#and the feminine characters were just like 'she was wearing a skirt. or a formal gown. or a blouse and trousers. anyway moving on'

[marzipanandminutiae]

I see what you're getting at in regards to the importance of breast support in fantasy fashion, but aren't there many non-western cultures that did not necessarily use clothes as breast support? Ranging from those that just let it swing to those which might just use a light, non-rigid undergarment? People with (larger) breasts continued to do labor and physical activities in those societies, so I don't think it's impossible to imagine a fashion that doesn't include this type of feature. By the same logic of "women aren't dumb and wouldn't have worn corsets and stays if they were torture devices" I think we have to accept that women wouldn't have skipped breast support if it was highly uncomfortable for them

there are some cultures in various places that currently or previously have forgone breast support garments, yes!

it's not a strict Western/Non-Western divide, I will say- for example, traditional Japanese clothing includes a bandage-like arrangement called sarashi (sarashi is the name of the cloth, but came to be synonymous with the breast-covering application in some cases) that supports and somewhat minimizes the bust without binding completely flat the way we think of it for gender-related purposes. or the angia in India, a garment that dates back at least to the 19th century and not further than the 13th and was sort of a cross between a blouse and a bra as I understand it. it's believed to have been brought to India by Muslim conquests, by some historians

there have also been moments in western history when breast support was either absent or is not currently well-understood by historians. in many parts of medieval Europe, for example, it wasn't addressed in contemporary sources. the Lengberg Castle "bra," dated c. 1440-1485, is one rare example of what equally rare primary sources sometimes call a "breastbag," but the evidence is pretty thin on the ground

and I do wonder about that! how is it not uncomfortable, speaking as someone of medium bust size who's experienced pain when wearing a bra with perished elastic for too long? I've tried looking into this online, and nobody seems to have asked women in modern societies where total toplessness is the norm

you see a lot of braless advocates from cultures where bras are the norm claiming that bras are the cause of the discomfort: they weaken the muscles and make it painful to go without. but photos of women from opless cultures show just as much sagging as any woman who's worn a bra may experience, so the muscles can't be THAT affected

so what's the deal? how are or were these women comfortable where many other women the world over would not be? no idea and nobody's researching it. argh

however, I should have been clearer that I was talking about fantasy/historical books in a western-inspired setting. I thought context and the prior posts about similar topics on this blog would do thatt for me, which was my mistake. this particular book was set in a world heavily inspired by early-mid 19th century Germany

books written by authors from Bra Cultures, about time periods and places where breast support was a commonplace thing. where it's just...not addressed. that's what annoys me

[lil--ichigo]

"But it's impractical!" Aka, Why I hate most fem fortress designs

A lot of the time, I'm sure many have come across comments like this:

"Fem fortress but they all look the same, just with boobs"

"Fem scout would never wear a skirt! It's impractical!"

To be honest, I think these kinds of comments come off as mysogynistic, because it is still policing what women wear. The tf2 mercs can wear silly cosmetics, many of which are even less practical, but when femscout wears a skirt or fem engie has a beehive and makeup, it's considered impractical because woman. I feel like the tf2 fandom has a problem with a lot of fem merc designs that arent masc. In general, masculinity is praised in society while feminity is disliked. Its why conservatives throw a hissy fit when a man wears a dress. This most likely comes from the idea that any display of feminity is seen as weak. Fem engineer builds stuff and does masc things, so she has to be a masc woman by default. If any of the fem mercs dress feminine, it obviously for the male gaze. While this seems like it is breaking gender roles, its still perpetuating stereotypes - that feminine people cant do things like shoot guns or throw piss at people or build machines.

There is a difference, though. The fempyro mod and femscout mods are examples of a character designed for the male gaze, as I believe the mods were made by men, are mostly used by men, and are in a game that is mostly played by men. They don't take into account what women wore during tf2s time, instead just slap a bow onto scouts hat or put pyro into some catsuit despite pyros gender being a mystery. But dressing feminine doesnt always mean its for the male gaze. Many women dress feminine for themselves. A lot of the tf2 fem concept art is an example of how you can make feminine women while still keeping them unique and not male gaze-y

Another complaint I have is many fem fortress designs look so modernized. For example, the fanon femscout design looks like someone you'd see jogging at the gym in 2025, not like a sporty girl from 1968.

Back then, ponytails were more formal I think. Ive seen ponytails in makeup ads and things from the time but not in sports photos. So fem scout would most likely have short, bobbed hair. It just annoys me to hell and back when I see people reject research and creativity just to use the same cookie cutter fem scout design because shes "hot."

Of course, I have no problem with fem fortress designs that are masc! My fem sniper is a butch. But remember, masc women didn't dress the same way they do in 2020! Even women wearing pants outside of manual labor jobs at the time was considered very masculine. The 60s spy theme is what makes tf2 stand out and the fanon fem fortress dont have the same charm.

Tldr; Fem mercs can wear a skirt, saying they can't is still policing what women wear. Hyper feminine and hyper masculine women are both looked down upon. Also fem fortress artists should have more fun with the time period.

If you want more info about how society demonzies both hyper femme and hyper masc women, I reccommend this video https://youtu.be/qGx0zh2QsPI?si=Pyl9ThTdv9JAF3Ql

Examining the difference of the male gaze vs dressing for yourself

https://youtu.be/1MTtYyZ1zd8?si=JOyASmtMsp_O8XWO

[ghoulsbian]

May I request some Hairu headcanons?

you may!! and, i apologize for being so late to this. thank you so much for the ask. hairu is not a character i'm 100% confident in my analysis of & ability to create in-character headcanons for, so i will try my very best. feel free to disagree with anything i may list!!

hairu really likes melon bread. this is something we know about her. that being said, i think that she once attempted to make her own. a strong, sort of related, headcanon i have is that a lot of the sunlit garden kids are not..... the best at cooking. i don't think they were ever taught how to do it because they had distinct and clear purposes based off of species, that did not include knowing how to cook. i think hairu's kitchenette looked like a warzone post-melon-bread-making. the bread came out both burnt in some places and raw in others. she found the end result very discouraging and had to take an hour or two to sulk before she could muster up the will to start cleaning up her mess. she definitely sent ui pictures of the poorly cooked bread, and the mess of her kitchen.

i view her and saiko as being friends. not super close friends, but friends. there's some sort of social barrier between the two of them that prevents them from ever having deep conversations. hairu is too used to being around older people and the hyper-maturity required by the CCG when addressing serious topics, as well as her feelings about her upbringing having to be stifled. saiko is too used to shielding herself from feeling her negative feelings about her life and the world around her with humor. that's not to say their friendship holds no depth, though. most of their conversations take place over text, and are usually started by one sending a photo or video. the photos and videos are frequently something like a meme, or an unflattering photo of a colleague, or a video of something humorous happening around the chateau or CCG building. but, sometimes, it's a something one of the girls sent to each other with the caption "this reminded me of you." these are the moments when the depths of their friendship are displayed. these can be anything from a stuffed animal, or a flower, or some food, or an animal, etc. for saiko they are usually blue and for hairu they are usually pink.

hairu is canonically the only woman investigator who wears pants. i think that she explicitly despises skirts and dresses. she doesn't even wear them for formal events, she wears a pantsuit. i think it's in part a personal comfort thing, and also a protest against the expectations put on her. skirts aren't required, but as an investigator who is a woman, you get a lot of dirty looks for not following something that "isn't required." the looks have never bothered her because she's certain of who she is and what power she holds, she's honestly sort of cocky. she likes how her cockiness and confidence in her abilities makes men in their field uncomfortable. her personal style is still pretty feminine, just she only wears pants and shorts as bottoms.

she has a tendency to bite her nails when deep in focus. like, when she's typing up a report or reading through a file. hairu also kind of sits weird at her desk when focusing too, she sort of slouches and has her left leg bent up with her heel resting on the edge of her chair. when reading, her left arm hugs her bent knee, but when she's typing, it's outstretched. to combat the nail-biting, she puts clear polish on them. the slouchy posture makes her back hurt sometimes, so to combat that she wears a compression(?) garment to give more posture support when she's in for any length of time at her desk/computer.

this one is super random, but i think that if she weren't born into the sunlit garden and never had to become an investigator (or if this was an AU with no ghouls at all), she would be a surgeon. i'm not too sure of what field she'd use her skills for, but i can definitely see surgery as something she'd want to do. i kinda feel like hairu is someone who has a great appreciation for human anatomy and the way bodily systems function. going back to just her canon positioning in the story, i headcanon that anatomy and physiology is something she was very interested in when she was younger. perhaps i am saying she is autistic and it's a special interest she's had since childhood. no one really knows of this part of her, she usually packs it away very deeply. the only real time it's displayed is when someone says something that sort of makes her ears perk up and triggers an, often times morbid, tangent about the human or ghoul body. most find it off-putting, but there's a real sparkle in her eye when she's explaining these things that's undeniable.

hairu has the opposite of a green thumb. she can accidentally kill any plant, no matter how difficult it's supposed to be to do so. though i think she's in complete denial of it. like, deep down she knows this about herself, but she finds herself buying a new plant here and there because "this one will be different." her denial sometimes extends to her even keeping the dead plants around because she thinks she can possibly rejuvenate them. subconsciously, she perhaps projects her own feelings onto the plants. the plants represent her hope to attain a life not laid out by her birth, and her care of the plant is how she does all she can to nurture it, but it just ends up dying anyways, kinda like how her daydreaming of a different life always gets shot down when the reality of her situation sets in. idk.

obligatory sexuality and gender headcanon: i view her as being bi with a preference for men, and also somewhere on the aromantic spectrum. perhaps cupioromantic? orrr bellusromantic? idk i saw this post a while ago and really liked those labels for her. as for her gender, i think she identifies as a cis girl but the TV Might Be Glowing if you know what i mean. she kinda has the mindset of that one tweet that's like "i'm probably nonbinary but i have a job so idrc about that rn." she sort of enjoys the idea of all pronouns being used for herself but she isn't sure of how she can communicate it with others. it feels forbidden to her due to her birthplace & upbringing. i also think she would make an excellent drag king, and she sort of watches videos of drag kings when alone at her apartment Thinking about how she wishes she could do that.

i hope these were good!! <333

[apparently-artless]

this series made me realize how lucky i am to have an understanding family. i can totally relate to the main character. i don't like feminine stuff even though i was born female.

when i was around five, my mom made me wear a one-piece swimsuit. my family was gushing over how adorable i was, but wearing it only made me uncomfortable, so i started crying. my mother later on noticed that i didn't really like what other girls would typically like so she stopped buying me "girly" stuff. she never bought me dolls, i would only receive such gifts from other people. she never bought dresses or skirts. i only ever wore skirts as part of our uniform when i was in grade school and high school. she would also allow me to use my older brother's hand-me-down clothes. and instead of giving me ladies' shoes, she gave me rubber shoes as her graduation gift. and when we were out shopping for clothes, she would directly go to men's clothing if ever i wanted to buy shirts (she also knows how much i hate wearing blouses xd).

my entire family is supportive of what i wanted and they don't impose what's supposed to be "normal". when my oldest sister tried putting makeup on my face when i was in third grade (it was a special occasion), i started crying (again, lol I'm such a crybaby) and then my father told her to just let me be. my other sister's in charge of choosing clothes for me because i don't know anything about fashion. she knows what i like and what style i am comfortable wearing. when it is necessary to wear formal dresses, i leave it to my sisters to choose the most comfortable dress they could find for me.

and this right here... i'm pretty sure there are still people out there who thinks like this. fortunately, not in our family. we were raised by our parents to learn how to do household chores regardless of our gender. if one knows how to cook, and so are the others. we don't divide household chores based on gender. if I can cook, so can my brothers. if I can iron my own clothes, so can my brothers. and yes, my father did household chores when he was still alive and he's also hands-on when it comes to taking care of us. when it comes to school events, this is how my parents divide their time: school events for boys will be attended by my mother, and school events for girls will be attended by my father. i think it's pretty cute. i really am lucky to have cool parents like them. ^^

i've yet to read the manga but so far, the story is pretty interesting. it's very relatable and depicts things close to reality. i was already emotional watching the first episode. i am looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes. i do hope the manga will publish an official English translation because I don't think the anime can cover the entirety of this series in one season.

[skye-huntress]

I’m in Love with the Villainess Reaction

Episode 9

Before we get started, I wanted to say something first. I’ve been curious for a while what the reaction to Lene’s secret would be and I’ve made an interesting observation. Most of the comments condemning her and her relationship sounded way too similar to the comments I’d seen condemning homosexuality. As for me, upon some self-reflection, I decided that if I had someone like Lene in my life, it’d be far worse thinking they couldn’t come to me for help because they felt I would judge them.

Can’t forget that even with only a High attribute, Claire has her own OP attack spell.

Yes, Rae has absolute faith in Claire’s capabilities.

Noo, Prince Thane’s hair! You monster! What’s that? He’s bleeding? Poison? Eh, I’m sure he’ll walk it off.

That’s still pretty impressive to use knowledge from a game to counteract a real poison.

Nur Empire crumbs. It’ll probably be a few years more before the manga gets there.

The Commoner Movement might have lost its steam with the reveal of the conspiracy, but that doesn’t mean any of the underlying issues are resolved. What happened with Dede’s sentence is still an excellent example of certain nobles’ sense of privilege and superiority over commoners.

So, here’s the thing a lot of people didn’t understand about the potential motivations and consequences of Lambert and Lene’s actions. They were committing an act of treason against the crown, who generally take extreme measures to punish such things. Right or wrong, the entire family will be judged and punished for their crimes, regardless of their awareness or involvement. That’s why simply threatening a single family member isn’t a strong enough motivation on its own to betray the crown. Family is important, but who would doom the entire family for a single member?

I love it when they’re on their same wavelength, plotting together. We don’t get too much of that this early in the series.

We heard you loud and clear, Claire, you find Rae very attractive in formal wear.

Fun fact, Rae prefers wearing pants over skirts and dresses. Even Claire has a hard time trying to get Rae into a dress.

Look at those knights in full armour. And now I’m thinking about a certain fight scene later in the books. Those who’ve read them know what I’m talking about.

All hail, King Vegeta!

You gotta admit, even though it was obvious what they were going to ask, at least for the audience, it’s still a ballsy move. Like I said, treason is punished so harshly, even those whose only “crime” is being related to the actual criminals are executed.

Ah, Salas, the Prime Minister. Another character who I should avoid talking about.

Wow, look at Thane, the least favoured for the throne, sounding very much like a king right now.

Oh, these two are couple goals.

You know, we never learned what happened to the rest of the Aurousseau’s, just what Lene and Lambert got up to on their own.

Don’t think I didn’t notice what you slipped in in that flashback montage.

Quite the optimistic and hopeful parting. It’s not like Lene can visit, unless something extreme happened in the Bauer Kingdom, like a revolution or some- oh wait…

She’s almost here. And wow, they just revealed it in the promo that she was Claire’s first love (the charming “prince” little Claire mentioned in that flashback). Sure, she thought she was a boy, but Thane also had some pretty feminine features, enough to pull off a maid outfit. And who can forgot how Claire was convinced to go along with that cafe idea. Just saying, there’s a pattern here and it’s saying quite clearly that there ain’t no way this girl is straight.

[sjsmith56]

A New World - Chapter 1, Lord Buchanan

Summary: A modern young woman suddenly finds herself in a strange medieval world. As an unaccompanied woman she requires the protection of a man to survive, finding it in the enigmatic and handsome Lord Buchanan.

Length: 4.8K

Characters of note: Ileana (named female character described as chestnut haired), Lord Buchanan (that world’s version of James Buchanan Barnes)

Warnings: Assault of female character, threat of violence, courtly language (of a sort), formal language (of a sort), description of preparing a hunted animal for food (it was either that or go hungry).

Author’s notes: Inspired by the photo edits of Instagram artist nixakimbo this story can be found in its entirety on Wattpad and AO3, under my username SJSmith56. It is a complete fantasy concept that initially was supposed to be a “bodice ripper” so just enjoy the ride. It was a lot of fun to write. Series masterlist to come.

🗡️

Ileana looked at her closet trying to figure out what to wear for this blind date.  She had only agreed because she trusted her friend Haydn not to set her up with someone like Jeremy.  That relationship had ended badly when she came home from work one morning to grab her forgotten laptop and she had found him in bed with a waitress from the diner where they ate Saturday morning breakfasts.  Pulling her suitcases from the closet she had thrown everything in there while he tried to convince her the girl meant nothing.  Meanwhile the poor girl looked like she would rather be anywhere but naked in a bed watching the guy she just slept with say she meant nothing.  Over the next few weeks Ileana had stayed with Haydn in her spare room until she found her own place, a small one bedroom flat.  Haydn's boyfriend Sam had convinced her to set up the blind date with his friend Bucky.  Who named their son Bucky?

She stopped and took a breath, realizing she was over thinking it again.  Bucky could be a nickname.  Haydn said he was attractive if a little brooding and being friends with Sam meant that he likely had manners as Sam wouldn't hear of a man mistreating a woman.  Finally Ileana pulled out a lacy white top to go over her camisole and a longer lacy black skirt.  Pulling on her black boots she was satisfied that she looked acceptable.  Feminine but confident.  Grabbing her coat and purse she ran out and tried to hail a cab.  She didn't want the guy to pick her up so she said she would meet them at the restaurant.  Now she was running late and it was at least a twenty minute walk.  No cabs stopped for her so she started walking.

About ten minutes into the walk Ileana became aware of footsteps behind her.  Grasping her purse tighter she crossed to the other side of the road at the next corner.  The footsteps followed her.  Turning the following corner after that they still followed her.  Seeing a convenience store up ahead she ducked in and went to the back.  Peeking over the rack she saw a man in a black hoodie with a green hood walk by peering in.  For the briefest of moments she thought he saw her but he kept walking. 

"Now what do I do?" said Ileana to herself.  "He could be waiting around the corner for me."

She dialled Haydn on her cell phone.  "Hey, could you ask Sam to come and get me? I couldn't get a cab and started to walk.  There's a guy following me.  I'm at a convenience store on Maple and First."

"We were wondering what was keeping you," said Haydn.  "Hold on."

She could hear Haydn talking to Sam.  There was another voice, male, soft but definitely sexy. 

"Bucky will come and get you," said Haydn. "He said don't leave the store.  You'll know him as he's wearing a dark blue suit with a navy shirt, no tie.  His hair is longer and he has a beard.  Very, very handsome."

Ileana hung up and browsed the aisles.  She nodded at the clerk who after a few more minutes asked if she was going to buy anything.

"I'm just waiting for a friend," she said defensively.

"No loitering," he replied pointing at a sign beside the door.  "Sorry, you'll have to wait outside."

She tried buying something but the clerk refused to ring it through and ordered her out.  Stepping out into the night air she felt exposed and tried to stay as close to the door as possible but the clerk kept giving her dirty looks.  With a sigh she moved away from the door and into the shadows. 

"You have a light?" said a voice next to her.

Turning Ileana saw it was the man in the black hoodie with a green hood.  He smiled a dirty smile at her and looked her up and down.

"Sorry, I don't smoke," she replied and walked back towards the door.

"Hey, don't go turning your back on me," he said with an edge.  "Talk to me.  I can be nice."

"Please, I don't want any trouble," she said over her shoulder.  "I'm just waiting for a friend."

Before she left the shadow he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Come with me now or I'll hurt you," he said, showing the knife he held in one hand.

Before she could react he gripped her wrist hard and started dragging her to the side of the building.  She pulled herself away and fell backwards, hitting her head on the sidewalk.  Her head felt like a bell had been rung inside her head.  Within seconds Ileana was aware of nothing.

******

She felt someone fumbling at her chest and realized someone was feeling her up.  Opening her eyes she slapped away the hand on her breast.  Two grimy looking men in black and green clothing were bent over her, one feeling her breasts the other lifting her skirt.

"Get off of me," she yelled, kicking at them.  "Help!  Help!"

They laughed and kept going.  Tearing her top and camisole off of her the first one said he would hold her down while the second one had a go.  In desperation she began biting and received a punch to the head for her trouble.  Just as the second was about to uncover himself she heard a horse snort and the sound of someone jumping to the ground.  A metallic sound followed like the sound of a sword being pulled out of it's sheath. 

"Leave the lady alone," said a man's voice and the two men stopped fearfully, looking back at the intruder.

"M'lord," said the first one.  "We found the lady like this and were just tending to her."

"I doubt that," said the swordsman.  "I heard her cry for help.  Now stand up or I will run you both through this moment."

Ileana clutched her tattered blouse to her chest and sat up as the two men stood and faced the swordsman.  He was tall, dark haired with a beard and wore a suit of blue leather with a dark blue tunic underneath.  His breathing was heavy as if he struggled to keep his temper with the two men.  He had a second sword attached to a belt that hung lower and she got the feeling he could fight with either hand or both.  As the two would-be rapists grovelled before him he looked directly into her eyes with his stunning blue eyes.

"Are you injured?" he asked.  "Lady...?"

"Ileana," she replied.  "No, but they have destroyed my blouse and my undergarments."

He nodded and turned his attention back to them.  "I should dispatch you both to your maker," he said.  "It is within my rights as lord of these lands to do so.  However the lady is not injured and I do not wish her to witness what I really want to do to you.  Both of you are banished from my lands.  If I see either of you here again I will execute you summarily.  Begone with you."

He dismissed them and watched as they trudged away before sheathing his sword.  Going to his horse, a black giant of a horse with the longest mane Ileana had ever seen he opened a saddle bag and brought out a white shirt.

"I'm not in the habit of carrying ladies clothing with me but you should be able to wear my nightshirt," he said, handing it to her then turning his back so she could put it on.

It was soft and silky.  She marvelled at its feel as she slipped it over her head.  There were no buttons and it did expose quite a bit of cleavage but it covered her and that is what was important. 

"Thank you sir," she said. 

He turned and looked her over.  "Lord Buchanan," he said bowing.  "At your service."

She offered her hand and he helped her up from the ground.  Keeping her hand in his he touched it briefly with his lips.

"You are not of this world," he stated.  "Your clothing is from a future world.  How did you find yourself here?"

"You know of future worlds?" she asked puzzled.  "You don't seem surprised."

"It happens," he replied, shrugging slightly.  "How did you come here?"

"I was attacked by a man and pulled away," she answered.  "I hit my head and blacked out.  When I came to those two were pawing over me."

He nodded.  "We receive "visitors" in various ways," he said.  "Sounds like once you come to in your own world you will return to it.  In the meantime I will take you into my care.  These woods can be dangerous for an unaccompanied woman.  There is one problem.  I am one day into a tour of my lands and I must continue on or risk others attempting to seize them.  There are holders we will come across tomorrow that you may stay with or you may continue with me.  The accommodations will be very basic but I assure you that even if we share a bed I will honour your chastity.  That is my word as Lord of these lands."

He looked at her with all sincerity and she found herself trusting him and his word.  He motioned for her to come closer to his horse and he calmed the horse when it snorted at her.

"Magnus, be kind to the lady," he said softly.  "She will ride with us for a time and you must be a gentleman to her."

He reached into another saddle bag and brought out a carrot.  Breaking it in half he gave one piece to Ileana and showed her how to hold it on her flat palm.  Magnus lowered his head over her hand and took it gently from her.  She reached out and stroked his cheek and he leaned into her touch.

"He likes you," said Buchanan with a smile.  "He is very particular.  You should be honoured."

"I am," she said.  "He is magnificent."

"Here, you give him another piece," he said, placing the second piece into her hand.

Magnus took it gently and again leaned into her touch as she stroked his cheek.  Lord Buchanan offered her his help to mount the large horse.  Then he mounted behind her and took the reins.  His closeness unnerved her at first and she found it hard not to lean into him.  He must have noticed because he smiled before he spoke.

"You can lean into me if it is more comfortable for you," he said.  "The closer we are the more comfortable a ride it will be.  It's been a while since I had a woman ride...with me.  I will protect you from falling."

She caught the hesitation in his voice and realized he almost said something entirely different.  It was her turn to smile that she had obviously had an effect on him.  She did lean into him and found she liked how his body also leaned into hers as he rode.  She looked at his clothing and saw how finely the pieces were made even though they were made for life on the road.  He wore dark leather gloves and she was almost overcome by a desire to see his hands on her.  Dismissing the thought she looked up at him for a moment and he smirked.

"Keep your eyes forward, Lady Ileana," he said.  "Or you may find yourself on your arse on the ground.  A sudden turn is all that is needed to throw one of us off."

As if to prove his point Magnus stopped dead and they both were wrenched from the comfort of their position.

"What is it, Magnus?" he asked, suddenly looking around.  "What do you sense?"

The horse snorted and pawed the ground.  Lord Buchanan switched the reins to his left hand and turned the horse in a circle, trying to see what had spooked his horse.  He put one arm around her.

"When I tell you I want you to lean forward," he said closely to her ear.  "Bend forward as closely to Magnus as you can.  Grasp his mane firmly if you must to keep on."

An unnatural sound from some creature nearby broke the silence and she could feel his body tense as he gauged when to make his move.

"Now," he said loudly, as he dug his heels into Magnus' flank.  "Magnus, go!"

Ileana leaned forward grasping the horse's mane as it leaped straight into a gallop.  Buchanan leaned over her as he spurred his horse on away from the danger.  After several minutes at a full gallop he allowed the horse to slow down and finally to a stop.  Magnus' sides were heaving and Buchanan jumped off to the ground, taking his horse's head in his hands and touching his forehead to the great black beast's forehead.

"Good boy, Magnus," he said, softly.  "You flew us away from danger.  My brave steed."

He began to walk, leading the horse along the path.

"Should I get down?" asked Ileana but he waved her away.  "Please, let me walk with you."

He stopped and helped her down.  She walked beside him, glad she still had her boots on.  His pace was steady as was his manner of walking.  He seemed like a man sure of himself.  He looked down on her and cleared his throat.

"Tell me about yourself, Lady Ileana," he said.  "I understand the women of future worlds work instead of staying strictly in the home looking after their children.  Your husband's all approve of this?"

"I'm not married," she said,  "but many husbands do approve.  Some even stay at home looking after the children while their wives work."

He scoffed.  "That does not seem right to me," he said.  "To expect a wife to toil away in factories or sweatshops while he enjoys the laughter of small children is criminal.”

"How much do you know about future worlds?" asked Ileana, wondering what he really knew.

"The Sorceress has told us of great factories that bellow smoke and flame while workers toil inside in the heat making great metal poles to build tall buildings that soar into the sky," he said.  "Or the merchants of food gathered under one large roof, with tables and shelves laden with every food one could ever want.  What is it that you toil at instead of bringing children into the world?"

"I work in a creative space," she said, trying to figure out how to say she designed websites to a medieval man.  "We have the ability to search for information from a device we hold in our hand.  I help create that information, how it looks, much like an illuminated manuscript in a book is bright and eye catching.  What I create must be colourful and attractive."

He raised his eyebrows, then gave her an answer she wasn’t expecting.  "Would that be on the internet?" he asked.  "The Sorceress has told us of it but I find it hard to believe."

"It is," she said.  "The internet is like a library you can hold in the palm of your hand but it holds the information of the entire world in it."

"You would rather do that than be a mother," he stated. 

"I didn't say that," she said.  "I do wish to be a mother but I need a husband first.  Some women go ahead without a husband but I would rather have someone in my life than try without.  My mother divorced my father when I was a child and it was hard for both of us making a go of it without him."

"Divorce?" he said.  "Women can divorce?  In this world only the husband can divorce if the wife is unfaithful or doesn't produce a son."

Ileana stopped dead.  "You're kidding right?" she exclaimed.  "A man can be unfaithful but a woman can't?  You also know it is the man whose sperm, or seed, which decides if the child is a boy or a girl.  If a man doesn't have a son, it's his fault, not hers."

She was angry now.  He stood and watched her anger play over her face, amusing him. 

"Most men have a wife and several mistresses," he stated.  "Only the wife's child is recognized as legitimate.  He would have too much respect for his wife to ask her to do some of things he does with his mistresses.  As for the other, I find that hard to believe."

"Fuck," she said. "I've been dropped into the paternalist world of hell."

"I'm shocked you would know that word," he said.  "You must have been a mistress to know it."

She slapped him, hard.  Then she cried and walked away from him.  The realization hit him that he had probably insulted her and he ran after her.

"Lady Ileana, please," he said anxiously.  "Please forgive me.  I forget that your world likely has different beliefs and customs than ours.  Obviously the word mistress insulted you and for that I am truly sorry.  Please, don't go.  I am enjoying your company and I'm learning from you.  I would like to know more."

She stopped and looked up at the sky then turned around and faced him.  His handsome face was full of regret and he had his hand out in friendship.

"In your world I probably would be seen as a mistress," she said.  "I was engaged to be married and for six months we lived together to raise money for the wedding.  A month ago I had to run home to pick up my computer for work as I had forgotten it.  When I walked in I could hear laughter in the bedroom so I opened the door.  There was Jeremy fucking a waitress, a serving maid, in our bed...IN OUR BED.  I packed my bags and I left him.  I had my heart broken that day.  Then today, this evening actually, I was meeting friends and I couldn't get a taxi to the restaurant so I walked.  A creep followed me and even though I tried to stay inside a safe space I was told to leave because I was loitering.  He attacked me of course and then I woke up here to two scumbags trying to rape me and YOU LET THEM GO!  Like it was my fault I woke up in a forest with no idea of how I got here.  Now you're giving me all this bullshit about how a woman's place is in the home, having and raising children but if she doesn't produce a son she can be divorced.  That's medieval bullshit.  I want to wake up.  I want to go home back to what is familiar to me.  I want..."

She broke down and really started to cry, sinking down to the ground.  He kneeled beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.  From inside his jacket he produced a silken handkerchief and offered it to her.  She wiped her eyes and her nose and slowly calmed down.  Then she looked up at him and he suddenly kissed her, gently at first, then firmer and more passionately.  He pulled away and stood up, facing away from her.

"Forgive me," he said, loudly. "That was inexcusable of me.  I have pledged to honour your chastity and that shouldn't have happened.  When we reach the holder's cottage tomorrow I will leave you there and send word to the king to send a carriage for you.  Come, we need to ride some more before we reach shelter for the night."

He helped her back onto Magnus, then mounted the horse, took control of the reins and urged the great horse on.  Not once did he speak or look at her and he took great care not to lean into her unless he couldn't help it.  When they reached their shelter, a small stone hut, he told her to go inside while he tended to the horse.  She saw him take the saddle bags down and pull out a handful of horse feed out of one of them, then hand feed it to the horse.  He removed the horse's saddle, blanket, and bridle and leaned his forehead against the great horse's forehead.

"Go, find what you need," he said, "but be careful and return here by sunrise, old friend."

He carried everything in then went to find kindling and firewood.  Building a pyramid of wood he pulled a flint out of his jacket pocket and struck a knife against it, generating a spark on a piece of dried moss.  As it caught he blew on it until it flamed then he placed it into the wood and blew some more until it caught in a rush.  Going to the wall he took a bow and a quiver of arrows that hung there.

"I will be back," he said simply.  "Keep the fire going but I shouldn't be long."

He came back later with a pheasant and a rabbit.  He skinned the rabbit and cleaned it outside.  There was a long metal skewer with a handle on the end.  Threading the rabbit onto it he then placed it in a bracket over the fire and asked Ileana to turn it while he prepared the pheasant.  Taking it outside he plucked it, cut off its feet and head then cleaned its insides out.  He gathered up the remains and threw them away from the hut.  He threaded the bird onto another long skewer and sat opposite Ileana turning it. 

"You seem to know your way around preparing food," she said.  "I'm surprised a lord would know this."

"I wasn't always a lord," he said.  "I was born in an ordinary family, son of a tenant farmer, then I became a soldier.  I became a lord at the pleasure of my king after I helped him reclaim his heritage."

"Who is your king?" she asked.

"Steven of the Broken Lands," he said.  "When his kingdom was stolen from him, his old nursemaid smuggled him out of the castle and left him with my father, who had been a soldier with his father before he became a farmer.  We grew up as brothers and when he reached manhood we raised an army to recapture his realm from the Mad Titan.  It took a long time but we prevailed and he has been king for ten mostly peaceful years.  As thanks for our sheltering him and for fighting by his side he made me Lord Buchanan and awarded me my lands.  My father lives there still, tending his vegetable garden where he is happiest."

"What is your given name?"

"James Barnes," he said quickly then looked away briefly.  "My wife never called me My Lord, she always called me James.  When she said it, it sounded like honey coming out of her mouth.  My world ended when she died in childbirth and our son joined her six hours later."

"I'm sorry," said Ileana.  "You must have loved her very much."

"I did," he replied, looking steadily at her.  "I misled you when I said most men have a wife and mistresses.  I never wanted mistresses as she was enough for me.  We worshipped each other with our hearts, minds and bodies.  When I kissed you that was the first time I had kissed a woman in three years."

He looked away towards the door, still open though the darkness loomed.  Then he turned back to Ileana and spoke softly.

"You are my Elena," he murmured, his eyes lit up by the flames from the hearth.  "Her equivalent from another world.  I was attracted to you the moment I saw your face.  It's like she is walking with me again.  It's unfair to compare you, I know.  We will share the bed tonight but I promise on my honour and to the memory of my Elena that I will not violate your trust.  It gets cold in these huts at night and we will only have the fire, our body heat and Magnus' saddle blanket to keep us warm.  Do you trust me?"

Without hesitation she said yes and he was satisfied with that.  Using his knife he pulled a piece of the rabbit off and tasted it.  From inside his boot he produced another knife and pulled another piece of the rabbit off and offered it to Ileana.  They ate in silence.  Ileana thought she would gag at eating it after seeing him skin and clean it but it was tasty and it warmed her up inside.  He stood up, then closed and bolted the door, returned to rotate the pheasant.  With his knife he cut a piece off and tasted it then took her knife and cut a piece off for her.  Like the rabbit it was tasty and warmed her inside.  Between the two of them they ate everything until the bones were clean.  Gathering them up in his hand he opened a door to a room in the back.

"This is the privy," he explained.  "To relieve yourself and to throw our bones into.  It's over a cliff so it doesn't attract predators.  There is nothing to clean yourself with after so you may want to sacrifice some of your lace skirt if you're so inclined.  If you do I would beg some of it myself."

He threw the bones down and closed the door.  He went to another corner where there was a sink and showed her the pump.  He removed his gloves, jacket and shirt then lifted the handle several times and a stream of clear water came out.  He let it pour over his hands then cleaned his face and shoulders.  Ileana noticed his lean and muscular body.  She also noticed his left arm was badly scarred.  He saw what she was looking at and faced her directly so she could see it completely.

"The Mad Titan almost took my arm the day of the final battle," he said.  "The King himself saved my life, taking the Mad Titan's head with the help of one of our allies.  The Sorceress was able to restore the arm's function but not it's appearance.  I have full use of it so for that I am glad."

He stepped back to let Ileana have use of the pump.  She stopped and bent over her lace skirt, tearing off the bottom foot of it.  She handed him half of the strip.  Smiling he dried his face and shoulders with it, his eyes never leaving hers.  She raised the handle of the pump until she got a stream of water.  Wetting the edge of the lace, she wiped down her face and neck.  Then she tore a six inch portion off the lace and used the privy.  When she returned he was adding wood to the fire to keep it going all night.  The bed was little more than a burlap sack filled with wood chips.  He placed the saddle blanket on it, then suggested she get on the wall side of it.  He put his shirt on but not his jacket explaining he naturally was warm bodied and didn't want to sweat into the jacket during the night.  Ileana faced the wall and he curled up behind her, placing his arms around her.  His closeness was disconcerting but he explained their body heat combined should be enough to sleep.  Either she was incredibly tired or he was right because she fell asleep within minutes.

For James Barnes, Lord Buchanan, sleep took longer to come.  He could smell her dark chestnut hair and the faint scent of perfume from her neck.  He wondered if he should have revealed her resemblance to his late wife but it was done and couldn't be taken back.  The next morning, after they arrived at the Archer's hut he would leave her there and send the Archer's oldest son to the King for a carriage.  She would be safe with the King.  For a moment he wondered if the Baron would be at the castle as that could make him change his mind about sending her.  For tonight he could pretend it was Elena in his arms during her monthly bleed.  That would make it easier to honour his pledge to this strange woman from a future world.

Chapter 2>>

Series Masterlist

Please like, comment or reblog if you liked this chapter.

[erinhime83]

Yes, I knew, I know, I already did designs of these guys a few months ago, but I tweeked a couple of the designs, but me being me, I wanted to post them up for people to see and make it more people’s problem, lol.  I didn’t change that much, honestly, but it was enough that I wanted to put up the new designs.  Plus, I made design sheets for the major characters, yey.

First is Buttercup, who does get a minor outfit tweek (it’s not noticeable, but I moved her belt down to her hips, and it does look a lot better).  But she ended up becoming a victim of Erin taking away everyone’s wavy hair trope that I’ve started, because, well, I ‘see’ her more with the straight hair.  She looks cute, she looks innocent, and she strays away from the traditional Altairian hair braiding thing because she doesn’t quite understand the tradition.  Same goes with the piercings – she should technically have more, but she opted to skip a few milestone ceremonies because she didn’t want to have too many.  I was talked into giving her a 'disguise' dress for when she's traveling in Lumentis for a bit, and I thought it would be funny (since it's a stolen dress), if the colors were completely different from what she would normally wear, and I'm actually pleased with how it turned out! Simple, and yet nice. I also attempted to change her formal dress, but ended up just changing the color of the circular collar for shits and giggles.  She doesn’t wear eye liner with the fancy dress because, like with every other tradition, she doesn’t ‘get’ it, plus she’s trying to get the people of Lumentis to accept her, so she’s trying to look more like them, despite failing because of her red hair.

Raito, honestly, doesn’t have any sort of change in either of his outfits, because there’s no point in changing perfection.  I love staring at him, because he looks adorable, lol.

Clover I did change a bit, shortening her sleeves, giving her a shoulder guard, and giving her a proper belt and a sash because it didn’t look right with just the belt.  Oh, and shortened her braid a little while also giving her a ribbon that happens to be the favorite color of a certain Dragon Tamer.  >.>  She looks just as badass as she did before, and I love it.  As for the other outfit, it’s supposed to be her Palace Guard uniform of sorts.  I had a bit of difficulty with it at first, because I wanted her to have the bodice, but giving her a skirt seems to have worked out nicely!  Bonus, it’s reminiscent of her original outfit, with the skirt and all.  Not really, but that was what I as thinking when I decided to give her the skirt.  I also like it because she looks feminine in her uniform, but in reality, she wants to wear pants.  But she looks great either way!   I love my nature elf warrior girl.

Odessa, well, I changed a lot, obviously.  She always suffers due to the fact that I can never pin down her design.  I liked her other outfit, but this one just suits her better.  I changed a bit of her backstory as well, which explains (sort of) why she went from shaved hair to side braided hair.  I also like the longer hair – it makes her look cute.  As for her outfit, I really like how it ended up!  I don’t have any real definitive ‘look’ for the peasants of the story, save for the Altaitians who have a Viking look, but I like that it suggests that the Ta’Norians have their own style as well.  And she gets a nice dress as well, sort of related to her backstory, but mostly because they do give her a nice dress when they make it back to the Lumentian palace.  Plus, it haves the added bonus of showing what her hair looks like down and how long it was.  (I wanted it to be longer, but I wanted Clover to have the longer hair, since I thought it would be funny if the more masculine one had the longer hair.)

Over all, really pleased with how all of these turned out.  I keep staring at the designs and wishing I had pictures of them, despite the fact that I should be the one drawing them, lol. 

[charmixpower]

Ranking the girls's first transformation for fun!

1) Tecna 👩‍💻

This outfit is hideous and it's also the the best Tecna transformation. Period. Girl looks so fucking weird, as she should. The weird ass heels, the pointy hat, the unique wings? Everything about this look screams Tecna and its such a win for her. Honestly this form makes me mad at ever other Tecna transformation in the show. You started so strong with this look, I'm furious. Theirs just so much personality in this transformation that, even though I think it's ugly, I have to love it because it's so in character. The only thing I dislike about this outfit is the glove shirt thing...they just bother me.

2) Aisha 🏄‍♀️

Ok I loved this one as a child and I still love it now. Despite Aisha being the most sporty of the Winx, she never gave me tomboy vibes like Musa. She has distinct sporty feminine look to her that I simply adore. Musa would wear a beanie and oversized t-shirt, Aisha would not and that's really expressed by her outfit. It's a lot more practical than say Flora's or Bloom's but it's still cute and fun. I especially love the half skirt she has going on. She's still wearing shorts because she's probably been in enough altercations to know you can't fight in a skirt, but she really wants to wear a skirt anyways. Her outfit is cute and fun and very secure, with they way her sash is connected. That baby isn't moving. The only thing I would change is her wearing flats or small wedge heels. Mostly bc I think of all the Winx she'd keep her feet on the ground most often and she wouldn't risk her balance being fucked up by shoes, but they'd be really fancy flats. Lace up flats. I also love her arm bands. Aisha just rocks this look so well, she's looks so good.

3) Flora 💐

Flora's first form is classic Flora. It's cute, it's feminine, it gives huge flower child vibes. I wish the sleeves were connected to her dress in a off the shoulders style, and the chunkiness of the shoes clash a little bit, but it looks good. I especially love how there are a bunch of flowy bits, like yes, I can so see Flora adoring swishy parts of her outfits this is amazing.

4) Bloom 🐉

I like this outfit for the same reason it bothers me. It's boring, and I wish it was more boring. (In a character relevant way, not like stealing details, but like she's visually less dressy than the rest bc she just got here. In comparison) No seriously. Bloom's fairy transformation is probably be influenced by her story books, and fairys in children's books tend to dress very simply. I'm imagining Bloom subconsciously going "OOO FAIRY" about her transformation and her getting something that's simple and cute by itself but blanetly boring next to people who grew up in a culture full of fairies. It's a interesting bit of world building, makes her obviously an outsider and I think that's fun. Only thing that ruins this headcanon is Stella's outfit somehow being more boring, and I hate it. Like.. her outfit scrams "I just learned about this thing and I'm so excited" and I adore it. I hate the fact that she has a crown before the reveal, mostly bc no other royal character gets a crown so it just reads as main character-itus.

5) Stella ☀️🌙

There's nothing inherently wrong with this outfit, it's just less eye catching than most of the other girl's first form and that is a insult of the highest degree to Stella. The fact that Musa and Flora's outfits demand more attention then our shining sun is a sin, and I want a formally written apology. It's just kinda boring looking and I hate it. Why does STELLA a Princess have a HEADBAND and BLOOM some random girl on earth (as far as she knows) have a CROWN?! Also each girl has a main color, and a secondary color. I like that Stella's is orange and blue, and but LOATH how small the blue parts are. She is the fairy of the sun AND moon, acknowledge the moon part. The only saving grace of this outfit is the shorts and the change of hair style. Hyperfemme Stella wears shorts in her transformation and that's amazing. The fact that her fairy form is the most practical, and the fact that Stella is clearly the best and most well trained with combat magic specifically in the first season, before sharing this role with Aisha in the second season. That combined with Stella's style of pigtails being a very childish hair style for a seventeen year old, paints a really interesting picture of Stella's relationship to her magic.

6) Musa 🎶

Musa is when I first realized that only Stella got a hairstyle change and I got like incoherently annoyed about it. With the rest of the girls it's kind of understandable because their hair is just down, but with Musa is so blatant it hurts. They even made her hair longer when she changed her hair length. They did that on purpose!!! Put her hair in buns or literally anything for her transformation! Yes the pigtails look good but you don't need them in both her civilian style and her magic transformation. Once I noticed that tragedy, then I noticed that her top is also the same as her civilian outfit!!!!! Out of all the first transformations Musa's definitely reads as the laziest. Which is a fucking shame, bc Musa and her alternative style compared to the other girls could of given her a really unique transformation, but they didn't, so I'm annoyed about it. I like the mesh and the fact she has headphones on, that's it tho.

[danganronpadespairtime]

Bonus Episodes + Other Questions

Briefly, I will open up the askbox again, because I think there may be some questions.

You can send in questions here. A Tumblr account is not needed to ask questions.

There may be chapter 1 spoilers.

Anonymous asked:

Can we get color palettes for the characters? It's hard to get the right colors from the sprites since there are so many gradients, and not every character has a CG. Sorry to inconvenience you.

I color pick from sprites, because when the gradient is removed it may make certain colors look lighter... But if that isn’t a concern for you, then I will provide flats.

Anonymous asked:

What each of the cast member’s clothing preferences? I want to do fan art of them in casual clothing, so I’m pretty curious! 

Sorry, I have a bad fashion sense and it may limit my responses, but I’ll try to answer to the best of my ability

Eden: She enjoys cute fashion, but she also enjoys wearing androgynous style clothes.

J: Refuses to wear feminine things. Likes dark colors and hoodies.

Teruko: Her fashion sense diverges from what she’d actually wear. Secretly she wants to wear girly, cute things, but is unable to afford that kind of thing. She likes skirts.

Nico: Like Teruko, wants to wear girly things but doesn’t due to external factors

Hu: Wears modernized casual hanfu. She also likes long skirts

Veronika: Complicated, lolita-like fashion

Min: She cares more about practicality than looks. She wears comfortable clothing

Levi: Fashionable

Arturo: Something that appears expensive... Designer clothes, faux high fashion

Whit: A similar style to the clothes that he is current wearing

Arei: Cute,Girly

Ace: Sporty

Charles: Semi-formal, but he doesn’t care too much about appearance

David: Semi-formal. ‘professional’ and stylish look

Rose: Eccentric and colorful, and not delicate

Anonymous asked:

This question doesn’t relate to the episodes, but rather the comic: would you say that the comic is also canonic and prior to the events of drdt? 

No, it was just a joke.

Anonymous asked: 

Was the Ultimate contest for eminent students part of the Korean Hope’s Peak, and then Min later came to america?

Currently there is no confirmation that Korea has built a Hope’s Peak. I think there may be some assumption that because someone has a foreign name, they can’t be american nor have grown up in america. This isn’t really true.

Stated explicitly, every member of the cast is American, and has spent a significant portion of their childhood growing up in the US.

That being said, Min has always been serviced by america’s Hope’s Peak. Whenever DRDT references Hope’s Peak, it will almost always be in reference to the American ones.

Anonymous asked:

Why Xander has both eyes? What happend to his eyepatch?

Xander presumably received his eye injury shortly before the start of the the events of DRDT, so it’s not like he had it for most of his life.

Anonymous asked:

sorry im so confused... is chariton like, a country that xander is from or something?

Chariton is a fictional town in an unspecified state in the US. North C is a city that is north of Chariton, in the same state. Both receive water from Chariton River (also fictional) that flows from north to south. 

There is a real town and a real river named Chariton but that is an unintended coincidence.

Anonymous asked: 

Is there gonna be more Bonus episodes? 

That is all there is for now. More bonus episodes may come after chapter 2.

Anonymous asked: 

Is there a fully body for Xander's casual outfit in the bonus episode? I think it looks really awesome!

Anonymous asked:

Do you have a rough estimation of the next chapter release? It’s ok if you don’t!

No to both, sorry. Regarding the second thing I am so early on in the production process that I cannot even begin to fathom a release date.

Anonymous asked:

Are both "unnamed students" the same person given that they have the same voice actor? Or is it just a coincidence? Also, why is Nico called "Nico Kasabyan" in the prologue? Was that his original name?

1. Same person

2. That was a mistake

Anonymous asked:

Not exactly an important question, but did Ace’s hair turn more dull?

Yes. He is getting a little sloppy with his hair dye maintenance, and/or he stopped caring.

Anonymous asked:

What year does this take place?

I don’t want to be too specific with dates nor places lest I accidentally invoke some real-life associations. DRDT takes place 70-80 years after the events of Danganronpa, somewhere in the US. That’s about specific as it gets.

Although you’d expect things to be very different after almost a century, much of that time was devoted to rebuilding post-Tragedy, so it is about analogous to our present day.

Anonymous asked:

Will Duke Spurling be mentioned in the main story at all? The story in the side episodes intrigue me a lot, and it makes me wonder if they’ll ever cross over.

I should clarify that the bonus episodes being “not plot important” doesn’t mean that none of the content will show up in the main story, just that if any events in them are plot important, then they will be also discussed as necessary within the story themself. That is to say, you can skip them and still understand the main story.

I do realize now this may be misleading wording on my part, so I apologize. That being said, some of the people and events mentioned, particularly in the second episode, may come up in the story... sometime in the distant future... Please remain patient!

koivoid asked:

How many students were in East Class 27? 

16 students, with (including) one randomly selected Ultimate Lucky Student. This is standard for all Hope’s Peak classes, with very few exceptions. In addition the classes are always “evenly split by gender” (in theory).

Anonymous asked:

are Nico's eye fades red or gray? Cause I noticed some inconsistencies between the videos and cast page. I'm not sure if it's intentional or the cast page is old and needs to be updated.

I changed them to gray after seeing that too many characters already had red eyelashes, but I haven’t updated the cast page. If there are any discrepancies within the cast pages or photos, they’re usually insignificant.

[drethanramslay]

i would like to request 18 & 56 for ian x mc if you wanna write it🥺👉🏼👈🏼

Thanks for the ask @raleigheffingcarrera ❤️❤️

You can find the prompt list here.

#18- “Do you own anything that isn’t a woollen jumper?”

#56-“I don’t think i’ve ever see you without a book in your hand…”

Word count: 2.1 K (fuck that is longer that I thought it would be)

Author's note: okay so this is my first time writing Ian X mc and I hope it lives up to your expectations 😅

And also I have changed the MC's character a little because let's agree.. um qb MC is creepy🤢

Forgive me if I make any mistakes and I hope you like it ❤️

Falling like the stars

Bianca sat on one of the tables in the almost empty quad, studying. Sure, she was part of 'the Elite' and climbing the popularity charts but being a straight A student for most of her academic career would never remove the nerd in her.

Fall was around the corner, so the trees were a burst of red, orange and green. The leaves rustled with the wind and the setting sun casted long shadows on the ground. The birds chirped and the sky was a hue of reds and pinks, making the entire place look so serene.

There used to have such pretty sunsets back home. Bianca thought, swimming in nostalgia.

Shaking her head, she dived back into her notes, several books open around her as she resumed writing.

It went on like that for an hour before she heard laughter and chatter from the other end of the quad. Students filed out of the anthropology class.

Must be the class which Ian set up for the people who failed the mock test. Bianca mused to herself.

As the students poured out, her eyes kept on flitting to the entrance, waiting for him to come out.

God, just how whipped are you?

Whenever she thought about her past interactions with Ian, she would mentally face palm.

She wanted to bang her head at how cringy and dumb she acted around him. She wanted to be smooth, but she would come across as a creep. She wanted to come across as understanding, but she would come across as pressurising. She wanted to come across as caring, but she ended up being overbearing.

Ian was such a sweetheart that he would brush of the comments but seeing the discomfort in his eyes made her want to curl up into a ball and die.

She just couldn't understand how she manage to fuck up everytime. Sure she was good at flirting with both guys and girls but, that was just mindless fun. Just a mutual exchange.

But with Ian, it was different. Ian was not the kind of guy you could just add to a list of hook ups. He was the kind of guy you could have long conversations and not get bored. He is the kind of guy who would listen to your problems and guide you. He is the kind of guy you could call at 3 am and he would come over to be by your side as you cry.

He is the kind of guy you could fall in love with.

And those guys were dangerous. If you fell for him, your life would never be the same, take it however you want.

Yet... She found herself doing the exact opposite of what she promised herself to not do.

Fall for her anthropology professor.

She saw Ian exit the classroom, his laptop in hand. She observed his outfit and it was the usual he wore. Tie, woollen jumper (for it was chilly), formal pants and brown Oxfords.

Does he own anything that isn't a woollen jumper?

She saw him talk to a couple of students before bidding them good night.

Look away Hughes. Look away before-

His eyes snapped to hers, as if he had an inbuilt radar.

-he sees you.

Blushing and caught in the act, she raised her hand and sent a small wave. He gave a grin and started walking towards her.

Shit shit shit. He is coming here what do I do?

Be yourself. He inner voice said, which sounded eerily like Zoey's.

Be myself? What kind of dumb advice is that.

She looked down at her notes, her voluminous curls covering her face praying to God, that she doesn't fuck up this time.

"In the entirety of this week, I don't think I've seen you without a book in your hand..." Ian spoke up, an amused grin on his face.

Twirling her pen she spoke. "Well there is a saying- No matter what clothes you wear, you can't shake out the nerd in you."

"Let me guess, its a quote which you came up on the spot."

Shooting an embarassing grim she spoke. "Guilty as charged. There is a reason I'm not majoring in Lit."

They both chuckled. Cupping her face in her hand she said, "You look awfully cheery today."

"Obviously, it's the weekend and I'm not going to have to deal with students and faculty for 48 hours."

Giving her books a stink eye she sighed. "I wish I could get out. I'm just so done with everyone."

"Why is that? Aren't you like Miss Popular now? Where are your friends?"

"They aren't-" stopping abruptly she sighed and played with her hands on the table.

Ian reached and squeezed one of her hands which had her looking up to see kind dark eyes stare back at her. "Something's bothering you. Do you wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener."

Her heart leaped but her notes glared back at her. "I would love to but I have to study."

"Yeah, I know that. But I also know that you should not burn yourself out. When was the last break you took? Or the last time you are?"

Silence.

"Well that answers my concerns. C'mon I know this food truck with delicious giant burritos."

Closing her book shuts and placing her pens into her pouch she stood up and stretched. Ian's eyes narrowed on to the exposed skin of her torso.

Ian, calm down. Don't stare at her like you want to fuck her. She is your student and you are the professor. He chanted to himself before helping her close her books.

Placing the books in her satchel, she threw the strap over her shoulder. "Okay. I won't turn down a giant burrito. But we will need to come back in an hour and half."

"Deal."

"This guy is a culinary genius. I used to come here to eat when I first shifted to NYC. They are so big-"

————————————————————————————-

"Oh god this smells sooo good." Bianca said as they stood in line for the food truck.

"That's what she said." Bianca snickered to which Ian gave an unamused expression.

She shrugged and gave an unbiased grin. "What? I saw the opportunity and I just couldn't let it slide."

"I swear you need Jesus." Ian muttered under his breath before stepping forward to place their order.

"Here, let me pay-" Bianca said as she reached for her purse but, was stopped by Ian grasping her wrist and shaking his head.

"It's my 'good luck for your exams' treat for you."

Bianca looked down, a shy smiling on her face.

Why do I get so flustered around him?

Taking their food, they walked further into the park and sat on a bench facing a small pond.

Unwrapping her burrito eagerly, she took a big bite and groaned as the spicy flavours burst into her mouth. "This is sho goofff." She said with her mouth full.

"Told you it would be worth it. " Ian said as he took a sip of his coke.

Gulping she smiled. "Never doubted you for a second."

"Wait you have something...here." Ian reached forward to wipe the sauce at the edge of her mouth with his thumb which left an onslaught of butterflies in her tummy.

Thank god it's dark and he can't see my cheeks.

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence before Ian spoke up. "So, are you ready to tell me what's bothering you?"

Swallowing her bite, she sighed. "It's just... I'm exhausted."

"Is it about your exams?"

"Nope. I love studying as dorky as it sounds. It's my only escape. But... I'm tired of everything else, y'know?"

"Is it about 'the T'? Poppy? The popularity hierarchy here?"

She scoffed as she agressively took a bite of her burrito. "Try all of the above."

Turning towards him, she spoke, her forehead furrowed with annoyance. "Do you how shitty this entire charade is? It feels like I'm in the fuckin Hunger games over here. I never gave a damn about how popular I am or how feminine I need to look or what kind of threads I need to wear to impress people. I am a 'band tee, shirts and Vans' kinda girl but here I am wearing-" she pointed at her black woollen turtle neck, her pleated skirt and knee length boots "- THIS! My mom would be shocked that I actually am wearing a skirt."

"I think you look beautiful." The compliment slipped out of his mouth without him even realizing.

His eyes widened after a moment. "I-" he began but he was stopped short by Bianca shaking her head and squeezing his arm in gratitude.

"Thank you Ian. But coming back to the topic, this is straight something out of mean girls and it's so unnatural. Hell, in my previous college everyone was too stressed and depressed to bother about this... This popularity contest!"

"Yep. That's Belvoire for you. Where the rich will trample over the poor." Sarcasm dripping off his lips which had Bianca chuckling.

Raising their coke bottles they clinged to each others. "I will drink to that."

Taking a sip, they both gazed at the water. The night sky reflected in it which made the entire place look magical. After sometime, Bianca spoke up. "I am not liking how it's changing me."

Ian turned towards her, their knees brushing against each other. Ian exercised his absolute control and willpower to not look down at the expanse of her legs.

"Care to elaborate?"

Letting out a humourless laugh she continued. "When I was accepted to Belvoire, I thought it would open up so many new opportunities. The exposure and knowledge would help me sharpen my skills. The various job offers and the placement deals... The list could go on and on."

Looking down at her almost finsihed burrito, she sighed. "But it's just opened up doors to manipulation, deceit and savageness."

Sighing, Ian gazed into the distance. "Well that is the funny thing about these elite schools. They promise you dreams but tell you you aren't good enough the moment you enter. They promise you hope that life will turn around but tell you that you are destined to your old ways. At the end of this torment, you are so way off from your morals. It's a paradox which I hate."

"Exactly!! And see, I'm assertive, I don't take shit from anyone and I won't hesitate to give it back to a bully. But, that became an invitation for people to see me as someone who would dethrone Poppy. It's tremendous pressure and Zoey has taken up the job of being some, marketing manager, trying to sell this brand called 'Bianca Hughes'. I love that girl but damn... I didn't sign up for this."

Ian wiped his mouth before continuing. "Sorry if this come across as crass, but I have noticed how you bask in the constant fawning and how most of the campus is head over heels in love."

"Well, I also have years of drama classes under the belt. It's all an act Ian. I am in this constant state of turned on and I am not able to turn it off."

Ian eyes bugged out and Bianca turned red after she realized what she said. "I didn't mean it in the sex way I meant it- argh!" She smacked her hand on her forehead.

Chuckling Ian squeezed her shoulder. "No I get it. You have been putting up a facade of someone you aren't and that would, of course be tiring. Years of staying here in the Big Apple and till this day, I wonder how far have I gone from the wide eyed boy who grew up in the suburbs. Would he be proud of what I have accomplished? Or be ashamed of how I have deviated from my morals?"

She shot a smile his way. "Well I think he would be proud. Despite how much the people around here drag you down, you are one of the most genuine people I have come across in this jungle filled with snakes. It feels nice that I have someone I can talk to about mundane problems without being judged, y'know?"

Ian smiled back at her and squeezed her hand. "Me too. I care about you and I am always here to listen to your problems and guide you. You are unique and don't let this entire ordeal take that away from you."

"Thank you Ian. I really appreciate it."

They got and threw the trash into the adjacent garbage as they started heading back for campus.

"Ian?"

"Yeah Bianca?" Ian turned towards her, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry if I come to hard on you. I don't do it on purpose, I swear! It's just - oof all my words get muddled up due to my feelings and I end up embarassing myself and making you uncomfortable."

He chuckled as he tucked her hair behind her ear, his gaze flitting to her brown orbs. "It's okay Bianca. People do crazy things when they have crush-itis."

"Lemme guess, you came up with that disease right now."

"Just like you did with that quote. Remind me again, what was it? No matter what clothes-"

She cut him off by lightly shoving him "Shut up." But he just continued laughing.

"You are annoying." She grumbled.

"But you still like me." He said as he nudged her shoulder.

That I do...

Ian X MC: @lucy-268 @ethandaddyramsey @noboundariesplease @hyperlightgrifter @mals-chesthair @theodorepjames4 @edgiestwinter @findmeafterlife @magicalshepherdtreeprofessor @ohramsey

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[headoverhiddles]

Little Details [Part II] - Joker (Nicholson)/Bruce Wayne (Keaton) x Reader

Synopsis: Jack gives you a to-do list. Bruce Wayne is not on that list, but that could change in a heartbeat.

Notes: Finally got around to writing a part two! This will most likely be an on-going fic I'm realizing, as the plot is building the more I write it, but it will be infrequently updated. Basically whenever inspiration strikes for these two :) hope you enjoy this next part!! 😏😏😏

Part I Here

Jack had called it a "little mission." All you had to do was scope the place out, tell them if it posed any threat to their plan.

The museum was to be robbed that night. Jack had laid out all the plans with his henchmen. You had been present of course, as you were a pawn too in his game, if not a little more. The plan was for you to scope out the florist's shop, which was directly beside the museum. Jack had sent some guys to drill some kind of hole in the basement when the owner was distracted a few days earlier, and since that had been successful, it was your turn to hold up your end.

"Now all you have to do sweetheart, is go in, be your charming self, and make a little small talk, alright?" Jack smiles at you, stroking your chin, "That sound do-able to you?"

"Of course," you say, packing your bag with a small lady gun that Jack always sent you with-- just in case. "You know I've got a very talented mouth on me, Jack."

"Oh yes, I... know better than any man," Jack gives you that salacious grin again that makes you weak.

You smirk, flattening out your skirt.

"I'll be ready tonight on site," you say, "Don't wait up for me, boys."

"Ah," Jack holds up a finger, raising an eyebrow. You turn, and saunter back over. He taps his cheek for a quick kiss, but instead, you wrap your arms around his neck, pressing your lips to his in a passionate kiss. All of the henchmen look away, not wanting to be caught staring by the boss, and Jack loses himself in your kiss for the moment it lasts. After pulling away, you wave and head out, as Jack shakes his head. Makeup smeared, he takes out a handkerchief. One nameless henchman dares to speak.

"Boss, uh... are you sure she'll be able to get the job done?" Everyone turns to stare at the man who said it. Jack smiles sweetly, dabbing at his lips. The man looks around at everyone's scrutiny, swallowing.

"What I meant was... will she be able to go through with it? She... she just seems kinda..."

He blinks in fear.

"By all means, finish your sentence," Jack smiles. The man continues to gulp.

"...Kinda soft! Is all."

Jack extends a hand, and he doesn't have to say the words 'Bob? Gun,' for it to be offered to him. The guy trembles in fear as Jack holds it up, and pulls the trigger... revealing a long stick and a *bang* flag. The guy lets out a massive sigh of relief.

"Gentlemen. Allow me to make one thing very clear. I have more faith in my woman than I do in any of you." He gives Bob back the toy gun, takes out his own, and shoots the guy in the heart.

---

You approach the florist, and take your sunglasses off, tucking them in your pocket. You're not quite sure what Jack and his goons would do to the place after they were finished with it-- that wasn't a discussion they included you in-- but it didn't really matter to you. All that mattered was getting a good look at the place, and a feel for their alarm system.

The bell rings as you enter, and a sweet looking old woman comes to the desk. Keeping yourself personally detached but professionally engaged, you smile warmly her way, tucking your hair behind your ear. You know exactly what to do to play up your femininity, and appear innocent.

"Hello," the old woman says, "What can I do for you, young lady?"

"I was looking for some flowers suitable for an anniversary," you say, "My brother's one year is coming up."

You're lying through your teeth like a professional, but it's not an entire fabrication. You do have a brother, though it would be a miracle if he ever gave up his psychiatric work for marriage.

"Oh, how exciting," the lady smiles, "I've got just the thing." She beckons you back, and shows you a section of beautifully coloured flowers that would certainly be perfect for celebration.

"It must be difficult," you say, looking around. One security camera, but it's cracked in the lens.

"Hm?"

"Keeping business afloat in this part of town?" You keep searching. "There must be lots of robberies. I hope you've got a security system in place... you all alone here, running the place and all."

"Oh, there's no need to worry," she smiles, "My daughter comes in to work weekends. She's not around today, since she's working late, but I've got her to help with everything usually. She'll be helping me fix the alarm tomorrow... pesky thing just won't make any noise!" Bingo. That's what you needed to hear. Jack will be happy. Happier than normal, at least.

"So. Will there be a party?" the lady asks you, touching your wrist.

"Pardon?"

"A party? For your brother and his wife?"

You try not to feel bad for what you're doing. She seems like an honest person.

"Yes."

"I'm sure you'll look lovely in any dress you have picked out," the lady chuckles. You laugh a little, earnestly.

"I'm not sure what I'll wear. My partner always picks my dresses to match his evening wear. It's always a... surprise, with him."

"Well. You're young. You can wear anything and look beautiful," she pats your arm.

"There's beauty in age," you find yourself smiling, "You've had the extra years to perfect your signature look." She gives a bashful little wave, and hurries off.

"I like that, dear. I'm going to remember that!"

You let your smile fall as she disappears, and chastise yourself for falling too into character. At least you don't seem suspicious at all.

"Hey. I thought I recognized a voice, and I came over here, and... it's you!"

You turn, startled, and see none other than--

"Bruce Wayne," you say, trying to keep the name sounding formal. You just end up sounding surprised.

"What gave me away?" he gives a lopsided grin, and you look down pointedly at the wad of cash in his hand. He stutters awkwardly, and stuffs that away.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me to just come up and scare the pants off you like that-- if you were... wearing pants, uh..." He gestures to your skirt, then grimaces. "Sorry. Again. I guess I'm a little better at conversation when I'm in a suit."

You smirk, and notice the flowers in his hand he had probably just paid for.

"For your girlfriend?"

He keeps smiling at you in a daze, until he snaps out of it, looking down.

"Girlf.. oh, uh. No! No, these are..." He looks at the red roses in his gloved hand. "Parents. They're for my parents."

"Oh," you nod, "That's nice. Nice to know some men still care enough to visit their parents."

He nods distantly. "Yeah." You cock your head, curious. There's something in his eyes today that seems sadder than the playful glint they had the last time you two had met.

"Your brother's anniversary, huh?" he changes the subject, pointing at the mums you have in your hand.

"Yes," you nod, "Big thing for him, lasting this long with a girl."

"How long does a man usually last? Four or five minutes?" Bruce attempts to joke, then cringes again. Alfred was 90% of his impulse control.

"I don't know why, Mr. Wayne, but I have the nagging feeling you can last longer when you're with the right woman," you say, walking up to tug on the lapels of his trenchcoat. His tongue darts out over his bottom lip, a tick you had noticed a couple of times.

"I have a nagging feeling you're right."

You let him go, and gather a bouquet to bring home for Jack to most likely take some scissors to. You feel Bruce's hand on your shoulder.

"You never told me your name."

You sigh. You really shouldn't tell him your name.

"(y/n) Crane."

Bruce takes his hand off your shoulder. "Come with me to visit my parents."

"I--"

"It'll only take five minutes, I promise. I just... don't really want to be alone."

You don't know what it is, but you're compelled to say yes. You nod, and go to pay.

"Now Mr. Wayne," the nice old lady says sternly as she rings up your flowers, "It would do you well to remember that this lovely lady here has a boyfriend!"

You giggle softly, and Bruce ducks his head in embarrassment.

---

"So, your boyfriend... was Jack Napier?"

Bruce hurries to catch up to you as you walk out of the florist. You turn to him sharply.

"Yes. How--?"

"I know his face. Uh. Seen him on TV a couple times," Bruce says slowly. "Isn't he... you know..."

"A felon?" You smile. "Well, I hope I'm confiding in the right person here, Mr. Wayne, but Jack's criminal history is largely irrelevant in our relationship. It's exciting to be the girl of the Clown Prince of Gotham."

"Call me Bruce... and sure, you can trust me. We all have our secrets."

He walks ahead of you, taking your arm, and you stare at him curiously as he leads you to a seedier part of town that reminds you an awful lot of where Jack had his accident. You look around, stepping over torn up newspapers plastered to the cobble by sewer water.

"Do you mean to tell me, a rich man like yourself can't afford to move his parents out of a dingy area like this and into your mansion?" you demand. "I think that's very--"

You stop as you see Bruce bend down, and touch a part of the ground. He places the roses there, and takes a deep breath.

"This is the place they were shot."

You stare at the spot. "By who?"

"I don't know," Bruce admits, "I was just a kid. I'm surprised you didn't know I was an orphan... the media beats that into the ground like a dead horse. If I had a dime for every time I've been called a brooding orphan billionaire, I'd be a trillionaire."

"I don't put much stock into the media," you say, approaching him, "I find that they never describe people quite right. Not everything is black and white. There's always gray... and people don't understand that."

"Gray always tips one way or the other," Bruce says softly, "Justice is as black and white as society gets."

"But who decides who gets to dole that out?" you ask. "The police? They're just as corrupt as the mob bosses who run Gotham. It's all a bunch of spin. Nothing but spin. One day, the wheel will stop spinning Mr. Wayne, and the people who've lived underneath will come out on top."

By now, you're inches away from him. You hadn't even noticed, but he's clutching your wrist by his neck.

"Why are you with Jack Napier?" Bruce hisses. You don't have time to list all the reasons why. He's a wonderful lover. He protects you. He's devoted to you, and you to him. He...

Time. You glance at Bruce's watch, and back away.

"I have somewhere to be." Bruce doesn't protest as you walk briskly away from him, but you pause before leaving. With eyes downcast, you drop the flowers you bought over his the crime scene that created Bruce Wayne.

You run out of the alleyway, and see a white limo pull up.

"Impeccable timing, princess," Jack says to you, putting a hand on your thigh.

"I missed you, daddy." You cuddle into him as the car keeps moving, toward the museum. Curiously, Jack notices Bruce out the window, and narrows his eyes at him, waving with a white gloved hand.

"What brought the two of you together on this fine day?" Jack asks. You can hear the edge in his voice, but you know he trusts you.

"Every pawn in the game is a valuable one," you answer, slinging your leg up over Jacks knee. He pats your leg in approval, giving you a kiss, as you look out the window at the buildings of Gotham and second guess that very statement.

[thecharmingknightemma]

♚ Do you agree with fandom interpretation of your character? (roast the fandom again please I have popcorn)

not even remotely.  lmao okay first I need to explain something to attempt not to sound like a really bad judgy person: when it comes to princess Emma, for me only my version of her can be possibly, realistic, because it’s the only realistic results that can came from the premise I see. Now that doesn’t mean I can’t respect that other people can have different ideas of how princess Emma is, but it can never feel real to me because those ideas come from a different interpretation of David and Snow, of the circumstances around Emma and that led to Emma, of how they’d react to what they have been through and what they’d teach her, on how her personality would respond to the outside world. Those interpretations are always valid, but they are not mine, and therefore I can’t agree and I can give you a thousand reasons why Emma for me would be a different princess than most fanon versions of her starting from what would led her to be this way instead. But I’m also aware that it all depends on my interpretation of every single thing involved in her life and my view of her isn’t superior, it’s just the only one that works for me. 

I’ll put the rest under read more because whoops I may have a lot to say

Here are some common things I see that I absolutely understand where they are coming from but could never be true to me: -a princess Emma who is a serious, suave, normal classic princess. It’s extra rare in OUAT for the original fairy tale princesses to act in a classic noble-woman kind of way to begin with. Emma, the daughter of former bandit and now queen Snow White who has lived among regular people and who had drilled in her head that their people are important, and of David, formerly a stable boy, who fought against the unspoken rules of royalty like shutting up and accepting an arranged marriage, who has seven dwarves, a wolf and who knows who else being part of her parents council, who would have been taught to defend herself to be prepared to fight just in case, who would be certainly taught to speak up because her opinion and emotions matter, who has been shown and has seen from the beginning of her life that love wins, that she has all kinds of reasons to be happy and hopeful and grateful, would NOT be modest, would not be super serious, would not be a snob or unaware of her people’s struggles, and since even when it comes to Emma Swan her nature was to joke around and be happy as soon as the world gave her a minimum amount of reason to be that way, princess Emma has even more reasons to be that way. Her personality would be so encouraged by a loving, supportive family who wants her to respect others but also to express herself, to enjoy her life, the happy moments, and to find humor in everything. And David and Snow even speak in a different way from nobles like Kathryn, I doubt Emma would be too formal. It’s not that less loud, enthusiastic princess can’t be cool, I actually really like Kathryn, and Aurora may have been more ‘classical’ and out of her depth when it came to fighting but she still did everything she could to save Philip and to avenge him later, she was simply inexperienced and that’s not bad, but I cannot imagine Emma, with the family she has, her instincts, and what people around her would want to instill in her since young age, being the same kind of woman they are.  -a princess Emma who hates ballgowns and balls and everything stereotypically feminine. Emma Swan, who has all reasons to favor comfortable easy clothing and lives in our world where often dresses and pink are associated to being weaker (?), still likes to wear stereotypically feminine things and to wear makeup and curls or styles her hair whenever she has some time off from her savioring. Even in s1, yes, when the sheriff election happened and she didn’t plan to have to run after criminals, she wore a cute skirt. Why would princess Emma hate them when she clearly likes the aesthetic and she hasn’t been raised with ideas such as ‘femininity is weak you must be distance yourself from it and prove you are different from other women’? Now, if you tell me she has problems with tight corsets because they are uncomfortable, that’s cool. Otherwise it just seems like she must be ‘special’ and therefore doesn’t like ‘girly’ things because ‘girly is inferior to masculine’. Still speaking stereotypically here, of course. Snow didn’t have to dislike dresses to be strong or special, she dressed depending on what she had to do. I believe Emma would be the same, with just some initial rebellion as a kid against girls until she grew up enough to realize she was being stupid. After that, she wears dresses when she can, she also likes comfortable riding clothing, she likes flowers, she likes colors, she likes the looks she gets when she wears low cut dresses, she likes to take care of her hair... When it comes to Emma Swan specifically and to different versions of her, I feel there is some hidden misogyny involved in wanting Emma to hate innocuous things to prove she’s ‘different’ and ‘stronger’.    -helpless princess Emma: I can’t even. This is also what the Evil Queen’s wish brought to life. It’s already explained in my first point here but it bears repeating. Can you imagine two parents who were shown over and over that you must be prepared for everything because they will have more enemies come after them, enemies of them as royalty or for personal reason, leaving their only daughter completely unprepared, needing someone else to fight for her? After they had to learn the hard way, as fast as possible, and were at disadvantage for it? Emma would be trained from the beginning.  -judgmental princess Emma, I get it, David and Snow were still less than welcoming to Killian - though I felt it was more due to his behavior than him being a pirate - but at the same time I cannot imagine being raised by someone who was a bandit and another person who technically committed treason by acting like a prince, and those two clearly never judged Ruby for being a werewolf, and so on, and to grow up to be immediately against people due to what they are. I feel Emma would have all the reasons to trust her instincts and to want to make sure someone is bad before treating them as such, while simultaneously wanting to avoid being manipulated and mistreated.  -submissive Emma when it comes to men: I feel like I don’t really need to explain why when in the past I read CS involving a princess Emma who was all innocent and inexperienced I closed the page.  -a princess Emma who has to deal with ARRANGED MARRIAGES BECAUSE HER PARENTS TRY TO FORCE HER TO MARRY PEOPLE LIKE I’m sorry but this is not even a matter of different perspective and respecting other people’s view of characters. David and Snow would never force Emma to marry someone, David and Snow suffered like hell because David was meant to marry Abigail due to king George’s choices. David and Snow love Emma. David and Snow would not do that to Emma.  -just... a version of Emma that is so randomly ethereal and more similar to how real life past princesses are described in our world? when ouat woman are so real, with their flaws and qualities and opinions and motivations, and it just seems not to fit in a colorful family like the one Snow and David were going to have, dwarves and Granny included. 

[fair-fae]

Never-Ending Survey: Faye Covington

Rules: Repost, do not reblog, tag 10 blogs!   Tagged by: @kodie-ffxiv, @lukelxiv, @illia-ast, @lavender-hemlock, and @captainkurosolaire Thank you all for tagging!! Tagging: @an-honest-waltz, @resistance-ranger, @under-the-blood-moonlight, @duskspeakers, @hangedemperor, @littlestcreampuff, @wayward-soul-ffxiv, @darkamaya, @sakuyamori, @paleshadeofrose​

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Faye Covington

NICKNAME: "Princess” if you’re @its-the-val-pal

AGE: 30

BIRTHDAY: 14th Sun of the 1st Astral Moon

ETHNIC GROUP: Hyur Midlander/Garlean

NATIONALITY: Gridanian

LANGUAGE/S: Eorzean, some Ishgardian

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heteromatic

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Bonded

HOME TOWN / AREA: The East Shroud

CURRENT HOME: The Lavender Beds

PROFESSION: Teahouse owner, information broker & private investigator

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Platinum blonde/white, long, curly

EYES: Pale blue, hints of violet/red/pink

FACE: Soft, feminine, attractive

LIPS: Full, light pink, glossy

COMPLEXION: Pale, smooth, unblemished

BLEMISHES: None

SCARS: Scar along her left wrist where her skin meets the Magitek prosthetic

TATTOOS: None

HEIGHT: 5′8″

WEIGHT: 135 ponze

BUILD: Slender, soft, curvy, tall, hourglass shape

FEATURES: Plush lips, keen eyes, sly smile, good posture, Magitek left hand

ALLERGIES: None

USUAL HAIR STYLE: Long, well groomed, curly, neat, loose

USUAL FACE LOOK: Polished, subtle makeup, calm, friendly

USUAL CLOTHING: Long dress or skirt, gloves, boots, jewelry, lace, expensive fabrics, formal attire, stockings, little skin showing

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Failure, weakness, dismemberment

ASPIRATION/S: Fame, wealth, success, happiness, a family, Garlean extermination, and good ol’ world domination

POSITIVE TRAITS: Polite, intelligent, patient, friendly, confident, ambitious, calm, rational, educated, curious, cunning, quick-witted, charming, eloquent

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Power-hungry, nosy, self-righteous, uppity, proud, posh, cruel, vengeful, manipulative, deceptive, callous, distant, distrustful, spiteful

TEMPERAMENT: Choleric MBTI: ENTJ

SOUL TYPE/S: The King

ANIMALS: Fox, swan

VICE HABIT/S: Tea addiction duh

FAITH: None

GHOSTS?: Yes

AFTERLIFE?: Unsure

REINCARNATION?: No ALIENS?: Unsure

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: None

EDUCATION LEVEL: Well-educated

FAMILY.

FATHER : Deceased

MOTHERS : Deceased

SIBLINGS : No full-blooded siblings, adopted brother deceased, several half-brothers

EXTENDED FAMILY: None of note

NAME MEANING/S: “Faye” meaning “fairy”

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None

FAVORITES.

BOOK: None; she enjoys reading, but has no particular favorite

DEITY: Nophica

HOLIDAY: Starlight

MONTH: First Astral Moon

SEASON: Winter

PLACE: Her teahouse

WEATHER: Clear, temperate

SOUND / S: Music, conversation, wind rustling through leaves, running water

SCENT / S: Tea, roses, vanilla

TASTE / S: Tea, wine, sweets, savory

FEEL / S: Silky, velvety, smooth, soft

ANIMAL / S: Checkers the dog. Only Checkers the dog.

NUMBER: 1

COLORS: White, pink, blue, lavender, red, gold

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Conjury/magic, teamaking, sewing, persuasion, management, spying, manipulation, business

BAD AT: Cooking, physical labor, physical combat

TURN ONS: Ambition, strength, cunning, intelligence, good looks, physical fitness, confidence, respect, affection, CUTE CATBOY EARS, badass scars, loyalty, endearing stupidity, dominance, education, good manners, chiseled abs glistening with blood sweat and dirt

TURN OFFS: Rudeness, disrespect, bad hygiene, helplessness, flakiness, insecurity, shyness, meekness, immaturity, laziness, lack of motivation, indecisiveness, promiscuity, dishonesty, smarminess, incompetence, whining, needy, clingy, smothering

HOBBIES: Socializing, hosting, tea-making, sewing, reading, learning new things, practicing magicks, fashion, shopping, writing, sketching, music

TROPES: A lot that surely fit her, but none in particular that I’m intentionally aiming for

QUOTES : “Manners!”

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?       A1: Idk what it be called but it would be a gothic horror Victorian period film full of beautiful costumes and sets, vampires, and intrigue.

Q2: What would their soundtrack/score sound like?           A2: ANGRY VIOLINS Q3:  Why did you start writing this character?         A3: I’ve had some concept of this character since I was like... a kid, so I couldn’t really tell ya. She’s slowly evolved and had several iterations since then. This version I started writing just ‘cause I wanted to RP in this game and needed to pick one of my characters who could competently lead an FC since that was something I decided I wanted to do. Q4: What first attracted you to this character?         A4: Want be pretty lady. Want be cool and sassy and evil. Want wear fancy dresses. Want be vampire and take over the world. Q5: Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5: I don’t particularly dislike anything, I guess the closest I could say is we’re so different personality-wise that sometimes it can be challenging or draining to portray her as faithfully as I would like to write her Q6: What do you have in common with your muse?           A6: Ummm we’re both long-haired married white women in our 20′s - 30′s who were born in a kinda rural wooded place with no full-blooded siblings, some daddy issues, an overbearing mother, and a passion for catboys (or in her case just one, I guess) who don’t do casual sex, are into feminine things, enjoy pastels and tea (mostly just sweet iced tea for me though tbh), and are a lil sassy?? There’s not a ton of overlap tbh. Q7: How does your muse feel about you?         A7: She’s a fictional character soooo she doesn’t. Assuming I’m an all-powerful entity controlling every aspect of her life, she’d probably not be too fond! Q8: What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?       A8: Any character played by someone who gives me good material to work with, provides interesting hooks, writes something engaging, plays off me/my character, offers an actual interest in my character, or in general makes RP fun and has chemistry in our RP. The type of character doesn’t really matter; the interactions can be fun whether they’re making friends, butting heads, or doing something wild as long as the person writing is feeling it and doing their part. Q9: What gives you inspiration to write your muse?     A9: Life, movies/TV, anime/manga, video games, books, music, other RPers. A bit of everything. Q10 : How long did this take you to complete?   A10 : About two hours of intense multi-tasking and distractions

[marvelhead17]

Miracle (Original Female Character x Cable)

Chapter 26

Summary: “How did you fix it?” he asked. “Ask Ellen the Teenage Warhead,” Wade shrugged as he stood up, “As for baby Hitler he ended up having a diaper change, funny story I was actually going to call Cable since he was so keen on killing Russel, I thought this would be like taking candy from a baby, if that means replacing it with a bullet that is,”

Warnings to cover the whole fic: Graphic depictions of violence, use of weapons, mild to strong language, mentions of rape, mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage, referenced torture and psychological abuse/manipulation, nightmares and night terrors, sexual humour, sexual content.

Word count:  2k

Several weeks later

“I’m sorry I’m supposed to do what now?” Hayden looked at Wade.

“You’re going to be a stripper, we need someone undercover and the guy might recognise Domino’s face-”

“And he won’t recognise mine, after I was on the news two months ago for killing my own father and brother?”

“Well no because-”

“Oh I’d love to hear this,” she crossed her arms and stared him down.

“I’ve heard that the guy has a kink for curvier ladies-”

“Excuse me?” she took a step closer to Wade and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling his face closer to her much angrier one.

“I um- ah,” he faltered.

“That’s what I thought,” she let him go and crossed her arms once again, “I’m not doing this, not a chance in hell,”

                                                         * * *

 “I don’t know how I got roped into this stupid idea,” she said irritably.

“Honestly, I don’t know either,” Nathan said, “Somehow his jabbering seemed to make sense to you in between all the bullshit,” he shook his head.

“Apparently,” she looked over all the shoes that were placed before her, “Wade, tell me again why you have so many pairs of heels?”

“Oh- like you don’t?” he asked with his hands on his hips.

“If you knew me at all, which you do, you know very well that I don’t own a single damned pair of these torture devices,” she picked up a pair of bright pink five inch platform heels, “What the hell do you use these for anyway?”

“That sounds like something we don’t want to know,” Nathan frowned.

“Oh please, they look great on me, I needed them for undercover marks, and they make for surprisingly good weapons if need be,” he added, “Those ones you’re holding right now pierced a man’s throat very well,”

“Oh, God, alright,” she put them back on the table and Nathan’s nose crinkled in disgust. “Aside from the fact that you’re weirdly the same shoe size as me… Do I really have to wear any of these?”

  “God, stop being such a baby sis, you’re playing the part of stripper not the Virgin Mary here,” his voice was muffled as he dug through his walk-in closet looking for something.

“You would know, since your girlfriend was one,”

“Hey,” Wade warned while pointing a finger, “That’s uncalled for,”

“What, she only did that so she didn’t have to be a hooker anymo-”

“Enough! I know you’re trying to trigger me on purpose,” Wade raised his hands and breathed several breaths in and out, “And I’ll not be having it. You’re doing this whether you want to or not,”

“Fine,” she stretched the word out in a big sigh.

“Now I think you should either wear these silver ones,” he lifted the pair of heels in the air, “Or the gold maybe?” he tilted his head. “Oh but there’re also the black ones or the blue ones that would match the outfit perfectly-”

“You already have an outfit for me to wear?” she looked at him with wide eyes.

“Of course silly,” he waved his hand in the air as if to say that it was a stupid question for her to ask.

“Well I mean I thought that was for the manager to decide or whatever,”

“Well according to your resume you are a professional! And I bet that’ll make the manager open to whatever you decide- or else you’re outta there,” Wade grinned, “It’s the perfect plan.”

“If you don’t say so yourself,” she scoffed.

                          “Now enough talking, we don’t have all the time in the world,” he placed the four pairs of shoes on the floor in front of her, “You’re trying these all on,”

“God, fine,” she took off her comfortable sneakers and looked between the shoes deciding which pair to try on first.

“Socks,” Wade tutted with a wagging finger, she rolled her eyes and took them off as well.

She chose the black shoes and Wade moved a chair over for her to sit on so that she could slip them on with more ease, she moved her feet to see how they looked on her.

“Do they all have to be this high?” she asked biting her lip subtly.

“Yes,” Wade sighed and rolled his eyes, “C’mon stand up and walk,” he grabbed under her arms to pull her out from the chair.

“Alright, alright Jesus,” she smacked his hands away and she stood still in the spot. “Uh,”

Wade whispered loudly, “This is the part where you start walking,”

“Shut up- I know that,”

“Cable, go stand on that side of the room so she can walk to you, I can see she’s a beginner at this,” Nathan nodded and moved to the opposite end of the room.

“Excuse me?” she huffed.

“Walk,” Wade instructed after giving her a light shove.

  “Fuck off,” she muttered as she nearly fell over and Nathan chuckled.

“Give her a chance Wade,” he said as she began walking forward and steadied herself without wobbling over too much.

“I am- now go forth little bird and fly- well walk, shit- can I never get my metaphors straight?” Wade said.

She was halfway across the room at this point, slowly getting used to the pressure on her toes as she tried to maintain her balance.

“You can get them about as straight as your dick, which is never,” Hayden smirked before moving her foot forward, this time she made a wrong step and the heel of the shoe slid across the floor.

  She toppled to the side and hadn’t even reacted before she hit something firm with her head, a pair of arms were wrapped around her and her torso, and she looked up to see the familiar eyes of Nathan looking down at her.

“Karma is a bitch, just like you are,” Wade taunted and stuck his tongue out blowing her a raspberry.

“The hell did you just call me?” she asked standing upright again with a bit of help from Nathan, she was now at eye level with him thanks to the heels. “That’s it I’m going to kick your ass,” she darted towards him and effortlessly caught him in a chokehold. “Call me a bitch again, I dare you.”

“Hey! Would you two cut it out,” Nathan said irritably raising his hands between the two of them, he looked at Hayden, “Hades- you realise you just ran in those shoes without tripping over right?”

  “He’s right,” Wade said trying to loosen her grip.

“He might be right but you still called me a bitch,” she let him go and he fell on the ground, he rolled over so that he could stand up again, but she put her heeled foot on his chest and pushed him down.

“You’re really turning me on right now,” he groaned.

Nathan noted the firm muscles that were at work in this position, he had to take a good second to bring himself back to reality; and he agreed with Wade, inwardly of course, she was very much turning him on right now with her aggressiveness yet femininity in her actions and heels.

“God, ew,” she moved her foot and nudged him hard in the ribs, “Filter on,”

“Filters are for pussies,” he retorted, Nathan chuckled at them.

“You two are something else, really,” he shook his head.

                                                        * * *

                      “Haydes, can you hear me?” Wade spoke over the earpiece; he was hiding in the back alleyway.

“Loud and clear,” she spoke through the earpiece.

“Alright, no pressure, but this is our one shot to get this guy away from his unholy body guards,”

“Relax; I’ve got this covered,”

“Man I wish I could be in the audience,”

“Keep talking, I’ve already got several ideas of how I’m going to hurt you when we’re done here, I’ll just keep adding to the list,”

“Fine, but Cable,” his tone went serious and they waited for him to continue between his dramatic pause, “Tell me every detail that you get to see in there,”

“Wade,”

“Alright I’m shutting up,”

                        Nathan rolled his eyes and looked around the room that he was currently seated in; plenty of men older than him were sitting close to the stage, lit cigars in hand and wearing fancy Italian suits and gold jewellery. He wasn’t keen on sitting in a room full of horny old men, nor was he keen on having to watch Hayden in case something went wrong.

Of course he didn’t mind trying to keep her safe, it was more so the factor of her stripping down to god knows what, for the purpose of getting the attention of just one of these creeps, who happened to be seated just a seat away from him. He was the youngest man in the room, and possibly the richest as well, with two huge body guards seated on either side of him.

Nathan swallowed at the thought of the possibility of seeing her naked again, this time it wouldn’t be some freak accident of her clothes burning into nothing, she would willingly be removing her clothes in front of him.

He shook his head, stop that, he told himself.

   “Gentlemen, please welcome our next performance- Evette, the Temptress,” the manager’s voice announced over the speakers.

  Here we go. Nathan thought to himself, he was a bit more on edge for the fact that he had no idea what he was about to see, Wade had insisted that in order to fit in with the others he had to be surprised by what she was wearing otherwise he might arouse suspicion.

 “Show time,” Wade said chuck ling.

“Shut up Wade,” Hayden mumbled.

 The curtains parted and old-time jam music began playing, panic rose in his chest but he relaxed when he saw that Hayden was fully clothed. She wore a long coat, gloves and the deep blue heels that Wade had given to her.

                        She gracefully walked around the stage as if parading herself, before she turned to face the audience and slowly unbuttoned the beige coat she wore and then slid it over her shoulders so that it landed on the floor, she kicked it aside and gave them a sexy smile.

Her outfit of a navy blue mini skirt with a white blouse that had a miniature blue bowtie to match was now revealed, her hair was tied back in a formal bun, she grabbed the pole that was in the centre of the stage and swung with one arm around it before coming to a stop and then using her free hand to undo her hair and tossing the hair band aside.

 The audience and music seemed to drown out as Nathan watched her performance, as if he and Hayden were the only people in the room.

 Her brunette locks cascaded down just passed her shoulders and she playfully brushed her hair before winking, she put her right finger in her mouth and bit gently down so that the white glove stayed in its place as she pulled her hand away. The glove stayed in her teeth and she took it out with the same hand, before repeating the action with her left hand. She tossed the gloves in the direction of the coat.

 Nathan glanced out the side of his eye and noticed that the young man was staring at Hayden with piqued interest; he felt heat in his chest but returned his attention to Hayden rather. Not that it calmed him down in any way.

 She undid the blouse she was wearing slowly and every eye was on her, then she loosened the bowtie and threw it to the crowd, it landed on a gawking older man’s lap. She then stripped the blouse off and threw it at their target; he gave a smirk and eyed her figure that was now half naked in front of them.

The silver diamante studded bra with flecks of sapphire shimmered in the lighting. She gave a little turn before playing with the edging of her skirt and teasing it up her thigh, she undid the zip on the side and it fell to the floor revealing a matching underwear.

 Thank God Wade isn’t here right now. Nathan thought as he gulped at her figure.

 She was curvy as Wade had said, her thighs were thick but muscular, and as she turned to face the pole he noticed how round her ass was and that she was actually wearing a thong that showed a lot more skin than what he had expected. He barely glimpsed the young man next to him saying something to one of his guards, who nodded and got up and disappeared, as he was so distracted.

________________________________________________________________

>> Chapter 27 <<

[charmixpower]

Transformations largely went to shit after Enchantix, and it IS absolutely because it got way too busy. Colors and uniqueness aside, long gowns have no business being in any winx transformation. OG transformations are battle outfits, they got "more" feminine with Charmix and Enchantix but still "practical". AND it all was meant to flatter the body shape, not hide it or overpower it- if you don't even SEE half the body because of a huge train, then wtf you doing? Also the SHOES, HOLY SHIT THE SHOES. The other dude was right mentioning dumb heels in water, but WHY ARE THE RIBBONS GOING ALL THE WAY UP THEIR THIGHS in Harmonix? High shoes themselves ain't an issue, but when they are ribbons, it is way too much and it just doesn't look nice. Also Harmonix heels are way too thin. Heels should be chonky like in OG, stilettos look like shit. Also, at this point in the fucking show, THEY SHOULDN'T BE HAVING SAME TRANSFORMATIONS. They should be splitting into different power routes and each having different upgrades with different names and purposes because they are DIFFERENT FAIRIES. Water based power makes sense for Aisha, perhaps that mini thing is great for Techna because she could get real tiny and idk go into a computer or something.

It's REALLY sad that Harmonix and Sirenix don't even pretend the girls have their own separate personalities that should inform the size and shape of their outfits (not just minor design details) and I absolutely agree with you

Like I wouldn't mind them if only one of the girls hand one, or I wouldn't mind them as much the trail wasn't LONGER and WIDER than her legs but they are!!!

Those fucking things are HUGE!!! And they completely engulf her legs, looking deathly impractical, and completely ruining any chance for them to have unique silhouettes

Like I said I wouldn't care if it was just one, because, for example, Icy's hair and cape are super impractical, but they match her personality so their competely excusable because they also inform character

I can believe that Icy cares more about looking cool than practically, like she could pretty obviously be grabbed by the hair or cape but she likes them too much to not, it's a neat little character thing that shows you her priorities. It's the same with the Winx's with long hair, or skirts. The impracticalities inform the character's personality! But Harmonix doesn't inform anything about any of the girls, it's a complete lack of character design. There is barely an attempt to show any personality aside from some incredibly minor ways that seems more like a formality than an actually caring

Believix was definitely the last transformation where they actually tried, I mean the outfits where slightly samey but at least half of them are wearing pants!! And the wings fucked

Aside from that, the shoes. Fucking hell the shoes

Whether or not the heels are impractical or not doesn't matter because their underwater. Which raises the question of why the fuck their wearing heels in the first place

I genuinely would not mind the ribbons as much if they were all in different patterns and lengths on all the girls. Like only Flora's goes up to her thighs because she's the super femme of the group and it matches her aesthetic, with them all getting their own thing

But there not, they're all the same length and pattern and ohhhh my god this transformation is so lazy

It wouldn't even be hard to fix Harmonix design wise to be more unique and have interesting and distinctive silhouettes

Sirenix should of obviously been a mermaid form, we all agree on that. It's so obvious. Harmonix, should of been bathing suits. There, easy way to keep them all oceanic looking, and they can all get unique looking outfits!

Hell you can even keep most of the aesthetic for one of the girls. Slightly based on Skylaryozora's redesign, but stick Musa in a one piece bathing suit with a small skirt and trail (I know these exist, I've seen them) and boom! The best Harmonix outfit is kept safe and sound and the rest of them can get their own unique design

Musa's outfit is the one i remember best because her skirt looks like shells made of opals and she has the best hair.... Just let her keep Harmonix, everyone else go change.... especially Bloom and Tecna, go change now

And that's a really interesting idea for the girls higher forms. Them all pursuing different elemental forms, personality I don't mind the ocean transformation simply because I think the different dimensions idea is cool as all fucking hell and I love that it gets its own little transformation that you need to enter and traverse it. But the concept of them all needing to pursue a higher form that matches up with their powers is very cool and interesting and I adore the concept

[sloanemiller-blog]

❊Sloane Miller Application

Just posting my application for more insight into them and their feelings and feel free to go off this to plot with me!

in character: overview

Full name: Sloane Marie Miller

Used name(s): Sloane, Lo to her sister

Date of birth: February 26th, 1970. Born in the month of love and filled to the brim of it it seemed like an omen of good fortune.

Zodiac sign: Pisces. Pisces are very friendly, so they often find themselves in a company of very different people. Pisces are selfless, they are always willing to help others, without hoping to get anything back.

Pisces is a Water sign and as such this zodiac sign is characterized by empathy and expressed emotional capacity.

Gender identity and pronouns: They/them, sometimes she/her. They alternate between the two in different social circles and company, depending on the level of acceptance or mood of the day.

Sexual orientation: Pansexual, panromantic

Occupation: Author

in character: details

(1) Discuss your character. This can be formal or informal, and can be as long as you want. You can talk about any aspect of their characterization, any plans you have for them, and so on.

She lives to live, lives to breathe in the glow of sunlight and the coolness of a breeze on her skin; she lives for the laughter of her friends, the trickle of juice down her chin, and the steady stream of leaves skittering down the sidewalk. Life is hers for the taking and so she lives. She fills every inch of it, gives the air the breath it needs, brings light where there is none. Wide-eyed wonder, smile wide enough to break the tension that filters any room as they approach. Their sister standing guard behind them, gaze spearing anyone who dares approach with harm.

While somewhat initially shy, Sloane blooms like a soft rose stretching, grasping towards the sun. It is not that they are self-conscious or even hesitant to speak, it is just that they choose their words carefully around those that they do not interact with often. She’s far too earnest to mean much harm but she knows the harm that words can cause, the scars they leave behind, and tries to shape their words around the person who needs them most. It’s the soft words spoken underneath a staircase hidden in darkness or a comforting hand curling around a forearm that they offer more freely than the poetry in their head.

Growing up in a world where money is thrown about so freely and never much needed had a strange effect on Sloane. College was never an issue, clothes gifted freely, coffees already paid for before they stepped inside the shop. It is because of this that she tries to seek something deeper and something higher than just the frivolity of their possible lifestyle. Their mother called them an ‘old soul’ that preferred the company of books and endless questions about life that never got very far. Daisy was always the more wild of the two and so Sloane became more responsible by default in an attempt to stake a claim to their own identity. Being known simply as “Daisy’s younger sibling” carried enough weight and expectations that threatened to collapse their own identity and so they acted out entirely differently, despite the few opportunities to let loose. She was more controlled, more introverted, but more thoughtful in all the ways she thought mattered. Anything she wanted she worked her ass off for, regardless of any connections her parents tried to bring up. Her kindness grew from wanting, no, needing a connection of her own to people and being known for something other than those around her.

In preparation for their next novel, Sloane wants to dig deeper into the mystery of Joel’s death. For a night shrouded in so much red tape and confusion everyone seemed to accept the idea of it being an accident or suicide. She’d been high as a kite, floating loose and aimlessly through the crowds with too many joints passed her way to set them free. It had been a night of release, for everyone to celebrate, and Sloane had been swept up in the desire to do something different. But the shock of the night and loss of a friend in their social circle had shattered everyone’s high and trickled down into something akin to mourning.

(2) Headcanons

Whenever Sloane gets prepared to write, she absolutely covers her room in sticky-notes with different colored gel pens scattered about her room. It’s almost a hazard, the way papers burst into the air whenever she flops onto her bed only to scramble to piece them back together again. Most are barely legible, just prompts and words meant to be cobbled together for a broader story that only succeeds in turning her room into a nightmare. Notes are her preferred method of jotting down ideas due to the iBook being more of a hefty paperweight than the convenience she wants it to be.

Despite the popularity of her first novel, exposing the secrets of her friends and broader net of acquaintances, she’s been hitting a dead end of writer’s block. All of her work isn’t up to her standard besides the two other novels she forced out after the success of her first one to middling results. The reunion of Joel’s death brought her back to New York from her sabbatical to gain muse once more. Her newest novel idea was a delicate and empathetic exploration of loneliness. Of what it means to feel the edges of the space someone inhabits shrink inward and inward, until the world as they’ve known it is reduced to what’s inside of them; until it’s distorted into jagged lines that don’t fit together anymore. It was a reconnaissance on love or the lack of it, and the thousands of ways it can break you. It was an intimate look at slowly losing your mind. Or, at least vaguely, into the mind of Joel Buchanon and his last few months. All wrapped into a mind bending murder mystery of a man running from everything.

In the case of Joel Buchanon, Sloane was never as close to him as they imagined. No, Daisy was much more loud and out there than she ever was and claimed attention for herself. Still, she managed to find him coming down from a high here and there, guided him to the nearest flat surface and brought him water as he babbled. It was never more than a string of words guided by the pretty white powder in his pocket and a “Hey, you’re Daisy’s sibling right?” but it was enough. They were on the in’s and out’s of their social circle at times, younger than the rest of them, but Joel still recognized her on the off chance he wasn’t fucking around with something he shouldn’t have. His loss hit them surprisingly hard because Sloane had always tried to be there for him, tried to take him under her protective wing as much as she did anyone as he had been dealing with enough. It didn’t make a difference in the end.

Sloane’s gender identity was a struggle when they were younger, always confused on what was proper since they never felt entirely comfortable in tweed skirts and high heels. Daisy was always a trailblazer first and their clothing line led to obvious attempts at dressing Sloane in various outfits for help. Defining themself through clothing became an easy way of expression to defy expectations in the small ways they were comfortable with; coats became blazers, button-ups became sloughy t-shirts, pressed slacks replaced some of the more confining body suits. As they became more comfortable with the idea of being gender fluid and non-binary, they slowly eased into something more understandable and incorporated genderless pronouns into their life. Despite liking the anonymity it grants them, Sloane still enjoys a slight feminine side on certain days and isn’t above wearing a skirt now and then or presenting as more obviously feminine. Makeup and its ties to femininity became something of a statement; mascara here and there or a neutral lip gloss remained about as far as she would go most days. It’s more of an acceptance of themselves and all that comes from it and enhancing everything to the point of disguise never sat well with them.

Their writer’s name is Addison Swyft, an easy bypass to any questions that arise when the topic of their next novel is broached in the papers. Most have simply assumed its a man spinning tales of debauchery and living a high life supported by bottomless bank accounts. Sloane prefers it that way and deliberately left their identity up for interpretation as some of the things they intend to write about would leave them a social pariah.

Out of everything, their worst fear is not being enough. It covers a broad spectrum of everything from not being good enough at school or writing or even not being enough for her friends and loved ones, of being the rock that they desperately count on. Failure is crippling and the brief second guessing leads to tears hidden under staircases covered up by a bright smile and slightly shaking hands. She’s gotten so good at pretending she’s alright, that everyone’s fine, that everyone merely assumes she’s got it all together despite the desperate and aching loneliness she feels buried in her chest. They know that they’re good, that they’re honest and genuine and everything that they so desperately strive for. But it only makes it that much harder when it’s not. Joel’s passing has led to a flicker of doubt that nobody is safe from losing it all and she’s the only one picking up everyone else when they’re down that sometimes she needs someone to look at her a little more closely.

extras

So I created a little Pinterest board for some inspiration:

https://www.pinterest.com/chloefairy1/sloane-fortunate-age/

And a sample of my writing from another rp account:

His eyes have been on her since she’d stepped into the room.

She’d dallied as long as she had been able to, flirting with senators and cooing with their wives over their small babes that clung to their hips. Looking from under the haze of her lashes shows he remains glued to her form, hanging onto her every word and tracing the curves hidden beneath her gown. She deliberately traces the border of her dress’s plunging neckline, fingernail catching on the jewels lining the edge, and hears him audibly gulp.

When she moves to leave he follows. He grabs her elbow, palm callused and warm and rough against her arm, and stops her from walking any further. His chest grazes the back of her shoulder. She has never been so close to him before. And she doesn’t—and she can’t- he’s absolutely radiating heat and the wine she’d consumed swims suddenly into focus. “You meant to leave without saying goodbye?” His breath is moist against her neck, lips brushing freckles until shivers rattle down her spine. A fingertip brushes down the knobs, chasing those bumps until they snag on fabric and continue to settle on her lower back.

“You knew where to find me,” she whispers, eyes fluttering shut. He hums in agreement and her pulse speeds up when his grip tightens on her arm. The air around them feels swollen with possibilities, with all the potential for chaos, and her brain is drowning in wine, dizzy and looping with possibilities—she can’t process what she hopes is about to happen, can’t wrap her mind around dallying with a man who has dogged her steps for months now—Alexander the Great, a god in his own right—he isn’t easy and he isn’t patient and he will ruin her, she can already tell, and she will regret him, she will regret this, and she will buckle under the weight of his desire and she will survive, yes, she will always survive because that’s what she was born to do, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t hurt if he leaves. But she has not once touched his heart or his desire, not pressed inside to see where his longing truly lied, and yet here he is to claim her as he has claimed every other city that falls beneath his touch.

She stays.

She kisses him and it's like the lavender blush of a sunrise has melted into the red-orange haze of a sunset, like the briny swirl of high tide has infiltrated the sand-speckled slosh of low tide, like the glow of the moon and the rasp of the clouds and soft silk sliding through her fingers as she wishes and wants and prays— She kisses him, and he shivers. He kisses her, and she burns.