#i hate how when my hair was short like AFRO short like....super short

[silent-raven13]

Together... Again.

(AU: Kinda like It's Over- It's a breakup one-shot but a bit diff)

A few days ago...

Hobie breathes heavily in the restroom, he stares himself in the restroom's mirror. Seeing himself looking so upset, he didn't want to be here. There was a knock at the door, "Coming." He quickly dry his hands to find Gwen looking worried.

"You okay? Was this too much for you?" She asked with her blue eyes on him.

"Nah, nah. I'm good, I just needed a moment." He had his black trenched coat still one, his hair into look thick wicks. The sadness in his eyes said it all to his friend.

"Hobie, it's okay to not be here. I can tell Miles, you weren't feeling good or-" Hobie chuckles, "No, he will never live it down. I need to just get this over it." He pass Gwen before going back to the party seeing everyone, background jazz playing in the background and chatter as people eat snacks and drinks wine.

The Punker walks passing anyone he knew seeing his main goal in the middle of the room, his inky eyes on Miles. Beautiful Miles. His precious Sunflower that he let go so long ago.

Miles wearing gold and white silk color shirt with white pants and shoes. His hair kept in a short afro with a fade at the side. Hobie yearns to touch him, hold him. It's been so long.

"Hobie, my man!" Hearing Pavtri's voice on his right ear, the punker quickly felt the his Indian friend giving him a big bear hug! "I'm glad you could make it! Oh man, I miss you! Where have you been?"

"Ugh!" Hobie grunts, then gently pack his friend, "Umm, I've been good. Just busy being Spider-man, ya'know?" Clearly lying, he didn't want to see anyone, especially him!

Pavtri pouted having his short wavy hair covering on of his face, he bread a bread on his face and became a muscular buff male being almost tall enough as Miles. "Hahah! I get it." Being such a bubbly person, then turns over, "Miles! Hobie's here."

Miles finally turns from the conversation he was having with his guest, then he excuse himself going over to the two. "I've noticed, bae." Miles went over to kiss his fiancee on the cheek, then he gave a happy sincere stare at the punker. "I'm so glad you're here. It means a lot." Miles gave him a hug being so happy his ex/friend made it to his Engagement party. "Like the goatee, man."

"Yeah... um, heh. Been too long, Sunflower." Hobie intake his ex-partner's scent one last time, he hug him for what felt like an hour. He misses him.

Pavtri gave a small smile with a nod, "Well, glad you can make it. We have a large buffet from Indian to Puerto Rican! Have you ate?" Miles pulled away to hug his fiancee's arm as the two hold hands and smile at each other.

"Oh not hungry, mate. Just ate before. I've been very busy as Spider-man and stuff," His dark eyes landed on Pavtri and Miles holding hands being so close to one another. "Umm, sorry. Forgot to say Congratulations! How long you two been together?"

"Thanks, buddy! Um... I think we're going on five years." Pavtri grins widely at Miles being in love, "Right, Anbu?"

Miles happily kisses his soon-to-be husband with a chuckle, "Right!"

Hobie can say he hate it all of this. It felt so wrong! Never in a million years he would see one of his best mate and the love of his life being together! To this day, he pray they would break up so he can have a chance to be with his Miles again. He knew he regretted leaving his Sunflower, when they were in their late teens, he should've done better. To neglect the love of his like that, only to miss him so much.

Pavtri happily drag him around to meet their other friends, the punker didn't know what to do but endure it. He saw how many were happy with Pavtri's and Miles' engagement party, being super excited for the wedding.

When Hobie found out about their relationship, he had asked Gwen about Pavtri's girlfriend he deeply love for many years. Gwen had told Hobie that Gayatri left Pavtri to pursuit her career in the fashion industry, and wanted to explore herself. Somehow Pavtri and Miles find themselves falling in love, Hobie never understood the two's love. It was all odd, yet here they are about to get married.

It upset his stomach in the worst way possible quickly going out in the balcony of Mumbatten, hearing the busy streets, feeling the cold breeze against his face. After twenty minutes, Miles found him being along and brought two glass of wine. "There you are, man. Pav wanted you to see the ice sculptures."

"Heh, never take you to be the type for all of this." Hobie leans against the balcony rail being overwhelmed by everything.

"Ha, Pav always wanted a big wedding. I'm letting him have his dream wedding." Miles handed him a glass of wine, they both clink their glasses. They took a sip of their wine. "Mm, good, huh?"

"Yeah, wow. Excellent wine." Hobie took another sip at the bitterness.

"I know, I wasn't a fan but it grew on me. One of my favorites." His ex hums with his finger rubbing the rim. "Hey, I wanna say... I'm proud of you. I know this can be hard, but I'm glad that we can move past it all. It's been years, y'know?"

"Yeah, we're blokes in our early thirties..." The punker said as the two looking out the city and feeling the night's wind.

"Hah, yeah. You know, this means a lot to Pav, too. That you can accept us."

"Can or I have to?" Hobie finally asked before he finish the glass of wine, he saw the balcony door shut, "I... I still love you, y'know."

"I know." Miles sighs with his eyes sadden as he took a sip of his wine.

"Then why continue this?"

"Because I love him, too. Hobie, you and I were a thing of the past."

"I told you before you started dating him that I wanted a second chance, and you turn around and kept going with HIM!" He began with his heart hurting, "I am better, I realized I messed up! Why couldn't-" Miles cut him off, "Your too late, Hobie. I told you from the moment I told you about me and Pav. I don't want to be with you because you didn't love me enough to fight for us, to be with me, to love me! You forgot how much a jerk you were to me? I can't be with you. Pav makes me feel special, safe, he loves me from the moon and back and you- you were never capable of that."

"But I am better. I'm grown! I can be-" Miles finally faces him with his eyes filled with pain which made the punker stop ranting, "I... I'm sorry. I just... I'm happy for you that your happy, but... I still love you."

Miles frowns, "Hobie, it's too late for us..." Hobie could only feeling his heart shattered.

Moving forward to Present time!

Every well experienced Spider-hero was busy fighting off a variant of the Kingpin was inventing a machine to time travel. Miguel shouted, "Stop him! Do not let him finish the machine!"

Miles fought the large man seeing how strong he gotten. "You can stop! I will have my way!" Kingpin shouted in anger.

Then Gwen and Pavtri came tackle the large man down along with Peter trying to tie the man down. Hobie quickly took down several of the villain's goon, until he spotted the time-travel device, it's like a sleeker version of the Gizmo, and in black and gold.

"Wait, stop! Let me go! I need my family back! I need to change the past!" The Kingpin begs being pinned to the ground.

Family back? Hobie's dark eyes look at the watch being mesmerized by it as he hears the Kingpin talking, "It will get me another chance to be with my family. I need my family. I am nothing without them! My wife... my son!" He weeps on the ground.

Another chance!

Hobie quickly put on the Time Traveling watch on his wrist, he hears Peter said, "We'll let the cops handle him."

Miles turns to Hobie going over, "Hobie, do you have the device?"

"What?"

"Let's give the device to Miguel. He wants to study it before destroying it..." Honey-brown eyes squint as he slowly read his ex-boyfriend's expression. "Hobie..." He let his hand out to get the device.

The Punker took a step back, staying quiet. He could get another chance. He can fix this! He'll be able to be happy again! Him and his Sunflower forever together!

Miles's pressed his lips together taking his hand back with a serious tone, "Hobie, whatever your thinking... don't." Now the rest of the Spider-heroes around them heard.

The next thing Hobie did was type the date and push the button releasing a large Celestial Cerulean blue with electric sparks ripping through their reality.

"HOBIE!" Miles shouted as the portal release a large burst of powerful wind and loud swooshing sounds.

Miguel growls out loud, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BROWN?"

"HOBIE STOP!" Gwen shouted.

The punker looks at Miles with sadden eyes, "I'm so sorry, but I have to fix this." His ex-partner's eyes widen in shock before he could stop him.

"HOBIE!" Miles shouted out loud for him being the last voice he hears.

Hobie jumps into the portal seeing time turning back with black and blue colors of space and time being static.

Back to 12 years ago; Hobie was 20 years old, and Miles being 19.

When the thirty two punker finally jumps into the past. Just before his young self is about to make the most stupidest mistake. The watch took him to HQ on Earth 928, he had to play off being another variant of Spider-Punk as he search for his younger self and young Miles.

He spotted them in a lone hallways by themselves. As he recalls this memory, this is where he and Miles fought about their last break up. He remembers they would say they were done only to be back in mere seconds. He stood behind the walls as he listens.

Young 19 year old Miles crying at his boyfriend, "Hobie, I'm telling you that I'm tired of waiting for you to come around. I'm tired of being treated this way. It's not fair to me. You don't love me."

"You sign up for this! Why couldn't you leave then?" Young 20 year old Hobie spoke coldly, "I never told you I wanted this!"

"But you and I were so good together from the beginning! What happened?" Miles sniffs trying to wipe his tears.

The young punker scoffs, "Sunflower, I've done nothing wrong."

"You're ignoring me! You don't love me the way I-" Hobie snaps at him, "Then break up with me! That's what you want, huh? I don't need you! I'm fine with-" Older future Hobie finally uses his web to shut the little punk off, never had he felt the urge to beat his younger self till now.

Miles' honey brown eyes widen as he saw his boyfriend being web. "You got a lot of nerve talking down to him like that." Older Hobie finally came out of the dark to reveal himself.

Young Hobie ripped off the web glaring daggers at him, "Oi, dis is none of your business. What are you? An older variant of me?" He snorted.

"Bae, stop. Let's just-" Older Hobie said in a stern voice," NO! You," He pointed at his younger self, "You and I need to talk."

"Pftt, no. I don't follow-" The older man didn't give a shit and yank younger Hobie's ear having to drag him off, he turns to Miles, "He loves, y'know? He loves so much but he got some fucked up demons he can't face. it's not you, Sunflower... it was never you. You were too good for him... maybe better but..."

Miles' big doe eyes gleams at him with hope as tears fell down his face. Younger Hobie shouted, "Oi, shut the fuck up, mate! I ne-" Older Hobie cut him off, "He will always love you and will never be able to move on... If you do break up with him, please give him a second chance, okay? That's all he would ask from you."

"Okay..." His little Sunflower said in soft tone being surprised and confused.

"Now, me and you! Come on, lad. We got a long deep conversation to handle!" Hobie drags his younger self into a dark office room, harshly shoving the little punk into the wall.

Young Spider-Punk winced being slammed against the wall, "Aye, mate! Are you fuckin-" Older Hobie put both his arms side by side between his younger self's head, leaning over with a hissed, "Clean up your shit, bruv! You're gonna lose the only person worth living for! Act right, before it's too late or else I'ma beat the shit out of you till you come to your senses."

"Are you threatin' bruv? I ain't gonna do shit. If he wants to leave, he can fuck off! And ha- pretty cute telling him, he's the love of my life when he was nothing but a simple fuck!" He shoves back the older Hobie in anger, "Fucking try and fight me. I dare ya."

Older Hobie made a fist in anger, "Look, I know your like this because your using heavy drugs, you think your not loved. You're not worth it. You're trying to make the mess before it happens." He looks away knowing all of this.

Young Hobie cover his left arm covering the part where he injects drugs into him, looking surprised if not frighten. "How-How did-" Older Hobie finally looks at him with a serious tone in his voice as he walks closer to him, "Your afraid of things being too good, then it comes crashing down to shit! I know, you're afraid of it happening because you think it's you! You think your the reason things will go bad that's why your trying so damn hard pushing your Sunflower away. I'm here to tell you to get clean, go get therapy- not just for him but for yourself, too."

"Pfft, you're full of bollicks, mate! i-" This time the older man slams the younger Spider-punk against the wall hearing it crack, then gritted his teeth, "LISTEN TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT! Do not let him go! If you do..."

"If I do?" Younger Hobie sneered with his eyes glaring murderous at the supposed variant. "Huh? What?"

"You'll regret it for the rest of your life! You will be all alone watching him fall for someone else, moving on while you're in the background watching over him with a bottle of whiskey!" Older Hobie lets him go as he turns away thinking about those sad years, "Your wonder how stupid to not listen to him, to change! Everything will be too late by the time you realize, he'll marry someone else while your forgotten like the mere shit on your boots." One hand cover one of his face.

Why was he doing this? His younger self is too stubborn. Nothing will change by his words, nothing will get through it. Was he meant to be alone.

Younger Hobie stood with a hard gulp, his dark eyes on the older Hobie variant. The more he study him, he looks too depressed, too different than the other Hobies he met. This one spoke so much truth about him like he KNOWS him! How? Why?

Stubbornness kicking him, wanting to make him to argue back, yet his Spider Senses warning him to stop. His gut begging to trust this man. His heart beating so fast like adrenaline or panic going high gear. "You're not a variant, are you?" He finally asked with another swallow of his salvia.

The older male finally face him with his eyes already telling him the truth, "What gave it away?"

"You speak a lot of truth like you were stalking me or sumthin'." Younger Hobie finally sighs with his hands in his pocket, "Either way you should mind your business."

"This business is my business, lad!" Older Hobie glares at him with a harsh tone, "I am you from the future! Look at this, bruv!" He shows him the black watch, "I time travel to warn you about the future, about us! How we will be completely alone and-" Then the door slams open revealing future Miles shouted, "DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" Younger Miles follow behind him!

"Sunflower!" Older Hobie's eyes widen in shock at him, "What- how?"

"I jumped in before the portal got closed!" Older Miles scowls being too upset, "How could you do this? Do you realize you're messing with time?"

Younger Hobie quickly went over to younger Miles seeing the two grown ups. Young Miles look at his partner, "Crazy how they are our variants, huh?" Finally speaking to his boyfriend.

"They're not our variants... they are us from the future." His boyfriend took out a cigarette to smoke.

"What?" Miles' eyes widen then staring back at their future self.

Future Miles points his finger at his ex-partner, "You have no damn right to do this! You were the one that left! I moved on! I found love and your here to ruined it! You're one selfish man, Hobie Brown!" His voice shows signs of anger and frustration.

"I'm only trying to save us! You told me you still love me! Yet you're gonna marry PAV!" Future Hobie shouted, "I'm trying to fix this so we don't have to go back to our awful present!"

"Wait, Pav." Younger Hobie asked out loud being surprised.

Younger Miles only remained silent, because all of these reason were already the main issues on their relationships. Being marry to Pavtri was a bit crazy for him.

"Awful present! You only think that because you pushed everyone away. You became a loner! You pushed me away- the love of your life? The one you make all these fucking claims!"

"I did it to get better!"

"No, you did it because you thought you were ALL THAT! Now, you're lonely and a bum! I'm not playing with you, we're going back before you fuck everything up! I'm going to marry Pav and that's it!" Future Miles sneered in anger having hot tears running down his face, "No matter what I do you always come back to me like a fucking virus! Why? Why can't you just move on like you wanted!"

Younger Miles finally saw his future self so upset, so lost... this was there future. Him and Hobie all is pain and never happy? Will he ever be happy with him? Was there a chance to stay and fix it? He felt tears coming down his cheek, touching it to realize he's in pain.

"I can't because I love you! I'm a changed man. Why couldn't you give me another chance! You were the best thing that happen to me! I know I've neglected you! I treated you like crap but-" Future Miles shook his head, "No, I've moved on. You broke up with me! You and I were done the moment you said you were sick of me. Sick of us! That you claimed you can do better- that you found better! I work too hard to move on from you! I'm happy with Pavtri, he makes me feel safe, loved, our love is special! Nothing like us! We were toxic!" Future Hobie stare in disbelief yet so hurt. He to was shedding tears.

"Oh my god," Younger Miles finally said getting all their attention. Younger Hobie was busy trying to ignore all of this while smoking his cigarette, he only stayed to watch the drama. Then, Younger Miles turns to face his boyfriend being so shaken, "Is this what me and you will be?"

"What?" Younger Hobie looks confused.

"Oh my god, this is it! This is our future!"

Older Hobie looks up being terrified by his younger ex-boyfriend. Future Miles too look panicked, "Wait, no. This isn't what you think! You two, weren't supposed to see this! This- Fuck, you guys are supposed to break up from a few days from now-" Younger Miles started to breathe in panic as he took a step back from fear, he even got away from his boyfriend, "So we do break up! We-We are just stuck in this bullshit, huh? I can't move on, because YOU," He turns to his boyfriend, "You will come back to me after all we been through and YOU are going to leave me, even though I try! I try and TRY!"

"Wait, Sunflower. This is all bollocks You believe this will-" His Sunflower shouted out loud, "Get away from me! You and me are done! i can't- I need to move on! I- I have to get away! I can't- I won't!"

"Wa-wait!" His boyfriend looks in shock at the way his boyfriend looked at him. For the first time, his eyes opened at the realization of being alone and how his Miles' stare at him with pain and heartbreak. "Sunflower! SUNFLOWER!"

"NO, I CAN'T BE WITH YOU! WE'RE BAD FOR EACH OTHER!" Younger Miles stumble back having to cry.

"No, listen! Look at me." Future Hobie grab younger Miles to face him, "Breathe. Relax. You will be fine."

"Why did you have to come here?" Younger Miles broke down crying. "I'm so tired of trying to make this work! Why couldn't you just leave everything alone!"

Future Miles stood silent as he wipe his own tears, he noticed his engagement ring disappearing. Was their present already changed?

"I'm so sorry, luv. Understand that...-" The older man stood quiet, "I'm sorry." He hugs younger Miles, He thought he could changed the past, but this only prove nothing has changed. He's a selfish man.

Younger Hobie saw Future Miles' wiping his tears in silence. He's done with everything. The look of disappointment, hurt and frustration were all shown through his body language. This made the young punker's nervous- dare he say scared for the future. He didn't want to see this kind of Miles, this broken person who seems so tired and depressed.

"Hobie, let's go. We can't stay here any longer." Future Miles said in a serious tone.

"Fine." Future Hobie pulls away from young Miles, "I'm so sorry, luv. Don't cry no more, not even for me. You're a strong lad, you know? I always admire that from you." He wipes his younger ex's tears from his face giving a sincere smile. "Do what you need to do. I'm sorry for trying to change something for myself..."

Younger Miles nodded with his hand rubbing his other arm being quiet. He didn't go near his partner or try to look at him.

When the two future beings stood together, they open the portal to their timeline. Their past self watches them go.

12 years back to their Future

When the two came back, Miles saw a pissed off Miguel. "BROWN, YOUR IN BIG TROUBLE!"

"Yeah. Yeah. Suspend me if you want." Hobie tosses him the watch, "I don't care. Bunch of bollocks this doo-hickey!" Miguel caught the the time travel watch. "Morales control your partner!"

"What?" Miles asked in shock.

Gwen said, "Did you hit your head, dude? You and Hobie are married!"

"What!" The two said in shock. The two couldn't believe it, they were married for years! Gwen and Pavtri had to tell them that they broke up for a while until they decided to be together, again.

It left the two in disbelief by the mere conversation with their younger past had completely changed everything in their lives. Miguel had to explain to them that they were lucky nothing major had shifted the future, forbidding them to ever going back to "fix" it, again.

When they got to Miles' apartment back on his Earth 1610, he saw that it was no longer his space, but with him and Hobie. It seems like they share a long beautiful past. Miles stood being disbelief, "Looks like you got your way, huh?"

"I... I didn't mean... not like that." Hobie looks at one of the photos of him and Miles' wedding, "Do you- Do you remember anything yet?"

"No... not yet. Miguel said it'll come back or mix between OUR future and this future." Miles rubs his temples being so lost for words. "I... I'm trying hard not to be mad at you. I know, you wanted to talk with yourself seeing how in our relationship, not all of it was bad. I'm sorry for calling us toxic."

"I'm sorry for not letting you go when I know you needed it." Hobie turns to hug his ex or rather now, husband, "I never meant- I just wanted another chance to show I am a good man. If you want we can get a divorce and I'll leave you alone."

Miles looks at him for the moment, then sighs, "I... I'm willing to try again seeing how things are. I know, I've been harsh with you even though I still felt the same way with you. I always did love you, y'know."

Hobie let out a tearful laugh of relief a big smile on his face before he buries his face into his neck, "Are you sure? You want to take the leap with me, again?"

"I'm willing to be together... again." Miles hugs him tightly and kiss his head. The two dance slowly in a circle pretending to hear music as they wanted to be held by this. "I wonder what fixed us."

"We'll remember it." His now husband softly said, "I do love you, Sunflower. I will be the man you deserve."

"Oh I'm expecting it." Miles giggles, as they pressed their forehead togethers.

"I love you, so much." Hobie kisses him.

Back to the past.

A few days passed after the incident.

Young Miles sat by himself in a random spot in HQ, after meeting his future self he decided he needed time for himself. Leaving Hobie was a difficult thing to do, but this was greatly needed. Something about his heart and Spider Sense told him this was for the best. So struggling with his heartbreak, it wasn't too bad.

Maybe it was long over due in his opinion, though...

The reminder of his older ex-boyfriend telling him that he always loved him, it felt nice. To finally know somewhat that his Hobie did love him or loved at one point. It didn't matter now. All that matters is himself and healing trying to be himself. Maybe he should take on a hobby like writing or knitting? Eh, who knows! This was the journey of Miles G. Morales.

Just when he took a bite of his sandwich, he hears heavy footsteps. "Aye, Sunflower..." Hearing his ex-boyfriend's voice. "You got a minute?"

Big doe eyes meet dark inky eyes, then he nodded in silence. "Okay."

The Punker sat down next to him, he had his own lunch of fish n' chips instead he pull out his cigarette to smoke. He kicked his legs as the two sat in silence, then he gave a weak chuckle, "Hah, now I know how you feel when your being neglected, huh?"

"Get to the point, Hobie. I'm eating." Miles chews being busy trying to eat his sandwich and chips. "I got a lot to do today."

"Heh, right... always Spider-man." The punker inhale his cigarette then bite his bottom lips, "I'm hurt, alright?" His ex-boyfriend looks at him waiting for more. "And it's not because of the break up- well, it's part of it but, I think I got a lot of fucked up shit from my past that isn't helping me... I self destruct too much, y'know?"

That is true and Miles thought he could fix it with his love. "And you think you're the main reason- well, your not. A lot have to do with me mum, siblings, me being homeless- surviving... Anyone I met I had to study them, observe them. To know they're not shit. You, Gwen, Pav- everyone we knew and love help me make me own family, yet... I'm not happy- or I'm on edge all the time. Being with you was the greatest thing in my life, luv."

Miles set his food to the side to listen some more, his eyes on his ex. "You were the light I needed to keep going. Yeah, the beginning of us was so good- so amazing, but..." He shook his leg being nervous, his voice shaken, "I felt if I shown you my true self... you would hate me or if our relationship was too good then boom! Everything gone to shit... I rather cut it off before it starts. Seeing our future self- my future self, the linger smell of liquor and cigarettes- Fuck." He weeps with his hand on his face harshly wiping off his tears.

His Sunflower hugs him tightly, "Shh, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I fuck it all up because I'm too damn stubborn. Now I'm going to be alone while you're forced to be fucking depressed! Shit, luv. I'm so sorry." He weeps into his Miles' shoulder being so afraid and small. "I'm using drugs, luv. I'm an addict, I do shit to hurt me so I know I'm here- that I deserve it. I hurt you but I never mean too."

"Hobie, baby. Listen to me, I will always love you. Maybe this is good for us to find help. Fix what we need, to find ourselves." Miles cup his ex's face staring loving at him. "You know, I always love you for you even with your flaws. I'm sorry, I was never harsh to you about your addiction or put my foot down when I needed you. We're both at fault. Seeing our future selves should inspired us to do better, bae."

"But you're gonna be with someone else, luv. I-" Miles kisses him, "You know, we can still change the future. Nothing is set in stone, bae. Hobie, I want us to get better. Maybe this separation will help us and when we're ready we can be happy. I want to believe in us... in our happiness!"

"Luv, Sunflower, you're the best thing ever happen to me. I love you, so much. I'm willing to change for us. I want to be the man you deserve, I'll get better for us." Hobie hugs his Sunflower.

"Don't worry, baby. We'll be together, again." Miles said being happy for their future, all he knows it will be bright and perfect the way they always wanted.

#punkflower #miles morales #hobie brown #spiderman #across the spider verse #flowerpunk #fanfic #spider verse

[sonofsallyjackson]

“They couldn’t even make her blonde”

I remember walking out of the theaters with my friends after seeing the PJO movie when it came out.  We had a million complaints since we were obsessed, but the loudest had to be“And she wasn’t even blonde.” It was such a major complaint when the PJO movies came out that Alexandra Daddario had to dye her hair for Sea of Monsters.  But I feel like her hair wasn’t the problem even if that’s what everyone said.  Daddario just didn’t embody the Annabeth we’d all grown to love.  She was too old, too sure of herself, not witty or harsh in her remarks, and a million other things that fit the vision for the movies but weren’t book accurate.  My friends and I were in middle school couldn’t articulate the many ways she felt foreign to us and instead simply said “Why couldn’t they have at least dyed her hair blond?” as if that would magically fix the more glaring problems we had with the movie.   (Spoiler alert: despite being blonde, she felt even less Annabeth to me in SOM)

I’ve been happy that most of the response I’ve seen to Leah Sava Jeffries has been pure excitement about how she’s going to play the role and what this means for the little black girls meeting Annabeth for the first time.   A short look at Instagram shows me that unfortunately the racists in our fandom are are still alive and well and also please dear god let Jeffries have a strong support system.   But I also saw some complaints that haven’t been hostile or even that mad about casting but more just disappointed that Jeffries’s race is sign that once again the other aspects of Annabeth’s character they love so much just aren’t going to be there “because they couldn’t even make her blonde.”  And after being burned so badly by the movie adaption, I can understand the wariness.

But the point of color blind casting is that the character’s appearance is the least important thing about them.  Rick Riordan has been intimately involved this time in casting and the fact that Jeffries “quickly became my number one choice for Annabeth” makes me absolutely ecstatic to see what she’s planning on doing with the role.  Also her reel on IMDB has her asking to be protected from the monsters and I just about lost it crying because I could see her hunched in a garbage can with her hammer asking Thalia and Luke for that protection. But then her REL stuff makes me laugh so she truly has the range.

And I get that people might need a second to grieve their visions of the character when they don’t match reality.  (Saying goodbye to afro-latino!Percy even when I had all the proof in the world that Walker Scobell was going to match the vibe took a second. It was a moment of reflection for me.  Heck realizing that I hadn’t actually absorbed Luna Lovegood’s description when reading and instead just put myself in the role was a trip).  As long as they don’t mention it to the children cast (and I will throw hands if they do), I can respect that not everyone is going to be super excited from the get go. But I think it’s still important to unpack why Annabeth being blonde is so important and not other things like her sass or her height or any of the other million things that make up Annabeth.  Why is being blond her most important identity trait when all Annabeth ever said was that she hated people underestimating her for her appearance, a trait almost all POC can relate to? 

#anti PJO movies #pjo tv show #Leah Sava Jeffries #casting announcement #annabeth chase #anti Alexandra Daddario #I mean only sort of #just mentioning that I didn't think she was a book accurate Annabeth in the movies

[itstonyowo]

i hope i am an enigma to alot of you.

#got percieved as a girl.today. #anyways its no ones fault i simply never tell people when i fluid my gender BAM one day i am a boy the ne-ive said this exact thing before #anyways the next im girl the other?some random guys gender #i love to say this but if anyone sees this yeah my pronouns r still she her:) #i dont like being called he him because.....gender #i think its funny how at first alot of the people i talked to on here thought i was a boy because of the name tony #this stuff still happens to me #got told tony is a 'boys name' on a game #i just stared....and told them to stop talking to me #like LOL i have never spoken to you ever.and this is the first thing you say to me? #i hate how when my hair was short like AFRO short like....super short #do not percive me as masculine.ever #if someone misgenders me one more fucking time on royale high i am actually going to be ballistic #ape shit.like misgender me again and im just gonna start hissing at people #i do that.......everyday....so no change #i think because my hair was short. and i had an afro alot of people thought i was a guy for some dumbass reason

[chaoticacademicdude]

Chaotic Academia: Black Hairstyles

Let’s be honest sometimes it’s difficult to find a hairstyle that really fits your academia aesthetic especially if you’re a black girl (or boy or non-binary).

So here I’ve compiled some of my favorite black hairstyles that I think would work wonders for the Academia Aesthetic 🥀

Disclaimer: I don’t know the technical/specific terms for these hairstyles so please don’t hate me lol

1) Mini Afros

I love mini afros they give that clean polished look. Like you work for a library or museum in a specific section.

2) Locs

Now I personally can’t afford to get them done and it’s too much time to do on my own but if you have a trusted stylist or you’re just really good at it these are pretty perfect for those days when you roll out of bed to study intensely or go to a meeting you forgot about.

3) Bangs

Bangs are the best for that chill innocent adorable librarian look so if you’re wondering whether you should get bangs go for it!

4) Short/ shaved

I don’t actually know what to call this look but I’ve always loved that like super short and dyed look I just think it’s amazing. The vibes are perfect for adventurer or barista with a dark secret (...that might just be murder).

5) LITERALLY ANYTHING YOU WANT

Look if you’re academia it doesn’t matter how you style your hair just be passionate about learning and you’ll do fine. This post is merely for inspiration so do with the ideas what you please

#blackgirlacademia #black girl aesthetic #academia aesthetic #dark academia #chaotic academia #light academia #adventure academia #black girl beauty

[demonwifey]

What about reader coming home with a new hair cut and beetlejucie thinks it's super cute. He wont stop messing with readers hair.

Hey guys, it’s been a minute since I’ve answered someone’s ask. And my dumbass thought I accidentally answered it privately to it’s lovely sender above👆🏽when actually it was in the bottom of my drafts🤦🏽‍♀️. Basically I had a mini panic attack but we’re just going to ignore that. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!💜🖤💚

Warnings: Cursing, hints of sex

Word Count: 2,256

On a ‘regular day’, when you came home, you would be tackled into a giant bear hug and hounded with kisses by your boyfriend, Beetlejuice. But for some reason, that wasn’t the case today. When you walked in, everything was quiet. Unusually quiet. 

“Hey, Beej! I’m home!” You called loudly, thinking maybe that would trigger him to come out, but still nothing. 

Maybe he was gone, you thought. He did have the tendency to pop back and forth between your house and the Netherworld. You let out a small sigh while taking off your shoes. Great, now you would have to find something else to entertain yourself with while he was gone. TV? Reading? Sketching? It all sounded really boring without Beej around to make you laugh in the middle. You took a second to run a hand through your hair while making your way to the bedroom.

You had a hair appointment this morning but it was more of you visiting a friend while she did your hair. One of your close friends from high school was in beauty school so she would often ask you if she could use your hair for practice. You never minded, obviously. It was almost part of your own style. You loved changing your hair every chance you could. You’ve had long to short, dyed every color in the rainbow, etc.

So Beej wasn’t around to see your new hair, he’ll probably pop back in within the next day or so and you could show him then. As you walked to your bedroom, you pulled the hem of your shirt over your head, wanting to get into some comfortable pajamas as quickly as possible. As you turned into the doorway, you were met by an interesting sight. 

“Welcome home, babycakes.” Beetlejuice spoke in a seductive tone, wiggling his eyebrows along with the words. 

It took everything in you not to laugh at the demon man and his dramatic display he had waiting for you. Beetlejuice laid on his side, propped up on one elbow. Spread around him, what looked like to you, were a plethora of dead rose petals. The lights were turned off but the man had a few candles scattered around the room. With just enough light, you could see that he was wearing your silk lilac robe. And you could tell, unfortunately, that his wide body was stretching the robe out of place. To top everything off, you noticed the pink packaged condom resting between his teeth. Using one hand to cover your mouth, trying to hold in your laughter, you began to speak

“Well, hello to you too, Mr. Juice.” You slowly began to walk into the room. Beetlejuice eyed you up and down as you got closer, immediately noticing that you were only standing in your bra. 

“I see you’ve already got started. I like it when a woman is ten steps ahead.” He muffled out with the condom still sitting between his teeth. You rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed. 

“How can I be ten steps ahead of something I didn’t even know was happening?” You grinned as Beetlejuice slowly crawled his way over to you, trying to look overly seductive as possible. Not that it mattered, whatever he did, he would always be the sexiest demon around in your eyes. You threw the shirt in your hand to the side, then used it to take the condom from Beej’s teeth once he was close enough. You gave the man a quick kiss on the lips before speaking again. 

“What’s all this for? Please don’t tell me I forgot something important.” You asked, feeling Beetlejuice’s hands snake around your waist. You giggled as his arms started feeling up and down your body. Just as he was about to say something, he stopped and gasped. You turned to look at him, thinking something was wrong. Oh god, did you forget something important? While scrambling your brain trying to think of any important events in your relationship, you felt one of his hands graze through your hair. 

“Babes...your hair.” Beetlejuice gawked as he got closer, if that was even possible. You smiled, already knowing what he meant. 

Usually, your hair was styled into a thick coily afro. While visiting your friend, you thought you were only getting a shampoo and deep condition. But instead, she told you she had to practice straightening natural hair. At first you were a little worried because you hadn’t put heat on your hair since high school. You were now 23, making your natural hair journey 4 years so far. Your hair was strong, thick, and healthy just like you wanted for so long. You had been a little nervous about the heat damage that could follow behind. But in the end, you said “fuck it” before letting your friend do her thing. And the finished product made you forget about any worry you had before. You smiled at Beej, using your hand to move some of the hair around.  

“You like it? Andrea said she had to practice some straightening so we ended up with this?” You said, giggling at Beej’s dumbfounded face.

Beetlejuice could only look at you in awe. Not long did his look of admiration turn to a look of mischief, however. The demon man moved his head and locked your lips in a long kiss before grabbing your waist, throwing your body to the middle of the bed. You laughed as Beetlejuice used his full waist to straddle her. 

“I think it looks good, babes. But it’s a shame that it’s gonna get messed up in a few minutes.” Beetlejuice spoke. You felt his hands reach behind you to undo your bra. You giggled before using your free hand, the other still holding the mystery condom, to grab Beej’s jaw. 

“Oh, no. We’re not doing anything until you tell me what’s with this big display and why you’re wearing my robe.” You laughed. Beej pouted when you stopped him. 

“I just wanted to do something special for my favorite breather. And then you come in looking like a sexy snack and just made everything even better.” The demon man explained while also blowing a raspberry on your collar bone. “Aaaaand, I took your robe because it makes me feel sexy.”

You couldn’t hold any more laughter in after that. God, this man was too much of a goofball for you to handle. 

“Okay, fair enough. But that still doesn’t explain this.” You waved the small wrapper in front of Beej’s face. He only gave you a cheeky grin. 

“Oh, I stole that out of Charles’ and Delia’s room. And look, it's flavored~” Beetlejuice picked the wrapper out of your hand and turned it around. He wasn’t lying. There was a heart shape covering most of the silver wrapper and underneath wrote ‘strawberry flavored’. 

“Beej, don’t go around stealing other people’s things. Especially their condoms.” You groaned, hating the fact that you now had knowledge of the couple you saw as a second set of parents using flavored condoms. You heard Beetlejuice chuckle before continuing to kiss your collarbone.

“Babes, you are worried about all the wrong things right now. Just sit back, relax, and let the B-man work his magic.” Beej said as he kissed his way down your body.

“Hmm, I guess seeing you in my robe did do something for me.” You spoke, a laugh not far behind after feeling Beej give a small bite to your hip.  

****

You laid your head on Beetlejuice’s chest, huffing out short breaths as you tried to get your breathing back on a regular pace. Beej laid grinning like an idiot, one arm wrapped around your shoulder while the other held your hand on his chest. Once he heard your breathing calm down, he turned to look at you, the cheeky grin still eating at his face.   

“Hot damn, babes. Had I known you’d go crazy like that, I would’ve stolen those condoms weeks ago.” The demon man laughed. You side-eyed him, finally getting your breathing under control. 

“Don’t get smart, Beej. If you wanted to try something different you could’ve just told me.” You said, adjusting yourself more comfortably in his arms. 

Beej chuckled at your comment, leaving you two to sit in silence for a while. After a minute, you felt his arm that wrapped around your shoulder move up. Soon his hand was combing through your hair. His fingers felt so soothing against your scalp, practically making you purr under his touch. 

“Ugh, I bet my hair looks like a mess right now.” You spoke, nuzzling more into his chest. “All that work put into straightening and I probably just sweat my curls right back in.” 

“I don’t know, babes. Looks just fine to me.” You could almost hear the smirk in his voice. You felt his fingers swirl some of your locks. 

“Oh please, anything that indicates we had sex looks fine to you.” You spoke. Beetlejuice only shrugged his shoulders in agreement. Although you wanted to stay in this position with him, you soon heard your stomach grumble. You’d forgotten you hadn’t had anything to eat except breakfast and half of a granola bar all day. 

“Alright, I need some food. Ooh, I think I’ve still got some ramen in the cabinets. I’ll make one for both of us.” You spoke as you moved to get off the bed. 

Surprisingly, Beej didn’t try to hold you longer. Usually he’d put a tight grip on your arm and not let you go until he was completely ready. After locating your robe thrown somewhere on the floor, you wrapped in around you while heading to the kitchen. You laughed to yourself when you noticed it was a little bit bigger from Beej stretching it out with his pudgy body. 

You took your time in the kitchen, waiting for the water in the kettle to heat up quickly. While you leaned your body against the counter, you ran on hand through your hair. And just like you suspected, your curls were just about coming back in. Oh well, you’ll probably have to re-straighten it again tomorrow. At least Beej liked it. Speaking of, you saw his familiar body walking into the kitchen...still entirely naked. Your eyes widened as you looked to the side, seeing the curtains to your front window were still open. 

“Beej! Go put some clothes on, my neighbors will see you!” You exclaimed. He turned towards you, all glory out in the open. 

“Come on, sexy. It’s pretty selfish of you to wanna hide this perfect piece of man candy from the rest of the world.” He grinned, confidently walking over to you. You rolled your eyes as he mimicked your position against the counter. As much as you wanted to tell him not to lean his naked ass against the counter, you realized there was no point. Soon, you felt a hand that wasn’t yours run through your hair. Nuzzling into his touch, you smiled at the demon. 

“You really like it, huh?” You spoke. He matched your smile, hand grazing through the ends. 

“Oh yeah, doll. It makes you look different. Like a sexy business woman.” Beej spoke, still mesmerized in your hair. 

“Okay...I’ll take that.” You giggled at his comment. 

Realizing that the water was getting close to boiling all the way, you told him to go back to the bedroom. You weren't far behind as you finished everything up in the kitchen. Once you both got settled in bed, you listened to Beetlejuice go on about his day while he sloppily ate. You’d lose some of the story while he scarfed down a hand full of noodles and tried to talk with his entire mouth full. All you could do was laugh while simultaneously dodging traces to spit here and there. 

Finally the day was dying down and the sun was setting. You found yourself laying next Beej while he sat up, back against your headboard. Your arms were wrapped around his waist and you nuzzled your head against his side. And yet again, you felt his hand run through your hair. You would’ve said something about it but meh. What Beetlejuice was doing was surprisingly soothing. Feeling his finger pick up some of your hair and then watch the locks slip through his fingers. You hated that it made you feel like a cat that enjoyed being petted, but dammit it felt so good. You weren’t really sure if it was Beej or the TV in your room talking as you felt yourself dozing off. 

“Aww, falling asleep, doll?” You just about heard Beej speak in a lowered tone. Although his voice had a raspy tone, it helped soothe you even more. You nodded with a soft moan as his fingers massaged your scalp gently. 

“Yeah, cause somebody keeps playing with my hair like I’m a cat. It feels really good when you do that.” You spoke softly. You heard him chuckle while gently pulling at some of the ends.

“Well I can’t help it, kitten. You just look so adorable.” Beej cooed, making you feel just a little bit more excitable than you’d like to admit. 

Letting out another small moan, you decided not to let yourself get too worked up. Only getting closer and using your arms to tighten the grip around his waist. You let yourself slowly drift off while still feeling his hands entangled in your hair.

Hope you guys, enjoyed!💜🖤💚 

#beetlejuice x reader #beetlejuice fanfiction #beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice requests #beetlejuice

[normal-thoughts-official]

Raphael and madzie!! please I will sell you my firstborn for some Raphael and madzie content. Like him babysitting and sleepovers and playing dress up and watching Disney movies together. Raphael wearing this tiara and him and madzie playing together. Baking and singing together, going on trips to the park together and Raphael just being so happy.-

-Like if you think about it they are technically cousins🤔 with the whole found family thing, Catarina and Magnus are siblings Raphael is Magnus’ son ergo madzie and Raphael are cousins but they still think of each other as siblings. Raphael is her big brother! Please🥺

ok anon i hope you know that you are literally my new favorite person in the whole wide world and this ask is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. i will literally never shut the fuck up about raphael and madzie i will make this brotp a thing if it KILLS me just you watch

idk if id say they are technically cousins because i don’t know if catarina and magnus consider themselves siblings - definitely family for sure, but i get the feeling it’s more of a “generic” family feeling rather than a Specific Dynamic you know? but either way this is found family so it’s not like family tree/architecture is actually that stiff and matters that much, RAPHAEL IS MADZIE’S BIG BRO idc

and it’s literally canon that raphael is the best, most thoughtful, caring and dedicated older brother so like!!! honestly it’s what madzie deserves. she has a wonderful mom (two if you subscribe to dotarina raising madzie together <3) and underful uncles and a wonderful brother who is always on her side and would do anything for her, and that! is! fantastic! 

especially because like madzie is implied to be used to big families, since iris was going around making an army of warlocks basically lmao and like of course that was an abusive family dynamic but the point is that she was used to having siblings. but she was also implied to be the eldest and now she is the youngest! and she gets to have a nice big bro who takes care of her and plays with her and has her as a priority and i just 🥺🥺🥺

and god not to be a slut for raphael and rosa but i picture raphael just telling madzie all that he could about rosa?? you know??? he’s all like “you have an older sister too, you know? it’s a shame you never got to meet” and madzie kind of tilts her head and asks him to tell her about it. so raphael does. he sits down with her and shows her pictures of the both of them together from their childhood up until her death, and he tells her all the stories he possibly can. he says, “she would have loved you just as much as me. she always wanted to be someone’s older sister. said she wanted to take care of them like i take care of her” and madzie is all like “she sounds sweet. i wanted to know her, too” and raphael tears up slightly and he’s like “yeah. yeah. me too, cariño” and she hugs him

and like not to slut over this but i like to think that raphael teaches madzie about the monarch butterflies and día de los muertos and one day they are playing outside and a monarch lands on madzie?? and madzie calls it “rosa” and the butterfly is just flying over her head, alternating between her and raphael, for the whole afternoon? and raphael chokes up. fuck it all the legends are true, i love this alright

just like.... obviously raphael’s relationship with madzie is not some kind of substitute for his relationship with rosa, because madzie deserves better than that and no one can be rosa but rosa. raphael loves madzie for madzie, because she is sweet but fierce, extremely intelligent and with a playful/slightly mischievous (in a good way) side that is slowly blooming as time goes by and she heals from her abuse more and more. she is also good, endlessly caring, kind, compassionate, imaginative, affectionate. madzie is madzie and that’s all she needs to be. but the idea that raphael has someone to share rosa with, even if madzie obviously doesn’t feel about her the same way raphael did as they never met, but to bring her into this new family in a way... and let madzie knows that she also has another sibling looking out for her, even if from another plane... that’s nice and good food okay. and i think madzie would want to know about her, just like she tells raphael about her other siblings from when she lived with iris, even if they never got to be too close (cuz i doubt iris would risk letting them become very close and eventually realize her abuse and possibly rebel against her) 

maybe it’s madzie herself who brings it up, she asks raphael about the pictures in his home or about his “ave rosa” plaque 🥺 and he tells her about it and makes sure that she knows that he doesn’t love rosa more or less than he does madzie, just differently. they are both his little sisters no matter what

anyway! onto more rapha&madzie focused headcanons. first of all you are so correct about playing dress up and shit, raphael is a SIMP and a sucker for his lil sis so he absolutely will wear a tiara if she asks no questions asked. simon sees it one time and he doesn’t even consider making fun of him because raphael shoots him a glare that absolutely reads as “i double dare you, motherfucker”. not because uwu girly stuff just because he has this whole serious vibe and there he is with a tiara and tiny braids. we stan

also look i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, raphael absolutely learns how to handle black/kinky hair for madzie. he was used to doing rosa’s hair but that was very likely straight or just wavy hair. madzie’s hair texture is different and raphael makes it a point to learn everything he can about how to take care of it and make hairstyles that she might like and won’t hurt her, okay? and yes i know that madzie straightens her hair but i like to think that over time she stops. i kinda headcanon that one of the reasons she did it was to look closer to iris, plus just the fact that as a white abuser i doubt she exactly planted it on madzie to love her natural hair. but over time living with catarina and being closer to a mostly-poc family and seeing maia and other beautiful black women with their natural hair and/or afro hairstyles, she stops straightening it, and everyone encourages her, raphael included. he even uses that, like, “i’ve been learning how to do these hairstyles for you, you know” and he shows her some and she gets so excited about trying them and it’s great

(initially he has catarina’s supervision, because again black hair is important and even if raphael is a moc he’s still nonblack. but catarina trusts him and he’s always so careful and makes sure to always listen to what she says, asks questions and all but takes notes lmao, so it works) 

and baking!!! i mean look madzie is gonna be naturally prone to liking to bake, as a warlock and shit. and if regular kids already play with making potions, warlock kids are definitely even worse, especially because she does see catarina, dot, and magnus doing that all the time so it’s one of the things that she likes to mimick. and baking is basically potion making but edible and solid lmao. but like she loves it, mixing the batter, adding sprinkles, seeing as the textures change and the taste builds and stuff like that, you know? she’s definitely fascinated by it especially because she does it without magic and it’s just, wow, so cool to her?? and raphael as the cook that he is is more than happy to teach her, bake with her, and see her enthusiasm. raphael with oven mitts taking a batch of cookies out of the oven yall. i need a second

and like i absolutely subscribe to genius madzie because LOOK that girl is endlessly fucking smart and so intelligent especially for her age, not to mention powerful and observant and just, she’s brilliant. and with both catarina and magnus, huge nerd extraordinaires, and possibly maia because i like to pepper in the fact that maia and raphael are dating, she gets all the incentive she could possibly want to want to learn about both mundane science and magical theory

but in short like! raphael getting her those chemistry sets for kids, you know? where you have some recipes and you can mix up ingredients and they change color or otherwise change and shit? my friend had one of those when we were kids and my god i loved it so much, i was just fascinated. i think madzie definitely would love it, and raphael knows that she will, so he takes a whole day off for when he brings her this gift because he knows they will be playing all afternoon. and they do! she’s super excited about it and raphael as usual is all careful and teaching her how to do it properly without spilling and taking the measures appropriately and stuff. and it’s super sweet

initially they follow the recipes and raphael’s autistic ass is just delighted to do that, but madzie quickly starts doing some #improv, and again, because she is a genius, she quickly starts to figure out what each substance does. so she’s texting theories, trying out experimenting, seeing if she’s right, trying to asses her work? you know? basically literally a mini scientist using the scientific method and stuff and raphael is so proud of her and in awe of how smart she is and he tells her that she’s the smartest kid he’s ever met and kisses her forehead and she giggles and is just super excited?? 

also sometimes she asks raphael what he thinks and he’s just like “uhhh” because he has no idea lmao he’s just happy to see her do her thing and help her with the practical parts. and she giggles at him and she’s lowkey outraged but again, she’s just sweet and he loves her

i also 100% think it was madzie who figured out a potion to make raphael able to eat (oh look what is this fic that mentions that doing here) because FUCK mundane raphael all my homies hate mundane raphael, the heavenly fire made him a daylighter. and she could see how sad raphael was that he didn��t get to eat at all, especially because he clearly loved food and he always had this sort of longing when they were cooking together, you know? it also made her sad that he couldn’t try her cooking, and he was always telling her that to cook, you need to always taste what you’re making, and once she says “but you can’t do that” and he looked so sad she immediately felt bad about it, even if obviously it isn’t her fault

anyway my point is she knows how much this means for raphael and she wants him to be able to eat human food again, both for him and for herself. so she spends a long time studying vampire anatomy/digestive system, food properties, and magic, and she eventually figures out a potion that he can take before a meal that makes him able to eat. it goes slowly, initially he can only drink, but eventually she does figure out a way to make him eat anything and he just cries like a baby tbh. she is worried for a second but then he takes her in his arms and hugs her fiercely and peppers kisses on her face and says that this is one of the best things anyone’s ever done for him and that he’ll “forever be in her debt” or something that makes her laugh because raphael doesn’t owe her anything, he’s her brother. and he tears up all over again

of course that takes some years but they’re immortal so who cares. and catarina is SO proud of her little genius for that, too. raphael and maia include the potion as courtesy for any vampire who orders food at taki’s and share the recipe and it’s just a small revolution in the vampire world and madzie is already making history like hot damn. GENIUS MADZIE OKAY

but of course first and foremost she is a kid and deserves to be a kid, i just love her being naturally curious and interesting in researching and learning and stuff. but of course they also play a lot, and keep trying to out-cheat each other as she has magic and he has super abilities and the game becomes more seeing who can cheat the most and get away with it than anything else lol. and it’s its own brand of fun

also, raphael keeps trying to get madzie to eat healthy but the second he averts his eyes she’s like “abrakadabra this is now ice cream” and he’s SO frustrated. absolutely nothing can stop her from doing it. “if you eat these carrots i’ll buy you ice cream later”. guess what she can just turn it into ice cream now. your tactics are meaningless

also madzie playing dressing up! and she wants to be Stylish like her mom and her big bro and her uncle magnus but of course she’s a kid so her sense of style is essentially book magnus lmao but raphael 100% indulges her in all her endeavours and helps her make her outrageous outfits and shit. she likes colorful stuff as we’ve seen and he paints her nails and stuff. sometimes she makes herself mini suits mimicking or straight up matching raphael’s and raphael thinks it’s the cutest thing. especially when she like, imitates his blazer but keeps wearing a boa as well or something. aioudjsauihda i love kids and fashion can you tell

and she sometimes picks out clothes for him and guess what? raphael 100% wears them because it’s madzie and he is s o f t for her

and singing!!! and DANCING!!! there is no way raphael can’t dance no matter how hard he tries to pretend otherwise, and between him, dot, and magnus, madzie just loves to dance and becomes a great dancer in no time. raphael loves twirling her around. also him teaching her the jarabe tapatío you can’t tell me that she wouldn’t be all over that shit. the playing with the dress, the bright colors, dancing around the sombrero.... bitch she would love it. and they have so much fun doing their little improvised version of that and she claps and he has his hands behind his back and has the greatest smile on his face and she’s having so much fun

also raphael loves reading for her!!!! and eventually when they move away from reading books with pictures she starts creating her own “holograms” to illustrate the stories with magic, and raphael is so proud of her!! she’s just immensively creative and makes such beautiful illustrations for the stories and as raphael reads she changes around the setting she’s creating and it’s so fun and they both like it so much?? and she eventually falls asleep on his lap and he tucks her in and kisses her forehead and 🥺🥺

she also likes to paint and idk why but i have a feeling that raphael fucking sucks at painting, so that’s funny and he smiles and says that she has so much more talent than him... 

and every time they are together raphael has the hugest smile on, it just doesn’t leave his face for a second. especially when they are playing outside in the sun and he just so fucking happy and basking in the warmth and playing with her, you know? and as madzie grows older, talking and just chilling together as well? you know? he just loves her so much and his cheeks almost hurt by the end and just aaaaaaaaa they are the sibling dynamic we DESERVE and DEMAND 

#raphael santiago #madzie loss #shadowhunters #sh #brotp: a bright new sky #ask #anonymous #long post #like really long i got excited but i don't regret anything #rosa santiago #brotp: they're the same stars in mexico #maiaphael #real quick mention but there #catarina loss

[qedavathegrey]

So, my job frequently has me working with DCFS and everyone at my office hates them. And not without reason. But I could never. There are just too many certified icons on the roster.

My personal favorite was a temporary (brought in from the next district) case worker. I once watched her whip into the DCFS HQ in her Subaru station wagon which she then proceeded to step out of wearing the chicest ensemble I’ve seen in a long time, complete with sunglasses, taking the biggest rip off of her vape. She also had the most perfect, straight, black, shiny hair I’ve ever seen. And it went down to her waist. 9/10 on the witchy scale. 10/10 if you add in that she basically manned her own farm while her husband was constantly away for work. We spent several days together “babysitting” one of my clients she had removed at the DCFS office until placement could be found. Also overheard people at a restaurant talking about how she’s the “only DCFS case worker worth a damn.”

Second on the list: the new(ish) placement supervisor. Also transferred. Probably in her 50s, with clear acrylic glasses and wears her hair in a haircomb. Definitely loves a relaxed turtleneck. Prim-and-proper looking, but with a mouth like a sailor. Always forgets to consents signed, but you can’t be mad at her about it. Is all about “making friends and not enemies” with other organizations, with varying degrees of success. Referred two kids to me the first time I met her like she was my boss, but too fabulous to argue with. Her office looks like it was plucked directly out a magazine.

Third works out of the regional office where she facilitates CIPP meetings. When I tell you this woman is nothing short of a queen, I mean it. Super sweet, but takes exactly -0 shit from anyone. Can turn any negative comment into a strength with its own list of bullet-points. Thorough, organized, proficient. Also chic: close cropped, white-gray afro-textured hair and loose, ethereal attire. Absolutely hilarious. Can spot a lie from a mile away. Exudes power, top-tier “headmistress” vibes. Does basically the same job I do, but 10x better. And I’m not too proud to admit that. And definitely with more couth.

And last but not least, a former case worker who is quite possibly the meanest, most vicious woman I’ve ever met. But don’t assume that means I didn’t love her, because I did. And for those exact reasons. You want to talk about taking no shit? My god. She transferred to adoptions because she said “I’m enough a bitch to actually tell them they’re doing a shit job and need fired” for not getting all these kids out of the system when the opportunity presents itself. Also told me—to my face— that she “fucking hates children,” but got into the job because she’s someone who always routes for the underdog. Used to do intakes at the youth prison: she said it was the best job she ever had. She would get to spend 8 hours with every new arrival, get to know them, learn their story. And then never saw them again. I also watched her nearly throw a chair at a judge. It was phenomenal. She will be missed, but not in a professional capacity, only personal.

[cabin-20]

tell us abt ur pjo ocs!!!

OH BOY. OK. AAAA. so i currently have 5 main ones!! i’m on a pjo rp server w them lmao so they’re the ones i use.

sunni ly - she’s bisexual and got a valley girl accent! she’s the daughter of demeter and she’s filipino/viet/korean, and plays the bass. she ran aaay from cali to nyc looking to start a band but ended up finding out she was a demigod, so yay. she’s very grunge alt punk, and dresses that way too lol. kind of short (5’3) and very snarky! i love her. she’s not super fleshed out yet but i love herrrr. she fights with celestial bronze brass knuckles that a knife also pops out of. they’re adhd!! she’s 17 (most of my ocs are actually lol) she’s got cipa so she doesn’t feel pain, which is convenient in the way she can keep fighting even when injured, but inconvenient when she realizes she’s been stabbed. oops.

avi kollek - they are bi and nb!! they’re afro brazilian and jewish! they’re a kid of hades and very soft. they love pink and bitter foods like dark chocolate and black coffee. they use forearm crutches bc chronic pain, but they turn into double stygian iron swords!! they’re also autistic, adhd, and very gay. the person i’m starting a relationship with for avi is like waaaay shorter than them (avi is 6’3) and it’s so cute 🥺they also aren’t super fleshed out yet but they’re slowly becoming one of my faves :) they’re 17

ciara ha - daughter of athena, although her sheer dumbassery indicates otherwise. she’s got a blue switchblade made of celestial bronze! she loves chemistry and has been kicked out from the athena cabin into the big house basement if she’s doing lab stuff. she’s 18, and a bisexual disaster. she’s kind of an asshole, but she really loves her siblings even if they fight a lot. currently in the rp she’s overexhausted and fighting w her sister (again). her mortal dad was a very famous scientist and pretty much ignored her in persuit of his research. he died from overworking and left ciara barely any money despite being very rich. she’s bitter about him, and has depression. she’s got a mutual crush on a girl named jules (apollo kid) but doesn’t realize it because she’s an idiot. she likes to explode stuff also! she’s korean :)

noel yi - OK I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. he’s the son of hephaestus! he’s korean and 17. he’s got severe ptsd, :( because his mom is an evil asshole who i hate. he was adopted by a man named amos at 15, and he loves the guy bc he gave him a place to live, food, care, and let him work in the mechanics shop they lived above. amos even paid for his transition costs of testosterone and too surgery because ehe’s just that good. noel is trans and gay!! and very much in love with his best friend’s brother, ronan. he also has a samoyed puppy named diesel who is training to be his service dog!! noel loves oreos with a burning passion, and his hair is pretty long. he likes to put it up when he’s working! annnnd he’s got a lot of scars but doesn’t mind. weirdly enough every time he goes swimming, he ends up swimming in his jeans, so there’s that... lol. he also really loved big dogs (hence the samoyed over some teacup puppy) i have an angst plot coming up for him soon, but it’s after noel and ronan start dating. going to destroy all my friends hearts bc they love noel for some reason and his angst is immaculate flavor. muah.

finally, minah teo! she’s my first and favorite. she’s latina and a lesbian, and she’s 18. because the rp server (which technically is all of my characters canons since i made them for the server lol) is set present day and we go by book timeline, she was at camp for tlo at age 7. Oh and she’s the daughter of hecate and the hecate camp counselor! she had a twin named norah but she died in the second titan war :( minah has her mortal mom (yes her mom is also gay, yes all my characters are gay and not white and disabled shush) whom she loves very much!! minah has been going in and out of chb since she was 5, but didn’t attend thhe year after her sister’s death, and all during high school. she returned this year and became cc, and also had some whack stuff happen to her. she met a girl who’s the daughter of athena (and the sister that ciara is fighting with a lot) and they’re dating now :) and uhh she also lost her eye bc she was attacked by karpoi :( she’s ronan’s sister and noel’s best friend, and she’s constantly inbetween both of them crying about how the other hates them or how they are so gay for the other. it’s, chaotic to say the least! recently one of my friends character’s tried to kill her and now she’s also traumatized from that, and then her younger half sister brought her twin back to life for like 5 minutes so minah’s twin would comfort her. so that was crazy. and then minah made friends with someone and they promptly got attacked by a yale and currently she’s stabbed. UHHB YEAH. she also really loves skateboarding and stargazing, and she knows all 88 nasa recognized constellations and the stories behind them!

i’m sorry i have SO many ocs LOL. i will perhaps share art of them soon!! and if anyone from the server sees 😳😳😳 hi lmao. also i’ll probably reblog the server’s tumblr if u wanna join hehe

#lmfao sorry my ocs are my special interest LOL #i habe 2 other ocs who i scrapped tho

[thechildoflightning]

I'm not much of an artist but I really want to draw the sides as you imagine them in your series!! I know you mentioned how patton has dark hair and wears pastels but is there any other notable features with each of them?

First of all- the “im not much of an artist” if you art, you’re an artist. That’s it, that’s all it is. And it would be super cool if you did draw art, but know that there is absolutely no pressure.

As for the characters and their appearances, be prepared for me to ramble…

(look my own series has become my own special interest and its an issue)

Character Appearances in Just Keep Stumbling Forward (baby im waiting for you)

Patton Agnes Wilson

Race/Ethnicity- Black

Height- 5’8”

General Appearance- Patton’s skin is dark, somewhere around a deep oak color. He has wide dark brown eyes and black very kinky curly hair. He cut it real short when he first came out as trans, but he generally keeps it longer now. He’s had dreads, long twists, and an afro. He’s been on testosterone for years now and has had top surgery and pretty much always passes as male. But he still cannot grow facial hair. It’s a thing. He’s got a round (but not very curvy) body and is fat.

Clothes- Patton will wear just about anything, but often pastels, light colors, and whites. Either aesthetically pleasing, or clashing horribly there is no inbetween. Prefers shorts over pants. Very much an overalls person. Will wear skirts but generally not dresses. Often wears more casual clothes. He’s also known for stealing his boyfriends clothes the most, specifically Roman’s worn out t-shirts. Also wears the occasional cute short sleeve button-up with fun patterns or designs.

Roman Hussain-Barlo

Race/Ethnicity- Arab (Yemeni)

Height- 6’1”

General Appearance- Roman has golden bronze skin and deep chocolate eyes. He’s the tallest of the four. He has black hair and generally keeps it shorter on the sides with a bit of length in the front, but it’s really not that dramatic of a difference. It is a mix between wavy and curly. His body is soft and he is slightly overweight. Narrow shoulders, more rectangular in shape than broad. He also grows a beard after college, but keeps it pretty cropped due to fear of racist views of Muslim people and their beards. Has a notable scar on his forearm from his brother attacking him with a whisk.

Clothes- Roman generally wears dark jeans and t-shirts. To work his t-shirts are also usually dark, as he is a theater director. While he pretty much wears the same things at home and work, his work clothes are definitely nicer. Paints his nails a lot. He also wears a necklace with each of his families birthstones on it. Is also not afraid to wear skirts, dresses, heels, etc. It’s not really his style, but he’s done it more than once to make A Statement against the ideas of toxic masculinity.

Virgil Jude Torres

Race/Ethnicity- Ashkenazi Jew, but if you asked him he’d probably just say he’s Jewish and leave it to you to assume he’s white.

Height- 5’7”

General Appearance- Virgil has light sandstone skin that tans easily. He has deep set chestnut colored eyes. He keeps his hair a similar shorter length as Roman. His hair is a deep brown almost black and pretty curly (between Roman and Patton). He’s gangly and has limbs that seem to go places. Seems smaller than he is because he’s always hunching in on himself. He has self-harm scars on his arms, legs, and chest. He also has two long vertical scars on both wrists from a past suicide attempt. He has a scar on his stomach where his liver transplant was. He also has little scars all over his body because they’ve accumulated during his time at the cult. there’s a large burn scar on his back and on his feet almost all the way up to his knees.

Clothes- Virgil covers as much of his body up, mostly due to being self conscious about his scars. Wears black jeans or other dark pants. Band shirts with his notable hoodie, or long sleeves if he goes without it. He’s comfortable wearing more revealing clothes at home. At work, he goes for dark button ups instead of t-shirts.

Logan Kasem Dāwsukpon

Race/Ethnicity- half Thai and part Roma (a nomadic people that have been continuously persecuted, and still are. Better known -inaccurately- as the racial slur “gypsy”)

Height- 5’10”

General Appearance- Logan has light copper skin that tans more in the sun. His eyes are almond shaped and a honey brown color. His hair is a leather black and very straight. He keeps his hair shorter on the sides and longer on top. Generally starts off by buzzing the sides, but it grows out quick and he kind of just leaves it. Logan has a very average androgynous build. He’s the fittest of the four, but still not really muscular. Has good posture and seems to fill up space, so people always assume he’s taller than he is. Pretty noticeable jawline. Talks with his hands, but otherwise generally shoves them in his pockets or fiddles with them.

Clothes- Pretty much like is the Sander Sides videos, bit more color variance. Still stays to neutral tones, dark colors, or black. Wears a tie. Patton has gifted him more than one extravagantly patterned one, and he does wear them, just always with a black shirt or its “too distracting.” Hates all shoes but tennis shoes with a burning passion.

Remy Alan Zurko

Race/Ethnicity- half white and Roma

Height- 6’0”

General Appearance- Remy is very pale and its a fifty-fifty chance if he’ll burn or tan. He has hazel eyes. He has medium brown auburn hair with a bit of a wave to it. Has a dramatic undercut. Generally looks very youthful and androgynous. Tall and has a fairly athletic build.

Clothes- Wears bright button ups that fit the definition of “business casual” perfectly. Generally wears brown, beige, or white pants and shorts. Is not afraid to show off a bit of skin, either with short-shorts or undoing a few of his shirts button. Wears sunglasses in any remotely bright setting due to photophobia (light sensitivity). Has like ten pairs that all look the same. Likes to wear sparkly nail polish, because he can see the shine in the sunlight and he thinks it looks cool.

I know this was a lot, so if you do draw them, feel free to take some creative liberty, this is just what I’ve been imagining in my head as I write them.

And if anyone else was wondering what they looked like, well here you go.

#tw: self harm #tw: past suicide attempt #tw: scars #sander sides #ts sides #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #remy sanders #poc sanders sides #poc tssides #poc patton #black patton #poc roman #muslim roman #poc logan #thai logan #roma logan #poc virgil #jewish virgil #ashkenazai virgil #roma remy #racial diversity #jksfask #colfanficextras #jksf

[zoidham]

F!!RE - Devoted to Black Fashion & Lifestyle

ARTicle One:

Introduction. 

On Black Masculinity in Fashion

“Masculinity is not measured by your bicep size or sexual prowess but is a quality that is characterized by being affectionate, sincere, and responsible.” - Juwanza Kunjufu 

Hey Now kinfolk, I am Zoid Hæm, and in these personal letters I will be reflecting on the Black Lifestyle as it pertains to #Fashion, #Soul, and #Art. I have chosen the name F!!RE for this experience to pay homage to the young black artists of the Harlem Renaissance who shocked the world with a scathing peek into the mind of young and free black folks with their one issue magazine simply called Fire!!.(Source): https://bit.ly/2GwIIY0

Blackness, in its constant evolution is of my greatest interest, for as Arthur Jafa (@anamibia) said in his interview for I-D magazine with Virgil Abloh “…blackness isn’t just relevant to black people. It’s an ontological formation thats seeking to understand the world. It’s about the possibility for a different way to occupy earth, to exist in it. (Source): https://bit.ly/2m3ygzn

So here I sit at this cross section of fashion and soul, asking myself what does my external experience tell me about my inner world? And since the former spews out of the latter I see a fluid evolution spiraling up, beckoning at the fringe of our reality like an avant-garde symbol, hated and misunderstood like all mysteries shrouded in blackness. Excitement billows out of me, as my existence becomes a thorough definition of the contradictions in my black consciousness; like vines, unconfined by the square bricks of this society, I sprawl out, creating branches, bridges, and underground railroads, breaking out of learned labels and ushering a new wave. A wave filled with bubbles that when they touch, combine and crash on this countries shores of Thought, making us all the more unique and free.

“Cultivate your Uniqueness.” 

Free Hugs and Painted Nails:

Today's letter focuses in on black masculinity through the lens of fashion. It must have been the summer of 2011 when I sported boastful yet crude painted nails, and a small white button that said “Free Hugs". My body type was bulky, aggressive, and shouted, “Angry black man!" I had just finished my career in football, thankfully, and found myself hustling in the streets of New York City, as green as a rose stem among the grey concrete jungle, who's edifices and faces made me feel small, innocent, and utterly naive. 

Yet in this place I began to shift my image, first my thoughts, by asking any and all types why they are who they are. Mind you as the son of two preachers who never went to a house party or drank till college, even with my years at university there was still so much I didn’t know; but what I found is that when I approached folk they were always very guarded and unsure. I always blamed racist propaganda for their hesitancy but then I began to think more about what my image was saying to them. To them and this society my look gave off certain triggers in them, and by them I mean all types from old, young, white, black, brown, men, women, LGBTQ, CEO, or homeless. Few if any paid me any mind, or quickly gave glance and turned the other way. 

Haha a hilarious anecdote that actually made me change my entire “costume” was that one day, walking out by Central Park I saw the actor Michael Cera! Yep, Mr. Superbad himself, I was such a big fan I blurted out as we came close to each other “Holy crap! It’s Michael Cera!” Haha and true to form, with a hilarious face and mannerisms he looked up, eyes widened, and immediately turned around, and scampered the opposite direction down the street. I was a little hurt and shocked, but still laughed. It was at this point I was like YO! What do they see?

I went home, a 6 floor walk up in Chinatown, and looked in the mirror and began to take some notes. Broad chest, big beard, long locs, rather run-of-the-mill black man, how boring! I knew inside me was something that defied all definition, that I was a spirit teeming with affection and love for my fellow humans and wanted to be able to sit and express with them. But what I typically was receiving was the energy of dismissal and guardedness. I had known this well from black women at university who used me as a whipping boy to take their frustrations out on all black men, while I received, in screaming opposition from white women, so much attention it felt disingenuous, for them any n!gga would do; but now this was pervasive… I realized that my presence scared people, and that they weren’t actually seeing the REAL me.

I paced in my small apartment unit, thumbing a small button in the jacket I just bought, mentally drawing up how I wanted to present myself. “Alright first we need to lose this weight, so we can fit into all these cool clothes, but also fit better in these rooms of artists and intellects, and then lets keep the beard and hair nappy, edge is important, but lets dress in chic cheap fashion, cuz we are super broke and are only going to be able to afford the thrift store…” As I was thinking I pulled out the button from my pocket and read what it said “Free Hugs” almost unconsciously I pinned it to my jacket and didn’t think much of it.

The next day was Friday and I typically made my way to the museums since they were free. I bought a bottle of FireFly ice tea vodka and headed to my friends pad down by wall street so we all could get faded and go see some art. As I was walking down the street, I saw faces smiling at me, and so I smiled back, not used to New Yorkers showing any emotion besides anger I was a little surprised but kept pushing. After hopping off the train, I turned the corner and a short portly jewish women threw  her arms up and said “Yes I need one today!” And gave me a big long hug. I just stood there shocked by this stranger squeezing me, like I was her grandson, but before the hug was over I retuned the energy. She smiled and walked on by. As she left I looked at my reflection in one of the wall street buildings and saw that I still had the “Free Hugs” button on my jacket, and smiled thinking, how bout that! A free hug trumps propaganda, age, fear, race, etc.  all they needed was the permission to show affection. 

Fast foward to half the bottle gone, and a small loft full of young, gifted and black artist, all dancing and singing to a Stevie Wonder record. I had painted a haggard green sweat shirt with the word Free Hugs in big red letters and donned it as I joined the harmonious voices that filled the room with the joy of a Friday afternoon. I went over to the kitchen to fill my glass, when I realized I had gotten some paint on my nails, and began to peel it off when my crush at that time, a stunning orange afro having queen said, "Naw leave it! In fact here!” She came over with some nail polish and painted quick little designs on my nails in green, red, and yellow. My first reaction was wait I can’t wear nail polish, but when I looked at my hands I became enamored, my how strange and unique, these dainty hands on a Rasta brute! This was just the right amount of contradiction and juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability I was looking for. Leave it to black women to bring a dream to reality.

And thats exactly what happened, when we hit the streets in that Friday sunset, New York finally saw me, and opened like the flowers in sunlight on the corner of Strawberry Fields. Over the next few months, my body slimmed, my smile grew, my nails where chipped and covered with color haphazardly, and hugs clung to my body like the tight fitting cheap fashion I found. But most importantly my thoughts began to change, because I was engaging with more people from all walks of life. I ask myself to this day, did the fashion open them up or me up? 

Fashion is metaphor touted as a mask, there to conceal or reveal our inner truth, and for me I found a unique edge to walk, one where I hold space with masculinity that only knows mixtape lyrics and football, as well as a space that spoke of Basquiat’s and Warhol’s, the fickleness of love in any gender or sexuality and the need for soul and romance. I am still the minority in most rooms I walk into, typically they don't know what to think of me, I hear little conversations in the corner, ”He must be gay, or bi, no no look he’s with ball players and gangsters, naw naw he has lots of girlfriends, yes yes hunny he can get it, but he curbed all of us and I’m fine so wats the deal, oh he’s different.”

Different… little do they know I’m just like them, expressing all that I am. Removing the labels and images and thoughts that society has forced upon me, left me blank a slate to be creative. Still I have much more to remove and redefine in this ocean of blackness that is my being. One can be masculine in a dress, one can be feminine in baggy jeans, lessen we forget #STONEWALL and what those activists fought for, the freedom of image. Culturally and generational things shift, the meaning we put behind garments and fabric is all made up, just like us; and no one need be ridiculed or shamed for making their fit…fit. So what are you wearing today? In any way, you look good on you.

Posivibes,

hæm

Credits:

Image one by @johnyu.co 

for Westword Artopia 2019  

#f!!re #fashion #blog #zoidham #black masculinity

[gritsandbrits]

Sonic OC Bio

Name: Cameron Segana

Nicknames: Cam

Age: 15

Alignment: Good

Species: Human

Continuity: Mostly games but with several changes

Physical Appearance

- Medium to dark brown skin

- Light brown eyes

- Super curly black hair worn in a short afro

- thin green headband

- Tends to wear green, teal, and coral pink outfits

- SA outfit: green and white sweatpants and short sleeved shirt with sandals

- Single eyelash and almond shaped eyes

- No gloves (they make her hands sweat)

- Bead bracelets

- Seashell necklace

- Beige and green sandals with ankle straps and a slight wedge heel

- Is one of the shortest human characters (by Sonic standards) at just 4'3

Family

- Erin (cousin)

- Nathan (father, whereabouts unknown)

- Karyn (mother, whereabouts unknown)

- John (uncle and Erin's father, whereabouts unknown)

Friends

- Team Sonic

- Amy

- Cream

- Silver

- Blaze

- Big

- Team Chaotix (sometimes)

- Team Dark are more like acquaintances

- Luna and Darcelle (two OCs associated with Team Dark)

Enemies

- Dr. Eggman

- Mephiles and Iblis

- Deadly Six

- Infinite

- Metal Sonic

- Black Doom doesn't exist because I hate them more than Mephiles

Backstory

Originally from an idea I had for a Sonic X reboot, Cameron is a 15-year-old human girl who lives in a secluded cottage with her older cousin Erin. In SA1, she discovers Tails after his crash and nursed him back to health before returning him to Sonic. Because of the badniks invading her home she decides to join up with them to stop Eggman from taking over the city. Along the way she discovers a knack for archery and some clues pointing to the whereabouts of her parents and uncle, who went missing during an expedition to Soleanna a few years back.

Personality

- Shy at first

- Introverted

- Learns to let loose

- Blunt when it comes to her opinions

- Sometimes expresses low confidence at times

- Mellow and soft-spoken

- Plucky

- Claustrophobic

- Bit of a neat freak because she doesn't like to attract bugs

- Expresses a thirst for adventure

- Can be pretty steely when angered

Hobbies and Interests

- Photography

- Swimming

- Surfing

- Collecting seashells

- Pizza

- Root beer

- Onion rings

- Scrapbooking

- Skating

- Works part time at a diner

- Playing her flute and drums

- Archery (she feels like a badass and likes to collect arrows)

- Traveling

- Skinny dipping on a hot Summer's evening or for privacy (her most shameful secret!)

- The colors green and blue

- Lemonade

Pet Peeves and Least Favorite Things

- Pickles

- Badniks invading her island

- Humidity

- Cold temps and snow

- Being underestimated because she doesn't have powers

- Gross things like bugs and slime

- Overly bright colors like neon orange and green (they hurt her eyes)

- Stubbing her toe

- People telling her that her parents and uncle won't come back

- Losing hope

- Closed up spaces

- Her camera malfunctioning

- Spoiled entitled behavior

Powers and Abilities

- Bow and arrow are her main weapons

- Hand to hand combat

- Athleticism

- Power Ups

- Hold her breath for extended periods of time (helping when in water levels; still need air bubbles)

- She can even weaponize her camera by turning the flash up bright to blind enemies

- Not the fastest nor strongest but has a healthy balance to keep up

- Learns to use Extreme Gear

Misc

- Cameron's surname is a reference to SEGA

- Her official ethnicity is African American but for the sake of my sanity her race will not be brought up constantly because I'm not here to earn social justice brownie points

- Cameron wears blue, green and oranges because I noticed how Sonic females tend to wear pink, purple and red and wanted her style to fit the games since there's not a female character yet who's associated with other colors besides those three

- A lot of people think that Cam and Erin aren't related because they look very different (Erin is a light-skinned redhead), which sometimes annoys her

- Out of the characters Cam has the most costume changes as she wears bathing suits, coats and winter gear, and other outfits depending on zone; she even begins carrying a bag to hold her outfits in

- She has a more mellow, humble personality to make her stand out from the other hammy, prideful and vibrant characters

- Cam documents her adventures through scrapbooking

- Her ultimate goal in the series is to find out what really happened to her family. This will eventually be resolved in Sonic 06 (spoilers: there's a happy ending)

- Also, Cameron and Sonic will be a couple but as always for my canon/OC ships, it's going to be a slow burn. Also I might tag as trigger warning for interspecies since some people still haven't got over SonElise.

- In SA1, Cameron received arrows with powers based on the stage. So for example, in Ice Cap she gets ice arrows, in Red Mountain fire arrows, Windy Valley has wind and leaves arrows, and Emerald Coast has her default arrows

- She doesn't have an ability type because I think it's outdated by now and limits potential

- I based her color scheme on the concept of Chromatic Arrangement. Sonic = blue, Tails = yellow, Knuckles = red, so it would make sense for another major character to be green (I don't count Jet and Vector). In SA Amy and Big round it out as "pink" and "purple."

- I guess Cam could technically count as a superhero even though she doesn't have the credentials of one (i.e costume, secret identity, edgy 90s redesign and bad Rob Liefield art)

- I based her SA/default costume from the styles that were popular in the late 90s and early 2000s since that's the era when the games came out

- Cam and Erin splits the bills, which is why they both have jobs since their parents aren't around. They end up getting rewarded money (SA2 by the president) which they then save up to go to Soleanna

- Cameron doesn't really consider Team Dark to be her friends, but she doesn't see them as enemies either

- She doesn't hate Amy either; she's more amused by Amy's worship for Sonic but does try to help her temper the obsession when it gets too much

- Cam eventually starts to see Tails and Knuckles as the brothers she never had, so she's protective of them; although her first impression of Knuckles was "Does he and Sonic fight every time they see each other?"

- I was inspired by Saphira24667's OC Saphira to make Cam and Sonic a couple because while I don't hate pairings like Sonally and Shadamy, I just want to do my own thing. Besides people will still find fault with it because it's canon/OC, so it's not like I have much to lose. No, I do not support beastiality but Sonic is at least sapient enough and people get away with Shadow/Maria.

- Originally my OC was going to be a Caucasian girl with long, wavy orange hair and a more "yoga instructor" design. Her names were also going to be Verna, Jade, Kelly, Celadon or Esmeralda, and her last name was going to be Greene. However I felt that having her be named after a shade of green and have a last name that literally is GREEN would be too much overkill so I changed her name and design. I also added more colors like blue and coral to give her a tropical aesthetic.

- Her theme in the SA games is Lauryn Hill's song "That Thing" which thankfully came out before SA was released in Japan (I tend to go extremely meta with my characters)

- One very old idea I had for her was for her to be a poodle with water powers to contrast her with Blaze; she's still associated with water though she doesn't have any powers

- Another old idea was for her to be a porcupine named Penny who had the power to control metal. The metal powers got carried over to my Shinkenger OC Ayane.

- I intended for Cam to be the total opposite of Chris Thorndyke as she actually has relatable problems, a character arc, and a likable and sympathetic personality.

- Cam weighs 121 pounds, so she has a canon weight compared to female Sonic characters

- In Sonic 06 Cam and Sonic becomes an official item (Amy will still be treated with dignity and respect as I hate ship wars)

- I have yet decided on what kind of power ups to give her

#sonic oc #sonic original character #actually good sonic oc #poc heroine #black female superhero #sonic human #sonic human fancharacter #badass normal #sonic games #good sonic oc

[canyousevmyheavydirtysoul]

Cape Town. (Part 5.2) (Ryan Ross x Reader)

“So,” you addressed Ryan as the two of you leisurely strolled through the bustling streets of the surrounding area just outside the central business district of Cape Town, “Are you enjoying Cape Town so far?”

The both of you had come to an agreement that you would forfeit the bet and pay for lunch, just so that you could sneak out of the museum and get away from your meddlesome friends.

(Y/B/F) and Brendon were unbelievable; their attempts to get in between the two of you carried on through the beginning of the scavenger hunt – with (Y/B/F) asking you stupid questions like what you needed to study for your exam in six months time and Brendon pestering Ryan for his thoughts on what songs should be on their setlist for their concert at the end of the trip – until you got fed up and decided to ditch the museum and go for a walk instead.

“Oh yeah,” he answered with an enthusiastic smile, “I’m having the greatest time! I mean, we all are,” he chuckled nervously and looked down at the sidewalk, “but me especially.”

“Good to hear,” you playfully nudged him with your elbow, shooting him a smile that he oh so eagerly returned.

The two of you were strolling past a building that had a mural painted on its side and Ryan halted as he pointed at the portrait of a black, afro-haired woman raising a closed fist into the air. The fist was surrounded by a strikingly yellow circle, and it was quite obviously the focus of the mural.

“Hey, I’ve seen this symbol a couple times and I’ve been meaning to ask you… what does it mean?”

You couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across your face as you sauntered over to the mural; Ryan trailed closely behind you.

“So you obviously know that the Apartheid era lasted from 1948 to 1994,” you tilted your head to address Ryan, who nodded in confirmation, “One of the most hated Apartheid laws was the Pass Law. It allowed the government to control the influx of black men into the cities by stating that all of them had to carry a pass, and only those carrying said passes were allowed access into urban areas. Oh, and passes were only allocated to those who found employment in the city.”

You took a few steps forward and ran your fingers along the paint on the wall. “Before the 50s, only black men were required to carry passes but then in 1952, the government announced that black women would also have to carry them. Understandably, that did not go down well with the masses,” you chuckled shortly, “The idea began in 1955 at a meeting of the Federation of South African Women, where a suggestion was made: ‘Let us go to Pretoria – the nation’s capital – ourselves and protest to the Government against laws that oppress us.’,” you paused, smiling at the thought.

“So they did?” A wide-eyed, super concentrated Ryan queried, unconsciously stepping closer to you.

You nodded proudly and turned to smile at the musician, raising one brow. “On the 9th of August, over 20 000 women of all races marched in unison to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to hand over a petition to the then prime minister, Hans Strijdom. Leading the march were Lilian Ngoyi and Albertina Sisulu, Helen Joseph, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, who were black, white, and coloured, respectively. So as representatives of each race group in South Africa, they carried the petition for presentation to the Prime Minister. But being the coward that he was,” you growled, grinding your teeth, “when he caught wind that 20 000 boss-ass, strong women were coming for him, he arranged to be somewhere else so he wouldn’t have to accept the petition from a ‘multicultural group of women’, so in his place, it was accepted by his secretary.”

“What a douchebag,” Ryan mumbled under his breath, scrunching up his face in disgust.

You nodded in agreement with Ryan’s statement, before inhaling deeply and continuing. “The women then stood in silence for thirty minutes before singing Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika – our national anthem – and then,” you sighed dreamily, reaching out and dancing your fingers across the words painted along the bottom of the wall, “then they sang this little beauty, here: Wathinta umfazi, wathint’ imbokodo!”

“What does that mean?”

Slowly, you balled your fist up and raised it up into the air. “You strike a woman, you strike a rock.”

“Wow, that’s…wow,” Ryan breathed, at a loss for words and moved by the strength and unity of the women.

“And even though the march was against the Pass Laws, it led to significant changes towards the emancipation of women. It was an incredible display of the strength and ferocity of all women, and it’s left a phenomenally impactful legacy in our country. Which is why in 1995 – a year after South Africa became a democracy – the 9th of August became a public holiday known as National Women’s Day, in remembrance of the inspirational 20 000 women who took a stand against their male oppressors.” You took a step back from the mural and looked at Ryan, shoving your hands in the back pockets of your jeans. “That symbol is so much more than just a hand gesture.”

“Forgive my language,” Ryan held out his hands in a premature apology, “but those were some fucking badass women.”

The two of you shared a laugh as you resumed strolling down the street.

“They sure were,” you agreed with a bob of your head before smirking cockily, “and I’d like to think that their descendants are substantially badass, too.”

Ryan sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and squinted as he raked his gaze over you in mock deliberation.

“Mm,” he hummed a moment later, shaking his head, “nope. I don’t see it.”

Letting out an offended scoff, you reached out and lightly shoved a sniggering Ryan, who in turn stumbled to the side a little.

“Come on,” you laughed along and cocked your head in the direction of the street heading back to the museum, “we should start heading back.”

The musician nodded in agreement as the both of you started on the journey back.

“So Ryan,” you said soon after.

“So (Y/N),” he smiled back.

You giggled quietly and stretched your left hand to the side, gently brushing it along the leaves of an overhanging tree branch. “I’ve been disclosing historical information to you for the past week; I think it’s your turn now. Tell me some of the history of Ryan Ross.”

Ryan sucked in a deep breath before letting out a low whistle and ruffling the hair at the back of his head. He turned to look at you with a lopsided grin. “You want the short story or the full on exposé?”

You shrugged casually. “Up to you.”

“I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know.”

Blushing somewhat, you transferred your attention over to the next tree you were approaching, this time pulling a flower from its branches. “How about we start with the obvious,” you suggested, twirling the bud in your hand, “How long have you been playing music for?”

“When I was twelve, I asked my parents to get me a guitar for Christmas, which they did. And Spencer’s parents got him a drum kit, so we had mini jam-sessions together and I guess it just grew from there,” Ryan shrugged and smiled slightly as he thought back to his earlier days.

“So you and Spencer have known each other since you were kids?” you queried, a tiny bit shocked by the revelation; you had assumed that they’d met in high school.

He nodded fervently. “Yeah, we met when I was six and he was five,” he paused to let out a laugh as he recalled how exactly they had met, “I was hitting golf balls across the fences into the neighbours’ yards and accidently wacked him in the head.” He turned and gave you a proud grin. “We’ve been best friends ever since.”

“Cute,” you chuckled, returning his grin with a lopsided one of your own.

“So yeah, we started playing music together and started a band.”

“Panic!?”

“Nope,” he shook his head, “our first band was called Pet Salamander – don’t ask me why; it’s a long story – and it was just the two of us. I’d do vocals.”

“I like hearing you sing,” you admitted somewhat shyly, choosing to look down at the flower in your hand as opposed to his face – the face that was now turning ruby-red. “Brendon has an impeccable voice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to hear you featured on certain Panic! songs.”

“Really?” he gaped, staring at you in disbelief; he found it hard to believe that you were speaking the truth.

“Yeah,” you confirmed, finally looking up and tossing a sweet smile at the musician. One that made his heart flutter and his stomach do cartwheels.

“Th-thanks.”

He cursed himself over the fact that that was all he was able to get out.

“No thanks necessary,” you assured him, “So what kinda music were you guys into?”

Ryan cringed. The fact didn’t go unnoticed by you, leaving you to urge him on. “When I was little,” he sighed, giving in to your prompts, “I used to listen to country a lot. I even, uh,” he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and his voice dropped to a mumble, “used to dress up as a cowboy.”

“You’re lying,” you gawked, amusement evident in the sparkle in your eye.

Ryan sighed in defeat and fished his cellphone out of his pocket, pulling up a picture of a much younger, much tinier him, clad in a full-on cowboy outfit – complete with a lasso and everything.

“Oh my goodness,” you squeaked, unable to supress the feelings of adoration that came as a side effect of looking at the cuteness that was a little Ryan. “You were adorable!”

“Were?” Ryan arched both brows and pouted slightly, surprising himself with his forward reaction.

Looking up from the screen to the musician, you coked your head lightly and gave him a soft smile.

“Still are,” you added, lifting a hand to gently pinch his cheek – an action that left the man stunned into silence. He’d never get used to the rush of feeling your skin against his; even if it was only a minor, mostly-friendly gesture, such as the previous one.

Ryan timidly took his phone back and shoved it into his pocket, trying his best to still the nervous tremor in his hands.

“So, uh, yeah,” he cleared his throat, “I used to listen to a lotta country but then Spencer introduced me to mainstream rock when I got a bit older. We played covers of blink-182, mostly. And then a friend of ours – Brent Wilson – started joining our jam-sessions; eventually the three of us started a new band called Summer League.”

“Oooo,” you pursed your lips and brushed away the stray strands of hair the wind had swept across your face, “How’d it end up being you, Spencer, Jon and Brendon, then?”

“Brendon and Brent met because they were both taking guitar lessons at their high school. We were looking for a lead guitarist at the time – since I was on vocals – and Brent asked Bren to audition. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“Wait… if Brendon was the lead guitarist, how did he end up being lead singer?”

Ryan scrunched his face up as if he had just tasted something sour; you cocked one brow in intrigue at the sight. “He filled in for me at a rehearsal when I was sick one day, and everyone was so impressed that he was chosen as the new singer.”

Ryan let out a sudden giggle, and you frowned at him in confusion. He waved a somewhat dismissive hand before explaining himself. “When we asked him why he didn’t tell us he could sing, you know what he said?”

You gave him an expectant smile.

“’I didn’t know I could.’”

The two of you shared a giggle as you approached a pedestrian crossing. You pushed the button on the traffic light and the cars came to a halt, allowing you to cross the street to the other side. Once you were back on the sidewalk, you elbowed Ryan in the side.

“How did you feel about Brendon taking over your position?”

The expression on his face clearly showed how taken aback he was by your question, and he stammered as he tried to string together some words to say. Your query was a tad on the audacious side but you had noticed the slight shift in Ryan’s body language when he had spoken about Brendon’s addition to the band. He had tried to keep his tone and expression as neutral as possible, but the tensing of his shoulders gave him away.

“I…I was totally on board with it,” he answered, shaking his head as if his answer was obvious, “He has a killer voice. It made sense for him to be lead.”

You nodded. “Yeah, I’m not disputing that,” you held up your hands in defence, “I just thought you must’ve felt kinda bad, is all.”

Ryan was silent for a few seconds before simply stating, “Brendon was the better choice for the band.”

You took his sudden abrasiveness as a sign that he wasn’t too keen to say more on that particular sub-topic, and so you brought it back to the main one.

“What’s Jon’s story?”

The musician seemed thrilled that you had diverted, and he exhaled in relief before replying. “In May – I think it was – of 2006, Brent left the band. We had a tour coming up, so we asked our friend Jon to fill in for Brent at the shows. He eventually ended up becoming a permanent replacement.”

“And that,” Ryan threw his hands sideways dramatically, “is the musical history of Ryan Ross slash Panic! at the Disco.”

You started clapping enthusiastically, making Ryan laugh and do a little bow.

“You’re amazing, Ryan,” you complimented as you placed the flower you were carrying into the breast pocket of his waistcoat. He grinned sheepishly and bowed his head.

The festivities were short lived, though, because you had arrived back at the museum and a pissed-off coupling of Brendon and (Y/B/F) were marching towards you and Ryan.

“Here we go,” Ryan groaned, letting his head fall back.

“Was fun while it lasted,” you placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly.

The two of you shared a hopeless look as (Y/B/F) stopped right in front of you, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” she demanded.

“Sure, because we’re the ones with the problem,” you scoffed, grabbing Ryan’s hand and brushing past her. “We went for a walk to get some air because you guys wouldn’t stop suffocating us.”

Brendon stepped up, wanting to intercept, but Ryan cut him off with a raised hand. “Don’t waste your breath. Just get in the car; we’re paying for lunch.”

~

Since Ryan had no knowledge other than what you and (Y/B/F) had told him regarding Cape Town, it was left to you to pick the lunch place. You choose Charly’s Bakery, situated not too far from the museum, in the old District Six area.

“Oooo, this place is so magical,” Brendon buzzed in awe, eyes widening as he scanned the store from top to bottom as the four of you stepped inside.

“One of the best bakeries in Cape Town,” (Y/B/F) spoke, stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and swaggering over to peer through the glass at the delicacies lining the display cases.

“They make the best chocolate cupcakes in, like, all of South Africa,” you stated, licking your lips as you locked your gaze on one of those beautifully dark and sinful treats.

“You’ve tasted every single type of chocolate cupcake in South Africa?” Ryan teased, cocking one brow and joining you by the display.

“No,” you blushed, “but I am very confident in my statement.”

“Well, I trust your judgement immensely,” he beamed at you and you smiled back while tucking your hair behind your ear.

Fortunately, an employee walked over to seat your group before Brendon could butt in with some snarky comment.

Once seated, you all scanned over the menus, ordered lunch and engaged in conversation that consisted mainly of small talk. You and (Y/B/F) spoke about your studies for a little while, explaining the education system in South Africa and discussing your plans for the future. The boys told you some stories from the road and talked about their writing and recording process.

“Thank you,” Ryan said as the waitress cleared up everyone’s plates; she gave a polite smile and nod in response.

“Dessert time,” you wiggled in your chair in excitement, earning chuckles from your friends. “Bring on the cupcakes!”

“We can get them the personalised ones,” (Y/B/F) suggested, tapping the back of her hand against your arm.

You gasped happily. “Yes!” The boys looked confused so you elaborated. “They’ll put your names on them. And any other design you want.”

“I think Ryan wants your name on his,” Brendon chortled, “We all know he wants to eat-,” the singer got cut off with a death glare and a kick to the shin from his bandmate.

Ignoring Brendon’s comment in order to preserve Ryan’s dignity, you stood up and started for the cupcake counter, gesturing for everyone to follow.

“What flavour are you guys going for?” you asked.

“I’ll go for the chocolate,” Ryan spoke first. You grinned proudly.

“Vanilla,” Brendon and (Y/B/F) said in unison. They shared a look of surprise before smirking and high-fiving.

“Hypocrites,” Ryan fake-coughed, covering his mouth with one hand; you giggled.

“What can I get you?” the employee on the other side of the counter smiled, wiping her hands on the front of her apron.

“Four personalised ones, please. Two Wicked Chocolate and two Vanilla.”

The employee – whose name badge read ‘Rose’ – nodded. “Names for the chocolate?”

“(Y/N) and Ryan.”

“And for the vanilla?”

“Brendon,” Brendon piped up, pointing to himself, “Spelt B-r-e-n-d-o-n.”

“(Y/B/F),” your friend finished the order off.

“Gotcha,” Rose winked, “we’ll get those out to you right away.”

“Great,” you pulled out your purse, “Can we pay in the meantime?”

“Sure, I’ll ring you up,” Rose moved over to the cash register and rang up the order for the cakes, “You paying for the lunch, as well?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t worry,” Ryan told you, taking his wallet out of his pocket, “I got it.”

“No,” you shook your head, “I can’t let you do that. Team effort, remember?”

He was about to fight it, but you had already handed your portion of the cash over; he smiled at you as you looked down to stuff your purse back into your bag.

The two of you had just sat back down when one of the waitresses brought over the cakes. Everyone looked down to admire the artwork on top; the writing on yours and Ryan’s made the both of you redden enormously.

Upon seeing your reactions, Brendon and (Y/B/F) immediately leaned forward to get a look at what was written atop.

“Seriously?” she scoffed incredulously, shaking her head and slumping back into her chair. “First the milkshake thing and now this?”

“How does shit like this keep on happening?” Brendon slumped back as well, turning to look at (Y/B/F). “It’s like the universe is playing Cupid.”

You and Ryan were too in shock to hear anything your friends had said, and they looked on in disgust as the two of you glanced at each other awkwardly, occasionally looking down at the pair of cupcakes that each read ‘(Y/N) and Ryan’, complete with a heart around it. You had no idea where the heart came from; it hadn't been part of the request. Clearly the bakery employees, just like seemingly everyone else in the country, were under the impression that you and the musician were together.  

“Ugh, let’s just eat the stupid things,” (Y/B/F) said after a few moments as her annoyance took over.

Breaking out of your trance, both you and Ryan picked up the cupcake and started munching. The conversation from earlier had resumed, and Brendon was telling the story of the first time Panic! had met Fall Out Boy, and how shit-scared they were.

You sniggered in response to something amusing Brendon had said and Ryan tilted his head to look at you. He noticed that you had a little icing on your cheek, and he slowly reached out to carefully wipe it away with his thumb.

“Oh,” you mumbled, looking up at him, “Th-thanks.”

“Yeah,” he whispered, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.

Brendon squinted his eyes in irritation. “What, are you going to lick it off now, too?” he sassed.

Ryan clicked his tongue at the younger male before rolling his eyes and wiping his thumb on a napkin.

“Do you guys have plans for tomorrow?” you questioned, taking another bite from your cupcake.

“You guys aren’t gonna be with us?” Ryan asked dejectedly.

“We have lectures all day. We told you yesterday, remember?”

“Oh,” he recalled with a sad nod, “Right.”

“An intervention,” Brendon muttered in response to your earlier question.

“What?” you leaned in, not quite catching his words.

“What?” he made like he hadn’t said anything.

You brushed it off and resumed talking. “Well you have been out and about non-stop as of late. Maybe you should just stay at your hotel. Have some R&R,” you shrugged.

“That’s a wonderful idea, (Y/N),” Brendon perked up before shooting a wink at Ryan, “I think a band bonding session is exactly what we need right now.”

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x

Taglist:

@darknessdancing

@raversam

@username-number-01834

@moosesmoose

@underscoredarcy

#ryan ross #ryan ross x reader #patd #p!atd #panic at the disco #panic! at the disco #emo #music #band #bands #emo quartet #emo trinity #band imagines #Band Members #band member imagine #imagine #imagines #fanfic

[grandmascottlang]

I hate my hair.

I've been hating my hair for years because it just doesn't grow anymore (and yes, it seriously won't grow as easily anymore because I have a condition that stunts my hair growth). And it sucks! I hate my hair being so short.

(okay this is probably going to be really long, so the rest of the story's below the cut)

On top of that, my hairdresser continuously cuts it shorter which doesn't help my hair growth at all.

So I've been through somewhat of a hair journey.

My hair is naturally kinky/curly, like most African Americans' hair is. But my hair is super thick and it's untamable when I try to keep it "natural" or afro-like. I also don't really like the look of my hair in this afro style so when I was really young, I started getting it relaxed (chemically straightening your hair) and I always felt more confident in the way I looked.

My hair as a kid was super long, about mid-back length and it was so pretty and honestly, I wish I never decided to cut my hair as a kid because my hair won't grow back. :/

I cut my hair and then I started going to a new hairdresser at the time who told us to go back to natural (which we did). She always did a fantastic job with my hair, but she went around from shop to shop and it got to a point where her new shop was two hours away from my house, so we quit seeing her.

I went to go visit my sister in Indiana a few years ago, and I always get my hair done in braids for the summer because they're so much easier to maintain than my normal hair is, and that's when I first found out about crochet braids.

I ended up just getting corn rows then because the woman who did my hair out there would've charged $200+ to do crochet braids, and even though they last for a long time, it's still a lot of money.

Around this point in time, I went back to relaxing my hair with a new hairdresser, and I honestly like the way it looked a whole lot better than when I didn't relax it (plus, if it got wet, it was easier to maintain that my super poofy and curly natural hair). I went back to my old hairdresser once to braid my hair because I needed it braided at the time and we never went back to her because her prices were insane (plus she hated the fact that I went back to relaxing my hair).

We ended up finding this woman who did awesome braids, was super nice, and didn't overly price her work. She did really nice braids, and this was the first time I had gotten crochet braids.

I did it again, because I liked the style and liked how easy it was to maintain my hair, but this time, she had put glue (?) or another sort of binding agent in my hair and it both ripped my hair out and made me have to cut my hair into a bob and I hated it.

So we never went back to her.

After my current hairdresser started continuously cutting my hair, Comic Con happened. And I needed extremities because I couldn't get a good Tiana wig. So I got this ponytail hair extension and used it to make a bun.

And recently, I've been using it so much, because I like the look of my hair with it, and I love the length (and it took three minutes to do my hair in the morning; sweet!).

But now we're at today (or currently, I guess). I wanted to look really nice for my senior photos, so I wanted to get my hair crochet braided again, and one of the people who works in the same shop with my hairdresser does crochet braids. So I just got my hair does yesterday, and I am LOVING IT.

(So that's my current hairstyle, and I don't know where I was going with this post, but yeah lol)

#geez louise #my face

[madameartiste]

Being natural is...

Hey, first time writing a post here. Mainly I draw ( kinda 😅), but i had something on my mind. I have been a natural hair girl since 2015, so 3 years-ish. It's been a long road, but i still love my hair , and how kinky and curly it is. I just wanted to cut my hair after i graduated highschool and boom! Small afro! I went from product to product from home-made vegan based to Cantu, Cream of Nature, Shea Moisture and so on. Now, i am using just some cheap leave in from CVS that smells amazing and works wonders with a mix of Aussie and cantu. So now with that out the way let's get to the actual thing i wanted to get out.

Being natural is...hard.

I know alot of women with my grade of hair( type 4c) find it hard to maintain and...i wish i would have known that when i was just a wee high school graduate and " I WANNA EMBRACE ME!" kinda deal. I dont regret it, but I wish ,WISH I was more informed on the transition from perm to natural. I found myself trying everything every big natural hair blog and youtubers said you need to try because "it's a necessity". Looking back, i wasted so much money and time... and my hair not growing becaue i actually was somewhat allergic to the vegan hair product. Everything else was just so...expensive!! And what bothers me...how they make it where there's some law or rule you must follow to be a "true natural".

•You have to hate weaves and wigs because you are not being proud of your hair

1. That's dumb. Noone should feel like a nice weave or wig makes them less natural. Plus, noone wants to do their hair every day. Yeah, protective styles are helpful. But i would like a 1 month break from doing my hair

2. They are still cute and convenient. That's pretty much it.

• The natural hair police

Now, this is where my biggest issue is. I have a sister who likes perms because she doesn't want to cut her hair. She has a scar she does not want people to see. But she takes super good care of her hair, she is very high maintenance, and she likes to make herself look good. Shes a proud young black woman!...But she still hates herself because she doesn't want to go natural? No. No. No. This makes no sense. I've seen naturals downgraded other black women because they don't want to be natural. I think thats why some women now who are natural are afraid of perming their hair again because of they feel trapped. Its like the whole Perm vs. Natural war that was going on, and now its the naturals doing the hair bashing. I dont like it and makes it hard to be natural when I know there are women who dare stick up their nose at a permed girl and act high and mighty because they don't perm.

• Buying only products for naturals by naturals despite how expensive they are

I think this is because I have met a girl like this, but products for "straight hair" or made for "white women" work just as good as the big hitters. I use Aussie and my god I LOVE THIS STUFF ! It smells wonderful, very good to detangle and gets the curls popping! What about Dove? Still good shampoo and just mix some oils into the conditioner! Add what your hair needs for DIY versions. Not only is it cheaper...but you get alot for what you paid for. Still like Shea Moisture? That's ok! If you have the means to get it, get it! But don't say one thing is better because not many people can afford some natural hair brands. Be open to what each brand has to offer for hair. Pantene just made a line for natural hair if i'm correct.

In short, being natural is hard for me because of the culture around it. I still love my hair! I just wish the culture around natural hair wasn't so...toxic in a sense. It's a struggle, but lets be honest about how difficult it can be.

Tl;dr : being natural is hard because other people make it so difficult.

#natural hair struggles

[lizartgurl]

“Be Brave” (Aqualight Coffee Diem AU)

So forgive me, because I actually hate coffee, but the concept of coffee shops is really cute to me, especially when you bring @super-spoiler‘s Coffee Diem AU into the mix, so this is cute scenario+cute ship+Owl City’s new song=More cute! So enjoy!

Kaldur decided to blame the heat on his cheeks as his body’s natural defense against the falling snow, and definitely not at the cute girl in front of him.

Being bi was a disaster. He was attracted to basically everyone he saw. There was no escape. Roy and Conner were taking their lucky exchange student buddy sledding for the first time (they didn’t get snow in Kaldur’s Mediterranean home). 

He was confident that he’d seen the girl with a long black braid and a gold nose piercing before, but he couldn’t place where. She was currently laughing in a manner most uncouth as she struggled to help a gaggle of blonde girls about her age drag their huge sled up the hill, but all of them kept tripping through the deep snow. 

They were halfway up the hill when Kaldur and his friends caught up to them with their own sleds.

“Hey Kara,” Conner grinned at the tallest blonde, who stuck out her tongue at him.

“Piss off, Kon,” She said. The girls burst into laughter again.

“Can I help you with your sled?” Kaldur was asking before he could think.

Another blonde, who appeared to have dyed her afro, and who wasn’t Kara, placed her hand over her heart dramatically, “What a gentleman!” The girls backed up to let Kaldur dump the snow off of their sled and hang it over his shoulder to bring it up to the top of the hill.

“Who’s the gentleman, cuz?” Kara asked Conner, holding the hand of the third and final blonde. Kaldur tried not to notice that the girl he had noticed earlier was smiling at him gratefully.

“Ladies, this is Kaldur. He’s an exchange student from Greece.” Conner patted him on the shoulder with a wink as they followed Roy.

“I love Greece!” Kara’s hand-holding buddy squealed appreciatively, “I go there every summer with my mom for work!”

Afro-blonde shoved her hand at Kaldur, “I’m Stephanie, I’m a disaster bi and I’m from Gotham.” Kaldur tucked both sleds under his arm to be polite.

“Kiran, you’re an exchange student, right?” Kara asked the dark-haired girl.

“Yeah, I’m from India,” Kiran smiled. Kaldur almost tripped. Her smile was almost as bright as the sun, dancing off the pure white snow in a dazzling display of light. Kon elbowed him. He knew.

“Is this your first snow?” Kon nodded in Kiran’s direction.

“Yup!” Kiran caught a snowflake on her tongue, adding a little skip to her step, her thick green winter shawl spreading like a pair of angel wings as she bounced along. 

He was going to have a heart attack.

“Hey! It’s Kal’s first snow, too!” Kon patted Kaldur on the back with a little too much enthusiasum, and he fell over.

By then, thankfully, they had reached the top of the hill. Kiran helped Kaldur to his feet and helped him brush the snow off his shoulders. “So, what do you think of the snow?”

Kaldur looked around, blinking up at the sky, praying to the gods above for an answer.

“Cold,” He settled on at last. Like an idiot.

“Hey!” Stephanie held up the girl’s giant sled, “Let’s see how many people we can fit on here!”

“We could barely fit ourselves on there,” Kara’s girlfriend, Cassie, pointed out with barely-contained laughter.

“We can squeeze real close,” Kara suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Come on, Kon! Grab Bart and Roy! We’ll dogpile on the thing!”

Roy immediately said no, and slid down on his own before further argument could be made, but Kon’s other friends were all in.

“You wanna join in?” Kiran asked Kaldur. Stephanie had already claimed seat at the front of the sled.

Unable to form a coherent sentence, all Kaldur could do was not. Still smiling, Kiran took pity on him, or maybe she wanted to see him spontaneously combust, and gently took his hand and sat the two of them on the sled with Cassie and Kara. 

Rose, one of Kon’s co-workers, agreed to push them down once they were all on.

“Remember!” Cassie barked, “We lean together!”

“Go!” Rose shrieked with glee and gave the sled as big a shove as her tiny muscles could, which was much more than Kaldur expected. They shot down the hill with a collective scream, shooting past every other sled on the slope.

Kiran was seated right behind Kaldur, and as he held onto the sides of the sled for balance, she held on to his torso, like they were riding a motocycle. Kaldur didn’t have a motorcycle, but he had a moped back home in Santorini.

The joyride ended all too early, as Stephanie screamed at all of them to lean to avoid a tree. Everyone leaned in a different direction, and the momentum sent them tumbling into the snow.

“Bart! That was all your fault!” Cassie shouted as they lay red-faced in the snow.

“How was it my fault?” Bart pouted, throwing a clump of snow at Cassie. It hit Kara instead, who threw a snowball at Kon. Then it was just a free-for-all.

Kaldur’s gloves had fallen off, so he packed the snow with his bare hands, tossing one at Connor, then at Stephanie. Kiran surprised him with a snowball exploding on his back. She laughed, and it sounded like the tinkling bells that played at Christmastime.

He was in love. 

“Oh crap,” Kara checked her phone, “Steph! We have a shift in like five minutes.”

“Aw, already?” Steph pouted.

“Come on, maybe you’ll see business girl today,” Cassie teased, making Stephanie’s cheeks flush a lovely shade of pink. 

“Or Wayne boy,” Kara grinned.

Stephanie was already running through the snow, “I’m going, I’m going!”She shouted, sprinting for the coffee shop across the street.

“Any of you guys wanna come in for some hot chocolate or something? I work in the back, and Steph’s only allowed to man the register, but Court and Harper are pretty much barista wizards.”

“Do we get a discount for being your friends?” Kiran asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

Kara laughed. “No.”

“Trust me, if I could get a discount for being her girlfriend, I would,” Cassie whispered in an exaggerated manner. Kiran and Kaldur laughed.

“Where’s my discount for being the best cousin ever?” Conner demanded, running to catch up.

“Reserved for Clark,” Kara smirked, holding the door open for everyone.

The bell rang to announce customers in the mostly-empty cafe. The only occupied table was a girl with a soft smile and short black hair,

“There you are!” A girl in a green apron and purple and blue hair waved at Kara from behind the counter.

“Steph came in early for once, and I was wondering where you were.”

“Hush, Harper, I brought us customers, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Harper chuckled, “Klarion and Amy did something funky with the frother, so I’m going to make that my main project for today.”

“Ugh, Klarion,” Kara rolled her eyes. “Steph will be out in a sec to take your orders,” She promised. She ducked behind the counter with Harper and disappeared into the kitchen.

Kiran sat down at the booth with the only other customer in the store. “Origami?”  She asked, noting all the folded scraps of paper.

“Yeah,” The girl waved her arms, “Harper’s brother found a book and taught her, so she taught me.”

“We wrote little fortunes on the inside of all of them!” Harper grinned at the girl in the booth.

“Take one,” She handed a crane to Kiran, who shook her hand.

“I’m Kiran.”

“Cass.”

They were all made with neon-colored sticky notes. Cassie took a little folded-up bright green frog that you could hop across the table, Conner took a tiny pink paper airplane that didn’t fly very well, and when Kaldur stood around shyly, Kiran pressed another crane into his hand. While hers was bright yellow, his was a beautiful blue.

Kaldur carefully unfolded his crane. He wanted to see this curious fortune that Harper and Cass had come up with, but he also wanted to preserve the complex folds in the shape of a bird.

He found it, under the wing. Two words in black ink, written in cursive.

“Be Brave”

“Okay!” Stephanie burst out from the kitchen in a hat and apron that matched Harper’s and stepped up to the till.

“You know what you want yet?” Kiran asked Kaldur.

He shrugged. Right now, he was trying to contemplate the complexity and simplicity of his fortune. 

“I think I will just get a black coffee. That is what I usually get.”

Kiran’s nose scrunched up. “You can’t just get the same thing every time! There’s like fifty items on the menu! Don’t you want to improvise?”

Kaldur glanced at the menu hanging over Stephanie and Harper’s heads as the fourth barista, “Court”, burst in.

“Peppermint latte?” He asked Kiran for approval.

She nodded, satisfied, “It’s seasonal, you have to appreciate it while it lasts.”

“Be Brave”

The writing on his fortune flashed in his mind again. 

“Can I buy you a coffee?”He asked.

Kiran blinked, as if his request had blown her away.

“Two peppermint lattes coming up!” Stephanie declared.

“Court, get your butt out here we got work to do!” Harper barked.

Kiran laughed again, as Court stumbled out to help Harper with the drinks. 

Neptune’s Beard, she was beautiful.

“Don’t worry, I was going to say yes anyway,” She promised, taking his hand.

They walked up to the til, where Stephanie smiled smugly at the two of them, to pay for the drinks. Kaldur slipped his crane into his pocket. He may need it later.

#coffee diem au #kaldur'ahm #aqualad #kiran singh #solstice #lizart writes #super-spoiler #my frens #everyone go read supes's au they're amazeballs #aqualight

[venussinclair3]

Fun While It Lasted

Disclaimer? I haven’t written in a long time so I’m a little rusty but yeah this is just something short that I kind of liked. Would really appreciate constructive feedback (please be nice I’m sensitive)! Should I continue this? Should I put it on Wattpad? Anyway, enjoy! 

"You live next door yet you somehow always take forever to get here." She was laying in bed in a pink oversized shirt when he snuck through her window.

"Sorry, I was looking for my crayons." His hands were empty, "Couldn't find them. Can I use yours?" He plastered a large smile on his face because who could say no to such a cute face?

"This was your idea you know. How are you going to propose we draw each other and have no supplies whatsoever?" She said as she walked to the bookcase that stood in the back of her room. The third shelf was riddled with paintbrushes, sharpies, and crayons. She had meant to clean it last week but never found the time. Maybe she'll get to it next week.

"Because I knew my good friend Oasis would have my back." He jumped on her bed and took off his green converses before grabbing Bimbo. 

Bimbo was as old as their friendship. Oasis had received the teddy bear on her fifth birthday, the same day he knocked down her birthday cake because he was running recklessly. She clung on to Bimbo as she cried herself to sleep that night and swore to hate him for as long as she lived. 

There was a cake on the table when she went downstairs the next morning, "Blue's mom made it as a way of saying sorry about what happened yesterday." Her mother cut her a slice and gave it to her. It was better than she could have ever imagined. The chocolate cake covered in pink fondant danced in her mouth as the richness of the chocolate chips exploded. She hugged Bimbo tight while devouring the cake, deciding that maybe the little boy wasn't as bad as she thought.

Oasis dumped the supplies on her bed and sat across from Blue, her legs crossed, sketchbook in hand, "My drawing is going to be better than yours." 

"Doubt it. I'm a genius." And he was. Straight A student since fifth grade, Blue was the smartest boy in his class. He won the science fair three times in a row and lied his way out of trouble all the time. He lied Oasis out of trouble too because she could never do it herself. 

They both got to work, each with a different method: Oasis lightly drew an outline; Blue began working on her left eye. The sounds of the TV downstairs leaked into her bedroom. The Property Brothers were debating over which color they should paint the kitchen of a Nashville home they were working on. "I think the kitchen should be white" mumbled Blue, having started the right eye.

"What?" asked Oasis as she looked up from her sketch.

"Nothing. Where are your speakers? I wanna play some music." She pointed to the bookcase, second shelf.

"Don't play anything stupid."

"Why are your parents home?"

"No, I just don't want to listen to anything stupid."

He chuckled. Bringing the speaker onto the bed and connecting it to his phone, I Wanna Be Yours by Artic Monkeys enveloped them. They both began bobbing their heads. 

They played this song when they snuck out for the first time. Oasis jumped out her window and was pretty sure she had broken something, but the adrenaline of defying her parents rushed through her body to numb the pain. By the time she reached the park and met up with Blue, the only thing on her mind was how much fun they were going to have at Mielle's party. And they did have fun. They danced, ate, and drank. She successfully snuck back home with Blue's help and fell asleep the second her head hit her pillow. What she had failed to consider was that the party was on a Thursday night, that her parents would never let her miss a day of school and she was a shit actress. She went to school hungover and was grounded for a month. Blue was company during her punishment.

"You have a really sharp jawline" Oasis stated. She had finally finished with the outline of his face. He looked at her and grinned, taking it as a compliment rather than an observation.

"Thank you, princess." Nothing got under her skin more than that nickname. They fell silent again, a silence she was comfortable with, but he wasn't. As he drew her nose, he begged for her to say something.  Anything to convince him that she wasn't mad at him, that they were still friends, that she wasn't just tolerating him.

"Have you seen the new house yet?" Thank god. His prayers were answered when she raised the question so he spoke without thinking, "Yeah the new house is great! My room is way bigger and we even have a dishwasher, although I doubt my mom will even want to use it. She'll probably still make me wash them by hand because that woman hates me. Oh and the neighborhood is super nice and I met the girl next door. She's really cool. We've been texting and stuff.” His enthusiasm stung. Blue was moving to Chicago. He was moving 11 hours and 54 minutes away. And he was excited about it. And maybe she shouldn't take it so personally, but when her best friend was rambling about how cool his neighbor is and how he's been talking to her for a while, she couldn't help but feel as if she was about to be replaced. She faked a smile and said, "That sounds exciting. Can't wait to visit you in the summer." Oasis was a shit actress. None of what he said sounded exciting to her, "I'll miss you."

She added another hair stroke to his thick, straight eyebrows and refused to look up because she couldn't promise herself she won't cry. Blue didn't take her eyes off of her for a while. He stared at the way the corners of her round lips curved downward, making it look like she was always sad about something. "I just think it's stupid to move the summer before your senior year." He sighed, "Oasis." The tip of her ears got red as her name escaped from his lips. 

The last time he had called her “Oasis” was two weeks ago. She had snuck into his room after he blew up her phone, crying that it was urgent. Each time he had told her that it was urgent, it never was. She hopped through his window to find him at his desk, two Surfer Cooler Capri Sun in front of him. "Oasis, I'm moving in two months." She stopped mid sip. Her brown eyes ran across his face, scanning it for any sign that could give away this sick joke. There was no sign. He was serious. Blue was leaving New York.

It wasn't fair to be mad at him for moving. It's not like he could say no. But she had to be mad at someone. She decided the universe was to blame. "Have you made your college list yet?" he asked in a weak attempt to change the subject. She looked at the way his red lips were slightly open as he anticipated her answer, " Not really. Community college or NYU or Howard. I don't know. You?" 

"No idea either. Maybe an Ivy?" He knew he was Dartmouth material but he still sought her approval. He always had.

He went shopping with her right before the eighth-grade dance. They both didn't have dates so they decided to go together as friends. They walked into the Old Navy with "Sale" signs plastered in the front. She thought the signs were useless at this point because when were they not having a sale of some kind? He walked into the dressing room with several shirts out of his $20 budget, and once he had tried them all on, Blue marched to where she was sitting, impatiently waiting for him. 

"You are not wearing that purple button up."

"Why?" He cried.

"It's going to clash with my dress and it's literally hideous." She walked back to the rack of button-ups and picked out a green dress shirt for him. "You look so much better in green." Green was his favorite color ever since. They dominated the dance floor at the event and she won a raffle for a Bosse speaker. They spent the next weeks dismantling rumors that they were dating. 

"I already picture you thriving at MIT." They both chuckled. He reached for the black to start coloring in the curls of her afro; she reached for the orange to recreate his buzzcut. They fell silent again. "I'll miss you too." She offered him a small smile but that couldn't mask the sadness of her eyes. "We can still facetime and text every day," Blue offered. 

"You know it won't be the same." He did know that but his hope lied in the fact that if he never said it out loud, it would be less true. "I take that back. You're more of a Cornell type." Another weak attempt at changing the subject but he went along with it, " I think NYU might be good for you. You'll get to stay close to your sister." 

Moya was a prodigy. She began piano lessons at three, and seven years later she played at their aunt's wedding during the bridal entrance. "I think Moya will be fine without me. She'll get even more attention from my parents if I'm gone." The red of his lips was hard to replicate. It lay somewhere between crimson and cherry. "I'll miss that little devil. She promised she was going to compose me a song but never did."

"Pretty sure she had a crush on you." Blue burst into laughter so loud, Oasis barely realized that the album had started all over again and I Wanna Be Yours was playing. "Seriously?" He was in disbelief.

"Yeah, she would always ask when you were coming over and would try to hang out with us all the time."

He wiped the tear from the corner of his eye, "That's adorable." He added the finishing touches to her face: the scar on her chin that she got after he pushed her a little too hard and she fell, the beauty mark right above her lip, the curl at the top of her hair which she complained never behaved like the rest. "Finished." She said. She ripped the page from her sketchbook and walked to the bookcase once more. She grabbed two sheet protectors that were tucked between stacks of books and slipped the drawing inside. He did the same. She stared at the image of Blue, afraid that if she didn't memorize the details of his visage, he would walk out of her room and she would forget him. Forget the memories they created together. The secrets they shared together. She was afraid to forget how much she loved him. 

He handed her his drawing and as she saw how he had captured her beauty with nothing but her color pencils, she said, "I'm coming to terms with the fact that we weren't meant to be in each other's lives forever. But it was fun while it lasted...right?"

#storytelling #fiction #writing dialogue #teenagers #love #painting #music #neighbours #ran out of tags