#like when I grew up in Pakistan I was just… a person

[evansbby]

Do you think being a poc yourself influences your writing in any way or do you prefer to just keep everything neutral?

Idk if it influences my writing… CONSCIOUSLY it doesn’t but maybe subconsciously it does but idk how?? Honestly idk!

And I TRY to keep things as neutral as possible but I do make mistakes sometimes but I try not to.

[johndonneswife]

are you and Ayesha planning on having kids? 🥺

nope never ever!

[i-cant-sing]

Oh man, there's just something about weddings- no matter what religion/country, that each have their certain features that is just oh so endearing and I'd just love to have it all😭

Okay, so take Hindu weddings. There's a lot of things to love, but my fav? The sindoor, because it's just so so intimate and like- some people say that if some of that red powder falls on your nose, it means that your husband loves you very much 😭😭😭😭 oh not to mention, I saw some guy touching his forehead with his brides to apply the sindoor and I just- 🫠

Then take Muslim weddings, and like yes, indo obviously love the whole "mehr" thing, but it's always so adorable to see what the bride asks for her mehr (which is often money, but not always. Some brides ask for a kitten, a trip, or even a verse from Quran)🩷🩷🩷 and also the first halal hug- oh its just so heartwarming to see the way the groom embraces his bride in his arms with the utmost carr, maybe a peck on the forehead if they're into PDA.

And then there's catholic weddings, where they do the vows- "in sickness and in health" omg😭 and and the bride wearing something "blue, borrowed" etc that's cute too- BUT ALSO THE "ANYONE HAS ANY OBJECTIONS?" omg I would die if some (handsome and wanted) guy did actually object to my matrimony.

But apart from religious weddings, I also love everyone's traditions- I saw a video of Hunza people in Pakistan, where the couple make rotis (bread) together to signify the bond of their relationship- teamwork.

I know some of u guys would LOVE this- in Roma weddings, the guy kidnaps the girl of his liking (as far as I know, the guy already has the blessings and permission from the girl's parents) and then after negotiations, a wedding happens.

*gasps* I JUST REMEMBERED when I was little I used to watch Indian soap dramas and I was so jealous when I found out that not everyone does that ceremony where there's a bowl of milk with rose petals in it, and they drop a ring in it for the bride and groom to find and whoever finds it first, will mean that that person will be more dominant in the relationship- and EVERY SINGKE TIME THE GUY WOULD FIND THE RING FIRST BUT DISCREETLY PASS IT TO HIS WIFE SO THAT SHE COULD BE THE WINNER ONGGGGG

And then the Arab countries just practically frowning the bride in gold and money... I like that very much.

Wait omg I remember that Pakistanis have these GRAND welcome for the new bride in their home. I mean, first the groom brings her home in a fancy car or something, then the entire house is lit up with fairy lights and then they do FIREWORKS 😭😭

And in Indian, Pakistani, Bengali weddings, there's the henna tattoo ceremonies, and I love that so much, maybe because I grew up watching bollywood and desi shows, so I'm just gonna say they have amazing weddings.

*sniffle* I get it- I get why women dream of their weddings all their life.

[carletes]

What drew you to Carlando in particular? What made them your favourites? Was it always like this or did you start somewhere else? Because personally as a Brit, I was always rooting for Lewis (duh) but in the last few months Carlos and Lando got my attention... I feel like I'm betraying the goat (joking)😭😭😭

so i grew up watching f1 in pakistan and then became a lapsed fan when we moved to a country where f1 wasn't as readily available (mostly because the commentary wasn't available in english). my husband and i went home to visit my family and stay there for a few months during 2020. it was peak pandemic so we knew that if we were going somewhere, we were going to stay put for a while lol. while there, my brother was like hey let's watch f1 together and oh man. i realized how much i loved it as a kid and how much i missed it. so he told me if i wanted to catch up, i could watch DTS (lol) and i did and immediately i was like ok daniel and carlos (and ofc lewis) are my drivers. we started following the 2021 season and a few races in, my brother was like hey if you like carlos you should watch the mclaren videos of him and lando.

me: oh they're so cute

me: oh they have such a sweet sibling relationship haha

me: ...wait...

me: ..........is carlos into him–

me: THIS IS NOT A SIBLING RELATIONSHIP.

me: ...i feel guilty looking up fics about two real men on ao3 i wonder if anyone oh i see everyone sees the same thing i do ok cool

me: i just started law school but screw it let's make a tumblr so i can follow some carlando blogs!

me: holy shit they're in love aren't they.

sochi 2021: happens

me: i must write carlando hurt/comfort.

and the rest is history.

[helenewate]

hello olivia i hope you are well. i checked your website recently, and i just wanted to say that it looks very cool!

i think you shared some descriptive blurbs or like a summary of "the hauntings" before, so i was already pretty interested since i really like your writing, but the photos made me so much more into it! you describe it as a "multimedia project", which i'm sort of curious about. you mention things like newspaper clippings, poetry, and diary entries, and whole i assumed that the diary entries and poetry is yours, i was wondering if the newspaper clippings were your own creations, or if you were choosing articles from the time period, to sort of follow real life events as the story unfolds? regardless, it has piqued my interest quite a bit, especially the collage style, and i can imagine it gives the story a richness that only a combination of formats can really hit!

secondly, i read your poem "spare room" and it was so beautiful. i loved the atmospheric language, and the little details of the room like the wall paper and the creaks, all added up to such a humanising picture of mothers. the last 4 lines of the second verse made my heart break a little, at the way women are made to chase youth, at the terribleness of not knowing what'll happen when your 40, at wishing you could warn or comfort your younger self, at how our parents are living for the first time too, how, at the end of the day, they were young kids too. I know i am essentially repeating the themes of your poem back to you, but i am trying to stress that 1) you were able to spell them out so clearly that i felt them in a rush of emotion and 2) that you have captures something quite universal in the particularity of your grandmother's house. just calling the mother's old bedroom a "spare room" made me feel indignant on behalf of the mother. it made me think of my own maternal grandfather's home in pakistan, and really made me think of my mother and the person she was to her parents, to her sisters, what family meant to her and what it became. my mom and her sisters sold the house when he passed away, and it recently went up for sale again, and i was horrified to see that the owners had hgtv-ified it. your poem reminded me of what my mother looked in her father's room.

you are such a wonderful writer, which i'm sure you know, and i have faith in you and your manuscript, any publisher would be lucky to publish your work. best of luck to you in all your endeavors!!

p.s i love your photos! they're really beautiful, and evocative of the era, and make me miss and cherish a family history i don't even have! i believe this one is my favourite!

yayyy this makes me so happy to hear! the purpose of the website was really to immerse anyone thinking of reading into the world they'll be diving into. I've been very particular and specific about the photos I take/use because I have it all mapped out so clearly in my head

I'm looking forward to the colder seasons so I can show a little bit of the more desolate side of the book. I'm hoping to add another page to the site as a "photo album" almost and have a chronological depiction of the seasons and years (but I have to upgrade to premium first, I'm so poor)

the newspaper clippings in the book are all written by me! they're used to show a little more of the town and the people living there, and how they sort of behave/view the world.

"spare room" is one of my favorite poems that I've written. I actually wrote it when I was watching sharp objects one night and I wrote that little blurb on here about how your grandma's house can feel so eerie and comforting at the same time.

similarly, when my grandma passed, my uncle sold the house that my mom and uncles grew up in. they moved there in 1977 and lived there until 2022, and I got to go through one last time, but I wish I would've taken more pictures

my biggest thing with the whole "immersive" side of my book is keeping things authentic, so I'm happy to hear it's all convincing! lol I've been very strict about research and making sure things are of the time they're supposed to be

the photo you attached was taken on a whim! I took my shoes off to walk up a hill, and I turned back to where my sister was taking a picture of me, and I yelled at her to bring me my camera because I saw my shoes sitting in beam of light and loved the image! it's meant to display the youth and innocence of the narrator, but there's an eeriness to it that leads you to believe that innocence is being tainted.

thank you for being so kind, as always ⭐️ and thank you for talking to me about my book :)

[freezegirl]

THE BIG CANON MASTERPOST* [note: if you write any of the characters mentioned, i just want to reiterate that you do not have to comply with anything written below, this is just for fun and because i love world building*]

(originally written: 17-01-2022 / version 1: 16-02-2022 / version 2: 17-12-2023 / version 3: 21-7-2024 / @theskyuniverse)

khione hima goossens (iman vellani) has lived in maxville her entire life. as have her parents. though her paternal grandparents and their ancestors came from europe and her maternal grandparents and their ancestors came from surinam, india and pakistan, respectively. khione grew up in the richer part of town, in the same neighborhood as gwen grayson, and spends her time at the maxville ice arena and ice slash snow sculpting.

her dad, evander (neil jackson) is a cryokinetic. he used to be known as the superhero permafrost but has since gone inactive - or so he clains - to focus on his acting career. he's been tapped for the 'darkstar' franchise, playing the titular character. in reality, an altercation with barron battle forced evander to hang up his cape for good.

her mom, saraswati, who's more commonly known as sara as per her insistence (jameela jamil) has hydrokinesis abilities and is a retired superhero - in solidarity with her husband - turned tv personality, being known for the fabulous lives of superhero wives. and, yes, khione has been on the show too. multiple times, in fact. it's all over tiktok and youtube and it's in the top 10 on netflix, much to her despair.

khione has inherited both her dad's cryokinesis and her mom's hydrokinesis, which means she's got a big family legacy to live up to. much like will stronghold, khione is a she's a third gen.

evander and saraswati never should have been allowed to name their only daughter. aside from huge expectations for their daughter, a tendency to manage her life, a huge dose of haughtiness, as well as loftiness and a remarkable hatred for pyrokinetics, whom they deem "beneath them" as well as "dangerous" and "destructive", evander and saraswati are a normal couple.

well, as normal as two retired supers can be.

especially if one of them has a secret.

khione may be an only child, but saraswati has another child out there: zach braun-springer (noah lalonde) who possesses photokinesis and an immunity towards the cold that people thought was just sheer dumb luck on his part.

this secret comes to light during zach's freshman year and khione’s sophomore year at sky high, a few months after royal pain’s rampages have largely been forgotten. the super community can change like the wind, at the drop of a hat, or a coin. it goes from loving to vicious. from soft to sharp and back again. it ruptures the marriage of khione’s parents (though they stay together instead of divorcing), and does the same to the marriage of zach’s parents as well. khione tries to keep her head above water by focusing on her classes and her friends.

sometime during her senior year at sky high, nurse spex passes away, rendering her grandson valerian - laser eyes kid - effectively an orphan. his parents died on the job and nurse spex, his grandmother, took him in. in her opinion, she’s raised the finest boy in maxville. no one had the heart to tell her that her grandson was behaving terribly. after nurse spex’s funeral, laser eyes kid takes out his grief on everyone around him, khione included. but he finds a home with mr and mrs timmerman, who end up fostering him alongside jolene hamilton (and they adopt both of them down the line).

khione manages to make it to graduation. her parents don’t show up as she walks the stage because they’re both in europe for their jobs. shortly afterwards, khione gets accepted into sky u.

in the transitional period between high school and college, the superhero world is shaken to the core when josie stronghold (nee demarco) dies. khione attends the funeral with her parents - who fly back from europe for this - and does her best to be there for will in the aftermath when his paternal grandparents fly into town.

during her first year at sky u, disaster strikes again: warren’s father, barron battle, escapes the maximum security prison. people speculate it’s an inside job. the downtown area of maxville gets turned into a disaster zone made of smoke plumes, flames and screams. khione, warren, will, layla, zach, magenta (brianne tju) and ethan are deployed to put a stop to barron's battle against the citizens of maxville.

things turn from bad to worse, however, when barron gets away and kidnaps ethan banks (jonathan daviss) who is, by far, the smartest member of khione’s friend group and it takes far longer to get ethan back than khione would have liked.

enter katherine "katie" baxter shortly after khione's second year of uni has started. she and her twin michael “mike” baxter have sound based powers. while barron has escaped prison, mike is still locked up and katie is hurt and enraged about it. she and mike have gone through some shit and now they don’t quite know how to exist without each other. katie kidnaps khione, thinking that if she presses the right buttons, the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) will pull some strings to get mike released. khione is gone for about a week and the squad gets video updates. khione's parents are informed as well and they fly back from europe immediately (though whether they are truly concerned for their daughter's wellbeing or for everything they've invested in her so far is truly anyone's guess).

while she has her, katie excessively uses her sound powers on khione who tries her hardest to fight back until she’s exhausted. when it becomes clear that khione has received training when it comes to dealing with sound based powers to the best of her ability (because of course khione’s parents would do so, even though it hurts like hell), katie realizes that she needs to press harder. so she does, promising to wean khione off of all her friends when it becomes clear that they're not going to help her get her brother back.

the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) find khione locked up inside maxwellness, a wellness and beauty centre ("for maximum wellness!”) located somewhere in maxville. katie left khione in a sauna booth with the settings way up high. after she gets out of there, she faints and it's a race against the clock to try to get her core temperature back down before she dies. this whole experience exerbates khione's existing case of claustrophobia too.

ethan and khione hang out more afterwards. they bond over their respective experiences. ethan comes out as queer. khione tells him she’s pansexual. they bond over that, too, and magenta organically adds herself into the mix when she comes out to them as bi.

both of them spend the majority of their time catching up on the stuff they missed in regards to schoolwork as well. ethan and khione also end up training together (and seperately) so that neither of them get taken against their will ever again.

khione's third year is filled with pro and anti super sentiment across the board. after supers are forced to go public when mr medulla's particle accelerator explodes, the general public has a lot to say. turns out, he hadn't really "gotten rid of that horrible weapon, forever" like he said so many years ago and kept tinkering with the reversed pacifier behind the scenes. he just couldn't help himself. medulla was certain that he was doing a good thing here: he was going to bring about advancements in (mad) science, physics and advancements in medicine. still, the consequences are long-lasting. and never before had the debate on whether supers need to hang up the cape or not, on whether "their secret identity needs to become their only identity" been fiercer.

after graduation, khione officially takes up the mantle 'skadi' amid the pro and anti super discussions and enters the field alongside the others and officially becomes part of the stronghold seven.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFcaKjQL/

The tiktoker saying at the beginning "Guys i am literally Greek, but i have never been in Greece before" and i am like...

Oh no a Greek migrant that went to US but her family didn't probably kept her in touch with her roots 😬

I see it unfortunately with others that migrated to US from India, China, Europe etc where they will say often how when they visit their relatives they will barely know the language, and it's sad for them not knowing their language.

Eeh let's not throw a pity party for people we don't know. Most second or third-generation Greek immigrants who don't know the language are not fully responsible for that. There are many variables outside their control. Their parents or immediate family didn't teach them, and with other stuff going on it's a bit hard to pick up the language from zero.

There are also feelings of guilt and disconnect when one doesn't know the language of their parents and this can lead to the person picking up the language later. It is great and beneficiary to know the language of your parents since it's a big part of the culture, but for the reasons above I don't want to judge the Greek immigrants who don't know Greek. They can always learn later. Besides, the goal in their lives might not be to become "super Greek" and that's fine as well.

The girl could very well be Greek by ethnicity, it just doesn't show where she lives. If she was living in Congo or Myanmar she would be visibly a "foreigner".

Like here, many Greeks still call "Pakistani" (not "Pakistani-Greek") the children who grew up here and they could have visited Pakistan just 1-2 times. Greeks do that for Nigerian children, Albanian children etc. Very conveniently in these cases Greeks don't forget the ethnicity of these people, even though these second or third-generation immigrants may have never been to the country or been once and felt like tourists. With that logic, yeah, she could very well be Greek.

I find it incredibly stupid when Greeks use the "argument" (ο Θεος να το κανει) "but she has never visited Greece!" Sooo?? She didn't say she was a Greek citizen! She meant her family's culture was Greek. There are Greek communities all over the world and the people of these communities don't have Greek citizenship.

I also disagree with people who say "it's in her blood" because culture =/= blood. If blood had anything to do with it, second gen immigrants to Greece wouldn't "belong" to Greek culture at all (but they do). And blood doesn't automatically make you know your culture and history or language. You can engage with it, of course, as anyone else with "different blood" is free to do so. These people could just say "She grew up in the culture" and that's it.

Of course, we should address the elephant in the room; the fact that this woman treated the (mostly common Greek) food like she'd never seen it in her life, and she misnamed and mispronounced words all the time. Her behavior and expression, and attitude toward the food don't distinguish her at all from the stereotypical USAmerican girl. This shows she is culturally quite far removed from the culture and it's reasonable that her claim of being Greek creates skepticism. (I just wish they weren't so rude and stubborn about it).

I can also tell that she probably had little to no contact with Greek culture (even if her parents were 100% fully Greek and moved to the US -- and I assume she is from the US because of her tonality and accent). It's not a crime to be removed from your parents' culture and there is no reason to engage in Greek culture if she doesn't want to. I am just saying that starting the video with "Guys I am literally Greek…" and then proceeding to be a full-blown USAmerican in every turn is eeeeeeeh weird, to say the least.

If she indeed is Greek by ethnicity I won't tell her that she isn't but I guess her identity explanation could be a bit different and more accurate to her own experience?

[cdragons]

...Should I make Druig a dad w/ Katey (that's what Hecate!Eternal goes by, but it's still you ig?) with twin girls when the gang arrives...or is that too much?

Because I already got the names, powers, and personalities picked out: They are 4 in this.

Laoise (Light Manipulator & Solar Magic; very energetic & social butterfly, loves sneak attacks, very hands-on learner; the older twin so she is very close and protective of her baby sister; Nicknames: Little Dove, Our Dawn, Mighty Warrior, Little Light, Our Sun)

Aisling (Dream Prophet & Lunar Magic; more quiet and introverted, loves to hang in her mom's magical library & the Amazon medical hut, go-to lie detector; being the younger twin, she is shy but her big sister always reassures her that she is brave; Nicknames: Little Nightingale, Little Seer, Mini-Librarian, Sweet Thinker, Our Moon)

Both girls have Druig's eyes & dimples & freckles; but Laoise has his brown curls that are lighter with slight highlights, while Aisling's is much darker and slightly wavy. Both like to wear it long and loose, but will wear it up if it is done by their mom and dad.

Both are extremely close to their parents, and see your and Druig's relationship as gold standard, and hope for that in their future. They grew up watching how you two were still separate individuals, but a powerful unit. They witnessed every gentle kiss and tight embrace, every loving gaze and soft smile, all the whispers of love and reassurance, and the overwhelming love and respect you two held for one another.

They don't really ask their Aunt Sephie about love because one time they did, and she got really quiet. She was still smiling, but her eyes became sad, as if she was remembering a certain blue-eyed friend with a silver streak in his hair who would keep her secrets and held her heart.

There are 2 other kids, both you and Druig's biological kids, but you pretty much adopted them. They are both

Damian, it was a name he gave himself. He was born in what is now Pakistan but was sold to Turkish military. He was sold into the army and trained since birth to be a soldier. At 20, he was then killed by order of his commanding officer, and resurrected as a "Div or Dev". He was then given a very strict and formal education: learning many languages and varied skills. His favorite that he picked up was drawing and painting. The only person who treated him with kindness was Shireen, a servant girl who was mistreated due to having survived leprosy as a child. He pitied the little girl for being assigned to a killer, but she always reassured him that she was happy to be his friend. In response to her kindness, he offered to teach her how to read and write. When he learned of her death, he collected her ashes and killed everyone involved in her death before escaping to look for anyone who could revive her. Shireen was born into poverty, she doesn't remember much of her past. She remembers that she was sick for a very long time before recovering. But after she recovered, her mother started to yell for anything. Not only that, but she would beat and ignore her too. She cried at night asking why Allah would curse her with such a hideous child; it wasn't long until she disappeared. Shireen knew her mother was cruel to her, but she still loved her. A man would find her on the streets, and told her that she was sold to them. She was assigned to be the Div's servant. The other servants would tell her horrible stories about him: saying that he would tear her limb from limb, pluck out her eyes, and drink her blood. But she quickly discovered that wasn't true. She also remembered dying, and being lost. But soon she woke up...only...with wings?

Dear God, I have absolutely ZERO self-control.

Tagging: @spacetalbot, @valeskafics, @beananacake

[healen]

9 people you'd like to get to know better

tagged by @thatonecotton - thank you! this is so fun, takes me back to the days of prolific asks and tag memes!! i loved reading your answers 💕

Three ships:

vash/meryl (trigun): i watched this for the first time this year (@bbunbbi's excitement about it got me!), both the 98 anime and stampede! going in knowing a friend really likes two characters together is always influential, but there's something really special about these two - vash with his outward personality and inward baggage? meryl who thinks he's one thing and learns he's another and stays with him through thick and thin? good stuff!

kogami/akane (psycho pass): it's been EONS since i last watched this but i've been reminiscing with friends recently! iirc i watched the first two seasons of the anime and the first movie, and the highlight for me was always these two...akane the bright-eyed new inspector, kogami who used to be in her position but is now basically like, a dog on her leash? the way he's like, steady, willing, and calm to be just that? the way akane grows through real experience and is a bit hardened, but still stays herself...they go through a lot side-by-side and i think about them fondly!!

frederick/robin (fire emblem: awakening): lol okay piggy-backing on cotton's answer but!! i could name HEAPS of fire emblem ships i love, but these two have really been on my mind lately! frederick the wary will always have my heart lol but the way, re: robin, he goes from distrust to falling in love...but robin is actually (unknowingly) exactly what he was afraid of at the start?? there's romance there's humour there's tragedy....read cotton's work lol and you'll know what i'm talkin about!!!

First ever ship: hmmm i'm not sure if i remember! oh gosh actually i do recall liking amu/ikuto from shugo chara, which was the first anime i really like, properly watched all the way through when i was younger lol!! anne of green gables is something i grew up with too and anne and gilbert have always been the peak of romance for me!

Last song: the returner by allison russell! heard it on the radio the other day and i keep coming back to it!

Currently reading: i have a few things i'm currently reading - i start a lot of books that i get too busy to finish in the time i have them from the library, but i'm gonna get back to these ones eventually:

rooted by lyanda lynn haupt

a brief history of pakistan by james wynbrandt

women who run with the wolves by clarissa pinkola estés

i've also been chipping away at the novelizations for attack of the clones and revenge of the sith (a re-read!)

Currently watching: i don't really watch shows all that often...gosh...yeah i don't really know! the last thing might've been...like, just the scenes with anakin in them from the ahsoka series lol

Currently consuming: just water atm! i always forget to drink as much as i should!

Currently craving: samyang buldak noodles, always 😭 but lately i've been wanting to go eat some tteokbokki, it's been a while!

tagging @breserker, @ghosttbeef, @tofucasserole, @birdblacksocialclub, @rosemochi, @bbunbbi, @s4wdust, @darksign, @darrthvadr, @varethinsilico, @runicmagitek - (i know that's more than 9...let me live!) no pressure at all! and if anyone else sees this and wants to do it, say i tagged you!

[aswiya]

Hi! I'm sure you're not doing it deliberately but it's not okay to tag Kashmiri posts as #India. You don't have to publish this I'm just letting you know. :)

Hi! I'm part Kashmiri myself with family that grew up in Pakistan :) I personally consider it an independent state as well, I just tag some Kashmir posts with India bc the particular region within Kashmir is "officially" a part of India (like I was looking at how much Ladakh changed hands over the years) so just to have some consistency with my tagging system, I'll tag various countries/states when it comes to a disputed or occupied region.

I don't mind posting this cuz I just wanted to clear that up! Thank you for your message 🙏🏼

[wonderfail33]

imma write here cause on another blog i have posted something in support of palestine and i genuinely want to continue with that.

however i am also tired. and ashamed of being tired. i am horrified and numb at the same time.

i fail because of "boycott fatigue" (i fall into old habits in a careless, tired, maybe ill moment) and my thought process is that this one time doesnt matter because i am still generally following the boycott, and it also doesnt make a difference because so many people arent.

such as my friends.

people that i love deeply have refused to sign a petition at the very start of the "war" for pur country to demand ceasefire.

people that i love dearly have confused palestine for pakistan and i was left speechless.

at moments i wonder: how can i care so deeply? one might argue that i dont care deeply enough if im imperfect with my boycott. one might argue that i am a privileged brat for being exhausted after so little.

but i care deeply enough for it to affect me mentally.

i cannot follow content to keep up with events because it makes me genuinely depressive (rightly so. everything is horrifying).

i cannot sit in peace if im not shown content about current events. i dont want to be complicit, but i am, by the fact that i am born in europe. i could be a literal saint and would still be complicit.

i cannot make peace with this.

and there are other things. and im depressed in general. today i was in the city centre, it was a bright day with fresh air, a blue sky, and i was waiting for my bus. i felt like my life is a mistake, beause my brain cannot be happy similarly to how i have seen other people be happy. i looked up at a seagull flying overhead, saw the way the sunlight lit up its feathers. the world is beautiful. and i wanted to cry.

a homeless man stopped to ask me if i was crying and why.

i feel fake, i feel alien, i feel useless and i feel complicit. who would i talk to? therapy is white supremacy.

my therapist has told me that i focus my energy on current events to escape my life and find emotional release. such a double bind

i want to care about current events, i want to help other people, and yet there is this question to it. do i are to avoid my own life? i don't do this on purpose. and i would hate myself if i had to force myself to not care.

my natural state is caring about this. and i wonder why. it feels broken, relative to other people. so many in my surroundings only care about themselves.

a tangent. i genuinely suck at feminine beauty. i wonder why. my mother is a beautiful woman. she was a beautiful girl. my father is handsome. my ancestors are beautiful. why do i fail at beuty, then?

i fail at skincare because it wasnt taught to me. i know my mother had beauty products, old makeup, that always felt like a treasure when i managed to get into it. she didnt use them. and she also didnt teach me to use them. my mother was busy with her mental health and with my brother.

she commented on how nicely i grew up by myself (while my brother had to be raised / developed because of his disabilities). and then she looks at me and wonders where her little girl is.

her little girl is so abandoned. she is so lost. she has been alone for 20 years. she felt ignored, she felt attacked, she felt that she was not defended, she needed to grow up, be smart, be responsible qnd needed to take it.

now that im all grown up she feels like she has missed out on being my mother. and she has!

my father has been physically abusive and i still feel more...attached to him. god i just realised why i have disorganized attachment.

[there is no intent, this is just emotion i want to express] i want to die at this point.

this is why so many artists have offed themselves at 27. at this loint, either you have grown into a secure person, or you may not be aware of your issues and compensate well...or, and i think this is the dangerous option, you may be aware of some of your issues and they just feel so overwhelming. you might think, my frontal lobe is now done. i am an adult. i can look back at my life and reflect on it and i see a lot of shitty events. i can look back on my childhood expectations and see that i have failed so much of them. i can look at my inner teen and they won't even look back. and i can look at my recent mindset and expectations and all this in one big pile feels like too much shit for my recently adult brain to handle.

i just think of how i'm only gonna get "older", of how i am a "useless" woman, if i were a man i would at least be a fucking bachelor or some shit but im just a lonely unwanted woman that doesnt even want kids so she will die alone...

oh god i am so fucked in the head.

so yeah its not (only?) that i want to take my mind off myself with current events but once i realise how i relate to current events, it's all just too much.

second tangent.

i started thinking about how i even knew about palestine. and the holocaust. i saw posts that american parents try to figure out when to tell kids about the nazis. and i dare not mention how poc kids grow up, with all the racism there. an i realised i did not learn of palestine, jewish people, or even the holocaust from my parents. no, i was a good little child, i read fiction, and i read my fathers medical biology textbook (idk, i loved it). i learned of these in school, from a teacher who managed to somehow speak to my neglected teenage heart who just wanted society to all play nice, and from her i learned of the palestinian people. in history calss i heard first of the holocaust, but this teacher mentioned it 2 years earlier and i had 0 clue what she was talking about. my classmates did, though.

i have always been behind on trends, pop culture, whatever else, partly because my parents took pg ratings very seriously. and partly because i was so isolated from other kids. i feel like i grew up in a tower, isolated, where visitors were allowed but never encouraged, and i... i wish i could undo that. i dont want to be the kid thats out of the loop and i dont want to learn qbout horrific things years after my peers have.

oh god i feel so useless.

"why do you feel useless, it was not your job as a teen to intuit this shit" idk man. i always felt so ashamed when i didnt know stuff that others did. not even because i was expecting to be better than them. but i didnt want to be less than them.

i am so done with the games i had to play as a human, as a girl. i wish i had been a plant instead.

my mother hugged me when i was little, and sometimes instead of nighttime stories, she told me about the "communist" dictatorship in our country that happened when she was young. why the fuck did she not tell me about the holocaust? or palestine? did i have to learn about hannuka from fucking arthur the animated series?

i also miss my grandparents. i know it has been very long since i talked with them. however i simply cannot make myself. i am ashamed of my grandfather, and i am angry at him. he is supposed to be an intelligent man! and he has such a bad worldview, he has prejudices that he himself days he had contrary experiences to, and yet he holds them! i am supposed to love him but his views disgust me! i am supposed to love my grandmother, who couldnt forgive my mother for divorcing my father once their relationship had become toxic, and who trusted her son so little that she wanted to get information out of me, the woman that made herself a pity party when i was failing at university! how can i love them? how can i hate them? why are these feelings so close to each other?

im pretty sure i have also hurt my family members. i dont wanna say these were justified, that would be fucking foolish. but i was a kid and it was their job to introduce me to living in society and in my opinion they have fucking failed at that!

did they fail because of their own malice? no! they were doing their best! but your best is not enough for 2 kids when one is disabled, no one has processed their own traumas and we are also living in a postcommunist country years behind "the west"! it was simply not fuckig enough! and i dont want to say that its my brothers fault because how the fuck would it be, it is also not my fault that i was born... but it was his appearance that stirred this cocktail the most.

on the other hand, i simply cannot die, being a daughter of witches, nazis, drunks and cheaters, i still was born and given the opportunity to do something! i just need a way.

[thesecretattic]

Tassels & Fringes

Whatever I’m sharing is half hearted and it’s Contd. from the previous post, I’m committing Sui-cd I won’t be wearing it. My condition was too bad when I woke up and although I’ve been given a lighter dose of meds they are still heavy for me because I have become internally weak due to this constant emotional battle, so it gets worse this way or that way.

I didn’t want to waste that money on anything bad or at all those places where they cheat and give nothing but a kerchief in the name of a Dupatta (which is the main component, if it’s a sari it’s the pallu, in clothes it’s the dupatta which sort of highlights your outfit, and finishes the entire look, you can also style it in many ways) I browsed one store but then I realised they were giving free stuff to bloggers and I liked whatever they had but in anything heavier I just felt like they were cheating, the dupatta was as small as you get in children’s wear and the collection was also getting slightly dreary or repetitive, honestly it wasn’t worth more than 7-8k but it was pricier, you get better options from some store at hailing from the Khan Market or from where I got my stuff which has also been featured in Vogue, one could opt for without Dupatta here but you don’t always find anything matching and like I said it is an integral part of the entire ensemble. I realised apart from the bloggers their clientele list included mostly lower middle class people and they were recklessly spending on these clothes but you know they lack that choice or taste which you’d find relatable… so I thought it would best if I’ll just keep looking, some of you won’t believe me when I’ll say they were indeed getting prodigal here but it was like the camera where some guys (like all the “pantar” gangs) were impressed after wasting 60k on a defective product, hopefully it was just one batch and all the educated people were leaving frustrated reviews. I could make out the quality so I never got it even though I didn’t have a camera for years.

So even here, the material was quite shabby, the quality was not upto the mark, it was looking crinkled right from the beginning and shrunk too, however I did like the rest of their stuff but nothing went with my personality, it was something that I’ve never worn even as a kid maybe it was too feminine and not the kind that I would necessarily like, it mostly had a blend of chikankari and floral panels. So I decided to keep looking… I initially wanted a Choga set I can’t divulge much cuz I do have a lot of eyes on me and I don’t want anyone to imitate me now cuz honestly I’ve always faced this and although I’ve taken it spontaneously (like Coco Chanel once said, “You have to be ready to be copied”) but as u grew up it got unfair because I have never been with any guy ever in my entire life and those girls will take these ideas to impress them, so no I can’t write much no matter how passionate I am about this subject (it’s one of my favourites) I can’t, you can ask me the name of the brand if you want in DMs but I won’t share anything much here. I’m not in the state write anyway, Chogas have originated in Punjab, Kashmir and Pakistan, they are worn oversized and mostly in velvet that’s my preferred choice of fabric so I had picked one and luckily you are getting variety of chogas I had even made a list of designers who are making these things and I was about to buy one but I was not in the state to wear high heels for now like those really tall ones and chogas are already lengthy 48 inches minimum I could’ve customised but I still wanted to avoid the heels and they are huge I anyway wanted the sleeves and the body to be big otherwise what’s the point? And you need heels to carry them… so I chucked that idea for now and got something else which I was determined to get and I had something specific, I got 2 of them + one set for Bakri Eid. So I’m gonna cut everything short and directly share what all I have purchased, all sales/offer details are in the other post. I do like certain looks which are more feminine it’s not like I don’t but like I said I had something specific in mind, there was a 3rd item which I had liked from the other store from where I got most of my stuff, it was very beautiful, it was white with a Satin Kurti it had some thread work near the lapel and the bottom hemline and it had rose butti work with a sparkly dupatta (I’ll be talking about their dupattas later on) and the bottoms included idk yet it was either white organza or mesh, a layer of that with pink foil lining inside, they were Ghararas, this was one had a Romantic theme it also featured puff sleeves (full length) it was so pretty… I’ll get into further more details later on. It was passionately put together by someone who probably loved fashion just as much as I did.

First up we have this Chanderi Suit with Organza Dupatta in Greige, I feel it’s more of an Oyster Grey in real life, the material is great, it’s quite luxurious and the cut work gives it that designer’s edge, I prefer places where they don’t compromise on the quality or the fabric or any kind of needlework. And amidst all the competition I really appreciate it when these stores or designers take enough initiative to give you something worthy which justifies the price tag and also earns them more credibility cuz it doesn’t look like they are flaking on it… I love the material like I said and the shipping was fast because they had it ready since it’s quite light and simple, I think it’s perfect for Eid, I have a matching choker in a Rustic finish with taupe Kundan beads to go along with that. You can’t make out much in the photo but it’s this crisp chanderi with a thick organza dupatta and quality is awesome, it looks different in the photos but in real life the material is rich and beautiful.

I had a Sabyasachi Patiala ages ago when I would go out, in my late teens from Fort, he had a smaller boutique back then which was later expanded into this beautiful atelier with a tiny booth inside (downstairs) where he launched his first jewellery collection. I got it from the SS range so the colour was summery and light, it was coral with lace embroidery which was there throughout the kurta as well as the dupatta, it was entirely in net with fulls sleeves and there was chun at the wrist, there was one last piece left and another girl who had come with her mom was constantly eyeing it when she saw it in my hand, we did an advanced payment and got it delivered cuz it was an impromptu purchase. But there was still Eid coming up so I had an occasion to wear it. I had paired it beautiful ethnic earrings I didn’t want to overdo much as the neck was already very beautiful. I still have it tucked away safely in my closet, back then the prices were not that high, it was for 32k and you would also get cotton ones in a lesser range but they would sell out very fast within a short span of time cuz all the Billi Masis would pounce on them and even fight if they had to, that’s how rich people get rich… they save money. I always looked up to them and knew I’ll be like them one day, it’s good to be catty and wise and they were all so very sophisticated - which is not the same as being rich, it just means being cultured with a refined taste, that’s my definition. The sari lehenga which I was talking about in one of my coincidences, that too was from Sabyasachi I had tried it on where I was barely 16, it was in Champagne gold which would blend into a beautiful ombré in shades of mauve & purple, I was telling my mom I’ll get my dream job and buy something like that for my engagement when I’ll get married, it was for 1.2 lakh. It had a fish cut and a little ghera at the bottom, it was relatively more modern than the rest of his stuff although I’m myself much more interested in ethnic wear, I do feel it was refreshing for a change. It was glamorous too… I had taken a lehenga, I won’t lie but people see it very materialistically so it was one of the most coveted things in my wardrobe and I still remember the pic that I had taken (it was very beautiful even the look that I had put together with that messy bun and matte lipstick) it was envied a lot and I had delete it later on. So my current state can be understood from that (jealousy is a very bad thing) and especially in India people are such, they don’t see things as something to be admired or appreciated such as the work or design, some of us do, that’s why we even buy it but there are certain people who only see these things as (monetary) “assets”. There was a time when I wanted to be a fashion designer cuz you know how much I love fashion and style ever since I was 2-3 years old lol so I would visit these boutiques and even browse the bridal collection spontaneously ie. even if I knew I couldn’t afford it, we had taken a lehenga for some wedding, but I wasn’t sure if I would’ve been able to buy one (on my own) from the much more pricier range if I had to that is, for my for own wedding… so people need to take things in their stride instead of envying others, they don’t even visit these stores so they are not aware of the exact price range and they believe it is all super expensive (well now it is) but like I said they see these things as assets to flaunt and they assume everyone is like that.

As an adult, I don’t think it matters much, not that I liked it because of the price range I have never been an “Elitist”… it’s not required. I loved Sabya’s (heritage) style, but it’s too expensive now, I still believe he is definitely one of the best and the most prolific designers of India in fact he’s celebrated all across the world and it’s something really cool. I can’t write much so keeping it short if I were to get married, for me the label or the price tag wouldn’t have mattered, I just wanted something of my choice something that I would’ve really liked, something special, and luckily you have a lot of emerging designers nowadays who are making such beautiful outfits so you are bound to find something or the other in fact you’ll probably have a hard time choosing from an overwhelming range of options… I think my style has evolved over the years and as a grown I feel like I it’s best to save money considering all the uncertainty in today’s times. Here are a few references you can enlarge the photos, I really love their look, it’s very sober like the 90s, it’s traditional & heavy but at the same time - minimalistic, it’s well balanced I can’t write much as I’m feeling really weak and lifeless rn due to my infection and meds so I’m gonna directly skip to the good part… haha I just wanted to give an idea of what I really like and there’s more if you’ll continue reading. I was determined to get something specific and I’ll be talking about that as well but in short.

I had something in mind… I told my mother about that childhood friend and her gown (she was wearing gowns in maximum functions) and they had a cake and all & I was like some people prefer a very modern look (she was saying all youngsters buy like that but I wanted to explain my choice) so I told her I was totally into I regional styles such as a mix of Rajasthani, Punjabi, Karachi. She realised I wanted something which was traditional to core, I had written about it earlier in one of my blog posts, I found one place where they had exactly what I wanted, an eclectic blend of Gota, Butti, Zari work & foil, etc. I wanted something which had Shagun dupattas and oadhnis + you know those tacky shimmery ones with that typical sharara fringe and foil Patti design or different types of threadwork/karigari just like the brides who dress up there, you even get such things while street shopping so I only had those fancy dupattas in mind in net, organza or tissue. Whatever I had in mind was both bold and slightly elaborate and here we are… I kept looking for something like that and I realised a lot of designers were making such things, I’ve made a list of my top 5 fav boutiques and I am really happy with my overall shopping experience. Here… I didn’t buy this as it was quite heavy but I can describe it to you (not much cuz not well)

I love these two outfits, one of them has a jacquard layer underneath, the other one has a dupatta which is inspired by Shagun dupattas with criss cross design, they are in red, this one is in a béautiful sea green colour that I really wanted. I didn’t buy it because it was heavier and I’m not actually getting married right now but I’ve kept this place in mind (people would believe I’m “crazy” or assume I’m still hoping for someone which is more than insensitive it’s in fact appalling, they take away your hope and then they assume you’ll be crazy enough to believe in love again or keep them in mind while discussing these clothes, I was talking about a celibate contract marriage without intimacy just platonic that too I have no one)

Here, this is the first thing from my purchase, it’s light and summery again and I love the colour palette: Pastel Leaf Green with a deeper salmon pink dupatta in net typical Rajasthani style, I love the neck and which perfectly goes with the sleeveless pattern, the only thing I was worried about was the Gharara because I initially thought it was one of those crinkled cotton skirts which look very basic but then I realised it was georgette that too ruched which will look very stylish… how pretty right? Luckily I had a discount coupon valid on minimum 30k so when I bought 2 I was able to avail max 8k off… they had a certain limit and I was not able to get a complete 30% disc. but something’s better than nothing and I am really happy with my choice, I bagged them for 24500/- which exceeded the budget that I was given but I got 2 (thanks to the offer) so I guess that’s justified. I had taken that choker last year so it’s either going to be that or the earrings not both, I think choker will go better with this, the burgundy purple drops would match this leaf green colour and the dupatta as well.

Next, I got this although it was an exception as I am not a huge fan of full sleeves, I prefer 3/4th or small ones but it reminded me of Punjabi Brides that’s why it was so special to me, as a 3 year old I would always say I’ll marry a Punjabi cuz I guess I always found them very cheerful and free spirited, I loved their culture, all the music and dhol and dancing, I also believe Sangeet has to be Punjabi if not then it won’t make any sense c’mon… The colour scheme of this outfit is: Mint Green and Ivory with lots of pink, gold and ruby red… it also had those beautiful beaded drops at the hem near the border, you can zoom it. The Dupatta is dual toned I’m glad they didn’t forget or sideline it, and I love the thread work, the border the fringe everything… it was hard to miss out on these and I also loved that other White one which I had described earlier on top. These two have a similar colour scheme… l guess I was drawn to them because of that, I really love how they’ve infused the red it’s so pretty and look at the beaded drops below (zoom the hemline) 🧿

That’s it I’m signing off now, bye xoxo Zara Sauleh

[bollywood143114]

Ashwin and his wife Preeti studied together from childhood to BTech and are now parents of two children.

Ravindra Chand Ashwin Wife: There are many players of the Indian cricket team who have a love chemistry comparable to a movie script. The name of Indian cricket team's top spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, is also featured on this list. Ravichandran Ashwin is as serious as he is seen on the cricket pitch, but equally fun-loving and flirtatious in his personal life. Ashwin's wife's name is Preeti Narayan. Ashwin and Preeti's love story is just a movie story. Few people know that Preeti Narayan and Ashwin are childhood friends. In that situation, his love story is very interesting. Ashwin and Preeti are childhood friends. Ravichandran Ashwin and Preeti are childhood friends. They both studied together. Both studied at the same school. After finishing school, the pair's association continued touring colleges. Ashwin and Preethi both completed their B.Tech from SSN Institute of Technology, Chennai. Their friendship during college turned into love, and only then did the two decide to get married. Ashwin and Preeti have worked very hard to build their careers in their personal lives. On the one hand, Ashwin has worked hard to gain a foothold in international cricket while Preeti has worked hard to build a career. Under these circumstances, Ashwin has established himself among the legendary players of the Indian cricket team in a very short time. Not only that, but his international career also broke many records. Ashwin loves spending time with his family. If we talk about Ashwin and Preeti's personal lives, let's just say that both of them support each other's careers a lot. Both of them do not have many opportunities to spend time together due to their personal lives, but whenever they have time, they share pictures of the time they spend with their families with their fans. Preeti always fully supports Ashwin and his crickets. Ashwin himself revealed this in one of his interviews. The family also approved of their relationship. When Ashwin and Preeti decided to get married while settling into post-college jobs, their families readily agreed to the relationship as the two families already knew each other. Under those circumstances, there was nothing wrong with their marriage. Early in 2011, Preity and Ravichandran Ashwin got engaged and later that same year, on 13 November 2011, both got married. The marriage of Ravichandran and Preeti was a South Indian wedding conducted with full custom. Ashwin and Preeti are parents to two daughters. Please tell me that Ashwin and Preeti have two daughters. The two are taking photos of the precious time they spent with their daughter and sharing them with fans. His love story was once revealed by Ashwin's wife Preeti herself during an interview. In the meantime, he said there was no drama in our love story. We were nothing like our childhood sweethearts. We met at school and found out that something was going on between us, but suddenly we stopped seeing each other. he said more. When we met again after this, we grew up. He was then studying engineering and Ashwin became a professional cricketer. In that situation, we didn't date much, because in 2011, Ashwin was selected for the World Cup team, and before the World Cup started, Ashwin told me he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life. After hearing this, I said yes and we got married. India suffered a crushing defeat against Pakistan, why did the top-ranked team not reach the top of the standings? DISCLAIMER We’ve taken all measures to insure that the information handed in this composition and on our social media platform is believable, vindicated and sourced from other Big media Houses. For any feedback or complaint, reach out to us at bollywoodofindiaa@gmail.com Read the full article

[imfailingmyacademics]

Kawa, I apologise in advance for the length this will be.

We have six cases! Nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, and case of time-space. Doesn't seem like there's a word for odhikoron in English, and if there is, these grammar books do not have it. SHDKDJRJLD Bengali only has gendered words in cases of animals and humans, everything else is neutral. Even pronouns are neutral. Pronouns are varied based on the presence of the person being spoken about and formality but they're all neutral.

Hindi and Urdu aren't at all formally taught but they were, until extremely recently (so recent like recent as in 9 years ago when my sister was born since I'm talking about her generation), WIDELY spoken in Bangladesh. I know that South Asians in general are likely to be bilinguals and at least trilinguals and even polyglots, but speaking of my country in particular - We spoke a lot of Urdu because we only got our independence from Pakistan in 1971, and the state language was Urdu - and we speak a lot of Hindi because of the sheer. Amount. Of. Bollywood. Like so much. This language was SO present in here. All the childhood cartoons yeah all Hindi dub. So many Hindi serials oh my god. Me and my cousins grew up speaking Bengali, English and Hindi together, and since Urdu and Hindi are really similar, we were nearly fully fluent in Urdu as well. We also have good knowledge in reading Arabic because we're mostly Muslims and it is considered 'better' to read the Quran in the Arabic script. Speaking, though.... We'd probably make Arabs cry

So yes, Bengali + Hindi + Urdu is extremely common in here, in pretty much everyone but 10 year olds who didn't have the pleasure of making fun of dramatic indian serials (not that bengali ones are any better....) because now all the cartoons are dubbed in Bengali (the voice acting sucks)

I DO HAVE IRISH IN MY HEAD!! IT'S MY MUMS FAULT ASK HER SHE DOES THIS, AALLLL THE TIME, AND IT'S WILD TO ME BECAUSE. HOW DID THIS SKIP OVER ENGLISH THEN? REMINDS ME OF THAT THING WHERE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN BLIND SINCE BIRTH STILL MAKE PHYSICAL GESTURES SPECIFIC TO REGION

Ahem for the prepositions - WAAAA THAT'S SO COOL. Do you guys have an 'in'? :0

DYWAN? DIBHAN? WE HAVE DYWAN. WE HAVE DYWAN!! WE HAVE DYWAN IN BENGALI IT'S DIBHAN ok that's probably not at all surprising since Turkey is mostly Muslim and we are mostly Muslim and we know Turkey loved poking other Muslims but. It remains cool to me!! Dywan, though, is Persian in origin! It means a rug but it can also mean this thing to lounge on, so in Bengali, it refers to a thick fancy comfy mattress or this sort of long fancy sofa.

Rika does not mean anything, no! Or if it did, I wouldn't know. It's just a shortening of Sarika - which, by the way, here people have a different name called a dak nam, which is not on any of your legal papers but is still very much your real name and is given to you at birth, and Sarika is my dak nam! Literally translated, it means 'call name'. It's meant to be used by family only but now anyone can call you by your dak jam depending on if you allow that or not

I see some guy called Honjo Rika a lot on Tumblr and get heart attacks.

You had. This mix of Arab and Russian accent that my friend has that sounds MILDLY Spanish sometimes!! (ask HER not me) (I'm also a victim of what I call soup accents. It is soup. Just. Multiple accents there. Ah to be multiracial living in the non-english country) but otherwise an American accent (so sorry for this insult). I think, at least, judging by my texts to said friend when I still remembered the dream properly.

I do not remember your tone but I think it was very calm and friendly. Additionally, for whatever reason I was calling you Kartoshka and this I remember vividly because it made me laugh so much after I woke up. I think I forgot the name Kawa but remembered that it started with Ka and was East European. And so I made you a potato sweet

for the american accent, -20 000 health points are inflicted upon your psyche. but for being diagnosed as a potato sweet.. you;ve been healed for 40 000 points :)

ACTUALLY did you know! polish has more than one word for potato! you've got ziemniak, got a similar etymology to the french pomme de terre (lit. "apple of the earth") because in old polish it was called jabłko ziemne (lit. "earthy apple"). this one in particular is more eastern/central poland then youve got kartofel which came from the german kartoffel, it's used more in the southwest part then you've got the word pyra, mostly used in the western part, with possible roots in reference to Peru! and this one i;ve heard only used once, there's also grula, but this one is tied to the southern górale of the podhale region, in the Tatry mountains

[adventuresoutsidethegenderbinary]

hi! I don’t know if you answer these sort of questions, but I have a question about writing Muslim lgbt+ characters. I have a character who’s panromantic asexual, so to keep with the spirit of the rules like generally no intimate relationships with the other binary gender or no touching the other binary gender, would she limit it to no touching people she’s romantically interested in or not touch anyone at all unless it was necessary? and do you have any other tips for writing Muslims? sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don’t want to get it wrong :/

Hi friend!

First of all, I appreciate you asking instead of assuming - it helps to create meaningful conversations and better understanding!

My primary piece of advice would be to remember that, just like other religious groups, all Muslims are different. Some Muslims are more conservative than others. There is also a difference between religious rules and cultural rules, so it matters where your character is from (both where her family originates and where she grew up) - I myself have a Pakistani family and was raised in America, so my experience will differ from a Pakistani person who was raised in Pakistan, from a person of Iranian descent, from a person of Indonesian descent, from a person of Saudi descent, from a person of Somali descent, and from differing Muslim experiences all over the world. Additionally, I am a Shia Muslim, and so some of my beliefs will differ from that of Sunni Muslims.

However, to answer your primary question, most Muslim women avoid contact with members of the opposite sex (outside the family), including hugs and handshakes, unless it is necessary for medical reasons, etc. Obviously this becomes a little more complicated when we consider genders outside the binary, and I'm honestly not sure how that would play out.

I hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions!

River

[freezegirl]

THE BIG CANON MASTERPOST* [note: if you write any of the characters mentioned, i just want to reiterate that you do not have to comply with anything written below, this is just for fun and because i love world building*] (written: 17-01-2022 / version 1: 16-02-2022 / version 2: 17-12-2023)

khione hima goossens (iman vellani) has lived in maxville her entire life. as have her parents. though her maternal grandparents and their ancestors came from surinam, india and pakistan. khione grew up in the richer part of town, in the same neighborhood as gwen grayson, and spends her time at the maxville ice arena and ice slash snow sculpting.

her dad, leander (neil jackson) is a cryokinetic. he used to be known as the superhero permafrost but has since gone inactive to focus on his acting career. he's been tapped for the 'darkstar' franchise, playing the titular character.

her mom, saraswati, who's more commonly known as sara as per her insistence (jameela jamil) has hydrokinesis abilities and is a retired superhero turned tv personality, being known for the fabulous lives of superhero wives. and, yes, khione has been on the show too.

khione has inherited both her dad's cryokinesis and her mom's hydrokinesis, which means she's got a big family legacy to live up to. much like will stronghold, khione is a she's a third gen.

leander and saraswati never should have been allowed to name their only daughter. aside from huge expectations for their daughter, a tendency to manage her life, a huge dose of haughtiness, as well as loftiness and a remarkable hatred for pyrokinetics, whom they deem “beneath them”, leander and saraswati are a normal couple.

well, as normal as two (retired) supers can be.

especially if one of those two has a secret.

khione may be an only child, but saraswati has another child out there: zach braun-springer (agastya nanda) who possesses photokinesis and an immunity towards the cold that people thought was just sheer dumb luck on his part.

this secret comes to light during zach's freshman year and khione’s sophomore year at sky high, a few months after royal pain’s rampages have largely been forgotten. the super community can change like the wind, at the drop of a hat, or a coin. it goes from loving to vicious. from soft to sharp and back again. it ruptures the marriage of khione’s parents (though they stay together instead of divorcing), and does the same to the marriage of zach’s parents as well. khione tries to keep her head above water by focusing on her classes and her friends.

sometime during her senior year at sky high, nurse spex passes away, rendering her grandson valerian - laser eyes kid - effectively an orphan. his parents died on the job and nurse spex, his grandmother, took him in. in her opinion, she’s raised the finest boy in maxville. no one had the heart to tell her that her grandson was behaving terribly. after nurse spex’s funeral, laser eyes kid takes out his grief on everyone around him, khione included. but he finds a home with mr and mrs timmerman, who end up fostering him alongside jolene hamilton (and they adopt both of them down the line).

khione manages to make it to graduation. her parents don’t show up as she walks the stage because they’re both in europe for their jobs. shortly afterwards, khione gets accepted into sky u.

in the transitional period between high school and college, the superhero world is shaken to the core when josie stronghold (nee demarco) dies. khione attends the funeral with her parents - who fly back from europe for this - and does her best to be there for will in the aftermath when his paternal grandparents fly into town.

during her first year at sky u, disaster strikes again: warren’s father, baron battle, escapes the maximum security prison. people speculate it’s an inside job. the downtown area of maxville gets turned into a disaster zone made of smoke plumes, flames and screams. khione, warren, will, layla, zach, magenta (brianne tju) and ethan are deployed to put a stop to baron's battle against the citizens of maxville.

things turn from bad to worse, however, when baron gets away and kidnaps ethan banks (quincy fouse) who is, by far, the smartest member of khione’s friend group and it takes far longer to get ethan back than khione would have liked.

enter katherine "katie" baxter shortly after khione's second year of uni has started. she and her twin michael “mike” baxter have sound based powers. while barron has escaped prison, mike is still locked up and katie is hurt and enraged about it. she and mike have gone through some shit and now they don’t quite know how to exist without each other. katie kidnaps khione, thinking that if she presses the right buttons, the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) will pull some strings to get mike released. khione is gone for about a week and the squad gets video updates. khione's parents are informed as well and they fly back from europe immediately (though whether they are truly concerned for their daughter's wellbeing or for everything they've invested in her so far is truly anyone's guess).

while she has her, katie excessively uses her sound powers on khione who tries her hardest to fight back until she’s exhausted. when it becomes clear that khione has received training when it comes to dealing with sound based powers to the best of her ability (because of course khione’s parents would do so, even though it hurts like hell), katie realizes that she needs to press harder. so she does, promising to wean khione off of all her friends when it becomes clear that they're not going to help her get her brother back.

the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) find khione locked up inside maxwellness, a wellness and beauty centre ("for maximum wellness!”) located somewhere in maxville. katie left khione in a sauna booth with the settings way up high. after she gets out of there, she faints and it's a race against the clock to try to get her core temperature back down before she dies. this whole experience exerbates khione's existing case of claustrophobia too.

ethan and khione hang out more afterwards. they bond over their respective experiences. ethan comes out as queer. khione tells him she’s pansexual. they bond over that, too, and magenta organically adds herself into the mix when she comes out to them as bi.

both of them spend the majority of their time catching up on the stuff they missed in regards to schoolwork as well. ethan and khione also end up training together (and seperately) so that neither of them get taken against their will ever again.

khione's third year is filled with pro and anti super sentiment across the board. after supers are forced to go public when mr medulla's particle accelerator explodes, the general public has a lot to say. turns out, he hadn't really "gotten rid of that horrible weapon, forever" like he said so many years ago and kept tinkering with the reversed pacifier behind the scenes. he just couldn't help himself. medulla was certain that he was doing a good thing here: he was going to bring about advancements in (mad) science, physics and advancements in medicine. still, the consequences are long-lasting. and never before had the debate on whether supers need to hang up the cape or not, on whether "their secret identity needs to become their only identity" been fiercer.

after graduation, khione officially takes up the mantle 'frostbite' amid the pro and anti super discussions and enters the field alongside the others and officially becomes part of the stronghold seven.