#editing the tags to clarify: you can have them all but I know one in particular is your ride or die feral obsession

[kookoofufu]

One piece fans are great cause no matter who you are, where you come from, what your age, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status is, 1 of these 4 middle aged men will inevitably become your blorbo. Margaritaville uncle, big titty mob boss, morticia addams, or assigned clown from birth. They're all hot, homeless and obsessed with a teenage boy. The world's worst polycule. Choose wisely.

#one piece #sir crocodile #shanks #buggy the clown #dracule mihawk #one piece meme #they also show up do something important then fuck off for 300 chapters #its mihawk for me. shanks is close second. this is why i ship mishanks #doesnt mean you dont worship straw hats or supernovas just that one of these guys in particular will scratch your brain #editing the tags to clarify: you can have them all but I know one in particular is your ride or die feral obsession

[lowkeyrobin]

hi could you please write smth about accidentally revealing your relationship with quackity? preferably with cc!reader <3

of course!! thanks for the request 🫶 ; ik I did a preference about accidentally revealing relationships but doing a little different thing and going in depth w it was fun!

QUACKITY ; softlaunch ❌ hardlaunch ✅

summary ; you and Alex accidentally reveal your relationship

warnings ; language, little bit of buzzed ranting, use of pet names (babe)

genre ; fluff

word count ; 1k

masterlist

You and Alex have been together for about ten-ish months, keeping it on the low since you'd been traveling around for QSMP meetups, events, and the Streamer Awards for a little bit.

You'd finally gotten home, your shared apartment with Alex, with Cellbit and Roeir tagging along. The three were planning to make a 'trying mexican candies' video in the morning while you were planning to edit and maybe stream til you felt tired enough to quit and sleep. The three guys sit out in the living room, watching some TV show as they sprawl out on the couch, buzzed from the aftermath of award winning.

You were more than proud for your boyfriend, but it being so late now, and your need for comfort after being overstimulated for hours on end, called for a little alone time. You sit in your office, the clock reading 1:30am as you hit the Go Live button on your stream.

You decided to chill out behind the closed door, just chatting with whatever viewers were still awake at this hour, or were just beginning their day, depending on timezones. After five minutes, you greet your chat, snacking on some cookies you'd picked up from the store before returning home earlier, a glass of milk sitting on your desk next to the plastic box.

You sit in your very comfortable chair with a QuackityHQ hoodie, with the signature duck in the corner and design on the back, and some long, patterned pj pants, colored dark blue and black with a floral design. They were thin enough to wear in the warm heat, which was perfect for you. You looked tired but didn't really feel that way, like your eyes were sewn open from adrenaline and happiness.

"Good morning, everyone" You chuckle, "Alex just won an award, feeling good! He, Cellbit and Roier got some drinks and have been watching TV on the couch, so sorry if you can hear them. I closed the door just in case but don't mind any shouting or music"

Your chat explodes with messages, congratulating you, even though you lost in your category, and spamming hearts and heart hands emojis. Someone sends in a small donation, asking for clarification why they were at your house.

"Oh, Alex didn't wanna drive all the way back to his place and he had his car parked here from earlier. He drove the other two and we all left together. They're staying the night" You nod, clarifying with a little bit of lying, not wanting to slip up.

You'd known for a while that Alex was just a secretive person over the smallest things, and he didn't know why. You were totally fine being open about your relationship with friends, but made sure to respect boundaries for him. He reassured you in his own panic that he wasn't embarrassed to be with you and didn't want to hide his love for you often.

He explained it in simplest terms as he was weirdly secretive and he didn't want his weirdo stans attacking you or only watching you for him, he didn't want to ruin your fanbase that you built from the ground up. You'd been friends since forever, a good percentage (if not all, then most) of your fans also watched Quackity's content, which kind of made sense to you, but you didn't question it.

"But yeah, it was fun, just like... there were so many people, and so much was happening all at once and shit. I'm just trying to calm down and get tired." You lightly smile, taking a bite of one of your cookies. "I'm so proud of everyone who won and everyone who was nominated, good night for everyone"

You sit and talk to your chat for a while, occasionally listening to the trio's laughter outside your office. Before you can even snap your head around to inform whoever entered that you were live, they were already speaking, slightly laughing, and stumbling.

"Babe, oh my God, I'm so sorry! I accidentally dropped one of your plates in the kitchen and it fucking shattered everywhere, I'm so sorry. I cleaned it up, I just wanted to tell you than wait for you to notice and make you mad, I'm sorry, Y/n/n"

Your jaw hangs slightly agape, and you stare with a silent expression. You slowly turn back to your stream, the chat absolutely exploding with messages. You saw probably a hundred first time chatters even making an expression about it.

"Lex, I'm live" You speak between your teeth, muting your mic. "Ah- uh, it's, it's fine"

He quickly regains his composure, staring over at you, then looking over to your PC, showing that you were a thousand percent live and five thousand people heard him say that. By the morning, it'd be all over Twitter and YouTube Shorts and TikTok, people were already clipping it.

"Shit"

"Alex, holy shit"

The two of you sit in silence for a minute, trying to rationalize what to do. Cell and Roier bust into the office as well, seeing both of you silent before asking, where you both talk over each other very loudly to try and explain.

They both look over to your monitors, confirming you were live. They both laugh in a light hearted way, looking to Quackity.

"You're cooked, dude"

"Rest in peace"

"You say that like I'm embarrassed to be with them, I mean, it's not like that... I think. Y/n, are you embarrassed to be with me? I'm not embarrassed to be with you, I wanna post pictures of us on adventures and experiencing shit so people can see us for us and what we are-"

"My brother in Christ" You sigh with a chuckle, rubbing your temples. "It's said and done, it's fine. And no, I'm not embarrassed to be with you" You turn back to your stream, unmuting yourself under the red LED lights and lamp on your desk.

You sigh and shrug before speaking, throwing your hands up halfway in defense.

"Y/s/n real"

#lowkeyrobin #mcyt x reader #mcyt preferences #mcyt oneshot #quackity x reader #quackity oneshot #quackityhq x reader #alex quackity x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #they/them reader #qsmp x reader

[takaraphoenix]

Polympians Event!

Clarifying right off the gate: This does NOT mean exclusively Percy x poly Olympians, it means any god/Percy ship.

EDIT: I made a sideblog for the event: @polympians-event

EDIT 2: Here's the link to the AO3 collection!

What is the Polympians Event?

What I have in mind is an open event for any and all god/Percy ships. You ship Percy with only one god? Fill the prompts with only that ship! You sail many different god/Percy ships? Fill each prompt with a different ship, if you want! A full Percy/Olympians poly ship, OT3 or any poly constellation? Primordial gods, titans or non-Olympian gods? Any god(s)/Percy ship goes!

I've seen, in recent years, that god/Percy ships have gained quite some traction and I love that, so much. But while there are bigger ships that do have their own events, there are also the tiny rarepairs that don't get these chances, and even with the bigger ones, not everyone has the time/energy to participate in all their ships' events. So one blanket event, where the biggest of god/Percy ships and the rarest of god/Percy ships are equally welcome.

Are there rules to this?

Yes, but only the most basic. No ship bashing or harassment of other participants. The event is open to all god/Percy ships, which means people will participate with your NOTPs too. Don't like them? Don't read them. Instead, focus on the new content to your own ships! If you can't be a civil, normal person about this, then this event isn't for you.

Whether you want to write smut or not is entirely up to you, but you ought to tag appropriately!

What's the plan?

I chose the dates of the Lightning Thief quest for this event! Meaning it will run from May 28th (Percy waking up at CHB) to June 21st (Percy returning the Master Bolt and Helmet).

That length works out well for there to be 12 prompts, and you would have two days to post each prompt, plus an additional 13th prompt on the last day, to keep with the theme of the Olympians.

I'll get an AO3 collection started to which you can submit your entries on AO3 and, if there would be interest in it, I could start a sideblog specifically for this event to which entries (with proper ship tags so you can filter out your NOTPs) will be reblogged as a signal boost.

What are the prompts?

May 28th/29th: Roman

May 30th/31st: wedding/marriage

June 1st/2nd: The sea does not like to be restrained

June 3rd/4th: family focus

June 5th/6th: jealous/possessive [god]

June 7th/8th: role-swap AU (god!Percy/demigod![god])

June 9th/10th: Modern AU/no powers

June 11th/12th: metamorphosis/shapechange

June 13th/14th: godly gifts

June 15th/16th: Aphrodite ships it

June 17th/18th: Percy accepts godhood

June 19th/20th: yearning/pining

June 21st: Mythology

And because I'm bad at phrasing short prompts, here some explanations on what I had in mind with them, though you are of course free to interpret them in whatever manner you read them!

Roman: could mean the Roman aspect of the god, a Roman!Percy AU, or whatever else you want to make of it!

family focus: Are Percy and the god married with children of their own? Percy as step-parent to campers? The god meeting Sally, Paul and/or Tyson?

metamorphosis/shapechange: the gods have a track-record of turning people into animals or plants. Does this mean full animal, or catboy/other hybrid? Is this angst or fluff?

godly gifts: magic powers granted to Percy, or literal physical gifts to court, or something else?

Aphrodite ships it: Aphrodite as wing-woman, hyping and helping, can also very much include Aphrodite/Percy since she would be her own biggest shipper

Mythology: could be a mythological AU where Percy takes on a role from the past, or specific elements of a tale that recur, anything

Let me know if you're interested so I know I won't be hosting this just for myself!

#Polympians Event 2024 #Writing Event #Polympians #Zeus x Percy #Ares x Percy #Hades x Percy #Hadercy #Perpollo #Apollo x Percy #Hermes x Percy #Hephaestus x Percy #Poseidon x Percy #Aphrodite x Percy #Triton x Percy #Artemis x Percy #Hera x Percy #Demeter x Percy #Dionysus x Percy #Athena x Percy #Percy x Hera #Percy x Athena #Percy x Artemis #Percy x Demeter #Percy x Aphrodite #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #PJOverse #PLEASE let me know if you are interested??

[cozage]

Welcome to My Blog!

Hi, I’m Cozage! You can call me Coza. I’m 25, she/they pronouns are preferred, but any are fine. Right now I’m just writing for One Piece, but I’m open to writing for just about anyone within that realm. Please read this whole post before sending a message!

Requests: CLOSED

Pending requests: 50🤭

Masterlist Part 1 | Masterlist Pt 2

Are your requests open?

Not right now! Please do not send me a request when my requests are closed. I ALWAYS delete them, just to be fair. You are always welcome to send me questions and feedback on my writing or ideas for future chapters for my multifics, but please no new requests. Just because I am fulfilling requests, does not mean my requests are open! 

Can I request a part 2 even when your requests are closed?

This is where it gets dicey. The simple answer is: no. HOWEVER, you can pop into my inbox and let me know that you really liked a specific story and ask if I'm going to have a part two (respectfully!) and you might convince me. Almost all of my multi-parters have come from requests, and I'm always looking for new multi-chapter fics to write :)

When do you open for requests?

I close my requests when my inbox reaches 20, and then I reopen it again when I get it back down to 5. You can check the status of my requests at the top of this post. Events have separate rules and guidelines, which are always explained in the post. If I have an event going on, it'll be tagged in the announcement section at the top of this post!

What should I include in my request?

Reader gender (if you dont specify I'll just do non-gendered), characters you want (try to limit it to 3 or 4, or else I might pick and choose from the list and omit some characters), the scenario you want, you can also clarify if you want a headcanon list or a short fic!

Edit to add: Just a friendly reminder, the more characters you add to a request, the more overwhelming it is for me (and more likely it is to get deleted! 3 characters really is the sweet spot!)

What requests do you accept?

Just about anything. I do occasionally post NSFW, but it’s always tagged and marked. I have a few hard no’s, though:

Relationship situations for minors/large age gaps, pedophilia, grooming, incest, noncon (that’s not a cohesive list, but you get the gist).

Do you write for polys?

Maybe! Polys are hard for me to write. I struggle making the relationship balance equal and keeping people in character while also doing justice to a well-written relationship w/o being too corny. But! If you send it in, I'll at least give it a shot :)

Who can I request?

Just about anyone from One Piece, and I'll do my best given the scenario. Some people I will definitely always write for and take almost any request you send are:

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Law, Kidd, Shanks, and Buggy

Everyone else is hit or miss on if I can imagine their scenarios, but I'll do my best. Some people who I really struggle writing are: Crocodile, Doffy, Izou (And I will not write for Gol Roger ever because I hate him 💕)

How detailed should my request be?

Try to keep it a healthy medium! If there are important aspects you want to be included in your story, let me know :) But try to avoid giving me a play-by-play. That level of detail makes me feel trapped and it's hard to take a creative spin on it. If you have a story you are imagining in your head and you want someone to write it...well, have you considered being a writer? :)

I have more than one request...

Try to limit your requests to 1 or 2, please! We want room for other people to have their ideas to come to light. If you have two ideas, you need to submit two separate messages. Please do not put two story ideas together in a request, or I will just write one :)

Do you take commissions? How can I support you?

I don't take commissions yet, but I think they are in the works. When they do appear, they'll appear on my Ko-fi account (where you can also support me through donations if you so feel inclined!)

What tags do you use (for blacklisting or other purposes)?

Most of my blog is writing, but here's how I tag certain things in case you want to blacklist or follow them:

"cozage" - any type of writing for One Piece I do will have this (just to show it's my work)

"coza thoughts" - May be my daily thoughts/info about writing. No substance though, just me.

"coza asks" - messages that I get that aren't requests. Usually just me responding to people

all the pairings also get tagged as well, so if you were to search "Zoro" hashtag on my page, any fics with him would come up

Do you have an AO3?

Yes! Same name as here. I put a lot of my short multi-chapter fics there (but Tumblr gets all the updates first) BUT here’s a link to it. 

Is there anything else I should know?

Please just remember that when you send me a request or a message, I may not always respond to it. I do always read them, though! I just don't always respond because I don't want to clog up my page with posts that aren't content. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing everyone’s ideas and working together with you all to bring these ideas to life. Send the ask, let me know what you think and how you feel and all of your ideas, but remember that I’m human too! I have feelings and friends and a life outside of writing for our favorite One Piece characters. I look forward to reading your thoughts, and sharing mine with you. 

Love, Coza <3

#coza thoughts #faq

[hitlikehammers]

hitlikehammers' Hobbit-Birthday Fic-Giving Fest

So you know how Hobbits celebrate their birthdays by giving gifts, rather than receiving them?

WELCOME TO MY HOBBIT-STYLE BIRTHDAY FIC-GIVING PROMPT FEST!!!

wherein YOU prompt ME to write stuff, and to clarify from the outset: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWING ME TO PARTICIPATE. Did you find this at random? Via reblog? Just kinda want a fic but don’t want my babble regularly on your feed? I. DO. NOT. CARE. This is my birthday month (well, soon) and I want to be giving and gregarious and generous and generally positive about writing little gifts so: prompt anyway.

THE RULES

✨ You have THREE (3) choices for prompting

CONCEPT PROMPTS: basically Ao3 tags, or close enough—pick one, give me a little direction if you don’t want me to just write ~anything~, and then you’re all set SONG PROMPTS: pick a song, ideally also pick a lyric from the song, and if you want to give me some short direction for it go ahead; these are the largely-random choice of Spotify on shuffle; it got kinda moody and angsty on me and picked songs I was never huge into and some from legitimately years ago but: the algorithm prevails DIALOGUE PROMPTS: either inspiration or to be included in the fic, I cannot guarantee either way but if you have a STRONG PREFERENCE, you should point that out; and again, if you want to provide a couple words of direction: do so

✨ if I am already writing you a gift fic for something else: THIS IS DIFFERENT (also shorter so even MORE DIFFERENT)—ask again if you want to, you’re more than welcome, honestly it’s more a gift for me because…hobbity-birthday 

✨ you have to MESSAGE/ASK ME or COMMENT ON THIS POST with your prompt because I am going to miss it if you reblog or tag or whatever-other-means-of-telling-me that is not a message/ask/comment, and that would be v sad ✨ I will only be writing ONE FIC PER PROMPT, so if you like one? Grab it. If I haven't had time to edit the list (which is likely because timezones and my work schedule) and they get duplicated, I'll reach out to the second claimer for a new prompt.

✨ if you’re not okay with NSWF content, you need to state that in the prompting message; I’m not saying you’re going get NSFW stuff, but if you’re absolutely against it, gotta flag that in advance 

✨ because someone asked: if you want to attach one of these to one of my existing fics/‘verses, include that because that’s usually super fun and there are only maybe two fics I wouldn’t try to follow up with a tiny thing on request

✨ the default ship right now is my most currently active one: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson. If you want to prompt a ship that is not Steddie, note that and check if I’m familiar with it here, or take your chances; I’ll message you if it’s not something I write

SO: pick one of the prompt lists above and send it my way so I can start writing you words.

PROMPTS ARE OPEN THROUGH 31 JANUARY 💜

so...y'know. Prompt me. It's my BIRTHDAY 🎉

also if you hate links have all the prompts, here: below

✨

CONCEPT PROMPTS: pick one, a provide a little direction with 2-3 words, up to a sentence

Merperson/Siren AU

Monsterfucking

Wrong Number/Wrong Blind Date AU

Hurt/Comfort

Baked Goods (as in: prompt me with a pastry you’d like to be eating rn)

Secret Relationship 

Royalty AU

Established Relationship 

Dark AU

Near-Death Experience

Missed Connection AU 

Cocktails (as in: prompt me with how your mixologist knows you)

Misunderstandings

Pre-Season 4

Domestic Fluff

Creaturefic

[Character]-Has-Powers

Vampire AU

PWP

Famous AU

Presumed Dead/Emotional Reunions 

Soulmate AU

Whump

First Times

Warm Drinks (as in: prompt me using what you order from your barista)

Magic AU

Fluff

Meet Cute/Ugly

Nightmares

Angels/Demons AU

SONG PROMPTS: pick a song, ideally a lyric FROM the song and a word or two for context of your intended prompting

Never Tear Us Apart—INXS

I Will Wait—Mumford & Sons

Any Other World—MIKA

The Days Of The Phoenix—A.F.I.

Manhattan Skyline—a-ha

Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts—Brandon Flowers

Why Can’t This Be Love—Van Halen

The Navesink Banks—Gaslight Anthem

Holocene—Bon Iver

Wicked Campaign—Modest Mouse

Follow—Brandi Carlile 

Jesus Christ—Brand New

Little Talks—Of Monsters and Men

Clever Meals—Tegan and Sara

Will Anybody Ever Love Me?—Sufjan Stevens

A Light On In The Dark—Darlingside

To Build A Home—The Cinematic Orchestra

sever the blight—hemlocke springs

These Things—She Wants Revenge 

The Light Behind Your Eyes—My Chemical Romance

Come Undone—Duran Duran

Song For Zula—Phosphorescent 

Last Words of a Shooting Star—Mitski

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)—Talking Heads

Majesty—Madrugada

Fake Empire—The National

A Dustland Fairytale—The Killers

Fast Car—Tracy Chapman  

At The Bottom Of Everything—Bright Eyes

The Trapeze Swinger—Iron & Wine

QUOTE PROMPTS: pick one, and if you have a context, I’ll take up to 3 words as direction

“That’s… not what that means.” 

”They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that's true.”

“…Why?” 

“Now, I’m not going to deny that I was aware of your beauty. But the point is, this has nothing to do with your beauty. As I got to know you, I began to realise that beauty was the least of your qualities. I became fascinated by your goodness. I was drawn in by it.”

“I’ve never felt this way before.” 

”So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard, and we're gonna have to work at this every day."

“What are you doing?”

“I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.”

“I assume I deserve this, but can you tell me why you want to kill me this time?”

”We aren't here to make things perfect."

“You meant the world to me. I should have protected you.” 

"You're the first boy I ever kissed... and I want you to be the last."

“What? Like it’s hard?”

“Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear.”

“Who did this to you?” 

“I want to tell you with my remaining strength that I love you. I always have. I'll drift next to you every day as a ghost just to be with you. Even if I was banished to the darkest place, my love will keep me from being a lonely spirit."

“You here to finish me off, sweetheart?”

”When I first saw you, I felt like I knew you, and I couldn't stop seeing my life with you, and building a family together. One that isn't stuck in the pain of the past. It's very pretty."

“You’re worth so much more than me.” 

“I’ve never had a moment’s doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one.”

“This isn’t going to end well.” 

"Truth is, sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it."

“Please! You have to let me make this right.” 

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

“You’re a monster.”

“You and I, it’s as though we have been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught.”

“You don’t want this.” 

“You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love--I love--I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”

“Why did you lie?”

”I don't want to sound foolish, but remember love is what brought you here. And if you've trusted love this far, don't panic now. Trust it all the way." 

#hitlikehammers v words #hitlikehammers writes #hitlikehammers' hobbit-birthday prompt fest

[makerofmadness]

aight uh. I kinda just decided to pack the rest of the kingdom characters whose names I have translated myself into one post but sadly this is the end of The Cooler Art (unless I just choose random sprites to make up for it dndndnjdnddn):

NOTE: minor correction, snapdragon is گل میمون and not گل میمونی except the Persian Wikipedia page spelled it like that so. I don't know.

Uh if you've been keeping up with my posts you'll know how this goes:

Prune Juice Cookie = آب آلو کوکی (ab aloo cookie)

Kouign-Amann Cookie = کوئین آمان کوکی (kouign-amann cookie)

Capsaicin Cookie = کپسایسین کوکی (capsaicin cookie)

Carrot Cookie = هویج کوکی (havij cookie)

Onion Cookie = پیاز کوکی (piaaz cookie)

Fettuccine Cookie = فتوچینی کوکی (fettuccine cookie)

Beet Cookie = لبو کوکی (laboo cookie)

Oyster Cookie = صدف چروک کوکی (sadaf cherook cookie

Madeleine Cookie = کیک مادلن کوکی (cake maadelan cookie)

Affogato Cookie = آفوگاتو کوکی (affogato cookie)

Rye Cookie = چاودار کوکی (chaavdaar cookie)

Werewolf Cookie = گرگینه کوکی (gorgineh cookie)

Snapdragon Cookie = گل میمون کوکی (gol meymoon cookie)

Clotted Cream Cookie سر شیر کوکی (sar shir cookie)

Ninja Cookie = نینجا کوکی (ninja cookie)

Fun fact:

گل میمون (snapdragon) is literally "monkey flower" in farsi. Guess who lost their dragon privileges in Iran.

also: YUP! Madeleines are cakes! Wonder what the St. Pastry Order would have to say about that...

EDIT: I got a tag that kinda upset me so I need to clarify here before I see anything else like this: this is Farsi, not Arabic. It's literally a racist stereotype that Persians are Arabs/that we speak Arabic and that all middle easterners are Arabs. English and Spanish and French and German and Italian all share the same alphabet but no one thinks they're the same language or that being able to read one means they can read all of them, so why are you assuming that for us?

#Snapdragon was the little monkey jumping on the bed I can't believe it /silly /j #Cookie run #prune juice cookie #capsaicin cookie #kouign-amann cookie #Carrot cookie #Beet cookie #onion cookie #fettuccine cookie #affogato cookie #oyster cookie #clotted cream cookie #madeleine cookie #snapdragon cookie #ninja cookie #rye cookie #werewolf cookie #language #persian language #farsi

[harfblarf]

“Help my Cat” Scam Going Around

Have you received an ask in your inbox from an account that previously wasn’t following you, pleading for a signal boost on their vet-related post? I got one today, but something felt fishy. Or perhaps “phishy” is more accurate?

Here’s the ask:

Now a couple odd things right off the bat. This is a blog I’ve never seen or interacted with, who wasn’t following me prior to sending the ask, so I immediately wondered how they pulled my name to ask for help. And while the world in general is a shitshow, so I can sort of see why a person would default to saying it “isn’t the best time to ask for help”, they say it with such confidence without knowing me at all.

Odder still, from their posts-- which at least do look extremely normal and human-like, down to the mishapocalypse profile picture-- we don’t share any interests aside from... well. Cats.

The other odd thing is them specifically requesting I reply privately, through DM or a private answer. I wouldn’t think much of it except they’re already asking me to publicly share something on my blog; if I’m going to answer the ask, why can’t I do so publicly?

I scroll through their blog some more. Their pinned post is, indeed, asking for help with their cat:

Weirdly, though, an earlier version of this post uses a completely different name for the cat??

This is bizarre to me and my red flags are pinging louder. Maybe it’s innocuous, though, I mean, it could just be a nickname or something? Why would you change it though?

Also, the post’s ratio is weird-- 101 reblogs to 44 likes. I suppose not too shocking if they’re doing this use-an-ask-to-get-a-boost tactic widely, but the ratio is pretty extreme. I check the notes. Every single reblog with tags has some variation on ‘boost’ or ‘signal boost’; there are no comments. No one has mentioned knowing this person, no one has vouched for the legitimacy of the post... but two mention that they were asked to boost the post.

*EDIT: Per a polite anon, I will clarify that signal boost/boost tags themselves aren't a red flag; what bothered me was that the post's ONLY interaction history came from boosts from seeming strangers. An active fandom blog, active enough to think posting a plea for financial help might get traction, SHOULD have at least one or two mutuals or friends who are willing to push the post and vouch for its legitimacy. Because the only engagement was from people who had clearly been approached via ask, like me, I got the heebie jeebies.

Okay, I’m doubtful enough that I’m not comfortable boosting this post myself. But let me check one more thing.

I search google for the exact phrasing of the help-requested post.

Ah.

There’s well over a dozen blogs pulled up with this exact phrasing. Most of them use the name “Koppi” instead of either “Ashel” or “Biscuit”, but a few use “Ashel”. The oldest result, from 2016, uses “Ashel”; more commonly, these results are from 2022 or earlier this year and again, most say “Koppi”. Also interesting: basically none of these posts exist anymore. Google can identify the exact wording even beyond what I included in my search query using whatever demonic powers allow it to reference removed content, but they’ve clearly been deleted.

Additionally, which I clarify for those like me who attribute Google’s quirks to demonic powers rather than an actual understanding of how it works: if the dates didn’t make it clear, these aren’t the blogs in the notes of falesyorac’s post. I cross-referenced the names. It’s not pulling up those reblogs, so presumably the majority of these results at one time came from someone who drafted and posted the wording to their blog, not from reblogs.

Maybe it was once a real post, maybe it’s always been a scam, but evidently the content of the post has been stolen and recirculated at this point. Along the way I found this as well, an anon warning someone who must have reblogged a version of the scam post:

So this is at least partly confirmed as a scam from another source.

Please be wary, do your due diligence before you put your money anywhere, and block & report falseyorac. I’m not sure the nature of the falseyorac blog originally; it may have been a real account that got hijacked, it may be a very convincing fake, it may be a real person’s blog who is trying to to leverage their innocuous appearance to pull quick money with a beggar scheme. Regardless, it is evident there is not a genuine Ashel/Biscuit needing help today and that whoever holds the falseyorac account right now is trying to pull a scam.

One more thing-- one of those reblog’s tags I showed earlier.

I also have a tag for reblogs of cats. (It’s “cats”.) I suspect this is where this particular iteration of the scam is pulling its targets from-- after all, people who reblog cats enough to tag them must care about them, right?

Finally, I am tagging the people who reblogged falseyorac’s post with tags (there’s too many for me to do everyone who reblogged it at all) below the readmore-- if I messed up and tagged the wrong person and/or you want your name removed, please just contact me and ask. I want to make sure you can see this warning, but I’m happy to untag you if it bothers you for any reason.

@thislilfecker​ / @koreanbibliophilegirl / @kingminyard / @sss-shyshy / @shoutmonishere / @cleocatrablossy / @mothmansass / @aroanehring / @valkyrie-ellis / @jae-writes-fanfiction / @ninja-chibi / @iambecomeahamburger

(A few people’s names didn’t come up when I tried to tag them, so I wasn’t able to include them here, rip.)

#cats #scams #scam #cat #signal boost #warning #boost #mutual aid #community aid #community support #pet scam #donation scam #harf blarf blib blab #i spent too much time on this

[lynaferns]

I needed to take something out of my chest and I got into a rant of basically me complaining about the (DCA) fandom and shippings. It got long so I'm putting a cut.

If you don't want to read it you don't have to.

Edit: I wanted to clarify, I'm not throwing crap at anyone for liking shipping, there is nothing wrong with the ships. I'm just taking my frustration out to the air because good platonic/friendship content is hard to find. The problem is mine, not yours.

Since I rebloged that post about being tired of shipping in the fandoms my feed (<-idk if it's called that) has filled up with more posts about it that I relate to but feel bad rebloging because I don't want to call out any of you.

But I'm at a point that it has gotten SO tiresome, shipping is the only thing I find when I go in the Sun and Moons tags. "If you don't want to see that you can filter the tags-" <-that would be great, that would work if it wasn't because 1-there are like 20 different tags for the same thing and I'm constantly adding new ones to the filter 2-not everybody tags correctly/at all their post, I've seen people post their ship art and not tag it as ship, that is going to slip through the filter.

And all the shipping is about romantic/suggestive, they either want to kiss them or something more intimate. Where are the platonic relationships? And I mean friendship relationship, sex/romantic repulsed even. I tried to make one myself, even if I put tags of 'no ship' people still tags it as 'character x selfinser/yn' ship, why? What in the post/drawing/comic/AU made you think this was romantic? That makes me question more things like, why holding hands has to be romantic? Why sleeping in the same bed because there is only one has to be romantic? Why does the minimum of fisical contact a character has with other has to mean is romantic? Why why why? Even if the characters are truly in love/already dating, I don't get it, I don't get why that's the norm, why any of it automatically means 'romantic'.

There is really no solution to this unless I leave the fandom or stop searching content.

I wish I was into that stuff so I could appreciate it, but I'm not and it's no ones fault. I know those people are just doing their thing and having fun, AND it looks fun! I've seen a lot of cool artists around but I can't follow them because I risk having to see everyday the stuff they draw or reblog that makes me uncomfortable. It sucks. I can't make any friends here or anywhere because of this barrier (other than anxiety/personal difficulties and stuff).

And it doesn't stop there. Since the beginning I had the feeling that the DCA fandom likes a totally different character from the one I like. When I search fanart/comics/AUs Sun doesn't feel like Sun, Moon doesn't feel like Moon and every interpretation of fanon Eclipse I had encountered is some kind of mastermind, manipulative and as a plus, predatory, in a bad way.

I'm not good at writing, I know it's hard, I know not every one will share the same perspective I have of the characters, there is not much info about them anyways. But sometimes it feels like people throws out of the window the few details we have about them that makes the Daycare Attendant THE Daycare Attendant to make a completely different character with the same shell. Or they believe as canon something that the fandom made up because everybody collectively believed a rumor even though there's no official information or confirmation.

If the canon Sun and Moon were the same as fanon I would have never liked them.

I'm sure this is a thing in every fandom and I'm probably just pointing out something that everybody knows but this is the first fandom that I got into so this whole year and a half has been a new experience.

Even though all of this I'm still going to draw them, I'll still make fanarts because I like this character.

I've been feeling burned out lately so I don't know how regularly I'm going to draw them or post about them but the brainrot is staying one more year.

#lyna rambles #<- I'm using this tag everytime I decide to throw nonsenses here #...or I need to complain about something and the phone is close by

[verydistractedveryconfused]

I don't say this to attack anyone or any fanfic, but I have started to notice a pattern in some of the TMNT crossover fics

More specifically Rise and 2012 but it could apply to others

That being, that whenever they make the fanfic take place during season 2 of 2012 version, is usually to make them look less friendly, like they don't get along or work together well as a team, making them seem like they are being cruel and mean to each other

While at the same time, putting the Rise characters take place after their final season or the movie, to make them look like they have more experiences, have been through more traumatic moments, work better as a team and have a "healthy" family dynamic

In other words

They put the Rise characters after they have had their developement as characters, team, family and individuals, while putting the 2012 characters RIGHT BEFORE they're own character developement and growth, so that they can make the Rise turtles looke better

They often tag it with "No Bashing to 2012" but that's all they do

And it's because they know, that just like with the Rise version (heck, like any freaking show) the character developement is there, during the final seasons/movie, they just pick and choose who gets to keep it

And this is not to say that all of those fanfics are bad, or Bashing, or that the author is doing something wrong

That's not what I'm saying

I'm saying that, if you don't like one version, or you like another one better, or you haven't watched one, that's okay

But please

Stop ruining the show for those that do like it and appreciate

You don't need to trash good show to make another good show look better, they're both good and loved by different fans and people

As a person who likes and has watched nearly TMNT iterations, I would like it if the fandom just stopped trying to drag other versions down just because it's not to your taste

(Also would like to add

Please, stop trying to sabotage Mutant Mayhem by commenting about Rise on every single post Nickelodeon or Paramount make about TMNT )

Edited to add:

This is not an attack on the author or the readers of such works, nor an invitation to attack said authors and readers

This is also to clarify that not all authors who write the fanfic taking place during season 2 of 2012 is attacking the show, they are just taking a creative point of view

This post is about the ones that write it to bash the 2012 turtles or the other versions

Just wanted to make that clear

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt mutant mayhem #2012 tmnt #rise of the tmnt

[kakarorin]

Defending "The Road to El Dorado" from a couple racist claims, or how I, being so cheeky, like to call it: Covering myself in sugar in order to attract some nasty little bugs🐞

For some reason, 2024 seems to be the year when I can't tolerate "The Road to El Dorado is packed with racism" discourse anymore. A couple days ago, I stumbled across a very colourful gifset which encapsulated perfectly all the objectively wrong arguments (save for half... one... one and a half... It depends) I've ever seen people give out to explain why they don't like the movie (@/neechees: If by some unlikely chance you're reading this, I wish we could have talked about it calmly. I'm a very open-minded person, unlike you seem to be). I've seen them SO many times that I think I hit my limit. Long story short, I got defensive, which I regret, shame on me, told the op they were wrong, as they are, op responded, and I got blocked before I could respond back. I honestly don't know why they blocked me after responding. I don't know if they sensed I know much more about the Aztec Conquest than they do, but well... Occam's razor.

After I calmed down, tried to reach to them because I genuinely wanted to talk about it, and failed, I decided I was going to break their post down as minutely as I could, even if just to get it off my shoulders and toss it into the void, and polished what I told one of the people who reblogged op's post saying they were right into this lengthy post. Purely because I love debating about movies I love. And boy, do I LOVE this movie.

Before starting, I'm letting you know that, as far as I know, I'm 100% white. And I'm also from Spain (Europe. Clarifying this for the Americans), which understandably gives me the advantage of having lived (and living) through the subtle remnants of the wretched Spanish Black Legend. Yet none of these two things stopped me from looking up historical papers, podcasts and documentaries (further than YouTube's video essays, I mean) so I could understand that this sort of... slander was indeed, part of that concept. I don't see how being of a particular race or ethnicity gives you the right to speak about recorded history as objective facts without doing your research and applying your critical thinking to it, either. Does op think that just because they're Native-American, as they say (just in case, can't believe anything you read on the internet these days), a person who has spent hours, days, months educating themselves about Hernán Cortés, poor Malinche and the Aztec Conquest from serious sources can't have more knowledge than them? Smh, op, smh. It does give you right over feelings, and obviously, your own experiences, though. Hope you still understand that factual knowledge is an entirely different thing.

That being said, at the end of the day, save for the very easy-to-check historical facts (which I will provide sources for if asked, although I believe you can very easily research it yourself), this is my opinion about why "The Road to El Dorado" is regarded as much more racist than it actually is. If you want to give me yours or respond to it, please, by all means, do it. Respectfully and with clear and valid reasons, of course. Otherwise, I'll have to ignore you. Understand that what you read below is the limit of my thinking and reading. Enjoy, or hate. Call me a racist. Send a WHITE meme my way. Up to you.

I'd link you to the post, but I don't feel like it. They blocked me, after all. You can search my blog for it. It's tagged as "neechees". And be sure to read their tags on the post as well, for context. Anyway, here go their "objective truths". Debunking time starts... now:

(EDIT: This is filled with edits. See how my opinion can change and I can clarify or rectify? Anyway, stating the obvious, but I believe Spanish colonization is bad. In any part of the world. I won't give you a single good aspect of it, except for that at least it was based on a different mindset than British colonization. Maybe there are fairly good aspects. After all, they say Romans gave us Spaniards roads and sewage systems. We'd have to take a look at an alternative reality where it didn't happen to make an objective claim. But, believe me, if it had been for me, I'd have pushed Cortés off the ship a good bunch of nautical miles before he reached what is now known as Veracruz, whatever good things he ended up doing. Bear that in mind.)

1. The cultures are mashed up in one city, that is true. But there is no explicit racist (implying prejudice, discrimination or antagonism, as I understand racism, or as racism is actually defined) motive behind it. I don't think it's done out of unthoughtfulness, either. I'm pretty sure it's just done to leave the place ambiguous, because (tell you more later), with Cortés involved and what went down with him historically, that place is much more meant to be Tenochtitlán than the legendary city of El Dorado. They didn't want to make that so explicit because this is a retelling, after all (tell you more later). I honestly don't see how anyone could think that the resulting city and culture are portrayed in a negative way. Sometimes, I'm not even sure these people were paying attention when watching the movie (if they ever did). In fact, if it weren't for the title of their post, I wouldn't even understand the point in this.

2. Oh boy, this is exactly what triggered me to say something instead of just putting it on my blog silently. This is how I know the op has ZERO knowledge about the historical event behind it, because they wouldn't say this is right if they did. There is no such thing as a (EDIT:) sufficiently collective "Spanish lie that Native-American (NA) people believed they were gods" (NEVER listen to a Spaniard who claims this. EDIT: Like López de Gómara. They're delulu), this has never had any kind of historical relevance (in the outcome and influence of history, I mean), and the NA people in the movie are not worshipping the white guys because they're white. The whole plot, arriving in a city and being mistaken for a god because your arrival coincided with an ancient premonition in such a precise way that it is fascinating, is exactly what happened to Cortés when he reached the capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlán. He was believed to be the reincarnation of Quetzalcóatl, and that's why he could enter the city peacefully and live in it for a short amount of time. The concept of the movie seems to be "What if this, instead of happening to a conquistador (in which is implicit the catholic element) who quickly said he was no god when he realised what was happening (because of the sin of idolatry), happened instead to two atheist looters who are ultimately good-hearted (NOT colonizers, because they didn't try to claim the land or control it) who weren't stopped by the fear to sin and took advantage of the situation?" That's it. The premonition happened to fall on a white man hundreds of years ago (who also came from the east, same place Quetzalcóatl left to and said he'd return from) and so does in the movie story because it mirrors real history, and, again, I fail to see the negative portrayal in all of this because it's certainly NOT because they're white. I think the op also took it salty that I said they had zero knowledge about "the very people they're trying to defend", which I still believe, but this is complex and I'll only explain this if asked. What I meant by that, on the surface, is that NA people also enslaved NA people. I seriously hope op doesn't think NA slavery is more acceptable if it comes from other NA people than white people. Who knows, at this point.

3. This is essentially right. It's the only thing I think is mostly right, actually. It's no problem for me, though. I love Chel, she's beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to me. But I can understand why it may put someone off. All good. However, I still wanna say that the Aila test is just a way of assessing indigenous women representation as positive and negative, and not the work in itself as problematic if it doesn't pass it. The Lord of the Rings doesn't pass the Bechdel test and I have never seen anyone calling it problematic because of that, nor do I need positive representation (I'm a woman. Sort of. It fluctuates) on it to enjoy it. Although I figure I'd feel the same if I were NA, I can't and won't speak for one. So I still give you that.

4.1. This is wrong in three ways. First, Tzekel-kan is not "demonized as evil". He is evil. He's not evil because he's NA, he is evil because he killed, he lied, and he abused his power. There are NA people in the movie who are kind and good (everyone but him, I believe), and then there's him. In every race and ethnicity, there are good, neutral and bad people. And people who are sometimes good, and sometimes bad. If all the NA people were painted in a morally white and good way, that special treatment would come off as positive discrimination to me. Why can't he be a sociopathic genocider AND indigenous at the same time without being considered as racist? Does that mean all indigenous people have to be/are morally white? If all the other NA characters were demonized, I'd understand it, but it's the opposite. Also, Tzekel-kan is loosely based off Moctezuma, the (redundant) emperor of an Empire who enslaved other NA people. And, surprise, just like Cortés, I don't think the guy was evil. I think this is probably another reason why they didn't want to make clear the specific culture. I could see the racism if they had tried to directly compare Tzekel-kan with Moctezuma, I would perfectly be able to see the claim that Moctezuma was a sociopathic genocider, and I'd recognise that as racist. But in this case, it's just loose inspiration. Not a parody.

4.2. There was NO genocide in the Spanish NA colonies. There was NO legal slavery, save for a few unfortunate loopholes (tell you more later). (EDIT: careful, I'm NOT defending his monumental fuck-ups or justifying him in any way, just so you know. In my opinion, he was a fair lot more bad than good, but not 100% bad. If you get me) Hernán Cortés did a lot of undeniably wrong things, but he did good things too. I don't think you can say he was a good person, no person who'd say that would be a friend of mine, but I don't think he was a 100% evil person. Just a person, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Still, when he was bad, he was bad. And what op said about that they didn't care enough about him to write his name properly, BOY how that ticked me off. People, for all you hold dear, you have to CARE to know about such important historical figures in order to understand the history behind them and the outcomes of their actions. Especially within such a sensitive topic. It's when stories like this are ignored or forgotten, that history tends to repeat itself. The fact that I care to spell Hernán Cortés well has not the respectful positive connotation they think, either. And despite what you may believe, we Spaniards do NOT think he did everything right and much less that he was a hero. I think some Mexicans think we all do, but I don't know why. Only the most idiotic "fachas" (ultraright people) do.

4.3. One, he was not enslaved (tell you more later). Two, well, since he tried to mass-murder the inhabitants of the city, I... I do reckon putting him away was a good ending. Jesus, he tried to purge the city of citizens HE deemed unworthy in the name of a divine power (=on a religious basis) with the clear intention to wipe them out. It's clearly stated more than once throughout the movie. If you didn't know, by objective definition, the name of that starts with 'G' and ends with 'ENOCIDE'. And when that failed, he actively tried to drive the colonizers to them. Only because of that, he was technically much more of a genocider than the historical Cortés ever was. Are his actions really justified just because he's indigenous? Doesn't he deserve a punishment just because of it? I see "slavery" (if it were. Since enslaving NA in Spanish colonies was illegal at the time, I'd say he was kidnapped, in the strict sense of the word. Bit funny to word it like that) as a punishment more than fitting for his crimes. I think you all should drill this into your head: ANY abusive leader involved in (I can't believe I'm going to say this, but socially unacceptable) murder deserves to be punished in some way independently of his race, ethnicity or religion. This is something I believe firmly, so you have very little room to debate with me on this one. Do try, if you want.

By the way, I LOVE Tzekel-kan to death. Just the way he is. A charismatic, fanatical, sociopathic fictional high priest who tried to cleanse his city in the name of his gods through murder and human sacrifice, a practice that the other NA inhabitants very obviously did NOT enjoy (well, that definitely rings a historical bell). If you hadn't noticed, or perhaps thought it was impossible, let me tell you this: you can actually love evil characters without justifying their actions. It's legal. 100%. Unlike slavery in NA Spanish colonies at the time.

5. I don't see exactly how spirituality is portrayed as evil. More specifically, I don't see how the movie's actual magic is considered Aztec spirituality. Not a fan nor a hater of Hazbin Hotel, but I've seen one of the demon characters around Twitter using literal voodoo in a very unthoughtfully wrong way. That's a big no-no, in my opinion. And I see a clear difference with this because there is nothing in the stone jaguar magic that single-handedly resembles what Aztec religion actually was. I'm not saying this can't be done in a wrong way with indigenous NA spirituality, nor that they didn't take elements from it (they did), I just think that with all the context behind the movie, here it's just magic that serves a plot function. Aesthetic Aztec/Maya patterns appear here and there, arguably because those are the "places" where it's geographically based (and because Tzekel-kan is loosely based off Moctezuma, who was the religious spiritual leader who received the Quetzalcóatl premonition), but at the end of the day, I don't think it's much more than the fantasy you typically find in a kids' movie. No specific religion was portrayed as evil, no specific gods were portrayed as evil, the magic in itself wasn't portrayed as evil. In the movie, it was black magic because Tzekel-kan, who was evil, used it for evil. Who says that a giant stone cat can ONLY serve evil purposes? I'd use it for good, personally. Maybe transportation. Maybe architecture. Decoration. Festivities. (CW: 26-year-old making a boomer joke) Maybe to instill cordial fear among my neighbours.

EDIT: I've been thinking about this these days and I realised that in the specific stone jaguar "spell", Tzekel-kan needs to toss his poor aide into the mix for it to "activate". That is much more evil than neutral, so maybe I can kind of see this point now. And human sacrifice was part of some of these religions, after all, so maybe it does point towards Aztec spirituality. Still, as it didn't come off as evil to me until I've THOROUGHLY thought about it, I feel like questioning things. Does the "spell" need a human body, or an animal body would have served? The "recipe" doesn't state anything. It's Tzekel-kan who pushes him in. Do ALL the "spells" need a body to "activate"? Maybe not. I feel like maybe I can give you a part of this argument. But still... Hmm. I don't know. We were stuck with an evil religious high priest, but that doesn't necessarily mean ONLY he could use magic. Nor that ALL the magic was evil. But yeah, alright. I can sort of see this now... a bit.

6. I can give you this... for the most part. Knowing it mirrors history, and that historically, it was white men who rid the NA people enslaved by the Aztec Empire (which I believe is what the people of El Dorado ended up portraying, somehow oppressed by Tzekel-kan's sacrifices) of the Aztec Empire (even if woefully just to take their place), I'm not sure it's so simple. I still don't fully see it as plain white saviour narrative with that background info. In any case, I think my mind can be changed about this with the right argumentation. Surely not by a person who has no knowledge about history. Sorry, op.

7.1. For my next trick, I'll blow your mind: Cortés was no big bad evil genocider. He wasn't a golden-hearted saint or saviour either. Frankly, I believe most people think he was similar to Christopher Columbus (of whom I don't know as much, but sounds pretty 100% evil to me with what I have) by default. I'm also very certain they watched the movie and took that version of him as a faithful representation, but in reality he was very different. He was short, he was slender, he was way more charismatic, way less solemn and serious, and he had the reputation of a womanizer. He committed atrocities, like torturing and murdering the last Huey Tlatoani for rumours (Jesus, the Cholula massacre), but he also treated most indigenous people with respect (when he wasn't pathologically obsessed with gold), he talked with Moctezuma as if he were his kin, he always tried to negotiate before grabbing his arms, he listened to and followed the advice of an indigenous woman (Malinche). And once he had done the deed, his reputation was sunk, he was stripped of most of his titles and compensation for what he had done (karma? Possibly), and he had practically no say in the new territories. He went there for the gold above all, and all the crimes he committed were in its name. But unlike Miguel and Tulio (this is the reason why they're not colonizers, only looters), he ALSO wanted to seize control of the land for the Spanish Empire. As an anti-colonialist Spaniard, I can't help boiling up in anger every time I see someone call Miguel and Tulio colonizers. They are NOT coloziners, just like we are NOT colonizers. Our country was, hundreds of years ago. The people who claimed that land as theirs and believed that gave them the right to exploit it for centuries were. And believe me, if we're still here and have descended from humble families for more than 5 centuries, none of our ancestors saw a single piece of gold.

7.2. This is part of a broader topic but Cortés acted in the name of the Spanish Empire, who, thanks to Queen Isabella the Catholic and the laws she passed, considered NA people as citizens of the Crown and therefore could not be enslaved (legally), not to mention genocided. Physically genocided, I mean, because the cultural genocide is undeniable. And still, while so many parts of so many different cultures disappeared, some things like the Maya and Nahua languages were kept. Even if little, that means something. I find some comfort in that, especially when you take a look at what happened to indigenous people in British colonies. In relation to this, there's this something that's been haunting Spain since a thousand years ago that gains relevance when talking about this, called the Spanish Black Legend. Basically anti-Spain propaganda coming from other European countries demonizing everything the country had done/does. It started out of rivalry and envy. Nowadays, it's hard to say. This is why Hernán Cortés is always seen as an evil genocider, but not other colonizers like Julius Caesar from the Roman Empire. It also makes my blood curdle because it sticks with us in the most annoying ways possible. While American people tend to think Spain is part of Latin America, European people tend to think we're dumb, don't know other languages apart from Spanish and only like partying, and our collective international sentiment, especially facing other Europeans, is often shame. Ashamed to say you're from Spain, because there's only so many "España mucho fiesta and siesta" a sane person can take from people who only come to your country to raise the living costs, drink, sunbathe and throw themselves off balconies to jump in hotel pools. Look "balconing" up. God I HATE British people. In any case, to wrap this up, this Black Legend is also why everyone believes the Spanish colonization was the same as the British colonization. By norm, the British predated, but the Spanish generated (in America, because the Spanish DID enslave African people), despite all the horrible things it did. Because it did them.

Lastly, and just because it was also part of op's response, I want to say that I have no opinion about what negative impact this movie could have in terms of being a version of the Colombian legend of El Dorado. I don't know anything about that. I don't understand it, either. If someone wants to explain to me in which specific ways making a movie like this about it could be harmful to anyone (not the legend in itself, I think you can see I know as much), please tell me so I can think critically about it and contrast it. But please, specify the harm and consequences so I can understand them.

Jesus, I'm tired, but I want to say you CAN dislike the movie. I don't give two floating specks of dust whether you do or don't. What I do care about is that most arguments people use to say so are wrong, or rather, lack historical knowledge to support them. Or rather, there is historical knowledge which flat-out cancels them out. There IS negative portrayal on the basis of unthoughtfulness (like Chel and the Aila test), but NEVER in a mean way. On the whole, it's not the unsalvageable blatantly racist skeleton that has to be kept in the closet under lock and key that some people think it is. And, by the way, I'm very curious about why I have yet to see the same discourse about Inca portrayal in "The Emperor's New Groove". Feel free to toss it my way in case it exists and it's just I haven't seen it yet.

If you've reached this point, congratulations. Here's a disturbing little fact about me as a reward: this whole fixation that I have started because in 2020 I had a dream about this Hernán Cortés and Tzekel-kan having sex.

#the road to el dorado #dreamworks #el dorado #racism #chel #tzekel kan #tzekel-kan #miguel and tulio #hernán cortés #neechees #tagging you as well in hopes to reach you. kinda growing fond of you #you go after my little meow meow who did nothing wrong #viva españa hostia #viva vigo. cagon tal #franco franco que tiene el culo blanco

[shdwtouch]

While I absolutely agree with the sentiment and think oc positivity is sorely needed, comparing writing canon muses to fast fashion sounds a bit icky to me. I know you don't mean it in a bad way, but it does kinda sound like you're implying that people writing canon characters are putting less love, effort and creativity into their portrayals. Just because there are multiple people writing the same character doesn't cheapen their value, so I'd personally look for some other metaphor.

firstly, just want to say: I have so much anxiety about this message. like I know you're coming from a good place but its confrontation and alarm bells in my head so let me see if I can articulate. ; ; also, I'm posting this from mobile so I apologize for any weird formatting etc owo;

I'm going to stand by my statement (tho I deleted the tags [edit: I did take a screenshot for context sake]) honestly because I definitely was not implying that canon portrayals have less value, in fact I specifically stated that both canon and original characters have value, just like fast fashion and couture have their own values.

let me explain my thought process.

you walk into, say, Walmart and pick up a pair of Levi's. why ? because you've probably worn them before and like them, or heard of them from others and want to try them out. or because you're simply browsing and like the style and color and they're in the right size so why not ? canon muses have that ease of access, whether it be knowing the fandom or simply having a range of content and reviews to go off of as a "consumer".

original characters don't have that luxury; I don't know about other people, but for me sometimes engaging with original characters - and this is coming from someone who writes predominantly fandomless original characters and agonizes over how accessible their lore is - is, well, bottlenecked by my own energy and willingness to engage with the information and content the creator had provided. it's much easier for me, energy wise, to play a video game and then gravitate to muses from it because I'm already familiar with them, so I already have a foot in the door so to speak.

I fucking love reading original lore tho ! I also FUCKING LOVE canon divergence and headcanons ! but it isn't always easy to engage with or incorporate, and I think that's something that impacts a lot of people in how they view ocs compared to canons. original characters just often take more effort to engage with and understand, and that's not a bad thing ! but in a busy life it's understandable that folks want to go to what is comfortable and what they know, so they pick up a pair of Levi's instead of going to get a tailored pair of pants.

next, I should clarify that the characters are clothes, and we, as writers, are the ones who wear those clothes. which is to say, our own personal style and actions play into the overall appearance and feel of our portrayals. two people can take the same shirt and make completely different outfits with it ! maybe one of them decides to crop it, or bleach it, or cut it up and sew it into something new. and all of these things are valid ! and they all have value. you may be wearing the same shirt as someone else, but you still style it the way you want to. you still look different, still unique, still beautiful. there is nothing bad about liking fast fashion or canon characters. fast fashion is convenient, so are canon characters. some canon characters are poorly written and need to be dressed up or fixed to be worn, while others are quality and wonderfully made ! just like clothes ! and honestly, the same applies to original characters too !

the pants I'm wearing right now ? my favorite pair of pants. I've had them for like... four years. and they're still going strong. fast fashion isn't necessarily cheap, just like couture isn't necessarily haute. but again, it's about how you wear it. and everyone in the BG3 rpc wears their clothes, whether they be canon or original, in their own unique, beautiful way ! we all have our own style, and that style provides value to what we're trying to portray. neither canon nor original characters are better than the other, they BOTH have pros and cons. just like fast fashion and couture. they both have value, and their mode or means doesn't detract or add to the value of the final product.

I apologize if it seemed I was implying canon writers aren't as valuable as original writers, or somehow cheaper due to volume, in my tags. I definitely see where you are coming from and that's a valid perspective. However, that was not my intention and I hope I've managed to clarify my stance and explain myself a bit better. thank you for your message, I hope you're well ! sending lots of good vibes ♡

also, in case anyone was curious, my pants:

they are incredibly soft and flowy, very nice. I sleep in them and wear them out. I know they're winter themed but I think they're subtle enough to be worn outside the season, plus they have polar bears on them and I love polar bears !

also, if it's of any value, I have written my fair share of canon characters. I wrote extensively for assassins creed and marvel, in fact that's where I got my start in the rpc ! if I had to carry the metaphor, my "fast fashion" would be my (canon divergent) cli.nt bar.ton. I may have gotten him from marvel but I have since sliced him up and incorporated the pieces of my portrayal into my original projects ♡

#《 ° inbox 》 we just got a letter ! i wonder who its from ? #《 ° puffin.exe 》 im a puffin ! i dont do much #° mobile post ! #and now ? now we hide. *scurries away* pls be gentle with me ; A ; i swear i have no bad intentions and never wanted to start discourse #ive just been watching crafting videos and the metaphor jumped out at me idk but yeah i love both oc and canons #i know how much love and effort goes into both writing canon and original characters ♡ they are both valuable #and if you ever feel devalued in the rpc because of what kind of character youre writing im sorry and you deserve better

[santaswiftie]

Hello swifties! 'Tis the damn season and after the chaotic mayhem we've had against ticketmaster, I thought it would be great to have a loving christmas all together! (regardless of your religion) I'm probably not the first one doing this and I know that there're secret santa events for creators every year. But a lot of people are left out because they don't know how to make gifs/graphics, so this is your chance to shine and share love to someone selflessly!

How does it work?

I will send you an ask from this account asking if you are interested in participating and I'll follow you if so.

Then, you will enter the list and once all the participants have been selected, I will do a raffle and each couple will be randomly selected. edit to add: you have until Friday, 9th Dec to think about it and reply or reblog the post saying you're in! Then I'll close the list.

When I have the results, I'll send you another message with the blog that you got, which you shouldn't reveal or tell anyone about!

From that moment (most likely, 11th Dec) you will have until January 6 to prepare your gift.

Once you've done it, send it to me via ask, submit or message here along with the name of the blog you got (you can also include it in the gift), a caption and everything else you'd like to include. I'll post them all on January 6 on this blog.

This way we keep the gift anonymous for a longer time, so that the blog in question sees your gift and tries to figure out who made it. Then it's up to you when/if to reveal your identity!

But I don't create content, what can I do?

Everything is possible! If you can't create gifs/graphics, anything that you think would make the other person happy! Poems, playlists, resources, packs, recs, pictures, crafts, hand drawings… even material gifts or money (if the person you've got agrees with that). You can anonymously ask said blog what their interests are (if you don't know them enough) or if they would be okay with sharing their adress, but alwways remember to be discreet!

If you'd like to participate but you haven't got an ask from me, you can directly contact me or reblog this post and I'll automatically add you to the list!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll reply to you as soon as possible! If you reblog this post, I'll assume you want to participate, so please clarify in the tags if you're in or it's just a signal boost! Thank you and Merry Christmas! 💝

#taylor swift #my following list is public so you can see the blogs that already joined in! #santa swiftie speaks

[trilobi-te]

Chipspeech Twitter Archive Update

Hi I should have done this months ago.. I do not know when (or if) I am going to finish that website lmao. So I am just going to share my notes from Google Docs. Should be easier to read than the original posts and helpful as a starting point if anyone else decides to make a website :3

The documents are all on commenting mode so feel free to make comments to bookmark things for yourself or write your thoughts or whatever. Under the cut I have put some formatting notes.

It's a folder, each year of Twitter posts is its own document (I tried to compile them into one but it lagged too much). There is also a document with all of the original Tumblr posts (from the accounts I could find, no tags yet but I will go back and get them eventually, also no dates but they're all from 2015), and one with the bios from the official website for ease of access.

The formatting is a little (a lot) weird and there are probably pictures that need resizing/transcription but I figured it's better to give people access now. The text is small (to keep the page count as low as possible) so you will have to zoom in.

It goes by day, organized with a bulleted list. The top level bullets are each character that tweeted that day. The second level bullets are original tweets/retweets by that character. The third+ level bullets are comment threads under that tweet, the organization here is inconsistent but imo still readable (if you think something needs an edit for clarity let me know and I'll fix it).

For each character's section of the list, normal text is that character's tweets/comments. Italicized text is anyone who is not that character. If it is labeled with unitalicized text, it is that character/important account (e.g. the official Chipspeech account), otherwise it is a fan. I also included some labels and/or clarifying comments for Vocaloid producers I like, they're not central to the story though

I got rid of the line breaks within the tweets when copying them down because it was easier to format. Sorry about that. Idk how to fix it other than going through everything again but it doesn't take away from the story so I'm leaving it for now.

If something came from a website other than Twitter, I tried to provide the link (unless its content was deleted). I did my best to transcribe the Clyp posts that were not deleted.

If something is a text-only retweet, it is marked with [retweet]. If it includes an image, it's probably a screenshot of the whole thing. I only included retweets that felt story-relevant (so no miscellaneous cat pictures, Apple-related aesthetic images, etc.), but if people really want it I can go back and add the rest.

Deleted tweets are noted with [deleted tweet], with the characters they came from if applicable. Idk how Twitter works but it the person in the thread is replying to the username of a certain character, I assumed it was that character's tweet that had been deleted. If something says [deleted Dandy thread], assume there is a deleted Dandy tweet in between each of the listed tweets (or another character, but it's usually Dandy). That was meant to be a temporary time-saver and I've gone back and fixed the ones I've found, but there's probably more I accidentally skipped.

Anything not in English is translated in a comment. Except the X-Sampa (I will fix that sometime but there's not much of it). Also it was done with the built-in Google Translate feature so it may be a little incorrect. Unclear pictures and whatnot also have clarifying comments. I can add more clarifying comments (or image IDs) if anyone needs them.

I tried not to include any unattributed fanart but there are some that I forgot to copy the handle for (I am also fixing these when I find them).

As for any future updates to this folder as a whole, I kind of want to go back through each account's liked tweets to see if there's anything funny in there but idk when that will be. That would probably be its own document.

Honestly I should have given everyone access back in June.. oops. If you have any questions you can put them in a comment on this post (or reach out to me another way, idk). As I mentioned before, feel free to use all of this as a starting point if you're making your own website.

I'll pin this post so it's findable in the future. Also sorry for disappearing for several months (it will happen again).

#chipspeech #chipspeech archive #posts by the bug

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

I just finished reading "the soon to be father" and the sequel "A Princess Is Born" and I love reader from the summer isles and her relationship with Daemon. That said, could I have an imagine/long fic (maybe nsfw) of how they met (maybe they don't like each other at first, but as time goes by a friendship is born when they realize they have things in common), like the relationship evolved from friendship until they realized that they were in love with each other and confessed and how they +

Part 2: just like each other after the feelings are clarified and reciprocated, like boyfriends (I know that the term dating, as we know it, does not exist in this universe, but I think that you understand what I'm getting at), even the proposal (maybe him asking Ayana for help, which she gladly helps) and if you can write the wedding ceremony (maybe they have two wedding ceremonies, one with the summer isle customs and another valyrian) please?( feel free to ignore and sorry for my english

Don't worry about your english, it's fine!

Sorry I took so long. I forgot my own rule to not complicate things and went overboard with the story. I hope you still like it.

Wedding vows and translation: here

Part 2: The soon to be father

Part 3: A princess is born (I changed bits of this to match up with the story.

The Dragon Prince in the Summer Isles

Pairing: Daemon x Fem. Reader (Summer Isles)

Word count: 9.5k words

Themes : Enemies to lovers | Soft | Slow burn

Warnings: Kissing | Mild smut / penetrative sex | mentions of burn injuries | Knife use | Blood

Possible grammar errors. I tried to edit as much as possible.

Minors DNI | 18+

Want to be tagged? Want to know the reader request rules? Read all here

If you like this, please consider giving this a reblog!

                                                              *****

When Aenar Targaryen gathered his family and their dragons and fled Valyria as advised by his daughter, Daenys, he did so only after selling off his estates and parting with the books containing all the knowledge the Freehold.

That was the price the other houses demanded in exchange for their freedom to leave, for they feared the secrets surrounding their dragons would fall into the wrong hands. Those secrets went to a watery grave when the fourteen flames erupted as one and the entire peninsula collapsed and fragmented under a storm of ash, cloud, fire, and acid. The Targaryens, much like the Velaryons and the Celtigars before them, found a new home in Westeros, on an island fortress aptly named Dragonstone.

The other kings and lords of Westeros envied Aenar and his family, as well as the Velaryons and the Celtigars. They envied them for their beauty, their wealth, their ships, and their dragons. And when Aenar’s descendants, Aegon and his sisters, set their eyes further west, to Westeros proper, and they wished to secure their hold over the entire seven kingdoms, the chance came for the other lords to sink their claws in to the Targaryen family.

It started with the dragon pit, then it was the conversion to the faith of the seven, then it was only sons inheriting the crown and not daughters. Bit by bit, the dragon lords yielded to the Westerosi, and inch by inch, their talons were clipped and their fangs cut short. Despite this, House Targaryen remained strong, with ten dragons under their command and continuing on to the present day, where Viserys, the first of his name, ruled as king, and his brother, Daemon, led as Lord Commander of the City Watch.

💫

"Otto, Daemon gave me his word that he did not try to kiss Alicent last night at the feast," said Viserys while he, Otto, and prince Daemon sat in the Small Council room. "In fact, he says, it was your daughter who tried to kiss him."

It was a blisteringly sunny day in Kings Landing. All was quiet and bright. The city had emptied itself for the afternoon, with most retiring to their homes for an afternoon of lying in and waiting out the scorching mid-day heat. Here in the council room however, things were far from indolent. Two men were seated at an ornate marble table, while another huffed and paced about. That man was Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King.

He huffed again, while the King’s brother said his piece. What Daemon said was true—that he did not kiss Alicent and that Alicent was the one to throw herself at Daemon. Why, it was Otto himself who saw it happen, and why he quickly made his presence known. It was why he called this meeting with the king and his brother. He wanted to use it to his own advantage, perhaps force Daemon out of the Gold Cloaks, the Small Council, and Viserys’ life for good. He had already succeeded by limiting Viserys’ daughter’s influence. Now all that remained was to get rid of Daemon, and then Otto could carry out his plans unchecked.

"Your grace," said Otto in the most wounded air he could muster, "Alicent is a pure and virtuous girl. She would never stoop to such a thing. Besides, she is going to be your queen. How can you even entertain such slander!"

Viserys leaned back into his chair and smiled. "I have not even asked your daughter if she wants to marry me, and even if what Daemon says is true, why should it bother me?" He closed his eyes to hide the pain from the ever-growing wound on his back. "Alicent stealing a kiss is nothing compared to my antics in the Street of Silk.”

"Ah yes, the expert ministrations of the lovely Mysaria." Daemon held up his goblet and toasted the air.

“How is she?” Viserys ignored Otto’s indignant sputtering. “I have not been to the Street of Silk since my engagement to Aemma.”

“Ageless,” Daemon smirked. “The woman is practically ageless.”

“And is she still…”

“Incredibly flexible?” Daemon cackled along with his brother. “Very much so. She even asked after you.”

“Mysaria remembered me?” Viserys looked tickled pink.

“Of course. She asked: how is your older brother? Does he still blush till he goes red in the cheeks?” said Daemon, in the best Lysene accent he could muster. Viserys buried his face in his hand and laughed.

Pretending to be utterly scandalized, Otto made himself go as red as a freshly halved beet. "Your grace!" he grumbled in mock outrage.

“What?” Viserys looked to the Hand and shrugged. “She is flexible…”

And Daemon, unable to help himself, added: “And my brother does turn a pretty shade of red when he blushes.”

The Hand’s face ballooned like a puffer fish.

Gods, save me from your theatrics, thought Viserys, while he raised his hands as a gesture of peace. "Calm yourself, my Lord Hand. I will consider the events and come up with a solution that would be agreeable to us all."

Otto, finally putting on the air of a most aggrieved father, said: "I hope so, your grace. It would not do to allow such licentious behaviour to go unchecked," He gave a pointed look to an unbothered Daemon, huffed, and added, "or unpunished."

Daemon merely sighed and rolled his eyes.

Viserys nodded in agreement and only waited till the door closed behind Lord Otto. "What really happened?" He held out his goblet, so Daemon could refill it. "The truth, now. All of it."

Daemon told him all. How, after Viserys had retired for the night, he had gone off to a corner during the feast, to enjoy his food in solitude. Alicent had followed him, and without so much as a by-your-leave, she perched herself on his lap and planted her lips on his. Otto had wandered in on them just as Daemon stood up to push Alicent off of him.

"The man took one look at me, then one at his daughter," grumbled Daemon. “Then his eyes started to gleam. Next thing I know--"

"I had summoned you here." Viserys drummed his fingers against his goblet. "I am sure you are telling the truth, brother, but I need to have peace with him. The Hightowers have a lot of influence at court and I must be careful when dealing with their family."

Daemon studied him over his wine. "Do you think it’s wise, then, to marry into their family?"

"I need a direct male heir, Daemon, to settle the succession issue. And for that, I need a new queen." Viserys rubbed his eyes and sighed, wishing the lords would allow him to name his daughter his heir. Alas, his attempts to change the succession laws were blocked at every turn.

And not being heir never bothered Daemon. If asked by the right person, Daemon would say that the very idea of wearing the crown and pandering to the grasping members of court would be enough to make him physically ill. "What about Laena Velaryon?” he suggested their closest Valyrian kin. “Lord Corlys’ oldest. You wed her while your daughter weds her brother. Vhagar and Seasmoke would be under our control then. Or ask the Celtigars, perhaps."

Viserys shook his head. "Laena’s age and temperament is better suited for you than for me, I think. Besides, Corlys says she already has her head turned by one of the Celtigar twins. And the twins have no unwed sisters for me to consider."

"Why Alicent though? Someone who is not like us?" Asked Daemon. “How about going to Essos? Perhaps asking one of the old families of Volantis?”

Viserys looked over to the Valyrian Sphinxes by the door, the overtly erotic frescoes on the walls. A bride from one of the Old Blood families of Volantis would be ideal, but the nobles…

"Alicent is willing to respect our way of wedding brother and sister, strange as it may be to her,” he said. “And the other noble houses will consider it a slight upon their honour if I rejected their daughters and chose a foreign bride. No. I will marry Alicent when the time is right."

"In the Westerosi tradition, you mean," Daemon snarled. “And not in the ways of old Valyria.”

"That was what Aegon the first agreed to during his anointing as king, to follow the ways of the Andals and the First Men." Viserys felt his heart well up with sorrow. With each passing generation, more and more of old Valyria's ways fell by the wayside. How long would it take, he thought, before their dragons finally died out and they were no different from any other family in the Seven Kingdoms? "A condition I must fulfill if I am to keep my throne. That, and by maintaining good relations with the other lords, of course."

Which of course meant keeping the peace with Lord Otto. Daemon bowed his head and sighed, then took a long, steadying breath as he came to a decision. As always, his love for his brother won out against his own pride. He tried to come up with a solution that could work for both Viserys and himself. "Perhaps if I took myself out of the picture for a little while, this whole Alicent thing would blow over."

Agreeing with his brother’s proposal, Viserys rose and crossed over to a wall, one that had the most elaborate map of the known world painted on it. "How do you fancy a journey into Essos? I’ll provide you with enough coin for the trip, and—"

Daemon cut him off with a gentle, "Viserys, you know perfectly well that I have more than enough means for such a journey.”

"I know," agreed Viserys, as he looked over the many nations spread over Essos. Where would his brother start? Where would he end? Would he even come back once he had sampled the freedoms and pleasures Essos had to offer? Oh, how Viserys wished he could travel with his brother, escape the pressures of the crown, even for a little while, even when he didn’t have a dragon to his name. "But let me do this, please."

"Viserys," Daemon began.

"Daemon," Viserys interjected before his brother could continue. "You are my baby brother and have looked after me and protected me long enough. As king and as your older brother, it is I who must look after you. Please, let me do it. I insist."

Daemon smiled fondly and relented. His brother was gentle and generous, and stubborn as a mule when it suited him. "We’ll figure something out together."

"All right," Viserys said as he rejoined his brother at the table. "Send over your travel plans, and we will work something out."

💫

Rhaenyra found her uncle in his chambers, packing for his journey.

Servants had been rushing to and fro, ensuring all of the prince’s papers were packed, his clothes neatly wrapped in tissue paper and put into trunks. His mail and armour had been polished to a high sheen. Dark Sister hung by his waist, the ruby pommel glinting like fresh blood in the fading light.

“Laenor told me you were leaving? That you may not be able to attend our wedding?” cried Rhaenyra as she took in the chaos around her. “Why?”

“This must be done,” was all Daemon said. His niece was already harbouring anger and resentment towards her father over what happened to her mother, and he did not wish to widen that divide even more by saying anything that could be misconstrued and blown out of proportion. “That is all.”

Rhaenyra sniffed and plopped onto her uncle’s bed, picking up a pillow and holding it against her chest. “Are you really going to do it? Fly off somewhere and leave me alone with these gods-awful people?”

The servants may not have said anything, but Daemon was sure they were all listening. “Come with me.” He walked out onto the balcony and gestured for his niece to do the same. The moment she did, and they were far enough, Daemon dropped the Common Tongue and spoke in High Valyrian instead.

“You need to watch what you say, even in my presence,” he warned. “These people are not like us. They’ll turn on our family the moment an opportunity presents itself.”

Rhaenyra started to protest, “But uncle--”

And Daemon cut her off. “Nyra, I need you to listen to me.”

His eyes were somber and thoughtful, something she had never seen in him before. “Alright,” she said, as she made herself comfortable on the balcony ledge.

Daemon looked back into his chambers to ensure no one was hanging around longer than they should. “Nyra, I need you to be there for your father. Now I know you are angry with him,” he cut her off as soon as she opened her mouth. “Gods knows you have every right to. What was done to your mother was unforgivable. But… it is not going to change the fact that he is your father and that he is going to need you after I am gone.”

Rhaenyra stopped to consider her uncle’s words. Her father was strong and generous and loved by all, but without someone to support him, someone in his corner, someone like his brother, her father would be left exposed to the vultures that circled him. And Gods help her, but she loved him despite it all.

When she didn’t talk back, when she didn’t argue, Daemon took it as a good sign and continued. “We have to look out for each other.” Daemon dropped to his haunches so he could look her in the eye. “Now more than ever. Rhaenyra, I have to leave for Essos. And I might be gone for quite a while.”

“How long?” Rhaenyra sniffed and mumbled a thank you when Daemon gave her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

“Months, maybe even years,” said Daemon. Until Otto got over himself, he thought. “So while I am away, I would like you to keep an eye on your father. I will write to you as often as I can. And I want you to tell me everything that goes on here.”

Something tugged at Rhaenyra’s lips. The hint of a smile, thought Daemon. “Using the secret code you taught me?” she said.

“Yes,” grinned Daemon. “But be careful. Otto has eyes everywhere.”

Her smile finally grew, her eyes lighting up like pale purple stones glinting in the light of the setting sun. “Oh alright.” Rhaenyra glanced into her uncle’s rooms. The servants were finishing up with their packing. “I will keep an eye out on father. But will you be gone the whole time?”

“I will try to come to High Tide whenever your father allows it. Until then, try and keep your nose out of trouble.”

Rhaenyra clapped both hands to her chest and gasped. “Get my nose in trouble? When have I ever done such a thing?”

“The time you nearly burned down the great hall after sneaking a young Syrax into the Red Keep and she threw dragon flame onto the drapes?”

“That was just a small accident!”

Just a small accident, thought an amused Daemon. “Or the time you, Laenor and the Celtigar twins snuck into the family Sept and switched the head on the maiden’s statue with that of that warrior’s statue? And how the Septons thought it was an ill-omen and fasted for weeks?”

Rhaenyra gaped in outrage. “They insulted our families.”

Daemon smirked. “I will miss you, Rhaenyra.”

Rhaenyra threw her arms around her uncle and hugged him tightly. “I will miss you too, uncle.”

That hug, and the embrace Viserys gave him at their parting, kept Daemon going on many a difficult morning while he was travelling around Essos.

💫

The days bled into each other. Weeks passed. Months passed, even entire seasons. 

Daemon traveled all over the free cities, breaking bread with the Magisters of Pentos, haggling with Braavosi bankers on behalf of his brother, and even receiving a warm welcome from the Old Blood of Volantis. Daemon did not linger too long in one place. Soon, he would find himself growing impatient and on the move again. He would occasionally return to Westeros, to Driftmark, to see his niece and her growing brood. Sometimes, his brother would join them.

Viserys grew weaker as the years passed. There had been wounds on his back, and they had been spreading. His fingers had become stunted, and his nails had all fallen off. He’d cut himself on the blades of the Iron Throne and not feel a thing, not until someone saw him bleeding and pointed it out. Daemon wanted to come back and help his brother, but Viserys would waive his protests and insist he continue his travels. 

And so, Daemon relented to his brother’s entreaties and kept traveling until almost fourteen years had passed, and he found himself on Jhala, the main island of the Summer Isles. After dismounting on the beach and letting Caraxes fly off to hunt, Daemon found himself face-to-face with Prince Sandoq Xho, the current ruler of the Red Flower Vale. He had been dressed in a simple, sleeveless linen tunic, with a brightly coloured feather collar adorning his neck.

 

"Welcome, Prince Daemon!" said Sandoq, as they gripped each other’s forearms in the traditional greeting of the Summer Isles. "I trust your journey here was pleasant?"

"Very much so," The clear blue skies, bluer seas, and warm air had done wonders for Daemon's constitution. "I hope your people will not mind a dragon in their midst?"

Sandoq looked over his guest’s shoulder at the red dragon dipping into the ocean to catch fish. Insatiable curiosity won out against any sliver of fear that tried to take root in his heart. Perhaps his guest might allow him to see the great beast up close and personal. "They do not," he said, as he led the way back up the beach. "In fact, my people were making petitions to try and see him, and I had to pass an edict forbidding them."

"Is such an edict even necessary?"

 

"The last time a dragon came here was a full generation before the doom" said Sandoq. "Your dragon will be seen as a novelty and people will not leave him alone."

 

And a dragon that is not allowed to live in peace turns into an angry dragon. And an angry dragon? Well, Daemon had his fill of an angry dragon once, and he wanted no one to experience such a horror. "I understand," he said as they walked over paved paths curving through thickets of lush trees and rare flowers. "I also hope I'm not imposing myself with my presence. The Iron Throne does not exactly enjoy the best relationship with the Summer Isles.”

"Not having the best of relationships would be an understatement."

Sandoq winced when he heard it, and both men stopped walking as two women approached them. "My wife, Ayana Qo," Sandoq first pointed to the older woman on the left. "And the one who just spoke is my daughter. The princess y/n."

"Princess Ayana," Daemon greeted your mother first, gripping her right forearm. "I have heard much about you from your ambassadors."

Ayana studied him and smiled. Daemon had all the characteristics of old Valyria: Silver hair, purple eyes and devastatingly handsome, the kind that would have him followed by all the eligible men and women of the islands before long. "Half-truths and embellishments, I’m sure."  

"What are ambassadors, princess, if not to give half-truths and embellishments?" 

The princess snorted with laughter.

"But I am more than certain that is not the case in your situation," Daemon said gallantly, his eyes edging towards you every so often. 

You took him in, the soft linen clothes, the single silver braid. Daemon was a man of high birth, and it showed, not just in his appearance but in how he carried himself, very much like a dragon-riding prince and the brother of a king. 

 

Oh, you thought you knew the type: arrogant, brash, with thoughts for no one but themselves, the type to get themselves into trouble and then not bother to apologize for all the harm they caused. “So. I hear it was you who burned our ships at the Stepstones?”

“Those ships were engaged in piracy,” Ayana countered.

“And I warned my brother not to do it,” Sandoq sighed. “Kojja was a most bull headed man when it suited him,” he looked apologetically to Daemon. “And power went to his head in the end.”

“Aba, he burned those men alive!”

 

“After I flew over their ships three times as a warning, princess,” Daemon was not going to stand there and let you accuse him of murdering innocent sailors. Not when he knew the crimes your uncle committed. “And your uncle sided with the Crabfeeder. They brought their fates upon their own heads.”

“Y/n,” your mother cut you off before you could snarl at Daemon again. “That is quite enough from you.”

Your mother gave you a look that said: Do not test me. Biting your tongue, you glowered and ground your teeth as Daemon walked ahead, his eyes turning to you the entire time. You were content to glare back, and he was content to chuckle, much to your annoyance.

💫

It was almost noon the next day when Daemon opened his eyes.

The sun shone through colored glass panels that served as a skylight, bathing the bed in a riot of yellows and reds and oranges. Daemon rubbed his eyes and looked around, as he had collapsed into bed the evening before without having a good look first. 

There were no hearths here. The walls and floors had been paneled with rich dark wood, with slats cut cannily into the windows. They had been broad enough to let in lots of fresh and light and angled in such a way as to prevent rain from getting into the room. The bed was soft, the sheets and pillows softer. Sheer gauze drapes fluttered in the breeze. Daemon sighed contentedly, thinking he had chosen well by coming to the Red Flower Vale. 

He wanted to lay there and not go anywhere, but the need for a meal forced him out of bed. Daemon made use of the glass wash basin and pitcher of water left on his bedside counter to freshen himself up. When he dressed for the day and came downstairs, only you were present in the dining room, the remnants of your mid-day meal in front of you. “Hello, princess y/n,” Daemon said in greeting.

 

He should not have been surprised to see you here, this was your home after all. Still, after yesterday’s reception, he was hoping to not have to deal with you on his own, not for a little while at least. “Hello,” you mumbled none too happily when he joined you at the table. Your parents had given you a thorough lecture over your behaviour towards their guest, and you hadn’t gotten over it as yet. “There’s rice and fried fish if you’re hungry.”

On Daemon’s request, a servant came forth with a heaping dish of fried fish and rice that had vegetables and a lot of spices in it. Thoroughly starved and thoroughly enticed by the mouth-watering scents, Daemon ate his meal with gusto, even going so far as to ask for a second serving. You watched as he finished off every crumb. “No reddened cheeks,” you mutter with barely disguised curiosity. “No cries for water. Interesting.”

Daemon heard and looked at his plate. The spices. Daemon was sure you had been referring to the spices. “Well,” He helped himself to some ale and smirked. “I am a Targaryen, princess y/n. We do like it hot.”

You squeaked and turned your head, your cheeks aflame. Not only had he heard you, but there was something about the way he said "hot" that got your stomach all tangled up in knots. 

Seeing you all flustered tickled him, and Daemon snickered before finishing off his ale. “So tell me, princess y/n,” he leaned back into his chair and stretched out his still sore legs, licking remnants off the pads of his fingers as he did so. As the years passed, flying atop a dragon became harder, tired one out faster, and Daemon had traveled farther than most. Perhaps after this, he would go back to Westeros for good and put an end to his traveling. “What plans for me today?”

“I--” you groaned, as your parents had put you in charge of keeping the prince company. “I am to show you around the Red Flower Vale.”

Oh but the lack of enthusiasm in your voice. Daemon was sure you had been made to do this. “On your father’s orders?” he cackled. “Or your mother’s?”

You caught the glint in his eyes. Oh, but he was enjoying this, watching you groan and squirm. “Both,” you mumble and stood. “Actually.” 

He rose with you and accompanied you to the door. “Where to first?”

“Our main library. Father said you might like to see it.” You did a double-take when you heard him right next to your ear. Daemon was so close, you could practically smell him: leather and lilies and not so unpleasantly of dragon. You swallowed, thinking how such an odd mixture could be so appealing. You blinked once, twice, then quickly turned away when his lips quirked upwards. “Do not read anything into it,” you mutter and step out.

“Do not flatter yourself into thinking that I am,” He retorted pleasantly enough. 

That stung. “Arsehole,” you mumble and stomp over the grass. 

“Like I have not heard that one before,” Daemon called after you sweetly.

When you squeaked and looked back, Daemon pretended to be looking elsewhere. His gaze turned back to you when you looked forward. Telling you not to flatter yourself was very well-timed, but he could see he had hurt your feelings, and you were already determined to not like him. Daemon groaned and wished that his brother was with him. Viserys could have found a way out for him, perhaps even chided him a little.

Daemon found himself missing his brother immensely.

💫

 The next day Daemon woke up early and with purpose.

He’d have to win you over and show you that he was more than a dragon rider who burned everything in his path, and the only way to do that was by apologizing first. After going through his usual morning routine, Daemon came downstairs and found you alone again.

“My parents have gone to the beach for the boat races,” you said as he sat next to you. “They asked me to bring you with me.”

The summer boat races, something Sandoq told him about at dinner. It was something Daemon looked forward to seeing. “I would love to see it.”

“Good,” you rose and dusted off your skirt. “Let us go then.”

“Y/n.”

You stopped by the door. Daemon walked up to you but still kept a respectful distance.

“I did not mean to hurt your feeling yesterday afternoon,” he said. “I tend to speak before I think, and I am sorry.”

You sighed, for you knew an apology from your end was also necessary. Your parents, during their scolding, told you some harsh truths about your uncle and the Crabfeeder, and how Daemon was left with no choice in the end. “And I must apologize for accusing you of killing innocent men. My father told me some ugly truths about my uncle, about his sailors, tales they kept hidden from me, and now I feel their demise was well deserved.”

“Thank you,” murmured Daemon. “And how did it feel,” The rogue in him could not help itself. “To say it?”

“Like pulling teeth out of my mouth,” you found yourself smiling. “Now come. Everyone is waiting on you.”

Daemon grinned and gestured for you to lead the way.

The day was pleasantly cool, even for a summer day. The path leading up to the beach was filled with birdsong, the likes of which Daemon had never heard before. He tried to commit everything to memory, so he would have plenty to tell his niece in his next letter.

Daemon let his eyes wander for a while. The Summer Isles was often called the “the true paradise isles,” and he was starting to see why. There were rainforests as far as the eye could see. The air was always sweetened by the many flowers that bloomed all over. Birds of every size and hue could be seen in the mornings when the weather was clear. Their fallen feathers could be found everywhere, and Daemon collected many, to send Rhaenyra and her children as presents.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly, as did every other day after that. Daemon would wake up early and join you as you go about your day in the Vale.

You showed him which flowers were poisonous, and which ones could heal. Which birds made excellent feathery companions, and which ones had to be avoided like the red death. You would take him to Vale’s main library, watching in fascination as Daemon poured over all the books he could find, especially those that had even a hint of life in old Valyria. He never stopped thanking you when you took him to the only Valyrian temple at the center of the island.

Daemon had the energy and curiosity of a teenager, and the appetite of one as well. He ate all the meals given to him and left nary a crumb on his plate. He even sweet-talked the cooks to give him the recipes, in the hopes the kitchens of the Red Keep could duplicate them.

He would spend time with the archers, learning how to use the goldenheart bows the Summer Isles were famous for. He could never take a bow for himself, of course, not unless it was given as a gift, but Sandoq’s people saw no harm in him borrowing one during his stay.

Sometimes, he’d join the prince in his duties. Other times he’d join you and your friends whenever you all went fishing.

Today was such a day.

It was just the two of you, stalking along a stream, hoping to catch fish for supper. The sky had grown gloomy, and the wind had picked up. The fish seemed to be hiding, or next to impossible to catch. When it started to rain, the two of you had to give up and come running back home, laughing merrily, making it to the door just after the rain fell down in earnest.

Daemon went straight to his rooms to change into something dry. He heard the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning and walked to a window. The sky had taken the colour of slate, and wind and rain slashed against the homes of the Vale.

No, Daemon corrected himself as he slipped into a pair of comfortable breeches. These were not mere homes, they were manses. The Red Flower Vale was rich in trade and coin, and it showed, everywhere he looked. The women walked about with bright feathers and expensive jewels in their hair, the men donning feathered necklaces made of gold and silver. Some were even wealthy enough to afford Valyrian steel, rare as it was. He thought of his hosts, jovial Sandoq and graceful Ayana, and he thought of you. During his stay, Daemon found himself thinking of you more and more.

He’d think of you first thing in the morning, and when he closed his eyes at night. He’d noticed how your ears twitched when you were reading a favourite book of yours, or how you never backed down. Why, he saw plenty when you challenged your mother’s cousin Quhuru to a boat race and he lost, theatrically pronouncing to all and sundry how you cheated, because he was distracted. The sun was in his eyes, he said mournfully.

Daemon cackled when you confirmed and said yes, the sun was forever in Quhuru’s eyes.

“The cook said you might like this,” you said, interrupting his thoughts, as you came in with a bowl of soup. “It’s quite good, it has… Gods, what happened?”

It was not Daemon’s exposed back and chest that grabbed your attention, all lean and muscled and striking as it was. It was the massive pink scar going down on either side of the right of his body that did it.

He turned his head to you, a rueful smile tugging at his lips as he looked down at the scarred and puckered flesh.  “Yes. This.”

You left the bowl on the counter and stood there, gawking. The prince had been burned, you were almost certain of it, but what could have caused such wounds? Not his own dragon surely. You swallowed, trying to come up with something to ask, or even say.

Seconds passed. Then minutes. Daemon stood where he was, and you stood where you were, both of you waiting for the other to make the first move.

In the end, you broke the silence. “What--” you said, as you finally found your tongue, “What happened?”

Daemon sighed and made his way to bed. “A dragon. That’s what.

“Balerion had died, and my brother, the king, was without a dragon. It was humiliating. People would point and look, and other dragon riders would snigger. My brother put on a brave face, but I knew how hard it was for him. The first Targaryen king without a dragon, even when there were plenty of them.” He stopped while you made yourself comfortable on the other end of the bed, to listen to him. “He tried. Gods knows he tried to bond with the other unclaimed dragons, but they all rejected him. Years passed and my brother started to grow desperate. This worsened after his daughter became a dragon rider at seven.” Daemon smiled fondly. “The youngest in my entire family’s history to do so.”

You did not interrupt as Daemon continued his tale, but you couldn’t help but notice the pride and admiration there. It sent a stab through your gut, for it reminded you of your own uncle, and how he was with you.

“Everything came to a head one morning on Dragonstone. My brother took it upon himself to ignore all warnings and headed to the far side of the island, where the wild dragons nest.”

Your hands flew to your mouth in horror. Even in the Summer Isles, tales were filled with foolish Valyrians trying to claim true wild dragons and dying horrible deaths.

“Sheep-stealer flew off, Grey Ghost proved too shy.” Daemon sighed and looked at his hands. They started to tremble when visions of the inky black horror flashed before his eyes. “That left my brother with only one other dragon. The one we all call the cannibal.

“He snapped and snarled, and yet my brother persisted. He roared and kept backing away, to warn us, and yet my brother persisted. I followed him and saw it all about to unfold before my eyes. My brother was insistent, and Cannibal was growing angry. He opened his mouth, about to breathe dragon flame. My brother kept giving orders, thinking he’d obey.” Daemon shook his head, still stunned his brother could be so blind. “I couldn’t just stand there. The moment Cannibal raised his head I lunged forward and pulled my brother out of the way.”

“And you got hit in the process.” You tried to think what it must have felt like and failed every time. To endure such a thing, the pain, and did his brother ever thank him, for what he did?

“I did,” Daemon mumbled. “I managed to drag us both into a cave, one where the beast could never enter. We were trapped for two days before someone was brave enough to come looking for us. The Maesters are still unsure of how they were able to save me.”

“And what did you tell the others?”

“Viserys wanted to tell the truth, that his foolishness nearly cost us our lives. I took the blame onto my head instead, because I did not want the others to think my brother had lost his mind and was unfit for the throne.”

You stare at him, dumbfounded. “And it does not bother you, that people continue to believe this?”

Daemon shook his head. “Viserys is my brother. My family. And the blood of the dragon runs thick.”

It was not just what he said, it was how he said it that created an impression on you. “You love him, don’t you?”

Daemon looked at you, the deep purple of his eyes stealing your breath away. “Yes. I do.”

💫

Your opinion of Daemon softened completely after that.

The man loved his family, and would willingly risk his life and his reputation for his family, traits Summer Islanders hold dear. 

You opened up to him about your uncle, the one who died on the Stepstones.

“Kojja was not always driven by money,” you said one morning, over breakfast. “He was bigger than life to my eyes. A legend amongst our sailors. He was the first of us to sail all the way to the Port of Ibben and Asshai and come back again. The first of us to see krakens and ice dragons and unicorns, and lived to tell about it. I didn’t know--” you felt a fist squeeze around your heart. “I didn’t think he’d betray his own people to the likes of the Crabfeeder and the Triarchy.”

“Greed has a habit of felling the noblest of men,” Daemon felt for you. Kojja had been a living legend, and his fall from grace would have been hard on anyone who loved him. “And I am sorry still. The man was your uncle after all.”

You look out the window, down the path that led to the beach. Caraxes had been there, you heard his strange cries and whistles all day as he flew over the waves. The same insatiable curiosity that took over your father now found its way to you. “Perhaps I might forgive you,” you say archly. “If you’d introduce me to your dragon.” 

Daemon grinned and rose, holding out a hand to you. “Come along then.”

The air seemed to grow still as the forests around you went eerily quiet, something that only ever happened if the dragon was nearby. There had never been a beast like Caraxes and the other animals kept quiet and stayed away, hiding in the darkness. You were both anxious and nervous, as the only dragons you had heard about were the ones told in songs, the ones that brought fire and ruin to all those that opposed their masters. Now, you were going to see a dragon in the flesh, something even the others had not been able to do. Caraxes would have only come to the beach if Daemon called for him, and Daemon never called him, preferring to let his dragon enjoy unencumbered freedom for once.

The two of you stood there, where grass gave way to sand. Daemon whistled, something strange and eerie, and an equally strange call answered him. “There,” he pointed to a nearby cove. “Caraxes is there.”

Sure enough, he was, standing out against the pristine white sands with his blood-red scales. As soon as he sighted Daemon Caraxes took off, flying low over the waters, landing next to his master with a soft thud. As soon as he sighted you, Caraxes snarled. “Lykirī, Caraxes. Lykirī.” he held onto the dragon’s snout, to calm him. “You are afraid of him, y/n, and he knows it. Come here, stand by his wing.”

You swallowed, but your pride got the better of you and you went towards them, staying well out of the dragon’s way. You could feel Caraxes’ eyes following you, the heat coming off of his body, like the subtle blast from a furnace. “Here,” Daemon gestured to under Caraxes’ wing, where his rib cage was. “Keep your ear there and listen.”

While he babbled to his dragon in High Valyrian, you did as Daemon asked. Caraxes’ scales were as thick as armor, each perfectly fitting in with the other. You rested your ear against them and listened. At first, there was nothing, but you kept listening. Then you heard it, a deep, steady thump, one that grew clearer as the dragon calmed down. “That is his heartbeat?”

Daemon turned to you again, his face lighting up when your own eyes lit up with awe. “Yes. If you could get something your healers use for listening in, the sound is much clearer. I could take you flying with me,” he finally let go of the dragon’s snout and came closer. “But the old boy is particularly surly this morning.”

It didn’t matter. What Daemon had just given you was nothing like anything you had ever experienced in your life. “This is still better than anything I had dreamed of.” Still overawed, you threw your arms around Daemon and hugged him. Shocked at first, Daemon eased into the embrace, and before either of you had a chance to speak or even think, his lips opened over yours.

He registered the shock in your eyes as his hands slipped neatly around your waist. What was he supposed to do after this? Let go and apologize? Pray your parents would not take umbrage to him trampling upon your honour? The Summer Islanders were free when it came to love, they both said, but still, it would be a completely different prospect since it involved their own child. 

But he wanted you. Gods, but he wanted you. It was a feeling that had been building up inside him for weeks now, and now, he finally figured out what it was. 

When his hands moved higher, to your hair, you hummed, your eyes closing even as your trembling lips parted for his tongue. You felt it, flicking and teasing against yours, warm and luscious as sin. Your entire body trembled, not just from the sudden stab of shock, but desire too. You wanted more than just a kiss. Daemon made it impossible to be satisfied with just a kiss. Your body melted against his, your heart thrilling at the moan that poured into your mouth.

When he pulled away, and very reluctantly at that, the both of you were struggling for breath. “That was-” Daemon ran a hair through his mussed up hair, his heart fluttering like mad, his stomach tied up in knots. “That was,” he smiled, “amazing.”

Your feelings matched his. “You are not so bad yourself.”

He chuckled. “How about, we do this the right way, y/n?”

Right way? What was he talking about?

“I really, really like you,” Daemon murmured as he took both your hands and brought them to his lips. “And I was wondering if I could court you.”

There was that shock again, confusion, surprise, and a myriad of other emotions warring in your eyes. He wanted to court you. Daemon Targaryen, prince of Westeros, wanted to court you, a princess from the Summer Isles. You felt something tug at your heart, something warm and vibrant and the sweetness of it took your breath away. 

“Alright,” you laughed when he lifted you off your feet and spun you around. “You can court me.”

💫

Sandoq gave Daemon the use of a private cabin on his estates, so the two of you could have more privacy.

Your mother fluttered around you like a worried hen, clucking about, making sure everything was perfect for you, not leaving until your father had to physically pull her with him.

Oh you did not mind. Ayana was your mother, and this was how she was. Daemon did not mind it either, patiently answering her questions, reassuring her, taking her threats with easy grins and indulgent nods of the head. He watched her leave with a smile on his face, that smile growing when you pulled him to bed.

That was how it was. The two of you going about your days, getting to know each other better, you trying not roll your eyes at his antics, him trying to impress you with flowers and letters and poems. They were terrible poems, Daemon himself admitted to it, but you loved them all the same.

The nights spent in each other’s arms.

“You know, I really should thank Alicent when I go back,” Daemon mumbled to you one night. “If it was not for her throwing herself at me we would not have met.”

Your laugh was muffled by his mouth. The sweetness of his kiss left you lightheaded and weak, turned your bones to water. Your trembling fingers trailed up to his hair, a soft, throaty moaning rising from the back of your throat when he hooked an arm around your thigh, to plunge himself deeper.

Daemon, you whimpered.

Every night since that day at the beach, that was all he heard when the two of you shared pleasures. His name. Just his. Oh, but he loved it, loved hearing it. Daemon couldn’t get enough it, couldn’t get enough of you. With a moan of his own, Daemon propped himself on one elbow, to avoid crushing you. His greedy eyes devoured you as you moved beneath him, his ears drowning with the sounds of your cries and pleas. His mouth skimmed across your jaw, his body arching into yours whenever your nails raked down his back. He felt it, a wave building within him, something that had to be said with words, words he had been meaning to say for weeks now. “I love you,” each word was a fight to get out, but he did it.

Your eyes flew open with shock even as your body trembled beneath his. His eyes were fixed on yours, molten purple gleaming in the moonlight. “I love you, do you hear me?” He panted. “I love you.”

His words struck a chord, gave meaning to what you had been feeling the longest possible time. But you’d never thought you’d hear him say it first. It made you want to say it back, and you did. “I love you.”

That nearly undid him. “Again,” he said, as he thrust harder and deeper.

“I love you,” you whimpered, as your body started to draw tight like a bowstring.

“Tell me again,” his eyes, darkened by lust, never left yours. “I want to hear you say it again.”

You wanted to sob as he drove the both of you over the edge. “I love you,” you whimpered one last time before those coiled muscled snapped, and your body felt like it was splintering into a million little pieces as wave after wave of pleasure washed over you, threatened to pull you under. It felt like you had to fight for air, like the very world itself had stopped spinning. Daemon heaved over you, not stopping until he buried his face in your hair, a sob tearing itself from his throat as he spilled his seed inside of you.

You felt yourself being moved as Daemon moved to his back. The rain continued to fall, a soft, soothing patter against the roof. Your chest heaved as you placed a hand against his, to feel his heartbeat hammering against his chest before slowing to a more peaceful rhythm. Daemon swallowed, as there was something else he had to say. Something that hinged on your answer.

“Marry me,” Daemon fought off the fear that gripped his heart, even as you sat up straight. “Marry me, y/n. I want to take you back to Westeros with me, as my wife.”

Your eyes went wide with shock as certain incidents over the past few days started to make sense. Daemon cloistering himself in meetings with your parents, all of them shooing you away when you tried to join in. Your father humming a traditional refrain fathers only ever sang when escorting their daughter to their husband’s home. Your mother giving you knowing looks, talking about feather capes brides wore, asking your opinion on them, what colours you personally liked best. It was for you, you realized. All of it was for you.

On a shuddering breath, you thought over his proposal. You would have to leave everything and everyone behind and live in a strange land. But you looked at Daemon, at his sure eyes, his strong arms. At the beginning, the very idea of being anywhere near him repulsed you, but now, now you couldn’t think of spending another minute away from him. Daemon would be with you, and you would not be alone. One the next steadying breath, you swallowed and came to a decision.

“Yes” you said, between laughter and tears. “My answer is yes.”

💫

It took the better part of three months to prepare, more than just for the ceremony itself but to delay everything until someone from Daemon’s family could come for the wedding. To justify his brother's absence, Daemon provided verifiable reports of instability in the Stepstones. Viserys would give a proper welcome should Sandoq or Ayana ever visit Westoros, he had promised.

In the end, his niece and her good-sister Laena came, both bearing gifts and letters from the family. One piece of information ruined Daemon’s mood surrounding the wedding.

"He’s losing sight in his right eye now?" Daemon swore as he paced about the room. "Damn it, Nyra, why didn’t you tell me?"

Rhaenyra picked up a special parcel her father insisted she give to her uncle in person. "Father forbade me from saying anything in my letters."

"He forbade you?" Daemon was unsure if he was to laugh or be angry. "And you actually listened?"

"Yes. It was a bit of a shock for me too." Rhaenyra sighed and sat on the bed. "I am sorry, uncle, for hiding this from you. It is just that you sounded so happy in your letters, and neither of us wanted to ruin it for you."

Daemon’s grimaces slowly melted into a wide grin. No matter how hard he tried, he could never stay angry at his niece—or his brother, for that matter. "The others take you both," he teased in good humour. "What is that?"

Rhaenyra grinned and broke the wax seal, cut the twine cord. When she pulled away piles of tissue paper, Daemon saw what it was, his eyes went wide in disbelief. "Is that?"

"Visenya’s wedding diadem," Rhaenyra picked up the gold and Valyrian steel tiara, one only ever worn by brides of the Freehold. "Rhaenys’ he gave to me for my wedding. This he kept aside for you, in case you ever got married. And I’m glad he did."

And it was only right, she thought, that Visenya’s diadem went to the person who wielded her sword. She held it out for her uncle, and he accepted it with great reverence, his thumb gently rubbing against the Valyrian symbols engraved into the metal. "Laena has gone off with the elders, to help them ready the temple for the ceremony," she said. "I cannot believe this is happening, you are finally getting married."

"Yes, it was a bit of a shock for me as well," Daemon agreed, his grin matching hers. "But I’m glad I asked. I truly believe y/n is the one."

"And I cannot wait to welcome her to the family. The rest feels the same. Well, our side, at any rate."

And by that, she meant the Velaryons and the Celtigars. "Let us not discuss your half-brothers," Daemon said, not wanting to mar the days ahead with talk of his nephews and the rumors that surrounded them. "They are not worth the energy, at any rate."

The next morning saw the sun shining brightly as a crowd left the Vale and traveled by boat to the center of Jhala, where the only Valyrian temple outside of Volantis remained.

The boats were all decorated with feathers that fluttered in the breeze. You traveled in the first boat, with your family and the Vale’s elders, the rest followed as the procession made its way upriver. In keeping with custom, you were dressed in a pale cream and yellow linen dress, with simple embroidery at the hem as its only adornment. Your mother carried the cape that Daemon would drape over you during the ceremony. She refused to let you see it, only ordering that you wait and see.

Your father sang out the traditional song as the boat was rowed upriver, his rich voice carrying over the water for all to hear. Daemon had no home here, his was in Westeros, and the journey to the old Valyrian temple had to serve. You felt a fist squeeze at your heart whenever you heard cracks in your father’s voice, and you tried to make the most of every last moment with your parents. Even with the swan ships, Westeros was a long way away, and they would not be able to travel for some time.

You looked ahead, finally settling on the yellow and orange banners that ran up an old and long forgotten path. Save for you and Daemon, no one had come this far since the Freehold's inception, when sons of house Velaryon married princesses from the Summer Isles as part of a peace treaty. Tribesmen had spent many backbreaking days clearing branches and old roots, and now the old path stood visible for all to see.

Quhuru was serious for once as he led the boat up the closest bank. There would be no other great ritual, a bride would simply go to her husband’s home after a goldenheart bow changed hands, and there would be a great feast afterwards, but you wanted to honour Daemon’s heritage and suggested a Valyrian ceremony as well.

The procession started again, this time winding through the narrow path in a riot of colours. Your breath caught when the temple came into view. Made entirely out of black stone that had been fused together by dragon flame, it gleamed in the sun, defying the forests that threatened to overtake it. "Over there," your father said, pointing to Laena standing near a small doorway.

As the minutes passed, your excitement grew. You didn’t even notice the diadem weighing down on your head, so excited were you for the wedding to begin. Daemon would be there, as would his niece. She would be performing the ceremony, after learning the words from her father. Your father squeezed your hand as the two of you walked ahead, your mother sniffing quietly as she followed, feather cape in hand.

On you all walked, under the stone doorway, through candle-lit corridors, making your way to a chamber cut cannily out of stone. Daemon was here, resplendent in traditional Valyrian robes. A large black statue loomed in behind him, one you were told represented the Valyrian goddess of marriage and love. There were more candles here, all in yellow and red, and incense—thin sticks filling the air with smoke that reminded you of cinnamon. His face lit up when he turned and saw you.

 "Go on," your mother urged as she walked behind you. "It is time."

Daemon first accepted the cape from your mother, draping a waterfall of red, orange, and yellow over your shoulders. Sandoq then brought forth a magnificent goldenheart bow with matching arrows, for you to hand over to Daemon, a sign you were leaving your family’s protection and entering your husband’s. Laena took it off Daemon’s hands, as the rest of the ceremony had to continue.

Daemon then unsheathed a dragonglass blade and dragged it across your right palm. It stung, but you didn’t care. You smiled, taking the blade off his hands, and did the same to him, this time across his left palm. "Now join hands," said a solemn Rhaenyra.

Sandoq wrapped a yellow and orange sash over your linked hands, as blood dripped into a little bowl held by your mother. When it was full, Rhaenyra took it, mixed it with ash and embers that had been scooped up from a nearby fire, and held out the bowl to you both.

"Hen lantoti anogar, va syndroti vaedroma," she said as Daemon dipped a finger in, letting the mixture coat it before placing it over your brow. He brought it down in a straight line, to symbolize fire.

"Mero perzot gihoti, Eledroma iarza sir ," Rhaenyra continued, this time as you dipped your finger before drawing the sign of blood on Daemon’s brow. Rhaenyra then put the bowl away and picked up a goblet of wine, handing it to you first.

"Izuli ampa perzi, Prumi lanti seteksi," you drank deeply and passed the goblet to Daemon to do the same while Rhaenyra finished the vows. "Hen jeny mazilarion, Qelossa ozundesi, Sydroro ono jedo, Ry kivia mazvestraksi."

Daemon cupped your cheek with your free hand, his eyes filling with pride. You were finally his now, in the sight of both Gods and men. Your eyes communicated your feelings, of how proud you were to be his. When he leaned in to kiss you, everyone cheered.

#daemon x reader #daemon targaryen #daemon smut #daemon x you #house of the dragon #HOTD #hotd x reader #asks #reader request #reader insert

[thepetesimp]

VegasPete and Childhood's End: a deranged attempt at connecting two completely unrelated things

Hello there, fellow VP enthusiasts. This post here is my remaining 2 braincells trying to come up with ways the silly, little book known as Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and the silly, little couple known as VegasPete are connected, and how the show chose this book for Vegas to be reading in episode 11 for reasons beyond its title. I swear it's true, I asked Pond, he told me about it, trust me. I said in the tags of this post that I have started reading the book because I have a fic idea I wanted to write (which will happen next year now, after I finish the book), and after I shared my observations on the kindergarten mafia server, I thought to myself why not make a Tumblr post too? So, here I am. I would like to clarify that I will be spoiling major parts of the book, obviously, so anyone who doesn't want to get spoiled, don't read this post and the ones after it. Also, this is the version of the book I bought like 5 days ago from a well-known bookshop at the center of Athens, which sells English books too, bless them. Just so you know what my source is. (Unfortunately, getting the version Vegas was reading might be difficult - if not impossible - in Greece to find, because I believe it's one of the first editions? I'm not sure. Nevertheless, I have the book in my hands, which is what counts.) If I make any mistakes in regards to the information I'll provide about the book, the story and the characters, I apologize in advance. It'll probably be me not being careful enough while reading it and missing sth. So, without any further delay, here we go:

The basic premise of the book is a concept that's become cliche in the recent years: aliens called the Overlords have taken over the Earth, bringing prosperity to it but leaving humans with having no actual freedom in their choices. So, reading up to page 34, we learn that there's a specific Overlord called Karellen who's responsible for ruling the Earth, and we also get introduced to Stormgren who's the intermediary between Karellen and the human race, with the title of "Secretary". At first, I had made the connection of Vegas being Stormgren and Karellen (or the Overlords in general) being Gun, because Stormgren trusts Karellen with ruling the human race, just as Vegas idolizes his father who can totally bring prosperity to the family and make it better by force (an important element since the Overlords just came and declared themselves the rulers of the planet and took over). Also, there's an element of secrecy with Karellen, because it's been 5 years since he arrived on Earth but no one, not even Stormgren, knows what he looks like. This causes Stormgren to be a bit suspicious of Karellen, which he rarely shows and tries to push the feeling down when it resurfaces. In the same way, I thought this could connect to Gun who's hiding stuff from Vegas - Porsche anyone? - which Vegas will start having thoughts about post ep 11. All of that is fine and good, BUT I wouldn't be a Pete girlie if I didn't try to include my boy in this. I think all of the above I mentioned is more about Pete than Vegas. And, judging by how obsessed Vegas became with Pete post ep 10 - after their masks fell off and he saw who Pete truly was - I am confident in my belief that Vegas reading Childhood's End would think of Pete, not himself (sth he already does at this point but you get what I'm saying). SO, Stormgren is actually Pete, who follows Karellen's words almost blindly, and almost is an important word here because in the book, he does argue back about things and is vocal about his opinions, even if Karellen smartly turns them down. Karellen is generally very softly spoken, polite and very human like in the way he talks, so in my opinion he resembles Korn way more than Gun. There's also a character who calls Stormgren out on his blind faith in Karellen, and if this isn't Vegas telling Pete that "there's no such thing as honesty", I don't know what it is. Now, for the fun part: Stormgren gets kidnapped by a group of humans who want the Overlords to leave and not only is the dude semi-casual about it on the surface while keeping his panic under wraps, in the end his captors, after explaining how they got him and what their plan is, throw a pack of cards at him and ask him to play poker with him, which causes Stormgren to laugh like he hasn't laughed in years. I'm just imagining Vegas reading this and shaking his head, putting on his clown shoes, thinking: these guys are so stupid, encouraging their captive be this nonchalant around them, I would never.

#then ep 12 comes along and Vegas is humoring his captive who's a sassy little shit making fun of him for his blood type #Good thing Vegas is pretty because clown make up doesn't look good on just about anybody #this is the weirdest thing I've ever done in my life I think #but it's so much fun enjoying a book and connecting it to your blorbos at the same time #Childhoood's End is unironically a pretty entertaining book so far #I recommend it regardless of my brainrot #stay tuned for the next post when I get to read some more #kinnporche the series #pete phongsakorn saengtham #vegas theerapanyakul #vegaspete #Childhood's End #kinnporsche meta

[someidiotwithalaptop]

In today's installment of unnecessarily complicated bullshit coded by your local compsci reject at 5am: literally every* rwby ship tag ID on AO3

If you've ever wanted to be able to search for all fics tagged with an OT3 or all three of its composite pairings, well. uh. here's how to do it

Long post incoming!

Tag IDs are unique numbers associated with each tag, and if you chuck this:

filter_ids: 12345

into the "Search within results" field on AO3 (or "Any field" if you're in the Advanced search), it will filter for all fics that have tag #12345. This is basically useless unless you know what numbers go to which tags (we'll get to that in a sec), but if you do, then you can do fun stuff like this:

filter_ids: 1072769 OR filter_ids: 994409

(Which translates to Bumbleby OR Whiterose)

This lets you search for fics with either tag A or tag B instead of only fics that have both. Afaik not something the nice filtering UI is able to do.

Searching for Bumbleby AND Whiterose just involves tossing two of those "filter_ids" thingies into the search together like this:

filter_ids: 1072769 filter_ids: 994409

You can also combine them like so:

(filter_ids: 1072769 filter_ids: 1325904 filter_ids: 1059208) OR filter_ids: 2397525

((Bumbleby AND Freezerburn AND Monochrome) OR Bees Schnees)

to look for all fics with either both of the first two tags or the second tag. I've been messing around with this a bit and so far it's been letting me make my searches as long and complicated as I want.

(EDIT: okay so trying to put 683 tag filters in at the same time will return an error...)

Anyways, getting back to what the fuck are these numbers even, I put an explanation of how I found them over here (sort of, in practice I used python to do most of the legwork because jESUS FUCK THERE'S OVER 2,000 OF THEM). But for those who don't want to spend ages poking around in html code, I present:

The Fuckoff Giant Text File Of RWBY Relationship Tag IDs

It should be possible to download it if you'd like, but at least for me google docs is willing to show a searchable preview! Just hit ctrl+F and type in the ship you're looking for.

Keep in mind that these are mostly** going to be listed the way the canonical tag appears on AO3, i.e. "Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long" will get a hit, but "Yang Xiao Long/Blake Belladonna" is not in the giant text file at all.

**(I did get rid of parentheticals clarifying the fandom, i.e. "Summer Rose (RWBY)/Reader" is listed as just "Summer Rose/Reader")

Also, these are sorted by tag ID, so this is (I think???) a list of every ship tag in this fandom in chronological order of when they were first tagged, since the tag IDs are assigned sequentially.

*(this file contains every single ship to the best of my knowledge. I probably did miss some and I could only scrape the ones that had already been created at the time but. but.

Amber/Ilia Amitola/Blake Belladonna/Maria Calavera/Elm Ederne/Pyrrha Nikos/Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Salem/Weiss Schnee/Ciel Soleil/Emerald Sustrai: 101267707

but I REALLY DID GET A LOT)

so uh. yeah! someone take python away from me askjdflskjdf

#rwby #how to ao3 #ao3 tips #i may also do character tags at some point #and freeforms which might be useful to more than just the one fandom asdlkjfskdj #but for now im fucking sleepy so