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bigcowboydyke · 10 months

Note

about your disability pride month post: is there anything important/significant you think people should take notes on when writing a character with an upper arm prosthetic? (like starting from the elbow if i phrased correctly)?

Yeah! I think the biggest is that you ought to consider first, esp if its an OC, your reasoning for making the character disabled- you wanna make sure you're not fetishizing or exploiting their disability to prop up abled characters. I've got a list of questions for authors to ask themselves along those lines that I can post or dm

Secondly, you have to consider what level of realism you wanna go with. If you have a character where, in universe, the prosthesis functions in exactly the way an arm does, you could just go with that if you want - it's the path of least resistance, right? BUT you ought to consider that most prostheses in media exist in that way AT THE EXPENSE of good representation of disability. Erasing disability or "curing" it with magical prostheses IS a form of ableism that is so pervasive it just goes unnoticed by most. I believe personally that disabled bodies are worth portraying well even when the creators of the source material did not do that. SO if you want to go with real well thought our representation, here are some common things I think authors and artists often miss (specifically as it pertains to upper limb prostheses):

1) I already said this, but seriously, I cannot emphasize enough that upper limb prosthetics ain't cheap and are usually uncomfortable. Your character, if they are poor, or even like middle class, won't have access to multiple high tech popular mechanics cover story type robo arms. Even if they did ...

2) Not all limb different folks use prosthetics! I personally have used multiple and I disliked them. I tried very hard to learn, but there are multiple requirements to be able to use each model and sometimes, a lot of times actually, limb different people - especially people without a hand or an arm function Better without prosthetics. Be aware in your art that limb different people are Whole. How you ask can somebody without an arm, say, do all that stuff?

3) Consider the idea of adaptation in your writing and art instead of relying only on magicking disability away with prosthetics. Disabled People live in a world full of barriers and tend to be Very creative about navigating it, adapting to our environment through just being a little clever about how we do things is the biggest way i see other people with upper limb differences interact with the world. There are three main ways that we go about this without prosthetics: Using adaptive equipment, Finding an alternate method, or as a last resort, asking for help.

Example 1: I have like 1.5 arms ok so obviously only 1 hand, and I need to clip my fingernails every once in a while. The obvious solution to me, while it may seem gross, is just to bite them off. Bad habit, but efficient. I could use those horrible little nail clippers, with my remaining stump and a little finagling but it takes forever. I could also get some adaptive nail clippers - they make great big handled ones for ppl that can't grab the little ones. Or, I could ask my partner to trim them, but I'm usually too proud to do that. Let disabled people have their flaws too lol!

Example 2: I love to rock climb. This is where adaptive equipment comes in. I could slip off a rock climbing wall pretty easily right? So bouldering (rock climbing without harnesses) is totally inaccessible to me. But if I go to a gym that has harnesses, then that's fine - they catch me if I fall and that's adaptive for me.

Adaptive equipment comes in many shapes and sizes and can be regular items repurposed.

3. If after all that you Must create art or write about an OC or preexisting character that uses upper limb prosthetics, consider that in general, limb different people's prosthetics are not equivalent to having two arms. Prosthetics are only practical for limb different people if they enhance your life or are useful in some way, however, getting one high tech enough to do that is unlikely because they are expensive. There are different groups, clinics, and charities that make lower cost options but they tend to be much lower tech than is depicted (and often are clunky). My first prosthetic was a long flat piece of metal, similar to a doctors tongue depressor, attached to a plaster cuff velcroed around my stump. The idea was that since I had a little bit of stump poking out, I could pin objects against the metal and it would work like a crab's pincers. It was okay, but I did accidentally smack many. Many. Things with it, including my own face and since it was metal, that was unpleasant. Obviously hindered more than helped. Also it did not look even remotely like a hand.

4. Which prosthetics you can get generally depend on what you got on you. Literally. Bodily. With upper limb prostheses, If you don't have an elbow or wrist, your options are almost exclusively limited to the pricier electric options that are both super futuristic, unavailable to many, and also like new car priced. Many of the manual, non-electric models depend on the ability to flex a wrist or elbow, so if you have those things are a little more accessible overall. It also matters whether you are born limb different like me, or if you are an amputee. Amputees are more likely to be candidates for prostheses than people like me because they have all those preexisting muscles and nerves for prosthetics that are higher tech and require surgical attachment Also prosthetics might be an easier learning curve, and more useful for somebody who has been abled bodied than it would be for somebody who never had that limb in the first place.

5. This is a little thing and ... Not to get too medical with it ( and neither should yall) but limb different people often have physical changes associated with lack of or loss of limb. If you do not have a limb, you are not going to be developing the muscles that are surrounding it in the way an a nondisabled person would. Again for example I have 1.5ish arms which means I've got plenty of stump on my "affected" limb. Even when I did Varsity sports and everything, I was never able to get beefy on that side. It is a pet peeve of mine that many people do not seem to get this - Most art I see of vash the stampede has him with two super beefy shoulders and like yeah i get it that's hot, but if hes got roughly the same amount of stump as me, he probably shouldn'tlook like that. Another thing in this vein is chronic pain is associated with limb loss and limb difference- I have it and its reasonable that any prosthetic user or nonprosthetic using limb different person is more likely to have it. Again these are little things but if you're looking to do good representation you need to consider that limb difference is not just a cool little stylistic choice to make a character look tough or what have you - limb loss and limb difference mean that that character will not only think differently than abled bodied people, but move differently, pose differently, have different routines and preferences than are ever represented in most media. Disability is not a style, and it's not a diagnosis, it's an identity. It's important above all to be respectful of that by letting go of centering able-bodied expectations and aesthetic in your art and writing. Hard to do but i believe in y'all!

Hope that helps! I've also got a bunch of links to go along with these points, if you want them lmk! I'm always happy to take asks about this stuff!

Tl;dr please consider making characters that don't use prosthetics, or don't use them excessively because it's more realistic, better representation, and makes me, a disabled dyke on the internet, really happy.

Lastly if y'all liked my advice and appreciate my time you are always welcome to tip me for it - my c*sh*pp is $neptunedrive

#cripple your art #disabled characters #vash the stampede #trigun #character design #disability justice

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dairy-farmer · 9 months

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I sneak back in~☆ with more of my Ideas~☆ tis me Again~

You know what's GREAT? Along with all that villian tech and magic? Canonical Multiverse. Oh my, oh my~ Such OPTIONS we have todaaaay~ >:Dc

Because? Is it really YOUR son? If he's from a different reality, has a different history, you didn't raise him, and you technically met yesterday? Same name, face, and dna... but? IS THAT YOUR SON, BATMAN?

Or is that an ethically sourced Tim Puss? Or other bits. We ain't judging, Multiverse is large and in some of those you're sentient fish! Go nuts! Just be respectful. Not on the dinner table ffs.

And! In the inevitable Bat Adventures of Various Bat Peoples(tm)? They are GOING to cross realities! Some times you go to their's, some times they come to you. Sometimes it's your hypothetical great×5 Grandbaby with a STILL alive Ra's AL Ghul. Sometimes a Robot. Occasionally they are Evil(tm).

But! Do? You? Fuck?

CAN you? These are the questions! An ethical debate for the ages! Tim says? A Strong Maybe! What is he working with, here? *various outraged noises from his family* WHAT, they aren't HIS family! It's not like he'd sleep with YOU guys. *various conflicted noises*

Like? Clearly not, if they're Evil. Or like... physically incompatible... Or the world needs saving? He DOES have his priorities straight. But like.... Strong Maybe!

But you know what that Tim has? Thousands of other NEARLY identical versions of him. Spanning the Multiverse. All juuuuust slightly off in one way or another. Different choice here. Breakfast was skipped there. Likes tea instead of energy drinks yonder. AND? All have that "someone should probably have been supervising me" Feral spark~

Tim gets Horny. Maybe he and his team pulled a successful mission. Thwarted a Multiversal threat. Wooo! We're young and unsupervised! Beer! Pizza! Making out! WITH EACH OTHER! Thank God we're not dead!!!

But thing is? Tim is a horny drunk. He is... mostly unaware of this. It's apparently just a beer thing. He doesn't like the taste so he's never really drunk them. He's giggly. Wants to fuck. Kon is already asleep. Sad face. Wait.... WAIT! He has a BRILLIANT Idea! He stumbles to his feet. To his room. Ah HA! His "I'm Looooonely~ 🥺" Sexy Photos! Perfect.

He stumbles back. Digs out the Multiverse device. His drunk little mind not stopping to consider this might be a PHENOMENALLY stupid idea. After all... His Kon asleep. Other Kon's not maybe? Sexy sex for Timmy. Mmmm, Sex. His logic, is of course, FLAWLESS. He's gonna do it!

He inputs his photos as an info package, restricts to humanoid realities, clarifies "Evil guys, DNI" because OBVIOUSLY they will honor that, and recognize they are in fact Evil, instead of Misunderstood Heros. Then adds he would like to fuck, Multiverse tech obviously required, then to REALLY seal the deal a saucy " ;) ".

It's PERFECT. He's a GENIUS. Gonna... gonna get SO LAID. He hits send. Goes to get ready for Other Kon. Forgets, gets himself off, and goes to sleep.

DOESN'T REMEMBER TO TELL ANYONE.

It goes EXACTLY as you think it does. They get fucking INVADED by randos. All of whom are thirsting for Batman's son. Many of whom ARE Batman. Some are Kon. Some Superman. There are alternative Tim's. Apparently Go Fuck Yourself is the hot new craze. Tim is super, mega, ULTRA grounded.

But it's also damn near impossible to prevent Batmen from just... stepping into whatever room he's in. From their own reality. Bruce is at his wits end. The fuckers keep fucking and trying to carry off his baby boy. He doesn't CARE if you lost your own! Or never had one! Or yours hates you! Or WHAT! UNHAND THE TIM SON! *extreme violence*

And Dick? Inches from a nervous break down. All these PERVERTS keep coming to MOLEST his brother! Including versions of HIM! Selfs! How COULD YOU!? You don't even plan to ROMANCE him! No dinner or dances or romantic dates! Just fuck him on the floor and stuff a baby in him! *incredible violence* *somewhere... Deathstroke feels weirdly thrilled... huh*

Both Jason and Damian of course are LEARNING some stuff about themselves. Mostly from beating Alt-Selfes off with whatever on hand. Damian especially is having A Time of it. How DARE himselfs make him Realize Drake Is Hot! You magnificent BASTARDS!

Jason is hearing a lot of Husband this and Babyboy that and.... you... you KINKY MOFO with your TENDER EMOTIONS need to cut this shit RIGHT OUT! So help him he will shoot you! RIGHT IN THE DICK.

And of course Kon was all *sees like a bazillion of himself show up when Tim Puss was offered* Yeah this Tracks. I understand completely. *Sees CLARKS showing up* *slow head turn of Death towards his Clark* .....Something you wanna tell me? :) Clark? :)

Lois standing on his other side, who ALSO did the Head Turn: Yeah, honey :) Something you need to get off your chest? :)

Clark, innocent but still cold sweating : Please remember that they are probably Evil. I have a LOT of messed up Alternative Selfs out there. Love you, honey. And I would NEVER.

Just? The unending parade of Multiverse Booty calls? Showing and rocking Timmy's world before he can get a word in edgewise? This poor Tim has already been caught like five times this week and it's only Wednesday? Every chases them off... but poof! New one! Fucked again! Nearly carried off while fucked out and drooling, AGAIN! The best minds on the planet scrambling to fix Timmy's drunk booty call!

He can't patrol, can barely get work down, barely has time to SLEEP. Has woken UP to being fucked by HIMSELF. And a Kon. AND three separate Bruce's. Sometimes multiples show up! Sometimes they SHARE!

Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to argue with men lovingly holding you as they make you orgasm stupid? Hard! Tim keeps LOSING! He can't even walk straight. He's GOO. Fucked out, cum stuffed, GOO.

Dear God his birth control better work or he is DEFINITELY pregnant at this point.

And? In the chaos? Tell me there isn't the chance that his actual fam don't... consider it. With so many versions of themselves popping in and out? Just add then remove an alteration to their costume... no one but them would ever know.

Just? Imagine the chaos~~☆

"ethically sourced Tim Puss" 😭😭😭😭😭 that's the funniest line i've ever read!!! and yessssss!!!!!!!!! this idea!!!!! i love it so much!!!!!!! i've absolutely mused the thought of it before!!! the idea that bruce uses the 'it's not technically incest if it's not MY tim' loophole!!!!!

tim being both a horny and stupid little drunk is so good!!! he definitely has 'lonely night' photos of himself in nothing but tiny little seee through panties and underwear or in nothing but socks and lip gloss. he sends them to kon when he's horny and wants to fuck and now he's using a multiverse outfitted computer to mass send out an email from his dimension with attatched photos like he's a pop ad from a porn site 'like his tits? fuck him today!'

the email will be easily traceable to his dimension to any kon with dimensional tech which is what tim banks on while drunk. but then tim stumbles away and forgets about his photo ladden email and open invitation to fuck. he manages to make it to his room and sloppily stuffs a few fingers into his dripping pussy and clumsily rubs at his clit until his toes are curling and he manges to drunkenly cum. it's not long before he passes out from the combination of alcohol and the bit of satisfaction from masturbating.

in the morning tim's hangover pounds against his head along with the intruder alert alarm which cuts out mere seconds after starting. it's not until he hears his bedroom door sliding open that he looks up to see kon in uniform standing at his doorway and staring at him.

tim's in a simple tshirt and no panties with his legs spread on his messy bed. kon is in full armor though...one of his older suits with the blue accents for some reason.

he's also staring at tim pretty heavily. in the sort of way he's very familiar with because tim can see that heady desire in kon's eyes and knows what's next.

the rest of the titans, kon included, find tim in his room getting wonderfully fucked by his not-kon(?).

thankfully tim gets to cum before they kick that superboy out. they brief tim about how the justice league, batcave, and other hero teams have reported disturbances and anomalies typically seen with dimensional travel and given that the titans just finished kicking some multiverse butt they should probably prepare for another...attack.

only...it seemed like that dimensional traveler had other ideas.

they go to that dimensional laptop they confiscated and very quickly find tim's original email because they are receiving hundreds of interested replies.

it's a hellish week for everyone and tim has absolutely been scolded and reprimanded numerous times. usually after each near kidnapping is avoid because tim keeps getting tracked down and fucked by different versions of horny kons, other tim's, TONS of batmen, nightwing, redhood, and robins.

other bats are typically the ones behind the kidnapping attempts. one nightwing confessed to tim while pumping his cock into tim's poor little hole that his tim hasn't spoken him in years and this was the only chance he'd ever get to forage some connection and feel tim's touch again. red hood is apparently lonely because his 'wife' is away on a space mission and those photos were so teasing and pushed him over the edge. damian apparently wants to know what teenage tim's pussy feels like. but bruce....oh bruce.

poor bruce is so lonely and tortured by the attraction he feels for his son. and then comes tim's pictures. such temptation. such willingness to be fucked by anyone and anything including his father in a different dimension and all of them have problems with their tims.

there are no tims in their dimension, they had a falling out with their tims and don't talk anymore, or their tim has passed away and left them with these horribly compex unresolved feelings and its only through fucking tim that they'll be able to finally move on with their lives.

of course some of those batmen aren't satisfied with the one time deal and attempt to abduct tim who is all woozy and half passed out from orgasms through a portal to their home dimensions.

it's a very difficult week. made more difficult by the fact that tim is clearly a willing engager with many of these different dimensional travelers invading for some pussy.

every single one of the bats is desperate to get this all fixed. the only other person aside from them who wants this all to go away is clark whose marriage and relationship with his sort of clone-son is now on the rocks because more than a few alternate supermen have shown up looking to answer tim's email and fuck his womb full of kryptonian cum. one of them even dug clark's hole even deeper by mentioning how he's curious to see if this tim drake's womb will be just as receptive to kryptonian seed as his own.

and he said it in FRONT of both kon and lois who are now both very angry with clark is so very innocent and he swears that he's never once thought of sweet little tim like that!!! in fact clark was pretty sure tim was the only one of the bats and one of the few capes that genuinely disliked him!!!!!

the fact that tim doesn't blatently reject the superman that whistle and fly past the action, their suits bulging with their erections does nothing to help clark's case.

truly if there is any victim in this entire case-aside from tim's family who are currently in the crisis working the concept of fucking tim out of their system by actually fucking tim- it is clark.

poor sweet clark who, genuinely, has done nothing wrong the entire time.

#answered asks #asks #anonymous #brutim #kontim #clarktim #dicktim #damitim #jaytim #alltim

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widowwaddles · 1 year

Text

Casualty of Love

Summary: The Scarlet Witch’s path to reunite with her kids was filled with destruction. And now you must fan the flames in order to help your family adjust to your new life afterward.

A what-if story continuing the aftermath of the Scarlet Witch's dream walking but of Wanda who had never awoken her powers. She is now plagued with the memories of her alternate's life. Would you be able to support your Wanda through this new journey or will you lose the Wanda you fell in love with in the process?

Pairing: Wanda x female reader

Word count: ~ 6.6k yikes

Masterlist

A/N: The official first chapter (aka I rewrote everything and made it longer lol)

Taglist: @imnotasuperhero

...

The New Normal

“Babe have you seen Tommy’s new ball? I thought I saw it by the garden last but it seems to have magically disappeared” you call out to your wife as you open the back door.

Silence.

With a frown, you look around the room, confused about where your wife had gone. You had just seen her in the kitchen from the window. Where was she?

As you walked further into the house, everything was in disarray. The dining room table was flipped onto its side, with its chair thrown all about. The picture frames and decorations that provided such warmth to your walls were now littered on the floor. There were obvious signs of a struggle, but the silence was unsettling.

You hear a shuffle, before a loud crash near the front of the house.

“Wanda!” you call out again, much louder. You walked cautiously around the broken glass and followed the source of the sound.

You walked slowly, silently cursing yourself for not bringing a weapon if this was a violent intruder. You tense your body when you see a figure, but immediately recognize who it is from the brown hair. You see your wife standing with her back turned to you - completely still.

“What happened, are you okay? It looks like a tornado went just through the house” you say to your wife who has yet to move. “What’s wrong” you get closer. No reaction. placing a hand on her shoulder, you continue “Baby why a-”

She jerks her body away from you as if you’ve just burned her. Her body hunches over, a loud groan escaping her body.

“Hey, what happened? Do you need a doctor?” you say worriedly. However, as you tried to approach your wife again, it seems she has other plans.

“D-don't come near me” she grunts out. “Just stay away”

“What do you mean stay away, something’s clearly wrong. Just let me help you” you walk closer. You have no idea what is happening to her, she had shown no signs of anything being wrong earlier. She lets out a pain-filled cry, before falling onto her knees. The way her body was shaking is starting to scare you.

“Wanda” you yell out, running to her side in an instant. “Tell me what’s wrong, how can I help”

“Get away from me” for the first time she’s looking at you and shock filled your face as you see her eyes were completely red. Tears begin to fill her eyes as she pleads for you to stay away. And before any more could be said she grabs her head in pain, letting out another cry. “It hurts so much, I can’t stop her”

“Stop who? You’re scaring me Wanda I don’t understand what’s happening”

“Grab the boys and run. Get very far away from here” she grits from between her clenched jaw. She’s leaning forward, digging her head into the floor. Her body was shaking even more than before. “Please Y/N, I’m not strong enough” your heart breaks from how defeated she sounds.

A faint “I’m sorry” was all you heard before her body suddenly stills. She stands and begins walking towards the back as if forgetting your very existence from beside her. Quickly, you get to your feet and grab her before she can make it to the door.

“I think that I deserve an explanation. What the hell is going on?” you raise your voice slightly, feeling whiplash from the emotional roller coaster you were just on. The house is trashed and Wanda is just walking away as if she wasn’t just breaking down on the floor. You needed answers. Now.

Wanda whips her head around, looking at the hand gripping her wrist with disgust. When she meets your eyes, you see a flash of red before her eyes return to normal.

“Let go of me” she demands.

“Wanda, please. I need you to talk to me” you plead with your wife.

“I don’t care what you want. I need to see my children” she says coldly. “Now let go”

“Why are you treating me like this? What is going on with you?” tears of frustration threatening to spill out.

She gazes into your eyes, before tilting her head. There was so much anger held in them, with the red glow returning as she stared into your soul. Warning alarms were going off in your head, but before you could react a sudden force hit your chest sending your body crashing into the kitchen cabinets.

“Don’t get in my way again” she walks to your limp body and crouches down. “Stay down” whispering softly in your ear before standing up and walking to the door again.

Your head is aching, and you feel the burning sensation as the wooden shards of the cabinet stab into your back - but you knew you had to get to the boys, and fast. When you try to sit up, your body doesn’t move. You try again, and it feels as if there you’re trapped inside of an invisible box, you couldn’t move any part of your body. You hear the door open and immediately start screaming for the boys to run, hoping they would be able to hear you and listen. Tears of frustration cloud your eyes. You felt so useless, you wish you would have reacted faster. The boys should have been your first priority after you noticed how weird your wife was acting. You couldn’t protect now. All you could do is pray that they listened. But then you heard it, they were calling your name - asking where you were and calling out for help. It was at this moment that you wished you had the strength of the superheroes you’ve seen on tv.

You pushed with all of your might, as their voices transformed into loud screams. Somehow you were able to break through the force that kept your body trapped. Ignoring the sharp pain from your ribs as you stood, and ran to the backyard. It was there you saw Wanda, with a crazed look in her eyes, grabbing onto the boys by their arms. They look to you as soon as they notice your presence.

“Help us mama” They cry out.

“She’s not your mother, I am” she says furiously. They struggle in her grasp, somehow finding a way to wiggle out before running to your side.

“Come back to me” she demands, stepping towards you. The boys tighten their grip on your waist as you take a step back. “Now!” you could feel their bodies flinch as she screams.

“You did this. You turned my children against me” she points at you. Her eyes shift wildly from the twins to you. She raises her hand, the familiar glow returning in her eyes.

“Wanda please don’t-” your vision goes completely black. The last thing you heard before passing out was the blood-curdling screams of your children.

Your eyes instantly open, heart races in your chest. Turning over you look for something, anything that could pull you back into reality. You look around your room and recognize the familiar decorations of your bedside table. In front of the lamp, is a picture of Wanda and the boys. It was a good day. You had just come from getting ice cream, as evidenced by their sticky faces. Wanda couldn’t stop laughing as she looked between them. You couldn’t help but capture it on film, wanting to save this memory forever, and it usually only takes one look at the photo to fill you with the same happiness you felt that day. Now it only leaves you with a bittersweet feeling, longing for the life that was destroyed the moment She came along.

Knowing you wouldn’t be going back to sleep today, you go into the bathroom. You move slowly out of bed, hoping not to wake your wife. She’s become a light sleeper, instantly waking from any sudden movements or sounds around her. She deserved all the sleep she could get. For the first time in a while, she looks peaceful as she sleeps and not haunted by the nightmares that have been plaguing her since the incident.

Every night she's terrorized by them and refuses to go back to sleep. She’s been taking everything pretty hard but refuses to accept any help. You wish you could take it all away from her, but you weren’t made of magic. You try to get her to open up but she doesn’t like to go into detail of what the dreams are about. The only thing being able to lull her back to sleep is the sound of your heartbeat. That was all you could offer until she was ready to let you in.

Turning on the faucet, you let the cold water wash over your face. You desperately needed this, you couldn’t even remember the last time you had a moment like this. Complete silence and stillness with just yourself. Looking into the mirror, you noticed the dark circles under your eyes have grown larger.

Between the hotel rooms, family therapy sessions, and the legal repercussions of proving your wife’s innocence for the Scarlet Witch’s tirade, a good night's sleep became a luxury you could no longer afford. You craved the mundane normalcy that your life once had before She wrecked havoc in your lives. But a part of you knew that things could never go back to how they were, and that was a grieving process in itself. It broke your heart to look at your family every morning and all you see is a hollow shell of their former selves.

You’ve had to step up, big time, in order to keep your family together. You had to remain strong even in the moments when you all felt like falling apart. You had to ignore the burning in your eyes as you held Wanda and the boys in your arms while they sobbed.

The boys from the nightmares of witnessing their “parents” fighting, and almost losing you both completely. After the initial shock had worn off, the therapist's office was the first place you went to. It wasn’t easy and trying to explain something to them (that you hardly understood yourselves) was difficult. How do you tell a child that their mother was possessed by a crazy version of herself from another universe? Or reassure them that she would never do anything to hurt them and their family wasn’t falling apart. It was hard… but as time went on they’ve grown to understand and was now in the beginning stage of moving on.

Wanda’s feelings were more complex. First, it was the fear she felt from becoming a prisoner in her own body, unable to stop the Scarlet Witch from committing the most atrocious of crimes. Then came the guilt, blaming herself for how she hurt everyone, especially her own family. She’s haunted by the memories and continues to punish herself for being so weak. She’s afraid of being alone, but too afraid to keep you close. She’s never told you but you could tell by the way she hides in the bathroom after a nightmare. And then by the way she crashes her body into yours after calming herself down and refuses to let go when she’s laying on your chest. She needs to be reminded that you’re still here with her.

“Y/N….” she murmurs your name. Rushing back to the bed, you see her eyes are still closed. You sit beside her leg, and press your hand against her chest. Her face is scrunched up and she’s breathing heavily.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” you say softly, shaking her slightly to wake her from this nightmare. As her eyes open, you see a flicker of red before she abruptly shuts them again. Keeping your hand on her chest, you wait until her breathing has leveled out.

“Open your eyes, babe”

“I can’t do it”

“Yes, you can” you soothe.

“They’re doing it again, I can’t” she urges.

“I don’t care. You can show me, it doesn’t change the way I see you, Wands“

“Can you look away? I don’t want you to see it” before you could respond she continues “I’m not ready for you to see them. Please Y/N” she pleads.

Sighing, you stand up, with your back facing her. You hear the soft shuffling of her feet to the bathroom, before a loud slam and the lock of the door. You should be used to this by now, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“I’m going to go wake the boys” walking to the door, you wait for a few seconds hoping to get a response, but to no avail. The water faucet turns on. You understand she needs time alone, but you wish she didn’t feel the need to hide or push you away.

…

Walking into the hallway, the bare walls were unsettling - a stark contrast from the house that was meant to be your forever home. You’ve only been here for two weeks, hoping this house could provide a fresh start that you all desperately needed. You couldn’t wait for the moment of peace so you could finally decorate and make it feel more like a home.

As you approach, you see the door is slightly cracked. Peering in, you were surprised to see a blanket fort between the beds. There were whispers underneath the contraption, then a soft click. Gasps of surprise followed as a muted shine of light threatened to break through the blankets and onto the ceiling. It was then that you decided to make your presence known. Crouching down, you created your own entrance and crawled into the fort - you were amazed at what you saw.

The boys were sitting across from each other, with the 3D light projector in the middle. Colorful dots decorated the top of the fort, slightly brightening the dark interior.

“Isn’t it cool Mama?” Tommy asks with a grin.

“So cool” You and Billy continue to look up in amazement. “Who’s idea was this?”

“Billy’s. He said something about lights and…” he trails off. “I don’t really remember but I built the fort all by myself” he finishes with a proud look.

“Well don’t I have the smartest boys in the world” grabbing the boys by the shoulders, you pull them into your body. They let out a laugh from the sudden movements. “I’m so proud of you”

“Do you think Mom would like it too?” Billy asks shyly.

“She would love it” ruffling his hair.

“Is she up now?” Billy starts again.

“Yeah, we wanna show her” Tommy finished bluntly.

Your heart clenches as you think of the best way to answer this without breaking their high spirits. You knew Wanda didn’t want the kids seeing her in this state.

“She is, but she’s not feeling too well right now” before their faces can fall you continue. “But what do you say we make breakfast today? She always feels better after eating one of your famous pancakes” you end excitedly.

“Okay” they shout in agreement and crawl over your lap to exit the fort. Tommy has already run downstairs, but Billy hesitates and waits for you to come out. He looks at the fort worriedly before meeting your eyes.

“Don’t worry, we can keep it up until she’s seen it” hoping this reassures him. He nods with a small smile and grabs your hand. Taking the lead he pulls you out of the room and to the kitchen.

“Finally, I’ve been waiting here for years” Tommy exasperated.

“You are definitely your mother’s son with that level of patience” you joke, but he doesn’t seem to find it funny - still upset for how long it took you to come down. “Tough crowd” looking at Billy who’s suppressing his laugh with his hand.

“Okay my mini chefs, what’s always the first step before cooking?”

“Washing our hands” they answer, before walking to the sink. You grab the step stool and place it in front so they can reach it. “Hands” they flip their hands open wide, waiting patiently for you to squirt the soap into their palms. “Let’s not make a mess this time” you say firmly, not wanting another bubble disaster. After everyone’s hands were thoroughly cleaned you began the tiring task of cooking with children.

You had miraculously finished and plated the food by the time Wanda had come down. You notice her before the boys do. She gives you a smile, but her eyes speak a different story - the warning glint tells you not to press the matter.

“Is this all for me?” she asks, bringing a hand to her chest and feigning surprise. The boys immediately turn around in their seats at the sound of her voice.

“Yeah, we made it all by ourselves” Tommy boasts, erasing all of your involvement. “We even added our secret ingredient so you could feel super good today. Try it now Mom!”

Wanda takes the empty seat next to Billy, across from where you and Tommy sat. Billy grabs the syrup and gives it to his mother with a smile. She gives him a grateful grin as she takes it from his smaller hands. Tommy is leaning over his plate, eagerly awaiting for Wanda to take the first bite.

“Mhmm. This is the best pancake I’ve ever had” she says with a big grin.

“Even better than Mama’s?” you didn’t even need to look up to know who asked that question

“Yes, sooooo much better” she widens her eyes as she exaggerates her voice. She looks between the boys and sees the satisfaction that paints their faces, before giving you a knowing look. Even Billy gives you a grin, that little traitor.

“You heard that Mama, We’re the best chefs in the world” Tommy sing-songs loudly. “You can’t beat that”

“I’ll be a gracious loser, but if that’s really how you all feel then I guess you boys will be handling all the meals in the house from now on” feigning a sigh. “I’ll be looking forward to dinner tonight then” you end, flashing your teeth in a smile.

“W-wait no” they stutter out. “We don’t want that. You already promised we’d have homemade pizza today” Billy attempts to reason with you

“Yeah, that's not fair” Tommy co-signs.

“But wouldn’t the ‘best chefs in the world’ want to make it themselves?”

Your question was met by a loud, “Noooooo” followed by “You make it the best”

“Okay I guess I could make it today. And we’ll discuss the new cooking schedule going into the future” you jest, and the boys, believing your every word, look at you in horror. Before you could respond, a giggle filled the air. All eyes turned to Wanda, as she tried to keep her laughter in.

“Mom, make her stop” pulling out the puppy dog eyes that Wanda could never resist.

“I think you may have hurt feelings. Maybe if you say sorry she would change her mind” Wanda suggests. Immediately, you’ve fallen victim to the eyes as they whine apologies.

“Okay, okay you’re forgiven. Just stop looking at me like that” looking towards the clock you see it’s almost time to leave. “But only if you go up and get ready. We have our tour today and then we’ll see Dr. Hill”. They race upstairs in a blink of an eye.

After hearing the door close to their room, you look at your wife for the first time since she woke up. Her face falls after the boys leave, letting her exhaustion show. Her eyes are slightly red and puffy.

“Are you feeling better?” you ask softly. She gathers the plates on the table and walks to the sink, completely ignoring your question. “Wanda can you just try talking to me about it”

“I’m fine, there’s nothing to talk about” she’s already sounding agitated.

“What was your dream about this time?” you press further, hoping to get an honest answer.

“Don’t” she warns, green eyes glaring into yours.

“I want to help you. But I can’t if you keep it all in” trying to defend yourself. It wasn’t your intention to trigger this reaction from her, but you weren’t sure how much more of the obvious tension between you whenever the boys weren’t around.

“Well, have you ever thought that maybe I don’t want your help? If you couldn’t help me then, what makes you think you could possibly help now” she slams the plates into the sink, the sound ringing through the air. Her eyes flicker red. When she sees the look of hurt on your face, she closes them and faces down. Taking a deep breath, she attempts to calm herself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that” you don’t believe her, and you’re sure she doesn’t believe it herself. But she makes no move to change your mind otherwise and just goes back upstairs without a word.

Your eyes sting from the tears that were threatening to fall, but you were determined to keep them in - to keep it all in. This wasn’t the first time she’s hurt you and judging by the current course, this wouldn’t be the last. You couldn’t dwell on it, you had to remain strong. She just needed some more time, and before you know it you’ll have your wife back. The sweet, loving woman you fell in love with, the one who would have never raised her voice at you. Wiping your eyes roughly, you put on a smile as if nothing could hurt you.

As you walk upstairs you hear the boys talking animatedly. You also hear Wanda’s gentle voice as she asks questions about the fort they’ve built. You’re thankful that their relationship hadn’t taken a toll after the incident, but you couldn’t say the same for your marriage. Walking past the door you walk to your bedroom, and prepare for the day ahead. You just need to be patient and things will go back to normal.

…

One school tour later

You’ve just arrived at Dr. Hill’s office.

“How did the tour go?” Dr. Hill inquires.

“Good,” you say simply. The tour was a bit hectic as the boys wanted to explore every part of the school, but you thought it went well. “Much better than we expected”

“How do you feel about your new school?” she poses the question to the boys, encouraging them to share their honest opinions.

“I liked it a lot. There were so many rooms and the playground was HUGE” Tommy rambles, before listing off everything he liked.

“What about you Billy?” Dr. Hill looks at the boy, inviting him to share his feelings.

“It’s a little scary,” he hesitates. “What if no one likes us?”

“What’s not to like about us, we’re the coolest kids around” Tommy tries to reassure his twin. “And if they don’t, then who cares. We don’t need anyone else, we’ll always have each other” always the optimist.

“I’m worried about that as well” Wanda starts before Dr. Hill could comment on what they said. “About the other children’s reactions and how they’ll adjust. I still think we should homeschool them for another year or two”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes, you couldn’t believe that Wanda was doing this again and in front of the boys. She had already agreed to give it a try during the last session, so why is she suddenly changing her mind the day before they set to officially start?

Grabbing both of their hands you look between them. “We would never do anything that you aren’t comfortable with. We know that moving to a new place is hard, but we think this school could give a fresh start. You could meet new friends and be around kids your own age again, rather than be with your boring moms all day” you joke, hoping to get a smile and it works. “All we ask is that you give it a try for a day. And if you don’t like it we can look at other options” hoping this soothes any worries they have.

“Was there anything about the school that you liked or that made you feel excited?” Dr. Hills asks, wanting to focus on the positives they took from the tour.

“T-there are clubs. The music club meets in a big room and there are so many instruments” Tommy gets out, eyes shining in interest.

“Which instrument was your favorite?” Dr. Hill asks enthusiastically.

“The piano. I even got to play it” a smile on his face as he recalls the memory

“That’s great Billy, maybe you can join the club tomorrow. What about you, Tommy?” turning her attention to the other boy.

“BASEBALL” he yells with excitement. “I’ve been practicing with Mama outside. I can’t wait to play on a team”

“I could join too” Billy declares, but with much less interest. You could all tell which club he really wanted to join but knew the thought of being away from Tommy was holding him back. Dr. Hill gives you a knowing look, this was a conversation for next time.

“That sounds like fun. And if tomorrow goes well then maybe a trial period of two weeks should be enough time to make a definite decision” everyone nods except Wanda. “Okay well, I’ll see you next time. Good luck at school tomorrow”

The boys run out of the office, already memorizing the way out and eagerly wanting to play with the toys in the waiting room. You stood with Dr. Hill and Wanda, a few feet away from where the boys were.

“I know it’s going to be hard letting go, but I think you are making the best decision by putting them into this school” Dr. Hill says in an attempt to reassure you (mainly Wanda) that you were doing what’s best for the boys. “How have they been since our last session?”

Wanda has a far-off look, completely ignoring the question asked. Her eyes are trained on the boys, following their every move as if she’s afraid of them leaving her sight. “Better” you start and Wanda walks the moment you open your mouth. She joins the children as they attempt to build a tower with the blocks.

You let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding. “It makes me so happy to see that they're doing much better. Not completely back to how they were before but it’s getting easier”

“What about you and Wanda, how have you been?” the golden question.

“The opposite,” you say with a bitter laugh. “For every step forward with the boys, it feels like our relationship takes 5 steps back. I don’t know what more I can do. She just won’t let me in” you confess, for the first time you’re able to speak your mind freely. “I just wish things would go back to normal”.

“I know it’s a lot. What you all experienced was very traumatic, something no one outside of your family would be able to truly comprehend. The path to healing won’t be easy but you’re stronger together than you are apart. Just look at those kids of yours, they didn’t even talk or smile when I first met them. Now look at them, that’s genuine joy and it’s all thanks to you and Wanda. Sticking by their side in spite of what happened and proving that nothing could break your family apart” you look at your family proudly.

“But you have to let go of the idea that things could ever go back to how they were before” your eyes widen as you look back at her. “I can tell that you’ve kinda put your feelings and emotions on the back burner as you aid your family along their healing process. You’re neglecting your own in hope that by the end of their journeys, your life would go back to normal. Unfortunately, that may never happen, and having an expectation that it will be your motivation for going on will only lead to disappointment.”

You take a shaky breath, knowing she was right deep down. You knew things would have to change, sooner rather than later - you didn’t know how much more you could take before you finally broke. Your eyes wander to Wanda. She genuinely looked happy with the boys. You knew the moment the kids left her sight she would go back to looking like she was barely hanging on. Everything was always easier said than done.

Dr. Hill follows your gaze, “There’s no guidebook or one size fits all method to this, especially when in Wanda’s case. You just have to remain patient. She’ll come to you when she’s ready” instantly reading your mind.

“Okay” you give her a small smile, thankful to have someone you could talk to.

“Y/N come on” Wanda calls out to you, walking with the twins out the door.

“Everyone was affected that day, including you. Please don’t forget that. Take care of yourself”

“Thank you again, Maria, we’ll see you soon”

…

“Is everyone ready for bed?” you ask aloud, already knowing the answer you were gonna get. Groans filled the air. “Sounds like you’re ready to me. Come on, get in bed”

The boys each jump into their respective beds. You and Wanda continued on with the bedroom routine. You tucked Tommy into bed and pressed a kiss into his head, before switching places with Wanda who’s done the same to Billy.

“Are you sleeping with us tonight?” Billy asks with a yawn.

It falls on you to answer as Wanda begins picking at her fingers.

“Not tonight buddy” you say apologetically. “But we’ll stay until you fall asleep”

“Okay” they agree, too tired to argue.

The soft snores filling the air signaled that it was time to return to your own room. You stand and begin walking to the door. Wanda is still sitting on Tommy’s bed, reluctant to leave. You know that she’ll go in her own time.

After taking a quick shower, you practically melted into bed the moment you got in. Laying on your side, you pull out your phone - wanting to play games until you get tired. You hadn’t even heard Wanda enter the room, and considering the current state of your relationship you think this was intentional.

“It’s been a long day” you say, not knowing if you’d get a response at all but wanting to try.

“Yeah, I’m happy to be home” she replies with tired eyes.

“What did you think of the school, honestly?”

“I loved it. The teachers that we’ve met so far seemed amazing and the smaller class sizes would help with Billy’’s anxiety. But…I’m scared. Of what could happen to them the moment they leave this house” Wanda says nervously, picking at her fingers again.

“They’re going to be okay” you grab her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “I worry too, but we owe it to them to at least try. You saw how excited they were during the tour” you smile, hoping the memory of the event could provide her with as much comfort as it did to you.

“Plus you have to admit it will feel good to have afternoon naps that last longer than 10 minutes without the fear of the house burning down” you jest.

“Yeah it will. I wonder what we’re going to do all day”

“Whatever we want” you smirk, a devilish look in your eyes. Leaning forward you whisper in her ear “Maybe we can start making baby #3”

“That’s definitely not happening anytime soon” she pushes you away with a laugh. You pout. “I’m serious detka, we’re hanging by a thread now” she says seriously, effectively draining the playful mood shared between you.

“Maybe, if we talk more we could-”

“Goodnight” she cuts you off and pulls her body away. Before you could respond, she turns off her lamp and lays with her back facing you. That could have gone worse, at least she didn’t yell at you this time.

You don’t know how long you spent just staring into the darkness of your room, but this night ends just like the others. Even when things are tense, you always wait until Wanda has fallen asleep before letting yourself do the same. Just in case she ever needs you, though it seems she doesn’t anymore. You close your eyes and sleep to the rising and falling of Wanda's chest.

Your slumber was interrupted by tossing and turning from beside you.

You hear Wanda begin to mutter in her sleep as her hands clench the sheets under her grasp.

“Wanda, baby” you call out softly.

“Please, don’t hurt them” she pleads, still trapped within the nightmare.

Sitting up, you turn on the lamp. Getting a better look at your wife, her face is in distress with sweat covering her forehead. You’ve never seen her this way before and instantly knew that you needed to wake her now. Shaking her body, you call out to her again. “We’re safe baby, please open your eyes for me”

This seems to do the trick and as she opens her eyes, and for the first time you are greeted with the red glow, in all of its glory. The adrenaline from her nightmare still plaguing her body as her chest rises and falls with a quickness. She sits up wildly, searching around the room for something. Pulling her body into you until her head rests against your chest, you knew this was the only way to prevent the start of her panic attacks after these types of dreams.

“Detka” she cries out. “The boys, where are they? I need to find them”

She attempts to thrash away from your grip, but you don’t let her go. “They’re okay, I promise. Today’s a big day for them, remember it's their first day” You shush her, rocking your body as you remind her of the day’s schedule. Silence fills the air, and when you felt her breaths calm down you thought she had fallen back to sleep once again.

“Y/N, please. I need to see my babies” she begs, her voice so small and broken. Looking down at her, you see that her eyes have returned back to normal.

“Okay” you give in, knowing just how much she needs the reassurance. “But, we can’t wake them or else they’ll never go back to bed” you say lightly, in hopes of gaining a smile from Wanda but all you hear in response is Wanda rushing out of the room like a woman on a mission.

Sighing, you get out of bed and tread to the hallway. As you approach their room, you see Wanda is already sitting on the bed, slowly stroking Tommy’s cheek before moving to Billy’s. It looks like they migrated into the same bed after you left the room. Ever since the incident, they’ve reverted to sleeping in the same bed again. As you enter, you approach the window that overlooks the beds and adjust the digital baby monitor you’ve had to purchase since moving into this new house. After the first night of waking up to screams of horror, you both wanted to ensure their safety from the convenience of your room.

You could still remember the glare you received from Wanda when you mentioned the idea of returning to your bedroom at night instead of sleeping with the twins for a night. You would have thought that you said the evilest thing in the world from the way she refused to speak to you for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until you brought it up again with their therapist that she had actually agreed it would be better to start the transition now that you were in a new city.

Wanda was reluctant to agree but only under the condition that cameras were installed around the house in case something happens. You didn’t think that you needed to do something that drastic yet, so you both eventually compromised with the baby monitor. It hasn’t even been a full week yet, but the boys were handling it far better than you had expected. Ever since the move, they’ve taken things even better than you and Wanda had. It made your heart swell with love when you saw how peaceful and carefree they looked as they slept.

Wanda leans forwards, pressing a kiss onto each of their cheeks before standing up. She lets out a shaky breath, reaching out for your hand now that she’s been able to believe that her family was safe. You grab her hands and guide her back to your bedroom.

As you lay back down in bed, you could tell something was still preventing Wanda from fully relaxing again.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I… I don’t understand these dreams. It's a life that’s so different from mine, one without you or the boys. And it scares me so much” she confesses, her grip tightening on your hand. “I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost this, lost you. Each night I’m reliving the same nightmare that always ends with me alone, with everyone around me dead”

You kiss her head and rub her back.

“What if she’s still inside of me? And I try to hurt you or the twins again, I would never forgive myself” she says frantically, working herself up again. This was the first time she’s ever explained what her nightmares were about.

“Wanda look at me,” you say firmly, before grabbing her hands. “We are safe, and you are safe. The tests have all confirmed that she is gone and she’ll never come back. You’re my wife, and the mother to the best kids in the world. I know you’ll never do anything to hurt our family. And I will never let anything happen to you or the boys, again” you speak with so much conviction that it springs tears in Wanda’s eyes.

“It won’t be easy but soon we’ll heal from this, and it’ll become a distant memory. Our love is strong enough to get through this, but you can’t bottle it all in. I need you to trust and let me be there for you, for however long it takes. You’re not alone and you’ll never be as long as I’m here”

“Okay” she sobs out. “Don’t ever let go, I’m afraid of what I’ll become if you did. I can’t do this without you”

“Never. I’m not going anywhere” you promise.

You don’t remember how long you spent holding Wanda until all you heard was her soft snores. You look towards your alarm and instantly know that your time to rest has come to an end. You get up and begin preparing for the day, knowing the boys would be up for school soon. It feels like your body has been moving on autopilot for the past two months, and you had no idea how much longer you could sustain with the current pace of your lives.

The only thing motivating you now was the hope that tomorrow would be better than the day before, and with this glass-half-full mindset, you could see the progress (no matter how slow it feels). Wanda opening up to you was a step in the right direction. You could continue to play the strong and invincible if it meant keeping her from falling apart. You couldn't help but feel a little out of your depth when it comes to her issues. What did you know about magical powers or the multiverse? It was only then that you realized the truth of Maria’s words from earlier. If you were going to be there for Wanda then you needed to accept that things may never go back to how they were. This life is your new normal.

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #casualtyoflove

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she-posts-nerdy-stuff · 9 months

Text

Worldbuilding

Thanks so much for the interest in this series on my previous post, I’m excited to share it with you :)

One of the strengths of the Grishaverse worldbuilding is that the different countries and cultures take clear inspiration from the real world, so the reader is able to infer a lot of the small details without having to be spoon-fed the information. For example, we don't need a long, info-dump explanation as to why surnames in Shu Han are constructed from the prefixes "yul" or "kir" based on sex and the first name of the parent (eg Kuwei Yul-Bo, son of Bo Yul-Bayurr) because we understand that the country is partially inspired by Mongolia. And even if we don't make this immediate connection, looking at characters like Tolya Yul-Batar and Tamar Kir-Batar we understand how to infer the source of the name because of it's basis from many different naming conventions in our world, such as the -son, -dottier, or -bur suffixes in Iceland. Something I think I see authors do a lot is struggle with the balance in this kind of situation, but personally I find that Leigh Bardugo does it really well. We don't need to be told the extensive information about this, even if she knows it or has some idea about it for herself, because it isn't relevant to the story. If we were told about it in great detail during the Grisha Trilogy or the SOC duology, it would feel a lot like info dumping. But by telling us what it's necessary to know about the Shu royal family in KOS/ROW and letting us fill in the gaps, we feel that we have enough information to both understand and keep the story moving forwards. All we're actually told, to my recollection, is that the Shu queens maintain the given name of the first queen of Shu Han rather than their mother's name to unify the family and to maintain the status symbol of the royals. The information we've been given from this that's immediately relevant to the story is an explanation as to why the character doesn't take her mother's name, so we're not confused or distracted by that as we read on, but we also know that Shu Ha, or at least its aristocracy, is a matriarchy, that the Shu people still feel a great respect for their first queen, implying further that there is a great respect for heritage in the country, and that the Shu monarchy feel the need to remind people of that first queen for what is probably a fear of unsettlement in their power and therefore a need to remind people that this is their 'birth right'.

In my book, there are futuristic technologies made possible by the blending of science and magic, such as a scanner that can identify several genetic markers and is connected to a national database in order to identify anyone, that is used very similarly to a passport system, as well as by the justice system. But it's not necessary to explain the set up of the database, or that the earliest generation of the scanner was developed in the 16th Century, because that doesn't move the story forwards. Instead, I focus on the impact that the technology's usage has on one of the main characters, who has to have routine police and governmental contact because she witnessed the destruction of her home and the murder of her family at age 10. The case is so famous that at the equivalent of passport control to know that her information is about to appear on that database and the person is going to know what happened to her is deeply stressful for her, but there are no alternatives because this system is considered far safer than any paper-based system that could be cheated or faked. My aim is to actually say that the scanner recognises the person and brings up their information so that I can use it to move the story forward through the emotional response of the character, whilst letting the reader infer anything else about the system. I also don't have to tell you that the technology has been around for centuries, but if I have a stranger to the technology describe it and casually mention that 'Generation 18' or something similar is written on the side, you know that it's been around for an extended period of time.

I hope this made sense and was somewhat helpful, I thought I wouldn't go into too much detail and instead split this into multiple posts. Thanks for reading, and if there's anything in particular about worldbuilding you'd like me to talk about let me know and I can give it a try :)

#grishaverse #leigh bardugo #six of crows #crooked kingdom #worldbuilding #fantasy books #fantasy writer #writing a book #fantasy #fantasy world #book analysis

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charmixpower · 10 months

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You guys ever notice that Bloom, Stella, and Aisha don't exclusively have hobbies related to their source of magic, but Flora, Musa, and Tecna hobbies are almost exclusively related to their powers?

What do you guys think are some hobbies for Musa, Flora, and Tecna that aren't exclusively related to their magic????

Here's some ideas from me:

I always imagined that Musa has a love for all types of performances from her mother, this includes acting! She's embarrassed of it tho. Musa can sew and often recycles old clothes to look better. I think Musa also really likes telling stories though her art?? I think that would go outside of music too, she likes stories

I think Tecna would be an alternate history person after seeing earth, in a normal way, please don't bring up the WW2 bros I cannot handle that. Tecna also seems like she'd hella be into anime, power of friendship like a drug. Tecna would also love most puzzles. Tecna would eventually get into karate I think XD, that or one of the boys would see her trying to do her little fighting moves and drag her into class with them

Flora obviously loves chemistry and potiology and good for her honestly. I think actually learning more than one language is kinda uncommon in magix bc you can buy a translation charm but I think Flora would be into learning different languages the normal way. Helia absolutely gets her into paper artwork and stuff. I think Flora is also a bit of a collector, she owns so many things that she sorta picks up

Plz tell me your own thoughts too!!!

#winx club #winx musa #winx flora #winx tecna #rus chatters #winx headcanons

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writingquestionsanswered · 11 months

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I have fandom original characters I want to convert to their own story but I’m not sure how, their like interactions, conflict, plot is all planned out but I don’t know how to figure out world building (it’s a urban fantasy) without A- being to close to the source material or B- being over complicated / not making sense for the plot

5 Ways to Create an Original World for Fanfic OCs

There are many different ways to approach this, so we'll walk through some of the key steps in figuring out what will work best for your story.

1 - Look at the Story Needs - Perhaps the best place to start is to look at the needs of the story in terms of genre elements, plot points, and characters. For an urban fantasy, we know we're looking at our world or a similar one, and a city, suburb, or town as the primary setting. We also know magic and the supernatural will play a role in this world, along with mythical creatures and a protagonist with a foot in both worlds. So, next we look at your plot and the major plot points/events to see what elements are needed. For example, if your antagonist is going to be a supernatural council, you know you have to flesh that out, including how and where they operate. Or, let's say the climax takes place in a big factory where some of the main characters were exploited as workers. We know that industry will play a role in this setting, so that and the specific factory are things you'll want to flesh out. Finally, look at character needs. Let's say it's important that one character lives on a houseboat... so we know the setting needs to be on a body of water. Or, let's say one of the main characters is a college professor and some of their most important scenes take place at the college--we know you need to flesh out the college setting.

2 - Find a Reasonable but Altered Approximation of the Canon World - If the canon world is space and the main setting is a spaceship, try putting it in the ocean on a marine vessel or ocean colony. The ocean and space have a lot in common in terms of being vast, dangerous, and relatively unexplored. Marine vessels and ocean colonies have a lot in common with spaceships in that their closed, self-sufficient environments filled with a lot of people in a relatively small space. So, that would be a reasonable but altered approximation of the canon world. For your urban fantasy, if the canon story takes place in a big modern city, try setting your story in a similar city but 150 years in the past or future. Try moving it to a city in another climate/region or country. Or, move it from a modern city to a modern small town. These alternatives have much in common with the canon setting but plenty of opportunities to make it something new and different.

3 - Do a Canon Mash-Up for World Ideas - Let's say your fan-fiction is based on The Mortal Instruments series, but let's also say you've been binge-watching Game of Thrones lately and are really enjoying it. Is there some way you could merge the two? Take a world similar to GoT (let's say King's Landing or The Citadel specifically) and have your urban fantasy take place there? What if it's a contemporary version of one of those places? Or, what if you take the Seven Kingdoms/Great Houses concept and move it into a modern city setting? There are lots of possibilities here for finding a new world for your fan-fiction-based story that still keeps some of the necessary world building details, just in new and interesting ways.

4 - Turn the Canon Situation On Its Ear - Let's say you wanted to take your Star Trek OCs and write them into their own original story, but obviously you can't use the world of Star Trek as your setting. Well, what if you took Star Trek and put those people into our current world or a whole different setting. What would their lives look like? How would that affect your OC characters? Or, for your urban fantasy, again using The Mortal Instruments as a canon example. What would happen if TMI took place on a generation ship? What would the roles of the characters be and how would the plot play out? How would that affect your original characters?

5 - Do a Zero Draft Exploration - Last but not least, just start writing. Don't worry about building the world ahead of time. Start with a really basic idea for how to take your character out of the canon world/setting and see where it takes you. Even if you feel like you're writing chapter after chapter without anything special about your world, or with a world that's closer to canon than you'd like, just keep with it. Write to the end. Because you could literally be in the climax or denouement when your brain goes off in this unexpected direction, and suddenly the whole new world of your story falls into place. Even if it doesn't work it's not for nothing, because it helps you become more intimately aware of the needs of your characters and story, which will help as you go back to step one and rethink things.

Happy writing!

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spaghettificationandpretzels · 1 year

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Writing Resources: Chronic Pain and Illness

Sp's resources for Content Creators Materialist

Trigger warnings for discussion of chronic pain and illness. Other authors are more than welcome to add their own points and I will update the link in the masterlist as more is added. Alternatively, send me an anon ask or DM if you want to remain anonymous. I have more than one chronic issue myself, I will use the block unbutton if you're an ass about this.

Chronic pain and illness have little to no representation in fanfiction. If you wish to add these to your story and you don't experience the subject yourself, please do research using medically accurate sources.

Patient Care and Health Information - The Mayo Clinic. Look up the condition in the search bar.

The NHS website Look up the condition in the search bar.

Another good resource is forums and subreddits.

2. Even people with the same condition have different experiences, be careful not to make blanket statements.

3. Women, POC and members of the lgbtqia+ community are less likely to get treatment, more likely to be treated like drug seekers and are more likely to be misdiagnosed or have to wait much longer for an accurate diagnosis. Similarly, their issues are more likely to be blamed on mental health issues and hypochondria.

4. Someone living with a chronic condition may not have a 'normal', or what they consider normal may be disordered. Some people with chronic conditions may not know what not being in pain or being well-rested is like. When I was younger and before my current treatment, I was never hungry or out of pain, this shocked people when I told them, it was as normal as breathing to me.

5. Doctors can suck, some people are outright terrified to get treatment due to past experiences. I was treated like a drug seeker once and now get the shakes before seeing a new doctor for fear of being called an addict.

6. The things people experiences do not care what you have going on. They can steal happy moments in a flash and render someone unable to leave their home, it's common for someone with a chronic condition to need to plan everything down to the second (or feel like they need to), cancel at the last minute or worry that they won't be able to enjoy something they have looked forward to.

7. We are not looking to be babied, I know my own limits and will express them. There is a line between a character being caring and infantilising. Having said that, there are times when I haven't expressed my needs for fear they will be ignored. If you are writing a caretaker scene or character be careful to ensure the other person still maintains their autonomy.

8. Empathy, not sympathy. Sympathy is looking down at someone in a hole and telling them they can climb out, empathy is getting in there are helping them out. Sometimes the best thing someone can hear is "I have no idea what you're going through."

9. Chronic conditions are systematic, it's not just pain, it's also brain fog, being unable to sleep or stay awake, having problems controlling emotions, and changes in appetite and sex drive.

10. There is never a magic cure, chronic conditions are a part of someone. Making them disappear doesn't mean a happy ending because, in real life, they don't disappear. It doesn't make someone less than others if they don't get better.

Part Two: Chronic migraines

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aliceinclockland · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Magicians and their Ceremonial Clothings

Welcome to Episode one of my random Cardcaptor Blabberings (or blabblecaptor— it's a working tag title), a "series" where I talk about random Cardcaptor things without doing that much deep diving because I hate too much research.

Since I'm notorious for starting things and not being consistent to the point of not even continuing what I started, let's see how this one goes. 😆 I'm also bad at words so wish me luck.

I'd like to start this off by saying 2 things:

this all started because I saw Sakura's pointy hat and got reminded by Kaito's ceremonial robe... then got reminded of Eriol's robe right after.

this isn't a serious analyzation of their outfits, given the reason i wanted to blabber about this is their pointy hats. also I'm more of a Nadeshiko when it comes to fashion: so far from the word 💀

Lastly, take this as a silly post while I try to learn how Tumblr works. I don't want people to use this as a source (or anything similar) because at the end of the day, this is all just silly typings of someone who excels in associating the most random stuff with each other without being able to explain why.

With all of that out of the way, Let's get started!

lold what i said earlier, the moment i saw Sakura's color page in Chapter 74 my mind went straight into Kaito's robe, and when my brain went to remind me of Kaito's ceremonial robe colored page, it immediately went to Eriol, and then started to compare the three, asking myself about their similarities aside from the initial idea of this entire post, the pointy hats.

starting off with the robes, all 3 of them have their attires in the color black. idk why it's like that, but it makes the gold in their clothing shine more i guess 😆

the patterns the clothings have also are (mostly. just in case if there's a part where it's not) symmetrical, visibly seen within the designs on the torso parts (in this case, Eriol & Sakura's chest (?) part, and Yuna D. Kaito's back). I could say it's the magicians' insignia but just in case it's not I'll just say symmetrical symbols 😅

but, surely that's not the only similarities, right?

well, aside from the pointy hats™ and the color scheme & patterns their robes have, I also realized that they're also all powerful magicians~

Eriol is Clow's reincarnation, and according to various Cardcaptor characters, he (Clow) was the most powerful magician to ever exist (but also the most fucked up one as well, i guess.)

Given that Clow's reincarnation were 2 people (he thought he could divide his magical abilities between them), Eriol still (unfortunately) got all of the magic, and most of Clow's memories, literally passing down his title of being the most powerful magician onto Eriol.

This manchild can do lots of things, and his memory of his past life helps him excel in some of everyday skills a "normal child" would struggle with (ie. baking, drawing, sewing, speaking a language, etc). But, no one knows that— not even Sakura until he told her that himself.

also I'd like to point out the fact that despite a lot of his robe's designs were in gold (color, who knows if it's really gold? I don't.), the lining of his outfit is in red.

not sure if Clow's robe is similar (if not the same) or anything but if it is, has his robe been passed down from generations before him? and if so, which side of Clow's family was the robe from?

Yuna D. Kaito is also a powerful magician— in fact, one of (if not the) highest ranks in the Magical Association. (that's the D. in his name— it wasn't his middle name and in fact, Yuna D. Kaito probably isn't his real name) He can do lots of things, but he specializes in Time Magic... which is considered a taboo since you'll get a fucked up alternative world when YOU fucked up using that kind of magic... and also a shorter life-span but let's not delve much into that so this post won't go to the depressing direction 😁

And in regards of his robe, one can argue that the robe isn't really exclusively HIS, since you can see in the picture I've used that there are other people with him wearing the same clothing (assuming it's his clan's) so i suggest burning their headquarters down to ashes to make it YDK's own robe 😆😆

note: a kind friend in the comments pointed out my mistake of associating Yuna D. Kaito and Lilie Shinomoto's clans as one: their clans differ from each other. Yuna D. Kaito's in particular are a congregation of magicians that aren't blood-related and are officially referred to as "Magic Association".

i have no idea what to call his or Lilie's clans yet, but for now I'll refer to those as their respective clans 😅

Now onto the main Protagonist of the series: Sakura Kinomoto. In Tomoyo's words, "The only Cardcaptor in the world"

Started as a girl that had little magic that managed to grew stronger and stronger, then now having one of the abilities Clow had— creating cards (or new magic) on her own.

Though one can argue that she won't be able to do that if Yuna D. Kaito wasn't pulling the strings in the background, keep in mind that Momo said she saw right past Eriol's magic protection [to contain Sakura's magic]. Plus, in the Sakura Arc (where she technically created new cards but under a "template"), Eriol was pulling the strings as well and yet her powers still managed to grow, probably beyond people's expectations.

Her ever-growing power might be hard to control for her, but she's doing her best to utilize it in protecting the ones she cherishes the most.

Now the upcoming argument about Sakura's"ceremonial attire"... well, technically Sakura doesn't have one, and you can't really call that outfit a robe, but most of the details in a ceremonial robe (at least CLAMP's robes) present: the neutral color, the symmetrical design, and the gold lining/design.

I like to consider it her own ceremonial robe— made in a very fitting and unique image of Sakura, that only she will wear.

speaking of different, there are other powerful magicians that doesn't follow the same "ceremonial outfit" pattern so I thought I'd show them too!

here we have the Shinomoto Ceremonial Outfit, worn by the beautiful Akiho Shinomoto in this color page!

sorry about the picture if it's not clean... i tried so hard to find a textless one (same as yuna d. kaito) but unfortunately I couldn't.

now about the details aside from the pointy hat: the neutral color + gold lining & symmetrical detail scheme is there, but the difference with the 1st three and their robe is that the neutral color used with the Shinomotos' were white, as opposed to the first three who used black.

i know you've seen this already but since I'm talking about Lilie here in specifics I'd like to put this here are well: a kind friend in the comments pointed out my mistake of associating Yuna D. Kaito and Lilie Shinomoto's clans as one: their clans differ from each other, and that Lilie's (though only officially referred to as "most ancient magician clan in Europe") clan is blood-related, as opposed to Yuna D. Kaito's.

again, no idea what I'll call their respective clans separately yet, so I'll probably refer to them as their respective clans for now— though i have a few ideas xd

another difference is that the hat may be a bit pointy, but it's not as pointy as the three, and that the hat has three pointy things instead of just one.... okay, maybe not that pointy, but, still pointy 😅

okay that's too many pointy, let's get back on track 😁

the difference is blatantly obvious about this one, and I really can't cross Lilie Shinomoto out from one of the most powerful magicians CCS has ever introduced, since she had strong premonition powers and she was also considered a very powerful magician that's feared within Yuna D. Kaito's Clan. I mean it would take lots of powerful magic to be even able to cross time and dreams for that long just to tell Sakura about the truth in their (now fabricated) timeline?

but i wonder why is their robe different than the others?

we'll get back to that later, if i remember it. 😆

speaking of pointy hats™, you know a magician who doesn't have a pointy hat?

He's none other than Li Clan's next leader and Sakura's most important person, Syaoran Li!

one can never talk about ceremonial outfits without remembering Syaoran's iconic ceremonial outfits! with S because he has two— 1st one (in the pictures) being the original clothing he has, and the 2nd one Tomoyo made for him that was inspired by the one he used to have.

our little wolf is special~ from being Sakura's rival in the Clow Card Arc to being Sakura's most important person? He has learned so much and grew stronger along the way.

now about the details: his clothing doesn't really follow the usual attire pattern: the dominant color of his robe is green, the designs are indeed symmetrical, but the linings are both orange and yellow instead of the usual neutral pallete... his hat also doesn't have a pointy thing on it and instead has a hanging detail on the back.

"what about the attire Tomoyo made for him? it has 2 pointy things!" yeah well you're right, and as much as I gave the effort to add his Clear Card arc ceremonial outfit, I'm realizing now that it's not really an official robe now, is it...

about the clear card ceremonial attire, one can argue the same thing as they thought about Sakura while reading this blabber (if anyone has gotten though this far), "That isn't even a ceremonial ROBE". and you're right, it isn't... since it was Tomoyo's work, inspired from the original one. 😅

so think of it the same way as Sakura— made in the fitting and unique image of Syaoran, that only he could wear.

I guess the main couple of the series have that one as a similarity in regards to this random topic I've thought about. 💚

sooooooo what does this mean? why is his so different than the others?

is he not as powerful as the ones listed?

well. probably.

but he's not entirely powerless— his entire bloodline is directly related to Clow, and in addition, his mother Yelan Li is also a powerful sorceress. So they're powerful.

I mean would the Li Clan even let someone not as powerful as Yelan to be the next in line to lead? Of course not, since being able to have magic and to be able to properly control it are probably some basic requirements to be even considered as a candidate.

But in CCS at the moment, his magic wasn't enough to turn all of the Sakura Cards into those little orbs he kept on his compass. He's even having a hard time converting just one. And if I remember this correctly, he was aided by her mother (by casting the magic he needed in the bears) when he snatched the Sakura Cards from their master.

I'd say he's not as powerful NOW probably because everything happened too fast, and that he didn't have much time to make his magic stronger to get at least within Sakura's power level. Besides, he has lots of potential, and we all know he's a strong one so it's about just a matter of time until he reach his full power.

Now this entire post got me thinking about things as I was typing it.

Mostly they're questions I had to ask, like "okay, now what?" "Why did I do this?" especially because the original plan i had was to only have Eriol, Yuna D. Kaito & Sakura here but I thought I'd be unfair to the Lilie & Akiho, and Syaoran since they both have their own as well...

I really didn't think that one through when I started typing, but the more I think of things to type, the more I asked myself, is the ceremonial clothing an indicator of how powerful you are?

and it's probably a "duh." moment, since the ones who have robes are part of clans AND are also powerful.

(note that Clow was from a union of a European Magician AND an Asian Magician so imo- technically he's still part of BOTH clans, if each of his parents were part of one)

it's probably more of "if you're in an association with lots of other magicians", considering the fact that some of the ceremonial clothings were passed down to the living blood-relative of the family— hence why Sakura doesn't have one and the rest has.

though eriol with that ceremonial outfit can be a bit questionable since he's a reincarnation n stuff, and so far I don't remember ERIOL (capitalized bc I've been linking him to Clow, but I'm talking abt him as JUST him) being part of a clan since he worked independently (as far as I can remember), from what I can recall it was mentioned in the anime that the ceremonial clothing resembled Clow's... correct me if I'm wrong, though.

with the additional input i got from Cinzia (the friend who also pointed out the difference between Akiho's & Yuna D. Kaito's clans),

I also now wonder if the colors used in their robes reflect their intentions? or, since Lilie & Akiho's clan has been around for ages, how long their bloodline has existed?

because if it's the former, then it really won't make sense for Sakura & Eriol (though Eriol is once again, questionable... since his previous body as Clow isn't particularly... good nor he is also evil— at least from my perspective), and the latter makes more sense in general.

another one question i have is the explanation for Meiling's ceremonial clothing? like do they give different styles of ceremonial clothes in the Li Clan based on your gender? your magical abilities? or how closely-related you are to whoever leads the clan? i mean, i know she's an anime-exclusive character but I still want to know because I'm curious...

lastly, i wonder if Nadeshiko has one... since she is also a powerful person (she really doesn't do much sorcery stuff as far as i can remember), though the extent of her magic is unclear like Lilie, it's clear that she's also powerful because she can still do lots of things even after life.

IF you're one of the few people who finished reading this i just want to say thank you, and i hope everything made sense since i am very bad at explaining my thoughts 😭.

I think that's it, my brain is tired now and i want to go back to sleep again so good day to everyone and until next time, if there will ever be a next time 😆

and, cut! 🎬

#blabblecaptor #cardcaptor sakura #cardcaptor sakura clear card arc #card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura clear card #clear card #clear card arc #yuna d. kaito #akiho shinomoto #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #eriol hiiragizawa #lilie shinomoto #blabbcaptor

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shuttershocky · 1 year

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I have wrathful cerulean flame brainworms again so now I'm thinking about how Amiya's confrontation with Kaschey subverted how Amiya's destiny as the Lord of Fiends is treated by the story.

It's established very early on in Arknights that Amiya's powers are abnormal even within Terra's fantasy setting, and that the rings she wears that restrain her are for her own good. We were not quite sure yet what her powers really meant at that point, but it certainly looked like more of a curse than an ability.

Later on, we found out just what Amiya really is. The Lord of Fiends is the title of the Sarkaz king, which she inherited from her adoptive mother Theresa, the deposed leader of Kazdel and founder of Rhodes Island.

The Lord of Fiends is known by some as the mythological enemy of humanity, a harbinger of death who will bring about total annihilation. One of Silverash's lines to the Doctor has him saying to put Amiya in chains before they end up crowning her. Kal'tsit has Amiya's body sealed under ten rings at all times, demanding that Doctor must prevent Amiya from unsealing the rings at all costs lest she fulfill this destiny. Even a Sarkaz like Buldrokkas'tee sees a vision that the surface of the world will be blanketed with bones should Amiya be allowed to live and grow up.

These moments are meant to be sad and foreboding (obviously), not just acting as grim reminders of Amiya's place in the world being set even when she's still just a child, but as the alternative to the fact that Amiya and Rhodes Island might not even have a future at all, with Amiya being infected and Rhodes Island being an infected organization created and still partly run by the Sarkaz, the most oppressed group of peoples in Terra.

But this gets turned on its head during the confrontation with Kaschey.

Kaschey believes he lives an existence beyond that of humans. He is an impossibly ancient being of innumerable faces and names, wearing people as masks and their lives as clothes. They are nothing but cattle (uh, burdenbeasts,) to him, lower beings that, in his own words, were born to be ruled. He is not a person, because people die, and he is The Deathless, he is the one who loves Ursus, the very meaning of Empire itself. In his own words, "people were born to be ruled."

No one can touch Kaschey when they can only fight the face he currently wears, hate the name he hides behind. His invisibility is the source of his invincibility, and in turn it is the root of his ego and self-belief as a higher power.

Yet, just like the humans he believes to be above, Kaschey feels fear — fear of the Sarkaz kings. Unlike those who fear the Lord of Fiends through reputation or prophesy alone, Kaschey fears them from something they've actually done.

The reigning king of the Sarkaz has the ability to look into the hearts of people. The kings of old could /see/ him, hiding inside the shells of his victims. They could fight /him/, and not just the people he uses as puppets. The Sarkaz Kings destroyed the idea that the Deathless Black Snake was untouchable.

For Amiya, who is so young, whose lungs were on fire and who was so scared she could burst into tears, Kaschey's fear of the Lord of Fiends was Amiya's moment of courage—a reminder about whose legacy she was upholding by taking this fight, and who chose her to do it. A reminder that part of Theresa is still with her, and can still make the great and terrible shrink back from her name alone.

Amiya may have pulled a magic sword, but it was Kaschey's fear that truly legitimized her as Theresa's heir. If she's just a stupid kid and illegitimate heir by a lunatic king like Kaschey claimed

then why be scared at all?

If Amiya must live her life caught in a vicious cycle of oppression and discrimination as an infected and as someone adopted by a Sarkaz, then why not own it and do exactly as her adoptive ancestors did centuries ago, and what Theresa would do if she were here now?

Call for the Snake by name. Challenge his mastery over the world. Let him know you can see him.

Let him know you can beat him.

#arknights #Also I have this theory that the fear of the lord of fiends is created by Originium itself #Patriot gets the vision about Amiya only when he meets her #and there is hints that the Sarkaz's prophesies are actually born from the originium's intelligence #Originium calls the Lord of Fiends the world destroyer because they will one day defeat Oripathy #but that's a whole other post for another time

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thebibliosphere · 2 years

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Do you ever start something as a joke and lose complete control over your life?

In a world of dwindling hope, love has never mattered more... [<< read the rest of the blurb here]

What is Hunger Pangs?

Hunger Pangs, often shortened to “Phangs” by the self-proclaimed phangdom, is my debut romance novel, published in Nov 2020, featuring a deaf, disabled werewolf, a neurodivergent, mad scientist vampire, and an all-powerful enchantress who is the last of her kind.

It is the first book in a slow-burn, polyamorous gaslamp fantasy romance series focusing on the relationship(s) and antics of the three main characters, Nathan Northland, Vlad Blutstein, and Lady Ursula, as they work to save the world they love from imminent magical and ecological disaster.

The first book primarily focuses on the relationship between Nathan and Vlad, with Ursula heavily alluded to in the next book (Pride and Folly) via some shameless flirting and stolen, impulsive kisses.

No love triangles here. Just three highly competent, world-saving bisexuals sharing the same brain cell the closer they get to each other.

There are two editions of the novel. The Flirting with Fangs edition depicts on-page sexual acts, and the Fluff and Fangs edition which uses alternative scenes/fade-to-black scenes for those who prefer not to read depictions of sex. You can read more about why I decided to do this here.

How Did Phangs come to be?

Like most things on my blog, the original concept began as a joke. My friend and enabler, @jeneelestrange, and I were talking about our least favorite tropes in romance/erotica, including but not limited to toxic “alpha” werewolves, brooding stalker vampire boyfriends, and the absolute profound bullshit that is the Conflicted Love Triangle and Bury Your Gays.

Eventually, it culminated in this post:

(source)

It was meant to be a joke. I really cannot emphasize this enough. It was meant to be a shitpost between friends.

A throwaway ADHD impulse.

Tumblr, however, wanted more of these posts, and like a swarming mass of drift-compatible rats in a trench coat, grabbed hold of my lack of impulse control and Ratatouille'd me into becoming an international bestselling author, and, well, here we are.

I also started writing the series while dying, which I highly do not recommend as a functional creative process.

Absolutely do not start a 500k five-part novel series about love and hope while dying from an undiagnosed genetic disorder. Or if you do, make sure you actually die so you don't have to edit the damn thing. (I am mostly kidding.)

What are the themes/tropes/character dynamics of the book?

In the simplest of terms, Phangs is a queer-polyamorous-paranormal-satirical-romance series featuring vampires, werewolves, and all other manner of creatures that go bump in the night.

It is set in a pseudo-regency meets fake-Victorian Gaslamp Fantasy world, complete with gothic castles, enchanted forests, and just a smidge of industrial coal dust.

Style-wise, Phangs has been described by readers as "like reading the queer, goth love child of Terry Pratchett meets Jane Austen," and I've never been more proud of anything in my life.

If Game of Thrones ascribes to the idea that the night is dark and full of terrors, Phangs is the monster-fucker politely sidling up to them at the bar and asking if they can buy them a drink.

It is also primarily a love letter to fandom, which has led some people to believe it’s fanfiction with the serial labels filed off. But as the person who spent five years agonizing over the world-building, I can assure you this is all very much the product of my weird little ADHD brain picking up tropes, shaking them upside down, and running off with whatever fun and interesting things shake loose.

As already stated, the first book, True Love Bites, focuses primarily on the relationship between Captain Nathaniel J. Northland and Viscount Vlad Blutstein.

The first part of the book primarily focuses on Nathan coming home injured from war and trying to find his place in the world as newly deaf and disabled -- something which alienates him from his werewolf family, who don't know what to do with an injury that can't be mended by a full moon.

While working on the island of Eyrie, he encounters Viscount Blutstein -- Vlad-- a neurodivergent, mad scientist dandy vampire with an enthusiasm for demonic botany and a streak of unfailing kindness as broad and expansive as the sky.

It's not so much love at first sight for the pair as instantaneous lust hampered by the restrictions of polite 1880 society and old ingrained prejudices that make them think the other couldn't possibly be interested in them that way. They're just misreading all those heartfelt stares and sexually charged chess games.

(The love is requited, your honor, they're just idiots.)

Both characters are explicitly queer/mspec, as is Ursula, who drops into their world like a magical atom bomb going off, but not before she spends her own parts of the book desperately trying to figure out what manner of dark entity is killing the magical shrines around the world that keep the world alive.

Thematically, the series touches on many things, but the book’s overriding theme is love. Romantically, of course, and love between families, both found or otherwise. But also love as an act of courage. As a choice. An act of defiance in dark and troubling times, and what it means to be loved and belong even though you’re different.

Especially when you’re different.

Both of you...

And I really fucking hope you enjoy it.

To read the full synopsis and check out the heat ratings, buy links and content tags, go to www.joydemorra.com

#Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites #what is Phangs?#What is Hunger Pangs?#Joy Demorra #links #death mention

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caught-in-a-tism · 1 year

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Corruption

I was struck with inspiration as I lay in bed last night. I'm gonna write it as a rule for dnd 5e but the concept could be adapted to similar games easily.

The basic idea is to sometimes replace damage with Corruption Dice (spooky), which are subtracted from d20 rolls and sometimes cause surprise damage.

(plain text is rules jargon, purple text is me saying stuff)

Concept:

This mechanic is meant to emulate various forms of magical curses as an alternative to damage. In my head it's something that can be inflicted on players if you want to create a sense of impending doom without just damaging them.

It adds a numeric way to simulate indirect harm that spooky things might cause. Just damage can get boring so this is something to heighten vibes and force players out of their comfort zone. The intended effect is to make players feel like something bad is coming, or like they're being forced by some supernatural energy to accept harmful consequences.

Added bonus is that it can mitigate insane modifiers that high level players end up with.

Mechanics:

Corruption is inflicted on characters (or creatures generally) as a number of dice. These dice are not rolled but are added to a pool. For example, if a creature takes 3d6 corruption, add 3d6 to their total corruption and don't roll them (this could be a written tally or a kept as a pile of dice in front of the player). A creature with a non-zero amount of corruption is referred to as corrupted.

This pool of dice remains until spent, or until removed by the lesser restoration spell or any effect that removes curses. Whenever a corrupted creature makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, they can spend some of it by rolling a number of corruption dice and subtracting the total from the initial roll. When they spend corruption in this way, they cannot spend more than 3 dice on any given d20 roll.

Alternatively, a corrupted creature can spend up to 3 corruption dice during a short rest, roll them, and take damage equal to the total.

When a corrupted creature makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw and rolls a natural 1, they must immediately spend all of their corruption dice at once. When the dice are spent in this way, they deal necrotic damage to the corrupted creature equal to the number rolled.

Implementation:

Corruption can be quickly inserted as a replacement for damage. It can appropriately be inserted into the spells or abilities of fey, fiends, or undead. One use I would recommend would be to use it instead of damage for magical traps or include the mechanic when designing cursed magic items. For a direct conversion, consult the following table:

If this makes it more complicated than necessary, or you don't want to mix types of dice, just do 2d6 for every 5 damage.

Lair/Legendary Actions:

This is a good place on a stat block to sub in or add corruption. In addition to damage conversion, you may replace any condition caused by a special action (such as frightened or paralyzed) with a number of d12s equal to the challenge rating of the creature. If you wish to make a creature more powerful, choose one or two of these actions and add d6 corruption/CR to the existing effects (allowing a wisdom or charisma save to avoid it if you want).

Regional Effects:

Unhallowed land, the shadowfell, the territory of a cursed or undead creature, or the domain of an illegitimate ruler may all be places where corruption permeates the air and soil. Use it when it feels right or for a specific antagonist or faction if you want them to have a unique flair. When a creature finishes a long rest in a corrupted place, they must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a success, the creature feels a vague sense of unease but suffers no other effects. On a failure, the creature gains 2d6 corruption.

If the source of the corruption is a sentient creature, they can choose up to 13 creatures that they know to be within the affected area. When any of those creatures fails their saving throw, they instead gain 1d12 corruption for each night they have spent in the affected area.

Monster Traits:

Following are a few example traits that use corruption. They can be added to the statblocks of appropriate creatures. Alternatively, they can be used as identifying features of all creatures in a specific faction or from a specific place.

Aura of Evil. Any creature that starts its turn within 10 ft. of [this creature] must succeed on a DC [8 + proficiency + Cha or Con] Charisma saving throw or gain 1d12 corruption.

Corrupted Strikes. [This creature]'s weapon attacks are magical. When [this creature] hits with any weapon, the target gains 1d8 corruption. A creature immune to necrotic damage or curses is immune to this effect.

Foul Magic. Any creature that fails a saving throw against a spell cast by [this creature] also gains 1d8 corruption. A creature immune to necrotic damage or curses is immune to this effect.

Tainted Blood. A creature that touches [this creature] or hits it within a melee attack while within 5 ft. of it gains 3d6 corruption.

Items:

Below is a single example magic item, to show the way this mechanic could be used to represent curses.

I think it's neat because the ability to use corruption to your advantage encourages a player to seek out dark and dangerous situations. It makes corruption a little less scary, but it uses the meta to push the character to find opponents to inflict it on, lest they suffer the consequences of their actions.

Narrative:

In darker campaign settings, corruption can be used in roleplay to underline thematic elements. The DM may inflict 1-3d8 corruption on any character who gives in to dark desires, betrays someone's trust, does something impious or blasphemous, or witnesses something grim and horrifying.

The DM and players should decide ahead of time exactly which actions or events will lead to corruption, and how severe they have to be to incur a given number (or size) of dice. Consider which type of roleplay you all want to encourage, and which themes should be emphasized.

Player Options:

Spells and abilities that deal damage can easily be converted, either on a character by character or spell by spell basis. Spells that this change would be most appropriate for include arms of hadar, blight, chill touch, cloudkill, dissonant whispers, summon celestial, summon undead, toll the dead, etc.

You could also modify (or make up!) class features so that they inflict corruption instead of damage, or in addition to other effects. A vengeful Cleric's Channel Divinity might inflict corruption upon sinners, even a Rogue's sneak attack might inflict supernatural woe in place of additional damage.

If you, as the DM, allow players to cause enemies to gain corruption, remember that you should spend it more liberally than a player might. You can and should roleplay as that monster or enemy, but consider that a creature that will likely not survive the fight may make the players feel cheated if it never chooses to suffer the penalty.

Variants:

The damage type that corruption deals could easily be changed to highlight different themes. Change it to psychic damage for a more horror or lovecraftian setting, change it to poison damage it you are using it to represent toxic substances or diseases. Perhaps you want to use it to represent radiation poisoning, in which case it could be radiant damage (if not poison or necrotic).

Another idea I like is to make the corruption represent horrible luck. Because the damage is triggered by natural 1s, the DM can describe it as a consequence of some kind of accident and declare an appropriate damage type. For example: a character that rolls a natural 1 on an attack may fall on their sword and take piercing damage equal to their remaining corruption, or a natural 1 on the Constitution save triggered by a green dragon's breath may represent a character gasping and breathing in additional poison damage like an idiot.

Another change, for a more sword and sorcery setting, could include allowing spellcasters to accumulate corruption in exchange for more potent magic. Whenever an arcane caster casts a spell, they may gain 1d12 corruption and increase the level of the spell by one without expending a higher level slot. This could also be a mandatory feature, to make all magic a form of dark bargaining.

This has not been play tested so you may also find it necessary to balance it by including maximum corruption (perhaps dealing its damage if it reaches that threshold), limiting it to d6s or even d4s, or making it less deadly. If the potential damage seems too high, random, and/or disruptive to combat balance, it could be spread out. To do so, change it so that each time a corrupted creature takes damage, they spend one die and add it to the damage.

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