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romanarose · 1 month

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Oscar Issac/Pedro Pascal Fan Art and Fiction Pride Event 2024

Hello friends!

Let's try this again and I'll try to be more clear to not invoke discourse. That being said, it is *my* event and if you'd like to run one a certain way, go nuts. However, this is how I'm doing it.

I had a lot of fun doing Dead Dove December and the Triple Frontier Anniversary Event so I decided I wanted to do an event for pride this year! I know it seems far away right now, especially given how many of us in north America are still cold af, but I wanna give everyone time!

Each week of pride will have a theme to write or draw for (you don't have to do all of them! Think of it like kinktober.) at the end, I will put out a masterlist (or multiple depending how many)so we can all share each other's work.

Why?

Oscar Isaac and Pedro Pascal are both allies to LGBT people, Pedro having played multiple queer rolls and having likened his sexuality to that of Prince Oberyn. Despite none of the characters being canon queer, Triple Frontier specifically lends itself to queer stories. Recently, theres been a rise in stories of Oscar characters in relationships or Pedro characters in relationships which I love.

What I'd really like to do is encourage people to think past x fem!reader or canon presentation of characters. I want to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual relationships, trans readers, trans interpretations of characters etc. More content guidelines will be in the what section.

Where?

Primarily tumblr.com, our very own shithole hellsight. However, especially given tumblr's censorship vs. twitter, I am encouraging posting on twitter or wherever you'd like. If you post something elsewhere, send me a link or send me a post you made about it on tumblr and I'll promote the link.

Additionally if you only write on ao3, I'd love for you to participate too! Once again, just send the link!

When?

in order to do the week by week themes and hold all of June, there will be 6 weeks from May 26th-July 6th

Each week will have themes. I won't be policing the weeks and these so if you do the 1st week on july 3rd, that's fine. The themes are keeping in mind both artists and writers. I only got one artist for DDD, a great piece and I've love to see more! Ideas are just for spit balling, do your own take!

May 26th-June 1st: Coming out. Ideas: Coming out to family, lover, friend. Finding gender affirming clothes/hair, first pride

June 2nd-8th: Transitioning Ideas: Surgary, surgery scars, starting T or E, binding (safely!!!)

June 9th-15th: Sex/kissing First time together, first time with certain biology or the same sex, sweet kisses, smut showing scars,

June 16th-22nd: Food, fashion, fun

All things queer culture and culture of different religions, racial or country backgrounds, queer fashion, gender affirming clothes, Keshet (קשת), listening to Lady Gaga or Bruce Springsteen, watching a queer movie

June 23rd-29th: Struggles Rejection, reconciling faith and identity, missing family that rejected one, comfort, candlelight vigil, day of remembrance.

June 30th- July 6th:Strength Asserting ones or a partner/friend/family's pronouns, standing up against hate, being loudly and proudly yourself, pride events

Who?

Writers and artists in any form are welcome. I also want to encourage working with each other, writers and artists together!

For characters: Any Oscar Isaac or Pedro Pascal character has to at least be in the relationship. Other characters in universes can be done, such as FishBen.

Reader can be anyone, just properly tag! If you want to come out to Marc Spector as bisexual, do it!!! If you want Joel to take care of you after top surgery, do it!

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE QUEER TO PARTICIPATE!

However! Please do your research if writing or drawing an identity not yours. There are trans, nonbinary, gay, lebian etc bloggers all over tumblr who write about their experience, please divert to first person testimonies rather than assumptions.

What?

A few rules

MUST contain more than male character x fem!reader. Male character x fem!reader x male character does not count unless the two male characters are romantically or sexually involved or one or the reader is trans. Any Q's, dm me!

This is not a dark event. I'm not going to be policing the content matter but I really want to primarily focus on the pride. However, as a bisexual, gender non-conforming person I know a lot of pain can still be involved. What we are not doing is suicide, death, self-harm, or non consensual activity. If you have questions or would like to make a case for something, just dm me!

This is not inherently NSFW, but there is absolutely NSFW allowed. Always tag everything properly.

The usual no's like bestiality, incest, underage nsfw etc

As far as minor characters, SFW MINOR CHARACTERS IS ALLOWED. You can write or draw lgbt themes because being LGBT is not inherently sexual. For example, teenage Santi coming out as trans to Frankie or your own version of Ellie and Joel's talk about Ellie and Dina kiss. That being said, I'd prefer to reserve this to teens. Again, any questions or ideas that don' quite fit into parameters, just ask!

As always, I am allowed to use my discretion. If I do not want to include something, I won't. However, I know that there are rifts in the fandom. I won't be excluding you out of personal bias. As long as I don't have you blocked and you haven't plagerized or done something really bad to people, you'll be included. I'm not letting petty beefs get in the way. Harmful actions will, however. I need to protect my peace and keep

NO REAL PERSON FANFICTION. Do not write about Oscar Isaac or Pedro pascal being gay or trans and do not make any assumptions about their sexuality or gender identity. Oscar is happily married to a woman and Pedro has expressed his sexuality is like that of Oberyn Martell but has not elaborated much further, nor should he have to. Just leave ‘em be. You can speculate elsewhere but that’s not what this event is for.

How?

Simply tag me, @romanarose and use the #OscarPedroPrideEvent2024 please please please use BOTH so it's easier for me to find!!!

When the event is over, much like DDD I will compiled them into a masterlist and posted. This is a chance for every blog, big and small, to get a moment in the sun and to share each others works! Remember, reblogging, comments, and interacting is what makes this a community! I want to create an environment that is welcoming and we all help each other.

Please feel free to reach out to me for any questions or clarification!

However, if you go issues with me writing men kissing, chracters being trans, queer readers etc, I'm not really open to debate.

~A nonbinary bisexual <3

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graceshouldwrite · 7 months

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How to Write Political Intrigue (with book recs)

POLITICAL INTRIGUE! Intrigue in general! What is it?

For the purposes of this post (as well as how it's usually used in the writing/reading community), think: scheming. Plotting. Conspiracies in the shadows, bids for power and survival, secret plans, masterful illusions, all of that stuff.

It could be on any scale that you'd like, from a duel of wits (think Light's and L's game of cat and mouse in Death Note)

...to a large-scale plot involving entire countries and their people (like any espionage networks during any major wars, such as the American Revolutionary War to World War II, and so many more)

...or even medium-sized conflicts (families, like in The Godfather, or smaller national disturbances like the Watergate scandal).

Below are 4 core tips on how you can successfully write (political) intrigue plots:

1. Read + Research

Despite how hard it may sound, it's actually pretty easy to craft a realistic yet thrilling intrigue plot—with so many examples in real life and fiction, you can easily base your plot on an existing one and just change a few things like the characters, setting, and maybe a few plot points.

History and current events are always great places to look to, but here are some books that are chock-full of great politics + intrigue:

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes): one of the most famous treatises of politics + human nature and their intersection. The book is an in-depth exploration of human nature, government, politics, and all of the root causes of why they exist. While it does take a specific philosophical angle (you might not agree with Hobbes' ideas), they are detailed explanations of how things work + why they are required from one perspective.

48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene): GREAT BOOK for helping you plan out the means by which you want the intrigue to happen. There are lots of simplified rules that tell you why people plan and scheme (e.g. "control the options; get others to play the cards you deal," or "pose as a friend, work as a spy"). There are LOTS of really great small stories of when a rule is applied in real life that are also general plot inspo!

The Godfather (Mario Puzo): very very good, intricate, and more emotional because it deals with the intrigue surrounding families

Joseph Fouché: Portrait of a Politician (Stefan Zweig) (biography): Fouché is absolutely insane. A genius at political intrigue. His life is literally one of the craziest stories of scheming, betrayals, survival, and a general vying for power, especially behind the scenes.

The Prince (Machiavelli): obviously, I can't leave out the original tips + tricks book with explanations of WHY intrigue matters as a means, especially in terms of protecting your power.

Trust Me, I'm Lying (Ryan Holladay): a large part of intrigue plots (you need to cover up the actual game you're playing) is the manipulation of information, creating illusions and spectacles for other people to believe. This book goes in-depth about media manipulation and information wars.

Empire of Pain (Patrick Raden Keefe): takes a rather different angle, through the personal/corporate manipulation of government, as well as how wealth dynasties (especially within families) are established. Remember the opioid crisis? This book explores the generational politics of money and power that led up to that.

Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence): Look! Fiction! Anyway, I'm biased because it's one of my favourite works of fiction of all time, but it explores political intrigue not only through an actor participating in it, but through the lens of the common folk. I.e., the consequences all that power play has on the populace due to a lack of actual good governance...

A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin): I haven't personally read/watched anything GoT, but it's pretty much obligatory to put this series down in a post about political intrigue. It's famous for doing it well.

2. Plan. Like, meticulously

First of all, decide what scale you want your intrigue to be on: large-scale government/international affairs type, a corporation thing, something between two people, or even within a family? There are so many possibilities.

Intrigue plots are like mysteries; they must be tightly logical to be satisfying. One of the best ways of ensuring this is through analyzing each involved party—the actors.

Each actor has their own motivations, goals, and psychologies. After you establish what they want OUT of their intrigue, think about how they'd go about achieving it: a naturally hot-headed person might try to intimidate their way into getting what they want, or they might learn through the course of the story to cool down a bit.

A naturally imaginative and analytical person might come up with all sorts of scarily genius plans, and near-flawless execution. Of course, they would also react in different ways, depending on personality. Character consistency alone will make your plot seem that much more logical.

However, cracks in logic will happen because humans are inherently imperfect and not always rational. These cracks must be DELIBERATE and realistic and must seem planned out; they can't seem more like the author forgot a detail, or didn't know how to explain something (e.g. something happened and the writer never included the consequence of it because they forgot). It must be clear that it is a flaw on the character's part.

3. Never write intrigue for the sake of the intrigue

The incentive of all scheming comes down to mainly two things: gaining power and keeping it. Of course, you could choose to explore more unusual things, such as characters exercising intrigue to satisfy boredom... (think Light and Ryuk from Death Note).

But, the bids for power, security, and survival can be used to highlight things about human nature. Themes to explore include ambition, sacrifice, the pursuit of happiness, the corruption of character, the preservation of innocence in a cruel system, etc.

4. Explore through a narrow lens

Most intrigue plots are full of complex motivations, characters, goals, and the means they use to achieve said goals.

You should gradually let your intrigue plot unfold through the POV of a few characters, preferably one or two. An omniscient narrator for this type of story is INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off without confusing the reader.

However, more POVs work if you use all of them to focus on ONE or a few intrigue plots only—it can provide a multi-layered effect, exploring the same line of action and consequence through different perspectives. But, if everyone has their own intrigue plot, it's too easy to create a tangled mess where readers can barely delineate one plot from the next.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Sorry for the massive hiatus—I have officially started college!! I've been pre-occupied with settling in, classes starting, a social life, extracurriculars etc. etc...life has been super busy, but great :)

I've started working on my books as well as poetry more recently, and I'm glad I'm getting into a new workflow/lifestyle. It certainly is different, but I'm starting to enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm surprised it took me this long to do a post about this topic, considering the fact that it's basically my writergram niche and my entire personality IRL, but I think it was mainly because I was trying to find a good angle to approach this massive topic. But, stay tuned for (probably) a part 2 because there's SO MUCH MORE to cover.

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

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obsolescent · 8 months

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Leon S. Kennedy Headcanons

Author’s Note: As you know, I write Leon in a certain way. Here’s headcanons that I have for him...I think about him a bit too much, I fear. My desire for Leon to be a country boy is the product of living in the south and also some projecting, lol. Some of these delve pretty deep and some of these are niche. If you want to share any headcanons that you have, please do. I love creating lore for characters that we know little about! Thank you to @roseglazedlens for reading over most of these for me! I’ll also be doing a NSFW version as well, the alphabet prompt.

Content warnings: Mature rating, no gendered language used for reader, nothing sexual but general discussion of Leon and his life so that involves alcohol, depression, suicidal thoughts, trauma.

NSFW Alphabet

Leon is more or less introverted from how he behaves in the games and movies, I was thinking probably INFJ-T for his personality type.

He’s bisexual. He likes whoever he can be comfortable and feel safe around, though with his hinted attractions, he prefers dark haired people.

There’s been speculation that Raccoon City is based around Springfield, Missouri, based on a few factors, so I tried to think of where he could be from. I was choosing based on my desire to have him connected to the south in some way while also not being too far from Springfield. We don’t know how far he traveled or how long it took him to get there during the events of RE2, unfortunately.

I thought of specifically around where Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee meet. It would also be a convenient area for his family’s mentioned crime involvement.

Also why he doesn’t have much of an accent due to being near four different states. He is of Italian descent which is one of the canon things we know. KY, MO, and TN have a higher percentage of Italian Americans in the south from what I’ve researched.

If I had to choose a specific city, it would be Paducah, Kentucky. Definitely more of a small town kind of guy. It’s also around 5 hours from Springfield.

I don’t believe he went into the foster care system, though it’s not stated. But I like to think the police officer who saved him adopted him.

Also I feel like he’s autistic in some way, generally based on how he acts and carries himself in the games. (He’s just like me fr)

His favorite brand of cars is Jeep.

He’s definitely the type of Jeep owner to wave at every Jeep he passes by while driving.

We know he likes Ducati too, he drives a XDiavel in Vendetta and DI.

He can do minor repairs, on both cars and motorcycles. A bit of a mechanic in his spare time when he’s home from missions, helping some of the others when they have car troubles.

His love language is definitely acts of service.

Even platonically, if he overhears a friend having a bad day, he’ll stop and ask if they need help with their work, or get them their favorite snack.

Romantically, he’ll bring you flowers, drive by your pharmacy to check if you have anything that needs to be picked up, tidies up the house, cooks for you, prepares you lunch for work, gives you massages if you’ve had a tough day.

He’s not the best at cooking, but learns quickly, so if you give him tips on how to improve, he’ll apply them to the next time he makes something.

Pretty sure blue is his favorite color, we see him wearing it a lot.

There’s speculation on what he smells like, I think even some perfumes made for him? But personally, I don’t think he would wear typical masculine scents, something more alone the lines of citrus/clean/fresh. One I think he would wear is Nautica Blue by Nautica. It smells so good.

He has some religious background. With how Leon behaves/carries himself, it leads me to believe his family were a part of the Church of Christ, which would correlate with the location I chose.

Leon, to this day, follows the church’s principles: “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love.” It’s something he repeats often in his head.

He sings, having taken it up at church. After the incident with his family, he continued, as it reminded him of attending, and of his mother, how she would sing him to sleep. He likes to pop into random churches during times of service.

Not straying too far in, just near the exit to join in with singing and reminisce on his own memories.

With singing, he's a baritone.

His favorite song is We Shall Be Free by Garth Brooks.

He’s all over with his music taste, from alternative to country, divorced dad rock, pop, to gospel hymns. If it has a catchy tune, he’ll like it, not too picky with music.

To get into the sad bits, we know he liked to drink to cope, a functional alcoholic.

He would have trouble sleeping through the night, drinking helped.

Sees a therapist and isn’t the most truthful during meetings. Afraid to open up about everything that’s happened to him.

In RE6, you can see a document where Leon confesses he’s thought about suicide, as far back as RE2, so he’s struggled with depression.

Doesn’t do well with large crowds or gatherings. Stays on the outskirts of any event unless he has to go deeper into the throng for the sake of a mission.

Firm believer of his corny one liners:

*Gets bill* “What’s the damage?”

“You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

*Starts raining* “We needed this.”

Also looks out the window/stands on the porch when there’s a storm coming.

He keeps a memory box. It holds items he’s kept from each of his missions. It’s small things, like a key, a piece of paper, photos, a keychain. He looks in it every once in a while, so he doesn’t forget about what he’s done, who he’s helped, and those who didn’t make it.

Not the best with technology, basic knowledge of what he needs to do and how to get to things, but doesn’t use it much outside of work.

He has to ask you for help sometimes, thankful you’re more knowledgeable on the topic.

Will always tell you goodbye when he leaves for missions, no matter what method he has to use.

Face-to-face, video chat, or even going to your work. He just wants to see you one more time before departing, in case it could be the last time. Though it’s unsaid between you two, it’s in the air, tinging it with sadness and trepidation.

When he comes back, though, he immediately notifies you and wants to see you as soon as possible. He holds you a little tighter than he usually does for the first few days after returning from a mission.

#leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #resident evil #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #leon headcanons #leon kennedy headcanons #leon kennedy hc #leon kennedy imagine

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daylightdabbles · 4 months

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Teyvat Omegaverse Headcanons (Act 1)

This is apart of a collection of headcanons for the genshin characters in my Teyvat Omegaverse AU. I would recommend reading this to add some context to this post. I do use some personal headcanons and ideas for omegaverse. SFW Feat: Faruzan, Heizou , Venti, and Xiao

Faruzan, The Enigmatic Machinist

In a country that values betas over omegas or alphas, praising their ability to not be effected by pheromones that may get in the way of the pursuit of knowledge, Faruzan applied scent blockers diligently to show she was different from other omegas. 100 years ago, being an omega or an alpha meant banging on a glass ceiling in order to be heard the Akademiya. Faruzan has had to adjust to a lot of things in her homeland. From losing her place in time, her research no longer being the jewel of Haravatat and everything else that changed, one uncomfortable idea she had to shed was that her outdated views on being an omega.

In the past, Faruzan felt the need to hide her status as an omega in order to advance her research. The Akademiya was crueler than, often passing over funding requests made by alphas and omegas, citing their natural responses to pheromones leaving it likely they would have to 'pause their research in order to engaged in debased behaviors.' This attitude shifted over the last 100 years, the Akademiya becoming less prejudice towards non-betas. When Nahida formally claimed her place as the Dendro Archon, the Akademiya started working extra hard to remove these bias from their practices and regulations. A joyous moment, but one that left Faruzan having to reconcile her past with the present.

It is well known Madam Faruzan does not like being treated like an omega. When Kshahrewar students seek her help, they make extra sure to treat her like a beta, often forgoing gifts they would normally bring to try and ply omega researchers for a crumb of advice. Her standards for respect is well known and she will not hesitate to fight tooth and nail for it, honed from years of having her work discounted because of her secondary sex.

Faruzan is also oddly protective over the alpha and omega students in the Akademiya, offering often unsolicited advice to them on how to get grants and other resources. Her advice is a little dated, and she can be overbearing at times, but it all comes from a place of kindness. She is dismayed by the current standing of Haravatat and struggles to get students who appreciate her teachings, but she is thankful that they don't have to struggle with the same barriers she had.

Her writings also have an interesting history around them. The book made from her writings was used to establish Kshahrewar and caused quite a stir in the Akademiya. Her work was brilliant and was a key point in the arguments against funding discrimination against omegas and alphas, citing that their work was just as impactful as their beta peers.

Madam Faruzan doesn't like to be touched. She spent 100 years locked in a ruin away from others, so shes extra sensitive to touch even for an omega. While most omegas find cuddling and hugs very calming, its way too much stimuli for Faruzan. This tends to be something that makes it hard for her when socializing. She used to be very touchy with the people she held closest to her, relaxing her guard around them, but now they are gone. She thinks about the last time she had a hug that didn't hurt during late nights in her office.

She does secretly partake in things like nesting, even if they are hidden. Her nest is small, tucked away in what used to be an office. Unlike most omegas, Faruzan keeps puzzles near her nest. The blankets are soft and help her stay calm in heat, but she needs some sort of mental stimuli else she gets nervous. It provides her with a sense of a control during a time when her hormones are making her disoriented. She also doesn't cover the windows and her nest is rather open, preferring to avoid dark or tight spaces during her heat.

As an omega, Faruzan doesn't have an identifying scent, or a scent unique to her. Instead, omegas adopt the scent of places they feel safe or of their home. Faruzan's scent is old parchment and metal, mining the scents of her workspace.

Shikanoin Heizou, The Analytical Harmony

Shikanoin Heizou, the number 1 detective in the Tenryou Commission, is an alpha. It's not unexpected: he's confident, smart and plays by his own rules. Despite the fact he doesn't adhere to the expectations of him being a proper Tenryou Commission Doushin or an alpha, Heizou's work speaks volumes about him.

Being an alpha something Heizou take any particular pride in. Inazuma favors alphas, with them traditionally carrying on the family line . Inazuman culture expects omegas to be strong, powerful, dominant leaders of their 'pack' who guide through example, commanding respect from betas and omegas. Heizou gets frustrated when its commented upon that he should be more responsible or and how he should be taking on a leadership position amongst the Doushin. He's happy as he is and doesn't see a reason why he should be considered superior over betas and omegas according to older Inazumans.

He is, however, protective like a stereotypical alpha. Its not uncommon for him to check in on his friends through out the week to see how they are doing. He makes sure to walk people home late at night, in particular omegas. This stems not from a place of viewing omegas as weak, but from knowing just how often they are targeted by criminals.

While Heizou does use his enhanced sense of smell to help in track down criminals and link evidence to certain individuals who touched it, he's content to pursue justice his way and thumb his nose at the expectations for alphas in Inazuma. The only time he takes advantage of Inazuma placing alphas on top of the social hierarchy is when its needed to get information on a case.

Beyond its use in detective work, he's cheeky about being able to pick up on an omega's emotions through scent or tracking someone down. Heizou loves to tease people, popping up by them to see if he guessed where they would be right based on other clues, or poking fun at serious individuals when he catches them being flustered even though their face is stoic.

Heizou really dislikes how the Tenryou Commission building smells. Its part of the reason he spends as much time away from the headquarters as possible. As an alpha, he can smell just how thick with fear, desperation and grief the air is in there. Even the very walls of his office, which he stopped letting people into, is soaked in these scents. It makes it hard for Heizou to focus, even if other alphas in the Tenryou Commission don't seem to be affected by it. He cares about the people he arrests, having empathy for them and the people they leave behind. To be surrounded by such fear makes him feel sick to his stomach.

Heizou is needy when he is in rut. He is almost inseparable from his omega, only leaving their side when its absolutely necessary for the comfort of his S/O. It is the only thing that can cause Heizou to stay in one place for an extended length of time that doesn't relate to his casework. He's soft, fulfilling any need to ensure that his partner's heat cycle passes safely. His rut also makes him more defensive as his hormones make him more anxious, searching for any threats to him or his omega. If he's forced to be separated from his omega, he'll dreams of a familiar alley with two people leaning against the wall, hand in decayed hand.

Heizou's scent smells like vanilla, black pepper and patchouli. Its a complex scent with sweet and spicy layers to it.

Venti, The Windborne Bard

As the Anemo Archon and a wind spirit, Venti doesn't have a secondary sex. This does not stop people from assuming he is an omega, seeing him as a gentle if mischievous traveling bard. Venti leans into this, playing up the act of a simple omega bard here to play music and offer advice at just the right moment.

Mondstadt doesn't place an emphasis on one's secondary sex, instead treating all as equal. Ultimately, it doesn't affect Venti too much to be seen as an omega vs. a beta or an alpha, so he lets people have their assumptions about him. If anything, it tends to help him charm people into giving him more money for his songs.

Venti does find it amusing to see how alphas, betas and omegas act around each other. He chuckles when he sees the bafflement betas sometimes have when an alpha tracks them down or when an omega curses Celestia for making them extra sensitive to Dragonspine's chill. Kaeya, in particular, has the most colorful curses whenever he has to track up the mountain to get Klee from Albedo

Venti's scent helps let people assume he's an omega. Omega's adopt the scent of their home as their personal scent and Venti smells like Mondstadt. He smells like the apples growing in Starfall Valley, the windwheel asters in Bright crown mountains and every other scent the winds of Mondstadt carry. He carries the scent the wind picks up as it travels through Mondtstadt, which makes his scent actually the closest to a real identifying scent of all the archons.

His favorite game to play when he has way too much time on is hands is 'mess with alphas'. He smells like a omega, but he doesn't produce the range of pheromones an omega would. This confuses alphas who try to key in on his emotions through his scent, often leading to them making guesses that are wildly off. All it takes is a pout or a misleading smile to make them flustered. Diluc has taken revenge for this a few times by purposely luring a cat into Angel's Share.

Most of the Church of Barbatos assumes he would be an alpha based on how protective he is of people in the scripture, so pretending to be an omega helps Venti avoid detection. It also made his attempts to gain access to the Holy Lyre Der Himmel harder because people didn't believe that the tiny omega bard could be Barbatos. Every time he is forced to reveal his identity, he has to deal with the double take. He knows he's short, but come on? He doesn't need to be a big scary alpha to care for his people!

Xiao, The Vigilant Yaksha

Despite being a Yaksha and not having a secondary sex, Xiao has been referred to as an omega by humans for centuries at this point. It developed through a combination of stereotypes, mistranslated of stories and his protective nature that led to this. Early art showed that Xiao was smaller than other Yaksha and his zeal in protecting Liyue has lead people to believe he's an omega who has claimed the whole of Liyue as his nest, his area to protect.

Xiao had mixed feelings once he caught on to this happening. He figured it out when he started to notice pilgrims leaving soft blankets, pleasantly scented balms and even gifts usually associated with alphas courting omegas in Liyue. After some investigation, Xiao was a little miffed that Liyuens assumed he was someone who didn't spend every night of his life fighting to keep them safe, mostly because omegas in Liyue tend to be stereotyped as fragile, delicate humans who shouldn't see the battlefield. Poets wrote lamentations on the Conqueror of Demons, forced to defend Liyue after his pack died as there was no alternative.

Xiao stewed over this for a while. He did lose his fellow Yaksha and mourns in his quiet way, but felt like this view of him was reductive. He defends Liyue to uphold his contract to Morax, dedicating his life to fighting demons to honor how the Geo Archon saved him. It wasn't done out of grief, nor something he was saddled with. It was a choice he doesn't regret, even as his karmic debt hangs over him.

After meeting the Traveler and spending more time around Liyue Harbor, Xiao starts to learn the nuances of this view of him. He originally only knew about secondary sexs through flowery poetry or hearsay, so it was pleasantly surprising to learn more about why people associate him with omegas. He doesn't discriminate over those he protects, guarding Liyue as an omega guards their nest. Its a softer view of him that most people actually hold, one of a caring protector. There are even people who invoke his image in telling stories of hurt omegas, claiming him as their protector in stories.

The Vigilant Yaksha is still mostly confused by secondary sexs, such as why omegas are viewed as 'emotional' and alphas get pushed into roles of leadership, often being pressured into ignoring their own emotions. Its a little silly to Xiao, to treat humans differently based on something given to them as birth, but he's content to be seen as an omega, the guardian of their homes and a figure they can draw strength from in dark moments.

Xiao doesn't have an identifying scent, but he smells like qingxin and almonds to most people. However, alphas can detect the nearly invisible scent of blood that clings to him like a leech.

#teyvat omegaverse au #genshin x reader #genshin impact #shikanoin heizou #xiao #genshin xiao #genshin venti #venti x reader #xiao x reader #heizou shikanoin x reader #heizou x reader #faruzan x reader #genshin headcanons #omegaverse headcanons #omegaverse

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bobbybutterfly · 28 days

Text

I’m back ya’ll with more art! I had all the characters designed for a while but didn’t get around to posting them. Now I’m going through sort of an art block. I’ve got lots of ideas for stuff but everything I draw is crap. So I thought I should catch up on my other stuff. Like talking about this squirrel design for Apple Jack. Now isn’t she cute!

I really like the colours on the powered up ponies. Though I did give her a different shade of pink I thought suited her better. I also gave her a bolo because southern. These uniforms aren’t supposed to be realistic. More like something they would wear in promo images. Lastly look at the little band I put in her tail. I should do something like that with other squirrels.

I made her a squirrel because they’re farmers and Apple Jack’s personality is farm. Nah. I don’t approve Apple Jack hate. I didn’t think of her all that much, when I watched MLP as a kid. Now as an adult (it feels so weird writing that) I find her relationship with her family quite interesting. She always puts herself last. Probably because she was parentified, by having to take care of Apple Bloom and the farm. One of these days I got to write an Apple Jack / Rainbow Dash fanfic. I think she contrasts well with Rainbow Dash’s selfishness.

In the Squirrel and Hedgehog universe she would be raised very patriotic. She would often be the voice of reason. Though she would butt heads with Pinkie Pie over leaving her family and Fluttershy for not wanting to serve her country.

I don’t know why my ramble about the first character is always so long. Anyways. One of my best designs, Rarity! Originally I wanted to make her a mouse and reserve the weasels for the alicorns. But come on. Rarity deserved all the glam only reserved for high ranking military officers.

She was born into a royal family. Given a high ranking position in military since birth. Rainbow Dash had to earn her high rank through blood sweat and tears. With both of them having quite strong personalities they would of course hate each other. Rarity likes being in the military and bossing animals around. Though she can be a bit too much sometimes, she has a soft spot for mice. She doesn’t see them as her equals, but treats them better than many weasels.

Lastly Twilling Sparkle! My best design. It’s the bangs and eyes. I specially didn’t put any highlights in them. The idea for her came from my IRL friend. She told me Twilight Sparkle should be a lab rat. Technically she’s a lab mouse but the joke still works! Once I get over this drawing problem I might do the honorary seventh members. Sunset Shimmer (probably a fox) and Starlight Glimmer (definitely a hedgehog).

Until now I haven’t thought of how Twilight became a scientist. She probably started as a regular soldier. Then one day they needed a lab assistant. She would prove to be quite good so the scientist decided to teach her the ways.

Now I guess I should mention my idea for this MLP Squirrel and Hedgehog fanfic. Basically the mane six would crash on a deserted island. They would have to throw away all their prejudices to survive. Proving friendship is magic. I should do some research how war prisoners are transported. And some research on military ranks too. I’m not sure who is captured. I thought it would be the weasel side considering there’s a scientist amongst them. But on the other paw how would a group of ordinary soldiers manage to catch such high ranking animals?

If you got any ideas for this story, please write to me.

#my art #squirrel and hedgehog #mlp fim #redesign #mlp redesign #fanart #procreate #digital art #furry art

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livelaughlovechai · 1 year

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Things to keep in mind while writing a south asian character-

(Since I'm a mixed south-north indian and a hindu-sikh I've mainly included details about indian-hindu characters(ill try to include more abt sikh characters aswell)tho ive tried to include as much info as I can abt other south asian countries aswell !also ,if you want,feel free to add more details in :)

And please forgive my grammar in some of these places XD

1.The most common one,of course being that south asia is not all india.countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri lanka,Bhutan etc exist to.

2.Religion tends to be a big part of many south asian people’s lives , and If not a big part of their life,than most south asians are atleast religious in one way or the other.Different religions are in majority in different regions of south asia.For example,Sri lanka is majority buddhist, mainly in the sinhalese majority while the tamil minority there is majority hindu. But it's more than valid if ur character is atheist to tho!

3.For indian characters specifically ,it's is important to know what state they are from and that state’s culture . For example,most (or almost all)tamil characters won't wear a salwar kameez.(if they do then mostly muslim tamils)(reminder;I'm talking about traditional wear. Yes a lot of Tamil's could wear a salwar kameez if they want but it is not the traditional dress of tamil nadu)

4.India itself is very diverse,so don't make every character hindu.in some regions one religion is more in the majority than the others.If you decide to make a christian-indian character ,than they usually are from south-west india and north-east india.

5.If you decide to make a hindu-indian character as maybe a marvel/dc oc or something , its best to do some research on hindu stories and history.trust me,it helps alot. If not a hindu character than do research on the folk tales of that characters region,as that can help to.

6.NOT EVERY INDIAN SPEAKS HINDI.INDIAN/HINDU ARE NOT LANGUAGES.istg please . All it takes is one search of your characters state and the states description almost always mentions the state’s official language.while some character from non Hindi speaking areas of the country, for example a malyalee person could know how to speak hindi (most probably by living somewhere like delhi),they would still talk in malayalam with family and stuff . Also a pakistani character and Hindi speaking indian can almost always communicate easily since since the most spoken language in Pakistan,Urdu is very similar to Hindi in sound(also a lot of indians,specifically muslim indian’s have urdu as their first language.)Also punjabi Pakistani's and Indian's don't have any problem in communication(the script they write punjabi in is different tho)Also since a lot of people from the north had their ancestors migrate from pakistan to india during partition regional languages of Pakistan such as sindhi,multani,balochi etc can be understood by some people of such descent living in India.And a bengali speaking indian and a Bangladeshi can communicate just as well.Nepali speaking indians and Nepali people can also communicate with each other.But when it comes to Sri Lankan tamil people their dialect is different than the one of indian tamilians,so their tamil is better understood by malyalees,but they can still communicate well enough with each other.afghan people speak pashto and dari.pashto is also understood by a small amount of ethnic pashtuns who live throughout the sub continent.People from the Maldives speak the language of dhivehi.

7.Indians overall have many festivals that all people of usually a certain community celebrate regardless of religion,caste,etc.For example ,the people in kerela celebrate onam.Infact in alot of the state’s people from a specific region have their on festivities.

8.Physical features vary from area to area of South Asia.So there is no definite“south asian“look.

9.Sikh’s don’t cut their hair , that’s why most Sikh women have long hair and most Sikh men wear turbans. Although some do, like my uncle from my mom’s side and my mom herself and etc. Though socially it's more acceptable for a sikh woman to cut her hair then a sikh man. But a load of times sikh immigrants do have to sadly cut their hair and take off their turbans in order to get jobs and all.

10.-And Hindu’s don’t eat beef.Most Sikh’s and overall all Indians tend to avoid beef to.a lot of Hindus are vegetarians due to religious beliefs. Tho mallus and some people from the north east for example usualy do eat beef(mainly the non hindus)

11.-For characters specially from south india(that to mainly kerala and tamil Nadu) the naming tradition that is used most commonly is that the child and wife use the father’s name as their last name. Though I've noticed that outside of their states atleast they tend to use their family names, but very rarely caste names.

12.- Believe it or not, in a show( I'm not sure about the name) a pakistani character had the name“shiv reddy“.pissed me of sm.yes pakistani hindus exist but if I havent already mentioned before,CERTAIN LAST NAMES BELONG TO CERTAIN AREAS. Reddy is an indian telugu hindu last name.please do your research.

13.-This applies to a good amount of north indians and just overall non south indians.south india is not one state.madras was the OLD name for Chennai, which is just one CITY in one state of south india.There are 5 states,6(and more) languages spoken. Please do not confuse those cultures.

14.-As for a good amount of non punjabis...please.punjabis are not all “balle-balle“ sikh people.please. And they're not all angry people looking for a fight either.

15.-Talking abt north india,I need to mention bollywood and how they stereotype.bombay aka the film city is in Maharashtra.yet they still stereotype Maharashtrians as poor people.gujjus are always the rich snobbish ppl.bengali ppl are sweet shy people and nepali people are Chinese. Goans are always english speaking drunkards or high attitude aunties.rajasthanis all have a heavy accent and are royalty and Uttar pradeshis-biharis are poor illiterate people. PLEASE STOP WITH THIS STEREOTYPICAL BULLSHIT ISTG. See,stereotypes exist because they are true, but only a part of the truth and over exaggerated asf.

16.-India does have a poverty issue but we are far from a third world country.most indians are middle class,that to is split in between lower middle class,middle middle class and upper middle class.and until or unless you live in a rural area casteism really isn't a problem.but remember,while casteism is illegal in indian law,it still affects people.it’s just a little less prevelant in big cities. While india is the farthest ahead in south asia atleast the rest of the countries are doing well for themselves as well.

17.-hindu culture specifically has so much lgbtqia+ stuff in it.but the fucking brit’s and Mughals ruined it. The only transgender festival of Asia is held in tamil nadu.seriously, I advise you do research of your own on it and you'll love it to!♥️

18.-Btw, hindi is a language,hindu religion. (had to add this again)Your character prolly from some place like madhya pradesh,bihar,Uttar pradesh,Delhi,uttarakhand or himachal pradesh if they are hindi speaking. Some people have the same confusion with malayalam. Malayalam is a language, malyalee’s are the people who speak it or at from kerala.

19.-talking about food.curry is a wide ass term.wdym by curry?fish curry,mutton curry or is it paneer curry?is it more creamy or not?do you eat it by itself,with rice,a paratha/parotta or all?like seriously stop with “curry“ ITS ANNOYINGGG.again food varries alot area by area.even in a specific area food varries. For example,Kerala-Tamil nadu sambar is damn spicy but sambar from karnataka and telugu states tends to be sweeter.also food from Karnataka is much milder in spice then food from Andhra,but still capable of burning the mouths of most non south asians 😍😘🥰.also,we tend to eat most of our food with hands(THE best way.)famous delicacies vary from country to country in south asia and area to area of india btw. And our food is not ’smelly’, it's FRAGRANT.

20.ok so ive in total had 2 specific segments dedicated to language and this is the third one.India,while having only 22 offical languages(again;i remind you,we do not have a national language)actually has like thousands of languages. Native people from even just one state can have different mother tongues(for example-three people who were born and raised in karnataka and have families that are native to the state could have the languages of kannada,tulu and kodava as their mother tongues).And again,dialects also differ.For example,Bombay hindi and the hindi of a person from Uttarakhand would be different, and so would Bangalore tamil and a Madurai native’s tamil.Also,let’s say a telugu person has been living in mumbai for a while,very rarely will they ever have an ’accent’ while speaking hindi or english.

21.so above i mentioned that alot of people from the north have had ancestors move in from pakistan during the partition(and vice versa for some Pakistani's).Similarly,a good amount of people from west bengal had their ancestors move in from bangladesh(and vice versa again,but unlike the north india-pakistan thing indian bong’s and bangladeshi people don’t exactly have that ’divide’).Adding this in specifically not only because of how important this is but it can give more depth to your characters if they are from any of these areas.

22.Every state has different art forms.be it dance,music or just art,every state has it different.India has 8 classical dances(bharatanatyam,kuchipudi, mohiniyattam,kathakali,oddisi,kathak, manipuri and sattriya) and has countless many more.Music also varies and so does art as i said above.

23.our culture is super feminist but fucked by the brits and mughals again. We had so many queens and princesses that fought wars and also many female warriors.In the ancient times women only wore single drape saris and didn’t cover their breasts because they were not seen as sexual,but infact as a sign of motherhood(and there forth strength).If they were covered,it was for support.

24.Most people know atleast 3+ languages and almost everyone knows 2 at the very least. Sometimes they can even understand(which can range from basic to great) some other languages. For eg.- my dad can speak english,hindi,telugu,konkani,tulu,punjabi,urdu and multani+ he can understand malayalam,kannada,sindhi and tamil well enough.

That's it(for now):) hope this can help.feel free to ask questions!+random songs from my playlist✨✨✨

(ps,check this post of mine out cause y not lol)

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qqueenofhades · 2 years

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i'm going feral about queer icon hob gadling thank you very much. I JUST CAN'T WITH HIM. i cry because in the comic in the 1989 panel there's a person at the inn talking about how "of course AIDS isn't a punishment from god." hob has to sit there and hear that and just. JUST. hob being visible! hob being vulnerable in his love! hob surviving all his friends. hob buying the fucking pub with the power of his queer money!!! committing the crime of graffiti to SPRAYPAINT A SIGN FOR HIS LOVE TO FIND

It is... probably because I am a queer historian and that is why I imprinted on Hob in the first place, but uh, yes, I have many feelings about this too, and the subtle way in which queer places and spaces work both in the show and in the Dreamling story specifically. Obviously there are many queer characters in Sandman (and we love it for that), but the White Horse, and then the New Inn, is one of the few physical locations I can think of that is a literal embodiment of queer devotion. Hob buys the old pub and builds the new one so Morpheus, if he does ever come back, can find him! He appropriated the spot where they met the first time, where their relationship was built over centuries, and he both saves the old one and builds a NEW one (new step in their relationship etc etc). And physically paints giant signs because his immortal boyfriend is very stupid! He makes it visible and explicit, he builds his devotion into every fiber of that pub, he does it especially so Dream can still come back and find him if he chooses, he waits patiently, and like... the New Inn is absolutely brimming with queer adoration, and ack.

Also, there was that tantalizing tidbit about the real, historical White Horse pub that the Sandman version was based on, being best known for being run by two women in the 18th century who called themselves "Mr. and Mrs. How." Granted, I found that in the IMDB trivia section and if I was writing an actual paper on it, I'd have to do a heck of a lot more research. However, happily, I am NOT writing a paper, and I say it's real because it feels right. In that case, the White Horse itself is embodied as a queer establishment, a place previously run by married lesbians in Hella Gay 18th-century London, and adds another layer to that being the place where Hob and Dream meet every century to conduct their careful, tentative, tender, unspoken romance.

But then! Tragedy! The pub has been bought and will be shut down, and with it, the physical and literal heart of Hob’s relationship with his "stranger!" As I wrote in my meta about the 1989 scene, everything is so careful, so subtextual, so unspoken, whether it is Hob saying he has been stood up and the bartender deliberately not assuming it was by a woman and offering oblique reassurance that Hob is safe here, as a queer man in violently homophobic 1989. So of course Hob can't stand to think of it going away, and has to save it both for himself and as a queer-friendly establishment! So he takes his queer money, as you say, and does something about it! Maybe bad people get to do whatever in this country with that money too, but so does Hob, and he can claw back a little of the place that has always most belonged to him (and him with Dream).

Hence the New Inn, where Hob absolutely hung Pride flags in the '90s long before it was cool or popularly accepted to do so, was able to use his status both as owner of the establishment and Queer Who Can Kick Your Ass to deal with anyone who had a problem with it, and otherwise keep it ready for the day when his love might get to show up again. It's beautiful! It's visible! It's symbolic! And then when Dream does walk in and make their relationship "visible," i.e. apologising and calling Hob his friend, they get to sit down together in that space that Hob has created and kept as an altar of queer devotion both private and public, they smile at each other adoringly, and then what scene/setting do we cut straight to??

THE GIANT BEATING HEART OF THE THRESHOLD OF DESIRE. FROM ONE BEATING HEART OF DESIRE MADE VISIBLE DIRECTLY TO THE OTHER.

They were insane for this, truly. Insane.

#wordsinhaled #ask #hob gadling #dreamling #hopefully this made sense #i have uh. many feelings.#and now i need to lie down

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irithnova · 10 days

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Hi! I recently came across your post about writing Siberian Hetalia oc’s and other than the fact that it was a really great and informative post it did raise a question in me. Do you have any examples of people writing Siberian Hetalia oc’s and writing their relationship with Russia is a way that’s….respectful? Or alternatively, how do you represent it? Thanks in advance!

Helloo, thank you for this ask :>

Anyone who's just seen this post, here's the post the asker is referring to, read if you want more context:

TL;DR at the end and summarising thoughts on Russia's relationship with my Siberia OCs because this is very long sorry !

I know that you're probably aware but for anyone who stumbles upon this post, I'm not Northern Asian or Siberian myself. I'm just someone who's interest/hobby is researching Northern Asian history and culture (started with just Mongolia, my interest also extends to Central Asia) which started when I was around 13/14? So please keep that in mind. This is a post written by an outsider (with the perspectives of Northern Asians taken into account of course), for other outsiders.

If I'm being quite honest, Hetalia Siberia OCs in particular are quite a... Niche corner of the Hetalia fandom. Especially in the anglophone/Western fandom. I'd say they're more popular in Russian speaking country personification communities (not always specifically Hetalia) purely because of the obvious - Siberia is a part of Russia. Unfortunately I do not speak Russian, nor am I really familiar with the Russian speaking hetalia fandom or country personification circles. However I have spoken to Northern Asian folk who are a tad more familiar with these circles than I am, and have come to find that even then, people who post Siberia personification OCs are few and far between, and those who do, post them very rarely and there's little else of these characters other than once in a blue moon art.

However they do recommend some Northern Asian artists that we could show some love to (not necessarily Hetalia, just general artists, I think it's important to show support to creators/artists who are actually from these regions):

Haehaie - Buryat artist on tumblr, has his own OC of Buryatia

Goraesky - Mixed Buryat/Korean artist on tumblr

Zorikto Dorzhiev https://www.instagram.com/zorikto_official/ - Buryat artist

Alima Ligden - Buryat artist, her art is on artstation.com if you google her name however I believe she's moving off of artstation and is moving to tumblr, hence why if you click on any of the links, nothing shows up

Balzhinima Dorzhiev https://khankhalaev.com/en/artists/balzhinima-dorzhiev/bio/ - Buryat artist

Khomonova Sayana https://www.instagram.com/sayaka_artwork/ - Buryat artist

Penginius - Sakha artist on tumblr and instagram

Erisudraws - Northern Asian artist on tumblr and instagram

gertrrket (twitter), https://www.instagram.com/gertrrketjoui/?hl=en-gb - Sakha artist on twitter and instagram

geneslovee - Sakha artist on tumblr, twitter and instagram

Thank you to @haehaie and @topipaku for helping me source quite a few of these artists and for your input !! :3

In the Western/English speaking fandom, as I've said before, there's really not a lot of us. Most representations of Siberian hetalia OCs usually come down to sparse dottings of fanart across different sites such as Tumblr, Deviantart, and Instagram. I am not on the hetalia amino so I wouldn't know but I highly doubt there are many, if any, Siberia OCs posted on there. I frequent hetalia twitter, particularly amongst North Asia (by that I mean Mongolia) adjacent posters, who are mainly Japanese. However it seems as if Mongolia is the furthest North most will go. So the circles I'm personally aware of (well not really circles as there's not a lot of us in the English speaking fandom) that do post about Siberia OCs are mainly here on tumblr, instagram, and I guess some rare art posted on Deviantart.

Honestly I don't think I can really recommend someone in these circles that I'm aware of (other than @peonycats as we developed a lot of these OCs together along with a lot of research of course) in terms of writing their relationships with Russia respectfully or writing respectful OCs in general for quite a few reasons:

Some of these creators don't post their OCs frequently enough for me to pass a judgement on/have become inactive

I don't know some of them personally, so again, cannot pass any judgement

Some creators genuinely have really insensitive portrayals of Siberian groups relationships with Russia

I am aware of certain creators who have excused racism against Northern Asians and others who have defended the Russian state's mistreatment of them (yes, despite posting about Northern Asians). I'm not giving out specific names but I'm not going to recommend them either

This isn't me trying to toot my own horn when it comes to hetalia Siberia OCs as despite my long standing interest, I want to reiterate that I am not from there. But to answer your question on how I would personally represent them/how I'd approach representing them from an outsiders POV (I guess this could apply to other country personification communities too such as countryhumans because of the common theme but I've only ever been in hetalia so,):

I think part of the question can be answered with the post you are referring to. It is vital to understand the nature and history of why Siberian groups are a part of Russia in the first place - colonisation. And it is just as vital to understand and acknowledge the effects of colonisation on such groups and the ongoing mistreatment and injustices they face under the Russian state. Without this in mind, representations of Siberian groups' relationships with Russia end up being tone deaf and one dimensional at best. At worst, orientalist caricatures and/or colonisation apologia.

This does take a lot of reading and research. Not just on the aforementioned topics, but also on orientalist depictions and stereotypes that are associated with Northern Asians. It's all good to be knowledgeable on how the colonisation of Siberia took place and ongoing injustices indigenous Siberians face, but that with no understanding of racist and exoticised stereotypes - a majority of which being a result of colonisation and an overall eurocentric outlook on "unsettled" peoples (putting "unsettled" in quotes here because the concept of a people being unsettled is in itself a eurocentric concept that was used to justify colonisation and the concept of "virgin land" that I talked about in my previous post), still results in insensitive depictions, both overall as characters and especially with their relationship with Russia. It's no good touting facts about how the Sakha people were colonised but then make up headcanons about how Russia had to "teach" Sakha to "behave" (this is a real example I've seen).

That being said, whilst it is obligatory that those topics are read about and applied accordingly, I also believe giving them agency is just as important. I don't want to say "putting too much emphasis on the colonisation aspect" but rather, emphasis on the colonisation and ongoing injustices without giving them a level of agency can also result in insensitive depictions. Siberian groups did and continue to fight/push back against the Russian state and it is just as important that their efforts and diligence against the face of their oppressor is acknowledged. It is correct to acknowledge that they are victims of Russian imperialism, but it is also correct to give them agency and depict them giving Russia pushback. Otherwise, this sort of portrayal diminishes the vast efforts Siberian groups have gone through and continue to go through against a much more powerful nation, and you end up with a bunch of OCs who's entire characterisations consists of merely being a punching bag for Russia.

On the other hand, and this is a depiction I've seen: there is such a thing as tokenising Siberian groups solely in order to signal to people how much you hate Russia. In this way, Siberian groups are depicted only as tools for the original poster to vocalise their distaste of Russia, with little exploration of their relationship with Russia outside of this and frankly, little exploration of them as characters and their history/culture overall other than "lol guys look they're trolling Russia!!!1" (and this is on the rare occasion that they are even talked about by such creators). I have absolutely no problem depicting them trolling Russia or conspiring to ruin Russia's day or something because we all know he deserves it, but this should not be the sole way in which such groups are ever brought up - if they are even talked about in the first place. I'm not saying to depict their relations with Russia as only doom and gloom and I do think the concept of them trolling him or annoying him is funny, but when such groups are only brought up in order to show them pwning Russia and nothing more, it, 1) runs the risk of downplaying the severity of the mistreatment they go through 2) runs the risk of these OCs not having any character outside of their relationship and interactions with Russia 3) can even give off the impression that Russia is the victim of their bad behaviour rather than the other way around.

It's even worse if offensive stereotypes are used in these depictions. Whilst Greenland is not a part of Siberia, groups in Greenland and Siberia are in many ways related not just through history and culture but also in the ways in which they are stereotyped. I've seen a depiction in which it seemed as if the creator was acknowledging that indigenous Greenland groups are mistreated, but to combat this they portrayed Greenland as being a violent, unruly drunkard that "abused" Denmark all the time, but it's okay because Denmark deserved it. Not only is an offensive stereotype of indigenous Greenlanders being used in this "look at Greenland owning Denmark!" portrayal, but Denmark is almost seen as a victim of Greenland's bad behaviour rather than the other way round. This is why I said that it is so important to learn about offensive stereotypes that are associated with Northern Asian folk, because you can be knowledgeable on how they are mistreated but still create insensitive depictions if you are not familiar with racist stereotypes. Nothing wrong with depicting Siberian groups giving Russia pushback, or depicting them annoying or trolling him, but please don't fall into using offensive stereotypes to do so and do not solely use these groups as a tool to display your hatred of Russia - that in itself is dehumanising.

When I say that "I'm not saying to depict their relations with Russia as only doom and gloom", that certainly doesn't mean portray them as being in love with Russia with little acknowledgement of ongoing injustices. Ships are a tricky enough subject in the hetalia fandom because of the nature of the content, however it's important to be sensitive if you are portraying an indigenous and settler relationship, especially if the colonised are still a colonised people with no independent state of their own and are "autonomous regions" that are a part of the coloniser nation state. I will not speak on Siberians who may choose to do this as this is their lived experience (though, I have not come into contact with any so far that do so - and those I have talked to about this topic have shown great distaste towards these types of depictions), but if you are an outsider who chooses to do this you seriously need to be careful (speaking as an outsider).

I cannot tell you what to ship or what not to ship. But I can sure as hell tell you that I have seen depictions of Sakha (for example) being portrayed as a woman who is infatuated/in love with Russia, who has "forgiven" Russia for everything he did, and who selflessly does things for him. And I can't say that the Sakha people I have talked to are impressed with this portrayal.

It's even worse when you consider that the whole "Sakha woman selflessly in love with a Russian man" is literal colonisation apologia:

https://travelleronamission.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/propaganda-at-its-best-8-the-monument-celebrating-love-between-the-natives-and-the-settlers/

There is an overglorified myth promoted of a Sakha woman called Abakayade selflessy marrying a Russian settler by the name of Semyon Deshnev, whereas in reality she was forcibly converted and married to him. The picture of the statue I linked above is colonial apologia, that is supposed to represent the "love" between the natives and settlers.

I myself do not ship any Siberian indigenous group with Russia and I'm not planning on doing so. All I can say is to tread lightly, and don't push out flimsy half-baked portrayals without thoroughly thinking about it considering the steep power imbalance between the indigenous and the settlers, especially amidst the recent and ongoing disproportionate mobilisation of indigenous peoples in the invasion of Ukraine. How I see it anyways, there are much higher stakes when shipping an indigenous group and it's settler vs two nations who have a long history of warfare with each other like France and England, or at least two independant nations. I, as an outsider, personally would not romanticise or make a lovey dovey relationship between an indigenous group and the settler group period - especially as I am not indigenous in any sense and when it comes to Siberian indigenous, those I have talked to so far from this region seem to unanimously dislike such portrayals.

This point kind of links to my previous one, but I would not portray a Siberian group and Russia's relationship as the Siberian group being some sort of helper or even something of a mom friend - a "rock to lean on" in Russia's life who "keeps Russia in check". I have seen this portrayal with Sakha, Kazakhstan and even Belarus. It's already quite odd to depict the colonised comforting the coloniser. However it gets a little more problematic when you realise that the colonised are almost being portrayed as accessories of Russia/ enthusiastic bearers of emotional labour for Russia. I have spoken to a Northern Asian who is more familiar with Russian country personification communities and they've seen a portrayal that unfortunately, fits that description almost perfectly.

It's important to portray their relationship with Russia as rounded and with both sides having equal say and shown to be fully developed characters in their own rights, though this applies more specifically to the Siberian OC in the relationship as they are the ones who are often reduced to accessories in their relationship with Russia. By this I mean that depictions of their relationship with Russia centre around Russia's feelings and perspectives with little thought put into their feelings and perspectives. They simply act as sidekicks or side characters to Russia rather than fully fledged out characters with their own agency and opinions. Further, it's pretty egregious to show the Siberian group as acting as comforters to Russia who willingly and even enthusiastically partake in engaging in large levels of emotional labour for Russia to "keep Russia sane" when Siberian groups have historically been exploited by Russia and continue to be exploited by Russia to this very day. From fur tax, to forced conversions and Russification, to nuclear testing sites that resulted in poor health conditions for those who inhabited the area, to the disproportionate mobilisation of indigenous Siberians in the invasion of Ukraine - it hasn't stopped. This isn't to say that you're not allowed to depict a lighter side to their relationship, but to boil it down to "Sakha/Buryatia/Chukotka etc. are fiercely protective of Russia/selflessly goes out of their way to help Russia/act as Russia's rock to lean on" is very... Questionable, considering the circumstances.

Bit of a side note but in general you should not be treating Siberian OCs as exoticised accessories. Of course there is nothing wrong with admiring their clothing or jewellery or arts, however it becomes a problem when outsiders use these aspects of their culture to mystify such groups and subsequently view them through an exoticised lense - and so they are reduced merely to pretty objects for outsiders to ogle, and not groups of real people. Because of how niche Siberia OCs are, some may think that drawing a Siberian in a pretty headdress or posting "Siberian aesthetics" and calling it a day is enough to be deemed as knowledgeable or sensitive on the culture in question despite other actions showing otherwise, because there's not really anyone to call them out on their questionable treatment of such cultures. But just know, it's not acceptable to reduce such cultures to merely aesthetics, real research and most importantly respect is the priority (I have unfortunately interacted with people who would repost indigenous Siberian clothing and aesthetics for example but then at the same time, justify/dismiss their mistreatment under the Russian state.)

On an (almost) final note, I would never portray Russia as being a father or even teacher to any Siberian group - period. I've talked about this in a previously very strongly worded post, however portraying Russia as a father to any Siberian group holds many questionable and downright offensive connotations. First of all, these groups existed before Russian colonisation, they had their own unique histories and cultures before Russian settlers arrived. These groups have histories that go back further than the very concept of Russia. This sort of paternalistic outlook is often used by settlers around the globe and colonisation apologists - that the groups they colonised had no culture and no real tangible history before their colonisers arrived, and that the coloniser in question acted almost as a parent and/or teacher to the colonised, lending them a generous hand to "civilise" and "enlighten" the "barbarous" indigenous people. This kind of portrayal of a Siberian group's relationship with Russia is misguided at best and colonisation apologia at worst. Siberian history did not start when Russians arrived, culture was not gifted to them by Russia.

Finally (can you tell I'm a professional yapper?), this is about portraying 2P!Russia or the "evil side" of Russia as... The Asian/Siberian part of Russia. This goes far beyond a mere "disrespectful" portrayal of Russia's relationship with Siberian groups. I'm going to insert an excerpt here on an up and coming post of mine that centres around how anti-Mongolian sentiment manifests, however anti-Mongolian and anti-Siberian sentiment often overlap because they are Northern Asian groups,

Brief summary of what oriental despotism is:

Oriental despotism is the theory that Asian societies are more inclined/prone to authoritarianism than European societies. It is a eurocentric view which paints Asian civilisations as a monolith and ignores complex power structures and nuances in favour of oversimplifying them as simply being authoritarian/having an extremely strong centralised and most importantly "despotic" (basically, backwards) rule.

"...Russia's weirdness and antisocial behaviour when compared to other European characters being blamed solely on Mongolia/Asiatic influences in Russian culture is the theory of oriental despotism rearing its ugly head even if people are not aware that they are doing it.

This next point not only talks about Mongolia but the indigenous Siberians of Russia. I have seen people make 2p!Russia (AKA "evil" Russia) Asian or represent Siberia because:

1)They want to show the Mongol/Tatar influence/side of Russia

2)They want to show the Siberian side of Russia

Considering 2p Hetalia characters are often portrayed as the "dark side" or "evil side" of nations I don't think I need to explain why this is racist, especially after the explanation of what oriental despotism is

In the case of the Siberians I'd argue it is even more egregious to do this. Siberia is a part of Russia because of Russian imperialism/colonisation. Many indigenous Siberian people were killed, their languages and way of lives close to destroyed or destroyed period, and are being disproportionately mobilised by Russia in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Siberian soldiers, especially Buryats who are a Mongolic people, are being scapegoated for the brunt of Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.

Pope Francis himself scapegoated the non-(ethnic) Russian soldiers for a majority of Russia's war crimes in Ukraine:

“Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,”

From:

...So not only is Russia being called a continuation of the Mongol Empire, with articles titled "Putin Khan" being published without anyone batting an eye, and with a Siberian/Mongolic ethnic minority being scapegoated for Russia's war crimes despite them being victims of Russian imperialism and an ethnic cleansing, do you understand how insensitive it is to make the "dark/2p Russia" a representation of Siberia or the Mongol/Tatar influence on Russia?

To note: It's not just Buryats being disproportionately mobilised.

To use Russia's indigenous Siberian population as a representation of 2p/dark/evil Russia is so unfair it beggars belief. Those people are victims of Russian colonisation, yet their "despotic, Asiatic" ways will be used by racists to scapegoat Russia's bad behaviour onto, despite again, being victims of Russian colonisation and imperialism themselves.

Yes, Russia colonised you, forced you out of your traditional ways of life and destroyed the use of your language. Yes, the Kremlin is unfair to you and you live in the most deprived and poverty stricken areas of Russia. Yes, you're being disproportionately mobilised in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But you committed the crime of ruining the whiteness of Russia simply by existing there - your despotic Asiatic ways is one of the reasons why Russia is so backwards, you are at fault for the brunt of the warcrimes committed in Ukraine because you are inherently more "barbaric" than white Russians"

That's all I have to say on that topic for now. I decided to include it as it's technically kind of a portrayal of Russia's relationship with Siberian groups, as the Siberian groups are all blended into one and then made the "evil" part of Russia. It's genuinely one of the worst interpretations I've seen of Russia and Siberian groups in a hetalia context.

Oh and, this should be obvious. Singular Siberia OCs (as in, "Here is my aph Siberia OC who represents THE WHOLE of Siberia and is the amalgamation of EVERY SINGLE SIBERIAN GROUP INTO ONE!!") will always be offensive, period. I talk about this in a previously strongly worded post and the post mainly centers around this point. What's funny is, this post was part of the reason of why someone thought it was acceptable to harass me with fake accounts on, as they (not Siberian or even Northern Asian) argued people should be "able to do what they fucking want <3" (actual quote) in terms of depicting singular Siberia OCs. Meanwhile, actual Siberians agreed with the post. So, there's that. Again, this seems to be an acceptable interpretation to some which I would find funny if it wasn't so... Stupid? It's like making a singular Africa OC. It completely undermines the diversity of the groups that inhabit Siberia. I've seen people justify this kind of depiction by saying "well all of these cultures were killed by Russia/are dead now anyways so that means it makes sense for them all to be portrayed through (1) personification" I'm sorry but 1) So many of these cultures are still alive and kicking, they most definitely aren't "all dead" 2) Who the hell are you as an outsider to declare a culture dead? Especially when there's evidence to the contrary?

The worst singular Siberia I've seen was an abomination of the singular Siberia OC and "Russia as a father to Siberian groups" mashed into one. It went like "Russia was walking along the empty snowy plains of Siberia and found a little girl there who was the representation of Siberia and he raised her and is partly her biological father". Let's break this down:

Strike 1: The concept of Terra Nullius or "Virgin Land" - Siberia was not an empty no mans land for settlers to roam around in and lay claim on, it has been the home of indigenous Siberian groups for thousands of years

Strike 2: Undermines the brutality of the colonisation of Siberia and the atrocities that took place

Strike 3: Singular Siberia OC

Strike 4: Russia being this personifications biological father and the father who raised her. This has... Extremely disturbing connotations, especially on the biological father part when you consider the sexual violence indigenous Siberian women were subjected to. This is why I yapped about that interpretation I saw of Sakha being portrayed as a woman who is hopelessly in love with Russia.

Here's that strongly worded post in question, yes I do sound like a grade A bitch here but you would not believe the crap I've seen that lead up to me making this post:

What's most important in depicting Siberian groups' relationships with Russia is by seeking out Siberian perspectives online whether it's through forums or videos, and if it's possible - asking them directly. You cannot make an OC that is a representative of a nation/group of people without centering and incorporating the aforementioned peoples voices, especially if the OC in question is a representative of an indigenous group because frankly, there are higher stakes with such depictions. I understand with certain groups it's harder to directly reach out to them, whether it's because there's not very many of them or for other reasons. In the meantime though, that should not stop you from doing reading and research, and getting into contact with other groups and asking their perspectives.

TL;DR

It's important to do research on the colonisation of Siberia and the ongoing injustices Siberians face at the hands of the Russian state in order to depict a sensitive portrayal of a Siberian group's relationship with Russia. Research should also be done on racist and exoticised stereotypes Northern Asian folk face in order to avoid such stereotypes when depicting such relationships with Russia. They should be acknowledged as victims of Russian imperialism but they should also be given agency and should also be depicted as giving pushback so as to acknowledge the efforts Siberian groups make in order to fight back against mistreatment of the Russian state. I would not personally portray a Siberian group entering into a romantic relationship with Russia as the Siberians I have spoken to are uncomfortable with this kind of depiction, if you choose to do so however as an outsider - be careful.

Siberia OCs should not be treated as accessories or enthusiastic bearers of emotional labour to Russia and should first and foremost be fully fleshed out characters with their own thoughts, feelings and personality outside of Russia before depicting their relationship with Russia so as to avoid unknowingly portraying them as accessories to Russia. I would not portray Russia as being a father or "teacher" to any Siberian group as the former is blatantly historically incorrect and offensive, and both are concepts that are used by settlers and colonisation apologists alike ("the indigenous had no culture or tangible history before we came, we acted as a teacher/parent to them in order to civilise them). Singular Siberia OCs that are meant to represent every single Siberian group in one personification will always be offensive. When making Siberia OCs and depicting their relationships with Russia, research and seeking out Northern Asian perspectives is vital.

My personal interpretation:

Honestly, I think the most positive feeling Siberian groups feel for Russia is tolerance. The baseline emotion they have for him is dislike/distrust. I see Russia as kind of being... Fake nice to them if that makes sense? So many places in the far East of Russia are extremely neglected because the Russian state does not care to improve living conditions for such places - Tuva being a prime example. I think Russia only really gives more attention to regions that he can get something out of, like Sakha with his rich mineral reserves. Sometimes for PR purposes he'll tokenise Northern Asian groups to tout himself as being a #rich and #diverse nation like "wow, I am such a diverse nation and we treat our ethnic minorities/indigenous groups as one of our own" and "our ethnic minorities are not victims unlike American SJW ones" (actual shit I've seen Russians say). Basically, he'll use them to big himself up all the while his treatment of them is questionable at best. I also think Russia orientalises them to an extent and will sometimes refer to them as "fierce warriors" or some other bullshit like that (again, actual shit I've seen Russians say) and usually doesn't really take their complaints seriously. A lot of them usually bite their tongue and roll their eyes at this. There are quite a few I think who go full on lawyer mode as a way to give Russia pushback (this forces Russia to respond essentially) but also I do think it's funny when they just conspire to ruin Russia's day somehow or troll him/are snappy or petty to him. Basically, they only really tolerate him at best and see right through his childish/innocent demeanour. Hm I don't think they're as...Afraid of him as a lot of other nations are? Not that they don't ever fear him or fear the consequences of questioning his actions, but moreso that well - they're a part of Russia of course and so are more used to him and is crap. Less fear going around more "oh god what's he going to do this time". Not to say that there aren't perhaps some lighter moments but they are few and far between.

Anyways I'm so sorry I wrote up a novel as a response HAHA

#hetalia #hetalia siberia #aph siberia #hws siberia #aph sakha #hws sakha #hws buryatia #aph buryatia #hetalia world stars #hetalia world series #hetalia world twinkle #historical hetalia #aph russia #hws russia #hetalia russia #ivan braginsky #hetalia ocs #asks

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miyuecakes-moved · 10 months

Text

some light rambling about designing personifications and by extension area studies from an outsider perspective

since i created my own SEA designs in like 2017, i truly do think the “””””community-based”””” (LMAO) approach is the best way to design countries in which you are an outsider to. as outsiders, we obviously must do research to be respectful but i think there is a culture of either trying to act like an expert or treating outsiders AS experts.

obviously, 15 year old me was not thinking so deeply, but when i designed SEA they were intended to be designs anyone could use if they were unable to design their own and/or disliked maybe some of the other popular interpretations. designing SEA was a way for me to not only reclaim and connect with my SEAsian heritage but to also include and simply make funny content with many of the friends i had at the time (who were SEAsian). however, when i tried to actually take over the direction of their designs, that was when my weaknesses were exposed. i ended my old sea ask blog early because (1) personal irl stuff (2) SEA is not homogenous. my knowledge was incredibly centered on malaysia-singapore-brunei because that is my background. but that means i couldn’t answer as well for philippines, thailand, etc. i struggled to write good responses and even with the research i’ve done there will always be a sense of doubt by virtue of my outsiderness.

the majority of my characterization for non malbrusg SEA came from talking to people from those countries and letting them write the characters. in fact, even with malbrusg, i got help from interacting with people directly from those places (i must mention that these interactions were not predicated on research but a shared interest. we spoke as friends on equal grounds.). now you might think this is lazy and an excuse to not do research, but i would tell you -- as someone who does this type of research in my degree -- that no matter how much research you do -- you will still struggle to answer questions that are not only extremely nuanced, but culturally-specific. for example, i struggled to answer questions about historical figures because when i researched them and form my own opinion about them -- i wouldn’t know the popular discourse surrounding that figure in their own country. you would be surprised to know how many historical figures that may seem overall impressive are actually popularly despised in their own countries. and so we have that gap of knowledge that will always exist on part of being an outsider.

beyond this, i think trying to act like an expert can accidentally lead to... objectification? it’s like the same problem with many so-called egyptologists, sinologists, etc. ... i don’t deny that they’ve done their work in researching and analyzing artifacts and whatnot -- but they often lack empathy. or their interpretation and translation of the culture can fail to capture context-specific nuances or just. straight up be tainted by biases. it’s misrepresentation, basically.

LIKE IDK WHERE I’M EVEN GOING W THIS POST LMAO I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS I WANTED TO GET OUT. idk idk idk i just often feel like within this weirdo niche space there’s a lot of elitism, unironic braggadocio from outsiders being like “i am sooooo well researched! i know everything!”, and people looking up to outsiders as experts while shirking people from that community (which can also be mentally taxxing on the part of the outsider as well).

btw side note. i’m not saying you have to kowtow to everything someone says (i’ve actually rectified some of the ideas that people from a community have added)... TLDR; i think we need to be more explicit and aware of our own limitations as outsiders ok bye

#not art #disk horse #NOT REALLY?#IT'S JUST. ???#rant #.....kinda?#me when i don't commit to the art part of the term art blog and just vomit word salad

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vote-gaara · 1 year

Note

Do you have tips on how to write Gaara fics for people who know nothing about how politics work?

The wholesome answer is to just write your story, anon! Throw caution to the wind and just let the fic fly. Naruto is a fictional universe and therefore there are no laws, just a void in which fans can fill with theories and head canons!

But if you didn't want to fret about making things up on the fly, here are some tips:

Tip 1: Research

The boring answer is to invest in research and go down some very deep rabbit holes. Personally, when I'm writing fics that center Gaara doing Kage related work, I like to splice together present day politics along with some stuff that was common during the Meiji period (as well as some other eras), since the Naruto universe is a mash up of historical and modern day Japan. You could also pull from current events that are happening in your area...No better inspiration for writing than real life!

Tip 2: Keep explanations broad

Another tip I would suggest, if you really don't want to chase the rabbit of historical Japan and politics, it to simply just be as broad as humanly possible in your explanation, but that depends on the fic you're trying to write. If you want to try world building and offering head canons through writing as a way to explain how things work in Suna, then I'm afraid you will have to do some research - or at least be really good at making up plausible sounding explanations. If you're just trying to use political conflicts as a vessel to get the story rolling, then I would just dance around getting too in depth about any given detail.

Tip 3: Personal conflicts are easier to write than political ones

Try centering personal conflicts under the disguise of "politics." I do this a lot simply because it's much less taxing on me, but it does impact the layer of world building that a fic can offer.

Here's an example, let's say surrounding the price of iron:

It's much harder to write a story about how the price of iron went up because the minors in a fan fictional village went on strike (you would have to answer: "why?"), which then made The Land of Wind source their iron from The Land of Fire instead, but now there's a delay at the boarder because The Land of Wind is refusing to pay tariffs which have become astronomically high due to The Land of Fire having a surplus in minerals being shipped to other countries and thus making their resources more valuable. This affects Gaara's job because he's having a difficult time stocking the Suna Armory with weapons, thus impacting the amount of shinobi he can outsource for missions, as well as national defense.

This is a plausible and heavily political explanation that had many layers and explores many aspects of the world, but it's also sooo...idk...Political.

Instead, it's much easier to write a story about how the The of Wind Daimyo hiked up the price of iron because he personally invested in a new mining company, and he would like to make as much money as possible. Then you could explain how this affects Gaara's job in the very same way as the previous example.

One gives you a better idea of the world stage, while the other speaks to character motives.

Micro tip: Actual politics move at a snails pace, and the more complex the issue, the longer the process is. You can use this to your advantage (especially if you're writing a series) by researching and building up one complex political issue and having that follow you through out the fic. It's much easier to get the ball rolling and to build off something that already has the groundwork prepared, and it would be realistic for one big issue to not be swept away and resolved by Gaara simply signing a paper. It could actually be a secondary plot utilizing the "man vs society" external conflict that happens in the background in contrast to the conflicts you place in the forefront as the main action of the story.

Hope this helped!

#gaara

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compacflt · 11 months

Note

hey! seeing your post about iceman and hamilton reminded me of the 1812 au that you had posted about previously - do you mind sharing any of your thoughts on that, specifically Ice & Mav's reactions to the politics of war back then, before the US military and Navy were such huge institutions (in today's standards)? EDTS Ice & Mav are decidedly anti-war (more Ice than Mav I think), but would that same sentiment be true for them back then & how would Ice feel about war hawks like Calhoun & Clay? there's obviously a pretty big role that war plays in forming national identity, especially in early US history, and with external forces like impressment & embargoes & all of the international relations nightmares that came w/ early state building, I'm really interested in how that may have an impact on how Ice and Mav view military service and duty. I would love to read this fic if you're still planning on writing it (really I love to read everything that you write tbh) - also hope you are doing well!! 😊😊

hiya!! i hope you are also doing well!! I am not sure if im ever going to post the 1812 au to be honest—i would really love to but i think it would be so long it would have to be my first priority for a few months, and I’m not sure when I’d have time to do that. but i have it all planned out at least, so maybe we can compare notes.

So here are my notes.

IF i were to complete my 1812 AU… It would not be about Ice at all. Which is how I’d be able to stomach writing about Ice’s death. AND the characters would be very very different from the characters i wrote about in EDTS (i.e. confessed their love for each other way back in the 1770s). And what I want to tackle in this AU is exactly what your ask is about—duty to your fledgling country! Im interested in a version of TGM maverick who had to be away from the love of his life, on his deathbed, to serve the national interests of his country. *questionable* national interests, in TGM’s case, or *forgettable* national interests in the War of 1812’s case. The War of 1812 is sort of America’s forgotten war—its causes were nebulous & hard to rally around/understand today, and there were no real heroes until the end, unless if you count Andrew Jackson as a hero (i really try not to). So this would be a direct attack on the heroism we are presented with in TGM: what is mavericks mission really accomplishing in the grand scheme of things? Using the 1812 war, itself forgotten and largely irrelevant, as a meta backdrop for that question of heroism.

So—this version of Ice & Mav are: actual factual war heroes. Revolutionary war heroes who were genuinely educated & truly believed in the American experiment of representation & freedom from tyranny. Fighting the British 36 years apart. (Something i really really like & will take advantage of… the 36 years between 1776 and 1812 exactly equaling the 36 years between 1986 and 2022… it was meant to be.) They’ve spent their whole lives together in the romantic sense, in a world where they couldn’t live openly together but at a time when sexuality was also understood completely differently. But they have to be apart when Ice is dying because Maverick has been handed a mission, a duty, by the USG that he has to take care of. (Part of the reason I’m stalling on this project is because I don’t really know what that mission would be… something something naval warfare, something something Captain of the “USS Dagger…” but im a better romance writer than an action writer… idk how to come up with those plots at all. And I’m not super well-versed in EARLY naval warfare [I prefer wwii navy stuff] so idk how ships like sailed clippers & schooners etc actually work. That’s a completely different wheelhouse for me & is integral to a story like this, and fundamentally im kind of a lazy person who doesn’t put a lot of effort into research if I don’t have to)

the AU would be written in two parts—the warm summer of youth vs cold winter of old age. Confronting my own fear as an author of getting old & dying, tbh. What does it mean to be a hero and die of old age? Shouldn’t you want to die WHILE being a hero? Part one: 1776-1782 is… ice & maverick falling in love and dealing with goose’s death together and cementing their hero status in American naval history (like they do in the original top gun). Then part 2; 1812/1813… ice is retired from being the first USN commodore/secretary, but he’s dying and maverick has to choose between being with his de facto husband in his last days VERSUS being out at sea, serving his country, but for a war that he (a bit metaphysically, to serve my metaphorical aims) knows will be forgotten. He can be a hero or he can be there for the love of his life but he can’t do both. Duty & sacrifice. Ice persuades him it’s time to let go, maverick goes out to sea, and then ice dies while he’s at sea. & the 1812 war was kind of forgotten, and their love will never be known by history because they were two men, so what was that sacrifice really for? Shouldn’t he have been home with ice?

Which leads me to: I am also slightly interested in an interpretation of the TGM mission as a possible su*cide attempt on mav’s part, post-ice’s death. Trying to die a hero. So, there’s that. That would be in it as well.

Some issues: that’s pretty simple & i submitted a 4k short story with this exact premise (1776 war hero has to choose between one last shot at heroism in 1812 vs staying with his male lover at the end of his life) to one of my writing workshops last semester and they loved it. But, by god, does it get 10x more complicated once you add Bradley to the mix. It’s ALWAYS made it more complicated & it’s why I’ve had so much pain trying to edit EDTS over the last 8 months (as you know). Because LETS PLEASE BE REAL TGM did NOT give me much to go on there. Like the emotional turn that is I think SUPPOSED to happen in the scene where ice and mav talk in TGM—I don’t understand it & I think that scene was only written for fanservice because it serves no purpose in the story and I’m not sure what emotion we’re supposed to take away from it. Maverick says “please send me ice, don’t ask me to send someone else to die,” (is he asking ice’s permission??) and ice DOESNT actually answer that request, doesn’t even acknowledge it; he says, in a COMPLETE AND UTTER NON SEQUITUR, “It’s time to let go.” Maverick says, “yeah I know,” so what does that actually mean? Who is he letting go??? Bradley??? Goose??? ice himself??? Is ice giving mav permission to go or not???? It’s so vague it means absolutely nothing, and i have no idea what ice’s emotional/story purpose in TGM is except to bail mav out of sticky situations and nostalgia purposes, and don’t even get me STARTED on how out-of-character it was for MAVERICK (guy who hates having his papers pulled from the Academy) to pull Bradley’s papers from the Academy in TGM, both of which are why ive struggled so much trying to fit Ice into the mav/Bradley narrative of betrayal & loss etc. And in a two-shot piece where all those years in between are kind of skipped over… idk. I feel like I would sort of have to sacrifice the Bradley storyline for the overarching icemav duty-sacrifice-heroism theme. With WWGATTAI, i was KIND of able to do both, but only after MULTIPLE rounds of very very intense editing & like 50k words of rewrites and even then it’s kind of awkward so… idk. For a quick two-shot like this I’d have to pick. I don’t have the energy to write another 50-100k reinterpreting that story all over again lol

So to answer your question it would be way less about the actual weird politics of the 1812 war and more about providing a place for me to get into mav’s emotions dealing with ice’s death and the historical implications of a mission like that, kind of glossed over in the movie … though this ice & mav are veterans of the XYZ affair / battles with the Tripoli pirates, so that probably affects how they see things… but mostly, duty is still duty & orders are still orders, but sometimes following orders means sacrificing what little time left you have with your family… following the TGM timeline where ice only has about 2 weeks left to live from Mach 9.

So, pros of the 1812 au: lots of the purple prose poetic writing i shamefully really like. Icemav open and honest with each other from the very start ❤️. Dealing with the themes and emotional consequences of ice’s death finally. Focusing only on mav instead of only on ice. Penny & sarah in a lesbian relationship. Some discussion of the cyclical nature of queer history (i.e. we’ve always been here making history and we always will be). Mav finding reasons to live after ice is gone.

Cons of the 1812 au and why I’m hesitant to really get invested in writing it: don’t know much about pre-diesel naval warfare so can’t come up with the technical action elements of the plot & too lazy to do that much research. I have a sailing license, so I know like… knots and rigging and mainsail vs jib/genoa/spinnaker and sloop vs schooner etc, but i do NOT know anything about THAT kind of sailing. Warship sailing, tactics, “dogfighting” equivalents, etc. Also: would probably have to sacrifice the whole “getting Bradley kicked out of the academy-equivalent” storyline, just to make the story less complicated. Not sure how much of the original ice and maverick the story would retain as a result. Also: i know wayyy more about the early national period (1776-1800) than anything after about 1808, but even then the last time i was really into this period of history was my freshman year of high school, so i can’t necessarily claim to know what im talking about when it comes to the intricacies of the early American state (as i think is pretty obvious here). Also too lazy to do that much research.

But, here are some notes/snippets etc if you would like. they’re solidly 6 months old now & unedited & largely unresearched, just throwing words on the wall in writing phase one, but whatever

#oooo that’s a lot of words to just say ‘im lazy & self-conscious of the fact i don’t know what im talking about’#thanks for the ask ily ❤️🥺#i think you know more about This period of history than i do so honestly we should chat #OMG ice saying i love you & maverick hasn’t even died yet whoa #ice goes to yale instead of the academy. yale guy. ☹️#pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #top gun #top gun maverick #icemav #asks #top gun fanfiction #if someone wants to pick up this idea & do it please do #not feeling very articulate with my not-fiction words today; sorry if this post is incomprehensible

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daisybellejpeg · 10 months

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hi! this is regarding dr. shaw and the bright situation, so don't feel forced to answer this at all ^^ asking about 2 things

do you plan on rewriting the scp 963 article with dr. shaw? i know a lot of people say it's already not written the best, and i'm wondering if you'd give it some major rewrite or just sort of replace the character and leave it

the character dr. bright has been mentioned to be jewish, is dr. shaw as well? i'm not jewish personally but i know that, especially because he was such a well known character, a lot of jewish people (that i know at least) appreciated seeing that representation. ofc i understand that they're 2 separate characters so i don't expect them to be the same, but i'm curious because i've definitely seen mixed feelings on that aspect specifically

sorry for any poor grammar! i'm a bit sick atm but i wanted to send this ask in because i'd forget if i put it off. again, feel free to delete this if it makes you uncomfortable due to the situation, i've been through something similar and i get how hard it is to work through. wishing you the best!

Hey hey! Dw about asking, I don’t feel forced to answer any of my asks and love talking to people!

Onto what you’re asking:

1. As of now there is an article being made! Unsure if it’ll replace the original’s slot at the moment. I’m sure you’re aware kaktus put me on board with the project, he proposed strong arming staff into the article getting the original slot but I have no updates as to how that’s going as of now. It is to note that I’ve lost contact with him since late April. None of our mutuals know what’s up with him either. I’ve both quintupletexted him and asked around;;

I’m making my own version of the proposed article, once he pops up again I’ll cross ref with him and probably ask for help with formatting because I suck at computer stuff.

2. Ethnically Shaw is Mexican, specifically Chicano-Indigenous. I’m latine myself and live in a community with a Mexican kind of majority (lossa Haitian people too, unsure which demographic is more prominent). A ton of family friends are from Mexico with indigenous roots and I only have two other Mexican characters so I have the advantage of being able to ask my pals from my former parish alongside my usual deep dive research. As for the Roma aspect of his character I’ve been doing research on both Caló and Chicano Romani peoples for him and his mother (https://www.tiktok.com/@florida.florian?_t=8eDhq1agf51&_r=1 here’s a link to my favorite mainstream Romani content creator. His informative videos have been of major help for writing them as well as Dr. Carina and their mom. He even has vids on how to write Romani characters!!)

I don’t have a religion for him or Ansel yet? His mom, Dr. Soraya Zugasti, however, is a Muslim convert and is actually hijabi, not presumed hijabi like Evelyn was. At the end of the day to my knowledge Judaism is an open religion with the exception of some ultra orthodox communities and Shaw is the kind of person to be pretty open minded when it comes to spirituality. Statistically, as Ansel and Soraya immigrated from Mexico, the country has a Christian/Catholic majority, especially in the time that they lived there. There’s always the possibility that Shaw could be a convert like how his mother converted to Islam from being mostly agnostic. I’d have to think more on it but it’s a good chance that I’ll write that in!

I also have more Jewish characters if that gives you and your friends reassurance! Most notably Carina’s wife Commander Jezebel Diamandis and her kids, Dick and Rachel, as well as one of Carina’s Uncles, Agent Hannemann Charles. I’ll have to draw em up soon but I’d like to think they’re pretty cool 😎

Hope that answers your question! Feel free to pm me or reply to this if you have anything else to ask!

#ngl I’ve been also considering him following La Santa Muerte maybe following the theme of death and rebirth his character has going on #if anyone has suggestions lmk #I’d also appreciate Jewish scp fans chiming in #scp #scp foundation #elias shaw #tw//bright #scp doctors #dr shaw #scp fandom

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coffeewithcutcaffeine · 17 days

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I need to know more about Voievod! How long have you been working on it? How do you find the balance between storytelling and providing historical information? I'm about to start reading it, and I'm so interested in the process! Bonus question: do you have any playlist or type of music you associate with it?

Oh my God, thank you so much for dropping this into my in box, loveliest! This really makes my entire day. 🥹❤️ Please, excuse my ramblings if this gets too long sksksk.

First of all, thank you so much for giving my fictional monolith a chance! I appreciate it more than words can say and hope you will find it enjoyable! ❤️ I also do think that it is important to mention that it tackles a lot of dark and gory themes so, please, always check the trigger warnings first — some works are not that heavy, but others might be more explicit and graphic in nature, so never hesitate to skip some of them if you find them uncomfortable.

Now on to your questions!

How long have you been working on it?

Voievod in its current form is actually my third attempt, but I have been playing around with Vlad’s story for nine years now. I started working on my first story in 2015, but that was a blend of Vlad the Voivode and Dracula the Vampire — basically, it focused on how he became a vampire. I eventually abandoned that project because I did not really have patience with it and kept rewriting and re-editing many parts of it, and maybe it was a good thing I did because I gradually came to realisation that his character as a mortal man is so much more interesting than the vampire thing.

I tried to give it another shot in early 2020, this time focusing fully on Vlad as the historical figure. The first wave of COVID granted me a lot of free time, so I tried to use that opportunity to work on the story, as well as catch up on any new information from historical research. I wrote a few drafts but abandoned it again after a few months because I sincerely felt like I did not have enough writing experience to pull it off in a way I would be satisfied with.

I started working on the third and current version in February 2023 — I randomly revisited the old drafts from 2020 and started playing around with them a little, expanding the ideas until I managed to write two pieces I was quite proud of. I approached this with a great deal of respect and fear, then realised that I felt confident enough in my writing to perhaps try again. I think it was a good decision to wait and get enough writing experience before getting back to it because, looking back at my previous attempts, my world-building and characterisation have improved. Still, I am taking this as an opportunity to push myself and let myself grow — and every new piece is quite the lesson as I am often plunging into places I thought I would never dare before.

How do you find the balance between storytelling and providing historical information?

I think the hardest part of working on such a project is the research itself. To depict the historical events as accurately as possible, you have to read anything you can get your hands on and absorb as much as possible. I have loads and loads of files filled with notes on figures, events, culture, etc. not only for one but four separate countries as all of them are crucial for the work. Vlad’s story is even more specific because you really have to separate facts from all the debris and junk of propaganda against him that shaped what was known about him for a long time.

Once you become intimately familiar with the research topic and can swim easily through that sea of information, it is not that hard to find that perfect blend. In fact, having that historical information at your disposal really speeds up the process because you do not have to agonise over the plot — all those events are already there, you just follow them. When it comes to many characters from Voievod, we know what their life was like and what their personalities were, so I follow their lead in that regard. And it is fascinating because real life sometimes writes the most compelling stories.

What balances this out is the freedom other aspects give me. We usually come to know historical figures as legends and larger-than-life beings, and they were undoubtedly extraordinary, but they were people first. I get to breathe that humanity into them by depicting what they think, feel, desire, and fear. I make them make mistakes and laugh. There are also people in their lives that we know little or nothing about, so that gives me a lot of space to create characters from scratch — Cătălina is a perfect example of that, and I love having the opportunity to create such a rich and wonderful character. Ultimately, personal relationships give a lot of space to create dynamics as I please, because we know so very little about the private lives of these people.

Do you have any playlist or type of music you associate with it?

Ahhh, I love this question so much! Here is my opportunity to share my beloved baby lmao. 🤭

I have a “soundtrack” playlist on Spotify, which you can find here. I love visualising scenes and playing them in my head like little video tapes, and the right music helps me grasp the mood and emotion of those moments when writing them. Almost all the tracks are actually tied to specific scenes or works. (One is already published and bears the same name. *wink wink*)

Also, as a bonus (let me brag there for a second), here is a Pinterest board for some of the characters from Voievod. ❤️

#ask reply #work: voievod #thank you so much for the ask! ❤️

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duckapus · 5 months

Text

The first five MRU universes

So again, gonna be a while before these actually happen because I want to actually write out the process of Piper stealing the HMG research, some of the preparations for Launch Day, and the actual First Activation, and I'm waiting until after I finish the Wonder Arc to write those so I don't end up abandoning it half-finished for months. But I at least wanted to list them out.

Again, universe 1 is basically the Test Universe, while 2-5 are in one batch that gets activated all at once.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Anchor: Link

Supervisor: Trinity

MRUs: 0 and 1

To justify having references to every game (because why wouldn’t it) Time Portals appeared basically everywhere at the same time the Memes did. Also, the Internet Graveyard got merged with the Wild-Era Sacred Realm (which was obviously never visited and is at the current End of the timeline so it doesn’t mess anything up and I can do whatever I want with its aesthetic). Yes, whoever did the setup had to get every Korok seed so the Key Items menu couldn’t canonically update and potentially break something. They did, in fact, get a raise for that.

Hamtor Tubez

Anchor: Doc the Hamtor

Supervisor: GIF

MRUs: 2 and 3

A puzzle game about leading Hamster-like creatures called Hamtors through elaborate tube mazes. Doc is a Mad Scientist and the leader of the Hamtors and is training them for when he will one day TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!, and there’s other unique Hamtors with special abilities that get introduced throughout the game as new puzzle elements.

Beneath the Faerie Mound

Anchor: Frida

Supervisor: Quazar

MRUs: 4 and 5

A metroidvania about a Changeling who gets Taken Back and has to fight her way out of Faery Country so she can return home. She initially thinks that MRU5 is another faerie who's come to try Taking her again.

The Fairly Oddparents!

Anchor: Timmy Turner

Supervisor: Spreadsheet

MRUs: 6 and 7

Look, making the Pokemon Anime universe part of the AU has set the precedent for also being able to use cartoons as SMG/MRU universes instead of just Games.

Interestingly, the Memes changing things to make the universe more entertaining undid a lot of the later season retcons, especially the Season 9 ones, so a lot of the characters are actually less Mean and Stupid than before. I'm using kid Timmy because he's the Real One so the live action movies and That One Spinoff aren't canon outside of memes, but Nicktoons Unite and its sequels are. So are seasons 9 and 10, 10 because I happen to like Chloe (or at least what she had the potential to be) and 9 because I think it would be funny to have Sparky be The Thing We Never Speak Of among the characters who would know about him.

Janitor of Heart: Stain Rising

Anchor: Rodney Teegan (Champion Form only)

Supervisor: Connectivity

MRUs: 8 and 9

A Magical Girl Beat-'em-Up that's actually a tie-in to an in-universe comic series called Rodney Teegan: Janitor of Heart.

The premise of the comic series is that a girl named Mina Reynolds who is Exactly the sort of person you'd expect to be a Magical Girl Protagonist gets her chance to when her school is attacked by a goop monster (part of an eldritch being known as The Stain) and she finds a magic bracelet containing the Spirit of Heart, Harmony, who chooses her as the Champion of Heart. But, when she tries to transform, some wires get crossed somewhere and the bracelet's power instead flows into Rodney Teegan, a 57-year-old janitor who Mina considers a close friend and who was with her when she found the bracelet. And because the transformation is based on what Mina wanted to look like as a magical superhero, he ends up in the body of a teenage girl with a cute poofy pink outfit. Whoops.

In his Champion form, Rodney has the expected enhanced strength, and can heal very quickly, but his main power is being able to turn cleaning supplies into weapons. It can be something as simple as a broom (in fact his signature weapon is a spear made from a push broom) or as massive and complex as a street sweeper truck. Also, Harmony isn't just a Cute Mascot Character and actually joins in fighting, mainly using super-strong punches and kicks and acting as a healer. Mina still has the bracelet (it actually can't come off at all) and needs to be nearby in order for Rodney and Harmony's powers to work. I have not come up with what Rodney's hero name would be.

Anyway, the game depicts the events of a particularly large Stain attack, this one being an invasion of the whole city, but other than the larger workload it'd be a fairly normal day (since by this point the three of them are more-or-less used to this since it's been a few months) if not for someone new joining the fray. It turns out that Harmony isn't the only Spirit in town, because we're introduced to the Champion of Storms, Thunderbird, and her Spirit partner Zap. Thunderbird has weather control powers, usually favoring lightning, and has a strange transforming mechanical construct that she uses both as a weapon and mobility aid, usually mechanical wings, giant electrified gauntlets, or supersonic skates. She's fighting the stain too, but has apparently decided to start a rivalry with Rodney's team instead of working with them just 'cause. Also, when her machine isn't in Skate Mode it's revealed that she has a translucent magical construct in place of her right leg.

She's eventually revealed to be Hazel O'Brien, one of Mina's classmates. The machine is her wheelchair, which transformed along with her because why wouldn't it?

Interestingly, Connected Cosmos Company were the ones who made the game, and also the ones who came up with Hazel and her Thunderbird persona. However, due to the terms of the licensing agreement the comic's creator owns the rights to the character, and has made sure that the specific designer in CCC who made her gets the royalties for the character being used in the comic (because the game is canon to the comic and Hazel's now a major character), rather than the company as a whole. She's the one character created by CCC that Jayin doesn't own, and I like to think that grates on her, especially because she can't do anything about it without damaging her company's carefully cultivated reputation.

Anyway, as far as the MRU stuff goes, there is one odd quirk about Rodney's Anchor Status: due to only his Champion Form being playable, his Anchor code is dormant in his normal form. Thankfully this doesn't cause problems for the Meme Cycle or the universe's stability, and it doesn't have the same negative effects as actively suppressing his Anchor Tendencies would. It does, however, make it so his Champion form has a different personality (bubbly airhead with occasional violent tendencies) than his normal form, which is very much Not A Thing in canon.

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yaqamole · 9 months

Note

You racebend romano but are against racebending spain? Make it make sense

Hi so. That's certainly one way to interpret what I agree with. But let me dive into what I actually believe.

On Racebending Romano

I have been racebending Romano as a character since I was 14. It's something I have spent years doing and put a lot of thought into in order to divert from the racist implications put out by Hima (i.e him stating Romano is violent because of his Arabic blood). I have actively spoken to other people who come from the background I make him from in order to make sure I am doing things as respectfully as possible.

The other thing I want to emphasize is that I actively understand that there is much more nuance within Hetalia in regard to racebending as a result of the relationships between these nations and the ethnicities within them. I am not doing what I do simply because I want to gain something or seem like I'm the most "woke" by diversifying him. I am doing it because of my own interpretations of the character and his history and how he is impacted by it.

I've had more interactions with North African Italians and they are who I have used as my basis of Romano's character and what he represents.

Yes, I also did this because I wanted to feel a bit of myself in the character though I am not North African Italian. That is the decision I made as a person of color and I don't expect everyone to agree with my interpretation of Romano. I don't expect everyone to like him. I simply do this for myself and what brings me joy and it has evolved and developed over the years as a result of interactions and research.

If you've followed me long enough and spoken to me, you know I headcanon all of my Southern Italians to be mixed-race and know that I have been very particular in how I execute that. You also know I don't demand everyone follow my lead. I am one person with my own interpretations and I don't believe everyone has to agree with me or their racist. That would be childish and also just wrong. Not everyone has the same headcanons I do nor is everyone obligated to like what I do.

But the point here is that I am very clear in how Romano is affected by this change to his character and it is crucial to quite a significant amount of my headcanons which revolve around his interactions in Europe as a man who is mixed-race. This is especially clear in how I write his interactions with other nations of color as he branches away from Europe. It's not just a "oh hee hee he's brown now" thing. I have put a lot of thought and effort into making sure he is an in-depth character and that I take into consideration what it means for him to be non-white.

On Racebending Spain

I have been very clear on this blog that the greatest issues I have with people racebending Spain are that people

Treat him like Mexican Lite

Go into this headcanon with ignorance.

My issues are and have always been with the way that people approach this headcanon and the poor executions I have seen. Because not only do a lot of people take cultural bits from various Latin American countries (mostly Mexico in this case) and apply them to Spain, but they then ignore actual racial and ethnic minorities in Spain to use as a basis for this headcanon.

This was especially a significant problem with the earlier Hetalia fandom up into the 2010s. Especially when Vine came into question. People took multiple Vines from Latino creators and inserted Spain into them as the Latino creators. This was done with a lot of David Lopez Vines and I take great issue with that because

Latinos are not our colonizer

It shows laziness when it comes to actually representing Spanish people.

The second point of what I dislike has to do with people doing the opposite of what I stated I do when it comes to Romano.

People do not think about the implications of what they are writing.

I personally dislike seeing Spain as a POC because as someone affected by Spanish Imperialism, I dislike being equated to my colonizer. I dislike seeing the nation that instilled the racist hierarchies that still plague Latin America as a POC. But that is MY personal opinion.

I will never tell another POC, especially if they are from Spain, that they cannot represent themself within their nation. It is not my place to dictate what another POC can or cannot do. Just like I find comfort in POC Romano, someone else might find comfort in POC Spain.

My only gripe after that is when people racebend without considering how that changes the nation's relationships with those around them. Or when people do not consider the political implications of doing so.

Conclusion

In general, I am fine with racebending because I understand it is mainly POC who do it for themselves and most everyone that I see does a lot of extensive research into the way that they represent the nations in question. I have seen a lot of fascinating interpretations and a lot of amazing headcanons that show a deep devotion and dedication to representing different minority groups within these nations.

I do believe racebending within the context of Hetalia is much more nuanced than it would be with other source material. We are handling nations here after all. Many of them would be directly impacted by race changes, which is important to consider when racebending a nation.

I have put a lot of thought into my interpretations of my Southern Italians and have taken these changes into consideration when it comes to writing them. I am cautious with what I do and I do it in order to express a better and more favorable characterization than was offered by canon material.

I have my own personal preferences when it comes to Spain as a character and racebending him. I have a lot of thoughts about it and I won't pretend that I don't. But I also understand that is my personal preference and I cannot use that to speak over other POC who might find something more in racebending him.

Overall, I agree with racebending headcanons and enjoy seeing them when they are done appropriately. However, just like I have my personal preferences about racebending my colonizer, I recognize other people might have their own reservations about me racebending Romano.

It's really simple really. I deliver the respect I expect and move on when I see something I don't like in Hetalia if it is not harming anyone.

#yaqa.text #hetalia #hws spain #hws romano

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foxfireink · 11 months

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Hi! I found your blog when you reblogged my "how to writeblr" post but your WIPs all look super fascinating! If you have taglists, can you please add me to the ones for "Songs of Decay" and "Bards, Courts, and Changelings?"

Also please feel free to ramble about either of these WIPs, I'd love to hear more about them.

Wow, thank you for the ask! We have added you to our taglists! :D And we are soooo happy to ramble about Songs of Decay and Bards, Courts, and Changelings. This is Inkwell. I am gonna cover Songs of Decay, and Crooked Writer will cover BC&C in a part two post.

Be warned. This is a very long post. I had waay too much fun writing it, hahaha. Bards, Courts, and Changelings will be a much shorter post, as it is in an earlier stage of development.

Part One: Songs of Decay

A HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

This is definitely a 2020 project, hahaha. We wrote draft 1 in script format because it was an easy way to write intermittently. We pulled out board games like Arkham Horror (2nd Edition) and Betrayal at House on the Hill to help us add the eldritch elements and throw in some chaos. We tracked the insanity level of different characters through some of our scenes. Then, when we were done, we were so happy with the story that we wanted to DO something with it rather than it just being a hobby project… and we were like, "What if we actually turned it into an audio drama?"

Crooked Writer does voice acting, but neither of us had ANY experience with writing audio dramas. It was our lazy way of not converting to prose, but also trying something new!

We created draft 2 by having friends come read what we'd gotten done out loud. We would edit and write for two weeks, then gather online, divvy out parts for the night, and read through it. It gave us a lot of motivation to get through the draft! I personally am not the kind of person to sit in on someone's early writing project and read it out loud for an extended period of time on a consistent basis, and it still blows my mind that our friends wanted to do that with us. It was so much fun.

Now, a great deal of research and worldbuilding later, we have four seasons planned and are midway through writing draft 3 of season 1. :D

WORLDBUILDING

The story isn't straight cosmic horror, it's more flavored by the eldritch, and much more inspired by the board game Arkham Horror than Lovecraft. We have our own pantheon of Horrors who have different thematic elements and warp and corrupt in different ways. Technology is roughly equivalent to the 1910s, and eldritch Horrors have been threatening to end the world as we know it for centuries. We have four countries who approach the long-standing eldritch problem VERY differently:

Our setting country, Malgrave, has a "kill it with fire" approach. They have a specially trained corps of Stewards and an Eldritch Anomalies Department (the EAD) to handle things using mostly weaponry. Malgrave views eldritch corruption as an individual's choice to bring Horrors and Fiends (Horrors = world-ends-upon-arrival monsters, Fiends = smaller monsters) into the world and destroy/remake it, so laws tend to treat cults and such in a similar way to how you'd treat the mafia. The temptations are overpowering to many. You can't trust anyone completely.

Side note, because I love the Stewards: The Stewards have really fun political power dynamics, as they are supposed to keep the king's family from turning on him/protect the family, but also can't really contradict a royal, sooo it gets messy sometimes. They technically have the power to report or stop a royal that's corrupted, but just try doing that in practice and see how it goes. Stewards tend to be more subtle. They also die, a lot. The MC's father, Sam, is one of the few Stewards in living memory to retire from active duty. Pays well, though!

Eastcairn, Malgrave's other neighbor, uses augury - magical engineering - to create wards and automatons that are powered by protective patterns. These patterns slowly corrupt over time and must be maintained regularly, or they will amplify corruption rather than negate it. Eastcairn views corruption as a contagious miasma in the air and isolates eldritch outbreaks in sanatoria and asylums. There are many strains of corruptive virus, and most if not all are incurable by current science.

Logoria is Malgrave's neighbor to the left and uses patterns just like Eastcairn, but rather than using physical augury patterns they use mathematical patterns in music and dance to ward off corruption. They have trained singers and musicians and dancers, and choirs are common.

Not a ton of development on the fourth country, because it's farther away (only worldbuild the top of the iceberg, right?) but it has a protective martial art, a caste system based around the concept that corruption runs in family lines, and people there know what different kinds of corruptive influences/objects/presences smell like.

These varying perceptions pool together in our story, as Sam is from Eastcairn but worked in the Stewards in Malgrave and has a medley of views about the nature of eldritch corruption that often conflict with prevalent theories. Augury isn't well thought of in Malgrave, but both he and Tom practice it. The conflict of "eldritch corruption: illness or choice?" is central to the first two seasons of Songs of Decay (particularly the second).

CHARACTERS AND STORY (Season 1)

Tom moves into the very rural Malbury county because living too close to his far wealthier ex-wife will end with him losing custody of their daughter, Sara. His dad lives in Malbury county and is supposed to be living far away from all eldritch influence. However, Tom is appalled to see how rife the county is with cultists, corruption, and eldritch Fiends - such as the Moose that he and Sara run afoul of on the first day of school. Tom also has a past record that requires him to report to the EAD and means that the EAD could refuse to grant him an augury license, which is literally Tom's livelihood right now, SO Tom offers to help with local problems. In doing so, he trips into the plot of a local cult that centers on the estate of one Lady Esther Lambert, a widow with a grudge against the EAD. Esther married into one of the local noble families and is used to fighting for herself because no one else will. She throws an annual party at her house at the end of summer, but this time things go very poorly very quickly. Tom and Esther have to band together with other guests to stay alive and prevent the summoning of a greater Horror, but they don't know who to trust when you can't even rule yourself out as an enemy.

So, throughout Season 1 you've got Tom trying to be a good single parent, learning how to prep and cook three consistent meals a day while also getting drawn into fighting eldritch monsters and cultists. You have Sara, his daughter, who is trying to adjust to a lower class lifestyle, meeting a grandparent for the first time, and stressing about her dad putting himself in danger. You have Sam, who convinced his son to move to Belleview because he was worried about him, but also has so much corruption from his time in the Stewards that he is one poor decision away from snapping entirely. You have Chief Compton, a former city policeman and current head of the local EAD bullied into the role after the last chief died trying to contain an eldritch summoning. And you have Lady Esther, whose late husband's family literally built her house around the idea of summoning eldritch Horrors, and whose perception of the local EAD is so poor that she would rather fight off monsters with a shovel than call them in to help.

We are having a great time writing this story. :D The hope is to ultimately put it on YouTube, but we want to get the first two seasons ready before we get to that, as they contain the first major arc.

Okay, I am done now. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! Again, really appreciate the ask, and absolutely delighted to be able to ramble away like this.

Cheers!

-Inkwell

Songs of Decay tag list: @hd-literature @pure-solomon @blind-the-winds @sarah-sandwich-writes @lucianinsanity @coffeewritesfiction @surroundedbypearls @tate-lin @ettawritesnstudies

#writing #writeblr #cowriting #writing ask #worldbuilding #eldritch #cosmic horror #characters #WIP Summary #WIP ramble #so much ramble #inkwell writer #songs of decay #foxfire ink #foxfire asks

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