continued from x

daryl had known it was only a matter of time before someone found him, a slight exhale escaping him -- blue gaze shifting over toward the hunter, meeting blue eyes lighter than his own. ❝ it ain't that bad, ❞ he argues instinctively, before chewing at his lower lip - a low sigh escaping him a moment later, moving his vest and shirt out of the way so chris can see the gash on his side.

@prxtectors

@ygoc-week day 5 is swap, so let’s swap to talking about another OC for a bit!

YU-GI-OH! DM — ISABELLA “IZZ” ROOKE

Oh Izz. Izz baby. My girl :3c She's the main character of a DM alternate fic called Soul Release, named after a card that's very important to her. She survived a tragic pileup that killed her entire family. Unbeknownst to her, this event tied her to a freshly-born reincarnation of Anubis named Rin in this verse.

This version of DM also includes a faction of worshippers of Apophis because of the existence of The Prophet of Apophis, a strong leader and manipulator… as cult leaders tend to be.

Aigami/Diva also appears earlier in this story rather than being a post-canon aspect; we get a Kisara reincarnation named Sapha, a German TCG champion; and Battle City gets a top 16 on the blimp with these three OCs especially mixing things up via their being chosen by the Wickeds.

I say “chosen,” but both Yami Bakura/Zorc and Rin/Anubis work together to create them to oppose the Egyptian gods. Yami B and Rin have a… working relationship, very much rooted in “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” They both strive for the pharaoh’s downfall. Rin chooses Avatar for herself while Yami B takes Wicked Dreadroot. Then Prophet blows up the museum, catching Yami B in the blast, and steals it for himself. Rin gives Eraser to Izz because she sees Izz as a puppet Rin can coerce to do her bidding anytime, including opposing the pharaoh.

Izz moves to Yugi and co’s school. She’s fairly distant from everyone in her life because of the tragedy, but they are kind to her and she is kind in turn. She wins local tournaments and tops regionals because, in order to hide from grief, she fixates on Duel Monsters deckbuilding and ratios and meta etc. This is enough to earn her a Duelist Kingdom invite. Overall, she’s an anxious mess who needs a hug and isn’t sure how to properly interact with other people anymore. She feels like a cataclysm waiting to happen again and again.

Now the elephant in the room! You see her with the Pyramid of Light. Rin approaches Izz after her first regional win. Izz is weak at the knees for beautiful women (and men—everyone is a bi disaster, remember?). Rin explains she hosted the tournament and forgot about a particular prize. She compliments Izz’s dueling and gifts her the Pyramid of Light, saying she’d like to get to know her better. Izz is flabbergasted and accepts the Pyramid, asking only what it is. Rin only describes it as valuable jewelry and recommends Izz keep it on her person.

The iridescent swirls in the pyramid’s sky blue are mesmerizing to Izz, and staring at it provides an indescribable comfort… and focal point to keep her grounded/stop her out of body experiences such that she does indeed wear it constantly

This has an unintended side effect

See, Izz wears a necklace (in the artwork, matches Dark Magician Girl’s pendant) that just so happens to contain the ancient and slumbering spirit of Mana. Being so close to the dark energy of the Pyramid of Light stirs her, and she becomes Izz’s ghost like companion similar to the pharaoh and Yugi. Mana is always trying to be a positive influence on Izz where Rin is like the devil on her shoulder. Izz often makes mistakes and trusts the wrong people, hurting her friendships with the gang and repairing them again.

Her using Wicked Dreadroot however… that one will certainly be difficult to come back from.

And as for pairings, I’m undecided and going so many directions! I would probably have to write it all out.

(but my heart says fellow orphan Seto Kaiba if Izz can ever look away from all the other gorgeous gorgeous guys and gals) (Rin can’t stop rizzing her up) (y’all just WAIT until she meets Ishizu)

I’m just a writer! Artist credit in first image and rest are picrew

So, the button says to ask you anything. I'm going to take that to heart and shoot my shot. My absolute favorite fic of all time is hands down, But Then, My Homework Was Never Quite Like This. In fact, the entire ten fic Homework Verse is something that I have read in its entirety many times over. And as I was late to the fandom, this was the very first J2 fic I ever read. They captured my imagination as they were not perfect people, living perfect lives. They were flawed, and Jensen was broken, and they were willing to make the hard choices, even if it hurt them, and to then do the work to make their relationship last. The way you wove through ten years of their lives, the ups, the downs, and all the incredible everything in-between. Plus, how can you go wrong with George Michael providing the soundtrack to your life? That being said, the actual question. At Jib14, I was absolutely blown away by the below picture.

My first thought was that this is what that Jensen would look like now. As he was giving a lecture to the assembled masses on some new theory he had developed with Jared's assistance. Now, I know that your Jensen did not have a beard, even a neatly trimmed one, but then again, times can change (maybe he lost a bet with the love of his life - who knows). As the 20th anniversary is fast approaching, have you ever considered dropping in on the boys once more? Just a quick peek to see what they've gotten up to since the last time we were able to see them. If you were generous enough to gift us with a long glance, I think that legions of devoted fans would drop to their knees and devote an entire religion to you. I know that sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone. But sometimes, an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and this amazing story has been burning up the fandom for a very long time. Even if it's just an extensive list of all of the amazing sights that they encountered as they traveled around the world, going to one conference after another. Please, take the time to consider, and then do what makes you happy. Thanks!

Hello love! I, too, thought of an older Homework Jensen when I saw that photo! It means so much to me that you love them, and the story, so much. I love those boys. They're very dear and special to me. I get nostalgic and emotional just thinking about them.

I have, in fact, thought about revisiting them. At one point I had a whole story planned, where Chris is throwing them a ten year anniversary party at his club, and Jensen... well, has a public, non-sexual surprise for Jared. Plus bathroom sex, Chad and Misha shenanigans, glimpses at their family members and more.

Sadly, I lost all my notes and the outline for that story when my computer died many years ago. I still remember most of it, though, and have thought, on occasion, about trying to write it. I also had a Christmas story in mind for all four of them sharing a Christmas together.

Honestly I would love to write in that verse again, but sometimes I just feel the story is told. Anything else I write at this point would be purely JUST to revisit them. I also wonder if I could get back to that head space I was in 15+ years ago. Isn't it funny to wonder if you could still write your own characters?

So I'm undecided. I would love to, but it would be purely self-indulgent. I'm kind of worried I couldn't find the right voices again, but also curious to see if they're still living in my head.

I will think about, for sure. Maybe I WILL write something for them next year. I'm going to seriously consider it.

Thank you for the ask! And for caring so much about my boys and their story. <333

2023 writing roundup

i was tagged by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf and @rockyroadkylers!

i feel like i've spent my whole year writing, but i also know that i've spent months without doing it so i can't say how much it was month by month. but i posted three fics this year so like. that's an achievement!

let's see what we got.

January:

the great dean court off - Supernatural, 21.8k, M (chapter update) [someday i will finish it, i promise]

Of all the things Dean expected to find when he came back from the bathroom break, a folded piece of paper with "hey, if you’re not gay, my friend thinks you’re cute. here’s her number 316-557-9608 (and if you’re gay, here’s mine 316-997-2018)" written on, was not it. - Or the one where Dean organises a dating contest because he's bi and can't decide between two options.

September:

I Had Some Time (With You) - Supernatural, 23.9k, E

It's 2005 when things go to hell. Well. They go to hell for everyone except Dean, ‘cause he was ready for it. Well. He was ready for the apocalypse, not for the gorgeous man who fell into his life, quite literally. OR A Destiel rewrite of Bill and Frank's love story as shown on HBO's The Last of Us episode 3: Long Long Time that uses elements of both universes.

November:

we all have a hunger - RWRB, 22.9k, E

Alex’s journey of self discovery started one random night five years ago, when he was scrolling his favorite porn website to relax after midterms. He chose a video with the preview of two guys in the threesome category, thinking nothing of it, and came so hard he thought he was going to pass out. The threesome didn’t happen, the girl just sat there looking at the two guys going at it, just like Alex did. After that night, saying that the tall, blond and gorgeous actor with a fucking sinful shoulder to waist ratio didn’t do it for him was a complete lie, so maybe, maybe, Alex could be excused when he freezes up when said man - even more tall, blond and gorgeous in real life - stretches a hand toward him and says “I’m Henry, Pez’s ‘best mate of honor’, as he says.” with his perfectly infuriating British accent. — OR: Henry is a porn star, Alex is a fan.

December:

Fill My Stocking - RWRB, 6k, E

Alex has spent the past fifteen minutes talking with David about his favourite treats. Not that the dog answered, but Alex was undeterred and kept going, uncaring that Henry had asked him to give him an hour and then he’d join him in hanging up fairy lights and mistletoe everywhere. Very well. If Alex wants Henry’s attention, he'll have it. It's probably not what Alex thought he’d accomplish with his little scheme, but it's a compromise between Henry's needs and Alex's wants, and that's all that can be done. OR: Alex wants some attention and Henry has to get creative.

Upcoming in 2024:

part 2 of the pornstar verse (title undecided):

picks up the day after the ending of part one, it's alex's first christmas in london

Like Father, Like Son:

alex is a horse trainer and has a crush on arthur fox. he's the trainer on set for arthur fox's new movie (a queer western). his son, henry fox, visits the set and well. alex is fucked.

I hope you don't mind. (part 3 of the pornstar verse):

henry's bad days and how alex helps him go through them

Other things I hope I manage to put out next year (or at least start writing):

Your body is the Sistine Chapel:

what if dean was as tattooed as he was supposed to be? which tattoos would he get? for whom would he get them?

untitled airbnb fic:

alex travels to london as a reward for finishing college, and henry is his airbnb host whose dog likes alex a little too much.

untitled mandalorian!alex fic:

alex is the mandalorian, david is grogu. that's all i have for now.

untitled scarlet witch!henry/sword agent!alex fic:

inspired by this tweet. i have nothing more than this to give you atm.

i posted 62.406 words this year, and written many more. i'm fairly new to writing, so this is a real accomplishment for me. my biggest goal was to post a fully finished chaptered fic, and i did! then i started a series, and wrote something shorter than 7k, and i have so many ideas for future fics that i genuinely don't know where to start. i hope i manage to post at least a couple next year!

tagging: @affectionatelyrs @firenati0n @absoluteaudacitywrites @gayrootvegetable @leojfitz @anincompletelist @ssmtskw @littlemisskittentoes @cactusdragon517 @read-and-write- and everyone else that wants to join!

Additional side blogs here atm are; @ambitionfcrged @nomadfcrged @balladfcrged @faithfcrged their blurbs can be found under the cut so you can see if you want to follow / write with them! They are all open to plotting and scheming if anyone would like to interact w/ them lmk !! additional info for melody & dante can now be found on their blogs as well under BIO. tag!

also, now, we have amos burton, from the expanse, @factiousfcrged - no blurb atm, he's open for any crossover or au or other verses.

WILLIAM; fc adam dr*ver. mutant / superhuman.

Mutant / super human OC w/ electrokinesis; the ability to control & manipulate electricity from the minute amounts in organic cells to lightning strikes. He also has an abnormally long lifespan and decreased aging. He is a willing recruit to HYDRA or whatever compatible evil power hungry group exists in any particular fandom; Vought, Brotherhood of Mutants, the Sith, the Empire, whatever organization he feels will gain him the most power, protection and prestige. He is a sadomasochist, he craves power above anything else and will do whatever he wants, whatever he thinks he has to, to get it. He is not a nice guy. He is not redeemable. Any emotions he has that might be construed as love or affection by outside parties are only mimicries of those - he may even think that he loves someone (he's pansexual) but it's only in a way that serves him, only if they please him, only if whatever they're doing and how they live in some way contributes to helping him. He is controlling and obsessive. He is calculating and vindictive. He is not going to change his ways for anyone other than maybe on some surface level because he thinks it'll help him get further with them / their cause if that will help him in some way.

MELODY; fc elizabeth ols*n. tog immortal.

The Old Guard oc. Teaches music at elementary, high school and secondary education levels as well as private lessons. Plays piano and violin. Brand new baby immortal. Makes a minor splash in news for being the sole survivor of a subway derailment; found in the rubble not only alive, but unscathed. More to come.

ARMAN; fc rahul k*hli. mortal.

DOMINION original character. Saved from the pack of eight balls that killed his parents, as a child, a few short months after the end of the world, by the Archangel Gabriel. Given into the care of a higher Angel who was loyal to Gabriel inside the sanctuary city of Vega to be kept safe. After the massacre of High Angels and Michael’s attack on the guards & senator of Vega, he evacuated from the city to travel to find Gabriel to pledge his service and to try and find a way to bring hope back to the Angel who was once the most staunch defender of humanity.

DANTE; fc oscar is*ac. mortal. (maybe? undecided)

Ex US Army member. Discharged after he confronted his CO about an order he considered unlawful bc it would endanger civilians; not willing to risk the heat of bad PR fallout, military simply discharged him. Parents died when he was in his early twenties. His younger sister lives with their aunt in a yet tbd foreign country. He spent some time in a private mercenary unit; did not work out and he has since being primarily nomadic, hopping from city to city doing odd jobs like security, bodyguard, bouncer, bartender, etc for whether he can get decent pay under the table. Has a habit of landing in trouble bc he doesn’t like seeing people pushed around.

"I think I'm going to start dating women for a while," Maura said casually, not looking up from her journal. Jane's head snapped up from the baseball cards she was resorting.

"Why? Has it got to do with Dennis, because I can promise you not all the men you date are going to try to kill you."

"Not really," Maura said, turning the page. "I'd always meant to get around to it, and maybe I'll be a better judge when it comes to women."

"Ok," Jane said, watching Maura suspiciously. "And you're telling me because?"

"Would Angela have an issue with it?" Maura asked seriously. "I don't want to make her uncomfortable."

"No, she got pretty excited when Giovanni told her we were dating. She thought I'd landed myself a doctor."

Maura nodded. "Pizza?" she asked, as though the topic wasn't worth further discussion. Jane nodded and dialled. When she hung up she watched Maura for a long moment.

"Why are you telling me?" Jane asked. "You coulda asked Ma yourself."

"It seemed fair to give you first refusal," Maura said, still not looking up from the journal. Jane could see the cover; there was a special analysis of mucus in this one.

"First refusal?"

"If you'd ever wanted to date me," Maura said shrugging. "You could ask now. If not, Alexandra has someone she's been dying to set me up with." Maura sounded so... blaise about it, as though she was asking what they were having for dinner rather than asking if Jane wanted to date her. Jane shrugged when Maura looked up, got the pizza.

"What makes you think I want to date you?" Jane asked, halfway through a slice of pizza.

"I thought it might be insulting if I didn't offer. I'm not well-versed in best friend etiquette."

Jane nodded as though that made sense.

---

Hannah this, Hannah that. It was all Jane heard at work, that and the buzz of Maura's phone, the pink blush across Maura's cheeks as she read texts, obviously from Hannah.

"Would you like to meet her?" Maura asked. "I'm bringing her home to meet Angela tonight."

Tonight was so soon, but Jane nodded, looking away. If Jane was Maura's best friend, if Maura dated a woman, would she become Maura's best friend? What would Jane do? Where would she find a new best friend? Jane sighed. She'd been spending a lot of nights alone, more so than usual when Maura was having a fling. They hadn't had dinner together since that pizza a month ago. Jane was lonely. She was just lonely. She should look for a new best friend.

---

Hanna wasn't what Jane had been expecting. She'd expected Maura to date a woman like Maura, from society, rich and well-dressed and professionally ranked. But Hannah had been none of those. She worked for a foster care organisation that Hope helped out with somehow, and she'd shown up to dinner in clean jeans and a graphic tee with a flannel on top, half of her red hair shaved, the other half down past her shoulder.

"Maura tells me you're a homicide detective," Hannah said, and Jane nodded. She'd seen Maura flush and giggle earlier when Hannah had whispered something to her before dinner. Angela had clearly approved, but Jane was undecided.

"And that you're a Red Sox fan."

"It's Boston, who isn't?" Jane asked, sounding gruffer than she'd meant to. "You following the series?"

"Yeah, Plantz is really coming through on goal," Hannah enthused, and Jane felt the tension leave her body as they started enthusing over the last game.

---

"I'd better go," Jane said a little later, earlier than she'd usually leave. "It was nice to meet you."

"I'll walk you out," Maura said, getting up as well. Hannah remained seating, Jane noticed, and tried not to flex her jaw.

"Well?"

"She seems nice," Jane shrugged.

"Is she a serial killer?" Maura asked, looking nervous. Jane laughed.

"I don't think so," Jane said. "I didn't like Dennis, I didn't know why but maybe I'd been picking up on something. She's nice. She's sweet." Jane remembered how Hannah had put her arm around Maura earlier, felt her jaw flex again. "Goodnight," she said quickly, making an escape.

---

Jane felt like a third wheel more often than not. She found herself making excuses not to hang out with Maura because Hannah was usually there, and although she'd only seen them kiss once, it was more than enough for Jane. She'd always thought she wasn't homophobic, but this bothered her, so maybe she was. Frost's mom's didn't bother her like this, though. Maybe it was that she felt like she'd lost her best friend. Maybe she felt like Maura didn't want her around anymore. Maybe it had been the completely blissful look on Maura's face when Hannah kissed her. Whatever it was, it was too hard. Especially with everything with Casey recently. Jane felt like she was never anyone's first choice; Casey going to Afghanistan, Angela picking Maura's side in arguments, and Maura choosing Hannah over Jane. With none of the men Maura or Jane had dated had their relationship changed this much. It was only now, with Hannah, that they'd drawn apart. Maura seemed happy, and that made Jane happy, but she thought back to that night, where Maura had offered her first refusal and she hadn't answered. If she had, would things have stayed the same? The dinners, the sleepovers, the constant contact between them. Would Maura have looked at her like that if Jane had kissed her?

Jane sighed, then looked up at a knock on the door. She opened it, surprised to see Maura. Maura had a key. Maura never knocked. Maura looked like she'd been crying. She stepped inside and Jane shut the door behind her, ushering her to the couch where Jane put a supportive arm around her.

"She said I talk about you too much," Maura said, starting to cry again. "Everyone I date always says that, but she said it like a... like an accusation. I said we work together, we spend all our time together, and she said it was weird that I live with your Mom." Maura started crying for real, and Jane pulled Maura in against her, let her cry against her, arms rubbing her softly until she could talk again. "This is why I put off dating women so long. They can be so judgemental. She said it was like being in a threesome without the extra..." Maura trailed off, and Jane could almost hear her blushing.

"You need me to go talk to her?" Jane asked. Maura shook her head.

"No, it's not her fault. I could have talked about you less. I mean, I couldn't, but I should have been able to once I knew it was bothering her."

"Well, did she try to murder you?" Jane asked, and Maura chuckled.

"She did not," Maura confirmed.

"Well, that's a good start."

"I really liked her, but she wanted me to choose. I really liked her, but I love you. I don't know how to make space for anyone else in my life," Maura said sadly.

"Ask again," Jane said.

"Ask what?"

"The refusal, ask again."

"Oh. But that was first refusal."

"Then this'll be the second. Technically I never answered."

"Jane, I think I'm going to start dating women for a while. I feel it's fair to let you know in case that's something you might be interested in." Maura took a deep breath, finished what she should have said the first time. "Because I would be interested. In. Dating women that are you," Maura faltered. Jane smoothed Maura's hair.

"I needed a little while to think about it. I missed all our dinners and brunches and weekends and time together. If I'd known, I'd have never let you get set up with Hannah."

"Is that a yes?" Maura asked, her voice very small.

"It's a 'your girlfriend just broke up with you', ok? Give it a few weeks, make sure it's not just the rebound talking and..." Jane shrugged. "Are you staying?" Jane asked softly, "as a friend," she added quickly. Maura nodded, and Jane smiled against Maura temple.

By: Ryan Burge

Published: Feb 23, 2024

There's been no bigger term in religion and politics over the last five years than "Christian Nationalism." I went to graduate school between 2005 and 2011, and I can say with a great deal of certainty that I never read that term in any research I combed through for my coursework or dissertation. My, how things have changed.

I just did a quick search for the term on Google Scholar, and across the first thirty articles and books that appear, 21 of them have been published in 2020 or later. That's not typically the case with other queries of the literature; it's usually heavily tilted towards older works that tend to have a lot of citations. All that to say - academic work on Christian Nationalism is very much in its embryonic stage.

I can easily list seven books specifically dedicated to Christian Nationalism that have been released in the last few years:

Taking Back America for God by Perry and Whitehead (2020)

The Flag and the Cross by Gorski and Perry (2022)

American Idolatry by Whitehead (2023)

Preparing for War by Onishi (2023)

Red State Christians by Denker  (2022)

The Everyday Crusade by McDaniel, Nooruddin, and Shortle (2022)

The Full Armor of God by Djupe, Lewis, and Sokhey (2023)

It's all happened so fast that it's hard to get our arms around a pretty basic question in the discussion about Christian Nationalism - are those sentiments increasing or decreasing in the general public? Well, now I can answer that with a great deal of specificity.

If one is looking for the empirical foundations of the Christian Nationalism debate, it’s in a series of statements that were posed to respondents in the Baylor Religion Survey back in 2007 - Wave II. They are as follows: 

The federal government should advocate Christian values

The federal government should allow prayer in public schools

The federal government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces

The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation

The federal government should enforce strict separation of church and state

The success of the United States is part of God’s plan. 

Response options ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The middle option is undecided. I know that there's a lively debate about defining Christian Nationalism and whether these questions are tapping that concept accurately. I am going to sidestep that discussion entirely here. The authors I mentioned above are much more well-versed in those debates than I am. My focus here is narrow - I just want to see how responses to those questions have changed over time.

I can do that because the fine team at Baylor did another survey in 2021 that asked the exact same questions. That’s fantastic because we can compare apples to apples in terms of longitudinal changes. So, enough with the preamble. Let’s get right to it. 

I think it's fair to say that the results point to the fact that Christian Nationalism is fading in the general population. That's evident in a number of these statements. For instance, in 2007, 55% of folks said that the government should advocate Christian values. In 2021, that share had dropped to just 38%. That's substantial.

Additionally, 69% thought that the government should allow prayer in public school in 2007 - that declined to 55% in 2021. There was a nineteen-point drop in the share of respondents who say that the government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces. In 2007, a bare majority (51%) agreed that the government should enforce a strict separation of church and state. That increased to 62% in the most recent data.

The only real oddity to me is the last statement: the success of the United States is part of God’s plan. In 2007, just 32% of people agreed with that one. In 2021, that actually rose to 37%. I don’t have a good explanation for that one.

Taken together, I think it's empirically defensible to say that Christian Nationalism has declined significantly since 2007. But, there's a caveat here. The share of Americans who were nones in 2007 was about 16%. It was nearly 30% in 2021. So, a lot more nones in the sample would drive down Christian Nationalism. In the Baylor sample, 11% were nones in 2007. That increased to 19% in 2021. So, let's just exclude them and do the same analysis.

That's reassuring because our results really don't change that much. Agreement with the Christian values statement has dropped by 17 points. It's down 14 points for the statement about prayer in public school, and it's declined a whopping 18 points on allowing the display of religious symbols in schools. The percentage who want a strict separation of church and state has jumped 12 points as well. The results in the first graph are not just an artifact of the declining number of religious folks in the sample - even the religious folks are less willing to embrace Christian Nationalism based on these six statements.

But, let's not stop there. I created a scale of Christian Nationalism. When someone strongly agreed with a CN statement, that was scored a 5; if they strongly disagreed, that was a 1. If someone was unsure, that was a 3. I added the scores from all six statements, then I subtracted six. So, the scale runs from 0 to 24.

I calculated the mean for six different religious groups in both 2007 and 2021. It's pretty apparent that Christian Nationalism has retreated among most of them. For evangelicals - their mean score was 15.9 in 2007. That dropped to 13.8 in 2021.

But the drop for mainline Protestants was huge, from 16.3 in 2007 to just 10.4 in 2021. That's six points on a 24-point scale. Maybe the discourse about CN has permeated more into the mainline, and it's pushed some members away from embracing statements that could be indicative of Christian Nationalism. I don't have a great answer for that big shift. For Catholics, the shift was a bit smaller (from 12.4 to 9.7), but still a noteworthy decline.

Black Protestants are a real puzzle that needs additional exploration. In 2007 their mean score was 12.3, and that didn't change at all in 2021. One thing worth pointing out is that the sample of Black Protestants was 351 in 2007 and only 96 in 2021. That may play a role, but I'm not entirely certain.

So, that's the change at the top level. How about looking at each of the six statements individually to get a better sense of where the movement has occurred?

To me, this is where those shifts in the mainline really become clear. In 2007, 79% of mainline Protestants said that the government should advocate Christian values. That dropped to just 40% in 2021. That's huge. And the mainline numbers are also way down on other questions too. It's a drop of 29 points on the question of allowing prayer in public schools and a 23-point decline on allowing religious symbols in government spaces. There's no doubt in my mind that Christian Nationalism is much less pervasive in the mainline today than in the late 2000s. The only problem is the share of Americans who are mainline is dropping rapidly, so this is having less of an impact on the aggregate numbers.

There are drops for evangelicals here, but they are more modest. Thirteen points on the Christian values question, six points on allowing prayer in schools, and eleven points on allowing religious symbols in public spaces. But the share of evangelicals who want the government to declare the United States a Christian nation is unchanged - 43% in both surveys.

Let's take a step back from religious tradition and move to political partisanship to finish this post. Again, the same six statements but this time the sample is broken down into Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.

A Democrat in 2021 was half as likely to say that the federal government should advocate Christian values as they were in 2007 (42% down to 20%). They were 21 points less likely to say that the federal government should allow prayer in public schools and 23 points less likely to support the display of religious symbols in public spaces. It's pretty clear to me that Democrats have become much less supportive of many of these statements compared to 2007. That's probably due in no small part to the increasing God Gap.

For Republicans, the shifts are less dramatic. There's been a ten-point decline in support for the first three statements (Christian values, prayer in schools, and religious symbols). And there's been a 21-point increase in the share of Republicans who say that the government should enforce a strict separation of church and state.

But, that's not the whole story. The share of Republicans who say that the government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation has risen by 5 points since 2007 (from 40% to 45%). And the share who say that the success of the United States is part of God’s plan has jumped 13 points during this same time period (from 46% to 59%). So, it's fair to say that it's a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to Republicans and Christian Nationalism.

When this data is looked at broadly, it's generally true (but not universally the case) that Christian Nationalism has retreated over the last several years. That's especially true for mainline Protestants, Catholics, and Democrats. But there is evidence here that evangelicals are also less likely to embrace some sentiments related to Christian Nationalism as well.

Why these declines have happened is not an easy question to answer. Whitehead and Scheitle found that the average Americans link to religious symbols is highly contingent upon current events. Thus, the aftermath of January 6th and the subsequent discussion of Christian Nationalism pushed some away from many of these sentiments.

It could be the rise of the nones, but that doesn't appear to be the whole story. It could be more people have become aware of this debate in 2021 when there was little discussion of Christian Nationalism in 2007. Or it could be simple generational replacement - younger birth cohorts are just less strident in their beliefs and the most fervent supporters of CN have largely died off in the last 14 years.

Either way - this longitudinal data should help situate the large discussion about Christian Nationalism in 2024.

“No. No. Absolutely not. No. Take that back outside.”

From clicker-bait

➵ "y'mean dinner?"

for @clicker-bait

A Melody in the Breeze

hey! This is like my first time writing fanfiction since like 2020. I'm sorry if this is ooc for Aira, I tried my best since I'm rusty with writing and I wanted to get back into writing. This will also be my first post! Yay! Summary: Aira hears a familiar song after a bad day of practice. Notes: Gen fic, no ships, hurt no comfort, angst, this fic is based off Kyu-kurarin by Iyowa (and me crying after hearing this on an hour loop, listen to it here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b1IexhKPz4] if the link doesn't work)

It was another day of practice again. As the songs kept on playing, Aira just seemed to always be a few beats behind. Forgetting to make a turn here, a pose here, it seemed like he could have done nothing right that day. As the music stopped again, Tatsumi piped up with a suggestion, “Let's stop here for today, it seems we all did our best today.” Aira then mumbled to himself, “Yeah, right.” He knows he didn’t do great. It felt like he didn’t even try at all today. Another day of mistakes, of being a failure. He tried his best to shake off the negative thoughts and left for his dorm room.  Aira immediately noticed that both of his roommate’s weren’t there. “They must’ve been busy again…” he thought to himself. Aira then pulled out his phone to play some music. Maybe a song by one of his favorite idols would cheer him up! He hit shuffle on a playlist and was surprised on what song played. A song he hasn’t heard in a while.  A distorted tone plays at first, accompanied by a soft pink background and imagery of a girl in a casual outfit. He looked over the title of a song and made a note of it, because of how odd it was. Kyu-Kurarin, by Iyowa. He sat down on his bed and looked at the music video. As the warbled notes played, a soft voice sang out a melody. As he listened to the first verse, he thought of how familiar it sounded. Like the song was playing his life. The chorus rang out in his ears as he pondered about the lyrics. How it was too familiar. Too close to home. A girl where she seemed to smile even though she’s struggling to feel in place with everyone, that’s Aira. With another warbled bridge filling the gaps between verses, he began to feel numb in his heart. The pictures changed to the same girl in her bed, and now it looked like everything but a frame was shifted upwards. The notes the singer was hitting were higher and then the chorus struck again. The same familiar undertones of loneliness, false happiness and love. Love … Tears silently flowed down his face, hitting the duvet cover softly. Why was he even crying? It's just a song, he shouldn’t sob over something as simple as this. It's just a song, just a— “I can't fill this gaping emptiness; what will I do if it all gets out?” —…That line. Another line that's too close to home. The emptiness of feeling alone in the world, without a companion in sight. The fear of finding a place to call home, and then it being burnt down in an instant. To reveal his emotions to anyone. To be against the expectations of everyone else and to not be happy. To not smile. These themes were so strongly strung with who Aira was, that when he heard these words he began to sob. The final images of a girl hugging a guy is what he wished the most in that moment. He wished that he had someone to hug, to care for, to love. But as quickly as the song started, it ended. He paused the playlist and put his phone aside. Aira hid under the covers and just began to cry his eyes out. The only thing that gave him a peace of mind in that moment was that he was hugging a pillow. Maybe if he pretended enough that it was someone, one day it would become real. Maybe one day, his heart would be unresolved and undecided. Or like the song suggested, hang in the air.

𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 :

  “With all boldness, brace the eternity of your existence.”

  ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  In Westley's human verses, most commonly he was taken away from his biological (Scottish) mam at birth (happy birthday, Westley?) and raised until he was six years old by his biological (Dutch) father and that father's (American) boyfriend. His father gave him up to the foster care system after his partner died, rather than seeking out his mam (who thought he'd died at birth). It was all downhill from there. The lad was utterly failed by those meant to protect him. The tragedy is that he has a good and loving mam that he's never met.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  In verses where Westley is a Tulpa, he was found by Captain Angus McCarthy on the North Sea on June 26, which is coincidentally the day he first came into existence. Captain McCarthy pulled what he thought was a dying lad out of the sea, and when he realized that Westley was immortal, gave him his surname to make life easier for him. Upon waking up, the only thing Westley could recall was his first name. A memo: only tow people get away with shortening it to 'Wes': Captain McCarthy and Muriel.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  Also in his Tulpa verses, Westley stopped celebrating his birthdays when he realized that he wasn't human. His last 'celebration' was throwing sheets over the mirrors. However, prior to that, the crew made a big affair of it, singing songs all into the night. He simply didn't tell the crew about his birthday once he'd left the old crew behind.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  In his standard human verse, Westley tends to vary in age from about 24 to 27 as of June 26, 2022. Everyone knows, of course, that characters do not age according to the same standards as their muns, so I'm currently undecided if Westley will age up with the years.

  𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐎𝐃𝐘𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐘 :

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  The first of Westley's birthdays that he and Muriel spent together, Westley was turning 19, and they stole a super fancy ™ cake from a French Pâtisserie and ate it with plastic forks under the awning of a flower shoppe called April Showers. They ate THE ENTIRE CAKE. (Muriel may have also stolen them alcohol. Mr. Morris may also remember them all those years later when they buy that same flower shoppe for their husband. ( © )

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  The tradition of stealing a cake stuck, and they’ve been doing it ever since. They’ve stolen five cakes up to this point. Westley says that they were very good cakes. This said, they now have the means to BUY a cake, but the tradition is in the stealing so *shrug emoji*.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  For his 24th birthday, Westley and Muriel took James along for the cake thieving tradition. Westley still thinks that James later returned to the Pâtisserie and paid for the cake.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  It’s become a game to Westley and Muriel that each year the cake has to be more expensive and elaborate than the last — and thus the ante gets upped and the ruse gets more intricate. ( © )

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  James is a terrible sneak, but insists on going birthday after birthday until he eventually gets better with it. They definitely almost get caught a couple times and they laugh about it. James is horrified. Muriel and Westley have to explain why they can’t simply buy a cake. ( © )

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  He spent his 25th birthday in the hospital with his husbands, one of whom was ready to go home from sustained injury, and the other who hadn’t woken up yet from nearly dying. His biggest wish was simply for Muriel to wake up, cake be damned.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───  Prior to Muriel, there’d never been much of a fuss about his birthdays since he was very young. However, he remembers having pie instead of cake on his fifth birthday, and losing a bright green balloon when he fell asleep on one of his dads’ shoulders.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── 2022 was the first birthday that he’s had his mother. He didn’t expect her to remember. in fact, he never expects anyone to, due to the circumstance. And he isn’t upset about it at all, to be honest.

  𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐏𝐀 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐖/ 𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐘:

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── The year that Westley met James in ‘Dancing and the Dreaming’, he sailed The Arcady into port for his birthday, so that he could be with his lad, but he didn’t say anything about it. James almost definitely made cookies anyway, and they were only the second sweetest thing he had that day. 😌 He has an ongoing habit of doing things like this for his birthday — I’m pretty sure The Arcady herself was a birthday gift to himself. y’know, in case he needed an excuse to buy a whole entire wooden ship.

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── The year that Westley met Muriel, the ship had a huge, huge celebration. there was dancing and lights all through the night, and music. Westley thinks he might’ve admitted to himself that he loves Muriel on that night. He also might’ve teased him about dancing in mushroom circles. Either which way…there was something magical there. (Fun fact: ‘Wellerman’ just came on my Spotify for this one. Muriel, is this your version of a rick roll?)

                                                                          . . . (more to follow on the actual date!)

Remade AU List for BNHA. Whoa boy.

I decided ONLY to do ones I would love to work on myself for fun because like… dude, WE MADE SO MANY HOLY SHIT.

Relative AUS

These are AUs where Izuku’s related to *inster character*. Mostly parents.

Izuku Many Dads: AU where Izuku’s mom goes to a sperm bank as she is AroAce and wants kids. The sperm bank is a front for a shady buisness where a branch of the HPSC is trying to breed new heroes by using sperm collected from heroes who are worried about injuries making them unable to have kids in the future. Sperm is collected during teenage years so we have choices. Would be a Series thing with multiple possibilities and choices.

Aizawa Izuku AU: Aizawa is Izuku’s dad. Pairing is ShinDeku

Izuku has Fire Wings: AU Where Hawks and Dabi had a baby, time travel happens and Izuku is their baby. Pairing Undecided.

Uncle Might: Inko’s long lost brother is none other than All Might. Pairing is ShinDeku and also Inko ends up with Nighteye. All Might is Aro/Ace and loves his sister and nephew

Inko has a Hero SO AU

AUs where Inko gets with a Hero of Some sorts

Kitty Midoriyas: Izuku and Inko have cat Quirks and Aizawa falls for Inko. Pairing is undecided really. Maybe traffic light trio, maybe not.

YamaDad: Inko and Present Mic get together. Izuku remains Quirkless and wants to be the first Quirkless Hero. Shinsou is adopted by Mic and Inko. IidDeku is the pairing I tentatively want but that might change.

Quirk AU

AUS where Izuku has a Quirk

Omega Quirk: Izuku’s Quirk basically has him be like an omega from fanfics. Sorta. Is currently a fanfic as well. Pairing so far undecided. Best friends with Shinsou

Let’s Start a Riot: Izuku has a Quirk that when he screams, he starts riots. Side effects has those affected unable to use their Quirks at all. Uncle Aizawa. Inko is part of a support group for parents of kids with ‘villain’ Quirks. Good Toga, Pairing is MonoShinDeku

Workout Music Enhancement: Izuku’s Quirk is when he listens to music he is able to preform above average. Not to superhuman levels, but when he is like seven he can run as fast as an average 10-year-old. Best friends with Jirou, Pairing is ShinDeku with Side EraserMic

Gender/Sex Swap Quirk: Izuku is able to swap between male and female. Is genderfluid and stills gets OFA. Pairing: AoyDeku

Nothing Unique: AU where a scout for hero schools goes to Aldera as a punishment duty and discovers that Izuku is highly intelligent. The basis of the AU is that Quirks aren’t Unique and most schools prefer things like brains not related to Quirks. Also, a person with a Quirk similar to AFO is around and works with the Thailand Government and Izuku gains a Quirk publicly. 

Magic Baby AU: Izuku has a Quirk that lets him have kids. Full explanation Here

Selkie AU: Magic made Quirks and Izuku’s dad was a Selkie. Has Izuku discovering this, Inko going to jail and Izuku being taken in by vampire Aizawa and his husband Mic.

Support Izuku AU (title pending): Izuku is able to boost people’s Quirks and gains strength from those he is bonded with.

Fake Quirk AUs

Izuku Fakes a Quirk AUs

Glitter Izuku: Izuku ends up covered in Glitter one day and says it’s his Quirk Sarcastically. People believe it. He rolls with it and then claims that he produces it every night while sleeping. Showers with glitter to make it look realistic. Becomes a Hero. No Pairing Yet

Analysis Izuku: A new doctor after the toe joint is proven fake helps Inko fake that Izuku has an analyst Quirk to protect him. Izuku’s mentor ends up Nezu and he becomes a Hero. Pairings undecided, keep changing mind.

Mimic Izuku: Thanks to his observation abilities and focus, Izuku is able to mimic people fairly well. Ends up claiming it’s his Quirk after a while. He gains amazing acting skills and fools a lot of people. Pairing: ShinDeku

Fem!Izuku AUs

Aus where Izuku’s a girl.

Lesbian Izuku: A series where F!Izuku is gay and has a variety of girlfriends. Usuaully I get to cause pain to other characters with One Sided Feelings

Betrothal Verse: AU Where F!Izuku is able to have a powerful child and ends up in an arranged marriage. Is a series. Pairings are: Iideku, TodoDeku, TokoDeku, ShinDeku and HawksDeku.

Quirkless AUs

AUs where Izuku remains Quirkless

Izuku Mode: AU where Izuku is aged up and went to UA with Aizawa and them. Is a fashion designer who also does hero costumes thanks to All Might choosing him. Has AiDeku and ToshInko. Follows Canon, just with Izuku coming in.

Another Idol: During an international hero fighting competition, Izuku discovers that there are Quirkless heroes in other countries thanks to one of the finalists being Quirkless. Izuku gains another idol fast here.

Pastel Izuku: TodoDeku AU where Izuku is a soft pastel boy whose stepdad is Tsukauchi and Shouto was taken by Dabi when he left. Tsukauchi picks up Shouto, and the famous: Is he cute joke happens. Izuku does meet Shouto and ends up with him. Izuku is Quirkless and ends up in UA. Shouto and Dabi aren’t villain villains here but are criminals.

Izuku’s Boyfriends: Uhhh, older Izuku where he ends up with Dabi/Shiggy/Overhaul. It’s more of a rambling idea of mine where he is older, is trans and has a kid and like… okay I dunno. It’s just me having fun. Series

Raising Kacchan: Izuku is older and is raising Bakugou. He ends up at UA where he teaches the hero course kids. Shinsou, Hawks and Tensei all like him and are interested (Shinsou aged up). Dabi also has an interest due to Izuku being behind Endeavor losing his hero license.

Babies

AUs where someone has a kid

Stone Cold Sober AU: Izuku is an Omega and the doctor who declared him Quirkless discovers he has OFA as he works with AFO. OFA users who carried kids have like super powerful children so the doctor takes the chance to experiment by using sperm stolen from a hero sperm bank to try and impregnate Izuku. Would be a series with multiple possible parents of the kid.

Older Sister AU: Izuku has an older half-sister who comes to Japan when their dad dies. Both are Quirkless. Has Bad Inko who leaves and sister is now in charge of Izuku. Sister is a stripper who becomes an informant for underground heroes. Izuku is trans and has a kid due to a shitty boyfriend. Still gets OFA, I… I don’t think I gave it a pairing. DOes have OC/Aizawa

Dad Izuku: Izuku is a single dad. Mother died in childbirth. Has Inko be a terrible mother who wanted to sell Izuku to Overhaul. Overhaul leans about OFA, Izuku is taken in by All Might. Izuku is raising his kid and is happy, thank you.

New WIP Ramblings

@deepwaterwritingprompts is responsible for my newest idea. This prompt specifically: “We spider girls are brave. We head into the woods at night. With softly glowing silver thread, to do the job no else will.”

I was trying to worldbuild a religion for Fruits of Poison…I was just having fun! And then everything got real serious, real quick and I realized…I couldn’t possibly do justice to idea with the story I want tell in Fruits of Poison.

So now we have the Spider Goddess WIP. I’m sorry for inflicting my half formed thoughts on yall but I find the format of a tumblr post to work through thoughts extremely helpful. Plus I can access the notes from anywhere unlike when I put things in Scrivener or a notebook.

So the basic gist:

There’s a pantheon of gods, responsible for the creation of the earth and the heavens

Don’t know the effect they have on the magic of the world yet

But long ago the spider goddess went mad and she was imprisoned by the other gods

(I’m still figuring out what happened specifically but in essence the spider goddess is mentally ill, the other gods see her as a “danger” and imprison her. Don’t know exactly what “imprisonment” looks like either. Need to have a big think on that.)

Shunned by the gods, society follows suit and she’s largely forgotten about with her followers considered outcasts

But her followers remember

Her followers believe her imprisonment unjust

Going off the model of “gods only exist if people believe in them and worship them”, her followers sustain her

They care for her

The order has sunk a lot of effort into understanding what’s wrong with their goddess and as such have a unique understanding of mental illness

They also have the best understanding of how to recognize it, how to treat it

The order seeks to help those with mental illness in general society

Society generally discards those with mental illness (thank you @musical-chick-13 for prompting with the “if their goddess is an outcast are they outcasts? Do they advocate for other ostracized groups?”)

Im struggling with how to portray the spider goddess in terms of…how do her experiences translate to our modern understanding of mental illness?

Does she personify one type of mental illness? Or maybe the nature of her godhood means the presentation of her mental illness shifts? That feels like it’d be extremely hard to portray or pull off thoughtfully though

However it could explain why the order has a vast knowledge of mental illnesses rather than just one specific one

I very much like the idea that the order advocates for the those that are ostracized by society (thank you again MC13)

Like yes, their focus is those with mental illness but they also care for the outcasts of society as a whole

They don’t turn anyone away that seeks their help

If they can’t help the individual, then they find someone who can

I’m also undecided as to whether they rehabilitate the spider goddess or not

Actually

They do

I don’t quite know what this means yet but I’m going to figure it out because justice for the spider goddess dammit

Idk if she actually ever “gets better” though

I guess it’s a question of what does healing look like in that scenario?

I don’t want her to be “cured” because fuck that ableist narrative

Perhaps reconciliation with other gods of the pantheon?

Idk. Need another big think on that.

Some characters I’m toying with

The matron or leader of the order - I feel like this ‘verse is great for blurring the lines between science and magic and I’d really just love to have a character that…plays into the mad scientist archetype? Like she’s wise and knowledgeable and knows her shit but society generally regards her as being “out there”. I’m thinking she probably has what we would call bipolar disorder. Probably type two.

A young woman that’s experiencing mental illness and because of her symptoms, she experiences a lot of conflict with her family so she seeks refuge with the order. Which mental illness does she have? Dunno. Big think.

Someone without mental illness that’s just found a home with the followers of the spider goddess

Misc things

I know I keep referring to it as an order but I think I’d like it more if it were a community? Basically comprised of people that are fleeing or outcast by society at large

Perhaps there is an order within the community

I’d generally like to keep this story romance-less

Or if I do touch on romance, have it be more minor/background things

I’d rather focus on themes of community and perseverance and healing

…that’s…all? For now? Idk this WIP needs some work and lots of big thinks but I love it

Looking at this post now, I’m like what the fuck does it even have to do with the original prompt? 😂

Dimension’s Ridge Announcement!

Hi everyone, With all the rise in Sonic media and the great releases coming up, such as The New sonic game in 2022,the sonic movie 2, sonic prime, and literally anything Idw has been releasing including their new side series “Imposter syndrome”, I am challenged to up my game and release information on my long running project in the works. Especially Since sonic prime and Idw is literally gonna blow out all the spoilers before I do if I don't start releasing stuff first. Since its been happening constantly, I gotta be a step ahead.

So, without further ado, I introduce you to the World of Dimension's Ridge.

Dimensions Ridge is My personal Alternate Universe that seeks to combine all aspects of sonic media. In fact, its super similar to the upcoming Sonic prime, archie and Idw Comics in this regard, with it possibly being a bit more ambitious, or at least equally as ambitious as Idw.

The Series will follow a number of favorite canon and non canon characters alike, but will also their universal counterparts and alternate universe selves.

The Main overarching plot line is that a Existence level Threat is putting everything in jepoardy. This Creature Known as an Existence Eater spreads its influence to a planet by releasing its minions into it, then after enough time, it comes to absorb the planet, thus erasing it from existence entirely, as if it had never been there in the first place. This has been happening for quite a while, until a few people caught onto it. They began leaving messages and warnings to others in a attempt to save them.

Being an existence level threat, this will take the combined effort of every Version of Sonic,Tails,Sally, Eggman and everyone else if they want anything to be left in the multi-verse. This Story is about how they all come together to do just that.

However that is the main plot. The story follows many minor or sub plotlines and stories that all connect and weave into this ultimate narrative. For Stories featuring Sonic and friends, Stories start off in the classic area and work their way into the modern area as the characters develop and mature, so we get to see and live their journey alongside them. For older characters and parents, I wanted them to have a  more staple involvement in the series, even if only at the beginning. Their Adventures as the World slowly slips into chaos can be read in War on Mobius.

While there are Prequels to the beginning of the story, such as the “Rift War.”, the main storylines that kicks off all the other starts is one of my current productions “War on Mobius.”This follows the economical and political collapse following the Recent End of The Rift War and begins the Egg Empire's rise to Power.I would like to mention that The Egg Empire Now consists of the collective versions of Eggman all working together as a family. Egg Fam for short. But we have Great additions such as boom eggman, Ova Eggman, Aosth Eggman, Satam Eggman, Russian Eggman,Eggette, and a few custom additions such as Omelette and Scramble.

Things That happen in War on Mobius will be seen effecting or influencing the states of things in my Classic Era Story “Classic adventures.” and others ones such as “The Freedom Fighters.”

Alongside canon appearances of less known or scrapped characters and designs, such as Tiara and Honey the Cat, Readers can expect appearances of my own characters, both as counterparts to main characters, and also as people who drive the story forward and show interesting and dynamic opinions of their changing world. A few Such ones would be “Tribal Ties” Focusing on the Tribes of Echidnas, Bayblonians and Pangolins Tribes, all of which play a part not only in Mobius history, but also will play a vital part in its future.

After Classic adventures, comes one of my long running claims to fame and a personal favorite of mine from my early script writing days. Zone Runners. This takes place after the Events of Classic adventures and as the world has been influenced by the political unrest in War on Mobius. It follows the Group of People on the East Side of the World as they try to fight back against the Egg Empire, Newly risen Oscillators Group, and The Very lack of Sonic and Freedom Fighter there. This series will also begin unraveling some of the mysteries behind the existence eater and the ultimate narrative. Originally this concept came from the Fleetway comics, and ever since I've been completely inspired to incorporate this into my own series. If anyone was ever on Sonic Amino, they might have seen me post things related to it back in the day.

I also wish to be a more character focused series as a whole, one who focuses on the people collectively as opposed to just Sonic himself. I want it to as if each character us actually a main character and can save the day, and that the day is only won because everyone has done their part, whether powerful or powerless.

To that End, I have many characters stories intertwine, or lead to one another. Some characters will have branching off stories, while others will be closely intertwined, and always interact with each other, regardless of who the story is currently focusing on.

A few I'd like to notable mention is, Shadow's Ark, Silvers Sanctuary, and Heir of Sol. Focusing on the characters Shadow, Silver, And Blaze Respectively.

While I have a lot of other Titles for the stories respectively, I'd just to touch on a few more before I close.

Worlds collide finally answers the question in sonic media about two planets and the dimensional connundrum of sonic rush and sonic 06. While also bringing together multiple characters who were on their own paths, for the collected purpose of setting up how everyone will be needed much later.

Dimension Forces is, a reimagined Version of Sonic Forces, including a whole new team of villains to take on the heroes from our prior stories. I call them: Forever Force. The Main Three Hitters Being the Villains Infinite, Eternity, And Enigma. In this Story we'll get to see Whispers team in action, and also get to see new stories involving Gadget and His Brother Widget, and a host of other rising heroes soldiers and returning cast members.

I also had this Idea that the wisps were able to use their abilities on their own, except in smaller weaker versions then when they had a mobians help.Thus you could call in drill air strikes and other things to help you in battle, and the flew alongside you rather than in containers. I had these idea way long ago, but what do you know Idw beat me to the punch again in rise of the wisps. However I would just like to say before they do it too, that I had the idea of the wisps combining their powers, as if anyone played Sonic simulator, you would know you can actually combine wisp powers. If its the same type, its twice as strong with a bonus effect. If its different, you can combine the strengths of two different powers. Think how eggman used cube with laser in the boss nega wisp armor.

Speaking of Sonic Simulator! Thats another Story I have plans for. Following alongside the events of Sonic colors, Sonic simulator follows the group of hedgehogs abducted from Mobius and sent to eggman's interstellar amusement park as part of an organic experiment to take out sonic. Suggested by The Leader of the Oscillators, These hedgehogs will now have to work together to prove their worth to Eggman and as worthy adversaries of Sonic! But what of their past memories? What will happen if they remember? And if they do, can they escape? Find out! Also its follow up story leads to sonic lost world.

I'd also like to talk about the Idw Verse Mini series I have been working on! Getting Art from the Talented CatRage and getting to voice my Ideas to My Friends as well as My sister, I present my own Miniseries! Mimic's misadventures!

This story takes place between  the events of Idw's Bad guys, and follows mimic's operations and struggles as he tries to complete his missions, and deal with people of similar caliber to himself. Will this mercenary manipulate his way easily out of another situation? Or has the Octopus finally met the one group who will send him back to the ocean? Find out!

Currently, this miniseries has 5 canon issues and one undecided.

1.Ghost Of The North.

2.Into the Spiders Nest

3.Hunt is on

4.Jaws of a Predator

5.Belly of the Beast

undecided: 6.Seaside Escapade.

Currently I am writing the script for Part 1 of Ghost of the North and hope to finish up the Audio drama reading for it soon.

So this is all the stuff I've had in production for the past few years! Along with my co writer Pinky heart.

Please, Please! Reblog or retweet this. It would mean the world to me. Also please! Ask as many questions as you'd like. I'll answer as many as I can, and would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions, as well as questions and inquires involving the series.

11. (It’s totally ok to say Paul)

So this is from the fandom asks (https://princesstillyenna.tumblr.com/post/671856764571025408/fandom-end-of-year-asks) and is

What is your favourite OC you've met this year

And nonnie it's not Paul. Simply because I met Paul long before the rest of you fuckers did and he's been living rent free in my head for longer than a year.

That being said I don't really read fanfic with oc's in, which is hypocritical I know, since I write it, BUT... I am going to answer this is two slightly adjacent ways

The original hockey boy that I met this year and fell in love with is.... Mike Brouwer. (and/or Liam Fitzgerald because you can't have one without the other). They're not fanfic oc's because they aren't from fanfic works but they are hockeys sooooo yeah. There are other YCMAL verse characters I would absolutely die for (vinny, scratch, recently gritty,) but Mike Brouwer is the original character I fell in love with this year and cried a thousand tears over this year

The second way I'm going to answer this is what OCs of my OWN have I "met" this year and fallen for and the answer is obvious because inside my head is nothing but the Max and Ben show these days. Hopefully next year I will get some of Ben's story written and then some of Max and Ben written but essentially these two have my heart right now. I can't tell you a HUGE amount about them without telling you literally everything butttt

Ben Lucas (hockey nickname Lucy... Pronounced like the girls name, full name Benjamin Lucas) is 6'4" d-man who is built like a brick shithouse and is an absolute sweetheart. He loves hurting people in his spare time and kind of hates himself for this. He is actively feminist and working on being anti-racist too and he played in the NHL for EIGHTEEN MONTHS AS A VIRGIN. his teammates think this is peak hilarious BTW. It really is. We love Ben.

Max Markham (full name Maximilien(spelling undecided) although Ben will swear blind his full name is Amaximus... Its a long story, hockey nickname is Marky). Also a d-man but he's 5'10". He's a second generation NHLer, his dad (Josh aka OG Marky) played in the NHL and was a forward/goon. Max has a big sister Amanda (no nicknames please if you call her Mandy she will gut you) who is 3 or 4 ish years older than him and he adores her and they are super close and a baby sister Amelia ("Meals") who is 5 years younger and he hates her and they constantly wind each other up. Max is most often described as "annoying" by his teammates and every single year he played in the OHL his teammates voted him "teammate I would most like to gag"

I'm not going to tell you how they know each other or even how they see each other because that varies wildly depending on where we are in the storyline but I will tell you this: the fastest way (let's be real here one of the few existing ways) to piss off Ben Lucas is to call Max annoying in his earshot. Max is NOT annoying, he's just exuberant.

Okay I’m once again in a mood, having a hard time actually writing so I’m just gonna vibe out some ideas and move on. I have too many ideas that I wanna read. For both kaishi and CoAi. The struggle. How do y’all multiship???

Hug Prescription (kaishi) I’m slowly writing this one, so I won’t spoil it, I don’t even have it all the way planned out.

Kiss Me More (shinshi) I just like kissing fics. All vibes, I have nothing really planned but I did start it. Like a paragraph in, but idk where I’m going with this. One shot most likely.

Various song fics that I plan out whenever certain songs come on. I’ve accepted I will never escape these ideas, I’m just not going to always write them now.

Hazey (kaishi) Knowing we were in love was enough for me, but not for you. Yet another memory loss fic that no one asked for. It starts shinshi and ends kaishi (but it was supposed to be kaishi the whole time) I low key have this all planned out too.

* I can’t seem to get away from mentioning the grey otp potential even when it’s supposed to be all about the ship that stole my heart

Grey (undecided on the ship. It could go either way and I may end up with two endings) My most ambitious fic idea that I will never get to. There’s like too many things to talk about here but I guess fake dating. Canonish the Black Org still exists but it’s different now. Basically Shiho has to go back to being Sherry and Shinichi is still trying to take them down meanwhile Kid has his own agenda but he’s working with Shiho

* low key have a prequel thought up for this verse but it would be a shinshi fake dating fic and honestly that means Grey would have to end up as a shinshi fic so idk

Best Friend’s Roommate (shinshi) a strict kaishi brotp but they are super flirty and everyone thinks they’re together. But it’s shinshi cause he’s smitten but also conflicted cause isn’t she dating his bff?

Just Friends (shinshi/CoAi idk yet) I just wanted an excuse to write him being aggressively like oh so we’re just friends? I’ll show you what a great boyfriend I can be!

First (shinshi) I realize I have a thing for ships where the guy is a virgin and the girl is the one that’s experienced. But also guys (people in general) can be kinda obsessed with their firsts so… what I’m saying is for reasons I won’t go into yet, they have sex and well… I don’t wanna say he falls in love with her because of that but low key that’s the vibe, except she’s all yes I like you (not to his face of course) but I know this is not real so we should just move on.

Breakup Fic (shinshi) I envision this to be a follow up to Fleeting Feelings, but basically they finally get together and it doesn’t work out. But it’s the unresolved feelings and the yearning and the I still love you and I want to be together but maybe we’re not meant to be… but that’s bullshit cause love should be enough shouldn’t it? They have to get back together, right?

No Title (shinshi) because I can’t get my mind out of the gutter ever since I started the I Only Lie When I Love You verse, it’s like the sex pollen trope. I actually have a part one and two cause you know, she gets it first and then he does. So there’s that

Secret Dating (kaishi) they get together but do not tell anyone, and well shinichi is suspicious. Knowing me I would probs mention CoAi potentials but this is just a dumb idea

Today Was A Fairytale (shinshi) a fairytale retell with my queen getting all the happily ever afters. Who says she can’t be a princess?

Fic: Santa Baby

Rating: Adult

Notes: Because I'm induniated with Christmas music at work...(Set in Divide verse, but you don't have to have read that to get the gist of this). Forgive mistakes - mostly written from mobile. Happy Holidays to all my followers, I wish you well and this is my gift to you! :)

"Stanley, this is never going to work."

"Oh ye of little faith," Stan says from the other room. Ford can't see him, but he knows what his brother is up to and it's ridiculous, "I don't know why I agreed to this in the first place..."

"Face it, Sixer - your husband is a gamblin' man. I'm rubbing off on you."

While Ford feels the pleasant of hum of Stan referring to him as his husband, he still can't help but let out an exasperated sigh, "Perhaps, but taking this bet? Ludicrous. There's no way I won't win," he sniffs with some self assured arrogance, "I almost feel sorry for you."

"You just wait," Stan's voice holds its own note of pride, "You won't be able to contain yourself when you see me in this get-up."

"You are correct. I won't be able to contain my laughter."

"Or your dick," Stan boasts and that gets a stuttering giggle out of Ford, as well as cheeks burning with embarrassment, "Stanley! Honestly, such language..."

"You love it," Stan returns easily, " Albeit you're more one for action than anything. That being said..."

He finally emerges from the other room and, just as Ford thought, he can't keep himself from laughing. Stan is dressed as Santa Claus. The full ensemble - red suit, shiny black boots, beard (his own, in point of fact) - and all so he can try and win a bet.

The bet being that he can get Ford in the mood to want to 'fuck' Santa. Ford wasn't particularly happy with that particular descriptor, but that's how Stan put it.

It all started with them noticing that a lot of the Christmas songs on the radio they had playing at the Shack were...questionable at best.

Santa Baby, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Santa Claus Is Back In Town, and more. Some even seem to suggest hooking up with Rudolph! As such, Ford made an off handed comment that he would never want to have sex with Santa and Stan took this as a challenge - thus the bet.

The prize?

Currently undecided, but that wasn't the point - the point was just the fun of the competition, the thrill of the gamble and yes, Ford supposed that Stan is right about his brother rubbing off on him in that regard.

But seeing this...

Ford rolls his eyes, but rises to his feet, moving to do what Stan asks, After all, what could it hurt? There's no way his twin is winning this bet.

"Well, this was a blast. I'll decide on my reward later..." Ford moves to leave his seat only for Stan to wave that away with one gloved hand, "Nah, nah - you haven't given me my proper shot yet, Sixer. This outfit's only part of the deal - now..."

He moves over to one of the big armchairs in the room and takes a seat, patting his right knee, "How's about you take a seat on Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas this year?"

Stan is playfully slapping both knees now, even as Ford turns his back to him and prepares to sit. His ass gingerly touches his new seat, only for one of Stan's big arms wrapping around his middle and tugging him down insistently.

And the moment Ford is settled he knows why. He lets out a squawk, alarmed and stunned at the feel of Stan's very prominent erection digging into him.

"Stanley!" Ford cries, scandalized, and - unfortunately - immediately aroused. How did he not notice Stan's, ah, excitement when he first came out? The feel of Stan's rather substantial bulge makes his loins twist, a throbbing pulse starting deep in his balls.

Stanley, the scoundrel, sounds beyond pleased as he returns gruffly, "How's about we get you settled properly, little boy?"

Ford scowls at that even as his nerves spark with excitement. Then Stan has the gall to place his hands under Ford's knees, spreading his thighs wide, opening them until his legs fall to either side of Stanley's.

The position makes him feel wide open, vulnerable, exposed. More so when Stan runs a gentle hand along his inner thigh, the heat of his palm making his now stirring cock grow fuller.

The feeling of it all, of everything, makes Ford arch his back, a shuddering sob of air escaping him. The insidious pressure of Stan's dick brushing against his ass, his lower spine...

He feels...empty. His mind is suddenly flooded with heated images of Stan throwing him over the nearest object and filling him, taking him, pounding in so hard and so deep...

... Christ, he really is the little slut Stan always claims he is. A logical, brilliant mind like his...reduced to a slobbering, heaving mass of hormones, of wants and desires. And all thanks to sex.

No.

All thanks to Stanley.

And that's the name that escapes him again in a whining whimper as he squirms, his body pulsating with lust. Stan just huffs a laugh, his breath hot against one of Ford's ears, "Now, now - my name is Santa, remember?"

"I-I truly despise you..." Ford chokes out, just adding to Stan's amusement as he asks dryly, "And what's your name?"

"It's-ah!" The cry comes out sharp and quick, Ford unprepared for Stan's hips doing a single, strong upwards thrust. Bastard. He says his name, but it comes out in a wanton moan, "Stanford..."

"And have you been naughty or nice this year, Stanford?"

"I-I-I..." Ford stutters, trying to concentrate. Jesus, the fact Stan can get him so worked up so quickly should be illegal. It just adds more validity to Stan's 'off switch' theory. He certainly feels dumb as a stump as he grumbles, "Jewish... shouldn't even..."

"Santa can visit any girl or boy he wishes. So, Stanford," he rolls his hips up sensually again, making Ford mewl even as he husks, "I asked you a question - naughty or nice?"

The sound Ford makes isn't much of an answer, but Stan seems to take it as one, chuckling darkly, "How's about we see what's in your stocking..."

Stan's gloved hands are somehow damp, slick and Ford has no idea what kind of witchcraft the man did to make that possible, but he's so thankful for it. He thrusts wildly, gratefully, into the cool, slick cradle of Stan's grip, keening with pleasure.

He smoothly eases down the zipper of Ford's straining fly and while normally Ford would abhor the horrible indeundo about his 'stocking', but right now he's so eager to be free, to be touched, he practically lurches into Stan's grip, panting a desperate 'yes' as Stan reaches past the elastic of his underwear, drawing him out into the open air.

"Oh my, you are a naughty little boy, aren't you?"

Honestly, Ford wishes from the very deep depths of his soul that he didn't respond so much to this comment - to Stan's...whole thing right now.

But he finds himself already on the precipe of cumming, Stan's deft fingers playing perfectly along his rigid length - the plump, weeping tip of his dick - and, really, a man of his age should have more endurance.

Hell, it should be impossible for him to be so near his climax so quickly and yet here he is, rocking on Stan's lap, nothing but noise leaving him.

"What do you say, Stanford? You want to try and be a good boy for Santa? Be a good, nice boy who cums for him?"

"Stanley..." It's breathed in-between feverish moans, shudders rippling throughout his entire body. Teeth and tongue play along the shell of Ford's left ear, "Not my name..."

Stan's strokes pick up speed, his hips move up again, his bulge pushing just right between Ford's ass cheeks as he growls, "Say it."

"Santa!" Ford wails as he loses control, stars clouding his vision as his orgasm reverberates out from his very core. His body clenches and unclenches, waves of bliss washing warmly over him even as his release does the same to Stan's gloves, staining them with his spunk.

When he manages to breathe easy again, to be, again. Stan puffs, "Well, well, well. Looks like I won and I'll decide my prize later..."

Ford mutters some very colorful curses under his breath even as Stan gloats, "Don't be a spoiled sport, sweetheart. You got off on Santa. Literally."

"I got off on you, you asshole..."

"It wasn't my name you shouted just now."

Ford colors, sputtering, "You goaded me into it!"

"Eh, whatever you say, honey. We both know the truth," Stan snuggles one side of Ford's face, offering him a consoling kiss, "How's about we take a shower, huh? Santa's suit's a little...ah...sticky."

Ford's eyebrows rise at that. Did Stan get off too? The thought makes him grin a little, happy to know he has a similar effect on his twin. They slowly rise, a combo of sex and old age making getting to their feet something of a chore.

As they head to the restroom Stan leers at Ford, his eyebrows waggling playfully, "Next time we'll try the Easter Bunny."

Ford sighs, "Did I mention how much I despise you?"

Stan laughs, " I love you too, Ford. I love you too."