#he doesn't like the assassin background that much and once he learns about like The Normal World he's honestly in anguish about it

[hellogoodbyeitsme]

Broke: Damian is bad at being a Robin because he's too violent

Woke: Damian is bad at being a Robin because he's afraid to hurt people

[tiredlilguy]

The Flags HC's

(that nobody asked for... but i love them and I have no where to put these) note: these are just general hc's :P if you want me to make other ones lmk!

Pianoman: - his ass cannot play piano, when people asks if he can because of his name, he changes the subject because he feels embarrassed - is the oldest sibling in his family - since he's a perfectionist, he's also kind of his own worst critic (can be in a really shitty mood if he's alone with his thoughts for too long) - his hair is a result of vitiligo - is an anxious person, but somehow his anxiety goes away when he's with The Flags - whenever he handles something physically using his hands, he's very cautious and tends to treat whatever is in his hands gingerly (like if he's given a gift, he will gently hold it in his hands instead of just taking it like normal) - has naturally shaky hands (i want to give him a big hug and kiss :( ) - going along with his hands, they're very thin, so his gloves are thick enough to where you don't really know what they look like underneath - has a really shitty sense of humor and will laugh at that one meme video with the bread falling on it's side - has defined canines and it shows if he opens his mouth or smiles

Lippman: - gets to know all of the celebrity drama before it gets out in the media: sometimes he uses it for blackmail or just tells the others and they all become a little gossip group (it's mostly just him, iceman, and chuuya though...) - he can make really good tea, like knows every little detail that comes with making tea: not leaving out a single step so you can get the best flavor out of the tea - polyglot, he once had to learn english for a role that he had and then proceeded to teach himself any language he thought was cool (sometimes mumbles in a different language under his breathe to mess with chuuya) - flirts with Pianoman a lot, says it's for fun, but he might have a little crush - wears that really dramatic silk robe with feathers and drags on the floor, it's either white or baby blue - paints his nails and will paints Chuuya's nails sometimes to practice, Chuuya says he's only doing it because he's his superior, but secretly enjoys it - unintentionally fixes The Flags outfits or hair, mostly Chuuya: like he'll adjust Iceman's collar if it's standing up, or he'll comb Chuuya's hair back into a nicer ponytail if it gets messy throughout the day

Iceman: - has a niece, and is the BEST uncle to her, likes to spoil her and will literally do anything for her (i read this from a fic and i can't stop thinking about it) - loves hearing gossip despite not talking that much - insomniac, spends most of his nights listening to his records with whiskey unless he has a job to do - plays his records really loud, but his listening room is sound proof so he can hear every little detail in the music - likes records, but he actually prefers live bands instead, thinks records are classy - gifts Chuuya records if he notices that Chuuya is singing a song to himself, usually tries to find the song and gets Chuuya that record of the album - is slowly becoming deaf, the only person that knows is Pianoman and Lippman, and he's slowly teaching The Flags sign language when they're on missions with him (he'll say it's because he wants to be quiet) (he won't admit it, but he will miss not being able to hear the others banter in the background anymore) - doesn't actually care about his ego/reputation at all, he's pretty confident in his assassinations, but if he fails a job, he'll just sigh and smoke a cigarette and move on - does not style his hair, he wakes up in the morning and moves it around a little bit and that's his hair for the day - he can't see out of his right eye that has the scar, but when he feels invoked with an emotion, he'll open that eye - notices small details... like extremely small details: one's that you won't even be thinking about; probably remembers what people like when they mention they like it once, knows when someone gets a haircut or they change colognes

Doc: - silly guy (canon) - he judges people's fashion taste despite not wearing any sort of outfit himself: likes to give pointers to Lippman about how to style his shirt or will judge Chuuya's strange outfits; will put on a good outfit if he's feeling like it - is very good at video games, but he doesn't really play them in his free time, but once Chuuya offered to play a video game with him and Doc beat his ass (Chuuya is still salty over an old Mario Cart match) - avoids walking long distance otherwise he'll start to feel tired, Albatross offers to take Doc everywhere - really good at darts... like his accuracy is scarily amazing, but guess you can't expect less from a doctor with his credentials - his way of showing affection is by being... very uncomfortably close to someone and then waiting to see if they're going to react, if they acknowledge his presence he smiles and then just walks away - very fidgety when he's doing something that isn't his job, will often fidget with something in his hand like a paper clip or rubber band, but suddenly that all goes away when it involves work - youngest sibling in his family... idk he gives me that energy

Albatross: - uses text emojis like ":D" and ":O" and so on; it does not matter who he is texting and he can and will accidentally text that to Mori on the phone (then proceeds to get lectured heavily by Pianoman) - answers his phone/messages immediately the moment that he gets them - can and will talk his ass off for hours on end, sometimes he does it to annoying Chuuya, but sometimes Chuuya actually wants to listen to it all - metalhead, this is canon actually i'm asagiri - gives the best hugs, like he gives big bear hugs; greets all of the Flags with hugs despite they're reactions - human heater, is always warm and it doesn't matter what season it is... he's just strangely warm all of the time (sometimes Doc sits next to him during the winter or if he's cold because he gets cold easily, and is a lot thinner than the rest of them) - openly bi, like he talks about it all of the time if he finds a man attractive

" I mean I know this man is our next target, but his ass looks nice in this file photo- " " Albatross." " Sorry.

-has freckles on his cheeks - has heterochromia, his eyes are blue and red

Chuuya: - has freckles... like everywhere, used to cover them up with makeup when he was younger and around The Flags, but then forgot one time and then Lippman said that it fit him and he stopped covering them up - can pick up any instrument he finds and owns a couple of guitars - huge audiophile and will judge every pair of headphones or recorde/cd/speakers that he's given; the record player in his house is very extra and over 2000 dollars - sings to himself when he's doing chores, or if he's playing music in the background, he will dance and sing while sweeping the floor - despite being musical, his dancing tends to be very clumsy (was once caught by Albatross and he made fun of him for a whole week) - can speak French and will cuss in French without thinking when he gets annoyed - knows all of the Mafia gossip, but no one knows he's a gossip-y kind of person... he knows everything about everyone, often finds himself hearing two different sides of one story - shopaholic (he cannot close his closet door anymore because the door is broken because it's so crowded in there)

[thewhumpcaretaker]

Okay I'm getting a little too obsessed with the werewolf au with Santino and John HEHEU UMM

Now is my turn to ask you about it >:]

How do you see them as werewolves? Do you think one would turn another or you have something else in mind? And their appearance, behavior, maybe possible side effects, how would they comfort each other? Anything really :3

Aahhh cuties 😭🐾

Thank you for this ask!!

SO I have a ton of lore about this because of John's character sheet from the roleplay. A lot of this will overlap with RP John! But I have lots of new ideas too. They really are adorable together!! 💖💖💖

John's background as a werewolf would be similar to what I've done in the roleplay. He was turned at a very young age and raised as a living weapon at the Tarkovsky Theater, which is a training ground specifically for werewolves. They are taught to control their abilities and use them in assassinations. They are a secret weapon of the High Table.

My werewolves are very monstrous. They draw their power from the darkness behind the moon - the legend goes that when the moon is covering up the darkness, night emanates from the werewolves instead of from the sky. So they have a black fog that flows off of their bodies and creates fear and other very negative emotions in anyone that it touches. They are full wolves, but much larger than a regular wolf, and with weirdly long limbs and creepy glowing eyes. They can stand on their back legs, but they usually run on all fours.

John is a jet black werewolf with white eyes and very sleek fur. Santino is brown with glowing green eyes and curly fur around his neck (I really liked that from your ideas :3), and the darkness that surrounds him is more murky and smoky rather than a pure black like John's. And yes, he's also a bit smaller than John.

Changing into a werewolf can be voluntary or involuntary. When they do it on purpose, it isn't painful. But it happens against their will on the full moon, or when they become too enraged to control themselves, and when that's the case, it feels like every muscle is being torn apart. They're screaming from pain and very sore afterwards.

Okay, with the lore out of the way, the story between the two of them:

John doesn't like being a werewolf - it's something that the High Table uses to control him. So he doesn't want Santino to have to go through that. But he changes Santino to save his life. He was severely injured and John bit him because werewolves heal faster than humans. (It'd have to be an injury that kills you slowly, because the first change takes about a day. So I imagine they had both been kidnapped and held for ransom, and Santino was dying of an infection in a stab wound.)

This has a major effect on who Santino is as a person, because it forces him to work through his trauma. To me, being a werewolf is all about having uncontrollable outbursts of anger and fear. And learning to control when you change, learning to change back into a human, thinking clearly and remembering who you are when you're in wolf form...all of that comes from managing your emotions. So John has to show Santino the techniques he learned at the Tarkovsky for managing anger, dealing with panic attacks, meditating, etc.

They're also the only two people who aren't bothered by each other's darkness. No one else can touch them or pet them when they're in wolf form because of that terrifying fog that surrounds them. John has never been petted before he meets Santino </3 But they don't scare each other, so they can nuzzle against each other and give each other comfort.

At the end of their story, once they're happy husbands, Santino has a more positive outlet for all of that rage, too, because he has learned how to enjoy being a werewolf. They go through the change together. They go on runs through the forest together every month and just yell about everything that's bothering them (aka howl at the moon) and tear things up and eat deer and playfight and act cute and freaky together and finally curl around each other, tired out, until they wake up naked in each other's arms in the soft morning sunlight. 💙🖤

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: The Stranger.

Moon Knight, Issue #15: Ruling the World from His Basement. 

Look at how beautiful that cover is! 

This is an interesting one. A weird villain, political and racial issues, and some deep Moon Knight issues with trust, identity, and betrayal. 

So the comic opens with a Japanese Envoy being shot in the arm. There is narration here, but it isn’t the usual sort. It makes it clear that 1. These are Japanese "jerks" and we aren't supposed to really like them. 2. This is not the first assassination attempt. 3. The fleeing figure that shot him has a very familiar silhouette. A moon shaped sort. 

Cut to Central Park, we see Moon Knight chilling in a tree. 

"Man do I feel aweful. Too much stress, too many hours riding around in Lockley's stinking cab, not enough sleep or food... All combining to send the sledgehammers crashing on my skull." 

Moon Knight once again asserts that he is not Lockley, Steven, or Grant. And he's feeling stretched thin. They aren't taking care of the body. 

At this point, they don't have their jobs. There is no real gate keeper, care taker, protector... There is only fighting and Marc who holds all the trauma and self destructs at the drop of a hat. 

So here he is, called to meet in the park at night by Detective Flint and someone new. 

Sargent Gwenn is with Flint. He tells Moon Knight about the assassination attempt on the Japanese trade minister. 

They mention that "after Lennon, Reagan, and the Pope, you can understand why we weren't thrilled." 

Yeah, the 80s weren't great for people with power. 

Turns out, the meeting is a trap! They're there to arrest Moon Knight for the assassination attempt! 

"Did my homework. Learned you once worked freelance. Took on jobs for hire. An odd little group called The Committee was one of your clients. Anybody can turn bad. Especially someone who was semi-sour in the past." -Flint. 

This takes us back to Werewolf by night. Moon Knight was hired by The Committee to track down Jack Russell. 

Which shows that Moon Knight himself used to work for hire. Much like Marc Spector. 

One has to wonder about that. Perhaps it was when they first came back from the desert and the death experience. Marc only knowing one way of life and trying to do better than mercenary work but not knowing how. Moon Knight blending? Still unsure of his own individuality? 

Anyways, the cops surround Moon Knight and Flint walks away. 

Moon Knight feels betrayed by Flint. "You're making a mistake, Flint! And you're going to regret it!" 

He easily fights off the cops. They don't have the training he does. 

They open fire on him and he easily avoids the bullets. Perhaps instincts from their time on the battlefield. 

"I mean it Flint...You're wrong! Dead wrong! And I'll be hanged if I'm going to pay for your mistake!" 

Moon Knight is not in a good mood. Probably could have handled things better, but at this point he is feeling persecuted and attacked. The body already is feeling terrible and now it's in danger. 

He runs off only to see the cops put a woman in danger when they shoot down a tree that starts to fall towards her. 

He saves life and still manages to get away. 

The police remark on the fact that Moon Knight just saved an Indian woman. Flint asks Sargent Gwenn "Are you sure it was Moon Knight you saw at the airport? Absolutely certain?" 

He comments that it doesn't make sense, but he's been around a while and "anybody can turn bad." 

Moon Knight makes it to Jake's parked cab and quickly changes back to Jake. 

The headache continues, but Lockley heads out to try to figure out why he's being accused of something he didn't do. 

He heads to Gena's diner. He apparently gave her phone number as the one Flint can use to reach him. 

While he's talking to Gena and Crawley, you see a Japanese family in the background complaining about the service. They eventually leave after being ignored. 

An interesting thing to include. Especially with the Japanese dignitary in town. 

And while it is written and displayed to show them being a bit rowdy and demanding of service, it also clearly shows Gena only interacting with Jake and Crawley. 

While talking about the incident at the airport, Jake complains about his headache getting worse. 

Gena asks him when the last time he ate was, as it's after 9pm. 

"Nine! I forgot about Grant's charity shindig at the mansion!" 

He runs out without eating. 

Back at the mansion, we find an extremely upset Marlene. It's after ten. 

"Tell her ta hold her horses just a little longer till I can change ta stuffed shirt Steven Grant." He mutters at Samules as he parks his cab. 

When Marlene comes at him for his tardiness. 

"Please, Marlene. I've got an excruciating headache and I'm in no mood!" 

"Trouble, Steven?" 

"Only as Moon Knight. Grant, Lockley, and Spector are just fine, thank you." 

"I'm sorry, Steven. I shouldn't be so selfish. I know the pressures you're under. Trying to be four different people... But you're not really having trouble again, are you-Psychological trouble?" 

"No, Marlene, I'm not. You helped me out of THAT dark hole...And I'm still standing on firm ground." 

Ohhhhh he's a liar.

Liar liar, Steven! Denial is a strong one here. 

Marlene takes a cheap shot and it hits home here: 

"I know YOU'RE alright, Steven... It's just Marc Spector I worry about...And sometimes Jake Lockley... Even Moon Knight... I know it's stilly, but I sometimes think you won't be able to keep them all under control. That they'll do something to spoil what we've made of you." 

OOOHHHH snap. With as much infighting as they already do, that was a call to arms and Steven heard it. 

Moon Knight was already complaining about Lockley's cab, lack of sleep, and lack of food. Lockley was resentful of fancy pants Steven. And now she's gone and put the fear of Marc ruining things into the mix. 

I'mma say it: Marlene is a complicated character to like in early Moon Knight. 

You are supposed to like her. She's self sufficient. She can handle herself. She can fight. She puts up with all the Moon Knight stuff. She rescues them on more than one occasion. She's compassionate and often comforts them and seems to help stabilize and ground them. 

But she is also pretty toxic a lot of the time. 

She plays favorites, makes them question who they are and what the others are up to. She even often makes them question their own mental health. 

Steven joins his party and greets his guests. He puts on a show of the socialite but: 

"Privately, behind the social mask, he is still haunted by Marlene's words." 

The next day, we see a man at the toy shop purchasing doll clothes. He says they are for his friends. Many many little friends. 

I'll say it, he's a white man and it's clear he's in the upper class part of town. He smiles and greets all the fellow white people around him. 

As he walks, we have narration. 

"In this section of the city, you can't notice it. You'd almost think the problem didn't exist. Indeed, it's almost like it used to be... 

But as he nears his home, it becomes more and more apparent, the grim reality facing him and every other god fearing American." 

We see pictures of a smiling black man, a black woman, an asian man.

"Yes. Here the problem is all too obvious. The fragmentation and disintegration of American society. It's gotten so an honest working man can't even live where he belongs. He's forced now to live among the very filth which is causing the problem." 

He enters his home and goes to the basement where he has control of his environment and rules his own world. 

It goes on to mention that here, he isn't alone. His friends give him ideas much like the TV and bible do. 

He pulls out the doll outfits he bought, little army outfits. 

"Time to face the problem, my friends, and I have some gifts which should help us. We all know what the problem is, don't we? Foreigners. Foreign Devils. Slowly but surely extinguishing the light of America." 

He rants about the "invasion of America". About the dilution of American blood and the fragmentation of the economy. 

He talks about the underselling of American made goods with cheap and inferior products, forcing American businesses out of the market, lost jobs, crime waves, drugs...

He then talks about a hierarchy of ethnicity. How "blacks have been here so long they're almost American". He talks about how because of the Asians taking all the work, the Blacks have to turn to crime. 

He dresses the rats as soldiers. 

He then talks about Moon Knight. Moon Knight saving the life of the Indian woman, in particular.

"He's been stained, blemished. He's evil. I hate him. They're wrong, of course, but they tell me it's called Xenophobia. A fear of strangers... Of any one different..." 

He claims he will kill them all. 

Side note: This is still relevant. I remember growing up in the 90s there was a huge "Made in America" movement. It comes back every few years. Encouraged to purchase American made only to support our economy as if there aren't other problems with big business vs. local small business. 

I also remember the increased news and feelings that were pushed on us about the foreigners taking all the jobs. 

This is still happening. There are still too many people that feel and teach this. 1980s is still relevant today. 

Anyways: Back at Grant Mansion.... 

Moon Knight is suited up and ready to go. But Marlene and Frenchie tell him not to go. The police are still after him! 

But Moon Knight has learned that the Japanese minister is supposed to go do something big soon and the threat on his life is still there. 

"The three of us have worked hard to make Moon Knight worthy of respect. What do I do with my respect if I don't even try to stop that assassination?" 

Marlene and Frenchie have nothing to say. They hate it, but they let him go. 

But as he flies away on the chopper: 

"His primary goal, of course, is to prevent a death- But even as the chopper lifts him from the roof, he feels the nag of a secondary goal as well... To prove that last night's headache was just that- and not the residue of a memory blackout. God help him if he has to fight himself." 

OH FUUUUUUU---

Memory blackout headache? Fighting himself? 

Things are not fine at all in Moon Knight land. The fact that he is aware of time loss and headaches being a symptom is just… This is fucking amazing. DID was not classified properly at this time, much less well researched or discussed. And the fact that Moon Knight is aware of it means that this is a problem the system has encountered before. 

As much as the system is in denial and covert, it’s just one more little special little nod to the fact that Marc Spector has been dealing with this for a lot longer than since he was killed and brought back. 

Here, we arrive at City Hall where the Japanese minister is about to give a speech. 

The Mayor talks about the important of maintaining relations with Japan. About how we accept imports into New York and send exports to Japan. 

He talks about friction with 'some Japanese Imports..." 

Again, I'll say it. 1980s. There was a lot of asian racism taking place that lasted well into the 90s. Along with the 'red scare' and cold war, we were not on friendly terms with China. Vietnam had just ended. Korean war was glossed over and forgotten. 

Not to mention that most Americans can't tell anyone apart. Today, the tensions have subsided, but there is still a lot of Asian racism present in America. 

Moon Knight arrives at the scene. He...He does his thing... 

Frenchie: How will you approach zee scene?" 

MK: Only way I know how.

With Style. That's how. 

He lurks on the roof tops and waits. 

And he sees a man dressed as a giant rat with a gun running towards the stand. 

He dives down, but the police spot him. 

The rat calls himself "Xenos". (Little on the head there). 

The bodyguards manage to protect the Minister until Moon Knight tackles the rat. 

The rat makes a run for it and dives into an open sewer! 

But the police are closer and head in before Moon Knight can add a count to his sewer man tally. (I was so disappointed). 

The police lose him in the sewer. But now the police at least know he isn't Moon Knight. 

Later at Grant Mansion, he's watching the news and has a sudden realization. 

"Not disappeared... But blended in." 

The rat is pissed and decides Moon Knight is the problem and must first be eliminated before he can go after the foreigners again. 

But here we see Moon Knight heading to a house. 

"Getting this address wasn't easy. Steven Grant had to tug pretty hard on more than a few strings..." 

It's a cop's house! 

He slips inside easily. He starts to look for signs that this is the cop he's after. 

He browses the book shelves, noting that he seems like a bit of a "Right-Wing nut". 

Then he finds a scrapbook. 

Yeah... The "Holocaust propaganda". This...This is a big deal. This is dangerous. This is even more of a problem today than it was in 1980s and that's depressing. I won't go on about this, because that would be quite extensive and long.... But just know that including this in a Moon Knight comic was pretty important. 

(also history lesson! "The House of Rothschild". A 1934 American film. 

It's about a Jewish banker with five sons and how they went on to become a powerful bank. It's based off the real Rothschild. It discusses using financial backing in times of war to make money and eventually become the richest, most powerful people/bank in the world. (a very very basic summary) 

It was supposed to be an attack on Nazism and anti-semitism while Hitler was coming to power. It was made by non-Jewish people and cast with non-Jewish people. The Jewish Anti-Defamation League had major concerns about the film. 

It won a lot of awards and some Jewish leagues and papers endorsed it. 

However, a scene from the movie was used in German antisemitic propaganda and it seemed to encourage fears and resentment of Jewish people holding all the money and belief that this was the reason Germany lost WWI and fell into depression. 

So... That's interesting! ) 

Moench had a lot to say with his Moon Knight comics. 

He wrote for other comics, of course, but I feel like he only really said things like this and included things like this in his Moon Knight run. 

Anyways, Needless to say, Moon Knight is not thrilled. 

He finds a hidden room with a makeup table for his disguises. 

"A makeup mirror. It fits...But what scares me the most about this guy is the similarity between us. We both play roles adopting different guises to--" 

He doesn't get to finish his potentially destructive thought as he's immediately hit in the head by a jar of goo. 

He realizes that it's rat food he's been covered in, and the rats are hungry! 

Two things I want to say about this page. 

There he is face down on the floor again. 

He spends the next few panels rolling on the floor. 

There is no way that the rat guy can know that Moon Knight is Jewish. But what he says to him is heavily coded. Things Marc probably heard a lot growing up when bullied by antisemites. It’s a little too close for home. 

Moon Knight has a little freakout here. He rolls around, flinging rats everywhere and yelling "Get off me!" 

He's been under a lot of stress lately. 

Now he's trapped in the house of someone that idolizes Hitler and tells him that he deserves to die while under threat of being eaten by rats. 

This is not going to do wonders for his mental health and stress. Not to mention past trauma. 

He calls up Frenchie to give chase to the rat guy. 

He rips off the rat mask and finds someone he doesn't know. He is unsettled at first until he realizes that he's wearing makeup and a fake beard. 

(Considering Jake wears a fake mustache I'm not sure why he's so surprised)

And the rat Xenos man is Sargent Gwenn! 

They fall into a hardware store and Gwenn gets the upper hand! But then he steps on a rat trap and Moon Knight manages to punch him out. 

He drags Gwenn out to the police and finds Flint. 

"I'm sorry. Gwenn was a good man. But like I said. Anyone can turn bad. Even a cop. There are stresses. Frustrations." 

"Yeah. I know all about it. Now if you'll excuse me, Flint... I think I feel another headache coming on." 

He returns back to the mansion and you see him talking to Marlene and Frenchie, still in his Moon Knight outfit with the mask off. 

"--Not that I ever actually BELIEVED I was the assassin, but...Well, like a certain cop has said...Any Mind can go bad, and maybe, in a way, I did do it... We seem to be living in a nightmare these days. Maybe in a way, we all did it." 

Frenchie: A sobering thought, Marc.

Marlene: Yes, but at least you have the strength and sense to admit something like that, Steven. Maybe if we keep at it, keep trying, we'll all wake up someday soon..." 

Here the comic ends. 

So let’s look at this issue. 

Go back to the asian family sitting at the diner asking for service and eventually leaving because they are ignored. 

The Indian woman that was put in danger by the police. 

The use of Holocaust denial. 

The rich white neighborhood that fades to the poor crime ridden and predominantly black neighborhood. 

The hero of our story is the son of Jewish Immigrants that fled genocide. On the surface, he is a white man and fits into Xenos' little fairy tale. 

All while the story of tolerance, racism, antisemitism, classism, and genocide is taking place….Moon Knight is struggling with his mental identity and overall health. 

The topic of taking care of the body and communication between the four of them is not resolved, but we get to see him talking about his fear that he has a new unknown alter that is hurting people. 

It’s the current day trope of “There’s an evil alter” that has done so much harm to the DID community. But in this case, it’s Moon Knight that is afraid. He has reason to doubt himself and with his fear of Marc and what Marc can do and does to himself, perhaps he was even afraid that it was Marc causing harm. 

A lot of people are afraid of the mentally ill (DID, bipolar, Schizophrenics, and PTSD in particular) and their reason is that they are afraid the afflicted person is going to hurt them. 

Many times, when surrounded by this ideology and considering the time period where it wasn’t uncommon for someone to be deemed hysterical and locked up for failure to blend into society… A lot of people internalize and start to believe things about themselves. 

Told over and over again that something is wrong with him, that his sanity is fragile, and that he is being watched like a hawk for any slip up of not knowing who he is, Moon Knight starts to doubt himself. 

Xenophobia was the topic of this issue and that means “Fear of Strangers”. 

Moon Knight’s fear was fear that the stranger was himself. 

This issue wanted to show that anyone and everyone is capable of racism. Just because you are not white does not mean you cannot be racist. Just because you fall into a persecuted person category doesn’t mean that you can’t prosecute someone else. 

We can all do better. The first step is recognizing it and trying. 

[papillenjolras]

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤 many heart emojis for the OC ask game!!!! (For any oc you wish!)

This is soooo late but I just did the other ask game so I figured I'd bring it back!

Hmmm I want to use a dnd oc so let's go with Neph (Nepheros)! He is a tiefling fighter. Purple trans guy with a cool green undercut who incorporates armor into fashionable outfits.

❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

Loyal: This is one of his driving traits- he sticks with people after he's made up his mind about them and it takes a lot to dissuade him. He will go to great lengths to protect people. (Sometimes this could be a negative trait since loyalty can cause him to be blind to faults or to the truth)

Humorous: I love roleplaying him and his personality is such a joy to play! I like that I can respond with my natural jokes or comments and it will fit with his character. It feels fun to embody his character.

Determined/willing to step up: He is willing to make those hard decisions, to make a choice even if he's not sure if it's the right one.

🧡 ORANGE HEART — does your oc tend to prioritize family or friends?

Friends- He values intentions and effort, and doesn't feel that blood trumps that without work put in behind that. He's currently traveling with the party and does not have contact with his family after going on the run due to murder.

💛 YELLOW HEART — how many languages does your oc speak? what language(s) are they learning, if any?

He speaks common and infernal due to his tiefling heritage, though he doesn't like infernal as he doesn't have much connection to his tiefling heritage as he was raised by his human parents.

💚 GREEN HEART — does your oc prefer being inside or outside?

Well he has certainly been outside adventuring a lot recently! Which he enjoys! But he would probably appreciate some indoor time after all that. But overall probably outside.

💙 BLUE HEART — does your oc have any cool/special powers and/or abilities? how are they with magic, if it exists in their world?

He is a fighter class and places his focus outside of the realm of magic, though he can cast some spells as a tiefling- thaumaturgy, hellish rebuke, and darkness. He is comfortable with this and uses thaumaturgy regularly in his life, having played with the spell since he was a child.

In the campaign setting, there are two forces- the Light and the Sea. Many magic casters such as paladins value the Light, while necromancers value the Sea. As a tiefling, Neph has an innate connection to the Sea and can sometimes communicate with others who have that connection. Also recently, after killing a necromancer, he's started hearing dead people? Which is a cool plot hook and I'm excited to see where that goes.

💜 PURPLE HEART — what is your oc's ancestry/genetic background?

He was born to human parents, but is a tiefling due to a pact his father made with a demon/tiefling asking for a happy marriage. So in some ways he resembles his tiefling heritage as well.

🖤 BLACK HEART — has your oc killed or seriously wounded anyone before? have they broken someone's heart and/or broken someone's trust?

Yes, he's killed in battle as a soldier. Notably, as part of his backstory, a trusted captain of the guard named Latha (who is a secret spy) manipulated him into killing a general, then placed all the blame on him. So this is where his sense of loyalty can also be a fatal flaw. And as strong as his loyalty is, once that trust is broken, he is just as dedicated to revenge.

As far as him breaking trust, during the campaign he did get blackmailed into trying to assassinate a npc (don't worry she lived) and that didn't go over well with the party, but it's all pretty much patched up now.

[juniperhillpatient]

The Beach Re-Watch

This is going to be a short post (compared to my other re-watch posts) because every single scene of this episode is worthy of its own dissertation BUT it's also therefore already been analyzed to death by Azulablr.

Honestly, I probably could've made this post without even officially re-watching it because I've seen this episode so many times I practically have it memorized. So, like...I don't have anything revolutionary to say lol - just what we already know: This is the best episode of the whole show. We get a beach episode but only for the villains, we get Azula exploration, we get soft fire siblings moments, & we learn a lot about Ty Lee & Mai's interiority, like...It's just a fucking fantastic episode. Oh yeah, & there's an assassin trying to kill Aang, or whatever.

[ID: Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, & Zuko with their arms around each other & fire raging in the background. end ID]

The main takeaway from this episode for first-time viewers is probably that Zuko is unhappy with his life in the palace. He's angry at himself. Once you re-watch though, this is obvious & has been spelled out heavily so the more interesting parts to analyze upon re-watch have to do with the Dangerous Ladies. This isn't a dunk on Zuko, I just don't have anything new to say about him - we all know how his arc goes, & this is an important moment in it as he realizes & confesses to his friends & sister that he's unhappy.

Since Azula & Zuko in this episode have been analyzed so thoroughly & discussed so heavily by the fandom - I'll ramble about Mai & Ty Lee in this post.

Ty Lee's confession that she doesn't like to be part of a matched set is interesting & all, but something that I think gets...either overlooked or taken to an extreme in interpreting her character is the way that she interacts with the boys - & with Azula. Ty Lee comes across as perky & sweet, but she's dangerous. Possibly the most dangerous character in the show, with her ability to take away bending. Also though, her interpersonal interactions are so interesting. She's manipulating the people around her with her sweetness constantly, but she can be quite sharp when she wants to. I'm not saying she's not actually sweet at all, but a lot of it is a show. This is an aspect of her character that I find very intriguing.

Mai's confession got to me a lot more during this re-watch than it has in the past. I've always found her story sad, but something about the way her voice almost breaks as she's talking with so much bitterness about the expectations she's facing just hurts. I think it got to me more this time because I've been putting a lot more thought into her character than I have in the past. Mai has so much pain & bitterness in her life that she buries it under a veneer of not caring. It’s actually really depressing.

That's all I have to say for this post. Iconic behavior points: All the Fire Teens are getting +1000 for burning down Chan's house. Azula gets an extra +500 for leading the Fire Teens to victory at volleyball & defeating the other team for all time. She gets another +500 for her manner of flirting.

Have I mentioned lately that I'm obsessed with the Fire Teens? Okay, that's all.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

"All we need is a cause to fight for. And for me, that cause is you."

As I’ve been reading a lot about the Crusades recently, it seemed a natural progression to try playing Assassin’s Creed for the first time since the franchise began a decade and a half ago.

It was quite the effort for me to force myself to take a break before starting Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood after finishing AC2. I wanted to know what happens next so very badly - and my first thought on starting ACB was: this doesn't disappoint.

While the mechanics remain largely the same, the graphics have once again gotten an upgrade - all of sequence 1 had me going holy shit, this is cinematic as well as wow, they're really pulling out all the hero stops. And if that somehow fails to impress, the first present day sequence had me thinking these characters have personalities for the first time since the series began. Desmond was a blank, passive slate in AC1 and only just starting to show signs of being otherwise in AC2, but here Desmond is - finally - an independent actor with just the right level of snark to make me go yeah, I actually like this guy. Lucy too seems something like other than an obvious Templar plant - a like she's actually struggling with her inevitable betrayal - and Rebecca and Shawn are more than just snark.

There's much I love about ACB: the main plot is interesting but oddly short. There are about a thousand side quests, so it's not exactly a short game, but I can't help but think incorporating at least some of them into the main storyline would have made a bit more sense. The Borgia Towers offer an interesting set of challenges, and recruiting the brotherhood is a concept I'd like to have seen more of in more detail (training missions with the Mentor? Ezio spreading his influence more slowly across Europe instead of suddenly being able to send his trainees across the world? the recruits themselves having personalities and backgrounds and motivations?) Even renovating Rome doesn't start to feel gimmicky until you're buying the Coliseum.

And yet I don't love it quite as much as AC2 - and I think it largely comes down to the fact that all of Ezio's personal grown happened in the former, with little room left in ACB for any positive, meaningful growth. We don't see Ezio struggle with the fact that his choice to leave Rodrigo alive in the Vatican lead to the destruction of his home for a second time. We don't see him struggle to be a leader to his burgeoning brotherhood, he already is one. We have peak narrative symmetry starting with a siege and ending with a siege, and yet only the first stirs the emotions - Cesare has lasted this long because he's always conveniently in the wrong place, not because he's a satisfying or interesting boss.

In short, I love older Ezio (who somehow manages to be at peak attractiveness throughout the game, going so far as to complain when someone says he should slow down because he's older; that will never not be hilarious). I just wish he had a bit more meat to work with in ACB.

It's not all unicorns and rainbows though. The number of times I accidentally called a horse instead of flicking on eagle vision or speaking to a merchant is in the thousands. The number of debilitating gut wounds Ezio has recovered from is starting to verge on comically unrealistic. The number of plot points that are touched on - why was La Volpe so willing to assume Machiavelli was the traitor with comparatively scant evidence? How does one build a brotherhood of assassins? How did Claudia learn to wield a knife in the first place? - but quickly glossed over is frustrating. I could have done with a smaller Rome and more fleshed out plot. And the bits where you have to use the apple at the end simply failed to satisfy.

Yet I love it. Not in the way I think I'll always love AC2, but it's a solid game. Short, but solid. I enjoyed playing it and would loved to have seen more, but I'm not disappointed with what we got.

(Though I was shocked by Lucy's death. Yes, she was an obvious Templar plant, but I'd like to have seen her explain herself before we reached Redemption Equals Death. I'm eager to see the fallout in ACR... but not eager enough to continue forgoing errands and chores that I've been putting off for AC2 and ACB before beginning.)

4.5 of 5 stars - definite replay value, but not the head-exploding awesome of AC2.

[noyoucannotpushthevoid]

What DnD Class would the Members of the Scooby Gang fall Into

A follow up to my last post This ended up being so much longer than I initially anticipated lol

Fred Jones: Artificer An extremely underrated class in my opinion. Also, not the one that I think most people think of for a leader. But also, all of his traps. All of his ingenuity working with only the things he has around him to catch the bad guy. I don't really know anything about any of the artificer subclasses besides Battle Smith, which looking at a brief overview of the other options is probably the one I'd give him. He's always more likely to build a trap then just confront and fight the bad guy. Leading into how though Battle Smith is good in a fight, it also can be played as a heavily defensive character. Armorer is just a tad too defensive for Fred as far as I'm concerned. He needs to also have that little confrontational, not totally support edge. Being able to play into both defense and offense is also great for a leader. Plus, he fucking loves his car, like one might love their steel defender that can look like anything the artificer chooses (to be blunt, the mystery machine is a built-in steel defender, right there)

Daphne Blake: Multiclass in Monk and Rogue* For monk, it's canon that Daphne knows martial arts and is decent in a physical confrontation. Not to mention I swear she's used an improvised weapon before, which just screams monk. If my memory serves, she's level-headed and always prepared (even if that preparedness fails a lot of the time. That being said, being prepared and actually on top of using those things are very different. Take it from someone who learned that the moderately hard way (no one died, only one person got kidnapped, everything could've gone a lot worse. So, I count the years of learning as a net positive :))). I will die on the hill that she somehow stole Mary Poppins' bag, a Bag of Holding no doubt. Speaking of stealing, she evidentially multiclassed as a rogue. Again, just her general preparedness. In addition to her being well connected. She sure as shit has the noble background. And what are rich nobles? Corrupt as fuck! It might all just be white collar crimes that they can bribe their way out of, but it's still crime <3**. What else is crime? Anything a rogue is involved in. She's not the most conventional rogue, but she is charming and can be quite good at a makeover or a little deceit***. She could be a bard in this sense, but she lacks the camp to truly fit, in my opinion. She's just not hamming it up enough. Also, not the most musical. I'm sure she's been shown to play, but she gives me 'only learned an instrument because her parents/school told her to'. Therefore, rogue. Apparently, I have a lot more thoughts about Daphne than Fred lol. Funny when you consider the types of characters I like to/end up playing...i.e. himbos. Or himbo adjacent. Regardless, this isn't about that, this is about what subclasses Daphne would take. For Monk, Way of the Open Hand. It's classic and simple, but it feels fitting as the others seem too flashy or too secretive. Daphne, for a rogue multiclass, feels very straightforward. She's not going to dance around you and use a lot of deception in a fight. If you go head on with her it'll be face to face. On the rogue side, the assassin subclass. Again, it's not so flashy like the swashbuckler or so secretive like the phantom, it's a very straightforward and no-nonsense subclass. It gets the job done. And Daphne doesn't really fuck around if I remember right. Her head may be a bit in the clouds, but once she puts so focus in... (I'm second guessing all of this. But that might just be the caffeine)

Velma Dinkley: Wizard If you thought I was going to say anything else, no. I love her, don't get me wrong. But she's a squishy little nerd, better suited for the research and behind the scenes kind of stuff. This feels just so self-explanatory that I don't know what else to say. As for her subclass, the School of Divination seems to fit perfectly with how she sums up each episode and each mystery with a play-by-play of everything. Her reasoning is always spot on. Again, it's very simple, but the role seems to have been made perfectly for her.

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers****: Barbarian Hear me out, he's mostly a coward who runs away. But he has his moments of bravery that remind me of the temporary rages that barbarians can go into. He's an odd barbarian, sure, but think of Gorgug from Dimension 20. He too was a very non-barbarian character playing a barbarian. Shaggy could never maintain his bravery and confidence, but he doesn't need to. As long as he becomes that way when it's needed most, he's golden. Whether a bribe was involved or not. Subclass-wise, one might think Path of the Beast or Path of the Totem Warrior because of Scooby, But no. We'll get to Scooby later. Shaggy, to go with his unpredictability when he actually illustrates some presence of a spine, he gives me Path of Wild Magic vibes. One truly doesn't know what will happen or when his courage will fail him.

Scoobert Doobert: Druid It's just there, in front of our faces, a druid who's always in beast form. As well as he has a protective streak. I don't think that's specific to druids, but it doesn't contribute to him playing a class that, at least the way I've played it***** and seen it played, leans away from fighting and towards support. Am I just stereotyping him cause he's a literal talking dog? Yes. His subclass is Circle of the Shepard. It's also a subclass that leans heavily into being support, but not a healer. Scooby has also been seen in some episodes calling upon new friends and allies to fuck up the bad guy. Not to mention but he can rely on fucking Scrappy Doo if he needs to (that little punk is just a straight Fighter and I don't take constructive criticism). His relationship with Scrappy Doo also leans into his protective streak, where while he can rely on Scrappy, he won't out of the urge to protect his nephew. Like a herd dog. This is such loose reasoning, regardless it is what it is.

*I'm up in the air about which one she started as, though honestly leaning towards rogue **This whole tangent makes me feel the same way I did when I read a review of 'Before the Devil Breaks You' by Libba Bray and the reviewer wrote something to the tune of: I didn't expect the series to get so political. The author didn't need to shoehorn in her beliefs. As if it's not a well-researched historical fiction book that dealt with eugenics and abuse and anarchy from the first book...but I also probably shouldn't judge as this reviewer and I were evidentially reading the series with two different perspectives and focuses. Politics doesn't need to be in everything, but it certainly is in, what I'd argue as, the majority of things whether we like it or not ***Honestly, all the girly girl stereotypes in media definitely give at least rogue multiclass. I only partially can decern why ****My beloved *****Please understand I've only ever played it once...in a pathfinder campaign...two sessions of a pathfinder campaign...I am about as far as an expert on the class as one can be while still having played it. So, take everything I say with a grain of salt. Pathfinder druids have a lot of healing and support abilities, that's what I know Oh, and the main villain of a campaign I dm'd was a knock off Circle of Spores Druid (I didn't have access to that content on dndbeyond and was in a time rush or something because I didn't just make him like I do every other character i.e. not on dndbeyond. I just use the site as reference)

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Assassin with a Heart of Gold

Name: Admaer Daeneiros (He/Him)

Race: High Elf

Class: Rogue (Assassin)

Background: Criminal

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD

So after that that encounter with the True Soul and his companions, Admaer and the gang continue their trek to the Githyanki Creche. Now, this will mean that they have to pass by the Blighted Village, so a brief few stops were made. Firstly, they encountered that Owlbear that killed the previous True Soul. Such a creature would be worth a fortune (and XP) and they were able to snatch a Owlbear egg.

look at how scared Shadowheart is :(

While we're speaking of the Owlbear cave and Shadowheart, it is here that Admaer learns that Shadowheart is a Cleric to Shar, Goddess of Darkness & Loss.

Regardless, Admaer tells her that he doesn't give a shit about her religious standing (he has worked with people with worse standards and ideologies) and that the parasite is more important than what he thinks of her religion. Which seems to put Shadowheart at ease. She also explains a bit about the wound that she has.

So far, Admaer feels a bit more comfortable traveling with Shadowheart now that she's opened up to him about a few things. However, he did learn that she likes night orchids and can't swim, something he kinda attempts to poke fun at her about (though he struck a nerve with her). She still hasn't came up about the artifact, which is now Admaer's secret goal to discover what that's all about.

Around this area is where you can recruit a dog named Scratch. However, because Admaer most likely had previous experiences where dogs were used to hunt him down or harm him, Admaer isn't a huge dog fan, so I didn't recruit Scratch to my camp (I got like 5 other characters who might be willing tho).

Also, the owlbear can now fly up to your position on high in the full game, something I didn't think was possible in EA (Early Access). It quite literally took me by surprise lmao!

Before we went into the village, I decided to swap out Lae'zel for Wyll, mainly because I'm most likely going to interact with Karlach before going forward with the Creche. Let's see if I'm as big of a dick with this character :D.

Also two, we reunited with this mf!

This is the point where Admaer learns further about Halsin's desire to go to the old temple of Selune and the Night Song. Admaer takes the contract from Aradin's hands, more or less wanting to see if he can find whatever treasure could be hidden there.

Unlike Torment, who is now just going through a whole rampage within the Blighted Village, Admaer is more concerned in getting past them without much hassle. Of course, while we were there, I decided to do a few side quests.

Once of them involved going into the cellar of a village apothecary who wasn't exactly as they seemed as they performed criminal acts against their patients in what seems like a desperate attempt to discover the secrets to the eerie book of necromancy. This is where Admaer picked up a Quasit familiar, Shovel (renamed to Fork) who is now tied to Admaer. Lets see how long this little guy will last.

The book could not be opened without a amethyst opal that fits within the skin covered mouth. This required going into the village blacksmith's workshop where we got a taste of the first level of the Underdark. While there, we fought Phase Spiders, Ettercaps, and a big mama Phase Spider. Finally, we were able to get the item required to open the book, and Admaer decided to give it to Astarion. He made enough bad life choices and he's not magically inclined anyways, so why not let Astarion fuck himself up?

While still at the Blighted Village, we did discover blueprints to create a unique weapon, but it requires Sussur Bark to complete it. Unfortunately, Admaer failed the Nature check to know that it can be found in the Underdark, but we'll get there when we get there.

As I stated before when I first mentioned Astarion, this character is most definitely a Astarion romance run. The second I got his bite scene, I knew exactly what I was doing. Unfortunately, I couldn't probe his mind because I used it up with the dying True Soul (in my personal opinion, that's why Admaer allowed Astarion to bite him to begin with), but, regardless, I let him have a nibble. Of course, this is where Astarion explains his whole deal with Cazador. I won't go into detail about it here again because I already explained it with Torment.

Essentially, Cazador turned Astarion into a vampire and made his life a living hell. Admaer began to sympathize with Astarion since they both share similar stories of slavery and pain. So this gave Admaer someone to confide in, and now he's dotting on Astarion, fighting to keep Astarions' freedom.

And it seems they'll be able to get it on tonight because Admaer offered that Astarion can bit him again...So ;)

[tehuti88-art]

4/12/24: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is "Saint Olga" (real name never given), without garrison cap (top drawing) and with garrison cap (bottom drawing). She's a character too new to be on my "to-draw" list yet (sigh) though some backstory has emerged. She's a Red Army sniper whose single-minded motivation for revenge earns her the nickname St. Olga, after Olga of Kiev/Kyiv, who BTW is my 33x great-grandmother. There'll be more about her later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se.

Regarding her design, I wanted interesting/distinctive colors, these were inspired by the black/gold theme in some of St. Olga's art. Her hairstyle is loosely based on Roza Shanina's.

TUMBLR EDIT: Saint Olga is more of an occasionally appearing character, I can't really call her a background character, so I haven't delved a lot into deep development for her. What little info is available is given by characters like Boris, who've heard stories that she lost her husband to the Germans, who tortured and killed him (a sticking point for Boris, who was himself tortured and assaulted by Sgt. Lange and his guys). Her husband was a Red Army sniper; following his death, Saint Olga took up the rifle and assumed the role. Thus her nickname. German sniper Lt. Ratdog, who isn't especially big on book learning, doesn't understand the relation, so Capt. Himmel, who IS big on book learning, fills him in: Olga was a Viking princess, wife of Igor the Prince of Kiev (I'm using the historic name rather than the modern Kyiv, this was in the state once known as Kievan Rus'), who, following her husband's assassination by enemy forces, engaged in a brutal campaign of revenge which killed thousands. "And they made her a saint...?" Ratdog inquires, perplexed; Himmel tersely replies, "The church can be forgiving."

(And yes, this scary lady is one of my direct ancestors, through Anna Yaroslavna's/Anne of Kiev's marriage to Henry I of France, via a gateway ancestor of my maternal grandfather. Alas, I am not, so far, descended from Otto the Great...I'm descended from his sister Hedwig. *grumbles*)

Olga makes repeat, brief appearances throughout the story, never sticking around for long. She's fueled by nothing other than hatred and rage. She has a run-in with Ratdog, who is actually not much different from her--he's motivated to take up his rifle as a weapon following the death of his son, which he incorrectly blames on the Americans (based on false info fed to him by Wehrmacht sergeant Udo Eisen--actually, his employer General Schavitz is to blame)--yet, even though he empathizes with her for this reason and avoids killing her, she expresses no such magnanimity in return--her shot misses when her gun malfunctions, but she vows that she'll kill him the next chance she gets. Ratdog has a strict honor code that prohibits him from killing others under certain circumstances; Olga has no such honor code. Cross her, and you're dead.

Her relationship with other Allied characters is complicated in that she refuses to collaborate with them, and considers even some of them the enemy. Romani sniper Didrika is basically on her side, but Didrika is also German, and Olga despises Germans. Even worse is that Didrika, Ratdog, and Ratdog's companion PFC Klemper, despite being enemies, share a grudging respect for and occasionally even assist each other (Ratdog opposes the Nazi regime, and Klemper follows wherever he goes); to Olga, this makes Didrika a Nazi sympathizer, even though neither Ratdog nor Klemper is a Nazi. Lie down with (rat)dogs, as they say. Then there's Boris, a literal Red Army Russian. It isn't bad enough that he's taken up with Didrika. He did so after deserting the Red Army with some of his men, so although he's still loyal to the communist cause and hates most of the Germans himself, to Olga, he's no better than a traitor. Olga does give these two one pass, but just to give them a warning, that the next time they meet, they shouldn't expect any mercy. Didrika's reaction is much like Ratdog's; Boris, on the other hand, understands where she's coming from, and says that if he were in her shoes, "I would kill me, too."

Olga's spite isn't limited to combatants, either. When a German target uses a civilian woman as a human shield, Olga shoots and kills both without a second thought. On another occasion, she opens fire on a public gathering and just misses hitting Leopoldine Jäger (Himmel shields her and is slightly wounded in the process). Ratdog and company even come across evidence that she set fire to a homestead, shades of what Lange's company did to Klemper's and some other homes; difference is, even Lange never gunned down the fleeing occupants. Olga? She has no such qualms. The Germans and even the Americans (who are equally unsuccessful in getting her to work with them) find her brutality breathtaking.

Result of all this is that most of the other characters, Axis and Allied alike, are frequently mystified by Saint Olga's morals, since most of them have certain lines they won't cross, while Olga appears willing and ready to kill anyone at a moment's notice. There's no appeal to her better nature, no way to get on her good side, no means of working with her. She will either pass on by or consider you a target. Almost everyone learns to outright avoid trying to interact with her for this reason. Essentially, she's a chaos agent, and even the rest of the Red Army doesn't bother trying to rein her in.

Olga pops up at random throughout the story to target...pretty much anyone, and throw everything in disarray, which occasionally helps one party or other depending on who she's targeting, though of course this is never intentional. She never succeeds in killing Ratdog though this is based far more on blind luck and his own sniper skills combined. She does ALMOST kill him one time when he declines to try the same since she's wounded, and is spared only when Klemper tries taking the shot instead; Klemper is not a sniper, so he misses, and Olga escapes to go tend to her injuries. Klemper scoffs at the rattled Ratdog, "Your heart is too soft."

Olga eludes death numerous times, sometimes just barely, but at last, during a confrontation where Ratdog finally attempts to shoot her yet runs out of ammunition, someone else takes the shot--Olga lets out a small noise and drops to the ground. She's still alive, making it clear that her shooter isn't a sniper; Ratdog and Klemper hear bootsteps, and Maj. Jäger and Capt. Himmel appear. Jäger's gun is drawn--he's the shooter. The look on his face makes it pretty clear he hasn't forgotten nearly losing his beloved Leopoldine. He approaches the wounded Olga and looks down at her coldly. When he says, "This crusade you have, to avenge your husband at any cost; what exactly has it gotten you? Has it brought him back?" Olga, panting and bleeding, gives a weak laugh and replies, "You...you know nothing about family."

Jäger stares at her a moment, then lifts his pistol and shoots her in the forehead. Himmel and Ratdog flinch at the report. They and Klemper stand by silently as Jäger holsters his gun and turns away from Olga's body, saying, "And that's how you take care of pests," heading back toward his vehicle. Himmel hesitates briefly before crossing himself and following. Ratdog and Klemper are left behind; after a moment Ratdog approaches Olga's body and kneels to look her over. He carefully removes the medals from her breast; Klemper comes forward now and asks, "What are you doing...?"

"Maybe she has family somewhere," Ratdog muses, looking at the medals. "Maybe they'll want these back. Someday."

Klemper is briefly silent before saying, "She's probably like us, and has no family anymore," and turning away. Ratdog feels a pang--thinking of just how many of them have no one left, why Saint Olga fought as hard and as viciously as she did--then stands, pauses a moment more (he feels like he should offer a prayer, except he doesn't believe in God and doesn't know any prayers, so all he can do is offer a moment of silence), and follows Klemper away.

I don't know what becomes of Saint Olga's body. Some time after the war has ended, Ratdog--now mourning Klemper's death (by sniper fire) and going by his civilian name, Adel--at last has the chance to return the medals to Olga's cousin, the closest member of her family still surviving. He asks the woman what was Olga's real name. She pauses before replying that Olga is now her real name; her cousin effectively died when she lost her husband, so Saint Olga is who she became. Adel, who gave up his own name while his heart was full of hate, understands, and doesn't press further. Before she leaves with the medals, Olga's cousin pauses and addresses him by his German nickname, Rattenhund--this was the name Olga had used to refer to him, as an exact translation was lacking in Russian. She had mentioned her enemy and counterpart, the German sniper, before; while it couldn't be said that she respected him, still, she'd heard of the death of his son, and she understood him. "One thing that make you two different," her cousin says in stilted German, "she lose her heart for good...you get your heart back." She taps her fingers against Adel's chest. "Look after it," she says, thanks him again for the medals, and leaves.

Adel, whose heart is no longer full of hatred yet is still raw from loss, finds he has no words left to say.

[Saint Olga 2024 [‎Friday, ‎April ‎12, ‎2024, ‏‎12:00:17 AM]]

[Saint Olga 2024 2 [‎Friday, ‎April ‎12, ‎2024, ‏‎12:00:28 AM]]