in your drained limbs into the room. Every muscle in your body stiffens and aches with your movements, occasionally wincing when you head into your room and plop down onto the mattress.

Upon reaching from practice, Taehyung, Jungkook and you weren’t sure if you were going to make it out alive. Gaging solely off of their reactions to the situation, you could tell the storm you were headed for wasn’t going to be a pretty one in the least – and it’s exactly what you discover when hostility radiates off of Yoongi.

He had gone off to give the three of you a thorough lecture, not satisfied with Namjoon’s simple “Just be on time for tomorrow” and mere smile, going as far as to decide that doing forty push-ups each before resuming practice was more appropriate. Of course all of you ended up obliging, something you deeply regretted when you’re being handed a basketball right after and thrown into an ongoing game with your other members. Mid-way through practice, Yoongi’s hostility seems to fizzle away as his focus shifts more towards practice and less about your tardiness; something you’re grateful for when you know the amount of push-ups you’ve done is going to come back to bite you.

Letting out a sigh, you pull out your backpack and rummage through it for a moment. After attending practice, you were busy in the midst of attending all your classes, stifling your exhausted yawns and aching muscles away like you usually had done.

However, today was a bit different for you than usual, a fact that comes to light when a collection of papers brush against your fingers. Yanking them out, your backpack is tossed to the side and your eyes greedily scan over the contents, eyes widening more and more as time passes.

Jaw dropping down, you rapidly scan through all the flimsy papers over and over again, eyes nimbly flickering until they freeze. Slowly lowering your outstretched hands, they are set to the side and a deep exhale leaves you, head buried within your hands.

From a distance, the large red streaks are clearly visible, angry marks having been imprinted into the multiple sheets with various question marks and circles accompanying them – the biggest mark diligently being placed on top of every single one of them and screaming to you the inevitable result.

***

To say that Yoongi doesn’t notice anything, is a complete and absolute lie.

Before he was appointed captain of his team, he had been part of numerous other ones. Over years of practicing and training, he’s learned the simple basics of what comes down to formation of a team and most importantly, how to manage each individual accordingly so that their strengths shine through and build a collective cohesive unit. This core principle entitles that Yoongi knows when and where things have gone wrong, deciphering any conflicts and issues promptly so that his team remains unaffected.

Which is why when you stroll into the gym later than usual, eyes drooping down and steps slow, Yoongi knows something is definitely up.

He doesn’t say a word until you approach him, appearing more cautious – something else that also draws out concern from him.

“I-….” You harshly swallow, letting out the words you never wanted to say, “I-I won’t be coming to practice.”

It almost feels like someone just punched Yoongi in the gut, all sense of air leaving him right away. He immediately steps forward, knowing that he wasn’t the only one that was drawn to what you were saying when the rest of the members that had been practically suddenly gather around you.

Questions are thrown into the air, from the likes of ‘why?’ and ‘did something happen?’ but Yoongi can see how you hastily shrink away from all of them, his voice raising.

“Back away, give him some space.”

At his word, they all step back and you smile, softly muttering that it was okay.

“Why have you decided to stop coming to practice?” He presses, diverting your attention over to him.

You find yourself stumbling over the words, a bit embarrassed and very distraught that the situation has come down to this. “M-My grades….I’ve been getting really behind in my classes and I need to get my grades up before it’s too late…”

Yoongi admits the confession catches him quite off guard, assuming the reason would have been much more severe for you to have simply wanted to quit basketball like that. However, he acknowledges that if you’re willing to do so, it’s important for you to focus on school for now and temporarily revoke attending practice for that sake.

With a hum, he lets you know his thoughts, “That’s fine, just remember to come back once you’re done.”

You nod and he turns away at that, not wanting you to pick up on the dismayed expression he holds as Namjoon approaches you with a soft smile.

“Good luck Y/N.” You grin at his words of encouragement, other members following suit as they walk closer to you and wish you the best of luck. The reassuring faces and words of encouragement are enough to fuel you to do better, motivation spiking in you to quickly boost up your marks so that you can return back to practice promptly.

***

The sound of another page flipping echoes through the walls. There’s a small light dangling over the wooden table you’re seated at, more and more shelves bursting with books surrounding you. An old lady is seated in the far corner, occasionally sifting a yawn as her eyes move across the dusty book sitting on her desk. Aside from the boy that sits a couple of tables from you and the girl buried behind one of the bookshelves, there seems to be no one else nearby as a deafening silence lingers in the air.

Your brows furrow when you narrow down onto the long sentences, eyes moving along but not being able to absorb a single word. You try and try, blinking your eyes and desperately attempting to draw some focus back in, however to no avail does anything remotely sink in.

A weary sigh passes by your lips, form slumping down into your chair as you stare at the book with a large pout. Although your initial perception of coming to this school streamed from the heavy focus on sports rather than academics, there’s no telling how long you’ll have to suffer under the wrath of long drawn out hours of studying.

Tracing your fingers against one of the pages, there’s a soft smile on your lips when you begin to wander off into the events of this morning. Taehyung had ended up waking you up out of habit – his expression confused when you mumbled that you weren’t going until contorting into the prickling realization of what had happened. Him and Jungkook had then left for practice without a single word as you strangely found it impossible to sleep afterwards, twisting and turning when you were only filled with ill thoughts of the team practicing without you.

You wonder how it was even possible to have so little time pass by but to miss something so incredibly much, that it constantly felt like there was something wrong. Like there was something you should be doing, instead of staring at the daunting amount of pages you have to somehow engrave into your brain.

You were used to the dissatisfaction of not being able to play, you were accustomed to being told ‘no’ and ordered to follow the rules and regulations.

Because after all, there’s no place for girls on a competitive team.  

A frown settles on your lips at the thought, a loose memory tucked away among others emerging out.

Your shoes squeak when you enter the small gymnasium, eager eyes scanning the vicinity and then rushing over to the young man who has a whistle strung around his neck, gaze darting over to his clipboard.

“COACH!” You hurriedly exclaim, drawing his attention over to you. Stopping right in front of him, your hands rest on your knees and you heave to catch your breath, eyes sparking when you look up.

“D-Did you think about it…?” There’s bundles of hope dwelling in your eyes, his disappointed expression single handedly shattering it.

“I’m sorry Y/N, it won’t be possible.” He apologetically smiles before leaving, but it does nothing to bring the same light back to your features, “We won’t be able to cover the budget if there’s not that many girls interested.”

You robotically nod, swallowing the lump forming in your throat when a basketball abruptly shoots out, nearly hitting you before bouncing away.

“Oops!” A boy from the competitive team rushes over, his eyes wide but far from innocent, “That was my bad! Maybe if you were on the team you would have been able to catch it.”

The comment is followed by an accompaniment of snickers from behind him, and he slips the ball away from his hands towards you again with a conniving smile. Your gaze remains on the ground, the coach’s words still ringing deep in your head.

The fallen basketball is picked up from the ground, the snickers all silencing when the basketball is hurled in the direction of the boy. He manages to dodge it in time, fear-grown eyes appearing startled when a loud voice breaks through.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!” Hyerin cunningly smirks, cocking a brow up as she plants her hands on her hips, “Next time I’ll try harder and make sure it hits you!”

The boy opens his mouth as if to interrupt, but when Hyerin starts stomping over to retrieve the basketball, he cowers away and decides not to risk it. He joins the rest of his team and they hurriedly scamper away, Hyerin smiling in triumph as she walks over to you with it.

“They’re such idiots.” She mumbles underneath her breath, gaze growing concerned as she lowers her head to see your down-casted expression, “No luck?”

You don’t reply, simply shake your head in response. Hyerin straightens herself up with a sigh, planting the basketball in your hands before grabbing onto your arm and dragging you over to a hoop.

“H-Hyerin?” You’re frozen when she plops herself down onto the ground, eyes waiting in anticipation but you continue to stare at her in confusion.

“Hello!!” She waves her hands, gesturing to the basket, “I didn’t pay to watch you just stand there!”

You slowly begin to dribble the ball, gaze moving to stare at the hoop. Carefully running over, you do a quick bounce and shoot the ball, watching it land into the hoop perfectly.

“WOOO! YESSSS, THAT’S MY GIRL!!” Hyerin screams at the top of her lungs, ongoing passerbys regarding her strangely but she pays no mind when a small smile sparks on your lips from the gesture. Gaining more confidence, you dribble again and take another shot, your ball skillfully entering the hoop once more.

Hyerin starts to sound like a banshee, shrills leaving her as you continue to make shots, not missing a single one. It surprises you at her ability to sound like an entire audience with her one voice, but it arises up a thought that you had been long clinging on to.

Perhaps a day will come, when you’ll be able to mimic this euphoric feeling alongside a team of your own.

***

Yoongi never thought this day would come.

It’s the same gym, the same team members, and the exact same game.

But something…. something is different.

He can’t quite seem to put his finger on it, eyes roaming to see Namjoon talking to Jaebum and Jackson, presumably going over something. Hoseok, Jimin and Jinyoung are in the corner taking turns shooting hoops, Yoongi’s eyes being drawn to how ordinary the picture appears. His line of sight then hovers over to clock right near them, the handles signalling to him that practice was going to begin soon – at the same time it always did.

When he turns his head, he notices the last couple of members flock in. It’s typical and he makes a note of it, shuffling over to get a hold of a basketball. With a simple gesture, he calls everyone forth and his eyes narrow into focus, marching up to his team as he’s accustomed to doing.

“Today we’ll be working on building strategies as a team.” He starts calling out names, grabbing a hold of his members and positioning them to where they need to be standing, “I want to try switching up offense and defense today, it needs to be more–“ 

“Uh, Yoongi?”

He frowns when he’s suddenly been interrupted, eyes darting up to see Namjoon scanning the entire set-up he’s made and appearing evidently confused.

“What is it?”

Namjoon sheepishly smiles, “Why are there only four players on the court?”

He cocks his head to the side, puzzled. He was going to start off with five players per game and filter them out so he can assess which combinations were ideal. It was going to begin with Jaebum, Jungkook, Hoseok, Jimin, and yo–

He blinks abruptly, noticing that Namjoon’s line of sight was directly on the empty space right next to Jimin – a spot he notices that most of his players have trained their eyes on.

Right.

You weren’t here. 

With a deep sigh, he points over at Jackson, “Second defense position.”

Confusion overtakes Jackson for a moment until he’s bursting with joy, ecstatic at getting the opportunity to play first. Yoongi roughly looks at Namjoon, eyes perked.

“Well? Is it okay now?” He snaps, causing Namjoon to slightly smile for a second before he nods. Yoongi whirls around, the whistle around his neck blowing as the players get back into the game.

Yoongi’s eyes monitor from afar as the game goes on, lips down turning when the combination he’s created almost seems imbalanced. Although having Jungkook, Hoseok and Jaebum on offense – a position that required them to invade the opposite team’s grounds and shoot hoops directly – was a good idea, he can't say the same for the defense position. Jackson is too fast, getting halted up in being with the offense players when he needs to stay in defense. His pace doesn’t match up at all with Jimin’s, who’s forced to defend alone when all he needs is better defense partner, if only you were her–

Yoongi grits his teeth, shaking his head and stepping forward, “We’re doing a player switch. Now.”

He swaps Jackson out for Jinyoung, placing Jackson in the opposing team and granting the defense position to Jinyoung now. Taking a step back, he blows the whistle and carefully watches the game commence, wondering if his hunch at things was getting right now.

It seems quite alright when Jinyoung stays in the defense alongside Jimin, until he’s called up on doing the actual defense. He missteps the opposing team’s, a defeated sigh escaping Yoongi when the basketball meets the hoop. 

He calls out a switch again, this time opting for Taehyung to take the spot. Although he already knows Taehyung is more equipped to be playing the offense, it’s a fact proven to him that leaves a fine layer of frustration and anguish.

He attempts one more time; filtering all the members positions and hoping that the new combination leaves a more favourable result. However much to his own dismay, the mixture of players becomes an utter chaotic mess – unbalanced to the point that it has Yoongi gritting his teeth even more harshly as the pent-up annoyance spikes up.

Taehyung sighs, strolling over to a panting Jungkook before he plops next to him in exhaustion.

“I really miss Y/N.”

The latter hums and Yoongi arches an eyebrow, noticing the rest of his players seem to be in the same rut when there’s tiredness seeping into their forms. The comment only causes Yoongi to huff, an array of thoughts he’s already acknowledged at this point.

You can play both offense and defense.

You listen to him, effortlessly switching between the two despite your lack of experience playing basketball competitively.

You….. should be here.

There’s a crease in between his brows as his lips pursue, a hand on his shoulder drawing his attention away.

“I’ll take over this time.” Namjoon kindly smiles and heads for the team, despite the reluctance that masks Yoongi from the idea. He watches the couch gather the players and reorganize them, a process that usually is simple for Yoongi when he has all his players and doesn’t need to constantly rearrange them like some kind of jig-saw puzzle.

Sitting down on a far bench, Yoongi can only watch when the game commences and Namjoon directs them, noticing that he wasn’t the only one having trouble filling in the gap. In fact, it’s something that’s far too obvious when the surrounding players aren’t prepared to adapt to the sudden change either; everyone’s game being thrown off because of one simple absence.

***

Yoongi could with no doubt, anticipate you weren’t going to be at practice. The fact had been practically ingrained into his brain and there was no way he was expecting you to show up.

What he had been expecting though, was for his team to actually show up.

All he can do is turn to Namjoon puzzled, “What happened?”

Namjoon doesn’t look at him, simply reading through the various list of excuses he had been given in exchange for the now empty gym.

“Wasn’t feeling well, went back home, forgot to feed dog….”

Yoongi is left resorting to just an expression of bizarre astonishment, scoffing when the basketball in his hands is swung in the direction in the cart.

“This is really strange…” Namjoon mumbles, brows furrowing the more he stares, “I can understand one or two of them, but all of them?”

Yoongi sighs, snatching the paper away from Namjoon's hands and gesturing him towards the exit. “Come on.”

Namjoon is still confused when he grabs his coat, lightly jogging after Yoongi who marches out of the gym. If there’s one thing he knows about his team, it’s that there’s only one certain individual that has the potential to spur all of this up. 

***

A light knock rattles against the wooden door, Yoongi crossing his arms as Namjoon stands behind him, eyes roaming around the expanse of the large school library. As Yoongi’s foot taps against the floor, the door swings open to a clearly not sick, absent or pet owner Jeon Jungkook.

As if one cue, the door goes swinging close until Yoongi stumps his foot right in between it and the wall, Jungkook stepping away entirely and being forced to show the mayhem ensuing in the room.

There’s a large brown table in the centre, cluttered with various notes, open textbooks and snacks. An array of disarranged chairs surround it, two of which contain Jackson rummaging through one of the open snack bags and Jinyoung falling asleep while drowning out the answers being tossed across the room. Off to the far corner is a giant whiteboard, millions of words and theories scribbling onto it. Taehyung, Hoseok, Jimin and Jaebum stand near it – rendered completely frozen by Yoongi’s presence.

His eyes roam around the plethora of people until they land onto you, body facing the whiteboard with a textbook in your hands but expression remaining bewildered at his sudden arrival.

A deep sigh leaves Yoongi, stepping into the room despite a frazzled Jungkook protesting who expects Yoongi to stay something against the entire team being there.

“You’re all being too distracting.” He gestures for Namjoon to walk in, who sheepishly smiles before Yoongi continues.

“Luckily, I managed to bring over some actual help. So all of you need to head back to practice now.”

The room fills with protests but Yoongi is having any of it when he gestures to the wide-open door. Not another word is spoken after that, the room becoming increasingly quiet as a result of the aftermath.

You decide to step forward once there’s more space in the room, a smile on your lips, “It’s nice to see you captain.”

Yoongi doesn’t say much to retaliate, a simple hum from his lips when he keeps his gaze focused at the disappearing backs of his team members. Yet there’s something about it that makes you want to probe more, curiosity lacing around you at the way he lingers at the door even as the members seem to be long gone.

“Thank you for bringing Namjoon over.”

“Don’t thank me, I wasn’t going to have any more disruptions.”

You nod, but the couple of words leaving your mouth have Yoongi instantly leaving the position, racing back to the gym.

“Did you perhaps…miss me?”

“I’ll see you later Namjoon.” Is the only thing he hurriedly mumbles, the room dipping into silence as you whirl around with a giant smile on your lips. The display doesn’t seem to just affect you either, a light smile painting across Namjoon when he watches you return.

Once you sit down, Namjoon starts going through the notes and textbook sections you were having trouble with, something that truthfully surprises you when he explains each and everyone effortlessly. He later explains to you that his swift ability to learn easily makes him a great teacher, a small detail Yoongi was very aware of when he quickly swapped a whole team of members helping you for a single coach.

Time passes by faster than you can imagine, and within a mere handful of days, you begin to realize that you’ve made a lot of progress thanks to Namjoon’s help. You’re also especially grateful that he’s the one teaching you, having you thoroughly understand everything so well that the lingering thoughts of not being able to play doesn’t dwell and settle in your thoughts for far too long.

However, you can say Yoongi’s occasional visits do bring some nostalgia. His disinterested and blank expression concealing the ways he drops over bags of snacks whenever he gets the chance, or when he observes you and then whispers to Namjoon about how you’ve been holding up. It eventually gets to the point that when Yoongi doesn’t show up, you find yourself sending fallen gazes at the door and simply resume back to understanding what Namjoon was talking about with a dreary sigh.

Thankfully with his help, you eventually ace your recent tests and your grades take a turn for the better, shooting up in such a way that only has you ecstatic from the results. So when Namjoon suggests that your progress is a great indication of you returning to the team, you are practically jumping for the opportunity to race back into that gym.

Which is exactly what you do – the forecast of astonished expressions suddenly lighting up in the room at your presence, your roommates and at the time former team members dashing over to you.

“You’re back!!” Taehyung exclaims, grabbing you into a hug that leaves you giggling. Jungkook tosses a basketball over in your direction, a relieved sigh escaping your lips when you’ve truly just missed dribbling it and he sends you a smile.

One by one all the members come over and welcome you back in, instantly lining up when Yoongi aimlessly walks in, dazed eyes trained on the ground. Though when he finally looks up and his eyes rake over his team members, they become bewildered at the sight of you. 

“I passed.” You enthusiastically inform him, waiting for a simple hum of his lips or a slight nod indicating that he knew why you were here. However, Yoongi instead fully smiles, a gummy grin stretching across his lips and eyes crinkling.

This time around, he doesn’t even think he could have possibly hidden the fondness in his smile.

[whoneedssexed]

is f*mboy a slur? (censoring just in case) i’ve seen people saying it is and others saying it isn’t. i’m confused, i thought it was just a portmanteau of feminine and boy that feminine guys used to describe themselves. does it have another meaning i’m not aware of?

Honestly, I always thought it was a word for trans men/transmascs (and men-leaning nonbinary people), in the same way as c*ntboy but less severe. 

So when people started saying it was a slur, I thought that made sense. 

But then I saw they said it was for trans women, being instead similar to how sissy is used in porn in place of acknowledging trans women as women or imply that they’re still actually men. Which also kind of makes sense. 

But I really don’t know. It’s not something I know a lot about. 

According to UrbanDictionary entries as far back as 2009, it referred to “biological males” who are overtly feminine, but are also young (including minors), with no particular implication on orientation or transgender status. 

A 2004 entry implies it simply refers to attractive men who are not buff/macho and are like anime characters. 

That’s not exactly reliable, however, as plenty of words that supposedly “just mean feminine guy” are frequently applied to trans women. A 2008 entry literally says it’s the same as l*dyboy, which is in fact a derisive word towards trans women (particularly asian trans women). A 2003 entry implies it’s a crossdressing gay man, which is something trans women are often called/considered, and another entry says it’s a word for an emasculated man.

It’s not something I can really speak on, I never saw it a lot in common speech and I’m TME. I haven’t seen any citations on either side besides looking at this UrbanDictionary page.

- mod BP

[diverse-writing]

Book Review: “Queer City” by Peter Ackroyd

Thanks to @kyliebean-editing​ for the review request! I have a list of books I’ve read recently here that I’m considering reviewing, so let me know if you’re looking for my thoughts on a specific book and I’ll be sure to give it a go!

2.5 ⭐/5

Hey all! I’m back with another book review and this time we’re taking a dip into nonfiction with Peter Ackroyd’s Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day. Let’s dive right in.

The good: Peter Ackroyd is a hugely prolific writer and a historian clearly trained for digging through huge archives of history and his expertise shows. This particular volume--his 37th nonfiction book and 55th overall published work--provides a startlingly comprehensive timeline of London’s gay history, just as promised. Arguably, the book’s subtitle short sells the book’s content; Queer City actually rewinds the clock all the way back to the city’s origins as a Celtic town before it became Roman Londinium. From there, Ackroyd’s utilizes his extensive historical experience to trace proof of gay activity through the ages. From the high courts of medieval times to the monks of the Tudor era, the gaslit back alleys of Victorian London to the raging club scene of the 1980s--gay people have lived and even thrived in London for literal millennia, and Ackroyd has the receipts to back it up. If you need proof that homosexuality has been a staple of civilization since the Romans--and the homophobia has often recycled the same arguments for the same period of time--then look no further.

The mediocre: All that being said, Ackroyd’s “receipts” often tend towards the salacious, the scandalous, and often the explicit. It seems that legal edicts and court cases made up the foundation of his research, so us readers get to hear in full detail the punishments levied against historical queer individuals, from exile to the pillory to the gallows. Occasionally, Ackroyd dips into the written pornagraphic accounts of the time to describe salacious sexual encounters, which add little to the overarching narrative except proof that gay people do, in fact, have sex. Later down the historical record, once newspapers became more common, we also receive extensive account of the gossip pages of the day, complete with rants about the indecency of “buggery” and the moral decay of “the homosexual.” Throughout the book, ass puns and phallic wordplay run rampant, so much so that it occasionally feels like it’s only added for shock value.

While I’m not a professional historian, as a queer person I can’t help but feel that there must be more to the historical record than these beatings, back alley hookups, etc. In focus on the concrete evidence of gay activity--that is, gay sex and all the official documents surrounding the subject--it feels like Ackroyd neglects the emotional side of queerness in favor of the physical side. Even the queer poetry excerpts or diary entries of the time (which I’m nearly positive exist throughout the historical record, though once again I’m not a professional) sampled in this book are all focused on the physical act of sex. No queer person wants a pastel tinted, desexed version of our history--but we also don’t need to hear a dozen explicit accounts of gay park sex. Queer love and queer sex go hand in hand and to focus on one without the other is disingenuous, not to mention dangerous in promoting the idea that queer people are hypersexual and predatory. Admittedly, I do think the omission of queer love is an unintentional byproduct of Ackroyd’s fact-checking and editorial process. He may not have intended to leave out tenderness, but his intentional choice to focus on impersonal records--court cases, royal decrees, newspapers, etc.--rather than personal ones--diaries, poetry, art, etc.--meant that emotion was largely excluded anyway. 

The bad: Though Queer City does a good job of following queer history through the ages, Ackroyd fails to connect his cited historical examples with larger sociocultural movements of the time. He discusses queer coding in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales but not the larger (oft homoromantic/homoerotic) courtly love traditions that Chaucer drew on. He describes the cult followings around boy actors playing female parts in Elizabethan and Jacobian London but neglects to put those theaters and the public reaction to them within the context of the ongoing Renaissance. Similarly, Ackroyd omits explicit connections to the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Neoclassicism, free love, and countless other cultural movements that undoubtedly shaped both the social and legal responses to the queer community. This exclusion, unlike the exclusion of queer love, had to be intentional on Ackroyd’s part; it’s hugely unlikely that a historian with his bibliography accidentally forgot to mention the last millennium’s worth of Western civilization cultural movements. It’s a massive oversight that utterly fails to place London’s queer history within the context of wider history.

And finally, last but definitely not least, oh boy does Ackroyd have some learning to do when it comes to gender, gender presentation, and gender identity. From the very first chapter, it’s apparent that Ackroyd’s research and writing focused largely on MLM cisgender men, with WLW cisgender women as a far secondary priority. While there are chapters on chapters dedicated to detangling homosexual men’s dealings, homosexual women are often pushed to the fringes of London’s queer history. They receive paragraphs, here and there, and occasionally the closing sentence of a chapter, but overall they’re clearly downgraded to a secondary priority within Ackroyd’s historical narrative. Some of this can once again be blamed on the type of records Ackroyd uses; sex between women was never criminalized or discussed in the public sphere in the same way that sex between men was, so it was a less common topic in London’s courts and newspapers. (And, once again, I have the sneaking suspicion that turning to less traditional sources would’ve helped resolve this issue, though in part the omission can likely be pinned on Ackroyd’s demonstrable preference towards male history.)

Additionally, Ackroyd tends to treat crossdressing as undeniable proof of homosexuality. While it’s true that historically queer individuals found freedom or relief in dressing as the opposite sex, the latter didn’t necessarily equal the former. Additionally, if the crossdressing individual in question was female, dressing as a man was often a way for a woman to secure more freedoms than she would receive while wearing traditional feminine outfits. (Also, he tended to use “transvestite” over “crossdressing,” and while I tend to think of the latter as more preferred, the former may be more in use among queer studies circles or British slang). Though Ackroyd briefly acknowledges that women could and may have crossdressed to more easily navigate a misogynistic world, he nevertheless continually dredges out records of crossdressing women as concrete proof of historical sapphics.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room; in clearly identifying crossdressers as homosexuals, Ackroyd entirely overlooks the existence of transgender and nonbinary people in London’s historical record. This omission, arguably unlike the others, seems definitively intentional and malicious. In the entire book, I could probably count on one hand the number of times Ackroyd mentions the concept of gender identity, and I could use even fewer fingers for the number of times he does so respectfully and thoughtfully. Though he largely neglects to discuss transgender history as a subset of queer history, when he does bring up historical non-cisgender identities it’s often as a component of his salacious narratives rather than a vibrant and storied history all on its own. In the final chapter on modern gay London, Ackroyd’s casual dismissal of the concept of myriad gender identities felt dangerously close to modern day British “gender criticism,” which is likely more familiar to queer readers as TERFism masquerading under the guise of concern for women and gay rights (JK Rowling is a very public example of a textbook gender critical Brit, if you’re wondering). By the end of the book, Ackroyd’s skepticism of so-called “nontraditional gender identities” is so glaringly evident that he might as well proclaim it outright. 

The verdict:  For a book supposedly focused on queerness, the focus on male cisgender homosexuality is both disappointing and honestly not surprising. This book is a portrait of gay London, yes--but it’s also a portrait of Peter Ackroyd as a historian and a professional. It’s clear from early on that he’s writing from the perspective of an older white gay man (I think queer WOC know what I’m talking about when I say that that POV is very distinct, and his clear idolation of 1960s-1980s gay culture makes his age quite evident as well). As you progress through the book, his blindspot in regards to gender and gender politics become increasingly clear, as does his simultaneous obsession and criticism with transgender identities. Overall, Queer City is a clear example of how “nonfiction” doesn’t necessarily mean unvarnished truth--or at least not all of it--and how individual historian’s methods and biases bleed into their research. 

A dear London friend suggested Matt Houlbrook’s Queer London: Perils and Pleasures of the Sexual Metropolis as a more gender inclusive review of the famous city’s queer history. While I take a break from London for a bit, I would welcome any and all thoughts on either Queer City or Queer London, the latter which I fully intend to get to eventually so I can properly compare the two.

[thinktosee]

INSTITUTIONAL HATE CRIME – A NARROW DEFINITION OF GENDER AND MORALITY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

Image courtesy Amnestyusa.org

“When he was 16 years old, he came to my room and said he wanted to talk to me. And I said, “Yeah, sure go ahead.”

“Well, I thought you should know that I’m gay,” he told me simply.

I looked at him and all I could think of was, How am I to protect him from discrimination and bullying? Yet all I could manage to say to him at this critical time was, “Well, that’s great. I’m glad you told me. We are your family and we support you.” I reached out and hugged my son.”(1)

- from David’s biography, “Walking in my Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

“It is possible that the law, which is clearsighted in one sense, and blind in another, might in some cases, be too severe.” (2)

- French philosopher, Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Why would a parent, upon discovering that their child is gay, feel a sense of foreboding where it concerned the child’s safety and security? And what and who caused this feeling of fear or foreboding in me?

The ancient law (1871, amended 1938) against homosexuality in Singapore and in many parts of the former British Empire, remains in force to this day. (3) Generations of citizens were and continue to be narrowly socialized to the belief that homosexuality is immoral and that homosexual or same-sex love and marriage deviate from the normative. This law levies an enormous burden onto the LGBTQ community in so far as it enables or activates societal discrimination where none existed before, foments hatred and disdain among the citizenry for same-sex relationships, and upends justice, equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ community.

That was the basis for my fear when David shared with me that he was gay. How does one begin to address an issue which is institutional and systemic in its very foundation? The law is the problem, failing miserably to serve justice, as Montesquieu averred. This is the challenge which the LGBTQ communities throughout the world have been grappling with for centuries. It is a struggle paid in sacrificial blood, many times over. And it will go on, until a time when we acknowledge that diversity and inclusivity are mutually reinforcing. Love does not get filtered at the border because the state or religious institution says it must. It is they who have placed a limit on their love, apparently.

Global Historical Overview of homosexuality

The history of the LGBTQ communities and cultures on our planet is as colourfully and richly elongated and layered as any within the realm of human civilization. Ancient cultures such as “Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman accommodate homosexuality and crossdressing among….its citizens since the earliest recorded times.” (4) Similarly, in “ancient China….same-sex sexual behaviors were well-received and tolerated. Positive descriptions of homosexual behavior, or Nan-Feng as it was called, in historical records and in Chinese literature can be dated back to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).” (5) Pre-European colonial African societies, including in what are present-day Nigeria and Uganda, were relatively inclusive in their approach to same-sex or gender relationships.(6) In the First Nations or pre-settler/colonial American societies, two spirits and multiple genders were universally embraced and accepted. (7)

These societies exhibited a keen sense of spirituality and diversity, of moderation and acceptance of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, which we in this enlightened age may find quite surprising. We should not however. Researchers have, to some degree, attached the adverse change in society’s approach to homosexuality to the onset of European colonialism (16th to 20th centuries) :  

“In the age of European exploration and empire-building, Native American, North African and Pacific Islander cultures accepting of “Two-Spirit” people or same-sex love shocked European invaders who objected to any deviation from a limited understanding of “masculine” and “feminine” roles.” (8)

- Prof. Bonny J. Morris

“Transgender histories in the United States, like the broader national histories of which they form a part, originate in colonial contact zones where members of the arriving culture encountered kinds of people it struggled to comprehend.” (9)

- Prof. Susan Stryker

Accompanying these colonial invasions, were European administrative, linguistic, religious, educational, philosophical and juridical systems, beliefs and traditions. This alien cultural web, in most part codified, either through a caste or racially-affected administrative system or via prayer book and canons, or both, had its intended effect of diminishing or worse, eviscerating the native or indigenous culture, including their ancient belief system. Displacement and assimilation of the natives to the new paradigm were achieved through these extreme mechanisms.

To understand the criminalization and persecution of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, it is necessary to appreciate the intent of colonialism – a private cum state economic model (the East India Companies, Hudson Bay Company, etc.) requiring the creation of a unified or standardized, and exclusively hierarchical system of conduct and control, onto a traditional (organized) and diverse society or culture. This is to assure the latter’s coherence to the colonial enterprise through a coercive (violent), and extensive system of natural resource allocation and exploitation. Genocide and slavery were among its most extreme and tragic manifestations. Modern colonialism, depicted by European conquests across the planet, is arguably the first attempt in recent memory, to creating a unitary world – standardization of laws and governing institutions to address the complex administrative challenges inherent in diverse cultures and norms within the European empire. Diversity of cultures, thought and behaviours were among the first victims. The histories of the First Nations’ societies in the Americas and Australia serve as prime and tragic examples. (10), (11) It should also be stressed that European colonialism, in the context of this essay, includes 20th century Soviet and China-style communism, where an alien and totalitarian ideology was coercively employed across the Eastern European and Central and East Asian landmass, to suppress the local or indigenous peoples, their cultures and beliefs, in furtherance of a unitary political, economic and social order. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union were also at the forefront of research into medical and psychotherapeutic or “corrective” procedures for homosexuality.(12)

The history and dignity of the LGBTQ peoples are inextricably linked to the plight of the indigenous communities, as they struggled from the 16th to 20th centuries against European-sourced colonialism. While almost every former European colony is considered an independent state today, the laws against same-sex relations and marriage remain on the statutes in many of these domains. Societal attitudes have no doubt evolved over the years, and consistent with the growing awareness of LGBTQ culture and social justice movements. A factor which appears to be holding the state back is the feeling that society is not ready to accept equal rights for the LGBTQ community. (13)  That being the case, what are we doing to prepare society for a future which recognizes and confers equal rights to the LGBTQ community, as we would any other citizen or community? Or as this Time Magazine article headlined :

“Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” (14)

In Singapore’s context, what are we, as a society doing to :

- learn more about LGBTQ rights, discrimination and culture?

- what are the public education system and mass media doing about this?

- why are foreign-owned businesses prevented from sponsoring LGBTQ festivals and gatherings? How does this play out in terms of encouraging or dissuading local businesses to lend their support?

- learn of the discrimination against LGBTQ people in terms of equal access to public housing, employment, marriage and mental health care?

These are just a few questions which society should address constructively.

Years from now, when equal rights for the LGBTQ community have come to pass in most parts of the world, historians will look back and perhaps conclude that the community was subjected to a prolonged and systematic campaign of hate, which was originated and sustained by the state, and in some domains, performed in concert with religious figures/institutions.

“David was gay. He cared deeply about the rights of LGBTQ people everywhere. He attended the annual Pink Dot event since 2013. He felt discrimination in any form, especially through the law, was nothing short of Bullying. This included Singapore’s Penal Code Section 377A, criminalizing all gay persons…..David felt strongly that overcoming discrimination requires an unwavering commitment to free speech. He would never compromise….” (15)

- “Walking In My Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

Sources/References

1. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” p68. Thinktosee Press, 2020

2. Montesquieu. “The Spirit of Laws.” Book IX, Chap 6. Originally published in 1748.

3. Radics, George Baylon. “Section 377a in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality.” p3.  National University of Singapore. 2015

4. Wilhelm, Amara Das. “Tritiya-Prakriti : The People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism.” p68. Xlibris Corporation, 2010.

5. Zhang, Yuxin. “China’s misunderstood history of Gay tolerance.” The Diplomat. June 22, 2015

6. Alimi, Bisi. “If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history.” The Guardian. Sep 9, 2015

7. Davis-Young, Katherine. “For Many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past.” The Washington Post. Mar 30, 2019

8. Morris, Bonny J. “History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements.” American Psychological Association

History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements (apa.org)

9. Stryker, Susan. “Transgender History in the United States and the Places that Matter.” A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer History. National Park Service, Dept of the Interior. 2016

10. Holocaust Museum Houston, “Genocide of Indigenous Peoples.”

HMH | Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

11. The Guardian, “The killing times : the massacres of Aboriginal People Australia must confront.” Mar 3, 2019

12. Alexander, Rustam. ”Homosexuality in USSR (1956-1982).” p173. University of Melbourne. 2018

13. Velasquez, Tony. “Keeping it straight. PM says Singapore not ready for gay marriage.” ABS-CBN News, June 27, 2015.

14. Wong, Brian. “Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” Time Magazine, Dec 17, 2020.

15. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” P130. Thinktosee Press, 2020

[shiftyskip]

okay but aces aren’t inherently lgbt. like they weren’t at the first pride or rioting with us. no one at stonewall was ace, or at least not a cishet ace

LGBTIA+. The A ain’t for ally. Y’all so eager to allow straight people in but not aces. Also yes, they were there and they were recognized for it. They might not have been recognized as a community, but so many other identities and orientations weren’t recognized either. Does that mean they’re not LGBTIA+?? Or is it just aces? 

as one user said: “My biggest problem lies with people saying that we were not there at all because there was no name or community for us. Which is largely, glaringly untrue. We were there and no one will accept it because we can't point at something and go "There we are" because at that time, no one knew how to talk about us. We were just. There.. We didn't just come out of nowhere and try to hop onto the movement for fun or what ever the exclusionists are saying. “

But let us turn to history. We’ve been around since at least the 1970s. I did a quick search about asexuality, simply using the word “asexuals” into a newspaper archive and filtered it by the 1970s. 

August 9, 1978 - Asexual is used in an article to describe homosexual men. However it is used improperly and invalidates homosexual men. It is implying that if you are secretive about your sex life you are asexual. Not true at all.

November 12, 1979 - “Ask the pope about the role of asexuals” Quote: ““In a world filled with heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transexuals, haven’t we too long overlooked the plight  of the asexuals?” We have indeed.....Our members (come from all walks of sexual preferences.”  Sadly while this article is interesting, the ace in question denies it being from birth.

I will attach this article 

May 16, 1978 - An article about asexuality. Quotes: “People will got on tv and talk for hours about their homosexuality or their bisexuality, but who wants to talk about their asexuality? Asexuality is, of course, a term used by the public, and the professionals, who stress that no one is truly sexless. At the same time, however, the professionals do acknowledge that the chief symptom of self-styled asexuals - a lack of interest in sexual intercourse - is being expressed with growing frequency at clinics around the country.”

February 1, 1974 - I’ll let this one speak for itself

October 4, 1971 - Asexual is talked about along with homosexuality and trans, as a mental disorder among men. 

Onto the 1960s!

August 30, 1961 - The same man in the above article, who talks that asexuality is a mental disorder is at it again. This time he is implying that asexuals are different than normal and includes them with homosexuality. However he states that asexuals cannot love men or women. “ ....asexuals who never married because they had no ability to love either man or woman. “ Wrong

The 80s? 

January 8, 1984 - This one is funny. Al Pacino is stated to have managed to offend: “straights, gays, bisexuals, and asexuals...”

August 21, 1985 - I have no idea what this article is saying because the logic makes no sense  But does mention asexual.

July 3, 1981 - This one speaks for itself.

Even the ace flag hangs at Stonewall Inn.

Here is one source on twitter.

Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), Transvestite-Transexual Action Organization (TACO) and Fems Against Sexism (FAS), 'Transvestite and Transsexual Liberation', 1970

“Demands:

1. Abolishment of all crossdressing laws and restrictions of adornment.

2. An end to exploitation and discrimination within the gay world,

3. An end to exploitative practices of doctors and psychiatrists who work in the fields of transvestism and transsexualism. Hormone treatment and transsexual surgery should be provided free upon demand by the state.

4. Transsexual assistance centers should be created in all cities of over one million inhabitants, under the direction of postoperative transsexuals.

5. Transvestites and transsexuals should be granted full and equal rights on all levels of society and a full voice in the struggle for the liberation of all oppressed people.

6. Transvestites who exist as members of the opposite anatomical gender should be able to obtain full identification as members of the opposite gender. Transsexuals should be able to obtain such identification commensurate to their new gender with no difficulty, and not be required to carry special identification as transsexuals. There should be no special licensing requirements of transvestites or transsexuals who work in the entertainment field.

7. Immediate release of all persons in mental hospitals or prison for transvestism or transsexualism.

We share in the oppression of gays and we share in the oppression of women.

Trans Lib includes transvestites, transsexuals and hermaphrodites of any sexual manifestation and of all sexes—heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual. It is becoming a separate movement as the great majority of transvestites are heterosexual, and many transsexuals (postoperative) are also heterosexual, and because the oppression directed towards us is due to our transvestism and transsexualism and for no other reason. We unite around our oppression as all oppressed groups unite around their particular oppression. All power to trans liberation.” 

Please tell me why, if we are not LGBTIA+ we were always grouped with them??? 

Wow. You really failed at trying to be an exclusionist. Anyways, don’t police anyone’s sexual orientation and don’t gatekeep. 

[lelouch-vi-zero]

Entry 11

Hello everyone! This is part of an AU I’ve been working on since 2014 where Nunnally receives a Geass instead of Lelouch. Check out the Main AU Page to learn more and find all the previous entries. It’s been nearly three years since I last uploaded (yikes!), but thankfully I left myself a few chapters that were nearly complete.

Main AU Page Previous Entry Next Entry

In this entry, some of the Nameless Army try to figure out Nobody’s secret... come on! Don’t act like you wouldn’t gossip about your charismatic leader’s private life.

Rating: T (some innuendo and other Code Geass shenanigans) Words: 1,156

Kallen followed the unusual silence like a mother about to catch her children dropping keys in the toilet. As she made her way through the dorms, she could hear some hushed whispers near Nobody's room. She tapped on each door, praying that she wouldn't find interlopers snooping around Nobody's stuff. With each empty room she passed, her blood pressure increased.

"Tamaki, I swear!" Kallen shouted as she pushed open the door.

"How did you know I was here?!" Tamaki jumped up, but his crossed legs toppled him over.

Minami's face turned beet red, and Yoshida scanned the room for a hiding place.

"All of you? Have you no respect? No decency?" Kallen scolded. This was Nobody's room! She... she had never stepped in Nobody's room before.

The bed was made, but the duvet had been molded into the shape of a restless body. A pillow was wedged between the mattress and the headboard, slowly sinking into bedroom oblivion. The worn throw rug's name had been taken literally, and Kallen wasn't sure if it was supposed to be at the foot of the bed or at the bedside. The simple dresser sitting against the wall was old, but still functional. Its three drawers, however, were lazily closed with towels and notes overflowing out of them.

Kallen stepped into the room, and a crackling of chips stung her ears. An empty bag had barely missed the trashcan, ignored and forgotten.

This couldn't be right! Nobody was a brilliant speaker. He could heal a person's broken spirit with a simple touch on the shoulder. He had a structured reconstruction plan for Japan. He was an organized man. This room... this room couldn't be his. Neither Nobody nor C.C. actually slept in the room. The bedroom was only a formality, but still! It didn't fit his personality at all.

"Tamaki! You're supposed to take out the trash! Not dirty the place up!" Kallen said.

Tamaki raised his hands in self-defense. "Hey, I found it like this," he said with a sly grin.

Kallen's face turned red. "What's in your hands?!" she lunged at Tamaki, grabbing the cloth from him.

"Hey! Ouch!" he groaned.

She held the bra from its strap, and the polka-dotted cups swung like a pendulum.

"Whose is this?" she seethed.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Yoshida crawled from the open bathroom.

Tamaki piped, "I saw it sticking out from under the pillow. Looks like somebody else has been in that crazy suit of his." Tamaki elbowed Minami, who looked away in embarrassment.

"You seriously think Nobody is..." Kallen couldn't finish that thought. She didn't want to imagine Nobody being so illicit in their hideout.

"Well, it's definitely not you," Tamaki added.

"What?!" Kallen moved to punch him, but he reflexively dodged. Were her feelings that obvious?

"We would have noticed if he was bringing in any outsiders, so we figured it must be someone already here. There's one problem though..." Minami said.

Kallen looked at the bra in her hand. She felt sorry for the owner. She couldn't imagine how embarrassed she'd be if she found out that a bunch of men were examining her undergarments for clues.

"It's too small for any of the girls here!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Of course, Minami was the one who realized that."

Kallen looked at the bra's tag. It was tiny! It almost looked like a starter bra.

No, she was not going to be sucked up into this nonsense! Kallen turned her nose up and folded the bra. She'll have it washed and returned to the room with dignity. Maybe she'd even clean up a bit too.

"I still think it belongs to C.C.," Yoshida said.

"I still have a pool going on when she'll get pregnant if you want in, Kallen," Tamaki said.

"She and Nobody aren't like that!" Kallen shouted.

"And how do you know?"

"I uh... I asked her." Kallen was ashamed to admit that she was initially suspicious of C.C.'s relationship with Nobody. She continued, "She said that they were 'transactional business partners.'"

"That's posh talk for smashing and you know it!" Tamaki slapped Minami's back, and the guys fell over with laughter.

Kallen stuck out her tongue, blowing a teasing raspberry at the other guys.

Tamaki playfully tapped on Kallen's shoulder, but he looked up and the color drained from his face. Yoshida cowered behind the bed, but he couldn't hide from Sohma's disapproving glare.

Minami, Tamaki, and Kallen stood alert, bowing their heads out of respect. Kallen snuck the bra into her pocket.

"Every time I feel like you're ready for more responsibility, you prove me wrong," Sohma said.

Kallen stepped in front of him. "I was just lecturing them--"

"You were sitting on the floor playing around with them," Sohma corrected.

Kallen bit her lip.

"Tamaki, finish your chores. You two, go back to your posts. Starting next week, you'll both be on the skeleton shifts."

Minami mumbled an acknowledgement as he walked past Sohma. Yoshida shuffled past with his head hung low.

Sohma focused his stern glare at Kallen, and she followed him as he walked out.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why do you have a push-up bra in your pocket?" Sohma asked.

"Uh... it was in Nobody's room." Kallen massaged her sore cheeks. She had enough embarrassment for the day.

"Huh. I could tell it wasn't yours... Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"

"It's fine. We were trying to figure out who it belonged to. It can't be anyone here!"

Sohma scratched his chin, and Kallen could see the thoughts buzzing behind his eyes.

"Do you have an idea?" Kallen asked.

"Uh... yeah, I do," he said with a small chuckle.

"And?" Kallen was shocked how interested she had become.

"The right answer is usually the simple answer. You found it in Nobody's room, it must belong to Nobody."

Kallen gasped. "He's a crossdresser?"

"Does that bother you?"

"N-no! I mean... that doesn’t change what he's done for us. Whatever he does in his private life is irrelevant," Kallen muttered.

Nobody was likely small enough to wear the bra, but a crossdresser? Technically, he could be anything under that suit of armor. Kallen had been drawn by his unconventional appearance. He was not much taller than her, and she was already one of the shortest members of their resistance group. She never really put much thought into what he looked like under the suit.

"Either that, or he's a woman," Sohma mused aloud.

Kallen jumped. She swore her heart skipped a beat. Maybe two beats! She clutched her shirt, trying to calm herself down. She heard wheezing, but it wasn't her own breath. She looked up and caught the sly twinkle of Sohma's dark stare.

He laughed.

"You-!" She couldn't find the words to express her anger!

"You make it too easy, Kozuki," he said while giving her hair a playful tussle.

[a-lion-in-summer]

A Herstory of Transmasculine Identities is a book I find I’ve really been wanting now that I see it. It’s a mixture of editorial essays and personal accounts by trans men and non-binary transmasculine people who spent years or decades of their lives being active in the feminist and/or lesbian communities talking about those experiences, how those histories affect who they are today compared to if they’d been born as cis men, the (usually negative) reactions they experienced coming out as trans, and their experiences in the transgender community.

It isn’t, and makes very clear it isn’t, a universal experience of trans-ness, but there are a lot of experiences in there I’ve very much wanted to hear. We say “there’s not just one way to be trans” or “you can still be trans and not follow this particular mainstream, normative narrative”, but some views are definitely more popular. Historically and today, “I always felt I was a man and did not want to call myself a lesbian even though I dated women and I want to date straight-identifying women and not lesbian-identifying women” has always been a gold star for a trans man trying to emphasize his Real Man status, even if you hear different rhetoric around it.

“Trans men who date women are straight” is a good one-liner and certainly needs to be emphasized over and over again for awareness in mainstream society to combat purposeful misgendering. But… it’s a deep over-simplification of many trans people’s actual, messy lives. Some trans men identify with this sentiment very strongly, others have much more mixed feelings. Some trans men have long histories in the lesbian community and date only queer women, not straight women who don’t share their culture. Some trans men call their sexual orientation queer rather than straight because of their histories in the queer or lesbian communities and the rejection they receive from cis straight people inherent in their trans status. Then there’s a broad range of identities people place under terms like butch, transmasculine, or trans men but still “lesbian”, rather than easy, neat boundaries. (Likewise the community of trans women who want to date straight men and assert their identity as straight women is different from trans women who were active in the gay men’s community and are partnered with gay men, and trans women who are proud lesbians who want to be part of the lesbian community and upset about transphobia against them from other lesbians from trans women coming from “straight men who crossdress” communities with straight-identified partners and often very negative views of lesbians or being seen as lesbians.)

I’m not a huge fan of the popular sentiment in the trans community: “I am A and not B. I was always A all my life. I was not affected in any way by the fact I and those around me believed I was B for many years of my life, because I have now realized I am actually A and always was A.” I get why it’s become so popular--anything to emphasize you are A and deserve to be treated as A and validated as A. Some people feel it perfectly describes their experiences, I suppose. I like this anthology for voicing reservations I too have to it, though. Whether or not I was “really” a boy all along, the fact that I was raised as a girl and treated as a girl for decades has profoundly affected who I am today, very differently from an alternate reality where I was magically a cis boy from birth. And then things get further complicated if we acknowledge non-binary people, for whom “I am A” might not be consistent with their experiences or something they want to say, but who feel “I am not B”, either partially or entirely.

This was especially emphasized by older trans men. “I transitioned at fifty, not fifteen,” to paraphrase, “but I’m just supposed to pretend I did and not talk about all those decades of discrimination I personally received or activist causes I personally fought for?” I was in my mid-twenties when I started to transition, and I still find it inauthentic to deny all those years I spent trying to fit in with “girl” and the expectations around it and the broader social consciousness of feminist realization that “I am being treated this way because I am a girl and that’s different from how it is for boys.”

This anthology also mentioned reservations some people had about the contingent of the trans men’s community that gets super into this sentiment--it’s often tied with rejecting of all things female/feminine in favor of sexism and toxic masculinity in order to emphasize the speaker’s Real Man status or to help them overcome their difficulties or insecurities about passing. As a feminist, yeah, I’ve seen that too from some trans men and grates against me how easily “being a woman is not for me personally” becomes standard misogynist rhetoric about why women/femininity are bad or inferior. Obviously this doesn’t sit well with trans men who have been active in the feminist community for years and who still feel strongly about feminist ideals and equality, no matter how many of their former friends have rejected them as traitors to daring to transition.

And of course the push-back from the other side that any ambiguity will lead to invalidation of their own identities or that these other people are being trans wrong or aren’t trans enough. As if if we only present a united front around a single, minimal-complexity narrative then, then cis people will accept us!

[itsclydebitches]

Have you read/watched Ouran High School Host Club? If so what do you think of Haruhi? To me she's super interesting and someone everyone should aspire to be like. Surrounded by idiots, but manages to handle it. Has her own goals and works towards them. Needs to crossdress? Sure why not, it's just clothes, who cares? She's a bit emotionally dense with her own feelings, but what teenager isn't? No one mentions her when talking about strong female main characters.

Oh, anon. I love, love, love LOVE, LOVE Ouran. It’s definitely in my top favorite anime/manga series and Haruhi is indeed so very excellent. Yes, she’s what I think of when “strong female characters” pop up, not a “Oh hey I know how to kill a man twenty different ways with just a paperclip and a string. That makes me strong, right?” In fact, let me chuck out just SOME of the things I adore about this story: 

Takes what could have been a rather uncomfortable concept—a group of hot guys working to entertain rich girls—and made it clear that everyone wants to/is happy to do this, it’s all in fun, it’s rather ridiculous at times and yeah we’re gonna fully embrace that. 

Similar to that, taking messed up anime tropes (loli types, twin incest, etc.) and either undermining assumptions about them or straight up satirizing it. 

Initially using Haruhi’s poor status as the fodder for jokes (that notably are designed to make the rich kids look stupid, not Haruhi herself—“I will drink this commoner’s coffee!”) before treating it as a serious theme deserving of respect and acknowledgement of Haruhi’s specific situation. 

It’s also made clear by like the second episode that status and wealth will not be used as an excuse for shitty behavior. 

Cliched book nerd actually has a complex personality. As you lay out, anon, Haruhi is actually… a person. Wild. 

Same with the entire cast. No one stays true to their archetypes for very long. 

FOUND FAMILY 

Exploration of sexuality like how Haruhi legit enjoys hosting for all these women, accidentally gets her first kiss with another women, the entirety of the Lobelia Girls’ Academy, etc.

Classic makeover scenes with practical purposes (i.e. “We need you to look like a girl for this plan to work” vs. “But you’d look so much BETTER like this!”) and they never last. After any event Haruhi is able to go straight back to short hair and boy’s clothes and it’s not an issue. 

Though when someone (Tamaki) does complain about wanting Haruhi in dresses more, or to re-grow her hair, or not use “dirty language,” the narrative is careful to portray him as in the wrong and none of the other host members support his theatrics. Challenging these obsessions with how a girl is “supposed” to look is a major part of his character growth. 

Cross dressing/different gender presentation is shown as normal and healthy. Not just for Haruhi but for her dad as well. 

The hug in the finale which I love for many of the same reasons I love the hug in Pacific Rim. 

The fact that even though the English dub uses she/her pronouns for Haruhi (and she’s fine with that) it’s clear that she doesn’t identify as cis gender: 

“So, you’re a girl?”

“Biologically speaking, yeah. Listen, senpai, I don’t really care whether you guys recognize me as a boy or a girl. In my opinion, it’s more important for a person to be recognized for who they are rather than what sex they are.”

In conclusion: please watch Ouran High School Host Club 

(x)

[justimajin]

It’s a Reverse Basket ◍ Part 10

⇝ Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

⇝ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ Basketball AU, Crossdressing AU

⇝ Words: 4.9k

⇝ Summary: Basketball is your everything; your passion for it running deep and wanting nothing more then to play the sport. Problem is, the sport isn’t offered competitively to girls and with that, all your hopes immediately fizzle away… …but who ever said that was going to stop you?

⇝ Warnings: pg13 (please check out the disclaimer on the first part); things get a little angsty with this one

gif credit.

⇝ Previous Parts: Moodboard Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

⇝ Next Update: Tuesday, May 19

There’s multiple white lights hovering over you, a silvery forecast that makes you wince and want to seal your eyes shut. Voices roar and shout, a sea of people on the bleachers mixed with reactions that adore the fine orange and purple print of your team while others scorn at the sight, faces dejected and barely anything slipping from their lips.

Although you’ve slowly grown accustomed to the sight,  there’s a layer of cynicism radiating off the group of individuals near you, expressions being either stiff or tense. When it becomes even more apparent by the minute, it’s something you attempt to address with the two people you’ve always been surrounded by, however it seems that the air has somehow sucked the cheery camaraderie out of them as well.

Taehyung and Jungkook both have their arms crossed, standing beside one another in such a way that makes you almost cower. There’s dashes of hostility surrounding them, brows creasing when they heavily stare at the basketball court. You draw closer to steal a peek at what they were looking at, puzzlement crossing you when there’s a certain man they can’t help but regard.

“It’s him again.” You perk up a brow when Taehyung’s voice falls down a couple of octaves, the pure malice catching you even more off guard. Jungkook hums, suddenly voicing out a range of statistics with Taehyung that you can’t really follow.

“Speed?”

“About 10 mph.”

“Shooting range?”

“6 metres.”

“Ego and bad dad jokes?”

The both of them go silent for a moment, their gazes seemingly drawing heavier in that one split second when they enunciate the answer at the same time.

“Infinity.”

“What’s going on?”

They both turn when you enter the conversation, eyes seemingly perplexed at the points they were just discussing moments ago.

“Oh hi Y/N.” Taehyung seems to snap out of it, expression appearing a lot friendlier and welcoming compared to before. 

“We were just talking about him.” Jungkook points in the direction they were staring at, outlining a specific individual you’ve never seen around. 

He wears a deep blue jersey, his team name sprayed out in large white letters. You catch sight of his face when he leans over to one of his teammates, blonde hair held up with a bulky headband and sharp eyebrows on full display. He almost produces a squeaky noise as he laughs, expression remaining childlike and innocent as you continue to stare.

“Him?” You immediately question, wondering why they were acting so serious for someone that appeared rather naïve to you. The sudden inquiry catches their attention right away, however something dwells deep in Taehyung’s eyes as he stares at Jungkook concerned.

“Isn’t he interested in….?”

Jungkook appears confused for a moment, before realization suddenly flickers in his eyes and both of them whirl around to stare at you in surprise. He’s too late though, mind drawing blank when a certain someone struts over in their direction.

“Well, well if it isn’t Taehyung and Jungkook!” His light-hearted tone is friendly when he addresses them, a smile already on your features when he comes closer. “Sure haven’t seen you guys in a while.”

They both simply hum, and you’re taken aback at how disinterested Taehyung appears alongside Jungkook acting like there wasn’t someone standing right in front of him. It’s both bizarre and strange, something you don’t let get to you as you kindly wave.

“Hi! I’m Y/N.”

His eyebrows perk up at the sudden sound, but he doesn’t catch sight of you when immediately Taehyung and Jungkook move to cover you up with their forms. The display causes the blonde-haired man to scoff, hands on his hips when a challenging look sparks in his once innocent eyes.

“A little too overprotective now, are we?” He cocks his head to the side, still trying to catch a glimpse of you but failing when Taehyung and Jungkook constantly interrupt him. “Tsk, you know we’re going to have to eventually face each other during the game, right?”

“Stay away from him Seokjin.” Taehyung grits, causing him to roll his eyes with a scoff.

“Yeah, yeah we’ll see how that goes, Taehyung.” He begins to head back to his team, still trying to capture a glance but Jungkook’s arm gets in the way instead. With a dramatic sigh, he yells over his shoulder, “Bye Y/N! See you on the court!”

Once he leaves, Jungkook and Taehyung immediately separate, leaving you with some room but with a lot of confusion.

“What just happened?”

“Kim Seokjin.” A third voice declares, strolling over as you catch a glimpse of Hoseok, “Captain of Sondeyeon’s number one rival team. Looks innocent but is way too loud, known for his horrible and shameless dad jokes, borderline suffocating confidence and a fondness towards anyone..…pretty.”

As if Hoseok read Taehyung and Jungkook’s minds, he eyes you for a moment and suddenly the connection forms. You do swell up with gratitude when you understand that your roommates were in a way just trying to protect you, however your uncertainty stems from how they’ve deduced that you don’t appear to look like the average guy.

A cold sweat plasters over you at the thought, eyes darting between all of them when they seem to not really dwell on it, more occupied with throwing Seokjin dirty looks from across the court. With a relieved sigh, you take their advice into consideration and decide to just be wary of the opposing team’s captain, eyes now on alert for the team you’ll have to eventually face.

***

It was a surprise enough to see Taehyung and Jungkook acting differently, but when Yoongi walks in with a certain glint to his eyes, you know it’s not something that can be just generalized to them.

“Jungkook, Jaebum, Hoseok, Taehyung and Jinyoung.” Yoongi announces, eyes lingering over to all of the members before facing all of you, “You will be playing for today’s game.”

They all proceed over to the court as you walk over to Jimin, sitting down with him on the bench alongside Jackson. When your eyes roam over to the court and all the members line up, you have to admit, you’re a bit perplexed.

Namjoon and Yoongi had chosen players that excelled on the offense, meaning that this time around they had selected for a team that was prepared to fully strike against their opponents.

Your gaze moves over to the opposing team, noticing how their focus wasn’t straying away from the team in front of them at all and how they almost seem like they were going to jump them at any second. Your eyes then land on Seokjin, abruptly blinking when you notice his posture completely morph into something else – a silent prayer running in your head for your teammates going up against him.

Jaebum stands in the centre position where Yoongi usually is, being eye to eye with Seokjin when the referee approaches with the basketball. Your eyes are locked onto the court, only fueling the thick tension building up in the air. This whistle is blown and the basketball is thrown into the air, immediately being caught by two hands.

Scary. That’s the only word you can use to describe the mayhem that had just transpired. It seems as if you’re not the only one who’s experienced chills down their spine, a look around all the expressions of your team telling you otherwise.

Within fifteen seconds, Seokjin managed to grab a hold of the basket and pass it along to only two players at a tremendous speed, scoring a point.

Fifteen seconds.

You can only stare in a mix of fascination and dread at the realization, eyes lingering on the captain for a split second. He notices right away, catching your glance with a smirk and then he does something that has your eyes dramatically widening.

He throws a flying kiss in your direction.

In front of the entire team.

You’re left stuttering for words, shrinking your form closer to Jimin in a protective way. Jimin on the other hand is bewildered as well, glancing avertedly back and forth between the two of you with wide eyes.

The referee stands in the centre again and the whistle is blown. You eagerly watch from the edge of your seat, hoping that your team can overtake the ball and get a basket.

To your disappointment though, the same thing repeats itself again and this time it’s quicker, your team being left in defeat when the buzzer scores for a second point. You slump down in your seat, hands pressed against your cheeks when the realization kicks in that you’re being defeated by Bangtan’s rival team in your own school.

That’s when Namjoon calls over the team, coming closer to the benches where you’re sitting and bringing Yoongi with him. Compared to everyone else, Namjoon doesn’t seem to be in too much shock from the overall situation, calmly questioning each member on what they thought was going wrong.

Yoongi on the other hand, is fuming.

You can only stare in pure horror as his fists clench and there’s a dark look brewing in his eyes, something you’ve never seen before and in this moment, wished you’d never seen before. He doesn’t seem to be listening on to the members, eyes fixated onto a certain blonde individual on the court as his jaw further tightens.

When he turns, you almost want to disappear in the fear that he was going to yell at either you or the team, but that fear dwindles away when Yoongi appears to shift back into an attentive mode, acknowledging the members before him.

“They’re too fast.” Jungkook hurriedly mumbles, frantically shaking his head.

“And strong.” Jaebum adds, “They’re able to anticipate our moves before we even think about them.”

That earns a collective nod from the team, everyone humming in agreement. Namjoon frowns, going through the original strategy he had come with but stuck if it would be better off changing it. As he contemplates over it, you uncomfortably shift when it begins to feel like Yoongi is burning circles into your head by staring at you, attempting your best to avoid all eye contact.

When he finally speaks up, his words have Namjoon even more confused.

“If they can anticipate what our members can do, they’ll need to go up against something unexpected.”

You can only resort to blinking in disbelief when Yoongi continues to stare at you, mouth opening to retort something as Namjoon interjects.

“Y/N?”

Immediately Taehyung and Jungkook step forward to object, but Yoongi raises a hand for them to let him finish, “It’s risky, but it might just be what we need.” Yoongi looks over to you again, “Y/N is smaller than the rest of us, they won’t be able to figure out speed or strength easily and getting the ball out of his hands will prove to be much more difficult.”

Their protests evaporate at that, Yoongi’s words bringing up a solid point. It causes you to be perplexed too, not knowing how well Yoongi was able to deduce your capabilities in such an accurate way.

“Alright. Y/N, you’re up.” Namjoon quickly says, eyeing the bright timer when the referee gestures for them to come back. Nodding, you swap places with Jinyoung and head for the court, suddenly feeling a little too exposed now being on the offense instead of defense.

Facing forward, there’s exhaustion evident in your own team and the opposing one, a layer of sweat coating forehead’s and heavy pants being exchanged. Your eyes flicker over to the scoreboard for a moment, the clear zero for your team serving as a crucial reminder of what your goal for being on the court was.

When your gaze drops down to the other team, you can see a set of eyes following your movement with a smile. When he opens his mouth though, you’re surprised when he somehow breaks the tension looming over everyone’s heads.

“What’s the best way basketball players can stay cool during a game?” He eyes the remaining players in front of him, all of which don’t attempt to answer and instead retaliate by glaring at him.

Seokjin grins, a laugh bubbling out of him as he gives the answer.

“They should stand by the fans.”

The air is silent – until a familiar set of giggles erupt from the benches. Your entire team directs a deadly stare in his direction, causing Jimin to quickly cower away and cover his mouth in shock. The referee eventually strolls over with the ball, a chaos of movement being unleashed once he blows his whistle.

Jungkook has the basketball in an instant, racing over to hand it to Jaebum who begins to dribble closer to the basket. Hoseok and Taehyung are nowhere in sight, scattered across the wave of players that successfully block them away from Jaebum’s view.

Recognizing that you’re the person who needs to get into the limelight right away, you glide across the court and attempt your best to stay in front of his path. However you’ve failed to consider that someone on the opposing team has other plans for you, shivers being sent down your spine when a voice from behind startles you.

“How interesting.” Is literally all Seokjin says, intercepting Jaebum’s shot to you and swooping out of your sight. You’re left in confusion from the whole situation; but take Yoongi’s words into regard when you know that once the basketball is in your hands, it’ll create an issue that the other team won’t be able to stop.

Noticing from afar that Hoseok has snatched the ball away from Seokjin, you rush over and open your hands wide. He immediately turns, jumping at a height that barely allows the greedy hands in front of him to brush against the ball. It lands in your hands with a thud, and you whirl around to send it over to the hoop.

An enormous smile graces your lips when it successfully sinks in, eager eyes taking in the content faces of your team members. You lightly jog over to get back into the centre position again, wiping off the trailing beads of water from your forehead and focusing your eyes back onto the referee.

Once the whistle blows again, Taehyung does everything in his ability to grab onto the basketball and pass it over to Jungkook. He filters through the stampede rushing at him, hurling the ball in Hoseok direction’s before he’s completely overtaken by them.

You quicken your pace to meet up with Hoseok’s on the other side, his eyes holding onto yours as a way to indicate that he’s going to be needing you soon. But when Hoseok stretches his arms to pass the basketball to you, your view is cut off by a height that towers over you. 

When you move to the left, so does he. When you move to the right, so does he. It spirals into a vicious cycle that draws frustration onto your features, so when you finally get the chance to bypass him completely, he uses his words to halt you instead.

He says it so faintly amongst the chaos of the screaming audience and pounding of the basketball, but it’s enough to have your feet stopping, breath hitching in your throat.

“Never thought Min Yoongi was the type to include a girl on his team.”

Seokjin smirks when he passes by you, a glance of his causing your heartbeat to spike up and your form to freeze up. In that one second, everything seems to slow down – but thankfully you’re awoken when the buzzer resonates through the court and it’s announced that Hoseok managed to score the next shot.

A light smile overtakes your features when Hoseok grins at you, but the harsh throbbing in your head doesn’t go away, not until your hand reaches out and unconsciously scrunches up his jersey.

Yoongi whirls around, looking down puzzled at your clenched fist until his eyes reach up to meet yours. There must be something in your glance that causes him to falter, because suddenly he’s leaning forward. 

“H-He knows…” It’s the only thing you can mutter and Yoongi’s reaction is distinctly similar to yours – his eyes widening and shock overtaking his features. He doesn’t even need to ask what you mean by ‘he’, his hand securely hovering on yours.

“Avoid him at all costs. Stay close to the other members.”

You nod but don’t fail to notice the slight twitch that tugs at the corner of Yoongi’s mouth, the way his jaw sets and his eyes harden. You realize that he doesn’t want you to go back because of the realization, but he has no choice in the matter when the referee tells you to return to the court.

The glowing tied two’s served as a reminder that you’re going to need to be careful this time around, so when the referee blows his whistle for the last time, you try to do exactly that.

Though it’s considered unreasonable when there’s someone tailgating on your heels, covering your vision with his giant shoulders every time you catch sight of the basketball. With a huff and large steps, you attempt to distance yourself and stick closer to your members but doesn’t seem to do much in your favour when he persists.

An idea sparks in your mind, head churning when you try to identify any patterns you’re noticing. The dots begin to connect when you rush forward and he does so as well, almost seeming to eye down your every step with his own…

Yoongi had switched you out on a whim, your presence on the court being a solid tactic to throw everyone off their game and you would assume this had gone underneath the opposite team’s radar.

But what if it didn’t?

Your question is answered when Seokjin blocks you again much to your frustration, the keen fact that they’ve chosen their captain for this special task. It doesn’t help either that he has you figured out more than you expected, the smirks on his lips just drawing out sheer paranoia from you.

You realize Yoongi’s advice isn’t going to be enough in that one moment, so you do something else.

You go against his instructions.

Instead of letting Seokjin block you – you block him. The abrupt change seems to throw him off, scrambling to get in front of you when you eye the wave of the basketball heading in your direction. You instantly open your hands when Taehyung tosses it over, but frustration builds even more when Seokjin gets his hands onto it first.

Without thinking, you force your hands out and try to knock the ball out of his hands before he can shoot. However your feet misstep and you end up accidentally bumping into him.

It’s a blatant mistake, yet with a costly price when the whistle suddenly sounds and you can only spin around in a cold sweat. Distraught instantly fills you when the referee walks over, face neutral but gestures speaking volumes when he takes Seokjin’s arm and positions him right in front of your hoop. A drearily sigh leaves you, the words ‘foul’ ringing heavily through the court and the distress is so clearly written over your teammate’s faces.

He shoots and the ball plunges into the basket. The loud buzz creates the three for the opposite team and the referee raises his hand, declaring the winning team.

***

Nothing much then a couple of remorseful looks and bitter filled eyes are exchanged amongst you and the members, a tight smile lining your lips when you ask to be excused after the game. You head outside, not discerning where you ended up when there’s too much of a heavy strain weighing on your shoulders and the last whistle before the foul replays over and over again in your head.

Taking a shuddering breath, you cross your arms and stare at the ground, failing to hear the sound of the door opening behind you and the accompanying footsteps that follow.

Silence dips into the room for what seems like forever, no coherent sentences being enough to be spoken from your lips. Which is why when he chooses to speak first, you can now only listen.

“You didn’t listen to me.” He sighs, though it isn’t from disappointment or regret – instead it appears to be fuelled by something else entirely.

“I know.” You quietly whisper but he presses on when his words only serve to retrieve a meek response from you.

“Why didn’t you listen? It was obvious he was targeting you.”

You open your mouth only to clamp it shut a few seconds later, eyes straying away from the ground to look up. Yoongi steps forward to be in your line of sight, but you almost wish he didn’t when you take in the pure fury lingering in his eyes.

“I-I just…” Your fist tightens, the ill memories resurfacing once again, “I just thought I could get to the basketball in time…I didn’t think that it would turn out to be a–“

You can’t even say the word foul, shoulders slumping down and words being silenced. Though the gesture goes past Yoongi, arms crossed as he grits his teeth.

“I don’t care about that.” He reaches out, jabbing a finger into your shoulder, “Because of what you chose to do, Bangtan had to pay a price.”

His piercing words cut into you, seemingly leaving behind a much deeper wound. However the hardest hit comes with what he says next.

“You can’t expect to be a competitive basketball player if all it takes is for someone to block you.”

Yoongi heavily sighs again, not noticing the light trail of footsteps backing away beside him until he swivels, eyes widening.

You harshly bite down on your lip, water unexpectedly beginning to well up in your eyes as your steps continue to falter backwards. When Yoongi faces you, you abruptly turn and rush out before the water starts to stream down your cheeks. 

Yoongi steps out in a frenzy but you’re long gone, the coast being completely clear. A tick leaves him as he fists his red locks, eyes scrunching up when the realization took too long for him.

“Don’t you think that was perhaps a bit….harsh?”

Yoongi huffs, opening his eyes to see Namjoon drawing closer to him.

“I said what needed to be said.”

“Did you?” He wonders, a questioning look in his eyes, “Seems to me that it wasn’t the case.”

“We lost the game, what else is there to it?” Yoongi snaps, not realizing his voice was escalating by the minute. Namjoon frowns, clearly not being blind as the former was assuming him to be.

“Are you sure this was about losing the game?” When Yoongi glares at him, Namjoon tries to spell it out, “We’ve faced Seokjin and his team before and even lost sometimes…I haven’t seen you react like this during those times.”

Yoongi’s lips set into a firm line and his gaze hardens. He chooses to respond by truding himself to the doorframe, muttering something about Seokjin harshly underneath his breath before leaving.

Namjoon lets out a weary sigh, shaking his head and wondering about the time his friend will realize what’s actually going on.

***

The TV is brightly lit in the corner of the dorm, high graphics flashing across the screen alongside two controllers being viciously tapped at. A voice breaks through the silence of the room, conjured in protests as an accruing finger is pointed in the direction of the man with long black locks.

“You’re cheating again!” Jungkook spits out. Taehyung rolls his eyes and exhales in exasperation.

“How am I cheating?!”  

“You’re using D.Va!” He points to the familiar female avatar on Taehyung’s side.

Taehyung’s tone drops into a sarcastic one, “Right, because using her as my character is for sure a clear indication of cheating.”

“Change it.”

“What?”

“You heard me, change it! Use someone else!”

Taehyung sighs, shaking his head at his roommate, “You’re being ridiculous right now.”

“Am not.”

“Am too.”

“NOT!”

“TOO!”

Taehyung’s face is the shade of cherries at this point, more words about to be unleashed about how incredibly unfair and childish Jungkook was being. It’s only when the front door quietly closes that his attention is snapped away, eyes darting over to the door to see you.

He opens his mouth, instantly knowing that if he asked you then you would be able to take his side and tell Jungkook he was being ridiculous. But Taehyung can’t seem to get the words out when you don’t even regard the two of them, simply kicking your shoes off and dragging your bag over to your room. The door is closed shut, not a peep echoing through.

He can only stare as he turns around, making eye contact with Jungkook who holds a similar bewildered expression. He can imagine that today’s game must have drained you out like it had with the others, but it isn’t like you to not give them a small hello or a wave of your hand.

“Is he okay?” Jungkook mumbles, the game being long forgotten when they both stand up simultaneously.

Taehyung shrugs, “We did lose the game today…”

Jungkook hums, lips downturned, “So? We’ve lost games before and it wasn’t even for a medal.”

“You’re right but it might have been Y/N’s first loss.”

Taehyung stares at Jungkook and they both encapsulate the dreadful look. Luckily for them, their years of experience has taught them that losing a game was a very common occurrence and although it was indeed saddening, there were many more games to come.

“Should we do something?” Jungkook asks and Taehyung frowns, glancing around.

“I have an idea….” Taehyung whispers, eyeing Jungkook keenly, “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

***

You let out a sniffle as your sleeve comes in contact with your eyes, lashes now thoroughly dried after being soaked for hours. Clutching onto your phone, a small smile graces your lips when you recall the conversation you just had moments ago with Hyerin, her ability to make you laugh at something that happened to her luckily coming through and taking away the heavy ache in your chest.

Blinking your sore eyes, you glance around and eye the couch, having realized a little too late that you had barged into the dorm without a look at either Taehyung or Jungkook, too caught up with yourself to acknowledge them. The guilt has sunk in now, but when you take a peek around, you don’t see either of them in sight.

Pacing around the dorm, you hear the distinct clanking of glass coming from one corner, your curiosity being more and more drawn to the kitchen.

The scent of disinfectant immediately wafts over your nose, causing you to scrunch up your features and cover it until you take in what was before you.

Taehyung stands beside the sink, a familiar frilly apron around his waist and giant gloves covering his hands. There’s a large humid mask over his face, strands of his black hair poking out and facing a mountain of dishes piled in front of him. Peering at the ground, Jungkook seems to be in a similar state but with a broom, hurriedly sweeping at the ground in a rushed pace.

They both freeze when you linger by the door, completely perplexed by what was going on. They appear startled as well, as if not expecting for you to show up so suddenly.

It’s only when Jungkook peels away his mask that you finally get an answer, “I told you we should have worked faster!”

“Hey, I didn’t know either, okay?!” Taehyung tries to shout back, instead mumbling underneath the mask he wears.

“What’s going on?” You meekly ask, both of them sighing heavily and Jungkook gesturing for Taehyung to spill the beans.

“We decided to clean up the entire kitchen together.” Taehyung softly smiles, boxy grin still being noticeable underneath his mask, “We wanted you to feel better so….”

Your eyes widen as Jungkook nods, unconsciously allowing water to well up in your eyes again. It causes both of them to be flabbergasted, hurriedly resuming their positions.

“We’ll be done soon! It should just take about an hour!” Taehyung quickly says, mumbling to Jungkook to hurry up to which the latter retorts that he’s not the turtle in the room.

You step forward with a tender smile, “You guys need to come over here.”

They glance up confused but you still gesture them over.

“But we haven’t finished yet.” Taehyung wonders and you retaliate by shaking your head with a smile. 

“If you guys don’t come over here then who am I going to hug?”

They don’t seem to question that. Taehyung waddles over to you and apologizes for all the stuff he’s currently wearing, whispering that the kitchen was an utter mess and he couldn’t stand the smell of it until Jungkook suggested they went in with some heavy artillery. You laugh and Taehyung eventually drags Jungkook over, causing him to protest because the floor was almost clean enough for him to see his reflection but when Taehyung plants him in front of you, he sheepishly outstretches his arms and lets you hug him. After loads of insisting, they both give in when you ask to help them out, a sponge in your hands and assistance ready to offer.

In the midst of the commotion, you look up and whisper.

“Guys?”

They both turn in your direction, hair still deranged and with masks intact.

You smile.

“Thanks.”

[lostinthewinterwood]

Gen Freeform Exchange 2020

Hey friend!

I’m looking forward to whatever you’re going to make for me—if you want to take what was in my sign-up and run with it, go right ahead!  But if you’re looking for more inspiration/ideas, keep right on reading.

If you’re not my assigned person, and are instead a generous person looking at this letter for treating purposes, I’d be happy to get treats in any medium.

General DNW

Rape/non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; graphic depictions of deliberate and methodical self-harm*; graphic depictions of suicide; anything E rated; gore; heavy gender dysphoria; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; full setting AUs (canon-divergence is fine); graphic eye trauma; graphic and/or permanent hand trauma (unless the setting can provide a more-or-less fully functional prosthetic or equivalent); issuefic; unrequested identity headcanons.

*I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

 General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Crossdressing for whatever reason and gender disguises, also for whatever reason.

– Time travel and time loops are always fun, especially as a fix-it.  I have a general preference for Peggy Sue style (aka, an older character getting put back in their younger body at an earlier point in the timeline) over the character’s physical body stepping back in time, but either one is good.

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

�� Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

All of my requests have way too many tags to relist them here, but if you’re at a loss for what to do, anything in a given request’s tags is obviously fair game; don’t feel bound by them either, since I’m definitely interested in more things than just those which appear in the tag requests.

 Fandom-specific prompts and DNWs

 Mother of Learning

Fandom-specific DNW: physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family, significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction, any implication or presence of romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian, either Raynie or the rest of her tribe being portrayed as Absolutely Right And Entirely Justified in all of their actions

 Neoluma-Manu Iljatir & Zach Noveda

Solo: Zach Noveda

Zach Noveda & Zorian Kazinski

Fanfiction

I’d generally prefer something set at least in part after the time loop begins, but beyond that I don’t have a strong preference for where in the timeline this might be set.  Maybe something from before Zorian got looped in—maybe one of the iterations where Zach and Neolu just went off across the country having fun the whole month? Zach doing whatever, possibly very early on, or maybe him freaking out a little because what the hell, time travel is supposed to be impossible, and yet—what did he do in the start? Some canon-type shenanigans with Zach and Zorian together because there aren’t lasting consequences to their actions?

Or for post-canon, I’d really like an exploration of Zach, who’s got the lived-time of a middle-aged man and the body of a teenager—how does he relate to his classmates/other people in the real world, where everyone’s growing again?  Maybe something about his lawsuit against his caretaker, or just a little thing with him, Zorian, and How Do You Live Normally, Again?  This Is Hard, or some such thing.

One tag I like especially—though obviously if you didn’t match on it you needn’t include it—is “Character expected to die but didn’t and now has no idea how to live anymore,” since Zach definitely didn’t fully expect he would get a chance to live through the rest of his adolescence/adulthood, and something delving into that would be really interesting!

 Raynie & Raynie’s Tribe

Raynie & Kiana

Fanfiction, Podfic

I love Raynie, and I love the little glimpses we get into her character and her past in canon!

For her I was thinking maybe something after the invasion, maybe her going home again.  I’d love to see a reconciliation between her and her tribe, and a settling of the issues and problems that led to her being sent away.

If I’ve got my timeline right, her brother should be old enough to have reasonable interactions with; I’d really enjoy something dealing with the tension between them, letting them reconcile and build a better sibling relationship.

Alternatively, if we’re going for pre-canon, I’d really enjoy something dealing with her initial arrival in Cyoria and befriending Kiana.

 Cikan Kazinski & Kirielle Kazinski

Solo: Kirielle Kazinski

Nochka Sashal & Kirielle Kazinski

Zorian Kazinski & Kirielle Kazinski

Fanfiction

I’d really like something focusing on Kirielle here—she is, after all, the uniting factor in this set of requests.

I’ve got a few ideas for what could come of this!

-- Kirielle and her mother.  For this one, I’d rather it not be anything where Cikan can be described as “winning” a confrontation—I’d much rather have it be a confrontation where it either ends neutrally or in Kiri’s favor, or a reconciliation when Kiri’s a bit older, coming to understand each other better.  I’d be down for Cikan realizing that Kiri is her own person, and can forge her own way in life, if you can get a story there, but I’m not sure if there’s an in-character way to do so, given how she still relates to Daimen, a successful adult in his own right.

-- Kirielle and Nochka.  They’re adorable and I’d love a further development of their friendship, especially getting to see it grow and develop over the months and years after the invasion.

-- Kirielle and Zorian.  I love their dynamic!  And again here I’d really enjoy seeing their relationship developing in real time, rather than a constantly looping world.  I think it would be great to see either of them defending the other to their parents—and maybe Zorian ends up with custody of Kiri, there’s definitely things to explore there.

-- Kirielle.  I’d be here for any sort of character study of Kiri, really, but I’m gonna prompt a few specific things anyway.

---- She grows up a little, and becomes a student mage—what’s that like for her, especially having received Zorian’s tutelage?

---- She grows up a little, and doesn’t seriously pursue magic—does she devote herself more seriously to art?  Do something else?  Get away from her parents, and get to just be a kid for a little longer than her siblings?

---- By some mechanism, Kirielle gets pulled into the time loop, whether with Zorian, instead of him, or in some utterly unrelated incident. What’s it like to grow older and older in life experience while your body remains stubbornly nine?  How does this change the story?  If you go this route I’d rather looper!Kiri not be erased in the timeline of the fic—ending the fic before it becomes an issue or letting her escape back to the real world are what I’d rather see.

---- For some reason—there’s actually a fair amount that’d have to change here, but shhh this is my ridiculous self-indulgent prompt—Kirielle is the Controller.  How does she react to being in a looping world, with no one else looping she can possibly compare notes with?  What does she do with her time?  Why did the angels choose her?  How does this impact canon—is Jornak even a problem, does the whole Sovereign Gate affair pass much as it was meant to rather than the debacle that became of it in canon?

 Solo: The Ghost Serpent

Solo: Quatach-Ichl

Fanfiction, Podfic

So, these two are just… they’re old.  They’re very old; QI, the younger, is still a thousand years old, and they’ve just seen so much??  I’d love some sort of exploration of the world’s history through either of their eyes.

For the Ghost Serpent, I’d be very interested in what it saw the other Branded Ones do that put it off of them so badly.

For QI, I’m interested both in the world history around him and also how he became what he is—why/how did he become a lich in the first place?  Who was he before?  Why did he get a divine blessing?  What did he think of the gods falling silent?  What was the Necromancer’s War like?

For this prompt, I’d be down for an in-universe document or legend/folktale/fairytale about them, rather than an ordinary narrative. I’d also definitely be down for something like an epic poem or story-song, if you feel so inclined.

  Star Wars Rebels

Alexsandr Kallus & Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios

Fanfiction

I’m a total sucker for the enemies-to-allies redemption arc that Kallus and Zeb have going and really, anything exploring that dynamic I’d be down for.  Post-Honorable Ones is probably better—there’s a bit more to work with there—but mutual respect/grudging acknowledgement from before that point would be great too.

That being said, I would also be super down for one or both of them mentally travelling back in time and whatever ridiculous shenanigans emerge from that—honestly most of my tags can be interpreted as prompts for that, if you squint at least.

  Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire

 Solo: Zare Leonis

Solo: Dhara Leonis

Zare Leonis & Dhara Leonis

Fanfiction

These poor kids, god.  I love them and I love their siblingship and I just, I want more. A lot of the freeforms I’m asking for are geared towards the aftermath of Secret Academy, and Dhara’s recovery and her relationship with Zare throughout that.  Do feel free to bring in their parents, too, though it’s by no means necessary.

Other things I’d be interested in include various types of role reversals and how that changes things—maybe it’s Zare who’s older, with a Force-sensitive little sister in Dhara, or the ages are the same and the Force sensitivity is flipped, or maybe Zare’s Force sensitive as well as Dhara, or the ages and Force sensitivity are flipped, making Zare Force sensitive and older and Dhara not force sensitive as well as being younger.

Another interesting thing would be exploring Zare readjusting to a civilian life; he’s quite conditioned into being so careful and military in his dress and his living space—does he keep that going? Let it fade?  Deliberately reject it?

 Solo: Lieutenant Chiron

Zare Leonis & Lieutenant Chiron

Fanfiction, Podfic

I love Chiron, he’s such an interesting character, and I am Big Sad that he doesn’t appear in any fics on ao3 as of yet.  He strikes me very much as a good man who doesn’t really know most of the bad things his government is doing; he cares about Zare and he cares that there’s abuses of power and murder going on at the academy; he truly, genuinely wants to make the galaxy a better place.

I would love to see a story where he lives through the climax of Secret Academy and, however that happens, is thus forced to question his government from that, since I’m also Big Sad that he died before he had that chance; failing that it would be interesting to have a fic exploring his past and how he came to be part of the imperial war machine, I think.

For him and Zare post-canon, assuming an AU where they both survive, I’d be down to see them rebuilding the relationship they had before and regaining some sort of trust/regard for each other.

  Original Works

Fandom-specific DNW: the word “queerplatonic” being used to describe relationships (writing something that you’d normally consider it is fine!  I just don’t really like the term), fics that are All About Being Trans And/Or Disabled, neopronouns, nondysphoric trans characters.

 Archmage & Apprentice

Failed Chosen One & New Chosen One

Girl Who Killed The Dark Lord & Her New Inherited Minions Who She Would Like To Be Less Scared

Fanfiction

I love fantasy, including space fantasy, and so many of its associated tropes: magic, destiny and fate and the subversion thereof, people being fundamentally human whilst caught up in something far beyond them…

This one’s a bit harder to prompt for, but looking through the tags I asked for should give you a decent idea for what I like; see also the general likes section above.

Thank you for creating for me!! I’m sure whatever you make will be lovely, and I’m looking forward to seeing it :D

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Rule 63 Author

(It’s finally happening! Thank you so much for signing up!)

I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3 (and have been since LJ days, but my LJ is locked down and I only have a DW to see locked things). I have anon messaging off, but, er, I can answer any questions you might have about my requests in my mod capacity if you contact the exchange email ;)

Fullmetal Alchemist | History Boys | Pride and Prejudice | Robin Hood | Spinning Silver

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one's situational or ethical judgment with someone else's, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships.

A note: I'm generally fine with "/" ships where the fic doesn't contain a kiss, overt declaration of love, etc. I'll trust that you wrote it with shippy intent and don't expect you to force in something that wouldn't fit the story.

About Rule 63 Exchange specifically: I have no strong preference for character names, with a slight preference for sticking with their canon names; it's up to you whether you want to justify any resulting names that would be unusual for women or just gloss over it. As far as characters' personalities and gender expression are concerned, you can tell from my requests that part of what interests me in most of the characters I requested is the question of what they and/or their relationships would be like in a world where they grew up as women, but I tend to want to see them as similar to their canon selves, just female. I'm probably fine with unrequested characters also being swapped to female, but feel free to check if you're not sure; please don't swap any female characters to male.

For this exchange, I've requested only fanfiction and only Always a 63, and with the exception of FMA, have requested non-smut (for FMA both smut and non-smut are good).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Ship(s): F!Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye, F!Roy Mustang/F!Maes Hughes, F!Roy Mustang & Riza Hawkeye & F!Maes Hughes, F!Roy Mustang & F!Maes Hughes

I only recently started watching FMA:Brotherhood and I love it a lot. My fannish interests run towards military contexts, loyalty kink, idealistic/noble characters, and ambitious/pragmatic characters, so I'd love to read more about any of these combinations of people trusting one another to be the best person to do the job, or to know what to do, and risking a lot on that - whether that's on campaign in the war, when trying to get Roy up the chain of command, during the conflict with the homunculi... (I'm not yet up to the bit where Roy tells Riza he trusts her to shoot him in the back if he steps off the path, but it's been mentioned to me and it is my JAM.)

(My requests are fairly unspecific because as I write this I'm only about a quarter of the way through the anime. DO NOT worry about avoiding spoilers in the fic; I'm getting through the canon and can't wait to read whatever you want to write. Although I should specifically say, feel free to either have Hughes continue to be alive or stick to canon in this regard.)

Smut Likes: clothing, sexual tension, breasts, oral sex, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity

Fandom-Specific DNW: please avoid canon-typical loss of body parts. If writing Roy/Maes in a period when Maes would canonically be married to Gracia, please don’t kill her off or get into either infidelity angst or poly negotiation; an AU where they never married or the assumption of an open relationship are both fine.

—

Fandom: History Boys

Ship(s): F!Stuart Dakin/F!Tom Irwin, F!Entire Class & F!Tom Irwin, F!Entire Class & F!Douglas Hector

I'm dying to know what the cultural touchstones would be if this plot were about lesbians instead of gay men. Auden, for instance, keeps coming up in the play - Hector loves him, Dakin and the other students bring him up to feel out Irwin - Housman, Bette Davis in Now Voyager...so what's acceptable and/or eccentric Culture for lesbians to cling to, or to signal (or flirt, or come-on) with? Who are the writers and the icons? During canon(/pre-, if applicable with Hector) or post-canon Oxbridge-slash-TV-historian life, it's all great. I, like most of the fandom, do like the idea that Dakin and Irwin do make it work at some point, post-canon.

Although I acknowledge that female versions of these characters feeling shut out of the historical and literary Canon is a valid place to go with the concept (I mean, that's Mrs. Lintott's speech), I'm more interested in following through on the way that the canon (little-c) characters relate historical or literary figures and events to their own lives - whether that's using more female figures, or finding things to seize on and relate to in the male figures of the Canon (in a fuck-you women-are-like-this-too way or a gay way rather than a Great-Men-are-universally-relatable way, I suppose).

—

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice

Ship(s): Elizabeth Bennet/F!Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jane Bennet/F!Charles Bingley

I would love to see how the basic narrative of P&P, or scenes from it, could play out, with period setting and some level of period attitudes, if either (or both) of the two main men are women looking for a "companion" or being pursued as a "companion," rather than as a husband. (Yes, I've been watching Gentleman Jack, but I've wanted this sort of thing for longer than that.)

To be clear, period attitudes can be "meh" rather than wall-to-wall homophobia; I'd just prefer to explore the implications of this change rather than supposing that same-sex marriage is accepted and everything about the plot is the same. If Jane, the eldest daughter to marry off, isn't interested in a heterosexual marriage? If Elizabeth turns down Collins without any expectation that a more suitable man could exist? (Having characters be bi rather than lesbian works too, I'm just throwing out some examples.) The significance of dancing, when in a formal dance context you'd encounter another woman in the dance but wouldn't be able to have her as a partner? Jane and Bingley being adorable, or Elizabeth and Darcy coming to revise their initial ill opinions of each other in this new context? Are the men a hot ticket for the women of Hertfordshire in the same way if they're women instead?

—

Fandom: Robin Hood (Traditional)

Ship(s): F!Robin Hood/F!Little John, F!Robin Hood & F!Merry Men, F!Robin Hood & Merry Men, F!Robin Hood & F!Little John, F!Robin Hood & Little John

Tell me about these people! A female outlaw commanding the loyalty of a mixed or male group -- or an all-female group of outlaws, how they live, what might have led them to choose that life. I'm also here for Robin Hood's relationship with her right-hand man/woman specifically, because I love loyalty kink -- people willing to go into danger for one another, the leader knowing how best to use her right hand's skills and strengths, what elements of formality might appear in, well, a very ad-hoc group. (And f!Little John would probably be hot.) If you're writing the Little John pairings, feel free to make the Merry Men either their canon versions or female versions.

I'd totally be into any of the f!characters crossdressing as men vis-à-vis the world at large, although if you go this route I'd rather have them not be in disguise to each other/to their own allies (so no Merry Men thinking they're being led by another man when it's crossdressing Robin, for instance - preferring masculine clothing/appearance even among friends is fine, though).

—

Fandom: Spinning Silver

Ship(s): F!Staryk Lord/Miryem Mandelstam

I love Miryem, and I'm so interested in the ways that making the Staryk Lord a woman would change Miryem's entry into the Staryk world and the romance that eventually develops between them. Maybe same-sex marriage is common among the Staryk, and that's one of the customs that are new and unfamiliar to Miryem in this new world. Would this be a Miryem who had never imagined being attracted to a woman before but comes to fall for the Staryk Lady, or one who simply couldn't have imagined being able to marry one and have that be a normal life? (For values of "normal" that include ice lands and gold magic!) How does the fact of the marriage being same-sex affect Miryem's initial understanding of it as a business arrangement, or for that matter, affect her understanding of the offer of queenship as a marriage at all? What makes them fall for each other?

Canon Miryem wonders what her role as queen is, thinking that she'd know about managing a household and having children and sewing if she were married to a human lord - is it the same if she has a fairy wife instead of a fairy husband, more so because there's not even the hope of a gendered complementarian aspect to fall back on, less so because the Staryk Lady is there as an example of what a female monarch in the Staryk lands does? Does Miryem try to be more like her, or to find her own accounting-powers-and-personal-bonds niche?

It's so important to canon Miryem to have a Jewish wedding with the Staryk Lord - what would that look like here? What happens when she comes back to the human world not only the queen of a magic country, but married to a woman (and in love with her, depending on when you set it)?