Hey Um Queer Desi People If You Think You're Alone, I Promise You're Not. I'm Here, We're Here, And We

Not wanna degrade any language but Tamizh and Sanskrit is the MOST poetic Language.

The words hit right chord >>

Oh, my Shayma, I want You.

I want You in every way, in every breath. 

Be my lover when I feel unloved, 

My Guru when I am lost in darkness, 

My healer when I am frail and weary, 

My Mother when my heart is burdened, 

My Father when I stumble on my path. 

Be my protector, my eternal guide, 

My sacred love, encompassing all.

Let me love You,

With the essence of every atom within me.

For all I desire is You, 

In every form, in every name, 

For You are my all, 

My Shiva, my Shakti, my Vishnu, my everything.

🌹🌹🌹

three roses means three lines 🤭

Tony could have so easily pawned Steve off on someone who actually knows what to do with kids, but he looked at Steve standing there, so small with his hand in Maria's and peering bravely up at him, and he couldn’t let him go. “Give me the damn kid,” Tony muttered, but now, with Steve barely strapped into the passenger seat, he thinks he should have just held his tongue and let Maria take Steve back to SHIELD. Sometimes he barely knows how to deal with Steve when he's a grown man in his twenties—what made him think he could handle Steve when his age is in the single digits? When Tony glances over at him again, he’s sitting still and quiet, looking out the window with his hands on his lap. Tony pretends it's his ego that won't allow him to actually take Steve back to SHIELD and not the sudden pang in his heart at the sight of Steve like this.

from a de-aged steve fic because it's high time i write one bahaha

so what ur telling me, is that steven grant rogers, can remember in perfect detail, the look on james buchanan barnes’ face when he fell screaming from that train, and also the look on james buchanan barnes’ face 70 years later when they met on that highway and didn’t even know his own name or who steve was?

cool. cool cool cool cool. thanks, i hate it.

I’ve previously stated that when people say “Why have James and Harry as POC?” it’s fair enough to respond, “Why not?” but there are also some reasons that specifically drive me towards representing them that way. So, without further ado, here’s why I tend to view James Potter as a person of colour. 

(Please note that this isn’t about authorial intent, since I’m more than aware that JKR doesn’t exactly write with the purpose of people reading her main characters as POC. It’s more about how the narrative connects as a reader, as well as some personal preferences.)

Racially-Coded Language Directed At James 

[…] Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn’t want Dudley mixing with a child like that. (PS1)

and, after Vernon claims James had been unemployed in POA: 

“As I expected!” said Aunt Marge, taking a huge swig of brandy and wiping her chin on her sleeve. “A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who —” (POA2)

There’s a very specific trend in the way that the Dursleys speak about James. “Good-for-nothing,” as soon as he’s introduced, a sentiment repeated by Marge. “Wastrel” in that same chapter of POA. And the way that Marge reacts to James being “unemployed” is very much akin to anti-immigrant rhetoric, i.e. considering them a drain of public resources. It’s classist too, certainly, but that’s not divorced from racial dynamics. The greatest employment disparities in Britain occur among ethnic minorities. And that’s in recent reports. I can guarantee it was worse approximately 30 years ago, during the setting of HP. On top of that, the idea that the Harry’s “otherness” can be identified on sight also reads like an allusion to race. 

Harry’s Appearance

He shot a nasty look sideways at Harry, whose untidy hair had always been a source of great annoyance to Uncle Vernon. (POA2)

and 

Professor Flitwick was walking past a boy with untidy black hair … very untidy black hair…  (OOTP28)

James and Harry share most of their features. The most prominent of these is by far James’s hair, which is consistently described as both “black” and “untidy.” Neither is a trait exclusive to people of colour, but there certainly is a tendency for people of colour to face greater scrutiny for the state of their hair. The Dursleys’ view that having “improper” hair somehow equates lacking societal worth is much along those lines. It’s not at all unreasonable to relate Harry’s struggle with his hair as partly the product of his heritage. 

Dynamic Balance Between James and Lily

This one is a point of personal preference. Since we know so little about either James or Lily, it’s hard to gauge what exactly their relationship was like. But I absolutely love the idea of James as a person of colour and a pure-blood while Lily is white and Muggle-born. Although there’s a claim that there’s no racism in the wizarding world (I’d question that, but that’s a different post), there certainly would be in 1970s Muggle UK. It’s an interesting dynamic to engage with — James, completely unaware of why people would look askew his relationship with Lily even in the Muggle world. Lily, turning indignant protector for James, while people dislike him for his heritage. It’s all the appeal of a role reversal AU but built into canon-compliance. 

Presumption of Delinquency 

For the space of a heartbeat both policemen imagined guns gleaming at them, but a second later they saw that the motorcyclists had drawn nothing more than —

“Drumsticks?” jeered Anderson. “Right pair of jokers, aren’t you? Right, we’re arresting you on a charge of —” (Prequel)

and

Harry preferred Little Whinging by night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colors in the darkness and he ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about his “delinquent” appearance when he passed the householders. (OOTP1) 

This one’s a bit more depressing, but it’s something that I think holds true for many people of colour in places where they aren’t the majority. Whether in a local neighbourhood, with a police officer, or at an airport, it’s easy enough to think of an instance of racial profiling. Being treated as a threat by people who don’t really know you. In James and Sirius’s interaction with the police, up until that point they’re smarmy, sure, but have made no indication that they’re any kind of threat. They reach back in their pockets and immediately the assumption is that they have guns. Harry experiences similar profiling. In that same chapter, he talks about how some of the neighbourhood kids are afraid of him. Admittedly, he’s got the Dursleys’ badmouthing and the state of his clothing going against him, but James is well-dressed and cared-for and still treated as if he might become violent. 

Nuanced Representation Through James

This point is less about the text itself, and more about how interpreting James as a person of colour is beneficial to readers of colour. Although he sort of gets the least physical presence in the series, the things we do see inform us that he’s got quite the story. He’s described, along with Sirius, as “the cleverest [student] in school,” in POA, he becomes an animagus at the age of fifteen, and he saves the life of his worst enemy (who later sells him out to Voldemort). He dedicates his life to a war that his blood status exempts him from. And he’s got obvious flaws as well! He’s arrogant, sometimes rude, and loyal to the point of being blind to the possibility of betrayal. Of all of the Marauders’ era characters, James has some of the most interesting characterization. In a series where people of colour barely feature, the idea that someone like James (and subsequently Harry) could be men of colour is very exciting. 

And, for what it’s worth, I actually think it’s kind of cool that James is so well-off financially. It’s not only a reversal of expectations with the earlier point of racially-coded insults, but also offers a version of an ethnic minority who doesn’t necessarily have a class disadvantage. And, if you’re on the Desi James train, it actually plays into a specific narrative of migration and employment for Indians in the UK prior to 1981. Racial discrimination and class do not always follow each other, and I think that disconnect can be jarring for those who consider themselves relatively privileged. Again, it’s something I think is interesting to explore.

Diverse Magical Heritage

Again, this idea comes down to personal preference. Since James comes from a long line of mostly pure-bloods, that means that if he is interpreted as a person of colour, there’s an entire magical tradition that can come with that. All of the HP spells are Latin-based, but if you read James as Desi (as I do) then there’s the potential for Sanskrit-based spells! Indian wizard holidays! If Christian wizards celebrate Christmas, surely Hindu wizards celebrate Diwali? Or Muslim wizards celebrate Eid? Not to mention the cool idea of life-cycle rites coming into play. I’d love to see a wizard version of annaprashan, where instead of reaching for just books or toys, you could have Harry reaching for a wand for power, or the Mahabharata for courage. Not to mention that James’ family has a long history in potions, which actually seems closer to Ayurvedic medicine than chemistry. There are so many possibilities that come from seeing James as a person of colour. These are only a few examples. 

Hc that when Jason got adopted and was introduced to the giant ass manor library, he was determined to read every book there(like any reasonable 12 year old would do upon finding out there was a whole ass library in their house) but he needed a way to remember what he thought of the books, and Alfred or Bruce or someone suggested some sort of social media or blog, so Jason made his new super secret social media book review blog

At first it was just another one of those random accounts, until it got more and more followers over time, and Jason expanded from book reviews to just random stuff, and eventually his acc was pretty well known. Only nearly a year into this endeavor(before the acc really got rolling), Jason got his first hater. This hater was Tim, who had discovered the acc while testing his online stalking skills and, still annoyed at the change in Robin, decided to be a little hater about it.

Time went on and the accounts following only grew with everyone knowing about Jason's very dedicated hater that was constantly arguing with him over random shit, either just on website or in dms. Then the acc stopped posting cause Jason, yknow, died.

Some years went by and Jason's acc turned into a little story of "hey you guys remember that one book review acc that made new reviews scarily fast then just dissapeared one day?" "Oh yeah, you remember their super dedicated hater? Such a funny time lolol."

Then the acc came back. And with the accs return came the little hater's return(with Tim now extra hate fueled) and the arguments continued but over time Tim became less and less cruel as his relationship with Jason got better and better(this is an au where they actually yknow, bond and stuff) and eventually, Tim admits to being the hater behind the acc and stops his shenanigans

When someone asks about where Jason's favorite hater went, he just replies "turns out it was my brother the whole fucking time." And Tim, having seen the reply some way or another, would never admit that he teared up a little at being called Jason's brother after so many years of hatred.

tw: self harm scars

idk, something that's been rattling around in my brain since an anon asked about it. i never could find a full scene to fit it into but oh well.

///

Elphaba brushes a thumb over the scars, the catch of her nails against the rough, raised skin sending shivers down Galinda's spine. She holds her breath on instinct, anxiety tangling in her chest in a way that makes it hard to fill her lungs with air.

"You know," Elphaba starts, eyes still tracing the lines on Galinda's fair skin. "In some ancient Ozian cultures, scars were seen as a badge of honor. A signal to everyone else that the bearer was strong enough to survive something that could've killed them."

Elphaba glances up, her emerald eyes shining as the corners of her lips tilt into the gentlest of smiles. She keeps her gaze locked on Galinda's as she lowers her head to press her lips to the marks.

"I don't think you're disgusting, Galinda," Elphaba whispers, crawling back up the blonde's body to press another kiss to her lips. "I think you're a survivor."

I'm listening to the False Prince audio book right now (major spoilers in this post btw!!!!!!!!) and I'm still in the first chapter but the reader (Charlie McWade) has read most of the narration in a pretty flat tone while giving all the characters wildly performance accents, EXCEPT SAGE, who has a basic American accent just like the narration and so far only has slightly more life injected into him. Conner and Mrs. Turbeldy are both being read in these performative British accents.

If you've read the books then you know that not only are Conner and Turbeldy both Carthyan but SAGE, who is actually Jaron, is ALSO carthyan and spends most of the first book pretending to be Avenian and faking an Avenian accent.

WHICH IMPLIES THAT THE ACCENT OF THE AVENIANS IS JUST AN AMERICAN ACCENT. And the Carthyans are British.

Help??? Is Sage's accent going to change from American to British as the book goes on and he "learns" to fake a Carthyan accent? Is the narration going to change to a British accent at the end when we realize that he's been Carthyan all along?!! Or has he been in the Avenian accent for so long that now he just thinks in an Avenian accent?

Help I know I'm probably reading too much into it but this is insane i can't stop thinking about it, Sage/Jaron's accents and sarcasm play SUCH an important role in the series so it feels SO wrong that all the characters would get essentially Pro Voice Actor Treatment while he gets to be read in a flat American tone regardless of what façade he's putting on at any given time.

I wasn't there to witness the glory of Treta Yuga ,

I wasn't there to witness the epic of Dvapara Yuga

But I'm fortunate enough to witness this day.

JAI JAI SHREE RAM 🚩 श्री राम 🚩