#micah ( reflection )

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

I knew Micah wasn’t a great guy but I was a fool to think he had any redeeming traits.

[krshush]

It says something to me remembering that my Biggest Two OCs during the early 2010s was Zenas (tall twink elf with pink hair with identity/presentation issues, while also being a shithead) and Micah (average older teen punk with dyed undercut hair, who died and was a ghost, and also my first agender OC)

I'm not sure how to convey what it says without a dissertation on me, my history on Tumblr and these two characters barely anyone remembers at this point, but. Still.

[enslavedtoliberty]

Lists

"He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?"

When I think of lists, I think of to-do lists; my day to day being organized by a series of things I need to do in order to feel satisfied... productive. But the lists God finds of most importance are like those above. Follow these we're told, and all will be well on the day we meet our Creator. I'll keep trying to live by this one here, as Sproul says in his commentary, to live "a lifestyle that gives due acknowledgement to God in every aspect of conduct."

[halkonensis]

Rumaragasang ilog ang katarungan:

Ang masaker sa pamilya Fausto at ang Kristiyanong pagsisikap para sa kapayapaan

Sa halip ay padaluyin ninyo ang katarungan, gaya ng isang ilog; gayundin ang katuwiran tulad ng isang di natutuyong batis. Amos 5:24 MBBTAG

Trigger warning: graphic descriptions of military violence

Nakagigimbal ang pagpaslang ng pamilya Fausto, mga magsasaka at kapanalig ng Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), sa kamay ng mga kagawad ng 94th Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army (IBPA), sa Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Oriental noong Hunyo 14.

Kumikintil pa rin sa diwa ang mga litrato ng kubong tinutuluyan ng mag-anak: mga duguang bangkay na nakalaylay sa pintuan at sa hagdan. Apat na katawang balot sa puting tela, nakahandusay sina Roly Fausto, ama; Emelda Fausto, ina; at sina Ben at Ravin, mga anak.

Sinasalaysay lamang ng mga litrato ang isang parte ng kuwento. Marami pang mga pinagkakait ang 94th IBPA at ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) na mga detalye.

Ayon sa September 21 Movement, isang grupo para sa karapatang pantao, matagal nang target ng panliligalig ang mga Fausto sapagkat kasapi ang pamilya ng Baklayan, Bito, and Cabagal Farmers and Farmworkers Association (BABICAFA). Kasama sa mga ginawang paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng mga kagawad ng 94th IBPA ang panunutok ng sundang kay Emelda, pagnanakaw, pangtotortyur kay Roly upang pasukuin bilang di-umanong kasabwat ng New People’s Army (NPA), at pangraransak sa bahay, bago ang sukdulang pangmamasaker sa mag-anak.

Ngunit sa pag-iral ng kasamaan ng AFP, imbes na itaguyod ang hustisya at panagutin ang mga maysala sa kanilang hanay, pilit nilang binabalahura ang alaala ng pamilya sa pamamagitan ng pagbabaluktot sa katotohanan. Ayon kay Orlando Edralin, opisyal ng 94th IBPA, sa isang panayam sa DNX News, asset daw ng militar si Roly na nais nang bumaklas sa pagkakasabwat mula sa NPA, at ang pumatay raw sa mga Fausto ay ang mga NPA, bagay na pinabulaanan ng kaanak ng mga biktima.

Kade-kadenang Paglabag sa Karapatang Pantao

Di makakaila ang track record ng AFP (at ng estado sa pangkabuuan) sa karapatang pantao. Sa kasamaang-palad, pinupuno lamang ito ng mga paglabag.

Sa Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, minasaker noong Hulyo 22, 2022 ng pinagsanib na puwersa ng 62nd IBPA at PNP ang 18 taong gulang na si Everly Kee Jacolbe, buntis niyang ina na si Maria Christina Jacolbe, at kamag-anak na si Rodan Montero, matapos ang walang-humpay na red-tagging at pagpapahirap.

Sa ulat naman ng Karapatan Negros, pinatay naman noong Enero 9 ang magsasakang si Jose Gonazales sa Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City ng 94th IBPA, kapwa mga kagawad ding pumaslang sa mga Fausto. Nilapastangan pa ng mga sundalo ang bangkay ni Gonzales sa pagparada nito bilang babala sa mga mamamayan sa di-umanong rebelyon, ngunit pinasinungalingan ito ng mag-anak ng pinaslang.

Kamakailan lang din, nagsagawa ng seminar ang NTF-Elcac na primaryang pinatatakbo ng kasundaluhan sa mga pagawaan ng Philfoods Fresh Baked Products Inc. at Gardenia Bakeries, Phils. sa probinsya ng Laguna upang pigilan ang pagtatayo at paglakas ng unyon ng mga manggagawa. Di nagpapigil ang mga sundalong i-red-tag ang Unyon ng Panadero-Gardenia Bakeries, Phils. (PANADERO-OLALIA-KMU) at paratangang NPA ang opisyal nitong si Rhoel Alconera. Ganito ring panliligalig ang ginagawa ng mga kagawad ng NTF-Elcac at mga sundalo sa mga pagawaan tulad ng Wyeth-Nestle at Fuji sa Laguna.

Ang Kristiyanong Sagot: Kapayapaang batay sa Katarungan

Ngunit sa harap ng lantarang paglabag sa karapatang pantao, ano ang dapat itugon ng kabataang Kristiyano?

Ang sagot ay nakasaad sa Banal na Aklat: pagsikapang matamo ang kapayapaang nakabatay sa katarungan. (Isa 2:4, Mik. 4:3, Joel 4:10)

Batay sa katotohanang ang tao ay nilalang na kawangis ng Diyos, ang katarungan ay ang pagtataguyod ng dignidad ng bawat buhay ng tao. Nilalapastangan ng rehimeng Marcos-Duterte ang dignidad na ito sa porma ng pagkakait ng pagtataas ng sahod, pagpapabayang tumaas ang presyo ng bilihin, kawalan ng reporma sa lupa, hindi pagsasaayos ng matagalang krisis sa edukasyon, at pagpapatahimik sa mga balidong daing ng mamamayan. Isama pa ang pagdaragdag ng base-militar ng US sa lupain ng Pilipinas, pagraratsada ng Mandatory ROTC, at pagtutulak sa Maharlika Wealth Fund.

Kung totoo ngang kapayapaan ang nais makamit ng rehimen gamit ang mga galamay nito tulad ng AFP at PNP, ano ba ang pagpapakahulugan nila sa kapayapaan? Ito ang kalagayang wala nang lumalaban sa kanila upang magawa ang lahat ng gusto nila at makuha ang lahat ng luho nila.

Labis naman itong kaiba sa kapayapaan para sa sambayanang Pilipino. Simple ang hangad: magkaroon ng marangal na kabuhayan, tamang oras ng masustansyang pagkain, tirahang sasanggala mula sa init at ulan, karapatan sa pagpapahayag, at edukasyon ng mga kabataan. Kung ikukumpara sa kasalukuyang kalagayan, talagang nakaririndi ang kawalan ng kapayapaan lalo na at nabubuhay ang sambayanan sa panahon ng kawalang-katarungan.

Bilang mga kabataang Kristiyano naghahangad ng kapayapaan at nagtataguyod ng katarungan, kailangang balikan ang Mabuting Balita ayon kay Lucas. Mula sa pagsasalaysay, sinabi ni Cristo na kaakibat ng pagsunod sa kanya ang pagtatakwil sa sarili at pagpapasan sa krus (9:23). Mapapatotoo natin ang pangakong Kaharian ng Diyos dito sa lupa sa pagsunod natin kay Jesus. Dapat nating iwaksi ang pagkamakasarili sa pamamagitan ng pag-ugnay ng problema ng kabataan sa mas malawak na problemang kinahaharap ng sambayanang Pilipino. Ang krus na papasanin natin ay ang mabigat na krus ng aktibong pagbaka at pakikibaka laban sa namamayaning kasamaang nagpapahirap sa bayan ng Diyos.

Wika nga ni Jesus sa kanyang sermon sa bundok, “Pinagpala ang mga gumagawa ng paraan sa kapayapaan, sapagkat sila’y ituturing na mga anak ng Diyos.” (Mt. 5:9 MBBTAG) Gayong mahaba ang landasin ng Kalbaryo para sa Kristiyanong kabataan at sambayanang lumalaban, tayo rin ang bubukalan ng katuwiran upang dumaloy ang katarungang parang ilog (Amos 5:24).

Magsumikap para sa kapayapaan! Paragasain natin ang ilog ng katarungan!

Hustisya para sa pamilya Fausto! Singilin ang 94th IBPA at ang rehimeng Marcos-Duterte!

[eldritch-bf]

Recently learned that the color of the vest and tie Arthur wears during the Saint Denis ferry gambling mission changes depending on if you have high or low honor (blue for high and red for low) so now i am obsessed with the idea that the prominence of the colors red and blue on certain gang member’s outfit also reflects their honor level.

Whittemore variants versus Arthur’s default outfit, which doesn’t have a scrap of red on it, however no matter what his blue shirt is always fucking dirty and stained. And remember the gang criticizes you if you have blood all over you.

Hosea wears the blue vest (sometimes brown) but he generally has his red neckerchief on, but he also owns a red and black scarf. Mostly good but a little bit of bad.

Red is prominently featured on Micah. His entire shirt is red and he’s usually wearing his jacket like he’s disguising his nature. Even the the grips on his guns have red. And when you rescue him from Strawberry he does not have his coat.

Dutch is the most interesting to me. He has the checkered red scarf which he rarely wears and the red pocket square over his heart. Only the back of his vest is red, like he’s in denial about it, or that it’s only possible to see who he is when he isn’t facing you and putting on a show. Meanwhile on guarma his vest is suddenly reversed!

EDIT: addition

When Hosea is killed he is wearing a completely different outfit with a blue vest and absolutely no red, and both Milton and Dutch are covered in red!

[shackled-kiyoe]

Amen 🙏🙌

[sparklingself]

𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆

Daily reflections #3

I can of mine own self do nothing. John 5:30

I know a lot of people (myself included more or less) struggle with letting go of the "getting" and focusing on the "being". A need to force something into being, because you want something so much. But truth be told, you cannot force anything. There is nothing for you to do.

It's impossible to force anything into being, because creation is finished. This means that that version of you has already forever existed. You do not conjure anything new, it is all there already. You do not have to do anything to create it into your world, you must only appropriate the state. You only change your assumptions, not the world.

Surrender yourself to the law. Let the ball of events roll, be the observer, but do not interfere. It seems like you're not getting what you want? Okay, what of it? You shall imagine anyway, because that's what your inner-self desires.

What do I, the Inner Self want? This is the only question that should matter to you. (Edward Art)

Yield yourself to your desire and know that it shall be expressed through you. Do nothing but that and see the world transform before your eyes.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 

You have shown yourself what is good. Imagination, the forever being, has showed yourself, the mortal, what is good. And all you must do now is persist in that goodness through forgiveness and mercy to yourself.

It is all mental. Nothing is to be done, but to surrender yourself to yourself.

[meo-eiru]

My hands trembled as I bundled Eden into a thick woolen blanket, his tiny face peeking out, eyes wide and curious. He was only two, but he seemed to sense my anxiousness. His usual babbling fell silent, and in the hush that followed, my breath came quick and shallow.

I glanced around the room— it was my prison for the past three years. The bed, neatly made, the worn rocking chair in the corner, its wood rubbed smooth by countless hours of nursing Eden, the faded curtains I had sewn myself.

Micah had left early, as he often did, locking the door behind him. But something in me had shifted that time. Perhaps it was the way Eden had looked at me with those clear eyes, as if seeing me for the first time, really seeing me.

I saw myself reflected in those eyes, truly saw myself—the woman I had been, the mother I had become. And I knew then that we could not stay here.

Not another day.

Not another hour.

I had bundled him up, pulling a small bag from the closet— one that I had packed in secret over the weeks, stowing away small things that Micah wouldn’t notice. It wasn’t much— just some clothes, diapers, and a small children’s book.

The plan was simple— too simple, perhaps. Slip out unnoticed, walk the streets as though nothing was amiss, as though I were just another mother taking her child for a stroll. Once we reached the outskirts, we would find a way to leave this place, to escape him. Somehow, I told myself. Somehow we will be free.

“Shh, baby,” I softly say as I tucked the blanket tighter around Eden’s small frame. “We have to be quiet now, okay?”

Eden blinked up at her with those bright, clear eyes that were nothing like Micah’s. His hair was the same light shade, his features a mirror of his father’s, but those eyes— they were mine. He was the only part of me that hadn’t been tainted by Micah, yet.

Eden blinked up at me, his bright, clear eyes— so different from his father’s. His hair was the same pale shade as Micah’s, and his features echoed his father’s angelic feautures. Yet those eyes—they were mine, untouched by him. He was the only part of me that hadn’t been tainted… not yet.

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, breathing in the scent of him, that sweet, innocent smell that only babies possess. It anchored me, if only for a moment. His breath was warm against my neck, and I could feel his tiny heartbeat— fast, like a hummingbird— beating in time with my own.

But as I stepped outside, the cold air biting at my skin. The town was quiet, the streets empty, but I could feel the eyes of the houses on me, their windows like unblinking stares. My hands shook as I fumbled with the gate, Eden stirring slightly in my arms.

We made it a few streets over before I heard it— the sound of footsteps behind me.

“Y/N…”

I froze, every muscle in my body locking into place. I turned slowly, as if in a trance, to find Micah standing beneath the pale light of the rising sun. His eyes dark and unreadable. His face was calm, almost serene, but there was something in it that made my blood run cold. He didn’t say anything at first, just watched me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he finally spoke, low and steady, the way it always was.

Eden shifted in my arms, turning to look at his father, his bright eyes blinking up at him with innocently. I felt my breath catch in my throat as Micah stepped closer.

“I—” I started, but the words died in my mouth. What could I say? That I wanted to leave? That I needed to escape? That I couldn’t breathe in his presence?

But Micah didn’t need me to speak. He reached out, gently, almost tenderly, and took Eden from my arms. The boy went to him without protest, a wide smile spreading across his face as he wrapped his little arms around his father’s neck.

“You’re tired,” Micah said softly, his hand brushing against my cheek. His touch was deceptively gentle, as it always was. “You need to rest. You’re not thinking clearly.”

I wanted to scream, to push him away, to grab my son and run. But my body betrayed me, going still under his gaze. He had won, as he always did.

Micah turned, Eden still cradled in his arms, and began to walk back toward the house. I followed, because there was nothing else I could do. The streets seemed narrower now, the sky darker.

When we returned, Micah set Eden down, and the boy toddled off to play, oblivious. Micah said nothing more about my attempt to leave. He didn’t need to. Eden clambered back into his father’s arms, Micah’s long, pale hair trailing through the boy’s small fingers, he swept a hand across the my son’s back. His opened eyes, empty as the void. Yet his smile remained, gentle, almost kind— disarming. It held all the warning I needed.

And so, the day passed as it always does.

DUDE!!!! HOW ARE YOU SENDING IN MASTERPIECE AFTER MASTERPIECE THIS FAST!!!!

God Micah is so scary I love this so so much. The way he appeared? Are you a monster??

I feel so bad for the reader man, it's like she's a flower he took home with him, forever unable to escape under his watchful eyes.

The previous parts for anyone who missed! 1, 2, 3

[nthspecialll]

If there is one character that I am proud of it is Oville Swanson. A lot of people don't like him because he is loud and doesn't at the first glance a lot to the story, however there is much more to him.

I am not a religious person at all, however his relationship with religion breaks and warms my heart at the same time. He grew up knowing he what he wanted to be, he wanted to serve god, he wanted to do good, but he lost himself instead, starting drinking, doing morphine and in the end, fell in sinful love. He fell in love with a married woman, when she fled he was alone and he was so broken that he "just added bigamy to the list of sins he had already commited."

It didn't mean anything to him, he was so lost that he didn't care, yet he still clung onto his religion. In chapter one, the one time he doesn't have access to alcohol, we hear him quoting the bible, reading up from it, even though it mostly sounds like he is trying to convince myself to believe it.

Then in chapter two we see the complete loss he has suffered as he is constantly high or drunk and we can also find his bible hollowed out with morphine hidden in it. Meaning at some point between chapter one and two he was willing to sacrifice something with so much meaning to him for morphine.

He continues to suffer, and suffer, and get worse, we can even see an interaction between Micah, Grimshaw and Swanson where Micah kicks Swanson and he doesn't do anything, he lets himself get kicked as he sits quietly on the ground. Grimshaw stands up for him though, says he is ill and takes care of him.

We also hear him say "I am sorry, I wish I was different" to Morgan and appologizing to Dutch for taking up space and relapsing. In the mission with Morgan he also says "home, yes, I can go have tea with Margrete" (the married woman) in a really dreamy voice before blacking out. I don't imagine it is fun to have to go over the loss of your lost one over and over because the drugs you use to numb yourself sometimes makes you forget your lover died and you think you can go home to them.

It is first somewhere around chapter four and five that he finds himself again, finds his religion and gets himself together, I imagine that the church in Saint Denis helped as well as the sudden need for someone to step up and take over the other boy's shoes when they were in Guarma helped. I imagine that he had a similar talk with the sisters and brothers of Saint Denis as Arthur did. I imagine he felt ashamed, seeing his brothers and sisters and having to explain to them how far he had fallen.

Even after the loss of his family, his home, practically everything, he sticks to his religion, this time it isn't a burden, this time it is a rock to support himself against and from 1899 and forwards he uses his experience with the Vanderlinde gang as a way to reflect and bond with others who thinks they are too far away from salvation.

His experience, his life, his salvation, was so moving that he was offered a posision as the head of the church in new york and for that I am so happy for him and so proud.

[verdemoun]

Fun fact, Kieran may have been originally supposed to live longer, at least judging by his many unused voice lines (found on YouTube) and a longer hairstyle which I actually think looks better for him (found on rdr wiki of cut content). Maybe he was supposed to go to Guarma? The voice lines to me suggested going on hunting missions with him but I’m not too sure.

spoilers. obviously

fun fact i have listened to the 2+ hours of Kieran's cut voice lines so many times even my housemates know it and groan when they walk in and i'm listening to it. Did you know one of his cut voice lines for a near miss in a shootout is 'whoo, nearly took my head off!' to foreshadow his eventual demise? And he has several variations of lines telling Arthur to rest with the gentlest tone suggesting he would have been one of the few characters to show concern for Arthur's illness in later chapters? And slightly less relevant but there is a cut interaction in where he asks Jack to sneak him some food only for Arthur to threaten to kill him BUT CALLING HIMSELF UNCLE KIERAN???

screenshots by cad5150

About Guarma, all but confirmed. Here is one of his cut outfits, which I think very obviously suits the vibe of what most of the gang wore in Guarma like compare it to Micah's Guarma outfit in particular. Additionally he has this hood as an outfit accessory: some people think it was intended that when he rides into camp Horsemen Apocalypse there's a moment of the hood being taken off and then the characters having a much more visceral reaction to his eyes being gauged out but personally I think it makes way more sense that he was meant to be in Banking, the Old American Art 'replacing' Sean as an extra gun. Which would have been really cool because I would have loved a conversation where they bring up they're a gun short and it spiral into more reflection on how they're not just a gun short, they're a man down, they lost the 'joy in their lives' Sean Macguire and they were still hurting instead of just NEVER MENTIONING HIM AGAIN other than a few rare character lines.

Side tangent also his scarf is different in his guarma outfit which is it's own essay because if you're going off the blue high honor red low honor theory this so strong implies we could have seen some really cool character development. looking at what the gang were wearing in banking and then in guarma there's no obvious explanation as to where he got it. how cute would it have been if we got a scene where mary-beth gifted him a scarf?? but the also terrifying implication that we might see kieran become less high honour good boy blorbo to someone a bit more morally ambiguous?

I think the question really is how he would have fit in in Guarma, which of course we will never know and considering how much cut content there is about Guarma. Like everyone else in Guarma makes sense: Dutch's descent into immorality being so clear even Arthur questions it, Bill being the one trusted to look after Javier following his rescue, supporting their friendship in rdr1, Micah reaffirming his position as an actual piece of shit in his lines responding to Hosea and Lenny's deaths and complete lack of empathy. Maybe a kieran who is slightly more ruthless and active in shootouts in guarma but also shows compassion for arthur as arthur gets sick? Maybe the attack on Hanging Dog Ranch was meant to be more a revenge for Kieran's death assuming he was taken and killed similarly to his death in chapter 4 (given how much much foreshadowing there is for his death), but just another misery in chapter 6 that hits harder because we have more time to grow attached and see him develop?

Except. Except then we get to cut outfit kieran.

first. hellooooo sailor. but who is this man. who is this man who looks older. and wears a very, very low honour red scarf. and is obviously dressed still as an outlaw, and didn't go live a happy life with mary-beth. is it. is it possible. kieran was not always meant to be doomed by the narrative??

is it possible we would have seen kieran become more loyal to dutch and micah, true to his army abandoning, gang jumping, choosing to ride with the o'driscolls rather than die, immediately 'loyal' to the vdls despite torture because being alone meant certain death, coward nature? or would he have just been a character john could encounter in the epilogue? perhaps shaken by knowing arthur, as one of his very, very few friends, died trying to be a better person and abandoned any effort to be more than an outlaw?

but. but kieran. shirt all buttoned up. scarf on. thick coat. hair slightly feral and wild. why does it looked like you're all dressed up for the cold, buddy? like- like you might have been hiding out up mount hagen.

[brujahinaskirt]

I love rdr2 for the little things--like how sleeping arrangements over time reflect narrative arcs and interpersonal decay (or bloom).

Just a really quick observation:

The most obvious and important sleeping change, I would argue, involves the Marstons. At the start of the game, John has abandoned and disavowed Abigail & Jack; they sleep on the ground in a flimsy shelter while he, the returning golden boy, sleeps in a bed under a comfortable tent. John's tent arguably affords the most privacy in the game, and this makes sense early on, when he's trying to maintain a distance between himself and everyone around him (especially his family, including Arthur). In Shady Belle, John has welcomed Abigail and Jack into his bedroom, and -- notably -- he sleeps on the floor this time. It's as much a signal of John's growth as a person who is allowing himself to be a little more reachable as it is a sign of his fledgling sense of regret and apology (for abandoning them in the first place), and it is a sign of him warming to the idea of Abigail and Jack as his family. But it doesn't happen all at once; Abigail and John still refuse to sleep beside one another. In the epilogue, as they actively attempt to rebuild their lives together, John and Abigail finally sleep side-by-side as a couple.

I read someone once point out that Uncle transitions from sleeping all over the camp, wherever he happens to pass out, to sleeping directly behind Arthur's tent in Beaver Hollow. This was so cleverly observed. What a powerful sign of the overall degradation of the character of the gang as Uncle (the character most representative of optimism and comfort) begins to fear for his safety and future enough to take physical shelter behind Arthur. What a note of confidence and clarity re: the true person Arthur is beneath the air of danger he has worn like a job title and a suit of armor. (I hunted for that original post to no avail; if it was yours, please let me know so I can link back to it!)

Molly & Dutch and the sliding divide. We start off with a present but muzzled level of friction between these two. Molly sleeps on the only bed in Dutch's lavish tent; Dutch sleeps beside her but... sitting up (haha okay very healthy)... because there's no room for Dutch and Molly. Later, Dutch commandeers the master bedroom at Shady Belle while Molly drunkenly collapses in an isolated place, usually by the kitchen window, blasted with light (see: truth) but far removed from the others, a reflection of her self-isolation and detachment from the gang and anyone who might be able to help her.

Dutch's tent gradually drifts farther away from the center of camp, at its maximum distance in Beaver Hollow. Micah, Cleet, and Joe linger closest to Dutch at this point, noticeably even more so than Javier and Bill.

The slow pull-apart of The Girls. Similar to Molly, after Sean's death, Karen can increasingly be found slumped over drunk in various locations at the periphery, semi-conscious. This is never more apparent than the Beaver Hollow era. Meanwhile, Mary-Beth and Tilly remain sleeping tightly next to one another, not far from Sadie.

God only knows where Micah sleeps.

(Might come back and expand this more later! But that's all she wrote, rushed, for now.)

[huariqueje]

Kitaro Moonrise Along with Reflections - Micah Schwaberow

American , 1948 - 2022

Print , 5 x 5 in.

[corallapis]

paul eluard, i cannot be known / jean cocteau, art of style / sandra cisneros, dulzura / ann brashares, my name is memory / james allen hall, the enemy / bound (1996) / micah nemerever, these violent delights / richard siken, the way the light reflects / jean genet, querelle / iain s. thomas, the circle, triangle, square / franz kafka, letters to felice / gabriela mistral, tr. randall couch, electra in the mist

[heavenlymorals]

Arthur's Redemption: A Reflection of the Dregs of Idealism

(Warning: Spoilers for RDR2)

Arthur's redemption is the reason why RDR2 is as loved and coveted as it is. It is the reason why it is in the videogame hall of fame and it is the reason why I'll never forgive the game awards for giving GOW 2018 Game of the Year instead of RDR2.

But what I find very interesting is exactly WHERE his redemption is aimed towards, because remember, Arthur never gives up the gang life until the VERY end when he has to confront Micah on being a rat.

One of the first things that the game tries to remind us of is is that Dutch's gang is different. It isn't savage, or heartless, or "as bad" as the other gangs like the O'Driscolls and the Del Lobos. In every single mission that involves robbery, the VDL gang either robs crooks, corporations, robber barons, rich people, slavers, people with fucked up political views, etc. Etc. That is what puts them above other gangs in terms of their reputation, alongside the fact that they, before the Blackwater massacre and before they got so desperate, would give away portions of their proceedings to the poor and destitute.

And the thing is, the VDL gang's philosophy isn't really different from what you see today, especially here on Tumblr. Kill the rich, eat the rich, tax the rich, etc. Etc. Only real difference, honestly, is that the VDL gang carries out those philosophies violently when we don't.

Does intense violence continue to make philosophies and beliefs just? That's ultimately up to you, I don't want to get into that discussion, but this is very important to take note of because Arthur's redemption isn't realizing the gang life and violence is bad, but by going back to the original thought processes and beliefs that guided the VDL gang. He goes from apathetic to passionate.

Notice the "redemption" missions of chapter 6. You forgive debts and kick out Strauss because he represents all the evils of money lending and usuery. Arthur begs Edith Downes to allow her to let him help her, but he doesn't want her forgiveness as he knows he doesn't deserve it. He teaches a grieving woman how to hunt and survive in the wilderness. He befriends a veteran and connects with the great American wilderness. He gives people his blessing to get out of the gang and ultimately sacrifices his final moments to get John, Abigail, and Jack to safety.

Arthur focuses on people and their personal lives. He focuses on their struggles, their dreams, their hopes, their stories, and just all the things that make them human.

Let's look at the debt missions in chapter six. There are three of them. Mrs. Londonderry, J. John Weathers, and Edith Downes. Arthur either comes to face with how morally bankrupt the business of usury is, which then relates back to the more political side of the VDL gang, which is the resistance of the predatory upper class, or he tries to mend the wrongs of being in that system without the expectation of forgiveness.

Those debt missions, though side missions, are super important to Arthur's redemption.

Other than the debt missions, there is also the more personal aspects of missions. Some missions are completely personal, like the Charlotte missions or the Hamish missions, while others are slid in such as Arthur lecturing John after blowing up the bridge.

Arthur cares about the people, the everyday people, and he loses his apathy that makes him violent and mean, which is where his redemption lies.

But the gang life? He doesn't quit that. He doesn't have any qualms, morally, about blowing up bridges, fighting against the government, the army, and anyone who may support the organizations that Dutch taught him to hate from such a young age. There is no guilt there. Arthur only has guilt towards hurting those the gang was originally there to help.

His redemption isn't him realizing what he is doing is wrong, and that the gang life is wrong. His redemption is him going back to the original ideals that Dutch taught him.

I just think that's really interesting. It also opens up a discussion on the philosophical nature of the blurred line between violence and Idealism, and whether or not someone can still be good whilst being on that line.

In any case, yapyapyapyapyap

[unmaskthewriter]

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You {Arthur Morgan x GN!Reader}

Summary: Arthur realizes he’s in love with you.

A/N: As suggested/requested by @photo1030 . I apologize for the delay as I’m packing for travel and also I just got into Read Dead online for the first time all while completing RDR1 (first time) and RDR2 (second time). I know you suggested a different song/title but I couldn’t stop thinking about Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Frankie Valli. also did just watch Jersey Boys this weekend so that could be why. Anyways, despite it all, I hope you enjoy.

Warnings: none, just pure fluff as requested <3 except for Karen threatening to commit violence on Sean 👀

Word Count: 650+

It was nearly evening as Arthur returned from the bank robbery in Valentine. As the sun sank lower in the sky, it created a beautiful array of colors on the water. He approached the savings box behind Dutch’s tent, placing half his take into the box. Micah sat with Bill and Javier at a table, talking them into yet another round of Five Finger Fillet.

“You’ve taken nearly all my money!” Javier whined.

Mary Beth and Tilly were sitting in their tent, working on laundry and clothes that needed mending. Karen was sitting alongside Sean around the campfire, a bottle of whiskey in her hand.

“Ah, c’mon lass, just one kiss!” Sean leaned closer to Karen, pointing to his cheek as she looked on, disinterested.

“Only thing you’ll be getting is this bottle over your head if you don’t quit your beggin.” Karen warned, taking a swig of the whiskey. Sean only laughed.

“Where would I be without ya, Miss Karen?” Sean questioned, to which she rolled her eyes.

“Dead, hopefully.” She mumbled, looking away from the Irishman.

“Oh, don’t play at that, lass. Ya know ya love me.” Sean teases the young woman.

Arthur ventured throughout camp in search of you. On a typical day, you were often around the campfire either listening to Javier’s music, or talking with the girls at their tent. He wandered out to the lake, leaning against a tree at the edge of the wood line. He lights himself a cigarette, taking a long drag as he watches on.

You were standing in the water, barefoot, with your pants rolled up to your knees. Jack sat nearby, making a necklace with small, coral flowers. Too focused on the line in the water to realize Arthur’s presence, Jack giggled as he looked at Arthur. The gunslinger only held a finger to his lips, smiling softly as the cigarette dangled there.

“I know I’m not quite the fisherman as I talked myself up to be. It’s okay, you can laugh.” You tease unknowingly. Arthur’s heart skipped at the sight, something he didn’t think possible. Prior to this evening, Arthur always believed he’d belong to Mary, even if she had moved on and married someone else her father approved more of.

Though now, seeing you there in the water while the setting sun reflected off of you and gave you this wonderful glow… all thoughts and dreams of Mary vanished in that very moment. All he could feel in this moment was a strange swelling of his heart when he looked at you. Now, Arthur never considered himself romantic but in this moment, doing something as simple as fishing and barely doing that gave him this light, fluttery feeling in his heart, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in quite some time. As you stepped out from the water, you turned to see Arthur standing there.

“Oh!” You held a hand over your chest, startled. You relax as you put the fishing rod away, “Didn’t see you there. How’ve you been?” You ask as Jack stands and gathers the flower necklace he had made.

“Good… was wondering what you were up to. See you’re teaching him all you know about fishing.” Arthur teases as he steps forward, putting the cigarette out beneath his boot. A blush creeps across your face as you look away, trying desperately to avoid his gaze.

“Don’t think I know too much on the matter, Mr. Morgan.” You admit shyly. Arthur’s lips part to speak, only to be interrupted by the child.

“Let’s go, I’m hungry!” He insists, now standing between the two of you, “Can you swing me?” He questioned excitedly. You look to Arthur who nods to you in return.

“Anything for you.” You ruffle the boy’s hair. Each taking hold of the child’s small hands, you and Arthur swing Jack gently between the both of you as you return to camp, like one happy family.

[eretzyisrael]

by Bari Weiss

There was not a single conversation that I had in the week I spent in Israel where the person did not say a version of the following: There was an October 6 version of me and an October 7 version of me. I am forever changed. I am a different person. 

And that is another sense in which the story of the ancient Roman requires modification. The binary of war and peace, the pastoral and the military, is a retrospective luxury of powerful nations or empires. A small democracy, whose very existence is contested by populous autocracies, does not have the privilege, as Cincinnatus did, of going from the field of battle to the field to till. Israel’s citizen-soldiers are scientists, artists, and farmers, just as they are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. Israeli citizens, whether they serve or not, are not—as one Hamas leader said of Gazans—someone else’s problem.

“It’s like after you knock your finger with a hammer, you don’t feel anything for a while,” the journalist Gadi Taub said, describing what Israelis have gone through since Hamas’s invasion. “People haven’t begun to understand the extent of this earthquake and how it will change Israel. The tectonic plates have moved, and nothing in the system has yet absorbed or changed to accommodate what happened.”

The public intellectual and Bible scholar Micah Goodman told me in Jerusalem that the country went through a collective near-death experience. Imagine an entire society that, between sunrise and sunset, peered together into the abyss. “For the first time in our lives, we had a moment where we could imagine that the whole thing was over. That the whole thing ended. You know how when individuals have a near-death experience, they’re transformed. Because they learned that life should not be trivialized. As a country, we had a near-death experience, and now we’re transformed because we know that Jewish sovereignty should not be taken for granted. It can’t be trivialized.”

Israel’s founding fathers and mothers, having known a period when Jews didn’t have a state—a period in which six million Jews were murdered—understood the difference between statelessness and sovereignty in their bones. The paradox of their extraordinary achievement is that modern Israelis, who might appreciate the distinction intellectually, could dismiss the dread alternative even when presented with visible evidence of a fragility they consigned to the past. Or at least they could until October 7. On that day, the thought exercise became real.

If Israel, in other words, is currently fighting a second war of independence—an existential war necessary for the survival of the state, as everyone here believes—then the young men and women of this country are more than soldiers. They are latter-day Ben-Gurions. They are a new generation of founders. Indeed, as Gadi Taub told me in Tel Aviv, one of the slogans of this war is lo noflim midor tachach! Which loosely translates to do not fall short of the ’48 generation.