#but I also have such a strange fascination with the Civil War as well

[obiwan-kenobabe]

not to be a weirdo freak but I want to go back to Gettysburg so bad

[thesiltverses]

any clues on whats next after tsv ends ? :)

No concrete confirmation, but we did put out a Patreon post back in spring with a few draft pitches, to gauge initial interest and see what kind of genre storytelling folks were most excited to see from us.

I'll paste them below, so you can see the kinds of things we've had in mind (#2 and #3 were the most popular, but it was a fairly even spread outside of that). We've had a few more really fun ideas since then that I'll keep schtum about for now.

General feedback was that people were most enthusiastic about seeing ongoing, multi-season projects from us, which makes perfect sense and is much more sensible for us anyway in terms of sustaining a livelihood / retaining audience members along the way.

That said, TSV has been a three-year endeavour which is a big commitment, and personally I think the best horror is often self-contained, short and sweet.

So I'd really love to have the time to work on a few miniseries-type shows as well, but also need to recognise that we likely don't have the bandwidth to juggle two projects simultaneously.

With all that in mind, I think the direction we're hoping to be able to pursue is:

1+ shorter horror miniseries or one-offs with production or network partners (if they want to work with us) where we're largely on writing duties or with a lighter load.

1 longer, ongoing weird-fiction show which is all ours, baby, all ours.

Draft pitches

#1: Manes

Genre: Historical horror, cosmic horror, family drama with murderous stakes

Influences: The Terror Season 1, pretty much.

Summary: In 208 AD, the ailing Roman emperor Septimius Severus travels north across Hadrian's Wall into Caledonia, with the aim of finally uniting Britain under imperial rule.

For Severus, there's more at stake - his two sons are openly at odds over the succession, and it's openly said that civil war will follow the emperor's death.

Severus himself rose to supreme power through violence and the elimination of his rivals. Now, haunted by the possibility of revenge by the shades of the divine dead and dwelling unhappily on his legacy, the emperor hopes to share his final triumph with his sons and demonstrate a different lesson to them - that an equitable peace is a lasting possibility.

But as the Roman column makes its way north into apparently endless woods, surrounded by cronies, schemers, Britons, soothsayers, priestesses of Cybele, and more, the emperor and his family find that their enemy is nowhere to be seen - but they are being pursued by a force that is both strange and terrible.

And soon enough, the Romans realise that they have perhaps strayed not into Caledonia at all - but into a hostile realm of their own imagining...

Why make this show? We adore period horror, and there's far too little of it out there.

Severus and his family are a fascinating set of characters who we'd love to spend some time with - as ethically-compromised participants in a very Shakespearean tragedy, and as individuals whose heritage, religious beliefs and psychologies allow us to explore aspects of ancient Rome that haven't been done to death in fiction already.

#2: I'll Dance In The Deep Shadow

Genre: Weird-fiction noir, paranoid espionage fiction, cosmic horror

Influences: Cold War spy classics, Roadside Picnic

Summary: Across the water from the mainland UK, a vast walled city has come unexpectedly into existence.

The city’s walls are composed of purest shadow; its leaders have not revealed themselves to us, nor have they made demands of us.

Upon its streets, our own dead and forlorn doubles wander; grinning doppelgangers who seem to know something terrible from the future that’s to come.

We call the city Umbra.

Umbra is a bottomless well of shadow and secrets; its darkened landscapes are home to suppressed memories turned savage and monstrous.

Its citizens and its guards are twisted echoes, repetitions, and whispering relics of the world's buried past - and they will not reveal Umbra's purpose to us.

Around Umbra's great walls, representatives from the world's governments gather and plot against one another - mercenaries, guides, spies, black-market traders, scientists and killers - to infiltrate the city, map its streets, and navigate its dangers for themselves.

Why make this show? Less of an Eskew sequel than it probably sounds at first glance, this one. 

We'd love to do a paranoid, twist-filled, pessimistic John Le Carre-style spy thriller, with multiple characters who can neither trust themselves nor each other - and we feel like we've got some really interesting horror themes around memory and forgetting here to explore with this concept.

#3: Our Wars Have Ended

Genre: Dark fantasy, New Weird fantasy

Influences: The Black Company, the Bas-Lag series, Gormenghast.

Summary: It’s a strange time to be alive.

Thirty years ago, countless legions of the ancient dead rose from their graves to conquer the living lands; lands which now rest in an uneasy - but peaceful - state of occupation.

Withered corpses sit upon the thrones of the living and play silent courtier in the shadowed halls, acting out the rituals and habits of their past lives while dead men and women keep watch from the ruined towers. 

Mortal historians and linguists frantically mediate between our returned masters, trying to keep the peace - which estate belongs to whom? Who shall rule eternal? Which traditions deserve to live on?

But this is a time of wondrous change, too - new technologies, empowered by the revelations of the Dead Reclamation and the will of the Ancestors. Strange machines rumble through the hills and necronautical vessels delve into the unexplored territories of the afterlife itself.

And it has been announced that the Hollowbrow Queen will unite the nation with a powerful gesture, taking on a living consort in a marriage of the fleeting and the eternal.

On one side of the conquered country, an old veteran leads his mercenary company on a reluctant expedition towards the capital, in the employ of a long-dead king on a mission of revenge.

On the other, a young dead-diver and essayer into the realms of the dead is hired to investigate a peculiar mystery, and a conspiracy that may involve both the living and the returned…

Why make this show? Because Game of Thrones had no interest in the (to us) enjoyable questions of 'well, why do the ancient dead want to conquer the living, exactly? What happens once they've done it?' and we'd love to deconstruct that and play with the idea of loathsome undead aristocrats from every period of history squabbling with one another over what their conquered nation actually means.

Because we think we've built up the confidence and the skills to take a big swing at an epic adventure story and a semi-traditional fantasy - it feels like an idea that could potentially appeal to a wider audience while remaining true to our own core values of Weirdness, Horrible Things and More Weirdness.

#4: To Those Who Wait

Genre: Cosmic horror, dark comedy, mockumentary

Influences: Dead Set, Ghostwatch, Savageland, Evil Dead

Summary: Eskew Productions has gone in a surprising direction with its latest production - a new reality experiment and dating-show podcast.

Eight lovelorn singletons have been given rooms in the exclusive Gregory Hotel. Over the course of six weeks, these contestants will go on dates, carry out team challenges, and ultimately try and find themselves a life partner - all without seeing each other's faces.

The aim of the experiment? To prove that good things really do come to those who wait.

As they pore through a mixture of recorded and behind-the-scenes footage, however, it may become very apparent to listeners that something else is waiting in the Gregory.

And one by one, our contestants find themselves at risk of far more than being voted off...

Why make this show? As a great big act of play more than anything else.

We adore horror mockumentaries, but in audio-drama they tend to be faux-journalistic. 

Doing a show that instead mimics hokey reality shows to the point of being mistakable for the real thing, but turns out to be a ghost story instead...that's a lot of fun to us.

#5: In The Devil's Counties

Genre: Historical horror, cosmic horror

Influences: Nathan Ballingrud's Wounds, Seven Samurai, Between Two Fires, Dog Soldiers, Aliens…

Summary: As the Magna Carta states: “All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at once to be investigated by twelve sworn knights of the county, and within forty days of their enquiry the evil customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably.”

In early-medieval Sussex, a motley group of knights rides out to investigate tales of ungodly horror and acts of forbidden worship from deep in the English countryside - including Ralph Dagworth, 'hell's mapmaker'.

What the party of knights discovers out in the warrens and the forests of the county, however, is far stranger and more terrible than any Christian conception of hell…

Why make this show? Again, because we're itching to have a go at some period horror, and that weirdly specific Magna Carta quote is just too fun to pass up as a springboard for some 'isolated squaddies in enemy territory' storytelling. (Sadly, it does have a more grounded explanation.)

#6: Strangling Knot

Genre: Anthology horror

Influences: Junji Ito, experimental 8-bit horror, Black Mirror's Bandersnatch

Summary: 

“The rules of the game are simple. This is a place of endless forking paths and one exit. 

There’s something terrible in here with you. Get ready."

A Choose Your Own Adventure-style horror audio anthology; each episode is a distinct story with branching paths that may lead to failure (most of the time) or escape (more rarely).

Why make this show? This is likely the only show that we could reasonably produce as a side-project (and we've been chatting to a couple of other talented horror creators about it already, sssh).

We'd like to be able to play with single-narrator horror storytelling again that's relatively quick and easy to produce - but we do want to at least try and ensure it doesn't feel like we're repeating I Am In Eskew.

There's some really fun stuff happening out there already with CYOA-style audiodrama, and that seems like an opportunity that's ripe for playing about with.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Intake Form

Author's note: this is the first part of Lykos' backstory in the Husbandry AU! I hope you enjoy it. Next

Tagged:

Warnings: none, please ask me to tag something if it bothers you/I missed it

Summary: Lykos reports to a nearby base. He's given an intake form and has questions because of what he's asked about.

“I was told this is one of the nearby Astartes bases that accept Astartes from several different legions, rather than hosting a single legion?” Lykos stated, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked down at the startled mortal sitting behind the welcome desk at the base that he had presented himself at. 

He had found himself upon this strange world a handful of days ago, and had wandered until he found civilization. The chaplain was glad that he had been suddenly transported upon this world in his usual all-black armor and cape as he would have found the abrupt transition more distressing were he without his armor and weapons. Not that he had yet to need either, but like most Astartes, Lykos spent more time inside his armor after he had earned it, than outside of it.

“I… Yes, that’s correct. We have. We have an intake form for you to fill out, if you don’t mind…?” The baseline mortal explained, handing over an astartes sized, thin block of wood with… Was that real paper upon it? Fascinating! He had seen the forest full of trees on the outskirts of the city, but Lykos had no idea that the supply of wood was in such abundance to use paper. They also handed him a writing implement as well. 

“I will fill this out, thank you.” He murmured, smiling a little at the mortal. He’d removed his helmet upon entry to the base, having clipped it to his belt, to appear slightly more friendly. The skull mask of a chaplain’s helmet was meant to be intimidating, but he was not angling for being terrifying at the moment. Lykos could see the tell-tale signs of this base being inhabited by Ultramarines, so the luxury of paper wasn’t that much of a surprise to the chaplain. He walked over to one of the astartes-sized seats and felt himself sink into the very comfortable seats, leaning back a little as he diligently answered the questions. He briefly thumbed through the packet of paper he’d been given, before starting to read through the first question.

What is your name, rank, and Legion/chapter/war-band association? … Lykos was curious as to what was meant by chapter and war band, but he would refrain from asking until he completed this bit of paperwork. Chaplain Lykos Sirak, Word Bearers Third Company.

Time, date and location previous to arriving in this world? … The implication being that it was a common enough occurrence for Astartes to be randomly arriving on this world without being sent here deliberately was a fascinating one.  18:33, M031.876 Monarchia, Khur. Khur had been brought into compliance almost sixty years ago, and he had been helping to develop Monarchia into the place of beauty and worship that his gene-father had hoped it would become. 

Lykos went to read the next question. There was a preface written before it. If you have heard of the Drop Site Massacre, or the Battle of Isstvan three, please read and answer the next five questions to the best of your abilities. If you have not, skip to question 8.

He had heard of the world Isstvan three, but only in passing. It was a world that was either in the process of being integrated into the Imperium, or recently had been. The chaplain mentally shrugged and dutifully skipped down to question eight.

Have you noticed any unusual changes in your superior officers and/or Primarch in the past few days/weeks/months or years? If so, can you pinpoint when they started to change, and list possible triggers for them to have started to act differently than they had previously. The answer to this question is confidential and will not be discussed with others unless you indicate a desire to do so in person. Please be as specific as possible.

Well… That was an ominous question. Lykos closed his eyes for several moments, going into a meditative state as he genuinely considered the question asked of him. He had been serving the Word Bearer’s legion for two hundred years as a chaplain, and a hundred and fifty before his promotion into the roll that had been created by his Primarch, as a way to minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of his sons, along with a way to encourage the compliance of new worlds into the Imperium with the potential of not having to fire a single shot. Yes, this sort of compliance was slower than the violence-forward methods that other Legions employed, but the citizens seemed to be grateful to not be trampled to death by the ceramite boots of their new rulers.

Lykos wrote down the truth as he knew it. As far as he was aware, his superior officers had been not been acting strangely. Lykos did not have the honor of interacting directly with his Primarch, and thus, could not say if the Imperial Son was acting strangely, and wrote that down. He then focused on the next question. 

What are the dominant belief/faith or faiths of your legion/chapter/warband? Do you hold these beliefs, or do they differ? If they do differ, please explain the differences between the two. 

Lykos hesitated to answer that, keenly aware that most legions would be unhappy to hear that they openly worshiped the Emperor of Mankind as a god, given the Imperial Truth that they were all supposed to espouse the Imperial Truth… But he had been honest on this form so far, and to lie now felt… Disingenuous. Besides, there was enough room on the paper to fully explain the reasoning behind why he and so many of his fellow Word Bearers believed in the divinity of The Emperor, which Lykos used.

What do you know of Chaos?

The… The theological concept? The inherent randomness of the universe? Lykos was baffled and wrote down what he knew about the concepts of chaos. Considering the amount of room to answer that question with, there was far, far more to the question of chaos than the chaplain knew. Ah well, if it was something he needed to know on this world, Lykos was fairly sure that someone would explain.

Are you a psyker? Nope. He had no psychic ability, though there were some in his legion gifted  with such abilities. 

Have you dabbled in sorcerous arts, or consider yourself to be a sorcerer or warlock? If so, please list the major abilities you possess and the contracts you have entered into. … Well that was blunt and pointed. Again, no, Lykos hadn’t and wrote as much. 

The next several questions were asking about the kinds of missions that he had completed, his medical history including any prosthetics, distinctive markings/tattoos/scars he may have, and a request to list all of the weapons and the kind of armor he was in possession of. Questions about battles that he had participated in, honors won and lost. Lykos dutifully answered each and every question to the best of his abilities, pausing every so often to stretch out his writing wrist and fingers before continuing until he had written out his full history as he knew it. 

Do you have any rivals/enemies among your fellow astartes? Lykos suppressed a chuckle. Some of the more passionate and stubborn of his Brothers had found Eternal Rivals and Bitter Enemies amongst both their brothers and other legions. But as far as he knew, Lykos had no enemies like that. Or at least, he didn’t consider any astartes an enemy or rival in such a way, and wrote that down.

The next few questions were about which legions or chapters (whatever a chapter was) he would prefer to interact with, those he’d rather avoid if possible, and other sorts of preferences and dislike questions, which he answered with mild amusement and confusion. He would work with whoever he was assigned to do so, regardless as to whether or not he liked them interpersonally. Part of a chaplain’s training was to ensure that one could separate their own emotions and put them on hold while dealing with whatever situation or emergency was going on… More so than most other kinds of Astartes. 

Those questions were also the final questions that he was supposed to answer on the form as while there were other questions, the qualifying statements that stated whether or not he was to answer of them did not apply to him. For which Lykos was grateful, as he had spent a couple of hours writing down all of these answers. He suppressed a yawn as he got up and stretched before walking over to the mortal who’d given him this form. He smiled politely at them and said “Here you go. I have answered all of the questions that I am supposed to on this form. I have questions about some of the questions on this form.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. I probably can’t explain most if not all of your questions, but I can offer you several brochures that have been created for Astartes who’ve recently arrived on Earth… Or as Astartes call our world, Terra.” The baseline answered, taking the form, board and pen from Lykos, casually dropping an inexplicable information bomb on poor Lykos who hadn’t been expecting that.

“T-Terra? I’m… I’m on Terra? But-” Lykos spluttered, about to point out that there hadn’t been this much plant life on Terra in millenia. 

The baseline raised a hand before saying “Before you tell me something you’re probably not supposed to, I would strongly recommend that you read these brochures. One of the Astartes practiced in helping Astartes new to Earth settle in will be by soon. In the meantime feel free to wander around the lobby and other publicly marked rooms of the base. Any door that is locked is not meant to be entered unless you have the key for it.”

“I… Alright. I’ll… I’ll read through these.” Lykos murmured, internally reeling still as he took the offered information pamphlets. They were astartes sized and also made out of yet more paper. He settled down into another astartes-sized chair and began to read the first brochure. It was titled “Welcome to Terra, Loyalist.”

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

Damned If You Don't liveblog

alright. i know this one's gonna hurt. spoilers under the cut as usual.

it does take time to get attached to new theme songs but dang the War Room theme song is good.

the change in tone from Damned If You Do to this is :( Narvin :(((((

"i doubt most of them expect to live long enough to see the war end. i certainly don't." :((((((((

Livia reference!!!

i'm guessing this is set in the 80 gap for Narvin between the Time War audios & War Room

"my beloved Leela" EXCUSE ME.

"beloved... don't let her hear that, Narvin." i'm cryingggggggg. big Erasure energy here.

are we literally ever going to find out what happened to K9 and why he vanished after s6?

"if, by some miracle, any of us survive and meet again, i suspect everything we've gone through may break us apart more than it would unite us. things have been said. stances taken. accusations thrown." DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT. i for one still believe the Gallifrey B&B AU can win.

"one thing that no one brings up anymore is how all this is my fault. at least that was Valyes's reaction when it all kicked off. once, a very long time ago, i'd been involved in a covert mission to avert the creation of the Daleks. the Keepers of the Matrix and their Coordinators all conveniently point to that as being the moment the Time War actually started. thank you Time Lord hierarchy for that burden of guilt. i really needed that." Narvin be honest with yourself, you would have taken the burden of guilt anyways.

i meant to mention this in my Damned If You Do liveblog but i'm honestly surprised that Valyes was still around going into the Time War. in Enemy Lines (and again at the beginning of the Time War) there's a complete overhaul of all the secondary Time Lord characters and i've always assumed that the political situation on Gallifrey changed dramatically and it changed fast so Valyes and any other pre-Civil War politician was ousted or retired long before the Time War but it's fascinating that he was still around. i guess Valyes is an opportunist if he's anything and i don't think he'd let political disagreements and change make him give up his comfortable office.

also "one thing no one brings up anymore" exactly how many people knew about this??? i was under the impression it was just Romana, Leela, Valyes, and presumably at least some of the High Council, none of which are anywhere near Narvin. does he just go around telling his Resistance friends "yeah this horrible war we're all going to die in? yeah it's my fault. sorry."

"an hour ago, my surviving Resistance cohorts were looking at me in that strange way i see too often these days. 'Narvin will know what to do.' 'Narvin will stop the Daleks.' 'Narvin will save us all and get us home.' hm. what they don't seem to have picked up over these past couple of months is that i'm as scared, confused, and frankly rudderless as they are. unlike them, i don't have a superior to look to for answers. Eris does his best leading the Resistance, an impossible job at the best of times. and he did save me from certain death. but. i can't help seeing him as my junior. and well, he's not here." SEVERAL THINGS. 1) Narvin is not immune to Doctorification even if he only met the Doctor like four times and they mutually hate each other. 2) i love Time War era Narvin so much because he's trying so hard to be a good moral person and to lead others out of the mess he made but he's fundamentally out of place. 3) ERISSSSSSS. 4) i'm obsessed with Narvin & Eris's relationship in the Resistance because like. they had to have had a conversation where Eris offered for Narvin (or Romana since they encountered the Resistance before Unity) to lead the Resistance as they nominally recruited him. but Narvin would rather go back to being a field agent in the most dangerous of circumstances rather than lead and be in charge of other's lives. idk. Narvin's facing Doctorification but Eris went through some Romanafication.

dang reference to a random Castellan from The Invasion of Time. it's been awhile since i watched that so tbh i'm surprised i knew who he was talking about.

i do love all the references to Nekkistani & Sunari in the Time War given we haven't heard them mentioned since s6.

oh well follow up – both of their homeworlds were destroyed at the beginning of the War so there we go.

SOLDIER FROM ARCHETRYX. ARCHETRYX REFERENCE NOT CLICKBAIT!!! (love that we remembered that there were people from Archetryx who were made refugees by the Daleks, it wasn't just a site for a conference with nothing else.)

i know it's more and more common these days but i'm always happy when a random background character uses they/them pronouns.

"i am at this moment completely unconvinced that what i need to do here is survival. 'Narvin went out in a blaze of cobalt glory' they'll say. well either that or 'sorry Eris, we have no idea what happened. one moment he was going to blow up the platform, the next he never came back and the tower is still standing, ready for the Daleks to launch cobalt warheads against the entire system.' yes. that seems more likely." we really went from 'Narvin's only out here for himself' to 'Narvin will throw his life away for anything' and god this poor man.

"would anyone really care if i died here? today? or notice? i'm not entirely sure i would. i used to think i was a survivor: determined and experienced. these days, i feel exhausted. less a survivor, more of a 'hanging around waiting for the inevitable.' there's a cheery thought." :(((((( this poor man. also i would care if he died :(

i can't for the life of me make out what this planet is called because all i heard was 'ass crack' and now i can't unhear it. man's gonna die here on ass crack planet.

"something about the name 'ass crack' rang a bell" oh god what have i done to myself.

ASKRAN. HE'S SAYING ASKRAN. OKAY.

OHHHHH LIKE KRANSA.

is he sending this whole message back to the Resistance??? my man it's been 9 minutes and so far you have talking about how you're basically suicidal and don't have any hope for the future, how you started the Time War, that you're lost and confused, that you still see your boss that you're sending this to as your junior, and called Leela your beloved. this man thinks all of that needs to be included in a report and he is falling apart at the seams. i need this Narvin to meet s1 Narvin soooo badly.

also god i'm only 9 minutes into this and i've written so fucking much.

also etheric beam you say..... if only we had something to locate those...

this mystery soldier is Kransa right?

yeahhhhh

and she remembers Narvin but not the details?

oh no. Kransa is going to sacrifice her life for Narvin and he won't even know who she is...

COORDINATOR.

Narvin's having visions of the War Doctor now???

THE WATCHMAKER YOU SAY?

mmm Narvin's desire back in the early series was to be someone important and now he wish was fulfilled in the worst way...

reference to Narvin's House name again!!!!!

okay so telepathic translation is something Time Lords can learn, not something that's innate or something that's commonly learned.

love the implication that Romana wouldn't always speak in Gallifreyan around Narvin, somewhat dislike the implication that Leela would speak her native language enough for Narvin to have to translate it but i'll headcanon that's in their later relationship and Leela was speaking Gallifreyan in most of the series.

mmm this is tasty. i think i like Damned if You Do more now that we know the time shade's plot was directed to get Narvin to save them.

ah yes Narvin living with the knowledge and guilt that he accidentally oublietted one of his agents that he liked is definitely going to help him not be depressed and suicidal.

oh good! Kransa's alive again!

OH NO KRANSA'S DEAD AGAIN.

(lmao i maxxed out tumblr's character per text block limit)

i do think it's funny that even Gallifrey's mythical creatures share the Time Lord's love of manipulation, traps, and technicalities

i do think this is an interesting spiritual successor to Erasure with Narvin now being so horrified by the idea of removing someone from time and the idea of revenge that he won't even dare to try to retaliate against the Time Shades because "everyone matters. even you."

the Doctorification is really kicking in, huh.

Narvin's standards for "a good day" are um. interesting.

HE SURVIVED???!?

NARVIN AND HIS CELL JUST. SURVIVED THE WAR OUTRIGHT????

I DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THE DOTD CONNECTIONS HERE BUT HNNNNG. NARVIN. HE'S COME SO FAR.

"where is Leela"

OH SO YOU'RE COMING FOR MY HEART THEN?

let me just go lie down and scream for awhile.

okay i think the implication of Narvin surviving the War is that he's on Gallifrey rn and is going to be on Gallifrey during Hell Bent and all of that which. eh not mad about. but i think it would be infinitely funnier if throughout all of new who up to DOTD when the Doctor is angsting about being the last of the Time Lords if Narvin was just. there. hanging out somewhere. the Doctor never checks to look because frankly he'd rather be the last of the Time Lords than to feel obligated to hang out with Narvin.

also i'm guessing that because Narvin is only out here looking for Leela that Romana's fate is the same throughout the War which honestly i'm not mad about. Romana is my favorite character and it'll be a shame if we get Gallifrey stories without her for a little longer but also i think her character in the War has been pretty thoroughly explored and i'm much much more interested in who she is after the War and after she gets out of the Rassilon's prison.

final thoughts: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. so many feelings about everything. i assumed this would tie back into Damned If You Do and it didn't disappoint and actually makes me like the first story a lot better now as i feel like some of the stuff about the Time Shade choosing Narvin's path has been clarified that it's just about the Time Shade's survival. and of course i'll be thinking about the teaser of Narvin at the end of the war for awhile (and begging Big Finish to make some post-Time War Gallifrey stuff once War Room wraps up).

[beigetiger]

Okay…talking about Winter is really not cooperating with me, so I’m talking about Dexter’s team in the meantime because I find them fascinating and it leaves room for me to talk about some other Roarhaven people in the future.

Where they are: I’ve said this before but I’ll happily say it again: Dexter and his team are located in/around Roarhaven and live among the citizens.

What they do: They don’t work for the Sanctuary but they do tasks alongside the Sanctuary and will gladly help around keeping Roarhaven safe and in check. They also do little mystery-solving and/or murderous tasks that their own members want to do, most notably Dexter (since he is their leader). Ghastly is unbelievably paranoid and so doesn’t trust them to not be somewhat working for Valkyrie (this is specifically aimed at Dexter and Saracen and is actually rooted in something I will discuss later) but still gives them quite a bit of leeway in what they do.

Who’s there: THIS is the part I’ve been wanting to talk about, as I am weirdly brainrotted about them and have lots of ideas about how I would want to write them. There are an iconic seven members on the team, those members being Dexter, Saracen, Kierre, Donegan, Gracious, Aurora, and Frightening.

Dexter, as I said earlier, is the group leader. He does his best to keep his gang healthy and safe and has some emotional/trust issues caused by losing Saracen and being betrayed by…a lot of people. In fact, he was very possessive of Saracen when he came back because Dexter was scared of losing him again, and it took a hard talk between the two of them for Dexter to start backing off. Most of Ghastly’s slight distrust for the group is directed at Dexter, although also at a good degree towards Saracen. The reason for this being that Valkyrie, who wants to absorb the souls of those she cares about so that she can never lose them, has provided such a thing as a standing offer towards her various friends in Roarhaven. Dexter had extremely bad mental health and has strangely considered it multiple times, and Ghastly (as well as Saracen) is aware of this. Because of this, Dexter feels that Valkyrie is something of a personal threat to him, but in a way where the blame is ultimately put upon himself. He’s doing great, y’all.

Saracen doesn’t have great mental health either, but at least he’s better than Dexter. Saracen goes out of his way to help Dexter upkeep everything and stop his life from falling apart, effectively making Saracen the second-in-command. The war going on all around them has forced him to sober up a lot, but he still does try to maintain some of his silliness so as to not impact group morale. He also has the god-killer bow and is an excellent sharpshooter. He does sometimes wonder if he’d be happier as an extension of Valkyrie, but the thought of being nothing more than a branch of someone else scares him and keeps him from ever doing it. Despite this, he still loves Valkyrie and talks to her when he can.

Kierre joined the group last and was invited on by Dexter shortly after she and Temper landed in Roarhaven. She wasn’t sure about joining at first but eventually agreed to after some encouragement from Temper, and been doing excellent since then. She’s very slow to trust, but Dexter’s gang is a legitimately wholesome group of people and she has since learned to love them and is now quite protective of them. They’re also very important for her deprogramming a lot of the cultish religious stuff she grew up with, so Kierre is actually getting a lot of opportunity to grow and develop as a person from this war. She’s very small and Gracious made a stupid comment that infantilized her once, which resulted in her dislodging his arm. He has since learned his lesson and the event earned her a lot of respect.

The Monster Hunters are here too! They’re silly little guys who went to Dexter in Ireland after civilization started collapsing and ended up never leaving. They’re quite sad to see what has happened to their world and to Valkyrie. Not much else to say about them to be honest, although I will note that Kierre didn’t like them at first and now thinks of them as gay idiots (affectionate).

And lastly, Aurora and Frightening get to be here! I imagine they were both in America when things started going south, found each other, and hopped over to find Dexter in Ireland because they didn’t know where else to go (this is a pretty repetitive theme). Aurora is in a permanent state of “done with everyone’s bullshit” but she will not let anything happen to her friends. Frightening is an emotional capybara (he was the first person that Kierre started to actually trust) who’s very sad about everything that has happened but tries to stay positive in order to help his friends (particularly Dexter). Despite his efforts, this has led to some toxic positivity on his part that Aurora needs to point out to him in order for him to try and fix it. They’re therapy friends for each other, basically.

All in all, very fun group and I love them a lot. Lots of ideas for them.

[candychameleon]

Talk about your love for MegaStar 👀

oh no what HAVE you done uhh i will try to like...keep my thoughts condensed bc the ESSAYS i could write on this ship. my dissertation on megastar

okay this ended up being long so i WILL put this under a readmore LMAO

i mean the thing is i could write so much because their dynamic is both like the same but also SO DIFFERENT IN EVERY CONTINUITY so my thoughts on megastar changes depending on continuity like. how i feel about TFA Megastar is not exactly the same as how i feel about TFP Megastar or Earthspark Megastar or IDW Megastar but like...the one thing i like the MOST about megastar is just how dysfunctional and codependent it can be (sorry hkdsfh but also idk what anyone expects with megastar i...am not sure anyone ships it bc its a paragon of a healthy relationship)

which is like a whole other can of worms but i find that sort of thing interesting in general, bc like...ALL cybertronians to a degree are dysfunctional, some more than others, but that kinda comes with the territory of having a 4-million year long civil war and one (1) therapist (who is only in one continuity). none of them really know HOW to be healthy and it's interesting exploring that and the different ways they've been broken and the different ways they cope. and to me megastar is one of the MORE interesting examples because like there is something to be said about knowing someone and being THAT close to them for as long as megatron and starscream have. they know each other better than anyone else, which is both isolating and a strange comfort. if starscream or megatron were ever to disappear or die, the other would lose a not-insignificant part of themselves; i don't think either of them even remember what their life was like without the other, nor can they really imagine it. like starscream being megatron's SiC has them working together for basically their entire lives i'd imagine. which is like...also something i wish was explored more, WHY starscream is megatron's SiC. like show me why he earned that rank! show me why he KEEPS that rank, why megatron trusts him THAT much, because like...obviously he must be SiC for a reason. why would megatron appoint him as his second if he did not in SOME capacity feel starscream was capable of leading the decepticons if he's gone (so like...stories of starscream being hopelessly incompetent kinda frustrate me sometimes. like sometimes i find them amusing but man i would love more of Dangerous, Competent Starscream bc he is SO enjoyable that way too). like TFA Starscream is one of my favorite depictions of Starscream because he is a THREAT and you can INSTANTLY see with everything he does WHY he is rightfully feared by autobots and proves megatron shouldn't have underestimated him

they're messy and co-dependent and i wish i could find like DMs where i've rambled abt it bc i've definitely articulated myself better in those and i'm having trouble w words rn hfldksjh. i want them to watch the world to burn, together, hand in unlovable hand

i find their relationship and dynamic just fascinating, not even 100% from a shipping standpoint, just in general (although i do also ship them and think they should kiss. or that they're bitter exes, which is like...ALSO a very fun dynamic to explore for me)

i guess if you want more focused thoughts ask me about a specific continuity bc i have a LOT to say about different megastars! like ESPECIALLY earthspark lately, but yeah. w/o a continuity i just talk about like...megastar OVERALL like IN GENERAL what i enjoy in a megastar dynamic

not to mention like every continuity ever has ENABLED and fed me so much. the megastars eat so well all the time and i thank hasbro for it. didnt like wfc but "i like his arrogance actually" will be THE highlight of the whole thing. did ANY of this rambling make sense. god i hope so, god i hope not

[agentnico]

The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (2023) Review

Anyone feels that tad bit more sophisticated and intelligent when they watch a film in a foreign language with subtitles on? Nope? Just me? Alrighty then, je suppose que c'est juste moi.

Plot: Young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, trying to find the attackers who left him for dead. He instead finds a real war brewing and joins the king's three musketeers - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - as they work to ensure the future of France.

The way I heard of this movie was surprisingly my dad who turned to me and said he watched yet another movie iteration of the Alexandre Dumas classic, and what made this version so fascinating to him was the fact that all the characters are super dirty. And no, not in a sexual way you perverted sods, but in the literal sense. The characters are all greasy-haired with faces covered in mud and sweat. Gone are the trademark bright blue cloaks and instead the musketeers are stuck wearing very old and worn-out grey and brown garments. So of course I wanted to see some super dirty musketeers, so here we are.

There have been many versions of The Three Musketeers adapted to screen. One could say too many. Like Sherlock Holmes and Godzilla (never thought I'd ever reference those two in the same sentence!), these stories have consistently entertained us over and over again, showing us the test of time. Not going to lie, I absolutely adore Dumas' original novel, and as such have seen a few of the adaptations. There were most certainly some terrible ones out there, but also some interesting ones too like the amusing 1978 Soviet comedy-musical version (yep, that's a real thing!), and then there is the 2011 steampunk one with airships and a pompously over-the-top Orlando Bloom which is all good fun. However with D'Artagnan it's the first time where I'm actually discovering a French version, and it would be shocking if the French were to ruin their own classic, right?

The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan is a highly entertaining historic romp. It takes a lot from the book but also changes things up quite a bit, resulting in a familiar yet fresh feel to the now-modernized story. The atmosphere is dark and the action was superb. There were many sequences of swordplay where the camera would literally zoom around the battle area in one singular take, frenetically capturing all the detailed fencing choreography, and it was actually really impressive. Director Martin Bourboulon evidently has an eye for action (bet he watched a lot of John Wick and The Raid for his homework) and manages to keep an exhilarating energy through all the epic sequences. There are some very creative choices too such as an impressive sweeping shot of a horse chase over the cliffs of Dover.

The movie also feels very French. It sounds to put it like that, but it is indeed very romantic in a way only the French can be. The central love between D'Artagnan and Constance is innocently adorable and playful, and the love triangle between Louis XIII, his Queen and the Duke of Buckingham was amusing, forgetting the immoral involvement of adultery at play. But yes, it is very romantic, and I haven't seen a good love story at the movies in a while so this was simply delightful.

The cast were all very game here too. Francois Civil as D'Artagnan had the pride, naivety and boyish charm that was befit of the young Gascon. Romain Durin as Aramis found the perfect spirit of the character's duality between faith and seduction with his constant swaying towards the female gender. Louis Garrell and King Louis XIII exhibited the stupidity and blindness of the royal really well, yet also managed to give the character an element of strength which made way for a solid interpretation. Vincent Cassell as Athos was solid, but also made me wonder why such an old actor was cast as Athos? I guess they wanted to physically portray the hero's tortured past, but it just felt strange to have Athos be so old. And then Eva Green - look, I think Eva Green can be very powerful in the right role, but her role here was so minimal that it hardly left an impression. With the Milady sequel already filmed and on the way I expect her to have a bigger role in that where she will most likely be allowed to properly bring her mischievous character to life, but yet for now she has been heavily under-used.

The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan is a super enjoyable take on the classic that adds some modern touches of finesse and takes some own liberties to change up the story, however, the result is very entertaining and makes for a swashbuckling historic adventure. And so whilst I await the upcoming sequel, I shall look back at that aforementioned Soviet version, and the amusing song lyrics that go along the lines of the following: "Let's be happy in our time, with the beauty and the goblet, with the lucky blade; While we swing the feathers on our hats; To destiny we'll whisper more than once "merci beaucoup"."

Overall score: 7/10

[aaronymous999]

Overview of my thoughts on all the main movies/movie franchises/tv shows of the MCU, also a ranking on what’s worth watching:

Ironman: Tony Stark is an awful guy and these movies reek with some weird propaganda and odd writing choices, but if you like Robert Downey Jr’s acting and the funny quips? Enjoyable enough films.

Captain America: 2/3 of his movies are pretty good once you look past more propaganda, although I think after the first movie it’s not as big of an issue for him. He’s a bit boring but his first movie, propaganda aside is pretty alright. I was so fucking tired during the second one so I barely remember it but I’ll trust everyone else’s judgement, it’s probably good. Civil war is god awful.

The Incredible Hulk: Half this movie is retconned, they recast Bruce Banner, they don’t really bring up this movie ever again and it’s awful don’t watch.

Thor: ALL of his movies are aggressively mediocre, yes even Ragnorok, that movie is only enjoyable because of Hulk. Thor is a boring character, his first movie is an alright one off but pretty boring and he has no need to have four movies like c’mon. His villains are not enjoyable and honestly I’d recommend skipping all but maybe the first ( if you already like Thor ) and Ragnorok, because that movie has important plot stuff.

Avengers: All pretty alright movies, especially Endgame that’s a great movie ( Scott Lang my beloved, tbh he makes it great ) and all of them are plot important would recommend.

Guardians of the Galaxy: All bangers left and right, amazing movies, hilarious, can be watched separate from the MCU spare for the third. The characters are wonderful and the only weak members of the bunch were post Guardians 1 Groot and Drax, but even then they were alright.

Ant-Man: His first movie is fucking amazing and it doesn’t even feel like an MCU movie which is my HIGHEST praise. Only watch the other two if you REALLY liked Scott Lang and the first movie.

Doctor Strange: Boring character, first movie was just alright, second was only fun because of Wanda and America. Other than that both his movies are kinda boring.

Spider-Man: If you like Spider-Man, these are great and still really fun despite the- MCU-ness. But if you don’t like Spider-Man the hype kind of disappears and it’s easier to notice the flaws, honestly I’d just watch No Way Home if anything.

Black Panther: First movie is good and solid! No complaints, haven’t watched the second although tbh pretty fucked up what Marvel has done to Tchalla after Chadwick Boseman’s death- mini rant but do y’all know that in like every Black Panther media right now even outside of the MCU they just killed him off?! Like imagine playing an iconic character and you die, and like it’s cool the movies are honoring your legacy! But then they kill off your character in comics, upcoming video games, etc like what the fuck?

Captain Marvel: It’s alright, not feminist at all the alt righters have lied to you. Biggest flaw of the film is the military stuff, the Kree and Captain Marvel’s actress because she does not emote the emotions she is supposed to in scenes so she just ends up visually looking like an ass but the writing wants to make her out as a playful girlboss???

Wandavision: GOOD!! Underrated honestly, Vision and Wanda are both wonderful characters and the filming techniques and storytelling is amazing. The pacing is off like all MCU shows but I think Wandavision makes up for it!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Boring. Falcon becomes Captain America at the end, boom all you need to know not worth watching, they don’t even explore cool characters like Issiah well and it sucks.

Loki: BAD SHOW. First 3 episodes are fascinating but then it becomes a shipping show all about Loki wanting to shag the female version of himself and it’s like dude WHAT. I never really liked Loki, but the TVA is a cool concept but it’s barely explored because of the Loki and Sylvia crap. The ending also sucks and explains nothing and the villain is boring.

Black Widow: It’s okay. Skippable.

What If…?: Eh it’s alright. Managed to make Thor more funny though than he’s ever been in his movies!

Shang-Chi: Pretty boring. Skippable.

Eternals: Boring and horrible and awful don’t fucking watch it it makes you brain hurt and oh my god was that harry styles at the end or was I hallucinating

Hawkeye: Haven’t watched it yet, I have a feeling it will be awfully boring.

Moon Knight: GOOD AND INTERESTING AND FUN!! MOON KNIGHT IS COOL! The depiction of DID isn’t. The best. They do show concepts in a more realistic way in terms of how alters are formed often as a survival method but it plays into some evil alter tropes and stuff so justified if you don’t want to watch. If you can enjoy the show despite that it’s a good watch! Steven Grant is precious I love him <3

Ms. Marvel: It’s? Alright I suppose? Middleground for MCU shows but ultimately skippable.

She-Hulk: I am. Mentally preparing myself to watch it okay I’ll do it later.

Werewolf by Night: Haven’t watched but I severely doubt it will be relevant to the overarching plot.

Secret Invasion; Haven’t watched. I hate Nick Fury.

[no-te-lo-voy-a-dar]

I am here once again, bc I am having brainrots about the pack(TM) and I had to infect you with those thoughts as well. I am very sorry

So remember how the MCU's Doctor Strange got dropped into the a/b/o au/g&c verse? Cause now I'm thinking about the pack(TM) being dropped into the MCU- post Civil War or post AoU-

Just the thought of g&c Peter stiffening and snarling at MCU Tony who's just kinda lost bc the Peter in the MCU follows him like a little duckling- But this Peter is snarling and hissing, and there are these people are surrounding him, protecting him-And all these people are making weird, animalistic noises, chirping and cooing- making sounds that could not be made from human vocal cords-

All of them just don't smell right, or look right- The pack(TM)'s eyes glint golden sometimes, and sometimes they go to completely communicate in low growls and chirping- There's some hierarchy within the group, but none of the non-g&c characters can tell what it is-

The thought of Loki appearing before them, and the remainder/present Avengers getting out their weapons- and them knowing now that if Loki had really wanted to take over New York, he could have-

And Stephen Strange (pre-Multiverse), seeing the g&c version- with two formidable magic users-

And also, I want to see/write MCU Matt and Frank reacting to the g&c trio bc I think it'd be hilarious- Maybe after this meeting, MCU Matt checks up on his version of Spiderman and that cascades into Peter gaining a 'dad'-

I am rambling but I just wanted to bounce some ideas off of u, babe

yeeeeEEEEAAAH PACK THOUGHTS LET’S GOOOO please there’s no need to apologize

ohmygod the pack post Civil War in the MCU world would be such a fucking mess, although if they meet them post AoU i feel like things could have been better for the MCU group due scoldings of the Pack, so, for the sake of angst, let’s go with post Civil War (8

Tony would ABSOLUTELY think “oh they have a Peter too, this shit easy, watch me” and try to approach him all smiles and prancing around only to get a full on growl that sounds like a big dog about to bite his fingers off, but instead of launching at him, Peter curls around himself or steps closer to someone of The Pack, while the adult is most likely glaring at him. MCU Banner would definetly be fascinated by their bodies being capable of making such noises and would probably try to ask so many questions but R, Frank and Wanda do feel like it’s bordering on them being specimens or lab rats even if there’s no physical prodding so they answer very short and cut sentences until Banner gets the hint (NO WAIT, THIS BANNER IS ON FUCKING SPACE FIGHTING ON SKAAR LMAO, MAKE IT VISION THEN, AND RHODES THE ONE TO TELL HIM TO STOP jfc i forgot most of the lineups)

the idea that even non a/b/o world individuals can smell their scents is interesting, like its similar to how people get lingering smells after like, baking, or being near a bbq for half a day - the smell is faint if u don’t pay attention but it’s definetly there - the golden and flashing eyes is unsettling, to them all it screams wild magic rather than something else (perhaps Nat remembers MCU Loki’s blue eyes and how odd they looked) and the way they actually snarl and bare their sharper than theirs teeths? damn

Tony would probably make some comment about “oh, kinky” if/when he saw Matt’s bond marks and even tried to touch them and that results in a whole different mess of Matt being on top of Tony growling and no one from the Pack stopping him, ALL their eyes being golden and R and Frank are more like ready to ALSO jump Tony - it’s probably MCU’s Peter who stops the situation

ooooh, Pack Peter not knowing how to feel about MCU Peter,,,,

the Loki of The pack is very different and MCU people can tell it and yet they don’t trust them and are wary of them, and even if Loki is not affected Wanda and Stephen will cuddle their god and reassure him of how much they love her

MCU Stephen seeing a healtier version of his yet with more shaky hands and a softer look on his eyes despite the obvious maturity there - so many juxtapositions

okay but imagine the reason MCU Matt and Frank meet their Pack selves is because Pack Peter decided to follow MCU Peter and so Pack Matt and Frank are following him because “jfc this kID-” and end up finding their counterparts - who see them interact with Pack Peter and Matt wonders if his world’s Spiderman is the same as this Peter and so checks him out - tries to reach him...which is, harder, because this Peter is so blinded by his admiration of Tony...Homecoming would be different tho, now Peter knowing Daredevil has been trying to aid him and well...Tony took his suit, but there’s a whole mess to deal with, and Tony didn’t listen and maybe his other self was onto something....

have this wall of text back then úwú

[willowskyfeather]

Are you looking for an extremely lengthy book? Well, I have a book series. It’s rated M for mature snd has very heavy themes. It’s a dark fantasy novel following the miserable, yet adventure filled life of a teenage girl. The book takes place in another world, with mythical beings and shit lol the book follows her declining mental state, social/romantic life, and her eventual spiral into instability! there lots of characters that are introduced, plot twist.. and death

Excerpt from book 1: “In a far away land, human civilization met certain wildlife in a.. Much different way. There weren’t entirely people to protect the lands. Instead, they relied on unique, powerful animals to protect their sacred vicinities. One populated location was Greenhaven; a quaint little village, blanketed in hills and lush green grass. Vast amounts of emerald colored forests and floral meadows surrounded the tranquil town. Outside of Greenhaven, there was a large world out there; an entire country named Rezas.

Each guardian of Greenhaven was unique and had a special trait. There were only 6. One flew high in the skies, a beautiful barn owl. One raged below, a powerful gazelle. Another prowled the plains, a stealthy cheetah. Another howled into the night, a clever coyote. One glided within the freshwaters, an agile river otter. Lastly, a creature of grace, a panda. Within this strange and fascinating world also lived various other mythical creatures. Pegasi were rarely seen grazing in secluded fields, griffins were used as royal and military transportation for important missions.. but there were creatures nobody dared to speak of.. Creatures that truly represented hell in all possible forms and ways.

These creatures were called Shadowfangs, known as the demons of Rezas. Every human feared them after they began to act hostile towards all living creatures. Neshira, the queen of all Shadowfangs, commanded them to kill anything that moved and her loyal peers obeyed, wreaking havoc on Rezas and anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross their path. The Guardians of each village swore to protect any townsfolk inhabiting the location with their life. They worked hard and endured arduous, perilous encounters to save their people from the hellish beasts that they coexisted with. The Guardians were extremely loyal to their people and were bonded to the town via an enchanted orb embedded with great power. This orb was important to the guardian and the guardian would revert back to a normal animal if the orb was lost, stripping them of their powers and title.

The guardians worked hard for many years to put an end to the Shadowfangs’ perilous existence, but there were much too many. Neshira had never considered backing down. Sadly, the world of Rezas would always be at war with Shadowfangs.”

Here’s a link to the latest book if you’re interested in seeing where we currently are at!

[anthropictales]

Insert bad dragon pun [Here] (Because Tamriel is F**ed)

Ralof was grateful for the breeze blowing off the mountain.

Because Helgen wasn't just on fire, it was being actively razed down to the bedrock.

the town sprawled out a little awkwardly through the valley that continued past the road, and the imperial base was a sprawling, rectangular town of its own, atop a promontory, organized in the mode of a third-era military camp, which it had been.

Ralof only knew what had been where because he was passingly familiar with the place from various attack plans.

It barely looked like a village. Everything was on fire, rubble piling in the streets, and the screaming was clearly audible all the way out here.

Ralof wouldn't often find it in himself to feel pity for the empire, but as the immense winged beast circled above the town, firing jets of flame so hot it burned the eye merely to look at, landing on occasion to give personal attention to one of the tiny humans who had managed to draw its ire personally, he felt dread saunter in uninvited and make itself at home, pulling out the fine Cyrodillic porcelain and getting into the good mead.

he wasn't going to be sleeping at night.

He felt vindicated in his assessment of the strange argonian girl as a complete novice in the art of living through horrible things, because she was retching, having vacated her stomach over the fate of the imperial cart driver half an hour ago.

"Alduin's back." she said, getting control of her gorge. she pointed at the dragon.

"He's going around, dragging his buddies back from the dead to set fire to everything. and y'all are locked in a civil war. and the empire's focused on a goddamn attempted deicide." she leaned back.

"I can't decide whether to stick around, or try and head back to cyrodil and see if I can find whats left of, say, the knights of the nine."

"Now there's a name from the past." Ulfric said quietly.

"Long past?" she asked.

"Very much so I'm afraid." Ulfric said.

"Eugh. ok, first things first, I need to go west." she said.

"What's west?" the horse thief asked.

"A Daedra holy site. gonna go have a chat with Sheggy." Ralof's jaw dropped. Was this woman mad? then again, one would have to be half in his court already to refer to Sheogorath as 'Sheggy'.

"You expect to get a straight answer?" Ulfric asked, evincing merely mild surprise.

Ralof wasn't sure he could take more crazy things happening today.

She shrugged. "Well, I know a thing or two about uh... this incarnation of 'im." she said, eyes narrowed. "Might be able to drag something useful outta him. then... well. depends on what he says I guess. either I get my answers, or its time to poke at the Nine." she said. "Maybe Talos wouldn't mind getting directly involved, use a few cheat codes fer us."

Ralof shook his head. "The gods can't fight all our battles for us." he said quietly.

she gestured at the dragon. "If the Nine weren't interventionist, then that must just be a giant bird that's improbably on fire. But hey, maybe I'll achieve CHIM and do it myself. anything's possible."

Ralof frowned. more babbling? but Ulfric, already clearly fascinated by this enigma of an argonian (especially given that while Ralof now remembered her having been one the entire time, he also still remembered not being able to remember her face or anything about her, and he was still reeling from that), Ulfric was now studying her almost... nervously.

Ralof decided he would ask Stormcloak what the deal was. tomorrow. after getting some rest. and maybe a tankard or three of good ale.

One way or another, he hoped today was done throwing surprise upsets at him.

He was beginning to worry Merunes Dagon might decide for a round two.

[percico-sea-of-darkness]

Post for all the fans of Nico di Angelo who want him to be loved by the rest of the cast:

WARNING: I talk extensively about another culture (Mexican 🇲🇽). You can ignore. All this post is personal. I think this can be a good way to make Nico proud to be a son of Hades.

I feel that visiting Mexico (or at least the appearance of a mexican character) would be without a doubt one of the most important adventures that Nico could have, both for the development of the character and to include other cultures (unfortunately I haven't seen anyone talk about this, so I have to talk about this  (o^^)o.

Rick, this is for you, man.

But, why do I think that?

Apart from... the fact that it's my home, I think about it particularly because Mexicans have developed a very particular attitude towards death.

Mexico has a very special relationship with the culture of death that has even come to fascinate the rest of the world.

Hence, the indigenous celebrations of the Day of the Dead were declared by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Literally our most famous poet, Octavio Paz, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1990, talks about our fascination with death.

“Our cult of death is also a cult of life. Both are inseparable. A civilization that denies death ends up denying life.”

And it's not only that. Mexico is almost a synonym for the word 'death'. Apart from the Day of the Dead, one of the most recognized symbols of the country is a skull. An emblematic figure is 'La Catrina'.

Our most representative flower is the Cempasúchil, which was considered by our ancestors, the Mexicas and Aztecs, as a symbol of life and death, as well as two of our native dogs: the Xoloitzcuintle, which is the guide through the Micltán: the Mexicas underworld. (And to be honest, I don't like how Disney portrayed it in the movie “Coco”, but considering it's a family movie and Disney has its magic "slapstick" and "mickey mousing" formula to please little kids, even I don't like it, it's... cinematically correct). Xoloizcuintles are dogs that are recognized for their intelligence, their easy training, their resistance, their protection to its owner, and their friendly and calm nature. And the Calupoh, a specimen that was found in such special places as the Temple of Quetzalcóatl as adornments for the Warriors elite, in the Pyramid of the Moon as an offering, and in the Templo Mayor in Mexico-Tenochtitlan associated with sacrifices. These were animals with a very high spiritual significance associated with death and war.

Literally the celebration of the dead is related to national pride.

This love for death is not for fashion, it's not just to please someone or whatever. Even, many people think that this celebration is similar/copied from Halloween. Actually, it's not. Unlike Halloween, you don't go trick or treating, in here you offer to family and dead people (yes, in their graves). Death isn't chased away, it's represented and accepted. Hence the Catrina parades.

Children are familiar with the subject, there are candies with funeral motifs, there are numerous terms to refer to death: La Huesuda, la Calaca, la Catrina, la Parca, la Dama de Negro, la Santa Muerte, la Novia Fiel, La Patrona, and many more. Dead people are exhibited in museums (it sounds strange, but it's common), there are thousands of rituals to remember the deceased. Like, put paths of cempasuchil petals throughout the pantheon so that the dead who return to the land of the living can live together and walk with us. And always we have an offering for them, such as food, drinks, things that the deceased liked in life.

There is merchandising: just like hanging a crucifix around your neck or putting on a The Beatles shirt, in Mexico there are pendants, key chains, earrings, backpacks, but with the Holy Death.

By being in Mexico, or being a friend with a mexican character, Nico wouldn't be ignored or described as creepy like most of Rick Riordan's characters do, literally in here he would be one of the most revered (like Percy Jackson in CHB). Nico could learn a lot about what death looks like in another part of the world besides USA. And I won't say “another part of the world besides North America”, because Mexico is actually a North American country.

Finally Nico di Angelo could take pride in his connection to death, and therefore to face this, who knows? Maybe change the mindset most RR characters have towards Nico and their immediate fear of death that he tends to radiate.

Good night :)

[miraakulous-cloud-district]

For the oc ask game!!! 😍😍😍 1. Class (or a general description of their skillset)

2. What was their childhood like? Who raised them? Do they have siblings?

3. Where did they grow up? A city? A village? Isolated, in the wilderness? What was it like to leave?

4. Do they pick a side in the Civil War?

5. On a scale of 1-10, how much do they hate the Thalmor? The Empire?

Five questions for the lovely Ravonna! 💖

Thank you so much for the ask dear! Also, if anyone sees this and likes Ravonna, you can check out my fic!

1. I like to think that Morrowind is the little magic corner of Tamriel, so basic magic is standard there. Everyone does it. However, Ravonna’s fascination with magic, her determination to get revenge and the fact that she’s a bit of an overachiever made her a master destruction mage. She does amazing in the other schools of magic as well. All of them except for healing. She thinks it’s pointless to fill her head with those spells when she can just buy healing potions. (she cannot do alchemy for the life of her). Of course this is going to bite her in the ass constantly. Good thing we have a certain Dragon Priest who used to be a healer ;). But don’t worry, he’s willing to share his knowledge later on. All I can say is that I can’t wait to write the scene, hehehe!

As for other skills, she thinks she is an amazing sneak. She is not. Seriously, she should stop. Getting detected by all of the draugr, giants, bears and guards isn’t very fun. She does decently with one handed weapons, all thanks to Teldryn. But she hates anything that is heavy and requires much strength. It’s enough that she walks and runs all over the place, refusing to take horses and put them into danger. Absolutely no two handed weapons and shields. She’s never used a shield in her life and would rather die than use a greatsword, or worse, an axe. She loves wearing enchanted fancy robes. She’s also a master in the art of speechcraft. 

2. She had a bit of an unusual childhood. She grew up in a tavern in the city of Blacklight. The tavern was big and very beautiful. She doesn’t really know anything about her roots (yet), just that her mother brought her to the tavern and dropping dead after making the innkeeper promise he’d take care of her. And he kept his promise. The innkeeper, Endryn, along with his brother Teldryn and the tavern’s bard, Hjaldir took care of her and raised her as if she was their own daughter. She learned a bit from each of them: being determined, ambitious and strong from Teldryn, being kind, friendly and always helping those in need from Endryn and having fun, singing, being witty, charismatic, playing every instrument and not taking anything too seriously from Hjaldir. Him and Ravonna formed a strong bond. Some say it’s because they were two nords in a land full of dunmer, others say it’s because their personalities are really similar and they complete each other. Some even say they look strangely similar. I made them both and I have proof! Here you go:

Anyway, her childhood was full of love. She quickly started singing at the tavern and making friends of all ages. She proved to be quite charming. Magnetic, even. Everyone wanted to listen to her songs and her tales. She’s had her fair share of adventure in Morrowind. First with Teldryn, and then with friends from the guild of mages. And of course, many, many shenanigans. She got everyone in and out of trouble.

3. As I said before, she grew up in Blacklight, which is one of the major cities in Morrowind. The ash storms weren’t very nice. Nor was the limited food. Or the scribs. Or any Morrowind creature for that matter. The truth is she never truly felt like she belonged there, but it was a place full of fascinating stories and fond memories. A place full of love. And it will always stay like that in her heart. Leaving was unexpectedly easy for her. She was at that point in her life where she wanted to see the world and travel. However, she didn’t want to leave the way she did: on a quest to destroy the Dark Brotherhood and those responsible for Endryn’s assassination.

4. She hates politics and doesn’t understand it. Every time someone asks her about politics, she says that she’s just a bard and doesn’t want to get involved in that stuff. She doesn’t even care about the civil war at first. She's just furious that they were going to execute her and Lucien, who she was travelling with at the time. But, as time passes and she gets comfortable in the land of Skyrim, it truly saddens her that the country is falling apart because of stupid, stubborn people. As for picking a side, she’d like to knock some sense into both sides.

5. She doesn’t hate the Empire, but boy does she wish they’d be a bit less stubborn (at least make levitation legal, for Gods’ sakes). She knows that the Empire is trying to keep everything in control and that the allegiance with the Thalmor is solely too keep the peace. Speaking of Thalmor, she absolutely hates them. Anyone that thinks they’re above all, is racist, exclusivist and elitist is on her list of people she strongly dislikes. The killing and torturing that the Thamor do makes her blood boil sometimes. It’s unfair and horrible and she hopes that karma will work her magic and they end up being treated as they treat everyone else.

Thank you again for the tag and sorry for the huge essay haha. I could talk about my ocs all day. This was really fun!

[fandom-geek]

thoughts after seeing the first two episodes of interview with the vampire (having not read the books and only seen the start of the film)

so. first off. i am fucking in love with making it so daniel and louis first met at a gay club, as well as louis openly referring to himself (both in the past and present) as “homosexual” and “queer”.

and daniel being a mostly washed up reporter struggling with parkinsons? and that they did previously meet (presumably the encounter depicted in the books) but now they’re going back over it because louis and daniel both think it was shitty and daniel is determined to get to the bottom of it?

those are some fascinating choices, right up there with making louis a black gay man in the 1910s as opposed to a pre-civil war slaver, and i feel like they really change the undertones of why louis is telling this story, and why daniel is willing to do it again. it also makes the whole past interview ending with daniel begging to be turned so heartwrenching - instead of immortality, daniel is now facing down one of the worst ends to mortality, and that’s just such a bitter pill to swallow. i wonder if daniel is going to ask to be turned again, and whether louis would agree given daniel’s condition

i also love how interesting the side characters are - whether it’s lily, paul, or grace, they’re excellent at making you feel for the mortal characters who are left behind (or straight up murdered) while louis embraces his life with lestat. and god, i am absolutely wondering if lestat used his telepathy to make paul kill himself, just because it’d be so in keeping with him killing lily (arguably the closest person to a friend that louis has) and him later killing louis’ two parish priests.

i’m also really curious about louis’ servant in the modern day, and what relationship he actually has to louis. louis clearly trusts him a lot since he’s there for daniel’s whole first meeting with him, but he’s so hard to get a grasp on, it’s fascinating.

lestat, strangely, is obviously so central, and it is nice to see how ridiculously romantic the two of them get together (aside from lestat’s penchant for emotional abuse), but i feel like i don’t have much to say about him?

having seen the trailer and knowing about claudia from summaries of the books and the film, it’s interesting to see how he reacts to louis’ grief over not being able to have a family of his own, especially since lestat doesn’t seem to even contemplate or mention children beforehand. i know he says louis is the only person preventing him from feeling so completely lonely, and that he’s never met anyone like louis, but given how unpredictably lestat’s affection for louis seems to mix with his ability for manipulation, i’m not entirely sure how much i can take that at face value.

also, to circle back to the modern day segments a bit - given that the books do have quite important sections that take place after louis’ original interview with daniel, i’m quite interested to see how they deal with that. i’m not sure how louis mentioning vampires turning people left, right and centre fits into those later events as my understanding of later books is pretty vague (but i’m sure book fans have already figured that out), and whether that means louis will recount the events of later books as well or just focus on the events he originally told, but it’s going to be interesting either way

[snootsnoot-fiction]

Your Gentleman

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: None really

A/n: My first marvel fic yay!!! I love that it’s Bucky as well☺️ This is a birthday gift for my dear friend who I love @inthatmomentwewereinfinite 🎉🎉🎉 you’re honestly one of the nicest people on the planet, I hope you have the best day you can ❤️

Summary: You haven’t seen Bucky in years…

The life of one James Buchanan Barnes was quite the tragedy. At least for the most part.It was a long, involuntary life, but to say he wouldn’t be the least bit grateful for the majority time skip would be a lie. Oh, there were things “Bucky” Barnes missed of course, but there was plenty to make up for it.

The man thought he would lead a simple life; serve in the war, get married with Steve as his best man, maybe even die of old age. A far cry from the fate that really awaited him, for he found himself being part of the Red Skull’s experiment. An experiment that began his journey as who would infamously be known as The Winter Soldier. 

~~~~~

You were quite the artist to say the least. You lived and enjoyed a fairly quiet life as well. That’s not to say your talents weren’t sought out, for you were also quite the fashion designer. Sometimes you would simply consult. Create and draw up a design for someone else to make. Occasionally you would make the pieces yourself. It was an interesting way of making money, and you were happy to keep living your quiet life - your involvement usually kept secret in some way at your request.

Needless to say, one of the biggest things you ever worked on was the new suit for Captain America. You found his tale fascinating. You knew of the man, but it wasn’t until you heard he was back that you looked into him a little more. Strange things seemed to be happening more often.

The detail of his best friend’s supposed ‘death’ was another thing that interested you, but all anyone could assume was he actually was dead now. It didn’t stop you from wondering though.

You did work on occasion for people such as The Avengers, but aside from that, you were a normal citizen. So to say you were surprised when you caught the eye of Mr Barnes in modern day was an understatement.

Recognising him immediately, you weren’t sure what to do. He looked beyond exhausted, and it was clear to you he was trying to keep his head down. The man carried on, and despite thinking you probably shouldn’t, you followed. The next thing you knew, a cold arm was pinning you against a wall as the one and only James Barnes stared at you. Up close, his eyes looked even tireder, and you could see just how rough a state he was in.

“Why are you following me?” He huffed out. Anyone could see how tense he was. Almost afraid.

“I’m no-one I swear! I just recognised you and got curious… you’re Bucky?” He slowly let you go, but remained tense. “I don’t even know what happened… you look awful…” you frowned slightly as you gave him a proper look. You really had no idea what was going on, but you felt bad for him. Whatever happened to this man, you were glad to not know right now. 

~~ a few months later ~~

You wondered how people would react to finding out about you helping ‘The Winter Soldier’. The thought made you nervous sometimes, but you knew what you were doing to be right. Something in you from the moment you met him told you he himself was at no fault, but of course, not everyone would see it that way.

The day you met him, you had ended up giving him a fresh change of clothes that would help him to blend in more. You had offered more, even a meal, but trust would take time to build, and he didn’t want to stick around you too long. 

‘Too many innocent people…’ was all he muttered before giving thanks and leaving without a word.

‘I’m happy to help…’ you hadn’t been sure if he even heard you, but surprisingly it wasn't long before you saw him again; with time, the two of you built a sense of trust. Bucky would never stay too long, but when he did you would allow him to use your own facilities if he needed, You would make him a warm meal almost every time, and give him another fresh change of clothes if he needed them.

Trust takes time though, and you didn’t know much of the story of why he was even here. You didn’t want to push or pry, but you couldn’t help but wonder sometimes. 

Today was the day you’d learn.

The old soldier hesitantly stepped into your home. It always made you frown a little to see just how hesitant he was; whatever it was he was hiding from, you wish he didn’t have to.

“I know you don’t like to, but I made my sofa up for you just in case-”

“Sofa? The couch?” You went a little red and chuckled nervously.

“Yeah sorry, I didn’t grow up here..” and for the first time, you saw him smile. It was little, but it was there. It made your heart flutter just a bit, causing you to smile.

“I might take you up on that.” His words were quiet as he walked in to see the couch. You had set a single, plump pillow on one end, and laid your biggest blanket over the piece of furniture. Bucky had been so hesitant to talk even one word to anyone, nevermind taking refuge from someone, but he couldn’t even remember the last time he had a nice place or spot to sleep. Not only that, but you seemed genuine to him. Deep down he knew he could trust you. Your smile widened.

“Are you hungry?” At your question, he looked back at you with a small nod. The tired look in his eyes made you want to really look after him, but there was only so much you could do and you didn’t want to startle him.

That night, you sat on opposite ends of the couch as you ate a freshly cooked meal, some sitcom on the TV. Eventually you decided to ask him what had happened to land him here. There was no pressure to answer of course, and you were more than willing to forget you asked if he didn’t yet feel comfortable to tell his story… but he did. You listened patiently and quietly as Bucky talked about The Winter Soldier.

Little did you know just how far you had already fallen for this man.

~~ Avengers Civil War ~~

After hiding for so long, Bucky had to admit there was something refreshing about now being out in the open.Of course, the circumstances were most unfortunate, but whatever happened, he would no longer be in hiding. Therefore he wouldn’t be putting you in any more potential danger. The two of you had grown quite close, and if anything happened to you because of him, well.. he didn’t like to think about it.

People like himself existed and had been used to assassinate King T’Chaka, and now the group his best friend Steve had put together were trying to get to the guy behind all of this. Unfortunately Tony Stark had created an obstacle for them. The old soldier could see that both men were somewhat regretful, but firm in their beliefs. Before he knew it, the fighting had begun.

Bucky and Sam Wilson had hidden in the airport terminal to start when this kid in a red and blue costume came at them. Sam knocked the kid away, so Bucky ran after them, and when he reached them, he saw an opening and threw a chunk of metal at the weirdly flexible kid. Naturally this kid was able to throw it right on back before being tackled by Wilson again.

Reaching the both of them just in time, Bucky ran between them as the spider kid flung himself at Sam, landing both the men in the floor below and his metal arm in some sort of.. webbing. The old soldier hated the fact they ended up in this position because of a child who didn’t even sound as though he had hit puberty yet. That’s when the kid was thrown out the window by the little robot bird.

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” he growled at Sam, genuinely annoyed with the guy.

“I hate you.” Bucky merely scoffed at the response. They were in the middle of something big, but for a brief moment he found it funny that Steve’s new friend was this guy of all people.

Despite all this, you were still there. In his mind. With everything now in the open, he hoped your part in all of this was still in the dark. He just wanted you safe. To live your life.

~~ present time ~~

To Bucky, it almost felt like his past had repeated somewhat; to skip from one time to the other was confusing and frustrating. At least this time around it wasn’t as far into the future as the last time.

For you, however, it was a lonely experience. With The Snap, you had stayed behind. You lived out those five years. You had found a connection with this older guy you absolutely adored, and then you find out he was snapped out of existence along with half the planet. Lonely was an understatement, especially at the start.

At least he didn’t physically die - a fact you turned out to be grateful for when suddenly all those who had been Snapped were back. Of course, you knew the type of life Bucky led beforehand, so you were still worried, but you hoped with time he would contact you again. That hopefully things had finally calmed down at least somewhat in the world now. 

Meanwhile, in the last five years you had moved to New York. With half the world gone, work had been a difficult adjustment for everyone, and you decided to start your own little business in The Big Apple; a prime area for you. It was just a little fashion/clothing business, but it turned out well enough to keep you afloat. Business got quite busy when everyone reappeared. It was stressful at first, but you managed to hire a few other people that helped. You were even able to start taking a little time to yourself occasionally in all due time. Eventually it became the norm.

With business and the world calming down, Bucky Barnes had been on your mind recently. You wondered where he was, if he was alright.

You were in your store. It was a weirdly calm day today, so you sat on a chair behind the main cash register. You heard the door open, but by the time you looked up, the person had disappeared behind one of the clothing racks. You thought about keeping an eye on them, ready to get up if it looked like they needed assistance.

“I got ‘im.” One of your workers said from behind you, offering a smile as she walked past you.

“Thanks.” You smiled back, watching her hover near whoever the customer was before looking back down at the book in your hands. You seemed to get quite into the book, because before you knew  it, a shadow stood over you, but you didn’t notice until he spoke.

“Hey..” the voice caused your heart to stop as your ears perked and a weird yet pleasant shiver flew down your spine. You knew that voice. You knew eventually you would see him again, but it was still a surprise.

Slowly, you closed the book, and your eyes dragged up until they were on that same face you had last seen way over five years ago now. His hair was short now, but it was him alright. It was Bucky.

The man offered a small smile and wave as you stared at him. You had no idea what to do.

“Uh.. this your place?”

“Yeah…”

“You’ve done well.”

“I’ve had a lot of time.” Your responses were automatic. Your mind was blank.

“Uuhh..”

“Bucky?” You stared at him with wide eyes, your voice triggered a slightly wider smile on his lips as he nodded.

“It’s been a while.” His words made you scoff loudly.

“You’re telling me!” The both of you chuckled. The last five years had felt so long for you, but the two of you were already falling back into your old dynamic.

“... Listen Y/N.. all that old stuff.. The Winter Soldier stuff… it’s gone now.” His words made you smile for him. You knew how much his past had troubled him. You doubted it was completely out of the way, but you knew what he meant.

“No more hiding?”

“No more hiding.” Bucky smiled, a look of genuine relief on his face.

Just then, a group of teen girls walked in and your smile disappeared for a moment.

“I’m at work. I’m the boss but I still gotta work, we can’t..”

“I know a place we can go to later if you want? Catch up?”

“I’d love to! I close up around six today, we can go after then.”

“Perfect! I’ll come back and we can walk there together.” You smiled and nodded, too shy to say anything else right now. Bucky smiled before turning around, looking back at you as he opened the door to leave. You gave him a little shy wave.

You spent the next few hours constantly thinking about Bucky and finally being able to see and talk to him again. Excited was an understatement. You were happy. Bucky was back. You were always too shy to say anything about what you felt, but absolute adoration was another understatement when it came to that man.

The clock had finally struck six. Your employees were now leaving, and you decided to check the store, make sure everything was alright before closing up. The same employee that had helped out earlier that day came up to you as you picked up your things.

“Your gentleman caller is waiting outside.” She had a knowing smile on her face. She even seemed kind of excited and she stood there and waited as you blushed.

“Thank you..” you attempted to avoid her gaze as you packed the rest of your things in your bag.

“I’ll tell him you won’t be long.” At that, you offered her a smile before she left and you took a moment to relax before following.

Bucky wasn’t right there as you left through the front, but when you turned back around after shutting and locking the place, there he was just a couple feet away from you. A small flower bouquet in his hand. Your heart melted at the sight.

“I know you’re not much of a flower person, but I wasn’t sure what else to do.. You know… with the time gap and all.. But these are your favourites.” Bucky looked almost nervous. You shyly stuck your hand out to take the bouquet, your fingers brushing against his as you did.

“They’re perfect, thank you.” A small smile tugged at your lips again as you looked at them before looking back to the man in front of you.

“I’ve missed you Y/N.”

“Me too.. You that is! I’ve missed you, not myself.” You blushed as Bucky chuckled at your flustered self. He then held out an arm.

“Shall we?” You hesitated before taking hold of his arm with your free hand, a feeling of happy warmth washing over you.

“We shall.”

Tagging; @blondekel77 @book-hoardingdragon @mandosmimi

[clear-as-starlight]

Nathan Hale’s Death vs the Primary Sources

(aka did William Hull actually know anything?)

“The first the Americans heard of Hale’s death was on the evening of the twenty-second [September 1776], when Captain John Montresor…an aide de camp to General Howe, approached an outpost…under flag of truce. His main business…did not concern Hale, but was to transport to Washington a letter from Howe offering an exchange of high-ranking prisoners. Joseph Reed, accompanied by General Israel Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton, rode to meet him. After passing over the letter, he casually added that one Nathan Hale, a Captain, had been executed that morning.”

This passage comes from “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring” by Alexander Rose and it, along with the wonderful @queerrevolution1776 inspired me to go on a (brief) primary source deep dive of Hale’s death. A challenge, given the lack of primary sources surrounding Hale’s spy work, and the tall tales that grew up around it.

I started here: Why was Hamilton there? He was not an aide-de-camp at this point, why would he be present? And that question, my friends, led to a whole host of others!

(Info under the cut because there is a lot, and it’s fascinating :))

The (Un)reliability of Recollection 

The idea of Hamilton having been present to hear of Hale’s fate, so far as I can see, is first related in “Revolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull”, a biography based on Hull’s unpublished memoirs, and written by his daughter, Maria Hull Campbell:

“In a few days, an Officer came to our camp, under a flag of truce, and informed Hamilton, then a Captain of the Artillery, but afterwards an aide to General Washington, that Captain Hale had been arrested within the British lines, condemned as a Spy, and executed that morning. I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer, who was present at his execution, and seemed touched by the circumstances attending it.”

William Hull was a friend of Hale’s from Yale, and they were both in the 19th Regiment, before Hale transferred to Knowlton’s Rangers. A lot of what we know of Hale’s death seems to come from Hull’s memoirs, right down to his (possibly incorrect and/or exaggerated) final words: “I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Hull was a close friend of Hale’s, so it does make some sense that he’d know something of it. However, the above biography was written in 1848, and related conversations that had taken place a long time earlier. Campbell herself admits she includes conversations not even present in her father’s memoirs.

Though her book is not the only 18th/19th century one about Hale’s death, it quickly became clear that all of them were based on conversations with Hull. The first time the name ‘Nathan Hale’ even entered the public conscious properly after the war was in 1799, in Hannah Adams’ “A Summary History of New England and General Sketch of the American War” where she writes: “The compiler of this History of New England is indebted to Gen. Hull of Newton for this interesting account of Captain Hale.”

Hale isn’t mentioned again until 1824, in a book by Jedediah Morse, who says he got his info from Adams, who in turn got it from Hull. It seems likely, then, that the idea of Hamilton being there (and indeed, that most of what we know) came from Hull’s supposed recollection, 20+ years after the event took place.

Now, this is not to say that Hull was lying. Return records show that he and his Regiment were certainly present at “Camp near to Harlem Heights” with Washington’s forces at the time that Washington would have been given the information about Hale, and we know Hamilton and his Artillery were present also, as it is at Harlem Heights that he apparently first came to Washington’s notice (according to John C. Hamilton). It did seem a bit strange though, to both me and @queerrevolution1776 , for Hull or Hamilton to have met with an official flag of truce, when they were both only Captains, and not on Washington’s staff (he’d only just become aware of Hamilton’s existence, after all).

Washington makes no mention of either of them in his correspondence, instead writing to Jonathan Trumbull Sr. that it was Colonel Joseph Reed whom Howe’s aide, John Montresor, met with. It makes sense that Reed would have met with Montresor, given his position on Washington’s staff. Reed is mentioned in Rose’s book, but not Hull’s account, and I thought that was a discrepancy worth a look. Hull, writing after the fact, mentions only Hamilton, who by then was a well-known, and scandalous, public figure. Reed, on the other hand, was nowhere near as popular, and perhaps did not serve as such an interesting figure in a story about Hull’s friend, one of America’s earliest spies.

Sure, Hamilton could have been nearby, or overheard the discussion, and in turn told Hull what he had heard—which could explain why Hale’s last moments have been exaggerated, or perhaps accidentally falsified, given that a British officer who was present apparently heard: “It the duty of every good officer, to obey any orders given him by his commander in chief” and not what is so often recounted. Even a newspaper (The Essex Journal) publishing an account five months later, quoted Hale as having said: “If I had ten thousand lives I would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of my injured, bleeding country”—No one seems quite able to agree exactly what he said! Hull may well have also told his children he was there to make the story seem more personal, and exciting.

(And I’m really starting to doubt that Hamilton was at the meeting at all. It’s never mentioned in any of his writing, or in the John C Hamilton biography)

There’s no “official” reports of Hale’s death either (excepting the noting of his death on the 22nd September casualty list) which is why so much has relied heavily on what Hull claimed to have been told. When Washington wrote Trumbull about the flag of truce meeting the next day, he was mostly concerned with the fire that had engulfed New York the day before, and the claims that Continental soldiers and spies had set it. The only possible reference we have from him that concerned the meeting between Reed and Montresor, with perhaps an oblique reference to Hale, is as follows:

“On Friday night about eleven or twelve o’Clock a fire broke out in the City of New York, which burning rapidly till after Sunrise next morning, destroyed a great number of Houses—By what means it happened we do not know; but the Gentleman who brought the letter out last night from General Howe, and who was one of his Aid De Camps informed Colo. Reed that several of our Countrymen had been punished with various deaths on account of it. Some by hanging, others by burning & c. alledging that they were apprehended when committing the fact.”

Howe himself never mentioned Hale explicitly in official correspondence between him and Washington, and Washington never did either. In fact, neither of them mentioned the spies or the fire to one another at all, concerned with prisoner exchanges, and the accusation of ill-treatment of British prisoners (Howe to Washington 21st September 1776 and Washington to Howe 23rd September 1776). Hale, and his fate, was unfortunately left to Montresor’s verbal account, and Hull’s dubious reporting.

Tench Tilghman on Hale’s Death

In terms of other primary correspondence that might reference Hale’s death, even remotely, we have accounts from Washington’s aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman.

Firstly, Tilghman wrote his father, James Tilghman, on the 25th September 1776, of the events and executions surrounding the fire. He was sent to deliver Washington’s reply to Howe’s camp under another flag of truce the day after Montresor’s, and spoke with some men in Howe’s camp then:

“Reports concerning the setting fire to New York: If it was done designedly, it was without the knowledge or Approbation of any commanding officer in this Army…every man belonging to the Army who remained in or were found near the City were made close prisoners. Many Acts of barbarous cruelty were committed upon poor creatures who were perhaps flying from the flames, the Soldiers and Sailors looked upon all who were not in the military line as guilty, and burnt and cut to pieces many. But this I am sure was not by Order. Some were executed next day upon good Grounds… I went down to the Enemy's lines yesterday with a Flag to settle the Exchange of prisoners…I met a very civil Gentleman with whom I had an Hours conversation…”

In Rose’s book, he mentions Hull & Colonel Samuel B. Webb going with Tilghman to the camp to further question Montresor about Hale. Webb, another aide-de-camp to Washington, may well have gone. But it seems a bit strange for Hull to have done so. And Hull’s account did not mention Webb, or Tilghman, which is also a bit odd. Rose made no note of his source for this, but I’d like to find it! Perhaps it’s mentioned in Webb’s journals, something I’d have to travel to Yale to see :(

Tilghman did, eventually, mention Hale explicitly, though not by name, when he wrote to Egbert Benson on 3rd October 1776:

“I am sorry that your Convention do not think themselves legally authorized to make examples of those villains they have apprehended…The General is determined if he can bring some of them in his hand’s under the denomination of spies, to execute them. General Howe hanged a Captain of ours belonging to Knowlton' s Rangers, who went into New-York to make discoveries. I don’t see why we should not make retaliation.”

So he definitely knew of Hale’s death by then, and it seemed to anger him greatly.

Miscellaneous Reports of Hale’s Death

There were also reports made by various others, that mention explicitly, or might imply, Hale’s death:

“Friday last we discovered a vast cloud of smoke arising from the north part of the city, which continued '‘ill Saturday evening…those that were found on or near the spot were pitched into the conflagration, some hanged by their heals, others by their necks with their throats cut. Inhuman barbarity! One Hale in New York, on suspicion of being a spy, was taken up and dragged without ceremony to the execution post and hung up.” (A Letter from September 28th 1776)

“We hanged up a rebel spy the other day, and some soldiers got, out of a rebel Gentleman’s garden, a painted soldier on a board, and hung it along with the Rebel; and wrote upon it, General Washington, and I saw it yesterday beyond headquarters by the roadside.” (Kentish Gazette, November 1776)

“A spy from the enemy (by his own full confession) apprehended last night, was this day executed at 11 o’clock in front of Artillery Park.” (General Howe’s diary)

“The Enemy charged some stragglers of our people that happened to be in New York with having set the City on Fire designedly and took that occasion as we were told to exercise some inhuman Crueltys on those poor Wretches that were in their power.” (Committee of Secret Correspondence to Silas Deane 1st October 1776)

What does all this mean?

Hamilton probably wasn’t there (but I can’t make a call on that for sure!)

basically, it’s clear that the primary sources on Hale’s death are few, and somewhat contradictory in places. I found it super interesting, and thought y’all might too! Please keep in mind I’m not calling William Hull a liar (and I definitely haven’t done anywhere near enough research to say anything conclusively!)

But I definitely think it’s always worth examining what we think we know from primary sources. And it’s very fun!