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nilsavatar · 1 year ago

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PHOENIX

Status: PROLOGUE (0/?)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Parings: Neteyam x Fem!UnknownOriginsNa’vi!Reader

Genre/Warnings: ANGST, sorrow, mentions of nearly death, romance, adventure, soulmate love, destined lovers, possible suggestive content NSFW/MDNI later on, no use of Y/N, clans never seen in films yet. All characters are AGED-UP.

Summary: During the battle with the SeaDragon, gunfire struck Neteyam’s heart. A mortal wound that heals itself under the astonished eyes of his brother, as if the Great Mother still did not want him with her. She has other plans for Toruk Makto's eldest son.

Nevertheless, his body is weak, and he falls into a slumber from which he can no longer wake up. His vital signs are stable, yet Neteyam is slowly slipping away.

He is waiting.

Waiting for the girl who has been appearing in his dreams since he went into a coma.

Sneakpick on the fem protagonist: Mi'niri is a Na’vi of unknown origins and singular appearance: very fair skin in shades of gray with desaturated stripes, auburn hair, and pearly irises with pale magenta highlights. She is raised within the Tawkami Clan by a couple who have never been blessed with a child. Her parents are held in high regard by the entire clan as skilled scholars and chemists. It is suspected that Mi'niri is originally from the Kekunan Clan, although she doesn’t share their somatic features, as she was found as an infant in the border area between the two clans and wore a bracelet on her wrist made of the typical garish colors of the Kekunan. She also had a toy ikran in her cradle, usually used by the clan as an educational tool. Mi'niri is sharp and intelligent, very curious about the ecosystem and an animals lover, but she never fully integrated among the Tawkami despite the peaceful nature of the clan.

Author's note: The idea of writing something related to Avatar TWOW has been floating around for a while now.

Like so many of you, Neteyam's death left a bitter taste in my mouth, so I started fantasizing about an alternative ending where the Prince of the Omatikaya overcomes death.

And, again, like so many of you, the anticipations about the Ash People gave rise to so many ideas that, alas, I can no longer ignore.

The story in question, although it has a plot already outlined, is still in the early stages of writing, to the extent that it doesn’t have a definitive title yet. And for this, I ask for your kind help.

Even if this is my first post in a very long - too long - time I hope you'll like it.

If you want to be tagged in the next posts, just write it in the comments. I’ll gladly add y'all💕

Masterlist - Request a fic

PS: I'm not a native speaker. Therefore, at times, my choice of style and vocabulary may be odd. Nevertheless, chapters will always undergo proofreading before being posted.

Let's cut to the chase and enjoy your reading!

PROLOGUE

The thunderous rumble of rain pelting the ground. The violent howl of the wind shaking the trees. The desperate cry of a woman blended with the growl of a wounded animal.

Then nothing more.

Only the quietude of the eclipse and the reverberation of that roar fading into a wail.

Acala awoke with a start. She rarely dreamed, but never was there a dream that was so full of sorrow that it kept her from getting any rest. It was so vivid, so authentic. So vibrantly real. A choked sob betrayed her, causing an abrupt jerk by her side.

“Are you okay?" firm fingers held her wrists in the faint dimness of the night. She turned, her sight lost in keeping track of the glowing freckles that speckled that much-loved face. She couldn’t meet his eyes, but she could surmise the look on his face. His weary voice left no doubt; full of concerned, yet reassuring.

Minute shudders ran through her body, prepping her lungs to vent air in muted whimpers, before they descended into weeping.

“Hey, hey,” strong arms cocooned her, tenderly stroking her back with one hand, while smoothing her unbraided hair with the other. “Shhh, it’s alright. You are alright. It was just a nightmare.” “No!” she gasped against his chest, “We have to go. We have to go now!” “... Go where?” "With conviction, she affirmed “Into the forest!” as she fiddled with something. “Acala, you’re upset. Go back to sleep, it’s the wee hours,” he asserted, not in the least bit fazed by his mate’s irrational behaviour. She was all too familiar with such happenings after -- “Hurry up,” she insisted with more fervor.

Now that the woman had lit a torch, he could watch her closely. Slender fingers on the shoulder strap, her expression showed a seriousness and confidence about the terrible thing to come.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” “They will die if we wait until tomorrow.” “Who--?” “Trust me,” she stoned, staring him straight in the eye in that peculiar way only she had, “Please.”

He couldn’t win against those eyes.

As they reached Greenhouse entrance, a voice called Acala. A gaunt figure emerged from the darkness; finely woven beads veiling her abdomen tinkled with each step. “Tsahìk,” she winced, “Oel ngati kameie (I see you),” she greeted, bringing two fingers to her forehead, right in the middle of her eyes. Her torso bent in reverence as those two fingers drew an arc in front of her. The old woman flashed her a smile, her gaze was affectionate and sympathetic, but bothered by the evident wrinkles. “Go, child,” she granted simply, releasing some of the tension that stiffened Acala’s posture.

Approval. The proof that what she was doing was the right thing. That what was occurring was actual and not a fabrication of her mind. For Eywa had also whispered to the one who interpreted the Great Mother’s decree.

“Fulfill your destiny.” “I don’t know in which direction.” “Nawna Sa’nok (Great Mother) will show you the way. Listen to her voice.” Her eyes, of a bright yellow with green around the pupil, met Sílron’zem’s, “Stand by her and be prepared”. “Prepared for what?” the frustration now impossible to control, despite being before the elder. “Providence can appear in enigmatic guises and its gifts may be found in the oddest of places. Yet a blessing must welcomed with an open spirit in spite of the fear.” “Blessing? What blessing might be concealed for us in the heart of the forest, when predators are at their most active?”

In stark contrast to expectation, Sílron’zem was unafraid of the forest. He ventured into the lush greenery of Eywa’eveng (Pandora), eager to absorb her absolute magnificence. He had undertaken such a journey as his calling, to which he had dedicated himself with every fiber of his being, regardless of the risks. But something in him changed upon meeting his mate. A compassionate and talented woman with a vocation for looking after children. However, it never attained her greatest longing.

The desire for motherhood.

A sense of incompleteness devoured her. What was once an exuberant girl, thrill-seeking and inquisitive, has dwindled into a mere shadow of her former self. The whole village provided her with aid in confronting the unfathomable sadness that overwhelmed her. A sort of inexplicable melancholy. The nostalgic and poignant suffering of a mother whose child had been torn from her arms. How could you miss something you never had? It was something Sílron’zem couldn’t get, not entirely. He couldn’t grasp the feeling of being denied the purpose of a lifetime, the path you had mapped out for yourself. And surely, he could not estimate the magnitude of the damage caused by an anomaly no one else had undergone before. It’d never happened a couple united by tsaheylu didn’t beget offspring, their own palpable evidence for the continuity of the clan. The Tawkami were shaken to its core when this impossibility had befallen on the very person who most deeply wished for a family of her own.

Amidst the grief, rage was also present.

Why?

Why did Eywa mould Acala to be a mother if she had no intention in making her one? Why did Sílron’zem have to stand there still, witnessing the love of his life turn into an empty shell?

Finally, one last thought crept into his heart. If she ached so immensely over the loss of a baby she never had, what would happen if she also lost her mate?

Frightened, the man resorted to a drastic shift in his scientific pursuit. Explorations no longer held the same intrepidness they once did; he stopped staying away from Greenhouse for several days. He wouldn’t expose himself to danger anymore, so he would take better care of Acala.

He was willing to sacrifice everything for her, to make her beam with joy once more, to bring back the sweet smile he was so fond of. And now all his efforts were about to be in vain. Not only did his wife have a sudden urge to plunge into the forest, at night, under the threat of predators, Tsahìk was encouraging her. No matter his high regard for her, she had to give him a valid reason to go along with this madness.

“To become a father.”

Heavy raindrops pelted the leaves that sheltered them. The soft purring of a guarding animal. The distressed gasp of a terrified woman. The rustle of a bow ready to shoot.

The txumre' (slinth) snorted irritably, as if to rebuke them for their tardiness, before leaving.

@cinetrix

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sillovn · 3 months ago

Note

Was reading your tags in regards to the whole Shaman and hornsent thing and you said there was evidence of the shamans involvement, could you expand on it a bit? the only thing i remember were those jar head things but people are saying it's a mistranslation? 🤔

OK long post time. Its mostly a re-tread of whats written here, but just to restate - theres several big questions that need explaining.

What is the betrayal that Marika’s ascension involved? Leda, when recounting Miquella also mentions this - it’s not just a Hornsent opinion. Either way, it speaks to a relationship between 2 parties that soured at some point.

How does Marika get to the Divine Gate and know how to use it? Also, if empyrean flesh is prerequisite for godhood, why is the Empyrean Grandam a Hornsent? (as of writing they patched this out, but the lore made to live, so eh?).

Why does the Erdtree religion resemble the Hornsent one more than any other belief system we know of?

Why does the crusade against the Hornsent occur much later in history? Specifically, why does it seem to coincide with the transition between the Godfrey-Radagon eras.

Why is the crusade singled out as graceless and without honour? Given that the wars against Giants, Dragons etc. are not hidden, why is there a buried past with the Hornsent?

Let’s begin with what the pre-Erdtree society (potentially) looks like. Belurat is the only city in the Land of Shadow, surrounded by various towns and villages. It also appears to be the only centrally located city (In The Lands Between) at this time.

Rauh was already ruins. Leyndell/Shadow Keep is obviously post-Erdtree. Other very ancient structures like Stormveil/Farum exist on peripheral lands. The Eternal Cities were built underground.

The Hornsent appear to be ruled by a priest/inquisitor class, there is no mention of a singular ruler, God or Elden Lord among them. That said, the big societal project at the time seems to be building a divine gate so that there can be a god.

Within this land, Marika seemingly came from an all-woman village that shared a single religious profession (ie. Its evocative of a nun profession, and the JP text of Miko seems to further the idea that the village exists for a type of religious functionary). So then, who and where is the community they serve?

The only other group singled out as having Numen origin are the Nox. I think it’s very significant that there is an entire underground civilization that oppose the Greater Will (those same people kill Godwyn). Meanwhile on the surface, the ‘gold aligned’ Numen are represented by a single village.

While we don’t know the exact practices of Shaman Village, the religion Marika founded resembles the Hornsent one.

At its core (and in its initial form), the Erdtree is revered as a source of life (just like the Crucible, from which it was derived). The Crucible Knights were Godfrey’s soldiers, and even as late as Messmer’s crusade, his Black Knights commonly use Crucible powers.

The Scadutree resembles the early Erdtree; physically dripping sap. This part is unclear – as the Hornsent have spiral tree motifs all over their art and are seen worshipping at smaller twisting trees, but they also never mention the Scadutree by name. Naturally, with tree worship also comes the fear of Fire Giants.

Assorted visual motifs; golden arcs, priests/prophets dress in saffron robes.

There's also the logistics around Marika’s ascension. Her god candidacy was finger sanctioned, given a shadow beast and all. There is no mention of a Hornsent alternative or opposition, nor does Enir-Ilim show any sign of struggle. Likewise, Maliketh gets no mention in SotE. Marika seems to have just walked up to the gate and done the ritual, which would make sense if society at large was already in her favour.

All these observations suggest that the Shamans were religious practitioners as part of a wider life/crucible worshiping society (Again, if you run with the Miko translation, these Shamans likely exist as complementary to other kinds of priests). It provides an explanation to why Marika would know Hornsent rituals to divine ascension, why there is a relationship between these 2 parties and why Marika's early reign seems to be a continuation of Crucible worship. Thus, the crusade is dishonorable because its against the society that is ancestral to the current one.

There's a lot of caveats you can make, but this post is long enough as in. Though, Im happy to answer any specifics.

#kin answers #worldbefore

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gamerkats · 5 months ago

Note

I respect your privacy, but is there a reason why you don't sign off to indicate which sister is posting? Genuine question

Oooo, good question, and thank you for the Ask!

It's kind of a dumb reason.

TL;DR We did, once upon a time, but no one saw us as two separate people, and we got some aggressive asks telling us to stop being weird, and so we quit signing off, and no one noticed or missed it.

So.... When we started this account (2012), we posted with tags like; Kate things, Ann stuff, and dynamic duo. But follows didn't seem to grasp that there were two of us. We even got weird anons saying things like pick a name and stick with it.

Sharing an account (that isn't running some kind of event) is really far from the norm, so a lot of people make us one person in their minds, and get weirded out when we do things that suggest otherwise.

Eventually, we just stopped signing in the tags. We often joke that we're two cats in a trench coat. And nobody seems to mind a talking trench coat, nor ask which cat spoke to them. And back in the day, none of our mutuals even noticed the change.

Which is completely fine with us. Seeing us as individuals isn't something that most people do in real life even. They use one name of, Kate-Ann, for us both so they don't have to remember which is which.

So, being seen as one or two people online makes no difference to us.

There are only two things that make not recognizing us as individuals an issue.

1. When someone wants to date one of us, but literally do not care which... This happens more than you'd guess, even by people we know fairly well. Just any sister will do. Doesn't matter. Like...babes... Seriously? 🙄

2. Authors who reach out to us in Asks/DMs, and say they're huge fans, or that name drop referred them to us, and want us to promote and/or read/critique their work. However, they refer to us in the singular, not the plural. Babycakes, you're not a fan, and name drop didn't refer you. What you are is sloppy. You didn't even bother reading our pinned/description to see we're a duo before you smashed the Ask. You just saw our name graffitied around in all the cemeteries we haunt, and went, oh, shit yeah, "she" got reach!

It's Tumblr; people follow for the art, writing, and memes, not necessarily to get to know anyone.

We suppose, if people wanted to have us sign our posts again, we could start up. You'd need to let us know. But it's also perfectly fine not wanting to look behind the curtain too; we're happy and having a great time being the same floating head.

Just know that, which ever one (or both) of us is interacting/posting, we both love our mutuals and their content. You get two smiles and laughs for the price of one reblog/like.

#Thank you for the ask!#Asks #Q&A

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theglasscat · 7 months ago

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20 Questions for Writers

Tagged by @jennyandvastraflint

I love these things because I love talking about fan-fic

1. How many works do you have on A03?

I have 45.

2. What is your A03 word count?

162, 874. Jesus only that?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Doctor Who but specifically The Paternoster Gange sub-fandom, Oz books, Steven Universe, The Owl House, The Dark Crystal extended universe. In high school I was really into Hellboy II.

4. What are your top 5 fics by Kudos?

1. In the Night We Trust ~ It was a week out from Eda's Requiem and I'm from SU fandom so I was shocked that there was yet to be smut about the two pining grown ass adults and apparently other fans felt this way too.

2. I Thought Maybe We Would Kiss Tonight ~ This one is also horny and about the same characters so the Kudos tracks.

3. Words - My Vastra/Jenny soulmate au. Good. I'm proud of this one.

4. Blankets ~ This one??? The first time I tried to write using my senses.

5. Courting Miss Flint ~ THIS ONE??? I had a crush on a friend in college and didn't know how to act on it. This story about violently anxious women is never going to be finished.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes, if there's enough to reply to. "Nice work!" I'll forget about probably even though I appreciate it, however "I like how you blah blah blah" will get something from me because I love talking process.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uuuuhhhh. Of the ones I like, We Speak Our Vows and Sorry Whispers which is the Tavronica wedding fic.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Blackberry Stone will be I just need to finish it I swear I will finish it

8. Do you get hate on fics?

If I have I am not aware of it. At the time of my life when it would have hurt me the most I was oblivious to it and now it's just like "whatever, I'm not in charge of other people's feelings". On a side note this morning I realized I react to the word "cringe" in much the same vein as those tiktoks about Americans unable to take British gangsters with any seriousness.

9. Do you write smut? If so which kind?

Yes but I don't post as much as I'd like. I don't like to post smut for the sake of it even if I love when others do. I need it to be in character and have something to say about the characters.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest crossover you've ever written?

In general I despise reading crossovers. I will almost always skip unless I really like the author or I'm desperate for more of a character or rare pair.

By most insane do you mean meticulous like my Gentleman Jack/Doctor Who crossover "Never Meet Your Heroes" in which BBC's singular blue waistcoat for leading Victorian lesbians gets referenced?

Or least likely to crossover as in Wonder Woman 2017 and Pat Gang fic in which Etta gets some sword advice from some local spinsters on the eve of The Great War. It's called "Protect it With Your Life".

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, but I wouldn't be surprised if my work has been farmed to sit in the belly of some great AI beast somewhere.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of. If it has I can't think of the example at the moment.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but I feel if I did I would just tweak the co-author's grammar and characterization and do nothing else. I take so long to write my own fic, I couldn't be accountable to handle another's work in a timely fashion.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

AU Dorzma. The rest are tardigrades being subjected to various violent science experiments.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Vastra/Jenny laundromat AU. I'm better at Victorian commentary than contemporary commentary.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Sensory writing. Keeping things in character.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Starting with a plot instead of a feeling

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't do this really but I'm a fan of using the << >>

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Coin toss for the original Oz books or Syfy's Tin Man (2007) when I was 13. Both were Scarecrow/Patchwork Girl.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I Keep My Hands, 'Til You Come Into the Water ~ Missing Tavra and Onica and Tae scenes from J.M. Lee's The Dark Crystal Flames of Resistance which is so hyper specific but this is the one I like the most. It came out as I envisioned and wanted it with hardly any typos.

Tagging: @jeejyboard @ragdoll-ren @leiathewarrior @spaceuber @nabatute and anyone else who'd like to do this and of course you don't have to if you don't want to.

#long post #my fic

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mosshook · 1 year ago

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20 questions for fic writers

thank you sm for the tag, @mangatxt / ani!!! <3

to any of my friends who write fic, feel free to do this if you'd like! (@astertiae, @catbandits) this is just for fun :]

the questions are below the cut.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12, currently

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

44.5k

3. What fandoms do you write for?

right now, i'm not actively working on anything. but if i get a chance to work on a project over my holiday break in december, it'll probably be for our flag means death or lord of the rings.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

two very old merlin fics, my singular mandalorian fic, and both of my mob psycho fics that are over 1k words.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i usually do, yes! i think it's really cool that people take the time to leave a comment after they're done reading something of mine, be it long or short. it touches me every time, and even if i don't always know what to say in response sometimes, i appreciate them so, so much.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably ouranos. it's canon-compliant with the merlin timeline for season 4, and it follows lancelot from his sacrificial death for merlin, to his limbo existence in underworld, to being resurrected by morgana and eventually being killed in combat with arthur.

on a language level, it's also one of the first fics i wrote that started to lean more into what my style currently is! so it's kind of sweet on the occasion i reread it and can see my roots.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

definitely without a question it's this is a life. no fictional character has ever touched me quite like reigen, and i wanted to finish that specific piece on a note that was less emblematic of an ending and moreso felt like a triumphant beginning. like a promise of a new, better tomorrow.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i did once, and in hindsight it's pretty funny. but basically, i made critical comments about a character on twitter, so someone went into my comments section and told me to NEVER write for this one specific pairing anymore. (for the record, i didn't. but that was because i realized the pairing in question was kind of lame.)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i tried my hand at it once. it went horribly, but it was a learning experience. let the record know it was SO MUCH HARDER than i thought it would be.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

not really, no! i mean, i published a self-insert fic as a joke for my friends a few years ago, but that's not quite the same thing.

if we're talking "not published and will never see the light of day" stuff, i did write a little blurb where keanu reeves' jonathan harker meets alex winters' vampire marko from the lost boys.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes. the title was taken, as was the premise, from a popular author in the community.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah!!! nothing serious that ever got published, but me and my friends have collaborated on mini-projects together and have old google docs together. i used to write mini fics with my friends all the time on twitter, but sadly i never archived them.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

probably yuuri and victor from yuri on ice. i can't express enough how much yuri on ice changed my life when it came out, or the sheer euphoria i felt as a kid in the closet watching someone so much like me - yuuri - be out, and happy, and brave. i miss my show so, so much.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

my aquarium fic with serizawa as a education volunteer and reigen as a schoolteacher who takes his kids there on field trips. i have so many little scenes from it and an incredibly specific vision for it as someone who loves the sea, has a lifelong appreciation for marine life, and has always wanted to live by the shore.

16. What are your writing strengths?

oh man. i think that i do a good job of integrating leitmotifs and playing into my semi-poetic voice. i also think that over the years, i've gotten better at creating tangible atmospheres, specifically with the quiet. i love portraying the quiet.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

grammatically, i'm a bit of a nightmare sometimes. dialogue takes a while for me to develop, too.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i wouldn't do this unless i knew the other language well (like vietnamese). most likely i don't think i'll end up doing this at all because even with my personal and professional writing, i'm hesitant to write in another language that isn't english.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

merlin. i was 11 and wrote my first fic on my ipad in the pages app...it was a merlin fix-it that was over 15,000 words long, and it was absolutely atrocious. said ipad is at my parent's house locked forever because i forgot the password, and i hope it stays that way. some things should stay lost.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

honestly? i think it's still principles of stellar connectivity. i wrote this for community during lockdown in late 2020, and i conceptualized a lot of it with my friend, @combeferres. (they're credited at the beginning as the person who made the fic's mixtape!) it's got everything i love: rock music, troy and abed being silly, national parks, stargazing, celestial motifs. i wanted to do a serious character study with sitcom characters while still retaining the core of who they are and what makes them so special, and to this day, i think i was pretty successful.

#fic tag #tagged #thank you sm again for tagging me ani this was a lot of fun!!!#i am also procrastinating rn. i do not want to write this poli sci essay

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trying414 · 1 year ago

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20 questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @talkstoself

1. How many works do you have on A03?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

102,210

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Miraculous Ladybug, Batman, and Maribat, but I've been known to dip into Doctor Who, Austin & Ally, and the Thundermans (though the Austin & Ally can only be found in the Internet Archive because middle-school-me was wild. And it has a different username so happy hunting lmao)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. I'm Gone, Gone, Gone, Gone 4. 1 - Sofa 3. 7 - Breeding Kink (Honorable Mention: Babies) 2. Buzz Buzz Bitch 1. Tag Teamed on the Tower (I really should have seen that cumming)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Because I feel guilty if I don't Because I don't honestly get a ton, so I can't be overwhelmed by it. If I was a big name, maybe I wouldn't reply to as many, but I don't get a ton, so I find it easier to handle. This is not me fishing for comments, I swear. I'm just as guilty of not commenting (I'm trying to do better, but I don't always remember, and I don't always have it in me. I do always kudos, though). I write for me (mostly), but if you enjoy it, great! If not, to each their own. But never feel obligated to comment on my fics. I would rather you read and say nothing than feel stressed/guilty for not commenting.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

...hm. Considering the majority of my fics are either unfinished or prompted oneshots, I don't have a lot with angsty endings. I do have a lot with angst, though. Angsty ending? Hm. I'm going to have to go with I'm Gone, Gone, Gone, Gone.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again with the ending thing 😂 It doesn't help that a lot of them are open-ended. And what kind of happy are we talking? Happy😁 or Happy ��? But also you've asked one of the most indecisive people on the planet. The last one was easier. The whole thing is angst. (And I generally try to stick to happier/hopeful endings.) This, though? Pass. Someone else pick.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on AO3? But AO3 is also bigger, and I don't post a lot. I live in my dark little corner on the interweb. I think most of the hate I've gotten was on FFN, and even then, I don't get a lot. Perks of writing for big fandoms, updating inconsistently, and generally having shorter fics. You get lost in the mix. (This is not a brag, but it's also not a complaint. I'm happy in my corner. Well...I'm content. Not ecstatic, not suffering.)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Lots of smut. Does it all get posted? No 😂 Half, no, more than half of it doesn't even get written. You can guess on the kind. I have things that I won't write, but I feel like those are pretty limited. If I don't know it and it isn't a limit, I would probably at least try. (Ex: my most popular fic is a threesome, which I've never had, with a hemipene, which I've also never dealt with (I mean in the toy sense, I know human people do not have hemis.))

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't write a lot of them. I'm just dipping my toes into writing them (for now, solely Maribat). I've had a shit ton of ideas for them (years ago I had one for a Doctor Who x H2O: Just Add Water fic, but that remains an idea in my OneDrive)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I have, I don't know about it. I'm a singular grain of sand in a whole beach of authors. I'm harder to find, and I'm certainly not well-written enough for it. (At least, not to me.)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. Sounds scary. :)

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

As a general life rule, I don't have favorites lmao. Mostly because I'm indecisive as hell. Minimally because then something will be left out.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Gonna steal TalksToSelf's answer and go with: All of them 😭

16. What are your writing strengths?

Porn. Porn and Depression. Angst. Occasionally fluff. Mostly Porn, though.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Flow. Word variation. Consistency. Inspiration/Motivation. I could go on, but those are enough for now.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Mostly, I'll write in italics/bold/(not quotes but I'm blanking... the two different apostrophes???)'these' and indicate what it was spoken in, but if it's a singular word/phrase, like a nickname, I normally just use the word itself, with an explanation for it at some point in the fic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Austin & Ally

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I do not have a favorite child. I love and hate them all equally.

No pressure tagging @hamsteriffic @miraculouslymundane @littlemourningstar @izanae @boldlyanxious ... I'm done. Someone else take over tagging people.

#tag games #trying414 #trying414writes #trying414 writes #trying414's writing #my writing #fanfictions #fanfics #fanfic #trying414's fanfics #idk #i'm done tagging lmfao

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lorna-d-m · 2 years ago

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Thank you for the tag! @ruby-dragon 💖 I'm sorry it took me forever to do!

rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals

Anyone who wants to can :)

1. Are you named after anyone? Yes! My mom's coworker who was a mentor to her.

2. When was the last time you cried? Sometime in the last few days over a celebrity/sportsman because I was hormonal

3. Do you have kids? No I do not

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? If I am comfortable in the conversation

5. What's the first thing you notice about people? Attitude/energy

6. What's your eye color? Blue

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings

8. Any special talents? None that I'm aware of

9. Where were you born? Well, they say the devil went down to Georgia lol

10. What are your hobbies? Reading, writing, listening to music and watching tv of course. Formula one and lately the Italian soccer league for one singular player 🫶🏻

11. Have you any pets? Not now, but I want a cat

12. What sports do you play/ have played? I have never been athletic lmao

13. How tall are you? Like 5'9"?

14. Favorite subject in school? English or history

15. Dream job? English teacher 😎

#personal #ask game

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phoenixradiant · 7 months ago

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WIP Question Game

My thanks to @aestheic-writer18 for the tag!

In this game, I'll be answering nine general questions for my current WIP, Kelovir.

1. What was the first part of your WIP that you created?

So Kelovir (though it went by a different name back then) was started back in NaNoWriMo 2022. I usually start WIPs by writing a scene or two that helps me build a plot and characters, but because of the time constraints of the challenge, the first thing I did was create a planning document (I wasn't doing any prose writing because the planning doc was in October). The first thing in that document was a main character summary, and the first MC I covered was Narra. Up until a week ago, she was the only thing in that document (sans names, I usually like my names) that was still accurate. I'm beginning giving her a rewrite, and once I'm done, that planning document will be 99% outdated

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the intro song be?

I actually did a thing and wrote one for that exact hypothetical (It's not very good) I have several ideas, but most of those songs were written for other specific pieces of media. Of the ones that aren't, there's three distinct emotions that tend to crop up (so if it were a three season show it could have a different intro every season, like some animes): Anger, Melancholy, and Hope, for which I'd respectively say

Evil Ways or When the Devil Calls from those "Dark Country" albums (don't remember the artists)

2. Good People by PMP or Streets of Gold by Aviators

3. Forward Motion by TFK

Though now that I think of it, Slow Farewell (from the Dark Country albums) might work well as a singular intro.

3. What other pieces of media could share a fan base with your WIP?

Given that I've shared very little of my writing, I don't really know who it appeals to, so instead I'm just going to list half-a-dozen of my influences (in no particular order, probably affected by recency bias) and hope that people who like what I like also like what I do:

Brandon Sanderson (a lot of thematic inspiration and a bit of character [Ik what it looks like, but I hadn't read Stormlight before the main trio and the idea of Brands were both fully formed, I swear])

Fire Emblem (Dauria literally only exists because of Sacae, Cellic takes a lot of inspo from Dimitri, Anesaru takes a bit of inspo from Edelgard [sorry El stans, I promise I don't treat her too harshly])

FMA:B (character inspo mostly, esp. Maiph)

LotR, ofc (thematic inspo, a few literary conventions like characters spontaneously bursting into song lol)

Firefly (dialog inspo)

FFIV (a lot of character inspo)

4. Who are your favorite character/s and why?

It's Cellic. It has been and always will be Cellic. I've harped on about him before, and for the sake of space here, I'll try to keep it concise this time. He takes the part of me that wanted to be a hero as a kid, and he embodies that heroism as he walks through the world I saw as a teenager, and, though he breaks, becomes the kind of person I want to be and befriend as an adult. He bears the Trace of Devotion and (spoilers) the Brand of Justice, and (also spoilers) passes the trial of Beauty, and (also spoilers but very predictable) marries someone who bears the Seal of Healing. He's archetypical in many ways to be sure, but his dependability and classic heroism are part of what makes him my favorite.

5. What has been your biggest struggle while writing your WIP?

The oft-mentioned lack of discipline that leaves me unable to actually progress. Apart from that though, probably the fact that my outline means that who I attempt to write my characters as and who they actually are as they evolve on the page aren't the same, and that can cause some sticking points.

6. How do your characters get around?

Mostly by running or flying. Four named characters have wyverns, another one has wings, three or so can fly w/ magic, and the rest just learn to suck it up and hike it out.

7. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

A lot of dragonkin. There's the aforementioned wyverns, two amphipteres, and one currently-though-not-originally-incorporeal dragon god. All of these are sentient, and all of them but two of the wyverns have dialogue. Aside from the dragonkin: there's several horses, sheep, goats, and boars for domesticated animals, and several more... interesting beasts for wild creatures. Particularly valrak, giant fusions of scorpion, wasp, spider, and beetle that eat everything and spread like fauna kudzu, and whatever demon things the summoners of Clan Anyraz pull from what is essentially the nether. For mythological reasons, wild animals tend to be hostile to people. You'll find the occasional neutral one, but animals have a surprisingly good reason for hating humanity.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I'm working on my rewrite of Narra, which you can help give me ideas for here! Once I get that revision done I'm going to resume drafting, specifically I'm going to finish the flashback sequence where Cellic's mother dies.

9. What aspects of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

HOW DARE YOU FORCE ME TO BE POSITIVE ABOUT MYSELF!

Dialogue. I like to think I'm pretty good at it, both the funny parts and the deep parts (which are sometimes the same). My descriptive style is still evolving, but luckily I think it's changing for the better. Also, thematically it talks about things that I think are important, and I'm told that the enthusiasm of the writer often translates to enthusiasm of the reader.

Aaaand that should do it! I've seen this passing around a few times and ik several of the people I'd otherwise tag have done it already, so Imma just leave this as an open tag! If you see this and you want in, that means YOU!

#writeblr #writing #kelovir #epic fantasy #fantasy #cellic thricebrant #narra milbough #wip questions #wip questionnaire #tag game #writing tag game

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viridianevergarden · 6 months ago

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Since you put this in the Elriel tag, I’m taking the initiative to respond to this from my Elriel perspective.

I think you’re debunking things without all of the facts to aim for your narrative which is fine but let me write this out and explain from my own.

This will be extremely long.

First, regarding the art of foreshadowing:

Foreshadowing is the instance where one makes subtle hints toward the future or toward future events.

Foreshadowing is meant to be something that is looked at and that makes you go “huh”, at first.

Then you read further and realize what’s happening. And in this instance, if you read back to the initial details that have been sprinkled in, it is something that’s meant to make you go “OH” in that realization.

Because why wasn’t it so obvious to you before?

Foreshadowing is meant to be subtle but when you realize what is happening, what those small details aimed for, it is painfully obvious. Everything adds up to this, to that conclusion.

So I think you’re merely half right when it comes to whether or not foreshadowing is meant to be subtle of obvious. In totality, it IS obvious. It’s something that makes you question how the heck you haven’t picked up on it before when the hints were there all along.

That’s the art of it. Subtle to the naked eye, obvious to the experienced one.

Moving on…

ACOTAR

Where our story begins. Indeed, there has not been a singular interaction between Elriel in this book as Azriel was never introduced and Elain was back in the Human Lands. Nothing has been set into motion here just yet.

I personally don’t count this book as a part of the tension building. Obviously. I don’t think the other elriels here do either.

Feyre had indeed surmised that she’d love Spring because of the flowers. And that’s true. Elain does love flowers.

People use that blind thought from Feyre as a means to say that Elain will find her place in Spring, amongst all other crazy theories I’ve seen some of you say. But this fact will be debunked later on.

ACOMAF

Where the seeds of the true story, Elriel’s story, has been sown into the soil.

When the 2 Illyrians met the 2 sisters, both males stilled. Not one, both. Pretty odd, considering that if it was just Cassian stilling toward Nesta, nobody would bat an eye.

And it was Cassian and Nesta who ended up being an endgame couple. Now who else stilled? Oh, right, Azriel. And who else remains? Elain.

On that day, Elain was wearing cobalt blue. Yes, it is the signature color that her lover at the time, Graysen had for his family.

But no one can deny that it is the same exact color of Azriel’s siphons.

Then at the dinner. Azriel smiled at Elain, who was clenching her fork when Cass sat beside her.

Tension raised between Cassian and Nesta, who were borderline arguing. Cass had let down bombs upon bombs of razor sharp facts that cast unease across everyone at the table.

Elain’s voice wobbled when she spoke up, saying that the general hatred that humans had for Fae was molded into them. That they were raised that way.

And it was Azriel, no one else, who empathized with her. Who spoke and said “I can imagine.” with a smile on his face.

His words allowed her to reinforce herself, to sit up and continue speaking about how Feyre was the one who helped them. How Nesta and Elain herself alone were to blame for not taking responsibility as the older siblings.

Then after Feyre pleaded with Nesta to start over and move on, Elain was the one to keep a conversation going.

“Can you truly fly?”

Mr. “I don’t need to resort to poetry” over here, resorted to poetry in explaining that they can fly. That they are born hearing the song of wind. And I swear, if somebody says that such words aren’t poetry— lol.

ACOMAF does highlight how in love Az is with Mor, no one I’ve seen has denied it. No one I’ve seen has said that Az had immediately flipped the switch and fell in love with her here. But the simple fact that Az not only stilled beside Cassian for the sisters, that he was the one to provide her comfort at the dinner table with a smile and showing his own empathy, to us, or to me, something has taken root.

We can see that Azriel and Elain, right off the bat, have some form of understanding on a vague and small basis. And don’t forget that Feyre noted that Elain would most likely take to Azriel for some peace and quiet.

So again, nothing drastic here. But seeds have been sown. No budding yet, no blooming, but let it grow.

ACOWAR

This book was jam packed full of growth for that seed in the soil.

Upon Feyre’s return, she does discover that Elain had been in an extremely depressive and murky state. She’d refused to leave her room, refused to eat, refused to speak. And when she did speak, it was in utter riddles. Everyone thought she was going clinically insane. She was actively thinning from the fact that she wasn’t taking care of herself.

Lucien merely claimed that she needed sunlight, to go outside, to do something. I think that’s what any person would say about someone going through the things that Elain was. He didn’t try to do anything with her, aside from being forced to speak with her. Except I believe on one occasion where Elain was talking to him about him betraying “us”. Betraying everyone.

Lucien’s arrival didn’t do crap to help her. Nothing.

After Madja herself said that “If anyone can sense what’s amiss, it’s a mate”.

And Lucien didn’t truly sense anything. Do we forget the fact that he stumbled over these words? ⬇️

“Should we—does she need …?”

But who cut him off?

Azriel last name Shadowsinger, with “She doesn’t need anything.”

His words called Elain’s gaze to him, and when he said that the Cauldron had made her into a seer, all of the sudden she started to speak normally toward Mor, asking if that was true.

No one has ever said that naming her ability is curing trauma. Because that’s not what this is.

Then this line was coined by Feyre:

It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not … Perhaps he, too, had suffered as Elain had before he understood what gift he possessed.

Azriel continued to question Elain about what she saw, and when everyone understood, when Azriel and Elain herself understood what she was saying and seeing, all the sudden her eyes had been freed from that “murky realm”, Feyre called it.

Lucien left after that— To find Vassa because no one else could. Rhys had specifically said that he needed his Inner Circle to remain in the Night Court.

After that whole thing, later in the book we find that Elain was doing something. Baking with the wraith twins in the kitchen.

Countless times in ACOWAR had Azriel shown initiation in taking Elain to the gardens, carrying her through thresholds, merely having silent alone time with each other, etc. and what’s more?

Feyre began making note of the absence of his shadows when he was with her and the fact that he’d slowly been paying less attention to Mor and more to Elain.

Now I’m assuming that we all have in our right minds, an understanding of those shadows. That they only disappear when there’s overwhelming amounts of light and when he is surrounded by people that he is truly happy and comfortable around. This has been shown around Cassian, around Mor, around Elain.

I’ll address more about them later since they’re so controversial for the entire fandom.

Then there’s the war camp rescue. Azriel avidly saying with cold rage that he’d go get Elain. Even when Nesta herself said he’d die? When Rhysand and Cassian were leaning towards going later as a group?

Azriel effectively and mentally said “hell no” and went with Feyre on his own accord, against everyone else’s instruction to get her instantly. Dont forget that he was the one to notice her absence. Not her sisters, not Nesta, not Feyre. I don’t know what else to say to you here because this is mate esc behavior.

Then Elain did kiss him on the cheek as thanks. Regardless of him bleeding out, regardless of him stumbling and worrying not for himself but worrying about getting harmless chains off of her? Peak mate esc behavior again.

That is romantic chemistry being built right before your eyes.

Then we have the Truth-Teller scene that people commonly downplay. Where Elain turned down Cassian’s knife, only to accept Azriel’s. Hesitant she was to take TT, his words to her had convinced her about taking that blade.

“It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.”

Even when she claimed she didn’t know how to use it. Even after Feyre herself claimed that she won’t have to use that blade.

Don’t forget that it’s foreshadowing enough that Feyre painted the image in her mind of them holding that blade together. The two so at odds and so different, life to death hand in hand with that knife.

Then we have her returning it. Elain went to clean TT and give it back to Azriel because it’s his. Not hers. Why would she keep it? Wordlessly pushing it into his hands and walking away is not a tell tale sign of her having some form of rejection for him or the knife in general. She’d just killed a man for the first time for crying out loud. Give this girl a break.

All of this happened in one book. One. Book. You can’t downplay it all as just regular development with no clear cut chemistry.

ACOFAS

That seed has sprouted and begun to bloom.

I keep seeing people say that this book indeed was meant to do many things.

Bridging the gap between the trilogy to make way for the new portion of the series.

To establish Nessian’s drastic development.

To set up a love triangle between Elain, Azriel, and Lucien.

Now I am going to, with my full chest, say that there won’t be a love triangle.

What love triangle is there to have???

Lucien doesn’t love her, from what we’ve seen. From what Feyre has given us.

That male has more chemistry with Vassa than he does Elain, funnily enough.

Lucien, the male who compared her to his dead ex lover, who really didn’t know anything of what she needed, who didn’t even initiate much of anything with her because it was clear that she didn’t want him around. Unless he was forced by Feyre of course. Who also searches for any reason to avoid Elain just as she does him?

That Lucien?

Lmao.

The only possible thing right now with the current textual evidence that would ever warrant a “love triangle” is the fact that Lucien would only ever want to try for Elain because she’s been thrown at him as a mate. Obligation and instinct. No love, no other feelings.

So that’s pretty damn one sided if you ask me.

I also have absolutely no recollection of Azriel being gravitated towards Elain because of his mother? Where is that from? What chapter? What’s the context?

Then we have that god forsaken solstice situation.

Rhysand quite literally told the bat boys not to gift anything to Nesta and Elain. Thats why Azriel didn’t get anything for her.

Lucien gave Elain gloves that she entirely disregarded and didn’t even look at twice. She didn’t want them. Feyre made note later on about it, that she prefers hard work without magical gloves.

Goes to show how everyone in the Inner Circle really doesn’t know Elain. Not even her sisters. Feyre had marveled at the fact that she’s showing parts of herself that they’ve never seen before.

Showing grit and baring her fangs to Nesta, casually coming in with thorns in her hands, refusing to use those gloves, showing initiative and openly saying “find me when you wish to begin” back in ACOWAR. No one has an understanding of Elain like Az has.

Then Elain’s gag gift to Azriel. I know you like to make it seem like it’s super unimportant and just a joke but if we’re talking about the possibility and sheer chemistry of Elriel as a ship, this is big.

Everyone was suprised that Azriel laughed at her gag gift. The gag gift that was seemingly so unimportant on the surface but holds so much value to Azriel.

The very male who said “this will be invaluable.” And invaluable it is to him, since he looks at it and keeps it close every night.

Then we have Azriel and Elain staying up until at least 3 am alone together. To talk together. We don’t know when they went to bed since we were in Feyre’s head, she of whom went upstairs at around 3 am.

No chemistry between Elriel still? Okay.

ACOSF

Your favorite book. The book that ended the Elriel ship, as you and many others say.

Pre-BC:

Yes, Azriel and Elain still talked and had some form of communication. Obviously. Because there’s nothing between them that would cause a mandatory cleft.

Quite easy to contemplate, I think.

The BC:

The seed sprout has fully bloomed into something now. All it needs is more nurturing, something that it’s being deprived of.

Do we not recall that Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, forbade Azriel himself from being around Elain???

Babes, I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this. That alone just created the forbbiden love trope.

Let me say it again.

Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, forbade Azriel from being around Elain.

“You are to stay away from her.”

Ringing no bells? Thats somehow not a forbidden love trope? Okay. I digress.

Post-BC:

Of course Azriel isn’t talking to her. So much happened in that short time span, in one night. He’s painfully heeding his orders.

Don’t forget that Azriel was so pissed off about it that he put rocks in snowballs and lost his 299 year winning streak for that annual snowball fight.

He was pissed.

I’m not going to go all the way down the rabbit hole that is addressing the infamous claim “He only lusted after Elain anyway”.

To say such a thing is quite insensitive and disrespectful to his character. Goes to show how so many people really misunderstand him.

And as if Cassian wasn’t so down bad for Nesta too. Just like Rhys was for Feyre. But when Az does it for Elain, all the sudden it’s a crime.

Don’t forget that Elain reciprocated and actually initiated. It was because of her that he even made any move that night.

This bring me to the critical point that I’ve asked myself all the time.

Why the hell would Azriel Shadowsinger plan to seduce Elain, to get with her in general when he hates himself so much, when he feels undeserving of her, when he knew that his words about the almost kiss had hurt her, when Rhys pulled rank and ordered him away from her, and when Fate is already spun against him seeing as she has a mate???

The entire deck of cards is quite literally stacked against him.

He has no reason to believe that he has a chance with Elain. Hence why he isn’t fighting for his love for her. Hence why he didn’t tell Rhysand how he feels.

Regarding his shadows and the presence of Gwyn:

HOFAS, CC3’s bonus chapter that featured Nesta and Az, has effectively and further debunked that whole “Azriel’s shadows love Gwyn because they sang in answer to her breath or voice.” claim.

Allow me to elaborate.

Azriel’s shadows recoil and react to stimuli, whether that stimuli be magical or reflect off of who they know he’s safe around.

Az’s shadows danced to Bryce’s music in that bonus chapter.

And Gwyn is literally overflowing with siren imagery. When she sings in ACOSF, Nesta is drawn to her voice and lured in. Gwyn’s hair glows when she sings and Nesta made note that she wasn’t certain whether Gwyn herself knew that or not.

And for the love of god, the “you’re the new ribbon Az.” line:

Tell me you can’t discern the difference between platonic and romantic banter without telling me you can’t discern the difference between platonic and romantic banter.

Every single instance in ACOSF that involves Azriel being around Gwyn for training, for example Gwyn’s loud laugh, is quite obviously platonic.

Her laughing loud enough to briefly gain the attention of absolutely everyone in the room? Come on now. That is a natural reaction to look over in the direction of a loud noise.

Regarding the BC and the sparky sparky glow glow thing in his chest, I always interpreted it as Azriel being happy that someone, anyone, in this case Gwyn, could have that necklace without any emotional baggage.

Better to give it away to someone who could enjoy such an anonymous gift rather than take it back to where he bought it from.

This necklace that caused so much harm in so little time, Azriel wanted to get rid of. You may ask “well why didn’t he just take it back to where he got it from?”

Why do that when first, out of convenience, he could just go down stairs and give it away. And second, the possibility of Az being lured down to the library being present?

Gwyn and her oblivious luring abilities, remember?

This doesn’t make her evil either. I see so many people on the other side saying we as Elriels think she’ll be evil or that she is evil. Thats not the case. We think she’s unaware.

Anyways.

He “found himself” going down there with the intent to give that necklace away to anyone who would take it.

“Well, he named Gwyn.”

Logically speaking, of course he would. She was the first person that he ran into after the shitshow that was the night before.

And then there were two:

The Dusk Court and Koschei. I’m sorry, what could Gwyn possibly do that could legit combat something like Koschei?

You’d think that Dusk and Koschei together would have hurdles that involved the requirement of abilities of a Made being. Such as, dare I say, Elain Archeron the Kingslayer herself.

I’m not saying that Gwyn won’t have presence in the next book because I’m certain that she will. But to be Azriel’s partner and lover and mate? Doubtful. Very doubtful. There’s just not enough evidence in the current text to come to that conclusion logically vs what’s going on with Elriel together.

Why can he smell elucien’s bond when no one else can?

Why does such a thing physically hurt and sicken him to sense?

Why does he agonize so much over Elain to the point where he can hardly take care of himself?

Why is he always so instinctively protective over Elain? And yes, I am bringing up the “shadows poised as snakes, ready to strike” against Nesta.

Azriel was willing and waiting to scrap it out with Nesta over Elain. Let’s be real now.

I could continue, but I think I’ve said enough. This post is long enough as is.

My lovely Conclusion:

Kindly, remain in denial about all of this as you like. To blatantly say there is absolutely nothing, no foreshadowing, no chemistry, no tension, no forbidden love tropes, no miscommunication tropes, and that Elriel as a whole has sunk from one bonus chapter that isn’t even available to casual readers especially outside of the US, is painfully and laughably ignorant.

We’ll see soon enough what’s going to happen. But I think the texts that SJM has given us is more than enough of a tell tale sign for what’s to come. She has given us everything we need.

Oh and by the way. The foreshadowing is obvious because that’s how it should be. Peak linear writing, my friend. 🤍

ELUCIEN | GWYNRIEL — MAASVERSE SPOILERS

I tend to see posts and videos from a multitude of people who seem to be reluctant to accept foreshadowing in the ACOTAR books—specifically regarding the endgame couples to finish out the overall series. As this post is simply beating a dead horse down, I find that it is very much needed as a specific group of people lack the capacity to understand the books.

Foreshadowing is not meant to be obvious. There are, of course, cases where it is relatively obvious, but only within the parameters of back-to-back scenes. Foreshadowing is meant to be picked up on, but to be fully understand later on in the story when everything comes to fruition. Examples of foreshadowing include color descriptions, specific use of language, emphasis on certain scenes, emphasis surrounding specific objects, et cetera. If something happens obviously and you can read the scene as-is, it is not foreshadowing.

I see many people who ship Elriel claim that there is buildup across the entire series that foreshadows why they will be endgame. As the books do not support that claim, it is outlandish and a spread of misinformation. Allow me to disprove this theory using the books alone:

— 🌸 ACOTAR: Zero interactions between Elain and Azriel as Azriel had not been introduced as a character yet. This book highlighted Feyre surmising that Elain would thrive within the Spring Court, that her sister enjoyed typical emissary work, and instead introduced Lucien as a character.

— 🦢 ACOMAF: This is the first book where Elain and Azriel met, as is this is where many Elriels like to claim that the Elriel build-up begins. However, this book says otherwise. Elain and Azriel’s first meeting is neutral, quiet conversation to ease a tense situation as Nesta/Feyre/Cassian/Rhys were creating an uncomfortable atmosphere and Elain meant to ease it. This book highlighted how in love Azriel was with Mor and how Elain was engaged to Grayson. Many Elriels also claim that the color of Elain’s dress in this first meeting—being cobalt—is indicative of endgame between she and Azriel. However, cobalt is also the signature color of Grayson’s family crest. Their interactions die out after that first meeting and instead focus on Feysand again. The throne room scene in Hybern also showed the beginning of Elucien and their mate bond, while Azriel was on the floor reaching for Mor. (I go more into this on my Tik Tok page: @oristian)

— 🔥 ACOWAR: When Feyre returns to the Night Court after her month in Spring, she finds that Elain has been within a catatonic state for the entirety of that month and has shown no signs of recovering—that is, until Lucien came along. Elain began eating and moving around once he came and after tugging on the mating bond, her visions first started showing. themselves. Everyone likes to credit Azriel for most of this, but all that Azriel did (take her to the garden) was suggested previously by Lucien. Lucien, who was not able to be alone with her due to Nesta and Feyre. Next, everyone tends to say that Azriel “saw” Elain when he named her power. “What we need is …” Contradicts such a thing. Naming a power does not cure someone of their trauma. Lucien is also canonically the first character to take Elain’s visions seriously and went in search of Vassa, ultimately finding Papa Archeron and creating an even deeper connection into the Koschei plot arc with Elain. This is also where we get the iconic half-step on the stair scene.

Elain is now kidnapped by the cauldron portraying itself as Graysen—Elain wanting so badly to be with her previous lover. This is a scene where many Elriels claim that it is supportive of Elriel being endgame. However, it is within character for Azriel to save someone, especially people close to him. Certainly, Elain being appreciative of being saved and kissing him on the cheek is cute, but that is not enough “foreshadowing” for an endgame. Next, Azriel hands her Truth Teller after Elain refused other weapons. Elain is hesitant and only agrees to take it once Feyre chimes in that she will not have to use it. Juxtapose this with Elain immediately giving it back after the battle is over, not saying a word, and instead falling into conversation with Lucien. Lucien, who is canonically the only character to credit her for assisting with ending the King of Hybern.

— 🌨️ ACOFAS: This is the buffer book that was meant to do two things: Establish Nessian as the next couple for the following book, and establish a clear love triangle between Azriel/Elain/Lucien. Elriels use this book to drive the idea of an Elriel endgame. While this book has scenes between Elain and Azriel, there is unfortunately no foreshadowing present enough to support that claim. This novella emphasizes, from a conversation between Rhys and Feyre, that Azriel may be inclined towards Elain due to her having traits that may remind him of his mother (Freud). We also have Solstice where Lucien brings Elain a gift—a gift that fully reflects her interests—Elain brings Azriel a gift, but Azriel does not bring Elain a gift. Azriel even questioning beforehand if he has to get the sisters a gift at all. Elain’s gift being superficial and more of a joke than anything truly meaningful to them as a relationship.

— 🗡️ ACOSF: The book that ended Elriel. We have this book set up as PRE-BONUS CHAPTER | BONUS CHAPTER | POST BONUS CHAPTER. In the pre-bonus chapter, we have a few scenes between Elain and Azriel that is a glance, or a very small interaction. The infamous scene that Elriels like to use to “prove” that his shadows actually like Elain is the scene where Cassian says that Nesta upset Elain and his shadows seemed poised to strike. His shadows reacted to his anger, not to Elain. Next, the Solstice scene where Azriel refused to be within the room due to the mating bond between Elain and Lucien and Nesta seeing that he was interested in Elain—which is never brought up again, however we do get a scene post bonus chapter of Nesta encouraging Gwyn and Azriel by calling him the “new ribbon.”

The bonus chapter ended Elriel officially as endgame. The chapter is told from Azriel’s POV and documents his lustful thoughts of Elain and how he wants a mate, hurt and confused why his brothers had two of the Archeron sisters and the third was given away to another male. Rhysand even asking Azriel what his plans are after seducing Elain and Azriel having none “past the fantasies he pleasures himself to.” This is also a chapter where Elriels like to claim that Elriel is a forbidden romance. ACOWAR Rhys clearly objects to this being the case. (I have a video on my Tik Tok going over this @oristian) The bonus chapter then moves to Azriel finding Gwyn, his shadows not warning him of her presence at the HoW. His shadows are curious about her and dance with her breath. Azriel then finds out that Elain rejected his necklace—the only Solstice gift that he has gotten her, and one he expressed as “nothing extraordinary”—and the next morning finds him re-gifting such to Gwyn. Azriel can picture her eyes lighting up at the gift and he smiles—this is also where mate language is used to describe the spark in his chest at the thought of her and the glow of the thought. “A thing of secret, lovely beauty.” A line that was used twice—one to describe the necklace, and another time to describe the thought of Gwyn.

Post bonus chapter has zero interactions between Elain and Azriel. The interactions between Azriel and Gwyn are charged and witty. Energetic. This is also where we see Azriel’s siphons glowing darker at the thought of the Valkyries in the Great Rite—the first instance that this has happened.

Next, we go into the last two remaining plot arcs: Koschei and Dusk Court. Both ACOSF and HOFAS have set Nesta up as the driver for the Dusk Court arc, with Azriel as the character to follow. With SJM’s Bloomsbury contract slating her to have two more main books with dual POV romantic interests, the Dusk Court arc book would only make sense having Gwyn and Azriel as the FMC and MMC of that arc. The Koschei arc has been carefully crafted for Elain and Lucien to be the FMC and MMC of that book, with both of them being set up for this since ACOWAR. Elain with her visions of Vassa, the lake, and Koschei’s black box, and Lucien being tied to Papa Archeron and Vassa and the mortals. (I have a video on my Tik Tok that goes more in depth with this @oristian)

— SUMMARY: Elain and Azriel do not have multiple books of foreshadowing, a Gwynriel and Elucien endgame is not fanservice, and the remaining two plot arcs do not support an Elriel endgame. If you have any problems with that, take it up with SJM.

#acotar #maasverse #sjm #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #elriel #pro elriel #elriel supremacy #i thought it was obvious #it is obvious #elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #pro elain #elain x azriel #pro azriel #a court of thorns and roses

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writingwithcolor · 3 years ago

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I'm writing an AU of a movie that takes place in the 1880s USA, where a travelling white character and a Jewish character are waylaid by Native Americans, who they befriend. Probably because it was written by and about PoC (Jews) the scene actually avoids the stuff on your Native American Masterpost, but I'd still like to do better than a movie made in the 1980's, and I feel weird cutting them from the plot entirely. I have a Jewish woman reading it for that, but are there any things you (1/1)

2/2 1880s western movie ask--are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s? I do plan to base them on a real tribe (Ute, probably) and have proper housing/clothes and so forth, but right now I'm just trying to avoid or subvert awful cowboy movie tropes. Any ideas?

White and Jewish Men, Native American interactions in 1880s

I am vaguely concerned with how you only cite one of our posts about Native Americans, that was not written by a Native person, and do not cite any of the posts relating to this time period, or any posts relating to representation in media.

Sidenote: if you want us to give accurate reflections of the media you’re discussing, please tell us the NAME. I cannot go look up this movie based off this description to give you an idea of what my issues are with this scene, and must instead trust that the representation is good based off your judgement. I cannot make my own judgement. This is a problem. Especially since your whole question boils down to “this scene is good but not great and I want it to be great. How can I do that?”

Your baseline for “good” could very well be my baseline for “terrible hack job”. I can’t give you the proper education required for you to be able to accurately evaluate the media you’re watching for racist stereotypes if you don’t tell me what you’re even working with.

When you’re writing fanfic where the media is directly relevant to the question, please tell us the name of the media. We will not judge your tastes. We need this information in order to properly help you.

Moving on.

I bring up my concern for you citing that one—exceptionally old—post because it is lacking in many of the tropes that don’t exist in the media critique field but exist in the real world. This is an issue I have run into countless times on WWC (hence further concern you did not cite any other posts) and have spoken about at length.

People look at the media critique world exclusively, assume it is a complete evaluation of how Native Americans are seen in society, and as a result end up ignoring some really toxic stereotypes and then come to the inbox with “these characters aren’t abc trope, so they’re fine, but I want to rubber stamp them anyway. Anything wrong here?”. The answer is pretty much always yes.

Issue one: “Waylaid” by Native Americans

This wording is extremely loaded for one reason: Native American people are seen as tricksters, liars, and predators. This is the #1 trope that shows up in the real world that does not show up in media critique. It’s also the trope I have talked about the most when it comes to media representation, so you not knowing the trope is a sign you haven’t read the entirety of the Native tag—which is in the FAQ as something we would really prefer you did before coming at us to answer questions. It avoids us having to re-explain ourselves.

Now, hostility is honestly to be expected for the time period the movie is set in. This is in the beginnings (or ramping up) of residential schools in America* and Canada, we have generations upon generations of stolen or killed children, reserves being allocated perhaps hundreds of miles from sacred sites, and various wars with Plains and Southwest peoples are in full force (Wounded Knee would have happened in 1890, in December, and the Dakoa’s mass execution would have been in 1862. Those are just the big-name wars. There absolutely were others).

*America covers up its residential schools abuse extremely thoroughly, so if you try to research them in the American context you will come up empty. Please research Canada’s schools and apply the same abuse to America, as Canada has had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission about residential schools and therefore is more (but not completely) transparent about the abuse that happened. Please note that America’s history with residential schools is longer than Canada’s history. There is an extremely large trigger warning for mass child death when you do this research.

But just because the hostility is expected does not mean that this hostility would be treated well in the movie. Especially when you consider the sheer amount of tension between any Native actors and white actors, for how Sacheen Littlefeather had just been nearly beaten up by white actors at the 1973 Academy Awards for mentioning Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act had only been passed two years prior in 1978.

These Native actors would not have had the ability to truly consent to how they were shown, and this power dynamic has to be in your mind when you watch this scene over. I don’t care that the writers were from a discriminated-against background. This does not always result in being respectful, and I’ve also spoken about this power imbalance at length (primarily in the cowboy tag).

Documentaries and history specials made in the 2010s (with some degree of academic muster) will still fall into wording that harkens Indigenous people to wolves and settlers as frightened prey animals getting picked off by the mean animalistic Natives. This is not neutral, or good. This is perpetuating the myth that the settlers were helpless, just doing their own thing completely unobtrusively, and then the evil territorial Native Americans didn’t want to share.

To paraphrase Batman: if I had a week I couldn’t explain all the reasons that’s wrong.

How were these characters waylaid by the Native population? Because that answer—which I cannot get because you did not name the media—will determine how good the framing is. But based on the time period this movie was made alone, I do not trust it was done respectfully.

Issue 2: “Befriending”

I mentioned this was in an intense period of residential schools and land wars all in that area. The Ute themselves had just been massacred by Mormons in the Grass Valley Massacre in 1865, with ten men and an unknown number of women and children killed thanks to a case of assumed association with a war chief (Antonga Black Hawk) currently at war with Utah. The Paiute had been massacred in 1866. Over 100 Timpanogo men had been killed, with an unknown number of women and children enslaved by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City in 1850, with many of the enslaved people dying in captivity (those numbers were not tracked, but I would assume at least two hundred were enslaved— that’s simply assuming one woman/wife and one child for every man, and the numbers could have very well been higher if any war-widows and their children were in the group, not to mention families with multiple children). This is after an unknown group of Indigenous people had been killed by Governor Brigham Young the year prior, to “permanently stop cattle theft” from settlers.

The number of Native Americans killed in Utah in the 1800s—just the number of dead counted (since women and children weren’t counted)—in massacres not tied to war (because there was at least one war) is over 130. The actual number of random murders is much higher; between the uncounted deaths and how the Governor had issued orders to “deal with” the problem of cattle theft permanently. I doubt you would have been tried or convicted if you murdered Indigenous peoples on “your” land. This is why it’s called state sanctioned genocide.

This is not counting the Black Hawk War in Utah (1865-1872), which the Ute were absolutely a part of (the wiki articles I read were contradictory if Antonga Black Hawk was Ute or Timpanogo, but the Ute were part of it). The first official massacre tied to the war—the Bear River Massacre, ordered by the US Military—places the death count of just that singular massacre at over five hundred Shoshone, including elders, women, and children. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the number of Indigenous people killed in Utah from 1850, onward, is over a thousand, perhaps two or three.

Pardon me for not reading beyond that point to list more massacres and simply ballparking a number; the source will be linked for you to get an accurate number of dead.

So how did they befriend the Native population? Let alone see them as fully human considering the racism of the time period? Natives were absolutely not seen as fully human so long as they were tied to their culture, and assimilation equalling some sliver of respect was already a stick being waved around as a threat. This lack of humanity continues to the present day.

I’m not saying friendship is impossible. I am saying the sheer levels of mistrust that would exist between random wandering groups of white/pale men and Indigenous communities wouldn’t exactly make that friendship easy. Having the scene end be a genuine friendship feels ignorant and hollow and flattening of ongoing genocide, because settlers lied about their intentions and then lined you up for slauther (that’s how the Timpanogo were killed and enslaved).

Utah had already done most of its mass killing by this point. The era of trusting them was over. There was an active open hunting season, and the acceptable targets were the Indigenous populations of Utah.

(sources for the numbers:

List of Indian Massacres in North America Black Hawk War (1865-1872))

Issue 3: “Proper housing/clothes and so forth”

Do you mean Western style settlements and jeans? If yes, congratulations you have written a reservation which means the land-ripped-away wounds are going to be fresh, painful, and sore.

You do not codify what you mean by “proper”, and proper is another one of those deeply loaded colonial words that can mean “like a white man” or “appropriate for their tribe.” For the time period, it would be the former. Without specifying which direction you’re going for, I have no idea what you’re imagining. And without the name of the media, I don’t know what the basis of this is.

The reservation history of this time period seems to maybe have some wiggle room; there were two reservations allocated for the Ute at this time, one made in 1861 and another made in 1882 (they were combined into the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in 1886). This is all at the surface level of a google and wikipedia search, so I have no idea how many lived in the bush and how many lived on the reserve.

There were certainly land defenders trying to tell Utah the land did not belong to them, so holdouts that avoided getting rounded up were certainly possible. But these holdouts would be far, far more hostile to anyone non-Native.

The Ute seemed to be some degree of lucky in that the reserve is on some of their ancestral territory, but any loss of land that large is going to leave huge scars.

It should be noted that reserves would mean the traditional clothing and housing would likely be forbidden, because assimilation logic was in full force and absolutely vicious at this time.

It’s a large reserve, so the possibility exists they could have accidentally ended up within the borders of it. I’m not sure how hostile the state government was for rounding up all the Ute, so I don’t know if there would have been pockets of them hiding out. In present day, half of the Ute tribe lives on the reserve, but this wasn’t necessarily true historically—it could have been a much higher percentage in either direction.

It’s up to you if you want to make them be reservation-bound or not. Regardless, the above mentioned genocide would have been pretty fresh, the land theft in negotiations or already having happened, and generally, the Ute would be well on their way to every assimilation attempt made from either residential schools, missionaries, and/or the forced settlement and pre-fab homes.

To Answer Your Question

I don’t want another flattened, sanitized portrayal of genocide.

Look at the number of dead above, the amount of land lost above, the amount of executive orders above. And try to tell me that these people would be anything less than completely and totally devastated. Beyond traumatized. Beyond broken hearted. Absolutely grief stricken with almost no soul left.

Their religion would have been illegal. Their children would have been stolen. Their land was taken away. A saying about post-apocalyptic fiction is how settler-based it is, because Indigenous people have already lived through their own apocalypse.

It would have all just happened at the time period this story is set in. All of the grief you feel now at the environment changing so drastically that you aren’t sure how you’ll survive? Take that, magnify it by an exponential amount because it happened, and you have the mindset of these Native characters.

This is not a topic to tread lightly. This is not a topic to read one masterpost and treat it as a golden rule when there is too much history buried in unmarked, overfull graves of school grounds and cities and battlefields. I doubt the movie you’re using is good representation if it doesn’t even hint at the amount of trauma these Native characters would have been through in thirty years.

A single generation, and the life that they had spent millennia living was gone. Despite massive losses of life trying to fight to preserve their culture and land.

Learn some history. That’s all I can tell you. Learn it, process it, and look outside of checklists. Look outside of media.

And let us have our grief.

~ Mod Lesya

On Question Framing

Please allow me the opportunity to comment on “are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s?” That strikes me as the same type of question as asking what color food I’d like for lunch. I don’t see how the cultural backgrounds of characters I have literally no other information about is supposed to make me want anything in particular about them. I don’t know anything about their personalities or if they have anything in common.

Compare the following questions:

“Are there things you’d like to see in a movie where two American women, one from a Nordic background and one Jewish, are interacting?” I struggle to see how our backgrounds are going to yield any further inspiration. It certainly doesn’t tell you that we’re both queer and cling to each other’s support in a scary world; it doesn’t tell you that we uplift each other through mental illness; it doesn’t go into our 30 years of endless bizarre inside jokes related to everything from mustelids to bad subtitles.

Because: “white”, “Jewish”, and “Native American” aren’t personality words. You can ask me what kind of interaction I’d like to see from a high-strung overachieving woman and a happy-go-lucky Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and I’ll tell you I’d want fluffy f/f romance. Someone else might want conflict ultimately resolving in friendship. A third person might want them slowly getting on each other’s nerves more and more until one becomes a supervillain and the other must thwart her. But the same question about a cultural demographic? That told me nothing about the people involved.

Also, the first time I meet a new person from a very different culture, it might take weeks before discussion of our specific cultural differences comes up. As a consequence, my first deep conversations with a Costa Rican American gentile friend were not about Costa Rica or my Jewishness but about things we had in common: classical music and coping with breakups--which are obviously conversations I could have had if we were both Jewish, both Costa Rican gentiles, or both something else. So in other words, I’m having trouble seeing how knowing so little about these characters is supposed to give me something to want to see on the page.

Thank you for understanding.

(And yes, I agree with Lesya, what’s with this trend of people trying to explain their fandom in a roundabout way instead of mentioning it by name? It makes it harder to give meaningful help….)

--Shira

#platypan #genocide #native american #North America #america #history #american history #media #representation #asks

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lokislastlove · 3 years ago

Text

Come One, Come All! (Dark!Loki x reader) p.2

Summary: A girls night out to the fair takes an insidious turn.

Warnings: Noncon/Rape, Knife play, Oral (m&f), Smut, Bondage, Kidnapping

This is a dark fic! 18+ ONLY! Explicit Adult content. Please READ THE WARNINGS! Do not continue if these matters upset you!

Authors Note: Here is part 2, for those who have taken a chance on my trash, thank you so much!! I hope I don’t disappoint. ❤️

Chapter 2:

You feel your chest seize and you start to shake as your heart rate skyrockets, your body and mind dissolving into a full blown panic attack as you feel around the black box imprisoning you. You are only locked in for a minute before you hear rustling outside and you are thrown into the wall as the whole box shifts and turns.

“What the fuck. Oh my god, someone help! Please let me out!” Your voice cracks as your pleading grows more desperate with each passing minute.

You try to hold out hope that it’s a prank or part of the experience but after what you were sure had to be at least ten minutes of begging to possibly no one, you sag in defeat. Your eyes burn with hot tears, the temperature inside the box rising the longer you sit there. Stewing in silence and sweat, you listen to anything that might tell you where you have been moved to but the joyful bustle of the carnival fades early on.

You fall asleep hunched at the bottom of the box, arms wrapped tightly around your knees. You don’t know for how long but you are awoken roughly as the box tips over sending you face first into the solid surface. You grunt and stretch out, turning to lay on your back.

“Open it” you hear faintly.

The wall above you is ripped off instantly by a singular muscular arm. Startled, you gasp but manage to hold in the pathetic squeak when you look up into piercing blue eyes shrouded in unruly golden hair. Your own eyes widening as you take in the sheer mass of this man.

The muscles under his sun-kissed skin ripple as he huffs and stands straight. He scratches his bearded jaw, looking over to the darker figure you could barely see standing across from him.

“Yes I can see why you liked this one. Inquisitive eyes. A bit of fire in there, yes?” The hulking blond man raises a brow and smirks at you.

Had you not been in your current situation he would have been the type of man you could drool over for days. But considering the fact that you appear to be kidnapped, his physique only enhances your trepidation.

“Where the fuck am I?” You demand, fighting your soft-spoken nature.

“Yeah, there’s that fire” the large man chuckles deeply. “Want me to put her on the wall?” He asks looking back to his silent counterpart.

“The wall?” You mutter, panic rising again at the prospect of being ‘put’ anywhere.

“Yes, then you may go. Thank you , Thor” The darker mans voice drones, sounding bored.

The larger man, Thor, leans down and goes to grab you, making you scream and try to slap away his arms which is clearly ineffective, considering his bicep is the size of your head. He grabs your wrists easily and pulls you to your feet, you try going limp but he hardly seems to notice as he drags you out of the box. You start kicking and flailing wildly as he tosses you against a hard flat wooden surface attached to the wall. You sob as he takes one of your arms and stretches it straight out and snaps a mounted metal cuff around your wrist. You reach over with your free hand and try to unclasp the lock but he catches you and stretches the other arm out to the other side, rendering you completely helpless.

Arms spread wide, you feel exposed and vulnerable, especially when he traces his hand over your breasts before stepping away. That’s when you finally look at the thing you are mounted to. A circular wooden board painted red and white like a giant target, with you at the center.

“What the hell is this?” You tremble.

“Ankles too, for now” the dark suited man directs from across the room.

“Oh, well aren’t you a lucky girl” Thor chuckles under his breath before kneeling down and spreading your legs, attaching each to a similar iron restraint.

“Please. Please let me go” you plead softly to the bulky blond as he stands straight and smiles at you.

Thor brushes his thumb under your eye, catching a stray tear before sucking it into his mouth and humming.

“So sweet.” He praises before winking at you and leaving the room.

Your eyes settle on the lithe figure facing away from you. He’s tall and although he’s not as thick as Thor, you can tell he doesn’t lack strength either. He sheds his jacket and lays it neatly across the desk in front of him.

“If this is s-some sort of joke, it’s not funny” you stutter.

You watch in horror as he slowly turns to look at you, leaning back on his desk and crossing his ankles.

“You’re a clever girl, does this feel like a prank to you, darling?” His voice is as smooth as silk.

“Why are you doing this? Where are my friends?” You question, dreading the answer.

“Oh they will make fine prizes for the highest bidder. But you, darling… you caught my attention.” He explains blithely, slowly unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling the sleeves up to his elbows.

“Lucky me” you scoff, narrowing your eyes at him as a wave of anger washes over you at the mention of your friends.

“Indeed.” He smiles cruelly.

“I swear to god if you hurt my friends –“ you fume before getting cut off suddenly.

You barely see the silver glint as something small whizzes through the air toward your head. A sharp silver blade sinks into the board next to your head, the shock causing you to choke on a gasp. It was mere inches away from your eye.

“Care to threaten me again?” He smirks, holding another knife in his right hand, the sharp point of it delicately pressing into the middle finger of his left hand.

You gulp as your body shakes uncontrollably, your life seemed to flash before your eyes in that moment. How did he throw that so fast, you say to yourself, the target behind you making more sense now. You shake your head in response to his question, voice lost amongst the adrenaline coursing through you.

“Very well” he nods once, with a small smile.

Your eyes are glued to the dagger in his hand, as he flourishes it about casually. Your muscles tense every time he tosses it gently in the air before catching it.

“Now, I want to know how you solved those riddles so quickly today” he asks lightly before throwing another dagger, this one splintering the wood inches away on the other side of your head. “And no lies.”

You squeak and close your eyes, body trembling so badly you aren’t sure how to form words anymore.

“I – I don’t know. I just did.” You manage to stammer out. “Please stop.”

Another dagger flies through the air, landing with a thud between your thighs.

“Oh my god, please! Please” you cry.

“You know some people could figure out one, maybe two, within the time limit. Most just get the answers from those who went before them. Others just come back repeatedly, mindlessly searching for the keys. But you… such a clever girl” he purred, pushing himself away from the desk still clutching another knife.

“You can hardly blame me for being curious” he continues, taking slow steps toward you.

He stops before you, admiring your terrified expression before dropping his eyes down your body. You pull on the restraints and shift in discomfort at his close proximity. He smiles as his eyes connect once more with your own, his pupils blown wide.

“I’m sorry, okay. I wasn’t trying to – I won’t ever do it again. Just please let me and my friends go,” you beg.

You watch him smirk and sniff at your pathetic pleas, both fully aware you have nothing to offer. He turns and calmly walks back to his desk.

“Ugh let me go you fucking creep! What do you want from me?” Anger and panic causing you to lash out desperately.

He turns and flings another dagger at you, but this time you feel a sharp pain under your arm. You look over to see the dagger pinning your shirt to the board, slowly staining with blood.

“Oh my god!” You scream shifting your arm away from the dagger. “You cut me!”

“Barely more than a scratch. You’ll survive.” He assured you coolly with a roll of his eyes.

You feel the slow flow of warmth trickle down the underside of your arm and you whimper as you watch him near you again. He stops in front of you and pulls the dagger from the board, releasing your shirt. He admires the blade for a moment and then reaches out to you, making you flinch away. His eyes flare at your reaction and he tuts disapprovingly.

“This shirt, however…” he mocks, sliding the sharp end of the blade under the hem of the fabric along your stomach, “I’m afraid it will not.”

You gasp as he brings the knife up cutting through the flimsy material with barely any resistance. You cry as the cool air breezes over your exposed stomach. The useless cloth hanging loosely off your arms.

“Better” he coos his appraisal, as he glides the tip of the knife from your neck to your navel.

Your chest heaves as the reality set in like a boulder dropping in your stomach. You can’t believe this is how your ‘fun night out’ is going. Cursing your luck as you wonder why the hell your intelligence only seemed to lead you to trouble and scummy men.

“All of this because I solved your stupid riddles” you gripe, shaking your head in bitter disbelief.

“Stupid?” He repeats, his face twisting in disgust at the insult.

“Yeah, what is it? You have a problem with women smarter than you? No, that can’t be it, you’d have to be used to that by now.” You sneer.

You don’t know where this boldness is coming from, but something about this man makes you angry, and you figure, what do I have to lose?

His face twists in anger and he slams the dagger into the wall above your head. Your head is now caged in by three sharp knives and yet you suppress a flinch.

“That, wasn’t so smart, darling.” His lip curls in amusement as he backs off slightly and grips the rounded edge of the board spinning it until you are hanging upside down.

Tags: @darkficsyouneveraskedfor @caffiend-queen

#dark fic #dark loki #dark loki x reader #tom hiddleston #come one come all

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googledocsdyke · 4 years ago

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Do you have any thoughts/recommended texts for Cas analysis? I genuinely love the dean gender studies and I just wanna know what people might apply to Cas.

yes absolutely!! while dean studies is my first love i also deeply love cas analysis (casnalysis?) and wanna strive to do more of it. here’s some stuff off the top of my head:

1. gender, sexuality, heavenly embodiment

this is much more theological and less psychological than dean’s whole Deal because there’s so much fascinating stuff around how the angels in general experience express and conceptualise gender (@autisticandroids has a good post about angel gender & lily sunder has some regrets) but for cas in particular there’s this fascinating kind of collective fandom agreement (which i DO also agree with) that cas’ own gender kind of is gay man, that he actively chose gay manhood, but also that he’s kind of..... lacking the Insane Genderishness that dean exhibits at all times, even though he actively chose to engage in male gendering and became so comfortable housed Within Jimmy that he, as some post i saw the other day that i can’t find anymore said, “became his own body” when jimmy died.

like on the one hand there’s an almost-canonical transness to the whole process but it also never feels fully written-into because 1) the supernatural writers for all their insanity are sometimes very boring and *most* of the time only feel interested in narratively expressing angels As Their Vessels anyways and just like leaving convenient spaces around these questions (boldest thing they ever did was hot girl cas which i WISH i had the range to unpack) 2) there’s a vague inevitabilist shrug to the whole thing since they obviously weren’t gonna recast misha collins (though they HAVE tried to get rid of him) and 3) something amorphous about cas’ entire..... personhood? makes him Empty Of Gender as a contrast to dean’s Full Of Gender (i believe it was @deanwinchestergender who said this) and like is it just the juxtaposition to dean/jensen’s whole insane Deal? or something else?

like he actively chooses the terms of his own embodiment and yet narratively it feels like a shrug. and we’re all like “well obviously even though he’s a celestial being he was always a gay man” and like WHY. i love it idk idk much to think about! and yeah just in general the theological questions of possession and cas genuinely Becoming a man as he iterates himself consciously towards humanity it almost feels like. by doing the most boring things possible with his gender they made it interesting? idk if that makes sense.

2. discipline, free will, metanarratives

cas is like a tool (“i am not a hammer, as you say”) held in constant discipline and surveillance by the system that enmeshes him and it’s really, really fascinating to watch the way the angels hold each other to conformity. especially pre-god they kind of produce each other as foucauldian disciplinary subjects (which i posted about here) in perpetual visibility through angel radio, generating their own and each other’s conformity rather than being directly ruled through like a single centralised source of power. only the spectre of a god. and obviously cas’ whole thing is that he has ALWAYS disobeyed and the narrative affords him this psychological interiority never given to the foucauldian subject, an internal will and desire for freedom in a way that fits more with the liberal subject (super roughly and not with the same pro-capitalist implications but he has this internal drive for self-liberation.

and that’s also where the metanarrative comes in ofc! i think it was @dykecas who said that cas is a real person written by people who hate him, and there’s this crack in the narrative (mirroring the crack in his chassis) where cas gets in, over and over, despite all the order imposed by the show’s authorfathergod. like we’ve all seen the analysis about how it was Never supposed to be this way they DID try to fire misha collins in 2012 and yet this gay man literally cannot be stopped! i think actually his appearance in scoobynatural is a neat little distillation of this — he drops into this animated world originally with a singular purpose (Save Sam And Dean) the same way he dropped into lazarus rising with a single 3-episode arc (Save Dean). huge hammer behaviour. his “utility” diminishes within the narrative (he finds that he can’t fly in the scooby doo universe) and so he is no longer a tool/means to an end that salvation moves Through. and in the process (and huge creds to @lesbianyuugi for this) he does something ENTIRELY unrelated to his original cas-as-tool aim, and learns, like, the meaning of laughter from shaggy and scooby. WHICH brings me onto the third point

3. love, queer kinship, family-making

HE’S GAY AND HE’S A DAD! i feel like a lot of tumblr throws around the term “found family” in a very flat and tropey way (which is fine it’s cute and fun no matter what!) but like . GOD there’s so much specific stuff going on here. like the way that cas (unintentionally) obliterates the midwestern white christian nuclear family (made incarnate in the novaks) which like could be uniformly portrayed as an act of deep malice and villainy but instead grows to serve as a surrogate (if imperfect/complex, but DEEPLY loving) father figure for the gay daughter who has now escaped that nuclear family/seen it destroyed depending on how you read it? like he remasters the entire concept of fatherhood and it’s a very interesting (if DEEPLY) unintentional subversion of the homewrecking non-nuclear gay trope. cas is so good because his character arc doesn’t say “look, gay people can be normal and have perfect settled families just like you” it says “gay people DON’T have normal settled families actually and they are full of love anyways! or Because of the abnormalcy itself!)

to cite ziz lesbianyuugi again he DOES queer fatherhood in his parenting of jack particularly because it really is one of the ONLY parent-child relationships in the show that breaks the incessant cycle of abuse and control and cold indifference perpetuated by the authorfathergod (a cycle reified in 15x20 lol). like god’s treatment of cas and his siblings mirrors john’s treatment of sam and dean (particularly dean) mirrors victor’s treatment of krissy and her crew mirrors dean’s later treatment of jack. there is a CONSTANT reiteration of the story of authorfathergod (often a father tightly entwined in biological kinship) treating a child as a mechanism or a tool or a means to an end. and cas looks at ALL that he has suffered and all that he is ever known and chooses constantly to reject it with every piece of love he expresses for his child. and not to sound like the kind of academic people make fun of on twitter but there is an INHERENT queerness to that. gay love will pierce through [the veil of death/the thick silence of abuse/the mechanism of godly control/hegemonic american masculinity] and save the day

anyways here are some very haphazard recs on everything above for further reading:

angels in america (tony kushner)

histrionics of the pulpit: trans tonalities of religious enthusiasm

the public universal friend: religious enthusiasm in revolutionary america

discipline and punish (michel foucault)

friendship as a way of life (michel foucault)

the genesis of blame (recommended by @pietacastiel who has GREAT theology content in general

all about love (bell hooks)

the chapter “when hated characters talk back” in anti-fandom: dislike and hate in the digital age (is actually explicitly about cas)

also cannot recommend enough following the ppl i tagged above!! most of the unlinked stuff is available through http://libgen.li/ and bookshop is a good alternative to amazon if ur american and want physical copies

#thank you so much for this ask it was a delight to answer #spn #casnalysis #making a tag officially #gendernatural #long post

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