#not going to tag this appropriately this time

[ashprince-of-bel-air]

Little Dove: Part 3

The Caracalla brainrot is real. I wrote this and wanted to post it straight away! please forgive me if there are any spelling errors!

Part Two

Those who wanted to be maybe be tagged: @sashaphantomhive @koshkahhh @properromanwhore

You could barely contain your excitement as you made the journey home with your father, your mind reeling at the fact you were going to be in the Emperors private box for the games tomorrow. You were an upstanding citizen of Rome, yet it was still rare for someone like you to be invited into the Emperors inner circle, to be in such intimate quarters with them.

The entire journey home your father was telling you how you had to behave tomorrow, how to act and address the Emperors, you were now his ticket to gain more influence in the senate and he would ensure that you did not fail. Your mind roamed elsewhere during his tirade of advice and instructions, too busy still remembering when Caracalla had kissed your hand that day at court. Once you returned home your sole focus on what you would wear to the royal box, you wanted to make a good impression before Caracalla. You may never gain another opportunity to sit in the royal box so you would make the most of it.

Raking through the gowns you owned brought on a fury, nothing was acceptable in your mind, thinking it all to be too cheap or to not fit your body properly. Rich gowns of silk were strewn over your bed as you tried each one on, inspecting yourself with great scrutiny in the mirror each time. A rose-pink gown is what you finally settled on, one that you had never worn before because of how it fit you. The gown showed off far too much skin and hugged you all too well in the right places, you felt all too exposed in this gown but thought the Emperor would enjoy seeing you in it.

The stress of cleaning yourself appropriately and choosing the perfect outfit caused you to retire to slumber early, wishing to bring the next day as soon as you could. It was an early rise for you and your father, you would not dare risk arriving late to the stadium now that you had access to the Emperors box. Arriving late could be seen as a slight up Caracalla’s generosity and your father wanted to make sure that you were to stay in his good graces.

You were both admitted without any issue, being guided towards your seats behind the emperors’ thrones, an action that made your heart flutter, knowing that you would be this close to Caracalla for the entire day. The first hour of the games passed by quickly, your wine cup was ever topped by the servants surrounding you, every time you took a sip you could feel the heaviness of liquid in your cup shortly after. The Emperors would arrive not long after you had made yourself fully comfortable, Geta passed you first, giving no interest in you, barely even noticing that you were to be present behind him. Caracalla noticed you as he walked past you, smiling coyly and drinking in the vision of you in the gown you chose, your skin was radiant against the pink hue of the silk that adorned your skin, a vision that he bore into his mind as he sat in front of you.

The games carried on with more enthusiasm now that the Emperors were in attendance, the crowd alight with excitement, knowing that the games were about to fully begin now. The roar of the crowd was loud in your ears, finding it hard to contain yourself in the royal box, wanting to succumb to the emotion of the crowd once again. The current fights were none of consequence for now, the prime fights would be played in an hour, where the best gladiators from the best Ludus’s would battle, for now you had to settle for the mediocre ones.

The wine was in constant supply, a thing you took advantage off, hoping the liquid courage from it would help you speak freely to Caracalla before the day ended. As the new battle began you felt the familiar paws of Dundus upon you once again, the cheeky little monkey crawling upon you once again, settling into a nice nook upon your lap. You chuckled as you stroked her head gently, smiling as she made herself comfy upon you. “Careful My Emperor, I fear that Lady Dundus may leave you at this point.” Caracalla chuckled as he looked back at you, that sly grin plastered on his face made your heart flutter once again. “You may keep her at this point, she is a tiny menace my little dove.”

You managed to hide your blush from Caracalla yet not from your father, he had been watching the two of you ever since your previous interaction, making mental notes and considering how likely it would be for Caracalla to choose you as a concubine or even a wife. Initially your father had banked on using your brothers as influence in the senate, pushing them to join the Roman army and gain influence that way, he had never envisaged his own daughter being the one to bring him glory.

Little Lady Dundus sat upon your lap happily, falling asleep at your gentle stroking, no one had dared to disrupt her at this point, not even Caracalla. The day went on without issue, the gladiator matches ignited the crowd more than yesterday, a good sign that it would also please the gods into granting you the rainfall you so desperately craved.

The prime match was upon you all now, Theokeles against Oenomaus. The most anticipated match of the day. Theokeles was a free man, having won his freedom from his victories as a gladiator, Oenomaus was a former gladiator himself, serving a ludus in the city. Both were well revered as fighters, this battle was one that had drawn many to attend, to see who truly the better fighter was. You watched the fight with bated breath, your heart pounding the entire time, watching the two fight. Theokeles emerged the victor, having Oenomaus in surrender, awaiting the decision of life of death from the emperors.

Caracalla turned towards you, his eyebrows lifting subtly, asking what verdict you he should give. You had heard of Oenomaus before, a warrior of well renown and even now was afforded a wife, a rare commodity amongst slaves in the ludus. You nodded and granted life, you wanted him to live to see another day. Caracalla smiled and gave the signal for life, your heart fluttering knowing that he did that for you.

The games ended for the day with that match, many people leaving the stadium as promptly as the match ended. The royal box was different, you watched your father converse with high-ranking senators and the emperors. You sat there uninterested, bothered more with Lady Dundus in your lap, playing and entertaining her. Caracalla saw you entertain Lady Dundus and it made him smile, nobody else had so much as bothered with her the entire time he had her, yet here you were, your undivided attention upon her.

“It seems Lady Dundus had taken a shine to you” Caracalla smiled at you, holding his hand out to Dundus, not even feeling offended when Dundus did not care. Caracalla tilted his head as he took in your visage, your smile as you interacted with Dundus, the way your body looked in that beautiful gown you chose. His fingers found an errant strand of your hair, twirling it around his fingers as he spoke to you. “There is another banquet at the palace shortly, I would love you to attended.”

Your head snapped up to face him, you were happily surprised to be invited to the palace once again, an invite you would gladly take without question. Caracalla took your hand in his own again and placed a soft kiss against your skin, he then left you with Dundus as he spoke to your father. Letting him know of the exclusive invite you had secured for the both of you. A carriage would be sorted for you, ready to take you back to the royal palace once again, ready to be in the Emperors private company.

[leikeliscomet]

Im just gonna say it: the exact same argument about series 11 having a woman playing the Doctor but w/ inconsistent politic & fake activism applies to series 14 & a lil of RTD2 in general but in Black. Respectability politics & flimsy anti racism all over the shop

It thinks futuristic racism corrects racism "being a thing of the past" but then actively erases said racism of Britain's past. Twice. Not only that but it glorifies the 60s & regency period. Does "powerful" white supremacy commentary then slaps a regency wig on 15's head 😭

It should go without saying that 1960s & 1800s Britain wasnt some post racial utopia. The show would rather make these periods more progressive than they really were instead of telling the stories of the POC living there or hell, show us history outside of 'the West'

It treats the dehumanisation of Black people as an inevitable part of future society. Fifteen has to be a perfect non violent victim of racism but can fridge the goblin king & the chuldur easy. Racism can/must exist but fighting back or having any reaction to ur oppressor can't.

The gag is RTD understands racial oppression when it affects *him* tho. The oppression of the Welsh is acknowledged in present day Earth bc it's a real part of history. Its addressed again in 2046 bc it's still relevent in the future. & did Ruby save Roger? No she got him gone!

It sanitises its own history. The Doctor has called out racial supremacy, human or not since day. And no they didn't always save *everyone*. Against the establishment to begging it & partying with it too apparently. Rosa has issues but at least it was hopeful...

It treats Fifteen as a white character made Black which has weird implications for a non human being from a "post racial" society. Thirteen wasn't a "human woman" but she still had the agency to call out every misogynist she met. Lawd forbid she cried over Jack Robertson 😭

Despite having a Black Doctor they're written for a white audience. 'It's not about Black people, its about white people' sealed the deal. It treats their Blackness as circumstantial & not something they'll have to deal with regardless of time period playing it safe & palatable

This 1 should be self explanatory. If Donna's seen the Doctor's mind then she knows Fugitive Doctor exists so yes the Doctor comes in a range of different colours 🤪🤪 And again if he's not a human Black man but an alien then why is it a surprise that he can change race? Ugh...

Isaac Newton wasn't that deep bc he's only there for the mavity gag but it opened a fuck ton of racism towards Nathaniel Curtis & antiblackness bc the racists camping the tag thought he was Black. 'Owning the right 🤪' at the expense of POC in the show & fandom. Great job there..

RTD made the point of the Toymaker being racist then keeps him anyway? Takes a jab about cultural appropriation in Pyramids of Mars then based the finale on it anyway w/ Sutekh? Not even entertaining the Black Guardian ting. Like what's the point of any of this? It feels so fake.

Carla's not as egregious as the previous but apart from RTD copying & posting her name from Clyde's mum in SJA, she doesn't get a lot to do outside supporting Ruby's storyline. S14 then ends with Ruby calling her bio mum her "real" mum so her serving role didn't mean much anyway

The Giggle was the 1st flag bc it conflated all political related anger as bad bc it's anger instead of love 😫✊🏻without *single* look at why the current political climate is the way that it is. Pandemic, genocides, climate change & govt corruption yh ppl will be angry Russell 🥴

Series 11 at least gets to gas itself up for having women write for the 1st female Doctor and having Black and South Asian writers for the first time in the show's history (which isn't a great achievement but ah well)

Series 14 doesn't have that to its credit.

Black woman who only exists to boost white characters stories, racism stories that don't give their Black characters full agency & 0 follow up of their experiences only this time w/ no Black writers. Same tings different font. What improvement was made exactly?

Tl;Dr - We have the 1st Black Doctor in the main lineup but this series handles race and racism poorly. There's barely any improvement from how race was handled in RTD1 and his handling of Black characters in Years & Years and It's a Sin hasn't been brought over. 🥴

[motheffigy]

actually that last reblog gives me a chance to actually talk about South Park because I find the idea of it having a modern Massive Internet Fandom with like stans of characters (pun not intended) to be EXTREMELY STRANGE AND PARADOXICAL TO WHAT THIS SHOW IS? South Park is absolutely the type of show that would make fun of modern South Park fans. I am not saying you can’t have your own version of enjoyment for South Park, like do your thing man. But like also the source material exists SOLELY TO BE raunchy, offensive and sometimes downright regressive and reactionary to the rights movements that you might very well support. I don’t know what’s in the intentions of the creators, but up until this very day the show has been, while it sometimes targets the right people, mostly targeting of people advocating for a better understanding of the experiences of minorities, and while it’s always super funny to see them bash Christians and Scientologists, you have to contextualize the occasional moments they pick their targets correctly around the times they VERY MUCH DO NOT DO THAT. If you’re going to be a South Park fan, you gotta AT LEAST take the time to understand that this cartoon isn’t a uwu omg look at he cartoon it’s fucking South Park it’s been a beacon of offensive shock black comedy since the fuckin ‘90s. And giving it a community like it’s not that is absolutely bonkers wild to me.

[eydilily]

would you bite the hand that feeds you?

[royalarchivist]

I say this in the kindest way possible, but I think this style of prose is more appropriate for a personal account rather than an update account. I have no idea who's being talked about half the time. 🥲

[ Tumblr meme via @mikaikaika ]

[artilite]

this is the last time i tell myself to make a dump acc to post anything and then feel scared to do just that. breaking the cycle!!!

[exhuastedpigeon]

It's truly wild how different each person's fandom experience is. Sometimes I see someone talking about the shitty things they've seen in fandom and I'm like, yeah unfortunately fandom is a microcosm of society and unfortunately that means some people in every fandom are shitty. You can avoid those people by blocking them on sight.

Because yes, sometimes fandom can be a pretty terrible place where people's biases and prejudices are on full display and they're doing real harm, but sometimes fandom is a place where people simply have different, completely innocuous, opinions than yours and if you don't like them, you never have to see them again. Just block them baby, it's easy and it's free and it will make your life so much better.

[pokemonpo]

super quick messy thing of the new (????) nyanya lolita and pmmm collab....... might do a cleaner one next time..

[itspileofgoodthings]

two sort of related teaching thoughts I’ve been having as we barrel towards the end of the school year:

1) an aspect of the job I feel I’m just growing into—well, not an aspect, really. More of a central tenet—is being able to see and remember that I teach KIDS. And that is so important to remember in all cases but especially with my high schoolers. They are so young and more than that so much has not happened to them yet. There is so much they don’t know. And the more I see it the more I can be compassionate and yet also removed? Distanced? Not under the illusion that I’m addressing people of equal maturity or experience to me—or even close—and so being at all times mindful of the incompleteness of pretty much everything about them and thus being gentle with them. And also at the same time remembering and rejoicing in their humanity and all their glorious funny raw potential. It’s amazingly hard to do, harder than I thought. But I do think I CAN do it. And it gets a little easier with age.

2) It is shocking how many teachers don’t see kids that way and are uninterested in trying. It’s almost an epidemic the way that teachers swing between appreciating kids as if they were other adults—gassing them up, frankly LYING about their depth or intelligence in ways that shock me on the daily (when people call a kid mature and act like that is a literal statement and don’t contextualize it, I have to laugh, literally none of them ARE mature, they’re all raw; also the smartest of them aren’t deep. They CAN’t be, they’re KIDS)—or on the other hand being disgusted with their immaturity as if, again, they’re dealing with adults. And expressing their scorn and disappointment as if some of that behavior isn’t par for the course. There’s a cruelty in either extreme; there’s a lack of common sense; there’s a rampant sentimentalism. And it makes me almost sick to my stomach sometimes.

[tillywunderwing]

psst. hey. do you ever worry that you’re writing characters ‘ooc’ in fanfiction? well guess what. you’re not. that’s just your au now.

“they would not say that” yes they would, my au version of this character would totally say that

“ummmm this character’s powers don’t work like that” but they do. in my au

“these characters would never canonically be dating” buddy oh boy i cannot wait to tell you what fanfiction writers have been doing since the advent of their craft!! anything goes in my au!!!

the medium is inherently transformative do whatever you want forever ok ly byye

[possiblynotpayingattention]

WARNING: The final boss fight for "Shadow of the Erdtree" just got leaked and the Wiki is filled with spoilers!

It's a MASSIVE spoiler for both gameplay and lore.

Be WARNED!

If you don't want the ending ruined before June 21st, avoid social media sites like Twitter, the Elden Ring Wiki pages and the sub-reddits for ER.

TIME TO GO DARK, SOULS FOLKS!

See you on the 21st! ⚔️

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

Take me through the night, down down down by the river...

(Vice made a promise to touch and to kiss her all over as soon as she's able to - and Vice keeps her promises.)

[samarecharm]

If i start posting dc stuff on here, it means i lost the fight w myself. The demons won. Im sorry

[toomanyideasandfandoms]

Okay I gotta rant, it's a huge pet peeve tho so I'll put it under the cut so people who don't want to see me complain can ignore

For the love that is holy CAN WE NOT TAG SAGAU FOR SELF AWARE HONKAI STAR RAIL AU????? I KNOW THEYRE MADE BY MIHOYO BUT THEYRE SEPARATE GAMES FFS

Sagau is specifically for Genshin, it's (S)elf (A)ware (G)enshin (A)lternate (U)niverse its the acronym for only Genshin

If you need the fucking acronym or shorted version for HSR IT EXISTS. ITS SAHSRAU

I just have this major pet peeve for those not properly tagging or using popular tags that have nothing to do with their posts. If you're gonna only post about sahsrau THEN DONT TAG SAGAU, AND ITS THE SAME THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

I feel just as frustrated with characters being tagged on posts that don't mention them at all. It pisses me off to no end!!!

Istg if I see the sagau tag on any posts for self aware zenless zone zero au (sazzzau), which doesn't exist yet afaik, I will scream.

JUST DONT USE IRRELEVANT TAGS, I DONT CARE IF THEYRE SIMILAR IF YOURE TALKING STAR RAIL DONT USE GENSHIN SPECIFIC TAGS

[loullipopx]

Man I hate ¡nstagram lmao. Did I really just have an argument with an art theft about art thievery only for her to play victim and learn absolutely nothing

[bonefall]

Oh yeah! In your Tiger's Fire AU doesn't Swift survive because of Fire? I remember that Twany joined Swift in his colony while Bramble stayed with Fire and became a medicine cat? I think Moth and Hawk, Feather and Storm were split too between the two huge lake clans if I remember the AU fully. Idk it's been awhile tbh. I just remember you had a tiny blub from Tiger's pov about Lynxkit's death and Firekit not understanding it. I really liked it.

OH sadly I don't run my other AUs anymore. All my time gets dedicated to BB and Clan culture these days (FOUR CHAPTERS TO GO BEFORE DARKSTAR'S COMMANDMENT POST IS DONE AYYOOO).

I'm deffo influenced by the work I did on Tigerstar's Fire in how I approach Tigerstar tho. You're probably thinking of this post. If you want to go hunting, I tagged that whole AU with #Tigerstar's Fire AU