#a lot of anime that i like fall into the trap of writing female characters for men and in relation to other male characters and i honestly

[oikyskau]

seeing kenji muto, the director of trigun stampede, reading an article about the portrayal of women in media made me want to take a little bit of a closer look at the women in trigun and as i was rambling about this earlier to my partner, they told me to write it down LMAO

as most of us know, in a lot of fiction, women are mostly characterised through common tropes, leading to a lack of complexity and a one-dimensional portrayal: as the doting wife, the femme fatale, the mistress, or the virgin. Their role only amounts to an Other, an extension of the male hero. they’re either the whore or the madonna.

for female characters in anime that usually means they’re either the sexy femme fatale, big badonkers and all to be gazed at, the mother, the helpless damsel in distress, or the child (yet, still sexualised despite the fact that it is a literal child); they’re portrayed through the way they are being perceived by men and mostly sexualised beyond belief. 

tristamp doesn’t do any of that.

in fact, the female characters in stampede achieve something that you don’t often see in anime: they are people. and stampede makes that clear in its very first episode by decidedly not going the route that you would usually take with the female characters they introduce:

of course, the biggest example here would be meryl, who i’d argue is the biggest driver of the plot, despite the fact that the plot of stampede is technically determined by vash - vash is an entirely passive character, he doesn’t make things happen, things happen to him and they mostly happen to him because of meryl. she’s the one who unties him, she drags them to the city, she makes them stay with him after ep3, she drives over wolfwood (rip my man), she stops for them to find rollo, she makes them follow the steamer.. you get it. she does all of this, despite being introduced as the newbie, the innocent person who would usually be the damsel in distress, who is helpless and shy and easily manipulated and who will probs be sexualised in her role as the “virgin” (sexually naive young girl who just doesn’t get all this adult sexuality yet hehe) 

but she’s not – she wears a non-sexualised outfit, she only gets called out for being a newbie, or for being small height-wise by wolfwood, but not for being a “girl”, she determines the action despite the fact that she does have a mentor figure and is therefore still in a position of a student – she still isnt an extension of roberto, vash, or anyone

in fact, the other characters – Rosa, Elendira, Luida, Rem – all take up roles that would in other media be portrayed in very specific ways: Rosa could just be a pregnant mother, who is also a divorcee, Elendira could be an innocent child beholden to her caretaker, Luida could be the loving motherlike figure and rem the Madonna figure, symbolising all the virtues a woman should aspire to have. – Rosa is a leader, her pregnancy is mentioned one single time and never made a bigger part of her character, Elendira is young but powerful, making choices by herself that are not inherently based on any kind of innocence, Luida doesn’t coddle Vash or prioritise him over her own work and mission (which also serves to inspire another woman, meryl!!), and rem is also just a non-perfect person, with secrets and questionable morality

none of these women are judged on the basis of their gender, none of them experience gender-based violence, none of them are made into a joke, none of them are sexualised (or desexualised – if you compare them to the male characters, who also do not ever make jokes about sexual promiscuity or similar stuff), they have different body types (rem has a very pronounced chest, and yet stampede doesn’t ever focus on it or give her cleavage) – note also that when presented with the perfect opportunity to call a female character a “bitch”, they chose to go with a “witch” instead, in both original japanese and english dub

their femininity is not used as a weapon against them, nor are stereotypical hypermasculine elements used to define characters’ positive traits (vash not being our traditionally hypermasculine hero for example) - the only time we see a semblance of gender-based violence is, you guessed it, at the very end, when knives forcefully takes control and bodily autonomy away from vash and inseminates the plants against their will (also interesting to note that knives, as the character that does exhibit that kind of violence, is the only character to be shown incredibly buff and all muscle) 

the women in tristamp are written for women, with the goal to be women that we can recognise, that represent the women that we are and know

anyways, i love all women in tristamp and have not once felt uncomfortable or said “oh look, a panty shot” and honestly i just find that pretty neat

#trigun stampede #trigun #meryl stryfe #rem saverem #trigun meta #ramblings #dont take this too seriously its just me being very nerdy for female characters LMAO #a lot of anime that i like fall into the trap of writing female characters for men and in relation to other male characters and i honestly #expect it at this point but PHEW was i going help WOMEN??? during tristamp #also do i need to add a citation bc im technically just citing my own thesis..... LMAOO

[thatstoomanysausages]

I’ve been holding back on this headcanon for too long and I think I’ll explode if I don’t write it down somewhere.

SO. We know that Grian has the Widow Curse - in which he will ultimately end up killing his allies, or contributing help towards said allies’ deaths (and I’m purposely avoiding referring to it as the Icarus Curse simply because it doesn’t match up for this hc).

So what animal does the word ‘widow’ remind you of? For me, I instantly think a widow spider. And that’s what this post is basically exploring.

When characters are assigned a hybrid status, you will usually see physical traits that relate.

But Grian already has wings as he is always going to remain some kind of winged creature in my head - to divert from that is basically impossible in my head. That makes his back a very clustered set of extra limbs if we’re deciding to include the extra four legs to add up to eight, and although that idea may sound rough to think about in terms of coherent design, I couldn’t give a fuck because having countless extra limbs that a normal player should not have is ultimate eldritch energy, which I think we can all agree that Grian exudes by default.

Basically, this is me giving Grian the most disturbing and unimaginable designs possible while still looking vaguely human (???).

Then we go onto the eyes, spiders have many eyes, eight to be exact, which ties very neatly into Grian being a Watcher. Lots of eyes to Watch, so really nothing changes much other than the fact that there are multiple eyes on Grian’s face all the time, and not just when he Watches.

Another thing that makes sense by default is that, like many animals in the wild, the males are smaller than the females by about half an inch. He’s short.

AND ODDLY ENOUGH, (though this one is more specific for Limited Life) widow spiders have a red-orange hour glass shape on their abdomens. And who is in charge of timing the sessions, with announcing halftime breaks, with deciding the end of the session, therefore stopping time/the sand in the hourglass from falling??? THIS ELDRITCH-SPIDER-WATCHER-AVIAN (+wither if I insert another one of mind melting headcanons in) THING!!!!

THESE SPIDERS ARE VENOMOUS, GRIAN IS VENOMOUS TO THOSE AROUND HIM!!!! THIS SHIT WRITES ITSELF!!!

ALSO!!!!: “habitat: will build irregular, erratic webs in quiet undisturbed areas” After three games - after the curse has been officially solidified - where does he build his bases? A deserted and oddly empty mansion, and a quiet hilltop. What do his bases look like? An odd bridge along with a tall grid above the server to Watch from, no set shape for the base ever. And then an erratically built abstract staircase leading to nowhere and an irregular second base shaped as an egg (spiders lay eggs guysssss).

AND FINALLY: “Despite their venom, black widows are typically non-aggressive” Grian is not one of the openly hostile players like maybe Martyn or Joel, he stays back and fights if necessary or entertaining.

Oh and how Spider of Grian to lure his prey into his web, to care for them until they get caught and stuck, and they can do nothing but wait for Grian’s venom to sink in, not even knowing that what they were stepping into was simply a trap set by Fate, who also goes by Other Names.

#grian #life series #life series smp #traffic smp #widow curse #3rd life #last life #double life #limited life #secret life #I will probably elaborate more on my Wither headcanon later on #whether people want me to or not #watcher grian

[stesierra]

Writeblr ReIntro!

I'm posting a new intro because now that I've been on Writeblr a little while, I realize how much information I left out! Hi, I'm Stephanie, I live in the desert with my husband and baby and three cats, and I'm an ace, bipolar fantasy writer! When I was a kid, they said I had ADHD but then I got my Masters degree in biology, so they claim I can't have it. Online tests say I'm probably autistic.

I used to write sci fi twelve years ago but only low tech sci fi about weird aliens, which nobody likes. Now I write fantasy novels! Lots of fantasy novels! I am beginning to post them on my website so if you want to read them, please keep an eye on this post.

My books often but not always have some romance (either m/f or f/f because I prefer female protagonists.) Since I'm ace (and demiromantic), my interpretation of romance and attraction is not exactly what you'd expect from, say, a romance novel.

I am not going to tell you about all my books! I've written eighteen! Four of them are shelved forever! Here's some recent ones (written or revised since 2018) that I haven't given up on. Please ask me questions about them! I LOVE talking about my books! Also, if you want to be added to my taglist for writing samples let me know! Please also tell me if you're interested in alpha or beta reading and for which book! Mutuals only, please!

My books are beneath the cut! As I add WIP intros, I'll update this list with links.

Cast Out

YA fantasy! On her sixteenth birthday, Zisha is cast out of the Plenary Cities for the crime of being born deaf, like her grandmother before her. In the wastelands, she meets Thesil, a depressed and bitter young woman. Zisha wants nothing to do with her — until she sees Thesil's face in a vision. But before she can find out what the visions mean or reach her grandmother's holdings in the wastes, the plague returns to the Plenary Cities. If the disabled really caused the plague thirty years ago, and were cast out to stop the spread, how can it be back when all of them are outcast?

Status: Finished. Being serialized.

WIP intro here.

Now being serialized here. First five chapters up, one posted weekly.

The Bone Queen

This is my NA fantasy about the aftermath of freeing an undead queen and her skeleton army. They take over the kingdom, of course! The main character, Elise, is trapped in Bandrum palace by Aubrey, the ghost who tricked her into falling in love and freeing him (plus everyone else.) He's an animated skeleton now with plans to marry Elise and force her to carry his children. The bone queen has promised him she'll make it happen. Too bad no one cares what Elise wants. If only she had magic of her own...

Status: undergoing a rewrite after developmental edit. Was 109k before revisions. Not available for beta reading.

Draft number? Hahahaha. It has two complete sequels (The Spellbound King (106k) and The Matriarch's Daughter (96k)) I must also rewrite. This series is going to kill me but I love it. My mom, who loves everything I write, complained that it was weird. I'm very proud.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

School of Souls

This is my YA contemporary fantasy about a boarding school in the Bighorn Mountains! It's supposed to be a place parents can send "bad" teens to have their problems sorted out, but secretly the founder is using it to train the kids as sorcerers. Even more secretly, the school devours the souls of the students sent there, and the teenagers who graduate aren't the same as the ones who arrived... Warning: does include teenage addiction to sleeping pills and ghosts and and parental death. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. Available for alpha reading.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

The Many-faced Princess

This is YA fantasy with a historical vibe but set in a made up world. Vaguely inspired by ancient Phoenicia. It's about Princess Ameryi, who was blessed by the genderless trickster god, Akihel, to be able to change her face. If her father the king ever found out, he'd have to execute her, of course. Akihel is just plain evil. All the other gods say so. A daughter who's their champion? Impossible. An abomination. So Ameryi will just have to make sure her father never finds out. That was easier to do before the Asirtinsa Empire threatened to invade and her father sent her to secure an alliance with a neighboring king. She's supposed to marry him. Not steal his face and frame him for murder. But sometimes plans just don't work out.

This book was supposed to be about two lesbian princesses who frame the king for murder so they can elope, but both princesses decided to be ace and there was nothing I could do.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Map here.

Court Phoenix

This is my NA fantasy! Kerra is a blacksmith's apprentice. Not because she wants the job, but because her mother sold her future to him when she was still a toddler who crawled into live fires and giggled as the flames consumed her clothes. Now she's a woman, trapped by the expectations of her family and her village. Until one day, a phoenix crash-lands and dies in her arms. When it's reborn, it chooses Kerra as its keeper. Soon, her dreary future is swept away. A princess from Skyfire, the moving city, offers her a job in the royal court. How could Kerra refuse? Her family's claims that she'll die if she ever leaves the village are just manipulative lies. Aren't they?

Status: Complete third draft. 104k. Available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

The Revenant Trilogy

Adult fantasy. Solving a murder should bring good fortune, but all it brings Mindral Thideet is disaster. Her fame and peaceful life as head researcher at the city of knowledge end abruptly. In retaliation for her investigation into his crimes, Payar Cheref, the head of the powerful Cheref family, burns her beloved cousins alive and scars her face. The scar marks her as a revenant, a body possessed by a godkin, one of the gods' evil children. Her life as a researcher is over. All that's left is revenge.

No one believes her when she denies that godkins have any power over her. But godkins, real ones, are far closer than she realizes. Tearing down Payar Cheref could destroy Mindral, her family, and the nation itself.

-The Halfway Revenant (rewriting draft 4) 120k. Not available for beta reading.

-The Soul-Seer (draft 2) - 130k

-The Godkin's Gambit (draft 2) 121k

First chapter here.

As Immortality Fades

Adult fantasy. Five hundred years ago, one of the immortal and unpredictable Valteifur visited the kingdom of Kathild and granted the young queen Nelone immortality. But there was a catch. She'd live forever, youthful and strong, just so long as her subjects were happy. For centuries, she's met her part of the deal. But when the Valteifur returns to check on her progress, he grants her a new gift: the resurrection of every single person in Kathild who's died in the last two hundred years. Then he disappears.

There aren't enough houses for them all. There's not enough food. And winter is here.

Status: Complete first draft. 98k. Available for alpha reading.

Bi MC, enemies to lovers.

First chapter here.

Stitches and Memories

This one's adult fantasy. Antea's father ripped her mind apart, left her for dead, and vanished twelve years ago, and she's going to find out why. But when constables try to kill her and strange truth magic grows inside of her, hunting her father starts to look like suicide. Too bad going home isn't an option.

Status: I exchanged this with a critique partner and now it embarrasses me. Fourth draft. 122k. Available for beta reading.

Trigger warning: magic seizures

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

Triangle Park

Contemporary Fantasy. I have no idea who it's for. An elf exiled to the middle of nowhere ends up stuck with an unexpected child. It's about reluctant parenting and protecting the needy. And elves and faeries slumming it in a mobile home.

Status: Complete first draft. 86k. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Mud-Child

Adult fantasy. Rebeka has always heard that a woman who goes through menopause loses her spark (the magic that lets her create children). If she's had children, it just makes the neighbors a little more fertile. But Rebeka never wanted a man, and she never wanted to raise a child. Not since her twin sister died and her beloved Suza left her for a man. The problem is, the spark leaves a childless woman differently, everyone says. A bitter hag? She'll curse her neighbors. A sweet dim biddie? She'll give her spark to inanimate objects and create a monster. Rebeka doesn't know which she is, but she believes it's a myth.

That was before the clay in her clay pit woke up and called her mother.

Status: Third draft. 109k. Needs a rewrite! Not available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

I GUESS I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK

The Giant's Gamble

First chapter here.

I started writing this on Friday the 13th, 2023. LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO WRITE WITH A BABY.

Short stories

The Unfamous Dead

VERY OLD CRAP

The Scribe and the Sphinx

Adult historical fantasy

Status: second draft. Shelved for good. 85k.

The Adrift series

The River's Drift. 100k.

The Waking Mountain. 106k.

Low-tech alien sci fi. Shelved for good.

My first book whose name I forget. About 50k. Exists only as a hard copy in my parents' house.

Taglist so far (tell me if you want to be added or removed)

Tag list for everything

@harleyacoincidence

@anonymousfoz

@moremysteriesthantragedies

@elizababie

@sm-writes-chaos

@bellascarousel

@the-dragon-chronicler

@teacupsandstarlight

@vorskra

@wrenofthewords

@amostdelectablescribbler

@mysticstarlightduck

@phantommill

@gracewritesbooks

@aziz-reads

@owlsandwich

@symbioticsimplicity

@squarebracket-trick

@koala2all

@rmgrey-author

@atomatowriter

@cheerfulmelancholies

@delusionisaplace

@janec23

@writing-is-a-martial-art

@authortango

Just chapters and snippets

@da-na-hae

For The Many-faced Princess

@deadlyessencewhispers

@serenanymph

The Halfway Revenant

@acertainmoshke

For Stitches and Memories

@space-writes

@acertainmoshke

The Bone Queen

@janec23

@holdmyteaplease

@digital-chance

@thecrookedwriterspath

@tea-and-mercury

@coven-archives

I love you all!

#writeblr intro #oh my god this is long #why did I write so much #why did I do this to myself #writeblr #writing #writing community #creative writing #fantasy #writers of tumblr

[rivkael]

rowling and femininity.

the kind of literary analysis we have in Lit classes is so simplistic but it is meant to teach critical thinking.

it's just not great at it.

the perennial example: the blue curtains. Why were the curtains blue? English class will have you guess that the author was trying to create a mood, or built a metaphor. that might be true, but the real critical thinking you need is different.

let's do another example and i'll show you what i mean.

within jk rowling's novels, the Harry Potter series, there is only one named irish character, seamus finnegan. this character is shown to have a fascination with explosions and alcohol throughout the books. this is likely because during the time jk rowling was growing up, the Troubles were occuring and she would have seen a lot of news about bombs in ireland, associating the two in her mind whether she realised it or not.

thus, we see, a stereotype is born of a person's experiences. a harmful stereotype.

and if the writer did not take the time to try and write past those experiences, then their biases will shine through every time.

rowling consistently describes villainous women as 'mannish' with 'thick fingers' 'square jaws' and 'wide shoulders' - see rita skeeter and dolores umbrige especially. they are also often written as overperforming feminity with heavy makeup, bright clothing, an excess of pink, and high, irritating voices. bellatrix lestrange is another example, overperforming femininity in a more sexual way, defined of her love for an insane man.

from this, we can infer that ms rowling believes that a bad woman is someone who, despite trying to appear feminine and womanly, has manly traits leak through.

as far as we know, she has never examined this bias.

she also, just in general, dislikes girlish things. hermione granger, luna lovegood and ginny weasley are all female characters who fall into the trap of being strong, independent women while also losing their chance to be allowed to be pretty and feminine within the plot. aside from the yule ball, we never see any of these girls doing anything stereotypically feminine - they do not like children, or makeup, or fashion, they do not gossip or form 'girlfriend' groups, and just in general they all seem to be outcasts from their fellow girls. they are all loud, weird, rude, tomboys etc. and while that is certainly something to aspire to, shouldn't girls be allowed to be feminine too?

it's like ms rowling believes that femininity is alright in moderation, that it is not something to ever focus on and if you do, well, you must either 1) know literally nothing else, as seen by hermione's roommates, who are essentially defined by their love of animals, divination and gossip throughout the books, or 2) you are using it to hide a darker personality trait, as shown above.

the idea that a woman is only a 3d character if she tosses aside her femininity is reductive and antifeminist.

thus, i conclude that ms rowling has an unexamined bias surrounding femininity and who is allowed to perform it. this, naturally, leads us to the question - is this part of the reason why she fell so easily into her current crusade? and, with her cocooned away from the ordinary people, will we ever be able to reach her and show her the truth?

Donate to Stonewall UK here

#anti jkr #harry potter meta #hp meta #fiction analysis #riv speaks #riv writes #harry potter

[furiousobservationtragedy]

Bnha has some serious Male Gaze issues

I used to love bnha but now it feels like it is one of the shows which you think are very cool but as you grew up it gets filled with plot holes and many more

If you are trying to make a scene with dramatic tension then it's not helpful for a character to have some fun service which servers nothing to the plot in any way, Momo's costume can be done correctly but the author refuses to and I have seen better design which looks so much better than whatever she has it going?

it almost feels like the poor excuse of the author and I Just can't...because if you are going to make a character like momo with her quirk then at least make it logical because no way that costume can be easy to wear and run in the you require a lot of running and let's not talk about the lack of characterization they get.

Take Maki from JJK she has a impact on plot, has good characterization and is well written and had a bit of fan services when she did the split in a scene, the author can write Female character perfectly unlike someone else.

I want to say this for a very long time...Geez.

For anyone concerned with spoilers, I’ll only mention events until the school festival arc. I will also be referencing the anime instead of the manga, since that’s the media I have watched recently.

Shounen anime tends to fall into the trap of focusing more on its male characters over their female ones due to their target audience being teenage boys, and unfortunately, Boku no Hero Academia is no exception. While it does have its empowering moments with the girls/women of the show, such as Uraraka’s fight with Bakugou, a lot of the plot arcs gave more focus to the male characters, and it would be dense to defend BNHA from sidelining, sometimes even sexualizing its female cast.

Starting off let’s talk about certain costumes of female heroes, especially those of Midnight and Momo Yaoyorozu. Midnight is introduced as the ‘R-Rated Hero’, and her costume is used to reflect the identity she presents herself with. You might say that this is empowering, showing that women can dress sexily and however she wants without caring about the criticisms of others.

Unfortunately the only reason she was shown to be an 18+ hero is to show suggestive shots of her through a very problematic boy’s (a whole different topic) perspective, and I hate to admit it, but I find her character rather shallow. Midnight is shown to be a good teacher, but I can’t think of any defining moments for her other than showing appreciation for the youth of the school (using comments that can be taken as creepy at worst), using her quirk to either test her students or prevent them from getting too violent in a fight (which is pretty cool and I wished it’s used more in actual battles and not in school exams), and helping them pick their names.

Overall, my impression of her character ranges from ‘Oh, she exists’ to ‘Wasn’t she the weird suggestive teacher that was definitely used for fanservice?’ I heard there’s a spin-off manga that introduces her in her school years as a hero in training herself, but if we do get more of a glimpse into her personality there, I wished it carried to the main story instead of having to read a whole other story to understand her character better.

My next complaint is Momo Yaoyorozu. Being a classmate of Izuku’s, she receives more screentime than Midnight, so thankfully we have more of her character to go on either than ‘she’s just there’. You probably have heard of this thousands of times but my main problem is with her costume. It’s not practical for combat or even quirk usage, because nobody can convince me that costume is better than an open back costume, which would provide a much more suitable way to create larger items that wouldn’t rip her clothes apart.

In fact, in the USJ training arc, there was a moment where Momo used her quirk to create a blanket protecting her and Jirou from Denki’s electricity quirk, and to do so, she has it produced from the back of her body, thus ruining her hero attire into shreds. Momo then excuses herself, saying that she could just use her quirk to make new clothes to cover herself. Let’s say that she’s in a similar scenario where she has torn up her clothes again, and she used her quirk to replace her clothes, only this time she has to repeat the process frequently, and every time she uses her quirk to mend her hero costume, it adds on to the danger of overusing her quirk. Momo’s revealing costume does not help her make full use of her quirk. If anything, it limits it.

And of course, the entire design itself sexualises Momo, a 15 year old minor, and even if that was not the writer’s intentions, people (and yes, such disgusting people exist) will see her in an inappropriate light, and more tact should have been shown to avoid that. I am tired of the It’s just fiction! argument. Fiction does affect reality to an extent, and even grown-up adults would blur its lines from time to time.

I also heard the argument of how it would be very likely that Momo would become a R-Rated hero like Midnight, hence why her hero design appears to be so. To that, I respond with that’s absolutely not true, and if it does happen, it would go against what had been built up for Momo’s character. We were shown her internship where all she did was advertise beauty products with her status as a hero and looks, and she was CLEARLY unsatisfied with that. Do you really think that she will be like Midnight, a hero who uses her beauty and sex appeal to make herself more well known?

There’s so much more to talk about the costume department, especially with characters like Mount Lady, and the problems with BNHA’s female cast are greater than this particular area. A few of the points that anon mentions actually reminds me of some well made videos on YouTube addressing this problem more in detail, so here’s their links if you would like to check out more on this topic:

#anon ask #answered #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #mha critical #bnha critical #momo yaoyaruzo #midnight bnha

[justagirlinafandomworld]

I posted 2,626 times in 2022

219 posts created (8%)

2,407 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@firefly-in-darkness

@justagirlinafandomworld

@princessmisery666

@deanwinchesterswitch

@gone-to-fight-the-fairies

I tagged 2,581 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#mcu - 307 posts

#just a girl reading fics - 280 posts

#spn - 262 posts

#dean winchester - 150 posts

#jensen ackles - 98 posts

#movies - 96 posts

#dean winchester x reader - 94 posts

#ffc4 sign ups - 90 posts

#flash fiction challenge 4 - 89 posts

#comment reblog - 82 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#but if that's what happens that's what happens i'll go prepare my flight to jump in a volcano it's cool i always wanted to go to hawaii

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

MESS

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: You learn the side effects of sex pollen first hand. Bucky doesn't know what to do. But Dean does.

Warnings: 18+ ONLY. Language. Sex pollen. Oral Sex (Female Receiving). First time writing for: Established polyamory & DD/LG relationship.

Word Count: 1k (plus 4 little words!)

Prompts: She’s pulling on the sheets. | “She might be your girl, but she’s calling me Daddy.” | A GIF described in bold.

A/N: Written for the fabulous @negans-lucille-tblr and her birthday bash! Happy birthday Bee! Hope you get lots of presents! 💗

He ran his hands back through his hair, the sounds of your moans driving him up the wall. You scratched at the door like a trapped animal and it was all Bucky could do not to open it.

Something was wrong.

Had been wrong since you came back from your last hunt.

“Baby,” you whined through the door. “Please…”

He had made a call to the one person who would know what the fuck was going on and who hadn’t gone that far after dropping you off.

“Dean,” he greeted upon opening the front door.

“James.”

“Did I interrupt something,” Bucky guessed, eyeing the suit and tie that was in place of the usual flannel and blue jeans.

“It doesn’t matter. Based on everything you’ve told me, you’re not going to like what needs to be done.” The sound of you falling to the floor in the bedroom behind them interrupted Dean and both he and Bucky turned to the door.

“You’ll help her feel better?”

Dean paused at the genuine concern in Bucky’s voice. He had nothing against the man, they both just so happened to be in love with the same woman. And the agreement to keep their relationships separate was about to change in a drastic way.

“You’re gonna wanna brace yourself before we go in there. She’s your girl, right,” Dean waited for Bucky to nod before he took a deep breath and continued. “The moment we walk in there, she’s going to be calling me Daddy.”

He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. But when Bucky made a face, one that clearly expressed confusion but the willingness to punch him, Dean shrugged and walked past him to at least hide it.

See the full post

99 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#4

Welcome to the reading list for January 2022!

Take a dive into some wonderful fic that I had the pleasure of reading this month. From fluffy drabbles to angst multi-part fics, you can find a little bit of everything for that particular mood you are in.

Summaries and warnings have been provided as listed by writers. Remember, if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Read what you like and share what you love. ❤

Happy reading!

2022 reading list | fic rec masterlist

Beautiful dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

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103 notes - Posted January 31, 2022

#3

I always loved this scene haha

Maybe one where the reader sits in the backseat? Or something completely different. Go nuts

Thank you for the request, sweetie! I decided to go nuts 🥰

Title: Time Warp

Word Count: 245

Summary: You and Dean are stuck in a time warp, jumping from one of his memories to another with no end in sight.

Warnings: Time travel. The image of two Deans in one space. Crack, fluff – Look this is really just meant to be fun.

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125 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

#2

I'm excited to share all the new fics I've read for the month of June, from my own exploration to taking part in the Champion Week challenge hosted by the fabulous @cockslutpadalecki and @maladaptivexxdaydreaming. Thank you, both of you for hosting this fantastic event that introduced me to the talents of new writers. And, of course, I want to say a great big THANK YOU to the writers on this list. You are incredible, thank you for sharing your works on this hellsite. ❤️

This list is alphabetical by fandom (mostly), then by character. Summaries and warnings are included as provided by the authors.

Read what you like and share what you love!

2022 reading list | fic rec masterlist

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

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127 notes - Posted July 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Title: Drowning in Silence

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Gen!Reader

Word Count: 894

Summary: Silence feeds the insecurities deep within. You can either drown in it, or break it.

Warnings: ANGST. Break-up. Low self-worth.

Bingo Squares Filled: @spnmixedbingo – dream sequence. @howbadcanitbebingo - woke up, and it was all a dream.

A/N: This is written for @negans-lucille-tblr ‘s nlthreenager writing challenge, celebrating her blog’s three-year anniversary with so many good angsty prompts. My prompt was you can’t deny how hard I tried from the song Easy On Me by Adele. Watch out Bee, I may be back for more! To everyone, I hope this breaks your heart just a lil’. 😘

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

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131 notes - Posted March 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review ��

This is amazing. I love my longest tag! Pretty sure it was one of my heartfelt reactions to @jawritter 's Too Close to Gone which is a Dean series I still highly recommend.

And thank you everyone for supporting my Dean stories. This really was his year.

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[scruffyplayssonic]

Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episode 45: Boys vs. girls 

Welcome back to my look at the ArchieSonic comic series, and how it shared a lot of the same story tropes as a typical ‘80s or ‘90s syndicated cartoon! Today’s episode is the Battle of the Sexes, so ring that bell and let’s fight! Ding ding!

Episode 45: Boys vs. girls 

There’s only been a handful of these “episodes” that I’ve covered so far that didn’t actually happen in the ArchieSonic comics - the hiccups episode, the stuck in slow motion episode, the time travel to medieval times episode, and the characters being de-aged episode are about the only ones, I think. But this episode is another one where there’s not really any good examples of this, so let’s instead look at a few that only loosely fall under the umbrella of boys vs. girls.

The most obvious example I can think of is the story, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!” from Sonic #14.

In this story Robotnik and Snively decided that the best way to get to Sonic was by taking Sally and Bunnie hostage, and so they lured them into a trap with a fake mall.

But Sally and Bunnie easily turned the tables on their abductors and showed them how cool GIRL POWER is, or something like that.

They also had a laugh at Sonic’s expense because haha boys are dumb. 

I guess this story is technically boys vs girls, but I feel like the trope is supposed to be more about the people of opposite genders on the same team turning against each other, rather than it being heroes of one gender vs villains of the opposite gender. A good example of this is the “Into the Wilderness,” episode of Sonic Boom, where Sonic and Knuckles compete against Amy and Sticks in a jungle survival race.

All I know is that this story of Robotnik in full sexism mode makes me uncomfortable. I think even the title is insulting. Eggman from the games feels a lot more genuine in his self-proclaimed feminism, in that he despises all genders equally. xD  

I’m sure it won’t come as any surprise that this story was written by self-proclaimed feminist Ken Penders, and compared to some of his later material you could almost consider this empowering. This is the same man who dedicated a 48-page “Girls Rule!” special to the female protagonists that featured a naked Sally submersing herself in cosmic goo that told her that her misogynist father was always right because he had the power of God and Anime on his side, even when he was ordering her to marry Antoine or telling her off for having emotions.

Girls Rule! also featured Bunnie asking her boyfriend for validation on her appearance when she had to decide whether or not to get a necessary hardware upgrade that she would likely die without, Lupe being roboticised and considered dead by her pack because “Even a female can make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of those dear to her,” (that’s a direct quote from Penders, BTW), and Julie-Su finding out her mind had been violated previously when her evil half-siblings had erased her memories not once but twice. Unrelated to the Girls Rule special, Penders also tried to kill off Sally simply because she “cramped Sonic’s style.” Such feminism. Much wow.

Bringing it back to the topic of boys vs girls, we can also see a lot of Penders’ so-called feminist writing on display in the way he wrote other characters’ interactions with Julie-Su. Vector was the main culprit here.

His mistrust of her for being a former Dark Legionnaire was initially justified, but it just kept dragging on and on and felt pretty sexist at times. But of course we shouldn’t forget Knuckles’ incel behaviour when he first met Julie-Su either. 

I really want to take a shower now.

While that’s all I have for material that actually appeared in the comic, former ArchieSonic writer, colourer, and cool person extraordinaire Aleah Baker also reminded me of some boys vs girls-ish stories that Ken Penders had pitched but never written due to his departure from Archie. These are in Ken Penders’ own words on his fan forum, accessible via the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/web/20160324034614/http://www.kenpenders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=122)

“SONIC: GIRLS NIGHT OUT (SONIC #163) - Some teasing from Ash results in Mina and Amy Rose making their way into Robotnik’s stronghold to prove they’re just as capable on their own as any Freedom Fighter (re: Sonic). When Sally hears what they’re up to, she and Sonic head out after them, only to discover Rouge and Nic the Weasel are on the scene, each looking to abscond with the rare gem that will power Robotnik’s latest weapon. (16 pages if 1 issue or 2 11-page stories if spread over two issues)”

So once again not a full boys vs girls story, more of a girls trying to prove they’re just as capable as boys deal. It’s strange that Ken Penders kept on writing Mina going on Freedom Fighter missions (such as in the infamous Sonic #152) long after she had come to terms with not being comfortable in that position and happier as a pop singer instead. But then again Ken Penders famously didn’t read other writers’ stories or even consider them canon. Or maybe he thought he was getting back at Karl Bollers somehow by writing Mina that way? Who knows? Okay, what else have we got?

“SONIC: NEW WORLD ORDER (SONIC #167) - Sonic finally is informed of the duties of his new rank: Gentleman-At-Arms. His first task: accompany Princess Sally to Station Square as she sets up Knothole’s first embassy in a foreign land. Naturally, there’s some trouble before the group departs, including Sally’s displeasure when Sonic’s new rank means he can overrule her when it comes to security, as Antoine’s duties as head of the Royal Guard conflict with his proposal to Bunnie. (16 pages)”

Oh great, another story where Sally’s authority is being trampled all over. It was bad enough when it was coming from King Max the boomer, but this feels even more awkward coming from Sonic (and presumably her brother the newly crowned King Elias, as he’s the one who slapped that stupid title on Sonic in the first place). I’m glad Ian kind of just abandoned that whole Gentleman-At-Arms thing.

Sigh, another post that turned into a rant about Penders. Well, it’s bound to happen every now and then. Are there any other boys vs. girls stories I missed? Let me know in the comments! Next time… A Very Special Episode. I’m sure you guys all know where this one is going. 

#archiesonic syndicated

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

I'm in my Fontaine/Neuvillette fever right now and considering I'm also writing a new d&d campaign lots of ideas are swirling around in my head like atoms colliding with each other, creating new ideas.

So, I made a Fontaine related quest starring Traveler, Neuvillette and bunch of other characters.

Im tagging @lunargrapejuice to obsess with me.

There's an island in a huge lake northwest of Fontaine. This island is fabled to inhabit a mysterious secret order that protected wilderness from evil, called Swan Maidens or Swanmays for short. These warriors of nature possessed many mysterious abilities, such as being able to take the form of a swan and speak with animals. Only good-willed females were permitted to join the order. The order had additional requirements for the recruits, such as being able to speak Sylvan and the ability to speak with animals. The initiate must have performed a great deed for another swanmay before being accepted into the order. When they were officially part of the order, they received a feathered token that allowed them to change forms.

Now to the island itself. Most of it is being held together by roots of a massive elder tree that also serves as headquarters for Swanmays and was planted by the first Swanmay and founder of the order.

Once every hundred years the Elder tree produces a seed that is used to replenish energy of the Elder tree, which in turn is the only living non-petrified ley-line blossom, and as such it's crucial for the entire Teyvat to preserve the elder tree.

Now when the infodump is over, it's time for the plot of the quest itself. The magic seed was stolen, the Elder tree is dying and as such the whole island is falling apart. The prime suspect for the theft is a high ranking member of Swanmays, the Black Swan. Without the seed, the restoration ceremony cannot take place, and therefore, the life force of the island, and the world will fade away. The leader of the order, White Swan, has sent a request on the mainland to hold an investigation and trial for the thief. Neuvilette is setting foot on this island, along with traveler, of course.

Upon arriving, the traveler meets an eccentric tailor, who claims to be a famous fashion designér in Fontaine. He possesses a Geo Vision and as such, is capable of fixing the cracks appearing all around the island with his magical giant needle.

The tailor proclaims he doesn’t know how to reach the Elder tree, so he gives traveler White Swan's letter. By fixing the bridge, the traveler and tailor travel to the Elder tree, where Elise the White Swan meets them and explains the situation. She also gives a traveler amulet that can stun Black Swan temporarily. Traveler begins to investigate the area and is attacked by a large monster, but the tailor saves them just in time. (This would be small boss battle in which you test run the tailors character)

Traveler sees Black Swan, but before they can talk, the Swan creates a new crack, blocking the path. Traveler manages to get across and follow Black Swan into the waterfall where she has her secret hideout. There they find the magic seed inside. Once taken, the Black Swan confronts the traveler, saying only members of the Swanmays can touch the seed. Using the amulet on Black Swan, the traveler makes an escape and returns seed to Elise to begin the ceremony.

However, unbeknownst to the traveler, Elise is plotting to use the Elder tree as a beacon for elemental power to absorb. Elise attacks travelers and uses the seed to make herself more powerful. She encompasses herself in chrysalis, where she can become the next archon. Traveler is saved by Black Swan who explains to them that there's still hope, for a man was trapped in prison under the lake a few days ago and that he may be able to help.

Traveler disables many traps to reach prison, upon doing so, meets Siegfried. Traveler destroys the wicked enchantments and removes the force crystal. On the way out of prison Elise confronts them, now a grotesque monster. She attempts to kill everyone, but the force crystal stuns her long enough for the three to escape to Black Swan's hideout. Siegfried needs potion to recover so Black Swan tasks the traveler with making healing potion. (This is a small quest in which the traveler collects a number of plants and earns a recipe for new potion) Once Siegfried receives the healing potion, the three can walk outside the hideout, the Black Swan is taken by Elise. Siegfried suggests they should find the Swan archives, where all answers are hidden.

They key to the archive is hidden in Graves of one of the Swan princesses. Traveler finds two pieces of an ancient Swan scroll while sleuthing. Using the scroll to rule out graves, traveler finds the key in Odette's tomb, which only has her armor, for she was exiled. (There traveler receives five Swan artifacts) The tailor falls from above from one of the cracks, and traveler cuts him out of vines. He angrily states that the princess took his magic needle and threw him off the throne room. Siegfried admits that his greatsword was stolen as well.

Using a key from Odette's coffin, the entrance to the archives opens. In an ancient stone tablet, the traveler learns that there's a way to ať least temporarily stop the corruption - the swanmay talisman, similar to one used against the Black Swan. Siegfried says that if they can get Elise on the top of the Elder tree, then the talisman should work. This leads Siegfried and traveler to lead to the Swan guardhouse where all the talisman are stored.

The Black Swan (Odile) is already inside the house and says she barely managed to escape Elise's clutches. They find the talisman and go to the Elder tree to meet with Siegfried and tailor.

They activate an elevator to reach the top of the tree, but Siegfried says they need enchanted weapons to defeat Elise. So the Four of them depart to take their weapons back and forge an arrow imbued with the talisman. There is an epic battle on top of the Elder tree, with Elise inside a resin golem. With Siegfried , tailor and traveler deflecting Elise's blows, Odile shoots the arrow and Elise plummets to her death.

Lady Furina gets her powers back, but Odile was gravely injured during the fight. Lady Furina declares she shall restore her for "she has carried her curse as proudy as any crown". In gratitude, Furina also offers to promote Odile to be the next Swan princess. Odile's interactions with traveler decide whether she chooses to accept the position of Swan princess or she will travel Teyvat as the Swanmay ambassador.

Epilogue

Thus, traveler, Siegfried, tailor and Black Swan defeated the monstrosity that Elise had become and saved Furina. The corruption wrought on the Elder tree was healed. Its canopy was once again crowned green, its withering branches sprang life anew.

Yet, deep in the earth of the Elder tree still bear scars. They will serve as a reminder of what becomes when balance is disturbed, even by those with noble intentions.

[vitos-ordination-song]

So much progressive-leaning media today falls into the trap of pandering, dumbing things down, and just regurgitating the target audience’s pre-established beliefs. The story beats feel like they’re lifted from a Twitter thread. Like “this movie is about Generational Trauma,” “this character arc embodies the struggles and triumphs of queer experience,” etc., but the stories themselves don’t have any spark to them. It reminds me of how in scientific research, you’re not supposed to start with a conclusion, but follow the evidence wherever it goes. I think it’s bad for art to start with the conclusion, without doing the work to get there, and doubly gross when that conclusion is just trying to score points for popularity.

Octavia Butler was very resistant to that kind of thing. I’m reminded of an interview where she gave a nuanced description of what she was trying to accomplish with her black female characters. To paraphrase, she said something like, they’re strong because I’m naturally shy, so I wanted to write my way into being more confident. But she specified, they don’t go around SAYING “I’m a strong black woman.” They just act as if they have no limitations, which helped her to be that way herself. I think a lot of media now is way too referential, too determined to be A Part of the Conversation, to have that restraint.

Inu-Oh is interesting because it does purposefully cater itself to the public, but not at all in a way that I find grating. I think it’s because it’s a work of the people—the common people, brought together by shared passion for lost stories. About stars who play for the adoring masses instead of the emperors and warlords. When they play for the powerful, they do so to reveal the truths the powerful have suppressed. It’s also an amazingly artistic film, very fresh and unique—its appeal is undeniable, one can’t fault a work for being a crowd pleaser when it pleases through true excellence. Lastly and most importantly, it’s heartfelt.

Too often, I’ve been on this website and seen someone say that this anime is politically subversive, or that show is diverse, but when I watch the thing in question, it feels unbearably fake. You can just feel the corporate boardroom meeting where the decision to lazily make a character a minority was made to try to whip up positive buzz, or even a backlash as a marketing tactic. Sometimes it’s less like the creators were totally cynical and more like they just didn’t know how to tell an interesting story or incorporate subversive elements/diverse characters into their world. But either way, I’m bored with it, tired of this kind of media in general.

But Inu-Oh is actually everything progressive people are looking for in media. I mean, it actually is a queer, politically subversive story about two disabled/marginalized people who love each other 😭 Soooo much care was put into making it feel authentic, not cliche/forced, there are real stakes, there is a real moral compass, artistic integrity, and a wonderful story which is taken to legendary proportions. All the characters, especially Tomoari and Inu-Oh, are crafted with loving attention. You really do not see something like that every day.

[mozak-hh]

Genshin Impact Headcanon:

When they’re horny.

thank you all so much for the genshin matchup requests! The response was so overwhelming I’m beaming. I’ll try getting through as many requests as I can so while you guys wait I’ve decided to write you a little something in appreciation. ^^ I also added my first female character because I was sick of the lack of gender diversity hehe. If you like Jean, pls comment any other fem requests you may have since it really helps out a lot. Don’t be afraid to ask me to write anything either, it’s my job after all! x

Includes: Kaeya, Diluc, Xiao, Jean

Type: Nsfw, you have been warned~

Kaeya:

When is this man not horny?

Perhaps it was the change of wind, or maybe it was the change in your attitude that set Kaeya off. The subtle lift of your skirt, the breeze making the collar of your shirt flow, Kaeya couldn’t resist the temptation of wanting more. He was a man after all. A man who fancied you quite significantly.  How could he resist the primal urge to wrap his arm around you and pull you closer? Your scent was mesmerizing, making it hard to turn away. Suddenly Kaeya found his body had become too warm to stand it. 

Kaeya growled in lustrous frustration. A Bead of sweat dripping from the crown of his head. The damp air of the shower only adding to the sensual heat in his lower abdomen. The hot water covered his broad shoulders and streamed down his toned abdomen, gliding over his hand as he pumped his cock in slow, rhythmic motions. 

Perhaps it was the change in scenery, being away from you for so long that is, which brought Kaeya into this animalistic state. He lifted his head up and jerked his arm faster. Streams of water following the curves of his muscles. He’d already seen you that morning, but his heat had gotten a lot worse. He imagined your small frame pressed against the shower wall, covered by his taller build. Arms captured in his own as he thrusted into you. You squeezing your legs which were wrapped around his waist. Locking him in your tight wet walls.

“f-fuck it..,” Kaeya moaned as he turned to lock away from his throbbing cock. rubbing his callused hands over the soft tip, pumping his hand a few more times before letting out a chocked moan. Cumming all over the wall in front of him, and letting the water wash the rest of the sweat off his body.

Damn. Kaeya sure as hell wouldn’t be spending another night in the shower alone.  

Diluc:

Diluc is a busy man, so its often that he doesn’t have the time to enjoy simple pleasures such as sex. But after weeks after not being able to spend one night with you, he becomes ravenous. 

He becomes rather snappy and short tempered. Not being able to handle any person touching him. This wont interrupt his work performance much, but it’ll make him a lot less polite, often making his staff tend to the bar instead of him. That is, until you see him one late night during his rut. 

You went to his winery to provide him with some necessary information. The maids let you in and told you he was upstairs. Once you began to move slowly towards his bedroom chambers is when you heard the painful grunt. 

You rush to door and open it slightly, peering to see if anyone was hurt. It seems as if time had slowed down completely, your breath hitched. Diluc sat at the corner of his bead, palming the large bulge straining beneath his pants. Half of his buttons on his shirt were undone, leaving his exposed chest gleaming with sweat. He must of had good hearing, as his eyes snapped to the door where his eyes instantly met yours. 

“Oh Fuck.. you look delicious..” Diluc’s eyes scanned your form, licking his lips as he stood from his bed. As soon as you silently shut the door behind you he wrapped his strong arms around your body, letting him hoist you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. 

Diluc becomes a little more loud during sex, perhaps even a bit whiny. All while hugging you so you can’t leave. For the rest of the night, Diluc has to have his cock inside you. Gripping you tightly and fucking you senselessly. He won’t stop until he can’t breathe. 

Jean:

Jean’s another hopeless case, never allowing herself to indulge in such matters. But after getting involved in you, she suddenly finds herself waiting for her day to end, signalling her to go home. For jean, it’s the thought of her face in between your thighs that make her legs feel light beneath her office desk. 

Being under a heavy workload all the time, doesn’t do any good either. Unfortunately for Jean, there is no such thing as a sweet release during her breaks. that is, until you stride into her office, tray in hand. 

After hearing about Jean’s stress this pass week, you decided it would be a perfect chance to bring her lunch. Striding into her office, Jean’s legs start to shake, fire swelling in her stomach. You smile, and place the tray of hot food on her desk. Jean’s mouth waters, but not for the food.

“Oh you poor thing! I couldn’t imagine sitting at this desk all day. I brought some things I thought you might like-” you look down at the plate on the desk, “ I’m hope I didn’t intrude-” 

“Y/N baby~” Jeans huffs under her breath, standing up and pushing her chair abruptly. By the time your eyes snap back up, Jean’s already moved the tray of food, and taps your shoulder from behind you. Turning around, your met with a harsh kiss. Jean’s tongue dominating the inside of your mouth, making your cheeks flush and knees grow weak. You loose your balance, falling down towards the desk. Jean takes this opportunity to rest your head in her hand, gently lowering you down and slamming her other hand on the desk to catch you both before starting to kiss you again. 

You wrap your hands around Jean’s neck, running your hands through the back of her head. You whine as she stands, making her way towards the door and locking it. She turns around after the soft click, and strides back towards you, loosening the buttons on her shirt. 

 Licking her lips, she stands above you. Lightly yanking your shorts.

“Let’s take these off, shall we?”

(Sorry I’m a simp for dom Jean pls send help)

Xiao: 

This guy goes through regular periods of heat, like an animal. Perhaps It’s an adepti thing, but every so often he’ll stop talking to you and shut himself within the walls of the inn. Not even the managers go near him, fearing the unusual scent coming from his chambers. This man wont let himself stop. Only using his time to pleasure himself. 

Somehow in your right mind you decide to check up on him to make sure he was doing alright. Ascending the stairs to the attic you catch the scent of something sweet, mixed with the smell of sweat and Xiao himself. The air begins to grow thick as you reach the door to his room. Turning the knob a few times you find it to be locked from the outside. Panicking, you pound your fist on the door to see if someone had locked him inside.

Xiao smashes his fist through the door, wood splintering and groaning under his force. He rips the handle off clean, allowing himself to bust the door open and pull you inside. Trapping you beneath his body as he Hauls the broken door closed again. Seeling it with special magic.

“I knew you’d come for me~” he purrs, putting his thigh between your legs and caressing your face. Pinned up against the door, you notice Xiao’s ankles bound in thick metal cuffs, the long Chain connected to his bed. There were claw marks on every whole. It truly looked like he tried to destroy the place.

You try to break from his grip, but he blocks you with his arms, kissing you forcibly. His breath is hot, his hands tremble. “Touch me y/n, touch me” he wines, bringing your hand to press on his crotch as he moans into your neck.

Sex with this animalistic beast will be nothing short of desperate. From the minute you allow him to the end of his heat, Xiao will have his throbbing cock inside you. He won’t let you go, hugging you from behind as he pounds into you. Don’t try to run away from him, that’ll just turn him on.

At the end of his heat he’ll probably feel so bad but if you’re ok with it he’ll have you around more often during his heat.

Hope you enjoyed~

#genshin #genshin impact #diluc #genshin impact headcanons #genshin diluc #genshin kaeya #fanfic #genshin x reader #genshin jean #genshin xiao #Xiao #Kaeya #Jean

[onp4012]

Romanian monsters and myths

I’ve seen that some of you want to hear more about those monsters and myths, so I am ready to spoil them.

Moroi

As popular as the Strigoi is the Moroi, an evil entity that comes from the spirit of an unbaptized dead child. In most parts of the country, Strigoi’s and Moroi’s are considered separate entities, but in Oltenia they are confused. The Moroi is the dead who have to return from the pit to bring trouble to family and friends. According to folk tales, an unbaptized dead child is sure to turn into a Moroi. Unlike Strigoi’s, where the transformation came almost immediately after death, the Moroi’s waited seven years to rise from the pit. When seven years have passed since his death(because number 7 is considered a magic number), the soul asks to be received in the kingdom of heaven and cries out "Baptism, Baptism!" or according to other sources "Cross, cross!". If anyone hears him then he can save him by giving him baptism: "The son or daughter of God, John or Mary, is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen!". The ritual is completed by a piece of cloth that is thrown on the grave of the unbaptized baby. If this ritual is not performed, the soul does not find peace and turns into an evil spirit, known as a Moroi. The Moroi haunts the owners of the land where he was buried. It makes the owner's animals and children sick, who eventually have to leave the land to avoid a tragedy. It is a nocturnal creature that manifests itself especially on New Year's Eve. It is said that it can leave its native land by metamorphosing into a dog. If it receives food, the dog-mule does not cause damage and does not scare those who cut it off. Encounters with the Moroi in the middle of the night are usually fatal. The victim either falls in bed for a long time or finds an end until dawn.

Pricolici

Is a werewolf/vampire fusion in the Romanian folklore. Pricolici, similar to Strigoi, are undead souls that have risen from the grave to harm living people. While a Strigoi possesses anthropomorphic qualities similar to the ones it had before death, a pricolici always resembles a wolf. Malicious, violent men are often said to become Pricolici after death, in order to continue harming other humans. Even as recently as modern times, many people living in rural areas of Romania have claimed to have been viciously attacked by abnormally large and fierce wolves. Apparently, these wolves attack silently, unexpectedly and only solitary targets. Victims of such attacks often claim that their aggressor wasn't an ordinary wolf, but a Pricolici who has come back to life to continue wreaking havoc.

Samca

Samca is a female, grotesque, horror and demonic spirit that ruins underage children and pregnant women’s health. She allegedly has long, disheveled hair, crooked fingers that end with sharp nails, fire-spitting mouth and hands made of iron. Legend has it, she’ll turn up at the end of each month in front of a young child or a pregnant woman and either kill the poor soul or leave him/ her crippled for life. According to the myth, the spirit has not one, but nine different names. Samca enjoys torturing women in labor, sometimes killing them. She also either kills their their children, or blesses them with a disease bearing her name. A children suffering from Samca will have seizures, cry all the time, sigh a lot and eventually die. If one writes all of her names inside his house, Samca will not be allowed to enter. She is thought to be the wing of Satan, and she is said to have tried to kill baby Jesus, but was stopped by Michael ( the archangel, not Jackson). She can also change appearance, in order to deceive mortals.

Pâca (Pafa)

Pâca, also known as Pafa, is, according to Romanian mythology, the spirit of tobacco and smoking. Romanians have imagined her as a woman as old at the world itself, ugly and black, having horns on her head and a big, long nose, swollen eyes, tusks and talons, a tail and a pipe in her mouth. Flames and black smoke come out of her throat and she reeks of tobacco. When Pâca came out from the depths of Hell, death spreading smoke came out with her. Then her sons, the demons (dracii), gave birth to a seed which they sowed. The plant sprung from that seed is called buruiana dracului ( the Devil’s weed) or tămâia dracului (the Devil’s incense). As you may have guessed, this plant is what we call tobacco. Then some other demons invented the pipe, for people to worship Pafa by inhaling the smoke made by the plant the devils had sowed in her name. Pâca‘s children also invented snuff tobacco. The funny part is that God, upon seeing what the people were doing, took their tobacco leaves and instead of destroying them (since he’s almighty according to christians, right?), mixed them with basil (so they could smell nicer?) and gave them back to people, teaching them how to use the new product. (Good job, God)

Crasnicul

Crasnicul, or Crâsnicul, is the child born out of a woman’s union with a demon. Apparently, he looks like a cross between a piglet and a normal kid. However, as opposed to the latter, the first thing this demon spawn does after birth is not crying, but running around the house screaming. I bet it sounds similar to Dani Filth’s work with Cradle. Somehow, my intuition tells me their similarities go beyond sound, and we could also link the two aesthetically. In some areas, people thought you should trap the thing in a stove and burn it alive. Other believe that the Crasnic is born after an eleven months gestation period. It is also said that the Crasnic has a hellish desire to bite and kill the people around, immediately after birth. After he’s done with them, he (it?) will try to go back to where he came from. To prevent all this, the midwife will wrap him in a cloth and call the mother’s relatives to bludgeon him to death. Imagine how many malformed children have been bludgeoned to death just because people thought they were the result of the mother’s union with the Devil. Sad. But a great Horror image, nonetheless. ;-; (Ain’t very proud).

Muma Pădurii (Mother Forest)

Is an ugly and mischievous or mad old woman living in the forest (in the heart of the virgin forests, in a hut/cabin or an old tree). She is the opposite of fairies such as a "Fairy" Zână. She is also the protector of the animals and plants, brewing potions and helping injured animals. She cures the forest if it's dying, and she keeps the unwanted trespassers away driving them mad and scaring them to flee. She can be associated with witches (like the witch from the story of "Hansel and Gretel"), but she's a neutral "creature", harming only those who harm the forest. (She’s my favorite “horror one”, I really respect her.)

Iele

Ieles, evil fairies in Romanian mythology are the most mysterious and fascinating creatures that Romanian legends have been talking about for hundreds of years. Sources of inspiration for poets and writers, who turned them into literary characters, the ieles are also the subject of folk studies in which the authors tried to explain both the origin and the meaning of the creatures. Supernatural female creatures appearing in groups on the plains or in the woods, singing and dancing in steamy or undressed clothes, leaving behind signs of circles of fire. It’s said that they are the result of an incestuous relationship between the Sun and the Moon, so they were cursed to send their daughters on earth. This is the portrait of the ieleles, described by folklorists and folk tales over time. Legends about iele, which differ from region to region, say that the creatures appear in groups of three, five or seven. The stories depict the evil fairies in Romanian mythology as very beautiful, dressed in steamy clothes or simply naked. In the story they appear at night, in the fields and in the forests, far from the eyes of the world. Legends also say that the iels burn crazy and cheerful choruses that the eyes of ordinary mortals should not see. Behind them are signs of circles of fire in the burning grass. (In my region, it’s said that they are wives of unfaithful husbands that cheated on them, at which, the woman committed suicide in a river or was simply killed by her husband.)

#romania #myths #legends #monsters #transylvania #romanianmythicalcreatures #romanianmyths #pricolici #Samca #strigoi #iele #para #crasnicul

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

I'm okay with a bunch of disorganized rambling honestly 😂. But if I had to narrow it down then I guess I want to know about main and side characters and how they compare to the original?

I know that tumblr is the Prime Site for disorganized rambling, but I have perfectionism issues. But that is a great question, nonnie, and I will be happy to ramble is a slightly less disorganized fashion.

When reading Maximum Ride as a somewhat-formed adult who discovered they enjoy English classes about 3.5 years ago, I noticed that JP, when writing, doesn't understand consistency. At all. Which means, in many ways, I have a free sandbox to work with.

Spoilers for my rewrite WIP, because I strongly believe that if a story would no longer be good if one had spoilers, then it wasn’t a good story in the first place.

I'm trying to keep the backstories the same, plus or minus the scientific method and a few characters (RIP my OCs. I want to bring you back so bad but it wouldn't fit with the thematic narrative). I've mostly kept their (starting) abilities the same, too. Without further ado, I'm going to introduce some WorldBuilding. (If I'm good at nothing else, I'm good at world building)

First off. Logically.

How are they getting Cable?

How are they getting internet?

How are they getting money to eat and stuff?

JP's answer: handwave it off. Sometimes you need to ignore logistics for the sake of plot. This is an answer I'd accept from an author that I like, such as Julie Kagawa, that makes amazing worlds, characters, and narratives that I will happily handwave a few things that wouldn't work in the real world. James Patterson, on the other hand, did not make any of that; he made a cool concept, some good rough-draft characters, and nothing else, and therefore this is an unforgivable sin.

Wasp's answer: They are not getting any of that.

Introducing Cottagecore.

The house is off the grid. Solar Panels and a wind turbine create electricity. They have their own well. They grow their own food, raise livestock for eggs, milk, and wool, and trap fish for meat. They get money through dumpster diving and pawning. They still have to steal half of the necessities they can’t make themselves. They do have a TV, but it can access about three channels on a clear day. Internet is only a thing when they go to the public library.

Giving the flock a background that’s heavy in farming and livestock rearing shores up the plot holes mentioned above, but in my opinion, ties the flock more tightly to the environment, thus giving them something tangible to lose when they have to leave the E-shaped house. Because they’re not just leaving a house and a safety net— they’re leaving their entire way of life with no promise of getting it back. It also gives them a tangible connection to the earth in case I want to actually pursue the global warming themes.

Main Characters

Maximum “Max” Ride (Birthname: nonexistent)

First off, I'm letting her be Latina, James Patterson.

In the original, Max was very much the headstrong, independent, action girl. Leaning into Strong Female Character (TM), but overall she had a strong, solid foundation and enough character consistency through the first three books for me to not have to just make an entire new character. However, I felt that she was, in some ways, a bit too Action-Girl and Strong and Capable. Yes, Max is incredible and competent, but she’s also fourteen. She’s a child.

In the rewrite, Max’s character is still headstrong, independent, capable, and sometimes not the best at listening to others. All of that’s the same. But she’s that way not because of girlboss energy, but because there’s no one else to do it. She doesn’t want to lead, necessarily. She wants to get some rest and let someone else handle the problems life keeps throwing at her. But she knows if she did that, the responsibility of leader would fall to Fang and Iggy, and she can’t ask that of them. She doesn’t want to place that burden on anyone else (Look, there’s a reason I chose Ayano’s Theory of Happiness as one of her signifier songs, okay?). Her narrative is very much centered around burden, and also around loss. She lost her cultural heritage when she was taken away from her birth family, she lost her childhood to being a leader, she lost a good deal of her friends to the school (RIP my OCs), she lost Jeb, and then she lost her stability. And she’s going to lose a lot more before the end of the story. So a lot of her character arc deals with learning that there are some things she can’t fix, some things that can’t be recovered. She can’t get the E-shaped house back. She can’t get her Little Baby Angel back, even after they rescue her. She can’t get her friends back from the school. And instead of working so hard to recover those or find something to replace them, she has to learn to live with that sense of loss and move on with her life without feeling guilty for leaving things behind. And she has to learn that asking for help and sharing her burden is selfish or weak.

Other changes I made that don’t necessarily fit into her narrative arc, but you asked for rambling so rambling you shall get:

Max hallucinates, because mental illness is also a prominent theme in the rewrite. She doesn’t have a psychotic disorder, but her C-PTSD causes visual/audio hallucinations, especially when she’s stressed or sleep deprived. 

Max ends up having a Gender Discovery throughout the story and goes by He/She pronouns eventually. I don’t know when, but it will happen.

As far as genetic modifications/special quirks go, she can fly faster than the rest of the flock, but not 300 miles per hour. She averages about sixty mph with diving speeds of 240. She cannot breathe underwater or shut down her organs on command. She also has the Super Special Power to predict the weather, but that’s not because of genetics, it’s because she has chronic pain in her right arm that gets worse when weather fronts change.

Her favored weapon is her trusty rebar that she picked up from a condemned building. I think she’s going to name it eventually but I don’t know what yet.

Fang (Birth name: Gabriel Xue)

In canon, Fang is characterized in early books by being the “dark, strong, silent type”. He’s probably the most reserved member of the flock, to the point of falling into the Brooding Mystery Man trope in parts of the book. They care a lot, but they’re not the best at conveying that, especially with the younger members of the flock, and at times their high empathy leads them to making mistakes. Despite the high empathy, he’s often compared to a robot due to his lack of expression and external emotions.

Well, first change is that they’re not a man, so jot that down—

If Max’s narrative is centered around burden and loss, I would probably say that Fang’s is centered around humanity and moving on. None of the flock was treated as human while in the school, but Fang was more often than not treated like a wild animal due to “behavioral issues”, and therefore had and continues to have a difficult time considering themselves real and alive, let alone human. This manifests through a several different ways— where in canon Fang definitely had a ‘fight’ reaction, in the re-write they have a ‘freeze’ or ‘shut down’ instinct. They’re selectively mute for multiple reasons (including derealization, jaw pain, the fact that they didn’t learn how to speak until they were 10, and genuinely forgetting it’s something they’re capable of), a period of Cotard’s syndrome, and a tendancy towards self-loathing and self-sacrifice. In short, Fang is still halfway stuck in the mindset that most of the flock grew out of when they escaped in the school, and doesn’t know how to move past it.

Much of their character arc revolves around not necessarily seeing themselves as human, but learning to treat themselves as human even when they don’t feel like one (or even feel real), and knowing that just because they don’t feel human all the time doesn’t mean anyone else can treat them the same. They never start easily expressing their emotions, and they’re always going to be selectively mute, but they learn to accept that those aspects of themself aren’t character flaws or signs that they’re sub-human. 

Other additions to Fang’s character include:

They don’t get their hair cut in New York. It stays long through the entire series. They have the longest hair in the flock by the end of the series, and they can wear it in so many styles.

Fang uses they/it pronouns because themes of reclaiming the weapons used against it and, more importantly, Gender.

They’re actually really good at spelling compared to the rest of the flock, because they and Iggy communicate with Print-On-Palm when they’re nonverbal, and they’re nonverbal for some pretty long stretches of time. 

They and Max have... zero romantic tension. At all. There is none. The number of times Max calls them her sibling/little sibling in the first arc alone is staggering, and that will not change.

Igneous “Iggy” (Birthname: Jamsetta “Jamie” Griffiths)

I’ve talked about Iggy before. Canon doesn’t give us much to go off of, but from what’s shown, he’s smart, sarcastic, has sharper edges than Fang and Max, and also has a sizable ruthless streak. So that’s what I have to go off of.

The big difference between Iggy and Fang&Max is that Iggy has a much better memory of the School. Most of the flock have areas (months or years) that they don’t remember, or people that they’ve blocked from their mind, but Iggy... doesn’t. So he’s the one that remembers all of the other AVIAN test subjects that were old enough to have names and identities but died due to complications. Max might have the burden of leadership, but he has the burden of memory. And that has lead to both a massive fucking guilt complex, because why did he survive when they didn’t, and, as mentioned above, a ruthless streak that he doesn’t shy away from.

Which is to say, by the end of the story, Iggy has the highest kill count.

I love, love writing Iggy next to Max and Fang. I love writing Iggy next to Gazzy and Nudge. Because, I say this with all of the love of the world, but Iggy is not a good person. He is loyalty and love incarnate, and the world can burn down if he and his siblings are safe. Max and Fang will always try to save as many people as they can. They will wonder what’s wrong with them the first time they kill and don’t have a mental breakdown about it. They are good in a way that Iggy is not. He’s okay with killing Erasers. He’s okay with killing humans. He’s okay with killing people who might not necessarily deserve it, if they show themselves as a threat or are simply in the blast radius. He knows perfectly well that most of those Erasers he’s murdering are four and five and he is okay with that, because a lot of the AVIANs were that age when they died. (Yeah, in the rewrite it’s not Fang who has an issue with Ari; it’s Iggy who wants the 7-year-old wolf-boy dead.) 

And this is, of course, juxtaposed with Iggy being really, really good with Nudge and Gazzy (especially in the beginning). Because, again, he actually remembers being a child. He remembers a lot of kids that died and is therefore fiercely protective of the kids that didn’t, as well as fiercely protective of the innocence that he never got. So he’s the one that cooks their favorite foods when they’re having a bad day, always makes time when they want to talk about something, and convinces Max to let them go to that toy store in New York because, yeah, he Max and Fang aren’t kids. They never were. But Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel can be. (And if he has to be a murderer to preserve that, then he’s perfectly okay with that.)

He and Angel don’t get along very well, though. The telepath doesn’t like hanging out with the person with the most clear memories of the school.

Other additions:

Iggy is trans and says trans rights

He also has paranoid episodes, because C-PTSD. Sometimes they’re very helpful. Sometimes they are not.

I actually decided that he’s one of the flock that doesn’t meet their parents. I know in canon he did, but I always found that very clunky because it didn’t add to his character. He was one of the characters who, until it was convenient for the plot, seemed to care the least about his family. I’d much rather give that to a character whose arc would benefit from it.

Iggy! Gets! Older Sibling Rights! Seriously, he’s two months younger than Fang, he is just as capable.

Iggy does not know braille because Jeb decided it wasn’t necessary for him to know. Iggy is also the best speller in the flock, because Print-on-Palm was the only way to talk to Fang for a solid year. Yes he mocks everyone over this.

Iggy is the only member of the flock that enjoys swimming and can take into the air from water. Everyone else in the flock is incredibly jealous.

Nudge (Birthname: Monique Robinson)

If Iggy is defined by his memories, Nudge is his polar opposite. She was seven when she left the School, but she has next to no memories of it. She is missing a lot of time in the first year she escaped. And that causes... a lot of things. It makes her feel disconnected from her older siblings, it gives her the ability to function in society in a way the other’s can’t, it lets her feel less grief over the ones that didn’t make it and she doesn’t remember, it makes her feel guilty that she doesn’t remember what she’s old enough to know. 

Basically, in order for me to keep the character of Nudge as I saw her (more extroverted, not afraid of the world, fascinated with humans like her siblings aren’t, desiring to fit in instead of isolate), I had to put a little bit of distance between her and the flock. Of course, she loves them— that will in no way change— but she’s old enough that she should remember the school (and her dead friends) unlike Gazzy and Angel, but she can’t, and she very much fears forgetting the flock if anything happens to them. So she’s trying desperately to keep the flock close and wants desperately to experience the world at the same time, and doesn’t know what to do when she can’t have both. That’s her biggest character conflict throughout the series, along with that in-between area where she’s not quite where her older siblings are but understands so much more than Gazzy and Angel, and where she stands in that.

So yeah. Nudge’s journey is that in looking for belonging in the world, in her family, and in herself.

This is why she’s one of the ones that gets to find her parent, James Patterson. 

Other additions include:

She never straightens her hair. Never. Her resources at the E-shaped house aren’t perfect, but she still has learned how to take care of her hair and has a few styles she cycles through.

She becomes the default person Max sics on people when the flock is trying to befriend them. Also their de-facto diplomat around strangers.

As in canon, she does take some time away from the flock to expirience ‘normal life’. This does not last long due to the stress of being separated from her siblings/not being able to help them and [REDACTED]

Nudge is... not the only person in her head. I’m not focusing on it much because she doesn’t actually know and neither does the flock (I don’t know if they ever figure it out during the series, either), but she has dissociative identity disorder. She’s not aware of her alter(s?). Her alter isn’t super aware of her, either. 

The alter that I’ve developed is named Oxy and is not super aware of the outside world. In her eyes, she’s still seven and they’re still at the School. She would not recognize the body as her own if she looked in a mirror.

Nudge actually leaves the flock for a while to pursue her dream of living a normal life. She deserves it. She learns how to make muffins and the basics of software development. These things are unrelated.

Gasman (Birthname: No first name, surname “Falk”)

Honestly, writing Gazzy is kind of hard for me. Partially because I’m not great at writing kids, and partially because I feel like he’s a pretty surface-level character in-series that... isn’t super compelling in canon. But even if that’s the case, I try to treat all of my characters with respect, so here we go. In my rewrite, he escaped when he was four, which was half a lifetime ago for him, so his memories are ill-defined. Therefore, he managed to circumvent a lot of the trauma that the rest of the kids have, and not in the way Nudge did, which is by creating an elaborate blockage in her memories. 

Which means Gazzy... really doesn’t know how to deal with all of this traumatic stuff happening. So much of his development turns out to be a coming-of-age narrative. Learning how to deal with the horrors of what his siblings grew up with. Learning the fears that they had the entire time. Losing his innocence when everyone around him never had it in the first place, and being so terribly alone because of it. Because, really, how can you explain such a deep loss to people who never had what he had? How can they help in a way that matters?

Also, relationship-wise, I’m slowly deteriorating the relationship between him and Iggy. Slowly. Or, changing it, at least. Gazzy hero-worships Iggy in-series, and for good reason, because Iggy is super cool, especially in the eyes of an eight-year-old, and especially when Iggy has taken care to cultivate parts of his behaviors to be child-friendly. Part of growing up is seeing the flaws in your heroes, and Gazzy has to learn how to deal with it. End of the series Gazzy is much less closer to Iggy than beginning of the series Gazzy, and neither of them are really okay with that, but they learn to live with it, because that’s really all they can do.

Notes:

I’m keeping the mimickry! It plays a bit of a bigger role because that’s how Gazzy learned to talk. I’m debating whether or not he has his own voice or if he just borrows the flock’s as he sees fit. He also uses it to scream really loudly and occaisonally burst the eardrums of Erasers.

At one point he cosplays as Jessica Jones. No you don’t get any more context than this.

He has a horrible sense of fashion.

I’m changing his name eventually because it sucks. He’s either going to change it to Gannet, Garrison, or Ivy Mike temporarily, and permanently to Zephyr. (I never said I was going to make his name GOOD, because he’s eight, but it’s changing. You’re welcome.)

Angel (Birthname: No first name, surname “Falk”)

It’s just... a completely different character, at this point. I’ve changed so many things about her in an attempt to make her consistent and act like a six-year-old and work in the whole “telepath before she has a solid sense of identity”, so it’s a different character. Also, I’m tired of writing coherently or in paragraphs, so have some interesting facts.

She has epilepsy! Super severe epilepsy! I think she might also develop juvenile MS in the future because her brain has so many scars from being a fucking six-year-old telepath. There’s no way she could get out of that unscathed.

She has more memories of the school than Gazzy, but only because she keeps accidentally reading the minds of Max, Fang, and Iggy. On a related note, she interacts with Iggy as little as possible.

The mind reading means that she has a hard time developing as a normal child with a normal sense of identity or reality. She can’t tell how much people are individual people and how much they’re just extensions of her. Conversely, she can’t tell how much of herself is actually her instead of the thoughts/opinions/identities of someone else. It’s... kinda fucked? But also super not-her-fault. 

She’s albino because white wings. Also, because I thought it was cool. This also means that her vision sucks, though. Also she has the biggest straw sunhat and the most stylish sunglasses a six-year-old can have.

She’s responsible for Max shaving her hair off.

She has the highest swear count because I think it’s funny. She’s the only person allowed to say the fuck word in writing. Everyone else can only say ‘hell’ and the occasionally ‘damn’ but she can say whatever she wants for dramatic and comedic value.

She is NOT THE FUCKING VOICE, J*MES P*TTERSON.

Honorable Mentions

Jeb

I’m skipping Jeb because of how little I care about him. He’s a little bitch, next character.

Ari

STILL HASN’T BEEN REVEALED AS AN ERASER. I’ve been writing for 50,000 words and he’s over here saying ‘nope nope not yet, not dramatic enough’. He’s had speaking lines but has refused to make himself known to Max. I am so frustrated with this seven-year-old wolf-child that I’ve already considered how I would kill him, if I decide I want to kill yet another child in my writing.

So, my main thoughts for Ari is that he... really just drew the short end of the stick in every possible way. While Jeb didn’t sign him up for Eraser expirimentation, he didn’t do anything to stop it, and pretty much cut his losses when he realized this expiriment made a wreck of his ‘perfect, unflawed’ son, because Jeb doesn’t consider children of any species to actually be humans. So, Ari really hates his dad, which makes things complicated, because he also really loves his dad and really wants his approval. 

Which means that he also really hates Max, because she’s the child that always got Jeb’s time and attention, even when Ari was human. I think, on some level, he knows that trying to tear Max down to a less-favored level isn’t actually going to help his situation— infighting for the love of an abusive parent won’t make them any less abusive— but he’s also seven, and his development is already severely stunted due to becoming an Eraser, and he doesn’t see ‘leaving ITEX’ as an option like the Flock does. ITEX is his everything. It’s all he’s ever known, and they tell him he’s doing the right thing, and he wants them to love him. He wants his father to love him. He knows that if he ever questions ITEX, his father will never love him. So it must be his older sister that’s ruining his life and being a horrible child, and once Ari drags her back down to his level, Jeb will realize who the best child is and love him properly again.

Ari, on an even deeper level, does care for Max quite a bit, because she’s his older sister and he wants that to mean something in a way that ‘Jeb being his father’ obviously doesn’t. He wants what she made for herself, and he hates the Flock because she loves them and obviously doesn’t love him. 

Ari, if anything, is the product of neglect, and both loves and hates everyone who shows a chance of caring about him. And he’s seven, so he can’t notice these patterns, let alone break them.

So. Notes!

He doesn’t look like an adult. I thought that was gross and unnecessary. He’s seven, but he looks closer to thirteen or fourteen. Still young enough that he looks like every Eraser’s little brother, and the Erasers high-key treat him like it.

On a related note, he’s the only Eraser who can talk. The others don’t have the mental capacity or vocal structure to replicate human speech, but they can understand language (at about the level of a two or three year old) and are very good at nonverbal communication. This is why Ari managed to climb the ranks despite only having three years of “service” and also looking like a tween.

He doesn’t have an expiration date because that is SUCH a stupid plot point.

I’m giving him a chainsaw! I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but he deserves to have a chainsaw and GODDAMN I will give it to him.

Emergency and Gene

The OCs that I love and also killed pre-series. They don’t have any scenes, because they’re dead, but their deaths greatly effected Max, Fang, and Iggy, and they are very commonly referenced. Their voices are probably Max’s most common hallucination, to the point where she sometimes pretends they’re ghosts that she can talk to. They’re not ghosts. They’re dead.

Dr. Valencia Martinez

I’m actually keeping her pretty close to canon— loving, supportive, the type of person to take in a gsw victim with minimal questions. The difference is that rather than kindness fueling her actions, it’s incredible guilt. She has three goals surrounding Max: Give her as much support in any way she can, teach her as much about chicane culture as possible, and never let Max know that she’s her birth parent.

(She’s probably going to fail at AT LEAST two of those, but it’s the thought that counts.)

Notes:

She has a pet fox named Robin Hood that she rescued from an exotic animal salesman that got arrested.

I think I’m going to kill her. I don’t know yet, but it’s on the table.

Anne Walker

Y’know, the fake FBI Agent. Who’s not actually a fake in my story because I hated that plot point. She’s genuinely an FBI agent who put the Flock into pseudo-witness-protection in order to build a case against the Institute of Higher Living, accidentally got attached to her prime witnesses, raised them for a few months, realized a [SPOILER] and promptly had to let them get the hell out dodge.

I really like the Anne Walker that lives in my head. She is a VITAL part of the Flock’s development, their mental/emotional recovery, and adding to their safety net to fall back on. She serves them as their first adult role model, and is the first adult to show them what parent/child are supposed to look like from a healthy perspective. Though she has several fuck ups, she becomes someone that the Flock genuinely trusts and loves, which makes it all the more difficult for them to leave when [REDACTED].

Notes:

She and Max do butt heads initially, because Max is paranoid and also afraid of becoming uneeded. This ends up being incredibly important because Max needs to learn how to live and find meaning in life without being the designated Leader/Parent/Big Sister

Anne, at one point, sits the entire flock down to teach them about consent, which was something no one ever talked about with them before. She goes in talking specifically about consent in a romantic/sexual sense (because they’re fourteen and that’s something they need to know), but quickly turns into a full-fledged no, people are NOT allowed to do that to you, what the FUCK.

She’s responsible for giving the flock a laptop. It’s because Angel is online schooled (bc telepathy makes actually learning difficult) and was therefore provided with a computer.

Anne is also allowed to swear, but only when it’s funny.

Michael “Grey” Rivers

Aka Grey from the Sewers Aka GR3Y H47 Aka Mike from the Bronx Aka Gifted Child Syndrome Incarnate Aka Would-be-in-MIT-if-his-parents-weren’t-horrible. He’s my son, your honour.

Basically, his backstory boils down to him being a genius, getting into MIT at 14, his (horrible) parents wanting a perfect child who could “make it out” of the Bronx and represent his family/neighborhood/borough to the world. When he inevitably failed their expectations due to stress, a schizophrenic-spectrum disorder that completely alienated him from the rest of his support network, and refusing to take his psych meds because the side effects were horrible and they made it harder to think (and therefore pass his classes), they kicked him out. He fully intends to go back to MIT when he turns 18 and has control of his finances/scholarships/medication/therapy.

So that’s how the flock meets him. 

Mike ends up in a very prominent support role for the flock both in technological persuits (helping them track their parents, helping them get information from ITEX, trying to disable Max’s chip and failing multiple times until it becomes a matter of personal honour—), in helping the older members of the flock figure out how to deal with hallucinations/delusions (because he’s actually been to therapy, unlike them), and in being one of the only people who talks to them and helps them without any ulterior motive. He’s not trying to build a case against ITEX/The Institute of Higher Learning, he’s not double crossing them, he’s not plagued with guilt. He just genuinely wants to help them, and they genuinely want to help him, and that’s their first introduction to a healthy, non-codependent relationship.

My many disorganized notes on Michael Rivers:

He’s from specifically Morris Heights, Bronx, NYC.

He would say that his last name is actually Rivera, but his grandparents changed it to Rivers so it would sound more English, and his family has been in America for so long that he doesn’t know much about any Latino heritage he may or may not have. He identifies as African American, not Afro-Latino. He’s just bitter that his family felt the need to change their surname to have better opportunities in New York.

Nudge aggressively befriends him pretty much the moment she meets him, bullies him into teaching her how to code, and he very quickly adopts her as his pseudo-little-sister.

His delusions in the book seemed to involve government conspiracies, but as that’s the one delusion that is proved correct in the book, I’ve decided it would be best if his delusions and reality intersected a bit less if I don’t want to write him having a manic/paranoid episode in the second scene he has screen time. So his delusions are more based on “none of this is real”, “someone is recording everything I do and setting me up to fail” and “my ill-wishes on people can and will come true if I dwell on them too long.”. Government conspiracies are one of things he is skeptical about because he thinks most conspiracies are either “CIA admitted to this twenty years ago” or “antisemitism”.

He’s taking online free college classes that don’t actually give him any college credit, but they have good information and help him feel like he’s working towards something. He plans to double major in computer sciences and electrical engineering, minor in marine biology. He’s wanted to join NOAA since he was twelve and he is nothing if not stubborn.

There you go. These are my characters, now. I have custody.

#maximum ride on main #Maximum Ride rewrite

[abri-chan]

Can I just rant about Hellsing for a hot minute? (spoiers duh)

I really liked the anime, and in fact I like all works by the mangaka. I admire the kind of characters he comes up with. Which is why I’m salty over Pip x Seras.

I’m salty bc it could have been a pretty good couple with minor changes, but the mangaka really insists it’s okay to portray women harassments for fun (groping in Drifters) or give no chance for women to be active in their sexual attraction (this post, bear with me).

Here’s the deal, it’s weird Pip is mid 30s and she’s 19, and he is flirting with her. Could have made Pip younger or Seras older. This is minor, however. Let’s say nothing can be done there, because he’s a mercenary, so it’s not like he can choose the women he meets. No time for serious relationships, and he can’t help fall for Victoria. (I get it, I like her too.)

There’s no consent on her part... at all. And that bothers me, because just because the guy is dying, and he is in love with her, and has a plan to make her win (her consuming him), does it not make it okay to steal a kiss from Victoria. And it sucks because if only Victoria showed interested in Pip, the whole scene would have been not just hot (the kiss was hot, ok?), but super cool plot-wise: since you have two people literally getting intimate in death and trying to find a way to survive through it, albeit with Pip’s soul ending up in the collection of souls a vampire consumes. It was a beautiful scene really. 

And it’s not like the Hellsing mangaka is the only person to fall on the same trap of this tired trope. It’s everywhere, that is the trope of “the guy chases, the woman plays on the defense”. She plays hard to get to the very end. (There is no hard to get though, she’s just really not into you. However, in anime/manga, and media at large, it’s implied that she will eventually be into you, so you keep at it. Don’t take no for an answer).

Not only is this trope shitty for how it turns male characters into creeps and sexual harassers; it also ruins female characters, who can never be active about their feelings. They cannot admit to attraction, or play a part in courtship. Must be so funny Seras wouldn’t get Pip was flirting with her; it’s not like he was forward. Must be real funny, that while she doesn’t show inclination to like him, he keeps calling her Dear or whatever, and takes things without consent. Just fuck you, because we could have had Seras show interest, and it would have fixed the whole relationship, instead of making Pip’s moment of glory into sexual harassment.

And I like Pip a lot too. He’s handsome, flirty, charming French accent, and while he’s fun and games, he’s also very loyal. There really was no need, from a mangaka or writer’s point of view, to play the whole “make the girl play hard to get” for him, bc such is the common trope, and we will die less we throw that shit in so many stories, even those written by women. Seras can shoot a canon and murder a battalion, but she can’t consent, because women are not active in courtship, and love or sex is something that happens to them. 

For fuck’s sake, learn to write proper romances, and not perpetuate tired and harmful tropes. Especially since some 12 year old watching Hellsing, will not know the difference between flirting and “wearing down the girl until she says yes”, and if Pip is a cool character they will think that’s how we flirt now. But Hellsing is not meant for kids! So? Even an adult shouldn’t think it is okay, plus it pisses me off the mangaka went through all the trouble to make interesting characters with an interesting romance line, just to ruin it with sexist tropes of courtship and love.

(but are you upset over fiction? Don't come at me with that. It's the fact that it is so widespread that it is a problem. It will annoy me when it happens to characters I like, hence this rant.)

#anime manga rambles #hellsing #pip bernadotte #seras victoria

[amindofstone]

Emptiness filled by sorrow

a/n: The moment I found out about Sabo and the way he grew up. The moment I learned about his amnesia. The moment I saw him take the pipe out of all the other weapons during his training as a kid, got me crying! I felt so bad for him. I was heartbroken! I was sobbing at 1 am and shedding tears. Damn me and my emotional and sensitive ass.

Words: 2332

Genre: anime imagine?

Warnings: This is going to be a bit sad. Just a bit, I guess. [Maybe grammar or spelling mistakes. (I genuinely apologize. English is not my mother tongue and I´m really trying to improve. So please be so kind and have mercy)]

Spoiler(s): Mention of the battle in Marineford, mention of Ace´s death, mention of his childhood with Ace and Luffy, mention of his amnesia. Other than that please don´t spoil me or any reader if there are any facts about him above that because I´m… well… I forgot what the title of the chapter was but Sanji is (I´m crying!!!!) getting married (?!). That´s where I am….

Character(s): Sabo/Chief of staff/ Sabo the revolutionary

Info: For better reading keep in mind that the words in italic are Sabo´s train of thoughts.

!!! Please do not steal my idea or work. Credit me if this is shared or published in any other platform or any other way. This took me a lot of time. So please respect me as the writer and my work. Picture is not mine. Credits to the rightful owner. If anyone knows who drew this please tell me ASAP so I can give them the credits (found on the internet). !!!

                             -------------------------------------------------------          

“Thank you for helping me Koala. You were a huge help.”. the blond man smiled at his friend. “No need to thank me. I´m glad I could help. And besides I owned you anyways thinking about the last time you helped me reorganize the archive.”, the young lady kept talking to him while making sure to keep his mind occupied with anything but the news that put the world into a tremendous shook. “There we are. And now do all of us the favor and go to bed and rest. We can´t have you fall asleep in another meeting with Dragon.”, said the female partner and friend of the chief of staff. “No worries. I will definitely go to sleep. The amount of work I had to deal with today was enough.”, the tall blond man reassured his friend that he will rest before they both parted and wished each other a good night.

Sabo, the revolutionary army’s number 2, made his way to his room. His room that was a place in which he could drop the happy and jolly facet he had. His room, where he could stop pretending that he was fine. His room, his place, his four walls that could shield him from the eyes of the people who saw his as the strongest.

Sabo entered his room while he still had a little smile upon his lips. A smile he kept alive until he closed his door and locked it. He held onto the door handle tightly until his knuckles turned white and slowly laid his head on the door and closed his eyes. He tried his best to keep a hold of his mind. He tried his best to not let his mind trap him in scenarios that probably never happened. He tried to keep himself far away from his mind that told him that everything was his guilt. He tried his best to not listen to his mind that told him that if he wouldn´t have left and set sail 10 years ago the battle would have never happened. If only he could turn back the time and never leave his home. If only he stayed there and waited for a bit longer. If I stayed there. If I stayed in that hell of a whole that man called my home would I have been able to go back to Ace and Luffy? Would Ace be still alive?

Without knowing he was trapped in his mind all over again. Like every other night in the past three weeks. Sabo let go of the door handle and let out a heavy sigh.

He was exhausted. He was tired. He was restless.

It is not like he didn´t wanted to sleep. It´s just that he simply couldn´t sleep. Whenever he tried to close his eyes, whenever he searched for the comfort of his bed and sleep. His heart clenched while his soul asked him how he could sleep and rest when Luffy had to suffer all alone just by himself. Luffy, the boy he called his little brother.

Luffy. I wonder what you are doing right now. Did you eat? Did you sleep? Are you hurt? Are you alone or with your crew? I wish I could ask you but I don´t know if I would be able to look into your eyes after all the incidents and years that past. He felt numb. He felt small and weak, something he usually never felt. He was strong and a fantastic fighter. He was smart and a good man but he felt like all of that washed away. Fake is what he saw himself as, after he had all of his memories back. He felt like the person he grew into was not him. The person the entire world knew, feared and respected. The revolutionary army´s number 2 and chief of staff, Sabo.

The tall gracious looking man took of his beloved hat and placed it on his dresser that stood right next to his full length mirror. Who am I? What am I? Where is home? Who is home? He was lost. He felt lost like the moment he was nearly killed by a celestial dragon. He nearly got killed. He nearly was about to die. Die. Death. He never thought that he would ever want something like that. He never thought he ever would think about something as scary as that. But right at this moment that was exactly what he wanted. Death. He wanted to die. He wanted to be the one that got buried and not his brother. His brother that always suffered and was left alone. Ace. Sabo couldn´t bear looking at his face and turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. You didn´t deserve to die. Slow steps lead him to his closet which he opened with trembling hands. Left glove and then the right glove was taken off and neatly put away. Breath in, breath out. That’s what the young man told himself over and over again while trying to not tell himself that he selfishly left his brothers behind just to set sail alone although they promised each other to do that together when they were 17. We promised.

How could he leave his brothers alone? How could he be so selfish, when they promised to stay together forever and always? Tears threaded to fall down his cheeks but he held them back with all his might, when he remembered what Ace once said. “Did you guys know?! We can become brothers when we exchange this cup of sake!” He clearly remembers his voice. The voice of his brother he betrayed. He clearly remembers his little brothers laugh and excited look in his eyes when he heard what was said. A soft sob left Sabo and he put a hand over his mouth to hold back more. He tightly closed his eyes and tried his best to fight the guilt and pain in chest that grew with every minute passing.

He remembers the letter he wrote them. How could he forget the promise he gave them. He remembers every word he wrote. He remembers the joy he felt while writing to his brother. “We brothers should become pirates one of these days! Then we can meet again somewhere out there. This ocean is vast and free. We´ll meet again someday!”

He lied to him and Luffy. I lied. I lied and broke the promise. I lied and broke his trust in me. I lied. If he only could turn back the time. If he only set sail a bit later. If he only waited a bit longer. If he only waited for his brothers. If he only were a bit stronger. Weak is what I am. A traitor is what I am. His clenched fists trembled and he started to focus on his breathing again with the hope to calm down. Slow steps were made towards his balcony while his now open eyes were glued to the floor. His light blue curtain hid the door to his balcony that held him back to open the door and breath in the fresh air of the night. The fabric was thin and allowed the light of the moon dimly enter his bedroom that was other than that dark. Sabo pushed the thin fabric aside and let the light the moon put over the world shine into his room. The moon that filled his room with a bright light seemed to be his only comfort since the day he started to remember again. The door in front of the young man was now open what allowed the soft wind enter his room.

Careful steps were put to reach thr balustrade. As if someone might hear him. As if he would wake up every person on the island if he was to loud. With his head lowly hanging he reached for the barrier that stopped him from walking. That stopped him from falling and dying. How could he die? Ace, the little boy that never turned his back to any fight. The little boy that had no fear when it came to fights between stronger and taller opponents. The little boy that turned down any wild animal back at home. The little boy that always hunted the biggest animals with a huge grin on his face. The memories of him and his brothers as kids put a soft small smile on his lips. The thought about them coming back home with new wounds and a bunch of new scratches made a small chuckle leave the boy while hot tears streaming down his cheeks. “Ace. I´m so sorry.”, said the now fully crying revolutionary. “I´m sorry for not being able to keep my promise and see you and our little brother.”

“All this time I could have seen you. All this time I could have spend so much time with you, without having to fear anything. We could have watched over Luffy together. Oh, Ace…”, his hands that were tightly holding onto the balustrade turned his knuckles white from the pressure. He wanted to scream. He wanted to destroy anything around him. He didn´t know how to deal with the loose and the knowledge of him being able to have him around if only he would have been stronger. His legs turned weak and couldn´t hold him anymore so he fell on his knees. What did I do, that life hated me so much. I only wanted to be free and be left in peace. Am I asking for to much? His hands that were lying flat on the balconies floor turned into fists. They turned into fists only to be smashed against the floor over and over again. “Why!? Why!? Why did you have to die?!”, his heart was aching and his mind was going crazy. He didn´t know how to deal with the pain. The pain hurt him more than any weapon could. It pained him more than any war could. If only he could stop remembering. If only he could get back the emptiness that he felt in his heart. He might have felt empty and sometimes even lost but at least it didn´t hurt him as much as remembering did. He didn´t wanted to remember. He wanted to forget. He wanted to forget so badly.

Sabo didn´t know what to do anymore. He needed to let go. He couldn´t hold his emotion in anymore. He was in the verge of breaking and losing control. So he simply let go and let his emotions take overhand. He let the pain spread all over his body and let sorrow take over his mind and soul. The blond man sat up and looked up to the sky and screamed. He screamed from the top of his lungs while more and more tears wetted his cheeks. “You said you´ll never die!! What made you break your promise! Is it because I was unfaithful?! How could you betray our little brother!? How could you betray yourself!!”

Sabo let pain take over his mind and soul. He let his guards down and allowed himself to drown in sorrow and regret. The calm and peaceful night with the most beautiful full moon was confronted by the helpless screams and sobs of the heartbroken male. He forgot where he was. He forgot who he was and allowed himself to get lost in the emptiness that was now filled by hatred, pain and sorrow. Every person in the hideout could hear him. They could hear his scream and feel his pain. They felt horrible for the young man that always had a beautiful smile on his lips. They wanted to help him and comfort him but sadly no one knew how to. So it came that they all silently listened to his screams filled by pain and loneliness. And absolutely no one ´t dare to close their eyes to fall asleep while he suffered.

It took the heartbroken man a while until he calmed down. It took more than just an hour for his tears to stop falling and wetting his cheeks. But eventually they stopped. Stopped only for the boy wishing he could cry more. If only I were stronger.

The clear night sky over the revolutionary´s hideout was slowly darkening while the moon that shined brighter than any other night got bit by bit covered by dark clouds. Sabo couldn´t cry anymore but he wished he could. He wished he could cry away the pain over the loose of his treasure he called brother from the bottom of his heart. But he couldn´t. The quiet night that was his only comfort seemed to understand him and his pain that lingered upon his chest so it cried for him. It cried for him and over his lose like a mother would cry over the pain of its child.

Rain wetted his clothes and the land he was standing on. His head that was lowly hanging on his body looked up at the sky and let his face get wetted by the rain. His face that not even awhile ago was wetted by his hot tears, got now wetted by the tears of the night sky. And for once he felt understood and embraced with genuine love and support.

With a soft small smile upon his lips that barely could be seen, he stood up and slowly made his way back to his bedroom. Sabo was rain drenched from head to toe but he didn´t mind at all. He felt numb and at the same time relived. His eyes were burning from the huge amount of tears he shed and needed to rest just like his entire body. He looked around his room until his gaze fell on his bed to which he headed to only to let himself fall on it and close his eyes with only one thought on his mind.

I will find Luffy.

#sabo #one piece sabo #one piece scenario #one piece imagine #one piece #asl brothers #Marineford #Portgas D. Ace #one piece x reader #chief of staff #fire fist #one piece ff #one piece x you #luffy #moneky d. luffy #anime imagines #anime scenarios #fire fist ace #sabo the revolutionary #straw hats pirates #mugiwara #post timeskip #pre timeskip #op imagine #whitebeard pirates #op #sabo imagine #one piece revolutionary army #one piece fanfiction #one piece one shot

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 22 of 26

Title: Stories of the Raksura, Volume One (2014)

Author: Martha Wells

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, Short Story Collection, Third-Person, LGBT Protagonist, Female Protagonist

Rating: 7/10 (note: this is an average)

Date Began: 8/23/2021

Date Finished: 8/28/2021

Stories of the Raksura, Volume One is the first of two anthologies that take place in Martha Wells’ Books of the Raksura universe. I recommend reading the original trilogy (starting with The Cloud Roads) before these, as the stories are pretty confusing otherwise. If “fantasy adventure starring shapeshifting, winged humanoids” sounds like an entertaining premise to you, you’re in luck! To those interested, I reviewed the main series last year— here’s a link to the first book.

Of the two novellas and two short stories in this volume, my favorites were “The Falling World” and “Adaptation”, both 8/10s.

Individual ratings, content warnings, and minor series spoilers below the cut. 

Content warnings for the book: non-graphic sexual content, violence, brief mention of r*pe, brief mention of suicide, references to domestic abuse, traumatic injury, bullying, mild body horror.

#1 - The Falling World (8/10)

While on a routine diplomatic mission to a nearby court, Jade, Chime, and a contingent of warriors disappear under mysterious circumstances. Left in a precarious position in the Reach, Moon leads a search party for the missing group. The trail leads to a mysterious, ancient ruin hidden in the depths of a mountain thorn… but bizarre dangers lurk within. Finding the missing Raksura will be easier said than done.

Moon paced absently around while the others explored or drank from the pond. They were here, he thought, days ago. Just days. But standing here had the same feeling he got in ancient groundling ruins: that an unbridgeable gulf of time separated him from the people who were once here.

“The Falling World” is a typical Raksura story which takes place between the third and fourth books. If you read the original trilogy and liked it, you’ll like this one. It’s got all the pieces you’ve come to expect: creepy sorta-haunted ancient ruins, vaguely eldritch monster things, fantasy adventure, and Moon being a snarky angst machine. I wouldn’t call this novella required reading. Beyond a mention in book four, the introduction of Ocean Winter (who I don’t really remember), and a tiny bit of lore re: Chime’s weird powers, there’s nothing new here. It’s the kind of thing you read if you liked the novels and want more adventures— and that’s fine.

#2 - The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (6/10)

Umber Shadow is a minor court in the Reaches, but things are about to change. Its sister queen Indigo just “stole” Cloud, a consort from Emerald Twilight. Such behavior is one of the most taboo acts in Raksuran culture. Now Cerise, the leader of Umber Shadow, has to navigate the dire socio-political consequences of Indigo’s actions, and hopefully prevent an all-out war.

Ruby didn’t look happy, but she didn’t argue either. “All right. Just be careful. Don’t let this little idiot trap you into fighting.” “Which little idiot?” Cerise asked, in exasperation. “There are so many of them!”

I have mixed feelings on “The Tale of Indigo and Cloud”. It’s an obvious choice for a novella, as the main books reference this story. Clearly, the titular characters are the namesakes for Indigo Cloud, the court in the main series. The plot is less action-adventure and more political intrigue— which is fine, and a welcome change of pace. 

My main issue is perspective; rather than Indigo or Cloud (or both), the story instead follows Cerise, leader of Umber Shadow (Indigo Cloud’s predecessor). Cerise is well-written enough, and it’s interesting to get a reigning queen’s POV. But this choice creates a layer of disconnect from the emotional tension of the story—Indigo and Cloud’s rocky relationship. The novella comes off as a chronicle of events rather than an involved story. Personally I’d find the tale more interesting if it started with Indigo and Cloud’s meeting and took their POVs. Clearly Cloud was unhappy in his old life and convinced Indigo to help him; that’s an interesting hook that I wish we saw firsthand. That aside, I appreciated baby!Stone’s cameo and the melancholy epilogue related to that.

#3 - The Forest Boy (7/10)

Tren is an orphan living in a small Mirani village nestled along a trade route. While digging through a local junk heap, he and his friend Lua discover Moon, an injured boy caught in an animal trap. Tren’s adoptive parents nurse the strange child back to health. Moon and Lua become close friends, and Tren grows to resent the newcomer. But when a creature from the forest attacks the three children, Tren learns that Moon’s hiding a deadly secret.

He wasn’t a fool; he knew it was jealousy, like the jealous herder in one of Ari’s stories who lost his herd by trying to make it bigger than those his neighbors owned… Moon was big, strong, helpful, good to everyone, and everyone in the house liked him. He also had the added mystery of being a wild boy from the Long Road, without any of the dirty or violent habits a real wild boy might have.

But knowing it was jealousy didn’t seem to help Tren make it go away. It just made it worse, since now he could feel guilty about being jealous.

I liked this one! “The Forest Boy” introduces some early characterization for Moon; in particular, it adds context to Moon’s natural suspicion of others. Poor boy just wants a family— but he’ll always be at a remove from others since he has to hide his identity. No wonder he constantly doubts his place among the Raksura once he finally meets them. Here he finds a potential place to belong, but it comes crashing down just for being himself. It’s especially yikes knowing that this keeps happening well into adulthood. I felt kind of meh about Tren as a character, but hey, it’s a short story.

#4 - Adaptation (8/10)

Chime has been an Arbora for his entire life; the wingless caste of Raksura who keep the court running. But one day, when shapeshifting into his Arbora form, Chime blacks out. When he awakens, he finds his body has transformed into a winged Aeriat. Now with his entire identity called into question, Chime becomes an outsider among both Raksuran castes. But perhaps more troubling is what this shift means for the future of Indigo Cloud.

Someone must have carried him out of the central well; they were in one of the smaller side rooms, the one with a fountain pool fed by a channel in the wall. Chime stumbled to the pool and almost swayed over backwards. Catching himself on the rim, he stared down at his reflection.

He was looking at a Raksuran warrior, tall, lean, with blue scales. Horrified and fascinated, he raised his spines to see if they were longer, and something else extended out behind him. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at the edges of his wings as they unfolded from his back.

We love Chime in this household, so I’m happy to see a short story from his POV. Like “The Tale of Indigo and Cloud”, this was an obvious choice to write, since there’s a lot of discussion in the main books about it. Chime’s horror upon waking in a strange new body, the resulting social isolation, and his first steps toward accepting his situation, are all very compelling subjects. It’s no wonder the poor guy latched onto Moon right away. I think “Adaptation” is too short for its heavy and complex subject matter. Something like this could easily be a novella. But I did like it for what it is. 

Closing Thoughts

This anthology was fine! I basically wanted a little more Raksura content, and this certainly delivered. Short story/novella collections are always going to be hit or miss with me, so I consider 7/10 a pretty good average score. As I mentioned above, only read this if you’ve read the main series, or you’ll be lost.

#7/10 #2021 reading challenge #wheeee #how niche can i make these reviews? lmao #taylor reads

[alinaastarkov]

Motherhood - Arya, Daenerys, Brienne and Sansa

So this is in response to an ask I got and it ended up really long so I thought I would post separately. I’m not great at writing proper metas but this is my poor imitation of one at least, so here goes.

Motherhood and children are key parts of Arya, Brienne and Dany’s arcs. They all act as mothers to other characters in their stories and seem to have a natural maternal instinct that you normally don’t find in female characters who are gnc because men usually just can’t write strong women. Ususally female characters get the choice between children or having skills, but Brienne, Arya and Dany get both in their arcs. On the flip side, Sansa on the outside is a prime candidate for motherhood - she dreams of having children, is romantic, traditionally feminine, etc. But GRRM deconstructs these tropes by almost making her not very maternal at all.

Sansa outwardly conforms to patriarchal gender norms but she doesn’t take joy in or have the instincts of a mother. Her dreams were usually limited to marriage and not much beyond that. She’s growing out of her superficial desires, obviously, but she always thought about romance and being a lady, and having babies was a part of that because of the society she grows up in. She never wanted to actually care for children, she was just told that was an essential part of a “happy ending” and so she bought it. Her dreams about children were only ever about babies. She wants the fantasy, not the reality of raising kids. We can see with her behaviour with Sweetrobin - though it is improving - she really doesn’t have those motherly instincts and disdains the truths of having to care for someone younger.

It was more than Sansa could stand. "Robert, stop that." Instead he swung the doll again, and a foot of wall exploded. She grabbed for his hand but she caught the doll instead. There was a loud ripping sound as the thin cloth tore. Suddenly she had the doll's head, Robert had the legs and body, and the rag-and-sawdust stuffing was spilling in the snow. Lord Robert's mouth trembled. "You killlllllllled him," he wailed. Then he began to shake. It started with no more than a little shivering, but within a few short heartbeats he had collapsed across the castle, his limbs flailing about violently. White towers and snowy bridges shattered and fell on all sides. Sansa stood horrified, but Petyr Baelish seized her cousin's wrists and shouted for the maester. - Sansa VII, ASOS

Robert's lip quivered. "I was going to come sleep with you." I know you were. Sweetrobin had been accustomed to crawling in beside his mother, until she wed Lord Petyr. Since Lady Lysa's death he had taken to wandering the Eyrie in quest of other beds. The one he liked best was Sansa's . . . which was why she had asked Ser Lothor Brune to lock his door last night. She would not have minded if he only slept, but he was always trying to nuzzle at her breasts, and when he had his shaking spells he often wet the bed. - Sansa I, AFFC

Alayne understood all that well enough, but it meant that the burden of getting Sweetrobin safely down the mountain fell on her. "Give his lordship a cup of sweetmilk," she told the maester. "That will stop him from shaking on the journey down." "He had a cup not three days past," Colemon objected. "And wanted another last night, which you refused him." "It was too soon. My lady, you do not understand. As I've told the Lord Protector, a pinch of sweetsleep will prevent the shaking, but it does not leave the flesh, and in time . . ." "Time will not matter if his lordship has a shaking fit and falls off the mountain. If my father were here, I know he would tell you to keep Lord Robert calm at all costs." "I try, my lady, yet his fits grow ever more violent, and his blood is so thin I dare not leech him any more. Sweetsleep . . . you are certain he was not bleeding from the nose?" "He was sniffling," Alayne admitted, "but I saw no blood." "I must speak to the Lord Protector. This feast . . . is that wise, I wonder, after the strain of the descent?" [...] "Just give him a cup of the sweetmilk before we go, and another at the feast, and there should be no trouble." "Very well." They paused at the foot of the stairs. "But this must be the last. For half a year, or longer." "You had best take that up with the Lord Protector." She pushed through the door and crossed the yard. Colemon only wanted the best for his charge, Alayne knew, but what was best for Robert the boy and what was best for Lord Arryn were not always the same. Petyr had said as much, and it was true. Maester Colemon cares only for the boy, though. Father and I have larger concerns. - Alayne II, AFFC

In the last quote she says she has “larger concerns” than Robin’s health. All these characters are forced into motherly roles, even if they don’t like it at first, but Sansa is the only one of them who never actually feels that instinct to care for the child over other concerns. Not all people have motherly instincts so this is not a bad thing, it is simply a truth about her character. She does not have the connection to motherhood and children that others do.

Brienne, Arya and Dany on the other hand don’t conform to gender norms but they don’t disdain traditionally feminine women and all have super maternal instincts. Motherhood and children are an important part of all these characters’ arcs. With Dany, it’s blindingly obvious, and Brienne and Arya have this on a smaller scale, but they all care for and protect people like mothers. Sometimes this means being forceful to ensure they listen and are protected, but all mothers do the same.

The fire leapt from one house to another. Arya saw a tree consumed, the flames creeping across its branches until it stood against the night in robes of living orange. Everyone was awake now, manning the catwalks or struggling with the frightened animals below. She could hear Yoren shouting commands. Something bumped against her leg, and she glanced down to discover the crying girl clutching her. "Get away!" She wrenched her leg free. "What are you doing up here? Run and hide someplace, you stupid." She shoved the girl away. - Arya IV, ACOK

They found Gerren too, but he was hurt too bad to move. As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!" Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!" - Arya IV, ACOK

"Mostly just roofs," Arya admitted, "but some chimneys were smoking, and I heard a horse." The Weasel put her arms around her leg, clutching tight. Sometimes she did that now. [...] "If we see any leg potion, we'll bring it," Gendry said. "Arry, let's go, I want to get near before the sun is down. Hot Pie, you keep Weasel here, I don't want her following." [...] "You leave Weasel alone, she's just scared and hungry is all." Arya glanced back, but the girl was not following for once. Hot Pie must have grabbed her, like Gendry had told him. [...] Lommy and Hot Pie almost shit themselves when she stepped out of the trees behind them. "Quiet," she told them, putting an arm around Weasel when the little girl came running up. [...] "She ran off when she heard you coming," Lommy said. "You made a lot of noise." And Arya thought, Run, Weasel, run as far as you can, run and hide and never come back.  - Arya V, ACOK

She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them. They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her, and if not for her they would still be safe at Harrenhal, Gendry sweating at his forge and Hot Pie in the kitchens. If the Mummers catch us, I'll tell them that I'm Ned Stark's daughter and sister to the King in the North. I'll command them to take me to my brother, and to do no harm to Hot Pie and Gendry. They might not believe her, though, and even if they did . . . Lord Bolton was her brother's bannerman, but he frightened her all the same. I won't let them take us, she vowed silently, reaching back over her shoulder to touch the hilt of the sword that Gendry had stolen for her. I won't. - Arya I, ASOS

Arya with Weasel is such a strong example of her motherly instincts. Even though Arya is only 9/10 herself, she takes it upon herself to care for others even when everyone else is telling her not too. Like every other mother, she forces Weasel to do what’s best for her, protecting her even if it makes Weasel upset for a while. At least she’s alive and safe. And she’s good at being motherly too. Eventually, Weasel is actively seeking out Arya as her protector, clinging to her leg, and Arya holds Weasel so casually and naturally, it’s pretty much automatic. And her attachment to her “pack” throughout is just an extension of this because she is always “at the head”, the leader, the protector, the mother.

"They will not hurt me," she told him. "They are my children, Jorah." She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. She trotted, then cantered, then broke into a gallop, her braid streaming behind. The freed slaves parted before her. "Mother," they called from a hundred throats, a thousand, ten thousand. "Mother," they sang, their fingers brushing her legs as she flew by. "Mother, Mother, Mother!" - Daenerys IV, ASOS

Dany had left a trail of corpses behind her when she crossed the red waste. It was a sight she never meant to see again. "No," she said. "I will not march my people off to die." My children. "There must be some way into this city." - Daenerys V, ASOS

Safe. The word made Dany's eyes fill up with tears. "I want to keep you safe." Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. "No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don't always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …" "… mother," whispered Missandei. "Mother to dragons." Dany shivered. "No. Mother to us all." Missandei hugged her tighter. "Your Grace should sleep. Dawn will be here soon, and court." "We'll both sleep, and dream of sweeter days. Close your eyes." When she did, Dany kissed her eyelids and made her giggle. - Daenerys II, ADWD

The motherhood part of Dany’s arc is pretty much undeniable. She is the mother to dragons, mother to all her people. She calls them her “children”, they call her “Mhysa” and their care is her primary concern. As seen in the last quote, she agonises over not protecting them well enough, she worries constantly that she is putting them in danger when all she wants to do is keep them safe. Missandei reminds her that she is their mother and she is protecting them as best she can, and like Arya and Brienne she acts motherly in a more personal sense here, making Missandei giggle. Without a doubt, Dany is the best protector her children could have asked for. Motherhood I’m sure will only become more prevalent in Dany’s story going forward.

So far he had been true to his word, and Brienne had been true to hers. Podrick had not complained. Every time he raised a new blister on his sword hand, he felt the need to show it to her proudly. He took good care of their horses too. He is still no squire, she reminded herself, but I am no knight, no matter how many times he calls me "ser." She would have sent him on his way, but he had nowhere to go. Besides, though Podrick said he did not know where Sansa Stark had gone, it might be that he knew more than he realized. Some chance remark, half-remembered, might hold the key to Brienne's quest. - Brienne III, AFFC

Brienne had been betrothed at seven, to a boy three years her senior, Lord Caron's younger son, a shy boy with a mole above his lip. They had only met the once, on the occasion of their betrothal. Two years later he was dead, carried off by the same chill that took Lord and Lady Caron and their daughters. Had he lived, they would have been wed within a year of her first flowering, and her whole life would have been different. She would not be here now, dressed in man's mail and carrying a sword, hunting for a dead woman's child. More like she'd be at Nightsong, swaddling a child of her own and nursing another. It was not a new thought for Brienne. It always made her feel a little sad, but a little relieved as well. - Brienne III, AFFC

One of the women was very old, one was heavy with child, and one was a girl as fresh and pretty as a flower in spring. When Meribald took them off to hear their sins, Ser Hyle chuckled, and said, "It would seem the gods walk with us . . . at least the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone." Podrick looked so astonished that Brienne had to tell him no, they were only three marsh women. - Brienne V, AFFC

"Podrick has never harmed you. My father will ransom him. Tarth is called the sapphire isle. Send Podrick with my bones to Evenfall, and you'll have sapphires, silver, whatever you want." [...] Brienne felt the hemp constricting, digging into her skin, jerking her chin upward. Ser Hyle was cursing them eloquently, but not the boy. Podrick never lifted his eyes, not even when his feet were jerked up off the ground. If this is another dream, it is time for me to awaken. If this is real, it is time for me to die. All she could see was Podrick, the noose around his thin neck, his legs twitching. Her mouth opened. Pod was kicking, choking, dying. Brienne sucked the air in desperately, even as the rope was strangling her. Nothing had ever hurt so much. She screamed a word.  - Brienne VIII, AFFC

Brienne is similar to Arya in terms of motherly instincts. She maybe begrudges her responsibility to Pod at first, but she recognises that responsibility straight away and takes it on nevertheless, protecting him, teaching him, encouraging him. Pod meanwhile seems to love Brienne, taking pride in being her squire, wanting to be at her side at all times. In the end, honour, quite possibly the most important thing for Brienne, is sacrificed to save Pod’s life.

It’s another deconstruction of classic fairy tale characters. Motherhood is associated with protection, and so the gnc women in the series taking on protector roles of the more traditional sense (ruling, wielding a sword, knighthood, etc.) are also mothers at the same time, and the classic princess is what she would realistically be like - superficial and largely without those instincts. It’s another reason to think Arya/ Brienne/ Daenerys will end the series with children of their own.

#asoiaf meta #my meta #this one kind of got away from me #but here you go anyway #daenerys targaryen #arya stark #brienne of tarth #sansa stark #motherhood #acok #asos #affc #adwd #it's not really a meta or that well written so I apologise