#I'm not sure this really says anything new about Our Flag but I just needed to get my thoughts out
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So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.
See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.
But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...
What is the difference between this and this?
Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?
Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.
But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.
And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.
But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.
See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!
As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.
And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:
So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?
Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.
In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.
In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.
This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).
Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.
More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.
This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.
A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.
But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.
#everyone say 'thank you togas' for not including a long tangent about evil rimmer in red dwarf 5x05#Our Flag Means Death#Togas does meta#and yes these principles DO fall apart slightly in s2 and i DON'T like those costumes as much#don't get me wrong they're fun and gorgeous - but generally a bit less deep and more inaccurate. so. :(#I'm not sure this really says anything new about Our Flag but I just needed to get my thoughts out#i hate hate hate Gritty Period Drama costumes they're so boring and so ugly and so wrong#god bless OFMD for using more than 3 muted colours and actually putting men in heels (and not as a shorthand for rich/foppish villainy) <3#looking at that Tudors still is insane like they really will go to any lengths to not make men feel like they've got bare legs XD#image descriptions in alt text#and yes i DID just sink about two hours into those so you'd better appreciate them
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exene talking about the state of the world. the good stuff starts at eight minutes. or you can just read the transcript complete with the usual errors that accompany robot transcribed speech (the irony of which is not lost on me). maybe it's not about transhumanism and living forever (or maybe it is who knows), but there's definitely an agenda of surveillance and control at work which is designed to keep the powerful in power. cash rules everything around me and you will own nothing etc. the future is worse.
#google has helpfully flagged this as a 'conspiracy theory' which let me know it was definitely worth paying attention to#sometimes a conspiracy theory turns out to be flatearth-tier but anything those in control are putting effort into discrediting#concerns me and makes me look deeper. if they're going to the effort to control the discourse there's something there that#threatens them. anything google calls a conspiracy theory is worth a closer look. it often means someone has gotten too close to the truth.#she's brave to be talking about this shit they basically cancelled her and forced her to apologize for talking about how they want#to take our guns and the media is lying to you and stirring up fear so they can get away with passing gun control#like wtf leftists should be all about gun rights. a disarmed population is totally at the mercy of the state's authority#it's not very punk to surrender entirely to regimes in power and let the only people with guns be the police#like c'mon guys we need guns. and it's like drugs. they exist anyway. better they do so in broad daylight than in the shadows#they let adam curits talk about this stuff for some reason and no one calls him a conspiracy theorist idk why but there's a reason#i guess his stuff is not a threat to them bc it's dense and heady and seven hours long so the masses will never absorb it#ex punk rocker yelling about new world order in plain language monologues of digestible length is a much bigger threat#i swear there are secretly fifty people in control of everything and their entire aim is to make sure it stays that way no matter what#but it's really gross how obvious it's getting like the whole system just funnels money straight to the top and they don't even care#about hiding it anymore they're just doing it out in open and denying objective reality with confidence it's too much sometimes#i swear i can feel my grasp on reality deteriorating. it's as if there were a loud buzzing in the out of doors that was getting#louder every day and nobody ever said anything to acknowledge that it was real nobody talked about hearing the buzzing but it just#keeps getting louder and i'm finally like wtf is with this buzzing and everyone gets mad at me for shouting over their netflix show#that they weren't really enjoying in the first place. like no one is happy in the modern world. why can't we talk about why without#turning against each other. that's why doug saying 'maybe we're all the same' is such a big deal to me. anyone who is trying to unite us#is doing important work. that trump supporter is not the enemy. they are the victim just like you.
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Hey the increase in antisemitism is horrible. I want to do everything I can to help. Just so I know the right thing to do, does "listen to Jews and give us space to mourn" include listening to Zionist? Many of them are Jews. Many of them won't say they're Zionists, that they're Just Jews, and don't know why people Just Hate Jews now, while calling even the gentlest opposition to textbook war crimes antisemitic.
Like, you say Listen to Jews, and I think, sure that sounds good. And then on Twitter there is a guy with a giant star of David on a flag as his icon, saying All Us Jews Have a Right to Defend Ourselves and our Jewishness and what he means is the right to depopulate and flatten Gaza and turn it into a gleaming modern city free of arabs. And he is doing this under literally the flag of the star of david
So as a person concerned with justice and really trying to do the right thing, do I listen to that Jew? Because those are absolutely the loudest voices in the room right now,that's the army and the government and their loudest supporters, and most of the times I hear people say the word "antisemitism" what they mean is "not patronizing corporations that materially support genocide", and when they say "attack on Jews as bad as the Holocaust" they often mean "resistance to Israeli occupation of stolen land"
sorry i'm answering this four days late, tumblr mobile is awful about telling you when you have new asks lmfao
honestly the answer here is yes. you do listen to zionists. you actually should listen to jews who identify as zionists VERY closely for a few different reasons
zionism is a word that has very different meanings within and without jewish spaces. this is something i've talked about a lot on my blog, but basically, many jews use this to describe a feeling of connection to eretz israel, the land of the people israel, and doesn't inherently have anything to do with the israeli government. you should be able to find posts where i talk about this at this link [x]
you say so yourself that many people will say one thing and mean another, and that's definitely true, but the problem is that you won't know who's doing that without listening to them. many jews saying those exact things are very explicitly against the israeli government
along a similar vein, it's important to listen to why a jew says something is antisemitic. like yeah there are some people who equate any critique of medinas israel (the state of israel) as antisemitism, but there are also people who very rightfully have called out popular anti-zionist talking points as antisemitic and were then dismissed as zionist (even if this person very explicitly states that they are not a zionist). for example, when susan sarandon got fired, as people put it, "for attending a pro-palestinian rally." it was actually because she said the "people that are afraid of being jewish at this time... are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a muslim in [the united states]" [x] that statement is horrifically antisemitic because it 1) suggests that the rise in antisemitism (a 541% increase from last year as of last week [x]) is justified and 2) suggests that antisemitism is somehow a new thing in the us that jews are just now beginning to experience. in this instance it would be very important to listen to someone explain WHY they felt what she said was antisemitic, bc at first blush it just sounds like one of those cases of equating support for palestinian liberation with antisemitism
honestly i feel this is most important, which is why i put it last. to quote rami elhanan: “how will you get respect if you don’t give respect? once you are able to listen to the pain of the other, you can expect the other to listen to your pain." in that same talk, bassam aramin said “don’t claim that you own the truth always. people’s stories are their truth. you need to listen, respect, then the other side will listen to you and your pain." this was a lesson i learned because i'm a queer anarchist in kentucky; it was only when i listened to the people around me that i supposedly disagree such that i learned we agree on almost everything, and that was when we began yo see each other's humanity. another quote from aramin: "we didn’t meet as friends, no, we meet as enemies. but now we are family. and we had to start by talking to each other." the recording of the talk i attended hasn't been made public yet, but i posted a bunch of quotes from it here [x]
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This...got super long and to be clear nothing I have experienced nor will ever experience will come close to the horrors that Palestinians are facing right now. I just need to say that and make that clear, but these are just things I've been wanting to say for a while now.
Just a thought that came to my head, but I remember arguing with lots of liberals before about how I don't really support the idea that people shouldn't be able to say anything they want (except obviously spreading misinformation especially if you're in certain professions), even hate speech not because I ever want to hear hate speech, but because I can't trust any government to decide what hate speech is, and I was told to give an example
I remember at the time saying "what if one day, me speaking about Palestine starts to become classified as antisemitism or terrorism?"
I was told that was silly and would "obviously never happen" (I didn't believe them and called them naive at the time)
well....looking at certain countries right now, trying to ban Palestinian flags, ban common Palestinian/muslim sayings, ban any peaceful protest in favour of Palestine, even looking at imprisoning/fining people etc.... is kind of just proving my point.
Like most of us don't feel included or part of any western communities even if we're lived here our whole lives for so many reasons and it almost always boils down to us being Arabs/muslim.
can't speak for non Arabs and non muslims, but a lot of us feel this way.
seeing how fighting for the people who need it the most (2000+ Palestinians have been killed. 800 of them being children. 45 families completely wiped out, entire bloodlines, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, etc....like this is actual genocide. their entire family tree has been completely wiped form existence) is being banned or branded as "terrorism", or we're losing our jobs, or we're being silenced, like it says a lot about theses countries and the governments that run them.
They tried to suspend humanitarian aid to innocent people of Gaza for the love of God!! Thank God there were 5 decent countries who voted no!
Israel gets away with every goddamn crime and ANY "condemnation" of any warcrime it commits is just talk, while they continue to aid and support it.
How am I supposed to trust these governments, and MY government to decide what's acceptable and what's not when I know that during the most critical moments that matter the most, they won't be on our side, and they'll side with oppressors because they themselves are just that? That the little I can actually do for Palestine and any other country could be completely taken away?
These are "democratic" countries by the way, or they're supposed to be, and sure we can challenge all these things but there are things even we can't do. the onslaught of propaganda shared everywhere by the same news stations that refuse to invite Palestinians (and refuse to air the few times they do) and refuse to fact check their content, or report on what's actually happening in Gaza, can't really be stopped. We can do our best to spread what's actually happening, and to correct false information, but the damages have been done.
And its getting harder and harder to hear form the people of Gaza because of the bombs, cut of electricity, cut off internet access, and also, you know, the fact that the people sharing news are being killed one by one.
There's also many social media platforms completely erasing anything about Palestine. suspending our accounts and hiding our posts. I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe it's a good thing Elon Musk took over twitter because at least I've been able to talk about Palestine as much as possible without nay censoring and I'm still able to. Palestinians are still able to share their stories and the reality yon there. And sin't that crazy? Elon musk is kind of doing something right???
And you know something else? Israel killed one of their own journalists, and those people weren't able to properly report on it. They couldn't directly say it was Israel that killed one of their own workers. Like....its crazy (and they're cowards). Israel also killed 12 UN workers.
That crime is not making as many headlines as the fake stuff did. Those "journalists" and "reporters" who repeated false information (that resulted in far too many people believing them and suddenly being okay with genocide) are still working. they still have a job and they're still out there spreading more propaganda.
this post isn't well written because I'm just putting out my thoughts and what I've witnessed but to make one thing clear, I won't ever silence my voice or allow anyone to silence my voice when it comes to something like this, and i'm not afraid of what they'll do, but isn't so fucked that I could actually lose my job and have trouble finding another one for supporting the oppressed? Like isn't that just..disgusting?
Like what's that supposed to tell me other than majority of western countries are against us? It's not exactly surprising because I've known this, but everyone being VERY open about it is kind of tough to witness ngl.
Like this is not a complicated issue. if you have any morals and you're not biased against Palestinians/arabs/muslims already, then this is a very clearcut case. Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is and has been committing genocide and ethnic cleansing for literal decades and its been doing it long before Hamas came into the picture. Israel's war crimes and treatment of Palestinians is the reason Hamas even exists in the first place. you can condemn Hamas while also recognising that Israelis have no right to that land and that nothing justifies their never ending crimes. Palestinians are demanding for their rights ot live, be citizens, have rights and freedoms, and have their land that was brutally taken from them. None of those things are unreasonable.
You know what is unreasonable? the world deciding Israel is suddenly gonna be a thing and expecting Palestinians to just be okay with it. You know what is unreasonable? Palestinians being painted as the bad guys for "not wanting to share" when they literally shouldn't have to (especially because of the obvious scams of all those "treaties" and "agreements" that all gave every benefit to Israel)
Like the whole world literally let this happen and supported it and cheered for it. Some stayed silent but are showing their real colours (which those of us who haven't been blind have already seen) now.
We've got girls crying about how "they want to kill us T-T" at a university campus because people were protesting in support of Palestine, while a six year old boy was killed in his own home for being Palestinian. In the same country.
We've got celebs talk about how scared THEY are while 800 Palestinian children have been murdered.
We've got celebs posting "pray for Israel" while using pictures of Gaza in ruins or Palestinian children looking at rockets in the sky.
It's insane.
We had a protest for Palestine the other day. People were telling us to go back to our country. They were telling Palestinians to go back to their country.
....that's....that's what they want? Like we're very much aware of how much we're not wanted here just to be clear, and Palestinians across the damn globe would do ANYTHING to be able to go live in their homeland. except they can't. Israel won't let them. That's part of what we're fighting for. Any jewish person can go get a citizenship easily in Israel (even if they've never stepped foot in the country and none of their ancestors had either) but people who were born in Palestine or who's family owns property there can't get it in at all. It's absolute insanity.
I'm not sure how to end this but on every level this has been horrific. But despite that, the propaganda, the genocide, the threats, the whole world being against us, that's not gonna stop us from fighting for the oppressed and standing up for them. It's not gonna stop us from going out into the streets and no words can explain the bravery of everyone who continues to stand with Palestine but especially to the Palestinians who continue fighting and resisting (despite everything they've been through). Continuing to use our voices, donating, protesting etc... is the absolute least we can do and its our responsibility. and I truly, from the bottom of my heart wish the absolute worst for everyone who disagree with this. Like you guys are gonna pay for it. Maybe not today maybe not for many years maybe only in the afterlife (because I do believe in it) but it's gonna happen and every Israeli supporter or zionist is gonna deserve every second of it.
If you're silent, if you try to throw the "two sides" bs, and if you try to act like Palestine and Israel are in any way equal, you're included in this.
You're part of the problem.
Silence is compliance.
And screw every government that supports Israel in any way. Screw the double standards, the hypocrisy and the absolute cruelty towards innocent Palestinians.
I can't speak for everyone else but no matter what happens moving forwards, I'm never gonna forget this and I'm never gonna forgive.
I'm gonna keep trying to do everything possible which unfortunately is not much and thats frustrating on every level but I'm gonna keep doing it. feel free to unfollow/block me, but I'm not gonna stay silent about this ever. and I'm not gonna entertain any bigot or zionists either. it's gonna be a straight up block.
my asks are open, and my page is currently full of information, this site is as well, but I'm not gonna entertain those who clearly care very little bout genocide, because if you haven't opened your eyes by now, I doubt anything I say will change that. you're welcome to go through my blog or send me a polite ask (can't promise I'll get to it right away but I'll try) but I'm not tolerating pointless arguments that are basically me just repeating that Palestinian people deserve to live in their own country with all their rights and freedoms while the other person disagrees. I prefer not to argue with those who are depraved.
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Trapped In This Machine
So I'm reposting all the fics that I nuked when I left Tumblr the first time. We'll start with this one, in celebration of the return of one of my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog content creators - the amazing @e-vay, whose art HERE inspired the story. Enjoy!
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I should've realized from the beginning that something was wrong. How could I have been so blind as to not realize that something was suspiciously out of the ordinary with him? Maybe it was the extra attention he was giving me, the sudden...willingness to give affection that caused me to maybe...I dunno, not care that he was acting out of the ordinary.
He'd become everything that I wanted him to be, he was caring, affectionate, even - dare I say - loving, and all out of nowhere too. I really should've questioned it more, I should've listened to the warnings all my friends kept giving me...if I had...then maybe we wouldn't all be fighting for our very lives right now.
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"So, Amy, how's about a trip to Twinkle Park? I think they renewed that cute couples get in free promotion," Sonic leaned down a bit to grin at the pink hedgehog walking next to him. "And I can't think of any couple that would qualify more than you and me, whaddya say?"
Amy Rose blushed and giggled bashfully, playfully nudging the blue hedgehog with her shoulder before smiling up at him. To say her dream had come true would've been an understatement. Just a few days ago, she'd been wishing that Sonic would just stop beating around the bush and admit he loved her the same way she loved him...and almost as if he'd read her mind, seconds later he was at her door, offering to get some lunch with her, just the two of them.
Since then, they'd barely spent any time apart, except for sleep and necessary hygiene practices. Amy was on cloud nine, the one thing she'd always wanted had finally been given to her. Sonic the Hedgehog was hers at last, and he'd been giving her all the love she could ever ask for. "Well if you insist," she giggled again. "We might as well see what's new."
"Hey, I have an idea," he smirked. "Let's invite the gang to join us, we'll make it a group date."
At this, Amy's eyes widened and she looked up at him in shock. "Sonic, are you sure? I mean, you told me to keep it quiet for a while, I don't want-"
"Chill Ames, no big deal." Sonic shrugged. "I had a little time to think about it, and I figure that if I'm gonna be with you, I might as well let everyone know. What better way than for us to make it official at Twinkle Park?"
"Oh Sonic!" Amy lunged forward and embraced the speedy hedgehog, and held in a squeal when Sonic reciprocated the gesture. "Thank you, thank you so much!" she pulled back and ran off, waving goodbye as she looked over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go tell everyone to meet us at Twinkle Park, I'll see you later Sonikku!"
"Seeya Ames! I can't wait for tonight!"
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"Have you got anything Tails?"
"I dunno," Tails pushed his computer chair back and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, other than his sudden affection for Amy, he's still been totally Sonic." the fox looked up at his guest. "Have you noticed anything else weird?"
"Can't say that I have," Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the Master Emerald and friendly rival to Sonic the Hedgehog, stood in Tails' workshop trying to unravel the mystery of Sonic's sudden emotional turnaround. "Maybe we're just paranoid?"
"It's possible..." Tails sighed and stood up from his chair. "I mean, I always knew that Sonic thought Amy was special in his own way, but for him to go from awkward to a regular Romeo-type all in the span of three days just sends up some red flags in my mind."
Knuckles shrugged. "Maybe he just finally manned up and admitted how he feels, like you need to do with Cream."
"Don't change the subject." Tails glared at the guardian, although his blush took away some of his intensity. "I dunno, I guess we should just keep watching, maybe Sonic really has changed." Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Tails went over and opened it, revealing an absolutely giddy pink hedgehog. "Oh, hi Amy."
"Are you ready for what I have to tell you?" Then her peripheral vision registered a splotch of red, and she turned to get a better view. "Knuckles is here too! Perfect! That means one less trip I have to take!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the group trip we're taking to Twinkle Park tonight!"
Tails raised an eyebrow. "We are?"
"That's right!" Amy moved past Tails and did a little pirouette in the middle of the workshop. "I talked with Sonic and we agreed that we should get the whole gang together to have some fun, y'know, as friends!"
"This seems pretty sudden Amy, why now and not before?" Tails said as he scratched his chin in suspicion.
"Well duh," Amy replied with her hands on her hips. "Sonic wanted to wait for the cute couples get in free promotion to get started again! After all, why pay for tickets when we can just walk in hand-in-hand and have a fantastic time for free?! That's called sound economics."
"It sounds like bull-"
"Knuckles!" Tails quickly cut off the guardian before he could finish his thought, then he directed his attention back to Amy, who seemed none too impressed with their reactions if her expression was anything to go by. "Amy, don't you think that something's a little...off...with Sonic?"
"No, why would I?"
"Because he's suddenly all over you and can't stop staring at you when before he actively ran away from you." Knuckles blunt statement was responded to with an angry glare from the pink hedgehog. "You can glare all you want, you can't tell me you aren't even curious as to why Sonic's pretty much started letting his hormones do all of his thinking for him."
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Sonic's finally just realized that he cares for me?" Amy stomped forward with her hammer suddenly in hand, causing the echidna to back away a few steps. "Or am I so ugly that Sonic would have to completely lose his mind to think that I'm anything more than a nuisance?"
"N-No one's calling you ugly or a nuisance Amy!" Tails gulped when she suddenly rounded on him. "All we're saying is that...it does seem a little bit sudden, you can at least admit that much can't you?"
Amy sighed and took a moment to regain her composure. "Ok, I know you wouldn't ask unless you were legitimately worried, I appreciate that Tails," her hammer disappeared. "But there's really nothing wrong with Sonic! I mean, come on, no one knows him better than I do, I'd be able to tell." she gently placed her hand on the fox boy's shoulder. "Now come on, we're all going to Twinkle Park tonight! If you want, I'll even call Vanilla for you so Cream can come with us."
"And what about me?"
Amy turned her head to look at Knuckles, who was crossing his arms with a scowl. "Well, if you wanna find Rouge and ask her to come, all you gotta do is leave the Master Emerald alone for a little longer." she smirked at the low growl the echidna gave. "You know it would work."
"That's what bothers me." Knuckles uncrossed his arms and walked past both Tails and Amy as he headed to the door. "What time are we meeting up?"
The pink hedgehog tapped her chin for a moment in thought. "I think five 'o'clock should give us enough time to go around the park, sound good to you?"
"Wouldn't matter what time you chose, I would've come anyway." Knuckles walked out and grabbed hold of the door before he stopped. "After hearing all this from you, I'm starting to think maybe I was wrong and there really is something wrong with Sonic." With that, the echidna slammed the door shut.
"Do me a favor and don't come!" Amy growled before she looked over at Tails. "And you? Are you still convinced that Sonic is suddenly a huge jerk and this is all some elaborate prank or something?"
Tails slowly shook his head. "I don't know what to think Amy..." he looked up at her. "Honestly, I'd like to believe this is all real and Sonic's finally starting to come around to how he really feels about you, I want you to be happy!"
"Then trust me on this!" she put both hands on his shoulders and looked the fox boy in the eyes. "I'm happier than I've ever been in my whole life, and it's all because of Sonic! I've learned to tell when he's just putting on a show, and this is all real! He really loves me!"
The young genius relinquished a smile. "Ok Amy, if you say so."
"Good." Amy nodded and smiled as well. "So, how's about I make that phone call? There's a cute little rabbit girl who I have a sneaking suspicion is starting to crush on you, and I bet she'd love to hang out with us tonight."
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As soon as the clock struck five, the entire gang got together and met at the entrance of Twinkle Park in Station Square. Amy had indeed convinced Vanilla to allow Cream to join them, and Knuckles had decided to come alone, although he seemed incredibly guarded. "Lighten up Knucklehead, we're here to have fun, and no one likes a grouch when there's a party goin' on."
Knuckles shrugged off the blue hedgehog's hand and growled lowly. "Let's just get in there."
Sonic just shrugged and went over to put his arm around Amy. "Suit yourself pal, hope you brought some money with ya, since ya don't get to take advantage of the cute couples get in free perk." He led the pink hedgehog over to the entrance and stood on the platform, and then he turned his attention to his friends. "Cute couple number two, come on down!"
Both Tails and Cream's cheeks turned pink, but they did walk in together as the platform went up, leaving Knuckles alone by himself until the platform returned. "I'm not a grouch." he grumbled.
Knuckles did have to pay to get in, but eventually they did meet back up and they soon started going around the park and partaking in all that it had to offer. Rollercoasters, thrill rides, a ride (or three) through the Tunnel of Love, and of course the never-ending variety of greasy fair food. Sonic had tried to get Knuckles to take a bite of the funnel cake he'd gotten for himself and Amy, but the echidna just glared at him in response. "Boy Knux, you're really makin' a case for jerk of the year, why'd ya even come if ya didn't wanna be here?"
"I have my reasons."
"Don't even pay any attention to him Sonikku," Amy said all too sweetly. "He's just jealous that he's all alone while we're all here on a double date."
"But Mr. Knuckles," Cream spoke up. "You could have gotten Miss Rouge to come with us right? Then you wouldn't have been so lonely!"
"That's got nothing to do with it!" Knuckles rounded on his younger companions and scowled viciously, his fists clenched in barely contained rage. "The only reason I'm here is to protect you three from getting hurt!"
Sonic scoffed. "Get hurt? From what? Eating too much junk food?"
"How 'bout from you wise guy?" Knuckles got up in the hedgehog's face, and Sonic's cocky grin immediately vanished. "I've been watching you all night, and at first I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now I know for a fact that you're not yourself, if you're even Sonic at all."
"Oh yeah? And what makes you think I'm not the genuine article?"
"Because there's no way the real Sonic would ever be so openly affectionate, he doesn't have the guts!"
"Knuckles, go home!" Amy leaped up from her seat and gave the guardian a murderous glare. "I'd say I can't believe you would stoop so low, but then I remember it's you! Go back and protect your stupid rock, we do not require your services!" The pink hedgehog tugged on Sonic's arm and started leading him away. "Come on Sonic, let's go on the ferris wheel together, I've lost my appetite."
"Me too Ames."
The couple left in a huff, and Knuckles narrowed his eyes as he stared at the backs of the two retreating figures, and his eyes widened when he saw Sonic smirk at him over his shoulder. "Tails, we need to follow them."
"Knuckles, I-"
"Just do it!"
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Inside one of the ferris wheel gondolas, a blue and pink hedgehog were sitting alone, leaning against each other. The old machine had been empty until their arrival, but the old dog who ran it was more than happy to give the couple some free rides to collect their thoughts. "'T'is a great place to have a heart to heart." he'd said.
And that was what Amy was doing, as she poured out her heart to her new boyfriend. "I can't believe Knuckles would accuse you of faking all this...I mean, is it really so unbelievable? Am I really that terrible of a person that it's impossible to buy that you care for me?"
"Nah Ames, Knux is just paranoid, maybe he's just tryin' to overcompensate for all the times Dr. Robotnik tricked him."
The pink hedgehog raised an eyebrow at that and smirked. "Dr. Robotnik? No crazy quips or references to his looking like a giant walking egg?"
Sonic shrugged. "Why state the obvious?"
"I dunno," Amy also shrugged. "It's just that it's never stopped you before, kinda weird to actually hear his actual name again after all this time."
"Yeah well, that's not important anyway." Sonic turned and took Amy's hands in his. "What's important is us, and I gotta say Ames, these past few days have been the greatest days of my life...it's really too bad that it's gonna be all over soon."
"Well, what makes you say that?" Before Sonic could answer however, Tails appeared out of nowhere and slammed his feet into the back of Sonic's head before scooping Amy into his arms. "Tails, put me down! Have you lost your mind?!"
"Now Knuckles!"
Knuckles got a running start and reeled his fist back, and as soon as he was in range, he unloaded a vicious punch that obliterated the old metal keeping the ferris wheel standing, and it all came crashing down as sparks flew from the malfunctioning machinery, with Sonic crashing down along with all the debris.
"Sonic!" Amy turned and pulled out her hammer, her teeth gritted and her eyes brimming with tears. "You're both insane, do you have any idea what you just did?!" But suddenly from the smoldering flames that were now lighting up the night sky with yellows and oranges, a figure emerged from the wreckage, one whose silhouette was easily recognizable. "Sonikku! You're alive!"
But then the dust settled, and Amy's cries of joy turned into a fear-filled shriek as her eyes beheld a sight that she never would've dreamed of in her worst nightmares.
Instead of blood coming from the blue hedgehog's wounds...there was nothing but metal and wire. "I was really hoping it wouldn't have to be this way..." the creature's head lifted, and while one side of its revealed the unmistakably emerald green eye of Mobius' greatest hero, the other side showed nothing but darkness, and an angry red iris with a yellow pupil. "But thanks to Knuckles, now I have to do this the hard way."
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I was a fool, Knuckles was right all along. Sonic wasn't acting like himself because he wasn't himself. He'd been replaced by this...twisted perversion of him, made of nothing but iron and circuitry...but it was so real, a small part of me still couldn't let the thought that this was Sonic go.
But as I watched this incredibly realistic version of Metal Sonic engage in a fight to the death with the weakening Knuckles, I knew I couldn't let myself suspend my disbelief any longer. I had to help, somehow. Tails had already been knocked out, only seconds after he'd told Cream to fly away and get help. Given the circumstances though, I didn't think help would arrive in time. It was time to step up.
I grabbed my hammer and rushed forward with it held over my head, and I slammed it down on Metal Sonic's head, sending him to the ground for a moment so Knuckles could unleash an uppercut that sent him flying into the distance. "Knuckles, I am so sorry."
He gave me a grim smile in return, he was rubbing his fist and I could see the blood starting to leak through the fabric of his glove, as well as the blood coming from his chest and the side of his mouth from wounds shaped like claw marks. "I've dealt with worse." The next thing I knew I was on the ground as Knuckles shoved me out of the way, and then I heard a sickening thump, followed by a dull thud. When I turned around, I saw Knuckles on the ground, unconscious, with Metal Sonic standing over him with a frown.
"You stay away from me!" I raised my hammer in defense.
"I wish I could Ames."
My eyes widened and I felt my heart start to beat faster than it ever had before as a lump formed in my throat. Although the voice was synthetic, the way he'd spoken wasn't at all like something Metal Sonic would say...it was something that...Sonic would say. "Who are you? Are you Metal Sonic?"
The blue robot - or hedgehog, I was so confused I didn't know what to call it - took another step towards me, and I took a step back to keep the distance. "You'd think so wouldn't you?" he replied as he continued to approach. "But the truth is, I'm way better than any of those pathetic rip-offs, even before I became like this."
I felt my heart shatter, and I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. "Sonic..." I choked.
"In the flesh, so to speak." Sonic stopped to gesture at himself. "Pretty impressive huh? Dr. Robotnik managed to perfect his roboticization technique, he found me a few days ago and used it on me first. Now I've got a new goal, and that's to take you guys out...first I had to get closer to you to gain your trust...although I gotta say, I'm not really likin' this next part."
"Then don't do it! Sonic, you don't have to listen to Eggman! If he managed to turn you into a robot and make you so convincing that even I couldn't tell the difference, then that means despite all that programming he gave you, the real you is still in there! Trapped in that machine!"
For a moment, Sonic seemed to slouch a bit. "I don't wanna kill you guys," But then he looked back up and glared at me. "But I have no choice, my mission is to destroy you guys, and I'm gonna do it!" He charged towards me at full speed, and I barely reacted fast enough to get my hammer up and stop him from running me through with his exposed razor-sharp claw. "Hold still Amy, just make it quick!"
"No!" I swung my hammer and knocked him back a few feet, and then I jumped back and put more distance between us. "I know you're in there Sonic, fight it! If a robot like Gamma could reject his programming, then I have no doubt you can! You're too strong to just let Eggman control you!"
"Shut up!" Sonic charged again, but this time he was much slower and his movements were sloppier, and I was able to sidestep his attack and let him run past me and into the tilt-a-whirl. "Why can't you make this easy?"
I found it in me to smile despite the circumstances. "You're fighting it, I can tell. Don't give up Sonic, I know you can beat him!" But then his robot eye seemed to glow brighter, and he sent a vicious glare that caused my blood to run cold. "Uh oh." Only a second later, I found myself being raised in the air by the throat, as a robotic claw squeezed my throat.
"Just...just stop fighting me, ok Ames? Don't make this harder than it has to be!"
His voice was desperate, and even with his robot hand around my throat, I could feel that his grip was wavering. I could still breathe. "No Sonic, I won't give up and I won't let you give up...I love you too much to do that."
I saw his eyes soften, even his robotic eye looked pitiful now, and he dropped me to the ground and grabbed his head, screaming at the top of his lungs. "This is so wrong! I'm not a killing machine! I'm not some messed up terminator! I am Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"That's right, you are." I raised my hammer over my head. "And now I'm gonna set you free." I jumped up and shouted a battle cry even with tears pouring out of my eyes, and my hammer came crashing down on Sonic's head, crushing his metal skull. After landing, I made my hammer disappear and watched as Sonic's robot eye faded away, signaling that he had been...killed? Destroyed? What even was he anymore? "I'm so sorry Sonic," I whispered to the unmoving form. "We'll get you fixed up and back to normal, I promise."
When I looked back up after wiping my eyes with my arm, I saw Knuckles and Tails limping over to me, their bodies bruised and bleeding from the intensity of the battle. "Are you ok Amy?" Tails asked me even as he held his arm.
"It was him...it was Sonic...Eggman turned him into this...thing."
Tails knelt down and examined Sonic's robot body, and he looked up at me with a small smile. "I can probably fix him, the roboticization process still shows signs of using the same basic principles, just much more refined..." Then he frowned. "But..."
"But what?" Knuckles asked.
"I can fix Sonic and even de-roboticize him after...but...I hate to think how he's going to be after it's all over..."
I frowned and looked down at the broken body of what used to be my one true love. Knuckles seemed confused as to what Tails meant, but I knew. Would Sonic ever be the same again? Even after Tails put him back together and turned him back into flesh and blood...Sonic was one with the wind, a free spirit who could never be caged in...now not only had he been caged in, but he'd been turned against the ones he loved, and he'd witnessed firsthand the damage he caused.
As strong as Sonic was, I knew he wasn't invincible. Even he had his breaking points, and I sincerely feared that this experience would be what drove Sonic past his. But I knew that if it did, I would make sure to be there for him every step of the way on his road to recovery. There was one thing I could tell about Sonic during the past three days, and that was he truly enjoyed being with me, even while he was roboticized. Maybe that was what kept him from giving in to the programming for so long.
It wouldn't be easy, that much I knew for sure. For Sonic, being controlled like this was probably the most traumatic event he could ever experience, and it would be a while before he turned back into his true self. But he would, I also knew that. His strength and determination would make sure he eventually comes to terms with it, and I would be there every step of the way. I vowed then and there to myself, that I would personally make sure he would never know what it was like to be trapped in this machine again.
#sonic the hedgehog#amy rose#sonamy#metal sonic#tails the fox#miles tails prower#knuckles the echidna#taiream#cream the rabbit#e-vay
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Oh so they're doubling down on saying that enjoying a character they don't like and being defensive (and, admittedly, a bit petty) in what's effectively a Flame War is a red flag for demonstrating cult-like fandom behavior, while clarifying that no one is actually calling Izzy fans a cult. Yet. Just saying we need to nip this in the bud, you know?
(This being... what exactly? Arguing about S2 predictions on tumblr? Vaguing people? - Hi! 🫡 Having "bad" takes that may or may not be problematic? Bitching about tagged character crit / hate about your fave, sometimes on the posts in question? Dedicating blogs to wank? Welcome to every-fandom-ever-including-BlackBonnet, I guess.)
Not a new accusation, but since people are once again making ominous statements about the "concerning" potential of a Snapewives situation... maybe we should pass around a reminder of who, exactly, they're referencing?
The Snapewives (Fanlore Link, Reddit Synopsis) were an extremely small niche forum in a really huge fandom that are pretty much only known for infamous levels of cringe that got them mocked relentlessly when discovered by Fan Wank. We are talking a tiny subsection of a subsection of a subsection of the massive HP fandom that got really earnest with their self-insert fanfic / roleplaying (and really didn't like the canon ending of Snape's arc). There's actually a really interesting paper on analyzing "Snapism" as a religion that alludes to their particular issues with Christian faith and erotic fantasies, and can kinda sketch in how they might have gotten to where they did. It's weird, no doubt, but honestly sounds pretty harmless?
Like, I'm not sure if we're using the BITE model that they would even count as a real cult - "Snape" seems very controlling and makes them do things (cook specific dinners, stop biting nails, go on diets, etc.) but, like, there's no cult leader being "Snape". These are all self-assigned "tasks" via "channeling" (which is again weird but not super unique - read the paper) and then the women themselves disagree on things and could just come across as a really intense roleplaying forum having disputes over ratings for self-insert fic, among other things.
The situation is different when there's an obvious cult leader - see the extensive documented history of Andy "thanfiction" compiled here. Trigger warnings for sexual assault, abuse, manipulation... all the stuff you expect from cults. And really getting into reading the supplementary info will take you many hours, btw.
Anyway... having looked extensively at our "fandom cult" examples, I don't think I'm remotely "concerned" that we're veering toward cult behavior. Or Snapewives behavior. The Izzy section of fandom - and, for that matter, the Izzy Anti section of fandom - haven't really done anything that hasn't been done in countless flame wars before? Like we as a collective haven't even gotten to the levels of targeted character hate that I can glimpse by searching "Teen Wolf" right now, and frankly OFMD still isn't big enough to dream of replicating 2010s fandom's biggest hits. There's some cutting edge weaponization of social justice that's a more modern development, but that's still fundamentally just fighting about the fiction. Even the one doxxing incident is unfortunately not unique.
Sheesh, "Izzy Canyon" isn't even demonstrating a unified meta or consistent S2 desires / shipping preferences / etc. We're just better at not being dicks about it by necessity?
#fandom history#cults#tw cults#snapewives#ofmd harassment#the izcourse#ladyluscinia#tbh i mostly wrote this because i hadn't actually ever looked into the snapewives before and i was curious#the thanfiction post i had buried in my drafts after reading all the links and such a few months back
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20 questions for fic writers
Thank you @totallysilvergirl for tagging me <3
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
171
2. What’s your total A03 word count?
2,559,305
3. What fandoms do you write for?
I live for the days when anyone asks me this question, because listing things I love is just so great. I don't actively write for all of these any longer, but I would go back to all of them if anyone threw me like, half a prompt.
BBC Sherlock
Good Omens
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
The Terror
Our Flag Means Death
What We Do In The Shadows
The Adventures of Tintin
The Hobbit
BBC and CBS Ghosts
Pacific Rim
Father Ted
Lord of The Rings
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Death In Paradise
Dalgliesh
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
1. Crowley's Game - Good Omens (Ineffable Husbands)
2. Return To Sender - Good Omens (Ineffable Husbands)
3. Silk All Around You - Our Flag Means Death (Ed/Stede)
4. Oh Good Lord - Good Omens (Ineffable Husbands)
5. Out Of Suffering Into Love - Good Omens (ineffable Husbands)
hmm. Guess GO fandom is where I've cashed in the biggest, kudos-wise *Raises a glass to Good Omens Fandom*
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I try to respond to as many as I can, and I want to respond to all of them, but ADHD and work and life keep me from doing it right away, and then ADHD and being off work and life make me forget. I will sometimes loop back around to read a new comment, then see that I never replied to another, far older comment, then go about replying to several, two years after they were left. I hope people don't mind. I promise everyone who's ever left me a positive comment, that I eat them all up like chocolate bonbons and count myself blessed for each and every one.
6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Probably that Childercelles fic where Henry dies in the end. I think maybe 10 people read it. If you're in JSAMN fandom, and you ship Childercelles, and you want a link, PM me, but I can't remember the name of the fic for the life of me. It was pretty angsty. Outside of that, I hate angsty endings. Everyone eats ice cream and cuddles at the end of my fics.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Gonna echo the wonderful @totallysilvergirl and say that I don't do unhappy endings. That Childercelles fic was the only one I think I ever wrote with an unhappy ending, and even that was more of a melancholy ending. Everything else is Häagen-Dazs and rainbows.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I've gotten a few harsh criticisms, and a few snarky comments, but never actual hate.
9. Do you write smut?
I sure do! I've written a whole lot of smut, and I really love it. Regardless, it can be challenging sometimes. I have to be in the right place, and have the right focus to write smut, and lately, it's been feeling more labor intensive. I've been taking a step back from the explicit stuff lately, and playing around in M rather than E, and less sexual waters for a change. Sometimes a gal needs a break. I'll always happily write it for others, but don't feel inspired to write it for myself right now.
10. Do you write crossovers?
I really see my Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell/BBC Sherlock crossover as my first and only crossover. It involves main characters from both fandoms meeting one another, and John and Sherlock live in a world where England's history is the same as the history in JS&MN. It's been a very fun experience, but I'm really writing it for @keirgreeneyes 's birthday, because we share a lot of stuff between those two fandoms, not because I love crossovers. I don't feel drawn to them at all usually.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Nope. Someone came to me a couple of years ago, saying they were being bullied over accusations that they were plagiarizing my good omens fic. They even showed me the fic people talked about, and after scanning it for a bit, I didn't see anything that looked like plagiarism. I posted on tumblr saying I'd rather people plagiarize me than cause one moment of suffering due to bullying, and left it at that. I was really just jazzed to have people *want* to plagiarize me, honestly. It was flattering.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes! In Korean I think.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No, and I'm not sure I could. I also don't like cooking with other people or showering with other people. I just like having the reins on writing and cooking and showering fronts I guess.
14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?
Oh god please don't make me choose. My children, my precious children. After careful consideration though, I'm gonna have to go with Crozier/Jopson - Jopzier from The Terror. I mean. Come on. It's me.
15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I wrote many chapters of a really fun, but really complex and pain in the ass multi-chapter mystery fic for the rarest of rare pairs, Jack Mooney/Florence Cassell from Death In Paradise. So yeah, I would love to finish it, but I don't have the spoons, and it will have a readership of roughly four people.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I think I write good dialogue. I write good smut. I can make up stories at the drop of a hat, and then put them down very quickly, in large amounts of words. I'm a long distance runner when it comes to fic. I like my sense of humor in fics, and I'm always so happy when someone leaves me a comment telling me they laughed really hard at something I wrote. Ditto incoherent babbling about my fics making them horny. Those comments are so good.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Eh, my weakness is I'm just not an amazing writer? I do it because I love it, and it brings me so much joy, and people reading my fics brings me so much joy, and that's pretty much it. Also, I use a lot of run on sentences, and I have like six tropey things my characters always do, and I can't break out of it.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I didn't understand this one. I would love to write dialogues in other languages if I spoke them fluently. Outside of speaking a bunch of Spanish, I'm not fluent in anything but English.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
eeeeeeeeee @keirgreeneyes @totallysilvergirl my first ever fanfiction was BBC Johnlock! I tried writing a fic, probably back in 2013 or something, and gave up after a handful of paragraphs. I just lacked the confidence. Then, it wasn't until 2019 when I went nuts for Good Omens and wrote a bunch of fic that I wanted to go back and write that one, first, Johnlock fic. And I did it! It's Homecoming. BBC Sherlock is my first fanfiction fandom, and my introduction to fanfiction.
20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?
Oh wow. That's a tough one. I really loved my one Father Ted fic, A Sweet, Hot, Sticky Romp, because I loved emulating the comedy style of the show and thought I did a good job.
I loved Out Of Time, my Jopzier time travel wackadoo fic for The Terror.
I guess I'll stop at two. I've written 171. I should get at least two favorites.
I tag @fol-de-lol @ilthit @yeswevegotavideo @keirgreeneyes @holycatsandrabbits
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i'm not jewish. i think, maybe a great great grandparent was but that's neither here nor there. but even though i'm not jewish, i was always made aware from a young age how rampant anti-semitism is in not just the united states where i live but globally. when i was 12, my mom encouraged (made me) read "the diary of anne frank". i believe it was only then that i began to truly recognize just how horrible the holocaust was. i don't think my public education did a very good job of teaching people how evil it really was. there seemed to be some sort of assumption that kids "just know". we didn't see the horrors of it actually displayed in books. i know that a world history class can't spend the entire time on one event but a few pages can't ever grasp the ruthless slaughter of six million innocent people. memorizing numbers and dates for some test worth five points will never get the message across to kids that something as horrible as that happened much less than a hundred years ago.
i grew up christian. i'm not anymore but i will never EVER in the good ol' united states of america be afraid of being attacked for my religion. christians can fuckin' whine and complain all they want about being "persecuted" but the fact is that in 2021, the FBI reported that over 50% of religion-related hate crimes were anti-jewish.
over fifty fucking percent.
we always say "never forget" and "never again" but you can find countless surveys where an alarming amount of people either don't know or fervently deny that SIX MILLION PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED FOR BEING JEWISH.
i know the persecution of jews goes much further back than the holocaust but hopefully, my point is clear.
in the past few weeks, i saw a burned apartment door of an elderly jewish couple in paris. they would have been toddlers when germany occupied france in 1940. i saw jewish families in germany with the star of david spray painted on their doors. i've seen people in protests proudly waving nazi flags in new york city. samantha woll, a synagogue leader was just murdered outside of her home in detroit. i can go on but i think you see the picture.
i'm not jewish but i don't need to be for these disgusting acts to horrify me. what i've come to realize (and maybe this is wrong) is that the hatred of jews has become so frequent in our society, that it's not really looked at anymore. it's not "newsworthy" and therefore, many people just don't care.
i'm not sure what i can do except speak up. i fear for the safety of jews all around the world. there are so many ignorant and hateful people out there making it so dangerous. jewish families aren't sending their children out of fear that something could happen at their schools. jewish people are scared so please, don't be ignorant. know the history. for non-jews like myself, we have a duty to educate ourselves and listen to a group of people who have been targeted and violently persecuted for centuries.
for jews who see this post. i'm sorry this increase in hatred towards your community is happening. i can't possibly begin to know how you must be feeling but know that you aren't being ignored by everyone. your cries for justice are NOT unheard.
if there is anything that i can do to help, please reach out. if there's anything wrong with this post, please say something. i am trying my best to be educated but know i don't and will most likely never have the full picture. i would love to add links, resources, and whatever else that is useful and important.
#anti semitism#antisemitism#judaism#jewish#also if you're jewish and i'm being out of line right now#you can gladly tell me to delete this or shut up#i'm just extremely bothered by what is going on and why non jews are just#crickets atm
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So- I just had my first Phantom Liberty "ending"... 👁👄👁
I had a lot of thoughts, might be messy and long
⚠ Spoilers ahead, obviously!
Holyshit. HGFHGHFH Where do I even START
I smelled it coming FROM MILES AWAY-- OF COURSE So Mi was somehow- tied to AI, tied to the blackwall, it SMELLED TOO STINKY FROM THE START! Holyshit
Going to share my live reactions that I had in my dev friend's DMS cause those were the raw reactions ghfhgf
I took Reed's side during the Kurt meeting
Of COURSE it would go to shit tho like- man OF COURSEEE she would know...
The Kurt boss battle made me sweat, that man s'quick! AND THE MUSIC... Always felt like it was tied to the voodoo boys somehow? Tho the vibes makes sense, considering it's kind of theeee Blackwall theme-ish
When Reed talks about getting against MaxTac my jaw dropped like-- ARE YOU FOR REAL RIGHT NOW.......
Also special kudo for this lil thing here I was really happy
Then came the battle against MaxTac- AND AGAIN... What a battle, I legit can't say right now which big fight I prefered outta the whole EP cause they were all so good
The game SLOWLY BUT SURELY got more and more spooky, into straight up TERRIFYING, I did NOT expect that at all, holyfuck!
And it worked SO WELL TOO, of COURSE anything tied to the blackwall would be horrifying
I LOVE horror- horror movie, horror games... But I don't like playing them 🤠✋ Because I'm a lil pussy HGFH who jump, who look away, who let go of the mouse when spooky thing happen
So LET ME TELL YOU When I started to grasp where the game was heading, I shat myself full time
Everything was PERFECT... The vibes, the lights, the set up, the sound design- the music, the different scenes/memories triggering over the place as you progress, just- fucking CHEF KISS
When I thought it couldn't get any better, any spookier- the game kept on delivering, somehow
It got really dark, stressful, gory, haunting
I decided to kill So Mi at the end
Seeing moments of So Mi's past, of how she got there- it was hard to not feel for her, even tho I never really trusted her, too many red flags and manipulation, V was just a token in achieving what she wanted, just like Myers was, just like Kurt was. But she didn't deserves to be kept as a pupet, a tool
The ride with Reed made me feel really numb, and so did the talk with Myers. Sittin with Reed and watchin him walk off in the distance....
I feel empty ghfhgf that one ending didn't felt satisfying at all- BUT I don't mean it in a bad way!! I like it, I think this was supposed to feel like this! So Mi is dead, whatever hope you had to deal with the Relic died with her, Reed wanted to save her, Myers NEEDED her alive- it's a miracle V can even walk it off freely even
-bear with me here as I'm gathering my thoughts as I type everything-
Little tidbits now, I didn't played through all of the new gigs either, so I'm going back to do these, as well as try all the other endings!
Sadly as expected, not a lot- if anything- new for us nomads lover 😞 I liked the cameo of Panam and Carol, sending Paco and Babs to the Aldecaldos to get out of DTown felt comfy too, as well as all the dialogue options! It felt nice to get those opportunities to bring our past! And we did get some crumbs of interesting lore
God and like- what I like the most in games are the Characters, and PL is up there with some amazing peeps! I'll try to rank them from most to least liked
Starting with Alex, probably my favorite of the 5 main! There were a lot of good moment with her, she felt the most... genuine? Might be naive, but I love good hearted, honest characters, and she felt the more "human" out of the bunch even if she did and does horrible things
Second place comes Kurt, man knows what he want and how to get it, can respect that. Wished we could learn more on him actually, maybe I missed a lot of content
Reed was interesting, too secretive for my taste- and that's normal duh he's a spy, but as expected I didn't felt too connected ( and just to be CRYSTAL CLEAR, that doesn't mean he's a bad character! Not vibing with a character doesn't mean they're badly writen or built)
SongBird started off STRONG at the top of my list, but the more she sugarcoated and smooth-talked V into helped her, the more a lot of red flags started to pop. Lot of lines reminded me of similar convo I had IRL with people that turned out to be shitty, so it send off alarms in my head 💀 NOPE...
and finally Myers, who I never trusted and rightfully so
All of them are incredible characters, made me parano on who to trust, who to believe
All of the minor NPCs are so memorable too? I absolutly loved Slider, the voodooboy dude? His design was insane! Loved meeting all of the different peeps during Kurt's party too, and LIZZY'S CONCERT??? AYO... Was simply incredible
This getting PRETTY LOOOONG I'll stop right here but yeah, raw thoughts after 3 days/nights of non stop playing 😩✋ UGGH...
Fucking love this game man. You can really see CDPR took their time with it, fucking nailed it too... Letting go of the last console gen was a good choice, Dogtown is gorgeous, all the visual effects are breathtaking--
I gotta STOP TALKING LMAO. ALRIGHT Back to it I go
AND. I will definitely rollback to a pre-PL save and continue the vanilla content, cause I feel like doing PL just before meeting Hanako gives a lot of interesting options :3
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Sorry, this one is long. But the subject has given much to work with.
Proof People's Sexiest Man Alive 2023 really does hate himself, just from other quotes in the SMA article:
"I feel like I have a bit more freedom to take time away from the industry and still find projects that will satisfy my creative appetite when I return" I am sure based on the phoned in performance from Ghosted and on the reviews of Pain Hustlers, it sounds like you must be starving.
"My mom will be so happy," he says. "She's proud of everything I do but this is something she can really brag about". How she feelin' about that incel group also being proud of you?
Of Boston "We've got a lot of good schools. Let's give education a plug, that's damn sexy." I have read the few interviews your "beloved" has given and never before have I read so much and someone said so little. But hey, eyebrows are sexy, too. You can probably talk about that.
"I love the idea of tradition and ceremony, I had a lot of that in my life so the idea of creating that, I can't think of anything better." So I guess some new traditions are never being seen with your one and only without it being breadcrumbed and/or trolled, surrounded by a bunch of people, staged and scripted, all while you look miserable. Oh, and also talking about how you like to be alone and your dog is your soulmate.
Values most in a partner is "vulnerability and humility." I am sure your acting teaching family is thrilled she feels she is such a great actress that she doesn't need classes or coaching.
"I don't like to argue, I don't like to raise my voice, or any forms of manipulation," Yep, I know the feeling Christopher.
"It's wise and mature to be able to say "I'm sorry I made a mistake,' to be vulnerable and not always be looking for the argument or take things to an argumentative place. That takes a lot of maturity and I find that very sexy." I am sure that was the exact thought process when your baby posted her shower pic to deflect from the criticism she was getting for her problematic behavior. And did we miss the "sorry"? But only if it is accompanied by behavior change. Otherwise, it is just one of those pesky manipulations none of us likes.
"I love love". And that is why you feel comfortable taking a big dump on it with this disaster. If you are faking it, you have made love a joke, but if by chance it is real, you have shown yourself to be the absolute worst partner ever.
"The tough questions, you know what I mean? I [asked] a lot of tough questions as a kid," he explains. "'God made everything everything?' 'Is the color red to you the same as the color red to me?' I was a high strung kid and emotional so I'm anticipating those questions to be loaded with a lot of anxiety. And I think [as a parent] not only can you give a good answer to the specific question, but the tools to navigate tough questions like that." I'll just let the reader mull this one over, but I am curious to know the possible answer if asked "Dad, what do I do if I am forced to fake marry someone who represents the exact opposite of everything I have claimed to want in a partner? It will require me to use my family and friends in dumb schemes and stunts that will distract them from their daily lives and make thousands of innocent people look and feel crazy. It may even cause me to compromise my integrity and core beliefs by aligning me with those who represent the most base of our society."
But in all seriousness, there are some huge red flags here and this is unsustainable for a normal, happy life. Please study the lessons of this disaster, because the real tragedy of this mistake would be to just move on. Get help from professionals and seek to understand patterns that you keep falling into. I find the ABC method works well:
Good luck!
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OFDMD S2 SPOILERS AHEAD
Okay so since I've been gone for so long there are quite a lot of things I want to post, from ancient history to my experience of living alone. But the first thing I want to talk about is about something that happened on this website quite recently and made me really mad.
I fell in love with the tv show of our flag means death from episode one, because it's the first show that is completely and absolutely inclusive without that being the whole plot... it does not brag about it, it does not force it and it is utterly unapologetic. For me this is the right way to go because this isn't about labeling people, this isn't about explaining, this is (and I will steal my dad's words to define it) an ode to freedom and love; and that's what makes the show for me so great.
And then we get to this year, we get to the end of season two and more specifically to the response of the fandom to said ending. I swear that the first time I saw a post saying that the ending was bad I started to wonder if they had been watching a different show. But it's actually fine, I mean, I may have enjoyed every minute of the episode while someone else hated it, opinion is subjective and everyone is free to express their own.
The post below the one I have just mentioned was the one that made my blood boil, because the person who wrote it didn't just gave their opinion, they straightforward started to attack the director, the writers and the entire show just because they didn't like a character death. And I will say this one and a thousand times, no matter how invested you are in a show, how much you like it and feel a part of it; no matter how involved with the fandom the cast and crew of said show get: the plot and character ALWAYS belong to their creator. That doesn't mean that you cannot imagine alternative storylines or complain about something you didn't like, that is fine; but saying that the creator of a story had NO RIGHT to kill a character, that is not okay. It's just as ridiculous as saying that an artist painted something wrong; it's absurd and in this case it shows that this people do not respect anyone working on OFMD.
The worst of all this to me is that part of the fandom did not learn anything from the whole freedom message that this show sends; instead they choose to act like a child who didn't get the present they wanted and attack other people who have probably put a lot of effort in making something which is meant to be liked or not. I also want to add that Izzy was my favourite character this season, and I believe that his character development was fantastic; I read that his death was disrespectful; sure, that's exactly why they decide to bury him right next to their new home, that's why everyone had the most devastating expression when he died and I'm sure that's the reason why Ed says "You're my only family". I think that people need to learn to watch a show without expecting it to go the way they want. The best thing about all media is exactly that!
Just to finish this, I want to talk just for a brief second about something, because tomorrow is the fifth of November and I'm a former Supernatural fan. I did get mad with the ending of that show, but before I start to look like a hyppocrite, let me explain. I watched Supernatural at a very low point in my life and it really helped me go through some hard times by allowing me for 45 minutes to be a part of something else (that's the magic of stories after all); I did cosplays, I forced my best friend to watch it and talked to my parents about it even if they got barely anything. I did notice the show getting a bit worse on its last seasons (which is completely understandable giving its lenght), but I still watched every single episode because it wasn't actually all that bad. And then the ending came, and I had to watch in utter horror how things that made absolutely no sense to the plot happened one after the other. It wasn't because they killed Cas, it was all about how they did it. To me it felt like it didn't make sense, and, in the end, even the actor were a little mad about how their characters were treated. I felt angry because it was terrible to watch and, even though I rarely use this tag it was definitely a "bury your gays" case; I'm not entirely sure it was queerbaiting (Dean clearly loved Cas, but love comes in many ways), and to me it would have made so much more sense if Cas had stayed or had at least some more time to talk to Dean, despite they ending up together or not. That ending did make me exit the fandom, because it was disappointing and I DID NOT LIKE IT. It is entirely up to a creator to do whatever they want, but that doesn't mean that after watching a show you can't write your own ending (I want to personally thank all the fanfiction writers responsible for alternative endings and fix -it stories).
So there's that, this is my opinion about all the response to the ending of OFMD season two, if you would like to add something or have a different opinion you are absolutely free to do so in the comments, but please be respectful, as I think I have been on this post.
See you on the next one! (it will be shorter, I promise)
Ourania
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Gamedev update
The good, the bad, and the revelation.
Hello my fellow artists, gamedevs, and other folk who stumbled upon this.
Tldr; I have to stop Armageddon ignition til I have more time and a team, but I have other things I want to release to help me get funds to help with both problems.
Here is the long version:
It's been a spell since the last update. The delays are complex and fairly personal. But the conclusions I've come to on the other side of my chaotic life are going to shape what this solo dev project will ultimately become.
The good
So for the longest time I kept hammering away at my game while having some blinders on. One core belief I held was that I was going to do this all solo. While writing and planning a game that I needed 12 voice actors for at a minimum. (The full weight of that dichotomy crashed over me later, don't worry.) Watching my first in game cutscenes and hearing either a soulless bot spit out the lines, or my own attempts at doing multiple voices, raised some flags in my mind. But I still pressed on. I just needed to work on the game every day.
I also wasn't seeing as much growth in followers with my various blogs or twitter. Sure I made posts. But they seem to blather about nothing and I never have anything other than a screenshots to hype my game.
Life then forced a large break on my time. A month and a half long break that was personal, and a little painful still. This forced break I took helped me see my process and allowed myself to do some introspection on my marketing, presentation, and my goals.
The good news is the game is still gonna happen, and I'm still going to develop it. But...
The bad
Because of this vague event in my life my time is now strained In a way that will prevent me from working on this game enough to make any meaningful progress. And this time constraint won't loosen for at least a year. I want to come back to it. And I have a plan to come back stronger.
During my month long interlude I had some time to think about each thing I could improve on.
1. Better content: guys I'm verbose. And I'm sorry I'm verbose. I really should have been a writer or a philosopher. The accounts I see with the most growth get that growth from .gifs. if I can't sell the idea in a gif I won't post it. Unless it's a bigger how to, or post mortem.
2. Solo development for a game is only good if the game I am making has 1 or less voice actors.
3. Art as a medium is under attack and we need to build groups to make it through. Solo dev only helps a solo person. Team efforts can help teams of people.
4. I talk a lot of talk. Boy do these words I say allude to a lot, without revealing a thing. Even this post assumes that there is a major audience clamoring to hear any small update. I need fans first.
Through all the navel gazing, the most important thing I Learned is that I need to start building a community, but the life event left me a little despondent . Most of my time was spent healing and getting back a good headspace. Now I'm refreshed and ready to use what little free time I have towards making a studio that is a group effort.
The revelation.
During my break I saw the writers strike, I saw the actors strike, I saw rights being pillaged from our livelihoods inch by inch. And I saw people win to get a fairer share. In order to complete Armageddon ignition I'm going to need money to properly pay some voice actors, I want to get more people involved. I finally started a game that I think will see the light of day. But I no longer want to be a hermit about it. And I want a team with more perspectives than my own to help me.
There are too many companies bleeding creative teams dry for "content", there are too many ceo's who look for tools or pipelines that completely remove humans to save a buck for the next quarterly earnings.
My goal has shifted from producing a game as a solo creative to building a company. A group of people who share in the earnings of their product, rather than some white dude who went to Yale and learned that slashing jobs makes the next quarterly earnings look a little better and gamed his own paycheck to give him more money than they ever "saved".
But I don't have the funds now, nor do I want borrowed equity for this thing. If I'm going to build up an organization that is more artistic focused, rather than profit focused. I can't do it on debt that can be leveraged to destroy a queer, story driven studio.
So in order to get a cash flow started I found something that I can do with my much leaner free time. This is going to be an animated project that can, on paper and not just in my head, be developed and maintained by a solo artist.
This time I'm going to release the videos and let the work speak for itself, rather than wax on before it's even done. Once I have some time back I'll try to make a post mortem.
So as far as timelines go. This is going to push back this game indefinitely. But I hope to utilize this time to actually build something that can benefit the game industry. And build a better game in general.
The next blog should be coming with enough detail to sell you on what I have cooking.
See you soon
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First of all, I dont want to be mean or offensive, just for the sake of it, Im just very confused by this situation in regards to the very incresingly mayority of people that consider thmselves to be inside the asexual spectrum.
Seems like a lot of people feel a deep confusion because their bodies or their feelings don't seem to alinage with what the vast majority of people on the internet apparently feel, and they seem in desperate need of validation, seeking to label and identify with something to define their identity, but they also seem rather unwillingly to experiment Irl their sexuality or feelings. They even seem so married with the idea that they are “something”, something bad, wrong, good or different but it needs to be part of how they present to the world as a shield to justify.
Once again, speaking of separating reality from fantasy, I've read some horny takes, and some wildly exaggerated tales, even porno movies that make me think “woa, I had someone do that to me, but I didn't enjoy it the same”. It's not like I didn't enjoy it irl, it's just that reading something embellished and exaggerated will always sound so much better than reality, and if these confused individuals only have those accounts of how things apparently are supposed to feel like, wouldn't that make reality feel like a failure?.
If I remember right, speaking about making friends on the internet is not the same as making friends in reality. I think it is just the same with love, attraction and sexuality. Even our ways of loving a partner arent the same with each relationship. But if you put it against…say the romance defined by Romeo and Juliet, or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, or some other epic tale of love. It won't compare with what I felt for X or Y person in that moment in my life, maybe I fell head over heels with X, but also loved Y because it made me feel tenderness. Same as sexual atraction, I would find some partners that would make me so hot and bothered and ready to go even in the most inapropiated places, and maybe some other partner makes me horny and we have compability with kinks and stuff that makes having sexual relashionships very good in their negotiated way but not in the wildy horny desperate kind.
But I could convince myself that just because I haven't had this straight cut definition, then it means I'm something, and that something defines me and it means I'm not capable of finding it and for that reason I won't seek it, or even try anymore, then it means I am an outsider.
I'm asking because just today I saw a 20 year old, asking on a post something similar about the early annon. This girl says, she has libido, she finds men and women attractive but she hasnt had a relashioship with anyone nor has fallen in love but longs to find a relashionship, has no sexual experience, but she wants help to define their sexual orientation because shes confused and almost sure it means she needs a label to define what she feels because she obviously is different from others of the same age, and lots of people begun telling her she is asexual for sure. I would say that being confused is pretty much the standar when you are young ( even as adults we can find some new take on our kinks), thats why people beging experiementing and fiding what they truly like in the first place, everyone goes at their own pace and time, it's not like a milestone that If baby doesn't feel love, doesn't feel horny then it needs a flag and a label, but if someone already told her she is Asexual, Antrosexual, Arosexual, etc and she stops trying then she wont know, specially because I simply don't think that inexperience equals asexuality. And yeah, maybe some people truly don't need the experience to know, but that needs a deep understanding of yourself that won't happen unless they truly tried at least once with anything even in the most sugar coated level to say -i really, really don't like this, not even in writing. Why is people trying so hard to define themselves and others on the internet?. People need to stop asking others about something that can only be defined by ourselves, there is no answer but your own, and to know yourself and what it feels like to you.
Dude, people seriously need to stop asking google and others how to define themselves or comparing reality with porno. A life time seems like a long time to be sure about something, actually, it's a constant, neverending wtf I am feeling right now, okay-I like-clown-porn-now-and-its-fine.
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High hopes in Monaco after the cancellation of Imola
Heya!
Well, I was originally planning on writing last week after the announcement of the GP in Imola being cancelled due to the floods going on in the Emilia Romagna region, but between my shitty shifts and exhaustion, I couldn't even think about it.
It was a sad thing, but it was the necessary decision. For once, the FIA was quick to decide what was best and also for once, they made the right choice. Just wish people in the area were all okay...
This weekend I'm watching it all after work, so yeah I'll be late once again. On another note, we started this race weekend with the news of Honda teamming up with Aston Martin starting 2026 and rumors about Yuki being a possibility to join Alonso. That would be funny tbh. Also, Mercedes FINALLY got rid of the "no sidepods" concept on the car. Really hope this levels things, at least a tiny bit (I'm expecting no miracles).
Anyway, onto the actual purpose of this post, so I'm starting at last.
Press conference - Thursday
First press round and not really anything interesting except for Yuki's take on the floodings in Italy. I'm here just waiting for the second round to start so that I can watch the chaos unfold 🤣
Chaotic Sharl is on and I'm here for it, "Hello, Lewis" sounded like the funniest shit in the world with that laughter of his. Seriously, I can't 😗 I do love those Lewis-Sharl interactions, they're so cute seriously and they'd make an insane duo, lots of fun stuff would be sent our way for sure.
Piarles clowning together about the football match a few days ago and how they just clashes into each other despite being in the same team. Really, boys? 🥲
Do people still think, given what we've seen this year so far and also last season, that Ferrari is a good choice for Lewis? I mean, yes Mercedes is not going through their best moments right now, but Ferrari? After so many disasters and making their own driver lose the chances of gaining a championship? I love Ferrari, but come on.
Free Practice 1 - Friday
Finally some movement in the streets of Monte Carlo and I'm actually thinking about all the new rumors that we might get after the race. I've been waiting for this weekend just for this 🤣
I know there have been a few Red Flags today so I'm just here waiting for them. I don't care how boring this track can get, I just love it and nothing's gonna change that. Ever.
Sid the Sloth is crying on the radio. What for? He has a fucking missile despite that much complaining and whining about it.
Not much else going on, pretty calm session for now. Apart from Sargeant having some kind of problem, nothing else to say. And I obviously spoke too soon, since Nico span a little bit too hard and fucked up his rear left tyre, causing a Yellow Flag that turned into a Red Flag. First of the day.
Sharl probably touched the wall or so, and right afterwards Albon crashed on his side, so the session was Red Flagged permanently now, with 3 minutes to go. Quiet one despite those problems, but not the worst news possible considering.
Free Practice 2 - Friday
SEB IS AT THE PADDOCK, I REPEAT, SEB IS AT THE PADDOCK 🥹 PLEASE SEB, COME BACK TO US, WE NEED YOU 😭
Besides different drivers trying out setting times and so on, there's been nothing going on. I do love that tunnel, though. That must be scary as fuck, honestly.
Aaaaand Carlos tries to goes as close to the wall as possible but crashes. Fantastic job causing another Red Flag. Quite a few drivers have gone very, very close but have managed to get out unscathed. I guess it's damn luck (on top of skill obviously, they're going over 200kph).
Commentators are talking about the future 2026 PUs and honestly, if the regulations for that year are as bad as the ones introduced in 2022, this will just get worse by then.
Maybe tomorrow something else will happen, especially during Quali, which I'll obviously watch late.
Free Practice 3 - Saturday
Well, I already know what happened in Quali today, but just gonna watch in order first so that I can finish this one post, I don't want extra tabs open on my browser right now, it's been a tough day at work 🤪
So Estie Bestie stopped in the middle of the tunnel (on the side anyway), but managed to get back to the pit lane, so at least nothing scary going on.
Wasn't Laurent Mekkies supposed to be in Alpha Tauri by now? Or did I miss something? I keep seeing him on the Ferrari pit wall 🤔
Honestly, nothing going on in FP3 so I was just watching memes on IG the whole time. Oh Jesus, and Lewis against the wall all of a sudden?! What the hell. That car being moved by the crane.... Was that really necessary, taking it so high!?
Red Flagged session so that means I'm gonna go watch Quali finally.
Peace out!
#f1#formula 1#mercedes amg f1#scuderia ferrari#aston martin racing#haas f1 team#mclaren f1 racing#alfa romeo racing#alpine f1 team#scuderia alpha tauri#williams racing#sir lewis hamilton#george russell#charles leclerc#carlos saint jr#lance stroll#fernando alonso#kevin magnussen#nico hülkenberg#oscar piastri#lando norris#zhou guanyu#valtteri bottas#esteban ocon#pierre gasly#yuki tsunoda#nyck de vries#alex albon#logan sargeant#monaco gp 2023
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"when they arrive at a designated safe place, the sender refuses to be examined or cared for until the receiver is taken care of first." for anders x hawke hehehe
I am a monster and you're getting a bit of a cliffhanger *kiss kiss*
for @dadrunkwriting
~~~
"Stroud, please!" Anders pleaded. "He would make an excellent Warden, I promise."
The other man shook his head. "Anders, your promises mean nothing."
"Look, it's -" blue light flared "-we will turn ourselves in."
Stroud took a step back. "Justice?"
"I confess. I killed Rolan and the Templars he allowed into your ranks. Take me to the Commander." Justice picked up the Blighted man leaning against him heavily. "And I shall carry your new recruit."
"If you insist," the Orlesian sighed. "We will take you and . . . your friend back, but I make no guarantees for your safety or well-being. Either of you."
Varric caught his arm. "Blon - Blue, are you sure about this? His family -"
"They will know we did all we could." The spirit started after the other Wardens.
"Justice, wait!"
He paused and looked back as Bethany ran up. She kissed his cheek. "Take care of him." Then she ran a hand through her brother's hair. "Don't you dare die, Malcolm. You hear me?"
Malcolm mumbled something about fruit under his breath and shivered. Justice nodded sharply, then continued after Stroud.
Justice was, as usual, indefatigable. But mortal bodies still needed rest, as he had learned in their flight to Kirkwall. When the others stopped, he did as well, placing Malcolm down with as much gentleness as he could manage, then relinquishing control back to Anders for him to eat and drink, try to ease Malcolm's symptoms, then sleep.
Three - four, he reminded himself - Wardens could make good time through the Deep Roads, and they were climbing out of the sunken ritual tower where Anders had helped kill a sentient crazed broodmother in mere days. Justice stopped coming out when they were on the surface: too much of a risk of being executed on sight by any Templars who might see them; Warden colors hadn't stopped them before, and wouldn't stop them again.
He continued to carry Mal. Didn't want anyone else to touch him.
"Is the Commander -"
"Theron is in Antiva," Stroud replied gruffly. "You will have to wait."
"Mal doesn't have time to wait."
"Varel and Nathaniel can conduct the ritual in his absence." Stroud kept moving. The other two Wardens glared at him but didn't say anything. They'd barely spoken at all, and definitely not too him, but they didn't feel like Templars, so he ignored them.
After another couple days of travel, Vigil's Keep loomed in the distance. Mal was getting weaker, and the mage had to resist the urge to break into a run. It would just get them both killed if he showed up without Stroud to explain. It might get me killed anyway, really.
Malcolm Hawke deserves freedom. I know, I'm not angry about that, I'm angry that we had to choose between his and mine - ours. He clutched Mal close, wiping sweaty hair from his brow. This was all Anders’ fault, from the moment he agreed to give him the Deep Roads maps.
The flag above the keep bobbed and a horn sounded. They'd been spotted, and the Wardens would likely be sending people out to meet them since Stroud wasn't returning empty handed. Well, okay, he was empty handed, but Anders wasn't.
It wasn't Nate who rode out to meet them, but the bloody King.
Alistair looked tired, but wary. "Anders?"
No reason to prolong the inevitable. "Mal needs the Joining. Just . . . let me make sure he's okay, then do what you want with me."
"I - you're - what?"
"Just get him the blasted cup, Alistair!" Anders snapped. "We'll deal with the rest of it later."
"Give him to me."
"No."
Alistair sighed and pinched his brow. "Fine." He got off his horse and handed the reins over to Stroud. "You and the rest go on. I'll take the . . . recruit and the -"
"Captive," Anders spat.
"Nug droppings," Alistair retorted. "I've seen you fight." He gestured to Mal. "Who's this?"
"Malcolm Hawke. Long dull story."
"I'm sure. Well, let's get him fixed up. You sure I can't help carry him?"
#da drunk writing circle#fanfic writing#dragon age#anders#dragon age 2#oops new OC dropped#handers?#unsure yet#mal hawke#prompt fills
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Get To Know My OC
I saw this game going around, and I thought I'd join the fun! A few posts had an open tag, so here I am! I'm going to leave this an open tag for any of my followers as well (or anyone who sees this)
Choosing just one character is so hard... I think for now, I'll go with one of my favorites, Matthias Winterborne. He's not currently in any WIP, just an extra (DnD) character for now.
I sit in the local alehouse waiting for our new party member. He's supposedly very closed off, so I plan on asking loose questions today. Hopefully he takes them well. I look around for the person that was described to me: a young adult half-elf, tan skin, very short white hair, somewhat short for his race. And sure enough, he comes through the doors. I flag him down and we sit at one of the corner tables. I notice he's wearing a very nice looking pendant necklace. It's circular, with a crescent moon on the left and little snowflakes dotted around the rest.
"So, ready to start?" I ask.
He leans back in his seat, crosses his arms, and shrugs. "I don't see why not."
1. Are you named after anyone?
He scoffs. "First name, no. Not that I'm aware of. Last name, well, surely you've heard of my father: the great Elduin Winterborne, the Stellara's finest ranger." He makes a dramatic gesture with his hand as he says this. "My mother decided to give me his last name even though they were never married."
"So why keep the name?"
"To tarnish it," he says with a grin. I decide not to press further.
2. When was the last time you cried?
He furrows his brow a little. "Why is this pertinent information?"
"It's not. Just looking for some honesty."
"...Can I obstain?"
"Yes you can."
"Good."
3. Do you have kids?
"Nope. I don't have that sort of attachment, if that's what you're wondering."
4. Do you use sarcasm?
He smirks and tilts his head. "What's that?"
I begin to wonder why my friend recommended this guy...
5. What's the first thing you notice about people?
"Honestly, either wealth or if they're safe to interact with."
Ah, that explains it. Well, let's hope he's good at what he does.
6. What's your eye color?
He rolls his eyes. "I thought this was going to be a lot more serious."
"I wanted to ease any tensions first. To let you know we're not out for secrets or anything. We don't care about that sort of stuff as long as we know we can trust you."
"...But out of all questions.."
"Okay fine, here. How about this?"
(Note: they're a very light blue)
7. Scary stories (movies) or happy endings?
He thinks for a moment. "I don't mind a good ghost story every once in a while. Don't really care for sappy stuff, but if it's interesting, I'll hear the tale out. I'm much more interested in legends and myths more than anything."
8. Any special talents?
He grins again. "Now we're talking. I consider myself quite skilled at twisting words, bending rules, that sort of thing. I've also become quite good at making escapes when needed."
"Duly noted."
9. Where were you born?
"Just a skimpy little village on the outskirts of the high elven kingdom. Surprisingly mostly comprised of humans, and the occasional goblin. They're nice enough people if you can believe it."
10. What are your hobbies?
"Eh, gambling mostly. I do enjoy dancing every now and then."
"So keep you away from our money, good to know."
"I'll have you know I'm very good at it."
"So says your wanted posters in the next town over."
"...Next question."
11. Have you any pets?
"I wish. I'd like a dog or a fox of some sort."
12. What sports do you play/have played?
"I like to take on a round or two of fencing. I prefer saber over the other two."
13. How tall are you?
He takes a somewhat sharp inhale. "Now you're just being insulting."
I take a grin now. "It's just a simple question."
"...Don't see why it's important."
"Honesty."
He sighs and rolls his eyes. "...5' 8".."
14. Favorite subject in school?
"Well I didn't go to an actual school, I was taught those sort of things by my mother and the other villagers. I can't really remember what I liked most... Perhaps reading literature."
15. Dream job?
"...Not really sure. I never liked actual work. I didn't mind wood working, I suppose."
"Well, I appreciate you being cooperative. It was a pleasure to get to know you. I hope we'll work well in the coming months."
"Months?? That's how long this is going to take?"
"Hopefully not, but you never know."
He lets out a sigh. "Well, as long as I'm getting paid what I'm due."
This was quite fun! Anyone who want to join in is welcome to. These were the exact questions I saw everyone else doing, but you're welcome to change them to get more out of your characters. I may do more of these for other OCs (or even another for Matt using your questions!)
#matthias my boy#i love my little mischief maker#oc intro#character intro#writers of tumblr#writing community#writeblr
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