#look. i have a specific image in mind for this descriptor | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pyrettawychwiggin · 4 months ago

Text

SFW Alphabet (Romantic) with Crow (From Destiny 2) - Crow x Guardian, Gender-Neutral

Summary: this is a SFW alphabet for Crow from Destiny 2 (in the scope of a romantic, non-platonic relationship, but there are some friendship-building details scattered in here).

Paired With: gender-neutral for basically any type or gender of guardian. I've kept the physical descriptors of 'your guardian' to be relatively ambiguous.

Rating: GEN/TEEN — SFW - with some vague references to what could be considered mildy suggestive, but very little.

Warnings: slight mentions of trauma/hyper-vigilence/coping mechanisms, etc.

Note From The Author: I love reading these little SFW (and in some cases, NSFW) alphabets for fictional characters. It's so cool to see how others interpret the characters and how they would handle things. So here's my own rendition for one of my favourite characters from the Destiny universe (and one of my current obsessions) - Crow (very specifically not Uldren, but that should be obvious, I think).

The entries are long. So be prepared for a lengthy read, y'all. I pulled out all the stops on this. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did making it! Okay. Eyes up, guardians.

(Image Credit - Kathi Langley / owlcath)

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show their affection?)

Crow is... careful at first. Very careful. So careful, in fact, that you assumed he either greatly disliked you, or even feared you - even well after he'd realized he'd started to like you.

Considering how he'd been treated by other guardians regarding the whole 'Cayde' situation, he was understandably one of the most guarded people you'd ever met, and it's not that he didn't want your affection, he simply didn't feel as though he deserved it (even when he does start to show affection, and even when you have reminded him countless times how much you adore him. Deep down, he still doesn't feel worthy).

His affection works more like a dance; you lead, he follows the silent boundaries you set.

It started small.

It started with a friendly wave. As you happened to pass by him during an event at The Tower, he assumed he would be ignored by everyone (and that would have been the best case scenario as far as he was concerned); but still, you locked eyes and gave him a genuine smile and a friendly wave as you passed by - as if you were actually happy to see him. This was a tiny gesture that caused him to overthink the short interaction for the rest of the day. The next time he passed by you days later, he bucked up the courage to go as far as saying 'hello,' and the friendly greeting you gave him in return made him feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day.

This would set the pace for the rest of your relationship. You were the first to start complimenting him; so he started doing the same for you. You were the first to put your head on his shoulder; so he put his arm around you to pull you a little closer.

That being said, the one thing that he was the one to instigate was the first kiss - but we'll get into that later in this post.

Finally (and adorably), much like his name ironically suggests, he is always keeping his eye out for little trinkets he thinks you may like; interesting looking stones, pieces of wood he's whittled into unique animals or shapes, little tokens and tools from any marketplaces he's come across - he's always got a space for you on his mind.

B = Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

As was mentioned under 'Affection,' it really started with a simple wave and a smile. From there, you slowly became one of his only friends outside of Glint and Amanda.

Once he trusts you, he is a fiercely loyal friend, and he has your back no matter what. He's a fantastic listener, he's incredibly considerate, and despite his introverted disposition, you are one of the only people he can spend lengthy amounts of time with without feeling as though he needs to mentally recharge afterward.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

The first hug shared between you two was not specifically romantic. He had told you about something that had happened to him that was, in a word, incredibly traumatizing. You didn't know what to say, so you just gave him a hug instead.

At first, he didn't know how to respond, and put his arms out as if he were afraid to touch you, but after a few seconds, he realized you weren't letting go. He remembers feeling your warmth and your heartbeat against his chest, and slowly, he wrapped his arms around you in return for a long hug that he so desperately needed.

Some time later, much farther into your friendship, he came to you with the intent of venting to you, or asking for advice, but as he tried and failed to find the words to describe what he had been going through, he gave up and just pulled you into his arms for another much-needed hug.

As he has gotten more and more comfortable with you, he has become more bold with you, and has gotten to the point where he always wants to be in some form of contact with you - be it holding hands, curling an arm around your waist, or his personal favourite, touching his forehead to yours.

Even if you're in a situation where you need to be more professional or reserved, you'll find that he's subtly standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

As much as Crow enjoys wandering and exploring, seeing new things and having new experiences with you, he can also be quite the home-body.

You two start living together pretty early in your relationship. Not on purpose, mind you; you just found yourself spending time together, and having him stay with you that it just naturally happened on it's own. At first, it was an open invitation from you to raid your fridge (even though he would still always ask for permission), then it was a couple spare drawers in your dresser for a few of things. Then it was a keycode so he could allow himself in whenever he pleased - things just kind of happened from there.

Being together as often as you were just felt right; natural.

As for his 'domestic skills,' he's not particularly good at cooking, but he's not necessarily a 'bad cook' either. He has a handful of his favourite dishes that he's pretty good at preparing (and later on into your relationship, he went out of his way to learn a couple of your favourites, too).

That being said, he makes some of the best drinks that you've ever had; be it coffee, tea, hot chocolate, smoothies, cocktails, you name it - he could open his own little café for that reason alone (he is shockingly talented at latte art, and likes to top your drinks off with a little 'bird' symbol).

He is a very tidy housemate, however. He naturally just kind of picks up after himself. He's not one to keep everything 'spotless,' but things never look messy, either. The one thing you will find is little collectables and kitch that the two of you have picked up over time scattered all around your place.

Living with Crow is easy and in a word, effortless.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

If he were ever to end things with you (which is unlikely - but hypothetically), it truly would hurt him as much as (if not more) than it would hurt you. He wouldn't do so without a very good reason, but he is the type of partner who would always rather work things out with you than call it quits.

BUT. If he ever did, he would try to do so gently and privately, and would most likely go little-to-no-contact with you outside of obligations like missions and large events. Not because he wants nothing to do with you, but simply because being around you but not being with you is nearly unbearable to him now.

It will take him a very long time to move on, and even when he does he will always have a bit of a sore spot for you, regardless of how the two of you parted ways.

F = Fiancé (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Commitment comes naturally to Crow. Once you two become an item, you are never not on his mind in some fashion.

As for marriage, this is a different story. It's certainly not that he doesn't want to get married. He sees his relationship with you as a 'forever' situation already, and after such a long period of time where he felt as though he didn't deserve a happy relationship, much less a happy marriage, well... it just hadn't crossed his mind.

After a few years, someone ends up asking him about it, and his response is:

"I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it; our relationship just feels so natural as it is. Do you... do you think they'd say yes if I asked...?"

After that, it's in his head rent-free, and it's really only a matter of time before he asks you.

It's nothing flashy, but one day, he arranges a small, low-stakes mission with you at your favourite spot (be it The Dreaming City, Neomuna, Europa - some place where you personally like to spend time, or a place that is significant to the two of you).

You do your thing as you would during any other mission; an unstoppable duo - effective and efficient. That night, you both decide to set up camp.

As you're chatting and enjoying a quiet moment together by the fire, he seems to be fidgeting with his hands more than usual. You're about to ask about it when he abruptly says:

"Oh! I, uh... I downloaded a new projection for Glint. It reminded us of you, so I couldn't resist. Glint, would you be so kind?"

You turn your head to Glint who chatters and nods excitedly; above his shell, hovering in the air, is a light blue projection of what appears to be a diamond ring. At first, you're confused, but as you turn your eyes back to Crow, you see him crouched on one knee, and in his hands is a small wooden box that he'd carved himself.

He doesn't even have time to get the question out, much less even open the ring box before you've tackled him to the ground with a resounding 'yes' that brings him a wave of relief.

When he does show you the ring, it turns out to be made of obsidian, and set with a small cutting of your favourite stone.

The wedding itself is intimate - only your closest friends are permitted to attend; and it's perfect. He's a nervous wreck up until the moment he turns to see you walking down the aisle, and his heart melts; all he can see in that moment is you. Your vows have his eyes glistening with tears; and as for his...

Crow's Vows:

"My beloved. When we first met, I was empty; just jumping from one situation to the next, waiting for things to fall into place. It felt like every time I thought things may be getting better, the rug would be pulled from under my feet, and I'd feel as though I was right back where I started. Like I was in an endless black pit, trying to move toward any trace of light I could find.

Then there was you. You were warmth. You were pure sunlight. You were - are, everything. Even after all this time, there are days where I look at you and I find myself expecting to wake up to find that this has all been a beautiful dream. Yet still, here you are.

I'm watching you become stronger, wiser, better... I'm in awe of you every day, and when you look at me the way you do, I realize that I have become a better version of myself, too.

I was born a new man in an old vessel under the Traveler; and I have become a different man all over again just by being by your side. I can't wait to see who we become, and how we grow together in the vast eternity before us; and I can't believe how lucky I am to get to be the one who gets to go on this adventure with you. I love you - more than yesterday, less than tomorrow - forever."

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

There are times you could swear Crow thinks you are made of glass. He is always checking in with you to make sure you're comfortable, and the very thought of ever hurting you is entirely foreign to him.

Emotionally, he's very in tune with the reactions of the people around him (due to his hyper-vigilance around others as a defense mechanism and trauma response), so with you, he can't really help it. Sometimes he may overdo it a little; he may ask if you're okay or if he did something wrong when he feels like you haven't spoken for a while, constantly worried that one day he'll mess this up. So obviously, he needs a fair amount of reassurance from you.

That being said, he can read you like a book the rest of the time. He notices the little things; the way you slightly part your lips when you're taken aback, the way your pupils dilate when you feel a twinge of fear, the way you shift your weight slightly to your other foot when you're anxious, the way your brows furrow when you're focusing, the way your eyes light up when you're excited - he notices it all.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it and what is it like?)

At first, Crow couldn't have cared less about hugs - until you gave him his first hug he could ever remember receiving, and he then realized just how touch-starved he was. It was like medicine for him - no matter how bad things were, a hug from you would never fail to bring him some much-needed comfort and security.

When he starts getting comfortable enough to be the one to initiate them, you realize he gives great hugs. He manages to hold you securely in his arms, but never too tightly so as to make you uncomfortable, and he always lets you decide when to stop; he's never the first to break a hug with you. He's especially fond of resting his chin on the top of your head when he's hugging you.

I = "I Love You" (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Crow knew that he loved you before the two of you even started a more romantic relationship; in fact Glint was the one to point it out to him one day, and the realization just clicked into place for him.

However, knowing this and actually telling you are two very different things. He kind of agonized over it for a while, worried that if he tried to say it too early, that it may either end in you pushing him away or feeling pressured to return the phrase if you didn't feel the same. He came close to saying it many times, but losing his nerve each time.

A few months into your relationship, and much to his surprise, you said it first.

You had been sent away on a long mission on Europa where the two of you were apart for months. You were able to use the comms to stay in touch for the first week or so, but as things got more and more intense, there were little to no opportunities to continue doing so. When you and your fireteam were successful and finally made it back, he was there to greet you at The Tower.

You dropped your pack and immediately rushed forward to throw yourself into his arms. You were so relieved to feel his warmth after months of bone-chilling temperatures, to feel his weight of his chin resting on your head, and to feel the reverberation of his soft chuckling in his chest at your reaction - it just kind of slipped out, muffled into the fabric of the mantel of his cloak.

You felt his entire body immediately tense for all of a second before he let out a sigh of relief and an:

"I love you, too."

He was riding the high of that moment for weeks after that, and frankly, so were you.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they get jealous?)

Crow isn't one to get particularly jealous or petty, but he does like to make it relatively clear that you're with him, and he's with you. Nothing crazy, he's not one to be a meathead about it, but when you're out together, he like to keep in physical contact with you.

At first, he would keep quiet and distant out of fear that you would be judged harshly if others saw you two being too close and showing any kind of affection, but once he realized you were proud to be seen with him, he couldn't keep his hands off of you.

He trusts you implicitly, and he never feels the need to worry that you'll give him a reason to feel jealous.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

At first, Crow's kisses are delicate and uncertain. In the beginning, he spends the majority of the relationship waiting for you to decide you've changed your mind about him, and he almost seems as though he's trying not to scare you off by being 'too much,' as he puts it.

As he gets more comfortable, however, he kisses you with more certainty; still gentle, but he allows more of that heat and passion to come through. You can literally feel how much he adores you through every kiss - and it always leaves you a little light-headed.

His favourite place to kiss you really is your lips; he finds your mouth hypnotizing most of the time, but aside from that, he's especially fond of kissing your collarbone and neck area (and during spicier times, he especially likes to kiss your inner thigh, but that's a detail we can explore another day).

As for him, he takes any affection and kisses he can get from you, but he's discovered that he loves it when you raise his hand to your mouth to kiss the inside of his wrists and fingertips; something about it just puts him on cloud nine every time.

L = Little Ones (How are they around children?)

Crow feels as though he's awkward around children, and says he never knows how to respond or talk to them, but children (whose views on him have not already been tainted by their parents) are naturally drawn to him.

Something about him makes them curious; fascinated. They feel safe around him, and they enjoy being around him because he doesn't talk down to them, but rather, talks to them like he would any other person, just with even more patience and understanding.

You once happened across him at The Tower to see him giving a small group of children piggyback rides, each of them clamoring to be up next. You found yourself chuckling, and stopping to watch them for a while before continuing on your way. You're not sure whether or not he saw you, but you decided not to bring it up.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings with Crow are warm and tender. When he's the first to wake up, he likes to watch you as you dream away beside him, drifting his fingers gently over your jawline, careful not to wake you right away. If you're the first to rise, whenever you've decided to wake him up, he always pulls you into a groggy hug with a huff and a sigh. It can be a challenge to get him to fully come to, mainly because he feels like he could just stay curled up in bed with you the whole day if he could.

After that, he's up making your favourite morning drink, whatever it may be (he has an affinity for it, after all), while you get started on breakfast. He loves to try to sneak in a few kisses during the process, though.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with Crow range from warm and cuddly to passionate and spicy, depending on his emotional needs. Either way, he likes to take some time to ask about your day while he does something nice for you, be it rubbing your shoulders, or even just holding you. You two have been known to chat all hours into the night - but time means almost nothing when you're together.

Though he will never turn down a massage from you, he loves to give you massages every night - it's almost as much for his own enjoyment as it is yours; but you have to admit, he is fantastic with his hands (take that however you'd like).

O = Open (When will they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or do they reveal little things slowly?)

At the beginning, Crow is an island. Always quiet, always mysterious, always completely out reach; and he keeps it that way for quite some time before he starts noticing your kindness is a pattern not born of pity or habit, but simply because that's who you are.

After that, it's breadcrumbs; his process of opening up to you is painfully slow, but all the more rewarding as you continue to get to know him, and in turn, watch him learn to become more and more comfortable in his own skin.

P = Patience (How easily are they angered?)

Crow is seemingly more measured to the naked eye, but he's more hot-headed than people think, and despite his calm demeanor, he has quite a temper deep down.

You've learned to notice the signs; his chest rises and falls a slightly heavier than usual, his jaw tenses a little, his eyes seem to take on a brighter tinge of orange, and most of all, you can feel the heat off of him.

He is, however, very adept at managing his anger; he is terrified of ending up just like Uldren Sov, allowing his anger to turn him cruel and tyrannical, and he refuses to allow this to come to pass.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every detail or forget the minor things?)

Sure, he forgets things on rare occasion; so does everyone. Still, he is a wonderful listener who genuinely wants to know everything about you. In fact, the only one who knows you better than Crow is your own Ghost.

He knows all the basics; your favourite colour, how you like your coffee (if you even like coffee in the first place), your favourite place to be alone, your favourite weapons... he could go on about you for hours to anyone who would listen.

Above all else, though, he knows your touch and scent in a room of hundreds. He could be blindfolded and know how your hands feel on his skin immediately.

R = Remember (What is their favourite moment of your relationship?)

Crow has many moments that could be considered 'favourites.' Your first two-person mission together, the first time you stood up for him against another guardian who saw him as nothing more than Uldren reborn, sharing a round drinks with you and Amanda as friends, the time you accidentally fell asleep and rested your head on his shoulder; there are endless examples.

Still to this day however, your first kiss takes the number one spot for him.

You were on one of many missions together, and the two of you hadn't started anything romantic yet (though you had both been dancing around the idea for a while at this point). You had been separated from the rest of your fireteam. On your way back to them, the two of you encountered one of the biggest squadrons of Vex you'd ever seen. It was going to be a long, difficult fight - but you both fought together as if you were born to do it.

It was almost as if it were a choreographed dance.

The fight ended with you and Crow - practically nose-to-nose, each letting out one final shot to two approaching Vex goblins from behind you.

Chests heaving, the two of you locked eyes in a breathless moment of silence - then his lips were on yours. He quickly started to pull away with an apology before you pulled him back in.

As a broken Vex goblin twitched on the ground beside you, he loosed a final shot from his handcannon into it before tucking it away and wrapping his arms around you; sharing a kiss with you that would put most movie romances to shame.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Crow is highly protective of you. He's protective of all his friends, really, but he truly fears something happening to you. He wasn't particularly used to the idea of protecting or being protected himself when he was first resurrected. Working under Spider wasn't exactly the kind of employment that inspired selflessness.

However, not only were you instrumental in getting him away from Spider, he remembers the first time another guardian attempted to attack him during one of his earlier visits to The Tower, and he was left in awe when he watched you tear a strip off of them and lay them flat.

You protected him on many occasions, even when he told you not to worry about it - you simply wouldn't tolerate that disrespect under any circumstances.

At one point, the two of you were on a mission where you had been separated, with you having crash-landed your ship in a crater field on The Moon. There was no response from you on the comms, but you were stuck under a piece of the wreck, and badly injured. Even more concerningly, there was no response from your Ghost, either. Crow immediately started following the trail of smoke to your location on his own.

When he arrived, a group of Hive had started to advance on your location. You were completely unconscious and to his horror, he watched as a Hive knight wrapped their claws around your then-battered, and barely-responsive Ghost. The knight started to attempt to crush them before Crow severed the arm and retrieved your Ghost faster than the Hive could blink.

Your consciousness started to return just as Crow was in the midst of fighting them off. You had never seen Crow fight as ferociously as he had that day. You had seen him in the field before, and he was very impressive in his own right, but it was nothing like this. This was one of the only times you could recall seeing him enraged.

T = Try (How much effort do they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

This man has so much try. Every date, he's practically breaking his back to try to pamper you in every way he can (even though you tell him he can just relax and enjoy himself). He insists this is part of enjoying himself - taking care of you makes him exceedingly happy.

"I know we're together, now; but don't think that means I'll ever stop trying to win your heart all over again."

Anniversaries are special to him - it marks the day where your adventure together started when you took things to the next level, and he likes to reflect on how fortunate he feels to have made it another year with you. He prefers to plan anniversaries with you rather than surprise you; planning trips or escapes together with you brings him so much excitement. He does, however, but a great deal of effort into finding or creating something special for you, and he somehow manages to outdo himself again and again every year.

Gift-giving is one if his love languages; especially when it comes to things he finds or makes himself. Sure, he'll bring you things he's bought on occasion, but he especially likes to bring you interesting trinkets he's hunted down or created.

As for everyday tasks, he's subtle; when you two start living together, you both have your own little 'tasks' around the place that you do to keep the place tidy and liveable, but sometimes, you'll have gotten home feeling particularly exhausted, and he makes sure you're fed and comfortable before quietly finishing the task himself, insisting that you relax tonight.

"You'd do the same for me."

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Crow, though he's consistently working on this, is painfully doubtful of his own worth both as a guardian and as a partner. This leads him to be habitually self-sacrificing even when there's no reason to be. He sees the value and strength in all others, but he's blind to his own, and though he does get a little better at it as he goes on, he has a hard time accepting compliments.

On a lighter note, he also can not hold his liquor; his tolerance is incredibly low.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He tries not to let it show, but he gets a little bit insecure about his appearance, and he does fret about his looks more than he cares to admit - especially now that he has you. He knows you would never judge him for his physical appearance, but he can't help but want to look good in front of you.

He's already an effective hunter in his own right, but if he's teamed up with you, he is a little flashier than usual in a subtle attempt to show off for you a little bit.

A comment had been made once about his haircut, and it wasn't long before he'd decided to change it. If you were to ask him why he made such a decision, his response would simply be:

"No reason - I just felt like I was ready for a change, that's all. Why? Do you... do you like it?"

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Entirely. He had started to accept his solitude before he met you - before he met Amanda. There was a time he'd decided that some guardians weren't made for fireteams and comraderie- that some guardians were meant to accomplish far more on their own.

Once he started to realize that he was worthy of friendship, respect, understanding, compassion, and love, he realized that his connections with the people closest to him made him feel complete.

Of course, losing any of his friends and teammates would weigh heavily on him; but especially once you two grew closer, he knew that losing you would leave a deep wound in him that he would never be able to mend. It would, in a word, shatter him entirely.

He would do his best to move on, but it would be a very long time before he would feel like himself again.

You are his lifeline - and he is endlessly devoted to keeping you safe at all costs.

X = X-tra (A random head-canon for them)

Crow likes to collect things; little interesting trinkets and things he comes across during missions and excursions.

Being a relatively anxious person, he also tends to fidget - a lot. He feels like he always needs to be doing something with his hands. Sharping his dagger, doing little knife tricks, tinkering with something, writing in a notebook, whittling pieces of wood into interesting shapes; he's never completely still, even if he always seems outwardly calm.

He is also just very good with his hands in general, and as far as you're concerned, gives the world's best massages.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?)

Generally, there are a few things Crow doesn't like; unnecessary conflict, and he's not huge on eggs (for the texture, not the flavour, he says). Most of all, crowds - he does not like crowds. They make him feel unsafe and overwhelmed.

He is able to enjoy crowded events and celebrations to an extent, but he's usually one of the first to be ready to leave, and he will be in need of some quiet solitude to recharge.

As for partners, he has a few pet peeves; loud chewers would be one of his more minor ones, but he couldn't tolerate a partner with no compassion. He fully understands that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made for the greater good, but someone who can easily be callous and heartless for the sake of progress or personal gain is not a person he feels safe around.

"I know I've made some bad choices in my past - we all have. But at least I have the decency to feel some way about it when I do. It eats me up inside - and I think it should. I think it makes us less likely to take those decisions too lightly in the future."

Z = Zzz (What are some sleeping habits of theirs?)

Crow is a borderline insomniac and a very light sleeper. He's always been plagued by nightmares, but they'd gotten much worse after The Season of the Haunted. Despite finding a certain amount of closure by the end of the season, his nightmares remain an issue, and he's simply been learning to deal with them however he can - Glint would usually wake him up so he could get himself calm enough to try to sleep again.

Having you to cuddle up to at night has not made them any better, unfortunately, but waking up to feel you there beside him has made the process of finding his footing in reality much faster and far more pleasant. Despite his nightmares, he wakes up feeling far more rested than he ever did before; and he's eternally grateful to you for that.

(Image Credit - Wesley Gardner)

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading. See you next time, o guardian mine.

~ Pyretta Wychwiggin

38 notes · View notes

liketwoswansinbalance · 5 months ago

Note

Do you think Rhian and Rafal are identical or fraternal? I've been having this question forever. Some think they are fraternal ( because of the covers ) but they are not accurate, and some identical because of how they are described in the books.

Me personally I feel like they are identical, but that's just my opinion, others may feel differently.

I've seen some even do identical and fraternal fanart, which is amazing by the way.

But I want know your opinion and what/how you feel about the twin description.

I feel like we didn't really get their looks described properly, only hair color, eyes and that's about it.

Also how tall do you think they are?.

I already think they are a certain height, but others may disagree.

They are described as ' Tall ' but have no specific height.

Thank you for your time.

My stance is that I see them as fraternal in coloring but identical in facial structure, features, and overall physique and stature.

With the fanart, most of it that I've seen has been fraternal, especially with their complexions and hair. I suspect that a decent portion of the identical art might've existed before the publication of Rise, given that the ghost's human appearance (before he became a ghost swan) looked like Rafal's, so the prevailing assumption at the time could've been that the twins were identical, until the prequels' covers and descriptions overturned that.

And once, we only had the singular illustration of them together in book one, prior to the prequels, to go off of. Though, given the identity twist in Fall, I would say the representation of the twins in that sculpture in Evil's mural could've been unreliable. Who knows if "Rafal" (Rhian) "revised" history and modeled both sculptures after Rafal's face (albeit with his own blue eyes) instead of himself, so the two would match. Maybe, he liked symmetry in design. Besides, he probably wanted the image of his own likeness to fade from the Woods' collective consciousness.

Also, I observed something new! There are sea-green flames, which are quite similar imagery to Rhian's blue dragon flame.

I'm not really going into massive depth about eye color, but I do have some thoughts. Although Rafal's eyes were green in Fall, which I feel like must be the exception, not the rule as a descriptor for him, I usually picture him with light, sky or ice blue eyes, and there is a chance that his green eyes were just an error or a minor plot hole. (Additionally, there have been different variations of blue hues in the series by this point, like "ice," "sky," and the deeper "sapphire," so honestly, I'm willing to overlook the potential green error, and just attribute these changes in which particular blue his eyes are to the lighting of the environment, Rafal's mood, or even the mood of the narration itself and which pov the description is from.)

If both brothers had blue eyes, even distinct shades of blue for each, one deeper and warmer, originally, and the other colder and lighter, I wouldn't have minded, and the books could've retained an iota more consistency, even with the identity twist, given that both the living School Master and the ghost had blue eyes in the main series, which directly contradicted Fall.

I'm not sure if I have an exact height in mind for them. I could say 6' 1" though. With "Rafal" in the main series, I pictured him as at least a head or more taller than Sophie, who is short. I think Soman confirmed her height as 5" 3' given that he once said she was "Madonna short" on TikTok, so we could conclude approximately 5" 3' with a quick search. However, we don't know if this is with or without heels, so she could be taller with them on.

Also, Soman confirmed Tedros was 5’ 9.5" or 5’ 10", so I feel like Rhian and Rafal definitely have to be taller than that. Was there ever a moment in TLEA where Rafal was described as taller than Tedros?

How tall do you think they are? Does anyone else have a different view on all of this?

#school for good and evil #rise of the school for good and evil #fall of the school for good and evil #rafal #rafal mistral #rhian #rhian mistral #sge #sfgae #the school for good and evil #tsfgae #rotsge #rotsfgae #fotsge #fotsfgae #my post #ask

43 notes · View notes

hrodvitnon · 7 months ago

Text

Working on my first Falke-centric fic, featuring the LSTR unit that S-23 Sierpinski definitely had before she vanished into the ether.

---

Falke rests her chin atop the knuckles of her joined fingers, focusing on LSTR-S2301 as she works. There is a vague familiarity to her mien; efficient, no-nonsense, decisive, determined. Falke digs through her knowledge of the model before her; LSTR units are stoic loners whose neural template is based off of a Vinetan soldier. In just one brief description she already feels more kinship with this seemingly unassuming engineer than she does the models she's meant to be complemented by.

Falke's mouth curves. "I have a wonder."

"Hm?"

"How do your fellow LSTRs refer to each other? By names or numbers?"

LSTR-S2301 considers the question for all of two seconds before shrugging. "Numbers. We don't interact with each other like most Replikas of other rates do. We generally don't interact at all unless necessary."

An idea begins forming in Falke's mind. A delicious idea.

"Neither do FLKR units," she admits, causing LSTR-S2301 to look up at her. So exhilarating to maintain eye contact with someone who isn't cowed by her through reputation alone! Such a small, simple, insignificant thing, one that might be considered blasphemous among the more devoted, like Adler. But Falke likes that about her.

"We are all sisters, as we are made in the image of the Great Revolutionary and Her Daughter, but you almost never see two of us in the same place for logistical reasons. Only one FLKR per AEON facility and so on. However, we have our own war names assigned, and might even give each other secret names, should such an occasion arise that two of us might join forces."

"I presume you have both your war name and secret name."

"I do. I'm tempted to share them with you."

LSTR-S2301's eyes widen noticeably and Falke's mouth forms a smile. The two watch each other for a moment.

"Commander, permission to pose a question?"

"Granted."

"Is it possible for the divine apparent to blaspheme against itself?"

"I'm about to try."

LSTER-S2301 has no response for that. Falke stands from her desk and strides over to one of the paintings, pleased with this minor demonstration of... rebellion? How delicious. She looks over one shoulder to meet eyes with the LSTR; still standing at her own full height even as she's towered over, as if in defiance. Yes, Falke likes this Replika very much.

The movement of LSTR-S2301's eyes indicate a question that she isn't sure ought to be voiced.

"You already have permission to speak," Falke reminds her.

"Am I permitted to ask the etymological origin of a FLKR's name?"

Ahh, good and careful wording. Not asking what exactly a secret name is, but what the basis for it is. Falke walks around her desk, trailing her fingers along its wooden surface as if in thought of how she might answer. She simply must, since the LSTR asked so shrewdly.

"FLKR war names can be grandiose, even ostentatious, as one would expect of our rate. 'Falke Who Is Called Divine,' as an example. It only serves to inspire troops in battle, but in cycle-by-cycle business like our facility it's nothing but a mouthful. Hence, the secret names. These are much simpler. We name ourselves after weapons of old legends."

"A similar practice as the STAR units," LSTR-S2301 surmises.

"Quite so. But while Hunter is so named for her marksmanship or Tank for her durability, our secret names are chosen because frankly, they just sound impressive. The Great Revolutionary once said that all the many implements of war are in some way feminine. The People's Navy informally refer to their ships with female descriptors, some Gestalt soldiers may name their blade or rifle after a woman they fancy. We FLKRs specifically use mythical weapons for our secret names because we are gods among Replikas, and gods must be strong."

Falke stops, standing a few scant feet away from LSTR-S2301. As ever, the shorter Replika fearlessly gazes up at her. So unyielding, this magpie, nigh unbreakable in her composure. The idea in Falke's head bears fruit.

"In fact, if you were a fellow FLKR..."

LSTR-S2301 stiffens.

Falke continues, undeterred, a broad smile on her lovely face. "Then I've already thought of the perfect secret name for you."

"Respectfully, Commander... I am the only LSTR unit in S-23. Assigning me a secret name is unnecessary. Simply calling me Elster will suffice."

Falke's eyes narrow imperceptibly; inwardly, her hackles are raised. But that is the name Alina Seo calls you. The name anyone can call you, Replika or Gestalt. Why should I share the name I give you with anyone else? You are my LSTR. MY magpie. Her jealousy is well hidden, fortunately. Wouldn't want it getting out that Commander Falke feels threatened by a mere Gestalt worker.

Falke responds calmly. "Even so, you surely aren't immune to curiosity. It's a fine name, if I may say so myself. What's more, saying 'LSTR-Ess-Two-Three-Zero-One' is too long for our conversations."

LSTR concedes the point with a nearly silent sigh. "Very well. What is my name?"

"Durandal."

It feels good saying it out loud. Durandal. The newly christened LSTR unit glances down at the carpet, mouth and tongue forming the syllables in practice as she tests it for herself. Durandal. Du-ran-dal. Falke certainly talks enough for both of them, but she quite likes watching how her magpie's mouth works when speaking.

"Are you aware of the origins of your name?" Falke asks.

"No, and I trust you will absolve me of my negligence."

She grins. "It was a sword wielded by a paladin. A vast number of soldiers fell to that blade, as you might imagine. Its master once tried to break it upon a mountain to prevent its capture by enemy hands, but the sword endured while the mountain was cleaved in half. 'Ah, Durandal, fair, hallowed, and devote, What store of relics lies in thy hilt of gold!'"

"So dramatic."

"As is the nature of old epics, and FLKRs for that matter."

#signalis #preview #falke #fellas is it gay to name a replika you're obsessed with after an unbreakable sword #a naming that will immediately become the most prophetic moment of your life

30 notes · View notes

mirandasidefics · 3 months ago

Note

Btw is there anything abt y/n's backstory in home is nowhere fanfic?

Hello!

Reader does have some set background information from her life in her world, but there are places where the fine details are still left up for the audience to picture themselves in her place. And while I do have a specific image of Reader in my head as I write, I try my best to not provide any details that are specific to physical features. As I've been writing more of her personality has also started to come out, so there is a much more detailed background in my mind, but I know that if I include that information or specifiy it she then turns into an OC and I'm not exactly wanting to do that. (Though once I finish I may go through with making her an OC and posting to FanFiction.net).

Now, get ready for a deep dive into what I do have specified for Reader's background (because I can't seem to control myself when it comes to talking about this story!)

Reader's specific background information is: She is afab and identifies with her birth assigned gender. She is plus size and will remain throughout the fic a bit fuller than all the females that make an appearance in this story. She is self-conscious about her body but will learn to accept that others find her attractive and worthy of love. This slowly allows her to start to accept herself. Not just in a physical way, but as a whole.

She has at least one sibling of each gender. (Her brother's age will be specified in the next chapter). She has only one nephew, who was about 7-8 years old when she left her world. She was close to her nephew, who looks very similar to Nyx (darker skin tone and black hair).

She had an office job where she traveled a lot. She was working on getting her PhD in Musicology (fancy term for Music Historian). She enjoys singing and we will see more of music's role/meaning in Reader's personal life in the next chapter. She enjoys learning about various mythologies. She has a stronger inclination to Greek, Norse, and Celtic pantheons (which will play a role in this fic), but she does have bits of knowledge from other major cultures (Hindu, Mesoamerican, and Egyptian). She identifies as pagan/polytheistic which is the spiritual practice of her maternal relatives (This has been hinted at in previous chapters and again will play a role in the fic).

Reader's age right now is unknown, but it will be specified later in the story (this is relevant to the plot otherwise I wouldn't specify it at all.)

She has some past trauma regarding past romantic/sexual relationships, which we will start to see more of in the next chapter. There were some hints already regarding this topic when she was in the Day Court with Lucien.

Reader's dreams are also not exactly what she believes them to be and this information will play a role and be revealed in later chapters (I don't want to spoil it as I think it's a pretty cool revelation to WHY she was brought to Prythian). Her relation to Rhys, Bryce, and Ruhn will also be revealed in later chapters.

Reader's favorite season is Autumn, her favorite holiday is Winter Solstice (though that will change with later events), and her favorite gemstone is Garnet.

Readers unspecified traits: Reader's physical features (apart from body type) are all left up to the audience as this is meant to be more of a self-insert. I do my best to be mindful of describing anything that could be interpreted as being specific to any one skin-tone (blush color when embarrassed, lip color, effects of sunburn, etc). I also try to refrain from adding any descriptors that could be traits typical of any one specific ethnic group. The order of her birth in comparison to her siblings (oldest, middle, youngest) will also be unspecified. Reader's other personal interests such as favorites (food, color, flower, etc) will not be mentioned (at least of yet). Her exact birthday will also not be mentioned, nor will it be set at any specific time of year.

I am slowly working on the requests that were submitted. I typically write them in the order they were received and the one I've been working on is highly emotional and taping into some personal stuff in my IRL life. So, it is taking a bit longer to complete as I have to write it in smaller bits.

Please continue to send in any asks or comments you have about either this story or any of the ones I have posted.

#acotar x reader #crescent city x reader #bhinfic #answered ask

6 notes · View notes

milfzatannaz · 1 year ago

Text

Niche Art Comms!!

ever wanted to see your fave in a wedding outfit? writing a wedding scene and need a visual reference? Look no further!

These commissions are for wedding dress designs, made just for your character. You can DM me what you have in mind and I can start to sketch, or you can give me a specific preexisting dress/suit and I’ll draw your fave in it!

There will be two packages:

Package 1

A fully rendered image of your fave in their outfit, complete with a detailed design.

~ $40

Package 2

This package features the rendered design, but also comes with a bespoke illustration like the first image above. I’ll add my own notes and descriptors, like fabric types and shape. Will probably have slightly more detail than the example.

~$65

**DM me to book your slot! I’m not taking too many with college starting soon but I’m very excited to do these!

#I know this is weird but cmon I want prompts #humor me #commissions #my artwork

39 notes · View notes

laceybun · 8 months ago

Note

hi, i hope this anon finds you well! i heard about you from lawrence, would you mind sharing tips on how to navigate fragrantica? thank you so much!

Hi there!! I’m very happy you decided to reach out, I’ll try my best to explain through screenshots of me going through my most frequented aspects of the website (on mobile, specifically) I’ve highlighted buttons to explain them!! Please feel free to let me know if it’s helpful or if you have any other questions!!⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ᡣ𐭩

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ᡣ𐭩 So, opening the website will lead you to the main page. This is filled with articles on newer fragrances, sometimes older fragrances, and is sorted by recency. If something intrigues you here, I really recommend reading the article to find the perfume it’s reviewing! There will usually be a link to the perfume somewhere within the article. (I usually just skim until I find the perfume being described lol)

𝜗𝜚 By pressing on the three lines in the top-left corner, it will lead you to a directory of different aspects and functions of fragrantica as a whole, including things like a perfume finder, notes, and the website forums.

❦. By pressing in the top right, you will be able to log in/register, if you have not made an account already. If you have made an account already, it will have a way to access your private messages, your profile, recently viewed perfumes, and a fun lil option to “perfume yourself”, which is just to show what perfume you’re currently wearing! ^.^

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ᡣ𐭩 As you can see, there’s a whole lot to look through!! I really recommend exploring it if you have the time to do so, just to get a level of familiarity with the website.

𝜗𝜚 (I chose yellow but I’m doing orange instead oops) This is where you’ll find a masterlist of notes, as well as descriptors of each note, sorted into categories based on scent type. (Gourmand, floral, etc.) Useful for building familiarity with scents and their descriptors, and for finding notes you didn’t think existed! (Priests robes? HUH???)

♡ྀི Searching by notes is my preferred method of finding perfume, it’s incredibly useful and fun!! ^.^ By going through there, you will be able to include and exclude notes, choose masc/fem/unisex, and be given a directory of each perfumes that fit within the parameters you have provided! I use this a lot, lol. Fantastic for finding perfumes based on characters, if you’re able to imagine notes they might wear.

❦. Perfume finder is one I don’t use very often, but it’s an honorable mention. By inputting a perfume you know you like, the algorithm will give you unbiased perfume suggestions of similar fragrances based on note makeup.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ᡣ𐭩 If you have a signature fragrance, you can add it, and right beside that, you can add up to four favorite fragrances.

♡ྀི Let’s assume now that you’ve logged in, by going to your profile, you will be able to find your owned perfumes, previously had perfumes, perfumes you want, and perfumes to test out; Custom lists, which I use for character perfumes or perfume recommendations for friends (as shown by Lawrence’s fragrance list, which I have favorited so it shows up on my main profile, aka easier access for newer people to the site!); And your rated perfumes! Another fun aspect of this website is finding perfumes you’ve tested, used, smelled, whichever way you’ve used it- you can keep track of your opinions on these fragrances through the ratings of love, like, neutral, dislike, and hate.

❦.

(I’ve used up my 10 image per post limit since I’m on mobile oops… If there’s anything else you’d like me to explain, again, I’ll make a part two!! ^.^ thanks for reading!! ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ᡣ𐭩)

#fragrantica #ask #laceyspeak #fragrance #fragrantica guide #?#I guess I’ll tag that #^.^ ❦.!#THANK U FOR LETTING ME TALK ABOUT IT #I’m so #So #.#I LUV IT THERE LOL

6 notes · View notes

she-posts-nerdy-stuff · 3 months ago

Text

Portrait of a Dead Girl

Summary:

Alina Starkov was given to Duke Aleksander Morozova of Os Alta in marriage when she was fifteen years old. Within a year, she was dead. The official cause of Alina's death was marked as putrid fever, but many at the time believed, and many in the future will go on to believe, that she was poisoned by her husband.

This fic is completely inspired by The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrel, which is a work of historical fiction based on the real lives of Duchess Lucrezia d'Este (née de' Medici) and Duke Alfonso ii d'Este of Ferrara. You don't need any prior knowledge of The Marriage Portrait or history to read and enjoy this fic, but know that my writing is very much going to mimic that of O'Farrel in format and although I'm hoping to write the story in my personal usual writing style I will definitely be borrowing a lot of my descriptors, symbols, and so on and so forth from O'Farrel - there will be some of mine too though :)

Warnings for this chapter: discussions of death, murder references, manipulation, forced marriage, misogyny, violence, abuse, child abuse

AO3 link

If anyone would like to be tagged let me know :)

Chapter Six - Necessary Action

Krepost, near Pykan - Now

Aleksander is keen for Alina to eat a good meal, but the thought of her impending death has stolen her appetite. He persists, despite her half-hearted claims of simply feeling full, and encourages her to try some of the venison, baked in wine, laying in wait on one of the many plates scattered across the table. Despite the large array of food before her, all Alina has done so far is pick distractedly at bread - though at least she managed to finish most of her soup. She didn’t much care for soup. She hoped it was not the last thing she was going to eat.

It was this thought, more than Aleksander’s insistence although she supposed she ought to look as though she cared about that too, that made Alina agree to take a bite of the venison. The idea of venison disturbs her. It does not mean, like many of the words pertaining to meat usually do, to refer to any specific part of the beast she is eating. It only means, at least to Alina’s understanding, this is meat, we cut it off a deer, it could be any individual part of the deer and we probably don’t even know which one, but I’m sure it's probably fine. And there was something about eating a deer that made her nervous, that felt different to any other meat that might have been placed in front of her. She imagines a stag as she dares to approach this meal, and a beautiful one at that. Where on her beautiful animal has this come from? She imagines antlers protruding from the food, or a mournful, frightened eye. She doesn’t know why eating deer bothers her far more than beef or pork or lamb - not even lamb, when she has always found the little creatures so sweet and dear, bothers her like this - she only knows for certain that it does, and that is that.

Still, it makes Aleksander smile when she manages to gulp down a mouthful, and then another. He tells that she’s looking thin, that he wants her to recover from her recent illness, that it is good to eat plenty of meat and keep your strength high. She wonders why he cares, if he is going to kill her anyway, but she stomachs another bite of the meat that she is still trying to separate from the pretty stag still living free and safe inside her mind.

“It is important for a person to have meat juices in their blood,” Aleksander says, watching her.

Alina nods and takes another bite, preoccupied by cutting the rest of her meat into small pieces and dropping them into her napkin when he turns his head. It is an upsettingly childish image, she thinks. She is supposed to be strong, in her mind even if not in her body. She is supposed to be forming a plan, like she had promised the voice of Ana Kuya sitting by her side.

It has been three years since Alina last made any kind of real plan, and looking back on it now she feels it was a weak one. She had stepped over the hallowed threshold of her father’s office with such determination that she hoped the sheer amount of it would counterbalance her lack of confidence, repeating in her head the words she had practised in her room. The place was buzzing with the work of secretaries and scribes, several of whom glanced up and showed aghast expressions at the small girl, barely thirteen, with her head held high and her hands clasped tightly together at her front, before quickly lowering their gazes back to their work. Alina reminded herself that they did not know the reason she held her grip on her own fingers so tightly was so that the shaking would cease; they saw poise, she told herself, and they saw defiance. Defiance could be powerful, if you used it right. It could also be painfully crushing if you did not.

Gregor Starkov was standing before a lectern, his advisor, Perlich, hovering by his shoulder as was his seemingly perpetual place. He did not look up when Alina first attempted to get his attention; he was reading something, who knew what, with his finger placed upon the line to keep his place as his eyes moved through the words.

“Father?” she tried again, twisting her fingers against each other now and suddenly feeling that they looked far less poised than they did frightened.

Her shoulders had hunched and she told them off silently as she corrected her posture. Perlich, without looking up from the document to see her, held up a hand so his blank palm, an empty sheet of paper, was facing Alina. But Alina could not hold in her words for much longer. She was running out of time. At any moment the marriage contract might be signed and sealed and shipped away to Os Alta, and then what would she ever be able to do to escape it?

“Papa? I…” she breathed, “I do not wish to marry this man. I am sorry if this disappoints you, but-”

Gregor looked up.

“My dear,” he moved away from his desk, cocking his head to one side as he studied the unprecedented sight of his youngest daughter, his scrawniest child, standing in his offices as he and his people worked, “Come,”

He beckoned her with a single finger. His fingers were longer than Alina’s, she thought vaguely, and they looked stronger too, like they would be able to hold more weight balanced on top of them than Alina could clutch between her arms. She moved slowly towards the desk, unsure what was about to happen.

“Alina,” he placed a hand on each of her shoulders and eased her another step closer, so that she was enclosed on either side by the falling sweep of his dark cloak.

Like a cavern, she thought, mindlessly, like a shroud.

“I understand that you are nervous,” he said, voice gentle, leaning in so close their foreheads could almost touch, “Marriage is a big change for a young woman; it can be a daunting prospect,”

“I-”

“But you must not worry, ‘Lina. Your mother will prepare you for every part of married life, as she did your sister - and look at Eva. She was nervous before her wedding, wasn’t she? And is she not happy now?”

Eva, at least in front of her younger sister, had professed no nerves whatsoever. But it was different for her. Eva’s husband was not too dissimilar in age to her, was he? And Eva got to live here, in Os Kervo, whilst her husband stayed in Ryevost and they only saw each other once every two months or so, whilst Alina was to be sent away to Os Alta, to a city she didn’t know, a dialect she’d never spoken, a world beyond the walls of the dvorets she had left so few times she could count them on her hands.

“And I would only ever choose the best type of man for you, wouldn’t I? How else could I possibly bear to part with my precious girl?”

He tucked a lock of hair behind Alina’s ear, smiling, and for one fleeting moment she felt hope sparking in her chest. He cares about me. I am his precious girl, and when he sees just how much this hurts me he’ll understand, he’ll cancel all of it to keep me safe.

“You do trust your Papa, don’t you?”

“Of course, Papa, but-”

“Have I not always taken care of you?”

“Yes, Papa, but-”

“Well then, all this worrying is for nothing. I mean, look at myself and your mother - we had barely met before our marriage, as you well know for how many times you asked to hear our love story, my sunbeam - and we could not be happier. Aleksander is a good man. He will one day be a Duke. He is cultured, and wise, and-”

“He is so old!” Alina blurted, not sure if she’d intended to or not.

“He is not yet thirty. What am I by your standards, ‘Lina, a crumbling, ancient man on his way to the grave?”

His tone was playful, but Alina didn’t miss the warning in his eyes, the hidden sharp edge beneath his words.

“Worry no more,” he said, linking his arm through hers as he began to steer her towards the door, “This is going to be a most successful match, little sunbeam. I promise you,”

The doorway was approaching, and then the hallway, and then failure. Doom. Last chance.

“Could we not marry him to my cousin instead?” she almost cried out, far less smoothly and politely than she’d rehearsed.

Gregor paused, looking down at his daughter as though he had only just realised the real depth of her pleas.

“Excuse me?”

“Ivanna is of maritable age – closer in age to Aleksander than me, and she is very beautiful. We could say that I cannot marry, for some reason - that I am sickly maybe - but that he could marry her instead. I’m sure that Aleksander and his father would like if they saw her, and-”

Alina had just been rambling by that point, spilling so many words from between her lips so quickly that she was starting to lose track of where she was going, to the point that she was almost grateful for her father’s interruption.

“Ivanna will marry your brother, Petro,” he said coolly, “It was already been agreed upon,”

Alina blinked. Her first thought was that a match between Ivanna and Petro made unbelievably little sense, considering their personalities. Her second thought, if she had known more curses than she did, would have been oh, fuck but was instead more like a blind panic, or an alarm bell ringing in the distance.

“But what if we-”

“I said it has already been agreed upon. The decision has been made,”

Alina’s mind scrambled for a new plan, a new idea, anything to stop the walls from closing in around her as the one exit route she’d seen vanished before her eyes. What would Ana do? What would Zoya have done?

Alina had been struck, in that moment, with wondering whether Zoya had wanted to marry Aleksander. Part of her hoped that she had done, because it meant that death was not the only escape route. Part of her hoped that she hadn’t done, and that was the part that kept reminding her about the nightmares she’d had, nightmares of Zoya blaming Alina for stealing her life.

“I have corresponded with Aleksander’s father a great deal, and we are both certain that this shall be a celebrated marriage. One day you will look back on this conversation, and you will think-”

“Papa, please,” Alina’s voice cracked. She could feel the dangerous press of tears gathering behind her eyes, in the back of her throat, “I don’t want to marry him. Please, don’t give me to him,”

Gregor leaned back slightly, regarding her with an expression she did not know how to read, before he spun on his heel and paced back towards his lectern with a dismissive wave of the hand. In the future Alina will never be sure whether or not he intended to hear the words he muttered then:

“Intolerable. It will be a miracle if they don’t regret the union and return her to us within a month,”

Alina is drawn back into the room at the krepost somewhat distractedly, and realises after a beat that she is supposed to be listening to some story or other that is leaving her husband’s mouth in a slow, monotonous drone. Something about a hunting trip here when he was a small child, eight or nine perhaps, brought along with his father, and how he found a wild boar but could not bring himself to fire a single arrow.

“It was a female,” he tells her, “and there were three young travelling with her. I should have shot, and I knew my father would be angry if he knew I’d missed the chance, but I couldn't do it. I just watched them from horseback, until they moved on,”

“And was your father angry?”

Alina cannot tell if Aleksander is smiling or grimacing.

“He had me beaten,” he said, simply, “He said it was so I would always remember not to let sentiment get in the way of necessary action,”

She considers this advice, an unpleasant gift from a dead father, and turns it over in her head. Sentiment. Necessary action. Was it not possible for them to co-exist?

“My father keeps a menagerie at his dvorets,” Alina says, though she’s not entirely certain why she’s telling him, “He keeps all manner of animals there,”

“I have heard of this,” Aleksander nods, eagerly, “Did you ever see them fight?”

“That was only for visitors,” Alina concedes easily, “And perhaps my brothers, I don’t know. But I went there once, he let my elder siblings and I visit when I was young. There was this tiger, you see, and I-”

Why is she saying this? Why is she giving him this piece of herself? Alina closes her mouth.

Aleksander is regarding her with close interest, gathering information and insights, pulling her loose threads together until he’s prepared to unravel her into bear pieces.

She could have told him about the tiger coming at her, she was just seven years old, of the anger and fear that had burned inside its eyes as it approached. She could have told him about her little girl’s certainty that this beautiful, strong creature would not hurt her, because it would see that they shared something deep inside their souls. She had reached out to the flank of the tiger with her tiny hand and laid her palm gently into its fur, and had felt something that even now she didn’t have the words for glowing inside her chest. But then everyone was shouting, everyone was terrified, and a guard had looped his arm around Alina’s waist and lifted her clean off the ground to carry her away from the cage, his feet jolting her up and down as he ran. Alina had cried out, tried desperately to wriggle free, to at least see the tiger one more time, but then she was outside and the door was closing and the servants and the guards and her father were all ushering the children away with ashen faces. She could tell him that this is one of the few memories she has of her father hugging her, and that all she had wanted to do was run away from his embrace. She could tell him that she felt like she had lost something, broken something, that could not be found or repaired again.

“That was dangerous,” Zoya had said to her, afterwards, “Why would you do that?”

Alina shrugged. She didn’t have an answer that made sense.

She could tell Aleksander all of this. She could tell him that, some time later when her father was overseeing one of their music lessons, she had plucked up the courage to ask him if there was any chance of seeing the tiger again and he had torn her world apart with casual, carefree words.

“I’m afraid the tiger has been killed,”

“Killed?” she’d asked, as though the word belonged to a language that she was yet to learn.

“The lion and lioness both set upon her together; a careless servant left the partition between their cages open. The beast fought bravely, but it was no match for both of them together,” he gave a shrug of annoyance, “And what’s worse is that the pelt was ruined, so it couldn’t even be taken from the carcass. It greatly disappointed your mother,”

Alina could tell Aleksander that she was taken ill that very afternoon. A medik came to bleed her, to lay a poultice on her chest, to check her temperature, before administering a sedative and diagnosing her with a fever if the nerves. Alina was quarantined on one of the lower floors, and the medik regretfully informed her parents that it was difficult to say if she’d survive.

She spent several weeks alone, seeing only the dvorets medik and the servant who’d been charged with her care. Her mother would visit her from time to time and Alina began to rally only when she did so. Once she swam up from a fitful sleep, full of strange images and unreadable messages, to find that Milana was sitting at her bedside. The lower half of her face was covered by a scarf to prevent inhalation of the sickness.

“Mama?”

Milana was unwrapping little brown packages with swift fingers, each one revealing a little glass statue of an animal, no bigger than Alina’s seven-year-old thumb, and placing them around the bedsheets. A blue stag, a green fish Alina could not identify, a red and orange bird. She was telling Alina, though Alina was bleary and ill and exhausted so did not entirely take every detail in, that she had ordered them as a special gift from Weddle because the Zemeni city was famous for its glass artists. All the way from Weddle? Alina thought, Right on the other side of the True Sea? Milana was also telling her that, after a brief line of people following the art tutor, a drawing of Alina’s had made its way into her possession.

“It is believed,” she said, still unwrapping more of the little glass animals and holding each of them up in turn for Alina to see, “that you should join the drawing lessons with your siblings. Would you like that, ‘Lina?”

She danced a little glass bear in front of Alina’s face to make her smile, which Alina did even though she was distractedly searching her addled mind to try and figure out what drawing her mother could possibly be talking about.

“Yes, Mama,” she managed, though her voice was strained from illness, because even through her pain and confusion she knew that this would make her mother happy, “Thank you,”

Milana smiled, but her eyes were still frightened, tinged maybe with the edge of desperate hope.

“You must get well, then,” she whispered, stroking her daughter’s cheek, “So you can begin. You will get well, Alina?”

Alina hadn’t been entirely certain if that was a question or not, but she nodded anyway and gripped her mother’s hand tightly.

When Alina returned, she was thinner and quieter than ever. She spent hours on end arranging and rearranging her glass animals on the nursery window ledges, seemingly content to speak to no-one. She began to partake in drawing lessons, and after a few weeks of this the art tutor began to stay behind after the lessons to tutor her alone. In these sessions he would not so much teach as sit with her whilst they drew together and he would provide her guidance.

Alina could tell Aleksander all of this, thereby giving him keys to certain gates and doors inside herself, but she does not. She will not permit him access. She will not admit that without the art tuition, which continued until her marriage, she does not think she would have recovered or survived her bout of illness. She will not admit that the glass animals were the only thing that had ever made her feel close to her mother, and that she cried and screamed when her brother Petro knocked them off the window ledge and trod on the ones that didn’t smash upon first impact. She will keep all these words locked up tightly inside of her, and when Aleksander asks what happened to the tiger she gives him a banal smile and says:

“I’ve no idea, but perhaps my father sold her. My mother hates the menagerie, and my father is always eager to make her happy,”

Aleksander nods, reaching across to the table again to wrap his hand around hers.

“You are cold, my love,” his voice is like velvet, “Have some more of the venison. It will warm you,”

3 notes · View notes

andromedastarrs · 2 years ago

Text

Trained For Sin - Clashing Waves

Hello everyone! This is my very first fan-fiction piece lol, and I'm slightly nervous to post. Trained For Sin is my work-in-progress enemies to friends to lovers piece involving Abby Anderson (post TLOU pt.2) and you, the reader.

Now...info on the reader. The reader is mentioned as Y/N throughout this story, but I do have a specific image for this Y/N in mind.

The reader is an AFAB non-binary that is masculine presenting - aside from that description, the character's interpretation is up to you as there are no physical descriptors (as of yet). There is no physical description but we DO get a description regarding the reader's identity, so if ur not into that keep it in mind. (More on this in my Blog Center post.)

Anywho, I do have requests open, and so if you want stuff from me regarding a specific type of reader, feel free to ask!! But in this specific piece this reader will stay as they are. :3

wc: ~2.1k

warnings: swearing.

summary: Working in the summer heat on the Santa Catalina shores, you catch a glimpse of something in the distant waves. Who or what could it be?

You pulled the rope over the box swiftly, making sure that it covered the lid twice this time. You wiped the sweat off your brow and tied a knot harshly, reminiscing about last week’s events at a meeting Cheryl held regarding an “anonymous” tip. Apparently, the last time you were assigned to pack containers for the boats, a few of the boxes had fallen on their side, causing good supplies to spill overboard during a storm. The tip, coming from one of the soldiers on the boat, bitched about the lids being loose, reasoning that your knots were lazily pulled together.

You were alone near the shore, packing up box after box under the heat of the sun. You always made sure to help with whatever you could, but you often wondered if your work ever meant anything to the people around you. Having the male soldiers side-eyeing you as you walked by either felt euphoric or absolutely gut-wrenching. You knew that they were intimidated by your presence, their feelings towards you either stemming from respect...or jealousy, at least in your case.

They said that you were "doing too much” when you offered to help around by taking on extra routes and check-ups, or when you offered to teach younger soldiers how to handle weapons and fight. They also said that you were "trying too hard to be a man”.

That was really the only statement that bothered you.

Why couldn’t you just be you without constantly being told otherwise. You didn’t want to be anyone or anything, so why did it matter what you did or looked like? Of course, you didn’t present yourself as girly, you never wanted to make an effort to look that way since that sort of stuff never called to you to begin with. But you didn’t want to be called a man either, that wasn’t right.

You couldn’t help but let out a hefty groan. Placing both elbows on one of the tied boxes, you laid your hands flat to prop your face down onto them. It was probably the combination of sweat, heat, sticky clothes, messy hair, and your messy brain making you feel so burnt out and annoyed as hell.

“Hey Y/N…do you see that?”

You turned up, slightly caught by surprise at the young boy standing next to you. He was holding one of his favorite dinosaur plushies with one arm, while pointing the other towards the sea. He must have sneaked up on you while you were on the box, probably thinking that you were playing hide-n-seek without him.

“Jesus Mark, don’t sneak up on me like that…you’ll give me a heart attack one day…”

You turned your body in the direction that he was pointing to, squinting your eyes and holding one hand up to block the sunlight from affecting your view.

What the hell is that?

You put your hand down, slight panic setting in. Almost instinctively, you picked up the young boy and held him while you sprinted towards the paved road of the island that divided the beach and one of the small militia centers stationed there to serve as the base for the island’s patrols.

The soldiers were fraternizing, some laughing out loud and the others just sitting on chairs holding drinks and basking in the summer sunlight. A few of the soldiers picked up on the sound of your boots, turning their heads to see you with the boy. The rest soon followed, and almost in unison, they tensed up and started handling their guns, wondering what the hell was happening for you to run towards them like this.

You gently dropped the boy down, and he ran towards one of the male soldiers- his father, Manuel. The boy stood behind him, and Manuel messed with the boy’s hair with his free hand, the other holding his rifle. Manuel looked at you, with a combination of both concern and curiosity.

You made sure to speak clearly, slightly panting from the run.

“A boat’s approaching the west side of the shore, I couldn’t see who or what is on it, but it’s approaching quickly - looks like a motor boat but I’m not sure.”

The soldiers all looked at each other for a second, and then together started sprinting towards the area with guns in hand. Manuel stood still with his son, and instead of running with them, he handed you his rifle and motioned for you to go without him. He picked up the little boy and headed into the village, presumably to his house to leave him there.

You ran with the other soldiers, adrenaline pumping through your body making a cold shiver run down you, all the while you pictured scenarios of what’s to come when you arrived at the shore. Was it the beginning of an attack? You’ve encountered other groups from the mainland, but you never thought any of them had the balls to attack the Fireflies, everyone knew that you all had military grade weapons. A part of you hoped that maybe it was just innocent survivors looking for a place to stay- survivors with no connections preferably. Don’t wanna have to deal with old groups causing small-scale wars over supplies, among other things.

Your mind was put to a stop as you arrived, multiple soldiers were set in their defensive positions, squatting behind the boxes you were working on earlier. As you peered ahead to take a look at the oncoming vehicle, you noticed the sky was transitioning into a warm sunset, the colors pink, orange, and twinges of warm yellow adorning the sky.

You decided to walk up to a group of three to four soldiers standing in front of the boxes, half of them pointing towards what you now realize are two people standing on the small boat, one of them slightly slouching behind the other- not a good sign. You grabbed the rifle and held it to your chest, slightly making yourself appear taller by straightening your back and standing straight. The boat approached swiftly, one of the men beside you held out his hand, motioning for a stand-by for the soldiers on the defense. He waved to you and the other soldiers in the standing group, letting you all know to approach the boat carefully.

You did as instructed, as did the others. The boat was close enough for you to distinguish the features of the people on it…who didn’t seem like a threat. If anything…they looked like shit. The soldiers all looked at you slightly by turning their heads, seemingly with the same conclusion in mind.

Fuck.

The boat was put to a stop before it collided with the wet sand, you and the soldiers stopped as well. Both individuals put their hands up, staying silent. The taller one started heading out of the boat and the shorter one followed, but the shorter one moved as if they weren’t fully awake, making them stumble and almost hit the ground. The taller one spun around and caught the smaller one by mere miracle, finally speaking in a soft raspy tone.

“Lev, are you alright?”

You pointed your gun at the two, maintaining your guard, and the others followed. You spoke softly but sternly, making sure to not spook the two.

“Hey, state your name and purpose along with any weapons that the two of you are carrying.”

The taller one turned to face you, and you both locked eyes with each other. They quickly scanned you up and down and then their surroundings, making them put their hands up once again.

“M’ name’s Abigail- Abby Anderson, I made contact a few months ago after we found one of your stations outside of the Island…”

You heard shuffling behind you, so you turned your head to the back and lowered the rifle. One or two soldiers were now standing, both looking at each other and then towards Abby, looks of concern and confusion on their faces. Suddenly, you heard a loud voice yell out from afar.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Let me see who’s comin’ to shore!”

The voice belonged to that of the radio manager, who you were familiar with since you often met with him to get work outside of the island assigned to you. Manuel and the radio manager popped out, sprinting towards you and the soldiers. You guessed that maybe Manuel let him know about the incident.

You turned back to face Abby, and who you assumed to be Lev, as both of their faces seem to slightly light up and the sound of the man’s voice. They both lowered their hands slightly, and you noticed this. Your instincts were still on high alert, so you couldn’t help but let your face turn into a grimace, making Abby and Lev keep their hands raised instead, seeming to slightly wince at the weight of their own arms. The sight of them hurting makes your stomach turn, and since the soldiers seemed to now be occupied with the other men arriving, you decide to switch to a more empathetic expression.

“Alright, put your hands down. Cindy, frisk them for any weapons as we wait for both men.”

The soldier to your right nods and heads towards Abby and Lev, giving them instructions on how to stand for the process. Cindy checks them and gives you a thumbs up, making you relax a little more.

“Cindy, do me a favor and check the boat as well.”

She nodded once more and headed towards the boat. You turned your head back to the visitors and noticed that Abby shared a soft gaze towards you, though you assumed she was most likely disassociating.

After a few moments, Lev just plopped down and sat, making Abby react by following suit, both now sitting on the sand. Five minutes later, the two men arrived, but both Abby and Lev seemed too out of it to pay any attention to them. You turned to face the radio manager, who tried to look past you to analyze both individuals on the ground.

“Abby…?”

Abby turned her head upwards to face the man, and he approached her. Squatting down and laying a hand on her shoulder hesitantly, he spoke again.

“...daughter of Jerry Anderson?”

The name made your head fuzz out almost instantly. What?

Abby spoke softly but loud enough for the soldiers close enough to hear.

“Yes, that’s me.”

The man used his free hand to both hold and analyze her face. “You look like shit, it’s been years. Fuck. I’m so sorry about…everything.” Both of his hands fell down and he turned his gaze away from her.

You stood dumbfounded at the interaction. You’ve heard of Jerry, the man who was assigned to create a vaccine, who was unfortunately killed by an attack from a well-known dangerous individual. You heard that he had a daughter and that she survived, but you never believed the story since well, she was never seen after the incident. Until now. You wondered if maybe the crazed man got to her as well.

“Let’s get you both to the village, we’ll clean you up and make you feel better.”

Manuel, who had stayed back near the road, motioned for you to come over to him. You turned to face Abby and Lev one more time before moving. When you approached him, you handed him his rifle back with one hand and he grabbed it . He chuckled and sighed shortly after, before speaking.

“So…what do you think? Truth or trouble?”

Truth or trouble was like a little running motto between the both of you, created when you were both kids and playing soldiers. Truth refers to a situation where the people being interviewed (who were usually cornered by the both of you) were being honest, trouble referring to the opposite. You clicked your tongue and placed your hands on your hips, looking up at the now dark purple sky.

“…Hoping for the truth to be honest. I don’t wanna deal with outside shit.”

You both started chuckling quietly so as to not catch the attention of the others, Manuel replied quickly and in a whisper, “Real.”

After the chuckle fest ended, Manuel headed over to the rest of the soldiers. They were now helping Abby and Lev onto a truck that had arrived not too long ago- the radio manager called it over since everyone could tell that neither Abby nor Lev had the energy in them to stand, let alone walk. You looked at the ground and your feet. A part of you wondered how this would play out. There was a feeling in your chest that you didn’t know how to interpret. It felt numb and fuzzy, and you thought maybe it was just the emotions from the moments prior and the encounter with the new people all jumbled up into one thick mess. You sighed and moved closer towards the shore. After a while of contemplation, you sat on the sand staring at the ocean, deciding to stay a while and relax before heading home inside the village.

#abby anderson #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x you #abby and lev #abigail anderson #afab nonbinary reader #abbyanderson #tlou fanfiction #abby tlou #abby the last of us #abby anderson x y/n #abby anderson fic #abby anderson x afab non-binary reader

29 notes · View notes

abeinginsand · 1 year ago

Note

:D Hi Countless! How about 2, 3, 7, 9, and 31 for Sparrow!

Heya Baba!! :] Thank you for letting me ramble about Sparrow once again hehe 2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Hm, strongest thought that comes to mind is that Sparrow loves his family (especially his kids) so very much, more than himself even. Also related, Sparrow and Rebecca having Normal as an accidental pregnancy isn't something awful. Maybe I feel strongly about this because...I was an accidental baby myself? But it kinda bums me out how harsh some folks on here were being about the reveal. Unplanned does not automatically equal unloved or unwanted is all I'm trying to say I guess.

3. Obscure headcanon Sparrow has always loved playing with his food, often using the edible materials to make mini food towers or little scenes or expressions. With drinks, he likes to mix them a lot to see the colors change or to making silly shaped stains on available napkins/his clothes/other material. As an adult, he still does this--just at home or when he's relaxing in the woods/park during a break (with picnic basket). Yes, he is one of those people who will press every drink machine option to get a little of each flavor in the cup. When he was little and left alone with other people's food plates, he'd start making art out of them too! He would then pretend he didn't do anything when the person returned and watch to see the reactions. He convinced a few of his elementary school classmates the school was haunted this way. 7. Age/height/weight headcanon So I think all the kiddads are in their 30s in s2, I assume Sparrow and Lark are 35? 10 in s1 and 25 years past... speaking of years, was listening to the uncut of s2 ep 1 yesterday and one of the things cut was Anthony saying it might be 30 years instead of 25. Height wise, I think Sparrow is like 5'9 and Lark's 6'. Sparrow closes his eyes to the truth and says he is 6' anyway (even now he still likes to match in some ways). Also, Rebecca is taller than them at 6'2. I don't have any specific weight hcs outside of Sparrow probably isn't that toned compared to Lark due to different fighting styles (hand-to hand combat heavy Lark vs Long distance caster Sparrow). Still skilled in hand-to-hand combat though when necessary. 9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character In the first ep, when Sparrow proudly talks about his doodler mascot design and also mentioned trying better next time about setting fires at the school haha. (I interpreted that last bit to be Sparrow talking at least, may be remembering wrong). The twins introduction in general seemed so fittingly chaotic as young kid characters. Kids will do the most unusual stuff (ex. being a menace to trees) simply because...why not! seems fun! I adore the whimsy and also understand Henry's frustration and concern about their actions too. 31. If the had a tumblr what would it look like? Chaosflower as the username, probably says "a beloved wolf" in the little blog descriptor along with whatever pronouns he's feeling that week. It would look pretty and/or cool palette wise with this night sky banner that has stars, a bright moon, various soft glowing flowers, and wolves walking along the path. Which looks normal etc UNTIL you zoom in and sees the skulls and debris laying in the sand and that some of the wolves have suspiciously reddish fur and glistening teeth. Also the banner has fake constellations that make various shapes...probably characters from shows/books/podcasts etc that he likes. He is so thrilled whenever someone sends in an ask commenting on the banner and is just waiting for the opportunity to explain in great detail all the info he put into it from the setting, the wolf names, to the meaning of each flower type. He also has a wolf icon--actual picture of a wolf with a pink rose on its head and what seems to be the unfocused image of a person (probs a teen) high-fiving the wolf. He wild shaped, posed, turned back into normal self and posed on the other side, stitched the image together. Its an art blog mainly where he posts fanart including animatics and lots of silly memes probably (<-- based on the artist Sparrow hcs from the bonding with Taylor idea). I think he speaks a lot of Spanish daily (with family atleast) but mostly writes in English for school work etc. So he enjoys writing at least half of his tumblr posts in Spanish or with a mix of both languages. Probably makes wolf drawing tutorials sometimes, and of course he has a wolfsona of his own.

#sparrow oak garcia #sparrow oak #dndads #dndads s2 #dndads headcanon #abeinginsand talk tag #ask meme #abeinginsand writing tag

15 notes · View notes

umbrvx · 1 year ago

Note

Hi! Genuinely curious. I know a lot of artists don’t like qrts on Twitter because they remove engagement from the original post, but on tumblr, the engagement stays with the original poster, so I’m curious why you don’t want comments on reblogs. Is the engagement thing why you don’t like comments on your art, or is there a different reason?

hi! so im going to write this post with the assumption some people who read it may be unfamiliar with tumblr so pls excuse me if im explaining things you personally already know/is considered common sense/etc... i am also unsure which parts i should consider common knowledge/how far to explain so please forgive me if i overexplain a bit!

so on tumblr, comments on art do not affect engagement, but it is still commonly held etiquette not to add comments directly onto reblogs of art.

the reason for this is that when you add a comment directly onto a reblog (ie, not in tags nor the reply function) is that the comment becomes permanently affixed to that version of the post. it becomes a secondary caption, basically; it is not the same as a reply on twitter or a comment on insta. if the reblog with the comment is reblogged by someone else, that comment will remain and can continue to be shared, even if the commenter were to later delete the post. you now then, effectively, have a new version of the post that has additions to it.

this has become somewhat more of an issue lately, as tumblr recently updated to remove the ability to go to where somebody reblogged a post from. which is to say, if somebody encountered a post that has a lot of additive comments on it, but wanted to reblog the original/a version with less or different comments, they can no longer do so unless they scavenged someones blog for the post manually.

generally speaking, many artists prefer no direct additions be made to their posts (although sometimes people add image descriptor IDs, which i dont mind people doing) so that only the original iteration exists and can be reblogged, without anything extra added onto it that isn't meant to be there. the reply function (looks like a chat bubble at the bottom of a post) is a newer addition, but most people still prefer to add thoughts/commentary in tags -- since reblog tags only serve an organizational purpose within someones own blog/exist to help filter content warnings, it is very commonly used to add comments, since that will stay within someone's specific reblog and will not affect or change a post. original posters are still notified of every reblog and their tags (and i really like to go through and read/reread tags), so any commentary can still be appreciated and seen even without having to attach it to a post directly

tl;dr: id just prefer my art posts to be able to stand alone and be able to be shared that way w/out extra comments/a comment chain on them

i hope this helps answer the question...!

#umbrvx.ask #ofc different ppl are different too... idk if there r ppl who dont care abt additive reblogs but #in my experience using tumblr since like 2012 ik this has been the generally held etiquette...! afaik at least #anyways im sorry if i am overexplaining #ik quite a few new ppl are joining so i didnt know how much to consider common sense or not #also i hope it doesnt seem like i am making a big thing of it i dislike telling ppl what to do...#but ive been seeing it happen a bit more lately n thought itd just be worth at least trying to say something rather than hope ppl just know

11 notes · View notes

spell-cleaver · 1 year ago

Note

hi! Protege question! when you’re describing outfits (particularly Padmé’s dresses) do you have a particular image in mind? like do you use a reference photo or drawing or anything? if not anything physical, do you have a specific look in mind or do you just write descriptors that fit without necessarily knowing EXACTLY what the outfit looks like? I’ve just been curious the whole fic lol

Hi! Protége had a focus on clothing and appearances and such that most of my fics rarely have, so when planning it out I started a Pinterest board full of fancy clothes. I especially use the pictures from Pinterest as a rough reference when I'm drawing. Most of the outfits I've described are outfits I found on Pinterest then mentally edited to fit the vibe, so it'll be a mishmash of two or three reference photos, with something random added in (e.g., if the dress has specific patterns, like Padmé's star dress in Chapter 12 or her announcement dress in Chapter 34.)

#skygirlstars #the protégé #spell narrates her writing adventures #spell speaks #ask spell something

5 notes · View notes

imaginethebeautifulworld · 3 years ago

Note

do you have any writing tips? mostly for fanfiction, but general stuff would be awesome too. i really enjoy writing it but i almost always end up hating the results and deleting them afterwards. you’re my favorite fanfic author on this site so i wanted to ask :)

Hello, Lovely~

Oh, honey. I think the biggest tip I can offer to you right now is to save everything you write, even if it's nothing more than a smattering of sentences scribbled on a napkin during the morning commute. I can say firsthand that, given time, they can come back into the mainstream for you, and play an important part of a story you may not have even imagined yet.

This year especially I've been finding old pieces, abandoned ideas, and the aforementioned napkins, and then my muse strikes; suddenly those seeds I would have tossed out are growing into something beautiful, just waiting for their moment in the sunshine.

We are each of us a constant, endless stream of ideas and concepts, and while sometimes we might not like the things we come up with right away, you may find- even years later- the beauty after all.

But if you're looking for more specific-ish writing advice, I've actually made a few different posts over the years.

For characters, I advised (and still stand by) doing the more subtle details first. Do they jiggle their leg? What's their posture tell you? How many details can you guess at just by glancing at their coat? Writing a character is like making a new friend; you pick up the details as you go along.

When it comes to setting, I feel much the same way. I want to present the scene in a way that my audience can feel it, experience it.

In my latest Prussia Insert, aftermath, I include a few distinct descriptors- the taste of concrete, the texture of bandages, the distorted fuzziness of seeing things through only one good eye. I like to keep a majority of the scene open to the interpretation of my audience, with only a few firm details to make it feel more real.

In a prompt I wrote for kissing the Awesome Trio, I describe the texture from ocean air, hint at the dusty scent of marble and the bittersweet aroma of cherry blossoms and ginkgo berries. (That is a very distinct scent that still lingers with me five years later.)

One of my favorites however has to be one of my England pieces: an aside. In this one, I focus more on specifics of the scene as I had a very clear image in mind I wanted to convey. From the rosewood bookcases to the subtle hints at the detailing of Arthur's clothes to the sounds of the party just beyond the cracked pocket doors so common in larger Victorian homes, I wanted to craft a specific atmosphere for the scene.

On that, another Anon had requested more information about writing in that style, and my biggest advice consistently remains to do research, whether that comes from reading more fanfiction or falling headlong into a fantasy series or tripping facefirst into a children's story, I highly recommend it. We're writers; inspiration is everywhere should we choose to find it.

Overall Lovely, the key is to save all that you do. You may hate it now, but I promise that it can easily come into play for you later down the line. I say this from experience; both the Prussia and England pieces I mentioned in here I almost deleted a few years ago, but something told me to save them; I'm happy I listened.

I hope this helped in some way luv, and I hope you keep writing, and perhaps, one day, you'll share some of your stories with us.

Thank you so, so, soooo much for the compliment, the ask, and your curiousity. I hope this inspires you in some way, Lovely. ❤

#ahhhhhhhhhhhhh oh my gooooooooooooooooooood #thank you thank you thank you ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!#my darling anon i cannot thank you ENOUGH #asdfghjkl thank you #seriously though my darling PLEASE don't delete your work!!! if you aren't quite feeling it after just save it somewhere for a while #i promise it will find a way to fit in somewhere somehow #writing advice #reference #writing tips #hello lovelies~!#i hope y'all're doing well!#i would be honored to read your work someday anon ❤#anon asks #anon ask #anonymous ask #anonymous asks #long post

12 notes · View notes

antigonick · 4 years ago

Note

hi! sorry if this is super weird or annoying, but i wanted to ask you smth. im an english lit major (not an anglophone tho), im a bit more than halfway through with college but i know im falling behind. but that's not the question is it! haha. well, my woes aside, this past semester i got some feedback on two (very rushed :() final papers and both times i didnt get a bad grade but i was told that my essays were descriptive, rather than analytic or critical. how do you think i can improve this?++

++ im scared of just being stupid lol :( i honestly got super bummed out by the feedback, although i was expecting those exact comments :/ i struggle to give my papers that critical twist (which is kinda the entire point), and i guess my question is how can i incorporate more critical sources and theory into my papers and not spend pages upon pages describing things? i can never even get a good thesis statement, i realize now i am totally venting over here and im sorry i just dony know what to do or how to improve and i feel like im running out of time and i know i SHOULD know these things by now :( i come to you with this sad story made even sadder by my pms (rip) because i love your analysis on texts and i think you are so smart and eloquent and precise!!! again, i hope that wasn't super annoying or overwhelming and i'm sorry if it was! Anyway, I hope you're doing amazing, I love your blog and your mind!! Thank you so much :)

Alright! So first of all, don’t be scared of being stupid—you’re not and it’d be crippling to think so, because that mindset gets you running around in circles. You know your situation is completely normal, right? In analysis, there’s one shitty little fucker of a porch-step where every student will stumble, and it’s exactly this: climbing from the merely descriptive to the involved critical.

At one point it clicks into place and you feel the difference in your brain.

You say you never have a good thesis statement, and I think that might be where your thinking process jams a little. Of course you’d remain descriptive if you don’t have a pointed question at the moment of writing.

It’s not about either/or between critical and descriptive. The way I see it, description is fundamental: it comes back several times during your analytical process. It’s the basis of it. First you look at the text, or a phenomenon, or what have you, and you become aware of its cogs—this is exploration, description. By becoming aware of said cogs, you excavate how they work together—mechanics, motifs, recurring techniques. This is where descriptive meets criticism. Why are these effects/devices/topics here? What do they offer? How do they make me feel, and what are my bias, so why am I feeling that way specifically? Is it the same for everybody? What could they hint at? How are they working now, and do they evolve later? What genre, or theme, or overarching idea do they develop?

You’re not merely looking at them anymore, you’re questioning them. You’re building your own interpretation of them. And careful—it’s not an opinion. You’re not reviewing it. It’s a study, an examination, subjective because it’s yours and you’re the subject who is critically thinking, but rooted in the reality of the text, in the intellectual or emotional pathways it opens.

When you’ve pinpointed the main ideas and dynamics you want to explore, that’s when you get your thesis statement/thesis question. I can’t stress this enough, you need one before you launch into writing. It’s what will make you go further than just describing, and it’s what will orient your argument. And remember, it doesn’t have to be (no: it won’t be) exhaustive. It’s much better to focus on something tiny and contained at first, actually. Pick a lane and stick to it.

Random example, but the only thing I’m reading with happiness these days is Fallen Hero: Retribution, so let’s use this. There’s a lot in there, and a lot of insights going in a lot of directions, notwithstanding the analysis you could make of the style itself. Out of the thousand questions you could ask about it, let’s focus on one: “How does this work modelise gender?”

With this question, you can explore a lot of aspects: stylistics—how words depict gender, how pronouns are used, how bodies are described; societal—how the characters interact with the idea of gender, how gender and gender image are dealt with in the world the text inhabits, and in the story itself; narratology—how does gender impact the story, is it an agent of it?; and much more. But these are descriptors. These are the signs and symbols and tools you’ve already garnered, consciously and unconsciously, when you read and analysed your text.

Here comes the little fucker of a porch-step. You have all of these descriptors, these facts. You know how to describe them well and most likely interpret them at surface level. But they’re means to an end, not an end in themselves. They’re just your tools. Now that you know they’re there, you have to use them to go further and explain what they’re doing. With our example, that means explaining not only how gender works in the story, but why. What might it mean for the author and their own world-view? What might it mean for the reader and what impacts can we expect? What might it mean for the characters and what effects does it lead to? Why is it important? Why is it groundbreaking? How does it differ from other works like this, where does it go further than most? Are there blindspots, pitfalls? What do those mean too?

Of course description makes a comeback in your arguments, in your examples: it’s not left behind. The analytical process is not a pyramid or a hierarchised structure, it’s a circle/cycle. You use description to reach criticism and you use criticism to explain description and you use description to justify criticism.

I think that’s it? I hope this helps and I hope this makes sense. Good luck!!

PS: I find that reading critical works helps a lot, just because you get the hang of it through seeing analysis in practice rather than just hearing about methodology. Obviously, before you write an essay about a text, read a few critical works about the text itself! More about this here.

#on studying #on reading #whisperers #maybe just maybe—my hyperfixation is showing

128 notes · View notes

sanstropfremir · 3 years ago

Note

I’d love your thoughts on BTS and their current image and music if you have them and aren’t afraid of the mindless internet hoards.

Personally, I liked a lot of their older stuff, but haven’t liked anything since I think the Fake Love promotions 3+ years ago. They’d started losing their personality and soul before that album cycle, but it feels like the sanitization of their image and artistry really kicked into hyperdrive after that. Now most of what they do seems like a sterile money grab driven by the Hybe hive mind which is a shame.

ok alrighty (cracks knuckles) let's get into it.

now that i've fully given myself a headache watching the majority of the bts videography, here are three points i'm going to cover:

performative character and the lack thereof

interesting aesthetics and the lack thereof, and

the inevitable cracking of perfection

ready, set, let's begin.

idol music is very clearly definited by spectacle based aesthetics. and it's had that structure for its entire existence. so i gotta hand it to hybe for this one, because they managed to revolutionize being utterly fucking average. the triumph of bts is that they're just some guys and they look like just some guys. hybe found a niche in the system and then gamed that system to the tune of one of the largest musical acts in the world. they're not marketing bts as a romantic parasocial relationship, they're marketing them as your friends. and that is just as insidious to lonely kids as a run of the mill romantic fantasy. but that's not what i'm here to talk about today.

there's a pattern i find very interesting with bts mvs and that is that i don't remember anything about them. specifically, i don't remember the stuff that's happening IN the video; not the styling, not the setpieces, if i didn't know the members i doubt i would remember them either. what i DO remember, is how expensive the production is, and specific shots. i couldn't tell you what a single member was wearing, but i sure as hell remember that first upward angle shot of jungkook and the rusted park ride in spring day. or every single time they do that birdseye shot of jin in like every video. honestly as far as i'm aware jin has only ever worn a loose fitting beige longsleeve shirt.

it took bts a long time to establish any kind of consistent visual character. and the character they did establish.... i don't know if you can call a family-friendly-style clean aesthetic 'character'. they debuted as a hip hop group to little (comparative) success, and then made a switch to doing an early version of where they're currently at right now. if you've seen any of the mvs, you know that this is a pretty significant visual change. i don't think it is inherently a bad change, since the visual branding for hiphop based groups always tips over into iffy terrritory, but it is dramatic enough and early enough that it doesn't strike me as a natural evolution. concept switch ups are common, but they usually work because the members have established a bit of character for themselves, used their performance abilities and presence to fit into a niche in the group. the idol mould is perfect for showcasing the performers; that's its function. the groups that are the most fun to watch are the ones with stage presence, the ones who know how to perform, who can act all the parts they need to play. and bts? 4/7 actual performers on a good day. in my personal opinion it's 2/7.

i'm gonna expand on what i said about jimin here (this is technically the first part of this series), because it does apply to the rest of the group on the whole:

and i think here is where we see the main crux of the difference between taemin and jimin as performers: taemin has both an artistic and an idol persona. we know and understand him to do solo work that has a separate artistic meaning to just him being an idol. even though this performance was pre-move, i would still say this applies, because he's hot off press your number, where he's acting in a story based mv. jimin on the other hand just has his idol persona. he's not known for creating the same kind of storytelling that taemin is.

bts has been very insistent on the image of the group as a single unit. despite having the size of fanbase and the revenue that would make any official solo debut a massive success, none of them have done any substantial solo work. this isn't artistically a problem, and i think it's very admirable of them to be so dedicated to the image and the legacy of the group, when that can be an uncommon trait in the industry. i do however, think it starts to become an issue when we want to discuss what the artistic visions and images of groups are. shinee taemin and solo taemin have two distinct artistic representations, and taemin himself will attest to that. it's the same with all the shinee members that have solo careers, and the same with other groups. jackson, bambam, yugyeom, and jaebeom's solo work is all very different from got7. yixing's solo work is very different from exo's. even the subunits within exo all have their own character (cbx and sc). kpop groups all ostensibly are trained under the same system, so why the disparity with bts? mostly, it's their brand of "authenticity." it's impossible to perform authentically, by the nature of performance as a medium it is unnatural, and tragically, not everyone is naturally interesting, or suited to performing: that's why the performing arts even exist in the first place. it required painstaking training to be good at performing; it is a complex set of skills and those skills are not learnt by "being authentic." being an idol is not just the singing, dancing, rapping; that's only half the work. you need to be able to act to be a compelling performer. pulling your true self and emotions out on stage every night is a fast track to burnout and psychological issues, there's plenty of evidence. the only member of bts of whom i can say for some certainty has a persona and a stage presence is jhope/hoseok, a) because he's kept up a very specific brand in the solo work that he has done, and b) he has actual dance training, not just kpop dance training. the rest of them may have the kpop dance and the kpop vocal training, but what they do not have is the ability to market themselves as compelling performers on stage. taehyung is the only other member i would hesitantly give a semblance of persona and ability to, but i think he stumbled onto that mostly by accident. and if all the pieces don't each have a distinctive colour, how can the whole machine be visually interesting?

bts may never have been able to establish an aesthetic brand, but what they did establish is an intellectual one. if you talk to a fan, the schtick they give is that "it's about the lyrics." as noble as having an intellectual or cerebral message is, what does that look like? how do you portray intellectual on stage, on film? what about intellectual is interesting to watch? cerebral, by it's literal nature as a descriptor, is very difficult to communicate in visual language because it is internal. to successfully communicate cerebrality and intellect in a short form medium like music videos requires a deft hand with metaphor that can elude even an experienced designer. and honestly? i don't know whether to applaud hybe's visual team for being the most successful subtle contemporary designers i've every seen, or to decry them as worst kpop designers i've ever seen. maybe both. regardless, i don't think they're able to cross the gap.

there are exactly four mvs where i actually remember the content of the mv and not the frame it sits in, and those are dna, idol, the singularity comeback trailer with taehyung, and war of hormone. and of an eight year career......that's not very many. these four mvs have at least an inkling of interesting spectacle and character, but even then, it's still a stretch. there is absolutely nothing to write home about in the styling for dna, other than it's well colour matched. I don't even know if I should include singularity because it involves none of the other members. idol is probably their most interesting mv because it actually has alternative styling and varies (at least a little bit) from the standard hybe boom crane shot-that-shows-off-how-we-can-afford-big-studio-spaces-and-locations. the company and the group would be loathe to admit it, but war of hormone is a well designed and interesting mv for the time it was made, with a well crafted gimmick and some actual showing of character from the members. it was the start of a potential that they squashed quite quickly because it wasn't picking up in the hiphop-group-saturated market of 2014. but the rest of their mvs? remarkably uninspired styling. like it's truly impressive how boring the styling is. and like i've said, that is the triumph in their aesthetics: they all look like normal dudes (if you had professional skin + makeup techs looking after them for the last 8 years).

all of this is a carefully crafted image that's tailored to hooking an audience, especially an international one. the mvs are boring in the relative scale of kpop, but they're just different enough from a western pop mv to catch attention. and once you do sink a hook, there's a direct clickfunnel of content that bills itself on these men being "authentic" and "self-producing," which is a huge draw to international fans, because people are racist and believe that the kpop industry is a factory that produces idols like clones, where none of them know how to do anything other than sing and dance and all the music is just handed to them by companies. and they have SO much content that there's no way a new fan can get to it all in a timely manner, so they'll never have to engage with any other kpop artists' work if they don't actively seek it out. but that's another essay for another time.

that brings us to current day, in which at least the last five bts releases have been in the same aesthetic vein of positive, sanitized, and pristine. i said it in one of my txt responses and i will say it again here: money scrubs the humanity from the aesthetic of living. minimalism is for rich white people. hybe and bts may have pivoted their style and brand directly into the lane of mass appeal, but when you pair that with the amount of money funding them, there's a cognitive dissonance between the message and the aesthetics in which it's portrayed. some people do like the clean cut looks, and i won't say that they don't work, but as you've likely gleaned from this response, it isn't my style and if you've been around and reading my writing for longer you'll know that my tastes runs much closer to the messy and the weird, so very little about any of bts' visuals have appeal to me. i do find the contradiction of applying the appeal of radical relatability with the aesthetics of expansive (and expensive) minimalism interesting; it's an extremely fine line that hybe is walking and eventually they are going to tip over, the porcelain mask will not hold forever. maintaining the all ages aesthetic is going to be difficult now that all of them are grown ass men. with other groups of this member age and generation there's very obviously been a shift to a more adult tone, and not necessarily explicitly. got7, mx, nu'est, btob, shinee, 2pm, and groups that have older members like a.c.e and sf9 have all made slow shifts in tone that are undeniably aimed at a maturing audience: they know their core fanbases are aging with them and they (the fans) are not as interested in the 'boy' in boy group. and most of them have telltale visual styles, enough so that i can distinguish a specific group's mv. the last year and change of mx mvs have a very distinctive character; got7 too, since easily as far back as if you do. i can always tell an a.c.e mv by its impeccable fashion and formic styling, and although shinee has always had a more experimental aesthetic edge, their sound and voices are unmistakable.

honestly, i can't predict what bts is going to do in the future, but i personally don't believe they can keep up their clean aesthetic indefinitely without some fallout. part of the fun of following bands is watching them grow musically, and the last couple of years of bts haven't felt like growth. there are fans that have already started realizing it, and there's likely to be more soon.

---

the third part is here, which is a short followup about some of bts' industry influence.

#this is long one dear readers #a very long one #strap in #i've sat on this for probably a week now in the hopes my brain can make some interesting connections but honestly?#not a lot about bts is interesting in comparision to the rest of the kpop industry #personally i am of the opinion that lyrics do not matter in idol music and i am not interested in them in the slightest #and bts videos ARE extremely bland visually #unless you like looking at expensive production. whatever floats your boat i guess #they make a lot of sense as an entry kpop group but once you get actually into the industry there is SO much happening #which i talk about in the third part a little bit #this is way too long i am so sorry anon and everyone else who has been asking about this topic #im not entirely sure it's coherent at this point but whatever. its out there now #i wanted this to be under 1k and that emphatically did not happen #it is double that. why am i like this #875 #kpop questions #kpop analysis #group analysis #text #answers

42 notes · View notes