Let’s do some surface-level research on the “Dragon Lady” stereotype. Merriam-Webster defines it as “an overbearing or tyrannical woman” or “a glamorous often mysterious woman,” neither of which are particularly helpful, so let’s look at some other resources.

First, from our good friend Wikipedia:

Dragon Lady is usually a stereotype of East Asian and occasionally South Asian and Southeast Asian women as strong, deceitful, domineering, or mysterious [...] Inspired by the characters played by actress Anna May Wong, the term comes from the female villain in the comic strip Terry and the Pirates. It has since been applied to powerful Asian women and to a number of racially Asian film actresses. 

Next, from TV Tropes, one of my all-time favorite resources on media stereotypes:

The Baroness meets Yellow Peril. The Dragon Lady is characterized by her overt sexual and physical aggression, untrustworthiness, and mysteriousness. Probably wears a qipao or kimono often with a dragon on it (even if she's not Chinese or Japanese), and knows martial arts. If she carries a weapon, it's usually a concealed stabbing or slashing weapon; combat hand fans are a perennial favorite. Is contractually obligated to have legs that would make Tina Turner jealous, to better pull off the dress.To maintain an aura of mystery around herself and keep her (usually male) interlocutors guessing, she would often speak cryptically, using flowery metaphors reminiscent of koans.

The Dragon Lady overlaps heavily with The Vamp, the Femme Fatale, and The Baroness, but is set apart by her level of stereotypical Asianness. However, please note that just because a villainess is Asian (especially in non-Asian works) doesn't mean she's automatically a Dragon Lady. Nor is it the same thing for a woman of any background to simply be called "Dragon Lady" just because she's overbearing. This trope has a very specific look and feel.

And lastly, here’s a surprisingly thoughtful definition from Urban Dictionary (though I advise you to follow that link at your own discretion):

A term used to describe a stereotype of Asian women found in literature and film from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. A "dragon lady" was a woman of Asian heritage who was thought of as being sexually powerful and generally of a cunning, underhanded, conniving nature, who would use her beauty and sexuality to get what she wanted. Often accompanied in fiction with an opium pipe, jade jewelry, and wearing a Chinese dress, usually with dragons on it. They were usually depicted as snide, assertive, aggressive, sneaky and explosive in temperament. The term is now generally used as a descriptive in a negative context, often to describe a non-Asian's misconception of Asian women. It is also used to describe a manipulative Asian woman, though this is less common.

As we can see, the overt and extreme levels of stereotypical “Asianness” are key traits of the Dragon Lady and thus it’s much harder for a character to be a Dragon Lady in the traditional sense if they’re not Asian. I do think it’s possible for non-Asian characters to brush up against the Dragon Lady stereotype, particularly when they combine the appropriation of “Asian” (most often East Asian, if not directly Chinese) aesthetics with the aforementioned personality traits. These Dragon Lady-coded white femme characters are less common nowadays but used to be a fiction staple.

So of all the things to make a blog on with all the topics and all the hot topics, why Raleigh?  To that, I counter, “Why make a blog in the first place?”. I chose this topic because some friends told me I should do it, and I suck at managing peer pressure.  

 But honestly, writing about my hometown does have a certain level of appeal to it.  I’ve lived here maybe 90% of my life and have no plans so far of relocating because of all the cool things I’ve done here and people I’ve met.  In part, I guess this blog is a way of sharing that with people and maybe landing a sweet sweet writing job in the process.

 More than anything, I chose this topic because Raleigh has a certain warmth to me.  A kind of melting pot experience of cultures, people, events, and sights that make exploring always feel worthwhile.  

  Nowhere I’ve been is “Oh, the international market” or “Oh, the game store”.  It’s “The international market where that nice older woman shared cooking tips with me” and “The game shop me and my friends went to for Friday Night Magic”.  It’s a great feeling and more than anything I kind of want that to shine through my writing more than anything else; that these aren’t just fun and/or hip destinations to visit, but places to build memories and be yourself.

  A lot of these warm fuzzies I’ve felt have been at our local State Parks.  Places like Umstead, which if I talk about now, I can avoid talking about it later to avoid being the world’s most basic travel blogger. It’s a huge park that spans Raleigh and Morrisville.  It’s got three man-made fishing lakes, gorgeous trees, and hiking trails that can take all day with the right kit and the right people.

  That, however, is all the easily findable stuff.  I could literally tell you about Umstead Park by googling it and it’d probably still sound appealing but there’s so much more to it.  For instance, there’s a LARPing group that meets on a set schedule to reserve a spot at Umstead’s community meeting spots and have fun for two nights.   There are park sponsored hikes where the guide leads you off course to find cool and interesting natural formations without getting lost, so you can find it later if you wish.  But more important than any of that, it’s a great community spot where people from all different parts of the city come to unwind and experience the joys of nature while still being in spitting distance of a Starbucks

  That intersection, nature and urban development, is another feather in Raleigh’s cap.  There are highways and toll roads and downtowns and malls and all the trappings of civilized living you’d expect from the city, but you’re not totally disconnected from nature.

 It’s one of those things you don’t realize is there till it’s gone but visiting other states and other cities, especially places like New York, you have less foliage incorporated into the city and more held in place by giant cement planter boxes.  Not to say the constant dotting of suburban neighborhoods means Raleigh is perfect, but in many ways, it fairs better than other cities.

  Or maybe I just have a thing for powerlines running through nature.  Who knows either way.  If you don’t like being surrounded by nature though there are still places like Downtown Raleigh, where there’s a little something for everyone. Want to celebrate LGBTQ+ events?  Want a weekend celebration of Carribean culture complete with food trucks serving culturally accurate foods?  How about a Bluegrass festival because, yes, this is still the south?  We’ve got all that, and that’s just isolated to Wilmington St.  Cultural festivals, fairs, wrestling matches, and more spread across concert halls, convention centers, theaters, and fairgrounds.  There really is something for everyone, and it’s not just some marketing blurb found on the back of a cheap tourist book

  Of course, that’s because of all the wonderful people who live here.  There are some not-so-wonderful people of course, and North Carolina isn’t exactly the most friendly state towards members of the LGBTQ+ community (yet) but I can say with utmost certainty that the diverse, interesting pools of people spread across the city and her neighbors lead to some very interesting groups of people coming together.

um heck yeah anon there are great aliens all over the place! i’ll try to find the ones i remember but there’s probably some i’m missing. everyone has such creative characters and designs i love the surge of space stuff lately.

ogrins has some great aliens and is working on a great plot lately with snotgelert! octorque and l’estasi are my favourites of ogrins and snotgelert’s ibaii (though not an alien aisha but they are kind of alien?) is great i’m really looking forward to where VOYER goes.

alien-aishas has bobeh the smooth salesman whom i adore, a purple grundo turned royal acara and tera a pretty astronomer ruki.

mutantmorphingpotions has this bitey alien xeno and a fun comic about trying to get through neopian customs to harvest organs DO NOTHING HEINOUS IN THE SLIGHTEST. also has cute mutant aisha punk.

spookyqueenofdicks has Rosie, a punk wiggly mutant/alien aisha they are perfect in every way. 

not aliens or aishas but look at plushie-neopets superb space owl, and heck here’s peadackles bounty hunter owl-

i got this far and realized you asked for aisha OCS not alien aishas specifically but i stand by all these space kids theyre awesome

-plushie-neopet also has an eventide aisha who looks very cool. actually they have such a great organization system just look through plushie-neopets aisha tag and you’ll find tons of aisha ocs to love!

*technically far more than ten ahaha

Tagged by @yuutfa to list my most recently listened top 10 songs

no particular order:

1. a few covers of TSwift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble”

2. this entire playlist

3. “You’re So Dark” by Arctic Monkeys as perfomed live here

4. “Walk With The Devil” by Karliene (possible PB spoilers)

5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand” and p much every cover of it ever made

6. “Electric Love” by Serena Ryder

7. “Grave Digger” by Blue Saraceno

8. “This Mess We’re In” by PJ Harvey feat. Thom Yorke

9. “Wreak Havoc” by Skylar Grey

10. this 10+minute Infinity War ‘rap battle’ (possible spoilers?)

( Yall thought there’d be more AM/TLSP? nah. saving it for the 11th when I get Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino via iTunes :p )

Thanks for the tag yuutfa!!

I like making lists, ok?

Anyway, I made a list of my favourite music pieces from video games a while ago, how about a less detailed list of my favourite orchestral pieces from movies?

In no order;

1: The opening credits for “Blade Runner” by Vangelis (1982)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fu7jN2_2pE

2: “Mural” from ‘Pleasantville’ composed by Randy Newman (1999)

https://youtu.be/oXinfJK4jHA

3: “On Earth as it is in Heaven” from ‘The Mission’ composed by Ennio Morricone (ok so actually this ENTIRE SOUNDTRACK but I had to pick a single one) (1986)

https://youtu.be/GQnKFfvHYgE

4: “Conquest of Paradise” from ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’ by Vangelis (1992)

https://youtu.be/94dY-QxjDiE

5: “The Legend Comes to Life” from Pokemon the movie 2000 composed by Shinji Miyazaki  (2000)

https://youtu.be/Sk2c3B9chCU

6: “Finale” from ‘Dragonheart’ composed by Randy Edelman (1996)

https://youtu.be/i0egEBIsXwI

7: “Bye” from ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ composed by John Williams (Incidentally my favourite movie of all time) Also Includes a tribute to “When you Wish Upon a Star” composed by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington. (1977)

https://youtu.be/4-jdkM2q5t0

8: “Leaving the Island” from Jurassic Park composed by John Williams (I don’t care if it’s a meme now or whatever. This music is beautiful and deserves to be remembered as such) (1993)

https://youtu.be/p6dU3OgOLU4

9: “Father Kolde’s Preaching” from ‘The Truman Show’ originally by Wojciech Kilar, arranged by Burkhard Dallwitz & Philip Glass (1998)

https://youtu.be/BurPbuLLH74

10: “Happily Ever After” from ‘The Secret Garden’ composed by Zbigniew Preisner (1993)

I absolutely adore this question and this initiative. While the mainstream publishing book industry is slooowwwwly growing more comfortable with utilizing sensitivity writers, usage remains relatively rare in other publication avenues (short stories, fiction magazines, self-publication, etc.) Introducing that level of mindfulness into writing/reading fanfiction is really admirable and helps normalize sensitivity readers as another step in the editing process, just like beta readers. On top of that, your initiative to compensate sensitivity readers for their important work demonstrates your clear commitment to writing respectful diversity and recognizing the value of those who help you get there. I can’t say enough how cool it is that you’re reaching out about this.

As to your question itself, I don’t have a solid answer nor personal experience but I do have some references. Let’s look at some professional sensitivity readers’ rates to get an idea of how much their services go for.

Quiethouse Editing’s “minimum rate is $100. Full-length texts usually fall between $0.005 and $0.007 per word, per reader.”

Patrice Williams Marks, author of So You Want to Be a Sensitivity Reader?, charges “a minimum charge of $75 for works under 1000 words” with a case-by-case basis for longer works.

Dax Murray asks “a base $50 for the first 5,000 words. For every word after that I charge an additional $0.0025, rounded up to the nearest cent.”  However, fei also write “if you cannot afford my rates and are an indie author or an author who has not yet been published before, I am willing to work out alternative means of compensations (for example, you crochet? I will accept a scarf as payment!).”

Alice of Arctic Books charges $50 for <20000 words, $200 for 20001-60000 words, $250 for 60001-100000 words, and negotiable rates for 100000+ words. Like Murray, she is “willing to negotiate if you are an indie author or a teen author.”

Mary Robinette Kowal, author of The Calculating Stars among other works, pays her sensitivity readers $3 per page. I do want to note that she herself isn’t a sensitivity reader but rather an author within the mainstream publishing industry who’s very open about her usage of sensitivity readers.

Writing Diversely’s Sensitivity Reader Directory features many readers with a variety of rates, though most tend to charge in the ballpark of $250 for a novel-length work.

Obviously, there’s a fair amount of variety here, as well as a bit of flexibility for non-professional writers. None of these sensitivity writers come cheap, more so if you’re writing extended novel-length fanfic rather than one-shots.

All that being said, I doubt you’re seeking out a professional sensitivity writer. I do think these numbers are useful to keep in mind during your search but understand that these are professionals with experience within the industry and in many cases, extensive education in media representation of various identities. In your case, you should look for a sensitivity reader who a) has personal experience with your topic(s) (race, disability, sexuality, religion, etc.) b) is knowledgable about the representation of that topic within fiction and nonfiction media c) understands and is willing to undertake the emotional labor intrinsic to sensitivity reading and finally d) is involved with the fandom in question so they understand the context your fanfic is written within.

Ideally, you find someone who has functioned as a sensitivity reader before and understands everything it entails. If you find someone who matches many of the above suggestions but hasn’t worked as a sensitivity reader before, I’d be sure to direct them to some resources on the profession so they know what’s expected of them and what they’re getting into (including an overview of professional sensitivity reader’s rates, so you both understand the value of good sensitivity reading). While I don’t think either of you should expect to work with a professional rate, it’s nevertheless a good reference. 

From there, you two can discuss payment, taking into account both your personal budget and their experience. If they have prior sensitivity experience, that should be reflected in their payment. If you think this is going to be a one-off arrangement, a lump sum fee is probably the most reasonable; if you plan to write additional works within the fandom that would likewise need sensitivity reading, you two can discuss a standing agreement and work out a per word rate.

This is a perfect example of an incredibly vague ISO Sensitivity Reader ask where there’s nothing blatantly wrong with the basic premise but there’s also not enough information to truly assess whether the framework is racist or stereotypical.

Let’s look at some different possibilities with the help of TV Tropes.

Have these higher magical beings used their superior powers to take over and/or control the world? Because in that case, you have narrative magical aliens who look like a historically oppressed group become the oppressors in a fantasy version of the Persecution Flip trope. This has really unfortunate implications of darker-skinned people using whatever power they have to oppress the rest of the world as soon as they have the ability to do so.

Alternatively, does one or more of these higher magical beings serve as your protagonist’s guide or mentor? In that case, you may have stumbled into the Magical Negro trope, where your mystical dark-skinned characters essentially serve as character development stepping stones for your protagonist(s). 

Do you have more than one dark-skinned magical character in your cast of protagonists? Do they make mistakes and have their own character arcs, despite being from a so-called “higher” group of beings? Is this a moralistic story where your higher beings suddenly discover the horror of racism through personal experience among normal humans?

(Also, it’s worth noting that if your magical demographic took human forms from earlier humans, they would be black. Not just “darker-skinned” but truly, properly black. Maintaining racial ambiguity disregards solid history that the first humans were black, while also falling into the oft-profitable Ambiguously Brown trope.)

I’ve made a pattern over on Etsy, y’all! It’s a super-simple crochet pattern that makes something useful, practical AND pretty. To me, the puff stitch and bobble stitch are one in the same, but as I am not a full-time professional crochet-er, my opinion doesn’t count. But what does count is how soft and scrubby this washcloth is. I prefer to use these for bathing, but they work just as good for…