#i just want to appreciate the colors they really used....yikes

[genericpuff]

Are there any things you like about LO? Or is it all shit to you. Personally, I think it could be a great storyline with the right execution, but a lot of the stuff and plot is unnecessary (I.e. Hades being thousands of years older than Kore and making characters fall in love with people they are racist/classist towards 😨😨)

Oh there are LOADS of things that I liked and still enjoy about LO despite all the shit I've thrown at it. I love love LOVE a lot of the older art-

Like, damn, that shit is so charming! I swear I had that Tower 4 panel as my phone background for like, 2 years LOL

Rachel had a really strong understanding of shape language, composition, color theory, and expressive linework in a way that was really appealing and unique at the time, but along the way it was just lost, undoubtedly due to her taking more of a backseat in the character art process and leaving it to her assistants.

That said, there's a lot of... not so charming, too.

I think, on the one hand, there's a lot to appreciate in the old art that shouldn't be rejected as we criticize this series. At the end of the day, as much as we riff on it, many of us did love this series at one point in time, so we shouldn't cringe at what it used to make us feel or pretend like we were ever above it when we were very much lost in it for ages before it went down the tubes.

But there is a lot to be said about the effects of rose-colored glasses, and how LO was never perfect. The reality is that much of Rachel's work is exemplified by the odd beautiful thing that sticks in our memories, but when we actually go back to relive those memories, we find they're all strung together by some not so beautiful stuff that makes us go 'wait what???'

Case in point, with LO we remember beautiful compositions like this:

But then within those same episodes we get:

And it's like oh. Yikes.

Aside from the art, there was also the SA plot as well as the Act of Wrath. The SA plot felt really special to me at the time because I was someone who was once in Persephone's shoes, being pressured into sex that I wasn't ready for but wasn't capable of saying no to. I can appreciate what Rachel was trying to do with that plot, but over time it became clear that she wasn't committed to seeing that plotline through and so I kind of just dropped my expectations for it entirely.

That said, it wasn't the SA plotline that set me off. I had good faith in that one still that it would be addressed eventually. It was the Act of Wrath plotline that did me in. The premise of it was totally my cup of tea in the way of "quirky character has a dark evil backstory!" which is shit that I absolutely LOVE, but then when the "twist" happened that Eris was the one to give her wrath, that was literally when I had my almost "canon event" moment of realizing "wait... I don't think Rachel knows what she's doing." And then it was just all downhill from there. The S2 finale sealed my fate LOL

All that said, as much as my brain is often defaulting to "ew! gross! bad!!!" in all honesty I do still appreciate what LO meant to be back when I still enjoyed it. It meant enough to me that I just couldn't let it the fuck go when it started to go downhill, so much so that I started making my own version of it! And that's something that sets it apart so much more from other comics I really don't like anymore (or comics I never liked to begin with) like Down to Earth, The Kiss Bet, Let's Play, etc. where I really can't even be bothered to think about them let alone talk about them to the extent I do about LO. I may be full of beans when it comes to LO, but I'd still rather be talking about it and all its failings and what it used to mean to me than about any of those other works. I loved it enough to still want it in my life and that's what Rekindled has accomplished for me.

[lemotmo]

Okay it has a bit more of their lunacy but more importantly it looks like we also got one of the reasons why some people are jumping ship, and it makes sense. Also we should all totally start saying that is who these people really are, haha. They would die.

Q. What does it feel like to ship a couple of playground bullies? You must be so proud.

Q. Wow Oliver's true colors are so disappointing. What an utter lap dog he is to Ryan. Hope they enjoy one another because no one will want anything to do with either one of them when Lou comes out and says how awful they are to him.

Q. I just feel so bad for Lou. He tried so hard to fit in with them and be friends and they went out of their way to exclude him and make fun of those of us who genuinely love and appreciate him. They can have each other. I'm all for the show giving Tommy a different love interest. He deserves better than Oliver/Buck.

Q. So I was a B/T shipper because it was the canon ship. But I was there for Buck and those psychos wanted us to start going around and bashing Oliver and spamming Twitter and Instagram with how awful he is. Yeah they can keep their crazy. I'll go back to happily waiting for Buddie. What a brunch of losers.

Q. Current canon ship or not, I'm out. I don't play about Oliver/Buck. I was happy to ship the current canon but I draw the line at openly hating on Oliver. They're crazy.

Q. You come for my boy and the other boy I have loved for 6 years and I'm out. I shipped it because it was the current canon. You want to try and force me to turn on Oliver and Ryan you're sadly mistaken. You freaks can have each other. What a complete waste of my time.

A. Once again this has all resulted from a mustache Instagram filter. I cannot make sense of you people at all. So I've decided that you are not actually Lou/Tommy fans. I think Lou got together with a couple of his friends and decided he wanted some attention. So he asked his friends to go online and pretend to be massive Tommy fans to see if he could force the show's hands. Only no one cared so you all double drowned and decided to try and prove that the audience actually prefers Tommy to Buck. But that has backfired spectacularly and now you and Lou are stuck because he can't come out and say he made all of you up for attention because that would be pathetically embarrassing. So instead you all just have to pretend to become more and more detached from reality. I hope he paid you all well for this because yikes. Don't try to convince me that you're not actually Lou and his friends. I've decided that makes sense in my head so it is now fact, and you're all bigots if you try and disagree with me (did I do that right, guys?).

Anyway, to the Oliver anons, that was always going to be the problem for the Lou diehards. The majority of you were going to be there for Buck. And the more obvious it became, especially with Oliver, that it isn't anything to really invest in most of you were always going to walk away. That's why they were so desperate to start a fandom war. Their only hope was to try and turn people against Oliver and Ryan. It was the dumbest of dumb strategies and watching it completely fall apart for them over an Instagram filter Oliver and Ryan were having fun with is absolutely fitting. They deserve their demise to be this utterly ridiculous.

I know I'm repeating myself over and over again, but still-- thank you so much Nonny for dropping this into my inbox.

A bit of a follow up to the previous ask and-- yeah, I just. No. I promised myself to not lose anymore brain cells to this lunacy. I can't anymore with these people.

But I am so thankful and happy to see that a lot of the more mainstream BT shippers who love the show, who were mostly in it for Buck and because they enjoyed the BT dynamic (Nothing wrong with that by the way. Ship and let ship!) have seen how this small subset of Tommy fans is behaving towards the cast. I know that some of the shippers weren't sure about the stories and rumours going around about Tommy stans being blocked and things like that. Today we have seen enough proof of that kind of behaviour to leave no doubt.

Anyway, on to better things I hope.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[vitiligo-is-not-a-trend]

Hello!! How are you? I’m a writer and I’d like to incorporate someone with vitiligo into my story, however, I don't know much, which is kind of a problem seeing as I want to be sensitive to the community. Would you be so kind as to tell me some things you do/don't want to see in characters that have vitiligo? Thank you so much!

Hi! Im good thanks for asking, hope you're also doing well!

That's a wonderful question! Before I start I'm just gonna say these are my views on the subject so if anyone else with vitiligo wants to chime in please do so! I'm probably gonna miss a few things!

Let's start with the donts first, and I very much appreciate the fact that you also asked for dos!

I think one of the more a major issues I see around vitiligo have to do with the way in which it's designed. I've made a few posts about it in the past with more details, I think theyre tagged under "character design( tips)". So doing things like making repeated shape patterns like hearts or animal prints or like skulls or whatever is Not Great. This includes making humanized versions of animals. Like recently for the new Puss in Boots movie a lot of people were drawing Kitty Softpaws as a human with vitiligo, and that just...does not feel great lmao. I am aware that things like that don't come from malice but it feels like being compared to an animal in a way.

Another issue I've seen is when it comes to how the character developed vitiligo it happened due to some curse or magic or (demonic) possession something along those lines. This is also a very bad idea, seeing as it's basically demonizing the condition.

Vitiligo is also complicated when it comes to its genetic. There are working theories/plausible explanations for how it occurs but there are a lot of varying factors. However, it is NOT passed down genetically (to an extent) so having a child does NOT mean that you're character's child will also have the condition. It is also not something you get get at birth/in the womb.

Don't change the coloration of it! Vitiligo is DEFINED as a lack of pigmentation, not a change in it, so you can't have characters walking around with pink and patches. You could make an argument with yellow if its for legos I guess but unless you're drawing every white person lego as that neon yellow I'd avoid it still.

Don't only give it your characters of color!! Especially if you only have a few! I feel like this is something I see frequently unfortunately, but having a character with vitiligo or albinism or pibaldism or whatever doesnt make a character less or more of one race or another. I saw a post where someone said it's "curing POC" so....yeah big yikes. I know because it's not as visible on white people some people dont think they can have it, and it doesnt get used frequently in examples which doesnt really help so yeah.

Also try not to make them a villian especially if theyre the only character with vitiligo

As for the Dos:

I'd love to see a character embrace this aspect of themselves. I know a lot of people and for a very long time myself include feel a sense of shame about it. It took me years to get to a point where I feel comfortable let alone happy about having it.

I'd love to see another character comment on it with a compliment, and have the majority of other characters reacting positively and/or neutrally towards its.

However this is technically a disability and there are people out there that do make fun of people for having it so maybe lightly touching on that would also be a good idea. if you don't feel comfortable out-right writing a scene like that, mentioning things in passing like "oh yeah I got bullied for it when I was younger" or "I actually used to cover it up with clothes and makeup" are good ideas.

Having your character also be aware of things like the time and UV index and whether or not they have sunscreen on is also important. Vitiligo is essentially the lack of melanin, which means that there's no real natural defense against sun exposure at play so being sensitive/aware of these things is a good idea especially if they're fairly new to the condition.

Maybe there's another character that also has vitiligo present in at least some aspect. Whether its just some person that your character looks up to and doesn't know personally, but knowing that they have it makes them feel better about themselves. For me this was Michael Jackson!

This is technically kind of a dont but vitiligo spots are very different depending on the variation that a person has! Spots seem to have a relatively slow progression and, as I mentioned, depending on variation, might not progress at all past certain areas. So if the character has a more progressing variation like Universal or Segmental maybe another character can note that a patch or few have gotten larger since they've last saw them especially if its been awhile and not like last moth.

That's all I can really think of as of now, but I'll reblog this if I think of anything else to add!

[sigyn-foxyposts]

My personal thoughts on "Twilight of the gods season 1"

Before reading I just want to say that these are my opinions alone! By no means am I saying this show can't be your thing, it just wasn't mine when it came to certain parts! Also what I'll be covering can be a bit of a sensitive topic to some. Such as race and sexual topics, I'm here to defend not hate 💚

Art by my darling @sparrowmp4 💚

Pros:

Starting off with the best is the animation and art style! It's smooth and full of movement, absolutely breathtaking! It will truly keep you watching, just to enjoy it. Character design's are pretty good too, though some could've been done better and were in general a bit bland.

It felt boring In a way when you could've done more but I understand it would be hard on the animators. The scenery they chose fits the with the setting of the story they're trying to tell. In all honestly done very well, excellent!

I really appreciate the references to actual mythology and my culture! There wasn't much culture other than how things looked in certain villages but things such as the retellings of the stories we got from written and oral traditions, it made me very happy seeing them here!

I also heavily appreciate the inclusion of Loki's struggles amongst the gods, with himself struggling being "a scapegoat god" and the focus on him trying to save his children from their fate. As well as the portrail on how not even gods are perfect!

They clearly did their research on Loki's character and knew what the fans wanted! I just wish we got even more, but it was rushed and in conclusion a bit shallow. Still, the effort is there & i eat what I get!

I love the representation of minorities in the series. Such as people of color and their different or even mixed heritages! Same goes for different identities and sexualities. They weren't afraid to shy away from bisexuality and transgender representation, which was very common back then and throughout history!

I did enjoy certain characters like the Seid Kona, Egil, Leif and Loki's development throughout the story and how they were written! But again was all bit rushed..

Cons:

They missed out on showing us a lot more gods and how Ragnarok actually went down, even if most of us know by now..where was fumbulvinter for example? And I don't like when people take certain mythology media as fact, it's the biggest issue I have when it comes to modern media taking on mythology and folklore in general.

Do it right, if not then let it be!

While I love the representation we got of POC people, the way it's ONLY set in a norse setting bothers me. Yes, the story is centerd around the norse but like..we could have had more representation of other cultures too just saying! They were traveling so much, even a reference would've been nice.

No what we get instead, which yeah can work since the vanir are magic and nature based is plant people (I get the thought behind it!) They make the representation we want plant people. Where only two vanir members that look human.. are people of color. What was the point of all that seriously!

Where are the other people of color..?

Now don't get me wrong, Tyra makes sense in this case because we don't know where she came from and that leaves thing for interpretation, I absolutely love that! What's very icky was that Freyja who is presented as a black woman here, is Tiwaz's sister (Basically Freyr idk why his name is a rune now..) and called herself a slave when talking about how Odin married her for her magic... Yikes!

I didn't appreciate how Fafnir was slain either and the fact Sigird killed Baldr when Hodr could've been included so easily in the battle. I honestly think Freyr, Hodr, Hoenir and many more deserve justice, especially those who were completely forgotten like Idunn, Nanna, Forseti, Thrud ect.

Oh and dont get me started on Angrboda and Sigyn here, I'm just happy Boda even got an appearance in the first place, but that isn't enough to be honest! Like all she did was be the poor mother who couldn't protect her children, nothing more to her character even though she's from the ironwoods that we saw in this series.. where was she after those events?! Most likely dead, which would add up. Let's hope Sigyn gets a better appearance!

I don't mind original characters but..when it comes to the point in retellings, do it in a way that makes sense please!! Make the original characters for example meet Sigurd, Fafnir's slayer instead of killing him off! What would their interaction be like? While I understand the main plot and focus was on Sigird taking her revenge on Thor.

It felt a bit boring.. Like yeah, girlboss with a tragic backstory and she can't cry. It feels a bit Mary Sue of her, not only that but they're a bit over powered too!

Here comes another part I've been dreading..the "interesting" interpretation of Jormi and Thor's fate to kill each other at Ragnarok. It felt very forced and weird making them have a sexual relationship, like sure it's a creative twist I guess but..the way the prophecy claimed that Ragnarok would end the gods if Jörmungandr would spill Thor's seed. That's not at all the case and just disgusting!

What hurts me the most about this topic is Loki's attempts to take her place, but how the prophecy wasn't meant for him. Killing Thor was the only way to free their family, so even if it meant death, she did what had to be done. Worse, she was only a child when Thor physically beat her when she tried defending her family..i didn't need that!

This plot felt more like an excuse to add in more sex to a show with too many of those scenes already! Than giving the representation that matters, people forced to do these things just to help their family.

I'll admit Thor's portrayal was somewhat accurate, it just wasn't done the way I had expected it! (Take that as you will)

Yes he has flaws and the gods aren't perfect! Yes, he is a brute who murdered many jotuns and drinks lots of mead with an appetite. Yes, he has anger issues.. And yes he cheated on Sif. That doesn't mean he has to abuse his own kid or have his marriage with Sif go that low. What's worse is when you realize Sif knows he is activity cheating and letting herself be insulted by Thor. When she literally wants Thor dead, she admits she also needs him for the sake of her purpose.

Now, toxic relationships are real and this is a great example but keep in mind that in actual mythology he was willing to break every bone in Loki's body for him simplely cutting off her hair! And he has a tendency to be over protective of his family like in the story where Alvis purposes to Thrud, his daughter! His characterization is certainly something and I hope we get more because when he started crying over his issues and actions.

It screamed, toxic masculinity in my face.

I don't know what was happening behind the scenes but the relationships were developing a bit fast and while I don't mind starting a story on a relationship, the way things were going between Leif and Sigird didn't make me feel much for them in the end. Yeah it's not easy to be a perfectly functioning couple after you lost your whole family because you two were getting married. But when he comforts you, saying you're allowed to grieve and follows you on your revenge trip even though he didn't want to but did it for you!

Also I love my poly rep but making Thyra be a part of their already dysfunctional relationship was a bad move. Thanks for the fake hope you gave Leif actually living a better life with just her. It was so obvious she was into women from the start..why??

I had to sympathize with Leif even more when Sigrid physically hurt him, all because he opened up about what he felt and was done with her crap. Sadly that sympathy went away the moment he decided to waste everything on a woman that cared more about revenge then him.

Finally last point, I very much dislike how characters we were supposed to bond with get killed off so suddenly? Not only weren't they fully developed like Ulfr and Anvari but they had to die for what? Do they come back for the plot later on because I'd certainly hope so!

I don't know if they'll make up for all of these plot lines but since it landed on a cliff hanger, it's definitely coming back. Let's cross our fingers for season 2 to be better and clear things up!! Thank you for reading 💚🤞

[nancypullen]

Oops

Soooo, I’ve been making a lot of noise about getting our back porch stained.  It’s just bare wood, and my decades in the deep south make me itchy to protect it from weather, bugs, rot, etc.  Maybe it’s different up here but I doubt it.  Anyway, we were in Easton a couple of days ago so I popped into Lowe’s and bought stain.  Our house is gray, the shutters are sort of a deep charcoal, the front porch and all the window trim is white.  In Nancy Land that means that you don’t buy any of the hundred shades of brown stain - tones from light oak to mahogany or a deep walnut.  Nope, I looked at the semi-transparent grays.  I didn’t want to match the gray of the house, I knew that I needed to compliment it with a deeper tone.  I should add, that I wanted to just paint it white to match the front porch.  The mister was adamant that white was not a good idea.  I agreed that white wouldn’t last on the floor boards, but everything else would work.  He stood his ground.  I figured if I was going to give him his way with a color choice that something attached to the back of the house was my best bet.  So I picked a color called Dutch Licorice.  I chose a semi-transparent base for the color because the sample piece of wood at the store in that color and base was just right.  Not too light, not too dark, the woodgrain showed through the wash of color - perfect.   Except it’s not.  You guys....I snapped this photo when I was about halfway finished.

Yes, I know the patio looks absolutely awful.  It’s begging to be power washed.  I’ll get to it.   But look at that stain!  Yikes!  I told my sister that it looks like Darth Vader is sitting right in the middle of my carefully curated, blossom covered, white picket fenced, birdie sanctuary.  Rats.   Because I am cheap, I used what I bought.  Lowe’s won’t let me return a can of regret.  I’ll admit, it’s finished now and looks almost okay in sunlight.  I’m going to have to brighten it up with white pots of colorful flowers. I’ll provide more pics when it gets to that point.  I can count on one hand the times in my life when I’ve regretted a color choice (we’re not talking about my hair) but this one goes on the list.   I’m glad it’s on the back of the house, but I still think the squirrels are judging it.

In other news, my itty-bitty vinca are trying really hard to show off. I’ve been so concerned about them because they haven’t seemed too robust, but they’re trying.  Hopefully they’ll fill in, flower abundantly, and that row of little flowers will become a tumble of red.

Vinca was an easy, reliable work horse in my gardens in Mt. Juliet.  Maybe they don’t like it here.  I’ve dropped sunflower seeds along the porch and they’re doing great.  I can’t remember the name, but they should be about four feet tall which would be perfect for this bed.

This little clematis is thriving, and I’ve provided some twine for it to climb toward the porch.  Grow, little girl, grow!

I rescued this baby from the orphan table for $2.00.  I think she’ll make it.  She probably won’t stay there, that’s just her ICU.  She might end up potted with some friends.  We’ll see.

This fern loves its spot by the front door.

It’s early days, but I have high hopes for this spot.

I’ll add more, but it’s coming along.

Have I made you forget about that travesty of a back porch yet? I tried not to think about it as I sat at my desk today and played with some paper and paint.  This sweet kitty kept me company.

“Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”   - George Eliot She told me that she didn’t care one little bit about the color of that porch. Then I remembered that cats see basically in blue and gray and realized that she doesn’t appreciate anything I do around this house.  All that matters to her is the can opener. Still, I appreciated the support.

Tomorrow the mister wants to run off to D.C.  He’s got an urge to go to the Air & Space Museum and I figure I can at least get lunch out of it. Since I’ve spent the last few days spreading mulch, scrubbing and staining that porch, and hauling and cooking groceries - I need a nice lunch in a nice place.   That’s it for me tonight.  I’m off to soak my aching bones and then read myself to sleep. More tomorrow, hopefully something fun from D.C. ,certainly more exciting than mulch and stain. Sending out loads of love, wishing you peace and contentment, and hoping that you stay safe and stay well. XOXO - Nancy

[blackberrysummerblog]

15 Questions

Thanks so much for the tags, @thewholelemon and @alleycat0306! And I’m sorry it took me an age to get around to replying, I’ve been meaning to I swear!

1. Are you named after anyone? I’m named after the title character in a historical romance novel, of all things 😜 I got chicken pox when I was 13 or so and my mom finally let me read it; the character has a very eventful life without ever getting the one thing she really wants, so…thanks Mom lol

2. When was the last time you cried? Ugh, I cry all the time. Happy, sad, angry…it all gets me going. The last time was probably a day ago after an extremely dumb argument with my husband and it was over 3 minutes later

3. Do you have kids? Two almost-adults! Yikes

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don’t think so? I tend to be pretty earnest I guess. I don’t dislike it, though

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? I spent way too much time thinking about this, mainly because I’m going to *first* notice whatever stands out. If you have spaghetti sauce all over the front of your shirt I’m going to notice that before nice hair or eyes, right? I think beyond that, physically, I’d take note of a contagious smile, and on a personality level I’d notice if someone were particularly sunshiney or grumpy. I have a weird and desperate love for both, in real life as well as fiction

6. What’s your eye color? Gray, though the kind that often gets called blue. It’s not a very exciting color

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings every time. I can appreciate an open or tragic ending for its realism and/or artistic message, but it’s kind of the same as seeing a deeply ugly or tragic piece of visual art that you can appreciate the skill, vision, and message of in a museum, but do you want it on the wall of your home to look at all the time?…I mean, some people definitely would, but it’s not me. I like an ending that makes me feel happy or at least hopeful (I’m capable of and have written endings that aren’t, but these days I’m not very likely to, at least in fanfic). As for scary movies, I like the idea of them but seldom get on with them. I don’t like gore full stop, and while I do enjoy tension and jump scares, it can get overwhelming. I’m very much the person who will sit there burying their face and/or literally jumping in the air when I’m startled

8. Any special talents? I like to think I’m a decent writer, and I used to be a pretty good artist, but I’ve let it go a long time and these days when I sketch something I’m kind of appalled at how the skill atrophied. I’m sure it would improve again if I worked on it—I’m good at really visualizing something in my mind, which I think is the most important thing about being able to create any kind of art. On a more quotidian note, I’m really good at research and I’m a fairly good cook. I love love love to eat, so that helps motivate me in the kitchen lol

9. Where were you born? Arkansas

10. What are your hobbies? Reading, writing, walking, cooking, looking at art, trying new food. Classic introvert

11. Do you have any pets? Five dogs and two cats, it’s a proper zoo up in here

12. What sports do you play/did you used to play? *tries not to laugh*

13. How tall are you? Just barely over 5 feet

14. Favorite subject at school? I started listing my faves and it turns out it was pretty much everything but math, which I feel like I’m bad at but my test scores always indicated I was slightly above the average, so I suppose I must be ok at it. I like learning and enjoyed most of my liberal arts and science courses, but I’m going to narrow it down and say literature

15. Dream job? Writer! (I would very much not be good at this because left to my own devices I procrastinate like hell) I’ve had a lot of jobs over the years that I found interesting though, and I like doing work that I find meaningful. My current job lets me feel like I’m doing good in my community and the world, and most of the time it’s an extremely full work day, which is honestly better than having too much time on my hands.

Gah, I’ve really not been on tumblr much in the past week or so, so probably every single person I’ll tag has already done this. Please don’t think too badly of me (and if you haven’t done it and don’t have the energy, no big deal. Take care of yourselves!) @papierhakuphoto @shutup-andletme_go @captain-arealias @onepintobean @j-nipper-95 @rwithoutaspoon @martsonmars @cutestkilla @maedhrosrussandol

[thisbarbiereallylikesbirds]

Aly! Love, LOVE your comics and art! Can’t wait for more!! Your writing is great, too! Your Trio Prequel comic is so emotional :"[

Some tips to help you:

"Ninjitsu" should be spelled "ninJUTSU", the word "jitsu" is correctly spelled "jutsu" (ex. taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, bōjutsu, etc). I love that you made Yoshi and Shō speak in Japanese, though!!

The air quotes gesture doesn't exist in Japan, so someone native to Japan wouldn't really use them. HOWEVER! Rise Yoshi doing that Western gesture could still work and be in character because he is canonically quite Westernized (as an adult especially) and wants to distance himself from Japanese culture, so Yoshi could've used the air quotes gesture to be more Western. Still, his grandpa very likely wouldn't understand what the air quotes gesture means.

Yoshi canonically has a warm undertone in his complexion while Shō has a cool undertone. You can include those undertones when coloring (just make sure not to make Yoshi's skin yellow! Yikes). Also, be sure not to whitewash the non-white characters' complexions by coloring them too pale. If you're worried about being inaccurate, in general, it's better to color their complexion tanner than it canonically is than lighter than it canonically is. Lots of East Asians have tan complexions despite what the media will have you believe. Also! Don't make the complexion ashy (ashy meaning grey, dull, desaturated) it's unnatural. A way to avoid that is ensuring you pick colors that have more saturation/vibrancy.

Be sure to add puntuation at the end of your speech text, punctuation conveys the speech's tone. A nice resource for comic formatting is looking up Blambot.com's "Comic Book Grammar & Tradition". That web page gives guidelines on creating comic speech balloons, lettering, and such.

Anyway, excited to see more from you!!

I'm so glad that you like my art!! It's always so heartwarming to hear 😊A huge thank you for the critiques that you sent me. Like I stated in the caption of the original post, I'm still very new to making comics so getting constructive criticism now will help me improve my craft before I start working on the actual finished product.Spelling and grammar have never been my strong suit so corrections are always appreciated since I often have a difficult time spotting them myself.I am more than willing to admit that adding color to my art has never been a strong suit of mine. It is, however, going to be a very important visual aspect of the finished comic so I really do appreciate you pointing out places where I can improve accuracy to the canon appearance of the characters.Typically for my art I just colorpick the colors straight from my reference image but due to the lighting of the images that I had for this particular comic some of the colors came out a little wonky and in my attempts to correct them I will admit that I lost some of the accuracy to the original color pallets. I do however think that I've found a better way to get my colors from the reference images and avoid this problem in the future. While I might adjust some colors for stylistic reasons, or to better reflect lighting I promise that avoiding whitewashing will always be a priority.I again want to say that I appreciate your contrstuctive criticism. The revised version of the comic should be up by now. I'm very excited to keep working on this au and my other ones, and while it likely still will be awhile until I feel I have the skill and time to start the official comic, I'm definitely looking forward to it!!

[taughtdefense]

sender kisses receiver's palm.

THE ELDRITCH’S MIND IS BEYOND TRILLIONS OF YEARS OLD ( in the most literal way possible ), but reciprocated, casual, platonic affection slid his way by those he's friends with is fairly uncharted territory. if anything, he’s usually the one intializing the hand-holding, or nudging someone’s shoulders. he’s gotten really into hugging or brushing up against tory during miyagi-fang trainings, something she absolutely loves to pieces. she’s not typically affectionate with anyone, even her sisters—both biological ( nova & stef ) & chosen ( scarlett, paisley, & cosima ). ethan’s pretty much taken the number one spot on tory’s list of people who give me consistent affection. ( she wouldn’t have it any other way. )

mr. larusso’s very well adjusted to ethan’s quirks & need for affection from his partners at all times by now, & will watch any type of affectionate interaction with an amused smile. chozen will roll his eyes, but he silently thinks of kumiko. sometimes, johnny will pause mid-lesson & snap lightly at ethan to stop playing footsie with his fiancés so publicly, but he’s clearly happy that ethan’s happy, so the shouting doesn’t bother him. he knows he’s just joking around.

ethan’s eldritch friends like shadow, gray & ciro aren't exactly the pinnacle of affection in any lifetimes. especially not ciro. what he's trying to get at is that affection is something he's not used to. familial? sure. wade & vanessa are certainly affectionate with him. just this morning, vanessa told him she was happy he was physically recovering so smoothly, & ruffled his hair. romantic? you bet. he has four partners he dotes on.

sanji is a formidable opponent during sparring matches, a hell of a chef, & he's a great friend/ally to have. but the version in front of him is not that same sanji, not really. …maybe he should make a friendship bracelet or something to differentiate one sanji from the other, otherwise ethan thinks he'll start rambling about stuff that current sanji wouldn't know what the fuck he's talking about. he swears he can hear current sanji asking him what the all blue is, or maybe he’d humor him. but ethan knows himself. he’d probably accidentally fuck up & tell the crewmate-of-the-seas version of sanji about cobra kai. yeesh. talk about embarrassing.

alternate lifetimes are so confusing.

but anyway, ethan receiving platonic affection? that’ll take some getting used to.

so when @lovehungered suddenly kisses his palm, ethan stops mid-sentence, the words dying on his tongue.

whatever he’d wanted to say flies right out the proverbial window after being set on fire. he just immediately forgets what he was going to say, because sanji just fucking kissed my palm out of nowhere, holy shit, & it was kinda… nice. he blinks a few times. his brain effectively short-circuits for a half-second, heat flying to his whole face, coloring his face a dusty pink.

he makes a quiet, surprised noise, clearly super flustered, staring at sanji with wide brown eyes. ( ethan’s just glad he’s not hospitalized again, because if he was hooked up to a heart-rate monitor right now, it would have betrayed him by beeping. loudly. & if that had happened, he’d never hear the end of it from his friends. yikes. )

shit. i/you/we are supposed to say something! i/you/we have been quiet for too long! the younger version of ethan screams at him in his head. start talking, motherfucker! in this universe, ethan physically blinks again like a two-headed owl just popped up next to him, then quickly blurts out something entirely freaking eloquent, like:

❝ thanks, sanj. platonic affection is super appreciated! i-i… well, wasn’t immediately expecting that, ❞ it’s clear he means that, & while he’d been surprised at the initial contact, his entire hand buzzes pleasantly, pins-&-needles & a warmth that makes him feel giddy, like he’s floating in the clouds—& oh boy, he can mentally see his younger vessel literally jumping for joy like a cartoon character, ❝ —but that kind of affection is not, um, unwanted? not from you, &-& n-not that i think you’re weird, or anything, & it’s actually really nice, & just look at my face right now, i’m super happy you kissed my palm & all— ❞ shit, now we/i/you need to stop fucking talking! shut the hell up! ethan’s younger, blonder, much more chaotic self suddenly snaps at him, practically begging for him/us to put a sock in it. ethan does his best to ignore the other version of himself currently flipping out. at least he’s not hearing silver’s voice. ❝ you’re s-so sweet. ❞ ethan stutters, giving him an awkward, but shy grin to finish off his rant session, eyes bright with warmth & a tender sort of joy, one that’s reserved exclusively for his friends.

[reddy-reads]

Cozy Mysteries (6/15/23)

I finished Six Cats a Slayin’ by Miranda James. It was fine! 

I also tried to read Thread on Arrival by Amanda Lee and One Foot in the Grove  by Kelly Lane. Didn’t work out. Double amnesty!

Thread on Arrival: I really wanted to like this one because a) it has a dog, and b) it’s set in an embroidery shop. The protagonist is asked to lead a class for a support group for women with abusive partners, and then she gets wrapped up in a murder investigation. I eventually realized I was pushing myself to keep reading, and for books like this (hobby books for pure enjoyment), reading should be easy. (It’s stopping that’s the hard part.) So I put it down.

One Foot in the Grove: This has a cool premise, in theory, because the protagonist owns and operates an olive grove. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it past the first chapter because it was too heavy on the interpersonal intrigue. (The protagonist jilted a man and left town, now she’s back, and the judgment of her neighbors is strong.)

I think I need to take a break from cozy mysteries from the American South. 

Another thing I’d really like is to get my hands on more cozies where there are people of color. And I mean people, as in multiple! There are so many blue-eyed, blond romantic leads in these books and it’s like. Fine. Blue eyes and blond hair are fine, but is there no love for brown eyes and brown skin? 

My other issue with cozies in full color is that, like, the ones I was finding were all “they’re Chinese and they work in a laundromat!” or “they’re Chinese and they own a Chinese restaurant!” And that’s basically it. They were a product of their time. I haven’t even seen one where they’re black or hispanic. Yikes? (To those to whom that comment is nonsensical, I can clarify that laundromat and restaurant are outdated stereotypical jobs for Chinese folks in the US.) (Also, I’m limited because I’m just cruising my library’s collections. Not even doing an interlibrary loan.) (But also! My library serves a population that’s like 70% Asian! C’mon now.)

But that’s a lot of negativity so here are some mysteries with POC protagonists that I read and enjoyed!

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

I do have a few caveats! They both try to be hybrids of mystery and romance, and they don’t quite hit the beats on either genre. At the same time, they are quite (joyfully, in my opinion) trope-y. Just fully embracing the tropes. (Although in Arsenic and Adobo, I was screaming “stop talking to the police without a lawyer!” which I tolerated then but at this point I’ve abandoned at least 3 books because I just couldn’t put up with it any more.) If you like that, great. If you don’t. That’s okay. 

Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness and The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel by David Casarett. I think this one is an example of “writing the other.” The protagonist is a nurse-ethicist in Thailand (she is Thai). The plotting/writing is a little weird in places, but the characters are fun overall and I read both books without slowing down much. 

Okay, that’s a bookshelf update. I’ve got a new tab open and I’m looking up titles of cozies with POC protagonists and/or POC authors. Recommendations are appreciated!

[seoafin]

hi morgan! i have a question not related to fandom stuff so i hope you don't mind, but have you read the handmaid's tale? i wanted to read it but i saw a review on goodreads that mentioned how a lot of stuff that the protagonist (a white woman) goes through are stolen from black women's experiences in the past and are simply appropriated, even though there are no people of color in the novel (?). also a lot of people have criticised it saying that margaret atwood was trying to draw parallels bw this dystopian world and middle-eastern countries. idk i wanted to read the book and i know it's still probably good but this kinda threw me off. i would really appreciate it if you could tell a bit more about this! thank you and have a great weekend <3

i am always open to talk about books and literature!!!! i have read the handmaid's tale and i've read the not-so-good sequel. and it's really funny you asked bc i just finished the newest season of the tv show literally like yesterday 😭

i agree 100%! i believe i've seen and read that review too. honestly, these criticisms about the book have always existed, there were just never really highlighted until relatively recently. i think for the times in which the book was published, it was seen as revolutionary and a must read for feminists, when in reality it was a very white feminist portrayal of the subjugation and oppression of women. many prominent black voices in the literary community have spoken up about how while the book was just 'speculative fiction,' it has been the reality for many BIWOC who have faced many of the 'speculative' topics in the books such as loss of autonomy, systematic oppression, forced sterilization, etc, even before the book was published. to add to that, there was no deep talk about racism in the book or POC, which is also another criticism the show faces, because obviously if the book was reality, BIWOC and WOC would be treated even more horribly compared to their white counterparts. the show and book just glosses over the topic of racism, and acts as if gilead, a totalitarian neo-puritanical regime, wouldn't also operate on the tenets of white supremacy to subjugate even further which is!??? kinda crazy lol

tldr; to white women, it's a horrible fantasy. something that could potentially happen in the future. it's why i'm wary of white feminists who continuously gush about the book and margaret atwood. to many BIWOC, it's already a reality, and it has always been a reality. also maragaret atwood is problematic. she defended a columbia professor who had allegations of sexual misconduct. unfortunately. i used to love her books and her poetry collections, but yeah. yikes.

i personally read the book when i was about fifteen? so obviously i wasn't as aware of the issues and controversy surrounding the book, but it's never to late to learn and be aware! have a nice weekend <3

[kentagf]

no hate but i’m like trying to figure out why when jbj does this amazing beautiful color concept...all the posts i’ve seen so far for this comeback have been recolored or altered palettes??? um..

[fandomlovingfreak]

Glacial Passion (4/?)

Regulus Black/Reader

Rating: Lemon, 18+

Trigger Warning: Arranged Marriage, talk of potential pregnancy

Word Count: 2576

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: Glacial, cold, icy… all words that described Regulus Black’s grey eyes. Was there truly no emotion behind those eyes, or did a caring man exist beneath? Could she defrost those glacial eyes?

Disclaimer: Regulus Black (Walburga Black, Orion Black, and Sirius Black) is a character from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Reader or y/n is not owned by Rowling. This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: I felt bad because I haven’t updated in centuries... so if it sucks SORRY </3

Enjoy

The restaurant was a suggestion from his father. How Orion knew about this particular restaurant, Regulus hadn't a clue. Well, he had some ideas-- but they were ideas better left unexplored in his opinion.

Despite being aware that his parent's marriage had always been a farce, it still stung a bit knowing they hated each other and his father sought comfort in others. A restaurant as... sappy as this one wasn't something his mother would enjoy. Orion would never even dream of bringing Walburga to a place like this. 

Everything about the restaurant screamed romance, from the candlelight to the rich reds of the chairs. Even as this type of dinner wasn't his cup of tea, Regulus hoped that a romantic setting like this was something (y/n) would appreciate.

Not like he would know, as she had hardly spoken a word to him the entire night. 

She looks beautiful, and momentarily he wonders if he should tell her. On the one hand, it could get her to talk to him, but on the other, he felt like it was inappropriate in a way. Like he was feeding her false ideas about his emotions because he wanted her attention.  

He can't help it, though. She looks ravishing; the color of her dress complimenting the glow of her skin in combination with the flicker of candlelight was something only a poet could describe in perfect, heartwrenching detail. And Regulus was no poet.

Merlin’s beard, wouldn't it be easier to let oneself fall completely in love instead of keeping the carefully constructed guard up.

Instead, he opts for a dumb, "You look beautiful tonight."

Her (y/e/c) eyes flicker up to his. Regulus burns under the stare, thankful for the near darkness of the restaurant. 

"Thank you." 

"Are you-- do you like the restaurant?" Yikes, when did he become so--

"It's nice." (y/n) smiles, taking another sip of her white wine. 

Regulus scowls over his own drink. Why was this so difficult?

"My father suggested it. I don't know how he knows about it--" Merlin! Now he's just blurting out things to fill the awkwardness he felt.

"Oh really? I can't imagine that your mother would be interested... in all of this."

"She's not."

(y/n)'s eyes widen before pity settles in her (y/e/c) eyes. "Oh-- I--"

"Don't-- I didn't mean to make my father's-- personal life the topic of our conversation." 

"So..." (y/n) looks down at her plate. They couldn't be worse at this; Regulus is convinced that the conversation couldn't be more painful. 

"Was there anything you wanted to see around the city? I don't have much planned--"

"Wasn't this your idea?" (y/n)'s lips are pinched, displeased suddenly. Regulus feels the tension build under that subtle pinch of her lips.

"No."

For a moment, she just stares, until suddenly, a small fluttery laugh seems to spill from her lips. She tries to cover her laughter with her delicate hand, but it's uncontrollable quickly.

Tables turn towards the sound of her laughter, trying to see why his wife has erupted into furious giggles.

"I-- I don't understand why you find this humorous?" Regulus tries not to notice the people as they continue to stare at their table.

(y/n) attempts to control her amusement by taking another sip of her wine. The giggles don't secede, though, even with the glass pressed against her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she says, pressing her napkin against her lips, "It's just that you suddenly dragged me to another country, and it wasn't even your idea to do so! Isn't it a bit ridiculous, Regulus?"

Again, he feels the burn of embarrassment across his pale cheeks, "You are not having a good time?"

"What do you want me to say to that? We don't spend any time together besides having sex, and you've brought me to a restaurant your father brings his whores to... Not exactly the honeymoon many women dream of."

Maybe this restaurant wasn't the best idea--

"What do you want me to do?"

She sighs, "I don't know."

If he was not flustered before, he surely could say he is now. How do you please someone who doesn't even know what they're asking you for?

He exhales slowly, trying to calm the irritation he feels with her, "If you told me what you want from me, I could possibly make it happen."

(y/n) stares back at him, "You already told me what I want was impossible."

Regulus feels the coldness radiating off of her, "(y/n)--"

"This really isn't a conversation for public ears."

No, it really wasn't.

***

Even as our conversation wasn't exactly satisfactory, I still wanted what I wanted and was willing to go to any lengths to get it. Seduction seemed to be the option with the most success. That and hoping he'd be distracted enough by the suddenness to forget certain charms.

***

(y/n) disappears into the closet the instant they step into the room after dinner. Everything had been tense and uncomfortable after their conversation. He could practically feel his wife's annoyance with him the rest of their silent dinner.

Regulus sits down at the desk, running a hand through his black curls. Admittedly, he could see why she was upset with him. All she seemed to crave from him was emotion, and he was adamant in keeping her at a comfortable distance from him emotionally. It was a battle both desperately wanted to win, and there didn't seem to be a clear winner in the near future.

Regulus searches the desk for a distraction, landing on his quill and ink. Writing a letter to his parents could be a good distraction-- except nothing of real interest had happened in their short time away from home. Besides, distracting himself from the woman behind the closet door by writing about her seemed counterproductive. 

Anyways, Walburga would write back to him immediately upon receiving such a letter. He wasn't sure he wanted a written explanation of his duty as the sole heir of the Black family alongside her continued talks at home. It seemed just as uncomfortable as talking to his mother face-to-face about such matters.

Instead, he addresses the letter to Sirius, who was probably still unaware that his younger brother had gotten married. He would write to Sirius on occasion, hoping his brother had some secret insight into life that he did not possess. If Walburga knew her favorite still corresponded with the 'blood traitor,' he was sure he'd be disowned alongside Sirius, or at least hexed to hell and back. Not like it really mattered at this point. He was sure he was being punished in his current situation anyways. 

When Sirius left, he was devastated, scared even of living alone in Grimmauld Place with his parents. Regulus had also been furious, but missing his older brother had overshadowed any anger he felt towards Sirius. Their correspondence had been less frequent in the past year, but Regulus thought he ought to share the news of his marriage with Sirius. 

He's just about to start the letter when (y/n) walks into the room wearing lace lingerie that leaves little to the imagination. He soaks in the image of her alluring body wrapped up like a present for him.

"Regulus," his name sounds luscious, dripping from her lips like honey.

"(y/n)," he stands, taking a step towards his bewitching wife. The half-written letter to Sirius is entirely forgotten on the desk as he stands.

She does a little turn, showing him the entire outfit, "do you like it?"

He nods dumbly, eyeing the small bow resting against her spine.

"Do you want to touch?" The sultry smile on her lips is like a magnet, pulling him closer to admire the way the lace accentuates her beauty.

"I want to take this off," he reaches out, intending to pull her closer to his body. Instead, (y/n) shoves him back towards the bed, the backs of his legs hitting the plush mattress. Her hands run up his torso, eye contact never wavering as she pushes him gently on the bed. Regulus's eyes widen at the boldness of his wife.

Crawling up onto the bed after him, she settles on his lap. 

"Weren't expecting this, were you?" Her fingers grip his chin, forcing him to keep eye contact.

Regulus grips her hips, fighting the urge to press her down on his aching cock. Instead, (y/n) rolls her hips. "Merlin--" Regulus groans, throwing his head back against the pillows.

(y/n) grins wickedly down at him, repeating the motion a few more times before he can't take it anymore.

"I need to be inside of you." He tries sitting up to control the situation, but (y/n) pushes him back down on the bed.

"Patience. I think it's only fair that I take charge tonight."

He frowns, conflicted because he doesn't hate this sudden change in his wife's sexual confidence. 

She pauses another moment, gauging how certain she is that he won't continue to fight her for dominance. (y/n)'s fingers slip down from his stomach to the buckle of his belt. Regulus swallows hard, trying to fight how he wants to push her back on the bed and bury himself in her tight heat.

"If you don't hurry up--" Regulus practically snarls as her fingers trail down the front of his pants.

"Patience, Regulus." 

Damnit, woman... 

Slowly, (y/n) tugs his pants down his thighs. 

"C'mon (y/n)--"

(y/n)'s fingers begin to slowly unbutton his shirt, ignoring his pleas. 

Her smile is wicked, "you're so good, letting me do what I want."

Regulus frowns but doesn't respond. He won't beg for her, won't beg to feel her tight heat. Won't beg to hear those little breathy moans she lets escape when he fucks her just right.

"Do you want me?" 

"Obviously, woman." This technically isn't begging, he rationalizes as he eyes her barely covered tits. 

"Tell me how badly," she guides his hands up to her chest, encouraging him to squeeze the flesh.

Regulus pinches her left nipple, enjoying the way it peaks under his touch. "I've never wanted a woman the way I want you."

(y/n) pauses, her eyes focused on his as she looks at him with shock written across her features. Regulus fights the blush that creeps up his neck, suddenly feeling shy over his words. There hadn't been an intention to reveal anything of the sort to her. 

(y/n) bites her lips, "really?"

Regulus sighs, feeling insecure at the moment as (y/n) watches him with stars in her eyes. He runs his hands up her thighs, collecting his thoughts, "Yes."

She smiles, leaning down to press her lips against his. Regulus cradles her face in his hands, pulling her closer to continue the slow and sensual kiss. 

"I don't have patience for your teasing."

For a moment, he's sure that he's regained some dominance in their exchange as her face softens substantially. But before he can get his wicked hands on her, she's up and off of him, removing the lace from her body.

Regulus watches her hesitate for a moment, looking suddenly insecure in her actions.

"Well? Was this not your game of seduction, darling? Finish what you started."

She looks down at the ground for a moment before climbing back to sit on his lap. (y/n) whimpers slightly, rubbing herself against his length.

Finally, she engulfs him in her heat. Regulus grits his teeth, the warmth of her practically chokes him. (Y/n) plants her hands on his chest, her lips slightly agape as she stares down at him. At her work.

"Do you want me to help you?" He rolls his hips against her, fingers itching to grasp the flesh of her ass.

(y/n) doesn't slap his hands away but shakes her head no, moving tentatively up before sinking back down. Regulus can't help the moan that spills from his throat. It just feels so good.

Regulus pushes himself up on his elbows, so their chests prest together. Her arms wrap around his neck as she grinds against his lap.

"Merlin--" Regulus kisses her before maneuvering her to her back. His hips are quick to piston against hers.

"Regulus!" 

He shushes her gently, "let me take care of you."

"No more contraceptive charms," she brushes away hair from his forehead. He wants to 

"I'll cast it when you're asleep," He frowns down at her, hands gripping her waist as he buries himself savagely within her.

"You wouldn't dare. I made this happen, initiated it." She looks magnificent beneath him, tits bouncing, lips slightly open as she argues.

"I said no."

(Y/n) stops her movement, looking up at him with a blank expression. It unnerves him how... blank she looks.

"What are you doing?"

(Y/n) scowls at him, "I'm done with this." She pushes him away by his shoulders, getting up and off the bed to cross the room where her robe hangs.

Regulus stares at her in disbelief. "Wait!"

"No! I'm done."

"You can't just walk away!"

"Watch me." (Y/n) walks into the adjoining bathroom.

He throws his head back in frustration, "you're really going to leave me like this?"

"I don't care!" She pops her head out angrily from the bathroom, "I don't care if I leave you in any way!"

He leans his head on his hand, looking at her, "c'mon darling…."

(Y/n) looks at him with sudden rage, "No! Do not darling me. You do not love me; you don't even know me! You have no right to use such language with me."

He gets up from the bed, walking closer till he's inches from her face, "I'm sorry—"

"No!" She pushes him away, "this is why I wanted a child! You will never love me, but maybe…" she looks away for a moment before looking him directly in the eyes, "maybe the child would."

A conversation with his mother when he was small is thrown to the forefront of his memory. Walburga had sat him down on her lap, back when he was a child when she was a loving mother to both Sirius and Regulus. Always patting his small curly head or lovingly stroking his plump cheeks. She had admitted that her sons' love was once something she thought she could replace the love a husband should give a wife. 

When the pain of being in a loveless marriage completely caught up to her, she lost her loving touch. Her heart became cold, and her love a distant thing of the past. 

And now he was doing the same thing his father did to his mother to his own wife, making her heart bitter. Bitter enough that she already sought something to numb the pain that their marriage was causing her.

Grabbing her, he pulls her into his arms, hugging her close.

"Regulus?" She sounds alarmed.

"I'm sorry."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, "for— what?"

He pulls away just enough to see her face. Cupping her jaw in his hands, he presses a kiss to her lips.

"Regulus—"

"No. I understand what you're telling me, and I want you to give me a chance."

"Give you a chance… you already said you can't."

"I— I can try."

"I don't want you to pretend to love me."

"I won't pretend. I'll figure it out, I promise."

(y/n) looks alarmed for a second, "you shouldn't promise things you can't do, Regulus Black."

He stares back, "give me a chance."

The silence is deafening as she watches him.

[thefanficmonster]

Bouquet

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: None

Genre: FLUFF, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having come clean about being single for a very long time now and considering herself completely out of the dating scene, Y/N’s confession is taken and responded to with a ton of kindness, especially from a special someone...

Requested by Anon. Hi hun! Thank you so much for your lovely request, it was such a joy to write! I’m so sorry for the long wait you had to go through but the fic is finally here and I hope you enjoy reading it! Love, Vy ❤

I roll out of bed with little to no desire to start my day. We haven’t got a scheduled stream for today and the clouds glooming in the sky seem to be promising rain so really what do I have to get up for except that it’s a rule society installed?

Just kidding, I’m basically stalling and that’s all.

So what happened was the streamer gang and I were playing Among Us last night and our conversation during the pause between rounds somehow swerved into relationship territory. I stayed quiet the majority of if not all the time because I had no valid input to offer. 

If you know me you know I’m not one of the performers on the dating scene. I have never really confirmed it with my fans - well, until last night, that is - but I bet they have picked up on that fact considering I’ve been on YouTube for around a decade and have never had a partner. That being said, I’d have to also mention that I have in fact dated but someone but it was before my YouTube era started. Me choosing this career path, which back then was just a hobby, had nothing to do with the relationship ending but it still motivated me to not to actively look for a relationship while I’m still focused on my career. It’s too much work, too much stress and requires a lot of balance I most certainly either don’t have or I don’t have the energy to put in balancing my romantic and professional lives. Luckily, no one’s ever pressured me into finding a significant other, not yet at least, so no societal pressure for me!

But I gotta admit I felt real awkward admitting all this last night.

“Hey Y/N what do you think? You’ve been awfully quiet?“ Rae asks, causing me to jolt in my seat from where I’ve been reading my chat for the past five minutes, my mic muted.

I quickly unmute to reply, blushing ever so slightly, “Um, sorry I was reading my chat. What do I think about what?”

“The gesture of giving flowers to your significant other, is it romantic or a waste of money and plant murder?“ Rae explains, still managing to catch me off-guard with her question.

I ponder what my response should be for a little bit before deciding to level it to a neutral level where I almost sound indifferent, “It is in fact plant murder basically and artificial flowers would definitely be a better gift - plus they’ll last longer.”

“Mhmm yeah that’s true.“ Poki agrees with me, “But there’s still the question of whether it’s a romantic gesture or not. I personally don’t think it’s overrated or cheesy, I actually quite like it. What about you, Y/N?“

And now she’s got me in a real trap that I can’t wiggle out of without speaking my truth. I don’t know where this sudden anxiety around the subject came from but it now resides within me rent free and makes me feel self-conscious and embarrassed of the confession I’m inevitably make.

“Um, I wouldn’t know for certain, I’ve never received flowers myself...“ I say sheepishly, cringing at the sound of my own voice, “It’s not like I’ve dated plenty of people and the one guy I did date wasn’t really romantic or anything, I mean - we were teenagers, after all. But when I think about it in theory I think I’d like the gesture: it’s thoughtful, plus you get a temporary but beautiful piece of décor out of it.“

I’m gonna hope I didn’t sound too pitiful or desperate. Of course I’m not gonna check afterward on the stream cause I’d rather live in the illusion of having sounded humorous rather than be given the confirmation that I didn’t.

“Wait, wait, wait, did you date your last boyfriend like a decade ago?“ Corpse is now the one talking and that makes me feel even more anxious. This is not the impression one would want to give to their crush, is it? Oh well, no turning back now.

“Correct.“ I reply with a laugh that I hope didn’t sound as nervous as it was.

“And you’ve never, like in your whole life, received flowers from someone?“ He sounds astonished which sort of makes me want to shrink up in my shell like a turtle. Too bad I don’t have a shell though. I’m genuinely thinking of the option to rip the router out of the outlet right now to save me the troubles but I’m not that immature. I’m surprised I’m even reacting this way - this topic doesn’t usually bother me at all but now for some reason I’m red as a tomato and shrinking in my chair. 

I know what the obvious answer is but I’d rather die than admit to it.

“Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds bad but I really don’t care.“ I make an attempt at changing the subject, swerving it back to the main topic rather than my lack of a love life, “I do, in fact, find the gesture sweet - it adds vibrancy to the relationship just like the flowers would add vibrancy and color to the space they’re put in.“

“Oh my gosh, that’s such a cool analogy!“ Rae gushes, “You’re totally right, it might be an old trick, but it’s aged like fine wine.“

Phew, God bless you Rae.

“Exactly, exactly.“ Corpse agrees as well but I don’t think he’s fully heard what Rae said since he sounds to have fallen in deep thought.

At least I got away with it with only making a SLIGHT nervous wreck of myself.

Yikes, was that horrible, though I don’t people will remember it for long. Sure, my fans have sent me thousands of lovely messages and pictures of bouquets and will maybe continue sending them for another day or two - which I highly appreciate, don’t get me wrong. I’m severely touched by this gesture of theirs and it almost makes me glad I finally ‘came clean’ about my romance-less life - however, it’ll fade overtime. I mean, who the heck cares if I’m single or not?

As I pour the milk over my cheerios which I’ve been snacking on dry for the past half hour as I rifled through the many notifications clogging up my lock screen, I hear the doorbell ring. I’m understandably puzzled by this, seeing as how I never get visitors so that doorbell rings only when I’ve ordered something, be it takeout or a random item off Amazon. However, I can’t remember ordering anything, at least not anything that should be arriving at the moment or even anytime soon - that glow-in-the dark curtain isn’t supposed to arrive until next week.  I make my way to the door, unbothered by the fact I’m still in my pajamas, and take a look through the peephole.

It’s a delivery guy...and he happens to be holding a huge-ass bouquet.

“What the...“ I mutter to myself as I unlock and swing open the door in the blink of an eye, “Hi?“

“Hi there, are you Y/N L/N?“ The delivery guy, who I’ve seen many times before and who I’m on pretty friendly terms with, asks me jokingly, sending a wink my way.

“I sure am.“ I reply, my gaze fixated on the breathtaking flowers he’s holding, “But those can’t be for me, that’s for sure.“

He fishes looks at his clipboard one more time, nodding before he looks back at me, “I double and triple checked, Y/N, they’re for you. Here, have a look if you don’t believe me.” He turns the clipboard  for me to see and he is actually telling the truth. I mean, I doubt he’d have any reason to lie to me but mix-ups happen all the time.

“Um, ok thanks. Sorry for the halt, it’s just...I’d hate to be the recipient of the flowers meant for another girl.” I apologize as I take the bouquet for him, still in awe of the fact I’m the one it was made and meant for and sent to.

I say a quick ‘bye’ to the delivery guy before practically running inside to inspect this bouquet for a card from the sender. I have my guesses: it has to be someone who was present during the stream last night and someone who knows my address. Hopefully it’s someone from my friend group and not a fan who watched the stream and just happens to know my address. I’d still appreciate the gesture, but I’d also install security cameras if that was the case.

Something about the color scheme of the flowers - pink and black - gives me Rae vibes since she constantly teases me about my aesthetics contradicting each other. But then again, Poki does it too so it could be her as well....

Oh...OH GOD IT’S NEITHER OF THEM

                                                               ~ ~ ~

I’ve been sitting here, keeping myself a safe distance from my phone so I’m not the first one to send her a text. So I don’t ask if she got what I sent her. So I don’t ask what she thought of it, how the bouquet looks in her living room, how it smells, how it makes her feel. I have so many questions so that phone is best off at a major distance from me. I’m the one who’s better off with such a huge distance between me and the device, to be perfectly honest.

Was it a bad idea? Should I have slept on it - or just thought about it longer cause sleep and I don’t get along? Should I have at least waited a day or two? Should I-

My phone vibrates with a notification and I practically fly to it from across the room, grabbing it and unlocking it asap. My heart sinks and takes off like a rocket simultaneously when I see I’ve been tagged in Y/N’s Instagram story. I nervously tap the notification that sends me to the picture of the bouquet I sent her with some text written over it.

“Thank you, Romeo ;)“

Somehow that one sentence answers all those aforementioned questions.

Is this what people refer to as butterflies in one’s stomach? Cause it feels significantly more like a crush...oh wait.

@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse  @sunnyrae-cessh  @ladykxxx08  @meowiemari  @renupf  @booklover76

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Resurrect Me (N.R.)

Warnings: swearing; death; Hell/the Underworld; cliff jumping lol

Word Count≈ 3.1k (yikes lol my bad)

Hecate一 the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, the moon, ghosts, and necromancy. Known to be an intricate mosaic of good and evil, destruction and beauty. Capable of granting wishes, summoning the dead, resurrections, teleportation, warping realities on unfathomable scales, mind control, energy manipulation, and any sorcery or magic known to the Gods. Second only to Zeus himself.

I am the human embodiment of Hecate. I am not Hecate; she merely resides in the depths of my soul and provides me guidance. We do not communicate through words; she speaks through dreams and gut feelings, and sometimes even through signs in the outside world. I have not mastered the powers she’s granted me, nor have I reached my full potential. In addition to the Goddess’ powers, I hold the basic Olympian powers, such as superhuman speed and stamina. I have no recollection of how I merged with Hecate or the life I lived before this point, and she has provided me with no answers, but I do not question her motives. 

Agent Phil Coulson came across me in my temple in Turkey. Apparently, he had discovered strange energy readings coming from the temple. When he arrived, I used the power of energy manipulation to blow the concrete off of me, and that is the first thing I remember一 emerging from underneath Hecate’s temple.

I joined the Avengers during the Battle of New York. Agent Coulson had recommended me to Fury when he was piecing together the Avengers Initiative. In the three years between my awakening and the invasion, I practiced my sorcery mercilessly and studied Hecate deep in the Greek countryside. I’ve stuck with the Avengers throughout the years, fighting every battle alongside them. Through the ups and downs, I’ve fallen head over heels for Natasha Romanoff. One would assume that with so much power, I’d be confident and have any mortal begging at my feet. That couldn’t be any more inaccurate, however. As I’ve said, I am not Hecate; I am simply the human embodiment of the goddess. And as a human, I turn into a blushing, stuttering mess whenever the levelheaded assassin is near. Consequently, there have been many years of pining, but I’ve yet to muster up the courage to ask the woman on a date.

In our most recent war, we’ve gone up against a mad titan一 Thanos. We lost terribly. Half of all living things inhabiting the universe were snapped away. I can’t help but ponder whether things would’ve gone differently if I had better mastered my powers. I potentially hold all the capabilities of the goddess of magic; aside from Zeus, I hold more power than any being to ever exist. I’ve practiced my sorcery every day for the past five years on the off chance that we ever get a rematch一 a chance to bring everyone back. I’ve improved significantly, but Hecate has been oddly quiet for the past few years. It’s driving me crazy. I know she’s still there, but she hardly provides an ounce of guidance.

And so, that is where I find myself now一 practicing sorcery in the room specifically designed to isolate me when I use dark magic. Everyone who has access to the training section of the compound knows that they should never enter this room. It is far too dangerous for regular mortals. As I warp the room’s reality, a dark mist envelops me. When it clears, the room has changed into a 50s ballroom. I look down to see an elegant maroon ball gown covering my body, and I scan the empty area. I hear a pair of heels clicking toward me, and I spin around, already panicking. In order for someone to be here with me, they would have to be an inhabitant of the location’s true reality. My eyes land upon the woman I’ve grown to love, dressed up for the event. She is wearing an extravagant light blue ball gown, and her hair is carefully done up. 

“Natasha? What are you doing here?”

“Why I came to dance with you, of course.” She steps closer and drapes her arms around my neck, swaying to the nonexistent music. Stay calm. Don’t panic. There’s no way I’m making her do this. I’m not even doing anything! Of course I’m the one making her do this, who else would it be?! Breathe in. Breathe out. My powers don’t control me. I control them. Just breathe. I can do this. I know how to do this.

As I focus on the magic coursing through my veins, a black mist envelops us, and the room returns to its original form一 a basic training room with black padded walls. I immediately take a large step back from Natasha.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Natasha?! You know you can’t come in here! I could’ve seriously hurt you!”

“I...I’m sorry. I thought you’d just be moving shit with your mind. I didn’t realize you could do...that, whatever that was.”

“That was reality manipulation. I didn’t know you were here and I don’t have full control of it, so you got caught up in it. Are you okay? Do you remember it?”

“Yeah, I remember it clear as day. I was still me and I was still in control, it was just...different, I guess.”

“Well, I literally warped your reality, so even if you felt in control, you might not have been.”

“You stopped it, though. I remember when that seemed impossible. You’re getting better.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I awkwardly scratch the back of my neck. “What did you come in here for in the first place?”

“This is gonna sound crazy, but Scott Lang is here. We might have a way to bring everybody back.”

“Wait, what? Holy shit. It’s happening. Okay, come on then!” I eagerly walk past her, grabbing her hand as I pass her, and we leave my training room. I realize that I’m still holding her hand as we make it to the meeting room, and I immediately drop it, clearing my throat. If I wasn’t so familiar with the sensation, then I would swear that my ears and cheeks are on fire.

<//>

We all step onto the platform in matching white and red time-travel suits. “We’re really doing this?”

“Hell yeah, we’re doing this,” Clint answers.

“Alright, then. We bring everybody back,” I say with determination. “Whatever it takes,” Steve adds.

“See you in a minute,” Natasha adds with a smirk. Before I can appreciate how beautiful she looks with the glimmer of hope in her eyes, we’re flying through a flurry of colors. Nebula, Natasha, Rhodey, Clint, and I land on Morag. We all say our respective goodbyes before Nat, Clint, and I get on a jet to head to Vormir.

<//>

“A soul for a soul.”

“What? That’s insane. Look, no offense, Mr. Bloody Tampon, but why should we just trust what you’re saying? Because you know their fathers’ names?”

“I didn’t.” I looked into Natasha’s eyes as she spoke and I instantly wish that I could replace the dull sadness with the bright hope that had filled them before.

“He doesn’t know my father’s name. If he’s some mystical being, then why can’t he tell me that?” I turned to face him as I asked the question.

“I’m afraid you are a mystery. I am meant to know everything about any being who seeks the stone, but I know nothing of your identity.”

“Hm. Seems like a load of bullshit to me,” I deadpanned.

“We need to do this. We need to bring everyone back. I’ve spent the past five years trying to reverse the snap, and now I finally know how to fix it. Let me do it.” As Natasha spoke, she grabbed both of my hands in hers.

“And I’ve spent every day for the past five years training to do this. I wasn’t just practicing sorcery and talking to dead people for fun, Nat. All I wanted was to do better一 to fix this. If anyone is jumping off that cliff, it’s gonna be me.”

“No. Absolutely not. Neither of you is dying for that stone. I’ve done horrible things these past few years. I’ve killed...so many people. It should be me,” Clint says, and Natasha and I turn to face him, but one of her hands remains in mine.

“No way in hell, Clint. And not you either, Nat. Both of you guys have families. You’re not sacrificing yourselves. I won’t let you. And you can’t stop me even if you try.” Nat gives me a questioning look as I mention her family and I speak in her head ‘I know about them, Nat. And they need you. She needs her big sister.’

“What are you saying?” I can hear the anxiety lacing Nat’s words, and it causes a pit to form in my stomach.

“I think you know what I’m saying, Natty.” 

“Then you don’t leave me much of a choice.” She shoots a Widow’s Bite toward me, but I stop it using energy manipulation without even having to lift a finger.

“You can’t beat me, Nat. Please, don’t fight me on this.”

“I call bullshit.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Clint running toward the edge while we’re distracted, and I teleport in front of him, throwing him backward. I use mind control to force him to stay down. I sense Natasha running toward the edge behind me, and I teleport in front of her. I use energy manipulation to keep her in place, and I grab onto her biceps.

“I’m really sorry, Nat. I hate that I’m doing this to you, but I can’t let you throw yourself off a cliff for some stupid stone. Your life is worth so much more than that. You’re an amazing person, and your ledger was cleared of its red so long ago. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

“This is sounding an awful lot like a goodbye.”

“You can be sarcastic all you want, but I’m not walking out of this one, Natty.”

“Don’t do this. The team needs you.”

“No, they don’t, Nat, and we both know it. They need you.”

“And what if I need you?!”

“Well if that’s the case, you’ll figure it out, just like you always do. Don’t let something like this hold you back. Goodbye, Natasha Romanoff.” I kiss her cheek before turning around. I start walking towards the edge, but it quickly turns into a sprinting pace as I hear Nat screaming for me to stop. Just before I reach the edge, I lift the mind control from Clint and I release Nat, just in case it doesn’t automatically lift when I die. I push myself off the cliff, turning mid-jump so I’m not facing the ground. As I’m falling through the air, I see Clint holding Nat in his arms as her screams fill my ears. I hit the ground and everything goes black.

<//>

“Hello, y/n. It’s good to see you again.” I sat up and一 what the hell is that smell? “Ah, yes. That would be burning flesh. Welcome to Hell, darling.”

“Uh...what? Who are you?”

“Yes, I suppose I should explain, hm? I am Hecate, Goddess of一”

“Yeah, I know what you’re the goddess of. How did I get here?”

“I thought you were smarter than this. You died, obviously.”

“And went to Hell? Damn.”

“Oh, relax. Hell isn’t what the mortals think it is. This is the Underworld. All of the dead reside here. The bad people get punished, the good people don’t. Simple as that. We don’t have a lot of time, so I need to explain. I am cursed; I cannot leave the Underworld. However, my human embodiment can, and that is where you come into play. You hold all my power, and I can see you’ve been practicing, but you’ve never lived up to your full potential.”

“Hey! Rude!”

“Don’t interrupt. I didn’t allow you to live up to your full potential, not until we met, anyway.”

“And I had to die in order for that to happen?”

“Yes. I’m giving you all of my power, but I can still stop you if I ever need to. I know you don’t want to risk hurting the people you love, especially the redhead, but you need to trust yourself. Trust your powers. Have a little faith. You are a goddess, remember. Don’t let people forget it. That purple thumb is nothing compared to you, even with his colorful rocks. Your family needs you now. You must help them.”

“That’s it? Why do they need help? How will I know what to do?”

“I will always be there to help you, Y/N. You can handle this. This is nothing. You are part of me, just as I am part of you. You are my daughter, after all. I should know your capabilities better than anyone.”

“Wait, daughter?!”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that part? Oh well, it doesn’t matter right now, anyway. You need to go.”

“Go where?”

“Home, darling.” 

The earth above us cracks open and I can hear faint sounds of fighting on the surface. I look at Hecate as she nods. Before I even realize I’m doing it, black mist surrounds my body and lifts me through the crack. I step out of the mist onto the ground and a staff appears in my right hand. I tap it once on the ground and my white suit is replaced by an all-black leather outfit that’s definitely made for a goddess. I smirk and make eye contact with the titan across the battlefield. His sickly creatures race toward me as they notice the new threat on the field. I summon an army of ghouls from the cracks in the earth. As the aliens and the undead clash, I teleport in front of Thanos.

“And who might you be, dear?” He acts confident, but I can sense his fear.

“I am Y/N, daughter of Hecate.” He tilts his head in a questioning manner. “Oh, did someone not study mythology? Hm, then let’s be blunt, shall we? I’m a goddess, ass-chin.” I throw my staff at his throat, but he catches it. He moves to swing his large sword at me, but I capture his arm in black mist. When he tries to move the other arm, I restrain that one, as well. “Well, that surely can’t be all you’ve got, hm? Pity, I thought it’d be more exciting than that.” If I were to look in a mirror at that moment, I would’ve noticed my ghostly pale skin, black eyes, and the raw power spreading through my veins like a black road-map.

“It’s not over yet, my dear child.” Before I can question the meaning of his words, an alien tosses him the gauntlet. It slides on his exposed hand, but I hold it open with dark magic. I look around and notice that the army of the undead is nowhere to be seen. My teammates are pinned down, even with the help of those who were snapped. There is a feeling in my gut and a voice in my head that tells me what I must do. I pull the gauntlet off his hand with black mist and slide my hand inside. I feel the power surging into my body. “What are you doing? That power will kill you!” Thanos sounds truly desperate.

“That’s cute. Truly, it is, but you can’t kill someone who’s already dead.” I close my hand and snap my fingers. His army fades to dust and he slumps to the ground before floating away with them. I drop the gauntlet to the ground and look around. Natasha runs toward me and throws her arms around my neck in a firm hug.

“Wha一what happened to you? How are you here? I thought you died!”

I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder before saying, “I did die. I am dead.”

She pulls away and looks at me from head to toe. “Well that explains why you’re so damn pale, but now I have so many more questions.”

“I am Hecate’s daughter, so I am technically a goddess, like her. I’m not sure if I was technically resurrected or not, but I can probably一”

She cut me off with a gentle yet passionate kiss. She pulls away and searches my eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” she admits.

“Me too,” I breathe out.

“Yeah, I picked up on that. You’re not very discrete.” I laughed and a smirk spread across her face. “As sexy as this whole ‘powerful goddess’ thing is, am I going to get the old you back? You know, the one who blushes whenever I look at her? The one who’s, like, alive?”

I smile at her and glance down at her lips as a thick black mist appears behind me. I step backward into it as her face morphs into a look of confusion. She disappears from sight as a wall of black fills my vision, and a surge of power spreads throughout my body. I fall to my knees and the black cloud disappears. Natasha rushes over and kneels in front of me. “Are you okay? What the hell was that?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think I’m alive again.” I lift my head and meet her eyes.

“Your skin isn’t crazy pale anymore, and your eyes are their normal color again.”

“Sweet.”

“Cool.”

We both crack up and I lean my forehead against hers as our laughter fades.

Tony interrupts our moment of peace. “This is all good and dandy, but does someone wanna explain what the hell just happened?”

I raise my head and look at my teammates一 my family. “I kicked the purple thumb’s ass. That’s what happened.” I can feel a warm presence in my heart, and I know that my mother is with me.

“Yes, yes, I noticed. I also noticed a bunch of demons. Care to explain that one?”

“They weren’t demons...they were just...the souls...of dead people. I can summon the dead. You knew that.”

“Uh, I definitely didn’t know that.” I laugh and shake my head at the eccentric man. 

I stand up, pulling Natasha with me, and bring her into another embrace. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Natty,” I whisper in her ear before pressing a delicate kiss to her temple.

A/N: I literally had this completely finished and edited over a month ago and I hadn’t posted it yet soooooo... idk here it is

[space-city-traffic]

yet again im back on my bullshit so... (gazes with mixed feelings at the TV show Firefly) i could fix him.

my extremely long thoughts about my Own Personal Good Version of Firefly (with plenty of spoilers for the show and the movie) under the cut:

things that are getting axed first thing no question:

out with the whole “let’s add in a thin veneer of Chinese cultural aesthetics out of context for ~flavor~” deal. just no.

instead, let’s hire some actors from a bunch of different cultures and work with them to figure out how their characters would bring those cultures into space with them!! and also hopefully bring some experiences with immigration/alienation/travel into it, since the Whole Core of Firefly is about how humanity always brings our doomed and silly and stubborn and unique warmth with us even into the cold void where nothing is familiar or homey in the slightest.

let’s respect our sex worker character shall we?

i do appreciate that Inara’s work as a companion is described as legitimate and well respected in the show. however please stop having your captain and hero call her a wh*re every five seconds against her clearly expressed wishes and portraying this as just a totally acceptable thing

let’s be more respectful of our characters of color and also have some more diversity, shall we?

others have put it better than me but yeah, the way Zoe and Book are treated is very uncomfy, and the rest of the show is depressingly monochromatic. come on let’s do better.

stop the weird confederacy hat tips

again others have pointed these out with much more thoroughness than I could, but the names of some characters and locations, as well as some of the language used to describe the browncoats, has uncomfortably confederate vibes. instead i propose we very Clearly tip our hats to the Alliance equaling space capitalism instead! you can’t go wrong with space capitalism as a villain.

don’t! make! the! psychotic! character! violent!

listen i love River Tam with my whole heart. but you should absolutely not portray your only character with psychosis as violent because of that psychosis!!!!!!! and yeah, a huge part of her character is that her brain got fucked up by the alliance and so she hallucinates and is also a super ninja. but like. she doesn’t need to be a super ninja for her character to work, okay? the crew does not need to be scared of her for her character to work, okay??? more on this later bc it would take a lot of care and nuance to make her character work but i really think it can be done

things we are absolutely keeping:

found family tropes my fucking beloved

this should be self evident. this is why the show is as appealing as it is despite its flaws, at least in my eyes.

malcolm reynolds, the knight in dusty armor

there’s something so appealing to me about what Mal stands for. because at his core is this ridiculous, silly, stubborn, doomed devotion to what he thinks is important and right, a romantic idealism thinly covered by cynical cowboy platitudes that he thinks make his bleeding heart totally invisible. and he is so obvious and entirely incorrect. bless. this is a man who will do anything for his family, who charges into swordfights to defend his friend from a man who wants to turn her into an object despite having no clue how to hold a sword. at his worst, he starts brawls in bars just for the martyr’s thrill of being persecuted for supporting the right; at his best, he inspires downright religious belief from his crew because he represents a romantic and chivalrous and doomed dedication to the right thing over any practical concerns. and then he throws a “selfish” quip over it with 100% confidence that everyone fell for his clever distraction and believes him to be a dirtbag. he’s oblivious and ridiculous and god he makes me want to be a better person because he’s just so goddamned sincere. stupid, but sincere. 10/10 himbo. <3

Mal and Inara ultraslowburn friends to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to friends to...

there’s nothing i love more than a ship that’s just two people who know each other way too well, and they’re each the only one who knows the other well enough to call them out on their bullshit. the way Mal and Inara interact in the show sometimes makes me uncomfy but like. the core of their relationship has to stay.

space western aesthetic

i need the cows on a spaceship scene to stay like i need air okay

that sweet sweet religious shit

mal, who lost his faith in gd and a whole lot else during the war. who lost his faith in himself, and now feels he has to hide the part of him that still wants to be good, because he knows he can’t be anymore, and he feels like it’s embarrassing for a guy like him to want something so unattainable. who takes a preacher on board, and the preacher has lost something, too. the preacher has his own past, and his own questions. but not questions like the observant neurodivergent girl, the one who wants to interact with and understand this thing that’s so important to him, but it just doesn’t click with how her brain works and she feels like something needs to be fixed, either the Bible or herself. and Mal takes care of them all, and slowly, he begins to find gd again, not in a prayer but in humanity. humanity doesn’t need to be fixed, like the alliance thinks. the shining imperfect strawberry sweetness of it in his family’s smiles is something to be worshiped and served and devoted to. and he finds he has something to believe in again. (and his crew find that he’s given them someone to believe in, too. and maybe suddenly he’s a saint.)

and finally, my brilliant ideas as to what i would like to add:

TRANS WOMAN KAYLEE RIGHTS

listen her femininity is so important to me okay? it’s so thrilled about everything that’s pretty, from dresses to the spaceship’s electric innards, and it’s so non-traditional and grease stained until it’s not and it’s pink and ruffly and twirly, and she never sees any of it as a contradiction, because none of it contradicts, it’s all just her! her gender is warmth and love and prettiness, feeling pretty and appreciating the pretty and making her friends’ days pretty too.

i want us to find out she’s trans in that episode with the ball, and i want us to find out alongside Mal who just never asked or never realized. Kaylee gasps and squeals at the dress in the shop window and Mal makes an off handed, ill considered comment, and then... someone yanks him aside and hisses a few very significant words in his ear. and suddenly he remembers what the blue white and pink she painted all over the engine room means, and he knows he has something to make right. so he buys her that dress himself and lets her know just how pretty she looks, and when he walks into that ball with her displayed on his arm like something precious, he looks the proudest out of any man there. and she notices. for a few seconds, of course, until there’s chocolate, and ‘nara, and a chandelier—and some horrible girls, but she’s used to that, until—suddenly, she finds her people. a group of old men who light up when she jokes about compression coils and whack presumptuous boys who ask her to dance. they adopt her as a treasured granddaughter, and Mal is beaming at her like a proud dad, and she finds that one of her new elderly friends gazes a little too long at her bracelet, and so she gives it to xem and teaches xem a few new words, and... it’s a good day, huh? it’s a really good day. (of course, then the captain has to go and punch somebody in the face, but it was a real nice party up until then.)

also she and Simon are both transhet t4t im correct and you know it

time for a better River Tam

the first thing we’ve established is that this version of her is not unpredictably violent and the crew is not scared of her!!!! it makes no sense to take a kid who’s primarily brilliant, experiment on her brain, give her telepathic powers....... and tack on the fact that she also has super strength and speed and dexterity and what not, AND say that they programmed her to be super violent. no! no. not only is that extremely harmful rep, that’s also just stupid.

instead!! my version of River is in fact not terrifying to the crew, but is actually the one they feel safest around. River has always been totally blunt, she was one of those kids you could tell realllllly early was autistic, and she doesn’t like being disengenous at all. so you can always trust her to tell the truth and not play weird passive aggressive games or have any hidden agenda, which makes her just a really chill person to be around. also, one of her longtime special interests is music and dance, so whether or not she’s nonverbal on a given day, there will always be some sort of beautiful sound when she’s around. she does have the singing voice of a dying crow unfortunately but that’s ok bc Simon’s is even worse and they’re both incredibly competitive so you’ll at least get free entertainment out of the affair.

my version of River does have psychosis and hallucinations because of the trauma of the experiments, and they are really troubling to her. she and Simon work together to find ways to cope and meds that help, and it’s a process, but there are some things that help.

the only thing she gained from the academy was the ability to hear people’s thoughts and sense the future a little bit. and yeah, that led to her picking up a few spooky secrets at the beginning, which, yikes. and for a while, it was hard to figure out which voices were real and which were hallucinations. but around her friends, she always feels safe to ask “did you just think about triple cheese burritos or was that just a me thing?”, and they’ll always tell her the truth no matter how embarrassing their thoughts are, bc it’s important to all of them to respect her and help her sort accurately through what’s reality and what’s not. and bit by bit, she gets better and better at figuring out what kinds of things tend to be telepathy and what kinds of things tend to be psychosis, and that each one feels a little different. and because of the trust and respect and support of her found family she’s able to do that in a safe environment!!!

trans man Simon rights

listen i wanted to keep him as just a side note on Kaylee’s list but he is my son and he’s important to my heart so here goes

out on the outer rim where Kaylee’s from, gender ain’t much of a big deal, there’s an individualistic quality to life out there, and so if the trail you blaze is the trail of a woman or a man or neither or both, that’s respected even in the rare cases where it’s not outright encouraged. but in the inner planets, where competition and connections and public faces and family names are everything, you have to be what’s expected of you to survive. you can’t change your brand, you can’t be anything other than what your family planned for you since before you were born, it’s incredibly hard to survive in such a hyper competitive environment, and so your very identity becomes just a tool in how to market yourself for better success.

needless to say Simon (just as autistic as his little sister and also very trans) fuckin hated it there. but he was very good at it. correction: he was very good at his very specific field of STEM, good enough to where people stopped talking about how cute he looked in bows and started talking about how impressive his work was from a very young age. and his work had no gender. he could be whatever he wanted to in equations. so that was where he could express himself, and gd, he got so much praise for it, he never wanted to stop.

not until he discovered that his sister needed him, and ran away, and needed a disguise, and realized... suddenly, every stifling rule and prying eye was a million miles away. he was freefloating, freefalling, with none of the charted paths he’d been following all his life... so you know what? fuck it. he’s always enjoyed the name Simon. and since it’s not on any legal records, it’ll make him just that much more untraceable.

and on Serenity, starting over with new people who never knew him before his transition feels like an unbelievable blessing that just dropped right into his lap. he has to keep up the secrecy, he has to make sure they never find out who he used to be, because gd, it’s so nice when they look at him and say his name right, and he doesn’t know if he can handle losing that, not when it’s so new and so important to the person he’s finally becoming. but then one day, the unthinkable happens, the wanted posters for his arrest have an old name on them, they’re looking for the Tam sisters, and... nothing changes. the crew of Serenity could not give even a tenth of a percent of a fuck, and it doesn’t seem like they even know they’re supposed to. huh. that’s new. Simon could get used to that, he thinks.

i’m sure there’s more i could add, but it’s 4:30 in the morning now, so if more occurs to me, ill simply add it in a reblog tomorrow. if you’ve read down this far, i am in love with you. please let me know your Better Firefly ideas, too, bc im always down to yell about this show!!!

[rosetinted-selfshipping]

I had the idea to start a Selfshipping side blog for awhile since 1 my main Account is kinda hideous and I just wanted a new slate especially now that I understand tumblr more 2 cause I really like the self shipping community! And I used to write fanfic

My pronouns are She/her

That being said I stopped writing fanfic for a reason, it made me KINDA anxious the pressure of doing requests got to me but I think I could do an imagine every once in awhile if nothing else and if you want you can request an imagine or prompt from me I’d just ask you maybe don’t expect much but it would still be appreciated of course!

As for me personally I’m a minor so no, No, NO NSFW. I had a pretty YIKES experience on Instagram once upon a time and I do not want a repeat of that. But you can call me Rosie or Rin (my self insert’s name) also do let me know if you want me to talk about my Ocs! I have quite a lot. Idk if I wanna add another section to this blog (since I’m just starting out) but let me know if you’d be interested!

For my rules/DNI just don’t be Racist or a Pedophile or homophobic or transphobic or request or say anything of that nature on this blog. And I think that’s all I should really have to say on that matter

Also feel free to have an Anon name if you want!

Little note before I list these things. I have the attention span of a goldfish, a goldfish easily distracted by any pretty anime character that has a good amount of fanfics and by the color pink. So simply know I’ll try to name things I’m if nothing else fairly sure I could hold a conversation about not necessarily things I’ve finished.

Anime

Yugioh (all gens)

Beyblade (the metal saga)

Uta no prince sama (I’m sad Shining live is dead)

Diabolik Lovers (I know it’s horrible but it is ✨My Trash✨)

Demon slayer (My sister put it on in front of me and I’ve been a mess for Gyutaro ever since)

Idol time PriPara (I love PriPara so much even though I’ve only seen idol time SOMEONE LET ME INFO DUMP ABOUT MY PRIPARA OCS PLEASE-)

Aikatsu (mostly Stars)

Mermaid Melody/ Pichi Pichi Pitch (I adore this show! I just need to stop procrastinating and watch it before they take it off of YouTube lol)

My hero (I still need to catch up but even then I’m not that attached to anything but the fanfic I wrote in my head)

Shugo Chara (it’s Cardcaptor Sakura but it’s not as bad. For legal reasons this is a joke)

The my melody anime (I haven’t seen the sequel series at all tho)

Revolutionary Girl Utena (I ADORE THIS SHOW’S AESTHETICS AND MUSIC. I will stop procrastinating and finish it one day)

Sailor moon (I know how shocking from a girl who clearly loves magical girl anime)

Save me Lolipop!/ Mamotte! Lolipop (this was my first anime I watched by myself please tell me you know it!)

Kamisama Kiss (I hate Tomoe Stan Nanami to death though)

Kamikaze Kaito Jeane (I’ve only read the Manga WHERE IS THE ANIME?!)

Fairy tail (i Haven’t seen the last season I will cry)

Fruits basket (I didn’t watch the new one it looked to idk shiny for me personally)

Tokyo Mew Mew (Kisshu my problematic Fave 🥺)

Earth defense club love (please someone tell me they simped for the twins in season 2)

Miraculous ladybug (sure it’s arguably not anime but if you look at all the other magical girl anime here you should not be surprised)

Precure/ Glitter force (yeah I grew up with glitter force I’m sorry I’m loving delicious party tho!)

Games

Idolish7 (I know it’s an anime too but I mostly play this game for the music)

Hypnosismic (Ramuda’s Drops lives Rent free in my brain and I DID NOT give consent)

Ensemble stars (idk what they’re saying but wow All of Knights sure is pretty wow also so happy about eng release! ✨)

Ayakashi Romance Reborn (Fun fact: This game’s English server is dead so I surgically attached it in my brain to demon slayer)

Twisted wonderland (I hate this game immensely ✨)

Genshin Impact (i hate this game more ♡)

Cookie run Kingdom (I’m sorry red velvet cookie is hot okay-)

Play Uta no Prince Sama Shining live (never mind it’s dead now)

Pokémon Masters (I have 2 Ns so far!)

Sonic (*looks at my old Sonic Ocs* *looks away quickly*)

The Atelier Series (Quick review of all the Atelier games I played: Ryza Decent, Lulua Bane of my existence, Sophie is the prettiest girl ever 🥺 oh no I haven’t played her game yet why do you ask?)

Fate/GO (It’s really fun when the Gacha isn’t being mean and I’m enjoying the charming servants even though unfortunately find myself liking the boys more because of reasons you can guess)

Yugioh Master Duel (I’ll put my friend code later)

Yugioh Duel Links (proud Yuzu Main)

Pokémon (main series)

Code vain/ god eater (I will play anything with a character creator part 1)

Play Uta no Prince Sama shining live (I will miss you forever)

Pretty Princess party (I will play anything with a character creator part 2)

Story of seasons (I’m a gamer girl what do you want from me? 👁👄👁💅)

Disney Magical World 1/2 (i will play anything with a Character creator part 3)

Kingdom hearts (i haven't finished 2 or 3 and i cannot be talked too about Tarzan's world but i loved the mobile game and dream drop distance)

Style Saavy, any of them (Best games ever made, other than Uta no Prince Sama shining live-)

Uta No Prince Sama shining live available now on IOS and Android (The world just didn’t understand it while we did have it 🥺)

Manga/Comics

Anything by Arina Tanemura (I’m BARELY exaggerating)

Beasts of Abigale (ya like Goth Furries?)

Kiss of the Rose princess (ya like Goth Yugioh Players?)

Ultra Maniac (Aka my first experience going: “oh my god read the manga the manga is better then the anime”)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also really love Fashion and Designing! I’m not learning it or anything (I’d probably be a failure Irl lol) but if you wanna talk or show me designs feel free too

I do have a Tag tho! #Magical Fashion Fairytale feel to scroll through designs I’ve posted

Imagines masterlist f/o list

Also I made all the headers and my icon on PicsArt

Did my Imagines masterlist!

Last Edited January 2nd 2023