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superhoeva · 6 months

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𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄: 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎

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⬩ pairing(s) carmen "carmy" berzatto x musician!reader, luca davies-bernardi x musician!reader, sebastian "sebby" garvey (original male character) x musician!reader

⬩ warning(s) language, emotionally toxic relationship, sad girl!reader (but it's okay bc it's gonna get better!), nervous!scattered-brained!carmen, sweet!luca, anxiety, mention of injury (burn), smoking (mentioned), some smut, (bad unsatisfying) penetrative sex (p in v), protected sex, bodily fluids (mentioned), oral (m receiving), delusional bf syndrome, negative feelings during sex

⬩ author's note it's here! it's here! finally had some time to sit down a finish this, and i'm excited!! next chapter will have heavy luca and carmen interaction with reader to make up for seb in this chapter lol. make sure to heed the warnings before you read! hope everyone enjoys <3

⬩ word count 2.4k

Carmen traces the pattern on the stair runner—a deep, wine red with flickers of brown and gold—to steady his breathing as he and Luca follow you up the stairs to the bathroom.

Beets for red.

The three of you together in the small bathroom is a tight fit, but you make it work. Carmen, standing stiff with his back to the sink while you make a b-line for the aloe vera and cotton balls that sit in a nearby cabinet. Luca takes a spot leaning against the doorframe, curious eyes watching you as you move.

With your back turned, you don’t see the two catching eyes. Luca gives Carmen a quick raise of his eyebrows. Carmen responds with a widening of his, and they just barely return to their normal size by the time you turn back around. You set down the contents in your hand–a bottle of aloe vera, a few cotton balls, and a large band-aid the men didn’t notice you grab–onto the counter next to Carmen before holding out a delicate hand.

“May I?”

Carmen stares down at where your palm lays outstretched before him. It takes a long second for him to even think about moving. Another moment ticks by and Carmen finally raises his hand to put in yours. His skin jumps at the feeling, breath coming out shaky.

He thinks you’re going to say something about him. Make a joke about how long he took to give you his hand, but you do no such thing. All you do is give him a small smile and begin your work.

The men let you coat and dab at Carmen’s hand in the quiet. You’re about halfway through when you decide to break the silence.

“So how’d this happen?”

Your question falls soft onto Carmen’s ears. His has to blink a few times, as you’re looking over his hand with such care. The mark is an angry red and stings like a bitch, but your gaze makes it a little easier to bear, which only further ruffles the nerve bumbling around in Carmen’s stomach. The aloe vera does some work, too.

“We, uh, we work in a cellar,” Carmen mumbles back, not really thinking. Both he and Luca see you pause to process the information, then simply nod, accepting it with ease.

Luca almost laughs as he clarifies, “we work in a restaurant that happens to be in a cellar.”

“Ah, okay,” you nod again. “What’s that like?”

“It’s…” Luca trails off, searching for the correct work. “It’s intense.”

A short chuckle from Carmen. His way of adding that’s a understatement. “It’s great, though. We love it,” he finishes for Luca, who nods in agreement.

“That actually sounds really cool,” you admit as you place the band-aid onto Carmen’s skin, and smooth it over. Luca grins a little. Carmen bobs his head, unable to look you in the eye.

“Yeah, yeah, it is. Cool,” Carmen parrots, eyes finding the courage to look into yours. “And, uh, thank you for this. Really, thank you.”

You have to remind yourself to breathe as you gaze back at Carmen. The blues of his iris are something magical and incredible and moving. Your body forces you to swallow before you reply with a kind, “you’re welcome.”

Carmen’s middle jumps at your words. Suddenly, the bathroom is three-sizes smaller than when he’d entered and there’s not enough air for him to function properly. He blinks at you one last time before heading for the door. Luca steps to the side to let Camren through, who remembers to throw you one more thank you before he’s hooking around the bathroom exit and back down the hall.

It’s just you and Luca now. He gives you a sheepish smile, eyes flicking to what you’ve left on the counter. He’s over and clearing the small mess of loose band-aid wrappers and used cotton balls.

“Oh, you don’t have to…” you start, but Luca is dropping the piled waste into the garbage can. “...do that.”

Luca shrugs, brushing off his hands.

“It’s the least I could do. And I know Carm already said it, but thank you for helping him out. That burn would’ve just gotten worse and worse if not for you.”

It’s your turn to shrug.

“It was no trouble,” you promise. “Happy to help.”

Luca smiles at you, again, and fuck if that doesn’t make you feel good. A tick of silence passes, and you can’t think of anything to say.

“Can I walk you back down?”

You warm at the inquiry, nodding at him with a shy smile. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

The two of you trail downstairs in a quiet that doesn’t make your stomach turn, and it’s refreshing. It allows you to breathe and take in the tattoos across Luca arms as the swing just beside yours. They’re similar to the ones you saw dancing across Carmen’s skin. You wonder if they got any of them together.

When you return to the hallway between the kitchen and the main room, Luca’s mouth opens a bit, like he’s looking for something to say. To keep the two of you in the moment, but he’s interrupted.

“Where’d you run off to? Been looking for you.”

It’s Sebastian, striding down the hallway and up to where you and Luca stand. The violinist doesn’t even glance at the man on the other side of you.

“Hey, I was just–”

You don’t get a chance to finish your sentence before Seb is speaking again.

“Think I’m ready for that drink now. Just a beer or something, but make sure it’s cold, yeah?”

A nod from you. Luca doesn’t notice when you glance at him as you head back for the kitchen. Sebastian is already looking back at him. The two share a long stare before Luca smiles to himself and leaves Sebastian to follow you into the kitchen.

You startle at the unexpected, “who was that guy?”

Your spin reveals an awaiting Sebastian. He leans against the frame of the entrance, arms crossed and head tilted as he gazes at you. His eyebrows are pinched together in that way that makes you feel on edge. How your father looked at you when you were younger. You have to swallow before answering.

“I don’t know,” you mumble with a shrug. Turning your back on Sebastian, your eyes falls back on the drinks in front of you. Beer. He wanted beer. A cold one. “Just friends of some friends here, I think.”

Sebastian nods slowly. When you spin to hand him the bottle, he’s still looking at you. It’s different than before, though. His eyebrows have smoothened. His shoulders droop a little easier. And there’s something softer in his eyes. Yet the knot on your stomach doesn’t want to go away.

“What?”

Sebastian just grins at you.

.・゜゜・

“Okay, off,” Sebastian groans out, pulling his dick from your face for what feels like the hundredth time. “Shit, off, don’t wanna come yet.”

You wipe away the spit collecting on your chin with the back of your hand, and hold back a huff. Sebastian pants above you, slacks and belt bunched around his ankles. He glances down at you and smiles like he did back in the kitchen. A hand on the back of your head guides you back onto him. You suck and swirl and work with more energy than you thought you were going to be able to muster.

“Fuck, just like that. God, yeah. You love my cock, don’t you, baby? Love it so much, you’ll suck it anywhere. Even in Arya’s basement.”

Sebastian sees you roll your eyes and nearly loses it. At the moment, he’s completely incapable of realizing the action was out of anything but pleasure.

“See, just like I said,” he grins even wider. “You love it.”

Just upstairs are the rest of the guests. They are sprawled out around Arya’s cozily-sized living room. Across the couch, love seats, and even on the floor as they converse over drinks and more drinks.

“So, uh, how do you know each other again?”

Carmen asks, sitting to the left of Luca. On the other side of the older man is a guy named Kaj. His shoulder length hair is tied into a low bun, revealing an aged scar that scratches across his cheek, and a few freckles here and there. The three men are squished on one edge of the brown couch, a little warm from all the bodies in the room.

“Okay, so you remember that little kiosk I told you I worked at when I first moved here? While I was doing nights at the Thai place?”

Carmen nods at Luca.

“I worked there with him,” Kaj continues before plopping the olive from his small glass of vodka in his mouth. As he chews, a giggle leaves him. “And we fucking hated it. Couldn’t stand our boss.”

“That’s actually how we bonded–stealing his cigarettes and smoking them out back when he wasn’t paying attention.”

A huffed laugh leaves Carmen. “Damn. What’d he do to make you hate him so bad?”

Luca and Kaj share a look and a shrug. Finally, Luca sighs. “Was just an asshole. Got off on keeping us late just to do busy work he didn’t feel like doing. Always angry. Got pissy anytime he saw us smiling, just shit like that.”

“Hm,” Carmen thinks, raising his hand to scratch the back of his head. “Yeah, no. No, I’d steal his shit and smoke it, too. Sounds like a dick.”

Kaj smiles in agreement, but it falls when he sees the bandage on Carmen’s hand.

“Shit, what happened to your hand?”

Carmen pauses to follow Kaj’s eyes.

“Oh, uh, i-it’s nothing,” Carmen sniffs, shaking his head. “Burned my hand at work. No biggie. Someone here helped me patch up real quick.”

Something flashes behind Kaj’s eyes. It makes Carmen squirm.

“Ah, so that’s what you were doing with her.”

“With who?”

Carmen’s throat squeezes when he hears Kaj say your name. It's Luca's turn to squirm, but for a different reason.

“Yeah, she put some aloe on it. Got him all fixed up,” Luca glances at Carmen’s burning face, before remembering something. He leans in a little closer to Kaj and lowers his voice. “But hey, what’s the deal with her and that guy?”

Kaj has to think for a moment, then his eyes widen. His face reads amused as he looks at Luca.

“That guy?” He laughs. “You mean Seb? Sebastian Garvey?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Luca shrugs. Is he supposed to know who that is?

Another laugh leaves Kaj.

“They've been together for a while. Long enough to live together. They got a place down the road from here. Met at university. That’s why we’re here tonight, Seb just finished his junior recital. Everyone wanted to celebrate and, even thought she hates him, Arya has the nicest place, so…”

Luca takes in the information slowly. As he thinks to himself, someone taps Kaj on the shoulder, calling away his attention. Carmen still stares at Luca, wondering about the look on his friend’s face.

“What’s up?” Carmen questions. “You good?”

Luca barely nods, sending Carmen a tight smile. “Yeah.”

Carmen doesn’t break his stare from Luca, who’s still deep off in thought. He sniffs.

“It’s getting kinda tight in here. Burn one?”

A few seconds pass before Luca answers. “Sure, yeah. I’ll meet you out there in a second.”

Carmen leaves one last slap on Luca’s shoulder before shuffling his way out of the main room. He blows out a quick breath, and tries to shake out the nerves.

His steps thump against the wooden-floor, echoing all the way down to the basement, where Sebastian sloppily pounds into you from behind.

“Shit, sorry,” he huffs, dick slipping out a thrusting against the cheek of your ass. Again. “Fuck.”

He takes a second to slide back inside you, and returns his hand to your waist. A tumble of moans leaves him as he resumes his thrusting. His hips snap back and forth, and it feels kind of nice at most.

Not great. Not horrible. Just nice. Enough to drag one tiny whimper from you when he just barely brushes against your spot. A rush of frustration soon follows that numbs away any other pleasure that tries to sort its way through your tense body.

A broken moan from Sebastian pulls you back into the present. You push out a wail, hoping it sounds real enough to Seb.

Who are you kidding?

Of course, he’ll think it’s real. It’s not like he’s noticed the fabricated-nature of your sounds of pleasure before.

As you predicted, he doesn’t get close to catching it, too preoccupied with keeping his own moans to a minimal volume. His are real and you think it should make you feel better. It never does.

Sebastian tenses, and you can feel his cum seep into the condom you had to remind him to wear. You try to match what leaves him, forcing out a few more oh fucks with a sprikle of yes. He grinds into you one final time, a hand reaching around to guide your lips to his.

A few quick pecks are pressed into your mouth before he finally pulls back and out of you. Another shudder racks his body and he pulls you back to him.

“You’re amazing,” he mumbles with a heavy breath, softening-dick hanging between the two of you. “Fuck, that was great.”

A smile lifts the corner of your lips as you readjust your clothing. One more kiss is pressed against your cheek, Sebastian telling you, “I’ll see you upstairs, okay?”

And with that, he’s gone. Skipping his way up the steps as he zips his pants, and out of your sight. You have to blink. Then blink again. And again.

Your eyes dance around the room, to the trash can a few steps over. At the top of the small pile inside is the used condom. Shriveled and dirtied with Sebastian. Biting your lip, you push away the thought about feeling similar in a way. You crouch and make sure it’s covered by some loose papers and tissue.

Next, you make sure to straighten everything back to how you found it. Both an old habit and out of respect for Arya. You straighten the chair Sebastian had scooted out of the way–for reasons you know nothing about–and the blanket that sits atop it.

One last glance around the room gives you a chance to take a few deep breaths. To steady yourself and squeeze your hands a few times before slowly making your way to the steps.

You freeze at the bottom of the staircase. Grasping the rail for dear life.

#the bear #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto x reader #carmy berzatto x you #luca x reader #chef luca x reader #carmen berzatto #luca the bear #chef luca #au: rule of three

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basilknell · 2 months

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Vasily's Ethnic Background

Howdy! I tend to ramble about history books I read adjacent to Vasily on my private accounts, so I figured I’d accumulate some of the information I read regarding headcanoning Vasily’s ethnic background. This’ll be a big ‘ole post, so I’ll stash it under a read-more for anyone interested.

This isn’t meant to be taken as a concrete ‘Vasily is canonically ethnically x’ post, and as you’ll read none of the options I cover are necessarily concrete as there’s overlap and conjecture to be found in every choice. Nonetheless, this post's biggest purpose is reference for myself, as I rotate what I headcanon him to be often; I’m hoping some others might take an interest in alternate backgrounds for him from this, as I only ever see him portrayed as ethnically Russian.

I’d be happy to provide further reading/direction for certain information covered if wanted, and a special thank you to Rdstrpv for some of the information unavailable in English for me to find! I will also occasionally update this post over time as I read more documents and come across more evidence/contradictions.

Please be aware that much of this can be a sensitive subject, and I have condensed much of this information to be understandable to the average reader which means nuance is lost. This is especially true in regards to the intersection of ethnicity and nationality of Cossacks when relating to Russian and Ukrainian history. I especially suggest further research beyond my simple blog if you have any interest in making Vasily a Cossack. I stress it, even. I try my best to tread the history and terms, but a short blog can only touch upon so much.

Russian

To address first and foremost, comes the ethnic background the vast majority of fans (and likely Noda as well) ascribe to Vasily – an ethnic Russian. There’s not much information I need to corroborate regarding why exactly one might find Vasily to be ethnically Russian, and it is the easiest background for him to tread if you wish to play it safe regarding headcanons if you don’t know much about Russian history.

Vasily, given his first name and appearance, has no contradictory elements to him being Russian. s. His first name, Vasily, is one typically only ethnic Russians use, but we'll discuss this further in a bit. He speaks Russian in the show (though non-Russian ethnicities do sometimes speak Russian), he has an appearance typical of an ethnic Russian, and is found to be in an Russian Imperial Army (RIA) uniform – though I’d like to add there was mandatory conscription for most all males in Russia starting in 1874. Regardless of ethnicity, typically most men who resided within the empire could be conscripted into the army. The one time we see Vasily without his shinel (greatcoat), he’s wearing a kosovorotka, a shirt that specifically was worn by ethnic Russians, and typically no other ethnic group.

(Pictured Vasily’s kosovorotka.)

An argument could be made that another ethnicity would’ve worn a kosovorotka given it being one of the likely few clothing options when stationed further East, but the more likely assumption is he is simply Russian. After all, Vasily’s birthplace, Yeleninka, was, and still is, in Russia; he never bothers to correct other characters that call him Russian either. Though, this could also be in part that he either could no longer speak at all after being shot, or he didn’t find worth in arguing about it.

But, regarding Vasily’s clothing, there are some major inconsistencies beginning with the fact Noda clearly had little idea about the Russian uniform or military organization in 1907.

To begin with: an ethnic Russian being a border guard was unusual. Not impossible, by any means, but not exactly the norm. Border guards at the time were found to be one of two categories: Cossacks (I will be discussing them later) or a specialized military unit called the Special Border Guard Corps (SBGC). While Cossacks were typical to find as border guards, and oftentimes had their own separate units from ordinary military units, you often could find ethnic Russians in the SBGC, though border protection more often than not belonged to Cossacks. You might also find the occasional ethnic Russians serving as a Cossack out East, but again, this will be further discussed below as to what that meant.

Neither Cossacks nor the SBGC wore the uniform Vasily and the other members of his unit are found in.

(Pictured 1909 uniforms of the SBGC.)

While this is a graphic of 1909 SBGC uniforms, they remained largely similar to the years before, and are notable for their green coloration to mark their identification. It’s far harder to pinpoint Vasily’s outfit had he been a Cossack, namely because he could have been in several different uniforms depending on which voisko (AKA a Host – think of these as state/territory distinctions between Cossacks residences) he originated from. To be a Cossack on the Sakhalin border, he could’ve been from a number of different voisko that created the East Siberian District that covered Sakhalin. Simply though, no Cossack uniform matched the uniform Vasily canonically wears either.

So what uniform is Vasily found to be wearing, then? His outfit is a generic foot soldier uniform of low-ranking members of the RIA, lacking any tags to denote which unit Vasily prevails from entirely. However, the uniform Vasily is found in was introduced in the year 1907 by order of complete uniform overhaul by Tsar Nicholas II. Given Vasily being in the Far East, it would be rather unusual for Vasily to wear a newly-issued uniform such as the one he’s found in. How would a soldier presumably on a remote border have such a newly printed uniform, structured for a separate occupation he does not have? He is a border guard sniper when he first appears after all, not a foot soldier.

All of this culminates into a couple of pieces of important information regarding Noda. (1) He was entirely unaware that the regular military did not cover borders, and instead it was the job of specialized units, Cossacks, and less commonly the SBGC. (2) He intentionally avoided pertinent information on Vasily’s uniform and gave him a generic one from the very year Russian uniforms were changed lasting until the Revolution. In fact, Noda had made edits to Vasily’s uniform between the original release of his appearance, and the volume releases, meaning he wasn’t thorough in depicting the Russian soldiers. (3) To culminate most of this, Noda had simply cobbled together information that created Vasily to be versatile for several different headcanons, not just as an ethnic Russian. If Noda had failed so spectacularly regarding Vasily’s uniform, could he also not have made a mistake in Vasily’s kosovorotka? After all, gimnasterka (a form of the kosovorotka worn by soldiers of any background in the RIA) were typically worn under shinel, and while Vasily’s shirt looks more like a kosovorotka than a gimnasterka, Noda simply could’ve drawn the gimnasterka wrong and accidentally created a kosovorotka.

There is a reason why most fans label Vasily as ethnically Russian, aside from general lack of knowledge on the subject, but in that same vein much of the evidence that he is ethnically Russian can be refuted in the same breath. Regardless, it's a simple headcanon to choose above the others if one wished.

Ukrainian

While Vasily’s silence and clothes tell one story about his background, his name itself tells another. Specifically, his surname! ‘Vasily’ is found typically upon Russians and those who want to Russify themselves while 'Vasyl' is the Ukrainian equivalent, but his surname, Pavlichenko, is distinctly Ukrainian and not Russian. His father’s family, at the very least, had to have been of Ukrainian origin, regardless of his birthplace in Yeleninka (which is not located very close to Ruthenia, an old term for Ukrainian areas before the Ukrainian state emerged). It would be up to interpretation if his mother was also Ukrainian, but it does not conflict history to state his family could have moved from Ruthenia (perhaps after serfdom was abolished in 1861) to different areas in search of land. Being leased onto Cossack land to farm in the Orenburg voisko, where Yeleninka was located, was common for laborers and poorer non-Cossack locals. An ethnic Ukrainian being found in Yeleninka is not as outlandish as one might think and is entirely plausible, as a portion of Yeleninka was indeed ethnically Ukrainian (whether this was through forced displacement or general immigration, I am unsure). And, as discussed in the previous section, when assuming how an ethnic Russian was a border guard, the same logic can apply to a Ukrainian simply being in the SBGC.

It’s difficult to explain away Vasily’s last name without him being, in part, Ukrainian. But again, part of this information likely comes from Noda’s lack of research into Russian history. Vasily’s last name is taken from a famous sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, just as Vasily’s first name and birthplace are taken from another sniper, Vasily Zaitsev. Despite being ethnically Ukrainian, Lyudmila is often regarded as just a ‘Soviet’ sniper, and thus it's likely Noda assumed she was simply Russian and gave her name to Vasily because of that, unaware that there was a difference between Ukrainian and Russian last names.

Vasily's first name not being the Ukrainian variation of 'Vasyl' could be explained by that stated mixed heritage. However, it was also incredibly common for Ukrainians in the past to go by a Russified name. For example, the famous writer Nikolai Gogol's original name is actually Mykola Hohol. Vasily could very well have chosen to start going by a Russian first name in everything but his personal family life, as it was not uncommon for well-known Ukrainians to have these double names.

If you’re a stickler to the specifics despite Noda’s intention, Vasily’s Ukrainian surname cannot be argued against as easily as many of the ethnic Russian factors for him. Whether that means you’d find Vasily to be exclusively Ukrainian, or a mix, that is up to one’s own headcanon interpretation.

Orenburg Cossack

Cossacks are a very long and convoluted subject in Eastern European history, but I will do my best to explain this as clearly as I can without dredging into too much history. First, and most important to remember, is ‘Cossack’ was not necessarily always a distinct ethnic identity from other ethnicities within the Empire. But it was an ethnic identity to some.

The Cossacks emerged from various ethnic backgrounds. They culminated into one as different groups fled from whatever situation they found themselves in and drew into banditry together. Russians and Ukrainians fleeing serfdom, Poles fleeing the hetmans, those of Turk background, etc., all became a hodgepodge group called ‘Cossacks’ in modern-day Ukraine and parts of Southwestern modern-day Russia. Over time, this group obtained special privileges from Imperial Russia in return for their extensive military service. Cossacks began to develop into an ethnic identity separate from Russians, Ukrainians, and Turks. Their own culture was Slavic mixed with Turkish culture – distinctly blended so they did not identify as one or the other. This was not always the case, and often the further back in history you go, the more often you would find Cossacks who identified with an ethnic identity outside of Cossackhood. You might often hear the term 'Ukrainian Cossack' in reference to Zaporozhian Cossacks because of this, as many of these Cossacks would have identified as being kin to what we now call modern-day Ukrainians rather than having a distinct ethnic Cossack identity. But, later in the empire, certain Cossack groups did distinguish themselves as ethnically different from the Russians, Ukrainians, and other Slavic groups in the area.

However, because of these special privileges given to them by the Russian Empire, a legal definition of a Cossack had to be applied to persons. Due to this, as Cossack voiskos began forming further East into Siberia where the Russian government wanted Cossacks stationed, they would often bestow the title of ‘Cossack’ to people living in certain areas who ethnically had no connection to Cossacks whatsoever. This created situations where those who did not want to be involved in the military were now legally obligated to give military service, and it was now possible to find even ethnically Chinese Cossacks in Eastern voiskos. A Cossack had become both an ethnic identity and a legal title to be bestowed, though the vast majority of Cossacks still remained those of the ethnic background.

To summarize, Cossacks found in Western Imperial Russia often regarded themselves as distinctly different ethnically from other groups (Russians, Ukrainians, Khalmyks), such as with Don, Kuban, and Ural Cossacks. This is often exemplified in Russian Literature (although written by those who are romanticizing the Cossacks) where it is highlighted that Cossacks consider themselves a separate ethnicity from those around them. However in the more Eastern voisko, while it was possible to find Cossacks who believed themselves ethnically Cossack, sometimes being a Cossack was simply a legal title and held no other cultural or ethnic significance.

Now, in regards to Vasily, border guards were often Cossacks in Imperial Russia, as it was one of their duties when not in an active military turn. This immediately gives him claim to potentially being a Cossack, if you choose to headcanon him as a Cossack rather than in the SBGC. Now, as stated above, he was far more likely to consider himself ethnically Cossack (which would explain a Ukrainian last name, but not consider himself Ukrainian due the blended nature of Cossacks) if he was from a voisko further West. But, Sakhalin was one of the Eastern-most points in Russia, and lacked a specific voisko to cover it. Instead, a group called the East Siberian District chose to cover Sakhalin, which was a collection of different voisko. If one was to headcanon Vasily as being a Cossack from any of these Eastern voisko, it’d be much easier to state several things at once: (1) Vasily is legally a Cossack and (2) Vasily considers himself to be ethnically Cossack, Ukrainian, Russian, or whatever else one might choose to headcanon him as. The only background you cannot headcanon such things in conjunction are legally Cossack and ethnically + religiously Jewish for a number of reasons (if a Jew converted, they could indeed be dubbed a Cossack. Antin Krzyzhanovsky is a historical figure notable for doing this).

But, let us backtrack, as there is further evidence to Cossack Vasily beyond his occupation as a border guard. In fact Yeleninka was located in the Orenburg voisko, and those who resided in Yeleninka were legally considered Cossacks. In fact, regardless of headcanon purposes, when following only factual history and no conjecture, Vasily should have been legally a Cossack if he had been born in Yeleninka itself (if born outside the town or if he moved there young, he could’ve been considered a non-Cossack living in the area. Certain ethnicities like Jews and Kalmyks were exempt from the legal title being applied however). I’ve never found specific statistics regarding Yeleninka’s official ethnic makeup, but as for the Orenburg voisko as a whole: when the Orenburg voisko was created, the government supplanted several ethnic Cossacks in the area, but also legally defined some ethnically Russian, Tatar, Mordvin, and Chuvash persons living in the area into Cossacks as well. Thus, one could easily consider Vasily ethnically Cossack, or instead consider him to be one of the other ethnicities listed above while only a Cossack in legal title.

To return back to the discussion about Sakhalin coverage, Yeleninka’s existence in the Orenburg voisko does, in fact, line up with history correctly, though I’m sure Noda was entirely unaware of this. Orenburg was a voisko part of the East Siberian District, and it is entirely plausible Vasily would have been stationed on the border because of that. Though it would have been more likely for a further East voisko to send soldiers to that specific border, but not impossible because Orenburg was part of the District.

Ussuri Cossack

Now, the Ussuri Cossack headcanon hinges upon everything I’ve just said above regarding Orenburg Cossacks. Whether or not Vasily is considered ethnically or legally Cossack matters little, only that he is simply titled an ‘Orenburg Cossack’ at the time of his birth, which he otherwise legally should’ve been if he was born in Yeleninka.

As mentioned, the Ussuri voisko was the voisko found furthest East – and because of that, the voisko most likely to have supplied Cossacks to watch the Sakhalin border as a general assumption because of their proximity. However, there is indeed precedent for an Orenburg Cossack becoming an Ussuri Cossack. While it was notoriously difficult for Cossacks (and peasants in general) to transfer between voisko, starting in the 1890s (after a large famine hit the Orenburg voisko the hardest) the government began supporting Orenburg Cossacks in moving to the Ussuri voisko.

So, in essence, Vasily could have been born in Yeleninka, legally considered a Cossack, and then moved to be raised in the Ussuri voisko as an Ussuri Cossack, allowing for a more probable likeness for him to have been stationed at the Sakhalin border. Because of how devastating the famine was to the Orenburg voisko, movement to the Ussuri voisko was a fairly popular choice for some Cossacks.

Mordvin (Moksha & Erzya) + Chuvash

To get out of the way an important piece of information: I am going to use the term ‘Mordvin’ for ease. However, Mordvin is an umbrella term referring to two distinct, but related, ethnic groups known as the Moksha and Erzya. Think of it like the term ‘Slav’ in reference to Poles and Russians.

Aside from Vasily’s place of birth – Yeleninka – and its place in the Oreburg host, there’s not much other specific evidence towards Vasily being Mordvin. There was a decently large population of Mordvins in the Orenburg voisko, and quite a few of them were also legally deemed Cossacks as well. And, while that is the little info I have (mostly because there is very little information involving Mordvins published in English and even Russian), no other information would contradict him being Mordvin either aside from his Ukrainian last name. But, of course, his last name can always be easily explained away as mixed marriage in the past.

I am adding Chuvash as another ethnic group similar to the Mordvin’s in Fors and Againsts. They had a decent population size in the Orenburg, and some also served as Cossacks. However, unlike the Mordvins which are a Finno-Ugric peoples that had assimilated and intermarried with Russians quite a lot, Chuvash tend to have more of a Central Asian appearance which is a bit of a contrast to Vasily’s canon appearance (blond-brown hair, strong nose bridge, blue hooded eyes).

Turkish

I’ll quickly preface that Vasily being full-blooded Turkish is highly unlikely. But I wanted to at least mention that it wouldn’t be uncommon for him to be a quarter or half Turkish. The reason why is that during the Russo-Turkish War during the 1860s, Cossacks often brough Turkish brides back to Russia with them after the end of the war. Given that Cossacks already have some mix of Turkic culture, they were partial to bringing these women back with them (though I must stress this was not always done morally). Regardless, if one is running with the idea that Vasily is a Cossack, his parents being mixed Turkish or a grandmother of his being fully Turkish is completely plausible.

Jewish

I’m going to attempt this as respectfully as I can, as it would be remiss of me not to entertain the idea of Vasily being Jewish because Jews were a significant population of the Russian Empire. Nonetheless, the facts stack against this headcanon, but I want to lay them out for clarity’s sake as perhaps the info is useful to someone attempting to work with the headcanon. The history of Jews in Russia is quite extensively plotted in academia, and though I’ve read a couple papers and books about it, I could very well be missing important information. Please feel free to correct me.

First and most importantly: Vasily could not have been a Cossack and religiously Jewish. If, perchance, he was only ethnically Jewish but his family kept this information completely hidden or they openly converted to Orthodoxy, then he could’ve been legally defined as a Cossack. But otherwise, Jews were never given the legal title, and even ethnic Jews who had converted to Orthodoxy were still heavily discriminated against by other Cossacks. While I’ve never found a specific law mentioned against legally defining Jews as Cossacks, there are social issues to consider. Cossacks, particularly ethnic ones, were notorious in their violence against Jews. They instigated and typically were the ones who committed pogroms against Jews in the empire and had a long history of using them as scapegoats in political matters. If a Jew was to gain the legal title of ‘Cossack’, there would not have been a particularly peaceful outcome to such a situation. Thus, to be religiously Jewish Vasily must have only been in the Separate Border Guard Corps which did allow Jews.

Next, Vasily’s last name, Pavlichenko, can be explained. While the majority of Jews in Russia had Germanic last names (and ordinarily first names as well), they sometimes took Slavic names, especially if conversion or intermarriage occurred. Given that Pavlichenko is Ukrainian as well, it is actually more favorable than him having a Russian last name – Jews in Russia were majority confined to an area called the Pale. The Pale covered what is now modern day Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and a bit of Latvia. If he was to have a non-Germanic surname, it was more likely to have originated from one of these areas, such as Ukraine, hence him more likely to have a Ukrainian last name than a Russian one.

Unfortunately, discussion of the Pale leads into a major problem concerning Vasily: Jews were constricted to this area. A handful of Jews could be found in major cities of European Russia if they were artisans or merchants, as they were allowed to legally reside in these cities when given permits*. For example, about 4000 Jews resided in Moscow around 1900. However, this only extended to major cities just outside the Pale. Upon my research into the Orenburg Oblast, a 1897 census survey finds a grand total 4 Jews living in the entirety of the Oblast (special thank you to Rdstrp for providing me the census). Though I will say, upon reading other papers, there is mention of a single Jewish Cheder in Orenburg that supported 20 students. This hints that perhaps there were more Jews living in Orenburg than the official census denotes, but not by much. Of course, as stated with the Cossack background, there are ways around this statistic. Vasily could be ethnically Jewish, but his family hid this fact and became baptized in order to live outside the Pale and major cities.

Finally, if Vasily had been Jewish, it would’ve been strange he didn’t bring this fact up to the Japanese cast. During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was heavily funded by wealthy American Jews who despised Russia for their strict, antisemitic laws and their recent pogroms. Because of this, Japan was especially favorable towards Jews and during the war would often separate Jewish POWs from the other Russian military POWs, giving them better treatment as if they were guests. To this point, Jews often wanted to stay in Japan because of how well they were treated by the Japanese. I’m unsure exactly how long this favorable view lasted, but it is not remiss to believe as close post-war as Golden Kamuy is, this favorable stance would still hold. Instead of viewing Vasily as an annoying Russian, he very well could’ve used his Jewish background to cement himself a more favorable disposition from the Japanese cast.

*There were some Jews living outside the Pale, but not significant numbers. The Georgian and Central Asian Jews of Iranian background were allowed to reside outside the Pale in their origin areas. There were also some Siberian Jewish communities created by Jews who had been exiled into Siberia, but none of these communities were particularly close to Yeleninka.

End Note

I’ll end this on a note that, with all this information laid out, I only wish to encourage people to choose what they personally feel drawn to for Vasily’s background. While some headcanons have more evidence than others, each has their own difficulties with history in ways, as Noda accidentally contradicted much of the information he applied to Vasily. I hope this encourages more people to do research into the history here – which I think is especially needed if you intend to headcanon Vasily as a Cossack, even if you are headcanoning him to be a ethnically non-Cossack, but legally defined under the title. But a mix of ethnic background is entirely possible for Vasily according to just the factual history, so restricting him to one ethnic identity isn’t needed if one does not wish.

Personally, I often write and draw Vasily as being half Ukrainian half Russian, though in my actual preference I find him to be an ethnic Cossack that was raised in the Ussuri voisko. However, I feel when I present him as a Cossack I want nuance following it, so I’ve never bothered to draw or write him as such beyond a couple sketches.

#golden kamuy #vasily pavlichenko #not art #sorry for the long post ive been waiting to yap about this forever

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cookstorys · 1 year

Note

hi I just found your blog and your the only one that I’ve seen that does outerbanks. If it’s not to much trouble could I request a rafe Cameron x sunshine male reader, were he wants to be a better person because the guy he’s crushing on never have up on him.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙼𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛

_____________

Character- Rafe Cameron

Show/Movie- Outer Bands

Warning- Rafe being crazy 😝☝🏾, haven’t watch outer banks in a while so I had to remember what I could 🕴🏾, sunshine reader showed a lil dark side at the end😰

Author Notes - Im genuinely so sorry for the long wait, you’ve been waiting so long and you’ve been so extremely patient, thank you! Part 2? 🤭

Females dni

_____________

The time was 2:45 am. Granted the [hair color] haired boy should’ve been in bed enjoying his weekend but when he got a worrying text from his friend he awoke immediately. On your way to his location, you could only imagine what he had gotten into. For all you knew he could’ve killed someone. God, you hoped he didn’t kill anyone.

You slowly pulled up to a boat dock. Putting your car in park your heart almost immediately fell to your stomach. You’re the mayor’s son, alone in the dark, with nothing to protect yourself but a rusty pocket knife. ‘He’s your friend, and you love him’ you mumbled to yourself. After a few more minutes in your car, you nervously got out. Your footsteps were the only thing that could be heard as you hurriedly walked toward the docks.

If there wasn’t a light pole near the end of the dock you wouldn’t have been able to identify Rafe at the end of the dock staring down at his reflection. Slowly walked towards him, not wanting to scare him. Once you’ve beside him you spoke. “It’s pretty nice out huh?” His head snapped to look at you, obviously startled at your presence. “You came?” You chuckled at the dumb question. You gently shoulder-bumped him with a smirk. “What else are friends for.”

His stomach fluttered with butterflies. Friends. He could never quite get used to that word. He huffed out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Do you… do you think I’m a bad person?” Your eyes pulled away from the stars to observe his face. His eyes twinkled with sorrow, and his lips stayed still, as his jawline clenched and tightened. You concentrated your eyes back on the shining moon. “Everyone’s a bad person in some way. Yes, some out-way others. However, no one’s completely a good person. Not to mention what makes someone a bad person?” You could feel his confusing eyes land on your calm persona. “I’m lost.” He replied.

“Think of it like this. Someone who steals is considered a bad person correct? But what if they’re stealing to pay for their mother’s medical bills? Some might say stealing is stealing, he belongs in jail. Others might say he’s stealing for genuine reasoning so it’s ok.” Rafe chuckled at your tiny morale rant. “So, does that mean I’m a bad person?” Rafe asked and for the first time that night, you looked at each other. “You tell me, Rafe, are you?” His eyes purposefully pulled away from yours, clearly trying to not say something.

“I don’t know,” he cried. “I’ve been trying to be a good person to make you happy, but I can’t keep this up.” He burst into tears. You pulled him into one of your amazing hugs, his head rested on your shoulder as he continued to cry. “I almost drowned Sarah [name], my fucking sister. What the fuck is wrong with me.” He sobbed. You tried to keep your calm composure but the newly learned information took you aback but you refused to show it.

You pulled him away from your touch, taking his head between your hands. “You listen to me Rafe Cameron, you are not a bad person. Just someone who’s made mistakes. Now answer me this…is she dead?” You asked shaken up. “No, Topper stopped me before I could do anything more.” He answered finally calming down. “Good, Rafe where is Topper exactly?” Rafe had to think for a second but finally answered. “He should be at his vacation house until his dad’s back from business.” You smiled at this newly learned information, pulling Rafe back into a hug.

“Ok, remember Rafe I’m always here for you.”

#cookstorys #male reader #rafe cameron #Rafe Cameron x male reader #outerbanks x male reader #outerbanks #gay

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thesimpsbasement · 2 years

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Hello! May I request Vil, Kalim, Malleus and Azul with a male! s/o who’s like Sherlock Holmes or William Moriarty? As in reader is very intelligent and stuff

Hello anon and sure! I sorta alternated between the 2 cuz didn't know how to incorporate both but I hope this is to your liking!

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Characters: Vil Schoenheit, Kalim Al Asim,Malleus Draconia,Azul Ashengrotto

Author:Mod Betty

Warnings/tags: slight spoilers for book 3,5 ( mainly spoilers on book 5) ,not proofreaded yet

Reader is male

Word count:1,300 words

_____________________________

-The first time he noticed your high intelligence was when you actually memorized every item for the skin routine he recommended you

-It took Epel forever to memorize them all and still forgets some

-During VDC he knew you'd be problem because he knew you'd probably see right through his plan and his concerns were correct as you were the one to inform Jamil way before he himself noticed Vil's odd behaviors

-Vil does care a lot about things being perfect, one minute mistake could end in a catastrophe

-You agree with Vil on that but sometimes you rather study than do a self care routine, maybe on your breaks you could add a couple products but not enough to meet Vil's standards

-Vil did admire your determined to adapt to this strange world by learning about it as much as possible, but what he doesn't admire is your lack of self care

-Sometimes he drags you out of your room to do a proper self care regiment

-Like the one you are currently doing

-" For someone who's such a genius you can be quite a forgetful potato" Vil says as he rubs some sort of cream on your face

"Apologies by I can't help but simply indulge of the common things in thought world taht would be deemed impossible in mine" you replied hoping to somewhat justifying your actions every though you knew it wouldn't

" I understand your excitement but you do need to take proper care of yourself,you may deem this unnecessary but I disagree completely and as your lover I'm even more complied to do this" he retorted continuing to apply product to your face

"Oh how lucky i am to have someone to spoil me like this, I'm moved" you tease,smile on your face

" The real lucky one is me to have a brilliant and sometimes forgetful boyfriend like yourself "

-When he found out about your intelligence he was in awe

-you were so cool and not mean like Riddle and you were easier to approach Unlike Malleus

-Jamil is wary of you for a good while knowing how easily Kalim is influenced but you weren't heartless to use someone's kindness

-Kalim is the type to brag about you like " Look how smart my boyfriend is so if you ever need help go ask him!"

-And he wasn't lying,ever since hanging out with(and dating) you he's been improving in his academics and would always would go to you if he needed assistance, saving Jamil from extra work( which he thanks you for)

-Being in a new world made everything surprise you but also defied the logic of your own world so when Kalim offered you a ride on a magic carpet you were skeptical

-I mean a carpet couldn't hold the weight of well anything so it being able to carry 2 people is already taboo and also how can you control it's direction and spee-

-Before you could finish your train of thoughts and how the pure concept contradicts basic physics Kalim pulled your arm and seated you on the carpet

-The first minute you were nervous as hell,who could blame you, you were literally flying on a carpet!

-After the initial shock the ride was actually relaxing and fun

-You never thought you'd ever find yourself flying around on a magic carpet flying around but you don't mind it

-Turning to Kalim who was looking at you the whole time to make sure you're enjoying yourself, you put a hand on his cheek before saying "thank you for showing me something I would never have thought of" and pulling him for a kiss

-Kalim was overjoyed knowing he actually managed to 1) surprised you and 2) make you feel happy

-Safe to say there's never a dull moment with Kalim

-He knew you were smart by simply observing how well you performed in class

-A magicless human from a completely different dimension did better than most of the NRC students

-What caught him by surprise was when you knew his true identity almost as soon as you saw him

-What confused him was that you were still referring to him as that silly nickname you came up with

-Even if you're smart and probably have some combat abilities you still couldn't stand a chance

-When confronting you about it all you did was smirk ad say " Don't worry I know a foe when I see one "

-Also good luck having to deal with Sebek since he's suspicious of you and your wits. Who knows maybe you were trying to fool the young master!!

-Would often come by Ramshackle and talk about each other's lives

-He was quite fascinated by your life back home,always solving mysteries and how capable you were in dire situations

-He doesn't necessarily need help in academics especially being the next heir of Briar Valley but would often ask you for help with other stuff ((*cough* technology ))

-For a mere child of man and from a foreign land you have a lot of knowledge to almost rival some fae

-Despite knowing you can handle yourself just fine you're still a fragile human with no magic so he will occasionally loom around the shadows,sometimes your sharp tongue could easily infuriate students from a certain dorm,After all Savanaclaw students don't settle arguments with words,but with their fists but when they pull their magic pens Malleus quickly steps in to stop the fight before you got hurt because of some buffoons

-After the students ran off, you turned to him a smile on your face " I could've handled them myself you know, even if they can use magic they're still brainless" Malleus chuckled " I suppose so however I don't think I'd forgive myself if you did end up hurt" he said sighing

-" How about we go to Ramshackle after class for a cup of tea? My treat" you suggested

-"Anything for you ,my brilliant child of man"

-The first thing he noticed about you was how calm you were when you signed that contract about bringing that painting from the museum, it was almost as if you had a plan already and were confident it'll succeed

-Seeing how brilliant you were and how you could easily make things go your way he actually suggested working in Mostro Lounge

-Would sometimes challenge you to see who's better,be it who'd give a better offer on contracts or who'd finish homework quicker

-During closing hours he'd offer you a cup of tea and discuss whatever topics you thought of

-When dating your counseling started coming into play

-After some time Azul started getting comfort with being vulnerable around you, often pouring his insecurities as he stared at his lap

-" Sometimes I feel like you deserve better" he muttered not making eye contact with you

"Why do you say that love?" You ask him ,serious look on your face

"I mean someone as brilliant as you shouldn't stick around a stupid,fat,clumsy octopus" he said slight irritation in his voice

You sighed as you placed your hands on his shoulders " Azul look at me" ,hesitantly he did as he was told,teary eyes looking right into your

"The fact I'm your boyfriend should be telling you enough that I'm not going anywhere, I don't stick with people that I don't want too, so if I didn't like you I wouldn't be sitting in this very room now would I?" You said trying to comfort your partner without any sort of sugared words but with pure logic

-"Yeah I guess you're right" Azul said wiping his tears

-Smiling you kiss his forehead has you bring him into a hug " so please cease these idiotic thoughts for both our sake ,you know it pains me to see you this upset"

#fanfiction #fanfic #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #vil schoenheit x reader #kalim al asim x reader #malleus draconia x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #x male reader #moriarty the patriot

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yourtouchismidas · 1 year

Note

how do u think matty reacts when gigi gets into her first relationship? i think he'd be wary but still very polite (also definitely gives the partner the shovel talk)

this ask perfectly follows on from the one i just wrote so we'll start from where that left off.

when gigi gets home from her first proper date, with the first guy she really properly likes, george has already text him to tell him where she was having bumped into him on the street. she tries to come into the house quietly, hoping that the noise of her little sisters messing around will drown her out and she can hop up to her bedroom without being noticed.

instead, the house is silent. perfect. no screams or laughs from the girls. they all must be out. gigi relaxes. she kicks off her shoes and puts down her back. she goes out of the hallway and to climb the stairs and then she hears him. a voice.

"august healy,"

it's her dad. she goes into the kitchen, knowing it would be disrespectful to ignore him, and he is sitting in one of the dining chairs, nursing a coffee, and stroking one of the twin's stuffy like he's in the godfather.

"hi dad," gigi says sheepishly.

"i received a very interesting text earlier," he says, putting down his coffee mug. "care to take a guess on what that may have been?"

she folds her arms, "i think we all know."

"i think we do," matty says, suddenly throwing the stuffed toy rabbit on the floor, then quickly, realising how hard he has thrown it, picks it up and says, "sorry bunny," and gives it a quick kiss on the head before placing it on the table. gigi is trying not to laugh. he's such a nightmare.

"i've heard, from a certain uncle, that a certain daughter, has been out with, someone of the male variety. am i correct?"

"dad can you stop?" she whines, "i'm fifteen."

"you're twelve," he says.

"for gods sake. where's mum? she'll put an end to this nonsense."

"your mother has yet to be informed of the male child. she is currently out with the rest of my charges. but i'm sure she will feel the same as I."

"dad," gigi says, giggling, "stop it."

"stop what?" he says, waving his arms around like some cartoon character.

"stop messing around. so i went out with a boy. its fine."

"i'll stop messing around when you tell me about him. and assure me that this male child has no intentions to hurt my precious child."

"didn't george tell you he's already threatened him?"

"he did not," matty says, "but i will need to threaten him myself, obviously."

"dad," gigi sighs, turning around to leave the kitchen.

"wait baby, come back," matty says, returning to his regular voice. "you dont need to lie about who you're seeing okay? please dont lie to me love."

"but you act like this! you care so much!"

"i'm just being a knob," he says. holding his arms out to hug her. "and i just care because you're my baby girl. okay? i want the best for you."

she leans into him. he rubs his knuckles in her curls.

"george did tell me he's really good looking," matty says.

gigi looks at him grinning, "oh my god he is, he's so fit."

matty pulls a face like he's just eaten something terrible.

"oh god, yeah no, can't do that."

"what?"

"happy for you he's fit an all but cant stomach hearing about it."

"that's fair enough, will you leave me alone about it now?"

"fine," matty says, going back to his coffee and picking up bunny again, "but i want to meet him. get him round for dinner please."

"sure," gigi says, taking the opportunity to run out the room.

"love you!" matty calls after her up the stairs. she sighs hard, but yells back, "love you too."

when you come back with the girls, you find matty in his music room crafting a song called "stay away from my daughter you shit."

"matthew healy," you say, grinning. you know he doesnt mean it. but you also know he loves that kid more than anything in the entire world.

"he's coming round for dinner," matty shudders, "i have to be ready."

#ruins #ruins behind the scenes #matty healy x reader #matty healy x you #matty healy #matty healy x y/n #the 1975 fanfic #matty healy fanfiction #dad!matty

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dostarve · 2 years

Text

I have seeing so many people misgendering WX-78 recently. (Most people on this platform are good, its mostly other platforms) So I decided to give actual evidence on why and how they are CANONICALLY nonbinary. This is not a head-canon. This is legit canon information.

Thanks for coming to my ted-talk

A paragraph of text on WX’s DST wiki confirming that WX is nonbinary.

They are officially stated to be nonbinary by Joe Wreggelsworth, he works at Klei Entertainment.

There is hundreds of quotes that use they/them pronouns for WX. There is no currently usable quotes that depict WX as anything but nonbinary. Here are some examples

If WX-78 is trapped on the Nightmare throne and a character inspects them, the character uses the “other character” voice line. Not the voice line for a male character on the throne.

More text on the DST wiki using they/them pronouns for WX.

And in the description of the Klei animated short “Disconnected” they/them pronouns are used for WX.

And here is a clip of Klei Entertainment developer Steven (or maybe Stephen? Idk how to spell it) using they/them pronouns for WX. This is from the Rhymes with play WX-78 refresh stream

It also isn’t correct when people use He/Him pronouns for Woodrow (WX when they were a human) First, we don’t even know if WX’s gender from when they were a human was male. Woodrow could have still used they/them pronouns. Here some text from Wagstaff’s wiki page of Woodrow being referred to as they/them.

Yes, you can argue that WX-78 was originally not supposed to be a nonbinary character. Heres u/Pingy_Junk ‘s discussion about that on reddit.

I hope this “tedtalk” had enough information/made sense. All in all, WX-78 is nonbinary and will kill you! :)

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coquelicoq · 3 days

Text

Jiang Li's family tree and familial terms of address in The Double

I'm making this guide for my own reference because there were several family relationships in The Double that I misinterpreted at first based on how they were translated in the English subs, so I've gone back and compared to the Chinese subs. I'm also hoping it will be helpful to people wanting to write fic in English! What little I know about Chinese terms of address has largely been gleaned from other tumblr users' posts predating this show, and I'll link to my sources.

The only significant potential spoiler is some basic biographical information about Jiang Li’s older sibling, who is not directly mentioned until episode 26 but whose existence can be inferred from the fact that Jiang Li is referred to as Second Lady Jiang.

I am basing all of this solely on the drama, as I don't know anything about the novel it was adapted from.

Apologies in advance for any inconsistencies in the pinyin punctuation (hyphen vs. apostrophe vs. space vs. smooshed together); it varies widely across sources and I don't think I have a clear enough understanding of the nuances to be confident I'm being consistent in applying the conventions, but I'm including the hanzi as well as an English translation (if the translation is in quotation marks it’s from the subs, usually Viki but not always). Also apologies if I messed up any of the hanzi. I welcome corrections and insights from those with more knowledge!!

I'm referring to Jiang Li in the present tense here for convenience, but since she's dead for the majority of the show, when I say "Jiang Li calls so-and-so xyz," of course it's almost always actually Xue Fangfei acting as Jiang Li who's doing that.

Each image is of that character's first appearance, when the hanzi for their name is given. The hanzi and any other caption are transcribed in alt text.

Jiang Li

Jiang Li (姜梨), aka Jiang Ruoyu (姜若雨), is the second child and second daughter of Jiang Yuanbai. She’s his only child with his first wife, Ye Zhenzhen.

According to this title card, her given name is Ruoyu and her courtesy name is A'Li (阿梨). I don't remember ever hearing anyone refer to her as Ruoyu at any point, but it's entirely possible I missed it. This means that in this universe, people are given courtesy names in childhood rather than upon maturity.

She is 18 or thereabouts (she was sent away from the family 10 years ago at age 8).

She has an older sister, Jiang Yue, a younger sister, Jiang Ruoyao, and a younger brother, Jiang Bingji. More about them below.

Sometimes in the subs she’s referred to as the eldest daughter or the firstborn. I think this is probably a mistranslation and what is actually being said is something more along the lines of “daughter of the first wife” or "first legitimate daughter" (where "legitimate" means "born to a furen rather than a concubine").

She was accused of fratricide and attempted matricide at age 8 when she was blamed for her stepmother's miscarriage.

As the second daughter of a noble family, she is referred to outside the family as Jiang-er'niangzi (姜二娘子, “Second Lady Jiang”). Family servants call her niangzi or er’niangzi (translated in direct address as "my lady"). (Note that Tong'er calls Jiang Li niangzi but tends to call Xue Fangfei jiejie (姐姐, older sister).)

Peers who are close to her, like Liu Xu and her (slightly) older male cousins Jiang Jingrui and Ye Shijie, tend to call her Jiang Li.

Her younger sister Jiang Ruoyao and younger cousin Jiang Yu'e call her er'jie (二姐, older sister, second in the birth order; subs often translate this as “Li” even though they’re not actually using her name at all) or er'jiejie. Her younger brother calls her jiejie.

People in her family who are older than her call her A'Li (阿梨], "A" being an affectionate/familiar prefix (but also just part of her courtesy name I guess?) and "Li" being her given name) or Li'er (梨儿, "er" being an affectionate/familiar suffix). Most people who call her one of these things (including Xue Fangfei, her paternal family, her mother, and her mom’s friend Liu-furen) call her Li’er, while her maternal family (other than her mother) tends to call her A’Li. Her maternal cousin Ye Shijie calls her/refers to her as both Li’er and A’Li, though I noticed him using Li’er more often.

Note that while some people in Jiang Li's family call her A'Li (阿梨), when Su-guogong calls (Xue Fangfei as) Jiang Li A'Li, the Chinese subs use 阿狸 (different "li" character). They are pronounced identically, but the latter is the way that Xue Fangfei’s given name, Xue Li, is spelled (薛狸).

Paternal family (Jiang jia 姜家)

Parents

Jiang Yuanbai (姜元柏) is the current head of the noble Jiang family and a high-ranking minister in the imperial court.

His title is Jiang-xiangguo 姜相国, translated as "Grand Chancellor" or "Secretariat Director", depending on the subs.

I've also seen him referred to as chao zhongshuling taishi (朝中书令太师, "Secretariat Director and Grand Preceptor") and tangtang dang chao xiongguo (堂堂当朝相国, "Prime Minister" or "Grand Chancellor" depending on the subs).

Servants call him zhujun (主君, translated as “my lord” when in direct address).

Jiang Li calls him fuqin (父亲, formal term for "father"). I don't remember if she calls him die (爹, less formal term for "father") at any point, though he refers to himself as diedie in a flashback when she’s young.

His brothers call him da’ge (大哥, older brother, first in the birth order).

Jiang Jingrui calls him da’bofu (大伯父, father’s older brother, first in the birth order).

Hi wife Ji Shuran calls him fujun (夫君, husband).

He and his brothers share a generation name (one shared character in the given name of each descendant of the same generation), 元, yuan. However, they don’t appear to have continued the tradition in the next generation, because Jiang Jingrui's and Jiang Bingji's names don't share a character. At first I thought at least the girls shared a character, because Jiang Li (whose given name is Ruoyu) and her sister Jiang Ruoyao both have 若, Ruo, but their older sister and their uncle’s daughter don’t have that character in their names, so I guess not.

Ye Zhenzhen (叶珍珍) was Jiang Li's mother.

She died when Jiang Li was a baby.

When Jiang Li talks about her, she refers to her as niang (娘, mother), a'niang (阿娘), or shengmu (生母, birth mother).

She was Jiang Yuanbai's furen (夫人), his official wife (as opposed to a concubine).

Ji Shuran (季淑然) is Jiang Li's stepmother.

She is Jiang Yuanbai's current furen. Jiang Yuanbai married her after Ye Zhenzhen died.

She's referred to as Jiang-furen (姜夫人, “Madam Jiang”) by those outside the family (women keep their own surname when they get married, but when honorifics are used, they're attached to the husband's surname).

Her husband and the family servants call her furen.

She's the mother of Jiang Ruoyao and Jiang Bingji.

Jiang Li calls her muqin (母亲, formal term for "mother"). In flashbacks, like when she miscarries and when Jiang Li refuses to go home with her maternal grandmother, young Jiang Li calls her niang. She’s sometimes referred to as Jiang Li’s houmu (后母, stepmother).

The Marquis of Ningyuan calls her xiangguo-furen (xiangguo being her husband’s court title).

Jiang Jingrui calls her da’bomu (大伯母, wife of da’bofu).

Paternal grandparents

Jiang Yuanbai's mother is referred to as Jiang-lao'furen (姜老夫人, "old Madam Jiang").

She was Jiang Yuanbai’s father's furen. Her husband also had at least one concubine.

Jiang Li and her siblings and paternal cousins call her zumu (祖母, father's mother, "Grandmother").

She calls Jiang Li Li’er, haizi (孩子, child), and er’yatou (丫头, literally second girl). The latter two are generally given in the subs as Li or Li’er.

[Not pictured because he never appears onscreen] Jiang Yuanbai's father, who's deceased, is referred to a few times, but the only person I’ve seen refer to him so far in my rewatch is Tong’er, who calls him Jiang-lao’taigong (姜老太公, “Old Master Jiang”). I’ll update this when I see what other people call him.

Paternal aunts and uncles

Jiang Yuanping (姜元平) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger brother from the same mother and father.

Jiang Li calls him er'shu (二叔, father’s younger brother, second in the birth order; “ Second Uncle Jiang”).

Jiang Yuanping’s wife's surname is Lu (卢).

Jiang Li calls her er'shumu (二叔母, wife of er'shu; “Second Auntie Lu”). Interestingly, all the tumblr guides I’ve seen say the wife of your father’s younger brother would be shenmu, not shumu, but she is clearly saying shu according to the subs, and shumu is in the dictionary.

Jiang Yuanxing (姜元兴) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger half-brother; they have the same dad, but his mom was their dad's concubine.

Jiang Li calls him san'shu (三叔, father’s younger brother, third in the birth order; “Third Uncle Jiang”).

Jiang Yuanxing’s wife's surname is Yang (杨).

Jiang Lu calls her san'shumu (三叔母, wife of san'shu; “Third Auntie Yang”).

Siblings

Jiang Yue (姜月) is Jiang Yuanbai’s oldest child and Jiang Li’s older sister. She was born to a maid (so, not the furen). This means that while she is the oldest child, she's not the oldest "legitimate" child.

She’s not directly mentioned until episode 26 (unless I missed something), so I won’t say anything else about her, to avoid spoilers.

Jiang Ruoyao (姜若瑶) is Ji Shuran's oldest child, Jiang Li's younger sister, and the third child and third daughter of Jiang Yuanbai.

She can't be much younger than Jiang Li, possibly two years younger at most would be my guess? I can't remember if they ever say her age. She has a coming of age ceremony in one of the early episodes.

Jiang Li calls her san'mei (三妹, literally "third younger sister", which refers to her position in the birth order as the third daughter of the Jiang family, rather than meaning that she's the third youngest of Jiang Li's younger sisters (Jiang Li only has one younger sister)).

She calls Jiang Li er’jie (二姐, older sister, second in the birth order; subs translate this as just “Li”).

Her parents call her Yao’er.

Those outside the family call her Jiang-san'niangzi (姜三娘子, “Third Lady Jiang”). Family servants call her niangzi or san’niangzi.

Jiang Bingji (姜丙吉) is Ji Shuran's second child, Jiang Li's younger brother, and the fourth child and only son of Jiang Yuanbai.

He was born after Ji Shuran’s miscarriage (source: he refers to the fetus as gege (哥哥, older brother), meaning it would have been born before him). This means he’s less than 10 years old, since the miscarriage/Jiang Li’s exile was 10 years ago.

Jiang Li doesn't have a lot of interaction with him, but in his intro she calls him didi (弟弟, little brother) and he calls her jiejie (姐姐, big sister).

Family servants call him xiao'gongzi (小公子, "Young Master").

Paternal cousins

Jiang Jingrui (姜景睿) is Jiang Yuanping's son.

Jiang Li calls him tangxiong (堂兄, older paternal male cousin, i.e., son of father’s brother, older than her) the first time they meet, which causes him to accuse her of not being Jiang Li because it's too formal. Jiang Yu’e also calls him tangxiong.

Jiang Li's childhood nickname for him was xiao'Ruirui (小睿睿). In the present she mostly calls him Jiang Jingrui.

Liu Xu refers to him as Jiang Li’s gege.

He calls Jiang Li “Jiang Li” and sometimes refers to her as Li'er.

Those outside the family call him Jiang-gongzi (姜公子, “Mr. Jiang”).

Jiang Yu'e (姜玉娥) is Jiang Yuanxing's daughter.

This was something that I didn't pick up on for a while: She and Jiang Li refer to each other (and others refer to them) as sisters (Jiang Li calls her si'mei (四妹, fourth younger sister) and she calls Jiang Li er'jie), but they're actually cousins; their dads are brothers.

Jiang Jingrui also calls her si’mei.

She has a lower position in the family because her dad's mom was not the furen but a concubine.

As the fourth daughter of the Jiang family (though again, not the fourth daughter of Jiang Yuanbei; she's the fourth girl born to the previous generation of Jiang sons), I think she's addressed by those outside the family as Jiang-si’niangzi (四三娘子, “Fourth Lady Jiang”).

Jiang family servants

Tong’er (桐儿) is Jiang Li’s maid.

Sun-mama (孙妈妈, “senior maidservant Sun” or "Madam Sun") is Ji Shuran’s maid.

[Not pictured because I never saw a title card for her] Zhang-popo (张婆婆, “maidservant Zhang”) is Jiang-lao’furen’s maid.

Maternal family (Ye jia 叶家)

Maternal grandmother

Ye Zhenzhen’s mother is referred to as Ye-lao’furen (叶老夫人, “Old Madam Ye” or “Old Mrs. Ye”).

Jiang Li calls her wai’zumu (外祖母, mother’s mother, “Grandmother”).

Maternal aunts and uncles

Ye Mingxuan (叶明轩) is Ye Zhenzhen's brother, the second oldest son in the family.

Jiang Li calls him er'jiu (二舅, mother’s brother, second in the birth order).

Ye Mingxuan’s older brother (Ye Shijie’s dad) and father are dead, making him the current head of the family.

It’s unclear if he’s Ye Zhenzhen’s older or younger brother. Because the term for a mother’s brother is the same whether the brother is older or younger than the mother (jiu), it’s impossible to tell from what Jiang Li calls him. I’m listening for other times someone else calls him something that could give a hint to this, but the only thing I’ve found is Jiang Yuanbai calling him something translated as brother-in-law, qingjia xiongdi (亲家兄弟), but xiongdi in my understanding refers generally to brothers and doesn’t specify older or younger. I don’t think there are any flashbacks in which Ye Zhenzhen talks to or about him. And we can infer that the birth order terms used for the men in this family do not include the women, because we know Ye Mingyu, who is referred to as third uncle and so must be the third son, actually must be the fourth child overall (assuming there aren't any other Ye daughters), because Ye Zhenzhen calls him younger brother, which means he has three older siblings (the two sons who are older than him, plus Ye Zhenzhen). So we know that Ye Mingxuan is second in the birth order of sons specifically, but he could have one or more older sisters as well.

Ye Mingxuan's wife’s surname is Zhuo (卓).

Jiang Li calls her er’jiumu (二舅母, wife of er’jiu).

I assume she's called Ye-furen (叶夫人) by those outside the family but haven't encountered it in my rewatch yet.

Ye Mingyu (叶明煜) is Ye Zhenzhen's younger brother, the third oldest son in the family.

Jiang Li calls him san'jiu (三舅, mother’s brother, third in the birth order).

He refers to Ye Zhenzhen as Zhenzhen-jie. In his flashback of her getting married in episode 15, she calls him san’di (三弟, third younger brother, meaning younger brother who’s the third son; it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s the third of her younger brothers. She does have three brothers, but it’s possible one or both of the other two are older than her; see above).

The clerk in his family’s store calls him san’lang (三郎, “Third Master”).

Ye Jia’er calls him san’shu and I assume Ye Shijie does as well, since in both cases he’s the younger brother of their fathers.

Maternal cousins

Ye Shengxuan (叶圣宣), courtesy name Shijie (世杰), is the son of the oldest (now deceased, and I never caught a name if it was given) son of the previous generation of the Ye family. (Source: Ye Mingxuan introduces himself as Ye Shijie’s er’shu, meaning he’s second in the birth order and the younger brother of Ye Shijie’s dad, so Ye Shijie's dad must be first in the birth order.)

Jiang Li calls him biaoge (表哥, term for an older male cousin when you're related through one or both of your mothers (so, one of his parents is your mom's sibling and/or one of your parents is his mom's sibling. In this case, Jiang Li's mom is his father's sister)). Jiang Jingrui refers to him as Jiang Li’s biaoxiong (表兄, another term for an older male maternal cousin).

He calls Jiang Li Li'er, A’Li, or Jiang Li.

Jiang Jingrui calls him Shijie or Ye-da'ge because they're pals (da’ge is literally oldest brother, but brother/sister terms are used among friends as well).

People who aren’t close to him call him Ye-gongzi (叶公子) or Ye-longjun (叶郎君), both translated as “Mr. Ye”.

Ye Jia’er (叶嘉儿) is Ye Mingxuan's daughter.

Jiang Li calls her biaojie (表姐, term for an older female cousin when you’re related through one or both of your mothers) or Jia’er-biaojie.

She calls Jiang Li biaomei (表妹, younger female maternal cousin).

The clerk in the family store calls her Jia’er-niangzi (嘉儿娘子; in this case the “er” is part of her given name, rather than the “er” meaning “second”).

I assume people not associated with the family call her Ye-niangzi, but I haven’t come across that yet in my rewatch.

Ye family servants

[Not pictured because I didn't see a title card for her] Li-mama (李妈妈, “Madam Li”) is Ye-furen's maid.

I'll update the above as my rewatch continues, so watch this space!

#the double #chinese names and titles #my posts #links #if this is helpful to people and there's interest in a similar post but for people outside jiang li's family let me know #i am screenshotting every title card as it appears. so theoretically it would be possible to do

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queenserena-13 · 10 days

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I hate to be That Guy, but it's less "we got another trans character" and more "we got a correct translation". In the original game, Bonetail was only male in the American translation, but was only female in all other countries. It looks like, however, they changed it in the remake.

God I hope I'm not coming off as an asshole

First off, not coming off as an ass, you’re good

Second I’m aware it’s probably a little translation error, I’ve been informed, but it’s always fun to headcanon, plus a trans skeleton dragon is cool as fuck.

On a final note this is like the first ask I ever got so like thanks

#paper Mario #ttyd #bonetail #Tumblr Asks #trans pride #pride month

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peonycats · 1 year

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I had a question regarding your China post but was too shy to reply to it. I'm not Chinese and don't really know all of the cultural information/cultural differences and what all of the aspects of being masc vs femme entail. What parts of his character/how he's portrayed by Hima and/or by the fandom considered feminine? I just don't know what things would be considered femme by a Chinese POV. For example, long hair is considered femme in the West... But from what I understand it's more normalized and there's more historical precedent for men having long hair in China. I also HC that he cares a lot about his skin and uses a lot of natural skincare, would that be considered a femme trait? In America it certainly is, but some other cultures have different standards and view personal hygiene and taking care of your skin.

I hope this doesn't come off as rude or anything! I'm asking out of genuine curiosity, I hope I haven't phrased anything in an insensitive way. Thank you for reading!

Hi, I'm happy to answer! And I would say that you are correct when it comes to long hair, historically that was not considered a feminine trait in Chinese society.

What is the issue I see with Himaryu's portrayal is that Yao is demasculinized compared to the other Allies + Axis, even compared to N. Italy who was raised a girl. He's constantly put in female clothing against his will, his androgyny is the basis for many of the jokes, his childish demeanor and lovey-dovey attitude towards Japan in the earlier comics ("why did japan betray me omg 🥺🥺 it's not like we literally fought several wars before this"), as well as getting sexually harassed by Korea. He's essentially a male version of the Anime Chinese Girl Trope, which is rooted in the history of Japanese fetishism and exoticism of Chinese women- you can read more about it here:

Of course, Chinese people are free to reclaim Yao's femininity and androgyny- I know for me, Yao's androgyny is something that means a lot and is important to me. Many people have taken my prior post on the topic as me somehow condemning masculine portrayals of Yao as somehow pro-west and something I want to stop, which couldn't be further from the truth. For many reasons, some of which I have described above, I do understand why people may want to make Yao more overtly masculine.

I only ask that you consider why you are either choosing to make Yao more masculine or feminine, especially if you are not Chinese yourself, and what standards are you making him more masculine or feminine? Who is this more masculinized and feminized yao being contrasted against? Does any of the above fall into Orientalist tropes that dehumanize and stereotype Chinese people?

#ask #anonymous #hws china #// disk horse #thank you to @ pearlescentplums for helping me write this <333 #also that person who sent the jojo ask: i see you and i agree JKSKJFKJDS

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dreamcast641 · 11 months

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SCP OC: DMITRY VASILIJ MAKAROV

My boy is having a bio too finally! He is even older than claire when it comes to when I created him (2016) and he went through a lot as well. This bio will not be completely done either but otherwise I hope you like him as well. Please reminder that Dmitry is NOT a good character and It'll explain why while you read ----------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATIONS:

Full Name: Dmitry Vasilij Makarov Aliases/nicknames: None Age: 26-30 years old Gender: Male Pronouns: He/him Sexual orientation: Aromantic and Asexual (AroAce) Date of birth: november 2nd Place of birth: Unknown but it's somewhere in the USA Current residence: site 5c Nationality: American with slavic origins Spoken Languages: American English (main), Russian ( ONLY with his dad) , American sign language (ASL) and braille Affiliations/organizations: SCP foundation Occupation: Medical department operating as psychiatrist and researcher, specialized in oneirology. Works sometimes along with the omicron rho (the dream team) and ISD (internal security department) agent. -------------------------------------------------------------

APPEARANCE

BUILD: Skinny/slender

— Dmitry is a man of impressive height, he reaches almost two meters but unfortunately he is really thin and manages to hide it well thanks to the clothes he wears.

— Dmitry doesn't take much care of his image and his being very busy often distracts him from having a correct diet. He doesn't eat often and if he does he doesn't get enough protein. it is Claire who reminds him to eat, often making time to prepare his meals.

-----

SCARS: acid burn scar all over his right side of the face

— Dmitry has a large, visible burn scar on his face and the contrast with his naturally pale skin makes it stand out even more.

— it's been years since the incident, yet he still can't fully talk about it. too many bad memories are linked to his scar and he usually avoids mirrors so as not to see his reflection in them.

------

VOICE: Cold and low

— Dmitry speaks slow, his voice seems monotonous

— His voice seems to have no soul. It is cold and emotionless. -------

EYES: Purple/pinkish and blinded

— His left eye looks purple, closer to a purplish while the right one completely destroyed by the acid.

— If before he had difficulty seeing, now he can be considered almost blind and his eyes are the reason he is learning braille. His right eye is completely destroyed by the acid, the iris is opaque and the sclera is red. The remaining eye of him is not the best, the iris transparent and the pinkish color is due to the blood vessels visible in the eye.

-------

FASHION: casual

— casual, doesn't really care for fashion.

— He just grabs the first thing he could find. He is in his office the whole day so no one really sees him. ----------------- More about his aspect: -Dmitry is 193 cm tall or 6'3ft -He suffers from albinism that make his skin completely pale and his hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes, white due to absence of melanin

FAVORITES -Color: Purple -Food: very salty fries -Drink: Black coffee -Song: Man on the moon (zella day) -Flower: Poppy and black Rhododendron -Hairstyle: Ponytail or messy bun ------------------ PHOBIAS : Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. It may cause you to put off or avoid any activity or scenario that has the potential for an unsuccessful outcome. Someone with this condition may be scared to try new things, take risks or embrace growth for fear of failure. Cynophobia is the overwhelming fear of dogs. ------------------------------------------------

PERSONALITY: -Moral alignment: Lawful evil -Myers-Briggs: INTJ POSITIVE TRAITS: -Smartass. To be a researcher of the foundation, one must also be intelligent and Dmitry certainly is and this is to his advantage in many areas, even when it comes to escaping from unpleasant situations. -Dedicated only to his job. So dedicated and passionate about his work that he almost forgets to eat. He loves his position as a psychiatrist, it's an area he's always had a fascination with. The human mind is so full of mysteries to him. -Great team with Claire when it's possible. The smart one and the one who gets her hands dirty. Overall the two make a good team together and are able to overcome to almost all challenges NEGATIVE TRAITS: -Empathy? What is that? Despite his work as a psychiatrist, Dmitry often finds himself not empathizing with the patient in front of him or with anyone else. -Aggressive and often cold. His personality and lack of trust in others has made him an empty shell. Most of the time he comes across as distant and very confrontational with everyone, even with who should be the people closest to him. -Manipulator...and gaslighter. Especially with his sister, Dmitry is very manipulative. He often invents scenarios that never happened just to make her feel bad about it for days. To say Claire feels bad about this is an understatement. -Silent treatment. If he's angry he doesn't say why and when he does he can be silent for days. It is a torture for the others. -Ambitious. Ambition is good but not when it comes to his own where he would do anything to achieve his goals. -Smarter and above everyone. His thinking that he could decieve everyone and everything would be his own demise at the end.

TRIVIA -He has a ball albino python named diablo. He feeds him frozen rats or the ones that the janitor gave him for the snake. -He still has morals and can't stand people doing harm towards children or animals. -NPD (narcissist personality disorder) -His office it's almost always dark as he can't stand the light. -He hates when people touch his hair. He loves them way too much to even cut them and, in fact, they are long af. -Dmitry is anomalous. -He is a psychic than can walk through other people's dreams. -He can replace memories thanks to that. -The SHRP would be the ones that kill him at the end. He stepped way too forward with his experiments and pissed the wrong people off. -Victor penz would be the one to kill him with a gunshot

SUMMARY OF HIS STORY (STILL NOT SO DONE)

Dmitry was the first of the two to be born within two minutes of his twin sister Claire. It is not known where they were born, only that their mother gave birth to them somewhere in the United States. Raised in the hostile environment of the foundation but with the loving care of their mother Mandy Ross, a former nurse in the US Navy. Their father? Locked in the same site where they were born, metal walls separating this potentially dangerous man due to the toxic, potentially lethal nature of his body. In the early years of their lives, the twins immediately reveal themselves as curious troublemakers, always looking for other children like them to socialize with and will end up bonding closely with one of them in particular: Ira Watts, whom they will consider for life as a brother. Mandy, for reasons still unknown to them, decides to leave them and the foundation to join the GOC, leaving the twins and the adoptive brother to look after themselves with claire being the main caretaker for them with the help of Maria, who Dmitry would get extremely affectionate to as she is the one to guide and assist him during his studies. As the three separates just when they reach their adolescency, Dmitry was sent for a few years to study medicine and later psychiatry at a different facility than the site where he was born. Unfortunately here, the foundation will learn of his anomaly and some experiments will begin that will cost him whole days. Unbeknownst to him, they'll make him sleep a lot to see what he can do in other people's dreams. Eventually, at the end of his studies, he will reunite with his sister and soon after the accident with his father will take place which will leave him permanently injured not only physically but also mentally. The gases that he will inhale thanks to the acid will cause him to go into a coma that will go on for a few days, where he will hear everything and especially what the doctors will say, realizing that he means nothing to the foundation. The experience will leave him completely changed, developing questionable behaviors to say the least, especially towards his sister and without any specific motivation other than that he considers her a good-for-nothing who hasn't lifted a finger to save him. Their relationship will be so ruined that it will no longer be repairable. later on the two were approached by a man from the Internal Security Department (ISD) who was determined to recruit them as they were loyal members of the foundation. The two naively accepted and it was that meeting and that assignment that led them to site 5c where they still reside nowdays.

SITE 5C STORY LINE

(coming soon)

#original character #original characters #scp ocs #scp mtf #scp oc art #scp foundation #scp #scp original character #scifi #oc biography

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apocalypticavolition · 8 months

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Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 16: In the Mirror of Darkness

On the off-chance you just started following Tumblr's WoT stuff today: this blog is going to have spoilers for everything. Everything. If you don't want spoilers for the whole series, don't keep reading!

This chapter has the Dragon's Fang icon, a reflection of Rand's increasing challenges with being a male channeler. Also the whole "choosing greatness vs. having it forced upon you" discussion and of course the way that being the Dragon Reborn has brought Lanfear into orbit around him.

“You should not have done it, Lord Rand,” Hurin said when Rand woke the others just at daybreak.

Last chapter ended with Rand refusing to acknowledge his pain, the first step down a particularly toxic path that will haunt him until the closing books. This chapter begins with Rand refusing to acknowledge his physical needs, the first step down a particularly toxic path that will haunt him until the closing books. These two habits feed into each other beautifully, and by beautifully I of course mean horrifically.

“No need to be so touchy,” Loial muttered.

Rand continues to be dickish to his companions. At this point he's still aware he's doing it, but pay attention! As he descends into his worst state, he becomes more and more able to justify his shortness.

“According to Ingtar,” Loial said, “that is still three or four days ahead of us. If it is here at all. I don’t know why it should be. I don’t think there are any people here at all.”

I really do wonder: do all Mirror worlds shrink? Or is it just the ones that are particularly unlikely, or those that are particularly deviated from the necessary Pattern? Will this world eventually shrink into nothingness? Does the Wheel still think that there is some way it could correct itself - some pregnant Seanchan fighter pilot who had a crash landing at Dragonmount a couple decades back - and thus keeps it on-hand just in case this world's Rand ends up being the one to descend into Shayol Ghul and reseal the Dark One? Or is its spatial distortion the proof that this world isn't ever getting back on track?

Perhaps it disappears as soon as Rand is gone. If there are Shadowspawn left somewhere, maybe it only disappears when the Dark One is resealed and the ontology of this timeline no longer makes independent sense. Maybe it just keeps going until some arbitrary point in the mid-fifth Age when it finally slots back in to the main timeline and no longer needs independence.

“It is Hawkwing’s monument. It must be. There were people here, whether there are now or not. They just built it in another place here, and never tore it down. Think of it, Hurin. When we get back, you’ll be able to tell them what the monument really looked like. There will only be three of us in the whole world who have ever seen it.”

This is some beautiful irony of course, but it also plays off of what's discussed later in this chapter. This kind of glory is not easily obtained and none of our party were trying for it at all, but to have received it is wonderful and empowering all the same - exactly the opposite of Lanfear's thesis.

There was a hawk, too, carved near the bottom. With a wingspan of ten paces, it lay on its back, pierced by a lightning bolt, and ravens pecked at its eyes. The huge wings atop the spire seemed to block the sun.

Of course, a world like this is not a place of glory at all. Still, I feel a bit bad for Rand and Hurin to have their hopes dashed so quickly.

Also it seems deeply out of character for the Trollocs to have made such an immense monument, let alone one that lasted for a thousand years. Guess that's why they won in this world.

“I do not know, Rand. Perhaps, after they killed the people, they killed one another. Trollocs live to kill. That is all they do; that is all they are. I just don’t know.”

Note that this doesn't really mess with my theory because, as Loial says, he doesn't know. He just doesn't have enough information and can only guess as to what happened in the last thousand years.

Without thinking, Rand muttered, “Maybe this place is like the Ways.” He heard Hurin moan, and instantly regretted not keeping a rein on his tongue.

Belief and order give strength. When everything's completely disarrayed, belief by itself can lead to some horrible places. And yeah - this place being much more like the Ways would be absolutely terrible.

“Not unless she can fly,” Rand said. “She’s south of us.” He kicked Red to a dead run in two strides. “Be careful you said!” Loial shouted after him. “Light, Rand, remember! Be careful!”

Loial really has no idea how careless Rand is being, running after a Forsaken like this.

If a frog were as big as a bear, or if a bear had a frog’s gray-green hide, it might look like that. A big bear.

I am 90% certain that at some point in the Wheel's history, all the crazy Seanchan imports are going to take over the ecology and humanity's gonna be running around in a Hollywood Prehistory deal. I am 75% certain that grolm will be among the more dangerous predators.

“An eye,” the woman called. She sounded surprisingly calm, considering her screams. “You must hit an eye to kill it.”

"I'm not suspicious at all!" the woman called. "Don't think about how I'd know these things!"

She was all in white, her dress divided for riding and belted in silver, and her boots, peeking out from under her hems, were tooled in silver, too. Even her saddle was white, and silver-mounted. Her snowy mare, with its arched neck and dainty step, was almost as tall as Rand’s bay.

I feel like half the reason that the show abandoned Lanfear's very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very themed wardrobe is because it just doesn't pop on TV in the same sort of way as it can in a book. Like even her horse? Nobody should be this monochromatic. It would hurt to look at!

“I have never thought of it before,” Loial said abruptly, sounding as if he were talking to himself; “but if there is such a thing as perfect human beauty, in face and form, then you—”

Gotta hand it to Lanfear to have a Mask of Mirrors so powerful that it gives members of a different species the hots for her. Or is Loial just a freak?

Suddenly he became conscious of her eyes on him. Her expression had not changed, but her dark eyes made him feel as if he were naked. Unbidden, the thought came of Selene with no clothes. His face went red again.

Rand, sweetie, I've seen Japanese harem protagonists who are more capable of interacting with women. Get it together.

For a moment she was silent, her face blank and smooth; Rand had no idea what she was thinking, except that she seemed to be studying him anew.

Lanfear is of course deeply furious that Rand isn't abandoning everything to be her devoted love slave for all time. She's just good at covering it (I expect that "blank and smooth" is how she sets her weave to make her appear whenever she's not focusing on it so that she can swear repeatedly without breaking character). The study is purely about figuring out how best to go along with his stupidity.

“There always are [more grolm around],” Selene said.

How does she even know this, anyway? They weren't around when she was alive? I am suddenly picturing Ishamael freeing her months before Eye of the World even started, but her finding out Rand hadn't been located yet meant she ditched him to focus on plotting how to win him when he was IDed, spending all this time researching in Seanchan for kicks. Only came back across the ocean to help Ish when he showed up with his face burned off all, "Yeah I found him."

“You will be a great man when you’ve found the Horn of Valere,” she told him. “A man for the legends. The man who sounds the Horn will make his own legends.”

She's... not exactly wrong. Mat resents being dragged around by fate so goes around to the various powers that be and gets upgrades that let him feel more in control of his destiny. It never entirely pays off, but it works out a lot better for him than he's willing to admit.

“Some men,” she said, not raising her eyes from his hand, “choose to seek greatness, while others are forced to it. It is always better to choose than to be forced. A man who’s forced is never completely his own master. He must dance on the strings of those who forced him.”

And here's where Lanfear's quite wrong. Nobody in the Wheel of Time setting is completely their own master; everyone who has the hubris to think that they are gets smacked down hard by reality at some point or another. Yes, people who are shoved into positions of power often have difficulty with their patrons, but Rand will ultimately outplay Moiraine and when Egwene becomes Amyrlin she outplays the Hall that raises her - the people who do get strings around them are the subordinates they chose and also the other major players of the setting (mostly their friends). Meanwhile, Lanfear chooses to seek greatness and spends the back third of the series as Moridin's slave.

“Offend me? I am not offended, but I’m no Aes Sedai.” Her lip curled in a sneer; even that was beautiful. “They cower in what they think is safety when they could do so much. They serve when they could rule, let men fight wars when they could bring order to the world. No, never call me Aes Sedai.”

Lanfear clearly has no respect for the current institution, but I think that this particular perspective compared to later Forsaken attitudes of "They're not even real Aes Sedai!" is born in part from her resentment of the AoL institutions. She's glad the old Aes Sedai are dead and gone.

Rand was relieved, but he missed her presence, too. She was only two spans away—he twisted in his saddle to stare at her, riding by Loial’s side; the Ogier was bent half double in his saddle so he could talk with her—but that was not the same as being right there beside him, close enough for him to smell her heady scent, close enough to touch.

I don't know what's sadder, Lanfear's idea of playing hard-to-get being "stay a dozen feet away from Rand" or the fact that it's working.

She says you were right about the Ways, Rand. The Aes Sedai, some of them, studied worlds like this, and that study was the basis of how they grew the Ways. She says there are worlds where it is time rather than distance that changes. Spend a day in one of those, and you might come back to find a year has passed in the real world, or twenty. Or it could be the other way round. Those worlds—this one, all the others—are reflections of the real world, she says. This one seems pale to us because it is a weak reflection, a world that had little chance of ever being. Others are almost as likely as ours. Those are as solid as our world, and have people.

Lanfear is clearly infodumping because Loial is a non-Aes Sedai with a brain and she's so happy to have someone, anyone to listen to her who can kind of follow what she specializes in. If she'd gone on much longer she probably would have ended up telling him how she found the Dark One's prison by realizing that the probability space that the mirror worlds existed in was still larger than the infinity that actually existed and that the "gap" where no such world seemed to exist was disconcertingly and bizarrely close to T'A'R and the prime reality.

The Ways are probably the sort of place where there's a bit of both space and time bending, or some such other non-natural Mirror World feature, to make room for them amid the extant realities. I would expect that if there is any time bending it's much more minor though: a single millisecond lost every hour or thereabouts so you'd never notice unless you spent way too long in the Ways.

Do the worlds that have the solidity of the prime reality have the same space, or is every Mirror World off in some dimension because it's not the prime? Do the inhabitants even notice?

“How does she know all that? You know about more things than anybody I ever met before, Loial, and all you knew about this world amounted to no more than a rumor.”

Lanfear overheard him say this and hurriedly turned up the hotness on her weave because despite all of her efforts he's still very close to realizing just how bullshit her story is.

She was studying his sword, he saw. He readied the words in his head. No, he was not a blademaster, but his father had given him the sword. Tam. Light, why couldn’t you really be my father? He squashed the thought ruthlessly. “That was a magnificent shot,” Selene said.

I can't decide if Lanfear just made a specific point of seeming interested in one weapon only to bring up another specifically to keep Rand off-balance or if she was contemplating how distasteful she found the whole sword thing last time around. Bringing up the archery could just be an attempt to nip Lews's worst characteristics in the bud.

“The Oneness,” she said, sounding satisfied. She saw his questioning look and added, “That is what it is called . . . in some places. The Oneness. To learn the full use of it, it is best to wrap it around you continuously, to dwell in it at all times, or so I’ve heard.”

Of course, behavior like this make me think maybe she's just unbalanced, since she's certainly no master spy.

“You can use the Stone, this Portal Stone, yourself,” he said angrily. Before the words were out of his mouth he wanted them back. Why does she have to keep talking about legends? Stubbornly, he forced himself to go on.

I wonder if fights like this were habitual to Lews before their relationship fully broke down. Perhaps his pride - anger and stubbornness combined in his case - meant that he pushed Mierin away more harshly than necessary. Maybe if things had been different, she wouldn't have snapped as badly as she did.

But maybe not. They both made their choices.

“Stay with me, Selene,” he said. “We’ll find the Horn, and Mat’s dagger, and we’ll find a way back. I promise you. Just stay with me.” “You always. . . .” Selene drew a deep breath as if to calm herself. “You always are so stubborn. Well, I can admire stubbornness in a man. There is little to a man who’s too easily biddable.”

Obviously the easy conclusion to Selene calming herself is that she was just going to phrase "stubborn" in a harsher way that didn't match her disguise but I wonder. Might she have been about to say, "You always promise"? There's really no way of knowing how much of this conversation is them playing out the same toxic patterns they danced once before; Rand doesn't remember them and Lanfear's not telling.

At first he could make out nothing as the landscape seemed to waver in his eyes, but then he saw them through the widespread stands of trees, just topping a hill. Five shapes, it seemed, only half a mile distant, a bare thousand paces at most, and coming in thirty-foot bounds.

That's not conveniently timed to force everyone to run the way Lanfear wants them to at all.

We'll see what happens next time though. See you then!

#let's read #wheel of time #wot #robert jordan #wheel of time spoilers #wot spoilers #rand al'thor #hurin #loial #lanfear

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franzizka · 7 months

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so @candidateofloyalty recently linked the aa wlw minibang server to a bunch of blogs from janet hsu, who is the localization director for every ace attorney game and also the voice of franziska. in them she reveals a LOT about the choices that the team made in terms of localizing the games and there was this message in particular about jean armstrong that stuck out to me because i know his treatment is a thorn in aa3 for a lot of people.

– Jean Armstrong is not actually French in either the Japanese or English versions, which is why Trés Bien is spelled wrong in the English version and he speaks atrociously bad French. – Speaking of Monsieur Armstrong, I’d just like to clear up some misconceptions and localization issues surrounding his gender and sexuality. Before I begin though, please keep in mind that societal attitudes and definitions change over time, and that the original Japanese version was made over 10 years ago. Furthermore, Japanese concepts of gender and sexuality do NOT map 1 to 1 onto Western ideas due to vastly different religious, cultural, and historical influences. In the Japanese version, Jean is a typical “okama” character. At the time, the word “okama” was the generally used catchall word for an “effeminate-acting man”, and had been the go-to word since the Edo period. While that usually implied that the man in question was gay, the word was also used for any biologically male person who did drag or spoke like a woman regardless of their gender or sexuality, and even trans women. Nowadays, similar to the way the word “q u eer” is used in the West (but not entirely the same), “okama” is considered derogatory and discriminatory, though some people will still call themselves “okama”. Since adopting the English word “gay”, it has become more culturally acceptable to refer to actual gay men as “gei” (ゲイ) or the more formal word “douseiaisha” (同性愛者 – literally: “person who loves the same sex”). Given all of this, what that meant for the localized version was that I had to take a very vague and different concept of “gay” and localize it in a way that would be understandable to a Western audience. Using all of the info we get about Jean in the game, the answer I came up with was that he is a gay, cis man who enjoys performing non-passing drag… Or to put it in a more concrete way, think Conchita Wurst. Jean’s drag persona, which I have dubbed “Campy French Maiden Jean”, is all we ever see during the investigation segments, but in court, he identifies himself as a man to the judge when he is asked what gender he is. Unfortunately, back in 2007, the general public’s understanding of gender and sexuality was not as informed or as nuanced as it is today, so I think Jean still caused a lot of confusion in the English version, but I hope this has cleared it up somewhat. In terms of how the characters reference Jean, I admit it would’ve been better if they used female pronouns out of respect for his drag persona once they realized it was a persona, but in addition to the fact that I can’t add any extra text boxes to the game, I felt it would’ve been too controversial and hard to explain in-game back then. Furthermore, because he and his persona are not given separate names, it becomes very confusing very quickly as to when the characters are talking about “Campy French Maiden Jean” and when they’re talking about the man/legal witness “Mr. Jean Armstrong”. That said, I feel that society is making progress — to the point where things like calling people by their preferred gender pronoun is slowly becoming the socially correct thing to do — so I hope that someday I won’t need to provide an in-game explanation. As a side note, given what type of character he is, you can see how he ties into the overall theme of the game, which is “not everything is always what it seems on the surface”.

here's the blog post if anyone is interested in reading more

#these blogs are so interesting i'm gonna be posting a lot from them #ace attorney #aa3 #ace attorney trials and tribulations #gyakuten saiban #localization #also im so glad they didn't leave luke atmey's catchphrase as SCHWING bc wtf #.txt

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butcher-bloke · 2 years

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Hii so I like to write little horror stories and poems in my free time and I wanted to get some head cannons for Poly! Billy and Stu and the Sawyer brothers with a preferably male s/o who writes horror stories? Thank you <3

Hi, I’m so sorry that this took me so long to get to. I just had so many ideas for it and it was hard to decide how I wanted to word this but here it is. Also I absolutely love your writing and I hope you enjoy this 👐

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕊/𝕆 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤

~𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕪 𝔹𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕪 & 𝕊𝕥𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕨𝕪𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤~

Trigger warnings: mentions of blood and cannon violence

Billy & Stu

You definitely had no intentions of telling them about your writing, especially Billy, he’s the most judgmental out of the two of them.

Stu happened upon the notebook containing your stories when he was being his nosy self and digging through your stuff and he immediately became your biggest fan.

Needless to say, he stole the notebook so he could show Billy the work of art their boyfriend had made.

Billy was the first to suggest taking inspiration from your stories and start including aspects of them in their phone calls and murders.

(Let’s just say you already know about them being killers) You had begun to panic when you first realized the notebook was missing. You soon realized who had it though when after a few days and some time well spent with your boyfriends you began to hear the descriptions of the more recent murders, all of them following the same pattern as your story

You immediately drove over to Stu’s house knowing that both he and Billy would be there (because when are they not) and questioned them about the notebook book to which they both smirked

“You like what we did for ya, huh?” Stu asked before putting his arm on your shoulder and glancing over at Billy. “Loved your stories hun, especially the ones about the masked killers.” He chuckled as he walked back into the house followed by you and Stu.

They end up taking a lot of inspiration from your writing and in return they help you out with certain aspects of your stories that would take something more… hands on to understand.

Drayton

I feel like this old man isn’t much of a fan at first, he’d be the guy to complain about how “unrealistic it is”.

He’d take whatever notebook you use to write your stories in and make his own edits to them.

After he feels like he’s added enough of his own corrections he’d definitely go around and read the stories to the other brothers with this smug grin on his face.

Definitely starts loving your writing after you start taking his advice and loves to hear you read them to him.

Nubbins

He is obsessed, especially if you start basing characters off of him, he’d feel like the luckiest man in the world.

He would definitely try to bring you down to the basement and let you get a better look at how different parts of the body look all chopped up and how different cuts affect how much blood pours out.

Much like Drayton he loves to hear you read what ever it is you’re writing.

He would with out a doubt make stuff for you based off of your stories.

He would also be showing off your writing to his brothers, he’s so proud of his boyfriend, and he will not hesitate to tell you as much.

“Y-your stories so good it nearly scared me and chop to death!”

Chop-top

Just like his twin he is your biggest fan, he loves reading what you write and would not dare to critique you.

Will help you out if you ask him about different body parts and how certain bones connect.

He believes he’s an expert but occasionally he has to go to Drayton to get better information.

He would never tell you this but he occasionally writes his own stories based off of yours, it makes him so happy to get inspiration from you and he loves writing (though his spelling is definitely not the best)

Bubba

Even though he is a huge chainsaw wielding cannibal, he is not a fan of scary stories.

I feel like he would read them because you wrote them and because he loves you oh so much, but he would be shaking the entire time

He can handle the story if there isn’t too much gore (which is surprising, considering that’s what he’s surrounded by 24/7)

But if you write a story about him or base the killer off of him he will be hooked, he won’t be that scared of what he’s reading because why would he be scared of himself

He’s quick to let you know how happy you make him by letting out little happy squeals and hugging you

He wouldn’t show off the stories to his brothers because he feels like they might make fun of you but he is definitely going to be showing grandpa

Bubba would just be sitting up there beside the decaying old man and pointing out his favorite parts of the story while bragging about his boyfriend, not caring that grandpa doesn’t have a clue as to what’s going on.

#slasher x you #slasher fandom #bubba sawyer x reader #nubbins sawyer x reader #drayton sawyer x reader #chop top x reader #poly Billy and Stu #I’m genuinely surprised I finished this

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