#LIKE IDK like if you make certain characters dark skin why don’t you do the same with sonic. why does everyone avoid that 😭😭😭

[cupiidzbow]

i talked abt this on Twitter but I have to take a realllyyyyy take a good hard look at people’s sonic humanizations sometimes bc people really just have such an uncknowledged colorism issue 😭😭😭 like why are people so comfortable making knuckles and shadow the darkest bc they “aggressive” or “stupid” but so against making sonic darker skinned bc he’s a “good guy and cool” LIKE QUICKLY TELL ME WHY 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

[bonesxbows]

Something's Gotta Give (Aries x Reader)

My Masterlist

After a rough run through the Big Bend tunnel, Aries helps you with your wounds and unexpectedly finds something he wasn't supposed to

(WARNINGS) - graphically described self harm wounds - depressing themes - basic game type violence mentioned

there's a void for Aries fanfic out there and I aim to change that, one 3 am written fic at a time

he's such a good and complex character, lovehimsomuch

was gonna make this one longer but gave up on that idea. might make a part two, idk yet

thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoy! reblogs and comments much appreciated!

Banners by @strangergraphics

It had been a rough run through Big Bend, the brahmin barely making it through alive along with the three of you. Rudy had taken a couple of hits, a few bites, and a few scratches along with getting grazed by a few stray bullets, but you and Aries had taken the brunt of the attacks. The only reason everyone, including both brahmin, got out alive was because halfway through the tunnel you had instructed Rudy to keep moving with the Brahmin while you and Aries kept the Blood Eagles occupied, meaning that every single raider and their mongrel were focused on the two of you. 

Now the two of you were in a tent set out with cots for the guards and traders while Rudy was outside looking after the Brahmin. Vinny had closed the tent flaps behind you two so you could look after your wounds in private. 

“Lemme see your stomach,” Aries said as you sat down on a cot. 

“Why can’t we deal with your arm first?” You counter-offered. He pulled out a medicine bag from under one of the other cots. 

“My arm’ll be fine. Somethin' important could’ve been hit in your torso. Lemme see.” He sat down on the cot across from you and you realized there was no arguing to do here, he was always stubborn when it came to your well-being. 

Aries went to pull off your shirt but stopped when you winced in pain. The drying blood made the material stick to your skin like glue. He fished out a container of clean water and a semi-clean-looking rag from the medical kit. 

“Can you lay down for me?” He asked and you did so, moving carefully so you didn’t stretch any wounds open more. He wet the rag and used it to gently wipe away any crusted blood that he could get at, peeling your shirt up as he went until the entire cut was exposed, one long thin angry red line from a Blood Eagle’s switchblade. It ran almost the entire width of your stomach and it covered the entire area in a dark crimson. 

“Doesn’t look like it needs stitches, but I’m no doctor. Best I can do is clean it up and bandage it so you don’t bleed out on me.” Aries was mostly talking to himself, he didn’t wait for a response before pouring a new liquid on the scrap cloth and wiping the wound. 

“Fuck!” You yelled. You guessed the liquid was some kind of alcohol from the way it burned so badly. You wanted to push away his hand, yell for him to stop, but you knew it was better in the long run if he kept at it. The last thing you wanted was an infection. Aries seemed unfazed by your scream, until he took one of your hands in his free hand, giving it a light squeeze, his way of silently reassuring you that everything was gonna be alright. 

The burning sensation was so strong that everything was a haze until Aries put his hand behind your back and helped you sit back up. White gauze was wrapped around your torso, already being stained slightly pink as the cut began to slow its bleeding. 

He left you sitting up on your cot while he stripped off his shirt, revealing scars, both new and old, that littered his small frame. The majority of them were clustered around his neck and upper chest, and you assumed they continued up onto his face, trophies from his failed attempt of reprogramming a certain assaultron. 

The newest one added to his collection was from a Blood Eagle’s mongrel, it had caught him from behind and sunk its teeth into Aries’s forearm, near his elbow. You watched as he held his arm out over the edge of the cot and poured the alcohol over the puncture wounds. Even with his mask on you could still tell he was biting his lip to hold back a scream. The whole sight looked extremely painful and seeing him in so much pain made you wince. He tried to wrap the now heavily disinfected area in a piece of cloth, but it was difficult when he only had one hand to work with. 

“Here, let me.” You reached forward, moving to grab the makeshift bandage from his hand. 

“I got it.” He muttered under his breath. But both of you knew he couldn’t do it by himself, despite his stubbornness. So you took the two ends of the cloth from him, gently wrapping it around his arm and tucking it in itself so it didn’t unravel. Unbeknownst to you, Aries stared at the bloodstained wrist of your shirt while he waited for you to finish. 

“Did that bastard with the blade knick you in the wrist too?” He asked. The word “wrist” made you jump and you instinctively pulled your arms close to your chest. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Aries, but you played it off as if you hadn’t been startled by a single word. 

“No...no. He didn’t. That’s...old blood. Yeah. Must’ve been wearing this shirt while out hunting and forgot to wash the sleeves.” You looked down at the material that covered your wrists and forearms. One sleeve end was almost completely stained a dark red while the other just had some small spots of red polka dotting the sleeve. “It’s not important anyway,” you tried to change the subject, “How’s your arm? Your leg? Your back?” You mentally went down the list of where you had seen Aries take a hit during the fight. 

“They’re fine. Promise. Can I have a look at your wrists? Please?” Aries held out his hands. You were hesitant, not only because of the secret you were hiding but because you had a feeling that he had figured it out himself already. 

“Aries...I…” you looked down at your feet. Was there a way out of this conversation, or had the cards been revealed and your secret was up? 

“I won’t be upset. I swear.” He told you as if he could read your mind and knew you were worried. You breathed in a shaky breath and sighed, placing the wrist with the blood-stained sleeve into his hands. 

He softly ran his finger over your palm before taking ahold of the sleeve and pulling it down your arm, tearing up the dried blood that caked your skin as the material was removed. You wouldn't dare to look, turning your head to the side and staring at the wall of the tent. 

Aries stopped when the majority of your forearm was exposed. The sight made his stomach churn. What should have been soft, maybe slightly scarred, semi-clean skin was instead a messy blur of red, pink, brown, and purple. Scars, both old and new, littered every area of skin on your forearm until there was little undamaged skin left. Some scars were old, the thin and thick lines worn over with pink, blending in the new flesh with the old, but some were newer, the angry red lines surrounded by spots of purple and brown as they tried to close up and heal. 

But a few were a bright angry red, freshly dried blood caking the area in a dark crimson. The slits were fairly large and deep enough that they formed a crack in your skin. 

“When was the last time?” Aries asked, holding your wrists firmly. He didn’t sound angry, but his voice was still stern. You wanted to answer, but the words got caught in your throat. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. “Y/n.” This time he was a little louder, and a little firmer. The dam behind your eyes cracked and your walls came tumbling down.

“Earlier. Before the run through the tunnel.” You blurted out, hot tears pouring down your face. “I’m sorry. Please...please don’t be mad.” Your gazes met and for the first time since the two of you met, you didn’t want to be anywhere near Aries. 

But he wasn’t mad. He didn’t yell or belittle you. Instead, he let go of your wrists and cupped your face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away your tears. 

“You can’t be doin' this anymore sweetheart.” He said, his voice now soft and cooing. You sniffled. 

“I’m sorry...I didn’t think it would become an issue...I just…” you lost your words again, unsure of how to explain everything. Instead, you looked at him, and even though he was wearing a mask, somehow you could tell that he knew exactly how you felt. 

“I don’t want to lose you, okay? Not after everything that’s happened. I can’t. And maybe it’s selfish to think that, but I don’t care. You mean too much to me.” Aries sounded scared, and a part of you hated yourself for scaring the one person you loved the most. Especially when he was already so traumatized from everything else that had happened to him. 

“Aries...I…” your voice cracked, ending your sentence short. You took the time to think before trying to speak again. You knew trying to stop would be hard, you had been hurting yourself to cope with the world for as long as you could remember, but would it be easier with Aries right by your side? Then again, the thought of Aries having to deal with something bad happening to you made your insides churn. 

“I’m not saying you have to stop overnight. I know a habit like this takes time to break.” He looked down for a moment, running his fingers over his left wrist remorsefully. You peeked a glance and saw that he had had the same problem as you, albeit many, many years ago. White scars lined his skin near and around his wrist, but they were so old and healed over that you wouldn’t be able to tell they were even there if you weren’t looking closely. Aries knew exactly how you were feeling. 

“...you’ll help?” You asked quietly, still unsure about the whole thing. 

“Of course. You can always count on me.” He told you. His words made a smile tug at your lips. 

The two of you were quiet as he found some old cloth to use as gauze and wrapped your wrists. He was unusually gentle like if he tugged or pulled too hard he would break you like glass. Dusk fell soon enough and, after finding something to eat, the two of you fell asleep in each other’s arms. Your heart seemed to beat a little calmer than usual and you fell asleep with ease.

[sayosdreams]

the way in which Cassian’s character did not really get an arc in acosf mirrors the way Rhys’ trauma is only ever brought up when it was relevant to the plot for the sake of Feyre and the romantic tension, but was forgotten entirely. It builds up a sense of dark backstory for the male character without ever diving into it and exploring it. This lack of vulnerability, emotionality, and overall explicit character growth is part of a certain dehumanization of male characters within the ACOTAR series. In my opinion, this is made even more problematic when you consider the fact that many of the prominent male characters are the equivalent of ‘POC’ in ACOTAR-verse terms (like Rhys and Cass and Az having Illyrian heritage) which is almost never addressed except to make them seem “interesting” while being different from the rest of the ‘poc’ society who are “barbarians”. This male representation, and the lack of corresponding female poc in the books, is similar to the ways in which tv media used to only have dark skinned men but light skinned or even mixed women as the Black characters. Additionally, the way the men use their poc heritage as a sexualized tool but never address it otherwise except to critique it (or occasion comment on its barbaric strength) both dehumanizes the poc and makes the worldbuilding very shallow. What are the customs of the Illyrians? Why do they live in the mountains and get used by the Night Court for War?

While there are certainly issues in portrayals of female characters in ACOTAR, I feel like there is a consistent issue with the men where there is all this backstory set up (such as with Cassian or Lucien or Az or even Rhys) yet in the moment where they become a central character and can explore it, they don’t. They resort to being a plot device only there to support the female character through her journey and to build romantic tension with. They never get to have their own arc. Arguably, Tamlin and Lucien have the most fleshed out arcs, although Tamlin’s arc is (upon reread) not as well explained as it could be and Lucien’s is VERY much in the background

So yeah idk that’s my 2 am rant don’t hate me guys, I’m just hoping the same thing won’t happen in future books but it probably will

[wine4thewin]

Any tips for writing smut/romance? Because yours is delicious!

Thank you ☺️

Well, I’d say it’s a long process of trial and error within finding your voice in writing. I’ve been at it for probably 20-ish years and when I first wrote smut maybe a decade ago…it was soooooo bad 🤣 even to this day I will post something with a scene and feel extremely insecure! I’m like, oh God, was it bad!? 😅

Take all of this with a grain of salt. What I feel strongly about, other people may not feel the same. The writing process is different for everyone.

It also depends on your goal. Just regular p*rny smut or thought-out erotica?

1. Emotional Payoff: I find myself writing giant slow burns more than anything these days. Why? Because I want the cumulation of events to feel impactful to the reader. I don’t even mean “oh, the characters have fallen in love” emotional payoff. Sometimes, they aren’t in love. Sometimes, they are struggling with feelings, with beliefs, with conflicts…and I want the first erotic scene to be impactful to the plot, not just ‘thrown in for the hell of it’. It must add to the story and I want it to be a turning point or realization of sorts for the characters…for better or worse. Can this be done without a slow burn? Yes. But it takes a very precise prose to do it in a short piece.

Essentially, beyond my long-windedness, I am saying the smut should mean something to the story to be emotionally impactful to the reader, even if the act is meaningless to the characters themselves at that time. That is the difference IMO between erotica and flat, emotionless p#rny writing.

More below the cut - 18+ for some scenarios mentioned, but nothing crazy or offensive.

2. Sometimes Less Crude is More Sexy: This depends on your goal. Are you aiming for just how many dirty words you can cram in a paragraph? Seems a bit wild, but sometimes certain words can make a smut scene more impactful. I used to write every single gory detail with blunt, crude words. Did it work? Sure. Was it the sort of writing that made people feel a flutter or emotional response aside from ‘ooo dirty smut’? Maybe not.

Back to emotion. Emotional words can take your smut to the next level. You could say your male character ‘grabbed her thighs and spread them quickly, his huge *insert crude word* hard and ready to stuff her dripping *insert crude word*’.

Or, you could say instead, ‘the calloused tips of his fingers ghosted across her skin, making her shiver with anticipation. The tremble in his touch betrayed his inexperience, even as he moved slowly between her thighs. She could feel that he was eager for her, pressed as he was against her own desire…and she would take all he had to offer and more.

There would be no going back from this.

“Am I what you want?” His voice was an utterance across her lips, gaze dark and questioning. Pupils wide, consuming her.

There was no need to answer aloud. She shifted her hips and took him for herself.’

The above is me setting the stage for the act itself, all while putting in words and sentences that reveal small emotions, details, insecurities, dominance, and desires. Idk, you tell me, I just made that whole scene up on the spot 😂

When you read something that makes you react, remind yourself of the words the writer used that made you feel. Was it because they pulled you into the scene, had you feel with the character you love? Or was it because they said dripping vajayjay twenty times? Different strokes for different folks!

3. Don’t Be Repetitive: Refer to genitalia in different ways, but don’t be obnoxiously flowery like the harlequin novels of old and their “his staff of love quivered in her touch” sorta thing. More like, “his desire was velvet covered steel under her grasp / his firm length” or “she was swollen against his fingertips, ready, glistening with arousal”. You can get away with saying d#ck a few times, but it gets annoying and eye-rolling if it’s every sentence. You can check out this list for ideas!

4. Use Location/Situation to Your Advantage: where are these characters? Semi-public? In private? Are they forbidden being together? Or is their love considered illegal or shameful in your fantasy/sci-fi country? Bring feelings of ‘could we be caught, excitement, the thrill, shame, struggling with own beliefs, reluctance yes, even reluctance’ into the smut to amp up the stakes.

5. Not All Sex is Perfect: hey, we don’t always get it right the first time. I’ve written one character having the time of his life from his POV, only to find out his partner didn’t exactly find him as awe-inspiring 🤣 but, his partner gave him another chance, what a saint jk jk, and the emotional aspect of this previously very selfish character realizing he feels strongly about pleasing someone other than himself for the first time ever was a huge plot point with the smut.

Don’t be afraid of awkward sex, reassuring sex, figuring things out together sex…they can always get it right the next time!

6. If You Write a Kink, Go Deep: size kink, BDSM, A/B/O, etc. if you are going to do it, really commit to it. Don’t mention it vaguely, because if people are looking for that in your smut because you tagged it as such, don’t leave them hanging! I had to study BDSM terms, read blogs of those in the life and their experiences to even come close to writing authentically about it (and I mean stuff beyond generic spanking, such as the risks of edgeplay, knife play, wax play, sensory deprivation, subspace, etc).

Closing thoughts before I ramble you into the abyss from whence you won’t return:

Overall, writing is to have fun! Don’t be hard on yourself, it’s always a learning process. Ask for feedback on your smut, observe what you like about your favorite authors, practice practice practice.

Much of my advice may be considered advanced (or maybe it’s all shit LOL) but I hope some of it helps bring food for thought and helps others on their ever-continuing journey of creative writing!

[dreadark]

thinking about bad faith criticism...ended up talking a lot about anthy himemiya...

the well-known phenomenon that media that deals with any “marginalized identity” gets way more scrutiny than it would otherwise (and likely dissuades others from dealing with those topics........)

at the same time, it’s not like it should be exempt from criticism, and I get why this happens; some things are just beyond hope so it feels pointless to even mention I suppose, may as well criticize something that had potential

Still...some of it seems to just be people taking the worst possible reading  or just trying to be smug about it

idk I was just remembering when I came across various criticism of rgu because of anthy + akio a bunch of it was just along the lines of “you should never portray any dark-skinned character as ‘bad’ in any way” which always pisses me off but

yeah akio is The Worst Ever, and anthy herself has quite a few...problems and yeah some of these traits match some stereotypes

but...have you even thought about why stereotypes are considered bad it’s not just because something aligns with a stereotype that makes it bad rather, it’s having a character that is nothing but stereotypes, and this being a pattern. which shows you don’t regard a certain group as actual people

for when there isn’t a pattern...idk maybe try to read it in good faith. new concept i know

(there’s another issue when certain media only has one of [minority] for no good reason... in many cases I think the solution to a lot of this is just   add more. and not doing this is a problem in itself but with the setup of rgu I think it’d take away from its themes. some stories are like this. nuance!)

anyway both akio and anthy are characters written with a lot of thought, they’re hardly some token character it’s like... why does no one talk about how rgu has a brown woman that’s super “demure” that gets constantly abused by others ...maybe that’s the point???

hell even if it wasn’t...what exactly are you trying to say? would anthy be a better character if she had more agency from the start or smth (way to destroy the entire point of her character) or...would it be better if anthy wasn’t indian? and there’s people who really believe the second is the better choice, that it’s better to avoid portraying anything that could even be linked to existing stereotypes at all. nevermind that many stereotypes are based off truth, or that many stereotypes contradict each other because of impossible standards placed on people... or that having 0 diversity in your story at all is possibly racist in itself. wild thought!

so yea. my point... I wish people would just think about what exactly they’re saying sometimes. and try to read things in good faith more often

the standards some people have for characters in media are just as impossible as the ones irl i see I’d think it’s some kind of psyop but at least some really is just people that think this is the best way to be anti-racist

which............ (headache)

[icedmatchatae]

(yeah with poc i feel like i should’ve specified who but it was after i sent it off, my apologies)

but what i mean is black!reader friendly..

you use causal descriptions of hair being wavy

“You decided to straighten your natural waves for some kind of change.”

and cheeks/lips going pink/red..

“Your bottom lips were so red and plumped”

however it kinda ruins the ‘x reader’ aspect for darker skinned readers with kinker hair. most black authors write x black reader for those reasons specifically, the descriptions exclude everyone who doesn’t have flowy, thinner hair and those who don’t have visible blush due to it not appear on their skin.. it’s a definite turn off for black readers when they read descriptions that elude to a lighter skinned reader (see types of complaints below) i would look up alternatives to flustered behaviors that stay away from certain colours and leave hair textures alone.. maybe instead of saying what kind of hair style, you can describe how good it looks on the reader?? idk but i really hope you take this into consideration for future works

examples of complaints since they explain it better:

https://www.tumblr.com/eurydiceslove/700407195037204480/x-readers-cater-to-skinny-white-girls-most-of-the

https://www.tumblr.com/the-ravenist/709143383084580864/im-getting-kind-of-sick-of-seeing-this-stuff-how

https://www.tumblr.com/qveerfemmemusings/654272015099920384/okay-this-needs-to-be-said-and-it-needs-to-be-said

Hello again,

First of all, thank you for clarifying what you mean by POC-friendly. Initially, your comment upset me because I’m a POC and I felt I was being dismissed. I’m brown-skinned and dark-haired, and I was genuinely very confused and conflicted with the use of the term due to my background. I try to be vague in my character appearance so my readers can picture themselves. Still, I understand how I can do even better.

With that being said, I apologize for the trouble I have caused with the use of my words. Nothing was intentionally. I am now fully aware of my implicit bias to naturally write through my personal or own lived experience because it is what I’m used to and what I know, like I still flush with my skin. Not saying I will want to ignore other things because I try to be as conscious as possible, hence why I try to make physical descriptions pretty non-existent especially for skin or eyes. I had experiences where descriptions were so detailed with features, I don’t continue as well. Typically if I do point out features, it pertains to the story like the succubus being short in stature. But of course, there are little things that I miss.

If I’m being honest, it is difficult because editing, revising, and going over all my fics before posting is just me! No one unfortunately helps me through this process so I don’t have second eyes or a beta, so I miss things. I only see what I can see, so it wouldn’t be a concern until it was pointed out like this.

I appreciate you for telling me and I will do my best to be black-friendly! It’s honestly very needed to be aware of these things, especially for all writers. I want to continue to grow in my writing and this very much will help. I look at what I can write to make it as inclusive as possible. It won’t be a perfect path, but it will be a journey with tremendous experience and growth.

If by all means, it continues to not satisfy you even with the improvements, then I understand if you choose not to read my work. I cannot simply satisfy everyone. Thank you again for your time.

[captainaikus]

Why do I feel like you look amazing in blue? Like you’re sitting in class with a white sweater and dark blue jeans and cute brown ankle boots with buttons on the side and the sun shines on you just right from the window and your eyes look like they have tiny stars in them and your skin is shadowed with a dark shade on a part of your face as the other part is hit by the sunlight. This is all as you make your adorable concentrated face cause you’re paying attention in class and sit near the front. It just seems like your vibe you know? Also idk why but I can totally imagine you looking amazing in a short bobcut with blue highlights. Maybe piecing and rings too? Overall just hardcore blue fairy vibes is what I get from you.

I know it’s been a minute. Sooooo to cope with TR ending I’m currently reading Lore Olympus and I’m obsessed. Already halfway through and I just started yesterday 💀💀. I don’t choose the obsession the obsession chooses me 😌. I put off reading it for so long cause people were really pushy (and in annoying way) about it and that kinda made me lose my initial interest and I wanted to read it in my own time. I honestly end up with diet errors coping mechanisms like seriously unconscious why? (In a confused manner I mean) But like it’s a double-edged sword cause Hades and Persophone remind me so of Mikey and Takemitchy (they’re my OTP everything abt them just absolutely destroys me in a good way tho so much love and comfort and angst UGH) There had not been a night where I haven’t cried over them and their story and TR subsequent I started reading TR so like. Yeah. God I love that story so much. I cant believe it’s over. Izana brainrot still going string btw I even have a plot to our love story 😌. Lore Olympus has give me a bunch of ideas for both my love story with Izana and Takemikey fanfics 👀👀. Have you heard of Lore Olympus? It’s a webtoon and it’s just breathtaking. I highly recommend it. How are you btw? Good I hope? *sends many virtual hugs*

- ✨ anon

For the last ask. I promise I didn’t mean it in a creepy or weird way. I SWEAR IT. Its just that I love how people look aesthetically. How if you look at a person in a certain light or imagine them doing a simple task or look at a single feature they have you can see the beauty in them. It really puts a perspective on things I think. I wish one day I’ll be able to write people like that in my stories. My last ask was what I just thought how you would look aesthetically beautiful in blue shading or lighting you know? I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable or was overbearing.

- ✨ anon

Starry!! YES! This is so point! ˃̵ᴗ˂̵ Don't have the highlights though (You didn't make me uncomfy or overbearing bb, its kinda how coincidence works; You're either on point or a complete miss or like half way there. What you say can match with what I wear so nah I'm not creeped out) i do sit in the front near a window; cause the last time i sat in the back i had to listen to this drag of a story abt my classmate pounding his gf against a wall (poor attempt at bragging) and turns out he was a cheater... ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) (idek what to say except that he is a dirtbag smh)

its a very cute description starry! And yeah blue is one of the colors i have along with gray and white including the tanned boots and if I give that sort of vibe then you've caught it ; akfbebfhf blue fairy (꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)

Tinkerbelle (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ) [time to make this a tag]

I love how people look aesthetically as well. Cause i study and draw statues or paintings; and i'm also an author/ writer. And i write abt people so I get it- and i'm familiar and get what you're trying to say;

૮(˶˃ᆺ˂˶)ა - And I look forward to the day you start writing your own stories (only if you want to tho)

As for webtoons killing stalking , LORE OLYMPUS! I did read lore olympus! Hades is a comfort character of mine and Persephone and he get along so well together! Cue me not liking minthe and I'm so glad that Hades fell for Persephone and not her, cause persephone fits his rugged personality so well; its been months since I read last cause I forget that things have been updated with so many busy things happening at once; I read other works as well like the remarried empress, I love yoo, i used to read unordinary now idk what the scenario looks like, home sweet home- been a while since i read that, lookism, eggnoid, my dear cold blooded king, siren's lament, i was reading windbreaker... and let's play. Even that one with bts in it but then I dropped reading it (save me was it…?)

I absolutely love the art style of Lore Olympus. Maybe I should pick it up to see if things are fine with Hades and Persephone... Lore olympus reminds me of... *got struck by an idea* brb cause you'll see after I release this.

I'm doing pretty good! Fifa is here and I'm pretty excited - cause we take football pretty seriously here- working on a new piece (and dw its angsty fluffy; just finished with Nagi and I'm on Oliver now - wanna cry cause this man doesn't exist)

I gave a u-quiz and I got Pluto as a roman god aka Hades - I've always wanted a cerberus...

but yeah life's going good, very solitary and I like it atm Hope you're doing good with college and everything (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡

*sending big hugs back* get urself a man like Hades. He’ll give you donuts <3

[herorps]

shadow and bone and racism

shadow and bone just came out so i can now finally break my silence bc holy shit do they go ham on the racism and me being me, i just have to tell you all about it. possible spoilers and triggers for anti-asian racism and microaggressions.

to preface, i was very privileged to receive a screener for the entire first season last month and i was actually excited to watch it bc i have friends who love the books and the show piqued my interest since it was announced. and i also have to say that i never read the books and i probably never will ( tho i’ve been told i would like soc ) but i did like the show overall. 

i think sab is a good adaptation and that the fans will like this show. i thoroughly enjoyed it and as someone who had very little to almost no knowledge about the books, i didn’t have trouble keeping up with the fantastical world. 

however that doesn’t mean i can’t be critical of it. 

i think the show can actually benefit from people being critical about it because so far, it feels like they took a very tone deaf direction and ran a marathon with it. 

what i’m talking about, is alina starkov being half-shu. 

now, i said before that my interest was piqued for this show when it was announced and one of the major reasons is the casting of biracial actress, jessie mei li, in the role of alina starkov. i can’t tell you how happy i was to see that a half-chinese actress was cast as the lead in a series based on such a beloved ip, especially since the creators of the show consciously changed alina’s ethnicity to be half-shu before casting calls were even sent out. ( for those of you who are also non-book readers, shu is the race of people from the country, shu han, and is based off primarily mongolian and chinese cultures ) 

so i was endeared with the idea that this character, that is coded white, was deliberately changed to be coded asian ( and coded mixed race to boot ) because the producers wanted to include diversity into the show. i commend that, i love that, i support that. but i believe the way they handled it, shouldn’t have been the way they handled it. and it’s because alina’s race is constantly brought up. 

obviously of course race is going to be brought up at some point. alina in the show is surrounded by white people when we first see her, and her home country of ravka does have a hostile history with shu han----i get it. racism is going to play a part in alina’s story. but it doesn’t necessarily need to go so far as to constantly remind the audience that she is shu in almost every interaction she has with someone she meets. 

and that’s a big part of the issue, is that nearly everyone she meets will bring up the fact that she’s part-shu. and a lot of the time, it’s said with hostility. now i’m not exactly sure if i’m just being particularly sensitive because of certain recent events, but the anti-asian racism hits differently these days. idk. 

because that’s what it is, at the end of the day. it’s racism. alina is often the target of very hostile racism and it seems to mainly be directed at her character and her character only. 

and honestly, on a surface level it makes sense, i sort of understand what the producers are trying to do. ravka has a turbulent history with shu han and were involved in wars with them and they’re often seen as the enemy so obviously that would affect a shu-mixed person growing up in ravka, a very white country. but on a deeper level, it reminds me a lot of the anti-japanese sentiments during wwii. the production team even created a banner that i felt called back to those anti-japanese propaganda of that era. ( mind you it was shown multiple times, in main focus, and acknowledged by characters that were coded shu ) 

but on the other hand, they’ve done a considerable job to diversify at least the ethnic makeup of ravka. there are black and brown grisha at the school and there are people of different cultures ( noted by costuming, etc. ) in ketterdam and there’s even a shu-appearing trainer that teaches the grisha to fight. so my question is, why is this very hostile treatment primarily geared toward shu people and geared toward alina specifically? it just doesn’t make sense to me. 

and when i say it’s specifically geared toward alina, i mean that it’s very apparent that they’re targeting her specifically, because mal  ( played by a possibly mixed-race archie renaux ) is also coded to be of mixed shu blood. while it is not explicitly stated that mal is shu, it is heavily implied that he is mixed, but he is never subject to the treatment that alina is, and the only times he is subject to racism is when alina is also present. in scenes where we see alina and mal as kids, they are often both referred to as “mutts” or “half-breeds”. but when they are older, only alina is continuously called those things. 

this isn’t even touching the microaggressions she faces after she’s at grisha school and this one line that made my gut wrench so viscerally i had to pause the episode and replay the part so i could confirm what i heard. [ episode 3 spoiler warning ] i’m trying to avoid posting screenshots or from spoiling parts of the show but there’s a scene where alina is being cleaned up and made presentable by servants and one of them says “I’d start by making her eyes less Shu.” [ end episode 3 spoiler ] i don’t think i have to explain to anyone how offensive that is. and i understand that the intention was to show how racist this servant is, that the entire point of of this weird racism plot is to show how the people of ravka can be racist and ignorant, but to have that line be written by a white writer, approved by a white showrunner and said by a white character to the face of an asian actor/character feels very tactless. it feels like another antagonist alina has to go against is racism itself. 

what also turns me off about this scene is that jessie mei li revealed that this scene is what actresses had to audition with. “...the sides that they sent for the audition, like Alina is talking to Genya and they’re talking about her eyes and they’re talking about her Shu ancestry.” having actresses of mixed-asian ancestry come in and act out that scene for white producers doesn’t really sit right with me. and i know that there’s an argument to be had about how it’s important to show the minutia of what it’s like to be ethnic in a world ruled by white supremacy and that it’s important to show how alina’s race affects her story, but i don’t think that going this far is necessary to the development of plot or character. 

and i don’t personally know jml, i don’t know how she feels about the show apart from what she’s probably briefed to talk about in interviews, but it is perfectly valid for me to feel iffy about the microaggressions while she feels that it’s necessary for character development ( again, this is just an example, i have no clue what she thinks of the racism ). our experiences are different, our upbringings are different, but we’re both happy to see representation and i’m happy that she’s happy to see an actual mixed-chinese character on screen as the lead. 

i’m glad that the producers were open to diversity and were open to making the lead a person of color, but it’s things like the treatment of shu characters and exchanges like “Tell her...Oh, I don’t know...good morning.” “I don’t actually speak Shu.” and “I didn’t know the Zemeni had such talent.” “She’s Suli.”  ( zemeni is a race of “dark-skinned” people and suli are coded south asian/mena/wena so this exchange is just white people mixing the brown people up )  that remind me the majority of the writers and producers are white. 

now i’m not saying that you should boycott the show or that this show is the most problematic thing to ever grace my retinas, because i really enjoyed watching it and i want to see what season 2 has in store ( more crows content please ). but, i want you all to please keep all of this in mind when you watch the series and think critically of what kinds of unconscious biases these producers had. you’re allowed to have nuanced opinions, you’re allowed to be critical of the media you enjoy so long as you understand where some people’s criticisms are coming from---where my criticisms are coming from. i just hope in future seasons the treatment of alina gets better and that she actually learns to love her shu side because otherwise it’s just going to be problematic as the show continues. 

[yourlocalmaraudersbabe]

Ahhh I love those headcanons are so cute!! Can I request something with Y/n taking care of Sirius? Maybe he's not feeling well and Y/n is always there for him. Braiding his hair, making some tea, y'know? Maybe even trying some skin care products together? I have so many ideas haha 🤭 kisses💙

“I love it and I love you”

Summary: Sirius is sick and you’re there for him (headcanons?? idk i kinda got carried away)

A/N: Thanks for sending this in, my lovely anon! I love writing all of these requests <33

Word Count: 948

Masterlist + Characters and ships that I write for

Requests are always open <3

Fluff Dialogue Prompt List

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Reminder that I do not support jkr. Do not interact if you do.

You and Sirius have been living together for nearly five years now. It was a small little place just above the coffee shop you two opened after leaving Hogwarts.

Sirius rarely got sick, usually around the winter holidays when everyone would pass a certain strain around. They were never terrible, it was always something that he could still work through.

There was almost always something you could do to help through the miserableness he felt: braiding his hair, reading to him, rubbing his back, bringing him tea.

“What kind of tea?” he’d ask nearly every time.“It’s the tea blend my parents always send for sore throats. Now scoot over,” you’d say getting under the covers, handing him his tea.

When sleep overtook the two of you, he’d always manage to wake up being held, despite you two first going to sleep side by side.

He’d sometimes wake up to you running your fingers through his hair and ask for you to braid it for him.

One year, you came home with face masks for you to try as a little date night and found him holed up on the couch with every blanket in the house he could dig out. But that, of course, didn’t stop you from doing a skincare night with him.

Other times he’d get out of the shower and without asking, you’d brush through his hair, tying it back gently for him. He’d lay with his head on your shoulder, listening to you read as the weight of his eyelids became unbearable, giving into the sleep his body was asking for.

This particular cold was pretty bad considering how fast it came on.

He complained of a headache just a couple hours before closing. You gave him a kiss on the forehead and sent him upstairs. “Darling, why don’t you get some rest?”

So, just four hours later, you flipped the ‘open’ sign around, displaying ‘closed’ for anyone walking by. You slipped upstairs, breathing in the muggy air of your completely dark flat.

You flicked the light on, walking over to the window, cracking it just enough for the cool air to spill into the room. You shook off the chill that crept up your spine and walked down to the bedroom. “Sirius?” you whispered.

You heard him stirring. You obviously hadn’t meant to wake him, so you made your way to the door. “Wait,” he said, his voice strained.

He sat himself up in bed against the headboard, turning the lamp on next to him. “You look terrible,” you laughed softly.

“Gee thanks,” he mumbled as you wrapped your arms around him, holding his head to your chest. You ran your fingers through his hair and he melted into you.

“How can I help?” you asked him, pulling him away from you slightly to examine him. You pushed the hair that fell over his forehead away, pressing the back of your hand on his skin carefully. His nose was rubbed raw and his eyes were glossy.

He mumbled something incoherently and leaned forward again, silently asking to be held longer. You stayed like that for a couple minutes before proposing an idea to him. “How about a hot shower while I clean up a bit and make tea?” He agreed, getting out of bed with a low groan of pain.

You went into the bathroom first, starting the shower for him. He came in shortly after and you pressed your lips to his forehead, walking into the kitchen.

In between making tea for Sirius, you washed the few dishes that were left dirty in the sink, tidied up the living room, and when you had finished all that and he was still in the shower, you went back to your bedroom. You grabbed him a sweatshirt and sweatpants just as you heard the water turning off.

He came into the room, flopping onto the bed where you sat with a book. He rolled over, sliding dramatically off the bed, leaving only his hands on the cover. You laid on your stomach, leaning over the side of your bed and shoving his hands off.

He lazily pulled a sweatshirt over his head, laughing at the compromising position. “Did you enjoy your shower?”

Sirius mumbled an “mhm” just before a cough. You sat up, reaching for the mug you brought him. He got into bed, slipping under your arm, pressed up against your side.

You ran your fingers back through his hair just before he shoved the mug into your hand, sneezing. “Aw, I’m really sorry, Sirius,” you leaned your head on top of his, handing his cup back. His wet hair made your chin cold when you lifted your head up. “Is your head feeling any better?”

“No,” he said, moving the mug around in his hands. “Want me to braid your hair?” you asked, already knowing his answer.

“Ummm, of course,” his voice turned playful, never losing that side of himself, regardless of how sick he was.

You let him sit however he wanted, whatever was most comfortable for him. Sirius laid in between your legs, resting his head on your stomach and hugged your waist.

You gathered his hair to the side, sectioning it off while you watched his eyes hang so low, they eventually shut. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“I’m always here for you, Sirius. And plus, your hair looks amazing,” you smiled, hoping he could hear it. He reached his hand around, feeling it. “I love it and I love you.”

“I love you, Sirius,” you said, rubbing your thumb softly against the top of his hand while he cleared his throat. “Now get some sleep, you need it.”

Taglist (if you’d like to be removed, send me an ask!): @violetrainbow412-blog @wisedreamcatcher @scorpiobaby22 @emmaev @harrypotter0addict

[twst-campos13]

ah hello!! i'm literally so excited to see a blog for enby and male readers sodjfoijf,,could i maybe request a scenario where male reader is a staff member (idk?? like a librarian?? a nurse??? do they need nurses over there???) and is crushing on crewel but is too scared to confess because he's both Too Dense to pick up any signs of potential reciprocation and also just isn't sure if crewel likes men??? maybe. maybe with a happy ending though because i am a fool,, thank you very much!!

One hopelessly cheesy scenario coming up!! Thank you for requesting! I hope you don’t mind I made reader a librarian who may or may not be a bit of a romantic because i listened to a particular playlist while writing this- (commentary in notes!)

Warnings: none! Tags: male!reader, fluff!

A simple man such as you live a simple life. As simple as life can be in Night Raven College, that is. A prestigious school that holds a student body that can barely tolerate each other. It would be typical for a librarian to be the observer than the observed, but hey, if it means getting out of trivial matters of the school and enjoying the show in your personal bubble, then you have no complaints.

This attitude of yours did come to have its own consequences. You were seen as timid by most students as you were quite closed-off, taking it as a reason to poke fun at you sometimes. You proved them wrong when they step out of line with their fun. Most of the time you choose to ignore them. However, you lived up to your introverted nature, especially when it comes to him.

Tall, dark, and handsome. Approachable but also not at the same time. Sharply dressed and sharp attitude. This man that visits the library ever so often had become your daily motivation to keep on working at this school despite the wage that Crowley gives you.

Divus Crewel, feared and admired by staff and students—also known as the man who stole your heart.

You feel so small compared to him. That would not be so farfetched. He is a remarkable man, and what about you? You are just a librarian at this school. You are like mere dust to him.

Yet, despite this, you continued yearning for him no matter how ridiculous it seems. Perhaps you have fallen too deep in romantic fiction that you make hopeless wishes. You are known to be excellent in reading people but for some reason, you find it hard to read Divus. His perfect posture whenever he would scan the Applied Sciences aisle showed that he is focused on his reading. However, it is his expression you find hard to decipher. He looks dashing as ever, of course, but his thin lips and neutral gaze makes it hard for you to know what he is thinking.

If your life is a novel it would be so easy to know what runs in his mind. What he feels for you. Maybe he could even know what you feel for him. In a story, what makes characters likable is knowing what their emotions, their feelings, their ambitions, and their dreams are, for they are already laid out in ink on pages. Implicit or explicit information, simple or complex structure of personality, it does not matter. You would easily know about them for they are just sentences away from understanding.

And in romance novels…oh, how dreamy they are. How easy they make it seem to fall in love, to confess, and to achieve a happy ending. However, as a librarian, you know the reality of your situation. Your relationship with Crewel is a professional. Strictly, if you were to add an adjective. Is it really strictly professional? Your right brain points out the moments in your life where you interacted with him. At faculty meetings, reunions, at the library…moments like those just feel surreal you almost believed that you made those up on your own. Probably because you initiated each of those interactions yourself.

The only time, where Crewel would come to you himself, are rare. One time he came to the library and checked out a book to read in his spare time. His voice distracted you. It was like cherry wine. Sweet, smooth, enough to make your throat dry and your cheeks flushed. Oh, you could listen to him talk for hours in that tone of his, and he could even make you do anything he pleases.

You greet each other good morning or good afternoon when you pass by each other, and he would smile a teasing one at you as if you two shared a secret with each other. Well, technically you did, for one time you bought him coffee under the pouring rain, and he repaid you for your kindness. Soon enough your coffee exchange became a routine for both of you. It was sweeter than the cream in his coffee. It was more refreshing than the rainy day you shared with each other.

His gaze. His posture. His voice. His smile. Despite those small interactions with each other you are still troubled by what he thinks of you. A friend? A colleague? A special someone? Why is this so hard? Why was it so easy to fall in love? And when things could not get worse for you, your left brain argued that he might not be interested to mingle with a man.

Well, you could find out for yourself, but that would be creepy. Your workspace is in the library! You could not just leave when you please just so you can observe him. You could not use the staff files to your advantage—that is being a borderline stalker. Whatever Crewel’s orientation is, is his to keep and his to disclose to you. Oh, but still. If this were a novel, you could easily analyze the situations that give off evidence of him liking men. Or liking someone like you.

If that were the case you would not have a hard time trying to decipher his words, his gaze, his tone, and his actions towards you. If that were the case…if that were the case…then…well, there’s no then. Divus Crewel is not a fictional character to analyze. He is your coworker, your colleague.

It is hard to know what he thinks of you, at all. You really wished that you could…but the thought of knowing what he thinks to scare you, as well.

Rejection is not that far from reality. Who are you compared to him again? A nobody. A simple, ‘timid’, librarian that enjoys reading romantic and fiction novels and inserts himself in scenarios he makes up for himself just so he can…find the happiness he wishes to have.

But Divus is your happiness. Became your source of happiness. Ironic how he colors the muted floor of the library with his monochromatic appearance. Maybe it is better that you keep your feelings to yourself. You avoid the risk of rejection and humiliation as well as ruining whatever it is your current relationship with Crewel is.

You barely registered the visitor in front of your desk until a familiar red leathery gloved hand rested atop of yours. The contact of the leather sent a spark of electricity through you that you snapped your head up to meet alluring silvery blue eyes. There is only one person in this college that owns those distinct, beautiful, silvery blue eyes.

Divus.

“Have I interrupted your moment of peace, sir?” He asked in that cherry wine voice of his. It made your throat dry up and your face warm. “N-No—no!” You squeaked, shaking your head to brush off the embarrassment. Quickly, you fixed your composure and appeared presentable. As presentable as you could be under his stare that is. You just hope that he found some amusement in your haste. “D-Div—Mr. Crewel, what can I do for you?” You smiled as you speak in a professional tone. The edge of his lips curled into a familiar smirk and still you could not determine what was running through his mind at the moment.  

“I came to return the book I borrowed last week,” he said, placing down the novel on your desk. Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen. Right, he borrowed that last week. It is not your place to judge whatever it is he desires to read. “Of course,” you nodded, “did you enjoy reading it?” You started on a small talk as you take out your logbook for the check-ins and outs of books. “Somewhat,” Crewel shrugged, “I had my eyes set on another book I would like to borrow.”

“Oh? What is it? I’ll go get it for you.” You stood up after sliding the logbook back to its drawer. Crewel did not leave from where he was standing. His eyes were simply on you. You had to hide your nervousness under his gaze. “I had my eyes on it ever since that rainy day, when you offered me shelter in the library until the rain passes,” he mused. “General fiction, I believe, was the genre.”

“If that’s the case then you better tell me the title,” you joked, taking a stool to the genre’s aisle. “Are you certain you can find it?” Crewel coolly challenged. You almost laughed but did not fight the smile on your lips. “Mr. Crewel, I spend most of my time in this library. I know every book and I still have the Dewey Decimal system memorized…” You kept your eyes distracted by scanning the spines of the books on the shelves. You are aware that he is still looking at you that is why you refused to look back at him. You are not sure what will happen if you look back at him while conversing.  

“If that is the case—” why does he suddenly sound a bit close? “—may you find ‘How to Ask your Dense Colleague Out to Dinner?’”

What a lengthy title. It sounds very basic and almost like a rule book than a novel. Well, that is General Fiction for you. Though you are quite unsure if such a book exists in the library. “Hm…” you hummed, a finger on your chin, as your eyes scanned the shelves. “I don’t think I have that here…Crowley pays me enough to support my rent and meals, but not enough to buy new books. Plus, the students…”

You heard him chuckle beside you and fought the urge to turn to him. “I believe I was not frank enough. Ah, well, I will put all subtleties aside, then…”

His warm breath tickling your skin was what made you finally turn to him. The proximity of your noses startled you that you nearly stumbled out of your stool if it were not for Divus’ hand grabbing yours to pull you to him. You gasped, shocked, as you landed close to his chest. His other hand supported your waist, and your eyes widened his silvery blues. You can feel your heart hammering against his. Your legs feel like putty when he gave you that teasing smirk. Your name—your first name—sounds surreal from his lips. Your entire world was a confusing mix of vertigo and bright lights.

“Will you go to dinner with me?”

You stared. You stammered. You are flabbergasted and flustered. You were unsure how to react to such a forward question that your brain completely shut down. But you cannot embarrass yourself—you must not. Not when…not when…not when…!

Oh, he will he stop saying your name with such sentiment?

“Is your silence a rejection or a consideration?” He rose a brow and your face flushed even more. “No! I mean yes—I mean—no, it isn’t a rejection—”

“Then you have been anticipating this?”

“Divus!”

He laughed. He laughed at your state. He laughed at your awkwardness. But most importantly his laugh sounds so pleasant. Like he was teasing you and you liked him teasing. You grew shy, averting your gaze from his and fidgeting with your fingers. “I mean…I mean…why?”

Crewel stopped laughing and looked at you. “Why what?”

“Why…me? Out of all people?” You asked as fear and denial keep you from grasping the fact that this is all real and not another scenario you made up during rainy days. Crewel’s face remained passive. Neutral. It was eating at your heart and you just wish what is going through his mind.

“Is it not obvious, puppy?” He raised a brow at you. The hand holding your wrist now tilted your chin in his direction. “It is not by fate or destiny, but a mere law that dictates the gravitational pull of similar atoms that is programmed by the need to chemically bind together.”

You suddenly felt stumped. “W—What?”

“I like you, puppy,” Crewel clarified, adoring the way your confusion turned to pure surprise, “and I would like to have dinner with you. Perhaps another, if the first went well.”

You need some time to process this. Your head felt so light you might pass out in his arms. Actually, you would not mind that in the slightest. His coat is just so soft it feels like heaven. A proper response of agreement failed to come to your mind so instead, you asked him again, “And what if the first does not end well?”

Crewel smiled at you. “Then we shall try again with the next dinner. Mind you, puppy, as a man of science, I am not afraid of failure if trying means more chances of perfecting my goal.”

“And what’s that goal?” You asked and physically stopped yourself from combusting when he leaned closer to you that your noses touch and you smell his cologne, and his bold scent.

“The goal to become yours.”

[womenofwonder]

RWBY characters races for AUs set in our world.

How I’m going to do this: three things. The first, the city they live in Remnant. This is the least important because that leaves us with only five…maybe six places compared to our world’s hundreds of countries.

The second will be the original of their names, which they’ll have to keep in the AUs, meaning that they need some culture background for them.

The third will be their fairy tale origins.

So to start, Ruby Rose:

She lives in Vale, which is similar to France (I’ll explain why in another post maybe), but technically grew up in patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I have no idea about Patch’s culture as we hardly ever see it, so I’m going to skip this one. We also don’t know if either Summer or Taiyang was originally from Vale.

We know Taiyang is Chinese from his name, so I’m going to say she’s half Chinese. I also wrote a western au once and really love the idea of Taiyang being an Asian Redneck…so I think I’m going to say Ruby is very, very southern just because that would be adorable.

But if you don’t want that idea I generally see Taiyang being either Asian-American or Asian-French, or Asian-British if your doing a HP AU. Summer is harder to pin down, but Red Riding Hood was originally an Italian fable, so I’m going to have her be Italian or Italian-American.

Weiss:

Weiss is German, although making her simply white America/British would work. I could see her being Russian too in some AU because Atlas fits well as Russia. For American works, Pennsylvania has quite the German population and coal mines, so that works pretty well for her.

Blake is really complicated. From Remment Australia which is culturally SEA (south East Asian), has an English name but parents with a Hindu-inspired names, but neither looking vaguely Indian. I’m going to assume her family are immigrants (as they are in cannon I think) to Australia, maybe even changed their name to help them fit in. Immigrants from where? Well, India is an option, but I like to think Malaysia. They have a large Indian and Chinese population, and I like to think Blake is a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnicities, from Malaysia and immigrated to Australia. And if you think this is crazy or unrealistic, you haven’t seen anything yet. The sheer mix of cultures I’ve seen growing up as an ex-pat is insane. This isn’t too crazy.

For Yang, we already have Taiyang as an Asian red-neck. Or at least I do. Raven and Qrow are going to be a little harder to pin down, but I’m think bandits getting replaced by mafia. Which mafia? I don’t know, take you’re pick. Branwen is Welsh, but I can’t think of a Welsh mafia. Coming from Mistral I would see them as being Triad, not Yakuza because Raven’s gang is famous for being less than coordinated.

If you need a logical reason for Yang having blonde hair, Taiyang could be only half Chinese, half blonde (blonde is race right?).

Either way I see Raven operating in an American city like New York or Detroit.

This would mean Yang is fully Chinese ethnically.

JNPR:

Jaune’s name and inspiration are all French. However his mother does come from Mistral (I think), so I do see him being half Chinese, but nationally French. It’s also funny to imagine him with a French accent.

Pyrrha: she’s Greek or maybe Greek-American with her parents being recent immigrants. Argus seems to Remnent-Greece and her name and fairy tale are greek.

Nora: she should be Scandinavian. I feel like in a MCU AU she’s Thor’s daughter. But she also grew up as a street rat in Mistral, which is hard to fit in our world. Therefore I’m going to have her in America, the great melting pot (and also America seems to be more like Mistral than any other Remnent king with our state system), and she going to ethically Scandinavian but knowing nothing of her culture due to her upbringing.

Ren: obviously Chinese, but I might have him be American-Chinese to fit his story nicely in with Nora’s.

Others:

Coco: we’re all ignoring that she’s based off Coco Channel, so let’s make her a LA girl

Velvet: Australia, because of the accent. Or maybe English because that is her story origin

Fox: he’s difficult, because tribes are pretty rare in modern AUs. But his story could work for various things. He’s one of the few black characters so he could come from practically any African tribe (I’m currently going with Hausa because it’s one of the few I know anything about). His name is based off ‘the fox and the hound’ which is a rare American story, so he could also be from a Native American tribe if you want the AU to be more American-based.

Yatsuhashi: Japanese, this one is thankfully easy.

Sun: Chinese. He comes from a tribe as well, but I can’t think of any nomadic Chinese tribes except the Uyghurs. Making Sun a Uyghur doesn’t make much sense but it will serve to piss off certain people on the internet. And now this is going to be taken down, isn’t it? Oh wait, this is tumbrl. This is anarchy. It won’t. Forgot why I liked this place for a second.

Scarlet: sorry for the rambling there. Anyway, Scarlet is definitely English. “I hope I don’t get sand in my shoes.”

Sage: well, he’s black, but other then that we have nothing to go one. He’s also from Mistral but that doesn’t really work? If Mistral is America as well as China I guess we can make him African American. Or whatever else works best for the AU. He might be Indian too now that I think of it. Or even Maori. Really options are limitless here.

Neptune: Yeah, so probably just American, but does have both a French last name and an Italian first name. So probably ethically American (aka white mutt). Also he lives near a port, I think I’m gonna gone with him being from Tacoma Washington because I am.

Flynt: African American

Neon: Japanese-American because of her meme (it started as part of Japanese pop song on YouTube, the latter of which is America summed up in one invention)

Oscar: Hispanic-American, he just looks it. And I’m guessing he lives in Kansas for obvious reasons. His last name isn’t Hispanic but their could be a lot of reasons for that. Or he could be Native American (Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Osage are all Native American tribes in Kansas).

Penny: well if she’s still a robot she probably stays white, but if you want her human in this AU she might end up being half black as Pietro is, although she also could just be adopted. I guess the later makes more sense, huh? I figure she’s American, with her dad working with a ‘well meaning’ but ultimately corrupt government. Probably living in DC, as that has both the government and the poverty issues.

Emerald: oohh, boy. This is hard. Sustrai is Basque, and Aladdin is a French addition to an Arabian story, she herself is dark skinned with anime features that are super unhelpful for this sorta thing.

I have three ideas. Brazilian, mostly as there’s no South American themed RWBY characters I can think of, and it’s diverse enough that someone looking like Emerald would fit. Secondly, for American centered stories she’s just an orphan with no idea of her ethnicity. Or she could be African, Indian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic or some mixture between those four. It’s honestly really hard to tell. In my fanfic she’s from Suriname and ethnically 1/4 Indian, 1/2 Creole, and 1/4 Javanese.

Ilia: Sioux (Native American). Ilia means a lot of things in a lot of different languages, and Amitola mean rainbow in Sioux, so I decided to just stick with that.

Mercury: American, white mutt American. I’m guessing New York or Philli for where he grew up, it seems like a place where he’d be comfortable

Neo: the new novel reveals her father lived in vale (btw I haven’t read it, I’m just getting this off the internet) and her mother was a assassin who’s origins aren’t known. She doesn’t really have a fairy tale. So I’m going to go with British or French (thank RWBY thoughts for the first one) although in an American AU she works as just a white American.

Robyn: depends on what Atlas is in this AU, but probably German or American.

Qrow: I already mentioned he’s probably Chinese due to being from Mistral. It’s a bit weird to think of him as Asian, but not as weird as it to think of Raven as white, so I’ll take it. Although I do like the idea of him being American Irish, that’s fun.

Winter: whatever Atlas is in this AU, German or American, although British and Russian would work well too.

Maria: Mexican

Salem: If you want a AU where she’s just a normal person then New England or Italian for her story origin

Watts: British

Tyrian: uh…I have no idea, but he looks white. And he kinda has a British accent? I want him to be southern for the accent tho. Probably just another crazy American

Cinder: her fairy tale is French but her origin is Chinese. Also, Cinderella doesn’t really have an origin, it’s an ancient story with every culture having at least one Cinderella story. So I’m going to say Chinese.

Hazel: American, from the Midwest. He’s darkish so maybe he’s a POC? Part Native American or Hispanic? Idk or really care I can’t stand Hazel

Roman Torchwick: American-Italian, he runs/works for the mafia

Ozpin: American because of the whole wizard-of-Oz-thing or French, because he seems to have come from Vale.

Glynda: American or French for the same reasons Ozpin is

Oobleck: Jewish American (because Dr. Seuss was)

Professor Port: Russian, due to his fairy tale, or English, due to his style

Taiyang: already said he’s a red-neck Asian.

Raven: depending on whether you want her to be white or not, either Chinese or Irish American, like I already said.

Cordovin: Karen

Ironwood: again, depends on Atlas in the AU. Either American or German…maybe Russian

Clover: Irish-American (or German, obviously the ace-ops depend on where Atlas is. I’m just going to do the rest of them assuming Atlas is American because Germany isn’t that diverse)

Harriet: African-American, I guess. It kinda messes with the story because Harriet is supposed to be privileged, which doesn’t really work in this AU, but she’s also obviously black.

Elm: Just normal American, maybe greek-American because of the Aesop fable themes

Vine: Tibetan based on his design

Marrow: either African-American or Pakistani/Indian-American. (I’m personally going for Pakistani)

Klein: english. All butlers are English. It’s a rule.

Pietro: African-American

Johanna: Pakistani or Indian American

Fiona: Jewish-American (kinda random but while she’s obviously white she also needs to be a minority for the Faunus thing to work)

May: normal upper glass American/German

Ghira: Half Malay, Half Indian, from Malaysia but immigrated to Australia later in life

Kali: half Chinese, half Indian, but also from Malaysia

Adam: much like Fiona I’m going to assume he’s Jewish due to him being white but still needing to be a minority. German or American, again, depending on where Atlas is. Or he could be Chinese, even though it doesn’t work with his name, due to the theory that he was trafficked much like Cinder. I’m going with ethically Jewish though

Sienna Khan: Indian

Huh, I actually finished that. I’m pretty sure I was accidentally racist multiple times and apologize in advance,

I’m exhausted and starving and not thinking straight. But anyway, here it is. Your very messy guide to modern RWBY AUs. I swear this was insane to sort out.

[mskatesharma]

Hey sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask if you could rec some good sources on learning more about Indian Culture/history/customs. Movies books anything really. I have looked online but well, I always take things on the internet with several grains of salt. And considering I know very little on it, I can't say how reliable the information is. I would like to incorporate elements of Kate being Indian when writing about Kate (and Kate and Anthony) going forward and I want to do it in as respectful and accurate a way as I can. For example, I had a thought of Anthony seeing Kate and her fam celebrate Holi and falling in love with how happy and carefree she is and brushing some paint off her cheek before she dunks some pigment onto him or something 1/2

But considering I've never celebrated Holi or seen it celebrated before I don't think I'd do a good job to write it... I know I get annoyed when people get the basic customs and traditions of my culture wrong. Anyway sorry for rambling TLDR: I would like to learn more about Indian culture and idk where to begin so I would be grateful for any direction you can point me at 2/2

so this has taken me a while to answer because i needed to find time to sit down, think about it and answer it properly. it might seem like a somewhat simple question, but to me, at least, it’s complicated? (i’m probably going to be going over stuff you probably already know, but i’m trying to answer in a complete way.)

i need to start off by saying that my family is from north india (gujarat specifically), and because of that, i have a certain level of privilege, including how north indians and north indian culture is portrayed in the media (obviously including bollywood). i mention this because simone ashley is south indian, specifically tamil, and there is so much prejudice against south indians in general, and this obviously extends to how they are depicted and how their culture is shown in various forms of media; colourism (which simone has spoken out about) is just the start of it. (also, as someone who is north indian, i’m not the best placed person to talk about the prejudice and discrimination faced by south indians.)  

a big part of why desi fans are so excited about simone’s casting as kate is because she a dark-skinned woc, and typically, dark-skinned women aren’t cast as romantic leads, and they’re not cast in shows anyway, especially when compared to light-skinned woc. so the fact that she’s going to be a lead in one of the biggest shows on netflix is a big.fucking.deal. in addition, they changed her character’s surname from ‘sheffield’ to ‘sharma’, which on the surface seems like a great idea, but if you look a little deeper, there are so many problems to be found.

(this got long so continues below)

sharma is not a generic indian surname; it’s specifically a north indian hindu name, which throws up questions. is kate going to be a hindu on the show? does this mean her family is from north india?  are they going to talk about caste on the show because sharma is a brahmin surname? how are they going to explain kate being in england, and being out in society with the upper crust of the british aristocracy? (because of the time that bridgerton is set, and with them specifically setting up kate as indian, i honestly don’t know how they’re going to explain kate’s presence) i honestly think that the show didn’t think too deeply about it and they chose the name sharma because it starts with ‘sh’ and ~sounds indian. however, it’s thrown up so many questions that they can’t ignore, especially because they tried to explain race in the first season. 

i talk about all this because you ask about holi, and incorporating elements of kate being indian when writing. and i’m not trying to be mean, but i would maybe hold off altogether? i need to point out that holi is a hindu festival, and is not specifically tied to being indian. i know i mentioned that sharma is a hindu surname, but we don’t even know if kate is going to be hindu, she may be a christian, or another religion or an atheist. also, because simone is tamil, they may decide to have kate be south indian despite the north indian origins of sharma, if they chose to address it at all. and depending on where in india you are from, and your religion, you will celebrate different festivals. even indians of the same religion celebrate different festivals, and some celebrate occasions at different times (e.g. gujaratis celebrate hindu new year the day after diwali. this isn’t the case for most other hindus. if we take holi, i know that it tends to be celebrated more in north india, and the image you describe isn’t necessarily universal). 

there has been a lot in the tags regarding clothing, and seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing, and while i get it, it makes me nervous. personally, i cannot wait to see kate in the same style of dresses that everyone else wore in season one. why? because seeing an indian woman in that period of dress is something i have been longing for. i don’t want to see an indian woman wearing a lengha or a sari or sabyasachi in that time period, i want to see her in a bonnet and empire waistline, because that is something we haven’t seen much of. 

also, talking about seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing has the potential to ‘other’ her, and tbh, can come across sometimes as fetishy, especially when you consider the time the story takes place in, and all the implications of colonialism. (there’s also the fact that unless the show has hired indian costume designers, it would be kinda gross for them to use any kind of indian clothing, and that includes adding elements to the era-typical dress that i’m hoping for.) 

i’m going to be honest, i’ve seen pieces of fanart with kate wearing a sari and other indian clothing, while anthony has been in typical regency dress, and it makes me uncomfortable. it gives off coloniser vibes, and that’s a dynamic i have absolutely no interest in. there’s also the fact that i’ve seen art where simone as kate has been shown as light-skinned, to the point where she appears to be the same colour as anthony, and i mean, hello?!

full disclosure, i’ve made some posts regarding headcanons and music that i should have thought twice about. i’ve reblogged stuff that i should have thought more about before i did so. why? because they had overtones of north indian privilege, and/or orientalism. being indian (wherever in india that is) is part of someone’s identity, it’s not a gimmick to sprinkle onto things, and it’s not something to festishise, and i think, at least from what i’ve seen, that is the concern a lot of desi fans have, even if that’s not the intention of the original posters.   

i realise i’ve gone on a seemingly massive tangent, but what i’m trying to say is, i don’t think there is a need to specifically reference kate being indian, especially when when writing canon-era fic, even more so when you consider we don’t know how the show is going to address it. now, i’m not saying i have faith in the show when it comes to kate and her ~indian surname, just that until we know how the show addresses it, i don’t see why it needs to be referred to? i understand why one might want to, but i just think there are waaay too many potential pitfalls, and the risk of coming across as orientalist/patronising/fetishy too high. some fans have fears when it comes to kate sharma and how she is presented, and for good reason.

sorry for not answering how you expected, and not giving you the resources you asked for (which, tbh, i’m not sure i would know where to start). i get what you were trying to ask, and i thank you for asking in the first place, but the question felt a little unfair tbh. but, i would encourage to read up on orientalism, also about the privilege that north indian hindus have, and honestly, the british colonisation of india.

ETA: i put this in the reblog but im going to add it here as well

also, something i forgot to add, even though i talk about north indians/north india and south indians/south india, it is obviously more complicated than that. there are many different states in india, and even then, different regions within those states will have different customs to each other. and then you have to factor in religion. likewise, there’s no one language that everyone in india speaks. basically, it’s not one universal culture that can be ‘boiled down to the essentials’.

[nightwingmyboi]

Hey so I was wondering about Dick's Romanian heritage. Is it mentioned a lot in comics or media? Is he dark skinned in any adaptations? Is it true he originally went to Juvie after his parents died? Where would I go to find this stuff out? Thanks!

Sure! So, Dick’s heritage is a pretty complex topic. I think it’s best to leave the explanation to [this post]. Since I know not everyone will click the link, just to briefly clarify something: Dick is Romani, not Romanian. Being Romanian means being from the country of Romania. Romani people are scattered across the world. Also, Dick is typically depicted with light skin in canon...him being Romani would not conflict with this, because the Romani people have a large range of skin tones. Not at all opposed to him being depicted with darker skin, but just so that you know. Very, very strongly recommend checking out the post for the whole story (edit: and checking the reblogs for the counterpoint to said post!!) 

Robin (1993) Annual #4

As for your other question...in one version of Dick’s origin story, following his parents’ deaths, Dick was sent to Gotham’s Youth Center. This center was essentially a juvenile detention center; most of the kids were sent there for committing what are described in comic as “adult crimes.” It was a very rough environment for Dick, especially in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths. 

Dick going to the center after his parents died is technically a retcon of his origin (ie it was something added later). I know for some reason certain people hear the word retcon and immediately are like “then it doesn’t count!!!” but I think that is very much the wrong approach. True enough, some retcons are bad--that is, those that completely ignore previously established characterizations or plot points, and in doing so often radically change the story for the worse. It’s fine if people want to ignore those bad retcons, I do so myself. But, that’s not true for every retcon lmao. I’d say the juvie origin retcon is a great example of a good retcon. It really helps to clarify and enhance the original story, and I don’t think it should be dismissed. Hear me out here: 

1.) The juvie origin doesn’t replace any previous origin story--it really only adds to and improves upon the timeline of Dick’s original origin. 

For the most part, in previous tellings of the story, Dick’s origin went pretty much straight from his parents dying to him and Bruce in Wayne Manor. It’s a pretty sudden, jarring jump; the in-between was largely left to the reader’s imaginations or implied to not exist at all. And I’ll be real...the pacing and immediacy of events is pretty wonky and unreasonable. In one of the most extreme speed runs through Dick’s origin I’ve seen, Dick’s parents die and Batman immediately swings down from the rafters and tells Dick that he’ll solve the case...while Dick’s parents’ bodies are still cooling a couple feet away (Batman #436). Yeah, that is absolutely ridiculous lmao, as is the idea that Bruce just immediately adopted Dick the day his parents died. I think that the juvie origin very nicely slows things down and helps to organically fill in the gap of time that would and should exist between Dick losing his parents and being taken in by Bruce. 

2.) The juvie origin helps to rationalize Bruce’s reasoning for taking Dick in. 

In previous origin stories, Bruce’s main motivation for taking Dick in is that he saw his own suffering reflected in Dick and wanted to help him. I dig the parallels between Bruce and Dick...but this is very flimsy reasoning to adopt someone lmao. With all the tragedy that occurs in Gotham, you cannot tell me that Bruce had not run across some orphans before. Bruce sympathizing with Dick certainly should be part of what motivates him, but there needed to be something more. If there is not some immediate, urgent reason to adopt Dick, then it makes zero sense that Bruce would try to raise him honestly. Why would Bruce tear Dick away from his remaining family and friends at the circus? Why would Dick want to leave? And even if Dick could no longer remain at the circus, why wouldn’t Bruce allow Dick to go to a good foster home, especially since Bruce is so laser focused on his solo crusade against Gotham’s crime that he doesn’t even allow himself to have a steady girlfriend half the time? Lots of plot holes here!

The juvie origin fixes a lot of these issues! Staying at the circus is not an option for Dick, not because Bruce just snatches him away, but because legally Gotham Juvenile Services says that the circus is an inadequate environment for raising a child. Dick is sent to juvie, and the comic makes a point of showing Dick nearly being beaten to death almost immediately upon arriving. 

Dick is in danger and he’s lost in the system, so there is no longer a possibility for him to land in a good home. Initially, when Bruce goes to find Dick, he’s still tracking him down only with the intention of getting justice for Dick by solving his parent’s murder. But Bruce is a good person at heart. When Batman finds Dick trying to escape from the juvenile hall, beaten to hell, he intervenes. The next morning Dick is taken in by Bruce Wayne. 

So now, taking in Dick isn’t Bruce tearing Dick away from the chance of having a loving family and throwing him into the dangerous life of a crime fighter; taking Dick in is Bruce saving Dick from a horrible situation, possibly even saving his life. The only way to get Dick out of the potentially deadly situation he was in quickly was for Bruce to take him in as a foster parent. Bruce’s actions actually make a lot of sense! And Bruce is forced by necessity to take on a fatherly role that he does not feel suited or prepared for, rather than him adopting Dick on a whim. The juvie origin gives this scenario the urgency and necessity that it desperately needed. 

3.) The juvie origin has been around for a long time, and pretty successfully adds nuance to Dick’s character without completely altering or changing who he is. 

The juvie origin is a retcon that has been established for about 25 years, fyi. Robin Annual #4, which is where this idea first came into play, was released in 1995. There are also references to this origin story in Nightwing Vol. 2, and that comic series ran from 1996 to 2009, so it’s not like the juvie origin is completely baseless or totally removed from the narrative. 

Nightwing (1996) #11

Also...Dick Grayson has been around for 80 years. In DC comics, I’m pretty sure he is predated only by Superman and Batman. You are inevitably going to have to add nuance to his character as time goes on. The juvie origin adds a very interesting complexity to the character and his fight against crime, considering he himself has been in the system...there’s so much untapped potential there!! So yeah, I feel like the juvie retcon is a very valid addition to Dick Grayson’s origin story. Plus, Robin Annual #4 is just a very well written and well thought out comic book that really fleshes out Bruce, Dick, and Alfred’s initial relationships to one another in a realistic way, and more people should check it out. 

What I’m saying...is that more people need to get on board and accept the juvie origin guys!! It’s my favorite origin for Dick, hands down. Thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about it anon. 

As for where to go for more info…well, you can always check out Dick’s DC wiki, or anyone else’s, for basic summary info. For me, I always like going straight to the source. You could find a comic rec list that focuses on what you’re interested in and just dive in and build your knowledge that way. Sometimes if you google around, you can find neat creator interviews that address questions like the ones you asked. If nothing else, I’m sure there are people on tumblr (like me :D) or elsewhere online who are willing to help you out and point you in the right direction if you’re curious about something in particular. Idk if other people know of a good resource for things like this?

[foilfreak]

BEAUTY AND HER BEAST: Chapter 8

WARNING PLZ READ BEFORE CONTINUING: This fic is rated NSFW and contains graphic depictions of things some people may find disturbing or alarming, including, but not limited to: violence, gore, unhealthy family relationships, Oedipus complexes, gratuitous amount of pornographic literature, ableist language, physical, mental, and emotional abuse, etc. If you are someone who does not enjoy fiction with these elements in them, then I suggest you refrain from reading this, because this fic will have all that, and probably a lot more. So, this is your first and final warning to turn around and go somewhere else if stuff like this just isn't your vibe, because from this point forward, your emotional wellbeing is in your own hands, and I will not be accepting blame if you disregarded my warnings and ended up reading something you didn't like. Idk why I feel compelled to write one of these despite this being Resident Evil fanfic, but I figured I'd cover my ass just in case.

(AO3 Link Below:)

Several days had passed since Salvatore had sought out both his younger sisters, requesting items like jewelry or clothing they’d be willing to part with that Salvatore could gift to Nadine, as a sort of soft and informal introduction to ease the young woman’s mind and prove he meant her no harm.

The plan seems to be going rather well, as far as Salvatore can tell. Nadine found the gifts he’d laid out for her rather easily, and even correctly wondered if the person who lived here had left them for her purposefully. She seemed wary of the items for a time, though she seemed pretty wary of everything in the reservoir at the moment, but eventually she deemed them safe enough to accept, throwing the long white nightgown Salvatore had procured from Donna over her petit azure frame, and strapping the delicate golden locket Alcina had graciously donated around her neck.

Salvatore practically drooled when he first saw Nadine, slightly sheer satin nightgown flowing elegantly in the gentle afternoon breeze and golden chain glittering beautifully against her white speckled, ocean blue skin. She looked like a goddess, a true figure of pure ethereal power and beauty. Even the biting cold of winter wasn’t enough to touch the young woman, shielded and protected by her own glowing radiance.

Despite looking every bit like an other-worldly deity worthy of unending human devotion and worship, Nadine’s face held nothing but fear, anxiety, and loneliness as she aimlessly wandered the seemingly empty docks and windmills surrounding the reservior’s watery interior. An occasional dejected “hello?” still echoes out throughout the reservoir every few hours, growing less and less hopeful with each passing round of silence Salvatore spends hiding away from view.

The disfigured man’s heart twists and stabs in pain every time he cowers away from Nadine’s soft, anxious calls, desperately wanting to comfort the young woman in her moment of confusion and fear, but still so terrified of her inevitable reaction to his appearance that he finds himself unable to do anything but skitter shamefully to his room beneath the surface and try to drown her out with one of his old romance films.

How pitiful.

Salvatore spends much of his time lamenting and pitying himself over his soul crushing loneliness and his intense desire for a love of his own, and yet here he is, taking refuge in an old romance film while he hides himself away from the real woman he could be making his own romance film with, were he not a massive coward and a horrific freak of nature unworthy of anyone’s love and affection, of course. What a cruel irony it is, to have the one thing you want, more than anything else in the world, dangled just inches in front of your face, and yet knowing, before you’ve even tried, that it’ll never be yours.

Salvatore knows that no matter how much of a romance story this whole situation might seem like, Nadine will never be able to love him in the way the gorgeous women in the movies love their tall, dashing, dark-haired lover men. Not only was Salvatore the exact opposite of tall and dashing by literally everyone’s standards, but his patches of dry, greasy dark-hair did little to salvage the violent wreckage that was Salvatore’s whole appearance.

There was absolutely no way Nadine would ever be able to love someone as hideous as Salvatore, so perhaps the best thing to do would be to contact Miranda and inform her that, while he greatly enjoyed his gift, Salvatore didn’t feel he would be able to appreciate her in the way she deserved to be appreciated in all her beauty and wonder, and that perhaps it would be better for Mother Miranda to find better arrangements for her elsewhere.

“I-it’s for the b-best… i-i think… a-after all… Nadine… d-doesn’t want t-to live i-in a d-dingy place… l-like this for… for the r-rest of h-her… l-life… m-much less with… w-with someone l-like me… s-she’d hate th-that… im c-certain” Salvatore laments aloud, dipping his head downward as tears of painful realization and sorrowful acceptance pour down his face like waterfalls of lonely depression, already fully set on contacting Mother Miranda as soon as morning came.

“While it's very kind of you to keep my best interest in mind, I do think I am more than capable of making my own decisions regarding what’s the best place for me, thank you very much” a soft voice responded suddenly, causing Salvatore’s head to whip in the direction the sound was coming from in startled shock. “This place is a little rundown, sure, but the windmills still stand tall and the water is always just the right temperature, so I don’t think this would be the worst place to live, if I had to… so long as I wasn’t alone, at least.”

Even in the dimly lit area located at the end of the hallway, Nadine still looked so gorgeously stunning and elegant. It was incredible how she managed to sound so casual and yet look so ethereal.

In the brief moment before his panic set in, Salvatore couldn’t help but pause and marvel at the spot down the hall where the young woman stood, her gaze locked directly onto him and yet she showed no signs of having seen him. She even went as far as to begin moving about behind the large boards that blocked her from entering the room, clearly trying to get a better look at the room and, more importantly, the person she suspects is in it.

After a surprisingly large jump that launched Nadine all the way up to the ceiling, just narrowly avoiding hitting her head, Salvatore’s eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open in stupefied shock as the sight of Nadine, moving the way she was at the end of the hallway, brought to Salvatore’s mind a scene from one of his favorite romance films. In the particular scene Salvatore is thinking of, the actress’ character is an aspiring prima ballerina, and she’s having a brief moment of bonding with her fellow ballerina’s after a long, but successful performance. Dressed in a nightgown not too unlike the one Nadine is currently wearing, the ballerina is showing the others how to do other kinds of dance, like polka or Irish step dancing, but by the end of the scene the group of ballerinas are all merely jumping about the room excitedly, laughing and cheering while carelessly throwing themselves into the air, only to land gracefully back on their feet.

While not exactly the same obviously, the resemblance between Nadine and the absolutely stunning ballerina in the movie, in both silhouette and style of movement, was almost uncanny.

Stretched out as high as her short legs would allow, strong and gorgeously defined muscles flexed almost instinctually with every rapid twist, curl, bend, and jump of the young woman’s tiny body. Her lucious silhouette was only aided by the feminine aura of the long, sheer nightgown as it trailed after her with every movement. The delicate satin material caresses the sharp ridges of her muscular back and shoulders with the same tenderness and love as it does the weight of her breasts or the pillowy layer of protection atop her midsection. The lower half of the nightgown, cinched just below the breasts, twisted and jerked in whatever direction was necessary to keep up with the speed at which Nadine was fluttering and jumping about upon the tips of her toes. Her legs were hidden by the ferocious speed of her movements, but Salvatore did not need to see her legs to have some idea of what they were, or perhaps merely could be, capable of.

Whether or not Nadine was actually a ballerina herself, or if Salvatore’s delusions were merely that realistic now, the young woman appeared to move with nothing but effortless grace that hides the raw power and physical strength it takes to float as carelessly and as quickly as the young woman was, clearly growing more and more frustrated the longer her search failed to reveal what she was looking for.

Still paralyzed by the sudden presence of Nadine in his personal space, Salvatore could do nothing but hold his breath and hope that the light at the end of the hall didn’t reach far enough to reveal his presence in the room. The TV was still on, but the movie playing on it had finished running long ago, meaning the only thing being displayed now was a static filled screen that proved someone had been here at some point in time, but thankfully wasn’t a dead giveaway from the start.

“Helloooooooo… I heard someone talking on my way in, so I know that someone is down here. Please… just come out, ok… I won’t hurt you… honestly” the raven haired woman begs softly, her movements slowing a bit to allow more of her air to be used for speaking rather than jumping to look over beams over and over again.

Salvatore’s heart ached at Nadine’s desperate tone, knowing all too well what the mutant woman is going through right now, but trying his best to remain strong, since giving in means dooming this perfect young specimen to a life of bitter misery and unending terror, regardless of the best effort he’d try to put in. Whatever short term gain Nadine could get from being with him would only come back to bleed her dry once Salvatore was sufficiently attached, and therefore unable to allow her to leave once she inevitably decides that she’s had enough of pretending to love a disgusting freak of nature.

Salvatore had never been very good at accurately predicting the outcomes of situations, but he knew for certain that Nadine was in no way deserving of the hellish punishment that living in the reservoir with him would undoubtedly become, if it didn’t start out that way from the beginning, that is. Perhaps the young woman could convince herself to accept her situation and play into his affections as a means of survival for a short time, but based on what he’s heard of Nadine thus far, Salvatore doubts such a strongwilled and dangerous woman would allow herself to play wife and sex slave to anyone for very long. If she didn’t somehow successfully murder him in his sleep within the first 48 hours of her “slavery”, it would only be a matter of time before she finally ran out of patience and unleashed... whatever the hell it was she did back in the labs, upon him.

For a brief moment, Salvatore entertains the question of whether Nadine could potentially be strong enough to take him out with a single hit, as well as whether that thought should be something he finds arousing or not. His thoughts are quickly interrupted however, by the sound of shuffling and grunting, and upon turning his head toward the sudden racket, Salvatore is horrified to see Nadine, just small enough to fit her tiny body between the thin cracks of the boarded up wall, attempting to climb through the barrier, and enter the TV room.

Body shaking and voice beginning to tremble slightly, alongside his already labored breathing, Salvatore unsteadily backed his way further into the room, putting his hands out in front of him as if to try and stop Nadine from entering, though he makes no move to physically eject the invading woman himself, oddly enough.

“N-nooo… p-please… don’t come i-in...” Salvatore stutters helplessly, shrinking further in on himself in fear as the young woman effortlessly slips through the wooden boards like a slippery eel, quickly and easily landing on her feet before turning back to the mostly darkened room.

“H-Hello?” Nadine calls out again nervously, taking a tentative step forward, both hands extended outward beside her until her left hand made contact with the wall. Gaining some purchase on the vertical slabs of wood, Nadine slowly turns her head to look about the room, carefully inspecting everything from atop the surface of Salvatore’s messy desk, to the very dark corner in the back right of the room that Salvatore himself was currently shoved as far into as physically possible.

Nadine stuck her arm out in front of her and began slowly walking toward the opposite wall, eyes open, but unfocused, and right hand waving aimlessly in the air for a brief moment, as though trying to feel around for the other wall despite it clearly being right in front of her. The hooded man had no idea how she hadn’t seen him yet, he could practically feel how absolutely ridiculous he looked, his bony, weathered, turtle-esque body hunched as low to the ground as possible with his chin tucked between his knees and hands covering the rest of his face, leaving only the smallest bit of space through which he could observe Nadine’s inevitable reaction to him. And yet, despite the amount of time the young woman spent glancing over Salvatore, back and forth across the room, her bright golden eyes resembling that of a ravenous alligator in their intensity and ferociousness, no scream left her plush lips nor did fear and horror suddenly mar her supple face. In fact, not only had the mutant woman not seen him yet, but it was in that exact moment that the reason why Nadine couldn’t see Salvatore, obviously shoved into the corner, just to her bottom left, became immediately clear to him.

“Y-You’re blind...”

[tay6119]

HARRY POTTER STREAM

Decided to recap cause I'm so hype

It's a long one o7

- Gog is so shook, he's gonna be a dork

- Quackity in his skin meant for the beach stream uyjthrgef

- "there's a wand in my pants"

- George being really excited to get going!!

- Quackity impersonates Dream being a sore loser

- What if George actually rps here y'all wait-

- George is so excited it's so cute I love him kujtyhrge

- "wait idk how to open my inventory" SAPNAP PLEASE

- George using the same voice he does for every character

- me realizing how George-centric this post is going to be because I am a simp

- "guys if u let me driving we're absolutely getting a dui"

- sapnap, Quackity, and Karl twerking on 'Harry Potter'

- "Let's ignore George"

- NOT GEORGE YELLING I KNOW WHERE IT IS

- the Hagrid voice

- "going dark don't hit me up.. don't hit me up"

- George wonders how long the game is and sounds giddy about it being potentially the whole book series

- SERVER CRASH

- "Is that the ending of Harry Potter"

- Quackity holding up the whole group

- Dream saying "fuck off" in the background when Sapnap asks if he should turn on face came

- Friendship ended with DNF, Dreamnap is my new best friend

- GEORGE TELLING SAPNAP TO PROVE DREAM IS THERE BY KISSING HIM

- Server crash AGAIN

- Quackity just breaks everything he plays huh

- "should we all leave?" GEORGE PLEASE

- this is so scuffed oml I just want it to work for them ahhh

- Quackity stop saying "i'm going dark don't hit me up" challenge

- Sapnap saying he loves Karl in chat to get his help Karl: "no :D"

- dramatic separation of lovers

- ANOTHER SERVER CRASH LMAO

- Them being all giggly and impersonating Corpse

- Voldemort canonically did NOT Twitch Prime

- We're 46 minutes into this and they have basically only gotten to Diagon Alley

- Quackity puts on a Squidward skin and does the voice and harrasses the NPCs

- George is following in his bf's footsteps and trying to speedrun

- George knowing character names has me.... yjthretht

- "I am Georgius Morgius" "I am Sappitus Nappitus"

- Karl looks so stressed, he has to deal with them sm oml

- "What the hell's a gringotts?" "You're in Gringotts right now" GEORGE THE SASS

- Sapnap's british accent <33

- "Why are you rushing Sapnap" SAYS YOU GEORGE

- Gogy being all cute and excited over the details and the world,, I'm soft,,

- THE OLD MAN VOICES

- "I'm gonna suck on this wand"

- Quackity making fun of George's colorblindness after literally forgetting about it in his own stream earlier

- Sapnap remembers the shorts video and yells avadacadabra(??) expecting it to work

- "This is what's called a thick wand" QUACKITY PLEASE

- "excuse me ladies would you like to see my wand" KARL PLEASE

- Karl a bisexual icon going to show the men his wand too ??

- George struggling to find the wand boxes

- "I need to buy ketamine"

- "the wand is hidden in my hand"

- George's wand is 15 inches

- "put down that CNN trash"

- "this is good news over here" "yes... fffffox" KARL PLEASE

- Sapnap why are u yelling about Quackity flirting with George?? Is it to warn a certain someone??

- the wands are so laggy lmfao

- George's passive aggressive sass this stream I-

- GEORGE IMPERSONATING QUACKITY ABOUT HIS DRUG HUMOR "Oh I dragged you I dreagged you"

- "I'm the baddes bitch you can't drag me"

- "I'm fortnite dancing on him"

- "I am buying 50 shades of gray.. the extended version"

- "wingardium levioscum" DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT?? KARL??

- Sapnap getting excited is cute

- "We've gotta wait for George" "Screw George"

- The british accents hgefwd

- Sapnap speedrunning, spending too much time with Dream

- I can't wait for them to go batshit over houses

- GOGY IN A WIZARD HAT WHAT WILL HE DO

- "We're going to London 2" "From the makers of London 1"

- "This is actually epic" GOGY UR CUTE PLEASE

- "Sapnap is gone CRAB RAVE"

- Random karaoke??

- George blames lag on Sapnap as if he's not the one in a separate country

- The your mom jokes never stop when Sippy Cup is here

- "Would you like to learn a new spell Sapnap's mom"

- THE FAKE SPELL NAMES jythrgef

- "Now that I've gotten you guys into this alley all alone" SAPNAP PLEASE

- "I declare he's a bit of a compass baby" THAT JOKE IS SO BAD PLEASE

- Karlnap shippers being fed today

- George correcting Karl on his "name" as if they aren't both equally awful

- Quackity praying in spanish and then breaking character cause his throat hurts

- "George did find"

I ran out of space..

[interstellarrambles]

I’ve never requested anything from anyone but I’m in desperate need for a billy x goth!reader. Idk just how he noticed her in school cuz she is the only goth person and always asks her out and they flirt but she always rejects him until one day she agrees. Idk if that makes sense but thank u :)

a/n: so I dont know how to feel about this, I might edit and come and change it because I'm not sure of the ending, but if you like it, let me know! I tried to make it sweet at the end but this is definitely out of character for Billy, but I'm soft for him so idc. @savvy7392 I really really really hope you like this im sorry it took ages

harsh, confident and undeniably cool: everyone at Hawkins High knew not to fuck with you - you'd forged your own path in previous years and showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. there was just something about you that made people want to simply observe from the sidelines. known for dark makeup, brash music and taking no one's bullshit, you were somewhat of a divisive figure: people either really hated you and tried to make your life misery (to not much avail) or desperately wanted to befriend you.

somehow, along the way you'd made friends with the likes of Robin and by association, Steve, but you were happy with your small group of friends and didn't really care all that much for your hometown and what (or who) it had to offer.

therefore, when a fresh faced californian boy toy entered Hawkins High, you couldn't deny there was a certain allure to his cool demeanour and newness. unluckily for you, Billy found his place with the current popular kids sucking up to him and soon the rumours about you began to surface again. whenever you caught his eyes within the first few days of his arrival, his gaze would be quickly diverted by Tina or Carol as they glared at you or threw insults. that's why you decided it really wasn't worth getting involved with Billy Hargrove, even if he did have an amazing taste in music.

but God did you misunderstand the lengths to which this boy would go for your attention.

the first few days, Billy would opt for a smile sent your way, enough to make you weak at the knees but not quite enough to make you wander over to him. group projects would be announced in class and when he tried to subtly join you, you'd amble to the opposite end of the room to be with a bunch of kids you didn't even know, just to avoid him. and Billy knew you did it on purpose since after sitting down with your respective groups, you caught his eye and simply winked at him.

almost dropping his pencil in surprise, he was genuinely unable to believe you had successfully ignored him in such a blatant way. smirking back at his gaping mouth and sparklingly amused eyes, you simply laughed it off, sparking a conversation up with the boy next to you as easily as you had rejected Billy. shaking his head in disbelief, he made a promise to himself he'd make you friends with him if it was the last thing he did.

another day, you arrived at school with a too-short black skirt on and Billy felt his heartrate quicken at simply catching one glimpse of you, his blood rushing just a little faster than usual. he would never have the guts to tell you, but he absolutely adored the way you dressed and how good it made you look.

unexpectedly, you treated him to an actual wave this morning, something that fuelled his pursuits. all day, he pestered you in class, forcing those who would usually take the seat next to you to move elsewhere so he could be closer to you. deep blue and bright with attraction, his eyes would drop down to your thighs and the way they looked so amazing in the skirt you were wearing. desperately, he wanted to say something about it to you, but he knew he'd trip over his words; already he had blushed intensely when you caught him staring, though at least he could tell you were enjoying his gaze.

rather annoyingly, you did like the attention, smiling to yourself when he would ignore other people so he could walk you to your next class even if he was rambling to himself the whole time. curls falling in his face and a cheesy grin playing on his cheeks were enough to make butterflies swarm your insides and you had a terrible time trying to hide it.

in reality, you really didn't want to be cruel since it appeared he didn't really have anyone that cared about him much past the muscles and cute eyes, but you also were not about to walk straight into a heartbreak with both eyes open. billy was definitely a bad influence, even to you, the resident goth of Hawkins High, and whether he meant it or not, you knew you would eventually get hurt.

the next time, he plagued your locker with letters and notes and waited next to it, a permanent grin locked onto his features.

a red shirt clung to his biceps, tan skin visible due to the multiple buttons left undone and a silver chain dangling and catching in the light. strong and slightly overpowering yet undeniably attractive, his unique smell of cologne and liquor and maybe a little something else invaded your private space, making you way too nervous to deal with him this late in the day.

weeks of notes and smiles and blue eyes meeting yours way too often had weakened your resolve and if it didn't disgust you so much you would be able to admit Billy was slowly turning your heart to mush. you couldn't listen to mötley crüe without thinking of him and every time you picked out an outfit, you wondered if he'd think you were beautiful or if he'd like the band on your shirt. his compliments and soft gestures like driving you home and giving you his jacket when it was raining (even if it didn't fit your look) had grown on you massively. now you would even go as far to say you enjoyed his company.

"heya baby girl," he drawled, the curl of his plump lips breathtaking in the worst ways, "fancy coming along with me for the evening?"

even though he exuded pure confidence, you didn't miss the way he resembled a kicked puppy when you smiled and responded, "I've got assignments pretty boy, no thanks," shovelling the letters into your bag and turning on your heel to walk home.

unfortunately, this wasn't quite good enough for Billy, hence why he followed quickly, his voice echoing after you, "what's with the ignoring me constantly y/n? you stand at parties and complain about the music and watch me all night and yet you walk away when I come up to you. I've seen you staring at me in class sometimes or at lunch when I'm not bothering you and whenever I catch your eye, you leave. you watch me all the time and yet every time I think you'll come over, you ignore me. if you don't like me, that's okay but I need to know now."

cheeks burning with embarrassment, your eyes dropped to the ground as he pulled you away into privacy. you didn't know what to say.

"billy..." you managed, still unable to meet his chaotic gaze as he stood only centimetres away, breathing hard while he awaited your response.

"what is it? just give me a reason." he almost pleaded, relaxing slightly when you gave him a smile and finally met his eyes.

"do you realise how badly your friends hate me? because I dress weird and I listen to music they don't and I've always been different and you hate that they don't like me. I can't spend five minutes with you in public before you get nervous, I'm sick of you hiding me away! you're fine with me unless there's someone around and I don't understand it and it is tearing me apart," your outburst pulled at him, making him feel terrible for calling you out prematurely.

"I like you Billy but I can't deal with that. I like my little life of listening to bad music with my friends and dreaming of getting away one day and hanging at the mall with Steve and Robin. I love sitting in your car and sharing those moments you don't let anyone else see. I do. but I wont let you pretend I don't exist."

shifting on your feet slightly, you realised how ridiculous the whole thing was and all you wanted was for billy to scoop you up in his arms and make the world better again. you wanted him to let you do his eyeliner and you wanted to feel his hands on your hips, his touch driving you wild. you wanted him to kiss you right now in the hallway and tell everyone else to screw off.

but life isn't a dream.

so you settled for Billy whispering his sorrys and offering you his hand, which was enough to nearly make you cry since he would never usually be so open in public. content, you followed him as he led you to his car, all the while promising he'd change things for you, only stopping to talk properly when you reached it.

"promise me something Billy?" after confirmation from him, you continued, leaning against the hood of his car, him stood only centimetres away "you'll never be ashamed of me?"

"never doll, there's nothing to be ashamed of," he leaned in, holding either side of your face ever so gently, and when the kiss finally broke, he whispered, "now how about a date?"

"okay pretty boy, you name it."

that was a good enough start.