#like whats the official term? Is there one?

[angelltheninth]

Arcane Characters That Are Big of Heart and Dumb of Ass

Pairing: Vi, Sevika, Vander, Jayce, Loris, Ambessa x Fem!Reader

Tags: fluff, dating, flirting, cuddles, kissing, sparing, muscles, protectiveness

Ko-Fi | Rules | Fandoms and Characters

A/N: This came to me today during my work break. I love himbos and whatever the female version of it is!

PURE OF HEART: She will do anything, put herself in any kind of danger to protect you. Vi is ready to get into a fight with anyone, stand up to anyone if they're bothering you. The bruises might be there after but she knows you'll help her get patched up. Depending on where the bruises are she might get some kisses.

DUMB OF ASS: Charges head first into any situation and that more often than not gets her hurt. One would think she learned to use hear head a bit more by now. And just in terms of headbutting her opponent. However she defends her attitude by saying that she's the muscle here, so you should let her take care of things her way.

PURE OF HEART: First of all she doesn't want anyone knowing she has a soft spot for you. She is very aggressive in her flirting both in public and in private but when you're up close, in her lap she will whisper sweet nothings into your ear. After which she will bite it. Don't blame her, she has an image to uphold.

DUMB OF ASS: Sevika has always been a badass in Zaun, but not for her brains. As respected as she is some also see her as a glorified bodyguard that's now dating her boss's cute secretary. She hears these rumors of course but they don't phase her when she's had a few shots of her favorite drink. Not her best moment.

PURE OF HEART: He is a family man to the bone. And he sees you as his wife even though you're not officially married yet. It won't stop him from grabbing you around the hips and pulling you into a kiss, his tongue tasting of tabaco and your favorite drink. Yes, your favorite, because he wants to taste good when he kisses you.

DUMB OF ASS: While Vander might be one of the de facto leaders in Zaun he's made his fair share of dumb choices. He's forgotten to lock up more than once, leading to the people thinking the bar open and he walked out in his underwear. What made it more embarrassing is that you were right behind him, wearing just his shirt.

PURE OF HEART: Everyone who met Jayce even once can see that he has a heart of gold. There isn't a challenge he won't try to take out, be it with brains or brawn. Knowing he's smart hasn't stopped you from visiting him a few times in the forge and appreciating the way the sweat rolls down his muscled body. He even flexes for you.

DUMB OF ASS: The amount of times he accidentally burned himself because he was too busy making out with you is astounding. He picks you up easily enough. But then backs up a bit too much, touching or stepping too close to the heat of the forge. Either that or he knocks important tools down when he places you on his table.

PURE OF HEART: No one's got your back like Loris has your back. He's is one of the most supportive boyfriends you could ask for, husband material really. Whenever he notices you're having a bad day he will beckon you over and scoop you into his big arms. You're not getting away from him or his cuddles until you feel better.

DUMB OF ASS: Among the Enforcers he has always been known as the muscle, and as more than a bit of drinker. But he also tells the best stories. He can be a little crude sometimes, flirting with you and forgetting there are other people in the room. The next morning everyone is smirking at him and he has no idea why.

PURE OF HEART: Ambessa will crush anyone who has anything bad to say about her, her family, or anyone in her army. Her strength is in her physique, strategy and loyalty of her people. But on occasion she can show her softer side, when it's just the two of you. It's one of her weaknesses, that cute smile of yours that she would do anything for.

DUMB OF ASS: One of her favorite ways to flirt, and have foreplay, is to spar with you. However that tends to attract more than a few eyes. She always acts insanely possessive over you in those moments, her head still in the fight but also getting in between you and her soldiers. it ends up looking a bit like a dance, much to everyone's amusement.

[simp-ly-writes]

Part of the Band

─────── · · Arcane Band!AU

PAIRING(S): Jayce Talis x gn!Reader, Vi x Caitlyn, Viktor x Sky, Ekko x Jinx

─ · · SUMMARY: What if the cast of arcane created a band? Everyone seems to be paired up with someone leaving Jayce as the last remaining member without a partner yet it is not without a lack of trying and you not being all that receptive to the drummer for his relationship history.

─ · · TAGS: gender-neutral reader, depictions of anxiety attacks and crowded scenes, emotional hurt/comfort, attempt at humour, nicknames/petnames, swearing, not beta read.

─ · · MASTERLIST | TAGLIST REQUEST | WORDCOUNT: 1,800

─ · · A/N: HEAR ME OUT ON THIS PLEASE... (taken from this).

─────── · ·

─ · · Lead Vocalist!Mel, Lead Guitar!Vi, Rhythm Guitar!Caitlyn, Drummer!Jayce, Bassist or Keys!Viktor, Tour Manager!Heimerdinger, Production Assistant!Sky, Social Media Manager and Photographer!Reader

─ · · Musical Duo!Jinx and Ekko with their Manager!Sevika being the opener for the main band. Nobody quite knows if the duo is dating- not even themselves choosing to keep it vague to the public but share many lingering stares while on stage together.

─ · · Heimerdinger and Sevika can be constantly heard fighting backstage- having different visions for how they want to production, management, and finnancials to look as they try and prove themselves to Sky who looks beyond scared standing in between the two, clipboard between her shaking hands, glasses shaking against her nose as she waits for someone to call her away from the madness of these two put together.

─ · · Vi and Caitlyn are a couple as the fans would have it no other way- rivalling Mel for the bands most popular members and holding the most combined followers as they make music together apart from the band while on breaks. The couple often preforms more for each other than the crowd, circling one another, singing along while bobbing heads and knocking shoulders- sharing the occasional quick kiss in between songs.

─ · · Viktor keeps himself off to the side of the stage, looking down at his hands to ensure he is hitting the right notes, head bobbing to the rhythm, long hair casting over his eyes that usually are looking offstage towards Sky for reassurance behind the curtains yet before their eyes meet, both quickly look away blushing and acting like nothing happened (the band has begged them to 'just get together already'- you included).

─ · · Mel and Jayce used to get shipped together a lot and dated in the past in an on-again, off-again relationship before officially calling it quits as Mel started getting serious with actor she met at an awards ceremony a couple years ago and has been going strong ever since.

─ · · Jayce on the other hand had yet to find a long-term partner like everyone else in the band and is was not from his lack of trying. Jayce was playful and a romantic at heart even though it played off as him being a "play-boy." Often having a new girlfriend or boyfriend every few months until his heart got broken by them complaining about him constantly being on-tour or in the studio. Sometimes in the worst of cases, using him for popularity as he built up quite the reputation or even caught some trying to stealing from him (not that he cared much about any of his possessions besides his drum-kits and custom noise-cancelling headphones you gifted him for his birthday- those he was extremely protective of).

─ · · You remember the day vividly, everyone was waiting in the cars to be taken to the airport for the next leg of the tour. You leaned against the black car, camera in hand waiting to capture a shot of everyone in the van together to post to their socials... the only one keeping you from completing your work for the day ahead of a 14 hour flight was Jayce whom Heimerdinger was grumbling about while standing beside you, arms crossed.

"Where is that boy? He's usually the first one out here standing by you." You shrug, unknowing to where Jayce is and now that you think about it... you turn around, glaring through the tinted widows to count the heads within... "I think Sky's missing too," you add before taking back to your position and flicking through your camera roll, double checking all of your shots from last night you had yet to upload.

Heimerdinger huffs, "we're going to miss our flight if Jayce is not here in the next 15 minutes. Can you go try and work your magic? He's not answering any of my calls and somehow always catches yours." You stare down at the tour manager with a raised brow, asking, are you serious? And by the glare and kick to your shin that you receive you are putting a lens back on your camera and rushing through the lobby towards the elevator, phone in hand only to receive no answer.

─ · · When you reach the bands floor, Jayce's door is open, his gear waiting by the door yet no sighting of the man, "fuck!" you hear a man yell and your speed-walk is now a full blown sprint as you turn into the room to find a shaking Sky with her hands hesitantly outstretched trying to soothe the maddened drummer who looks to be tearing his room apart, hair dishevelled and shirt missing as he rips through the bedcovers obviously looking for something.

"Jay?" you call out, placing a hand on Sky's shoulder, tipping your head out the door as she nods in reply, exiting the room quickly. Jayce's head snaps up instantly at the sound of your voice, his chest rises and falls quickly before his breath hitches seeing you walk closer to him, placing a hand on his arm as you look at him worriedly, "whats wrong? can I help you look?"

Jayce bits his lip, looking away from you and squeezing his eyes shut as a blush starts working over his cheeks. "Jay?" you call out again, giving his hand a squeeze, surprised to feel as he takes his away first having never done that before. "Its... stupid, well not stupid but just.. fuck..." he pauses for a minute before turning back to look you in the eyes. Your breath hitches at the sight of honey dripping with sadness, "...its those headphones you got for me and I can't find them anywhere when I knew I wore them last night," he explains.

You nod your head before slowly walking away, Jayce opens every drawer again in hope of seeing something he hadn't seen before as you walk into the hall and reach into his backpack retrieving the infamous headphones in their black-shell protective casing.

Walking back into the room, Jayce sits on the bed, head in hands, "I'm sorry for losing them, I always put them on my bedside not to forget and-" he feels something snap against his head and a song starts to play in his ears as you squat down in between his legs to catch his eyes mouthing, "found them." Before standing and wheeling one of his suitcases down the hall, Sky following after you swiftly with the rest of the luggage in hand that Jayce takes from her once joining you both in the elevator with a freshly equipped shirt.

─ · · You blink yourself back to reality as the curtain drops and you race to change the exposure settings on your camera as the band slowly walks out in a line. Even with your in-ears and sound-cancelling headphones, you can still feel the utter force of their cheers pelting against your back as they scream and shout after their favourite members, you feel as the barrier rumbles as the crowd surges forwards- a security member quickly guides you away.

─ · · You catch Jayce's look of concern as adjusts his sound pack and fixes his hair, somehow always knowing exactly where you were while preforming, nodding towards you while keeping rhythm and staring you down until you nodded back before he would smile and play harder.

─ · · After performances Jayce would walk to the front of the stage, joining everyone in a bow before throwing his drumsticks into the crowd and hastily walking over to you, pressing his face close into the lens of your camera, waiting to hear the click before wrapping an arm around your shoulders that you would try and wiggle out from underneath of- shoulder's tense, "you're all sweaty, Jayce," you complain, nose scrunched up in disgust to hide your hammering heart seeing all the veins protruding from his skin, running up his tired arms, hair sticking to his forehead as he pouts.

"But my arms tried, sweetheart," Jayce explains, eyes glittering with humour as you roll yours at the nickname and sigh, patting his arm before Jayce allows you to slide it off him. Sky runs up and provides a towel and water bottle before darting off again as Jayce slides down against a wall, legs kicked outwards as he unscrews the cap and offers you the first sip before drinking the rest.

"Was it a good performance?" Jayce asks you earnestly, dabbing off his forehead and arms, smiling underneath your stare before you seemingly see something incredibly interesting down the empty hall. "You all are in your prime and have the awards to show for it, don't think you need my voice," you answer, turning your camera back on, "smile!" you cheerily state, glaring as Jayce stares blankly at you.

"I respect your opinion, thats why I ask. Why would I give a shit about some senile board members telling me about modern music?" Jayce counters, standing slowly as he walks over to you while throwing away the water bottle in a nearby bin. You take a step back and begin walking you both in the direction of the green room where the rest of the band was already winding down and taking notes within.

Jayce saunters over to an empty chair before patting his thigh with a raised brow, you shake your head, moving to stand beside Sky in a corner who rapidly jots down notes on her tablet before showing Sevika who signs her signature at the bottom without a care.

You feel Jayce stare on you yet refuse to give him anymore attention, waiting for him to turn back to Heimerdinger and he eventually does once realizing you were not going to look back at him.

"You alright there, man?" Ekko whispers, nudging the older man's shoulder as he has his arm wrapped around Jinx who is passed out beside him. Jayce stares at the couple for a second, looks up and around to all the couples in the room, his heart aches as he nods through the pain, "I'm alright, just wearing off the adrenaline."

Ekko nods slowly, watching as Jayce shifts his head over to you for a second before looking back at Heimerdinger who is finishing up his speech for the night. Huh... Ekko thinks to himself startling as Jinx talks, eyes still closed, "bunch of idiots the lot of 'em." Ekko laughs at the blue-haired girl, squeezing her shoulder, "am I at least your favourite?"

"Nah, why would you ever think that?" she deadpans, laughing herself fully awake as everyone looks at the pair, brows raised. "What?" Jinx states and everyone goes back to their conversations.

─────── · ·

─ · · A/N: what did y'all think? 🤔

─ · · JAYCE TALIS TAGLIST: @sseleniaa @sunshiines-stuff @kiromiix @todorokishoe24 @w2momo @m-arj-1 @reid490 @kaminocasey @chickenlvr123 @peachhiz @hellokittyluvr69420

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

Pack Behavior and Ritual Headcanons

I have some very specific Headcanons about the ways in which shifter Packs (specifically wolves) traditionally behave, and I just wanted to write those down because I think they're neat. Please enjoy.

When it comes to eating, Packs have, traditionally, fallen under a strict hierarchy. Older, more traditional packs will wait until the Alpha has finished eating to begin. This comes from some animal behaviors in which dominant members of a group have the pick of the food before the rest of the group gets to eat through the scraps. Sometimes, Alphas would appoint certain members of the Pack (often their mate and/or the Beta and their mate) to eat with them.

Gabe did away with this particular tradition when he was Alpha, even through his pack often still waited for his permission to begin eating. It's an innate, instinctive thing that a lot of wolves have, a difference to the hierarchy. David also doesn't follow this tradition very strictly. When the Pack eats together, they will often sit and wait for him to begin eating or give a signal before anybody else touches their food. It kind of creeps David out a bit? But he understands it because he felt the same instinct when his father was Alpha. The only Pack member who is exempt from this show of respect is Darlin', who David wants to eat whenever and whatever they want with no restrictions from him or anybody else.

At the Summit and when around other Packs that the Shaws aren't allied with, they all very strictly follow David's direction when it comes to food. It's a show of respect to their Alpha. They do not want outsiders to see anything that could even be misconstrued as disrespect.

Mates of Alphas have their own special place in a pack. They certainly aren't always part of the pack structure, and don't necessarily have control over the pack because they're mated to the Alpha, but there is an instinctive, base level of respect and difference that packs show to them. It's undeniable for the Shaws that, when both David and Asher are out of commission, Angel has the ability to step into a leadership role very naturally. After the Inversion, when David, Ash, and Milo were all down for the count, Angel and Babe ran the pack. It was only for about twelve hours, but they handled all of the recovery and response efforts for their mates, and revealed themselves to be pretty competent when it came to the pack's care.

I believe that it was @romirola who coined the term "Alpha-Mate" and I really love it. I like that as the official distinction that packs and government agencies use to identify an Alpha's mate. For example, Angel might identify themself to other packs like "I am ____, Alpha-Mate of the Shaw Pack." That term has power behind it, just like "Mate" does.

Tying back to the food HC, Alpha-Mates receive special attention when it comes down to food as well. Most shifters have the instinctive drive to feed their mates. It's an animal instinct to provide, and to make sure that their mates are taken care of. That drive extends to the entire pack when it comes to the Alpha-Mate. Angel often finds themself at pack gatherings with four or five plates of food because, as soon as they've even part way cleared one plate, somebody is bringing them another.

There is a slight magical connection between mates. It's not quite telepathy, but most of the time, mates have a general impression of what their mate is feeling. They also tend to have a sort of sixth sense for when their mate is in danger or hurt, a shiver down the spine or phantom pain. It's not been proven to happen to unempowered mates, or even mates who aren't also shifters, but Angel, Babe, Sam and Sweetheart have all experienced moments that would lend to the theory that it does. Angel was nearly sick with anxiety during the day of the Inversion. Babe gets a shiver up their spine every time Asher shifts, even when they're not with him. Sam can tell when Darlin' is hurt, and gets echos of their pain across his body. Sweetheart could tell you with pretty near accuracy what's on Milo's mind at any given moment, whether that's because they know him so well or because of some sort of Mate-telepathy.

[scam-alerts]

🔎Scam Exam(ination)🔍

Seen as: I accidentally reported your account Scam Type: Account hijacking/take over

Platform: Discord

Hello everyone!

Today's scam examination was requested by @2broschlininahotub who was kind enough to send me screenshots of such a scam via an ask. Thank you for contributing!

Today we're going to talk about the "I accidentally reported you on discord account for <reason>" scam that's actively going on that- if you fall for it, will result in your account being taken over by a scammer who will then use it to scam your friends and/or buy things like nitro and gift it to them and their scam buddies.

If you use discord and don't know about this scam, I highly suggest reading this post so you know what to look out for.

If you don't want to read this post, you can watch a video instead!:

Otherwise let's get started!

-----

How it starts:

This scam starts with one of your friends falling for this scams.

Sadly if they can't warn you they fell for it via another platform (facebook, twitter, bluesky, ect), you might think that what your 'friend' sends you is a legitimate call for concern. But, thankfully, it is not, no matter how convincing it may seem.

If you find yourself encountering this scam, please report your friends account for being hacked. Discord will usually lock the account and hopefully contact the original owner of the account to fix the issue.

Part 1 - First contact.

If you are messaged by someone and they try to get your attention, and then say something akin to:

"Idk how to say this because I accidentally reported your account instead of someone else."

or

"hey there, I encountered a situation on discord where someone with a very similar name to your profile attempted to deceive me. Instead of reporting the deceptive user, I mistakenly reported your account. I'm sorry, it was all an accident. I didn't mean it."

or

"I accidentally reported your discord account instead of someone else. I mean im the one who reported you accidentally I'm sorry I got panicked and I lost control, its not good cause it was quiet alarming cause I told some of my friends to report you that's why I reached out to you to see what the discord emailed me and I'm scared cause I don't want you to get ban bc of me, I just really need your help so I can fix it."

Sounds familiar?

If you're at least a little familiar with the infamous 'I reported your steam account on accident because I thought you were a scammer' scam.. This is the same thing.

If you choose to reply to their grab for attention, you will receive a message like the one above paired with an image or google doc of the 'email/form' that Discord (it is fake) supposedly sent them (the victim).

Here are screenshots provided to me by @2broschlininahotub:

Another version of this fake email looks like this taken from reddit:

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, Thank you for reaching out to Discord Support.

Discord is focused on maintaining a safe and secure environment for our community. We've found the account that you have been reported and it irregulated our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines. We need you to contact [anotherhydra] to resolve this case.

On the other hand, we suggest you to reach out the reported user and have them contact to the same corporate team for proper identity matching. We have taken steps to do this action since they will not be notified about these claims due to the option selected for this report type..

• In any instances that you are not aware about this report activities, kindly reach out to our corporate security head by filing a friend request on Discord for investigation. Username: [petercho.support047]

• Failure to validate the legality of an account within a specific time frame (12 hrs) might lead to account suspension, limited or ban.

• Furthermore, we are working with some officials on this matter so that we can record all processes taken legally and are not violating "Title 18 of the U.S Code, Section 798 (Disclosure of Classified Information)" By that, we can also perform legal actions if said user is found guilty of chargers.

• By taking the measure of this process we can ensure that your Discord is not prone to fraudulent activities and personal information is not compromised since this could lead to any malicious activities.

Case: Attempting potentially fraudulent activity

Please get in touch with the person you unintentionally reported as soon as possible so they may file an appeal and save their account from being seriously compromised

Sincerely.

Discord Trust & Safety

----------

Part 2 - The scare tactics and red flags.

Going through the above transcript I'm going to highlight some very clear and obvious red flags that make this an obvious scam off the bat. Mind you this itself isn't the entire scam, only part of it.

In any instances that you are not aware about this report activities, kindly reach out to our corporate security head by filing a friend request on Discord for investigation. Username: [petercho.support047]

Discord will never, ever tell you to add a supposed 'corporate security head staff member' or another user as a friend to resolve any issue you may have had involving a scam.

Discord will only communicate with you through their website where you fill out a ticket, and via email with the account that is linked to your discord account.

Think about this: Why would 'Discord' tell the victim of a scam via email, to then contact the person they reported, to instruct them to then add a 'staff member' on Discord to resolve the issue?

Because Discord will not, nor ever would, do this. Ever.

Failure to validate the legality of an account within a specific time frame (12 hrs) might lead to account suspension, limited or ban.

This is a scare tactic. Paired with #1, 'add this staff member or your account will be terminated in 14 hours!' If you were reported by someone (for real) and you scammed someone (for real) you wouldn't be given a count down to talk to someone.

They'd look at the evidence, and you'd be banned. End of story.

Furthermore, we are working with some officials on this matter so that we can record all processes taken legally and are not violating "Title 18 of the U.S Code, Section 798 (Disclosure of Classified Information)" By that, we can also perform legal actions if said user is found guilty of chargers.

Again, this is a scare tactic that a lot of scammers use with their victims. "Follow these rules and do what I say or you will go behind the bars."

Please get in touch with the person you unintentionally reported as soon as possible so they may file an appeal and save their account from being seriously compromised

Discord would. never. do. this.

I say banging my fists on my desk.

If you report someone I'm also pretty sure it blocks that user for you and sends discord a report. Discord would never say 'hey you know that person you reported for <thing>? Yeah contact them and tell them to contact us. Okay? :) '

In a realistic world, this would never happen. But alas scammers will do everything to try and make money or steal from you.

Part 3: The actual scam

Upon reading this message and talking with the person who 'reported you,' they will tell you to add another user (as mentioned above) who is a member of Discord staff.

Remember:

This is not a real Discord staff member. This is also a scammer.

When you contact this 'staff member', they will use markdown tools to make their text look 'legit', and will talk you through a 'validation process' to validate you are who you are.

Here is an example of one of these fake discord staff members asking someone to send them money to complete this 'verification' process:

Keen in mind this 'staff member' may even be the same scammer who contacted you to begin with, or possibly even a friend or associate, or it may be someone different. Either way they're obviously working together.

These fake support scammers will have a profile on discord that claims they’re a discord support team member, and will usually have some sort of 'badge/image' of certification they show you right off the bat to try and prove that they are 'totally legit (no fake)' and in even ballsier cases, they will straight up steal the LinkedIn links, twitter urls, names, images, you name it, of actual Discord staff members.

An example of one of these fake images:

The scammer will ask for basic information like your age, date of birth, and other questions seemingly related to your account identity.

Then- the finale of the scam:

They will tell you that in order to secure your account, you will need to 'temporarily change' the email associated with your account to the email account they send you so that they can 'screen/verify' your account. You will even be asked to give them a verification code to complete the 'verification'.

WARNING: Changing your discord email that YOU registered with to any other email will link it to the scammers email and THEY will gain complete control over it.

The code sent to you is to verify that you want to change your email, and once you give it to them? It's game over and you've completely lost your account.

Now they have your account and will use it to scam your friends and those in your servers on top of using your credit card to buy nitro for them and/or their friends.

----------

But don't lose hope!

If this happens to you, and you get an email from discord saying that your appeal was denied, it's probably because they are now using AI/Bots, and your account wasn't reviewed by a person.

Here is what people suggest you say/do when you contact Discord Support (via their website) if you are tricked by this scam:

Fill out the form as:  Title: Got Scammed Description: Is there any way I could talk to a human? They didn't send anything for mine but the original guy got an automated response. It just turned into “awaiting response” then I sent: “My Discord account's email was changed. The login page says that my email does not exist. I cannot login.”

They also suggested:

You could try just directly saying “My Discord account's email was changed. The login page says that my email does not exist. I cannot login." as the description in your ticket it could prove the same results.

Also:

REMINDER:  Don't send multiple tickets.  Don't keep asking for updates unless it says “awaiting response”, this will push you to the back of the queue.  If its marked as "solved" try replying to reopen the request if not, create a new ticket. “However, if you received a reply that our team is unable to provide additional information or support for your account then we cannot assist further. To continue using Discord, you will need to create a new account.” One of the replies I got. Just create a new ticket.

-----

Final Thoughts:

If something seems fishy, trust your gut. Never click any links sent to you by strangers, even if it's with the promise of 'free nitro', free items in video games, free anything, really. If it's too good to be true, it's probably not real.

I hope this helps those who need it, and make sure that if you use discord to let others know about this scam too so they can avoid it. :)

Here's a post on some tips and tricks on spotting scam blogs.

Helpful guides on how to spot scams. (by @kyra45)

Current list of documented scammers: Part 3

[descendant-of-truth]

Interesting addendum to this that I wasn't expecting: in the English version of Days, whenever Roxas talks about Sora, he's always clearly framed as a person. "Who is Sora," "I don't even know a Sora," etc.

In Japanese, he initially asks about who Sora is, but then switches to asking what Sora is. And it seems to happen not too long after Xemnas describes Sora as "the connection" between him and Xion.

He proceeds to wonder to himself what Sora is, and who exactly that makes him, before going to ask Axel about it. And during that conversation with Axel, he doesn't say "I don't even know a Sora," he instead just repeats the question of "but what even is Sora?"

Which I think adds an extra nuance to the narrative that gets lost in the official translation. Roxas instinctively thinks of Sora as a person, because why wouldn't he, but none of the answers he gets about him frames him as such. So, perhaps subconsciously, he starts seeing Sora less as a person and more of a mystery, this obstacle to his and Xion's lives that he can't seem to get answers about.

And normally, you'd think Roxas wouldn't fall into this trap, right? He's always been the most adamant about defending Xion's personhood, shouting at people when she's referred to as a puppet or an "it." His whole storyline is about asserting himself in the face of nearly everyone he knows dehumanizing him and trying to take away his autonomy.

Plus, he has Sora's memories! If he remembers things that Sora's done, and things that Sora's felt, how could he not see him as a person?

But I think that's a testament to how insidious the Organization's manipulation is. Roxas and his best friend are discriminated against, they're "othered" in a way that's unfair and it makes him justifiably ticked off. But that's the thing: he knows Xion, he cares about her, and of course he knows himself. He remembers things about Sora, but he doesn't really understand him - we never see him processing the memories he has very well.

So it becomes very easy for Sora to be presented as the "other." He doesn't stand up for Sora's personhood because he hasn't seen it, and frankly, he has bigger things in his home life to care about than whether some random guy he knows random things about is being treated well. Sora, reportedly, is half the reason he has so many problems anyway, and at this point in his life he just wants someone to blame.

It doesn't matter that Sora wasn't personally responsible for anything that happened to Roxas. He doesn't know what Sora did or didn't do when it comes to him and Xion, but everyone's telling him he's responsible, he's the connection, he's the reason everything is happening to him. And so, Roxas's anger is directed at an innocent person, someone who's really not much more privileged than he is, instead of solely at his oppressors.

Honestly, the way Roxas views Sora over time deserves a post all on its own, because it's not even necessarily as straightforward as "and then he saw Sora exactly for who he is once they joined together for a while and he got over his resentment." It's more like, his resentment turned into genuine respect, and then into this weird, resigned hero-worship for a bit, before they seemed to get on equal terms towards the end of KH3.

But my point is, Roxas plays a very interesting role in this pattern of Sora being dehumanized, because he ends up contributing to it for completely different reasons than everyone else, and it's not even on purpose. DiZ and the Organization see Sora as a tool, Namine and especially Riku care more about waking him up than how he'd feel about their methods.

To Roxas, Sora is the reason he lost everything. Sora is "what it was all for," which starts as something he hates, and becomes something that gives him a certain degree of comfort.

Because Sora will be the one to figure it all out, right? He can depend on Sora, just like everybody else, because that's what Sora's here for. He's a good guy, he'll find a way to make things right again.

He ends up being correct, but man. At what cost

Anyone else find it fascinating that whenever we're shown Roxas's feelings through Sora, it's just kind of melancholic and wistful, but the reverse scenario always feels like you just walked into a psychological horror?

Seriously, the way it's presented, it's like we're meant to see Roxas as an old friend that we miss talking to, but Sora - our original "old friend" that we would have reasons to miss - is hardly even shown as a person. The contents of his memories feel less important than the effect they're having on Roxas, which is usually Extreme Distress and/or physical pain.

And it's insane to me because KH1 was so whimsical! The memories that Roxas and Xion are experiencing are literal Disney magic! But the way they're shown, with the fuzzy filters and the glitch effects, sort of removes the emotions you associate with them and makes them come across as eerie and unsettling.

Not to mention, Sora's memories rarely prompt any feelings of happiness, the way Roxas's might make Sora extra fond of the Twilight Town crew... which might say more about how KH1 affected Sora's mental health than anything.

(I personally stand by the idea that the story revisits it so much as an analogy for how repeating events in your head over and over can alter your perception of them)

But like. how wild is it that this series found a way to take its cheerful protagonist, and without changing anything about him, turned him into this constant, unnerving presence that haunts the lives of two other characters?

And I think another reason Roxas doesn't feel like he haunts Sora in the same way is because no one really... treats Sora like a person while he's asleep. He's either a tool or an object of affection, and regardless of which you pick, his feelings are seen as secondary to the goal of waking him up. As a result, the narrative focuses entirely on Roxas and Xion's personhood, and unlike Sora, they never stop being treated like people once they're made inaccessible due to the plot.

It's probably a bit late in the story to bring it up by now, but I still wonder if we'll ever see Sora be upset with Riku for sacrificing people in his name. Sure, it worked out in the end, and I'm not sure if Sora's even aware of what happened (how likely is it that he's properly sifted through all of Roxas's memories at this point?) but there's a list of things he could still conceivably be mad at Riku about that he hasn't processed, and I want this to be one of them

[bambi-kinos]

A question to be taken lightly but not meant to offend you or anything. But who was/ is the walrus? like in the video, in the song(s) and what can it mean, really? ( I "know" the "official" content) but I don't really believe neither wrote songs w/o meaning anything or used double meaning words for nothing. I also don't think everything has a meaning or an answer.

I think the concept of the Walrus is amorphous and shifted around depending on their moods. A meaning can't be pinned down because the meaning changes depending on the context. The most reliable interpretation of the Walrus is that it demonstrates John's mindset depending on how he uses it. Otherwise I don't think there's anything special about the Walrus in of itself.

So the official story is that John wrote I Am The Walrus to get back at the people who were convinced that every Beatles song had a special encoded meaning. John responded with one of his nonsense poems and he ended up choosing Lewis Carrol's creation The Walrus as a touchstone. Right? Right.

There used to be a post floating around waxing rhapsodic about how John modeled himself on the Walrus and Paul on the Carpenter and this was because the Carpenter could ONLY be Paul and zomg you guiz SYMBOLISM. It was all so intentional!!! (Personally I think that shit gets more and more pretentious the more I think about it.)

It's a cute idea but it's missing out on one important factor: John didn't think in those terms. There is a connection between him, Paul, and Carroll in John's mind but it would only make sense to John and perhaps Paul. When John says he wrote it to bite back at critics, who were using their Ovaltine decoder rings trying to figure out the DEEP INTENTIONAL SYMBOLISM OF BEATLE SONGS, I think he meant it. He made the Walrus a touchstone because John loved Carroll's wordplay and poetry. They were aiming for an animal motif and it fit. It was a cute shorthand nod to his genuinely sociopathic partner, John got to watch a bunch of overeducated pencil jockeys trying to figure it all out, he laughed, good times had by all. The important part is that it wasn't a big deal.

But for John there was dismay on the way. People would not shut the fuck up about the Walrus and what it meant and John is getting increasingly angry because it doesn't mean anything and now a bunch of people are getting fired up over nothing and OOOOHHH GLASS ONIONNNNNN. So John puts in the Walrus again on Plastic Ono Band, again as a big middle finger to all of these blowhards and me-tooers all pulling on his coattails going "hey John! hey John! what about the Beatles! what about the Beatles John! what does it all mean John!" So John writes "I was the walrus but now I'm John" on the track God. The Walrus itself still does not mean anything to John, he's just weaponizing the perceptions of fans against themselves. In their minds "the Walrus" represented The Beatles and John's own Beatleness and John knew that. The boomer fans at the time were absolutely convinced that I Am The Walrus was a secret masterwork of unbreakable code...simply because they didn't understand it. "I don't get it so it must be super deep!"

And the thing is John hated that kind of thinking. He appreciated mystery sure but he was a lot more invested in accessibility. He wanted art to be for everyone, he wanted everyone to invest their own meaning into art. That was why he was so taken with Yoko in the first place, because Yoko's artwork is based in creating open ended experiences where the art itself is created by the thoughts and feelings and sensations you experienced while you interact with her exhibits. You don't get in the bag to look cool, you do it so you can have the experience of being in the bag, even if it was just "well that sucked." What John loved about it was the "YES" factor, that Yoko Ono wants the audience to create the art with her by interacting with her exhibits. Art is not a static thing where you sit on your ass and stare at it or listen to it, art is the thing that happens inside your head when you hear "I am the Eggman/I am the walrus/googoo gah joob" and think "what the fuck does that mean" and then you develop a personal interpretation with your thoughts and feelings that belongs to you and you alone. (And that is why Yoko is actually kinda underrated! She was too hip for the room man. You just don't get it man....)

But the fans and overeducated idiots didn't want to do that. They wanted strict prescriptions for interpreting Beatle music. Many fans refused to appreciate I Am The Walrus for what it is: a silly and slightly lewd/violent nonsense poem John probably worked out on the back of an envelope. (Written with Paul's bottom as a table, I'm sure.) They wanted it to be more than it was instead of appreciating the joy that John gifted them by singing the song for them.

So John turned it around on them in God and on Plastic Ono Band. They want to believe in the Walrus so much? Fine. He'll kill the Walrus. It's dead. There is no more Walrus, there are no more Beatles, there is only John, and Yoko, and John&Yoko. The fans wanted the Walrus to mean something so badly that they strangled the poor thing to death and John had to put it out of its misery. That poor fucking creature, John just wanted it to amuse the children and look what the cretins made him do. The Walrus was supposed to be a cute nod to Lewis Carroll, not be a fucking Beatle thing!

It's important to note John's (warranted) bitter and volatile mindset towards the Beatles machine. I want to make a whole post about it someday but John was pretty furious and I think he was right to be. But he also chose to deal with it by killing what the fans loved. I think he was justified but also, oof.

Wrt the music video: I believe it's Paul in the Walrus costume right? George referenced this in the When We Was Fab music video where there's a left handed bass guitarist in the Walrus mask. So yes, there was a link to Paul and the Walrus in the beginning. I think this was part of John's private joke. Paul was the closest to his heart so of course Paul should get to play the character from John's favorite poet. John even references this in Glass Onion, the last time he tried throwing Paul a bone. But again, I don't think it meant anything overly deep or significant as a symbol in of itself. The Walrus doesn't mean anything innately.

But then we get into the interesting stuff: John referencing "the Walrus" in his Just Like Starting Over demo. Specifically referencing taking the Walrus back to bed! Well, well, well. And I believe there's an interesting line from Paul in 1979 isn't there where he says "I am the walrus/was the walrus but now I'm Paul" in an interview or something? I may be making that up, I'm not sure.

So what does this big slurry mean?

I think that the Walrus started out in John's mind as just a cute literary toy for Beatle fans to puzzle over. The overeducated and overeager pencil jockeys got one in the eye trying to make sense of gibberish and John got to indulge in his love of cosplay by sticking Paul in a Walrus suit. And it should have ended there, except it didn't, everyone and their dog assumed the Walrus meant something (what about the poor Eggman???) and John tried to pacify them and then that didn't work and then he goes FINE YOU DON'T GET TO HAVE A WALRUS ANYMORE. And he pulps the Walrus.

The change comes with John's shift in mood. Paul's arrest in Japan legitimately threw John for a loop IMO. That's when John started softening towards Paul, that's when Bermuda happened and his creativity came roaring back. The sudden reminder that he could lose Paul forever and then John's realization "I can steer my own ship, I'm in charge of my own life!" which resulted in John starting the process on leaving Yoko under his own power, a very vital point. John was getting his own divorce lawyer according to industry rumors. John was reemerging as the hero he needed to be to save himself and forgive Paul.

All of that culminated in "the time has come the walrus said/for you and me to stay bed again." If the Walrus charts John's inner landscape and his personal feelings towards Paul then this means he was coming out of the fugue and wanted to dote on Paul again, like he used to. Figure out where they could go from here. And it seems John was very optimistic about his future with Paul to be perfectly honest. Taking Paul back to bed after all that time? And Paul seems to have been the one who instigated it! He was still hot for John! Whew!

So all that IMO is what the Walrus "really means." I don't think it's definitive and there's lots of stuff I am definitely missing and didn't include here. Someone I used to know once said she didn't put anything past John because he read everything and kept it all stored in his head, so who knows maybe the jerk off interpretation about the Walrus and the Carpenter and Paul is true.

But ultimately it's just a word with no genuine connection to its animal counterpart and the purpose of it is as a demonstration of John's personal thoughts and feelings mostly (but not always) relating to Paul McCartney.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

OH NO I MISSED THIS POLL? I MISSED THIS POLL ENGINEERED TO MY INTERESTS?

In terms of enjoying the play, I think he'd have next-level Histories brainrot. I know they were not options because they are not tragedies, but!! He would!! All eight of the plays examine political power from different angles. Who has the right to rule? Is usurpation ever justified? Is divine right of kings even real, and if it's not, what are we doing here? What makes a "good" ruler? What happens when the good ruler isn't the rightful ruler? What happens when being a good ruler is incompatible with being a good man? Can one's identity as a human coexist with one's identity as a ruler, or must one subsume the other? It's great stuff, all explored through wonderfully human characters (who regrettably all share the same three first names , but that's what family tree reference sheets are for!), and I think JGY would really enjoy mulling them over!

In terms of I'm In This Picture And I Don't Like It, I have talked at length already on this blog about JGY and Macbeth, but he'd have some opinions on Caesar, too. My hot take on Julius Caesar is that it's foremost a character-driven story (@ classical theater companies: please stop staging Caesar as a political drama! it isn't one! if you want a political drama, Richard II is literally right there!!) about a bunch of people who are all doing what they genuinely believe is the best thing under the circumstances; the tragedy ensues because the characters' values cannot coexist with each other, and the protagonists' attempts to make things better end up making it worse.

Meanwhile, I agree that he'd like King Lear, but I don't think JGY would like Edmund at ALL. Gloucester might not be willing to let Edmund inherit over his legitimate half-brother Edgar, but he officially recognizes Edmund and speaks highly of him (albeit with a microaggression about his parentage). Edmund's entire usurpation scheme hinges on the fact that Edgar and Gloucester both love and trust him. Edmund has a banger of a speech that justifiably gets used in JGY gifsets, but JGY would look at Edmund and be like... literally WHAT do you have to complain about? No, I think the thing JGY would enjoy about this play isnt the theme of children usurping their dads, because the work itself does not approve of the children sabotaging their dads, even when that dad is an absolute shithead like Lear. The part JGY would be into is how Lear casts out Cordelia and spends the remainder of the play suffering about it. A horrible dad realizes that the child he cruelly rejected was actually the best child ever and he repents of ever mistreating them? To the point where he dies of sadness after that child's death? Now THAT is some wish fulfillment.

He would not like Hamlet at all because Hamlet is so goddamn mean and slut-shamey to his mother and JGY would not stand for that.

PLEASE explain your reasoning in the notes, i am very stupid

[loomingcastle]

I officially announce..

1NTAL3!

(Sorry if this is underwhelming)

What is 1NTAL3?

1NTAL3 (pronounced in tale) is a utmv au created by me, loomingcastle!

It is in some development in terms of main story but basic information is written down! I have been working on this for a while and I’m genuinely invested in this au. Even if no one likes it at first, I will keep going until my goal is reached and even farther than that.

I won’t reveal much here but there are three parts to this au. The INN3R is a technology yet restrictive metropolis led by a group with mysterious intentions. The MIDD13 is a disease ridden abandoned part of the INN3R overgrown with nature, and finally the OUTSIDE is a dry land with scarce resources. Those unfit to be in the INN3R and not wanting to be in the MIDD13 reside there and get by stealing and attacking transport vehicles. Those who live in the OUTSIDE are called outsiders.

The main characters of this AU are Ochrè (oak-ray) and Vast!

Vast likes to work with technology but frustrates easily. He doesn’t deal well when faced directly with pressure and quickly loses his relaxed demeanor. He lives in the INN3R and is a part of an organization that plans to overthrow the leaders of the INN3R. Although besides their main goal, they also steal information and advanced medicine, sneak in outsiders, and help the ill in the MIDD13.

Ochrè is an outsider that decided to come to the INN3R. He isn’t the smartest with technology but is decent at fighting. He keeps to himself a lot. Ochrè met Vast and decided to help him in the organization while he tried to get his own goal that only the INN3R could have.

The main story?

In development however it will focus on Vast and Ochre’s relationship, backstory, and working towards their goals! There will be angst and they will definitely get themselves into trouble plenty of times! I’m not sure about the story being posted plenty, just from what I’ve written it can get a lot.

What are your plans/goals?

I want to continue posting about this au. I’ll be showing more lore and will be doing pages of parts in the story. I won’t be doing an entire comic as again what I have written will be too much for me to handle myself and I’m also horrible at finishing them. So instead I’ll be revealing everything as time goes on. I’ll also happily answer any asks!

It may not seem it but I’ve written thousands of words on this au. It’s not perfect but I tried my best. I’m really going to try and show it.

My goal in the end is to hopefully have people liking this au as much as I love it too. What I want the most is to become an account that gets engagement. I want people to be curious and not afraid to ask questions. Because right now? It’s hard to tell if this will even get any interest. So I want to keep posting and change that even if it takes a while. I’m sincerely hoping I’ll reach this goal <33

Asks?

Asks will always be open! I just ask you keep things related, sfw, and not ask too weird questions!

I absolutely love asks!

Fanart?

It’s absolutely allowed! Just nothing nsfw and I’d love a tag to see!!!

I’ll be making new reference sheets and linking them here and I’ll also be using #1NTAL3 for related posts from now on <33

[oleandequill]

You know, it drives me crazy to know that technically there’s two (at least in terms of prominence cause I think there’s also a TFA one though it doesn’t seem as talked about) canonical Shattered Glass continuities: the one made by FunPub and the IDW reboot.

Cause the thing is, those two comics have vastly different Megatrons and Optimus Primes.

Like we have FunPub Megatron who is a mathematician and Optronix who was a librarian that backstabbed his way to the top.

Then we have the IDW versions where Megatron is a miner/civil activist who keeps getting tossed into jail and Orion Pax who is a senator in this version.

And what fascinates me is that in the FunPub version, Optimus actually lives (though he becomes Nova Prime). Meanwhile, in the IDW version, I think he dies (?) or well his fate is much worse in comparison to FunPub!OP.

Also what’s up with both Megatrons having a fakeout death? FunPub!Megatron does get killed by Cyclonus but he comes back as Galvatron. Meanwhile IDW!Megatron gets defeated by OP and is momentarily thought to be dead (he just went into self-exile).

There’s not actually a lot of difference between the two OPs (cause honestly they both seem insane), though I guess one could interpret FunPub!OP as much more depressing cause the only reason he’s evil is cause he saw life as meaningless unless history remembers you and when he becomes Nova Prime, he’s still a little jerk but he’s tamer so I assume that was his original personality. IDW!OP just wants total power and only initially hides behind a nice facade.

The two Megatrons are vastly different though in my opinion. Cause FunPub!Megatron really was just some guy who predicted civil war and was good enough to want to stop it (this Megatron wasn’t affected by the caste system, he just genuinely saw something wrong was happening and chose to do something about it). IDW!Megatron was someone who was affected by the caste system and was trying his best to bring attention to it. FunPub!Megatron is also very nice (like not overly nice but he’s genuinely such a nice guy and this is why he’s my favorite aside from him being a nerd lmao). IDW!Megatron is a bit more jaded (which is fair cause the caste system is horrible and his “friend” is an asshole).

Even the relationship between OP and Megatron are different in both continuities. I’m pretty sure in FunPub these two never interacted before the war, where OP gets pissed that this random mathematician is opposing him. In IDW, OP and Megatron were “friends” with OP even bailing Megatron out of jail, though their “friendship” was already toxic even before the war cause Megatron seemed to really see through OP’s BS.

All this to say, there should really be a crossover between both continuities.

SGFunPub!Megs and SGIDW!OP meeting would be kinda fun and dangerous, especially if they meet each other before the civil war broke out. Megatron wouldn’t know who OP is while OP would see another version of his Megatron who he could possibly trick. Also this has the added bonus of a hilarious scenario where Megatron predicts OP is the cause of the civil war through math and that pisses off OP cause genuinely tf you mean you computed that through math. This one is more dangerous though as OP genuinely wants power and will not be swayed by whatever Megatron says.

SGIDW!Megs and SGFunPub!OP might honestly end up the happier version ngl. Cause OP clearly has an existential crisis that Megatron can probably fix by convincing him that OP can still be remembered in history by doing the right thing… such as being a civil rights activist. Like… I’m just saying maybe FunPub!OP needs therapy (and unlike IDW!OP, he actually gets a canonical redemption arc so he’s not completely lost).

.

.

.

Anyway, will I write this? Maybe (I really shouldn’t though cause I have a series and two writing requests to finish lmao). Because I am officially employed now and thus have a fixed schedule unlike the previous weeks where my schedule was erratic (which is not good for my OCD as I need a fixed schedule or I will be very upset sksksksk) as I had nothing to do but read, play video games, and exist lmao

[riddles-n-games]

I know that in this fandom we literally take all the crumbs we can get in terms of fanart and the fact we finally got official art in Games Untold is amazing but I'm not sorry to say that I'm actually disappointed. The only decent character picture was the first one with Avery and Jameson and I'm not saying that because they're my faves but because you actually SEE them. The other three pictures that actually display the characters are literally all BACK views. WHY????

That literally doesn't add anything to them. Like, props to the illustrator, they're great drawings but I don't get why we got no front facing pics. Also, I think that the pictures with the light house and the Christmas tree were a waste of effort when something else could have been drawn. They felt generic just because of what the story had to do with.

I'm only criticizing this so much because JLB told us there would be art in the book and so what I thought we'd be given ended up being like a cutting room floor edition. It's like the characters will always just be voids with only glimpses of what they look like and never the full profile. The only upside was Jameson's hair looking like it should but our girl Avery just being hidden by her own is sad.

Like, the only character who has an actual FACE is Jameson. That feels absurd. And I mean, just because he had a glow up after that card disappointment, I guess I just have to accept Fairyloot's inside cover art as the official stuff.

[amindamazed]

[image description: screen captures of a poem. Image text copied and pasted from https://onbeing.org/poetry/38/ where you can also listen to the poet read the work.

FYI there are a few lines at the end with variant line formatting by the poet that I attempted to recreate using extra spaces. That might sound odd via screen reader.]

38

Here, the sentence will be respected.

I will compose each sentence with care, by minding what the rules of writing dictate.

For example, all sentences will begin with capital letters.

Likewise, the history of the sentence will be honored by ending each one with appropriate punctuation such as a period or question mark, thus bringing the idea to (momentary) completion.

You may like to know, I do not consider this a “creative piece.”

I do not regard this as a poem of great imagination or a work of fiction.

Also, historical events will not be dramatized for an “interesting” read.

Therefore, I feel most responsible to the orderly sentence; conveyor of thought.

That said, I will begin.

You may or may not have heard about the Dakota 38.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of it, you might wonder, “What is the Dakota 38?”

The Dakota 38 refers to thirty-eight Dakota men who were executed by hanging, under orders from President Abraham Lincoln.

To date, this is the largest “legal” mass execution in US history.

The hanging took place on December 26, 1862—the day after Christmas.

This was the same week that President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

In the preceding sentence, I italicize “same week” for emphasis.

There was a movie titled Lincoln about the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was included in the film Lincoln; the hanging of the Dakota 38 was not.

In any case, you might be asking, “Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hung?”

As a side note, the past tense of hang is hung, but when referring to the capital punishment of hanging, the correct past tense is hanged.

So it’s possible that you’re asking, “Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hanged?”

They were hanged for the Sioux Uprising.

I want to tell you about the Sioux Uprising, but I don’t know where to begin.

I may jump around and details will not unfold in chronological order.

Keep in mind, I am not a historian.

So I will recount facts as best as I can, given limited resources and understanding.

Before Minnesota was a state, the Minnesota region, generally speaking, was the traditional homeland for Dakota, Anishinaabeg, and Ho-Chunk people.

During the 1800s, when the US expanded territory, they “purchased” land from the Dakota people as well as the other tribes.

But another way to understand that sort of “purchase” is: Dakota leaders ceded land to the US government in exchange for money or goods, but most importantly, the safety of their people.

Some say that Dakota leaders did not understand the terms they were entering, or they never would have agreed.

Even others call the entire negotiation “trickery.”

But to make whatever-it-was official and binding, the US government drew up an initial treaty.

This treaty was later replaced by another (more convenient) treaty, and then another.

I’ve had difficulty unraveling the terms of these treaties, given the legal speak and congressional language.

As treaties were abrogated (broken) and new treaties were drafted, one after another, the new treaties often referenced old defunct treaties, and it is a muddy, switchback trail to follow.

Although I often feel lost on this trail, I know I am not alone.

However, as best as I can put the facts together, in 1851, Dakota territory was contained to a twelve-mile by one-hundred-fifty-mile long strip along the Minnesota River.

But just seven years later, in 1858, the northern portion was ceded (taken) and the southern portion was (conveniently) allotted, which reduced Dakota land to a stark ten-mile tract.

These amended and broken treaties are often referred to as the Minnesota Treaties.

The word Minnesota comes from mni, which means water; and sota, which means turbid.

Synonyms for turbid include muddy, unclear, cloudy, confused, and smoky.

Everything is in the language we use.

For example, a treaty is, essentially, a contract between two sovereign nations.

The US treaties with the Dakota Nation were legal contracts that promised money.

It could be said, this money was payment for the land the Dakota ceded; for living within assigned boundaries (a reservation); and for relinquishing rights to their vast hunting territory which, in turn, made Dakota people dependent on other means to survive: money.

The previous sentence is circular, akin to so many aspects of history.

As you may have guessed by now, the money promised in the turbid treaties did not make it into the hands of Dakota people.

In addition, local government traders would not offer credit to “Indians” to purchase food or goods.

Without money, store credit, or rights to hunt beyond their ten-mile tract of land, Dakota people began to starve.

The Dakota people were starving.

The Dakota people starved.

In the preceding sentence, the word “starved” does not need italics for emphasis.

One should read “The Dakota people starved” as a straightforward and plainly stated fact.

As a result—and without other options but to continue to starve—Dakota people retaliated.

Dakota warriors organized, struck out, and killed settlers and traders.

This revolt is called the Sioux Uprising.

Eventually, the US Cavalry came to Mnisota to confront the Uprising.

More than one thousand Dakota people were sent to prison.

As already mentioned, thirty-eight Dakota men were subsequently hanged.

After the hanging, those one thousand Dakota prisoners were released.

However, as further consequence, what remained of Dakota territory in Mnisota was dissolved (stolen).

The Dakota people had no land to return to. This means they were exiled.

Homeless, the Dakota people of Mnisota were relocated (forced) onto reservations in South Dakota and Nebraska.

Now, every year, a group called the Dakota 38 + 2 Riders conduct a memorial horse ride from Lower Brule, South Dakota, to Mankato, Mnisota.

The Memorial Riders travel 325 miles on horseback for eighteen days, sometimes through sub-zero blizzards.

They conclude their journey on December 26, the day of the hanging.

Memorials help focus our memory on particular people or events.

Often, memorials come in the forms of plaques, statues, or gravestones.

The memorial for the Dakota 38 is not an object inscribed with words, but an act.

Yet, I started this piece because I was interested in writing about grasses.

So, there is one other event to include, although it’s not in chronological order and we must backtrack a little.

When the Dakota people were starving, as you may remember, government traders would not extend store credit to “Indians.”

One trader named Andrew Myrick is famous for his refusal to provide credit to Dakota people by saying, “If they are hungry, let them eat grass.”

There are variations of Myrick’s words, but they are all something to that effect.

When settlers and traders were killed during the Sioux Uprising, one of the first to be executed by the Dakota was Andrew Myrick.

When Myrick’s body was found,

his mouth was stuffed with grass.

I am inclined to call this act by the Dakota warriors a poem.

There’s irony in their poem.

There was no text.

“Real” poems do not “really” require words.

I have italicized the previous sentence to indicate inner dialogue, a revealing moment.

But, on second thought, the words “Let them eat grass” click the gears of the poem into place.

So, we could also say, language and word choice are crucial to the poem’s work.

Things are circling back again.

Sometimes, when in a circle, if I wish to exit, I must leap.

And let the body swing.

From the platform.

Out

to the grasses.

[end image description]

Layli Long Soldier, 38, in WHEREAS, Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2017, p. 49-53

[lunarobyn22]

Faebruary LEAP DAY - Bitty the Bumblebee Kitty 🐝🐈

[cutiesigh]

❤️🖤🩷

Wuthering Waves has taken over all of my free time recently, so here's a sketch of Scar!Ren I originally shared in da 14DWY Discord!!

[vaguely-concerned]

I don't know what I love more, the fact that as rook you can make a statement in NO uncertain terms that you are NOT responsible one way or the other for the theological implications of the shit you're discovering in the 'regrets of the dread wolf' memories. not my jurisdiction. quite simply none of my business. not my chantry circus not my chantry monkeys. irrelevant to the matter at hand here we'll kill that god if we get to him he can get in line. or if the best thing about it is seeing the lone little 'lucanis approves' that pops up right after choosing it. corvid with a knife about to commit deicide keeping it real and sensibly, pragmatically, wilfully agnostic with me here in this magical lighthouse today

[anemicjellyfish]

Tags from my awesome mutual:

Okay, you're not wrong at all. In fact, this is the only thing that was blowing a hole in my speculation about the whole "chest feathers" thing. I almost didn't include the picture of Stella's friends because they both show feathers and I didn't want to dive into them initially because my thoughts were too much effort to tap onto my phone screen.

But! I have another theory about the one on the left of the group, along with an excuse for the one on the right. (This is just headcanon at this point tbh. And I should really be going to bed but I'm gonna keep going because I have no common sense. I hope you don't mind me using a reblog to go a bit more in-depth on my silly ideas.) (Also, I just wanna say that I don't mean any of this in an argumentative way. It's just that I finally found an excuse to sit down and go crazy with talking about characters, birds, and outfits. I could be entirely wrong about everything idk)

Unfortunately, we don't have their names, titles, or much indication of what type of birds they're intended to resemble. My guess for Mr Guy here is that he's a snowy owl. The eyes are a very similar shade of yellow to snowy owl's natural color eyes. And his head/hair feathers being solid white with a speckled breast match up to a snowy owl as well. These are literally the only birds that I personally know of to have primarily white coloration with a speckled breast/rest of body (I'm not a bird expert, and I'm happy to be proven wrong on this point- I actually wouldn't mind learning about more bird species).

But there's something about his chest feathers that makes me think there's a clothing layer there. I think it could possibly be some kind of cravat (Google says a modern term in an Ascot, but idk, I just like period pieces and know it as a cravat).

Because the pattern so closely resembles the one on Stolas' mantle that he wears for his more official "uniform."

But the feathers on Mr Guy On The Left are clearly visible? And I'm not saying they 100% are not visible feathers exposed to us. If I'm proven wrong in the future, that's cool.

I am gonna say, hear me out on this. because he wouldn't be the first character to have visible hair popping up from underneath clothing.

It's speculated (although I'm not sure if it's confirmed) that the black parts of Loona's legs are actually socks. Her fur sticks through in some places, but we see in Seeing Stars that she is wearing some kind of pants/leggings that don't have tufts of fur sticking out. And ripped parts of the pants/leggings reveal the same color underneath as the rest of her fur. Although, it's hard to say for sure. I'm so far behind on things because it's hard to keep up with all the sources of info when they're spread out across platforms.

Mr Guy On The Left also has some feather-like protrusions on his elbow, despite clearly wearing a jacket.

It's getting really late and I'm exhausted, so I'm leaving Guy On The Left Reasoning at that and hoping it makes sense. (When I wake up in the morning and see my stupid posts... yikes.)

As for Lady On the Right?

I think it's just a revealing dress. Her arms are exposed since the dress appears to be a halter-top situation. (I could be mistaken on the halter-top, but this was the only image of her that I have on hand and I don't wanna go looking for more because I'm sleepy.)

Her outfit is revealing, showing a lot of "skin" (feathers) around her chest, and is tightly fitted at the waist. For her, I think it's just a fashion choice.

My conclusion? I don't have one, actually. Until we know a little more about the rest of these bird characters, it's hard to say for sure if Stolas has sensory issues regarding his feathers, especially the ones on his chest.

Stolas and Sensory Issues

So a lot of us see traits of autism in Stolas. I've been thinking about how his wardrobe might be an indicator of it.

Of course, this is screenshot of his latest outfit that I'm using! 😍

The latest addition to his wardrobe has a similarity to previous items: an opening for the feathers on his chest.

While I've loved the jokes about his shirt needing a "boob window," I'm thinking that this is confirming a sensory issue for Stolas in regards to his feathers.

The beloved and/or dreaded royal romper has a similar feature.

Even in LooLoo Land, Stolas' LooLoo shirt has his chest feathers poking out.

Something that some (but certainly not all) autistic individuals struggle with is Sensory Processing Disorder. Since I'm not an expert in this, I'll keep to a minimum discussing the actual aspects of it and reference WebMD.

Sensory processing disorder is a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

Sensory processing disorder may affect one sense, like hearing, touch, or taste. Or it may affect multiple senses.

I'm thinking that clothing pressing down on his feathers may be a triggering sensory input. Similar to the way a shirt tag may be rough to the point where it is a constant irritation. Or a sweater made with infuriatingly scratchy synthetic fabric.

We've already seen Stolas' apprehension toward scrambled eggs in Sinsmas. I've been told by a few people that eggs are a common texture that they dislike.

I don't think it's too far of a leap for Stolas, who is frequently clad in a bathrobe, to have sensory dislikes of both food and restrictive clothing.

But something else in Sinsmas really hammered this home. Stella!

We finally see Stella in anything other than her typical, full-length dress that covers most of her body.

And she has similar, although not as lengthy, chest feathers!

Stella hasn't displayed the same autistic traits that Stolas has. She clearly has no trouble engaging in social situations and doesn't seem to perform any stimming behaviors. The restriction of clothing on her feathers may not trigger any sensory issues if she doesn't have the same sensitivities that Stolas has in regards to her feathers.

We can't see Andrealphus' feathers just yet, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by restrictive clothing at all.

Despite a fluffy bathrobe of his own during the "Spa Day," Andrealphus wears what appears to be a tight, long-sleeved shirt while lounging indoors in his earlier scene in Sinsmas.

(Yes, I'm still using this screenshot, it's too good to put away forever.)

I personally am unsure if the show will ever address if Stolas is intended to be autistic. On one hand, it would be nice for it to be confirmed & canon. But I also think Helluva Boss does an excellent job at the concept of "show, don't tell." They've given us more than enough evidence to come to the conclusion ourselves.

[clowningcrows]

not sure if i’m projecting or crazy or stupid or just actually incredibly good at characterization but will graham is extremely ethel cain coded 2 me

this man would drunkenly listen to strangers on repeat on his bathroom floor and bawl his eyes out while murmuring along to, “i tried to be good, am i no good? am i no good? am i no good?” while thinking about abigail and alana and beverly and and and….