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jinjeriffic · 3 months

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DCxDP Prophecy Universe Part 3

Part 2

Tim reached up to rub at his temples and groaned. This was getting him nowhere. Normally he enjoyed going down the research rabbit-hole but this was ridiculous! Paranormal sciences were a bad joke. Most of it was conjecture, hearsay and unprovable theories with just enough scientific sounding jargon peppered in to confuse a layperson. Peer-review was practically non-existent, not to mention a proper scientific method. Francis Bacon would be rolling in his grave!

The slight hiss of the elevator doors opening interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey Replacement, you missed dinner!” Jason called, sauntering over with a loaded plate in hand. He set down a sandwich next to Tim’s elbow. “Alfie says he’s cutting off your coffee supply until you get some damn sleep. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna start prepping the knock-out gas soon!” he quipped, leaning his hip against the Batcomputer’s console. “Research on the League giving you trouble?”

“I wish.” Tim sighed, reaching for the sandwich, “The Assassins have actually been pretty quiet recently. I found some leads on suspicious political donations in Italy, but nothing I can tie to them directly. Talia’s in Paris as far as I can tell, working at an investment firm for God knows what reason. Probably money laundering related. And the ones holed up in Nanda Parbat have been quiet as murderous little church mice.”

“Ra’s isn’t up to anything? Colour me shocked.” Jason drawled sardonically, “You sure he’s not cooking up a new batch of demon spawn in that mountain of his?”

Tim shook his head. “You know Bruce destroyed his cloning labs after the last… incident. And I’ve found no records of the League procuring the necessary materials or equipment to restart production.” he wrinkled his nose, “Of course it’s possible that they used a shell company we haven’t come across yet, but I believe the odds are pretty low.”

“So what’s got your panties in a bunch then?”

Tim’s mouth twisted in a frown. “Ghosts.”

“Ah.”

Jason stared off into space and Tim took a bite of his sandwich. Egg-salad, score! The Cave was silent for a while, only disturbed by the noise of the actual bats heading out for their nightly hunt.

“I can’t tell you for sure if ghosts are real or not. I don’t remember anything from when I was… dead.” Jason said haltingly, and Tim stilled. “But we’ve seen people come back under pretty weird circumstances. So why not ghosts?” Jason shrugged.

Tim chewed and swallowed before replying. “Because it’s one thing for the physical body to be restored, but some kind of nebulous ‘spirit’ lingering? Why don’t we see ghosts all the time then? Why don’t people come back? Why not…” Tim broke off.

“Your Dad?”

Tim nodded and dropped the remains of the sandwich back on the plate. It suddenly looked as appetising as cardboard.

“I don’t know, birdie. We still don’t know why I came back.” Jason snorted “Maybe the universe just has a sick sense of humour.”

Tim’s lips curled up in a mirthless smile. “Maybe the universe missed your terrible puns. Some of those still haunt me.”

Jason barked out a surprised laugh. “That was terrible!”

“The universe clearly made a grave mistake.”

“Stop it, I can feel my brain cells dying!” Jason groaned and gave Tim a light punch to the shoulder.

“Well we can’t have that, you have so few already!” Tim snarked, then quickly leaned to the side to evade Jason’s attempted noogie. Jason huffed and stepped back, crossing his arms.

“All right mister teenage genius. What have you dug up about ghosts then?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “There’s obviously tons of folklore from all over the world. Pretty much every mythology has stories about the spirits or souls of the dead returning to haunt the living. But if there’s a scientific basis to all this then it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Even the supposed leaders in the field are hopelessly biased.” He pulled up some documents on the screen. “Take these for example. The Doctors Fenton are supposed experts in the field of ‘Ecto-Biology’ as they call it, but their research papers would never fly with a proper scientific journal. A lot of it comes across as blatantly xenophobic towards the entities they are supposedly studying and their research methods seem geared towards confirming what they view as foregone conclusions. And most of their peers operate on the same track.”

Jason hummed thoughtfully as he skimmed one of the articles in question. “Do you think there’s anything to this, or is it all just a hoax?”

Tim snorted. “If there is, they haven’t offered any conclusive proof. Though they certainly seem to have made it work for them. The Fentons have a series of patents for weapons and defenses against these supposed ‘ecto-entities’ and it looks like there’s plenty of people gullible enough to buy them. I haven’t taken a closer look at their products yet, but a lot of it looks like something out of a pulp sci-fi movie.” He pulled up the image of what looked like a bazooka with green glowing parts. Jason whistled.

“So, con artists or mad scientists?”

“Could be both. Their financial records are all over the place and they’ve had some large transactions with what I’m pretty sure are shell companies in recent years. They live and operate out of a small city in Illinois.” Tim said, pulling up the relevant documents on screen.

“Amity Park?” Jason read aloud.

“Supposedly it’s ‘The Most Haunted City in America’. Seems on brand, doesn’t it?”

“It probably helps them stay in business. It looks like they have kids?” Jason pointed at the tax returns. Tim typed some search queries into the system.

“Two. One in high school, one just started her first semester at Metropolis University. With a full scholarship to boot.” He spent a few more minutes hacking into the university’s systems. “Here we go, Jasmine Fenton. Looks like she’s going for a psychology degree. And… hm…” Tim trailed off. Jason quickly realised what had caught his attention.

“‘The Damaging Effects of Envy Towards Metahumans? That’s a hell of a topic for a freshman-year essay.” Jason remarked.

“Yes. I wonder…” Tim drummed his fingers on the keyboard. “She might have some insight into her parents’ research.”

“And at a cursory glance, she didn’t drink whatever Kool-Aid her parents were serving.” Jason finished for him. “You wanna go pump her for information?”

“I might as well. If nothing else, maybe we can shut down a couple of mad scientists before they become a problem.” Tim stood up and stretched. “Time for a field trip!”

Part 4

#dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #batman #batfamily #tim drake #red robin #jason todd #red hood #no beta we die like danny #I'm sick and wordvomited this out at like 4am #send throat lozenges #prophecy universe #the one where clockwork uses prophecies to mess things up (and set things right)

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tgcg · 2 months

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fond regards

… OKAY? AND WHO IS SAYING THAT? WHAT THE FUCK?

I -- ACTUALLY, WHO THE HELL JUST TOLD ME THIS INFORMATION? I'M COMPLETELY ALONE RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU SEEING THAT?

ARE YOU WATCHING ME RIGHT NOW? BASK IN THIS OVERWHELMING PRESENCE OF NEGATIVE SPACE. THE ABSOLUTE ABSENCE OF AIR SURROUNDING ME.

THERE IS FUCK ALL. NOT A THING.

NOT EVEN SOME KIND OF SEATING APPARATUS FOR ME TO STAGE THIS INTERVENTION FOR YOU ON. I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO "RAW DOG" IT OR WHATEVER THE FUCK DAVE WOULD DESCRIBE THIS AS.

I -- I MEAN… FIRST OF ALL. SHIT.

THANKS, I GUESS… FOR DOING THAT?

LOVING ME.

WHATEVER YOUR VERSION OF "LOVE" IS.

OKAY, ENOUGH BULLSHIT.

… LOOK. I DON'T KNOW WHO IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE. NOR THROUGH WHAT KIND OF TENTH-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE PROCESSING PLATFORM OR WHATEVER-THE-SHIT DEVICE IT IS BEING DELIVERED.

AND FRANKLY I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF A FUCKING WEEK ALREADY TO BE DEALING WITH SOME POSSIBLY HIGHER LEVEL OF BEING THAT JUST "LOVES ME".

I WAS FLYING WAY PAST THE THRESHOLD FOR BEING ABLE TO GIVE A FUCK ABOUT EXISTENTIALISM BY TUESDAY AT THE LATEST.

SO SURE, THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.

BUT IF YOU'RE STILL LISTENING TO ME RIGHT NOW: I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU'D CALL A "PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP", ASSUMING YOUR UNIVERSE HAS ANY CAPACITY FOR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS BEYOND BASELESS QUOTE-ENQUOTE "LOVE" OF THOROUGHLY UNLOVABLE INDIVIDUALS. HONESTLY, NOT A GOOD SIGN THAT YOU CHOSE ME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THIS, BY THE WAY! THIS IS NOT A GREAT LOOK FOR YOUR SUPPOSED NTH-DIMENSIONAL GODLINESS!

THE FIRST THING A TROLL WOULD FEEL TOWARDS YOU RIGHT NOW IS PITY. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT.

AND THERE'S NOTHING PARASOCIAL ABOUT THAT WHATSOEVER, BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE'RE NOW MUTUALLY AWARE OF EACH OTHER.

I LEARNED ALL ABOUT PARASOCIAL BULLSHIT FROM ROSE WHEN I WAS TELLING HER ABOUT TROLL WILL SMITH, SO I'VE BEGRUDGINGLY BECOME KIND OF A MASTER ON THE TOPIC.

WAIT, FUCK. DOES THAT MEAN YOU AREN'T BEING PARASOCIAL TOWARDS ME ANYMORE? HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU BEFORE IT STARTS JUST BEING A REGULAR RELATIONSHIP? WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES HERE.

DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA BY THE WAY. I DON'T HAVE A PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TROLL WILL SMITH OR ANYTHING. THAT WAS JUST A CLASSIC LALONDE "MASSIVE ILLOGICAL REACH IN CONJECTURE THAT IS COMPLETELY OFF-BASE AND GENERALLY ONLY DONE TO MAKE FUN OF YOU IN A SNIDE AND INSUFFERABLE WAY, INEVITABLY LEADING INTO AN HOUR-LONG DIATRIBE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO FUCK WITH YOU".

SHE JUST DOESN'T GET IT. HE'S COOL AS FUCK AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT! THE AMOUNT OF BULLSHIT THE DERSE HUMANS CAN EXTRAPOLATE FROM THE SIMPLEST OF SPONGEDEAD NOTIONS IS MIND-BOGGLING TO ME. IT'S AS INCREDIBLE AS IT IS MONUMENTALLY FUCKING AGGRAVATING.

ANYWAYS, SINCE WE'RE APPARENTLY IN THE REALM OF SHARING COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED SENTIMENTS WITH PEOPLE WHO POSSIBLY DON'T EVEN EXIST, I HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU: IMPROVE YOUR STANDARDS. MAYBE LOOKING INSIDE YOUR OWN DIMENSION WOULD BE A GOOD START. AND I'D SUGGEST SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WASTE HIS TIME TALKING TO THIN FUCKING AIR IN VAST WHITE EXPANSES LIKE THIS ONE.

JUST A THOUGHT.

JEGUS, TALKING TO NOTHING IS HARD. I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST SPUTTERING COMPLETE INANE GARBAGE IN CIRCLES LIKE A DELIRIOUS WRIGGLER HERE. IS THIS HOW DAVE FEELS ALL THE TIME? THIS IS HORRIBLE.

WHERE'S THE EXIT?

#karkat vantas #homestuck #was overcome with urge 2 do this as soon as i got this ask #idk why #comix #fond regards

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augustinewrites · 10 months

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alhaitham almost walks right past you in the hall, too engrossed in whatever he’s reading. it takes you gently grasping his wrist for him to look up, expression brightening briefly before diving right back into his papers.

“is everything okay?” you ask when you notice the knot that’s formed between his brows. “i’ve hardly seen you all day.”

“i’m fine,” he tells you, which lets you know that he’s certainly stressed about something. he sighs, returning the correspondence to the envelope tucked underneath his arm. “i just don’t understand why dehya won’t accept the akademiya’s job offer.”

in his capacity as the acting grand sage, he’s been trying to get her in the akademiya’s employ for weeks, but the mercenary’s been as tough to wear down as the wall of samiel itself. “ah. still having trouble recruiting her?”

“i’ve already offered a generous salary, benefits, a signing bonus, even a housing stipend. she’d practically be working side by side with the general mahamatra.”

“well, working with the matra means she’d have to spend a great deal of time in sumeru city,” you point out. “that’s probably something she doesn’t prefer.”

“why not?” he asks (because while your man is smart beyond belief, he can be a little dense sometimes). “we have everything here.”

“that’s true, but we’re also quite far from aaru village,” you say slowly, hoping he picks up on what you’re implying.

“i appreciate the geography lesson, but that doesn’t help me figure out how to hire–”

“i was trying to be obscure,” you press, drawing a breath. “because being in sumeru full-time means that she’ll have to spend time away from candace.”

he stares at you blankly, waiting for you to elaborate.

“haitham–” you say, pressing your hands together and glancing around quickly to confirm no one is within earshot. “dehya and candace are knocking boots.”

he seems taken aback by what you’ve just whispered, pausing in his stride to process it. “wait, what?”

“it’s an old expression from mondstadt that means–”

“i’m familiar with the expression. i’m just asking why you’re so positive that they are having… relations.”

“because i just know. they have crazy chemistry. nilou sees it too.”

“do either of you have evidence?”

you hesitate. “no…”

“then you’re not positive. you’re only speculating.”

“i’m not speculating,” you insist with a pout, crossing your arms over your chest. “i just know–”

“oh, like you just knew that kaveh was only going to stay with me for less than a month?”

“that’s different,” you argue. so what if kaveh’s been staying at alhaitham’s for more than six months? that was due to various, independent factors that had nothing to do with you. “but the way they are around each other–”

“gossip is an unreliable source of information,” he says flatly. alhaitham, as a rule, did not deign to entertain gossip. it was a premise built upon the unsteady grounds of conjecture, and he could not care less to waste his time surmising about other people’s personal lives.

“but–”

“therefore, your advice is redundant.”

you take the files from under his arm, reaching up and smacking him on the back of the head with them. “my advice is always relevant. you can trust me on this.”

alhaitham adjusts his headphones with a sigh, a pained but contemplative look on his face. He knows you’re right, and he knows that he’s hit a wall with this proposal. “fine. i will utilize your…advice, to adjust my proposal.”

“that’s what i like to hear.”

the two of you continue walking in silence, yours smug and his pensive. then, after a moment,

“you realize you just hit the acting grand sage, right?”

“oh please, you don’t scare me.” you meet his amused stare with open defiance, getting up on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his jaw, then his cheek, and finally his lips. “and when dehya accepts this job proposal, i can think of a few ways you can repay me.”

_____

“you want to offer me what?”

“you heard me,” alhaitham shrugs, leaning back in his plush desk chair. “the akademiya is willing to offer you compensation of up to ten thousand gold for any and all travel between sumeru city and aaru village.”

alhaitham may be in charge of the entire nation at the moment, but he doesn’t quite feel like it when dehya is in the room. she leans forward, resting her elbows atop the highly important documents on his desk as she stares at him. “why would you do that?”

“so you can stay in contact with your loved ones.”

the mercenary scoffs at that. “alhaitham, come on. i know you’ve done your research. i don’t have any family in aaru village.”

moment of truth.

“i was actually referring to…significant others.”

dehya’s brows raise in surprise.

_____

when he returns that night, the first thing alhaitham does when he joins you in bed is take the patient files from your hands and place them on the nightstand.

you frown, reaching for them. “i wasn’t done with those.”

he doesn’t argue with you, instead climbing on top of you and caging you against the bed, a knee pushed between your legs. he merely chuckles when you push at his chest, cause you’re not really trying.

he simply chases after you, and any fight you had to get back to your work dissipates when he presses his lips to yours.

“oh…” you sigh, quickly looping your arms around him to drag him closer, patting your lips to let him deepen the kiss. you gasp when he moves down to press kisses to your shoulder, slowly trailing more up your neck, your jaw, the shell of your ear.

“dehya must have accepted the offer then,” you breathe, your eyes beginning to flutter shut.

“part time only,” he murmurs. “but she signed on.”

you hook your leg around his waist, grinning “oh, so i was…what’s the word?”

he nips at your ear in reprimand, only making you laugh as he mutters, you were right, under his breath.

“oh, don’t pout, baby,” you tease, hands roaming the well sculpted planes of his chest. “let’s just—"

“if you say ‘knock boots,’ i’m going to leave you here and sleep on the couch.”

#alhaitham x reader #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #alhaitham x y/n #genshin drabbles

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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 3 months

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01/24/24 OFMD Daily Recap

TLDR; Cast and Crew Sightings with clowning; UK News; Wee John Wednesday; RenewAsACrewUpdates; NewTwitter Resource: @AdoptOurCrew; Pirate Omens Watch Party; LubeAsACrew; The Queerties; Petition Status; Final Notes; Love Notes; Rhys & Rosie's Anniversary;

==Cast and Crew Sightings==

David Jenkins got the clowning going really early this morning with a picture of a red sunrise, playing the song "New York Groove" by Ace Frehley.

There's been a lot of speculation (obviously we don't know what it means for sure) but the current fan theories going around are:

1. "Red Skies In Morning, Sailor's Take Warning" which Djenkins previously posted prior to a new OFMD Trailer being released back in Sept. Thanks @saltpepperbeard!

2. Some folks think that the Red color is to help indicate Netflix as it is very similar to their signature red. @_Irene_Adler

3. Others are going towards the AppleTV route since out in sunnyside queens, there is an Apple building nearby. @skrifores

Do we actually know? Nope, just conjecture, but it left people wanting to target Netflix and AppleTV more today in terms of hashtags. Which is great cause the Pirate Omens Focused on PrimeVideo in the afternoon.

=Con O'Neil Updated his Instagram, and David Fane commented =

==Ruibo Qian also made a profound update on IG==

"Amplifying positive intent toward a paradigm is what solidifies it into live experience".

Take these updates as you will, but one nice thing about being broken apart from Max is we're starting to see the crew reach out again, and all of it seems to be in somewhat of a positive direction.

==More UK News!==

Today’s news from the UK 24 January 2024 - by @lamentus1

We have a date!! The most amazing news! Season 2 will be available to watch in the UK on BBCiPlayer from Monday 4 February!!! The arrival of season two in the UK will give us an opportunity to organise some attention grabbing events around the show. We’ll keep you posted!

=Convention news=

Starfury Conventions is considering holding an Our Flag Means Death convention here in the UK! We need to show how much interest there is in the idea, so make sure you vote in their poll.

Vote here: https://x.com/starfuryevents/status/1750149921880059968 Make sure they know just how interested we are!

**Note from @gentlebeardsbarngrill: If you are avoiding twitter and need someone to log in and for for you, I have lots of extra twitter handles, just shoot me a DM with what answer you wanna choose and I'll vote on your behalf.**

=Previous Access Poll=

After a week and 986 votes the poll is closed and we can confidently state that 36.5% of fans can’t even watch Our Flag Means Death season 2 in their country yet! This is more than a third of the dedicated fandom not even able to watch the second season, and yet look at how passionate we all are about renewal. Imagine how that will grow when the second season is shown in those countries that have missed out so far.

The poll is here: @lamentus1 Are you able to watch Season 2?

While this last piece isn't SPECIFICALLY for the UK, it is being run in UK time zone so may be a bit harder for some US folks to join in.

== Wee John Wednesday is back! ==

EDIT: hey all, my sick brain messed this one up, Kristian announced on twitter he was gonna reboot wee john weds and I went to IG cause I wanted to get the link and apparently linked an old IG post. Sorry about the confusion! It hasnt been announced when it will start yet. Thank you to @wastingyourgum for the correction!

== Renew As A Crew News ===

So I was a little hesitant to post this, but I'd like you to read it and then read my notes below. This was posted in the Renew As A Crew Public Discord (If someone actually has access to that can you please invite me? I can dm you my creds, I'd rather get it from the source then bugging people).

So, essentially, right now they are considering not keeping the Renew As A Crew "brand" if a team internally doesn't step up within the next two weeks. Several volunteers have expressed their concern with this (as Renew As A Crew is already popular and news sites know about it). I have it on good authority that even though this was posted, other volunteers are trying to change that so we can maintain that Renew As A Crew brand. So if you happen to see this floating around -- please understand this is still up in the air-- so please don't lose hope or worry too much about this just yet.

==New Resource Group on Twitter ==

@adoptourcrew on twitter is trying to keep threads available with compiled resources (similar to these recaps and daily task lists) if you are in fact on twitter, they're a good resource for up to date information. There's been some questions on "who are they!" well they're a fan led group (much like the rest of the campaign) and they will not be focusing on collecting money of any kind, they are an information group. They may suggest fundraisers, but as of right now, no money is exchanging hands with them. So please feel free to check them out here.

== Pirate Omens Watch Party ==

Another fun day of watching good omens with Pirates and Omens fans alike. On to Season 2 tomorrow.

== Lube As a Crew ==

Still making waves all. Thanks @_Irene_Adler for posting this

=== The Queerties! ===

If you have a moment, feel free to head over to the queerties page and do some voting for OFMD! It is.. a really long list, and OFMD only qualifies for two (Vico Oritiz and OFMD in general), but if you have a few minutes it'd help out. It'd be great to at least get those two voted for!

Vote

===Petition Status===

We're so very close to 80K all!

== Some Final Notes ==

So something I noticed today is that we're not trending as much across all the platforms. On twitter, AdoptOurCrew was sticking to 30-35K per 24 hr period for several days, but now it's down to about 24K. We're down to #2 on Max, and the engagement score has gone down quite a bit. Now that might seem like a bad thing. That might seem like we're losing momentum. But I'd like to offer a different perspective. People are taking breaks. People are still directing their efforts on making things more efficient, and compiling information. People are doing more with less -- higher quality tweets, instagram messages, etc. I know that tumblr isn't really being counted high in those stats that tv companies look at, but Im seeing more people interact and delve deep into analysis of things and hashtags are being used. But most of all I'm seeing people take breaks, whether it's in the global strike for Palestine, or just taking some time to recoup.

Not every day is going to be record breaking, nor should it be, because if it was, it'd be people-breaking too. Take it from someone who's worked on 8 month long quality assurance projects, you're gonna have some down days, and that's a good thing.

We've done SO much in so little amount of time, and with David Jenkins and Ruibo Qian posting uplifting things...they see everything we've done, and while they can't tell us if S3 has been adopted, they are sending love. I don't wanna read too much into it conspiracy wise, but I've seen David multiple times over the past few days post RIGHT when things are getting chaotic across all the platforms. He's watching and he's rooting for us. Don't give up hope, but take this time to take a break. Relax, do something creative and fun that you love. Come back when you're feeling refreshed. We'll get there.

=== How To Help ===

If you are still out doing things for the campaign, here's a reminder on how to help (This is not a directive but a guide for when you come back) How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

== LOVE NOTEEEES ==

Did you know that you're beautiful? When I say beautiful I mean the non-gendered version. You're like really beautiful, inside and out. Seriously look at you. I can feel your beauty miles and miles away through a computer screen, that's how friggn beautiful you are! You're just such a great fucking person and you should be proud of that. You're gorgeous, and beautiful in all ways, and you deserve to be happy lovelies. As always, love you crew, rest up tonight/today.

=================

Well apparently today is Rhys an Rosie's 20th Anniversary! So tonight's Rhys picture will feature Rosie and her lovely letter of love to our favorite dude.

#ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #save ofmd #rhys darby #rosie carnahan darby #renew as a crew #save our flag means death #david jenkins #ruibo qian #con o’neill #ofmd uk #queerties #lube as a crew #pirate omens

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praazlwurm · 9 months

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Giratina's Temple and the Celestica Ruins

aka Giratina/platinum clan theory is back (also sorry for using mspaint lmao)

So we all know about the Shrouded Ruins, yeah?

(This is the only spoiler warning for Pokemon Legends: Arceus you're gonna get)

Spooky. Ever-cloaked in mists and mystery, surrounded by black-stoned cairns like graves and home to the giant Odd Keystone that once (?) housed 108 souls. Very ghost-centric.

Well what if I told you it was a temple?

Greco-roman temples (and, problematic or otherwise the celestica are absolutely greco-roman coded) are constructed relatively uniformly, with an outer later of columns holding up the roof and an inner layer holding up an internal structure, providing additional support, ect.

We have a perfect in-game model to project from, too, in the Temple of Sinnoh (pre-explosion). You can see that some of the smaller columns are sometimes decorative - likely they held up torches or, in the case of the two nearest the 'altar,' offerings

So knowing that style and having the remaining structures we do see in-game, we can approximate a lay out of what the building may have looked like.

What makes this a temple, however, is more open to interpretation. My evidence to support that it is is actually the blue-tinged pedestals seen within the outline of the building - the place(s) of honor in any temple. Irl, the inner structure - the cella - was often fully-walled in, though sometimes this was constructed via wood and other materials that don't withstand time.

Now, ENORMOUS shout-out to pokemaniacchris and the incredible Crimson Mirelands Archeological Survey Project for a really detailed, in-character breakdown of the ruins structures throughout the mirelands. I can only assume the 'surveyors' hadn't reached Mt. Coronet yet in their explorations.

Pedestals like these (at least superficially similar) are found beneath dozens of statues around Mt. Coronet, including beneath Giratina, Palkia and Dialga in the Sacred Plaza area. Now, I know I'm supposed to be claiming that this is a temple to Giratina, but if we work on the assumption that the four pedestals corollate with Giratina, Palkia, Dialga, and Arceus, a new conclusion can, perhaps, be drawn:

That whoever built this temple saw all four of them on the same 'level' of power or -- and this is my hc taking over -- if the statues were placed in a certain orientation (see below) that they saw Arceus and Giratina on equal footing, with Dialga and Palkia one rank below.

And there is, imo, more evidence to support this disruption of the 'creation trio' into two pairs on equal footing, found in the Celestica Ruins! So, among the structures there are two notable, circular buildings that the Greeks also utilized, called tholoi (plural). Irl, tholoi were a mix of secular-use and small-scale temples, and seeing as these two are small (maybe 10ft across inside?) I would maintain the claim that they're small temples.

And they align/mirror each other just as the statues of Palkia and Dialga do.

This part becomes pure conjecture, but I like to think the smaller structures in the ruins might be other small-scale temples for the various mythicals, honoring each much as the Greeks honored a pantheon.

Lastly, the CMASP describes the "Gapejaw Bog Complex" as being potentially an entire agora all its own and I can't agree more. Such evidence would support the idea of there being two groups of Celestica (Note: Not the Clans.)

I actually found myself wondering if the mirelands weren't always quite so swampy, and instead flooded at some point in the past with the depressions around Gapejaw - left by housing foundations - filled in with swamp water.

At the end of the day, I think there's a lot of evidence that the Celestica revered Giratina as well as Arceus, Dialga and Palkia - at least early on. Something happened to cause this schism, and the Old Verses/Plate inscriptions point to an outburst of rage from Giratina -- though, in "pick a god (and pray)" I actually argue it was mispercieved on the part of the Celestica and this misperception is what caused Arceus to despair and withdraw.

Open to discussion!! fellow nerds please interact!!

#pla #pokemon legends arceus #celestica #celestica people #pokemon lore #giratina #arceus #volo #i also think there's a correlation between the ancient hero story's bolts of rage and alphas/hisuian pokemon aggression #specifically my internal timeline is that the schism predates everything purely on the secular/human level #arceus then empowered the noble pokemons' ancestors and fought the hero and believed humans were worthy of his blessing until the celestica #blamed giratina for the rage lightning and shattered the statue and maybe even drove the gira sect out #this dismayed arceus and it withdrew leaving the rage to fade but still linger and make hisui inhospitable #the celestica left (of their own volition imo) to seek out arceus and other knowledge and the clans came after #the clans saw only two statues (palkia and dialga) and picked sides but still upheld the tradition honoring the nobles #i imagine cogita being direct celestica (immortal or otherwise) and volo being gira clan descended or otherwise descended from the diaspora #the celestica then went to sinjoh/johto and so on and so forth #long post #reference

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3d-wifey · 2 months

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NSFT Alphabet: Star (poly!lost boys + Michael) Edition

A/N: I needed to add my girl Star to the equation. It's been a WIP for ages, but I decided to finish it to give my brain a little break from writing Chapter 14 of the Finnick story---which should be the next thing I post. This is to be read in conjecture with the nsfw alphabet: poly!lost boys edition since it's all the same universe.

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Out of all of your partners, you and Star are certainly the closest. Emotionally, at least. When it's just the two of you, it always ends in caressing skin, giggling, and whispering declarations of love to each other. All in all, it's very soft. You're very soft on each other. If you're with the other boys, she'd love for you to lay on her while the two of you watch them goof around.

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partners)

Her favorite body part of hers is her legs. She loves how it feels when you rub your hands up and down them. She especially loves wrapping them around your waist. She loves all of you, especially your hips. She's insatiable, standing behind you with her hands gripping your sides, always touching. She can't get enough of you.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum, basically)

She loves it when you cum on her strap. That way she can fuck into your mouth while she makes you clean it off. She loves coming on your face the most. The pure joy in your eyes when she puts her full weight on your face is almost as gratifying as the orgasm.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

This is a shared one between you and her. The boys will usually send you out together to lure them a meal or two in. I mean, the combined beauty and seductive power between you two is enough to make a nun break her vows.

And whenever that happens, Star has the nifty idea to play up the flirting, so to speak. You could very well get the job done with fleeting touches and coy smiles, instead, Star hangs off of the arm of one guy and you play with the hair of another. Of course, in full view of the boys. The entire point is to make them jealous. And when David, because obviously, confronts you both about it with snippy little comments like "Have fun, girls?" or "You two were playing longer than expected." You just shrug with innocent smiles and hold hands. After all, they're the ones that told you to seduce the prey. They can't get too upset at their own idea, especially when it works so well (they can and they do).

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Star was turned in the 70s, the era of free love, so she's had her fair share of partners. That being said, she has more experience with girls than she does with boys. So you're in good hands.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying)

Need I say more? I will say more. She loves being on top of you as you grind your wet cunts together. What's not to love? From up there, she can dictate the pace and just how hard she wants to go. Watching you writher and whine under her, the sounds of your begging, and just how wet you both are. It makes her feel desperate to reach her high until she grinds faster and faster against you.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? Are they humorous? etc.)

She might grace you with one of her angelic laughs every now and then. But honestly, it's almost always a very giggly affair. You're a couple of giggly girls in love.

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they? Does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Picture this: you're at Woodstock, you're on crazy hard drugs, the guy on stage is on crazy hard drugs, the people you're having an orgy with are on crazy hard drugs. It's a time of peace and nature and free love, man. You don't need any of that consumer shit the Man says you do, like razors or scissors or basic hygiene. That kind of mindset has sorta stuck with Star even after she turned. But she does trim it before it can get too wild. So, think more of a shrub than a bush.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment? The romantic aspect.)

Now, you're speaking her language. The only person who can rival her in this department is Dwayne, but why would you pit two queens against each other? Between the two of them, you're gonna be showered in so many romantic gestures you'll get a rash in the shape of a heart.

J = Jack off (Masturbation Headcanon)

No need ;)

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Enthusiastic consent: There’s something about the desperation of your begging, it’s a heady feeling knowing just how much you want her.

Mommy Kink: You may have awakened Michael's, but he awakened hers. Now, it's almost guaranteed that whenever you and Star have sex with the boys, they're getting dominated. You're a tag team, a dynamic dom duo. Everybody say “thank you” to Michael. You give up the reins to her whenever it's just you two. Good choice.

Overestimation: To others, of course. Even if you think you can't cum anymore, she surprises you by coaxing another and another and—you get it. Doesn't stop until you and your pussy are crying (Paul loves to be a witness to this). The guys aren't exempt from it. When the dynamic dom duo is loose, the boys get to find out if that accelerated healing is fast enough to stop them from shooting blanks.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

In her room, one of the surviving rooms of the sunken hotel the boys eventually cleared out for her and moved her bed into.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Pain, but not her own. Odd, for how compassionate she is. She’s not getting horned up over Michael stubbing his toe or grievous harm done to her partners. There’s more nuance than that. Like, the first time you let her give you a piercing, she got alarmingly wet. That kind of pain. Regardless, you wanting her gets her going. Especially if you’re begging her even if you don’t have to considering she gives into you the easiest.

N = No (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

No anal, that hole is off-limits. It's never interested her before, and it sure as shit doesn't now. Sorry, Marko. No period sex, for obvious reasons. If she thought resisting blood was hard before, boy was she in for a surprise. Your period is almost harder on her than it is on you! But she endures it because she loves her baby :(

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Prefers to give you head even though she enjoys your mouth very much, hence why your period is a tricky time of the month for her—for the tribe as a whole, honestly. The boys are especially greedy around that time, they make you feel like a damn capri-sun but at least they take care of your cramps. While the boys are enjoying breakfast in bed, Star and Michael learn the true meaning of restraint.

Prefers to get head from the boys though. Queen shit.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends on many factors and what position. She's strapping you down from the back? Fast and deep strokes. Missionary? She's going slow and deep, making sure you feel every inch despite your begging for her to go faster. Tribbing? Fast and rough, she's usually just as desperate as you to cum. The pace with the boys depends on who she's with and if it's more than one person.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Quickies for y'all involve either fingering or oral. The boys might like the thrill of doing it in public, but she prefers the cave where she can lay you out the way she likes. But, she will be taken by the urge to make you cum, and if it just so happens to be in public? Welp. Que her fingers honing in on your G-spot in a truly diabolical fashion. It feels like she knows the intricacies of your vagina better than you do. (Off-topic side note: it's a toss-up between her and Dwayne for who makes you squirt for the first time.)

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment? Do they take risks? etc.)

Like I said for the boys. Safe, sane, consensual—but, unlike them, she actually cares about the sane and safe part too. It's hard to consider much of anything a risk that isn't garlic, holy water, stakes, and the sun. If it's something all parties involved are okay with, then Star is too. (Still no anal).

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for? How long do they last?)

Supernatural stamina, even as a half-vampire. Goes for a loooooong time, especially with that overestimation kink. If it's just the two of you, you won't even remember how many rounds there's been. Truly insatiable, you'll need someone to tap in (likely Michael).

T = Toys (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Strap-on, obviously. You actually go pick it out with her since, you know, you're the one she's using it on. Michael tags along. She mainly tops whenever y’all break the strap out. Even if you're wearing it, she's riding you.

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

She loves to tease. She’s not teasing you, you're her baby, and she can't deny you anything. Now, the boys are a different story. She much prefers to tease them with you.

Something she likes to do with you when they’ve pissed her off, or pissed you off, or just because she wants to is to start making out and feeling each other up in the cave while the boys are distracted with wrestling or smoking or doing something other than doting on their pretty girlfriends.

But the gag is, the boys aren't allowed to join in. It’s always so fun getting them desperate and seeing their reactions. You two usually make a bet about who’ll cave and approach the two of you first. They typically send in Michael or Dwayne since Michael typically isn’t the one pissing you off and Dwayne is, well…he’s Dwayne.

It’s even more fun to do it on the boardwalk because their pride won’t let them grovel like they need to in order for you and Star to let them in on the fun. So they’re forced to watch and not touch.

And if anyone is dumb enough to say anything in front of your five very protective/quick-to-anger boyfriends when they’re already frustrated, well, free meal, am I right?

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Ah, so pretty. Surprisingly raspy. Low tones and sweet moans. She really makes you feel her voice.

W = Wild Card (A random headcanon for the character)

This goes for the whole tribe actually, but she can smell when you’re ovulating. Yeah, and it affects her viciously. Especially when it falls a week after your period. She’s a weak woman, she’s already had to abstain from you for, like, a week. She needs her fix. Truly, as soon as you step foot into that cave when you’re ovulating, you’re getting accosted by seven ANIMALS (>)0o0)>

X = X-ray (Let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

A perky B cup with brown nipples that get hard even when it's not cold. A proud member of the FPS, Fat Pussy Society

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Very high, and she is a fiend. But she’s also a lady, so she wears her horniess better than the guys.

Z = Zzz (How quickly they fall asleep afterward)

Like I said in the aftercare, you’re very soft together and then you pass out together. It’ll really happen between one blink and the next. Suddenly you’re kissing each other, and then, bam! You’re drooling and snoring together. The boys find it adorable, sans Michael who’s passed out with y'all. Makes their undead hearts skip a beat.

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sexiestpodcastcharacter · 7 months

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Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Round 1

Propaganda

Pickman (Friends at the Table: Sangfielle):

She's a middle aged knight who is also a cowboy if the dragons/horses were evil and/or haunted and/or cursed trains! She went to (evil?) heaven and hated it BUT she was beloved by all the queer artsy women around. When she was a kid she got kidnapped by a train and lived on it for like 15 years before getting out and joining the people who kill trains. She has zero social skills, zero patience, zero charm, but she's SO hot and gruff and no nonsense and she Looms to be supportive

massive goat woman wearing armor made from the bones of a sentient train. kinda person to run a mcdonalds like it's the navy. went to heaven and said "fuck this, actually," invented pointillism and introduced evil fucked up trains to heaven and left. butch icon love of my life

SHE’S A GIANT BUTCH GOAT LADY WHO WEARS KNIGHT ARMOR MADE OF TRAIN PARTS AND HUNTS TRAINS THE WAY KNIGHTS HUNT DRAGONS. SHE’S ALSO A COWBOY. AND HAS A BIG GUN. SHE SPEAKS IN SENTENCES 10 WORDS LONG OR FEWER AND ROLLS HER OWN CIGARETTES.

She's butch, she's a knight, she has a big gun, she once convinced a skeleton to give her his sword

you used multiple fatt examples in your intro, so I assume you already Know

massive butch goat woman with a gun

HOT EMOTIONALLY DISTANT BUTCH GOAT TRAIN-KNIGHT

she's a goat! she's tall! she has a gun but doesn't know what a ranged weapon is! she's so autistic! AND she won my sexiest friends at the table player character tournament, she absolutely deserves to win this one too!!

Pickman is a big butch goat woman who smokes and fights supernatural trains. Self-explanatory

Have you seen her.

Giant butch goat knight who kills trains. The perfect woman.

She s so sexy shes a goat lesbian.please.

ITS PICKMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she's a gruff muscular goat woman who hunts trains and wears train armor, she's perfect butch husband/wife material

“Ah, that sexy trains podcast character” “You mean that sexy trans podcast character?” “🐐no🚂”

The Shadow Man ('Til Death Do Us Blart):

The Shadow Man is a conjectured entity found in the gaps of the script of Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 who seemingly exists to torture Paul Blart, Kevin James, the viewer, and particularly the podcast hosts. The closest to a canonical appearance we have is the pianist during the bird fight scene, but the Shadow Man's reach surely extends to every scene and every Blart watching experience.

#Round 1 #Pickman #Ernestina Pickman #The Shadow Man #Friends at the Table #Sangfielle #'Til Death Do Us Blart

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shadamyheadcanons · 2 months

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Do you have any ideas for how Shadow and Amy’s relationship would change if Sonic had managed to get Shadow back on the ark in SA2? I’m working on my own little self-indulgent fic myself, but I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.

Interesting thought! See, this is a tricky one for me because they canonically act like his brush with death never happened, which is super weird.

There should have been a scene on the ARK where Amy was really upset and possibly even cried after it happened, maybe blaming herself for encouraging him.

There should have been a scene in Sonic Heroes where she latched onto him and gushed about how relieved she was to see him alive while he just stared at her like “???” because he still had amnesia.

She should have been the one to reach out and befriend him, and he should have accepted; not only does she remind him of his late best friend, but she’s seen him at his most murderous and still supported him unconditionally.

She should be even clingier with him than she is with her other friends after what happened. She should have been right with him all throughout Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), guiding him and keeping an eye on him the way one would expect given her personality.

And...maybe this is controversial, buuuuut...it’s always felt a little arbitrary to me that he wound up spending a ton of time with Rouge and Omega and basically none with Amy.

I’m not saying I have a problem with Team Dark. I adore their dynamic and I’m glad he has them, but it kind of feels like they just happened to be there. Sure, he got along with Rouge alright for much of SA2, but she seriously hurt him by spying on him--something she’s never apologized for, as far as I know--and she left him behind to help the others get to the Cannon’s Core.

And that, I think, is where the biggest difference would be.

Shadow isn’t the forgiving type. By the time he’d regained his memories in canon and remembered how she’d betrayed his trust, she’d proven in the interim that she’s ultimately a good and loyal friend. If she hadn’t had that chance, I don’t think she could’ve gotten her foot in the door so easily. And if Shadow hadn’t fallen, he wouldn’t have been picked up by Eggman, so he wouldn’t have met Omega. In fact, I’d go even further than that. Team Dark’s opening cutscene in Sonic Heroes implies that Omega’s there strictly to guard Shadow. Not only that, but I’ve always gotten the impression that that’s why Omega was created in the first place. Mephiles all but confirms this in Sonic 06 by pointing out Omega is perfectly built to defeat and capture Shadow.

“This only proves you were created to stop Shadow, the ultimate life form. Don’t tell you didn’t know.”

So Omega would probably never have been built, at least not in his current form :(

With our favorite murder robot out of the picture and Shadow not trusting Rouge, Team Dark would be kaput, and Shadow really needs someone who’ll reach out to him.

And we all know it would be Amy, right?

It’s not even conjecture. In Sonic Battle, she eagerly seeks him out, even getting irritated when Rouge keeps her away:

On top of that, Amy latches onto Shadow because he’s a hero. I’ve pointed this out before, but the second Shadow becomes the protagonist in ShTH, she’s smitten with him...

...and the same happens in IDW issue 59:

And we can’t leave out The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog:

The social media team gets it.

She’s got a subtle little crush on him already imo even with the few interactions they have. If Amy spent lots of time with Shadow, that little crush could grow to rival another crush of hers ;)

As for Shadow, if she’d reached out to him right away without the time gap from his amnesia, I think his feelings for her--romantic or otherwise--would have been fostered and allowed to grow, fueled by his gratitude. She changed his entire life and would have introduced positivity and companionship into his world. You can’t not feel strongly about someone who does that for you.

Fandom-wise, Shadamy is already extremely popular considering how little time they’ve spent together in canon. It’s the third most popular game ship on AO3, only beaten by Sonamy and Sonadow.

There are more fics for Shadamy than Knuxouge. That’s kind of ridiculous, right?! Shadow and Amy have maybe ten minutes of screentime together! I also think Shadow might have gotten along better with Sonic if he’d gone right from saving the world with him to becoming one of Amy’s favorite people, so I’m willing to bet Sonamyshad would’ve skyrocketed in popularity, too. Not my cup of tea, but I know a lot of other fans like it.

Or...more interestingly...Shadow could’ve been really pissed once he saw up close and personal just how often Sonic ran away from Amy. The Dark Era right after SA2 was when it was worst, too. I imagine Shadow would be furious if he knew the full extent of how badly his favorite hedgehog was being treated. He could have been a godsend for her. You think he’d have put up with this if he’d seen it?

(Tangentially, I think it’s weird that Knuckles was fine with this stuff. I think of him and Amy as sibling-adjacent at times, but sometimes I feel like I have to fudge some details to make it work.)

And how many times did Sonic hurt her or make her cry back in the day?

Shadow’s punched Sonic for less than that. He’s way too loyal to sit there and watch while someone hurts his sweet, kindhearted best friend.

People think of Amy as the clingiest Sonic character, but I 100% believe Shadow rivals her in that respect. I really do. He nearly destroyed the Earth for a friend he knew for less than a year. He latched onto Team Dark like a security blanket the second he was dropped on their doorstep. He would have done the same for Amy, and she really could have benefited from that loyalty. Amy lashed out in that era because of frustration and insecurity from being repeatedly snubbed by her favorite person. I honestly think someone stable and steadfast like Shadow was exactly who she needed. He really could have turned her life around and gotten her the respect she deserved, either by standing up for her or proving to her that she deserved better.

And I definitely think he could have dealt with the Black Arms’ invasion much better if he’d had Amy to help guide him through it. She’s reminded him of who he is before. The Miracle of Love ending proves without a doubt that she could do it again.

It would have been great for both of them. I’m sad Sega never let them have that.

Also, Shadow standing up for Amy and later dating her would make this weird scene from Archie #149 absolutely hilarious:

Granted, that applies to shadamy in general.

Ken Penders & Friends: “Ha, wouldn’t it be hilarious if we had Sonic make a skeevy, totally age-appropriate comment in our kids’ comic about Shadow ‘finding a girl?’”

Shadow: “I found Amy Rose”

Sega: “THAT’S NOT FUNNY”

Sonic: “Idk, I think it’s kinda funny :) ”

Penders: “I have never played a Sonic game”

#shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #not a headcanon #ask #amy rose #onesingularchocolatechip #shadamy

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blueparadis · 10 months

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AMONG GODS AND MONSTERS + YOSHIDA HIROGUMI.

───❪ content & tags ❫⋮ A ceratin kitsune!hybrid with some magical powers takes a drastic step when pushed to the brink of death. In this survival of game, Yoshida does not know if its okay to blur the line between good and evil, between gods and monsters to survive death. { kitsune-hybrid!Yoshida x human!fem!reader, possessive behavior, smut descriptions, some mixed references of myths, sacrilegious themes.} word count— 2.5k.

───❪ notes ❫⋮This is a submission of my entry for spring collab hosted by @public-safety-network & also tagging @orchid3a cuz i lob u the most. My exams are postponed so i took the liberty to finish a collab entry so my any means this won't be my best performance but i can assure you since i wrote on Yoshida i wrote it with all my heart, soul and ( redacted ) so yeah, you can enjoy this and if you do, don't forget to reblog.

Snow is falling outside. The world is covered in white, the trees have stopped singing, and the birds that have ceased crinkling. There is a kitsune sitting under a tree where the snow has yet to lay claim, brown and soft. Not a single creature can be heard breathing yet there is a trail of footsteps towards the snow-clad mountains. The kitsune walks up towards the trail of footprints and sniffs it. It is of a human and that too, of a female. As much as his eyes permit, Yoshida can only conjecture that the trail leads to the highest mountain peak. There is nothing at the summit of the mountains, never was; except the abandoned temple. It is almost a quincentennial old. Gusts of wind swirl around him as he changes his form from a simple mountain kitsune into his true form— he almost looks like a human but he is not one. Being in his true form has many perks— he can not be seen by others while he can see everything, his locomotive powers increase, and the sense of hearing and smell and as such are all heightened. He is greater than humans but lower than the gods, an outcast; a borderline creature among gods and monsters.

He reaches the top of the mountain within a minute. He scans the place and sees nothing except the abandoned temple. It has rusted bars, broken bricks,outgrowth of plants along the pillars and no traces of any prayer. Whoever came to his home must have returned or got lost in their way while coming here or may have died. That’s right, the forsaken temple is where he lives. A lazy yawn escapes his mouth. His mouth remains open agape as his ears pick up noise— the sound of a heart beating. His ears perk up. There is more: a sob and ragged breathing. Has human heartbeat always been this loud or is it just the place that it’s quiet?

Yoshida takes a few steps toward the temple to see the source of the sound and when his eyes lay upon the girl who is crying with her knees pressed against her chest sitting at the corner of the staircase of the temple he wonders, have humans always been this ravishing? The girl wore a red gown made of thick velvet with gold and silver embroidery, and all the jewelry from her head-to-toe was made of fresh flowers and plant twigs. Yoshida does not remember any diviner aroma more than this. His interaction with humans has always been scarce, filled with nothing but bad memories. So, he does know if it is okay to be intrigued by the same creatures that have appalled him for centuries. The kitsune-being studies her for a while as she keeps on crying. He could touch her head and come to know what is the reason that has this flawless mortal in her lowest spirits but that would call upon a great peril on himself. He would become visible to her and she would definitely think of him as some sort of god, which he is not.

The girl finally tips up her head. Yoshida Hirofumi has been living here for centuries. He has seen so many colors of humanity. He is not a believer in God. He does not need to. He is powerful enough to live on by himself but if he had to believe in the power and the Almighty, he would definitely believe in you. He watches you turn a little in the direction of the altar which is filled with dry twigs, broken branches, withered flowers, and dust. Your palms come together, your head tips up, and shaky lips crack open. “Dear god, if you can hear me if you. . .really exist please save me from being killed. Dear god. . .” You did not get to finish your prayer because clouds started to gather, winds started to blow from all directions, and all the flambeaus in the village at the foot of the mountain died casting a shadow all over it. Without much second thought, you run in the direction of your home with bare feet down the hill while Yoshida stands with rage brimming in his veins, mind, and soul. How dare a mere mortal threaten his existence?

There is a story believed by the people for centuries in this village. People say that this village is cursed which is why winter is the longest in this place than others. The villagers always had a set of precautions to defend themselves from this frosty cruel climate. They always did until they did not. One time, at the dead of night a girl from one of the wealthiest families went missing. A few days later, her body was discovered by the side of a river. She was decorated from head to toe, in bridal attire, and had blood stains on her inner garments near her crotch. While the priest rejoiced announcing how her death brought early spring in this village, the physician declared she died by breaking her neck after losing her virginity.

None knew this was a murder. None knew except a kitsune that witnessed a naive girl falling for a man, trying to run from her fate and hence falling prey to the very hands of her fate. That is what he believes in, fate. A track, so strong that none can defy it. Yoshida has been surviving for centuries among humans, by not playing god. He roomed within the deserted temple for a reason. No mortals would ever come to pray at an old temple. No human can ever be such a big fool to pray where the gods do not live. But tonight, Yoshida heard a prayer amidst the altar. It is not a small thing that can be brushed under the rug like dust. If he fails to fulfill the prayer he will cease to exist. He has been labeled with a lifespan now, that is until you die. He has time which is not much now that he is tied to you. To be bound to a mortal by death seems a little too much as punishment for being an outcast among the gods. He can not accomplish that wish of yours. He is not a god. He understands God. God has a choice whether to save your life or his. He is deprived of such luxury. Now, he has to play god otherwise he would die.

When something bad happens to you, you start to believe in superstitions. And, when something bad keeps happening to you, you start to pray. Your current situation was the latter, at the mercy of the gods begging for your life. From the early days of childhood, at least when you were old enough to understand the difference between good and evil, you had no faith in god. You did not believe in gods but perhaps the gods really exist otherwise when the last ice queen was sacrificed to the winter lord, that is, to the god of winter; spring blessed the village within a week. At the blooming age of adolescence you were declared as the sacrifice for the next “ice-queen” With such a hefty title along with your name, you knew you had no choice of running away. If you had fled, your sister or your friends would have been sacrificed in your place which did not seem fair to you. Sure, their turns would come when it's time but who are you to push them to their death by avoiding yours? Isn't it the deeds of god? Or perhaps a Shinigami? The weather on the day of your sacrifice was extremely dangerous. It forbade all the villagers to stay outdoors and all tourists to reschedule their visit for the holy union of the ice-queen and winter-lord. Perhaps the god was angry at you for running away. He must be otherwise, why would the winter turn so brutal? Somehow it did not make sense to you. Why would a god suddenly be angry when he has been worshipped for aeons? You look through the crack of the window, tears streaming down your face feeling betrayed by everyone, by your mother, your father, and your sister who had kept you in a locked room so that you do not try to flee again. You open the window letting the cold bite your skin. And there, you see the temple high on mountains and a shadow lurking among the pillars. Perhaps, god did exist after all.

At Fortnite, when you visit the temple in the high of the mountains Yoshida feels unearthly. Seeing you alive and well, even if the night of sacrifice has passed he feels that he is being reborn. Your eyes are not puffy anymore, and neither do you have a runny nose like the day he first saw you. You are breathing tenderly and your heartbeat seems soft and stable. He does not understand why you are here. The winter still persists. The snow is still knee-deep but Yoshida does not understand why the villagers had kept you alive. You should be dead stripping him naked from all his godlike powers turning him into a mere mountain fox. Of course, you crossed his mind on the day of sacrifice when he was supposed to lose all his powers but he did not. He did not think of this any further taking upon the fact that he might be reading wrong for all of these. Perhaps, your prayer did not reach him in the right place and time. But all his clouds of confusion passed away when you prayed again. You notice a kitsune snuggling up to your feet as you pray. It is the same kitsune you have seen sleeping at the foot of the mountain, under the tree on a cold evening when you first came here.

“Dear God. I believe in you.” You keep two baskets at the door of the altar stacked with various fruits and foods. They were offerings for you on the first day of your sacrifice. Throughout time, this sacrifice ritual has turned into quite an attractive yearly occurrence. It lasted seven days with all sorts of preparation for a bride and has turned into a major tourist attraction dragging people from other villages, celebrating it as a festive event, and sometimes participating in them. You go on your knees and bow down your head. Rising up you utter with a sweet hopeful voice. “You are my God.” Yoshida notices your lip curl in delight and for a moment he thinks he could touch you, feel you, to have you but then he remembers you are a gift for God, a thing that must not be tainted. A short-lived chuckle escapes his mouth as he sees you going on your knees as you whisper, “I hope to see you soon, my God.”

Yoshida decides to play God for tonight. Tonight is the time when you will be killed, a gift to god. He does not know how he is going to save you but he must otherwise he will die. He is sure of it. He is now lurking in his kitsune form amidst the crowd while you are high on the stage seated in the most graceful manner staring at the poisoned cup of syrup that you are supposed to drink. The ritual is supposed to start by any minute now. The mass that has gathered in front of you will be on their knees and hands closed for prayers. When they will chant the mantras for the god of winter; when the hymns and instruments will be in perpetual cacophony to summon the god you will drink the syrup and sacrifice yourself to the god of winter to welcome spring.

You see the mass going on their knees while your heart drops at the pit of your stomach. You close your eyes as you hear the name of winter-lord rising in unison in the voices of all those people you have lived half a life with and then, when you open your eyes with your vision blurred you witness a miracle. The fox who has been following you around since you were a child transformed into a human, but bigger. His hands rose along his ears and the moment it dropped there was nothing but absolute darkness. You were already sedated a little so that you could not run away but you could feel a hand scooping you into the air. You could see the whole village engulfed in darkness from atop the sky until your eyelids were heavy and you plunged into slumber.

When you woke up, you were pressed against the chest of a man, your hands resisted between the two hearts while his arms were embracing you lying on a soft quilt. To think that you have witnessed a fox spirit is beyond any tale you have ever heard in the village. You stare at him in awe digesting the fact that how humane he looks. No one can tell that he is not human. “Are you awake, love?” Even with such chilling winds you do not feel cold, rather the opposite.

His voice echoes. It feels divine as you give him a nod. You remember how one must always stay away from a fox spirit, for it can only devour you by deceiving you, that is how they survive. The dawn is almost breaking. You can now see, what seems to be the statue of the God of Winter, more precisely the Winter lord as you arch on your back feeling him roll over you. “I’ve waited for you so long, my God,” you whisper knowing it is useless to resist and why would you? You have been saved. Prophets would say you have been re-born, that you are one of a kind, that you are an angel sent from heaven, that you are the blessing that would free the other girls from the same fate, that you are almost God.

Yoshida certainly does not understand God but being your savior and mating with you amongst the altar of the very temple that has been worshipped by mortals for aeons sure gives him the thrill of being a God. And he thinks he can be. He can play god for a while, just for you. He dips his head in the crook of your neck starting to pepper kisses and trailing them up to your lower belly. He looks at the eyes of the statue before diving in between your legs. A gust of wind closes the door of the altar as he claims you as his own in front of the Gods. He eats you out until he hears a series of ludicrous moans from you. Your hands clutch his arms as he positions himself in front of your entrance ready to make you one of his kind by mating with you. While all the villagers are still sleeping at the foot of the mountain, a certain fox spirit is ready to show you a new world to you by playing god.

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nyaagolor · 4 months

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Merry DL6mas!

I wrote an inordinate amnt of words about Edgeworth and MVK and dynamics and meta and w/e, stuck it below the cut so I don't obliterate ur dashes

So originally I wanted to make a relationship flowchart for all the characters and then realized that the amnt of caveats would make the image entirely text so I’m just forgoing the image altogether and doing this group by group starting with the VKs bc DL6mas and whatnot. It’s an essay and also unorganized so um. Have fun or apologies in advance?

Anyway. I think AA1 intending to be standalone and then getting these additional games does some fun things to the characters but especially for Manfred. I’m of the opinion that he was not created or written to be deep or nuanced or anything. He’s the final boss, we weren’t supposed to get more on him, he’s honestly just a symbolic representation of the forces Phoenix works against rather than a character in his own right (in AA1 at least). He’s cartoonishly evil and that was supposed to be it— and then we get JFA and Franziska and suddenly Manfred gets all this retroactive characterization as the story is built beyond its initial parameters. That’s part of the reason why I’m so interested in him— all this new information comes exclusively through other characters and insinuations rather than him actually being on screen up until Investigations and even then it’s like 4 lines. We get more on Manfred, yes, but it’s a shadow on the wall. I’m sorry to bring up allegory of the cave about the gay lawyer simulator but w/e I’m a melodramatist, it’s an allegory of the cave situation. The reason I bring that up is because I don’t really think about Manfred in the same way as other characters; I piece together how I think of him though his relationships and impact on others rather than as an independent dude. His past is inconsequential to me and the ppl who flesh him out are the real troopers but he matters to me more as a vessel for narrative themes than anything. This is all to say that everything I’m doing is conjecture and just kind of filling in the gaps based on my current understanding of the text. Headcanons for the broad and far-reaching audience of me, myself, and I.

That being said. The whole spiel I just went on about “Manfred as defined by his relation to others” works quite nicely as tie-in to how he feels about Edgeworth, because I think Edgeworth occupies this symbolic space in MVK’s mind. Yes, Edgeworth is a kid he mentors and who lives in his house and who he is legally responsible for, but Edgeworth is also this physical manifestation of his failures. Edgeworth is a child, yes, but to MVK he’s a ghost, a consequence, a punishment. He may not be a VK, but he IS karma (sound the turnabout melody I am kissing you on the lips for this line btw).

This also means that the way MVK views Edgeworth as an extension of his own thoughts about the DL6 incident rather than solely as his own person, which is something that changes pretty drastically over time. The way he talks about and to Edgeworth goes beyond who and what Edgeworth is as a person because for MVK, there was always an aspect of the self in there, and MVK interacting with Edgeworth is as much a reflection of his own identity as it is how he feels about Miles.

If there is one thing the entire VK family does extraordinarily well it's projection, and I think MVK has been doing this since he brought Edgeworth into the picture (and before that, but it’s only relevant to me now). This is personally how I rationalize how absolutely batshit half of MVK’s actions are. I know the actual reason is “we expanded the characters around him which necessitates certain actions to drive the plot and inconsistency results from this expansion” blah blah blah paratext more or less confirms this, but we are going full Watsonian in this bitch.

I have talked at length about the actual medical stuff around gunshots and how bullets are typically removed from joints specifically because of how badly they damage the surrounding tissues over time, I’ll link the post if anyone is curious, but tldr bullet wound symbolism. I bring this up now because I think the bullet acts as a physical representation for DL6, it literally and metaphorically tears him up inside. No one else knows about this murder, most people have forgotten the penalty, but he never did, because he can’t. For someone who has structured his entire self on the idea of perfection, this is an event of unprecedented magnitude, and the living proof of it is eating dinner at his table every night. MVK sits with the weight of what he’s done, and whether or not he feels justified or guilty or w/e doesn’t even matter because it’s making him lose his goddamn mind. His behavior gets more intense, more irrational, because before he was just a massive, scheming, paragon of perfection (and corruption but shh) but now he is in this inescapable cycle as the result of his choices and his choices exclusively. I don’t propose to know nor care about how he felt about it or what the specific emotions he felt were because they’re not particularly important in my mind, only that the lingering ghost of DL6 is driving MVK kinda bonkers and that drastically alters how he interacts with Edgeworth and Franziska.

I’ve seen a lot of debate about why MVK took in Edgeworth, but my hot take is that he actually doesn’t know. I don’t think MVK ever processed DL6, I think he is filled with contradictory feelings (how ironic) and that this is what eats at him through all those years. Why did he take in Edgeworth? Because he felt guilty? Because he wanted to train him into everything his father hated as a twisted kind of revenge? Because he wanted a prodigy and saw himself in Edgeworth? It’s all of them, it’s none of them, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t know. Why did he prosecute Edgeworth right before the statute of limitations ended? Was it revenge? Hatred? A way to test his prodigy? To project his own gnawing nest of emotions onto the person he felt embodied the incident? Same deal. (the real answer is that it doesn’t really matter bc we were not supposed to think about it this hard but. Shh. dw about it.)

I don’t take much interest into Manfred’s inner world because I ultimately think that a lot of his actions, while completely under his control, are him acting on impulse, on him doing irrational things because DL6, in a sense, killed him too. He comes out of that elevator a different person (not worse (can’t go down from rock bottom), not better, just a different kind of asshole), but destroyed from the inside out by a murder he committed. He’s so arrogant, so entitled, that he could never let this go, and I think that drives so much of the insane shit he tries to pull. He has centered his life around the axis of DL6 and he will always be pulled back into its orbit. The further we get from DL6 the more time he has to think, the more it tears him apart, the more the contradictory feelings about it rear their heads in turn and create this guy who is just desperate and angry. And when it’s days before the statute of limitations he just becomes completely subsumed by it all. He was always cruel, but now he’s cruel and desperate and completely willing to drag everyone down with him. The desperation is the important part.

I will say though that he is, irrefutably, his own downfall. He molded Edgeworth in his own image, he created Phoenix Wright the defense attorney as a consequence, and it is the two of them who send him to his death. He is the one who planned the murder of Turnabout Goodbyes. From beginning to end, it’s his own hand. Manfred is one of the only characters in this series whose actions are not precedented by extenuating circumstances. It’s allllll him. He’s the bitch. He has been and will always be a selfish prick and for as much as he is lashing out because of DL6 he does so by dragging others in.

Extremely long prelude to say that I think how he treats edgeworth varies so wildly over time and is so irrational in its presentation because of everything I mentioned before. He is Edgeworth’s greatest kindness and his worst nightmare— at the same time!! Multitasking king. He takes in Edgeworth as a snap decision for reasons he doesn’t entirely understand, and I think because of that he never quite views Edgeworth as a son (at least in the traditional sense). Edgeworth is not his child in the same way that Franziska is his child (and we will get to her in a different post I promise), but he’s not just some random kid either. Manfred is emotionally tied to him through DL6, and I think the fact colors the way that Manfred treats him. It’s a dynamic that I can’t really put a label on, because it’s mentor/student with so much extra baggage that it feels different than that. There is an emotional connection between them, a sense of atonement and revenge, and I don’t think either of them will ever be able to articulate what that means. Manfred does not address Edgeworth as his child, and I think there is an attempt in his language to distance himself from Edgeworth, but he finds himself drawn to Edgeworth all the same (bc Edgeworth is DL6 etc etc). He did not ask for a child, he does not WANT a child, but he has one! Get fucked!

MVK is obsessed with his own image, with this idea of perfection, and insofar as Edgeworth is DL6, Edgeworth is an extension of MVK. He pushes his ideals and tactics onto Edgeworth the second Edgeworth decides he wants to be a prosecutor, because even more than Franziska, Edgeworth is MVK’s living legacy. He is quite literally Manfred’s midlife crisis and I think Edgeworth wanting to be like him and becoming this Demon Prosecutor is this insanely fucked up kind of catharsis in MVK’s mind. And as Edgeworth becomes more like him, as he takes up MVK’s mantle, he becomes a mirror— that is where shit gets fun. I don’t think I need to spell out the ways in which MVK was simultaneously caring and cruel to his kids— you’ve seen Sound the Turnabout Melody, you’re seen Turnabout Goodbyes, we know this song and dance.

The more time Edgeworth spends around him, as Edgeworth reflects more of Manfred back at himself, MVK simultaneously becomes proud and revolted. Edgeworth is growing beyond the consequences of DL6 and into a mirror of his adopted father figure mentor person. He is, from the ashes of DL6, becoming Manfred von Karma, and I think that drives MVK insane. He is becoming firmly entrenched in MVK’s life at this point. For as much as Edgeworth is DL6, he is now MVK himself. He becomes a walking contradiction, and Manfred’s projection then manifests as this rapidly oscillating clusterfuck of reactions. Edgeworth is out of his control but he’s super important to MVK— recipe for disaster.

He builds Edgeworth up, teaches him everything he knows, starts to treat him like a son while at the same time irrevocably traumatizing for the rest of his life. He loves who Edgeworth is becoming while hating everything he stands for, and I think this absolute garbage pile of a child-rearing philosophy is as much a projection of himself as anything. It was never about Edgeworth the person. At first, MVK does not care in the slightest about Miles Edgeworth and it is only when he does, even a little bit, that shit hits the fan in my mind. Edgeworth the physical manifestation of DL6 is being overtaken by Edgeworth the Demon Prosecutor, and MVK starts to be proud of him— but this is an eventuality he did not plan for and cannot do anything about. For both of them, it’s personal now, and no amount of pushing each other away is really going to fix that.

Anyway I don’t think literally any of this was intended. Manfred is not this deep, I am making literally all of this up, but it’s fine. If you got this far I salute you. Miles time. To pivot to Edgeworth’s POV for a while, I think that from the very beginning, Edgeworth looked up to MVK. It’s not the same idolization that Franziska does, but it’s up there. Obviously he idolized his father, but DL6 not only served as a complete evisceration of his family but also his ideals. Gregory the man was dead, but if criminals can kill his father and get away with it, that collapses the foundation on which Miles built his understanding of justice. Gregory the defense attorney– his ideals, his legacy, his philosophy– he died in that elevator too. Edgeworth pivots, completely independently, from a man who wants to protect to a man who wants to punish (and I firmly believe that this was his own decision and not Manfred pushing him into it, if MVK had not adopted him he still would have become a prosecutor just not so much of a dick).

But so Manfred takes him in, and was spectacularly ill-equipped to handle this. I always saw Manfred as emotionally distant on the best of days (he’s born in the 50s what did u expect) but for Miles, who he barely considers a son at all, he isn’t capable of being the emotional support he needs. He never would be and never wanted to be. That’s layer one of baggage. What MVK does provide for Miles, though, is a purpose. Miles does not wallow in his father’s death, because he is taken in by someone who acts as a paragon of Miles’ new worldview. Manfred never lets a criminal get away. He is perfect in that way, and it gives Miles a tangible (albeit impossible) goal to strive for. MVK mentors him in this worldview and gives him the tools to outlet his grief and rage into something productive— fucked up and wrong, maybe, but productive. That’s layer two of baggage.

For as complicated and twisted and contradictory as MVK’s feelings towards Edgeworth are, Edgeworth for most of his childhood sees MVK as this pillar of everything that is good and treats him with intense amounts of respect. He accepts any cruelty as tough love, he adopts his ideals and his tactics and his suit. Edgeworth needed *something* after the grief of DL6 and MVK is what he got, so Miles latches on and never lets go, for better or for worse. Miles Edgeworth is not Manfred von Karma but he actively tries to take his shape because whether or not it’s reciprocated, Edgeworth loves him and everything that he stands for. Manfred cares about him in that respect at the very least. And ultimately, this is my big take on Edgeworth: I think Edgeworth actively chased MVK. He became MVK on purpose. It’s a result of trauma and built entirely on false pretenses, but Miles is the one who takes the initiative and Manfred indulges him— And then Turnabout Goodbyes happens.

Everything Edgeworth is, everything he made himself become, is wrong. Edgeworth has molded himself into a person he does not recognize and that person turned out to be a monster. The person Edgeworth idolized, respected, and maybe even loved is the very person who destroyed his life. He is wearing the skin of the monster he wanted to destroy, and he did it on purpose (in his mind). This is not to say he had much if any agency in this situation— this is not a path he would naturally take, this is structured entirely under false pretenses, and he was clouded by grief, traumatized, and most importantly nine, but what matters here is that Edgeworth FEELS like it’s his fault, and the complete collapse of his worldview AGAIN is what drives all the bullshit of RFTA. Edgeworth is not MVK (and you can tell because he is capable of self-reflection which MVK is ostensibly not (or at least unwilling to)), but it still drives him to this complete and utter devastation. He sees Manfred in himself and it isn’t until AAI1/2 that he’s able to see Gregory as well. MVK filled a need for Edgeworth at the lowest point in his life (and absolutely made him worse but that’s not the point). Edgeworth respected and loved Manfred’s ideals, STILL chases the idea of the man, and because of that still cares about him. He becomes aware of who the monster he loved is, and how has to reconcile with what it means to be that person’s reflection and legacy despite knowing— and feeling, and BEING— all the harm he caused.

Those contradictory feelings that I talked about earlier? Love and hatred all mixed together— questions that cannot be answered and actions taken without knowing why? That’s Edgeworth’s final gift from Manfred: he inherits the bullet and the legacy he carries forward. Unlike Manfred, though, Edgeworth takes that pain and shares it, lets other people in, scoffs at the veneer of perfection and allows himself to be hurt and vulnerable and it is only in that way that Edgeworth can break out of VK’s shadow and break the cycle. He holds onto the ideals that he learned from Manfred, separates them from the nastiness and acknowledges the place they came from. It’s obvious in the way that Edgeworth carries aspects of that legacy forward that he’s capable of disseminating everything that Manfred is, acknowledging the way he’s been influenced by him and what he still respects about the man despite it all, and make peace with the rest of it. The cycle of violence and corruption started with Manfred and Edgeworth makes sure that it ends with him too.

I have a ton more to talk about with respect to his teaching methods and the nitty gritty of how he interacts with his kids but that’s for the Fran post. This is more of the “whys” than the “hows” but I’ll get there :)

Anyway, I think that’s it. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing but my head is beyond empty rn and I can’t think of anything else I wanna talk about with respect to these two. I know I literally just spewed 3k words about into this textpost but I do love chatting about them (total shock I know) so if u also have thoughts or ideas abt anything related to them lmk :3

#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #manfred von karma #mod vex #long post #meta

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gemsofgreece · 4 months

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Hello! Firstly, I wanted to thank you for the work you do on this blog. My mother's side is Greek and came to the US around WW2, and as I've gotten older and tried to learn about Greek culture, I've found that it's hard to find sources that aren't inundated with American pop-history. It's been really lovely being able to learn more from your blog for the past couple weeks.

Second is my question -- re: the pop history issue, I've noticed that people in the American queer community have a knack for "reclaiming" figures in history and mythology without always having an abundance of evidence for their claims. And like, I'm trans. Obviously the idea of some of things being true is cool, but it also feels disingenuous sometimes. Do you know of any good resources or books written by actual queer Greeks about either their contemporary experiences, or the history of queer people in Greece that isn't just conjecture?

Thank you again! Have a great day :)

Hello! It makes me so happy that you found my blog suitable to inform yourself on this part of your ethnic / cultural background. I hope the blog will keep being a useful source of information.

Because I am not going to lie, the way Greek history and culture, more like a snippet of it, has been almost forced into American pop culture is indeed through a disingenuous conjecture. Honestly, it's not so much a matter of accuracy per se. It's more that a niche piece of the culture has been taken and presented as almost the entirety of this culture, which eventually leads to tremendously false impressions, no matter how earnestly this niche part is explored. There is also the tendency to shape ambiguous evidence into unquestionable conviction.

I will attempt to explain why this can be a problem. Let's take the axiom - because it has reached the lengths of being treated as an axiom - "Ancient Greece was gay or Greece is gay or Greek culture was gay culture or Greece is / was a gay haven". If we really study Greek history and culture in its entirety, in a span of 3,500 years or more if we also take into acount the pre-Greek civilizations which eventually helped produce the Greek, while the existence of gay people (i.e Sappho), non-straight sexual practices (i.e erotic amphoras), ambiguous literary relationships (i.e Achilles & Patroclus?) and varied expressions of sexual desire observed especially in male deities are 100% well attested and recorded, they still comprise overall a very tiny part of the Greek civilization. Whereas it is often portrayed in western pop culture as the very essence of Greek civilization, exploration and studies of sexuality and gender identity throughout its history could amount to maybe a 1-5% of all documented knowledge associated to the Greek ethnos, its history and its legacy. Think of it this way; Greece happened to be in the epicenter of many formative achievements of humanity; spreading, contributing or improving on science, arts, extant religions and linguistics. It has been an area extremely ravaged by war because it has a very strategic position on the map. It has been in the core of three of the world's largest empires and it has been positively or negatively influential to all three (and the generator of one of them). There are so many things, struggles and achievements, to study and explore and draw from as part of your identity, that a constant foreign obsession and trivilization and sensualization of the sexual practices of people long gone eventually will start sounding disingenuous or lacking or even demeaning. Just like every individual aspires to be acknowledged and respected for more than just their sexual or gender identity (i.e skills, feelings, talents, achievements, personality), it is the exact same with culture and heritage. People want their culture to be appreciated in its entirety and not for a super niche area that is also exaggerated, if not exploited to serve foreign agendas, trends and marketing (because let's be real, not all have noble representation motives).

Okay, now I have to ask: do you know Greek? Because I can recommend you some sources, however Americans do not translate Greek works unless they are from 750 BC :)

Here's a quick heads-up:

The Greek society is a pseudopuritan society - one where people act like puritans when it comes to judging others but not at all when it comes to themselves. The gay male community has by far the biggest visibility nowadays. Lesbians come second. Other sexual orientations follow i.e bi, poly, pan. Gender (trans, non-binary, fluid etc) identities have less visibility. Asexuals also have near non-existent visibility. Most non-het non-cis people face problems in their families rather than in their studies or in urban environments. Non-cis people, especially AMAB people, might also face hardship in the workplace (like not getting easily hired).

Because the society is pseudopuritan, it tolerated and embraced and worshipped several LGBT people, except if they attempted to communicate their experience. Great composers and authors were openly gay and Greeks knew it and loved them, because they didn't explicitly involve their sexual identity in their work or because they didn't expose the pathogenies of the Greek society. If they had done that, the reception could have been different. Because of all these reasons, most of my sources will be from the perspective of gay cis men (the most visible LGBT+ community) and it will be mostly the great work and legacy they left behind, rather than their explicit documentation of the experience of living as LGBT+ in Greece.

LGBT poets and authors:

Constantine Cavafy (1863 - 1933), one of our best poets. This can be useful to you because his works are actually translated in English.

Napoleon Lapathiotis (1888 - 1944), openly gay in such times, he wrote a lot of erotic poetry.

Augoustos Korto (1979 - ), a married gay man, successful writer and activist, he has written extensively on the topics of death, depression, motherhood and love, often drawing from personal experience.

Kostas Tachtsis (1927 - 1988), poet, distinguished author and activist for gay rights during the Colonel dictatorship in the '70s. He suffered in his life and in his death as well. His murder has not been solved yet. He has written an autobiography and numerous novels with autobiographical elements. He was gay, either cross-dressing cis or maybe trans or non-cis (we don't know that back in time how exactly he identified) and had also been a sex worker for some time.

Napoleon Lapathiotis

Music:

Music won't give you direct information however it could be a way to bond with people you could connect with over similar experience.

Manos Hadjidakis (1925 - 1994), one of our two greatest composers and a rare genius, was openly yet "discreetly" gay, not out of shame but because privacy on all aspects of the human experience was absolutely essential and sacred to him. He was also an Oscar winner, although he would hate me for saying this (he threw his Oscar in the trashcan). Besides listening to his music, I would recommend watching interviews or listening to excerpts from his radio shows, because of the ease with which he could challenge anyone's intellectual capacity.

Sotiria Bellou (1921 - 1997), a lesbian or perhaps bisexual woman, she is worshipped for her unique voice, which became the ultimate symbol of the heavy-duty (underground at the time + now part of UNESCO's cultural heritage) rembetiko music genre.

TV Shows with representation:

Maestro in Blue on Netflix, a big part of the story is the romance of a gay couple suffering in oppressive families in the province

Milky Way, one of the main characters is pansexual and non-binary, and the actor is gay IRL. There is also a brief lesbian romance or a side narrative of supressed female homo- or bi- sexuality. This show will soon get in some international platform but I don't remember which one (not netflix), so keep it in mind.

Milky Way

YouTube:

There are a lot of LGBT+ people in Greek YouTube but my faves are:

ΚΡΙΜΑ by ZoePreTV: Zoe is a lesbian or bi herself (not sure but I know she's openly in a relationship with a woman) and she makes lengthy very informative quality podcasts with celebrities or everyday people, often belonging to marginalized groups, and they talk about their experiences. If you can understand Greek, this might be the best source for what you ask. I watched a fantastic episode with a trans woman and sex worker talking about her life. It is one of the greatest podcast episodes I have ever watched, hands down.

Eponimos. Zoe's best friend, who is an openly gay man, although he approaches matters of sexuality very delicately as he values his privacy a lot. He doesn't talk often about such matters (recently he did) but his channel is awesome for his lighthearted humour and the maturity of his positions. I love watching his content.

youtube

The podcast I mentioned.

LGBT+ Magazine: ANTIVIRUS. ANTIVIRUS also has this list with recent queer literature, featuring both Greek and foreign writers. Here is the link. It's in Greek though, like everything above...

Art: Yannis Tsarouhis (1910 - 1989), one of the most influential and successful Greek artists. He painted a variety of themes, he was inspired and developed Greek folk and Byzantine art, however he was also particularly notable for his love for the masculine physique and he established the classic image of the "Greek sailor" in art, theater and cinema internationally.

A great photo of Tsarouhis in his atelier.

I wouldn't consider myself well-versed in the topic, so I invite anyone who knows sources that could also ideally be easily accessible to the Anon, to give some recs in the comments. From my side, Anon, hopefully I was of any help.

#greece #europe #lgbt #lgbtq community #lgbtqia #queer community #representation #greek culture #discussion #anon #ask

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 25 days

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I feel like this is all very futile. Nothing will happen (infuriatingly) AS USUAL. When has Meghan ever been held accountable for her crimes? Yes, CRIMES. She belongs in a mental institution or prison at the very least. Sorry, but this is small potatoes. She has done so much. Anyone who exercises even the smallest amount of common sense knows she and she alone is behind the vile and deranged sussex squad. I don’t think she started it herself, but knew it was the only organic support (primarily from racist poc’s - sorry but it’s true) she gets, so she took what she could get and ran with it. I’m not sure when or at what point she started interacting with them, but my guess is when her rabid jealousy of Kate reached a fever pitch - and it is the one thing she genuinely has in common with her cult of racist, bitter, hateful online bullies. There needs to be a much deeper investigation into all of this and criminal charges need to be enforced. I can’t believe the BRF and MI5/6 just let her get away with such atrocities. It’s absolutely disgusting. How can they even call a pos like her family?!!! The SS only support MM because they are racist and use her as an excuse to spew hatred openly under the guise of defending her. Meghan doesn’t want even support from people like them, who she doesn’t identify with and believes she is miles above. Perhaps one day they will realise it and turn on her like she actually deserves. Harry too, but I think she is much more involved and has many, many more burner accounts across all platforms than Harry. Lurking around and stalking is so on brand for Meghan and very much her deeply and inherently creepy modus operandi.

But what are her crimes? You can’t be so absolute in insisting she’s this evil mastermind but not giving any specifics about it other than alleging “it’s common sense.” Thats a cop-out, and that’s what Sussex Squad did when they condemned William for killing or beating Kate two months ago. We’re better than that.

Yes, cyberbullying, harassment, death threats, and doxxing are crimes. But show me the evidence that Meghan did it, or that she directly instructed her fans to do it. It’s not there. Or, it’s not in a place that the public can see it.

Yes, physically abusing people is a crime, and so is trespassing. But show me the evidence she did this. There isn’t any. Just a report that disappeared, staff that’s under NDAs, and a family that won’t speak.

All we have is conjecture, gossip, hunches, and armchair diagnoses. That does jack shit when you need a conviction. You need cold, hard evidence and the truth is that there’s none. There is nothing implicating Meghan in any crime. The only thing she’s guilty of is being a shameless asshole and unfortunately, that’s not illegal.

I’m sorry, I know that’s probably not the response some of you may want to see, but it’s the truth. There is nothing directly and publicly incriminating Meghan (or Harry) in any of this, as frustrating and angering it is.

If you disagree with this, then my blog isn’t the place for you.

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leggerefiore · 18 days

Text

Of Wishes and the Sun

cw: Volo is being a homewrecker and manipulative, long, established relationship with Cyrus, a little angsty at points, endings are WIP,

pairings: Cyrus/Reader, Volo/Reader

summary: You meet a strange man who claims that you look like someone he knows. His words strike too close to home after a conversation. Madness follows this meeting.

You felt lost in thought as you entered the temporary Galactic hideout on Pasio. That was a strange fellow that you had encountered… A claim that you looked like someone he knew remained in your mind. His words were spoken with confidence and clear knowledge. It was almost a bit too loud, as well, but he was certainly a character. The way his hand rested a hand on your shoulder and the expression in his eyes when he thought that you were not looking simply baffled you. You almost swore that he seemed infatuated.

But, what had stricken you to your core was his words…

“And what tickled my curiosity more strongly than anything were the mysteries to be found in legends, in history, in ruins. You see, I fancied that by unravelling these mysteries, I could find out how the world itself came to be… and with that knowledge, maybe even forge a new, better world!”

He smiled when he said those words, but when paired with his mentions of facing things unfair or painful. You felt a strange sense of familiarity with the language in your heart. Not one paired with a smile. One paired with adoring people in uniforms watching a single man give an emboldened speech.

“Because we are all so lacking, we fight, we maim… It is ugly. I hate the incompleteness. That we are all incomplete, I hate it with my entire body and being. The world should be complete. The world must change.”

You entered the deepest part of the hideout to see a familiar face. The blue-haired man typed away on his computer with little thought, likely thinking of ways to either accomplish his original goals or alternatives that would give the same result. Completeness. What did that even mean? You had tried to understand his ramblings many times, but you failed to grasp the concept entirely. Your understanding was his hatred of pain and dislike of aggression. He wanted to create a world where such things could not exist, but his blame laid solely upon spirit. Emotions were the issue to him. That blond man's scapegoat had yet to be understood by you.

Cyrus gazed up when you came to stand by his side. His expression clearly spoke the words he would have said. “… Can we talk?” You managed to get out finally. Nervousness had suddenly consumed your mind at the thought of telling him about that merchant. You needed to, however. Something in your mind told you that it was far from the last time you would see him. Cyrus wordlessly closed out of whatever he had been doing and nodded. You let out a shaky breath. Where to start with this?

You unconsciously reached out to grab one of his hands and squeeze it in your own. It was warm. Soft. Alive. “… A guy said I looked like someone he knew and then started a long conversation with me today,” you began, trying to think of how to lead into his words. The Galactic Boss's hand tightened its grip on your own. His expression shifted slightly.

“Are you attempting to make me 'jealous'?” he questioned, clearly unsure as to why you were telling him this. You shook your head. No, and that felt almost impossible at the best of times. Clearing your head, you debated how best to explain the odd feeling that the man had given you to Cyrus. There was a genuine worry in your mind that he may simply dismiss them as nothing more than pointless conjecture.

“No, nothing like that,” you pulled your hand away from his and took in a breath, “He just said something that made me think of you…” His expression shifted from the usual sternness it held. Perhaps he would be more inclined to hear you out now. “Something he said… Learning through history to create a new world…” You mumbled as you struggled to recall his exact wording. The rambling conversation felt mildly out of place. A heavy familiarity came from him. It was as if he knew you, despite it seeming impossible. The only person you thought even partially came to mind when you considered his appearance was Cynthia.

“… Did he, now?” Cyrus's gaze met your own with an oddly harsh look, “And he approached you specifically, stating that you were familiar?” A nod was your reply to the question. Something sceptical came across his face as his eyes closed. “He could be attempting to gain Palkia for his goals then, should that be his intention…” his hand fell onto a Master Ball on his desk. “You are likely somehow a part of his plan, whatever that may be. Please be on more alert.” His eyes closed. You wanted to be upset by his accusation, but that did seem logical. A plan to make a new world… That was also Cyrus's own, was it not? Who better to understand that mentality than him?

Though… You still were not convinced that was it. Something about Volo was different from Cyrus. Besides, why would he tell you about his plans when you so easily could tell people? No… You doubted that his intentions included taking Palkia. Swallowing, you felt something twist in your stomach. All of this felt much larger than you. It was almost the exact same feeling as when you had learnt of Cyrus's plans. Your hand clenched. There was not a chance that you were going to let that happen again.

“… Are you still focusing on completing spirit?” you decided to check something before you fully dedicated yourself to it. He nodded before finally returning to whatever he had been doing before you came in. You gave a quiet parting and headed back out of the hideout.

For a moment, you swore Cyrus seemed to wear a concerned gaze.

It had been harder to encounter Volo than you had originally thought. Pasio was large. Forests, mountains, deserts, caves — You swore that you had wandered through nearly every sight the island had to offer before you finally ended up in the ruins after a few days of fruitless searching. Sitting down on some debris, you began to debate why you were doing all this. It was a one-off comment by a complete stranger. Why did it make you more stressed than when your boyfriend had done the same thing and kept it from you? Maybe it was because Cyrus said things that simply did not align with your memories. His inability to recall the Distortion World was the oddest of them all. It had been the last place you had seen him until recently, after all.

It almost seemed as if he came from right before his actions on Spear Pillar. Hoopa did pull people from all over, but none of them had stricken you as stranger than him. Still, he recognised you. His words to you were the same as they had always been, while he clearly knew you as a lover. It hurt sometimes. The pain you felt after he refused to leave that impossible dimension. How he tossed away everything for a horrible solution to his problems. You sniffled a bit as tears burned your eyes. There was not a chance that you would allow something similar to happen again.

“My, don't you look glum?” a familiar voice called out to you, disrupting your train of thoughts. Volo appeared to have come right out of nowhere as he stood before you. A small, friendly smile was on his face. “Did something happen? Relationship troubles?” His questions were much too accurate. Not exactly troubles in the fighting sense, but something more complicated. Something that you were not entirely sure that you were ready to confront. You shook your head. It seemed that he remembered your reply about being in a relationship from your first meeting, however.

“… I was thinking about some things,” you simply told him, “I was looking for you, actually.” The blond appeared to perk up at your words. His smile grew wider, and his eyes closed. Seeing him again, his odd similarities to Cynthia only appeared more obvious. Was he a relative? It did not seem out of the realm of possibility. You offered a seat on the pillar under you. His heavy backpack was slipped off his shoulders as he joined you.

“Me?” he asked, “Ah, did you need to buy something?” You shook your head. There were more than enough stores on Pasio if you truly desired anything. “Then, how may I be at your service?” His grey eye met yours carefully. Something seemed to be brewing behind them. You wished that you could have a peek into his mind.

“… What did you mean by a new world?” pleasantries could be skipped, as you needed answers to calm your distraught mind. Volo was taken aback by your bold question. He blinked once or twice as he clearly debated it in his own head. You wondered if he was going to answer your question, truly.

“I meant a new world that is better than this one,” he replied, voice lower than before — quieter in volume. Your stomach twisted at his words. “… You seem distressed. Why is that?” His hand came to rest on his chin. You bit your tongue. How did you respond to that? A new, better world… Cyrus thought he was doing the same, but even Saturn was disillusioned with Cyrus's plans after learning what this supposed world would entail. You feared what Volo's ideals would be. Could it truly be any worse than a world without spirit?

“How would it be better?” you replied slowly, afraid to make him run off. Volo hummed to himself. His smile felt different when it spread across his face.

“Before I answer,” his hand grasped your shoulder firmly, “May I ask for why you seem so intrigued?” You froze. Replying truthfully to that would certainly make him leave. There was no way he would stay if you stated your intentions to sway him from that path. You averted your gaze to the dirt. Volo took note. “… You truly did not change,” his hand suddenly cupped your face as he seemed to force your attention back onto him, “Do you want the truth about your lover?”

You froze. He gave a chuckle. How could he have possibly known that? You had not mentioned anything about Cyrus to him outside of claiming to be in a relationship. His name had not even been said in that conversation, yet… His confidence in his words was undeniable. “… You suspect the truth already, do you not? That he is not the same man you loved.” You moved away from him in a panic. Shaking your head, you attempted to deny his words. That was impossible. Cyrus's oddities had to hold some other reason. Maybe he hit his in the Distortion World before Hoopa pulled him here, and that was why he was missing a gap in his memories.

“Ah, see?” Volo's tone became sympathetic, “This world is cruel.”

“You… You can't be sure!” you tried to argue back, terrified at how much sense his explanation made. Cyrus truly did seem frozen right as he summoned the legendary pokemon of Sinnoh... But, you wanted so desperately to believe that it was something else. You loved him all the same. It had to be him. Volo's expression became something soft.

“I am certain,” he sighed, “I would not lie to you. That 'Hoopa' has pulled quite a few people here from other worlds. It is simply unfortunate that Cyrus was one of them.” You felt completely tormented. Volo had so easily pressed your buttons. “… If it is any comfort, I am not of the time period, myself,” he offered. You took another look at him. Well, that should have been more obvious to you. Especially when he tried to offer you a pokeball made of an apricorn. “Will you be alright?”

You nodded as you forced your racing thoughts down. Okay. Fine. The Cyrus here on Pasio was not the same one as the one that you knew. But, it seemed that everyone else, including his own commanders, had accepted him just the same. He had never rejected you, either. Even if he was aware that he was in an alternate world, it seemed that his feelings for you remained no matter what. You could accept that. If anything, seeing how this one could have his perspective shifted from his decision to make a new world to completing spirit reinvigorated you. Your Cyrus could still be saved. You believed that truly.

“What time period are you from then?” you decided to ask. Anything to steer the topic away from something so sensitive. Volo thought on it for a moment.

“The… industrial period, I suppose, is what you modernly call it,” he responded, “Well, industrialisation had barely come to Hisui, but it was happening elsewhere.” You blinked. Hisui? That was… before it had even been given its modern name of Sinnoh. It was a bit startling how well he was able to conceal something like that. Suddenly, it was more obvious that Volo was capable of keeping many things close to his chest. Cyrus's warning to be more on alert likely should have been heeded. You decided to keep going, however.

After all, Volo seemed more than happy to answer any questions related to his time period.

The trek back to the hideout after your second conversation with Volo felt much less urgent. You had learnt many common historical information. Well, at least in relation to the Galaxy Team. The emblem for the organisation had been a bit startling, but you did recall that Cyrus's family had connections leading back to the original founding of Jubilife. Everything else about the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan was interesting, but not exactly the most relevant. When asking about where Volo himself originated from, he simply said that he had always been in Hisui. You debated asking Cynthia about her family's origin the next time you saw her.

The mood was oddly tense as you entered the Galactic hideout. Grunts seemed to try to avoid you while Mars shot you a glare when you had passed her. It was far too easy to just assume that something had happened with an experiment and move along to Cyrus's office area. The boss himself was waiting for you as you opened the door. His arms here crossed, and he glared harshly. You shut the door.

“Where have you been?” he questioned with a serious tone. You were taken aback for a moment, not used to this sort of behaviour from Cyrus. Especially in relation to where you had gone out to. Usually, he preferred if you left since he often said that you distracted him unintentionally.

“I was exploring Pasio,” you replied, “I wanted to see more of the island.” His remarks about it being astonishing that the region was man-made… You hoped that it would sway whatever bad mood he was into something more manageable. Truthfully, you were not too attuned to handling his anger, but rather, his sadness. He seemed unmoved, however.

“I am aware that you were,” he replied, “… But for what reason? I asked you to be more careful.” Annoyance pounded at your brain. Why was he suddenly pretending to be so worried about you when he had rarely cared previously? “… You met with that man again,” he suddenly said, “I had a grunt trail you as a precautionary measure. The idea of you being used against me was one I would rather not face.”

First, offence ate at your heart that he had someone following you around Pasio, but you supposed it was not that irrational if he thought you were actually in danger. Though, you much would have preferred that he simply speak with you normally, but Cyrus was himself even if it was not your Cyrus. You sighed. Should you really even bother with any of this? The man you loved was still away in that far-off dimension and clearly did not care enough about you to return. The one in front of you would probably do the same thing eventually. What was the point of all this? It all felt useless. Completely useless.

“… Would you really care that much?” the words left you with little thought about the effect they might have. Cyrus tensed up. His eyes narrowed on you. “You are not the Cyrus of this world. You know that, right?” He went quiet and still. Tension was almost palpable in the air as you two sat in a wordless staring contest, wondering who would break it first. He seemed genuinely frozen by your words.

Cyrus walked around the desk to sit down in his chair. His elbows rested on the metallic surface as he seemed to let out something inside him. “Correct,” eventually, he broke the silence, “I am not. I was forced here by that Hoopa pokemon for some unknown reason.” You felt mortified that he had been aware this whole time. Something inside you wanted to curl up and die. Why had he not said anything prior? You felt hurt that it took an outsider to you both finally to force this conversation. Silence permeated again as you debated what to say. Words felt pointless at this point.

You sat in one of the chairs in the room and found yourself lost in thought. Your relationship with Cyrus was deeply important to you. There was not anything that you would not have done to get him back. Yet, when you finally did, it was not exactly him. When you left Pasio, he would likely not follow. It was a matter of how long until he was returned back to the world that he was pulled from. Placing your face in your hands, you could only debate the situation more and more. It felt like a cruel and twisted form of torture.

“… Beloved,” the endearment felt strange to hear after having gone so long without it, “I may not be the Cyrus of this world, but I do genuinely care for you.” He had moved over to you while you were lost in your own head. A hand moved to brush a few stray strands of hair out of your face. “This Volo... I have struggled to find information on him. The only remarkable thing about his is his resemblance to the Sinnohan champion…” his thumb stroked your cheek, “His intentions are unknown. Please, be careful.”

You nodded. His words… You desperately wanted to find comfort in them, but it felt as if you only would have him for so long. The idea of losing him for a second time felt like you had been burned by a Houndoom.

The following days were a mess.

Time moved slowly and quickly. Nothing seemed to make sense. Cyrus went back to his work but was making a noticeable effort to spend more time with you. It was nice; something that you had wanted, but… You felt terrified to get too close to him again. So, you took to trying to find a certain champion and speak to about your feelings. She had, after all, been there for you after everything. It was her kindness that gave you some small comfort in this mad world. The task should have been easy, yet it somehow proved impossible. With so many trainers around, you expected to hear something about her location. There had been nothing.

You sat at a café's veranda while thinking more. No one else was bothered by Cyrus being of an alternate world. Cynthia had been trying to aid him as if he were the one of your world all the same. Dawn and Lucas followed behind just the same. The Galactic commanders were unbothered, too. Why could you not be the same? He loved you. The words would rarely leave his mouth, but his ability to tolerate you being around during his vulnerable states remained all the same. But… Losing him. It would happen eventually. Lear would order the legendary to return those displaced, certainly. You hated the idea of that time coming.

The sound of a chair being pulled back took you out of your thoughts. A familiar face had taken a seat across from you. It was not the blonde that you had been looking for, certainly. Volo smiled at you playfully. His Togepi was out, too, sitting in his lap happily. Her gentle expression almost soothed your stressed mind. You sighed. Where had he come from this time?

“Stressed again?” he asked, “Let me help you! Togepi is great at calming people.” For some reason, you felt that there was more than just that to his actions. Still, you did feel a bit better. Apparently, the pokedex entries about it having a calming effect were true.

“So… If you're from the past,” you decided to ask something, “And you claimed that I looked like someone you knew… Was that my ancestor?” It made the most logical sense, you supposed. Who really knew? It could have been a completely disconnected person who just so happened to look like you. Volo shook his head.

“Ah… Not at all,” he explained with no details. It was frustrating. Had he used that simply as an opener to speak with you? Volo did not appear to be the flirty type, so you felt unsure. The words almost felt purposeful. Those two clan leaders had mistaken the Galactic commanders for people of the past, too, but you felt more inclined to believe that they had been ancestors. Volo himself was likely Cynthia's own… Which was an odd thought. Though, in the case he was… Perhaps he could help you with your complicated feelings.

“Hey, Volo,” you called out to him. His attention shifted entirely onto you from the nearby walking street. Passers-by were all over. Pasio was truly full of people. “… Can I ask you about something?” His expression was nothing but genuine cheerfulness. You did feel a bit more at ease. Any concerns that you might have had otherwise about the blond seemed to vanish. “I… I don't know how to feel about Cyrus any more,” you plainly spoke, “He's not the one I knew… And I'm scared that I'll lose him again at any point.”

“Ah…” Volo appeared to think on it for a moment, grabbing his chin. It was quite an odd thing to say to someone who was still an acquaintance at best and concerning at worst. “Well, that is a very real concern, I think,” he nodded, “What do you want to do about it?” That question was the exact one you did not want to face. Your heart raced. What did you want to do? Leave Cyrus? What options were there? Your mood shift was noticeable to Volo, who reached a hand out to hold your own resting on the table. His hand was much larger than your own and covered with callouses. “… You must truly care for him.” There was something lurking just beneath those words that you just missed in your distress.

You nodded. Volo's hand tightened around your own. It brought you back to reality. “Why not spend awhile away from him? It might allow you to make your decision easier,” he offered. You felt a bit uncertain of doing that. Sure, you had your own hotel room on Pasio from when you had originally come here, but you had been staying in the Galactic hideout with Cyrus for a while. Your eyes went to his hand. But… You definitely needed to clear your head.

“Maybe, I'll give that a try,” you replied, “Thank you for listening, Volo.”

He only smiled again.

The smell of the ocean was both a nostalgic and haunting scent to the blue-haired man. Waves lapped against the artificial shores of Pasio. He stood watching them. Everything had been oddly chaotic in his personal life lately. Did it truly matter that his origin was not in this world? You had apparently thought so. It was beyond his understanding. Even if he could acknowledge that you were not the same version of yourself from his world, you were clearly still something similar enough. When or if he would even be able to return to his own was impossible to ascertain. Besides, his bond with you was more than enough.

Even during the events with Darkrai, his foolish feelings led to him keeping you by his side. An isolated world of darkness with you in his arms simply felt close enough to his idea of perfection that he was happy to remain like that. Your sudden avoidance of him had brought out more unwanted feelings. Had he upset you in some way? Nothing came to his mind when he forced himself to consider his actions. You had come suddenly a few days ago and packed your things. The only words you had said to him were something about needing a break. He attempted to speak, but you had gone before the chance had been given.

A sigh left him as he took a step closer to the ocean. The port city he had grown up in… How many times had he stood on a beach like this? It was difficult to recall alongside many things during that period of his life. His hand clenched. He would speak to you soon. It was desperately needed. Things simply could not carry on as they were. Working had become impossible as the days grew larger in number.

“Oh? You seem lost in thought,” a voice called out to him. He turned his head to see a blond man with a familiar style to someone else that he knew. Cyrus stiffened. This appeared to be the 'Volo' that he had heard so much about. Someone who shared his intentions of making a new world. Could he have finally come to try to claim Palkia as he had expected. His hand went for Darkrai's pokeball, fully aware that he should not take this strange man lightly. “… I was going to say that you looked lonely,” his tone turned to something mocking.

“And?” Cyrus replied, voice suppressing whatever feelings wish to reveal themselves, “Is that truly any of your business?” There was little interest in dealing with him for any longer than necessary. He had only stepped out to get some fresh air and clear his mind. It was now having the complete opposite effect on him.

“They are quite lovely, are they not?” Volo suddenly said, gazing out at the moon, “You certainly left them in a state, though. How cruel of you.” Cyrus's eyes grew wide. “They were effortless to win over to me,” his hands readjusted the heavy pack on his back, “Just as they are now, too. They will be perfect at my side in a perfect world.”

Stepping away from him, Cyrus felt his stomach twist. What had this man done? Did he cause you to end up in the state that you were? He swallowed. Something told him that engaging him here would end badly. Turning his head, he let out a shaky breath. The beach was abandoned as he began his walk back to the hideout. A message was quickly sent to Saturn to order grunts to keep an eye on the blond. Cyrus felt as if he had a true rival for once in his life.

Volo stood on the beach in silence. Cyrus… Well, he certainly had his ancestor's expression down. The Captain of the Survey Corps would surely be happy to see her bloodline was going well. The waves washed around his boots as he stared at the night sky in wonder. So much could change in the world, yet the sky remained exactly the same. He felt oddly smug. How easy it was to place a wedge in what was an otherwise normal relationship. The merchant usually would not bother interfering in such a way.

But… It was you. Well, a version of yourself that had yet to end up in Hisui, but you nonetheless. You were so easy to approach. Volo had been genuinely surprised when you had mentioned a boyfriend, however. In Hisui, you had said he simply had abandoned you, yet here he was on Pasio. A different version of himself. Just like you were a different version of the you that he knew. But, in the end, you were still the same. He had lost you in Hisui after you learnt of his goals and what happened with Rei. Here, however, you had no clue of anything. It was so easy to just speak with you. When you asked about his time period, it delighted him to explain it to you.

It felt far too easy to use the certainty and fear related to the apparent temporary nature of Pasio to cause conflict with you and Cyrus. You had listened to him, too. Volo wanted to sigh. Soon, he would force Arceus out and subjugate it. Then, you both could be together in his new world. Just as you should be.

Volo felt disgusted at the thought of Cyrus holding you as he did. The more intimate the mental images became; the more upset Volo grew. He truly loved you. That was why he had helped you in Hisui. You had been just like him. Rejected by all the groups around the region. All alone and left to the mercy of nature. How could he not want to show you kindness and help you? Your company made things more pleasant as he investigated ruins and artefacts.

Why had you been so upset when he explained his plans to you? That question had haunted him ever since you had run from in Hisui. Now, of course, he understood. Cyrus. He had attempted something similar, yet more foolishly. Only using Dialga and Palkia to remake the world… Arceus simply would not allow that. Volo knew better.

He turned away from the beach.

Well, it was time to go see you again.

#pokemon x reader #volo x reader #cyrus x reader #pokemon/reader #volo/reader #cyrus/reader #pokemon cyrus x reader #pokemon volo x reader

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strayheartless · 2 months

Text

I don’t know what this is, but here, have it:

Inspired by a conversation I had with @salternateunreality2 ❤️

***

There’s something overtly satisfying about hearing the click of his heeled boots against the tiled floor of the Atrium. Genesis had always liked the sound, ever since he was a child. He remembered it was one of the few things he’d adored about his mother. Times when she decided to play happy families with them at party’s and would hold his hand and strut confidently across a room, her heels clicking in just the right way to make Genesis behave, lest the sound stop.

It’s why he’d chosen the caves as his secret place. The walls made hypnotic echoing noises when he yelled or stopped his foot. It had satiated an itch in his brain like nothing else could, and when he was in control of that noise? Unparalleled pleasure. Nothing could compete, not even Sephiroth.

He would not necessarily say it was a dirty secret of his. He wasn’t ashamed of allowing himself simple pleasures, and he never would be, but he was distinctly aware that the level of pleasure he got from it was not exactly typical.

Most people who like the sound of heels on hard wood, like it or find it sexy or some such thing. Genesis knew that when he said he liked the sound, that’s what others had thought he meant. Most people didn’t repeatedly yell into an echoey room and get breathless with excitement when the sound reached back to meet them.

Most people enjoyed it in moderation.

“Feeling inferior in size again are we commander Rhapsodus” Scarlet smirked at him as he approached the board room.

“Says the woman who’s made up of more silicone than muscle,” he drawled back at her. She scowled at him.

“I’ll have you know everything about my assets” she framed her chest sensually for effect. Genesis resisted the urge to stick a hat pin in her boob just to watch it deflate like sad balloon. “Are natural,”

He rolled his eyes at her. “Mm, well your assets are in the way of the door. Move,” he shoved past her into the room, ignoring her squawk of indignation when he made her stumble.

He hated the board room for many reasons. The front runner being that it never meant anything good when himself and his fellow first class were rounded up to talk to the president. The fact that the room was carpeted so he couldn’t hear his feet just made it worse.

Sephiroth and Angeal were already at the table. The former typing away on his PHS, while Angeal sat picking at his eyebrows in anticipatory stress. Genesis slid into the chair they’d left between them, feeling a little too happy to be between his boys rather than next to one of them. It made him feel important in the best ways.

“Stop that,” he said taking Angeal’s wrist to pull his hand from his brow. “I refuse to sleep with a man who has no eyebrows,”

“And yet you Sleep with Seph?” Angeal shot back cheekily, making Sephiroth look up and cut him a disparaging look. Genesis snorts inelegantly.

“He’s the only exception to the rule darling. What he lacks in eyebrows he makes up for with his hair and pecks alone.” He snickers and Sephiroth makes a confused noise.

“What is wrong with my eyebrows?” He asks.

“They are very pale,” Angeal pokes back.

Gen tries his best not to brake, “it’s alright darling, we love you despite this one flaw,” he croons, obnoxiously patting Sephiroth’s cheek.

“You are both unendingly insufferable,” muttered the General before turning to lightly bite at Gens palm.

Once affections had been stoked and polite Hellos given to every other person Gen could care less about, the meeting got underway. As they had all predicted it was more conjecture and pontification about what President Shinra expected to come from there efforts to retake East Wutai. The fact that it was not a particularly geo-strategic province seemed utterly lost on the man.

Genesis was getting tired of hearing Lazard relay the same information over and over again as certain members of the heads department put there opinions in where they were not welcome. As if these people had a clue what it was like on the front lines. As if they knew the numbers of men they’d be risking just to take a province for little more than a presidential ego boost. Genesis had just lost a battalion to the Southern Army’s advances and it never felt justified when he pushed open the doors of their strongholds and homes to find mothers and babies laying bloody on the floor.

His leg starts to bounce as he attempted to keep his focus. Bored out of his mind was a state Gen was intimately familiar with, and usually he had no problem showing it, but even he had a modicum of self control when it came to putting on a show for president Shinra.

The man held not only his job but probably his life in the balance at any given time. Genesis was idiotic, not suicidal.

A hand appeared on his knee making his leg stop. Angeal was putting enough pressure on it to hold it still and nothing else. Gens other leg started to bounce for a little while, but the shared look between Sephiroth and Angeal, over his head, meant that it didn’t take long for Genesis to be held down from both sides as the men silently implored him to focus.

It didn’t take long for him to start picking at his nail polish under the table just for something to do. His foot tapped at the floor but no satisfying sound came from it and Genesis had to stop himself from getting out of his chair to pace around the room. He was holding every muscle very tightly, trying desperately to not feel trapped by his lovers hands.

By the time the meeting finally ends and everybody is filing out, Genesis is rocking on his heels in the hall as he stands with Sephiroth while the man makes pleasant with Palmer.

Click, tak, click, tak, click, tak

Sephiroth puts a hand on Gens shoulder to make him stop. Genesis wants to scream, but instead moves away with a feigned glance at his PHS and slipping out of the conversation with a simpering “so sorry, I have recruits waiting for me in the training room.” He’s walking briskly away, the click of his heels soothing his brain as he heads to the elevator and spends a few isolated seconds bouncing on the balls of his feet and clicking his tongue like he’s calling a horse.

This is the bit he’s ashamed of. This is the bit that he can’t explain to anybody. The excess. The need to click his fingers over and over, humming old 80s tunes and making popping noises with his mouth.

He doesn’t know why he does it. Angeal always said he just had a lot of energy; one of his nanny’s had suggested he maybe had something wrong with him. He’d never been brave enough to find out.

When the elevator doors open, Gen shoots out at an impressive walking speed. He’s through the hall and into his apartment bathroom before he really registers it and he climbs into the empty bath tub with little thought as to why.

This room is echoey. He likes it like that. He likes hearing the water sounds bounce around the room and the reverberating sound his belt makes against the tiles when he undoes it.

Sometimes this room is too much. Sometimes the cave was too. He’d have days and days of trying to avoid loud noises and open rooms. Days when little sounds made him want to claw his ears off in a way that not even his beloved clicking heels could sooth. He had days where the only way he could stand to hear people talk was one at a time and in softer tones.

Today he needed more though. Today the sound was not enough and he needed the echoes to devour whatever was trying to break out of his skin.

Click, tak, click, tak, click, tak, click, tak

Snap, snap, snap snap snap, snap

Pap, snap, pap, pop, pap, snap

He’s so lost in the noise, his head back against the lip of the tub, his eyes closed, that he doesn’t realise the doors been opened. Doesn’t realise Angeal and Seph are in the room until he feels a calloused hand in his hair, and another one on his knee. This time there’s no pressure of restraint this time, just comfort, and he opens his eyes.

“Better?” Angeal smiles down at him, brushing his hair from his forehead to kiss it. Genesis hums at the contact.

“I’ll go get dinner started,” Angeal stood and Genesis let him go, looking over at Sephiroth a little sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, “I know my clicking drives you mad.”

Seph shakes his head and quirks a lip at him, using the hand not on Gens knee to pull his hair back slightly to show Genesis his ears. In them sat a pair of small noise dampening earplugs usually used for munitions testing.

Huh. He couldn’t actually be mad at that. It felt like a good middle ground.

“I do not wish to upset you,” Seph said, clearly reading Gens face wrong. “I simply thought these would be a good compromise. This way you can click when you need to, and I am not frustrated by it.” Genesis smiled at him.

For all they bickered and challenged each other, Gen was so stupidly in love with him.

“It’s okay darling, you did good,” he places his hand on Sephiroth’s.

“Now, help me out of this thing!”

#ffvii #genesis rhapsodos #crisis core #AGS #angeal hewley #sephiroth #sephiroth crescent #AGS little fic #audhd #AuDHD Genesis #Genesis with autism #Genesis with ADHD #this felt cathartic to write #my writing

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