#literally 2 of my favourite people

[foxy-kitsune]

The Irish🇮🇪

[theusernameiwantisntavailable]

Immensely lacking in sleep and accidentally called Tim Tintin instead. So immediately the brainworms set in

Also bonus Miku WIP I'm working on!

[thefirstknife]

*hears Witness refer to themselves as the First Knife*

*eyes Bel*

*slowly backs away*

Welcome to my twisted mind.

Jokes aside, I also saw that ofc! It was also called that in the campaign by the dissenters:

I really enjoy that this got confirmed (either way!). There's been so much speculation on it. I've personally been on and off on the theory that the Witness is the first knife or just a manifestation of it or maybe that the first knife is just a concept, and if the Witness is trying to embody it or not. And so on. It's been really cool speculating and theorycrafting!

But now we know! Well... sort of, still. The Witness certainly believes itself to be the first knife, but is it truly? What does that mean? Does it even matter?

There's a ship you can get for finishing one of the sidequests: The First Knife. It has really cool lore of Mara and Ikora discussing the first knife and its meaning. I'll shorten the lore tab to just their dialogue so it's easier to copy and have at hand:

Mara: "When I first encountered the Witness, I heard it proclaim to me, 'We are the first knife.' It was as if that title held power. Meaning." Ikora: "The apocryphal texts we dug up on the moon, the ones Eris translated, mentioned the knife as a concept." Mara: "And even if we consider that unveiled text as dogmatic propaganda, there may be truth behind the allegory. The knife becomes the metaphor of a concept. A power. A knife that winnows, cutting things into a defined shape." Ikora: "A power that winnowed living beings into Taken. A power Oryx wielded." Mara: "You're wondering if the knife is a title, or a power. Did Oryx wield the power of the Witness like a knife?" Ikora: "The Witness is a manipulator. It distorts the truth to bend the wills of its supplicants. The allegorical fantasy told to us by the Witness paints itself as a monolithic cosmic force. But perhaps that's a shadow cast by the truth." Mara: "A knife is a tool, wielded by another's hand." Ikora: "If the Witness is the knife, as it asserts, then what wields it?" Mara: "The Witness is not a being. It is the culmination of a bleak ethos willed into existence by the nihilistic desires of its creators. Is their will the hand on the knife? Or is there something else?" Ikora: "I don't know."

This about summarises my thoughts on it, the ones I've always had. I'm not sure if there's any other information, maybe in the raid or the raid's lore book, but for now I'll focus on just this.

Mara says what I've always also agreed with: Unveiling is an allegory, but it has shreds of truth. The problem is that we don't know which parts are truth. We could speculate on that to no end. Ikora agrees as well and also asserts what I believe is the confirmation that the Witness wrote it, by calling it the "allegorical fantasy told to us by the Witness." Or at least this is what the characters believe to be true; Ikora also notes how even that could be a part of that truth among the allegories.

They consider it as a possible power, but they also consider it through the concept of it being a knife: a knife is wielded. Is the Witness being wielded by something else? Is it a knife because the species that made the Witness is the hand? Or is there something different? The conclusion is that neither of them know.

The problem, I think, we'll always have here in regards to the Winnower and anything above the Witness is that it will be hard to tell unless this hypothetical other being actually appears. The Witness may believe that it is the knife of the Winnower, but that could just be its interpretation of its own purpose. Essentially, the Witness may hold a religious belief about its place in the universe that simply isn't true, or believe in a being that isn't real. Just because the Witness says "We are the first knife [of the Winnower (?)]," doesn't mean that is the actual truth. It could be! But we simply don't know, and we won't know, until the Winnower appears (if it ever does; even if it is real, it may still not ever appear in person, in lore or the game).

Even if there's any other information, unless that information is from a reputable source (something that isn't the Witness itself or the Witness-aligned factions telling us a story), it will be hard to tell what's the truth. I really like that! I also really like that the first knife is still discussed also as a concept, not just something that the Witness believes it is. At the end of the day, this title represents something and it's the concept of winnowing, cutting things off.

But I do also like that "the first knife" has been addressed and explained. The Witness believes it is the first knife, and depending on more unfathomable cosmic forces, it may or may not really be that thing as something tangible and powerful, or even just as a title. Does the title matter? It does only because it matters to the Witness. At least for now. Until something actually shows up and presents itself as the wielder of the first knife, we will not know for certain.

Currently waiting to see when I can get the raid clear and the raid lore book, maybe for more information!

[batfamfucker]

There are four main types of Batfam fans in regard to how people interpret Bruce Wayne as a dad (/Joking. This is mostly satire and should not be taken seriously):

Fans that think Bruce is emotionally constipated and isn't the best at being a parent but still tries (Differs per person). Don't necessarily think he's absuive but thinks he can be toxic or have unhealthy expectations for the Robins. Can smell the Oldest Daughter Syndrome coming from Dick and have Family Line (By Conan Gray) as their top song on their Dick inspired playlist and Daddy Issues (By The Neighbourhood) for Jason.

Fans that choose to believe Bruce goes to therapy in their own canon. Love B:WFA. Thinks the comic can be cheesy at times and so find a balance between B:WFA Bruce and Please Go To Therapy BruceTM as their middle ground. He struggles. They advocate that Bruce is not a bad parent, he just has bad writers that seem to forget Bruce wouldn't hurt kids, especially not his own. Love the humane moments and scenes he has in BTAS and the early JL cartoons. He may not be perfect but he's not literally abusive. Whores for Bruce being able to admit when he is wrong and for Jason and Bruce reconciling. I recommend Grow As We Go by Ben Platt for this one.

A mix between the first two. Was fine-ish when Dick was younger. Didn't help him in the healthiest way but eh. Still emotionally constipated but that happened more so after Dick left and Jason died. Started getting better when Tim came back but was still closed off. Should probably go to therapy with the kids so they can drag his ass about all the things he's done that have actually affected them negatively. Understands his mistakes and is also able to admit when he's wrong, eventually. It's not easy but he starts to do better and learns to be more emotionally available. Still has to get chewed out by Alfred sometimes but definitely better than he used to be and it shows. Reconciliation is slow and gradual but progress is made for everyone involved.

The one's I personally avoid for my own sanity and wellbeing:

Think Bruce is a complete bastard and abuser. Want him to choke. Hate any and all interpretations of him. Some of which will refuse to understand how anyone could have a different interpretation. Will point out comics where, in all fairness, he is a dick but forget that characterisation can significantly differ from one series to the next, as comic characters are constantly passed around to different writers and have been for decades. Not to mention movies, shows, etc.

[dangoulains-devotion]

on this late night i am thinking incredibly hard about how, when faced with a choice between preventing a new friend from harm + clearing up a misunderstanding and choosing the path that would potentially find him a cure for his catatonic friend, zack recalled marlene's words of saying that aerith liked cloud, and of course she did, because he (zack) wasn't there. hadn't been there for a long time

and after recalling these words and grasping at the ribbon tied around his hand, zack ultimately decides that by taking the right-hand path he can, with some luck, fulfill two of his own desires - 1) potentially seeing his friend cloud healed and healthily awake again, and 2) making sure that aerith will be able to be happy when she wakes if he succeeds the first part. he has not and will not let go of his adoration and love for her, but if cloud is seemingly what makes her happy in this bizarre world he's found himself in, he'll choose that option in a heartbeat, because her happiness means the world to him even if it means accepting that he's not the focus of it anymore. he just loves her so much . oh i'm in pain. zack fair the man that you are

[charmac]

PLEASEE POST A NEW CHAPTER OF THE SUGAR DADDY FIC I AM ON MY HANDS AND KNEES 😭😭😭😭😭

Updating All These Nights tonight and then Sugar is next to be updated, promise promise.

[encrucijada]

i haven't been able to write in days but i have a new oc to play dolls with my friends because i got possessed and started watching game of thrones

[steakout-05]

living proof that opera gx fanboys and twitter are the two worst things in the world /j

(no but seriously though why are these two groups so fuckin aggressive and snappy about nothing. also these guys have gotta have some trash music taste if they're complaining about jetpack joyride's theme out of spite. if you hate it so much go make your own damn playlist without it then aaaaahggh)

[mishtershpock]

.

[mind-or-matter]

Hey Jackie.

Wash your hands

[raazberry]

i have so many strong feelings abt kaveh i need hyv to release him from their basement already

[littlespoonevan]

genuinely think i would make a killing on youtube doing wardrobe organisation/clear outs

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Hi Rachel,

How do you find songs for your character/story playlists?

ok so I have an extremely limited music taste because I’m resistant to change and new music makes me uncomfortable <3 (DESPITE MY WISHES) so I only listen to a roster of ~10 artists that I’ve collected in my pocket like lil shiny rocks over the last ~10 years. (I really wish I could listen to new music just casually but I need to invest my entire life into an artist lol—the difference is for songs everyone hears frequently on the radio or songs I used to listen to at my job when I was 16 which you’ll find in a lot of my Spotify playlists). The reason why is majorly autism but also I buy all my music and don’t stream haha (unless it’s for the Spotify playlists, see above), so it’s an investment!

My ~~artists:

Nothing But Thieves

The Strokes

Surf Curse

Current Joys

Daughter

Greyson Chance

Jeff Buckley

Julia Jacklin

Marika Hackman

Sarah Kinsley

Billie Eilish

Near Tears

Other artists I’m not as invested in now but that teenage me was so invested in that they also appear in playlists:

Ed Sheeran (chokehold on 13-yr-old Rachel)

Katy Perry (I actually… should buy her recent music)

Paramore (was going to put paramore up top because I own most of their discography haha but haven’t kept up with the new albums!)

Whitney

So when I make a playlist, I queue up iTunes and just go through the same 600 songs I’ve been listening to for the last ~10 years LMAO and go like “oh this is relevant!��� and add it to the playlist.

What’s fun is seeing how those same songs hold different meanings for different characters as time goes on!

[bootyful-seventeen]

hey Sam I just wanted to pop in and ask how are you feeling? It’s always good to check on people❤️

could be worse but i'm doing better by locking myself up in my room and watching movies and low key critique them. just giving myself something to do when i'm not cleaning. and so far i've been watching animated movies of my childhood since youtube surprisingly still has the full movies uploaded and ironically there's a lot of snow white here tho she's not my fave disney princess. i loved 3 of these direct to video snow white movies and can't wait for that disney live action of snow white to get thoughts about that one

[c10v3r]

had the primal urge of watchinga bunch of movies i loved so i was a lil distracted today

[harmcityherald]

Sin City Theme Song