#can't afford more like their watcher was going THROUGH IT

[elderberries-and-honey]

Winifred & Lawrence, 1890

The newly weds can only afford to have one portrait taken to commemorate their wedding day. Nevertheless, it is a day they will cherish in their memories forever.

[drunkkenobi]

Hi bb, ty for the prompt to write my thoughts!

So I can't get on tumblr at work anymore unless I go outside to get good signal on my phone so I have only been privy to what's going on here today from friends on discord. So maybe I'm missing some nuance or the what my mutuals think and I apologize in advance for that but I'm going to speak plainly.

This is the only way Watcher is going to survive.

The view counts have been steady through Mystery Files season 2 but they aren't, like, astronomical. A video with a million views nets a channel between $10,000 - $30,000. Guys. That's nothing for Watcher. They have to pay each of their 25+ employees a salary with insurance and benefits and for everything else their channel requires. Steven said in the video today that a season of Ghost Files costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don't think everyone is hearing that part and understanding how much money that is, especially compared to many other YouTubers they watch. I'm not an expert on other YouTubers but I look at the Sims people I watch. They are successful with views in the hundred k range because they are a company of one. Themselves and maybe paying a freelancer to help edit their videos. For one person, the stakes are lower and the potential for profit is higher! Especially for gamers that are filming in their homes. YouTubers like this, making niche content on the cheap, are who is going to make it in YouTube now.

Watcher is none of those things. They have, from day one, wanted to make high quality unscripted content. All of their shows are shows. They aren't just "Ryan and Shane do [thing]" or "Steven eats [whatever]". They are shows, like ones you see on cable TV or any streamer. And shows are not cheap. Unscripted is cheaper, sure, than scripted. But that doesn't mean cheap. Especially not with the sheer production value we've seen on all their shows, in particular Ghost Files (hundreds of thousands of dollars). That is how much something like Ghost Adventures costs, which is on Travel Channel, an actual TV network that puts up all those costs.

So. That's why Watcher has to pivot to survive.

I think it's a great idea, personally. And yes, I am in a position where I can financially afford it no problem, which I know is a privilege! I am very lucky in that regard. And I understand that many people are upset they won't see the boys as easily on YouTube anymore. That is valid! But they have openly said they are totally fine with password sharing and I think that's a great way to cut down on costs for some folks. Also right now there's a great deal on the yearly sub for early subscribers. $40 for a year is cheaper than any streaming service and it doesn't go to anyone other than Watcher.

I understand that people feel hurt and blindsided, but I think Watcher is also feeling this too. They have been so excited about this and being able to make whatever they want without having to worry about sponsors and now they're mostly seeing anger directed their way. Especially at Steven. Steven is not rich. You know who's rich? David Zaslav, a man who is single-handedly ruining Warner Brothers and making himself a billionaire while he's at it. THAT is the kind of person we should be directing our anger at streaming prices and quality of the media landscape at. Not one small business that is just trying to survive so they can continue paying their employees.

And one more thing. I've seen folks saying they'd rather watch more ads than pay and while I get that, that's not going to help Watcher make what they want. YouTube famously demonetizes videos with swears which is why I can't watch a video with DRAG QUEENS without every other line being bleeped and Watcher has been so good about not bleeping their content because they know we would hate it. And YouTube does this because of advertisers. Advertisers only want to appeal to the most broad of audiences so that means not supporting anything slightly left of center. Having to deal with ads sucks from the creator perspective and does not help them in the long run.

Anyway, this is all a bit rambling, but these are my thoughts on WatcherTV. I'm extremely excited to subscribe and make them make more Weird Wonderful World. I hope to see you all there.

[coraniaid]

The scene where Willow confronts Faith is Choices is kind of fascinating to me, because ... well.

I like Choices quite a lot, and I think Willow's dislike of Faith is perfectly understandable and in character (and her speech has some fun but probably not intentional foreshadowing for later seasons), but it's hard not to notice that the narrative expects you to be rather more unambiguously on Willow's side than I think is really warranted.

I mean, Willow might not have been the most popular girl in high school, but she has multiple close friends, a nice boyfriend, a stable [and fairly comfortably middle-class] home life, she "represents the pinnacle of achievement in Sunnydale High" in the words of her school's principal, she's trusted enough to teach at the school, in a year she'll be able to go to any college she wants (and, unlike some people, she can afford to go anywhere she wants), she used to hack into government computer databases (before she ever met Buffy!) and now she's teaching herself dark magic "for fun" and she hasn't [yet] ever suffered any real repercussions for either of those things.

On the other hand, from what little we hear about Faith's past we know she grew up poor and that her mother used to get drunk and beat her, that she didn't have any friends and dropped out of high school young, she is very strongly implied on multiple occasions to have been the victim of some pretty horrific abuse before being called as a Slayer, and after being called as a Slayer she got to watch the one adult who ever told her she mattered get killed horribly in front of her before fleeing across the country to a town where she doesn't know anybody, still has no friends, doesn't have a job or go to school and lives alone in a motel in the bad part of town. And when she accidentally killed a man, while trying to do the whole slaying vampires thing she's supposed to be doing, the Watcher's Council -- who never actually bothered to send her a new Watcher of her own -- decided to have her abducted and dragged away to England [a fate which surely nobody deserves].

Yet a part of Willow clearly thinks (and almost outright says) "oh, well, yeah, but she hangs out with Buffy sometimes when I don't get to and she slept with the guy -- not my nice boyfriend! -- who I used to have a crush on (and who I was briefly cheating on said boyfriend with), so it's clearly impossible to say which of us really had things worse and I don't need to feel sorry for her". And -- again, while this is great characterisation for Willow -- it's kind of hard not to notice that the writers think she has a compelling point.

Yes, sure, Faith has defected to working for the Mayor and has a knife drawn on Willow this scene (she's not anything like a blameless victim at this point of the story) and it takes a certain level of physical bravery for Willow to stand up for herself despite that. But ... I mean, come on. "You had friends like Buffy" is only true if you accept it to mean "you had exactly one friend, who was Buffy". "It's way too late" for Faith to seek forgiveness ... how many people has Faith killed at this point? One, by mistake? Giles has killed more people than that. "Some people think you had a lot of bad breaks?" Yeah, actually in Faith's shoes I'd want to hit Willow after she said that too.

I realize that part of the show's central thesis -- something that explicitly came up as recently as Earshot -- is the idea that everybody, regardless of how comfortable their life might seem from the outside, has their own sorrow and pain and (only occasionally metaphorical) demons to fight. But while that's not entirely wrong, it's also ... not entirely complete? Everyone has it bad sometimes, but some people really do have it worse than others. Pretending otherwise is ... not a serious position to take.

Willow's life could be better, but she's not gone through anything like Faith has. I'd argue she literally can't imagine how bad Faith's life has been. She really doesn't have as much moral authority as the show's writers think she has at this point.

[Compare this part of Season 3 with the first half of Season 6, when the show is overflowing with sympathy for Willow's abrupt descent into magic addiction but has no sympathy at all for Amy Madison, whose own magic addiction is just implied to be because she's inherently a Bad Person who Willow needs to avoid and whose own horrific past and abusive mother and complete lack of support system is just entirely forgotten about. Or, indeed, to the weird take of Dead Man's Party, which has Buffy apologize to Willow for ... what? Having problems of her own that don't revolve around Willow? Being too busy mourning the loss of everything she ever cared about to tell Willow how uniquely special and amazing she was for learning rudimentary magic? Not being grateful enough for Willow restoring Angel's soul without bothering to ask Buffy if that was something she still wanted her to try?]

So, the overall effect is ... yeah, it's a good scene. But it's almost a good scene despite the writer's intentions, not because of them. It's much less of an ambiguously triumphant moment for WIllow than I believe we're meant to read it as.

[ghosty-schnibibit]

my opinion about the watcher news basically boils down to this:

watcher is screwing over a huge portion of its fanbase with this move considering how many people within it are teenagers who may not have access to streaming services, low-income adults who can't afford yet another streaming service (if any), and international fans who couldn't sign up for a US based streaming service even if they wanted to. it's okay to be angry about this, especially if you're one of those people who now can't support shows you loved or will be unable to see any of those shows going forward because of it.

and

youtube's payout to creators has dwindled in recent years to the point that it is impossible to fund the kind of productions watcher makes purely through it, and in order to sustain a company of 40+ people they need a more stable source of income not reliant on ads from outside companies and patreon, which, in this case, means a pivot to streaming. it's okay to be upset that creators you like have to turn to such methods to continue funding their work, whether you have the means to support them through these avenues or not.

and

if the early reactions to this move are any indication, watcher will probably not get the fan buy-in they anticipated and in all likelihood the new streaming site will either fail within a year or two because it isn't making enough money and take the company with it or they'll be bought out by a larger company and have their shows archived or deleted for tax purposes like what's happened to roosterteeth. it is okay to be scared by that potential future and seek to preserve as much content as you can before that happens.

are all statements that can and should coexist

[bunninova]

nothing new to add to the watcher fiasco so here's this. not to make it personal but I'm gonna make it personal.

what they get payed per brand deal could pay for a year of uni for me. what they make with patreon per year would change my entire family's life. my 50-60 year old parents could finally drop one of the multiple jobs they have, my sister could spend time with her kids and finally afford a proper wedding, I could go back to much needed therapy. we could travel more and go to concerts and nice restaurants, we could get tattoos and professional haircuts, we could spend money on spoiling our pets, we could buy books and clothes and go to the cinema without having to carefully budget, things the watcher folk do regularly without giving it a second thought. I could buy my best friend with unstable housing an apartment for their family for fucks sake. I'm out here skipping meals on school days because I can't afford to spend £5-10 a day to eat at uni, 'borrowing' necessities from big stores, and missing out on social events or birthdays that involve going out. I've only donated £20 in total in the last couple months to help people in Gaza and it devastates me that I can't donate more. I'm still privileged in many ways, the world is in shambles and regular people are being hit with an economic crisis, where housing and food is hard to secure.

I've been a huge fan of Shane and Ryan since I was thirteen, they were my comfort creators. I even checked their shows and merch to see if I could afford it (no) because I wanted to support them. their content has gone down hill for the past year and I still sat through the forced cringey parts because I used to love their videos. I respected them, they brought me joy and inspired me to create. "we priced it low enough that anyone can afford it". fuck off. day 3 and not even an acknowledgement. this has felt like the biggest "fuck you, poor" ever to me and I'm crushed.

[yaytheboop]

I absolutely support paying artists and supporting creators, and seeing the quality of Watcher's videos especially lately I've understood that it wouldn't be sustainable for a while now. I will never say that I expect anyone to come out with so much high-quality content so regularly without being financially compensated for it.

That being said, I think the way they've gone about this has just not been the smartest. First off by doing this so suddenly with no warning, and also having a big countdown to it when it's actually quite a sad thing to see them go. Like it felt like they were counting down to a party but then it was a funeral that took place instead, and even the mood of the video they put out was quite somber. I think it put the wrong expectations in fans (me included), which just made the shock even bigger than it needed to be (especially for this sort of announcement).

I think they actually were quite respectful of the fact that people wouldn't be able to continue to follow them over to WatcherTV, but the comment about "making it affordable so everyone could subscribe to their plan" and then it being $60 a year was kind of insulting. It would have been better if they'd been realistic about it and said that they understood that it might be a steep price for some, but that they hoped it would be affordable for some of their subscribers while still giving them the chance to produce high-quality content or something along those lines.

What I don't understand however is how this is supposed to be sustainable in the long run? Because if I'm someone who's scrolling Youtube and comes across one of their old videos, I'll watch them all there. If I'm scrolling and come across one of their newer videos, and see that the rest of those videos are behind a paywall, then I'm gonna continue to scroll, I won't pay $60 to watch someone I previously didn't really know.

I don't know businesses, especially businesses in creative fields, and definitely not USAmerican businesses in creative fields, so I'm not sure how this would work financially. However, I think there's one of two things they could have done to make it easier for us as fans to transition, as well as still earn them some of that extra revenue (to start with):

They could add a free subscription with ads on their streaming service. I don't know how easy that is, getting sponsors and incorporating pop-up ads on a service, but that's an option.

They could have started out by putting some of their bigger projects on the service, but still regularly making content on Youtube that was not as produced or financially

I think having their own streaming platform is a good idea because then they won't be bound by Youtube's restrictions and have more creative freedom, as well as the whole economic side of this. The way they're executing it however is just alienating and frankly a bit insulting to the fans who have been with them for so long and supported them through so much and now suddenly can't watch anything new anymore with barely any warning.

Yeah, this became very long but I had some thoughts that I just needed to air.

[aurea-corde]

I've never seen a single episode of anything related to watcher but I am eating up all this drama. Also sorry to y'all going through this

i appreciate that anon 😭 i've seen several good nuanced takes on the situation thankfully. the company definitely did mess up how it introduced the streaming service to people: they said in the video they were going to paywall all existing and new content and then in the comments and in the variety article pretended like that was never their intent. the variety article reveals that they were in fact initially told watcher was going to delete all existing content. the CEO in particular but in general all the founders said that the amount they are charging is affordable - specifically that anyone could afford it - which no they can't obviously. As they are now finding out the hard way. The CEO Steven also made an instagram post insinuating people who wouldn't subscribe just no longer want to watch them, rather than the reality which is that a massive majority of the audience can't afford to. Because he is the CEO, people are blaming the entire thing on him, but it's also important to remember there are actually three founder-owners with decision-making abilities in the company. Shane and Ryan are adults, and the way people are acting like Steven is some kind of dictator, Ryan just went along with it but Shane is the people's anticapitalist hero who was simply outvoted is not a great look. Especially the posts that refuse to acknowledge even the possibility of racial biases here. Mistakes were made, poc are not immune to criticism, but let's consider why so many feel like Shane was forced into this by the evil Steven (and people in the comments have literally called him evil for this) and either lump Ryan in with him or give Ryan no agency in the situation whatsoever. Steven is the most likely to have made the proposal as the closest thing Watcher has to a business-minded founder, but the other two clearly agreed with him. They could have just decided not to be in the video. I also don't see a world where they contractually obligated themselves to every whim of Steven's like some people are suggesting.

Do I think they're a bit sheltered in their LA life? Yeah, probably. I'm pretty sheltered myself - I live a comfortable middle class life in Australia, have a good job and am studying law. I could definitely afford the subscription. But I don't want to atm, or at least until they respond to the situation. Are they the worst most evil capitalists because they want to charge money for the content they create? No, not inherently. People supported them on Patreon because of course creatives should be paid for their labour, and ideally paid well enough to live comfortably. But the combo of bad business decisions (e.g. hiring too many staff too quickly while also wanting to pay them above a living wage, not advertising the patreon, not utilising revenue streams that aren't a streaming service like youtube memberships, spending what Ryan has said is hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single season of a series they have called Ghost Files) and the fact the CEO is pretty open about his comfortable lifestyle (drives a tesla which btw folks isn't a luxury car it's just a more expensive one, has a $300 matcha machine, has a series based on fine dining vs more affordable restaurants), means people are understandably mad because they are struggling financially and the founders (from what we know) are not - but they're trying to tell people that 6 USD is affordable for everyone.

It's a lot less to do with the fact of them charging for content as much as the way they went about it and in particular how it's been phrased to people has come across really insensitive. There's other logistics with the streaming service itself that were not thought out at all for international viewers, but I won't get into that here. And the pretending they were always going to leave their content up and telling viewers not to spread misinformation is scummy to me - at least acknowledge that was a mistake you made and backtracked on. It's just a mess but I really loved their videos and hope they make Youtube's Greatest Apology Video Ever (unironically) and try to undo some of the damage.

edit: someone in the replies made a great point that teslas could actually be considered a luxury car in some countries outside of the US, and I fully agree that 6 USD is 1) too much for what they offer, esp in this economic climate and 2) wayyyyy too much when converted to other currencies. I've seen other Australians say the conversion is too much for them but I know viewers in other countries say it comes out to literally thousands for them - if they can even access the site at all from their country.

[definitelynotshouting]

i literally can't stop rotating hunger au worldbuilding and lore in my head. forgive me if you've ever touched on this in an ask before, but... re: the existential horror of being a parasite that has the sense of self of the host it ate. if one of grian's friends ever did get taken and used as a watcher larva host. how do you think he would feel about the watcher that came out the other side? would he want to see them as still the same person as his friend, or...?

Ive been staring at this ask since i got it with like. I need you to picture the most comically heartbroken expression right now okay. like this is me reading that and thinking about it in great and terrible detail:

Gods he would be devastated if this ever happened. He knows what thats like. He knows just how much it hurts-- and that its not a hurt that can be quantified, because its just that intense, that scalding, that encompassing of an experience to go through. I think, genuinely, Grian would be so utterly horrified and grief-stricken for whichever friend went through the Watcherification process that it would trump every other potential feeling on the list

But i think, ultimately, he would still view them as his friend, and treat them in the same way. There's a little bit of hypocrisy in Grian's character that i enjoy engaging with while writing him, and a good part of that in hunger au is centered around how he's firmly designated himself as the monster, and everybody else is the victim, and theres no room for nuance because he sucks and theyre the only people who are valid. When in reality, yes he hurt them, yes he did terrible and invasive things, but he did them out of pure survival rather than maliciousness, and that does make a subtle difference. And... hes not the only one who has fucked up, either!! The entire point of hunger au is how everyone has fumbled the bag in various ways and now they're all trying to clean it up together. Its just, yknow, Grian is so wrapped up in his own pain that he cant see those grey areas yet

And the thing is, if one of his friends got Watchered™, so to speak, and was standing in front of him, i think he would treat them with SO much compassion. Theyve been through possibly the worst thing anyone can experience and come out the other side-- at his core, Grian is i think a character who wants to do good, and do good by other people, and in this hypothetical that would translate into a lot of kindness he doesnt usually afford for himself. Honestly i think he'd spend the time trying to show them the ropes, get them set up in a better position than he found himself in, and provide his own fumbling emotional support as best he could, just out of sheer solidarity. Like, he gets it. He's been there. He may as well help out.

And i think he wouldnt even realize how hypocritical he's being until someone else pointed it out to him, about how he treats this friend with so much care but is simultaneously cruel to himself. I dont think he'd know how to handle that-- he's sort of dug himself a rut in the road with the way he thinks about and treats himself, and the cognitive dissonance would be really uncomfortable for him. Ultimately a good thing!!! Growth is often very uncomfortable. But imo Grian has a tendency to run from things like feelings of discomfort, so i think it'd take him a while to reconcile his previous ways of thinking with whats being presented in front of him essentially in the form of a mirror.

So uh. tl;dr: he'd be a little hypocrite about it and would feel a lot more compassionately inclined towards the friend than he does himself, and would try to help them out as best he could. Thank you for the incredible question that has given me the opportunity to rotate this worm at even higher speeds than usual inside my brainpan DKNFEKNDSKDJKDKD

[saucy-mesothelioma]

Really guys? Really??? I love them all so much but holy shit this is probably the worst idea they've ever had. I really hope they understand how badly this is gonna hurt Watcher because a shit ton of us CAN'T AFFORD SUBSCRIPTIONS for stuff like this. Yeah, some people might be able to get it, but people like me can't afford to spend extra money like this. As much as I adore all of the work they've done, there's no way I'll be able to watch anything of theirs that they put on this service. And the fact that they're deleting all of their stuff on YouTube is just twisting the knife further for me. Y'all seriously couldn't even leave us that? I understand wanting to be their own company and have that freedom, I really do, but in the process they're gonna lose so much of their fan base, especially those of us who knew them from their BuzzFeed days. Needless to say, I'll be downloading all I can from the channel before it's all gone. This really broke my heart because I love everyone at Watcher and what they do. I hope y'all get the success you deserve and it was nice being a part of the community. It kills me because if I had the choice I would continue to watch everything they put out, but they're giving us no choice. So long, and thanks for all the good memories.

IMPORTANT EDIT: So apparently they're not deleting their old content, which is a big relief. But my major point of the paywall still remains. I absolutely understand their reasoning of more creative freedom and more revenue without having to go through YouTube, I really do. But this is still like a punch to the gut for a lot of us.

[constellationmelody]

I'm so disappointed with the direction that the Watcher decided to go. While I understand that they have to do what they need to do to keep doing the content they want to create and be a legitimate TV production, unfortunately, people like myself are in situations where we cannot financially support their goals. It's unfair to burden viewers who already contribute through other means like merch and live shows. etc. I heard they reconsidered their plan, after the pushback they received, about moving all their YouTube videos to their streaming platform, which I'm glad about. They went 'quiet' after that. Not sure why they thought that their viewers would be onboard with that. The cost of living is already squeezing everyone tightly, especially now that the streaming market is oversaturated. However, at least those streaming services offer a diverse range of content with millions of hours. After learning about how Steven has a Tesla and lives fairly well off, and the excessive spending on their sets and other things, I can't help but wonder if this all stems from poor money management. Out of the 25+ people that they have hired, ain't one of them an accountant? I ain't about to give money to a (CEO) guy who travel around to eat expensive food that I can't afford; That's not entertaining. Having an accountant could have helped them budget better, prioritize more popular shows to increase profits, and make other adjustments without constantly asking their audience for more money. It just seems irresponsible. I had a great time watching some of their videos... I have to admit, I didn't like Ghost Files as much as I liked Buzzfeed unsolved. Everyone said it better than me on my thoughts on it. Overproduced, barely any banter, and tbh, kinda boring. Someone put it perfectly by saying they liked the content creators for who they are; their personalities and chemistry were what mattered, not the elaborate setup. Back in their Buzzfeed days, We cared little that their set up were in some basement or shed with just a table, screen door, and a mannequin in the background and occasionally the talking text of yellow and blue screen roll. They could do this with a iphone camera and and we'd still enjoy it just as much. Like everyone else who watched Shane and Ryan's show, I too, was inspired by them. I create my own OCs based on them but I guess as they depart from youtube, I depart from them as well. Thanks for the laughs and entertainment guys!

[ananimice]

I have a headache, but this is all anyone's talking about, so let's talk about it.

Watcher TV. No matter where you stand, I think it's safe to say you love Shane, Steven, and Ryan. If you only love one or two of them over the others, I think it's safe to say your opinion doesn't really matter because you're blinded by your own biases. Frankly, it appears like a lot of the fandom was secretly harboring some pretty hateful thoughts about them, which is arguably more disappointing than the whole situation put together.

Yeah, when it was announced, I was bummed. I know people who had caught on to the idea of it before the announcement who stated they would be bummed too. We worried about the accessibility of their content and the availability, the impact it would have on such a small and young company, but y'know what? We all had the same concerns when Watcher was first founded. We worried about BuzzFeed Unsolved and how they'd ever have such a popular show, wondered if they'd still grow or if they'd have trouble finding a fan base on their own. When covid hit in full force, I think it those concerns grew ten fold with content becoming completely digital and distance based. But we made it through. That first episode of Too Many Spirits, with them all outside under the stars and that beautiful fire lighting them up - that was like a beacon of hope in itself. Things were going to be okay, no matter what.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... Just give it a chance. Put your irrational fears behind you and trust that these three guys have it under control. I guarantee Ryan and Steven at the very least have gone over every angle of their business model and came to this as the best solution for them. If you can't afford it, find a friend or two and split it. If you don't have a digital payment method, go buy a visa gift card. Support your favorite creators.

[tildeathiwillwrite]

The Flight into the Swamps

The Watcher and the Thief, Chapter 2 Scene 3

Whumptober Day 16: NECROSIS | Swamp | Wound Cleaning | "No, I can't feel anything."

Whumptober Prompts List | Masterpost

Tales from Valaria Masterpost

<- Previous | Next ->

Fandom: Original Work

Words: 1500

Tag List: @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf

@the-ellia-west

CW: concussion, burns, running, escape, paranoia, wound cleaning, shoulder wound, getting lost, swearing

A/N: Can our intrepid thief escape with his cargo? Will his wounds slow him down? Will Tumblr execute him for causing a library fire (not entirely on purpose)? Find out in this latest episode of The Watcher and the Thief "The Consequences of Rift's Actions!"

----------

Rift's head and shoulder throbbed with every step he took. His heart was hammering in his ears, beating too fast, far too fast, and every breath stung like he was still inhaling smoke.

But he still ran as fast as his legs could carry him, sprinting through the double doors of the archives and through the Draigo stronghold. Nobody stopped him. The guards he'd passed before had all run to the original blast, at the Council Chambers, and left the nearest exit completely unguarded. He'd known this would happen, planned on it.

But it still felt too easy.

The back of his neck prickled as he passed through the outer wall and entered the swamps proper, as if unseen eyes were tracking his every move. Or perhaps that was the burns on his back from the explosion. He didn't know for certain, and he sure as the depths were deep wasn't going to stop and check. Every second that he spent still was a second wasted, a second for the Draigo to gain ground, to catch him.

Rift's feet pounded on the worn path through the swamps, one of the only known safe ways to travel in this area. People have vanished in the swamps. Trailblazers, nobles, hunters. Thieves.

He needed to get off this path. He needed to disappear, and soon.

How much longer before the Draigo recovered themselves enough to come after him? Surely not too much longer. Damn, he wasn't even out of the swamps yet, he couldn't afford to stop. He vaguely recalled rumors of vicious beasts who answered to the Draigo, monstrous things resembling normal Valarian creatures but larger, stronger, more intelligent, and more deadly.

How long would he last, on the run? A day? Two days? A week? A month?

He needed to get out of his disguise. He needed to get to Valdove and pass off the gem as soon as possible. And maybe sell the gauntlet and mask to his employer as well. It wasn't part of the contract, but if one fabled artifact was worth a king's ransom, surely three would land him enough gold to buy himself a private island.

If the Draigo didn't get to him first.

Rift finally slowed his pace, acknowledging his body's need to rest. Stitches had formed on both sides, and he took a few precious moments to stow the two extra artifacts in his pack, padding them with the clothes he'd worn on much of the journey to the stronghold. Hands now freed, Rift shrugged off the charred coat, gritting his teeth as the tattered cloth irritated his burned skin.

"Aw, depths," he muttered, holding the coat out at arm's length, "you were such a beauty." He'd been quite proud of that find, a luxurious velvet coat with black satin lining and embroidery. Fit for a traveling Draigo. And now it was ruined.

Carefully folding it, he cast it into the brush, hoping it wouldn't help the Draigo too much in their search for him. He couldn't afford to keep it with him, in case when he reached Valdove someone started asking too many questions. His burns would raise enough suspicion, he didn't need a possibly stolen coat further complicating things.

Rift's employer had better be at their meeting point. If he wasn't.... 

Well, Rift had three Draigo artifacts at his disposal and nothing left to lose.

The reminder of the Draigo spurred him to pick up his pace. He'd idled for too long already.

The rhythmic pounding of his feet on the path and the fear coiling in his stomach like a venomous snake distracted Rift from the pain for a long time. He quickly lost track of the day, until the sun set behind the trees and he was forced to pause and consider continuing or risk resting through the night.

He chose to continue. He doubted he could sleep anyway.

The night was clear, thank the celestials, and the light from the stars and sliver of moon was enough to guide him. Not that Rift couldn't more or less navigate in complete darkness as long as he could feel the firm path beneath his feet. But he was glad for even the small amount of light cast by the sky.

It was about halfway through the night when he turned off the path, the surrounding ground now firm enough that he was confident he wouldn't be easily tracked by footprints. Even so, he moved about erratically, first heading east, then southeast, then meandering north in a way that he hoped would confuse his pursuers and grant him more time.

And still, Rift couldn't shake the notion that he was wasting his time, that no matter what he did, he would be found eventually. And no amount of running and hiding and distraction could stop it.

"You're being paranoid," he muttered as he paused to catch his breath. "Paranoia keeps you alive. Keeps you out of prison. You've taken all the necessary precautions, and even some unnecessary ones. You got away with robbing the damned Draigo."

Didn't get away scot-free, but that's beside the point.

Unfortunately, when dawn finally arrived, Rift was forced to conclude that he had gotten himself lost. Sure, to go north was to eventually leave the swamp, but he was no longer certain how much further north he needed to go. Or if he had gone too far east and overshot Valdove.

He elected to stop for no longer than an hour to finally tend to his injuries and change out of his charred clothes. The latter would raise questions, and the former even more so. He could probably bluff the shoulder wound as an attack by a wild animal, but the burns were another story. Happened during the animal attack, perhaps?

It really didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was getting the wounds cleaned and covered at the very least so they wouldn't get infected. He only had a couple ounces left of augri, he would just have to make them count.

Rift hissed as he pulled off his shirt, no doubt pulling off dead skin along with it, not to mention the movement jarring his shoulder. Like the coat, his shirt had been burned badly by the explosion, practically useless as a garment now. But it would suffice as a makeshift bandage, at least until he could get his hands on something better.

He gritted his teeth in anticipation, holding the tiny bottle of augri over the wounds on his shoulder. The creature had sank long claws into his flesh, leaving deep puncture wounds made worse when it was torn away from the blast. He certainly needed to seek a professional's care, a doctor or magician, as soon as possible to tend to this. But for now...

The alcohol was like fire on the open wound. He cried out, nearly dropping the bottle, tears springing to his eyes. The cuts stung in a haze of agony, and all he could do was wait as what felt to him like a second burn formed on his shoulder until finally, the pain subsided to the original throbbing.

Wrapping a shoulder with only one hand was more difficult than he'd anticipated, and took a lot more time than he liked, but eventually, he managed to tie the cloth in place. The worst injury dealt with, Rift hesitantly probed at the skin of his back, trying to gauge the extent of the injury. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he would've expected, though he did find some blisters on his upper back that did. The skin around it was dry under his fingers, and almost leathery, which wasn't great, but he guessed the burn wasn't as serious as he'd initially assumed.

When he finally found someone to look at his shoulder, he would have to ask about the burn, as long as they didn't ask too many questions. A risky proposition, that, as he would first need to figure out if they were the type to not ask prying questions. The animal attack and campfire story would probably cover both bases.

That wouldn't happen until he found his way out of the swamp, but still, it was good to have a contingency plan just in case---

Movement from the corner of his eye startled him out of his thoughts. Rift glanced around wildly, trying to find the source, hoping it was just a branch moving in the wind. Hoping it wasn't the---

A man stepped out from behind the cover of the trees. He was human, older than Rift if he had to guess, with dark skin and long black hair pulled into tight, ropelike locks. He wore a long cloak dyed in shades of green and brown, and he held a loaded crossbow pointed to the ground. He was trailed by a younger woman with lighter skin and brown curly hair who wore a similarly-colored cloak in a different cut, and a teenager who had the same dark skin and hair, albeit a shorter style, as the older man and a similar face shape, suggesting they were related.

Rift exhaled slowly, but not in relief.

He had been found, not by Draigo, but by someone almost worse.

A Watcher.

Three of them.

[never-forget-viva-la-pluto]

full offense as someone who was a patron of watcher SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPORT THEM your take is one of the dumbest ones I've seen today. I'm not going to subscribe to a new streaming service for one youtube channel that doesn't even put out that many shows, and some of the shows I don't even watch.

Then don't. If you can't afford $6 a month then you can't afford it. Simple. If you look at their patreon you can see the lowest paid subscription is $5 a month. If $1 extra dollar a month is enough break your budget then YOU are the person they were referring to in the video when they said "Share with your friends, we don't care if you password share." FYI this isn't even piracy, its just sharing. You could also pirate it when its available.

"People deserve to be paid for their art" and "poor people deserve to have nice things" are two concepts that can exist simultaneously.

The problem is people are thinking this is a selfish cash grab while not understanding that this is still a small company that maybe doesn't want its user base going through an company that in 2022 laid off 17% of its employees and has had multiple other controversies AS WELL as putting up with 6 ads and a sponsorship on the billion $ company Youtube/google.

This is literally just Patreon + $1 extra dollar and this version is ad free and free of oppressive billionaire company restrictions.

If you don't think its worth it then that is up to you, I've had to make that call for sure, hell I grew up on food stamps. That's why I want to support them now, while I can, because I haven't always been able to. I like the content and I want to see more of it. Its that simple. I would hate for them to go bankrupt because people got mad that they left their comfy little youtube and patreon(both billion dollar companies).

Do not let your fear of change keep you from seeing progress. And if it fails it won't be because people were too poor to afford it, it will be because everyone assumed it to be a bad move and turned against them.

But, again, you can pirate if you have to, its literally fine, they said so in the video.

[frostyreturns]

people still saying conspiracy theorist and tin foil like thats even a pejorative anymore. Are there even any more conspiracies that havent been proven and become public knowledge?

Of course they always use it to also dismiss something that's demonstrably true like that government has technology the public doesn't. That's not even a conspiracy that's a basic statement of fact and you're a retard or a shill if you deny it. Most all new technology was developed by the government in some capacity whether it was developed directly by darpa like...the internet or whether it was created by funding and facilitating a "private" company like Google or facebook. They spend trillions on this stuff it's all your money and they can't go out of business of course basically every new technology passes through them first. Not to mention that stuff doesn't get into public hands until its affordable if it's something that can be affordable commercially available and you're allowed to buy.

There's zero logical reason to deny that the government has access to tech the general public does not have yet. But if that's a hill you want to die on I'll happilly record another W for the conspiracy theorists when I'm proven right about ai. What will the score be by then Conspiracy theorists 300 news watcher 0?

[redwinterroses]

Good morning.

What if Martyn (in-character) was lying when he said that the Last Lifers had the memories of 3rd Life but not the attached emotions. What if they just weren't supposed to. What if they were all told "Yeah, you won't feel any of the same bonds, that's a feature not a bug" and then they log into the game and--

Wait what's going on why do they all remember 3rd Life with just as much intensity as they did before -- maybe more because they're back in this world? Something is very, very wrong--

So they all hide it. Suppress it. Because none of them realize it's happening to the others too. And that's why we get Scott unable to resist giving Jimmy a poppy. And no one quite trusting Impulse. And Scar and Grian constantly gravitating back toward each other.

And Ren.

Ren, who knows he's not supposed to be remembering this stuff, who thinks something might be wrong with him. Is this the boogey curse? He doesn't know what that feels like. Maybe this is boogey curse. But he doesn't want to kill anyone... he wants to regather his allies. Skizz, and Etho, and... Martyn. Oh this is very bad he is definitely not supposed to be feeling like Dogwarts is returning. He needs to isolate himself. Build a farm. Get food. Build a grumpy tower. Be alone. Don't shuffle toward Martyn every time the group is together. Resist the urge to protect and expect protection. That's not how this works. Something is wrong with him. He needs to get away from everyone, in case this is part of the boogey curse.

Meanwhile Martyn is furious. He also remembers Dogwarts and everything that went with it and he can't afford to be messed up this time. He didn't know the stakes in Third Life. Now he does. Now he does. He can't afford to want to protect Ren, to team with Etho, to trust Skizz. He's got to get away from all of them. He can't afford those weaknesses, not if he's going to win. So he teams with the Southlands -- some of his bitterest enemies from last time, and if it looks like he has to stab them all in the back, well. Nothing wrong with feeling a little satisfaction about that.

But then Ren sets his tower on fire.

He doesn't know why he does it. He sees Martyn on the horizon and something snaps. He doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to be alone, he doesn't want to be separated from his allies, the men he would still fight and die for. He hates this tower, hates every stone of it, every plank that isn't Dogwarts, that wasn't built with friends, that doesn't protect anything because what is there to protect? So in a moment of breaking frustration, he flicks the lighter and it all starts going up in flames.

He regrets it the minute the smoke starts to choke him, of course -- he hasn't thought this through. He needs to get out. This is -- this is how Etho died, isn't it? Though even Etho wasn't alone. He's got to get out, he needs to--

And then Martyn is there, shouting at him and putting the fire out and Ren is coughing and there are tears in his eyes -- from the smoke, only the smoke -- and his paws are singed and why does he feel so glad because Martyn is shouting at him and oh. There's something in Martyn's voice. An anger that he hadn't expected. And the Red King looks at his Hand through bleary eyes and Martyn meets his gaze and they realize at the same time:

They're not alone. They remember. Either something is wrong with both of them, or they were lied to. Martyn, bitterly, thinks he knows the answer.

They'll have to be careful. You never know who's listening. Who's... watching. So they can't say anything outright. But. There are no rules about new alliances, right? As long as they never outright mention Dogwarts. As long as it's a secret that hides between words, they can circumvent the rules. What are rules to lying gods? The Watchers deserve to be tricked. Let them do what they will.

So the shadows rise. And if the handclasp Martyn offers Ren is the old Dogwarts greeting, who's to say? Maybe this time will be different. Or if it's not, at least they're not alone.

[babineni]

“Your bed head is really cute.” from the fluff list

Thank you for this 💖 have a bit of drama featuring Team Gilded Vale (but mostly Aloth and the Watcher) and Aloth's anxiety acting up

It's roughly 1150 words

It was a particularly nice morning aboard the Defiant. Gaura stretched, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight hitting her chest, before she turned to see if her lovers were awake. Aloth was just about to wake, his sharp features contorted into a grimace when he felt the Watcher move beside him but his eyes were still tightly closed. Edér, however, was already up and half-dressed. He grinned at Gaura, when her gaze met his and he climbed back into their bed to steal a kiss.

'Morning, Honeycake,' he said, then he reached over her to ruffle Aloth's hair, startling him just enough for him to wake up proper.

The wizard rubbed at his eyes as he sat up. His hair was a tangled mess, that framed his scrunched up face very differently than what either Edér or the Watcher was used to. Gaura thought that in some ways he looked like a sleepy and angry kitten. The farmer chuckled as he straightened back up.

'Your bed head is really cute,' he said.

Aloth's eyes widened. Gaura could've sworn she saw panic flash in his eyes for a moment before he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan. Edér didn't seem to notice any of that, or if he did, he didn't pay it any mind.

'I'll go see what's for breakfast,' he said as he made his way to the door, only stopping by Gaura's desk to grab his pipe.

When he left, Aloth sighed, then got out of bed. He went to the trunk by the window, took out his hair brush and sat down. He fixed his gaze on the horizon as he started brushing out his hair. He seemed both absent-minded and frustrated. Gaura slowly approached him, suppressing her yawns as she walked, then ran her knuckles along his cheek to get his attention. The wizard turned his gaze to her and as he looked up at her, his features turned softer but his eyes showed more of that strange sense of fear she glimpsed in them earlier. Aloth then buried his face in her belly and wrapped his arms around her waist. He spent a few moments calming his breathing before he let her go.

'Let me brush your hair for you,' the Watcher said, turning her palm towards Aloth. He in turn placed the brush in her hand and moved so she could sit behind him. 'Now why don't you tell me what's wrong?'

'Nothing in particular,' Aloth sighed the words and Gaura seemed to have heard a hint of self-deprecation in them. 'Nothing rational, to be more precise. It's just... Edér never made comments on my hair before like that.'

'But he has seen your hair like that before.'

'I know,' Aloth groaned. 'Like I said, it's not rational.'

'And yet...'

'And yet-' the wizard's words turned into a yelp as the Watcher pulled on some tangled strands of hair a little harder than she intended.

'Sorry,' she leaned forward and left a peck on his ear as an apology.

'And yet... You know how much attention I pay to being meticulous.'

'You could pay a little less,' Gaura mumbled a comment, 'to avoid moments like this,' she quickly added.

'I... I can't,' Aloth's voice trembled a little. 'As a wizard, I'm painfully aware of how much a seemingly small mistake can cost. I can't afford to get careless or complacent. And... I suppose I do not dare to ignore this... need, to keep things in order as much as possible.'

'I know that feeling,' the Watcher replied.

'You... You do?' The wizard's voice rang with surprise.

'It's not like my mistakes would cost little and I'm aware of it too,' the brush in her hand ran through Aloth's hair soothingly as she spoke. 'And I know how easy it is for the fear of failure to burst out, when someone points out a meaningless little flaw. Or better to say, something we see as a flaw.'

The wizard pondered her words for a few moments.

'I see none in you,' he said as he reached back to place a hand on her knee and caress her with his thumb.

'Not, the point Aloth, but... Right now, I see none in you either.'

Aloth's hand stopped. He turned around a moment later, with a perplexed look on his.

'None?' To Gaura's surprise, he sounded almost outraged. 'After everything we've been through, after everything I told you about me...' He shook his head. 'You know how poorly I've chosen my masters in the past and you know how poorly I've made my own decisions once I was rid of them,' in his voice, fear mingled with guilt. He withdrew his hand and the Watcher noticed it was trembling slightly.

'Yeah, but... We were talking about hair here.'

Aloth was about to retort but the words got stuck in his throat. For a moment he looked almost like a guilty child after a scolding, then he sighed and closed his eyes while he rubbed his temples. In that moment, everything made sense to the Watcher. She saw the root of the problem and she reached for the wizard's face with the intent to pluck it out. Or at least ease the hold it had on him.

'I will never hurt you, Aloth,' she said, as she pried his hands off his face. 'I will never abandon you,' she said as she took his cheeks into her hands. 'And neither will Edér. You can relax with us. You can be vulnerable. You c-' before Gaura could finish, Aloth closed the distance between them. His kiss was somewhat tighter than usual but it eased to its usual softness and gentleness slowly, moment by moment.

'I know,' he said as he pulled away slightly, and rested his forehead against hers. 'I... I told you I wasn't being rational. I'm sorry.'

'It's alright, this is what I'm here for.'

A moment later the door opened and Edér walked in trying to carry three bowls and two mugs - and it seemed way too much even for his big hands. He clumsily closed the door behind him with his hip, nearly spilling the murkbrew he brought for Gaura.

'Little help here?' He asked his teeth tightly closed around his pipe.

The Watcher shot a meaningful look at Aloth, and winked before she approached the farmer.

'Edér, you wouldn't get mad at Aloth if he messed up, would you? She asked as she took the bowls full of porridge from him.

'Nah,' he shrugged. 'Wait, messed up how?' He squinted at the wizard suspiciously as he walked up to him. 'This about those ice pillars you keep dropping on me?' He asked but he still offered him a mug of tea. Aloth took it with a chuckle. 'Because those are damned annoying,' Edér went on, even as the wizard pulled him down to sit beside him and wrapped him into a hug.