the enemy


                    
                    
                

                

                

            

        
    







            

            
            

                

                    
                

                

                    

                        


	

	
    
        

            

                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        Out Of
        

            
            Out Of
        

    

    

         
Out Of

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        Was
        

            
            Was
        

    

    

         
Was

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        —˜
        

            
            —˜
        

    

    

         
—˜

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        Gamerly
        

            
            Gamerly
        

    

    

         
Gamerly

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        Massacreing
        

            
            Massacreing
        

    

    

         
Massacreing

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        When The
        

            
            When The
        

    

    

         
When The

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        The
        

            
            The
        

    

    

         
The

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        Not
        

            
            Not
        

    

    

         
Not

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        But
        

            
            But
        

    

    

         
But

    



                
                    
                    
                    
                    

    

        When
        

            
            When
        

    

    

         
When

    



                
            

        

    
    

        🔥 | Latest
    

    
    

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: inquisitorhotpants:

burntcopper:

futureevilscientist:

optimysticals:

uovoc:

konec0:

sleepyferret:

shitfacedanon:

dat-soldier:

sonnetscrewdriver:

dat-soldier:

did-you-kno:

Source


back the fuck up


There’s another story that I like about a Chinese general who had to defend a city with only a handful of soldiers from a huge enemy horde that was in all likelihood going to steamroll the place flat within hours of showing up.
So when said horde did arrive, they saw the general sitting outside the city’s open gates, drinking tea. The horde sent a couple of emissaries over to see what was what, and the general greeted them cheerfully and invited them all to come and take tea with him.
The horde decided that this was a scenario that had “MASSIVE FUCKING TRAP” written all over it in beautiful calligraphy and promptly fucked off.
Whoever that general was, he was clearly the Ancient Chinese equivalent of Sam Vimes.


did he just invite us over for tea nah man i’m out


This just keeps getting better

I fucking love history.

ok but tbh that story misses a lot of the subtlety of the situation like ok
so this story is the Romance of Three Kingdoms, and essentially takes place between Zhuge Liang, resident tactician extraordinaire, and Sima Yi… OTHER resident tactician extraordinaire.
The two were both regarded as tactical geniuses and recognized the other as their rival. Zhuge Liang had a reputation for ambushing the SHIT out of his opponents and using the environment to his advantage, thus destroying large armies with a small number of men. Sima Yi (who kind of entered the picture later) was a cautious person whose speciality was unravelling his opponent’s plans before they began. So it was natural that the two would butt heads; however, since Sima Yi tended to have more men and resources, he started winning battles against the former. Which, y’know, kinda sucked.
On to the actual story: Zhuge Liang is all like “shit i gotta defend this city with like 10 men.” Literally if he fights ANY kind of battle here, he WILL lose; his only option for survival is not to fight. And that’s looking more and more impossible until he hears that his rival is leading the opposing army. And then he gets this brilliant idea. He basically opens all the gates, sends his men out in civilian clothes to sweep the streets, and sits on top of the gate drinking tea and chilling out and basically makes the whole thing out to be a trap
When Sima Yi comes he’s all like “yo come on in bro”
and Sima Yi is like “yeah he’s never been that obvious about his traps before. this is definitely a bluff” and he’s about to head in when he realizes
wait. he knows that i think he’s bluffing.
and so he gets it in his head that maybe, just MAYBE, Zhuge Liang has this cunning plan that will wipe out his army - recall that he has a pretty good handle on what his rival is capable of. And after a long period of deliberation (which is just like “he know that I know that he knows that etc.”), being the cautious man he is, SIma Yi eventually decides to turn his entire army around and leave.
Zhuge Liang later points out that the plan was based specifically on the fact that he was facing his rival; if it had been anyone else, there’s no way it would have worked. A dumber or less cautious person would have simply charged in and won without breaking a sweat. 
and that’s the real genius here: it was a plan formed entirely just to deceive one man, and it worked.

Zhuge Liang is the most brilliant, sneaky-ass bastard in history. One time his side’s army was out of arrows, which pretty much meant they were screwed. So Zhuge Liang goes and does the logical thing, which is build a fuck ton of scarecrows and put them all on boats. Then he makes the men hide in the boats and sail them out on the river.
Well, that day was super foggy (which Zhuge Liang had predicted. Did I mention he was also a freakishly accurate meteorologist?). So the enemy across the river sees a fleet of boats armed to the teeth with what appears to be half an army of men. They panic! and start firing arrows like crazy. 
Zhuge Liang lets this play out for a while, then he’s like, ”Ok guys that’s enough.” They calmly turn the boats around and go back to base, where they dismantle the scarecrows and pull out all the enemy’s arrows.
Zhuge Liang is legend.

I love this post. It just keeps getting better. Like seriously, I would have adored learning about this in World History.

If you want to see this in cinematic glory, watch Red Cliff.
Especially since it makes Zhuge Liang look like this:
Red Cliff is 50% bloody battles and 50% eye candy and about half of that eye-candy is due to Zhuge Liang

I fully support watching Red Cliff; it’s gloriously silly entertainment during the battle scenes.

Guess what just got moved to the top of my watch list?? :D

    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: inquisitorhotpants:

burntcopper:

futureevilscientist:

optimysticals:

uovoc:

konec0:

sleepyferret:

shitfacedanon:

dat-soldier:

sonnetscrewdriver:

dat-soldier:

did-you-kno:

Source


back the fuck up


There’s another story that I like about a Chinese general who had to defend a city with only a handful of soldiers from a huge enemy horde that was in all likelihood going to steamroll the place flat within hours of showing up.
So when said horde did arrive, they saw the general sitting outside the city’s open gates, drinking tea. The horde sent a couple of emissaries over to see what was what, and the general greeted them cheerfully and invited them all to come and take tea with him.
The horde decided that this was a scenario that had “MASSIVE FUCKING TRAP” written all over it in beautiful calligraphy and promptly fucked off.
Whoever that general was, he was clearly the Ancient Chinese equivalent of Sam Vimes.


did he just invite us over for tea nah man i’m out


This just keeps getting better

I fucking love history.

ok but tbh that story misses a lot of the subtlety of the situation like ok
so this story is the Romance of Three Kingdoms, and essentially takes place between Zhuge Liang, resident tactician extraordinaire, and Sima Yi… OTHER resident tactician extraordinaire.
The two were both regarded as tactical geniuses and recognized the other as their rival. Zhuge Liang had a reputation for ambushing the SHIT out of his opponents and using the environment to his advantage, thus destroying large armies with a small number of men. Sima Yi (who kind of entered the picture later) was a cautious person whose speciality was unravelling his opponent’s plans before they began. So it was natural that the two would butt heads; however, since Sima Yi tended to have more men and resources, he started winning battles against the former. Which, y’know, kinda sucked.
On to the actual story: Zhuge Liang is all like “shit i gotta defend this city with like 10 men.” Literally if he fights ANY kind of battle here, he WILL lose; his only option for survival is not to fight. And that’s looking more and more impossible until he hears that his rival is leading the opposing army. And then he gets this brilliant idea. He basically opens all the gates, sends his men out in civilian clothes to sweep the streets, and sits on top of the gate drinking tea and chilling out and basically makes the whole thing out to be a trap
When Sima Yi comes he’s all like “yo come on in bro”
and Sima Yi is like “yeah he’s never been that obvious about his traps before. this is definitely a bluff” and he’s about to head in when he realizes
wait. he knows that i think he’s bluffing.
and so he gets it in his head that maybe, just MAYBE, Zhuge Liang has this cunning plan that will wipe out his army - recall that he has a pretty good handle on what his rival is capable of. And after a long period of deliberation (which is just like “he know that I know that he knows that etc.”), being the cautious man he is, SIma Yi eventually decides to turn his entire army around and leave.
Zhuge Liang later points out that the plan was based specifically on the fact that he was facing his rival; if it had been anyone else, there’s no way it would have worked. A dumber or less cautious person would have simply charged in and won without breaking a sweat. 
and that’s the real genius here: it was a plan formed entirely just to deceive one man, and it worked.

Zhuge Liang is the most brilliant, sneaky-ass bastard in history. One time his side’s army was out of arrows, which pretty much meant they were screwed. So Zhuge Liang goes and does the logical thing, which is build a fuck ton of scarecrows and put them all on boats. Then he makes the men hide in the boats and sail them out on the river.
Well, that day was super foggy (which Zhuge Liang had predicted. Did I mention he was also a freakishly accurate meteorologist?). So the enemy across the river sees a fleet of boats armed to the teeth with what appears to be half an army of men. They panic! and start firing arrows like crazy. 
Zhuge Liang lets this play out for a while, then he’s like, ”Ok guys that’s enough.” They calmly turn the boats around and go back to base, where they dismantle the scarecrows and pull out all the enemy’s arrows.
Zhuge Liang is legend.

I love this post. It just keeps getting better. Like seriously, I would have adored learning about this in World History.

If you want to see this in cinematic glory, watch Red Cliff.
Especially since it makes Zhuge Liang look like this:
Red Cliff is 50% bloody battles and 50% eye candy and about half of that eye-candy is due to Zhuge Liang

I fully support watching Red Cliff; it’s gloriously silly entertainment during the battle scenes.

Guess what just got moved to the top of my watch list?? :D

                
            

            
            
inquisitorhotpants:

burntcopper:

futureevilscientist:

optimysticals:

uovoc:

konec0:

sleepyferret:

shitfacedanon:

dat-soldier:

so...

            
            
        

    



            

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: cereusblue:
unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
This is how the golden age of piracy ended.
The first mermaid to get tattoos :)


“we didn’t know any better,” the crewman says, and swallows, presenting the chest to the captain. “what do we do now?”
“kill it,” the captain says, but the ice is melting in his eyes.
“we can’t,” the first mate says desperately, praying she won’t have to fight her captain on this. “we can’t. we - i won’t. we won’t.”
“i know.”
x
“daddy,” she says, floating in a tub of seawater in the hold, “daddy, la-la, la-la-la.”
her voice rings like bells. her accent is strange; her mouth isn’t made for human words. it mesmerises even the hardiest amongst them and she wasn’t even trying. the crew has taken to diving for shellfish near the shorelines for her; she loves them, splitting the shells apart with strength seen in no human toddler, slurping down the slimy molluscs inside and laughing, all plump brown cheeks and needle-sharp teeth. she sometimes splashes them for fun with her smooth, rubbery brown tail. even when they get soaked they laugh. they love her.
“daddy,” she calls again, and he can hear the worry in her voice. the storm rocking the ship is harsh and uncaring, and if they go down, she would be the only survivor.
“don’t worry,” he says, and goes over, sitting next to the tub. the first mate, leaning against the wall, pretends not to notice as he quietly begins to sing.
x
“father,” she says, one day, as she leans on the edge of the dock and the captain sits next to her, “why am I here?”
“your mother abandoned you,” he says, as he always has. “we found you adrift, and couldn’t bear to leave you there.”
she picks at the salt-soaked boards, uncertain. her hair is pulled back in a fluffy black puff, the white linen holding it slipping almost over one of her dark eyes. one of her first tattoos, a many-limbed kraken, curls over her right shoulder and down her arm, delicate tendrils wrapped around her calloused fingertips. “alright,” she says.
x
“why am I really here?” she asks the first mate, watching the sun set over the water in streaks of liquid metal that pooled in the troughs of the waves and glittered on the seafoam.
“we didn’t know any better,” the first mate says, staring into the water. “we didn’t know- we didn’t know anything. we didn’t understand why she fought so viciously to guard her treasure. we could not know she protected something a thousand times more precious than the purest gold.”
she wants to be furious, but she can’t. she already knew the answer, from reading the guilt in her father’s eyes and the empty space in her own history. and she can’t hate her family.
“it’s alright,” she says. “i do have a family, anyways. i don’t think i would have liked my other life near as much.”
x
her kraken grows, spreading its tendrils over her torso and arms. she grows too, too large to come on board the ship without being hauled up in a boat from the water. she sings when the storms come and swims before the ship to guide it to safety. she fights off more than one beast of the seas, and gathers a set of scars across her back that she bears with pride. “i don’t mind,” she says, when the captain fusses over her, “now i match all of you.”
the first time their ship is threatened, really threatened, is by another fleet. a friend turned enemy of the first mate. “we shouldn’t fight him,” she says, peering through the spyglass.
“why not?” the mermaid asks.
“he’ll win,” the first mate says.
the mermaid tips her head sideways. Her eyes, dark as the deep waters, gleam in the noon light. “are you sure?” she asks.
x
the enemy fleet surrenders after the flagship is sunk in the night, the anchor ripped off the ship and the planks torn off the hull. the surviving crew, wild-eyed and delirious, whimper and say a sea serpent came from the water and attacked them, say it was longer than the boat and crushed it in its coils. the first mate hears this and has to hide her laughter. the captain apologizes to his daughter for doubting her.
“don’t worry,” she says, with a bright laugh, “it was fun.”
x
the second time, they are pushed by a storm into a royal fleet. they can’t possibly fight them, and they don’t have the time to escape.
“let me up,” the mermaid urges, surfacing starboard and shouting to the crew. “bring me up, quickly, quickly.”
they lower the boat and she piles her sinous form into it, and uses her claws to help the crew pull her up. once on the deck she flops out of the boat and makes her way over to the bow. the crew tries to help but she’s so heavy they can barely lift parts of her.
she crawls up out in front of the rail and wraps her long webbed tail around the prow. the figurehead has served them well so far but they need more right now. she wraps herself around the figurehead and raises her body up into the wind takes a breath of the stinging salt air and sings.
the storm carries her voice on its front to the royal navy. they are enchanted, so stunned by her song that they drop the rigging ropes and let the tillers drift. the pirates sail through the center of the fleet, trailing the storm behind them, and by the time the fleet has managed to regain its senses they are buried in wind and rain and the pirates are gone.
x
she declines guns. instead she carries a harpoon and its launcher, and uses them to board enemy ships, hauling her massive form out of the water to coil on the deck and dispatch enemies with ruthless efficiency. her family is feared across all the sea.
x
“you know we are dying,” the captain says, looking down at her.
she floats next to the ship, so massive she could hold it in her arms. her eyes are wise.
“i know,” she says, “i can feel it coming.”
the first mate stands next to the captain. she never had a lover or a child, and neither did he, but to the mermaid they are her parents. she will always love her daughter. the tattoos are graven in dark swirls across the mermaid’s deep brown skin and the flesh of her tail, even spiraling onto the spiked webbing on her spine and face. her hair is still tied back, this time with a sail that could not be patched one last time. 
“we love you,” the first mate says simply, looking down. her own tightly coiled black hair falls in to her face; she shakes the locs out of the way and smiles through her tears. the captain pretends he isnt crying either.
“i love you too,” the mermaid says, and reached up to pull the ship down just a bit, just to hold them one last time.
“guard the ship,” the captain says. “you always have but you know they’re lost without you.”
“without you,” the mermaid corrects, with a shrug that makes waves. “what will we do?”
“i don’t know,” the captain says. “but you’ll help them, won’t you?”
“of course i will,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “i will always protect my family.”
x
the captain and the first mate are gone. the ship has a new captain, young and fearless - of the things she can afford to disregard. she fears and loves the ocean, as all captains do. she does not fear the royal fleet. and she does not fear the mermaid.
“you know, i heard stories about you when i was a little girl,” she says, trailing her fingers in the water next to the dock.
the mermaid stares at her with one eye the size of a dinner table. “is that so?” she hums, smirking with teeth sharper than the swords of the entire navy.
“they said you could sink an entire fleet and that you had skin tougher than dragon scales,” the new captain says, grinning right back at the monster who could eat her without a moment’s hesitation. “i always thought they were telling tall tales.”
“and now?”
“they were right,” the new captain says. “how did they ever befriend you?”
the mermaid smiles, fully this time, her dark eyes gleaming under the white linen sail. “they didn’t know any better.”

She protects her family.

Hi everybody! Guess what’s being posted on AO3 now at the following link!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498384/chapters/53760817
That’s right! Here you go. I’ll be uploading it in some chunks, because I want to make sure I have everything I wanted edited cleanly finished, but follow the story there!




HEY GUYS GUESS WHATS BACK ON THE DASHBOARD AND BETTER THAN EVER

    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: cereusblue:
unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
This is how the golden age of piracy ended.
The first mermaid to get tattoos :)


“we didn’t know any better,” the crewman says, and swallows, presenting the chest to the captain. “what do we do now?”
“kill it,” the captain says, but the ice is melting in his eyes.
“we can’t,” the first mate says desperately, praying she won’t have to fight her captain on this. “we can’t. we - i won’t. we won’t.”
“i know.”
x
“daddy,” she says, floating in a tub of seawater in the hold, “daddy, la-la, la-la-la.”
her voice rings like bells. her accent is strange; her mouth isn’t made for human words. it mesmerises even the hardiest amongst them and she wasn’t even trying. the crew has taken to diving for shellfish near the shorelines for her; she loves them, splitting the shells apart with strength seen in no human toddler, slurping down the slimy molluscs inside and laughing, all plump brown cheeks and needle-sharp teeth. she sometimes splashes them for fun with her smooth, rubbery brown tail. even when they get soaked they laugh. they love her.
“daddy,” she calls again, and he can hear the worry in her voice. the storm rocking the ship is harsh and uncaring, and if they go down, she would be the only survivor.
“don’t worry,” he says, and goes over, sitting next to the tub. the first mate, leaning against the wall, pretends not to notice as he quietly begins to sing.
x
“father,” she says, one day, as she leans on the edge of the dock and the captain sits next to her, “why am I here?”
“your mother abandoned you,” he says, as he always has. “we found you adrift, and couldn’t bear to leave you there.”
she picks at the salt-soaked boards, uncertain. her hair is pulled back in a fluffy black puff, the white linen holding it slipping almost over one of her dark eyes. one of her first tattoos, a many-limbed kraken, curls over her right shoulder and down her arm, delicate tendrils wrapped around her calloused fingertips. “alright,” she says.
x
“why am I really here?” she asks the first mate, watching the sun set over the water in streaks of liquid metal that pooled in the troughs of the waves and glittered on the seafoam.
“we didn’t know any better,” the first mate says, staring into the water. “we didn’t know- we didn’t know anything. we didn’t understand why she fought so viciously to guard her treasure. we could not know she protected something a thousand times more precious than the purest gold.”
she wants to be furious, but she can’t. she already knew the answer, from reading the guilt in her father’s eyes and the empty space in her own history. and she can’t hate her family.
“it’s alright,” she says. “i do have a family, anyways. i don’t think i would have liked my other life near as much.”
x
her kraken grows, spreading its tendrils over her torso and arms. she grows too, too large to come on board the ship without being hauled up in a boat from the water. she sings when the storms come and swims before the ship to guide it to safety. she fights off more than one beast of the seas, and gathers a set of scars across her back that she bears with pride. “i don’t mind,” she says, when the captain fusses over her, “now i match all of you.”
the first time their ship is threatened, really threatened, is by another fleet. a friend turned enemy of the first mate. “we shouldn’t fight him,” she says, peering through the spyglass.
“why not?” the mermaid asks.
“he’ll win,” the first mate says.
the mermaid tips her head sideways. Her eyes, dark as the deep waters, gleam in the noon light. “are you sure?” she asks.
x
the enemy fleet surrenders after the flagship is sunk in the night, the anchor ripped off the ship and the planks torn off the hull. the surviving crew, wild-eyed and delirious, whimper and say a sea serpent came from the water and attacked them, say it was longer than the boat and crushed it in its coils. the first mate hears this and has to hide her laughter. the captain apologizes to his daughter for doubting her.
“don’t worry,” she says, with a bright laugh, “it was fun.”
x
the second time, they are pushed by a storm into a royal fleet. they can’t possibly fight them, and they don’t have the time to escape.
“let me up,” the mermaid urges, surfacing starboard and shouting to the crew. “bring me up, quickly, quickly.”
they lower the boat and she piles her sinous form into it, and uses her claws to help the crew pull her up. once on the deck she flops out of the boat and makes her way over to the bow. the crew tries to help but she’s so heavy they can barely lift parts of her.
she crawls up out in front of the rail and wraps her long webbed tail around the prow. the figurehead has served them well so far but they need more right now. she wraps herself around the figurehead and raises her body up into the wind takes a breath of the stinging salt air and sings.
the storm carries her voice on its front to the royal navy. they are enchanted, so stunned by her song that they drop the rigging ropes and let the tillers drift. the pirates sail through the center of the fleet, trailing the storm behind them, and by the time the fleet has managed to regain its senses they are buried in wind and rain and the pirates are gone.
x
she declines guns. instead she carries a harpoon and its launcher, and uses them to board enemy ships, hauling her massive form out of the water to coil on the deck and dispatch enemies with ruthless efficiency. her family is feared across all the sea.
x
“you know we are dying,” the captain says, looking down at her.
she floats next to the ship, so massive she could hold it in her arms. her eyes are wise.
“i know,” she says, “i can feel it coming.”
the first mate stands next to the captain. she never had a lover or a child, and neither did he, but to the mermaid they are her parents. she will always love her daughter. the tattoos are graven in dark swirls across the mermaid’s deep brown skin and the flesh of her tail, even spiraling onto the spiked webbing on her spine and face. her hair is still tied back, this time with a sail that could not be patched one last time. 
“we love you,” the first mate says simply, looking down. her own tightly coiled black hair falls in to her face; she shakes the locs out of the way and smiles through her tears. the captain pretends he isnt crying either.
“i love you too,” the mermaid says, and reached up to pull the ship down just a bit, just to hold them one last time.
“guard the ship,” the captain says. “you always have but you know they’re lost without you.”
“without you,” the mermaid corrects, with a shrug that makes waves. “what will we do?”
“i don’t know,” the captain says. “but you’ll help them, won’t you?”
“of course i will,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “i will always protect my family.”
x
the captain and the first mate are gone. the ship has a new captain, young and fearless - of the things she can afford to disregard. she fears and loves the ocean, as all captains do. she does not fear the royal fleet. and she does not fear the mermaid.
“you know, i heard stories about you when i was a little girl,” she says, trailing her fingers in the water next to the dock.
the mermaid stares at her with one eye the size of a dinner table. “is that so?” she hums, smirking with teeth sharper than the swords of the entire navy.
“they said you could sink an entire fleet and that you had skin tougher than dragon scales,” the new captain says, grinning right back at the monster who could eat her without a moment’s hesitation. “i always thought they were telling tall tales.”
“and now?”
“they were right,” the new captain says. “how did they ever befriend you?”
the mermaid smiles, fully this time, her dark eyes gleaming under the white linen sail. “they didn’t know any better.”

She protects her family.

Hi everybody! Guess what’s being posted on AO3 now at the following link!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498384/chapters/53760817
That’s right! Here you go. I’ll be uploading it in some chunks, because I want to make sure I have everything I wanted edited cleanly finished, but follow the story there!




HEY GUYS GUESS WHATS BACK ON THE DASHBOARD AND BETTER THAN EVER

                
            

            
            
cereusblue:
unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
This is how the g...

            
            
        

    



            

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: ironwoman359:
cereusblue:

unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
This is how the golden age of piracy ended.
The first mermaid to get tattoos :)


“we didn’t know any better,” the crewman says, and swallows, presenting the chest to the captain. “what do we do now?”
“kill it,” the captain says, but the ice is melting in his eyes.
“we can’t,” the first mate says desperately, praying she won’t have to fight her captain on this. “we can’t. we - i won’t. we won’t.”
“i know.”
x
“daddy,” she says, floating in a tub of seawater in the hold, “daddy, la-la, la-la-la.”
her voice rings like bells. her accent is strange; her mouth isn’t made for human words. it mesmerises even the hardiest amongst them and she wasn’t even trying. the crew has taken to diving for shellfish near the shorelines for her; she loves them, splitting the shells apart with strength seen in no human toddler, slurping down the slimy molluscs inside and laughing, all plump brown cheeks and needle-sharp teeth. she sometimes splashes them for fun with her smooth, rubbery brown tail. even when they get soaked they laugh. they love her.
“daddy,” she calls again, and he can hear the worry in her voice. the storm rocking the ship is harsh and uncaring, and if they go down, she would be the only survivor.
“don’t worry,” he says, and goes over, sitting next to the tub. the first mate, leaning against the wall, pretends not to notice as he quietly begins to sing.
x
“father,” she says, one day, as she leans on the edge of the dock and the captain sits next to her, “why am I here?”
“your mother abandoned you,” he says, as he always has. “we found you adrift, and couldn’t bear to leave you there.”
she picks at the salt-soaked boards, uncertain. her hair is pulled back in a fluffy black puff, the white linen holding it slipping almost over one of her dark eyes. one of her first tattoos, a many-limbed kraken, curls over her right shoulder and down her arm, delicate tendrils wrapped around her calloused fingertips. “alright,” she says.
x
“why am I really here?” she asks the first mate, watching the sun set over the water in streaks of liquid metal that pooled in the troughs of the waves and glittered on the seafoam.
“we didn’t know any better,” the first mate says, staring into the water. “we didn’t know- we didn’t know anything. we didn’t understand why she fought so viciously to guard her treasure. we could not know she protected something a thousand times more precious than the purest gold.”
she wants to be furious, but she can’t. she already knew the answer, from reading the guilt in her father’s eyes and the empty space in her own history. and she can’t hate her family.
“it’s alright,” she says. “i do have a family, anyways. i don’t think i would have liked my other life near as much.”
x
her kraken grows, spreading its tendrils over her torso and arms. she grows too, too large to come on board the ship without being hauled up in a boat from the water. she sings when the storms come and swims before the ship to guide it to safety. she fights off more than one beast of the seas, and gathers a set of scars across her back that she bears with pride. “i don’t mind,” she says, when the captain fusses over her, “now i match all of you.”
the first time their ship is threatened, really threatened, is by another fleet. a friend turned enemy of the first mate. “we shouldn’t fight him,” she says, peering through the spyglass.
“why not?” the mermaid asks.
“he’ll win,” the first mate says.
the mermaid tips her head sideways. Her eyes, dark as the deep waters, gleam in the noon light. “are you sure?” she asks.
x
the enemy fleet surrenders after the flagship is sunk in the night, the anchor ripped off the ship and the planks torn off the hull. the surviving crew, wild-eyed and delirious, whimper and say a sea serpent came from the water and attacked them, say it was longer than the boat and crushed it in its coils. the first mate hears this and has to hide her laughter. the captain apologizes to his daughter for doubting her.
“don’t worry,” she says, with a bright laugh, “it was fun.”
x
the second time, they are pushed by a storm into a royal fleet. they can’t possibly fight them, and they don’t have the time to escape.
“let me up,” the mermaid urges, surfacing starboard and shouting to the crew. “bring me up, quickly, quickly.”
they lower the boat and she piles her sinous form into it, and uses her claws to help the crew pull her up. once on the deck she flops out of the boat and makes her way over to the bow. the crew tries to help but she’s so heavy they can barely lift parts of her.
she crawls up out in front of the rail and wraps her long webbed tail around the prow. the figurehead has served them well so far but they need more right now. she wraps herself around the figurehead and raises her body up into the wind takes a breath of the stinging salt air and sings.
the storm carries her voice on its front to the royal navy. they are enchanted, so stunned by her song that they drop the rigging ropes and let the tillers drift. the pirates sail through the center of the fleet, trailing the storm behind them, and by the time the fleet has managed to regain its senses they are buried in wind and rain and the pirates are gone.
x
she declines guns. instead she carries a harpoon and its launcher, and uses them to board enemy ships, hauling her massive form out of the water to coil on the deck and dispatch enemies with ruthless efficiency. her family is feared across all the sea.
x
“you know we are dying,” the captain says, looking down at her.
she floats next to the ship, so massive she could hold it in her arms. her eyes are wise.
“i know,” she says, “i can feel it coming.”
the first mate stands next to the captain. she never had a lover or a child, and neither did he, but to the mermaid they are her parents. she will always love her daughter. the tattoos are graven in dark swirls across the mermaid’s deep brown skin and the flesh of her tail, even spiraling onto the spiked webbing on her spine and face. her hair is still tied back, this time with a sail that could not be patched one last time. 
“we love you,” the first mate says simply, looking down. her own tightly coiled black hair falls in to her face; she shakes the locs out of the way and smiles through her tears. the captain pretends he isnt crying either.
“i love you too,” the mermaid says, and reached up to pull the ship down just a bit, just to hold them one last time.
“guard the ship,” the captain says. “you always have but you know they’re lost without you.”
“without you,” the mermaid corrects, with a shrug that makes waves. “what will we do?”
“i don’t know,” the captain says. “but you’ll help them, won’t you?”
“of course i will,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “i will always protect my family.”
x
the captain and the first mate are gone. the ship has a new captain, young and fearless - of the things she can afford to disregard. she fears and loves the ocean, as all captains do. she does not fear the royal fleet. and she does not fear the mermaid.
“you know, i heard stories about you when i was a little girl,” she says, trailing her fingers in the water next to the dock.
the mermaid stares at her with one eye the size of a dinner table. “is that so?” she hums, smirking with teeth sharper than the swords of the entire navy.
“they said you could sink an entire fleet and that you had skin tougher than dragon scales,” the new captain says, grinning right back at the monster who could eat her without a moment’s hesitation. “i always thought they were telling tall tales.”
“and now?”
“they were right,” the new captain says. “how did they ever befriend you?”
the mermaid smiles, fully this time, her dark eyes gleaming under the white linen sail. “they didn’t know any better.”

She protects her family.

Hi everybody! Guess what’s being posted on AO3 now at the following link!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498384/chapters/53760817
That’s right! Here you go. I’ll be uploading it in some chunks, because I want to make sure I have everything I wanted edited cleanly finished, but follow the story there!




HEY GUYS GUESS WHATS BACK ON THE DASHBOARD AND BETTER THAN EVER



I love this

    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: ironwoman359:
cereusblue:

unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
This is how the golden age of piracy ended.
The first mermaid to get tattoos :)


“we didn’t know any better,” the crewman says, and swallows, presenting the chest to the captain. “what do we do now?”
“kill it,” the captain says, but the ice is melting in his eyes.
“we can’t,” the first mate says desperately, praying she won’t have to fight her captain on this. “we can’t. we - i won’t. we won’t.”
“i know.”
x
“daddy,” she says, floating in a tub of seawater in the hold, “daddy, la-la, la-la-la.”
her voice rings like bells. her accent is strange; her mouth isn’t made for human words. it mesmerises even the hardiest amongst them and she wasn’t even trying. the crew has taken to diving for shellfish near the shorelines for her; she loves them, splitting the shells apart with strength seen in no human toddler, slurping down the slimy molluscs inside and laughing, all plump brown cheeks and needle-sharp teeth. she sometimes splashes them for fun with her smooth, rubbery brown tail. even when they get soaked they laugh. they love her.
“daddy,” she calls again, and he can hear the worry in her voice. the storm rocking the ship is harsh and uncaring, and if they go down, she would be the only survivor.
“don’t worry,” he says, and goes over, sitting next to the tub. the first mate, leaning against the wall, pretends not to notice as he quietly begins to sing.
x
“father,” she says, one day, as she leans on the edge of the dock and the captain sits next to her, “why am I here?”
“your mother abandoned you,” he says, as he always has. “we found you adrift, and couldn’t bear to leave you there.”
she picks at the salt-soaked boards, uncertain. her hair is pulled back in a fluffy black puff, the white linen holding it slipping almost over one of her dark eyes. one of her first tattoos, a many-limbed kraken, curls over her right shoulder and down her arm, delicate tendrils wrapped around her calloused fingertips. “alright,” she says.
x
“why am I really here?” she asks the first mate, watching the sun set over the water in streaks of liquid metal that pooled in the troughs of the waves and glittered on the seafoam.
“we didn’t know any better,” the first mate says, staring into the water. “we didn’t know- we didn’t know anything. we didn’t understand why she fought so viciously to guard her treasure. we could not know she protected something a thousand times more precious than the purest gold.”
she wants to be furious, but she can’t. she already knew the answer, from reading the guilt in her father’s eyes and the empty space in her own history. and she can’t hate her family.
“it’s alright,” she says. “i do have a family, anyways. i don’t think i would have liked my other life near as much.”
x
her kraken grows, spreading its tendrils over her torso and arms. she grows too, too large to come on board the ship without being hauled up in a boat from the water. she sings when the storms come and swims before the ship to guide it to safety. she fights off more than one beast of the seas, and gathers a set of scars across her back that she bears with pride. “i don’t mind,” she says, when the captain fusses over her, “now i match all of you.”
the first time their ship is threatened, really threatened, is by another fleet. a friend turned enemy of the first mate. “we shouldn’t fight him,” she says, peering through the spyglass.
“why not?” the mermaid asks.
“he’ll win,” the first mate says.
the mermaid tips her head sideways. Her eyes, dark as the deep waters, gleam in the noon light. “are you sure?” she asks.
x
the enemy fleet surrenders after the flagship is sunk in the night, the anchor ripped off the ship and the planks torn off the hull. the surviving crew, wild-eyed and delirious, whimper and say a sea serpent came from the water and attacked them, say it was longer than the boat and crushed it in its coils. the first mate hears this and has to hide her laughter. the captain apologizes to his daughter for doubting her.
“don’t worry,” she says, with a bright laugh, “it was fun.”
x
the second time, they are pushed by a storm into a royal fleet. they can’t possibly fight them, and they don’t have the time to escape.
“let me up,” the mermaid urges, surfacing starboard and shouting to the crew. “bring me up, quickly, quickly.”
they lower the boat and she piles her sinous form into it, and uses her claws to help the crew pull her up. once on the deck she flops out of the boat and makes her way over to the bow. the crew tries to help but she’s so heavy they can barely lift parts of her.
she crawls up out in front of the rail and wraps her long webbed tail around the prow. the figurehead has served them well so far but they need more right now. she wraps herself around the figurehead and raises her body up into the wind takes a breath of the stinging salt air and sings.
the storm carries her voice on its front to the royal navy. they are enchanted, so stunned by her song that they drop the rigging ropes and let the tillers drift. the pirates sail through the center of the fleet, trailing the storm behind them, and by the time the fleet has managed to regain its senses they are buried in wind and rain and the pirates are gone.
x
she declines guns. instead she carries a harpoon and its launcher, and uses them to board enemy ships, hauling her massive form out of the water to coil on the deck and dispatch enemies with ruthless efficiency. her family is feared across all the sea.
x
“you know we are dying,” the captain says, looking down at her.
she floats next to the ship, so massive she could hold it in her arms. her eyes are wise.
“i know,” she says, “i can feel it coming.”
the first mate stands next to the captain. she never had a lover or a child, and neither did he, but to the mermaid they are her parents. she will always love her daughter. the tattoos are graven in dark swirls across the mermaid’s deep brown skin and the flesh of her tail, even spiraling onto the spiked webbing on her spine and face. her hair is still tied back, this time with a sail that could not be patched one last time. 
“we love you,” the first mate says simply, looking down. her own tightly coiled black hair falls in to her face; she shakes the locs out of the way and smiles through her tears. the captain pretends he isnt crying either.
“i love you too,” the mermaid says, and reached up to pull the ship down just a bit, just to hold them one last time.
“guard the ship,” the captain says. “you always have but you know they’re lost without you.”
“without you,” the mermaid corrects, with a shrug that makes waves. “what will we do?”
“i don’t know,” the captain says. “but you’ll help them, won’t you?”
“of course i will,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “i will always protect my family.”
x
the captain and the first mate are gone. the ship has a new captain, young and fearless - of the things she can afford to disregard. she fears and loves the ocean, as all captains do. she does not fear the royal fleet. and she does not fear the mermaid.
“you know, i heard stories about you when i was a little girl,” she says, trailing her fingers in the water next to the dock.
the mermaid stares at her with one eye the size of a dinner table. “is that so?” she hums, smirking with teeth sharper than the swords of the entire navy.
“they said you could sink an entire fleet and that you had skin tougher than dragon scales,” the new captain says, grinning right back at the monster who could eat her without a moment’s hesitation. “i always thought they were telling tall tales.”
“and now?”
“they were right,” the new captain says. “how did they ever befriend you?”
the mermaid smiles, fully this time, her dark eyes gleaming under the white linen sail. “they didn’t know any better.”

She protects her family.

Hi everybody! Guess what’s being posted on AO3 now at the following link!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498384/chapters/53760817
That’s right! Here you go. I’ll be uploading it in some chunks, because I want to make sure I have everything I wanted edited cleanly finished, but follow the story there!




HEY GUYS GUESS WHATS BACK ON THE DASHBOARD AND BETTER THAN EVER



I love this

                
            

            
            
ironwoman359:
cereusblue:

unnameablethings:


dragonsateyourtoast:

redporkpadthai:

dragonsateyourtoast:

otherwindow:

otherwindow:
Th...

            
            
        

    



            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: UZIL SRAAK WILL
 BRANDISH OUR
 HEADS BEFORE THE
 QUEEN. OUR MISSION
 LIES BELOW. THIS
 IS TREASON.
 ONLY IF
 YOu TELL
 HIM
 WHAT ARE
 WE DOING
 HERE?
 NO. WHATEVER
 SLUDGE FILLS YOUR
 SKULL CAN TELL
 INTERESTING STORIES,
 BUT I'M CERTAIN IT'S
 NOT CONNECTED TO A
 FUCKING TRINITY OF
 MYSTICAL SLEEPING
 WORMS
 I'VE ALWAYS
 BELIEVED THAT
 YOUR PROPHECIES
 LEAKED OUT FROM
 THE IMULSION
 CORROSION IN
 YOUR BRAIN.
 FUCK THE
 TRINITY! I'VE A
 MORE GLORIOUS
 DEATH IN MIND
 YOU'VE
 FINALLY SEEN
 THE LIGHT
 BROTHER?
 CONTINUE TO
 OFFEND THE
 .GODS WITH
 HERESY, AND I
 DOUBT THEY WILL
 SLEEP MUCH
 LONGER

 I WOULD HAVE THE BLOODIED
 VANGUARD TASTE VICTORY. DRINK
 HOT BLOOD FROM AN ENEMY
 CRUSHED BY FEAR BEFORE
 ITS MISERABLE DEATH
 THEY HAVE NO
 IMAGINATION FOR
 THE ENEMY THAT
 MARCHES
 BELOW
 THE MINDLESS
 ABOMINATIONS
 CAN HAVE THE
 HOLLOW. THIS IS
 OUR FUTURE
 EATE
 OUR FATE
 エ'LL STAND
 WITH YOu. I
 REFUSE TO BE
 CLAIMED BY A
 PITIFUL END
 MAD
 BASTARD.
 NO, SKORGE.
 WE WILL COME
 TO A RIGHTEOUS
 ONE
 WHERE
 DO WE
 BEGIN?
 A SMALL MATTER
 OF MARCHING OUR
 COMPANY TO THE INNER
 HOLLOW, CUTTING
 THROUGH UZIL SRAAK AND
 HIS HORDE OF THERON
 ELITE AND GAINING AN
 AUDIENCE WITH THE
 QUEEN HERSELF
 AN
 INTERESTING
 PLOT... AND
 YET.
 I HAVE A
 BETTER
 PLAN

 MAYBE YOU
 SHOULD'VE
 STOOD NEXT TO
 MY MAGGOTS AND
 SHOWN THE HOW
 IT'S DONE.
 TRINITY'S
 ROTTED CORPSE
 RAAM... I SAID
 NEGOTIATE.

 THERE WAS A TIME
 WHEN I HAD ATTAINED
 NEAR DIVINE PRIVILEGE
 PROMISING ACOLYTE OF
 THE KANTUS. EXCLUSIVE
 QUARTERS. BREEDING
 RIGHTS, EVEN.
 CАНАНАНА!
 ONLY FUCKING
 I SEE NOW IS
 BY PRUDGE
 TENTACLES

 YOUR HUBRIS
 iS GOING TO
 BE THE DEATH
 OF ME!
taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus and Dom.I never expected these two to work with each other, much less be buddies… but damn do I love it.They even call each other “brother”.
    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: UZIL SRAAK WILL
 BRANDISH OUR
 HEADS BEFORE THE
 QUEEN. OUR MISSION
 LIES BELOW. THIS
 IS TREASON.
 ONLY IF
 YOu TELL
 HIM
 WHAT ARE
 WE DOING
 HERE?
 NO. WHATEVER
 SLUDGE FILLS YOUR
 SKULL CAN TELL
 INTERESTING STORIES,
 BUT I'M CERTAIN IT'S
 NOT CONNECTED TO A
 FUCKING TRINITY OF
 MYSTICAL SLEEPING
 WORMS
 I'VE ALWAYS
 BELIEVED THAT
 YOUR PROPHECIES
 LEAKED OUT FROM
 THE IMULSION
 CORROSION IN
 YOUR BRAIN.
 FUCK THE
 TRINITY! I'VE A
 MORE GLORIOUS
 DEATH IN MIND
 YOU'VE
 FINALLY SEEN
 THE LIGHT
 BROTHER?
 CONTINUE TO
 OFFEND THE
 .GODS WITH
 HERESY, AND I
 DOUBT THEY WILL
 SLEEP MUCH
 LONGER

 I WOULD HAVE THE BLOODIED
 VANGUARD TASTE VICTORY. DRINK
 HOT BLOOD FROM AN ENEMY
 CRUSHED BY FEAR BEFORE
 ITS MISERABLE DEATH
 THEY HAVE NO
 IMAGINATION FOR
 THE ENEMY THAT
 MARCHES
 BELOW
 THE MINDLESS
 ABOMINATIONS
 CAN HAVE THE
 HOLLOW. THIS IS
 OUR FUTURE
 EATE
 OUR FATE
 エ'LL STAND
 WITH YOu. I
 REFUSE TO BE
 CLAIMED BY A
 PITIFUL END
 MAD
 BASTARD.
 NO, SKORGE.
 WE WILL COME
 TO A RIGHTEOUS
 ONE
 WHERE
 DO WE
 BEGIN?
 A SMALL MATTER
 OF MARCHING OUR
 COMPANY TO THE INNER
 HOLLOW, CUTTING
 THROUGH UZIL SRAAK AND
 HIS HORDE OF THERON
 ELITE AND GAINING AN
 AUDIENCE WITH THE
 QUEEN HERSELF
 AN
 INTERESTING
 PLOT... AND
 YET.
 I HAVE A
 BETTER
 PLAN

 MAYBE YOU
 SHOULD'VE
 STOOD NEXT TO
 MY MAGGOTS AND
 SHOWN THE HOW
 IT'S DONE.
 TRINITY'S
 ROTTED CORPSE
 RAAM... I SAID
 NEGOTIATE.

 THERE WAS A TIME
 WHEN I HAD ATTAINED
 NEAR DIVINE PRIVILEGE
 PROMISING ACOLYTE OF
 THE KANTUS. EXCLUSIVE
 QUARTERS. BREEDING
 RIGHTS, EVEN.
 CАНАНАНА!
 ONLY FUCKING
 I SEE NOW IS
 BY PRUDGE
 TENTACLES

 YOUR HUBRIS
 iS GOING TO
 BE THE DEATH
 OF ME!
taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus and Dom.I never expected these two to work with each other, much less be buddies… but damn do I love it.They even call each other “brother”.
                
            

            
            
taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus and Dom.I never...

            
            
        

    



            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: UZIL SRAAK WILL
 BRANDISH OUR
 HEADS BEFORE THE
 QUEEN. OUR MISSION
 LIES BELOW. THIS
 IS TREASON.
 ONLY IF
 YOu TELL
 HIM
 WHAT ARE
 WE DOING
 HERE?
 NO. WHATEVER
 SLUDGE FILLS YOUR
 SKULL CAN TELL
 INTERESTING STORIES,
 BUT I'M CERTAIN IT'S
 NOT CONNECTED TO A
 FUCKING TRINITY OF
 MYSTICAL SLEEPING
 WORMS
 I'VE ALWAYS
 BELIEVED THAT
 YOUR PROPHECIES
 LEAKED OUT FROM
 THE IMULSION
 CORROSION IN
 YOUR BRAIN.
 FUCK THE
 TRINITY! I'VE A
 MORE GLORIOUS
 DEATH IN MIND
 YOU'VE
 FINALLY SEEN
 THE LIGHT
 BROTHER?
 CONTINUE TO
 OFFEND THE
 .GODS WITH
 HERESY, AND I
 DOUBT THEY WILL
 SLEEP MUCH
 LONGER

 I WOULD HAVE THE BLOODIED
 VANGUARD TASTE VICTORY. DRINK
 HOT BLOOD FROM AN ENEMY
 CRUSHED BY FEAR BEFORE
 ITS MISERABLE DEATH
 THEY HAVE NO
 IMAGINATION FOR
 THE ENEMY THAT
 MARCHES
 BELOW
 THE MINDLESS
 ABOMINATIONS
 CAN HAVE THE
 HOLLOW. THIS IS
 OUR FUTURE
 EATE
 OUR FATE
 エ'LL STAND
 WITH YOu. I
 REFUSE TO BE
 CLAIMED BY A
 PITIFUL END
 MAD
 BASTARD.
 NO, SKORGE.
 WE WILL COME
 TO A RIGHTEOUS
 ONE
 WHERE
 DO WE
 BEGIN?
 A SMALL MATTER
 OF MARCHING OUR
 COMPANY TO THE INNER
 HOLLOW, CUTTING
 THROUGH UZIL SRAAK AND
 HIS HORDE OF THERON
 ELITE AND GAINING AN
 AUDIENCE WITH THE
 QUEEN HERSELF
 AN
 INTERESTING
 PLOT... AND
 YET.
 I HAVE A
 BETTER
 PLAN

 MAYBE YOU
 SHOULD'VE
 STOOD NEXT TO
 MY MAGGOTS AND
 SHOWN THE HOW
 IT'S DONE.
 TRINITY'S
 ROTTED CORPSE
 RAAM... I SAID
 NEGOTIATE.

 THERE WAS A TIME
 WHEN I HAD ATTAINED
 NEAR DIVINE PRIVILEGE
 PROMISING ACOLYTE OF
 THE KANTUS. EXCLUSIVE
 QUARTERS. BREEDING
 RIGHTS, EVEN.
 CАНАНАНА!
 ONLY FUCKING
 I SEE NOW IS
 BY PRUDGE
 TENTACLES

 YOUR HUBRIS
 iS GOING TO
 BE THE DEATH
 OF ME!
th3-d0rk-lord:

taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus and Dom.I never expected these two to work with each other, much less be buddies… but damn do I love it.They even call each other “brother”.

Well now I feel bad for having to kill these two. They just wanted to get away from the Lambent, I know that. *sigh* R.I.P General Raam and Skorge.
    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: UZIL SRAAK WILL
 BRANDISH OUR
 HEADS BEFORE THE
 QUEEN. OUR MISSION
 LIES BELOW. THIS
 IS TREASON.
 ONLY IF
 YOu TELL
 HIM
 WHAT ARE
 WE DOING
 HERE?
 NO. WHATEVER
 SLUDGE FILLS YOUR
 SKULL CAN TELL
 INTERESTING STORIES,
 BUT I'M CERTAIN IT'S
 NOT CONNECTED TO A
 FUCKING TRINITY OF
 MYSTICAL SLEEPING
 WORMS
 I'VE ALWAYS
 BELIEVED THAT
 YOUR PROPHECIES
 LEAKED OUT FROM
 THE IMULSION
 CORROSION IN
 YOUR BRAIN.
 FUCK THE
 TRINITY! I'VE A
 MORE GLORIOUS
 DEATH IN MIND
 YOU'VE
 FINALLY SEEN
 THE LIGHT
 BROTHER?
 CONTINUE TO
 OFFEND THE
 .GODS WITH
 HERESY, AND I
 DOUBT THEY WILL
 SLEEP MUCH
 LONGER

 I WOULD HAVE THE BLOODIED
 VANGUARD TASTE VICTORY. DRINK
 HOT BLOOD FROM AN ENEMY
 CRUSHED BY FEAR BEFORE
 ITS MISERABLE DEATH
 THEY HAVE NO
 IMAGINATION FOR
 THE ENEMY THAT
 MARCHES
 BELOW
 THE MINDLESS
 ABOMINATIONS
 CAN HAVE THE
 HOLLOW. THIS IS
 OUR FUTURE
 EATE
 OUR FATE
 エ'LL STAND
 WITH YOu. I
 REFUSE TO BE
 CLAIMED BY A
 PITIFUL END
 MAD
 BASTARD.
 NO, SKORGE.
 WE WILL COME
 TO A RIGHTEOUS
 ONE
 WHERE
 DO WE
 BEGIN?
 A SMALL MATTER
 OF MARCHING OUR
 COMPANY TO THE INNER
 HOLLOW, CUTTING
 THROUGH UZIL SRAAK AND
 HIS HORDE OF THERON
 ELITE AND GAINING AN
 AUDIENCE WITH THE
 QUEEN HERSELF
 AN
 INTERESTING
 PLOT... AND
 YET.
 I HAVE A
 BETTER
 PLAN

 MAYBE YOU
 SHOULD'VE
 STOOD NEXT TO
 MY MAGGOTS AND
 SHOWN THE HOW
 IT'S DONE.
 TRINITY'S
 ROTTED CORPSE
 RAAM... I SAID
 NEGOTIATE.

 THERE WAS A TIME
 WHEN I HAD ATTAINED
 NEAR DIVINE PRIVILEGE
 PROMISING ACOLYTE OF
 THE KANTUS. EXCLUSIVE
 QUARTERS. BREEDING
 RIGHTS, EVEN.
 CАНАНАНА!
 ONLY FUCKING
 I SEE NOW IS
 BY PRUDGE
 TENTACLES

 YOUR HUBRIS
 iS GOING TO
 BE THE DEATH
 OF ME!
th3-d0rk-lord:

taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus and Dom.I never expected these two to work with each other, much less be buddies… but damn do I love it.They even call each other “brother”.

Well now I feel bad for having to kill these two. They just wanted to get away from the Lambent, I know that. *sigh* R.I.P General Raam and Skorge.
                
            

            
            
th3-d0rk-lord:

taco-flavored-kisses:

I love how this Rise of RAAM comic is portraying Skorge and RAAM. They are total bros. Like Marcus...

            
            
        

    



            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                






            

        

        
        

            

                







    the enemy: Sp3ctre7171 points 3 hours ago
 You are absolutely correct
 1) Miro learned to use the mobility of Winston, as well as his primal, to invent modern dive. He learned all of the tips and tricks
 and extracted extra value out of the hero that few realized was there. In doing so, he created a role that used main tank as an
 offensive centerpiece and threat to the backline, and all of a sudden flank heroes weren't alone. A poorly protected ana in the
 back could be beset by multiple members of the enemy team without much warning. However, this required both new gamesense
 from miro, and innovations in lucio play from Tobi. Specifically, tobi was able to peel for jehong better than many players thought
 was possible, compensating for the lack of defensive shields. The compounding innovation led to LH being an offensive threat at
 every position, and it made it possible for them to do the miraculous turnarounds that defined their APEX championship runs
 Playing against them was exhausting, as is expected from a team where any one member can wipe you out if left unchecked.
 2) Gesture's contribution was twofold. Firstly, he extracted more value out of winston's kit on the defensive side, learning how to
 use primal both to continue an attack, and to peel for his own back line, which leads into his second main development. That
 being, under Gesture the final decision was made to transfer shotcalling duties from the main support (lucio and later mercy) and
 onto the main tank, primarily because engagements were no longer dictated by speed boost, but by the dive from the main tank.
 Together with the rest of GC Busan, Gesture planned, called, and executed crisp dives that were far better timed and aimed than
 those of old LH. Whereas Miro's dives were a terror because you would be under attack from multiple divers, the style that
 Gesture led the way on involved being instantly deleted by a full dive, where a healer pair could be hit with burst from multiple
 heroes in the same instant. This in turn changed the Winston interplay into a mind game, where there was a choice to be made
 between deleting the enemy's backline and attempting to save your own. Winston players were forced to learn how to make each
 leap and pincer engage perfect, or they would simply lose the fight
 Permalink Embed Save Parent Report Give Gold Reply
 Sp3ctre7160 points 3 hours ago
 (Continued)
 3) what guxue is introducing is a Winston as the focus of a dive, not just the linchpin. While that sounds like the same thing
 previously, the Winston would be used to coordinate dives and call the timing, but with Guxue, resources are poured into the
 Winston to make sure that he can have offensive value. Both because Winston can do damage to the whole team at once (and
 thus build ult insanely fast against teams pocketing a zen, or against GOATS comps), but also because Winston can
 simultaneously disrupt the escape methods for healers AND bypass most of the ways in which healers are protected, such as
 matrix and shields
 Guxue's innovations are most similar to miro's in that they are mostly focused on a single player's style and that one hero's impact
 in a game. Changing the offensive presence of a hero is impactful and increases the visible skill gap between good and bad
 teams, but the effects are mostly limited to that one hero. For that reason, I think that the innovations brought forth by Gesture
 (and many others) are the most important to the development of modern Winston play, in that they represented a fundamental
 change in the whole shotcalling and tactical philosophy of dive teams, and opened the gates to the more complex and match
 specific strategies that we saw in the overwatch league
owldesk:

some really good tank playstyle analysis on reddit (as a side note, this guy is apparently gonna have analysis articles out soon and you better BELIEVE i’m gonna link them bc if they’re anything like this write up they’ll be great)
    

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
    

    

        

            
            

                
                the enemy: Sp3ctre7171 points 3 hours ago
 You are absolutely correct
 1) Miro learned to use the mobility of Winston, as well as his primal, to invent modern dive. He learned all of the tips and tricks
 and extracted extra value out of the hero that few realized was there. In doing so, he created a role that used main tank as an
 offensive centerpiece and threat to the backline, and all of a sudden flank heroes weren't alone. A poorly protected ana in the
 back could be beset by multiple members of the enemy team without much warning. However, this required both new gamesense
 from miro, and innovations in lucio play from Tobi. Specifically, tobi was able to peel for jehong better than many players thought
 was possible, compensating for the lack of defensive shields. The compounding innovation led to LH being an offensive threat at
 every position, and it made it possible for them to do the miraculous turnarounds that defined their APEX championship runs
 Playing against them was exhausting, as is expected from a team where any one member can wipe you out if left unchecked.
 2) Gesture's contribution was twofold. Firstly, he extracted more value out of winston's kit on the defensive side, learning how to
 use primal both to continue an attack, and to peel for his own back line, which leads into his second main development. That
 being, under Gesture the final decision was made to transfer shotcalling duties from the main support (lucio and later mercy) and
 onto the main tank, primarily because engagements were no longer dictated by speed boost, but by the dive from the main tank.
 Together with the rest of GC Busan, Gesture planned, called, and executed crisp dives that were far better timed and aimed than
 those of old LH. Whereas Miro's dives were a terror because you would be under attack from multiple divers, the style that
 Gesture led the way on involved being instantly deleted by a full dive, where a healer pair could be hit with burst from multiple
 heroes in the same instant. This in turn changed the Winston interplay into a mind game, where there was a choice to be made
 between deleting the enemy's backline and attempting to save your own. Winston players were forced to learn how to make each
 leap and pincer engage perfect, or they would simply lose the fight
 Permalink Embed Save Parent Report Give Gold Reply
 Sp3ctre7160 points 3 hours ago
 (Continued)
 3) what guxue is introducing is a Winston as the focus of a dive, not just the linchpin. While that sounds like the same thing
 previously, the Winston would be used to coordinate dives and call the timing, but with Guxue, resources are poured into the
 Winston to make sure that he can have offensive value. Both because Winston can do damage to the whole team at once (and
 thus build ult insanely fast against teams pocketing a zen, or against GOATS comps), but also because Winston can
 simultaneously disrupt the escape methods for healers AND bypass most of the ways in which healers are protected, such as
 matrix and shields
 Guxue's innovations are most similar to miro's in that they are mostly focused on a single player's style and that one hero's impact
 in a game. Changing the offensive presence of a hero is impactful and increases the visible skill gap between good and bad
 teams, but the effects are mostly limited to that one hero. For that reason, I think that the innovations brought forth by Gesture
 (and many others) are the most important to the development of modern Winston play, in that they represented a fundamental
 change in the whole shotcalling and tactical philosophy of dive teams, and opened the gates to the more complex and match
 specific strategies that we saw in the overwatch league
owldesk:

some really good tank playstyle analysis on reddit (as a side note, this guy is apparently gonna have analysis articles out soon and you better BELIEVE i’m gonna link them bc if they’re anything like this write up they’ll be great)
                
            

            
            
owldesk:

some really good tank playstyle analysis on reddit (as a side note, this guy is apparently gonna have analysis articles out soo...