#when will venice be underwater

[look-at-the-soul]

Cia I adore this gif you sent! (Thank you for the inspiration!!) I immediately got the idea but other stories came to my mind first 🤭

Still loving you

Robert Fischer x reader (and it’s also part of my grandma tribute) ♥️✨

Word count: 3,246

Robert waited next to the carrousel, there had been trouble with the system and people had to wait in order to pass with a custom. He just hoped this would be solved quickly because he had a meeting in…

That laugh and that voice only belonged to someone. Turning around he stopped looking at the screen on his phone.

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

¿Y/N?

Robert felt his body froze, his heart rate increased and memories came back and hit him like an avalanche. After all these years.

Flashback:

Y/N felt her knees go weak the moment she saw Rob stepping down his vehicle. Dressed in an immaculate suit with a silky black tie and that effortlessly hairstyle that suited him so well, his face seemed to be made by a Greek God.

It was odd that he asked about her appointment at the salon, perhaps he’d send his driver to pick her up for the gala…

She tried to grab his face to give him a welcome kiss, but Robert stopped her, giving Y/N an emotionless stare. She soon was aware of his cold reaction.

“What’s wrong?”

Robert shifted his weight from one foot to another uncomfortably.

“I’m going to the United States.”

Y/N blinked confused by his statement.

“What? When?”

He wanted to reach out and touch her, but instead he decided to hide his hands inside his pockets. “Tomorrow night, it’s all settled.”

“But.. but I thought you’d be starting on the September course.”

“No, I enrolled in the summer program.”

“Okay, I could cancel my Venice holiday and meet you there then…” Y/N proposed, thinking of some way to make it work.

They had just graduated and she was hoping they’d take the next step in their relationship soon, so moving in while he focused on his master degree in a foreign country sounded promising.

“I could start hunting apartments right away, are you staying in a hotel meanwhile babe?” She smiled again, thinking it could be good he took the lead and moved there first, so he could explore the area and find potential places. “But first I’d need to fly there, do you think your Dad would still let me use his private plane? He had said before anytime, but since you’ll be there…”

“Y/N…” the way he said her name, made her look at him. But she didn’t like what she found in his eyes. “This is why I needed to see you. I’m going away for a couple of years, we’ve to end this. Right here, before I go.”

And she couldn’t hear anything else he said, because her ears were buzzing, she felt like she was underwater and that someone was stealing the air from her lungs.

“But I could fly over and be there, lots of people have a long distance relationship nowadays.”

“Don’t make this more difficult.” He begged, making an effort to keep his emotions at bay.

“You can’t be serious.” Y/N blinked nervously, trying to find for a sign in Robert’s face that this was a bad joke.

She waited a few minutes, eagerly to hear him ask her to come with him, that he was only messing with her, he was always joking.

But when he didn’t back off, she swallowed hard.

“Really? You can’t even tell me a valid reason to break up with me?” Tears would start falling any minute now.

“You know I’m going to start my master degree overseas. It’s for the best.” Robert tried to excuse his sudden decision.

“The best?”

She barely had time to process the sudden news. How long had he been planning this?

Anger took over her, pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried to control her emotions. “You know what? Do whatever the fuck you want Robert! Go and study your goddamn master, I hate you!”

Taking her purse, Y/N rushed, needed to get to her car as fast as she could. She had dreamed Robert would ask her to go with him to the United States, to live together and then, get married. But instead he broke her heart? He was he love of her life, they had plans together for the future, they were good… or at least she thought so, now realizing how selfish he really was.

Tears ran free down her face and she cursed in frustration now realizing how selfish he really was. The son of a bitch, he didn’t care about anyone else but himself.

Y/N never saw the way he broke into a crying mess. Feeling guilt eat him alive for causing her such pain. But he was suffering as much as her or probably even more, she had been his rock, his safe place to hide, he could be real and honest with Y/N. But now, not only she was gone, but that part of him as well.

Robert kept his head down during the entire ride to the charity event his family was hosting, thankfully his driver kept quiet. Images of Y/N giving him a look full of sadness and disappointment for breaking up with her filled his mind, he hoped the image would stop haunting him at some point. He didn’t want that to happen, but he was convinced if he focused solely on his studies, he’d make his father proud.

They were still young, he wanted to prove he was worth of the Fischer company and he needed to work hard to achieve that.

Putting on an emotionless expression, he took a few shaky breaths to mask the fact that he was dealing with a broken heart.

Walking past the directors and board members of the company, he shook some hands, everybody was expecting a lot of things from him, he had a very important place to fill in…

“Darling, over here!” His grandmother’s voice caught his attention among the people. “Where’s Y/N?” She turned her face around, searching for her.

“She isn’t here grandma.”

His maternal grandmother gave him an expectant look.

“Why not? She was so excited yesterday.”

“I just broke up with her.” He explained uncomfortably, his jaw clenching.

His grandmother couldn’t believe his words, Y/N was the most charming girl she had ever met, she had Robert drooling over her, her family was respectable, she was well educated, smart, funny, beautiful, everything anyone would kill to be.

“I need to focus on my maste-”

But his grandma was already shaking her head and giving him a disapproving glance.

“This is the worst decision you’ve ever made. And you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

(End of flashback)

And his grandmother was right, he did regret it every single day. He finished his master and started working for his father’s company, he had made his family’s wealth bigger than he ever imagined.

But none of that really mattered, because he let true love slip away from him that night.

And now she was standing a few steps away from him. And she was still the most beautiful girl in the room.

“Why is that man staring at you?”

Zoe whispered at her friend confused. Was he even blinking?

Y/N frowned and turning her face around, she found the man that broke her heart years ago.

The world stopped spinning for an instant and the air escaped her lungs. She could practically feel her blood running out of her body.

All the memories flashing back at her, as if it was a movie scene. His cold words playing over and over in her mind.

No, time doesn't heal anything. It’s just a way to disguise the pain people say to cover an uncomfortable silence.

And she knew it still hurt like the first day because even after all these years, she still cared about him.

Robert managed to leave his initial shock behind, and he finally started moving towards her.

What should he say? Should he greet her with a kiss on the cheek or keep his distance?

The heaviness in his heart grew as he saw Y/N blinking, looking from side to side as if trying to find a way to avoid him.

“Y/N.” Her name on his lips seemed to burn.

She could feel her friends whispering in shock, they must’ve realized by now who he was because they knew the story.

How are you supposed to react in moments like these? Say it’s lovely to see you! No, because it wasn’t.

Could this be their chance to talk about what happened? He wondered if she had someone in her life. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came up.

“Robert.” She raised her eyebrows, but other than that, he didn’t get much. Except she folded her arms in front of her chest, in a protective reaction. “All right, let’s go.” She stammered to the girls, wanting to go as fast as she could.

“There’s a problem with the car rental, they canceled.” Zoe announced and threw a subtle glance in Robert’s direction, he was still standing there, looking at Y/N.

He noticed Y/N wasn’t wearing a wedding band on her left hand, she was carrying a book in her bag.

“We’ll get an Uber then.” Y/N proposed trying to make her friends start walking.

“It’s extra expensive right now, it’s rush hour.”

“I’ve a driver waiting for me.” Offered Robert. “I could take you anywhere.”

A heavy silence fell upon them, you could hear a pin drop. Zoe and Lisa looked at each other, not fully believing what was happening. Then, they looked at Y/N.

“This isn’t a good idea.” She admitted in a low voice, avoiding his eyes.

“Hey c’omon we won’t be able to make it on time with this traffic.” Lisa pointed out.

Zoe gave Robert a suspicious look.

Whatever was crossing his mind, his ego dropped to the floor, he had been waiting for this moment all his life.

“I think a ride won’t hurt nobody, right?”

Before Y/N could protest, Lisa practically jumped on Robert, not wanting to give Y/N time to react. “I hope you’ve enough space in that vehicle because we overpacked.” And she grabbed him by the arm as if they were long time friends. “I’m Lisa.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Y/N grabbed Zoe’s hand for reassurance.

“Take a deep breath honey, this is not the right time to have a breakdown, you’re stronger than this.”

“Why him? Why now? After all this time…” Y/N’s eyes darted again towards Robert, who was walking several steps ahead with Lisa still hanging from his arm.

“I don’t know, but perhaps you were meant to run into each other, it was just a matter of time.” Zoe gave her friend a sympathetic look. “It still affects you.”

Her friend’s statement made Y/N stop walking.

It did. It still hurt her definitely. But it was only because Robert had been the love of life.

That was the truth, plain and simple, over time she of course started dating another man, but as soon as she realized things were about to get serious or that he would take the next step she decided to end the relationship not wanting to get married to the wrong man.

She wasn’t scared of marriage, she hated the idea of waking up one day and feel disappointed of the choices she made, it didn’t make sense probably for most of the people, but she rather choose to be alone.

Of course she never expected to see Robert again, there were a lot of things left unsaid between them. And all of those years apart didn’t prepare her to face him once more.

She remained quiet on their way towards his vehicle, the internal turmoil taking over with each step she took. And there he was holding the door open for her, giving her the sad and traumatized puppy eyes a pet would use after being scolded.

“I’ll go in the back.” Announced Zoe climbing in while the driver took their luggage.

Lisa gave her friend a curious look. “Can I go in the front? I get car-sick.”

That left Y/N sharing the second row of seats with Robert.

Y/N shook her head slightly while she tried to control her heart drumming like crazy, all their memories flashing her back in time to when they were happy, when they first kissed, when they first made love and of course, when he broke her heart.

A heavy and uncomfortable silence filled inside the vehicle.

Y/N tried to focus her gaze in the sighting they were passing through the busy streets, the man in the bicycle, the three women at the café, the elderly couple with their dog, anything but the man sitting next to her that was subtly looking at her and clearing his throat. She could feel his eyes on her, boring into her soul.

“Where am I driving to Sir?” The driver asked, waiting for instructions.

Lisa gave him Y/N address, she had a small loft in the city and they’d be staying there for the book signing event.

A million thoughts crossed Robert’s mind, he wanted to apologize first. But after all those years? Y/N could hardly stand to be in the same car with him clearly. What could he say? How could he even even begin to justify what he did to her back then? There wasn’t a single valid reason for leaving her the way he did.

And for what? To get his father’s approval? To show the old man that he was worth to be his son?

He lost the best damn thing that could ever happen to him. He lost her over nothing.

But now he was willing to give everything for her.

When they arrived, Y/N thanked the driver, took her bags and mumbled a very lowly thanks to Robert through gritted teeth, then she excused to rush to use the ladies room, leaving Robert standing there in the middle not knowing what to do with a million words to say and a sincere apology trapped in his lips.

Zoe approached him quietly, she had known Y/N for over ten years and given her reaction to the odd encounter, despite all, she knew Y/N still cared about him.

“Can I ask you a question before anything else?”

Robert crossed his arms and gave her a nod.

“Are you single?” That was the most important thing to know first.

“Yes.”

Then, onto the next question. “Call me a witch if you want, I don’t know you… but I know her. Do you still have feelings or something? I know it got messy the last time you talked but...”

Robert allowed himself to let his guard down, the one he had built after losing Y/N. He never let another woman into his heart. His bed? Yes. But not his heart.

“I don’t think it matters, she can hardly stand to look at me for two seconds.” He saw the pain was still there in her eyes.

“She’s going to hate me for doing this but if I can help in any way it’s worth the risk…” Zoe assured him. “I’ve a book signing today at four o’clock, this is the address.” Noticing the confusion in Robert’s eyes, she added; “this isn’t my business but I know the two of you’ve an unfinished business.”

Robert stared at the flyer, wondering what was the right thing to do.

“What if she doesn’t want to see me?”

“Oh it’s going to be hard, trust me.” Zoe then took her best friend side. “And if you hurt her again, I’m going to give you hell for ruining it twice.”

As the girls walked inside the apartment, Robert took his time to process everything, and taking his phone, he called his assistant to clear his schedule for the day, his mind couldn’t stop thinking of the series of events that just happened.

***

Robert took a look at his watch impatiently, then stared out the window of his vehicle and his eyes stopped at the women walking down the street. A grandma with what looked like her granddaughter, strolling with their arms linked, their eyes focused in the articles before their eyes and it made him think immediately of Y/N and her grandmother. How many times did he found them just like that, then they’d drive back into her grandmas house for lunch or dinner, the same with his grandmother.

When everything was simpler and happier. When they were together.

“Mr. Fischer, they are done signing the books.” His driver informed him.

Marcus didn’t ask him anything further, and without intention the man pressed him to make a choice. Walk in the book store and try to apologize to Y/N or drive away and leave behind a small possibility to get her back.

All damn day he kept thinking about her and what they had. How different his life would be if only he didn’t let her go that day.

But guilt was eating him alive, for the damage he caused her.

Did he deserve to be happy for once?

A bald man stepped out of the store, holding the door open and then he saw Zoe and Lisa walking out.

But when he saw Y/N hiding her beautiful eyes behind her sunglasses, he soon realized by just one look that he never stopped loving her.

“Y/N!” It was an impulsive move, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Wait…” he pleaded her, the three girls turned around to face him.

She gave him a confused look, not knowing what he was doing there or how he knew. Would the feeling of being incomplete without Robert would ever go away? Her heartbeat went crazy.

Knowing there was a possibility that Y/N could reject him, Robert cleared his throat and hid his hands inside his pockets. “I owe you a sincere apology, Y/N and I know it won’t take away what I did…” two pairs of curious eyes stared back at him. “I’m really sorry.”

Y/N stood there processing his words unsure of what to do or say. A million thoughts crossing her mind.

“If you want, we could talk? Privately.” He struggled to say the words, not because he didn’t mean it, because he was terrified of getting a negative answer. His next words came out as whisper whilst he looked down. “If you agree of course.”

Time slowed as Y/N took a deep breath, pondering on his words. Had she been waiting all her life for this moment? Was this the closure her heart needed?

She opened her mouth to explain him, she already had plans with her friends, but Zoe gave her a disapproving glance, reading her mind.

“I don’t know what will happen next,” Y/N said cautiously, “but I think a chat it’s a good start.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as she said those words, she felt free, relieved even for carrying the burden for so long. Whilst for Robert, this was the small light at the end of the tunnel.

They both knew it would take a lot of time to rebuild a relationship like they did. But at least this was the first step to try to get back the love they once had.

And without a doubt, he still loved Y/N.

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[entomjinx]

ONE PIECE CHAPTER 1113 SPOILERS!!!

It's tagged, it's in bold, if you didn't see it that's on you, but I'm sorry. (I'm also a little sick so sorry for how this starts to turn a little insane at the end.)

The reveal makes perfect sense. I've seen a few people struggle to figure out where it came from, so I'm gonna explain why it makes perfect sense and then pop off with some silly theory.

The first hint at the fact that the One Piece world is sinking exists all the way back in Long Ring Long Island.

That seems like an odd place to start, but it's the first time we're shown how drastic the tides of the ocean in the One Piece world can change. It's enough to separate entire parts of an island, causing it to appear as separate islands, once every year.

This implies that the tides change drastically over the course of much longer periods than it does in the real world.

After that, we get to Water Seven and discover that it's sinking, and that the Aqua Laguna is getting worse every year. We also know that it's caused by the water receding at Long Ring Long island. We're also outright told that they want to make the city float to stop the sinking problem.

We also, much later, see just how high Wano is in altitude.

Knowing that the Redline is so tall that it cannot be passed by any ship, cannot be broken through, and that Mariejois is sat right on top of it only adds to why it makes sense.

The world isn't "sinking," those some islands technically are(Water Seven, modeled after Venice), the tides are going to rise exponentially, and fast.

The force of the water would instantly drown most people, and those who survived would be those who could get to higher altitude islands, the sky islands, Fishman Island, or the Redline.

And because I know someone will try to point this out: land bound plant life can temporarily survive underwater, so Ohara's 5000 year old library tree would be fine for a a bit while submerged. There's lots of places with high tides who's plant life is just fine. (This also could explain why they'd be so willing to throw the books into the water. Not only was it to save them from the fire, but many of them had likely been submerged for long periods of time before. They knew the books would be find in the end because they had record of it. And well, it's mentioned in the chapter that Vegapunk means to finish what Ohara started.)

This would also explain how thorough the government was able to be with wiping out information from the void century. If only a few places can survive, then few things that tell the truth will survive, and even fewer people.

Do I think I'm 100% correct about any of this? Or course not, it's Oda. It's One Piece. Things are pretty much never predicted with 100% accuracy. But that's my thoughts on why it makes sense. Now we get into theory:

I have several points to make, so I'm going to write out the shortest ones first.

-This would, completely unironically, explain some of the centuries long racism campaign against fishman. They have no reason to fear the high tides. They will survive no matter what happens on the surface, and that scares the humans who cannot.

-I think that the extreme tide is a part of why the bridge is being built in Tequila Wolf. I believe the bridges purposes is to connect all the highest points of the world so there's no need for ships to carry them. This way, the Celestial Dragons will still have access to more slaves, produce, and anything they can't get within Mariejois on their own during the time period when everyone drowns.

-and now we get to the big one:

I think that the reason the 20 kings and their people destroyed the ancient kingdom is because the ancient kingdom had a way to survive the high tide while keeping the maximum number of people safe in the process, and while being able to save many more people. They refused to ask for help, and were instead afraid of the power the ancient kingdom held, so they sought to destroy it.

I think that the ancient "weapons" were instead a means of survival, and the reason they were hidden is because the 20 kings would have used them as weapons instead. We don't know much about the ancient kingdom, so much of this is speculation.

I think Pluton was a large enough ship that it could carry the entire kingdom. We've already seen some massive ships in One Piece, and Iceburg intends to turn the entirety of Water Seven into a ship, so the idea of an island sized ship isn't all that odd.

If you continue to think about it, why did none of the Beast Pirates manage to find Pluton while searching for the poneglyph in Wano? I have two theories for this based on the fact that we're told Wano would have to open it's borders in order to get Pluton. If the walls would need to be torn down, then we can continue to assume that Pluton is massive.

Theory one is that Pluton is is hidden within the mountain itself, and that the mountain was man-made to hide the ship. Not only would the walls need to come down, but the mountain itself would have to be destroyed. They would also need a way to survive the high tide without it, so creating a mountain that is high enough in altitude to keep them safe would have been a necessity. I think this is the more believable of the two theories.

Theory Two is that Pluton is Wano. The entire island is the ship, and many of Wano's people descended from the people of the ancient kingdom or those they rescued. This one is much less likely, but it's still a possibility in my mind.

We know that Poseidon was the former mermaid princess, and that the current one is Shirahoshi. She can control the sea kings. Why would this be important? Because if everywhere floods, then the sea kings, who are already very large creatures, suddenly have an influx of room to move, food to eat, and places to lay eggs. It would cause a population spike. *However,* that would cause an ecological disaster within the food chain. The sudden influx of sea kings would be desperate for any food they can get their hands on, and many would likely die of starvation. This means they need some way to repel them from the large ship.

We don't know anything about Uranus yet, so I've nothing for you.

Another thing we know about the ancient kingdom is that they seemed to be friendly with everyone, or at least it's implied via how many friends Joy Boy made.

Fishman: Along with the bonus of having Poseidon, the fishman also have access to the tree resin from Sabaody. Should the ship(Puton) or the ancient kingdom ever need to submerge in order to keep people safe or to have a temporary air bubble, They'd be safe.

Lunarians: The people who originally lived on top of the redline. Sinee the redline is high enough to not sink, it would have made sense for them to be trade partners.

Skypians and Shandians: Another race with wings. if the tides really got too high, then they could join them in the sky sea for a time. They could also trade with them.

Minks: Zunesha was a friend of Joyboy's. We don't know much else about that situation, but it's likely that Zunesha is plenty tall enough to keep the minks from drowning, and they could have traded often as well. Maybe Zunesha was even able to do something similar to the giants.

The Giants: This feels like the most important one to me, and not just because of recent chapters. Obviously the giants think very highly of Nika/Joyboy, but it's also very likely that Elbaf is tall enough to survive the high tide, and if not, the the giants themselves are. If you look at what's known about current giants, some of them are tall enough to walk along the sea floor, and the ancient giants were so large that it's said they pulled and moved continents.

Why is that bit important? Because a ship the size of an entire island would likely need a lot more than sails buoyancy to move quickly. The ancient kingdom was pulled by the giants. They moved to different areas to rescue people and to trade so that life continued while the tide was at it's highest point.

Another random thing that supports this is the giant's vehement hatred towards Charlotte Linlin. She has Totto Land, which is supposed to be a place where all races live in harmony, but it would be a mockery of what the ancient kingdom was like, and for giants, who live about 300 years, that's only a few generations back. They would still have stories about the ancient kingdom and remember the truth.

Again, I don't think anything I predict will ever be 100% accurate, but I hope you enjoyed my rambling nonetheless.

[teecupangel]

Just saw the Mermaid!Desmond post and it reminded me that i have been playing around with the idea that Desmond gets transported to the past as a mermaid(he prefers the term 'merman' thank you!). With my obsession with EziDes(i'm shameless XD), i imagined 2 scenarios:

1) Ezio meets Desmond in Venice and though at first Desmond is shy and hides away, Ezios persistence and charm wins him over. Desmond has the ability to launch some sticky "vines" from his hands to drag people into the water(based on what the mermaids in Pirates of the Caribbean can do), so he helps Ezio with assassinations from the canal. We could even have some drama where the Templars catch Desmond in a tank on land and when Ezio comes to save him, the tank breaks and at first Desmond is suffocating, then he is in immense pain while his body transforms into a humans. So good news: he can walk on land and even "sleep" with Ezio without risking drowning him(No Ezio, we are not trying it again!). Bad news: it hurts like a motherfucker to transform and it takes a hot minute. At least he can see Monteriggioni now!

2) The classic "Desmond takes Older!Ezio and himself to the past to save Ezio's family" but Desmond is turned into a mermaid(merman!) and is stuck in the disgusting river that runs through Florence. They get transported a day before the execution(Ezio just needs that scar, i love that connection too much XD), so they get a plan to bust out the Auditore family during the night and use a boat to get far enough away from the city before switching to a wagon. Giovanni is confused to what his son is doing("Why didn't you deliver the papers to Uberto, Ezio?"), but decideds to trust his son. During the trip, a guard almost raises the alarm but before he can, something whips out of water and drags the man in. Everyone but Ezio is shocked and when they get to the wagon, they see a small tub with water in the back. Before they can ask about it, they see Ezio lift something from the river before turning around and revealing a mermaid(MERMAN!) in his arms. Ezio is not leaving Desmond behind, no matter how difficult transporting him is(in this version i'd have Desmond need to learn how to shift forms, so for a while he has to be transported in a tiny ass tub if he was to follow Ezio around). The ride back is pretty awkard 'cause it turns out only Ezio can hear Desmonds voice(he speaks mentally, so even underwater he can talk to Ezio and the connection can reach pretty far).

.

We can also use Altaïr and the funny scenario of him being afraid of water, but still has a mermaid(for the LAST TIME: I'M A MERMAN!) boyfriend. XD Though Desmond would be very helpful for the guy that hides on the boat.

Maybe the treasure in Solomons temple started glowing after the entrance collapsed, distracting the templars enough for a hurt Malik and bruised Kadar to grab it and flee? And on the ride back to Masyaf, during an attempt to cross a river to lose the Templars on their trail, the treasure falls into the water, causing an explosion of light. Kadar was blinded by it, but Malik escaped the worst of it and swears he saw a large dark shape swimming away from the orb before he went to grab it. When he returns to Masyaf, with a dead arm and a mostly blind brother, he still blames Altaïr for everything that went wrong, but knows it could have been so much worse.

Altaïr is sent to find the traitor(the same as cannon), but afterwards is sent to the river Malik experienced the light explosion, to search for whatever came from the treasure. Altaïr curses Malik for his clumsiness, to lose the treasure in the river! If it hadn't been glowing it would have been lost. So Altaïr is in a very bad mood when he reaches the river to start his search. He is forced to spend days following it to the ocean, but when he reaches it, he sees something gold, glittering underneath the waves. Before he can try to even figure out how to get closer without having to get near the water, it moves upwards, revealing a strange creature. A half man, half fish spirit that looks like him, just staring at him from the water. They stay there, staring at each other before the spirit swims back under the water, dissapearing before Altaïr can even utter a sound of suprise. No matter how hard he searches the coast, the spirit does not show itself. Altaïr is once again forced to return to his master with another failure.

.

Phew, okay, this took almost an hour to write(i'm a pretty slow typer). XD Words just came pouring out during the Altaïr section. Lol

Additions to the ask from @thedragonqueen1998

Follow up on my Mermaid!Desmond ask:

I completely forgot to add in a description for Desmonds mermaid design. XD I'm a fan of the more spikier designs, so he'd have sharp fins on the side of his tail, a large one on his back, razor sharp claws and webbing on his hands and his ears would be fins. His teeth would be large and sharp and his jaw could almost shoot out like a goblin sharks one. It also opens wise enough that he can bite someones head off. His colouring would be a shiny gold that would dampen the more tired he becomes and the shine would fade if he is sick. So if he spends alot of time in the Venice canals his colours would fade quickly to Ezio's panic. XD He's fine, he just has the mermaid version of the flu.

Additions by teecup:

Desmond being a mermaid during Renaissance Italy would be so fun. Of course, Leonardo would have to paint him, maybe even call him the ‘Siren’ of Greek folklore, going as far as painting what looks like a lot like Templars as the people the supposed Siren drowns.

Centuries later, people would debate if Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Siren’ is androgynous or is actually male. Shaun has been part of that debate far too much.

Desmond probably has the habit of lifting his tail then smacking it down, making water splash all around the tank, an instinctive move that mimics humans saying their feet when they’re dangling.

There was actually an ask about what kind of merfolk design would each Assassin have but I can’t find it (as usual).

One of my suggestion for Desmond though is a tail similar to an angler fish like this:

Not exactly like this but a combination of this and your idea of sharp fins. They seem to glow but it’s more noticeable when using Eagle Vision.

Also… the water underneath Monteriggioni is a good place for Desmond to stay as well (although Ezio would be everything to renovate Monteriggioni to have a pond large enough for Desmond, it will become his priority even if they don’t profit from it XD).

If you want an alternative meeting, Ezio could meet Desmond in the underground waters of Monteriggioni while he was exploring Monteriggioni.

.

For the AltDes version, I’m just kinda imagining Altaïr would be too stubborn to return to Masyaf until he was certain what he just saw. He had already failed, he can’t afford to fail again.

Both because of his pride and because he had lost faith in Al Mualim and the Brotherhood too much that he actually believes that they would execute him if he failed again.

So he’s just camping there, staring at the waters.

Every time he feels like someone is staring back, the feeling would be gone by the time he turns around.

He had read about many mystical beings that live in the waters and Altaïr had started to write about what he can observe, even going as far as drawing what he could remember of what he saw.

If anyone was to see it, it would look like the ramblings of a man imagining something that doesn’t exist.

Or perhaps they would believe it.

Many people do believe in such rot.

Altaïr did not.

Not until he saw the spirit.

And now…

Altaïr was simply too stubborn to retreat.

He would capture the spirit and drag it back to Masyaf if it’s the last thing he does.

[dezertvideogames]

My Metro headcanons and why...

CW: Major Spoilers for All Metro Games

Artyom is terrified of deep water

Despite being able to swim a little bit in 2033 and Last Light, the man is terrified of water in Exodus. He thrashes and latches onto anything around him in a panic.

It seems to be common knowledge to those around him as when his train cart falls into the lake at the forests in Exodus, Alyosha tries to calm him down. Artyom panics anyway though. You can even hear him scream underwater.

He developed this fear after his little boat ride to Venice

Artyom is selectively mute

Despite not talking the majority of regular gameplay, Artyom is an expressive character through is body language and actions. He's not completely silent, especially when it comes to reading his journals out loud, but he remains silent in moments where most wouldn't.

It's obvious that he does talk from people's dialogue interactions with him, but from there we don't get any words in. He also talks during the load up screen cutscenes. It wouldn't be his first disability, and likely won't be his last. He is already hearing impaired in one ear after all.

Pavel is afraid of spiders

Right before Artyom and Pavel cross above ground to the red line's main station, the two are forced to travel through some very infested tunnels. Pavel not only freaks out at each attack in these tunnels, but he also begs Artyom to stay close to him.

Like many characters in the metro Pavel pleads for Artyom to save him at the slightest moment of danger. When the doors are locked due to power being cut off, he doesn't even try to help, sending Artyom further into the spider den. He asks more than nervous the entire level.

We get moral points for staying close to him in the beginning, and moral points to fending off all the spiders on the elevator with just our light. I guess it's a moral thing to help someone get over their fear.

[bengiyo]

Marahuyo Project Eps 7 & 8 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last time, the kids struggled to pick a name for their LGBTQIA+ organization while discussing their strategy before the school board. They eventually decided to focus on connecting their hopes for the island's future with its past, and set about researching. Archie gave Venice some files from the church, Lorie looked through files her dad had, and Ino suggested interviewing people after providing equipment. We learned that Archie is struggling with the path to holy orders (manifested in his neck scratching), Ino said aloud that he was gay and kissed King, and Lili is probably intersex. Each of our our kids is holding confidence about this. Lili read Marco for filth, read him for blood, but unfortunately we left at Marco outing her.

Episode 7: Aswang

You know King isn't the violent type, because some of my people would have curb stomped his ass by now.

Oh, Ino. I understand.

Okay, Lili's story is so sad and lonely. I'm glad she told Lili before this.

Oof, Lorie was not ready for the friends to lovers kiss.

That was difficult, but King is right. He shouldn't ask Ino to come out, but it doesn't stop him from getting hurt.

King's grandmother is great. It's making me sad that Ino has no one else to talk to after that.

Wow, Marco is really doubling down on being an asshole.

I appreciate this show now disguising the kinds of casual homophobia you run into.

It's hard to recognize when you need to give someone you love space when you want to help.

I do like the idea of them reclaiming the balagtasan as a way to present their ideas to the island.

I knew it was Ino who graffitied the mural.

Gay people really will turn their relationship problems into a public spectacle.

This poetry is beautiful.

Oh, Ino, I'm proud of you.

My boy is bleeding!! Marco, it's on sight!!

Man, what a concise breakdown of how it feels to know your truth and have your caregivers try to stifle that in you for the sake of appearances.

Episode 8: Babaylan

Ino and King opening up old wounds.

Yes, King, tell your mom. Shame is learned at home. A kid can face the world if they're safe at home.

I love King so much for not sugarcoating how bad public scorn can get.

Swimming at night is very dangerous, but I'm always happy to receive an underwater kiss BECAUSE IT STILL BELONGS TO THE GAYS.

Oh good. Lorie and Lili are finally talking.

See, this is the thing about doing queer media versus making QL sometimes. Apologizing for loving someone is such a queer experience. Your love isn't something that you should be ashamed of, and you shouldn't have to apologize for caring a lot about someone.

This feels like the right place for these two as friends to possibly more.

Oh shit Lili got me when she held back tears at getting best friends.

It really is exhausting how hard authority works constantly to police and enforce heteronormativity. There are so few of us. Why is it always this constant bullshit?

Oof, I actually like this choice to have Archie vote to impeach Ino, become the new president, and then immediately return to the site where they honored Christina to cry about it. Venice understands that taking care of other queers is a long term project. At least Archie said her name.

Many of my beloved elders have passed. I wish I could talk to them sometimes. Especially Barry.

I love that Venice is eating in almost every scene.

Hey! They finally picked a name!

I love how homophobes talk about history, and then storm out when confronted with uncomfortable truths.

Crying over these outfits. They're so right. Formal acceptance by the status quo doesn't erase our existence, or the bonds between us. We will make space for ourselves and those like us.

Oh, Archie. I understand you, too. I hope you find peace with yourself and others.

I love Sue Prado, but does the mom really deserve to be here? I'll accept them trying to extend grace to struggling parents since Grandma has been with them the whole time.

This march works though. Before it was only three of them. Now look at them.

A post credits scene! Wait, I love the idea of Juvy and Jose going to visit them!

Final Verdict: 9.5, Finally Some Good Fucking Food. I am just so relieved to have another show from JP Habac. It's clear he and his friends have such strong ideas about where queer people fit in our society today, and I love that his work is never about defeating homophobia and is instead about connecting others to queer joy. Despite how this show stirred up all sorts of old hurts in me, I feel so much love for these characters, and I'm so thankful that I can point to a show with a wide spectrum of queer experiences delivered in such a beautiful package. It's so rare to see a show treat the closet seriously, and I will be thinking about this show forever, alongside JP's previous work: Gaya sa Pelikula (aka Like in the Movies).

[bitesonmyneck]

Pentecost - Andrew Wyeth, 1989. Tempera on panel.

“This painting is almost entirely different from all my other temperas, being almost a ‘pretty’ subject matter. I think it is beautiful, and I can’t always say that about my paintings. I felt the spirit of something when I did it, and I believe I managed to communicate that spirit. You see, at that time—it is, of course, Maine, on Allen Island, one of my wife’s two islands—a young girl was washed out to sea in a storm. They couldn’t save her. In time the body floated by off Penaquid Point. I was thinking about that girl’s body floating there underwater, and the nets became her spirit. It’s a grisly story, but knowing the depth of my feeling kind of saves this picture. Those nets are like fog. I tried doing them with a brush but couldn’t get that cold blue, almost silver, cast, and so I went to the pencil and put them in after I had on the tempera. But it’s that story of the girl that prevents it from having been painted, say, in Venice. Know what I mean?”

from Autobiography by Andrew Wyeth

[wen-kexing-apologist]

4, 13, 18

4. Who is your ultimate Asian ql blorbo?

For those of you who consider Word of Honor a BL (which I do because of the original content) look no further than my user name for the most obvious response to this: Wen Kexing is my ride or die. That’s my sweet, murderous, summer child, and he has never done a single thing wrong in his life. 

For those of you who don’t consider Word of Honor a BL, I think I will have to give it to the wonderful, the marvelous…

Daisy from Secret Crush on You. 

I haven’t watched this show in awhile, but if there is one character who comes across my dashboard who I am immediately overcome with joy to see, it’s this lovely young woman right here. She’s just the sweetest person and I want nothing but happiness for her. 

13. Which Asian ql tropes get you every time?

Pinky touches, underwater kisses, any and all Happy!Sad boys, characters being asked “are you tired?”, food as love, characters being comforted in the midst of a nightmare, “I’m sorry I like you/boys/girls”, etc, etc, etc.

18. You get to pick a side character from two different qls to put in a show as a main pairing--who are you choosing and what kind of story is it?

Oh this is a fascinating question! Hear me out:

Archie from Marahuyo Project and Bas from I Told Sunset About You and I Promised You the Moon. 

If you know me, you know I love complicated characters who are good at heart and you know I love angst. So hear me out. Archie, my dear sweet boy, struggling incredibly hard with his own sexuality after the loss of a friend has a reasonably paced arc throughout Marahuyo Project where he is unable to come out by the end of the story, but he does help the Sea Creatures conduct their Pride parade by throwing rainbow confetti, so he’s starting to get a little braver. But it took the very patient and understanding love and support from Venice to get Archie to even move an inch. I think he might need someone like that to help him step back in to himself more fully. Bas is, as we know, that kind of person, and he respects himself enough to not get pushed around more than he can bear. He is very forgiving of Oh’Aew when they are together, but it comes to a point where he gives Oh up because he knows that Teh has a stronghold on him. 

If I made them a main pairing together, it would be one of those angsty but healing shows that digs in to the harsh realities of existing in a homophobic society, Archie’s internalized homophobia and grief, and how meeting someone like Bas helps him come into himself more. Archie gets love and support and Bas gets someone that won’t drop him every other day to run back to Teh. 

Asian QL Ask Game

[high-fantasy-sw]

Also!

When the clones go out to war on land, does their cavalry have any particular animal upon which they ride, or is it still mostly machinery?

What do the Kaminoans look like? The Weequayans? The Rodians? The Twi'leks? I take it they're all turned into humans, so -

Oh! Are those life-forms that can survive underwater like Kit Fisto now mer-creatures or selkie-like creatures? What of Plo Koon requiring a special mask - does that change as well?

And our beloved droids? Are they inanimate objects given life via magic or manufactured as normal?

Echo! How does he survive?

And the inhibitor chips - how are they translated here? Are they - gasp - are the rings-

The part-human beings like Pantorans and Mirialans, are they the same?

Okay, I think that's all for now, and I seem to have given you enough to handle, so until the next nagging doubt!

I RETURN. LORE PART 2 BE UPON YE

@whyoneartheven @majorproblems77 @anime-obsessed I am tagging you here too because I know you'll want to see this too. By the way I've been working on answering this for like. The past three weeks so I hope you all enjoy :D

Mounted Cavalry

Horses do actually exist here. Like you correctly guessed (somewhere, I think it's in the next ask I'm due to answer), the AU has a healthy mix of established Star Wars lore, other mythos sprinkled in, and real-world additions; horses happen to be one of those. However, in very sandy, snowy, or otherwise difficult terrain, other creatures (tauntauns, banthas, varactyls, et cetera) are used; these are mostly the same as their canon counterparts, just with a bit of a fantasy flourish to help them fit in better with the rest of the AU. There are also, in addition to sea-worthy warships, smaller, more agile vessels that can be transported into inland bodies of water for combat (especially on watery islands such as Naboo, which has a network of canals rather than streets, like Venice) and semi-mechanized transportation like chariots and carriages. (These examples are less military than the others but I felt the need to add them anyway, for the sake of completeness.)

Kaminoans

I'm going to be super honest here. The Kaminoans are one of the few peoples I barely changed. They seemed delightfully odd as they are, so most of the changes there are to their history. They have always been renowned for their advanced knowledge of alchemy, but for many centuries they were thought little more than a myth; legend has it that, in the infancy of the Old Republic, they dared to use their great knowledge to attempt to create life, and for their hubris their entire island was sunken into the sea. What is not known by the vast majority of the peoples of the Galactic Archipelago is that these legends are actually true, and rather than dying out, the Kaminoans began a new and hidden life under the waves (having used enchantments to place a protective barrier around what remains of their island and thus allow them to survive)- a life in which they perfected their craft, and passed this forbidden knowledge down through the generations, until they were discovered and called upon to create the Clone Army. (This is only marginally related, but one essential thing to learn about the world of HFSW is the difference between alchemy and magic proper; I am still working on fully explaining it, especially as it relates to the Clones, but the post you need to read can be found here.)

Alien Cultures (i lumped them all into one answer)

Weequayans: Weequayans are, yes, a human culture. This is what I did for the vast majority of near-human races, which has been amazing because I love cultural worldbuilding. I need to do a bit more deep-digging on them first but I am very excited to get into their culture and write about it :D

Rodians: I am going to be completely honest with you. I have not been able to figure out what to do with Rodians yet. And I assure you, I have been thinking about it. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Twi'leks: Twi'leks are a human culture, and what's distinguishing about them is their lekku headwraps. I haven't had the chance to go into it yet fully (and eventually I'm going to have an entire post dedicated to this), but essentially these are extraordinarily long strips of fabric, intricately hand-detailed, and tied about the head to give the appearance of the canonical lekku. They are often fastened with ornate pins or headbands or the like, and underneath, the hair is done up in elaborate braids.

Aquatic Races: So funny story, actually, this was one of the first questions I actually got an ask about. In short, you are correct; they're all merfolk of some kind, although the specific species do actually have variations (I'll link you to this post here for a more comprehensive overview; it contains some other worldbuilding things, the droid part of which is no longer canon to the AU. everything else is though). The Selkie idea though is NOT something I'd ever considered and I don't know WHY because it's super cool and I'm stealing it. Specifically for Nautolans, since we see Kit walking around and stuff in the Temple. I just haven't… decided what that item or thing would be yet though.

Kel Dor: Plo does still wear his helmet, but it's more of a cultural honor thing than a "he literally needs it to live" situation. Kel Dor helmets are passed down through the generations and serve as a tie to the past. (I haven't… written in detail about Kel Dor yet but trust me when I do I will be tagging you in that post. Actually I'm tagging you in all future posts. There is no escape muahahaha)

Near-Human Races: Yes, Mirialans and Pantorans and other near-human races are pretty much the same, obviously with new cultural traditions and stuff to make sense of their uniqueness. For example, Pantorans wear elaborate blue-and-gold body paint as a mark of status (because. they're blue), and it all has to be done by hand to actually count. Again, I haven't done a ton of exploring this yet, but again, I promise I'm getting to it and you are getting tagged.

Droids

OHOHOHOHO DROIDS. Okay so. We're gonna start at the beginning.

Most protocol droids are actually just regular people who have joined an elite corps of butlery (literally there's like. an academy they go to on some islet just off of coruscant), usually the children of less-fortunate families who want to try getting ahead in the world. They wear an elaborate and entirely ornamental suit of armor to denote their station, and any noble worth their wig has at least one protocol butler.

Threepio is slightly different from other Protocol droids. Hundreds of years before Anakin Skywalker was born, a Republic knight named Sir Anthony Threepio was stationed on the island of Tatooine with his platoon to deal with a band of pirates that had been terrorizing the surrounding waters. In a stroke of misfortune, he was killed- not by the pirates themselves, but in a freak accident- and became a ghost, obsessed with the fact that his death was preventable and completely neurotic as a result. Centuries later, he meets and befriends young Anakin down at the Mos Espa docks, and Anakin starts collecting armor out of the dumpster to give him a physical way to interact with the world again. In gratitude, Threepio settles down with the Skywalkers and attempts to assist them with their household, something they can't often attend to due to them being slaves.

Astromechs are subterranean creatures, master craftsmen, shipbuilders, and navigators, who are not well-adapted to sunlight and thus build themselves little self-contained cells so that they can travel to the surface and ply their trades safely. (It seems a bit contrived but you know what. I made it up.) They communicate through a series of tweets and bird-like vocalizations, though they understand Basic perfectly.

Battle Droids are necromanced skeletons. How the Trade Federation first got their hands on the undead during the Naboo Crisis is a question no one really knows the answer to, but by the time the Clone Wars break out the majority of Necromancy is being done by Count Dooku (secretly- to the public at least; the Jedi and at least Padme know all about it), General Grievous (the outward face of the undead army, and himself an undead lich warlord), and the Necro Union (the in-world equivalent of the Techno Union, they claim to the public that Necromancy isn't inherently evil and that the undead can have many benefits for society; in reality, they're more interested in supplying Dooku and Grievous with enough skeletal soldiers to keep their pockets comfortably lined, whether or not their means of obtaining said soldiers are ethical). In the beginning, most of the Clankers are reanimated from very very old skeletons- this is preferable, at least from the commanding standpoint, because they're so old that they have no recollection of who they were in life, and thus make perfect, mindless soldiers. However, their age also makes them more brittle, and in the early days of the war it's very easy for the Jedi and the Clone soldiers to plow through battalion after battalion of skeletons in a few hours. But as the war drags on, and the old skeletons are depleted, rumors begin to circulate that the Separatists are using fresher dead to stock their new armies. There are even whispers that some of the new soldiers might even be sourced from the corpses of fallen Clones. Whether or not this information is true or just baseless fearmongering is never fully revealed. However, this is a perfect segue into our next topic:

Echo, Post-Citadel

Echo shouldn't have survived the Citadel explosion. In fact, the Necro Union agents who found his body thought he hadn't. It wasn't until halfway though the ritual that they realized he was still alive. Their shock quickly turned to delight, however, when they realized they now had an unlimited source of Republic military strategy at their fingertips. Now, Echo's only half-necromanced. He's still alive, really; the only parts that had to be reanimated were his right arm, his lower legs, and his spine. And, in order that the Separatists could actually use the information he possessed, that arm of his? Is specially enchanted to give him access to necrotic abilities. After he's rescued… he has a lot of feelings about this. It's not just that something was taken from him, it's that he was turned into the very thing he'd spent literally his whole life training to fight. At least, in his mind. And the fact that he still sometimes has to use his necrotic powers to help his brothers (specifically thinking of Anaxes and various times in TBB here) REALLY twists his insides. Someday I'll write something more about this.

Oh, one more thing.

The Inhibitor Chips

evil_palpatine_cackle.mp3

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Happy 28th anniversary to Tomb Raider!

On the 25th of October, twenty eight years ago, the original Tomb Raider game was released and the world was introduced to the most successful woman to ever hit video games.

A British archaeologist and adventurer, Lara Croft became one of the most recognizable and influential characters in video game history. The original game was groundbreaking for its 3D graphics, which allowed players to explore vast, open environments, and for its mix of platforming, puzzle-solving, and combat. Players guided Lara as she explored ancient tombs, solved environmental puzzles, and battled both wildlife and human enemies in search of lost artifacts. The original game’s success led to a series of sequels, each expanding on the formula with new locations, enemies, and mechanics, though they largely followed the same structure of action-adventure gameplay.

Between 1997 and 2003, the series saw regular releases, with Core Design developing five mainline games. Tomb Raider II took the series to more varied locations, like Venice and Tibet, introducing new mechanics like vehicles. Tomb Raider III brought an expanded move set for Lara and more non-linear level design, while Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation focused heavily on Egyptian mythology, with a more dramatic story where Lara was presumed dead at the end. Tomb Raider: Chronicles followed, acting as a collection of flashback stories told by Lara's friends, after her supposed death. However, by this time, the series was beginning to show signs of fatigue, with critics citing repetitive gameplay and a lack of innovation.

In 2003, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was released as the sixth main entry and represented a major shift for the series. This game had a darker tone, with more complex storytelling, focusing on murder mystery and conspiracies involving ancient powers. It also introduced RPG-like elements, where players could upgrade Lara's abilities. Unfortunately, the game was plagued by development issues, rushed production, and clunky controls, leading to a poor reception from both critics and fans. This was a low point for the series, and Core Design was eventually removed from the franchise.

After the failure of The Angel of Darkness, development of the series was handed over to Crystal Dynamics, a different studio, which soft rebooted the series with Tomb Raider: Legend in 2006. This introduced a new perspective for Lara Croft and the series as a whole. The gameplay was more fluid, with modernized controls, better graphics, and a more cinematic approach to storytelling. Legend was well-received, breathing new life into the franchise. This success was followed by Tomb Raider: Anniversary in 2007, a remake of the original game, which reimagined the classic experience using modern technology and the gameplay mechanics introduced in Legend.

In 2008, Tomb Raider: Underworld was released as a direct sequel to Legend, continuing the story and building on the gameplay mechanics of its predecessors. This game featured more expansive environments, underwater exploration, and advanced platforming mechanics, while also concluding the trilogy that began with Legend. However, despite these improvements, the series was beginning to face stiff competition from other action-adventure games like Uncharted, and it became clear that Tomb Raider needed another significant overhaul to stay relevant.

This overhaul came in 2013, when Crystal Dynamics fully rebooted the franchise with Tomb Raider, a reimagining of Lara Croft’s origin story. The 2013 game was a gritty, survival-focused adventure that depicted a young, inexperienced Lara as she became the hardened explorer fans knew from the earlier games. The reboot was heavily inspired by modern action-adventure games, incorporating a more emotional and character-driven narrative, with Lara growing from a scared young woman into a resourceful survivor. The game featured more realistic graphics, fluid combat, and an open-world design that emphasized exploration and crafting. The reboot was a huge success, both commercially and critically, and is credited with revitalizing the series for a new generation.

Following the success of the 2013 reboot, Crystal Dynamics released Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015. This game expanded on the survival mechanics, exploration, and storytelling of the reboot, placing more emphasis on open-world exploration and crafting. Lara’s character development was deepened, as she now had to confront the legacy of her father’s obsession with immortality and lost secrets. Rise of the Tomb Raider was also praised for its stunning environments, ranging from the frozen wilderness of Siberia to ancient ruins hidden deep in forests.

In 2018, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was released as the final entry in the rebooted trilogy, developed by Eidos Montreal. This game explored darker themes, as Lara grappled with the consequences of her actions and faced the moral ambiguities of her quest for ancient relics. Set primarily in Central and South America, the game’s environments were rich with detail, and the puzzles were more intricate than in previous entries. While Shadow of the Tomb Raider was generally well-received, some critics noted that it didn’t innovate as much as its predecessors, though it still provided a satisfying conclusion to Lara’s character arc.

Beyond the mainline games, the Tomb Raider series has expanded into other media, including two film adaptations starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, released in 2001 and 2003. These films helped solidify Lara’s status as a pop culture icon, though they were met with mixed critical reception. A more recent film adaptation, released in 2018 and starring Alicia Vikander, was based on the 2013 game and attempted to reboot the film series with a more grounded take on the character. There have also been comic book series, novels, and animated series that expand on Lara Croft’s adventures.

Throughout its long history, the Tomb Raider series has been known for its evolution in gameplay, its combination of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat, and its focus on a strong, iconic female protagonist. The series has had its highs and lows, but it has remained a major force in the action-adventure genre, consistently influencing the direction of video games and maintaining a lasting legacy in popular culture.

With the Netflix series just out, the remasters of the last three CORE games on the horizon and the possibility of the LAU Trilogy following as well as a brand new game being currently in development, the future is looking bright for the series.

Over 100 million copies of the games have been sold worldwide.

[gemsofgreece]

Hello, could you tell us about Kalymnos and the history of weaving in Greece?

Hi! They are both broad topics, however I will do my best to summarize the most important and interesting information about them.

KALYMNOS

Kálymnos is an island which belongs in the Dodecanese, the southeasternmost islands of Greece. It is 26th in the list of the 50 largest Greek islands. It is the third most populous island of the Dodecanese.

Kalymnos was first inhabited by Carians and Phoenicians. By 1100 BC the island was inhabited by Dorian Greeks. Kalymnos participated in the Trojan War and Homer mentions it with the name Kalydnae. In the late Archaic period, Kalymnos was a democracy. For a time, it was captured by the Persians. When liberated again, Kalymnos remained an ally of Athens, however it did not meddle much with the Peloponnesian war. Like all the other regions of Greece, it fell under Roman rule and was a part of the Byzantine Empire in the middle ages. In the 13th and 14th centuries it came under the control of Venice and the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (Ιωαννίτες Ιππότες - Ioannites Ippotes in Greek) AKA the crusaders, just like most of the Dodecanese islands. The knights expanded and reinforced the original Byzantine fortress of the island which was there since the 10th century.

The ruins of the castle above the main town (Chora) of the island.

The Ottoman Turks attacked the island for about 80 years until they conquered it in 1522. Kalymnos was relatively privileged in the Ottoman Empire - islands were always more privileged compared to mainland Greek regions. In 1881, the Ottoman General Census found that the island had an overwhelming Greek majority (9,482 Greeks out of 9,716 overall population). In 1912, Italy conquered the island during the Italo-Turkish war and kept it until 1947, when, in the form of reparations after the Axis Occupation, Italy ceded the Dodecanese islands to Greece. The Dodecanese were the last region to get united with the Modern Greek state.

Kalymnos has a diverse, arid landscape. It is hilly and very rugged, while its coastline is very indented, forming numerous cliffs, caves and coves. This is why Kalymnos is an internationally popular rock climbing destination with more than 3,000 climbing routes. Kalymnos also has a small archipelagos of its own.

Kalymnos' economy is not based on agriculture, but rather tourism, traditional head scarf painting production and, most notably, sponge diving, which is the best known tradition of the island. Greece is the biggest exporter of natural sponges in the world, largely thanks to Kalymnian spongedivers and the island's seabed. Traditional sponge diving is extremely dangerous and potentially fatal and involves wearing a very heavy suit and holding your breath underwater for extended periods of time.

Artwork depicting the life of a Kalymnian spongediver © Francesco Zizola / NOOR

A folk song sang by Kalymnian sailors and divers has become popular around the world after French singer Dalida made a cover of it with romantic lyrics in 1970. The actual song however was sung by the ship's crew and it was meant to rouse a reaction from the spongediver so that if he struggled underwater, he would have the will to fight and manage to come to the water's surface. For example, the song makes references to the little joys of life, food, a comfortable sleep in a warm bed, sex, making a family, it mentions women (who could be real islanders the spongedivers were interested in), it mentions taking the City back (AKA Constantinople!), it mentions turning against the privileged lords of the island, it "threatens" the spongediver with unfairness ("you lads, I will give violets to you all, I will give two to each, but hey I am giving none to Yoryis (the spongediver)!"), it criticizes the spongediver's unresponsiveness (not pulling the rope) and implies his sister is with the crew, so anything that could potentially make a young man's blood flow and rouse a reaction from him and help him rise to the surface. I link the song below, performed by an actual crew from the island.

After the 60s a lot of Kalymnians emigrated to the USA and Australia, where they were usually employed in hard jobs, like constructing and painting bridges, used as they were in the demanding job of their island.

WEAVING IN GREECE

Weaving is a big, broad topic, especially because it was a well attested practice in Greece even in the Homeric Age. Therefore, and because the post is already long, I found some links that are very helpful and detailed and way more informative than whatever I would write here!

In this link here, there is a pdf about Byzantine weaving and textiles.

[apoptoses]

It’s #wipwednesday! And in an effort to practice some positive self-talk about creative projects, I’m going to share something I like about my excerpt. And if you participate I hope you say something positive about your own work too ♥

This whole fic has to do with pleasure, memory, and repression. It’s a follow up to Turn Away No More (yeah, the pit fic haha) exploring Armand’s new found body image while Daniel asks to do some of the things they tried in that fic again.

I like this bit because it plays with the idea of Armand recovering memories and being uncertain about what his body does and doesn’t know how to do (and whether what he ‘knows’ has been colored by what others have told him, like Marius). And really, I like that I put them in a new location. It’s so easy to stick to having them at home but they went out! They did stuff! And so putting them in a swimming pool felt like trying something new for me, and opened up an exciting door to being able to reflect an important moment from Armand’s youth.

Tagging (but no pressure!): @birdblacksocialclub, @uncivilcivilservice, @this-writer-needs-coffee

***

“Come on, aren’t you getting in?” Daniel asked, grinning. “Or are you chicken?”

Breaking into the rooftop swimming pool had been his idea. Overnight the city had gone from fall right back to summer, temperatures jumping back up high enough for Daniel to demand they leave the apartment and get one good swim in before the heat and humidity were gone for good.

Beyond the railing the city lights glowed, the Empire State Building unmistakable against the sky line, but all Armand had eyes for was the young man bobbing in the water. Daniel seemed to glow in the underwater lights. He looked so very mortal and alive, resting his forearms on the edge of the pool and floating there, wet hair pushed back from his eyes. Armand eyed him from his lounge chair.

“Chicken? Do I look like a bird, Daniel?” he asked, head cocked.

Daniel laughed. “No, I mean like- are you scared? It’s just a teasing thing, don’t worry about it,” he said, before Armand could ask what chickens have to do with fear. “You’ve been swimming before, right?”

Armand frowned even as he pulled his shirt over his head. He’d been in the sea once, drunk and entirely on accident. And then in his master’s bath. But beyond that- He stepped out of his trousers and draped them across the chair, and tried to pull up a memory, any old and muddled thing that would point to him having learned to swim in his youth. As he removed his rings one by one and left them in a pile he found that anything he came up with was so distant as to seem unreal.

As bare as Daniel was, he wandered over to the steps. Armand kept a hand on the metal rail and waded into the water. It was as warm as a bath, like the waters of his master’s great marble tub. Safe in the shallow end Armand ducked beneath the water and then quickly rose back out, tossing his wet hair back from his face.

“I don’t recall ever having been before. I don’t know that I know how to,” Armand said.

Daniel held out his hands. “Then come here. I won’t let you go.”

Armand stepped forward, feeling his way across the sloping bottom of the pool. When it dropped out from beneath his feet entirely, too deep to keep his face above the water, he kicked off. Extended his hands and, just before he felt uncertainty creep up into his chest, caught Daniel’s fingers in his own.

He’d been in the water alone long enough that his fingertips had begun to wrinkle, shriveled as the raisins Armand had eaten as a youth in Venice. Armand shivered at the sensation of Daniel’s hands running up his arms, reaching around to his back. In the water even an immortal like him was weightless. It was nothing for Daniel to guide him to tip onto his back so that he could hold him with one arm beneath his neck, the other hooked beneath his knees.

Armand released the breath he’d been holding. He looked up at the sky and let himself float.

There was a memory, something old and faded from his last moments as a mortal. Armand had been held like this in his master’s bath and told that now he must rise about the pleasures he’d so loved. As a youth he’d idolized his master. He’d believed every word he’d said, taken them as gospel truth.

And what for? To start himself back on the path of self denial? What had he learned as a newly turned immortal except not to cry, not to confide in anyone, not to take any pleasure of his own but to give and give and give until he had nothing left-

Well. No more of that.

[i-would-like-a-jelly-baby]

~ Fanfics I‘ll never write ~

Recently, I dreamt up this absolutely batshit crazy crossover between Doctor Who and Critical Role, I wish I had the time and energy to work into a proper story. Since I sadly have neither, I decided to at least write down a rough outline of what happened in that dream and start giving it some shape and context:

• in this AU, instead of Amelia Pond’s garden, a newly regenerated 11th Doctor crashes on the distant planet of Exandria, a world from the early dark times of the universe, where he meets a young Jester Lavorre who thinks he’s somehow related to the Traveler

• he has to rush away and promises he’ll be back, but the combination of a damaged Tardis and a destination planet wrapped in a strong “magical” field means that when he tries to come back for her, he instead lands 12 years later and not in Nicodranas but instead near a little town called Trostenwald

• still, fate seems to be involved in some way since he immediately runs into a grownup Jester who is currently travelling and fighting monsters alongside her newfound friends Fjord and Beau; they follow him into the Tardis and become his companions but after a few trips, he can feel the timelines bending and splintering around them, so he tries taking them back to where they came from

• now that he’s not actually aiming for it, they land in Nicodranas again, but a couple months after the day they left with him; there, they meet a small ragtag group of adventurers consisting of Molly, Yasha, Caleb & Nott who have claim to have met them before; every time they ran into one or more of them on the road, they would help them against some monsters or bandits, sometimes talk a bit but all in all behave very mysteriously before running off again; last time they appeared, just a few days ago, they just shoved a mysterious dodecahedron at them and told them to meet them in Nicodranas before disappearing again

• the Doctor desperately tries to fix the timelines and get the Mighty Nein back together while also dealing with a jealous Artagan (who Jester is trying to set him up with - neither of them are super enthusiastic about that) and also all of them discover a crack in time and space that has created an underwater portal to earth and the plot of Vampires of Venice happens simultaneously to the whole Sluice Weave/ freeing-the-enslaved-Marid business; at some point Beau, Yasha and Fjord get lost on the Venice side of the portal for a short time (-> it’s very awkward and also Uk‘otoa is now considering expanding his domain to other worlds once he gets freed…)

• everything kinda devolves into chaos from there; they take care of both situations and seal the portal but Jester and Beau want to continue travelling in the Tardis and Fjord doesn’t want to stay behind without them, so they keep jumping through time and space, occasionally running into the rest of the Mighty Nein again at various points in their timeline and making sure the important steps in their journey still happen in some way while also discovering other worlds and finding more mysterious cracks in time…

• now that’s where the dream ended, but if I ever were to turn this into a story, there would be so much potential for cute little minisodes and character moments: the Doctor and Artagan bickering but having to work together to help Jester while stranded somewhere; Caleb becoming obsessed once he discovers the Tardis and nagging the Doctor with questions upon questions while searching for a way to hijack it while the Doctor plays along but subtly foils him at every turn; Nott, at some point, coming along for a short trip to some space station and getting her hands on some futuristic weapon and everyone has to team up to get it off her again so she doesn’t accidentally alter the entire course of Exandrian history; Beau and Yasha meeting and falling in love out of order; Fjord, on a solo trip with the Doctor, going to the cursed Moon and immediately noping right out again (the others must never know…); . . .

I dunno if anyone‘s gonna be interested in this, but if someone is, please feel free to steal this idea!

[saiyan-angel-blue]

i had a thought 😏

im not a great writer and putting this out there and being a massive simp for LITA and KP BL series, imagine a reader story when rain gets kidnapped its far more serious than the show, with vegaspete coming instead of p'chai to help payu, imagine rain bleeding out on the floor with payu/venice screaming over him,........... you feel the hand touching yours, voices sounding like your underwater calling you, "rain baby please wake up rain" ...... my name is not rain..... twist you wake up in the body of rain, with payu over you, his pa pete behind him, both bloodshot teary eyes...... double twist realizing you a female bl fan now trapped in a male body in 2 of your fav bl universe's ....... SHIT........ let the fun begin..... any takers for a fan fic? who wouldnt want to be rain in that gif

[starrysymphonies]

SPIDER-MAN OC YEAHHH!!!!

This is Jamie O’Mally of Earth-527, AKA The Flooded World

Their universe is one where, in the future, global warming caused the earth to flood. They’re a climate activist, a librarian, and were bitten by a radioactive sea spider to become the superhero: Tidalweaver

Along with the usual Spider-Man powers, they also can swim incredibly fast underwater, breathe underwater through gills in their neck (which become visible when they’re underwater), and they have enhanced vision in the dark.

Along with that I thought it would be cool if all the villains were ocean themed!! The Vulture would become The Osprey, Green Goblin is Green Goblin Shark, Mysterio’s suit would be closer looking to those old diver suits, Doctor Octopus is…Doctor Octopus

I have an imagine of their world in my head where cities are floating on top of the water and anchored to the ground, and there’s mountains and other highly elevated places where older buildings are still standing. Personal boats have replaced a lot of cars, but neighborhoods and cities usually have walkways between them. Kinda reminiscent of Venice, Italy. It always feels like spring or summer in their world.

[hekateinhell]

What do you think Armand (as a vampire*) enjoys most about the beach? What does he like the least?

*I had to clarify because the mermaid Armand from your fic would probably have very different answers. 😂

Oh, I love this question! Off the bat, I would say his favorite thing about the beach is the water.

I'm neurotic enough that I thought about this before several years ago when I first read VC. My pattern orientated brain just hyperfixated over Armand & The Water. Whether by choice or force, Armand has spent the largest and most significant chucks of his life by some body of water!

He was born by the Dnieper River in Ukraine, spent his years with Marius in Venice over the Adriatic Sea, and then lived in Paris for three hundred years. Les Innocents--or the Holy Innocents Cemetery as it was actually called in real life--is right by the Seine River, and there's also the grand Fontaine des Innocents which still exists today!

Look at it, imagine Armand in the dark trying to brood and not enjoy anything every time he happened upon this hedonistic thing.

After Paris, he travelled around the world with Louis--all the countries mentioned in IWTV are by a sea or an ocean. Then they lived in Manhattan for a long time (an island surrounded by the Hudson, Harlem, and East Rivers). From there was the four decades watching over Lestat's living grave in New Orleans by the Mississippi River. Then when he settles with Daniel, it's Manhattan again, and of course... Night Island on the Gulf of Mexico. And finally, he ends up back in Manhattan in Trinity Gate.

All that to say, I don't think it's a coincidence that Armand chooses to live near water whenever he can. Furthermore, he tells us what he did love about the water as a brand new baby vampire in TVA!

What astonished me now was that I could see beneath the water! There was enough life for my vampiric eyes to see the huge anchors lodged in the mushy bottom of the lagoon, and to see the curved bottoms of the galleys. It was an entire underwater universe. I wanted to explore it further, but I heard my Master's voice - not a telepathic voice, as we would call it now, but his audible voice - calling me very softly to return to the piazza where he waited for me.

And right before that:

I floated under the sky for a while, until all the pain was gone from me.

I've thought a lot about Armand and his sensory overstimulation (entirely separate meta), and I definitely headcanon that sometimes he likes to go to the beach and go out into the water and float aimlessly for a bit when he needs a break. In my head it's sort of like a sensory deprivation tank, but of course there's more going on in the water (more beauty too).

Mask off, me being an absolute fucking NERD: Armand has always been my Water element, Louis my Fire (too easy, much too easy), and Lestat my Wind. 🥹

What does Armand like the least about the beach? Sand. It's too close to dirt, and I don't think he likes to be dirty; he had nightmares about dirt and dirt being under his fingers when he was in Venice (not to mention the trauma associated with being underground for him). I don't think it's like a pathological aversion or anything, but I do think that would be his least favorite thing here!

[sebeth]

Who's Who In The DC Universe #1: Aqualad, Aquagirl, & Aquaman

Aqualad & Aquagirl by George Perez

Garth belonged to a group of Atlanteans called the Idylists – a society of pacifists who lived in an underwater valley far from the city of their birth.

The Idylists were ruled by King Thar and Queen Berra. Everything was great until Thar went insane, assembled a military force, and attempted to conquer Atlantis.

The Idylists revolted, killed Thar, and banished a pregnant Berra. How was this poor Berra’s fault.

Berra gave birth to Garth, who suffered a bizarre mutation known only to Atlanteans – purple eyes. Garth was exiled from Atlantis as his purple eyes made him inferior.

Little is known of Garth’s early life until he was found by Aquaman, who became Garth’s friend and mentor.

Garth became a founding member of the Teen Titans and soon met Tula (Aquagirl) who he fell in love with.

Tula was orphaned at birth but found her way into the royal family of Atlantis. She was schooled in Atlantean ways and remained secluded in the Royal family.

Tula met Garth, fell in love, and occasionally joined Garth on a Teen Titans mission.

Atlantis was briefly ruled by Narkran while Aquaman searched for a missing Mera. Tula led a rebellion against the dictator.

I’ve always loved Garth. Quiet, shy, gentle. And his Silver Age catchphrases are hilarious. This entry is pre-Crisis so Garth hasn’t received his power-up yet but said power-up shoots Garth up into the upper levels of the Titans when it comes to sheer power. Garth remains a member of the Titans and makes recurring appearances in the various Aquaman titles. Garth has made appearances in the Teen Titans and Young Justice cartoons.

Tula didn’t have many appearances but managed to be stuffed into a fridge – twice! Tula died in the Crisis of Infinite Earths. She was among the hundreds of deaths in the first Crisis but the only after-effect of her death was Garth’s intense mourning. Tula made appearances in the Young Justice cartoon and video game where she was fridged once more to cause Garth and Khaldur serious man pain. I’m not sure if Tula has made an appearance in the post-Crisis ere (possibly in Blackest Night?) but if she does return to the comic book world we will need to set up a prayer circle to prevent a third trip to the fridge.

Aquaman by Chuck Patton & Dick Giordano

Tom Curry, professional lightkeeper, rescued a woman named Atlanna from a hurricane.

The duo fell in love and Atlanna gave birth to a boy named Arthur.

As a child, Arthur discovered he could breathe underwater and communicate with sealife.

Atlanna died when Arthur was six years old. On her deathbed, Atlanna told Arthur she was an outcast from Atlantis.

Several years later, Tom passed away and Arthur became an orphan of the deep.

In his early 20s, Arthur, now called Aquaman, met Garth aka Aqualad.

Atlantis called upon Aquaman to help them defeat an alien invasion and later named Arthur their ambassador to the surface world.

Aquaman would marry Mera, the queen of an interdimensional water world.

King Juvor died and Arthur was proclaimed King Of Atlantis.

Mera gave birth to Arthur Jr, who exhibited her ability to manipulate water.

The Shark deposed Arthur and forced the family to relocate. Aquaman defeated the Shark and was offered the Atlantean throne but he turned it down.

Black Manta killed Arthur Jr.

After his son’s death, Arthur and Mera moved to New Venice, a submerged East Coast city.

Even those with limited comic book knowledge know of Aquaman. Namor the Sub-Mariner was the first Atlantean hybrid hero as he predates Aquaman by a few years but Aquaman is more well-known among non-comic book fans.

Arthur is the first hero to have their child murdered. If the death of Gwen Stacy was the end of the Silver Age at Marvel then Arthur Jr.’s death signalled the end at DC.

Arthur would receive revisions to his origin and powers in the post-Crisis era. Arthur and Mera would have many ups and downs in the post-Crisis era but are back to being a powerhouse couple.

Aquaman has had multiple solo titles and was a founding member of the Justice League. He has featured heavily in the various eras of the League – Silver Age, Detroit, Morrison, etc. He has had two solo live action films, appeared in the Justice League live action film, and made numerous appearances in DC’s animated series: Superfriends, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Superman: The Animated Series, and the various animated Justice League movies. He also featured in an early Cartoon Network Adult Swim tv ad: Aquaman would wander into a random area, say “oh yeah”, and start dancing.