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yzzart · 2 years

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— Now I'm here, with you.

characters: Aemond Targaryen x (F)Targaryen!reader.

summary: In a grand ceremony, Aemond wouldn't miss the opportunity to dance with you.

warnings: incest, explicit language and mentions of violence

word count: 2.852!

english's not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes!

You lost count of how many times you rolled your eyes and how many men asked for your hand and your attention that night. — The most disgusting part was realizing that half of the men who appeared in front of you didn't make a point of hiding their eyes under the neckline of your dress.

You just prayed that it would all be over as soon as possible.

Your mind cursed the gods for allowing and creating such over-the-top celebrations and you hoped to be forgiven for that kind of thinking.

Not that you didn't enjoy spending time with your family. On the contrary, you LOVED this rare moment. — Seeing everyone you loved most in your life together, telling stories and sometimes singing, was a comforting sight.

But there were times when you'd rather fly your dragon away from it all than put up with strangers' marriage proposals to you. The most embarrassing thing was that your family was witnessing the scene, including your adorable uncles, who you haven't seen in a long time.

And one of your uncles, that you were excited to see again, was present across the table. It was a long, terrible distance between the two of you.

Aemond Targaryen.

Your secret lover looked like a work of the gods, he looked so charming that it made your eyes sparkle with admiration for the eldest. — You couldn't, even if you wanted to, disguise your true feelings for Aemond and at times you felt like a foolish, passionate young woman.

You spent years apart from each other. Years that were agonizing and unhappy for both. — Without Aemond's company, you felt helpless and so fragile even around trained guards and mighty dragons. It was literally impossible not to think about him, you spent many sleepless nights with your uncle in your head, disturbing you.

Those last few years were complete hell for Aemond. Since your departure, he had passed through your rooms and stared sadly at the locked wooden doors. Sometimes, he would sit on the hard, freezing floor as if he was waiting for you to magically appear and open the door for him. — but you never appeared to him again.

He felt so stupid.

Aemond started to put up with the idea that you were away from him, but he never accepted it, as it hurt him immensely. Fortunately, he managed to hide his feelings of sadness and pain to himself all these years.

But here you were next to him again, as it always should be. Showing how much you've grown and changed.

The two of you looked at each other for the thousandth time that mediocre night, and the old feeling of heat and excitement rose in your chest. It was no surprise that Aemond had a kind of power over your body, even if he did absolutely nothing.

Aemond watched the requests of those filthy pigs, who made them directly to you, with immense disgust and an overwhelming desire to crush each one's skull and throw the remaining body parts for Vhagar to devour. He was controlling himself in a way that surprised him, but it was hard to hide the anger on his face.

Did those wretches really think they were going to touch what belonged to Aemond? Everything about you belonged to Aemond. Your body, your soul — Everything.

You belonged to Aemond, even the gods knew that.

A new melody echoed through the large room, catching the attention of all the souls present, including yours. The tone of the melody was sweet and slow, proving to be a fascinating song for couples and you would recognize that song even if you were 8 thousand steps from the castle.

Taking the initiative to break eye contact, you distance yourself from Aemond's single eye and begin to look curiously at the couples already formed in the center. The synchronized steps were magical in your eyes, they danced with such passion and adoration.

The previous men's dance proposals came to your mind, haunting you.

"Would you allow me to dance with you, my beautiful sister?" — You were surprised by Jacaerys' high and subtle voice reaching your ears. You were so lost in your thoughts focused on Aemond and the guests, you didn't notice the moment your half brother got up and walked over to you.

All who were seated at the table and around heard the prince's determined words. Your mother, who was beside you, smiled angelically at her two eldest children.

Aemond wore an expression of pure hatred towards his nephew's action. How did that bastard have the nerve to ask you to dance? That question crossed the one-eyed prince's mind as he clenched his fists.

Looking sweetly at Jace, you just grabbed the eldest's offered hand and presented him with a bright smile without saying a single word. Immediately, you move from the table to the center of the room.

As planned and utilizing the space, you were lucky that the music was just getting started and the couples formed were still dancing. The emotion of adoration rushed through your body.

"Do you remember that dance?" — The young prince asks genuinely showing nervousness. Shaking your head, you affirm to your brother.

"And can I forget?" — You confirmed it in the form of a question to Velaryon. — "I've learned only three in all this life: how to speak high valyrian, ride a dragon, and this dance." — You both laughed at your easygoing response.

Jace smiled gently against you as he positioned himself in the dance steps. He tried his best not to convey the feelings of nervousness and anxiety to you.

Returning to the huge wooden table, Aemond didn't like witnessing the ridiculous scene. His jaw was completely locked. — If he wanted to decapitate the heads of the men who had been surrounding you all night, have no interest in knowing what he wanted to do with the eldest Velaryon.

Aemond felt the need to do something.

He could see Jacaerys's hands gripping your waist gently, not wanting to hurt you, as you rested your hands on his broad shoulders. This was a nightmare in itself for Aemond.

Apparently, Jacaerys said something to you that automatically made you laugh and that occurrence infuriated Aemond. He didn't think twice and stood up abruptly from the table, causing his wineglass to immediately fall off the table. — This caught the attention of his relatives, but the prince didn't care at all.

The one-eyed prince furiously descended the few steps in front of the table, trying to reach you and the damn velaryon. The few people who were interrupting Aemond's arrival were pushed unkindly by him.

You couldn't sense Aemond's presence approaching and even if you did, you wouldn't know what to do. Your back, your admirable back, was aimed for Aemond's one eye, and he couldn't wait to see them again later but in a different way.

You linked your arm with your brother's, switching places with him, following the steps of the dance. Your look of joy and fullness turned to surprise and intrigue as he saw who was after your older brother.

Your body shuddered and became immobilized, stopping his movements and stopping to dance. Jacerys was surprised by your spontaneous behavior and would have tried to deduce what had happened if it hadn't been for an arrogant and strong grip on his shoulder.

Determinedly intending to turn around, Jacaerys came face to face with a face expressed in anger and sarcasm. It was the face of his uncle Aemond.

"Well, i think you've danced enough with my niece, haven't you, nephew?" — Without disguising his gruff tone, Aemond questions Velaryon. Jacaerys shrugged peacefully, tried to search for a valuable answer, but nothing came to mind.

You were silent during the entire situation, not having the courage to open your mouth to something. The only thing you did with the greatest courage and determination was to look at your charming uncle.

"I went so long without seeing her, long times without her by my side. On the contrary, you spent all these years with her." — Disappearing from your nephew's sight, the one-eyed appears by your side gently holding your hand.

When Aemond took your hand, a wave of nostalgia surged through her mind. Your hands were so soft and small compared to his. — He would have closed his eyes and enjoyed the beautiful sensation if it hadn't been for the figure of Velaryon in front of him.

Jacaerys thought about doing something about it, but he remembered that there was no point in arguing with the eldest prince and the three of you were among the guests, if something happened it would be a big scandal. — Damn Aemond got what he wanted, said the boy's thought.

Jace did nothing but look at you, trying to communicate something but you were so sensitive to the situation and yet your hand was being gripped by Aemond's that you didn't understand your brother. — Turning around without saying goodbye, Jacaerys's image faded from your eyes, probably returning to the table or heading to his quarters.

"Finally some decent time with you, my dear." — Aemond's husky, arousing voice attacked your ears. He was still holding your hand and, as a way of intensifying the touch, Aemond joins your hand with his, intertwining the two. You sighed, squeezing the prince's hand.

"Don't tell me you did all this just to dance with me, uncle." — Teasing and unafraid, you tried to hide a wide smile that was about to appear on your lips but you end up failing. Aemond watched every expression on your face so intently, as if this were the last time he would ever see you.

All the couples, who were in that center, supported their arms on their companions, but without separating the intertwined hands, following another dance step. Aemond notices this before you do and quickly springs into action.

"Nothing more fair than doing everything to dance with my niece, from whom i spent so many years away, don't you think?" — Aemond's one eye was focused on you and just you. Only the gods knew how many times he dreamed of this moment, of you in his arms again.

"Well, if that were so you should have asked for my hand first." — That was like a small punch to the older man's chest. You shrugged your shoulders waiting for an answer.

"I admit my incompetence with dignity and truthfully, but I didn't want everyone at that table to be surprised by such a suggestion." — Aemond admitted, for the first time, in a slightly lower tone. — "I don't think it would be the right time."

Your waist was gripped by your dreaded uncle's big hands, making you surprise yourself with such strength during the grip. A shaky breath came out of her mouth, which was drawing Aemond's attention.

That sound made Aemond's head go wild, wanting to get more out of you.

At that very moment, Aemond didn't care if anyone in the family might be watching that scene, the only thing he cared about was you. However, he wanted to show everyone who you belonged to and he wished that all the men who had asked for his hand that night were seeing it all.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment. You really don't know, my sweet niece." — Without disguising the malicious tone, the prince uttered to you. With his head bent and close to your neck, swear on the dragons' lives that Aemond controlled himself not to place his thin lips in that region.

"Or maybe i know?" — You couldn't finish your miserable sentence because you were interrupted with a clench of your jaw by Aemond's hand. You had already stopped dancing seconds ago, only the people around you continued.

"All these years, all this time without you by my side, were terrible for me" — His voice exuded hardness along with a penetrating touch, you had to close your eyes to take in the words. — "I started to blame myself for letting you slip out of my hands."

Aemond's face was so close to yours that you could feel his heavy breath against your young face. It looked like at any moment your lips were going to touch his. — He seemed to be controlling himself but was ready to push the limits he'd placed on himself.

"Now I'm here, Aemond." — Showing colossal vulnerability against your lover, you declared. Your body was so sensitive and your mind was clouded thinking about how irresistible your damn uncle's lips were. The one thing you definitely wanted was to feel the feel of those razor-thin lips again. — "Distribute all that longing and resentment because of my departure on me."

Your long-awaited lover was surprised by your quick words. A feeling of shock and satisfaction crossed the older Targaryen's mind. — A familiar smile crossed Aemond's face, that thin, cutting smile.

Aemond brought his lips together with yours. The sweet sensation with a hint of bitterness appeared during the long-awaited kiss. — Time might have stopped and everyone around the two of you froze, and no one could explain the intensity of that kiss.

Your young body tingled with the feel of Aemond's body pressing against yours.

That fiery kiss was slowly weakening your body. It got to the point where you had to put your arms around Aemond's shoulders more tightly. — The taste, you missed, of Aemond silenced your thoughts and made you want more.

Aemond was exploring every region of your neck, trying somehow to leave little red marks there. His fingers were sinking into your skin in such an exciting way.

The heat was rising and your breathing was starting to hitch, a sure sign that you both needed to stop, but that was the problem - neither of you wanted to end this moment.

The kiss was interrupted. — You were trying to regain lost oxygen. Your breathing was so weak and uneven along with Aemond's.

Aemond's swollen, reddened lips caught your attention. You were mesmerized and so nervous about that scene. How could anyone be so angelic

Coincidentally or not, the song was still playing but from the intensity of the notes and melody, it was already about to end. Everyone dances happily, not paying attention to the two of you standing and connected to each other.

Your fear of imagining that someone in his family had seen that event had disappeared from his consciousness. Nothing mattered more than your prince sent by the gods to you. — It didn't matter if he was your uncle, after all, you and your mother had a peculiar taste in it.

Your head was bowed by Aemond's hand, which had not been withdrawn. That touch was so soft and serene, he was taking great care of you. — Like he always did.

With your forehead pressed against his, you didn't dare run away from affection and there was no reason to do so.

Your heart was pounding frantically, as if any second it might leave your body, which, too, was sensitive to the touch. Damn the power Aemond had in you.

"I love you." — That was the only thing that came out of Aemond's mouths. The only thing he felt he needed to tell you and that was the last thing he said to you when you left with your family.

Aemond's biggest fear was losing you again. Spending longer years away from you was his worst nightmare. He might be recognized by some in the realm as the prince who wasn't afraid of anything, but underneath that mysterious, feared, terrifying face was a fear that was your absence in his life.

"I love you too, Aemond." — Your fragile, sweet voice, oh, your sweet voice, rang in his ears. Your words showed truth and dedication to the eldest. All your experiences with Aemond passed like a long dragon's flight through your mind.

A brief breath was released by Aemond.

"Never leave me. Do everything but never again..." — That tone of voice was squeezing your chest, he was so fragile and you felt guilty for leaving him, even though this had been going on for years, you were still feeling guilty. — "Leave me."

For the first time that night, and in public, Aemond was showing his most…human side. A side you only got to know many times when you were a kid.

"Take my words, Aemond." — You opened your eyes, and for the sensation of being watched, Aemond opened his one eye to admire your expression of passion and seriousness. — "I will never leave you in this life again."

You uttered the words long awaited by the prince. His eye gleamed against you. Aemond had never in his life been so loved like that, not even by his mother or father. It was a strong feeling for him. — A feeling he only felt around you.

The song ended, bringing applause and shouts of joy at the great spectacle that had taken place. Everyone was captivated and delighted by the ceremony, including you and your lover.

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x targaryen!reader #aemond x reader #aemond fanfiction #aemond the kinslayer #aemond one eye #house of the dragon #game of thrones #hotd x reader

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dirty-droid · 4 months

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So I played through some more dbh last night and woke up thinking, God, there is a good reason Markus and Kara, and their respective companions never got as popular as Connor and Hank. Literally The Bridge is surrounded by the most *do everything for absolutely no reason* chapters, and there's no comparison.

First the Kara chapter wastes your time, she barely gets any small talk in with Luther, then the car breaks down, then you're just doing tiny tasks, doing a shitty sum up of her story so far when Alice asks you to make one up- they could have done something interesting with that story but they chose not to, literally anything specific anything that would function as a parallel to their journey would have actually had some value. Then you barely start a conversation with Luther, where are you maybe get a hint of his personality before we're back to just talking about the plot and Alice, but then it's over again and you meet the Jerries and you learn almost nothing about them.

It is a chapter where you do nothing interesting, and you learn almost nothing about the main characters, for a downtime chapter, I expect character development and get barely a sneeze of it. There is so much room and so much time for you to really push and question your main characters but it just doesn't get used.

Honestly I think the protagonists all could have probably really benefited from the audience getting to hear their internal monologues if they weren't actually going to talk to their companion characters, but even that would just be a substitute for decent writing.

Either way, after that, we come back to Connor and Hank, who do almost no tasks in this chapter, *but spend the entire time TALKING.* They talk to each other in a constant volley back and forth for the entire length of the chapter and it's probably one of the best chapters in the game, it's certainly one of the most important in their story. You spend the entire bridge scene learning more about Hank and Connor's inner worlds, and how they think, and how they feel, you spend the whole chapter learning so much about their perspectives, this chapter is all about asking the hard questions about both of their individual characters, and the tension is high, it's a straightforward chapter to play, and it really fucking feels like your choices matter here, there will be immediate consequences, not just walking through your environment trying to find the right answer, or being dragged through an interaction. It's just plain good.

And then Markus infiltrates the Stratford Tower, and you get the most boring and useless and frustrating chapter in the game that doesn't seem to serve any purpose beyond looking cool. If Kara's last chapter was only to gain sympathy and create some soft and fuzzy feelings, this chapter is only about looking cinematic. This is probably my least favorite chapter in the game, honestly I've just gotten lost on that yellow ass office floor building too many times, even though I'm very familiar with the game now I still managed to get lost again last night.

I will admit that eventually it does become an opportunity to decide between pacifism and violence but that seems to be the only real development for Markus, and it wouldn't have been hard to make that kind of opportunity in another setting. Because we get next to nothing watching him get past the front desk, or from walking around that floor, just some outfit changes and pretending to be a machine and a little more Android hate in the background, Markus is almost completely silent yet again, there is almost no talking with North once she appears. We actually get more about North's personality here than Markus', she just feels like she has more lines somehow, because sometimes she just talks without it being connected to the plot and Markus never does.

This bit is more speculative, but my fiance and I were going off last night about whyyyy did they have to break into the tower? We're never given any reason for what the steps are and why they are important, just usually pretty important in these mission impossible type scenes, they're usually explaining in a voice-over why they are taking the steps that they are taking. But we get no explanation for why he needs to go to the 47th floor or whatever, No explanation for why he needs to change into a maintenance Android uniform, why North was in the stairwell, how Josh and Simon got in, it's all just handwaved, and whyyyyyy they couldn't have just?? Made a recording and then hacked the station's broadcast remotely and basically just posted the speech? I don't know, it's just a particularly frustrating chapter to play, personally, but it isn't strong.

Either way, you've got two chapters with next to no character development, that just have a lot of empty space and time where the characters could have been talking or could have been doing something else, but didn't because the vibes were more important, sandwiching a simple scene with ten pounds of character development and it just feels weird. And once I noticed it, it just made the Kara and Markus chapters look incredibly weak and poorly written... And conversely, make the Connor and Hank chapter look much, much stronger in comparison.

It's like Detroit become human almost needs it's own type of Bechdel Test, just to show how much they fail Markus and Kara. "Do they talk about something that isn't the plot?"

"Do Kara and Luther talk about something that isn't Alice or getting to Canada?" "Does Markus talk about anything besides his speech for this chapter?" "Does Alice talk at all beyond basic communication with Kara?" "Does Markus or his buddies talk about anything that's not the revolution or just Markus himself?"

... They don't pass a lot.

It's just hard to take these characters above simply *likeable* when they just, don't, ever, talk. There's little to no development for Markus or Kara, and because they've just become deviants, there's hardly any character establishment in the first place, they barely even get the chance to just be flat, because if they don't really know who they are, we don't really know who they are.

Connor and Hank's friendship is more functionally the main plot, more so than the deviant investigation, and for Markus and the team, and Kara with Alice, that's simply just not the case, there is hardly any relationship, they're just in the same boat. This is why Connor got astronomically more popular, and why he and Hank have the staying power that they do.

Markus and Kara just don't ever talk, and Connor does. And I'm fucking mad about it. The amount of time that was just wasted in their stories, I could probably take a damn stopwatch to all the moments where there could have been a little something-something, and nothing was put there. It's not to say Connor doesn't get some quiet moments too but he always gets the chance to make up for it.

Even at the beginning of the Stratford Tower chapter, I noticed that they could have had Simon and North talking about something maybe unrelated when Markus walks up, but there's nothing, only silence until Markus comes in with a plan. And of course we know about every time Luther tries to bring up the fact that Alice is an android, only to be shut down and walked away from. It fucking kills me how much time Mark is has the focus of the camera but it's only so he could look cool for a minute, and share no thoughts of his own, none of his new feelings, everything is only implied and then followed by the action where he is only allowed to be the leader of the revolution and never just Markus. There's a tragedy in that, but they could have driven it home harder by *pointing that out.*

#dean talks to himself #detroit become human #dbh connor #markus dbh #Kara dbh #and it's not like i don't know there's racism and sexism in fandom and in production. obviously Connor is a white man. i didn't forget #and there's the insanity that happened with GR and creating all that personality for an asshole with four appearances throughout the game #which makes you wonder why didn't the fandom do the same for Markus and Kara bc wtf #But honestly the logic kind of tracks. GR showed so much personality and he has the benefit of being human so we can more easily extrapolat #we know what humans tend to do with their time and what they act like and we barely get to see any androids actually doing the whole #becoming human thing.#I've tried building them up in my head but I'll admit it's kind of hard. they're more blank slate than sandbox #GR is a human and Hank's foil and that's easy to extrapolate on. 900 is Connor but Better and that's easy to extrapolate on #i think we somehow see too much and not enough of Markus and Kara and it has us pressing the brake and the gas at the same time #just trying to figure them out around these points. it's like a damn maze and a lot of speculation that doesn't have anything to grab onto #it's just a damn crying fucking shame because there was so much time to spend on them and it just doesn't get spent on them #anyway rant over hope you didn't hate it

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imagopirateversion · 5 months

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It’s a Pirate Life for Me!

Why I am an adult who still believes in the pirate philosophy and is not willing to change.

An essay by: a person who really hopes future employers will never find this, but will still put their name at the end of it.

Painting credits: Pirate Boarding, Andrey Serebryakov

Can One Still Call Themselves A Pirate in the Twenty-First Century?

There are two answers to that question, and both of them are "yes".

Pirates do actually exist today: there were around 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023 and around 115 in 2022 (source x). So yes, one can define themselves a pirate in the twenty-first century in a very literal sense; which is not what I'm trying to do here, of course.

While the world has changed and piracy has (almost) ceased to exist, thanks to stories, legends and media, the idea of piracy has become completely detached from the practice. This has led to a concept of "piracy" that has very little to do with sailing, stealing, and killing, and a lot more to do with what most things become over time: philosophy.

What no longer exists in practice in our era (and sometimes what never existed at all) has become a way of living: think about cowboys, goths, hippies, punks and so on. All these things are much more than aesthetics: each one has its own vision, its own practices, its own style, its own way of living; in other words, its own philosophy.

This text is about pirate philosophy and its origins.

First Things First: Why Did People Become Pirates?

Piracy did not appear out of nowhere in 1600; it's ancient and we have proofs of it existing as a practice since ancient Egypt (read more here). We automatically think of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when we talk about piracy because that period is known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Precisely between 1650 and 1730, there were thousands of active pirates, some of them infamously notorious, as Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, Bartholomew Roberts and, of course, Blackbeard himself. But why did that happen? Well, the answer is complex but can be easily summed up in a single word: money. The world was changing, and as Lord Cutler Beckett explains so brilliantly in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: currency was becoming the currency of the country, especially in England. Ruthless landowners forced small farmers to leave their lands, while smaller tradesmen were challenged by larger businesses. Everyone wanted more, and those who couldn't adapt to the new world's rules became unemployed and were forced to move to urban areas to look for work or poor relief. The cities became overpopulated and soon there weren't funds left: distressed people had no hope of making a better life (source x). For this people, piracy was nothing more than a way out: it was either submit to the new society and starve to death, or rebel and survive. What would you have done?

What Kind of People Became Pirates?

Piracy soon became the best choice for many people. Not only for unemployed men who couldn't find a better way to survive, but also for those who, for various reasons, couldn't fit in. people who couldn't conform to societal norms weren't just discriminated against or isolated, they were often killed. That's why, even though piracy wasn't an easy life at all, many people preferred it. So, who were the pirates?

Sailors usually didn't make enough money to survive, and the discipline was extremely strict. Many of them ended up starving, getting sick, and dying. It's not surprising that many chose to become criminals and sail as pirates (source x).

Teenagers, often orphans with no money or future. Young men might have to endure seven-year apprenticeships before they could make an independent living, while piracy offered them a way to earn money quickly (source x).

Rebellious against the oppressive conditions imposed by their governments, specially from the Navy.

People discriminated because of their race. Black people in particular often had no social opportunities all, but could find acceptance within pirate crews, where camaraderie transcended racial or ethnic differences.

People with a religious belief that was considered heretical or nonconformist by the mainstream society could often find themselves persecuted. Pirate crews comprised members from diverse religious backgrounds and were generally more tolerant of religious differences.

People with a criminal background, who were offered an opportunity to start anew and be part of a community, two things that the civilized society couldn't give them.

Queer people, particularly homosexual men. Homosexuality was a crime at the time, often viewed as negatively as piracy, if not worse. Piracy was a male-dominated world; although for a long time media tried to portray pirates as "turning" gay due to the absence of women among them, the truth is that many gay men were pirates because they were gay. Homosexuality was so common among pirates that they had something very similar to same-sex marriage. It was called "matelotage": a legal civil union that bound two sailors together in an informal partnership, uniting one's fortune and future to the other's, and was respected by ship captains and pirate crews (source x).

Women. The majority of pirates were men, but not all of them. In a world that was not at all kind to young girls and women in general, it was not uncommon for them to disguise themselves as men or marry a pirate in order to become one. There have been notorious women pirates, some of them captains, such as Zheng Yi Sao or Huang Bamei (source x).

In short, outcasts. Individuals rejected by society, unable to find their place, and unwilling to conform to strict societal rules.

The Adventurers

There were a few people, a minority of course, who willingly chose piracy even though they had a normal, conforming, and even wealthy life. It's the case of Stede Bonnet, The Gentleman Pirate; he was born into a wealthy English family and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships. His story, apart from giving us one of the best pirate stories in the history of media, is significant because it provides evidence that piracy wasn't just about necessity; it was about identity. Piracy had become a way of life long before it was romanticized by the media.

The Pirate Life

What was it about pirate life that was so tempting for so many people? Life on a ship wasn't easy at all; the work was tough, the food was poor, and anyone could die at any moment, whether due to illness, sinking, or murder. Nevertheless, there was something that made it all worthwhile: freedom. People who have had no possibilities nor future in society found in piracy the opportunity to live by their own rules. Civilization's norms had no reason to exist in an uncivilized society; no master telling you what to do, no morality, no societal standards, no need to impress or perform. If you wanted something, you simply had to find a way to get it. That meant you could possibly starve to death, but it also meant that you had a chance of getting everything you had ever desired, and eating and drinking until you died, and in the civilized society you didn't have that chance. You could choose to sail and never touch land again; you could choose to marry or not to marry, to have a family or not to have one, to sleep with whomever you wanted to, to practice your religion. You could change your name and be who you wanted to be. Pirate life was the realization of that question most of us have asked ourselves at least once: 'What if I disappear tomorrow and start all over again somewhere else?'.

Piracy in the Modern World

In our eastern, civilized, technological, capitalist society, we don't need to be part of a crew and sail to be pirates. Piracy as a practice was defeated thanks to pirate hunting in the eighteenth century, but you can't kill an idea, can you? Ideas not only persist, they evolve and adapt to the changes they're forced to face. When we say "pirate" in today's world, we mean a lot of different things:

Sea Pirate: a person who attacks and robs ships at sea;

Software Pirate: a person who appropriates or reproduces the work of another for profit without permission, usually in contravention of patent or copyright;

In Italy, we have a way to describe people who ignore the Traffic Laws, 'pirata della strada', literally 'pirate of the street';

In sexual slang, the word 'pirate' is used to define someone who sleeps around, who constantly looks for casual sex.

The term 'ass pirate' has been used as a slur to describe homosexual men.

In short, the term in today's society is used to describe someone who breaks the rules, whether they are actual laws or societal standards.

If we consider everything piracy represents as a concept, as an idea, in modern society, and put it together, we can sum it up in three words:

Freedom, Anarchy, Resistance.

Freedom

'Freedom' is such an abstract concept it is almost impossible to define. It's widely discussed in philosophy, particularly the question: is it possible to be truly free? As soon as we built a society, in order to gain benefits, we had to partially sacrifice our freedom. We can't freely steal from our neighbors, but in doing so, we ensure our neighbors won't steal from us (at least, we hope). It's a simple concept. However, there's a line beyond which the benefits we gain aren't worth the sacrifices we make to obtain them. This has occurred repeatedly throughout history; it happened in the Golden Age of Piracy, and it was the reason why most of people chose to abandon civilization and sail as pirates, and it continues to happen every day. Whenever a social construct, or sometimes even a law, prevents you from simply existing as a person; whenever your future is dictated by your social status; whenever you're denied free time, enjoyment, rest, and happiness because you have to work ten hours a day just to be paid the minimum wage, if you're lucky enough to live in a country that has one. That isn't a freedom you willingly gave away to have a benefit. It's a freedom someone took from you before you were even born, before you could think and understand that just because everyone acts like it's the normal way of living, it doesn't mean it has to be that way.

Anarchy

It is true that, at least concerning crews, pirate society had a sort of hierarchy, in which the Captain of the ship was at the top. However, it is also true that this hierarchy could collapse at any given moment, considering the possibility of a mutiny, and that, in general, pirate society was anarchic. There has been research on the functioning of pirate society, particularly regarding its potential application in a hypothetical modern society where the value of human life and individual needs are more considered than they were during that era. Most of the work in that sense has been done by Peter Lamborn Wilson in his 1995 book 'Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'. He provides a definition of what he calls 'Pirate Utopias', that are described as "Early forms of autonomous proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond the reach of governments and embraced unrestricted freedom" (source x). I highly recommend reading his work and all the other research that followed it if you want to go into detail, because that's not what I'm going to do here (for now).

That being said, this is my personal take on the matter:

In our days, the discussion about Anarchy as a political belief is often ridiculed and reduced to a mere "if there were no rules, people would kill each other". That statement is true; people would. What is usually misunderstood and not taken into consideration is that people who profess to believe in Anarchy do not mean we should abolish every existing law overnight and see what happens. With 'Anarchy,' we mean a hypothetical society in which individuals are free to do as they please, and they willingly choose not to kill, steal, and hurt others because they have no interest in doing so. This hypothetical society is, of course, unachievable; it's what is called a utopia.

Most political beliefs are based on utopias (or dystopias, depending on your vision of them), because a society that strictly adheres to a pure political system is impossible to achieve. There cannot be a perfect socialist society, nor a perfect communist one, nor a perfect capitalist one, and of course, there cannot be a perfect anarchist society. What we can do, though, is aspire to one—or, to use a naval metaphor, we can set the course towards it. We can make decisions, take actions, and build societies around a specific vision.

The western society, for example, tends to a capitalistic system; in brief, money are what our society revolves around. The more money you possess, the more power you wield; your ultimate goal in life must be to gain money so that you can afford basic necessities: food, housing, healthcare and so on. Everything is privatized, leading to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, being exploited by people whose only purpose is to become even more rich. Consequently, you are forced to wake up every morning at 6 am to work ten-hour shifts for minimum wage. Don't like it? You're free not to live in the capitalist society. You'll probably starve to death, end up living on the street, be marginalized, isolated, persecuted, but still. You're "free" to do it. Of course, this is not a "perfect" capitalist society, it can't be; not until Democracy exists, not until Resistance exists. Still, our society tends towards it.

'Anarchy' doesn't mean we should live in a society with no rules; it simply means we should strive towards it and build a society that is as similar as possible to that utopia, prioritizing the freedom of the individual, but without causing collapse.

Resistance

Most pirates were hardly educated enough to even understand all of that as a concept, of course. They didn't fight for a political idea, most of them fought to survive. Even though it wasn't a utopian society, they still had a shared belief: dissent. Being an outcast means to be disillusioned in how 'mainstream' society works, and we know most of them were, considering their social background. Piracy was, in its own way, a movement of resistance.

Times have changed, and we don't have to engage in naval battles to resist. As society evolved, resistance as a practice evolved with it, and hence Western society has become less and less violent, as have the harmless but powerful acts of resistance.

Every time you protest, you are resisting. Every time you talk back, you expose a normalized injustice, you rebel towards an unfair authority, you say 'no', you go against what's expected from you, you are unapologetically yourself, you refuse to adapt, you decide to ignore or bypass a senseless law, you are resisting. Every time you prioritize your free time over money, you challenge beauty standards, you don't accept a 'that's how it was always done' as a justification. Even when you have fun harder than how you're supposed to, when you rejoice louder than how's considered appropriate, every time you dance like no one is watching you, you are, somehow, resisting.

Piracy in Media

Much of our perception of things we haven't directly experienced is filtered and conditioned by media. Even when we study historical periods like the Medieval Age or the Roman Empire, a part of our understanding will always be influenced by the media we've consumed about them. This is because media is often how we were introduced to these subjects: you can get very passionate about Indiana Jones, and so get interested in studying the pyramids and ancient Egypt, only to find out pyramids are nothing like it was portrayed in the movies. Nevertheless, you got interested in studying them in the first place because of Indiana Jones, so as much as you understand and accept that that isn't the truth behind ancient Egypt, you can also accept that Indiana Jones is part of your vision of it, and that cannot change. I know Pirates of the Caribbean isn't historically accurate, as much as Our Flag Means Death and Monkey Island aren't; still, I cannot deny that they have a role in creating a general vision of Pirate Philosophy in the modern world.

There are, in my opinion, three main aspects that come out from the combination of what we know about Piracy as a historical reality and as it's portrayed by media, and those are Hedonism, Nomadism and Camaraderie.

Hedonism

Hedonism is defined as 'the prioritization of pleasure in one's lifestyle, actions, or thoughts'. It's a recurring theme in the portrayal of pirate society; from songs, to movies where Tortuga is depicted as a place where people drink, eat, have sex and fight as they please, to legends that speak of treasures to be found so one can live a life of excess.

The reason for this is related to what we already know about the history of pirates, particularly the society they escaped from. The society of the seventeenth century was extremely strict, both morally and legislatively. Sex outside of marriage was out of the question, and many things that we consider normal today were seen as affronts to decency, often punishable. To be considered a respectable man or woman, one had to follow certain rules. Additionally, many pirates came from backgrounds of extreme poverty, making them prone to indulging in every kind of pleasure when they could.

Hedonism isn't just a perpetual search for pleasure; it's actually an ethical philosophy that is grounded in pleasure (defined as the avoidance of pain as much as possible) as the only intrinsic value and therefore the only reasonable expression of ethical good. This philosophy of life can be easily connected to the anarchist society that we described earlier; a society that doesn't have rules and in which you don't have a 'place' or need to 'contribute,' since your only purpose as an individual is to pursue pleasure.

I personally believe in Hedonism as an ethical philosophy, particularly Psychological Hedonism, as much as my research of pleasure doesn't prevail on someone else's.

Nomadism

One of the things that fascinated me the most about the Pirate Life as portrayed in media, was the idea of embarking on a journey that would never end. Our society is a stationary one, and I actually think there's nothing wrong with that. My perspective on this matter has nothing to do with morality, ideology, or politics. Being stationary is good; the human species would have never evolved if it didn't stop and build the world as we know it. This is simply a personal preference and stems from my absolute intolerance and repulsion at the idea of being born and dying in the same place. I've always yearned to explore, to see as much of the world as I could. The concept of 'borders' has always bothered me; I firmly believe in cultural exchanges and in learning about how other human beings live in different parts of the world. Of course, I acknowledge that without nations, traditions, and populations that are local and bound to their territories, there wouldn't even be cultures to discover or different societies to explore. So, this is about me, not a hypothetical, utopian society. I'm the one who always wanted to travel without ever stopping; I've never felt like I belonged in any one place or that there's a good enough reason to settle in a single nation and miss out on all that there is to see out there.

Camaraderie

Pirates encompassed men and women with all different kinds of backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, ideologies and identities. While we speak in absolutes, in a society with no moral or legislative boundaries, factors such as who you were, where you came from, who you slept with, or what you believed in simply didn't matter. You were a pirate, and that was enough.

The official definition of camaraderie is:

"A feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with".

In this case, we could even say "towards people that you share a lifestyle with". Being realistic, in a historically accurate pirate society, it's plausible that hate towards differences and minorities still existed, considering the strict and mentally bigoted society most pirates came from. However, we're talking about individuals who chose to leave that society, probably because of its strict and mentally bigoted nature. It's reasonable to assert that this particular kind of hate was at least less prevalent in the pirate society than outside of it.

Piracy in media undoubtedly plays a significant role in romanticizing the sense of brotherhood and companionship felt among pirates; we saw Pirate Codes, Brethren Courts, battles in the name of a common ideal, epic friendships and romances, songs that speak of a union strong enough to beat death itself and slogan such as "Long Live Piracy!".

What attracts me the most about it is that camaraderie as a concept exists in basically all societies or communities with a shared aim or belief. However, there are always rules that need to be followed, and the risk of being excluded and losing the privilege of deserving such camaraderie is always present. The idea of fidelity toward one's society, community, or even nation is essential for its survival, ensuring that those in power maintain control over their adherents, citizens, or believers. The pirate society is the only one I've stumbled across that doesn't need it. The feeling of brotherhood within these people doesn't need any kind of loyalty, proper rules or the fear of losing privileges to make sure that the community keeps existing. That's because the pirate society is made up of people who have already betrayed, renounced, and lost all of their privileges to be there. All they have is that sense of brotherhood and friendship. They exist in a reality in which none of them belongs anywhere and that, somehow, becomes a sense of belonging; one that doesn't need to be continuously shown or respected, simply because it's the only thing that keeps them there.

I believe that is the only reality in which camaraderie and freedom can coexist in a society, and I think it's one of the most beautiful and powerful concepts I've ever seen portrayed.

Conclusions

We finally arrived at the end of this... yeah, let's call it 'essay'. It was more than two weeks ago when I wrote the first word. It was meant to be brief and simply a way to put in words an intimate belief. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it, mostly because I rarely share such deep thoughts with people around me; though, I'm trying to change that. As all human beings I strive to find belonging and as a true pirate, I never found anywhere to do so. So, to find but one person who reads this until the end and finds themselves to agree with my view, it would make me immeasurably happy.

Thank you if you made it this far, even if you don't agree with a single word I've written, because you dedicated part of your time to me, and I appreciate it.

If you find syntactic errors, please consider that english isn't my first language and also that grammar is a made up concept anyway.

Don't forget to be free, to resist, to pursue pleasure as much as you can, to explore and to show camaraderie not because you have to, but for the sake of it.

Fair winds t' ye!

Imago

#pirates #pirate philosophy #piracy #long live piracy #long reads #essay

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ariel26c · 2 months

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Hi Ariel. I hope you are doing well. Sorry to disturb you but I've been having a lot of doubts and don't know where and whom I should ask. Any kind of advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I've been into manifestations for 3 years now. I've manifested many small things like, holidays, random food, getting work done which was stuck.etc.

but never any physical changes except growing 5 cm taller. I was 159cm(age17) and now I am 164cm(age19)

I know about laws and Neville and somewhat about shifting. But the thing is, My desires are completely different from what my current physical form and life looks like.

I desire to be more male like. I want to be taller, muscular, and have my desired features. And it's not just my physique but my life. And on the top of everything, I lost three of my teeth in an accident. They are like my biggest insecurity tbh.

Sometimes I am in that state of "I already have my desires" but I tend to fall back real quick. I admit that i lack patience.

You can manifest the most dramatic changes there is no limit to how far you can go. In this case I recommend subliminals because there are submakers that make subs for men too. If you like subliminals of course but if you don’t that’s perfectly fine.

Ask yourself what you think is going to work the best to manifest your desired appearance. Whatever you assume works will work.

As for going back and forth between the old and the new story, every time you say the old story correct yourself and say “actually I already have it.” Catch those thoughts and flip them. Eventually it will get easier and easier to affirm the new story because you’ll begin to believe it.

Remember that you can literally have whatever you want. You can change anything about yourself. Just identify with that version of yourself with your desired appearance.

You can have all of your desires. If you can manifest other things you can manifest literally anything you want. There’s no limit. Do you really think you have limited power?? Well you shouldn’t because you’re God. Those “small things” as you say are great accomplishments considering there are some people who are struggling to manifest those things.

Give yourself more credit. You manifested those things successfully even if you think they are small. You manifested getting taller then manifest everything else. You can manifest one thing at a time if that makes you feel more confident.

Side note: it’s not a disturbance when more followers / supporters message me ❤️I’m more glad to help especially since I’ll be taking a quick break soon.

#desired reality #law of the universe #affirmations #manifestation #manifesting #law of assumption #self concept #desired self #desired life #desired appearance

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chaoticarson16 · 11 months

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main six - 🟡🔴🏡 🧵 🗣

um i didn’t know if you wanted us to pick one for your character headcanon ask game, so i chose multiple just in case. also didn’t know who to choose lol

Multiple is perfectly fine cause it lets me rant about more than one of my blorbos :D (Also sorry I forgot to check my inbox!!)

🟡 - Happy

California: When he’s happy he bounces on the balls of his feet while flapping his hands and even though he won’t admit it New York finds this adorable (Me? Projecting? Nooooo)

New York: He barely shows it but he really enjoys having the rest of the northeast + California around and he likes making them little gifts and anonymously leaving them in front of their door

Louisiana: He both enjoys and gives the best hugs. He knows what kind of hugs the rest of the states like and loves just randomly appearing and hugging them

Florida: He can actually bake really well and loves to make snacks for the South. He has everyone’s favorite desserts, snacks, and allergies memorized.

Texas: Even though he’d deny it, he really likes cuddling. Whether it be cause someone was cold, sad, or just wanted to. He’s also like the perfect pillow cause he’s one of the biggest states and there’s enough room for quite a few people.

Gov: He really loves snakes so any time he sees one his eyes do the cat thing and he has to keep himself from ranting about that specific species

🔴 - Angsty/Sad

California: He genuinely doesn’t know why most states hate him. He understands some is politics but he doesn’t know why the others do. It affects him so much he’s changed himself so much to get them to like him that very few know what he’s actually like

New York: He keeps up his rude demeanor because he doesn’t wanna get too close to people in fear they’ll leave. He’s terrified of losing people he loves so he chooses to stay away from people. But it eats him up inside that he doesn’t really have anyone so he’s stuck in this cycle of wanting friends but not wanting to lose them

Louisiana: During the Civil War he was so torn between doing what his government wanted and doing what his people wanted. In the end he was forced to help his government through threat of harm. He still has heavy survivors guilt and is tormented by the spirits of his lost people. (I headcanon him as African American and that he can see spirits)

Florida: He puts on a mask that he’s happy all the time but it makes him sad knowing that most of the states are scared of him or hate him. He likes causing chaos cause it’s how his people are but he hates how the other states pull away from him when he does it.

Texas: He likes to act like he’s big and tough and that nothing affects him but it does. Every event in his state, big or small, affects him. The insults some states will throw out. He takes those to heart and truly believes them. He acts like he’s confident but he’s insecure and severely doubts he’ll ever be good enough (Damn that was rougher than I expected it to sound)

Gov: When he first came around as Continental Congress, he had so much work that most nights he didn’t sleep. PA tried to help him but it was just too much. He did that so often that it’s now become a habit. He will work until his body physically can not move anymore, sometimes skipping meals to get it all done

🏡 - Home

California: (I saw this from someone else and I stole it because it was such a good headcanon) When not at the statehouse he lives in a hobbit type house that connects into the surrounding mountain. It’s pretty roomy and he somehow has wifi in there.

New York: Usually at the statehouse cause his room there is bigger than the room in his apartment. He has a small apartment with enough space just for him.

Louisiana: He shares a house with Florida when not at the statehouse (literally married) it’s a decent sized one story house. They share one room and the others are used for shenanigans. They live away from most people so their yard is until they get to another house.

Florida: Usually the statehouse or the house he shares with Loui

Texas: He’s usually not at the statehouse. He has a ranch and a lot of land with it. He’s usually gone taking care of his horse Janie and his dog Buck. The ranch consists of his main house, a shed, and a barn with a stable. Think of a stereotypical barn then make it a light brown

Gov: This man almost never leaves his office. When he does he lives at the statehouse. He can not afford to leave them alone in the same house

🧵 - Hobbies

California: Surfing, skateboarding, hiking, basically most out door activities plus drawing, cooking, playing drums or guitar, and singing

New York: This man absolutely loves fashion. He also likes drawing, cooking and “gardening”

Louisiana: Cooking, (literally all of them can cook I’m so sorry) singing, playing instruments, dancing, and writing

Florida: Baking, dancing, singing, playing guitar and drums, causing chaos, swimming, and scaring the states with how much he actually knows

Texas: Baking, actual gardening, crochet, trick riding, shooting targets, and playing with his dog

Gov: Writing, drawing, hiking or going on walks, biking

🗣️ - Social

California: He’s pretty friendly with most people he meets and likes talking with people on social media platforms (he definitely has tumblr)

New York: He rarely talks to other people and actively avoids it

Louisiana: He treats everyone he meets like family and everyone loves him

Florida: He likes talking to random strangers about the things that interest them but when it comes to the states he actively tries to find a way to make it into a joke

Texas: He has a bit of social anxiety but it’s mostly in crowds where it’s a lot harder to escape. He enjoys talking to the other states about sports and stuff but he also likes talking to New Jersey about gardening

Gov: This man is so awkward, it’s great. The only social interaction he’s had is with politicians and the states. He can be professional no problem but the moment it comes to casual conversation he blanks. He mainly lets the person he’s talking to rant to him about things. The states actually go to him and rant about any and everything cause they know he won’t tell them to shut up

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pianocat939 · 7 months

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Yan Snail Humanoid

That’s it. I can’t hold my amass of thoughts. Firstly, I’m gonna explain the snail humanoid itself because I can.

Alright, imagine scientist MC is assigned to study a species similar to that of humans. Except the species has some features similar to that of a snail. The species is called Gastravians. (I just took the scientific name and added a bunch of letter lmao)

They tend to have flexible soft antennas (not eyes like regular snails), and a shell.

They aren’t born with shells, rather when they’re around the age they start school they pick out their very own shell. Which also explains why they can separate themselves from their shell. Picking your shell is a big ceremony for the parent.

With their antennas, it can depict their mood. The brighter the glow is, the more positive the mood is. And the duller, the more negative. The antennas can also act as sensing the emotions of others.

They’re born as a single gender, but when reach maturity can alter between the two.

They can be born in many different colours. They can look totally human or literally pink and purple.

Each snail secretes their own cream from their hands. It’s generally to help them climb on surfaces or letting them know they’re staying hydrated. But they also may rub the cream onto their crush’s arm if they like them.

Snail people are snuggly. Like it’s normally romantically or platonically.

[Note: The following Yan uses any pronouns because of gender-free morphing]

That’s all the lore I got for now. Anyway, moving onto the actual Yan stuff-

So MC is observing this one specimen. Generally goes in a male presenting form, but changes to female once or twice a week (stays the whole day as a female-presenting if he changes)

The specimen goes by the name Jovyanus or Jovy for short. Jovy at first is very shy and sleeps in his shell a lot. But slowly starts to come out an hour a day.

Jovy doesn’t mind MC asking questions. Just fearful since she’s self-conscious. Not to mention she’s still learning English. Her grammar and vocabulary is good, it’s just she has odd pronunciation since Gastravians gurgle a lot.

The more Jovy trusts MC, the more he presents himself in his female form. In a way, he feels safer to show his non-biological form.

Jovy loves feeding time. To Jovy, feeding time is when she can share her thoughts. So she talks in little gurgles or chirps.

Jovy is very self-conscious of their appearance. Often wanting to look more human for MC. Sometimes they’ll be out from their shell multiple hours a day.

Jovy loves nuzzles. Prefers nuzzles over talking actually. He wants them to know it’s literally him confessing, but MC thinks he’s being snuggly like your typical Gastravian.

Jovy can and will get territorial. He will use acid and target it at anyone he deems a threat.

Jovy is kind of delusional. Since Jovy was made for being pink despite being born male (yes there are some colour norms for genders in snail people. I haven’t decided them yet. And not saying colours define gender, I just think it’s fitting for his backstory) he tries hard to appear intimidating. But once he realizes MC likes him he’s obsessed.

Jovy is absolutely delusional that they’re mates. Jovy wants to snuggle and live with MC-

“MC, *gurgle* should I curl my antennas for today?”

…

[GUYS IM SORRY IF THIS WAS UNORGANIZED/SEVERELY UNFINISHED. I’ve been thinking about this for a few days and just spat out lore and ideas]

[I’ll make a formal story post soon, but for now have this.]

[I’m not good at making OC’s, but snail people are just booming in my head right now]

- Celina (It’s like 4 AM haha-)

#yandere #Yandere imagines #yandere x reader #Jovy #Gastravians #IM INSANE #HELP ME #I CANT STOP #Snail ppl

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brotrustmeicanwrite · 8 months

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Using Schrödinger’s Mary Sue In Creative Writing

Every once in a while, out of nowhere, the idea of something like a cool fight scene, a witty exchange between the villain and hero or a very dramatic finale just ✨pop✨ into a writer’s head; usually accompanied with a sudden burst of inspiration. When those scenes involve established characters and stories, more often than not the writer regains consciousness several hours later having fully thought through the most epic thing they’ve ever written, contemplating weather or not they should rewrite the entire story to be able to properly include that scene.

But sometimes those scenes are just about A hero, A villain, A couple, not about someone specific. When that happens we often get stumped in the creative process because we have to sit down and actively create characters or fledge out vague character ideas we’ve had on the back burner to have material to continue the train of thought. And that usually kills that burst of inspiration.

That’s where what I call “Schrödinger’s Mary/Gary Sue” comes into play.

A SM/GS is a character concept for a specific archetype of character who possesses only the characteristics that you tend to give these archetypes, as well as all of the abilities for them that you came up with but weren’t able to include but wanted to.

To give an example, this is how my own SM/GS for the MC/Part Time Hero looks like:

- personality and appearance -

Vaguely Male

Light Hair

Kind (optional, might have been beaten out of them)

Intelligent

- abilities/roles -

Teleportation

Ghost sight

Half human / half spirit

Fox spirit

Dragon shifter

Follower of / reaper for the god of death

Genius magician and high priest

A planet throwing heavenly knight who helps the gods of creation fight evil gods from other dimensions

A literal god

Etc. etc. bc yes there is much more

That list on its own looks pretty Mary Suey. What makes that character a Schrödinger’s Mary Sue however is how to use them: Once that character has been placed into a scene their abilities are limited to just one, or if compatible and not over the top a few of those abilities.

This setup gives us the opportunity to experiment with not only that scene that originally came to mind but also old ideas that we didn’t want to abandon but couldn’t make work at that time. Basically what we’re doing is instead of playing with air, we play with an unpainted, unclothed, wig-less doll. It’s not concrete enough to just be copies of pre-existing characters but gives us enough substance to develop the scene; and if all goes well that doll won’t stay in that state for too long and become its own fully fledged out character.

(I used to really struggle with losing that burst of inspiration but since I’ve started using the SM/GS approach my brain has probably become the fastest and most effective recycling machine on the planet.)

Also, I you end up trying this for yourself, keep in mind to keep the SM/GS’s personality and characteristics as vague and basic as possible before going into the scene, else you risk writing the same character over and over again. Once you start working you can add proper personality traits and make a real character from that base concept. And of course, don’t be afraid to change those basic characteristics if you feel like it or the story develops into a direction that calls for it.

Happy writing :D

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crstormzy · 2 years

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castiel headcannons | my candy love

ok so i have this really annoying habit of inviting fictional characters to live in my head rent free for god knows how long. specially when they are assholes. specially when they're the type of assholes i'm really fond of. specially when they're castiel veilmont.

i also have the even more annoying habit of making extremes out of these characters in my head, but oh well... it be like that sometimes.

anyways, it's 3am where i live and i cannot sleep so here's some of the extremes i've taken castiel to during the last few years i've been obsessed with him:

so, first things first, my man is a genius. i'm not talking the einstein kinda genius, but more of a mozart or michelangelo or something like that. he likes art and he understands it and he is so good at it. like, otherworldly good.

he has an awesome vocal range, but he can rock the higher register. and he can also rock the growls so that makes for an interesting combination.

i don't care what others say, i just know castiel can cook. and i'm not talking instant noodles or frozen pizza either, i'm telling you my man can cook. call it perks of living almost alone from a young age, but he is a really great chef (and a really great lover, so be ready for a lot of breakfast treats if you're dating him).

although he is a singer (and a pretty good one at that), castiel just loves bad karaoke nights. like, all out awful singing: out of rhythm, out of breath, out of tune. he's paid to be a good singer all other nights of the year, so he definitely seizes the opportunity to just be a shitty one for a while.

songwriter is coded into his dna. like, waking in the middle of the night, genius ideas, music out of everything type of songwriter. dude writes like he's running out of time.

his lyrics are so deep, always with beautiful metaphors and the kind of thing that just guts you every. fucking. time.

or they're just vulgar nonsense. there's literally no in between.

can sleep anywhere. tour bus? yeah, sleeping. library table? long gone. the most uncomfortable chair in existence? catch him going. his bed, though? forget it. after midnight his brain simply starts running a mile a minute.

not. a. morning. person.

no, seriously. he hates mornings with a passion, specially during hsl. probably because he's always going to sleep horribly late, but he hates having to wake early for anything at all. the only exception is if he's really really really excited about something.

he can hold his liquor, but he hardly ever drinks enough for it to be necessary because he doesn't like the idea of losing control of himself.

stopped smoking somewhere after high school. he was never really dependant on nicotine and after a while (specially after crowstorm) he just stopped altogether. the sensation was nice and all, but kinda of not worth it anymore.

was bullied into becoming crowstorm's vocalist.

also hates instagram with a passion. shows up once every three months, posts a single story (after his manager grilled him for weeks to make any appearance at all) and promptly vanishes again.

would get rid of his phone if he could but, since he can't, he just isn't much of a user.

castiel please stop telling paparazzi to fuck off please for the love of god the press team is begging you stop trying to rip their cameras out of their hands please please

can be very polite and well mannered when he wants to (but he never does)

my boy is a charmer. like, literally everyone falls for him. and then he opens his mouth and just manages to be the biggest asshole ever.

(he claims it's also part of his charm)

lots of people speculate about how many plastic surgeries he's had. partly because he's very pretty, but mainly because of the nose and the eyes. no one believes his nose wasn't bought, and lots of people think he wears contacts.

(in truth he is terrified of plastic surgery, but, ironically, if he wasn't his nose would probably be top of the list of things he would wanna change)

anyways i could spend literal days talking with how much time i've spent with him inside this silly little brain of mine. these are some of the headcannons i could think of on spot but god knows i have so many more...

#he's just such an asshole #i love him so much #please castiel stop terrorizing paparazzi #mcl castiel #castiel veilmont #mcl castiel headcanons #mcl headcanon #crowstorm #mcl crowstorm #my candy love

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bi-bard · 2 years

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The Yearbook Series - Sleeping At Last Writing Challenge

This is the masterlist for a writing challenge dedicated to the "Yearbook" project created by Sleeping at Last.

Each story will go with one month. Each month has a dedicated EP with three songs. Each song will get its own part of the story.

So, to put it simply, each story will have three parts.

I hope you enjoy this writing challenge.

[Note: parts are listed in chronological order of my stories, which may not be the same as how they appear on the original EPs]

January [Will Graham X Reader]

Wires [Release Date: 2/20/2023]

Catch Our Breath and Let Go Summary: (Y/n) and Will have worked together for a long time now. As time goes on, the pair seemingly dance around each other. When the people stuck working with them get tired of watch it, Will and (Y/n) find themselves forced to confront how they feel.

January White [Release Date: 2/22/2023]

If Nothing Else, We're Given a Little Time to Change the Heart in Which We Change Our Minds Summary: The year has come and gone. It's meant to be a season of new beginnings and letting the past lie. The question is whether Will and (Y/n) can hold that lesson to heart and move on from each of their mistakes.

The Ash Is in Our Clothes [Release Date: 2/24/2023]

The Ash Is in Our Clothes Summary: Will wasn't one to credit fate for what has happened in his life. However, (Y/n) may have been the exception to that rule. If only the universe wasn't just as cruel as it was kind.

February [Dean Winchester X Reader]

Land or Sea [Release Date: 3/2/2023]

Our Process Implies Our Progress Summary: Hunting was sometimes a painful reminder that no day was promised to you. When (Y/n) is given that harsh reminder, Dean takes it upon himself to help them as much as possible.

Learning Curve [Release Date: 3/4/2023]

No Learning Curve Could Ever Bend Us Too Far Out of Shape Summary: It wasn't rare for a dream to be more tempting than reality. But sometimes- just sometimes- reality can come through and put that dream to shame.

Dear True Love [Release Date: 3/6/2023]

What Little That I Have to Give, I Will Give It All to You Summary: After years of avoiding and expecting the worst from the world, Dean finally feels like he's won.

March [Twelfth Doctor X Reader]

Pacific [Release Date: 4/5/2023]

Pacific Summary: The Doctor saves a kingdom from falling apart. The soon-to-be-ruler finds themself intrigued with the man who to literally fall from the sky. That man offers (Y/n) a chance to see so much more than the world that they know for most of their life.

Outlines [Release Date: 4/7/2023]

I'm Crossing My Fingers for Something to Hold Summary: Traveling with the Doctor offers (Y/n) more of a purpose than they have ever known before. Not that the doctor would ever believe that.

Birthright [Release Date: 4/9/2023]

But All Impossible Odds Foreshadow Our Means Summary: (Y/n) returns home to find their army on the verge of war. They're ready to fight for the people that they care for. The Doctor understands that but all he wants is to keep them from making the same mistake that he did.

April [Jay Halstead X Reader]

Intermission [Release Date: 5/3/2023]

I'm Here, Somewhere Between Victory and a White Flag Summary: (Y/n) jumped around from place to place for a long time. They never thought that they'd find a place that felt right. After finding out about these thoughts, Jay does what he can to make 21st District feel like home.

Tethered [Release Date: 5/5/2023]

You'll Be the Oxygen I Need Summary: After a case takes a bad turn, Jay is taken hostage by the very person that the team had been chasing. The peace of getting him back only lasts for a few hours before the aftereffects start to rear their ugly head.

In the Meantime [Release Date: 5/7/2023]

Maybe There's No Answer Here, At Least One We're Ready to Hear Summary: Jay and (Y/n) planned for forever. However, no one can plan for everything. Now, Jay begs for one night of normalcy before everything falls apart.

May [Dick Grayson X Reader]

Segue [Release Date: 5/14/2023]

Segue Summary: Dick never planned to fall for someone. However, when a new vigilante shows up in Gotham, he finds his attention torn from his work. And he can't find it in himself to feel upset about that.

Pacific Blues [Release Date: 5/16/2023]

Imagine How Brave I'd Be, If I Knew I'd Be Safe Summary: Dick's life has been marked by loss. (Y/n) understands that. Still, they want to try to be with him, no matter the risks.

Silhouettes [Release Date: 5/18/2023]

When It Surfaces, Just Hold Your Breath and Swim Summary: (Y/n) never expected Dick to come back to Gotham. When he does, they wanted to forget all that had happened between them. However, after Dick gets into a fight with Bruce, (Y/n) finds themself remembering the things that led him to run away in the first place.

June [Kaz Brekker X Reader]

Hourglass [Release Date: 7/3/2023]

How Did We Get So Good at Dismantling These Hearts? Summary: Kaz gets word of a new job for the Crows. On the surface, it appeared to be nothing other than a normal job. However, when he tells the crew, (Y/n) has a reaction that immediately catches his attention. He just needs to find out why.

Atlantic [Release Date: 7/5/2023]

Atlantic Summary: Kaz goes to (Y/n) for help in preparing for the upcoming heist, much to (Y/n)'s confusion. Luckily, all is made clear soon enough.

The Sea of Atlas [Release Date: 7/7/2023]

Such Careful Words That We Can Barely Speak Out Loud Summary: The Crows return from their latest job. With Kaz back in Ketterdam, (Y/n) sees no better time for them to discuss what had happened before he left.

July [Arthur Shelby X Child!Reader]

Aperture [Release Date: 7/24/2023]

I Know that I've Asked it Before but Please Let the Scale Tip Here in My Favor Summary: Arthur finds a kid hiding in the shadows of an alley. He never thought that a single act of kindness could lead to anything bigger than that. And yet, he finds himself hoping that he doesn't screw everything up in the long run.

Hit or Miss [Release Date: 7/26/2023]

Only Time Will Tell On Which Pedestal We Were Meant to Stand Summary: Polly talks some sense into Arthur after his behavior becomes out of control and he ends up pushing away the one person that seemed to care for him no matter what.

Wilderness [Release Date: 7/28/2023]

Be Your Best for Her Summary: Arthur faces the reality of (Y/n) growing up... and he despises it.

August [Karen Sirko X Reader]

Page 28 [Release Date: 8/11/2023]

I Guess I'm Trusting That There's Such a Thing as Elegance in Dissonance Summary: An old friend of the original Dunne Brothers finds their way to the band's doorstep. At one of the worst points of their life, (Y/n) is forced to reevaluate their life so far. The biggest question is where (Y/n) is going to end up once they get through all of their self-reflection.

No Argument [Release Date: 8/13/2023]

Only Love Can Change the Shape of Such Permanent Truths Summary: After their first kiss, Karen finds herself pushing (Y/n) away. The tour for the band's new album "AURORA" seems like the perfect chance for her to get over her feelings. However, when (Y/n) comes to visit the band at their hometown show, Karen realizes that distance did nothing to help her.

Households [Release Date: 8/15/2023]

Households Summary: Karen and (Y/n) find themselves at complete peace when Karen comes home from tour for the first time since their bought their first home together.

September [Sebastian Sanger X Reader]

Noble Aim [Release Date: 10/13/2023]

Chances are We are the Same; Against the Odds, Against the Grain Summary: Two damaged people find that there are more similarities between them than they originally thought. That discovery leads them to becoming closer than either of them thought that they'd be.

Goes On and On [Release Date: 10/15/2023]

In Your Disbelief, You'll Clear Your Eyes as If You're Seeing Light for the Very First Time Summary: (Y/n) and Sebastian find themselves in the care of the Titans. While they are dealing with the reality of being suddenly pulled away from their lives, (Y/n) tries to keep hopes high with the promise of what could be after all of this is said and done.

Resolve. [Release Date: 10/17/2023]

What was Kindness in Our Eyes is Now a Blemished Masterpiece Summary: In which two people want the other to see their side of something monumental, only to be met with stubbornness and refusal.

October [Marianne Sheridan X Reader]

Next To Me [Release Date: TBD]

Nothing's Felt More Sure Than When You Were Next to Me Summary: After Marianne's relationship with amie falls apart, she finds comfort in (Y/n), the one consistent thing in her life. Now, whether or not that comfort was healthy was a different topic entirely... a topic that Marianne had no interest in confronting.

Watermark [Release Date: TBD]

You Were Carved Out of the Sea, Watermarked by Your Ancestry Summary: Marianne's past had left her cold and disconnected. (Y/n) was anything but. As the intimacy between them becomes more intense, (Y/n) finds themself unable to ignore the feelings in them. The only question is if the knowledge of those feelings will be enough for Marianne to stop pretending that she had truly been disconnected.

Homesick [Release Date: TBD]

Cry Heart, Cry Yourself to Sleep, Cry a Storm of Tears If It Helps You Breathe Summary: (Y/n) had always been the perfect image of someone good. Warm, kind, and beautiful in every way imaginable. At least, that's what Marianne thought. What was she supposed to do when confronted with that image falling apart?

November [Clara Oswald X Reader]

Bright & Early [Release Date: TBD]

The Warmth of Blankets Makes Me Nervous Summary: Clara gets the opportunity to meet one of the Doctor's old acquaintances. As the pair get to know each other more, some interesting habits of (Y/n)'s begin to rear their ugly head. The only question is how Clara chooses to respond to it.

101010 [Release Date: TBD]

Change is Slow, But I Feel It Taking Shape Summary: Clara's stubbornness gives (Y/n) the change to experience and recognize some feelings that they hadn't felt in a long time. Accepting and acting on those feelings proves to be one of the biggest hurdles that (Y/n) had ever been forced to confront.

Emphasis [Release Date: TBD]

Life is a Gorgeous, Broken Gift Summary: (Y/n) and Clara get their chance to be happy together. However, one risk being taken could lead to the downfall of it all.

December [Emily Prentiss X Reader]

Accidental Light [Release Date: TBD]

Some Call It Reckless, Some Call It Breathing Summary: Joining the BAU is like joining an already perfect family. (Y/n)'s attempts to find their place in that family, leading to some very reckless decisions. They should have expected to be questioned by some of the people around them.

Snow [Release Date: TBD]

May the Melody Disarm Us Summary: The team makes several attempts to make (Y/n) feel accepted and valued to the team. One of them succeeds in what seems like the most obvious way ever.

From the Ground Up [Release Date: TBD]

Right as Rain, Soft as Snow Summary: After Rossi's dinner, (Y/n) and Emily have yet another important conversation.

---------------------

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

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michirikapchiyyy · 9 months

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hey wait a second. something's not adding up. in what universe do galahad and percival make out. what in hades.

OMGGG I FINALLY GET TO TALK ABOUT IT LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok so

Percival and Galahad from arthurian legend do kiss in the Holy Grail quest! I worded it as making out as a joke, they don't make out-

BUT THEY DO KISS

It's meant to be a platonic kissy obvs similar to how in Kirby you kiss when healing but it does happen

The text is actually multiple, as there are so many versions of the grail quest itself

"When the two companions had tarried there until the hour of prime and had seen enough, they left and rode until they came to a forest.

Being about to enter it, Perceval said to Galahad: “To day we must separate and each go his own way. So I commend you to Our Lord’s keeping, and may He grant that we soon meet again. For I have never found a man whose company seemed so sweet and agreeable as yours; so this parting grieves me much more than you may suppose. Yet it must be so, since it pleases Our Lord.” When he removed his helmet, Galahad did the same, and they kissed at parting, for great was their love for one another: this appeared clearly in their death, for one barely survived the other."

The Quest of the Holy Grail W.W. Comfort's translation, page 220

You might find this kiss too in other more popular books such as Le Morte D'Arthur book XVII chapter XII

And there's other kiss later on in book XVII chapter XXII

If you pick up the physical book there might be a chance for the word to have been changed to "embrace", but some versions of it don't touch that word.

Ramble about the grail quest below, I finally have a perfect excuse to let out all my thoughts on the story and the grail knights hehehe

Percival and Galahad in general can switch to multiple dynamics based on authors, as arthurian legend is basically a bunch of people who inserted their knights ocs into this other story and then others recreated those oc's stories to make it cooler or fit in with those times. So Percival and Galahad can go from being the same person, friends, family and other things depending on what the author chooses. This applies to all characters in Arthurian Legend, there are no actual things set in stone. The canon is messy which is why sometimes u might see people hate a character but refer to it as "I hate Lanval's Guinevere" instead of the character as a whole because there are MULTIPLE versions of that character.

I'm gonna give a basic ramble about some of the story and show interactions I like between these two from multiple books after the ramble

HOWEVER I should warn and add a CW/TW that there's character death and implied su*cide (Galahad's death), the second one being more complicated due to how it's handled as Galahad wishes and asks for death and when it comes it's more of a "guys look he ascended he is now with Jesus Christ yippeee, what a cool act don't you wanna pray now" WHICH IS HMM KINDA BAD

I should also say that some parts of the Grial Quest are quite problematic as it puts down other religions and those who follow it as "sinners" or not worthy.

The grail has multiple interpretations as to why there has to be a quest for it, to spread religion, to heal the land and multiple others. Galahad is brought to the round table and does some cool stuff such as pulling out a sword from a stone similar to King Arthur and sitting on the Siege Perilous (a seat who kills anyone who sits there unless you are the chosen one). The Quest is related in some way to Joseph of Arimathea from the bible™ and in some interpretations the grail knights meet Jesus Christ himself. After achieving the grail Galahad asks God for death as he thinks he's lived long enough (he's like, VERY YOUNG??? AS IN HE IS KIND OF A LITERAL C H I L D??). Galahad seems to just inmediatly throw himself at objects that could kill him and is very careless which is kinda sad because even if he is supposed to be a character who we admire as God's knight he is also a kid who doesn't have the best parents and barely has friends, quite literally raised and born FOR the prophecy so it's no wonder he doesn't exactly know what to do after completing his "only purpose". I personally find the grail quest quite tragic, as I love Percival who's biggest dream was being a knight (he's also a babie™) and Galahad's death affects him enough to fully retire from it. Even if it's portrayed as him being "inspired" by Galahad's death enough to convert even more to religion. Not to mention he dies soon after anyways.

Now that u know some of it I can throw some interactions at full speed at you ohohoho SOME ARE ANGSTY OTHERS ARE CUTE AND FUNNY-

That's all tumblr is allowing me to show, also sorry Camachine for using your ask as an excuse to ramble about these two /lh. I'm big on Arthurian Legend and always wanted to ramble about it.

#I'm a bit flustered to post this ngl I'm not super used to rambling but I really adore these two sm so 👉👈#they are quite tragic imo but also THE GRAIL TEXT IS SO FREAKING BORING IM SO SORRY I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT IT'S B A D #I'm not sure if I should tag this as falsgato-#thanks for the ask!#michi's rambles #michi's askbox

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sattorntempura · 4 months

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About the Fan/OC-DMC Comic I mentioned in my previous post.

HEY FRIENDS! IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE I LAST POSTED LOL. I haven't posted because I got sick for about a week, then got busy with helping one of my siblings with moving equipment between different studios for another week. Then, I caught up with a few friends that I hadn't interacted with since forever and played some games with them. But now I'm back!

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for the follows, the likes, and the... REBLOGS- THATS WHAT YOU CALL THEM, RIGHT? I really appreciate them!!! I literally jogged around my room when I saw someone like my post, or i see a new follower or a new reblog. Like for real, I start cheesing really hard, huehuehue.

(There may be some repeats from my previous posts for the users who have seen it)

I originally planned to release some pages around the first week of June, but there were a change of plans. The remaining time i had was going to be me practicing drawing certain demons from the game, certain backgrounds that I am not used to drawing (especially if it's indoors. But then again, i did mention that this little comic will just be for fun and practice/experiment before my big project.) But since plans have changed, I have training/school starting the first week of June. And then having to go to family events, and then having to fly over to Las Vegas sometime between mid-end of June for about a week. So that whole month is technically screwed, and the official date will be around the first week of July, most likely the first Sunday of that month. Too lazy to check calendar. But i mean yay! More time to practice! So yeah, by July, I should be accustomed to my school schedule and have at least a few pages done by then.

I was thinking of another platform to publish this stuff on, because Tumblr is the only one I've thought of publishing so far. I don't know yet.

___

What to expect from the comic

- The theme will be a little dark. (I mean it's in a Devil May Cry Universe... but, you know...) But I don't mean as in blood and demons and stuff (of course we will have that lol) but more of an angst kind of thing? If that's the right word? You'll see what I mean when I talk about the sections/parts of this little comic

-This background comic will come in 3 parts (like seasons in an anime LOL. Yes, when I say background, I mean BACKGROUND. But don't worry, I won't drag it. Trust.) The first part will show how the humans that Ezra is surrounded with use the game's orbs. Orbs of all colors of the damn rainbow, baby! It will have mentions of a certain protagonist that all of us have heard or read the name before and mention a certain antagonist that we may have fought against... then the second part, more mentions of certain antagonists that we know. The last part/part 3, the appearance of certain protagonists and antagonists. Of course, all parts will have enemies/demons and flashy moments because what would be about Devil May Cry without their demons and they stylish thangs!? Lol

-The present/after part 3 will be when Ezra officially interacts with Dante's crew and joins the crew. (Right before DMC 5 events)

-I don't want to mess around with the canon story too much, but I have been reading things that majority of players wished were added into the game or hope to add in the next game. For example: more lore, certain character-developments. Interactions between specific characters, return of other characters from past games/manga. But I know if I'm going to do this, then I'm going to have to do it right. Which is why im glad that I still have until July to plan this whole thing out. I know this fan/oc comic is not official/canon, but I still want to make it enjoyable and execute it right so readers can enjoy it. I might have to read the mangas again and replay the games so I can have a better grasp of what should be added into this mini comic.

-I do have to mention that I do in fact ship my boy Ezra with a certain canon character of the game. Try to guess who it is! Hey- you're technically cheating if you look at my profile picture... cheater!

Although you guys have been okay/open/welcoming about my ship in my last post so far- or well, nobody has said something against it (which is why im starting to love this app, I love you guys), I know certain users can have different opinions when shipping an OC with a canon character. That's why I'll be adding the -more- bar so users who are not interested don't have to bleach their eyes after witnessing my drawings of Ezra-and if you havent guessed it yet- Vergil being hella gay (jk I'm too shy to draw romantic stuff like kissing and all that jazz- i giggle, and such a sucker for romance JKJK ugh end me pls), but for real, they can just scroll by without a glimpse of this kind of trope(? Is that what you'd call it?)

---

Anyway, for those who are either not okay with oc shipping with a canon character or just not okay with Male x Male (Boys' Love type), then I guess your stop is here. But those who are okay with it, thank you. I appreciate it, and I really appreciate that you took the time to read all of this. It makes me happy.

Please watch over little Ezra while I'm gone:

Yeah, he wears a poncho :)

Adult Ezra. He looks a little sad, no?

Ezra and his friends :) they appear in part 3. I think you guys will like them!

The first one was drawn for funzies. The second image top left us part 3 Ezra, tweaking. Bottom left and right Ezra is present Ezra long after dmc5 events. Don't worry. He is not stealing it. He has a very good reason to be carrying it, trust. I hope I can execute this moment correctly.

This. This is the peak of their relationship. I know we are far from that moment, but I kinda can't wait to get to it. But at the same time, I'm glad we are far from it because I fear whether I executed this moment right or not. I hope I don't disappoint you guys when that time comes.

Thank you, guys, for taking your time reading all of this. I really appreciate it. As for the users from my previous post, thank you too. Seeing you guys follow, like, or rebblog my post makes me literally jog around my room. This and my next post that I will upload sometime today (fanart) will be my last post until July. Unless there are changes of plans. For the 100th time, thank you again, and hopefully, we come across again! Love you all :)

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the-casbah-way · 1 year

Text

bouncing off my earlier post about jed and octavius’ appearances/age in my fic:

i am so insanely passionate about normal people sex. like sex between perfectly average looking people with regular bodies and scars or bad joints and mobility issues. i believe so strongly that your averageness does not in any way lessen your chances of being found attractive by someone else. in fact sometimes i think your apparent averageness can actually add to other people’s attraction to you. a lot of us really have no interest in muscles or perfectly symmetrical facial features or any of that shit. the real world is absolutely full of average people falling in love with other average people even if what we read and watch tells us it isn’t.

like yes octavius finds jed attractive because he’s tall and blonde and muscular but like. jed is still just a random forty something guy. he’s not absolutely jacked he just…has visible muscles when he flexes sometimes because he happens to have a job doing manual labour. he’s not some big sexy poster guy who makes everyone’s panties drop when he walks in a room. he has eye creases and scars and he just kind of looks like A Guy. and yet octavius is openly drooling over him as if he’s a literal god. because there is just something about the way all the parts of jed come together that octavius loves and that’s it.

and similarly octavius is literally the definition of Just Some Guy. his hair is greying he has permanent dark circles under his eyes he’s thin but he is not toned in any way shape or form bc he spends his days sleeping or sitting in an office chair. he’s very soft and he has shitty knees and he can’t Get It Up half the time but to jed he’s the sexiest thing ever. and jed’s not attracted to him in spite of these things, if anything he’s attracted to him because of these things since he wouldn’t be him without them.

i want more sex scenes between normal people and older people and people who need to stop half way through or change positions constantly because they’re sore or whatever. i want love stories between normal people because unremarkable bodies are just as desirable as any other body and average people are sexy as hell

#down then left

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ot3 · 2 years

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so i see you tweet sometimes about gw2 and im just curious about your thoughts on it like, plot wise.

i think the story of early guild wars is pretty par for the course mmo storytelling where im paying mostly superficial attention to the plot and mainly enjoying how fun the game is. but around the time you get to heart of thorns they start introducing enough interesting concepts that you decide its worth paying slightly more attention to.

there was a huge problem in the way guild wars 2's narrative flowed because of the way they handled the living world stuff. i love the living world in concept when it was unreplayable because its just neat to me to be able to take such large story beats in an mmo. where you literally nuke your entire main city and change its appearance. but i appreciate the fact they decided to retroactively let you play that stuff in the end! however making it, in the case of living world season 2, optional to buy, but then not also doing lws1 in the same way? it just meant that you got the story non completely and non sequentially. if you just go straight to core from HoT you have to do soooo much Inferring Shit About This Plot from it. It's like your character blacked out and lost several years of their life. 'hello? commander? its us. the guys who are totally already your best friends'

anyway once i got through HoT then i found myself going back to lws2 specifically to unlock the luminescent armor and the respective ascended trinkets since back pre-lws3 the only stat selectable ascended trinkets were from raids, i believe. and then once again it was really interesting to get the map meta-events recontexualized to me from going through the story. and then after that i was invested enough in these characters to go watch the howeverlong supercut lws1 movie someone had on youtube for anyone who hadnt been there to play through it.

all this to say i think there was a lot of interesting story stuff here that would have helped hook more people earlier on if it had been freely available to play in its intended order. anyway

hot: i feel like it benefitted a TON from playing through this on a sylvari pc the first time because the custom dialogue they give that taints it like all of the npcs are suspicious you are going to fucking turn evil. like the sort of 'youre the coolest strongest character in the world!' stuff never really does it for me. i'm way more into 'youre a very powerful person in an extremely fraught and complex political situation' and HoT really felt a lot more like that, with i think it doing a good job of setting the mood for being In An Active Warzone. i like dragons stand meta a lot in terms of things where gameplay really makes the story hit in a certain way. the challenging, large-scale metas make a better multiplayer use of a high fantasy war shining than a lot of them do. getting events that genuinely do take several dozen real human beings coordinating in real time to accomplish makes there be a sense of difficulty and scale that would be rather punishing and frustrating as instanced single player combat.

i know i kind of talked more a bout the combat than the story. oops. but to me the sort of positive feedback loop between getting more invested in playing the actual game and then getting more invested in learning about the characters to continue to future expansions.

I wish I could speak more about lws3 and PoF but i will be real with you right now. those years of my life are kind of a blur and i do not remember a lot of the story beats right now. lws4 felt pretty weak to me in a lot of ways, pretty disparate from itself. PoF though i had a hell of a fun time with. joko was a fun villain he was serving necromantic cunt.

lws4 was ok. definitely more cohesive overall and had some cool stuff. lws5 i think on the other hand really suffered from a bit of covid slump in its content which i will absolutely not blame them for. I would much rather they put out slightly subpar content during a massive health crisis than they overwork people.

CANTHA, ON THE OTHER HAND. WAS EXCELLENT. DEFINITELY THEIR BEST STORY WRITING YET. i had a blast of a time with it and i was specifically fond of what they did with mai trin, a character i was well acquainted with via getting my ass kicked in her fractal back when she was scale 100. they gave her some INSANE dyke drama. it was catnip to me. she fucked that asura they had toxic yuri i knowww they did. kelly hu did her voice for EoD, who i immediately clocked as stacy from phineas and ferb and was as such predisposed to be endeared to her. also who doesnt love an ex supervillain pirate captain. mai trin you will always be famous.

anyway. that is my extnesive opinion on the plot of guild wars 2. great game everyone play it i have over 3000 hours in guild wars 2.

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the-era-of-shadow · 2 years

Text

Hibernation Tradition

Cover Art by Ash Rose

Written by Ash Rose & Lunar Eclipse

THIS STORY CONTAINS: (Very) Mild Swearing (Surprisingly)

Ever since mobian-kind first began to appear on Aerth with the formation of the echidna tribes, and possibly even some time before then, there had been a very special tradition carried out by them throughout the cold winter months. In those simpler times where humans did not interfere with them, the mobians would carry on the same hibernation cycles of their non-anthropomorphic animal counterparts in a quite literal sense, but as times changed and mobian and human cultures began to intermingle more and more, this hibernation tradition was forced to become something more symbolic.

With the needs of modern society, mobians could no longer get away with taking the months long naps their ancestors used to, but perhaps if they lived in a mobian heavy location, such as the mobian ruled country of Mobotropolis, they'd at least be lucky enough to be guaranteed a paid vacation for whatever time they need. If, however, a mobian lived in a more human-centric area, like one of Mobotropolis's neighbors, the United Federation, that guarantee was less reliable to be so, and thus some mobians just had to rough through their day jobs without being able to properly partake in the traditions of their culture.

This changed, however, when the United Nations, a unification of powers between the United Federation, Mobotropolis, Holoska and South Island, was formed in the early twentieth century. When this unification was formed, the United Federation was mandated to make the paid vacation a federal policy just as Mobotropolis had. Thus, mobian-kind was finally able to enjoy their hibernation tradition in peace... and yet, the Freedom Fighters never got this luxury. Unlike them, the evil mad scientist known as Doctor Robotnik, or sometimes Doctor Eggman, never rested, seemingly not even for a moment, sometimes the Freedom Fighters would wonder if the man even slept, and thus the Freedom Fighters would have to constantly fight the mad doctor and his vicious robot creations, no matter the day or occasion. They would almost never rest, all so that the citizens of the United Nations, and of the rest of Aerth, could. This was the life that the Freedom Fighters, many of them young adults or even still in their teens, had known for almost their whole lives.

So it was an odd feeling when this year's hibernation time came around...

And they actually got the chance to rest...

"But isn't this what you wanted? I-I don't mean that in a rude way, I'm just-" Tangle asked Amy, perplexed by her speculations.

"Well, yes, but... I'm kinda used to breaks, I'm usually put more as backup due to my younger age... But to see everyone so relaxed? I don't think we've been attacked at all by anyone this week! It's... it's weird, you know?" Amy explained.

"I agree... It's not like Robotnik to rest..." Whisper mumbled.

"Maybe he's realized that things aren't going so hot for him? I mean, we haven't seen the guy in person ever since he questioned you and Sonic about the Mean Bean Café being destroyed! Haha! Ol' Eggy's just been sending out his cronies and eggpawns!" Tangle suggested.

"Perhaps... But also... what if he's planning something...? This sort of activity from him was also shown just before he initiated his plan with the Phantom Ruby last year..." Whisper pointed out.

"That situation occurred because we Freedom Fighters... kinda... were away...?" Amy added haphazardly, an awkward grin beginning to stretch across her face.

"I noticed that! Where'd you guys go?" Tangle asked.

"Oh... you know... space travel..." Amy sheepishly began to answer.

"Really?! Like that one time you guys went to the Space Colony ARK and fought that giant lizard??!" Tangle inquired further, becoming excited.

"In a way... You see, Knuckles got kidnapped by some echidnas from another tribe-"

"THE OTHER ECHIDNA TRIBES ARE STILL AROUND??? I THOUGHT THAT KNUCKLES' TRIBE WAS THE LAST ONE!!" Tangle yelled, startling Amy and Whisper.

"Please... I do understand your enthusiasm, Tangle... but let Amy tell the story..." Whisper requested, to which Tangle, while embarrassed, agreed to.

"Or I could, you know!" Knuckles said as he suddenly appeared behind Amy, causing all three of the girls to jump slightly from their seats.

"Knuckles! Where'd you come from?!" Amy questioned in surprise.

"Well, I was just dropping off a few gifts I got for you guys when I overheard you gals talking it up here in the main room! Specifically, taking it up about that excursion with the Nocturnus clan, I assume," Knuckles explained, Amy nodding in response.

"Nocturnus clan? My, doesn't that sound interesting?" Jewel remarked as she too entered the scene, carrying four mugs of hot cocoa and a plate of gingerbread cookies, all placed on a shimmering silver colored tray.

"Yeah! I was telling Whisper and Tangle about the adventure we had while Robotnik was busy... conquering Aerth..." Amy said, "Or at least I was planning to, until Knuckles came by and stole my spotlight!!" She added teasingly as she grabbed the mug meant for her.

"What'd you expect would happen when you're telling an echidna's story with an echidna nearby?!" Knuckles teased back, flashing her a big ol' confident grin as he did.

"Well I didn't know you were here, now did I??" Amy argued as she got up from her chair and proceeded to give Knuckles a noogie.

"Hey!! No fair!! I'm supposed to do that to you!!" Knuckles protested. The other three girls chuckled at the display, but eventually Amy did end her playful teasing and let Knuckles tell the story.

He explained how he had been captured by an echidna tribe called the Nocturnus clan, a tribe that had been exiled from Aerth a long time ago due to suspicions of being corrupted by chaos energy, and how a lot of the Freedom Fighters had gone out to go rescue him. But when Knuckles had been found, it got out that the leader of the Nocturnus clan, Lord Ix, was planning to attack Aerth in an act of vengeance for his exile, so the Freedom Fighters teamed up with a member of the Nocturnus, named Shade, to travel out to Twilight Cage where the Nocturnus resided and defeated Lord Ix once and for all.

"We... pretty stupidly also sorta teamed up with Robotnik... We had trusted him with keeping an eye on things back at home... Suffice to say, that didn't exactly work out," Amy added, feeling her guilt begin to wash over her.

"Ah... Please, pardon my intrusion but... did I hear you right when you said you went to the Twilight Cage...?" Tsunami inquired, poking her head from Amy's hammer, which was leaning up against the chair Amy was sitting in.

"Oh! Hey Ms Tsunami! You know something 'bout Twilight Cage?" Knuckles responded, curious.

"Yes, I do..! In fact, it was the first planet I ever traveled to! Which makes sense, considering it was in orbit with my homeworld..." Tsunami explained.

"The Black Comet?" Tangle questioned, looking up from the sip of hot chocolate she had been savoring.

"N-no! My homeworld, PetalBloom...! I... I suppose you've never heard of it... That... also makes sense." Tsunami clarified, sounding a tad somber.

"Wait, so the Black Arms haven't always lived on the Black Comet? Huh. You learn something new everyday I suppose! But I'm guessing it's been quite a while since you guys left this "PetalBloom" then, huh?" Amy asked, "What happened?"

"Oh dear... I'd rather not get into detail... Especially because I was so young when it happened... But, I'll just say that... that, too, was our own fault..." Tsunami answered hesitantly, "But what matters to this discussion is that before we settled on the Black Comet, we had tried our hand at finding a new home in the Twilight Cage... Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out... You see, we had taken a piece of our homeland with us on our travels, and it was very significant to us, a symbol of our beginnings if you will, and since it just wouldn't fit through the barrier... we had to abandon our efforts... But we did get our very first recruits beyond our original planet in the whole ordeal!" She continued, sounding more happy as she did.

"Yeah...! That's... That sounds greaaaaat...!" Tangle said awkwardly, trying to not seem rude.

"Oh! I-I didn't-" Tsunami stammered, realizing how her tone came across to the others.

"I get it, the point that you're getting at is that you made some friends while you were there, right?" Amy said, interpreting Tsunami's intentions.

"Yes..."

"Hey, I get how nice that can feel! Besides, I think I remember you saying you were rather young when the Black Arms were like... formed, right? A child's perspective is often at least a bit skewed, right?" Amy continued.

"Heheh... yeah... my, I was only eight..." Tsunami admitted, which surprised everyone in the room.

"Yikes..." Amy and Tangle muttered in unison.

"Honestly though... Even if we didn't get to stay in Twilight Cage, our visit certainly made quite the impact on things going forward... I mean, we probably wouldn't have even found the Comet in the first place if it weren't for one of the recruits directing us there...!" Tsunami continued to explain.

"Why... why would they do that...?" Whisper questioned.

"Amy, Knuckles, did any of the Kron tell you about their original home while you two were there?" Tsunami quickly responded.

"If they did, I don't remember it, but what I think you're getting at is that y'all took one of the Kron's people and had them take you to their homeland so you could take it for your own?" Knuckles answered harshly, causing Tsunami to feel guilty again.

"... Why don't we change the subject...?" Amy requested, not wanting any sort of internal conflict to occur during her first ever hibernation.

"Well, what were you guys talking about before?" Jewel asked.

"Oh! Well, we were talking about how weird it is that Eggy hasn't done much to us lately!" Tangle answered joyfully.

"I see! But maybe he's plotting something big?" Jewel proposed.

"That's exactly what I said..." Whisper said, smiling slightly from the awkwardness of having to give such a notice.

"Which is why I started talking about the thing with the Nocturnus clan," Amy added, "My point with that was that we probably shouldn't get too worried about Robotnik taking over Aerth again while we're still around to stop him before things get too crazy. To put it bluntly, we've learned our lesson and won't let something like that happen again."

"What she said..." Knuckles mumbled with a tinge of guilt.

"Makes sense to me," Jewel said, taking a sip of her mug of hot cocoa, "But that's just Robotnik and his Empire, which isn't the only force you're dealing with anymore, you know?"

"Oh, I think I know what you're getting at, Jewel-" Amy began to respond, but was interrupted by Tsunami.

"I do as well, and I can give an answer to that curiosity as well. You see, times of colder temperatures like these are seen in Black Arms culture as a time to shift focus to ourselves rather than beyond us, to take care of ourselves and prepare for the future ahead. While it was not on a yearly cycle like on Aerth, periods of time where we were farthest from the central star of this solar system did indeed occur, which caused the Comet to become quite cold. While we did create technology to counteract this effect, us Black Arms are, rather inconveniently, cold blooded lifeforms, we have to rely on each other and our technology to keep warm in these times, which is why we do not take any offensive actions during that time. All energy must be reserved for the preservation of self, and for emergency defense if need be... Though, the Comet would be rather out of the way in those times, and we had quite the reputation, so most other civilizations in the solar system didn't even think to try to bother us in those times... You know, now that I mention it out loud, it would seem that our Preparation Period, as we call it, is rather similar to this "Hibernation Tradition" of yours... Though, I could never imagine taking a nap for several months straight!"

"... Thank you, Mom!" Amy replied, pleasantly surprised by the sudden amount of information she was receiving all at once, "You're really talkative today, aren't you?"

"I do suppose I am... Perhaps it is the similarities of traditions that has me in such a way. You see, I did always love the Preparation Period! No fighting, no killing... just spending time with my friends and family and people, and I can already imagine this being quite the same! Oh goodness, I wish I could have a sip of that hot liquid you all are consuming..."

"You mean the hot chocolate?" Jewel inquired.

"Is that what it's called? My, that looks delectable!" Tsunami exclaimed, peering over Jewel's mug.

"You've never had hot chocolate before?!" Tangle asked in shock.

"I have not. I tried as much as I could to sample every last bit of the cuisine the universe had in store for me throughout the many travels I took in my lifetime, but alas, this world is quite large, and the entire universe is even larger!" Tsunami answered, almost seeming disappointed with herself.

"Then what did you and your pals have to drink while you all waited out the cold?!" Tangle inquired.

"Ah... Our hot drink of choice was always tea... black, green, herbal, white... Any and all kinds. I had a very close friend who was like a little sister to me, her name was Black Tea, and she was a tea expert, I'll tell you what! Your sorrow over me having never had hot chocolate is equal to my own over you all never being able to have a cup of nice and steamy oolong tea prepared by Miss Black Tea, it's something quite special..."

"A professional tea brewer with the name "Black Tea", huh? I suppose that such descriptive names are something else that the Black Arms and Mobians have in common." Jewel noted.

"At least that makes us even..." Whisper joked, softly chuckling as she watched the others have a nice giggle over her remark.

"You said you sampled cuisine from across the universe, right? Do you have any fun stories that came from that, maybe?" Amy inquired of Tsunami, presenting a new topic of discussion.

"Oh goodness, yes! I've traveled to this here planet numerous times over the years, this planet is ever changing, but my favorite trip most definitely has to be the one I convinced Doom to come along for. It was centuries ago, probably 1700-something if I remember correctly, and on that trip we got the chance of a lifetime! You see, this tavern we decided to stop at had just started selling homemade ginger beer, and of course we both had to try some! I quite enjoyed it myself, but my word, Doom was hooked from the first sip!! He just kept slamming down bottles of the stuff, one after another! Luckily, the stuff was not alcoholic, which was my main concern, but I did still try my best to convince him to pace his intake of the drink... We ended up ransacking the tavern for all of its ginger beer and from it learned to make our own, it was quite the experience! Though Doom did tell me to refrain from telling anyone outside of the other leaders about his binging of the beverage..."

"So? You're not even loyal to him anymore, cut loose and spill his secrets, I'd say!" Tangle advised Tsunami nonchalantly as she ate one of the cookies.

"I had no idea you guys had such an affinity for ginger beer and ginger ale... I earnestly thought that it was just a me and Shadow thing!" Amy said, intrigued. Though afterwards, she seemed to sink into herself, becoming sullen, "Speaking of... is it wrong of me to kind of... wonder how they're doing right now?"

"Not at all! At least, not in my opinion." Jewel responded, deciding to partake in one of her cookies as well.

"Sometimes I become curious about Mimic's whereabouts... but that doesn't mean I will ever even consider forgiving him for what he's done to me..." Whisper testified.

"I mean, we were just talking about how unexpected it is that they and the rest of the Black Arms haven't been causing us trouble recently, so I think it's a natural train of thought to have!" Tangle added as she began to stuff her face full of cookies, to Jewel's slight annoyance.

"Oh, yes! That is what the conversation was about before I began to be carried away by my own stories of the past, wasn't it?" Tsunami suddenly remembered.

"You forgot? You're the one who started the subject!" Knuckles remarked in surprise, also finally joining in on the consumption of cookies.

"Technically I did, since I hinted at it... By the way, Whisper, I heard that you had a situation with Mimic while Tangle and I were out on our winter shopping spree?" Jewel said, taking another sip of cocoa.

"Yes... He started harassing me out of nowhere about the wisps a couple of days ago..." Whisper explained as she stared into her mug, seemingly conflicted about something.

"Oh my... I wonder how far this sudden search of his will go..." Jewel inquired, "Do you think that perhaps he'll... find the true answer?"

"The true answer? I do believe I'm out of the loop here... Actually... what are wisps, anyhow?" Tsunami interjected.

"Oh geez... I guess that's another thing I have to explain, huh..?" Amy replied hesitantly, admittedly starting to feel annoyed by how it seemed that she was cursed to constantly be the bearer of information.

"Hey now, I can tell it if you want! Besides, I have prior knowledge that you don't." Knuckles offered, which caused Amy to audibly sigh in relief.

"Could you, please?"

"Of course! Though... Disclosure for everyone, this one's kinda... grim?" Knuckles warned.

"I guess it'll just motivate us even more to fight against those alien scumbags, right?!" Tangle suggested, to which everyone else agreed.

"After you do that, I'll go make more cocoa, okay?" Jewel said suddenly, "Knuckles, do you want some too?"

"I mean, it is the least you could do after having me go off at you all right?" Knuckles responded jokingly, to which Jewel chuckled at, amused. It was a fair comment, after all, and something that one could probably make use of with the darker tone of the tale they were about to hear.

The blanket statement that Amy and the Freedom Trainees had made of the Black Arms not getting up to any trouble in the recent weeks was mostly correct, but not fully. In the streets of Westopolis, sirens sounded off from both police cars and the city's bank, as a group of low ranking G.U.N agents tried to take down the ever stealthy Rouge L'Amour, who was currently in possession of a large bag containing hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dollars within. The effort was a useless one, as the agents had no way of reaching the skies above them, which were Rouge's territory. The agents, left out of the loop on current events, wondered in utter confusion why a former co-worker of theirs would return to the very life of crime that she had joined the forces to eliminate. It was a noble cause, really, she was just helping her friends. Rouge's area of interest was gemstones, this money was simply to help support the hive through the winter months, to pay for groceries and any possible changes of wardrobe to adapt to this environmental shift. But of course they would never understand that, she thought, your perspective changes when you join the hive, which they simply refused to do.

No matter, she was on a strict schedule. As the colder days inched closer, talks of forming a forcefield around the flying temple the Black Arms currently called home were had, it wouldn't be completely foolproof against the lower temperatures, but it would at least lessen its effects, and block out any snow from making an untraversable mess of the temple hallways. It wouldn't be easy, however. Queen Widow knew the rites, the actions necessary for such a procedure, but the new leader, Rouge's best friend Shadow, was far less familiar with such a ritual. Over the past few days, Widow had taught them everything it needed to know for when the day came to raise the forcefield, all the meanwhile, Rouge had been plotting this very mission with Relic and Eclipse. The time was nigh, as the first snowstorm of the season was prophesied by every news station, newspaper, and weather tracking website to be occurring that very night. Hesitation was not an option for Rouge, a second too late and she would be blocked out by the forcefield. Such a possibility was not as bad as it may sound, obviously the rest of the hive would never abandon their dear sister, but Rouge hated the thought of causing any sort of delay, especially with such a significant job to be done by her dear friend for the very first time. She had already done that to Shadow once before when it was restoring the hivemind's connection, and it was a misstep she would not be taking again.

With mere seconds to spare, Rouge entered the vicinity of the temple, placing her royal purple stilettos on the marble floor just as the forcefield began to form.

"It's quite the sight!"

"It's marvelous, right?"

"In the way it shimmers despite the daylight!"

The melodic tune of mysterious voices caused Rouge to flinch, her eyes jumping about to find the source.

"Oh dear, don't fret!"

"We are not a threat!"

"Not a lingering attack in silhouette!"

In her frantic search for where the voices came from, Rouge stumbled over herself and accidentally crashed into one Harazuki Chai, who was less than pleased by the unintentional collision.

"What're you getting so frantic about? You've been here for how long and just realized the statues 'round here are alive??" She lectured Rouge, feeling no need to be patient with the newbies of the hivemind. It had been at least a month since Rouge had been taken into the hivemind, but she still had many things to learn. It was understandable, afterall, while her mind was of a Black Arms, her body was very much still mobian. Despite the cold weather, Eclipse was busier than ever as of late, so Rouge and Relic's physical assimilations had to be postponed to New Years. Some time ago, Rouge had questioned Relic as to why she even applied for an accelerated assimilation at all, she had been working with the Black Arms for years, and had started to assimilate naturally due to the exposure, with her happily documenting the experience along the way. Relic had explained that she wishes to have experienced both types of assimilation, and also added that Eclipse and her have a hypothesis that the accelerated assimilation may fully heal her broken arm quicker than expected. Rouge had argued back that Relic's arm seemed to be almost fully healed anyway, most likely due to the Black Arms biology granting her the power to rapidly regenerate wounds, to which Relic had thanked Rouge for such a revelation and wrote that down as happily as she always did. Relic's passion inspired Rouge in a way nothing else could, specifically, Rouge was inspired to finally tell Relic about the crush she had lingering for her since they had first met three years ago. She planned to do it when the two were finally both fully assimilated, hopefully on the evening of New Year's Day, but for Relic, Rouge was willing to wait as long as she needed, as long as she got to eventually tell her how she felt, "Hey! The rest of us can hear those thoughts of yours, ya know! That includes Relic! Are you even listening to me??" Harazuki spoke again, finally catching Rouge's attention.

"Sorry, It's just... Well, you bringing up all the time I've been here... It got my mind racing, I guess!" Rouge chuckled, slowly picking herself up from the floor.

"I get that, but you do recognize what I'm saying about the statues, right?" Harazuki asked, snarky as always. Rouge looked up and saw the towering stone statues placed about the temple, that had somehow hidden from her sight just a moment ago. They twirled about happily, dancing to the joys of the hivemind's glory. Rouge giggled in embarrassment, amazed at her ability to be so blind to something so obvious.

"Yes, I do... Sorry for bumpin' into ya like that, shortcake." Rouge responded.

"Apology accepted, despite the nickname..." Harazuki sneered, a pained smirk across her face, "Try not to be so surprised about our little oddities next time, okay? Complete and total chaos is our mission statement, afterall!" She advised in a sassy tone.

"Right, of course!" Rouge agreed, getting up on her feet and dusting herself off, "Wait, what was that part about Relic knowing about my plans-?"

"See ya 'round, batty!" Harazuki quickly said, taking off before Rouge could get an answer.

Rouge rolled her eyes and scoffed, surely she'd find an answer of some sort soon enough, if not from Harazuki, then from someone else, at least.

She began to ponder, wondering how hard the building of the forcefield must've been on Shadow power-wise. Perhaps she should check on them, she thought.

Shadow laid on the floor within one of the temple's chambers of power, the light from the glowing orb of chaos energy in the room's epicenter shining softly on its face, which was adorned with tired eyes and a simple, soft smile. The forcefield ritual had taken a vast majority of Shadow's chaos energy to fulfill, so now they were recharging in a sense. This method is quite slow, but Shadow didn't mind that a single bit, gleefully allowing the serenity of the scene to envelop them as it silently watched their beloved brethren carry on before its very eyes. As it charged, the ever present spirit of Lord Black Doom told it many stories of Black Arms legend, tales of conquest and glory, tales of brotherhood and loyalty, and even tales of unadulterated entropy. All were to paint Shadow a picture of what they should expect in the life of a Black Arms leader, and they loved every second of it, becoming more and more prideful of the path it had chosen.

Suddenly, the atmospheric beauty of their situation was interrupted by Rouge's unexpected entrance into the chamber. Looking down at Shadow, she immediately began to feel concerned.

"You doing alright, hun?" She asked, worried.

"I am fine, thank you for checking up on me!" Shadow responded through the hivemind.

"That ol' forcefield spell did a number on you, didn't it?"

"Oh most definitely so! But it was all worth it for the safety of the hive!"

"Well why are you on the floor?" Rouge inquired.

"I am recharging my chaos energy supply, I find this position to be the most optimal at the present moment."

"Huh. Neat! Well, why don't ya charge with a buddy?" Rouge suggested vaguely, but Shadow understood what she meant.

"Yes please! His company would be much appreciated!" With that assurance, Rouge took off once more to go find Omega.

Once again, someone entered the chamber, but it was not Rouge returning with Omega, but rather, it was Widow in her mobian form, who had come by to drop off some hot tea for Shadow to have in order to help their recovery along.

"If you're curious, this is a blend of magnolia and red clover tea steeped in rosewater, with a splash of pure chaos energy, we've used this blend to assist many a worn down soldier in the past. I'm sure you'll find it quite helpful as well," She explained happily.

"Thank you! You may set the teapot and tray down at the foot of the energy source. Do you have any more cups, by chance?"

"Yes, I do! What's the occasion?" Widow inquired as she gently set down the porcelain tray. The tray, along with the teapot, sugar bowl and cup it carried, were delicately hand painted in velvety ebony, decorated with intricate detailings of blood red roses that dripped ever so slightly, ever so intentionally, with creamy off-white stems adorned with thin little thorns, so small you'd almost miss them. A twisted beauty that truly was befitting for that of a Black Arms.

"Rouge will be returning soon with Omega, for they will both be accompanying me during my charging period," Shadow told her sweetly.

"Ah! Of course! I'll be back with another cup for Rouge... and... is there any way I could accommodate Omega?"

"Hmm... I am unsure, unfortunately!"

"Ah... We Black Arms are... unfamiliar... with inorganic beings! I'm sure he will understand."

"Most certainly."

"By the way..." Widow's eyes narrowed as her tone became more serious, "This tea set is thousands of years old, made by my own hands. Be gentle with it, or else I will not be gentle with you..."

"Understood! I will relay this information to the others!" Shadow reassured, smiling wider than it had been before.

Just as Shadow said they would, Rouge and Omega entered the chamber soon after Widow had left. The two immediately noticed the ornate tea set beside Shadow, and looked on in curiosity.

"Queen Widow will be returning with another cup shortly. Please be careful with the set, they are quite special to the Queen," Shadow told them, "Especially you, Omega," They added, grinning teasingly.

"Amusing. [Sarcasm mode disengaged] Rest assured, I will abide by protocol," Omega responded, causing Rouge and Shadow to both give a hearty chuckle.

"Same here, I know how to be gentle with precious items, you know," Rouge agreed.

"Thank you for your compliance!"

"Say, not to be nosy and all, and I hope I don't say this in like, an offensive way, but how come you're talking all... well... computer-y like?" Rouge inquired of Shadow.

"Abnormally low levels of chaos energy detected from Shadow. Lack of energy leads to irregularities in function," Omega surmised.

"Yes! Your calculations are 100% accurate, Omega!"

"I will revel in my victory!" Omega announced.

"I see... but still, why this way?" Rouge questioned further.

"You see, currently my chaos energy levels are too low for me to be able to communicate on my own. What you are hearing is the direct transcription of my thoughts as read aloud by the hivemind itself."

"Hold on, didn't you say that you are the hivemind?" Rouge interrupted.

"Yes, I did. But at that time, my understanding of the hivemind was rather simplistic and flawed. A more accurate description of how the hivemind functions would be to say that the Black Arms hivemind is like the internet, we all use it to communicate and send data to one another in a timely manner after all, and as for my role in the matter, I am the core database server, maintaining the connection between us all. I may be too tired and worn down to be able to communicate audibly, but I am just conscious enough for my thoughts to still be sent through the hivemind, and because you are requesting to hear those thoughts, they are being delivered to you in the form of raw data," Shadow explained.

"Then why aren't you speaking in binary?" Rouge inquired.

"You asked to communicate with me, not to read a string of 1's and 0's. As such, while my thoughts are being outputted in such a way, the hivemind will translate it for you, so as to combat a language barrier. Omega would understand the raw code, but not everyone is Omega," Shadow answered.

"So what's with the odd formality in the way you speak now?"

"That is because with the decrease in energy, my personality has been temporarily impaired."

"Ohhhh I think I get it now! Well, as long as it allows you to get the rest you need, hun."

"Affirmative!" Omega agreed.

"May I share something with you that this conversation reminded me of? I find it rather amusing myself," Shadow inquired.

"Of course!" Rouge responded.

"When she had come by to drop off the tea set, Queen Widow had mentioned how us Black Arms do not have much experience with completely inorganic beings such as Omega. But here I am, explaining the hivemind, a very core part of our very being, in terms of computer science!"

"W-well, Black Arms biotechnology is still very much organic, you know!" Widow argued, overhearing the conversation as she entered the chamber once more, carrying a solo porcelain cup, which matched exactly with the rest of the tea set.

"That I certainly have learned, especially today..." Rouge remarked with a small giggle.

"Yes, I heard you had a rather unexpected encounter with the temple's great Statues of Honor?" Widow teased.

"...Word gets 'round, doesn't it?" Rouge sighed.

"In a hivemind? Oh it most certainly does!"

"I did NOT ask for your comment, Shadow!!" Rouge jokingly snapped, which initiated a roar of laughter from the both of them, and from Widow as well.

"Filing this under [Amusing]." Omega announced.

But soon the laughter ended, and Widow looked over to the tea set, which sat untouched.

"Is something wrong, Shadow? You haven't touched the tea at all, it would seem!"

"Oh, no, all is alright. I was simply waiting for you to arrive with the extra cup, so that Rouge and I may both enjoy the tea simultaneously," Shadow answered.

"Awww shucks... But what about Omega?" Rouge asked.

"According to the calculations made while Eclipse and I were figuring out how to connect Omega to the hivemind, having Omega consume a water based beverage would most likely cause him to short circuit, which, as you could imagine, is less than favorable."

Rouge and Widow looked at Omega, and noticed a metallic antenna protruding from his head, one that had not always been there. At the top of the antenna was a light, which would flicker on in neon lime green hue whenever Shadow "spoke".

"Are you curious about the antenna? It is the solution we came to on the matter of Omega's inclusion in the hivemind. The antenna picks up messages from the hivemind quite like a radio signal. Omega's ability to communicate back using the hivemind is still a work in progress, but that is why I am thankful for the Preparation Period ahead of us. It will allot Eclipse and I with more than enough time to fix any problems with the process. I am aware that it is not the stealthiest of executions, but this implementation is the only one that has been successful."

"Huh. Neat," Rouge said.

"I assess that we should calculate the methods needed in order to destroy the Robotnik Empire!" Omega suggested.

"What a wonderful idea, Omega! Please make note that the plans we create will not be able to be acted upon until either the Preparation Period ends or if the Robotnik Empire makes an offensive move upon us," Shadow responded, adjusting it's position from lying on the floor to sitting down, pouring themself a cup of tea, allowing the steam from the tea caress their face, their smile growing as it did.

"Hell yeah! Just like old times!" Rouge cheered, getting up to get herself some tea as well.

"Well, I'll leave you three to it! I do have a very important commission to be working on, after all~!" Widow announced, winking to Shadow.

It took about ten minutes after Knuckles was done talking for Jewel to prepare the new cups of hot chocolate, and in that time, Knuckles and the other three girls had gotten into some casual banter with one another over who-knows-what, but such talk quickly died out as Jewel cracked open the door to the Sky Patrol's main room. Amy immediately jumped up and offered to hold the door open for Jewel, to which she happily and thankfully accepted.

"Here you all go~!" Jewel declared with a sense of pride, "Oh by the way, we have guests," She nonchalantly added.

"Oh! I guess I shouldn't have closed the door so quickly-!" Amy responded awkwardly as she opened the door once more.

"Don't sweat it Ames! I know ya didn't mean any harm by it!" A familiar voice told her.

"LUX!!" Tangle, Whisper and Amy all said in unison.

"You're damn right!" Lux replied confidently, posing for them like she was some sort of celebrity.

"You go on one adventure with the big fellas and you let that go right to your head, huh?" Another voice teased Lux, seemingly originating from the other tiger mobian that had suddenly appeared behind her.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh???" Lux questioned the other tiger, recoiling from her in surprise, "And didn't I say I was gonna introduce you to everyone??"

"Alright! Alright! I'll let ya do your whole "Big Time Heroine Lux" shtick!" The girl obliged, still in a teasing tone, which Lux simply rolled her eyes sarcastically at.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce to y'all my sister, Aurora! She ain't usually this feisty, but she sure does love to tease me!" Lux said to the others, Aurora giggling ever so mischievously.

"Oh sweet! I remember you telling us about her when we were visiting the Mystic Ruins!" Tangle recalled.

"Is that so? That sounds about right for Lux," Aurora remarked, "Say, are you Tangle by any chance?" She then asked.

"Yeah! Any reason why you're asking?"

"Knew it! I bet I could identify all of y'alls right here and now if I wanted with how much Luxxy has told me about y'all! Anyway, I bring you up specifically cause I'm a real good listener, ya know? So because of that, I know that you're the one that Lux talked about the most by far! If I didn't know any better, I'd surmised that she had some sorta crush on yo-!"

"Alright now! I think she gets it, Aurora, you're great at listening to people!" Lux blurted, forcibly interrupting her dear twin sister's little bit of speculation. Her face was burning bright as she playfully but somewhat strongly pushed Aurora to the side, the others could hear Aurora still giggling through the muffling of Lux's hand on her face. Jewel noticed that Tangle was blushing just as much, so she acted quickly in order to steer things in a new direction.

"Aurora, would you like a cup of hot cocoa? I just made them a few minutes ago!" She offered.

"Oh would I ever!! You big shot folks really are just as good at hospitality as us regular folk, huh?" Aurora replied, happily taking one of the mugs.

"Big shot...?" Whisper questioned in disbelief.

"I think you might've been a bit misinformed, Aurora...! Sure, I guess you could call Knuckles and I "big shots", but Jewel, Whisper and Tangle were just doing their own thing with their own little homebrewed off-shoot before we got into contact with them back in September!" Amy explained.

"Really? Lux hyped y'all up to me as big time celebs, the likes of Sonic and Tails! Well, I guess she just wanted to embellish a little~," Aurora recollected, giving Lux a sassy glare.

"Aww really?? Geez Lux, I didn't know we meant so much to you!!" Tangle said as she energetically pulled Lux into an embrace, both of their cheeks becoming ever so slightly red as she did. Lux giggled awkwardly, being caught off guard by the hug.

Aurora took a big swig of her mug of hot cocoa as she watched the scene play out, which caused her glasses to become incredibly foggy.

"So, what kinda stuff do ya big shot heroes do during the season? Any sort of traditions passed down to y'all throughout the generations or anything? The bunch of y'alls is rather diverse, ya know!" She asked as she wiped her glasses clean.

"Ya know, that's a real good question you got there, sugarplum!" Bunnie responded, entering the room without warning.

"Oh hey Bunnie!" Amy greeted, waving to her from her seat on the main room's round table.

"Bunnie Rabbot! I don't think I've had the pleasure! My name's Jewel Ochroa-" Jewel greeted as well, preparing to shake hands.

"Oh I know about you and your friends, silly! Sal and Ames told me all about y'all!" Bunnie clarified, giving a kind smile.

"Wait, really?? I don't think I've seen you once during the time I've been here!" Tangle chimed in.

"I'm a busy bunnie, ya know! Not to mention that after Tails and Rotor repaired the Sky Patrol, y'all Freedom Trainees went back to your homes!" Bunnie argued lightheartedly.

"We visit a lot!" Tangle testified.

"And we have it so Sally can call us in whenever she needs us!" Jewel added.

"We just didn't want Jewel and Tangle's parents to be worried about us, that's all..." Whisper concluded.

"I get that! I was just teasing you, ya know?" Bunnie clarified, giggling, "The truth is that with y'all going after those blasted black aliens, there's gotta be someone left to deal with Doctor Robotnik's usual nonsense, right?" She continued.

"So that's where you come in, then?" Jewel asked.

"Well, not just me-" Bunnie began to explain, before being interrupted by a crashing sound.

"Rotor! Ze hoard of ze buzzbomers is at ten o'clock!" A voice yelled from where the crashing sound originated.

"Got it!" Rotor quickly responded, using the Sky Patrol's cannon to shoot down as many buzzbomer badniks as he could. Despite trying the best he could, about ten buzzbomers managed to slip by and enter the Sky Patrol, but their presence would not last long, as they were all quickly and swiftly sliced into bits by a masterfully wielded sword.

"Phew! Zhat could have been a disaster! " As the dust from the brief battle settled, the nervous face of an otherwise steadfast coyote mobian was revealed, "Oh mon dieu! Many apologies for ze interruption!"

"As I was gonna say, 'Twannie and Rotor are on Egg Smashin' Duty too!" Bunnie finally concluded, nonchalantly resting herself on the coyote's shoulder.

"Ah! You must be ze "Freedom Trainees" I have heard about, eh? I am Antoinette Rabbot, at your zervice!" The coyote said, doing her best attempt at a bow while her beloved partner was using her body as support.

"Oh yeah! I saw in one of them tabloids that you had come out as a trans woman recently! From one trans lady to another, how's that going for ya?" Lux asked Antoinette, taking a sip of cocoa as she did.

"Ah... Ze tabloids..." Antoinette groaned, "But it is going well! No one was surprised when I had er... "Came out" as it were, but zhey were surprised zhat I hadn't come out sooner! Haha!" She answered, "My dear Bunnie has been very supportive!"

"Ya damn right I am! Anyways, you, with the purple flannel! What was your question again? I think we got a bit sidetracked!" Bunnie pointed to Aurora as she spoke.

Aurora reiterated that she was very curious about what the Freedom Fighters do during the hibernation season. Amy attempted to answer by saying that they didn't do much due to having to fight the Robotnik Empire all the time, but Bunnie stopped her.

"That ain't entirely true! After our big battles I make everyone a hearty dinner of authentic southern soul food!" She argued.

"But dear, you do zhat all ze year round!" Antoinette argued back, to which Bunnie couldn't help but agree with.

"Well, we do sometimes stop by Ms.Vanilla's place in the Mystic Ruins or Knuckles and Espio's cabin on Angel Island and tell stories by their fireplaces! Which is especially fun if we've gone on any separate individual missions lately!" Rotor told.

"But do we not do zhat year round as well?" Antoinette argued once again.

"Hold on Twan, I think I get what they mean... I think... I get it! Sure, we don't necessarily get to do all of the traditional stuff that other mobian folks do during this season, but that doesn't mean that we've lost that spirit of togetherness! Sure, we might not really get to embrace the "Hibernation" part of the Hibernation Tradition, but we do stick together as a pack and are able to enjoy each other's company regardless! Besides, sure, we may have Bunnie's amazing cooking and talks about our adventures year around, but don't they feel extra special during the winter season? The way a nice hot bowl of Mac n cheese warms you up after you've spent all day fighting badniks in the snow? The way the warm fire and steamy hot cocoa add that perfect wintery touch to an already fun and enjoyable tradition of ours? We can still have all of that even if ol' stinky Robotnik doesn't let us have time for much else! That's what I've been missing this entire time! It's what I lost sight of when hearing tales of much more "authentic" Hibernation Tradition experiences from Tangle, Whisper and Jewel, and hell, even my mom's stories of her own life, which seemed more of an authentic experience of hibernation than mine, even though she's not even mobian!" Amy declared, "And sure, I'm very thankful that we have the time allotted to us now to try out a more traditional experience, but that doesn't invalidate the years prior at all! ... I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you for helping me realize that, Bunnie."

"Oh... no problem, sugarhog..!" Bunnie responded, taken aback by Amy's sudden monologue.

"Okay, but I gotta ask! How come we didn't see you or Antoinette at Knuckles's birthday party?!" Tangle questioned Bunnie.

"Well, Sal gave us permission to take a train to Station Square and have a dinner date there, that's all!" Bunnie responded simply.

"Ah."

"Well if you ever want an "authentic" hibernation experience, feel free to let Luxxy know, okay! I'm sure she'd be willing to let her big sister know! I'll even try to convince my girlfriend Emily to let y'all have a ride in her new car!" Aurora told Amy.

"Well if you can't get the ride to work out, I'm sure I'll find my own way to your place! Where do you guys live, anyhow?" Amy asked.

"Our farm is in the Windy Valley area!" Aurora answered proudly.

"Oh! That's right near the Mystic Ruins! I know how to get there then!" Amy declared.

"Well I'll be-!" Aurora began to respond, but was interrupted by the sounds of Antoinette shooing a crow away from the Sky Patrol. Amy, curious, went to get a closer look. Looking in the crow's eyes, she instantly got a bad feeling, so she took out her hammer and finally got the determined crow to leave them be.

"Huh... I wonder how long that's been there..." Whisper pondered, seemingly deep in thought, perhaps she had the same bad feeling that Amy had.

"Not sure, but I got spooked by it, zhinking it to be another badnik!!" Antoinette explained herself. Amy and Whisper looked to one another, and knew that they didn't need a hivemind to know that they were on the same track of mind. Oh when this winter ends, they're gonna give that bastard a beating for sure.

"Guess I should make some more hot chocolates, huh?" Jewel remarked. Bunnie insisted that she could if she wanted to, but Jewel was by no means obligated to make hot cocoas for her, Antoinette and Rotor. But Jewel insisted right back, that she did indeed want to, and that her exasperated tone was just for goofs.

"That's fine by me then, sugar!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Lux! Aurora! Tell us about Lux's light bending powers, won't cha? Won't cha??" Tangle inquired excitedly. To the new conversation topic, Amy had one, simple, if not a bit exaggerated, response.

"Her WHAT???"

In the soft orange skies of a winter sunset, a little crow flew through the first few droplets of snowfall. They had meant to make their way back home sooner than this, but there were complications on both ends, which lead to mutual understanding and no one to blame. Still, they kept their pace of flight at a steady rate, zooming past the other birds, who did not recognize the lone crow.

The truth was that the crow wasn't really a crow at all, that was simply the disguise they took on in order to inconspicuously spy on the Freedom Fighters and Robotnik Empire, though they more often watched over the Freedom Fighters now, with coverage of Robotnik's terrain taken over in the past months. The crow that wasn't really a crow didn't mind it at all, things change, and they knew that their trainer still loved them dearly, and they always had the solace of knowing that they were the first.

Their trainer gave a guilty chuckle as they saw their winged friend stare sassily at them through the walls of the forcefield.

"I know, I know! I should get an alarm clock so I don't get too sucked into my work and forget about these kinds of things! I've already heard it a million times from Relic..." They responded as they created an opening through the forcefield. The creature quickly flew through it, allowing their trainer to close the hole as soon as possible, as they could tell they felt bad about even somewhat undoing their friend's hard work.

As soon as the creature placed their talons on the marble floor, they began to transform into their true form, that being a four eyed hawk type of Black Arms, with vibrant reddish-orange scales and a pale yellow underbelly and tail. Their golden amber eyes shimmered in excitement as they returned to their trainer's side after they were done transforming.

"Suffice to say, you've been out and about quite a lot, Aidrira. Why don't you tell me what you've learned on your journey?" They said to them, looking upon the hawk with a soft gaze of love in their eyes, their irises the very same golden amber color that Aidrira had, it was like they were made for each other.

They chirped happily in response, how could they say no to their beloved Eclipse, after all?

#the era of shadow #teos #sonic au #undescribed #sonic oc #amy rose #amy rose au #jewel the beetle #whisper the wolf #tangle the lemur #shadow the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog au #rouge the bat #e 123 omega #team dark #writing tag #mod ash

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