redha-reading-hood

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Buffy Summers TV show protagonist of all time + text posts

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has anyone made an andromaquynh edit throughout the ages to past lives by borns yet

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Do you have something for the Cassian week this year? If you do, can you give us a little sneak peak 👀

Unfortunately, I don't plan on participating this year. (Not that I did a spectacular job of participating last year, either!) My IRL world has gotten busier and I'm juggling (quite badly) more things. I've got one "comic" WIP that I've been working on here and there.

I really enjoyed drawing these romance covers that riffed off of the old school illustrated regency romances, so I wanted to do one that was a tongue-in-cheek nod to Frank Frazetta (think Conan the Barbarian) and more... modern? Or maybe not so modern romantasy books.

I started getting the ick tho when I started the base colours to the cover, and I thought I'd be open about why. This post is getting long so I'm just going to pop these thoughts underneath the read-more to save people as they scroll by.

Basically, in my interpretation of SJM's work, the Illyrians appear to be a brown people who are continuously and coldly othered by their own author. They're depicted very broadly as barbarians—a warrior race, as if fighting was part of their genetic makeup and not a militaristic role that is foisted upon them by the Night Court—and their home is portrayed as a cultural backwater. (Or at the very least, we are given no indication of any culture beyond wing clipping and strict caste and societal roles that seem to be tied to whose bits one's left and what bits one's got. And it makes you wonder: so what are their songs like? Their art? Their dances? If I had to predict SJM's response to these questions, I'd guess that she would simply say that all of the above were warlike and leave it at that! We only know that they've got swirly tats and runes aslfkajsfd) So we're given Velaris and Windhaven as two diametrically opposed places: one where art and culture is stressed and another where war and violence is stressed. But that's often part of a superficial story that's told in real-world colonisation narratives (to the tune of: we're keeping those savages in line, we're bringing them OUR culture and thus the mark of true civilisation, they would RUIN our culture if they were to live freely HERE, etc.).

Then, you add to that the sexualisation of Illyrians - that wing size corresponds to penis size and that penis size is tied to sexual performance and PS THESE bat boys who have been given a Velaris Values Education on top of their Illyrian Child Soldier one have the biggest ding dang wings you've ever seen. And priapic penises, being primal or animalistic in bed (if memory serves me correctly, it is interesting that it's CASSIAN, an Illyrian, who says that the Fae as a whole are closer to animals like what kind of person thinks like that about themselves), having a voracious libido, or being thought of as rapists (Jurian implies this of Illyrians at the beginning of ACOWAR when he says that Elain's "probably been fucked by half the Illyrian army by now" to Lucien), etc. are also present in real world civilisation-vs-barbarian narratives that run all the way back to Ancient fucking Greece AND in white-vs-literally-anyone-else narratives.

My hope is that the cover I drew is sufficiently in-world and that people don't think that I think of the Illyrians as a barbaric brown people. I think they're a people the author gives fuck all about because it doesn't seem to me that she actually really cares about meaningful world-building that goes beyond Pinterest board aesthetics. And neither does my imagined version of Selyn Drake.

But I also want to acknowledge that the reason it became weird and icky for me to finish the piece was because even though the white woman on the cover is half-naked and in a submissive position at his feet, I'm still at the end of the day drawing a brown man however fictional in a derogatory position and role that literally and figuratively paints him as a barbarian in a very sexual context that directly mimics real-world racial, cultural, and colonial dynamics even within a romantic context (for a real-world example, see: The Sheik (1921)). And that part just felt gross. :\

ANYWAY, TL;DR: I won't be finishing this piece the way that I intended. Felt like I was toeing a line I wasn't sure I was fully equipped to toe, so to speak. I'm trying to write Fix It Fic for the first time in a long time and salvaging this fuckin' depiction of one of the few brown peoples in a whole ass world has been an uphill battle in all directions.

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Followed for dragon age stayed for acotar ‼️

FFS this ask got me to download and play Inquisition again for like two days straight this past weekend. Anyway, put my attempts at DAI's godawful character creator + some barely-worked-out thoughts on a DA Nessian AU under the cut.

Nesta - Human Mage - Due to my own anti-Orlesian prejudice—(i.e., I cannot imagine Nesta with the French accents they have in DAI)—and the fact I don't think she'd be Ferelden (notable lack of doggos in ACOTAR save for Eris' shadow hounds), I'm thinking of her as a fallen noblewoman from the Free Marches who was only further disgraced when Feyre was found to possess magic. The situation was made worse when it was consequently discovered that, actually, all 3 sisters were mages. Her + her sisters were then scattered to different Circles. Left both the aristocracy and the Circle with no discernable survival or wilderness skills; could be very powerful but has no interest/fears that power. I don't see her as the Inquisitor/Herald of Andraste in this AU, but that might be fun to explore because I feel like Nesta would haaaate that.

Cassian - Human Warrior (currently: sword & shield) - I wanted to stay true to the outside, simplistic perception that the Illyrians are a barbaric warrior people. I didn't make him a Qunari because they're a matriarchal religious society and that doesn't seem akin to the Illyrian culture as shown in the books. I tossed about the idea of having him be Tevinter, but I thought that would suit Rhysand better. I landed on the Avvar because they're a conglomerate of tribes (like Illyria seems to be a conglomerate of war camps/bands), still possess magic/are friendly towards mages, and have occasionally come into conflict with Tevinter (like the Illyrians have occasionally fought against the Night Court/High Lords). I stopped thinking precisely there. He's still bros with Rhysand for reasons I have not yet discerned and tbqh don't really care about. I am here only for #Nessian.

The Premise: Let's say pre-DAI/the Divine getting exploded, Rhysand had whisked Feyre off to Tevinter to be powerful, wealthy, and pregnant as in canon. Let's say Feyre wanted her sisters (who she knows to have magic like her even though they may not want to have magic) to be safe with her in mage-friendly Tevinter. Rhysand could task Cassian with finding one sister and Azriel with the other.* Nesta could be recruited with the mages in Redcliffe; Cassian could be found in the Hinterlands (headed towards Redcliffe). Give Cassian Nesta's location and that's one quest done, they're united unbeknownst to Nesta in Haven, and now she's got one (1) Avvar bodyguard she never signed up for who's insisting he's taking her back to Tevinter once This Whole Thing Blows Over (despite her continuous refusal), absolutely 0 sign of coin or status or eligible suitors, and magic powers she's been raised to abhor. (✿◡‿◡)

* (AN: I feel I should say that I'm not mentioning that for shipping purposes - I could NOT give any fewer fucks about who Azriel fucks because, again, I am only here for Nessian. I would be in a negative fuck zone and I'm not sure if that's mathematically or psychologically possible.)

Anyway, bonus:

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Eris’ favorite place to be

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Can we please talk about how unsafe Nesta felt in acofas that she had to have multiple locks on her door even in Velaris (supposedly the safest place in prythian)

The fact so many people have come into her home and kidnapped her and her family members she’s in a constant state of fear that it’ll happen again. So imagine what that would’ve felt like having to be forced into yet another place where she feels unsafe and forced to live with a man she wants nothing to do with.

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NO BECAUSE THIS. THIS IS THE MOMENT I ABSOLUTELY FLATLINED

the way andromache’s hand moves before she even processes it, like her body is just wired to respond to quynh’s pain. it’s instinctive. it’s pure muscle memory. that’s devotion sharpened by centuries of familiarity, of knowing each other down to the bone. it’s instinct born from lifetimes of looking out for each other, of protecting, of losing and still reaching anyway

and the way andy pulls back the second it hits her.. the moment she remembers where they stand now, that she doesn’t even deserve to touch quynh anymore. and quynh. oh god. she shifts, gives andy even more space. like she’s saying okay. like she’s letting her see. she lets andy care for her. lets her be close. and that alone feels like forgiveness wrapped in silence

even after everything. after 500 years of suffering at the bottom of the ocean, after the rage, after finding out andy stopped searching. gave up. broke the one promise that mattered

and still they fall into this quiet, sacred gravity between them like it’s the most natural thing in the world. like nothing’s changed even if everything has.

it’s so devastatingly soft. so intimate. this is a love story etched into blood and memory and grief. this is immortal sapphic pain at its PEAK.

i’m not okay. i am physically. spiritually. emotionally. devastated. Good.Bye.

gif @thewisewill80sbyers

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Maybe we made it just in time.

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Cassian tries to tease Nesta (with cookies!) about not being Carythnian, and it’s all downhill from there. Some festering contentions are raised, a new turn on is discovered, and I think we can ALL agree that Rhys doesn’t always make the most strategic or wise moves 😬

(However, kidnapping Feyre on her wedding was equal parts strategic AND dramatic, so I’ll give him props for that!)

Things usually turn out well for him… but c’mon son! That idea with the orb and the human Queens was not wise in the slightest!

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WIP Wednesday

Here is a snippet for the Lover prompt for Cassian Week. It takes place in the Etched Into Skin world between the 2nd and 3rd chapter.

The sweet scent of spiced honey filled his nose before his feet landed on the balcony, it mixed with the floral and citrus notes of her scent so well it had become his favorite smell. Casian knew as he pushed open the unlocked doors- by this point he wondered if Nesta kept them unlocked to tease him- that he would find her curled on the end of the couch her nose buried in one of the dirtier books he had brought to her. He allowed himself one deep breath to saturate himself in that tantalizing smell before pushing open the doors. The sitting room was dimly lit by a low fire and the several candles Nesta had on the tables around her reading couch.

She hadn’t heard him come in, so engrossed in her book, giving Cassian time to take her in. Candlelight made her hair look gold. A few strands had fallen out of the lose braids she wore for bed.  Shadows danced along her face highlighted the blue of her eyes and the high arches of her cheekbones. The lack of a house coat had his breath catching in his chest. The white lace and soft linen of her nightgown left her shoulders and collarbone bare. And though he could not see them he knew his words would be visible.

 She looked like one of the paintings from the Day Court.

“If you are done staring at me could you please shut the door.” She tried to hide her amusement behind a mask of boredom. Weeks ago he may have fell for it, but Cassain had made it his mission to learn everything there was to know about the human woman the Mother had bonded him to.

He should have been surprised that she had sensed him in the room, the bond was muted on her end- a purely fae thing, instead he let her voice sooth the irritation that had built in him. Visiting to the Hewn City always left him pent up. He had debated coming tonight not wanting her to see him like this. But it had been almost twenty hours since he had stood in this room and laid eyes on his mate.

He did as she bid locking the doors behind him.

The soft snort she let out was more a huff of breath. Because he could, the dagger he had given her was tucked away in her room- he would have to bring her another one to hide in the sitting room- Cassain dropped onto the couch nest to her. Reaching over her pulled her feet into her lap. Running his fingers over the delicate skin of her ankles he watched the goosebumps spread up her legs. “What are we reading tonight, Sweetheart?”

Instead of answering she slipped to the next page in her book. The spike of arousal she gave off said she was at a really good part. Nesta lifted the book in her hands showing him the cover. A broad chested Illyrian had his wings spread wide behind him while clutching a high Fae female to his side. In bold letters the title stretched over the image of the Illyrian steeps, Wings of Honor.

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me and the people of tumblr can complain about tog2. the rest of you cannot. out in public tog2 must be a success so we get a 3rd part

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Veronica Ngô as Quynh in THE OLD GUARD 2 (2025) Costume Design by Mary E. Vogt

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Voice cracking a little at the end when they say your name for the first time in a long time for NESSIAN pls & thnx

For months, he’d prayed to see her in his doorway. To hear her delicate steps cross the threshold, the melody of his past dreams, his future regrets. Hollow and gray had been the years since she’d been gone, and Cassian had been left with plenty of time to ruminate on all he’d done wrong. All he could do right if only given the chance.

If only given the chance.

And now he sat at his kitchen table, mending a fishing net, and at last she stood in his doorway.

Sunset streamed in behind her, casting her face into shadow.

“Nesta?” Cassian’s voice cracked, and she flinched, as if it were a pop of firewood. “I’d heard you were..”

Shrugging, she hitched her traveling pack higher on her shoulder. “I am. I’m back.”

Tall and regal still, though the road weighed on her shoulders in a manner he was all too familiar with. Illyrian sunrise eyes roved his cabin for something to eat, the longing for a hot bath in the itchy shirking of her clothes. The craving for home.

There were plenty of angry things he could hurl at her. The abandonment, the betrayal. He could twist his fucking guilt into shield, a battering ram to break the gate of her body in his doorway.

But it didn’t matter. She was here.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yes. And no,” she said cryptically. Waited for him to invite her to put her bag down. Cassian didn’t move. “Things have changed for you, as well, I hear. Feyre tells me you no longer hold a position at court.”

Ah. Here was the test. The one he’d failed when the redheaded female dropped into their world ten years ago, when he let his blind loyalty excuse another male threatening the life of his mate.

His mate.

His Nesta.

“I resigned. After you left. Seemed the honorable thing to do.” Her brows went up at that, though he knew it wasn’t the first time she was hearing this. “And I couldn’t.. it all reminded me of you. I had to leave.”

She’d haunted every alcove of Velaris, all the books in the library at the House. The delicate gestures Elain made with her hands, Feyre’s stubborness. Nyx’s huge, moon-glass eyes. That she’d left even her nephew said more than he could stomach.

A truth that was abundant when Cassian dared to look at her once more. It hurt, maladjusted as he was after all this time, like looking into the sun.

“I saw you everywhere," she confessed.

Two strides brought him close enough to smell her sweat and skin. One more left her perfect face within his reach, and time looped around on itself when he dared to brush the stray hairs behind her pointed ear.

“Nes. Sweetheart.” He couldn’t help his voice breaking once more. The word he’d struck from his vocabulary the day he saw her wardrobe empty.

“I was..” She faltered, pressed her cheek into his hand. “I was saving you for last. So I never have to leave again.”

They’d had many kisses since the crumbling world pushed them together. None so fragile as this. Soft longings navigating a jagged landscape, a wisp among the trees.

“Cassian,” she murmured against his mouth.

Nesta’s bag dropped over the threshold as he lifted her, where it sat in the front hall far longer than it should.

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nessian would make such a good t4t couple