#I guess this is what happens when you have a unique point of view

[essycogany]

Rare But Not So Rare Sonic Moments Being Both Extroverted And Introverted

Game!Sonic is more of an Ambivert then you’d think.

Disclaimer: My opinions on Sonic as a character tends to be mixed since I didn’t grow up with this franchise. Forgive me if I have conflicting points of views on this blue brat with his inconsistent characterizations.

I’m not expecting everyone to agree with me. Sonic being an introvert is such an agreed upon head-canon in this community. But I would like to fairly appreciate both introverted and extroverted sides to Sonic. I couldn’t pick between the two regardless because Sonic’s character has always been everywhere, but I like the blue hedgie in general. So, I’m going to gush about both of them.

Traits

This is my personal take, but I’ll do my best to describe them. I’m not speaking for everyone who caries these. To not make things complicated, I’ll use two characters who fit each personality trait the most. In my subjective views anyways.

Introvert: Someone who isn’t outgoing. Who prefers to be alone in their thoughts then be surrounded by people. Introverts spend time with one or two people instead of large groups and gets exhausted by social interactions very quickly. They also don’t like getting too much attention from others either.

Shadow and Whisper

Extrovert: An outgoing person who prefers to be with others and thrives in hanging out with large groups of people. Extroverts enjoy social interactions and can start a conversation with most people. Their energy is gained by spending time with different people and getting attention from them.

Tangled and Amy

Ambivert: A mixture of an introvert and extrovert. They enjoy both stimulating and none-stimulating environments. Can start a conversation with strangers, but enjoy doing their own thing. They gain energy by being in small or large groups simultaneously.

Sonic and Tails

Where Does Sonic Fall Into These Categories?

Let me start with Sonic X’s Sonic. For this analysis, it’s important to discuss different mediums of him to get my point across clearly. I might get off course and discuss how certain characteristics are due to the personality more then what normally falls into personality traits. Hold onto something!

Sonic X: He doesn’t enjoy people praising him and mostly talks to people who speaks to him first. He tends to not be much of a chatter box and is not in the show as much as you’d expect. This Sonic prefers to go off on his own then spend time with his friends at the beach in one episode. In another Sonic bails on his invitation to meet the President in order to spend time with his new friend, Helen.

Showing how he prefers to be with a few amount of people then with a group. He even leaves the group in a bunch of episodes to have his alone time. Sonic also doesn’t like hugs all that much unless he’s protecting someone, (mostly Amy) but I’d say that falls more into personal choice more than having to do with him being an introvert. Especially since he hugged Chris in one episode.

Even in Sonic’s more extroverted depictions he can be awkward with hugs. That being said, my hot take is this Sonic is one of two variants who fully commits to being introverted. Which is not a surprise because of reasons I’ll get into later.

Here’s where I’ll talk about his extroverted variants. I’ll start with Movie and Prime Sonic, since they fall into this personality trait the most.

Movie!Sonic: He lived alone for most of his life after his caretaker “Long Claw’s” sacrifice. Sonic had to raise himself by watching action movies on his soon to be families television. Due to his lack of interactions, love, or anything outside of being alone, he has a mental breakdown and his powers takes over his emotions. Causing the entire world’s lights to shut down.

Once he starts meeting different people he gets ecstatic and has fun with the situation. Getting into different shenanigans with his soon to be father, Tom. Again, Sonic Wachowski has been alone for years. Which makes his reasons of being extroverted make sense.

Prime!Sonic: (I deem this version of the character as not canon, so I’ll treat him as such.) Prime!Sonic is naturally affectionate and open towards anyone and everyone. Even Eggman by the end of the show. Like Movie!Sonic, he hates being alone and is very optimistic when it comes to interacting with people. The First Episode of the show: Sonic: “Are you ignoring me? You’re ignoring me. Why are you ignoring me?! WHY IS EVERYONE IGNORING ME?!”

He inspires others to become their better selves because he reaches out to them and often talks about trust and expressing yourself. Almost every Sonic does, but this energetic ball of stubbornness is the least subtle about it. His naivety seems to be both the worst and best aspect of his character. Worst because it gets really repetitive and best because you can understand how much compassion he has for people.

It getting out of hand at times is more of a flaw in the writing then the character, but I digress. I’d say Prime!Sonic is very emotionally honest with himself, but even in the show he internalizes his emotions at times. It’s not often, but still happens. Proving you don’t have to be introverted in order to want to keep your emotions to yourself.

Ep 3 Of Season One: Nine: “Are you okay?” Sonic: “Yeah, I’m fine.” Obviously wasn’t true. You can tell when this guy is holding back his emotions. All be it not perfectly.

Every Other TV Show Or Comic Depiction Of Sonic: Even if these adaptations are different in some regard, they all carry the core extroverted side to Sonic. Just not as much as the first two.

They are way more egotistical and wants to be the center of attention. (Archie!Sonic is literally a celebrity in his universe.) Likes their alone time, but mostly hangs out and fights with friends. Talks to a bunch of people, and so on.

Let’s finally get into the main canon Sonic.

Game!Sonic: Sonic is 100% an introvert in his Japanese depictions. It’s the same story as Sonic X. In terms of how Sonic’s written in the country he was created in, he is a complete introvert. Like being shy when it comes to being complimented (especially when people view him as an authority figure) In the American dubs before Pontiac and Graff wrote for the games, Sonic’s almost the same way. But as time went on especially during IDW’s run, Sonic tends to be pretty extroverted. It’s mostly how he’s depicted in the west if the examples before means anything.

Even beforehand he’s been more extroverted then one would think. He talks to strangers and in almost every game meets someone new. He doesn’t get exhausted or needs solitude afterwards either.

Sonic always could be around more than a few people at once. Sure, he doesn’t mind being alone, but again you don’t have to be an introvert in order to enjoy being alone. And there are plenty of introverts who talk a BUNCH with the people they’re most comfortable with. Then extroverts who can take the time to listen to others when needed. It all depends on the person.

That goes for Sonic keeping his emotions to himself. No matter where people fall, some may feel the need to keep their emotions to themselves. Extroverted or not. Especially since Sonic from X has expressed himself before. It’s just not as common for him.

I also feel the blue hedgehog does it so everyone else can keep their heads up. His own included. I understand if anyone doesn’t agree with that take though. The classic era is a good example his ambivert traits as well. He starts out as a none talking loner, but soon starts talking and meeting different people. These are reasons I believe Game!Sonic’s an Ambivert.

I believe Sonic’s a leap before he thinks kind of guy and is bad at expressing himself. He can sometimes be talkative. Especially when it comes to going back and forth with other characters. Villains and rivals to be specific. Sonic’s stubborn about his morals and will stop at nothing to keep those morals. He’s introverted enough to take some time to himself and do things his way without anyone to stop him, but extroverted enough to inspire strangers to become great hero’s themselves.

Let me simplify it even further. The situation is Sonic getting praised by a crowd of people.

X: Gets overwhelmed and runs away.

Every Other Variation: Appreciates the praise and maybe even start flexing to boost his ego.

Game: Would humbly appreciate the cheers and probably leave or stay. It depends on his mood.

I don’t know if I got my point across very well, but I did my best. I honestly believe I might be alone with this take. Hope my rambling didn’t get too out of line.

Stay Creative! 💜

[whitecompri]

hei cutie ~ , I'm glad I found your blog, as a fellow Sonic fan, I'm very pleased.

And also as a fan of all the hedgehog characters in Sonic, can I make a request?

Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Scourge x On a picnic date with fem human s/o Who like to use their thighs as a pillow to rest on or rub and stroke their heads while they sleep. S/o sometimes likes to tease them when they are lying on her lap.

Pretty please....

Don't forget to take some rest

Going on a Picnic With your Hedgie

Pairing: Sonic x Reader; Shadow x Reader; Silver x Reader; Scourge x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Suggestive Themes

A/N: Thanks for the request! It was a lot of fun thinking up each unique scenario for each hedgehog, but I liked the end result, I hope you like it too!

Sonic

Maybe it should have been a mistake to let him choose the picnic spot, but he asked so sweetly, with such an adorable look on his face, that in the end, you gave in, letting your restless boyfriend decide the location.

In the end, Sonic concluded that it was a great idea to have a picnic at the top of a hill, right in the middle of the strong winds up there. But there was no complaining—you allowed it to happen.

You paused for a moment on your way up the hill, catching your breath. Looking up, you saw the top of the hill; you were almost there, but the path to get to this point had been tough and exhausting. Your eyes narrowed when your peripheral vision caught a blue blur dashing up at full speed. A few seconds later, it raced down the hill again.

Sometimes, it was hard to keep up with his fast-paced rhythm.

Gathering your strength, you composed yourself and resumed walking up the steep terrain, stepping carefully to avoid slipping or getting your foot caught on a rock.

An unnatural gust of wind rushed past you, tossing your hair up. Looking ahead, you spotted a very impatient blue hedgehog.

"Are you going to take much longer? I could have had ten picnics already with how slow you are." He flashed a teasing grin at you.

"I'm going to have to give you some lessons on human limits when we get back home," you said, still out of breath as you climbed another tricky part of the hill.

"Oh, remind me later—I forgot the soda. Be right back!"

Before you could even blink, the sound of him breaking the sound barrier echoed across the hill. You glanced back, seeing nothing but the bluish streak he left behind.

Sighing, you shook your head and refocused on making your way up the rest of the path. After a few more strenuous steps, you finally reached the top of the hill, letting out a satisfied murmur as you reached your destination.

Your eyes immediately landed on the picnic blanket your speedy boyfriend had laid out and the basket of snacks he had prepared.

Once again, that familiar breeze hit your side. Looking to your left, you saw Sonic standing there, holding a bottle of soda.

"So? Do you like the place?" He gave you a warm smile.

"Aside from the fact that I nearly passed out getting up here..." Your eyes scanned the location, taking in how breathtaking the view was from up there. "Yeah, I love it. It's an amazing spot. Thank you, love."

"No problem, babe. Now sit down, let's eat—now that we’ve got the drinks too."

He eagerly walked over to the blanket, sitting at one end. You followed, settling down beside him.

"What did you bring?" Crossing your legs and resting on your arm, you curiously scanned the basket, already guessing what he had packed.

Sonic pulled out some simple white porcelain plates, placing them in the middle of the blanket. Then, buzzing with excitement, he took out a few chili dogs, carefully setting them on the plates. Next, he pulled out a container of fries, placing them in a deeper dish, along with a ketchup bottle beside it. Finally, he brought out a few homemade heart-shaped cookies.

"Did you make these?" Your eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Hm? I wanted to do something nice for my gorgeous girlfriend. I hope you like them... And I swear I didn’t accidentally go overboard with the flour—it was totally intentional." He gave you an amused grin.

"I'm sure they'll be delicious, even with your questionable culinary skills." You nudged his shoulder playfully, making his mischievous smile turn into a small smirk.

"That's because you haven't tried my specialty yet—Gourmet Burnt Instant Noodles." He raised a hand dramatically, as if to glorify his disastrous dish.

"Hmm, sounds divine. How about making it for dinner tonight? I have some leftover food poisoning medicine in the cabinet, so we can enjoy it worry-free."

You both laughed at the playful banter. Leaning in, he pressed his forehead against yours, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Let’s eat the chili dogs while they're still warm. I made everything with care for you."

--*--

You chewed on one of the last fries, grabbed another, dipped it in ketchup, and ate it. By now, after a while, the strong wind at the top of the hill had turned into a pleasant breeze, making the whole atmosphere much cozier.

Beside you, Sonic stretched his arms above his head.

"Well, that was a great meal... Now for the best part!"

Without hesitation, he practically threw himself into your lap, closing his eyes and placing his hands behind his head, fully enjoying how soft your thighs were.

"Now this is the life," he sighed in pure satisfaction.

"I didn’t know you could actually stay still," you teased, taking a sip of your soda.

"Well, only when it's worth it." He grinned, shifting slightly to get even more comfortable in your lap.

Your hand instinctively reached out, running through his soft, blue fur in slow, soothing motions.

Your fingers drifted toward his fuzzy ears, tracing circles around them. Immediately, you felt his body tense slightly, his fur subtly bristling.

"Careful there, babe, you know that's a weak spot..." He cracked open one eye to glance at you.

"I know, that’s why I’m doing it." Your eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Oh, you’re asking for payback, princess..." He smirked, flashing one of his fangs.

You laughed, deciding to play it safe and return to simply stroking his fur. He let out a soft chuckle, relaxing again and closing his eyes.

However, at that moment, your gaze locked onto something beside you—a stray bird feather lying on the picnic blanket. A mischievous smile crept onto your lips as you set your cup aside and reached for the feather.

Taking a deep breath to suppress your laughter and avoid giving yourself away, you brought the feather close to his nose, gently brushing it against his nostrils.

Sonic’s immediate reaction was to scrunch his nose, twitching it in confusion at the unfamiliar sensation. One of his hands moved from behind his head, lazily rubbing at his nose with the back of his hand. At that moment, you pulled the feather away, letting him scratch.

Just as he thought the itch was gone, you brought the feather back, swiping it quickly across his nose.

His nose twitched again, his expression contorting as he turned his head to the side, sneezing lightly before rubbing his nose against his arm. When he settled back down, his eyes snapped open, locking onto the feather in your hand and the mischievous glint in your eyes.

"My girlfriend is feeling extra playful today, huh?" His voice was low and amused. "I hope you’re ready for a counterattack..." His gaze narrowed.

"And what exactly are you going to do?" You challenged, curious to see what he had in mind.

However, your eyes widened in shock when his muzzle brushed against your thigh, and you suddenly felt his fangs graze the soft skin of your leg, sending a shiver up your spine.

"Hey! What are you—" Your gaze shifted to one of indignation as you raised your hands to stop him.

But you weren’t fast enough. A playful chuckle escaped him as he nipped you again.

"I warned you, babe..." He pulled away quickly, dodging your hands as you tried to stop him. "Now it’s my turn..."

Before you could react, he lunged at you, this time playfully nipping at your side over your shirt.

"You little—" You laughed, the sensation both surprising and ticklish as his teeth grazed your body.

"Sonic, I don’t have fur to hide your little bite marks!" One of your hands gripped his shoulder while the other supported you from behind, keeping you from falling as he got closer.

"Perfect..." He pinned you down, placing a hand on either side of your body. His face hovered close to yours as he pressed a small kiss to your chin. Then, his muzzle tilted up, and you felt the warmth of his lips on yours, the soft fur brushing against your skin in a mix of tickles and gentle caresses.

Your eyes instinctively fluttered shut, but the kiss was brief. He pulled away, stealing one last peck before gazing at you with an intense, love-struck expression.

"Now, I plan to resume my peaceful nap on your lap, babe. And if my girlfriend tries any more tricks... I’ll retaliate with more than just little bites."

You chuckled softly as he looked at you with hooded eyes, utterly smitten.

"Is that a threat or an offer?"

"It's up to you..." So, he went back to lying peacefully on her lap, closing his eyes and relaxing in that late afternoon.

Shadow

When you asked Shadow where he’d like to have the picnic, at first, he remained silent, lost in thought with his arms crossed, until he finally opened his mouth slightly to respond.

"I know a place..."

And so, now you were walking peacefully through the flower field, your silent boyfriend at your side, attentively accompanying you. He carried the towels and the picnic basket, searching for the best spot to set everything up.

Shadow was always very considerate, never letting you carry heavy things or anything like that. He also never left you behind while walking—he patiently followed your pace, wearing the same grumpy expression as always.

But deep down, he was loving every second of it and would do anything to have more moments like this with you. In a quiet and peaceful place, without worrying about others judging your relationship or interrupting your date.

"This looks good." The black hedgehog stopped in front of a small clearing, a little distance from the thicket you both had walked through. With your help, the cloth was soon spread out on the ground.

Shadow then sat down on the blanket, and you followed, sitting beside him with your legs crossed.

"I brought something for you..." With somewhat hesitant movements, he reached into the basket and pulled out a gray container. As he opened it, the wonderful scent of salmon with cream cheese filled the air, revealing that Shadow had apparently prepared them himself.

"You made these?" You smiled at him.

"Yes..." He looked away for a second. "Rouge said you’d like this recipe."

"I loved it, and I’ll tell you, if you keep cooking like this for me, I’ll end up falling even more in love with you."

Lowering your body, you placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, making him close his eyes momentarily and let out a quiet hum of approval.

Wanting to reciprocate, he leaned in and brushed his lips against your cheek before pulling back.

"There’s more." He continued unpacking, taking out a jar of coffee beans, a thermos of coffee, and finally, a plate with two mouth-watering pieces of chocolate cake. "I didn’t make this one... but someone insisted on making it for me to bring you."

"Care to tell me who?" You crossed your arms.

"I don’t reveal my sources..."

"I figured. But at least the cake looks good."

Shadow let out a quiet, appreciative hum, placing the plate alongside the other items.

"You can start eating now..." The hedgehog said, sitting with his arms crossed beside you, watching you intently.

"Aren’t you having anything?"

"After you." Shadow replied briefly, keeping his gaze on you.

A small smile formed on your lips as you reached for one of the salmon onigiri, bringing it close to him. Shadow raised a hand in a gesture for you to stop.

"I’ll eat later... Enjoy as much as you want first."

Growing impatient, you leaned closer to him, lowering your body to his level. In a sudden movement, you playfully nibbled his sensitive ear, making him let out a brief, quiet gasp. His ears instinctively twitched back, and his shoulders tensed.

"Why did you do that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I’ll do it again if you don’t take the onigiri."

Shadow stared at you in silence for a few seconds. Then, making a decision, he uncrossed his arms, reached for the onigiri, and took a small bite, closing his eyes as he chewed.

He remained silent while eating, and you just sat there, frozen, admiring how your tough boyfriend now looked like nothing more than an adorable kitten. Every time his jaw moved to chew, his ears made a short, subtle twitch to the sides, making the scene the most precious thing in the world.

"Is there something on my face?" He asked quietly, running a hand over his face, trying to wipe away whatever you were looking at. You just laughed.

"No, Shadow, there's nothing but the adorable face of my boyfriend."

It was noticeable that he froze for a split second at your words, possibly blushing, then, letting out a small "hmph," he went back to eating his onigiri.

He was the cutest thing in the world.

--*--

After eating, you were sitting with your legs stretched out, supporting yourself with one hand while the other held a cup of coffee, enjoying the caffeine after the delicious chocolate cake.

Your gaze was focused on the surrounding flower field, so much so that you didn’t notice the soft rustling of fabric approaching until you felt his fur and soft quills press against your thighs.

Looking down in surprise, you found none other than Shadow. His eyes were closed, arms crossed, and his ear twitched slightly to the side, picking up a nearby sound while he breathed peacefully. He had nestled himself comfortably, using your lap as a pillow, resting his cheek against your thigh.

Unable to resist, your hands began tracing over his black and red quills, feeling how soft and relaxed they were now—a stark contrast to when Shadow was in defensive mode. In fact, running your hands through his quills was now more soothing for you than for him, and you were sure you’d end up falling asleep sitting up if you continued.

Sighing softly, you watched his face. That’s when an idea popped into your head. Turning slightly, you reached for a small white flower, plucking it from the stem and gently placing it between his quills. And suddenly, you had fallen in love with the idea of covering his quills in flowers.

Over time, Shadow began to notice that your touch on his quills was no longer just stroking. Confused, he opened his eyes and turned slightly to glance back at you.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"Decorating you." You smiled, continuing your work of placing tiny flowers along his quills.

"Hmph." He turned back, closing his eyes and settling in again. "As long as this stays between us..."

"No problem, Rouge will be the first one I tell." You teased.

Immediately, Shadow lifted his head, sitting up again to look at you. In the process, some of the flowers fell off, which you quickly picked up to put back on him later. Shadow sat beside you, facing you directly.

"No one is supposed to know about this..." He took your hand, picking up one of the flowers you held and carefully tucking it into your hair. You felt your face warm slightly.

"Relax, love, this stays just between us..."

Nodding at your words, he once again laid his head on your lap, resting a hand over your knee while pressing his cheek back against your thigh.

Not wasting a second, you lowered your head to him, kissing his forehead and trailing soft kisses along it, feeling his soft fur against your lips. Then, your lips hovered near his ears as you took a deep breath deliberately against them. He tensed immediately, a shiver running down his spine.

"Careful, [Y/N]. Don’t tease me..." He warned without opening his eyes.

Laughing, your lips neared his muzzle.

One of his eyes slowly opened, gazing at you. His hand gently squeezed your leg as a silent warning, but you didn’t stop, continuing to play with your boyfriend.

In a swift motion, catching you off guard, one of his hands flew to the back of your neck, pulling you close, pressing your face against his. Shadow turned his head at the same time, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss before pulling away shortly after.

"I warned you, and I won’t say it again... If you keep this up, I won’t hold back."

Now blushing, you let out a soft laugh before returning to delicately placing flowers in his quills again.

Silver

Since you asked him to choose a place for a picnic, Silver had been extremely excited, thinking about all the possibilities, all the wonderful places where he could enjoy nature with you.

Now, he was walking beside you, delicately holding your hand while carrying the food basket and the blanket with his psychokinesis. Silver smiled a lot and walked confidently through the plain he had chosen. The field was vast, with a pleasant grove in the distance and a mountain nearby. The white hedgehog wanted an open and peaceful place like this—it was perfect for him.

"I think this spot is great for setting up the blanket, don’t you think?" He suddenly stopped, looking around, noticing that the area didn't have tall vegetation, had soft grass, and offered a good view of the surroundings.

"It looks good to me, let’s set everything up then." He let go of your hand, using his powers to place the blanket on the ground. You knelt down, carefully adjusting it, and then he placed the basket at the center of the blanket.

Finally, the two of you sat down side by side, and Silver reached for the basket, pulling things out. He began taking out his tupperware containers.

"I made those berry pancakes you like. I hope they’re still warm." He placed the container on the ground and opened it. The sweet and appetizing scent of pancakes filled your senses, making your mouth water.

"They smell amazing. I love the way you make them." Silver chuckled.

"I'm happy that you already like them before even tasting them. I also made this." He pulled out a small plate with some pastries.

"You made scones?! I’ve always wanted to try them!" Your eyes sparkled at the sight of the treat being placed on the blanket.

"Yeah, I know, that’s why I looked up a recipe online and made them. I heard you mention them that time." He reached out, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"You’re such a thoughtful boyfriend..." You leaned in slightly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, making him blush lightly.

"Anything for you, my love." He smiled softly, taking out the last item from the basket—a bottle of iced tea he had also prepared. "Well, what are you waiting for? Feel free to enjoy everything!"

Silver said excitedly, picking up one of the scones and bringing it to your mouth. You were surprised by the gesture but opened your mouth, letting him feed you.

"Hmm, this is really good. You have a special talent for making sweets, Silver." He scratched the back of his neck at your compliment.

"It's nothing much, I just put a lot of love into what I make." He took your hand in his, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"Well, let’s not waste these delicious treats, right?" You reached for another of the pastries.

--*--

After eating, the two of you were sitting side by side, enjoying the peach iced tea he had made. He took the last sip from his cup, then looked at you attentively, noticing you were sitting cross-legged.

"Hey, [Y/N], do you mind if I lay on your lap?" He looked at you hopefully.

"Of course, love, you don’t even have to ask." You adjusted your position, making space for him to lie down, supporting yourself with one hand on the ground.

Carefully, he rested his head on your lap, wrapping his arms around your waist, snuggling against you. Instinctively, your hand began to trace his quills gently, feeling how soft they were at the moment.

"Your hand is so warm..." he murmured sleepily, his breathing becoming slower as he drifted off under your gentle touch.

Your boyfriend was adorable like this, lying on your lap, hugging you, unconsciously hiding his face against your stomach as he breathed peacefully. However, you couldn't resist teasing him a little.

Your finger traced soft circles on his forehead, then moved to stroke the fur on his muzzle. Leaning forward slightly, you placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, making him stir a little, though he kept his eyes closed. A small smirk formed on your lips.

"Silver... you’re drooling..." you whispered to him.

Immediately, as if he had been electrocuted, he sat up with wide eyes, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"W-WHAT?! I wasn’t drooling! I—" He paused when he saw your teasing smile, raising an eyebrow.

"It was just a joke..." Laughing, you leaned in, capturing his lips in a quick kiss.

"You’re so mean, you know that...?" His expression softened, and a sly smile began to appear on his face.

He started to lean closer, his half-lidded eyes locked onto yours. His hands gently rested on your waist at first but soon became firmer. He playfully nibbled at your chin before trailing his lips up to meet yours, murmuring softly.

"I could make you apologize for scaring me right here..." His hands caressed your waist, one of them sliding to your back, pulling you closer to his smaller frame.

Nipping at your lower lip, he pulled away, his face now completely flushed beneath his fur. Clearing his throat, he said,

"I’m going back to napping... don’t scare me again..." He left the warning in the air before settling back onto your lap. His hand brushed against your thigh, feeling the softness of your skin against his fur.

Letting out a small sigh, he wrapped his arms around your waist once again, curling up on your lap and drifting off to sleep with his face buried in your stomach.

Scourge

When you told him to find a nice spot for a picnic, a wide smirk appeared on his face as he thought about the various places he could take you for a pleasant afternoon.

In truth, you were a little afraid of the location he might choose—who knows if it would be somewhere bizarre or outright forbidden, knowing Scourge’s personality.

However, to your surprise, your boyfriend picked a suitable and cozy spot for the picnic.

The green hedgehog stopped in front of a flowing river, looking around and analyzing the shade of the tree with a critical gaze to see if it was truly comfortable.

After huffing in satisfaction, he turned to you. "This spot’s perfect, babe. Let’s set up the picnic here."

He crouched down, grabbing the blanket and spreading it out in the tree’s cool shade before taking the basket and sitting at one corner of the white cloth. You followed suit, settling beside him.

Almost instinctively, his hand reached for your waist, pulling you closer to his smaller frame. Scourge lifted his sunglasses to look at you fully.

"You’re a princess every damn day, but today, ya look like a queen." He flashed a smirk, his eyes admiring you.

You chuckled.

“What are you hoping to gain from this?”

"A kiss?" He grinned, showing his sharp teeth.

“You could’ve just asked directly.”

Chuckling softly, you leaned to the side, pressing your lips against his, feeling the ticklish sensation of his muzzle’s fur against your skin. He tightened his grip on your waist slightly but quickly broke the kiss.

"Look what I brought for ya, babe." he said, reaching into the basket and pulling out some containers with the snacks he had prepared.

First, he pulled out two cans of energy drinks, setting one near you. Then, he took out a container with a few slices of pizza.

“Is this what’s left of last night’s pizza?” You raised an eyebrow.

"I call it makin' the most of every bite. I don’t wanna waste it. Besides, day-old pizza’s the best kinda pizza." He grinned, reaching for the last item.

Pulling out a large bag of nachos, he placed it beside him. Lastly, he grabbed a sealed container filled with dip.

"Babe, I was thinkin’ ‘bout what would be cool, an’ I found a guacamole recipe. I’m not big on this cookin’ stuff, but it didn’t take much effort. It'll go great with the nachos."

“Well, I’m glad you at least put in the effort, love.” You smiled at his subtle gesture of love.

"All for ya, babe."

He let go of your waist, opening the nacho bag and the guacamole container before dipping a chip into the sauce and taking a bite.

“So, do you like what you made?” You grabbed a nacho as well, dipping it into the guacamole.

"It actually tastes better than I expected." He chuckled, picking up his energy drink and opening it. "Hope ya like it, princess."

--*--

After finishing the nachos and guacamole, Scourge stretched his arms, letting out a yawn.

"Babe, I feel like takin' a nap."

He turned to you, lowering himself and resting his head against your crossed legs. He nuzzled his muzzle against your thigh, pressing a small kiss that sent a shiver down your spine. Then, he lay back, placing his arms behind his head, enjoying the serenity and the soothing sound of the river beside you.

"Ya love when I lay on your lap, don’tcha?" He teased with a smug expression.

“I don’t mind it at all.”

Your hand started tracing his quills, feeling each one under your fingers—surprisingly soft, probably because he was relaxed and with someone he trusted.

"If ya keep runnin' your fingers through my quills like that… I’m either gonna fall asleep…" He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower and husky. "Or do somethin’ crazy…" A wide grin spread across his face.

You just huffed playfully, letting him tease you all he wanted.

Then, a mischievous idea popped into your head. Innocently, you continued running your fingers through his quills, but one hand silently moved away, creeping toward his nose. Before he could notice, your fingers pinched his nostrils shut, cutting off his airflow.

Scourge’s eyes immediately snapped open, and he shot up, gasping for air. He turned to you, his expression first shocked before shifting into something more mischievous. He grabbed your wrist.

"Ya seriously got the guts to mess with me while I’m relaxed, babe?"

He leaned in dangerously close. You swallowed hard, anticipation building over his next move.

“W-wait—!”

You barely had time to finish your sentence before you felt your back hit the blanket, his weight pressing down against you.

"You’re such a naughty girl…"

He captured your lips once, then twice, his hands pressing against your ribs while his knees pinned you down, one on each side of your waist, preventing any chance of escape.

"Blockin’ my air like that…"

He kissed you again, then trailed open-mouthed kisses down your throat, purposely grazing his teeth against your sensitive skin, asserting dominance.

“Scourge…” You managed to whisper softly.

"Babe… Be careful with these lil’ provocations…" He chuckled, pulling away and grabbing your hands, helping you sit back up.

"Let’s enjoy the place for now…"

He kissed the back of your hand before once again lying back down on your lap, his quills brushing against your skin as he got comfortable.

"Don’t tease me again, or I swear I won’t hold back." He smirked before closing his eyes, drifting off to sleep again—leaving you completely flustered as you watched his relaxed features while he slept.

[nawoken]

How will the NRC boys react when you overblot with the thought of suicide?

I don't know what I am doing, but since many people are interested in Suicide Overblot Reader, I will write something for it then. Reference to this post.

I think I will try to do all of them. I hope...

Some might be OOC because I don't understand their character enough (Trey and Cater in this post case), sorry if it bothers you guys.

I don't really write it as platonic or romantic, try to keep it neutral so u can read it the way u want?

Warning: Mention of suicide, self-destructive, angst, depression(?), blood,... a bit heavy thought I guess?

Part: Hearslabyul

Riddle

- When he reaches Ramshackle and sees you got overblot, he is uneasy but still remains calm and serious.

- Slightly think that part of this is his fault for not paying more attention to you. He knows that you had to bear a lot of things lately, with school, with Crowley's unreasonable quest,...

- But, he has to stay strong, he has to, he is a Housewarden after all.

- But... when Riddle sees you hurt yourself, he is stunned and terrified. This can't be happening, it shouldn't be.

- He hears your faint cries about your insecurities, your fear of being a burden... and your wish to disappear.

- It makes him heartache, wonder what has made you reach this point. Then, it hit him, every word he told you when you guys first knew each other, before his overblot, and before he changed.

- This must be his fault, he has hurt you... Riddle lost in his guilt, almost overblot right then and there.

- Even Trey can't pull him back to reality, but Ace's punch can.

- "Stop blaming yourself, don't you want to save them?" It actually helps Riddle calm down.

- Riddle braced himself, he had to make it right, so he could apologize to you properly.

- You got him traumatized. And you guys will also have a longgg conversation after things end.

Trey:

- He is... a lil bit shocked and worried about the situation. But, years of taking care of Riddle and his maturity helped him stay calm.

- Even when you hurt yourself, he only flinches a bit before pulling out his pen and trying to destroy the black inky thorns without hurting you.

- Things get worse when Riddle loses his sanity and starts to blame himself while Ace and Deuce lose their cool, kicking and fighting to get to you.

- Try to calm Riddle down. But it's no use.

- Ace's outbursts still make him surprised every time, but at least things have become more stable. They can focus on the main problem now.

- He keeps calm through it all, but when everything comes to an end, he falls to the ground and exhales all his built-up tension.

- He will check in on you a lot more. Reaching out to you, asking about your day, and baking you a lot of treats. Become your figure mother at some point...

Cater:

- Like Trey, being the third-year he is, Cater is much more mature and reliable than he seems.

- Use his unique magic, protect the first year, and even try to lighten the mood while keeping an eye on you.

- He is not too worried since everyone is gathering here, to save you! So nothing can be wrong... right?

- The moment he sees the blood splatter out of your body, he inhales sharply and trembles slightly before turning around to block the view of the freshmen.

- But he fails to keep them from the view, so now Ace and Deuce go berserk. At least Epel and Jack are still sober enough to hold the duo back.

- Multitasking. Become much more serious.

- After it all, he won't force you to tell him things but he will talk with you a lot more, maybe about this funny meme or some new trend on Magicam. Do his best to make you laugh.

Ace:

- He first tries to joke about this when he sees you in your oveblot form. Act cool and funny but can't hide his care for you. Swear that he will knock you on your head a few times for making them worry sick.

- The moment you hurt yourself? Ace and Deuce tried to rush toward you but got held back by other first-years.

- Scold you, told you to stop hurting yourself, and even threatened that if you don't stop he will fight you...

- Also scold you for being stupid. Yes, you're magicless but you also have survived many life-or-death situations that even a pro mage can't. You're not useless!!!

- Asked Riddle to do something just to find out his dorm leader is having a mental breakdown right there.

- He punches Riddle (the second time), how can he act like that when you're still in danger?!

- Ace also cooled down after that, he left the job of returning you to normal to the Dorm leader while helping others destroy those blot-made thorns to prevent them from hurting you.

- You guys will have to talk a lot after this, and you know can't avoid it, Prefect.

Deuce:

- His face turned pale the moment he saw you. Out of anyone, he doesn't think you're the one who got overblot.

- Especially when you stab yourself, he lost his mind. The moment he runs out to you, Epel holds him back. Others told him to calm down, to make a plan.

- But, Deuce can't even hear a word, all he can hear is your whimpering and the scene of the thorns lunging through your flesh keeps playing in his mind.

- Like Riddle, he also blames himself. The difference is that he blames himself for not looking out for you more. You guys have been friends since the beginning and you are always taking care of them, but they have failed to do so for you.

- The guilty feeling building up inside him made him mad, he wanted to punch, to fight, to take his anger out on something.

- After the "fight" between Riddle and Ace went off, Deuce finally calmed down.

- After things end, the moment you back to normal, he will immediately run to you and hold you close, afraid that if he lets go, you will disappear.

- Says sorry to you again and again...

- Become a bit paranoid and protective after your suicide attempt.

____________

5.C: This took me forever to finish, now I have 17 more to finish. Gotta say, Riddle is the easiest person to write about.

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

How the Arknights Community was Wrong on One of Arknight's Most Powerful Classes

Or, alternatively, you all need to apologize to Rosmontis right now.

Flingers are experiencing a modern Renaissance right now. Thanks to the release of Wis'adel and the introduction of Rosmontis's absolutely busted IS module, it seems like things are on the up and up for Flingers. Even Greyy the Lightningbearer is a common sight in high level IS runs, and he doesn't even have a broken module.

How on Earth did this happen, when it wasn't very long ago that Flingers were the butt and punchline of their own joke?

The Original Let's start with how the archetype was introduced into the game: Rosmontis. Rosmontis was released alongside Mudrock for the Chapter 8 release event, and the reception was pretty mixed. Rosmontis was a limited operator, and to this point, limited operators in Arknights had been pretty middling. Nian wasn't really conclusively better than Hoshiguma, and W was good but nothing special. We were not at the point yet where Dusk or Skadi the Corrupting Heart had been released, so the running joke was typically to roll on the other operator on a limited banner. Mudrock was a really strong laneholder that still sees a lot of use today, and Weedy is by far the strongest shifter operator ever released.

It's also worth noting that Rosmontis was released during a general downturn of opinions on AoE ranged operators. Leonhardt and Meteorite were considered actually quite strong in the early days of Arknights, and I know this must sound crazy, but Mostima and W were actually super hyped for their release. People thought Mostima, base-ass Mostima with no modules, was good. But after CC Blade, and a general stint of CCs where AoE operators made relatively poor performances, the tide had shifted. Operators like Eyjafjalla and Angelina (god remember when Angelina was considered really good. Well I guess she is now. Regardless) had AoE capabilities but were much cheaper in DP and had solid secondary skills for dealing with single enemies. So people were generally pretty down on AoE operators, which wasn't helped later on by the release of Passenger, an operator considered so bad it resulted in several attempts by Hypergryph to make him better (the retrospective view is that while Passenger was bad, he was made out to be a lot worse than he was, a view I agree with).

These two factors did not help the views of Rosmontis as an operator, but it was also further not helped by what content was available to use Rosmontis in: Contingency Contract. Rosmontis, tragically, released after the first theme of Integrated Strategies came and went, and so the only high level content available to use her in was CC. CC is particularly harsh to Flingers as we'll discuss, but this is also something that Wis'adel has managed to avoid as there hasn't been a CC since her release. The only difficult content since Wis'adel's release has been IS and RA, two game modes that honestly favor Flingers as we'll discuss later on. There was just nowhere to use Rosmontis in more difficult content where she didn't feel bad.

Flingers are a pretty interesting subclass, and Arknights has really not designed any subclasses to be like them, ultimately. They have a very impressive attack range, higher bulk than other ranged operators, and a unique gimmick to their attacks: they will deal an additional hit of damage, but one that only has 50% of their ATK. In addition to this, Flingers are the only Sniper subclass that cannot hit aerial enemies without certain conditions being met (Wis'adel's S3, Rosmontis S3 with an aerial blocker).

In general, this results in a class that is very good at dealing with large groups of enemies with only modest DEF stats. This is because DEF ends up having an increased effect on Rosmontis' damage, because it will apply to both of her hits. An enemy with 375 DEF will, after the 175 Def ignore from her talent, reduce her attack damage by a total of 400.

This for a lot of people was sort of the final straw that broke the Rosmontis back. Her vulnerability to enemies having DEF was a problem, and it was generally stated to be in a way that other DPS checks would avoid. In addition, if we take a look at ideal DPS scenarios with the introductory 6-star for each Sniper class:

Ray: 1,346.22 Narantuya: 1,062 Schwarz: 880.28 Exusiai: 815.99 Chen the Holungday: 647.17 Rosmontis: 601.71 Fartooth: 583.88 Rosa: 539 W: 373.93

Rosmontis is very middle of the pack, losing in particular to Exusiai. Now, Exusiai also had the problem of being very soft to enemy DEF stats. Honestly, it should be noted that Rosmontis was always hitting higher DPH than Exusiai would for her normal attack damage.

(I've been getting really into Desmos lately)

Now this is all just auto-attack stuff and I don't want this to be exclusively a Rosmontis analysis by any means (although it's coming). The point here is that there was a pretty common conception that Rosmontis didn't really have a place in the meta, because Exusiai was so dominant in that spot. It's not hard to understand why. If we look at their S3 DPS really quickly...

At low DEF values, Exusiai is overdominant. This isn't super surprising, as she has a lot of factors working in her favor: a busted 5 hit S3, an attack interval reduction as well as a sizable ASPD buff from her talent. But it doesn't take a huge amount of defense for Rosmontis to come out on top. The specific DEF number is 580, roughly. Then, the perks of Rosmontis's S3 come to light: it's larger DEF ignore, it's halved attack interval, and it's much larger ATK buff.

This being said, there are still things working against Rosmontis, like her skill cycle being very long, and her own ATK buff resulting in Warfarin's buff being diluted compared to Exusiai. If you take a look at CC results, it is true that Rosmontis only has one top to her name: CC Spectrum, where she is part of a Risk 31 clear alongside Exusiai, which is pretty cool. But CCs, which often increase enemy DEF while reducing friendly ATK, are just very harsh to Flingers. Given that it is a class so sensitive to DEF and ATK changes to hit breakpoints, most CCs just hit Rosmontis in a double bind.

Funnily enough, Exusiai also doesn't have any top clears in CC past this point too, which is interesting to point out.

(For those counting: Rosmontis: CC5 Exusiai: CC1, CC5)

Rosmontis' position probably wasn't helped past this point by the release of Chen the Holungday either, and the rest is history. Rosmontis goes down as one of the weaker 6-stars in the game. People feel bad when they roll her. People on this website nurse weird ass grudges against her.

The Blip

It would be remiss of me to not remind people about Greyy the Lightningbearer. Greyy was a 5-star, which means that 99% of players ignored his existence, Gamepress made a dogshit summary about him that was made by people who don't play the game, and life moved on. We're going to talk about Greyy in more detail later on because he is important to talk about...

Oh well right now

Lone Trail: The Update That Should Have Changed Everything

Lone Trail was a super massive event, releasing three 6-stars that can be kindly regarded as "good but nothing amazing, bad, and my wife". It also introduced to the game the Flinger Modules, and I'm going to tell you all a secret. You and me, real close now.

It's fucked up these modules didn't receive more hype.

These modules gave Flingers a second shockwave hit. Now that doesn't seem all that impressive. After all, you might think to yourself, that shockwave still deals 50% damage. But the addition of an extra shockwave really changed the numbers of the game, because it meant a huge chunk more damage.

At minimum (673 DEF roughly) this module improves her damage by about 45%. That's pretty crazy for a module as it stands, but if you want to see the full chart, here you go. Arknights Youtubers hire me.

The extremely high peak there, where Rosmontis is doing more than triple the damage she was originally is actually getting to the exact point where Rosmontis without a module moves towards dealing scratch damage. This is pretty common with modules involving physical DPS operators, such as Blaze, to have very unique high points.

But this is 45% just off of, what is essentially

An extra shockwave

60 more points of DEF Ignore

+75 ATK attribute

This is a remarkably tame talent upgrade. The base effect, the second shockwave, is pulling so much work here. These numbers will be a bit more tame when you compare with S2 (already comes with +2 shockwaves) or S3 (already has some DEF shred) but this is still a very impactful module.

It also impacts the stun chance on her S2. Without her module, and having 4 total hits per attack, this puts her stun chance at roughly 59.04% per attack. The additional hit raises those chances to 67.232%. Not a massive increase, but it does help to patch up her odds.

This is also why Greyy's module was so important. Greyy's slow is tied to his talent, and hence the jump from 2 hits to 3 hits is very notable. Without his module, Greyy has a 64% chance to slow the enemy with every attack. With his module, those chances go up to 78.4%! That's pretty significant! He also deals 15% more damage to Slowed enemies too, which is a pretty strong mod on top of the extra shockwave. I haven't actually done Greyy's numbers, but it really does make him a lot more consistent at slowing enemies.

So now we're here, with Flinger's getting a surprisingly good module. They now deal 3 hits per attack, with Rosmontis dealing 5 hits per attack with her S2, which is actually relevant for Lone Trail (Rosmontis can remove a clean 250 DEF with every one of her attacks during her S2 against Arc Screenguards). So what happened?

Well...Flingers weren't popular, were widely regarded as a flawed class, and mostly passed over. It just wasn't worth it to people to raise Rosmontis or Greyy the Lightningbringer even if you had some inkling their module was good.

The Return of Integrated Strategies and Reclamation Algorithm

A miracle the likes of which Hypergryph may never do again...well okay maybe they will, they do be kind of nailing it on the alternate gamemodes, we have the return of Integrated Strategies and Reclamation Algorithm. These modes are actually uniquely situated in comparison to CC to benefit Flingers over other classes. This is largely because of how these modes chose to scale difficulty and the tools they give you to combat this.

In IS, enemy difficulty typically results in scaling HP and ATK buffs, and that's it. It's rare to see enemy DEF buffs in IS. In addition, many relics in IS focus on increasing ATK or ASPD or improving damage dealt. Flingers get much and much better when they deal damage with their shockwaves, and it is pretty easy to do that in IS. Rosmontis's S2 is of special note here: with her module, it deals 5 hits of damage, which means it benefits from ATK buffs to the same degree as Exusiai does, but with a lot of added perks. DEF ignore, a moderate AoE radius, and a chance to stun. This skill is way more dangerous with additional ASPD.

Greyy also benefits a ton here. Extra ASPD allows him to basically permanently lock down entire groups of enemies with slow. This is something that can also sort of be done with Chain Casters, but notably, Chain Casters can only slow down a certain number of enemies at a time with each of their attacks. Since slowed enemies tend to create clusters, Greyy can slow down entire waves of enemies with his attacks, while still dealing pretty impressive damage.

The only issue is the aerial enemies. I haven't mentioned this up until now, because in my opinion, it is the single most overhyped drawback in the entire game. There are tons of events and chapter releases where this basically doesn't matter. Aerial enemies are, for all intents and purposes, rather rare in Arknights. But in IS this is important. Flingers need some degree of map knowledge to use well. But your Sniper ticket is not necessarily the only solution to aerial enemies in any IS, and chances are you'll find more than one. For IS3, you can pick up Kroos Alter and Rosmontis and in the grand majority of situations be completely fine.

Of course, if you play IS5, this basically isn't an issue and Rosmontis is the second stronger Flinger in the game, and I think arguably the second strongest Sniper pick?

I almost forgot RA by the time I went to post this, so it's a good thing I went back because, yes, Flingers and Rosmontis are also good there too. It's literally designed for Flingers to be good, it's huge mobs of enemies all clustered closely around each other. You can use Provisions to give Rosmontis a ton of ATK or ASPD and watch her go ham on like 115 exploding spiders. They also have amazing range for vision on resource maps and have multi-hit mechanics for those stupid locks.

It's like, impressive how nicely Flingers slot in here. I'm really curious how Greyy feels when you give him one of the ASPD provisions so he has +60 ASPD.

Rosmontis CRAVES your Coagulate Supplements!!!!

The End-Times: Wis'adel and Rosmontis's Busted Module

If you've ever wanted to know how we got to this renaissance, it was Wis'adel being released, having absolutely busted numbers on her kit that basically ensured that her shockwaves would always do damage, and then going and soloing IS3 A15 like it was fucking nothing.

Wis'adel proved Flingers could be fucking fantastic.

Rosmontis has actual problems in her kit, she's ultimately a pretty early Limited operator with all the design choices that carries. Wis'adel is what you get when you ask "how far can a Flinger go?" The shockwave mechanic works well with her huge numbers and her shadow status effect. Her summons work to keep as many enemies as possible attached with a shadow. Her blast radius is massive. Honestly the fact she can blow up the UFOs in IS3 barely matters.

Soon after that, Rosmontis got her specialized Module. I've seen people complain about this. You're wrong. There's no fucking way this module should be allowed to be used in general content. It is, in fact, maybe the most busted specialized module they've released. It completely changes Rosmontis as an operator. Benefitting from Caster relics is insane for themes like IS3 which has a ton of genuinely broken ones, her new and improved equipment are insanely powerful, and the fact that she allows every Sniper and Caster to create a free rather tanky blocker with a crazy debuff effect is like

You understand this module is nuts? Surely?

The trait wouldn't really make Rosmontis meta anyhow. It would improve her damage by a lot but puts her, rather frustratingly, into the camp of mixed offensive operators who now have to worry about enemy RES values coming into play. Plenty of the enemies with decent DEF stats that Rosmontis struggles with now also come with sizable RES stats. As I've mentioned in my brief thoughts on Dagda, there are a ton of enemies Dagda hits harder by brute force than Indra does by trying to side-step the bigger stat.

It's also okay that the module is IS only, because IS is where Flingers are just at their best. Nothing is stopping you from using Rosmontis in general content, especially with her still really good BOM-X module!

Flingers, ultimately, are just a well-designed class. They have great range, AoE, and having extra instances of damage is always incredibly powerful. I do think Rosmontis has some kit issues, but I also think that a lot of people immediately dismissed her as bad based on community consensus. You want to know a cool thing about Rosmontis I haven't brought up yet? She can attack invisible enemies with her S3. Invisible enemies feel a lot more common than aerial enemies do, hell Lappland the Decadenza's event is literally a bunch of invisible enemies.

But like, that's never seen as a positive to Rosmontis unless you're a Sniperknights player and then you might just say Totter is better (and I get that, he is a bit more consistent). Rosmontis can hit an entire enemy type with her S3 that Wis'adel can't, but it's seemingly never mentioned. It's just...this community is very strange, you know?

Try Rosmontis out, hell try her out with Shamare or Warfarin. If you use Exusiai a bunch (godspeed soldier it's been rough since the Chen days), you probably already have those operators. Try Greyy out too. Then, if you really want the challenge, E0 Level 1 Wis'adel. Come on. You know that's better than like half the cas-

[saphronethaleph]

New Media Jedi Order

“Okay,” Rey said. “I don’t know if you can use the Force, yet. Not really. It’s… not something where I had a lot of training myself. But…”

She shook her head. “Okay, I’m already not expressing this right. But the way the Force works, it’s… a mystical energy field, that fills the whole universe. And that might mean that everyone can use it. Or it might mean that it’s just easier for some people, and harder for others. But the most important part of it all is that… the Force is there. It’s real. It binds the universe together, and once you start to understand that… that’s when you can start to understand the rest.”

The words hung in the air, and Rey held out her hand. Her staff rippled slightly, then rose, and she pulled it over to her as she stepped back.

“The Force connects us all,” she said. “Every living being, and it flows through everything that isn’t alive, as well. And it means that every living being in the universe is unique, and important, and special… which is where the first part of the problem can come in. The Dark Side. And that’s why I want to make sure I make this completely clear – because everyone is special. Which means you’re special. But that means that everyone else is special as well.”

She exhaled. “That’s… important. Something you have to remember. Because if you forget the second part, then you’re fundamentally wrong, and that never ends well – for you, or for anyone else.”

After a pause, to impress the gravity of her point, Rey took a deep breath, and let it out.

“So… there’s a number of ways to get a closer and stronger connection to the Force,” she said. “But one of them is that it’s about… knowing things you couldn’t otherwise know, and touching things you couldn’t otherwise touch. If you’re wearing a blindfold, but you can still see. If you’re light years apart, but you can still feel. If you’re the other side of the room, but you can still move.”

She closed her eyes.

“If it hasn’t happened yet, but you can still know. The Force is… transcendent. It connects everything, but everything is larger than one person – it’s larger than everyone – so it’s not possible for an individual person to channel the whole of the Force. But they can touch it, shape it, influence it, and with it… impossible things can be done.”

Hux stabbed the pause button, scowling at the screen, then looked up at the intelligence officer.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

“We caught it on the HoloNet twenty minutes ago, sir,” the intelligence officer replied. “It had been up for forty minutes before that, and it’s already gone dramatically viral. At this point I’d say about one point two percent of the entire userbase of SpaceTube has clicked the link.”

Hux glared back down at the screen, then caught sight of the view count – and the subscriber count.

And the account name.

“How did the scavenger girl get access to such a popular SpaceTube account?” he asked. “And why is it called Singular Smuggler?”

“Just a guess, sir,” the intelligence officer offered, intelligently. “But I’d guess it’s because it’s Han Solo’s old account? And she does work with his wookiee.”

Hux gave him a baleful look, a muscle twitching in his cheek.

“Well, how bad is it, then?” he asked. “This is obviously a blow for the First Order’s public relations, especially after that nonsense with the broadcast last week where they called for the galaxy to rise up – and the fact we’ve lost Starkiller Base and the Supreme Leader, thanks to-”

He bit off the words.

He wasn’t going to blame the new Supreme Leader for their misfortunes out loud, no matter how much he detested the man.

“It’s bad, but how bad it is depends on what she says in the whole video,” the intelligence officer pointed out. “I haven’t had time to watch it, it’s three hours long.”

Hux muttered something about incompetents, then flicked down to look at the contents list.

He blanched.

��...section two is labelled ‘examples with Finn’,” he said. “Isn’t that the Traitor?”

“That sounds likely, sir,” the intelligence officer frowned. “Why?”

“Block the video immediately,” Hux said. “Across the whole of the First Order. We cannot permit their propaganda to spread to the Stormtroopers.”

The intelligence officer hurried to his desk, ready to issue the order, but before he actually got there the door to the command room crashed open – several inches of durasteel crumpling like tinfoil.

“Huh,” said the stormtrooper standing behind where the door used to be, and examined her gauntleted hands as she flexed them. “Looks like that bit works.”

“...well, kriff,” Hux muttered.

At least there was one bit of good news that he took vicious pleasure in.

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was going to hate this even more than he did.

[punksocks]

Astrology Observations: No.28

*just based on my observations, only take what resonates

(Sorry it’s been a minute, I got my time back then I got sick- like same day! I’m good now, thank god, but it was absolutely insane and everything has been going on in the world, my God)

-If your moon opposes your ascendant you may be known for making the wrong impressions on people (especially first impressions) at some point in your life

-Not the first time I said this but I feel like Libra Asc tend to need to balance out aspects of their life more bc of their houses having the opposite signs over them.

-On the other hand I feel like Aries asc have a very straightforward, sometimes less complicated world view bc of their houses lining up with their traditional rulers.

-Mars in determemt and fall (Libra, cancer, 12th house) really gives you a finite amount of stamina

-I feel like cancer venus/moons tend to wax the most poetically and romantically about the nostalgia they feel. Even stronger for Venus.

-Men with cancer placements be like: I didn’t know I was manipulating you into being nice to me until it was already happening (lmao oof)

-I noticed Aries and Scorpio Sun men/masc folks can get romanticized a lot, I think this is bc their identity is ruled by mars traditionally, so they tend to be assigned more masculine traits/act their traits out in a more “traditionally” (or even just comfortably) masculine way

-Aqua Sun/asc/venus usually have some features that makes their face really stand out I noticed (unique brow/nose/head shape etc) (idk why I haven’t seen this with moons as much)

-Signs in your 8th house may come off as mysterious or hard to understand

-You may find it really easy to vibe with people that have Sun conjunct your Asc

-I’ve noticed that a lot of Virgo mars may eat like really spicy or punishing foods (especially if the mars is in a fire house)

-Saturn aspecting your big 3 can help you age really well- depending on how well you take care of yourself (extreme example: dick van dyke, he’s almost 100 and he’s still jumping around with so much energy)

-Pisces placements can be like incredibly intelligent and yet still come off as a bit spacey (one of my favorite YouTubers used to head extra credits and he is SO SMART, like just a seriously huge capacity for knowledge but he sounds spacey when he does his chill gameplays and pieces things together unscripted lol)

-Jupiter square/opposition Sun can make you come off as overly pessimistic, it can also make you come off as optimistic at the wrong times (laughing at serious moments, etc)

-Taurus placements are so motivated by food, it’s so real (the amount of times I’ve had a Taurus sun/moon/mars not hear a word I was saying bc they were scoping out a restaurant? Countless lol)

-I notice a lot of rappers & musicians (especially the innovative ones) have major Pisces placements

-Aries moons get emotional fulfillment by winning what they chase after (Aries in big 6 tends to make you go after things in general too imo)

-I noticed sometimes Leo moon can make you a bit self centered, like in the most literal sense, you may have trouble understanding perspectives outside of your own

-Virgos and Geminis and 3rd/6th house placements have great memory but they tend to forget certain aspects. They tend to forget or mix up details. (My ex took like 3 years to remember my middle name beyond the first initial lol god; also, I always remember zodiac signs but not birthdays lol)

-I love how Joe Pera has a cancer Mercury and his comedy is like the coziest comedy I’ve ever heard, he even got his following bc his helping people fall asleep and just talking through his chill podcast (did not expect him to have like the most fire in his chart tho?? Wouldn’t have guessed lol)- Pisces Mercury and Mercury with hard aspects to Neptune probably have a cozy affect on others when they communicate with them too

[hysterical-random-things]

I was possessed (craving interaction) so yall get all 50 answers to both the lamb and Narinder ask game in one place. if anyone wants to know more about my au or versions of them 👀 send an ask etc

Narinder and Lamb 50 question answers under the cut lol

Lamb 50 questions and answers

Does your lamb go by any name other than The Lamb? If so, what?So my lamb does actually have another name, or i guess just a name, but they don't use it. They tend to view that that name, that person died when the axe fell, and they became The Lamb, the last lamb. Their role is now more important than what they used to go by. Almost no one knows it, no one calls them that, and it's what they prefer. But if you're wondering, their name was Bah. (Together their family was Bah, Bo and Bee)

How old was your lamb when they were sacrificed? 27

How long was your lamb held captive by heretics before their sacrifice? 3 days

Did your lamb kill anyone prior to their first death? If so, who? Yeah, I meantioned in a previous post but in my au the killing of sheep kind has been going on for a long while. By the time my lamb was an adult they already had a hand in directly and indirectly killing folks in order to protect themself and their siblings. Their little group honestly made a point to avoid people as much as possible because in the end of they had to decide between risking letting a stranger know they exist vs making sure they and their family were safe, that wasn't a very hard choice. They purposefully try to not think about it though, not because they regret it but because in the end it didn't even matter.

When your lamb mourns a dead loved one from their past.. who is it? Their siblings, but it’s been long enough they’ve started to forget their faces.

Who raised your lamb? My lamb was raised with their siblings with by their parents till they were about 6-7 after that they mostly traveled, staying with other groups and in villages for as long as they could without being caught/relying on the kindness of strangers till they were teenagers. After that it was just them and their siblings. My lamb doesn't really remember their parents.

Where was your lamb raised? A village? A prison? Constantly on the run? See above answer.

Did your lamb have any specific skills pre-sacrifice? Just survival related stuff, they got very good at living in the wilderness and supporting themself. Also melee and pickpocketing.

How or where was your lamb caught? It ended up being a freak accident that did them in.Their sister got hurt while foraging, and it slowed them down/stopped them for long enough they got spotted and captured. It was pure luck that my lamb was the last of the three to live, (their sister ended up dying while they were all being taken and their brother just happened to be executed first) and they had no idea they were some very last sheep left.

How did your lamb feel with their head on the pedestal? Afraid? Relieved? Angry? Resigned. when the axe finally fell it broke them a little Lot bit.

Does your lamb have any notable or unique features? Nothing that’s not just from being the type of sheep they are. And/or the red crown’s influence. They got red eyes now because of it

How tall is your lamb? They keep growing (at the time they and narinder get married their like 5’9-5’10 not counting the horns)

Is your lamb petite? Curvy? Fucking jacked? They got that ruminant bod. Endomorph they are strong and could take you out but they aren’t jacked. They’re just build like a tank.

Is your lamb’s wool pure white? No it’s an off white cream color.

How does your lamb prefer to keep their wool? Short and shorn neat? Wild and untrimmed? Be honest are there branches in that bitch? They have a negative association with being sheared, (the bishops robes and those of their highest followers/witnesses were made with and/lined with the wool from sheep they captured and sheared) so they kinda try to avoid it as much as possible/do half cuts with their wool so it's not nearly has usable for stuff as it should be. They do make a point to keep it as clean as possible though.

Do you base your lamb on any specific species of sheep? If so, which? My lamb is a Wensleydale sheep!

Do they use their own wool for anything? Nope. My lamb never had the opportunity to learn how to turn their wool into anything useful and even if they had, they honestly don't have the patience for fiber craft. .They Do need to be sheared though at least once a year and if the fiber is decent enough they'll give it to their own disciples to use.

On a scale of one to ten how floppy are their ears? Not really floppy, probably a 3 ? Wensleydale sheep don't have floppy ears lol

Do they bear any traits of forced domestication? Is their tail docked? Was their ear tagged? Do they have scars from being shorn (and nicked) against their will? Were they ever painted with or assigned a number rather than a name? Nah, they were shorn against their will before being sacrificed but they don’t really have any marks from that other than mental (blood and second cuts are bad for a fleece after all)

What do their horns look like? So wendsydale sheep are naturally pulled. So until they were about vessel they didn't have horns at all. Once they gain the red crown they gained a short set of horns that after ascending their horns started growing more. Eventually they may end up with a large set of curled horns or even multiple but they don't like to think about that.

Was your lamb born male, female, intersex, or do you have no opinion on their sex at birth? They’re amab

Does your lamb use pronouns other than they/them? If so, which ones! Nope only they/them

Are they capable of having children and would they want to have children? Complicated answer actually! So in theory yes, they physically could have children, however in my AU i'm going with the idea that cross mixing species lowers chances of conceiving considerable. Like it can and does still happen, but it's a lot harder and kids tend to take after the carrying parent! The only partner they even have they'd consider having children with is Narinder and so if they do want biological kids it's going to take effort. And leading into this, they have, Major hang-ups over children. The idea of having a child scares them A lot. (lack of control, the thought of losing them, something going wrong, not really having an example of a good parents themself or really having even been near a kid till after starting the cult etc) Part of them does long for that as an option, but even at their worst they're aware hey would not be able to handle being a parent/let alone a good parent. They need to grow and change before that. Getting with Narinder and kinda being slowly introduced to the idea of interacting with kids through his daughters does help.

If they were to be a parent or are, what epithet would they have their child use? Mom? Mama? Dad? Baba? Nony? Abba? Gonna be real they don’t want to think about this, whatever any hypothetical kids do end up calling them its fine.

Do they wear something other than the canon cloak? They only really worn my "version" of the Canon cloak when they first started crusading. Once they're a god they start indulging a lot LOT more in their appearance. Presentation is everything and they work very hard to look their part as the last god. When they go crusading to bring back the bishops they wear something similar to this piece, a lot more Armour etc. Also they do know how to dress down they just don't like being seen by any of their followers not fully decked out.

Does your lamb wear jewelry or makeup? They Love decorating their horns and ears and wearing makeup, they like being fancy. The world’s a stage and they have a role to fit.

Is your lamb flirtatious? No.

Did your lamb have any partners pre-sacrifice? Simple answer, but no, kinda too busy running for their life with their siblings for that to really be an option.

Did your lamb take any followers as a partner? Yes, pretty early on into the cult they took a couple partners because they expressed interest and my lamb was curious. They did break off most of the relationships if they started to want something more serious/as their devotion to TOWW grew even before freeing him. Once they became a god and brought Narinder in, it got a lot more complicated for them. we don’t talk about Poppy.

Who is your lamb’s second in command or closest follower? Thorarjul! He's probably the closest if I exclude Narinder. He's a good guy, one of the oldest followers, and joined before the lamb slayed leshy. He's pretty easy going and while it's not 100% clear how he actually views the lamb,(as in if he views them in a religious sense or just as a leader. Which is weird to think about since he is the loyalty enforcer) he does love the community and that's enough.

Is your lamb ever honest about their feelings or past? With who? they don’t even know how they feel 90% if the time, so as much as they can be? In general they are Not doing okay lol

Is your lamb merciful? Did they ever refuse to spare someone? If so, why? Is it a mercy to not allow one to ever pass on, to hold your folk in a gilded cage. To nuture with one hand and to control with the other. They are the one and only Lamb, the Shepherd of their flock and protector and guardian. Sent to keep all in their meadow hale and lively by their own grace. If anyone is to see the beast then they were never meant to see it’s light at all.

(Immortality cult were god had control issues and trauma and doesn’t know how to let go its their perfect paradise but at what cost)

Is your lamb trustworthy? ehhhhhh. I mean Kinda? They have their followers, and cult's best interests in mind but they aren't the type to actually talk about their own intentions or thoughts which leads to problems. And they have control issues. And they also tend to not view others as people, They are being forced to work on that and also communication, though. As long as your interests/goals align, yeah they're trustworthy. if they don't though it becomes a lot more complicated. They won't stab you in the back intentionally? But they might do it by mistake.

Is your lamb quick or slow to trust others? even they aren’t really sure.

If your lamb could pick a cult job other than leader what would it be? Don’t worry about it

Is your lamb a good cook? No not really.

Does your lamb let cult members cook or heal or do they restrict them from certain duties? No

What is your lamb’s favorite food or dish? Actual answer they stop eating once revived and refuse to actual eat. Everything tastes like ash and decay to them now.

Does your lamb eat meat/fish/eggs? Munch Munch we love some protein and calcium

What is your lamb’s stance on cannibalism? Some people’s only purpose is to serve others. And this is the best way to do so.

What about their stance on torture? It’s fine if I say it is and not if I don’t :)

Would your lamb ever kill a cult member? If they kill them then they weren’t a member to begin with. Only heretics deal with the beast.

How does your lamb deal with dissenters? Reeducation! But also we don’t have that problem here its paradise :) (meta answer is I’ve literally never had a dissenter in this save and also it’s kinda broken now because of the follower count that I don’t think the overall faith can fall under 100% lol)

What is your lamb’s favorite weapon? Their least favorite? They love the axe and don’t like they blunderbuss

Would they ever let a follower embrace their dark desire to eat poop? No.

What is your lamb’s favorite season? there aren’t seasons anymore, hypothetically spring though.

Is your lamb’s favorite color something other than red? It’s light blue.

How does your lamb really feel about death? They don't.

Does your lamb use substances? Are substance banned from cult grounds? Alchohol is allowed but nothing else. Followers are allowed to indulge but only when the lamb allows it.

Freebie! Tell us any headcanon you want! My lamb has a habit of kicking things when angry/frustrated, this started before their capture but has become significantly more common once they started crusading a way to burn off their negative emotions away from the cult. They tend to raze any area to the ground they're crusading in to get as many resources as possible, and to burn off steam.

Narinder 50 questions and answers!

When did your Narinder aquire the Red Crown? Was he born into the role or did the crown choose him for a particular reason? During narinder's childhood any potential crown bears were marked and then raise in their respective god's temples only interacting with those involved with the faith and other's marked. Once they came of age depending on the current state of their temple/god. They would be given secret trials related to the crowns' domain. If they passed but weren't chosen, they would be sworn to silence to become head disciples for the future god. If they were chosen they would ascend, If it isn't a trial season when they come of age, they are given the choice to become missionaries and leave their gods lands or be sacrificed. The crowns are sentient, so they have a major role in this. if they start tiring of their bearer, the crown bear is defeated by another god etc. a trial season would start, basically a show on its marked parts to see who is “worthy” The crown selects its bearer, if it doesn't like you will not gain its power. The bearer before him had died defeated by a pair of twin gods and death domain currently sat unoccupied. Death's trials were notoriously deadly and all the other candidates who were of age hadn't made it/weren't chosen by the crown. Narinder was actually a bit young (2 years off of becoming of age) when he began his trials, but they hadn't been going well, and he stepped forward. I'm not gonna go into it in detail since this is already getting long (and i want to do a comic about this at some point) but the scar Narinder has on his chest is from this time and related to how he was chosen as the new god of death.

Why does the red crown find him worthy as a bearer? Spoiler I wanna make a comic about this see the end of the last question

What did his childhood look like? Did he live with the other crown bearers? It was complicated. Narinder had a relatively humble life in the beginning, just his mom, aunt and little siblings. however at a young age around 7? he was marked as a potential crown bearer/priest and was taken into the temple's fold. He still had contact with his aunt since she was a lower level disciple of current god of the red crown but not the rest of his family and he doesn't really remember them much. He met kallamar a year later who was in a similar situation and a bit older and kinda latched onto him. He met Shamura some time after but they are significantly older than all the others so they kinda stepped more in as a mentor/guardian type position vs kallamar who was still a teen. eventually heket came into the picture when narinder was hitting preteen time and leshy is the family baby and came to the temple right before everything started kicking off as a literal infant (aka a war between gods, that eventually led to there only being them left)

Does the Red Crown give him any unique powers such as the power of rot (a la TROD AU)? As a god yes, he could see when people were “meant” to die (though stuff like accidents etc could change this) and could rot/age things. As a not god he’s mostly normal though he can still use his third eye if focusing to read followers minds and see their intended death (the cults whole immortality thing makes this a fucking mess)

How did he feel about Shamura pre-exile? They had more of a mentor/parental relationship to begin with since shamura is significantly older than the others. They were very close when narinder was young/when he was newly ascended and shit was a mess but drifted apart as they got older and their ideals started clashing. Shamura had an idea of who and what narinder should be and do and narinder kinda hated that a lot epessially since shamura would encourage him to experiment and then chastise him when he did it “wrong” of all of his siblings they drifted apart first/the most even before his exile but he never thought shamura would go as far as they did.

How about post exile? He feels pity for them, and grief but their relationship is cordial at most now. They don’t fight and he isn’t cruel but of all his siblings, I don’t think they ever really fix things since they kinda do just have conflicting personalities at the end of the day and don’t really understand each other.

Which sibiling was his favorite? Least favorite? Before exile, honestly Heket but in a detached way. They were similar people with similar ideals and also didn’t interact enough/have overlap in things for them to fight over it, so they mostly just got along when they do chat After its kallamar, after everything they have an understanding and he's the first that Narinder actually starts trying to fix things with. Mostly because kallamar both makes an effort and knows were and what to push on.

What weapon did he use prior to exile? He didn’t he mostly fights with magic and hand to hand, if he has to he would use a staff

Do you have headcanons about who his witnesses or ‘bosses’ would be pre-exile? If so, who are they? Not particularly i honestly think of Narinder having a different structure to his cult than his siblings and having witnesses as a defense wouldn't have been necessary or really wanted.

Did Narinder take any lovers before his exile? Yeah a few, nothing ever super serious though (kept in physical and casual) and generally people who weren't his own followers. He never liked the power dynamics and how they influenced his relationships.

How did Narinder feel about his priests, witnesses, and followers? Complicated, he tries to keep his distance. (Death god in the death cult during the old faith was not a very Open role to interactions) he wishes things were different even then.

Does he have a dedicated meow button? Narinder makes a Lot of weird sounds, but no dedicated meow button.

Does your Narinder have any unique features? other than the stuff that is just based on his species, see next question. He has a scar on his chest, on his lower legs and writes and is missing his left pinky and ring finger and all the claws except the thumb on that hand. Oh and he has marks on his face from where it can split.

Is he based on any particular breed of cat such as a puma or a British shorthair? He’s a jaguarundi, wild cat native to the Americas

Describe his fur. Is it unkempt? Well-groomed? Curly? Kept short? Short and tough? It just a thing with his species their fur is just like that he is well groomed though. He kinda hates feeling dirty after being trapped for so long. Fun fact jaguarundi are one of the few cats naturally occurring “ticked” coat pattern and also come in 2-3 main color morphs depending on Where they live (this is why Xotchil is tawny actually not because of whean lol)

Is, and I cannot stress this enough, his tail so, so fluffy? Hm not really but it is v long

How ears is he on a scale of 1-10? (This is not a typo) 2-3 he is not very ears

Was he born with his third eye or did he gain it later from the crown? Got it upon receiving the crown, it was the crown’s gift after proving himself to it.

Any notable scars post-exile other than around his wrists? Chest scar, and hand

Did your Narinder have any disabilities prior to his exile? No

Does he have any new disabilities upon being spared? He has limited mobility in one of his hands and chronic pain in his joints.

How does he pass the time in exile? Time moves very oddly in the veil and depending on many things can either seem longer or shorter. Narinder honestly spent most of them time fluctuating between sleeping, daydreaming doing his duties and dissociating. a part of him was still free "metaphorically" to help guide the dead to the afterlife which would involve walking them through their memories and sometimes he would take longer than necessary with that just to escape for a bit.

Are the kits, Aym and Baal, really his children? (biologically) Nope.

How does he feel towards Aym and Baal? Ambivalent? Caring? Annoyed? They came to him Young. They are is sons even if it's not by blood. He raised them and cares a lot about them. They're one of the things that helped narinder snap out of the headpsace he got in the veil and begin focusing. even if they are both adults by the time they get out of the veil, if they needed him he would be there immediately. He loves them.

Why does he wear the veil? Or does he forgo it entirely? He started wearing a veil as a bishop as part of his image as the god of death. He started doing this at first to help hide his emotions, keep himself seperate. Afterwards it became more of just a preference thing, he doesn't wear them often but sometimes he like the added protection for his eyes lol.

How and when was the prophecy that he would rebel against the others revealed? My guy was not really involved in that, there was already was distance forming between him and the others by that point so, my narinder found out about the prophecy when the other went to confront and imprisoned him. For when the others learned it varied, but for a couple years at least.

How did the others react to this prophecy before it happened? Badlhy

Did he feel doomed by the prophecy? Relieved? Offended? Vindicated? My guy did not really get time to process there even was a prophecy before shit went to hell so. Complicated my narinder really REALLy hates when people try to dictate what he should be and how he should act and that extends to stuff like this. He kind hates the idea of fate or people having a set path.

What exact rebellious act got him chained in the first place? He felt like life ended too soon for some people, he wanted to see if he could change that. See above but the way his cult working and the role it played in the old faith started to Grate on him. He didn’t like something even death was inevitable especially since he knew their were already exceptions to it (his siblings, the ducks, etc) he wasn’t even sure what he would do once he cracked resurrection but he wanted to prove he could. And he started drastically changing his cults teachings in a way that didn’t align with the others to go along with that.

What are some of the biggest emotions he feels about being chained? Anger. Hate. Bitterness. Grief.

Deep down.. does he agree that it was necessary? No.

Does he have any remorse for harming his sibilings? If so, does he ever show it? No. And if it happened again he would fight even harder. He thinks them acting on a fate and doing what they did was destructively pointless and everything in the end was their own fault. Their actions have consequences, and as gods they should have known better, and as a family…. No he does not feel remorse for it. Let the past die, he has to move on if he wants to move forward at all.

Does he care that an entire species and culture was ended because of him? Yes. Again he thinks the entire thing was dumb and pointless. It’s hard for him to fully conceptualize since 1. He was not a sheep nor was he raised/lived with them before 2. afterwards all he was able to learn was about their lives after they died while being trapped. Its the kinda loss that’s nearly impossible to comprehend but he does care

What was his first impression of the lamb? This thing is weird. Interesting but weird (they reacted oddly to dying/him lol)

When did he realize the lamb might turn against him? Was he blind to it until it happened or did he have a gut feeling long before then? He had no idea, he honestly thought they would be upfront with him. Their own behavior does not fix this

Does/Did he enjoy the lamb’s visits? It’s a break in the monotony and once the lamb starts opening up and acting more on their true self he does like him. He likes how honest they are, and enjoys their talks. It’s why he was willing to “marry” them before being freed.

How does he feel about the lamb after being spared? Confused. Their relationship is a hot mess. But mostly just confused and off if we’re focusing on just after spared period. It gets worse later! :)

Does he support or partake in cannibalism? Munch munch (this is a cannibal cult lol, they are all cats and waste not want not)

Does he take a lover other than the lamb after being spared? If so, describe them! WHEAN WHEAN MY BELOVED. Whean (he/him) started as friends with Narinder (he was involved with helping narinder's physical recovery and also is just a very hard to phase person so was able to deal with narinder's shit long enough to gain his trust) and became more during Narinders and the lamb's roughest period. He’s faithless and doesn’t have the same view of nairnder as most of the cult does and that helps a lot. He’s the biological father to the girls. It was a Hey, i've decided I want kids, would you be willing to be the other half in this equation if I tell you I want these kids to Just be mine.” Situation. and whean was down, he's not looking to be a dad personally, doesn't really like kids. But he loves narinder and was 100% willing to help with this. Win-win for both of them, narinder gets kittens without strings attached and whean gets to help his best friend.

What is his biggest struggle after being spared? Fitting in with the cult? Seeing the lamb’s face daily? Chronic pain? After being spared, he had a very long healing process. It took about 2 years for him to regain enough mobility and to become healthy enough (his immune system is very bad at first) to finally really integrate properly into the cult with duties and become more independent. Narinder is missing his pink finger, and part of his ring finger on his left paw. And his middle, and pointer on that hand are missing their claws. He has limited feeling and motion in that hand even after physical therapy.

Does your Nari use any pronouns besides he/him? If so, what ones? He simply does not care actually. Fine with anything but most comfortable with he/him just because of familiarity. He falls somewhere on the nonbinary spectrum but doesn't care for or about labels and just sticks to he/him pronouns. This cat does not care about you or how you perceive his gender or presentation, thank you.

Was he born male, female, intersex, or do you have no opinion on his sex? Intersex and has the ability to carry children.

Does he ever wear jewelry or makeup? Yeah started wearing jewlery as a way to express himself and makeup as a bonding thing with the lamb.

Has he ever used catnip? If so, what happened? Yeah but it doesn’t do much for him personally so he doesn’t bother.

Is identity kept a secret from the cult? If so, do any of the followers recognize who he really is? HAHAHA NO The lamb framed their ascension/defeat of narinder as an inevitable thing to the cult, but still spoke of narinder with a lot of respect and devotion as someone really important to the faith. They got getting "married" when Narinder was still a god as the lamb, giving themselves to him, and they very much did not make a secret of this. half the reason narinder was/is so confused because they do still seem to view him with a sort of religious devotion while also Not. And when narinder did join, they expected him to take a leadership role alongside them, even if their word in the end came first. And since literally everyone even from the start is there still are a lot of folks in the cult who treat Narinder with more than just respect he'd get if he was just a normal person. A lot of the folks in the cult have taken on the lambs weird view of Narinder as something different, special and deserving reverence. even if he's no longer a crown bearer. Doubly since Narinder takes his “job” very seriously and actually does try to act in a leadership role ( he acts more as the grounded one handling smaller things and interpersonal issues, talking and mediating since my lamb while excellent at appeasement really doesn't like handling people's “problems”)

Describe his personality. He's angry and proud and bitter but like a big thing to me is Narinder is patient, almost to a fatal degree imo. He's not fast to act and prefers to wait and watch before interacting. However he does have a bad habit of making assumptions about how the people he "know" will act preemptively and getting really thrown off when they do anything different that what he expected (his original betrayal, the lamb deciding to fight for their crown, the lamb banning him from leaving etc)

(i am going to fully admit i pull some of his character quirks and behavior from my own cat nugget, girl has… Issues but isn't aggressive unless really pushed she's just kinda a mess and I've decided my narinder deals with issues the same way) When he is thrown off he gets very defensive and kinda shuts down. Not violent but extremely guarded and not quick to trust again. Even if he knows he's "safe" he doesn't care. He's collected, he's put together, he's not even really rude but he will do the bare minimum for you if you've hurt him. He won't go down to your level and hurt you back but he makes sure you are Very aware he's not forgotten and at least for now he hasn't forgiven. If you do push his hand then be sure it’s not going to be something he ever regrets doing.

Is he shy about any topics? Does he enjoy talking about anything in particular? Once a book is closed on something. (Ei the prophecy and him being chained, injuring the others) it is closed. Don’t touch it, we move on. He likes talking about plants! He’s not great at growing them kinda average but knows a lot about what they can do, he know a lot about things that can harm you in general and kinda likes rambling about them lol

Does he ever rethink the concept of sacrificing followers now that he is one? My lamb isn’t even willing to let people die of old age, do you think they sacrifice people. If anything narinder’s gonna go up on the alter himself if that’s what it takes to have them get over it (this is a joke)

Is his favorite food anything other than fish? If so, what is it? Meat. He like rabbit.

Free headcanon space! He is so fucking fast.

[lemon-natalia]

Nona the Ninth Reaction - Review

firstly, i just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in and encouraged me in doing these liveblogs! this has been such a fun project to work on, and reading these books for the past nine months or so has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a relatively tough period of my life. i’ve really enjoyed getting to theorise about all of the lore of these books and make horribly ill-advised emotional attachments to inevitably doomed characters

more fun statistics that no one asked for: this liveblog was the longest, at about 20,000 (!!) words. my GtN liveblog was 12000 words for comparison. i have no excuse other than i like to talk

NtN definitely was an interesting diversion from the other two books so far. it wasn’t exactly a breather, since it was still incredibly heartbreaking and horrifying, but it was fun to see a part of the worldbuilding very different from what we’ve seen before. as much as I missed both Harrow and Gideon, i liked that it gave other characters time to shine outside of interacting with them. it was fun to see more of Palamedes, Camilla, and Pyrrha, and how those characters act in a vastly different environment to the Nine Houses

although NtN was essentially telling two different narratives, John chapters vs Nona’s, it still didn’t feel particularly disjointed - i think it was thematically held together by being a bit more grounded than the other books so far, sci-fi and fantasy elements notwithstanding (contemporary issues like climate change and nuclear war, & John’s world being a setting far closer to our own vs Nona’s domestic life & very real problems of living in a warzone)

i also loved getting John’s perspective in the chapters narrated by Harrow, his point of view and recollections were equal parts funny, terrifying, and fascinating. he’s certainly got a … unique perspective on the world. it was just a slow horrifying journey trying to figure out how the world ended, knowing that it was doomed but not exactly how it happened

Muir really has a talent for endearing you to a protagonist, and Nona was no exception, I absolutely loved her, and just, her whole story and how tragic it was physically hurt me. i also wasn’t expecting to get as attached as i was to Hot Sauce and the school gang - i hope we get just even just a mention of what happens to them in AtN

tldr: 11/10. reading this series is like the emotional equivalent of voluntarily getting stabbed in the heart repeatedly. i have absolutely no clue what I’m going to do with my life now that this is over for the meantime, other than go crazy in a locked room with a red string conspiracy board trying to figure out whats going to happen in Alecto the Ninth

speaking of, obviously its not a pressing issue since to my knowledge there isn’t even a release date yet, but i’m not sure if i’ll do a liveblog for Alecto when it comes out? on one hand the most fun bit about liveblogging has been the reaction from everyone who’s already read the books and we’ll all be in the same boat of not knowing what’s going on when Alecto comes out, so i don’t know how much of a point there is? on the other i would very much enjoy doing it anyway, and i’m a perfectionist so it would be nice to have completed all of the books like that. so i guess it depends on how impatient i am to read the whole book when it comes out lol

[aclowntiny]

Hello!! I'm a baby Atiny and it has been some some weeks that I've been in love with the boys. I really love and appreciate them. I wanted to know if you'd be able to write ATEEZ reacting to their crush being allergic to flowers. I always read reactions and of course, flowers are a beautiful gesture, but it's actually funny when you're allergic haha.

Welcome to the ship of fools 🏴‍☠️😆 gotta know friend, who's your bias if you have one? So glad to see more atiny joining!!! 🥰 also I love your idea, that's such a funny & unique one! Also enjoy this wonderful shoot including my favorite picture of Jongho ever

Ateez Finding Out Their Crush is Allergic to Flowers

Hongjoong

It was going to be the perfect moment: the dashing protagonist winning his love interest with a heart-fluttering gesture: a single red rose presented with just the right flourish.

Or so Hongjoong thought.

“For you,” he almost whispered, holding out the rose with a smile and a darting gaze between the ruby petals and you.

“O-oh,” you stutter, taking the flower and twisting it nervously in your hand, “thank you. Hongjoong, this is so- achoo!” You can’t even get a full sentence out before breaking into a sneeze, even the small amount of pollen tightening your sinuses. You were worried this would happen, but come on, look at the man standing before you! You had a huge crush on him, and maybe, just maybe, he felt the same.

Hongjoong’s hand fell gently upon your shoulder as your body was wracked with another sneeze, taking the rose back from your hand. “You’re allergic, aren’t you? From now on,” he chuckled, “no more real flowers, then.”

“What, you were going to get me more?” You asked, arching a brow at Hongjoong, who held the rose away from you twisting in his left hand.

“Only if you liked the first one,” he replied with a shy smile, gaze drifting from yours.

“I do, though!” You protested despite yourself. “Roses are my favorite. They’re so…so romantic,” you blushed.

“It was supposed to be,” he whispers, eyes and smile both widening as you take his empty hand in yours.

“I have some good news, then, you tell him, “You know what’s even more romantic?”

“What?”

“I have no problem with dried flowers, so you may hold it for a while, but I can press it and keep it forever.”

Seonghwa

Seonghwa had a surprise for you. This was the night he planned to confess to you, and for the occasion he’d bought the biggest bouquet of roses he could find. Ok, not the biggest, but a dozen very wide blooms that he hoped dearly would get his point across. As he went to pick you up, he hid the flowers gently in the back seat, laying in the dim light out of your view.

“Hi,” you greeted gently as you slid into his car, bringing an instant smile to Seonghwa’s face.

“Hi, how was your day?” He asked, gaze alternating between your lovely eyes and his rearview mirror as he backed out of your driveway. “I mean, I know you said work wasn’t great, so I wanted to cheer you up, but what happened?”

“Well, our management is just not great, and today we had five callouts, so…” Your words continued, but as you spoke, Seonghwa could see every time you passed a streetlight just how moist your eyes looked. How red.

He reached over, resting a hand on your shoulder. “Hey,” he said softly, “it’s over now and we’re going to have a good time tonight, ok? And I’m here to listen, so no need to cry.”

At that, your head snapped up in confusion. “Cry? No, today was stressful but I’m happy it’s over. I’m not crying, my allergies are just going crazy for some reason. It’s weird, I wasn’t outside for too long, but I guess the flowers must just be going.”

Uh, oh, did you say… “Flowers?”

“Yeah,” you nod, blinking, “they make my allergies flare up.”

A pang of guilt hit Seonghwa- he was only trying to brighten your day! “Uh,” he took his hand off your shoulder, gripping the wheel again and jerking his head toward the back seat, “I didn’t want to give you your surprise this early, but I think I went with the wrong surprise. Take a look in the back seat.”

He chuckled nervously as you turned around, starting as you burst into laughter. The noise was so sudden yet genuine he soon joined in.

“Oh my gosh, no wonder!” You breathed in between laughs. “I didn’t think I’d passed anything! You really got those to surprise me?”

“Unfortunately, I did,” Seonghwa chuckled, shaking his head.

“No, no, I needed the laugh,” you reassured him, “and they’re beautiful.”

Seonghwa looked at you intently. “Not as beautiful as you.”

Yunho

“Yunho, I have that cake I promised you!”

Your friendship with Yunho, you always joked, was based off of cooking. Ever since he found out you had some skills in the kitchen, you tried out new things to make him and brought it by when you hung out with your mutual friend, now friends, from his group. Not that you minded seeing Yunho more- he was super nice, maybe even the nicest in the group as you would quip, the man practically not letting you move a muscle and letting you get away with murder in the dorms. That was why you wanted to make him a cake, in fact. In your last message to him, you told him you would bring it.

“I thought you might say that,” he shot back, “which is why I got…this!”

Whirling around, reaching for something on the table, and whipping back to face you, Yunho produced a bouquet of flowers that he held out your way with a look of comical pride. The moment they (almost) hit you, your face contorted and you instinctively turned away as if struck.

“Whoa, did I scare you? I’m sorry, I just wanted to thank you with something pretty for always being so bright and kind.” The way his face fell had your heart shattering.

“No, no, please don’t think anything bad,” you waved your hands, “I react quickly like that when I see flowers because I’m allergic. I- I didn’t want to sneeze on the cake and ruin it!”

“O-oh,” he stuttered, running a hand through his hair and freezing for a second before darting forward to collect the exposed cake on its tray from you, “I see! Well here, let me get this! And don’t worry, I’ll hold onto the flowers and get you something even better!”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” you denied, playing with the hem of your shirt and rolling your shoulders at freedom from your burden, “I really am happy to bake for you.”

“And I,” Yunho countered, leaning a bit closer to you with a beam, “am happy to shower you with anything that shows my appreciation!”

Yeosang

“Oh, (y/n), there you are!”

Turning around, you see Yeosang crossing the café toward where you sat, hands behind his back. “Oh, yeah sorry, I kind of hid from you! I thought a corner table might be nice.”

He smiles at your words, momentarily distracting you from what he was hiding. “That’s perfect for me.”

“Good!” You clap your hands. “Wanna do our usual?” Your usual meaning getting two mini-desserts and splitting them.

“Of course I do,” he replies brightly, “you’re the only one who’ll do that with me!”

“That’s because they can’t get on your wavelength,” you mock-brag, crossing your arms.

“No,” he muses as he lowers himself into the chair across from you, maneuvering his hidden arms carefully, “and I really appreciate it. Maybe you know it, but just in case you don’t, here.”

With that, before you could even ask him what he was hiding, he whips out a beautiful bouquet of pink and white flowers, roses, freckled lilies, and dainty white violas standing out to your eyes. And your nose.

“Oh, these are so-achoo!- beautiful, Yeosang, I really love the- ACHOO!” How embarrassing, you thought, here is he giving you something so beautiful and your allergies are keepong you from appreciating it. You sneezed once more and Yeosang’s brows furrowed in concern.

“Oh, are you allergic to something in here? I had no idea, I just wanted to show you some-”

“Oh, don’t apologize. Achoo! You didn’t know,” you replied, voice starting to sound stuffy, “and I really appreciate the gesture. Can you just take them back for a second and-”

He pulled the bouquet out from near your face immediately, handing you his napkin, which you gratefully accepted. You wanted a hole to open below you and swallow you up, but your heart and breaths calmed a bit when you saw how fondly he was still looking at you.

“I hope this doesn’t mean I have to take back my confession, too.”

San

“Thank you so much for coming, (y/n). It really means a lot,” San told you as he rounded a corner towards a road ending in a wooden arch.

“Of course, San, anytime,” you answered, clutching the basket you’d offered to hold for him on the drive, “how could I not? It sounds like fun, I can’t believe no one wanted to go with you for a farm day!”

“Right?” He agreed, eyes shining. “On the pick your own day nonetheless! But that means I get to have even more fun with you!”

Your heart swelled at San’s words and the excited motion of his hands- he really was a sweetheart, you thought as you pulled through the wooden arch with the farm name on it. You could see it was European-inspired judging by the font of the arch lettering and stylings of the little cottage and barn. This would be an adorable day.

The moment you parked and got out, however, you felt that weighty feeling in your skull that usually symbolized your eyes swelling. As San brought you to the back of the farm by where a family was heading, baskets on all five of their arms, your heart fell.

It was a field of tulips, three of them to be precise. Rows of red, then yellow, then pink, all dotted by excited people with clippers and all but tinting the air yellow with pollen. A strangled sound left your lips as your eyes burned, and San couldn’t help but notice.

“(y/n), is everything all right?”

Your hands folded nervously behind your back as your chest hammered. It felt so bad to ruin this for San- could you even do it?

“I’ll be fine,” you brush it off, “my flower allergy is just acting up.”

San’s jaw drops. “What? You have a-” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t ask. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s completely all right, we can just-”

“Go to the peach picking instead,” he finishes for you, “you’re more important to me than some flowers I can get in a shop. I’d rather we make a good memory together than just get some flowers, ok?”

He’s greatly rewarded for this when you lean in and kiss his cheek. “You’re so sweet, San. That sounds great to me.”

Mingi

“Alright, are you ready?”

“Yes,” you giggle, eyes firmly closed as you sat in the passenger seat, “I can’t wait to open my eyes again!”

“But no peeking!”

“No peeking,” you repeat as you feel along the rough strap of your seat belt until your finger finds the release button.

“Good. Wait there and I’ll come get you,” Mingi says, and you hear the driver’s seat door open. Moments later, your door opens as well and a hand finds yours, wrapping around it and pulling you out of the car.

The moment you stand up, Mingi’s hand falls gently across your face, covering your eyes which flutter open into a warmer darkness. Your feet don’t falter as he urges you forward on clearly excited footing, bringing a smile to your face.

“Wait until you see it, (y/n), it’s so beautiful! Just a few more steps here,” he says as he guides you up a slight incline. The ground beneath you feels like…dirt?

Your eyes itch beneath their human mask, and they start to feel heavy. You blink several times and Mingi catches it, hands faltering a little as his steps slow. A few eye-watering steps later, he bids you open your eyes, the warmth lifting from across your face as your head tilts to take in Mingi’s huge smile.

“Well? Don’t you think it’s pretty?” He holds out an arm, proudly sweeping it over a stunning view of hills dotted with small purple flowers, one of which you stood at the foot of.

“Yes, it’s…it’s gorgeous,” you blink a few more times, tears stinging the corners of your eyes as one falls.

“Wait,” Mingi’s smile drops, “are you crying? You are crying! What’s wrong? Do you not like it?”

“No,” you smile, wiping the unshed tears from your puffy eyes, “I love it, Mingi, really. I’m just allergic to flowers is all, so my body has a funny way of showing it.”

His eyes widen slightly. “Oh. Oh, (y/n), I’m so sorry, I didn’t know! We can take pictures from far away, here…” His hand falls on yours again, this time tugging you away from the hills like they had the plague.

Chuckling, you dug your heels in, sending him reeling to face you. “Hey, I’ll be fine for some pictures in them as long as you don’t mind a few sniffles in between. I don’t look puffy, do I?”

Mingi shook his head, squeezing your hand. “You look gorgeous.”

Wooyoung

Subtlety be darned. “Hey (y/n),” Wooyoung leaned on the counter, “what’s your favorite flower?”

Your gaze turned from the microwave, where a bag of popcorn was popping. “Well, I really love orchids, I think they’re so pretty, but I’m allergic to flowers,” you answered with an alternate smile and frown.

Internally, Wooyoung smacked his forehead. What other kind of romantic gift could he get you to express his undying love for you and get you to go out with him and fall for him too and- oops, you were staring at him as he froze.

“Why?” You asked, tilting your head slightly.

“Oh,” he stuttered, “no reason. Uh, do you, er… like chocolate?”

“Are you trying to shop for me or something?” You asked with an amused smile, head leaning on your hand, elbow bent to hit your zone of the counter.

Well, he had said screw subtlety. “I was, but if you’re going to be so difficult,” he teased, sauntering over to you and wrapping his arms around your midsection and turning toward you, voice warm against your ear, “I’ll just give you a different token of my affection.”

Before you could express your surprise, he pressed a kiss to your cheek. “Hope that was alright.”

Blushing, you nodded.

“Good,” he grinned with satisfaction, arms still around you, “because I’ve figured out your gift, too. I’ll get you an orchid necklace. How’s that for flowers?”

Jongho

“Getting flowers is the best feeling,” Seonghwa had said, to the agreement of the few other guys involved in the conversation.

“I wouldn’t know,” you joked, ��I’m allergic, so no one’s ever gotten me any before.”

Gears turned in Jongho’s head the moment you said that, even as surprise fell across his face. “You’ve never received flowers before?”

“No,” you shook your head, “most people just know I can’t get them, I guess. Too bad, huh? I bet it does feel nice.”

Well, if Jongho had anything to say about it, you would find out.

~

“I- I got something for you, (y/n),” Jongho tells you, one hand behind his back.

Your jaw drops, hand rising to your chest. “Me? What for?”

“Because I really wanted to get you flowers,” he replies, taking his right hand out from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of the most realistic silk flowers you’d ever seen, a gorgeously vibrant splash of purple, yellow, green…

Your hand falls in shock, then rises again to caress the soft, lovely, and above all hypoallergenic blooms, chest ballooning with warmth. “You did this for me? These are beautiful, just as pretty as the real thing,” you gushed, “thank you, Jongho!”

Before he could reply, you leapt up, throwing your arms around his neck in an embrace he returned with his flower-free hand around your back. As you pulled away, he looked at you, eyes smiling.

“I’m really glad you like them, (y/n). You know, I like these too. They’ll never die this way. It feels poetic somehow, doesn’t it?”

Heart skipping a beat, you nod, reaching for his hand.

[straynoahide]

tolkien meta: the melodic structure of the ainulindale, arda's endgame, and the doom of men

so basically this is about what one can learn and connect to the rest of the legendarium's lore from the ainulindale, and also peer into tolkien's psyche as a side effect i guess. expect excessive theology or more fun imo philosophy of divinity and lengthy tangents about melkor, the nature of evil and theodicy

a small disclaimer - this touches thorny topics in philosophy like the problem of evil, the nature of redemption/salvation, death...

this isn't about my beliefs but presenting and reflecting on tolkien's own within the history of ideas. i acknowledge anyone who reads this also has their own, and can agree or disagree with tolkien. my views may seep in unintentionally but i try to go deeper than that.

pd: I write Eru/One/God indistinctively on purpose. it's for rhetorical emphasis, not so much out of (default cultural) christianity.

part I - introduction (in this post) part II - the themes/structure, discussion part III - discussion (cont): themes of arda and life part IV - discussion (cont 2): theme of the children part V - discussion (cont 3): aftermath/second music

Introduction (i rec reading even if you're versed in the lore)

for those who are not so familiar with parts of the legendarium but still interested in a deep dive, the ainulindalë ("song of the ainur") is the creation myth of tolkien's world.

i rec just reading it if you haven't even if it's after reading this. it's quite beautiful and unique and it's brought admiration even from ppl who study that kind of thing professionally about real cultures. i'm not given to flattery but idk just check it out.

so anyway, the ainur, spirits born from the One creator's mind directly, sang under (or despite) His direction and the melody (both harmony and discord) that resulted, is the history of the world.

by the world we have two concepts here, the entire universe (eä) and the planet (arda) 'earth', of which middle-earth is a later-stage continent. the music itself was a creative process that the ainur partook in before knowing the full implication of their singing.

God showed the ainur the vision of what their music had created and when they saw the world they wanted to live it, to dwell on it and experience it.

God granted this but said they had to remain in it until the full music, the full story had played out.

this includes everything that happens in the Silmarillion, the LOTR movies and sequels/prequels, the TROP series, games, etc, and in some stages of Tolkien's opus, our own world (WWI, WWII, etc).

the Discord refers to the rebellious effect of Melkor on the music as much as his part of the music - the dissonance born from his part's coexistence with the rest of the melody that is in harmony, and takes a 'life of its own'.

this is not unimportant, but i'm not going to discuss it at any point. i will point out here that it has been argued -controversially- by some people to be relevant in compatibilizing or explaining otherwise difficult-to-reconcile lore points that deal with "non-Melkorian evil". this is about things like Ungoliant or the nameless things 'whose mention darken the light of day', whose in-world origins are unclear.

on a broader note, this represents two very different intuitions about evil and divinity (Tolkienian v Lovecraftian, we could say). these are difficult to compatibilize and more than Tolkien's psyche, represent ancient tensions within monotheistic religions themselves, i think. so within Tolkien's world, which has an Abrahamic/monotheistic god, you still find traces of Lovecraftian horror.

all that follows is about Tolkienian evil (meta) i.e. Melkorian evil (in-world), that is uncontroversially and explicitly under the governance of the One, although non-Melkorian evil is a fascinating subject.

[bloggingboutburgers]

Something that really ought to be said more... it's ok not to understand. To never understand even. (In the case of the reblog, understanding sex / peoples' fixation on both it and romance, but it can apply to anything.)

People can give all myriad of reasons they do or like something, but that doesn't have to change your mind about how you personally engage with it.

I think the only case where understanding matters is insofar having a greater understanding helps limit how much people hate something out of ignorance, but that isn't foolproof (people can understand and still double down, which I've seen happen a lot towards every hated group under the sun).

Aspec or not, your cultural upbringing and how you physically perceive intimacy of all kinds is going to affect both if you enjoy it and how you understand it.

For many, sex and romance isn't an important goal but a thing that just happens. The uniquity of it with "life" is worth questioning, especially in cases where people feel pressured to perform and participate in sex and romance. But for many it isn't something they plan for at all. They may include it in fanfiction or fanart (and yeah it absolutely is prevalent in that space the same way edgy ms paint furry art was prevalent in the early 2010s) but that inclusion is not a message to onlookers that they must themselves aspire to a relationship like the one depicted.

Thank you so much for this, it feels sincerely validating and... Yeah, like you said, it ought to be said more.

I gotta admit it's hard sometimes not to want to understand, when (as an aro/ace person, that is) you're pretty much incentivized to do so at every turn. Even if you're lucky enough to not have been treated as a prudish freak for expressing you're aro or ace, and finger-pointed with a "You should try to understand people's point of view better" (sic: very few people try to do the same for you)... Society is portrayed as just working that way, putting romance and sex as #1 priority is portrayed as "the normal thing to do", and in my own experience and a fair amount of aros and aces around me, it seems, it's not just "included" in fanfiction or fanart, it's... Aggressively prevalent. Like, 95% to be generous, possibly more. And it's not just fanwork either. Fiction and art in general are loaded with it. So... Yeah, it's kinda hard sometimes NOT to take all of this as a message that this is what we should aspire to and the way we are isn't valid.

But then even if you're lucky enough, like I am, to FEEL valid despite all that, it's still... Lonely. I wanna understand because some days, a lot of days, it seems it's the only thing people actually connect over, and even if I'll never feel the appeal, I wanna understand the logic behind it, at least that much, so I'm not made to feel like such an alien for wanting to focus on other things. I wanna know the reasons.

Another more personal thing is that when I was growing up as an aro-ace, before I figured myself out, I thought everyone else was blowing things out of proportion to an abnormal degree without realizing I was the "abnormal" one, and that lead me to see breakups with a very "well, duh, that's what people do, they break up" outlook and not understanding the devastation behind it. I've gotten better at it, but there's still a lot I just find myself smiling and nodding to without really getting it, and that hurt too, to a degree. I feel cold to my friends and to other people.

I know I shouldn't, because I am who I am and I don't love them any less or am any more unfeeling than them, and I know I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty for not understanding allo people because allo people in general, exceptions aside, will make little to no effort to understand me back, but... Yeah, it's hard not to, a lot of the time. So being told it's OK is definitely valuable and a relief, even if it won't make that feeling go away in me, it's still a relief. Thank you.

[captainwinterrsoldierr]

Title: Manifest

Kai Azer x Fem!Reader

Note: this turned out longer than i expected and I went haywire so this is going to be multiple parts.

“I’m not going with you,” You snap at the imperial waiting by the carriage. He was a big brawny guy, increasing annoyance on his face.

“Unfortunately you have no choice, the people have spoken and they have chosen you to be apart of these trials,” He stated eyebrows furrowing.

“What so I can die? No thanks,” You say turning on your heel. Hands grab your wrist and you flail.

“HEY!” You yell being flung into the carriage. You couldn’t fight against the brawny strength.

“You’re wasting my time and Tando is a far ways from the castle, we must be on our way and you’ve given me no choice,” The Imperial snaps.

Your eyes narrow at him as he slides in front of you. The carriage jerks and you’re own your way. Your heart aches as you watch your village pass by.

“We have 3 more competitors in the trials we have to pick up along the way.” You turn your head to look at the Imperial.

“How many are there and why me?” You ask fidgeting with your thumbs.

He shrugs, “There’s 9 more and my guess with you being chosen you have the most unique and rarest ability, so much so that I’ve even heard of you from the castle, what’s it called Manifestation?”

Your hands rub your face in frustration. Well so much for keeping your abilities on the down low. Then again having the ability to manifest any weapon from pure raw energy at any moments notice isn’t a very stealthy power. You stared at the cloudy sky as the carriage pursued towards Loot Alley and the castle. Hours must’ve passed when finally the carriage started to begin its stops. First a girl named Hera with the power of veil, then a cocky guy named Ace, and finally a silver haired girl named Paedyn. You smiled very lightly at them and gave them a nod each time one of them entered.

‘Some of us are going to die’ is a thought that kept ringing in your head. It was hard to make eye contact with them knowing that they might kill you or you might kill them at some point.

“So what exactly happens when we get to the castle?” Paedyn asks breaking into your thoughts.

“You will be given a tour of the castle proceeded by being assigned an imperial to watch over you and they will lead you to your rooms, once your adjusted there will be a dinner in 2 days with all of the competitors,” The imperial stated.

“Woopie can’t wait to meet the others that are going to possibly kill me,” You mutter under your breath.

“Exciting right?” Paedyn says sarcastically. You giggle at her tone, guess you’re not the only one feeling anger.

-

When they meant two days you thought you were going to be able to roam the Castle. Turns out that cursed imperial meant 2 days fully locked in our rooms.

Your servant, Lily, that was assigned to you arrived the night of the dinner to help you with your dressing arrangements. “Hmmm we need to dress you in something captivating,” Lily claims looking at her dress options.

“I would rather not draw attention to myself,” You say sitting.

She waves her hand, “Nonsense you need people to love you here, and you are too beautiful to not dress in an equally beautiful gown.”

You blush at her compliment, “Please I’ve never have intentionally sought to look well…. Hot.”

She grins, “Let’s get to work then you’ll be the most dazzling one tonight.”

-

You shake your head in horror as Thomas leads you around the castle to the area where the dinner will be held. Your dress hangs slow around your chest. Your dark raven hair sweeps around your back. Your shoulders in full view, the dress barely clinging with the small straps to your neck. The sheer black dress with taints of gold illuminate the hall as the lowering sun flickers off it. The dress is cut up to your uper thigh showing much more than you have ever intended. Embarrassment rang in your head, you’ve only met 3 other contestants and this is how the rest will see you in this revealing dress.

You arrive first at the dining table, 12 seats. You swallow the king and queen must be joining in today. You sit in between some empty chairs as there was no assigned seating.

You twindle your thumbs in anxiety. Maybe if you can run out of here now you’ll be out of the games. You look around imperials at every exit. Great. The sound of footsteps interrupted your thoughts. You turn around and walking towards the table was a cute guy. Black hair fell messily around his face. He had a cocky smile on that showcased his dimples on his side. He walked with confidence along side a blonde guy. As he got closer you saw his stormy, grey eyes that nearly made you choke on your water. Your thumbs dug into your palm, keep it together he’s just a hot guy.

“Don’t worry darling I’m used to being stared at but don’t choke will ya,” He chuckles winking at you. He scales you and that makes you turn tomato red. You blink and look away. He slides into the chair next to you. You shuffle a bit away lightly.

“I don’t bite ya know… unless you ask,” He smiles at you.

“I’m sorry who are you?” You ask raising an eyebrow at him.

“You don’t know who I am?” He questions back.

“If I would’ve known I wouldnt have asked,” You replied.

“Feisty now aren’t we? I’m Kai Azer… you know Prince Kai enforcer to the king,” He says.

“Doesn’t ring any bells,” You grab your water cup.

“Well darling, I know who you are, Rare gift of Manifestation, they said she had midnight black hair, though they didn’t mention how beautiful you were. I’ll have to get use to using your power even now I can feel its strength,” Kai responds trying to spark up a weapon.

Your eyes widen he’s a wielder and you smack his hand without second thought, “Kai are you daft! If you can’t control it the cosmic energy will go crazy and you’ll hurt someone!”

“First off Ouch, Second well I gotta learn how to use it, I’ve never met another Manifestation user,” His gaze locking into yours. Your amber eyes stare back, don’t get distracted you think.

“Well don’t get used it Azer, it’s takes time to learn how to control and I don’t need you killing someone with it. Not like it matters to you, you are the enforcer, You’ll kill anyone if your precious king demands it ,” You fume. He blinks back at you ready to snap back when others starting coming to the table on time for dinner.

-

Finally speed walking back to your room you’re exhausted. All this talk about doing live interviews, a ball, training has left your brain fried.

“Woah woah wait up,” You hear a voice behind you.

You sigh in annoyance as Kai speeds to catch up with you. “What do you want?”

He chuckles, “Being a gentleman and walking a cute but angry girl back to her room.”

Your heart skips to that first comment but you don’t let that show, “Well I don’t need someone to walk me back I know the way.”

He sighs, “Your difficult you know and too bad my room is right across from you so I’m walking you back.”

You scale him up and down judgmentally and proceed. As you near your room you snap back and turn around to face him. “Listen here pretty boy, I don’t need you to make my life difficult while I’m here. I’m not here to win I could care less about these trials, just let me coexist while these trials are on, let me live and let me go home.”

His eyebrows raise stepping close to you, “So you think I’m pretty huh? would make sense you did choke on water when you saw me.”

Your arms raise in frustration, “You’re so annoying and we just met!”

“Alright feisty little thing, I’ll let you go to bed but be prepared for training tomorrow, I wanna learn how to use your abilities,” Kai states walking towards his room winking at you. “Also I’d like to get to know you, I’ve heard you’re legendary with how you use your abilities, gotta know my competitors,” and with that he slips behind his door.

You gawk at him and slowly return to your room. Your heart racing. You lay in bed that night thinking of the days events. You couldn’t stop thinking about that cocky flirt. If he thought you were pretty you should make him work for it. Make him work for any nice words from you, make him work to be deserving of your abilities, make him work from any training from you. Tomorrow’s training should be interesting. As you slept into slumber those striking grey eyes kept illuminating in your mind.

Author Note; pLS IF this is bad im so sorry. It ended up being way longer than i thought. lmk ur thoughts!

[ballinandcantgetup452]

The Last Will and Testament of Lex Luthor, Part 2

Throughout the oncoming weeks, Clark didn't stop thinking about Lex. Not to an obsessive degree, mind you, but he always occupied the back of his mind. The more that he thought about it, the more that he realized that there was a very strong potential that he even liked Lex. At first, he thought about what made Lex unique as an antagonist to him. Clark first started at his inherent greed. How Clark's very existence turned Lex more and more bitter by the day. He then decided to push past that initial disdain he had for Luthor. Upon further digging, Clark had realized that he admires Lex's inherent determination. While Clarks' very existence as Superman did make Lex more bitter, it also pushed him to become leagues more innovative. He even thought about how Lex even has pride in things beyond himself. He realized that the one thing they both have in common is a love of Metropolis. He really thought about how other criminals tend not to come to Metropolis. Clark realized that he hadn't seen a non-native Metropolis villain in about 5 years. Every villain that Clark had stopped in the past 5 years has either been alien, small gangs using alien tech to get big, or somebody under Lex's payroll. By the end of the week, Clark had gained a sudden admiration of Lex. That wasn't going to stop him from stopping Lex and anything else he had planned, mind you. But he hadn't really realized that admiration until now.

Upon fully finding this out, he would discuss rogues with anybody he was sharing monitor duty at the Watchtower with over the next few months, to varying results. There honestly wasn't really any common ground in regards to the league's rogues galleries and their opinions on their biggest rogues. There were people like Kyle, who didn't really have any rogues, but just kind of viewed taking in his reoccurring villains as part of the job. Arthur felt somewhat responsible for Black Manta. Then there were people like Wally, who had shared Clark's old views about Lex, but to an even more extreme degree. To be fair, having Zoom as your biggest rogue is bound to wear you down on your fondness of them. Clark became really fascinated with this and was oddly enamored as to how nobody really shared his opinion on their biggest rogue as he did with Lex. 

After a few weeks of asking random leaguers their opinions on their rogues gallery, Clark, Bruce, and Diana meet up on the same gargoyle in Gotham to have their monthly meal and meetup. 

Diana took a bite of her greasy burger on the rooftop, "Bruce, I know that Gotham is so bad that it's literally been described as cursed, but a burger like this is almost worth living here."

Bruce stood on a gargoyle, his cape flapping in the wind. It was almost intimidating until you noticed the chocolate milkshake he was drinking. Clark, sitting criss-cross in mid-air, just so happened to do so. 

"Bruce, I thought you were keto?"

Diana went to defend Bruce, saying, "Leave him alone, Clark. He literally jumps from rooftops every night and does more work than probably all of us combined. I don't think he needs a diet yet."

Clark shrugged, "I guess it's just odd to see The Batman sipping a milkshake."

Bruce quit sipping his milkshake, "Dick put me onto it. When he was a kid, we would go here on Friday nights after patrol and share a milkshake. Or to put it honestly, I watched him drink a milkshake and gave him constructive criticism on what he did wrong that night. I still come here every Friday night after patrol, sometimes Dick or Jason or any of my other kids are there, and we'll share a milkshake."

"I've been thinking about doing something like that with Jon. He's been getting into painting, which sounds like something Jason or Damian would be into. Any tips? Does that sound like a good idea?" Clark asked.

Diana interjected, "Look, I can sense where this conversation is going, but let's stop for a second before we get to a point where I can't ask my question. Clark, what's been up with you and asking everybody about their rogues?"

Clark finished his burger and came clean with his head down. "Lex has been gone for about 9 months now. I've been thinking about him a lot lately." Clark raised his head. "Honestly, I think I admire him. I genuinely think that we're a lot alike, and I kind of feel for the guy."

Bruce looked confused, "Why didn't you ask us?"

Clark put his head back down, "I was honestly a little embarrassed. I thought you guys might think I was crazy."

Bruce and Diana both laughed at the prospect. This raised Clark's spirits a lot.

Diana chimed up first, "Clark, the reason why I barely have a rogues gallery is because of that very same sentiment you have."

Bruce interjected, "Unlike Diana, I still have a rogues gallery. But, I feel the same way, too. It's helped a lot of people. Even Mr. Freeze is working at WayneTech." 

The conversation diverted from there to how Mr. Freeze got all of his charges dropped. But, when the dinner was over, and Diana flew away, Bruce stayed back to tell Clark one more thing. "Clark, I just wanted to tell you, it's a great thing you feel the way you do about Lex. Frankly, we're surprised you didn't already feel like that. When Lex re-emerges, and trust me, he will re-emerge, you'll turn him around. Because you're Superman."

Clark processed Bruce's kind words and hit him with an even harder question, "Do you think that you'll ever turn Joker around?"

Bruce paused, almost as if he never actually considered the question.

"Honestly Clark, I don't know. I speculate that one day one of us will kill the other. But every time I see him, I remind myself to keep on trying, just like you do.

Clark did one more patrol before going home. After beating a random rampaging kaiju in Angola, he went home to Lois. It was pretty late when he got there, so she was asleep in the chair in her bathrobe, already bathed, and waiting for him to come home so they could watch an episode of The Great British Bakeoff before bed. Clark picked up his wife and carried her to bed.

"Hey, I was watching that. I was just resting my eyes," Lois said, groggily, very clearly, in a half-sleeping state.

"Sure you were, hon," Clark said while chuckling. He put his wife in bed and joined her.

Lois tried fighting back the urge to sleep, "How was dinner with Bruce and Diana?"

Clark began to nod off, "Pretty good. I realized that I deeply admire Lex Luthor."

"You know, for a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, you're a really slow investigator of your own psyche," Lois responded, almost back asleep again.

Clark was almost asleep as well, "so you can crack the inner workings of my mind, but you couldn't picture me without glasses for the first 2 years we knew each other?"

As Clark fell completely asleep, Lois had one last response.

"Let's not fight, I'd clearly win. Go to sleep, Smallville."

[inaworldofchoices]

Across The Void: Book Review

When it comes to a book like Across the Void, the first idea that comes to my mind is that there is no doubt Pixelberry tried to repeat a well-known formula that worked great in the very first days of the app through Rules of Engagement. That is, the story of the main character (Nova), plus their siblings (Pax and Eos) and their stories told from all these three different points of view. Unfortunately, this time the results weren’t even close to what Rules of Engagement was back in 2016.

The book tells the story of Nova Elara, in my case a woman (or cyber) whose dream is to become the captain of a luxury cruise. The premise sounds pretty boring until we realize the galaxy is in the middle of a war between two factions, the Jura and the Vanguard, and the route where we have to pilot our ship (the Atlas) is really close to the war zone. Of course, as we may expect, Nova, her crew, the passengers, and the Atlas not only end up getting trapped in the middle of the war for different reasons and events that occur throughout the book, but in a surprising plot twist, we end up discovering (in the final chapter) that the ship was always meant to be a part of the war itself, in the form of a bomb. Yes, I didn’t see that coming, and I dare to say this must be one of the most underrated plot twists in Choices.

Overall, the book is different to what Choices usually offers their players. The backgrounds are stunning, lots of pink, blue and vivid colors in general, lots of neon, and everything is very futuristic and gorgeous. We also got many, many new sprites (I’d say some of them haven’t even been reused yet, I guess it’s because of their uniqueness). However, when you don’t have a strong plot, everything else seems to be overlooked. And that’s the main problem Across the Void faces. Despite having a super promising premise, the story itself has so many voids (no pun intended) that most of the time the book left me way too many unanswered questions or even wondering why the writers decided to add certain situations to the narrative.

For example, I decided to help Pax hide Izar, the Jura guy who suddenly appeared in the Atlas… only for us to never see him again. Why was this relevant? What was the point of it? Not even Pax knew why this guy was onboard the Atlas! How did he board the ship without any radars noticing he was coming? Did he receive help from Artemis? It’s not like he was there at the beginning of the trip. Same with Nova and Eos helping Heze, the Vanguard pilot. I decided to let her go back to the Vanguards, but then what? We never saw her again. Was the only reason for these scenes to exist to help us decide whether we were pro Jura or pro Vanguard? Pure fillers, if you ask me.

Another example: what happened during the peace talks between Lyra and Prince Barlow in the Atlas? Are you telling me Barlow didn’t try to do anything to her when only a few chapters before he had destroyed Matara trying to kill her, in order to stop the peace talks that would lead to the end of the war from happening? And when did Prince Barlow leave the Atlas? Because by the end of the book, he just appeared on another ship. Weird.

And I don’t know if I was reading this part while I was half asleep, but when did Oberon board the Atlas? I assume it was after the incident in Matara, but it was like he suddenly appeared on the bridge of the ship, and no one seemed to question why he was there. Also, who protected the astradust during and after the attack in Matara? Where did that astradust go? I know the existence of it was supersecret, but Oberon was in charge of overseeing it as Head of Security. And it’s not like this is the same astradust they used at the end of the book, because that one had been hidden by Nova’s parents in Cyber.

Another problem I noticed was the excess of characters, which led to us having an excessive number of storylines and extralong chapters. I can’t even remember how many times I had to restart chapters because I got lost in between plots (not even One Hundred Years of Solitude in my teens gave me these many headaches!). Then, I understood the structure was to show 3 or more subplots that, later in the chapter, would be combined into the main storyline. This was completely unnecessary, it only ended up adding filler stories to the book.

But what would I have erased? I wouldn’t have included any of the plots involving passengers. If the idea was to show some people were pro Jura and some people were pro Vanguard, then we had enough with our siblings and our crew. But why does Nova have to help people solve their family issues, especially when she has a fair amount of problems with her siblings? Or why does she have to take some rich women’s pet to have a spa day, as if they couldn’t do it by themselves? Girl, you’re the captain of the ship, not a psychologist or a servant! I would also have gotten rid of Argo and Corvus. Super nice crew members, but zero relevance in the story (in fact, they were so irrelevant that they were the only crew members who didn’t even participate in the final battle). And finally, Oberon. I loved the guy, and I even chose him as the ultimate LI for Eos, but I’d be lying if I said he was a pivotal addition to the story when compared to characters such as Prince Barlow. Same with Aquarius. I decided to save her because the story promised she was going to be a big help to us during the battle if we saved her, but in the end, she was only helpful in saving Vee from dying in the final chapter.

With the amount of characters the story has (32 if we count the pets), it was quite obvious that we would have many LIs to choose from. And at first, I loved the idea, because it was something the fandom had been asking for a long time. But then I realized not every idea the fandom has is actually a good idea. Why? Because Nova had 5 LIs (one of them shared with Eos… I mean, really PB?), Pax had 2 LIs, and Eos had 4 LIs (counting the one he shared with Nova). So that’s 10 out of 32 characters that are considered LIs, not to mention Nova also has an opportunity to flirt with Prince Barlow. So sorry, no matter how much I liked the LIs (in my opinion, they were great characters), having the opportunity to romance this amount of people seems like a lot, especially when they all live under the same roof.

But in the end, I did manage to have a decent love life for my characters, even though at times it looked like a telenovela:

Nova dated Meridian. And the replay completely changed my perception of their relationship. Fun fact, this has been the only time I’ve chosen a LI based on their looks, as I tend to choose them based on who I feel is the most compatible with my MC. So, I used to complain a lot about how Meridian seemed to have so little screen time when compared to the rest of the LIs. But now I realize he gets not only a more than decent amount of screen time… he gets quality screen time, and that’s just awesome. There are no random appearances and the relationship with Nova, despite being short-lived, seemed to be way deeper than I remember from when I played the book for the first time. I genuinely enjoyed this match.

A part of me regrets pairing Pax and Holmes. In fact, I don’t think she should have had LIs options. Maybe it’s because she’s shown as a rebellious character who’s more focused on the war and defending the Jura, but it’s hard for me to picture Pax with anyone. It’s easier for me to see her as an aroace girl having platonic feelings for Holmes. Their relationship kind of comes from a place of caring for someone who feels alone in the world. And that’s it. There is love, but I don’t see passion. I can see partners, but not lovers. Something about this match just never convinced me, but I wanted to give it a try.

As per Eos, I liked the fact that he’s canonically bisexual. For some reason, I think it suits him well. However, a part of me believes that behind his flirty ass, there is a guy who was never able to move on from Oberon. In fact, I had originally paired Eos and Lyra (they gave me all the Bodyguard vibes), but when Oberon appeared for the first time, I felt like it was impossible to just overlook the fact they might have been a couple in the past (in my story, Eos didn’t admit they were a couple when he had the chance to do it in earlier chapters). The sparks were there, and they were inevitable. So yes, they were my perfect match, and I’m more than happy with my decision.

Special mention to Zekei, for being the only LI in the history of Choices that has been shared by two siblings. Please, Pixelberry, don’t you dare do this ever again. I have no idea what the writers were thinking about. The guy was so evidently in love with Nova that trying to pair him and Eos must be one of the most “what the fuck” moments in the book. Did Eos have feelings for Zekei? Maybe he did (or he forced himself to have them in an attempt to forget Oberon), but I like to think the Zekei + Eos relationship is one of mutual respect. And that none of them would disrespect Nova that way. That’s just too low for both of them.

Even though I’ve already mentioned several things I enjoyed and didn’t enjoy about the story, I wanted to save the best, and of course, the worst, for last.

I’d say the most disappointing aspect of the book is how the topic of war was addressed. I feel we never got to understand why there was a war in the first place. We never got to really know what the Jura and the Vanguard stood for and why they had been fighting for so long in a war that evidently affected every single character in this story. I have no idea how the writers missed that, when it was some vital information for us to not only understand the plot, but also for us to be able to make some choices throughout the book. I managed to remain neutral 95% of the time, but then one choice sent me towards the Jura (even though my Nova would have probably agreed more with the Vanguard, mainly because the fact that she and Zekei were classmates gives me the idea that the training she received was actually the same the Marshalls received, that has to have some effect on the way you think about the situation). Luckily, I was able to go back to neutral at the end of the book.

Despite everything I’ve already mentioned, I’ve always thought that replaying a book gives you a whole new perspective on things, and Across the Void is not the exception. In fact, while replaying the story I noticed situations I may have overlooked the first time (maybe because I was too overwhelmed trying to understand everything that was going on).

One of my favorites is how the writers play with the idea of destiny and how the topic seems to be present everywhere! The book is full of references to the future and how we have plenty of time to do certain things when, in fact, life may change in a matter of moments. And not only that. Every single character seems to have a certain destiny written for them, too! For example, Zekei was not meant to have knowledge because he was a technical cyber. Zaniah had constellations that told her purpose in life. Prince Barlow was able to see many futures (Dr. Strange is that you?). Nova herself claims at some point in the story that she felt she wasn’t able to guide her own life. When I discovered it, it blew my mind. How is it that I never saw this before?

The fact that our siblings were annoying also had some very interesting turns. The amount of mistakes they made was almost unforgivable. Like Pax hiding a Jura guy in the ship despite knowing how important the job was for Nova. Or Eos not telling Nova about the importance of Lyra, despite Nova being the captain of the ship. We may have wanted to kill these two, but every single time something like this happened, we could see that no matter how big the argument was, none of them would put the Jura and the Vanguard interests over their family. Their loyalties were clear, and even though they explicitly said the opposite, I’m pretty sure they’d always put their family first. In fact, you could even see them breaking their own rules when it came to helping or protecting their siblings! The best example is probably when Eos helps Pax hide Zaniah’s wrongdoing and to keep their secret safe. Or when Pax questioned Artemis for having her brother as a prisoner of war for so long even though she knew who he was. So, no matter how hard the story tries to convince us Pax and Eos are willing to kill each other for defending their ideals. That’s not going to happen.

And this is where I want to stop for a moment to talk about Pax. Because after replaying the story I have some mixed feelings towards her. She’s annoying, that’s for sure. But at the same time, I feel sorry for her. It was sad to see how many times she was disappointed by the Jura. I could feel her heart being broken over and over again. In fact, if you ask me, I’d say by the end of the book, she had questioned her loyalties a lot. Did she defect the Jura once the war was over? I like to think she did. Did I get the same vibe from Eos? Absolutely not. His personality was more like Nova’s than we give him credit for. In the end, he just wanted to protect the ones he loved. His methods weren’t the best, though. Especially because at times it felt impossible to have a serious conversation with him. I mean… grow up, dude!

Finally, Across the Void felt different after the replay. It didn’t feel better or worse, it was simply different. I found out this was more than a story about a war we never got to understand. This was the story about a bunch of broken characters who found in the Atlas not only a crew, but also a family. And that’s why Nova’s sacrifice in the end makes sense to me. In her own words, “most of us would do anything for the ones we love”. And that’s exactly what she did for her biological and her chosen family.

For a really long time, I felt this wasn’t the ending she deserved, especially because she didn’t ask to be part of this war. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to keep exploring her relationship with Meridian and to see her siblings in peace. But happy endings are not always wholesome. And this is one of those cases where the saddest ending was most definitely the best one.

[governmentintelligence]

less a theory and more drawing connections

i literally dont know whats compelling me to make this post, but i was watching the game theory on indigo park/uniquegeese's reaction to the game theory on indigo park, and when unique mentioned that there's stuff people haven't caught on to or mentioned....

spoilers, i guess? and i have links to all the timestamps in youtube videos im using linked on the images themselves.

I thought a bit about the lloyd's limo's sign that's in storage. and the lloyd statue that's in storage.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube of backstage space Mane Stage in Indigo Park, with gold statue of Lloyd amids storage boxes with his hand outstretched and holding a microphone)

the lloyd statue very clearly looks like it used to be where rambley is now. holding isaac indigo's hand at the entrance.

that implies that the rambley statue isn't the original, and that lloyd used to be the one holding isaac's hand.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough showing golden statue of Isaac Indigo holding Rambley the Ractoon's hand and waving his other, mimicing the Disney partner's statue)

similarly, in the intro cut scene historical footage of isaac on the park's opening day, a mural of lloyd is on the wall at the entrance. when the player character visits the park, the mural in that location is of rambley.

you can really see it highlighted in this screenshot from the intro scene, as the camera zooms out from the historical footage and shows the present day indigo park website.

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough of intro cutscene. Two monitors sit on desk, one showing black and white footage of Isaac Indigo speaking in front of Indigo Park's entrance on opening day, with Lloyd mural behind him. Second monitor shows website for booking Indigo Park stay with an image of the park's entrance on the website, showing that the mural behind Isaac now has Rambley.)

now, there are a few other allusions to rambley having taken over after lloyd. the painting of them both shaking hands is really reminiscent of the painting in disney's winnie the pooh ride, showing owl shaking hands with mr toad while mr toad passes along the deed to the ride. that painting is an allusion to how the winnie the pooh ride replaced the ride "mr toad's wild ride," so passing the deed is literally passing along the baton.

another is the player character's comment when you view the lloyd plush — "I feel like as a kid, Indigo used Lloyd a lot more."

what i feel is more foreshadowing to why the change between lloyd and rambley was made, however, comes from this sign that's also in the mane stage's backstage. it's sideways and the screengrab isn't the best, but it reads "Lloyd's Limos".

(ID: screenshot from Youtube playthrough, where a dirty sign reading "Lloyd's Limos" can be read between the bars of a metal frame shelf)

the idea of a limo ride immediately reminded me of Disney's California Adventure's infamous Superstar Limo which, to make a long story short, sucked ass. it was such a monumental failure of a ride for quite a few reasons and i'd recommend Defunctland's video on why it all went tits up, but the tl;dr for our purposes is just that it sucked. it was not received well by park attendees and was closed in less than a year after opening.

the comparison makes me really curious to know just what kind of ride lloyd's limos was, but knowing that lloyd had a ride that then flopped feels as if he was the main mascot until he flopped. similar to superstar limo, the entirety of california adventures was received pretty poorly upon opening.

maybe a similar expansion or rebranding was done at indigo park, while lloyd was losing popularity, and that's what prompted the switch? and maybe there's now a return to retro happening for indigo fans, as suggested by the retro lloyd plush (but not of other characters)?

either way, i feel like i haven't seen a lot of people point out the Lloyd's Limos sign and its potential ties to the old Superstar Limo ride, but i do feel like that's hugely intentional. same as the handshake painting's clear nod forward the owl and mr toad painting at the parks. im interested in seeing how these similarities might be foreshadowing or otherwise connected to the lore!!

[ethanjhake]

Personal Life Update 🙃

Well, I quit my part time job.

I've been working as a deli clerk at a local grocery store for about a year and seven months, and during all that time I've been looking for better work options, applying to different (better) jobs, and found nothing.

Working there has been a big strain on me mentally. I'm a huge introvert by nature, meaning that too much social interaction will wear me out like nothing else. Working in a customer service position means a constant flow of new people who I have to interact with, so by the end of every day my energy would be so low I couldn't ever bring myself to work on my art or comics. And originally, the only reason I left my full time job was to free up more time for me to pursue comics as a career.

Where I work, the quality of customer service is meant to be really high. Your typical "the customer is always right" type of mentality. In my training they literally told me to think of the customer as my boss, since they are the ones ultimately paying the store and me by proxy.

But having to bow to the wishes of just Anyone has moral consequences when the customer is in fact not right, and very very wrong. The more and more I had bad customers, the more and more I was forced to watch, and even enable bad behavior.

Having to do this every day was crushing for me. All the while management was telling me to keep on smiling, like nothing was wrong. I started to employ coping mechanisms just to get me through the work day, but then I started to see that creep into my personal life. My wife would get my attention, just to show me a funny meme or something, and I'd mentally wince, as if she was a customer.

I love people, they're all beautiful and unique in their own ways. But my time behind the deli counter made me start to view everyone else as a potential threat, just in an effort to protect me from having to encounter wrong doing and then be forced to stand by and smile. Or even having to ask the wrong doer if there's any way I can help them?

So I quit. Or, I put in my two weeks. even as much as it pains me to have to spend another minute working there, I thought it would be best to leave in a way that feels respectable. I also wanted time to say goodbye to good coworkers I met there, and not leave them with an empty slot on the schedule that they would have to scramble to fill.

But the big problem with this is that I don't have another job lined up, and I've been looking for different jobs for almost two years and not found anything. So the best I can do right now is step out in faith. And I guess, sometimes you don't have to know where you're going quite yet, but you can't stay in the City of Destruction.

So I'm technically "unemployed" at the moment, although I will be taking on Door Dashing as a means to make money for the mean time. And there's hope in that. It looks like I can actually make more money doing that than I was at my old job. But even then the pay is uncertain, and I have to keep an extra eye on my car and its maintenance. It does also complicates taxes some.

It feels like the Wrong Decision™ in many ways, but even then, staying feels like an even worse decision. I wasn't even making that much money there.

Yesterday my boss offered to leave me in the system, so that if I needed more work I could shoot her a text and she could schedule me in as long as she had the extra hours. And on the one hand I was tempted, it felt like it could be a good safety net if all else fails. But after thinking it over, I said no. I think God is calling me to leave for good, and to trust that whatever happens He will provide. I don't know how He will or how long it'll take, but that's not what trusting is about. And I honestly feel like that's the point of what I'm going through right now. I feel like God specifically had my boss make that offer, not as a test, per se, but more to help me understand that I am stepping out in faith, and that—even as scary as it is—I do trust him.

So today is my last day. After that I go to Door Dashing and continue my work on SotF. And I guess, it really couldn't hurt to put a link to Ko-Fi here. I'm not asking for money so don't feel any pressure, but God does provide though his people. So if you feel so inclined here is my Ko-Fi.

And here I go,