#cw implications of racism

[writingwithcolor]

What Makes an Ethnic Villain "Ethnic" or "Villainous?" How Do You Offset it?

anonymous asked:

Hello WWC! I have a question about the antagonist of my story. She is (currently) Japanese, and I want to make sure I’m writing her in a way that doesn’t associates [sic] her being Asian with being villainous.  The story is set in modern day USA, this character is effectively immortal. She was a samurai who lost loved ones due to failure in combat, and this becomes her character[sic] motivation (portrayed sympathetically to the audience). This story explores many different time periods and how women have shown valor throughout history. The age of the samurai (and the real and legendary female warriors from it) have interested me the most, which is why I want her to be from this period.  The outfit she wears while fighting is based on samurai armor, and she wears modern and traditional Japanese fashion depending on the occasion. She acts pretty similar to modern day people, though more cynical and obsessed with her loss. She’s been able to adapt with the times but still highly values and cherishes her past.  She is the only Asian main character, but I plan to make a supportive Japanese side character. She’s a history teacher who knows about the villain and gives the protagonists information to help them, but isn’t involved in the main plot otherwise.  Are the way I’m writing this villain and the inclusion of a non-antagonist Japanese character enough to prevent a harmful reading of the story, or is there more I should do?

Why Does Your Villain Exist?

This makes me feel old because David Anders plays a villain with this kind of backstory in the series Heroes starring Masi Oka. 

I think you want to think about what you mean when you say: 

Villainous (In what way? To whom? To what end?)

Harmful (What tropes, narratives and implications are present?)

I’m relatively infamous in the mod circle for not caring too much about dimensions of “harm”. The concept is relative and varies widely between people and cultures. I don’t see much value in framing motivations around “What is less harmful?” I think for me, what matters more is: 

“What is more true?” 

“Are characteristics viewed as intrinsic to background, or the product of experiences and personal autonomy?”

“Will your portrayal resonate with a large audience?”

“What will resonate with the members of the audience who share the backgrounds your characters have?” 

This post offers additional questions you could ask yourself instead of “is this okay/not okay/harmful.” 

You could write a story where your antagonist is sly, sadistic, violent and cold-blooded. It may not be an interpretation that will make many Japanese from combat backgrounds feel seen or heard, but it’s not without precedent. These tropes have been weaponized against people of Japanese descent (Like Nikkei Japanese interned during World War II), but Japan also brutalized a good chunk of Asia during World War II. See Herge’s Tintin and The Blue Lotus for an example of a comic that accurately showcases the brutality of Japan’s colonization of Manchuria, but also is racist in terms of how Japanese characters are portrayed (CW: genocide, war, imperialism, racism).

You could also write a story where your character’s grief gives way to despair, and fuels their combat such that they are seen as calculating, frigid and deeply driven by revenge/ violence. This might make sense. It’s also been done to death for Japanese female warriors, though (See “Lady Snowblood” by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura here, CW: sexual assault, violence, murder and a host of other dark things you’d expect in a revenge story). 

You could further write a story where your antagonist is not necessarily villainous, but the perceived harm comes from fetishizing/ exoticizing elements in how her appearance is presented or how she is sexualized, which is a common problem for Japanese female characters. 

My vote always goes to the most interesting story or character. I don’t see any benefit to writing from a defensive position. This is where I'll point out that, culturally, I can't picture a Japanese character viewing immortality as anything other than a curse. Many cultures in Japan are largely defined by transience and the understanding that many things naturally decay, die, and change form.

There are a lot of ways you could conceivably cause harm, but I’d rather hear about what the point of this character is given the dilemma of their position. 

What is her purpose for the plot? 

How is she designed to make the reader feel? 

What literary devices are relevant to her portrayal?

(Arbitrarily, you can always add more than 1 extra Japanese character. I think you might put less pressure on yourself with this character’s portrayal if you have more Japanese characters to practice with in general.) 

- Marika. 

When Off-Setting: Aim for Average

Seconding the above with regards to this villainess’s story and your motivations for this character, but regardless of her story I think it’s also important to look specifically at how the Japanese teacher character provides contrast. 

I agree with the choice to make her a regular person and not a superhero. Otherwise, your one Asian character is aggressively Asian-themed in a stereotypical Cool Japan way (particularly if her villain suit is samurai-themed & she wears wafu clothing every so often). Adding a chill person who happens to be Japanese and doesn’t have some kind of ninja or kitsune motif will be a breath of fresh air (well, more like a sigh of relief) for Japanese readers. 

A note on characterization—while our standard advice for “offset” characters is to give your offset character the opposite of the personality trait you’re trying to balance, in this case you might want to avoid opposites. You have a villainess who is a cold, tough “don’t need no man” type. Making the teacher mild-mannered, helpful, and accomodating would balance out the villainess’s traits, but you’ll end up swinging to the other side of the pendulum towards the Submissive Asian stereotype depending on execution. If avoiding stereotypes is a concern, I suggest picking something outside of that spectrum of gentleness to violence and making her really boring or really weird or really nerdy or a jock gym teacher or…something. You’re the author.

Similarly, while the villainess is very traditionally Japanese in her motifs and backstory, don’t make the teacher go aggressively in either direction—give her a nice balance of modern vs. traditional, Japanese vs. Western sensibilities as far as her looks, dress, interests, values, etc. Because at the end of the day, that’s most modern Japanese people. 

Sometimes, the most difficult representation of a character of color is making a character who is really average, typical, modern, and boring. 

- Rina

[shivunin]

Dragon Age Fic Recs

In honor of the Just Leave a Comment Fest, and with no particular theme, here are a few of my favorite Dragon Age Fics:

(If you wrote one of these fics and want me to tag your blog, please let me know and I'm happy to do so!)

**Always check the tags before jumping in; this list is no exception.**

Origins: 

be my mirror by ella_vellan: (T; 5,798) Alistair & Morrigan. Alistair meets Kieran for the first time in Orlais. The dialogue in this feels so well-paced and authentic, and it really navigates a fraught situation with grace. One of those fics that feels bittersweet in the most cathartic way. 

a gentle, beating heart by rynleaf: (M; 5,115 Words) Warden/Zevran. The Warden finds out she is pregnant sometime after Origins and puts off telling Zevran. The epistolary pieces of this frame the underlying story so well, and the flow of the fic itself is extremely well-paced.

A Man’s Word is His Bond by howlsmovinglibrary: (M; 35,135 Words/9 chapters) Zevran/Warden Soulmate AU. Honestly? This Surana cracks me up and I adore this fic. She is just having absolutely none of his nonsense. No thank you. Also, the implications of a soulmate-identifying mark are really well-explored here.

Dragon Age II:

see me bare my teeth for you by calypsid: (T; 2,978 Words) Fenris/Hawke vampire AU. This one has really good pacing and Fenris’s POV is really effective. Would absolutely read way more about the dynamic between this Hawke and Fenris. 

to hold you by the edges by vesperics: (T; 4,059 Words) Fenris/Hawke wound-tending set sometime in Act 1. I am a sucker for wound-tending anything, but I really enjoyed the way this fic explores Hawke and Fenris’s early dynamic and the way she navigates his boundaries about magical healing. 

River Stone by loquaciousquark: (M; 45,633 Words) Fenris/Hawke. Hawke is captured and subjected to a botched Rite of Tranquility. Hawke survives by pretending it worked while Fenris tries to find her. The pain in this fic is so delicately and thoughtfully depicted; it might be my favorite hurt/comfort fic ever. There is an art to writing something that hurts like this while still making the catharsis of resolution feel earned, and this author absolutely knows how to do it right. 

Inquisition: 

Portrait of a Man by Dulcidyne: (T; 3,136 Words) Cullen/Inquisitor. Cullen sits for a portrait. Love the dynamic of person vs. role here, and the idea of how someone is depicted potentially outliving who they actually are. A fic I would hug if I could. 

Truth-Telling by todisturbtheuniverse: (M; 3,988 Words; CW: Fantasy Racism) Adaar/Josephine. Adaar tells several stories about how she lost her horn, but saves the truth for Josie. There are so many great pieces in this about the faces shown to people we trust vs. people who pry for information. Love the almost-but-not-quite together state of their relationship here, too. Yearning, my beloved. 

Port in the Storm by kvella: (E; 89,445 Words/19 Chapters) After nearly hooking up, Cullen and Josephine navigate their tensions while trying to build a memorial for Haven. A lovely slow burn! Characterization is enjoyable and consistent, smut is well-written, and the tension is palpable. The sections involving Josie’s family were some of my favorites.

[iamdispleased]

Found Some More Hatchetfield Lore!

tldr; at bottom

I remembered that one of the Lang brothers said that Wiggly is based off of Cthulhu, so I decided to do something digging on a piece of shit author, H.P. Lovecraft and y’all… Okay, I don’t know if it counts as lore, but Hatchetfield is right under our noses.

CW: H.P. Lovecraft’s writing is full of bigotry, and if you plan on reading it, prepare yourself. For example, there is an evil entity named Shub-Niggurath. Yeah.

I don’t like H.P. Lovecraft, nor do I enjoy his writing in general, so here are some things that people should look up if you want to find out Hatchetfield’s inspiration. More thoughts on why I cannot write about him are at the bottom.

Also! I do not look down or dislike people who enjoy H.P. Lovecraft’s writing and his creations, and would really love for people to continue to look into things I cannot. I hope my little notes help!

(I’ve linked the stories in pink!)

SPOILERS: Hatchetfield? I guess? The Cthulhu Mythos & The Dream Cycle.

Cthulhu Mythos:

Just read ‘The Call of Cthulhu’. Everything makes sense.

Miss Holloway is based off of a character named Horvath Blayne from the anthology series The Trail to Cthulhu by August Derleth. Here’s one of them. ‘The Black Island, Being the Narrative of Horvath Blayne’.

Duke Keane is also taken from The Trail to Cthulhu.

The narrator of ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ is named Francis Wayland Thurston.

Professor Hidgens is based off of an art student named Henry who is known for being eccentric and living in solitude. (The Call of Cthulhu)

Emma Perkins is named after a ship called the Emma. The crew got into a battle with Cthulhu’s cult members, which resulted in the Emma having one survivor. (The Call of Cthulhu)

John MacNamara is based off of the police officer John Legrasse. (The Call of Cthulhu)

Willabella Muckwab resembles Lavinia Whateley, from ‘The Dunwich Horror’. She has a son, Wilbur Whateley (Wilbur Cross), whose father is the cosmic entity Yog-Sothoth (Wiggog Y’rath). Lavinia went missing on Halloween, and the assumption is that Wilbur killed her.

The Black Book is the Necremonium.

There’s always professors somewhere.

The Dream Cycle:

LOL. The Dream Cycle is a collection of short stories surrounding dream cities. I honestly haven’t read anything about this other than brief stuff from the Wiki, but the connections are painfully obvious.

The word ‘oblivion’ is written in the Black Book. H.P. Lovecraft has a poem titled Ex Oblivione. The narrator sees a gate in his dreams and wants to get past it, but he can’t access it. He eventually does, though. Yikes. Read this post, picture Willabella Muckwab as the narrator for Ex Oblivione, and enjoy.

Bonus: Some of the covers of the magazine that published H.P. Lovecraft’s work (Weird Tales) are sprinkled throughout Hatchetfield.

“Pete, get behind me! I’ve got a gun.”

“Steph… it’s a ghost. I don’t think that’s gonna do any good.”

Rosary? Killer Track, much? Also, the art style for the Black Book kind of resembles this… huh.

-

Note: I had planned to read all of H.P. Lovecraft and the associated work, but the racism is too much for me. I can’t “separate the art from the artists”, especially when everything evil is so obviously and horrendously based on Black people, as well as other races. Again— Shub-Niggurath. Like, seriously?

It’s a huge bummer, because I have so many thoughts— like the implications behind Willabella Muckwab associated with Lavinia Whateley, and Wilbur Cross also being associated with Wilbur Whateley. So much is at our finger tips.

I’m still going to be writing other things, though!

I have more of the Black Book deciphered, so that’s exciting, especially since I actually got some stuff right in my first post. (It was looked at through a more religious lenses rather than an H.P. Lovecraft lenses, though.) BUT STILL. MY EYES HURTING FROM INTENSE SQUINTING SESSIONS WAS NOT FOR NAUGHT! And I know I state some of these things as if they’re facts, but they’re ‘probably based on’ stuff.

Alright. I’m off to read about physics, the concept of nothingness, and the æther in the name of theatre kid.

tldr; the Lang bros made a the TTRPG Call of Cthulhu homebrew and turned it into musicals.

[tcrturedpoetsdepartment]

"𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐- 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚕 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝?" - M.A. 8.11

. THIS IS A SIDEBLOG . ALL FOLLOWS WILL BE FROM THE URL: . @somethingbcrrowed !!!

. Independent. Selective. . Multi-Fandom. Multi-Muse. Multi-Verse. Multi-Ship. . AU/OC/Duplicate/Crossover Friendly . Please read the rules before interacting!

. Cared for by Jamie / 30+ (she/they) / MINORS DNI

. . Rules - Fandoms & Muses - Prompts & Starters .

Come Find Me At My Other RP Blogs:

intergalacticstarlight (doctor who multimuse) therainbcwroom (stranger things multimuse sideblog ; follows from intergalacticstarlight) endcfanempire (star wars multimuse) kingdomsreign (padme amidala blog) inkwellsandbroomsticks (antijkr wizarding world multimuse) capitoldarlings (hunger games multimuse) somethingbcrrowed (klaus hargreeves blog)

CONTENT WARNINGS & RULES UNDER THE CUT FOR MOBILE:

CONTENT WARNING:

This blog contains characters from A Song Of Ice And Fire/Game Of Thrones/House Of The Dragon/Fire And Blood, Outlander, Those About To Die, Titanic, Pirates of The Caribbean, Red Dragon/Silence of The Lambs/Hannibal and more. I don't remove anything or avoid anything for the sake of comfort as I feel all of it is absolutely necessary to the story and the characters therein. With that in mind, please remember that the triggering content listed below isn't the entirety of what you might find here, but it does cover the vast majority of it.:

graphic sexual content, prostitution, smoking cigarettes, incest, heavy drug use, alcoholism, fictional religion and fictional religious propaganda or cults based on real religions, fictional politics and fictional political propaganda based on real politics and propo, fictional classism, fictional racism/xenophobia/prejudice/color bias (no slurs will be used in any form), demonology and demonic chanting, witchcraft, drowning, hanging, beheading, suicide, cannibalism, varying degrees of mental illness including C-PTSD, NPD and undiagnosed ASPD, graphic violence, graphic descriptions of gore including torture, major character deaths, childbirth, child loss, pregnancy, pregnancy loss (miscarriage and stillbirth), blood, noncon and dubcon, reanimation, necromancy, mind control, brainwashing, memory manipulation and implantation, medical experimentation and torture, living autopsies, psychological/emotional abuse and manipulation, domestic violence/abuse, mentions of CSA (nothing graphic or written out, mostly just implications/disclosure or bits and pieces of flashbacks) and more.

No matter what your triggers may be, please blacklist them with the format used below and, unless it's something I don't realize requires tagging, it should work to keep it off your dash. . cw alcoholism . cw addiction . cw dead dove . cw dead dove content DISCLAIMER: WRITING IT DOES NOT MEAN ENDORSEMENT. I will never mock, insult, make fun of, glorify or romanticize any of the topics listed above, nor any of the other dark topics that may lurk on my blog. They will, however, be portrayed realistically which may include glorification and compartmentalization/ victim blaming/ predator apologia from the muses themselves as they experience and process these things first hand. These topics will always be treated with the most respect possible while still keeping everything in character.

THE RULES:

IF YOU’RE PRIVATE/MUTUALS ONLY and don’t plan to follow be back once I’ve followed you, please softblock me so that I unfollow you. I have a mutuals tracker but it glitches sometimes.

IF I FOLLOW YOU and there’s something in your rules that would prevent us from writing together, it was an oversight. Simply softblock me so I unfollow you or hardblock me if you feel the need.

IF YOU FOLLOW ME USING A MAIN BLOG FOR A SIDEBLOG THAT I’VE FOLLOWED, please let me know which sideblog it’s for if it’s not obvious or linked somewhere on your blog.

I’M 30+ IN AGE AND I DO NOT WRITE WITH ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. The muses also have to be over 18 for there to be anything more than non-detailed kissing/‘making out’ and fading to black/hinting at stuff happening. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.

I DO HAVE A DISCORD as well as a RoleplayNation account, both of which are available to MUTUALS of mine upon request.

This blog is INDEPENDENT & SELECTIVE. That means it’s not based off of or directly linked to any other roleplaying blog on this site or anywhere else and that I’m very selective about who I write with.

This blog is MULTIFANDOM, MULTIMUSE, MULTISHIP, MULTIVERSE, OCS, CROSSOVERS & DUPLICATES. Multifandom means I write in many different fandoms on this blog. Multimuse means I write for many different muses/characters on this blog. Multiship means I write several different relationships for my muses, and they’re all separate and individual unless specified otherwise. Multiverse means I write my muses in different Universes, sometimes totally different (Alternate) and sometimes along the same vein just slightly altered (canon divergent or crossovers). OC’s, Crossovers and Duplicates means I welcome original characters, crossovers between fandoms and that I don’t mind if you write for the same muses that I do. If you want to block a muse tag of mine, please see my Tags List.

SHIPPING HAPPENS AND SMUT/GRAPHIC CONTENT WILL BE PRESENT HERE. I ship based off of chemistry and chemistry alone, regardless of who the muse happens to be. See my Tags List for how to format blacklisted tags.

UNLESS YOU’RE WRITING THE THREADS WITH ME, DON’T REBLOG THEM. You can reblog lyricals, musings and headcanons unless stated otherwise in the tags though.

NO HATE OR BULLYING OF ANY KIND WILL BE TOLERATED HERE. This includes actively posting anti content, callouts (that aren’t warranted), sending “helpful” anons or anon hate, things like hateposts about cast members, faceclaims, musicians, showrunners, etc.. I just don’t want to see it or deal with it. The only exception is if I post something requesting anon hate for in character responses, which I normally never do anyway.

NO GODMODING OR METAGAMING, unless it’s plotted out beforehand or it’s used VERY LIGHTLY in interactions with characters(muses) where that would be possible or even warranted, such as characters with powers/abilities or during violent and action filled sequences. In those cases, SOME godmodding or metagaming may be applied.

DO NOT ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER IS ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH MINE unless it’s been seen in canon already, we've plotted it/agreed to it beforehand or we’re friends OOC. Likewise, DO NOT assume your character and mine have children already. I don’t mind if you send in ‘tell my muse your muse is pregnant’ memes if it’s portrayed as unexpected and due to a fling, though.

ANY PROMPTS, MEMES, QUESTIONS OR STARTERS THAT I POST/REBLOG WILL NEVER EXPIRE, meaning you can send them in at any time even if they’re a year or more old. Please understand that I’m allowed to choose what I do and do not respond to. If I don’t respond to something you’ve sent, please send another thing! I don’t mind if you send 10 prompts, it gives me more to choose from when finding inspiration to write.

[a-student-out-of-time]

Please share the ReBirth thoughts!

//Alright, if you insist!

//First off, I really like the cast. You can probably tell my favorite character is Marin, but I like Ayumu, Aruma, Maiko, Kego, and really everyone has their merits ^^

//I have to admit, though, that I take issue with a lot of aspects of the story itself. Not quite to the same extreme as SDRA2, as I don't think it completely derails its own plot, but there are still sticking points to me, some of them pretty heavy given the subject matter of the game:

(CW: Discussions about bullying, oppression and racism included)

I appreciate that they changed the reactions to Ayumu being a cross-dresser away from the grotesquely transphobic attitudes in the original Japanese version, but I'm not fond of the implication that Ayumu became an enby because of Emi's abuse. Even if it wasn't the intent, that's how it comes across.

Everything that happened with Maiko and Saiji is textbook fridging. It doesn't really do anything for the story beyond artificially setting up his death and lots of drama.

I don't like that they can talk to the dead. Kasumi having the ability to channel spirits is supposed to be unpleasant for there and that's why it doesn't happen often, but if they can just pull ghosts back to get information, that really undermines a lot of the deaths in a way the story never really recovers from. Chapter 1 literally ends with Maiko coming back, explaining the misunderstanding that got her killed, and hugging everybody. Come on.

The talent-switching machine Chapter 3 feels like it completely breaks the motivations of the villains just by existing.

The multi-kill for Seishi, very Murder on the Orient Express, where it turns out Marin is the one who accidentally killed him feels...I dunno, I think it's why I prefer DT's idea for the Blackened. Having the Blackened by the one who delivered the fatal blow feels far too easy to exploit for emotional manipulation.

Everything having to do with Narumi.

//Now, I have to say, I like that this game has two masterminds, one motivated by despair and the other by hope. It's pretty unique. My problem mostly has do with the motivation.

//See, Akira's motivation is purely self-centered, wanting revenge on Kego for the death of his grandmother, Sumiko Kamiya, the Former Ultimate Ghostwriter. A woman who became a despair during The Tragedy and, as a result, was swayed to that side himself.

//In contrast, Narumi is the daughter of Taizo Osone, the former Ultimate Chef, and is the middle child of a huge number of siblings. The two of them were very close, Taizo helped her hone her own talent, and he was an active member of the Rights For Ultimates (RFU) movement. This was a group that sought to promote equal rights against people who were blaming them for the Tragedy.

//And it was during one such RFU protest that a riot broke out and Taizo was gunned down by police. An event that broke Narumi's heart and drove her to seek revenge against the system that had caused all of this. That's how she wound up crossing paths with Akira.

//The problem here is that, in her quest to seek justice for her father, Narumi becomes another example of the "oppressed minority who goes too far" cliche. Instead of targeting the system that hurts people like her, she targets other Ultimates and puts them in a killing game, thinking that by causing another Tragedy, she and Akira can become the new heroes and getting people to love Ultimates like they did back in the day.

//Now, of course, Akira's actual goal is just to destroy society as revenge for Sumiko's death and to spread despair once again. But because he dies in Chapter 2, that ultimately means most of the blame falls onto Narumi's shoulders. And what happens to her by the end?

//She gets sentenced to life in prison, with Ayumu promising to finish what she started. This sounds nice and all, but coming at the end of the story, it feels more like an empty platitude. How will Ayumu dismantle this oppressive system? How will equal rights for Ultimates be earned? How will any of this get solved?

//No idea! That's just how the story ends!

//I don't like this kind of storytelling because it often perpetuates negative and dangerous stereotypes, and even if the villain is functionally right, their actions within the narrative are effectively meant to get us to dismiss those ideals for change in favor of the status quo.

//The fact that Narumi is dark-skinned really doesn't help.

//RWBY, the MCU, Shadowrun, even The Last Airbender suffered from this in the episode where they introduced Bloodbending. I know a lot of people like that episode, but I really don't care for it. It takes a victim of oppression by an imperialist society, held captive and dehumanized for years, and turns her into an unrepentant villain that tortures random civilians and revels in killing. And then when she's defeated, she's returned to that same oppressive system as if that's meant to be justice.

//The irony is that, had Akira stuck around, all of this would've been easily solved. Make HIM the guy who hijacked Narumi's good intentions, lied to her, tricked her and pushed her too far. She still has a hand in all this without making her out to be another example of this cliche, and instead of being sent to rot in prison, she tries to actually change things for the better.

//Hell, you can include Seishi in that as well. Rather than just a hitman sent to kill Ayumu, have him showcase how much he's suffered under this oppressive system and how much he wants to be free of it too. You can still have the talent-switching machine, maybe as a promise for anyone who kills, and Seishi says Ayumu can escape with him and both of them will be free of their respective talents they hate.

//Yes, I understand this is all just an outline of how the story would've gone and the final product might've been different, but the greater-scope villains here should be the ones orchestrating the system that hurts people, not people trying to take a stand against the system and change it or bring it down.

//I don't think Rebirth is bad at all, it just suffers from a lot of the flaws and misunderstandings that come with trying to write nuanced stories about prejudice. Making the oppressed just as bad as the oppressor is not deep or complex storytelling when it's designed to get us to see challenging the status quo as bad.

[somethingbcrrowed]

🇭​​🇴​​🇼​ ​🇩​​🇴​ ​🇾​​🇴​​🇺​ ​🇰​​🇳​​🇴​​🇼​ ​🇼​​🇭​​🇴​ ​🇮​ ​🇦​​🇲​?​​ 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝓃𝒿𝑜𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝐼 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝐼'𝒹 𝒹𝑜… 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓊𝒾𝓁𝓉. 𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒? 𝒰𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓏𝑒𝓃, 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓁𝓎… 🇭​​🇴​​🇼​ ​🇩​​🇴​ ​🇮​ ​🇰​​🇳​​🇴​​🇼​ ​🇼​​🇭​​🇴​ ​🇮​ ​🇦​​🇲​?

CONTENT WARNING: This blog contains material that some readers may find very disturbing. Reader's discretion is highly advised.

. Independent. Selective. Multi-Verse. Multi-Ship. . AU/OC/Duplicate/Crossover Friendly . Please read the rules before interacting!

. Cared for by Jamie / 30+ (she/they) / MINORS DNI

. ✩ Rules ✩ Backstory ✩ Universes ✩ Prompts & Starters ✩ . ✩Tags List✩

Wondering why on Earth I followed you if you're not in the Umbrella Fandom? It's probably for my sideblog below: tcrturedpoetsdepartment (multifandom multimuse sideblog including ASOIAF, HOTD, Outlander, Vampire C.hronicles, The MCU and more; follows from this blog, somethingbcrrowed)

Come Find Me At My Other RP Blogs:

intergalacticstarlight (doctor who multimuse ) therainbcwroom (stranger things multimuse sideblog ; follows from intergalacticstarlight, iconless) endcfanempire (star wars multimuse) kingdomsreign (padme amidala blog) inkwellsandbroomsticks (antijkr wizarding world multimuse, iconless) capitoldarlings (hunger games multimuse, iconless)

CONTENT WARNINGS & RULES (under the cut for mobile users):

CONTENT WARNING:

Please keep in mind that the potentially triggering content listed below isn't the entirety of what you might find here, but it does cover the vast majority of it:

graphic sexual content, prostitution, smoking cigarettes, heavy drug use, alcoholism, fictional religion and fictional religious propaganda or cults, fictional politics and fictional political propaganda, fictional classism, fictional racism/xenophobia/prejudice/color bias (time travel purposes ; nothing graphic, no slurs will be used), demonology, witchcraft, drowning, hanging, suicide, varying degrees of mental illness including C-PTSD, NPD and ASPD, graphic violence, graphic descriptions of gore, major character deaths, childbirth, child loss, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, blood, noncon and dubcon, reanimation, necromancy, torture, mind control, brainwashing, memory manipulation and implantation, medical experimentation, living autopsies, medical torture, psychological/emotional abuse and manipulation, domestic violence/abuse, CSA (nothing graphic, mostly flashbacks or implications/disclosure) and more.

No matter what your triggers may be, please blacklist them with the format used below and, unless it's something I don't realize requires tagging, it should work to keep it off your dash. Same for spoiler posts.

. cw alcoholism . cw addiction . cw dead dove . cw dead dove content . cw s04 canon . tua spoilers . s4 spoilers . spoilers

DISCLAIMER: WRITING IT DOES NOT MEAN ENDORSEMENT. I will never mock, insult, make fun of, glorify or romanticize any of the topics listed above, nor any of the other dark topics that may lurk on my blog. They will, however, be portrayed realistically which may include glorification and compartmentalization/victim blaming/predator apologia from the mind of Klaus Hargreeves himself as he experiences and processes these things first hand. These topics will always be treated with the most respect possible while still keeping it in character.

RULES:

If you're Mutuals Only (Private) and don’t plan to follow be back once I’ve followed you, please softblock me so that I unfollow you. I'm not mutuals only and even though I have a mutuals tracker, sometimes it glitches because this place loves to fix what wasn't broken.

If I follow you it means I want to rp with you and welcome you to interact, whether it be tagging me in a random starter, inboxing to plot or sending memes and prompts to me. Even if we owe replies and have already sent each other tons of stuff, please feel free to send more.

None of my prompts or memes ever expire, and I encourage you to send as many as you can/want to. The more the merrier. It gives me more to work with and lets me be more creative. Even if I haven't answered many, just send more and the likelihood will increase!

If you're following me from a main blog, please let me know which sideblog you run, especially if your main blog is a personal blog.

Minors DNI. I'm over 30 years old and will not write with anyone under the age of 18. Likewise, all muses must be over the age of 18 to write anything more than kissing, fading to black or implications. If you refuse to disclose your age or I find out you're lying about it I may block you outright.

I also write on Discord, Docs, Email and RPNation for Mutuals whom I've written with at least once or twice before. If you want to rp in any of those formats and we're not Mutuals, feel free to inbox me and we'll discuss it.

Shipping happens and smut will be present here. I ship based off of chemistry and I tag everything accordingly. I have no problems writing graphic, detailed smut and have no triggers when it comes to the written word (as of yet). I also use Read More cuts and Content Warnings on smut posts. If you don't write smut and/or don't want anything graphic, please tell me beforehand if it isn't in your rules/FAQs.

Don't assume Klaus is in a relationship with your muse, unless you write for David Katz. He also has no children that he knows of, though I'm fine with you sending pregnancy memes (so long as there's enough context).

Unless you're the one writing the thread with me, do not reblog it (liking it or commenting on it is fine, just don't reblog it). If you do, I'll inbox you to ask you politely to remove it. If you do, it's all good and if not, I'll send up to two more reminders (spaced out by a day or so in between, to be fair, as I know a lot of you aren't super active on here) before I block you. You can reblog anything else you find here, unless the tags tell you not to, so MIND THE TAGS!

No OOC hate or bullying of any kind will be tolerated here. This includes actively posting anti content, callouts (that aren’t warranted), sending “helpful” anons or anon hate, things like hateposts about cast members, faceclaims, musicians, showrunners, etc… I don't mind if you roast Klaus in my askbox, though, so long as it's in character. I ENJOYED S04.

No Godmodding, Metagaming or changing context completely without discussing it with me first, otherwise I'll lose inspo for the thread and it'll die out.

[fanby-fckry]

Tags to Block:

Please send me an ask if you need something tagged. New tags may be added as they come up; these are just the most common ones.

Light Tags:

#not fandom — non-fandom posts I was so inconsistent with this tag that I made a new blog for non-fandom posts: @fagdyke-fckry

#eyestrain — potential eyestrain

#flash warning — flashing, strobing, or fast moving images

#undescribed — images without image descriptions

#artistic nudity — nonsexual nudity

#osha violation — not safe for work catchall tag

#suggestive, #not osha compliant — previously used nsfw tags for more specific categories; trying to sort them was hurting my brain

Heavy Tags:

In alphabetical order

#ableism cw — mentions/discussions of ableism; including saneism

#addiction cw — mentions/discussions of addiction; including substance addiction, gambling addiction, etc.; not including recreational drug use if addiction isn’t mentioned/implied in the post

#aphobia cw — mentions/discussions of aphobia, acephobia, arophobia, aro/ace-exclusionism, and acecourse

#arachnophobia cw — photos or other realistic images of spiders

#biphobia cw — mentions/discussions of biphobia and bi exclusionism

#discourse cw — fandom discourse, queer discourse/infighting

#fatphobia cw — mentions/discussions of fatphobia, weight bias, diet culture, etc.

#gore cw — fictional/illustrated/special effects gore

#homophobia cw — mentions/discussions of homophobia

#paranoia cw — anything that might trigger paranoia

#queerphobia cw — umbrella tag for mentions/discussions of bigotry against any queer identity

#racism cw — mentions/discussions of racism

#saneism cw — mentions/discussions of saneism, bigotry towards any mental illness or neurodivergence; including the concept of ‘narc abuse’ and similar hate towards people with personality disorders

#scopophobia cw — scopophobia triggers; images of eyes, implications of being watched

#sexual assault cw — mentions/discussion of sexual abuse, sexual assault, sex trafficking and rape

#transphobia cw — mentions/discussions of transphobia, trans exclusionism, TERFs, transmedicalism, trans gatekeeping, and other such nonsense

#unreality cw — anything that might induce a sense of unreality

[randomidiocyncrazies]

shortbox comics fair 2023

it's always really nice to see indie comics thrive as an art form, so here are some of the comics from this year's shortbox fair that i've really enjoyed under the cut

(lmao i wish i had to foresight to like. save the official synopsis and preview art for the comics before the event was over...)

CROSSED SIGNALS by mxiiha

f/f, 23 pages.

bro this comic rewired my brain

the use of color is really striking, and the contemptuous, desperate, unknowing yearning between the main characters is just. impeccable vibes. like. someone gets under your skin so much and you don't know why but you devote yourself to provoking them, getting a reaction out of them, and proving yourself to them... the single-minded drive to get them to acknowledge you as someone who means something to them *chef kiss*

French Exit by Elle Shivers

gen, 46 pages. potential cw: sports injury leading to retirement, discussion of institutionalized racism

it's described as a "sports story without the sports" and i was immediately intrigued. the comic is presented as a conversation between a retired skater and an interviewer working for an online news outlet on the verge of collapse, and i think the way it's laid out is so so so interesting!

this layout really effectively controls the pace of the conversation—unlike a more 'traditional' layout where readers can just 'skip' to the next moment of action/dialogue, here every pause is represented with a blank panel on the conversation side and forces us to experience all the silent moments alongside the characters, which is a really cool way to ground us in the conversation

Light Through Memory by Jean Wei

gen, 32 pages.

a historical story about two young astrologers in completely different parts of the world connected by their night time discovery. i found the story bittersweet but hopeful, and the mirrored structure of this comic is one of my favorite things about it. the two halves of the story fit together seamlessly even though the characters never interact physically and don't even know of the other's existence

Marrow by Solane Hong

gen, 39 pages. cw: body horror, gore(? internal organs but no blood)

a good horror gives you enough to realize the implications, but also leaves room for the audience to draw their own conclusions. i really liked that we don't get to see what the characters saw in the last page, but there are enough hints to imply what they were looking at.

and while the reveal would not surprise anyone who's aware of the tropes in dystopian fiction, imo the point and tone of this comic had never been about shocking the readers—it's about the characters finding out, and i enjoyed every moment of the journey

My Father was a Good Man by Adeline Kon

gen with f/f, 39 pages. cw: animal death, gore, parental abuse

a story of a hunter vowing to hunt down the wolf that killed her father, who was a very good man. but the beast she's hunting for might not be so simple after all...

i love how the reveal was handled here, made possible by the subtle foreshadowing laid down beforehand

stinking benjamins by Jade Armstrong

gen (with hint of romance), 28 pages. cw: discussions of death, suicidal ideation, animal death (not the dog)

the layout of this comic is a very cool way to see how these characters' inner thoughts alongside the conversation they're having. i love how not in-sync their inner thoughts are, and it's a good reminder that what your perception of other people isn't necessarily the whole picture

the body from the river by riotbones

gen, 32 pages. cw: death

the lovely preview art and synopsis immediately grabbed my interest. the story begins with the body of a stranger being washed up, and the villagers speculate on who this corpse might've been and what kind of life they might've led before their demise.

i go feral for stories where someone's identity—who they really are—is unknowable to the readers and other characters, so all we can do is use them as a vehicle to tell our own stories of what might've been

The Future Saints by Niv Sekar

gen with queer themes, 25 pages. cw: touches on homophobia

this is very much a queer story, featuring the adult protagonist looking back at their childhood watching a cartoon that felt "kind of gay" with their friend, even though the show might not have intended that interpretation at all.

i really enjoyed how well the art style and color palette fit the narrative about the half-forgotten memories of childhood, and grappling with the mixed feelings of re-encountering something that had a huge impact on you in your childhood, but you discover that it doesn't hold up as an adult

the quiet end of the mundane age by Theo Stuluz

m/m, 72 pages. cw: er... a magic equivalent of a terminal(?) illness? maybe?

the wouldbuilding here is fascinating, and it does a really good job of balancing the romance between the two leads (cute!) with the mystery of what's going on with the magic in their world. there's so much implied about their society here and i really like that they don't really indulge in exposition? i kinda wish it's a full serialized series because the world is so interesting!

[trophybutchpics]

putting these under a cut bc they’re so vicious it’s insane. cw for fatphobia, racism, and general ignorance. the way people react to even the implication of feedism is genuine horrific

NOTE: all she said was “my gf isn’t fat, yet”

People straight up respond worse to even mild feederism than they do to almost any other fetish practiced online or in person its so sucks.

u would not believe the comments ivy got on instagram reels when she made a JOKE about getting me fat lol. people are straight up terrified of feedism it’s so sad

[happysharkintensifies]

This constant repeat of humans being oppressed and/or enslaved is a recurring (and baffling) pattern in SJM's work.

While @ae-neon and @novaricewrites excellently summarize how SJM misuses themes of oppression and reduces them to set dressing, I think we should also bring attention to the portrayal of humans, and how it raises some disturbing implications.

@novaricewrites touched on this with the 'idea of inherited and innate supremacy', and I think it merits further observation.

(just to be safe, CW for mention of some disturbing ideology/topics)

Ordinary humans are not a prominent feature in SJM's works. In fact, they're given so little focus that readers easily forget they exist.

(quick aside: the fact that human enslavement is constant throughout SJM's multiverse is metaphysically horrifying. but that's for another day)

But when they are in the spotlight, the narrative in SJM's multiverse constantly paints humans as 'drab'. They're painted as less beautiful, less physically fit, less cultured, less important.

I visited the CCity wiki and this is their page on humans:

It's basically a stub. There are blank pages with more content than this. But that aside, this perfectly illustrates my point. We get barely any mention of human culture, religions, traditions or government. The 'physical description' section is laughable. And any history mentioned here is only as it relates to the Vanir.

The various magical beings, however, are described in more flattering light. They're fast and strong and cunning. They're hot and beautiful, with spicy personalities and powers beyond imagining. They're the ones with intricate backstories and heartbreaking trauma. They're more important. They're better.

And this juxtaposition reminds me of 'scientific racism' and eugenics. The idea that there are portions of the population that are 'naturally' more intelligent, more healthy, more physically fit than the rest.

We see it in CCity, where the Vanir are described as 'more civilized'. We see it in ACOTAR where humans are derided for 'bigotry' against fae. We even see small hints of it in ToG, with Aelin's colonizer fantasy.

Now, just to be absolutely clear, I'm not saying that SJM is a eugenicist. Nor should my points be taken as evidence of the same either, since it's inconclusive. It's very likely this happened by complete accident, and SJM simply didn't think before writing (which is actually on brand for her anyway, but i digress)

That, and there's a very, very, very big chance that I'm completely wrong about this and this take is just full of BS.

But the way I see it, (and keep in mind: this is just the way I see it, I could be wrong) the narrative around humans still hews disturbingly close to eugenics.

And I don't think enough people are talking about it.

Sarah Janet Maas is obsessed with the aesthetics of oppression and in particular loves some trauma porn back stories, especially ones where male love interests were subjugated by Wicked Women™

But she also dislikes actual rebellion. She thinks people have their place and the ones who get uppity are no good

So she writes protagonists and love interests who belong on top, who were born to rule and inherit overwhelming power, being forced down by antagonistic forces

Her wars and battles and story arcs are simply the world correcting itself by having the MC and their friends in power

No groups of people, no marginalised minorities etc are uplifted as a whole and anyone from an oppressed group who used or uses violence is cast as dubious at best and a flat out villain at worst

[beels-burger-babe]

Poly!MC Masterlist

Can't choose which brother to date? Why choose when you can have them all!

A Little Voice Told Me: Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3 Summary: Words hurt and leave their scars. MC learns this the hard way after hearing some not-so-nice whispers about them while on a date with Beel. How are they supposed to be the partner of the seven lords of the Devildom when they just don’t measure up?

Mind Your Traps Summary: After a few nights of Mammon consistently trying to break into his room and steal his cursed records, Lucifer decided to put up a trap for him. When he sees it’s been triggered later that day, he just grins and carries on with his work, imagining the suffering his brother must be going through. It’s not until his brothers start panicking and he sees Mammon panicking with them that he realizes he messed up…big time.

A Pain You’ll Soon Regret: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,  Summary: MC and the demon lords get in a fight resulting in MC leaving. They planned on going to Purgatory Hall until things cool off, but they never quite make it there. TW: Heavy Angst, Violence, I don’t know what to tag this, but there is a pretty nasty verbal fight, Gore/Injury

Melodious Mourning Summary:  It’s MC’s anniversary of their relationship with the Lords of the Devildom. They’ve planned a little something special to share with them; something that will express how much they love the brothers, while also preparing them for a tragic truth.

What's Behind an Apology Summary: It seems that every time MC gets caught into some form of trouble, they get berated until they apologize. The other exchange students pick up on the theme, and though they aren't ones to meddle, they decide this isn't something they can simply let pass. CW: Unconcious Bias/Racism (the racism is demon against human), Domestic Arguing

Like Humans Do Summary: MC decides that, for once, they want to be the one to surprise and plan an outing for their significant others. Follow MC and the lords of the Devildom on their journey out into the human world and all the shenanigans that follow.

Class is in Session: Summary: Now that your class has finished discussing the theories of how to apply seductive speechcraft at RAD, it’s time to apply that knowledge. Unfortunately for you, you’re the only human in the room and are the perfect test subject to practice with. CW: It’s gonna get SUGGESTIVE. Nothing explicit, but there are some implications. Especially with Asmo. This one gets quite sensual.

[catesartworks]

Answering Asks about Isekai Maid

I received a lot of asks about Isekai Maid in my inbox, so I will post them here under the cut! They are from November to now, so check and see if yours is down there!

Cw: Discussions of abuse, xenophobia, and assault.

This is gonna be long, so buckle up!

I get what you’re saying, I don’t think that every webtoon author has these same opinions on classism and racism in these stories, certainly not. Everyone is different, not everyone is going to make the same story and their views are based on their personal ideals and upbringing.

I can’t comment knowledgeably on East Asian nobility politics in fiction, or their dynamics and the tropes used in that setting, though I can recognize the tropes being used. When a webtoon takes place in an East Asian court, it’s harder for me to get the greater scope and the cultural context because it is not the culture I was born in, so I have to do research and think about how those translate. It’s part of the fun! I get to learn something new.

But the implications come with the setting they choose. And many authors choose European/western settings and thus carry all of the issues that come with it regardless of intention. 

In fact, when it comes to Otome Isekai webtoons and novels that I am criticizing, the majority I’ve read have the settings, character names, costumes, etc. are inspired by European aesthetics and nobility titles, western historical figures, artwork, etc. My “maid slapping” master post is pretty much exclusively western inspired settings.

I’ve read stories that I really love (Beware the Villainess) and ones I really dislike (Abandoned Empress), and they all to an extent use Western Aesthetic with some East Asian Nobility tropes that you mentioned at some points.

For example, the fact that Ian from Beware the Villainess and Ruve from Abandoned Empress become the Emperor when they’re illegitimate children and not born from the Empress wouldn’t happen in Europe, but I accept it nonetheless because it doesn’t really hinder the story and it’s interesting. It’s a different perspective. 

I can make concessions on certain things, but not slapping maids, no matter how justified it is in the story. It just doesn’t work in European/western settings, and it makes me uncomfortable.

I think the idea of being ignorance does a disservice to those who DO take the time and effort to do their research. The internet is there, and so are books, reference material, websites that many artists and writers draw from. And there are authors who do amazing amounts of research, and care into the dynamics of the setting they’re in, even when taking liberties.

One such example is Monster Princess and Contract Duchess. It’s one of my favorite webtoons ever, I even own the physical edition. The author took great care in depicting black people and how they are drawn. The politics and power dynamics in that story are also very good and show how corrupt a system can be to children who need help the most. There is an acknowledgement of Leslie being sheltered, and going past her preconceived notions of others, being taken aback by people who do not look like her and embracing the diversity of the world around her.

Which is why is pains me when authors, no matter who, use the aesthetic of European nobility and insert dynamics that romanticize social ills (like classism) that Europe and western countries struggle with historically. If you can do extensive research on historical costume and art, then the cultural information surrounding it was always a click away.

Maids historically in the west have been people who are lower status socioeconomically, and at the mercy of their employers especially in a western setting where they are often immigrants. There are Romance Fantasy comics that acknowledge that the noble is of higher standing than a maid (who are commoners) and has more power than them, would be free to fire them and yet, still indulge in maid slapping (Duchess 50 Tea Recipes, The Lady Needs a Break, Just Leave Me Be).

And when a western inspired story is exported into a western market, it’s going to be looked at from a historical lens by people who grew up in that culture. I’m sorry, but it can’t be avoided. The author’s chose to do this and it is inevitable.

Saint Soo is a woman who was accidentally Isekai’d into Teffrah. She had healing powers and was at odds with the Empress, Christina. Empress Christina, who herself had gone back in time after being killed by the Emperor over his love for Lady Soo, already met Lady Soo and assumed that she would be just like her previous timeline self and try to win the Emperor’s affections.

But Lady Soo, in this timeline, had no memory of the previous timeline and acted differently. She became disillusioned with the emperor and the noble court after witnessing them beating a servant to death for a minor mistake. The Emperor, no longer interested in Lady Soo, went back to the Christina, who was certain that he was a different man in this timeline and deserves a second chance.

She didn’t afford this mindset to Lady Soo, who she saw as ignorant for supporting the abolishment of slavery and supporting the people of Teffrah’s constitution. Lady Soo didn’t do that in the previous timeline, so the Empress thought that she was only doing this to look good for commoners.

She had Lady Soo accused of trying to start a coup because of her involvement with supporting the constitution, and had her executed. This nearly caused a civil war and the emperor later went back to his old ways and began mistreating Christina. She was later imprisoned and executed. Lady Soo was then made a posthumous saint.

Nora Williams is transgender. She was assigned male at birth, so that is why she was wearing boy’s clothes as a child. 

There are spells for transportation, time and space, sound, purification, temperature, and mind altering. Each spell has a time limit, but depending on your skill level, it can be extended from seconds, to minutes, to days to years. 

The general populace tend to use things like stones and wands because they are most accessible, but with sufficient training one can use their hands to use magic. There are also laws strictly forbidding certain types of magic falling under the “time and space” and “mind altering” types of magic (though there are some grey areas because transportation magic also falls under it). 

It’s a combination of a transportation spell and a sound spell. They look for key words like “reincarnator” and words relating to it, such as names of figures in history. What happens if it’s triggered is that Imperial Knights are sent an alert to arrest the person who set the spell off. 

There is also a dust that covers the person in question so they are easily identified.  It’s not a perfect spell though, it kind of relies on the only people who know about reincarnators being educated in that specific academy, so people who do know about reincarnators who don’t attend the academy won’t be prosecuted (like Linus)

Shellie was a bit of a troublemaker growing up, and hates the Imperial Knights with a passion. This is due to the fact that out of most of her family, she passes as a Teffrah citizen due to her light skin color. When she was a child, Imperial Knights arrested her and her mother and threw them both in prison overnight. 

They didn’t believe that her mother, who was darker in skin tone than Shellie, was biologically related to Shellie and assumed she stole her. When it was confirmed that she was Shellie’s biological mother, they gave no apology whatsoever. 

Shellie often got into trouble, and had a fiery personality until her parents got laid off from their work. For a long time, Shellie and her siblings had to be the breadwinners of her family, so she read hand me down books and as a result idealized the noble lifestyle to get away from the chaos. 

In the original timeline, this resulted in Shellie being a people pleaser who isolated herself and had an unbalanced relationship with Anette. But in this timeline, Bridgette became someone Shellie could vent all her frustrations with, and developed a good relationship with her.

Marina has autism, she is sensitive to certain sounds and noises. Her knowing magic contributes to her using her hearing sensitivity to track when people are using spells, but it can also be painful for her.

  Yep. What happened with Nahla (Lord Demeter’s birth mother) was very infamous throughout the Limpette community in Teffrah, and the nobility as well. The maids who were employed by the Demeter household were all let go, and forced to sign agreements not to talk about what happened in that household. 

Servants from other households also warned young Limpette women not to accept jobs there, so there was a massive decrease in maid applications as well. While the Demeter household attempted to spin it into “Nahla fell in love with Lord Demeter and killed him” while omitting that she was assaulted and forced to have his child, they also imposed a ban on female servants before the fact that female servants were too afraid to work there came to light. 

There are timelines where Marinus was rescued by his family, and Nahla survived, but they wouldn’t go to Limpette. Nahla’s family escaped Limpette because of Teffrah’s brutal occupation and military invasion. They couldn’t go back to Limpette because it’s not safe to live there. 

The timeline where Marinus lives with his mother’s family would be because Lady Demeter successfully gave birth to a male heir around the same time that Marinus was born. Marinus couldn’t pass as a Teffrah child, so he and Nahla would be expelled from the household.

Nahla, no matter what timeline, wouldn’t be able to bring herself to raise him (now named Seasalt) because of the trauma surrounding how he was born. He would be raised by his aunt Talia (Marina’s mother), his grandparents, and with his cousins. his relationship with his mother is distant, but she cares about him.

Seasalt would grow up to be haughty, and very charismatic but selfish. Overall a decent person, if a bit overdramatic. He can’t handle money and always has to ask Marina for it since she handles the family's finances. He would also constantly threaten to run away and never return, but always comes back home after a few days because he blows through his savings.

Gregory’s family belongs to a fundamentalist sect of Teffrah nobility. They don’t believe in medical intervention, and are strongly opposed to things that they consider “outside of the laws of the divine will.” 

To them, getting sick is just nature weeding out the weak, and if someone is weak enough to die, then they deserve to. 

However, it should also be noted that this apparently doesn’t apply to the leader of their sect, or his inner circle and their families, who are allowed to have as much access to medicine as they want or need. They are deemed “socially superior” due to their wealth, and must stay alive to keep the population of Teffrah “pure” from “foreign blood.”

When Gregory fell into a coma from the poison, his parents did ask for permission to give him medical attention, but their request was denied and he died as a result.

She finds them on the ground, puts magic in them, and when they’re done they turn back into rocks.

Thank you for reading! I haven’t read Ascendance of a Bookworm yet, but I’ll check it out!

OG!Delilah would probably be very quiet but ashamed. She doesn’t like getting attention and her reincarnator is an extrovert.

OG!Anette would probably be over the moon at first that Marinus finally loves her, then get very shocked when finding out his true nature and try to run away. She would probably be at odds with her reincarnator, they are very different people and would probably argue a lot.

OG! Phoebe wanted to be more assertive, but she didn’t want what her reincarnator wanted. She is horrified by the way she treats people and can’t stand Dimitri (who she thinks is creepy).

Yes, Caravaggio’s mom is from the same town as Eriadne, though a little in the boonies.

Demons are manifestations of the magic within people that is not properly contained. Nobles who aren’t interested in magic and neglect understanding it, and commoners who lack access to education to harness it are the main victims. Magic can manifest through trauma, and if someone is too scared to die, they have a high chance of becoming a demon or spirit.

Spirits can latch onto demons and do their bidding in exchange for more power, which is what led to the problems at Eriadne’s manor. Her demon stepfather had a whole bunch of evil spirits that followed him around and resorted to eating people/possessing them in order to try and become human again.

[fe-noumenal]

Apostles of Mercy - meaning

The third book in Noumena series is allegedly named “Apostles of Mercy”. It’s a reference to a quote from H. G. Wells novel “War of the Worlds”. It was written at the end of XIX century, so CW for time period accurate racism:

“And before we judge of them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?”

A very loaded quote with many implications. Will humanity burn? Or will Superorganism share the fate of Martians? 

Or maybe the tittle will be more literal like @noumena-ramblings suggested in their post. Whatever’s the case we have a full year to speculate. 

I’m so hyped already. 

[alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer]

taking back what’s been taken for granted

a short fic based on @littlx-songbxrd’s asks on @anarmorofwords’ blog

cw: mentions of period-typical homophobia and racism, bullying, and alcoholism

"So... You're... You prefer men?" Matthew asked slowly. 

Alastair blinked. "Yes, that was what I was referring to." 

He scoffed. "Oh, right, next you're going to tell me you have a deep appreciation of the fine arts and like to visit art galleries in your spare time," he said sarcastically. 

Alastair's eyes were defensive for a moment before resigning. "Don't be silly. I've also been known to enjoy a quaint film or two." 

He hesitantly gave a glance around the room. Matthew appeared mutinous, Thomas a bit concerned about potential escalation of the interaction, and James simply confused, while Cordelia bit back a grin and Christopher seemed slightly amused. 

“I don’t understand. You’ve only ever been critical of me,” Matthew protested. 

“Critical of you, not your romantic or sexual preferences.” 

“What about all of those times you made some sly remark about ‘the company I keep,’ then?” he countered. 

“Yes, he’s said similar things about Anna,” Christopher offered. 

Alastair seemed almost confused for a moment. “You thought- Yes, the company you keep in all sorts of bars and clubs and whatever other dark alleyways you prefer to spend your nights in. Obviously, my sister has always been free to make her own decisions on where to go and with whom, but surely you could understand my concern.” Looking at the lot of them now, it was clear to Alastair that none of them had ever considered before that he would have concerns about Cordelia’s safety in such places because of his history with their father. 

“Fine,” Matthew said begrudgingly. “But what about all of those things you said back at school? About Oscar Wilde and plays and the arts? Did you suddenly change your mind about such things?” 

Alastair could feel himself growing annoyed. And, if he was being honest, he could still feel his heart beating slightly faster in the echo of what he’d just admitted. Revealing his romantic interests was one thing, but he still did not feel comfortable speaking about his father so freely, even in implications, even with the knowledge that everyone already knew. “I’ve always appreciated the arts, Matthew. I simply pretended I did not in order to fit in.”

Matthew was flustered for a moment before finally saying, “Well, that’s a bit pathetic, isn’t it?” 

Alastair straightened his posture. “Excuse me?” 

“I simply find it amusing that you would so easily conform to the interests of others. Why, to avoid a bit of bullying? Like what you did to us?” Alastair could feel himself flinch, but Matthew continued. “It’s a shame you were so spineless, perhaps in another life we could have been friends.” 

“You think that you’re better than me? Because you run around with your green carnation swooning over Oscar Wilde and I don’t?” 

“Apologies, I should have realized someone like you would need it more spelled out. That is exactly what I was implying.” 

“My bad, I knew you were oblivious, but I should have realized you had such a complete lack of self-awareness. You do realize not all of us are the Consul’s son, correct?” 

Matthew rolled his eyes. “What? You think that protects me? You think I don’t know the way folks look at me and whisper? The cruel things they’re prone to saying about people like me - people like us?” 

Alastair gaped at him for a moment. “It does protect you, Matthew. Do you truly think any of us would have gotten away with a fraction of the things you did at school? When I first arrived at the Academy, they didn’t just call me silly names and spread rumors about my family. I am deeply sorry for the things I’ve said and done and the ways that I’ve hurt you, all of you, but I will not apologize for conforming in order to protect myself. You are not better or stronger than me because no one ever beat the daylights out of you for having eccentric interests and opinions.” 

“I- I don’t understand.” 

The whole of the group seemed to be in some state of confusion or shock, though he knew Thomas must only be surprised that he was admitting all of this now. “What? Do you not think being the Persian boy with a drunk for a father was enough to make me a target?” 

“I never heard anyone say anything about you, or towards you-” 

“I made sure that they didn’t. I’m sorry that you were hurt in the process. There are things I’ve done that I will never forgive myself for, nor are any of you obligated to forgive me, either. But I’m tired of standing by while you all act like you’re better than me when not one of you has ever stood in my shoes. I didn’t have a safe home to go back to. My father never ran to my side any of the times I wound up in the infirmary. I did what I thought I needed to in order to survive.” 

A long, unsettling silence fell around them. He could see them trying to process what he’d told them, trying to understand what it meant to be that young, 13, 14, no one to defend you. Nowhere to go for help. They’d never truly understand, though, and they were better off for it. “Does that make sense, Matthew?” Alastair asked finally. 

“I… I suppose it does.” 

Alastair sighed. The group would continue to stare at each other in silence if he let them. “Well, anyways, as I was saying, I like men.” To his relief, the others did seem to relax a bit. “Actually, as Thomas and I were both trying to say-” 

“We’re seeing each other!” Thomas said confidently. He was flushed, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of their relationship or the tears that he saw in his eyes a few moments earlier. “Any protests should be directed to me.” 

As bizarre as the entire ordeal was, the rest of them eagerly accepted the change in subject. He knew there would be questions later, in private, asking if he was alright and why he kept so much hidden, but he was grateful for the shift in attention, too. There were no protests to their relationship, either, much to his relief, though he was sure it had more to do with his confessions than a genuine belief that he would be a good partner to Thomas. Oddly enough, he was okay with that. If they needed proof, he would show them. After all, out of all the things he’d done searching for his place in the world, he was fairly certain that there was nothing that came more naturally to him than loving Thomas.

i hope this starts to make up for my recent angst lol taglist (lmk to be added/removed or if you only want to be tagged in certain fics):  @stxr-thxif @satanisanauthor @zosiaenrique @lifewouldbebetteronmars @littlx-songbxrd @dianasarrow @eugeniaslongsword @bookswitchcraftandcats @jamesherondaleofficial @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @livingformyself @anarmorofwords @foxglove-airmid @writeforjordelia @sapphic-in @jem-nasium @fortheloveofthecarstairs

[fruit-kick]

link to pfp // link to header // dreamwidth: lotusburned // mastodon: stardropped

[Image description: a banner with the word "Introduction" in a bubbly vintage font. the background is a picture of a neighborhood. there are orange dividers on the top and bottom. /END ID]

🍂 This blog doesn't follow a specific theme, I just reblog things I enjoy and post stuff I've made sometimes!

🍂 My current fandoms are Reverse 1999, Blue Period, Camp Camp and Saiki K!

🍂 My ask box is open to those curious and I accept basically anything, its just open for fun!

🍂 Note that I reblog some things for awareness but it doesn't mean that I personally experience those, if you dont want someone out of an experience reblogging your post, then please let me know and I'll gladly remove it! <3

[ID: orange divider. /end id]

🍂 I tag things as I go along this blog so if for example, I tag "unsanitary cw" today, I might've not tagged a post with unsanitary subjects yesterday. the date beside the tag is to let people know when I added that tag so they don't scroll past that date on my blog :)

🍂 Mentions are tagged as of 10/8/2022

🍂 Implications are tagged as of 10/24/2022

🍂 Tags are formatted like "subject (mention/implied) tw/cw". mention/implied are in parenthesis to indicate that they're also tagged when mentioned or implied

[ID: a banner with the words "Current Tags" in a bubbly vintage font. the background is a picture of a sunset. there are orange dividers on the top and bottom. END ID]

#🍊fruit.posts🏀

#🍊fruit.draws📙

#🍊fruit.edits🧶

#🍊animal.time🦀 • 9/12/2022

#🍊fruit.rants💥

#stimmy • 9/29/2022

personal tag for my favorite stimuli

#dont rb

posts i dont want anyone reblogging

#reblog

#self rb • 12/17/2022

for my own posts that i've reblogged

#positivity • 9/13/2022

#bigotry (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

general tag for any form of bigotry

#ableism (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#queerphobia (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

general tag for any discrimination against queer people

#transphobia (mention/implied) tw • 10/23/2022

#transandrophobia (mention/implied) tw • 10/23/2022

#transmisogyny (mention/implied) tw • 10/23/2022

#amatonormativity (mention/implied) tw • 10/23/2022

#bodyshaming (mention/implied) tw • 10/2/2022

#racism (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#colorism (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#xenophobia (mention/implied) tw • 5/2/2023

#misogyny (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#classism (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#residential schools (mention/implied) tw • 10/1/2022

#antisemitism (mention/implied) tw • 2/15/2023

#sexism (mention/implied) tw • 4/24/2023

#drugs (mention/implied) tw

#death (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#cults (mention/implied) tw • 1/5/2023

#violence (mention/implied) tw

#substance abuse (mention/implied) tw • 12/18/2022

#eating disorder (mention/implied) tw • 12/18/2022

#murder (mention/implied) tw

#pedophilia (mention/implied) tw • 11/4/2022

#blood (mention/implied) tw • 10/5/2022

#cannibalism (mention/implied) tw • 9/28/2022

#suicide (mention/implied) tw • 9/7/2022

#injury (mention/implied) cw • 9/7/2022

this is for wounds and such, so like an obvious scratch or bruise. doesnt apply to a video of someone falling off the stairs and ending up completely unscratched or scars so keep that in mind!

#gore tw • 10/16/2022

#flashing lights cw • 9/7/2022

#jumpscare cw • 9/7/2022

#eyestrain cw • 9/7/2022

#suggestive cw

#explicit cw • 9/7/2022

#unsanitary (mention/implied) cw • 9/7/2022

#rape (mention/implied) tw • 9/16/2022

#sexual assault (mention/implied) tw • 5/2/2023

#abuse (mentioned/implied) tw • 12/11/2022

#unreality

im not sure if I'm tagging this one properly so do let me know if something needs to be tagged/untagged! i tag this for posts that talk about fictional events or situations as if theyre real, and i do it for religion and other beliefs such as that. so ARGS, posts from x timeline, shifting, etc

[ID: an orange divider. /end id]

byebye!

[revamp-podcast]

Welcome to Revamp, where we have that amnesia that makes you think you’re centuries in the future and the CW has put you in charge of a reboot of The Vampire Diaries. You know, that one.

This week, we're talking lads: Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler. Talking points include life changes, potent teen angst, why you can hunt vampires without being a cop, and a bold new werewolf lore proposition with some terrifying (or hilarious) implications.

And we learn who knows their alphabet better! (It's Ingrid.)

Content warnings for this episode include discussions of racism, sexual assault, and suicide attempts in the text, as well as brief discussions of homophobia and transphobia.

Visit the link in our about for each episode's show notes, transcripts, and ways to contact us and give your pitch!