#;long post

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟏   ❛ 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 ❜   |   VARIOUS LOCATIONS AND YEARS

❧  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

❛ The queen’s voice broke as she talked. Staring into the camera, she willed the tears to stay. Her eyes grew glassy, and the small audience before her—palace staffers and journalists, a mixed array of stone faces and quivering lips—blurred into a white haze. The decision to speak had come early in the morning as she sat alone in bed. The windows and doors were thrown open, and she stared at the moon until she could see the rabbits dancing upon its surface. Her hair was gone by then, wrapped in a bundle to accompany her daughter into the first of her graves. With one hand, Beatriz felt her scalp, with its hair shorter now than even on the day she was born. Mothering had never come easy to her. Neither her children nor her subjects received her love in full, or the way they desired it, or when they needed it. She had tried her hardest for Sayfa, of which she made no secret. Still, because she could not trust herself to have shown it, she also could not trust that her daughter had known.

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

❧ woo, finally ! mixed feelings, but the important part is that it's done. my favorite part is the rowena guest appearance, personally :^)

TRANSCRIPT:

[RV] Good morning. I’m Inti Rivera. Today, the nation prepares for the funeral of Princess Safya. This daytime in memoriam edition of UBC Nightly News will be followed by live coverage of the procession.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya was born in 1950 to the recently crowned Queen Beatriz and her second husband, Matias Villar. With the preference for male heirs ended, the princess was presumed to be a future queen.

[RV V.O.] The Queen elected to reveal her daughter’s name at the annual naming festival in Yaas. She was the first royal infant in two generations to participate. Princess Safya would later do the same with all three of her own children.

[RV V.O.] Although she was her mother’s heir and began accompanying the queen on business early, the princess was also close with her father. Commentators regularly noted their similar personalities and interests, as did Queen Beatriz herself.

[RV V.O.] Mother Rowena, formerly queen, returned to public life following Princess Safya’s birth. The princess shared her first patronage with her grandmother, and the pair became the most popular royals. [I] Can you tell us where you were today, my princess? [S] We visited an orphanage. The children are less fortunate, so we take care of them. I’m happy to say that is my responsibility now.

[I] How did the princess do today, Mother Rowena? [R] I don’t know how she can stand upright with a heart of gold! She’s full of empathy, this little girl, for others. She’ll be a servant her whole life, just like her grandfather. I envy everyone who’ll live to see it. [S] {Gasps.}

[RV V.O.] In the eyes of many, Princess Safya ceased to be a little girl when she announced her engagement in 1968 to Rodrigo Dardarich. The news excited the public but was not without controversy. [S] Some will say this is quick. We accept that. It is. However, it’s also true what they say: when you know, you know.

[RV V.O.] The Princess married in 1969. In a first, the family shared behind-the-scenes photographs of preparation for the ceremonies. Her new husband, in another break from tradition, would not share Safya’s titles. The princess penned a letter to the public for the occasion, calling her marriage, quote, “the first true act of my own, my first real decision.”

[RV V.O.] Critics who expressed suspicion of the relationship were vindicated soon enough. The princess and Lord Rodrigo became a favorite subject of photographers. The most skilled captured public arguments on multiple occasions throughout the years. These photos proved lucrative as interest in the couple and their life together continued to grow.

[RV V.O.] In 1975, the Office of the Crown Princess issued a formal statement refuting an “investigation” published by Concordia that year. The paper alleged impending divorce, with lurid but unsubstantiated details of infidelity and financial strain. The Crown declined to support privacy legislation proposed by the Assembly of Uspana in 1976, 1977, and 1980.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya and Lord Rodrigo gave a joint interview on the state of their marriage in 1985. The unprecedented, polarizing broadcast broke daytime viewership records. The interviewer, Isabel Eannes, was widely panned by most viewers and commentators. [S] I don’t think that’s a fair question. [I] So, you disagree, then? You haven’t been unhappy?

[R] She’s unhappy right now—she hates combative journalists. [S] {Laughs.} No! I don’t hate anyone. We asked for this. We begged.

[I] Let’s talk about the ring, then. It’s new. Smaller. Why? [S] People like us don’t get do-overs. But, we’re trying anyway. [R] The alternative is being apart. That’s impossible. It can’t happen. We must try, even if it isn’t easy. [S] It’s hard, but that’s love. ‘To love someone is to suffer for them.’ [I] {Scoffs.} That is Tecuani maxim, isn’t it?

[RV V.O.] The princess gave birth to her first child, Leonor, in 1970. To the nation’s delight, Princess Safya and her new baby were inseparable. [R] Let us see her! Can you talk a minute? Share something! [S] We’re late for a meeting, I’m sorry!

[RV V.O.] In 1974, Princess Safya and Lord Rodrigo welcomed their second child, Mateo. Her office announced two years later, on the heels of former Queen Rowena’s death, that Princess Safya would be scaling back to, quote, “refocus on her growing family.” She would regain her place as Uspana’s “hardest working royal” by 1981.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya’s final child, Gil, was born in 1979. The princess had declared a decade prior that she hoped for a trio of children.

[RV V.O.] When asked in 1985 if she wanted more children, Princess Safya remarked that she was, quote, “retired” and “content” to await her future grandchildren instead of “competing” with her mother. Queen Beatriz has six children, all born between 1950 and 1962.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya, like heirs before her, formally began her career as a working royal at the age of ten. Commentators described her that year as, quote, “articulate,” “cautious,” and “soft-spoken.”

[RV V.O.] The princess and her younger brother, Prince Arnaut, became regular members of their mother’s retinue. The Queen described her feelings on the matter in passing during a press conference: [B V.O.] “Teenager” is a weak term. Once, Safya would have governed a province in her own right as a teenager. No longer. We coddle and undertrain our heirs just like everyone else now. The assembly tells me that’s a “parenting” problem. Well, what I say is it certainly won’t be my problem when I’m dead, and you’re stuck with them! {Laughs.}

[RV V.O.] Queen Beatriz and Princess Safya were proactive concerning Leonor’s training as well. The pair remained inseparable in public, gaining valuable experience together. Before her death, the princess announced her daughter would join the team she intended to task with passing a new education initiative through the Assembly.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya began crafting policy proposals in 1988 to encourage and improve access to higher education. In addition to boosting funding for Uspana’s institutions, the princess was in talks with lawmakers to make attending schools abroad a feasible, affordable option.

[RV V.O.] Princess Safya’s last official public appearance was during a tour of elementary schools in southern Uspana. The fatal yachting trip capped a month of nonstop travel. Having allegedly, quote, “hit a wall” with legislators, the princess was focusing on what she did best. Commentators as well as school administrators, teachers, parents, and students described her in warm terms. The princess was enthusiastic and always connected on a human level with her future subjects.

[RV] That concludes this morning’s in memoriam special. Now, we go to Bernardo Rea for live coverage at Nakawe Palace.

[RE] Good morning. The mood is somber at Nakawe Palace as the family and silent gathered crowds prepare for the procession. Moments ago, Queen Beatriz unexpectedly announced she intends to give televised remarks. We are waiting to be invited inside.

[B] My firstborn will be interred today. I doubt that requires prefacing. How can it? It’s reality. The burden is immense. I’ve done what I can to lift it from my family. After funeral rites, the most sacred ritual we have is to shear our hair. This is surrendering power—spirituality vulnerability. It says, “Give me the pain of mourning. I can carry it for us all.” Not just anyone can be so burdened. You must be ready. You have to be empty.

[B] My request for all of you, the hundreds of thousands who I suspect will gather across Uspana, is this: empty yourself for her. Cry for my daughter. Weep as profusely as you can. Fill the streets with water so it will carry her home—to the mountains that chose her, that chose to take her away from us all, from me. We will let her go together, as one People.

[sonicprim3d]

}GET US TALKING{

@cxffeeshxp asked: 🗣+ Sonic and Surge

" You look... Familiar. "

" Yeah, because I'm your worst fucking nightmare. Your biggest fear! "

" Goin' for an I see you when I'm having nightmares kinda thing? "

" Wh- Yeah, that's what I just said. "

" Just making sure! Haven't had a guy say that kinda thing to me in a while! "

" Wait, now that I think about it, that's a lie. The End kinda said the same things to me. "

" Listen! It doesn't matter who said what to you last! All that matters is that I'm the one who's gonna kick your ass and finally kill you! Got it?! "

" Whoa, hold on. I don't know why you think that, but listen, I don't have any beef with you! And I'd really like to not get in a fight right now! It's a really peaceful day today, and I'd like to spend it under a tree. "

" That's where you're wrong, bitch! My whole life is built entirely around killing the fuck outta you! And now that I have the chance to do it, I'm not gonna let it slip through my fingers! "

" Listen, one more chance. You can just walk away. You haven't done anything bad yet, so I don't have any reason to fight you. Alright? "

" Can't get rid of me that easily. " And then she strikes her fists together, builds a charge instantly, and thrusts a fist forward to send a bolt of lightning toward Sonic.

Who then immediately backflips over the fired bolt, latches onto the side of the tree he was talking about before, and quickly spins around the trunk to pick up speed, before launching himself at Surge. All before she ever had the chance to react, and with a powerful Homing Attack, he sends her flying away and into the ocean around South Island some several miles away.

" ...Why did she look so much like Scourge though? " Either she'll drown or she won't, not his problem. Time for a nature nap!

[oathtorn]

// Doing the thing I said an hour ago I wouldn't do— Minthara's younger siblings, in order: Jereth, Dhaunirra (☠), the twins Filgred (☠) and Beslanna (☠), Myrineyl and Aumon

[amareinmortis]

The Analysts decided it’s time to go out in style.

[kolak-magiya-a]

Not me obsessing over some of my dnd ocs and being tempted to add them into my ffxiv roster with matching verses,,,

anyway if you like elezen or elves in general, I've got info (and art!~) under the cut~

Lyrei Daelamin (Lie-ray DIE-luh-mine) is fairly well known for his skills in martial arts - or at least he was until recently. In his campaign, he volunteered to be a test subject for a man's experiments to rid an individual of "creation taint" thus ridding Lyrei of any abilities he gained from using canisters of powerful substance. The event nearly killed him, causing one of his arms to literally wither away, as well as being paralyzed from the neck down.

He's currently temporarily retired until his prosthetic is finished. When complete, it'll not only replace his missing limb, but the roots of the prosthetic will span his entire body, replacing his damaged nervous system and giving him full mobility back.

In his ffxiv verse, he's a Monk, and a magical accident resulted in him being paralyzed. He was rescued and brought back to Gridania. While his life was saved, there was little to be done about his missing limb, until he agreed to allow some druids to test some prototypes on him. After almost a full year, they've come up with a livewood prosthetic, granting him his arm and movement once more at the cost of regular returns to maintain its magic.

Kairo is by all means a beast among his people. Where most male Drow are under 6', he stands at an imposing 6'6", with a muscular build and the look of a hunter to match. He was not always this way, however.

Before this, Kairo was a young elven noble who dreamed of exploring the world, which he set out to do as soon as possible. His journey was quickly cut short, however, when he was kidnapped and sent to a fighting arena, run by a Tiefling named Myza. For a few years, Kairo fought among the lesser warriors, until he spoke out against Myza. In retaliation, she cut his throat, silencing him forever, and sent him off to be experimented on by a group of eager mages.

Years of experimentation later, Kairo was now almost twice as big as he was before, standing over a foot taller with scars and stretch marks littering his skin from trying to hold himself together after such rapid growth.

In his ffxiv verse, Kairo would be the result of someone's cruel experiments. Forced to consume dragon blood, Kairo was changed slowly. He cannot change his form into that of a dragon, however he does maintain some characteristics that could resemble them. He is most certainly feared by the people of Ishgard.

[coollyinterferes]

Plotted starter for @redlineoffate [for child!Bruno]

A lovely trip through Italy with his godson... Quite the lovely thing it had been so far. That was, of course, not counting the unexpected turn things had taken just earlier that morning. The second day of their stay in this small coastal village saw George having a little accident. A misstep that ended up with the young man tripping and falling not so graciously to the ground. The whole thing didn't seem to be anything too serious, most likely just a sprained ankle. Painful, yes, but nothing that would require more specialized treatment in one of the Foundation's hospitals, which is why they were here, in the local hospital.

Being a small village (and one that Robert so far could tell hid more than met the eye, based on his own experiences from his crime days), it was common for most studies of a non-life threatening ailment to take more time to come back with a result than they usually would take when performed at bigger institutions. In this case, they were just waiting for the bone scan of George's ankle to come back so the doctor could determine the severity of the injury and assign him the proper treatment. Half hour was the expected waiting time as they performed some scans on other patients and printed everything in one batch.

And so, having been forced to skip breakfast due to their impromptu visit to the hospital, both Robert and George were currently quite hungry. Normally, it would be George the first to offer himself to go get them something to eat (though most of times Robert and him would go together anyway) but, given the circumstances at the moment, he was unable to join Robert and go with him to grab something for them to munch on for the time being, until they were discharged from the hospital.

As Robert waited by the counter for their food to be served, his gaze landed on a child, amidst the crowd, sitting on one of the tables. He was all alone and looked beyond mortified, appearing to not even having touched his food as it sat before him on the table. Minutes went by and no one seemed to come to join him. A rather unusual sight, especially at a place like a hospital, where kids are not supposed to be left alone.

Having seen that troubled look mixed with helplessness countless times before during some of the direst days of his youth, Robert could tell something was... off, even for this type of usually grim setting. Call it a gut feeling if you may.

His attention was drawn away from the child for a moment when the lady at the counter informed Speedwagon that his order was ready. He paid and thanked her before he walked over to the kid's table, hoping not to intrude or even trouble him further than he already appeared to be. But, then again, he couldn't just leave without at least asking and making sure the kid was okay (as okay as someone visiting a hospital could be, that is) or had someone around to look after him.

"Hi." He greeted, keeping his tone soft so as not to startle the boy. "Sorry to bother. I don't mean to intrude, it's just... well, I couldn't help but notice..." He commented, his genuine concern beginning to seep through his facade and his voice. For now, his main concern was that of the child's well-being. It couldn't be possible that he was here all alone, possibly in charge of someone, right?

"...Are your parents here with you? Maybe a sibling or any other adult?" Came the standard questions, not meaning harm. All the opposite really. But, of course, Robert had no way of knowing beforehand the reason that had brought the boy to the hospital in the first place.

[exaltatuss]

A Demiurge's Introspection

"Hm. Once you've lived long enough, you'll indeed eventually come to reflect on things. Me? I've certainly had it, several times at that."

"I've been many things in this life of mine. A daughter from a bloodline that yielded so much potential in her. An individual who gave in to the temptation in order to gain more power. A nigh unstoppable devourer with deep, unquenchable hunger, and now... A monarch of a great nation."

"Such a path was filled with wrong choices, atrocities, and the like, but regardless, this I've learned that quests for forgiveness, sympathy, or redemption, wouldn't matter to others. Thus, at this point, should I ever be asked if I have any regrets in the actions and atrocities I have partook in, the answer would be no."

Perhaps back then, she did regretted those actions, which of course, led to the transition between the old dream cycle to this current one... But nowadays, self-regret is something she had learned that binds her.

"I admit to the atrocities that I have wrought upon everyone involved, and likewise I cannot deny their impact."

"Many would look in disdain upon those tragedies, and upon me. Many more would also prefer it, like I once did, to bury such tragedies and be forgotten throughout history. But alas, I've learned that such thinking was simply akin to running away, instead of confronting what lies before you."

"Thus, if one were to look through the grime, the senseless actions and violations, they, too, would see something of value from such worthless drivel. A reminder and lesson on the importance of self-acceptance."

"However, I must be honest with myself. For the longest time, I never considered accepting myself back then. By never accepting the potentials I could have reached, my lust for power consumed me. I allowed hunger to control me, and allowed it to steer me into the path that I once had taken. By wanting more without ever questioning if its enough, I ended up burning bridges."

"... Nevertheless, this, too, is my legacy. And what is a legacy, without errors and pain? Without sacrifice and grief? And what good is a legacy if the future generation cannot learn from it? The duality of vices, and of virtues?"

"Ignorance, apathy, ignorance. Understanding, justice, unity. It is imperative that the people of the Ashen Empire would learn, understand and accept these concepts to the core. After all, they are more than mere words."

"They are attitudes, behaviors, world views. They can destroy whole civilizations or rebuild them. They can corrupt individuals, or enlighten them. They can cause war, or herald peace."

"Letting my people unravel secrets on their own freely without much supervision from myself, I may never know if such decision would make them learn from the sins of the past, or condemns themselves by repeating them... But that burden, that anxiety, is not mine to bear."

"To those who are able to read this, let it be known that everything can be tipped and nudged by a choice. Always a choice. That hunger of yours. Recognize it. Accept it. Nurture it. It is your fundamental right to taste every flavor there is in your lifetime, your fundamental right to sample everything reality and unreality has to offer... And if you were to make a choice, see for yourself on which direction that hunger would lead you? Make a choice you know you won't regret."

And with her now finalizing what she had written on the last page of a book now filled with her reflections and whatnot, the Ashen King would close the book, and slide it from one of many shelves in the Grand Ashen Library, available for her subjects to witness, should they come across it by happenstance.

[grimgrinnr]

winters-club replied:

DO IT

Winter enabled me so (possibly) long post incoming-

So this will actually also double as a reveal of the full roster as well as the order they’re laid out on my doc so that’s neat BUT

Sonic actually has like, a bunch of parental guardians. He lived with his biological parents, his mom Bernadette and his dad Jules, until he was four, and during those years he moved around a lot with them as his mom was a basically an explorer commissioned by the royal family of the Kingdom of Acorn a lot. He was born on Christmas Island, moved inland when he was like two, stayed there for two years, and was shipped off back to Christmas Island to live with his uncle Chuck and his wife Aleena as Doctor Eggman, then just going by Robotnik, began to Fuck Shit Up, and they were captured not long afterward.

He’d live on Christmas Island for a year before the Robotnik Empire began to expand outward, so Chuck sent Sonic off to South Island to live safely with some family friends Bernadette made while charting the island, the ancient and mysterious Guardian Owls clan. In particular he was put under the care of Bernadette’s closet friend in the clan, Longclaw. He’d live there until he was thirteen and that’s when the events of Sonic 1 begin as Robotnik finally finds South Island and starts to hunt for the Chaos Emeralds.

Shadow doesn’t have any parents so we’ll just skip right on past him-

Silver’s parents, his dad Ivory and his mother White, died when he was very young due to the nature of the apocalyptic future they lived in. After that he was raised communally alongside other children who lost their parents by the survivor colony his parents had managed to join before their deaths. He doesn’t remember much about them. They also probably don’t exist at all anymore after all the alterations to the timeline he’s done, so that’s neat!

Blaze is the daughter of Emperor Ramprasad Kaur and Empress Bảo Kaur of the Sol Empire. She was raised by her parents, aids, regents, priests, and tutors over the course of her life. Her exceptional elegance and diplomatic skills were nurtured by them, and her resentment for being constantly referred to by her royal titles and desire for freedom like Sonic has grew in-spite of them, even if she loves her kingdom and position deep down.

Tangle’s like. Incredibly normal. She has a normal mom and dad who just live normally. When she’s with her family she’s the stand out one. Her parents did divorce though even that’s normal now.

Whisper is much less normal, she was raised by a single mother and had to make ends meet throughout her life. Eventually she joined G.U.N. and spent a few years in it, but her mother passed away during the Great Egg War (Sonic Forces) and was part of her inspiration to help make the Diamond Cutters with her fellow forcibly ex-G.U.N. agent friends. She never got to meet her dad, though from what she was told he simply entered her mother’s life as fast as he exited.

Infinite’s family and childhood is complicated. He was the youngest son of a crime family in Shamar, constantly attempting to one-up his siblings and become the heir to his father’s criminal empire. His mother was a trophy wife, someone kept around to make kids and look good in public when his father had to act like a respectable business man. In the end, none of the work Infinite put in amounted to anything as when his father passed away when Infinite was still a teenager, his eldest brother would inherit the whole organization. In response, he burned down their mansion and fled into the heartland of Shamar.

Metal Sonic’s father is Doctor Eggman and he was made to fight Sonic on the Little Planet after Silver Sonic and Mecha Sonic failed to keep the Death Egg safe. He failed by way of slamming into a trap door meant to block Sonic off at mach speeds, and the original version of himself got abandoned on the Little Planet for that failure. Eggman then remade him on Earth but kept him in storage for his failure where he’d stay for the whole of SA1 and 2 before Eggman released him to test his AI, only then for him to go crazy and become Neo Metal Sonic and the events of Heroes to happen. In retaliation Eggman once again shelved Metal while also stripping him of all individuality and has only recently begun bringing Metal back in minor roles.

Tails shared a similar life to Sonic, his parents being citizens of the Kingdom of Acorn before the Robotnik War and all that. In fact, his father, Amadeus Prower, was mayor of the largest city on West Side Island before the war with his mother, Rosemary, being an activist. When the Robotnik War started up they were in Mobotropolis, so they were captured very early on. Tails, who had previously been under the care of his father’s best friend, quickly found himself abandoned as panic beset West Side Island as Robotnik began to expand outward. He lived on his own for a good few months before Sonic arrived on the island and stood up for him, and not long after the events of Sonic 2, 3, and Knuckles would all happen.

Doctor Eggman, by all rights, lived a pampered and relatively normal life with a relatively normal family. He came from a long line of contributors to the field of science, most namely his childhood idol and grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. Thing is, Eggman was also a spoiled brat. Not by any fault of his parents, Eggman was just always like that. He always believed he deserved more because he was smarter than everyone else. He only looked up to Gerald because of his scientific achievements, and even openly lamented the constant talks about his cousin Maria. Why did it matter she died young? HE mattered more than her!

In spite of his bratty-ness, Eggman would still eventually end up enrolling in the most prestigious college in all of the United Federation, and he went after a degree in just about every field of science. Though he also picked up some classes in teaching to satisfy his love of telling others what to do. During this time he’d produce various experiments that would catch the attention of G.U.N., which would land him his first job as researcher for them. Thing is that, not long after being hired, he began to secretly syphon resources away from the projects he was assigned to for use in his personal, and highly unethical, projects. Namely, the study of utilizing living beings as batteries for machinery.

When this information was leaked to G.U.N. higherups, Eggman became a wanted fugitive overnight and he’d disappear over the boarder and into the Kingdom of Acorn where he’d lay low for a while. Eventually, the royal family caught wind of him and he’d eventually be hired to be the head scientist of the whole kingdom by the king himself believing Eggman to have moved to the kingdom entirely legally. This would allow him to begin once again secretly using resources to fund his personal projects, which would ultimately lead him to achieving his ultimate ambition for world domination by way of amassing enough resources for a robotic army to overthrow the Kingdom of Acorn, proclaim the Robotnik Empire, and wage total war against the whole world. And, of course, at the end of Sonic 3&K, Robotnik was thoroughly defeated and the world freed from the Robotnik Empire, only for him to rise again as Eggman and his empire to be reborn as the Eggman Empire alongside him.

Doctor Starline was actually orphaned early on his life, to a point he doesn’t remember his parents at all. His life was spent going from family to family, many of them unsure how to handle his unique tastes, habits, and ideas. He’d eventually end up living on his own as soon as he became an adult and support himself through his genius. Though he’d quickly become shunned by the world as he became more outspoken in his admiration of Doctor Eggman, ultimately leading up to him using the Great Egg War as an excuse to pursue Eggman-like experiments, and afterward joining the Eggman Empire entirely.

Surge cannot remember her parents. And even if she did, she wouldn’t want to, as she came from a turbulent household, a father that worked out on her when she was young and a mother that abused her. Surge’s only worthwhile authority figure in her life being Sonic, and that was only through the news or stories published about him. She’d ultimately leave that family after an explosive fight, and she’d never see them again after being abducted by Starline during the Great Egg War, though she’d remain in stasis a good year or two before Starline got to work turning her into Surge while Eggman was away for the events of Sonic Frontiers.

Sally is the daughter of King Maximillian Acorn and Queen Alicia Acorn of the Kingdom of Acorn, and she is the younger sister to her brother Elias Acorn. Alongside them is her uncle Nigel Acorn, who abdicated his royal titles due to disinterest in ever becoming king and now lives his life as an author. Sally’s early life was much like Blaze’s pampered like a royal princess usually is, though Sally has to deal with the unfortunate troubles of being the daughter of one of the most disliked kings in the history of the kingdom, and her uncle being the somewhat involuntary face of the democratic movement in the kingdom, with many people either wanting Nigel to become the first president of a Republic of Acorn, or for Maximillian to abdicate and Nigel to be reinstated as a royal so he can be the first truly constitutionally bound king in the history of the kingdom since their grandfather.

Though her troubles with family do not extend past that, as Elias has become fed up with the kingdom after growing up far from it on places like South Island or West Side Island. Out of everyone in her family, he’s the most openly anti-monarchist, despite him legally being the next in-line for the throne. Sally herself is stuck in the middle, as she spent much of her childhood fighting against Eggman in the Robotnik War with the sole goal of bringing back the nation she remembered in her childhood. As such, she mostly tries to keep the peace, though when in tense moments and her emotions are running high on the topic, she’ll defend the status-quo and refute the idea of change. As such, moderates in the kingdom that just want Max gone and some amount of reform simply view her as the best option to inherit the throne.

Bunnie Rabbot actually comes from a long line of very well known people in the world. Rugged frontiersmen and pioneers of the untamed wilderness of the world. She was raised by her father for about as long as she can remember, as her mother passed away from illness not long after she was born. Bunnie and her pa’ lived on the family’s own oil fields in the Sandblast desert of north Efrika, even up until the Robotnik War and the Robotnik Empire came knocking at their front door. Her father made a quick decision of bowing down to Eggman instead of fighting him and letting him have full access to the oil fields whenever he liked. Something Eggman exploited often. In fact, it was during one night when Eggman’s robots were collecting oil to be shipped off to West Side Island to supplement the oil coming out of Eggman’s own Oil Ocean Refinery off the coast of the island for the construction of the Death Eggman that Bunnie’s life changed forever.

As, while everyone slept, Badniks would sneak into the Rabbot house and abduct Bunnie to ship her off to the heart of the Robotnik Empire for an experiment Eggman had. He wanted to test the idea of total cybernetic conversion of organics, known as Roboticization, though the program was scrapped after several failed experiments only resulted in partial conversion or just outright death. Bunnie was one of the ones left partly converted, and she’d be dumped out in the wilderness to die, only to be picked up by the Freedom Fighters, a group Sally and her friends made during the war. She hasn’t been back to her childhood home since, and now lives out in the wilderness of the Kingdom of Acorn on her own ranch with her husband Antoine.

Rouge lived a very controlled life, her parents overprotective of her from day one. She always had to do what she was told, live how they wanted, all of that. Before the Robotnik War, she was actually sent off to a religious school isolated in the middle of nowhere. This would spare her from the chaos of Eggman’s tyranny, and also technically make her an official nun. After the war, when it was safe to leave, she returned to her family and made one thing clear. Control her again and she was going to leave for good. They didn’t listen, and she immediately ran off. This would lead to her very first attempted robbery and subsequent arrest followed immediately after by her first ever escape of the police. The skill she demonstrated doing all that caught the attention of the President himself, and he’d personally hire him as a covert government agent.

Kit, much like Surge, doesn’t remember his family. But, unlike her, he has nothing to remember. He was orphaned at birth. In fact, horrifically enough, Starline is his father as he was legally adopted by the doctor not long before abducting Surge.

Knuckles was born to survivors who were living off of borrowed time. While many historians originally stated that the ancient Echidna Empire was brought down by a war against the Guardian Owls, several other minor ancient civilizations, and an internal political crisis that quickly spiraled into a civil war that climaxed in the eradication of their people by the wrath of the god Perfect Chaos after the head of the Knuckles Clan, Pachacamac, attempted to use the Master Emerald as a weapon.

But, in truth, the quick sacrifice of Pachacamac’s daughter, Tikal, resulted in a small portion of the echidna population on Angel Island being saved from death, with the others being washed away by his wrath and those on the surface disappearing during the conflict. Knuckles’ family being one of those survivors. As the population declined over the centuries after their nation’s collapse, eventually it was just Knuckles’ parents that remained as the only echidna’s left on the planet. When Knuckles was born, they named him after the clan he would soon become the only member of, as they would pass away not long after. He was then raised by the Chao and animals of Angel Island, left as the guardian of the Master Emerald for as long as he may live.

Amy hailed from a large family. Perhaps a family too large sometimes. And early on, she was interested in the occult. While her parents didn’t know what to make of it, they were as supportive as they could be while dealing with living in the family villa in southern Spagonia with the rest of the extended Rose family. It was actually this same villa, and Amy’s own tarot predictions, that afforded the family the ability to safely avoid the Robotnik War. But, Amy’s fortunes had other plans, as they predicted her meeting her fated love at Never Lake, the place that the Little Planet appeared over every few years. As such, she ran away from home to see this fortune to its end, which lead into Sonic CD, and would be a choice she’d get an earful of when she returned home after the adventure. Currently though, she lives as freely as Sonic does, staying at homes scattered around the world. Something her uncle Giuseppe doesn’t approve of, but he also doesn’t think Sonic is “good enough for her” so she doesn’t listen too much to his opinions.

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟏  𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞   |   VARIOUS LOCATIONS, DECEMBER 1990

❧  𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

‎‎‎‎‎ ❛ The banality of human tragedy wasn’t enough for a princess. Some may have said it was an insult. The publishers, insatiable in their hunger for a story, chased answers. They would force slippery, delicate reality into the shackles of narrative. They would explain the unexplainable. Numerous leads bubbled forth in the immediate days following the event. At first, they came as a respectful trickle of whispers. Then, they came in a loud burst that could fill the amorphous space between breaking news and solemn coverage of a state funeral. Most of the claims were false: the queen had held the gaze of an owl twenty days prior; a storm had thrown and scattered stones in an ominous glyph; waterway residents had heard plaintive weeping from the water before the disappearance; a daykeeper sent a letter to the palace warning the mountains were shaking with longing; the princess was terrified of water and had diligently avoided it before this fateful outing. The latter was true.

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 & 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

It wasn’t moving water that paralyzed her. She had appreciated the crashing of beach waves and the foaming, rushing flow of rivers. The waterfalls in Yaas had captivated her. The problem was still water. Placid and smooth, the expanses of lakes and ponds and swimming pools unsettled her to the core. Others saw them as gentle and inviting; these comely traits, to her, were the duplicity inherent to any natural danger.

As with many fears, this one had been formative. These bodies summoned memories of gasping and flailing—a visceral recollection of the moment in which her swimming education both began and ended. The publishers would report that she refused to bathe in tubs or put her face beneath a shower head. These details were embellishments, but they knitted together the perfect narrative to rendered the death star-crossed, inevitable, and shadowing even in the unobstructed light of day. With such winking glints of absurdity, a deluge of articles teased intrigue from something utterly ordinary.

Indeed, that was the wretched truth with which the family had to contend, even as days of newsprint consoled the public with fantasy. Once the body was recovered a few hours later, the coroner called it what her fellow passengers had assumed: an accident. People drowned in Uspana every day. Such a demise was considered divinely favored, and the context—the story that underwrote it—didn’t matter. The mountains claimed their favorites regardless of whether their lungs filled with a few inches of bathwater or deep inhales of Canarís Bay saltwater. These favorites were regular people. They were also, from time to time, royalty.

The cause was misadventure, not malevolence.

Still, when Beatriz stumbled over to the telephone on the day she received the news, she took a deep breath to steady herself and said with conviction, “Arnaut, he's finally killed her. Please come home.”

TRANSCRIPT:

[A] Boating? Seriously? [S] New yacht, too. He named it the Safyanora. Sweet, isn't it?

[A] I just can't believe he convinced you to go on it. [S] Me either.

[S] We've been giving each other space for a few weeks. [A] Is that what you call it?

[S] I should put in effort, you know? Be forgiving. [A] You do. You are. The problem is when he takes advantage of it, which is every single time.

[S] Friends will be there with us. There'll be no fighting—not the terribly unfun kind, anyway. [A] {Sighs.}

[A] And you're still not wearing the ring?

[S] For now. We'll see how I feel after this trip. [A] Uh huh.

[S] He promised a romantic getaway! Maybe that's what I need. [A] It's true. You work too much.

[S] No, you don't work enough—[A] Hold on. Someone's here.

[S] I can let you go … I do have work to do. [A] {Chuckling.}

[A] Abelina, tell Auntie hello. [AB] Hi Safy! [S] Hello, baby girl.

[A] It's bedtime story o'clock, unfortunately. [S] I'll call you when I'm home in a few days. [A] Good. I love you. Have fun. [S] I love you, too. Goodnight.

[S] {V.O.} Hi Mama. Sorry I missed you.

[S] {V.O.} We arrived in Intizara a couple days ago. There were more cameras than usual. It was disconcerting.

[S] {V.O.} Anyway, I'm calling you from the water.

[S] {V.O.} Aren't you proud of me? {Chuckles.}

[S] {V.O.} Manuel and Eita are with us.

[S] {V.O.} We're having fun, all of us.

[S] {V.O.} I needed this.

[S] {V.O.} We needed this.

[S] {V.O.} I know you don't want to hear it, but he's making an effort.

[S] {V.O.} I feel hopeful. Call me back. I love you.

[B] {V.O.} This is not a message for voicemail.

[B] {V.O.} I wish you had come to the phone just this once.

[B] {V.O.} How do I say this? It's unspeakable.

[B] {V.O.} {Sighs.}

[B] {V.O.} Arnaut, he's finally killed her.

[B] {V.O.} Please come home.

[xbrokenreflection]

💥 :)

WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

💥 ― a memory you wish you’d forget.

✩ New place, new name, new life --- that's what Ryu thought he'd achieved by choosing to stay in Twilight Town. Here, no one knew the truth about him (what he was, what he'd done) and it truly felt like things had changed for the better.

But then, one fateful afternoon, he hit a brick wall near the Sandlot when he bumped into one of the local youths. "Hey! Watch where you're going, loser!"

Ryu stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to glare at the taller punk, a seed of dark anger sprouting up in his chest.

"What did you just call me?!"

"You have ears, don't you?" the punk asked, scoffing. But a flash of recognition flared in his eyes as he gave Ryu a once-over, and his frown slowly became a scowl. "Haven't you already caused enough trouble in my town? Get lost now, before I make you."

Ryu couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation.

"My town, he says," Ryu taunted, crossing his arms. "Shut up! This place doesn't belong to you!"

The other boy's glare narrowed further as he rolled his shoulders and stepped forward into a fighting stance. "Ha! I'll gladly teach you that lesson, wuss!"

The fight didn't last long. Despite all his bluster and brute strength, the punk wasn't too good at keeping his guard up.

It ended when Ryu saw one final opening and threw all his weight into a tackle, pinning the other boy up against a wall. He felt the other boy flinch as his grip dug into his bruised ribs... but Ryu refused to loosen his hold one bit.

"Some lesson," Ryu snarled. "I hope you learned when to quit!"

The anger was still seething inside him like a monstrous beast, little tendrils of Darkness curling out to embrace and soothe him... but something felt wrong about this.

"Okay, okay, you win!" The boy said, grimacing. "Let it go!"

"THREAT DETECTED!" A new voice called out, and Ryu spared a glance to the alleyway where two other kids now stood --- one of them pointing right at him. "BACK OFF!"

Ryu dropped the other boy quickly and stepped back, letting go of the Darkness he'd been tapping into as it dawned on him that... these other kids saw him as something to be afraid of, and maybe they were right to be.

He'd nearly gone too far, and that was the last thing he wanted.

So, as the other kid's friends rushed in to help him, Ryu did the only thing he could do when confronted with all this fresh guilt and shame: he ran away.

"Don't worry, Seifer! We'll get 'em, y'know!"

The last thing Ryu heard, very faintly, was Seifer's pained voice saying, "No.... Don't go after him. He's..."

Ryu didn't need to hear anything else, though, because he knew how that sentence would end:

He's too dangerous.

[sonicprim3d]

}GET US TALKING{

@synnrrgy asked: …. 🗣️ + starline & shadow

" Face to face with the supposed Ultimate Lifeform himself, at long last... "

" My status as the Ultimate Lifeform is not up for debate. So do not insinuate I am anything less than what I am. "

" Struck a nerve, have I? Well, that's just grand. After all, a future goal of mine is to create something that can surpass you. I've already got a project underway to surpass Sonic and his sidekick, so once that is done, I think a real challenge is in order. Don't you agree? "

" If you think you can create something that can surpass Sonic and Tails when the closest Eggman has gotten is cheap robotic imitations that always fail, then you are delusional. "

" Well, you see, that's why we iterate upon what we make. Constant tweaking will produce the perfect- "

" No, it won't. Because you've already demonstrated an immediate failure to understand Sonic and Tails at their most basic. You seem to think that Tails is Sonic's sidekick, when that is far from the case. He saved Station Square from Eggman without Sonic's help. He was willing to continue the plan aboard the ARK even after they believed Sonic to be killed by Eggman. He is not a sidekick, he is Sonic's greatest ally. "

" W- Well, you see- "

" If you've failed immediately to understand the people you are attempting to surpass at their most basic, then any hope you have of creating similar projects to surpass yet stronger people will fail worse than your current plan will. You will not be able to replace Sonic or Tails, let alone both of them at once. And you will never make something that can replace me. "

" If you think that your words will deter- "

" I don't. I think that you will follow in your mentor's footsteps and stubbornly ram your head against this wall in hopes it will give, only to walk away with your skull caved in from your own stupidity. Whether that be because of Sonic and Tails, or Eggman, is not for me to know. "

" Eggman wouldn't- "

" Mark my words, he will. As soon as you aren't useful, he will dispose of you. And there will be no one there to save you. "

He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, Shadow teleports away. Leaving him in silence and to stew in his own thoughts.

[astralbcrn]

|| I wish we had more knowledge about how Ignis managed to get the... 'good ending' so to speak. From what I've gathered from Dawn of the Future, then a part of Ardyn was trapped in the Crystal/the Beyond when he reached out for it as seen in his backstory, which is part of the reason why Noctis has to die to fully destroy the scourge.

It's been a while since I played Episode Ignis, but he does defeat Ardyn (at least partly), but he does this in the real world, so there should still be a part of his soul trapped in the Beyond – aka. Noctis would still have to die, but he doesn't, he survives.

Now, killing Bahamut is one way of fixing everything as seen in DoTF, but... someone still dies, Ardyn just becomes the sacrifice instead of Noctis... and Ardyn is a Lucis Caelum, so it makes sense that he's able to do it.

I'm trying to think of a way where nobody has to die to fix things – if that's even possible without killing Bahamut? But Bahamut isn't part of the scourge, really, he's just... part of the problem since he's willing to destroy all of humanity in DoTF. As they destroy Bahamut, the Crystal absorbs and cleanses the rest of the scourge, but again – Ardyn still had to go to the Beyond to do it, so.

Maybe if Noctis didn't have to waste energy on killing Ardyn in the 'real world' he wouldn't have to die and could somehow make his way to the Beyond and back without dying? But I partly think Bahamut also wants him to die because Noctis should, in theory, be really goddamn powerful after getting all that power from the old Kings and the Crystal.

[marvelsmostwanted]

There are people – some in my own Party – who think that if you just give Donald Trump everything he wants, he’ll make an exception and spare you some of the harm. I’ll ignore the moral abdication of that position for just a second to say — almost none of those people have the experience with this President that I do. I once swallowed my pride to offer him what he values most — public praise on the Sunday news shows — in return for ventilators and N95 masks during the worst of the pandemic. We made a deal. And it turns out his promises were as broken as the BIPAP machines he sent us instead of ventilators. Going along to get along does not work – just ask the Trump-fearing red state Governors who are dealing with the same cuts that we are. I won’t be fooled twice.

I’ve been reflecting, these past four weeks, on two important parts of my life: my work helping to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the two times I’ve had the privilege of reciting the oath of office for Illinois Governor.

As some of you know, Skokie, Illinois once had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world. In 1978, Nazis decided they wanted to march there.

The leaders of that march knew that the images of Swastika clad young men goose stepping down a peaceful suburban street would terrorize the local Jewish population – so many of whom had never recovered from their time in German concentration camps.

The prospect of that march sparked a legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was a Jewish lawyer from the ACLU who argued the case for the Nazis – contending that even the most hateful of speech was protected under the first amendment.

As an American and a Jew, I find it difficult to resolve my feelings around that Supreme Court case – but I am grateful that the prospect of Nazis marching in their streets spurred the survivors and other Skokie residents to act. They joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation and built the first Illinois Holocaust Museum in a storefront in 1981 – a small but important forerunner to the one I helped build thirty years later.

I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly. But I know the history intimately — and have spent more time than probably anyone in this room with people who survived the Holocaust. Here’s what I’ve learned – the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed – a seed of distrust and hate and blame.

The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.

I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next.

All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.

I swore the following oath on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Governor .... according to the best of my ability.

My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country. We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.

If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this:

It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

Those Illinois Nazis did end up holding their march in 1978 – just not in Skokie. After all the blowback from the case, they decided to march in Chicago instead. Only twenty of them showed up. But 2000 people came to counter protest. The Chicago Tribune reported that day that the “rally sputtered to an unspectacular end after ten minutes.” It was Illinoisans who smothered those embers before they could burn into a flame.

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most.

Sources:

• NBC Chicago & J.B. Pritzker, Democratic governor of Illinois, State of the State address 2025: Watch speech here | Full text

• Betches News on Instagram (screencaps)

[ducktollers]

🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊

[hydrattan]

I was feeling agitated and artblocked yesterday so I decided to give my brain a rest by watching TV and then the next thing I knew these were in front of me