#and I am allowed to make mistakes I am allowed to make mistakes-

[antianakin]

No. That's NOT what I'm saying here, AT ALL. Move away from biology and nature being the end all and be all.

First, Leia is Leia. She is not just "Character A with some of Character B sprinkled in." She is her own person with her own motivations and flaws. I am comparing her to Padme because I think the narrative intentionally builds that parallel for us and I find it interesting to look at the ways in which Luke and Leia are deliberately set up to be the successes to their parents' failures. That does not mean that Leia IS "Padme" in any way.

Secondly, Leia would never in any way be fortified by any of Anakin's anything. Anakin is a piece of shit and part of the reason he's a piece of shit IS his self-righteousness. And it's not like Padme didn't have plenty of her own self-righteousness, too. Leia is fortified by BAIL AND BREHA ORGANA, but it's not "self-righteousness" she's fortified by. She's fortified by their passion, their discipline, their wisdom, their kindness, their bravery, their willingness to stand up for what's right without burning down everything around them in the process. She's fortified by their absolute will to remain who they are in a world that wants them to capitulate everything out of fear. Leia learns how to be a good leader because she's raised by two of them.

Thirdly, Leia learns how to be a good leader because she actively CHOOSES to be a good leader when given the options. Leia does not succumb to despair and selfishness the way both of her biological parents do. Leia does not let love cause her to give up something that would allow the rebellion to win the war. She loves Luke, but she lets him go to the Death Star as a self-sacrifice because she knows it's necessary if they're going to win this war and respects the choice he is making in this moment. Padme starts off as someone who chooses to be a good leader, and remains someone who makes that choice SOMETIMES but not all of the time. Padme CANNOT give up Anakin for the sake of the war or anything else. She chooses to exonerate him when he murders children, she chooses to cover his murders up, she chooses to trade Grievous for him despite what that will mean for the war effort and the people who died to capture Grievous in the first place, and she chooses to lie to Obi-Wan to protect Anakin even after she discovers that Anakin committed a genocide and helped destroy the Republic. Padme would never have made the choice Leia makes in ROTJ.

If you think "self-righteousness" is what allowed Leia to let Luke go in that moment, then you might need to go watch it again. It's not self-righteousness that saves Leia from Padme's mistakes. It's compassion, something Anakin barely had any of in his adult life and something Padme struggled with by the end. And by compassion, I mean the way the term is actually utilized in Star Wars, a selfless love towards everyone. It's the opposite of attachment, it's an ability to let go of biases in order to show kindness to everybody, no matter who or what they are.

And then of course there's Luke. Again, it is not anything from Padme that saves him. He's never met Padme and, unlike Leia, he doesn't seem to have any kind of latent memory of her nor do the Larses seem to have ever told him any stories about her (not that they'd have had that many to tell, but we know they told Luke that his dad was a smuggler of some kind, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could've come up with a lie about who his mother was, we just never hear about it). If Luke is a better Jedi than Anakin, it's not somehow Padme's influence that saves him.

It's the Larses. This is Owen and Beru's down to earth hardworking values coming in. Unlike the Organas, Owen and Beru aren't really represented as these brilliant paragons of virtue. Owen and Beru make mistakes, even in terms of how they choose to parent Luke. But what this does for Luke is it shows him how to LEARN and GROW from his mistakes, something he uses quite a lot during the original trilogy. Luke learns how to be dependable and resilient. When it matters, Luke can rise up and do what needs to be done. He DOES have some of Anakin's darkness in him, that's a major element of his character and his narrative, but it's not his biological mother's compassion that saves him. It's Owen and Beru Lars's values, and it's the Jedi philosophies he was taught by Obi-Wan and Yoda. THAT'S what keeps him from making the same mistakes Anakin did.

Leia is Bail Organa's righteous passion and willingness to enter a fight tempered by Breha Organa's discipline and wisdom.

Luke is Owen Lars's protective instincts towards those he loves and firmness of opinion tempered by Beru Lars's empathy towards everyone she meets and open-minded acceptance of change.

As interesting as it can be to look at how Luke and Leia parallel their biological parents, they will always be so much more a product of the Organas and the Larses than Anakin and Padme.

People are SLEEPING on the most interesting Leia & Padme comparisons because there's so much focus on Leia being "like Anakin" because she gets annoyed sometimes and Padme being this perfect moral beacon of truth and justice despite all of her very canonical lies and cover-ups and obstructing of justice.

If Luke is the Jedi that Anakin should've been, then Leia is the LEADER that Padme should've been.

Padme is a hypocrite, proclaiming that all people deserve basic decency and the right to safety, but at the same time allowing Anakin to get away with a mass murder with no consequences by covering it up.

Leia doesn't even let Han get away with being a little bit of an asshole, there's no way she'd let him get away with mass murder. She holds everyone around her to a higher standard, believing in the best of them but also but refusing to accept excuses for cowardice and selfishness.

Padme talks so much about wanting the war to end, but then allows one of the opposition's biggest generals go free just to get Anakin back because she cares about him, causing the war to continue to go on for even longer.

Leia lets Luke sacrifice himself because she knows it's possibly the only way they might have a victory and beat the Empire, even though she knows what he is to her and loves him. She knows what has to be done and respects the choice Luke is making and would never condemn their efforts just to keep him with her.

Padme's story parallels Anakin's, she devolves as the narrative goes on, until she's barely a shell of the person she used to be. That strength and moral clarity she showed as a Queen is entirely gone, leaving only a scared woman pleading with a murderer to come back to her.

Leia's story parallels Luke's, she gains more and more strength and clarity as the narrative moves forward. The bossy young woman we first met has become a confident rebel leader who knows she doesn't have to harden her heart to be strong.

[cheshireliam]

"The Faux Vow To The Pure White Bride" Story Event: Chapter 1

Ring Schwartz

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

That day, I made my way to the palace after Ring told me to meet him there. 

As I walked through the beautiful garden, admiring the seasonal flowers, I saw Ring walking through an arch made of roses and heading toward me. 

Kate: Oh, Ring. Did you come to meet me?

Ring: Yeah. But… sorry for being rough. 

Kate: Huh…?

Suddenly, he pressed a piece of cloth over my mouth—.

Kate: Mmph! 

(... What is… he… doing…?) 

— Just like that, my consciousness faded away. 

…

Kate: … Nn… 

When I came to, I found myself inside a rocking carriage. 

The sun that was hanging high above head just moments ago had now started to set, casting an orange glow. 

Ring: You really woke up at the right time. The drug I got from Dari was perfect. 

(Drug…? I knew it was strange that I passed out just like that.) 

Kate: Where exactly are you taking me to, that's so secretive you had to put me to sleep? 

I shot Ring a wary look, but his calm response carried not a single ounce of guilt. 

Ring: To church. You and I are getting married.

(... What?) 

Just then, the carriage came to a halt and I looked out the window to see we were right in front of a church—.

Before I could ask what was going on, Ring was already heading inside. 

…

Beyond the grand doors, stood a man waiting to welcome us. 

John: Welcome to Tiamo. I am Father John. 

Behind John was a group of men and women dressed in suits, wearing dazzling smiles like receptionists at a luxury hotel. 

John: Please, allow us to help the two of you find happiness together. 

(W-what’s with these people…?)

Ring: Yeah, we’re counting on you for that. 

(R-Ring!?) 

John: Well then, come this way. We have prepared a room for you to rest in until your wedding ceremony tomorrow. 

(A… w-wedding… he wasn’t joking about the whole marriage thing!?) 

…

After we completed the pre-requisite paperwork for our wedding and were shown to our room, I immediately turned to Ring.

Kate: Now that we’ve come to this point, shouldn't you explain everything to me by now? 

Ring: … Yeah. First off, we’re here for an undercover investigation.

Kate: If that’s the case, why didn't you discuss this with Crown first? Why go so far as to kidnap me? 

Ring: There was a chance you’d outright reject me if I told you honestly that the mission would be in this specific setting… so Dari gave the order to only explain everything after bringing you here. 

(An order, huh…)

The way he said it sounded like he couldn't care less about his own will. 

(It's concerning how blindly obedient Ring is to Darius’ orders, but… let’s leave that aside for now.) 

Kate: … Alright. Tell me everything about the investigation. 

Ring: Okay. The organisation operating with his church as its base is called “Tiamo” — it claims to uphold the belief that “true love is equal” and conduct wedding ceremonies under that belief. 

Ring: They make all the preparations on their end, from the Priest, to the outfits and everything else a couple would need to have a wedding, and welcome couples from all walks of life. 

To couples who couldn't afford a wedding or were eloping for personal reasons, it might seem like a wonderful organisation.

But the fact that Vogel had initiated an investigation could only mean one thing: Tiamo was no mere charity. 

Kate: The wedding ceremonies… there's something going on behind them, isn't there?

Ring: Exactly. 

Ring: They accuse the couples of not being truly in love and carry out purges. 

Kate: Purges? 

Kate: You mean… they kill them…? What the… 

Ring: What makes it even more odd is that those who were purged all died with a smile on their faces, not resisting in the slightest. 

Ring: This abnormality is why Vogel suspects someone in Tiamo is a Cursed with the ability to “brainwash”. 

Kate: A Cursed in this church? Do you have an idea of who they might be?

Ring: There’s others we’re suspecting, but… it’s most likely the Priest named John is at the centre of it all. 

Ring: Before the wedding tomorrow, I need to investigate John and find out who exactly the Cursed is. That’s my mission. 

Vogel was a research organisation that promoted the idea of the Cursed making contributions to society. 

One of the reasons they came to London was to deepen their understanding of curses and abilities by interacting with other Cursed like them. 

Kate: … So that’s why you called me here. You want my help with infiltrating the church. 

By pretending to be his fiancée, we could get close to the church and Tiamo without raising suspicion. 

Ring: That’s right. … Okay, I’m going out to investigate John. You wait here for me. 

Kate: Ah, Ring! 

I reflexively grabbed the hem of his jacket.

Kate: I’m coming with you. 

(I’ll have to give Victor a formal report anyway… so it’s better for me to see for myself what exactly is happening here.) 

(And besides… I’m a little worried about letting Ring go on his own.) 

Kate: They might question whether we’re truly in love before the wedding even starts if they catch the groom wandering around alone. 

Kate: Don't you think it’d be easier to make excuses if the bride and groom are together? 

Ring: … You have a point. But there's one problem. 

Ring: If we’re going to hold a wedding… that means we’re engaged.

Ring: I, uhh… don’t really, uhh… know how to act like a fiancé.

Ring: … I’ve never been married. 

Kate: N-neither have I! 

Ring: So it's your first time too! That makes both of us first-timers.

(He looks happy… I never thought something like this would make him smile.) 

Kate: Then as two first-timers, let’s figure this out together…! 

(He seems satisfied with that, so that's good.) 

Ring: Still… how exactly do I act like a fiancé? 

Kate: It’s hard to give detailed advice until specific situations arise, but you could try thinking of things you’d want to do for someone you like and just go with it. 

Ring: …… Okay.

Ring took a long while to think it over, but he eventually turned the doorknob with a look of determination, seemingly having decided on something. 

Ring: I still don’t really get it, but let's go, Robin.

Kate: Oh, okay!

[project-sekai-facts]

How likely is it that en sekai will botch Mizu5. Not as in like their usual spelling and grammar errors but like. They might genuinely mess up the story because they’re “not allowed to translate it like that” or something else? I’d be absolutely devastated if they did that because her identity is a major part of her character.

it's something i am a bit worried about because of their whole thing with they/them mizuki. it's not really something that works that well with they/them ambiguously gendered mizuki. i've said before how using she/her is what would make most sense for ensekai, she presents as female so by default characters who aren't portrayed as transphobic bullies should use she/her. annoyingly this was never really an option because even before the backlash that made them switch to exclusively mizuki's name or they/them when necessary the official statement was "whatever the other characters view mizuki as" which apparently translated to 'only kanade uses she/her and also ena that one singular time that was probably a mistake'.

like path of thorns hinges on the reveal to ena that mizuki is a trans woman. all of the dialogue from the bullies is stuff like "are you[cis girl ena] secretly a boy as well, why else would you be friends with mizuki" and "we're just messing, we knew you were a real girl [unlike mizuki who was born a boy]" like the trans woman reveal is everything for the last few chapters. that just doesn't work the same way if we go into it from the ensekai perspective of ena apparently viewing mizuki's gender as ambiguous. everything builds to that reveal of mizuki being a trans woman, but on ensekai ena is out here they/themming mizuki giving the impression she doesn't know what mizuki's gender is, or assumes she's nonbinary, which recontextualises that entire scene. like if ena already had these assumptions that mizuki might not be cis that card wouldn't be like that. that card is mizuki's POV of ena seeing her from an entirely new perspective, reevaluating everything she knew and putting the pieces together. LIKE ON ENSEKAI ENA ALREADY ASSUMES MIZUKI ISN'T CIS. THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING. IT'S A STORY ABOUT MIZUKI GETTING OUTED AS TRANS IT DOESN'T WORK IF THE PERSON SHE'S GETTING OUTED TO WHO ISN'T MEANT TO KNOW ALREADY KNOWS SHE IS TRANS. sorry it's 3am i can't word it better.

ensekai just shot themselves in the foot as soon as they decided to use anything other than she/her. the story literally doesn't work in english unless the characters are explicitly viewing mizuki as a woman. like ik pronouns=/=gender but we're talking a product that ensekai went super hard on trying to market to the general audience it's she/her or nothing for a female character. they/them has never made sense for mizuki's story since it implies everyone already is unsure of her gender/assumes she's Not Cis, which completely undoes the narrative of mizuki ACTIVELY HIDING HER TRANSNESS FROM PEOPLE. that is her WHOLE ARC.

ensekai could directly translate path of thorns word for word but it's gonna drop the ball as soon as they get to the bullies talking about "mizuki being a boy and ena being a real girl" because MIZUKI HAS NOT BEEN DEPICTED CLEARLY AS A GIRL ON ENSEKAI. even before the swtich to they/them only they were operating on "whatever people view mizuki as" like they've always treated her gender as ambiguous which admittedly jpsekai kinda did too (? in bio) but japanese rarely uses gendered 3rd person pronouns so it works in that game. you can get away with no other character gendering her for 4 years. english doesn't work like that you have to use gendered terms. if you pick the neutral ones that generally connote 1) someone you don't know the gender of or 2) a nonbinary person, it gives the impression that every other character in the game doesn't view her definitively as a woman.

like i think they'll just leave it intact when TLing but like they cannot keep they/themming her after classmate A or whoever literally confirms that mizuki identifies as a woman. and even if they frame it as a "now mizuki's out we'll be using she/her in TLs" it still removes so much from the original story that they had been depicting her as ambiguously gendered from the eyes of other characters until now. sorry if this is a mess as i said it's literally 3:30am

[beabakx]

hey y’all i felt like coming on here and speak a little bit about all this patti situation.

let me start off by saying that i’m a bigbigbig patti fan so maybe i could not be completely objective in some parts, lemme know.

HK:

i think that her complaints were pretty reasonable, there was a sound problem, and the audience confirmed that too, it was too loud to be next to and sharing walls with a playhouse.

Patti said in an in interview that when saying loud she meant by the instrumental because the bass was going through into her studio and audience.

so no, it was not racist.

then kecia (pls don’t get me wrong she’s a legend) posted a video saying that was bullying and racially micro aggressive (?) which i don’t really get because if they hadn’t insulated (idk if the word is right english is not my first language sr) the walls there would have been way more problems with patti’s show.

and i’d like to also point out that patti followed protocol and what her manager advised her to do, and also send thank you flowers after.

so i really don’t really see how that video was necessary.

Interview:

okay that new yorker interview was really something but still, wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be.

i don’t agree with her saying that kecia is not a bway veteran because she most certainly is, but i also get that she was mad, i mean kecia quite little made public racist allegations against her, but no patti was rude and comparing careers was just inappropriate.

she also shouldn’t have called her a b*tch because name calling is never right but i also feel like the word is now just a ‘space filler’, or at least where i live.

then i don’t really think she said anything bad about audra, she simply said that they’re not friends and that they rifted, she wasn’t even disrespectful about it, or i least i didn’t find it disrespectful or offensive. and audra said the same thing in another recent interview: they’re not friends and they haven’t spoken in over 10 years. so i don’t really see why people are getting so worked up about it.

was she rude? yes. was she racist? no

(the interviewer is also known for not really ‘standing up’ for women and always wanting to create drama)

Open Letter:

that was just so unnecessary and hypocritical if i may.

broadway has said nothing about the GENOCIDE in gaza and now they’re making an open letter because what was merely and clearly, to me, a miscommunication?? tf??

no such call out was made about people actively trying to bring other performers down (woody allen against mia farrow), sexual assaults (kevin spacey) or even admitted pedophilia (dustin hoffman).

i read the letter in its entirety and while i completely agree with what it stands for calling patti lupone a misogynistic racist is just too much. just completely out of context.

apologies:

her apology was actually pretty good. i so insanely appreciated it. and people coming at her because ‘it’s just a feel apology!!! she clearly doesn’t mean it!!!’ get a grip honestly because how are you demanding it a second and then the minute later not wanting anymore?

but anyway doesn’t she at least deserve another chance? i mean we are all humans and we are allowed to make mistakes and when we realize our wrongs we apologise and i think we always should see how much that can take for someone. obviously some people only do that for themselves and their ‘image’ but i don’t really think this is the case since her apologies sounded sincere and felt to me.

another thing i am insanely keen on is that throwing around words like racism, misogyny, but also homophobia and transphobia, doesn’t just take away so much importance and power from the word itself but it also does not help the cause at all. it can be so counterproductive.

stay safe y’all love ya dolls!!!

[ferncloud]

Hi!!!! Is stippling difficult? What do you do if you make a mistake? Love your work. I wanna be a tattooist so bad.

hi!! ill answer under the cut, this is a little long

yes T_T lol stippling is hard to get the hang of. its a slow process of building up shades. a little similar to lightly shading with pencil or charcoal, but it can get too dark or too harsh very quickly if youre not careful & there is no way to undo what youve done, you can either leave it or go darker. requires a lot of patience but its also very fun to do once you get comfortable with it :3

if I make a mistake I just have to find a way to fix it in the moment. it sounds scary & sometimes it is, but mistakes are common especially since I am so inexperienced. its almost always little things like going slightly off the stencil, where i will thicken the line to accommodate it (this works for my style since I like to fluctuate line weight). more serious problems do happen even to experienced artists, like blowouts or scarring, but you learn how it felt to make that mistake & hopefully you dont do it again. tattooing requires all of your focus in order to avoid problems before they happen, it cannot be understated that a real person will carry this tattoo on their body forever. be kind to yourself as you learn, & hold respect for the people that allow you to tattoo them :]

[heimerdyker]

i feel like u n ur followers were completely missing my point when im talking about instigating infighting 😐 yes it should b said loud that joss was a gay native man but shitting on ppl when they corrected their mistakes is not the way to spread his story. they corrected the post and added he was native american. and antagonizing them when they didnt "do enough of a good job" just makes the situation more distressing for everyone around. i am all for uplifting native americans and indigenous people and their voices and stories–and you are allowed to be angry. but directing total hate and anger at someone who is trying to help is not the way to go. even if they didnt say the right things or do the right actions to spread jonathan's story, it gives no excuse to practically bully them. this isnt someone coming into your askbox and ordering you around, i am in no way a colonizer and i certainly do not harbor ignorance of native voices, but i do believe in not instigating people who are trying to help and fuck up in trying to help.

wishing death upon me only solidifies my point. we are all in this together, and anger is justified, but directing that hate at people who make mistakes while trying to help is not improving any situation

may you never know peace. come off anon if you want to try to explain how i need to be nicer to a white person about this.

[ms-boogie-man]

☦︎17TolucaLake☦︎

Umm, I know a number of plain ol', regular ol', plain ol' fags, and I do not experience 'fag fatigue' with them *they come to my club back home and several live in my roomie's apt building They dress and groom well, they invite Bethany and I to movies and theatre productions and nice restaurants, they are well read, and they travel well and invite us along … that is enough, you get the point yo

What we are experiencing is liberal activism fatigue and literal wear-out

i.e., the entire LGBTQ+ activist community and all that comes with it: antifa, the BLM (yes, they are back), mask and vaxx advocates, fake Palestine begging and mooching online, pushback on Teslas, whining and sniveling about school loan debt, orange-man bad, more taxes and fines, gun regulations, censorship, MSM lying, Democrats, RINOs, illegal migrant invaders, fentanyl, homelessness, MS13 and Tren de Argua

… I think that is enough for now

I am just not blaming anythingy on plain ol', regular ol', plain ol' fags yo

Too, this is Trump's fault and God bless him for it Instead of the Dems slow-rolling everythingy under the radar, Trump caused them to flood the market with it, all at once, and now everyone is burned out and waking up to the lunacy… whereas before, during the slow-roll, everyone was patient and tolerant, and allowing of it all … and make not any mistake The activist community, in all its facets, is a tool of the communist takeover of the West

*nods

Angie/Maddie🦇❥☦︎🇺🇸

Fag fatigue is real- and we're only 4 days in

[meadow-moth]

I can't get his face right but. I mean. He.

Bonus cropped background (baby long legs + homoerotic ritual sacrifice) under cut

Idk I just think they're fun

I put like. Bare minimum effort into them but I like them (<- this is me pointing out that baby long legs faces look disfigured as fuck but that's okay because it's 8am and I've been drawing since like. 2. Insomnia.)

(I am allowed to make mistakes I am allowed to make mistakes I am allowed to make mistakes I am allowed to make mistakes I am allow- *gets dragged to hell*)

[vanityangel]

WWE SMACKDOWN (MAY 16, 2025)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Smell Check [Easy: Failure]

MDZS Disco Elysium AU part 1 (part 2 - part 3)

[5tomatoes]

i am a little scared about posting these (i do NOT primarily make fanart) but woe, elijah be upon ye *tosses art and scurries away*

[recareels]

getting emotional over the fact that mr reca really would guide you, just as a good director is supposed to, but would still retain the authority to make executive decisions if he felt your choices were not beneficial to your film (life) or your growth as an actor (person)

[ancha-aus]

Gifted Drabble - NewAgeAu - Q&A

As I said! I totally wasn't scheming :3 @spotaus

But i had to wait until you uploaded your drabble about very sneaky Cross to make sure I got more references and a better idea about his character :D

So... here we are :3 Also yes the name of the drabble is a very bad joke but i thought of it and it was too funny.

*------------------------------------------*

Cross just sits there... He is such an idiot!

Getting caught?! As quickly as he did? that must be a record on how incapable he was.

It wasn't as if Cross had an excuse. Dream and Blue warned him! Warned him that the Knights were very skilled and watchful. That he had to leave as soon as he got the information and plans. Do not linger!

That had been the mission!

Instead he was a coward and just. Took too long. He spend too much time trying to form a plan instead of just acting. And then He tried to solve mysteries himself instead of just grabbing and leaving as soon as he could!

But he just... Cross groans.

He hadn't found anything fitting the brief. He hadn't been able to find anything that spoke about hurting people or raising taxes to hurt the poor or anything!

In matter of fact.

All he found was plans to improve the infra structure. To tax the nobels more and lower the taxes on people who earned less. He found information on how the king had contact with farmers to work on more structures and installations to help farmers recover from the change in weather and to fully utilise the land without exhausting it.

Projects on testing mixed crop planting and stricts rotation schedules to make sure the soil itself wasn't exhausted from nutrients or risks infections or fungi growing which would hurt the soil and specific crops.

There was even this whole program about apprentices!! something about orphans and children and teens on the straights and a way to offer them schooling and housing and even training with the people helping them! That the crown would pay these people for helping those who don't have family to count on!

It is still in draft clearly as it had been covered with sidenotes in this very elegant and curve handwriting. notes about how to pay for it. where to start it. which people to ask for posibilities. but also notes about how to check the children. how to make sure the children and teens weren't use or abused or even worse!

And... well... not too shortly after that one of the Knights just... Sat in the chair and spoke casually... Scared the shit out of him at the time.

How was that dude so quiet?! or so strong for that matter?

How could his magic had backfired so badly?

Cross sighs as he turns to his side. He is an IDIOT. How could he have gotten so reckless?

Drema and Blue would have already been happy with him getting anything back from the king's plans... maybe he just couldnt see the danger in them clearly? Hell if he knows what the state in the country is. He knows nothing about this place.

Maybe the things he saw was a bad thing? Maybe there was some... weird way to make them look bad?

Like.

Maybe there was already little nature? Sure Cross saw a lot of it on his way here but hell if he knows? maybe there is little in the cities or soemthing?

Maybe the nobels are already being taxed a lot? maybe this will make the nobels all poor? and euh.... Cross isn't sure how taxing the poor less could be bad but maybe there is some way?

the farming thing... Well... Cross isn't sure... maybe the farmers don't want him to micro manage or soemthing? maybe the king is being too controlling about it? that works...

The children are obvious. those are vulnerable kids and teens! Who are being used and exploited!! Well... he would have to ignore all the sidenotes about the kids wellbeing... and the notes about banning child labor...

Cross groans. Why is it so hard to see the things he is doing as bad?! Dream told him that Nightmare is corrupted and the thing ruling now is evil and terrible and needs to be removed to save his twin!!

Then why are the plans good? Maybe he is faking it? But why? XGaster never bothered to fake anything... He was just rightfully the king and people should respect him.

Cross frowns as he turns on his side. Ignoring the guard standing well guard outside of his cell. He tugs on the magical blocker on his arm. Making him unable to use his magic to summon any weapon or try to take control over someone elses magic again.

Well... Not like he can try that with the guard guarding him again anyway. Seeing as it is Dust guarding him...

Cross tugs on it again and Dust speaks "Don't bother. Those things can't be removed by the wearer."

Cross freezes and looks over. He thought he had been sneaky enough. The one with the panther mask stares back.

Cross frowns as he turns back to the wall.

The Knight goes quiet again.

Cross tugs on the band one more time. Just to be spiteful. Before laying back and staring at the wall.

Fuck... He is going to die here? Isn't he?

Maybe they will just starve him...

Or maybe they will first torture him to figure out who he works for.

Cross is going to have to withstand it until he dies. He can't give up Dream and the fact he is planning a revolution.

He can't ruin another revolution that could save and help so many people.

He will have to be strong. Not give in. Not even an inch.

"I apologise I took so long Dust. Thank you for keeping watch."

Cross freezes at the new but familiar voice. Cross had heard the voice before. He had seen the owner walk around and had been getting information on him.

The king.

The fucking king.

Nightmare himself!

Why was the king here?!

Sure Cross had been spying and stealing information. But was that really such a big deal to get the king himself to interrogate him?!

Then again... Shed's tail had aparently been removed and used for cat toys...

He is so dead.

A click and the door to his cell slowly creaks open.

Cross's pulse is beating so fast.

Footsteps walking closer. before the door creaks closed. and is relocked.

He is so dead.

A few more steps and then silence for a moment as Cross tries to keep his panic at bay. He regrets staring at the wall.

"I know you are awake. Speaking will be a lot easier if we face each other."

Cross keeps laying there. What does he do?! He can't ignore him. Come on Cross. Be brave. You faced down scarier threats!

'But you had magic back then.' his mind whispers 'You had a way to defend yourself.'

Still. Cross sits up and turns around. Making sure he is glaring. He is not going to give in. "What is there to tell?" His voice holds the challange. He isn't afraid. He will not give in. He is not going to give this so-called king anything!

Nightmare tilts his skull slightly. intrigue clearly. Cross doesn't like the fact that he seems just so... unbothered by Cross. Cross is the enemy! He is sitting in the cell after Nightmare's forces found him snooping around, trying to steal information.

So why is this king staring at him with just intrigued! No rage? No disgust?!

Nightmare speaks again. Seemingly taking his time to think about his answers. trying to be actually truthful? or trying to think of an answer that Cross wants to hear? Wait... Is the king already in cross's head and mind? is Cross already being tricked?

Nightmare's voice breaks him out of his spiralled thinking "I think I disagree. there is a lot to talk about."

Cross tilts his skull upwards. stubborn energy in his soul "I won't tell you anything about who send me or why. No matter what!"

Nightmare looks slightly amused "I don't exactly care about who send you or why."

... what?

Nightmare continues, at his aparently obvious confusion, as he explains "I know there are people who wish to know what I am doing. I know people are scheming against me. It is nothing new. Even a spy as yourself is nothing new." he looks amused "The fact they even send you implies they know close to nothign about me, my land or my home. Or, that they don't care about you at all."

That.. that doesn't make any sense?!

Ngihtmare nods "I do apologise you swore your loyalty to those who know nothing of the target they send you to spy on. Otherwise they would have known that I am aware of what goes on in my castle and land." he smiles "they would have known that my Knights are everywhere and good at their jobs." he shoots Cross a look "They would know that i am aware of who is suposed to work where at which moment."

Cross feels his mind lock up as the information filters in... How... how hadn't Dream known this?

Ngihtmare waves a hand casually "You are a rather inexperienced spy. Not that it matters. As there is very little any type of skill could have done against me and those of mine. Either your employers know nothing of me which means they aren't much of a threat quite yet. Or they were willing to throw you away as some sort of test against me or you. Which just makes me unimpressed with them overall."

Cross just stares at the ground.

The Knight speaks softly "Way to ruin his worldview my king."

a moment of silence before "I apologise. I shouldn't have said those things. You did not deserve to hear those or have to worry about which case is true."

Cross snaps "Why am i not dead yet?!" He had heard about the terrible punishment this parasite of a king does. How he hurts people for jsut the hell of it... From Dream... form the guards working here... It makes no sense that Cross is still alive. Unless he wants to torture him of course...

A moment of silence.

Ngihtmare speaks a bit softer but still sure and confident "You meant no harm. You were here for a few days and no one was attacked. Neither myself, my knights, my servants or my people in the city. I do not see why i would punish you with death if you did not do a crime earning such a thing."

Cross glares up "And if i had hurt someone?" So he was just doing this own test?! this is just a test. That Cross can deal with. Cross can deal with someone trying to trick and test him!

The king chuckles and shakes his skull "It is very bold of you to assume you would have been able to hurt anyone. Just because we aren't obvious you were not walking around unnoticed or unwatched. If you had made a single move to hurt someone you would have been stopped and caught right away. I must admit however if you had tried that this conversation would be going very differently."

Cross frowns, wait... "If i moved to hurt someone? Anyone?"

Nightmare nods "Of course. The people who work for me are people who's safety i take very seriously. They are willing to work for me. in trade for their servitude i make sure they have what they need and want and more importantly. That they are safe to live their lifes." He sounds so certain and the answer is instantly.

He didn't even need to think about it.

Cross's mind is swimming as he tries to focus. This makes no sense... Why is he implying that he only punishes those who deserve it? That isn't waht others said. This... this is weird. This is the weirdest interrogation he has ever been part of. But he manages to find his voice again "What do you then even want to know?" It isn't like he knows anything.

Nightmare watches him "I am curious about the Lost Kingdom."

Cross flinches as he looks away. "It isn't called lost..." it isn't lost... it isn't! His... his brother- Nine is trying so hard to fix the mess Cross left behind. the mess Cross helped cause. It may be broken and a bit of a mess but it isn't lost. Lost implies there is nothing that can be saved from it.

A soft hum before he speaks again "I apologise. It is a name i took over from others." a moment of silence "I supose I am just curious what made the most loyal of knights of that land leave the country he was working on protecting."

Cross freezes. huh?

Nightmare waits for a moment but when Cross doens't answer he continues "It doesn't make sense to me. Your every move and motivation was from trying to protect the country you served. Yet here you are. Instead of there."

Cross looks to the side. He... he had tried to protect but he failed everyone. He always failed... He made the most terrible mistake of mistakes... How could he stay? they didn't want him to stay. He didn't deserve to stay after that.

Cross looks to the side and speaks "No one wanted the loyal dog of the tyrant to stay. so i left." there.

a moment of silence. "Seems a bit of a harsh name for someone who was loyal to the country."

Cross glares "I wasn't! I just did what the old tyrant wanted!" Like an idiot who can't think for himself. He just did whatever his father told him. Too blind and too stupid to see that XGaster was hurting others.

Nightmare continues to look at him "And you believed in him to make the right choices for the country. That is the job of a king. Make sure that what is done is done to improve the land. improve the country. improve life for the people. It is not your fault that XGaster didn't honour his rule. That he did not do what he was suposed to. What he was sworn into."

Cross can't hear this. Not form sometone who is suposed to be eveil but seems to know so much. Who seems to know what it means to be king yet who isn't suposed to care. Why is this thing who is possessing an innocent acting as it he cares? How would this thing know what makes a good king?!

Cross asks him as much. "Why do you care!?" it is more of a snap than a question.

Is it... Is it Nightmare? Influencing the thing brainwashing him and controlling him? Fighting back?

Dream would be happy to hear that.

Nightmare still thinks about the question. He looks ahead of himself with a tiny frown. Seemingly thinking.

Cross however can't help that notice how blue the cyan eye is. Clearly unnatural. Toxic even... Yet calm. There is no rage hidden that Dream warned him about. No edge of insanity or madness. Just calm and insightful thoughts. Control over his mind? but that makes no sense if he is brainwashed...

The body is not at all what Cross even expected to once see. Ngihtmare had this imposing presence. The fact his form was covered with a goop that had melted over one of his sockets didn't help. The way those tentacles on his back moved and idled. Seemingly without a single thought- wait... didn't octopusses have like... brains in each tentacle. Did that mean that Nightmare had five brains working and thinking for him?

Still... The corruption is so clearly... strange. Dream had told him that the powers given by the ritual was suposed to make a king and warrior of light. Of good. This form is proof that Nightmare wasn't suposed to gain this power. It is dark and moving and changing... But Cross can't help but think it doesn't look that bad, that the name corruption doesn't quite fit. It doesn't radiate any harm in anyway. Not like that time in the hall... Is... Nightmare able to control the presence it gives off? Why wouldn't he use it now? The slight magic he can still feel is potent and strong and unlike anything Cross ever felt before... But it isn't like other poisonous magics Cross had learned about. That he had trained to recognise. It is strange...

Cross decides to focus on the clothes he is wearing. It is clearly high quality stuff. not to forget the golden accents and actual bands around the tentacles. the clips with apple motifs. the detailing of branches like swirls in the same cyan colour as that eye, just less obvious because the fabric is slightly see through.

It makes for one intimidating image. One that the king carries with confidence and familiarity.

Nightmare speaks "I care because i wish to understand. We learn by understanding others. Even if i don't agree with someone doesn't mean i don't have to understand them. In matter of fact. the only way to truly disagree and be against something is to understand or at least know about the concept. When it is about why people do certain actions it is important to learn their motives and reasons. to understand why they did what they did before casting out judgement."

Cross can't deal with him... how is this suposed evil tyrant so understanding?

He is nothing like XGaster.

Nothing at all.

Cross can see that so clearly and so easily. This is someone who knows what he is talking about and who doesn't just say what you want to hear. Cross thought he knew what he was going into. He thought he would meet a man simular to XGaster.

Someone who manipulates. Someone who lies. Someone who turns every answer into a small insult. Someone who tells you how to think and why you are an idiot for not thinkinf like that from the start. Someone who believes himself to be perfect and not capable of fault.

Cross believed his father to be rightful in being this way and thinking that way for so long. It wasn't until after the revolution Cross finally noticed the cracks in the facade.

Cross thought... he figured he would be able to see through whatever mask Ngihtmare is wearing. Metaphorical of course. But he can't... he is failing. He can't figure this out.

Is... is cross being an idiot again? is Nightmare lying to him and is Cross still just unable to see it?

Or is there no mask to see through? no mask to spot the cracks in?

What does he do?

Nightmare waits and remains quiet until Cross actually focusses on him. When he does Nightmare speaks again "I wish to know what happened there. In your home."

His home...

"It isn't my home..." not anymore...

Nightmare nods and speaks again "Then what happened to the country that you used to serve and protect. What caused the downfall?"

Cross looks to the side "A revolution obviously..."

Ngihtmare nods and waits.

Cross glares "I was an idiot and could not pick a side. I couldn't fight my brother who lead the revolution but i could also not betray my lord. I ended up trying to help both yet messed everything up." he glares at the king "I made everything worse." all because he just couldn't pick.

Ngihtmare tilts his skull "Rather extreme. Thinking just one person can make or break a revolution."

Cross blinks.

Nightmare nods calmly "I am not saying that you couldn't have made it go better. That is always an option. However. A revolution... a rebellion. It is the same thing, and it is messy. it is dangerous. One person can not make things go perfect. that is impossible."

Dust coughs lightly into his hand. The king shoots him a look but nothing else happens.

The king turns back to him "You are not responsible for everything that happened. could you have helped? Yes. But... the choice that you made also enabled you to do the few things you could. the little bits you did to help your brother. If you had picked to defend the old tyrant. You would have had to hurt others."

Cross glares down "I know i should have helped."

Ngihtmare shakes his skull "That isn't what i am saying. the point i am trying to make is. You never know what you would have done in the other two situations. You could have joined your brother. but then you would have had to fight the very people you trained and fought beside before. The same people who know you through and through. who know how you fight and move." and he looks at him. "You helping them. either side of the conflict. would have meant you would have been at a different position at any given point. The things that happened wouldn't and couldn't have happened because your actions in this... neutral choice also had consequences and effect. It meant that XGaster stationed you as a guard. if you hadn't been available he would maybe have used two others to gain the same protection you gave him. You didn't stop the revolution when they got to you. instead there would have been two guards guarding the door." And nightmare give shim a moment to let that information sink in.

Cross stops... he... hadn't thought about... all he could think about is how he could have made things different. Thinking about how his skills could have helped specific moments... he hadn't considered that... him helping them from the start would have chanced everything...

and the moment where he could have helped... may never have even happened.

Cross shakes his skull "Things would have been better if i had picked a side."

The king considers it "Maybe it would have. Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe by not picking a side you were able to do enough damage control for both sides that enabled it to even be successful. Maybe not picking a side made it last longer. You can not know which choice would ahve been better as you never saw the options."

Cross isn't sure what is even going on anymore. He had believed... He had been sure that him not making a choice just made everythign worse. Everyone agreed. Everyone must have agreed or else they wouldn't have made sure to remind him about his mistake each moment they could...

right?

Nightmare nods before getting up. Cross only now notices that Nightmare had been using his own tentacles as a chair "But I think I have pushed you too far already with my questions. You need rest and time to process and calm down. Food will be brought to you later." he turns towards the cell door and exits.

The king nods to the guard and starts to walk away.

Wait...

Wait!

Cross jumps up and rushes to the bars "Wait!"

The king stops and turns back to him "yes?" and he waits.

Cross pants "You said... Way before... at the start... There had been others like me. other spies. Where are they now?" Dream said others had been send before right? Or maybe even other forces. That Nightmare killed them?

Nightmare tilts his skull "My knights or I myself spoke to them. Much like I am doing wiht you. Those who meant no harm and held no wish to hurt those here... They were offered a change of scenery. They mentioned they couldn't and didn't want to return a failure to their old leaders. There is always room and a need for people willing to work and help."

Cross frowns "And those who did wish to return home?"

Nightmare looks unbothered "After making sure they were no threat they were released at the border. With a warning to not return. Once is an happening after all, one people can learn from. However if it turns out they lied or wished to return to do harm after all they were punished for their crimes."

Cross looks down as his mind spins "Oh..."

Nightmare waits for a moment longer before nodding "Rest up. I will come back either tomorrow or the day after to continue our conversation." he turns and leaves.

Cross slowly lets go of the bars and goes back to the bed in the cell... He can't help but notice that it is actually rather comfortable here.

Sure there are bars and he is locked in and unable to use magic...

But there is fresh air. Some natural sunlight comes in through the barred windows. It isn't cold or wet. There are warm blankets and soft places to sit...

Even if it is a jailcell. It is comfortable at least.

Cross rolls back up on the bed and thinks.

His mind going over the past conversation and thinking about what he learned. For it having been suposed to be a way for the king to learn about Cross it was just Cross learning about Nightmare.

What had the king even wanted to learn? All Cross told him was how he thought about things and experienced it. Not even how the revolution happened or what events took place.

If Nightmare had wished to know those it would make sense. Then it would gain Nightmare insight to how the revolution managed to be successfull and what to defend against.

And yet...

and yet...

He didn't. All Nightmare wished to know was what Cross did.

It doesn't make sense.

None of it does.

It doesn't take long but eventually a maid comes along. a human and she bows in respect to the Knight before turning towards Cross with a smile "Hello there. I brought you some food. It are roasted potatoes and a salad." she puts it on the little opening to push it into his cell "Once you are done please place it back in this same area. Makes us able to clean it up which will leave your area a bit cleaner!" she smiles happily before nodding once she sees Cross paying her attention.

After that she turns away, bows to the Knight again,before leaving.

Cross makes his way to the food slowly but the Knight standing guard doesn't make a single move to take or mess with it.

Cross grabs his food and takes a seat on his bed again. He eats it slowly and feels his hand shake once he realises it is actually good.

It is taste and warm and filled with nutrients.

Why are they treating him so nicely?

Cross just... doesn't get it...

Maybe he can ask the next time Nightmare comes to him to talk?

Maybe he can get some answers after all...

*------------------------*

In case you guys don't get the title name. It is a joke. Because Cross is being interrogated but it is more a mutual Q&A...

I will leave now.

[ludwigoat909]

(Alittle disclaimer that what I'm about to say is absolutely not directed towards anyone in particular, it is just something I saw a lot of times)

This is something I've noticed a while ago but never really dared to talk about this. But while the milgram fandom has been known to have a lot of cases where they would woobify characters or victimize them to make them more sympathetic. There's also this other side of the spectrum that I don't see anyone mentioned where people feel the need to have the characters be completely and utterly terrible people simply because a part of us tend to find these more palatable.

If this sounds like this is about Muu. It is not. Ironically, the reason Muu had so much hate is because of the way she herself was very much victimized at first, only to have "betrayed" her audience once her crying had stopped and became more comfortable to be who she truly was.

An exemple would be how there's this theory that the reason Yuno got into milgram wasn't because of abortion but because killed a man. While I don't have anything against the theory itself... I can't help but think that origins and reasons for why a lot of people choose to believe it is.... very strange. To me, it seems the reason this theory feels more like a cope out for people who simply hate the idea that her crime is just simply abortion. As if abortion is what makes her character less intresting. And I just find it so weird.

Another exemple of this is Mikoto. Mikoto went from this extremely popular character with so many theories to just "oh yeah he exist" and it sounds like I'm exagerating considering how he is still one of the most beloved characters in the series with an absurd amount of fanart but... when it comes to analysis it's just... good lord

It seemed like the moment Mikoto was confirmed to be a system, the interest for him amongst theorists just dropped dead. Back then, when we weren't too sure if he had DID or not, Mikoto was extremely popular character amongst theorists because of how cryptic his case and character were. Yet when he got confirmed to be a system, people completely gave up on him and really just chose to boil down his character to "shitty did murder trope" and never pushed far beyound (in fact, even before milgram confirmed it, people were still very against the theory that he was in fact a system, never mind how a lot of the people that pushed the theory were also system themselves). They ended up his case "boring" because he turned out to be just ""the good one"" who is being wrongfully blamed and then claimed that the only way he would be interesting is to ngl this is genuinely frustrating to watch. Especially when these are the same people who say they prefer John way more yet fail to even make analysis on him as well. It's almost like Mikoto had the opposite situation as Muu's were while Muu became more hated for not being as innocent as she was protrayed in her mv, in Mikoto's case case he became less loved because he turned out to be a lot more sympathetic then he was in his mv.

This is coming from someone who actually do believe Mikoto was the true murderer here and not John. Mikoto has never been "more boring". A lot of previous analysis of his character from t1 are still very much applicable to this day. He is still the man broken by Japanese collectivism. He is still very much the guy who feel like he needs to fit in to the point of breaking. Still the guy who was very dishonest about his true feelings. What y'all can't stand is that he is also not that oh so much more "intresting" silly funny guy who goes "hehe what do you mean a murderer you're so cruel warden-kun you wouldn't want too piss me off do you cause I could beat you with this bat! Not that I would actually do anything like that lololol *threatnening glare*", and never has been.

[oyasleepy]

kylian rpg portrait sort of thang

[ilkkawhat]

you know what? it's 2025 and I'm not gonna let the anxiety win