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inessencedevided · 3 years

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A very overdue cql/mdzs fic rec list

for @accidental-child

I am so sorry this took me so long Axel! The pandemic has really done a number on my time-management skills and things like this often fall behind :/

The fics complied here are the ones i have not recced in the list for @helianthus21 before. You can find that one here, so you can check it out as well :)

The Wei Wuxian makes a wish series by natcat5

My attempt at a summary: this is a madoka magica AU (which i had not watched prior to reading this fic). Cultivators, in this universe, are created when a teenager makes a wish to the creature named Kyubey, which than grants them their wish and the power to fight witches, strange and destructive creatures of despair that lure people into their labyrinths. Wei Wuxian, at the beginning of the story is not a cultivator, but his friends are and so is the mysterious new student at his school, lan wangji, who follows him everywhere and seems to be obsessed with preventing him from making a contract.

My comment: my attempt at a summary does not do this story justice and is really just a setup. Honestly i cannot put into words how much I loved this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It made me laugh, it made me cry for entire chapters, it drew me into it's world so much that I freaking dreamed about it! (I'm not kidding, I really did) Honestly, this fic deserves so much more attention than it is currently getting. Not only is the plot expertly crafted, with reveals that shock you and leave you reading, but the author also just gets the characters. The best thing an AU can do, in my opinion, is take familiar characters, put them in unfamiliar situations and then manage to make the way they react believable. And this AU nails that! The conclusion and the choices that Wei wuxian and lan Wangji make in the end felt exactly right. Not to mention, it has a stellar ensemble cast! Everyone is here (except Xichen sadly and I kind of think it is deliberate because without him, Lan Wangji lacks a support system). Again, I cannot recommend this story enough. It is, without doubt, my favourite fic series in this entire fandom. (Caution however: Do read the warnings in the tags and notes and take them seriously. They are there for a very good reason.)

Agapé (home is in your arms) by estel_willow

Author’s summary: Lan Xichen is in isolation. Wei Wuxian visits him. Together they find their way back to happiness, to clarity and to home.

My comment: This one focuses on both Lan Xichen’s and Wei Wuxian’s issues and lets them resolve them together. I am such a fan of their characterisations in this fic, as well as Lan Wangji’s even though he is not the focus. I love it when non-romantic relationships are the focus of fics and especially when they are central to the character’s resolving their own issues and moving forward in life and that is exactly what happens here.

until you're big enough by lostin_space

Author’s summary: Lan Zhan is sad and not hungry; Lan Xichen asks Nie Mingjue to help him.

My comment: This one is a really short and sweet read about how Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue parent the their younger brothers. I just really liked how the author portrayed todler Lan Zhan, as well as these two teenagers doing their best to be the parents that both he and Nie huaisang lack.

Night Music by Manogahela

Author’s summary: There is a music that plays in the night at Cloud Recess....but there isn't suppose to be. Lan Xichen investigates the mysterious dizi music that can be heard from the Jingshi at night following the Siege of the Burial mounds.

My comment: I absolutely adored this one, mainly for two reasons: 1. I love an outsider perspective and Lan Xichen’s, at this point and with his limited knowledge is absolutely wonderful. First, he isn’t even sure is what he thinks is happening really is happening and when he is sure, his feelings are, understandably very conflicted. 2. The author’s style compliments this fic so well. Since most of it happens at night and Xichen isn’t entirely sure that he can trust his senses, there is a certain dreamlike quality to it that the author writes beautifully. This fic is part one in a series. Part two is a WIP, but also very much worth the read!

Company by WithBroomBefore

My summary: In which Wei Wuxian is whipped within an inch of his life by Madam Yu when he is fourteen and comes to stay at the cloud recesses. He and Lan Zhan become friends.

My comment: My summary once again does not do this fic justice. Because it is so much more than just that. It’s such a beautful exploration of friendship and love and bodily autonomy. Wei Wuxian has a lot to work through in this fic, but really, so has Lan Zhan who has the opportunity to make friends at a much more mellow pace than in the novel/show and panics a little less because of it. The war still happens but has much less dire consequences. All in all, this fic left me with a wonderful warm feeling in my chest.

you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry

Author’s summary: One of the more timid-looking posts, in pale greens and creams and yellows, says Hello, I'm managing to be fairly high functioning right now but I'm really not doing as well as it may appear, and Lan Zhan feels as if someone sneaked into his mind and read his most secret thoughts, the ones he's never even dared to admit to himself.

(In which Lan Zhan, to his own dismay, finds himself with the help of the most obnoxious, cheerful, cheesy self-care instagram account known to men.)

(And Wei Ying.)

My comment: Listen, I have a complicated relationship with fics that depict mental health struggles in characters. They are all so incredibly valid and I’m glad they exist (every single one of them, no matter if i like them or not) but due to the fact that they tend to come from the author projecting their own issues onto characters (which is NOT a bad thing! that is what fanfic is for!) they are often hit-and-miss when it comes to characterisation. But this story ... it just GETS Lan Wangji. If someone told me a scenario in a modern AU that leads to him developing an anxiety disorder and depression, this is what I would have come up with. Because let’s be real, Lan Wangji is a perfectionist to boot, insanely competitive and needs to live up to his family’s expectations, while also not having much of an emotional support system outside of his brother and uncle. That’s a dangerous cocktail in the modern world and just screams of a burnout waiting to happen. So Lan Wangji, off to university, living alone in a strange city for the frst time, spends all his time in a carefully calculated study routine but slowly realises that the path he set out on was not one he chose because he liked it but simply the one that was laid out for him by his background and family, which then leads to him questioning the reason behind what he does. That reads as incredibly real to me. A good AU, in my opinion, takes the characters and their inherent characteristics and lets them meet new and unique challenges that they never would have encountered in canon, which then leads to new and interesting character developement. And this AU manages that perfectly! (Plus, if you are a university student like me who sometimes suffers from crushing anxiety about the path they chose in life, this is insanely relatable. What? I never said I wasn’t biased :P)

porn (but not actually) and waiting (a lot of it) by hyacinth4maria

Author’s summary: Lan Xichen sighs as he settles into the couch next to Lan Wangji.

"What are you looking at?"

Lan Wangji, without pausing from typing the names Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in the Love Calculator 3000, says, "Porn."

Lan Xichen chokes.

- Lan Wangji has a crush. Lan Xichen hadn't realized his little brother was growing up.

My comment: this one was hilarious! Just Lan Xichen being both absolutely exasperated and amused by wangxian’s pre-teen drama. I almost choked laughing at the line that coined the title. The author has these characters down to a T and they used their powers to attack my laugh-musccles :D

the field meets the wood by astronicht

Author’s summary: Wei Wuxian is a dark shadow in the barley. Wei Wuxian is sorry for the kind of compassion that he is about to hand out.

(in which Lan Wangji is stolen for salt, and Wei Wuxian unravels the world, a little)

My Comment: HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS SO GOOD. Do you ever read a story and just marvel at the author’s mind? This is one of those. The sheer genius of giving Wei Wuxian the ability to pull entire beings into non-being! The absolute galaxy-brain idea to link the canon mythology to modern astrophysics!!! Wei Wuxian creates a motherfucking black hole in this one!!! And it’s SO well written, too! The author does not shy away from Wei Wuxian’s sharp edges and his darker side but goddamn if he is not still loveable anyway. Just GO READ THIS FIC!

Abandon your post by StarsAlignNomore

Author’s summary: After months as Chief Cultivator and separated from his soulmate, Lan Wangji follows Wei Wuxian out into the world. He searches for him. He finds him. He kisses him. They reunite, they talk, they resolve. Sometimes Bichen lends emotional support. Chenqing bites. Little Apple is there too.

Your typical Post-Canon-Reunion-Fic with much more emphasis on their spiritual weapons than expected.

My comments: This one just left me with a lot of mushy feelings. Also I adore the way the author emphasised the relationship between Lan Wangji and Bichen. And by the end, Wangxian finally figure shit out through actual open communication. Absolutely beautiful!

#cql fic #cql fic rec #mdzs fic #mdzs fic rec #mdzs #cql #wangxian #wangxian fic rec #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan xichen

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redsplash1 · 3 years

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Alright y’all, I was bored and wanted to ignore my hw, so I made a tier list on everyone’s lore and a quick writeup for each placement. Just an fyi this is my opinion and will most likely change as we get more story content, but right now this is where I stand (no arguing please, or at least nothing that’ll result in name calling and such)

But yeah this is something I’ll probably look back on and be like “hmm maybe I was too harsh with my rankings” but rn it’s like 2:30 in the morning so yeah

TW: mention of abuse in Octane’s section

All of it will be under the cut

S Tier

Bloodhound: Maybe I’m biased because I’m a BH main, but imo their lore is the most interesting and nuanced out of everyone’s. From their parents, to their uncle, to Boone, and now their planet, Bloodhound’s backstory, current lore, and character is fantastic and honestly peak writing from Respawn atm.

Wraith: I understand that not everyone loves the “I lost my memory and am now trying to find out who I am” trope, and maybe this is also biased because I’m a complete Wraith simp, but her lore to me is also very unique and well done. The entire Voidwalker cinematic alone is what’s basically putting her in S tier, but I also love how she is the prime definition of “Looks like they can kill you, but is actually a cinnamon roll” instead of your typical edgy girl that coldly pushes everyone away.

A Tier

Horizon: Interstellar but make it Scottish. She has really nice interactions with Mirage and Wattson, and there’s plenty of potential with where her character can go now that Ash is in the picture.

Gibraltar: While his lore isn’t as flashy like the ones in S tier, I still think it’s really good. For one, it’s consistent, and the stuff with Nik and Michael is very bittersweet. I really like how despite the tragedies in his life, like BH, that only made him more determined to do the right thing. 10/10 he’s got your back bruddahs

Mirage: Respawn’s poster boy, so it’s only natural that he gets a shitload of lore. Fortunately, it’s not shit and actually fleshes him out as a character greatly. I also really like the canon sibling relationship he has with Rampart. Now that his dad may or may not force himself into the picture soon, it’s gonna be more character development for Mirage either way.

Borderline

I’ll explain this tier real quick. Basically they’re between A and B; they have the potential to be great, but they’re being held back by a certain something.

Bangalore: Pathfinder’s Quest did a really good job fleshing her out, but the love triangle and inconsistent behavior towards Wraith isn’t doing her any favors. It’s a shame, because characters like Anita are really unique and not seen often. I can only hope Respawn realizes that no, love triangles are not the peak writing they think it is.

Loba: Same deal here, that love triangle and her rebounding off Valk is really not doing anything good towards her character. They’re adults, are they not capable of communicating? Like Bangalore, she’s also really unique in the sense that she’s a bisexual woman of color in a video game who is a complete girlboss and inspiration. Respawn stop fucking up your characters please!

B Tier

Revenant: He’s really badass, and his lore is fun, it’s just that the writing is making him look like a complete joke. He gets clowned on every time he’s about to do something cool and it’s honestly kinda sad. If the writing could give him a few kills to his name to actually establish that he’s a threat, I’ll put him up higher.

Octane: If this was fanon Octane, he’d be an automatic S tier. Respawn needs to flesh out his backstory some more, like most of the fanfics do. That one comic where he confronts his dad was 10/10, we just need more of that and actually tackling the effects his father’s abuse had on him. Also the potential history he has with Seer is a good opportunity to explore more of his character, so that’s a good start.

Rampart: Just recently she’s getting lore, and all of it is very good so far. The relationships she has with a lot of the legends are very strong, and the foreshadowing towards Big Sister returning is also a huge plus.

Fuse: The Maggie stuff was honestly really fucking lame (I blame the ingame comics for this), for me what’s really carrying his character rn are the Fusehound interactions. Idrc if it ends up platonic or romantic, all Ik is that there is a lot of potential in fleshing out Fuse as a character either way.

C Tier

Pathfinder: Okay I’m not gonna lie, I have conflicted feelings on Path. He got an entire book to himself dedicated to his own lore, along with a cinematic that gave a visual on what actually happened to his creators, and yet I don’t care for his lore??? Thinking about it, it’s probably because he didn’t really get any character development, he ultimately stayed the same (except that one moment where Revenant screwed with him, but he bounced back literally one chapter later). Also, it honestly looks like his story is over anyway, he just has to find his kid. At least his personality is 10/10 though

Lifeline: Y’all are probably thinking, why is Lifeline here and not Octane + vice versa, isn’t their lore basically the same? It’s because imo Octane has more potential character development atm, and Lifeline doesn’t really have any character interactions that don’t have to do with her childhood friend, so that to me is what’s separating her from Octane. Lol again if this were fanon Lifeline she’d probably be in A tier, borderline S tier.

D Tier

Valkyrie: Literally the first thing that happens to her in the lore is that she gets thrown into a love triangle. I understand that it’s in her character to be flirty and stuff, but a love triangle? Really? Ms. Kairi Imahara deserves sm better than that. Honestly the only reason she’s not in F tier is because I like her personality, along with the Northstar cinematic.

Seer: Tbh, there isn’t a lot we know about Seer. However, what we know about him so far isn’t detrimental and for me the reason he isn’t in F tier. The interactions he has so far have the potential to be explored.

E Tier

Wattson: Man. I wish she wasn’t here, but the fact that almost all her lore involves babysitting two grown men really killed her character for me. Fanon Wattson is a million times more enjoyable to me, Respawn needs to seriously consider giving her independent lore and/or branch out to other characters that aren’t Crypto and Caustic.

Crypto: Same thing, the fact that he’s strictly tied to Wattson and Caustic rn is annoying and stupid. It also doesn’t help that literally nothing about his personal lore has been addressed recently (Mila, clearing his name).

F Tier

Caustic: If he were actually established as a proper villain, he’d be way higher. But no, Respawn wants to play rock paper scissors with this guy; one second he literally wants to gas a city, the next he’s playing nice because “Wattson blackmailed him?” Lol I don’t fucking think so. I’m not saying a redemption arc for Caustic is impossible, it’s just that Respawn did a really shitty job in actually convincing people that he deserves it. And yes, even the whole deal with his mom isn’t doing it for me. Nah fuck this guy sorry y’all, he’d be way better as a villain imo

TLDR: Fanon does it better

#apex legends #apex critical #abuse mention #tw abuse

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mrslittletall · 3 years

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Time for my Ghost of Tsushima Review: Graphics To make it short, the game looks absolutely GORGEOUS. It goes with a realistic style. I didn’t had trouble with the character models, they looked good and unique and the facial expressions were well done. What got me, though, is the scenery. Tsushima is lush with nature and there were trees, flowers, pampas grass. You clearly could see what was a japanese settlement and what was a mongol camp, though I have to argue that they resuded a lot of assets for the buildings, like if you you knew one of them, you knew all of them, but that is nitpicking. The water looked great, the fire effects looked great, the foxes were cute, the flowers were gorgeous. It was a joy to look at and I made some scenery screenshots which I all forgot to upload, oh well... The last area was a bit duller though, because it was full of snow, but I like snow and we got footprints in the snow, so I was fine with it ^^ Sound/Music Sadly this game suffers from western Triple A problems... the music is generic and doesn’t stand out. I think I remember one song of the entire OST and that was in Yarikawa, when you unlock the Ghost Stance. The music is generally played with japanese instruments which was a very nice touch though. It wasn’t there all the time also, leaving you room to listen to the atmosphere, which was nicely done. It never really was quiet in Tsushima, but it made me feel at ease. I am also amazed at the voice acting. The voice acting was really really good, though both me and my husband had one gripe with it... Ok, so I put them on english, but they are still talking japanese with each other, it’s just dubbed for our listening comfort, so why... why did so many VA’s speak with a fake japanese accent?! That didn’t make any sense at all! It got even more hilarious when I read the names of the credits and Jin, one of the few who doesn’t sport a fake japanese accent was spoken by a japanese man! That was the only gripe I had with the voice acting though. Gameplay The game feels like a classic Open World game. I heard a lot of people got tired by it, but they probably have played like a hundred Open World titles already. I only played Breath of the Wild and Death Stranding (and Death Stranding is not a typical Open World title), so it felt all fresh and new enough for me. I am a person who really likes to see progress in games, so it always felt great for me when I found one of the locations in Tsushima that would give me some extra and make my Jin stronger. I loved the exploration part of the game. The quests of the games? They were a bit generic, at least the optional quests. Lots of the same to do. The story quests were more interesting, for they sometimes forced a certain playstyle on you or gave you certain weapons to use. Like, sinking the ships with the hwacha was really cool and having to sneak out of the shogun’s castle was nerve wracking. I wasn’t bored with them though, for I liked the little stories behind the quests. The combat was really fluid and played well, though the standoffs at Act 3 got ridiculously hard. I thought it was my problem, but I wasn’t the only one failing the standoffs in Act 3, the game really just made them super hard, apparently to encourage stealth? Yeah, but I don’t want to stealth the mongol patrols... The boss battles in the game... they kinda felt like a dance. You had to find out what your opponent does and react accordingly and if you did it right, it felt like a beautiful rythm of a sword battle. I was pretty impressed by how fluid it felt when I didn’t mess up. The stealth mechanics were good. I hate stealth in games where you normally don’t do stealth, but here the stealth was a big part of the game. You had a lot of options for stealth, you could hide in grass or behind walls, you could assassinate the foes one by one, you could hide on a roof and shoot them with your bow, you get access to poison later in the game (shooting a brute with hallucination dart was always fun) and and and. It really hammers home that your character took up the practices of a shinobi to save his home. The early game hell was pretty bad though... you start with not much of course, and that made me almost give up on the game because I did nothing but die... only when I found out that I can run up to archers and hit them with my sword instead of having an archer battle, I had fun again. Like, the game starts you out with low health and resolve and then gets you into missions with five archers shooting at you at once? You are dead before you could even aim! Overall, I had fun with the gameplay. Story/Characters Ok, that will be complicated, because I like the story and I dislike the story at the same time... But let’s talk about the characters first. I loved most of them, especially Jin, Yuna, Kenji and Norio. Every main character got their own questline which you could follow and it showed a lot about them, also that none of them a honourable hero or anything, but they all had their flaws and troubles... Especially Lady Masako’s quest made me thinking... for it was extreme that her family got slaughtered like that, but after hearing that she left her sister in an abusive marriage I couldn’t hate Lady Hana for it... she must have tremendously suffered and sadly all her negative energy got channeled at innocent people... Their stories went through the whole game and were a good thing to deepen them, because in the main story they felt a bit side lined in favour of Yuna’s and Jin’s friendship as well as the storyline about Ryuzo and the relationship between Jin and Shimura. Ok, let’s talk about the story now. The story is set on the 13th century of the island of Tsushima with the mongol invasion. Because the mongols fight not fair, the honourable Samurai lose the battle... almost all of them. Jito Shimura gets captured and Jin gets dragged away by thief Yuna who nurses him back to health. Of course he makes the decision to save Shimura, who is his uncle, but now he hasn’t an army in his back, he’s only one man. So Yuna teaches him the tactics of stealth and dirty fighting. More and more over the span of the game, Jin takes up the practices of a shinobi, with a lot of Ghost Weapons that get unlocked and a stealth based game play. Jin, who has been raised as honourable samurai, has trouble with this and can’t accept his new role at first. He tells himself he stops doing it once the mongols are driven out, but... A legend is getting spun. The Legend of the Ghost. I really like how this happens, for Jin does nothing supernatural to get the mongols down, he simply changes his tactics. But the people hear about it and they rumour and soon after they call him “The Ghost” and everything gets exxegerated a LOT. That is pretty much how legends must have started, so I loved this aspect. And I loved how we see Jin’s inner struggle and how he thinks about the land first and his honour second and that there is a friendship with Yuna which never turns into romance, which is a plus as well. Act 2 was really epic and I loved the whole Yarikawa moment, when like everything screamed “For the Ghost”, that was POWERFUL. What I dislike is the story since the end of Act 2 and in the start of Act 3. See, there’s Ryuzo. Ryuzo is Jin’s boyfriend childhood friend and he is a ronin. Jin asked him to join his forces, but Ryuzo betrays him and joins the mongols for his men hunger and the Khan did promise him food. And during the second act, Ryuzo and his strawhat ronin act like secondary villains... and I was very much hoping for a redemption arc for Ryuzo, but instead the story lets Ryuzo pathetically cry for his life and Jin has to kill him. Um, what was that?! You missed a GREAT opportunity for a redemption arc here and it feels like you didn’t use the potential of Ryuzo at all... And then Act 3 happened... see in Act 2 there is a mission where Jin gets poison and it is a powerful weapon, most players will probably use it. But there is a scene where Jin uses it without player control and his uncle is like “WTF Jin?” The issue comes when we enter act 3 and now the mongols use the poison that Jin used on them... And the story turns into a “Oh Jin used poison, how horrible that is! Now the mongols have poison! Why did you use poison, Jin? You are clearly the villain now.” Which I am like... “No? What the fuck? This guy saved thousands of people because he decided that life was more imporant than honour and the narration wants to tell us that poison is bad? What?” In the end, I liked that Lord Shimura came to help though and the ending tale... had some very powerful lines “You have no honour.” “And you are a slave to it.” Beautifully delivered those lines. My decision in the end was to let Lord Shimura leave, but not for the reason Jin had, for he said he wouldn’t kill family. My reason was the following: “Live! See the pain and suffering of your people and help them. Live with your shame and survive, because that is what Jin does. You don’t get an easy way out, old man.” Yeah, my reason was lot more spite... Anyway, I wish the story in the later acts would have been better... it started so strong... Overall This isn’t a perfect game of course. But I had my fun with it and I wanted to explore the map and see the end of Jin’s story. Characters were adorable and fun, gameplay is smooth once early game hell is over. I would totally rec this game if you aren’t fatigued of open world titles.

#ghost of tsushima #ghost of tsushima spoilers #ghost of tsushima review

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tealin · 4 years

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Cape Crozier: The Outward Journey

As always, please visit the original blog for proper formatting. Sigh, Tumblr.

I am telling this as the last of my field trips, because it was without doubt the climax of my Antarctic adventures. In actual fact, this happened the day after the previous climax, which was when I flew over the Beardmore Glacier. If time was invented so everything didn't happen at once, and space was invented so it didn't happen to you, then Time and Space were apparently out on a girls' weekend in late November 2019.

There was one major journey yet to undertake, in my visits to sites of historical importance. It was the location of a minor side-quest in the story of the Scott Expedition – one could, theoretically, leave it out of a retelling with no narrative consequences – but it's the central episode and emotional fulcrum of The Worst Journey in the World, and gave the book its title. In June and July 1911, the dead of Antarctic winter, three men set off from Cape Evans to reach the Emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier, on the other side of Ross Island, to fetch some eggs when the embryos were at the right stage of development to yield potential clues to the evolution of birds. The adventure ended up being more of a test of human endurance than avian ancestry, and the results got from the few specimens they did collect did not advance the theory they were hoped to prove (though scientists would remind us that negative results are still results). However, it is an amazing story of what people are willing to undertake for the sake of intellectual progress, and in this instance, of how cast-iron character can make the unimaginably awful endurable, and as such, it very much warrants the retelling.

Unlike Cape Evans, Cape Crozier is hard to get to, hostile, and not very well documented. There was no way I could ever visit it at midwinter, but, having almost no clue what the place was like beyond the written word, it was vitally important to me to stand there myself and get a sense of the geography, so that I could draw figures groping around it in moonlight and blizzard when the time came. Luckily the NSF agreed that it was important I go, because it was the most complex and expensive trip to arrange. It would necessitate a helicopter ride; helicopters cost so much to fly, and are so necessary for shuttling people and stuff around any part of Antarctica that is inaccessible by plane (which is most of Antarctica), that their use is very strictly rationed. I had exactly enough helicopter time allocated to get me to Cape Crozier and back. Therefore, we had to fly on a day when it was absolutely certain we would not have to turn around, because an aborted trip would mean I didn't have enough flight hours left to try again. Antarctic weather is unpredictable and Cape Crozier has a reputation for turning very nasty very fast, so this needed to be a careful judgement call.

The first day it was posited I fly, it didn't happen – I forget why; I think there was a backup in other jobs, and mine, being of low importance, got dropped to make room. The second time, I was slotted for 3:45pm, though with one eye on the weather and the other on resources, the right was reserved to cancel at any time. A little after 2:30 my coordinator called to say we were, as far as anyone could tell, good to go, so to meet at Helo Ops at 3 for the safety briefing and helmet fitting.

Accompanying me to the far reaches of Ross Island would be my coordinator, who had been a few times before; the pilot, who was one of the best in the biz and had flown for pretty much any Antarctic documentary you care to name; and a biologist, who was required to go because Cape Crozier hosted a rare and fragile species of Antarctic lichen, which we must be careful not to step on or disturb in any way. The biologist who usually went on these trips was feeling unwell, so she sent a replacement, who was very happy to have the opportunity as he had never been to Cape Crozier before. Of course, this meant he didn't know what the lichen looked like, but we would doubtless find out when we got there.

Team assembled and briefing done, we had only to wait for the flight to be activated. The last possible moment came and went without cancellation, so we were on.

The latest weather report from the station at Cape Crozier was that it was 30% cloudy with winds at 7 knots. Keeping an eye on the wind was important for obvious safety reasons; the cloud conditions, though, were important for less obvious reasons. The helicopter pilot needs shadows and detail to be able to tell how far away the ground is, either to stay in the air or to make an emergency landing. When clouds diffuse sunlight, a snow-covered surface looks perfectly blank, and no details show up to give a sense of scale or distance, so it's unsafe to fly.

We were supposed to have flown along the south coast of Ross Island, following the route that Wilson, Bowers, and Cherry-Garrard sledged at great cost in 1911. That side of the island was cloudy, however, so we were redirected to fly around the other side. From a historical perspective this was a bit of a disappointment, but from an artistic one, the north side of the island was absolutely stunning, and I very quickly came to see why people with money to burn choose to travel by helicopter.

Plus, it meant we started out journey by flying over Cape Evans.

All of Ross Island is volcanic, and near Cape Royds is a small parasitic cone which was explored by the expedition's geologists, who were also the first to climb Mt. Erebus. I thought it was named Mt. Sis, after someone's sister, but in fact it is Mt. Cis, after one of their dogs. Our pilot had been this way before and had something special to show us:

On top of Mt. Cis is a pickaxe. I don't believe there's any historical record of anyone leaving it there, but the Nimrod Expedition is not my speciality. It has been checked out, and the pickaxe is a model that was in use in the early 20th century, so either an early explorer stuck it there and didn't bother writing it down, or a later explorer found an old pickaxe and stuck it there to give the impression an early explorer had done so. Anyway, it's been there as long as anyone can remember, and doesn't seem to have suffered much, so will probably continue to be there for some time to come.

From there, onwards up the east coast to cross over the shoulder between Mt Erebus and Cape Bird, then over the snowy slopes of Terror, and the dissipating sea ice, to reach our destination.

Our first sight of Cape Crozier was the Adélie penguin rookery. This is one of the largest in the world, where upwards of 250,000 penguins congregate to make the next generation of penguins every year. I had not seen a penguin yet, and though my eyeballs were pointed directly at them, I was too far up to see any now, but their presence is evident in the vast, vast amount of light brown penguin poo.

On this side of Ross Island, the ice shelf is unimpeded by smaller islands or awkward quirks of geology as it is around McMurdo. As it grinds around the corner, here, it crinkles, and then as it straightens out again, the crinkles break, and the ice lets in long fingers of sea, which freezes during the winter. It is on these frozen fingers, sheltered from the worst of the blizzards by the taller segments of Ice Shelf, that the Emperor penguins incubate their eggs through the Antarctic winter.

It was these finger bays that our intrepid explorers were trying to reach, but they needed to establish their base camp somewhere a little more secure, on the solid rock of Cape Crozier. We were on our way to do the same.

The hill coming up was incredibly exciting to see, perhaps even more exciting than Observation Hill. When the Terra Nova first arrived at Ross Island, it was not on the McMurdo side of it, but rather here, because Cape Crozier was posited to be the most sensible site for Expedition headquarters. It had been explored on the Discovery Expedition, so they knew there was permanent access to the ice shelf, and thus the road south, unlike Hut Point or Cape Royds which would be cut off by miles of open sea for half the year. It had reliable fresh water nearby, and the Emperor penguins would be right next door. On the day the Terra Nova arrived, though, the swell on the sea was too high to permit a landing, and when they sent out a scouting party on one of the whaleboats, they discovered no suitable landing place. So they had no choice but to make for the old familiar haunts on the other side of the island.

Now, this is so much historical trivia, except that as part of exploring my desired artistic style and putting together my grant proposal for this trip, I had drawn that scouting journey, and prominent in the scene is this very hill, with its orca eye-spot of snow. The early explorers called it The Knoll.

This was based on a photograph taken on that day, which clearly shows The Knoll, and also that in January 1911 the ice front was a very long way back from where it is now.

As you can see, what is open water in 1911 is thick and pressured ice in my own photo from 2019.

Now, before you jump on this as proof that climate change is a lie, you may like to hear about my conversation with a scientist who has been studying the Cape Crozier Emperors for over forty years. He said that, while usually the leading edge of the ice shelf crumbles into small icebergs, occasionally enormous chunks drift off in one go. When they do, they take a whole generation of Emperor chicks with them, long before they are ready to swim, and that generation is lost. There is another Emperor colony at Beaufort Island, off the north coast of Ross Island, and following a catastrophe at Cape Crozier, a lot of breeding pairs move to Beaufort, and vice versa.

When the Crozier party arrived at the Emperor rookery in July 1911, Wilson was expecting the two thousand birds he'd seen when he visited with the Discovery, but there were only a hundred. Therefore it is plausible that, sometime between 1903 and 1911, a very large chunk of ice had pulled away from Cape Crozier, pushing the shoreline back and scaring off the penguins.

Back to the present, now, or at least last November. We had just passed The Knoll and were on our way to our landing site, a short walk away from the site of our penguin hunters' stone igloo. The place they chose to call home is the thin little ridge sticking out into the mist at the left of this photo:

Here we come …

And there we are.

When the Crozier party set off on their science trip in 1911, the three men hauled two sledges for two and a half weeks, through deep soft snow and temperatures that broke known records – down to -77°F one night, according to the thermometer slung under the sledge. The transcendent misery of marching in frozen clothes, not being able to get proper sleep for the shivering, and burning their precious fuel through the night just to survive, is carved deep in Cherry's writing of the experience. To say it was hellish is no exaggeration: Cherry points out that Dante put the circle of ice below the circles of fire in his Inferno, and thought it was apropos. The greatest challenge of our own journey out was landing the helicopter: given the sensitive environment and the fragile lichens, there was a specific landing site that was supposed to be marked out with stones. Our pilot circled once to find it, and came back around because he couldn't spot it the first time, then finally landed right on the GPS waymark because there was no visible clue where the actual site was supposed to be. As difficulties go, it hardly bears mention. Whether we'd earned it or not, however, we were there.

#antarctica #cape crozier #helicopter #travel #photography #photos #winter journey #the worst journey in the world #apsley cherry-garrard #edward wilson #birdie bowers #henry robertson bowers #edward adrian wilson #bill wilson #emperor penguins #science #adventure

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dropintomanga · 4 years

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Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia - 2 Sides of the Same Coin?

Whenever you hear about Koyoharu Gotoge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, you tend to hear about the records the series has smashed in Japan since the anime adaptation aired. From taking over entire top 20 Oricon manga charts to being one of Japan’s most highly grossed movies ever to influencing political campaigns, Demon Slayer is a once-in-a-lifetime hit that captivated an entire nation. (Oh, and Gotoge is the 1st mangaka ever selected for the Time 100 Next list)

However, outside of Japan, Demon Slayer isn’t as popular as one of its other Shonen Jump brethren, Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia. Demon Slayer still sells well and fans love the series over here in The United States, but manga sales charts are filled with more My Hero Academia volumes than Demon Slayer volumes.

I’ve been thinking about both series’ popularity in the context of the East versus West dynamic.

As cultural experts will tell you, Western principles are built on a sense of individualism. You deserve the freedom to choose your own path. You can make it on your own. No one should get in the way of what you want. Eastern principles are all about collectivism. Make sacrifices for the prosperity of the group. Don’t do anything that hurts other people around you. The world doesn’t revolve around you.

When I think about My Hero Academia, it makes sense that Western fans love it a bit/lot more than Demon Slayer. We all want to be heroes of our story. We want to be more than who we are. It’s about youth who are focusing on their own growth and getting away from their comfort zones to find new opportunities to become stronger.

Demon Slayer isn’t about being a hero. It’s about a guy who wanted to make his demon sister human again. He’s not interested in being the absolute best to save the world. While saving Japan ends up being a consequence of his actions, family is what’s important to main lead Tanjiro Kamado. Also, superheroes aren’t nearly as popular in Japan compared to here (with the exception of Spider-Man).

There was a book I read, Amaia Arrazola’s Tokyo Travel Sketchbook, that briefly discussed the Japanese conventional idea about family. Post-WWII, Japan promoted the idea that it was going to take women to stay home and take care of the home life while the men went out to be the breadwinners. Japan had to, since it had to take everyone together to rebuild the country. However, after the real estate bubble of the 1980s’ was burst, the idea of family being the center really fell apart as Japanese men lost their status as breadwinners due to jobs being finite and gone.

I also remember reading about the history of Western influence in Japan. There’s been a bunch of debate about whether Japan truly embraced Western ideals. To be fair, a lot of voices that claim Western influence being high in non-Western countries tend to be Westerners themselves. Japanese voices on Western ideals may have been been misunderstood in the first place. Demon Slayer takes place during a time of transition where modernity was growing in Japan, while My Hero Academia uses the Western love of comic book superheroes as its basis for its story.

When I think about Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia’s popularities in different parts of the world, it’s perhaps the Western vs. Eastern view of how striving for new opportunities often means loss of community. In My Hero Academia, we do see the psychological effects of bad family influence due to the relentless pursuit of status in a modern world. I saw this mostly early on with Shoto Todoroki (this is being explored even further with the rest of his family as of this writing) and much later in the series with Tomura Shigaraki’s past being revealed.

I noticed that a lot of things are blamed on bad parenting (especially in Western culture). A lot of psychological help does suggest that the family has a big role in influencing a child’s development. However, are they to blame for everything? Outside factors, like social inequality, do play a role. Endeavor, the father of Shoto and top 2 hero at the time, had to deal with so much perceived inequality (i.e. being compared to All Might) that it drove him to abuse his own family. When Deku told Shoto that that his power was his alone regardless of his upbringing, Shoto saw that he was in a place of equality since he was in a supporting environment among his peers compared to his dad. He’s started to understand how life experiences with other people and circumstances can change someone for better or worse as he reluctantly re-connects with Endeavor (who’s trying to redeem himself).

With Demon Slayer, there’s the infamous Spider Family arc, where the villain, Rui, created a fake family in order to fill a void in their life as a demon. Rui ends up abusing their “family” to drive their superiority. They killed their parents at a young age while they were still human due to a fear of not being loved by them. The whole point of the arc was that everyone deserves some kind of loving family in their life. It’s hard to get through life by yourself even when you’re an independent spirit. I do feel though that certain relationships with family members/friends should be cut off if they are abusive like the case with Rui’s. There’s even more stories similar to this with the rest of the Twelve Moon demons (especially another family-related one with the arc that will be featured in Season 2 of the anime, which I might discuss later this year).

My Hero Academia is about moving forward with some reflection. Strive to be a hero of your life. Don’t think of the consequences as long as you’re saving innocent lives. Demon Slayer is also about moving forward, but remembering that there are points in your life where you need authentic connection and that bad people are still human beings who just feel disconnected from the world.

It also feels like both series address the issue of what connection-seeking traditions to pass on to newer generations that feel family/friendship seem lacking today. In My Hero Academia, there’s All for One’s desires to have successors to pass on his Quirk to even if they are dangerous. In Demon Slayer, there’s Kagaya Ubuyashiki, leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, who wanted to end his family’s curse and realizing over time that demons who wanted to fight back (like Tanjiro’s sister, Nezuko) against Muzan Kibutsuji should live. As someone who’s a Chinese-American, I've thought about what I could pass on as my culture has millennia of history and it does feel like age-old traditions/rituals are being passed over for materialistic convenience.

I do think it comes down to whether we pass on values or beliefs. Beliefs are basically “What’s good? What’s bad? This is real to me even if it’s not to anyone else!” There’s way too much emphasis on them. Beliefs tend to be very binary because people are often more than just their beliefs. Values are just abstract rules to everyday life and don’t involve personal beliefs. I feel like not enough emphasis is focused on values. For example, things like compassion and respect are values, not beliefs. I had to embrace what values I had to finally grow as a person because some of the beliefs I held to in my mind were hurting me.

Demon Slayer leans more toward appreciating values (usually ones that appeal to the Japanese mindset) due to Tanjiro’s personality, although My Hero Academia is a mix of appreciating both beliefs and values. While I do wish that “values > beliefs”, My Hero Academia does have some good insight on how beliefs can shape/warp values for both sides.

Both series take a look at the tension between family and the self in their own ways. It’s much more so with Demon Slayer due to how much the concept of family was important in the growth of Japan in the past. I think we can agree that while there are cultural differences in handling it, the idea of family is lost on both sides of the world. American and Japanese cultures aren’t very tolerate of “gray zones” (i.e. illegal immigrants who have families, sex workers who have families, etc.) and want life to be more black or white. That’s why many fans who don’t feel accepted for who they are look to other outlets for some kind of family that will accept them.

Healthy families of all kinds lead to stronger communities that in turn lead to a better world for everyone. I sometimes feel that modernity does family no favors. It’s fine to grow, but constant growth without self-reflection becomes harmful. Plus, family always comes back to affect you one way or another. You can’t ever fully get away from family as they’re the starting point to everyone’s life.

The only thing I can say is accept that your family/community, good and/or bad, is a part of your identity when you have conflicting thoughts and then take it from there. Denying that is just like trying to hide all your problems instead of dealing with them. It never ends well.

Blood is thicker than water and as both Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia show, when it’s shed, it can lead to disastrous consequences - both individually and collectively.

#My Hero Academia #psychology of heroes #mental health #superheroes #Demon Slayer #psychology of family #manga #anime #individualism #collectivism

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beyond-far-horizons · 4 years

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Katara’s potential in LOK and importance of older female role-models in life and fiction

This was not meant to turn into a meta and yet has done! Just a disclaimer I’m still working my way through The Legend of Korra but have mostly been spoiled by reading some great analysis on here. So this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive take and also isn’t meant to disrespect the people who like Legend of Korra or this particular aspect of it. It’s just a subject very close to my heart and my work as a creative practitioner, student of psychology and media analyst, so I really wanted to discuss it.

Contains some spoilers esp for Season 1.

So I’m biting the bullet and getting into LoK despite reservations. I overall really loved Avatar the Last Airbender and Katara is one of my favourite characters. I admit one of my biggest issues with starting LoK was hearing how her character and agency were drastically reduced compared to the original series.

Now I know LoK gets a lot of flak for a variety of reasons and it was always going to be hard following such a beloved series as A:TLA and trying to do something different. However I’m actually enjoying certain aspects including Korra herself, despite the fact she can be bratty and immature at times (which squares with her age and upbringing). I also find the premise of the Equalists and especially their mysterious, terrifying leader Amon really interesting and I just wish the creators had done more with that plot line. (I forever seem to be going on about missed potential in the stories I consume!)

However the more I continue the more I’m annoyed because I realised we were robbed of Badass Grandma!Katara and also more matrilineal mentoring/bonding between her and Korra.

Spoilers but I wanted to see Katara go toe to toe with the villains esp give her being intimately connected to their history. I wanted to see her deal with the shadows of the past, the history of trauma associated with bloodbending and the Fire Nation and also the very intriguing points Season 1 was trying to make about the role of bender vs non-bender and the Avatar themselves. All things Katara was deeply involved with as someone who experienced inequality firsthand, fought relentlessly to abolish it and was the previous Avatar’s finder, teacher and later his wife.

Katara being Aang’s first mentor and implied to be Korra’s waterbendering tutor adds yet another dimension and potential to explore. That whole relationship must be strange for everyone involved but I’m always a sucker for female bonds, found family and intergenerational friendships.

I know LoK is about the new cast taking over - Tenzin fills the role of Korra’s mentor figure onscreen and is loved by many. There are lots of ways to tell a story and the creators focused on Korra’s issues with airbending to contrast her personality and development with Aang’s, as well as to flesh out Aang’s family and the rebuilding of the Air Nomads.

Yet I miss the potential of seeing wise fierce mentor!Katara on screen. We fans love callbacks, so seeing Katara in action as she used to be would be a joy, and older more powerful characters need not overshadow younger ones. For example Uncle Iroh was beloved and integral in A:TLA despite the fact we saw very little of his backstory. He didn’t take over Zuko’s journey, he aided and complemented it. Plus Toph gets her chance to shine.

There was so much to play with, especially in Season 1 (and would have been a nice reference to Aang meeting Katara first and then Zuko and Toph later). So much contrast between Katara’s experience with Hama, her thoughts about her mother, Gran Gran and the reintroduction of South Water Style. The trauma of bad parental/mentor relationships vs the good examples one can use to alchemise negative patterns that A:TLA was known for (see Iroh, Zuko and Ozai for reference). I don’t want to get too far into spoiler territory but all of this links back to Katara, Hama and Water Tribe and I would have loved to see a further exploration of that and a contrast between her loving bond and fear for Korra vs the villains’ and their education. This would have created more depth between Korra and Amon and co (and wow do I wish that dynamic was explored further - does she even know what happens to him??), and between Katara and Korra and their respective journeys to shoulder their burdens and mature as people and women.

Just think about all those juicy, angsty callbacks we could have done to Hama’s haunting episode! How Katara could have decided to be a better mentor than Hama was to her. (Katara was always a good mentor but if there was any issues in her relationship with Korra re Aang etc this could have been a good place for dramatic tension and resolution.) Of course for all we know this did happen but we don’t see it because we don’t get to see Katara’s training with Korra or much of Katara at all in LoK apart from her failing to heal Korra.

Plus I adore badass ladies and badass grandmas, I have loads in my original fiction. I love people defying stereotypes and sadly there is still a lack of stories not only depicting a range of female role-models but female mentoring and matrilineal bonding.

Read the incredible bestseller Women Who Run with the Wolves by Jungian analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés if you want to learn more about the power of storytelling, myth and female hero journeys and initiation. A key part of that book is how women have been historically and psychologically undervalued and harmed by the prevailing culture for centuries. Also how it has broken matrilineal lines of wisdom and support and distorted cultural values of how girls and women (not to mention boys and men) view the Feminine. This leaks down into our modern day stories via inherited psychological conditioning and unexamined tropes.

For example - how many ‘wise old men’ figures can you think of in pop culture, myth, fairytale, religion? Quite a few I’d imagine. Now contrast that with the ‘wise old woman’ archetype...I guessing not as many. I’m sure you’ll find a few but I bet more often the words that come to mind are ‘witch’, ‘sorceress’, ‘crone’ etc.

The Fairy Godmother (I gave you that one for free;) ) is an exception but she is a watered down version of the powerful, ambivalent figures of folklore such as Baba Yaga. Trust me if the Yaga was your mentor, as she was to Vasalisa in the fairytale Vasalisa the Wise/the Beautiful, you ain’t coming out of that encounter with a crystal slipper, you’re coming out it with a burning skull that incinerates your enemies and I’d like to see that tale popularised!

As mentioned Katara did feature in Korra’s life as a support, a vague mentor figure and a healer - in fact she is the one that initiates Korra’s heroine journey by supporting her decision to leave the stifling confines of her compound, go to Republic City alone and learn airbending. She also offers emotional and medical support during Korra’s traumatic recovery later on in the series. But mostly Katara’s involvement is at the peripheries of The Legend of Korra except when she was failing to heal her.

This isn’t to say that comfort and softness in female relationships are lesser than battle prowess or mental fortitude. Or that failure always bad, it is human and can be a powerful narrative tool for character development. I’m not interested in the infallible ‘Strong Female Character’ stereotype and neither is Estés. Her book illustrates that the Feminine encapsulates all of these qualities and many more and looking at the original Katara she was a perfect example of that. She was empathetic, intelligent, powerful, fierce, devoted, flawed, playful, angry.

I guess what I’m saying is that I miss that Katara and I miss the opportunity of seeing Korra interact with and learn from that Katara, especially as they have so much in common in terms of shared history, powers, culture and even looks. I’m also missing the opportunity of seeing that Katara battle Amon and all the drama and backstory that could have ensued from those encounters! After all Katara took on her mother’s killer, Hama and the Fire Nation (including one angsty honour-obsessed Fire Prince and his powerful sister), you’re telling me she would have just let Korra, her family and friends be in grave danger in the name of ‘leaving it to the kids’ ESPECIALLY since her own history turned out to be so deeply connected to all of this? Nah...

It’s important for girls* to see a range of wholesome female characters and dynamics play out in their media from an early age, especially to rework and combat the historic negative tropes that our culture is still steeped in. It’s also important to address the devaluing of the elderly, in particular elderly women. The Legend of Korra does in fact build on this from Avatar the Last Airbender by having an even greater range of capable women and girls across ages and morality spectrum. Korra herself (who I’m liking a lot more than I thought I would), is a real stereotype breaker. Toph I’ve heard fulfils the ‘wise old (crotchy) woman’ archetype later in the series. I just wish, given how much I adore A:TLA’s Katara, that we could have seen her shine in an elder role too.

(*I use terms like ‘girls’, ‘woman/women’ and ‘feminine’. I mean these to also include a broad interpretation of the Feminine than just the hetero/cis-normative one, but sometimes it helps when critiquing something to narrow things down esp something so already psychologically complex in a simple meta.)

#katara #legend of korra #lok #atla #pro katara #my meta #meta #my writing #jungian psychology #korra #amon #feminism #storytelling #avatar the last airbender #I just wanna see Katara fight Amon damn it I don't care who wins as long as it's a MASSIVE fight #also want to see either Katara save Korra or Korra save Katara #and some proper bonding and badass tuition #and then dunno waterbenders both hero and villain learn and grow and rebuild the Tribe

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harrynightingales · 3 years

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Straight male writer: 6 years is nothing to an immortal! Their relationship needs ANGST to be interesting!! Me: am I supposed to believe that these two men, who have been together for almost a millennium, who KNOW that any death could be their last because their immortality isn’t guaranteed, wouldn’t speak for SIX YEARS??? (If the unspeakable happened during that time period the survivor would never forgive himself!)

i'm with you anon!!! i actually have a lot of rambly thoughts on this and now feel enabled to share them because hey, you started it! under the cut because this is long as hell

edit: just as a heads up i read this as anon referring to the writer of the ttt3 moon landing story who to be fair i don't know if he is straight, or just as a general ~straight man writer~ perspective

first of all hard agree that the idea of angst = complex and interesting is really frustrating. i say that as someone who definitely can and does enjoy angsty miscommunication based fic but it definitely strikes me as something a) quite rare for them and b) not at all required for an interesting story. there are so many potential experiences for the anthology writers to explore that focusing on conflict all the time seems. uncreative.

anyways the 6 years comment has been fully disregarded by me. in general i have the approach of picking the canon/word of god comments that i like and ignoring the rest. specifically, it strikes me as the type of thought a writer would have when first writing about immortals, the whole idea that years pass like its nothing because they live so long. i imagine the writer was guilty of the same thing that grucka himself admitted to, of picking something that sounded cool because it was ~possible with immortal characters (in grucka's case, randomly picking 6000 as an age for andy) without actually thinking through the implications and whether it makes sense.

because as i mentioned in my reply (which i assume you saw?), the human experience of fighting with someone you love and not speaking to them fucking sucks. it feels good and satisfying for all of what? a day? and beyond that you just miss that person, especially when they are so intertwined with your every day life the way joe and nicky are. and exactly like you said, why on earth would they willingly put themselves through that when we canonically know how much they value and love each other?? because the way i see it you can fully disagree with someone and be angry with them but still make it clear that you love them by communicating. and the silent treatment is truly just the absence of any sort of communication and i can't imagine a scenario where an argument would be so very important to justify that level of anger to avoid any communication for more than a few days.

to be clear the actual events of the comic are not the main concern for me. i do think the philosophical differences between joe and nicky that are highlighted are interesting and would naturally bring some tension. i even can kind of understand the choice to go silent on each other - joe really eloquently explains his point to andy, but maybe he hadn't quite figured out his own thought process enough to explain it at the time of the original argument with nicky. and the hill i will die on re: joe/nicky's relationship is that it is built on respect, i imagine they would be emotionally mature enough to not lash out in anger and potentially say something hurtful that they can't take back. so choosing to remove themselves from the situation and not speak so as to not make things worse makes sense, as an initial reaction. where it loses me personally is that you can see that both ~activities if you can call them that are really important to joe and nicky. for joe, seeing the moon landing and appreciating beauty and progress in the world, and for nicky, serving justice to more people that caused innocent people harm (the "more" very consciously there because joe obviously also believes in their work and stopping injustice, but in this case they have different priorities past a certain baseline). and going back to my idea as respect as foundational for them, part of that in a relationship is recognizing that what is important and of value to your partner becomes important to you, even if you don't fully understand it. the way that joe so earnestly talked about wanting to experience the beauty of the moon landing and wanting to experience it with nicky makes me believe that nicky would reconsider his priorities, especially taking into account the "once in a lifetime" nature of watching the first the moon landing vs simply the convenience of having the hitlist targets all at home. and similarly, even if joe isn't fully convinced that everyone on nicky's hitlist needs to get taken out, he would recognize how and why that is important to nicky and not allow it to be something that comes between them, because like i said earlier fighting for justice is something they have in common. so in my mind the most in-character ideal response would be "argument of what to do next after taking out the serial killer -> both explain their positions and why that is their priority -> COMPROMISE".

but ANYWAYS that huge ramble aside, the main plot "fight" of their's is not such a big deal to me, especially since its clear that joe knows nicky will call and its implied that he does shortly after the event of the comics. if anything, as others have said, it just seems FAR better suited for early days in their relationship rather than multiple centuries into it when they would have PLENTY of opportunity to iron out their moral approaches to killing plus gone through Communication In Relationships 101.

it really is just the 6 years comment that grinds my gears. again, a 6 year silent treatment argument could maybeee make sense in like, the first century of their relationship, as they were figuring stuff out and also before they discovered the fact that they can lose their immortality. like you said anon, once they have that information, i truly cannot believe they would willingly waste that much time over something that can't have been all that consequential. and i really don’t understand the argument that “because they’re immortal time doesn’t mean the same thing to them and 6 years is nothing!!” because imo that’s just.. not how the brain works. like they are fully human and process emotions as humans, and the human way is that conflict/anger/stress feel BAD, especially when you’re in the middle of it. your emotions are heightened which would put you on edge and feeling irritable and the brain is absolutely NOT meant to be in that state for an extended period of time. and again, why would they put themselves through that when they could just?? do the grown up thing and have a conversation. what would be the motivation to experience those shitty feelings for 6 years when an alternative exists?? not to mention greg's comment that the two of them had never willingly spent time apart, and even if they were still (indirectly) interacting while not speaking, the emotional distance it would require to be physically next to someone and disregard them like that for MULTIPLE YEARS runs really contrary to the way the relationship is presented.

that being said i do find this post super funny and i definitely can imagine them going through the motions of "negative" relationship experiences (can you say jealousy and lorenzo???) entirely for the sexual payoff. but again, to take it kinda seriously, even that in my mind would be based on a foundation of understanding that they do love each other and they're not really REALLY mad at each other, just

p.s. i wrote almost this whole thing in a daze about 24 hours ago and then i saw this post which makes a lot of the same points as me so hopefully this isn’t repetitive and i’m sorry op i promise i wasn’t stealing your ideas. nice to be on the same page as others though!

#not tagging bc i don't want this in the tags #i'll do it later i promise

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poisongirl18 · 4 years

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Worth it

Kylie X Jensen

Thank you to the readers! I appreciate you! I have grown a small following over the past couple of days and I decided to write this one for myself! If you would like to be added to my tag lis or want to request a one-shot yourself just let me know! Thanks!

Worth it

Words: 3524

JensenXPlusSizeReader

Fluff, slight smut, depressed reader

When Kylie has to film a long awaited intimate scene with close friend Jensen, she goes to extreme lengths to make sure she has the perfect body

Today was the day that the Supernatural fans have been waiting for, hell it was the day I was waiting for.

The sex scene.

I joined the cast of Supernatural around ten years ago, figuring that I would be killed off in a few short episodes turned into ten years of love and laughter. The fans seemed to like me, and the producers said that I just brought a type of femininity to the show. My character had a certain relationship with the Winchester brothers, but there was always something about her and Dean that had the fans quaking with excitement. The constant questions were when my character and Dean were finally going to be together, and that day was today. I was excited, I mean who wouldn’t be, I got to be with a semi-naked Jensen Ackles who I had grown very fond of over the decade.

Unfortunately, there were not many, but a handful of fans that just did not like my character with Dean. Their claims were that Dean Winchester would never be with a ‘plus-size’ girl. Now, I never considered myself fat by any means, but I was definitely bigger than the girl that Dean or Jensen would go out with. Each criticism over the years was like a slice to my heart and it even pushed me to start numerous diets and even hire a trainer despite Jensen’s many pleas to see how beautiful I was.

I wanted to believe him, I truly did, but I knew what I saw in the mirror every morning and I saw the number on the scale every time I stepped on it.

The producers had come up to me a few months ahead, warning me of the upcoming scene and making sure I was comfortable with. I knew that they cared and knew I had a hard time with my body imagine since starting the show. My chest had begun to hurt when they told me, and the room had begun to spin as my anxiety took over, but I had to say yes. If I had said no there would be girls’ miles long that would say yes, and my career as an actress would come to end. So, I pushed myself harder than I had ever done before and even managed to shed a few pounds, but now that the day has come, I wish I had loss a few more.

“You look nervous.” Jared teased as he had taken a seat next to me on set.

“I think I’m going to die.” I admitted, watching has he bit his lip to try and stop his smile which he failed miserably at.

“You’re not going to die.” He reassured me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a just a scene.”

“A sex scene.” I let out, a little louder than I wanted. “With Jensen.”

Jared had known of my crush with Jensen, and although he constantly teased me about it, he respected my wishes in keeping it quiet. “You’re going to be fine.” He promised again. “The fans are going to love it, and you are going to be great.”

I watched as the crew scurried around setting up the scene that I was going to perform in. “What if all they see is a fat blob.” I whispered, trying not to tear up and ruin the make up that someone had spent and hour working on. “What if Jensen is just . . . disgusted with me.”

Jared let out a sigh. “Kylie,” He let out softly, “You are not a fat blob and you are not disgusting.” He paused for a moment. “Why don’t you turn down the scene, maybe they can change it and-“

“No.” I let out sternly before glancing at him, his face softening. “If I turn it down then my career is over.”

“No, it’s not.” He rolled his eyes. “We can just talk to-“

“Hey! Are you ready?”

My eyes moved up to a smiling Jensen, who looked way to excited for this scene. I bit my lip and looked at Jared who was shaking his head at me.

“Of course, I am.” I forced a smile. “The question is are you ready?”

Jensen scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Please, everyone has been waiting for this for the past ten years.” He smirked. “You just better watch that you don’t fall in love with me.”

Too late.

I licked my bottom lip and rolled my eyes before standing up, adjusting my black shirt so it was not so tight against my belly. “Please don’t flatter yourself.”

He threw an arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. “You know, we should get some food before the big scene. Make sure we’re well nourished.” He wagged his brows.

“No.” I let out quickly, the last thing I needed was a bloated tummy for our scene which is why I had been fasting all day. Nothing but water for me. “I need to go over lines.” I tried.

Jensen’s green eyes crinkled and looked over me worriedly. “Are you alright?” He asked gently. “I mean, I know this scene is awkward-“

“It’s fine.” I let out and pulled away from him. “Seriously, what does everyone keep asking me?” I shook my head and began walking away from the set, and away from the men that I had grown to love over the years.

“Kylie!” Jensen called but I kept walking.

Everyone was so concerned about me doing the scene, but I don’t think they were concerned for me. I think they were more worried about their fat friend on screen, ruining the eyes of all the fans.

With all the anger that was plummeting through me, I had to stop walking to get the room around me to stop spinning. I sucked in a deep breath and listened as my stomach growled loudly begging for the food that it obviously didn’t need.

“Kylie!” I heard the voice of a familiar crew member call before she was grabbed and my hand and pulled me back towards the set. “We’re ready for you.”

“Already.” I sighed but continued to walk, stepping up on the bunker set and directly in front of Jensen whose eyes continued to look concerned.

“Kylie,” Jensen let out as the crew members continued to run around us, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.” I nodded, standing in my spot in front of Jensen who now wore a flannel on top of his black t-shirt. He was dressed head to toe in Dean Winchester wear, and I was dressed differently for my character. My flannel was replaced with a tight black V-neck shirt with ripped jeans and her classic black heeled boots.

“You’re going to be great.” He smiled, putting a hand on my arm making me swoon.

“I hope so.” I forced just as I heard the director quiet the set.

Action!

“You can’t- you can’t do this to me Dean.” I shook my head, my eyes tearing up slightly not only for the scene but because of the emotions I was feeling.

“Why not?” Dean let out angrily. “Don’t you understand! Anyone I get close to dies!” He shook his head. “And I just . . . I can’t lose you.”

I cupped Jensen’s cheek, taking the moment to trail my thumb over the stubble. “Listen to me Winchester, I am not going anywhere.”

Jensen’s eyes teared up slightly as he looked over me before he took the opportunity to lean down and kiss me.

My heart pounded in my chest as Jensen’s lips met mine, it was all that I expected it to be and more. He was soft, but needy. His hands went directly to my hips as I backed up into the table, letting him pick me up behind me thighs to place me on it.

I was surprised that he could lift me, but that thought was long gone when he pulled the flannel from his body followed by the black t-shirt. I couldn’t help but run my hands along his chest, hoping that it fit well with the scene.

Jensen reached for the ends of my black shirt, looking at me, not my character but me, for permission. I forced a smile and nodded. He pulled the shirt from my body before taking a step back to admire me. Immediately I felt self-conscious especially as the camera zoomed in around me.

He bit his lip, and I worried that he was going to be disgusted, but then he muttered a word that wasn’t in the script that I had read over a thousand times. “Beautiful.” He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine in a heated kiss. I cupped his cheeks and wrapped my legs around his waist pulling him towards me as his hands roamed my body.

I let out a slight breath around his lips as he used the opportunity to slide his tongue in, surprising me. He let out a growl as he laid me back against the table, climbing on top of it to mount me. His hand immediately went to the straps of my bra where he pulled them down revealing my shoulders.

I let out an accidental moan and clawed at his back, feeling the muscles tense behind me as he pushed his cloth covered groin into mine. For a moment, I could almost feel a hardening sensation underneath his jeans.

“And cut!”

Jensen continued to kiss me, deepening the kiss and exploring my mouth with his tongue as his hands continued to slide down the curves of my body.

“Cut!” I heard again in a slight concern voice, opening my eyes before pressing on Jensen’s chest. He pulled away ever so slightly, looking down at me with shock and concern.

“Jensen?” I let out, licking my swollen lip.

“I-I’m sorry.” He let out, immediately getting off me. “I didn’t mean to.”

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as I hopped off the table, my hands immediately going to my body covering myself from the world. “Don’t apologize for being in the scene.”

“No, it wasn’t that.” He said, bending down to grab his flannel, handing it to me.

I quickly put it on and swayed slightly as the set swirled around me, my vision becoming slightly blurry.

“You guys did great!” I heard Jared’s voice, and suddenly he was in front of me.

How did he move that fast?

“Uh, yeah.” I let out, rubbing the back of my neck.

“You good?” Jared asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

I felt my eyes become heavy and my body become weak. “Yeah, I just need-“

“Woah Kylie!” I heard the panic in Jared’s voice as I dropped to the ground, my body becoming too weak to stand up anymore.

“Ky? Ky?” Jensen called as I felt his calloused hands touching my face.

“Can we get a medic over here?” Jared called as I opened my eyes, seeing my co-stars faces full of concern.

“No, no, I’m okay.” I tried to sit up, but Jensen held me where I was.

“Just lay back and relax, okay?” He nodded, running his fingers through my curls. “We need to get you checked out.”

I felt hot tears of embarrassment fill my eyes as crew members surrounded me, making sure I was okay. I tried to reassure everyone I was okay but could not seem to get the words out as the medic came and looked me over.

“Your blood pressures low.” The medic commented as he took the cuff off from around my arm. “Have you eaten at all today?”

I looked around the group of people who were around me, all of which I considered my family and friends who I knew were all going to be ashamed of me. “No.” I let out quietly.

I listened as Jensen sighed with frustration. “I’ll get her something to eat.” He said simply.

“Let’s get her to her trailer.” Jared offered as he helped me stand.

Jensen shook his head when I got to my feet and took ahold of me. “I got it.” He let out quietly. “Kylie and I have to talk.”

I gulped audibly as he helped walk me through the crowd of people who were all staring sadly at me. He continued to stay silent and hold onto me as we made it outside, but instead of going to my trailer we went to his.

He set me down on his soft leather couch as he went to shut and lock his trailer door, pausing and letting out a breath.

I squeezed the pale leather beneath my hands nervously, not knowing what Jensen was going to say or do. “Je-“

He shook his head, silencing me as he moved to stand in front of me, his hands on his hips as he stared down at me. “You did it because of this scene.” He said not as a question. “How many times have I told you that you didn’t have to do the diets or the hour-long trips to the gym? That you’re perfect the way that you are.” He shook his head. “And now this? Jesus Kylie.”

“I know, I know.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “But this was different, this was a scene where people were going to see me without my clothes.”

“I don’t care!” He raised his voice, shutting me up.

I shifted in my seat and looked down at my feet as he let out sigh.

“I don’t care.” He let out softly this time. “I care that your healthy, and this, this is not healthy.” He sat down next to me and grabbed my hands.

The tears began to flow from my eyes as I broke down in sobs. “I just want to be beautiful.”

“Oh Kylie.” He let out before pulling me to his chest, running his fingers through my hair. “You are beautiful. You are so damn beautiful that I can’t even stand it sometimes.” He tilted my chin up so that my red eyes were looking at him.

“I’m not . . . I’m just not.” I admitted as he smiled sadly at me.

“Kylie, do you know the first time that I saw you, you took my breath away.” He let out as he cupped my cheek, wiping the tears away. “Do you know that I was so scared to talk to you when I first saw you?”

“You don’t have to lie.” I let out, trying to pull away from him but he held me still.

“I’m not lying.” He said gently. “You can ask Jared. There is nothing more that I wanted than to kiss you today.”

I blinked a few times, this time sitting up fully to look at him. “W-what?”

He brought his lip in between his teeth as he looked down nervously at his hands. “I’ve been in love with you Kylie since the first time I saw you ten years ago.” He glanced up. “When I began kissing you today, even in front of all those people and that camera I couldn’t stop.”

“I-I-“ I stuttered like the dumbass I was.

“You don’t have to say anything.” He said with an awkward chuckle.

“Oh Jensen.” I couldn’t stop myself from smashing my lips to his in a needy passionate kiss. He instantly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest so he could run his fingers through my curls. I pulled away slightly. “I love you too.” I said softly before kissing him again.

He pulled back this time, blinking in shock. “Y-You do?” He stuttered in shock.

I let out a soft chuckle and nodded. “I have, for ten long years.” I smiled. “But you were with a girlfriend at the time, and I knew I would never compare to her.”

He shook his head. “You are so special to me Kylie. I just thought you would never see me that way.”

I leaned back against the couch, running my fingers through my hair with a small smile on my face. “We’re so dumb.” I let out a little laugh.

“We are.” He nodded joining in on my laughter.

After we calmed down, I looked up at him with awe. He was just so beautiful; I couldn’t believe that he was interested in me.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked once we calmed down.

“What do you want to do?” He asked, looking at me nervously.

I reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. “I want to be with you.” I paused. “Do you want to be with me?”

“More than anything.” He smiled. “I would give up everything for you.” He leaned in and kissed me quickly.

“Then we should be together.” I grinned. “But maybe we should keep it on the low down for a while?”

“Just for a while.” Jensen winked.

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

2 months later.

“I am here with one of the stars of Supernatural Kylie.” The reporter smiled as she sat comfortably in her seat. “How are you doing today?”

I on the other hand was uncomfortable, I didn’t like interviews especially ones that I had to do alone. “I am doing great. How about you Sara?” I asked trying to stay calm.

“I am great, so happy to be here with you.” She nodded. “I heard you heard a little accident while filming a few months ago. Anything serious?”

I forced a smile and waved my hand. “Oh no, no, no I just didn’t eat enough that day and my sugar dropped. I have to be careful now, and Jared and Jensen are constantly making sure I keep my sugar up.”

“Are you diabetic?” She asked, looking over her note cards.

I bit my lip at the question not sure if I was ready to talk about an important moment in my life that had happened only a few weeks ago. “No, well not really.” I chuckled. “I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with PCOS, poly cystic ovarian syndrome.” I nodded.

“Can you discuss this more?” She asked with a raised brow, intrigued.

“Sure, it’s common. Most women have it and lead normal lives, but it is a hormonal disorder and along with some female fertility issues, there can be an imbalance in some metabolic areas.” I explained.

Jensen had made me go to the doctors after the incident, just to make sure I was healthy. One of the things we talked about my weight and my trouble losing. Once we did a few tests, we quickly discovered that I had PCOS and although not life-threatening, it still worried me, so I’ve done extensive research with the help of Jensen.

“Well I do hope you are doing well.” Sara nodded.

I glanced behind her where Jensen stood giving me a thumbs up. “I’m doing great.” I let out, giving him a bright smile.

“That’s wonderful! We are all excited to see the new season of Supernatural. Anything you can tell us?”

I let out a slight laugh and nodded. “I think it’s going to be something different, ones the fans aren’t going to suspect.”

“Are we going to see a love connection between your character and Dean?” She wagged her eyebrows.

“Well,” I bit my lip, “I guess you’re just going to have to watch and find out.”

She frowned but nodded her head. “What about you and Mr. Ackles? Any love connection there? There’s been multiple reports of you and him going out to local restaurants together.”

I bit my lip and glanced at Jensen again who was smiling proudly. He wanted to let our secret relationship out to family and friends, but I had been pushing it off, not ready to our us to the world.

“Jensen and I have always been close friends.” I nodded. “Our relationship has grown over the years and he always been my biggest supporter in everything I do.” I smiled. “Our relationship has recently grown from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend.”

The reporter grinned at the news and nodded. “That is wonderful to hear! Congratulations! Thank you for talking with me, we cannot wait to see what Supernatural brings this season.” She turned to face the camera. “Be sure to watch Kylie on Supernatural on Mondays at 8 o’clock.”

“And cut. That was perfect.”

I stood up from my chair thanking the reporter before going to Jensen who was grinning from ear to ear. “I love you.” He said wrapping his arms around.

I rolled my eyes playfully and placed my hands on his shoulders. “You know Jared and Gen are both going to murder us when they see this right?”

“Totally worth it.” He grinned before pressing a passionate kiss to my lips.

#jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #My writing #my fanfiction #my fanfic stuff #my fanfic tag #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #jared padalecki #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #spn

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adventurouspotatoes · 3 years

Text

Prompt: An impulse buy leading to intergalactic warfare.

Milo woke up suddenly as he fell to the floor, startled by the aggressive vibration of his phone. He blinked several times, trying to make out the name on the screen through the sleepy blur covering his eyes. A slight groan escaped his lips as he saw the name ‘Brian’ across the display and for a few seconds he debated going back to sleep. However, his curiosity got the better of him and he quickly found himself saying “Accept call.”

Brian and Milo had met during 2208, almost ten years ago, at a summer space camp. Those two months spent on the Lutra Space Station had been incredible and inspired both boys to pursue careers in space tech. For the next eight years, Brian and Milo were inseparable. They spent the majority of their free time together, studying and performing crazy experiments with the hopes of one day becoming famous space explorers like their role models. Unfortunately, as they grew, Milo slowly began to drift away from Brian. His mind was set on realistic goals, he wanted to be the head of the Earth’s Galactic Exploration Program (EGEP) and had been working almost 24/7 since his twentieth birthday to achieve this. Brian, on the other hand, never left his inner child behind and had been slowly building a name for himself as the laughingstock of the EGEP.

Brian and Milo both began working for the EGEP during the winter of 2216, after having completed many intensive space tech programs together. Milo had worked his way up the corporate ladder quickly and was now one of the main technicians on the Galactica spacecrafts - the first and only spaceship built for traveling between galaxies. Although intergalactic space travel had been banned since ‘The Incident’, a small, elite team of specially trained technicians was tasked with maintaining and enhancing the range of Galactica models. This project was kept strictly confidential at a national level and was self-funded by the EGEP, whose “task is to ensure Earth is prepared for any future by broadening horizons in the field of space exploration”, as their digital leaflets state in bright, attractive colours. Brian had also dreamed of being on this team; however, his wild talk of becoming a Galactica pilot had kept him at the lowest branch of the EGEP. In fact, he had managed to cling to his current job only by a thread, one strung out to him by Milo, who spent many hours on a monthly basis convincing his bosses that his friend deserved a spot within the EGEP, despite his occasional mad ramblings. These affairs eventually caused a strain between the young men and they rarely spent time together these days, which is why Brian was pleasantly surprised when Milo’s sleepy hologram appeared through his phone screen.

“It’s 2 am, Brian. And we have work tomorrow. What could possibly be up?” Milo groaned into his phone.

“Well, my dear friend Milo, the sky, space, Andromeda depending on where you stand, and now you, too, are up.” Brian grinned. “It’s late, I know, but I have a very good reason for calling you at this ridiculous hour. I can’t say much on the phone but meet me at our spot in the woods in an hour. You’ll want to see this.” His voice was hushed as if he was worried about being overheard yet there was still a certain bounce to his words, a hint of excitement which Milo hadn’t heard in Brian’s voice for years.

The clear night sky sparkled with the shine of millions of stars, while the moonlight illuminated Milo’s path through the woods. The hills and woods behind EGEP headquarters were the best places for stargazing due to their remote location. The air around the base was the cleanest on Earth, with an Air Quality Index of 71 and getting better by the year with the new advancements in air purifying technology. The flora and fauna here was also the most diverse, providing a home to 80% of the Earth’s remaining species. Milo loved walking through these woods for those very reasons, he liked to be close to nature, to really feel the Earth in a way not many others could.

Brian was pacing rapidly with a big grin on his face when Milo approached him. “So what’s this big secret you woke me up in the middle of the night for then?”

“It’s a little further away, on the other side of the woods. I’ll tell you as we walk.” Brian replied, turning to walk further away from the EGEP base. Milo followed him quietly, waiting to hear his best friend’s newest idea and secretly hoping it wouldn’t land them in trouble in the morning. “So I was scrolling through the backstreet online market… through an encrypted device, don’t give me that look! Anyways, I was looking for some quality hybrid bud, the kind you only get on other planets, when I came across something amazing. Now, it’s a little out there and I know you might think I’m crazy at first but just try to keep an open mind, okay?” Brian smiled at his friend, though his eyes gave off a slight air of nervousness.

“The last time you told me to keep an open mind we ended up buried in lunar soil and the principal made us… OH MY SWEET ROCKS BRIAN WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Milo yelled and stared frantically from his friend to the object just 200 paces away from them. It was an exact replica of the Galactica 400X, except for the colouring. “I know how it looks but come on Milo, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Some ex-EGEP technician rebuilt this model and he was selling it for a very decent price and…”

“Wait… WAIT. You are thinking of FLYING this thing!? As your best friend, Brian, it is my job to tell you that you have officially gone off the space pipes! We are not going to space on our own without even a trained pilot let alone the fact that intergalactic travel has been banned for hmm... FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. I mean what were you thinking?” Milo exclaimed.

“Look everyone thinks I’m crazy and maybe I am but this has been my lifelong dream and damn it I am going to make it happen! I am going to fly a Galactica, Milo, whether you come with me or not. Plus we won’t take any outer space pipes, just a few quick spins round the station. And I have been doing extensive research on piloting one.” Brian replied and made his way towards the entrance of the spacecraft. After a few moments Milo groaned and ran into the ship behind him.

They had looped around the station a few times and taken in the magnificent views of Earth, although far less green than it once was, when suddenly the blood drained from Brian’s face. He looked at Milo and gulped. “Try not to panic but… well…” Brian stammered.

“What is it, Brian?”

“I’ve lost control of the spacecraft, I can’t take us back, and I have no idea where we are heading.”

Milo laughed until he realised Brian wasn’t joking, at which point he continued laughing but this time at the absurdity of his life. He looked outside at the vast darkness interspersed with tiny spots of light in the distance and thought of how insignificant he was compared to it all. This thought always gave him comfort in a time of worry.

“Look, Brian, I know we have drifted apart in the last few years and that the guys at EGEP haven’t always been the kindest to you, but I want you to know I love you, man. You’re my best friend and I honestly couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather end up dying on an illegal spaceship with.” Milo smiled at Brian who let out a loud snort. They stood like that in silence for a while, waiting to see what was in store.

“CAUTION! CAUTION! Accelerating speed to intergalactic levels. Please remain seated and keep all seat belts fastened.” The sudden computerized yell startled both men who stared at each other in terror as the spacecraft sped past a sign which read ‘Andromeda Space Pipe - Fast Track’. A few seconds later, once they flew through the Andromeda pipe line entrance, a loud, piercing sound began to radiate outside the ship. “Oh fuck,” Brian exclaimed.

“What could possibly be worse than this?” Milo stared at him.

“So you know how I like to research alien civilizations, especially those of Andromeda… Well, the residents of Stellaris communicate mainly through sounds and… Oh, Milo, I think we’ve started an intergalactic war.”

#writeblr #writing #creative writing #science fiction #original writing #flash fiction #my writing #sci fi #space #writing prompts

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fanfic-corner · 4 years

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Under 10,000 Words

16/12/20 - I can never figure out what my favourite length of fic is, but I think it depends on my mood. Sometimes I want a huge, 200,000 word journey, and sometimes I just want a quick drabble. Anyway, here are some fics which are all between 2,000 and 10,000 words, organised by the word count.

Sleep Deprivation by Honey_Honey on AO3. (2,313 words).

Tags: Cute, First Kiss.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: The one where killing monsters leaves Dean without a week of sleep, and Cas has to deal with the consequences.

Notes: This was so fluffy and cute and I can totally imagine Dean overthinking everything while Sam just finds the whole situation hilarious.

That One Time Sam Winchester Googled Something Weird and It Had Pretty Awesome Results by quitepossiblyjanuary on AO3. (2,587 words).

Tags: Romantic Fluff, First Kiss, Stars, Humor, Courtship, Short & Sweet.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: In which Sam Googles something and his curiosity doesn’t kill the cat. Or him. Or anyone. It’s a pretty awesome feeling.

Notes: This was so adorable! Gabe was so sweet, and his mind reading skills made me laugh.

What Can’t Be Seen by destieldrabblesdaily on AO3. (2,639 words).

Tags: Soulmate AU, author!Cas, Strangers to Lovers, First Kiss.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Written for this prompt: Soulmate AU where you first see color after eye contact: Cas is a famous best selling author and he’s promoting his book, so he’s talking to a crowd of people and suddenly his world is in color, and a lot of his fans pretend to be his soulmate. A Cinderella type situation ensues.

Notes: This was really cute and such a sweet and funny idea.

The Tea is Decaf by mnwood on AO3. (3,673 words).

Tags: POV Castiel, Fluff, Sign Language, Castiel in the Bunker, Canon Compliant, Sharing Clothes, Asexual Castiel, Gentle Dean, Non-Explicit Sex, Domestic, Established Relationship.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Based on this text post from thebloggerbloggerfun: “Listen, imagine Eileen sneaking out of Sam’s room at night to go to the bathroom or something and steps out into the hallway in one of Sam’s shirts only to see Cas trying to quietly leave Dean’s room while wearing one of Dean’s shirts and they both just stare at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before trying to muffle quiet laughter and now they have a late night club where they talk about life and gossip about the Winchesters in sign language"And this anon I received: "what if Eileen and Cas discover there are some things Sam and Dean both do in bed because Dean jokingly gave Sam pointers when they were younger and Sam took the advice”.

Notes: This has to be one of my favourite fics of all time, even though the first time I read it I hadn’t even met Eileen yet! I’m still so pissed off that she wasn’t in the finale (unless we’re counting Blurry Wife?).

surely heaven wants for you by cenotaphy on AO3. (3,782 words).

Tags: Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Heaven, Coda, Post-Finale, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Dean, Outdoor Sex.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Cas doesn't come to him. Dean can't really argue with that, given the circumstances. In all the history of balls in courts, he thinks there might never have been a ball as thoroughly in a court as this one is in his. He drives for what feels like a long time but might just be a single sunny afternoon, or maybe years (time's funny here, Bobby had said), just enjoying the music, the shifting landscape outside his window, the hum and creak of the engine. Finally the forest opens up and the road narrows down in a way that he's fairly certain wouldn't typically happen on any kind of earthly interstate, and he glides the car to a halt at the edge of a lake.

Notes: This was so beautiful and such a interesting exploration of Dean’s feelings!

a quick salt and burn by xylodemon on AO3. (4,609 words).

Tags: Episode Related, Cemeteries, Case Fic.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: "Fuck," Dean mutters, wincing as pain throbs in his shoulder and neck. After the ghost chucked him into the hedge, he hit the ground like ton of bricks and clipped an exposed tree root so old it was practically petrified. "So much for a quick salt and burn."

Notes: This is adorable and hilarious, so a double win.

Funny Bone by PallasPerilous on AO3. (4,933 words).

Tags: Fluff and Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Skeletons, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Alternate Universe - No Angels, Canon Divergence, Mild Gore.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: It wasn’t even a particularly creepy skeleton; it was in kind of a “just chillin’” pose on the floor. One ankle was still locked up in a heavy iron cuff, at the end of a short chain leading back to the wall. Snoresville, as dead stuff goes; Dean’s seen worse at Disneyland. It was the skeleton’s comment about Dean’s ass that really livened things up.

Notes: This has to have been one of the funniest fics I have ever read, but oh boy did I feel bad for poor Cas.

Grace by july_19th_club on AO3. (5,164 words).

Tags: Fix-It, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Resurrection, Reciprocated Confession.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: A man dies. What happens next will shock you. [script]

Notes: This was written beautifully, and now I really want to see this filmed! So much better than the ending we got.

(un)conventional by imogenbynight on AO3. (6,100 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe, mechanic!Dean, Writer!Castiel, Conventions, Fluff.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Spec Lit Con--Speckly Con, to it’s regular attendees--is an annual weekend-long event held in Chicago, dedicated to science fiction, fantasy and otherwise speculative literature. This year Dean's favorite author, C.J. Novak, is appearing as a panelist. Naturally, he shells out the cash for an all access pass.

Notes: This was so adorable that I nearly screamed in the corridor outside my computer science lesson. Plus, the writing was absolutely gorgeous! I miss conventions :(

La Vie A Plus by K_K_TiBal on AO3. (6,260 words)

Tags: Punk Castiel, Asexual Castiel, College/Uni AU, Roommates, oh my god they were roommates, College Student Dean, College Student Castiel, Pining, First Kiss, Misunderstandings, Art Student Castiel, Love Confessions, Gabriel is a Little Shit, Tattooed Castiel.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Dean Winchester is hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with his best friend and roommate, Castiel. Castiel - with his blue hair, and his tattoos, and his artwork, and his perfect everything. Dean never stood a chance, really. It only sucks because, as far as Dean can tell, Castiel is definitely not interested. But love, much like art, has a way of being unpredictable. Even if you think you know where you’re going with it.

Notes: The angst is strong in this one! Again, I feel like many aces have had this conversation or that fear that people (allos, especially) may not want to be with them.

Event Horizon by Winglesss on AO3. (6,442 words).

Tags: Suicidal Thoughts, Suicidal Dean, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Past Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Texting, Sharing a Bed, Happy Ending, Veteran Dean, Doctor Dean, Writer Castiel, Strangers.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Castiel couldn't have helped his sister. That's why being offered a chance to help somebody else dealing with suicidal thoughts he took it without hesitation. When he gets the first text from someone who needs his help, nothing goes as he expected.

Notes: I don’t know if that kind of suicide prevention scheme exists, but this fic is very sweet.

I Think That’s Mine by palominopup on AO3. (6,804 words).

Tags: Fluff, AU, Reporter!Dean, Writer!Cas.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: A mix up at the Atlanta Airport places Dean Winchester's laptop in someone else's possession. A series of calls and texts bring two men together.

Notes: This was so cute, Cas was so sweet, and Dean was an icon.

Nothing Equals the Splendor by RurouniHime on AO3. (7,865 words).

Tags: Fix-It, Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief, Explicit Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Declarations of Love, Canon Compliant, Minor Injuries.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Maybe it’s the cynic in him. The hunter, always under the surface of any quietude he ever found. Or maybe it’s just that he has always had trouble with blind faith. But after a while (a blink? A decade? A century?), Dean raises his eyebrows, looks around, and says—

“Uh. No.”

It’s so close. Just so slightly imperfect. And maybe, he analyzes, maybe that’s the final knell of this bell called contentment. Dean’s experience with happiness has always been that last rise in the road, right before it turns. Right before fate comes barreling around the corner head on. He turns in his spot on the bridge, and suddenly Sam is like a cellophane film through which he can see the light streaming, and the taste of cheap beer on his tongue is much, much older a memory than it should be.

“Oh, you’re good,” he says, and means it.

Notes: What a great idea, and written so well! I always thought the show could have done so much more with djinns, but never mind.

In the House of the Rising Bun by imissmaeberry on AO3. (9,046 words).

Tags: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Baker Dean, Barista Sam, College Campus, Poet Castiel, Mutual Pining, Daddy Issues, Background Sam/Jess, Past Balthazar/Castiel.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Dean Winchester only has three rules concerning the cafe he and his brother Sam own, “House of the Rising Bun”.

1. Any and all opportunities to make a pun will be taken. 2. Free regular coffee with your student ID (If you want some of that fancy nonsense you gotta pay, sorry kids). 3. Anyone and everyone is always welcome.

Between Dean running the shop full-time and Sam helping out whenever he isn’t in class, there really isn’t a whole lot of time for romance for either of them. But that all changes when they gain a new regular - some writer from London - who may or may not have the bluest eyes Dean’s ever seen.

Notes: First of all, the puns were amazing and I am willing to fight people on that. Secondly, that was so sweet and funny I am afraid I might have to disappear under mysterious circumstances and open my own cafe…

I hope you enjoy these! I haven’t read any new fics for this list and even then there were way too many to put on one list, so expect a sequel at some point in the future!

#fic recs #destiel #sabriel #saileen #fanfics #supernatural #spn #spnfamily #10000 words #2000-10000

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rosierocks30 · 4 years

Text

Hidden: Ch.7

Chapter 7: Preparation

It was dark with a clear sky as the stars twinkle bright. A figure was walking down the streets to enter a late night pub. The stranger roamed his eyes to find his fellow colleagues who were gathered around the table having a drink and chatting.

He walked towards them then greeted them. “Good evening gentlemen. What have I missed?” The stranger chuckled as he sat down to join in the conversation.

“Ah Ricky, we were just talking about what had happened at the Court Hall. Apparently, Captain Levi and the prisoner are related. Who would have thought?! Nobody knows anything about the Captain of the Survey Corps. Not even his squad. That man is a crazy loner. A cousin of mine said he’s too good when it comes slaughtering Titans.” Another man spoke then took a sip of ale.

Ricky or Richard Adams was interested in what his friend said. He didn’t go to the trial. The man was occupied with important missions from his higher ups. “Who is this prisoner the Military police and Survey Corps captured?”

“He’s some foreigner from a country that’s across the ocean. What was his name? I think William Miles.” One of the men intervene the conversation.

William Miles. The Mentor Assassin? Why is he here? Huh, this is trouble. Maybe, the templars already begin their next phase. So there must be assassins roaming in the Paradis Isle. Ricky had joined the Templar Order five years ago. The Order had been here longer since King Karl Fritz came to this island and built the Walls to protect the Eldians here from the rest of the world. After all, they encourage the king to move here. This side of the world was untouched by Assassins. Looks like they finally came here to get rid of Templars, but the brotherhoods are small in numbers while the Order are growing bigger and stronger.

“I see. It’s such a shame I wasn’t there to witness.” Ricky glanced at the other man.

Richard Adams stayed for a while with his friends then he decided to leave to attend a different meeting. His hat covered his eyes so no one would recognize him. He stopped and double checked in case he was not being followed. He knocked in a certain code on the wooden door. The door opened enough for a man in his 40s to peak out. “Show me the mark of Cain.” Ricky pulls out a red cross symbol attached to a chain on his belt. The door man nodded and opened the door wide. “Welcome, my friend.”

Ricky smiled and entered the building. He followed the other templar to a dining room with several members seated already. He took his usual place to sit. Not long, their leader arrived and sat at the head of the table. His hood was covered until he removed to reveal light brown hair and pierce blue eyes. The leader looked like in his early 20’s.

“Hello gentleman, as you can see the Mentor Assassin William Miles has come to this island. We, templars, must be on our guard. There will be other assassins since Mr. Miles doesn't come alone. The Grandmaster blessed me to take charge, the Paradis Isle Order of Templars. Ever since the Marleyans sent their Titan shifters to invade here, we lost control; but don’t worry. We’ll take it back before the assassin’s take over. I will make sure they are annihilated once I become king by marrying the bastard queen.” The blue eyed man smirked.

The rest of the Templars cheered their leader. “Yes Lord Evans, we’re with you all the way!” One of the men said.

“But one of my intel's told me some interesting news. Her Majesty and Levi Ackerman are secretly married. Plus, Captain Ackerman is the grandson of Mentor Miles. He is known to be a bloodlust monster on the battlefield. The more reason it’s best to execute him. The Ackerman bloodline is dangerous. I can’t believe they are still alive and producing like varmints.” Lord Evans said with a venomous tone. His ancestor, King Karl Fritz who founded House Reiss, started the persecution of the Ackerman and the Azumabito clans that resided within the Walls.

“My lord, would it be best to have Levi Ackerman as our Subject 18. His DNA is something that Abstergo Industries would want to collect data. He shares the same ancestry of Desmond Miles. We can look further on the real secret of the creation of the Ackermans. We’ll use it to make an army for global power.” A brown haired man with dark eyes name, Patrick Summers speaks out.

“Hmm, if the grandmaster accepts this idea then I don’t see why not, but after we’re done using him; I will personally kill him.” Nathaniel wants to see Levi dead, but he’s a logical man and what his brethren points out is Ackerman's ancestry. With time and patience, he’ll get what he wants.

“Even though the company has Desmond’s infant bastard son, the baby is not old enough to begin to collect data from the animus. Ackerman is a perfect candidate to continue exploring Miles' bloodline.” Patrick resumed his explanation when he observed the way his leader’s expression gives off a displeasing look. Lord Evans may be logical, but only when he isn’t blind with his emotions and arrogance.

Patrick is an ambitious man that came from nothing. He joined the Templars for making a world a better place for people like him who are poor with no access to necessary things to live comfortably. People like Lord Evans are full of greed. The dark eyed templar will do whatever it takes to get to the top of the ranks.

Lord Evans stared at Patrick with annoyance while the rest of the men mumbles and agrees with what Patrick said. Both men never get along, they always one up each other of every opportunity comes towards them. Nate will make sure nobody like Patrick outran him.

“Gentlemen, Phase two is activated. This meeting is dismissed” Nate gets up and begins to walk out of the small room with his personal assistance.

“Sir, pardon me for being bold, but are you really going to tell the Grandmaster?” Nate’s assistant, Gilbert, whispers low. As the two men are now out into the dark street of Mitras, the nobleman turns to his assistant. “No, the grandmaster doesn’t need to know about that street rat connection to the mentor assassin. Gilbert, you have been loyal to me for many years. Can I trust you enough to do this mission for me?” Gilbert kneel on his knee to show his fealty to his lord. “Of course, my lord. You can trust me with any mission you give me. I’m always loyal to you until I draw my last breath.” He said.

“Only to me, right?” Lord Evans wants to be sure before giving the mission to his loyal servant and assistant.

“Yes my lord. Only to you forever.” Gilbert’s voice became soft and blushes. Nathaniel looks around to make sure no one is able to see. He helped Gilbert up to have him look into his eyes.

“Good because it will break my heart if you betray me, Gilly.” He grips gently on Gilbert’s chin to kiss his lips.

“I will never betray you, Nate.” Gilbert has a determined look to show his lover of his loyalty. “So who is it you want me to kill? I knew you too well. Is it Patrick Summers?”

“Summers does get on my nerves, but it’s not him. I’ll give you more information at home.” Both Lord Evans and Gilbert walk through the dark, quiet streets to get to home.

Meanwhile in Marley

A group of soldiers are doing their late night routine to prepare for the war against Paradis Isle or what they call the Devil’s Island.

The sounds of rifle guns and marching boots echo the fields of the military base. A dark haired man with rough facial features. His eyes are glancing at the marching soldiers.

“Sir, our soldiers look ready for the war.” Another man smirks from seeing how sharp and focused the Marleyan army looks.

“Yes, they are ready. We just need to be patient for the Commander-in-chief to signal us to invade Paradis.” The General observed his troops with pride. “Is the Warrior unit ready for the invasion?”

“I believe so, General Theo Magath. Would you like me to send a message to Deputy Chief Braun of the process of the Warrior Unit?” The Lieutenant suggested to the general.

“Yes, we need to be perfect and sharp. Those devil spawns are aware of us and the war that’s coming to them. It’s best to give a surprise invasion.” General Magath said. The lieutenant went to do as he was told.

On the other side of the base where the Eldian Units reside, Reiner Braun the Deputy Chief of the Warrior Unit is occupied writing a letter to his mother.

A knock on the door stops him writing. He looks up to see an Eldian comrade handing him a note. The Armored Titan grabs the note then reads it. He begins to reply on the paper. Once he’s done, Reiner gives back the note to the same messenger. When the messenger leaves, Reiner thinks about his former friends and comrades from Paradis Isle.

Soon things will get ugly when he comes face to face with them.

Paradis Isle

At the Headquarters of the Survey Corps, the Mess Hall is full of soldiers eating and chatting with their comrades. The Levi’s squad are huddled in their table whispering each other.

“You know the Captain and Historia didn’t explain how they became...you know.” Jean looks around then faces back at his friends. “Together and married.” His tone is low for only his friends to hear.

Armin stops eating his hot meal to speak. “Jean, it’s best we don’t bring it up here. Remember, this is supposed to keep hidden from everyone.”

“We can ask them when Captain Levi takes us to the palace later.” Sasha said while eating her breakfast. For years the gang learned to understand what Sasha said with her mouth full whenever she eats.

Everyone nods in agreement. “Yeah, Sasha is right. We can ask them later.” Jean said. He glanced at Armin who avoided his stare from being nervous he knew the relationship between Historia and Levi. After all Armin was one of the witnesses for the captain and the queen’s wedding.

While the members of Levi’s squad are eating and chatting, on the other side of the Mess Hall; the two figures who are sitting on the same table are having their own conversation.

“Wait? There are cities with lights everywhere?!” Hange looks amazed at what William said.

“Yes, it's common in majority places even towns have them.” The only thing that amaze Will was this island being isolated to the world for centuries and these people survived on medieval-like technologies.

“Yeah well, not here. We are way behind. So what else does your city have?” Her tone sounds like an excited child that can’t wait to hear good news.

“Maybe instead of telling you about New York City, I can take you to show what it looks like and the sites to see.” Again, Will can’t help it to flirt at this extraordinary woman in front of him. You don’t find women like Hange in many places.

An assassin like him needs a wife who understands what they're getting themselves into because the Brotherhood is lifestyle permanently. His late wife married him without knowing what she was getting herself into. Their marriage was full of arguments and resentments. William doesn’t regret marrying her. They had two wonderful and strong boys. At one point after losing his son, Desmond from Juno; he went into a deep depression and blamed everything on the Creed.

Now his passion and dedication to the Creed had ignited to return back to his fellow assassin and became the Mentor of the Global Brotherhood. This gives him the connection to find and meet his long lost grandson he learnt about many years ago. Will made a promise to his older son’s grave that he will be there for Levi. He understands his grandson will need time to adjust to him being there in his life.

Will may not know much about the queen, but she does have the spirit to be a member of the Brotherhood Assassins. The Mentor does want to get to know his granddaughter in law. Hopefully he’ll get the chance to do that without Levi getting overprotective with her.

“That would be awesome, but maybe after the war if I make it out alive.” She frowns at the thought of the upcoming war with Marley. If the Goddesses bless her to win and make it out alive, she will gladly go with William to visit his home country.

“A war? With who?” This caught his attention. He feels a bit concerned since his grandson is a soldier. Will can’t lose another member of his family again.

Hange pause a bit to contemplate whether to tell him or not. “I don’t if I should tell you-” William interrupted her.

“Please, I need to know why there will be a war soon. Levi is a soldier and I just finally found him. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I don’t know how many soldiers your nation has in the army, but it looks small not to consider an army.” He still looks concerned. Hange senses some pain in his voice when he mentions not wanting to lose Levi to the war.

“It’s Marleyans. We’re going to war with them. They had been preparing to invade our island just to take the Founding Titan while wanting to eradicate us from this world. To the rest of the world, were devils because the Eldians are cursed being connected to the Path. Our ancestor, Ymir, was the first Eldian to become a Titan by making a deal with the Earth Devil whoever that son of bitch was. So there’s 9 main Titans that an Eldian can inherit. The Jaw Titan, Attack Titan, War Hammer Titan, Armored Titan, Beast Titan, Cart Titan, Female Titan, Colossus Titan, and Founding Titan. A Titan shift of the 9 Titans has 13 years left to be alive until they die. If there’s no successor to pass it on the power of one of the nine Titans, a newborn Eldian baby will inherit once they are born into this cruel world. So nations in this continent hate and fear us. In ancient times, The Eldian Empire did use the Titans to conquer lands until one of the noble clans turned they’re back on the Empire and sided that Marleyans to defeat us. The king, Karl Fritz moved some of the Eldians to this island and built the Three Walls. He erased our people’s memories from the outside world. Through generations, we thought we’re the last humans, but when my late commander Erwin led us to the basement of Dr. Jaeger’s home, we found out the truth. Under Queen Historia’s rule, we learnt who’s the real enemy.” She paused to watch how William was taking all of this information.

“I see. If I was just an average man with a simple life, I would call you crazy, but I've seen crazy things. Who has the nine titans right now? Is Levi part of the curse?” His curiosity reveals from his expression.

“Few of the titans are in the possession of the nation of Marley. I think the Armor Titan, Cart Titan, Jaw Titans and War Hammer Titan. No wait Eren inherited the War hammer after the attack of Liberio he caused. He got the Founding titan, Attack Titan and now the War Hammer Titan, but he betrayed us to join with his brother who is the Beast Titan. His brother has followers called The Jeagerists. They kidnapped Historia. Your grandson was ready to go on a rampage to slaughter them. After all he is an Ackerman. They are a bloodline of warriors to protect the royal family until King Karl orders them to kill every Ackerman member clan. Few survived that’s why Levi and a girl named Mikasa are the last Ackermans in the world. They have titan genes as their the descendants of the first Ackerman volunteer to be the by product bio engineer of a titan in a human form. They don’t have the 13 year cursed and they’re strong and dangerous when they are triggered. I like to call them the 10th Titan.” Hange chuckles.

William Miles sighs from absorbing that Levi is basically a Superhuman. Levi had not just the Ackerman warrior blood in him but also the assassin bloodline too. It’s like Life itself had made this happen probably soon the world will need Superhumans to protect the world from either Juno and her followers or something else that’s not from this planet. The universe is much bigger. Anything can come and try to attack this small planet.

“You know if this remind me of the holocaust and the Nazis.” Hange was confused but intriguing.

“What are the holocaust and Nazis?” She asked.

Of course, he is aware how disconnected this side of the world is. They basically are repeating history. That’s something William will not let it happen. If he can get the UN involved to have this side of the world to make a peace treaty with the Paradis Isle. It will save countless lives. Also, the Eldians will be free from being annihilate from this world. The sad thing is it will take many years or centuries for the Eldians to be seen as human beings instead of monsters. For now stopping a war will start.

“The Holocaust was one of the dark periods in mankind history. Jewish people were once being persecuted too. In Germany during World War II, the German leader, Adolf Hitler was a cruel man but powerful. He had conquered the continent of Europe. He and his party known as the Nazis were supremacist. They first segregated the Jewish people by creating ghettos for them. They were treated as low class humans until Hitler introduced The Final Solution. By sending them to a contraction camp to get them to do labor work until death or sending them into a gas chamber to kill the mass of the Jewish people.” Will stopped and thought about how this part of history had impacted him personally.

His mother was a holocaust survivor. His father during that time was an Assassin master freeing the Jews from the camps. He fought the Nazis soldiers. Some were Templars, but even the Templars never agreed what Hitler and his Nazis did to the people who did not like them.

His parents met when his father was on a mission to assassinate one of the SS Nazi top officers in the camp where his mother was in doing labor working. His father encountered his mother who was returning to her bunker from another brutal labor work. She didn’t snitch on him but has a curious personality which intrigues his father. Since then, they secretly met up until his father was assigned to another mission. For a couple of years they didn’t see each other. William remembered what his father told him how anxious and paranoid he felt when he couldn’t convince the women to come with him to be free, but she declined his offer. She had her family here and she would have guilt if she had escaped while her parents and younger siblings were still there as prisoners.

When the Allies won and break free the victims of the camps, his father began to search for his mother who was in love. When he saw a skinny boned woman with hollow cheeks, but her dark eyes were recognizable. He was so relieved she was still alive. His mother was looking hopeless from losing her family from the gas chamber. She was lucky enough that her group didn’t enter. His father made a promise to protect her and love her until death. It took a couple of years for his mother to heal physically, but the mentally it affected her. Will was born three years after the war was over.

Hange was disgusted and horrified what those Nazis did with no remorse. Will this happen to the Eldians if nobody stops Marley or other nations from this side of the world? No, she wouldn’t allow that to happen.

“That sounds like hell.” She frowns.

“I despise bigotry. My mother was a survivor from the Holocaust. She rarely spoke of it. All it reminded her was pain and terror. She had lost her parents and siblings. This is one of the reasons I’m passionate about being an Assassin. We believe in free will and give the people a voice against oppression society.” He said with passion.

“By assassinating?” She glances at the older man.

“Yes, well we are not just some common assassins. We have codes that guide us for centuries. Think of it like Jedi’s from Star Wars.” William chuckles.

Hange is confused from not picking up his reference. “Jedi’s? Star Wars?”

“Oh my poor soul, I forgot you haven’t been exposed to watching movies.” He sips his drink. “Thank goodness I have my laptop with me. I’ll introduce you to the world of Star Wars.”

The commander may not know what he meant but she is excited to learn more mysterious things. “Oh yeah I can’t wait. Levi should join us! And I’m sure the queen would love to see this Star Wars thing.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. I hope he will join us. He seems a grumpy child that doesn’t like anything.” Hange burst into a laughter which most of the soldiers looked at her like she’s a crazy person.

“Oh you define Levi just right. Don’t worry, Historia is very good at persuading him to do almost anything.” She grins wickedly.

“Alright, I’ll hold you on to that.” He smiles then his expression changes to seriousness. “The Brotherhood will be under your command as we are allies. We will win this war. You have my word, Zoe.”

The Survey Commander looks at the Mentor and nods with gratitude. “Thank you, William. I really appreciate it.” She smiles.

Both Mentor and Commander resume eating their breakfast. At least Hange now has an ally for Paradis. She can sleep better knowing this is better than having nothing or trying to gain alliance outside of the island.

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

Levi and Historia are having a quiet and peaceful breakfast in Historia’s chamber. The table is covered with platters of cut fruits, pancakes, bacon, sausages, and eggs. A pitch of fresh squeezed orange juice is in the middle of the table, but both Ackerman-Reiss couples prefer sipping a cup of tea.

“Oh Levi, say ah for me.” the queen is facing her husband with a strip of bacon in her hand.

The soldier is occupied reading the Newspaper from any suspicion clues from the Jeagerists. “Hm?” he stops to give his attention to his wife.

“No, who knows where your hands had been?” He glances back reading the newspaper.

Historia rolls her eyes. “My hands are clean, Levi. I just washed them before eating right now.”

“Tch, earlier they weren’t clean especially when you were touching yourself in your sleep-” Levi smirks as Historia begins to blush embarrassingly.

“It’s the pregnancy hormones’ fault and the dream.” She hmphed at him then looked away to hide her flushed face.

Levi couldn’t help it but to give one of his rare smiles at her. “Oh I’m aware. What an interesting sight to wake up in the morning.”

Historia was about to smack his chest, but with his quick reflects, Levi caught it to bring her hand to his lips and kisses gently.

“I thought they were dirty for you.” Historia forgot her embarrassment when seeing Levi being gentle and kissing her hand. This made her heart melt from his action. She is a very lucky woman to have such a man like Levi Ackerman who looks cold and aloof on the outside, but with Historia his walls drop for her to see the real him. A gentle compassionate protector who will go great lengths to make sure she’s happy and smiles constantly.

To Levi, Historia made him feel alive once again. All he knew was tragedy, but this pure angel brought him back to life. She’s the sun and he’s the wither flower.

The captain gently pulled his wife to him so she could sit on his lap comfortably. Once Historia sat on his lap, her arms wrap around his neck to lean in to kiss him softly. She loves being under his embrace. Her nose is hit with his scent of cedarwood and black tea leaves.

The queen giggles when her husband begins to kiss her neck softly. Levi let out a chuckle. Now his hand is on his wife’s baby bump to rub gently. He still can’t believe he’ll be a father soon.

Historia watches her husband eyeing on her growing womb. “Our baby started to move. It felt like butterflies swirling in my womb.” She places her hand on Levi’s so both of them can embrace as soon to be new parents.

“The brat better not start kicking me when we go to bed.” He mumbles. “I won't be able to explain Four Eyes about why my back aches.” Historia chuckles from Levi’s comment.

“You’ll be fine and I doubt the baby will kick you that hard.” She kisses his jawline affectionately. The older man moans softly as he enjoys her affection.

“Speaking of our baby, I was thinking...with the war coming soon, I think you should go to the country where Will- I mean grandfather is from. For your own and the baby protection.” His grey eyes stare a bit nervously at his wife. He knows Historia will protest and become stubborn to stay here.

“Levi, we talked about this. I will not leave you. I can protect myself and our unborn baby. Please don’t sent me away. I can’t be separated away from you. What if you don’t come back and leave us from this world!” The blonde woman feels tears are threatening to fall from her eyes.

“Historia please don’t make this difficult. This will be hard for me too, but I need you to be safe away from the war. The Marleyans will do whatever it takes to win even assassinate you, the queen, and our child. I can’t promise anyone to be safe around me if I lose you both! I wasn’t joking about annihilating anyone in my way. Fuck, I will come back to you once the war is over and be reunited as a family. I’ve talked to both my grandfather and Hange before coming here to spend the night with you. They agree it’s for the best. Us, Eldians, need their queen. We need you to be alive. You’re the symbol of hope.”

Historia buried her face on his chest. She cries silently from the thought of being separated from her soulmate. She wants Levi to be there when she gives birth to their first born child.

“It just hurts so much that you’re right. I’m scared, my love. You’re my strength. You say I’m your sun but you’re my moon, Levi” Her blue eyes widen from her speech.

“Baby, I will come back to you. With you and our kid being safe and sound; I know I can breathe a little to give my all into this war so I can be back with you under my arms. I just need you to cooperate with me.” He pleaded with his wife.

“Then as your queen, I command you to make sure you stay alive to come back to me.” Both their eyes are locked and Historia gives a commanding tone to him. Levi submitted willingly to kiss her hand. “As you wish, my queen.”

Historia cups her hands on to his face to press her lips onto his. “Protect your people, friends, and family. I will wait for you, my warrior.”

“I’m under your command, always my goddess.” He whispers.

Ever since the star-crossed lovers got together, a bond was created. It was strange but familiar. During the time their relationship was new, Historia invested her time to research. Now that Commander Hange knows about their relationship, she helps the queen to further the research of the Reiss and Ackerman bloodlines and the bonds that Ackermans were known for.

As time passes, their bond increases. Both are equals in many ways. Historia has been trying to find information on what Zeke had claimed this child she;s carrying will be the doom of the Eldians race. The queen had hired an intel to go to Marley and find this so-called prophecy. She did get a letter earlier when she woke up that this spy will come back home in a few days as he did find something on what she was looking for. It was best to read it in person. The queen of course will share with Hange since she knows how the Survey Commander will rejoice from learning new things.

The couple are still lost in their stares until a knock on the doors is heard. Both queen and captain break off their intense stare. They got off from each other. Historia was about to tell whoever it is to enter, but Levi gestured his head a no. “Not yet until you change something not too revealing.” His tone was showing possessiveness.

Historia looks down to see her night gown was too revealing especially for a queen that’s supposed to represent modesty and virtue. She looks at the door. “Who is it?” Her tone was authoritative.

Levi growls in annoyance that his wife is ignoring what he said. Plus, she better not dare to let whoever is on the other side of the door to enter or that poor soul will get their ass beaten. Shit, better not be that annoying Lord Ethan whatever the fuck his last name is.

“It’s Jean, Sasha, Connie, Mikasa and Armin, your majesty.” Jean said on the other side of the door. Well, at least it wasn’t that noble asshole.

“Give her a minute so Historia can dress up properly.” Levi cuts in before Historia says anything. The queen glares in annoyance to her husband. “You can be such a possessive jerk.” She said in a low tone while walking to her closet to find something that is modesty enough to have an audience in her chamber.

“You know I don’t like anyone staring at you like they see you nude already.” He leans to the ear to whisper huskily. His strong arms wrap around her like a treasure in his possession. Historia is used to his possessive side which she resumes browsing her outfits.

Levi removed her robe which fell on the floor. Her nightgown is transparent for him to see her nude body. “Levi, behave yourself.” Historia is trying to be composed and not cave into his seducing gesture.

“But I am on my best behavior, my queen.” He chuckles deeply. Levi enjoys how Historia reacts when he gets bold. “You look ravishing, especially you’re growing my seed inside you. Our offspring will be strong.” The young blonde realizes Levi is not Levi right now. His speech pattern and tone are indifferent.

She remembers one of the journals from the Reiss estate’s library mentioning one of the “side effects” of the experiment to make the Ackermans what they are now. The ancient journal said, when an Ackerman becomes awakened of their true potential; their beast or the titan that laid dormant in them until its activated. The queen did encounter Levi’s titan before, but she wasn’t aware why his personality had changed at first. Probably that’s one of the reasons why most Ackermans who were awakened, had intense headaches from fighting to be in control with their titan side subconsciously.

A Titan shifter like Eren, Zeke, Ymir, Annie, Reiner, and now Armin don’t have that because they are able to transform into a Titan. Also, what the journal mentioned, a titan shifter just needs a successor to live on. Whether the host gets eaten or a newborn baby is being born. Hange wasn’t joking about the Ackermans are the 10th Titan but their bloodline is what drives their existence. Her baby if he or she awakens their power, the titan within them will awake from their ‘sleep’. This titan is seriously insatiable.

“Levi, we guests are waiting on the other side of the door.” She can feel his hands traveling down to her thighs. Historia’s breathing becomes slow and heavy. Her body definitely wants more of his touch.

“They can wait more. I must have you again, my mate.” His nose buried on her neck to smell her sweet scent while feeling her up with his touch. Levi smirks from how wet Historia is from her cunt. His fingers insert further inside her. Her voice squeals while squirm a bit from his bold touch. He continues fingering her. “A-ah L-levi.” She moans.

“Call me, Iapetus.” His baritone voice rumbles. This made Historia weak on her knees. She wants him again, but unlike this thirsty beast; she can wait later.

“Alright then Iapetus, it’s nice to officially meet you. But like I told Levi, he can wait which means you can too, mister.” The queen grabbed his hand to pull out from her dripping wet core. “I mean it or both of you won’t get all of this.” She turns to face the possessed man. Levi’s or Iapetus’s eyes are not the usually grey-blue shade. His eyes are clear like glass and glowing. Under his eyes was dark and shadowed. Historia feels a bit intimidated by his appearance but she knows he won’t hurt her.

Iapetus growls at her in frustration. “You wouldn’t, my mate.” As she uses this sudden courage to stand her ground. “I will, so try me.” She smirks.

“Your body is begging for my touch, my queen. You have been insatiable earlier.” While Historia strips her nightgown off of her, Iapetus steps closer to press his body onto hers. Historia is now getting annoyed. Levi’s titan is so persistent. If it wasn’t for her friends stopping by to see her, she would have happily gone for another round of the day. Her hand pressed onto his strong chest to surprisingly push him away from her. Both parties were shocked by this sudden strength, Historia had possessed.

“Just for you being a naughty titan, you’re not getting anything for a while and that includes Levi getting the punishment.” The queen grabs a random dress to put it on. Once she is ready and presentable, her neck turns a bit to see Levi/Iapetus still flabbergasted. “Tch, you’ll get needy soon, mate.” Now a grumpy possessed Levi mumbles like a misbehave child when they know, they’re getting punished.

“Baby, these two fingers will do the job, just remember that.” Historia smirks again but leans in to peck his cheek. “Be good and maybe I will let you off your punishment tomorrow.” She uses her usual soft, sweet voice. “Now get fix yourself my love, your squad is here.” Historia walks away from him to go to open the doors for her friends to enter.

The chamber where Historia spent most of her time, was big. Her bedroom is further deep. The lounge is where she rests to have peace from ruling the island. On the left wing there’s her study room. So, her friends can’t see the bedroom unless they walked deeper into the living room to open another double door.

Before opening the main doors to let her friends in, the queen fixes her hair into her signature low bun. Finally, she opens the door and Sasha was the first to give her a tight hug. “Historia! We missed you. So are you gonna finish your breakfast?” The brown haired soldier sniffed from the smell of bacon and sausage, eggs.

Jean interrupts and looks at Sasha. “We just had breakfast not that long ago.” Sasha pouts like a sad puppy. “B-but it’s bacon. You can’t say no to bacon.” her mouth drools from thinking about the crispy grease strip of bacon.

Historia giggles from Sasha daydreaming over a bacon. “Sure, you can have some. It’s too much for Levi and I to finish.”

“By the way, where's the captain.” Connie said as he roamed his eyes to find his superior officer.

“Oh he’ll join us in a bit once he’s ready.” The queen pops her head out of the main doors of her chamber to ask a staff to bring a fresh brew pot of tea with several cups. She closes the doors and leads her friends to the living room wing so they can comfortably sit down on the couches. Sasha already has a plate full of warm bacon, sausages, and eggs with pastries and fruits.

“What brings you guys here? Don’t get me wrong, I am happy you are all here to visit. I feel you’re here for a reason.” Historia said. Just when one of them was about to say something, the door from the bedroom wing opened abruptly. Levi Ackerman is dressed in his Survey Corps uniform while fixing his cravat on his neck. His expression is still grumpy. He glances at his wife then acknowledges his squad with a tch. “You’re late, brats.” His tone was in his usual monotone. Then the captain sits next to his wife a bit to close. He crossed his leg over the other and placed his arm over Historia’s shoulders comfortably. There’s no point in hiding their relationship anymore in front of his squad. They know both Historia Reiss and Levi Ackerman are husband and wife.

The gang were still not used to it of seeing these two being too comfortable around each other. “We’re sorry, Captain Levi. We took a detour to get here.” Armin bows nervously while his comrades bow too. The room became silent until a soft knock was heard. “Oh right, I order tea for everyone.” She smiles. “You may enter Stephanie.” She called the staff’s name. The doors open and a middle aged woman carries a tray of tea sets. The staff bows to her queen. “Here is the tea you asked, You’re Majesty.” The woman placed the tray on the elegant marble coffee table. The staff notice there’s guests in the queen’s personal living room. “Good morning our nation’s heroes. It’s an honor to be at your present especially you, Captain Levi, Humanity’s Strongest.” The woman bathes her eyelashes at the captain flirtatiously.

Levi leans to pour a cup of warm freshly brewed tea then leans back next to Historia as he sips his tea. He is aware the staff lady is flirting with him, but he doesn’t give her any attention. On the other hand, Historia was not pleased her staff was being too bold trying to get her man’s attention. She tries to be as composed and mannerly as a queen should. Her friends can feel the awkward situation in front of them. Thank you, Stephanie. You may leave now.” Her voice cracks a bit from hiding her jealousy.

Levi pretends being oblivious. He low key wants to smirk at his wife. She feels how he felt earlier. Even he was possessed a while ago by his titan named Iapetus. He is a real douchebag since Levi is also being punished from Iapetus being needy and disobedient. Tch, he needs to keep that beast locked in. He’ll get him into trouble in the future especially HIstoria now can manifest strength. It could be from either the bond or maybe from their baby.

Already the lady had left and he could hear his squad and his wife chattering. How long does he zone out? It doesn't matter. He listens to their conversation while sipping more tea.

“So, Captain and HIstoria, you said yesterday you guys will explain a bit how you two end up together. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful but the two of you are the last people I ever imagine being together. You are completely different people and your age gap is almost twenty or fifteen years difference. We’re happy for you, but it will take time for us to grasp.” Connie speaks out. Some of his comrades nod in agreement.

Historia understands what they mean. If someone had told her that she would be married to Captain Levi Ackerman of the Survey Corps and pregnant with his child, Historia would be in horror while laughing in disbelief. Probably, Ymir would say something snarky then becomes in a sour mood.

Ymir. She hopes her close friend is alright across the sea. As long Ymir is alive and safe, Historia can be at ease. Someday, She’ll see her and tell her how grateful to have Ymir in her life.

“We’re not much different as we thought.” Levi said as he placed the tea cup on the coffee table.

“Let's just say we have a similar parallel background upbringing as children.” Historia said then took a sip from her tea.

“So, what questions do all of you have been dying to ask?” The captain interrupted since he doesn’t want their childhood upbringing being asked. That’s too personal for him not ready to share with anyone beside Erwin, Hange, and now Historia.

“When did you two got married? You could’ve told us. Well, at least Mikasa and I. So we could have been your maid of honors. Aww, I bet you had looked beautiful in a wedding dress!” Sasha excitedly asks questions while still stuffing her mouth with food.

“Oi Braus, finish your food then talk. We barely can understand.” Levi scoffs at his subordinate.

Sasha swallows her food then apologies to the captain. “Sorry, sir.”

“Don’t worry Sasha, I understood you.” Historia smiles.

“It wasn't a planned wedding. Two days ago, we tied the knot and Armin and Commander Hange was with us to be our witnesses.” Historia added.

Her friends stared at Armin who nervously chuckled. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you guys since it was supposed to be a secret until they are ready to expose their relationship status.” He explains to the squad.

“Don’t give Arlert a hard time, brats. I ordered him not to say anything or he’ll face punishment for disobeying his superior officer.” Levi glares at his comrades who were ready to hound the poor blonde guy with questions.

Mikasa has been quiet the whole time until she finally said something. “I know you don’t need anyone’s approval, but I’m glad that you both are happily together. Captain, I suggest don’t hurt my best friend or I will come after you.” She glares at her captain. When the younger Ackerman met Historia or back then Krista, they were bedmates. Sometimes they along Sasha, Annie, and Ymir, have nightly girl talks about the boys in their cadet years to combat fighting positions.

Historia smiles in gratitude. “Thank you, Mikasa. This means lots from you.” She’s happy that her friends are aware of her marriage with Levi. The queen quickly glanced at her husband. He was glaring at Mikasa from her threat just a second ago. The blonde haired woman wonders why both Ackermans had bad blood with each other.

She will need to ask them both alone when opportunity comes. This needs to stop. Levi and Mikasa are family, probably distant cousins or something. It’s understandable there’s some family who are needed to cut ties with, but with communication Mikasa and Levi will amend their dislikes to each other.

“Also, we want to tell you that I’m pregnant. Almost three months along.” Historia said as her hand holds onto Levi’s.

“Congratulations! Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Connie then Sasha said.

“It’s too soon to tell.” Levi peeks at the baby bump that’s under Historia’s loose white gown that usually she wears in public.

“Yes, we’ll probably have to wait until I reach five months.” Historia pat her stomach.

For a couple hours everyone continues talking and sipping tea. Levi told his squad it’s time to go since Historia was getting sleepy. The pregnancy made her feel exhausted. At first, she tried to fight off but the fatigue won. Once her friends had left, the queen already plowed on the bed to cuddle her pillow. Her husband joins her to spoon her. Both lovers embrace each other.

Levi admires the way his wife looks when she cuddles with him. “You were joking right about my punishment?”

Historia groans annoyed, then grabs a pillow to hit his head. “No, I meant it, mister. Now let your cute wife sleep.” She huffs then turns her back to him to try to sleep.

“Oi woman, you have been moody today.” He grabbed the pillow to toss it aside. “I notice you tried not to snap at the lady earlier. You’re cute when you get jealous.” He chuckles.

“Pfft don’t remind me. I don’t like how she admires you too much.” She turns a bit to look at Levi.

“It just makes me think, why do you fall in love with a girl like me?” Her blue eyes glimpse insecurely at him.

“Stop this. I hate how you thought low of yourself. You are the woman of my dreams. Our child will be beautiful and courageously strong like his or her mother.” His lips brush on her temple spots to leave kisses.

“You’re one of a kind, Historia. I should be the lucky one. Not in a million years, I would have imagined myself having a wife and soon to be a father.” He leans to her baby bump to kiss softly.

“Who would have thought a former thug from the Underground City turned into a captain of the Survey Corps is a husband to a sexy but also pure queen.” Levi continues kissing her belly. He can feel her hand stroking his raven hair.

“And who would have thought a royal bastard girl from the countryside that joined the Survey Corps that became queen is a wife to a handsome but also strong and soft captain.” She glances at Levi with a soft smile.

“See we go so well together, my queen. We’re meant to be.” His baritone softened.

“For eternity, my king?” She whispers enough for him to hear.

“For eternity.” He promised to her.

A/N: Sorry, this chapter took so long to finish. Last week, I was busy preparing for Thanksgiving with my family. Anyways, here it was chapter 7. Tell me guys what do you think? Don’t forget to leave a review and for my AO3 , leave a kudos please uwu. Thank you for your support, my fellow readers! Love you all. Until next time with a new chapter.

#rivahisu #levihisu #Historia Reiss #Levi Ackerman #fanfic #crossover #assassin's creed #Aot #snk

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blkmxrvel · 5 years

Text

Haven’t Forgotten My Way Home (14)-[CONVERTED]

Pairing: Kara Zor-El x Female!Reader

Summary: In the D/s society of National City, men and women abandoned by their Dom/mes or otherwise deemed unfit for life “outside” end up at the Mount Overland House for Orphaned Submissives. It is here that Kara Zor-El finds Y/N Hastings, broken and fearful from mistreatment at the hands of her former Dom. Can Kara coax Y/N back into the world that once so terrified her, and show her the true meaning of care and submission?

Warnings: Domestic Violence (Flashbacks, Mentions and Descriptions), Misogyny, Domination/Submission.

A/N: this doesn’t count as writing, bc i didn’t write it im just converting shshshs. plus im falling more and more in love with Kara each week. also, i’m redoing my masterlist since i changed my url and none of the links work so.

There were numbers for everything and everyone that Y/N Hastings could possible need, including three theaters, on her new phone.

There was also Angry Birds, which she was perfectly willing to blame for the fact that it took her an hour and a half to text Kara back after her “Good morning :)” message. It felt a little strange, when she realized it, that she didn’t feel panicked as she normally did when she took so long to do something. But that was probably because when she texted back a hello and an apology (blaming the game) for being delayed, all she got back was another smiley, and a cheerful “Hope you’re having fun!” What little uncertainty Y/N had vanished with that response, replaced with a warm feeling that maybe, just maybe, sometimes it was okay to do things on her own time.

But now, the game aside, Y/N sat staring at her contacts list, or, more importantly, at those three theater numbers. Her thumb settled over one, labeled National City Playhouse, and she pressed it, then the call button.

Two rings, then, “National City Playhouse?”

Y/N hung up.

She tried the next number. And hung up as soon as they answered.

Y/N sighed and got up from the couch in Nia’s living room, where she’d been lounging around, and began to pace the floor. Miss Kara had done so much for her, Y/N thought. She wanted to do something in return, and not only that but she wanted to see her again. It had been two days since she’d seen Miss Kara. She’d told Y/N she had to do some travelling for SETS, a seminar she needed to attend. And though Y/N knew Miss Kara had a job to do, it didn’t stop her from feeling a little lost in her absence. Y/N had spent the time watching television and going to her therapies at the House. She’d talk to Nia in the evenings when they had dinner, but as much as they shared in common, it still wasn’t the same as being with Miss Kara. Y/N had yet to venture back out into town, even though Nia had let it slip that they were running low on food supplies. That had made Y/N feel guilty, even as Nia had hastened to explain that she was just trying to help Y/N go out, not that she blamed her for anything.

The one bright spot had been last night’s phone call before bed; Kara had called her to let her know she’d be home the following day, finally. Y/N had lain in her bed with the cell phone pressed to her ear, smiling at Kara’s quiet questions. Had she been taking care of herself? Had she been eating enough? Was Nia being good to her? Did she talk anymore to Maggie? And then her gentle laughter when Y/N had turned the questions back on her. Both of them had reassured the other that yes, they were taking care of themselves… and yes, they missed each other.

So Y/N wanted to do something when Kara came back the next day, to show her that she had missed her, and that she was glad she’d come home. And she knew Kara loved the theater, so…

It was time for her to plan a date. But there would be no planning, and no date, if Y/N couldn’t even talk to a stranger on the other end of the line.

She stared once more at the phone, before selecting a number, and dialing.

“Hey, little Y/N, what’s up?” There was some shuffling, then Ask her if she’s okay in the background, and Y/N smiled. “You okay?”

“I’m all right, but I do need your help.”

“Ooh, if it’s help you need, I’m your girl. Toilet stopped up? Creepy attic needing exploring? Any assholes from a former life that maybe need tracking down and—“

“Maggie Sawyer-Danvers.”

That was Alex, and Y/N giggled.

“Sorry, Ma’am. Really though, Y/N, what’s up?”

“I need to know about theaters in National City.”

“… Ma’am? I think you better take this one.” She could hear Alex chuckling, then a sound as if Maggie’s phone was put on speaker. “I don’t know anything about the theaters except Ma’am and I went with Kara a couple times, like I told you. I never pay attention to what’s showing; I just know that we have to get front row seats because Kara gets cranky if someone tall sits in front of her.”

“She could always sit on my lap if that happens.” The words were out before she could even think, and Y/N clamped her mouth shut. Stupid, she told herself. Stupid, stupid, she’s not even your Mistress.

There was a pause, and then Alex’s voice came over the phone, dry and amused. “She could indeed. Y/N, why the sudden interest in theaters? She didn’t put numbers in your phone, did she?”

“Yes?”

“Ah, as she did when she picked up mine one day. Sneaky girl, our Kara.”

Y/N turned pink at “our,” and said quickly, “I want to take her on a date. To the theater. But I.. I don’t…” She trailed off.

How did you tell a Dominant – a female Dominant – that you didn’t know how to do something? Those words had never been good for her; they’d never gotten her anything more but a slap and a disgusted “Well you’d better learn.” But there wasn’t really any way for her to learn; Sir didn’t allow her on the internet and it wasn’t like she could call up her mother and father to ask them. That would have been awkward enough if all contact with them hadn’t been virtually cut off the minute she turned sixteen.

Russell and Judy Hastings had also been an arranged claim. Their pairing, however, had been a little later than Y/N’s; Russell Hastings had wanted to establish himself in the business world first, as his father had done before him, and so he finally claimed Judy when he was twenty-three. By all accounts theirs was a good match, at least in public. Judy was classy and graceful; Russell stern and proud, always ready with a smile and a glass in his hand. When Y/N was born, she was paraded in the parties and in town as the product of how “old society” worked, and was better. She was the perfect example of arranged claims done right.

But away from the parties, Y/N had grown up as a shy little girl in the stifling air of the Hastings household. Her father was loving and firm with his submissive when they were out of the public eye, but in the privacy of their home, he was indifferent at best, and cold at the worst. Judy drowned her sorrows in the alcohol that her husband kept readily available for his clients, and Y/N was fairly certain her mother suffered for that transgression once the bedroom doors were closed. But in the mornings her mother would put on a brave face, even as she moved a little stiffly, and told Y/N how wonderful it would be when she was in the arms of her own Sir.

Y/N had doubted it, and now, she knew her instincts had been right.

James had gradually taken away her contact with her parents; she had initially called them once every few days to catch up, though her father would immediately hand the phone to her mother after a few cursory pleasantries, and her mother always seemed to be in a hurry to fix dinner, or get to a social gathering, or anything that would let her hang up the phone as quickly as possible. But Y/N needed to call, needed that last tenuous hold on the life she’d left behind, even if it had been less than ideal. James, however, seemed to have different ideas, and every weekend or holiday she was to spend with her parents, something always came up and she was to remain at home. Finally, the opportunities to see them had just faded away… and her parents never made the effort.

The last time she tried to call was that night.

“You don’t know how to set it up.”

Y/N turned her attention back to Alex, whose voice was soft and understanding. She nodded, and then rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t be able to see that.

“Yes. I mean no, no, I don’t. Can you… help me?”

She felt the panic rising up within her, and Y/N clenched her hand, not holding the phone, against the heat that began to course down her upper arms, the signal that she knew all too well. Her jaw was tight and she clutched hard to the phone with her other hand, waiting for what she knew would inevitably come. Because it always came: derision, laughter, irritation, anger.

“Of course I can help you.”

Y/N blinked. Well, that was unexpected. “You can?” she said, wanting to be sure. Maybe it was a trick, some kind of trap designed to lure her into a false sense of security.

“As I said, of course I can. Why don’t you and I meet somewhere and we can discuss options?”

And there it was. The snare, the net, the cage. Maybe she was one of those Dominants that wanted another pet; Si- James had often hinted that he wanted another, someone who was “easier to live with.” Then again, he’d also told Y/N that she could be replaced. She felt that familiar dread within her, that waking moment when she’d lay in bed and wonder was this it, the day she’d be out on the street with nothing and no one to protect her?

It was strange, Y/N thought briefly, as she began to stutter out her objections, that in the end, she had walked into the street with nothing, and no one to protect her.

“N-no, that’s all right, I’ll figure it out, I-I’ll just call and ask and m-maybe the theater people will—“

“Hey, little Y/N,” Maggie interrupted. “Do you like ice cream?”

Y/N furrowed her brow. “Yes?”

“Cool, so do I. And Ma’am promised I could have ice cream after I finally learned that Fiddler On the Roof isn’t a metal album. Hey, maybe I do know something about musicals. Anyway, why don’t we go get some ice cream? You, me, Ma’am? In the park? Public place, and we can talk about these big plans you have to sweep Kara off her feet.”

“I don’t know…” Y/N said slowly.

“It’s a public park, Y/N,” Alex responded gently. “There are usually quite a lot of people around this time of day, and I assure you that neither Maggie nor I will keep you from going home if you want to. Also ice cream cones.”

“Ice cream is good,” Y/N found herself giggling. She took a deep breath. Could she trust her? She’d been with Maggie and that was nice, but… Maggie was submissive too. She could probably do whatever she wanted to Y/N just as easily as Alex, but…

“What time do you want to meet?”

The taxi this time was easier, especially since Y/N remembered to pay the driver, and accept her change back. That didn’t extend to her actually conversing with him on the ride over to the park; he’d given up after the first five questions were met with just a stare. She probably was being rude to him, Y/N knew, but she didn’t know him, and he wasn’t Miss Kara, so she wasn’t obligated to answer him.

It was strange, being out and about in National City. Y/N had grown up here, had spent her entire life here, and yet she didn’t even know the city. She looked around the park; not seeing Alex or Maggie yet, she sat on a bench nearest the pond, feeling a little nervous. She smiled at the children who darted this way and that, playing ball and yelling back and forth to each other. What would their lives be like in a few years, she wondered. Would they be bent and broken, as she was, or would they stand straight and (fairly, if she was wearing heels) tall like Miss Kara? Their parents, those were the ones that gave Y/N the most pause. It was interesting that she couldn’t really pick up on who was in their respective roles: the man who ran his fingers through the woman’s hair as she rested her head on his lap, reading from a book; the woman who gripped another’s hand tightly as they walked along the periphery of the pond, both of them smiling warmly at Y/N as they passed. She returned the smile, only to have it fade as a man passed by her with a curt nod. She shivered a little.

It had taken her a couple of days to stop looking over her shoulder. The day she’d been brought to the House, after the hospital had released her, two people employed by the council had come to see her. They’d sat as Kara had, trying to ask her questions, trying to force her to answer, thinking if they spoke louder the answers would come. They hadn’t, and when Nia had seen Y/N’s arms wrapped around herself, the girl shaking violently in her chair, she’d sent them away. They meant well, Y/N knew, in spite of everything, but she thought they’d have sent her back to Him. After that, every new person who had come into the House she was convinced had been sent by Him. Every time the phone rang, she was sure it was Him, calling to have her brought home.

It had taken days for her to realize that she wasn’t going back. And even longer for her to realize that he was no longer Him. Every time she had thought of him in the past, each day that she rose and slept again under the rules that he had established, every detail that she had gotten wrong no matter how hard she tried, every blow of the whip that he kept stowed in a trunk in the bedroom, he had always been mentally capitalized, the God of His home and of her life. He was Sir and she was… words that stuck in her throat and hurt her chest. He was Lord and Master and she was little, and only now with Kara’s quiet “little one” uttered with affection, or Maggie’s “little Y/N” offered with a smirk and a wink, was Y/N realizing that that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He was him, and she… she was Y/N.

She heard her name, then, and she glanced up to see Maggie headed her way with Alex following beside. She flexed her fingers in and out, and jumped a little when her phone vibrated, signifying a text. She quickly opened it.

I bought you a present! I can’t wait to give it to you!

It made her feel a little guilty, amid the excitement of a present from Miss Kara. She’d already given Y/N so much… but the date, Y/N thought as she stood up to greet Maggie. The date would be her way of saying thank you.

“Hey, Y/N,” Maggie said easily. She grinned and nudged her a little. “Look at you, no chair. That’s awesome.”

Y/N blushed a little. “I-I still can’t walk for long periods of time, I might have to sit down…”

“Then sit down we will,” Alex said with a smile. “You look positively radiant, Y/N. Please wear green all the time, it ma—“

“Matches my eyes, I know,” Y/N said, and then froze. Oh no, she’d interrupted her. Would he be angry? Please don’t yell at me, she thought, as she added hastily, “Miss Kara said that, she picked out a lot of green things for me to choose from while we were shopping…”

If it was possible, Alex’s smile only grew wider as she surveyed Y/N in her light green dress, the small hair clip holding back one side of her hair. “It’s good to see that Kara has taste in clothes, or, well, someone else’s, at least.” She must’ve seen Y/N’s eyes flash because he laughed, throwing his head back. “I’m teasing, I promise. Kara’s style is unique, and completely her own.”

“I’m still not sure that’s a compliment,” Y/N muttered, but she was so relieved that Alex wasn’t angry at her that she decided to let it go.

“Shall we walk?” Alex said, offering her arm to Y/N, Maggie taking her place on her other side. When she started to walk without accepting it, she pulled some brochures out of his back pocket without missing a beat. “I brought the brochures for the theaters that you have in your phone; it has lists of everything that’s playing this year. We should be able to decide on what Kara would most like to see, using these.”

Y/N nodded. “Thank you. So you think she’d… she’d like to go to the theater with me?”

Alex looked at her; once again her eyes were kind. “My dear Y/N, I think Kara would be over the moon just to stand in the same room as you.”

“You’re such a sap, Ma’am,” Maggie groaned. “Let me translate for you, Y/N: she’ll love it. Not because it’s the theater, but because it’s the theater with you.”

“Now who’s the sap?” Alex said, sticking her tongue out at her sub. “I’ve rubbed off on you.”

“Oh, I’d like you t—“

“So, those brochures?” Y/N held out her hand, and Alex gave them to her with a wink. It didn’t unsettle her as much as it should have; she wasn’t worried about what people would think as she walked through the park flanked by two women. If anything, it gave her even more protection; even in a progressive society like National City, women were treated with far more deference than men, and so most people wouldn’t have thought twice about Y/N walking with Maggie and Alex. And besides, there was always that casual, exciting dance of the unclaimed waiting to be claimed, a world of first glances and smiles, first kisses and first dates. All leading up to that blissful moment of knowing someone was yours, and you were theirs. No doubt if anyone did look twice at Y/N, they’d think her extremely lucky, to either have two subs, or be one of two.

“I don’t… know what all of these are,” Y/N confessed quietly, staring down at the lists of show names she held in her hands. “I don’t know if Miss Kara would like any of them…”

“As I said, I think she’ll be quite happy with anything you choose, simply because you are the one who did the choosing. But might I make a suggestion?” Alex asked.

Y/N nodded, and Alex pointed to one of the names in the brochure.

“Wicked?” She’d heard of it, Y/N thought, a long time ago when she was still at home. Something about it being the new big thing. Maybe it had been on the news that she’d watched while keeping an eye on Judy, passed out drunk on the sofa.

“One of Kara’s favorites. It’s a pity Funny Girl isn’t on tour at the moment, but perhaps one day you two can go to New York and see it. Wicked is a good introduction to the world of musicals, and something Kara knows far too much about, and she’ll be only too willing to share every single tiny detail with you until you are absolutely bored with it.”

“I don’t think I could ever be bored listening to her talk,” Y/N said softly, her head reeling. Wicked… Funny Girl… New York? Would she ever get to go to New York… one day? And with Miss Kara? Alex seemed to think so. Y/N blinked, realizing she had been staring at her with wide eyes.

“Now all that’s needed is for you to call,” Alex pointed out. Her smile to her was confident, reassuring.

Y/N paused for a moment, then pulled out her phone and dialed.

“National City Playhouse?”

She took a deep breath. “I’d like to reserve two tickets for a show, please.” She didn’t have a credit card, but Alex waved his at her, nodding when she promised to pay him back.

Minutes later she hung up the phone, giggling a little when Alex and Maggie whooped in triumph, clapping their hands. She’d done it. She’d just set up a date for herself and Miss Kara. It made her stand up a little straighter, walk a little better. She couldn’t wait until Miss Kara found out what she’d done.

“Maggie,” Alex said suddenly, leaning slightly across her to address her submissive. “Are you feeling well, pet? You’ve completely let us forget about the ice cream.”

“I didn’t forget, Ma’am,” Maggie said with a shrug. “But it seemed like working out the musicals thing for Kara and Y/N was more important.”

“Hmm,” Alex hummed. “I might just have to take your temperature when we get home.” Y/N saw Maggie roll her eyes; luckily Alex grinned. “Why don’t you go get ice cream for us while Y/N and I talk?” Y/N tensed, wanting to grab onto Maggie, but she was already moving away.

“What kind of ice cream do you want, Y/N?” he asked.

“I-I… vanilla,” Y/N said, and Maggie quirked an eyebrow as she walked off, backwards.

“Huh, nobody around here really likes vanilla. But okay, back in a second, Ma’am!”

She turned around, and Y/N was left alone with Maggie’s dominant. Her hands shook a little.

Alex regarded her carefully. “Public park, Y/N,” she reminded her, but there was no trace of anger or frustration in her voice. “We’re just two friends, two good friends – two best friends, you’ll get that after you see the show – who are walking and talking. That’s all, and you’re free to go whenever you like.”

Y/N hesitated, still watching after Maggie, before nodding. “All right.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Y/N felt herself growing tired. She’d been on her feet since Maggie and Alex had arrived, and now she was feeling the strain. “I think I need to sit down…”

“Of course.” Alex led her back over to the bench she’d sat on earlier, and then sat down beside her. She was quiet, and then said, “Kara seems to be quite taken with you.”

Y/N smiled a little. “I’m… quite taken with Miss Kara.”

“I believe one can see that easily by the way your eyes light up when you say her name,” Alex said with a smile, but her next words were serious. “I worry about Kara.”

“W-worry? Why?”

“Kara is a very strong person,” Alex said, looking as if she was choosing her words as wisely as she could. “She’s had to be, with her father’s illness, and her biological mother toying with her feelings the way she did. But she’s also very susceptible to hurt and becoming overwhelmed with her emotions. Luckily she had Lena to help with—oh but you don’t know about Lena…” Alex stopped, looking suddenly annoyed with herself.

“I do, actually,” Y/N said. “Miss Kara told me about her. That Lena trained her, and that they were… lovers.”

“Were,” Alex reiterated, relief on her face that she hadn’t told Kara’s secret. “But yes, Lena helped her with that, but sometimes Kara still wants everything too much and she’s easily… hurt. I don’t want to see that happen to her.”

“I-I don’t want that to happen either.” There was a sick feeling in the pit of Y/N’s stomach. Was she going to take Kara away from her? Forbid Kara to see her, or forbid her to see Kara? She wouldn’t let her do that, Y/N suddenly decided. She wasn’t going to tell her that she couldn’t see her Miss Kara.

Her Miss Kara…

“I’d do anything to keep from hurting her.”

“I don’t want to see you hurt either,” Alex said, and Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise. “Not that I think Kara would consciously hurt you, but you’ve been through so much, Y/N. Things that no one ever deserves to go through, and if I could find him right now and punch him without messing up my hair I would.” Y/N snorted in spite of herself, and Alex grinned at her.

“Both of you deserve much happiness, and if it’s meant to be the two of you together, then it’s meant to be. But Y/N, please be careful, for Kara’s sake and yours. You’re only just discovering what you want, and there’s so much of the world for you and Kara to find separately and together before you jump into something that has the potential to hurt you both.”

Y/N nodded slowly. “I-I know,” she said.

“And listen; if you two do end up together please… tell her argyle gives you headaches. Or that you’re allergic to bows. Something. Anything. I’m begging you.”

She couldn’t help but laugh then, and Alex joined her, as Maggie came up with the ice creams and a confused look. She felt easy, light, as they sat together on a bench at a public park in National City, listening to the birds and enjoying ice cream cones.

She felt free.

And she couldn’t wait for Miss Kara to come home.

#kara danvers #kara danvers x reader #kara zor el #kara zor el x reader #supergirl x reader #madi converts

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scriptlgbt · 5 years

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My story is about pirates. The MC is a trans guy and the captain is a lesbian who is some sort of big sister/mother figure to him. It's quite violent. I was wondering if it could be problematic? I know it's problematic to show trans woman being overly violent in fiction but what about cis lesbians and straight trans guys? Also, do you know about real any queer pirates i could read about? And what did pirates think about homosexuality/transness?) How was it being queer in the pirate world?

A conversation that I had, that is relevant:

ME: [PARTNER], do you know anything about queer pirates?

PARTNER: I know that there were many, and they’d sometimes be like -

ME: Sea husbands kind of thing?

PARTNER: Yeah, and one would inherit from the other’s booty, and when it was divided up, they’d share their share of the booty.

ME: [mischievous grinning face]

PARTNER: [nodding] And they might share each other’s booty.

Disclaimer: This whole thing is going to largely focus on what is known as the Golden Age Of Piracy. I’m also not a historian, I just hardcore, love pirates with my heart and soul. This is going to be a long post.

So, this is super generalized, but pirates, and even sea-faring folks in general (see: - or sea, hahahahaha - the LGBT+ history of Brighton in the UK), have tended to have a much higher rate of LGBT+ folks and minoritized people in general, throughout history. As far as most research I’ve done goes. Being in a travelling situation and having the anonymity of being able to move around with chosen family generally has great appeal to folks whose existences are filled with oppression and a sense of not belongingness. This has also applied for racialized people, women in general, impoverished folks in general, a lot of different people who wanted to reclaim a place in the world that ostracized them.

Another fun fact, the use of the term “Friend of Dorothy” as a euphemism for gay folks was investigated by the US Navy. They misunderstood it as meaning that there actually was a woman named Dorothy who could be routed down and coerced into outing her “friends” to the military. Cruise ships and others have also used this phrase to covertly advertise that there were meetings for these folks. (Source: Wikipedia | “Friend of Dorothy”)

But to get to the pirates, specifically.

Most pirate ships largely had their own code that everyone on their ship had to agree to. Some had things like, “you’ll be marooned with one knife, and no food if you are caught not reporting loot to be divvied up by the crew fairly” and things like that. But generally, whoever ran the ship, the Captain, would get to pick the rules. And with the partial-democracy that comes with the idea of mutiny, and the more notable reliance on the labour of it all, in general, things were able to be slightly more consensus-based than the on-land governments.

There are numerous women who became pirates to take ownership of their lives in ways that weren’t permitted on-land. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are historical figures that might be worth looking into. The two of them shared lovers, sailed together, had intense care for one and other and with their dressing up in masculine-coded attire and the like, there’s a lot to go off of in assuming they may have been romantically involved with each other. If not, at least they had some iteration of what a lot of contemporary folks might find comparable to a QPR.

The concept of “sea husbands” was also called matelotage (or bunkmate) depending on your crew. It was kind of the buddy system, but gayer. With little need to consistently explain it to outsiders, folks at sea were freer to explore the different ways a relationship with another person can be, without so much worrying about how it looks to others at a passing glance. And as pirates, there’s less concern that you’ll get shit from the law for gay stuff Of All Things.

Buccaneer Alexander Exquemelin wrote: ‘It is the general and solemn custom amongst them all to seek out… a comrade or companion, whom we may call partner… with whom they join the whole stock of what they possess.’ (Source)

It was just normal. They also had a version of health insurance where someone was compensated if they ended up disabled from battle. The compensation of death of your partner also works into this.

As for transness, these kinds of things have had fickle definitions and historically, it’s hard to be able to pinpoint specific people as fitting cleanly into contemporary cultural definitions of transness, because frankly, the past had different culture to now. When it comes to writing canonically trans characters in contexts where the language might have been different, it’s important to focus on making sure that a trans reader can identify the personal connection with that character’s experiences and feelings, just as much as it is to use language to name folks as trans.

Representation can go deeper than surface terminology and the like, and in cases where the terminology doesn’t necessarily match, it has to. Language like, “I never really felt like a [assigned gender] - I see myself more like [desciption of actual gender identity or name for it].” - is as good as just saying the character is trans in my opinion.

Depending on where the character is from, they also may have just outright had a word in their language for their identity.

Gender presentation was significantly freer with pirates than it was for folks on land. Things like earrings, frilled sleeves, varied hair length and similar, were not uncommon, although the gendered coding associated with these aspects of appearance had different implications than they do now. Gold earrings on seafarers were there to fund a proper burial if someone’s body washed ashore. Gendered clothing was also coded in more binary ways on land. Folks who wanted to be coded as men could do so by wearing pants and folks who wanted to be coded as women could do so with skirts and dresses. (Tangential but fun fact yet again: dressing in those big poofy skirts usually included massive pockets. They were generally not physically attached to the skirts, but if you wore it all properly you would easily be able to reach into them.)

Pirates and other seafarers also had clothing referred to as ‘slops’ for cleaning (if they were of the rank that cleaned anyway) which were pretty wide-legged pants that could almost pass for a skirt.

Material that pirates used for clothing was largely what they stole, but it was cut and sewn into the same shapes a lot of other seafarers wore. At the time, it was largely illegal (under English rules anyway) for people who weren’t the bourgeoisie to wear anything made with nice fabric. Rich people saw this as deceitful, and these laws enabled richer people to not mingle on an equal level with those of a lower socioeconomic status.

As pirates, if you’re already shunning the law, may as well wear full calico suits. (Like Calico Jack Rackham.)

There’s more info on pirate and privateer clothing here. (The link is to a free book in HTML format, complete with illustrations and talk of materials, and how the clothes worn at sea varied from clothes they wore when they came into shore and towns.)

I could write a book on this and still not have covered enough. But the gist is that pirates were a big counterculture of outsiders living their lives. LGBT+ people and racialized people got thrown into the mix (and jumped right in) and experienced much more liberated lives than they might otherwise. That isn’t to say they were flawlessly inclusive - there still definitely were a lot of things people thought of in congruence with colonial beliefs. There was racism and homophobia - but it looked a lot different, and was a lot lighter than you’d think. And there were some ships which banned women, but mainly I think that was because they typically didn’t have the background to hold their ground on the ships, and were considered more of a plus one to certain crew members (who brought them - the rules were specifically about bringing them onto the ship rather than them being there of their own accord) than part of the crew. Sometimes women were part of the crew.

Notably, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were in a polyamorous triad with Calico Jack Rackham. (I think a cis + het historian might argue about this but that would seem like denial to me tbh. There is much, MUCH more evidence pointing in this direction than against it, and it would be extraordinarily hard to argue otherwise.) I would definitely do some research on them!

I also recommend this book (link is the free text on WikiSource), A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates. It is perhaps the most famous contemporary record of the lives of a number of pirates from the time, including Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

As for the sensitivity aspect of this ask, I’d say that what you are describing is completely fine. As long as the violence isn’t used to dehumanize or completely demonize, I would even say that I don’t have any warnings for you about it, or precautions to advise on.

Thank you for this opportunity to infodump about LGBT+ pirates. I hope this is not overwhelming, but I’m also happy to parse out segments of this better upon request. (Our ask will be open eventually, I promise.)

- mod nat

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