#is this.. okay to tag? i forget about tagging culture and this showing up in search

[niconebula]

homura akemi ?

I got the same character twice so I am going 2 reply directly to my friend but yes I saw you too anon!

favourite thing about them: her girlboss swagger. noo but seriously shes just such a one of a kind character. she's incredibly intense which I like and she's the star when she shows up, has an incredible amount of depth behind her actions and is taken really seriously as this fully fleshed out person.

least favourite thing about them: even her negative traits are part of the appeal so. hmmm. i'm not as much of a fan of glasses "moemura" that they keep pushing in the game to make her cute and marketable. i dont really care for magireco as a whole though.

favourite line: most famously: "more passionate than hope, and far deeper than despair, love".

brOTP: kyoko and homura. everyone talks about it but it's still so underrated. i think a lot of people forget how much she cares about kyoko. they fundamentally understand each other, the way they're both trying to protect the people they love. both traumatized by their religious upbringings, both experienced death prior to the events of the series, they're both misunderstood and labelled as the enemy but push forward anyways. homura obviously has a lot of respect for kyoko considering she personally reaches out for her help in every timeline including rebellion. love them.

OTP: i wonder what this is! its so classic its so iconic its the blueprint its a shakespearean tragedy they are ying and yang they are literally god and satan it is great. not influenced at all by me watching madoka at the ripe age of 13 and it changing my braincells for the worse.

nOTP: the incredibly cursed spin-off where she marries ... tatsuya... to get closer to madoka. this is real and i do not know who the audience was.

random headcanon: this is interesting because even though madoka is my longest running fixation, I never really "fandomized" it and my interest is mostly kept within the realm of source material - i don't make or think of my own scenarios. that being said, I have dabbled in lots of doujins and the idea of her existing solely on calorie-mates (japanese meal replacement bars) is canon to me

unpopular opinion: trying to think of a truly unpopular opinion is hard but. as a homura / madohomu enjoyer it's like well, just maybe, their relationship is kind of toxic and that it's part of the enjoyment that she or they both are a little krayzee and incredibly dramatic

song i associate with them: "hunger" by florence and the machine :)

favourite picture of them:

certified classic, drew this during art class in grade 9 except also with the top of her head cut off and I think that scared some of my classmates

[mikimakiboo]

Time Travelers AU - Researches

You guys seemed to like the first part so here we go again :) not much action yet, I know, Dust is still trying to figure out what to do with them :')

Prev (and first part)

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@ancha-aus summoning you real quick

@crazy-snake you wanted to be tagged sooooo here you go

Dust was on his laptop, trying to make some researches about these four mysterious time travelers, trying to learn some things about their cultures, to get an idea of what he should be prepared for. They already ate, Dust having decided to make some pasta, and just with that he had already been met with various looks of confusion and suspicion: out of the four, only Cross and Nightmare knew what pasta were, and while Dust wasn't very surprised by that, he had been a lot more confused when the only one who knew how to use a fork, or simply what a fork was, had been Nightmare, the others preferring to use a spoon or even their fingers, which earned them some disgusted looks from the noble, that, for once, Dust could quite agree with. After a quick Google research on his phone, Dust had learnt that forks hadn't been introduced in the Roman Empire until the fourth century and in France in 1533, while vikings usually used either knives, spoons, or their fingers, but no forks. After that, Dust figured it might be a good idea to make some more researches...

He watched them from his chair, to make sure they weren't destroying his house. Cross was standing guard in front of his door, not moving an inch, Killer had miraculously stopped rummaging in his drawers to stare in wonder at a lava lamp instead, and Nightmare was sitting on the couch. Dust had given him his reading tablet that he got from work as a gift, having found a French book from 1532 by François Rabelais, right before forks were imported, titled Pantagruel. Nightmare had been.. reluctant to take the tablet, watching Dust showing him how to scroll up and down, he had however seemed quite curious about it when he had seen the French writing, and had agreed on taking it "car il n'y a bien que cela à faire ici". Dust wasn't sure what that meant, but he was pretty sure it was an excuse so it didn't seem like the noble was just curious but rather didn't have a choice. Horror was looking through the window when he finally let out a sigh and went to sit on the couch as well, making the mattress sag under his weight. Nightmare looked up for the tablet to frown at the viking, and shifted away from him, against the armrest, to which Horror frowned too. Dust watched these two interact, he watched Horror grab Nightmare's cape to feel the texture and Nightmare slapping his hand away to take back the cape, Horror holding out his hands as a peace sign. He would probably have to watch them closely, make sure they didn't get on each other's nerves.

Dust was in the middle of reading a Wikipedia article when he was interrupted by Nightmare.

- Dust ? Vôtre, uh.. parchemin magique.. ? Est terminé.

He recognized the word "terminé", as it sounded like "terminate", and guessed that Nightmare must have finished the book, which was frankly impressive because it had nearly four hundred pages and he gave it to him not three hours ago.

- Uh.. okay.. ? You, uh.. want to read another book ? I can look if there's any other.

Nightmare didn't respond, frowning slightly. Right, Dust's phone was charging, so he didn't have Google Translate turned on. He tried to think of the translation for book, he had used it when presenting the tablet to the noble, surely he didn't forget it so fast.

- Uh.. autre.. livre.. ?

He said, with a bad accent, but Nightmare seemed to understand as he slowly looked down at the tablet, seeming perplexed, surely wondering how Dust was going to pull a book from something that looked like a weird parchment, or just how long was said parchment. Dust stood up to grab the tablet from Nightmare's hands who looked up at him, he searched for a few seconds before handing him the tablet again, this time opened on a book titled Gargantua, a prequel of Pantagruel by the same author, from 1534, one year after forks were imported. Nightmare shot him a suspicious look before taking the tablet and starting to read again. At least this one was easily occupied.

Horror bent over, trying to see above Nightmare's shoulder, which only made him flinch and shift away from the viking, pressing the tablet against his chest as to prevent him from taking it away.

- Ne vous approchez pas de moi !

He said with a tone that he wanted threatening, but his voice just sounded afraid. Horror frowned at him.

- Hey, no fights. I don't have enough money to replace furniture.

Horror looked up at him, sitting straight, but before he could say anything a sword was between them. Cross had moved from the door. He glared at Horror.

- Eo vos conseilloie de rester asis.

They both stared at each other before Horror huffed, sitting on the other end of the couch again. Cross quickly glanced at Dust before focusing on Nightmare.

- Allez-vos tresbien, Sire ?

Nightmare looked at him before nodding, sitting straight too after having shot a last look at Horror who was now looking through the bay window of the backyard, not paying attention to them anymore. Cross put his sword away and returned to the door, ignoring Killer who had been watching the whole scene.

- Si vis pugnare, possum servare score.

He said with a sharp smile and amusement in his voice. Nightmare glanced at him.

- Sine me pugna, lego. Et desine obstrepere.

Killer chuckled, and turned his attention back to the lamp, letting Nightmare go back to his reading.

Okay what just happened ? Dust hadn't moved, he hadn't understood a word of what they all said, but apparently the situation had been sorted out ? After they almost started to fight ?

He should really try to learn at least the basics of their languages. But which one should he start with ? Probably French and Old Norse, because no one here seemed to speak Old Norse so he couldn't count on them to translate, and Nightmare could help him with Latin and Old French, so focusing on French first would be easier, and maybe he could pick out some words from Latin in the process ? He should have taken French in school instead of Spanish.

Dust returned to his seat, searching once more for some helpful websites with tips to learns the basics of French and Old Norse. He only found dictionaries for the latter.

- ᚹᚺᛖᚱᛖ ᛞᛟ ᚹᛖ ᛋᛚᛖᚨᛈ ?

Dust had been in the middle of reading the dictionary when he almost jumped from his chair, not having noticed that Horror was now next to him. He was surprisingly quiet.

- Huh ?

Horror looked at him, frowned, understood that Dust didn't get what he said, and pointed at the window for Dust to take a look. It was night, the moon was high, and the clock on the wall said it was past one in the morning already. Right, they probably wanted to sleep.

But where would they sleep ? Dust only had one bed and one couch, no air mattresses, no extra mattresses either, and just a few extra pillows. He thought for a while, he couldn't share his bed, and he didn't particularly want to anyway, the couch could maybe hold two people on it but he doubted anyone would want to sleep this close to one another, so that left the floor, and the deckchairs he had in his backyard. Didn't vikings sleep outside anyway ?

Dust made a quick research and looked at Nightmare who had apparently finished his second book as the tablet was resting next to him on the couch.

- Hum.. dormir.. ?

Killer, Cross and Nightmare all looked at him. Well, seemed like "sleep" sounded the same in the three languages.

- Ubi ?

Killer asked, a question to which Dust didn't have the answer because he didn't know what ubi meant. He went on Google again, looking at the French translation for "where do you want to sleep".

- Où voulez.. vous dormir.. ?

He looked at Nightmare next, pointing at Killer to silently ask him to translate for him. Nightmare sighed, annoyed to be an intermediary, but still translated.

- Ubi vis dormire ?

Killer looked around for a second before answering.

- Ad angulum parietis.

Nightmare looked at him with surprise, frowning and tilting his head as if he just heard some big nonsense, but before Dust could ask what Killer had answered he saw him crossing the living room to go sit on the floor against the angle of the wall. Strange. But he seemed pleased. Dust kept staring for a few seconds before focusing on Cross and Nightmare again, waiting for their response. Nightmare was looking at the couch, that he didn't leave during all the evening to the point Dust wondered if it had become a sort of safe place for him, and simply sighed before rearranging the pillows. Seemed like the noble was going to sleep here tonight. Cross however stayed planted in front of the door, so Dust asked again.

- Dormir ?

- Eo ne poez dormir, eo doi monter la warde.

Dust didn't understand, but judging by the fact the knight didn't move, he figured that it a least meant he would stay by the door.

Dust then turned to Horror as he was the last one not having answered. He asked the question again, this time typing on his computer and showing him the translation as he didn't know how to pronounce it. Horror looked in wonder at the screen for a few seconds before focusing on reading, bending down a little, before standing up again and going to the bay window. He pointed at the backyard as he looked at Dust.

- Oh you want to sleep outside ? Sure, as long as you stay in the backyard.

Dust got up to open the door for him, going out with him to put a deckchair in place in case he wanted to use it.

Horror inspected it before nodding and giving Dust a pat on the shoulder. At least he wanted it to be a pat but the small skeleton was so light compared to his usual companions that he actually pushed him on the chair, much to Dust's surprise who looked up at him from where he was now laying. Horror looked guilty.

- Uh, i-it's okay, I'm fine, just.. didn't expect that.

He quickly reassured as he got up.

- Damn you're strong.

He muttered.

- ... ᛈᚨᚱᛞᛟᚾ.

Horror said, looking down. That sounded like an apology.

- It's okay, really, uh.. well.. sleep good ?

He gave him thumbs ups before quickly going back inside before the situation became more awkward.

Well, seemed like everyone was settled for the night, so Dust could go in his own room and get prepared for bed too. He had a day off the next day, he was originally planning to rest but that option was off the chart now.

He sighed and let his body collapse on his bed. He just hoped his apartment wouldn't be a mess in the morning. And that maybe they would dissappear too and this whole experience would turn out to be a big dream...

A very strange big dream...

[onyourstageleft]

So I ended up here because of a Tamora Pierce post and you mentioned your thesis was about Tortall, and I was wondering if you were comfortable talking more about it, because I’d love to hear!!!!

(also I’m going to go through your Tamora Pierce tag later but I’ve already come across the idea of aro Raoul in one post and now I love it and need it)

I let this sit in my ask box for a few days bc I was genuinely so excited to talk about it that I wanted to dedicate some time to it okay YES I would love to tell you about my thesis!! I literally grew up reading and loving Tamora Pierce books and then I went into my English MA program and they started talking about thesis options and I was reading some criticism about colonialism in literature and it just kinda clicked, so my thesis title is "Cultures and Colonization in Tamora Pierce's Young Adult Novels" and it's pretty much what it says on the tin. I talk about indigenous populations (Bazhir and raka) and how they are treated differently both by the characters in the story and the narrative in general. I address Alanna/Jon as white saviors and then how Aly undoes some of that damage through her more respectful/less controlling relationship with the raka. I also talked about how the books work as a framework to interact respectfully with other cultures through Kel & the Yamani, and a discussion of slavery and the respect that Beka shows for enslaved people.

it's honestly been a while since I reread my whole thesis so there's probably more in there that I'm forgetting, BUT on the off chance that you wanna read the whole thing, I published it open access so you can just Google the title and it should take you to a download link for it. please ignore the typo of the repeated phrase at the end of the literal first paragraph of the whole thing it haunts me every day (I swear it wasn't there when I submitted it)

ALSO about the aro Raoul I totally think it's a good take with the exception of one of the most fantastic fanfics I've ever read - if you like fic and the idea of Raoul/Buri, please take a look at The Tourakom-Goldenlake System of Communication by Emnot on AO3. it's the first fic that led me into the AO3 waters (where the Tortall fandom is still going strong btw) and I reread it every few months

I'm publishing this ask mainly so I can find it later and remember what I said BUT if you wanna talk more about Tortall pls feel free to message me I could do this all day

[waitmyturtles]

Let's do this! I'm so sad this lovely show is over, despite its structural flaws. But I was with the story from beginning to end. Be My Favorite, episode 12/finale!

Before I get into my FEELINGS, of which I have a lot, I want to note that I think I misread the timelines in episode 12, of which @lurkingshan in DMs (and here's her fabulous wrap-up post!) and @grapejuicegay in her meta (thanks for the tag!) both corrected me. During episode 12, I assumed that the intimacy of episode 10 was actually with future Pisaeng. I stand corrected: that future Pisaeng goes back to the future AFTER the conversation with Kawi in the amusement park. That future Pisaeng is left assured by past Kawi that future Pisaeng can't change what might happen that can't be changed. And that life should ultimately be lived with intention in the moment, and not with a design in mind to change anything that CAN be changed.

Okay, now that that confusion is out of the way (HA!), what did I take from this episode?

First, regarding my confusion (ha), I think the narrative structure depending on the jumping of the timelines ended exactly where it needed to end -- right at the edge of it getting confusing enough for an old mom like me to start forgetting all of them, ha. Unfortunately, I always have to take away a couple points from any show where me and the clowns are left to try to piece together a narrative after an episode is over -- my biggest demand of any show is that the story needs to be told convincingly enough, even if there's mystery, for us to end at least not confused, if not satisfied. But it's a small gripe, because by way of the previous philosophical references -- we kinda knew it was going to get confusing anyway. I appreciated that we left the jumping forwards and backwards behind in the end, that the ability to do so had expired. Honestly, though -- I think it also added a lot of intrigue and movement to the plot.

Leaving structure behind: after ALLLLLLLLLLLL of the references to SO MUCH throughout this show -- the philosophical references, @telomeke's INCREDIBLE post on Buddhist and other Thai cultural references, and so, SO much more -- what I LOVED about this episode was its utterly stripped-down approach, going back to a straightforward narrative after everything we learned about the past and the future. That what we were left with was dialogue and contemplative silence as Pisaeng and Kawi discussed HOW they would live their future, driving with the top down, and enjoying the breeze together.

These were such gorgeous metaphors for what would ultimately bring them both happiness and meaning in life -- that overthinking these things, that designing better futures for themselves with whatever powers they could muster, would ultimately not lead to ENTIRELY perfect outcomes for the both of them. That instead, a life that's well lived is one that can withstand outcomes that you may not predict. AND: despite your best intentions to change things that you THINK may not work.... they may end up working, after all. Kawi lives.

@telomeke: this entire episode may have been one big commentary on the biggest Buddhist philosophy of all -- that of enlightenment. I think Kawi emanated this the best during the conversation at the theme park. I love how Shan referenced @shortpplfedup's commentary on the Serenity Prayer, because I think that's part of what we got here. That ultimately -- we need to let go of control, of the tangibility of our existence, and focus on just living and loving, in order to find true happiness/satisfaction/fulfillment.

In the face of my gentle criticisms about the structural flaws of the show, what I'm left with here is satisfaction, emotionally, for Kawi and Pisaeng. I'm thrilled for where they ended up. I loved every minute of it -- I loved their contemplative happiness in the end.

But, this is me, right, LOL, and I'll posit one last clown theory. While we're talking about enlightenment and letting life live: we still have Max wearing a Pride pin at a wedding. We have Kawi and Pisaeng talking about getting married without legally being able to. We had discussion previously in the show that Pisaeng could move out of Thailand to get married and live a happy family life. He doesn't want to leave Thailand.

The back and forth of past to future, of communication improving over time, of lessons learned, of pushing forward in a path: if I'm to look at that from a political lens, I want to say that there's a lesson that BMF is offering, that we can LEARN from the past in order to live a better future. Again, after all the philosophical references -- I believe that what we're left with is a message of hope and optimism that things will change, over the course of its own time, that life will improve for every single person if we have the patience. (I always remind folks that it took DECADES of work to legalize gay marriage in America -- DECADES.)

Maybe the lessons of Kawi's illness, maybe even his dad's illness, not only serve to tell us that we can't change EVERYTHING, to EXACTLY the way that we want it, at the moment we are living. But if we want a life that is at least IMPROVED -- with intentionality, and with PATIENCE -- we can live that and do that, if we can trust and feel that our decisions will lead to some kind of betterment in the future. We know that future Max hasn't stopped working for equality. I think the lesson in this last episode is that we all shouldn't stop working towards that equality goal, despite the obstacles that all of us -- queer family and allies alike -- will face in our work.

Y'all: I AM SO GLAD I PICKED UP THIS SHOW. I recanted on Krist, I am TOTALLY IMPRESSED, WHAT?!, with Gawin -- this show was FABULOUS, and I loved every minute of it. Will GMMTV bring back GawinKrist? I'm going to guess not, but I appreciate the both of them biting the BL bullet and focusing on a show that had so many phenomenal themes to chew on. This was a great one, and it's going on my high recommendation list.

[I ALSO LOVED TALKING TO THE BMF FAM -- HEARTS TO ALL! @dribs-and-drabbles, @grapejuicegay, @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @pandasmagorica, @twig-tea, @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle (OOOOH, HEIDEGGER, GO OFF, I LOVE THIS!), @thegalwhorants, @rocketturtle4 -- I loved reading and being tagged in your meta! Will we assemble again for Only Friends?!]

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Tagged by @rewritetheending @forthewolves and @devirnis for fuck it Friday! Here's a Buck and Natalia date from the season 7 fight fic. This is after the first big Buck and Eddie argument and I want to make them like actually really like each other so it sucks when Eddie shows up at Buck's place after this like "I thought about what you said and I think I am in love with you so I broke up with Marisol" and Buck has to be like jesus christ why, why would you do that, why now, we were both happy...

He meets Natalia at a new coffee place. They’ve tried a new one every time, a joking promise to try every coffee joint in LA that makes him feel secretly giddy with the length of shared time it implies. They both get the same lavender latte, but try each other’s anyway, and he kisses her laugh about it right off her lips. There’s a movie theater nearby, in a sort of dingy old building that Buck very quietly and mostly jokingly points out fire code violations in, that plays old movies all day long. It’s October, so they’re doing a Friday the 13th marathon. Buck is unsure of his opinion on scary movies. As Chimney never lets him forget, he’s not particularly well versed in any pop culture, the Buckley household not much one for casual movie nights, and horror certainly would not have been approved of.  “What if I get scared?” He asks, another mostly joke. “I’ll protect you,” she smiles, big and fond. “I’ll even let you hold my hand,” she whispers, like its a secret, like they aren’t already doing so. They get there just before Jason Takes Manhattan is due to start, and they’re almost the only people in the theater, the other patrons a couple of kids who sit close to the screen and are probably skipping school to be here. As soon as there's a dog on screen Buck makes wide frightened eyes at Nat until she makes her phone all the way dim to look up if it makes it through the movie okay. “Dog’s fine, don’t worry,” she whispers, “I am so curious to see how this one thing is going to happen, though…” “What thing?” “Nuh uh,” she laughs at him trying to read over her shoulder, leaning away and turning her phone. “You don’t like spoilers, just wait and see.” Throughout the movie she occasionally goes “Ohh, this is how- oh wait, guess not…” or “This time, surely…Hm, no…” and the increasingly delightful mystery makes him forget to think about being scared at all. Finally, when they’ve trapped Jason in the New York sewers which, apparently, get flooded with toxic waste every night and he starts barfing up the nasty water she gasps, pointing at the screen. “There it is! It said he was going to throw up after toxic sludge gets on him!” Buck laughs hard enough that the teens look back at them. “I can see why you got faked out so many times,” he gets out between giggles.  “There were a lot of barrels of sludge in this movie!” “There really were!” They walk out still giggling, hand in hand, jostling together, and his body is comfortable with hers in a way that usually takes longer to find. The only other person he thinks he’s found his footing so fast with is-  Ah, and he was doing so good at not thinking about it. 

Tagging @shortsighted-owl @burins @thewolvesof1998 @buckactuallys @butchdiaz @alyxmastershipper

[rigil-kentauris]

URIANGER: 2,4, 7 OR 8 (whichever you prefer), 15-16-OR-17 (again, preference), 20, 23

RUBS MY GREEDY LITTLE HANDS TOGETHER HELL YEAH

urianger my beloved

okay let me go dig up my questions

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

I LOVE HIS THEE AND THOU-ING. I especially love the fact that. There's no reasons like culturally for him to be like this, most sharlayans talk normally, if not a touch more formally. he made himself like this. i adore it.

i forget here it is (if its an npc who says it or if its a lorebook thing) but i like the part where the lore says hes Like This because of all those damn prophecy tomes he was on as a little kid. so i just imagine tiny little urianger looking at Ye Old Prophies and COMMITTING. he is precious to me

Small thing: I also love his stupid two sets of goggles when in his Potato Sack era.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

hmm... i feel like if i just sent him off on his own, he would wilt a bit. i would want to put him in something that gave him a fun, relaxing time, and think if thats to be accomplished I would have to send some of his People with him. he's been alone an awful lot and i see those as times that have also been or ended Bad. i think that might be something he dwells on.

OH I KNOW. okay weird one. but. BUT. hear me out. i would send him to Roller Coaster Tycoon. I know that's just technically just like a theme park but when i build them they are the BEST POSSIBLE THEME PARKS IN THE WORLD. if he could bring than, ryne, and gaia along, i just know he'd be really fulfilled by having a Fun Family Trip. i kind of see him as the guy who happily holds the bags and waits at the end of the ride. and i KNOW gaias got bags. also i feel like he is taking pictures and making the kids wear silly Park Gear. they go to some of the slow like Sitting and or Show type rides for him.

also if he was in RCT i could pick him up and Dangle him. not like malevolently but with the same emotion as I would have if I was Rotating Him

also also i have. forgotten everything ive ever read played or watched so im sure i have a better answer rolling around in there but alas.

7/8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like/despise?

I don't actually know much about the fandom takes on Urianger. Most of what I see is people analyzing his actions w/ The Warriors of Darkness and in Shadowbringers, and I haven't seen it be unfair yet. I think, though, I am not deep in the Fandom.

OH you know what I do hate. Every now and again people will mishear a bit about 1.0, and start popping off about how ~~~~~~secretly~~~~ Urianger is ACTUALLY a millennial old WISE and SCHEMING IMMORTAL WIZARD~~~~~~. I cannot blame anyone for thinking that, but it drives me off the wall. hes a 29 year old weird PhD haver who went around at aetherytes and chanting his insane End Of The World prophecies, he wears EITHER potato sack OR a backless dress and the only thing he knows how to do other than is eat hot chip be bisexual and tell the most insane lies possible. actually come to think of it i feel like HE was the one who started the insane lie ' is ACTUALLY a millennial old WISE and SCHEMING IMMORTAL WIZARD' so. either that or it was a general team effort. im getting into the weeds here so i digress.

urianger is so weird. i love him.

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

I'm on that Urianger/Than ship if the bit about the theme park didn't give me away lol. I also like Uri/Moen but if I had to pick one it would be Uri/Than. Uri/Moen makes me sad to think about...

16/17. What’s your least favorite ship for this character?

Lol I havehit up the archive for this one. I'm genuinely not sure what the most popular ships are for Uri outside of Thancred. My guess is Uri/WoL, then Moen. But lets see.

lmao i opened the ffxiv tag and the first fic is an Uri/Than fic ive been reading which YIPPE! its updated!

okay im back its all than/uri and some uri/WoL. there are other ships but i got to the point where there were so few it would feel like kicking a life-raft to mention them.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

I thought about this long and hard. I went at it from every logical angle. I took apart his characteristics, history, things he's done and to who. Interests, likes dislikes. I thought HARD.

I could NOT shake my immediate and initial thought of Estinien. I haven't got a stick to shake at my pile of evidence I just feel this in my heart.

I guess I was very impacted by uh... when was it. The Scions were in the Rising Stones, and Uri was mentioning he was going to get some books or something to try and share with Estinien to get to know him. It was the most endearing shit I have ever seen and it cut me to the bone. I think probably that attempt did not work but I do not care. GO FOR IT URIANGER! i also, i suppose, wonder how many friends Uri has every actively tried to make himself. like in childhood it seemed more like moenbryda Selected him, and that not many other kids liked him. his complicated history with the scions is complicated, but i think obviously he has to put in active effort to maintain those relationships (ESPECIALLY SINCE HE LOVE HOT CHIP LIES), but a lot of his character development w/ the scions seems more akin to 'hey this is the guy on our team we've known each other for like a decade so we are friends now' and less akin to 'hi my name is urianger can i show you some cool books'

its just intriguing to me why he did that. i hope so much it works out.

also come to think of it i dont know how many friends ESTINIEN have sought out of his own volition. he actively avoids aymeric half the time. orn kahi appears to have also gone the moenbryda route of Mine Now. tataru and krile had to actively hunt and Blackmail him into the scions. certainly i would call him friends with us now, and he cares a lot about alphinaud, but as far as Who Reached Out To Who, i think he is actually in the same boat as uri. huh.

vrtra, i think, is it. though i haven't had enough review time to say who lead that one.

now i want to see uri and estinien sitting silently in a room doing their own separate silent tasks (uri is reading a Tome, estinien is Caring For Weapons) SPECIFICALLY so i can caption it 'tag two blokes who do fuck all'. maybe its alisaie sneaking a bad blurry picture over her shoulder with her front camera and sending it to alphinaud.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

oh man i dont know. theres so much good ingame content and there SO MUCH GOOD ART and i do not have ANY of it tagged by character. let me go look.

OH NO I KNOW this is my favorite image of urianger of all time i want to cry every time i look at it. the fucking. expressions. i cant possibly describe in words how MUCH i feel when viewing this image. im going to pop.

[redneaththedogwood]

Introduction

Hi! Call me Red.

I am a queer young adult artist with a passion for making stories! My pronouns are he/they/it.

Red 'Neath the Dogwood is a feline centric xenofiction world building project that is inspired by the blogs @/barrenclan, @/bonefall, @/trinitywc, and @/cathedralcomic, as well as published works such as Warrior Cats, Ratha's Creature, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and Watership Down. Other influences may show through, particularly the horror aspects present in media such as The Magnus Archives and Old Gods of Appalachia.

My goal with R'NtD is to create compelling groups with their own religious beliefs, food cultures, and a unifying language. The overarching story has not been decided yet, and while I flesh that out I will focus on characterizing the groups and who resides in them, along with creating unique roles and government systems for each.

This blog is a passion project and it is mostly just me working on it, with language help from my good friend @elkpaws.

Things To Know

Red 'Neath the Dogwood will not be a project for children and will include serious discussion of topics ranging from mental health, cultism, oppressive structures, and more. If these topics upset you, that is absolutely okay! This project will likely not be for you.

You are not bothering me with like spam or reblog spam! I appreciate the love and engagement :)

I ADORE seeing people talk and reply in tags and replies, it makes my day!!

I love asks! I will read them all!!! I might not get to all of them if I ever get super popular, but as a smaller work I will do my best to answer.

Please do not ping me on other people's work. It feels very rude!

The main theme I want to portray with Red 'Neath the Dogwood is generational differences, finding one's sense of self, and what drives people to fall into fascist ideas. GROWTH, CHANGE, and PROGRESS, for better or worse.

This will likely be a story that follows many characters and will grow to reflect that, with different "arcs" and offshoot tales about characters within the three groups present. I will do my best to tag for organization's sake, but be warned that I am forgetful and might lose posts.

I will also try to remember to tag for triggering or otherwise upsetting subject matter, but if I miss something send me an ask and I'll take care of it as best I can.

Closing Thoughts

For now I believe this covers everything I can think of, and as this project grows I will likely rewrite this pinned post to reflect those changes. In future I hope to have several original tags set up for this blog, including things specific to food, culture, and character posts.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope I can make this blog worthwhile.

Ask Status: Open

[inconsistentcharacterizationcomp]

Bruce Wayne: Inconsistently Characterized?

Submissions propaganda will be here. Feel free to reblog or reply to this post with additional inconsistency in characterization, or to refute it!

See #Bruce Wayne Propaganda as a tag.

Inconsistent characterisation has been a part of his character since they started making superheroes Dark and Gritty™️ way back when. They forget that he just wants to save people :,). I guess the constant changeover of writers also has something to do with it.

Where do I even start he's so edgy nowadays he's turned into like the straight male power fantasy they all forget about the kindness at the core of his character

Usually he's a paragon of justice! Sometimes authors make him hit his kids! Sometimes authors stop him from having emotions!

Batman’s ethos is largely that he genuinely cares about people, believes life is sacred, & hates guns. He’s jaded & gloomy but still he doesn’t kill because he thinks taking a life is abhorrent & he wants people to have the chance to be their best self. Except sometimes he’s depicted as a murderer. Sometimes he will then have guns. He’s either a great father, an okay father, or an abusive monster. He is best friends with Superman & Diana. Except sometimes they all want to murder each other. Alpha chads have him as a ‘sigma male, alpha male’ model. Folks who grew up watching the Batman animated show in the 90s often see him as a father figure. He’s autistic or autistic coded one moment then smooth & totally in control the next. In one rendition he is a bleeding heart who will do anything to protect a child but turn around & then he is making his new kidnapped child live off bats. He has panic attacks in comics constantly but will also then be seen as this smooth gigachad the next. He’s been around so long & has been such a cultural touch stone & written & rewritten in so many different depictions it’s incredibly hard to even give his original origins. In one depiction he went to a boarding school run by a man who sold his soul to satan. In another he had a childhood friend who was kidnapped & came back to murder his girlfriend. In one depiction he was haunted by a ghost of a girl. In others he has an evil older brother. Alfred is abusive in some & loving in the next. Sometimes his dad was abusive others he was not. Literally every possible combination has been thrown around.

[blueberry-lemon]

What I Did In 2023

Ever since finishing school in 2017, I've always had a hard time feeling like I've "accomplished anything" in a given year. The months all blur together, and it's crazy how quickly I will forget something that happened or something I did.

To help myself with this, I wrote up a post last year of What I Did In 2022, which honestly felt good. So I figured I'd try again.

Sorry if you find these kinds of posts obnoxious. Hidden under the Read More just in case you do!

A few things I accomplished in 2023:

I wrote some stuff

I wrote Chapters 3 and 4 of Soul Symphony: Abandoned Encore. This is a sequel to a webcomic called Soul Symphony that I made and completed from 2010-2015. Olivia Myers, former music maestro and magical-girl adventurer, lives life as a depressed freelancer after quitting her teaching job. I think literally only like 2 or 3 people are even reading this, but good enough!

I wrote about JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out, when players have to work with different characters and resources in games.

I wrote a review of Bittersweet, an album by Jamie Paige.

My big piece of the year, which I chipped away at for months, reflected on nostalgia in culture and our personal lives.

I wrote about Cozy Games, which bizarrely was recognized in a Critical Distance weekly roundup.

I wrote about my fear for the direction of art and social media, a review of the writing in Sea of Stars, and other Cohost/Tumblr posts, which you can find in the #blogofkylelab tag.

As usual, I've continued my work as a Writer working on Rhythm Doctor, detailed below.

Art and Game Dev

Another sad year of barely 👏 drawing 👏 anything 👏 which is a huge bummer but I'm coming to terms with it.

Don't have anything finished to show for it, but doing a lot of messing-around in Twine and RPGMaker, which has been good for practice at least.

I funded the guest art and music for an upcoming card game, Isle of Swaps. I commissioned around a dozen artists, who I think drew around 50 total cards. Getting paid work as an artist is getting rough out there, so I wanted to help freelance artists the best I could.

Still working on Rhythm Doctor and A Dance of Fire and Ice at 7th Beat Games

We released Act 5 of Rhythm Doctor, which was our huge undertaking of the year! I co-wrote this with fizzd, and for the first time we were working with a completely blank slate with no levels made beforehand. I was recently looking through my Google Docs and was reminded how many different drafts and outlines I had come up with for this Act, some of which were long before the "athlete" story was even decided upon at all. I eventually helped come up with the character of Lucky (designed by our pixel artist Winston), and we got it all built out from there. I had a part in almost every sentence you see in the Act, I believe. I think I did an okay job, and players seem to really like the story and characters of Act 5, so that's a big relief.

Other Stuff

I've been running IndieGamesOfCohost for more than a full year now! I hope people have been enjoying this. It's been really tough to make the spare time for it, especially getting multiple developer interviews up per month, but I'm gonna keep pushing forward. Maybe "one interview a month" is a better goal to aim for. It's hard to tell how much people enjoy the efforts, but people do keep Liking and Sharing and Following so hopefully that means I'm doing something good with my spare time lol.

My partner and I moved! Aside from Act 5 of Rhythm Doctor this was probably the biggest thing. It was my first time apartment-hunting, as well as finding and paying for a moving truck and buying big furniture, getting renters insurance and all sorts of annoying stuff. In past apartments, I was lucky enough to be invited in as a roommate after the place was already set up. I also helped my parents pack up to move from the house they lived in for 28 years. Lots of moving. Hopefully no moving in 2024.

I hope your 2023 was bearable! Take pride in the little things you were able to get done. Let's all push through 2024 together.

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Sisi und der Kaiserkuß (1991) [Sisi and the Emperor's Kiss]

I watched this one a few days ago as of writing this review, I usually write these on the same day as I watch the films so that its still fresh in my mind and I dont forget anything, but fortunately, this film is absolutely unforgettable

First things first, this was not the comedy that I talked about that I thought it was going to be, I'll see if I can find that one later, and I would also not describe it as a comedy at all but I still thought it was very funny in how strange it was. I dont want to go into detail about that rn though because I really want you to watch this film, and I want you to watch it with as few spoilers as possible for maximum impact, so I wont actually be telling you anything about the movie itself other than the fact that I really love it, its so strange with an almost dreamlike quality while still feeling very grounded in some kind of reality resembling our own and all the performances were really good. But if you do want me specifically to recount some scenes from this movie for you, I basically already did that when I ended up liveblogging this one, you should be able to find them under the tag #sisi und der kaiserkuß (1991) if only tumblr wasnt so broken

However, there is one thing that I can talk about without spoiling anything and really want to talk about, which is also my biggest complaint, and its the lack of Sisi in this film called 'Sisi und der Kaiserkuß'. And I mean, I think it is really good so I dont really think that that wouldve bothered me as much as it does, if it wasnt for the general lack of Sissi in what is ostensibly a Sissi-media marathon. Like, yeah, obviously Ive been watching all these Rudolf-films as well but they were supposed to be more of a bonus, but instead its like. Im having kind of a hard time putting this into words, but basically, this little project has been feeling very Rudolf-heavy because films about Rudolf get to just be about Rudolf (and specifically the Mayerling Incident) while most of the media that Ive categorized isnt really about Elisabeth in one way or the other.

Like, okay, lets look at the Sissi-media we've had so far: Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich (1921) was a thirty second short film showing Elisabeth's death; Die Tragödie derer von Habsburg (1928) was about the austrian monarchy falling apart and the way it showcased that was essentially by showing the Habsburgs dying, about half of it was just about rudolf and then it barely focused on Elisabeth's death; Elisabeth von Österreich (1931) was half-about Elisabeth, half-about Rudolf; Sissy (1932) was about Elisabeth albeit in a pretty ahistorical-seeming way but I dont actually mind that because it is a representation of one image of this woman that was floating around in the Zeitgeist at the time, same goes for The King Steps Out (1936) which was of course an adaptation of that operetta; from what I could tell, Erzsébet királyné (1940) was about Elisabeth's impact on Hungary but not really about her as a person, since the actual main character of that one was Ida; the main character of L'Aigle à deux Têtes (1948) was clearly modeled after Elisabeth (or atleast a particular image that people had of her at the time) and the whole setting is very imperial austria-core but its all ultimately fictional; the Sissi-trilogy movies (1955-1957) are all about her, again with dubious historical accuracy that i dont really mind; Elisabeth Kaiserin von Österreich (1972) was about her, but it was also a documentary that only ended up on my list on accident, I did not want to watch any documentaries as part of this because for the purposes of this project, Im not really interested in Empress Elisabeth as a historical figure but rather as a cultural icon.

And then theres also the two Ludwig-films which are technically on my list as Sissi-films because Wikipedia listed them as Sissi-films, which I loved and dont regret watching at all and Ludwig — Glanz und Ende eines Königs (1955) even had one of my favorite portrayals of Elisabeth so far, but yknow, shes obviously not the main character of those, which is fine because theyre Ludwig-movies but idk. To try and sum my thoughts on this up, I think the main thing that bothers me when talking about Sissi-media vs Rudolf-media (and even Ludwig-media) is that you could definitely say that a lot of Sissi-media is not really about its ostensible subject, but so far theres been only two Rudolf-movies that I could say the same thing about, Viza Privati, Pubbliche Virtú (1976) and Der Kronprinz (1989). And even then, you never have the issue where it feels like he has to share his movie with someone else.

Unsurpringly I do have a lot of feminist thoughts about all this media as a phenomenon and what it says about our society's attitude towards women, and unsurprisingly, a lot of them are pretty angry, but I wanna save those for the end of this project, so I'll just cut myself off right there

In conclusion: please please please watch this movie, im obsessed with it, I need more people to watch it, franz joseph spends like half the runtime just hangin out in this weird grimy room full of dirt for some reason, please please please

[hisuianhellion]

△ What was your dad like? You haven't mentioned him much.

3/10. Only as high as it is because of the timing of this ask.

... He always wanted to make people laugh. If the name 'Robin Williams' rings any bells, he had a very similar sense of humor to that guy when he was on Broadway. Foul-mouthed and raunchy, but one of the most cartoonishly goofy guys ever.

Loved fishing. Loved playing games with me, we'd play CTR and Dragonball Z Budokai together. Duck Hunt, too.

Conservative guy, though. Sometimes he'd spew some ignorant shit about immigration and would say some old fashioned racist boomer bullshit about the "good" blacks and gays. Sorry about that, I'll tag this post appropriately, but I can safely say that in his later years, learning more about me? He got more and more progressive.

That's the kicker. I brought home some non-white friends, and he'd start learning more about them and their culture cause he wanted to be involved in my life as much as he could. I started showing interest in men, and while he stuck his foot in his mouth sometimes, he tried. I dated a trans guy? His first question was "okay what should I call them, I wanna make sure I don't fuck it up". He's where my foul mouth comes from if it wasn't obvious.

He was the first I came out to as trans.

His response was, and I will never forget it.

"So long as we can still fish, I don't care if you're my son or my daughter."

... that was the last year we COULD fish. But I'm glad we did. Really glad we did.

[seravphs]

I love stories set in summer!

The whole paragraph about cursed energy was so well written! I'm delighted and miserable at the same time. That and the part where Gojo sees the reader as a brighter soft haze gets me really into his perspective. He gets to experience such wonder (thinking of the euphoria of being the honored one) but at what cost? What's the worth in beauty that can't be shared? Isn't the value of art in the way it touches others and is endlessly translated and retranslated? Poor Gojo.

Okay forget the way you so perfectly convey feelings and scenes and everything, the way you write is innately so beautiful it just IS. 'Sorcerer somewhere in your bloodline but only the silhouette of it was left for you, broad strokes with no real power behind it' I AM SHAKING.

Reader's relationship with her parents...I'm listening...very excited to see how this develops in the series. BTW I LOVE THE BANNER I think it's minimalistically beautiful and tonally accurate!

Gojo's little list of things he knows about reader has me clutching my chest, what a little treasure trove of information. Banal and significant details all bound together...what are you thinking, Master Gojo?

Bye I hate him why does he say things like this lmaooo (about the part where he's saying it's kinky to call him master). Actually, I hate to say this, but I really like the way he talks because he sounds like a teenage boy (sorry I feel like I am doing a disservice to all the people of the world) but specifically the way you've written his dynamic with the reader. When he calls her his favorite maid and tells her to sit because it's an order.

I'm rewriting all of this because I ran out of tags which is very annoying because Tumblr doesn't tell me when I run out of tags so I only find out when I check the post and half my reaction is gone. Initially I was wondering if reader actually didn't know what happened with Getou or if she was trying to mess with Gojo in some way - but after reading the rest of the fic, I think she was being genuine! She doesn't seem like the type to be conniving and if she was being abused by her mother, perhaps she is out of the loop.

'You nodded as if you could possibly understand' SCREAMS. The gap between Gojo and the rest of the world is so wide but especially between him and reader. The power dynamic here has me shivering! He's the master of the house and you're just the maid! He's the all powerful honored one and you have just the barest drop of sorcery! BUT YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL IN WAYS THAT MAKE HIM WANT. Gojo pretends to be more experienced than he is but the reader can tell when he's lying! He knows things about her and she knows things about him! His energy absorbing yours...a show of his strength...while you call him out on his lies...I'm making noises like a dying animal.

The part about 'men don't turn down beautiful women, men dont' say no to sex' makes me so sad because I think it's something the elders would've taught him. The hierarchy of our world bleeds into jjk's power structure so they could share that 'bro-y' culture.

'Something Gojo held on to when he needed to feel human' I can't do this today, moving on!

This is so funny but painful lmaooo I'm begging reader to have mercy on Gojo. He's a virgin there's a chance he's going to internalize this in the future 😭

Is the 'at least' meant to parallel Getou or is it not that deep? Since we got a scene about how Getou left his trust in pieces before that and now reader's bumping up against the raw edges of it.

Oh no 😭 anytime Gojo brings up Riko in a fic I feel just awful over it. I don't know what would be better at this point - if he slowly started to forget the precise details of her or if he remembered everything with startling clarity.

I had such an intense stream of consciousness reaction to Gojo telling reader to run away where comments were just flowing out of me BUT TUMBLR DELETED ALL OF THEM what if I self immolate.

I think it was something about how the greatest kindness Gojo can offer reader is to leave this world - including himself - behind. The very best thing he can do for her is to let her go. Which brings me back to 'Love is the greatest curse of them all' and I know Gojo and reader probably don't love each other yet because as Gojo says himself, he barely knows her, but the point stands in some way. In this world, caring about someone is not always a gift.

Beautiful as always mint <3

Part One: Baby Blue

cw: mentions of abuse, sexual encounter with dubious consent. a character driven piece

It was the first day of summer.

Fireworks scattered across the sky, just far enough away for the fat of their blooms to be concealed by the inky treeline. They whistled up, they fizzled down, forming a slow pattern that cut through the cicada song. The sound sizzled like fire and the night burned nearly as hot.

Cursed energy moved the same way fireworks did: unpredictably and variation in patterns. Fractions of light that flitted between almost everything, it flitted and flowed in an unsteady beat, dissipating into the air and forming fractals that spiraled out into nothing. When items got close enough to each other, they fully connected, sparked webbings that looped and laced endlessly a beautiful and lonely world for only Gojo Satoru's eyes to see.

The meeting house seemed to cling to remnants of curses, its walls tacky with faded imprints. Nothing more than ghosts of people who had once past through and the brighter, soft haze of you.

There was sorcerer somewhere in your bloodline, but only the silhouette of it was left for you, broad strokes with no real power behind it. When he was young, the men on the grounds had whispered about what a shame it was that you weren't like your father.

Sometimes, he agreed. Other times the sentence sat heavy in his stomach.

Gojo pushed off the shoulders of his yukata, but being bare chested did nothing to break the sweat. Heat still hung heavy on his skin. This house was not only stagnant in energies; wind passed over the tree tops, but didn't reach down to touch anything air on the property. 

A fuzzy, invisible string connected and Gojo knew you were near. He turned from the window before you even opened the door.

"Master Gojo." You bowed as you spoke, gaze cast low to the floor. The shadows moved heavy on your face and, for that moment, you looked like your mother in all the ways Gojo knew you would hate.

Over the years and infrequent meetings, he had learned a few things about you. Breakfast and lunch were your responsibilities, but dinner was deemed too important to be yours. You didn't sleep well at night, so you watched the stars and thought about everything and nothing.  The fall weather always made you sneeze, your mother always made you cry.

That night, your eyes were puffy and bloodshot, more so than they usually were.

"Master, huh?" He cocks his head and a droplet of sweat follows the new curve of his neck, trailing down, down, down. "Kind of kinky to call me that when we're alone."

Your eyes followed the beadlet for a moment and a pride swelled in his chest. He was used to women looking - they've been vying for his attention since he was too young to understand what those gentle touches and long glances meant. Power attracted desire, even long before he could reciprocate.

The way you looked at him feels different. It felt earned.

"You're still a cunt, aren't you?" you breathed, incredulous.

And suddenly, it felt like you'd really entered the room. Those fractals rotated, sparks spun. For once, he was thankful to be the only one who could see this version of the world. If anyone else could, he might have been embarrassed at how palpable his joy really was.

"How's my favorite maid?" He patted the porch next to where he sat,  "Sit with me. It's an order."

Just as you always did, you obeyed, walking across the room and coming down by his side. Usually, you'd have shed your traditional garments for something more casual to sleep in, but that night you were still dressed properly, with skirts pulled tight and neckline high. An unfamiliar scent clung to your skin, something much too mature for someone as young as you. Your mother wasn't someone to wear perfume, so he imagined you stole it from in between the pages of a magazine.

"You didn't bring your pretty friend this time."

Gojo wasn't aware of the silence between you until you broke it. A myriad of orange sparkles across the sky, fading out just as quickly as it had arrived.

"Oh? Which one?"

You stretched out, extending your legs past the perimeters of your skirts and pulling them back again. The fold of your leg pushed the fabric up, exposing much more thigh than Gojo is ready for. You've been beautiful since you were a child - beautiful in innocent ways, beautiful inherently- but you'd grown past that.  You were beautiful in ways that made him want.

"The one with the fox eyes," you said, “Geto Suguru.”

The recent memory of betrayal was bitter between Gojo's teeth. The news of it all had spread so quickly, ripping through whispers and gasps, that he hadn’t thought of the possibility of someone not knowing.

"Nah." He sucked the word through his teeth. It would have been impossible, but he swore he tasted gunpowder and sulfur on the air, “We aren’t friends anymore.”

You nodded as if you could possibly understand. 

"Gojo, I'm here to ask something from you."

You twisted to face him, eyes set strong and serious. Even in the dim of night he could make out how you sucked in air through your pursed lips to steady yourself.

"Have you ever..." You walked forward on your hands, pressing into his personal space. The tips of your fingers brushed against the sides of his thighs, so delicate he could barely feel it through the fabric. "Been with anyone?"

He scoffed and chuckled at the same time, almost choking on his own spit. Attention was not new, but touch? Touch was unexplored. 

"Yeah," he lied. He moved in sync with you, leaning back on to his elbows to make space for your body to slot above his. It was unnatural and strange, but welcome all the same,  "And I’m good at it.”

“You’re so fucking annoying,” you breathed. He tilted his chin up, closing the gap between your faces as much as he dared; any closer and it would have shattered the cocky swagger he feigned. It was you who broke the tension, slipping your fingers under the rim of his glasses and lifting them off, “And you’re lying through your teeth.”  

The air pulsed with color - the deep blues and reds of his own energy absorbing yours for a moment, so vivid that it was all he could see. 

“Is that why you came here?” he said, conceit dripping from his voice, “Come to steal the great Gojo Satoru’s V-card?”

“No," you replied, “I’m here to give you mine.”

You discarded your shirt. With an ease, your bra followed suit, tits exposed to the night air. It struck him that you were the first woman he'd ever seen naked in real life, imperfect in all the ways porn hadn't prepared him for, but incredibly, wonderfully real.

"Well?" 

Gojo realized he had fallen still. You were there, waiting for an answer. 

He would've been stupid to say no. Men don’t turn down beautiful women, men don’t say no to sex. Despite that, a bitterness clung to the back of his throat. He swallowed it down as he brought his hand to the elastic band of his underwear and pushed it down.

"If Geto was here, would you have sat on his cock instead?"

You don't hesitate. "No, I don't want my first time to be with a stranger."

That struck him as odd; despite the occasional encounter, he barely knew you at all, and yet you were straddling his waist, skirts gathered at your hips. If anything, the relationship between you was nothing more than a childish dream, something Gojo held on to when he needed to feel human.

"I thought it'd be…" You cocked your head as you gripped his penis, much too tight to be comfortable,  "Firmer."

"Ouch," Gojo cooed, only part of his anguish performative, "Give a man a chance to warm up."

"We don't have time for a warm up," you insisted, "He'll kill me if he finds me here."

Before he could question, you moved again. Your panties were suddenly pushed to the side and he was suddenly very aware of just how close you were, core pressed against core. His body reacted the way you wanted it too, but that sick, bile taste rose again-

In some ways,  Geto tore holes when he left, nibbled, frayed edges where trust should be. Whatever was between the two of you was different than whatever Gojo had with him, but those jagged pieces ached the same. 

"At least-"  Gojo fumbled forward, grasping for your face and any semblance of control. Once he had you, long fingers completely covering your cheeks and buried into your hair, Gojo tugged you close, noses bumping, "Kiss me first, damn." 

When his lips met yours, you laughed. It's not what he expected, not what he imagined all those times the thought had crossed his mind. It was wild and arrhythmic and loud, uncontrolled and unrefined, so much so that he had to stop so your teeth didn't clash against his.  When he dipped in for another kiss, you didn't stop, laughing against his lips and vibrating his face with sweet sounds. It's so sweet that he swore he could taste it, thick and lingering like honey, a flavor he hoped he could sear into his mouth and chest, never to forget. 

Then, the taste of salt tinted his tongue. 

Gojo pulled back just far enough to see your tears shimmer in the afterglow of fireworks. Suddenly, you didn't seem grown; you were just a child in the same ways he was. Comfort did not come naturally to him, instead locking his joints still in shock.

"Shit, you crying?" he said without thinking. 

Wiping your eyes with the palm of your hand, you tried to dip back in for more, but a firm hand from Gojo denied you. That was the final straw; you slumped.

"I don't-" You huffed in, sobs trembling in the corners of your voice, "I'm sorry, I don't wanna do this-"

Gojo knew the taste of mania. The high, the bad choices, all of it followed by the crashing, horrible lows; he should have known something was wrong with you much earlier. 

“I’m a little insulted you only want to fuck me because you’re having a mental break down- oi, quick cryin’, I’m kidding," He insisted, but you just kept sobbing, each moment growing louder and louder. When you were younger, your mother would bruise the backs of your thighs with a wooden spoon when she found you talking to guests when it was ‘unearned.’ It was fucked up then, but now, in his arms, it felt much, much worse. If he wasn’t here, would you have cried on your own? Would you hold in your feelings in silence?

“Shh,” Gojo patted your side, “Just say what's wrong.”

The night sat deep, the fireworks gone and the moon only a sliver. Even with his blackout glasses off, he can barely see you; the limited magic you carried dimmed itself down to nothing but dim. Like those glow in the dark stars kids hung on ceilings, he thought, a light so low he wasn’t sure if it was really there.

"Satoru." 

Oh. That sat strange in his stomach. Satoru: so strange, so simple.

It struck him that he didn’t remember your name.The whispers about you were always Maid, Daughter, Idiot, Useless. 

"Satoru, I'm getting married." 

His stomach twisted again. No ring sat on your finger, no excitement laced your voice. 

"Oh, shit. When?" Gojo said, “To who?”

"In ten hours," you said miserably, "Some Zen'in cuck//."

Gojo barked out a laugh at that. 

"It's not funny!” You were always funny, even when you didn’t mean to be. “They paid my mom for me and this stupid house and now I’m gonna have to spread my legs for some- some- some-.”

It took a moment for Gojo to swallow this. Arranged marriage was supposed to be for the elites, people who carried some sort of weight with their family name, but it wasn’t uncommon for the Zen’in clan to use it to their advantage. This meeting house was a neutral ground, holy in the same ways as a shrine; if you -a beautiful girl with just enough potential to guarantee a curse-user heir- were the consolation prize for owning property…

He doubted a man would turn down this deal.

“Can’t you just… say no?”

You scoffed and covered your chest, suddenly aware of your own nudity like Eve bit the apple.

“Not all of us are important, Satoru." 

Since childhood, Gojo had thought of you as normal. You were human, flesh and blood in the simplest, purest of ways, but that spark he had loved years ago had long been stamped out by the world. 

And Gojo hadn’t treated you much better. Teasing you through the years, claiming you as a ‘girlfriend’, never learning your name; it was like you were a doll, a simple plaything he could abandon here and return to only when he felt like it.

Geto flashed in his mind for a moment. He’d revel in the ways you saw yourself deserving of this.

Riko would have liked you, he thought. It was a shame you never got to meet.

The world shouldn’t be allowed to cannibalize both of you.

“You should go.”

You pulled away and watched him with wild, wild eyes. Gojo thought that, for the first time in his life, someone might be seeing more clearly than him.

“What?”

He gestured into the forest. The boundaries of it had disappeared into the night, forming a single neverending block. The whole world was in that nothingness, waiting for the night to end or for you to explore it.

"You should run and never, ever come back to this shithole.”

You didn’t even consider it, drawing back away from him.You clutched for your shirt, pulling it back on sloppily. 

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I can’t.” you press, “Where am I going to go? What am I going to do?”

He didn’t know the answer to that. It was possible you didn’t even have a proper education, let alone experience outside these walls. The human world wouldn’t be kind to you-

But this world never offered you any kindness either.

“I dunno,” he said, “But it’s gotta be better than staying."

.

The next morning, the buzz started before sunrise. The anger, followed by panic. For the first time maybe ever, he heard others call for you by name, searching every nook and cranny for a girl that had long disappeared. Your mother cried, but Gojo doubted the tears were really for you.

About midday, a dark haired man ducked into his room, wrinkles deepened in fury. 

“Have you seen that-” The stranger bit back a curse, “That maid?”

He said maid the same way Gojo used to, with unnecessary weight to the word. If he had less sense, Gojo would have corrected him, but instead he shrugged. 

“Why would I pay attention to a housekeeper?”

Luckily, the bra you had forgotten last night was tucked into his luggage already.

As tiny chaos unfurled, Gojo hung onto the memory of your figure disappearing into the night, only sparing him the smallest of glances before you were gone. 

That was the last time he’d ever see you, he knew. 

He was equally happy and horrified by that.

[coolspacequips]

lance, smiling sleepily at keith across the sheets: hey :)

keith, sleepily smiling back, forgetting to hide his accent: howdy :)

lance: *feels his heart physically implode over this cowboy shit*

[russett-pots]

Trouble Trouble Trouble

Kriesha Tiu and Kim Minju

Tags: Threesome, Slight angry sex, Cheating

Words: 3.3K

If you know a bit more about Minju then you'll know who she is.

I'm not sure if they are still friends but I think they are. Just haven't heard of much interaction between them since pd48.

You and your girlfriend walk down the airplane aisle to look for your seats.

“Your parents are weird.”

“Oppa, what did you expect? They are Filipino. You are Korean. I told you to be ready for culture shock.”

“Kriesha, whatever. At least they liked me, right?”

“They did for the most part...”

“What do you mean?”

“Your incessant bowing weirded them out. They aren’t used to that.”

“When you meet my parents, you have to do that. Trust me, and they are very conservative.”

“Oppa, did those conservative parents raise a guy that fucked a celebrity ten times in the past two weeks?”

As you grab her butt, “Shut up!”

“Oppa, not here!” she giggles. “Here are our seats.”

You and your girlfriend, Kriesha Tiu, just celebrated your 2nd anniversary by meeting her parents over the Christmas break. It went well, meeting her parents, grandparents, cousins, and whoever else was considered part of the family. It was exhausting trying to remember all their names, but you made it through, and now you have to fly back to Korea. She needs to return to her company to prepare for her long-awaited comeback.

The following six hours just become a blur as you ride the airplane home.

“Oppa, wake up. We are landing.” Kriesha shakes your arm

“Oh. Huh? Okay. What?” you try to sit back up and remove the eye covers that are misaligned on your face.

*Good evening, ladies and gentlemen; we are on initial descend to Seoul. Local time is 9:25 pm, and we should be down in touchdown in 10 minutes. *

“Kriesha, is Minju going to pick us up?” you look at her then away.

“She is. She is already waiting for us at the terminal.”

“Hehe, I’m excited.”

“Oppa, you should stop that. I know she is your IZ*ONE bias, but she is my friend, and don’t forget you are my boyfriend!”

“Hahaha, I’m just messing with you. You know I always love you. It is just sometimes it is fun poking around that I like her.”

She rolls over her eyes, annoyed that you are always teasing her about how Minju-angel is and will always be your ult. But of course, Kriesha knows you are hers, and you always constantly assure that is always true.

The plane touches down. It bounces up a bit, showing the slight inexperience of the flying pilot. But it is a quick procedure, as the aircraft hit the apron and the deboarding process begins. Ordinary things, walk to immigration, passports get stamped, and pick up the luggage from the carousel.

As you hold hands with your girlfriend to walk to the visitor’s welcoming lounge, There she is, Minju.

“Unnie!” Minju shouts, running towards Kriesha and giving her a big hug. “How was the Philippines? Did you bring dried mangoes for me?”

Kriesha shuffles through her shoulder bag and pulls out the bundle of the sweet 7D dried mangoes just for Minju. “Of course, I have plenty of pasalubong for you.”

A/N pasalubong (Filipino) - souvenirs or gifts that people who travel give to their friends and family when coming home

“Unnie, I’m excited!”

You approach them pushing the cart with your bags and two boxes of the pasalubong Kriesha promised.

“Can we go home now? I exhausted from the flight,” you desperately ask

“Okay, Okay. I’ll call the driver now. He should be close.” Minju replies

All three of you stand outside in the cold January wind. The snow is still fresh on the ground. The black Hyundai Grand Starex stops in front of you. While Minju and Kriesha board the van, their manager helps you load the bags in the trunk. Everyone gets in and settles for another long ride from the airport to your shared apartment with your girlfriend. You go back to sleep, trying to get some rest after the long flight.

Kriesha pokes your shoulder. “Oppa, we are here.”

Startled again, you wake up. It is already the drop-off area of your building. As the man in the situation, you unload all of the luggage from the trunk.

“Manger-nim, Is it alright if Minju stays over with us?”

He looks at Kriesha, flustered by the question, “Just make sure you are ready for tomorrow; you have dance practice in the morning.”

“Okay! Thank you! Thank you!” Kriesha now looks at Minju. “I’ll tell you all about what happened!”

They both hold hands and jump around in circles, ecstatic.

“Unnie, I don’t like sleeping alone. I’m happy that I’m with you again!” Minju gives another hug, even tighter than the one at the airport.

“Girls, can you help me?” You try to pick up everything, the bags, and the boxes.

“We can do two tri-“

“No! No two trips. We can only do one. Trust me, it is possible. If you can hold the smaller box and pull your bag and Minju, you can take the bigger box. And I can carry the two strollers and three backpacks and place my shoulder bag over on my right side. That’s fine.”

“Are you sure? We can take two tri-“

“No! No two trips!”

“If you insist….” Kriesha says as she complies, doing her share of your stupid plan.

Minju does her part. But of course, the weight of everything you are carrying almost breaks your back. But your pride is everything. No person shall take two trips. As everyone enters the elevator, you hope that everything will fit, and it barely does.

“Minju, Oppa, actually, I think I have to sleep early. I have my schedule, and I need the rest.”

“Unnie, no problem. I can get the juicy stories from Oppa then.”

*Ding*

You wear the backpacks, readying yourself again for the challenge. It looks like you’ll struggle for a bit, but your determinacy is still strong enough to carry everything.

“Oppa, we-“

“Don’t say it.”

You shuffle towards the door, still carrying everything, holding on to dear life to show that you aren’t too weak to make two trips.

Kriesha sees your struggles and gets back on your teasing. She strolls to the door, taking her sweet time as she sees your face become hot red. She slowly presses each button of the 6-digit combination. But on the last digit, her finger hovers above 7.

“Ops, Oppa, what’s the combination again?” as she looks back at you with a vengeful smile.

“1-2-2-0-9-8!! It is your birthday! You know it. I know it. Even Minju knows it! Open the door already!”

“I’m sorry, what was it?”

“1-2-2-0-9-8! Fine! I’m sorry! You were right! We should have taken two trips!”

“Haha!” she kisses your cheek and correctly punches in the correct code, opening the door.

You rush in and drop down everything. Kriesha and Minju walk in laughing at your misjudgment but are still impressed with your insistence and success in carrying everything in one trip.

“Okay! I’ll listen to you next time.”

“Oppa, you said that last time. When we brought in the groceries.”

“I was right, though. One trip. But next time, I promise.” With your hands on the ground and still panting

Krisha laughs again, walking away. You stand up to collect yourself, grabbing a special small bag out of your backpack.

“Minju, I was able to buy new coffee beans. Do you want to try them?!”

“Sure, Oppa! Those are from Mt. Apo, right?”

“Yup, just roasted seven days ago! Kriesha, do you want to try?”

While walking to your shared room, she answers, “None for me. I’ll go to sleep. Goodnight. Love you,” as she yawns.

“Goodnight, Love you too.”

“Well, let's get started, Oppa!”

A/N for those coffee connoisseurs, I’m sooo sorry if I’m wrong

You grab the grinder and the French press from the cabinet.

First, boil some water in the kettle.

Second, use the water from the kettle to preheat the French press.

“Minju, do you want one cup, or do we share?”

“One for me, please.”

Thirdly, measure 16 grams of the beans, just enough for two cups, then grind them coarsely for the French press.

Fourth, heat another 472 mL of water to 90 degrees Celsius.

Fifth, pour out the water that pre-heated the French press, then add the coffee inside and pour the water in a swirling motion. Stir to make sure everything is adequately mixed.

“Okay, now we wait four minutes!”

“Oppa, what do will it taste like.”

“Well, according to my friend. It is supposed to be more citrus, fruity, and nutty. But it is my first time trying this out.”

“So, how was the trip?!”

“Well, kinda tough meeting Kriesha’s parents. Good thing I could speak a bit of English. They also tried speaking Korean, but anyway. Kriesha said they had fun. I hope they did.”

Minju looks at the timer. “Four minutes it up. Can I push it?”

“Sure, do it gently.”

As Minju slowly presses on the French press, you grab two mugs. She pours for both you and her. Then as it fills. The fresh coffee aroma envelopes in your nasal cavities. The smell already gives off its flavor.

“Oppa, here is one for you and one for me.”

“Minju? Cheers?”

*Cling*

Both mugs touch. You both move to the living room and become comfortable, sitting at the opposite side of the couch made for three. You sit down, leaning back, relaxing, and taking a sip of the aromatic drink. In contrast, Minju sits down, crosses her legs, slightly revealing her thick thighs.

“So, Oppa, how was the Philippines?”

“We didn’t go to Boracay, surprisingly. We stayed in Manila first, then we took a flight to Cebu and went snorkeling and swimming with the Whale sharks.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. What did you wear…?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Just want to try to get a better picture of your bod-. I mean trip. I’m sure Kriesha was wearing her sexy bikini. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a nosebleed.”

You lean forward and place your mug on the center table. “Do you think that Kriesha is sexy?”

Minju stands up, placing her drink on the table as well. “I’m not focusing on her. How about you?” She knees in front of you, spreading your legs wide open, showing off the slowly growing bulge.

“I don’t think we should do this….”

“Don’t worry as long as your girlfriend doesn’t find out.”

“Don’t you want to enjoy the co-“

Before you can finish, Minju lunges in and swiftly unbuttons your pants, pulling them down along with your underwear.

“Wow, you are ready. You are already hard for Minju?”

“We shouldn’t do this….”

“We should. Unnie wouldn’t mind, right?”

You nod in fear and excitement, knowing that Minju will do next.

She dives in, kisses your tip, swirls her tongue around it and moves down to the bottom of your shaft, and gives a good whiff of your crotch.

“Unnie always mentions you put on perfume down here. I had to find out if it was true.” As she continues to slowly stroke your cock. “Were you supposed to do naughty things to Unnie tonight?”

You look down, seeing Minju’s face. The face isn’t of an angel anymore but a sexually desperate demon.

“Were you? Minju is asking.”

“We did have sex before the flight.”

Minju takes in another whiff. “Aahhh, cherries. She does have good taste.” She lets go of your cock and removes her shirt. “It is Minju’s turn now.”

She dives in and swallows everything at once. Her lips surround your entire girth as it delicately tickles it. You let out a gentle moan as she goes in. She continues with her sucking, bobbing her head up and down. Her hand grabs onto your thighs to support herself.

The sound of her sloppy blowjob echoes in your ears. The only focus right now is Minju and her sensational ability.

“Minju, you are good.” You groan.

She pops her head from your cock but leaves her hand to continuously stroke it. “Am I better than Unnie?”

You pause for a second. Of course, your girlfriend gives good head. But Minju’s technique is too different to compare. “You are both excellent. It isn’t the same.”

“Well, I can show you more if you want?” Minju stands up and unhooks her bra, revealing a pair of perky breasts. She stands her topless, hand on her hip, leaning at one side. “Whose is bigger?”

“Umm-“

“Never mind. Don’t answer. I already know.” She unbuckles her tiny jean shorts and pulls down, exposing a tiny slit waiting for you.

“Minju, are you sure about this?”

“Are you?”

Before you can answer, Minju sits on your lap and wraps her legs around you. You instinctively hold onto her soft, gentle waist. She places her left hand on your shoulder, and her right moves down to rub it against your length. Minju leans in for a soft kiss, touching it gently. Each meeting sends shivers down your spine.

“Ahem”

You both look back at the bedroom door. It is Kriesha.

“Ay-nako. I went to sleep, and this is what I find you doing here.”

Unable to escape Minju’s weight. You sit down stammering. “Kriesha, I know what it looks like…. And it is exactly what it looks like….”

“Oppa, I’m not mad.”

“You aren’t?”

“To be honest, I didn’t know it would take you this long before you started fucking Minju.”

“Don’t worry, Oppa, Unnie, and I had a bet. And I guess I won.” Minju smirks

“So, Kriesha, you aren’t angry?”

Her tone changes. “It depends.” She slowly undoes each button exposing her pair, and seductively walks towards you; each foot moves one at a time. “It depends on what will happen tonight.” She comes in, leans for a kiss, and then sits on the couch's arm.

Minju gets off your lap, and both she and Kriesha moves in between your legs.

“Now, Minju and I will have a second bet. Tell me, Oppa. Do you enjoy this?”

Kriesha then comes in to lick your shaft thoroughly from the base to the top then engulfs it. Her lips move down all the way. As her mouth moves up, her tongue drags your cock inside her mouth. She then removes herself from your cock.

“Or this?”

Minju repeats the same thing, the lick, the suck, then the release. The same, but both feel different. Kriesha is rougher in her approach, but Minju is gentler. They both look at you, waiting for an answer, but you sit there speechless.

Unhappy with the silence, your girlfriend goes back down again, but this time rigorously swallows everything. Her mouth takes everything at once. She continuously moves up and down, using her hand to aid her approach. Minju, annoyed with being left out, moves up and smacks her lips against yours.

Your hand moves to her breast and starts playing with it. The other starts caressing her soft, bouncy ass, squeezing it, and slapping it. You start fingering Minju. Frist with the index. It slowly starts going in from behind.

Minju breaks the kiss to give her some space for the both of you to give a gentle moan. At the same time, Kriesha pops her head off from your cock, removes her bottoms, and interrupts you and Minju. While your girlfriend pounces you onto the couch to move her hips above you, Minju hovers her pussy above your mouth.

You become the first by slowly kissing the entrance of her pussy. Down below, Kriesha aligns herself on top of your cock to tease herself, using the tip on her entrance. But finally, with what feels like forever, she drops herself. The familiar walls surround your shaft as the warmth welcomes it. Kriesha releases a loud moan as your cock enters her. She uses her legs to move up and down, slowly increasing her pace.

For Minju’s pleasure, you start to eat her. Your tongue entering inside her. She cannot stop herself from screaming in pleasure. Her hands get a firm grip on your hair as yours wraps around her meaty thighs to try to make her stay still.

“Oppa, are you enjoying Minju more?” Kriesha gets slightly angry and gets up and pulls Minju away from you. You get up, surprised by her actions. She forces Minju to face her hands on the coffee table to expose her ass to you, and she does the same.

You look at them both as they look back. To your right is Minju and to your left is Kriesha. You use your respective hands to feel the aroused pussies and see which hole you want to insert first.

“Oppa, try me first.” Your girlfriend asks.

You lean into her, but before you put your cock inside.

Minju protests, “No, Oppa me first.”

You look again between both. Their eyes are begging that you’ll enter them first. Your cock instinctively moves towards Minju. It is something you haven’t tried; you might as well go there first. You push in first. Her face shows a painful expression. The same one when Kriesha had when she first took on your cock. You fully slam your hips against Minju.

She grunts as finally, you can fully enter her. You move in and down slowly and increase your pace. To not leave your girlfriend out, you push your finger into her and move in the same motion you are with Minju.

All three of you scream in pleasure. The sound reverberates all around the living room. Your cock and fingers slide in and out faster after each minute. But you pull out to give Kriesha some time to feel your cock. You finger Minju the same. You resume the fast pace that was before.

“Oh, Unnie. Why…didn’t….you….tell….me….he…was….so…good?”

“He…is…mine,…Minju. He…is…mine.”

The girls argue about you. Slowly, their voices become silent. The only thing you can feel on your cock is how each pussy feels around your cock. You move back and forth between them. Kriesha is the familiar one, the one you have felt at home for the past two years. But Minju is a whole new horse. Her tightness constricts your new cock, welcoming it as your thrust in and out.

“Oppa, is Minju better than me?” Kriesha snaps you out of your trance.

All she sees is your eyes struggling to open as it closes in pleasure. Your mouth can only groan at how each girl gets tighter each second.

“Tell me, Oppa.” Her voice starts to get irritated.

“Kriesha! It is yours! Your pussy feels the best!”

She smirks at Minju. Showing how she can please a man more.

As your cock switches back to Minju, “No! It is Minju!” you can only scream. The pleasure of Minju is now more evident than before.

Slightly annoyed with your sudden change of answer, Kriesha gets up and pushes you down to the couch, still inserted inside Minju. She now moves up and down on your cock. While Kriesha leans in and whispers to your ear.

“If you like her so much, cum inside her Oppa, please cum inside her.” Her anger turns to pleads for breeding

“Oh, yes, Oppa, please cum inside!” Minju shrieks after begging for your seed.

Kriesha leans in for another kiss as you fondle with her breast. She cups your face and rubs her hand on your cheeks.

“You want it inside?”

“Oh yes, Oppa, shoot it in me!”

Suddenly you burst inside Minju. Your entire load gets shot inside her. You grunt as each wave of cum runs inside. She gets up, leaving the breeding leaking out of her as she walks to the bathroom to clean herself.

But your lips still locked in with Kriesha’s. Your limped cock touches Kiresha’s soft ass. You slowly move in to lie down together and cuddle as you drift to sleep.

The following day, Krisha is gone from you. You are still nude from last night. Minju is sitting at the dining table eating some cereal for breakfast.

“Minju, where is my girlfriend?”

“Oh, she already went to work.”

You get up and see that Minju is still naked.

“Oppa, thanks for last night!. Yesterday was a long day for me.”

“Uhh, no problem?”

“Anyway, do you want to try again? This time the two of us?”

~The end

[writingwithcolor]

Black Girl in a fantasy world without racism, has experienced racism in other worlds

@theoneandonlymagiscientist asked:

Hi, WWC! I asked about a Snow White retelling back in May, and Colette’s answer was super helpful and encouraging! I didn’t win the contest (but the story’s up on my author blog), so now I’m back to working on my fantasy series.

I’m currently about 8k words into the second book. The POV character is a girl from our world, though the story takes place in the fantasy world. The girl is a Black fantasy nerd who rides horses and just… is generally pretty happy about life and getting her own fantasy adventure and all. Racism does not exist in the fantasy world, and she knows that, but I know she’d be affected by it in her real-world past. I feel like it would be, or seem like, erasure if I don’t at least acknowledge that she has grown up with microagressions, but I’m white so I also don’t want to trust my first thought. So, if it would be erasure, what would be some good ways to acknowledge that she is a Black girl who grew up with racism, and maybe to show the differences between the worlds? 

Thank you so much for your hard work! Your blog has already been unimaginably useful, to me and to many other people. I recommend it every chance I get.

And, because it can be hard to remember even in the best of times: You are wonderful people. You are beautiful, and brilliant, and kind, and thoughtful, and helpful, and amazing, and gorgeous inside and out. Don’t forget it.

I guess you can make hints about it, but I don’t think it’s a problem at all if it’s not mentioned. I mean, it’s okay to write about Black characters without making comments about racism. If it doesn’t move the story forward, no need to do it ! :)

- Lydie

A story without racism

You can mention racism she has faced without making her actively experience it in the story world.

Or you can have her go through the story without much / any mention of racism of all. Instead, focusing on physical descriptions, cultural hints, and the plot itself, which of course doesn’t need to evoke topics of racism.

Note: You could accomplish all of this without explicitly eliminating racism from the world.

For, even in a world set in our universe in this very year, you don’t need to make your Characters of Color face racism in your story. This isn’t erasure. It’s simply them not encountering racism and / or ignorant characters in your particular story. Stories are a snapshot of their life. In a story where racism is not meant to be the focus on the plot, you absolutely have the right to fade-to-black and off-screen any racism they may receive as a BIPOC.

Constructing a story world where racism 100% does not exist at all can be tricky, though. I’d want to know how and why racism is not a thing, and how that affects the other discrimination and inequalities that exist in our world. Are they excluded too? What is the history of this other world?

Here are some pitfalls that you’d need to be mindful of.

If other forms of discrimination exists - it can feel as if you’re raising, say, homophobia as more important for discussion over racism. As if, “we’ve resolved racism, so let’s ignore it!” This erases the intersections and complexities of both issues. Plus, the combined experience of homophobia that BIPOC may face. Whether it’s homophobia, transphobia, medical racism and/or ableism, these topics plus race go hand on hand and are experienced differently depending on the background of a person and even history and outside influences.

Fantasy racism / discrimination - This creates a new form of discrimination. Sometimes it replaces existing forms of it. For example, discrimination against dragons is the form of “racism” in the story. I’m not a fan of fantasy racism that acts in this form as it feels like erasure. We’ve addressed asks where the OP proposed including fantasy racism while also noting that human racism and other discrimination still exists. In that case, sure, that’s definitely a more improved plotline. 

See “fantasy racism” or “fantastic racism” tags for more information on the two topics above.

Colorblind racism - The colorblind “all are equal” mindset can feel like a prison for BIPOC. A terse peace that serves to silence and ignore real issues. Colorblind racism makes discussing race and our differences taboo, which is oppressive and again, erasure. Pretending like we’re all the same isn’t curing racism. It’s certainly a good thing to acknowledge it, and to also celebrate all of differences and cultures!

So, your world would not truly be racism-free if it holds a colorblind mindset, and doesn’t welcome cultural diversity.

Microaggressions - Because even innocent curiosity or someone with no context or even comprehension of racism can use microaggressions. So, this is worth mentioning. Microaggressions are “small” incidents but they’re still racism, and can be triggering and are bothersome. 

For example, someone from your story has never seen a person with hair texture like hers. So they touch your character’s hair and start asking 21 evasive questions about it.

“But see, there’s no historical context for that being a problem in this world. Therefore, they should be okay with it!” Nah.

See how this can become oppressive and suppressing? This leads to my next point.

The character (and reader) still live in a world with racism

Do keep in mind the history this character brings to the table, as a person who has experienced racism in other worlds. Her worldview is colored by her experiences, even as it adjusts to the new world she lives in.

Also keep the reader in mind.

It’s still problematic storytelling for the author to write BIPOC who:

Fall into caricature-like stereotypes

Are underdeveloped 

Receive disproportionately unhappy endings, or 

Experience grotesque levels of pain and suffering compared to white characters

Real life people have to experience the story. Even in your utopia, you have to write in a manner that respects your characters and your readers.

Escapism

Escapism is important. There are a lot of Black readers (present company included) that are looking for a good time, not a struggle novel. We want a story to get lost in and forget about the troubles of the world. Personally, I mainly read for pleasure. Now, if I’m reading to be informed, I’ll pick up a book that does just that.

The girl is a Black fantasy nerd who rides horses and just… is generally pretty happy about life and getting her own fantasy adventure and all.

Sounds amazing! I’m exposed to the racism that affects me, my family, friends, etc. on the regular. The hatred and tragedy I hear about Black people and other POC on the news and social media. So it’s quite lovely to open a book and just not experience that for a moment. Microaggressions do add some realism, and don’t really “shake” me, but I don’t want to be hit with the hard stuff without knowing what I’m getting into. That’s just my opinion, though.

Summary

Feel free to let your character not experience racism. Whether it just doesn’t exist at all or the character doesn’t stumble across it in the story (the latter is honestly the worldbuilding I recommend). Contrasting the different worlds could help to bring it up without getting into the nitty-gritty, so I like this idea.

More reading:

A Fantasy World Without Racism

Fantastic Racism

Black Girls & Women: Representation We Want

P.S. Thank you for your kind words!! I still have your Snow White Story saved to read on a rainy (or snowy) day!

[heartbreakprincewille]

@raincitygirl76 I love your addition(and also all the tags!!)

Okay, so I sat with this post for like an hour because even though I 1000% agree with all the abdication points(I really, really do), I just couldn't accept them as a legitimate option.

Yes, Wille is a victim of the diabolical nature of the monarchy's machinery, and abdication or abolishing the monarchy both are options that will bring him peace the most, but in all of this debate we forget to ask the main question: Does Wilhelm want any of these things?

Let's take abdication for example. One of the major S2 plot points is August being added to the line of succession and the subsequent possibilites that open up to Wille, mostly abdication. We see Wille ponder the possibility, discuss his dilemma to Simon. Sure, he can't be living under this boulder of pressure that his dead brother will be disappointed in him if he leaves the role of Crown Prince for all his life, it's an unhealthy and honestly a little pointless reason to endure this suffering. But, what we forget about is that Wilhelm is the Royal Family. All the monarchs that preceded him were his family members. The feeling of a family is tragically intertwined with the monarchy for him, he cannot leave it just like that. Yes, he can make his own family with people that love him(like Simon) and he would still be connected with his blood family, but not after he lost someone dear to him. It would be even more difficult for him to leave behind everything after he knows how it feels to lose someone. I don't think Wilhelm has ever shown that he hates his family or wants to leave them behind. He doesn't. Just because Kristina isn't Linda it doesn't mean she is a bad mother. Mothers can come in all types of nuances, and with a show that excels in nuances, YR perfectly nails Kristina's character as a formidable mother. Tl;dr Wille can abdicate, but neither it will be as easy for him as it seems to be nor he has ever shown the desire to not be connected to his family( for Wilhelm, family=monarchy, it's a very blurry line in his case).

Let's take abolishing the monarchy. Yes, again, I really like the idea of it. I do. Monarchies are institutions that are ultimately outdated and ruling them out forever is a great idea indeed. But, does Wilhelm want to do that either? Yes, he's still young and his opinion can change for the better, but I don't think he's up for being the face of this larger-than-life revolution. Yes, he could be, he should be, but will he? I don't think so. The reason he admitted to be in the video was simple: he couldn't just sit there and let Simon be a secret when it's the last thing Simon wants and let this silent unbalance of Wille's denial eventually sour their incredible love. It was the right thing to do, and he did it. He doesn't want to bring some revolution by implying that he is queer in front of the media, it's just the underlying implication of his denial, which he's okay with the world knowing now, unlike S1.

The fundamental question I asked myself that why was I not satisfied with all the abdication or abolishment stances is: Why do I want a queer monarch or a Queer royal in the first place? Especially in a system that is not equipped for a queer person in the slightest? That's when I stumbled upon the answer, and the was in the word itself: Queer. Queer, not essentially in the sense of sexuality, but a queer way of thinking. A queer person has this tender, kind sense of worldview which they can bring to a table full of toxic, heteronormative, classist and racist way of thinking. Queer way of thinking embraces differences, which is one of the fundamental problems of the current system of Monarchy: the puritan culture. A queer perspective is literally the answer to so many toxic aspects of a monarchy. Systems can change and grow. Maybe Wilhelm won't actually like to be the face of change this time either, but even just his queer perspective can bring a lot of change instead of leaving the institution with its toxic elements intact. And I think S3 can be a wonderful exploration of this queer perspective in this rigid system.

My most passionately-held controversial Young Royals take: Wille should absolutely abdicate the throne. (Season 2 spoilers ahead.)

"But Wille would make a good king!" There are no good cops, there are no good US presidents, there are no good kings. Monarchies are inherently unjust. The whole foundation of a monarchy is the idea that one family deserves exorbitant wealth and status at the expense of the majority just because they had the luck to be descended from some guys who probably killed and maneuvered their way into power and control. Monarchies are about the powerful dominating and exploiting the masses, and especially the already-oppressed. The writing of Young Royals isn't shy about showing how inhumane the monarchy is, and how holding power does not mean you deserve it. ALSO Wille doesn't want to be king!! He doesn't want that power, responsibility, or exposure, and he's likely becoming skeptical of the legitimacy of monarchy in general. Also "don't let Erik down" is just not a good reason, it doesn't make any sense. (Ok, the only scenario where he should be come king is if he plans to abolish the monarchy immediately afterward.)

"But then August would be king!" Well, ideally, Wille's abdication would result in a crisis that would lead to the end of the monarchy. But even if August did become king, maybe he and the monarchy deserve each other! They're both toxic. If the pressure of being prefect was tearing him up, just wait til he's king. It's not the ethical conundrum that it would be if the monarch of Sweden had any actual political power.

"But it would be cool/historical/good representation to have a queer king and prince consort." No, it wouldn't. It would be cool to have a queer couple cause the end of the monarchy. The systems of domination and exploitation that legitimize monarchies are the same ones that underlie sexism, racism, and yes, homophobia. Letting a queer person be in charge of the exploitation machine isn't justice. Ending the exploitation machine is justice. (This is also why discussions of whether Kristina is homophobic just run in circles-- her individual sympathies or lack thereof don't matter because her loyalty is to an institution that is inherently unjust and incompatible with queer liberation.) Also, Simon would never ever want to be a prince consort or involved in the monarchy in general! Lol! I think that's the clearest part of all this.

Again, I think the show is very clear about being anti-monarchy. It's critical of Sweden's class structure, and the monarchy is the pinnacle of that structure. The "welfare fraud vs. tax evasion" discussion shows the entitled and inhumane mindset of the wealthy students. The very creepy Society shows that the monarchy and the 1% are in a symbiotic relationship with the shared goal of keeping status and wealth in the hands of a few noble (i.e. been around for a long time i.e. white) families.

I do get the affinity for the Cinderella story happy ending idea! It's a compelling fairytale. And that's part of what fanfic is for. But as @communityradiointerndanielle put it: Young Royals and Red, White & Royal Blue have similarities and understandable fandom overlap, but the difference is: RWRB paints liberal aesthetics over the unjust institutions to let progressive-minded people enjoy the Cinderella fantasy without feeling guilty. Young Royals is a cautionary tale about why you don't actually want the Cinderella fantasy.

(This post brought to you by a recent poll where ~75% said Wille should not abdicate. Thankfully a few people including @tooindecisivetopickaurl, @antigorite, @emberc, eloquently disagreed or qualified this in the RBs!)