#which... is actually... completely true...

[moonlightspencie]

rewatched the update video, read some posts from both people who like and dislike the update, and just finished charlie’s (mo1stcr1tikal) video about watcher. here are my complete thoughts:

Video Execution

i appreciate that they seem to have consulted with a PR person, or at the very least really sat down and thought through their approach with the video.

they didn’t try to boo-hoo themselves.

they used a lot of positive “you language” for the fans (which i very much appreciate as a media and communication person myself)

they took accountability for their mistakes, and actually uttered the word “sorry”. low bar, i know, but many apology videos still somehow slip under the bar.

they very clearly put the focus on ryan and shane in the video. it sucks a bit that they probably felt they had to since much of that was probably due to the negative comments directed at steven, but it WAS a smart move. fans feel most betrayed by the two the majority connect with the most.

it. wasn’t. overproduced. (again, low bar, but it is what it is).

overall thoughts on execution? it was smart. they look uncomfortable, and whether that’s intentional or their true feelings, regardless of why they look so uncomfy, it makes it easier to watch. they don’t look pissed or smug. they look embarrassed. which, in an apology video, is a good thing. sorry to say

The Solution

i think they came up with the best alternative they could after royally fucking up with the majority of their fans.

the patreon solution… mixed feelings. i understand they don’t want to just go forward with one or the other: the patreon or the streamer. however, as ive seen some patrons say, it doesn’t make all that much sense to have both logistically. i think it’s only set up this way because they can’t go back entirely on watcher.tv now. good on them for giving a bit of a fix with the codes being sent to patrons.

i was still lost on how they weren’t “advertiser friendly”, and that’s where charlie’s video came in to affirm my suspicions. go watch his video for more information, but long story short: watcher is a GOLD MINE for advertisers. huge and loyal audience, engaging ads that make the viewer want to watch the ad, and an ever-growing channel.

on the back of the last point: how on earth were they struggling with money to begin with? it simply doesn’t make any sense. they had so many revenue streams & again, DO get sponsors and appear to be incredibly brand-friendly.

trust is still lost with most fans, and that will be hard as hell to regain. the ex-buzzfeed three-guys-on-a-couch model didn’t even work when the try guys were fucked over by their friend and brand trust was lost a little bit. and this loss of brand trust is fully on all three dudes on the couch this time

overall thoughts on the solution? it’s good for what they can do now that they obviously cannot just fully backtrack. that would arguably be a worse idea than the original idea for the streaming service itself. i think this would have worked much better and they would have retained integrity if they had done this from the beginning, and/or had a slow rollout instead of jumpscaring us like that. ghost files is supposed to spook us, not surprise paywalls.

Final Thoughts

a ton of trust was lost. the parasocial relationship that specifically shane and ryan fans had with them, that was the REASON for so much of the loyalty, is fractured, and for many it will never be the same as it was. i understand their fuck up when it came to the announcement was likely just them needing more self-awareness and a professional to guide them through it, but i still question how it got to that point where they felt like their fans would enjoy this to begin with. not to mention, again, how were they not making enough? why not try other options first?

i hope sincerely that watcher truly learns from this. that they remember their business isn’t about money or ambition (in a positive or negative way), but is built on the backs of their fans’ loyalty. without that fan loyalty, buzzfeed unsolved would have been the only thing we knew ryan and shane for. we wouldn’t have followed them to a new channel if we didn’t care about them and their work to certain degree.

it was a good apology video. genuinely. i’m glad they didn’t jump into it with a bandaid solution. i just wish they had the foresight to know their fans well enough to understand that there is NO way this would be well received by the majority. and there’s no going back on that now, obviously. what’s past is past. i hope moving forward that they gain a little self-awareness and that they gain some FAN-awareness. until/unless they start working on television and movies, they have to keep their fans happy. we are the consumer, not the employee, and it feels like they started somehow blurring those lines with the original video they posted. it felt like one of the corporate ‘training’ videos for my job when we start using a new system.

fans are important in online spaces, particularly. we provide free advertising for our favorite bloggers/youtubers/etc., and willingly give up money to support them through various streams (in watcher’s case: patreon, merch, live shows). you cannot exist as a creator online and think that you don’t need to keep your fans happy when it is your source of income. it’s simply how being a successful internet personality works, for better or worse.

good job to the watcher boys on how they went about the apology/fix. i hope things go better from here on out.

#watcher #shane madej #ryan bergara #steven lim #watcher entertainment

[x-moonsoul-x]

TL;DR Hey, I’m reading into stuff (character design, I will never stfu about the rottmnt character design) again. Overthinking it like a true Donnie kinnie 🫡

So, I thought the mask tails were in order of age in rise. But, I’m unclear on which mask tails between Donnie & Mikey and Leo & Raph’s are longer/shorter. BUT. Another thing with their mask tails is that the two younger have shorter mask tails and the two older have longer mask tails (I’m a firm younger twin Donnie believer.) Furthermore, when we look at, for example,

MIKEY’S mask tails, they’re quite symbolic of him as a character.

They’re the only ones that are really rounded to that extent (Leo’s are more rounded too, but in a longer and less bubbly/circle way) Mikey is a fun, bubbly, optimistic character. Hence why Mikey=circle. They’re also shaped kind of like a paintbrush - the actual brush part, that is - which is interesting.

LEO’S are more triangular and curve much like his sword. Also, since they’re longer, we don’t see them very often (same with Raph’s) because of how the physics of the mask tails work.

The reason for Leo being a triangle, I’m not entirely sure. But my working theory (haven’t read anywhere why, though it’s likely somewhere) is because a lot about him is sharp. Sword, markings, face, body shape, mask tails. However, his personality is, ironically, the opposite. He’s also the more fun type, and definitely not a villain - even if he may see himself as one or, at least, the ‘blame’ during the movie - (sharp angles in character design are typically associated with villains) But his mask tails being a rounded triangle is really interesting. It’s like he’s smoothing out his personality (cough, cough, face man.) but he’s still “sharp” (loud, ‘annoying’, funny, quick-witted.)

RAPH, I don’t know too too much about, however- you also don’t often see the tails of his mask (because it, like Leo’s, is longer.) It’s jagged like his shell (again, ironic, because he’s pretty much a big softie - although on both the exterior and interior, he is/can be very tough.) He’s harsh on himself more so than he is on his brothers, taking it as his duty to protect them, to lead them, to keep them from harm.

I refuse to retype what I just typed, so I took a photo:

OK, so for DONNIE, I don’t have really anything to say (because I’m tired and my phone’s overheating ^^ he’s still my favourite and I love him dearly.)

But, his mask tails are more rectangular. Donnie = Rectangle, as we all know. (Galactic forehead, cough cough) And Donnie’s mask tails, with him being a younger brother and his mask tails being shorter, are more visible (again, physics.)

That’s it, he’s a rectangle. Shape language and such that goes more into his personality, yadda yadda, like I said - tired.

Anywho, that’s also a big part of a point that could be made about the episode(s) where they went through more formal training and their outfits were completely the same. They were one, completely. Raph and Leo even mind melded. But, that also means they weren’t themselves (we be we, baby.)

This is also a very long winded way of saying Donnie is the younger twin (I accept no other answers (jk ^^))

So, I hope somebody actually reads this rant. And, remember, I know this likely might not actually mean anything. I’m an analyst. I love their character designs I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.

But, that’s just a theory… a game theory!!

xoxo

#rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #rise raph #rise donnie #rise leo #rise mikey #tldr #character design #art nerd

[enigma2meagain]

RWBY Relic Pieces in Volume 1, Symbolism of the Pieces, and How It Ties To the Broader Narrative.

Did a quick searchup on the symbolism of chess pieces, and taking what I saw into consideration (note that this is very abridged, and possibly not entirely correct):

CRDL and the Black Bishop

Bishops are representative of religion, as well as spirituality, morality, and wisdom, and a direct reference to Cardin's mythological reference, the Cardinal of Winchester. In regards to the broader narrative that RWBY sets up, he can be considered V1's partial representation of the institution of Huntsmen, more specifically the deeply flawed and darker side standing opposite to the better/neutral aspects of Huntsmen that RWBY/JNPR represent, due to being a racist bully who stands against Grimm, yet also willfully persecutes and harms the people he's supposed to fight for, such as minority groups like Faunus and (given Jaune at this point is basically a civilian in huntsmen's clothing and training wheels) the people depending on the circumstances. Also acts as a form of foreshadowing to the other deeply flawed or outright bad huntsmen we'd come to see later in the series, as well as highlighting the lack of wisdom and morality that can blight the institutions that Huntsmen are supposed to be, represent and protect.

The Black pieces in chess always move second, which highlights how the Huntsmen are a highly reactive organization, and how this severely limits their ability to truly tackle the bigger problems regarding threats like the Grimm, Salem, society's deep internal problems, and in the bigger picture, Ozpin's divine mission.

JNPR and the White Rook

Rooks are representative of the land, being symbolic of the fortress that guards a city or land and its royalty, and how they essentially "guard" the other pieces, as well as representing stability. The majority of JNPR come from civilians compared to the likes of RWBY, with this becoming completely the case after Pyrrha's death and Oscar's inclusion, and they're shown consistently throughout the series as having the strongest connections to civilians on a personal level. They also frequently as the bedrock and stabilizing influence, through Jaune, Nora and Ren's friendships and roles as supporting characters. Being white pieces also highlights how as time goes on, they would develop an increasingly proactive role through the questioning of the narrative told to them by the metaphorical "royals" (in this case, Ozpin's secret circle) and the latter's failure to actually protect them.

This is especially notable in regards to Jaune, Nora, and from a story perspective Ren, given how the former consistently questions Ozpin and his inner circle's shadier actions throughout most of V4 - V8, and Nora and Ren were failed miserably and made orphans due to the lack of huntsmen and the society around them failing to protect them, while putting them into a situation where their only recourse is to become part of the system that failed them.

RWBY and the White Knight

Knight pieces are representative of the medieval military, fitting given the status of Huntsmen, as well as being considered adventurous, valorous, and unpredictable due to their unique fighting style allowing them a level of unpredictability that other pieces don't have, fitting of how RWBY are the main proactive force to pushing Ozpin and the true nature of the secret war against Salem out into uncharted territory, forcing them to actually change and grow.

Knights are also often historically drawn from nobility, much like how every major character in RWBY has some kind of tie to Remnant's most illustrious groups or some kind of major player (Ruby and Yang being part of major Huntsmen lineages, Weiss being a rich heiress to the most powerful corporation in the world, and Blake being effectively the Princess of the Faunus, as well as having ties to the most prominent civil rights activists and movements in all iterations of the White Fang).

Much like JNPR, they are far more proactive compared to the royals they serve, actively pushing the latter outside their comfort zone in a two-pronged attack alongside JNPR, but the series also strives to highlight and deconstruct the messier aspects of their relationship as huntsmen (and thus a form of warrior caste/mercenary, with the following tension in that relationship with the people they are trying to protect) and how the unpredictable nature of their changes results in as much positive and messier forms of change, for better or worse.

This got way longer than I thought it would.

#rwby #rwby analysis #rwby volume 1 #rwby symbolism #team rwby #team jnpr #ruby rose #blake belladonna #jaune arc #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #nora valkyrie #lie ren #pyrrha nikos #oscar pines #ozpin rwby #cardin winchester #team crdl

[eloise-t-g]

long post ahead. i wanted to respond to some of the things i've seen people saying about the watcher situation. i honestly just needed to get some of this stuff off my chest lmao.

"sorry, the bridge has been burnt and i can no longer support watcher" - valid.

"i'm happy with this compromise and will continue to watch their content" - valid.

"oh so they apologise, change nothing, and now people are happy to give them money?" - things have changed. they compromised and completely changed their plan for the new website. did you not watch the update video? they're also issuing refunds to anyone who wants one.

"i bet people who over-reacted feel real stupid now!" - some people over-reacted, but a lot of people had valid criticisms and concerns. they shouldn't feel stupid if they expressed it in a non-abusive way.

"yay, we successfully bullied them into changing their minds!" - you're ... you're proud that you bullied someone? this isn't fucking elon musk or jeff bezos. these guys aren't multibillionaires exploiting their employees. these are three youtubers who want to pay themselves and their employees a living wage, while making content they're proud of, and they made a simple fucking mistake. stop throwing around the term 'eat the rich' as though it applies here.

"the apology video is clearly PR!" - yes, watcher is a business. this is how a business responds to situations like this. they had abuse hurled at them for 48 hours straight, they shouldn't feel bad for wanting to make sure everything said in the video was 100% agreed upon and analysed beforehand.

"steven was clearly the one behind this, he should be fired or step down!" - was he? do you know that for a fact? cause from what i saw, all three of them got in front of the camera and made the announcement video together. i agree that he should step down as CEO, but only because they clearly need someone who has actual business experience leading them (if you remember, ryan and shane stepped down a while ago because they didn't want to deal with that side of the company anymore - in the same video, they thanked steven for being the sole reason watcher was still going).

"they shouldn't have been silent the whole weekend" - maybe so, but it's clear they went into lockdown/crisis mode. also, businesses aren't open on weekends. i think it's fair that they waited until monday and took their time with it. maybe they should have tweeted something like "we're sorry and we're working on an explanation", but that just would have given people another place to attack them.

"you're all being parasocial" - i've seen this used against both people who are supporting/giving the team the benefit of the doubt, and people who are against everything. a lot of people (myself included) have used this experience to realise they were developing/had developed a parasocial relationship with these men. this is a good thing - it allows us to recognise these things and make changes within ourselves.

i think generally people are more parasocial towards youtubers than celebrities in films and tv shows. YT feels like there is a barrier removed between the creators and us; it makes us feel like we know these people in a way that we don't know actors who are always playing different roles. YT makes it easier to believe we're seeing the real people, when we really don't know them at all.

"why should i pay someone who owns a tesla?" - you don't have to. also, steven has been working consistently for years. it doesn't surprise me that he has enough savings for an expensive car. people are allowed to own things that you and i can't afford.

"they're embarrassed to be youtubers" - might be true, who knows. but for me it feels more like they want to be taken seriously as filmmakers/television producers, and don't feel like they can do that on YT.

"there's clearly money mismanagement going on" - i think this is likely. i personally don't know what it's like to run a business like this, which is why i've been watching videos from other youtubers who do. since they're saying they don't know where the funds are going, i'm inclined to believe watcher's budget is way off what it should be.

"why didn't they initially say they were having money troubles and might close doors?" - i can see both sides of this. i believe they should have recognised that their audience would have been more receptive to this kind of honesty. however, if you're asking people to give you money, while also saying the venture might not work out, it doesn't engender a great deal of trust. why should i pay for a 12 month sub if it's possible watcher will fold in 6? who will be around to issue me a refund then?

"we were happy with blue and yellow text on a screen!" - valid, but it's clear that they weren't. they clearly want to push themselves further creatively. on the other hand, it definitely feels like they got impatient and wanted that future creation to start now, when they don't have the funds for it. they shouldn't have tried to force their loyal audience to pay for content the audience didn't ask for.

"i don't want to fund steven, andrew, and adam flying around the world eating expensive food." - very valid. i wonder how different things would have been if this 'Worth It' revival had come around 6 months earlier. it still would have been tone deaf in a global living crisis, but i don't think people would have been this upset. what i don't understand is them doing this show if they genuinely couldn't afford it, which is the implication i got from them announcing it just before announcing the paywall.

"why don't they move their office out of LA?" - that would be incredibly expensive, especially for a company that is struggling financially. they would have to uproot their entire lives, and would probably lose a great number of their staff who don't want to/can't move. they would have to completely start over, which is something i imagine they're desperately trying to avoid.

i think the cancel culture that has grown in popularity over the internet over the last few years has led people to believe that:

they can say whatever they want online with no consequences.

people aren't allowed to make a single mistake, and should understand that when they do, it's okay to for others to spew hate and awfulness towards them.

part of me doesn't even know why i made this post, i think i just got sick of seeing the same complaints and questions lmao.

#watcher #steven lim #ryan bergara #shane madej #watcher entertainment

[whencyclopedia]

Charles A. Eastman on Sitting Bull

In his Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains (1916), Sioux author and physician Charles A. Eastman (also known as Ohiyesa, l. 1858-1939), includes a brief biography of the Sioux chief Sitting Bull (l. c. 1837-1890). While some of Eastman's claims are unsupported elsewhere, his work is viewed as a valuable source on the life of the great Native American leader.

Eastman drew on stories he had heard in his youth for his work and, as he says, on interviews with Sitting Bull's family, those who had known him, and even on an 1884 meeting with the man himself. Still, he makes some claims, such as how Sitting Bull approved the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and then traveled to Washington, D.C., which have no outside support and seem untenable. Eastman's piece runs to over 4,000 words and so has been edited below for space considerations, but the complete online work will be found in the External Links section following this article.

In the full piece, Eastman also claims that Sitting Bull was given his name when, as a youth, he pushed a large buffalo calf, who had attacked him, to a sitting position – "and from this incident was derived his familiar name" (107). Actually, Sitting Bull was given his name by his father – who was known as Sitting Bull – and gave the youth his own name when the boy attained manhood – then taking the name Jumping Bull; his son would then go on to make the name Sitting Bull famous.

Text

Aside from these two questionable claims, Eastman's account is recognized as a more or less accurate depiction of the great Hunkpapa Sioux holy man, warrior, leader, and cultural hero. The following is taken from Eastman's Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, 1939 edition, republished in 2016:

It is not easy to characterize Sitting Bull, of all Sioux chiefs most generally known to the American people. There are few to whom his name is not familiar, and still fewer who have learned to connect it with anything more than the conventional notion of a bloodthirsty savage. The man was an enigma at best. He was not impulsive, nor was he phlegmatic. He was most serious when he seemed to be jocose. He was gifted with the power of sarcasm, and few have used it more artfully than he…

It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull, or any other Indian warrior, was of a murderous disposition. It is true that savage warfare had grown more and more harsh and cruel since the coming of white traders among them, bringing guns, knives, and whisky...The common impression that the Indian is naturally cruel and revengeful is entirely opposed to his philosophy and training. The revengeful tendency of the Indian was aroused by the white man…

Remember that there were councils which gave their decisions in accordance with the highest ideal of human justice before there were any cities on this continent; before there were bridges to span the Mississippi; before this network of railroads was dreamed of! There were primitive communities upon the very spot where Chicago or New York City now stands, where men were as children, innocent of all the crimes now committed there daily and nightly. True morality is more easily maintained in connection with the simple life. You must accept the truth that you demoralize any race whom you have subjugated.

From this point of view, we shall consider Sitting Bull's career. We say he is an untutored man: that is true so far as learning of a literary type is concerned; but he was not an untutored man when you view him from the standpoint of his nation. To be sure, he did not learn his lessons from books. This is second-hand information at best. All that he learned he verified for himself and put into daily practice. In personal appearance he was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression, but as he talked, he seemed to take hold of his hearers more and more. He was bull-headed; quick to grasp a situation, and not readily induced to change his mind. He was not suspicious until he was forced to be so. All his meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events of his later career.

Sitting Bull's history has been written many times by newspaper men and army officers, but I find no account of him which is entirely correct. I met him personally in 1884, and since his death I have gone thoroughly into the details of his life with his relatives and contemporaries. It has often been said that he was a physical coward and not a warrior. Judge of this for yourselves from the deed which first gave him fame in his own tribe, when he was about twenty-eight years old.

In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians, one of the enemy took his stand, after the rest had fled, in a deep ditch from which it seemed impossible to dislodge him. The situation had already cost the lives of several warriors, but they could not let him go to repeat such a boast over the Sioux!

"Follow me!" said Sitting Bull, and charged. He raced his horse to the brim of the ditch and struck at the enemy with his coup-staff, thus compelling him to expose himself to the fire of the others while shooting his assailant. But the Crow merely poked his empty gun into his face and dodged back under cover. Then Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that no one had followed him, and he also perceived that the enemy had no more ammunition left. He rode deliberately up to the barrier and threw his loaded gun over it; then he went back to his party and told them what he thought of them.

"Now," said he, "I have armed him, for I will not see a brave man killed unarmed. I will strike him again with my coup-staff to count the first feather; who will count the second?"

Again, he led the charge, and this time they all followed him. Sitting Bull was severely wounded by his own gun in the hands of the enemy, who was killed by those that came after him. This is a record that so far as I know was never made by any other warrior…

When Sitting Bull was a boy, there was no thought of trouble with the whites. He was acquainted with many of the early traders…All the early records show this friendly attitude of the Sioux, and the great fur companies for a century and a half depended upon them for the bulk of their trade. It was not until the middle of the last century that they woke up all of a sudden to the danger threatening their very existence…They utterly refused to cede their lands; alone as long as he did not interfere with their life and customs, which was not long…

Sitting Bull joined in the attack on Fort Phil Kearny and in the subsequent hostilities; but he accepted in good faith the treaty of 1868, and soon after it was signed, he visited Washington with Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, on which occasion the three distinguished chiefs attracted much attention and were entertained at dinner by President Grant and other notables. He considered that the life of the white man as he saw it was no life for his people but hoped by close adherence to the terms of this treaty to preserve the Big Horn and Black Hills country for a permanent hunting ground. When gold was discovered and the irrepressible gold seekers made their historic dash across the plains into this forbidden paradise, then his faith in the white man's honor was gone forever, and he took his final and most persistent stand in defense of his nation and home. His bitter and, at the same time, well-grounded and philosophical dislike of the conquering race is well expressed in a speech made before the purely Indian council before referred to, upon the Powder River. I will give it in brief as it has been several times repeated to me by men who were present.

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being, and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land.

"Yet hear me, friends! we have now to deal with another people, small and feeble when our forefathers first met with them, but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break, but the poor may not! They have a religion in which the poor worship, but the rich will not! They even take tithes of the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse. They compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile she is made to take medicine in order to produce again. All this is sacrilege.

"This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path. We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that from us also. My brothers, shall we submit? or shall we say to them: ‘First kill me, before you can take possession of my fatherland!'"

…He has been called a "medicine man" and a "dreamer." Strictly speaking, he was neither of these, and the white historians are prone to confuse the two. A medicine man is a doctor or healer; a dreamer is an active war prophet who leads his war party according to his dream or prophecy. What is called by whites "making medicine" in war time is again a wrong conception. Every warrior carries a bag of sacred or lucky charms, supposed to protect the wearer alone, but it has nothing to do with the success or safety of the party as a whole. No one can make any "medicine" to affect the result of a battle, although it has been said that Sitting Bull did this at the battle of the Little Big Horn.

When Custer and Reno attacked the camp at both ends, the chief was caught napping. The village was in danger of surprise, and the women and children must be placed in safety. Like other men of his age, Sitting Bull got his family together for flight, and then joined the warriors on the Reno side of the attack. Thus, he was not in the famous charge against Custer; nevertheless, his voice was heard exhorting the warriors throughout that day.

During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting Bull was hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military…The army report says: "Sitting Bull wanted peace in his own way." The truth was that he wanted nothing more than had been guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1868—the exclusive possession of their last hunting ground. This the government was not now prepared to grant, as it had been decided to place all the Indians under military control upon the various reservations.

Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting demands, the hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for several more years, and finally took refuge across the line in Canada, where Sitting Bull had placed his last hope of justice and freedom for his race… Sitting Bull was not moved by fair words; but when he found that if they had liberty on that side, they had little else, that the Canadian government would give them protection but no food, that the buffalo had been all but exterminated and his starving people were already beginning to desert him, he was compelled at last, in 1881, to report at Fort Buford, North Dakota, with his band of hungry, homeless, and discouraged refugees. It was, after all, to hunger and not to the strong arm of the military that he surrendered in the end.

In spite of the invitation that had been extended to him in the name of the "Great Father" at Washington, he was immediately thrown into a military prison, and afterward handed over to Colonel Cody ("Buffalo Bill") as an advertisement for his "Wild West Show." After traveling about for several years with the famous showman, thus increasing his knowledge of the weaknesses as well as the strength of the white man, the deposed and humiliated chief settled down quietly with his people upon the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota, where his immediate band occupied the Grand River district and set to raising cattle and horses…

When the Commissions of 1888 and 1889 came to treat with the Sioux for a further cession of land and a reduction of their reservations, nearly all were opposed to consent on any terms. Nevertheless, by hook or by crook, enough signatures were finally obtained to carry the measure through, although it is said that many were those of women and the so-called "squaw-men", who had no rights in the land. At the same time, rations were cut down, and there was general hardship and dissatisfaction. Crazy Horse was long since dead; Spotted Tail had fallen at the hands of one of his own tribe; Red Cloud had become a feeble old man, and the disaffected among the Sioux began once more to look to Sitting Bull for leadership.

At this crisis a strange thing happened. A half-breed Indian in Nevada promulgated the news that the Messiah had appeared to him upon a peak in the Rockies, dressed in rabbit skins, and bringing a message to the red race. The message was to the effect that since his first coming had been in vain, since the white people had doubted and reviled him, had nailed him to the cross, and trampled upon his doctrines, he had come again in pity to save the Indian. He declared that he would cause the earth to shake and to overthrow the cities of the whites and destroy them, that the buffalo would return, and the land belong to the red race forever! These events were to come to pass within two years; and meanwhile they were to prepare for his coming by the ceremonies and dances which he commanded.

This curious story spread like wildfire and met with eager acceptance among the suffering and discontented people. The teachings of Christian missionaries had prepared them to believe in a Messiah, and the prescribed ceremonial was much more in accord with their traditions than the conventional worship of the churches. Chiefs of many tribes sent delegations to the Indian prophet; Short Bull, Kicking Bear, and others went from among the Sioux, and on their return, all inaugurated the dances at once. There was an attempt at first to keep the matter secret, but it soon became generally known and seriously disconcerted the Indian agents and others, who were quick to suspect a hostile conspiracy under all this religious enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, there was no thought of an uprising; the dancing was innocent enough, and pathetic enough, their despairing hope in a pitiful Savior who should overwhelm their oppressors and bring back their golden age.

When the Indians refused to give up the "Ghost Dance" at the bidding of the authorities, the growing suspicion and alarm focused upon Sitting Bull, who in spirit had never been any too submissive, and it was determined to order his arrest. At the special request of Major McLaughlin, agent at Standing Rock, forty of his Indian police were sent out to Sitting Bull's home on Grand River to secure his person (followed at some little distance by a body of United States troops for reinforcement, in case of trouble)…They entered the cabin at daybreak, aroused the chief from a sound slumber, helped him to dress, and led him unresisting from the house; but when he came out in the gray dawn of that December morning in 1890, to find his cabin surrounded by armed men and himself led away to he knew not what fate, he cried out loudly:

"They have taken me: what say you to it?"

Men poured out of the neighboring houses, and in a few minutes the police were themselves surrounded with an excited and rapidly increasing throng. They harangued the crowd in vain; Sitting Bull's blood was up, and he again appealed to his men. His adopted brother, the Assiniboine captive whose life he had saved so many years before, was the first to fire. His shot killed Lieutenant Bull Head, who held Sitting Bull by the arm. Then there was a short but sharp conflict, in which Sitting Bull and six of his defenders and six of the Indian police were slain, with many more wounded. The chief's young son, Crow Foot, and his devoted "brother" died with him…

Thus ended the life of a natural strategist of no mean courage and ability. The great chief was buried without honors outside the cemetery at the post, and for some years the grave was marked by a mere board at its head. Recently some women have built a cairn of rocks there in token of respect and remembrance.

Continue reading...

#History #SittingBull #Sioux

[sunnnfish]

I think this chapter is sooo funny bc once again they’re having the same feeling!!! (Wanting to continue this pseudo dating thing) but they’re approaching it in different ways!!! Hirano feels the need to communicate to Kagiura about it bc they’ve suffered from so much miscommunication in the past, and Kagiura knows that after that whole convo about “moving on”, hiranos going to talk to him about it bc he doesn’t want to hurt/prolong this hurt, and he’s right! But his conclusion is wrong, I think it’s at this point where Kagiura realizes he’s making assumptions! And assuming that he’ll always be rejected that every bit of progress made will have to be made with sweat, blood, and tears is already selling himself short! It’s why at the end of the chapter we see Kagiura acting like he did in the beginning, like what he’s experiencing is too good to be true and he has to talk to someone about it who can level with him about how he’s supposed to interpret it, “how much hope can I have?” Or something, also I love the fact that this conflict doesn’t just ride on Hirano not experiencing romantic feelings but also Kagiura not being completely truthful about what he’s feeling, I think it was mentioned in the hide n seek chapter about this and something about Kagiura wanting Hirano to find out for himself which is so funny considering Kagiuras feelings only reached the point of no return bc of niibashi’s help 😭 idk these situations are always interesting bc Hirano points out contradictions in kagiuras behavior and Kagiura slowly leaves breadcrumbs as to what it means, so that way Kagiura will have his feelings understood not in an intellectual sense but bc he feels the same thing! Anyway KagiHira 5ever I hope they never stop being insane

ITS SO FUNNY!!!! ITS SO SO FUNNYYYY!!!! hahahahhaah. but god youre so right. they want the same damn thing all the time but they keep going about it in different ways or keep misunderstanding each other. like Yeah they were both thinking about the whole moving on thing... but kagiura completely misunderstood hirano. because he will always think its too good to be true. hes bringing up the moving on thing because hes going to reject me. its on some level a kind of self-loathing that ive been really really normal about lately. even though theyre trying the trial pseudo dating thing he doesnt 100% believe that hirano is actually trying. he thinks he has to keep begging hirano to look at him but little does he know hiranos never taken his eyes off him.

and so they both approach this Moving On conversation with selfishness. kagi selfishly begs hirano to keep trying. and he knows hes selfish and so full of desire and he kind of hates himself for it. but hirano also comes in selfishly--i dont want you to move on yet. let me keep trying. i want to understand you so desperately. and then yeah it kind of lightens up as kagi realizes what the fuck he just said and he has to be thinking about that How much hope am i allowed to have. and thank god he has niibashi to talk to about it UNLIKE HIRANO TAIGA. TALK TO SOMEONE YOU BITCH. SOMEONE WHOS NOT MIYANO. BECAUSE MIYANO IS INSANE. sorry. like you said kagi only realized the depth of his feelings after talking to niibashi. before that he was perfectly content with their relationship. hirano just really really needs to talk to somebody. even in a roundabout way. and i do hope its sasaki. sigh. anyways. also the thing about kagi hiding his feelings Yeah 1000%. and hirano pointing out the contradictions. aaauuuuhhggggg kagihira 6ever peace and love on planet kagihira

#hirano to kagiura #sunnfish.ask #anonymous #thank you for the lovely ask anon.... i love you....

[sapphicseasapphire]

Hi ! Sorry if you already answered that but does Wild care about the god reveal thing ? Cause Time is shiny- And he loves shiny things. But at the same time would Wild actually just stuck around him more ? Since yk he prefers to hang out with the huh... Spirit related people ? Or does he go and be lonely :') ? Does he even get lonely ? Since he steals the others things because it's shiny some must have to be upset with him right ? And some might hold grudges against him for more time than others and knowing that Wild probably can't help himself but : I need shiny thing.

The others are probably going to be upset at him that he never stop doing that. And then some are going to either confront him about it and he might close up in his shell or they'll avoid him or be cold with him and that would impact the relationship. And since he doesn't talk much all by himself he might not have any interactions or very few and that might be for battles etc... So would he get lonely ?

Hylia did I ramble... I love your AU ! 'S not my fault you did smt to make my brain go : Zoomies time my cotton ball

Before the God Reveal, everyone just kind of assumed that Time was a spirit. And they assumed this specifically because Wild was so close with him. Wild can communicate ideas telepathically with other spirits and spiritual beings- like Wars and Time. He can communicate complete sentences and words to Spirit, who is a Reaper. Time, apart from being generally shiny, seems to understand Wild, and Wild is very close with him, so everyone just assumed. They had no reason to think that a literal God was among them.

(Sky knew because he’s had enough experience with Gods to recognize them. Spirit knew because of his massive displays of power, which only the Reaper could detect. But everyone else was clueless. At least… at first).

So the God Reveal doesn’t really change how Wild sees Time. He’s still a shiny guy. Still one of the few people in the group that can understand him. They stay close, because honestly? Wild doesn’t care about Gods. Even a little bit. He cares more about the people that Time hurt because of his secrets. The trust between them is rattled, but yeah. Wild still talks to him. He still pokes at the eye. Touches the armor. Forgets about personal space.

Wild can get lonely. He’s a very social creature, having lived surrounded by forest spirits his whole life- er, his whole… death? He doesn’t remember being alive haha! Just the Blupees and Koroks that play with him, the Deku Tree that guides him, the Lord of the Mountains for which he’s named. Wild thrives off of closeness. He needs companionship.

And I’ve actually gotten a lot of asks about this haha! The Cryptid Chain are not mad a Wild. They’ll get (understandably) annoyed when Wild tries to touch them or steal their things, but it’s mostly playful. Harmless. There’s no bad blood between them. They all LOVE Wild! He’s such a little guy. And he’s a good brother. They WANT him to be close to them.

EVEN LEGEND.

(Legend’s just… Legend about it)

And on the communication thing! It’s true that only Wars, Time, and Spirit can telepathically shares ideas (and in Spirit’s case, whole conversations) with him, but that doesn’t mean that the others can’t understand him! Wild is VERY expressive, and the others have gotten very good at reading his body language! It’s a two way street- both sides need to put effort into being understood. Wild is so very loved. I need you to know that.

#the legend of zelda #chain as cryptids au #i answered question #cryptid lore #cryptid wild #cryptid time #sapphire rambles too long #please they LOVE HIM #he’s just a LITTLE GUY #links meet au

[artist-issues]

What are the best stories you've seen that have a theme of forgiveness? If not strictly about forgiveness, then any themes along the lines of retribution, redemption arcs, or even "seeing through another's eyes" (I may or may not have rewatched Brother Bear recently lol)

Well, we’ve got all my old standbys. Cinderella, of course, is a story that really has forgiveness in it, because Cinderella wholeheartedly forgives her stepfamily for mistreating her. (Actually, she might be “forbearance,” not forgiveness.) But they’re completely off her hook. I think there’s a really great moment of forgiveness between Nick and Judy in Zootopia that gets overlooked. Frozen, with Anna and Elsa. Brother Bear is a really great example, truly! I love that movie.

I think some of my other favorites include the original A Star is Born, or even the Judy Garland remake. (Those also might be more “forbearance.”) I think one of the best examples I ever saw of forgiveness was in Avatar: the Last Airbender, which everybody knows:

And of course, ‘Til We Have Faces and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis have some of the best-distilled forgiveness moments in any stories, ever. There are sweet ones in The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, too, though they’re not as dramatic. In Anne’s House of Dreams, by L.M. Montgomery, Anne’s repeated forgiveness of Leslie’s coldheartedness or rudeness is a really simple but awesome example of day-to-day forgiveness.

I don’t easily think of a lot of good examples of it in stories. Brother Bear definitely has it, because without it, the story doesn’t work—Sitka wouldn’t help Kenai to learn from his wrongs, Kenai would’ve been killed by Denahi, Koda would’ve been left alone—but I don’t think forgiveness is the main focus of the movie. I think it’s a load-bearing component, but not the focus.

You’re making me want to see a movie that really homes in on that!

The thing is, I guess, for forgiveness to be the focus of a movie, there has to be a character that 100% definitely does the complete wrong, inexcusable thing to another character. Something that he deserves to be on the hook for. Then he has to acknowledge that he did the wrong thing and want forgiveness. And then the other character, the one who was wronged, has to willingly acknowledge that wrong and then let the offender off the hook. It’s not just “we’ll pretend this didn’t happen.” It’s both parties acknowledging that wrong was done, and having an exchange that ends in reconciliation. It’s got grace and mercy wrapped up in it.

Not many movies have true moments like this. Usually, one character is super sorry and the other character just seems to brush off whatever they did with like, a callback to an inside joke or something. (I’m thinking if Treasure Planet, to be honest.) Or, the situation necessitates that they put their conflict aside and work together, and then after the day is saved they sort of “get over” all that and swagger off into the sunset together.

As far as “redemption” goes—gee, all the old standbys! All the ones I mentioned above, plus Star Wars, plus East of Eden (the movie, not the book) plus, of course, my all-time favorite movie, Lilo & Stitch.

In Lilo & Stitch, you have the ugly little creature who belongs absolutely nowhere, is by definition a blight on nature and an abomination of existence, who was actively created to ruin everything. And he does it, and he takes delight in it. But there’s this little girl who gets pushed down, gets her doll chewed on, gets rejected when she’s most in need of his companionship—and she just keeps on loving him anyway. Because she’s chosen to, not because he did anything to deserve it. And then that infects him. That idea of family—of someone choosing to love you, no matter how ugly you are inside and out, and by choosing to love you, they create a place where you belong. No matter what. And that changes him. A germ from outside of him changes him from a literal world-destroying, home-shattering selfish monster into something new, something adopted, something loved.

I’d call it a story about committed love and grace, not necessarily redemption—because the focus of the story isn’t really “Stitch does something wrong but then through a process of pain and transformative struggle, redeems that wrong.” That’s not the focus of the story. But it’s still “bad character becomes good.” And I can’t help but talk about Lilo & Stitch once you get me started on it, sorry!

I think the best redemption stories are some of the ones I’ve listed above, plus East of Eden, Beauty & the Beast, and really, truly Sydney Carton from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

And I think Kylo Ren was well on his way to being one of the best redemption stories of all time, if TROS hadn’t fumbled the ending so clumsily—but that’s another post for another time! I don’t know if this satisfactorily answered your question, but it was fun to ramble about and I’ll tag you if I make another post as more come to mind.

#thanks Buddy #asked #answered #Kylo Ren #beauty & the beast #forgiveness #redemption arcs #Zuko #the beast #Lilo & stitch #writing #character development

[theshelbyclan]

Wives and husbands

Summary: Nell has a little talk with her sisters about love

A/N: this one was requested by a lovely anon, which came at a perfect timing because I’ve just binged the series and I absolutely love it! Also, I had the afternoon off for once. So here we go, written pretty quickly, and I hope you like it 😊

———

“How’s George?” Nell walked into the abandoned house at the deserted plague village and inquired loudly.

Roxy was just redressing her little sister’s wound and replied, “The ointment seems to work.”

“How did you get by that then?”

Roxy shrugged, but George quipped, “Roxy made it. She’s magic, Nell.”

“No she’s not,” Nell laughed, but added, “Are ya?”

“Dunno… it’s like something happens to me sometimes…”

The eldest Trotter paused and looked at her two younger sisters. The weight of the responsibility heavy on her shoulders, she sighed.

“It’s true!” George said, “She can see things, like around people and stuff.”

“Is that right?”

“It’s more like…” Roxy pondered, fiddling with the bandages, “It’s more like I can feel it. Like I get all warm and tingly and it’s just… there.”

“Right,” Nell pushed her aside and corrected the bandages, “That sounds an awful lot like something you’re far too young for.”

“Not that!”

“Not what?” George asked at once.

Both sister replied in unison, “Nothing!”

A few moments later, they’d finished taking care of her and George was back tucked into bed. But she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to know, “Are you talking about Roxy and Rasselas again? Like them kissing and that?”

“ ‘And that?’ “ Nell raised her eyebrows and turned to Roxy, “And bloody what?”

“Nothing!” She sighed, “We didn’t do nothing!”

“You better not! We don’t have time for all of that, you know that. And also, you’re still an actual child, so don’t even…”

But Roxy had had enough of it and interrupted, “Like you’re one to speak. You were sixteen, same as me, when you up and vanished with your Captain Jackson. To what, drink tea with him? Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot, Nell!”

“I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all,” she replied with some more sympathy in her voice.

“Rasselas wouldn’t hurt me. Besides, I’m a lot smarter than you.”

Nell opened her mouth to contradict, but decided against it. She was probably right actually. So she took another sip of her brandy instead.

George was the first one to speak again, “Did you like Captain Jackson, Nell?”

“Yeah, I liked him…”

“You don’t sound too sure,” Roxy scoffed.

“Come on, Rox, you knew what it was like. I was going mad up in that little pub, trapped between those four walls! I needed to find me a way out and so I did.”

“So you basically just used him?”

“No, it wasn’t even like that. If anything, we used each other, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Roxy pushed, “but did you love him?”

“I dunno… Now, can we please just forget about all this mush and move on? We’ve got stuff to do!” Nelly got up and started walking away.

But George wasn’t going to let things go that easily, “Would you marry again, Nell? Get another husband?”

“Yeah, of course. Maybe… I don’t know!” She sighed, “No. probably not.”

“She’s too busy playing the hero,” Roxy motioned at her little sister, “She doesn’t have time for what’s most important, does she?”

That made Nell stop. And she took Roxy’s hand and carefully said, “I know you think love is the most important thing right now. Of course you do, you’re only sixteen! Why do you think I ran off with some Captain I hardly knew at that age? I thought I was in love. And it was the most important thing. But it’s not. Keeping you two safe; that’s all that matters to me now, all right? Family is the most important thing. And after Pa… Well, we need to stick together and find a way out of this mess, yeah? Once I’ve got you two safe and settled, then I’ll think about love.”

Roxy visibly softened and smiled. Her sister wasn’t that bad, she was just built completely different from her. Roxy did all the thinking, but Nell did all the action. They were good together though.

“Then will you find a husband?” a high voice asked hopefully.

“I might!” Nell grinned, “Might even find myself a wife!”

“You can’t have a wife…”

“And why the hell not?”

“You’re not a man, Nelly, you’re my sister.”

“Don’t call me ‘Nelly’”, she muttered for the 10th time that week. “Yeah, but when I went out to get you that fancy doctor, I was the honourable Scottish so and so, right? So I could be a gentleman with a wife.”

“Yeah but that was just you playing dress up. Pretending, right?”

“Was I?”

George frowned, “Yeah, because you don’t like dresses.”

Nell had no idea how to explain all of this to a nine-year-old, “They’re just not for me.”

“Why?”

“I dunno, George! They just feel… wrong.”

Roxy looked down and waited. She’d known this for a long time already. She’d known Nell for a long time already.

“But you’re not a man neither, right?” George continued.

“Maybe I’m… neither. I like being able to go in and out, if that makes sense?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Do you like being call Georgiana?”

“No. I’m George.”

“Exactly!”

George looked at Roxy and said, “She’s not like you.”

“No, Roxy is the sensible one in the family. Or at least, she was, until she started going all lovey dovey over a boy she hardly knows…”

“Oh, shut up!” Roxy threw back. But to George she added, “It’s like with Nell, the clothes don’t really matter, right? But she can be a man and people will think she’s a man, and she can be a woman. But in the end, she’s not anything, because it’s just Nell, right? And she doesn’t like feeling trapped, like she said.”

“Right!” Nell beamed, “That’s what I mean.”

“So, is that why you’d rather fancy a wife…?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s not that complicated, George,” Roxy explained, “People just want you to be a certain way, but you don’t have to be anything. Just be you.”

Nell looked at her with admiration, “You really are much better at this than I am, Rox.”

“I know.”

Clearly thinking hard, George eventually said, “I think I’d rather fancy a wife myself.”

Nell rolled her eyes, “Absolutely not. I cannot deal with another one falling in love, all right? No wives or husbands or any kind of entanglements for you. Ever. Is that understood?”

Roxy laughed, which somehow annoyed Nell even more, “I’m serious!”

“Sure you are.”

And with that Nell stalked off, shouting over her shoulder: “No wives, no husbands, neither of you, alright!”

“Fine,” George sighed, “I’d much rather be my own wife anyways.”

Roxy grinned at her, “Good for you, George.”

#renegade Nell #Nelly Jackson #renegade Nell fanfic

[thedevilsoftruth]

Hey!, I just finished rewatching moon knight and now scrolling through the moon knight tags when I came across a post about how Mr knight is actually Marc Spector and Steven Grant is a playboy billionaire in the comics and I was shook. Then I came across your post of you ranting about the differences from the show to the comics, which blew my mind!, and now I’m so intrigued and curious about the true lore of moon knight, every time I try to search about it on google I just get references from the shows (so frustrating) I can’t afford to buy the comics, so if you can/want could you please tell me all the important and interesting facts/lore that’s in the moon knight comics?

Sorry for the long message, just came across your page and pressed follow, love your content!. ❤️

AAAAAAGGGGHHHH HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT. GIIGLING AND KICKING MY FEET IN THE AIR. HEY, LOOK MA, I MADE IT!! I GET TO EXPLAIN THE MOON KNIGHT COMICS LORE TO SOME GUY ON THE INTERNET!!

in all seriousness, this made my day. I'm so glad you enjoy my content, and I will happily explain to you the MK lore!

I completely get you on the not wanting to but the comics thing. Comics are expensive. Honey, imma be real with you, readcomiconline.li is where it's at. It's where I read all of the comics I didn't have.

So before I go on a tangent and explain things, and this goes for anyone wanting to start reading the comics, heres a little list of all the comics I've read so far in what I understand to be chronological order.

It's a little bit cheesy and a VERY long run, but Marc Spector: Moon Knight from 1989-94 is maaayybbeee where you want to start off, but maybe not. I didn't start off with this run, but even as bad as the old comics are, they're a bit important.

But, I HIGHLY suggest you start out with the Lemire and Smallwood run from 2016. It was the first run I completed, and it's an amazing run and VERY important to read. Many people say it's the best run. It's certainly a run, I'll tell you that. ( Also I didn't read that one online, I received it last year as a Christmas gift. Also readcomic doesn't have all of the issues, so be warned on that. )

Next I read From The Dead. And I moved on to Vengeance of The Moon Knight from 2009. And after I'd suggest reading Age of Khonshu, Devils Reign and then The Midnight Mission. You can read all of these for free on readcomiconline.li ( don't type in comics plural because it will direct you to the wrong site ) be warned though because there are a lot of ads and you will get jumpscared by anime boobies.

~~

Now moving onto what you asked me for. The important stuff, right.

I'm new to this whole comic reading stuff as well, and for anyone else reading this who knows more than I do, please add additional information I missed down in the reply section. It would mean a lot. So now I'm going to give a you a quick run down on Marc's origin story. ( And for a quick disclaimer, I will come off as not taking myself seriously in some parts of this post because I don't take myself seriously lol. )

Marc Spector was born on March 9th, 1987 in Chicago Illinois into a Jewish family. His father was Elias Spector and his mother was Wendy Spector ( his younger brother being Randall Spector )Elias was a rabbi who manged to escape Nazi prosecution during the days of Hitler and all that jazz. Because Elias was a rabbi, Randall would get picked on at school a lot, and Marc would be there to stand up for him. Even at a young age Marc was exposed to a lot of violence. That could come from growing up yk... Kinda poor and having to stand up for your lil bro.

Marc's violent nature was really born when a close family friend of his, Yitz Perlmen was discovered to be a secret serial killer who targeted Jews. From what I understand, Perlmen tried to Kill Marc ( mind you Marc was like 11 or 12 ) but Marc had escaped but his traumatic experiences led him to form D.I.D

As seen in the Lemire run, the first time Marc had encountered Khonshu was when he was 12 and was getting diagnosed for his D.I.D Marc wasn't told to his face from the doctor about his disorder and was told to step outside the office. Marc tried to evesdrop on the conversation, and from outside of the doctor's office, he meets Khonshu. Khonshu tells him, " That man in there is not your true father. I am. " Mind you, Marc is 12!!! 12!!!! Khonshu began manipulating Marc since he was twelve because he was, obviously really fucking young, and traumatized. Khonshus tactics were to strip Marc away from his religion and culture and make him submit to him.

So anyways, Marc was sent to Putnam Psychiatric Hospital and would stay there until he was 18 when his father funeral came along and he was let go for a week to go visit his family. This is where we learn Marc's relationship with his father was complex. Marc tells his mother, Wendy, that his father must have been happy to send him away because he was embarrassed by him. Wendy and Marc have an argument, which ends in Marc saying he's going to the bathroom, when he actually leaves to his childhood bedroom and escapes out the window when he hears Khonshus voice.

Marc later enlisted into the U.S marines Corps and served as a private for a couple years. But on Marc's second tour to Iraq, superiors started to report his odd behavior and they found out that Marc had lied about his disorder, leaving him to be discharged. Marc joined the CIA and served with his brother Randall. Randall was jealous of Marcs talents and killed Marc's girlfriend, Lisa, because she was going to expose a gun scheme. Marc then like... Threw bombs at Randall and shit and then assumed he was dead...but he wasn't.

Marc left the CIA after that and started doing illegal boxing, where he met his soon to be best friend, Jean-Paul Duchamp ( usually refered to as Frenchie ) and they became mercenaries together and started killing a bunch of people, in Marc's case, for mooonnneeyyy!!! Get that bag, girlie. And then Marc got put on trial for war crimes!! His crime being yk...assistanting the president of this south African country called Bosqueverde as one does.

And then he started to do missions under this group call the Karnak Cowboys and fell in love with one of his groupmates, Layla El-faouly, as seen in later issues of The Midnight Mission. Then she fucking died when an escape went wrong.

So anyways Marc meets this funny lil guy named Raoul Bushman ( he is not funny lil guy, he's killed hundred of people, probably) So Marc works for him with Frenchie and they, together, set to north Sudan to raid a dig site. ( This should start to sound familiar, as it was briefly touched on in the show when Arthur's guys captured Steven and put cuffs on him and slammed him in the back of their car ) Looks like raid shadow legends went down again, and things started to get not so epic when Raoul killed the lead Archeologist of the dig site, Peter Alraune in front of his daughter Marlene. This pissed the ever loving shit out of Marc because even though Marc likes violence, he doesn't enjoy violence against innocent people, and so he punches the fucker but uh oh! The Raoul Bushman Strikes Back, and he fucking KILLS MARC IN RETURN AND EVERYONE ELSE EXPECT FOR FRENCHIE AND MARLENE AND THIS ONE MF WHO TOLD HIM HE WOULD TELL HIM WHERE THE DIG SITE WAS. ( really Raoul left Marc mortally wounded, but he was on the brick of death, basically)

Marc was able to regain conscious and drag himself halfway to Khonshus tomb ( which is what Raoul was looking for ) Marlene and a bunch of other citizens find Marc and they carry him to Khonshus tomb. Marc hears Khonshus voice for yet another time, and Marc is revived and becomes the Moon Knight we all know and love. Then he basically killed Raoul's guys and then fell in love with Marlene.

So that's his origin story. Now onto the stuff I know as fact but it won't be explained in chronological order because I haven't read a ton of comics to explain it in chronological order.

He used Steven as a a way to handle money and build wealth so they could have recourses like vehicles, weapons and a ton of other random bullshit ( go!! ) that they don't need. Jake was used as a new York taxi driver so that he had his eye in the streets and knew when shit was goin down. They're both kind of horny. Jake literally spends some of his free time in a strip clubs drinking rum. ( As seen in the midnight mission and implied on in the Lemire run. )

His relationship with Marlene was long, but didn't last because, if I'm recalling correctly, Marc had a mental breakdown and decided to basically stop working for Khonshu so he could be with Marlene. But soon after he started hearing Khonshus voice again and Marlene couldn't take anymore of it, so she left him.

And then there's that bullshit with The Midnight Man. All I know is that he passed away from cancer and had a son named Jeff Wilde. Jeff aspired to Marc and wanted to be his sidekick, kind of like Robin and Batman in the Lego Batman movie with a little less adoption, but Marc kept on refusing as a way to protect Jeff. The Jeff had this whole thing where he turned evil or some shit idk and I guess Marc killed him? I'm not sure. Please, moon knight gang, let me know what happened in the reply section because I'm ignorant.

Marc had his independence from Khonshu after banishing Khonshu to Asgardian Prison ( seen in Age of Khonshu and discussed in The Midnight Mission) and decided " fuck you, I don't need need you anymore. Imma do my own thing and you can't do nothing about it " and then he became Mr. Knight. Mr. Knight is kind of a detective and he consults with policemen ( as seen in From The Dead ) Moon Knight is the one who does all the fighting.

From where Marc's development is at right now, Marc was running a thing called the Midnight Mission, which was a place where citizens would go to to report strange things happening in the city.

Additional, fun information:

Marc has a daughter named Diatrice. He only knows about it because Jake had a secret relationship with Marlene on the side after Marc and Marlene broke up.

He sleeps all day in the tomb of Khonshu and fights crime at night. He's like a bat!!

His ringtone ( as seen in the midnight mission) is The Killing Moon by Echo and The Bunnymen. ( Y'all should listen to it, if you haven't. it's really good. ).

He drives a red convertible car ( as seen in the Brain Micheal Bendis run, don't read it it's REALLY bad and insufficient. ) and also a motorcycle ( as see in Vengeance of The Moon Knight)

He was originally supposed to fight mainly just werewolf's and um... Writers at Marvel had different ideas.

His favorite drink is an ice cold vodka ( as seen in the Midnight Mission)

He had a mansion and then his money went bye bye and now he lives in a haunted house ( as seen, once again, in the Midnight Mission)

Frenchie is also gay! Hes married to a man named Rob! ( And this is only from what I've heard, by he apparently had a secret crush on Marc at some point.)

And yeah. That's all I have for ya today. Thank you if you made it this far, and I hope I was able to satisfy your curiosity a little bit!

Goodknight everyone!!!

#comic mr knight #mk comics #moon knight comics #comic marc spector #comic steven grant #comic jake Lockley #mr knight #moon knight #marvel #marvel comics #marvel cinematic universe #marvel mcu #marc spector #steven grant #jake lockley #mcu #marvel facts #comics #marvel men #the midnight mission

[rweoutofthewoods]

hi! i have a question regarding every omen of the valley.

lile if your soulmate not only feels the pain but also gets the same injury like what does thst mean for surgeries?

for example, i tore my acl complete in half, would my (hypothetical) soulmate also have a torn acl?? when i had my surgery the doctor drilled my bones, would my hypothetical soulmate have also gotten that done. i was under anesthesia but would they be?? like the pain??

im sorry if you havent actually put THAT much though into this but🧍🧍 curiousity and all.

OKAY! Hi! I was actually thinking about this so I'm glad you asked. I have put much thought into it, especially since I kind of created my own twist on the soulmate identifiers. There were lots of kinks to work out.

Basically, it's a little complicated. The soulmate get the same scars and marks of their injuries and SOME pain, but it's a different kind of pain. It's more like the memory of pain or a watered-down version.

I do have a scene much, much later where one of them is injured seriously and the other will feel it which will help explain what it's like much better. But like there's like a feeling of connection, and the soulmate who didn't get the injury firsthand will experience ringing ears and blurry vision (if it's a super serious injury.) and a hint of the pain, but more so like your body knows something is wrong, but it also knows you're not experiencing the injury firsthand. So it's more uncomfortable than actual agonizing pain.

So in the first chap, Regulus was cut and James saw it on himself, but he wasn't actually in true pain, and at least not the same amount of pain that Reg would have been in. And if Regulus had been hurt badly enough to kill him, it wouldn't kill James too. Even if like Regulus' throat was slit (THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY HAPPENING. It's just my example) and he died, James would bleed, and he'd have a scar. It'd probably be a horrible experience, and he'd feel Regulus die, but not the same amount of pain that Reg would feel. The wound itself would be superficial, and it would just scar exactly the same.

The other thing is pain is stronger the closer together soulmates are. So like wolfstar found of they were soulmates because Sirius burned his hand in front of Remus and they both flinched. So in the case of surgery, it'd be medical protocol that soulmates have to be as far as possible from the soulmate getting the surgery so they don't feel much pain. (Also, I should note, that when soulmates meet, the bond does intensify. So before they meet, they might not feel much pain at all and only get the marks of the injury.)

I hope this makes sense, it is kind of complicated and I've had to do a lot of twisting and worldbuilding to figure out how all this works, because I've never really seen a soulmate AU that works exactly the same.

#mere answering things ;) #fic: every omen in the valley

[am-i-interrupting]

Killing Games | Vox x Alastor’s Child Reader— OATSH

If you like what I’m doing consider tipping me for priority requests & access to characters I don’t usually write for such as Charlie, Valentino, Carmilla, and more.

Vox gets drunk and asks some questions, gets some answers and more questions.

Sometimes, Vox let his mind wander. That was more prevalent when he was drunk. Which is precisely why it was a bad idea for him to drink when he was in public, much less at an overlord party with his wife and Alastor, both notorious for being able to hold their liquor.

He was leaned slightly so his arm was around your shoulder but with that came most of his body weight. His free hand was trailing your blackened nails. Absolutely fascinated with the soft gradient and how the silver of your ring contrasted it.

He loved your sharp claws. He adored them and the softness with which they touched him with. Leaving nothing but small tingles along his skin. While also being capable of tearing through the flesh of others. He’d seen them dripping with blood many times and it was so beautiful.

“Have you ever thought,” he began idly, unknowingly cutting a conversation between you and Alastor short, “of killing me?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

You and Alastor both answered at the same time.

Vox whipped his head up immediately. He’d expected the answer from Alastor, but you? The two of you were married. He slept by you at night and you’d thought of killing him?

“You’ve wanted to kill me?” Vox asked you.

“Yes, often,” Alastor answered instead.

You amended Vox’s question, “No, I’ve thought of killing you, darling. I don’t plan on actually doing it. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle or the clean up. I’d also miss you too much for it to be a worthwhile effort.”

“But you’ve thought of it?”

“Don’t think you’re special,” you told him. “I’ve thought of killing most everyone I’ve ever met. It’s a passing thought.”

“Really? I commonly dwell on the idea,” Alastor said.

“Well, you’re not the one who married him so that’s not a true concern for you, is it?”

“It’s a concern for me,” Vox said.

“Yes, well, we have a deal,” you told Vox. “Should the time ever come where you do something irredeemable, it’ll be a team effort to kill your so really, you don’t.”

“You’ve discussed killing me?”

“I’ve wanted to kill you since the moment we’ve met,” Alastor said. “Luckily for you, I hold my child’s opinion in high regard and haven’t.”

“How lucky for us,” you said a bit sarcastically.

Vox’s hand holding yours tightened. “I feel like I’m in danger right now.”

You patted his hand. “You’re completely safe, I assure you.”

“Yeah, completely safe with two murderers.”

“What a fascinating thing,” Alastor said as he leaned on his hand, closer to Vox. “You were completely comfortable with the idea until the moment it was confirmed we’d thought of killing you.”

“Yeah, because there’s a difference between knowing you’d both killed people for breaking moral codes versus knowing you’ve both thought of killing me when I haven’t broken it,” Vox said.

“Debatable,” Alastor said.

You didn’t hesitate ripping the microphone Alastor had been letting bounce from hand to hand from him. You then proceeded to hit him with it. Alastor’s ears flicked back and he scowled at you, baring his teeth and gums. The microphone dissipated from your hands and into shadow.

“Again, I’ve thought of killing most people I’ve met,” you told Vox, like it was supposed to be reassuring.

“Starlight?”

“Yes.”

“She’s one of your favorite people,” Vox said.

“And it would be an awful tragedy to lose her,” you told him and it would, on more grounds than just the fact that she was your assistant.

“Rosie?”

“It’s a bit of a game between the three of us to try to kill one another actually,” you said.

“Ah, yes, you did get very close last time. Rosie’s got absolutely delectable calves. You did a very wondrous job with that meal preparation,” Alastor said.

“Thanks, daddy,” you said with what looked like genuine appreciation for the compliment.

“That’s why Rosie was in a wheelchair for a month?!” Vox asked, yelled really causing multiple heads (including Rosie’s own) to turn to your table.

“Do be aware of your volume,” Alastor said, “but yes. I don’t say it often but I was very proud.”

“Wait, the three of you,” Vox said gesturing between the two of you with his hand that was hanging off your shoulder. “The three of you have made it a game to kill each other.”

“That was established,” Alastor said.

“So you’ve thought of killing each other?”

“And attempted it as a passing game,” you said. “Every time we eat something the other makes there’s a chance it’ll be poisoned. Those times I’ve gotten sick after seeing daddy, those were all because he’d poisoned the food.”

“You’ve poisoned your child?!”

“Volume,” you said before you reached for the dial at the side of his face and turned it down several notches. “But don’t worry, I was the one who poisoned him first.”

“And what an excellent job at that you did!” Alastor praised. “I was incapacitated for two and a half days. A true feat!”

Vox’s face briefly glitched out before coming back on. “Normal people don’t think about much less try to lull people they like much less their family.”

“Really?” You looked over at Alastor and then back at Vox. “So, the depictions in media of children hating their parents is over exaggerated?”

“Yes!”

“Huh,” Alastor said, “fascinating. I thought it was far more common but I suppose I only had your experience and my own to compare. How interesting.”

“What family did I marry into?” Vox asked as he downed your glass in one go.

“You should have known better,” you told him with a soft smile.

Later that night, the two of you were in bed. You were on Vox’s chest. Your claws drawing up and down his exposed chest.

“How would you kill me?” Vox asked.

You laughed softly, breath brushing against his skin. “Still on this?”

“Humor me.”

You were silent for a moment, just listening to his heartbeat.

“The thought of living without you hurts too much for me to entertain the idea for long,” you said. “The idea normally comes to me quick and sudden and leaves just as fast. Sometimes I’ll be making dinner and think of slipping something in your drink. Other times it’s the knife. How easy it would be to turn around and drag it from your belly button to your collarbone—“ your claw moved down the path— “Right now it’d be so easy to choke—“ your hand went up to his neck and squeezed— “you to sleep.”

Your grip loosened and you placed your head back on his chest.

“But I can’t,” you said. “I can think about it but I can’t do it. I’d miss you too much.”

When you were asleep, Vox stayed awake. His hands ran through the fur of your tail and scratched at the base of it.

He had a lot to think about. The game of death. The fact that you’d thought of killing him. That the main think that stopped you was your affection for you.

Why was he so horny?

If you like what I’m doing consider commissioning me for canon/canon stories AND personalized canon/reader stories.

#vox x reader #hazbin vox x reader #one author two show hosts #alastor x reader #hazbin alastor x reader

[mochidolls]

𝜗ϱ : just kids.

n : based on this request by anon, i took it more into the childhood friends to lovers direction!

warnings : slight mention of negative body image / mentions of injury

click for palestine / how you can help palestine

it was fourth grade when you realised it. your crush on lottie to be specific. the two of you had been the closest since the day both you lost your first tooth. swinging on the monkey bars, one at each end trying to get to the middle the fastest which ended up with the two of you colliding into one another and out came the first tooth. since then you two were inseparable.

the moment your crush had really solidified had been when the two of you just won your first football national game. you both were on a high from the victory, celebrating at lottie’s home. you two were changing in order to go bowling that same evening along your parents and siblings, lottie’s parents unable to attend due to ‘unexpected’ circumstances at their respective workplaces. everyone knew that it was complete utter bullshit though.

“can you hurry up? your parents will be here soon!” lottie groaned as she watched you fiddle with the hem of your soccer kit, the number 4 written across the back. you were reluctant to change in front of lottie, sure the two of you had been close for years but you were a teenager now it was wayy different from when the two of you were 6 or 7.

“just give me a sec jeez.” you huffed turning your back to face her. if you do it quick enough, she won’t see. if you do it quick enough, she won’t see. a constant mantra you repeated to yourself under your breath which to lottie sounded like:

a. you were either going insane.

OR

b. chanting some sort of spell.

“you okay?” lottie asked slowly, getting up from her bed and approaching you.

“‘m fine.” you quickly tugged down the shirt before crossing your arms over your chest. oh. lottie knew you all too well, especially the cues to signal you were uncomfortable.

“i can go to the kitchen or something while you change.” lottie offered softly.

“it’s fine. i’m okay.” you mumbled back in response, taking an inhale. just change already, don’t be dumb.

quickly you took off your football kit, and your back was shown to lottie, all the scars from your falls while playing displaying themselves to lottie, and although they weren’t something to be shameful of, your teenage brain hated the imperfections that littered your body. lottie took note of that, like she always did when it came to you.

after changing into a much cleaner and comfortable top, you turned to face lottie who had a weirdly odd soft gaze in her eyes.

“what are you looking at?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“nothing, you’re just pretty.” lottie shrugged and how could she? shrug so nonchalantly as if she hadn’t melted your heart completely right there and then.

“thanks.” jesus, talk about being awkward.

you fell out of love with football. more so actually playing the sport. it wasn’t much of your thing anymore, more lottie’s. however as the years passed, your crush for lottie grew stronger.

you watched lottie progress in her soccer career and you had been so very proud of how far she’d come. wanting to still be involved in soccer (and close to lottie) you decided to be the team's physio of sorts. alongside misty you learned first aid as well as other skills to equip you fit enough for the position. every game you’d tend to their calves and potential injuries that would arise. you enjoyed it. more than you anticipated.

today had been training, so you weren’t expecting anything serious needing to be attended to. or so you thought.

you had been seated on the sides, watching the girls play when the disaster struck. in true to playing her position, lottie had tried to defend a goal incoming by jackie. however in trying to get the ball, came a heavy collision, leading lottie on the floor with a groan and she clutched onto her ankle. instantly you sprung into action, running over to her ssessed her ankle, noting the slight swelling and her grimace of pain.

"lot, can you move your ankle?" you asked gently, your voice laced with concern.

lottie winced as she tried to move it. "it hurts," she admitted, her voice strained.

you nodded, your mind racing as you recalled your first aid training. "okay, i’m going to support your ankle and help you sit up slowly," you instructed, slipping your arm under hers and carefully lifting her into a sitting position.

once she was settled, you reached for the first aid kit you always kept nearby during games. with practiced efficiency, you wrapped an ice pack around lottie's ankle to help reduce the swelling, all the while trying to keep your own nerves in check.

as you helped lottie to her feet, a rush of emotions flooded through you. the worry for her well-being mingled with something else, something deeper that you had been trying to ignore for far too long.

with lottie leaning on you, you guided her off the field and towards the team's locker room, your heart pounding in your chest for an entirely different reason now. as you walked, you stole glances at lottie, her hair slightly disheveled from the game, her eyes filled with a mixture of pain and gratitude.

once you reached the locker room, you helped lottie settle onto a bench before sitting down beside her.

as you tended to lottie's ankle, your worry was palpable, etched across your features making it all too easy for the girl in front of you to know your current mental state and lottie, couldn't help but tease you.

"i’m not going to die, y'know?" she teased, a playful glimpse in her eyes as she watched your grim and overly worried expression.

you couldn't help but chuckle, rolling your eyes at her remark. "fuck off, this could’ve been serious" you replied, your tone light despite the worry gnawing at your insides.

the tension broke into laughter, the sound filling the air and momentarily easing the worry that had settled between you. but as the laughter subsided, a silence fell, heavy with unspoken words.

you found yourself gazing into lottie's eyes, your heart fluttering in your chest as if it were trying to escape the confines of your ribcage. for a moment, it felt as if the world had faded away, as if it were reserved for the two of you only.

but then you shifted your gaze away, focusing on lottie's swollen ankle as if it held all the answers you were searching for. "just keep the ice pack and apply a bit of pressure, okay?" you instructed, your voice soft and gentle.

lottie nodded, her hand reaching for the ice pack as you retracted yours, your fingers grazing against each other in a fleeting touch that sent shivers down your spine. your gazes met again. and then, in a burst of courage fueled by the warmth of lottie's gaze, you blurted out words you had kept hidden for far too long.

"lottie, i..." you began, your voice trailing off as you searched for the right words to express the feelings swirling inside you. but fuck, was it difficult.

she looked at you, her eyes filled with curiosity and maybe something else, something that mirrored the emotions swirling inside you. "you what?" she prompted, her voice soft and encouraging.

you took a deep breath, gathering your courage like armour against the vulnerability of your confession. "i care about you. more than just as a friend. like way more than a friend should honestly." you confessed breathlessly, your heart pounding in your chest with the weight of your words.

for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, the air heavy with anticipation as you waited for lottie's response.

“look, it’s okay if you don’t like me that way, i just—“

and then, with a smile that lit up her face like the sun breaking through the clouds, lottie reached out and took your hand in hers, intertwining your fingers in a gesture that spoke volumes without a single word.

"i love you you too. more than a friend.”

oh.

#lottie matthews x reader #lottie matthews #yellowjackets x reader #yellowjackets lottie #lottie x reader #lottie matthews fluff #yellowjackets

[max1461]

Context here

No, if I'm to be blunt: internet discourse people only care about culture when it's astrology &c. Actually that's not even true. But anyway, many people care very much about other forms of culture in both a normative and a personal sense.

In the personal sense, many people are very attached to the way they do laundry or the language they speak, and while you (reader, not just OP) might not care about these things in your own life, they are perfectly reasonable things to care about (as I've said previously: as reasonable as gender presentation or video games or large cardinal axioms). On the normative side, many people very much do desire to assimilate others into some arbitrary set of norms, to make everyone dress the "right" way and talk the "right" way and so on; this is the bread and butter of nationalism. If one disagrees with this agenda, as I do, one should be vocal about it, because it is very mainstream!

Obviously there is a sticky line between having norms at all (including norms of personal free expression) and forcibly maintaining norms, but a fuzzy boundary does not make a vacuous distinction. Return again to my "norms of stand-off-ishness vs. norms of chattiness between strangers" example and meditate on it somewhat.

But anyway, the upshot is that those axes of pluralism which you claim are not contentious are contentious, and the people invested in those debates have reasonable reasons to be invested, and some positions commonly articulated in those debates are worthy of opposition.

If you're sort of... thinking about this all in a purely symbol-shuffling way rather than looking at the reality of culture "on the ground", I could see how some claim like "the only two self-consistent positions are Chauvinist universalism which seeks to assimilate everyone to a chosen set of 'optimal' norms, or complete moral relativism which is indifferent to both the behavior and living conditions of others (or at least to members of the outgroup)" could make sense. But in actual reality these are not the two options, and I don't think either of them are very good options, and I think this is pretty evident on the face of things.

#society #I already wrote this so I'll post it but if @sabakos doesn't want to discourse anymore I will drop the issue

[sorcerous-caress]

Aglaya and Artemy are so smitten with each other oh my god. A doomed romance neither of them expected to blossom amidst the war and plague.

How she desperately tried to protect Artemy at each corner and turn, only wanted the best for him and put in so much effort to understand the kin in such a short notice despite her busy schedule and death knocking on her door.

HE DOESN'T EVEN HESITATE BEFORE CALLING HER HIS WIFE WHEN THE LITERAL ARMY CORNERS THEM. Fleeing together and choosing their own path! Choosing their love over the town and all the people in it! In Artemy's view, that might as well have been their wedding vows.

She's such a powerful woman who instils fear into everyone she crosses. The infamous inquisitor who broke the mind of everyone she has called into questioning so far, who had the Bachelor thinking that she'll order his execution. Who had the kains shaking in terror, crumbling down the three old powerhouses of the town in a couple of days.

Mansplain Girlboss x Himbo Malewife fr fr

I always felt like their relationship progressed a little too fast in P2, but when I played P1 I completely understood why. it's expanded upon so much more and you get to see exactly how they slowly fall in love, how much their trust in each other multiples by the day.

How everyone around them can see it clearly.

MY WIFE <3333 M Y WIFE I AM IN HEAVEN.

There are just so many golden lines between these two. There are so many adorable moments of them being silly and weird, and so so in love like:

Aglaya makes her interest in Artemy as a person very clear. She recites us peotry upon first meeting him, saying he will learn the meaning in the future.

Yet she compares his mind to that of a poet later on.

Saying how much she respects him, how she incoperates a steppe term into a beautiful flirtatious line when she thinks it's time to say goodbye. When she thinks we won't return her feelings.

And yet despite her feelings burning with the intensity of a thousand suns, she never allows it to mix with her job, even telling him not to get roped into politics because he's on the path of priesthood while she acknowledges the manipulators she works for.

All to protect him, to protect you.

She is very sweet and thoughtful, calculated yet sincere in her feelings for Artemy. She never once acts like how others claim she would. She never walks anyone else's path of expectations.

All of her infatuation stems from the fact that Artemy answered her lifelong question so simply. Because he loved this town he grew up in and wanted to protect it.

Because he proved that having free-will makes very little difference in the grand nothingness of the universe. Even if other people interpret his actions or use it to benefit their schemes, Artemy will walk a path of his own making and follow his own heart to know what's right or wrong.

He showed her that she has always been free, not the puppet she thought she was. That constantly trying to spite greater forces isn't a way to live your life. Rather, actually living that life how you want is true freedom.

That finding your own happiness and looking out for the people you love is the best revenge you could deliver.

Even if everyone was a puppet and their entire reality has been nothing but a game, even then it wouldn't make a single difference to Artemy.

Because his love was real, his feelings were real enough. Puppet or not, he loved his father. He loves this town, which nursed him young. And he will deliver that love back when it's in need, when the kids he swore to protect are in danger.

And yet, I have a theory. I think it's the player she is in love with, too, rather than just Artemy.

It's because technically, only the player has free will. Only the player gets to escape the narrative.

Only the player is the full fledged human being that she fell in love with.

But I might be wrong, I need to play the Bachelor's route to confirm this, I've only done the Haruspex in P1 and P2 so far.

So far she is indifferent towards him, at least in Artemy's route, she views the Bachelor as a useful tool, a means to an end. Maybe it changes in his route and she falls for the player again? or maybe it's exclusive to Artemy because while she likes the player, she still loves Artemy himself on his own, even without the free will.

Or maybe you need a combination of both to results in Aglaya taking notice of you. The Bachelor is bound to Maria, who's trying to become Nina, and Aglaya loathes the kains and seeks revenge against them.

While Artemy walks free, he isn't bound to anyone she despies. Not to mention how fascinated she is by Steppe culture and the natural miracles, how excited she is when she finds the town is alive, how much invested she is in Artemy fullfilling his father's inheritance.

I wish there was a timelife where she lives. It seems that it doesn't matter what you do, she will always perish.

A doomed romance, she finally found something in this life worth caring about, someone worth calling her own.

And just when you think you've outsmarted the system and escaped hades, the game steals her away from you and humilates you by making you walk all the way back.

"You really thought it would be this easy?"

"You should've seen this coming"

"What did you ever expect? a happily ever after?"

"That's what you get for attempting to ruin the play, now get back inside."

So you reload an earlier savefile with a bitter taste in your mouth.

You play by their rules this time around.

Do whatever you can to appease the powers that be, keep showing up every day to deliver the best possible performance.

Willingly let yourself become a puppet and never go against the strings pulling you along.

The most painful part, however, is having to reject Aglayas' proposal to run together.

She doesn't understand. She is desperate trying to get you to see her point of view, like you effortlessly did so many times before.

She is confused, why are you suddenly rejecting her ideas, why did your trust in her vanish overnight? Did she do something wrong? Please listen to her. She loves you and wants to live with you.

Please just listen, I'm not lying i swear.

Please come with me.

I love you.

And I can't go on without you.

You have to sit there and deny her request, time after time after time, each more painful than the last. She explains herself, but you won't listen. You can't listen.

Because if you listen, she will die.

You know the future. You're trying to protect her like she has protected you so much before. She can't understand, so she gets hurt. You're whispering sorry to a screen like a fool.

...

..

.

She still dies.

You've hurt her for nothing. She loved you, and in her final moments, you broke her heart.

For nothing.

All of your work and effort, your dignity and pride reduced to mud in which you've rolled through to appease two stupid kids from taking your wife away from you.

Because she still fucking dies the next day.

To rub salt into the wound, her demise is off-screen this time. Like one of the nameless npcs in the number counter of deaths we see at the start of each day.

One of them was Aglaya. Reduced to just a number on a counter, like the thousands before her.

Doomed if you do.

Doomed if you don't.

Used and discarded like an old toy.

A mother's beloved childhood doll.

Was worthy of love afterall.

#♡otherfandoms #♡pathologic #artemy burakh #aglaya lilich #Artemy x Aglaya #Aglaya x Artemy #pathologic 2 #pathologic classic hd #pathologic #the haruspex #the inquisitor

[quotidian-oblivion]

for the Melrin ask - Worst thing you think Merlin ever did. im so curious about this one

I had to think so much about this one too.

I don't know. I love Merlin, he's my favorite character. I justify everything he does, even if it's bad. That's what happens with any favorite fictional characters.

I don't want to say "Not telling Arthur sooner" or "Mistrusting Mordred" or "Poisoning Morgana" or anything of the like because, to be fair, that's a given. It's something a lot of us will lament about. Mainly because the writers did not do their job properly (imo).

I'd say, the worst thing he did, to me, is be passive.

I'm bringing up my own values and morals here because I believe that Merlin ruined himself and all of Albion by being passive. By listening to the dragon and not doing his own research. By being whatever Arthur needed him to be. By taking things upon himself. By not trusting others because that's what he was told.

If Merlin had been a little more assertive and a little more sure of himself and what he wanted, then the show would have gone on in an entirely different direction. But he's passive. For the majority of the show. The biggest time where he's not is in the first scene where he challenges Arthur because he wanted to stay true to his ideals and values which was to stand up against bullies who prey on the ones who can't defend themselves against them.

If he had been more assertive, he would have told Arthur earlier, he wouldn't have poisoned Morgana, he would have trusted Mordred or even Gwaine and the others more.

But he let himself be led by Destiny and Kilgharrah and Gaius and whoever else advised him rather than take some time to think things through first. Like Arthur does.

The thing about Merlin and Arthur here is that Arthur really is bolder than Merlin, but in a different way. He is bold in a way Merlin lacks, which is with practical and tactical matters. He questions Merlin's judgement, questions his father's judgement, Gaius's judgement. Agravaine was a main villain for season 4 because of his perfect ways of manipulation and deceit in a way that it got past Arthur's critical thinking and assertiveness. Arthur doesn't take things at face value and is willing to consider different ways things can go and the show mostly shows that when it comes to questioning Merlin's judgement (like about Agravaine and the siege tunnels and about Gwen at first etc). But in the first few seasons, he questioned his father's judgement a lot too but the fandom mainly focuses on Merlin's opinions vs Arthur's even though he and Uther had met head-on-head multiple times.

Arthur doesn't take things at face value which is why it's possible for so many magic reveal fics to look and be accurate.

But Merlin does. Merlin takes a lot of things at face value. He took Kilgharrah's sayings at face value, he took Gaius's (good-hearted but misguided) warnings at face value. He took what the druids said, what Edwin Muirden said, what Julius Borden said, what that druid seer in the Diamere episode said, and so many others at face value. Just accepted it without thinking much about it and went forward.

Don't get me wrong, Merlin has a very strong moral compass and moral thinking. But he lacks critical thinking. Something which Arthur doesn't lack. They complete each other in this way.

But if we're not looking at all that then I'd say the worst thing I believe Merlin ever did was poison Morgana because- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK MERLIN, DID YOU NOT THINK OF ANY OTHER FUCKING SOLUTION???? HOW ABOUT GETTING MORGANA OUT OF THE CASTLE? HUH? WHAT THEN? WHAT ABOUT TELLING HER THAT HEY, I'M GONNA POISON YOU BUT DW I HAVE THE ANTIDOTE SO THAT I CAN REVIVE YOU AGAIN WHEN MORGAUSE COMES AND LIFTS THE SPELL BC I KNOW THAT YOU DONT WANT THIS EVEN THOUGH YOU THINK UTHER SUCKS. I MEAN, THE USED THAT PLAN SEVERAL HUNDRED TIMES ALREADY, WHY COULDN'T THEY USE IT THIS ONCE???????

#quotidian asks #joan <3 #thanks for the askkkk #bbcm #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merlin meta #merlin #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #morgana #bbc morgana #morgana pendragon #morgana bbc #bbc arthur pendragon #gaius #bbc gaius #gaius bbc #kilgharrah #bbc kilgharrah #kilgharrah bbc #introspective #ik i went a little too introspective and literal there #but heh #idk i'm very particular about morals and values and personality traits when it comes to people #espeically in terms of ignorance #after all #i mainly have to suffer through islamophobia bc bigots don't want to search and see for themselves what Islam is actually about #anyhooo #this is fun i love this ask game