you don't have to be a ghost

Nobody asked for it, and I did it anyway! Or

I counted all Baldur's Gate 3 resident NPCs so you don't have to

And then I made a whole anthropological study about it Spoiler, I guess, but honestly does it count? (pun intended)

I am always thinking about this slow fucking hockey player with beautiful freckles. And a weak backhand. A weak backhand? Yes, very weak. And, he's so boring and he drives this terrible car! It's a normal car! I am always wishing that these women were him.

never gonna get around to finishing this so everyone can have it anyway !!

some detail close ups

And we get the footnote that the bolded line is from a poem about the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, right. Let's forget for a moment that Shen Qingqiu has his "Binghe is so hot" moment right after being chased down and slammed into a wall. Let's look at Binghe. Binghe, who just slammed Shen Qingqiu into a wall and is now quoting from a poem about separated lovers meeting.

Here's the poem by the way, by Qin Guan: Through the varying shapes of the delicate clouds, the sad message of the shooting stars, a silent journey across the Milky Way. One meeting of the Cowherd and Weaver amidst the golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew, eclipses the countless meetings in the mundane world. The feelings soft as water, the ecstatic moment unreal as a dream, how can one have the heart to go back on the bridge made of magpies? If the two hearts are united forever, why do the two persons need to stay together—day after day, night after night?

I suppose we can forgive Shen Qingqiu for not even giving us an assumption of Binghe using that line sarcastically, because he's having a stressful day and an even more stressful night. But I sure wish he would've put any attention on it! Your disciple is quoting romantic poetry at you!! Also, Luo Binghe is bold as fuck, just straight up quoting from a poem like this, even if it's from a less "obviously" romantic line.

It's still from a poem about separated lovers meeting.

OK

final one

for all the marbles,

this one doesn't have an illustration bc i think it was just a kids novel but i haven't been able to find ANYTHING about it on my occasional internet queries:

kids is staying with his (grandmother?) in the woods and she warns him not to look a fox in the eyes bc they're tricksy and will swap places with you. obviously that's the first thing the little boy does and gets body snatched by a fox who uhhhh proceeds to pig out with his new little boy human hands and the boy has to trick the fox into looking him in the eyes again to switch back...

i cannot express how much these are from memory, that's how internalized these artists and writers have become, they're a part of me now

The second one is likely Stellaluna.

When the victor becomes the prey.

My version of the dwarf commoner origin!

it was just a kind of strange experience. having been out as queer since i was in 5th grade i had the experience of growing up as an out queer/trans kid, but not in a congruent "i was a girl but now i'm a boy!" kinda way. i did not do Being A Girl Well at all, not even in the aspects (like makeup) where i did genuinely try. it was very clear i would also not do Being A Boy well either. at the same time i did want gender recognition, as an androgyne (even though i was really struggling with my gender because of all the exorsexist shit i was seeing in online queer spaces around "contradictory" and "MOGAI hell" identities, which were the only ones that actually captured what its like being an androgyne) i did feel like a boy and a girl in certain ways. but not ones that were reflected back to me as socially meaningful or real.